Photo Journey/Vacation: Trip to Bataan

This is our first time to go to a beach as a family this summer. We are to go to Mactan Beach before school starts.

Going to Bataan from Manila isn't that long compared to going to other beaches in Luzon. For me, this is the nearest beach so far from Manila. I got the chance of photographing the beach, sunsets and the like.

On the way from Clark to Dinalupihan via SCTEX you have the scenery of Clark Airport (DMIA), Omni Airfield and most of all, agricultural land. I got lucky with this shot, with us traveling at 100kph. Shooting these subjects aren't as easy as you think even if the road is smooth. Nature at its best. Cow Breastfeeding. Belated Happy Mothers Day!

Full resolution photo: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/8752945045_8fc599deb9_k.jpg

Originally, we were not supposed to go to Dambana ng Kagitingan but thankfully we were able to drop by...

Full resolution photo: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7321/8752216829_0474e0a7c1_k.jpg

This monument is something for us to thank former President Ferdinand Marcos for, although I'm not his supporter...

We went on to the beach in Bagac, Bataan after paying a visit. I saw a sign pointing to Jaime Hilario Integrated School- La Salle although we weren't able to pass by that school.

Upon arriving at the beach (Montemar Beach Club) I started taking pictures. Thank God the weather is perfect... Perfect for swimming, perfect for picturing.

Full resolution photo: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/8753367710_1553672ee0_k.jpg

I started to wait for the sunset by five o'clock. Soon enough, it has paid off! If you can notice it, the inoperative Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is at the right side of the picture...

Full resolution photo: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2838/8753361934_8af16d0312_k.jpg

Here's another shot. Now with shades of red, yellow, orange, blue and violet!

Full resolution photo: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2838/8753361934_8af16d0312_k.jpg

Dusk! If you notice it, you can see the sun's rays... Sunset's over at this time, though.

Full resolution photo: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5452/8753350964_5beed88041_k.jpg

I happened to wake up at around 4:30 in the morning so I took the chance of doing long exposure shots. Unfortunately for me, I can't manually focus the lens so there's a big chance that it'll look blurry. And sure enough, this one's quite blurred. Another problem was the moisture in the resort room. Upon opening the camera the lens became foggy so I had to wipe it off carefully using my sando. The pictures got clearer somehow. Fortunately, though, the stars are visible. Looks nice! You can see the wave at the left.

Full resolution photo: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/8753346322_b6eb933d7d_k.jpg

I hope you enjoyed!

Rodics in Kabihasnan 2013

How did I get Rodics for my class? Here's a long story :)) Getting Rodics for Kabihasnan 2013

Like what I've said in that previous post, my class got Rodics! And still, some of my classmates were doubtful, but not for long!

Our teacher told us that we should buy Rodics at least once or twice. Breakfast would be a good time to do so. It's kind of "forced buying" but eventually it won't be...

Our food options

As the one in charge of booth matters I was assigned to assign shifts for my classmates. I took a shift on Friday to keep me free on the night and on Saturday. This is not the case for others, however; but it won't matter eventually.

We were assigned in a booth in the middle of the booth areas. That became a problem for me as it may discourage customers should it be very crowded. Eventually it didn't matter.

Five classmates were selected in designing the booth. I don't know how they'll design it so I left all the designing to them; I'm not that good in art. Dismissal came and my classmates and I visited our booth to see how much they've done. Not much but it's fine. We posted the tarpaulin carrying the Rodics logo and our meal options. That's for our promotion team below :)

Sure is the best P95 you'll ever spend!

One of the students from the school body saw it and immediately called for his moderator. Upon return he was proudly telling his moderator that there's Rodics this Kabihasnan. We were all amazed with the impression. More confidence for my classmates!

The LSGH High School Community prepares for Kabihasnan 2013

Friday. February 15, 2013. Kabihasnan Day One. I didn't eat breakfast just to have Rodics as my breakfast. When I went to the booth there were just a few buying; the fair hasn't started yet.

