Neil's Pichi-Pichi

Neil's kutsinta

Happy birthday to my beloved brother Ferdie Bautista! We love you!

From the time I was born and grew up with you,

Everything that you did, I imitated you.

Remember the time when we were like a cat and a dog?

Definitely could not be together or else we would explode.

Inspite of that, as we get older,

Everlasting love and care we now share together.

As you walk in life with your dreams and passions,

Include me as one of your possessions.

During your times of trial or fall,

Especially when you can not do anything but crawl,

Never forget that we are here you can call.

Eventually life will pass.

Live it as if it is your last.

Only God can give you the best.

In His time you will get your request.

Neil's Adobong Balun-balunan

Chocolate Chip Muffin

Panatang Makabayan (Luma at Bago)

LUMA:
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas.
Ito ang aking lupang sinilangan.
Ito ang tahanan ng aking lahi.
Ako'y kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan,
Upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapakipakinabang.

Bilang ganti ay diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang.
Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng aking paaralan.
Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas.

Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at buong katapatan.
Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na Pilipino,
Sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa.

BAGO:
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas,
Aking lupang sinilangan,
Tahanan ng aking lahi,
Kinukupkop ako at tinutulungan
Maging malakas, masikap at marangal.
Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,
Diringgin ko ang payo
ng aking mga magulang,
Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng aking paaralan,
Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin
Ng mamamayang makabayan:
Naglilingkod, nag-aaral at nagdarasal
Ng buong katapatan
Iaalay ko ang aking buhay,
Pangarap, pagsisikap
Sa bansang Pilipinas.
---wakas---

Dahil kinalakhan ko ang lumang Panatang Makabayan, di maiaalis na mas gusto ko ang lumang bersyon nito.

Isang pagbati sa ika-113 Kasarinlan ng Pilipinas.
Mabuhay ang bawat Pilipino sa buong mundo.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Happy Birthday Pauline Alexandra!

Happy birthday to our dearest Izan!

Happy birthday Paolo!

Happy birthday Paolo!

KLM's Tile Yourself

BE WHERE U ARE, OTHERWISE U WILL MISS YOUR LIFE

About a week ago when I received a message from KLM that I was indeed one of the 4,000 winners of their Tile Yourself promo. I sent 4 entries to that promo and luckily mine was one of the lucky entries. According to the email, my tile along with other 3,999 tiles will be attached on the body of a Boeing 777-200. Isn't that great? Above is my winning entry to the said promo game.

My Pepe Jeans, Resurrected!

Neil's Pandesal

Flags

My Singapore Trip 2011



Just before landing to Singapore Changi

Changi

May 27, 2011. Friday. I arrived at Changi Airport at 15.25. There was a huge number of arriving passengers. So, I expected a long queue at the immigration. It took me atleast an hour to pass thru the immigration. As a Philippine Passport holder I was then given atleast 30 days to stay in the city country. Then went to the baggage claim, where I easily found my unique baggage with "I love Philippines" tag.

Royal Club Lounge

At 16.30 I finally arrived at Royal Plaza Hotel on Scotts. Very nice hotel with gym, sauna and pool. In contrary to the reviews I read on TripAdvisor, the room was decently spacious, with a privelege to use the Royal Club Lounge. (In other hotel it is called executive lounge). I chose not to rest, I just have to tire myself, use my remaining energy so I could easily fall asleep at night and eventually adjust my body rhythm.

Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore

We decided to have a walk from our hotel in Scotts Road down the the shopping street called Orchard Road. We reached a Y road by YMCA, then we headed towards the bay. We were just at our toes continuously walking, not knowing where we were headed.

Boat Quay

Fullerton

Orchard Road

Then we saw a bridge, with a line of restaurants that caters seafoods. We saw a lot of huge crabs. We decided to dine in one of the restaurants. That strip is called Boat Quay. There were lots of westerners in their nice shirts having a drink and talking ernestly with their colleagues. Most likely they just came from their busy work.
 

