Hail to DOLE Philippines' Light - a - Life Program

15 Years of Helping Orphanages and Home of the Elders

Decorated Norfolk Pine Trees along the DOLE Phil's Pedestrian Walk

Christamas Day is quite early among DOLE Philippines and its partner beneficiaries as it holds its 15th year of Light - a - Tree, Light - a - Life Program.  Since the start of this program for social responsibility,  various orphanages and home of the elders were chosen as recipients for funds raised by the DOLE Philippines. And, what makes the program extra special is the fact that every DOLE employee from the administration to the rank and file,  contributes to helping this program works and making sure that they can indeed touch someone else's holiday.

More than just a symbol,

the gifts mean sharing the blessings and appreciating good life with the  less fortunate community

Recycled Paper - Plastic -  Filled Snowmen for  a Frosty Island - Inspired Theme

So, to give hope and to celebrate life's blessings, abundance and solidarity, nine (9)  proud evergreen Norfolk pine trees  were decorated and lighted from recycled cans, plastic bottles, cups, straws, defective cds / mouse to the santa - pedaled conveyor.

the SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS plus photographer Arnel Joshua Lim
responding to the cause

The SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS could only be prouder that DOLE Philippines have made the colder  nights of  Polomolok  brighter and have made orphans and elders' Christmas Holiday  love -  and  - hope - filled. 

You too can change the Christmas Holidays of our local orphans and elders, contribute a peso or more and that can make extra difference among the underprivileged. And, by helping, we make our Christmas celebration more meaningful and special.

Join the Fun, Be in BlogFest SOCCSKSARGEN 2.0!

It was a year ago that my family had joined the first ever SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGFEST and we simply had one extravagant and blogful  day since the blogfest was swarmed with amazing blog  / journalism / niche experts.

So, my family and I won't let the 2nd Blogfest pass in spite of this late entry. Over 100 bloggers are expected to fill the venue and coming from two big men, Bariles and Orman Manansala, this Blogfest 2.0 shall be another success to look forward to.

Join us then, and make your blog more interesting, fun, and worth - visiting. I am pretty sure you will make your attendance very very worthwhile.

Why You Should Consider Running

Running has been a passion and way of life for me. While it started only as an excuse not to be lazy, its health benefits have become more pressing than any other benefits it can offer. Of course, these benefits would include networking with other running enthusiasts, staying sexy and lean and boosting self confidence. More importantly, medical experts say that running can  protect you from mental disorder, hypertension, cancer among others.

running with my kid on our 3km fun run for a local parish anniversary feast

photo source: Arnel Joshua Lim

So, what has become an off - on hobby became more compelling that I constantly persuade my family to run with  me and to have healthy diet and lifestyle for healthy and longer living.

When technology has become one of the culprits for obesity, one can only be responsible over his weight and make sure that he does what is need to stay healthy and fit, so, to avoid medical adverse implications. There has been an increasing number of obesity around the globe and the Philippines is not at all exempted from this alarming concern.  Consequently, we consider weight loss alternatives like exercise, diet foods  or   cosmetic surgery.

So, why do we have to run?  It was shown in one study that individuals who run have greater chance of increasing the good fat and decreasing the body fat,  triglyceride levels, and the risk of coronary heart disease. Further, there can be a reduction in high blood pressure and a boost of immune system. Also, running is a better means to stop the consequence of aging like osteoporosis among women.

While we have a thousand and one reasons to skip exercise, or promote healthy diet and lifestyle, I believe that living a longer healthy life has no equal justification. So, if you love your family and you are concerned with your health, pick those running shoes and run a distance or two.

Check Out the New Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar in GenSan

 The Generals shall have another pride as a new place can be a haven for those who simply want to relax and to enjoy good food with friends and family.The old Anchor Driving Range now dubbed as Gensan Sports Center begins its metamorphosis as a newly opened Fire and Ice Grill & Steak Bar just around the golf area starts serving the locals with their breakfast - to - dinner varied menu and concoctions.

But, what is more exciting is that sports enthusiasts shall have another place to sweat and to have fun since Mr. Rey Billena and family shall add more amenities for softball, gym, spa and alike. And, come NOVEMBER 11, 2011, the generals can be more proud for this high - end sports center.

