tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49873413126417334132024-03-08T23:08:28.920-08:00AshlinspirationA geeky girl exploring the even geekier world; follow me as I write about, tech events, contests and conventions, business, art and everything in between.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-77980732464110642762016-10-06T06:12:00.003-07:002016-10-06T06:14:54.724-07:00I've Moved To A New Platform<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf4U0L6TSJTcZdsJu1qQ6OcAI3H25FF4vjmhD_FwxHhznRnkk23AuXFzoTNAyg2jOYkkVJwe0CWwCImPMpGt5SqDeksriZW6VdlOlxobmoupX14LDKxBsmThgtJ-U_rxBdtqbjjL3B0U/s1600/13662016_10153957414709005_2029993351578710963_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf4U0L6TSJTcZdsJu1qQ6OcAI3H25FF4vjmhD_FwxHhznRnkk23AuXFzoTNAyg2jOYkkVJwe0CWwCImPMpGt5SqDeksriZW6VdlOlxobmoupX14LDKxBsmThgtJ-U_rxBdtqbjjL3B0U/s640/13662016_10153957414709005_2029993351578710963_o.jpg" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It's been a while since I've last posted something meaningful here (and in any of my online accounts to be honest) so now that I've got a chance to sit down and catch up on things, I guess now would be the right time for me to leave this last blogpost on this blog.<br />
<br />
I've moved.<br />
<br />
Not a new apartment or a new job or anything like that but I'll be moving my blogging activity over to my Wordpress account <a href="http://www.ashleyuy.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.ashleyuy.com</a>. I won't be deleting this account though, oh no - it's got too many memories to let go; but starting on a new chapter in my blogging habits and a possibly reinvigorated direction in my writing, moving to a new blog seems like the right decision.<br />
<br />
I've learned a lot while exploring this experimental space and I would highly recommend starting a personal blog to someone on a road to self-discovery. Opportunities came and went for me while I had this blog and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to write for Ashlinspiration.<br />
<br />
This space of the internet will forever be in my heart (and hard drive) but for now, I bid you adieu as I close this chapter of a five-year blogging adventure.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com2Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-26321621426245502502015-10-30T08:14:00.001-07:002015-10-31T10:32:05.595-07:00Thanks from me to all 30 of you<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><i>WARNING: Profanities and unprofessional references galore in this blogpost. Read... if you dare!</i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrlAk1u7h5Q41Sma05jz76iqBmflDf2YHKcmluWIKUOSXYkmJSTDQncTzsnYyjZmof300gFmptgxd8lsacuPQFv-0k4r-TVRyIdA7ZgR4FbnmG27Uyf4Nonxrsw_7MwKs_ijrXgAt6Rg/s1600/IMG_3263.JPG" title="ashley uy" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Tagged by <a href="http://www.zuprome.com/2015/10/30-times-zuprome-says-thank-you.html" target="_blank">zuprome</a> from <a href="http://zuprome.com/">zuprome.com</a> as a part of Cebu Blogging Community's 30-day challenge! Tagged bloggers were asked to blog about 30 things they're grateful for; be it related to their blog niche or something different entirely.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm not going to go as far as to elaborate my gratitude for my <b>family</b>, <b>friends</b>, and <b>my faith</b> because that's a given for any human being no matter how they perceive these titles. Instead I'm going to talk about, like everything else in this blog, the people and organizations that have been monumental in building my ambition for both myself and the communities that I care deeply about.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First off, without any biases whatsoever<i> *cough* *cough*</i> is the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=457845464358553&fref=ts" target="_blank">Cebu Blogging Community</a></b>. More specifically <b><a href="http://www.rubenlicera.com/" target="_blank">Ruben</a></b>, <b><a href="http://bjorncebuano.com/" target="_blank">Bjorn</a></b>, <b><a href="http://channelmarie.com/" target="_blank">Chanel</a></b>, and some of the very first of it's members that blindly welcomed me into their fold. I saw them around in events from time to time back then and they'd always make a point to say hi to me despite being just acquaintances. I'm really happy to say that they were one of the first people from Cebu that I felt really at home with and they somehow made me feel like I belonged to their quirky family despite being 99km away most of the time. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was just a air-headed undergrad when they first met me through <b><a href="http://www.dalareichtableya.com/about/" target="_blank">Dalareich</a></b>, an inspiring young woman-entrepreneur who was a source of a lot of empowerment for me as someone who sort of thought of themselves as someone different. She is a fierce young woman who had <sub>(and is still)</sub> gone through so much struggle to get to where she is today. A mentor and a wonderful friend, I owe a lot to Dal for giving this fat Asian kid a chance at working with her. Late-night coffee runs here in Cebu with her are always some unforgettable moments.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now that we're talking about woman-entrepreneurs though, I bet you guys have heard this name all over my blog:<a href="http://www.techtalks.ph/" target="_blank"> <b>Tina Amper</b></a>. That's right, the legend herself <sub>(lol pls don't slap me miss)</sub>. If I'm a Jedi youngling, she's probably the Jedi Master of all Jedi Masters. It was thanks to her that I was introduced to the <b><a href="http://techtalks.ph/">Techtalks.ph</a></b> family and the <b><a href="http://startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">Startup Weekend</a></b> community: the next two things on my to-thanks list. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've met so many inspiring <sub>(and not so inspiring yet still interesting to take note of)</sub> people that have really helped shape my views on myself, the country, and what the future holds for people like us. <a href="http://cimafranca.org/" target="_blank"><b>Pip</b> </a>and<b> <a href="http://ph.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Dulce/Lada" target="_blank">Dulce</a></b>, two wonderful people that I have also thought of as my mentors are wonderful people that I had the honor of meeting alongside everyone I'm about to mention in this list all thanks to those two core communities. You can't even believe how much a thriving community gives back to you if you just take time tor each out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The best opportunity I probably got out of committing to these organizations is probably getting the chance to work with <b><a href="http://sym.ph/" target="_blank">Dave </a></b>and <a href="http://sym.ph/" target="_blank"><b>Albert</b> </a>at <b><a href="http://sym.ph/" target="_blank">Symph</a></b>, the company I currently work for. I learned so much even <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/10/developing-startups-and-my-internship.html" target="_blank">just during my internship</a> and reuniting with friends I didn't know who also worked at Symph like <a href="https://dribbble.com/francisalturas" target="_blank"><b>Francis</b> </a>and <b><a href="http://sym.ph/" target="_blank">Lawrence</a></b>. Now that I'm working with them, I feel like there's still so much for me to prove; that it's important to set expectations, get over unnecessary hindrances, and just start doing it. I guess maturing and growing even just a little bit everyday with this awesome company and equally just as awesome people, makes my stomach flip at how lucky I am for being here.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mentioning the CebuXD community on this one too as they were one of the groups that I met thanks to the Techtalks family. Cheers to <a href="https://dribbble.com/sknny" target="_blank"><b>Edzel</b> </a>and <a href="https://dribbble.com/dandanthedan" target="_blank"><b>Dan</b> </a>for inviting me and bringing me along despite being a total noob and for trusting me enough to work with them in project I haven't even tried before <sub>(shoutout to you, Dan! Thanks! :D)</sub> . To <b><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/chester-cornelio/5a/226/319" target="_blank">Chester</a></b>, <b>Cecille</b>, and <b>Carl</b> who have warmly welcomed me to the CebuXD Board of Directors despite being absent on occasion during meetups <sub>(I'm sorry!)</sub> and for aiming to create something better for designers and artists in the local scene.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Relationships that have been built in Bohol though are still irreplaceable to me. Being with the <b><a href="http://www.bictc.org/" target="_blank">Bohol ICT Council</a></b> with <b>Ben</b>, <b>Jay</b>, <b>ms Lai</b>, <b>sir Jerome</b>, and all it's members has had a huge impact on my opinions about my hometown. I used to hate how it lacked so much infrastructure, that it didn't have as many fancy events as Cebu or that the community there wasn't strong at all: working with them proved how wrong I was. Bohol has talent, potential, and resources; it's only a matter of harnessing it, creating the right opportunities and drawing out the right kind of people. If I have the BiCTC behind my back I truly believe we have a chance at growing the Boholanos and giving them the opportunities they deserve. It's only a matter of building the right team and resources to start it all <sub>(zing to Symph team speeches)</sub>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And of course who could forget the organization that started it all for me. The <b>Web Developer's Guild </b>is a small organization founded by<b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiB3sjh2CjkUl4v3q4krVMQ" target="_blank">sir Brian</a></b>, my college teacher, and a few of his collegues to promote a support network of sorts for students and professionals from Bohol that wanted to grow in the tech scene. This organizations started it all for me and helped lead me to the path I'm on today and for that I'm very grateful. <b><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/vhince-benedict-chiu/102/275/bb7" target="_blank">Vhince</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.behance.net/clintbustrillos" target="_blank">Clint</a></b>, and my college friends - those that have pushed me to be better than the me I was yesterday, and my <b>AniMatiCs</b> crew, <b>Ralph</b>, <b>Steven</b>, <b>Jeric</b>, <b>Kayeshen</b>, who helped me fight for the things worth fighting for <sub>(free use of the school lab for seminars, yo!)</sub> and all the sappy cheesy lines I can add on here to make this post a little bit longer to reach the 1000 word cap, a huge-ass THANK YOU and that you people DESERVE SO MUCH MORE and I really hope that your faces are BLESSED AF because you are all beautiful people and I am so unprofessional in this paragraph but I don't care because I love you and you're awesome and I think I passed the word cap and then some so I think it's time to do the mike drop! Ashley out! Peace!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="doge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKbGy81fzgI3Ps-Eg9a_YCg7kozkouowcV26BvaK5euV5siVKcDwWRLxRU-Rj7i0sh665c0o2Kfdh2vAYwvKH-LfXj8f_u73DVFOBskHNvhTM8DVEHYAq8U7JansTnpq1sLspFYkYie4/s1600/doge.jpg" title="doge" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com1Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-3030932887101393972015-10-06T16:21:00.000-07:002015-10-06T23:21:37.103-07:00HAPPINESS is spelled T.U.X.T.E.A.M<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq4xaBfU0glxHJiVo_8C4r00dPWgvtOvdEZIFIxLc5eKmMK6i-VvC8nfhpOGnB-TbIFPFF5P4rXgosqkx4PGiGchuXSgmiIkTtVmVvHs0u-mcNngCGbPp-8RAdUx4g0EiBWdW4hfefEE/s1600/IMG_2665.JPG" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Shoutout to Jam, one of the Cosplay Mania organizers that took the picture! She's very nice!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know I still have a TON of blogposts due publishing but this had to come up on my priority list. I've been a fan of Jin and the Tux Team for over six years now and at last weekend's<a href="http://cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank"> Cosplay Mania 2015</a>, I've finally got the chance to meet them in person.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This moment reminds me of how I felt when the seventeen-year-old me finally got the guts to comment on one of Jin's facebook posts (not such a big deal to everybody else, but at that moment, I remember my heart beting so fast and doing and re-doing my message haha). <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2013/07/behindinfinity-fb-reply.html" target="_blank">I even made a blogpost about it</a> feeling just as ecstatic as I write this one (abeit a bit better in the writing department haha).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm just going to go all fangirl on this blogpost now, if you'd excuse me. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_2662.jpg" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I found Jin as I was reading through one of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OtakuzineAnimeMagazine" target="_blank">Otakuzine's </a>2009 volumes, the same magazine I have up on my shelf back in Bohol. I remember her cosplaying as Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Ai Enma from Hell Girl in that feature. I instantly fell in love with her work. It was an instant appeal to me that her gender was such a mystery. Even now, newer fans still have the fun of guessing it despite her increasing popularity and it's all part of being a behindinfinity fan! It took me two years to finally figure out the answer and once I did, I fell in love with what she did even more. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_2663.jpg" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>I made new friends! She was in front of me in the line :)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I followed her <a href="http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">deviant art blog</a> for years after that. The genuine joy she gets when cosplaying and creating costumes, the whole process being broken down blow-by-blow in each blogpost, you could feel that enthusiasm in her writing and it made me grin so much every time. The fact that she puts up really funny pictures and comments from her group of friends made it even better. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I remember skipping all the other notifications on deviantart to be able to read her newly updated blog. It was hilarious, as I look back now, at how invested I was with another person's passion but then I realize, as I'm writing this and revisiting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKYcFV3S9I" target="_blank">those old links that I love so much</a>, that it made me put a lot of things into perspective and just helped me have a generally happy outlook growing up, much like how they were in those blogposts.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_3207.jpg" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That interest in Jin and the Tux Team's work, I realized, exposed me to a lot of other passions that I've grown to love today. <a href="http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/journal/Before-Cosplay-Makeup-Basic-Skincare-338766263" target="_blank">This skin care post Jin wrote a while back</a> really made me think about taking better care of myself, it started with just skin care but then blew up to exercise and just general wellness. I was also quite partial to yaoi back then, but after seeing their photoshoots to make Charmie happy and that fated link to Junjou Romantica, well, let's just say I'm a very happy fujoshi. Being a part of that community really earned me a lot of meaningful memories and friendships (and so much more) despite the stereotype being painted for us. The yaoi is strong within us. And get this: even just as much as helping me help my sister with her painting project was from a deviantart update by Miguel about watercolor paper. A thing I didn't know that existed before then. That update was a life saver, lemme tell ya.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thinking about all these instances made me realize that the Tux Team has been such a positive influence in my life that I don't even think I'd be me if it weren't for that following. A dramatic statement? Yes probably, as a lot of other logical factors come into play; but nevertheless, my memories about reading, listening, and a lot of good-natured lurking around their pages were nothing but positive and happy and I wouldn't trade those feelings for anything in the world :)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_3214.jpg" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I knew they were going to be at Cosplay Mania 2015 and, now that I'm employed with my own cash and time and whatnot, I took the opportunity and booked a hotel and tickets two (or three?) months before the actual event. It was my first time in Manila and my first Cosplay Mania!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was expecting to see them at their booth as announced (2-5pm) that day and I planned to see them then, but as I was on a food run, I passed by their booth and THERE THEY WERE. Jin and Miguel. In all their beatiful HD glory. I hyperventilated, talked a lot to myself, and breathed really loudly, forgoing that hotdog I planned on getting and ran across the hall to get my camera and cash just so I could meet them. And I did :)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I honestly don't remember what I rambled on back there. I felt my face heat up, my pulse racing, I could hear my own heartbeat, taste the air, everything. It was <i>glorious</i>. (and kinda embarrassing now that I think about it. sorry for being weird, guys ;_;)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tuxteam.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="cosplay mania 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_3224.jpg" title="cosplay mania 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our flight back to Cebu the morning after Cosplay Mania's second day was at, like, 5am, so I couldn't stay at the convention any longer. I decided to stop by their booth one more time before leaving after the Awarding ceremony and lucky me, they were there! Despite being able to see (and talk teehee) with both Miguel and Jin on the first day, my mind blanked out when I found <a href="http://www.catherinejannelle.com/" target="_blank">Cat</a>, <a href="http://beramonde.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Chase</a>, and <a href="http://tuxteam.net/post/57413925119/hi-anon-charmie-was-very-open-about-being-a" target="_blank">Charmie</a> and at their booth there as well. My mind raced when Chase took my order for more prints, and that Charmie noticed me staring at her and I got to talk to her about yaoi, Cat smiling at me after signing her print, Jin saying "Hi, Ashley!", remembering my name, and UGHHH omg *gross sobbing*. I blanked out and wasn't able to take a picture with any of them despite that five minute lull as they signed my prints, so I'll just settle with these amateur paparazzi photos. It's the memories that count.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And this was a long stalker-ish blogpost haha. Honestly, I can go on and on about this particular obsession in my life but in summary, this group of people just make me really <i>really </i><b>really </b>happy :D</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thanks, Tux Team. It was awesome being able to finally meet you :) And thank you Cosplay Mania 2015 for this opportunity!! <span class="_Tgc">♥ </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(I have never used this many smileys on a blogpost. The feels are too stronggg. >u<)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And if anyone's interested, here's <a href="https://youtu.be/HkMUrwImdOU" target="_blank">the link </a>to a snippet from my Cosplay Mania 2015 vlog. This snippet is when I first saw Jin and Miguel while I was out to get lunch. It's very shaky and very amateur as this was for my sister's eyes only so... watch. If you dare. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HkMUrwImdOU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HkMUrwImdOU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines14.5995124 120.984219514.4765839 120.822858 14.7224409 121.14558099999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-13837308806779449692015-09-24T22:18:00.004-07:002015-09-24T22:18:47.490-07:00A Day with Inspiring Young Women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It all started from an invitation to watch Heneral Luna one weekend. <a href="https://about.me/monabelle.timosa" target="_blank">Mona </a>was a person I met accidentally, for the lack of a better term. It was way back when I attended the first <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/09/tedx-university-of-san-carlos.html" target="_blank">TEDx University of San Carlos in place of my friend, Dalareich</a>. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We were both guests of one of the speakers, Ms. <a href="http://sparkphilippines.org/" target="_blank">Jenny Elmaco</a>, but we hadn't met each other at all before the event. We didn't even go in together. It just so happened that I saw her name right beside mine on the registration list and she also just <i>happened </i>to sit right next to me at the back of the theater.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Long story short, we got along pretty well and I very much enjoyed her company, what she is doing, and her desire to make change in the human rights front.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now, a year later, she invited me to watch <a href="http://henerallunathemovie.com/#Download" target="_blank">the historical epic, Heneral Luna</a>, with her and a friend. Things didn't work out that weekend but we had a lovely conversation over lunch after catching up on things. I saw that she still had that spirit, even moreso than myself now, which led me to think<i> "what happened?".</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1tdQDFu0X8E6Omqdx-3V7esCHCJ283KChSvcMUMXHX_2NKtGWaJKFtoL_hNn7QZYCAfeizvZXZMMX9F9PV9ya_mNaDgeY-CpX4SsH8vCz95EeYNAnWZ8jquk5LudOouJdT82MEfEQZsU/s1600/C360_2015-09-20-14-33-16-926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1tdQDFu0X8E6Omqdx-3V7esCHCJ283KChSvcMUMXHX_2NKtGWaJKFtoL_hNn7QZYCAfeizvZXZMMX9F9PV9ya_mNaDgeY-CpX4SsH8vCz95EeYNAnWZ8jquk5LudOouJdT82MEfEQZsU/s640/C360_2015-09-20-14-33-16-926.