Personal Archives - Page 8 of 11 - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Sep262009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Meet my funny looking hotel room visitor!

Arts, Blogging, Cagayan de Oro City, Hotels, Humor, Mindanaoan Update, Personal, Photos

Sir George Pension House in Cagayan de Oro City, Northern Mindanao is fast becoming one of my favorite budget accommodations in CDO. I think I've checked in 3 or 4 times after my very first stay at that cheap hotel in Cagayan de Oro City. I like the accessibility of the place (it's located at corner Pabayo and Gaerlan streets, just a few blocks away from the heart of Divisoria), the room rates are relatively cheap (single room rate starts at P600.00) and they offer FREE Wi-Fi! Read more about my review of Sir George Pension House over at the Mindanao Hotels page. I won't delve more into the amenities of this CDO pension house, though. What I want to share with you guys are these photos of my funny looking yet pretty darn cute hotel room visitor! During my most recent stay at Sir G...

Sep172009 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

Thanks, Nuffnang! Got my first payment today

Blogging, Business, Consumer, Corporate, Internet, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal

Mindanaoan finally received money from Nuffnang Philippines, Asia Pacific's First Blog Advertising Community. The first payout isn't that much but it's good enough to treat myself to a mini shopping spree soon. I'm looking forward to a bigger payout next time, though ;) Nuffnang boasts of a community composed of 100,000 blogs and of 3 million viewers per day. Pretty impressive, yes? If you're a blogger like me, why don't you consider joining the Nuffnang Philippines community as well? By the way, apart from earning money by letting your blog serve Nuffnang ads, you also get the chance to attend exclusive movie premieres, attend very special events (they recently had one for Goldilocks which was attended by no less than GMA 7 heartthrob Dingdong Dantes) and join awards. Speaking of aw...

Sep142009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Rock the Vote Davao City edition – free concert on September 17, 2009

Advocacy, Announcements, Blogging, Davao City, Entertainment, Events, Media, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Society

DAVAO CITY NEWS | ENTERTAINMENT - Listen up, fellow Mindanaoans and fellow Dabawenyos! How does a free concert in Davao City featuring top bands Hale and 6Cyclemind plus Luke Mejares sound to you? Yes, a FREE CONCERT right at the heart of Davao City! Rock the Vote will hit the shores of my beloved hometown Davao City on September 17, 2009. Rock the Vote Davao will be held at 6:30PM at the Rizal Park. Rock the Vote Davao is a musical cum advocacy concert wherein spectators do not only get to enjoy a free concert featuring top artists but also get to learn more about the importance of registering and voting in next year's national elections. Rock the Vote, which aims to encourage Filipinos especially first time voters to register on or before October 31, 2009 (deadline set by the Commi...

Sep142009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 on! Pre-register today for this October 24, 2009 special event in Mindanao!

Advocacy, Announcements, Bisaya, Blogging, Broadcasting, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Entertainment, Events, Features, Headline, Internet, Journalism, Mindanaoan Update, News, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Society, Technology, Tourism, Travel

Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 is on! Finally, the much-awaited Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 is now open for pre-registration. This blogging event, Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, will be held on October 24, 2009, 8am to 5pm at Pearlmont Inn, Lim Ket Kai Drive, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. Led by the Cagayan de Oro Bloggers (CDO Bloggers), Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 aims to draw bloggers from all over Mindanao and provide a platform where ideas, opinions and analyses about Mindanao can be exchanged. Moreover, Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 or MBS 3 also aims to provide a venue where bloggers and stakeholders can discuss how Mindanaoans (that's you and me! :) ) can use blogs, the Internet as well as other new methods and technologies to project a better, safer and cleaner Mindanao. With the th...