So, the SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS   can only be more grateful to be invited to this new hang - out and we can't wait to enjoy the new face that this old favorite place can deliver.

photo credits: ARNEL JOSHUA LIM

Top Reasons Why You Need a De - Stressor

Experts say that stress is a crucial and critical condition that should not be ignored. Different individuals react to stress and while others use recreational activities like sports or Yoga to help them relaxed and / or recharged others simply succumb to stress that they tend to get persisting and chronic stress and its associated manifestations like headaches.

Medical doctors say that stress can be associated to health conditions including but not limited to:

• heart disease 
• depression 
• diabetes 
• hair loss 
• sexual dysfunction 
• hyperthyroidism 
• obesity 
• obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder 
• tooth and gum disease 
• ulcers 
• cancer 
• alcoholism
• drug addiction
• allergies and skin problems

 So, while stress can be an ordinary fatigue or emotional condition, we can't simply underestimate its power and impact. Thus, we can only find ways to de - stress. Others try the following:

• indoor and / or outdoor games
• movie viewing 
• book reading
• sports betting  like soccer betting
• short or long vacations
• body massage
• coffee breaks with friends or loved ones.

Regardless of the means how we remove our stress, what is more important is the fact that we do something to address it.

Running for Noble Advocacy

with my kid on our first night run for the benefit of the abused and abandoned children

We have been running our nth fun race and we can only be happier that we are helping in the advocacy supported by the organizers and at the same time, we are doing ways to keep us fit.


Since my husband was away, I had to run with my 9 - year old kid in spite of  the 3 km - distance we had to cover. Thus, the route was only traversed in a walk - run mode. My kid was quite exhausted and in spite of telling him to stop joining the race, he could not  be convinced the other way around.

photo source: General Santos City Police Office

There is another run scheduled on August 14 and I hope to run for 10km. I can only hope I can endure the race in spite of running alone since my husband can't stand the long running.

I can only be happier that I get to do what I love to do running and helping others.

De - Stress: Find Your Recreation

Experts say that stress can be attributed to many health risks including hypertension, obesity, some forms of cancer, alcoholism, pregnancy dysfunctions, depression, diabetes among others. Thus, we are highly advised to limit our stress levels and address them in anyway we can.

One of the alternatives to reduce and / or eliminate stress is to find a recreational activity that can be both fun, exciting, health - friendly and sustainable. Others go for movie watching, indoor or outdoor sports, fun time with friends or family, online games  like sports betting.

Any recreational activity can be sustained if is appropriate to your age, schedule and interest. So, if you find it pleasurable  to play online like soccer betting, then, there are good dependable websites.

Stress is a serious issue and only if we take actions to eliminate it that we remain healthy and productive.

Leisure and Business in Davao and Samal Island Resort

My school employer had required his employees to join the company benchmarking in Davao to see the implementation of  5S, a Japanese - originated strategy to good housekeeping. The 5S means (Sorting, Setting, Shining, Standardizing, and  Sustaining) that can be practically applied to individual homes and bigger institutions.

So, we managed to have a generous tour to ISO - recognized school, the Davao Doctors College, and their practices of the 5S are quite evident in the  way they keep efficiency in their school for a few years now. We hope to  exercise such order and commitment too in our own school but it shall take gradual and progressive efforts.

 Davao Doctor's Admission Officer giving us a tour

the STI - Gensan teachers and personnel at Davao Doctor's College for Benchmarking

some wacky teachers on the loose @ BlueJaz Resort, Samal Islands

So, after a half - day tour, we dined at Mang Inasal and headed our course to Samal Islands. We had our  short boat trip to the resort, had our light snacks and had our fun team games and discussed our benchmarking lessons. 

The day ended with a cool swim at their infinity pool and clear beach waters and had a  rock - hard sleep in one of the cottages. Of course, the trip would not be realized without the usual endless picture taking from all sides of the resort. 

On the second day, we took the morning shots before we went for shopping and headed home.  

