The Kalilangan Festival fever is on!

Kalilangan is from the Maguindanao word “kalilang” which means celebration. Every February 27th of the year, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines commemorates the landing of the city’s founder, Gen. Paulino Santos, at the shores of Sarangani Bay.

Next week, Avatar Media and other blogger friends will be spending 5 days in General Santos City. Aside from experiencing Kalilangan, we’ll hang out with our awesome GenSan friends, meet new Generals, enjoy great food, meet stars, and if time permits, enjoy the beaches!

The festival will include the following activities:  Lakan and Lakambini Pageant, Dance Sports Competition, Live Concerts,  Strings Acoustics Competition, Queen of the Festivals Pageant, Street Parties, and more.

Click HERE to view all Kalilangan activities.

P.S.

Every visit to GenSan is memorable. I was browsing my GenSan gallery earlier, and I can’t help but reminisce, smile, and even drool. Let me share with you some of the photos from last year’s Tuna Festival.

[View with PicLens]

We challenged Kring to try the Zorb at Zorb Park and Zipline at Zip City. The Avatar Media gang was in tow to help document the dares, and boy was it fun.

First stop, the Zorb.

Kring, being strapped to the Zorb.

The giant ball, with Kring and Ria inside, ready to roll down the hill.

Getting out of the Zorb.

Next, was Zipline.

Oh noes! What have I gotten myself into? (O.o)

A speck against the lush greens.

—-

Thank you heaps to Mr. Sonny Dizon of Zorb Park and Zip City for the accommodation.

My Havaianas Mood Bracelet. Blue means I'm one happy sole!

Here are some quick questions for you, my dear reader:

1.  Are you a permanent resident of the Philippines?
2.  Are you of legal age (at least 18 years old)?
3.  Are you fit to travel?
4.  Do you have a valid passport?
5.  Do you have a creative answer to this question: “If anything was possible, what would you do to make the world happy for a day?”

If you answered Yes to ALL of the questions above, then you are only steps away from winning the Havaianas Happy Soles Will Travel To Brazil video contest. And the prize? An all-expense paid vacation for 4 to the land of endless summer, Brazil.

The winner of the Happy Soles Will Travel to Brazil contest, together with 3 friends, will experience an unforgettable, 12-day vacation in Brazil. The trip will include a shopping spree at the Havaianas Concept Store, dinners at world-class restaurants, visits to Daslu and some of the fanciest boutiques of Brazil.  The group will also experience everything from football at Morumbi and Maracana to the breath-taking tropical landscape of Jardim Botanico to the laid-back beaches like Copacabana.  And remember, this is an all-expense paid trip.

Excited now? I’m not quite through yet with the goodies.

The happy soles will also get products from Havaianas (of course!), Sony (I read somewhere that a VAIO laptop, a Sony handycam, and a Sony MP3 player will be given away), David & Goliath tees (their shirts are way too cute), and Aloha board shorts.

Sounds good, eh?  Nah.  It is AWESOME!

So how do you join? There’s 3 ways to submit your entries.

1.  Through roving video booths. These will be set up in key malls around the Philippines.  Since this is a creative video contest, props may be brought inside the roving booth.

For Davao City, the Havaianas roving booth will be in Gaisano Mall-Davao from April 5-11, 2010.

2.  Via the internet. Visit http://havaianasphilippines.com/happysoles.  This is where you’ll fill up the online form and upload the video or record it via webcam.

3.  By email. Email your entries to happysoles@havaianasphilippines.com and attach a properly filled-out downloadable entry form.

Submission of entries will be from January 26, 2010 until May 2, 2010 only.

What are you all waiting for? Squeeze those creative juices now and start conceptualizing your video.  Anyway, you can submit as many videos as you want. The more entries, the more chances of winning.

For questions and more information, please email happysoles@havaianasphilippines.com.  You may also call 840 1788 local 177.

Esteja feliz!

