The Adventures of a Virgo Guy

Quote of the Week

2012-02-24T01:03:00.001-08:00

Love doesn't grow on the trees like apples in Eden - it's something you have to make and you must use your imagination to make it too, just like anything else. It's all work, work.
- Joyce Carey

Lucban Escapade 2012: Part 3

2012-02-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

The third installment of our escapade. You have a clue on our next stop by seeing the picture above. But I bet you don't know the place. Am I right? I'll give you a clue, it's in Lucban, in front of Batis Aramin Resort and Hotel. Still don't know? Well just click the read more to find out.

After the swimming session in Batis Aramin, we then went to Via Dolorosa Grotto, a shrine and grotto wherein you can see a Christ monument at the top of a hill. You have to walk hundreds of steps before you can reach the top.

There's the monument

Before we go to the Christ monument we go first to Garden of Eden because that's the entrance to Grotto. Once entered, we saw a replica of Noah's Ark that served as a restaurant (I think). There's also a pond where Koi fishes resided. You'll notice coins in the water because I think they believed in having a good luck when throwing coins in the pond. At that time, there's a man collecting the coins in the pond. There's also statues of Adam and Eve, the first human couple walked on Earth.

Koi with coins :D

Then we went to the grotto but we were stopped by the guard because Catherine (Argelito's girlfriend) wear mini-shorts (I don't know if its the right term) so Argelito and Catherine went back to their car to wear something else and the rest of us ate some snacks while waiting for them. And so, the climbing up the hill begins. There are railings on the stairs to separate the people going up and going down. Upon climbing the stairs, you'll see statue of Virgin Mary and a sculpture of the Last Supper. When we reached the top, we saw the Christ statue and it's bigger than I thought. We prayed for a while, enjoyed the view on the top and took some pictures.

After taking time on the top, we then decided to go down and go the town to buy some souvenirs. There are souvenirs shops at the ground of the grotto. I bought a straw hats for my parents and a purse for my significant other. The couple David and Ruth also bought souvenirs. Once done, we now went to the town to buy souvenir foods. But that's for the final post of this escapade so stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

2012-02-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Life's all about moments of impact,

and how they change our lives forever.

But what if one day

you could no longer remember
any of them?

- Leo from the movie "The Vow"

Better Late Than Never: My Valentine's Day Gift

2012-02-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

See the picture? That's my valentine gift for my significant other. She just received the gift yesterday, February 15, 2012. Supposedly, it should deliver last February 14 but due to lack of staff of the flower shop that I ordered to, they didn't deliver it on time. Even though the delivery is late, it gave happiness to my special someone. I hope that everyone was happy during Valentine's day even you're single or in a relationship. I wish everyone happiness everyday.

Lucban Escapade 2012: Part 2

2012-02-15T00:37:00.000-08:00

The next part of our escapade, we went to Batis Aramin Resort and Hotel. The place offers not only swimming pools but recreational areas as well. Here's some exerpt from their site:

Situated at the foot of Mount Banahaw, Batis Aramin is among the reasons you would want to go to Lucban, Quezon—home of the world famous Pahiyas Festival and Longganisang Lucban. Batis Aramin is right across the Kamay ni Hesus Healing Church and Vio Dolorosa Grotto. Hectares of lush resort right at the foot of Mount Banahaw, Batis Aramin is a nature park spot for boating, swimming, camping, biking, trailing and so much more. Visit us and experience why Lucban, Quezon is the summer capital of Quezon.- aramin.ph

Now's the introduction is over, here's our story.

There's an entrance fee of 100 peso per adult in day tour. Afterwards we went to accommodation lounge wherein we inquire some information about the resort. Before we dive in to the swimming pool, we first walk around the area for sight-seeing.

The batis in Aramin

It's me, hehe

After the sight-viewing, we look for an available cottage for 7 people and we found one n. The cottage is simple and only cost Php400. There are five swimming pools available (I think) and one of them has 6 feet deep (definitely not for children). The cottage we chose is near the two-in-one swimming pools with slide in each pool. These deepest part of these swimming pool is four feet so it's suited for children accompanied with their parents of course. Below are the pictures of the swimming pools.

The nearest swimming pool to our cottage

The swimming pool with six feet deep

When we finally got tired of swimming, we decided to try the adventure package offered by Batis Aramin. The package includes wall climb, zip-line, rappel, rope course and bike trail for only Php250 per person. Unfortunately, at that time, there's a college conducting their field trip so we weren't able to try it.

Students listening to the instructor

Since we didn't take the adventure package we then go the next destination which is the Via Dolorosa Grotto. Our next adventure in the next post. Stay tuned. To know more about Batis Aramin Resort and Hotel, you may go to their website here.

