Been on a hiatus for a while. Been busy since last week. Thank you for readers who take time to write through our contact form. First letter came from Oline:

I believe Oline is talking about the Philippine Science Centrum which is located inside the Riverbanks Mall in Barangay Barangka, Marikina City. I have visited PSC once and I truly enjoyed the experience. The centrum’s entrance that time was only P50.00 but I think they increased their charges since May or June this year. The science exhibits are both educational and informative which entertains not only children but adults as well.

I am not sure with the bicycle and skeleton because I wasn’t able to visit all the areas of the center because we were in a hurry during our trip to PSC. The exhibits are mostly hands-on and experiential which would allow the visitors to understand in simple ways how science works.

These are the types of exhibits you will find in the center:



Aside from those, the center also have these sections:
* Diwa Reading Corner
* Try Science Reading Corner
* Wonderhouse (I personally enjoyed this although I had a headache after coming out of the house.)

To learn more about Philippine Science Centrum, visit their website at www.science-centrum.ph or call them at 942-5136 or 09156059031. Complete address of PSC is E-Com Bldg., Riverbanks Center , Barangka, Marikina City.

Today is one hell of a day for me. I was up and running since five in the morning and I have gone to different parts of Manila since morning ’till evening until I can’t feel my feet anymore. I am totally spared and needing a brief but good vacation.

This is where I saw the site of bransongetaways.com which features entertainment comparable to that of the Disneyland. Of course, although I am dreaming, I would want a getaway that is not too expensive as disneyland but offers the same, if not even more, attractions and fun.

Branson of Missouri is the place to be. This is where you’ll find world-class attractions — musicals, magic shows, comedy, dance, acrobatics, drama — your name it, Branson have it! No wonder this place is called the “Live Musical Capital of the World” and I sure wanted to experience all of that. Who wouldn’t?

That’s not all, Branson is a child’s dream. They boast grand theme parks with magnificent carnival rides for the whole family. My son would love their array of exciting rides. If you ever wanted to experience any of Branson’s fantastic getaway, see their vacation packages at www.bransongetaways.com.

Our very own, former Marikina Mayor, now MMDA Chairman Bayani “BF” Fernando joined GMA 7′s Celebrity Duets! The legendary transformer of Marikina City has always been a music lover and especially love to sing. His first performance, a duet with Renz Verano singing and dancing “Macho Gwapito,” was a success. The crowd loved it especially the host Regine Velasquez.

If you watched the show and you knew the man, you can’t stop smiling. I did. I used to seeing him looking strict and serious. His appearance has always sent shivers to my spine. He’s a total disciplinarian but a good leader who motivates people by “walking his talk.”

If you want BF to stay on the show, text-vote for him. Celebrity Duets is aired every Saturday before Bitoy’s Funniest Videos.

Have you heard of 5S, The Practice of Good Housekeeping Habits from Japan? It has been enforced in our workplace and the ideas were simple and very doable. Since I have been doing some renovation in our home, I was trying to apply 5S in organizing and cleaning our mess.

It seemed a simple task at first but no, it was totally hard! Especially so when there are a lot of clutter that members of the household won’t let go because of emotional attachment. I have learned a long time ago that a clean house is not necessarily a pleasing one. Without organization and replacement of old furniture and displays, a speck-free house would still look like a mess.

Allow me to share with you this article written by Bobong, a Filipina friend of mine now living in Singapore. It is about her experiences and learnings in dealing with depression, sickness, and the possibility of acquiring the big “C.” Women are vulnerable healthwise so let us learn from her and take care of our health.

“It has been more than 4 years that I have been suffering from painful monthly periods and other abnormal symptoms attached to endometriosis. My OB in the Philippines gave me 2 choices- go for pain relievers or a hysterectomy. I opted for pain relievers since I could still bear the pain even if the medication had minimal effect on me. Twice I was rushed to the emergency way back 1998 and 2000, and the doctors couldn’t determine the cause of my pain. My OB found 4 growths in my uterus in 2003 and suggested that I bear another child, to hopefully lessen the pain since 9 months of pregnancy means 9 months of no monthly period.

