Spring Break

Pardon my (very long) absence. Been a little under the weather. Too many things to do, too little time. With all the activities, I had to stop and take a break, a long one.
But I'm hoping to be back soon. For the summer fun.
In the meantime, just stop by and smell some flowers. .

Island Reef Job Finalist from Korea

Remember that Best Job in the World ads? The Tourism Queensland has announced the final 16 applicants for the Island Reef Job. The applicants who are from 15 different countries (2 from Australia) will travel to Hamilton Island to take part in an extensive interview process.

One of the finalist is from Korea. Kim Juweon or Jonathan Kim from Seoul is a Radio Host for the Arirang Radio. His campaign video was of the Aussie Golf promotion to Korean consumers. He showed how Korean golf-lovers enjoy golf in Korea- yeah, Screen Golf! According to his bio, he's also lived in Southern California and Texas. He does not only speak Korean and English but he's also fluent in Spanish. And he's kinda cute too. Here's his pic.

Most - The Bridge

I first saw this video on a friend's blog. It's from an Oscar nominated movie, Most (Czech for The Bridge). A very touching story of a father who has to sacrifice his son to save a lot of people. Sounds familiar? Well, it is so touching that I cry everytime I watch this video.

MOST The Bridge

Somehow it reminds me of John 3:16~ "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. " (NKJV)

Day in the Park

After bringing Soie to the school this morning, TW and I went to the park for a walk and to see some Cherry Blossoms. The park is crowded, mostly with students doing some community service (read- cleaning the park!). There's even one group of students doing a kind of demonstration march against smoking. TW thought they were trying to follow us and hold picket infront of him. Anyways, the cherry blossoms are beautiful. Not all of the trees are in full bloom though. We just took some pictures here and there. Just stayed a while and then decided to just check out the 문화센터 (Culture Center) nearby. This place is awesome. It has a sports center, theater, study rooms and library where you can also watch some movies and use the internet. The children's library is huge, but they just have a small collection of English books. They make up for it though, I saw a complete set of the Harry Potter series.

Here are some odd pictures we took.

I'm Now a YouTuber

So I just recently joined youtube. I finally registered for an account. Been watching videos on YouTube for so long that I didn't really feel the need to sign up. I thought that's only for those who upload videos. But then I started wanting to subscribe to certain channels. So here I am, officially a YouTuber. Anyways, one of my favorites among the 'youtube stars' is this Pinoy lip-synching duo Moymoy Palaboy. They are said to have garnered over 4 milliion hits and thousands of subscriptions all over the world. But their official youtube account has recently been suspended for~ guess what, yeah copyright issues. Anyways, here is a video of their new song (not lip-synched) 'Lumayo ka man sa Laklak' a sort of parody of the two songs Lumayo ka man sa akin and Laklak.

Mga Kababayan Ko

As I was browsing through some forum sites, somebody posted a topic about the death of Francis Magalona, I thought it was another one of those repugnant hoaxes that circulated some time last year. I was gonna give them a piece of my mind when I found out that it was actually true. It was announced by Vic Sotto on their noontime show on Friday. Couldn't really believe it.

I know he has leukemia and all but I felt a little pinch in my heart. You see I'm a huge Eat Bulaga loyal. Been watching it for more than a decade, maybe more. It has already been a part of my life. It was a habit turned custom. Kiko's death has also left a hole in my heart. I remember listening to his songs back in school. Some of them were even the first OPMs I ever learned. I admired him for being a proud Filipino. And letting the world hear how proud he is.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Here are some pics taken from his website:

