The Architects Licensure Examination will be held in Manila on January 16 (Friday) and January 18 (Sunday). The deadline for filing of applications was last December 26, 2008.

The results of the Architects Licensure Examination 2009 will be posted here as soon as possible.

There’s a new tourist trap in town. And it may be successful, too. Just look at these wonderful photos I was able to take of the government’s current pet project, Paseo del Mar (literally Passage of the Ocean), a park built strategically in the old part of town; to the left of it the historic Fort Pilar and to the right the first hotel Lantaka: Paseo del Mar stands right at the edge of Zamboanga City.

The park is still in its building stage, so you will see piles of bricks, unpaved ground and unfinished structures. Locals and visitors alike are not allowed into the premises yet, but we were able to secure entrance by promising to write about Paseo. (And, erm, maybe not mentioning the avenue of the write-up.)

There are so many pictures I cannot caption them all, so, enjoy the photos!

How about some landscapes? :-)

Here is Gim showing off our (not-so-)new motorcycle, Sebastian. (We sold Pao earlier this year.)

We were there (supposedly) on an official manner, so even though I was tempted to have my boyfriend take portraits of me in every corner of Paseo, I had to resist, haha. We refrained ourselves from photowhoring and instead opted for these two simple shots. >.<

And here is my most favorite shot of all. :)

Happy Holidays!

Update regarding the update (heh): Matt cutts twittered the confirmation, and the PR update is finished.

Is there actually a Google PR Update going on?

The geeks over at SEO Philippines Forum are speculating it’s so. Most people are just optimizing for the term. But I haven’t noticed any ups or downs in my PR. (I just got PRed to PR2 last October so I’m not expecting any big changes to my site anytime soon.)

Have you experienced a change in your PR this December 2008?

Philippine Airlines, Inc., also known as PAL, is the premiere and official airlines of the Philippines. PAL operates from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila and from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu.

PAL was founded on February 26, 1941 and started operating on March 15, 1941.

Philippine Airlines serves flights from the Philippines to the United States (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Honolulu), Canada (Vancouver), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), the Middle East (Doha, Dubai, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi), China (Hong Kong, Macau, Xiamen, Beijing, Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh), South Korea (Seoul and Busan), Japan (Fukuoka, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka), Taiwan (Taipei) and South East Asia (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bandar Seri Bagawan, Kota Kinabalu and Guam).

Philippine Airlines’ domestic destinations include:

• Laoag
• Tuguegarao
• Cauayan
• San Jose
• Busuanga
• Puerta Princesa
• Caticlan
• Kalibo
• Roxas
• Iloilo
• Bacolod
• Cebu
• Tagbilaran
• Dumaguete
• Dipolog
• Ozamiz
• Zamboanga
• Cotabato
• Davao
• General Santos
• Butuan
• Cagayan de Oro
• Surigao
• Ormoc
• Tacloban
• Calbayog
• Catarman
• Legaspi
• Virac
• Naga

I am in love with all things Hello Kitty, ever since I played that Hello Kitty Online MMORPG, haha. (So sorry you have to bear this!) This is a new video released by HKO, and it’s a very cute Youtub video of Hello Kitty and her friends counting down to the New Year.

HKO is closed down until further notice (open beta) so now I am thinking maybe I should wake up my Sims and play with them until HKO comes back. But, it’s just that I’ve kind of exhausted all game play with Sims already, all that building houses and choosing bathroom faucets… It gets kind of boring when you’re playing with characters you can control all the time. Who here’s played Flyff???

Anyways, from Hello Kitty and me, a Very Happy New Year!!!

Just like Philippine Airlines (PAL) teamed up with Visa and Mastercard to offer Mabuhay Miles, Cebu Pacific Airline has entered into partnerships with several credit card companies to offer rewards to loyal clients. (Yay for me!)

ABSCBN reports that cardholders of American Express, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Citibank, Metrobank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Bankard, SB Cards or Unionbank are qualified to convert their accumulated reward points into Cebu Pacific tickets. (I spoke too soon. Must apply to Unionbank ASAP.)

Cebu Pacific will also offer zero percent installment plans for Cebu Pacific Fun Tour packages, payable through the cardholder’s credit card. (Great! Just like tv lifts!)

I meant to upload these much sooner, but I was waiting for my next chance to photograph the lights of Zamboanga City, as I had not taken any of the beautifully lighted Christmas tree in the center of the city nor of the townhall lights in the surrounding barangays like Pasonanca or Sta. Maria.

Unfortunately the holiday season is ending soon and by the time I finish my shoots New Year may well be over, so without further ado, here are my twilight shots of Zamboanga City Hall. Enjoy! :-)

The people of Zamboanga City speak the Chavacano language, the base language of which is Spanish. Thus, on Christmas, we greet each other “Felices Pascuas” (Merry Christmas) and in the dawn of the New Year, we say “Prospero Año Nuevo” (A Prosperous New Year).

