Heads up! I’m posting photos from the 2013 FHM 100 Sexiest Women Victory Party! After all, not everybody will be lucky enough to grab exclusive tickets, even with me giving away two tickets on my blog and sharing two secret methods of getting sure tickets in the previous FHM post.

And, as promised, there’s good news for everyone who missed out. You can get a free FHM July 2013 issue!

It’s the next best thing: your very own exclusive copy of FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2013 Magazine! And the good thing is, there’s no bidding, there’s no praying hard that you win a contest, and there’s no paying PhP3,500 just to get it! Yep, this one comes easy!

FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2013 Magazine: How To Get Them For Free

Those who still don’t have tickets to the FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2013, raise your hands! How about we all make ourselves feel better by getting a copy of the magazine? Sounds good? Read on.

1. Buy a Rogin-E promo pack containing 30 capsules. This promo pack comes with a brand-spanking-new copy of the limited edition FHM 100 Sexiest Women (July 2013) issue! Yes, the magazine comes with the multivitamin for free!
2. You have to buy your Rogin-E products any day from July 1 to 31, 2013 from the stores below.

Please make sure you check back here on July 1, 2013 for any changes in the list of participating outlets. Rogin-E has the right to make updates not announced on this blog post – so always make it a point to ask, okay?

I’m also getting a copy of the July issue of FHM (FHM 100 Sexiest Women) – but I’m not exactly its, um, target audience, so this issue goes to the boyfie. Hurray for the boyfriend!

FHM 100 Sexiest Victory Party

Just in case you missed the FHM 100 Sexiest Women Victory Party, here are a few photos to whet your appetite. (Some of these photos come from the awesome photographer Richmond Chi – and it’s a fancy coincidence that he’s FHM columnist Stanley Chi’s brother!)

Of course, I had to wear my “Manyak Ako, Hindi Lang Halata” t-shirt, courtesy of Suplado Shirts. The occasion called for it!

Thanks to the Rogin-E team who gave me their vote of confidence on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women team-up. And of course, thank you to all of you who continue to read my blog!

Grab your copy of FHM 100 Sexiest Women (FHM July 2013 issue)! Even if you didn’t have tickets to the FHM 100 Sexiest Women Victory Party on July 10, getting this issue is like scratching an itch – pun not intended. Oh, and if you love social networks the way I do, don’t forget to get in touch with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! I’m always online, so stalk away!

Okay, I know I’m a geek – and I’m also a nerd (and yes, in case you’re wondering, they’re different) – but I’m not geeky enough to join the Manila Dev Challenge this July 20, 2013.

Sad. If only I could program my way out of a red traffic light. Man, that ought to be sweet.

Anyhow, if you think you deserve groupies for being a (closet) genius developer, here’s your chance! Oh, and if you win, there’s like PhP200,000 worth of prizes.

Yeah, I know. Like I said, it’s sad that I’m not good enough for this contest. But for someone like you who is, here’s how you can win all that money.

Manila Dev Challenge: Computer Geeks, Here You Go!

They say geeks will rule the world. Um, hello, I think we already do!

If your enemies and haters still don’t believe you’re better than they are simply because you’re a geek and they’re not, then here’s your chance to prove them wrong once and for all! Okay, that’s too much drama, but I can’t resist sounding like a telenovela there for a moment.

So Michael from WebGeek contacted me a few weeks back to ask me if I may share this piece of news with my readers. I thought, why not? If it’s for the betterment of the tech community, I don’t mind!

The best developers in the country will bring home PhP200,000 at the Manila Dev Challenge. Wow, I better brush up on my Javascript!

Bring your geek skills to the Manila Dev Challenge as you go against fellow geeks in an initial bout of software development knowledge face-off. In the final round, there will be more complicated problem-solving and yes, even the implementation of – gulp – algorithms!

I’m sure you’re frothing in the mouth from all the trigger words I just said there. Don’t resist the urge; join it already! It’s three days away and you’re running out of time.

If you win, let me know and I’ll brag about you on my blog. Of course, you should give me your compulsory balato. It’s just about fair, what with you winning all the cash while I’m still here, dirt-poor and having the time of my life.

Okay, maybe my life ain’t that bad. But still, good luck to all of you Pinoy developers! Make me proud!

Ganso Shabuway Restaurant just released a new menu of Japanese comfort food – and I got to taste it all! Next to Filipino and Thai, Japanese cuisine is my top pick. So pardon me for going into fan-girl mode as I gush about Ganso Shabuway’s food.

And yes, I loved their new menu offerings, despite the fact that I’m not a shabu-shabu fan at all. (I prefer my sukiyaki sauce on a bowl of sukiyakidon, thank you very much.)

But don’t go looking for Ganso Shabuway’s new menu at their Rockwell and Alabang branches just yet. The new menu items are available only at Greenbelt and Shangri-La Plaza, at least for now.

