Boyce Avenue Influential Session

Latest of the Boyce Avenue creations is Influential Sessions. 

1. Crash Into Me
2. Yellow
3. Slide
4. Everything You Want
5. Drops of Jupiter
6. Don’t Stop Believin’
7. If You Could Only See

I downloaded Yellow off the Internet and it has become part of my daily dose of Alejandro.  Comments on Youtube say that their version is way better than the original. I love Coldplay, but these comments are something I will have to agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPWzy7wpy8Q&feature=related

Along with these latests, Boyce Avenue is off to tours almost non-stop this September, beginning on the 22nd. They’re off to Germany, first stop at Hamburg. Their German Tour will end at Glasgow on the 29th. They’ll be in Birmingham, England by September 30 and end their Euro Trip departing from Dublin, Ireland on the 4th of October.

Can’t wait to get my hands on this new album.

Friday at Banchetto

Whether it’s a payday weekend or not, it’s tradition. My colleagues and I, with all our hunger, meet every Friday night in the office without eating dinner. Once attendance is complete, we head to Ortigas’ Emerald Avenue to feast on our favorites. Every Friday nights (or should I say Saturday mornings), beginning 12 midnight, North Bound Emerald Avenue is closed for a food fair they call Banchetto.In Italian, it means feast.

Where countless of contact centers, radio stations and residential condominiums are, Ortigas is probably one of the busiest areas in Metro Manila at night. And this is where they come to celebrate the end of another good week, or simply to reward themselves with good food. Banchetto is open from 11pm (Friday) to 11am every Saturdays. But perhaps I should tell you now: vendor in Banchetto do not sell beer.

My personal favorite is this humble stall’s Aligue Rice (Rice with Crab Fat) that sells for P60.00 an order. A bit much for rice without a viand, i thought. But after that first spoonful, a major change of heart.

Besides that orange rice that captured me, I go to Banchetto for their Inihaw na Pusit (Grilled Squid). They stuff it with onions, tomatoes and season it with God knows what but let me tell you, they put my ex-love Calamari to shame.

A few others that my colleagues and I go to Emerald’s food fair for are 1)  Brazo de Mercedes that sells for P35.00  a slice, the perfect dessert after a filling meal of 2) monstrous half-pounder burgers that retails for P120.00 each or 3)Shawarma Rice drizzled with garlic sauce at P75.00 each. Chicken (grilled, fried, however you like it), pasta (around 10 or more kinds to choose from), mashed potatoes, giant German Scheubligs and Japanese Sushi, choices are endless.

Being a street feast itself, Banchetto may not have enough dining area for the hungry Ortigas midnight crowd, but building entrances serve as their extended dining areas. I don’t mind sitting by the stairs of Strata to eat my barbecue or to walk around eating Takoyaki on a stick  (Japanese street food). Vendors are also geared with “to-go” boxes for those who plan to eat in the comfort of their own home or office.

We’re always in search for something new to try every visit. So if you have a knack for cooking and selling, or you want to join Banchetto vendors, you may contact 6550590 or 09228800861 or Email the organizers at hundredmliz@yahoo.com. We do hope to have a taste of your cooking soon.

Boyce Avenue’s Alejandro Manzano

Lately, I haven’t got the time to listen to my playlist. I lost my iPod transmitter and all I have to get me through the day while working on my tasks in the office is my laptop’s VLC player and iTunes. And the only thing I listen to is the passionate singing of Boyce Avenue’s Alejandro Manzano.

What can I say? They’ve made Omarion’s Icebox sound a million times better (Okay, I’m a bit exaggerating) and their version of Michael Buble’s I Wanna Go Home is now my top 3 favorite song. If you haven’t heard their rendition of Leona Lewis’ Better in Time, then you have got to. After hearing their version of the song, I realized it’  sweeter when a guy sings it.

Alejandro is 23 years old. He plays the guitar and the piano and does the singing (lead) for Boyce Avenue. And the guy is hot.

You can see their videos on youtube, search for Boyce Avenue. After watching and downloading almost all their songs, I made my self a fan on Facebook and I yes I pathetically follow them on Twitter. Okay, not them. I follow Alejandro on Twitter.

Boyce Avenue is based in Florida. All three members, Alejandro, Daniel, and Fabian, are brothers.

Chateau Verde: UP Diliman’s Secret Garden

Along a quiet street in the UP Diliman Campus is one of my favorite restaurants. Apacible Street is home to Chateau Verde, a garden-inspired bistro that takes pride in its menu, mostly made up of Spanish cuisine.

Chateau Verde is just a few minutes away from the UP Church. Behind walls of shrubs, with just a big leaf as its signage, Chateau Verde holds a surprise for diners. Don’t worry, you’ll find it. There’s parking, too.