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A part of our conversation led her to invite me to come lang with her and her school organization's clean-up drive for the <a href="http://www.letsdoitphilippines.org/" target="_blank">Let's Do It Philippines campaign</a>. Aside from genuinely wanting to spend time and work with these inspiring women<sub> (shoutout to Jan, Kim, and Mitsuko!)</sub> I also wanted to see their energy in action, the almost blind desire to make the wold they live in a better place. And so, we made our way to Ermita; a walking distance away from the University of San Carlos main campus.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We were told that a 4-hour clean-up drive happened just the day before but the state of the Guadalupe Gulf was still devastating to me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-46-25-927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-46-25-927.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-46-35-148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-46-35-148.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Whenever I come back to Cebu by boat, I always know I'm close to the port when I see waves of trash just casually floating towards the deep sea. To me, seeing that physically hurts my being. Growing up in Bohol made me appreciate it's beauty so much that if I photoshopped that amount of trash to whichever part of Bohol, my face would crumple a million times over. And to think there are people, fishermen, more specifically, relying on the waters closest to them to make a livelihood through legal fishing methods: that's sad.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-54-01-635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-54-01-635.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I can completely understand that there's only so much they can do in an environment like this. They're close to a public market, the community not being that safe, even for those that permanently live there, and the constant presence of illegal settlers often contributing to the amount of trash disposed is a hard place to live in.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-44-30-921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-44-30-921.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Despite their situation, sir Bernardo Tamundo, the representative we met from the Ermita Fisher Folk Assocuation (EFFA), and his band of local fishermen were determined to grit through it. He told us that a group of Japanese volunteers visited them a few months ago, aware of the trash being deposited at the end of the Gulf that's jeopardizing their source of livelihood. Other than doing a clean-up drive, they gave them an idea. With pig manure and sawdust, they could create soil To plant seeds, and to sell as a raw resource.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-34-01-853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-34-01-853.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since their grant took a long time to process, sir Bernardo, being the go-getter that he is, bought two pigs on a loan and tried different techniques until he finally got the mixture right. He paid back the loan and bought another pig a few weeks before our visit. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-44-12-175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-14-44-12-175.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Because of that product, sir Bernardo and EFFA managed to buy a few seeds and planted them into unused ice coolers. They now have home-grown chili, some more vegetables, and both decorative and herbal plants. They even offer traditional medical care with these herbs they they grow.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was utterly impressed by how much they tried to make their living conditions better and that they didn't forget about the sea that they've relied on for years before pollution kicked in. They regularly sign petitions and invite groups like ours to do clean-up drives. They haven't given up.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-17-50-49-598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/C360_2015-09-20-17-50-49-598.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
After the events at Ermita, we made our way to the nearest mall to watch a screening of the renowned Heneral luna. A movie we've been wanting to see for weeks but just didn't have time. Read the reviews, reactions, and everything on the net. The movie was beautiful, well produced and directed, and had a wonderful cast. I highly recommend it. It's a sad movie, a tragedy almost, in hindsight. But it speaks volumes of who we, as Filipino people, are today.<br />
<br />
To encapsulate my opinion on the movie: Heneral Luna was, unfortunately, a man that was too brilliant, too loyal, and too good, for the people of his, and our, time.<br />
<br />
At the end of the day, I really had to thank Mona for inviting me out, and for helping me remember to always keep my spirits high. I doubt my pragmatic mindset will change any time soon, but during all that time I spent with these young ladies, the more I saw them act like the youth I envisioned most to be. I have hope. Most say<i> "wala nay pag-asa ang Pilipinas" </i><sub>(Philippines has no hope of getting better.)</sub>; I say nay. We do have hope. It's just sh*ts like you that need to get out and reach out. See what we have and what we've lost and <b>do something</b> about it.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com2Ermita, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.291738683748035 123.8976716995239310.287832683748034 123.89262919952392 10.295644683748035 123.90271419952393tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-48627983837060715872015-09-04T19:36:00.000-07:002015-09-04T19:36:36.667-07:00I got HOOQed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79VzVK3eIUI3cCL_z-Ykjl6ZS4Q0ofLPJZpw3U1ns_-yCJMBXG4nK6cZ_hhvPhnSRWgkRXkSHhXfnxCIg2jn_uoNfKgnnvBvXsdB-9-Mq8q6VADeaPsb6xtaNog2akmsMAlbGwWeGzUY/s1600/IMG_2088.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"Netflix in the Philippines?! No way? Yes way!" was my very eloquent thought process when I first heard about HOOQ from attending the <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2015/07/squadgoals-cebu-blogging-community.html" target="_blank">CBC's first anniversary Black Party</a>. They were one of the sponsors at the event and were just as lively and excited as we were, to our delight. They hosted a few games and gave us prizes <sub>(even a chance to win a few HOOQ shirts I wasn't able to get :( )</sub></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"HOOQ is a gateway to a world of unlimited entertainment. With just one
app, you can stream, download and enjoy thousands of movies and TV
series. All from your phone, laptop or tablet." <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/about-hooq/" target="_blank">*</a></i></blockquote>
<br />
The first thing I noticed when I logged in <sub>(with the free 1 month subscription, thank you very much, HOOQ)</sub> was the mixed feature of both Hollywood and Filipino films. As they explained the platform to me, I was expecting a selection of American movies only so it was great to find out that they also had Filipino movies and a selection of Filipino TV series in their movie library.
<br />
<br />
Luckily, I had a fairly new smartphone to work with so it could easily cover the tech specs needed to smoothly run the app. When I chose Mall Cop and started playing the movie, it was awesome that it was in great quality without any hiccups. The sound was good and the interface was familiar enough to understand.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_2094.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I'm still waiting for the day they have recent movies and series in their selection as they only have shows from the early 2000s or earlier. A great feature to add too would be to let the user search a specific movie, or category: be they Hollywood or Filipino productions. Right now, you can pick between TV Series or Movies, and everything is mixed between the two, from genre to production, so a better filter would be great as the selections grow.<br />
<br />
Considering all that, the <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/pricing/" target="_blank">pricing </a>is quite fair especially if you're a big fan of Filipino telenovelas and the fact that you could pre-download your favorite movies was another plus for me. Personally, I'm excited to see what more HOOQ can grow into as they've tapped a service not many previously have had access to. Maybe they can venture into featuring live stream videos of sports or international events? Who knows? Excited for all the possibilities!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-58516259417725323702015-08-25T07:13:00.002-07:002015-08-25T07:15:09.715-07:00Bohol Maker Fest 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggU5tqzKBQS2JE318xGtoTzuJtxEG8A2rM-eVGR0gpQyIAYgKimQqoq2RzoDRT-nLL5ymI6hJ6rHDqDPkfIZ7nfW32IuBpsm_erzcygfB36_lYIKJ7PRCtagdKWralEMgks6YUqfq-NjA/s1600/IMG_1939.JPG" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The event was awesome. Hands down. The Maker Fest started to run from July 23-25, 2015 at Island City Mall coinciding with the Sandugo Trade Expo and the Sandugo Fest. It was a three day rush of technology, enthusiasm, and opportunities for Bohol and it's people. It sucked that I was only able to catch it's last day, though.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The three-day event was full of exhibits, talks, and free workshops. You can check the event schedule on their <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, which I think was really cool because despite it being a weebly site, they were able to create this central source of information that would be easily accessible to their target audience. Again, very cool.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1861.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The festival had one central display area for all the projects they features located at the center of the mall. I was partly expecting it to be in the activity hall but I was pleasantly surprised to see it at the second floor in between the two elevators. That meant everybody and anybody who wanted to go anywhere in the mall had to pass by the exhibit. The location brought us quite a crowd. Thumbs up to you, Alturas!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The projects being displayed at the exhibit were just as diverse as they were ingenious. They ranged from motion sensors that could assist the visually impaired to a motorcycle that surprised many of its passengers; there's something for everyone.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The bottom-left picture form the above's photoset shows PrintBit's <a href="http://printbit.com/" target="_blank">Roy Bayonas</a> posing with his water and electricity consumption monitoring system. The device is attached to the establishment's water and electricity meters and, with a dashboard, will enable you to control how much water or electricity you want to consume that month. It shows you the status of your utility consumption and helps you manage them, helping you make the most out of your resources. Cool!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1887.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A few wacky inventions I found was an Arduino-powered light stick. The device rapidly flashes a series of light sequences, whose speed is monitored by a small switch on its back. When in motion, the series of lights generate the programmed imagery. Guess what this one says!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1866.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Perks of a community manager. Thanks for the gift, guys!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1893.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The event had<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/talks.html" target="_blank"> a great lineup of speakers.</a> From<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fair-Trade-Shop-Bohol/263153823783374" target="_blank"> digital marketing</a> to<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hapinoy?ref=br_rs" target="_blank"> community innovation</a>, it got 'em all. It was particularly inspiring to see folk that weren't from Bohol tell their story of how they worked hard to make the country a better place and make money at the same time. The fact that they wanted to extend their services and benefits to the people of Bohol were a great plus. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1903.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I fangirled a little as I got to meet Earl Valencia, President of <a href="http://ideaspacefoundation.org/" target="_blank">Ideaspace</a>. I've always looked up to their engagement with the community and their effort with connecting through grassroots level. Someday, I'm going to work for you, Ideaspace. Someday.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I especially liked the bit where he said that Bohol has its strong points in agriculture and tourism and that we had to focus our efforts on our existing strengths rather than add friction to sectors that we're initially not as strong at.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1931.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Being part of the ICT council, I've got some perks here and there. Booyah.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1880.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the talks, I went back to the exhibit area to check out mor of the booths. We've got 3D printed sunglass frames, a robot that helps sort medicine in specialized medicinal trays, a solar-powered gardening system made by a friend<sub> (go Holynamians!)</sub>, and accessories made out of used beer caps and preserved dog jaw bone.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I even got my hands dirty as I tried making my own bottle-cap keychain. Thanks for the tutorial, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tommy.filippini.5" target="_blank">Tommy</a>!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_2002.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At the end of the day, it was all about the people. It was great seeing everyone in the Bohol tech community again and I'm excited to see what's in store for us! <sub>(shoutout to Charles for letting me sneak around and be annoying haha)</sub> Perhaps the planned Startup Weekend Tourism Edition? Or being the next Geeks On A Beach hosts? Who knows. Just keep swimming guys! I'll join you back home soon!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1947.jpg" title="bohol maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-65347553683982824842015-08-03T09:23:00.000-07:002015-08-03T09:23:25.299-07:00Electro Circuit 2015: Bloggers Work and Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/electrocircuitseries" target="_blank"><img alt="elctro circuit 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwmOy9iSY9n6kS80pdVfESqsIiwmPzDqpSYjg9fqxC8L1VpJFXsHtUCoZATkf0PTZniGLqWO01T-OdoNDbY3HIvC0DcIPHbwem95wMW0Q0rwVj9NY27ztdxEGR0TSVj7mNFjfR8Df5bs/s1600/IMG_1686.JPG" title="elctro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I haven't partied in ages. Figures what would make me cut that streak was a geek community event in my hometown. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoholBloggers" target="_blank">Bohol Bloggers' Society</a>, being as young as it is, <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2015/07/bohol-bloggers-debut-at-electro-circuit.html" target="_blank">partnered </a>with <a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank">Proudly Titans</a>, a proudly Boholano production company, for the Electro Circuit 2015: a EDM party held in lieu of Sandugo Fest 2015.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The young and young at heart members of the blogging community were thrilled to have the event as the organization's debut, and a major part of that was how well the organizers of the event set everything up.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1670.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We were given all-access passes to the venue; both on the field and backstage. It was secure, with various checkpoints, and a number of security personnel littered across the area. Pretty classy and well thought out. We checked the place out hours before the actual party started and we were well received by many of the organizers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I found it really impressive that they kept everyone in check and aware of who was who and which tags mean what. The organizers did an awesome job of keeping everyone happy. Now if only it would stop raining...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1677.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As the drizzle passed, a few early birds started coming in so the bloggers and myself decided to hang around the registration booth to bug more of the organizers and took the opportunity to regroup.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
They were methodical, with stations that catered to a specific event attendee and to which freebie to give. It was organized chaos when the crowd arrived later that evening and it was that atmosphere that earned a huge thumbs up to the organizers from me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was also cool that they prepared the different tags and bands that would tell the on-site crew which ticket you got <sub>(regular, VIP, organizer, guest, media, etc.)</sub> and had more or less got everything down. Plus they gave out free glow-stick bracelets, and even some confetti poppers. Way to hype up the event!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1672.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Heyyy guyssss!! :D</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1683.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the initial hubbub of the crowd's entrance, it was all jumping, singing loudly out of tune to the songs I recognized, and running around with my camera for a good three hours before I burned myself out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1705.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1718.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1759.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I especially liked the MC they picked for the event as he got things going and flowing and just someone to get the crowd riled up. Whenever he made announcements it was coherent and, despite him morphing his voice a bit to fit the mood, we always totally got what he said and there weren't at all any lapses or strange entrances during the entire program.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1741.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1768.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And did I forget to mention the cool confetti canon they set up at the side of the stage?! It was like a huge reverse vacuum cleaner that spit out confetti. It was awesome to see.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1770.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And of course, bloggers were in the fray.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1811.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The whole event also had free WiFi sponsored by smart. It was a good move for them as everyone wanted those selfies up on facebook fast.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1829.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1837.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was super cool too that we got to meet one of the top DJs of the night <sub>(and possibly of the country)</sub>: DJ Nina. I read about her a bit during my initial study on the event but boy was she more different that i expected. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