Me at the Happy Soles Campaign Launch

Me, Dulce, Tish and Marga of Martish, and Ria

MyDavaoJobs.com interface

Are you looking for a job in Davao? Or, are you looking for an employee from Davao? Then check out, MyDavaoJobs.com.

My Davao Jobs is an online jobs directory that connects employers with jobseekers and vice versa.  It is dedicated to job openings in Davao City and the Davao Regions: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

For employers, posting a job is FREE and is as easy as 1,2,3 — Write, Verify, and Confirm.

For job seekers, you can check out the jobs database and choose from part time, full time, or freelance jobs.

Avatar Media, a new media outfit in Davao city, operates MyDavaoJobs.

Seriously, I just found these photos in my desktop computer’s hardrive which I haven’t used for 10 months. So last night while I was trying to clean the drives, lo and behold, these pictures!

I’m not good at describing food, so I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

TADAKUMA JAPANESE RESTAURANT
11 Damosa Business Center, Mamay Rd., Lanang, Davao City
(082)234-8813 

Gyoza - IMHO, Tadakuma serves the best Gyoza in town.

Sukiyaki

 

Sukiyaki - Perfect for rainy days.

 

Agadeshi Tofu - I love everything tofu. So this one was a hit.

 

California Maki - My all-time favorite Japanese food. I almost didn't want to share. ~.~

 

Yakisoba

 

 

 

Spirale Ristorante

Damosa Complex, Lanang, Davao City

(082) 234-6298

SPIRALE RISTORANTE
Damosa Complex, Lanang, Davao City
(082) 234-6298

Puttanesca

 

Vongole (Spaghetti with clams in white sauce)

 

Gamberi Ali Olio (Gambas)

 

Spaghetti Carbonara

 

Capricciosa Pizza

 

 

CAFE ANDESSA
#2 Carpio Subdivision, Cabantian Road
Buhangin, Davao City
(082)302-9314

Bicol Express Pasta

 

Iced Tea

 

Binutong - Sticky rice served with native hot chocolate.

 

Turon Ala Mode - Your good ole turon drizzled with chocolate syrup, topped with vanilla ice cream plus chocolate shavings and cherry!

 

 

 
LACHI’S SANS RIVAL ATBP.
Door 1-H VAL Learning Village, Ruby Street, Marfori Heights, Davao City
(082)224-5552

Sans Rival - The world's best!

 

Blueberry Cheesecake

 

Durian Cheesecake

 

Cream Dory in Thai Sauce

These are the only food shots that I think are worth posting. DFAT 2010 is going to be on April. Hopefully this year, I’ll get to post the photos ON TIME.

No haircut for me this year. That means I can't go back to this do. Boohoo!

1. TRAVEL ABROAD. I am looking forward to my first ever trip overseas. Finally, my passport will be stamped. Malaysia, here I come!

2. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE. I promised myself that I’ll learn a new skill this year. Actually, I’ve already driven (without license, inebriated, at 3AM) an automatic. Drove all the way from a downtown resto up to the boondocks aka my house. I can’t forget my guy friends’ expressions while I was on the wheel. The car owner had his hand glued on the hand brake, one was trying his best to stay calm while directing me “Left!” “Right!” “You’re at the center of the road!” “More to the left!”, and one was just whispering his prayers, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

We got to my place all in one piece but it would have been better if it didn’t take me an hour to drive through 7.5 kms.  I’m looking at enrolling myself in a driving school so I can get my license hassle free.

3. GET A PET. I’m thinking of owning either a turtle or a dog. If nobody gives me a puppy by the last quarter of the year, then I’m left with no choice but to buy a turtle.

4. START A BUSINESS. Christian and I have already discussed what business we’re venturing on. Hopefully we’ll get this started before I turn 27.

5. GROW MY HAIR. I will not get a haircut on my birthday as originally planned. Instead, I’ll grow it so I can try on the wavy do I’ve always wanted.

6. TAKE AND POST MORE PHOTOS.  Last year, I wasn’t able to take much photos because… I got lazy. Pfft.

7. SAVE. 2008 and 2009 were my happy-go-lucky years. I spent a lot on food, gadgets, and trips. Most of them unnecessary. This year, I’ll make sure that part of my monthly income goes to my saving.

