Tough love waits in Sto. Domingo @ Carrera Habagat 2008



The driving force behind Habagat Outdoor, the popular brand of outdoor equipment and adventure racing gear is the passion and love for nature and care for the environment. No more, no less.

It was this passion led to the creation of Habagat Outdoor, and in 2000, the Carrera Habagat. Habagat head honcho Randy Su explains that Carrera Habagat was an apt event that celebrated the company’s passion and support for adventure racing and eco-awareness. It also became a practical laboratory of sorts, where Habagat products can be “field-tested.”

“In effect, we are practicing what we preach: It wouldn’t be Habagat if it was not built by hand and tested by nature,” smiles Randy. “The business and development of quality and innovative products for practical and outdoor use, and adventure racing simply grew out of our love for nature and the outdoors.”

Carrera Habagat is considered the country’s toughest and most grueling adventure race. It is a multi-day and multi-discipline event where teams are confronted with orienteering and navigation, cross-country running, mountain biking, paddling, climbing, as well related rope skills..

Another thrust of Carrera Habagat is the introduction and development of awareness for the environment and eco-tourism. “One of the most important things that the Carrera touches on is the appreciation for the environment and of nature. In the Carrera, the countryside becomes your ally, the sea becomes your guide, and the locals become your friends, says Nadine. “Habagat does its best to showcase the many beautiful places that may be found all over the country, not just in the more popular ones. It’s not uncommon for our participants to exclaim they never expected to see places in a particular locality or LGU, that are so beautiful, and yet unknown to anyone else.”

For the 2008 Carrera Habagat, all roads will lead Sto. Domingo, Albay. This coastal municipality faces the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the noble Mount Mayon in the northwest. Sto. Domingo is known for its rare and exotic black sand beaches, which are exactly like the ebonine beaches of the island of Hawai’i (the main island of the Hawai’i state) – sought after and famous throughout the world. This rare and magnificent beachline forms part of the Albay Gulf coastline. The locals say that this rare type of black volcanic beach sand was formed from the erosion of ground lava, and is said to have therapeutic benefits. Very small specimens of several gemstones (including ruby, sapphire, and diamond) may, in fact, be found in black sand.

This year marks the first Carrera ever to be held in Luzon – in Sto. Domingo, Albay, with its exotic magma-black sandy beaches and dreamy landscapes. Nadine Vallejos, 2008 Carrera Habagat event coordinator, says that the organizers are expecting a large field – bigger than any of the previous Carrera events. “We’ve always had a lot of teams from across the country, especially those coming from Manila and Eastern Visayas. With this year’s race being held in Sto. Domingo, Albay, we’re expecting that teams from up north won’t miss the chance to join the Carrera.” Carrera Habagat is known for fielding the best of the country’s adventure racing teams. Team Santorini and the Philippine Mount Everest Team, are just two of the team-participants who consistently sign up for each of the past Carreras, expected to sign up for this year’s race.

To know more about the 2008 Carrera Habagat, for race details, registration requirements and how to sign up, check out the Events page of the company, email the secretariat through events@habagat.com, or call or SMS through 0917.320.9298 / 0922.820.0696.

The 2008 Carrera Habagat “Isang Linggo sa Sto. Domingo” is co-presented by Habagat and the Sto. Domingo Municipality, under the auspices of Mayor Celso de los Angeles. This year’s Carrera is sponsored by T.W.O., Vertigo Wall Climbing Center, Dot Region 5, Graphicstar, Topway Intl., V12 Radgear, Pitman Apparels, Baye, Fluidsurf, Blood Red, Virginia Foods Corp., Trans Asia Shipping,
Julies’ Franchising Corp. Media sponsors are: 8Thumbs, Bite Magazine, Sun.Star Daily, Cebu Daily News, RCTV Channel 36, ABS CBN Davao and Living Asia Channel.


About Carrera Habagat

Carrera Habagat is one of the initiatives that Habagat Outdoor has instituted and held yearly on some of the most challenging environments that abound in our beautiful, island-studded country. The Carrera, as it is fondly called, is a multi-discipline, multi-day sports challenge that pits the teams with a chosen terrain in various events like orienteering and land navigation, paddling, mountain-biking, and other events with only basic navigation tools and skills given, and a tight schedule to follow from one spot to the other.