 

How to Find the Best Webhosting

When you decide to start and / or create your website for personal or commercial reason, it is your basic goal to reach out to your target readers and to be visibly online for  24 / 7. Thus, it is quite important that you have a reliable and efficient  web hosting provider to make sure that you don't get robbed off just in  case your readers can't access your website.

Depending on the nature of your websites, personal or commercial, you just have to find the right web hosting service that suits your budget and needs. But, as you do this, you can consider these criteria:

• reliability
• storage
• technical support
• customer reviews
• price
• add - on features
• bandwidth

There are efficient but  cheap efficient web hosting providers that can be quite suitable if you are just starting  a business or simply creating personal blogs. You may wish to look for free webhostings but normally, there can be forced ads on your websites to pay off for free web hosting.


So, with a little search on net for the right web hosting providers, you will sure find one that can totally nail your needs and your website(s) shall sure be felt anytime at anywhere.

Thank God for Coffee Dream!

My morning starts with a steamy creamed coffee as I do my usual surfs on the net, read my emails,  update my blogs, and prepare for schools and when I simply need a break from a long day, the aroma of hot coffee is enough to stir my drained and dragged afternoon. So, I quite welcome the presence of local coffee houses but I was quite disappointed when I had to see the old Coffee Dream in KCC closed down for months. The old place was my haven for my usual coffee share, a slice of special cake, net surfing as I wait for friends and family to bond with.

The new Coffee Dream, KCC Mall of Gensan

It was indeed a delight  to know that Coffee Dream would re-open and when the SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers were invited, I could only happily accept the invitation.  And, the new interior of Coffee Dream is a total surprise from the dim and authoritarian aura the old Coffee House had.  And the  new interior is the response of the Coffee Dream founders to renovate their 33+ branches nationwide to cater to younger generation.

And, with the old taste but new look and more coffee and side dish menu, the new Coffee Dream shall once again swept off the Generals and other coffee drinkers especially that they are blended to suit Filipino taste. And, what can be more interesting is the fact that they acquire their coffee from local coffee breeders, thus, helping too our economy and fellowmen.

Coffee Dream's side dish selection 

I love coffee selections from Starbucks and Krispy Kremes but when location and price are the restraints, I simply thank God, Coffee Dream is just within my reach.

over sized delightful corned - beef burger to pair your Coffee Dream drink 

So, my order of Iced Strawberry Chill with  a taste of their sumptuous corned beef burger, blueberry muffin and carrot cake, I can only think of one word to describe my Coffee Dream experience, ORGASMIC!

Why We Should Lose Weights

There is really no fast rule when losing weights is the issue; in fact, if losing weight is easy, then, diet alternatives and gyms won't go abound. But, losing unwanted weight is not just about having a swimsuit - model body but staying healthy as unwanted fats can constrict our veins and nerves that may actually harm our heart.

Experts say that overweight may lead to the following health risks:

• diabetes
• stroke and heart disease
• cancer
• osteoarthritis
• pregnancy problems
• chronic venous insufficiency
• sleep problems
• deep vein thrombosis
• gall bladder disease
• metabolic syndrome

With all the health risks of being overweight and/or obese, they only highlight the basic but critical complication of obesity: premature death.

Thus, to keep our weights within normal range, it is smarter if we employ active lifestyle like having indoor or outdoor sports for us to shed off extra fats, eat healthy diet with minimal volume,   go through weight loss surgery if medically advised specifically, Bariatric surgery which may require special bariatrics  supplements,    and / or take weight loss safe but effective diet pills.

Whatever alternative(s) we pursue to lose weight, it is extremely important that we seek medical advice and approval before we go through any weight loss program.  Losing weight requires that we have our intrinsic motivation to be healthy and stay healthy. And, being informed about why we should lose weights can motivate us more to be health - conscious buff.

Great Wedding, Great Time with Old Students

My teaching career spans over 13 years and through these long years, I have endless number of students from my five (5) school employers. And, the overwhelming number is simply affirmed when I get to meet my old students but fail to recognize their names.

with my old students, the newlyweds

So, this is quite the case when the bride, one of my old students five years ago, asked me to join them in their wedding. I was just around the neighborhood that I happily conceded. Surprisingly, though, that when the bride and groom met me to hand in their invitation, the groom happened to be my student too 10 years ago.  The two simply met in Qatar in one religious activity and just after a year, they decided to tie the knots.

