Lenovo Philippines' EExtraordinary 10-second Hero Finalist

Confession: I really loved watching Captain Planet and the Planeteers when I was a kid. I used to sing along to its theme song too: Captain Planet, he's a hero. Gonna take pollution down to zero... 

All over the world nowadays we feel the wrath of Mother Nature - better known as climate change - coming down upon us. In Metro Manila alone, the streets become flooded quite fast - with just one heavy downpour. No storm mind you. Just a downpour.

That's of course all thanks to the garbage some people carelessly throw out on the streets, canals and rivers.  But what can we do about it? We're only one right? Not like we have superhero powers like Captain Planet - one huff and puff - fire's out, flood is gone...

Well that's what Zyra Bambico together with her orgmates from the Rotaract Club of San Pedro East are proving to the world through their GreEnvironment project. We don't need superhero powers to help save the Earth. In fact, she says that in under 10 seconds, we can do something small that can make a big impact on the planet.

I personally believe in this cause. And that's why I've been voting for her to help her become Lenovo's EExtraordinary 10-second hero grand winner. You see peeps, Lenovo is awarding the chosen EExtraordinary 10-second hero's charity of choice $50,000! Of course,it's not the only prize Lenovo is giving out.  For being one of the 24 finalists, Zyra already gets an IdeaPad laptop.

If you never got wind of this contest by Lenovo, well lemme give you a short backgrounder on what it's about.  Lenovo's EExtraordinary 10-second hero contest was announced back in August and it's calling all "doers" all over the globe to submit 150-word essay about a good deed they, someone they of or an organization they know of has done in 10-seconds. Out of  so many entries, Zyra Bambico is the Philippines' chosen one.

                                    Zyra Bambico, Lenovo Philippines' EExtraordinary 10-second hero finalist.

This girl truly embodies a "Doer". She graduated in 2007 at San Pedro College of Business Administration with five awards including 2 leadership awards and a a writer of the year award. Today she works as an IT instructor at her College alma mater. She also serves the church and her community by being part of the Rotaract Club and by being a member of the Faithful Jesus Church's Worship team.

Zyra with Lenovo Philippines and Microsoft Philippines executives

From L to Right: Vicky Agorilla, Lenovo Country General Manager; Zyra Bambico, Lenovo EExtraordinary 10-second Philippine finalist, Lalaine Zulueta, Parner Account Manager - Multinational Accounts, Microsoft Philippines and Anna Abola, Marketing Communications Manager of Lenovo Philippines 

Why is Lenovo doing this contest, you ask? Well this is recognition of their Enhanced Experience 2.0, a feature that can be found on select Lenovo computers. If it has the EE 2.0 seal on it, your computer is going to boot up much faster - like 20 seconds faster than your average PC! As Lenovo says, it's a small feat that makes a big difference! Just like their 10-second hero contest. Here's Zyra's entry for Lenovo's EExtraordinary 10-second hero contest: 

I personally think the GreEnvironment is a worthy cause and if you do too, then help her win! All videos of the 24 finalists can be found here: http://lenovo.promo.eprize.com/hero/. Voting is now open to the public and will last until October 5. All you have to do is select your country, register with your email address and find GreEnvironment entry among the finalists. Click on view story then click Vote for this Entry for your vote to count. The grand winner is the one that gets the most votes so spread the word guys!    

Pan de Amerikana: A Hidden Retreat in the Heart of Marikina

Confession: I have not seen a lot of places in my own country. I grew up in the city, the south side of town, Makati, to be a little more specific and my weekends are normally spent either at home or at the malls near my place. But I do want to travel. See the world... I haven't been anywhere outside the country yet. Still dreaming, planning my first out of the country trip... I figured I should start my travel right here in the Philippines. Be a local tourist first before becoming a foreign one.

And so on a long weekend in August, my friends and I let the wander bug bite us. It took us to the north side of town with the city of Marikina being our first stop. We're all from the south side of town so we were all local tourists.

How did we get there? We all met up at MRT Taft-Rotonda and went down Cubao station. From there we took the FX that had SSS village signboard. Our destination was Pan de Amerikana. It was almost lunch time when we got there. We initially planned to meet up at 9am but some of us are perpetually late comers so when we finally arrived in Marikina, our timing was just perfect.


Let me walk you through the place:

When my friends and I got inside, we all couldn't help but go "Wow". It's so nice here! The place even has a swing and a second floor rooftop footbridge...the kind you'd see in those movies with jungle scenes...

