digital gifts

there’s a group of people that say that the best gifts to give (and receive) are those that can’t be bought. i am one of them.

lately, selle and i had the opportunity to exercise this school of thought and put it into action. a couple of our friends were having their birthdays and we decided to give them something they can’t buy at the mall. 🙂



fun facts about neriz’s avp:

• during one of our chats in one of our get-together’s, neriz mentioned she loved this jingle that she heard from a quick-and-easy commercial. she didn’t know then that that jingle was a rip-off of an actual song. 🙂
• the gift was supposedly a simple mp3 but when we later learned that we’ll have time to make an avp (kasi biglang nagka-party) then the mp3 turned into an avp. 🙂
• the avp was made overnight using photos i have on our pc… and video footages from their wedding onsite avp.
• the dvd design was inspired by their honda jazz vanity plate. 😉

fun facts about francis’ avp:

• this was actually kathleen’s idea – who approached us through text with the lines, “kelan ka matatapos sa bc?” i immediately knew then that a favor was coming. 😀
• while francis was in gen san jump-starting a multi-million business, we went to their house to get photos for the avp – this included “stealing” his 2 dvd’s-worth of overseas trips photos – which he was looking for later on the week. 😀
• most video footages were taken using a cellphone.
• other video footages came in real slow and i started editing even without the other expected video messages. some eventually came in and i had to redo some parts of the avp to squeeze them in.
• the choice of song was intentional, knowing that francis was a beatles fanatic. 🙂

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house parties

for the past 3 months, we’ve been invited to 3 house birthday parties. i’ve always believed that house parties are much, much better (and meaningful) than those held at establishments. siguro dahil it’s more intimate… and less structured. plus guests tend to mingle and talk to each other more. 🙂

we’re honored that we were invited to these parties. next year uli ha. 😉

july 17, 2009
neriz’s birthday




august 5, 2009
charles’ birthday





september 12, 2009
francis’ birthday

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exploring subic

finally, the road trip materialized. akala namin hindi na mangyayari eh. it was supposed to be 3 new cars plying the roads of luzon but we just can’t seem to get everybody on the same page so instead of 3 cars, we settled for 2 new white cars. 🙂

we left calamba at half past 3 in the morning of august 23. we had to go to cavite pa to fetch selle’s family. we then met up with francis, kathleen and the kids at petron in alabang at around 5 am. then off we went to subic… with a planned breakfast stop at shell nlex. after being surprised by the an extremely long qeue at kfc (as in soooobrang haba), we settled for the almost empty kenny roger’s. hehe. after having a hearty breakfast, off we went… straight to subic – with francis leading the way. now, we weren’t sure if having francis as the lead car (and trying to stay with him) was a good idea 😀 but we had no choice cause he’s the better navigator. and i was able to stay with him naman along the way (ibang usapan yung pauwi na kami ha. hehe)… achieving a top speed of 180 kph at sctex along the way. heck, we even have this subaru impreza story which is better told in person. 😉

we had an itinerary planned – with the planning done at francis and kathleen’s house a week before the trip – and first stop was, ocean adventure. and the good thing with francis leading the way, you won’t be late. 😉 we were early for the shows so we explored the aquariums first.






then it was time for the sea lion show.



entertaining and educational. it was kinda humid though kaya lagkit na lagkit kami after the show.

we had lunch immediately after. buti na rin lang at dumiretso na kami sa resto dahil after namin mag-order tsaka nagdatingan ang mga tao. even the mascots dropped by. 🙂



while waiting for the dolphin show, we went to the souvenir shop to pass the time. selle and her family shopped for some pasalubong. while i decided to give sarah, my inaanak, a small stuffed toy. 🙂 then it was there when i noticed that i didn’t have my steering wheel lock keys with me. then panic started to creep in. ngek, pag nawala yun eh pano ko pa mapapa-andar car ko? yes, i have my car keys pero nakahiwalay kasi yung steering wheel lock keys eh. nasa calamba pa yung duplicate nun. so i did a quick rewind on the things i did and kinda realized that i don’t remember having my keys in my pocket. so naiwan ko sa car? i rushed to the parking lot and opened our focus… whew! naiwan ko nga sa loob. 🙂 note to self: when going on a long trip, bring your duplicates with you. 🙂

relieved, we went to the dolphin show area and got a well-ventilated spot. 🙂



then the dolphins started doing their thing. sayang kasi sam was asked by the organizers if she wanted to be part of the show. to be up-close and personal with the sea mammals. kaso sam declined (despite our pangungulit). anyway, she still had fun watching the show – and so did we. 🙂







next up on our tight itinerary was zoobic safari.