The wedding was beach - inspired and was held in one of the nicest white beaches in Glan, Sarangani Province. The newlyweds invited me to be one of their godparents and I could only complain because I don't see that my 30+ age falls for the godparents' age range.

the beach wedding 

The entire wedding ceremony was all touchy when the newlyweds gave their personal vows and messages to their respective parents. And, while the rain was lurking around the venue, the entire program went smoothly and successfully  until I gave my own message to the newlyweds.


We stayed over the night in an open cottage and went home after the rain subsided.

How to Lose Weights Fast

I am way over 30 years old and unlike my younger years, I find it harder to lose weights. Diet is not enough to sustain a lean structure. In fact, if there are unwanted events, I resort to eating and more eating. So, I manage to complement my diet with morning jogs.

But, losing weight is not about staying sexy and looking good but also protecting ourselves from any weight - related illness like diabetes or  heart attack. Further, it may affect self - esteem and social acceptance. In fact, most overweight job applicants find it harder to land a job.


So, how can we exactly lose weights? Most experts suggest the following:

Drink plenty of water  at least 8 glasses a day. Don't use juices to replace water because you only gain unwanted calories and preservatives. Further, if you drink water before and between meals, this will help you feel full restricting your food intake. Take colder water too because your body will warm up more to burn the calories. When you drink a lot, you make your metabolisms work faster making you burn more fats.

Don't skip meals but take regular - sized meals instead. Never eat very full and skip the rest of the meals because not all fats can be burned, making the extra fats all stored particularly around the belly. Thus, eat only sizable meals and snacks including  Luna Bars   and stuff these with lots of fruits and vegetables.


Exercise regularly. There is no fast ways to losing weights except of course going through surgical procedures. Nevertheless, whatever weight loss medium we use, we have to sustain all our weight loss efforts with regular exercise like jogging, walking or aerobics. Do this with friends or loved ones to make you more inspired.

Soccsksargen EXperience (SEX) Tour Rocks

Last February 25, the SOCCSKSARGEN EXperience once again took flight but this year was grander and merrier. And, since we had long weekend with strings of works to do, we just have to join few events including a concert along Al Fresco of Robinsons, zipline on Fifth Mountain of B'lakayo and Foam Party at Royal East Hotel.

We still have to wait for pictures since we missed to bring our own camera and by then, I shall be writing more detailed posts for each stop we had. In fact, my own kid was all delighted with his first zipline experience.

I am only too sorry because we miss a great number of events. But, next year shall be another string of eco - adventures.

Wanting New Jewelry

I have been keeping few cultured pearls to match the necklace and earrings given to me on my wedding day. I wish to have a bangle and a new pendant to complement the old pairs but the value of gold had accelerated again that I have to save more to have the jewelry crafting again.

Keeping and selling gold is always a good venture because the price of gold continues to rise over time. This is quite evident in the some gold guides showing gold prices that indeed affirm the worth of this pricey mineral. But,  having gold jewelry or gold bars or coins is an assured investment because their  gold price barely depreciates because gold keeps its original attributes in spite of time and use.


If resources are only allowed, we wish to find a gold spot for legitimate purchase and assured worth.  So, if you are anxious about the authenticity of your gold, you can spot gold through checking its density where real gold must be around 19.3 grams/mL. Further, fake gold reacts to magnet while real gold does not. You can also use nitric acid to test because real gold is insoluble to this acid. But, if these tests are not personally handy, you can simply bring your gold to a a legitimate jeweler for assessment.


I personally love gold with 18 karats or higher for greater commercial value and that is guaranteed to last over time. So, as soon as possible, I shall have my new bangle and pendant crowned with my cultured pearls.

Hating and Loving my Forced Eyeglasses

I have been experiencing headaches and blurry vision and my work as a teacher and programmer  makes it less easier.

So, after years of procastination,  I finally decided to go through eye examination again and although my nearsightedness can't be fully addressed, somehow, my vision improves with my new progressive eyeglasses. My right eye has 75+ vision while my left eye ha 50+  grade. So, the optometrist advised the eyeglasses for straight three months to stabilize my vision and address the headaches and wearing eyeglasses during reading and programming thereafter.