Update: The part 3 is live

Lucban Escapade 2012: Part 1

2012-02-10T00:08:00.000-08:00

Do you see that picture above? That's our ride! Yeah! That's what I wished when I took a picture of them inside my friend's car. Hehe :D. Last Saturday, February 4, my college friends decided to go to Lucban, Quezon to escape the suffocating atmosphere of Manila. So without further ado here's the part 1 of our adventure.

The other reason why we suddenly went out-of-town is because my friend Argelito celebrated his birthday last Sunday so it's a birthday blow-out (that's what I think). Before we go to Lucban, we (me, Momo and Bossing) went to his house Friday night and to our surprise the birthday boy is not there. His excuse? He's still in his girlfriend's house and decided to stay there until Saturday morning. So what we did was bought six bottles of Tanduay Ice and a whole chicken for pulutan. Fast forward to 5am Saturday morning Argelito together with his girlfriend (Catherine), another couple friend of ours (David and Ruth) came. We started our journey past 6am. Argelito had his own car and the couples rode there while me and Bossing rode in Momo's car.

Instead of going to South Luzon Express Way (SLEX) to Lucban, Quezon, Momo and Argelito decided to use the National Highway led by Argelito. The road is placed in mountains so everywhere you look there's nothing but forest, mountains, few houses, zigzag roads, up and down roads and even lakes (ah mother nature, but I slept in the first part of the trip, hehe). The supposedly three-hour trip turns to four hours because our tour guide the birthday boy accidentally chose a wrong road. Bossing having an Iphone 4 used its GPS to turn us back in the right road. We reached Lucban at around 10am.

When I saw Lucban, I thought of Marikina. It had small roads, just one lane for each direction. But the place is neat, no litters. We stopped by to a near restaurant named Buddy's to eat our breakfast.

Waiting number from Buddy's

Lucban Hab-Hab with rice (",)

Afterwards, we went to Church of Lucban. The church is very old as you can see some plants growing on the stones used to build the church. Below are some of the pictures I took.

Click this picture to know how old is the church.

After the church, we decided to go to Batis Aramin Resort and Hotel but that story will be in part 2 so stay tuned.

Update: You can now check the part 2 here.

Quote of the Week

2012-02-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

image credit to travelblog.org

Just So You Know: New Page Rank

2012-02-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

articlevoid.com

Do you notice my page rank? My page rank increased from zero to two skipping number 1! Yay! I'm surprised when I checked my blog this morning. It means that Google recognized my blog, hehe. I want to thank my fellow bloggers and readers who constantly visiting my blog. Hopefully, you won't stop visiting. Another inspiration in working my blog. Thank you.

Quote of the Week

2012-02-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

arachnidpress.com

It's not a matter of WINNING.

What matter is the HEART

that keeps on FIGHTING

My First Blog Award

2012-01-26T23:31:00.000-08:00

I thank spiky for giving me my first blog award. Although it's a small award but it gives me confidence to continue working with my blog. I would also like to thank my fellow bloggers and readers who continuously supporting my blog. It's really nice to receive an award from time to time. Cheers :D

Quote of the Week

2012-01-26T23:17:00.000-08:00

THE BAD NEWS IS TIME FLIES. THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU'RE THE PILOT.

- Michael Altshuler

And It's Up!

2012-01-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Hello! As the start of the Chinese New year, I decided to let you my fellow bloggers and readers know that my new blog is now open for viewing. The blog's name is Virgo's Gadgetry. As the name suggests, the blog focus on technology, gadgets and softwares. Another technology blog in the world wild web but hey this is my interest so I want to create one. There are only two posts for now but as time goes by it will have many posts that I hope you will find interesting. Please check my new blog by clicking the picture above or go here. Thanks.

Isang Araw Lang (Just One Day) Fun Run

2012-01-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

This morning I participated a fun run organized by Unity Run. The event held at Mall of Asia in Pasay. The event called Isang Araw Lang (Just One Day) fun run. The purpose of the event is to raise funds to help various schools in the country. The running event is not only held in Mall of Asia but simultaneously held in different cities in the country. As I heard in the announcement, the fun run also held in different parts of the world but I don't remember what were those countries. So how's the fun run for me? You'll find out after the break.

The fun run has three distances - 3K, 5K and 10K. This event has two firsts for me. One, it's the first fun run I participated this year. Second, this is the first 10K distance that I ran. When I arrived, there were so many people already and because of it the cab that I rode with forced us to descend and walk. The crowd were thousands I think. I went first to the meeting place with a friend at the first aid station near the globe structure (pictured above) of MOA (Mall of Asia).

After wearing the singlet and the timing chip in the bib number, my friend and I went to the starting line. The 10K runners were the first people in the starting line followed by 5K and 3K. I noticed that the starting lane or line does not have a big timer so I don't know what's the official time. The run for 10K should start at 4:30 am but it's already pass 5:00 (I think) when we started. Below is the race route map for each category.