Sep92009 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

Citihardware to open a new branch in Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao

Announcements, Blogging, Bukidnon, Business, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Corporate, Davao City, Events, Features, Iligan City, Jobs, Mindanaoan Update, News, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Society

Good news for consumers in Mindanao particularly those in the Northern Mindanao area! CitiHardware is set to hold a grand opening this week for its new Bulua branch in Cagayan de Oro City! Citihardware Bulua will be the store chain's second branch in CDO. Its first is located at Gusa. Mindanaoan was tapped to handle shared coordination duties. As co-event organizer, this Mindanao event organizer will handle the sounds and lights, host, band/performers, video coverage and photo coverage :) Which reminds me --- konting plugging lang ha --- if you need an event organizer anywhere in Mindanao, please don't hesitate to CONTACT ME. You can leave a message in this contact form or you can also call (+63) 919 238 6575. Mindanaoan can also provide video coverage and photo coverage services...

Sep62009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Doodle fun at SPRUCE Limketkai Mall Cagayan de Oro Mindanao

Arts, Beauty, Blogging, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Entertainment, Events, Features, Festivals, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Society, Style

My 3 younger brothers and I all loved to draw, paint and sketch. However, our father taught us how to further hone our skills. My father was a very talented illustrator. I used "was" because he died several years ago, back when I was still in college. He was an amazing artist - with just a charcoal pencil and a blank sheet of paper, he could whip up a very detail-oriented drawing of a hen taking care of its chicks in just a few minutes. He could sketch a portrait oh so effortlessly. He didn't like to trace and he seldom used an eraser. He drew from the heart. Fast forward many years - our youngest sibling Bon seems to be the only one who continues to dabble in the arts. My love for painting, drawing and sketching is still there --- I'm just one of those who need a major bout of inspi...

Sep22009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Photos – Kapamilya Karavan featuring John Lloyd Cruz, Rivermaya, Maricar Reyes, Nikki Valdes, Dennis Padilla and CDO local bands

Blogging, Broadcasting, Cagayan de Oro City, Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Fiesta, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Music, News, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Personalities, Photos

The Kapamilya Karavan 2009 in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao was a major success! The fun event, which was made possible by ABS CBN and SM City CDO, was held last August 28, 2009 (the very day CDO celebrated the Kagay-An Festival 2009!) at the Gran Via Lot, Pueblo de Oro. Virtually thousands and thousands of people came to watch the free show, which was the organizers' way of thanking the public for their continuous support. Mindanaoan was there because I was tapped to book two local bands (thank you, ABS CBN Manila!) Mindanaoan was also one of the official event photographers :) [the other one that I got was my brother hehe...but of course, right? :) ] Check out some of the photos that I took during the Kapamilya Karavan event in Cagayan de Oro below. Apart from the M.O.R. deejays an...

Sep12009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

How ForMe Boutique CDO almost robbed me of nearly 400 pesos and how ForMe has lost a customer forever

Business, Commentary, Consumer, Controversial, Crime, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Style

What supposed to be was a fun Sunday shopping spree went sour when Mindanaoan was almost "robbed" of nearly 400 pesos by a boutique in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. It's really disappointing and I'm writing about this to reiterate the need and importance of consumer protection and rights of paying customers. The CDO Limketkai Mall branch of ForMe, a company owned by Golden ABC (which also runs Oxygen, Red Logo, Memo, Regatta and Penshoppe), failed to bill me correctly and if I wasn't able to double check my purchases and receipt, I would have been "robbed" of P379.20 Here's what happened... I bought two tops at the Cagayan de Oro branch of ForMe at the Ground Floor of Limketkai Mall. The store was offering a sale. One top was originally priced at P998.00 (it had a barcode of 30...

Sep12009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Mindanaoan website is now an official Philippine Blog Awards nominee!

