I’m too lazy to add the exact conversion for all the items but the exchange rate is:

$1 AUD = PHP 42.3 or PHP 100 = $2.36

:D

We started off with some lunch at a bubble tea (BBT) place called….well… ‘Bubble Tea’. Unlike most of the BBT places in Perth, many stores in Manila also have some food selections to go along with the tea. This particular one had a Japanese menu and so I got myself a stewed beef udon soup with a melon BBT. Neither items were the best I’ve ever tasted but I was still happy to have a full tummy and sit with my aunties.

After lunch it was shopping time but to be honest, I’ve gotten through most of my shopping list so from now on I’ll be more focused on getting stuff for the rest of the family. Since I had Auntie Elizabeth walking around with me, I thought it’d be a prime opportunity to look for a gift for my cousin Rebecca who is a similar size to auntie. We went in and out of the female shops and with each new store I became more and more concerned that people would think i’m looking for an outfit for myself for a night of drag in the town. Eventually I settled an item for Rebecca as well as items for Chris and Rob (for those that don’t know who they are, you only need to know they are family members related to me in some way).

Victory mode was upon me and there was apparently a little anime convention upstairs that happens randomly about once a month so I headed up there for some casual browsing. There was some nice merch there that was super cheap too including some animal felt beanies for only 50P (about $1) and yet I still couldn’t bring myself to buy it when I knew I’d probably never wear it… damn my monetary conscience! I did however purchase a little something for a certain someone who will be receiving it in the mail very soon :)

The day went by really fast and suddenly I was running late for a concert Uncle Wayne had got tickets for. I didn’t know what exactly it was before going there and I wasn’t that hyped about it but as it turns out, I had a really good time. It was a christian music festival/concert that included several (about 8) different bands who rocked out the stadium packed with jumping and singing. I’m not the most religious person in the world these days but I’m certainly no hater for those that do. I found myself getting back into the swing of things as I really felt the music and presence in that place. The standout performers of the night I thought were the New Zealand, Parachute Band and Canadian, Starfield.

For the past few days my auntie has insisted that I have some midnight snacks since I’m so full at dinner (and every waking hour for that matter) and I had never taken her up on that offer but tonight I came back around 1am and demolished a piece of cake before heading straight to bed. It’s going straight to my thighs! :))

It was quite a long drive to the mall but it was all for the Adidas outlet which apparently has super good mark downs…. and it certainly was true! While unfortunately there wasn’t a great deal of range there, I managed to find a pair of basketball shoes I liked and purchased them at 40% off! (as well as a jacket and singlet). Oh I think I failed to mention that Philippines for some odd reason idolises America… but who can complain when it means that they also have crazy Thanksgiving sales! Woop woop! Love cheap stuff :D

Anyway, so I visited Conti’s again with my sister-in-crime/sweets  and got a strawberry cheesecake which was suuuuuuuper dooper yummy. Apparently we were in a pretty upper class area and I found out first hand when I visited the bathroom and found some toilet roll origami :D We went for a browse in the bookstore (David near a book???) and found myself at the music level (all is right in the world again :P ). We then headed back closer to home through dense traffic for dinner at Amici’s for pizza and pasta. All the food was really nice but I think the wood fire oven pizza in particular was very good. We rounded off dinner with some choc and pistachio gelato, or so I thought…. because right after we headed over to Banapple for more cake! I heard it was better than Conti’s so I was expecting true greatness though the Snicker Chocolate Cheesecake I ordered didn’t quite live up to the hype. While it really was delicious for the first few bites, it became a chore to eat after half way through but I still can’t believe how cheap cake is over here! For the price of what we pay for a slice of cake in Perth (~$5-6) you can buy an entire cake in Manila and a dayum good one at that!

We hobbled back to the car with ultra full stomachs and went home where I got to spend some more wonderful time with shobe (Chinese for ‘little sister’ and refers to Andrea). We had lots of story time and ended the night playing with a pretty awesome Angry Birds playset.

Uncle Julius took us out to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant called Vikings. Now if you’re thinking of something like Sizzlers, you’re on the right track but you are miles away from the destination! For one all inclusive price of PHP 688 (~$16) you get access to EVERYTHING (mains/dessert/drinks). The mains includes roast meats, chips, sushi, sashimi, dim sum, tempura, kebab sticks, shabu shabu, noodles, pasta and much much more. Drinks bar had soft drinks, tea, coffee, ice tea, free made-to-order milk shakes and even beer on tap. Everyone’s favourite the dessert bar had LOADS to choose from including frozen yoghurt, ice cream, fruits, fondue fountain, black forest cake, mango cake, various shot glass desserts and best of all a rich chocolate roll.

