Organized by Foodista.com and Zephyr Adventures, IFBC was the first-ever conference for food bloggers, first held in May of 2009. The series focuses on three themes: Food, Writing, and Technology. This event will feature high quality educational sessions, personal networking opportunities, and 95% of attendees say the IFBC has the best food and wine of any blogging conference!

Here are the links for the past conferences:

• IFBC 2009
• IFBC 2010
• IFBC 2011 New Orleans
• IFBC 2011 Santa Monica

For Sponsorship Opportunities you may contact Reno Walsh at 406-580-5919 or write to them at IFBCSponsors@foodista.com

warning: this post will contain some rants which may offend you, you don’t have to read this, you can go to this link instead if you are looking for some happy thoughts.

Sorry sweetie, I have neglected this blog. Life suddenly happened and I’ve been spending a lot of my time trying to fix things like being a the caregiver for my mom and being a good sister to the prodigal daughter. I got that one right and now my marriage is hell. (Can’t have the best of both worlds?)

We’ve had fights and we always managed to fix things up, but now, the constant bickering and you’re-wrong-i’m-right fights are getting so much on my nerve…until finally I asked my self…why the hell did I get married?

I have successfully evaded marriage after I got knocked up by my ex 13 years ago. I was a happy, carefree single parent but seven years later, I met a guy who wouldn’t quit and had somehow coaxed me to get all proper and be married. Damn, six years in my marriage now finds me pulling my hair and screaming in my pillow at how stupid it was to be tied to this insufferable man. Just in case you didn’t know, there is no divorce here in the Philippines.

I’ve been a good wife…at least I know I did. I didn’t ask for my husband to hand me his paycheck. We earned and paid for our bills separately. I’ve been independent for far too long to give up what I have. I cooked, cleaned, washed and ironed his clothes. In the morning I french pressed his coffee and made sandwiches for him to bring to the office. I gave his dog a bath, gave him money if he ran out of gas, and planned our yearly vacations.

His money he would give to his parents, buy magazines or gadgets…there was always something he needed to buy. The only way I can get him to pitch in is drag him to the supermarket for groceries. He did help when my projects were few, but I knew he hated that.

I am patient, self-sacrifing, and would put other’s need before my own…in other words, I am a pushover and now I hate it. I hate it because even with being such a pushover, I was accused of being impatient because I cant wait until 10pm for our anniversary dinner (even if he knows I automatically fall asleep before midnight), and he can’t understand why I need to take a vacation outside the city when we could just visit his friend’s house. And he said, “what does you and your son  gain by going on a vacation to some place we hardly know?” “what good does it do you to invest in these happy memories?”

Oh-my-fucking-godiva! Now I have to explain to him why I plan and save for a vacation to recharge my mind, my spirit? I have to defend myself why I have to do things that make me happy? I have to give him a reason why I want to be with my son?

I  have always tried to be logical, but I cannot wrap this idea around my head, that I have to justify the things that make me feel alive, that make me hope, and dream, and find happiness.

I do not know why I even thought about getting married.

 It takes someone “special” to commit themselves to a fantasy, a possibility, a social expectation ridden with double standards. It’s like getting a specific job (called wife) with unspecified duties and responsibilities (broadly referred to as Submission), only to realize that you cannot resign or quit, no matter what. – diasporadical.com

I’ll be fine, I just need to work this out in my head and find out how I can stop myself from going crazy.

When I look at IMDb and see a great review of horror films or show, I can feel a relapse  of my addiction for horror films. Attack the Block was on my news feeds a few months ago. A great movie they say so I saw the film online, curious on what it was and why everyone seemed so excited about it.

After a few searches on Google I saw an online stream of the film….First few minutes I was like…

Then I was like… “What… are… they…. saying?”

I wasn’t even halfway when my husband (who sat beside me when I started watching) got up and walked out of the room and went to bed.

 I finished the movie, hoping that there would be some kind of twist to the film and a pee-in-my-pants-scene would tell me that this is a great film indeed. Tough luck, nothing new on this one.