Crab eating at Boat Quay

China Town

Luge at Sentosa

After dinner, we walked by Fullerton Hotel, and checked the famous Merlion of Singapore, the scenery was awesome. It was a very lovely evening. I noticed alot of Kabayans (Filipino comrade) taking pictures here and there. I was thinking if they could recognize me as one of them. I needed to refresh by having a Starbucks frapuccino, so I bought one from the store right under the bridge. What a cozy evening! Then we took a taxi back to our hotel. It cost 6.66 singapore dollars. I hope that does  not have any bad meaning.May 28, 2011. Saturday. MRT stop at Little India. We checked if I could see a cheap DVD player that can play all DVD's. I have DVD's from my brother Ferdie in USA. Unluckily it doesn't play in europe. We saw one but we were thinking we might still see some nice things in Chinatown, as that was our next stop. We went to Chinatown, I bought chinese dresses for my nephew and nieces.

May 29, 2011. Sunday. Since we were not able to find any DVD in Chinatown yesterday. We went back to  Little India to buy the DVD player. To be sure, I brought my SEVENTH HEAVEN DVD from USA to test if it would really work. Mr. Indian took the DVD player and walllaaaaahhh it played. Sometimes the best solutions are not so expensive. We took the MRT, from Farret Stn to Boat Quay as we planned to have our lunch there. I chose to have a nice huge crab for lunch. We then decided to have a boat ride along singapore river for 15singapore dollars per person (30minutes).

Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Universal Studios Singapore

May 30, 2011. Monday. We took the MRT, stopped at Harbourfront station, and took the Cable lift to Sentosa Island.  Luge ride and skyride at sentosa, walked on the beach and had nice  drink by the beach. Went to Universal Studios Singapore. The place was just packed with people. I can't even breathe.

Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel

May 31, 2011. Tuesday. Marina Bay Sands Singapore overlooking. Experienced the Raffles Hotel Singapore Sling. Had lunch at Rennthai by Clarke Quay. Went to Chinatown for shopping.

Hard Rock Cafe Singapore

June 1, 2011. Wednesday. Shopping in the morning. Hard Rock Cafe Singapore at 21.30.


June 2, 2011. Thursday. Shopping till 12.30. Then went back to the hotel freshen up and checked out at 14.00. Have to kill 4 hours so we stayed at the Royal Club Lounge where I composed this blog. Enjoying the endless serving of coffee, fruitjuices and sandwiches. KL838 SIN-AMS at 2200. Alot of time huh!

Finally arrived in Singapore after so many dramas.

