If you ask me where I usually eat, I would say Verde Restaurante at Loreland Farm Resort. People ask me how I came up with the name Verde. 

Here's my story. One chilly afternoon, while working online at the restaurant, I looked around and observed. I noticed that we've got so many trees around the resort. All kinds like coconut, mango, kasoy, santol, mahogany, palm trees, etc.  We even have a Tipolo Tree where the name of my hometown Antipolo was derived.

These trees were planted by my grandparents and family so there's that heritage value. Not that I'm not aware of my surroundings just that I find it cool to eat in a place full of trees. Trees are green and the Spanish of green is Verde. There you go!

Whenever I want to break the monotony of daily grind, I take the 10 to 15 minute trek to Camp Tipolo Adventureland situated within the property of Loreland Farm Resort. It's a trek worth taking as the scenery going down is just relaxing. It's a different story going up but then again it's the experience that I count on. Going down the 250 step rip rap is an exercise not only for my body but for my mind and soul too. It's just a total break from the usual concrete and four corners of the office that I usually work on or most of us do.

In the Visayas Region, I have only been to the following provinces - Aklan (for Boracay), Iloilo, Guimaras, Bohol and Cebu. Although there were plans to visit Negros Island and explore Bacolod and Dumaguete, I never had the chance to do so.

So when I learned that there was going to be a Negros Trade Fair in Rockwell, I made sure to be there atleast on the last day of the Fair to get myself acquainted with this charming island. It's the easiest and closest way to be in Negros by not actually flying there.

This was my first time to visit my alma mater, the Royal University of Santo Tomas on a school day seven years after graduation. The first visit was during a Christmas Concert Gala back in 2009. Although there were several attempts to visit Paskuhan celebrations, I declined due to heavy traffic that usually abound the area during holiday season. Unless I go there in a helicopter, I would be really happy to go there in a snap. (!)

The purpose of my trip this time was to visit Beato Angelico Gallery where there is an exhibit featuring National Artists from my neighboring town - Angono, Rizal. But before visiting the Gallery, I went around the campus and oh boy was I really excited to see massive improvements in the campus. I felt nostalgic of my 4 year college life from 2001 to 2005. Campus life. Dorm life. And everything in between.

Our family playground shared to the community.

What used to be a vacation home of mom’s side of family became a full-scale mountain resort meticulously created with love and passion for over 16 years. 



The first rest house equipped with two beds, dining, kitchen, bath and veranda became a venue for intimate family gatherings overlooking the majestic Laguna De Bay and cosmopolitan Manila. The view is just incredible. On a clear day, one could even see the famous Manila Bay.



I spent most of my younger years here running around, hiking, swimming until I get so dark, playing in the rain, roasting lechon, eating barbeque, bananaque and kamoteque. It was an endless excursion of family get togethers, parties, reunions and the like. We swam like there’s no tomorrow. We cooked, dined, created our own mini-gardens, built sand castles, harvested kasoy and manga, ate suman, bibingka and so on. Things to do were endless. There were no facebook then, no laptops, no digicams, no ipods, no DVDs, no cable, no cellphones not even pagers and a car for us young ones. We were simply being kids communing with what nature has to offer and enjoying every moment of it.