Treasure Find 10 -- The Zipline to Courage

BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC:

At the start of the year, I crafted a personal battle cry.  And it's "New World in 2012".  It has been my practice to come up with such line for my personal goal setting for the coming year.  It started in 2008 with "2008 will be great", and then followed by "Shine in 2009", then "Golden 2010" and last year's "Get Even in 2011".  Here are links to articles in Tatak Digitista to give you some more backgrounder.

http://digitista.blogspot.com/2010/02/enjoy-halo-halo-treat_78.html
http://digitista.blogspot.com/2010/03/tatak-digitista.html
http://digitista.blogspot.com/2011/12/tatak-digitistas-11-in-2011.html

Anyway, true to that goal I set for the year, I'm bolder this time around, to conquer new worlds.  New world does not necessarily mean a new place.  It could also be a new experience which can be a world in itself.  And lucky enough, a couple of weeks ago, I hit a personal milestone for the year by doing something for the first time.

Guess what I just did?  I just tried doing the zipline in Tagaytay!  :)  I know some of you may react that it's not that difficult to do but folks, each person has a different body chemistry and psyche, and what may be easy for one may be difficult for another person and vice versa.  At first, I was quite hesitant to do it (and I just want to ride the cable car.  It was not my first time though since I've already tried it in Sentosa, Singapore.).  Why?  Well, perhaps because of fear that I don't know how my body will react to heights (since I had a not so good experience last time) and how my friends will respond since I feel am not that fit to do the zipline.

Treasure Find 9: Our Favorite Taho

BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC:

Tahoooo!!!  Tahoooo!!!  Tahooooo!!!  I used to hear this line in our neighborhood in Makati City (a city in Metro Manila) when I was a kid.  This often wakes me up during Saturday mornings (as for weekdays, I usually wake up at 5:30 am for my morning classes, which is way earlier than the round of that morning shouts).  So during weekends, when I hear that shout, I immediately grab my cup from the kitchen and run towards the gate to buy my favorite taho which I think is an icon in Pinoy's breakfast meal.

Taho is a Philippine snack food, traditionally sold and taken during mornings, made out of medium firmness tofu, arnibal (similar to caramel) and sago (similar to pearl tapioca).  Philippines' taho, which can be found anywhere in the country, is similar to Indonesia's and Malaysia's tahu.  Ancient records suggest that taho originated from the Chinese douhua.  Even before the Spanish conquest of the Philippine islands, Chinese traders have interacted with our forefathers, hence enriching our culinary.  

Teasure Find 8: Experiencing Chinese New Year in Binondo (for the 1st time!)

TREASURE FIND 8:

Some say that my small eyes make me look Chinese.  In fact, when I was sent to China for work, some of the locals have always mistaken me to be just like them.  They kept on talking to me in Mandarin :).  However, although my mom's ancestors have a little Spanish lineage as well, I still consider myself  more than100% Filipino.  That doesn't mean though that I don't value the Chinese influence in the Filipino culture.  Of course I do, especially when I took Mandarin classes (although Fookien is the one most spoken in the Philippines) a few years back when I finally appreciated the value of their traditions, which I never paid attention before.

And with my interest and curiosity for the Chinese custom, I actually have planned at the start of the year (during my personal goal setting session) that I'll celebrate Chinese New Year this time around!

Treasure Find 7 - For Richer For Poorer

Last Saturday, I accompanied my mom to the public market (in Malolos, Bulacan).  And while waiting for her, I saw this vendor couple selling Angry Birds balloons and toys.  The way I see this pair is that they show that they can be together for richer, for poorer.  And that I think is my Treasure Find 7.  If your partner has been with you beyond the romance stage, in facing life's challenges, and in reaping its rewards, then you have found a rare treasure to keep and nurture.  I somehow witnessed this in this couple and I hope to see more of such kind.  Have a blessed Sunday folks!  :)

Treasure Find 6 - Relax, Take a Train

JUST AROUND THE CORNER:

After a long and tiring walk from Katipunan, my friends and I finally arrived at the LRT 2 station.  I am embarrassed to admit but this was my first time to ride the said train.  :)  'But riding it the first time was such a welcome treat for me.  It somehow looks like the train system in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai but I was told it was just that station which has the marvelous set-up and all the rest are so so.  Oh well, in terms of mass transport system, we may not be there yet, but I guess we're much better from where we came from.  I do hope that one day, our mass transport system will be more reliable as it fuels not just economic growth but relief for the people who drives the economy.  :)

Well, right before we approach the train, I was able to capture this wonderful view.  It's relaxing, it's calming... a perfect break after our long stressful walk.  And from how I see it, the view somehow told me that there is hope.  And that I guess is Treasure Find 5.  :)

Treasure Find 5: The Horse Takes Over The Cart!

TREASURE FIND 5:

In 2010, I posted this article Pinoy Cow retires from driving the cart.  I was amused with what I saw but at the same time missed the cow pulling the cart which I grew up with. 

Almost two years after, I saw another innovation of the said cart.  Now, another animal is driving it!  Yes, what you are seeing is a horse.  Well, perhaps the owners felt using the horse is more practical since it's
 much faster than the original cow pulling the cart.