Check here for a video of Saksi about Kiko's death from GMANews.TV

Valentine Date

No, we didn't go on a date. Come to think of it, we've never celebrated Heart's Day. I've never given him chocolate on a Valentine's Day just like the 'Korean Tradition'(though we give each other chocolates or candies all the time ). It is so ironic because we actually had our very first date on a valentine's Day several years back. I was an Office Assistant in a Korean-owned company. He was there to tour and check out hagwons as well. Every afternoon, he would always drop by my desk to talk. He's fluent in English so our conversations are always enjoyable. We talked about everything from music to books to even politics. We found out that we had a lot of things in common. Several weeks into these long conversations, I was rather surprised when he asked me out to be his Valentine's Date. I wasn't really attracted to him, but I said yes to the date. We scheduled our date on the Saturday after Valentine's. We agreed to just meet somewhere in this mall. But come exactly Feb. 14, he dropped by the office to ask me if we could just go out that day after my work. He said he didn't want to wait for Saturday. So after work, we went to a mall, roamed around, talked a lot, grabbed something to eat- I can't even remember what, probably pizza. He walked me back home, yeah we just walked, took us maybe an hour. We walked and talked more, about things we saw along the way, movies we have seen, about France and Ireland, anything, everything. The date was so simple but quite nice, nothing romantic, nothing cheesy. It wasn't even that memorable. But years after that, here we are- married, with a child going to grade school this year. We've never celebrated Valentine's nor anniversary, but once in a while we would go to a nice cafe or drive near the beach or lake, there we would have one of those long conversations. He'd sometimes give me gifts for no reason. He always says 'We don't need to celebrate every occasion but we also don't need any occasion to celebrate'.

Happy Valentine's Day Appa...

This is what my daughter said when she handed her handmade Valentine's Card and some chocolates to her father. So sweet hubby can't stop smiling. ^^

Beethoven Virus Location

While everybody is rushing to go to their hometowns, we decided to take a little trip to Gapyeong. We visited that cute little village Petit France. This is where they shot scenes for one of my favorite Korean drama Beethoven Virus. Although it was freezing cold, we were ecstatic going around the place and taking lots of pictures. Pose here and there. Reminiscing the scenes on my mind over and over again, kkk. I was stunned when I saw Kang Mae's office, there's nothing too grand about it but I guess you would feel the same if you're secretly in love with him.. kkkk.

There's a good view of the frozen Bukhan River from Petit France which I really love. Inside the little french village, there's some memorial hall, mini-theater where you can watch little prince, souvenir shop, a pretty French couryard and also some room you can rent if you want to experience staying in a French Village for a while.

The Best Job in the World Ever

Imagine just lazing around the island on the Great Barrier Reef for six months and getting paid a whopping AUD 150,000.(about USD100,000)! Seems like the best job? Well, it is.

I was browsing the net last night when I came across this very unique 'job ad'. It promises of the Best Job in the World Experience.The job is prettey easy. And pays too.
Here's some excerpts from the website.

The Best Job in the World – Island Caretaker Great Barrier Reef
Tourism Queensland is seeking applicants for the best job in the world! The role of Island Caretaker is a six-month contract, based on luxurious Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a live-in position with flexible working hours and key responsibilities include exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to discover what the area has to offer. You’ll be required to report back on your adventures to Tourism Queensland headquarters in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diary, video updates and ongoing media interviews. On offer is a unique opportunity to help promote the wondrous Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
Other duties may include (but are not limited to)
Feed the fish - There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry you won’t need to feed them all.
Clean the pool - The pool has an automatic filter, but if you happen to see a stray leaf floating on the surface it’s a great excuse to dive in and enjoy a few laps.
Collect the mail ? During your explorations, why not join the aerial postal service for a day? It’s a great opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of the reef and islands.
About the job package
Living above the Great Barrier Reef is a pretty unique benefit, but the successful candidate will also be paid a salary package of AUD $150,000 for the six-month contract. You’ll receive return airfares from your nearest capital city (in your home country), accommodation and transport on Hamilton Island, travel insurance for the contract period, computer, internet, digital video and stills cameras access, plus travel to a number of the other Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The six-month contract commences 1stJuly 2009.

Just think about being on the Great Barrier Reef (yes Australia!) doing things most people can only dream about. Staying on a luxury three-bedroom property with pool, Nemo at your beck and call. And bloging too. That discover what the area has to offer probably means you have to do the 'hard work' of going swimming around the island, scuba diving, snorkelling, maybe take some photo stills and videos while you're down there (or should I say down under :-p) hiking and hopping around at least 25 island resorts. And did I say BLOGGING too?
You want that job? Apply here. I heard even someone from the Vatican City checked out the website.