The bell rings, off to the classroom, flag ceremony and the other usual stuff... I was assigned to be part of the fair parade along with two more classmates. Oh no! How about my breakfast :( Anyways we went down at 8:00 for the parade. Again, ceremonies, speeches, performances and so on... Let's skip this part, shall we? :) Ok. We paraded around the oval... After that I met my classmate and asked how the booth was going. He said that the lines were very long and we've had a lot of customers. I rushed in to see and boom! There's a line, everyone was busy and so on. Thankfully I was able to have my breakfast. My classmates were thanking me for getting Rodics. They were no longer doubting. In fact, most (if not all) of them had Rodics for breakfast! We were all sitting at the ledge (the green one in the photo above) eating our breakfast.

I've said that the shift assignments won't matter, right? Well, after seeing the need for manpower, my classmates willingly helped in the booth regardless if it's their time or not. Some didn't attend to their assigned shifts but attended for other times anyway. Also, the staff of Rodics also called for backup; two staff members weren't enough.

Time went by (10:00AM I think) and unfortunately (or somehow something my classmates can "rejoice" on) we went out of stock. For some time we were helpless with no supplies coming. Although they've called for more, much time was lost. That meant rest for us in the meantime :)

And by 11:00 (I think) supplies arrived! And again (unfortunately) we went out of stock for the second time! And what's more, it's peak hours! Lunch time to be exact. Eventually we had supplies (again) and we went selling again. Because of that day, Rodics promised more supplies + more staff to anticipate the demand on Saturday.

The owners were quite surprised with the sales on Friday. 

Saturday. February 15, 2013. Second Kabihasnan Day. Before getting in to school, I saw this!

It's a big day for my class! And fortunately on Saturday we had no sold out incidents. We were well-prepared this time. For morning the line was very long; the queue was 5-8 minutes from the end of the line. I asked my classmates if they can expedite the queue a bit more. We did so by accepting orders on the line so they can simply get their meal upon their turn in the booth.

Rodics here, Rodics there, Rodics everywhere! During the second day you'll see tables filled with Rodics boxes, trash cans filled with empty Rodics boxes, and so on! Bestseller!!!

Anyway, just a break from the booth. And here goes my social life :))

Our friends from a school we had an interaction with went with me and some of my classmates. We went around the school to talk, have rides and so on. We settled in a place with few people to have a quiet place to stay. Yes, we were having fun with each others' company. Whew! And while we're having our sweet time some of my other classmates (who were willing) were at the booth. There came a time that we had nothing else to do. So our friends (along with my classmates and I) helped us count and sort the chits :)) very helpful~ My teacher saw it, and was cheerfully thankful about it. They loved Rodics as well, by the way. One of them brought one home and shared it with her mom. Anyway......

Even at night Rodics kept on selling for both days. Although it's no longer peak hours there were still some customers buying meals from us, most of which were to be brought home... At one time all booths were to be shut down to give respect for the anticipated mass. Upon reopening of the booth the lines went long again, according to my classmate. He was so happy telling me about it. I saw our chit basket containing a lot of chits- a small mound I'd say! Quite a lot for "a few minutes after reopening".

 

And hours before the end of the fair (the next one in two years after this) I had my "own time". My classmates supported me for the whatever I needed on those hours. That was their way of saying thankful, and I was thankful for them and to God for the grace He has blessed my class very much for two days. At the end, we ended up having the highest gross sales for Kabihasnan 2013. And because of that, we had a good class party at the end of the year :D

At the end of the day, this out-of-the-box idea became a "box office" success!

The staff talked to me at the end of the fair and told me to take Rodics again for the next one. I told them that I'm no longer going to be able to pick them in the future but definitely in two years time someone else (still in LSGH, for the next fair) will pick Rodics. That will be for sure! [I hope... Whoever plans to get Rodics in the next Kabihasnan, better be good in negotiating ;) ] I am also VERY MUCH thankful to them for their effort in selling the meals. I expressed my thanks to them by treating the staff family's child with whatever he wanted...

Many thanks to the staff of Rodics!

This post brings me back good memories of my class..........

Getting Rodics for Kabihasnan 2013

This is what I remember... It may be slightly different from what actually happened but it should be right for the most part.

