Banchetto: Midnight Banquet

If you are working on a night shift in Ortigas business center, this weekly event is probably one of the things you look forward to finish off your work week. At around 11pm every Friday until 6am the next day Saturday, half of the road in Emerald Avenue is closed off for a hundred yards of tents of delicious food and drinks. Banchetto is an Italian word that translates to a big feast or banquet. The name is appropriate as the atmosphere is always festive every Banchetto day. The street is loitered mostly of yuppies working in call centers and BPOs whose Philippine operations are centered in the Ortigas area. The tables are not always enough and the place always packed so most of diners sit on the sidewalks and on the steps in front of the buildings enjoying the food they have chosen from the variety of cuisines available. The cuisines range from Filipino, Chinese, American, Italian, Japanese, Indian, East Asian, Korean and Mongolian treats. To top it off, they are sold in the most affordable prices. It is one place you should visit at least once when you are in Ortigas area.

Banchetto in Emeral Avenue. Food! food!

The usual crowds in Banchetto

Diners eating at the steps of Strata 200 Building

Banchetto nestled in between the buildings of Ortigas,one of the busiest business centers in the Philippines

US Embassy Non-Immigrant Visa Application Step by Step, How-to’s and Tips

Non-immigrant Visa is a visa issued by the United States of America to citizens of other countries who wish to enter the country for a temporary purpose. There are several visa classifications according to the purpose of visit.
Before you appear in US Embassy in Manila for the non-immigrant visa interview, make sure you accomplished the following checklist:

• Accurate and complete information on your DS-156 form with 2X2 photo. Photo should be a frontal shot of your face with both ears showing. Photo should be against white background and of you in business attire.
• Accurate and complete information on your DS-157 form.
• Passport
• Confirmed Interview schedule with the US Consul done by internet. Print email confirmation. You can do this by calling the call center or accessing online appointment application via their Visa Point™
• Paid Visa Application fees. DS-157 should have a machine validation from the bank when payment is made. Payment is roughly amounts to Php 7,000 when converted to peso.
• Letter of Invitation from business entity or family relations from USA
• Additional supporting documents depending on the purpose of your intention to enter the US Territories (Business, Work Permit, Tourist)

The Manila US Embassy where the non-immigrant visa interview is conducted is located at Roxas Boulevard , it is in front of the Bayview Park Hotel. See Google Map of US Embassy in Manila, Philippines.

The illustration below is the current procedure in applying for Non-immigrant Visa. Procedures could be subject to change at any time in the future but this is a good idea of the general step by step.

STEP 1: Non-Immigrant Visa Entrance
Fall in line in the non-immigrant queue. Reception attendants will confirm your appointment. Present your confirmed interview print-out, DS-156 and DS-157. A barcode sticker will be attached to your passport and Air21 form will be issued to you. Fill-out the Air21 form if your visa is approved.
STEP 2: Security and X-Ray
You will pass through a security check and your belongings will pass thru an x-ray machine. NO electronic devices and gadgets of any kind are allowed inside the embassy (cellphones, mp3 players, flash drive, etc). It is better to leave these items at home.
STEP 3: Pre-Screening
Pre-Screening is done in The Pavilion area. You can fall in line any one of windows labeled C, D, E and F. Present your DS-156, DS-157, passport and supporting documents. You will be given your QUEUE NUMBER. Keep this until the end of the interview. Proceed to the Waiting Area and wait for your Queue Number to be called.
STEP 4: Finger-Print Scanning
Queue Numbers will be called in random. Pay attention to this. When your number is called, proceed to the Finger-print scanning window where your finger-prints will be processed. After your prints are processed, they will return to you your passport, forms and documents.
STEP 5: Interview with the Consul
Wait for your Queue Number to flash on the queuing screen. When it’s your turn, go to the assigned window and present your documents and passport to the consul. The consul will ask you questions regarding your application. The consul will then inform you if your visa is approved or denied.
STEP 6: Visa and Passport Delivery
The consul will keep your passport if your visa is approved. You can now go back to the Pavilion where Air21 delivery service is located. Fill-out the form and pay the visa and passport delivery charge. Standard delivery time is one-week.

