May 25 - it was Pumkin’s first day as a college freshman at De La Salle University.

Yup it’s green not blue.

She decided to take International Studies Major in European Studies.

They had the Freshmen Orientation last May 13 and 14, 2009.  Two days of getting to know your school and your blockmates …. the start of new friendships.

I guess I’ll be seeing more of this color green in the coming years. 

Summer vacation had my son CZ restless and bored . 

 ”Nothing to do!” ,  he complains. 

CZ  received a set of golf clubs as a gift and so I talked to his dad Rico if  he could check with Veterans  Golf  Club if there are any summer offerings for kids.  Luckily, our inquiry was just in time for the start of the 2009 Veterans Jungolf Summer Training Program.

I was glad Rico had the time to bring CZ to his trainings during weekdays when Rico doesn’t have any schedule on his practical shooting trainings.

The summer jungolf training was concluded on May 22, 2009 with a fairway tournament among the participants under different age brackets.

Right after the She-ka interview that morning, I passed by to take a peek how my son was doing.  He was only on the 2nd hole and according to his Dad, CZ was playing fair and hopefully on the next holes, his swings would get better.  

 Pumkin was able to take a few shots of CZ.

Too bad I couldn’t stay to wait for the results of the tournament as I need to rush to the office for some important work.  And so I left father and son with no idea how the tournament would go.

Late in the afternoon,  CZ called with a very excited voice he asked  ” Mama!  If I’m champion, what’s my prize?”

Taking cue, I knew he won and it was really an awesome thing not only for him but for the whole family. It may not be a big tournament but CZ felt good and happy about it.  Anyone who sees his Champion trophy wowed.  What a memorable first!

 CZ received his trophy

Enrolling CZ on this summer training was worth it.  He enjoyed it so much and have always looked forward to his trainings.  CZ was also happy to spend more time with his Dad.  It was a great bonding opportunity for them.

Champion Golfer CZ with the Champion Shooter Rico Papa

I was ever thankful for Rico that he really made time to make this golf training for CZ  possible.  He helped me have my own little champion golfer. 

Photo credits:  Last 2 photos were grabbed from CZ’s Friendster profile.  Photo taken by Rico’s girlfriend, Karen Araga.

I have not updated my site as much as I would want to.

I have been very busy lately with work at FiveStar Cargo Services – an international freight forwarding company which we opened late last year.  Its a serious business for me so I can’t just dilly dally work and move as I please.

It was sometime April when we received the invitation from NBN Channel 4 if they could feature FiveStar on their show. I was hesitant. Really hesitant. The show staff  kept on ringing us to convince us to say yes.  But it was my sister’s prodding had me to finally  agree and do that show. According to the show staff, it will be short.  As short as 10 minutes and what is 10 minutes anyway?

It was agreed that the show producers do an office shoot on May 10 and the actual show on May 22,2009. Call time at 7:00 AM.  It took much effort to wake up earlier than usual and prepare for that interview.

I was quite jittery because the show was being broadcast LIVE!  What if I say something foolish?  Or even make a fool of myself ?   I said to myself —  who cares anyway?  Nobody’s watching ha ha!

After the show’s opening by host Issa Litton and Friday co-host Lovely Rivero, I was on right after.

And now … may I present to you FiveStar Cargo Services as featured at She Ka.

Notes:

I would like to thank my good friend Danette for the copy of the segment. I don’t know how she got it but defintely she gave me a good surprise.  Thanks Danette !

She Ka is a one-hour show aired on weekdays 8:00 AM at Channel 4.

FiveStar Cargo Services Inc.
Room 306 3F HHC Building Victoria cor. Basco St.
Intramuros, Manila, 1002 Philippines
Tel : + 63 2 5233107, 5235883
Website: www.fivestar.com.ph

April 28, 2009 , Tuesday  — I was rushing all work to ready myself for a meet up at Mall of Asia.

Maita makes a good coordinator/organizer of meet up.  So when Abbie announced that she is coming to Manila, Maita set the schedule.

Late afternoon, I drove to meet Maita and Abbie. We spent the first couple of  hours roaming around window shopping.  Then we went to see My Touchstone who was also in town with a lot of kids. Looks like she was running a daycare. He he he.

Herschelle - Maita - Abbie - My

We decided to have an early dinner at one of the “paluto” restaurants at San Miguel By The Bay.  Maita knows the place more and she led us to Claire dela Fuente’s Restaurant.  Food was really good and I loved that Buttered Prawns !

 We took the chance to make some photos along the baywalk while waiting for our food

Dinner will not be complete without the dessert.  We went to Cafe Breton to have one of my favorite desserts — The La Pinay !