OM NOM NOM NOM!

While I wouldn’t say the food was the best I’ve ever tasted, it was still very delicious and in terms of food I say Quantity OVER Quality :P I left the restaurant feeling quite sick from over eating but that’s a good sign in my book, it means great value for money xD

Oh right and remember that coincidence on day 1? It happened again with my Auntie Angel (not pictured below) who just so happened to also be at Vikings with some other relatives! The luck kept on coming as my cousin who was working at the car convention we were going to by chance was on his way back from lunch as well and we met up just outside the show. I’m not quite sure what the convention was called but there was lots of nice cars (a lot of orange ones!) so we walked off lunch as we had a look, took pictures and I even managed to buy a nice shirt.

Continued shopping at Mall of Asia to find some shorts for myself which I managed to succeed and got two pairs. While it’s nice that everything is cheaper here, it makes me sad that I have to buy Large T-Shirts and Extra Large pants when I’m a Small/Medium in Australia. Oh the shame :(

The drive home was a looooooooong ride with Manila peak hour traffic but it was a welcomed sit down after lots of walking. Today was the first day that little Andrea warmed up to me but BY GOSH SHE IS SOOOO ADORABLE! AIYAH. So tempted to steal her back to Australia xD I got some hugs and kisses and at home I played with both her and John Andrew. I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and there were all these books scattered around, she was walking around picking them up and bringing them over to me to sit on my lap and “read” with her HIHIHI! It made me so so so so so happy! That’d be my highlight of the trip so far, I love kids :) I can’t wait until Jennifer (my brother’s baby daughter) gets a bit older so I can play with her like that.

While there was a big range of designs at this shop, there still weren’t too many in my size. SADFACE. Not all was lost though because I soon found out you are able to pick out most of the designs and get it printed on any shirt colour of your choosing! Yay! So I picked out a few designs that I liked and got them printed. There was one shirt I really liked but unfortunately it wasn’t one that I could get done in store :(

Moving across two shops and we came across a store called David & Goliath, apparently a popular American brand which I’d never heard of but they were very nice! The shirts all had some sort of pun on it and I liked them a lot. They were quite expensive (by Philippino standards anyway) but I just had to have them. I couldn’t get my favourite one since it was a girl’s shirt (orange) but I did get another awesome one which was indeed for men (green).

We moved on to lunch and went to the forever beloved KFC and the meal of my dreams was there: the bun-less, double patty burger with chips and gravy; the Double Down meal

Oh yeah did I mention they have the gravy on the pump? You just grab a plate and keep on squirting as much gravy as you want for free. BOOYAH! Notice the chips in the second pic, that’s two portions on the one plate and still about only half of a regular Australian serve. It mattered not, the chips were really crunchy and yummy :D

We did a lot more browsing around and aunty bought some things as well but there were no other purchases for me that day. On the way home we went past a cafe called Conti’s for some cake but apparently have very yummy regular food too. I got a ‘Choc Overload’ cake which really was an exaggeration, it was just the right amount of chocolatey goodness xD SOOOO YUMMEH!

You know shopping and eating cake is a lot of hard work so to round off the day, we went to get a nice and relaxing full body massage. I’m totally a pro at getting a massage now.. unlike last time…

Well it’s holiday time again and I’m back in Manila to visit my family and do some serious shopping. No wedding for me this time and for the most part I’ll be alone (no dad) so I have a tad more freedom to chill and enjoy my days at my own pace :D

It all started in the Spring of 2011. The moon was high in the star sprinkled sky as the trees rustled softly in the cool gentle breeze. The long hand at 12 while the short hand stood at 10, the time was right; conditions were perfect for fate to approach at this fine time on the 21st of November. A communication line was opened between myself and a mysterious maiden as a text was sent and received. Like a bolt of lightning striking down upon the land twice, the maiden arose from the horizon and took flight like a bumble bee!… yeah that took wayy too much effort.

