The sluggish Internet connection didn’t stop me from working on my latest web project, Brink Notes Entertainment (BEDNetwork). Brink Notes Entertainment Daily is an entertainment magazine-type blog where one can get local and foreign Entertainment news. I will try my best to update the site at least once daily. My two other celebrity fan blogs, Toni Gonzaga and Kim Chiu Fan would get a makeover soon.

Oh, change is coming to this blog very soon!

1. March on March 2008 – Thank God I graduated from high school last March 2008. And yes, with flying colors!  I graduated second honors with two medals (Excellence in ICT and Loyalty Award). I was even part of the Top 50 of the graduating batch. The years have now paid off.
2. Enroll on a decent college / university – Who would have thought that a Jeric Peña would study at the University of the Philippines? I never imagined myself studying at the national university of the Philippines. Good thing my mom encouraged me to take the UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) even though there’s a slim chance of passing. Although people find it weird that I’m studing via distance education, I’m still proud that I’m a student from University of the Philippines, Open University taking up the program that I really wanted.
3. Attend the World Youth Day 2008 in Australia – The only goal that I didn’t accomplish this year. I felt really bad that I wasn’t been able to attend the World Youth Day 2008 in Australia. But who knows? I might be a part of the World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain!
4. Join a Blog Network - Aside from the multiple blogs I maintain, I also write for Chikadora and TechBlog.ph.
5. Set-up new niche blogs, improve current blog and earn more through blogging – This year, I opened a couple of blogs such as Kim Chiu Fan, Distance Education in the Philippines, Jeric on the Tube, and So Sick of Taxi. I also revamped the Toni Gonzaga blog I maintain while My Boring Life… Now A Blog gets a face-lift this year.
6. Buy a new gadget for myself - I was only aiming for one gadget but thank God for I was able to buy myself three gadgets. Although I already gave the two other gadgets I bought this year to my mom and my sister, it feels so good that I can buy things that I want with my own hard-earned money.
7. Nourish my spiritual side and Be closer to God – Only God knows if I accomplished this one. But this year, I’ve been more contented with my life. My ‘materialistic side’ has softened down. I stopped asking for this and that. In fact, this Christmas I have one wish and I hope that it would come true.

Wow, it really feels good to having accomplished almost 86% of my goals for this year. With the things I’ve done this year, I have no regrets. I am happy right now and looking forward to a brand new year full of joy and love. I won’t stop thanking God for the great things that happened this year. I feel great right now realizing how God has given me everything I needed and wanted. Happy New Year!

PS: Looking back at “My Goals for 2008″ post, I realized how awful my grammar and spelling before (well, up to now). It only shows that I’m truly dyslexic. Huhuhu. Where did the internal editor in me go?

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who voted and nominated for this blog and my other blogs as well. I started blogging and podcasting because I was in search for a venue wherein I could express myself. So to those who find this site worth reading, I thank you. But let me say thank you to my mom, who supported me in this endeavor. I hate how this sounds as if I’ve won an award but your votes and nominations mean a lot to me.

Thank you very much to you, my readers!

PS: I hate to do this but my vote for the Blogger’s Choice Award goes to My Boring Life… Now A Blog!

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When I first heard about WordCamp Philippines, I hurriedly signed up hence, I’m camper number 003! Well, it really pays off to be early. Since I’m camper number 003, I won a special WordPress mug courtesy of GenSantos.com. It was really unexpected.

My mom and I attend the said event though she left before the plenary session. Supposedly, my sister, Dianne would also attend the said event. But because of her class, she wasn’t available to attend. Aside from my sister, I believe a lot also missed the event because there were a lot of unclaimed camper badges and even excess food. Nevertheless, the venue was jam-packed!

The morning sessions were divided into two tracks – the Deployment and Development track. The deployment track covered topics like Blogging 102 – Basics & Beyond (Jayvee Fernandez), WordPress for Corporate Web Sites (Hans Koch), Building a Blogging Community (Blogie Robillo), Video Blogging with WordPress (Kring Elenzano) and lastly, Blogging & Journalism (Danilo Arao). On the other hand, the development track discussed topics like Creating WordPress Themes & CSS Power (Gail Villanueva), Developing WordPress Plugins (Markku Seguerra), Organizing & Optimizing Your WordPress Blog (Ely Apao), WordPress as a CME/CMS (Karla Redor) and finally, WordPress & SEO (Hans Koch).

