Iblog Summit 3: Third Philippine Blogging Summit

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iblog summitNow that the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards are over, let’s not forget that there is another bloggers’ event called iBlog3: the 3rd Philippine Blogging Summit . It will be held at the School of Economics Auditorium, in UP Diliman, Quezon City this April 13 and 14, 2007. This event is organized by the University of the Philippines – Internet Society Program. Register Here. It’s FREE!

Don’t miss it, okay? Lauren and I are one of the 25 speakers in this event where we will talk on a wide range of topic ranging from the Blogging for Newbies , Professional blogging to Increasing blog popularity and whole lot more. It’s also another venue to meet up , right?

The program :

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Vampires live in my Home

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vampireI am not talking of the blood-sucking monstrous vampires or human living vampires that exhibit vampiric characteristics or the need, compulsion, or involuntary tendency to “feed” upon some substance or some kind of energy produced by other living things, primarily other people. I’m talking about one facet of vampires which is the repulsion to strong light. On the first morning in our new home, L came running to my room complaining that her room was too bright. I went to her room and noted a stream of sunlight on her writing table. What a bright and sunny day, just perfect mood to start the day.

But noo…L wanted to sleep in.

“Vampire?” (knowing L’s fascination for vampires during her teen years)

“No, I just hate the light. I want to sleep in.” L groaned.

“That’s not too bad. The sunlight is not hitting your bed” I teased. On the floor , our two cats squirmed for a spot under the dark corners of L’s bed. For about a week, I heard the same complaint all day long. M could not stand the afternoon sun hitting on her bedroom. She had massive migraines during the first week.

It got me thinking that so our old home seemed encased in a tomb. . The design of our old home is narrow where certain parts of the rooms barely received the sunlight. The walls that partitioned sections of the home prevented the flow of sunlight. I noticed I always turned on the fluorescent lights in the family den and the dining room. The only room that received sunlight was the living room during the mornings and the kitchen in the late afternoons. The rest of the rooms screamed of darkness and gloom. Is it one reason I felt so despondent in that house? With blinds to shield any meager source of sunlight, their rooms were a virtual nightscape. It’s no wonder that L oversleeps and wakes up at 1:00 PM when she has no school. One time, I even slept in L’s room and woke up at 10:00 AM to my utter disbelief.

I love the light. Maybe my vision is a bit impaired which makes me yearn for better lighting system. Our new home is situated in a corner lot with ample and huge windows which means more sunlight streaming in all directions.

I love it.

The chorus of the family members “WE NEED CURTAINS NOW”

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Family Blog Award and The Philippine Blog Awards Night

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meandmyawards.jpgMy feet are killing me! For 2 hours, I walked the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium lobby to cajole guests to eat cocktails and be merry. Well, what a day! I got a surprise! I received a special award from Globe Broadband : the Family Blog Award which is meant to honor family-oriented blogging. It’s indeed an honor to receive the Family Blog Award as it helps promote my blog’s advocacy. Of course, I never imagined myself to be a recipient of any award for tonight’s [tag]Philippine Blog Awards[/tag] since I chaired the Venue and Food Committee. I learned that Globe Broadband/Innove guys thought of this idea and selected their winners based on their own criteria. What an innovative way to promote brand name recall and recognition to a very special niche. It’s a good thing that my Globelines Broadband Internet is working well so far or else I would not have been happy to receive this award.

Other awards given out by Globe Broadband were

1. Blog Achievement Award” The Mommy Journals
2. Pinoy Ako Blog Award: ederic@cyberspace
3. Blogirl Award: Well Whatever
4. Deliblog Award: Dessert Comes First

The best thing about receiving the Family Blog award is that my whole family attended the Awards Night with me. They enjoyed the food (thanks Josiah’s Catering), the bloggers and just being there with me. All my family members maintain a blog except that Butch and M chose to keep a private url. So it was quite an exciting adventure for them to see/meet the person behind the blog that they have been reading for ages.

meandbutch.jpg
(Photo courtesy of Anton)

The night flew so fast…In just one hour and half, winners were announced.

The winners of the 16 categories are:
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You’re so Slim, Mom!

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health is wealthIt was 10:00 PM and quite dark at the Xavier Hall grounds in the Ateneo Campus. Lauren left the Blue Rose festivities earlier than the rest of her friends. I directed her to meet me at the Flagpole. She glanced over me from a distance and ignored me, or so I thought.

I yelled “Laauureeennnn”

She looked surprised to see me wave at her.

“Oh mom I didn’t recognize you. You ‘re so slim”

oohhh…Music to my ears

“It’s just my tight fitting shirt!” I hugged Lauren with glee.

I don’t think I lost much weight the past weeks. It’s just that some clothes I own make me look slimmer. Losing the last 10 pounds is not an easy goal. My daily routine consists of 2 hours at the gym leaving me with approximately 6 hours of work. I often tell myself “what good will my income be if I am unhealthy?” as I huff and puff on the treadmill.

“Health is wealth” is my mantra as I continue to exercise.

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Neat Freak or Neatness Lover

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The Neat Freak“Mom, I really like it that you’re anal”, M, my psychology major daughter told me the other night.

The word “anal” sounds deregatory but I’m pretty used to my family teasing me with my neat freak attitude. Haha, I just laughed.

“And that’s a compliment!” they chirped..

I was touched.

I never thought I’d hear the day my daughters and husband would appreciate the effort I put into my household.

So I asked my 2 daughters “Why do you now appreciate my being anal?”

