Life, Take 2

May 31, 2009

Sandbox – My New Playground

A few months ago, a group of bloggers (including myself) were involved in a closed beta project to test Sandbox. Media practitioners and some internet celebrities also joined in during this test phase.

Now, Sandbox is launching into open beta and I would like to invite you to check it out. Most of my blogger friends were in the closed beta with me so it was not difficult to start off as I already had a community of friends in it.

A few things about what Sandbox is:

1. Sandbox is an online platform that connects people together through microblog posts, photos and videos. More than just being a social networking site, Sandbox also has an online content store where you can purchase games and music. The developers precisely chose the word “sandbox” because it is meant to be the place where one can play around.

2. The user content is locally developed, meaning it is Filipino through and through. And because it is Pinoy, those of us in the Philippines have access to ongoing raffles, giveaways and chances to win prizes.

My friend Jayvee cites 5 good reasons to join Sandbox.

1. Your friends are most probably already there
When Sandbox launched in April it had a few hundred beta testers who were members of mainstream and online publications. Communities have been growing at a steady rate across all spectra — video gaming, anime, tech, love, blogging advice, photography, food and dining .. the list goes on. And, if you can’t find a group that fits you, why not create your own?

2. It is built as a one stop shop
There are two components to Sandbox – the user generated features that’s composed of the social network aspect, blogging platform, and photo / video uploads and an online content store where you can download games and music (P30.00 per song, cheaper than iTunes). Sandbox integrates what’s on your web browser with your mobile in your account creation page thus when you order items from your desktop or laptop, the information is pushed to your phone.

3. It has tangible benefits
Not that I have anything against other social networks, but this is the first locally developed one that actively gives out rewards and benefits to its members. So apart from the fulfillment you get with connecting with your friends, there are true offline benefits for participating in promotions and campaigns.

4. You can make money
Because Sandbox is locally developed, there are more interesting opportunities for you to make money through the system. Apart from an advertising platform within Sandbox that is currently being developed, there are going to be other engagements that will allow Sandbox netizens to build their online real estate such as the mobile site development. During the beta brief, Anton discussed the feasibility of growing your community. Just like with blogs, your real estate inside Sandbox values over time, especially when you grab potentially high ranking keywords.

5. It is continuously being improved
So really, the most exciting thing about Sandbox is that it is continuously being improved based on the feedback from the community. I’ll be the first to say that what you’re currently seeing is still the tip of the iceberg and the team led by Rezza Custodio has been actively looking into feedback. Of course, change doesn’t happen overnight but the plans for the future of Sandbox will take a stronger stance on Web 2.0. So yeah, tell your friends!

Personally though, I have been using Sandbox primarily for microblogging and the phone I am using specifically fits this purpose. Of course, this competes with the likes of Twitter, Plurk and Facebook where I am on so it behooves the developers to find features and niches which will appeal to the local folks.

Smart is at the helm of this project so I am sure that with the proper feedback during this open beta phase, they will be able to tweak it.

To start off, I have a few things lined up as feedback for the people behind Sandbox:

1. Improve internet connection uptime.

The trick to get people to mobile blog is excellent internet connection (meaning, no dropped connections) and easy access to the blog site itself. The thing going for Smart is that it is using a new technology called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access). But I have had several experiences while traveling when the internet is interrupted (sometimes as it changes from HSPA to 3G mode or vice versa). I am just imagining that if people had to pay P10 every time they connect to the internet, unstable internet connection can be a deterrent.

2. Make mobile blogging easier.

Mobile blogging must be so easy that you need not to have to log in and out before you can do so. I have an ipod touch and I find mobile plurking quick on the fly. As soon as I activate the app in a wifi zone, I am ready to plurk because my username and password are saved on the device. Sandbox is currently easier to view on a computer rather on a mobile phone. I have tried navigating via my mobile phone and it gets frustrating because I need to scroll left/right, up/down constantly just to go through the content and find my way. While I have done some posts via mobile, I find it easier at the moment to do so via the web. A mobile Sandbox interface would be great.

3. Create easier access to historical blog posts and activities by my other friends.

Yes, the concept is microblogging and we were told that anything posted is just for that moment. But as we are normally not online via a mobile phone all the time, friends’ activities remain unknown to me. I cannot see beyond the most recent 5 Happenings. If friends created a group, posted a microblog post, added a video, added friends, etc. these would all be lost if I do not catch them within the top 5 Happenings.

4. Make photo/video uploads painless.

Blog posts look better with a photo or two. Mobile bloggers would also love to send videos on the fly as news/events occur. So why is it so difficult now? First you have to go through the entire log-in process. Then the photo/video has to be uploaded first into Sandbox before it can be used in a blog post. All these take up so much time to do and if the internet connection breaks down through all that process, one has to start all over again. Sandbox has to be able to allow uploads via MMS (because isn’t that what mobile phones are great for after all?).