I promised myself not to watch any British horror films after that, but my friend Boots recommended the Fades…

I said I’d watch it and I did…hohummm…same thing! It was like a zombie-meets-angels-and-demons and buffy the vampire slayer all rolled into one.

Sure the scenes looked ok, there were a few funny moments and the requisite blood and gore, but they talk soooo much! Seriously, do they have to go on and on about the story? And for someone not really used to listening to their accent, especially when they talk in a regular street conversation.

UK seems to be trying to make their shows look more American. I think they should watch more Hollywood films on this genre, or try watching Japanese Horror films. What I look for horror films, are scenes that scare the beejezus out of me. (Like Sadako from the Ring, crawling out of the television set)

Or how about The Blair Witch Project. This film didnt need any fancy ghost scenes, no special effects, there was a lot of talk but they all served to pull you inside the screen itself. When you watch this, you feel like you are actually in there, you imagine you are the one holding the camera and surrounded in the dark. It’s that feeling of knowing you are an observer, but halfway through the film, it becomes your nightmare.

I like British films, but I hate it when they talk too much. When you overanalyze the situation, it takes you out of the nightmare and gets you to think instead of feel.

I wish I could say I like it, but I don’t. They should just do drama, or action, or other fantasy films and leave the horror films to the experts.

========================

Update:

I have finished the first season of the Fades and have swallowed every nasty review I had of it. The TV series is great. I love that the protagonist is an angel, and that ghosts can come back from the spirit world and be like zombies/vampires…I love it and I wish they have season 2 soon!

When I think about my first week without facebook, the first word that pops into my head is ANXIOUS. I am anxious.

Anxious: Uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried

I am so stressed about not being able to check into my facebook account that I seriously considered throwing in the towel. But then a part of me says this is exactly the reason why I am doing this, why I must control my addiction to facebook.

In my first post about taking a month off  from facebook, I said I was addicted to the interaction, to all the likes and leaving comments on others links or photos…well psychologists have indeed studied that there is such a thing as “Facebook-related anxiety”:

Dr Kathy Charles, from Edinburgh Napier University, said some users experienced ‘Facebook-related anxiety’ due to the pressures of keeping in touch and up to date on the social-networking site. Read more here

Here’s the thing…I did try to log in my facebook account. I typed my password and wouldn’t you know it…I already forgot my password! I had a password reminder to log back in, then when I got back in…I deactivated it again. I wanted so much to take some time to read some of my friends post, but knowing I “cheated”, I felt so guilty I had to deactivate it at once.

But you know what made up for all the time I spent not facebooking? Human interaction. I had more time talking to my father and asking what my son did at school. I had more time talking to my husband and asking what his day was like instead of telling him about our friends facebook updates.I also had more time reading and studying on the web, fixed a good cup of coffee even on my broken coffee press (which I will get a replacement this weekend) and I am actually looking forward to seeing some friends for a night concert this Friday evening.

So tell me, are you addicted to facebook? have you tried not checking on your profile when you wake up or before going to bed? It’s hard but I’m learning…slowly learning that it’s not so important after all. Sometimes you need a little offline time too

I’ll leave you with a link to this wonderful post on The 12 Stages of Facebook Addiction

I cannot even express my fear as I watched his eyes roll up, his limbs stiff and shaking. He wasn’t breathing, and to me it looked like his eyes were sinking and suddenly there were dark circles under it. His lips was so pale and when it finally stopped, he said he couldn’t see anything. I told him to close his eyes, to relax and just listen to my voice. I talked to him and told him everything would be alright. When he opened his eyes he asked me “Mommy, what happened?” He had no recollection of his seizure.

I didn’t know anyone in our family who had epilepsy. It could be some stray gene, or maybe a result of some trauma on the head. But I didn’t think a few little bumps would cause an epileptic attack. But the medical tests show that he does have some abnormal brain patterns.

Singer Gino Padilla

We were referred to Dr. Ignacio “Chingky” V. Rivera. He handles Neurology for kids in Medical City Ortigas and Cardinal Santos in Greenhills. He has this air about him that makes parents feel calm. He reminds me of the singer Gino Padilla. He doesn’t beat around the bush and will tell you what to expect, what to do when seizures happen and how to do it. We made frequent visits to him during Gabby’s first year of being diagnosed with Epilepsy. It was every other week on Saturdays- 10AM to 12 PM at Cardinal Santos Medical Center, then it became monthly, and every quarter.

