Liliw is a well hidden town in the near the border of Quezon. It can be accessed thru Nagcarlan route from Pila, or via the Magdalena Liliw road. I prefer the latter.

Over the last decade, Liliw has carved a name for itself as the sandal making capital of the Philippines. Rightly so, they deserve it. On the street on the left side of the church there lies a 1 kilometer strip of shops that sells slippers made in that town, and also some locally made shoes too. A couple of stores also sell some imported ones, but that’s just to serve some variety.

The best part of the whole shopping experience here? Everything is priced in 3 pricing schemes. 3-for-100 for house slippers (better looking than your grocery chooces), 100-250 for those snappy looking sandals for male and all espadrille variants, and 450-600 for those heavy duty thick leather and rubber types. Compare those with your mall choices and you can see straightly a 50% deal from sticker prices. And to sweeten the deal, you can haggle the price even lower.

If you have a knack for giving gifts this xmas, and slippers and sandals are your choice of gift theme for your officemate, then take the trip and buy it here. For boyfriends who have major quarrela with their girlfriends, bringing your partner here will lead to immediate pardon, and maybe for something more.

We dropped by Liliw after picking up my soon to be mom-in-law at Pagsanjan after coming off a seminar in Caliraya. We parked at the cathedral grounds and made our way inside for our customary prayers before heading out to the shops. It isnt that hot nor himid to shop around. The climate and temperature is very much like Baguio. We ended up buying 3k worth of sandals, and my share of 1k was already good for 7 pairs.

Snacks are good too. Barbecue goes for 3-for-p20 only, and they have a local delicacy called piyanono, very much like Pastels of CDO.

I’d recommend this place as a fun-run site for car clubs (with gfs in tow). There are other attractions you can go to on the way here, esp in Los Banos, and the Vigan-esque Pila Poblacion. Now put on your slippers and head on down to Liliw!

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There’s one chapel I keep coming back to, not to attend mass, but just to enjoy God’s creation. No other chapel in the country can make you wonder about his creations and make you feel you’re in heaven better than St. Mark’s Chapel.

Its a small open air chapel right on the slopes of Mt. Makiling leading up to the National High School for the Arts. The place is really beautiful.

On rainy seasons the place would be misty, and I guess it would also be same for the cold season. There is also a high level of humidity since it is in the middle of a tropical jungle. But that adds to its allure.

Its not a traditional church at all. There are no walls except for the slope of Mount makiling on the sides. The seats are concrete, and the whole roof is just a massive concrete overhang supported by the altar pillar. And there are no regular masses and no resident parish priest.

This is a perfect place for a wedding. Unfortunately, you’ll have to go thru a lot just to get a permit. Consider writing a well intended letter to the Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines just to ask for permission. Then there’s the usual parish turf protocols, and finally. I was able to get the permit before since I once an employee of a company that annually plants tree in Mt. Makiling. Thank God that wedding didnt push thru.

These pictures are from the 3rd and last time my fiancee (and soon to be wife) and I would visit the place. Penny (the white shorkie) is also with us. I would probably visit this again, maybe just for photography and nothing more

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I live alone in the house. And yet;

I have 4 dogs to accompany me.
Then there are 6 pairs of flip flops. I could use one for every section of the house.

I have 4 rooms to repurpose, but i only sleep in one.
There are 4 beds to sleep in and yet i choose this very sentimental cushion.

There are 3 tv sets, and only 2 are working. It doesnt matter, since i dont have cable, there’s nothing intersting to watch.

I also have 4 computers, 2 macs and 2 pcs. Havent used the macs and the netbook since I got this brand new desktop pc. It does everything I wanted it to do for me.

You can find 2 pianos. one upright, and an electric piano thats in the closet. I could never find time to play it. And dont ask me about the various guitars and the pair of violins. I dont even know how to use em.

And then there are 4 mystical beings in the house. There’s a pair of dark ones, and a pair of good light ones. Well thats according to a psychic cousin of mine.

I dont mind having it all here where i live. Everything is connected to someone special in my life, my family. Pretty soon, there will be more stuff of some things, as I start to bring in a family of my own.

I think must buy new stock of fish foods. Im on my last pinch of feeds. I might also get a new goldfish for my tank.

Harvesting Rice in Pulilan http://ow.ly/i/lscF

You might be wondering why I have a Galaxy Tab.  Well, my galaxy ace turned out to be a lemon (just the unit that I got, my girlfriend’s ace is working perfectly) with a fried board out of the box and then some hsdpa connection issues.  I turned the unit over for a replacement and as soon as I got the call from Samsung, I told them I’m not getting the ace anymore and will be getting the tab instead.  I just have to add a couple of thousand pesos for the price difference.

I noticed a couple of setbacks though. First, this has only a 3.2 megapixel camera while the ace has 5 and the camera seems to be slower. Secondly, you’ll need bigger hands. Its hard to carry this thing without a man purse. And I hate man purse. Lastly, its the embarrassment of talking with a digital photo frame up your ear.

Generally, I’m more satisfied with this as my battery life is now much longer even with gps and 3g connected full time. And  3g connection is now much more stable and consistent.

I shloul’ve gotten this unit in the first place.

Made it to the sports page of a newspaper! Business Mirror Dec 30, page C2! This is abt the tournament i organized, and my runner up finish!

i’m back

There are still things that arent intermixable.  Just like oil and water, work colleagues and personal colleagues are meant to be separate.  Why?

1. If work colleagues find out from your social network about the stuff that you do, or the personal comments you make, you will be in deep shit.  Maybe not directly and get dooced, but somehow work colleagues will now see you in a different way.

2. If personal acquaintances enforces themselves to be a product or service supplier to your employer, dont even think about it.  It just like deciding to drink a bottle of poison.  You will be in trouble for conflict of interest.

The solution is simple.  Just Say NO.

Scenario 1

Work colleague: Hey can you add me in your Friendster/facebook/multiply?

You: NO. We meet everyday, we see and talk to each other everyday so whats the point of seeing you still on my personal space after work?

Scenario 2

Personal Friend: Hey, can you set me up for a meeting with your purchasing manager?  I have stuff that your office definitely needs, and you’ll get discounts?

You: NO. Your profit from that sale will not be able to support me if I get fired for conflict of interest.  If you are my friend, you’d have kept this in mind

So there you go.  Oil and Water dont mix.  Dont even try to do the same at work.  As for my work colleagues?  My apologies, but your accounts will be disconnected from my social networks in the next few days.  Some things written are sometimes not meant to be read by some people.

Cant believe it was almost a year since i last posted a blog entry. Just goes to show how busy this year has been for me. Its a very trying year, the next one wont be any different. Good luck to us all.