profound bliss

Do you ride MRT-3? If you do, and you're riding the train on Christmas and New Year's Day, here's the MRT-3 sched on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1. Just remember that wrapped gifts need to be opened for inspection. Such hassle, but is needed for protection and safety of the passengers. Other things not allowed: deadly weapons bulky and long objects (my imagination runs wild on this part) food and drinks inflated balloons flammable materials Aside from the "no inspection, no entry" policy, those who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs will also not be allowed entry.

Model Victor Ross with a Maltese(?) photographed by Jenn Hoffman. Dogs should be used in entertainment media just in purposes such as this. Not in violent scenes, no matter how they say "no animals are harmed in the process." Dogs are to be loved. To be cared for like a member of the family. To even be hand-fed if they don't like to eat at some point. They are not to be shouted at, or worse, to be hit or kicked. They are to be given a bath every four days. Heartgard every month. Dewormer every 3 months. Vaccines as per scheduled by the vet. (and did I forget to put Dear Sister at the beginning of this post? :D) Follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

I love cute stuff. And McDonald's Danglers are so cute I'm gonna buy all three when I go out tomorrow. Get the McDonald's Danglers for only P39 each for every food purchase. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

Oxygen's Holiday Sale is extended up to December 15 in all branches. Enjoy up to 30% discount on jeans, blazers and more! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

Angel and I wanted to buy a taller Christmas tree but Nanay wouldn't let go of the three-feet tree we've had for nearly two decades now. And yea, green walls for Christmas. LoL!

Ponchos are one of my must-brings whenever I go mountain climbing (aside from that Kalisungan climb when I completely forgot to bring one). I thought I have found the thinnest poncho in the Chinese branded yellow ones available at Ace Hardware for P29.75. But I found something fancy when I went with my niece to Sportshouse in SM Bicutan last Wednesday. It's a ball key chain! You can open the ball and there's a poncho inside. Watch my video below. I didn't unfold the poncho cuz I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fold it back that small. But it's actually just as thin as the yellow poncho from Ace Hardware. You just have to fold it the right way so it can fit the ball. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

Palawan has once made the country proud by putting the Philippines in the world map. After the inclusion of Puerto Princesa Underground River in the list of provisional winners in the New7Wonders of Nature contest, an island called Ariara has been named as one of the World's Top 10 Private Islands by British newspaper The Sunday Times. Ariara is one of the islets in the Calamian group of islands in Palawan. It was bought and developed by British couple Charles and Carrie McCulloch. According to the resort's website, the island's remote location made it "untouched by the negative influences of pollution, development or tourism." 160 miles southwest of Manila and 4 hours away from Hong Kong, they developed the island in a way that people "who don't do hotels" will enjoy the sun, sea and sand. The beach cottages and jungle villas are designed by renowned Filipino architect Jorge Yulo. "The property provides luxurious and spacious accommoda...

Regatta would like us to welcome the Christmas season in classic polos in Holiday colors! Starting today until this Sunday only, you can avail of men's classic polos for only P549 while women's are priced lower at P449. The promo is available in all Regatta stores nationwide.

The annual Run BGC (Bonifacio Global City) is coming this November 27, 2011 and they've put a twist to it by incorporating "Flag Football." There's still the usual fun run but if you wanna take it a notch higher, you can try doing the flag football. 3km and 5km runners can choose either the route with Flag Football challenge or the regular fun run route. Registration fee for the both the 3km fun run and 3k with Flag Football is P500, 5km fun run and 5km with Flag Football costs P600, and lastly, registration fee for the 10km run costs P700. There's no Flag Football in the 10k run. Included in the race fees are Bib Number , Timing Tag , Singlet & Raffle Stub . There are stores accepting registration but only until November 23 (12 nn – 8 pm). The list of stores are as follows: Tobys/RUNNR - Level 1 Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Edsa cor. Shaw Blvd., Ortigas Center. - Bldg. B3, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. - G/F...

Here's a dog playground recently featured on the weekend news. I've been wanting to bring Princess to a place like this.

Now you can text your friends using your Globe mobile phone FOR FREE with the all new Text Mo Libre Ko . Just type your message then send it to 2354 + cellphone number of your friend. Example: 235409179876543. Your friend will be charged PHP 1.00 to receive and read your Text Mo, Libre Ko message on his/her Globe mobile phone; and another PHP 1.00 to reply to your message. If your friend does not accept your message, you will receive a notification stating that the transaction did not push through. You can send as many message as you want if you're already added in your friend's buddy list. But if not, you can only send as many as 3 messages. To add friends, send ADD <MOBILE NUMBER> to 2354. (Ex. ADD 09179876543). This will cost you PHP 1.00 per transaction. To block a number, text BLOCK <MOBILE NUMBER> to 2354. (PHP 1.00 per transaction). Note that when you block a mobile number, you will no longer receive his/her messages. To unblock, simply add the number a...