She was confident and charismatic, that much I guessed, but she was funny, took her time with us, genuinely got to know us, and was very involved in what she was doing. One of the highlights I remember in the conversation we had was that she had a thing for adding new beats to old songs, and that she was a drummer once which helped her perfect the skills needed in her DJing career.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1840.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://deejaywrites.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Girl power, yo.</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1845.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1853.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was a wild night, from DJ after DJ, my calves were burning at the end and I think I lost some weight. Besides all that rowdiness though, the whole event was pretty under control, the people were happy and the organizers were still in one piece, which was super.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We shared a few shots of the Bacardi they gave us for free towards the end of the event, as a few videographer-bloggers turned in early since they had a wedding to shoot a few hours later at 5 am. <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/artworksofscanhead/videos/vb.582930895052909/1030173660328628/?type=2&theater" target="_blank">Talk about dedication. </a></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There wasn't really an end to that night, with the organizers still operating and the crowd still roaring. My respect for both DJs, party-goers and production companies increased tenfold as the event unfolded and Electro Circuit 2015 was a huge success thanks to these people. Kudos to you guys and congratulations to the BBS! Woot!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-24156481790346579572015-07-20T22:04:00.002-07:002015-07-20T22:21:08.304-07:00FabLab's Maker Fest 2015 this Wednesday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="maker fest bohol" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRUIGSp7IeH_1nQXdgALv342_K9vbnvPnRoeykv2DpMCSe0lmN3SzWNK3Hnh6KQr8hpVo6_8DQ-Xor-rAELrxQ5JmO0gt0QvUwGPeej7yXKA1UAJj7XVzSTiJKCu8fH36kpin6VGOMdc/s1600/safe_image.jpg" title="maker fest bohol" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/05/why-fablab-and-satartuweekend-should.html" target="_blank">FabLab</a>, or Fabrication Laboratory, is Bohol and the country's first fabrication facility. They have been active in advocating the importance of innovation and it's integration, and have been monumental in supporting small businesses and those affected by disasters in the province.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As Sandugo plays a very important role in Boholano culture, FabLab partnered with DTI and other local chapters to celebrate innovation this week.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Maker Fest will be held at Island City Mall, showcasing various experiments, creations, and products that embody a Boholano's creativity. Apart from the exhibit will be talks and workshops from reputable speakers and mentors that touch the topics of green living, entrepreneurship, and engineering. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/11174466_402157133311972_3204258640641285938_o.jpg" title="maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The opportunity for Filipinos to embrace their natural born instinct for innovation is here. For those Filipinos that are tactile learners, and for everyone who has a heart for creation, join us in the Maker Fest starting <b>this Wednesday at Island City Mall</b> and <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/bhli2i-competition.html" target="_blank">share with us your crazy idea</a>, <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/workshops.html" target="_blank">join the free workshops</a>, or just <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/talks.html" target="_blank">hang around and talk to the creatives at the event</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="maker fest 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/11700880_402157129978639_7749632496101750358_o.jpg" title="maker fest 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It is also important to note that during the Makers Fest, the <b><a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/bhli2i-competition.html" target="_blank">Bohol Ideas to Innovation Competition </a></b>will be happening and will be constantly updated after every talk. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>The Competition will be about individuals presenting the best and innovative idea (hardware, software, industrial). The chosen ideas will then be supported by the Department of Trade and Industry and their partners for the prototyping. The prototyping will be done at Fablab Bohol - a prototyping and idea generation facility working with digital fabrication tools such as 3D Printers, Laser Cutters and CNC Routers.<a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/bhli2i-competition.html" target="_blank">*</a></i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Follow their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fablabbohol" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> for more updates and their <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/" target="_blank">website </a>for more details. See you there!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.5999984741211px; text-align: center;">all photos </i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: center;">© </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.5999984741211px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/fablabbohol" target="_blank">FabLab Facebook Page</a></i></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-47953343589606588842015-07-20T20:05:00.000-07:002015-07-20T20:47:25.110-07:00Bohol Bloggers Debut at Electro Circuit 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkF1Nh3G2ist4bFqZ0z6WP1iU757Pn7x7bY818VOY313rjLxOuAaD2J1L_gxZyUVavnlqAN77pMLTV4aN0IOHeu-GnTlpxaEn0CCpx0-79EdxDrEC9_GRVTcByc4_zBLfSbBF_qOwQpc/s1600/electro-circuit-clean-1280x800.png" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<br />
The Sandugo Fest is being celebrated in Tagbilaran City, Bohol this July 21 - 26 with different attractions within the city. A Young Entrepreneur's Talk, <a href="http://makerfest2015.weebly.com/exhibition.html" target="_blank">Maker's Fair</a>, <a href="http://boholchronicle.com.ph/2015/07/05/asias-great-shadow-at-sandugo/" target="_blank">El Gamma Penumbra Shows</a>, and this one:<b> </b>the<b> Electro Circuit</b>.<br />
<br />
Bohol Bloggers' Society, being as young as it is <sub>(along with its members)</sub> wanted to be a part of the celebration. We started hashing ideas out through our Facebook group and one of the bloggers, <a href="http://deejaywrites.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Deejay</a>, told us he had contacts of the <a href="http://proudlytitans.com/" target="_blank">organizers of the EDM event on the 24th</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/electrocircuitseries" target="_blank"><img alt="electro circuit 2015" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/11742706_898072640230546_225416646720346778_n.jpg" title="electro circuit 2015" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>photo </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> </span><i><a href="http://tarsiertimes.com/" target="_blank">tarsiertimes</a></i></div>
<br />
We were fortunate enough that the organizers of this event were as accommodating as they were and worked with us to tailor a good proposal for the event. I was pleasantly impressed at the amount of enthusiasm the bloggers, and the organizers, displayed considering our numbers.<br />
<br />
Being organized by such awesome people, the Electro Circuit is excited to have the young <sub>(and feeling young)</sub> of Bohol and anyone who wants to party and celebrate with them at the event on <b>July 24 at the<a href="http://boholic.com/electro-circuit-neon-party-dj-music-festival-in-bohol/" target="_blank"> Crabhouse by the Bay</a> </b><sub>(the link covers the 2014 event)</sub>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/electrocircuitseries" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/TARP%206X10%20copy.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Tickets are <b>200 php with a free bacardi</b>. Bohol Bloggers' Society will be doing the photo and video coverage of the event, plus the traditional blogposts of how everything's going to go. <b>Everyone is welcome, from our foreign friends, to the young professionals! </b>So come on and let it all out at the Sandugo Electro Circuit!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://proudlytitans.com/chance-party-free/" target="_blank"><b>Click here to get a chance to PARTY FOR FREE.</b></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-39678475149862263802015-07-14T08:08:00.002-07:002015-07-14T08:08:24.471-07:00#SquadGoals: Cebu Blogging Community Turns 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.capdase.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0911.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I didn't know many people in the Cebu Blogging Community when I first started being an active member. I only ever stalked their group while I was finishing my education in Bohol so seeing all the bloggers I've only met online in person at a party like this was so surreal.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0857.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
They treated me as if I was there with them the whole time and no amount of unfriendliness crossed my way as I awkwardly climbed the steps to F Cafe in my dress and heels<sub> (you read that right. heels. ugh)</sub>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Outside the venue was<a href="http://www.capdase.com/" target="_blank"> a photobooth wonderfully sponsored by Capdase</a> which disposed a copy for every person that had their picture taken. If there were six of you in one group shot, then each of you would have one copy of your photo, and if you joined another group, you'd also get a copy of that group shot. So generous!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Not only that but there were also blogger-photographers and sponsors taking pictures of us while we walked in, us while we talked to each other, and us wearing <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/" target="_blank">HOOQ</a> glasses! The night was <b>very</b> well documented, I gotta say.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0897.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The event floor was sheikh and minimalist which I really liked. We occupied the second and third "floor", if you'd like to call it that, of the venue and begun the program.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0892.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our friends from <a href="http://yamba.rocks/" target="_blank">Yamba</a>, a social networking app developed in Cebu and founded in Europe, were one of the major sponsors of the event and I gotta say they are amazing people. The basic concept of the application is the elimination of noise from your newsfeed. As the internet grows both in size and density, we're often distracted, and most of the time annoyed, by the type of content thrown at us. Yamba aims to filter out that noise and only serve us relevant posts and data according to the categories we are interested in. This ranges from users to ads.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Granted, I immediately thought about Tumblr as their competitor since the site leans heavily on user-defined categories, providing a seamless flow of information according to the tags and users you frequent so I'm excited to see what new quirk Yamba can bring to this market.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/?subsection=home" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0919.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
HOOQ then followed with their super cool and super fun game + giveaway. It was a trivia of how well you know your TV. And I don't mean that literally. HOOQ is like a Netflix for the Philippines. And it's legal, too! Partnered with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/globeph" target="_blank">Globe</a>, you can watch your favorite Filipino telenovela or Hollywood blockbuster through desktop or mobile for as long as you subscribe to their service. <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/?subsection=pricing" target="_blank">And it's so affordable, too!</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Given that, the game was a trivia about movies and tv series and everyone had the chance to win freebies! Despite it supposedly being a take-your-turn kind of game, being the rowdy bunch we are, everybody flung themselves at the stage despite not being a "legit" participant.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/?subsection=home" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0924.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At least I won something. haha</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/?subsection=home" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0933.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Winners got a free USB, <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/" target="_blank">HOOQ</a> swag and a bunch of other fun stuff. After that were more contests like "first to follow the <a href="https://instagram.com/hooqtv/" target="_blank">HOOQ instagram page</a>".</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hooq.tv/ph/?subsection=home" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0959.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Those guys won <a href="https://www.hooq.tv/" target="_blank">HOOQ</a> hoodies. I couldn't win that. Wasn't able to connect to the WiFi :(</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/YoyisHomemadeProducts" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0906.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After dinner was a very sweet and tasty dessert by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YoyisHomemadeProducts" target="_blank">Yoyi's Pastries and Desserts</a>. It was heavenly. They made us a CBC 1st anniversary cake, some choco crinkles, cassava cake, and my favorite: the scrumptious revel bar. Yeah. you could totally tell what I was there for.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/YoyisHomemadeProducts" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0993.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The show is located somewhere <a href="https://www.google.com.ph/maps/place/Yoyi's+Pastries+%26+Desserts/@10.311304,123.8929591,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x33a9994ec12491a7:0x949189632b109b9b?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a>. you can also refer to the map shown above by our beautiful promo girls.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/turtulele" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0977.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the most fascinating stories that I've heard that night was the old practice of Cebuanos using real turtle shells to make guitars. They'd cut the shell of a turtle open, eat the flesh and use the shell. Barbaric, I know but that was then and this is now.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The story inspired <a href="https://www.facebook.com/turtulele" target="_blank">Turtulele</a>: a company that makes the most durable and high-quality ukuleles. No turtles are harmed in the making of these instruments, mind you. Inspired by the thought of the turtle shells being as strong as they are, the company wanted to create high quality instruments that could withstand the test of time and durability. The end product being the ukuleles used above by the CBC organizers for their tear-jerking rendition of Row Row Row Your Boat. So touch. Much cry.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These ukuleles were given away as contest prizes that could make the best video telling Turtulele why they would want a Turtulele.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_0951.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.capdase.com/en/" target="_blank">Capdase</a> also had their own contest and product demo. I was really impressed on how clear the audio was from their bluetooth speaker. I was thinking of getting one for myself a few days ago. Guess my questions are answered now.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cebubloggingcommunity.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1001.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The original CBC Leads then took the stage and took us back for a while on how the community started; what is was, what it is, and what it will be. It was so great to see the original founders smiling and laughing and considering themselves as "alumni community leads" as the organization has matured so much within the year.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cebubloggingcommunity.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/IMG_1055.jpg" title="cebu blogging community 1st anniversary" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Without a doubt the event was a big success. Special thanks to <a href="http://globalhub.ph/" target="_blank">Global Hub</a> for sponsoring the organizers' printing needs and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KublaiKhanMongolianRestaurant" target="_blank">Khublai Khan Mongolian Restaurant</a> for giving us gift certificates to give away during mini events.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The biggest thanks to all would of course go to the Cebu Blogging Community Leads and organizers! Who went through sleepless nights and endless arguments to not only make this event a success but to keep the community going despite hard times. Not only is the CBC my #SquadGoal but so are you, organizers. You're my #LeaderGoals.<sub> (lol cheesy)</sub></div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.3156992 123.88543660000005 10.3156992 123.88543660000005tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-38270310784808614042015-07-05T07:18:00.000-07:002015-07-05T07:18:11.191-07:00Win an iPhone 6 with Yamba!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.yamba.rocks/" target="_blank"><img alt="win iphone 6" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/Join_Yamba_s_Beta_Test_To_Be_One_Of_The_1.png" title="win iphone 6" /></a></div>
<br />
That's right: WIN an iPhone 6!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.yamba.rocks/" target="_blank">Yamba </a>is a European social networking startup that aims to rid your feed of the internet's noise and serve you content you care about. Yamba was founded some time in 2009 but has just recently founded it's Philippine market.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.yamba.rocks/" target="_blank"><img alt="win an iphone 6" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/yamba_screen.jpg" title="win an iphone 6" /></a></div>
<br />
Yamba makes use of the <b>hashtag </b>and <b>follow </b>mechanisms that filters content according to what you love. Think Facebook + Instagram!<br />
<br />
I personally think Tumblr would be a good competitor for their brand as UX is king in these types of platforms. Considering they are still toying with their design, finding out what works and what doesn't, and tapping communities to help make their vision a reality, Yamba appears to be a good contender for the social media landscape. I especially like their move of connecting with local blogging communities as they (we) are exactly the type of market they are serving.<br />
<br />
Currently, they have the web and iOS platform up. You can see your feed and upload content using either of these platforms.<br />
<br />
To qualify for the contest, see details below:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.yamba.rocks/" target="_blank"><img alt="win an iphone 6" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u119/ashley_pokemon/Beta_Test3.png" title="win an iphone 6" /></a></div>
<br />
To join the beta testers list, simply go to <a href="http://www.yamba.rocks/">www.yamba.rocks</a> and fill out the sign up form! Form is only open from <b>June 30 - July 5, 12mn</b>. There will be no extensions.<br />
<br />
This is exclusive only to the users who sign up before July 5, 12 mn!<br />
<br />
On July 6 - 20, the beta testers can play around the site - post, comment, share. The following people will get to win the prize:
<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>First winner is the one who has the most views post in yamba.rocks</li>
<li>Second winner is the one who has the most followers by the end of the test.</li>
<li>Third winner is the one who uploaded the most number of post (photos, links, quotes, texts, etc).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
They'll send an evaluation form to all beta testers on July 20, to mark the end of the testing period.
<br />
<br />
All winners are rewarded with an iPhone6 and will be <b>announced through Yamba on July 25, 2015</b>. Winners can only claim their prizes IN PERSON.<br />
<br />
So sign up today, invite your friends to sign up and follow you, and make sure you’re online from July 6 - 17 to post, post, & post and WIN an iphone 6!
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657997 123.56271310000005 10.565598699999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-88491167340486604822015-07-02T08:33:00.002-07:002015-07-02T19:00:45.783-07:00How A Blogger Really EarnsI'll be honest. The selling point of the whole course for me was the fact that the title said "make money". Really. Module 3 of the program is<a href="http://digitalfilipino.com/bsm/" target="_blank"> "Make money from Blogging and Social Media as a Service Provider"</a>. Another admission is that I had no idea what I was getting myself into, meaning I totally didn't understand what the second half of the course title meant; just that you could make money. Needless to say, I was well educated about the course's purpose and requirements in the first meeting alone so all I could do was dumbly stare at my computer screen after the first lesson with not enough time to process what I signed up for.
<br />
<br />
I've always been a fan of <a href="http://digitalfilipino.com/bsm/" target="_blank">Digital Filipino</a>'s advocacy of spreading and legitimizing E-Commerce in the Philippines, and giving Filipinos a chance to earn and be acknowledged as professionals in the virtual marketing space. And now that the odds were for me, I jumped at the opportunity to finally enroll in one of their classes.
<br />
<br />
Despite my previous admission, I really did enjoy the course; the thrill of it, not expecting the project to be as challenging as it had been, and the fact that I was able to pull it off with a happy client was a huge plus.
<br />
<br />
There will be a separate post on my project's case study and how I went about it. This blogpost, instead, will be the summary of the tips and services I've learned while taking the course, their benefits, and a few personal notes. Again, if you want the full thing and even more details, I highly recommend you to enroll as you'll be getting more that way if you do.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjst_PDQG-bqZzPXZhxmBNo5jrUGZrIsDcX5_f08EB7wElQXB-noSjUQeHzO2SJFwbTkex-ZHXxq3aR_FFKbbrM7rIMldbD4jzcE3eeO13oKRVttBFe6dBL4RGsv5z5KNHL6p5Tz_PCWzI/s1600/IMG_0671.JPG" title="ashley uy" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>HOW A BLOGGER REALLY EARNS</b><br />
<br />
<b>Google AdSense</b><br />
I automatically added that up on top of the list as I personally have experience the power of AdSense. <a href="https://www.google.com/adsense/start/" target="_blank">Google AdSense</a> basically serves ads related to your niche, using the keywords and links in your blog to determine the right kind of advertisements that would benefit you and the advertisers. You earn a few cents (currency is in dollars) every time a reader clicks on the ads. The more traffic you get, the more likely it is that a reader will click on the ad.
<b><br /><br />
Direct Ads</b><br />
Let's say you are a fashion blogger and have an ad space on the right column of your blog. Brand X wants to advertise their spring collection on your blog so they pay you, depending on your rate and site traffic, an amount every month to keep their banner on the ad space on your blog.
<br />
<br />
Despite being more difficult, it's these ads that earn you a solid stream of cash as the advertisers themselves make a deal with you and no longer need any third-party to take their share of the profit. Direct Ads basically refer to ads advertisers pay you directly for.
<br />
<br />
<b>Paid Reviews</b><br />
Bloggers are brand promoters. Whether thy're a brand's "brand ambassador" or not, if they love a product, they will blog about it, they will tell all their friends and family about it, and, most importantly, they will tell their following about it. The same rules apply if a blogger hates a brand (so don't get into their bad side!). Some brands like going the extra mile and pay bloggers, either with cash or irresistible deals, to avail of their service/product and to blog about them given a few details.