Ganso Shabuway New Menu: Japanese Comfort Food

I have never been a big fan of hotpot restaurants, which was why I was curious when I received an email from Ganso Shabuway saying I should try their new Japanese offerings. Good thing I went to their menu launch because I wasn’t disappointed!

Everything goes with everything –

and yes, that’s a good thing.

Here are some of the new menu items Ganso Shabuway has to offer. If you love light, tasty dishes, their new food fits the bill!

Let’s start with the buttered Tuna Belly. It was dipped in a light batter that had a hint of lemon. This is actually the very first seafood offering at Ganso Shabuway. For a novel attempt, they met my expectations.

I also loved the Beef Yakiniku. It was probably my favorite that night at Ganso Shabuway. Its flavor packs a punch! The thin beef slices weren’t too soft and had just the right texture to keep things interesting.

The Ebi Curry is a rather interesting item on their new menu. I wouldn’t dream of drowning ebi fry in any kind of soup or broth – I’m too much of a purist! But hey, they made it work. The curry was light but unmistakable, complementing the shrimp quite nicely.

And then there’s the chicken karaage. To those not familiar with this dish, imagine bite-sized pieces of chicken dipped in batter and deep-fried to a crisp. They taste great, but I personally prefer my karaage spicy. If you’re a sucker for spicy food like I am, try putting hot sauce over your karaage and you’re all set! For the faint of heart, forego the hot sauce and simply add a twist of lemon to give the karaage a tangy taste.

If you’re a fan of ebi tempura, you should try Ganso Shabuway’s Ebi Fry. Unlike shrimp tempura, ebi fry goes better with katsu sauce than tempura sauce.

I usually judge a Japanese restaurant based on their California maki and gyoza. These two dishes are supposed to be simple, which means every good Japanese restaurant should get them down pat. And if a restaurant’s Gyoza tastes exceptional, then they’re a cut above the rest!

Vegans can opt for the Nasu Miso Itame, a fried slab of tofu topped with slices of eggplant. The clincher here is the sauce: It brings the eggplant and tofu together.

I’m sure you will love their shabu-shabu set. They use only USDA choice Angus beef. (To those not familiar with USDA grading, “USDA choice” is second only to “USDA prime”.)

The wonton tastes like the gyoza, except for its fried wrap. If you prefer fried dumplings, go for the wontons instead of the gyoza.

Spotted during the food preview: FHM columnist and bestselling author Stanley Chi! He said he loved the shabu set, by the way.

Don’t ask me what stands out because Ganso Shabuway seems to have figured out how to make all their brand new menu options equally impressive. Japanese foodies know better than to skip Ganso Shabuway when they’re looking to binge. Everything goes with everything – and yes, that’s a good thing.

Whether you’re a vegan or a self-confessed meat lover, I’m sure you are all for humane treatment of animals. Every person has an innate kindness in him, something I hope you’re willing to show today. And believe me, what you can do is big – and what you can do, you can do without spending a single cent.

Disclaimer: If you love pork, don’t worry. I’m not asking you to quit pork!

Even if you love pork adobo or lechon, I’m sure you don’t want to torture pigs before they get served on the table. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when pork producers confine pigs in small gestation crates that immobilize them while they are used solely for breeding.

Humane Petition to Breed Pigs without Gestation Crates

Yes, pork producers can confine pigs in a small cage that’s too small for a pig to even move around. And the pigs stay there until they die. It’s not a pretty picture, especially because pork producers have other more humane options, such as allowing pigs to roam around.

If you’re a meat lover, you don’t have to buy pork from breeders who confine pigs in small cages to immobilize them for the rest of their lives. It’s just not humane.

Burger King and McDonalds have already promised not to use gestation crates for pigs. Hurray! But there’s something else you can do. If you’re a meat lover and you eat pork almost everyday, you are part of a society that can help lead to a paradigm shift. You may think you have a small voice, but your voice can be heard all over the world!

Many have heeded the call for help. Be one of them! Find out what you can do below – and don’t worry, it will take just a minute of your time. Help the pigs and read on! Pretty please?

Vegans and Meat Lovers, It’s Time to Unite!

So what if you eat pork? This petition is not for vegans alone. It’s actually meant for meat lovers who can’t do without pork (like me), because it’s us who have to purchase pork every single day!

Use your voice to spread a wonderful message, one that helps foster kindness towards animals. Signing the petition below is a big help! It tells everyone in the business that people are watching. It tells everyone else around you that you care.

It takes just a minute of your time – and you know that’s not much. It’s like investing just one minute in a cause that’s going to change how the world views animal breeding. It’s worth every second, I promise.

Click on the “take action” button below and be one of the humane voices of your community!

