Birthday Bash for the 25 Year OLD MAN

Had a great night celebrating one of my good friends Birthday. I know he's more like 25 or 26 but all the receding hair line and bald spots are just not helping him out! Happy 64th Birthday Uncle Bien!

Good Vibes. Good People!

Me and Chi arrived late since we came all the way from Taguig but the party was still on! I have to say, this is a very dynamic group and you'll never have a boring moment with them!

That old man pointing and seemingly screaming at me is the birthday man. Behind him is his very supportive group of friends! These people, I have come to know, and loved since meeting them back in college! I'd tag them as "good finds" especially since I met them in the concrete jungle of the Philippines. A place notorious for a lot of scams, thieves, murderers and all the bad you can think of!

Cheers to a group of VERY good people!

I have a video of all the mean things Bien said about his friends but give me some time, since I can't seem to upload the very lengthy speech he made that night!

Green Pepper Gourmet Stop at The Ketchup Food Community

If you're looking for good food that's a little bit above the regular priced meals in Baguio, head on to Green Pepper. It's my first time to visit them but I wasn't disappointed at all! Their prices are a little bit expensive but hey, their name says "gourmet stop," that should give you an idea! And their sign at the back of their menu will tell you that they use organic ingredients! (Which in my market experience, organic is really more expensive compared to GMOs)

 

When you enter The Ketchup Food Community, it's the one that'll stare straight in your face. Well, not really since there's a tree in the middle but you get the point.

I had the Tomato-Basil Soup since I wasn't too hungry. I thought I'll just have something light. But I got a big bowl of yum yum soup sided with two grilled pesto-mozzarella sandwich. This plate can be considered a complete meal in my book. It costs 165 Php. 

My meal buddy that day had Chicken n' Chips. It's deep-fried breaded chicken tenders and potatoes. It costs 175 Php. You can get this plate and order rice because the chicken pieces are big enough for sharing.

That's me enjoying my soup! I know I said I was having something light but we really enjoyed the food, we ordered another one. (FOR SHARING!) This is the Cheese Steak Sandwich! It costs 195 Php which is not bad considering this meal is really for sharing. We had to divide the bread and forced ourselves to finish it. We were soooo full!

Lesson learned: If you want to eat at Green Pepper, better to go with an empty stomach. (Because their food is really filling!)

Their menu says it's a non-smoking area but because we were the only customers that time, the Chef allowed my buddy to have a smoke at our table. On regular dining hours, I understand why it should be a non-smoking area.

GDAY X Comes to Baguio

When a friend shared this photo to me, I got really curious. I've always been curious about Google.

I signed up not even knowing what the event was about. Keep in mind that I don't know what GDAYX means or what GBG or GDG meant. I had nothing better to do and working online has robbed me of the opportunity to meet new people. I need new friends! (Didn't really meet anyone during the event but.. yeah) Haha!

The event was held at Azalea Residences Baguio. It was my first time to see this place and I'm from Baguio. Pssh! Needless to say, I was at awe at how this big mansion was built without me knowing. (I live SO close to this area.)

Typhoon Haiyan (locally named Yolanda) was leaving during this time which is why I was limited to taking photos from the safety of the covered walkway.

I signed up and found out I was part of the GBG not GDG. Google Business Group was for entrepreneurs while Google Developers Group was for, well, developers. 

I thought due to the rain there won't be a lot of people. I was wrong. I mean, duh? It's GOOGLE! Rain or shine, storm or not, people will come. I love the tent, those draping fabrics from the ceiling were amazing. The winds from outside the tent would just blow in and suck the fabric outwards and back in. You can tell by now I was paying attention to the wrong things. Anyway, that's Vincent Tabor on the right, I think. 

The in and out of the wind just hypnotized me and made me scared the venue will get blown away. But hey! It didn't. The program begins with Miss Aileen Apolo, Head of Outreach Google Southeast Asia followed by Ma'am Oni, a dean from UC? See, I've got shady details which is pretty embarrassing since her talk was really VERY inspiring.

Azalea Residences' General Manager also gave a short talk.

After the talk, the group split up. GDG attendees were routed somewhere else and I was too hungry to even notice. Food came a little late, courtesy of Azalea but it was well worth it!

I love that they served food in boxes and wooden spoon and fork! These little things make me happy! Errr.
After lunch, we went on to listen to a number of speaker who talked about blogging, how to use Gmail and its other features. I met a girl named Karen who teaches at Cordillera School of Digital Arts and asked for paper. (Really, I know, how unprepared can I be?)

I loved the event. I attended not knowing what I was going to but went home with so much in my mind. Inspired? Definitely. Motivated? YES. To do what? I'm not yet sure. But I really enjoyed the walk home. Peace of mind for a couple of minutes.

I'm still learning the art of taking selfies so yeah. Hope to get into the Google circle more!

Happy Tummy Lunch

After 3 stressful nights watching over my little boy, went out for a hearty meal with my best buddies! Happy Tummy is a Thai Restaurant in the Ketchup Food Community.

We had Tom Yum (a spicy clear soup according to wikipedia):

Bagoong Fried Rice (Fried Rice with Shrimp Paste)

Chicken Curry

Spicy Squid
Spicy Tofu and Eggplant

I've tasted their Pad Thai once and wasn't impressed but this time, the Tom Yum was okay-ish. Lacked a little heat but still good. I'm not sure about the chicken curry because I'm used to having curry with potatoes and carrots. Their version had eggplants. Which is weird. The tofu and eggplant's nothing special and the rice lacked flavor. I guess I'm complaining too much! Good thing I was with the best people!