<br />
<br />
This method doesn't necessarily sustain as you, being a quality blogger, will have to choose which brands you are willing to work with as it is your name on the line if you just take jobs willy-nilly. On top of that, you sill have to keep your blog in trend and updated with unpaid content to keep the sense of trust your following has on you and to keep your credibility (nobody wants to read a bunch of ads).
<br />
<br />
<b>Affiliate Programs</b><br />
Or commissions, if you want to go down to it. You basically put a brand's product on sale on your site and if your readers clicks on that link and purchase the product, the blog's owner gets a share of the profit. Other variations of that mechanic exists for many other affiliate programs but that's basically the gist of it.
<br />
<br />
<b>Direct Selling</b><br />
Obviously. (you sell something you have in your inventory though your blog)
<br />
<br />
<b>Consultation and Blogging Projects</b><br />
This one definitely takes time. It requires you to have a reputation, a sense of credibility to your name, for clients to call for your expertise on helping them run their projects. You can begin as a Virtual Assistant, learning the ropes by standing as the brand by commenting on other related blogs that might leverage the product being promoted, by posting in relevant forums, and creating and managing their social media accounts.
<br />
<br />
A few helpful guidelines in creating a blog is to take note of its blog name and domain name, description, target audience, and definite keywords for all these factors will lead to the eventual boost of the brand through search engine algorithms.
<br />
<br />
I personally hadn't thought of any of this when I first started blogging, leaning heavily on the "personal blog" route. Although this one still is, I've realized that my personal musing relate a lot to either of these three topics: art, business, and technology; so I leveraged that and tailored my blog to show that kind of content and not once did I think to "start over" as I hated the fact that I'd lose the following I already built if I did.
<br />
<br />
<b>Creating Blog Campaigns for Awareness and Engagement</b><br />
This one probably needs just as much work as the last one PLUS having your very own extensive blog network. Or at least having a friend that does. Contacting this network of influencers gives you more value as its coordinator and brands will recognize that. They will ask you to have their product tested, reviewed, or even give away prizes for the bloggers in your network. In exchange, these bloggers are expected to write about them and spread awareness about them in their networks; your job is to make sure they deliver.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjC5ONKWXvmpMGVAtls2ONJtqokFCGBSZc5l0pE_uX5Klb6u1Xth07i91vGTc_CzV3eymMvZTUycJHbbvE1QDPDUINgkDEBlcmfObOMtwGLt9zeaUKY5bfWhtIBws138nNjHHL0NCBoc/s1600/image.jpeg" title="ashley uy" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>MEASURES OF SUCCESS FOR A BLOGGER</b><br />
<br />
If you're aiming to be a professional blogger, or at least an established one with a network, it helps to have a tangible, or in this case: numeric, goal to base your success on. Here are some metrics I personally found important as I handled campaigns on, before, and during the course.
<br />
<br />
<b>Sessions</b><br />
Or Page Views, tell you how many pages a reader visits and how long they stay until they lose interest in your blog. The shorter the session might mean that your landing page is off-putting, or that the content you have simply isn't connecting with the reader, or some other reason.
<br />
<br />
<b>Subscribers</b><br />
Obviously if your subscriber number is high, it only proves that the content you are posting is of value to your target market and that they are interested enough to see what content you generate in the future.
<br />
<br />
<b>Engagement</b><br />
It can mean the frequency your readers comment, share, or like your posts. How many of them ask relevant questions on your topic and how fast and sincere you are in responding to them. A blog with a healthy number of engagement
<br />
<br />
<b>Links</b><br />
More specifically Referral Links, are links from different websites that redirect back to your blog/site. The more referrals you get not only increases your audience and credibility but also tells you which type of content would prove most beneficial to your audience and what type of people you are reaching.
<br />
<br />
There are many more points in the course proper and they'll be discussed in detail either by the provided reference material or by simply talking to the instructor about it. The best part for me is that not only do you get to explore these points theoretically but are eventually able to apply them during your final project. You'll be made to interact with bloggers and other social media entrepreneurs, and brands that want to work with you.<br />
<br />
It's a good opportunity to hone your skill, with curated content designed to help you improve, learning to become a <a href="http://digitalfilipino.com/bsm/" target="_blank">CBSME </a>won't be too hard. In closing, a blogger earns money according to their diligence and persistence to broaden their network and reach. The larger their network and influence, the more opportunity to earn will be brought to them. Engage with readers and serve updated, quality, and curated content. That is how a real blogger earns.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657997 123.56271310000005 10.565598699999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-26787224600941744972015-06-23T20:02:00.004-07:002015-06-23T20:02:59.497-07:00designubec2015: Support local artists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7J064aIfOfaRlMh6EgbyjHc1SzcEB_-ZqvXJ3XZM1UCoGSM11wZdco0XOaepsSAYwEVbBajCk3Kao0P6_VnIpOaEF5elFvBLCOwxvLgG8sNxh32Wotvsj7dNGsU4HYgdT0tSccMYDOyQ/s1600/IMG_0601.jpg" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank">designubec</a> is a coalition of artists and art enthusiasts that aim to promote local talent and their work; from artists to musicians. What usually happens in a designubec event is alot of art, music, people, beer, people, art, music and did I say ART?!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadquarterZ/timeline?ref=page_internal" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QUZkghLcWuQEE5YXW5yRFS34JLCer0_0O8iHks7vFim0ZgWoXlyUPXH6QOCPWP2iksSH-Z_7FIgiR3UqWzTVmOLQql2Es88ANb19oQIW6tj4P9rMyfcQOrcGLA6a5SKQBryPM-kQyJA/s1600/IMG_0587.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The event was held at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadquarterZ/timeline?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">The HeadquarterZ</a>, a bar that promotes music and art on a regular basis so I found it quite fitting. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com//" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPrDIq6TApiir6Ryrf5yTG8H-ktkW_0qVMRRna6IKndC7dq1OeQKZz8lym6RlIdwM3PIi7rn3wUHfW_2wj_efKRTVeG__Bz1V6kB8FDER88QjzPyJsxJM1cJGssl3H3ASjVgQEvo3nAUQ/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.behance.net/edzelrubite" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZt7WFhYkaYCxkRoHPSEXsGhHErzKOO9H7SATeCZ5-FD1Enqn0rOxNuwh6uDPNI5NxOJC59xTVdJhIv-nT6d0R69kk7s9on9qeREghI_yVMTnJYNfW-x_pgsRhe2F_6jAAfUeV0dZkHE0/s1600/IMG_0593.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was invited to the event by my friend, <a href="https://www.behance.net/edzelrubite" target="_blank">Edzel Rubite</a>; an awesome artist himself and an all-around great guy that has really come a long way when in comes to promoting the local art scene.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLSV3jJgam0RLrkHaDuLq51IDrdSZ9J7PeftxK7uC0TShlAwUnZIPfCDMH4fCJhCJqDN891wlzrGnXWo_9ZJ8YqWhNft453W7nm3zLWa0IErivWaVTn-webuZNBvf9kIbfk69zmPnXNI/s1600/IMG_0590.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
No they aren't dealing drugs despite the way how I took the picture. They're selling miniature prints of each artwork displayed in the gallery. I bought one of each. Yeaaaaaaa...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHSU_lAmWjF-uosoFp-AQGsD2ZBbTqYSLr5QY_Sv3fi5hnax0GN1e3D_bt_Fx_I3pr16VI8olhknZaYrR3ahMGQ3VifvWq1Eoymmes3EAr-cbcqyT6UcrR1zPzTX0Dfz2E1r-jLQOyYg/s1600/IMG_0598.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A big shoutout to the organizers though for letting me promote Startup Weekend Cebu 5 at the event! They let me put up a small poster and hand out some promo codes while I was there. Thanks a bunch, guys. I owe you one.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQf0J8MVOYESn3ZLAqggnZmWhvVwuIFwuRHqfTYydLQ0zgp2NXmt3yb6A5cHfwEaJkLpWKH2wanT9iO0JyvThiNI8g1OWhid4nZjW8noRvT0UKicwX1DZkOnlDe8Q_jr2N9DKAzVGzlbc/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrppPIJ-mhSoKo3w-Wj7rdLifzwe2axmelYYAqxi0c72Q_KYYMIXWPQMeRfvjbgCYuUiZTNF_I9CklVFLAgECCC3YlXhKZ1MPrKbL2rsgO5LTPObA0hnzYexVKyiKMlmavEQZkjRy5GM/s1600/IMG_0591.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.designubec.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="designubec 2015" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUlZexsmkhKKmhQBWkzAzQ1554DMfEIBioMP7rjXkm1g4QvAbaCZjyFYZtymudyX6uslpJpcpVkU7YQE9vStdOFMNlIIXrxeUV3N_ARw_aAet1wbzAKIofvqWLnNs08Ij-aQ6hFiO_0o/s1600/IMG_0592.JPG" title="designubec 2015" /></a></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657997 123.56271310000005 10.565598699999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-69465950011614217512015-06-23T06:32:00.001-07:002015-06-23T20:11:15.850-07:00An Adventure Through Kingdoms And Realms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="handmade notebooks" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeU8zCUZDhpoVUTeMjWETaR5Y2nhrqaaZaHnrvXNp_aW4ok_FQ08JaqsPgW0aDK3RBN7q3XMRSoZ9gD00xswD0UO6wWuWrOS7OR0eoKmz3FvcxZ3a2kTDm9KCfRUH7idfDVtuBCqKBTKg/s1600/IMG_0676.JPG" title="handmade notebooks" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm a techie. Sure. Always have and always will be. But I also do art; most of the time my work forces me to marry the strangely different yet undoubtedly inseparable concepts, which is both strange and thrilling for me as a practitioner of both principles.<br />
<br />
Needless to say it is that fascination with creativity and technology that lead me to pursue the dreams I have to day and it is also the very reason I am where I am in the first place. Along with that fascination, the interest in business and finance came to me in a rush. With my involvement in the startup community, it was inevitable that I came up with the craziest ideas, surrounded by some of the country's craziest people <sub>(I mean that in the best ways)</sub>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="suwhat" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfOfSv7E4D7DqmP12zLPqecN3pVtaWTPFjzV7x0ypy6GDg6w0jWT3OY-WAD090GB7QyY12g-zlY93lfUUsioduFnOMwlE1l59vBguN6PDBrWJN4be9RFzsgh12Ig_8kMJDJLW6-fo7CY/s1600/IMG_0682.JPG" title="suwhat" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So, here I am, with a co-worker and her boyfriend running a crafts startup together. I know. I didn't expect it either. I mean, who would have thought I was the one that was the third wheel all this time<strike> I'm just kidding, I love you guys and I totally ship you with each other</strike>.<br />
<br />
In all seriousness though, the fact that I am helping run a business at this time, with these people, and in this industry is still a pleasant surprise for me and was completely unexpected. I am enjoying the whole process, mind you, and wouldn't trade these experiences and relationships for the world but WOW a crafts startup, who would've thought!<br />
<br />
Anyways, with that said, I bet you're wondering what this "crafts startup" really is. Well, to put it simply, it's <b><a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">suw(h)at</a></b>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.suwhatcrafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="handmade notebooks" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9xNPZIX985Pw0_2ypyqKZc0CZ21NybttMEcGzf_AnqZsJHQOqnNF3e9N-bk2wUsuUxIrFajyY2-xg0pIlFybVqDYzFh4Vcci4Ky_3kFOgf6KEYLI6OriaJp1wQ-aXtyYZLMaus5pa_o/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" title="handmade notebooks" /></a></div>
<br />
We sell handmade notebooks, to put it frankly. At the moment, the brand is catering to the needs of individuals that would like to express themselves better through the different pop culture trends they relate the most with. Every month is a new theme for the brand. For instance, this month is Game of Thrones. Promos and discounts come and go that relate to this theme. Next month will be a different set of designs and so on and so forth.<br />
<br />
As the brand developed, we continued to notice a peculiar thing from our customers. An observation that will be shared in a future post from me that will also tackle the many other lessons I have come across working as the brand's marketing and public relations lead.<br />
<br />
Everything is handmade from the binding to the covers. At the moment we're only doing Cebu City meetups as the whole process is still fairly new to us and we wanted to get the basics down pat before we reach out to our national market. Considering it's been around three weeks of operation still, and we're all beginners, I think the decision was called for. We're not staying this way for long though as we have big plans in the upcoming months.<br />
<br />
Other than the fandom-based notebooks, we're looking to further specifying our main product to those found in the first photo. But that explanation and big reveal can come with that future post I was talking about earlier.<br />
<br />
We've been doing good so far but we'll never know what next month holds, or the next, and the next, and the month after that; you get my drift. All that to say though is that after all the businesses I thought I'd be helping run this whole time, a crafts startup wasn't even on my list. But here I am and here we are. Life really is an adventure through kingdoms and realms and I am loving every step of it.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657997 123.56271310000005 10.565598699999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-16330448710864645162015-05-18T06:50:00.000-07:002015-05-18T21:14:17.955-07:00Behance Portfolio Review Cebu 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.behance.net/reviews" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmNf_tDlawSqpfoFiPUHw45L1n7am3ZY0QI333iWVpQyLAlD9lUmpXvNbGcD9T9b0QFi-NyqRy9DecPMKijzLdTSUlXalh3iPzvKYGmWym7PMRYt6xUtWISFBGzliHx34CpHrm4313_o/s640/IMG_0573.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I still can't get over the fact that the venue had such grandiose Buddhist statues. It felt like I was desecrating the place the whole time. They even had an idol on a pedestal behind the bar inside. Awkward.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.behance.net/reviews" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdolpgi6Qnvbo-rEJrlVEBNRV_hST3S6X_SLQjsd_T-JxJOpAtwu2o8efckZCLWYbfPndsoYHiNmUouUYK08bg9QG70-PZ0H-SGSmn3880zj24lrCAt1WxqglJeU7u6i3XEywR0OLaRs/s640/IMG_0563.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.behance.net/reviews" target="_blank">Behance Portfolio Reviews</a> are volunteer-run events that highlight the local art scene. They invite established speakers and panelists to facilitate the reviews that are usually done by freelancers or students. A notable artist I recognized in the panel was !<a href="http://inodoro-design.com/" target="_blank">nodoro</a>, whose work I first saw at <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2013/12/graphicon-davao-3-inspired-or-de-spired.html" target="_blank">GraphiCon Davao 3</a>. Speakers included reputable companies like<a href="http://happygaraje.com/" target="_blank"> Happy Garaje</a> who is responsible for branding <a href="http://geeksonabeach.com/" target="_blank">Geeks On A Beach</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Portfolio reviews are put into divisions: Illustration, Photography and Graphic Design. Each have their own set of panelists as they have their own set of participants. Submissions are shortlisted down to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.463626857135356.1073741834.234075746757136&type=3" target="_blank">thirty participants</a> in total. These participants are then required to prepare a presentation of their best (or worst) works to show to the judges for their feedback. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What I love most about this is that it isn't a competition; just a pure give-and-take learning session between the pros and soon-to-be pros, which is great!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.behance.net/reviews" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqHqK8edcCITc8wtz2jNBxszNmOzy6LmlMIe6SJRBuAcG_1bW_wvAjpfI20oj-mzVqKTZOqYu6qYOzjKJxJf1MvdGcKkvFG4HG0a8oGwxAm5ppRjPKPGMpunuHVyAOeGUdddACKcVI2Q/s640/IMG_0568.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
My most favorite part of the whole event was that they had an Art Market!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Idiosyncratic-Crafts/1488472621440801" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLsYpjBkkt7dSjM-5wYAKeEuhxjs1Oi4VTkLdqrYBBiuVz8Vo7N7lnEAy8Z7rhdTzGv6MTQS4ILuNHZidIJ0twcEdJTrLf09g-C27UJA-YXfLHoJRMxLJn34vkEX3CbglxYnftgR29ic/s640/IMG_0560.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I literally artgasmed with all the stuff for sale and spent over a thousand on everything that I bought; which isn't much at all for hand-made art.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Idiosyncratic-Crafts/1488472621440801" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2UObuF4ubmJGQrgv-R2MGOPeiWjNX5wdWgMrISXuDEqLK432t_qF7XWd475uHYB8jGjE5CpuIFD7tNHYr2byyas3h6tsE_4bY-p8AQG1BiGdEeh1Sld6lsupTywp5KHkpQlF1Gfoxno/s640/IMG_0552.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The first stall I popped over to was by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Idiosyncratic-Crafts/1488472621440801" target="_blank">Idiosyncratic Crafts</a>. They specialize in cross-stitch, calligraphy and a whimsy style that i really like. Their notebooks were pretty cute too! Especially with the witty and sassy quotes stitched on them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Idiosyncratic-Crafts/1488472621440801" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC9xOiKiMQ8000HhLkFAcaTMOVn5z4HMDm33xaTR3lFGZrmnY2R5Lv-WWfB_qcU-8ytiRfcPkzv6b9LpQFHcwJJ9ZMoIGO8Blqd7uJ_xQtaQ648EWJJjWXY-eV1gutDy4CF8L6VfFqHs/s640/IMG_0562.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://boredandcrafty.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hk0St-eFrD_eLfpwpcct1Lgj5CE_va90PG7n0U-tIbY1Po8fF8RQHEDkDVglULYGt6Dz8VsjppSKUK2NEIWV4EN3oLThImjN0QPFlgg3X9YbtFMm5kCSkmklntLzWxO_WKMBYiqC-GA/s640/IMG_0553.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The next stall I checked out was from <a href="http://boredandcrafty.com/" target="_blank">Thimblecap</a>. She specialized in custom pouches and wallets with screen printed designs on them which was really cute. I bought a clutch from her collection.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://boredandcrafty.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUfd211LNhpyTfvnBX7Mtikr9auEcayo_87zauXcsFA-RRKTXXE3gJ9xsRf54FSjej4Kb9VS-DLbkrCJRCnKCJET2EWYXL6DqZoPeN0ukjg5ELIn7kmLavxEALiubnfrzw5GhINXXAb4/s640/IMG_0555.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://badbloodcollective.co.vu/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOemWjomANlNcPbgktV7EA3uQ0PxTDruPdanuMqknAugBHNxXGsMBWjfxVXenZrF6cKJcOlrzk1zA9VOX6XOI37_lP5gGyAsZxh6AXem8UG4v073UaWI2kCJ83aT0OPRHmFrUi7P_-IkI/s640/IMG_0578.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And the last one was by <a href="http://badbloodcollective.co.vu/" target="_blank">Bad Blood Collective</a> an all-girl art group based in Cebu. They have beautiful illustrations and OMG MY OTP - ahem. Sorry my inner weeaboo just slipped. They have really cool stuff.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://badbloodcollective.co.vu/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gmrjXKB3YTW1ZtoOwhJpej8dqZSECsbKsz1UrVkOKMc5gw27AZq10dfIwdpOIS_eLhZ2F96oucmUtboNdc0V-Jc5y08L8yoWSuyQzIuT81zdUx_Pwuhif0TLByz1-NIoS7exSDlLE9k/s640/IMG_0577.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All in all I really enjoyed myself at the event. It went on for two days with half of the portfolio reviews happening in day one and the other half on day two. I honestly didn't stay long during the review sessions and opted to hang around the art market and surround myself with good company and buy myself some good art pieces. It was a day well spent. Literally.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Can't wait for the next one!</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com3Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-24618303359251974982015-05-11T21:54:00.000-07:002015-05-31T08:09:35.085-07:00World's Largest Floating Library - The MV Logos Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPEoYO5nshytrXxPXod6C79DJKgdo_Gk5aLktXQ52mFh2jYBcaq8TdY_tKl0J8doViLpCfPZZmV7N5LcQ6E_qOzokPytiOjy2Ejo0Y4oFVXi-EQQQy_W5x9LDieECJw4v_SY5OTNm2nw/s640/IMG_0515.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After our <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2015/05/startup-camp-bohol-and-cebu-microsoft.html" target="_blank">Microsoft event </a>at the University of San Carlos , the TechTalks team and I went wild at the thought of an after-event road trip, despite being as haggard as we were from the event. We talked about our options during dinner and decided on visiting the MV Logos Hope while it was docked by the pier.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