Don’t get me wrong. Sandbox has a future as a mobile blogging platform.

This is actually an exciting venture because just about anyone with a mobile phone (and in the Philippines that is the great majority of the population) is a potential mobile blogger. It just has to be tweaked fairly fast by the developers so it becomes a truly handy medium to get the news out into the online world as things happen.

In order to help them out, why not join Sandbox’s open beta now and give them your share of feedback. After all, once this is up and running effectively and efficiently, we will be the ultimate beneficiaries in terms of blogging mobility! To register, go to the Sandbox registration page.

This is my Sandbox profile.

Hope to see you there. And do join the groups I created:

1. Anything Yoga

2. Pinoy Humor

3. Raising Teens and Tweens

May 29, 2009

A Mother’s Day Clinique Day

I enjoy doing “girl” things with my daughters and mommy bloggers. And summer is really the best time to bond with them as there are no pressures of work or school.

So it was indeed an opportune time when Clinique put together a blogger event very close to Mother’s Day and invited my 2 girls as well as some of my mommy blogger friends.

When we got to the 5th floor of Rustan’s, I had no inkling whatsoever of what was in store. May Samson just hinted that it was going to be a very nice experience so, having enjoyed my last experience with them during my skin typing session with Noemi, I thought it would be similar. I wanted my girls skin-typed because they have a history of skin asthma and as a Clinique user while a student in the States, I knew that Clinique products were safe for them to use daily.

The first signs that this was no ordinary skin care event met us. The Clinique area was festive in green. Very cool to the eyes! I could not wait to take pictures…and take a bite of the varied hors d’ouevres they also had laid out for us.

The girls went through their skin typing activity with the Clinique consultants available. I was their official photographer since I already had my skin typed. And guess what! We all turned out to be Type 2 (combination skin) so the 3-step Skin Care products we would eventually buy can be shared! Like mother, like daughters.

Posterity photo showing our common skin type — Yey, we're all Type 2!

While waiting for my girls to finish their skin typing, Malou Gagarin (who had previously done my skin typing) explained the foundation line of Clinique. Wow, they indeed came prepared with the different shades of foundation in large, plastic bottles for testing.There were also tiny green sample containers so we could take home foundation samples best suited for our skin tone.

Malou suggested I use foundation the color of my neck so that I just had to apply the foundation on my face in order to match the neck color. Yes, I used to apply foundation on my neck and try to even it out all over my face, neck & shoulders. Her suggestion saved me time and use of foundation. Now why did I not think of that before!!!

The best was yet to come, though.

In one corner of the area was a closed-off area, which I found to my delight, was an instant spa experience. All of us were treated to special pampering. We took turns on the bed as the consultants first took our makeup off, then went through a facial and arm massage using Clinique’s newly launched products from their Turnaround line: the Turnaround Body Smoothing Cream and the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque.

I was curious about the Turnaround body smoothing cream since I still had a sample of an older product of Clinique’s (the Body Sloughing Cream) which I would use sparingly to rub on my knees and elbows while taking a bath. That older product continues to serve me well till now so I was happy to find out they were now offering it locally via this new Turnaround cream. The difference between my old sample and this one? The new body smoothing cream was cool to the touch. The grains I felt as the cream was rubbed on to my arms assured me that it was exfoliating and smoothening my arms at the same time. This product is great on shoulders, arms, elbows, and knees that need extra attention.

Facials are something I am extra careful of in salons because I watch the kind of products put on my sensitive skin. But I had no hesitation trying the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque, as Clinique is known for its hypoallergenic and non-acnegenic ingredients. No regrets. The facial mask tightened my skin and after they had removed it, my face felt so squeaky clean and soft.

Watch out for these products as they will be available this coming July 2009 in all Clinique counters.

Getting a facial and arm exfoliation at the same time. HEAVENLY!!!

My girl after the facial mask was applied

My girl with Malou Gagarin applying makeup on her after her spa experience — My girl with Malou Gagarin reapplying makeup on her after her spa experience

Here’s a big shoutout to Clinique (thanks to May, Malou and the other consultants that day) for making this event not just a wonderful skin care one but something I was able to do with my girls. After all, fashion and makeup are common bonding conversation pieces with them and it allowed me to be both a MOTHER and a FRIEND to them that day.

Our day did not end there. We headed down to Clinique’s product counter to check out their Mother’s Day promo where I ended up treating myself to one of the available promo packages.

Clinique launched other product lines as well this May:

1. Derma White – six (6) products that help the skin become more resistant to UV rays, environmental and other external irritants while preventing future darkening.

