VERANZA Mall...the newest pride of Generals

June 29,2013... the Opening.
Everyone was so excited when one of the newest mall in General Santos finally open its gate to the Generals. The VERANZA MALL! It is the first "GREEN" shopping mall in the South that will bring you to a new level in shopping, highlighting the General five elements of nature that will feature verdant landscapes, a roof garden and an elegant waterfall.

VERANZA Mall connects the existing KCC Mall of GenSan to the new structures via a skybridge. What Amazes me is the Waterfall that captured the attention of every shoppers and can't take the action of not taking pictures in front of it imagining that your in Niagara falls, just a thought, not bad at all.

What about the stores newest in town? Let me mention some of them ESPRIT, BAMBU (store for flip flops like iPanema, Grendha), VANS, 158.DESIGNER's BLVd (high end fashion boutique carrying world class brands like Burberry,Prada, Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic and others), CINDERELLA, AEROSOLES,CACHE CACHE (apparel brand based in France), PABDER (an Italian apparel for men and women), TERRA and AGUA, OFFICINE (shoes and bags specialty), SAMSONITE, KEVIN'S TOYS AND LIBRARY (playroom for kids mostly with branches in Metro Manila), ABENSON, DIY SHOP and there are so many to mention aside from this.

Now let's talk about the foods and restaurants. I know this is your favorite part, you will not end your shopping without eating your favorite food or trying a new and exciting restaurants newest in town. Let me mention some of them. The J. CO DONUTS, well at least they are finally found it here. The GERRY'S GRILL, one of Bitoy's fave hangout every night. THE COFFEE BEAN and TEA LEAF Born and brewed in Southern California since 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® delivers the taste and aroma of the world's best coffees and teas. 

The YAKIMIX, Manila-based eat-all-you-can buffet restaurant, with 699 all in buffet per person. My favorite Korean food is here in town as well, I'm so excited... the CHICKEN BONCHON, Korean-based restaurant they have the tastiest chicken ever! And of course I miss this as well during my college days the CHIKA-AN from Cebu serving the best Pinakbet with chicharon and Crispy Pata!

 

 

There also the CAFE LAGUNA, authentic Filipino Cuisine, one of my favorite as well is the GILIGAN's Restaurant how I loved their Sisig! Surprisingly, the owner of Mix and Magic wants to put up a cake store with different name... the SIS CAKE AVENUE. And I almost forgot one of my fave pizza, the YELLOW CAB PIZZA CO., A New Yorker's favorite pizza concept. They have also the MOOON CAFE this is really chicken mozarella and its the best!  Actually there are lots of them like Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy, BreadTalk and Arpochi Seafoods and Resto.

So what would a General could ask for? The moment I saw VERANZA, I feel that I am one in the malls in Manila. VERANZA MALL is indeed to change the General's Lifestyle. Magandang GenSan!!!

My Dream Vacation...JEJU ISLAND!

Annyeong Haseyo!!! I have wanted to go for a vacation for very long. The country for my dream vacation is South Korea specifically in  JEJU ISLAND, one of the nine provinces of South Korea. They call this as Volcanic Island full of allure. The island contains the natural World Heritage Site Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. Jeju Island has a temperate climate and even in winter, the temperature rarely falls below freezing point. 

What made me longed for this place? Simple. The scenarios are all breathtaking because the place is all about nature, wherein it is a best escape from a city life. The mountains and beaches provide a great place to relax for a vacation. Commonly usual vacation are spent in a big city with different architectural designs to tour around. But with this beautiful JEJU Island you can say that your dream vacation would be a different one. 
What are the main attraction of this place? First is the Hallasan Mountain is perhaps Jeju’s most prominent geographical feature, rising out of the very center of the island. Second is Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak has been recognized for its sedimentological characteristics and is one of the best places in the world to study Surtseyan-type volcanic eruptions. And the third one is the Geomun lava cave Geomunoreum Lava Tube System, one of the most extensive series of lava tube caves in the world.

GEOMUN LAVA CAVE

 HYEOPJAE BEACH

Located on the west coast of Jejudo Island (hallim-eup), Hyeopjae Beach is a white stretch of sand running alongside blue waters. The shallow waters and gently-sloping shoreline makes it the ideal place for beginner swimmers and the beach is often crowded with families during the peak season. The beach is located right near Hallim Park and is surrounded by a variety of bars and restaurants. There’s even a wide swath of grass and a pine forest that is often used by campers. 

The FOOD? I have loved Korean Cuisine after college because one work experience I got during that time is giving tutorial to Korean students. My grandma's house in Diliman, Quezon City is adjacent to a Korean school at the same time there are some Korean students boarding at her house. It was during that time that I enjoy trying their food. I sometimes saw them cooking a simple Nissin Ramen noodle mixed with their well known KIMCHI, then they will topped it up with a well cooked sunny side up egg. Mostly all their foods are spicy and that is one reason why I have loved their food. 