It is one of those days when you're itching to go out and you don't have anyone to go out with because they're either in school or just plain busy. In my case, my climb buddy wasn't available that day when I was so in the mood for a dayhike. It was a Friday, August 19th, and life had been so good that I wanted to shed that extra energy I had in me the whole week; more so, I wanted to celebrate by doing something that I love best. Because the previous night proved futile in looking for someone to climb with, I woke up quite late the following morning. It was already around 9:30 AM when I logged in to Facebook and hoped to find a hiking buddy among my online friends... to no avail. But then I have done solo trips before. My first climbing experience was only with a guide up Mt. Romelo. So after feeding Princess, I packed my small backpack and got ready to leave. It's really a good thing when you already know what to bring. It makes packing very easy. I was in ...

Not only is President Noynoy Aquino being talked about because of his ex-girlfriend's upcoming wedding, he is also the talk-of-the-town for allegedly smoking during his 14-hour return flight from San Francisco to Manila on Philippine Airlines flight PR 104. Limp-wristed Jojo A. Robles Manila Standard Today One of the good things about being President is that you get to bend the rules in your favor, Noynoy Aquino is finding out. Take that very strictly imposed ban on smoking in a commercial airliner, for example. We’ve been told that during his recent 14-hour return flight on Philippine Airlines flight PR 104 from San Francisco to Manila, Aquino was allowed to smoke in violation of international and local aviation regulations. The feat was pulled off on the PAL 747-400 jumbo jet by simply preventing anyone to go up the upper, first-class deck of the plane (where Aquino was) through the stairs while the President smoked. However, because the passenger areas of the p...

Smart Communications Inc. will soon release Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone , an entry-level Android phone to be added under the network's new netphone line. It's good to note that Smart decided to keep the name of the phone's brand instead of calling it Smart Netphone <insert model # here>, just like what they did to their first release. Smart Netphone 701 is a ZTE Blade. I think the reason is that Samsung is quite well-known here in the Philippines and many Pinoys actually trust the brand. By keeping the name, the network will attract more Pinoys to buy it. Speaking of buying the Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone, Smart is accepting pre-orders from October 1 to 14, 2011. It's actually free at Data Lite Plan 500 and All-in Plan 800. But if you're on postpaid, its available for only P5,990.00 . (Click here to reserve a unit.) Specifications of Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone: Android 2.3 Gingerbread 832 Mhz Processor 3G/HSDPA 7.2 Mbps Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/...

I love Converse. I didn't wear one until about 4 years ago, though. I love how versatile it can be that I wear it practically everywhere. And that single pair is still in good condition up until now. Last time I wore it? When I sang at the wedding reception of a friend's brother last August. LoL! Converse is holding a sale at the Olympic Outlet in Robinsons Pioneer the whole month of October. Avail of up to 50% off on selected footwear, apparel and accessories starting today! I guess it's time for me to buy another pair! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

In time for Halloween! Tara let's join! I've always been wanting to write again. I think I'd start with this. MECHANICS: 1. Contest will run from October 1- 31, 2011 . 2. Contest is open to any Philippine resident and at least 13 years old. 3. Stories submitted should follow the theme of the book - True Philippine Ghost Stories. 4. Length of the story should be between 800-2,000 words . 5. Stories should be in written in English, Tagalog or Taglish and should not have been previously published elsewhere, in part or in full. 6. Entries can only be submitted by e-mail at tpgscontest@psicompublishing.com 7. Entries should indicate author's name, home address and contact numbers. 8. ALL entries will be acknowledged with an email to the address from which the entry was sent. 9. Judges will be the editors of PSICOM PUBLISHING INC. 10. Entries will be judged based on: - Originality - 40% - Creativity / (Scare Factor) - 50% - Grammar/Spel...

The Best of Anime is an annual event for anime fan. After its successful debut last year, it is now one of the much-awaited anime event in the country. The Best of Anime 2011 happens on September 17-18, 2011 at Function Rooms 4 and 5 on the 3rd level of SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. This event is organized by Primetrade Asia in association with the Manila International Book Fair. For more info on this event, like The Best of Anime on Facebook . Likewise, you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter .

Yesterday's lunch with my sister's family was unplanned. And because punctuality is a big issue with her husband, I arrived on the dot. They, though, arrived 20 minutes late. LoL! I waited for them reading books at Booksale, and ended up buying 2 paperbacks for P45 each. After lunch, the long-planned movie date with the nephews finally happened. Juansen asked me to watch Captain America with him like 2 months ago but something came up. We would plan to watch any movie almost every weekend but their family dates always got in the way. It finally happened yesterday, though. We watched Fright Night with his brother Jansen. It's Jansen's first horror film, I guess. He kept on covering his eyes with the popcorn bucket and laughed through the scary scenes. We spent much time, before and after the movies, looking at ballers in the tiangge area of Festival Mall. Hanging out with teenagers make me feel like one. I ended up paying for their ballers, and buying one for ...

