Making change is at your fingertips

'Go Beyond the Hour'

If you can sacrifice an hour using lights to save electricity and make the world a more sustainable place to live in, why not?

To place the responsibility and change in everyone’s fingertips. This is the goal of Earth Hour, a climate change campaign that Australia spearheaded in 2007. How you do it—by switching off the lights for an hour. 

Imagine homes, offices, schools, restaurants, shopping malls, practically everywhere where artificial lights are used immersed in darkness. The campaign had made a very big impact that different countries joined and participated in this annual event. 

Set for March 26 globally, Philippines will again take part in this campaign. 

“Earth Hour is a simple act that emphasizes both the ease and importance of adopting energy-efficient practices and lifestyles,” said Earth Hour National Director lawyer Gia Ibay, who also leads the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) Climate Unit. “Given ever-increasing energy demands, we must be mindful of the need to control human-induced global warming by adopting smarter and more responsible energy practices.” 

The Philippines, which took part just a year after Earth Hour was first held in Australia, had showed full support by the topping the list in levels of participation for years 2009 and 2010. Ten million Filipinos in 647 towns, cities and municipalities switched off in 2009, while 15 million Filipinos in 1076 towns and cities joined the 2010 switch-off. 

Earth Hour 2010 had been the largest environmental event so far in human history with over a billion people from 128 countries partaking. 

The main switch-off event for Earth Hour 2011 in the Philippines will be at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay. Ibay also urged for nationwide participation she said, ““We urge all Manila-based Filipinos to join us at the SM Mall of Asia. Those based in Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Baguio and our other towns and cities should ask their local malls or government units where the nearest switch-off events will be observed.” 

Earth Hour will be observed from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Where to find a model's models

“Our personality will bring us to greater heights.” This is what Abbygale Arenas-de Leon constantly reminds the students of Personi-fi Image Studio Inc., an image enhancement and personality development company, which she owns and runs.

Arenas, a former beauty queen and model, established Personi-fi in 2007 for aspiring models, as well as individuals who wish to boost their confidence through a series of classes that involve both lectures and practical instructions.

For the past four years, she observed that the common obstacle her students need to overcome is the hesitation to let their real personalities shine through. It’s either they are too shy and insecure, or they try to be like someone else. Over time, she is able to convince them that individuality will get them through the doors of their goals.

The teachers

To continuously help groups and individuals develop and enhance their images and personalities, Personi-fi offers five in-house classes to be facilitated by a topnotch team of experts.

The trainers are comprised of three seasoned Filipina supermodels, including Arenas herself, together with Marina Benipayo and former The Manila Times columnist Patty Betita. She has also enlisted the talents of Dino Santos, a distinguished toastmaster, and Joanna Salita, a professional make-up artist specializing in airbrush make-up to be Pesoni-fi’s senior beauty specialist.

The classes

Benipayo, who has been in the modeling industry for three decades now, shared at a press conference on March 10, that today’s models have different ethics compared to her earlier years. She addresses this concern in her class, “The Art of Modeling,” which offers an advanced syllabus integrating ethics in modeling.

“There has never been a comprehensive instruction on how models should behave [and] what kind of respect they should give to photographers and stylists,” she elaborated. Her goal in her class is to make sure that aspiring models leave her at the end of the course with the right attitude and qualities to stand out from among the competition. She assured she will give sure-fire lessons, which she herself gained from her own experiences in the industry.

Betita, meanwhile, is in charge of “Personality Development for Teens.” Long a teacher of introverted teens, she shared that it brings her much fulfillment when parents approach her and thank her for helping their children come out of their shell. She is able to do so with a lesson plan that covers teen etiquette, good grooming, skincare and social graces.

Finally, Santos will teach “Confident Conversational Skills,” while Salita will take care of “Personal Hair and Make Up” lessons.

“It’s not enough to be presentable, to be handsome [and] to be gorgeous. We also have to be communicative,” Santos related. He assured that at the end of his class, his students will be able to talk to new acquaintances and carry a conversation in any kind of setting.

Salita, meanwhile, will teach her students to do hair and make-up in just 10 minutes.

The results

Arenas, who has been an image expert for 13 years, explained that the role of Personi-fi is to, “put consciousness and awareness in the importance a person’s image in achieving his goals and dreams.”

She teaches a class called the “Power of First Impression,” which holds that first impressions are made in the first six to eight seconds of meeting another individual.

“You might be beautiful inside. You might have a good heart. You might have a good brain. That’s all OK. But the thing is you have to show it. That is the very reason, I gathered these five people together because they will bring out the best in everyone.”

Personi-fi’s classes begin on April 2 at the Personi-fi Image Studio, Barangay Bel-Air, Makati City. For more information, log on to www.personifi.com or call the 890-8062 or (0999) 731-9613.

Article first published for The Manila Times. 

Love a-faring

For the past few years, what has happened to my so-called love affairs, or the lack of it? I just wanted to make some assessments. 