Some Helpful Tips in Applying for your Non-Immigrant US Visa

• Make sure forms are duly accomplished and documents are complete and accurate to avoid delays. Information on your passport should be the same of that written on your DS-156 and DS-157. If a question in the form is not applicable to you, make sure to write N/A or Not Applicable.
• Arrive in the Embassy at least 2 hours before your appointment time because queue lines can be very long. Arriving there early will give you ample time to go through the pre-screening process so you can make it on your scheduled interview with the consul in time.
  Answer the consul’s questions and explain in clear, short and concise manner. This is helpful for the consul and you.
• Make sure that you know pertinent information regarding your application that could include but not limited to:
  a. the purpose of your visit
  b. your relationship to the person who sent you the invitation
  c. dates (example: if you are attending a family member’s wedding, the date of the wedding. If you are going there for a training, the training dates)
  d. planned destinations in USA
  e. length of stay
  f. who will pay for your trip
  g. guarantee of your return to the Philippines
• Be honest on the information provided. Any fraud found will be subjected to refusal of any form of visa from the embassy in the future.
• You can bring a book to pass the time while waiting for your turn.
• Bring bottled water.
  
  Visit the Manila US Embassy for more information on Non-Immigrant Visa

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• Applying for Student's Permit from LTO

MV Doulos in Manila

Oh I know, I should try to post events on this blog as soon as they happened and not like three weeks later. No excuses, just pure absent-mindedness. Anyways, MV Doulos is a ship that has already traveled around the world for almost half century bringing books and charity to the most impoverished countries in the world. It is said to be the oldest floating bookstore and oldest active passenger ship according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

When you go on board, there are numerous framed posters chronicling the history of the ship. Of course, you will also find their famous bookstore where they sell different kinds of books from kids story books to cookbooks. What’s interesting is it started as a passenger vessel bringing potatoes to and fro Texas. Later in 1977, it was salvaged from a shipyard by a German non-profit organization GBA (Good Books for All) and transformed into something that it is today. It is registered in Malta and Doulos should mean “servant” in Greek.

But more than it’s commendable history and it’s astonishing record of receiving 2 million visitors on board to date, the heart of Doulos is its continuous mission to bring education and hope to places that is it most lacking. While they were in Pier 13 of South Harbour they did charity work in the most depressed areas in Manila. The ship was also able to travel in other locations in Cebu and Mindanao.The MV Doulos organization is also a channel where people can volunteer to help other people. It is a melting pot of many nations and backgrounds, in the hope that the assimilation of many cultures on board will create a sense of tolerance, understanding and friendships. To read more about them and their work, you can visit their website.

Applying for Student’s Permit from LTO

I went to LTO East Avenue to apply for my student’s permit this week. Admittedly I am scared out of my wit to drive and it is just out of necessity as requirement at work that I am even considering learning how to drive. Anyways, from past experience, I know I have to brace myself to having to get into a long line when doing transactions with government agencies. So as a preventive action, the first order of the day is to get there early. I got there at 7:00 in the morning and true enough, there was already a long line. I finished my transactions at around 9:30 a.m. At that rate, I’d say the service could still get better and should get better. It was only bearable because I met someone while waiting whom I was able to exchange conversations with.
If you want to apply for student’s permit the requirements are the following or you can check the LTO website. Student permit is a prerequisite when enrolling in a driving school and in applying for Non-Professional or Professional Driving license.

(1) TIN (Tax Identification Number)
(2) Photocopy of any of the following
a. Legal or Philippine Government issued ID ((SSS ID, PhilHealth ID, GSIS ID, TIN ID, Pag-ibig ID, Office ID)
b. NSO authenticated Birth Certifate
(3) Parents consent if you are 16 to 18 years old
(4) Php318.00 for payment of processing and permit.