Gabby was prescribed a medicine called Trileptal (around Php 700++ or $18/bottle ) which he increased in dosage when Gabby started gaining weight.The medicine, as his dosage increased, would only last a week. So we were spending around Php 3,000 a month just for his medicine alone.

Gabby felt sleepy when he started taking this medicine. Sometimes his teachers would talk to me and tell me they had caught him sleeping during class. But after a few months his body must have adjusted to the medicine and I didn’t get complaints from the teachers anymore. Together with his condition, we slowly changed his diet. Eating more fish, fruits and veggies and less fast food and chips. We also spent less time on TV and video games, and we encouraged him to read more. We tried to avoid him getting too tired. I gave him massages at night and made him sleep in the afternoon.

April 2009 Gabby had an EEG test (it costs Php1,805 at the Medical City) and it still showed abnormal brain wave patterns. His last grand mal seizure was December 2008.  The doctor advised to continue his medication and still, to monitor for seizures. We continued making Gabby sleep early and get lots of naps during weekends. We bought him a bicycle so he could get some exercise, and he played basketball with kids his age. No seizure during this time. Only a few hours of TV and video games. Seriously, we rarely open the TV. We only open it at night to check on the evening news, but during the day, if Gabby is home, we go out or he gets on his bicycle and bike around the neighborhood.

April 2010, his EEG exam showed normal brainwaves! We were so happy. Dr. Rivera told us that if by December 2010 , if his EEG results still show normal brain waves and he still had no seizure, he could start taking Gabby of his medicines.

January 2011, Gabby’s EEG results showed normal brain patterns again and still no seizure. Dr. Rivera gave us a big smile and asked me “Are you ready for this?

“Ready for what doc?”

“We are going to take him off his medicine”

Wow.

Dr. Rivera gave us a schedule to follow for taking him off his medicine:

• February 6-19 5ml every morning and 8.5ml at night.
• February 20 – March 5 5ml every morning and 5ml at night.
• March 6 – 19 2.5ml every morning and 5ml at night.
• March 20- April 2 2.5ml every morning and 2.5ml at night.
• April 3 – 16 2.5ml at night only.
• April 17 stop medication.

The doctor advised us that if he should get another seizure during this period, we shouldn’t panic and just bring Gabby back to him. But he said he hopes we wont have to come back again.

I know in a lot of my research in epilepsy, a lot of people say that this cannot be cured. I have been praying that Gabby would be cured, but I was ready if in case he wont. I am happy for this wonderful news and I hope that he wont get any seizure and start living a normal life again.

I am writing this post to all you mothers out there who have children with epilepsy. We dont know why this happens, whether there is a cure or not. Maybe early detection can help. Thanks to medicines and proper diet and exercise, maybe this can help our children heal faster and lessen their seizures. All I know is there is hope, and I see it every time I look at my son.

I remember a time when there was no Myspace, no Friendster, and no facebook. A time when I didn’t spend half of my day glued to these websites. I would sometimes chat on mIRC (internet relay chat) and yahoo messenger, but it all changed when social media boomed.

I am so addicted to facebook that I never start the day without it. I always check in to see what my friends are up to, what is trending, what’s the hottest topic, or who posted new photos in their albums. I’ve become unconsciously… a stalker…and don’t tell me you dont look into your friends photo albums too. It’s a good thing I’m not playing those Zynga games anymore…that is one heck of a time robber!

Facebook is fun especially when you get a lot of interaction on your wall posts. When people react to your opinion, or quote, or link to a funny youtube video…it’s fun. You are always thinking of witty remarks, funny posts so your friends will continue to “like” you. That’s basically it…you get a kick out of getting a lot of “likes”.

Yesterday, I saw a lot of my friends online on my chat status, and I wondered if they are as addicted to facebook as I am. I suddenly had an idea… “what would it be like to go on a month without facebook?” Why do I need facebook anyway? I can always call or text my friends? we can always meet up and talk in person rather than online? why do I have to show them my photos from the places I’ve been? Am I bragging? Am I doing this to let them know how much fun I’m having…or am I just convincing myself that I am having fun?