To start the day, I went to school with my leche flan, whilst the rest of my classmates brought their own food. Het was gezellig! It went very well. I will miss them. We all agreed to meet at STE after the exam on 16 juni 2011.
I returned home 25 past 3pm, I was hoping to catch the 15:47 train. I did all I can to reach Eindhoven Station before that time. Yes I came just before the time only to find out that there's no train going to Schiphol direct so I had to wait for the next train @ 16:02 direction Schagen. By that train I had to make a transfer at Utrecht going to Schiphol. Some chinese passengers talked loudly, it was overpowering. I wish I stand with someone who can speak Tagalog. Hmmmp, I felt hunger. I still had to wait 45 minutes more till I reach Schiphol.
Finally, I arrived at 17:30 in Schiphol. I went to check-in my baggage. I used the electronic self service check in. It went very well.
Then I encountered a long queue to the immigration. Man, there's another encounter with a chinese man who opted to wave with his friends than paying attention if it's his turn or not, the immigration officer was quite irritated. I poked the man and said, "Excuse me, the officer is waiting for you." He seemed not understanding what I said, so I pointed to the direction of the officer. OMG. Wake up, could you not make a fair share of paying attention and respect the time of other people running late for their boarding! What a drama!
The gate would open at 19.40 so I still have time to eat dinner. I went to Mcdonalds. I patiently stood on the queue. I felt that the queue is taking longer, only to find a latina woman on her 50's could not decide if she will have a drink with her meal or not. The cashier was already softly shouting at her. What a drama. She could not decide as well if she would pay in USD or EUR. After that, I was finally served without any scene. I didn't want attention anyhow. I was already thinking what will I do if this cashier shouts at me. I think I will throw the fries on her. (Just imagining).
Thanks to KPN free wifi, I was entertained while waiting for the time.
It started boarding at 20.35. When I reached my designated seat, I saw an old pensionist from Holland sitting there. With respect, I softly told that it is actually my seat and showed my boarding pass. I was blocking the whole aisle because this man didn't want to vacate till he sees his ticket which his wife was then searching. It was I think at the bottom of her disorganized bag. Out of shame and concern to other people I give way so they could all pass. Finally, they saw that they were wrong. I got my aisle seat, which I reserved long ago. I need an aisle seat because I am a frequent WC user.
I thought the drama was over. Then a german couple seated opposite me started to make a scene. If I count how many times they closed and opened their overhead cabin it would reached a million times. Everyminute she did it without fail. Very consistent. While she stood there on the aisle ofcourse her big f*cking ass faces me without hesitance. Then he continuously walked , jumped, danced while listening to her ipod. Tell me, was that proper? So f*cking irritating.
I realized why would I think of her, I ignored her and tried to get some sleep. While sleeping, I suddenly heard a noise as if someone fell. I opened my eyes only to see a woman at her mid 30's at the side of my leg, as if gasping for air. She was holding that disposal bag. I have no idea if she will vomit or she was hyperventilating. Instead of getting worried about her, I was so pissed off. You can do anything to me, but not destroy my sleep. In the first place, sleeping in the flight is not pleasant. Inside me, I was laughing, thought what kind of trial God has been giving me.
At long last, I arrived in Singapore. If i remember what happened during the course of my journey, I can not help but laugh. What an ordeal. Full of dramas!

Goodbye Mr. Pepe!

Paradise Oskar - Da da Dam

Paradise Oskar's Da da dam

Peter is smart, he knows each European country by heart
He likes to sit under an apple tree on his yard
And wait for an apple to fall
When Peter is nine, his teacher tells him that this planet is dying
That someone needs to put an end to it all
And so when Peter comes home, he tells his mom:

I’m going out in the world to save our planet
And I ain’t coming back until she’s saved
I’ll walk my way to see the king and parliament
If they don’t help, I’ll do it by myself
I don’t wanna be…
Dadadam dadadam dadadada dadada…

Peter is young, he tries to talk, but no one listens to him
Everybody’s busy living and dying, not thinking about what they’re doing.
But look at the boy who went out in the world to save our planet
And he ain’t coming back until she’s saved
He walked his way to see the king and parliament
But they all turned their heads and walked away, singing:

Dadadam dadadam dadadada dada…
Dadadam dadadam dadadada dada…

And now I’m going out in the world to save our planet
And I ain’t coming back until she’s saved
I’m walking in the footsteps that young Peter made
And everybody is welcome to join, and sing with me:

Dadadam dadadam dadadada dada dadam…
Dadadam dadadam dadadada dada dadam…
Dadadam dadadam dadadada dada dadam…

Villa Escudero 2010 November 7

Banana Chip Muffin

My version of banana chip muffin.

Philippines, Social Networking Capital of the World

24/7 Wall St. looked at the ten countries in which Facebook has tremendous dominance of the online market. Most are concentrated in Latin America or Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia. There is no obvious explanation for this except that some of these markets are among the first where Facebook introduced its service.

24/7 used data from comScore, Inside Facebook, New Media Trend Watch, and ZDNet to do its analysis.

These are the Ten Nations Where Facebook Rules The Internet:

10. Venezuela
> Facebook: 86.2%
> Twitter: 21.0%
> LinkedIn: 3.2%
> Internet Use: 37.7%

Venezuela has the third highest rate of Twitter use among Internet users. According to research firm comScore, 21% of Venezuela’s Internet users have Twitter accounts. The only countries with higher percentages are Indonesia and Brazil. America, by comparison, has a usage rate of 12%, the eleventh highest. Social media also plays a large role in Venezuelan politics. Hugo Chavez, the country’s president, has 1.5 million Twitter followers. He is the second-most followed political figure, behind only Barack Obama.

