Feast of Ma-cho

Hurray I made it home! It was my 1st time to travel(long trip about 6-7 hours) alone since my family opt to stay for few more days in the province. And Whoaaa there's signal # 3 typhoon here in Manila when I arrived.... it was really spooky and gloomy... the whole city seems so black , blackness is all I can see ... As in!. I just hope everyone is fine or at least only few casualties.

Sigh! I'm back from my quick vacation.(OK, It is not really a vacation). Went to San Fernando La Union City to celebrate feast of our lady of Casaysasay or Mama Macho.

San Fernando La Union is my mom’s hometown. During our younger years, we (siblings) used to visit and stay there for vacation every summer. Gwama (my mom’s mom) and other relatives are living there. Gwama amazes me a lot, she is 92 years old and still can recognize people/us, she can still talk , can still carry her grandgrand child and can still walk although she complains about having leg/foot ache, must be because of her scoliosis and of course her old age would be a great factor. Hmmm... and now I’m wondering now if I will live that long?

Back to the feast...

Here’s a little religious history about Ma-cho:
In the Chinese hierarchy of folk deities, Ma-cho (Ma-Tzu) is the powerful Queen of Heavens and protectress of the sea. She is the patron saint of fishermen and overseas Chinese.

Legend says she was born a mortal, Lin Mo-liang (silent girl), during the Northern Sung dynasty (960-1127 A.D.) near Meizhou Bay in Fujian province.

During her lifetime of only 28 years, she was said to be exceptionally pure of spirit and compassionate, with supernatural powers. She supposedly performed miracles, subduing evil spirits and averting disasters at sea. She sacrificed her life, while trying to save seafarers.

After her death, people began to pray to her for success and good fortune. She has a huge following in China’s coastal areas. In Taiwan, where many Fujian folk migrated, she is worshipped by almost two-thirds of the population.

In March, Taiwan celebrates her birthday in over 500 Ma-cho temples. The most famous of the ceremonies is the Ma-cho procession or journey, chin hsiang (carrying the incense).

In Macao and Fujian, Taiwan and La Union and Batangas, millions of devotees believe the goddess is one and the same as Our Lady of Caysasay. The Filipino-Chinese communities based in San Fernando City, La Union, go on a yearly pilgrimage to our Lady of Caysasay shrine in Taal, bringing along the image of Mama Ma-cho of the macho temple.

Click here for pictures

Hope my wish will soon be granted.

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Coffee tasting

Last night, we have our coffee-tasting session at starbucks, Ems the Barista prepared the rare Brazil Ipanema Bourbon coffee and have it brewed two way that is french-press and drip. She asisted us to taste the pleasingly mild coffee using four techniques; sniff/smell , slurp(the louder the better), identify/ describe and pair. For me,press-brewed is much better than drip, it smells good and the flavour is much stronger, Wal-nut brownie added attitude to its nutty-soury taste.

Some Pix:







Since I've been talking about coffee, wanna give you a piece of advise:
Please brush your teeth or at least take after coffee mints after taking it. EWWWWWWWWWWW!

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CupeeQ

These are my 3 exquisite Starbuck Bearista:





My Cousin Rawbean (he's good artist; check out his artwork and blog) introduced me to these lovely Starbucks Cupee Q , limited edition and only sold in Taiwan **SADNESS* * I WANT ONE especially the employee cupee


4 different tastes of Frappuccino, namely:
- Java Chip Cupee( represents Java Chip Frappuccino),
- Banana Cupee( represents Banana Mocha Frappuccino),
- Green Tea Cupee( represents Green Tea Citrus & Cream Frappuccino)
- Caramel Cupee(represents Caramel Frappuccino)



figures representing different local customers.


2.5-inch Starbucks Cupee figure, exclusive for only internal employees of Starbucks and is not for sale


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Laiya Coco Grove Resort

Found this in my document archive,wrote this way way back for safeway philtech newsletter... added pix :)
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Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

Last April 28, 2006 was the well-attended Safeway Philtech Inc. Summer outing? A day for the dedicated employees to the leave their PC's behind for some fun in the sun. Unlike previous years, our company outing was held in Laiya Coco Grove Resort in San Juan Batangas. A place situated away from the hustle and bustle of Manila.

Three executive carriers were stationed at Valero St., everyone congregated and excitedly took their seats at around 6:00am. A bit of an exciting moment, however, arose for the men riding on one of the carriers as they were given the opportunity to flex their muscles. The vehicle, surprisingly, wouldn't start and they have to give it a little push to get it going, fortunately after a few hit they got the vehicle to start. The trip took us merely 2.5 to 3 hours but the event itself is quite a blast.

Everyone hurriedly searched for his or her designated cottages to leave their things. Morning snacks were served at once, followed by several games prepared by the organizers. Egg-catching, obstacle relay were some to name a few.

After the “ice-breakers”, we were broken into small groups and each enjoyed the different amenities the resort had to offer; most wanted to try the famous Fly Fox, while others opted to bathe in the sun first. A number jumped right into the warm swimming pool, as others jumped their hearts-out in the trampoline. Those who availed of the boat ride easily enjoyed the site the resort had to offer. The more adventurous ones tried snorkeling to appreciate underwater sites. The sporty ones played beach volleyball while some were contented by videoke-ing the day away.

After lunch, nominees for the best summer get-up were announced. Nominees for male category were Elbert Basa, Justin Gonzalez, LA Garcia Restito Barcebal,, Wilbert Sison , while for female category nominees include Anne Mabilangan, Eileen Refran, Kenneth Guevarra, Sarah Leopando and Sarah Teves. Each of them flaunted their summer outfit and fashionably struck their poses. The sexiest pose… I mean the best summer get-up goes to LA and Ken.

This year’s summer outing was really a good time for building team spirit. It feels good knowing I was there when it happened and it feels better knowing everyone enjoyed and had fun … can't wait till next year

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Laiya Coco Grove Resort
http://www.laiyacocogrove.com/

That's All!