How to get to LTO East Avenue Office
(1) Coming from South (Makati/Mandaluyong/Cubao)
a. Ride the SM Fairview Bus Route from any bus stop along EDSA going north and get off at LTO bus stop
(2) Coming from North (Fairview,Caloocan,Valenzuela)
a. Ride the Baclaran or MIA Bus Route
Nearby Landmarks: NSO Main Office, GMA 7 Station Building, Heart Center, Quezon City Hall

Application Process
(1) Fill-up the application form
(2) Pass it to the evaluator (Window 2/Window 3)
(3) Have your photo and signature taken on Window 6
(4) Pay the processing and permit at cashier on Window 7
(5) Permit is released on Window 13

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I was stranded on a Kids' World

How can these little bundles have so much energy in their body? This is what I was thinking while I chase Kirby, my friend's 2-year old boy, around the mazes of tunnels, slides, toy horses, toy guns and rubber mats. The law that mass should equal energy seems to not apply to this 2-feet bundle of joy, because I don't know where his energy is coming from his wee little body. He was giggling, running, crawling and laughing along with the other kids in the Kidz Republic, a children's indoor play area at the Mall of Asia. It's actually a good place where the parents can leave their kids to play and interact with other kids. I volunteered to watch over Kirby since he is too little to be left alone in the play area and needed adult supervision, while his Mom and Ninang Van go to the MOA seaside to watch the fireworks. So much for volunteering. I was made to go through a tunnel that was too small for me, dive into a pool of colorful balls so Kirby won't choke himself jumping up, under and around it, and hold him while we go down a seven foot slide with his older sister and my godchild Khiara. I also made sure he does not knock his head unconscious somewhere since he was not even scared to climb or crawl something that is supposed to be too tall and scary for him .And I’m going to say this with conviction that being an adult surrounded by hysterically joyful kids is like being a person out on space, in some weird world where creatures barely resembling humans, breath under the water. I felt too big, too awkward, and too adult.
Oh of course I enjoyed myself, because one cannot help so when surrounded by the laughter and happiness of the beautiful kids. You'd think to yourself, when was the last time I felt this so much joy for myself?
And yet, when Ninang Van and Mommy Claire fetch us after one hour of chasing, I told Ninang Van, "Remind me that I'm not getting a son". Hahaha. I give a thousand kudos to the parents who can tackle this kind of challenge and so much more in rearing up their children.

Ballet Phillippines presents Coppélia

the coppelia cast

I received a most generous gesture when my friend Herlene invited me to watch Ballet Philippines' Coppélia at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) last Sunday. I was so excited as it is my first time to watch a ballet show by the most prestigious ballet group in the Philippines. So even if I was so tired and sleepy from the previous night wild partying, I dragged myself out of bed to travel three hours from Cavite to Manila to watch the show.

It's a story about an engaged couple Franz and Swanilda, the life-size doll Coppelia and an eccentric doctor who created Coppelia. The ballet is composed of three acts. On the first act, Franz and Swanilda was about to be married, but Franz had this fascination with the doctors life-size doll Coppelia. On the second act, Swanilda managed to get into the doctors house with her friends. But the doctor arrived and she had to hide in the closet where Coppelia was also hidden. Franz, wanting to see Coppelia also managed to get into the doctor's house but the doctor had drugged him. Swanilda, not posing as Coppelia managed to trick the doctor and rescued Franz. They were reconciled and ultimately, got married. You can read the complete story here of Coppelia here. Personally, I thought Franz of the story was a royal jerk. Why be infatuated with a doll and profess his love for Swanilda at the same time. But then again, I was there to watch the Ballet and be enveloped with the audio-visual treat of the orchestra and the magnificent dancing and would like to ignore Franz psychology at this point. I may not be able to appreciate ballet the way that it should be appreciated by the ballet connoisseurs but a part of me know that I am watching something really good. This are just for the reasons of how the dance are executed, of the discipline in following show schedules, and the heart-felt performance. It is for the reasons of understanding the story without lines but just music and movement that proved that it was indeed a beautiful show. A personal note though and I say it again and again, that even if Ballet is not a mainstream entertainment, it should be made available to the public. I define available as to be advertised in the mainstream media and not just in lifestyle sections of the broadsheet. So that the public will be given the chance to appreciate it. I think the masses need to appreciate art just because it makes one's life richer and broadens one's perspective. Congratulations to the cast of Coppelia and the Ballet Philippines.

