csz97 Blog Folio

The Chicken and the Eagle

During our trip in Manila, i met my dad's cousin, uncle Ojing. He's really an inspiring man. He's so smart and has so many stories to tell and words of wisdom to share. He has written a grammar book together with his wife, tita Twinny. For 4 days, they accomodated us warmly and we're so happy and thankful for their generosity.

They have two boys, Rovik and Orvik who are just as impressive as their parents. They study at home with their parents as their teachers for English, Math and Science, and also go to school (Victory Int'l School in BGC) for some subjects like PE and Values Education. These kids are very smart and they speak fluently in English and Tagalog. You may think home-schooled kids are loners or geeks but these two boys are intelligent yet very energetic, active, friendly and outgoing kids. Aside from doing good in their studies, they are also athletes playing football and swimming. The photo above shows Me, Papa and Ate with Orvik and Rovik after their football training.

Uncle showed us one of Rovik's projects, a school paper, all written, designed and printed by him. My mind was just blown away with the structure, organization of thought and advanced level of writing of this kid. Orvik shared an article about his experience in one of their football tournaments and it was a lot of fun to read. Rovik posted the write-ups in his own blog, too. I got to talk with Rovick about flash animation and techie stuff. He said he wants to study Computer Science in college. They boy knows what he wants in his young age.

You might wonder why this post is titled as it is. I'll proceed to that now :). As we were finding our way to the hotel in Pampanga, uncle Ojing, who was driving the van, and Papa were talking about the death of uncle's dad. He shared how his dad was so smart and can do many things in life but chose to be with his chickens (for sabong, perhaps). Rovik even called him Lolo Chicken because of his fondness for sabong (cock-fighting). Uncle, then, shared this story about the eagle and the chickens.~

A long time ago in a remote valley, there lived a farmer. One day he got tired of the daily routine of running the farm and decided to climb the cliffs that brooded above the valley to see what lay beyond.

He climbed all day until he reached a ledge just below the top of the cliff; there, to his amazement was a nest, full of eggs.

Immediately he knew they were eagle's eggs and, even though he knew it was profoundly un-ecological and almost certainly illegal, he carefully took one and stowed it in his pack; then seeing the sun was low in the sky, he realized it was too late in the day to make the top and slowly began to make his way down the cliff to his farm.

When he got home he put the egg in with the few chickens he kept in the yard. The mother hen was the proudest chicken you ever saw, sitting atop this magnificent egg; and the cockerel couldn't have been prouder.

Sure enough, some weeks later, from the egg emerged a fine, healthy eaglet. And as is in the gentle nature of chickens, they didn't balk at the stranger in their midst and raised the majestic bird as one of their own.

So it was that the eagle grew up with its brother and sister chicks. It learned to do all the things chickens do: it clucked and cackled, scratching in the dirt for gritsand worms, flapping its wings furiously, flying just a few feet in the air before crashing down to earth in a pile of dust and feathers.

It believed resolutely and absolutely it was a chicken.

One day, late in its life, the eagle-who-thought-he-was-a-chicken happened to look up at the sky. High overhead, soaring majestically and effortlessly on the thermals with scarcely a single beat of its powerful golden wings, was an eagle!

"What's that?!", cried the old eagle in awe. "It's magnificent! So much power and grace! It's beautiful!"

"That's an eagle", replied a nearby chicken, "That's the King of the Birds. It's a bird of the air... not for the likes of us. We're only chickens, we're birds of the earth".

With that, they all cast their eyes downwards once more and continued digging in the dirt.

And so it was that the eagle lived and died a chicken... because that's all it believed itself to be.

~So there you have it. Uncle shared this story which he compares to his father who had the talent but settled with mediocrity due to the influence of the people who surrounded him. It's a simple story but this is the reality. We are all meant to be great but if we let people dictate who we are and what we will be, we won't go far in life.

We must believe in our capabilities and always do our best in everything we do to be successful in life. Let no one hinder us from making it big and achieving our dreams and aspiration. God already gave us the things we need and it's up for us on how to use them.~

This story was originally written by Dr. Eldon Taylor in NY Times Best-selling book, "Choices and Illusions." I copied the text here. Photo credits: Egg by inuks; Eaglet; Chicken by ugil. You may also watch the story here.

audiotech Better Days Event Works onsite philipine air force sde seed interactive Video Production videography wedding

Jeff and Sheila SDE

11:52 PM

carnival joe harris kari onsite retro sde seed interactive Video Production videography vintage

Roy and Jill SDE

9:02 PM

coordinator event styling events graphic design photobooth photography project red party

Project Red Party: Photo Booth

2:14 PM

FILIPINO TIME - Not a good thing for party planners. You always want to follow a timeline for your party because every second counts. It is expected that the actual programme starts one to two hours late than the time stated in the invites. You may expect your guests to come late but there are diligent guest, too, that come on time or earlier. Since the programme has not yet started, what will the guests do while waiting? You don't want them to get bored. So what you can do is provide them activities to do during this time period.

First, they can sign the guest book or better yet a fun guest frame where they can do more things than just writing their name. Check out the guest frame i did for the party here. Next, make a game for the guests to find their seats using escort cards. Check out 10 great escort cards ideas for your party here . You can also provide cocktails or something to nibble and hire a band to entertain your guests while waiting. And of course, to make the most of the spare time, set up a fun photobooth.

Photo Booths are trending party must-haves nowadays. It has become the alternative for little figurine tokens given during wedding receptions. It is more personalized and you can have the printed photo in a matter of seconds or minutes. Many photographers package this in their services or you can rent a photobooth machine in photo shops. It may cost 5,000 to 8,000 pesos depending on the number of prints or hours. But, you can also set up your own photobooth as long as you have the necessary skills. Here are things that you must consider in setting up a photo booth.