Advocacy, Announcements, Blogging, Internet, Journalism, Mindanaoan Update, Personal, Technology

It's now official! Mindanaoan recently received an email from the organizers of the Philippine Blog Awards and my humble website is now an official nominee! I'm pretty excited about this development especially since Mindanaoan is nominated under the special awards specifically under the Mindanao Advocacy awards. Check out the email I received from the Philippine Blog Awards organizers: We have verified your blog Mindanaoan | Living In Mindanao at http://mindanaoan.com and it complies with the guidelines of the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards. You are now an official nominee! Whether or not my website about Mindanao will win, I feel I'm already a winner. Thank you very much to all of my readers and please help spread the word about Mindanaoan! Cheers :)

Aug242009 by Mindanaoan Irene6 Comments

“Sa Manila, hindi ganito ang service…”

Advocacy, Bisaya, Blogging, Cagayan de Oro City, Commentary, Consumer, Controversial, Mindanaoan Update, Opinion, Personal, Weird

Mindanaoan can't help but blog about this. What happened late last Saturday night at a 24 hour fastfood store located at Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao reminded me of so many things --- two of which are the need for Mindanaoans to be more assertive and why I love Mindanao (and why it will always be home for me). Before I go any further, however, I would just like to emphasize that the following are just my personal opinions and are not meant to hit anyone. My post is more like a reminder...an eye-opener, if you will...of the fact that discrimination even among Filipinos (still) exist. Last Saturday night, right after the Tatak Environmentalist event, I went to a fastfood store at Divisoria. I decided to grab some grub as I waited for my brother to fetch me. As I fell in line a...

Aug192009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Cagayan de Oro City Mindanao aerial shots

Blogging, Cagayan de Oro City, Features, Flights, Mindanaoan Update, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Photos, Tourism, Travel

During my PAL Express flight from the Cebu International Airport, Mactan to Cagayan de Oro Domestic Airport, I took some aerial shots. I got a window seat at that time (I was also supposed to have a window seat during my PAL Express CDO to Cebu flight but my seatmate, an elderly woman who confessed that it's been so long since she last traveled by plane, looked pale and scared so I no longer insisted) so it was easy for me to take aerial shots of Cagayan de Oro City as our plane descended and prepared for landing. Mindanaoan wishes to share these Cagayan de Oro City aerial shots:

Aug62009 by Mindanaoan Irene8 Comments

Mindanaoan won a new pair of Fitflops! Thank you Fitflop Philippines!

Announcements, Beauty, Blogging, Contests, Fashion, Features, Freebies, Gifts, Internet, Mindanaoan Update, Personal, Photos, Style, Technology, Weddings

One of Mindanaoan's good investments last year was to buy a pair of Fitflops. Widely known as one of broadcasting mogul Oprah Winfrey's "favorite things," FitFlop makes it possible for the wearer to "get a workout while you walk." Fitflop is that fun flip flop with a gym built in! My flair for unusual things that offer more value and my curiosity as to why Oprah endorsed this brand compelled me to finally buy a pair (despite the pretty hefty price tag) last year...and I must say, it was money well-spent! I bought a pair of bronze Electra Fitflops and I just love using them. Admittedly, my feet and legs got sore the first few times I wore my pair of Fitflops but I took it as a positive sign --- at least the product worked! I could feel the tension along my calves, knees, shins, soles and...

Aug32009 by Mindanaoan Irene1 Comment

Aboard PAL Express flight Cagayan de Oro to Cebu City

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Flights, Internet, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Society, Tourism, Travel

A few hours after the Rock the Vote 2009 Cagayan de Oro leg and after sharing a hearty meal with the members of Team Oro Photo and Video (who generously extended their time and support to the Register and Vote Campaign...thank you, thank you!) as well as the event's hosts, Maxine Monasterio (Miss Teen Philippines 2007 and a CDO native) and Titus "TJ" Monterde (he's the son of Tito Monterde, the station manager of Wild FM CDO) --- (Max and TJ also host the ABS CBN Northern Mindanao Sunday show, Mag TV Na, Ato Ni!), I caught a CDO - Cebu PAL Express flight. PAL Express is owned by Philippine Airlines and is geared towards shorter flights. It was my first time to catch a PAL Express flight. After years of traveling from CDO to Cebu via boats (I've tried Trans Asia Shipping Lines, Superferry...