The idea of a large cruise ship didn't appeal to me like most would but when the word "large library" was being passed around, they got me itching to go.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimknMivCKsHV5uNiJu0w9gEYQchaEvnnAE6vmkwQWvW4wBeaZSlk3QbVjaaigaRYyKEPfIri6BLNGYcEmPPk1fjRLadPkrV81p_rDlT67UdYDT5eB3pkBCgN-PSnKI9-BuvSgFA1Vl8fk/s640/IMG_0498.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The MV Logos Hope is the fourth ship operated by the German Christian charity organization, GBA Ships. The ship itself has served under many names, being a car ferry when it was first built. Now, it serves as the world's largest floating book fair housing 400 volunteers as its crew and 5,000 different titles in its collection. The Logos Story, one of the books for sale there, talks about how the idea and service ship came to be. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1068778.Logos_Story" target="_blank">You should totally check it out</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3exFaqlCuE26Z5MbOO8z-EHkZu4ODO6N8sHIJ6p9amC_W4tIn3buvMP8Z6Fj_1KLEwtAyfnYKRStOiO_rknRYqS52asOrG7z4qZ_Bm5lYocSWKCPiDYJgYeiXm9-yJt8gIEEYwEDtoQ/s640/IMG_0482.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The boat is designed to carry 800 visitors at a time in their large library sections, followed by multiple smaller sections that educates guests on the value of life, music, religion, diesel engines, and much more.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKlqfS_98pvgJ0jwCVNCYN1sY4tWQps6SkS0e2d2XV2yxH28kmkm0Tclmt35ZdZaGiSG693uzNKQHWL8tICIFxbtME30es191jQ_Aee3bK7t5-4Gdj47RAYX_iPfkiMVgyXmJ6at-MAsU/s640/IMG_0481.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Books on board range from Classics to Business and Marketing, and Health to Teen Novels. Many of the books are at a discounted price, costing at about 100 to 250 pesos with 500 pesos being the largest amount I've seen. A lot of these books are rare and usually expensive when bought in regular bookstores so grab them while you can!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXe4BBskkdD3aEWXsC2bGKrZ0EefGRnvgyXcuTy1y1udf6qOVmMXlj-ofTI3OakrR3r9SlmpayG23eWbxcVulR-S9kv6xhgTIIJeRfUOv1-Wy8Vz8H1mF-IzrWlMoVxvCqa13Dtsa-ZY/s640/IMG_0483.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A large segment of the MV Logos Hope adventure will be the "Journey of Life". A visual display of a story loosely based off the Prodigal Son depicting the difficult choices in life and our desire to repent for the wrongdoings we commit. Volunteers hand out a pamphlet that immerses you into the story so I highly encourage everyone to read through it as you walk along the display instead of obnoxiously taking selfies without even understanding the display.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kRaaN3O86SPctmjRL2HqgGbzJAa-qqzX7592wOfTd2rlR3ktRQ-pH0jzYyXKbxuRmpFpS4j8Uvk-bkeEk39mFhtyvBISHJBNvSO4g5HmzZU8dNCSRKtcPGUOjRhyj-S6fzegmrjxUoo/s640/IMG_0487.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Kosq9TDG0K2wScWVnZ90n0FIIS5WYO_8gDbgweH_OfK-gpghKhZarVqDqxVBVgee_8exb3EAiSe3ydougOcd2JU7S41Z0f_EQvByEj_CbUgSyK0-2jB4DFJ6CbzejE7YStJ3jONUxPY/s640/IMG_0488.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmiaMUFz8PrkDbEb5Tp7G2Kiwtoxh6k4UOmuOG2nHOQgt2yTy-SU3msIH2wNTcBLT2d0M9w5frfZZwirauqx1O26qr_dMDOUabs7bQDM46MXVlU3fwGOdc8PIxKnm6ZDnvUCfUIafiZo/s640/IMG_0489.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-dgalutpGDbBNy1AFXoDThB97FbF4cL95MOOGhb8dpsoctlH-ae94uOWbeclVrNL-KmmsEjHlVe8Ccda4DJX1ZJvD1fz8Up8-xgN6S7weSTY5uPMk8U-3INpAjhDI2YnI912DwO755M/s640/IMG_0484.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What's great about the MV Logos Hope is that even with the already lowered prices, they still prepare promos that make your experience even richer. I really appreciated their "Buy 5 books for only 250" section where you can just dig up whatever you can find, keeping you on the lookout for good books in the discount section.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40SUvoNE0MfN-CShXzyLD3R4EkvS31uVtxkfy_1sX-icAXQoF8L9dG9R9-XAOGFnpliKGkljZ_6v9ZvLvT3cecBQkcwRpTmcXQJroq8bRo5T-Ws3cYYSwzKia6hpzP47I29x2_UweoWk/s640/IMG_0485.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3STwX-FrTEiYKkXJygQdV3bLWmCB8D0SKrvZwiyLQsnE7kzuIEV0n0Zbn6clhF4gvQ7Tnt-LsDW3KWc31RYTpwTy42HyTCzV8D3CSEiCYTHprtnNOHwkSmRKOLrtapJoF1JqlETjUl4/s640/IMG_0492.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I just wished the International Cafe had less people when we visited so I could check their menu out.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2Z489Na89DIe5ySL6QyUHmwFRWLlyYvQS8shGHMvJVnIV1GHqcWtQmKMCm2eJ1Eglc6YRURPji4URfM0SWYh8Uqh0So5y5OaUl7oVIJ2BFRGhwKObvB9_G6qxrm3VZJ0Pm8ODtpGFXQ/s640/IMG_0493.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Other than being a big, floating library, the MV Logos Hope also has exhibits and interactive stations that encourage learning and life awareness to kids and adults alike. They even have programs that tap children's musical and social skills facilitated by some of the organizers on board. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="mv logos hope" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwP4P4iEtWoDFrliCDm56LIuNy2shIBmUt6sw-q7oBgqrmq_baH2KVyARPqI-T_5KXpHekGB5i0QkDwfQN5yZbVY4jjF5u2iWONj_pA9ZXal5ta1_wCkkzI2WRHAUkqhjoqaDO9k6ybo/s640/IMG_0499.JPG" title="mv logos hope" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Then there's this guy! I never found out what his name was but look out for him as he moves from section to section to take pictures or give a friendly wave and smile to visitors.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This last pictures sums up my takeaway from my MV Logos Hope experience pretty well so I'll end with this. If you look behind the mascot, you'll see a diesel engine cut in half and painted according to function to explain the mechanics of such a diesel engine. It used to be a part of the ship's main engine, too! And on the right is one of the volunteers and some kids they entertained on board. There were at least 6 of them that were surrounded just like this one in different parts of the vessel and that really struck me. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What I loved about the experience was that everywhere you looked, there was something new, engaging, and generally pleasant to look at and learn from. The crew was diverse. But despite that, each and every one of them had the same outlook and interactions. They all tried to engage, make a connection, and left no one out of it. They would talk to whomever listened and listened to whomever wanted to talk. Such an open acceptance to people in general is something I looked to be something we all forget as we go along the complexity that is our life.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Overall, I highly encourage everyone who happen to have the vessel<a href="http://www.omships.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104&Itemid=173" target="_blank"> docked in their local port</a> to check it out. It's definitely worth a look!</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com2Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-52331698530732782162015-05-11T21:51:00.001-07:002015-05-11T21:56:31.056-07:00Startup Camp Bohol and Cebu: Microsoft for Startups<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Startup Camp Bohol and Cebu happened on May 7 and May 9 of 2015 respectively. Stars aligned that I was able to attend both which really gave me more insight on how the Bohol and Cebu communities worked. Other than that, I got to learn more about Microsoft's ventures into Startups through Mr. Arnie Locsin, the tech evangelist of Microsoft. They had more speakers in the Cebu camp though; the community being as diverse as it is. That's because the intended second speaker at the Bohol Startup Camp had to rest at the clinic for the day <sub>(lack of sleep and stress. poor sir Allan)</sub>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="microsoft startup camp bohol" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EC5hx9qbb4sUZ6ZzbrcALmBlOF7xSDDeESyeRxf5pc0rkVRPKY5wOXslJyL3047vTjCRCIGYnMxjrtvjU3T_4qhX_b1griPCSpcvx0f3QKlti5kZVTGriOmDe61_aIT_eu_QcpN84UE/s640/IMG_0334.JPG" title="microsoft startup camp bohol" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Two Microsoft programs were highlighted during the Startup Camp. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/" target="_blank">Microsoft BizSpark</a> and <a href="http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure</a>. The former is a program created by Microsoft for startups. Under it are similar programs like Microsoft BizSpark Plus and Microsoft Ventures, each with their own set of perks. Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform created by Microsoft for building, deploying and managing applications and services through a global network.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Microsoft BizSpark</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Basically, if you get accepted into the Microsoft BizSpark program, you get $750 worth of Microsoft cloud services for three years. That includes Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Cloud Solutions and all Microsoft software. That's already $150 for five developers. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br />"If you are a software startup and not a consulting firm, are in operation for less than 3 years, making less than 1M$ in annual revenue, you WILL be accepted.</i> " <a href="http://www.brightjourney.com/q/microsofts-bizspark-program-acceptance-criteria" target="_blank">*</a></blockquote>
<br />
In applying, it also helps to have a legitimate website domain name and custom email address.<br />
<br />
If you are successful in your BizSpark application, you can then apply for BizSpark Plus with a stricter acceptance basis and regimen. Word of advice: before applying, sort out what resources you need and make sure that the BizSpark Plus program is really something you need at the current stage of your startup.<br />
<br />
The BizSpark Plus program provides $5k per month as opposed to the $750 per month in the regular BizSpark program. Some startups fall out because they upgrade too early. Their consumption barely reaches a thousand dollars and yet they are applying for the BizSpark Plus program, only leading to their team's termination as their consumption is considerably less than what is given to them. So choose wisely.<br />
<br />
<b>Microsoft Azure</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The portal enables you to create databases, websites, applications, virtual machines and everything on the cloud with your Microsoft account. It provides PaaS and IaaS services and supports many other languages and frameworks including many Microsoft software.<br />
<br />
<b>PaaS vs IaaS vs SaaS</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KgL3BfAc9Cs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KgL3BfAc9Cs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service, means that the cloud computing service provider takes care of setting up the Virtualization, Storage, Networking and everything it needs to setup an environment where you only have to worry about the operating systems and other stacks above that.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If you want to only worry about your code, the PaaS, or the Platform as a Service, is the model you're looking for.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="microsoft startup camp cebu" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIPvJjdDP5Jv0TkKQnhgAXgrY99ej1p-6zfGbGDcpW6kyVvShDvkRjZfI-om3Kc7RuVQ7gkER7VItGYUMVeFjhoSEb_0CLgw-qQdXUAV4HPSP0jqaMjfJVU_QQ7UMYQQEj50MNzUvyIU/s640/IMG_0449.JPG" title="microsoft startup camp cebu" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Startup Camps will be happening at Ilo-Ilo and General Santos city next so if you're near the area, check them out! Stay tuned for updates via the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TechTalks.ph" target="_blank">TechTalks facebook page</a>!</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-34120599750793058682015-04-16T20:03:00.002-07:002015-04-18T07:27:04.336-07:00Takeaways from CBC's Basic Blogging Meetup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I haven't been to a CBC event in so long, I can't even remember the last time I went <sub>(seriously, I don't)</sub> so, as timely as it was, they were having an event during my free weekend so I thought: why not?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For a little bit of background, the Cebu Blogging Community is a dynamic group of bloggers who are based in Cebu and provide<a href="http://bloggersofcebu.org/" target="_blank"> an avenue for upcoming and new bloggers to hone their skill</a>. Not that the entirety of the group is full of noobs, far from it! Many professional bloggers commit to the community and even host events on occasion for fellow members; even the <a href="http://bloggersofcebu.org/community-leads/" target="_blank">team leads</a> themselves are established members of the blogging community. So! That goes without saying that the CBC is reputable group of both professional and non-professional <sub>(but equally as passionate)</sub> bloggers that aim for dynamism into becoming social good advocates of their communities.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZbt00nQgeHNKsdggyQdt-LBCxlT12OQ_noQETC4dSx6SHnBP5amr6-g-K6pcnfFSxadPE1V9mmQF_IcjMfiw2xz16d1a7jB8K2Vm11FMGpdt_eN17fg_3BhED__BvTrlL-fVQ_Kl9K0/s1600/C360_2015-04-11-11-02-31-266.jpg" height="384" title="cebu blogging community" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Awesome people in the Cebu Blogging Community <sub>(don't mind Ace's sexy back as my wallpaper)</sub></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This event is part one of a series of blogging seminars the group is planning to make regular. <a href="http://narvasamary.com/" target="_blank">Mary Narvasa</a>, the speaker of this class, is not only one of CBC's team leads but she has also worked in both digital and traditional journalism for years building up her portfolio and experience as a writer. She was really fun and interesting to listed to. Supplemented by the members' friendly banter, it made the half-day event just as meaningful.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
From that, here are a few takeaways I can share:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1) <b>Pop-up Marketing doesn't gain traction in the Philippines</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Remember those stylishly annoying "Enjoy what you're reading? Subscribe to our newsletter!" floating windows that pop-up in a few blogs after you've scrolled through most of their page? I never click them. Maybe once or twice in I site I really like but generally I don't. And apparently I'm not alone in this revolution.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Pop-up marketing, as proven by our professional bloggers, doesn't work in the Philippine market. Unless you're target audience are people in places <i>other </i>than the Philippines, then you won't get very far in collecting e-mails. Why's that so important? We'll get into that in a bit.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2) <b>Bounce Rate</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The higher your bounce rate, the worse it is for your site. Personally, I haven't heard of this term up until it was mentioned when we talked about metrics at the meetup. Basically, bounce rate is the measure of how often a user visits your site but doesn't do anything, which is defined by them not clicking anything. There are various tools that can be used to measure this such as Google Analytics.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
3) <b>Use Flickr to host images for your blog</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Storing your images in a separate image hosting site, flickr or photobucket are some examples, and retrieving them through direct links to your blog makes the images in your blog posts load faster and clears up some valuable space for more content from you, which is great!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
4) <b>Follow the 80/20 rule in publishing content</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Obviously your blog can't live without some social media pages that'll make your content shareable and reputable, especially for those bloggers that are just starting out. On that note, nobody would even want to keep following you, despite how good they think your last post was, if you just post links of your latest blog posts or your latest product discount. Plugging yourself into every post just doesn't work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The 80/20 rule states that 80% of what you post should be for your customers while 20% is for you. "For customers" could mean links to articles that aren't yours but you found interesting enough that you thought it might benefit your readers, product codes for various shops you were offered, giveaways even simple quotes! Engaging with your audience pays. Both figuratively and literally.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