photos courtesy of this cute girl , ;)

Hunt for the Strawberry

While having a meeting on a Tuesday afternoon with my co-planners, I asked out of the blue and way out of the topic of ERP, meiruka, scheduling, blah blah being discussed at the moment of where I could buy fresh strawberries. Punky, always accommodating of my sometimes off-topic, crazy outbursts answered that it could be found in SM Bacoor, Hypermarket or Megamall. So I started the hunt at SM Bacoor, unfortunately, the fruit guy told me that it was not yet the season for strawberry. Well I understand that and so I went next to SM Hypermarket which is supposed to be SM mall conglomerate's biggest supermarket, fruit season or not. It's thirty miles and two hours ride from Cavite. Well at least thats that's still nearer than SM Baguio, where I can bet with my life, they have strawberries. But that prove to be my unlucky day. I still can't believe SM Hypermarket don't have strawberries! With some tweaking on the web (yes, I can be obsessive). I learned that Robinson's Supermarket supposed to have the freshest and the not so easy to find fruits and delis, so the next day I visited Robinson's Imus and I was not disappointed and found the sweet rubies.

On a tropical country like this, these rubies could be really so hard to find. How I wish I could walk again in the strawberry fields of La Trinidad and smell the luscious scent of ripen strawberry. The Benguet region, specifically, the La Trinidad valley is the only zone in the Philippines that has considerable large plots of strawberry farm. In 2004, President Arroyo declared March 18 as the strawberry festival of La Trinidad. The harvest is on the month of the Festival but there is also another harvest around November. But maybe it's nice to try planting them on other places too since Benguet is so far.Tagaytay is a cold place and fit for strawberry growing but I only see miles and miles of pineapple fields there, no strawberries. But anyways, I'm really no expert with growing strawberry.
But now that I have them on the fridge, I at least don't really have to imagine about La Trinidad. And I even made myself a Strawberry Bavarian. And because of this hunt, I learned some things about strawberry.

Strawberry is good for you because:
It can cure digestive upsets like diarheaa and dyspepsia
It can also cure stomach worms ( ewww??)
It's good for arthritis and gout and even for bladder stones and liver problems

Click here for Strawberry Bavarian Recipe

Related Links:
Cheesy Chicken Lollipop with Creamy Corn and Mashed Potato
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Harvest Romance - Fernando Amorsolo at the Metropolitan Museum

Seven of the most prominent museums in the Philippines is paying homage to the National Artist for Visual Arts, Fernando Amorsolo. These museums are the National Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Lopez Museum, Yuchengco Museum, The Ayala Museum, GSIS Museum and The UP Vargas Museum.

Last Saturday, me and my friend, Herlene went to my first stop at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila patroned by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). MET as it is fondly called, is showcasing what Amorsolo is best known for - tranquil paintings and sketches of the nostalgic farm and rural life in the Philippines. The exhibit is appropriately called BayaANInanding, "Ani" which means harvest in Tagalog. It shows the overflowing reap sowed by an extraordinary filipino talent that is Amorsolo.

Fernando Amorsolo was raised in Camarines Norte but was born in Manila on May 30, 1892. He was named a National Artist in 1972 and died two years after in 1974. He graduated in the College of Fine Arts in University of the Philippines. But even before that, when he was thirteen, his family moved to Manila to reside on the house of a painter and his maternal uncle, Don Fabian Dela Rosa.He first discovered his talent for painting under the tutelage of the Don.

