10 Things I'm Excited for in the Fall TV Season

It's September yet again which means I have survived another length of TV wasteland (with the help of The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Leverage and White collar). This also marks the return of many of my favorite shows and the arrival of new possible favorites. In honor of this lovely time of the year, I give you 10 things I'm excited for this September:

1. The New Girl
I love Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer. I follow her on Twitter and regularly read Hello Giggles, a blog she co-owns with her friends. I even love her sister, Emily, on Bones. There is nothing about Zooey Deschanel that I don't love. And having a weekly dose of the quirky, bubbly Zooey has me absurdly excited for the New Girl.

Relaxing Weekend at Valentino Resort and Spa

A great yet inexpensive resort so close to Manila is hard to come by for a number of reasons. First, the Batangas, Laguna and Cavite areas are so commercialized it doesn't feel like you're leaving the city at all. Second, if you want a well-maintained resort, you have to pay a hefty price tag. And lastly, it is often over-crowded.

That is why I was worried my second visit to Valentino Resort and Spa would be a disappointing one. When I first went there last year, it appeared to be fairly new and everything was pretty and polished just like a new resort should. For the second visit (upon hearing they were charging more or less the same price as before), I worried that the place would be at least two of the three things I mentioned above. Fortunately, they proved me wrong.

MasterChef Trina Episode 1: The Korean Experience

Lately, I've been using Stumble Upon a lot when I'm bored. After adding food to my interests, many of the links that I have stumbled upon has renewed my interest in cooking and baking phase of my petiks high school years. So, I thought... why not do a cooking/baking series for my blog? I get to cook or bake to my hearts content, I get to practice my photography and my blogging skills and I get to eat the food I bake. It's a win-win-win situation!

To begin my MasterChef series, I decided to throw myself head first into the world of Korean cuisine with two dishes I hold near and dear to my tummy: Kimbap and Pajeon. Kimbap is pretty much the Korean version of Japanese maki while Pajeon is a form of Korean pancake made with vegetables.

Alphas: Heroes 2.0

Heroes came in with a big bang. Everyone was talking about it like it was the best thing on TV and for a lot of people, it was. But then the writer's strike threw a wrench into Heroes' perfect clockwork and delivered a disastrous season 2. Everything was just downhill from there until it was cancelled two unbearable seasons later. Now, a new superpower-based ensemble comes in the form of Alphas.

Alphas has a lot of work cut out for them considering they are on a cable network on the summer season. Heroes had a relatively bigger budget even after the cuts and it was showing on Monday nights in the stellar fall season. But what they lack in backing they make up with a more concise plot and lots of potential for character development. Here's why.

Cirque du Soleil's Varekai Wows Manila!

After seeing the first billboard for Varekai a couple of months ago, I swore to myself that I wouldn't let the opportunity of seeing world class Cirque du Soleil performers pass me by. And I'm glad I kept that promise because I can't even begin to explain how awesome this afternoon has been.

Varekai is a re-telling of the fall of Icarus. Instead of plunging into the ocean, he finds himself in a lush forest surrounded by strange creatures. Here, he finds love and eventually learns to fly again with the help of his new friends.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: Suprisingly Good

I like to watch premiere episodes of a lot of new shows because I try not to judge a TV show by its trailer (or its synopsis). Surprisingly, I found a promising new show airing from ABC Family called the Nine Lives of Chloe King right in the middle of the summer season drought.

Based on a novel by Liz Braswell, the Nine Lives of Chloe King is about a 16-year-old girl who discovers she has cat-like powers. I was a bit wary of the show at first especially since it seemed like it was one of the many shows trying to achieve the success of The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. But after watching the first episode, I think I'm going to be hooked for the rest of the season.

The Voice: A Refreshing New Reality Singing Competition

Today, I finally caught up with all the episodes of The Voice just in time for next week's big finale. I must say that it is a nice break from watching American Idol for nearly a decade.

First of all, the format is a lot different from most competitions. Instead of judges, the show has coaches in the form of Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. They guide the singers instead of just critiquing them which helps them grow and ensures a brilliant performance each and every time. Second and probably the most important, the talent is just amazing. I'm such a big fan of a lot of the people on the show and watching them perform week after week is such a treat.