9. Colombia
> Facebook: 86.9%
> Twitter: 14.6%
> LinkedIn: 3.3%
> Internet Use: 48.7%

More than 86% of Colombians visited a social networking site in September, with Facebook leading the category. Visitors averaged 4.6 hours on the site during the month. Nearly 7 out of 10 Colombians visited a photo sharing site in September 2010 led by Facebook.com. Colombia is the fastest-growing Internet market in Latin America, growing 31% in the past year to reach 11.8 million unique visitors in September 2010, according to comScore. Facebook is by far the most popular social networking site in the country, with visitors having spent an average of 4.6 hours on the site during one month, of a total 20.4 hours spent online.

8. Peru
> Facebook: 87.2%
> Twitter: 12.5%
> LinkedIn: 4.6%
> Internet Use: 27%

Although a large portion of Peru’s Internet users are involved with social networking websites, it has a relatively small minority of people who use the Internet at all. As of January 2011, only 27% of Peruvians were online, one of the lowest rates among the Latin American countries. Peru also had the second slowest growth among Latin American countries of Internet users in 2010, according to Inside Facebook. The only country to have slower growth was Brazil.

7. Indonesia
> Facebook: 87.5%
> Twitter: 22.0%
> LinkedIn: 1.3%
> Internet Use: 12.3%

Social network penetration in Indonesia is the third greatest in Southeast Asia as of the beginning of 2011, at 90% of those people online. According to comScore, the country’s high adoption rates are due “almost exclusively” to Facebook. In January 2011, 22% of Indonesian Internet users visited Twitter, the fourth-greatest share among all countries. Indonesia, however, has the smallest percentage of Internet users among the countries on this list — 12.3%.

6. Malaysia
> Facebook: 88.4%
> Twitter: 10.8%
> LinkedIn: 2.9%
> Internet Use: 64.6%

Malaysia has the second-highest social network penetration in Southeast Asia, with 91%. One of the most increasingly popular social-networking activities in the country is photo-sharing on sites such as Facebook. From 2009 to 2010, the popularity of online photo-sharing increased by 57% in Malaysia. This is the second greatest percentage among Southeast Asian countries.

5. Argentina
> Facebook: 89.2%
> Twitter: 18.0%
> LinkedIn: 6.4%
> Internet Use: 64.4%

Facebook has become extremely popular in Argentina recently. As of May 2011, Argentina’s penetration rate was 89.2%. 27.8% of minutes spent online in Argentina are spent on social networks, making the category the second most popular online destination. The first is portals.

4. Chile
> Facebook: 90.2%
> Twitter: 14.3%
> LinkedIn: 5.9%
> Internet Use: 50%

Chile has among the highest rates of Internet use among Latin American countries, with 50% of Chileans online. According to comScore, 28.5% of all minutes spent online in Chile are spent on social networking sites, up 8.9 percentage points from the previous year. This makes it the most popular activity online based on “minutes used.”

3.Turkey
> Facebook: 90.9%
> Twitter: 16.6%
> LinkedIn: 3.4%
> Internet Use: 45%

Turkey has the highest Facebook penetration among all the Eurasian countries, with a rate of 90.9%. The second highest is the UK, with 81.7%. Internet users in Turkey also spend the third greatest amount of time on social networking sites among all nations, behind only Russia and Israel. The average Turkish social network visitor spends 7.6 hours a month on social networking sites.

2. Israel
> Facebook: 91.0%
> Twitter: 5.0%
> LinkedIn: 6.4%
> Internet Use: 71.6%

Israel has the highest rate of Internet use among the countries on this list, with 71.6% of the country’s population being “plugged in.” It is also very involved with Facebook. Besides having the second highest rate of Facebook usage among Internet users, Israelis spend the second most amount of time on social networking sites, behind only Russia. Israel’s social network users spend an average of 9.2 hours on social network sites a month.