So far, I have been single despite some attempts on the part of a few men, followed by attempts on my part. And thinking hard, why has every little thing been a failure so far? (There have been regrets on some stories and no regrets on others.)

These last two years, men just seem to leave me hanging. I really dunno. Every instance seem to end up badly. Right when I'm right there in the middle of being ready to give it my all, the specie of man seem to just disappoint me. Or it could be that I disappoint them. Or both. 

For whatever reasons, expectations and emotions just don't seem to meet. However, as the turn of events unfold, I always end up the one feeling like a loser. Yes, beaten, busted, angered, empty and alone. 

All of which leaves me to a conclusion. That from now and beyond (who knows) I am officially quitting my hopeless romantic fantasies of princess meets the knight in shining armor. No more patiently and stupidly waiting for 'the one.' How many times had I thought that he's the one?! Many times and yet I only get hurt. No fairytale endings I suppose. 

A recent incident is the reason for all of this introspection. There's a guy willing to take a chance, but what did I do? I ruined it. I ruined it before he ruins it. Alas. I've no trust in myself anymore. I just felt that I was in the brink of being dropped to the ground again. And so, even if he really wouldn't do so, I accused him of doing so. For the fear of being left again. 

It's awful. I am self-destructing. This is such a dysfunctional take on love and boyfriends and flirting and falling and failing and love again. 

Before I was the brave one. Before my heart would keep on fighting. But that was before. And until I learn to trust myself again . . . 

What defines you

You can never make me like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and K-pop music. It's not good music. Period. And I can tell you what good music is. 

Good music is music that defines our culture. It's music that has a sense of roots, and beginnings, and our origins. It's music in which you can dance to the sounds of nature. It's music in which you feel the hymn of the tribes. It's music that speaks of history and future (the fusion of old and new). It's music that turns the volume of nationalism up, to a higher level! 

And so, I've been loving the music of Pinikpikan. A band founded in 1989, a year earlier before I was born. And also, there's Kadangyan for this generation. 

***

(photo from Pinikpikan's FB)

Pinikpikan's music is best described in their FB Page information. It goes:

It all started in 1989 at the first Baguio Arts Festival, Baguio City, home to many of the most renowned contemporary Filipino artists. After the Festival's opening, participating artists from Manila and the provinces had joined up with members of the Baguio Arts Guild for a dinner at the Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio´s homegrown cultural center. As they sat around the Café's "dap-ay" (a circular rock installation found in the tribal villages of the Cordillera where elders hold their council and initiation rites), someone picked up a couple of pieces of pinewood meant for the fire raging at the centre. Another picked up some bamboo segments. Rum and beer bottles were used. So were covers of pots and pans. Rocks were pounded. Sticks flailed. A rhythm was born influenced by the traditional beats of the surrounding indigenous Igorots. The well known rock band The Blank joined in with lead and bass guitars. A keyboard was set up. Saxophones and flutes appeared. The indigenous Bisaya and Ilonggo contingents from the southern islands of the Philippines connected with their melodies. The music was called "Rock ‘n´ Runo" (a reed found in the highlands similar to thin bamboo) as opposed to rock ‘n´ roll. Visual artist and founding member of the Baguio arts Guild, Manong BenCab named it PINIKPIKAN.

Really inspiring, those words and their music. I hope to discover more good Filipino music.

(Pinikpikan is an exotic Ilocano chicken dish. Papa actually knows how to cook it. And I've eaten it already. Really yummy!) 

Alamid Café Xpress: Brews that boost local farmers

The world's most exotic and expensive coffee beans sold at a more reasonable price.

Debates will always be made as to what province in the Philippines produces the best tasting coffee. But there is no doubt that coffee beans produced by the famous Alamid, or Philippine civet cat, will always gain a top spot. After all, these pricey roasts are considered a luxury even by coffee connoisseurs. 

On February 8, a new coffee joint called Alamid Café Xpress formally opened their first branch to offer alamid coffee, but with a more reasonable price. They also offer coffees from different regions around the country.

The alamid coffee comes from the droppings of the civet cat, which eats and digests the coffee berries. These droppings are believed to be the most exotic and expensive coffee beans in the world.

Located inside Recreational Outdoor eXchange at B1, Bonifacio High Street in Taguig City, Alamid Café Xpress carries the catchphrase “Coffee is adventure.”

Bote Central is the owner of Alamid Coffee and its new café. The driving force behind the company is a family who loves nature, and who happens to believe that one way to enjoy nature is via its produce, coffee.

Bote Central’s Chairman/President and treasurer are husband and wife Basil and Vie Reyes, respectively, who had humble beginnings before they developed their now lucrative business.

