19 Photos That Will Make You Dream About Baguio Country Club

I was very very privileged to have experienced Baguio Country Club at least once in my life.

Imagine yourself waking up to this kind of view with the cool breeze on your face and the clean scent of pine trees on your nose.

18 Awesome Photos Taken Inside Cafe Juanita

Inside Cafe Juanita is a festival of colors.

15 Top of the Mind Filipino Restaurants Where to Take Your Foreign Friends

One day, I asked for recommendations through a Facebook shoutout for the best Filipino restaurant within the city where we can take our visiting friend from Japan. I was overwhelmed by the responses and thought of blogging about these restaurants.

Here are the top-of-the-mind recommendations in no particular ranking (just alphabetical).

1. 9 Spoons

www.ourawesomeplanet.com

12 Photos That Will Make You Choose to Stay in Caves Dive Resort When You're Planning to Travel to Camiguin

When I first stepped in the island of Camiguin, Caves Dive Resort knew just how to warm my heart with this simple gesture.

8 Reasons Why Ardent Hot Spring in Camiguin is a Piece of Paradise

1. Ardent Hot Spring in the Philippines is one of our most favorite places in the world.

3 Reasons To Like the Ivi Premium Moisturizing Body Wash

How I brought myself to using this product in purple packaging?

Here’s the truth. Guys were used to just using just any product. I mean, in the past, there are really no shampoos and soaps for men, only for women. It was only recently that these products came out and before they did, guys were just accustomed to using what women bought in the supermarkets.

I use Pantene and, sometimes, my sister’s Neutrogena facial wash. I really have no problem using these “female” products and I don’t think using such (except for clothes, perfumes and other products that are really supposed to be for men) will reduce someone’s masculinity.

So I tried this new body wash by Ivi and from the guy’s point of view, here’s a short review of the product.

Listen, men.

1. Silky feeling after a few hours, you don’t need to lotion.

When I first used the body, it was last night. Now, the morning after that, I was impressed upon feeling my own skin. What I like about moisturizing products is that you can really test their effects after a few days but Ivi stood out by having its effect felt even during the morning after.

4 Things to Consider When Planning for a Blog

1. Content Generation

The content is the lifeblood of a blog. Without it, a blog is not a blog. At the onset, you must be able to plan how you will be able to get your contents. Will it be coming from you solely? Or will you solicit for guest posts? Whatever your source maybe, make sure that you keep the "blood" flowing.

You have to go for sustainability to keep your blog going. Other important questions to ask yourself include "Where will I get my ideas for your topics?" and "What kind of resources do I have that will help me generate contents for my blog?" For example, you are a frequent traveler because of your job. Then, it will be very easy to suggest that you blog about your travels. The key here is maximing the opportunities and resources that you have. If you have a steady supply of a commodity, then blog about it!

2. Promotion

A blog is meant to be read. To get readers, you have to promote your blog. How do you maximize this opportunity? Promote your blog to as many possible touchpoints that you have access to - online and offline. Promote through your Facebook account, Facebook Pages, Facebook Groups, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Pinterest, Instagram and others! The more touchpoints that you have, the more readers that you will gain.

But of course, you cannot just promote to anyone. To become strategic in targetting your readers, you must be able to know what kind of readers read your blog. Once you know who they are, then it will be easier for you to choose which touchpoints to use in promoting your blog.



3. Participation

Plan how readers and fans can participate in the growth of your blog. Can they submit guest posts? Can they donate money through PayPal? Can you organize contests for them? Whatever your activity may be, make sure that your readers and fans have a way of joining an activity in your blog, aside from reading.

4. Monetization

Although this is is not imperative for all, I believe that it will be beneficial to monetize a blog. It will surely help the blogger continue on what he or she is doing. How do you want to earn money through blog? Do you want to put Google Ads on it? Do you plan to leave a space for advertisers that you may contact by yourself? Do you plan to sell your products and services through it? Whatever your plan is, make sure that you include the monetization of your blog as one of your considerations.