So here’s what I was trying to say…

I got to the airport about 10pm on the 21st of November to get ready for a 12:15am flight. While I was waiting I decided to text Rachel to see if she wanted anything from Manila (since stuff is chiiiiiiip) and as it turned out, she was at the airport too! Quite the quinky dink! Though I was off to Singapore and she was off to Hong Kong, there was only a 30 min different between flights so we got to chat and wait together. Since it was my first international trip alone it was very welcome too!

Boarding the flight was smooth sailing but since I was on Jetstar, I was a tad worried that I wouldn’t have much room for my legs. As it turned out, I managed to get an aisle seat without asking for it yay :) So what does David want on his first international flight alone? A pretty girl to sit next to of course! Did he get it…….well not particularly. I mean.. the plane WAS pretty much filled with young peeps which is a given seeing as it was the midnight flight on the most budget airline (stingy student savingsss) but somehow I managed to score myself an old mainland Chinese couple who seemed to think that their $2 ticket entitles them to run the plane. Now I’m sure there are many great mainland Chinese folk but golly gosh, these geezers weren’t so bright. While the plane was still on the incline from take off, the guy decided it’s time to go to the bathroom and stands up to go. The attendants were screeching at him and I was like WTHBROSITDOWNNAO! He proceeded to sit back down and grizzle about how unfair they were being…. or so I think…he was speaking in Chinese so I can’t say for sure. Later on the lady decided she wanted to lie down between the two chairs which is like, whatever. Fine. But she obviously thought her toes were a tad cold since she TUCKED THEM UNDER MY LEG! CMONN REALLY!?

Moving on.. other than that the flight was actually quite pleasant. It seems my dad pre-bought my meals for the flight because the stewardess came around and took my order and I never paid a cent. Speaking of which, that stewardess… like… I’ve used this line before “have I met you around somewhere before? You look very familiar…….oh right I know. You’re the girl of my dreams ;)” but I SERIOUSLY think I’ve met or seen her before. Perhaps she’s a friend of a friend or I came across (stalked) her on Facebook somehow but the thing is, she had quite a strong accent so it’s likely that she lives in Singapore not Perth. Consequently, I spent the majority of the flight thinking about how I know her and of course I never had the guts to actually ask so it will forever remain a mystery.

Good to know some companies still take air travel seriously..

Moving forward to the end of the flight, I got into Singapore around 5.30am and dayum it was hot and humid already! The stopover in Singapore lasted for 11 hours but fortunately my good friend Danielle agreed to come out and take me around for the day. After some extreme troubles and mix ups of meeting location (I didn’t have a phone so we had to communicate via Twitter AND the free airport WiFi was dropping every minute) we finally found each other and headed out to the city. I had one goal for the day and that was to eat some Xiao Long Bao and that is what we did. After some chatting, browsing and general time wasting the time was over and I departed for Manila. Nothing in particular to mention about that flight except that I somehow managed to sleep during the whole take off and woke up to the stewardess asking me what I wanted to eat. Have I mentioned that I love plane food before? Well now you know. The thing I was most concerned about for the whole trip was if I would fill out the customs declaration forms right as I had some animal products to bring over. My dad sent me the details of what he filled in and I copied it down but once I went through, they didn’t even look at the form or check my bag. Just took it off me and told me to go through. Ahhh fun times :)

Uncle Wayne (that you may or may not remember from my previous Manila travel blogs) came to pick me up and brought me to their home. It’s only been 11 months but I already completely forgot that it’s complete anarchy on the roads! So very scary, we were sandwiched between 4 giant trucks at one point and I don’t think they even knew we were there o.O After taking a shower to feel human again, I watched an ep of Firefly and drifted off to bed. It was a long 40 hour day but it was a good start to what should be a great trip! :D

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 LEVEL 1 COMPLETE

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It comes as no surprise either, since Facebook brought in a slew of new updates that the majority of users were not too happy about. Chances are you already know about them or experience them: the ticker feed, user lists, new privacy controls and of course the news feed update. I’ve seen many of my friends deactivate their Facebook accounts and look for alternative platforms; this was my golden opportunity to suggest Google+ and I’m sure many are doing the same.

Besides the flow of users between platforms, it’s been really interesting to watch these new updates to Facebook unfold as you see just how much pressure Google+ has put on Facebook. While some criticise Facebook and are outraged by their blatant attempts to copy several innovative Google+ features, I think that its actually a good development of competition between the networks. When Facebook had a monopoly of the market, there was no real incentive for them to work harder and bring out big changes but since they now have to compete, they need to do their best to keep their users online.