Setting up shop for an in-house ad campaign







Late this year, several key employees in our company were promoted, and responsibilities and tasks were passed on to other teams and personnel to make way for their new responsibilities. One of those fellow employees happened to be handling our in-house career ads campaign. It was fortunate for my team to receive this responsibility -- not because we're masochistic animals who delight in needless responsiblity, stress and pain. Making an ad was a genuine welcome and exciting challenge.



The copy team immediately took action. From the outset, we were faced with an immediate worry: How do we set up a team composed of members from the different deparments that would be able to deliver on the needs for an in-house ad campaign, as painless as it can possibly do this? In answering this question, we boiled down the necessities for the campaign into three specific elements: Strong identity of the concept, an awareness and close adherence to the schedule, and plain old logistics. (Please do note that this process is not the end-all and be-all for all in-house ad campaign projects that you might work with. This process, I have found, works best for our team and for our campaign.)


The Concept
Despite the initial dampener of having to set up a team for the campaign, coming up with the concept for the campaign was not a problem. It was emphasized at the start that each ad should have four characteristics: Each ad had to look polished and clearly stated its message; each ad must have a professional look and feel; each ad must embody a corporate identity or dynamic to it; and as much as possible, each ad have a little spark of fun, or spunk, in it. The main concept was to present the company as a place where people can establish firm and solid careers foundations. Our challenge was to show our "market" just that.





The Schedule
The in-house ad campaign runs for eight months (May to December) and is composed of 19 separate ads. To generate effective ads without losing momentum, these were divided into four phases, each with its own storyline and concept. The last two were where I and my team came in.

Now, what has a storyline have to do with the schedule? Everything. In the standard prose plotline, you have: One, the introduction of the character; two, the rising action, or exposition; three, the climax or the crux of the story; and finally, the denoument, or the ending (or anti-climax, to be technical about it).



Figure out your storyline. Brainstorm. Get the story straight and everyone in your team facing the same direction, and you'll be able to figure out how many ads can be made, which ad has to be the hook, etc. Once done, you can now be able to visualize the idea and get your photographer, your graphic artists, and ad copy writers moving in the right direction.


Then, you can start organizing your schedule. Since we were colloborating with an external client, we had to beat their deadline. Note that even if you are the client in this ad campaign, the classified ads people will drop your ad if you miss a deadline, and that's money you can't get back. So be prepared ahead of time, and make sure that all the people you work with for each ad know that and that any delay at their level will compound and cost you in delivery time.



The Logistics
Getting the graphic artists needed for the ad campaign was a big dilemma. While our office clearly cornered the local graphics talent pool -- no doubt about that -- they were all assigned to different teams and projects -- it would be easier to walk through broken glass than try haggling for their time. Luckily, department managers Rob and Ericson found a loophole: Graphic artists tend to shut down when faced with rote work. To cure this, they would gladly lend their resources on the condition I didn't take them away from their time. I jumped on the chance without looking back. (It's simple, really: "When they know, you'll know -- you know?" Thanks, Crush the Turtle.)

Working on an in-house ad campaign with these three elements in mind helps. But, it should be noted, however, that the team came up with these three elements knowing in advance what these elements were, and what the expectations from the campaign are. Working from the ground up -- that's a different story.


Penumbra: Thanks to my team, and to the graphic artists who worked on these ads you see in this blog post -- salamat kaayo!!!




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Penumbra: Christian Darius Zafra is the erstwhile guitarist of Sheila and the Insects and man-behind-the-scenes of Midweek Sessions, a local monthly rock show at the Outpost Cafe, and a regular scribbler on the goings-on in the local Cebuano music scene. This is an article I wrote about him in the June 2008 issue of Bite Magazine. Enjoy!

Papait ala Zafra

The key to delicious papait (or in colloquial English, savory goat innard stew) is goat bile. Without it, papait with its mélange of sweet and savory ingredients, the odd meat bits and goat parts, some herbs, a lot of ginger and spices, becomes a simple, tasteless affair.
Papait is Ian Zafra's favorite dish. But for the songwriter-slash-erstwhile axeman of SATI, the dish is more than that. Read on and know what Ian puts into that delicious bowl of steaming hot stew called his life.
BITE: Okay, first off... Situational question: You're in Boracay, clad only in board shorts, with a cold drink in your hand when suddenly, two women in skimpy bikinis come along. The first is a good friend you see everyday -- at the workplace, gym, bar, or -- whatever. The second is your childhood crush, looking every bit as the girl of your dreams, only more endowed and appealing than twenty-two years ago. Who do you say 'hello' to first?
Ian Zafra: (Takes a Johnny Bravo-esque pose and says loudly to himself) Hellooooo --- Mama! Hoo-hah!