Don’t hesitate to share this with your animal-loving friends! Although we don’t normally have pigs for pets, they are just as wonderful as our canine and feline companions. Even if you can’t swear off pork, at least say you don’t condone inhumane breeding of pigs.

Sign the petition above and be part of a noble cause. Better yet, share this with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter! Let that be the one amazing thing you do today for the animals that roam the earth.  

I get a lot of questions as to how I make a living online. Writing is now my bread and butter – and I’m telling you, if you want to make money doing something you love, you will. Just in case you want extra cash, here’s something you might want to do while you’re bored online: Answer online polls and get paid for it!

Yep, you heard right: For each poll and survey you complete, you get paid. You might as well, especially if you’re online every single day and you’ve got nothing else to do.

UPDATE: In one of the surveys I’m suggesting below, you earn $5 the moment you sign up! Hurry while the offer stands!

If you’re a stay-at-home mom and you want something worthwhile to do, a student who wants extra cash for that tablet you’ve been eyeing, or a netizen who can’t get enough of online freebies, then this is something you might want to look into.

Try These Online Surveys!

This blog post is not a monopoly, so I’m posting not one, but two different opportunities for you to earn from answering surveys! Find out which one you like better. Or try them both, if you’re up to it!

1. Be part of the iPoll community and start earning! If you like answering surveys anyway, at least make sure you get something in return by answering iPoll’s many surveys. Oh, and you earn $5 instantly just by signing up!

2. Sign up for Panda Research – it’s fairly easy. All you need is an email address to register and you’re good to go!

Try not to keep this to yourself, okay? Share this opportunity with your family and friends! Help out your cousins who are looking for extra income. Make sure you share this opportunity on Facebook if you can – your friends will love you for giving them heads-up!

Lastly, enjoy! Answering polls are stress-free and can be a lot of fun. Of course, there’s the added benefit of earning while answering polls, too!

If you do sign up, do let me know about your experience. How many polls do you get to answer daily? Tell me how much you earn after one month, okay? Share your experience here and feel free to give tips on how everyone else can make the most of their online survey experience!

Pardon the selfish title – don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks. You see, I thought of writing about birthday gift ideas for yourself after finding myself in a dilemma. Every year, whenever my birthday comes along, I find myself staying indoors and foregoing a celebration altogether! That’s because during my birthday, there’s always a typhoon (read: murky flood waters, impossible traffic, people crying during typhoons).

I want to give myself a gift when it’s time for me to blow the proverbial candle. But for years, I refrained from celebrating my birthday because I thought it was insensitive to celebrate while others were miserable. Year after year, I ended up shrugging off what every other person had every right to celebrate: the basic birthday. Finally, I decided to join the bandwagon and just go ahead with it!

I know you mean well, but please don’t tell me to celebrate my birthday on some other calamity-free day. After all, there’s always someone suffering every day, typhoon or not!

But let’s go back to you. Yes, you. You are probably thinking of what to give yourself on your birthday. There’s that $1M car on your wish list, but whenever your feet drift back to earth, you realize you have to make a birthday wish that’s more, um, practical.

Birthday Gift Ideas for You

If you find yourself in the same boat as I, here are a few birthday gift ideas for you. Don’t worry, you deserve to celebrate – it’s your birthright, literally!

• Go shopping online. If you’d rather stay home on your birthday, that doesn’t mean you can’t go shopping. After all, you can always do so online. In preparation for my birthday yesterday, I went shopping/ windowshopping online and found myself on Royqueen’s Facebook page and a page about Christmas gift ideas on Zalora. There’s also eBay, in case you love pitting yourself against other bidders (yes, it can be fun, especially if you’re a closet competition addict).
• Pig out. Disclaimer: Eat at your own risk, especially if you had to put your cardiologist is on speed dial “just to be sure”. I personally love the Spirals buffet in Sofitel and also Circles in Makati Shangri-La. Choose your poison.
• Indulge in an extra-long relaxation regimen. You can get a full-body petrissage, a mud bath a la Louis Litt, or a  hair treatment with a head massage thrown in. It’s the perfect day to be zen!
• Sleep in – and let your spouse take the kids out. This is worth it especially if you’ve been working extra hours. Imagine eight hours of sleep with all of your gadgets in silent mode. You have the house to yourself. Happy birthday; you deserve it!
• Go on a movie marathon. I bet you probably have favorite movies in your hard drive that you watch over and over. (I watch the sitcom “Friends” all the time – it’s like eating comfort food!) Prepare some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the hours to come!
• Go on a reading spree. If you’re a bookworm like me, you will love spending the entire day catching up on your reading. I’m currently reading three books: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, Predictable Irrationality by Dan Ariely, and Batman. How about you, what books would be on your to-read list?

Which gifts will you give yourself on your birthday? As for me, I’m giving myself all of the above! (I just hope the inclement weather cooperates. Birthday or not, I would be so much happier knowing that nobody is stranded somewhere because of the flood.)