The food we ordered: Good food served at Pan de Amerikana. Pretty affordable too.

My adventure friends:

Marikina is a very clean city indeed. And though it was quite far, with the company of my friends, it was truly a fun day. Would I do it again? Heck yes! It's great to play tourist in your own country. Plus it's nice to get out of your comfort zone from time to time.   

Note: Most photos are taken by my budding photographer friend, Ryan. 

A Rainy Manila Adventure

After a crazy week at work, I finally got to catch up with my friends. Mai and I accompanied Ryan in Manila, specifically in Quiapo. Quiapo as I discovered is also a place full of affordable yet chic and cute accessories. Look at my cute finds:

I'm so in love with these accessories. Actually saw Camille Co sporting these accessories. Though I didn't like  walking in the puddled streets, shopping for these accessories lifted my mood. These accessories are only Php40! 

Also went to Robinson's Place, Manila. It's been awhile since I last went there. I mean really go there to look around. Before we window shopped, I begged them to find a place to sit down since my feet were really aching already - been standing a lot longer since Wednesday's event which I will blog about in a separate post. We settled on resting at Secret Recipes. 

Chocolate Indulgence

Carrot Cake

My friends have a sweet tooth like I do so they ordered cakes. These two are heavenly! Sweetness overload! 

Lasagna

Ryan's lasagna looked yummy. It tasted good as well. His only disappointment is that the fillings of this lasagna was only on top. Nothing in between. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu. I love foods with lots of cheese in or on it. This is one very juicy chicken. I only wish there was more cheese in this. 

The staff at Secret Recipes were very accommodating to us. They even made sure we always had a glass full of water. And we even got a 30% discount voucher which we can use if we dine in at any Secret Recipes branch in the next two weeks. 

I forgot to take a photo of Ryan. Haha. That's my good friend, Mai smiling for the camera. 

And here is me. I made an effort to actually tie my hair and make it hold its place and I wore some make up too. It's not often you'd see me like this. But I figured I need to exert more effort on looking good just like Andrea did on Devil Wears Prada. My friends also say I should do so. 

It was a nice Manila adventure minus the rain and puddles of course. I seriously love weekend adventures. Next time, I'll blog about my long weekend adventure on the northside of town. 

Fine Dining at Passion Restaurant Resorts World Manila

Did I ever tell you guys that I'm actually a picky eater? I'm not the type whom you can easily call to go on a food trip adventure - especially Asian foods. But Chinese cuisine is a favorite of mine. Well, my mom won a P10,000 worth of gift certificate to eat at Passion Restaurant, Resorts World Manila from playing bingo there so last week during the long weekend, my family and a couple of their friends went there for lunch.

Those big sliding doors were the first thing that welcomed us when we found Passion Restaurant. But don't let it fool you. Inside the ambiance is very relaxing and the staff were very accommodating to us. Helped us when we were debating amongst ourselves what to order. 

This place was huge! It has a 400 pax seating capacity. What I most especially loved about this place was how the windows allowed the sunlight to stream in. It balanced out the coldness brought on by the restaurant's air conditioning which was definitely a good thing as I forgot to bring my jacket. 

I knew we were going to eat a lot so I really brought my appetite. 

Pork Barbeque with Honey Sauce

Passion Fried Rice

Siomai

Stir Fry Noodles with Assorted Seafood 

Shanghai Style Pork 

Shrimp Dumplings

Sweet and Sour Lapu-Lapu

Sesame Seed Balls

All tasted good...except maybe for Shanghai Style Pork. That was my least favorite out of all the foods we ordered at Passion Restaurant. Quite a lot already right? But it's not all we ordered. I saved my all time favorite Chinese foods below.  

Crab and Corn Soup

                                              Boneless Deep Fried Chicken with Lemon Sauce

                                                           Bacon and Garlic Minced Broccoli

 I don't know why kids in the States hate broccoli. It's delish. And that lemon chicken is lurve! I would have saved the lemon chicken all to myself 'cos it's really really good but I had to share it with everyone else.

Anyhow it was a good meal we had. Quite expensive to eat there. Thankfully we had that GC. Try to read my attempt at another food review at When in Manila  please?

Passion Restaurant at Resorts World Manila Philippines

Type of cuisine:      Cantonese
Seating capacity:    400
Ambiance:             Fine dining

For reservations:    Call (+632) 908 8875

Passion Location:
2nd Flr., Maxims Tower, Resorts World Manila

Operating hours:    Daily
Lunch          11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Dinner         6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.