(no title)

blog book

Click the following links to read the related blog posts:
farmville or farmtown?
cafe world
blog set up
thecuriousme history

2009… Frequent chest pains due to work related stress and getting hooked to games on Facebook (farmville and cafe world) prompted me to set up my blog site. In my point of view, blogging is a good way to vent out as well as inspire people. 🙂 It is a form of diversion that yields to a more productive result. It’s a lot better than playing online games. 😀

I used blog2print to turn my blog into a book. Editing and proofreading took months! From 2010-2013, I have written over 200 posts and compiled it all into two blog books that have over 200 pages in each book. 🙂 Isn’t that amazing? Whoa! I felt like I won the lottery! I gave the first copy to my family in the Philippines and printed another copy for myself.

Several friends expressed their interest in getting a copy too; however, the printing cost is super expensive. -_- I’m still looking for a more affordable printing company. Please give me a shout (info.thecuriousme@gmail.com) if you know someone… :p

Third blog book is in progress… No candy crush for me! 🙂 See you later… alligator! 🙂

basketball

Is basketball only for tall people?
Think again…. 😉

Tacloban-After Typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) courtesy of: http://l3.yimg.com

intramuros-basketball — Intramuros, Manila (photo courtesy of: Wikimedia.org)

Filipinos love for basketball can be likened to Canadians innate love for hockey. Every street corner in the Philippines is an impromptu basketball court… and people play the game whether they are wearing flip flops (a.k.a. tsinelas), sneakers, leather shoes, or even barefoot!

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) (courtesy of: http://www.slamonlineph.com)	Canada Hockey (photo courtesy of: Google 🙂 )
street basketball (photo courtesy of: http://www.bubblews.com/)	street hockey (photo courtesy of: http://www.womenshockeylife.com)

You betcha! I remember when I was 15 – 19 years old, I used to be a basketball announcer whenever there was a tournament in our community; that was one of my tasks as part of the youth council.

One basketball player was always assigned to sit beside me to help me interpret the referee’s call and the names of the violations committed during the game. In other words, he needs to make sure that I don’t screw up! 🙂 All I had to do was announce what’s going on in the court, joke a little bit to liven up the game, and speak with conviction regarding the violations.

The tournament was something similar to the photos below:

kids-basketball — photo courtesy of: http://mati.gov.ph/

It’s fun and at the same time scary… especially if the intensity of the match was too high! Whew! Even though the games were a frenzy, they never broke into riots.. there were no cars being set on fire like during the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. :p We know how to keep it under control. 😉

Riot – Vancouver (photo courtesy of: http://www.ctvnews.ca)

Riot-aftermath-Vancouver — Riot Aftermath – Vancouver (photo courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/)

By any means, the Filipino fascination (or should I say obsession?) with basketball prompted American author Rafe Bartholomew to go to the Philippines, conduct a study, and write a book about it. (Click here to read the snapshot of his book, Pacific Rims).

Rafe Bartholomew (photo courtesy of: http://rafebartholomew.com/sites/)

pacificrims_cover — Pacific Rims (photo courtesy of: http://rafebartholomew.com/)

Who wants to play ball? Let’s go, let’s go! 😀

ilocano = stingy (?)

Filipinos are playful and creative by nature, especially when it comes to coming up with children or shop names. Combination of several names with “h” thrown in between the letters or a parody of a controversial personality or issue, and even brand names is one of the favorite techniques.

This playful naming game applies to the specific Philippine ethnic groups too… each stereotyped with a name based on the common characteristics of the people who belong to that society.

Here’s few examples to illustrate:

Ilocanos are known for being stingy (a.k.a. kuripot).

courtesy of: http://www.threethriftyguys.com

piggybank — courtesy of: http://us.cdn3.123rf.com

Kapampangans are known for being extravagant (a.k.a. magastos)
From what I’ve heard, Ilonggo, Pangasinense, and Cebuanos are known for being fond of shopping branded clothes and jewelry.

shopping — courtesy of: popularphotographybiz.com/

There must be a grain of truth to it but I can confirm that not all are like that. My Kapampangan, Ilonggo, Pangasinense, and Cebuano friends are pretty good with their finances and do not shop all the time. Some of them are even thrifty! For my Ilocano friends, some like to splurge on branded clothing, handbags, and jewelry.