5) <b>Collecting e-mails is important</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The root cause of all these efforts, the optimizing, content planning and all that, is to establish a blogging network whose significance is measured through the number of e-mails you have in that network. With those e-mails, you can use tools to collect data from them, collect users <i>like </i>them to get <i>their </i>data, send out surveys, offers, discounts, announcement and, most importantly, build and audience and regular following for your blog and brand.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And that's it! The meetup was more extensive and talked about way more so I encourage all budding bloggers out there that are based in Cebu, or who are planning to visit Cebu, <a href="http://bloggersofcebu.org/contact-us/" target="_blank">to meetup with CBC members</a>. Share experiences, make friends and enjoy blogging! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="cebu blogging community" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yCoSrShDuoPsgsDBBSTWNKu60TxtnSKDNlCuVGtxVV8CZlh9Ext7seikWYQ5Uxy69zuhOZT4bgVCiIt_U_xlSgXb2auA2ji7Z7X0xZbAAEP1TNK7Hnj03w7qa_00e28niD_R6nvGhcs/s1600/C360_2015-04-11-09-00-15-014.jpg" height="384" title="cebu blogging community" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Check it. Look at it. Work it, powerpoint.</i></div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines10.3156992 123.8854366000000510.0657982 123.56271310000005 10.565600199999999 124.20816010000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-36461689004687331062015-03-20T00:46:00.000-07:002015-03-29T18:28:31.984-07:00Branding: TAFIAS' World Famous Tilapia Chips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Talisay Fishermen's Association, or more popularly known as <a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank">TAFIAS</a>, was your average small countryside fishermen's group whose working members, the fishermen themselves, earned just enough and sometimes even less than they should from fishing. An average Filipino fisherman has a wife and at least three kids with income that varies depending on a number of uncontrollable factors such as the season and weather.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Most of the TAFIAS fishermen's children are well taken care of at school and at a <a href="http://andakidz.org/daycare-centre-support/" target="_blank">day care</a> by <a href="http://andakidz.org/" target="_blank">ANDAKidz</a>, a local non-profit organization. That leaves the women of the family with their day jobs: producing and packaging food products created with locally made raw materials such as Taro Ice Cream, Taro Polvoron and Tilapia Chips, <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/12/bloggers-adventures-in-anda-bohol.html" target="_blank">which I thought were really good considering</a>. Much like other "locally made food products" here in Bohol, their products were poorly made with the typical unattractive bag of plastic and stamped-on labels and no quality control whatsoever.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/aboutus#tafias-story" target="_blank">In a bout to reinvent themselves, TAFIAS partnered with ANDAKidz to give new life to their products, to improve their identity and, in turn, generate more income for their families.</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2_zLIxjbUbZaXFMrmGpK4Fx1PxHBlgKt_Z7NQ5noQqOt6SoLX0Gjsfn_brs1O6sMNrjyb3Fa57uFZxw2LcMctHtomDQVa2g7hAwpCJhGgo-SNzSqjuKJtuoFlgTAPp_dtjc3G7L8S38/s1600/1379451_923636514353211_1357450457082395148_n.jpg" height="426" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>photo <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;">©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;"> </span><a href="https://ee.linkedin.com/in/robingurney" target="_blank">Robin</a></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://ee.linkedin.com/in/robingurney" target="_blank">Robin Gurney</a>, founder of ANDAKidz, invited Velvet Design's Senoir Creative Designer, <a href="https://about.me/jannosiimar" target="_blank">Janno Siimar</a>, who came all the way from Estonia, to Talisay, Anda to help with this ambitious three-month project. The pair wrestled with logistics, different mindsets and excruciating Philippine legalities to make the whole thing work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>"In Estonia, when you say we "have no money", it usually means you can scrape up a few thousands within the next week. Here, when they said they "had no money" they literally meant zero. Nothing. It was quite a shock." -Janno Siimar</i></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/aboutus#tafias-story" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmTrO8QpE8n8B2pCXJvBcTF7TpYbcBfBnR13iFDITdZZQTIGKLt771sGXJj5TFAGn1yXIUXyvRBy7wz3xsFejV4aGE0DnpTClsWI-TsQQMgJv0UX_GOEQf-R_2fM8p4HcMwEOUSV1cYY/s1600/s01.png" height="226" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>photo <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;">©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;"> </span><a href="http://www.tafias.org/aboutus#meet-the-members" target="_blank">TAFIAS website</a></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>LOGO</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the first things they tried was to pimp up the old TAFIAS logo. It's unrecognizable and unmemorable. It looks much like all the other traditional institutions in the province and for an organization looking to stand out, the old logo just didn't do the job. TAFIAS' mascot, the Tipalia fish, was the type of fish farmed and caught by the fishermen in the area. Upon further research, they discovered that the Tilapia, or more internationally known as "St. Peter's Fish" was so much more than a local fish. It is mentioned in the Bible as being one of the few types of fishes caught in the Sea of Galilee in biblical times, one of which was caught by St. Peter himself "with a coin in its mouth" and is a completely versatile fish that can live in both fresh and saltwater.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These traits reminded Janno of the people of Talisay; of their drive to improve themselves and to adapt to the situation presented to them. The Tialpia's significance to the organization was made clear then.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8Ymx60HL775bFfhq1HV17_zrbjvtFr1gm3nQ5Yzfd0rehIdW49_p2Ze_ayFvKayy6FfbyFW87Kc9-SDI0hfipt9ZXEdW6SXKMGhleK6Ig7-cJ0CKptw4D81r_CK8F3jMoK4bmcdF_2o/s1600/C360_2015-03-19-16-46-50-696.jpg" height="384" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://about.me/jannosiimar" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Janno </a><span style="text-align: left;">talks about designing the packaging</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Given the time the organizations were to work on the project, they decided to focus and study only one of TAFIAS' many products: the Tilapia Chips.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Previously, the chips' selling price was so close to it's production price that there was virtually no profit left to generate significant revenue; so naturally, Robin and Janno decided to sell the product at a much higher price after the new recipe and packaging was implemented.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Their story is much like a startup where many of their decisions revolved around gut feelings and hunches. A defining moment for them that validated all their work and decisions was from the arrival of a Filipino volunteer group a day after the first batch of chips were packed and ready to sell. The group was presented with both the old and the new product and packaging. Surprisingly, and despite the majority of them moaning about the more expensive price, seventy or so of the new packs and only fifteen of the cheaper old packs were sold. That study spoke volumes about their product.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJyO8gXazxC2AxgbTNrwN-kU2YMfiOXCzJ1IUSqbhcYaVtIu3Pa4Qm2FFyzdbDLFyMV-xufL-l0qozfjwNj1RLp-1hScduQiy5EK1lBdxO2p_ef0qofR_D9ZYSJnnMbTQ1zdexer6Csc/s1600/C360_2015-03-19-16-23-42-378.jpg" height="384" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>NAME and SLOGAN</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The names "Fishies" or "Tafies" paired with a cartoon for the product mascot automatically popped into Robin's mind during initial planning but that wouldn't make them any different than the other food producers in the market so the idea was scrapped. Janno, being as practical as he could be, proposed to the group to call the chips as they were. Chips.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
His reason was that the product is itself was already so unique and peculiar, them not being the typical potato chip, that calling them anything just as unique or peculiar will only confuse the customer, a thought that I agreed with wholeheartedly. Them being "world famous", on the other hand, was in one way or another true as many international supporters of both organizations and even a few locals and many OFWs had bought their fair share of the chips and brought their purchases with them to their individual countries. So indeed, the product is traveling but not yet as renowned as brands like Coca-Cola or KitKat.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Their slogan "Give a man a fish..." is personally one of my favorites. Everyone has heard the saying:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"Give a man a fish and you can feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime."</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Take that thought and mix it with TAFIA's story, then you have <a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank">their current slogan </a>which I really liked. The slogan is both an emotional reference, as proven above, and a call to action. When you buy a pack of Tilapia Chips and give them to someone as a gift or souvenir, guess what you're doing? Giving a man a fish!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTx-8VNKaWy4qVF43afTirQgyZJ1Hk7wkFD0lDEeHot2hNnMe3AVSryUIegxTSE_sa_8ruXBbIrwmmVVmXRafOiKcTwBd_fKKfOA55Yld1JluCX8a4bpa_d5RTpshzchqV0V78KOaWdE/s1600/C360_2015-03-19-16-25-20-848.jpg" height="384" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://ee.linkedin.com/in/robingurney" target="_blank">Robin </a>talks about the effect of the project to the locals</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>COMMUNITY</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Due to the improved quality standard developed for the product, the fishermen's wives who produce and pack the products also found a new sense of purpose. "If the product isn't good enough, it does not go into the bag.", Robin says to them and true enough, these women have practiced this discipline religiously throughout the production process. They found a renewed sense of pride whilst making this product. They consider it's production their responsibility and has now become the world to them. This new principle has improved their mindset on things, has taught them about capital and revenue, even a little bit of marketing; engraving into this small family of fishermen the seed of entrepreneurship which is a pretty awesome thing to do, in my opinion.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgP4hcdrcdGTu4McrmRLdHy11UtQEO3stFT_IBTWq_7bgbCYfFanxgavffMl7hWZtiayWxLK65Uxv8UY3xxebEUl3P1PZgd2k153dZvCrEeAFyaybjXjG824meRcq796RaNTphvwwoV8/s1600/C360_2015-03-19-17-18-31-540.jpg" height="384" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>PRODUCTION</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The best thing about this product, I have to say that everything from the raw materials to the packaging prints is made in Bohol. Money used to produce these premium chips circulate first in Anda then to Gindulman then to Tagbilaran. They could easily have had the packaging printed in Manila or China for a cheaper price but they chose to have it all in Bohol, to support the local industries which I thought was really cool. The organization dreams to use Taro, their specialty root crop, to use and process it as the chip's flour in the near future as <b>the Taro plantation they have today just can't keep up with demand</b>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At the moment, they only have so much to go by when food production is concerned. They have a small but clean make-shift production area that they set up pretty well but they won't be able to scale if sales don't improve. The printing press where they get the packaging printed cuts the molds they provide but it is the ladies themselves that fold and glue them together. They produce around two hundred bags a day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="tafias tilapia chips" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXVVYcmc70vEOySFUC-sKiTjRI8CCt53mB0CDftJlVgYqCFOJeYvG-mQBj2BJnEOePCMucutCeHQbI_YpgLOkPDxzNJemacspYMnCebObNI46gb2etKXm4xjPOzIQG95PLUQeTY-FawM/s1600/C360_2015-03-19-17-23-49-574.jpg" height="384" title="tafias tilapia chips" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
TAFIAS currently only sells the chips in their Talisay branch but are <b>open to visitors and <a href="http://www.tafias.org/buynow" target="_blank">wholesalers</a></b>. You can stop by and bring your own favorite ingredient, let's say a bottle of Gatorade, and make your own bag of Tilapia chips with your selected flavor at the plant. The TAFIAS ladies are very warm, welcoming and proud of their work and the chips are a unique product for the market so give yourself a fish and eat fish snacks and <a href="http://www.tafias.org/" target="_blank">help them feed themselves and their families for a lifetime</a>!</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com5Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-72610364937973095552015-03-11T22:55:00.001-07:002015-03-29T18:27:48.169-07:00Capstone Project Dos and Don'ts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finally got <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/11/something-odd-mught-just-be-something.html" target="_blank">that damned capstone project</a> done and bound. It was hard, let me tell you, but it could have been easier if I had known things would turn out the way it did, especially after acknowledging the <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2015/01/working-around-arrogance.html" target="_blank">huge fault I played</a> during development. So for those of you who're just waiting a couple of months to start your capstone project development, let me share to you a few lessons I've learned along the way.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaTp0w8s5m0iT-mWIk0xwgahxYdaL8_OvfsAy_JG8_UVDuybybss9WkXT4h8Za6bc42Nu7Sz2bjA93Rc8s3azZDXwXgA_lFgoB3k48fDEXo0sRFjqrF5vegMJCNiWcda0E_8IVe-ILss/s1600/20150311_135123.jpg" height="640" title="ashley uy" width="628" /></a></div>
<br />
1)<b> Get to know your team (if you have one) and get along</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
I don't think I need to explain the importance of getting along with your team, if you have one, during any project you're working together on. This dynamic either makes or brakes your output and as you're clamoring against time, fulfilling requirements and chasing teachers, you'll need all hands on deck. And maybe a few feet in the mix, too, while you're at it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6mdiCwkqSxTT4tU1KqrmaO9M4RkPdAAKh95ZHvbfS2fl-UjftyFO9gPsmeTVB36gYThZVJht33fzeNT0ONUUSyyGq-4oXCobflgAoLiItpViG-bsVFjqcqtIcpj0zwKDfZSIfwgkBZE/s1600/1508657_10202239523708466_7084328683540441600_n.jpg" height="640" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
2) <b>Have a good working relationship with your technical adviser</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
They may not be the best apple in the basket but a superior is a superior and ultimately, you'll need them to, if not help you technically, sign all your documents, help defend your case against the panel and just generally being the person you're with for each major step in the project. They make mistakes, I mean we all do, but always remember that they're professionals and even though it seems you've got more to put on the table than them, respect the fact that they've seen other teams go through the same thing you're going through over and over again, and <i>that </i>accounts for something. Better listen up.<br />
<b><br /></b>
3) <b>Don't get over your head</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Need I repeat the whole rant from <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2015/01/working-around-arrogance.html" target="_blank">my previous blog post</a>? Suck it up and ask for help. Or just admit you have no idea what you're doing. It's alright, we're <i>students</i>. It's what we're supposed to do. Make so many different mistakes that when the times comes the same situation happens, we'll know exactly what to do to avoid that mistake... and make a new one in place of it. All I'm saying that a lot of things can go wrong if you think you're all that. Listen to your adviser, team mates and even solicit suggestions from your parents. Trust me, it helps battle the self-pity.<br />
<b><br /></b>
4) <b>Stick to what you know. Now is a horrible time to experiment.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
For those that're familiar, this is not a <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/04/startup-wekend-bohol-this-may-23-25-2014.html" target="_blank">Startup Weekend</a>. Yes, it's a controlled environment, yes, it has mentors and yes, it has time constraints but now is not the time to experiment. I repeat, <b>now is not the time to experiment</b>.<br />
<br />
Your team mates are just as clueless as you and often times each of you already have an overwhelming task as it is. Why jeopardize that especially when you already have a set of deliverables due the next week? If you've planned this "new development process" ways before the start of the thesis period or if you're some super genius that can work out technical knots overnight, then fine, go right ahead. But if you're like me who just barely develops without a lot of professional help, then stick to languages and process that are comfortable to you. Chances are, all the advisers and panelists will want to you change up a heck of a lot of things in your project and if you're like me who just learned how to develop in a new language overnight, doing stuff on the get-go is not going to be easy.<br />
<b><br /></b>
5) <b>Always plan in advance</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Easier said than done, naturally and I think this tip can speak for itself. Having a timeline of when you can ideally get things done in the project will definitely help you plan for whatever sh*t is happening as you get each module checked. You might not follow that schedule as strictly but it would help a ton if whoever is in charge of the documentation takes note of all the important dates and what each person in the team is doing as the week progresses. I can't stress enough how following and having a schedule is so important, which leads us to the next tip...<br />
<b><br /></b>
6) <b>Always reach your deadlines</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ygLFJZxd6oeB6VytYRcmE0E6kE2K1f9J18eifCPBHmbcr0zJb5krF9XtVucnm3MA-LkjNBWYI2Lsq4JpmQOTOhsRvx7qpATW6QNhhKEvmJM7IDOjSbBKZsncJkpyTtyRNQlqIUiaFoE/s1600/C360_2015-01-30-07-30-08-995.jpg" height="384" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Move mountains and seas to get the task due done. Do not ever miss a deadline. Not only does it take a chunk of your grade for that semester but it sets your previously planned schedule and gets everyone anxious which will spell disaster for your team. Always keep a level head and the morale up because you're going to need all that during revisions. Just don't ever miss a deadline.<br />
<br />