At JEJU, As an island with a long history of fishing, Jejudo Island is known for dishes made with fresh and savory seafood. Various seafood dishes use mackerel, hairtail fish, abalone, and tilefish caught right from the waters surrounding Jejudo Island. The chewy taste of the famed black pork is also a known trademark of island. One of their specialty in the island is the Jeonbokjuk (Abalone Porridge), sliced abalone is lightly fried with sesame oil and combined with rice soaked in water to create delicious Jeonbokjuk. This porridge is known for its high nutritional value and is wildly popular among visitors to Jejudo Island. They have also Seonggeguk (Sea Urchin Soup) The yellow flesh of the urchin is boiled with seaweed in a soup. Known for its distinct taste, Seonggeguk can only be enjoyed on Jejudo Island. It is high in protein and iron, and is rich in vitamins. And their Haemul-ttukbaegi (Seafood Hot Pot), is a delicious seafood soup made using shrimp, clams, and other kinds of shellfish. Weird right? but it brings us curiosity how these foods taste and delicious they are once you'll get the chance to try them. Do they look simple and familiar, yet they taste differently? 

Having a dream vacation in any place or any part of the globe is not that bad, we never know...that dream might come true one day. Kamsahamnida! Saranghae!

What the Mind can conceive, Can be achieved!

Let me share this quote from Napoleon Hill and Muhammad Ali which inspires me most in my life. The mind is but a very powerful part of the body. Believe in the saying that anything that  "The mind can conceive can be achieved". Success lies in the positive thinking that there is nothing that can’t be done. Success is a categorical term which is all-encompassing. But it must be borne in mind that success must always come with goodness, honesty, and kind heart. 

IMAGINATION will stimulate your mind so that you will conceive new ideas and develop new plans which will help you in attaining the object of your Definite Goal. Think of which path you really would want to take. Most of us will feel confusion on things, life and people. When this empty and lost feeling hovers around you, try to picture your past. Think of your mistakes and conceptualize methods on how to correct or remedy them. Have a straightforward outlook in life and focus only for the best things.

Good enough is not enough. Success will hardly come to you if you remain contented on simple things or in living a stereotype life. Life must always be lived to the fullest. Make it a point to reach a higher goal. Consider life as a struggle. Think of life as a pyramid and each of us deserve a peak. 

Yes, you need to work smart, not just hard, but hard work is the best way to create the career and life success you want and deserve.

Failure and success are both figment of the mind. To achieve greater things, pick just one of them. It’s either you fail or succeed. Definitely, we’ll choose to succeed. If it be the case, you’ll do everything to succeed and never fail. If you focus on the thought that failure is without a place in your life, then failure won’t come to you. So worked hard at becoming more optimistic, and slowly began to eliminate negative thoughts.

Everything is possible, nothing is impossible... if you believe! In everything you do, always bear in mind that your life is just a borrowed one. Everything we do is in God’s name and for his greater glory. We simply are agents who benefit from a gift.

There is never enough time

Time is the most precious thing in life. It influences every single moment and everything we do. To manage time is to manage life! 

"Let's just imagine there is a bank that credits your savings account each morning with P86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?
Withdraw  every cent, of course!!!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!"
The clock is running. Make the most of today.

Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.

To realize the value of one year,
ask a student who has failed his final exam.
To realize the value of one month,
ask the parent of a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week,
ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one day,
ask a daily wage laborer who has a large family to feed.
To realize the value of one hour,
ask lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one minute,
ask a person who has missed the train, the bus, or a plane.
To realize the value of one second,
ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.

Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

Blessing in disguise

I want to share this story where we can see that sometimes things are not always as they appear...

Once there was a man who was ship-wrecked and stranded on an island. Every day he prayed asking God to send someone to rescue him, but to his disappointment, no one ever came. Months passed and this man learned how to survive on the island. During this time, he accumulated things from the island and stored them in a hut that he constructed. One day after hunting for food and returning back to his hut, much to his dismay he saw that his hut was on fire along with everything else he owned!

All of his possessions were going up in smoke! The only thing he had left were the clothes on his back. Initially he was in shock, and then he was consumed with anger and rage!

In his fury he threw a fist into the air and began cursing God and yelling, “God, how could you let this happen to me? I’ve been praying everyday for months about being rescued and no one has come, and now everything that I have is on fire! How could you do to this to me! Why did you let this happen?”

Later the man was on his hands and knees weeping heavily when he happened to look up and catch sight of a ship coming in his direction. The man was rescued and as they were heading back to civilization the man asked the captain, “How were you able to find me?”

The captain responded, “We were voyaging across the ocean when we noticed on the horizon a column of smoke going up. We decided to go check it out and when we did, that’s when we found you!”

In life we are going to be confronted with challenges, problems, and disasters. But keep in mind that what the devil has meant for bad, God can transform into your good! What is a catastrophe can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. 

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

 Psalms 34:17-19