You might also our blog entitled 8 Things to Consider Before Starting a Blog.

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

15 Photos That Will Make You Believe That White Water Rafting in Cagayan De Oro is Awesome

1. The tour group that accommodated us fed us lunch first.

  

10 Tips To Get Your Slides Featured on SlideShare's Homepage

How I got featured on SlideShare’s Homepage?

Actually, there is no exact science as to how SlideShare chooses their featured slides. They said they handpick the slides one by one.

When I got featured, the number of views for my deck rose from 100 to more than 1,000 in just a couple of hours. If you are strategically preparing your slides for this kind of stardom, of course, you are also increasing the possibility of getting more fans and followers for your Facebook Page and Twitter account (if those touchpoints are in your SlideShare page).

Click on this link to view the deck featured on SlideShare.

Here, though, are few personal tips that I want to share with you on how I created the deck that got featured.

1. Understand clearly what the topic is all about.

Before I start any deck, I take a considerable amount of pause and then ask myself, “What is the topic really all about?” As speakers, sometimes we get too excited to share our ideas and miss the whole point why we got invited on the first place. There is a reason why we get invited as speakers and the audience also got needs that we can suffice. The key is in knowing clearly what we can contribute to their knowledge through our talks.

2. List down all the ideas that you want to share about the topic.

Personally, I always want to give my audience an exhaustive list of all the important lessons that I have learned about the topic that is assigned to me. Therefore, I start by creating a long list of important lessons coming from my head and heart and then, I choose.


3. Choose the best ideas.

Yes, I choose from the list. It depends on the amount of time I was given. Sometimes, I group similar ideas into groups and discuss them by group. Sometimes, I just discuss them as a list. The key is in choosing the best ideas that speak to you the most and then, sharing it to others.

4. Transform each idea into impact statements.

Transforming each idea into impact statements is very important. First, you are helping your audience remember your ideas. Second, you are helping yourself become tweet-able (so think 140-characters or less). And third, you ultimately are helping yourself. I’ll tell why in the next item.

5. Use the impact statements as your talking points.

Click on this link to view the deck featured on SlideShare.

Because you will use the impact statements as your talking points, you don’t have to memorize or read your whole talk. All you need to do is keep yourself posted through these talking points which you may read through your deck flashed overhead. Each impact statement should go right through your heart and to your audience’s hearts. Once this happens, that’s when you should start talking.

6. Pick the most thought-evoking image that you can find for each talking point.

A picture paints a thousand words, they say. If that is so, choose the right images that will support your talking points and you will be spared from too much talking.

7. Give your deck a catchy name.

The name of your deck is the first text that shall be read by your audience, unless you show something else. Make it a goal to catch their attention using this word or phrase.

8. Match the name with a perfect image.

Focus on the feeling that an image will evoke once the audience sees it. If it feels right with your deck title, use it.

9. Leave your contact information on the last slide.

Believe me, if you decided to follow the previous items, people will want to contact you.

10. Put your social media touchpoint on each slide.

Your Twitter handle and a hashtag will come very handy on each slide. If someone likes one of your impact statements, there is a fat chance that you will be quoted on Twitter.

Below are some more tips that SlideShare shared.

7 Tips For Getting Featured on SlideShare from SlideShare

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

3 Lessons Coach Jim Saret Taught Me About Fitness, Life and Digital Marketing

Who is Coach Jim Saret?

Coach Jim was catapulted to stardom when he was chosen as one of the coaches for The Biggest Loser: Pinoy Edition alongside Chinggay Andrada. During the Digital Influencers Marketing Summit 2013 where I first saw him in person, he told us that he coached for the Biggest Loser team where the “seniors” belonged to, while Chinggay coached for the younger ones. Despite the odds, Larry Martin, a former police officer and a member of his team, bagged the title as the first ever winner of the competition.

Why I listened to him?