Let’s face it, not all people are the same. Whatever ethnic group or country you belong and whatever “name” you are known for… your own principle and belief still rules out! :p

For me, I’m a practical spender. The question that I ask myself when I need to purchase something is, “Is it a luxury or a necessity?”. If it’s a luxury, then no go. However, if it’s a necessity, no matter how expensive that is… it’s definitely a go.

By the way, I’m an Ilocano and proud to be one! 😀 Ta ta for now! 🙂

P.S.
Click here to learn more about the Ethnic Groups of the Philippines.

Montreal

Montreal is dubbed as the sin city of Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It is said to be the second-largest in Canada and the 8th-largest in North America. There’s so much to see and do in Montreal… it would probably take a month or so!

Little did I know that I would be in for a challenge when my Popster friend, Mydzz, and I decided to go to Montreal via train (VIA Rail) last October 9th, 2012. Thanks to Google, Mydzz found the a number of popular places in Montreal to visit in our 4-hour time frame.

As expected, we had several bloopers during our trip…

1. Confused!
We nearly got off at the Dorval station, one stop away from Montreal, because we got confused with the announcement for the next stop.

2. Photo oppsie!
I was taking my photo (a.k.a. “selfie”) with the Notre-Dame Basilica in the background when a guy across the street offered to take my photo. His shouting was so loud and animated that I ended up being the center of (unwanted) attention. OMG! Mydzz laughingly walked away and pretended not to know me. O_O

It’s a good shot though…. 😀 Hmmm… better than my “selfie” on the right… Don’t ya think?

3. Train seats mixed up.
We were finally settled in our designated seats when the VIA Rail officer asked us to move. Our fellow passengers told us that there was a glitch in the online booking system that mixed up the seating arrangements.

4. So French!
The VIA rail employees were talking to us in French while directing us what car to take. All we could do was to smile and say thank you. “Car 4” was the magic word that we needed to hear to put together all the things they were saying.

5. So lost!
Our million dollar smiles opened the hearts of strangers, happily chatting with us and helping us find the best views in the city.

Below are some of our snapshots:

Notre Dame

Surprisingly, we covered several tourist spots in 3-4 hours with no tour guide. Ha! We spent an hour having lunch in a Chinese buffet… we pigged out at the Jade Restaurant! :p

The trip to Montreal proved to be enjoyable after all. Until next time! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwa!

The Chancellor

Click here to read the related blog entry for a preview -> “Boy & Cel”
While visiting the Olympic Village in Whistler, British Columbia… I had a chance to ride the Peak 2 Peak Gondola with my cousin Chancee (a.k.a. Chancellor) and Kuya Freddie. The long cable-car ride gave us some time to enjoy the view and chat about life… somehow the topic of my blog (thecuriousme.com) came up and how I use it to chronicle my trips, funny moments and embarrassing experiences.

Chancee was enjoying the scenery when he turned solemn; lost in thought. The abrupt stop of the peak 2 peak for almost half an hour heightened his reverie. Most probably out of boredom, he started a monologue, his tone was like a politician delivering a melodramatic speech. :p It’s also his way of giving me “materials” because he wants me to write a blog entry about his adventure in Canada.

The gist of his monologue as I remember it was some crazy plan on how to get out from the peak 2 peak, just in case we will be stranded… Here you go:

Three options!
1. Walk through the railings and climb down using one of the posts.
2. Jump down to the forest straight from the peak 2 peak.
3. Wait for someone to rescue us.

Lucky for us though, the cable-car started running again and we got back down safe and sound. Thank God!

Moving on, see below for the snapshots of Chancee’s adventure in British Columbia, Canada:

Whistler (Peak 2 Peak / Olympic Village)	snowmobile (Whistler -Olympic Village)
glacier (Whistler / Olympic Village)	Queen Elizabeth Park
Shannon Falls	Capilano Suspension Bridge
	Canada-US border

See you again soon Chancee! 🙂

sad reality

Quotes and thoughts from TheCuriousMe… Read on… 🙂

No matter what you do or what you say… people will always have something to say against you…
*** Accept it.

People will always believe what they want to believe.
*** Let it be. Truth will come out in the end.

It’s sad when you realize that your friends know and understand you better than some of your relatives.
*** Super sad.

Being butchered with terrible accusations and not given the chance to explain your side is emotionally draining.

Having been showered with unconditional love and support from immediate family… the terms “used and being used” are never included in my dictionary when it comes to helping relatives and friends…
*** not all people think the same way
*** life is tough.