One of the talks that I’ve enjoyed the most is Kring Elenzano’s Video Blogging with WordPress. Her talk is full of fun and helpful information. I can’t even remember a dull moment during her talk. I believe everyone who attended Kring’s talk enjoyed it as much as I do. Upon registering for WordCamp, I was really looking forward to Gail Villanueva’s Creating WordPress Themes & CSS Power. I’ve been creating WordPress themes since I started using it in 2005. During that time, I didn’t pay much attention to mark-up, validation and others. In fact, my themes were made out of tables. Well, I’m currently struggling to finish a valid CSS & XHTML theme for my other blog. I find Gail’s talk very helpful too. I hope she uploads her presentation online because there was a problem in the projector (the text were too small).

Of course, the highlight of the event is the plenary session where Matt Mullenweg known as Mr. WordPress delivered the State of the Word and the Future of WordPress. Aside from Matt’s talk, several topics were also given attention such as Demystifying Google Analytics (Aileen Apolo), WordPress & Web Standards (Regnard Raquedan) and Making Money with Performance Ads (J. Angelo Racoma). The campers were also given the chance to ask questions to Mr. WordPress himself, Matt Mullenweg. Giveaways and prizes were given in between talks.

Before the WordCamp Philippines ended, Ms. Ria Jose, one of the organizers presented the Cebu Pacific Blogging Challenge wherein winners will receive 1 roundtrip ticket to the local destination of their choice (within Cebu Pacific’s coverage). The contest is only open to 18 years old and above. Hence, your honor is not eligible to join the contest. The funny thing is, Ria Jose even mentioned my name on the microphone.

Let me congratulate the organizers, sponsors, speakers, volunteers and the campers for a successful WordCamp 2008. Blogie Robillo, one of the organizers closed the program by greeting the campers, “See you in WordCamp 2009!”

Aside from WordCamp, Ned and Ardy Roberto releases marketing business solutions book. A pre-Wordcamp Philippines was held in Davao last September 4, 2008. WordCamp Philippines is the first Wordcamp in the Southeast Asia.

You can sign-up by click here or the PLURK logo on my sidebar.

Because Coke has too much Coke Zero, they decided to treat bloggers of all ages and sizes last Friday, June 27, 2008 at Taste Asia in Mall of Asia. Am I making any sense here? Nevermind, I know you know what I mean! Whew! That sentence was full of Asia, Coke, and commas! The event isn’t formal at all. It’s like an eyeball event for me because I was able to meet some of my Plurk and Twitter buddies in person. I can’t name them all because they’re so many! The great food that night was provided by Taste Asia. And of course, the overflowing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were there too.

Anyway, who would think that just by having an active Plurk account, you’d get to win a Coke collectible dining set? Because of JayDJ, I won a Coke collectible dining set! That was easy! Those who remained loyal to Twitter got prizes too.

Some bloggers present during the Coke Zero Event (from L-R – Poyt, Lauren, Jehz, Cai, Coy, and Mica)

Who would forget the Plurk Banana Dance and The Banana Dancer? NO ONE! The Banana Dance is actually the highlight of the event. Wait, I thought it’s Coke Zero? Just take a look Jason dancing the Banana Dance.

I saw some ladies from 26K of Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal too. Actually, Charmel was the only one I know from the girls. At the end of the event, each one of us were able to bring home one (1) case of Coke Zero in cans – a total of 24 Coke Zero in cans. Up to this point, we haven’t consumed all the Coke Zero from the event. The Coke Zero we got would be expiring on July 14, 2008 so we should dispose or consume them quick. And I forgot to mention that there was a magic show that night too!

Magic Show by Marcelle

I guess that’s all I can say! Thank you to Coke, Taste Asia and SM Mall of Asia. To all the bloggers I met that night, hello!

Since So Sick of Taxi is a group blog, we are accepting contributions from our readers. That’s why if you got something to share that falls into our niche, don’t hesitate to drop by So Sick of Taxi and check out the details on how to contribute.