I read a lot of blogs…food blogs especially. And almost always, I come across posts that apologize for not taking enough photo or taking a full photo of the finished recipe because they enjoyed the dish so much they forgot to take pictures. Before digital cameras, we just took a family photo then hide it in the bag and enjoy the trip. Now, we cam whores sling these big bulky DSLRs and just watch people from the sidelines.

No wonder my fun-meter is running low. Maybe I’m having fun because I just want to show it off to my friends…I hope not. Which is why I’m taking some time off from facebook and try to live my life not so glued to these websites. Today is DAY ONE of NO FACEBOOK. My goal: Discover what are the effects of going without facebook and write about what withdrawal from this website could do to you. Silly? maybe…but there is no harm in trying. Heck, even Michelle Obama says NO to facebook for Malia and Sasha. Here is the video.

A week after my last post, the people from Sugbutel and Castle Peak wrote back about my inquiries. I made reservations for both but will wait until Feb 16 to make the final decision for the hotel rooms.The thing is I think I will be able to get a better deal if I book our room online via Agoda.

Find Better Hotel Reservations Online

You have probably seen Agoda.com ads online. I usually just ignore these ads, but this time a close friend of mine recommended this to me.She said her cousins abroad were able to get great deals on their rooms from hotels in Cebu when they booked through Agoda.

I signed up online and browsed the different rooms. Unlike Expedia, Agoda really provides you a good list of hotels or inns from one star to five stars. Castle Peak is listed under three stars, Sugbutel is not on their system yet but for almost the same price, I can get a better room via Agoda. I do have to check if there are any hidden charges, but I have a feeling there isnt…I’ll just have to write another post on that when I book my reservation.

Make a List

When you are traveling with children, especially one who is under medication. It is important to make a checklist to make sure you dont forget about the little details like socks, toothbrush or medicine. What lists do we need ?

• List of things to pack in your bag

Aside from clothes, make a list of who packs what in their bag to avoid the “I thought you were the one who packed the camera” scene.

• List of travel documents needed -IDs, print plane ticket and hotel reservation

This is important obviously, how can you get on the plane without this.

• List of places to visit (check online for places to visit in Cebu)

Making an itinerary would help you maximize your time and have enough “leg room” for side trips too.

• List of phone numbers for people to contact you (just in case)

Leave your cellphone numbers or the hotel’s phone  number to a family member in case they need to contact you

• List of things to buy for the trip

There are a lot of gift and food items to buy in Cebu. Make sure you make a list so you wont go beyond your budget.

Will write another update soon when he finish booking for the hotel.

I kept asking my husband to save for our trip to Cebu. We have no relatives there where we can stay, so this means we have to really plan out our itinerary. But first things first…we need to get plane tickets!

1. Get Discounted Plane Tickets

I know it’s easy to book tickets online. But what we were waiting for is the special seat sale from Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines. Both airlines are okay, although my experience with Philippine Airlines is most of my flights are delayed, but once you’re up there it’s smooth sailing and their planes are big. Cebu Pacific have smaller planes but they are always on time. It gets a little rough especially when you are travelling during the rainy season and I just get a little scared because the turbulence really scares the beejezus out of me.

My husband registered online to Cebu Pacific to get notifications for seat sales and when he saw the email yesterday, we immediately booked the tickets! The seats are for March-April which is perfect because we have been planning to surprise Gabby with a tour to Cebu for his birthday. Perfect timing eh?!  And we have a month and a half to prepare and save for the trip. The round trip tickets we had on sale for 3 passengers cost roughly around 3,800Php or around $88 ($1:Php43). Now you know why it’s really worth waiting for these tickets.

These tickets are for no check-in luggage since we plan on travelling backpacker-style. Just clothes and our camera.