Even from afar, you will see Coach Jim’s dedication to helping more people live a healthier lifestyle. Despite his fame, I did not see any hint of pride for himself or any ambition to become a showbiz personality. All I see is a man married to his passion and that passion is to help others live better lives. During his talk he said something like, “Hindi mababayaran ang experience na makita ang isang tao na makita ang sarili niya na nagbago ang pangangatawan.” (Seeing a person see the changes in his body is a priceless experience.) 

He was very real and authentic in person. He came without a presentation and only brought with him some photos and videos to show to us. In the middle of his talk, he funnily admitted that he can’t operate a Macbook and also fondly calls Ms. Janette Toral as “JT” whom he had formed a really good relationship with, as his digital marketer and personal friend.

Coach Jim may look very tall and well-built but he is very down-to-earth and humble.

1. The power of the right motivation.

Eat and exercise to become strong, not to lose weight. I was taken aback when he said this. When you look everywhere, many products and services are being advertised to help people lose weight and look better. But Coach Jim thought differently and I believe him. Why? The Biggest Loser: Pinoy Edition is the first ever franchise that allowed their finishers to go topless during the end of the competition. Other franchises cannot do that to their finishers because of the usual case of excess skin when someone loses weight. But Coach Jim’s program made his team look good while losing weight. And all these became possible because of the power of the right motivation.


He further explained that strength-training is the key. If you train your body to become strong, you are training yourself to enjoy sustainable exercise for a longer period of time and before you know it, you are not only losing weight, you are also feeling stronger and enjoying exercise itself, not growing tired of it.

I believe that this is also true in everything that we do in life, may it be in digital marketing or other fields of interest. We must aspire to “strengthen” ourselves in whatever we do and not focus on external motivations and rewards. Being strong allows us to do more. And the more we do, the better we become.

2. Everything is possible.

Coach Jim told us that he was able to design a fitness program that burns 600 calories in 4 minutes. Nobody believed in him, of course, for that seems impossible. But as you know how stories like this turn out, he was able to prove it in front of many people through a demonstration. In the end, he was able to redeem himself and everybody was happy.

At this day and age, we are given with so much knowledge and resources that we can use to improve things, including lives of other people. Coach Jim is an innovator in his own respect. I believe that we, in our own fields of interest, can be innovators too. And we must not be afraid to introduce new things despite the odds against us. If we know that our ideas will help others, we must share it and not let the odds bring us down.

3. It doesn’t have to be too tough.

If there’s anything Coach Jim taught me during his talk, it’s the fact that exercise doesn’t have to be tough. I can be fit and healthy without complaining about it. In fact, doing it the hard way is sometimes, the wrong way. If something is very difficult for us to do, we won’t be able to enjoy it and thus it won’t be sustainable for us to do in the long run. The key is enjoying what we do. If we don’t enjoy it at first, we can find ways to make it enjoyable.

In life, the things that we do don’t have to make us suffer. If we are suffering at work, we must find a way to make it easier and more enjoyable for us. If we are pushing ourselves too hard, there may be something wrong somewhere in the equation.

Thank you Coach Jim and to everyone who attended and supported us during the recently concluded Digital Influencers Marketing Summit 2013!

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

3 Lessons in Life, Social Media Marketing and Customer Service

This post summarizes my talk during the 2nd Digital Influencers Marketing Summit held at the SMX Convention Center last September 21, 2013.

Today, I’d like to share with you three most important lessons that I have acquired in my life as a social media marketing and customer service professional. I started blogging back in 2010 and then I became a CBSME student. After graduation, I was hired by a local ad agency as a Digital Marketing Manager before I was absorbed by Globe Telecom as a Senior Community Manager. Now that I decided to do things on my own, I founded a startup called Mediactiv8, an agency that envisions to promote digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines.

The Age of Listening

For many years, marketers and customer service professionals are just great talkers. We have successfully mastered the art of talking to consumers through billboards, emails, in-store ads, magazines, phones, radio, television and others. But with the advent of social media, the game has changed. The challenge for us now is knowing how to listen more.