So Sick of Taxi was conceptualized on our way to DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) for our passport renewal. We were talking how motion sickness is associated with riding a taxi then. Incidentally, motion sickness is not new in our family.

Anyway, you go check out So Sick of Taxi and don’t forget to tell it to your friends too!

See you there!

The Chowking Halo-halo is a best seller. In fact, 25% of Chowking’s sales came from the famous halo-halo. The halo-halo from Chowking may be quite pricey if compared to the ones bought in your “suking tindahan” but with Chowking’s Halo-halo you are assured that the ingredients used are clean and fresh. Chowking’s Halo-Halo is composed of 12 ingredients, which I won’t list anymore but the distinguishable ones are Jackfruit, Sweetened Banana, Ube and Leche Flan. In preparing the Halo-Halo, Chowking uses their very special “blended milk”, which complements the halo-halo very much. The Halo-halo was presented in a very creative way with powder-like ice. The vibrant colors of the ingredients and its taste makes you wanna crave for more. Just to add, I consumed the Fiesta Halo-halo (with two scoops of ice cream) in a flash!

The marketing people from Chowking are very much hands-on. They entertained questions coming from the bloggers present. They also did some table-hopping to check on the bloggers which I took advantage to complain about the Chowking branch nearby (as in a stone throw away from our house, literally). They also shared about the story behind their Halo-halo and how Halo-halo finds it way to Chowking’s regular menu.

You can enjoy Chowking’s Halo-halo anytime (rain or shine)! You could choose from three sizes which are Half Dozen, Petite and Fiesta. If you want to add a little more sweetness to your Halo-halo, then add a scoop or two of ice cream.

Please do watch out for the video blog I would be posting on Jeric On The Tube about the event.

Other blog post/s:

Dianne – Chowking’s Halo-Halo Experience

Join me as I live blog the upcoming American Idol Season 7 Finale. The Top 2 Performance Night would be a delayed blog coverage as I don’t have the access to the live broadcast of American Idol. As far as I know and according to the TV schedule, only the results night would be broadcasted live here. If you have seen my Miss Universe live blog coverage, this one would be better. I’ll be providing you guys with photos, videos, audio clips and more from the show. See you on the 21st and 22nd of May for the finale of American Idol Season 7!

1. My Boring Life… Now A Blog! – Of course, brinknotes.org is my main blog about everything under the sun. I write about different topics that interest me and would be probably interest you too. I also cover GMA 7’s Pinoy Idol on this blog.
2. Pinoy Idol Podcast – If you miss BrinkNotes Podcast, you might want to listen first to the podcast series I made dedicated to GMA 7’s Pinoy Idol. BrinkNotes Podcast is now on hiatus to give way to my new podcast show, Pinoy Idol Podcast.
3. BrinkNotes Podcast – BrinkNotes Podcast is only hiatus and I will be posting updates every now and then. I’m planning to clean and update the BrinkNotes podcast website in the coming days. Since, I’ve got two shows now, and I think it would be three if another interesting topic would cross my mind, I’m planning to make www.brinknotespodcast.com as an aggregator site of all my podcasts – except for Jeric’s Confessions. I won’t dare repost those embarrassing podcasts!
4. Jeric On The Tube – After almost a year of waiting, Jeric On The Tube is now online on its new home. Please do drop by Jeric On The Tube and check out the video blogs I’ve been posting. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Don’t forget to view, subscribe, rate, and comment!
5. Distance Education in the Philippines – Since I’m a student of University of the Philippines, Open University, one of the institutions here in the Philippines that offers open and distance education, I dedicated to create a blog that would chronicle my life as a distance learner. The blog will feature my experiences and hopefully news about Distance Education in the Philippines.
6. Just Jeric – If you want to start to hate me, why not visit my emo blog where I post poems mostly about love! I also post random musings over there. It is my pseudo-personal blog where I try to be just myself.

If you’re done reading the blogs above, then, follow my on Twitter. Hahaha! I can’t compete with Ria’s 12 blogs . I managed 6 blogs already and I’m having a hard time updating and maintaining these blogs.