Cafe Breton’s La Pinay

We spent the rest of our time in Cafe Breton chatting over some drinks until Abbie’s ride came to pick her up.

It was a short time but I’m glad to have met Abbie during her visit.  

Maybe I’ll see her again some time, some where.   

Some more photos here : Abbie’s Manila Visit

Let’s take a peek on what the kids are doing at Early Achiever’s Learning Center Summer class.

Know more about Early Achiever’s Learning Center by visiting their website: http://www.early-achievers.com/index.htm

It was Saturday and I have to stand up early for a 9AM meeting in Manila.  I asked Pumkin to come with me.  I dont enjoy driving alone anymore so I need this little blabber daughter of mine to keep me entertained.  Really, with Pumkin in my car, who needs an AM radio? 

The meeting for our project shipment was quick and by 10AM, I was already driving to Trinoma to meet with Maita and a long lost classmate of ours at La Consolacion — Liza Calumpong.

I was happy to see her again after so many, many years.  Facebook made it possible.  The last time I saw her was during our grade school graduation rites. That was it.  And only until today at TGI Friday’s in Trinoma as organized by Maita.

I have few random memories of Liza — has a fraternal twin brother Brendan …. they live in Carmel Subd….  she speaks English fluently ….. and the fondest memory of all — her spaghetti lunch  prepared by her Mom !

It’s great to see Liza again.  All those years, we were actually just near each other but never had the chance to cross paths.

Ang galing talaga ng Facebook! 

Anja spends most of the time watching TV or CDs which we know isn’t really good when it’s such a passive activity.

So, we decided to enroll her in a summer class at Early Achiever’s Learning Center for her to interact with other kids since she spends most of the time playing alone in the house.  It will also  prepare her for the regular class this coming June.

I don’t really have any idea if she would like it or not.  Anja is quite timid around new faces so she asked us to stay during the entire 2 hr. activity.  I knew it would take quite some time before she could warm up to her teachers. She’s happy to be with the other kids and playing with them.

Her first day had been good.   I hope it gets  better everyday.

Anja and I were having breakfast one morning.

She was quiet with her cheek resting on her left hand while her right hand was busy with the spoon and her bowl of cereals when suddenly she laid her forehead on her palm half covering her eyes.

Herschelle : Hey sweetheart. What’s the problem? What’s the drama all about?

Anja raised her head and with her eyes wide replied : ” WAYA PEYA!”  (Wala pera! /  English: No money!)

It was very funny. I wonder from whom she learned it and for what she needs the money for?

It was on this same day six years ago that you held me for a hand shake.

Since then, you never let go of that hand.

And as the years went by, the tighter you held it.

How we were when we started is still how we are today.

Only better. Deeper. Stronger.

With hope to remain the same for all time.

My recent ire because of dissatisfaction on my Asus notebook had me thinking of getting another notebook. I was torn between a Mac and going back to good old Compaq.

There was one consideration I had to make before deciding.

I was at the same time replacing my Dopod C800 with the very handsome HTC Touch Pro.

My question was, can I sync my HTC Touch Pro with a Mac?

Nobody can give me the straight answer.  Or at least the answer that I like to hear.

I sync quite a lot of data from my mobile phone to my notebook and vice-versa so this matter was quite important to me.

 I always had this fear of losing data so I make all the necessary back up possible in the ways I know and convenient for me as well.

And so,  since I am firm on HTC Touch Pro, I got this reasonably-priced Compaq Presario CQ20.

Getting this  Compaq CQ20 is actually a form of a downgrade on the processor. From my Asus U6 Core Duo to this Dual Core Processor Compaq. It’s not much difference for me so I guess this is ok.  Another reason for gettting this Compaq was the weight consideration. This was the lightest notebook I could find with the features I want. It weighs 1.68 kgs. Weight is really important to me as I can no longer carry anything heavy which will be detrimental for my back.

I was so excited to get hold of this HTC Touch Pro.  It’s been in my wish list for quite some time now and finally a good offer had finally brought it into my hands.

There are a lot of smartphones in the market but none could really meet my needs except for this Windows Mobile 6 .1  operated phone. This phone answers all my communication mobility requirements. What’s more, I get amused with the TouchFLO™ 3D navigation control. I just like the flipping !

“Touch” is the latest craze today.  But I don’t have the patience for it.  Prior to this phone, I got this 16Gb  iPhone which I used for a couple of days and then gave it to my teenage daughter to use. I can’t stand sending sms touching the small letters on the screen. HTC Touch Pro has the qwerty keyboard I am so used to and sending messages is a breeze for me.

The HTC Touch Pro is actually an upgraded version of my Dopod C800 with the changes mainly on the looks and the upgraded operating system version.

Read more here:   HTC Touch Pro