The Age of Listening: Social Media Marketing

Stop marketing. Start listening. It will be very difficult to succeed in social media marketing if you don’t know your consumers well. You have to know the answers to simple questions such as “What time are they active online?” and “What types of content do they usually like, comment on and share?” For you to know your consumers well, you have to learn how to “listen”.

Facebook Insights, Google Analytics and others are some of the tools which can help you understand your consumers better.

The Age of Listening: Customer Service

Master a listening tool. Did you know that social media management tools are also called “listening tools”? In Globe, we were able to “listen” to what our subscribers say about us because of these tools. If someone tweets that there is no Globe signal in their place, our tools will be able to detect the tweet and then we’ll proactively engage the subscriber.

Sprout Social and Lithium are examples of listening tools.


Best of Both Worlds

There are two worlds: the offline and the online. Because of the clear distinction between the two, they are often made mutually exclusive and separated. But to think about it, there really are no purely offline campaigns as much as there really are no purely online campaigns.

Let me convince you. What has the capacity to become popular online, also has the capacity to become popular offline. On the other hand, what can be a talk-of-the-town online, may also be a talk-of-the-town offline. There is a common ground between the two worlds and the best social media marketers and customer service professionals are those who will be able to find it.

Best of Both Worlds: Social Media Marketing 

Marry the two worlds. One of the measures of a truly successful social media marketing campaign is if it was really able to create a buzz in the offline world. On the other hand, an offline campaign may also be called successful if people talked about it in the online world. This is what marrying the two worlds is about. The challenge for social media marketers is to create a synergy between the two worlds and to maximize the conversations that will be produced from them.

Best of Both Worlds: Customer Service

Humanize the experience. This means stopping from hiding from brand logos whenever engaging with consumers and also means going out of your way to create a relationship with them even outside social media.

We had been doing this in Globe. We use our own profile photos in our official Globe Twitter accounts that we use in engaging our subscribers. In creating genuine relationships with our subscribers, we also organize contests for them and then ask the Twitter team to hand the prizes to the winners personally.

It Takes A Village

There is an African Proverb that goes like “It takes a village to build a community.” Same goes for social media marketing and customer service. A social media marketing or a customer service campaign will not be successful without the people who will support it.

It Takes A Village: Social Media Marketing

Build a community. Build a campaign. As much as you are thinking about your blog, think about your readers. As much as you are thinking about your brand, think about your consumers. As much as you are thinking about strategy, think about culture. Did you know that culture eats strategy for lunch? Without community and culture, it will be hard to make anything successful in social media. Good thing there are Facebook Pages, Facebook Groups, Twitter and forum sites that allow us to establish our communities.

One very good example of this is the Top 10 Emerging Influentials of 2013. Without a community of bloggers who will vouch for these blogs, not a single one of them be able to make it to this writing project.

It Takes A Village: Customer Service

Create a culture of helping one another. In Globe, we created a community of subscribers through a forum site where they can get help from fellow subscribers about their concerns. Starting a culture that allows people to help one another creates a community that is sustainable and not dependent on the very few customer service representatives that a company employs. If you help the people help themselves, you will be rewarded.

Be the good influencer.

We have all the resources that we need at our disposal. The challenge for us is to become digital influencers of the good kind. There are people who would rather talk about people and problems. On the other hand, there are people who would rather talk about idea and solutions. I hope you make the good choice.

Let’s keep in touch through www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

3 Lessons in Life, Social Media Marketing and Customer Service from Mark Delgado, CBSME

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

5 Tips to Improve Your Talks

This blog post is inspired by Ms. Janette Toral's blog entitled "Speakers are not heroes".

1. Share fresh ideas.

Truth is, people come to seminars to learn new things. So make sure that your are sharing with them something new and substantial, something that is drawn from your own unique experiences. Avoid generic titles and motherhood statements. Introduce new perspective. Challenge the status quo. And forecast the future.

2. Show your passion.

Nothing replaces passion. Passion is contagious. If you're passionate about what you're talking about, people will know and bigger is the chance that you'll make them agree with your thesis.