a multi-activity area, we started off with a walk around the zoo. yun nga lang the heat and humidity was getting to us kaya when it was time for some animal shows, we were kinda spent and didn’t watch it that much anymore. we just had ice cream, cold drinks and some rest instead.




afterwards we went to the viewing of the tigers – both those in captivity… and those in the “wild.”




then a couple more stops: a museum and a crocodile park – nothing compared to the one in thailand though. hehe.




zoobic safari has promise but it needs to be managed better and have a couple of improvements here and there. pero it really has some promise.

tired, we then went to forrest hills to check-in our overnight residence. located inside a residential area, this was a budget find by kathleen. we unpacked and then rested a bit.



actually, we rested too much and had to re-arrange our itinerary. instead of go-karting, we settled for a quick shopping spree – can you believe there’s a powdered gatorade? – and dinner instead. for dinner, we took the recommendation of rex, a zambales native, and dined at meat plus. if you love meat, this is the place for you. 🙂



with still a couple of activities lined up the following day, we called it a night and rested. but not before a short pictorial session with our roommates. 😉






we started day 2 of our vacation with a stop at tree top adventure. a relatively new attraction in subic, tree top adventure boasts the longest motorized canopy ride in the country – something we really wanted to try. but before we jumped in, there was a short briefing and then we had to be harnessed for safety. 🙂





then off we went to the canopy rides. 🙂




the canopy ride was a relaxing and enjoyable ride from tree top to tree top – with heights going as high as a hundred feet above the ground. the speed ain’t fast but is at a deliberately slow speed – enough for the guests to enjoy nature… and we did enjoy it. 🙂












after an hour or so of going from tree to tree, we had a quick snack (nakakauhaw din kasi) then decided to go the the superman ride. as the name implies, guests are hanged horizontally ala superman and zipped – this time at a considerably fast speed – for a distance we forgot to ask. hehe. if the canopy ride was a relaxing ride, this one was a thrill ride.



the tree top activites do not end there. there’s the tree drop, a 60 feet free fall – this one we had to pass on. but not francis and kathleen. tough dudes. 🙂




after all the thrill brought about by the tree top adventure, we went back to forrest hills to pack. we then had lunch right across le mans go kart – our last activity in subic.



masaya yung go kart, though we wanted our karts to go faster. heck, d nga namin maabutan ni francis si selle eh. later on we were told that selle had one of the fastest karts in lot. kaya naman pala. 🙂

disaster almost struck us while francis, selle and i were talking at the pit stop when this kid decided to not step on the brakes and just ram his kart unto selle’s kart. buti na lang wala na si selle sa kart.






to end the subic stay, we had a quick shopping stop (again). 🙂

it was getting late so uwi na kami. again, francis took the lead pero this time i couldn’t quite stay with him. hehe. iwan sa sctex… iwan sa nlex… iwan kahit sa manila. hehehe.

it was a tiring ride home but the trip was well worth it. ’til our next road trip, guys. we definitely had fun. 🙂

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paul and emma: a wedding photo coverage

may 30, 2009

covering weddings, not merely attending them, has become a habit of mine. so when it was time for emma and paul’s wedding, i was determined to get that one shot worthy of being framed and hanged on their house wall. here’s some of them… hopefully, i managed to get that one shot. 😉


selle with “mommy” and “daddy.”




the bridal march, taken from different angles.



a couple of photo-journalistic shots. key to photojournalism is having an alert eye… cause these moments don’t last that long.