I’m sure there are many other ways to give yourself a well-deserved birthday gift – feel free to comment and give suggestions! As for your birthday gift to me, you can always add me to your circles on Google Plus.

See the “follow” button above?
Click on it and that’s enough of a birthday present for me!

Enjoy celebrating the day you were born. After all, nobody else on earth is like you. Hey, maybe that’s a good thing! Just kidding.

Almost everybody has a blog. Your friend has a blog. Your friend’s officemate has a blog. Even your friend’s officemate’s mom’s best friend’s cousin’s gym buddy has a blog. Blogging is so common that you wouldn’t believe how very few people know about the the 5 blogging facts I’m about to mention.

Whether or not you’re a blogger, you might enjoy learning about these 5 facts about blogging. Find out how many you already know!

5 Blogging Facts You Probably Don’t Know

If you’re a blogger, you probably know that headlines for blogs are very different from headlines for news. You probably know the difference between SEO and SEM. You probably know Penguin and Panda as Google updates that keep web managers awake at night, not as cute black-and-white animals.

But I bet you didn’t know all the 5 facts about blogging which I’m about to share with you below! Read through them and tell me how many you already know. Ready? Go!

1. The word “blog” came from the phrase “web log”. The phrase “web log” was actually shortened into “weblog” until it naturally shed its first two letters.

2. We all owe our blogs to Jorn Barger. You might be asking, who the hell is he? He happens to be one of the first bloggers on earth – and he coined the word “weblog”.

3. The word “weblog” was coined all the way back in 1997. That means blogs have been in existence for almost 20 years! (I was still a student when blogs came into existence. Some of you were probably not born yet when people started blogging!)

4. People actually get fired from their day jobs because they blog. An employer of Wells Fargo got fired after saying insulting things about his colleagues on his blog. An assistant attorney general in Michigan was fired after using his blog to bash a gay student. A former Microsoft employee was fired from his new job in Google after comparing the health benefits of both companies on his blog. Obviously, blogs carry more weight than most people think – they can change your career path, literally!

5. Companies are now setting up blogging guidelines for their employees. Yes, people talk – worse, they blog. It’s “worse” because when it’s online, it’s there for everyone to see. And even after you delete an incriminating blog post, you can’t take it back once people have blogged about your blog. That’s why companies like IBM have set up blogging policies for their employees.

Share with Fellow Bloggers!

So, how many of the five facts on blogging mentioned above did you know beforehand? If you know them all, bravo! You’re a blogger who happens to be in-the-know. Your knowledge on the origins of blogging is outstanding – and I sincerely wish your blogging skills are, too!

Here’s a fun suggestion: Ask your blogger friends about the five factoids mentioned above. They probably won’t guess all five items correctly! Feel free to share this on your Facebook page just so the rest of the blogosphere learns a little more about blogging, where it came from, and where it’s going. Have fun!

If you’re an avid Instagram user, it’s time you won something for all the pictures you’ve been uploading! Since you’re all trigger-happy – at least, with your cameras – here’s your chance to make the most of your picture-taking days! Enter the Samsung NX300 contest and get the chance to win a camera until August 29, 2013!

Sorry for the late notice. I just found out today and I’m rushing like crazy to share the news with you! Samsung is now holding a contest for all gadget fans who love to take pictures. The prize is none other than a Samsung NX300 camera!

Why I Heart Samsung NX300 Camera

Tell me, how badly do you want to win a camera that looks as fabulous as this? It’s a Samsung NX300 Camera and it’s exactly what Samsung Camera is giving away on Instagram!

It’s a camera I’d love to have for many reasons. I’m sharing my pet reasons with you below.

• Samsung NX300 Camera is a WiFi-enabled camera that you can directly link to your other gadgets. No need to remove the memory card or connect the camera to your computer via cable! Simply turn on the WiFi and you can view the pictures on your laptop, phone, or tablet.
• This Samsung camera can capture photos at 8 to 9 frames per second. You probably don’t want to miss a photo op of your favorite basketball player making an epic shot. Or your baby is splashing happily in your pool and you don’t want the photo to be a blur of water. Whatever your reasons are for wanting to capture up to 9 frames each second, this camera won’t disappoint!
• It has a shutter speed of 1/6000. Geez, I can’t even begin to do the division mentally. Let’s just say it clicks fast, okay?

And that’s what you get if you win the Samsung NX300 camera from the Samsung Camera contest! As if that’s not enough, Samsung is adding a DV105F camera to their giveaways on a daily basis. Yes, there’s a winner each day until the end of the contest!

Samsung Camera Giveaway

The rules are simple. Simply follow Samsung Camera on Instagram and you get one entry. Just make sure you do so by clicking on the photo below so that your entry is acknowledged by the contest app, okay?