7) <b>Assign. Assign. Assign.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A good dynamic in the team, as previously mentioned, is good and knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each member is being better. Divide the workload and have someone assigned to tasks exclusively so you'll know immediately who to ask when matters arise. Strictly define whoever is in charge of a task and don't pass responsibilities around. If you have more than one programmer on the team, immediately define the module they are responsible with and plan excessively before actual development starts.<br />
<b><br /></b>
8) <b>Prepare for the worst</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is more of a mental and emotional thing if you've done everything in the list thus far. Know that no matter how well you plan things, there will always be that wolf in the cornfield ready to rip your throats out while in the middle of development. An unexpected error, a undocumented change and even a loss of a team member. Don't let it rise your paranoia but let that fact be your best friend, keeping you on your toes and ready to adapt when the situation arises.<br />
<b><br /></b>
9) <b>Document EVERYTHING</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyaMZ7DRq6GqtAJca0P1fE877RJu6B6_JjVi99yWWOB3fui5sXWHmmJEmVI2WnkF58urn1EGzeALRdOVnWko8mtZXYupLe0kouXDwT6FjXZTAwqxibzdxiSqj-F7NN2QCpdbmo1wtqx8/s1600/C360_2015-01-29-23-02-12-873.jpg" height="384" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://github.com/" target="_blank">GitHub </a>or <a href="https://bitbucket.org/" target="_blank">BitBucket </a>is godsend for developers. Commit any and all major changes into your repository, save all your layouts, setups and documentation on your development specs. Record all errors, write down all the features that needs to be done, everything. Most especially for the documentation that comes along with the program, do not ever lose past corrections. All those papers with "x" marks from the advisers? Yeah, keep those and never lose them.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Make backups for your source code, documentation, corrections, even the surveys or interviews you do, get both a hardcopy and softcopy version of all of them and bring them with you every time you need a module checked. It saves time, effort and frankly gives you more credibility in the eyes of your adviser and the panel.</div>
<br />
10) <b>Having a Printer and Laptop on you 24/7 helps</b><br />
<br />
I lug mine around every time the person in charge of the documentation tells me to. Sometimes even when she doesn't tell me to. Students will claw, kick and sacrifice their first born to get to use the school's provided printer especially during checking so save yourself and the life of your future child and save up with your team for a printer, some ink, and stacks and stacks of scratch papers and bond papers. Always have a laptop ready and a USB with all your backed up data. I can't tell you how many times this tip saved us especially when we're chasing a deadline. It's well worth the investment,<br />
<br />
I can't guarantee that all these tips are applicable to everyone going through a capstone project development as each school has a different process but I have a gut feeling that at least one of the ten in this list will be a life saver once you've followed them as you go along the development process. One more tip though, before you go and travel with the cavalry to graduation, is to <b>sort yourself out before the start of everything</b>. This is a draining process and you'll need all the emotional and mental support you can get to finish this. Pray to your god(s), if you have them, make-up with your parents/guardian; basically fix all unnecessary strains you have outside of the project. You'll need that energy for more important things. Like finishing that project.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com3Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-37523469564881063552015-03-06T06:47:00.000-08:002015-03-29T18:27:31.968-07:00Baji Art Exhibit 2015: "Ang Pangutana ni Inday" <blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Baji Art Collective is an all-Boholana, all-genre, multi-arts alliance. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/boholbaji" target="_blank">*</a></blockquote>
All of it's members are Boholanas who are either based in Bohol or have lived in Bohol for a certain amount of time. I was fortunate enough to have been friends with <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2013/05/boholtalk-seminar-workshop-2013.html" target="_blank">Dalareich </a>as she was invited by one of the Baji members, Atty. Alma Aparece, to see the exhibit so I got to tag along.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B8t9vHm2Z91hLLGlwkBPWfurW5tRVejVonyiPgu-xqkKuOFyazZubK3a534AK_hNXlxXqxW1XbuK8FgTdOThXbhT2Kgui9B91Ylaao5UcbPxaYz8rtGPx1C7-3DFb6Ld2YSSf-WYW3Q/s1600/11008061_10206377790582461_488030525332148567_n.jpg" height="480" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>(photo <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;">©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.4545459747314px;"> <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2013/05/boholtalk-seminar-workshop-2013.html" target="_blank">Dal</a>)</span></i></div>
<br />
My first thought as I entered the exhibit area was that Bohol really needs a gallery because the lighting in the space does not do the art displayed justice. On a better note, the exhibit organizers did a great job with curating the works displayed and stepped the experience up a notch by having someone walk with you as you view the works to explain the artist's intention and feelings as they made the artwork. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Rain Calimbayan, whose photographic works were also featured in the exhibit.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The works on display range from traditional paintings, digital paintings, photographs, collages, prints, sculptures and much more. It was an interesting experience for me as I was able to delve into the mind of an artist through their medium of choice and the intention they wanted to portray through their work. I do consider myself as somewhat of an artist, but I have yet to seriously explore other mediums than digital art which made the experience all the more thrilling considering my sister will soon be in the ranks of these talents in the near future.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Z6aVD5x3Hl-E8E_6NjqLrEBzXiNOr0trqRLOONBHnR_FtNFoRNNmP2EkcMwpvgH3xAU7S47uNax0yuiiCZ_v5jYK74xzRJXnvODSaUINNvb1pSx015kez_gaeQnE1RtBuOM5iwYHXN0/s1600/C360_2015-03-06-11-31-53-633.jpg" height="384" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the more thought-provoking pieces for me was the painting in the far right of the picture above entitled "Pretty Flowers" by Vide Tirol de Juan. Why, can one wonder, is it that the woman's reproductive organ is often described as a "flower" in most literary works? Why, of all things, a flower? Is because of how precious it is? Of how beautiful it becomes as it blossoms? You tell me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These works are best experienced in person as seen below. I've also included a brief description for each to tickle your fancy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQo_AHBYgaA7DrB2OsfEq-vLyw71bXUxorKZiAwNGNnr50C3dFH0SpsQs2eHOR0GJat93JAYDyazyWiUyYcUFlJRJQ92cWjTqYLWm8fhRgEF1qlnGMjEixQm7zyp8LE51_HY6uakuUHJE/s1600/C360_2015-03-06-11-36-39-576.jpg" height="384" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>A painting that describes the capabilities of a woman today.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaRgDhB5S6VipDc8OeksD-66xPekrOJN1bfFzihe2ZX7wjoNLq29Wvob5dKCFOzXcpS4053KMYE2J3eSwfcTy4ctH2IdoYHnPsWUuIZSFtOKTGyjuu51axcv-0b0LS_o6_InwBnjEP_U/s1600/C360_2015-03-06-11-42-36-551.jpg" height="384" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Sculpted by the artist to portray her life so far and her dreams for the future.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tbSr6FJ_6GoIVg8-ShxUUupElOB9jGAu2c3ySBqu_x_x_x0PuXGZfXbkWYSXnwSLuMntKZS95hPaTCJAeAag9M01-TBzzDdOV92trdZRWOTHEyTbUS3yZZW_gigBB7lafY_yFM9yEjU/s1600/C360_2015-03-06-11-41-53-626.jpg" height="534" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Artwork painted and embellished by hand on to this reused shirt.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Individual style holds such importance in all industries today and creativity plays a critical role in that. As art is treated as an "extra" in the Filipino culture today, and most especially Bohol, I urge young artists, art enthusiasts and even those that need a push of color into their weekly routines to come and visit the exhibit at the University of Bohol and witness the grandeur and stories of these works face-to-face. It will be open for as long as the school is and it will be ongoing until the 20th of March. <sub>(Men are welcome to view, of course haha)</sub></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="bohol art exhibit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeb0Hilc4gy0mtofALenVKzPpemYnx91NIq7Ru2DMXn-ow18deA0gXgBvMPLWbQLTiReHOaMmNJNrEfWFSw1MCDFbLutvKugS_K6PnpKrMbDefoWKH1JfaJvB67Xxi0Ees-XuPgxfipVo/s1600/C360_2015-03-06-11-34-05-245.jpg" height="384" title="bohol art exhibit" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All Boholanas are welcome to join Baji. You can submit your artwork, meet the members and attend their events for free and all you have to do is to commit your time and talent to these lively group of empowered women. Click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/boholbaji" target="_blank">here </a>to visit their Facebook Page for more information.</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-71766190497463663532015-02-22T17:38:00.004-08:002015-03-29T18:27:12.889-07:00A Friend's Viral Fame: Justin Bieber of BoholI honestly have no recollection about how I met Alexis but I know it was through her partner, Cyril, who was an old classmate of mine. She was already mildly popular at my college when she performed a few numbers in some events featuring her signature Justin Bieber voice with Cyril's badass acoustics so when she was performing live at a booth near where my friend <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/10/developing-startups-and-my-internship.html" target="_blank">Clint </a>and I were lounging about, we just had to take a video of her knowing of the possibility of it going viral.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/zuRYjWyVCqk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zuRYjWyVCqk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
True enough, two years later, <a href="http://www.pinoychannels.to/home/2015/02/jessica-soho-22-feb-2015/" target="_blank">she's on national TV</a> and getting a bunch of offers to perform at JB fan events in other cities. Her talent, partnered with Cyril's skill and support, got a lot of traction in the city and she's made quite a name for herself as the "Justin Bieber of Bohol". We shot a music video of her with the help of my videographer friend, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coaayvsxdGE" target="_blank">Ray-an</a>, a year after the hit of the first video, which in turn, was also featured, abeit really quickly, on her feature on TV.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/53vZB3s1BxM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53vZB3s1BxM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The pair eventually took on the name JAM-C and are looking for more opportunities to show their talents. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ikn0wleft" target="_blank"><img alt="justin bieber of bohol" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBDKIka-ol9OqKKNE5eT_kub5gShYioinzICZ4H7JO3iGsLT9UlQLcaZnmNPO6h-jLd2olfmAOysctUOjFCwZNb42DO2Akw4ntz1WMoiuxksDlf9rGSpteI5QsYMOXcfmdeLv9cmSEeo/s1600/10351747_974189665931231_8876476744313937757_n.jpg" height="426" title="justin bieber of bohol" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was really heart warming to see a lot of positive feedback from local supporters in both her videos, the best thing being most of them from the Visayas. I wouldn't really say the video has gone "viral" enough, views currently being only 300k, but it made me happy to see local media, viewers and freelancers jump at the chance to help promote local talent. I know JAM-C still has a long hard path to stardom, identifying their uniqueness in the industry being the most important and difficult challenge, but it makes me proud to see them work hard so far to get to this point. To see more of their videos, drop by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/alexisandcyril" target="_blank">their YouTube channel</a> and leave a like to show some love.</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-45210772883557946162015-02-12T05:36:00.000-08:002015-03-29T18:27:04.715-07:0010 Things I'm Happy I Did Before Turning 20<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This'll be a purely objective list as I recount my experiences a mere few weeks before I hit the two-zero. I've realized that, although some of the things listed here were done out of my obligation to my parents, I see now that these decisions ultimately benefited me in the long run and that I don't think I'll ever forget to thank the people who encouraged me into doing what I needed to do, considering how young and sheltered I <sub>(am)</sub> was.</div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="text-align: center;">1) <b>Getting a driver's license and learning how to drive</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdovzjPoCDe9PUe_8bhmp_ixN_PS0zQ0Y6VhHSD4NiB_lMHUMpVpDMW_n1HjuH1lQo4yLdf6nCgwYcu18Y2idzIPoE634s34NNmNhxg5dvFMr_89yVZLrAar2hW8vmGaEnlSragpYPEKs/s1600/64115_624684600897459_1774124563_n.jpg" height="480" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Definitely on the top of my list. Driving has taught me so much about myself, it isn't even funny. Being patient, feeling the responsibility and most importantly, the skill. It comes in handy. I first got my student's permit when I was sixteen and my driver's license followed a year after. My mom's surplus was my best friend throughout college, with most of my experiences the past four years happening with her somewhere in the mix.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Even if you don't have a car to use, getting your license and at least learning the basics of driving will teach you more about yourself than you give credit for. And with everything that's likely to happen in a couple of years, you being you will be the most help you'll get any day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
A driver's license will come in handy later when you decide to open a bank account, apply for government IDs or any other situation with formalities as most institutions require you to present at least two. In this case, your school ID and driver's license work nicely.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
2) <b>Going abroad at least once</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMvRKhWWMdwo1iT5BDLcLPmft_5MoTiCMIt84Q2NvZpr6cpDfvwac0XEP5Nj4aULStYkIMbXOvJW2mFI3XT6uT5tQb2-DW3xQGsA_iFUSQhIH9cDuWdJP9jsQ26Pl5I_kpYLymzOAtlc/s1600/561047_360540933985340_2038345098_n.jpg" height="452" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
No pressure here. I know not everyone gets the opportunity but doing so while you're around fifteen or sixteen really helps you during these formative years. It'll help you mature and see the bigger picture, even for just a little bit.<br />
<br />
I've been to Hong Kong, China and Singapore being the latest and seeing the infrastructure, the culture, the people and practices while being so young was really one of my stepping stones to maturity. It helped me "get" people more, helped me adjust in different environments and helped me understand that there's more to everything and we're all just part of a bigger, livelier world. And see how the Phils could be so much better, to be honest. It belong entirely to you on how you interpret that impression. For me, being part of the generation that could possibly make our country better is a tempting sentiment.<br />
<br />
Plus, having your passport to present to institutions, with the lovely addition of your proof of travels abroad, will give them a better idea of who you are and therefore will trust you more (earning you a better chance of getting that job or whatever you're applying for.)<br />
<br />
3) <b>Getting a part-time job and doing freelance</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I've done freelance since I was in high school and, shall we say, two part-time jobs with one being better than the other but none the easier. Safe to say that it not only improved my technical skill, as all jobs were related to technology somehow, but it made me see what the real world was like, be it in just a few months.<br />
<br />
I learned how to bargain, I made both good and bad mistakes, I talked to clients, had bad bosses, met awesome colleagues, felt the satisfaction of feeling my own hard-earned cash on my skin and that experience definitely helped build up my resume, which is great!<br />
<br />
All I'm saying is, if you've got the chance to, work. Especially to all you private school kids out there like me. In a conversation I had with the super cool <a href="http://kareerkoblog.azurewebsites.net/kareerko-career-corner/" target="_blank">Mike Martinez</a>, the youth of the Philippines are still sadly too immature, even at ages past their twenties. I'm not saying everyone is but generally, a lot of the kids that graduate still don't have that sense of responsibility. Of having a job, saving money, simply competing in the real world unlike in some foreign countries where moving out and getting a job at eighteen is the norm.<br />
<br />
4)<b> Joining as many organizations I was interested in and staying active in them</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd7SpfpyFmE2kj5OmMckg7R_TdmG2lWi1FgF2xp_gyeMvxn-qfmHr8lBklsBiuCDkgoCTRD7csT_aCkoFx2CDHiNx34X186lkHiW6W4m11W2VvqhXJKdkOb4hVFWvPV0U3aFuix8eUZU/s1600/199813_481473948560879_1911527154_n.jpg" height="480" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I cannot stress this enough. Relationships are important. So much more is belonging to a community of like minded people. I wouldn't have gone as far as I have if it weren't for the people and opportunities from the organizations I braved to join. Above is an old group shot of the Web Developers' Guild Christmas Party 2012. The organization that started it all for me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I met <a href="http://cimafranca.org/" target="_blank">Pip Cimafranca</a> through them and through him, I got introduced to <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/04/startup-wekend-bohol-this-may-23-25-2014.html" target="_blank">Startup Weekend</a> and through that introduction I got acquainted with <a href="http://techtalks.ph/about-us/" target="_blank">Tina Amper</a> and TechTalks.ph and because they sparked my interest so much, I stayed active in all three organizations, didn't get any problems when I had to look for <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/10/developing-startups-and-my-internship.html" target="_blank">a place to intern at</a>, had tons of fun, learned a heck of a lot and the rest, well, is history. And now I'm here, young, with all the opportunities before me, just because of that life-changing decision. And opportunities, might I add, is something I personally think you should be getting a lot of while you're still spunky.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So go out there. Meet people. You never know who or what might change your world.</div>