1. Backdrop. Have a good backgorund for your photo booth. This may range from simple tarps to elaborate themed sets. If you dont have a budget, you can use a nice fabric with patterns. I prefer woven patterns than printed ones. If you want a customized design, you can print your design in tarpaulins for 25-50 pesos per square foot. You can also make a 3-dimensional set by adding props (e.g. sofas, tables, sculptures, etc) coherent to the theme or motif of your party. You don't want you guests to blend with the background, right? So, for me, the simplier the better. Here are some backdrop ideas for your event.

2. Lighting. Provide good lighting for your booth but make sure you don't disrupt the overall lighting and ambience of the venue. You can turn off your lights during the program. Good lighting will prevent harsh shadows in face and glares in tarps. You can use flourescent flood lights or LED lights provided by the sound and light suppliers. Just make sure the backdrop is clear but the subject must pop out from it.

3. Props. This puts "fun" in fun booth. You can provide props like hats, shades, and frames. Let your guest do crazy poses be creative in using their props. Don't let them rush in thinking for a pose but don't let them take too much time in the booth. There are people waiting in line, too. For our party, we prepared chalkboards, moustaches and bowties for props.

4. Camera. Professional photographers use DSLR cameras but Point-and-shoot cameras and even webcams may also be used as long as the image resolution is high. You can use a USB cord so the photo is saved directly in the computer. But you can also manually save the files from the memory card. Laptops usually have a memory card reader.

5. Laptop. Desktops are too bulky and hard to transport. Use a laptop equipped with right softwares and specs like memory card reader and USB ports.

6. Template. The design and layout makes your photo souvenir unique from other photos. Your layout indicates when, where, and what event the photo souvenir was taken. It has a photo of the celebrant(s) taken from their pre-shoot. It also has 2 to 3 empty frames where the photo will be placed. Graphics may also be included as long as it's relevant to the theme of the party.

7. Software. We use photoshop and its feature actions to automate the layout process. Click here to learn how to make photoshop actions. After laying out the photos in one layout, we immediately queue the file to the printer. There are also photobooth softwares that programs it all for you - from taking pictures to layout to printing. However, it may cost you a little money.

8. Printer. We use the handy Canon Selphy printer to print our photos. Its a small printer that lets you print high quality postcard size (4R) photos. However, it may take a minute or more to print one photo. There are lots of photo printer out there that prints in a matter of seconds.

9. Presentation. After printing, you can place your prints in frames or envelopes. You can also make a claiming station where guests can also see the photos of the other guests. We clipped the prints in abaca rope using wooden pegs along side the old photos of our parents. You can decorate the area according to the theme and leave your Thank You message for the guests.

10. Facebook. Lastly, post the photos online and tag your guests. Upload it in high resolution so they can download it and reprint it afterwards. Let your party be a memorable and talked about one with these photos.

So there you have it. Just be creative in setting up your photobooth and have fun! Of course, if you don't have the patience and luxury of time to think about all of these, Seed Interactive is always at your service :D Check out some of the pics during the party.

Check out rest of the details of Project Red Party here.

2012 manila ohana place travel trip vacation

Manila Trip Day 1: Ohana

2:49 PM

January 6-11, 2012. This served as my late christmas vacay since my december was filled with tons of work. Me, my sister, my parents and some relatives across mindanao headed north to attend the wedding of our uncle kuyo. I made their simple wedding invitations last christmas as you can see here.

Day 1. [01.06.12]
Me and my parents took the first flight to Manila via Cebu Pac. My sister was already waiting at the airport. Her flight was earlier coming from Cebu where she works as a transcriptionist. Uncle Roger, Papa's cousin, welcomed us and brought us to their condo unit at the Ohana Place, Alabang Zapote Rd, Las Piñas City. Alabang is known as a class A area. Ohana is located near SM Southmall. The place was really beautiful with a clubhouse, basketball court, playground and pool at the middle. If you watch Lilo and Stitch, you'll know what Ohana means. We got to meet Uncle Roger's wife, Tita Flor and their two boys, Rovick and Orvick. The young boys are home schooled, so they are very smart yet athletic, friendly boys.

We went back to the Airport and fetched our relatives from Iligan and Zamboanga who took the 2nd flight. We then proceed to the Staff House of Pagadian LGU at the Lopez Court, Roxas Blvd, Pasay City. I always stay there when I'm in Manila, and it's for free! Thanks to Sir Fred Tabasa for accomodating us! Then, we had chinese food for lunch at Toho Restaurant at Las Piñas. Afterwards, we went back to Ohana and had more good eats at the pool side. Me, Ate and Mama went picture taking.

In the evening, we went to the Mall of Asia and had dinner at one of the restaurants at the seaside area. I have been in MOA many times already but its my first time in that area. It already has a huge ferris wheel that reminds me of the one in London. It's so huge and it turns so slow. It may take 20-30 minutes to make a full turn, i guess. The railing of the ferris wheel has colorful LED lights that looks spectacular. While waiting for the food, Ate and I went strolling in the area which looks like an open carnival full of rides, food stalls and fun booths. We don't have the budget and time so Ate and I just took photos.

There were street performers like the robotic guy who will dance if you drop money in his box and the Jabbawockeez-like duo who danced to the tune of OPM love songs. There was also a zipline, carousel, kids inside inflated balls floating in a pool, scooters for rent, mini rides and more. The place is very festive with the glittering lights of the huge Christmas Tree and christmas lights all over the place. We went back to the restaurant just in time for eating. With our tummies filled, we went back to the staff house and had a good night's rest in preparation for the next day's big event.