How I Survived The Amazing Race at Island Cove

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Have you ever dreamt of being a winner, racing on to the finish line? One of my favorite shows is the Amazing Race. Whenever I see the contestants running from one stop to the next, I feel like I am hanging on the edge of my seat . A wave of adrenalin hits me as if I am right there with them. Even if I know I will never be qualified to join , my mind conjures up scenarios that I am actually rushing to the next stop. I want to be there. Yes, it is my dream to win in a race.

island cove
Though Amazing Race is a far-fetched dream, it does not stop me from taking up physical challenges. The Detour: The Island Cove Adventure sponsored by Yehey and Island Cove was a perfect opportunity. Can I really make it?

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Parenting, Blogging and Our Love Story in Net 25 MOMents

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I groaned. Not another show. I felt there are many wonderful moms out there who are so much better than me but Net 25 MOMents was persistent. They said the show is for mothers and kids that feature the different bonding moments, child-rearing styles and the many facets of motherhood. I felt like it has been ages since I have actually been a hands-on mom. I have long since enjoyed my independence from child-rearing since the girls turned 20. What could I possibly offer to the MOMents feature?

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Francis Magalona Succumbs to Cancer

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Photo Credits to Francis Magalona’s Multiply Site

Francis Magalona Succumbs to Cancer at the age of 44 at the Medical City Hospital after a 7 month battle with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia with Mixed Lineage) or MLL. Francis died due to multiple organ failure ““secondary to severe sepsis and secondary to pneumonia,” according to a doctor who was not authorized to talk to media.

Rest in Peace, Francis. I somehow know the battle with leukemia as I witnessed my brother’s struggle with leukemia for three years.

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The Grief of The Invisible Class

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A paragraph in Manolo ‘s entry on The Long View Insecurity and The Invisible Class caught my eye:

And meanwhile, there continue the biting criticisms. Blogger Caffeinesparks puts it this way, reacting to the outpouring of sympathy and shock over the death of Amiel Alcantara, the child accidentally run over in Ateneo de Manila: ““in the shanties along Pasig river, a kid playing falls into the water—drowned. Dead; a street urchin playing on the island along the road, runs after a kitten, gets run over—dead; babies die because their mothers live too far from health care centers or can only afford a manghihilot; 10 mothers dead a day—due to childbirth.” These are the grim and unnoticed statistics—so plentiful as to be unfelt—of what she calls the Invisible Class.

Why is it a biting criticism? If the blogger had access to the mortality statistics, why not write about it instead of criticizing the sympathy showered over Amiel Alcantara’s death? And perhaps, take it from there?

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Pepe Alcantara, Amiel Alcantara’s Dad Delivers 4 Messages

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My husband refused to listen to me the night I first learned of Amiel Alcantara’s death. As I narrated the sordid details on how Amiel Alcantara died, Butch clamped his ears, “Stop it, I don’t want to hear anymore. It is just too much” All he knows is that Amiel got ran over by a van inside the Ateneo campus. He couldn’t take in the violent nature of Amiel’s death. (Edit March 8: My husband wrote A Grief Beyond Words) .So, when I visited the wake of Amiel Alcantara on February 25, I was all alone. No worries, I was there to offer comfort that a grief support group such as The Compassionate Friends is around if they needed it one day. Good thing Cathy was around too. I kept staring at Pepe Alcantara. He looked familiar to me but I couldn’t place his face. That night, I told Butch that I met the father, Pepe Alcantara. The name rang a bell to Butch but it was only the following day that we got confirmation in the papers that he is the same Pepe Alcantara he knew back then in his UP student days. Pepe was the UP Student Council President in the early 80’s with Lean Alejandro as his vice. Pepe and Butch belonged to the same student organization in the UP student days. Surely now, Butch will want to see Pepe.

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Piolo Pascual on Loving Yourself More

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Piolo Pascual and Marian Rivera at the Bluewater Day Spa Capitol Hills Branch Launch

Let’s have some showbiz break with Piolo Pascual. A few bloggers got invited to the BlueWater Day Spa Capitol Hills Opening. Going to the spa is one of my favorite ME time that I couldn’t miss the opportunity to check out another spa especially since it is near the girls’ university. Now it isn’t the first time for me to meet Piolo Pascual and Marian Rivera. I met them in another launch of Bluewater Day Spa last year.

Like I told you, I find Piolo so charming, er gorgeous looking guy to put it mildly. This time around, he looks even more gorgeous than ever. Kinilig talaga ako but I didn’t show my giddiness even if Piolo kept smiling away to everyone. Acting poised and collected, I boldly approached Piolo for an exclusive interview. Lucky me got to sneak in a 2 minute exclusive close-door interview with a few bloggers. Here is his video message to all of you my dear readers:
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Ukay ukay, Bargain and Vintage Clothes Shopping

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Visit ukaymanila.com to check for online ukay ukay store or its mirror site, Ukay Multiply

ukay ukay>


I first came across the word “ukay-ukay” from my mother-in-law who lives somewhere in Benguet. It was circa 1992. Just so everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, let me quote my daughter:

Simply put, ukay-ukay is thrifting/thrift-store shopping, Philippine-style. I say ““Philippine style” because ukay stores are not so much clean, brightly-lit places like the ones you see in malls as they are hole-in-the-wall outlets that are often dusty and disorganized. Clothes are generally arranged according to tops, dresses, jeans, etc., but there are racks and racks of them and sometimes, piles and piles of them. Which is why the thrift-store shopping experience is called ukay. The word ukay is a Visayan word that literally means ““to dig through” (source: my mom, who speaks Bisaya) and ukay-ukay shopping can sometimes involve hours of wading through junk (and suffering from sneezing fits) to find dirt-cheap fashion gems.

Now that everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, allow me to give you a history of how ukay-ukay became such a hit with my girls.

One day, mom gave me a bunch of lovely children’s clothes. “Used clothing?”, I thought it was only meant for those that can’t afford to buy clothes. But when I saw the array of unique children’s clothes on my sofa, hmm…I thought it was cute enough to wear at the oath taking of my father-in-law at the Malacanang Palace. The girls never knew it was ukay-ukay clothing until they were in college. Not that it mattered. Lauren seemed fascinated with sailor clothes that she’d often buy marine-themed tops or skirts. Apparently, she had fond memories of this particular sailor dress. I told her that the dress she wore in Malacanang was ukay-ukay. She seemed pleasantly surprised.

When my mom-in-law told me the cost of each of the children’s clothes, I was amazed at the low prices and the good quality despite being used clothing. Those clothes above cost around 20 to 30 pesos during those days. Mom, a talented crafts person bought these ukay clothes for her beautiful quilt projects. She’d cut up the dress and use the fabric for her grandmother’s quilt. I got sucked in to grandmother quilt projects myself but until now, I still have to finish working on it. Most often, she’d be in the lookout for clothes for her grandchildren until they reached their pre-teen years. What a sweet grandma she is.

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