Ang Dabawenyo

My father, Eduardo "Momong" Robillo, published in the year 2005 a two-volume book that carried his daily Gospel reflections. While he has not published for the succeeding year, Pop has been actively e-mailing his reflections, and texting his quatraines to his friends, colleagues and family, everyday.

For 2007, I’ve taken it upon myself to publish Pop’s continuing daily reflections via a weblog. He told me, "It’s really for everybody who wants to strive for spiritual growth." And what better medium these days to spread the Word of God but the Internet? And what better instrument than a blog?

The Word God Spells, from February 2007 onwards. Click here to view the blog.

Today, Marc Javellana, Dennis Agulo and I had a super mini-eyeball at 51 Coffee Shop. However, we were able to discuss the 1st Davao bloggers’ party. Actually mostly we talked about SEO stuff, goings-on in the local IT scene…. But we did get to agree on a proposed date for the party. 17 March 2007 (Saturday). How’s this sound, guys?

Suggestions for our party:

• Let’s have a few talks or presentations. For example, a talk on best practices for blog maintenance, etc.

• Let’s try to get sponsors for the food and the venue.
• We also invite Davaoeños who aren’t blogging yet but are interested to take it up. Also non-Davaoeños who happen to find themselves in Davao on the 17th of March.
• Dennis will run a contest — I’ll let him intro that himself. But let’s have a raffle as well, c/o sponsors.

More? Please post a comment to leave your suggesions.

Go Davao blogging!!!

Attending the launch of MTC Academy’s Basic Medical Transcription for High School program today, I met a young woman who, despite her visual impairment, was going to enroll at MTC to become a medical transcriptionist. Honey Paula is totally blind, and yet she uses the computer as well as any sighted person. According to Dr. Jaime Haw Jr., head faculty of MTC, who has overseen Honey’s practical tests, she actually performs a lot better than expected. (Incidentally, Jim Haw is a blogger — check this out!)

••• Read on »

Last night found some of us tech-heads at a new coffee shop called Bruegger’s Café (yes, they will also have free wifi in the very near future). It’s in the Wheels n’ More Drive compound, beside another new establishment, called Hpnotiq, an interestingly-designed bar.

Can’t say much about the name of this hotspot, but Wheels n’ More Drive is an exhilarating night spot during weekends. Being there on a Friday or Saturday heats up your blood, is what I mean. That’s because it’s jampacked with young people — not quite yuppy yet, still somewhat wet behind the ears, but definitely partying.

This was my first time to be in that area on a weekday for a lo-o-ong time, and I must say, it’s not bad at all. Weekends it’s overflowing with our younger cousins (dare I say, nephews…? noooooo!!). But on weekdays, apparently, the place is quite relaxing and frequented by after-office types.

Bruegger’s coffee is, well, not bad. But honestly, we went there for ‘washing’, or the night’s last couple of beers. That’s the way we Davaoeño IT types wind down… before winding up again for the weekend!

Marc Javellana and I will be meeting up this Saturday, 3 February 2:00 PM, at 51 Coffee Shop. We’ve already started talking online about organizing a Davao bloggers’ party, and we thought it would be good to do a couple of eyeballs first, just to see how many we are out there. Jon Joaquin and Dennis Agulo might also be there.

I know it’s a very short notice, but if you can make it to this mini-eyeball on Saturday, please come. 51 Coffee Shop is located within the Victoria Plaza compound, beside MetroBank and Buffet Palace. P45 lang ang kape

Let’s meet up and get to know each other and talk about how we can make the upcoming blog party a hit! With limited time and resources, I don’t know if we can make it as bongga as the one in Makati… but we sure as hell can make it just as enjoyable!

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done — planned or spontaneous — on a Valentine’s date? Or the most memorable? And why was it unforgettable? Or, as many of the menfolk might profess, do you have a proven and tested formula for successful dates that made her say, "Oh ye-he-ss"?

Married already? So what did your hubby do to win you over? Was it on Valentine’s Day? Just how romantic was it for you? Don’t be shy…

Guess what, people? There’s actually a contest where you can share your Valentine’s story, and announce to the whole wired world just how magical your own best experience was. This contest is for lovers — for them gals who just lo-o-ove those sweet little red hearts, and them guys who put up with it just to please the womenfolk. Kidding! Really, we can be excused for being mushy at least once every 365 days, can’t we?

On second thought, it might not even be mushy for the guys. Coz guys have to exert monumental effort to make the whole 14-Feb date seem effortless… and mushy for the girls. Correct, boys? Well, I’m not really talking from experience — the last time I ever gave flowers to a girl on Valentine’s was wa-a-ay back in Grade 3. As my pop would jokingly say, Imagine to that!? Well, anyway, it’s all worked out for me in the end.

So boys & girls: this contest ain’t about the mullah. It’s all about bragging rights, dudes & dudettes! It’s all about, Hey I got da thang!

But seriously, I think this is a unique contest that’s perfect for lovers who love to blog. Lovers who love the online space so much that they feel comfortable sharing their experiences to the blogosphere and beyond.

Today I "met" a Davaoeña blogger, Raine — somebody should come up with a new verb to mean meeting someone online. I was googling for "davao bloggers" and I got hit with quite a few leads. Another good way of hooking up with like-minded people is by participating in mailing lists, fora, etc. And that’s how I met Raine, who blogs about life and the introspection that it causes her to be in (did I get that right, Raine?).

Raine has an interesting idea: to have a repository of Davao blogs. Something along the lines of, well, Bloglines. I guess what Raine means is for all Davao blogs to be accessible from one online location.

But what about offline? Wouldn’t it be awesome to have all of Davao’s bloggers together in one place at one time? Hmmm… hey, a blog party!! What do you think, guys?

It’s a few short weeks running up to that occasion people have mixed feelings for. Valentine’s Day. There are those who get really excited about 14 Feb. And there are some who actually dread the day. A whole spectrum of emotions over one out of 365 days.

Everyone knows that Christmas and New Year’s in Davao are a totally different experience due to the absence of fireworks. But what about Valentine’s? What do Davaoeños do on this day of hearts? Is there something special that we do that other people don’t do in Metro Manila or Iloilo or Zamboanga? Maybe not. But why don’t we take a look at some places that could set you apart from other "daters" out there?

Imagine the sea. And moonlight. Too cheesy for you? Ok, imagine not having to shell out hundreds of bucks for this Valentine’s date? There are quite a few deserted beaches out there, offering a truly romantic setting for that special day. But moving on, where could be the best date place for Valentine’s this year?

What about presents? Is that special person not going to be with you on the 14th? Send a Valentine’s Day gift and make him/her feel like you mean it. Try this for starters.

Ang Dabawenyo is proud to announce the collaboration between cousins Blogie the blogger and Ria the anime guru. Through my mental meanderings, cousin Ria has created Dave, the blog’s mascot of sorts. Dave here will be the blog’s presentor, and will provide the site with character and flavor. For example, I’ll use Dave to express just how I feel about restaurants in my food reviews.

So what do you think of Dave? We’d appreciate your comments, positive or negative. He’s still fresh off the drawing board, so we’re still very open to your suggestions.

Dave © 2007, Ria Lu.

Technically, Samal isn’t Davao… but I did say this blog is to be about the city and its environs, didn’t I?   So here’s something I’ve written about a new resort on Samal. It’s called BaliBali Beach Resort, and it’s a cute, cozy getaway.

Please click on this link to read about the resort.