emma was all laughs during the ceremony. fun, fun, fun… 🙂

yes, it’s a BIG clan. 🙂

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kiddie party #3: jubilyn

august 9, 2009

just a day after miggy’s swimming party, we’re off to another kiddie party – this time just within calamba. ruby (or mama ruby) and jun are former colleagues of selle and their 2nd child just turned one! and where else to celebrate? at every pinoy kid’s favorite fastfood – jollibee!

more than just a kiddie party, it was a sort of like a reunion for selle and her former tantal officemates. she spent most of her time with mariel (or manang), a neighbor but somehow we don’t get to spend much time with. sadly, mommy rose was not able to attend but kate, selle’s inaanak, was there and we “baby-sitted” her during the party. 🙂







sometimes, you got to be creative in choosing your subjects – shying away from the obvious ones. 🙂


in this shot, i used the other guests who were taking photos to frame the subjects. worked out well, in my opinion. 🙂




happy, happy birthday, jubilyn. 😀

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kiddie party #2: miggy

august 8, 2009

it was miggy’s 8th birthday party and it was at my sister’s condo in pasig. not knowing how to get there, we got instructions from my sister and then followed it to the letter. everything was going smoothly until we near her place and her instructions were to turn right. i got confused because it was impossible to turn right. 🙂 buti na lang familiar na kami dun sa condo and made the correct decision of turning left. 🙂



miggy had a swimming party! ok sya kasi it’s a different kind of a kiddie party. sobrang ok kasi the kids were enjoying themselves at the pool to the fact that no entertainment was needed na. they only stopped when it was time to eat… pero after eating, back at the pool they were. 😀 it was a good thing that the weather cooperated… it was raining all week-long but that day it was just partly cloudy – enough to block the sun rays from the kids. 🙂







the birthday boy having a quick chichacorn break with my lovely wife. 🙂



we left after the blowing of candles – a brief pause to the kids’ playtime at the pool. we still owe miggy his transformer ironhide toy… something we have yet to see at the stores.

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kiddie party #1: chloe

“sir…..”

that was the subject title of a blank email i got from cinderella, a friend and a former officemate, a few months back. yes, a blank email… meaning, walang laman.

“ha? ano to? may problema ba?” those were the thoughts going through my mind as i stared at the blank email. i then quickly shot back a reply asking what’s going on?

“eh kasi sir… nahihiya talaga ako eh. mag-bday kasi si baby chloe ko… eh kung pwede sana kayo mag-cover ng party. eeeee… nahihiya talaga ako sir.” or something to that effect (hehe) was the reply i got from cindy. ok, ok, i got the message. but why me? i mean, she’s got plenty of friends who have better cams than our pathetic d40. tsaka, sa taas ng kinikita nilang mag-asawa eh why not just hire a pro? 🙂 whatever her reasons were, i didn’t bother knowing them anymore. cindy’s a friend and it would be an honor to shoot for her baby’s party. plus, it’s one way of giving a gift without spending a single peso. 🙂

may 24, 2009. dahil mga probinsyano’t probinsyana kami (vena, neriz, jade and cedrick (na nag-iisa sa kanyang kotse)), we kinda got lost looking for the place. palibhasa mga d sanay sa fort. 🙂 but we still managed to arrive early and since we were there before the start of the party, i got a chance to snap off a few pre-party pics.








then the party officially started. syempre kiddie games dominated the program – to the enjoyment of the adults.

heck, there even was a game for adults which we guys starred in – and won. come from behind pa nga yung victory eh. 😀




with the vertical movement to consider aside from the horizontal movement, i know that a panning shot of a running person is almost impossible to pull off… but i tried anyway. kinda liked the output. 🙂


i wonder what lara was thinking about? “give me that balloon?” 😀




chloe… with utmost concentration on blowing those candles out. 🙂





babies, babies and even more babies… heck, there were even a couple of celebrities in the party too. 😉

after the party, guests stayed and did some catching up with friends.





not satisfied, we even changed venues and went to bonifacio high street to continue the exchanging of stories. since andun na rin lang, we strolled and went window shopping… eventually making our way to la senza – where the gals did some mega-shopping (especially the millionaire myles ;-)).






yah, from kiddie party to a lingerie botique… it was quite a day. 🙂

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