You also get additional entries by submitting photos, telling friends about the contest on Facebook, tweeting about it, and sharing it via email.

I hold contests a lot (and I mean a lot), so be sure to get updates on time by checking out my Facebook page. If you’re into social networks, add me up on Instagram and Twitter!

You can view the terms and conditions of the Samsung NX300 Camera Giveaway before you join. Good luck! Don’t forget to share with your friends – and don’t forget to tell them they owe you if they win, he he!

Just when you think you’ve read it all, a book like Stanley Chi’s Pogi Points comes your way to burst your bubble. Soldiers of love, beware.

Stanley Chi, the genius behind the bestselling Suplado Tips series (read: over PhP2M worth of books sold in just one year) goes out of his comfort zone to write a “not-so-gentleman’s guide to looking good”, as the cover of his newest book, Pogi Points, announces brazenly.

Chi is out to prove he’s not a one-hit wonder after his first humor book, Suplado Tips, underwent reprinting five times in a year. The follow-up Suplado Tips 2 fared just as well, if not better, establishing Chi’s reputation as a legit writer who can sell books to people who don’t normally love reading.

Pogi Points: What The Book Is About

Pogi Points is a collection of tips on how to get ahead in love through strategic behavior. It teaches the naïve boy how to act around his object of admiration (or obsession, whichever applies).

“Ang pagiging gwapo, inborn; ang pagiging pogi, napag-aaralan (Being handsome is inborn; being pogi is something you can learn),” Stanley Chi explains. Using humor to make his point, Chi teaches precious bits of courtship wisdom to guys who want to win over the girl of their dreams.

Stanley Chi’s Pogi Points Book Makes Waves

Readers aren’t the only ones who noticed Stanley Chi’s flair for writing. The Manila International Book Fair, the biggest book fair in the Philippines already in its 33^rd year last September, made sure Chi was on board as one of their first-ever endorsers, dubbed “MIBF Bookworms”. During the book fair, Stanley Chi joined social activist Carlos Celdran and fellow comedian-authors Ramon Bautista and Tado Jimenez in an online video campaign to promote literacy.

One Pogi Points pointer says, “Kung dinaan mo sa personality ang isang babae, para mo naring sinabi na pangit ka (If you use your personality to win over a girl, it’s like saying you’re too ugly [to do it any other way])!” Aside from tips on how to score more pogi points, the book contains photo comic strips, serious relationship facts, fun pogi trivia, and self-help lists. It’s a workbook of sorts for the love-struck guy who wants to have fun while decoding the woman he fancies.

Readers get a good dose of laughter from Stanley Chi’s Pogi Points– and who knows? Maybe the single guys might even get a girlfriend.

I want to start this discussion about the Museum of Modern Art highlights with a confession: I don’t have a passport. The chance to visit different continents has come and gone with time, with every missed opportunity prompting me to say, “Oh, I’ll get another chance the next time.”

It was only after years of procrastination that I realized how badly I’ve been bitten by the travel bug. I want to leave town. Nah, I want to leave the country. I want to see what’s out there!

This yearning to come out of my rather crowded shell started when I saw a photo of the Museum of Modern Art. Even as a kid, I have always loved looking at paintings (and making a few amateurish ones of my own). Taking an online peek at MoMA – that’s what patrons lovingly call the place – made me realize how much of my life I am missing out on…

Photo from coolartwork.org

…And it’s all because I don’t have a passport. (I wonder, does the Department of Foreign Affairs have a 24-hour hotline?)

Museum of Modern Art Highlights

Kidding aside, here’s why I would love to visit the Museum of Modern Art before I hit the proverbial bucket. I just hope these reasons are enough to convince my subconscious to start digging for my birth certificate so that I can start filing for a passport!

• It’s a center of modern art located in New York. There are way too many keywords in that sentence that make me drool: art, modern, and of course, New York! I know that sounds superficial, but for someone who hasn’t left a single island of her country, it’s something to aspire for.
• The Museum of Modern Art offers movie screenings. Imagine watching an awesome movie for the first time – and imagine being surrounded by art the moment the movie is over. The immersion in beauty would have been enough to give me an endorphin overdose!
• The museum has a Rain Room that people actually line up to see. It’sart that you get to experience first-hand. You get to walk through a room where it seems to be raining, only for the rain not to fall on you when you pass by. The program was meant to selectively stop rain where people are standing. It’s like you’re surrounded by rain but you won’t get wet! (I heard the queue to get into the Rain Room is just ridiculously long, with tourists lining up for up to nine hours.)
• The Museum of Modern Art has an amazing collection, with over 150,000 paintings, sculpture, and other works of art. Wow. I wonder, will one day be enough to visit every single piece of art? If I allot ten hours of my day to visit MoMA, that means I have to look at 250 pieces of art per minute just so I don’t miss anything. (Yes, I did the math!)

