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The first meeting of ours dates back just a couple of days… Thursday, January 12, 2012 to be exact. It took us over 2-3 failed plans to finally push one of our plans through and see each other for the first time.

Meeting Maria Klara would have been an awesome experience, and no doubt it truly was, but I still had to get the monkey of my shoulder (my talk in Pagadian) which somehow entangled me and limited how much fun I should have then. Klara suggested we’d eat at one of her favorite places, Tita Fannie’s which very much resembles Davao’s very own Penongs.

I was so relieved to have finally settled down on a chair that wasn’t shaking me all the time. Finally, away from all the bus rides which have really taken toll on me. I never thought it would take me 9 hours just to get to Cagayan de Oro(!) as you might have figured out narin, the ride to Iligan from CDO was pretty much kiddie play compared to the 9 hours of my earlier ride; the CDO to Iligan route was about 2 hours, no more no less.

Back to the semi-dinner-date-eb or whatever you want to call it with Maria Klara though!

So here we are, sitting at one of Tita Fannie’s rocking tables waiting for our food. I had pretty much no idea what I should order so I ordered whatever she decided to order. I figured she knows best because it seemed to be one of her favorite dining places.

My pitiful Kodak Camera, dating back to 2008 wasn’t cooperating well that afternoon. The battery was as good as empty leaving me with little options to capture the moment somehow. Well I at least managed to take a picture of the food and that was about it. One more notable thing though was the waiting number we’ve been assigned to, which was the number 18.

Ang gulo lang ng article ko.  :p

After our sumptuous meal, we headed back to the nearby mall, Gaisano. One, for me to buy some food that I’d eat on my way to Pagadian, two to buy some batteries for my camera and third, to pick up my belongings that I left at the deposit counter.

I think it was still a little bit awkward-ish. I mean, we didn’t talk a lot that afternoon. I was still a bit shy, and I had difficulties hiding it aside from acting quiet. In truth though, I wanted to talk on and on but didn’t knew how to connect.

Maria Klara and I were roaming through the streets of Iligan after we did the 3 tasks at Gaisano. I have accompanied her to her friends house to pick up her bag which she had left there. We walked on again, roaming through the streets looking for a specific jeepney route which would part us when it reached the South Bus Terminal.

It started to rain a bit, and I noticed it just a little late. I suggested she’d cover her head with my polo shirt, but she pretty much confirmed what I was worried about it saying, kanina pa ako nabasa sa ulan, okay lang uy… Aside from the given that she was already pretty much soaked in the rain even prior our meetup, I had this hunch that she was a bit shy… :p

And there you go. Nothing much happened nor have been talked about as we boarded our jeepney bound for the terminal where she’d drop me off and her home.

Feeling ko talaga ay sobrang bitin ang aming pagkikita. I’ve waited so long for this day to come and all we did was eat together and roam around for a while, pegging in at just about 3 hours spent which the presence of one another. That’s when I thought we should meet again before I finally head back to Davao City…. but, I guess that’s something worthy of another post.

Something else to look forward to being published here and on the Pinoy Teens Media Blog are the following:

• PSITS IX Conference
• Finally meeting Mary Claire part 2

Stay in touch and keep reading!

New Year Celebration at Home

This new year belongs to one of the most special ones for me. For one, I’m thankful that both of my parents are still alive and kicking. I’ve always had the uncomfortable feeling that one of them may pass in the next twelve months… and that’s going to be even more intense this year. Lalo na’t na-stroke na si Papa last June 2011.

Even though this family is relatively small compared to other families, and even though we don’t really function as one most of the time because of conflicts, quarrels and misunderstanding; we still stand strong as one.

I’m happy because I haven’t seen any of the two smile as genuinely as they did last evening. I’m growing older, and so are they…

Another happy sight in few of my pictures is my girlfriend who joined us for this years Christmas. While she surely didn’t get along well with my mother throughout 2011… They’ve definitely looked good cooking and preparing our food yesterday!

This is the first time that a girlfriend of mine joined the three of us for Christmas, and hopefully it won’t be the last.

Our new year was nothing special. We had a few people over and a few workers as well to celebrate with us. All we did as the clock neared 12MN was watching Arsenal vs QPR and Chelsea vs Aston Villa on Star Sports and ESPN. We’re really very much into soccer and this new years eve shows no less than that. Manchester United lost at home to the Blackburn Rovers, but my evening got spoiled when Chelsea was humbled down by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge as well. (soccer-geek-moments)

 A New House

My parents have built a new house right behind our main house. Prolly planning to have that one for rent soon once its finished. I also overheard that sooner or later, it’s gonna be the house where I’ll move in to!