My personal favorite is an appetizer they call the Queso Blanco Frito. A block of white cheese topped with herbs, spices and sauce made from real tomatoes. They serve it with garlic bread. Chateau Verde’s menu also includes a few that we normally don’t find in everyday restaurants we go to. They serve Ostrich.

Every weekend, the Chateau serves a weekend buffet (P360). However, they still accept a la cart at that same hour. Eleven in the morning on weekends and one thirty in the afternoon on weekdays. Besides that filling block of cheese, I go to the Chateau for their pasta (they have an entire page on the menu dedicated for this) and the famous Paella a La Ima. 

Visit the Chateau for their ambience, as well. There’s something about dining under shades of friendly tree leaves that makes one feel separated from the bustling of the city, yet close by. They accept reservations for occassions such as group meetings, even weddings. You might be surprised to see that behind the dining area, a beautiful garden awaits, hidden in the back yard. This garden can house as much as 150 people.

If you feel the need to contact Chateau Verde before you pay a visit, you may call 928-8180.

The Best Way of Advertising a Small Business

Even with the presence of technology today, it’s still true that flyers and brochures still help, but with more and more people going online for services and products they need, the best bet of a small business owner for advertising his business would probably be the Internet. 

Contradictory to popular belief, Internet Advertising need not be expensive. Whether you are in a developing country or not, there are ways.

There are countless website developers in the US right now that offers start-up websites at low cost. for those without enough budget to have a powerful website created just yet, there’s Bizlanding.com, to name one. Bizlanding provides a good package starting with 3 mini-websites or what we call Landing Pages that are optimized  for Google and Bing.com. A business owner may choose 3 cities of their choice where their 1-page mini-website will be prioritized as a search result in today’s top online search engines and online business directories such as the yellowpages.com. They wave the web-hosting fee for the first three months so all you need to invest on is a minimal amount that they need to start to creating your Landing Pages. The first 3 months should be enough time to get your website out there, reach the target market you need to reach and jump-start your online exposure. A regular website won’t be optimized for search engines and online directories unless you sign up with them and most websites are useless unless a customer has memorized your website address. With a Landing Page, your mini-website may be found on Google easier since once geo-targeting the results is involved while creating your landing pages.

 

Another way to get your business name out there is to have a proper representation online through business listings or online directories. Veteran companies offering this kind of business may cost, but there are those who offer packages that shall give you online exposure only to the cities of your choice. Zipweb.com, is one. They have packages that can show you as one of the most recommended business in 3, 4, or 5 cities or zip codes only. Just right for a small or a start-up business.

 

And then there are networking sites such as multiply.com where you can sign up for free. However, since they don’t cost a penny, there’s no guarantee that your site will show up on search engines, where potential customers really go to when searching for a type of service or product they need.

It depends on your business needs, really. So explore the web and maximize the potential of it.

Superpages.com Pulls Out BPO – Philippines

Superpages.com’s history goes way back to the time of Alexander Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Today, many years after its foundation, Superpages.com is one of the leaders in online advertising. Their special arm, the online business listing, is a hit.

In the Philippines, Superpages.com employs Filipino Contact Centers to supply them with exceptional people to provide American customers and business owners proper representation and huge exposure on the Internet. One of its vendors in the Philippines is the country’s biggest purely locally-owned contact center, Pacific Hub Corporation.

P.Hub is one of the very few remaining call centers whose bulk of work is focused on International Outbound Sales campaigns. They provide voiced and non-voiced outsourcing needs of foreign and local companies. The center is known for their dedicated Team of Trainers who have extensive knowledge in training techniques, instruction and facilitation skills. The company also takes pride in their Quality Assurance Department made up of experts in preserving quality performance of the agents for each campaign the center holds, whatever nature the accounts are. Most of all, the operations department made up of dedicated, hardworking and high-performing individuals, take their careers and jobs very seriously. These are the people and the legs to which the company stands on.

Superpages.com  employs around 150 people in Pacific Hub alone. However, recently, upper management from Superpages.com’s end have decided that it’s time they do their part in contributing to the support that the United States needs in terms of creating jobs for the American people.  This is perfectly reasonable. Today, the world economic crisis continues to hit the hearts of more than one, two or three countries resulting to loss of employment and business opportunities leaving professionals, trained, highly-experienced and even qualified individuals with very few chances and choices.

Pacific Hub Management Committee

 

 

I remember the night I was sitting in a desk that was not mine in an empty office at the 17th floor to print a document when the phone rang. It was July 6, 2009. It was a call for Pacific Hub’s President and it was from a client. The man on the other end of the line said and i quote, that the call was of very important matter and that he needs to speak with her “asap”. If my memory serves me right, it was around 11:45 pm, Manila time. As always, my mobile didn’t have enough credits to make a call and I’d be horrified if not embarrassed to send the President a text message instead. So thinking that he probably will call her in the morning if he doesn’t reach her tonight, I thought of not doing anything about it. But then the guy called again, asking if I can text or call the President and have her call him at once. So i thought, okay, okay, i’ll do it.

