A Life Under the Shadows

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Iloilo - Heart of the Philippines

Know more about where I live :D



Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Iloilo City and is located at the southeast portion of Panay island, bordering Antique to the west and Capiz to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is the island-province of Guimaras and across Panay Gulf and Guimaras Strait is Negros Occidental.



Located 238 statute miles from Manila, Iloilo is the gateway of the Western Visayas Region. The province comprises the southeastern part of Panay Island. Iloilo is 55 minutes by plane from Manila. Should you opt to go by sea, Sulpicio Lines, Negros Navigation and Aboitiz have ships plying from Manila (19 hours).



Natural boundaries, such as mountain ranges with peaks as high as 7,000 ft., lie between Iloilo and Antique on the west and Capiz on the north. Mainland Iloilo is composed of plain interspersed with upland portions. The capital, Iloilo City, rests between the Iloilo and Batino rivers which from the angle of a nose. This location is the root of the province's old name, ilong-ilong which means "noselike".



Iloilo province, and its beautiful city, ranks as one of the country's foremost centers of culture, industry and trade. Located on the southwestern tip of Panay Island between the Iloilo River and the Guimara Strait, its attributes as the repository of architectural and artistic legacies, as the promising point of progress in aquaculture, and as a trove of unexplored tourist attractions give it an allure so bewitching as not to be missed.



Iloilo is the cradle of early Philippine civilization. The telltale marks of such cultural influences live on in the century-old houses, the period churches, the colorful festivals, and in the enterprising bloodline of its people. Iloilo has a glorious past as the land's great sugarbowl and the locale of the haciendas of the old rich - whose scions and daughters turned down the centuries into the dons and donas of powerful economic dynasties.



Some of the testimonies to this awesome heritage are the churches. Nowhere else can church tours prove so rewarding. The Miag-ao Fortress Church is a grand example of a medieval bastion church with onrnate floral designs on the facade; another colossal monument is the San Joaquin Church and cemetery known for its bas relief featuring the Castilian and Moorish wars, while its cemetery is picturesque for its hexagonal chapel with rose windows and twin-tiered balustrades that lead to its entrance; meanwhile, three staircases lead to the historic rock; whereas the Rennaissance - inspired Molo Church and orphanage, the Asilo de Molo, are unique for their architecture as well as for a rare product, hand-embroidered barong Pilipino in pina cloth; the Pavia Church is a red brick and coral windows cases and rightfully deserves a place in one's travelogue. These churches are no farther than two hours' distance from each other.



Iloilo province is primarily the commercial and trade center of Western Visayas, with commercial, industrial development and rural banks, financial and investment houses, insurance companies, and realestate agencies and developers. Nevertheless, agriculture is the province's main source of livelihood. In fact, Iloilo's production of rice, sugar and mango has made it one of the country's top agricultural producers.



The city's population represents a big manpower pool and a growing consumer market. Purchasing power is generally high given the favorable income distribution in Iloilo. Assuring the business sector of a steady supply of multi-skilled manpower are the city's 30 tertiary schools and 6 universities.



Iloilo's is a byword for its famous festival - the Dinagyang, a local mardigras. Held every January in honor of the Infant Jesus, the festival is a major tourist attraction.



Another even Iloilo is known for is the Paraw Regatta. Which is participated in by local and foreign sportsmen.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

The 5-Factor IPIP Personality Test

Posting survey results are so lame, but i'm going to do it anyways
as if anyone will want to read it


Results from:

What Makes You Unique?

You inspire others around you with your creative energy and thirst for new experiences. You are exceptionally curious and aren't afraid of learning new things — which is probably because you tend to focus on the potential positive outcome of any experience rather than dwelling on the potential negatives. You are a true explorer in the word. You want to understand and experience it all, and you're especially open to new feelings and ideas. Compared to others who are open, you are unusually appreciative of art and beauty. Only 2.1% of all test takers have this unique combination of personality strengths.

While this says a lot about you, there is much more to you than this. The 5-Factor IPIP Personality Test measures you on 30 unique personality traits, backed by over 70 years of personality research. This enables us to provide you with the most thorough, in-depth personality assessment available to you.

Disfigured


"The Muffins" photo by me

I wallow behind
the shame of squandered youth
Sitting timelessly
in front of my bane
I watch as red ink
flow through my hollow veins
Consumed by the insatiable urge
to do nothing

People can only laugh
as they see me fall
Into the depths
of an eternal flashback
The sun rises
past my watery eyes
I can only show
a disfigured soul

State of National Emergency

When will this long line of politican unrest stop. It's getting very lame and old, especially in the provinces (or 80% of the Philippine Population) where it is peaceful and the situation is nowhere even close to being in a state of national emergency. For decades, we have suffered for the petty fights and the selfishness of people in the National Government.

I believe it's high time for the Philippines to go federal, because the provinces are almost never really represented because of politics.

The solution to our country's poverty is countryside development

American Idol Season 5


After his performance singing Bary Manilow's Copa Cabana, I was caught breathless. Literally ... I couldn't stop laughing the whole time especially during short video introduction.

Its was so freakishly entertaining ...


A lot of Filipinos are rooting for him to be a finalist in the competition and of course, I also want him to have the chance to prove to the world that Filipino's are great singers and entertainers.

I got goosebumps during his performance, a bit skeptical whether the falsetto thing was going to work out for him. And then he hit the high note, WOW I was utterly impressed. He's definitely one the better singers in the whole competition. I think, with the strong support of the Filipino Community in America he could make it in the top 3