Daily Contentions

Yummy fried Dilils (Anchovies)!  One simple dish that's one of my favorites.  But before you salivate with me, take a closer look at the picture please and read on to know the full story.

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Powerade Runner

For the Goldilocks 45th Anniversary Run at Bonifacio Global City, Powerade sponsored my run! I was officially 1 POWERADE RUNNER for that event.  I love having my runs sponsored! If you need somebody to run for you, contact me! (^o^)/

Probinsyano moment kicked in when we had to put on a chip on our shoes to record our time.  This is how the chip tag should look on your shoes.  

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Sulic and Hauser - The 2Cellos

With names like Sulic and Hauser they're almost guaranteed a spot in the music industry!  Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, two Croatians who make up the Cello duet group called 2CELLO.  Saw these guys first at The Ellen Degeneres Show.  As their official website puts it, their "passionate, duelling cellos version" of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal", made it big in YouTube, which in turn did not fail to catch the TV host's attention.

Here's another round of great music for all of us! Just get pass the bad bar-fight acting and enjoy the music! (All and more after the jump)

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Milestone: First All-Video AVP

For the first time, I included only videos I took in the Audio-Visual Presentation (AVP) and made a conscious effort not to include pictures of the event.  Keeping my hands steady without a tripod was a challenge! But definitely, using a tripod would have gotten in the way as well as we didn't really do any rehearsals and the videos were shot without any direction.  Investing in a better video camera or better yet, asking somebody to bring a light source to illuminate the event would have been helpful.  I'm very happy with the outcome though considering that I only used my Lumix LX5 to do all these!  And my editing software, Sony Vegas Movie Studio - Platinum edition, can definitely do wonders!  Check the video after the jump. (^o^)/

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Becoming a NINJA!

Now who wouldn't want to become a Ninja!  Growing up as a kid, I  loved to watch Martial Arts movies!  And among all characters, the ninja was the most intriguing for me.  Not only are Ninjas good at martial arts, but  they are also able to penetrate any fortress unnoticed, to throw ninja stars accurately, and best of all, to disappear in a gas bomb for an instant escape!  It's taking awesomeness to the next level.   

On my plane ride back to Davao though, I came across a new meaning for the word.  It was while reading Tim Tayag's article in Cebu Pacific's in-flight magazine, SMILE (May 2011), that I came across this new meaning and slowly realized that I may be becoming a NINJA! (cool ei? well, not so fast ...)

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Spotted! Your Majesty, the Queen!

We were so lucky to have the Queen grace us with her presence on our summer outing trip to Villa Amparo Resorts in the Island Garden City of Samal. Before I introduce her to everyone let me just segue a bit on how a close friend described this beautiful resort.

Villa Amparo Resort in the morning - Samal Island

Summer is all about the sun, the sea and great times outdoors! Again, we're so lucky to live in a city where a wide range of options are readily available. How can we forget the torture we endured last year where we had to line up for 10 hours for the barge going to Camiguin Island? Hah! This time, all we needed was a 10 minute barge ride to Samal and a 20 minute ride to reach our new discovery. 

With a recommendation from a good friend, we visited Villa Amparo Garden Resort. It's one of the many resorts being constructed in the Island. The development is still ongoing, but you can see that they will soon become one of the must visit resorts in Samal. 

There were a few disappointments but I am sure these can be well managed when they go full blast. Nevertheless, we all had a great time! Pristine beach. Superb food. Reasonably priced amenities. Clean and cold rooms. Best of all: They have Video-Singko! 

-Bunny Sy 

Villa Amparo Resort at night - Samal Island

The resort is pretty small. There are not much open spaces to roam about but if you can get the place all to yourselves, it's a very nice place to chill out and relax. I also liked the fact that they preserved a portion of the corals found at the boundary so one can still go snorkeling without having to go way out into the open sea. I hope they can truly preserve this as the corals are getting a lot of damage already from being easily stepped on during low tide.

With such a scenic view, it's no wonder the Queen, herself, would visit such a place. She had a suitor stalking her though - he even tried to steal a kiss! Not just once but thrice! Check out the pictures after the jump.