One of these days, I’ll get the chance to visit MoMA. Although the Museum of Modern Art highlights mentioned above are very good reasons, there’s one more that makes me wish I could go right now: Whenever I look at a painting, it’s tantamount to seeing the world through the eyes of geniuses. New York, here I come!

I am thinking of buying modern conservatory furniture to help spice up my room. A few months back, I was looking for hardwood desks and I was having the hardest time! Now that I’ve found the perfect desk for my room, my quest for furniture continues!

You might be wondering what conservatory furniture is. It’s usually meant for outdoor use, but if you use it indoors, it becomes a fantastic addition to any modern home as an accent.

For instance, my mom decided to buy outdoor furniture made of recycled wood. It has a wheel design and a glass top. It’s been staying outdoors for about a year now and it hasn’t suffered much wear and tear, as you can see below.

However, choosing the correct furniture to complete the final look can be a difficult task. Before today, I never knew there was furniture ideally meant for outdoor use – and that even those meant for your garden need extra protection from the harsh outdoor elements.

Conservatory Furniture: What You Need to Know

There are many different types of furniture available on the market. These include:

1. Cane furniture
2. Rattan/Synthetic Rattan furniture
3. Lounge furniture
4. Wicker/Resin Wicker furniture
5. Wooden furniture

There are many different things to consider when purchasing furniture for a conservatory. Think of what the room is going to be used for, how you want the final room to look like, and also how much money you have to spend on your furniture.

Whatever type of furniture is decided upon, ideally it must be protected from ultraviolet rays (UV). (Alternatively, your furniture should be sun-resistant.) The suns’ rays will make upholstery fade over time and can also damage untreated wood.

Cane Furniture

Cane furniture is one of the most popular types of furniture purchased for conservatories. It is both lightweight and strong. Chairs, sofas and tables can easily be made out of cane and are very easy to maintain. However, cane is a natural product so the color of individual furniture items can vary.

Rattan Furniture

Rattan is a similar material to cane and can be used to make lightweight and sturdy furniture. Cheap rattan can split easily so it is best to go for a more expensive kind.

Better still is synthetic rattan. It is a durable and sturdy product as well as being equally lightweight. Synthetic rattan furniture is better protected against ultraviolet (UV) rays and is totally water resistant.

Lounge Furniture

Going to a traditional sofa shop and buying lounge furniture is probably the cheapest option. However, this kind of furniture is not designed to withstand the high humidity and sunlight that specialist conservatory furniture can. Therefore, in time, the upholstery is highly likely to fade and the wood could bend out of shape.

Wicker Furniture

The weave in wicker conservatory furniture is often finer and, therefore, more appealing to the eye. However, as it is finer in detail, it can be easily damaged and strands can come loose.

Resin wicker furniture is a lot stronger and is very hard wearing. Resin wicker is a man-made material that is made to resemble wicker.

Wooden Furniture

Normal wooden furniture can be used in a conservatory, but it won’t have been treated to withstand the extremes in temperature or humidity. You could choose wooden furniture made out of softwood, such as pine or oak, but hardwood like teak is a lot better-suited to the conditions in a conservatory. Softwood furniture is the least expensive but often it is not very durable. On the other hand, hardwood furniture generally lasts a lot longer.

Whatever type of conservatory furniture you buy, it must be looked after and steps can be taken to help reduce any inevitable fading and sunlight damage. It will help a great deal if you can keep the conservatory as cool as possible.

Try your best to limit the effect that extreme temperature and humidity can have upon your furniture. Finally, try and limit any direct sunlight. This can be easily achieved using a throw over your furniture. Alternatively, have blinds put up.

I hope I find the perfect conservatory furniture to spice up my home. Living in a condominium unit isn’t satisfying my craving to design my home, but the challenge is a welcome change to my routine! I can’t wait to buy either a rattan or a wicker chair to put beside my sofa set. Wish me luck – and good luck to you, too!

Are you headed somewhere tomorrow after office hours? If not, here’s why you shouldn’t miss Romancing Venus, an unorthodox event on September 9, 2013 that just might make your day more interesting.

Romancing Venus highlights unique performances from poets, singers, standup comics, and magicians. They gather about every month and set up stage all across the metro, giving you a a show that you probably won’t see elsewhere.

Romancing Venus: 3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Miss It

If you’ve never been to any of the shows held by Romancing Venus, you’ll be in for a treat! Here’s why you should make it a point to witness Romancing Venus, the performance phenomenon of the month.

1. You will see Stanley Chi perform live.

If you want to have fun and experience something new, join Romancing Venus and you’ll get to see Stanley Chi perform live! (If you don’t know him, maybe you’ll be more familiar with Suplado Tips, the brainchild of Stanley Chi – it’s the book that teaches underdogs and rejected suitors how to cope with bullies and women with a superiority complex, respectively.)