1. Philippines
> Facebook: 93.9%
> Twitter: 16.1%
> LinkedIn: 1.9%
> Internet Use: 29.7%

Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%. Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a penetration rate of 93.9%. The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%. The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook. Social networking is so popular among Filipinos, the country has been nicknamed “The Social Networking Capital of the World."

http://gadgetechreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/ten-nations-where-facebook-rules.html

Danielle and Aiden 2010

Cholesterol

Para kang CHOLESTEROL, kahit tumanda ako nasa puso ko pa rin ikaw.

Minsan

Minsan hindi na kailangan magsabi para maipaalam.
Minsan hindi na kailangan ng salita para maipahayag.
Minsan hindi na kailangan ng dahilan para maipaliwanag.
Minsan hindi na kailangan magtanong para malaman ang sagot.
Alam mo na yon... Ang importante ramdam mo.

Attended my first dutch mass.

Today at 10.30 am I attended my first ever dutch mass at Catharina Kerk in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
I was so pleased with the service.
I never witnessed a mass as solemn as this one.
I did not hear any annoying noise from babies and children.
This service was excellent.
The choir was great, as if you hear angels sing.
The parishioners were not as much as the english mass but you can feel God's presence and self-meditate.
Thank you Lord, for showing me the way.
Dutch mass at Catharina Kerk every sunday @10.30am.

Maligayang araw ng mga Ina!

Naaalala ko pa nung dinadalhan mo ako ng bagong lutong tanghalian araw-araw sa paaralan, pwede naman akong magbaon, pero sabi mo mas maganda sa katawan ang mainit.

Kadalasan sa tuwing ako'y magigising sa umaga wala ka na sa aking tabi. Dahil nakabangon ka na at nakapamalengke upang itinda, nang sa ganoon ay may maipandadagdag na pera na panggastos.

Sa hapon nagtitinda ka pa sa mga eskwelahan ng iskrambol at bananaque. At kung anihan naman ng palay, nandun ka at namamagpag, tinitiis ang nakakapasong init ng araw, upang makapag uwi ng isang kilong bigas. Lahat yun alam ko at nakita ko. Subalit wala akong narinig ni isang reklamo galing sa iyo.

Pagod ka na, pero may lakas ka pa para ipaglaba kami at ipagluto. Minsan naiinis pa ako kapag ako ang inuutusan mong magbomba ng poso. Kung tutuusin eh wala iyon kumpara sa hirap mo. Pero wala kang reklamo.

Ilang beses ko ring napagmasdan ang sakit sa tuwing nakikita mo akong nakatanghod sa mga pasalubong ng bagong dating nating kapitbahay galing sa ibang bansa para sa kanyang pamilya. Oo, alam kong masakit sa iyo na hindi mo maibigay sa amin ang mga bagay na iyon. Naiiinggit ako, ngunit nauunawaan ko.
Grade 4 ako nang umalis ka para magtrabaho sa UAE. Alam ko mahirap sa iyo na iwanan kami, pero kailangan mong tiisin dahil nais mo ang magandang kinabukasan para sa amin.

Walang graduation naming magkakapatid sa elementary o high school ang nakauwi ka. Importante sa amin na naroon ka sa araw ng aming pagtatapos, ngunit natuto kaming unawain na mas masakit sa iyo na wala ka sa araw na iyon. Alam namin na ang lahat ng sakripisyo ay may katumbas na kaginhawahan.

Maraming bumatikos, nanlait at nanghamak sa iyo, bakit daw pinagpipilitan mo kaming paaralin sa isang private school eh hindi mo naman kaya. Hindi nasira ang loob mo. Dahil nais mo ang magandang edukasyon para sa amin. Lagi mong sambit "MAY AWA ANG DIYOS."