So through a landline, I called the Training Director who happens to be a friend of mine (it has to be a friend if I’m calling that late) and asked her to contact the President and send the message of the caller.

A month later, i was informed that it was Superpages.com calling to say goodbye to Pacific Hub. The same kind of  call other contact centers in the country that vend Superpages.com probably received.

Pacific Hub has been around for 5 years, I’ve been with it for 3. I’m handling another American campaign that has the same nature of business as Superpages.com and it does make me hope for the best that it ends there. There’s no one to blame, this is not an issue on revenue or number of sales or validation and not even performance. This is a matter of patriotism. And patriotism is something that should never be blamed on someone.

Nevertheless, Pacific Hub moves on. Like what the President said in a General Assembly the Management Committee called, these kinds of events are part of how this kind of business runs. Campaigns will come and then they will go. And when they do, we look forward to the next one coming. Exactly what we’re doing now.

However, the years Superpages.com and P.Hub have spent together in the levels of a loyal partnership will be irreplaceable.

My Passion Versus My Job

Growing up, I must have had more than ten “dream jobs”. Of course most of them shouldn’t even be taken seriously. Like that time in my childhood when I wanted to become a mermaid. With a pair of pink shell bra.

I remember wanting to be a pilot. My grandfather was. He was the strongest father figure I’ve ever known, since a massive stroke took my dad when I was eight. I looked up to my grandfather a lot. His stories of World War II and flying fighter planes as a raider were my favorite bedtime stories. He said it took him to many places, so I thought that I’d fly planes someday, too. I wanted to see the world (and I still do).

Then there was that time when I wanted to be a lawyer. A few years after that, I wanted to be a doctor, then a news anchor, then a writer. I never really knew what I really wanted to be, seriously, until I was around seventeen when I had to choose what course to take up in college. I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about it. I didn’t stop to assess or ask myself questions. I just knew. I wanted to teach.

Ten years later, now that Im twenty six, I hold a teaching job in one of the fastest growing locally owned BPOs in my country as a Corporate Training Officer. I train employees to help them do better in their jobs. I plan to finish my graduate degree (I’m 9 units away from being allowed to officially write M.A after my name) and be a University Professor. I want to teach History, which is one thing I’m passionate about.

I have a few hobbies, but these are things I’m not necessarily passionate about. I do them to kill time, to kill boredom, or simply to enhance my skills or earn money. I like baking. Not passionate about it. Just like it. I like writing short fiction, which, for me is simply putting in writing what i daydream about. I garden, I play the piano, I design my own furniture then have them done by a good carpenter. These are things I do during my free time. But things that I’m passionate about, I have to be able to do at least once to two times a week. 

I love researching and reading on history. I like the feeling of adding to my knowledge. I am amazed at how the world has developed over the years, whether scientifically or culturally. I am fascinated by the people in history and the things they’ve said that has influenced today’s way of life. Like why horses are no longer used as public transport in my country where gasoline has become more expensive than my lunch and dinner bill — combined.

This may sound funny and weird. I’m not sure this next one is a passion or a disorder. But i feel an unexplainable gush of happiness when I clean. Literally when I tidy up the house or the things around me. I feel renewed, there’s this “all-new” feeling. This is something I have to do twice a week. The dirtier the place, the more I will enjoy cleaning it. I’ve even thought of putting up a business that will allow me to tidy up the world one home at a time. “Cleaning Ladies” or something like that. 

Finally, one of my greatest passions is to teach. I can teach whatever there is to teach, as long as I am familiar with the area of study. If someone wants to be taught how to play the piano, or how to bake or to cook or even to clean, then I’d be more than gladly to it. Free of charge!

I guess this tells that the reason why I’m loving my job. It allows me to do what I’m passionate about. Teaching for me is very fulfilling. The idea that at some point, at a certain degree, people become who they are partly because of me.

A Good Watch: Something’s Gotta Give

Another one of my favorite movies is that of Jack Nicholson and Diane Keating’s. Something’s Gotta Give’s sophisticated humor is a classic. 

The story tells that of Erica Barry, a successful playwright who meets her 25-year old daughter’s 65 year-old boyfriend, Harry Sanborn. While vacationing with Barry’s daughter Marin in her Hampton home, Harry gets a heart attack and is advised by his doctor (Keanu Reeves) to take a rest, but he has to be close by. 