The demise of Adrian Alba brought mountaineering into the limelight. GMA News TV's On Call even brought in UP Mountaineers' Vice President for External Affairs Niko Francisco and his buddy Paul to talk about preparation and safety during climbs. Watch the interview on the clip below.

This is kinda old, but cute, nonetheless. Japanese McDonald's TV ad. And I hope Ronald looks this good:

There's something cool from Smart – the Smart All-In Plans! These are postpaid plans that let you select services down to the last peso! You can choose any combination of Unli Call and Text Packages, Next Generation Handsets, and Mobile Internet Plans. There are 6 plans to choose from - Plan 500, Plan 800, Plan 1200, Plan 1800, Plan 2500, and Plan 3500. You can then stack it up with features like UnliTalk, UnliText, UnliSurf and consumable browsing. Existing postpaid subscribers can also adjust their existing plans to suit their needs, or switch to a plan that will give them full control of their monthly fee. What's even better, you can fine-tune your plan each month depending on your needs. Below are the available handsets for specific plans:

They all look hungry, don't you think? Especially the girl second to the left. But then I think Philippines has a chance. She's actually leading in most of the independent polls even in other countries. She's also one of the most photographed among the 89 candidates. There's also a bigger chance for her because a Pinay in the judges' panel. I'm not saying Lea Salonga should be biased, though. All I'm saying is that who would best appreciate a contestant in an international pageant like this than someone from her own race? I could imagine tabloid headlines would Shamcey win. They'd say she only got the title because there's a Filipino in the judges panel. But, of course, that's just wishful thinking... for now. Here's Shamcey Supsup's national costume: Looking like a winner, no?

I found these videos advertising General Santos City's Tuna Festival. I know it's kinda late cuz Tuna Fest ended 4 days ago (August 26 – September 5). I just can't resist posting cuz I had a good laugh watching the videos. Each vid features something/someone Gen San is famous for, like Shamcey Supsup, Manny Pacquiao, and the tuna itself. Watch the hilarious vids below. videos: youtube.com/ralphsody

I'm thinking of buying a bigger daypack. My 18-liter Hawk just won't do anymore. The bladder now takes most of the space inside the main compartment. And then I saw this in my feeds just a while ago: That's Ethan James for Heart magazine. Sadly, the suede backpack is not listed in the credits. I know it's not an outdoor bag. But still.

Outdoor Addicts , the mountaineering group Adrian Alba was with on that fateful Sunday when he got swept away by the Wawa River, has finally released a statement via their Facebook page. The group's "non-participation" during the time Adrian's body was missing is what Adrian's family has been so angry about. They wanted to get statements from the group their loved one was with, they wanted to know the full account of what happened, but none among the group would come out and explain. This morning, though, at exactly 10:42 AM, Outdoor Addicts posted a note titled "Our Sincerest Sympathy" on their groups Facebook page. It provides some information about how Adrian Alba was swept away by the current while they were doing a rope-assisted river crossing. The note reads: Our Sincerest Sympathy We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of our comrade Adrian Alba. We were witnesses to his spirit of adventure in the short time that we were ac...

25-year-old mountaineer Adrian Alba was found dead near a hanging bridge on Wednesday morning, three days after he was swept away by strong river current of the Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal. According to news reports, a boy saw an arm dangling near the banks of the river some 45-minute walk from the Wawa Dam. A group of barangay tanod, who was there to help in the search and retrieval operations, identified the lifeless body as that of the missing mountaineer's. Search and rescue teams had been on the move since Adrian was reported missing last Sunday, September 4, 2011. He was doing a rope-assisted river crossing with a 22-member team when he allegedly got swept away by the current. Adrian was reportedly with the mountaineering group Outdoor Addicts. He was the group's guest climber that day. To everyone's dismay, though, no one among the 21 other mountaineers Adrian was with that Sunday has come out to give a full statement of what has transpired. The team repor...

Filipino mountaineer Adrian Alba got swept away by the strong current of the Wawa River in Rodriguez, Rizal while his team was doing a rope-assisted river crossing yesterday, September 4, 2011. Adjhong, as his friends call him, is still missing up to now despite various search and rescue operations done yesterday and today. The Facebook wall of Adrian, 25, is now filled with messages from his friends – some are worried for the worse that could happen, while some are positive that the waters just brought Adrian somewhere and he's already safe. They know Adrian as a fighter, someone who doesn't easily give up. His close friends are sure Adrian wouldn't give up without a fight. A news report said that the 22-member team was there for a Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) with river crossing. And if that is Adrian's first BMC, it's just too bad that the hands-on came a little too early. It has also been reported that the team paid a gate pass at the barangay offi...