The two girls then narrated to me that their dormmates have even messier rooms than their own. Often the thoughts running through their minds are “If only mom can see this mess”. The girls can’t stand disorder in their own rooms but still I raise my eyebrows whenever I pass by their rooms. I just give a one-liner like “You have a lovely bed that cost me $___. Too bad it’s messy” or “studies are not an excuse for being sloppy” or “you have so many drawers . Use them to organize your things”

Whenever I drop by the dorm, I never step into their rooms simply because I want to avoid lecturing them on neatness. One time, I had no choice but drop some important items inside their rooms. Know what I did? I closed my eyes , opened the door and dropped the bag on side of the door.

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Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles, Smart Bro and PLDT DSL

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(Read my Review of Globe Broadband, PLDT Mydsl, Smart Bro and Smart 3g)

writing deskThe house is clean and sanitized, the air smells of paint, the pocket garden looks refreshing as I am sitting here beside my antique writing table, trying to catch up with my backlog in work . Thanks to the [tag]Philippines Cable Internet Providers[/tag], installation was fast . I always imagined that installation would take months. I remember moving in to Pasig in 1980 and I got my landline in 1984. But take a look at this. If you move to a new home (well at least in Pasig City where I am moving), you can have an internet connection the following day after payment. This is my experience.

1. Smart Bro– I paid 999 pesos for a 384 kpbs connection on March 2. An hour later, they called me to schedule the installation the following day. That’s pretty quick, huh? Smart Bro has this ongoing promotion where you get free installation for new applications if you apply within the month of March. It didn’t make sense to continue with my existing contract because I would have to pay 1600 pesos for the transfer. Might as well get locked in for a one year period. Besides, my cousins in my new neighborhood swear that Smart Bro connection is pretty reliable.

2. Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles – I called Globelines to send me an application form to my house. Since I wasn’t there yet, she dropped it with the caretaker. After I signed the form , the agent came back and processed my application form. A week later, I got my phone line and my 1 MBPS internet connection which came with a prolink modem and wi-fi bundle. So here I am enjoying a 1 MBPS wifi connection goodness. This budget bundle costs only 1450 pesos a month. I don’t know how long the free landline use lasts.

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2007 Philippine Blog Awards

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philblogawards.gifThe 2007 Philippine Blog Awards nominations is still open. Nominate your favorite blogs!.

The proponents of this project namely Abe, Jayvee and Gail assigned me the wonderful task (again!) as Committee Head for Venue and Food . I had been stressing out over the venue for the past 3 days because of Jayvee’s entry

Our most urgent requirement is a venue. Not that there are no venues – but we really want to get that ““sweet spot” between elegance, space and location. We’d love to hear suggestions from the community on where we can hold the venue. We are currently thinking of the mini theatres in Ayala Greenbelt 3 or Shangri-La Mall. Other known venues would be The Events Place and Teatrino at the Greenhills Promenade.

Without a venue, it is difficult for us to plan the logistics, the budget and the overall project planning. Our first choice was the Mall of Asia Music Lounge but the desired dates were unavailable. Besides the rental was in the 6 figures during weekends. Greenbelt was fully booked and so was Music Museum. With a limited budget given to me, I bit the bullet and went for this really swanky theater only because the desired date was available. Placing trust in the thought that “this is a sign that this place is for us”, I took my chances. Since Abe already mentioned it in the vidcast interview with Inquirer.net as well as Jayvee, I might as well blow the trumpets too. Hear ye…

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Beauty Sleep

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sleepI cannot live with less than 8 hours of [tag]sleep[/tag]. I get cranky and less productive with work. The problem with me is sometimes I get caught up with work that I forget the time. This happens whenever I develop a website. That’s why I don’t accept web development projects anymore

read more in this post Beauty over Fifty

Kris Aquino and Hope Centeno are not Victims

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kris.jpgThe other woman, Hope Centeno wept and claimed she might be pregnant with James Yap’s kid . ““I also deserve the same sympathy as Kris” from the public. The 7 month pregnant [tag]Kris Aquino[/tag] just checked out of the hospital and minced no words. ““How dare you say sorry to me?” Kris scolded Hope. She then went on to blame Hope for her ““false labor” and subsequent hospitalization last Thursday.”

My jaw dropped as Kris lamented that “an innocent baby ” is at stake. “How dare you say sorry to me now after you endangered a defenseless child?” and added “You just want to ruin us,” “You attempted to steal my husband. You forgot I am seven months pregnant.”

and the other woman, [tag]Hope Centeno[/tag] “I don’t know if I can find another job. I am ruined. My only sin is that I loved James. I wish I was not judged,” she said, dabbing a piece of tissue paper at her eyes and nose.

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Safeguard the Web for Children

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bloggerpower.jpgI came across Thinking Blog entry on “[tag]Safeguard the Web for Children[/tag]” which is originally a campaign from Blogger Power.

Basically, Blogger Power, is an open letter to all adult website owners:

“Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the ““warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more ‘free tours’ before a visitor supplies basic information.”

FACT: Children today are often left alone with a computer and sometimes visit pornographic sites accidentally. I truly support this move.

As a mother, I often monitored my children’s surfing activities until their high school years. In 1996, Lauren then a 10 year old often used my computer in my bedroom. One afternoon, I excused myself to get a phone call. Kids these days type really fast so by the time I returned to my room , I found Lauren with a puzzled look. Right in front of her, the images splashed across the screen was explicit sexual act with all genitals exposed. Mortified, I asked her why she was at that site. Seeing my horrified look, she meekly stammered that she typed the word “chat room” so she could chat with kids her age. The first link she clicked led her to that adult site. At that moment, I explained to her all about porn and the sexual act. Before this happened, I already educated her about sex through the CD “Adam’s body” but graphical images were never displayed. Sometimes I wonder if my dear daughter got traumatized at those porn images.

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