Mahirap lumaki nang wala ka. Maraming kaklase ang nanlait dahil sa naninilaw at gusot kong uniporme. Madali para sa kanila ang mangutya. Sabi pa nga ng isa kong guro,"Hoy, hinahabol ka na ng plantsa." Nagtawanan naman silang lahat. Hanggang ngayon rinig ko pa rin ang halakhak ng ilan sa aking isip. Lumaki akong my inggit dahil sa mga nakikita ko sa kanila na wala ako. Subalit natutunan kong magtiis at maging malugod sa kung ano ang mayroon. Nang cnabi ko syo yun, batid ko ang hapdi sa iyong puso. Nasambit mo na lang, "Anak, mas pinagpapala ang inaapi. Pagpasensyahan mo na lng dahil ikaw ang nakakaunawa. May awa ang Diyos."

Sa bawat pag-uwi mo ay ligaya at pagkasabik ang dulot. Sa bawat paglisan mo hinagpis at pangungulila ang sakit. Ang sabi mo, "Anak, wag kang mag-alala sandali lang naman ang 2 taon. Magpapakabait ka at mag-aral. May awa ang Diyos."

Hindi sapat ang mga salita upang maipahayag ko ang labis kong kaligayahan at pagpapahalaga sa aking dakilang inang si Maria Salvacion Gabay Bautista. Hindi ako magsasawang sabihin ng paulit-ulit ang labis kong pagmamahal sa iyo, aking ina. Maraming salamat! Maligayang Araw ng mga Ina!

Mother Duck

I live next to a small canal in Eindhoven. I can see clearly everyday the infinite flow of slow water from south to north. Why? Because southern Holland is higher than the north. Amsterdam is below see level. But that's not where my story will revolve.
In the canal, I saw a mother duck with 5 ducklings. I was so amused to see that mother duck was building a nest, painstakingly collecting  pieces of broken treebranches and straws and put it together to build a small abode.
After building the nest, those 5 ducklings immediately went inside it and find their comfortable place. I was quite curious on what will happen next. I thought mother duck would also go inside the nest and rest after that hardwork. But no.
She swam and swam and swam until she found small piece of food and gave everything to the ducklings, nothing remains with her.
I think, the most important thing for her is to feed her young-ones.
I just realized that being a mother is natural to the animal kingdom. Be it ducks, dogs, cats, penguins, whatever. If these animals can take care of their offsprings, giving them 100% unselfish love and care, then why some of human beings can not.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the world who devoted themselves to raise not only their children but the whole family.
Mothers are inspiration to all, they deserve appreciation, respect and 100% love.

I am myself.

I am just a simple human being, with a humble dream.
My principle in life, if opportunity knocks, weigh it from both ends, know the extremes and decide.
"Seize the day! Live it to the fullest. Life is so short. Do what will make you happy, as long as u don't hurt ur fellowmen."
Very often, people who make hearsays are those who are full of insecurities, and envy.
Respect yourself and others, be fair , be humane.
I love myself.
I love my parents.
I love my brothers and sisters.
I love my friends.
I don't care what people say and think about me.
I am myself. I AM ME.
I fear my GOD.
The God that nobody owns.
The God of everyone.
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, whatever...
It does not matter.
We all believe in GOD.
There should be no discussion.
No argument.
Always maintain a good motive.
Be honest to yourself, be congruent to what u believe, desire, and act.
Do not pretend.
Come what may, you're still you.
YOU BETTER NOT SAY ANYTHING IF IT'S NOT AFFIRMATIVE.
Be conscious and cautious of what u say or do...
IT HURTS A LOT.
After a day, it's good to think how helpful u were than be a burden.
After a day, it's better to realize the good things u did than the bad.
After a day, it's best to thank God for giving u a manageable crisis as compared to other's dilemma.
We are still lucky.
You are lucky.
I am lucky.

First timer!

I don't know what to write.
I don't even know how to do this.
How do you call it?
Amateur?
Novice?
Beginner?
First timer!
Look forward to all my travel blogs.
Tot ziens!