8. BLOG MORE. Read my tagline? “Chattee’s lame attempt at going over 140 characters.” The main reason why I love Twitter and Plurk is because I only need to post 140 characters or less. I’m a creature of few words, I must say. I don’t have the gift of weaving together 200-500 words. This year though, I’ll give blogging my best shot. I’ll try to update this site as much as I can–if no words come to mind, then at least a photo I’ll post. *crossing my fingers*

9. DRINK MORE WATER. I only drink an average of 3-4 glasses of water a day. I promise it’s going to be more water over cola this year.

10. LOSE WEIGHT. I am currently at my record-high weight of (6719²) / (414 * 1983) + 2 pounds. Hanging out with friends who love to eat definitely contributed to the 15 pounds I gained.  The solution? Hang out less, bring only enough money, watch what I eat, and do not leave the house on an empty stomach.

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There you go, my first post for the year. At least I’ve already worked on my #8. Lol.
I have only posted here the 10 things off the top of my head.  Before the year ends I’ll be looking back at this list, and hopefully most,if not all, were accomplished by me. Anyway, here’s to a 2010 filled with love, happiness, and prosperity! <3 Till my next post…

Let's welcome 2010 with a big bang!

2010 is just around the corner, so I’m giving you  a recap of my 2009 in 9 words— in chronological order.

1. Chickenpox.
2. Http://katherinevlara.com
3. Jobless.
4. Broke.
5. GenSan.
6. WordCampPH.
7. AvatarMedia.
8. Employed.
9. Seasoned.

There you have it. I’ve always thought that 2009 isn’t really a good year for me, but after looking at the list above, I realized that it was actually a fun and productive year.  The good memories, I’ll treasure. The not so good ones, I’ll take as a lesson.

I look forward to what 2010 will bring, and… stay tuned for my list of  TO DOs next year.  Happy new year, everyone!  :)

Some of the best things in life are free; watching the sun rise is one of them.

It’s been 5 years since I last attended my college friends’ Christmas party.  I remember nights spent with bottomless Red Horse, tequila and crazy people who can’t stop teasing each other.  When bored, we usually end up doing silly things like—comparing nipples. Crazy people, I told you.

Tonight, we’ll be holding our overnight Christmas party in a resort.  It’s been a while since I last hung out with them, so I’m very excited to see everybody. There’ll definitely be booze, but I won’t be drinking much—prolly just a bottle or two. Because for me, the highlight of this party won’t be the food and the drinks. It’s going the be the sunrise the next day. I want to be sober so I’ll be able to sit on the shore, listen to the crashing waves and watch the sun rise. Happy happy. Joy joy.

See you tomorrow, Mr. Sun!

UPDATE:
Drank more than I was supposed to.  I had at least 10 tequila shots, so before 2AM I was already groggy. I didn’t want to go overboard, so I excused myself from the group and went to our room to catch some shuteye.  Because of snoring roommates, I was able to wake up at 5:20 AM.  My head was throbbing (my first hangover in 3 years), but I still went out to check the sunrise.  Sunrise today was supposed to be at 5:36, so I knew I woke up in time to catch it.  I stayed out for a couple of minutes only to find out that I wouldn’t be getting any nice view of the rising sun.  All I saw was the sky being painted with a tinge of orange—and a couple of drunk friends sleeping on monobloc chairs. Phail.

Aside from fertilizing plants, coffee grounds keeps ants, snails, slugs and even cats away.

You see, instead of throwing away the coffee grounds, Kangaroo is giving them away for FREE.   The grounds are packed in foil packs with a sticker label that includes usage tips.

All you green thumbs out there, let your plants enjoy coffee too!  If you don’t have coffee grounds at home,  just ask for your pack of Coffee for Flowers the next time you drop by Kangaroo Coffee.

Kangaroo Coffee Company is located at corner Mapa and Tiongko Streets, Davao City