<b><br /></b>5)<b> Attending as many events related to the work I wanted to do as often as I could</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Heavily related to the point above, the whole point of "staying active" is to get to attend these, often times exclusive, events. If you're up to it, be an organizer. You get to be close and personal with the speakers, you can talk to the big leagues that matter in your field about your thoughts over coffee or during the event's breaks. Along with all the sweat and tears that come along as an organizer, there are tons of perks as well especially the opportunity to network through the larger audience.<br />
<br />
Pick you events though. It's great if you could spare for everything and everyone, but being realistic, there's only so much you can join. I mean, not all events are free. So choose wisely, pick a crowd, make a good impression and always show your best. A lot of employers see these events as an opportunity to scout for talent and you'll never know whose eye you've caught.<br />
<br />
6) <b>Ordering stuff online (companies that do Cash on Delivery)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ashley uy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1F7VbJFI1Sjzq24xNm7puionxakUR1XF8mqCTayASKwEloRNpbYOxyzlpnPxVx54f_7ILsg-ZyCcT4_XC2hiEQNOQQiB08bPPxuiOcBzmg2a2KKKgAXA3HQUh-ZAor9oMCnd0FSUzvKY/s1600/B6vEnBWCcAEE5Bc.jpg" height="384" title="ashley uy" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Cash on Delivery means that you can pay for your purchases when they've arrived at your signed shipping address. Which is convenient, safe and the thing for customers in southeast asia.<br />
<b><br /></b>
I'm not saying you can't do this after you're twenty but being exposed to this culture at a younger age really extended my appreciation for technology. I learned about credit and debit cards because of my interest in online shopping. I learned to be wary about suspicious deals and it made me a better researcher and shopper. Knowing the possibilities made me less ignorant about this new window of opportunity, as e-commerce is still a fairly new concept in our country, and gave me a better appreciation for the services available that we don't often use as a student.<br />
<br />
7) <b>Getting a postal ID</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is optional, I would say. I needed this to apply for my Unionbank EON Card, which I will be explaining later on, as one of their requirements are "two vaid IDs" with my driver's license almost expiring, all I had was my school ID. So if you're looking for extra valid IDs, having a postal ID is pretty handy and <a href="http://www.gov.ph/services/postal-id/" target="_blank">it's pretty easy to get</a>.<br />
<br />
8) <b>Getting registered to the ComElec</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I hate voting. I may take this back in a couple of years but right now, I don't see the point. Plus, "using your right to vote" is just too goddamn inconvenient, you have to spend hours in line, shoulder-to-shoulder with tons of people and may possibly faint or worse, just to write on a piece of paper. Well, enough of that. Despite my hate for the actual voting process, registering to the ComElec will prove beneficial when you go job hunting or when you're applying for other formalities. I had to get it eventually so you should, too. Just to be fair.<br />
<br />
9) <b>Getting a credit/debit card and using it</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Heavily related to point number six, knowing about these processes and the benefits you get from them, along with other services from the bank, will help the transition to the adult world less awkward. The easiest to apply for is <a href="http://www.unionbankph.com/personal/debitcards/cards/eon" target="_blank">Unionbank's EON Card</a>, when it comes to debit cards. It's also a VISA Mastercard so you can use it to pay for items online and receive money/pay if you're doing point number three.<br />
<br />
Cheap and easy to get with no maintaining balance and an initial deposit of three hundred fifty pesos, the Unionbank EON Card is the way to go for freelancers and those simply interested to explore that service. At the moment, I'm using my EON Card for purchasing and maintaining this blog's domain and <a href="http://essays.ph/">Essays.ph</a> which I'll be talking about in another post soon.<br />
<b><br /></b>
10) <b>Getting an SSS and PhilHealth number</b><br />
<br />
Better get it now than later when every graduate in the block is applying for it at the local SSS office. I mean, it was already a race when I applied and it was a good two months before graduation, so imagine how busy it'll be if you wait 'till after graduation. Being familiar with these basic government processes will orient you better with what needs to be done and what the personalities of the local government employees are and their practices.<br />
<br />
For example, where I'm from, you'll have to be a good hour early before an office's opening to get to stay as one of the first in line and even then, a good number of people will already be in front of you. Plus, the actual filing of documents will happen a good thirty minutes to an hour after opening as their head of office will have arrived by then. So bring a snack, or your breakfast and a good book because you will be there for a while.<br />
<br />
And that ends my list of things I'm happy I did/got exposed to before I turn twenty and hopefully, all these experiences will ultimately benefit me as I get older. Got any more advice on things a youngster should do before they hit the two-zero?Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com2Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-88129254769608797262015-02-02T16:29:00.002-08:002015-03-29T18:26:45.798-07:00Sizzlin' with Bloggers at Just Sizzlin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As one of the pioneering members of <a href="http://techtalks.ph/" target="_blank">TechTalks Tagbilaran</a>, it was always that shared dream of local businesses collaborating with communities to get the most out of our new found connectivity that drove us to hold the activities we are organizing today. Bohol, being an admittedly more difficult market to penetrate, makes it hard for business owners to focus on growing their business while they worry about when the next customer will walk through the door. Because of that commonly known fact, we didn't expect such opportunities and learnings when I contacted Just Sizzlin' for the <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/12/bloggers-adventures-in-anda-bohol.html" target="_blank">Bohol Bloggers'</a> first regular meetup.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBg00ESq82BXJ4MSw2f97H3HrWvQz3tD3hW73qwdyR3KSljcB8LXHmst7PXU17HhPpNFsWTsWwmeGFszTn9TKnk6sdM0Y2DwX1zbFhifsAk8diUlAG1mNe36m-6ydKiPrcUpQtuBG65ek/s1600/C360_2015-01-31-20-06-22-182.jpg" height="384" title="just sizzlin'" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Bohol Bloggers with Just Sizzlin' owners </i><i>(center) </i><i>VJ Racho and Pamela Descallar </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Located along a small street not too far from the city center, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustSizzlin" target="_blank">Just Sizzlin'</a> is a grill for the young and fresh visual thinker. With bold designs and their killer signature typographic style <sub>(which I really liked)</sub>, the personality their brand brings packs just as much a punch as their house specialty: the Flaming Chicken.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8rz3MpYHY0QT4yGv7jy3nGKe_8L-4IqFOrD3iS5wyF-3nIFAumc6WXXj89Tbz1tOLvO_oN42oxpOFMl2_si19bY4R8v60wKO7F-DMnnQzv9JHmHUqSg-pU6G7M56Md28p8qQpYNmG8U/s1600/flamin.jpg" height="640" title="just sizzlin'" width="342" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The Flaming Chicken</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And what a house specialty it is! A common scene in the restaurant is a moment of silence before the waiter sets your dinner on fire followed by a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" and a flurry of smartphone camera shutters going off. Served on a sizzling hot platter with a side of vegetables, the Flaming Chicken is the most theatric dish on the menu. So much so that it garnered its own line of "who can take the best Flaming Chicken picture" fanatics amongst the regular customers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I found Just Sizzlin' a few weeks before they opened through their efforts in social media. The spunk they brought as they presented themselves to the public was the main factor that brought me in. Also considering that they were the first restaurant in the province to value the power of social media was another point for me. The restaurant's owner, VJ, disclaims that the real brain behind their campaigns was his girlfriend, Pamela, who is now also managing the marketing aspect of their business.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOI8-Icy3sfOs-pjjHAvvsDyznJSzRBUMmUsGLKd8O_1CKB8BTxqse9v10j9dhxsa-QHLWv2bPMYrNDRsBbmW-gtSNAvN_PffxQU72ODWhaC0_KTN7APpJDnmKNHuR6H-ZdcfJeHOJbg/s1600/owners.jpg" height="640" title="just sizzlin'" width="530" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>VJ, Pamel and the Just Sizzlin' crew</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Just Sizzlin' boasts a capable staff lineup that only keeps on growing in both quality and quantity as the establishment flourishes in the city. They have only been open for a meager seven months but they are going strong for such a young company with just as young owners and staff.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FUim6Ni9d935s6hUNxu5MXulWQcVOu1C8JUrtLTiZzZJvWO6JVOeArsT9gTljRFyTGkLkqOuTQB_d08SEjpulxxNeQcMxOBoRC16LO5I_2zivQtO_ZTAMkanYjKKVWo3UJEWt-a-ma4/s1600/C360_2015-01-31-19-27-17-383.jpg" height="640" title="just sizzlin'" width="534" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
VJ sat down with us <sub>(which was a heartwarming gesture for me, let me tell you)</sub> and answered a few questions before explaining to us the house specialties.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIGQGFAKfBXrhpWsxu86ZXMSdZYfMo0n2ob_VP07D1sE_Q_HsaKQRHlu6jyUty_OdlZj5PDGb7ljfBzHydT7G1NnrVrqUrtdG_7T7hkHTL2z33Kv9SONq2jwEnp4QwVAlzmClJWbBZmU/s1600/food1.jpg" height="384" title="just sizzlin'" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>From left to right, top to bottom: Baby Back Ribs, Pork Popcorns, Chicken Lillipop and Garden Salad</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Flaming Chicken is easily in the number one spot but the second place is awarded to the Baby Back Ribs and I can see why. The sauce's texture from the Baby Back Ribs was divine and not at all too overpowering. My only recommendation though is that they add a little more flavor inside the meat. or you could slather a piece in the sauce before you eat it, both ways work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Pork Popcorns and Chicken Lollipop were great appetizers as they were great finger-foods. Suggestions on putting them on cups to-go, perhaps?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And don't get me started on the Garden Salad with the Asian Vinigarette. The flavor just spreads when you take a bite and the vegetables were crisp and fresh. The vinigarette was a new twist to me as I usually eat salads with thick sauces so sprinkling in the light condiment was both new and delicious for me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But for me personally, the best dish, which VJ recommended to us when asked about which dish stood out besides the popular ones, was the Sizzlin' Gambas.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Ber2_fkeYlizlrQAiImA4EjcaXbUEDVGLtP6m84jc-T2F965jWdax0s-KcYwbp4MXHvP5ZZt6JFevm-z3yoRInYFwolxSPFutjfDUWAM8PrPbybXj7biDVuJ9jGRJ14k7gziYIQ5Yrw/s1600/C360_2015-01-31-20-08-47-581.jpg" height="640" title="just sizzlin'" width="384" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Sizzlin' Gambas. My favorite.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Normally with an orange sauce, Just Sizzlin' uses a special brown sauce to mix in with the shrimp and vegetables in the platter giving it a beautiful smell and explosive flavor. The shrimp tasted sweet and soft when I ate a piece and I found myself finishing most of the platter without much help from the other bloggers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The buzz in the cafe was wonderful for our whole stay, too. The staff were attentive and the owners were just as accommodating considering this was a first for any business in the province to have bloggers over so I loved the attitude their brand brought. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All of this greatness comes in the right package with affordable prices and an easily accessible location making it perfect for yappies and even families all over.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-D2yprtQG3ZARkJkPTEZT9Z99CuZIbmzR9eZ2Gnh7PA9l4M5IHA0NmXwJ9Dmjv-GlIcKeoj00CTqpCGjM5keyvd_bHMAg38BUs2RNEgamRFlsFxArvzFRWmR6rVeMKOC9zl1SnkMHLc/s1600/C360_2015-01-31-20-35-06-826.jpg" height="640" title="just sizzlin'" width="384" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The business plans to expand further into their property, setting up an air conditioned partition and an exciting revamp in their menu soon so I look forward to seeing what they do with the business from here on out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Overall, Just Sizzlin' has wonderful food, a dynamic brand and is perfect for the young professional, families or, spoken through my own experience, your <i>barkada</i>. <sub>(Cheap prices, hearty food and great desserts let me tell you; I love their Fried Ice Cream)</sub></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thank you, Just Sizzlin' for being such a great place to be and don't forget to follow them in their Instagram and Facebook accounts for promos and special events they dish out every now and then. Keep rocking, guys!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="just sizzlin'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJGOMK8LuGmiX9QuT6BQkcMrkXUHHTrzr5NX-ahG4o8wIN4AUUiqxE713KE6rEjrbFKvJmW_ht3u3qT89WGhooeH2cFZtc6Bm0pj-c7P6BtcvAOm2PqbfBLBzMwNUmPQYHifZ0CjTfuE/s1600/C360_2015-01-31-19-32-56-337.jpg" height="384" title="just sizzlin'" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Don't forget to give <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Restaurant_Review-g1066348-d6739347-Reviews-Just_Sizzlin-Tagbilaran_City_Bohol_Island_Bohol_Province_Visayas.html" target="_blank">their Trip Advisor page</a> some love by leaving a rating and review once you've been. I know I had to leave one.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style="background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;">
<div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">
<a href="https://instagram.com/p/wzzyrfytvU/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_top">Can you guess which one's your favorite? 🍴😋 Photo grabbed from @ilovecheriemae Follow us on instagram and post your pics with hashtag #justsizzlin</a></div>
<div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">
A photo posted by Just Sizzlin' Bohol♨️ (@just_sizzlin) on <time datetime="2014-12-20T01:07:46+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Dec 19, 2014 at 5:07pm PST</time></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987341312641733413.post-72633195473989017822015-01-18T00:54:00.003-08:002015-03-06T05:37:30.653-08:00Working around Arrogance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In light of <a href="http://ashlinspiration.blogspot.com/2014/11/something-odd-mught-just-be-something.html" target="_blank">my previous post</a>, many of you have probably deduced that I'm graduating <sub>(if you're following me on facebook then it's pretty obvious)</sub>. And for a student, such as myself who is enrolled in the institution and program that I am in, to graduate, we need to fully deploy and document our final IT Project or capstone project as most universities like to put it. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ashlinspiration.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="working around arrogance" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU_TZ8p0B_ma7e3IZRCZk6MM89NyfRO8X7rsvkEJ-jpfIrffHlpnirLjxrenRSJTpoUgg_48iLlYeRSp8edwGTcGOCSE3CAEnDd8DMCAT5bvRGIbB7k95tM7LBRXrTizUq514KWxAX5M/s1600/10896835_833216590058505_137170584648390678_n.jpg" height="360" title="working around arrogance" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Graduating BSIT kidz</i></div>
<br />
So I'm young. And like all young people, I'm heavily idealistic, occasionally arrogant and frankly, naive about how the world works. I know that and I digress; is that really so bad? To try and work for an, often times, impossible dream?<br />
<br />
Having those thoughts drive me though the whole beginning of the project's development led me to make things more challenging for myself. Considering <a href="http://www.ashlinspiration.com/2014/11/something-odd-mught-just-be-something.html" target="_blank">our previous proposal</a> was dismissed, we were to work on a new, abeit simpler project. Being as arrogant as I am, I pushed myself and ended up creating the project not in the traditionally taught programming languages of the school <sub>(C, Java, PHP)</sub>, but in an entirely new language that I grew to <a href="http://ashlinspiration.blogspot.com/2014/10/developing-startups-and-my-internship.html" target="_blank">love over my internship</a>: Python.<br />
<br />
It's not that I look down on the mentioned languages <sub>(I'm no expert in them either and am open to further study)</sub>, it's just that I wanted to be of use somehow to my future workplace and what's the best way to find out the ins and outs of a language that to take on a project that you've never done before with it. So my team and I got to work on the documentation which was the easier part of the project. Once the basics were done, I got to work on the actual program.<br />
<br />
And let me tell you: what I ended up with was not what I imagined. It looked like a roller coaster on meth and it worked like one too. I understood Python was developed for the web but I, being all high and mighty as I am, thought that it would work just as well for GUI programming. Granted, the layout and everything was simple enough to understand but the functionality was just horrible and I knew I could do better if I had a mentor or someone who at least understood the language with me to talk to but those resources aren't available to me at the moment. <sub>(Also considering that Python isn't normally used for gui programming, online forums didn't help as much. Or am I wrong?)</sub><br />
<br />
A moment of panic hit me that weekend. I can't do it, I realized. I would either have to re-do everything in a another programming language or grit through it and just keep on researching; but time wasn't kind to me.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm around thirty percent done with the project with two more modules of functionality in progress and a layout that needs fine-tuning. I got over that wave of panic that evening after a good few rounds of Halo on the Xbox and, in the end, decided to get over my big head and work with something more reasonable, considering the situation; Java.<br />
<br />
I learned a lot after that mistake and hope to put that new experience to good use in the future. But I don't think I'll ever stop being idealistic and big-headed though. Maybe just kick it down a notch from time to time.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15717554198193032331noreply@blogger.com0Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines9.672948 123.873002199999979.547721 123.71164069999998 9.798175 124.03436369999997