It took them over a year to get going with the New House Project. Mostly because of financial constraints or crappy workers. But it’s on its final going as the work slowly gets completed.

–

I’ll keep it as short as this for now and get back with you soon. Keep blogging!

And.. before I forget… once again, a Happy New Year to all of us! May you guys be blessed and have a successful 2012!

2012 is going to be the biggest year yet for Pinoy Teens and my colleagues. It’s the year in which we hope to achieve beyond our expectations, and beyond anything that Pinoy Teens has ever reached before. Something inside me believes that 2012 is going to be a great year for me and for my blogging life. I hope it beholds truth.

Of course, there are other things away from the blogging world that will play a huge part in my 2012; things that are perhaps going to change the course of my life forever. Now, before this year ends, I’ve promised myself to delete all games that I have on my Mac and diligently followed my goodwill.

I’m pretty much left empty handed, with no means of entertainment aside from movies taken from YIFI. No games to entertain me, no FIFA, no Sims… but the whole blogging world to rediscover out there.

Restarting with Pinoy Teens New Media

Ambitious me has come up with a great plan again. A plan that I hope that I can fulfill. I want people around me to start their own blogs, I want them to realize how powerful of a tool blogging can be to share information, educate other people and entertain one another. While some see blogging as a dying art of independent journalism, I see it growing ever so strong in the recent years. It’s not going away anytime soon; so why not hop on to the blogging bandwagon?

Blogging seemed so fun back then…

I was in no need of games to keep my mood up high, that’s because blogging was a lot of fun for me back then. I loved playing with words, coming up with a decent post and have people appreciate (or sometimes, criticize) it. I’m far from that attitude today. I’m scared whenever I head into any of my various blogs’ WordPress dashboard… scared to fail, to displease my audience and to get labeled by people out there. You could say that I’m pretty much the opposite of who and what I used to be 2-3 years ago when I started.

It’s going to be a long and dwindling road, no doubt about that… but what can I do? What can anyone do about it? You just have to push yourself to write and write and write and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. It’ll look more like a chore and dirty work at the beginning, but I know sooner or later I find myself again.

Blogging is a way of life.

Blogging isn’t just a verb applied to people who create and write blogs, blogging becomes part of your way of life. That’s where it has become a hit and miss for me. Sometimes I feel like I’m a blogger, sometimes I uncertain about it.

I ain’t young and promising no more…

I am 20 years old now. I’m not the 16 year young boy who seemed so promising and full of potential. I’ve missed my chance to breakthrough in my earlier years but it doesn’t mean that I can’t make it at all.

Come, journey with me as I’m trying to find my place in this vast growing blogosphere.

What are you struggling about in your daily life as a blogger?

After over 17,000 profile views, 6,000 plurks, 18,000 responses, 1,500 friends and 1,600 fans… I’m pretty much back where I have started… at Plurk.

It was there where I met people with whom I’m still connected to to-date. It was there where I used to extend the reach of my blog. It was there, where I gained motivation and inspiration for all my work. And yes, it was there, where I learned to love and enjoy the feeling of being loved. It was there too, where I acted like a jerk and a complete a**hole.

Returning Home.

Plurk has always been a happy community for me to turn to, a place to get away from all the serious stuff. Plurk always rescued me from high levels of stress and depression and has always been a resource of funny quotes and cool people. That hasn’t changed a bit.

I’m happy that I decided to become more active on Plurk again. I’ve made new connections and friendship as early as my first 10 hours back on Plurk. It feels so strange yet so familiar roaming around the microblogging tool, nonetheless, I know that I am home.

Learned to love and be loved.

The biggest lesson that Plurk taught me was about love. You could throw the worst criticism at me and I would still accept it for what I’ve done to some people on Plurk. I feel terrible remembering those romantic relationship I had with a few Plurkers throughout my 1342 days on the site. Yet those have also been some of the most wonderful days I’ve had in my entire life. No place else have I felt being so loved and needed by someone but on Plurk. It was a long distance relationship, but I never felt being too far away from that person. But sabi ko nga, tanga tanga ko kasi at gago, it took a tragic end.

If you really love someone. Go for it. Take the chance while you have it!

Seeing Familiar Faces…

Some people have changed, some people are still the same. Others moved on to other social networks while some remain pretty active on Plurk. It’s a joy to see familiar names and faces on Plurk!