When I was a kid my dad introduced me to Rodics, a diner found in UP Diliman. My first meal with them was a jumbosilog. For me at that time it was just "fair"; nothing special. Then at one point (I don't remember how) I ate their tapsilog and voila! My taste buds fell in love with its taste. The best tapa there is! I like it for its taste, serving size and the shredded meat. It's easier to eat and it's very much worth it for its price- P75.

Years after, before the start of my sophomore year in LSGH...

Days before the start of school my family and I ate dinner at Rodics in UP Shopping Center. As usual, like most customers, I ate tapsilog; my parents ate the same and my younger brothers ate barbecue/hotdog (jumbosilog).

First day of classes. My homeroom adviser raised some concerns for the year, including the class fair booth. She asked for suggestions, then Rodics came out of my mind. I suggested that Rodics be our booth. Asked if I have a contact I said no but I'll try to have one. Then there was the change of periods. She called for me outside and told me that I should go for it. By the way, she's a UP graduate and since then she had big faith in it. My classmates on the other hand were very doubtful as they haven't heard of Rodics and that the idea is very much out of the box. One classmate, however, was confident but with some concerns.

It's a good idea. It's June. So we agreed as a class to keep it a secret as we don't want others to get the idea and call for them; however, it was mentioned to a select few outside of our class, and their impression was favorable.

To convince my classmates I bought some tapsilog at Rodics Salcedo for them to taste the day after. Only a few did but they loved the meal after their first bite. Other batchmates saw it and I only said that it's "homemade, nothing special."

Months went by and February (month of the fair) was nearing. I asked my teacher if I can start working on it so my other classmate (that helps me) can do so but there's no furnished contract yet. December came and still no contract. I started to doubt with Rodics being our booth; my classmate and I badly needed the contract. January came and only then was the contract furnished. Now we have to catch up before it's too late!

I saw the contract and for me all of the conditions would be fine except one- the gross share. The school's kind of demanding a big percentage- that would be a problem.

I went to Rodics UP Shopping Center to supposedly meet with the owner (my classmate told me to meet with him [not the owner] there). I waited for some time but still no owner. I asked the staff if the owner was coming. They said no but they handed me out a calling card. I called the owner and told me that I should go to the branch in UP Village. Thankfully it's not that far so I went there. I talked to the owner and showed the contract. And like my thoughts the gross share was the only problem. The rest were fine. Negotiations had to be done.

I bought five tapsilog meals and went to my classmate's house after for a group project and I said the [so far] bad news. The ones I bought were for them, by the way. One told me to stop negotiating with them if they wouldn't accept the contract at all, or if possible raise the price. I thought of it and based on my calculations the price would have to be raised to P95 to favor Rodics. I asked my parents if they're willing to buy tapa for P95 and they quickly said yes.

Monday came and I referred the owner to my teacher (who will do the rest of the talking). My teacher still told me to negotiate with them so we can get Rodics. She's very confident with the idea...

So some days after I called the owner at home and told her of the idea of raising the price. During the conversation she was up for it but still thinking about it. "I'll need to do some pencil pushing" she said. P95 was okay but P100 is not. She didn't want to ruin the image of Rodics as a cheap diner. I stated my situation as the one responsible for the class booth. We had no other options but Rodics. I convinced her that it will be a success in school, most especially with the parents going on the second day of the fair (Saturday).

Days after (again)....

During our outbound orientation I (or I think she told me) asked her if Rodics said yes to the contract...

MUSIC TO MY EARS! RODICS SAID YES!!!

I was rejoicing inside... Finally! They said YES! My teacher told me that the contract will be signed some weeks after. The owner's son (who happens to be a former LSGH student) will be going to LSGH to sign the contract. Halleluiah! No more stress for me. Just some more tasks for the booth and we're off!

Still, however, some of my classmates are still doubtful of it. I understand, though...

We agreed to only spill the beans at the week of the fair. Even so, only a few knew about it 'till Thursday, the day before the fair.

So what happened next? Find out here! Rodics in Kabihasnan 2013