2. Sun – a definite summer must-have line of products to protect the skin against the harmful rays of the sun that also includes a Self-Tan product for a sunless tan look.

3. Comfort on Call – a new product that helps the skin protect itself against external environmental irritants. Available by June 2009.

May 16, 2009September 29, 2013

Kefir – Time for a Second Look at this Potent Probiotic

In February of 2007, a co-parent at our boys’ school gave me a batch of what looked like cottage cheese-like, curdled milk. I saw kefir for the first time.

It was only after I did some googling on the internet that I discovered that kefir was one of, if not THE most potent, probiotic there is. It contains different varieties of good bacteria and far outweigh the benefits of products claiming to have lactobacilli and even yogurt.

Since then, that first batch of kefir grains has multiplied over and over again. From just that one batch, I have given out kefir grains to friends and even unknown persons who ask for them — many times over. And up to this day, our household continues to culture it, harvest its liquid and drink it plain or as a smoothie (for the kids). Our youngest, who used to consume Yakult by the pack (that comes in packs of 5 bottles), has totally switched over to kefir smoothies, thereby saving me quite a sum of money.

Kefir is not a miracle drug and does not claim to be so. But its powerful live organisms have been known to normalize the digestive tracts of people suffering both from diarrhea and constipation. Other kefir users I have come across on the internet have claimed it boosts the immune system, lowers high blood pressure and reduces the effect of acne (it can be used as a facial mask too!).

With the H1N1 virus threatening the world and who knows what other diseases are out there waiting to explode, it might be good to take a second look at kefir and see if its benefits go beyond just the ones we know so far. At the very least, if it boosts our immune system, we could stand a better chance resisting whatever viruses there are out there.

Here are links to my older posts about kefir:

1. Kefir – An Intro

2. Kefir – Paraphernalia and Process

3. A Kefir Smoothie

4. Kefir – Loads of Good Bacteria

May 11, 2009

1001 Meditations

I found this book while killing time at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street (PhP599). It was the last copy in that branch but I saw another copy at the Promenade Greenhills one.

It’s tiny, just about 4 x 4 inches in size and an inch and a half thick. But when I flipped through its pages, I realized how, despite its being simply written, it contained a treasure trove of wisdom that was easy for anyone to digest and follow. You need not read it from cover to cover. Instead, you can take a few tips at a time and practice them.

The contents are categorized into the following sections:

~ Luck and Destiny (setting out, finding the way, uncertainty, ups and downs)

~ How to behave (positive perspectives, acceptance, humility, motivations and desires, choice and responsibility, right action)

~ Finding your strengths (courage, fortitude, self-awareness, wisdom, calm, creativity, patience)

~ Mind and body (the observing mind, managing emotions, embodiment, subtle energies, healing the psyche, coping with illness, well-being)

~ Home and family (parenting, learning and growth, the nurturing core, sacred spaces)

~ Relationships (in partnership, friendship, making connections, bridging the gap)

~ Happiness (everyday contentment, enjoying the moment, the joy of play, gratitude, treasuring the self, dealing with troubles)

~ The wider world (connecting with nature, the web of life, loving service, the global family)

~ Time passing (change and transition, timelessness, growing older, facing mortality)

~What really matters (truth, compassion, love, spirit, unity)

The suggested 1001 tips are numbered. Here’s a sample:

May 5, 2009

The Manny Pacquiao Picture I Love

While everyone around the world and more so, here in my own country, the Philippines, is talking about the amazing defeat by the Pacman of Ricky Hatton in just 2 rounds, there is one image that really catches my heart when it comes to Manny Pacquiao.

pacquiao-praying-small_387180305

(thanks to Sasza who posted this on USDailySports)

Without fail, Manny goes to his ring corner before every fight, kneels down, oblivious to the crowd and the din inside the stadium, and prays.

To me, this act of surrender and offering shows where the REAL source of Manny’s power comes from. He has faced opponents who mocked him, ridiculed him, dared and challenged his abilities. He has never responded with the same spite. Instead, he just says he would do his best. And after every win, he still has good words for the one he defeated.

As a parent, I credit a lot of this to someone who has always remained away from the spotlight but whom Manny obviously loves very much and who has molded him to be the champion he is now — humble even in the face of global admiration. His mom, Aling Dionisia, should be given as much credit for keeping Manny on terra firma. Here is the Mom who would rather pray while Manny fights. It reminds me so much of the book The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian which describes just how much power is wielded by parents who continue to pray for their children in various circumstances of life.

I hope Manny realizes that he has the power in his hands to become a role model for the youth who are growing up with jaded views of the world that has succumbed to materialism, corruption and self-interest. It is indeed a great responsibility for someone who has great power.