The people whom you think know you inside and out… don’t really know you at all.

The people whom you think know and understand you are the people who pass judgment at the blink of an eye without clarifying things directly from you.

No matter how you reach out and how good your intentions are… people who you least expect still tend to misconstrue things.

At the end of the day… be the bigger person… be understanding of someone else’s perspective and be forgiving… it may be exhausting sometimes… but that’s how it should be dealt with in a mature fashion. As they say, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Stay positive and keep the faith. 😉

virus attack

2014… A New Year… A new list of resolutions to fulfill or to ignore… 😉 It can always be carried forward to another year right…? 🙂

Part of my goal was to welcome the New Year with a flood of blog entries, posted one after the other. Little did I know, I would be hit with a nasty virus… my throat hurt like hell from the incessant coughing, it was so painful that even eating an orange was an ordeal. 😦

To top it off, I lost my voice and I was nearly hospitalized due to an incredibly high fever (almost 104 degrees fahrenheit). Thank God for my guardian angels’ (Jellybean and Jellybean’s Mom) help, the fever went down. I didn’t go to work for 3 days and I was informed that for cases like this, it typically takes 3-4 weeks for a full recovery.

220px-Viral_infections_and_involved_species — courtesy of Wikipedia

I went to see a doctor at the walk in clinic, and she prescribed some medicine to help with my cough… but it caused terrible side-effects form me. I got high; I felt like I was floating and couldn’t stop giggling (pretty much like the photo below courtesy of yourdailysource.netf) … it was terrifying. I decided to stop taking that “horrific” medicine and opted for the regular and over the counter medication (Vicks, Advil and Benadryl).

I guess it’s partially my fault… Late in 2013 around Christmas, I started having trouble breathing but I ignored it and continued going to work. I’ve always been a workaholic; working long hours and pushed myself to the limit. And truly, I suffered the consequences.

The greatest lesson I’ve learned from this is to take care of myself better, exercise regularly, cutting out the extra hours spent at the office, and improve my work-life balance… A challenging task for a workaholic me…

Be careful folks… balance is the key… As they say, health is wealth! 😉

Washington DC

According to Wikipedia, Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, “the District”, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the District is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.

I gather you already know that. Silly me. 😀

I was in Virginia visiting my relatives when my cousin Vilmor suggested that we should go to Washington DC over the weekend. Seeing the famous White House and exploring the capital of the United States pumped me up to the highest level!

Ready for cool snapshots? See below:

Museum

long lost twin sister!	cave-like wall with interesting artwork
pleased to meet you.. 🙂	elephant in the museum ?!?

United States Department of the Treasury

US Treasury Department - WashingtonDC-US 2012 - 071

The White House
(Click here to read what happened as we were driving around the White House -> “bullet holes”)

Random Photos

“The voice of reason is more to be regarded than the bent of any present inclination.”	U.S. Capitol (?)
Washington Monument

The trip to Washington DC was unexpectedly enjoyable and memorable. I certainly hope that I’ll be able to have a quick tour of the White House someday… Maybe on another visit? 🙂

Ta ta for now! 😀

Virginia Getaway

As promised, here’s the continuation of my Virginia getaway…
(Lost? Click here to read the related blog entry – Oh Virginia!)

Ever heard of a landfill site (a.k.a. waste/ garbage dump) being reused and converted into a park? That’s Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia! Can you believe that? Hmmm…. I wonder if that can be adapted in the Philippines… Transforming Smokey Mountain into a park or some sort of tourist attraction… Knock knock PNoy… Watcha think? 😉

Moving on, let’s have a quick tour on some of the tourist spots in Virginia :

Mount Trashmore Park
*** Whoever thought of converting this landfill site into a park was a genius!

Virginia Beach Christmas Lights
*** I had a grand time looking at the Christmas lights. It made me feel right at home… if you didn’t know, Filipinos have a thing for Christmas lights.

it would be great if I have a car like this. 😀
it looked like a sinking ship…

Nauticus
*** It’s an excellent place to de-stress and chillax… So peaceful…




awkwardly copying the mermaid’s pose….

I was extremely delighted to visit these wonderful places. Hmmm…. Where to next? 😉

P.S.
To my relatives (Ate Pat & family, Auntie Sion, Kuya Freddie, Vilmor, Raymond, and Reichelle) in Virginia, thank you so much for the warm hospitality!