Some part of the route has no street lights but there are staffs who had flashlights telling us the right way. Before this day I anticipated the distance because I knew that 10K is long so I trained running a 10K distance once a week (starting first week of January). There were many runners for the first two to three kilometers but as the distance increase the number of runners decrease, some runners were walking to rest. I noticed that there are no distance marker on the route but the first 5 kilometer were marked by giving runners a blue strings. I also noticed Kenyans running very fast and I think aiming for the prizes.

Before I reach the finish line there's a fire engine sprinkling water to the finishers. Since there's no timer on the lanes, I don't know the time I finished the race though there's a timing chip. After changing clothes, I went near the stage.

Some children lost in the crowd

After that, I went to the first aid station where my friend is based. I stayed there until the event finished. After the 3K, 5K and 10K runners finished the run. The program started the ceremonial run led by Kuya Daniel Razon. You can also see the ceremonial run route in the map.

The purpose of the run is to help as many as possible youths for their education. And now the fun run finished, here's my rate to it:

The Good

- water station

- staffs all over the route

Needs for Improvement

- a timer on the start and finish lines

- distance marker

Over-all the event is successful because of the thousands of participants all over the country. You can check the news article here. Or check the website of Isang Araw Lang (Just One Day) here.

Quote of the Week

2012-01-20T04:25:00.000-08:00

You're writing the STORY of YOUR LIFE one moment at a time

- Doc Childre & Howard Martin

New Blog Under Construction

2012-01-17T00:53:00.000-08:00

credit:darthjakx.com

I'm currently working with my new blog. This blog is all about oops, sorry you'll soon found out what's the new blog all about. I hope that my fellow bloggers and readers will also support my upcoming blog. Hopefully I can finish the blog by the end of the month so stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

2012-01-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

There is time for Everything
- Thomas Edison

Good news: Reply option is now live in Blogger!

2012-01-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

Good news fellow bloggers! The reply option in the comment section is now built-in on blogger's template. While this is not new to those blog that has a reply option already, the added feature is really a welcome to us newbies/beginners. Another great way to communicate in our blog. The edit button is also found besides your user name if you like to change your comment (make sure you are logged in Google account). For more info you can read the details here. Cheer yoh.

Update: The reply option is only available in embedded option in 'Comment' section in your dashboard.

Make your own 'More Fun in the Philippines' Slogan

2012-01-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

See the picture above? That picture my fellow reader/s is a sample photo created online. Since the country's Department of Tourism started their new slogan, different pictures appeared in world wild web :). If you like to contribute to DOT's campaign, you can create your own stamped photo. How? Click more to find out.

You can go to Morefunmaker.com, a website in which the only purpose is to 'stamped' the photos with 'More fun in the Philippines' slogan. One cool feature is you can add a sentence before the slogan just like the first picture of this post. All you have to do is (1) upload picture (2) type the sentence or phrase in the box before the slogan (3) choose which position the caption be placed (4 which is optional ) type your desired name and (5) clicked the submit button. After a few seconds (depends on your internet connection) you will now see the finished photo.

If you like you can just upload a photo and type a funny phrase or sentence, I'm sure you encountered countless funny pictures with this slogan. But for the netizens out there who seriously want to contribute to DOT's campaign, this is another way you can do. Cheer yoh.

Defrag your Windows computer

2012-01-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

I said before that the desktop I'm using in our office is an ancient computer running on Windows XP. I would like to optimize the desktop a little bit by running a defragment software. For the few defragment softwares that I used there's one that I'm still using. And that is Smart Defrag. And why am I still using it? You'll find more after the break.

Like any other defragment software, Smart Defrag can analyze and recommend if you need to defrag the hard drive or not. Once the software analyzed the hard drive/s, it will give a report with 'Summary', 'Recommendation', and 'Fragmented files and directories' of the highlighted hard drive. The software also has Boot Time Defrag, Automatic Defrag, and State tabs.


Report Tab


Boot Time Defrag Tab

Automatic Defrag Tab

State Tab

The feature that I like about this freeware is the Scheduled Defrag. From the name itself, it will defrag the computer in a scheduled time. You can schedule the defrag everyday, every week or every month with a preset time. This is the only defrag tool that has this kind of feature that I used. In the office, we just lock the computer and turn off the monitor so this tool is really helpful to optimize my computer.

I also used this freeware in my personal laptop running Windows 7 but I just run it every 2 weeks. So if you want to try this tool feel free to download it from here. Cheer yoh.

Today My Life Begins

2012-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling down today? Do you feel like it's the end of your life? (Feeling down is much okay). If you feel sad today or any time of any day, are you the one looking for something to hold on to? Looking for an inspiration? Do you want to lift up your mood? If you say yes to all the questions, you might like to listen to my personal choice to lift up my mood. To hear the song just click more.