Harry then sequesters himself in Erica’s Hampton home until Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves) clears him for travel back to the city. Marin has to work so Erica is on babysitting duty. His stay with Erica is filled with hilarious situations that bring the two closer together. While Dr. Mercer, a big fan and admirer of the playwright before he even met her in person, develops a deep level of attraction to the 60-something writer.

As if the love triangle is not enough, Dr. Mercer is only 37 years old.

This funny and romantic film is show that 1) age, indeed, does not matter and 2) love happens when you least expect it.

A Feel Good Movie: The Holiday

Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actors. Aside from the fact that she’s English, she’s good. Jude Law should take pride in his very, very good looks and even better acting. Cameron Diaz fits her role in the movie perfectly. Jack Black is my comedian of choice, although in The Holiday he shows off another side of his acting powers and does really well in doing so.

 The Holiday is a feel good movie that starts you off with feeling sad and sorry. In modern day England, in a small town called Surrey, an already broken-hearted writer named Iris (played by Kate Winslet) is even more devastated upon learning about her ex-boyfriend’s engagement. Meanwhile  in Los Angeles, a successful workaholic trailer maker Maggie (played by Cameron Diaz) also suffers from a break-up with a cheating live-in partner. The two meet online. Iris and Maggie swap homes, cars, and half their lives for the Holidays in an effort to escape the dramas of their lives. As they “somewhat literally” put themselves in the  shoes of the other, both experience, learn things and meet people that soon changes their lives even when they return to their own.

The story takes place in the course of a 2-week Holiday. In the end, one feels how it’s like to cry, one learns to open his eyes to what’s already in front of him, one learns to love again and the other learns to move on with her life.

This is a stunning film. I watch it once a month in all 12 months in a year. A pick-me upper.

Grey’s Anatomy

Since the show began in 2005, I’ve watched every episode religiously.

I’m no doctor or nurse and my profession is in no way related to the medical world. I am a frustrated surgeon, and the nearest I can get to that is putting band-aid on a paper-cut. Anything worst than that will probably make me yell for help. The only things I have in common with these hot shot doctors are working nightshifts, eating lunch at 2 in the morning in some room while the rest of the world sleeps. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I like it.

Christina Yang is my personal favorite. Her disgusting sloppiness aside, she’s a live-wire. Sloppy, but good. Like a big fat juicy burger. Yang was once described by her partner Dr. Burke as someone who “does not ask too  many questions and is very hard to get to know”. Yang is addicted to her craft to the point that she’s more than willing to steal other Doctors’ surgeries to impress whoever needs to be impressed, stealing patients off the Pysch floor, always on top of her game, Christina Yang’s hard work springs from her determination to be a world-class surgeon (and believe me, she’s getting there). Yang is hardcore. her bestfriend Dr. Meredith Grey, however, is an opposite. Although a good doctor and book smart by nature, Grey has a downside and a big one: she’s a self-centered blonde who yearns for everything to be “all about her”. She’s reasonable, most of the time. But then again, it’s hard to find validity in wanting all the attention to yourself.

One of my favorite episodes is that of Christina’s wedding to Doctor Burke (wedding was called off and I loved Sandra Oh’s superb acting on that). A conversation between the two: Christina says “You know, Meredith there are times when it’s about you and the past few months it has always been about you, however this moment is about me. This is my moment.” Meredith turns to Christina, “What happened to you?”. Christina goes, “Mama shaved my eyebrows. And now, I’m a Burke!?” That was a classic. It was hilarious. See, there are a world’s difference between to two. And If I were to choose, I’d go for Christina.

Meredith Grey describes herself as “dark and twisted”, attributing her behavior and point of view towards life, love and men to her difficult childhood and family life. Meredith is the daughter of Ellis Grey, a big name in the medical world. Given that, her mother was more of a doctor than anything else. Meredith later finds out that the source of her inspiration toward her job was found in a colleague, Dr. Richard Webber (who happens to be the Chief of Surgery of the hospital by the time Meredith was a doctor herself). This led to Meredith’s father to look for love elsewhere and the rest is broken family history. 

This is why her relationship with men has never worked out smoothly. Not that she’s all to blame, I mean the hot shot Dr.McDreamy never said he was married to begin with and that brought about a million other things that held Grey back. But it became tiring at one point in the show where she loves him but he doesn’t want him then she wants him but he doesn’t want her and vice versa all over again. 

I guess the difficulty and complexity of Meredith Grey’s life and persona is what’s making the show dominate the tube. She’s difficult to deal with because her past keeps on haunting her and every decision she makes brings her back to all the other decisions her mother made — see, she’s fearful of becoming like her. Luckily for Meredith, she has supportive friends, money is never a problem, her hair smells like lavender, she has a beautiful home, men love the chase, the guy she loves love her back and she’s thin. But as they say, nobody’s perfect.