In Columbia Pictures’ The Karate Kid, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could have been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s (Taraji P. Henson) career takes them both to China.  Dre has a hard time making friends at first but he does make a connection with his classmate Mei Ying – and the feeling is mutual – until cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre makes an enemy of the class bully, Cheng.  Dre knows only a little karate, and in the land of kung fu, Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease.  Feeling alone in a foreign land, Dre has no friends to turn to except the maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan).  Secretly a master of kung fu, Mr. Han and Dre begin to train together, building a friendship and moving toward a final showdown with Cheng at a kung fu tournament.  As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre learns that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

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The month of June reminded me of my long, deceased paternal grandmother since it is her birthday month. I do not have a lot, well, thinking bout it now, I would be more honest to say that I do not have fond memories of her, not a single one. Somehow the word grandmother calls to mind only two words: loving and monstrous. The last one being my paternal grandmother. And thank God for my maternal grandmother, I was able to see the good side of having one. I realize that I might hurt my relatives feelings upon writing this down, but I’m just trying to be true in what I write. You can attest to the fact that she never made life any easy for me growing up, so perhaps, you would be able to understand how I feel. It doesn’t mean I never loved her, in fact, all the while I wanted to make her proud of me, but somehow all my efforts are not good enough and I always end up second best to my cousin. Anyway, moving on to the things that I remember about her. Read more…

The creators of the beloved “Toy Story” films re-open the toy box and bring moviegoers back to the delightful world of our favorite gang of toy characters in Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3.” In the film, as Andy prepares to depart for college, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) and the rest of his loyal toys find themselves in… daycare!  These untamed tots with their sticky little fingers do not play nice, so it’s all for one and one for all as plans for the Great Escape get underway. Read more…

It’s been ages since I last visited the city of pines. I’ve only been there thrice, for the life of me. Yet each trip to the said place is memorable just the same, since I’m with different sets of people when I went there. First was when I was five, of course, I was with my family back then and well, the second time I went up there was with friends and the last one was with my then boyfriend now hubby and my mom and her friend.

Right now, the start of the rainy season got me dreaming of going up to Baguio. Weird huh? Yeah, I guess. Perhaps I’m too extreme. Anyway, I officially have the Hotel Elizabeth in my places to visit list. I’ve read a lot of nice reviews of the place as well as the service. I’m just wondering if they have an electric fireplace installed in each of their rooms. It would be nice to see one like that in Baguio. Well, with or without, I’ll be there some time. This is a promise I’m making to myself.

n the tradition of its family-oriented live-CGI blockbuster “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Garfield” movies, 20^th Century Fox unleashes “Marmaduke,” a 1954 comic strip on the world’s most gregarious Great Dane starring Academy Award nominee William H. Macy, Judy Greer and Lee Pace with a voice cast that includes Owen Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Black Eyed Peas’ Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson. Read more…

The worldwide financial crisis has got a lot of people thinking on what other businesses they can come up with to augment their current source of income. Others opted going into the food industry, something I’m not very keen on. Anyway, another low start-up business you can engage in would be the digital printing business. Why you ask me?

1.) You can start up small – if you have a computer at home and a colored printer then you’re all set. You can opt to convert your printers to continuous ink, they said its more ink efficient.

2.) With almost everyone owning a cellphone with built in camera, you have a lot of potential customers.

3.) Other potential customers would be people needing a calling card, those who want to avail of poster printing services and well the regular picture printing.

4.) The things you need do not spoil easily, unlike when you are in the food business.

Ultra Mega Supermarket is a wholesale and retail store that is frequented for its low pricing. The said store has several outlets, one of which is located in Sangandaan, Caloocan. I went there this afternoon to purchase milk for my son. It was a no-brainer, I went to the milk area and asked their staff for the milk brand. The milk section is apparently enclosed and separated from the other grocery items. It also has its own counter, pretty much like that of Puregold supermarket. Anyway, since the counter at the milk section is closed, I lined up on queue to the regular counters. It was roughly 4 or 5 o’clock I think and the cashiers are changing shifts, so I waited patiently for the leaving cashier to fully turn over everything to the next girl. It didn’t take them long to finish.

I only have one item to buy and when it was my turn, the cashier turned to me. She first read the brand name of the milk, to ensure I got the right one. When I nodded in agreement, she smiled and read the expiration date to me, something I actually failed to pay attention to. Lastly, when she handed me my change which is supposed to be something like PhP446.85, she gave me the full PhP447.00, while other cashiers from other supermarkets could have opted to just hand me over PhP446.75. It was the first time I’ve had this kind of customer service from a grocery cashier in my entire human existence, no exaggeration! I’m thrilled that the company trains them to be that pleasant, if they are not doing so they have to duly recognize this girl – MARICAR FUENTES. I hope she get’s a bonus or something for doing a good job. And I hope you recognize her so that she can serve as a great example.

Next time I drop by my dad’s place, I’m stopping by Ultra Mega Supermarket again.

Quite a few eons ago, when I was still 5, I remember riding a horse in Baguio – then branded as the summer capital of the Philippines. I proudly rode my horse without anyone riding with me. I think I rode a young mare. Too bad the pictures were all lost due to the flooding brought about by Typhoon Ketsana. I wish someday my son could try out the experience. Perhaps when he turns 3 or 4 it would be nice to have try riding a miniature horse. It would have been a pretty site to see my little man ride, with the miniature complete with a riding ensemble like a horse tack, a saddle of course and other things you need to put on them before riding them. Well, if you are planning to give your little ones the same experience, make sure you put on safety gears on them, like a head gear and if you can riding boots.

Last Saturday – May 29, 2010, Johnson & Johnson’s held the third part of its Mommy bloggers meet up. It was my first time to attend as I was able to agree to attend other events during the first two scheduled meet ups. But I’m all set for the rest. I met other mom’s, soon-to-be mom’s, and would-be mom’s in the future (the single ladies). Anyway, we met at Dulcinea in Eastwood. Mee-i and I thought there was no one at the venue just yet so off we ate at McDonald’s for breakfast. When we came back after, it was only then that we found out that the event will be taking place at the second floor of Dulcinea and it’s already started. So yeah, we were fashionably late.

The main topics we’ve discussed are: 1.) Creating a Safe Environment for your Baby  2.) Touch Therapy and how it improves your child’s development Read more…

Sometimes I just feel like packing my bags and running away to somewhere really far, to start anew. Somehow, part of the reason I now found myself in my father’s house is because of the need to do just that – to runaway. All by my lonesome, I braved the streets of Metro Manila with my little boy in tow and with two huge bags with me. Thank God I managed and thank God for angels and kind strangers.

Right now, I so wanted to apply for a job overseas, if only there is a way some employers will be kind enough to let me bring my family with me, or perhaps hire me and my husband and let us bring our little munchkin and a carer for the little guy. But the problem is I do not have skills that are highly in demand in other countries. I do not know how to bake, nor am I a professional cook, I do not even know what POS systems are, let alone use it. I guess I need to try to acquire some of the skills highly needed in the first world countries in order to be able to apply for an immigrant status later on.