I bet you’ve noticed my new theme. I’m a frustrated writer so I’d like to publish my own magazine, even just an online edition. I really would like to thank the designer, Michael Jubel for this wonderful Arthemia theme.

With this new theme I’ve also made changes as to how I would place my posts. Twice a month I will try (yes, try ko lang) to come up with a new Headline article, sort of like the cover story of a magazine. I will also come up with four Feature articles that are related to the Headline story. However, I cannot promise that the Feature stories will be posted simultaneously. It’s hard enough to come up with one article, how much more four? So please bear with me. The articles you see below the Categories bar are articles that are not related to the Headline article.

For this month of June I’ve posted two Headline articles, Top 5 Reasons to Travel Around the Philippines and Filipino, Who Are you?.

I was inspired to write the Top 5 Reasons to travel Around the Philippines beacuse of the benefits tourism that I saw in Palawan. Some people think tourism will increase pollution and crime but when there is a balance between development and environment conservation, it’s a win-win situation. For this Headline I came up with the following Feature articles:

1. Discover Tropical Paradise Palawan - I talked about the things I discovered about Palawan that made me want to come back.
2. Palawan Seen to Overtake Boracay - this is just a link to an article in Manila Bulletin of the same title which I think affirmed my observations on Palawan as a tourist destination.
3. Puerto Princesa: The Jewel of Philippine Eco-Tourism - in this article I identified Puerto Princesa’s major tourist come-on and why tourists keep coming back.
4. Busuanga, Palawan - My Nanay Deserves Nothing Less - I know I can get sentimental when it comes to my parents. This was my entry fo the SEAIR contest which by the way ended tonight at 8PM. DId I win? I hope so but if not, better luck next time.

The Filipino, Who Are You? Headline article was my way of commemorating the 110th Declaration of Philippine Independence. I believe that we can never truly be free unless we know who we are. In relation to this I’ce written the following Feature articles:

1. Ganda ng Lola Mo! - this is the about the Las Gran Damas de Negros Exhibit featuring 11 Negrense Women of Substance.  These beautiful, wealthy and glamorous women of Negros Occidental were no diferent from ordinary women. We face the same obstacles so their life serves as inspiration to rise above adversities.
2. The Treasure of Our Heritage - the Surigao Treasures are really awe-inspiring and knowing that they probably belonged to our ancestors made them our National Treasure.
3. The Philippines is on the Hotspot - our country is blessed with natural resources but decades of neglect are bringing the different endemic species of flora and fauna to the brink of extinction
4. A World Without Filipinos - this is about an inspiring article that appeared on the Arab News recognizing the importance of Filipino labor force in Saudi Arabia and the world.

In every post I write, I always put my heart into it. These articles are special to me because they are mirrors of my thoughts and beliefs. I hope I will be motivated and inspired to write articles such as those above. I hope my friends/readers enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Yes, your humble blogger was mentioned on the Visayan Daily Star not once, but twice. The first was on April 8, 2008 where they featured the article on MoneySense magazine on Bacolod City as the best place to live in the Philippines. The article titled “Bacolod rated most livable city” appeared on the front page as one of the top stories.

The second was on April 11, 2008 on the column of veteran journalist Primo Esleyer in reference to the same article on MoneSense. Magazine. Mr. Esleyer assumed I’m from Tubungan or Igbaras because of my family name. No Sir, I’m a proud Ogtonganon.

Since our office subscribes to the Visayan Daily Star, it was my co-workers who informed me of the article and congratulated me at the same time. I even received a text message from a client informing me that she read my name on MoneySense and to keep on promoting tourism. That really made my day.

I never thought that blogging would get me on a magazine. Well, it was not really about me but on the “Best Places to Live” in the Philippines. Last February, I was e-mailed by Heinz Bulos of MoneySense magazine with four questions as to why I think Bacolod City is the best place to live in the country.

I expect some of my answers to be quoted but the article exceeded my expectations. Not that I’m complaining. I guess that earned me bragging rights, right?

Fellow Ilonggo bloggers Marcos and Junelle were also interviewed regarding Iloilo City. I’m quite proud that Bacolod and Iloilo were on the Top 5 of the Best Places to Live in the country. We made the right choice. This is home.

Below is the complete write-up on Bacolod City. Please click on thumbnail to view larger image.

Photo by: Tony Austin

Was the blogosphere a little lonelier without me? I guess not. If there was somebody missing something, it’s me missing blogging. I haven’t actually went off to some dream land where there’s no internet connection. I was here all the while, silently lurking and sulking. As much I want to update my blog, technology just failed me.

First, I have no internet connection. I moved to a new place so I have to have my SmartBro reconfigured in order for me to have my internet connection back. But I’ll have to pay P1,400 which I think is way too expensive so I tried doing it myself. Of course I did not succeed otherwise I’d have updated this blog sooner. Second, my PC just died on me. Again, I tried fixing it since I don’t want to pay for something I can do myself. I ended up buying a new video card and power supply but it still did not work. Sometimes there are things better left to the experts so this morning I had my CPU brought to the technician. So there, it took me almost a month to admit that there are things I can’t do myself. While waiting for things to get better, I’ll have to make do with what little time I can spare to sneak and use internet at work and update my blog. Just don’t tell my Boss.

I’m starting off with a new feature on this site, the Promdi Poll! Polls will be on a monthly basis featuring various topics mostly related to promdi life. Our first poll question is, what’s the ultimate sign of promdi-ness?

My choices are limited to my own perspective of being a promdi. For me, any place outside Metro Manila is already probinsya so I made the choices to as much as possible, represent all those living outside Metro Manila. It’s still a little rough so I’ll be needing some inputs from the readers since some of the choices may not even be familiar to them or I miss to put something so promdi in the choices that you think I should. Since this site is not screaming with traffic, the poll will run until the end of February so that we can at least have a significant number of votes.

Nonetheless, cast your ballots in our poll section. Flying voters are very much welcome.

It’s official. This site is going to be my new home in the blogosphere. It felt nice to be able to do the things I want to do with my blog. Wordpress was good for a start but then I’m ambisyosa and tikalon too. Hehehe… I can now brag that I actually have two blogs! The question of maintaining both is another story. For now, I’m glad I made it this far.