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Alor's A Home Kitchen Restaurant

If you grew up in Davao then you've probably heard of Yummy Chicken and Pasta Haus.  They have been serving Dabawenyos since 1988.  Now the same owners have finally decided to open up an upscale dining place just beside Yummy (Torres branch).  This new restaurant is called Alor's A Home Kitchen.  If you loved the chicken and lasagna at YUMMY, you'll for surely love the dishes in Alor's as well.

As I personally know the restaurant owners, so as not to be biased, I won't be writing this with my usual food scouting style.  Instead I would just give you a list of recommendations on what dishes to try.  These are dishes that I've personally tasted myself.

Check out also the restaurant's menu at the end of the post!

While waiting for your order, the restaurant serves toasted bread with their own signature Cheese Pimiento.  You might be tempted to forgo this treat, but please don't.  It's worth a try.  The kids especially will love this.    

Golden Rolls (115 pesos) - Alor's A Home Kitchen

For appetizers, get the Golden Rolls!  It's a well seasoned dish with a well-balanced sauce - no overpowering taste like that of vinegar.

ABBIE's Roca Salad (195 pesos) - Alor's A Home Kitchen

For salads, try ABBIE's Roca Salad which is a mixture of Romaine lettuce, Grapes, Candied Walnuts, and White Cheese in Greek Vinaigrette.  I just love candied nuts on my salads.  

Forty-Clove Chicken (235 pesos) - Alor's A Home Kitchen 

I have three choices for main course: Forty-Clove Chicken, Pork Chop Steak, and Chicken Cordon Bleu! The Forty-Clove Chicken is pan-roasted chicken smothered with a lot of roasted garlic!  If you like the smell and flavor of roasted garlic, you will love this dish.  

Pork Chop Steak (285 pesos) - Alor's A home Kitchen

The Pork Chop Steak is a pan-grilled pork chop served with gravy sauce!  The gravy goes so well with the pork chop that you just can't stop eating it.  

Chicken Cordon Bleu (245 pesos) - Alor's A home Kitchen

If you're a kid at heart or you simply want something very comforting, aside from the Pork Chop Steak of course, you can get this Chicken Cordon Bleu!  Breaded chicken with ham and cheese served over a plate of spaghetti! Nothing is more comforting than that combination!

Strawberry Frozen Brazo - Alor's A Home Kitchen

For dessert, you'll love the different Frozen Brazo cakes.  I tried the Strawberry flavor and it reminded me of a childhood favorite, the Banana Split.  All that were missing were the bananas!  The strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavors went very well together.  

Alor's A Home Kitchen

Alor's A Home Kitchen

F. Torres St., Davao City (beside Yummy, infront of Assumption Church)

+63-82-222-5577

Click on the image to see a larger view.

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Project 365: Photography by Kenneth Diaz

Do you know what this is? It took me quite a while to figure it out!

Fellow blogger and friend, Kenneth Diaz, launched Project 365 last year (2010) with the objective of taking at least one picture a day.  On his final entry, he wrote some insights he learned after taking more than 365 pictures in one year!  Great insights that I personally uphold as well, that's why I'm sharing them here with you.

• There are lots of good pictures out there waiting to be taken and it can be a simple matter of opening one's eyes.
• Corollary to no. 1, always bring your camera with you, even on the most mundane occasions.  You never know what'll come falling from the sky after taking that left turn on the street.
• Creativity requires ***a lot of work***.  It can be exhausting, but ultimately, rewarding.
• Still, it helps to be lucky ... most especially in photography ...
• I'm starting to appreciate this thoroughly postmodern notion: Nothing is original.
• Very Important: Things aren't always how they appear to be.
• Empathy is useful.  But so is a sense of humor.
• Technical perfection is not the end all and be all of the photograph.  It is the story.
• Sunset photos are cliches, but one can't help taking a picture of it every time you see one.
• No matter how many times it's been said, or how corny it sounds, it still rings true: the world is beautiful.

Kenneth Diaz - Chronicles of a Disturbed Mind Project 365

All the pictures in this page are from his collection!  I took the 3 best pictures that I liked.  If you wanna see more visit his site at Chronicles of a Disturbed Mind.

Kenneth Diaz. Chronicles of a Disturbed Mind - Project 365

This was quite a feat my friend! Congratulations! Continue telling beautiful stories and taking beautiful pictures.

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