3. Tell stories.

Connecting is as important as communicating. When you hit the podium, make sure that you don't just talk. Tell stories. Connect to your audience. People love stories. It makes them imagine and think. Telling stories is much better than merely reciting a list of ideas that you have. Find your audience's sweet spot and you'll be rewarded with an attentive set of listeners.

4. Talk about your failures and successes.

Part of telling stories is being open in sharing what really happened. May it be a failure or a success, make sure that you provide your audience with a clear insight of what they must do and not do when they are about to cross their own bridges. One day, they will thank you for your honesty.



5. Be a mentor, not a hero.

Ms. Janette Toral told us that she read a book called Resonate, written by Nancy Duarte. The book tells us that as a speaker, you are wearing a hat of a mentor, not of a hero. The audience is the hero, not you. If you are the mentor then you have the burden of teaching and guiding the heroes in front you. If you hone them right, they will be perfect arrows that will hit the bull's eye.
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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

5 Lessons I Learned from Extreme Productivity Preaching (Victory Ortigas’ Proof Series)

1. God doesn’t want us to be lazy.

The Apostle Paul gave a strong warning against idleness to the people of Thessalonica.

"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to workshall not eat.'" -Thessalonians 3:6-10

2. God wants us to be fruitful.

Jesus wants us to be fruitful. But we can only be fruitful if we stay with Him.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." -John 15:1-4

3. Your identity will lead you to your purpose.

Pastor Rico said that the unique talents and skills that we have is the key to discovering our life's purpose. Our talents and skills are God's gift to us and He wants us to use them for His glory and honor.

4. Our gifts must cause us to work harder.

Pastor Steve Murrell said in his blog that being gifted is not a call to be lenient, instead it's a call to hone that gift to be more productive. Sometimes, we have the tendency to become lax and overlook the things that we are particularly good at. Because we know that it's easy for us, sometimes we fail to understand that it's the very gift that God wants us to develop. The greatest tragedy is looking for other gifts when God's gift for us is gleaming in front of us. When this happens, of course, there is no other way to solve this problem but to come confidently to the Father who loves us so much and will open our eyes to see our gifts given by Him.

5. Worldly achievements, when offered to God, become great things.

Before Pastor Rico's preaching ended, he showed to us a video of girl who studied filmmaking in UP. Her story inspired me a lot. She said that on the day of the filmmaking, they encountered so many trials such as rain and muddy location. But her mother prayed with her. The situation was beyond their control that time, but certainly not beyond God's. In short, they lifted up in prayer their petition and that is for God's will to be done. In the end, the girl graduated from college, got superb comments from the defense panel who graded her film and lastly, her film got recognized in the Manhattan Film Festival. What a victory it is when we offer our winnings to Christ!

3 Important Life Lessons Jenni Epperson Taught Me During the 2nd Mompreneur Summit

When Jenni Epperson walked up the stage, what I saw is a picture of an elegant high-fashion woman who wears a cheetah printed coat, red lipstick and carefully chosen accessories. This woman made it to the top, I said to myself. But when she started talking, Jenni is actually so much more.

She was more than what met my eye. She was funny, witty and real. She may be high-fashion, but she’s also very down-to-earth. Her authenticity radiated all over the place and it even occurred to me that this woman is actually famous but that didn’t go to her head.

I learned a lot of things from her and I got surprised with myself for taking down notes- something that I don’t usually oblige myself to do unless, something is really really noteworthy. In fact, her talk was noteworthy and this is me sharing to you all the gems that I found during her talk.

1. Self-discovery is a journey.

Just like any regular human being, Jenni found herself wanting to “find” herself too. There were just too many things that she wanted to do and one day she just felt confused and lost just like what happened to many of us too. She, then, decided to resolve this by going on top of a hill somewhere in Laguna and, uhm, apparently nothing happened. But for sure, a series of events occurred after that that made her the “Jenni Epperson” that she is now. She told us that knowing one’s self is important. How much do we really know ourselves? If your answer is not so much, it’s alright. What’s important is the willingness to “begin” the journey that entails trying many things along the way until we get there. Success happened to her. It can happen to us too.