Aug32009 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

Rock the Vote Cagayan de Oro leg – Thousands pledge to register and vote in 2010 elections

Advocacy, Announcements, Blogging, Bukidnon, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Campus, Entertainment, Events, Features, Government, Internet, Journalism, Mindanaoan Update, Music, News, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Politics

Roughly 8,000 people made the pledge to register and vote in the May 2010 national elections last July 30, 2009 during the Rock the Vote 2009 Cagayan de Oro City leg held at Xavier University Gymnasium, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. Rock the Vote is a musical cum advocacy show which aims to encourage people especially first time voters to register at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and exercise their right to suffrage. Rock the Vote is also a part of the ongoing Register and Vote (RV) campaign, which is led by Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan. Pangilinan, along with author Atty. Alex Lacson, AKBAYAN Party List Rep. Risa Hontiveros and Bayan Muna Party List Rep. Teddy Casino, led the reading of a unity statement which declares commitment to bring about needed change through ...

Aug12009 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

Mindanaoan goes to Planet Mars!

Announcements, Blogging, Entertainment, Features, Humor, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Technology, Weird

I, Mindanaoan, am off to Mars! Mars as in planet Mars ha? Yup, yup, yup! For real! I just included my name in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology website of NASA. So now my name is one of the many included on a microchip on the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in year 2011! Yehey! :) As soon as I keyed in my name, country and zip code, I got a certificate as proof that my name will be in the microchip of the rover that will be off to Mars 2 years from now. Is that cool or what?! As of recent, only a little over a thousand Filipinos have participated. Why don't Mindanaoans lead the pack? Let's join! Go go go! :) If you also want to send your name to Mars, just CLICK ON THIS LINK which will lead you to the NASA Mars Science Laboratory website....

Jul212009 by Mindanaoan Irene6 Comments

Digital Filipino and Syntactics treat CDO Bloggers, pave way for new and strengthened connections!

Advocacy, Bisaya, Blogging, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Corporate, Events, Features, Internet, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Northern Mindanao, Opinion, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Society, Technology, Tourism, Travel

Can you still remember that mixed feeling of anticipation, eagerness and curiosity --- much like the feeling you had on your very first day in school? That was exactly how I felt when I attended a recent bloggers networking event in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. Although it wasn't my first time to attend one, I still felt like a bright-eyed girl who was so excited to learn new things, to know more updates on the goings-on in the blogosphere and to meet new people in a new town - all of whom I felt shared my love and belief on the power and beauty of the Internet and blogging. Plus I was able to invite 6 friends from Bukidnon and all of my 3 brothers! HOW COOL WAS THAT? :) Mindanaoan attended the 1st Digital Filipino Club and Cagayan de Oro Bloggers Meet-up last July 17, 2009. Generousl...

Jul142009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Figaro coffee shop at Cagayan de Oro City Mindanao

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Commentary, Consumer, Corporate, Culture, Davao City, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Personal, Photos, Reviews

Davao City is no longer the only Mindanao area where the famous Figaro Coffee has a store. Figaro Coffee has already set up shop at Limketkai Mall, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao! Established in 1993, Figaro is a 100 percent Filipino-owned coffee company. Figaro Cagayan de Oro is located right across the SMART Wireless Center and Globe Telecoms office area of the said CDO mall. The Figaro coffee shop is also right below Skypark Grill and near the Rosario Arcade. Check out the photos I took using my brother's cellular phone camera: And since my brother and I are huge coffee lovers, we decided to stop by and have our snacks at Figaro CDO. I had the ham and cheese sandwich and cafe latte while my brother had baked mini pizzas and cafe latte as well: The ambience at Figa...

Jul122009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Mindanaoan, Dabawenya Juliana Palermo celebrates birthday

Beauty, Davao City, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Movies, Personal, Personalities, Society, Style

Guess who's celebrating her birthday today? Super sweet and nice Juliana Palermo, of course! This Mindanaoan beauty is celebrating her birthday today, July 12. Go greet her! (I think she has a Juliana Palermo public page in Facebook) Born July 12, 1985, Alvi July Juanico (this is Juliana Palermo's real name) is a true blue Dabawenya and naturally, a Mindanaoan. She bagged the Hiyas ng Kadayawan 2002 beauty title. Happy birthday Juliana!