BITE: (Laughs) Okay, seriously now. You haven't really been out of the loop, but you haven't logged in your playing time. What keeps you busy these days?
IZ: Quite a lot, actually. There's work, and there's the Midweek Sessions, too. I host the show because, basically, I can’t afford a proper host (laughs).
And I'm also working on and off with Jay Young on demos for songs I've written. Also, when I can, I'd go to pocket venues like Iamics and play my songs, just to see if audiences respond positively to them.

BITE: So, contrary to the urban myths of burnout, you're actually working on your music career?
IZ: I'll have to correct you on that bit: Playing music never felt like a career. Songwriting is one of the things I love doing. I guess I was lucky to have great band-mates to collaborate with so my songs could be made. I’m very grateful for that. In terms of my life outside performing and music-writing, I have a lot of catching up to do. But I knew I couldn't stop writing songs. What I did need was a fresh perspective and being able to do things in my own time. I really don't see this as a career. I always feel the need for a creative output. I suppose that is my benchmark.

BITE: How single-minded are you about your music and song-writing?
IZ: It's like this: I can't be faithful to a single songwriting process. It's always arbitrary and polygamous. Maybe because good tunes don't cum (sic) often. But of course, there must be a little courtship and an artful stimulation to get things heated up. Sometimes when the urge cums (sic--again), I'd like to do it in bed, in a chair, bathroom, even on the road on my way to work. Sometimes I start down there -- the melody; sometimes I'd like to work on the lips -- words. It's always important to understand that when you're aroused (inspired), there are no clear-cut policies in love making... er... songwriting. Just hammer it on -– Wham-bam!!!

BITE: Ooo-kay.. moving on... Your day job -- describe how different your music and your day job is.
IZ: Music is like meditation -- I try to speaking from the soul. I pause, sing and understand what I'm about to say before merging it together. In retrospect, my songs then are not the same as what I'm writing now. Some of my earlier stuff had that tinge of vengeance, arrogance and angst streaming through the words. I still appreciate them but that was my youth. A different perspective. I suppose it's true what they say about age... you sort of "mellow" down.
My day-job, on the other hand, is a totally different experience. It's mostly bound to the five senses. It's also very much oriented to the physical, mental, financial priorities. Most often I can't afford to be emotional about my job and the things around it. The challenge is learning to understand how to breath for both sides. Otherwise, it will tilt to one side and you drown.

BITE: What keeps making your life more flavorful from day to day?
IZ: I'm a workaholic, so I like to take my time and appreciate the little things in life. Like, I would spend about an hour and a half -- maybe even more -- getting ready for work. I love to slack off before going to work. Work can be stressful and you'll never know what hits you that day. I don't like the idea of making haste. Haste makes waste. Sometimes it's necessary and inevitable but when it becomes a habit, it's never good.
Also, I write songs, do sketches, draft blog entries for my Midweek Sessions and Indieology webpages, and read books. I like to keep in touch with people, posting 'Joke Of The Day' in YM, and I especially love getting emails from friends in the local music scene. Weekends are always for family. I love my family very much.

BITE: And you're still actively engaged in writing music -- or is it an on-and-off thing?
IZ: I'm actively looking for time to write music, if that's what you mean. But the most trying part of it these days is the schedule. It can be very challenging when you have to learn and relearn how to switch between moods and modes versus tick-tock-tick-tock. There are only 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. The discipline required between the band and my other priorities can be very demanding. I just had to realign my priorities.

BITE: What sounds better with papait: Steamed long-grain rice (from the caldero), or puso (hanging rice)?
IZ: Rice is best. I can eat papait for every meal of the entire day -- even for the entire week. The only best chef I know for this dish is my uncle Bob.

Like papaitan, things need to simmer for a time before they're ready to serve. Ian says that, music-wise, he'd like to perform again, but states that before that happens, he'd like take time to let things in his life happen naturally and enjoy what he's doing – Midweek Sessions, work and songwriting; taking an hour or two to get ready for work; and taking the weekends off for family time. To take a page out of Ian Z.'s book: With the right mix, and ample time, the papait you'll stew won't just warm your belly, it will feed your soul.

(Note: No goats were harmed in the process of writing this article, nor were any trolls, or bridges involved.)

Penumbra: Thanks to Bite Magazine for the photo!

Penumbra: This little ditty came out in Bite Magazine's May 2008 issue. ENJOY!