2. Look for a good cheap hotel

We only need a place where we could sleep, bathe, and store some of our clothes. Looking for a good hotel is next on my list. I have listed two good options: Sugbutel and Castle Peak

• Sugbutel -Sugbutel is a new bed&bath dorm style hotel perfect for travelers or backpackers. It is a few blocks away from SM City Cebu  They have double-deck beds where you can sleep in. The beds for business class is for 250Php-upper bunk, 300Php for lower bunk (it has curtains for privacy). First class goes for 350Php-upper bunk and 400Php-lower bunk. Premium Class goes for 500Php. They have safety lockers for your bags. I’ve researched on this online and most say that the bath stalls and restrooms are clean. For one thing, this big bathrooms will save us time on bathing. My 11 yo son and husband takes forever on the “throne” and when taking a bath. At least now I will have a stall to shower in peace

• Castle Peak Hotel – This is a hotel where I previously stayed during my first and 2nd visit to Cebu. The rooms are nice and affordable. You can check the rates on their website. I would chose this if the rates of renting a room, and having our own bathroom is that important. the location is also good and very accessible to local jeepneys or taxi cabs.

note: I have since tried to contact both hotels online via email and up to now there is no feedback from them. It is very frustrating. I hate having to resort to making a phone call just for inquiries because I want a written record of my inquiries to them. Why do they leave an email address and contact form for their website if no one is checking on it in the first place. I know it’s too early to make a booking but at least I would have more time to look for other alternatives.

3. Make an itinerary

One advantage of becoming a resident in Cebu is you get to know some of the places and know the different routes in the city. If you really want to be a true backpacker, you need a map and a knowledge of the jeepney codes.Unlike in Manila where jeepney signboards let you know where you are going. Cebu’s public transport aka the jeepney have codes 12A-12M – Labangon, 17B – Apas Lahug, 04L -Lahug Ayala, 13C- Talamban, 09H- Bulacao, 03A – Mabolo, 21B – Mandaue, 01A – Urgello, 14D – Ayala. Here is a list of the jeepney codes in Cebu from wayblima.com

Knowing the jeepney routes will help you get around the city. Sure you wont be in an airconditioned vehicle, but you will definitely get a real kick out of riding their jeeps. A word of caution…though it is still relatively safer in Cebu than in Manila, avoid showing off any fancy cellphones or gadgets in public.

My husband and I are still planning out the details for our trip like where will we take Gabby and where will we eat. along the 03A route, we can walk Gabby to the oldest street in the country…Colon and take him to Magellan’s cross and the Sto.Niño Shrine, the Cathedral, and the two museums.
I will make a weekly update for this because I hope this will also convince others that you can go to Cebu on a budget.

Just heard the latest buzz!

The 3rd International Food Blogger Conference is organizing TWO IFBC conferences in 2011!

New Orleans, LA - August 26-28, 2011 -they have secured a phenomenal venue at the gorgeous Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter.

Santa Monica, CA – November 11-13, 2011 -a very cool venue at the Hilton Doubletree near the beach and famous promenade.

It is still in the early planning stages and the program is still in development, they have opened the registration early since the last conferences, IFBC 2009 and IFBC 2010, sold out months in advance. In addition to guaranteeing a spot, early registrants will have the opportunity to help shape the conference agenda, speaker lineup, meals and other activities. Capacity will be 250-300.

You can find out more about it here: http://www.foodista.com/ifbc2011/

photo by digitalpimp of flickr

It’s that time of the year again, its colder, and the malls are decked with red and green decorations. It’s almost Christmas, just 19 days to go the last time I checked. Where did the time go?

There are so many things that I am so grateful for this year: we moved to a new house, we didn’t get flooded during the monsoon season, we now get to sleep early, we have a rooster waking me up every morning, and even though we are not well off, we are able to pay the bills, the medicine, and still go out together at least once a month.

Thanks to facebook, I saw old familiar faces. Since most of my friends are now living overseas, it’s the only way I could get in touch with them and see how they are doing. My father is spending Christmas at home, and even with all the worries we have, we still manage to put things in perspective. Money is still important, but God and family means more to us.

Im just feeling a little sentimental, and a little thankful for all that we have accomplished this year. It was a tough year for us, but all the hardwork and persistence finally paid off. I hope this will not be the last post I will make for this year. I’m glad for 2010 and glad that I have my family with me this Christmas.