Then we had Sandra in 2004. But having a second child was not the solution to my problem. Pain became more severe and more abnormalities followed.

I still had my regular check ups with my OB in the Philippines whenever we were in town. The growths were getting bigger, the pain relievers were no longer effective, and heavy flow was a discomfort.

On our first attempt to get a second opinion from a MALE OB here in Singapore, I was told outright to go for a hysterectomy since the 7 (not just 4) growths in my uterus won’t get any better and the pain will be more severe if we don’t do something about it.

The findings – adenomyosis with tumor markers in the ovary. If the normal size of a uterus is that of a pear, mine is a watermelon with 7 lime-sized growths (the total weight of this whole mass taken out from me is 300gms).

Marikina has always been known for its well-disciplined citizenry. I remember years back during the annual Concert and Fireworks Display held at the Riverbanks Amphitheater, the emcee took off a long list of Code of Conduct Marikeños should follow to ensure the orderliness of the city. It was then written in Filipino. This Code of conduct already has an English version. I am proud to share it with everyone. Read and discover how we can all contribute in “making the change happen” in our own little way.

*

I Marikenian Guide to Good Conduct I

1. You have to recognize every good deed and to correct anybody’s bad behavior so we can all live in harmony.
2. You have to put garbage in the bin at home or in the store where you got it or in your pocket.
3. You must not spit in public.
4. You must not urinate in proper place you must dress properly at all times.
5. You must not block the sidewalks.
6. You must not wash or hang clothes in public view.
7. You must not block the sidewalks.
8. You must not let loose your pets in public places.
9. You must not buy from sidewalk vendors.
10. You must not ride in colorum public transport.
11. You must not violate traffic rules.
12. You must keep you house clean and orderly.
13. You must not make annoying noise.
14. You must contribute to the enhancement of the physical and social order of the city.
15. You must respect and promote the government. It is the only one you have.
16. You must work hard, work well and work together.

The other night, I stayed up late watching channel ETCs famous Celebrity breakdowns. The segment was titled “25 Most Sensational Hollywood Meltdowns.” The show featured the *uncontrolled acts of anger, ill-advised slips of the tongue, emotional outbursts and other wild, random behavior of popular celebrities.

It entertained me so to speak, my husband teases whenever I watched TV shows featuring gossips about movie stars but I wanted to keep abreast with the latest news on celebs so I’d be able to share something when the girls gossip during coffee time.

My whole body aches. I am totally spent. My husband and I made a major renovation in our room today and we moved every cabinet and shelves until we’re satisfied. We’re still not yet done though, there’s a lot of things we need to do but we’re happy with the result so far.

We also made a short trip to the mall to look for vinyl tiles we saw at handyman last week. While we’re there, we also checked out stainless cabinets and shelves for the kitchen since we are planning a kitchen makeover also. It’s amazing how beautiful and functional modern furniture are and I drool over them like a crazy newlywed designing her home for the first time. I had to catch myself though because my renovation budget has reached its limits after purchasing that wood-like vinyl tiles.

I hope that in a few months, I’d be able to save enough to buy some kitchen drawers and shoe racks I really fancied. Help me pray it would happen.

In the previous article, Blogging 101: The Introduction, I have explained what blogging is and what it can feature. This time we will be talking about the most basic and important terms one should know if he is really interested in setting up a successful blog.

Although blogging using a free platform service is easier and convenient, not to mention the obvious, its totally costless, setting up a self-hosted blog is much, much advisable and practicable if you are indeed serious in putting up your own site. Oooppsss, that’s a term: a blogging platform is a computer program or software which allows the blogger to write or update posts or articles to the blog. This platform is also the program we use to design the blog — the layout, the font, the color scheme, the theme, etc. The most popular blog platforms for self-hosted bloggers are blogger or blogspot and wordpress.

For starters, let’s discuss the definition of the terms you definitely need to know to finally get your own self-hosted or paid blog.