He’s also the columnist behind One Night Stan, FHM Philippines’ newest addition to their online armamentarium. He also designs the awesome Suplado Shirts! If you see IGMG (which stands for “I-Google Mo, Gago!”) shirts, you’ll see what I mean.

But that’s not the only reason you should witness Romancing Venus!

Oktoberfest 2013 is a month away! Are you celebrating it at Sofitel Philippine Plaza? Lucky you! (Oh, and if you spell Oktoberfest with a “c” and you think it’s a festivity that San Miguel Brewery came up with, you really should keep reading.)

A month from now, people all over the world will be celebrating Oktoberfest, a festivity that has been going on for more than 200 years now. That means booze & bratwurst until you can’t have any more!

Oktoberfest 2013 media launch at Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Manila

But no, Oktoberfest is not exclusive to the local beer brand we all love. It started in Bavaria when a German prince and princess got married and invited the entire population of Munich to come celebrate with them.

Aw, that’s sweet! Just when I thought it was about getting drunk, I proved myself wrong and found out Oktoberfest started with a love story!

Oktoberfest 2013: Sofitel or Bust

I know that people will be celebrating Oktoberfest 2013 all around the metro, so why should you celebrate it at Sofitel anyway? If you’re planning on just drinking a bottle of beer, you’re right; you’re probably better off celebrating it at home with a couple of friends. But if you’re going all out this Oktoberfest and you want to drink until you drop, it would be a shame if Sofitel wasn’t at the top of your go-to list!

Here are my top 5 reasons why Oktoberfest is just awesome at Sofitel. Oh, and check out the food that comes with the Bavarian spread!

If I could shop online every single time, I would. If I could pick all the furniture and décor for my home from online stores, I definitely would prefer that. Blame the perennial internet addict in me – I love browsing through online stores!

Unfortunately, I don’t get to see a lot of online stores that offer a wide range of products. More importantly, I don’t want to buy from online stores that I don’t trust.

Online Stores and Finds: My Top Picks

There are just three online stores I trust. I obviously need to do a little more online shopping! But in the Philippines, I have had the chance to shop from just three online stores. I share my list with you below.

Trusted Online Store #1: Suplado Shirts

Suplado Shirts is my favorite go-to store for gift ideas. I love their statement shirts! There is literally nowhere else I can buy their designs since they are an exclusively-online store.

However, Suplado Shirts does join bazaars, such as the upcoming Noel Bazaar by GMA Kapuso Foundation. That’s because Stanley Chi, the man behind the brilliant “suplado” merchandise, is one of the featured celebrities at the GMA Kapuso celebrity bazaar.

But if you can’t wait for the Christmas bazaar, you can always order the shirts online from Suplado Shirts Online Store. They deliver anywhere in the Philippines for just a PhP49 shipping fee – that’s super cheap, don’t you think?

Up next is another great online store. Oh, and I’m giving away a gift voucher, so make sure you don’t miss out!

Fellow Pangasinenses, heads up! If you love flip-flops, you’re gonna love what Havaianas has cooked up for you this 2013. You can now make your own Havaianas! For the first time in Pangasinan, the flip-flop fiasco was launched. Hurry, coz the promo ends today, October 6, 2013!

You can get your Havaianas flip-flops at their usual rates! Even their most expensive design for #MYOH2013 , the first ever designed by a Filipino (Dan Matutina), costs only PhP995. Not bad for a custom-made pair, huh?

Make Your Own Havaianas 2013: First Ever in Pangasinan

It’s easy to make your own Havaianas! Here’s how I made three Havaianas.

First, I chose the color of my flip-flop’s sole. I chose a violet sole for my pair. (You can choose from either the slim or the regular size.)

I’m always downloading apps, whether they’re games, reading apps, or travel apps that help make travelling easier and more convenient. I have to confess that I am somewhat of a nervous traveller!

While I understand the merits of going outside one’s comfort zone, I always find things to worry about beforehand. Will everything be all right at home? Will I be safe on the trip? These questions chase themselves around my head the entire time until I walk through my front door at home at the end of the trip. I know, I sound like a worrywart!

“Oh no, have I lost my way again?!?”

Yesterday, as I was fidgeting impatiently in a cab while cursing the horrible traffic in Manila, I saw a girl and a guy holding hands across the street. The guy seemed to be really sweet. He even offered her a piece of candy, unwrapping it and putting the candy in the girl’s mouth.

It would have been a nice picture, except that the guy unceremoniously threw the candy wrapper with a flick of his fingers. It was like throwing caution to the wind while navigating the unpredictable currents of love – except that it was litter, not wind, that he threw away.