This shot was taken at the Mac Arthur Highway in Malolos, Bulacan.

Treasure Find 4 - A Taxi with A Cross

JATC:

In Manila, riding a taxi is like gambling.  You're lucky if you are able to ride with honest and nice (and sometimes entertaining) drivers but you're doomed if what you got are hot tempered and opportunist ones.  Nevertheless, perhaps just like meeting new people, I ride taxi regularly.  Well, it's inevitable.

'But one thing that caught my attention recently is the taxi I saw when my colleagues and I had lunch in Glorietta 5 in Makati.  It's the usual taxi we see, but this time with a big cross on top of its roof, which has a sign that tells people to read the holy bible and think of the goodness of man.

Actually, I can't find the exact verse in the bible and I think there's a little syntax error but what the heck, I understood what the man is trying to say, and I admire his faith.

Stored Treasure: Learning Culture through a Cool Tour... our Manila Chinatown (Binondo) Trip

BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC

Stored Treasure / 27 March 2010

http://digitista.blogspot.com/2010/03/learning-culture-through-cool-tour-our.html

Manila Chinatown is really not a new place to me. In my college days, we always passed that route going to some of our classmates’ houses. When I worked in First Metro, where its Binondo branch is just beside the San Lorenzo Ruiz basilica, I also managed to frequent the place when I need to fix our company’s web content or attend meetings. And ironically, though I had many opportunities in the past, I never took the chance of knowing the famous place by heart. And I even got to explore offshore Chinese spots first (HK, Shenzhen, Sanya City and Shanghai) before knowing our very own Chinese heritage right at the heart of Manila.  Well, nothing’s too late in exploring. Thanks to the Manila Chinatown trip organized by our Confucius class, I had the chance to know the place, and the Chinese characters, better. =)

 Our first stop is lunch at Golden Fortune Seafood Restaurant.  We felt so bloated after eating steamed lapu-lapu, shrimp, Mandarin chicken, spinach, dimsum, hot and sour soup and yang chow fried rice!

Omar Laoshi was our official tour guide and Lin Na, being the class valedictorian, was able to read Chinese characters easily.  Right photo shows Lin Na reading the name of a Kung Fu school.

Then, we found out Mang Inasal has Chinese version! =)

A newspaper stand which we normally see in HK / China.  Meron din pala nito sa Binondo!  =)

After the long walk, we stopped at DVD and book shops.

 We just can't stop Romel Yisheng from buying Mandarin books at the Xinhua Bookstore! Go go Yisheng!

Yisheng and Ni Ca enjoying a Mandarin book for first graders. =)

Treasure Find 3 - Bicol's Masapan (Pili Bar)

It's the first working day of 2012 when our supplier went to the office to hand over her Christmas gifts.  And I was to happy to know that what she gave us are masapan or pili bar all the way from her hometown Bicol (where pili nuts are abundant)!  She said that their family makes these pili bars!

About 3 1/2 to 4 years ago, this delicacy from Bicol has become my favorite since my friends Jay and Noel introduced it to me.  From then on, I became a fan!

When my officemates opened the said presents, all of them instantly liked it!  With its superb taste, I just knew that they will be hooked with it. It's a simple thing that made a our morning but nevertheless, seeing a bunch of people in delight and our native product in the limelight is a treasure find indeed.  

Treasure Find 2: Christmas Lights Eclipsing the Traffic Lights

During weeknights of December each year, all we can see at the roads of Makati CBD (Central Business District) is traffic congestion!  While I'm on my way for a movie night in Glorietta, I set aside the stressful situation for a while and took this shot of bumper to bumper cars under Makati Avenue's Christmas lights.  And what I realized was I can endure this heavy traffic, as long as the Christmas spirit is around.  Of course, who wouldn't want a traffic congestion free road during the Holiday season?  'But as long as it's not yet happening, what's important is that we enjoy the merry season more than the frustration.  :)

Treasure Find 1: foydi's Treasure Hunt

February 21 to 25, 2010, same time as the EDSA People Power Week, my first blog Tatak Digitista (Halo-Halo Treats then) was created.   It was a fruitful year for Tatak Digitista (www.digitista.blogspot.com) and true to its commitment, it was able to capture life's mixes - Featuristic! for writings on interesting things, happenings, settings and human beings; Bayanihan Republic for features on heritage - ethnic, classic and pop; Potato On The Go for updates and reviews on movies, tv, theater and other mass media; and Action & Event-ure for chronicles of events, activities, hobbies and trips.

However, I realized, there are many other things that were not posted but are worthy to be shared.  It's something that we can draw inspiration from despite the too many negative things spreading in the cyberspace.  And I don't want to miss that chance again.  With that thought, I decided to come up with this new blog:

www.foydi.blogspot.com

Treasures. When we hear the word, we often think of the expensive things we aspire for. But life's real treasures are of no trade value. They are things that give meaning to our life's journey and complete us as a person.  foydi will try to discover, re-discover and chronicle these treasures - grand and simple, valued and unnoticed, abundant and rare, visible and hidden, right here or out there.


And with that, I hope you'll join me in this quest to find life's real treasures!  And please allow me to make foydi's Treasure Hunt as Treasure Find No. 1! =)