Somehow, I feel so burdened with something on my nose but I am enduring it because it makes me look on things better  and longer. I am only worried of how I look because it is a contrast to my fashionable statement. It is just a consolation that my eyeglass frame  is sturdy but may complement any outfit.

Why You Should Reduce Stress

There are various causes of stress; when we  experience something unusual or unexpected and it demands too much from us, we either face the experience or run from it. Various individuals have different ways to handle stress levels. Others can simply overcome their stressful events while others simply cannot that they experience chronic or persisting stress.


Doctors connect health risks to stress since our body react to combat unusual experience, we experience the manifestation of stress through regular headaches and colds. Stress imposes great pressures on our brain, immune systemm,  blood vessels, digestive system, sensory organs and  lungs. But, if stress is not at all addressed, we risk more our health to the following health issues:

• heart disease 
• depression 
• diabetes 
• hair loss 
• sexual dysfunction 
• hyperthyroidism 
• obesity 
• obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder 
• tooth and gum disease 
• ulcers 
• cancer 
• alcoholism
• drug addiction
• allergies and skin problems
   

To handle stress, it is imperative that we have stress – intervention strategies which include:

• regular and steady exercise
• correct healthy diet
• positive social life
• fun recreations including poker for mac
• positive outlook towards life, problems, people, work among others
• support system with and through friends and family

Stress can be remedied and if properly and promptly addressed, we can use stress to fuel us to do better. Acknowledging the cause of our  stress and finding ways to face this issue, we reduce our health risks. It is quite important that we have the right  mechanisms to handle stress and with the right information how to battle it, we don't allow chronic stress to persist.

Fun Birthday Celebration of SOX Bloggers' Founder

Last January 19, we joined the other friends of Avelmar Manansala, the very man who made Mindanao Bloggers Summit 2 possible and made SOX Bloggers alive and kicking along with other SOX original founders.

The birthday bash was orange - theme, so, we sport our orange - inspired tops and simply painted the town red with the potluck celebration along friends and loved ones of our good friend, Avel.   Best wishes big man!

How to Lose Weights Effectively

Studies reveal that overweight and obesity lead to possible grave health conditions to include heart attack, hypertension, and diabetes among others. Thus, it is quite important that weights according to height and age should be within normal range to reduce health risks. Further, overweight and obesity can adversely affect self esteem and degrade personality. In fact, job applicants who are overweight experience difficulty in earning a job.

Thus, if you wish to reduce your risk of health problems and to boost your personality, you may want to lose weights. But, losing weight is not an overnight ordeal, you have to exhibit  strong will to have and realize healthy diet plans, to exercise regularly, or to go through safe weight loss programs to name a few to achieve desired weight – loss results.

Specifically, you can lose  weight  through the following effective tips:

Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water every day. Never substitute water with juices because you only gain extra calories and unwanted preservatives. Keep yourself hydrated because you help your body flush waste and make your metabolism work faster, burning your fats more. To help you contain your eating, drink water before and between meals to help you feel full. Also, take colder water because you burn more calories to warm the water up.

Eat regular but healthy meals of sensible size. Never skip meals especially at nighttime because you only tend to eat more the following day. In a study done on animals with the same bulk of food, the ones that ate all in one meal gain more weight than the ones who have sparsely distributed the meal over time. If extra foods are not well burned, they only become fats that overwhelm your belly. You can also take light – calorie snacks in between meals. Take only lean proteins (i.e. skinless chicken), fruits and vegetables and small amount of carbohydrates.

Exercise regularly. Any weight loss program is vain if you don’t complement it with regular exercise. Bring a friend or your spouse to help you enjoy your exercise. When you have a weight – loss goal, you shall only be more inspired to shed the extra pounds and you do this through burning the extra weight away. Enroll in a weight – loss exercise program with a gym trainer to make sure that you get the most appropriate types of exercise.

Take safe supplementary weight – loss pill or supplement to help you burn fats faster. Also, they can be good stimulant to start an exercise. Consider pill reviews from legitimate websites. But, if you have health conditions, consult with your physician any intake of weight – loss pills to avoid complications.