Sanitation: You Play A Big Role

People think that throwing away a single candy wrapper doesn’t really contribute to overall pollution. “Hey, it’s just one tiny piece of plastic,” most of us think. But imagine if everyone threw away one piece of candy wrapper. Wouldn’t that be enough to make up tons of garbage?

“It’s just one piece of garbage,”
you might think when you litter.
No, it’s not just “one” piece of garbage if everyone does what you’re doing.

Yes, what we do isn’t “little” or “insignificant”. All of us contribute to the big picture. If anything, the little things we do day by day are the ones that can change the way we live.

Domestos and Unicef: Partners in the Sanitation Crisis

If you’re not bothered by the garbage around you, you probably haven’t been going out much. We are producing way more garbage than we can get rid of! Wake up and smell the maggots.

In financially-challenged communities, it’s actually much worse. Overcrowding and inadequate water supply complicate matters. The result is a lot of people getting sick in unsanitary living conditions.

Thank God there are companies who want to make a difference. The Unilever Foundation and Domestos, for instance, have partnered up with Unicef to help improve sanitation. They plan to provide long-term solutions to sanitation problems among the communities who need it the most. That’s better than just giving dole-outs because independence and self-sufficiency are fostered!

Their sanitation improvement program, called Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS), include an awareness campaign and creating a demand for more restrooms. A lot of people in depressed urban areas actually pee and poop directly into the river because they don’t have toilets! All that will change if there are clean and functional restrooms that everyone can access.

When I first heard about the JuiceBoxx portable charger, it was when I realized that they now have a name for us gadget addicts: nomophobes. And before you say you’re not one of us, hear me out first.

You can look at nomophobia as a fear associated with separation anxiety – of the tech kind, that is. Whenever you forget your phone at home, do you feel like you forgot to take your soul with you? Do you freak out when you see the low batt warning on your phone? Well, you’re a nomophobe, too!

Good thing there are gadgets that help us keep the fear at bay. For instance, there’s JuiceBoxx! JuiceBoxx is a portable smartphone and tablet charger which you can keep in your bag, in case your gadgets are running low on power.

Isn’t it kind of weird that the cure for nomophobia, a fear associated with gadgets, is another gadget? Okay, full disclosure: it’s not exactly a cure. It just enables our addiction to gadgets, hehe!

JuiceBoxx Portable Charger: Where’s Yours?

JuiceBoxx comes in two varieties: the original variant has to be charged using another power source. The second variant, however, is more to my liking: it’s solar-powered!

Are you a germaphobe? If you find yourself reaching for your bottle of alcogel every fifteen minutes, you probably are. I don’t blame you, really. But did you know that the alcogel you carry in your bag might not be enough?

Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, med student, or just a health buff who happened to pass by my blog, take this opportunity to find out why your hands are going to cost you thousands of pesos each year – that is, if you don’t do something about them.

Patients Know Doctors Don’t Wash Their Hands

If you’re not a health professional, let me paint a different picture for you. Imagine that you’re at the doctor’s clinic. After your doctor sees a handful of patients, he asks his secretary to call you in.

Guess what? He didn’t wash his hands before he shakes your hand.

Don’t say it’s not a big deal. It is. Who knows what the patients before you were in for! What if they went to your doctor because of a serious infection? After all, many of the most serious infections you’ll experience in your lifetime come from the hospital!

Better than Alcohol?

Alcohol is a savior. It helps prevent the transmission of nosocomial infections (also known as “hospital-acquired infections”). But alcohol isn’t good enough when you’re dealing with deadly germs.

Thank God there’s finally something better than alcohol! It also smells and feels good, by the way. (You’ll find out what it is soon enough!)

I remember carrying a bag of Sterilium with me when I was still a med student. Unfortunately, Sterilium stinks! Pardon me for being honest, but I just hated how it smelled a little bit like formaldehyde.

Imagine my surprise when I tried Softa-Man. It’s a hand hygiene product meant for doctors and nurses – and it’s from B.Braun (B. Braun, for crying out loud!).

Just like you, your furry friend has a personality. If you want to find out what kind of dog or cat you have under your roof, take this fun pet personality quiz from the Humane Society of the United States!

Oh, and if you take the test, $1 automatically gets donated from Petplan to animals in need.

Yep, you got that right: While you’re having fun taking the short test and getting to know your pet, you’re helping donate to other animals! It’s like shooting two birds with one stone! Er, not that we’d shoot birds.

Take the Pet Personality Quiz!

Many pet owners have one thing in common: They love getting to know their furry friends more. If you are the proud human of a cat or dog and you want to know what personality your pet has, just take the quiz below.

As if that’s not enough, you actually help donate $1 to a furry friend in need when you finish the test! Petplan Pet Insurance promises to donate $1 for every person who takes the quiz. How awesome is that?

How much of a party animal is your furry friend?
Take the quiz and find out!