Ang Dabawenyo

When you go around town, you’ll notice quite a few ongoing construction projects and new restaurants and coffee shops. There are more businesses registered with the Department of Trade & Industry, albeit mostly SMEs. It really looks like Davao City is a boomtown again. But if you look closely, you might notice some things that are a bit disappointing. Like how they’re half-baked.

For example, a restaurant that looks magnificent on the outside, and might even be quite presentable inside… but doesn’t spend a peso on staff training. Or — and here’s a pet peeve of mine — a well-designed and glossy brochure that you know cost an arm and a leg to produce… but the literature is poorly written.

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When I was in college, I had my ears pierced with tiny gold studs. If memory serves me right, I was the only guy in campus with both ears pierced. It was a statement, yes — aren’t all body ornamentations (rings, studs, tattoos, what have you) done to declare something to the world? For me, it was a way to say that I was comfortable with my own being.

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I got this email from my family’s e-group, and I thought I’d blog about it. I’m not exactly sure if this could work, but, like it says in the email, if enough people join in, it just might have an effect.

The gist of it is, if millions of people stop buying gas from the big oil companies, they’d be forced to lower their prices. For example, we could top up at Phoenix (which is a homegrown fuel company, by the way) or at other local gas stations.

But… don’t these local companies get their gas and diesel from the big oil companies? The scheme presented by the email sender sounds simplistic to me, but why not you be the judge?

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A pioneering effort in print media was launched today — a locally-published magazine intriguingly called m.

To quote its publishers, M is "the first-ever glossy travel and lifestyle magazine that will showcase the best that Mindanao has to offer. M features stories ranging from adventure destinations, culinary pursuits, nocturnal activities, unique fashion creations, beauty and wellness, gainful business endeavors, to little known secrets about this island paradise; it is the primary source of information on Mindanao’s contemporary lifestyle."

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I’d been planning a look-and-feel change for my I-love-Davao blog for sometime now, but I just couldn’t find the right timing. But when WordPress came out with version 2.5, I knew I’d found the inspiration and the impetus to give Ang Dabawenyo a makeover.

Of course, having a brand new logo helped, too! (Thanks again, Winston.)

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I’ve been on a logo rampage since late last month, feverishly thinking up cool logos — if I do say so myself — for my blogs. Blogie Blog, IT talks!, and now Ang Dabawenyo have gotten their own stamps of identity.

The mélange of Davao symbols inside the blog bubble, that was the logo of my old Davao e-zine, which used to be found on davao.net. (Too bad, though, because that domain got hijacked years ago… but that’s a long story.)

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I couldn’t believe I let myself walk into a McDonald’s today. It was past one in the morning and none of my preferred joints were open anymore, and I was hankering for french fries. Still, I didn’t order any of their meat burgers — I had a Fillet-o-Fish, believing as I want to that  it’s a less unhealthy form of fast food. (Wonder what kind of fish they put in it though…)  It tasted awfully like cardboard.

The whole time since after college, I’ve eaten at McDonald’s (or at Jollibee for that matter) maybe a little more than a dozen times all in all. No kidding. Aside from fast food being full of fat, cholesterol, sodium, etc., somehow the McDonald’s outlets here in Davao just aren’t the same.

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Last weekend, Davao’s finest — the PNP Regional Office 11 — and the Task Force Davao military unit were able to apprehend an Al Qaeda poseur here in the city. Identified as Romie John C. Rosalia (according to this report), the authorities alleged that he was extorting money from corporations and individuals via email. He was caught at an Internet café called Quagmire (how very apt!) on Bonifacio street. ••• Read on »

At the threshold of summer… and it’s raining. I hear from my friends in Manila that it’s getting really hot over there, but here in Davao it’s been raining too much. Not that I’d rather it was hot here. But, the rain’s dampening my spirits. I’ve never really liked the rain — it’s always caused my mood to drop.

And two things happen when it rains here, two things that just gets to me. One: Some streets in Davao become waterways after only an hour’s downpour. I’m talking about “major” thoroughfares here: J.P. Laurel Ave. in front of Victoria Plaza (I’m there a lot); the roads surrounding our family compound; F. Torres St., which is the city’s restaurant row…. ••• Read on »

My very good and long-time friend, Jojie Alcantara, has come up with a great plan for bloggers to do a tour within Davao City. A perfect way to start the summer!

Jojie says she’ll be able to accommodate 10 bloggers per tour. To give everyone a chance, we’ll ask you to sign up for one tour only. This is a good chance for Dabawenyo bloggers to meet up and get together and do something out of the ordinary. Sign up now before the slots are filled up! ••• Read on »