I'm a sucker for cute things. And this morning, I found this cute Nescafe (freebie?) cup at the mug holder. I'm kinda sure it's Angel's cuz she loves cute stuff as well. I couldn't resist to use it. Had breakfast alone cuz Nanay was in church. And I felt like singing "a cup in hand you know it's worth your while... a cup in hand let's sit and stay for a while..." But honestly, I used the cup for Great Taste 3-in-1. Haha!

Because yuletide in the Philippines starts with the arrival of the BER months, I should say that the Christmas season is officially on. And with that, let me be the first to greet you "Merry Christmas!" This is an old pic, as she's in no mood to dress up at the moment. Will post new Santa Princess pics soon.

Mt. Maculot's campsite, as I mentioned in my recent post titled Mt. Maculot: A Not-So-Pleasant-Surprise , has a big problem on waste management. It wouldn't have reached that point if all of us "mountaineers" are disciplined enough to "Leave No Trace" and if we really care about the environment. Judging by the pile of liquor bottles, I think that some (if not most) of the hikers go up Mt. Maculot just to drink and party. Have the mountains become the new venue of Friday/Saturday/long weekend night-outs? Perhaps some would argue, "What are the registration fees for?" Do you think P10.00 is enough to let the locals chase our garbage in the mountains? To leave behind our water bottles and butanes so our backpacks wouldn't be as bulky when we go down? These mountains were in peace before men learned the sport/hobby of climbing. These mountains didn't invite us to go up and spend our nights in its wilderness for a thrill. But we climb ...

Two days ago, my computer wouldn't log on to Windows. It would go as far as the "Welcome" screen then a notification window would pop-up saying " This application has failed to start because SCESRV.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may  fix this problem. " Since it wouldn't go as far as that pop-up, I couldn't do anything else but to restart the PC and hope that the notification would not appear on the next boot. But, of course, it appeared over and over again, with me already feeling hopeless. I wouldn't wanna resort to reinstalling Windows and all the programs on the PC. That would be so much work on a Monday. Lucky me (and bless my searching instincts) that I found this simple instructions on a certain forum that I couldn't remember anymore. The instructions were so simple I closed my netbook's browser and turned to the "malfunctioning" PC the minute I read it. It's like this ( given that your PC's...

The first time I had a taste of a Batangas lomi was when Danilo and I traversed Mt. Maculot last year. We arrived so early in Cuenca, and with grumbling stomachs we walked inside the only open karinderia at that time. The lomi wasn't so nice, though, at least according to my taste buds. Thick, thick soup topped with big pieces of chicharon baboy wasn't really my type. So when I attended a wedding in Rosario last April and the group I was with decided to try the lomi at the karinderia near the church while waiting for the wedding to start, I refused to order upon seeing that it was the same as the one I have tasted in Cuenca. It was a different story in Anilao, though. I actually Googled about the place the night before I went there and read about how good Anilao lomi was. And since I was going near Philpan Dive Resort, someone recommended that I try the lomi of the karinderia to the left of Philpan. Knowing that it was different from the Cuenca and Rosario lomi ...

Last week of July, I learned that my young friends in MLQU Stallions Outdoor Club (MSOC) were planning to do a Mt. Maculot hike on the first weekend of August. I get invited to MSOC climbs most of the time so it was kinda automatic (especially with these young members) that I would be joining them on this one. No one among those climbing that time had been to Mt. Maculot before, while I already did a traverse of the mountain September last year with my friend Danilo. So I was immediately appointed as the guide. It was my first time to ever guide a group of climbers in the mountains, but as they say, there's always a first time for everything. My knowledge of the route, though, was Brgy. Pinagkaisahan – Grotto – Summit – Rockies – Brgy. Tiko. They were planning on a night trek to Rockies but I remember the trail as very easy so I agreed. K (who is a member of MSOC himself) and I met the other members of the team around 9 PM at the Buendia bus terminal. We took a Lipa-bound bus...

This Vapur water "bottle" comes in other colors and I don't really know why I chose purple. But, anyway, this water container caught my fancy because I can easily flatten and roll it up once empty. That way, I won't be "displaying" an empty water bottle at the sides of my backpack when going home from a climb. Despite the 2-liter bladder I recently bought, I still bring water bottles along because 2 liters ain't enough. LoL! A 3-liter bladder is on my to-buy list but I'm still waiting for Sandugo Market! Market! to have one available. I don't feel like buying cheap bladders because I read somewhere that some of them are made of materials that mixes with your water and makes it quite health hazard. Sandugo's bladders are the cheapest branded bladders I could find, and until they have 3-liter ones available, I'd just use my current bladder and this Vapur foldable bottle. By the way, Vapur stands like a real bottle when full.