I trust you would have already joined Google+ by now *glares at those who haven’t* so Circle me and let’s Hangout sometime!

GOOGLE PLUS IS NOW OPEN FOR ALL!!

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

So as you may have noticed from the title, and the second title – Google released Google+ to the public on Wednesday 21st of September! Hoorah!

Its already been a couple of months since Google+ was originally privately launched to those who were given invites. While I think that it has been a really great network, it’s also been quite boring without people to share it with. So I welcome the official release with open arms and hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll get to see more of my friends moving across! *stares into the waste land*

With the official release came a couple of exciting new features which I think has really boosted the value of Google+ immensely. Apart from its simple interface and elegant circle algorithm, Google+ brought up its game with the following features:

Hangouts – While hangouts have been the standout feature of G+ all along, there were some significant changes made, including a style change, but more importantly integrated features of Google Documents so you can webcam, talk and work at the same time! Along with document creation and editing they also included a “sketchpad” which lets you draw with your friends. These new features are still very new and have some creases to iron out but they are well worth a try and will surely be a useful aid in online group work in the future. Another one of its outstanding features is the ability to share your screen with your friends which will benefit those looking for remote computer advice.

Searchbar – During the private release of Google+ there was no way to search for certain topics or content other than user names in the search bar. Considering Google is the most widely used search engine, this was poorly implemented and certainly not what we’ve come to expect from the company. The official release brought new function to the search tool and now lets you search for people, keywords and topics.

Hopefully you’ll soon join me on Google+ and.. uhh… we can play City Ville together :)

Note: this post was made in a Google+ hangout in collaboration with ohsogeoff

slightlydaveMusic

So my video camera was taken back for repair for a few months (yes months!) so I couldnt really film any good new videos. Just as well since I got super lazy! Anyways, what I could still do was do some song covers that didnt rely so much on good video so that’s what I did :)

Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day (cover)

I seem to have some weird misconception in my brain that says my voice suits the Green Day vibe/sound….. I blame the performance of Holiday I once did for competition that was rather well received! Anyway, this vid has terrible video quality since I was trying to use my webcam and it just wouldn’t render for me properly. Please watch with your ears :P

Swing Life Away – Rise Against (cover)

I didn’t really know what to do for my friends’ birthday present but I wanted to make something a bit more meaningful than a bottle of alcohol or salt and pepper shakers; so this video was born! I don’t think I really did the song justice so if you haven’t heard it before, be sure to check out the original too . Very melancholic and completely different from anything else they’ve done :)

slightlydaveTV

User vs Copyright

Yet another video I’ve had to do for uni but I had a lot of fun with this one……at least for the first 10-15 hours I worked on it. By the 20-25 hours I was wanting to stab myself in the face. Thankfully my ugly mug is still in tact and this video was even ready like 4 days before it was due!

In any case, I posted this vid as a response to a fairly popular video “Student vs Copyright” with over 2million views. The user had it set that he had to approve the video response. He watched my video fairly well straight away and commented which I was happy about but my vid wasn’t showing on his *sadness*

…..but as I just discovered today, it’s actually showing on his vid now! Pretty exciting for me since it’s the only response on there and as a result, my vid now has about 3k views! Much more than any other vid I’ve posted so far – hooray for the support of the YouTube community :)

In other news, I got a hair cut today that I was quite happy with for the first time in a while. I just showed the hairdresser a pic of some random kpop star I found in a magazine in the waiting area. Can you guess who it is? I sure don’t know :/

Okies, that’s it for today. TTYL!

I just wanted to let you know that I added a blog roll in the side bar of some of the Google+ Power Users that I enjoy reading the most!

In alphabetical order:

Ahmeed Zeeshan - In depth articles on Social Media, Technology & Google+ as well as some handy tips!

John Hardy - Shares a lot of good articles on Google+ and web development

Micheael Lee Johnson - Lots of posts about social media, technology, entertainment and just random awesome things on the web

Mike Elgan - A professional technology writer popularized by his “Google+ Diet.” Posts about anything and everything but it’s always interesting!

Pete Cashmore - Posts a lot of great up-to-date Google related news. As you’d expect from the founder of popular digital culture news site, Mashable.

If you’ve already got a G+ account, why not add them to your ‘Following’ circle :)