How to Find the Right Web Hosting

The onset of Internet technology has brought tremendous changes for most companies. For one, companies are now compelled to have their websites to serve their regular and potential customers without the restraint on boundaries. This has allowed 24/7 customer contact and stakeholder communication improving more the company. Parallel with this strategy, online companies without their brick counterparts equally overwhelm the net.  But, online computing is not simply limited to commercial entities as personal websites are now running for personal content or otherwise.

Thus, when you decide to create and run a website for your company or personal use, remember that it shall serve you more if you have a web hosting like  ipage hosting   that is reliable and offers the whole nine (9) yards of features.

So, how do we make sure that we get the best web hosting services, we can assess these through the following:

• Customer Reviews -  Customers who have prior experience with their web host providers shall mostly give you honest feedback of how their  web hosting perform. Lucky for us, there are legitimate websites that actually rank web hosting services according to their overall performance. 
• Price - Normally, a free web host may be quite attractive but note that hosting is expensive, so, free services may require forced ads on your site. So, if this is ok, then, free hosting can be great otherwise go for a web host package that is within your budget with satisfactory services and features;
• Technical Support - check if a web hosting provider can offer  24/7 support because if your website is down during the weekend or in the evening, are you willing to wait. 
• Bandwidth - is the quantity of files that we can transfer when our readers load our website. So, a dragging website is simply bound to be closed by potential readers.
•  Reliability - Can your website run in any browser and is glitch - free 95%? Then, your web hosting is all ok.
• Other Features - Features like email, http, FTP, CPanel, MySQL among others can be closed assessed. So, depending on your site's requirements, check if your web host providers can meet what you need. 

How to Make Your Travel Fun and Safe

Since we have our boutique, I have been traveling at least once a  month. And, usually I travel with family  but if they are not available, I just travel alone.

So, to make the travel less boring, you can  do the following:

• bring a good novel to read;
• charge to the max an entertainment gadget like PSP or gameboy;
•  listen to classic and cool collection of music from your portable player;
• work on your stacks of papers if you have some;
• have a good chat with your co - passenger or travel companions;
• try new delicacies;
• visit hot tourist spots;
• have a good fun.  

Why Applicants Fail to Get the Right Job

Philippines  is one of the largest sources of overseas workers; while we take pride in the number of dollars sent from their remittances, a number of Filipino families  take a sad flight to have their families work abroad. With very promising compensation and migration opportunities, OFWs take the risk and so are the millions of graduates.

However, earning a diploma  is not at all a guarantee to earning the best  job. In fact, call center agencies only hire 10% from the 100 applicants simply because they lack or don’t have the right skills to get the job.

We can partly blame our education systems because their curricula don’t strictly enforce quality education and that their skills don’t match the industry’s needs.

Government agencies who manage HEI’s must  assess closely how colleges and universities  manage their academic programs and how their graduates fare in employment. The economic recession only aggravates unemployment rates.

It is no question that a good number of students would rather drop from school and work. But, can diploma really earn a job? Indeed, it can, but,  students who don’t have access to good schools make this a challenge. Thus, online colleges become more handy and practical. Programs cover  finance, secondary education, management and others. However, make sure that they these online colleges are legitimate and accredited by regional and/or state accrediting entities and member of non - traditional education communities.

Gone are the days when learning is within four walls of a classroom, and with this boundless possibility for online education, earning the right skills and legitimate degree becomes a hard – core reality and armor to getting the right job.

With academic skills along with other soft skills, applicants can have better edge compared to their counterparts.

Happy 2011 Everyone!

It is 2nd day after January and while most of us still have hangover from all the parties, reunions and dining, we seem to have enjoyed the long vacation and come January 3, we are all back to work and school.

I shall resume with my teaching this Monday and I just have to finish all my grades and papers since they are required for submission too. However, I just loved the two – week vacation because I happened to travel for few days to different cities, to give gifts to kids, to do missionary works to remote and underprivileged communities, to donate to orphanage, to bond with my core and extended families in spite of the humble celebration. My year – end celebration was a total blast!

I only wish that everyone else had also as equal fun! HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL!