Handmade is Better!

It was nice to know people care. Have you ever had one of those mass produced products that seem so cold no particular care or attention to detail was given to it? I have experienced it a lot and I just got another one this morning. It was sad because a friend just had given it to me like throwing pillows on a slumber party. It did not have that extra special touch I expected from her. I wanted more.

This afternoon I will be attending a wedding and I was frantic finding a gift for them since it only happens once (ideally and I hope it will be). I will be also shooting a couple since I wanted to cover this special event, she is a good friend. These are times where you want to treat her right, give the best things she wants so she feels special on this day. Coming from a traumatic morning I was hoping to find her something special. Handmade products made with love are perfect for this occasion. I will try to order some on line so I can get them what they really deserve. It's just the right thing to make someone happy and keeping it intimate. This just makes it more special. Fantastic!

Check out AMBER STORE for the best hand made products you can get! It's the best thing since sliced bread! It's a new discovery so if you want to give her the best, get on the site and check them out!

KUMAGCOW FOOD REVIEWS: Dinner at PHO' HOA

It was already 6PM and we were trying to get a fix on where exactly we would eat. We did not agree on anything so I roamed around the the streets of Morato and Timog. I was really urging for something soupy since I was a little tired of eating a lot of meat and starchy food every time. We passed by this restaurant and agreed we need to be comforted by the Vietnamese chain Pho' Hoa.

Photo just outside PHO HOA =)

I've gone to Pho Hoa a couple of times in the SM City North branch and did not enjoy the soup because of the flat leaf parsley (which tastes horrible in my books) but I did not think it was possible to have it removed by just asking them. Well what do you know, it was perfect broth for the beef dish I ordered.

Flank Brisket Tendon Meatballs aka Pho Hoa Soup

Every meal that they serve also have these condiments and additional veggies with it. A bottle of Hoisin Sauce and Chili Sauce was available in every table. Though I didn't opt for that because I wanted to taste the broth more if you know what I mean. Aside from that, I like basil a lot and this was part of the small veggies that came with this bowl of beefy goodness.

Hoisin, Chili, Basil, bean sprouts and a slice of lemon

It was nice to discover that the lemon made a huge difference when I added it to the soup. Mom and Dad liked it too. He even asked for seconds on the soup because he got this:

Chicken Noodle Soup yum o!

See what I mean? The servings of the noodle there was also huge, which was the reason why it was a hefty amount you also have to pay for. Well, whatever it is I think it was worth it. It could have cost a little cheaper and it would be more better. But at that time, I got comforted with it. I was not hungry and found this light meal. It was great, and to top it all here is the one my Dad liked a lot. Feast your eyes on this!

Tofu Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Service a little off, the drink (house iced tea) was nice, parking was ample enough, ambiance was okay but the food was very comforting. I'm rating this 3 out of 5 kumags for getting me there! My chopsticks rested and I could have eaten them all in one sitting though. Until the next food adventure! I'm gonna make this a regular thing so stay tuned!

KUMAGCOW eats PHO HOA!

To Have an IPHONE or Not To Have IPHONE

I have been contemplating on getting an IPHONE these past few days because my handy dandy N6280 is giving me a lot of trouble. The phone book is not working right, groups cannot be arranged and the applications do not even match my lifestyle anymore. I heard phone companies in the US like AT & T are giving great discounts on this handset so I am kind of thinking about this again. Maybe it is time my N6280 retires and get a new one.

I have been reading a couple of reviews about the newest one that they have in stores. This was not in my budget obviously so I really have to think twice or else I might starve myself just to get one this month. I was helping out a friend too in getting a new apartment; he could not afford the one he is staying in. He needs one that is quite close to his work since it's pretty hard for him to travel all the way up to the North where he originally lives. I had to lend him money so he could pay the first few months, so that is where much of the money goes.

I read that there is also a free application you can install and download from the IPHONE APP store to find apartments in the US. It uses state of the art GPS for location-based search technology so it would not be that hard to find one in the millions of apartments and rental homes nationwide. Real photos and notes on the property can also be seen. Check this out!

It also has the ability to share listings on FACEBOOK so even your friends can recommend or get one themselves. This is awesome software and I kind of need it now so I'll download them right after I purchase my new IPHONE next week from http://www.mynewplace.com/iphone. I have seen some apartments in my part of town but they were a little off the budget, so I might need the help of modern technology and a little luck for my friend so he can move in earlier.

This is so cool! I will keep a copy and download MyNewPlace in the iPhone app store. You should do that too!

My Laguna Photowalk with D60KREW

So there you go, I've got more but it would not really be good for the site since it would crawl a lot if I did put more of it here. Maybe soon I'll put the direct link for my photos here so you can all get to see em. Here's the KREW by the way:

From R-L: jake francis vince alex xander joseph Harvie kris Me carlo cid ray bangge me roy bambit olee Glenn
Group Hug PIC courtesy of Ms. Bambit

Along with my obsession with photography comes the arduous task of editing and post processing of all the shots I made in the Laguna photo walk with the D60 KREW. This was one awesome trip but I am still sick from it now but I don't regret the decision to come and enjoy my time with them. I got some of my pictures which I would like to show you now. Maybe it will load a little slow but bear with me alright?

This was taken on a fountain inside the premises of the Pila Laguna Church. It was floating on the second level I kinda pushed it in the water before I took a photo of it. Nice huh?!

This was taken inside the garden of the Rizal Shrine. They say that most of the plants and trees they planted there are all based on the former ones that existed in Rizal's time. I was a little disappointed about the shrine's color (they painted it green) but this Gumamela flower just POP in this scene. I've kinda been good at MACRO shots but never insisted going this path. Maybe soon when I get the hang of it I'll probably pursue it. But for now I like Glamor/Fashion and portrait shots more.

This is an untouched photo taken inside the Pila Laguna Church, it was raining outside so we were all trapped taking pics inside the church. I used flash but it kinda bounced off the gate where this was, it resulted into a nice shadow effect.

This was the church in Liliw Laguna where only a couple of us took shots. We were hurried by the other KREW so we kinda only took a few.

This was inside the garden of the Rizal Shrine. This was usually the place where Rizal and his siblings played during the day. It seems they were pretty well off at that time. Their stuff were kinda neat for an old family.

The Need to Rest

I'm so tired after that trip to Laguna and it was also really hard to get a decent shower at this time in the office. The shower room is also cramped with stuff from other employees and the lockers we have were not sufficient to hold all our belongings. I still got that handy towel wrap so I do not get the floors and corridors wet. I run from here to there but it was good I did not have to suffer like the rest of them; as I came well prepared.

I stuffed my filthy clothes in the laundry bag and I will get them to the washers early tomorrow morning. It is just so convenient to have one! I want to be organized too so this bag is really helping me a lot. Maybe after this, I would need to go home early because I need some sleep. I have been awake for about 29 hours when it strikes 6:00 AM. I just hope this would not affect my health. I never got sick for almost a year I guess and I would not want to start now. I do not have my own nap mat in the office because it would be troublesome for me to go from here to the other building where our sleeping lounge is. But I really need to get some sleep and get some rest after that exhausting photo shoot this morning. I better get some on line stuff so I would be better tomorrow. I have not incurred an absence in 5 years from the office and it would not be so nice to break that just because I am sleep deprived. My body can only do so much; I hope it would not be calling in sick tomorrow. I would be really disappointed if that happens so wish me great health and good luck!

D60 KREW Conquers Laguna!

Us @ Petron Treats @ South Super Highway

I literally just got off the van and went back to work. Geeze! This was one fun day... I guess I enjoyed the company... the small laughs in between and the jokes that cracked me up. The D60KREW just conquered Laguna!

From Left to Right: Vince, Jake (sorry tama ba? hehe) , Xander, John (that's me!), Vangie, Carlo, Francis (slightly hidden), Cid, Olee, Roy, Alex, Ms. Bambit, Ray, and Rye (I'm a lil hard in remembering names sorry if I misrepresented anybody! heheh)

It was a hot ride but I guess that doesn't matter anymore since we all jumped into this awesome photo shoot. Early morning at 2AM I woke up and never slept again because I know I'll probably never wake up if I did. Went to Cubao around 4:30 AM and met some of the guys and gal and got out of QC at about 5:15 AM. We went back to Eastwood since we forgot to fetch Cid in C5. Met the others at the Sucat exit and waited for Olee in the Petron Treats Station along South Superhighway. We started the journey in Calamba, Laguna where the country's national hero Jose Rizal spent his childhood... the green paint on it was a little disappointing... but the things inside the house and the facade was greatly appreciated by me and my peers. I got a lot of macro shots also done on the garden outside his home.

US D60KREW @ Rizal Shrine!

There was also a nipa hut where the young Rizal and his siblings usually play. The beds, tables and chairs inside the home were old and rustic. The porcelain inside the cabinets were all heirlooms of the Rizal family and had some inscriptions on it that it was passed on from generation to generation. It was nice too see that!

D60KREW @ San Juan De Letran Calamba Campus

The second stop was a couple of landscape shots inside the San Juan De Letran Campus in Calamba which was a few kilometers away from Rizal's house. It was nice to see the landscape and the mountains behind it. It was definitely breathtaking. Although we were a little tired already we still managed to go to another one after that.

Boy Scout's Camp @ Mt. Makiling Laguna

US @ Philippine High School for the Arts on top of Mt. Makiling, Laguna

The third place was the boy scouts camp in Mt. Makiling, the path was really steep and the curves were really that hard to maneuver in. I didn't have that much photos there so we went on an overlooking site at the top of Mt. Makiling where the Philippine High School for the Arts was on. The place was grand but most of the views were blocked by human high grass stalks called talahib. It was really nice to see some sort of a basin inside Laguna De Bay. Aside from that, the lake also had an island in the center of it that had casinos owned by the Governor of the province. It figures why she won the elections! Where did she get the money? Go figure!

That's not my problem anyway! So, the next stop we had was in UP Los Baños. Even if we did not have that much photos in UP, it was at least nice to be there. I mean, I've never been there believe me or not. We ate lunch at the outskirts of the campus and everyone was sizzling under the sweltering heat of the sun! Ouch! I'm a negroid again!

Speaking of SIZZLING... I ate a TBONE straight from the hot plate. It was tough but what can an ordinary carnivore do in this day and age... of course eat chicken from Rye! Heheh Man! It was a lot to chew and swallow in one sitting. I guess everybody else was hungry at that time, and a lil bit sleepy too after that. I heard some suggesting a 30 minute siesta but that wouldn't really work... so we hopped on the van again; and went to our next destination Pila, Laguna.

We tried our best to get some old houses in the D60 cameras that we had but after a few shots outside we all went inside the church to pray and get some of those evils off. I don't know if it was me or something in me, but it suddenly was dark outside... a few drops, then lightning and thunder... drips a little... then the whole cats dogs and the zoo fell down. We were all trapped inside the church for a good hour or so because if we went out we would probably have had all our gears wet. That would not be a pretty picture! I got a few excellent shots there that didn't require that much post processing but since I'm not at home yet at the time I'm writing this novel LOL, I would probably be able to post that later ayt!?

After the few rounds of Green Sweet Cold Gulaman from the Rye Foundation heheh... we skipped and hopped to the vehicles again and went to Nagcarlan, Laguna. The specific location was the Underground Graves that the municipality was known for. I guess that is what you call catacombs too right? Well I didn't have time to check that out on Google so I'd let you do that instead hehehe... This was where most Filipinos at war planned schemes against conquistadores from other countries. This was some sort of a secret meeting place. The graves were indeed kinda creepy but the outside was a bit picturesque and very rustic. We didn't have that much paid for entrances because most of these sites we visited were for free and only required donations which can probably range from 6 to 7 million dollars... joke! any amount will do actually! It rained a little but it did not dampen our spirits so we went to our final destination for pasalubong shopping Liliw, Laguna!

It was nice there although it looked like a market of some sort I enjoyed haggling a little with the locals on biscuits and sweets and the Uraro cookies I like. I kinda was confused between this URARO and the ARARO cookies we had in Bacolod... I guess that version in the visayas was sweeter and whiter than this one. The Uraro cookies looked more like butter cookies when baked til golden brown. We even had free samples before we bought anything. That lady who sold us these was quite good I guess, or is it because we were tourists? I dunno! Heheh... We also passed by the Liliw Sacred Heart Church which looked like a ton of bricks! It was nice outside and equally nice inside too. I took some pictures but couldn't post it because I'm still at work typing this in. Darn! I wanna go home! Hahah...

(Stopped for a while and took a shower, reflected on the things we did wrong like shouting inside the church and cursing on one time or the other heheh... changed clothes because I felt filthy!)

Continuing...

Group Hug @ Nagcarlan, Laguna

Everybody forgot to take group hug pictures in Nagcarlan so we all went back to that place and shot a few. Ms. Bambit and Carlo did set up their cams and went on clicking their remotes so we can take pictures of ourselves and jump on a few frames. It was hilarious because Bangge and Roy kept cracking up jokes while doing this... and the other things between trips the whole day heheh.

It was really fun and I had such a nice time with the guys at D60Krew. I guess we all went home with tired feet, but very happy faces because we did enjoy each other's company. The camaraderie and the joy a good shoot can deliver is just priceless! I guess that's what the D60Krew did today, and I hope this isn't the last of it!

Thank you D60KREW for this wonderful trip!

P.S. Credits to photos are from Ms. Bambit Gaerlan

Printing my Digital Photos

This has been a long withstanding task for me since I have not printed any of my photos yet. Yes I know how silly that sounds but I never got the time to go digital printing shops here and around the city because I always have a photo shoot every weekend. Tomorrow is not also exempted because I am going out of town south of Manila. So now you know my dilemma getting decent printing services in this part of the world.

There are more options on line and as a matter of fact a better alternative. When it comes to getting your photos printed, they now come in various designs and sizes. If you could see the difference, they have better output than what I anticipated. The colors are so vivid; the primary colors just pop and appear better than what I see in an ordinary RGB screen or computer. This is definitely the better way to show what I have been doing in photography. My cousin also was talking to me about leaflet printing so they can also use my images commercially. It makes everything so professional looking. I will print some of them now. What a sight to behold!

KUMAGCOW MOOOOVIEW REVIEWS: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

This was one exciting film and I was an avid fan of the first one. I heard they had plans to make a sequel but this second part among others was indeed better! It was not cartoonish on any rate and have better story flow than the first one. I guess the first one was made to introduce the cast and the actual robots. This second Transformers movie was made in good taste and I would really love to recommend it to a younger crowd since most of us can appreciate the hard things they do to computer graphics and this one hot representation of the female species:

Need I say more? Aside from that, the story of "The Matrix" which was shown in the early Japanese cartoons we love so dearly in the 80's and 90's is the main plot of the story. We also saw some familiar and not so familiar robots like Starscream, Soundwave etc. There are also a couple of vehicles that you would actually like in the movie because this time there are more than enough sports cars to battle any of Tokyo Drift sequels we so love from last year. Maybe soon we can put in Vin Diesel and get him to be one of the actors in the movie. I just do not know though where to put him hehehe. All in all this was a good move for the production and the directors. I would gamble giving them 4 KUMAGS for graphics and story. I recommend you watch this if it would not be available in DVD soon... you will regret something if that happens.

Ugly is in the Eyes of the Beholder

People are sometimes weird. There are some who have fetishes that are out of this world. Some are very unique and amusing. Some are even going to cause short laughter in between. In this day and age, freedom has been expressed in many ways... but the best part of it is you can get your friends into it too. Nothing is impossible as long as you put your mind into it.




It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, I am not talking about Christmas or anything like that. This one is fancier and you would really want your loved ones to get into it too. Whatever the reason or season is, you need to get them Ugly Sweaters. Yes ladies and gentlemen, there is a huge demand on this particular garment around the world. The time to wear it proud and loud is now. If you do not have Ugly Christmas Sweaters in your closet right now, this is the time to buy them and go out to the streets. You will be branded in one way or another, a name or two, but you will definitely be remembered. There are some Mens Ugly Sweaters that are available in all shapes and sizes. So if you do not have one yet, drop everything that you are doing and get on line. Spend those hard earned cash on something worth remembering for years, decades and centuries!

Flavor of the Month: UBE!

A few days ago we were surprised by one of our managers here in the office. It was the birthday of her Dad and she made it a point to get us a part of the loot. She brought cake and pasta to the office. This was no ordinary cake... it was UBE... yes ladies and gentlemen it was UBE!

With the way things are going, we opt to eat that time in the pantry since we were mighty hungry at that time. Of course being the "Filipino" that we are, we offered the UBE cake and pasta to the guards too. I ate a bit of the pasta and UBE Cake obviously and we also got the guards to eat with us. There were just two who did but I think they gave some of their share to another compatriot in the other building which we didn't mind because it was with our manager's generosity that we are after all eating it. So they had a few servings and we also had our own. A few slices of UBE cake was left in the box and so when another officemate arrived, we told her to have some UBE cake and eat it too. LOLZ! That's soooo many UBE in one paragraph!

She said she was going to share it with her boyfriend that morning because they had a particular schedule when they eat. When they got into the pantry, they saw the other guard (who previously ate UBE cake when we ate) looking at the UBE cake box... but they did not mind it because they apparently did not think they would get interested with it. After they ate outside and went back for the grand dessert, that same UBE cake box was missing! Yes ladies and gentlemen... NAWALA ANG UBE CAKE!

She looked for it and went back to her desk... she saw that same box hidden under the desk of the same security guard. She never bothered to confront them anymore and told me about it... I never thought it was a BIG deal... but in the morning she told this to another officemate and reported it to the administration. Now the guards are in a hot seat because the whole office knew about it. They were also rumored to probably lose their jobs because of this UBE cake! So people, ladies and gentlemen... I hope you learn your lesson... never to look at an UBE cake the same way again. This is definitely the flavor of the month... UBE!!!


Hehehe....