Craving for Champorado

I'm stuck at the client office. I should be home by now but I'm waiting for the rain to let up so my ride can get here. And now I'm starting to crave for a steaming bowl of Champorado which will go perfect with this gloomy weather.

If you didn't know (coz apparently some people from Germany read my blog), Champorado is a chocolate rice porridge. It goes perfectly with tuyo (dried fish) but I actually prefer eating it danggit (another type of dried fish) since the saltiness counteracts the sweetness of the dish.

Castle: The Best Season Finale for the 2010 - 2011 Season

Castle has consistently been one of my favorite shows since it started airing three years ago for several reasons. One, Nathan Fillion is a genius. Two, Stana Katic is gorgeous. And three, their chemistry is great. However, in the past two seasons, the finales of other shows often eclipsed that of Castle. But for their third (and thankfully not their last) season, the show delivered the most heart-wrenching and mind-blowing episode for all shows of the entire season.

Fast Forward to September Please!

All my favorite TV shows ended a couple of weeks ago which means the start of the dreaded summer season. The summer season is the wasteland filled with mostly boring shows and unnecessary re-runs.

Summer Fun at Teofely Gardens

I'm not a fan of hot springs in the sweltering summer heat. In fact, I'm not a fan of hot springs period. So when my family suggested that we go swimming one weekend, I knew I had to find an affordable yet non-hot spring private resort or else I'd be swimming in a steaming hot pool with the sun bearing down on me. I scoured the web for days, looking for resorts in the Cavite/Laguna area and I found the newly opened Teofely Gardens in Silang, Cavite.

Steaks and Frites at L'Entrecote

As part of my monthly food review for work, I often find myself scouring the blogosphere for interesting foodie places to try out. After seeing a lot of rave reviews for L'Entrecote, a French restaurant in the Burgos Circle area, I decided to give their Steaks and Frites meals a shot.

Exploring the Beautiful Island of Camiguin

During our trip to Cagayan de Oro, we couldn't pass up the chance to visit Camiguin. It is a small island found just north of Mindanao. Our guides during our white water rafting trip told us that there was a great mix of natural attractions that would interest us on the island. True to form, we were able to visit a breathtaking waterfall, a relaxing hot spring and a gorgeous white sand beach.

Flying through the Air and Riding the Rapids in Cagayan de Oro

Last March, I (along with a couple of friends from the office) hopped onto a Cebu Pacific flight in the wee hours of a Saturday morning for a well-deserved Cagayan de Oro-Camiguin vacation.

It was my first time in the strange and exotic (to me anyway) land of Mindanao and apart from an hour and a half delay of our flight, the journey there was fairly smooth.

For our first day, we had managed to find a packaged tour that promised a full day of thrilling adventures. For a mere 2,000 pesos, we had a private van for the day and a filling lunch with our fully paid zipline and white water rafting activities for the day.

Bicolandia Adventure: Journeying to the End of Luzon

In the last of the Bicol series, we went further down south and traveled to Matnog, Sorsogon. This is the jump off point for most boats that ferry people, cars and even trucks to and from Luzon and various Visayas Islands. But instead of getting onto the big ferries, we rented a large bangka and took a 30-minute ride to Subic Beach.

Bicolandia Adventure: Swimming with the (Whale) Sharks

Butandings or Whale Sharks are affectionately known as Gentle Giants. A nickname they rightfully earned thanks to their size and demeanor. It was my second time swimming with these beautiful creatures and it is even better the second time around.

NOTE: I don't have an underwater camera so I 'borrowed' a couple of pics I found through Google Images. Clicking on the pictures bring you to the source website

Bicolandia Adventure: Lignon Hill Trek

First ever official blog post, hooray!

A week before the well-deserved Holy Week vacation, me and 30 of my teammates went on a team-building in Bicol. Of course, this wasn't my first visit to Bicol. I went to Legazpi with my family when I was in high school and was fortunate enough to visit Misibis Bay before they built the resort and started charging sky high prices. The other time was last year, also with my teammates but there were just 15 of us at the time, and we were able to visit the Camsur Watersports Complex.

Since this was a 4-day trip, I decided to cut the blog up into 3 separate posts featuring the main highlights of the trip. Today's post is all about the majestic view atop Lignon Hill.