April 20, 2009September 29, 2013

Takbong Pangarap: Joy Rojas’ Big Dream to Run Across America

Last Saturday, I was privileged to hear and meet a Filipina whose “never say die” spirit is one that can spur and motivate many of us who think that whatever handicaps we may have are good enough excuses to back down from our dreams.

Not Joy Rojas!

Joy dreams of crossing the United States in 120 days — RUNNING!

Yes, she plans to run 5,000 kilometers from West to East at approximately 50 kms A DAY, for 100 days!

Takbong Pangarap

This dream appears daunting, especially when you find out she survived tuberculosis (TB) in 2001. But the spirit of this 43-year old freelance journalist flies high. Just a month short of finishing her treatment for TB, Joy completed a 42-km run in 4 hours and 11 minutes. Then in 2005, she became the first Filipina to run from Davao City to Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte in 46 days — a good 2,000-km course!

WHY TAKBONG PANGARAP?

When Joy completed her Trans-Phiippines run in 2005, she did not just sit on her laurels. To her, the end of that dream was just the start of others. She asked herself where she would run if given the chance to equal or exceed that run and her thoughts brought her to the USA.

More than 200 people have already run across the United States. In fact, Cesar Guarin, a Filipino, did this in 1987. However, no Filipina has accomplished the same feat. In fact, NO SOUTHEAST ASIAN WOMAN has.

THE ROUTE

Joy will begin her run on May 11, her 44th birthday. The kick-off event will be at Eagle Rock, California, where there is a fairly large Filipino community. She will then continue through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey towards New York City where she expects to cross the finish line at the Philippine Consulate on Fifth Avenue on September 8. Of her 120 days, 100 of them will be spent running while the 20 days are designated rest days in between.

THE TEAM

At the Meet and Greet at Powerbooks Megamall, I met the other members of Joy’s team.

The first one I talked to was Mat Macabe, Joy’s trainer and running partner. Mat was supposed to do this run with Joy until he had to undergo an open heart surgery in 2008 for a congenital heart condition. Instead, he will bike alongside Joy during some parts of the run. Mat had many funny stories about his running experiences, including outrunning a desert fox and wrestling to the ground a Doberman which was trained to kill. He regaled us with stories about people they had met along their runs. When I asked him about his surgery, he gamely pulled up his shirt to reveal a scar that ran from throat to waist! Gosh!!!!

Next I got to chat with Chuck Crisanto, team manager of Takbong Pangarap. He’s a jolly fellow from Ateneo who is a long distance event record holder for the school. Chuck gave me some additional insights about their planned route, including getting Fil-Ams in the places they go through, to run with Joy part of the way as support for a countrywoman.

(L-R): Mat Macabe, a pulmonologist from TB Society, me, Joy Rojas, Chuck Crisanto — (L-R): Mat Macabe, a pulmonologist, me, Joy Rojas, Chuck Crisanto

THE PREPARATIONS

Joy is training fervently for this run. She runs for 2 hours, 3-4 times a week, with at least 1 out-of-town run each month. Her diet consists of fish and vegetables. Adidas, one of the sponsors of this run, is providing her different types of attire for different weather conditions. When asked how many pairs of rubber shoes she was bringing, she said she would use 12 pairs which she plans to use in rotation. Wow!

Technology is playing a large part in this attempt too. The Philippine Online Chronicles has put up a channel specifically for Takbong Pangarap. Her every step will be chronicled through this special site and more plans are underway to maximize the access that technology will give to Joy’s supporters.

Joy has an online presence as well:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/takbongpangarap

Plurk: www.plurk.com/takbongpangarap

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Takbong-Pangarap/67564894131

Email: takbongpangarap@thepoc.net

The beneficiaries of this run are the Social Services Division of the Philippine Heart Center and the Anti-TB Program of the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City, District 378.

Sponsors to date include Adidas, Smart Communications, HSBC, Rustan’s/Shopwise, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sony Ericsson Phils, Asiana Airlines, Asian Journal Publications, and the Manila Peninsula. SportsAde will provide Joy’s hydration needs.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Despite these sponsorships, the team said that they still need help to ensure that all logistics (including money for food, gasoline & lodgings) for Joy’s run can be provided for. There are several ways to help in your own way:

1. The POC website states that supporters can donate funds via Paypal/Western Union, being a 5k sponsor, and soon via SMS.

2. If you live in the United States and are along the route that Joy will pass, you can help Joy, Mat and Chuck achieve their goal by offering to host them as they pass through your area. Keep checking the POC.net site for details of the route.

3. Embed the Takbong Pangarap widget on your blogs to create awareness of her dream run.

4. For other forms of assistance, contact Chuck Crisanto at chuckcrisanto@yahoo.com or 0917-8983621.

Thanks also to friends Noemi and Dine of filipinaimages.com for hosting the event.