Oh Virginia!

Did you know that one of Virginia’s nicknames is “Mother of Presidents”? It’s after the eight United States of America (U.S.A.) presidents who were born there, namely: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. 😉 Thanks Wikipedia! Click this link for more interesting facts about Virginia.

In my opinion, that’s what makes Virginia one of the most special among the 50 states. It’s absolutely impressive! I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my relatives in Virginia and visit some magnificent tourist spots. You bet! Thanks to air miles for the free airfare. Woot!

Check out our sweet photos below:

Vilmor’s (my other cousin) New House
*** He was in the process of closing his house purchase when I was there for a visit.

Buffet Time!
*** Raiding Uptown Buffet and Hibachi Grill… I may be tiny but I eat like a monster… >=D

Christmas 2012
*** I lost interest in celebrating Christmas ever since my Mom passed away when I was 13 years old. After migrating to this side of the world and spending my first Christmas here alone, I started to long for a Filipino Christmas… my holiday in Virginia filled that void and rekindled my excitement for Christmas!

Ate Pat’s lovely house

Ate Pat & TheCuriousMe

Oh Virginia… Stay put, I will surely be back sometime. 🙂 More captivating pictures coming up!

P.S.
Meeting Ate Pat was one of the highlights of my U.S.A. trip, she’s the only cousin on my father’s side that I have never met… or maybe I was just too young to remember. I’m glad that I was able to spend some quality time with her and strengthen our relationship as cousins. It’s both heartwarming and overwhelming. 😀

table mountain

One Winter weekend in 2013, the VendAsta troupe embarked on another exciting trip to unwind and make the most of the weather. 🙂 The continuous banter and laughter kept our minds off the hour and a half drive to Table Mountain aboard our chartered bus.

Some opted to ski and… I decided to take snowboarding lessons with some of the other VendAsta peepz… (click here to check out how the lessons went… it’s sooooo…. :p).

Jeff & Violet… getting ready to ski!	Scott & Dan want to snowboard!
Bella & Jack… on top of Table mountain… TheCuriousMe is soo jealous…	Aussie Alan and TheCuriousMe… nervously waiting for our snowboarding lesson

After a very eventful day, all of us met up in the chalet for a chillaxin’ moment with the VendAsta bear before going back to Toon City. See below for the snapshots:

Until next adventure… I’m lovin’ Winter! Woot! 😉
(Except in -45 to -50 degrees Celsius weather… 😦 )

snowboarding

Building a snowman, making a snow angel, tobogganing (a.k.a. sledding), skiing, skating (click here to read related blog entry regarding skating), and snowboarding are some of the activities that I’ve been looking forward to in this Winter Wonderland.

building a snowman	making a snow angel
tobogganning a.k.a. sledding	skiing

During the trip to Table Mountain, I enlisted for a snowboarding lesson together with the other VendAsta peepz. There were more or less a dozen of us in the group and from the looks of it, I was the only one who had difficulty in getting things done the right way.

Hmmm… Either I was a slow learner, or not flexible enough, or a scaredy cat… or all of the above! Sigh… It was sooo frustrating! Jellybean blames the boots… they wouldn’t stay tight and I guess that makes it hard to control the board?

Below are some of the snapshots of the trip:

Gearing up!

prepping…	gingerly trying the snowboard…
Nathan pushing me with his snowboard…	up the bunny hill where the action begins..

Snowboarding down from the bunny hill

VendAsta bear: “Watch and learn”	how I wish I can snowboard like this
slowly going down the bunny hill…	finally… down the bunny hill…

One last pose and… done!

snowboarding 2013 016 — at last! after one million years…

snowboarding 2013 011 — done for the day

After a long and tiring day… I was experiencing all kinds of aches and pains. Snowboarding is fun if you are “light” I guess… I felt like I was too heavy to even stand up with the snowboard on my feet. Or is it maybe because I was so bundled up with all the layers that I have on? Hmmm…

Nevertheless… I’ll be back! Skiing will be the next goal! Hell yeah! Just like Nike’s famous tag line says, “Just do it!”. 😀

skating

One Friday afternoon in 2013, with zero knowledge and background on skating, I excitedly joined the VendAsta troupe on the public ice skating rink downtown in Toon City.

nice background Allan… ok.. and also the pose. 🙂	scared mouse!
Scott showing off!	glide… glide… glide…