Frontal view of Zamboanga City Hall. The lights are truly more impressive this year than last. And I thought we were in recession? ;-)

That’s me posing in front of the Belen, also known as a nativity scene.

My boyfriend Gim pretending to offer something to a shepherd. (I think…) You can see a Jollibee franchise right behind us. It started out as only a small business opportunity but now it’s the Philippines’ version of McDonalds. :-P

Plaza Pershing lighted up. And Gim smack dab in the middle of it all.

A tree filled with lights. I love to see trees filled with Christmas decorations. I couldn’t quite capture the beauty of this one, though. The light was dying… :-(

My boyfriend wishing he were as tall as the camel. Ahh, me too. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!! Wishing you all a Prospero Año Nuevo! :-)

Effective on the first of January 2009, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be cutting down its fuel surcharge for selected flights, owing to the fall of oil prices across global markets.

International flights will experience a cut of at least $45 while domestic flights will be cheaper by P100.

More on the story here.

According to the Civil Aeronautics Board,

• Cebu Pacific Airlines carried 2.57 million passengers in 2008, compared with 2.26 million in 2007
• Philippine Airlines (PAL) hauled off 2.25 million people in 2008 versus 1.98 million in 2007
• Asian Spirit flew 250,000 travellers in 2008 and 248,000 in 2007
• Air Philippines took 623,000 in 2008 and 544,000 in 2007
• Last, and yes, least, new player South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) was taken by 138,000 people in 2008 versus 136,000 in 2007

It doesn’t look like the Philippines is suffering any economic recession by the look of these numbers, but CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla says that peak travel is masking the slow growth. Air travel growth of the Philippines is supposed to be 5 to 7 percent yearly, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is forecasting a growth of only 2 percent this year, and a decline of 3 percent in 2009.

Real the full Inquirer report here. (And I’m off to find some ball lock pins.)

Three more days and it will be Year 2009!

Here are some fun new year messages I compiled that you can send to all your friends.

A religious New Year message:

New Year begins, let us pray,
that it will be a year with new Peace,
New Happiness, and abundance of new friends,
God bless you through out the new Year.

A New Year message for those who like to tinker with words:

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Receive my simple gift of LOVE
Wrapped with SINCERITY
Tied with CARE &
Sealed with BLESSINGS
2 Keep u HAPPY SAFE all the life long.
HAPPY NEW YEAR

A Happy New Year quote for a mathematician:

12 months happiness, 52 weeks fun,
365 days laughter, 8760 hours good luck,
525600 minutes joy, 31536000 seconds success,
So wishing u a (*)Happy New Year(*)

A New Year message my friend Chris would appreciate:

Oh my Dear, Forget ur Fear,
Let all ur Dreams be Clear,
Never put Tear, Please Hear,
I want to tell one thing in ur Ear
Wishing u a very Happy NEW YEAR!

A New Year message for a thinker:

New Year’s eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.

A Happy New Year poem for poets:

And ye, who have met with Adversity’s blast,
And been bow’d to the earth by its fury;
To whom the Twelve Months, that have recently pass’d
Were as harsh as a prejudiced jury -
Still, fill to the Future! and join in our chime,
The regrets of remembrance to cozen,
And having obtained a New Trial of Time,
Shout in hopes of a kindlier dozen.
(Hwat?)

A New Year message for those who live month by month:

My wishes for you in year 2009
Great start for Jan,
Love for Feb,
Peace for march,
No worries for April
Fun for May,
Joy for June to Nov,
Happiness for Dec,
Have a lucky and wonderful 2009.

A New Year message for rhymers like me!

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Some generic New Year greetings:

Years come and go,
but this year I specially wish 4 u
a double dose of health n happiness
topped with loads of good fortune.
Have a great year ahead!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.

2009 is at the door…
Remember
Life is short, break the rules,
Forgive quickly,
love truly,
laugh uncontrollably,
and
never regret anything that made you smile.

Here is a wishing that
the coming year is a glorious one
that rewards all your
future endeavors with success

A cheery New Year message:

Little keys open big locks
Simple words reflect great thoughts
Your smile can cure heart blocks
So keep on smiling it rocks.
Happy New Year 2009

A New Year message from the early wishers:

Before the sun sets in this year,
before the memories fade,
before the net works get jammed
Wish u and ur family Happy Sparkling New Year 2009

A cheesy New Year message:

Tom Cruise
Angelina Jolie
Aishwarya Rai
Arnold
Jennifer Lopez
Amitabh Bachhan
& me..
All the Stars wish u a
Very Happy New Year.

Since I am unable to pay my numerous cellphone bills, alas I cannot text anybody this New Year’s. (Hope the debt collection agencies don’t come after me!) So my only hope is everyone comes by and reads all these messages, from me to you, this New Year 2009.

My personal favorite:

Better than any New Year has been and will be, Better than any joy
known or to be known, Better than any wish realised or to be realised-
that’s how, this New Year should be for you. Have a great new year.
Happy New Year 2009!