I wrote couple of times about this Social Network on other blogs, and I was pretty much spot on then, Plurk is gonna evolve into something big and it truly has. It may not seem as big as other people give it credit, but I challenge you to immerse yourself with the huge, vast and hyperactive communities that Plurk has to offer.

I am home at last; and I am going to build myself up from here.

Come and be my friend on Plurk now.

So, before I start procrastinating again and skipping this post altogether for another year or two… Let me introduce to you, my five best Facebook Buds for the year 2011! (In any order)

• Jazzy Enelya – She’s my online Mom. One of many Mom’s that I have online! (lol) Jazzy is the one person that I can really trust and share my happy and fucked-up moments with. We share a lot in common, playing online games, creating content, et al. She’s certainly one of those few quality friends I’ve got out of Facebook.
• Aira Lheiz Aquino – Another favorite of mine is our very own Aira, the graphics designer for everything Pinoy Teens. Header, logos and banners, she’s the first person that comes to mind when I need any of these. I’m happy that she’s part of our small Pinoy Teens Family, even though we’re not active, at least, we’re tight. I’m happy for her that she’s finally made the transition from High School to College life. It always makes me happy when I can chime in a few words to help inspire a person… – just like Aira’s perseverance inspired me.
• Karizza Oriel – The Oreo girl. Este, the other Pinoy Teens girl that I’ve met this year. We’ve been friends on Facebook for a long time, but it’s just recently that we became “friends”. Another fella that I can talk to about stuff that troubles me at any given time! Kaso, nakakagutom lang talaga ‘tong family name nito. Oreo talaga naiisip ko.
• Domdom Amarado – The third Pinoy Teens member on the list! Lol. He’s been a good friend to me this year, and has listened to most of my tragic stories… Emotero ako eh.. pero kung alam niyo lang…. Trivia: Domdom is one of the very few males that I chitchat every now and then on Facebook.
• Don Chen – I’ve known this one for a long, long time already, but I doubt we’ve ever talked in person.. so, heto, kasali ka sa listahan ko! He’s become one heck of a blogger and SEO personell. Far advanced that I am at the moment, and he’s come a long way since starting out in the blogging world. It makes me feel happy somehow, that I’ve become part of his success by giving advices and so.

And this concludes my high five Facebook Friends of 2011

Again, thank you to all of you ,

My parents, particularly my mother disliked the idea of me traveling out of town. She’s scared because of all the hype we see on television that war is going on in Mindanao. Aside from that, my father (who had a stroke attack back in June) also dislikes the idea to travel out of town at the moment. We’re also very low on money. Even the Pinoy Teens’ funds is low on money. It’d be a terrible idea if I’d borrow some when I still have a  few payments due by the end of this month, right?

One of my sponsors for the month has backed out because they’ve got in trouble financially, too; and that really nailed MBS5 for me.

I was so excited, so eager to make it, but I was left with the ultimate decision by my parents… It’s going to be either BlogFest 2011 to which I travel with Princess Salan or the Mindanao Bloggers Summit.

Believe me, it was a tough choice to make, but reassessing our present situation and financial status of my parents [they are building a house], I just had to back out. We all have to make sacrifices sometimes!

I don’t know why I bothered writing this… but thanks to those who bothered to read it. I’m sorry for whoever expected me there. </3 Kitakits nalang sa BlogFest because that’s the blogging event of the year that I’m not gonna pass out on!

ps: I’m still looking forward to a press release of the event so I can still write about it

Now to the important part, to the DavaoPost.com part…

For a moment, DavaoPost.com was just an idea, an idea which came into fruition the moment we browsed through Davao Base and read some random article on Huffington Post. I told myself that “hey, we can do this too. We can make a blog about Davao City”, and the way she (Princess) looked at me said it all, we shared a common thought.

DavaoPost.com wasn’t DavaoPost.com just yet that moment…

We searched a while for a suitable domain name. We wanted something neat and catchy. But then realized that we can’t really end up with something neat and catchy all together and went for the neat-thing.

At some point I was baffled by the idea of setting Davao after another word. Like for example Urban Davao that our fellow folks came up with.. but I wanted to have Davao City take center stage at the very beginning of the domain I was about to register.

I even thought of reviving an old domain name that I gave to my ex-girlfriend which included the words “Metro” and “Davao”… but I still wasn’t content with that. I didn’t want to sound bias or high-class in the naming of the domain. (Metro would be fine for the “Metropolitan” side of Davao, but there’s more rural land out there)

After some more awkward moments of pairing various words with Davao into the Name Cheap domain search…

Just like that we decided to end up combining Davao Base and Huffington Post.