2. It’s ok to be passionate about many things.

I am one of those people who frowns whenever told “Find your passion and make it your profession.” Problem is I do have a lot of things I am passionate about. I love business, singing, social media and writing. Which one should be my profession? Sometimes I beat myself for liking too many things. I call myself things such as happy-go-lucky, irresponsible and uncommitted. But when I listened to her, I found an ally and she said that it’s alright to like so many things and feel confused at times. The key is to try these things as much as you can. Again, this is a journey and not everyone will figure out their passions early in life. Some will take years to figure it out but the journey counts as much as the destination itself. Jenni also said that she took so many roles too. She became a receptionist, writer and whatnot and she was not ashamed to tell us about all of these things. She also said that trying out different things will help you do a process of elimination. The more that you eliminate, the more that you become aware of the things that you don’t really want until you’re down to the really few things that really speak to your heart.

3. Be your most authentic self.

Finding yourself is worth it. One of the benefits of the journey is that you learn to become your most authentic self. At the early stages of our lives, I believe that we don’t have yet or we are not aware yet of our identities. We usually look up to people and then imitate them. We were once superman, spider man and wonder woman. As we go on in years, we learn more about ourselves and Jenni believes that this process is very crucial. The more that we know ourselves, the more we can become authentic. I believe that being authentic and real to ourselves is one of the best gifts that we can offer the world. Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”

Thank you so much, Jenni.
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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Mark Delgado (@iammarkdelgado) is a Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur (CBSME) who is passionate about consultative works, creative writing, events management, ideation, startupreneurship, strategic marketing and training. He founded Mediactiv8, a startup social media marketing company that advocates digital marketing education and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. To see more of his works, please check out www.facebook.com/Mediactiv8.

For Janet Napoles

Dear Janet,

I don’t have much to say about you. I actually am one of those Filipinos who isn’t much into politics. We have different reasons for not being too involved. Some are just extremely busy. Some may just want to be ahead of the game by getting involved in other ways. Some just don’t get politics. Some had just given up. I believe I am a mixture of all four.

Janet, I don’t know if you have the slightest idea how popular you had become in the online world. I used to not really care about the lives of celebrities and politicians that appear on my timeline, but you had consistently been there in the past few days. Your name is all over the place. I think it even trended on Twitter too. Your photos had been used in so many memes. As a social media marketer, I know how difficult it is to make someone or something popular online. But yours was a curious case for me. You are hated. You are supposed to be “unpopular”.

Janet, you have angered the people.

You have touched a very sensitive part of their souls. Them, the taxpayers. They were just busy working for their lives one ordinary day. Until, your story.

Southbound

Dear Abba,

A few months ago, I was able to visit the South. Thanks to Geraldine, my longest-running high school friend who I still keep in touch with until now. It was a real treat that we were friends since I find it really hard to believe that an extrovert and an introvert can be friends like us.

But we are! And we still enjoy doing those dates together just like what we did during our CMLI days in Baguio. Those were the good times! She was my best buddy, my loyal supporter, my photographer and everything in between. How can I ever thank her enough? How can I thank you enough for her?

The day we went to Westgate, it was also a surprise to meet Harold again, our former batch mate during high school and now her schoolmate in the aviation school. She used to say that she never expected to be friends with him counting the many years of being out of high school where they also both barely know each other. How surprising life can be and how time flies so fast!

Abba, always be with Geraldine. You know the desires of her heart and I know how special she is in your eyes. She used to declare that she was "your" favorite. How many girls in the world have that kind of assurance in their hearts? I am amazed by her sometimes. You two must have spent too many good times together.

I know that you have in store so many good things for her. May you grant her the patience that she needs until the perfect time comes for her to receive the fullness of your blessings in her life. May she always seek your face, more than anything else.

Thank you for keeping these two friends of mine safe always.

Excited to fly soon with her in the aviation school,

Mark