Alamid Cafe Xpress makes brews that help local farmers

Pro-nature; pro-farmers

Certainly, there have been ups and downs in growing the business as the couple’s daughter Rachelle Red remembers. There came a time, apparently, that the family would only gather a kilo of coffee droppings a week, which obviously meant minimal profit. This, explained Red, was because they get their coffee beans from wild and roaming civet cats unlike others that cage the animals and force feed them with the coffee berries.

“We love nature [and] adventures so we push for the preservation of the environment,” she explained.

Eventually, it was the family’s vision of helping local communities and products that paved way for the success of Alamid Coffee.

“Coffee is a passion that we have especially [to help] the community,” said Vie.  “When everything is going international [or] global, we [choose to] go local.”

Her daughter added, “It is our vision to help local coffee farmers in different communities.” Elaborating, she said that there is a long supply chain that farmers need to go through to sell their produce. They have to go to retailers to process their coffee, before it can reach the market, which whittles down their profit. As a solution, his father Basil and brother Paolo innovated roasting machines for their farmer partners.

Throughout Philippines—from the Mountain Province to Jolo—14 community-roasting facilities funded by German Development Service were installed. In effect Alamid Coffee brought the market closer to the farmers, as they can now sell roasted beans to buyers. 

A cup of Alamid coffee

Around the country with coffee

Besides serving the world’s rarest brew, the Alamid Café Xpress also offers a line called “Origins Blended Coffee.”

Origins Coffee is comprised of beans that are indigenous to different provinces in the Philippines. Among the selection is Arabica coffee from Mount Barlig of Mountain Province in the Cordillera and Mount Matumtum of South Cotabato in Mindanao; Liberica from Mount Halcon in Oriental Mindoro; Exelsa from Mount Banahaw in Quezon Province; and Robusta from Maragusan, Compostela Valley in Mindanao.

Red added that guests can customize their own blend from the different provinces, depending on their taste. A suggestion she made is a combination of 50-percent Arabica and 50-percent Robusta.

The café will also feature a partner community every month, like the Mangyans from Mindoro and their indigenous ingredient.

Clearly, the goal of Alamid Café Xpress is not just to give customers coffee fixes but local brews that will make them proud. 


Article first published for The Manila Times.

Live on, Sugarfree

Last night, I was able to watch the most heartfelt concert in my life and ironically, it'd be the last of its kind. That was the last concert of that band, Sugarfree.

And hey! You know me well if you know how much I adore that band. SUPER, it tops the list! A fangirl by heart. I love Sugarfree. And whenever I managed to gain some following on something, it means a lot. NO, I'm not the type who joins fanclubs. I'm the type who memorizes their songs by the heart. 

And so, knowing that last night was the last time I'd sing my heart and guts out while Sugarfree performs live sucks. It's heart-breaking, the inevitable ending. And of course I cried. Like the way I cried at Panic! at the Disco's break up and NU's closing down. The tears got pretty uncontrollable, that was during "Tulog Na" (second to the last song). That's my favorite song among all Sugarfree songs. I closed my eyes and just listened. Ebe's voice and the band's sound were being washed away by the people singing along. That moment was the moment of realization and next thing I knew tears was just falling continuously down my cheeks. 

But iI guess that was a good goodbye, was it not? The band was at their peak, it's not as if they're not 'sikat' anymore. The members had no hard feelings with each other, they're disbanding as good friends without some stupid fight because they knew somehow, they have to move on/up. And lastly they didn't let their loving fans down. They held a farewell concert that will be forever engraved in the recesses of our minds. Sugarfree showed their gratitude and love for all the people who supported them all the way. 

And I think that matters a lot. Sugarfree broke our hearts, but thankfully in a good way. 

***

While waiting for Sugarfree to start the farewell concert, I told my dear friend Kimoy "I miss Rugrats." Rugrats is the code name my barkada and I gave to my activist crush back in COC-PUP. Rugrats, because he looks dugyot like the kids in Rugrats.

True, I really remember him these days, for no reason at all. Basta naalala ko lang sya. And been wondering what's up with him.

Then minutes later, I was looking at him straight in the eyes while he came walking in front of Kym and I. I stared at him, he stared back. It was disbelief on my part and I guess recognition on his. And it felt like the longest stare in my life! I couldn't get my eyes off him. And I want to believe it's DESTINY, not coincidence. 

One day we'll meet again, and by that time it won't just be stares.

***

Burnout (the fitting farewell/last song)

O wag kang tumingin
Ng ganyan sa ‘kin
Wag mo akong kulitin
Wag mo akong tanungin

Dahil katulad mo
Ako rin ay nagbago
Di na tayo katulad ng dati
Kay bilis ng sandali

O kay tagal kitang minahal

Kung iisipin mo
Di naman dati ganito
Teka muna teka lang
Kailan tayo nailang

Kung iisipin mo
Di naman dati ganito
Kay bilis kasi ng buhay
Pati tayo natangay

O kay tagal kitang minahal

Tinatawag kita
Sinusuyo kita
Di mo man marinig
Di mo man madama

O kay tagal kitang mamahalin