Jul62009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Why blame the Mindanao media all the time?

Advocacy, ARMM, BIMP-EAGA, Blogging, Broadcasting, Commentary, Controversial, Crime, Government, Headline, Journalism, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Personalities, Sarangani, SoSCksargen, Tourism

My classmate in Ateneo and Sarangani provincial governor Miguel Rene Dominguez is asking for trouble. Not a few eyebrows will surely be raised after he reportedly blamed the Mindanao media for "always highlighting all the bad things that are happening in Mindanao." Same goes with Lt. Colonel Edgardo de Leon, commander of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, who also blamed the media. Dominguez said that the "insurgency and other conflicts in Mindanao is actually just a game of perception. And I blame the media for that!" He reportedly then said that the culture of the media today, except for a few who are practicing peace journalism, is not very commendable. De Leon, on the other hand, said that the rest of the country's and the world's perception of Mindanao at present is also the work of t...

Jul52009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

NBA Superstar Kobe Bryant in Mindanao

Advocacy, Commentary, Events, General Santos City, Humor, Mindanao, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Sarangani, SoSCksargen, South Cotabato, Sports

NBA MVP and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is coming back to Manila! Nike has made an official announcement that NBA superstar Kobe Bryant will be in Manila, Philippines on July 21, 2009 (this actually falls on a Tuesday so I'm guessing there will be many students who will cut classes so that they can keep up with the Kobe Bryant in Manila schedule). Kobe's much-awaited Asia Tour 2009 will kick off in Manila then the LA Lakers player will be off to Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Cheng Du. During this Asia Tour, Kobe Bryant will also promote the new Nike Dream Season sneakers exclusively released for Asia. I'm sure Kobe will be a busy bee while he's here in the Philippines. Actually, by the time he comes over, he has most probably finished filming a Nike comm...

Jul22009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

“San Mig Rock ‘n Reggae” in Sumilao, Bukidnon tomorrow, July 3, 2009

Announcements, Bukidnon, Corporate, Entertainment, Events, Features, Festivals, Fiesta, Mindanaoan Update, Music, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Personalities, Society

In celebration of the 53rd Anlaw Ta Sumilao, San Miguel Beer and San Miguel Foods proudly present "SAN MIG ROCK 'N REGGAE" - a live band concert featuring reggae masters Native In Town and a Cagayan de Oro City-based band. This event is happening on Friday, July 3, 2009, 7 PM at the Kisolon Gymnasium, Municipality of Sumilao, Bukidnon. Fun prizes and freebies to be given away! So come one, come all. And oh, this event is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! So yup, FREE ENTRANCE! :) Native In Town is best known for their infectious reggae beats and songs. This group is a regular during Bukidnon's Kaamulan Festival and they used to play in various bars in CDO. Their last gig was in Oroquieta City. Meanwhile, if you guys need an events organizer in the CDO / Bukidnon / Iligan / Davao and Butuan a...

Jul22009 by Mindanaoan Irene1 Comment

Michael Jackson on the cover of People — can someone give this as a gift to me?

Announcements, Mindanaoan Update, Personal

All right, this is a Mindanao blogger's desperate attempt to ask anybody out there...a kind-hearted generous person (hehe) who can possibly send me a copy of the latest issue of People magazine. Okay, so this is more like a cry for help :D I know that once this magazine hits our shores, I'll have a difficult time buying a copy and OMG I want to have one!!! I want to have a copy of it because it's a special edition featuring the King of Pop himself, the Gloved One --- Michael Jackson! As I previously mentioned here in Mindanaoan, I am a huge fan of the King of Pop! Check out the cover of this special People magazine I want to get my hands on: So to anybody who wants to send me a copy, please, please, please CONTACT ME! I'd forever be grateful! :)