I grabbed a chair in order for me to get movin’ which also helped me balance and not stumble while skating. The most challenging part for me was climbing a REALLY tiny hill to get up to the rink… I got stuck on that spot.

skating alan tp susan — Alan also doesn’t know how to skate!

skating -thecuriousme-no chair — my ice walker… :p

Nathan P had to help me tighten my skates so I could skate “better” and gave me a push to get me over the hill.

skating nathan and thecuriousme — with Nathan P

After my first lap, I decided I’d had enough skating for that day and opted to hang out and chat with my colleagues.

skating - no chair — standing without ice walker 😀

skating cody thecuriousme andreas — with Cody and Andreas

In any case. watching Michael Christian Martinez* and Kim Yuna** effortlessly glide, spin, jump and do other complicated techniques on the ice skating rink makes me wonder… how in the world did they do that?

P. S.
* Michael Christian Martinez is the only figure skating athlete from South East Asia in the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 and the Philippines first Winter Olympics representative ever. Coming from a country without winter, he’s absolutely amazing! More support from the Philippine government please… Michael deserves it!

** Kim Yuna is the figure skating representative of South Korea. She took home the figure skating gold and silver medal in the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 and the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 respectively. I had goosebumps while watching her perform. Such passion and grace!

New York Tour continues! (2 of 2)

The small town girl’s tour of New York continues! Travelling for free is absolutely unimaginable… It’s surreal! Whoa! Thank you so much to my sponsors… 😉

Lost? Below are the related blog entries’ links that will help you keep on track… Read on! Errr… Click on? :p

New York

New York Tour (1 of 2)

The 2-day trip felt like it lasted for ages! Our itinerary was jam-packed with activities! Thank goodness for our angels, Kuya Romeo and his buddy, for driving us around. It definitely helped us save time and visit more places. Salamat po (Thank you)! 🙂

Here’s the second batch of New York fun times… “picture posein'” as Justin Merkin calls it.. 🙂 :

Rockefeller Center
*** It was drizzling… and… it was raining men?! 😀

Manhattan
*** All I know is, there’s an upper and lower east side of Manhattan. No matter what side we were in… the touch of class and sophistication makes this place exceptional. I’m lovin’ it!

Wall Street … Broadway… etc…
*** Gotta watch Wolf of Wall Street sometime… Money… money… money…. and a bull?

Staten Island Ferry
*** Taking a breather before going to our next destination! 😀

Statue of Liberty (within the vicinity…)
*** The Statue of Liberty was under construction at that time thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Too bad… so sad… Oh well… there’s always a next time! 🙂

so far… yet so near…

	sneaking up on the NYPD (again..)

Seaport / Pier 17
*** Surprisingly, this is a cool place to check out. Very interesting!

Larchmont
*** Staying overnight in Gladys’ condo was a treat! It has that “homey” ambiance which made us feel at ease and comfortable. It must be the paintings and the couch. Hmmm…. 😀

Of course, the trip will never be complete without going to Chinatown to buy souvenirs at a reasonable price… I must say, an all expense-paid trip to New York is certainly one of the best Christmas gifts that I’ve ever received! Thanks much! XOXO

New York Tour! (1 of 2)

Click here for a preview -> “New York”

To be clear, this happened in 2012…
Thus, expect that there are a lot of changes back then and now…
I know…I know… As usual, my post is late. :p

Anyway, watching Broadway shows and a taste of New York night out were scrapped from our list because we ran out of time. 😦 Who knows? I might be back someday… Hopefully, an angel will help me travel for free again. 😀

Ok… I’ll stop rambling now… Here’s the much awaited snapshots of a small town girl’s tour of New York!

Ground Zero – 911
*** It gave me goosebumps! I can still recall the 911 tragedy.:(

Central Park
*** It certainly looked similar to the “Central Park” in the movie, Madagascar 3! 😀 Hmmm… Am I imagining things? Ha!

Madison Square Garden
*** Filipinos may be small but we are uber-basketball enthusiasts!

Grand Central Station
*** The place itself reminds me of the television show, Gossip Girl… Howdy! Blair and Serena… XOXO

Empire State Building
*** It was crowded even though the deck was closed because of the thick fog. OMG!

That’s it for now folks! Coming soon… more photos and adventures! Up next will be “New York Tour! (2 of 2)”! Have a chillaxin’ weekend everyone! 🙂