The central theme of Amorsolo's paintings are the sceneries and everyday life in a farm. He painted farmers planting rice, women harvesting fruits and cooking on mud pots (palayok) or just walking on a beaten track on the side of the mountain - essentially finding beauty in the most simple chores. He even have paintings on farm past times like cockfighting and sleeping on afternoon siesta breaks under a mango tree. He shows these scenes from the valleys of the Tagalog region, the heavenly scene of the Baguio mountains and the rugged terrains of Muslim south. Truly, he is a sensual and romantic painter. His paintings are endearing for its unassuming simpleness and appreciation of what we find our lives as ordinary. He does them in various medium - pen or ink in paper, oil on canvas, oil on wood and board.

Amorsolo was also an avid traveler. He takes time with his friends to visit places where he gets inspiration for his paintings. But what's the romance did Amorsolo found in such back-breaking work like farming and land tilling? A simple reason - Farming is the representation of the cycle of life itself and what can be more fascinating than life? You know the similarities are uncanny - you have to make sure that the land is properly turned over and irrigated,carefully nurturing it.You protect the crops from damaging elements. And there maybe times when crops are lost but most of the times the land is going to be bounty. Like life, you celebrate the generosity of God and earth that nurtures you back with good harvest.

As I was standing in the gallery with my friend, I wondered how many Filipinos know about Fernando Amorsolo's works. Seeing that me and my friend are only two of the six visitors that day, I would say not much. Filipinos are made to believe that art and museums are for the elite when in truth, it is mostly about the majority's experience that the artist conveys. It is the truth-seeking on the nature of a person and a heritage of a nation.It is my hope that the educators of the young today would see past beyond the stereotyping and open the eyes of the young generation to the richness of these heritage.

Unfortunately, taking of exhibit photos are not allowed inside the museum but if you want to personally see his works, you can visit MET which is just beside the Bangko Sentral in Roxas Boulevard. The exhibits will run at the seven museums until early of 2009.For more information on the date of the exhibits, click here.

My next stop is at the Ayala Museum, where Amorsolo's work about women are being exhibited. It is entitled Amorsolo’s Maidens Concealed and Revealed.
A nice trivia you might not know, Amorsolo painted the Ginebra San Miguel bottle logo that depicts Archangel Michael defeating the devil not known as Marca Demonio, he used the money to finance his studies abroad.

The Manila Orchidarium Reopens on December 2008

After my early morning swim last Saturday, I went back to the apartment and got ready to go home to Quezon City but with a detour first to the Manila Orchidarium. But just my luck, when I got there I was informed that it was temporarily closed for renovation and will reopen on Christmas. I was disappointed since it was supposed to be my visit after four long years. Right in the middle of downtown Manila, the Orchidarium is a one acre home for hundreds species of orchids, other plants and butterflies. It's lush life is a direct contrast to the jaded urban life outside its wall and is one of the few sanctuary for the city's urbanites. Inside it you feel closer to nature and in a way, experience a therapeutic effect of being surrounded by beautiful plants and butterflies. Since Philippines has a tropical climate, the orchids thrive gloriously on it's rain forests. According to the Philippine Orchid Society, there are 940 species of orchids belonging to 130 genera in the Philippines. It is also said that 75% of orchids in the world are sourced out in the Philippines. The most famous among them is of course, the Waling-Waling (Vanda Sanderiana) photo from the POS website.

The Orchidarium is going to be open for the public on December everyday for 150 pesos entrance fee. And if you are wondering how to get there, these are some helpful directions.

• It is right beside the National Museum at Orosa St and Finance Road. Fifty meters away from Manila City Hall.
  
• whether you are coming from Cubao, Baclaran, or Divisoria, just ride a Quiapo-City hall Jeepney, get off at the Rizal park then walk in the direction of the National Museum
• when riding the taxi, tell the driver to take you to Rizal park, every local driver should know that
• when taking the LRT, get off at the Lawton LRT station then ride the jeepney going to Quiapo-PGH-NBI, get off at Rizal Park
  

Well, hopefully on one of my blogs on December I can show you the inside of the Orchidarium.