The song you just heard is from Bruno Mars entitled "Today My Life Begins". It's favorite song of mine to play the song whenever I feel down. It's because of the lyrics and message the song give whenever I listened. It gave me courage to stay alive and be optimistic in life. It always give positive attitude whenever I hear the song so hopefully it'll help you also. But being individual will always have different favorite songs, so what is your favorite song or the song you'll play whenever you feel down? Is it a song to lift up your mood or a song to describe your feelings? Leave a comment below. Cheer yoh.

Alternative to Windows' default file handler

2012-01-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

The default file transfer handler of Windows gave me headache because of unreasonable freeze when transferring files. It is also very slow to transfer. A mere 3MB file size will take 10 minutes before the transfer is complete. What a pain in the ass. So I search the net for an alternative and found a free solution to this.

Enter TeraCopy. A freeware (for personal use) that solve my problem in transferring files. It has a sleek interface and many options to choose from. One feature that I like is the time it took to transfer a file is faster. Another feature is you have an option to play a sound whenever the transfer is complete and automatically close the TeraCopy window after it finishes the transfer. The software can be your default transfer files in Windows XP, Vista and 7. After I used this freeware, I never go back to the windows' default file handler.

If you would to know more about the software or download a copy of it, you may go here. Hope you'll like it. Happy new year!

An easy way to report an abusive Taxi drivers

2012-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

Are you a victim of an abusive taxi driver? Would you like to report the incident to the authority? Just like you, I'm also a victim of an abusive taxi driver when I got home from Davao (you may read the story here). And I found out another tool to report the said abusive taxi driver.

If you have an internet connection and you recently had a bad experience with an abusive driver there is a way to report the incident. You may go to Taxikick.com. This site is still in beta and it's only available in the Philippines.

In the site, there's a form that you need to fill-up, plate number, violation (there is a list of generated violations, you just choose from the drop down button), taxi name and comments. The reports will be aggregated and on the end of the day, the site will send an email with all the details from the complainants to concerned authorities at MMDA and LTFRB.

There is also a way to report an abusive taxi driver by SMS but I don't know the details. I'll update this post once I know how to send a report via SMS.

MapMyRun

2012-01-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Is running one of your exercises/workouts? Would you like to know the distance that you are running? I have been using this site since the day I got interested in running. The basic reason I visited the site is to plan the route that I'm running and the distance it'll cover. The site is called MapMyRun.

Registration in the site is free. You can create a new account or you can connect the account in your facebook, twitter, yahoo, windows live, google or linkedin account.

In this post, I will elaborate on how to map a run. Once you logged in, you will be directed to your 'My Home' page wherein you will see the Status, Workout, Daily Log and Food Log.

To start, you just click the 'Routes' tab at the top and choose the 'Map A Run'. After you clicked, it will direct you to the first part which is adding some details like starting location, type of activity, and what the activity is for.

After you click some details, you will then be greeted by a map powered by Google. You need to zoom in the map in order to see the roads and click any point in the map in order to start the route (there will be a green button which is an indication that the point is the starting point). After you see the green button you just click any point in the map and the two points will be connected. You just create new points until you finish the desired route. You can adjust the lines by pointing the mouse pointer to the line and there will be a white dots that you can drag to adjust it. To finish the route, just dropped the 'Stop' marker in the 'Markers' toolbar located at the bottom of the page.


Click to enlarge

After you done routing your map, you will then directed to a page to add some descriptions about the route. Afterwards it will give you the summary of the route you just made like distance covered, name of the route, the map itself, etc.

That's it you just finished routing your first map. There are also options you can do to your finished route like editing, email it or even printing the finished route. Another interesting feature of the site is the app for mobile phones. If your have a mobile phone with built-in GPS you can install the site's app which is called iMapMy and used it. The supported mobile OS are iOS, Blackberry, and Android. I don't have a mobile phone with built-in GPS so tough luck for me. Using the app, you can track all your fitness activities.

Besides from running, you can also log your other workouts and exercises in the site. You can also invite friends or join a group. Also, you can track your nutrition and food intake. If you are that athletic you can set challenges and goals. There are so much useful tools in the site. All you need to do is to sign-up if you really want to have a healthy lifestyle. Just go here to register. Happy New Year !!

2012-01-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Ccleaner

2011-12-29T01:47:00.000-08:00

The computer that I'm using in the office is a three-year old desktop. When you click the above picture, you will notice some specifications of the said computer. It's an ancient desktop so in order to optimize the performance of the desktop, I search the net on how to optimize a bit the computer system and I found the Ccleaner, one of the programs from Piriform.

The program can clean the cache, cookies, history in your browser and links in recent opened files. It can also detect and erased unused files and registry. So before I open my browser, I make sure that I run first the Ccleaner program to ensure that I will have a smooth net surfing. So if you are looking for a software to clean the cache and cookies of your browser you may try to use Ccleaner. It's absolutely free.