Bulate_69 vs Paborito


Online gaming is so popular in the Philippines, covering all forms of sport ever imagined – from realistic military operations, to surreal sci-fi settings, historic arena games, and the hugely popular fantasy genre. So, it wouldn’t be surprising if you’ll find gamers of every size and demographic, hunkering down and doodling away, creating their own versions of online gaming characters.

What’s exciting for these would-be character designers is Mojizu.com. Self-styled as a “contemporary character design community,” Mojizu.com is an online portal for artists and enthusiasts to see their original character creations posted online.
But it goes further than the simple posting of your character design art. The big difference between Mojizu.com and online sharing, and social networking sites, is that it is also an online community of artists, character designers and fans from around the world, who view, read up on character profiles, and vote on their choice of characters.

Relatively new, Mojizu.com’s objective is the development and nurturing of an online community of artists and art fans, where the former may showcase their character art globally. The site is very user-centric, and derives most of its traffic from artists and character art enthusiasts who visit the site to post, or vote, or view the regular Mojizu wars – a voting-based competition between uploaded original character designs. In Mojizu.com, the character that you design is called a Moji. It can human, animal – or a combination of both. It could also be mechanical, fantastic, or something only your mom would try to love and understand. You may design your Moji characters digitally, or by hand. In the meantime, the MojiWar feature is currently under development, but essentially, the most popular Moji character advances to the next level, until there is a grand winner. The grand winner receives special prizes and recognition on the home page of Mojizu.com.

To start, all you need to do is visit Mojizu.com. Registration is free; for added features, a special subscription package is offered that provides other benefits like unlimited Moji submissions, unlimited downloads of Moji art and ad-free surfing. Regular registered users may submit up to ten Moji character designs per month, while subscribers can upload an unlimited number of Moji’s. The site also offers financial benefits to its users through merchandise tie-ups.

A lot of artists from Cebu have joined the site and find it both refreshing and welcoming. Local graphic artist, Aji Mechilina (Moji profile name: bulate_69), whose interests range from air-brush, web, industrial and graphic design, says that Mojizu.com is a great way to showcase character art, and in particular, the talent and skill of graphic artists. “It’s not limiting at all,” says Mechilina. “Pwede kang gumawa ng maraming character at i-post sa site tapos i-rate ng mga online viewers ang MOJI mo or katong character mo, to see how people like your art. It’s fun and I’m happy na may nag rate sa character ko na si Demonyito.” Mechilina has also created two other characters, Angel and Purplegirl.

Will other budding online gamers, doodling away at paper napkins in coffeeshops, or at the comfort of their home office pc, take Mojizu.com as the next step? With enough experience points and HP, anything can happen.

Setting Up Shop with MyMarket.Ph


No more registering new accounts, no more logging in --- all you need to do if you've got something to sell is to have a verifiable and legitimate email address. New ads directory site, Mymarket.ph, is getting the goods and services to the market in a safe, yet hassle-free way.

By getting advertisers online as economically and easily as possible, Mymarket.ph allows its users to be able to market their products and services as quickly as pushing the "Post" button.

And it is this quick and easy ad-posting access that gives Mymarket.ph an edge over other existing sites --- these sites usually which require advertisers and prospective buyers to register member-accounts, and other site restrictions before they can start doing business online.

Mymarket.ph, literally cuts through that "waiting" period, and gives its users a free hand in posting their goods and services.

According to Cherry Dungog, owner of Mymarket.Ph, while there are a lot of sites that offer similar services, "a lot of sites can be limiting. What I wanted to do was allow people to be able to shop around, look for something that they may need, and be able to get it as soon as they want to. What is important to us is providing a venue for people to conduct business, be it selling products, or even offer job opportunities."

The site not only caters to Cebuanos, but to other customers around the country. Dungog adds that eventually, Mymarket.ph would be going global, allowing users from around the world to post ads, and shop for products and services in their localities.

To post your ad for an item, a service, or a job offer, all you need to do is:

1) Click on your regional location;
2) Click on the "Post an Ad" button, then enter the needed information (adding a picture is encouraged), and you're all set.
NOTE: You will need a legitimate email address for verification purposes and contact.

Registering to an account, logging in to post your ads, and going through other account-specific guidelines is a thing of the past. Mymarket.Ph brings the market to you fresh and sound.

Mymarket.Ph was launched in January of this year, and has quickly gained a following, for the easy access and the wide reach that it provides.