What it means to me…

It means a lot to me. It’s the first time that I head out and away of Pinoy Teens to create a new blog. It is also the first time that I’m doing this together with my girlfriend. So let’s see how it goes in the coming weeks and months

I thought that I could find my way into blogging again, just like that… but I was wrong. I knew then that I was in need of an inspiration, of a person who would journey with me finding my blogging master within. My girlfriend isn’t helping at all. Oh yes, despite the very upset article that I wrote, we’re actually pretty much going strong, except for this particular area… being productive and efficient.

It pains me so much knowing that she’s always ready for a game of Tetris and always finds spare time to do other useless stuff (that don’t generate income). While at the other hand, she’s very actively participating in spending the money that I (alone) make from my blogs. It’s not that I don’t want to be generous to her, of course I am… but it slowly starts to get on my nerves that she isn’t doing anything productive to help me out…

Nothing seems to be going right at the moment… nothing. Ang nasa itaas na ang bahala kung ano ang susunod na mangyayari…

Days like these… suck.

Janine ‎‎Cerdeña – She is one of those few facebook friends that I’ve come to appreciate without even knowing where and how it all started. It just happens that she pops up every now and then on my status messages, notes and topics that I’m discussing on my profile. Getting notified that she’s provided some input on any status or wall post that I’ve put up on Facebook always excites me, because it’s always certain that she’ll come up with something that makes sense. Aside from being a good Facebook buddy, she’s also one heck of a blogger coming through. We’re like minded in one way or another!

Doreen Labrador – Doreen is one of those precious gems in my Facebook world. I’ve got to know Doreen through the Pinoy  Big Brother fan page that I’ve put up during last Summer Vacation. And since then, there was no stopping her in becoming one of the most interesting, and in one way or another popular faces online from my point of view. She’s also one of the few Windows users that I have successfully converted to the Mac, and I’m sure that she doesn’t regret it one bit owning one of those MBP 15″ Core i 5 machines. Some of her schoolmates have approached her if she was the Doreen that was part of my summer administration team, and yes she was. Look how popular this girl gets by the day.

Mjhae Bateo – Another gem that I’ve discovered on Facebook goes by the name Mjhae. At first, I must admit, I expected her to be no more than the typical jejemon next door. But there’s much more to the typing about this girl. It’s just that she got used to type in an unfamiliar manner, but that doesn’t mean that what she’s coming up with in chat discussions are of the same level than those typical jejemon. She had this one video on Facebook and Youtube that has made her one of the most interesting and hyped about faces on my former PBB page with over 60,000 followers. As a side note, she recently contested in Ms Philippines Saudi Arabia, and of course, she nailed it.

Ami Kanno – or should I say Mumu (?) is one of my Facebook buddies that I’ve known for some time now. It wasn’t really my thing to show my face on webcam or look at someone else on webcam because something green would popup on most peoples’ minds, but no, she’s far off from that first impression which kinda scared me back then. She’s one friendly girl from Japan who proved me wrong in many ways. About chatting, about using the webcam and stuff like that. Makulit ito. And she really likes seeing my little Pikachu stuff toy named Pii. And there are odd moments that I feel like she’d rather want to chat with the little yellow guy instead of me, but hey, stuff toys can’t do that. :p

[Update] Iris Mae Urgel – A facebook buddy that I’ve met on.. well..Election Day (not really the best day for an EB?). She’s one of those few people that truly amaze me. It was the first time that we got together but I felt that she was comfortable talking with me, well, all we did was had a drink and played PvZ, add to it a little visit to the Mall and playing at Sonic Boom. She always comes up with a nice status update and usually pops up with those BIG CAPS statuses that always catch my attention (lol), she’s my schoolmate, too, but we barely meet at school, and since our first eb, we didn’t really managed to catch up. But nevertheless, I know she’s a good friend.

Disclaimer: People on this list are those who I have barely met in real life, people that I’ve come to know and get a long with through Facebook.

There are way more people on my mind now that I could write about, but time just won’t allow me to push on. It doesn’t mean that when you’re not on this list, that you’re not making sense to me or that I don’t appreciate you. It’s just that I can’t write about each and everyone of you. I could cover my administrators on the Anti-Illuminati Page, my blogger buddies from Davao, my admins on the other facebook pages that I have control over, but that would take up a lot of time and thinking about the words that would suit them most. So I’ll leave you with this little list for the mean time.