Let me start this post by borrowing these lines about real friends from one of my favorite websites:

So how do you know if you are real friends or just simple friends?

A simple friend hates it when you call after she has gone to bed.

A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.

A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.

A real friend expects to always be there for you!

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s good to have simple friends, as they are fun and offer another network of people to socialise with. But you can’t bet real friends, you know the ones you wear trackies around, go to a movie when you are feeling down or just hang out and talk about stuff.

Truly, I found not only simple but real friends during my stint as the only Filipino out of the 10 finalists of the GoPro Hero Contest sponsored by the The Planet D’s Dave and Deb. Candidly, I participated in the contest not only for the prize but for sentimental reasons as well. After I launched my travel site in the few remaining hours of December 31, 2011, I kept on sending e-mails to travel blog administrators begging for links. Immediately, I got a rebuke from a seasoned blogger sternly advising me to stop sending e-mails for support as, being a neophyte blogger, I don’t deserve to get it. By heaven’s grace, and when I was on the verge of total disillusionment, an email from the prestigious Canadian blogging couple Dave and Deb had arrived offering my first ever  link from a foreign travel site and encouraging me to go on with my travel blogging passion and hurdle the trying times as a novice as they had also threaded on the same path three years ago. Since then, I always made sure that I browsed on their travel site every time I opened the net, hence, I was among the first to know the launching of the GoPro Hero Contest.

Candidly, the post announcing the contest finalists had sent shivers down my spine for I didn’t really expect to land into the top 10 given the overwhelming number of Dave and Deb’s fans around the world responding to their call for entries. When I was informed that the winner shall be chosen from among the most number of “likes” from Facebook account holders,  I knew that I would be facing a tough challenge judging from my experience as a hands-on campaign strategist during my stint in the hotly contested seat for the board of Directors of a local electric cooperative. Hence, I embarked into a campaign offensive posting on my facebook account wall so my more than 500 listed friends can read and vote. Immediately, my staff at the Socorro Empowered People’s Cooperative (SOEMCO) responded to the call and served as my first wave of campaigners. Credit is due to Novelyn Ramirez who texted her co-employees to support their CEO. But, it was Joymafe Tesado who provided the missing voting link as she had discovered that one has to like first to The Planet D’s Facebook Fan Page before the like button would appear below my picture. My immediate family members Vanjing, Vladimir, Ranjick, Eimereen, Edil Jovann and Edrian had moved heaven and earth to win votes for me. Glenn Mark and Ysis Dizon had left no stones unturned in getting support from their friends. My friends Raul Pregon, Robert Quisto and Imelda Espenorio Dela Concepcion campaigned hard for me. But, to my surprise, two relatively unknown friends came to my rescue and provided the core of my campaign. The first being Lovely Libra, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) based in Qatar and the other in the person of Evelyn Tamayo Solde another OFW based in Hongkong. Truly, their Facebook chatting prowess had attracted a number of OFWs to vote for me. Another unexpected support came from Desiree Joy Deloso Macumo-Roque, a Filipina immigrant in Australia who rallied her Filipino friends to support me. A number of my relatives, friends and fellow travel bloggers also provided their support either as campaigners or avid voters.

As in any other life endeavors, there were ups and downs in my campaign. Frustration really struck me when my personal message of appeal posted on the wall of my friends had merited a deafening silence. A number of my friends, though, deserve consideration as they had thrown their support for me, only that they missed the voting mechanics. But I was truly overwhelmed in knowing that majority of my votes came from people whom I didn’t know personally.

Having been adjudged as the winner of the GoPro Hero contest is no ordinary accomplishment in my life and I am really indebted to all my 378 supporters for getting the coveted prize. I vow to reciprocate the sponsor’s generosity as well as my voters loyalty through quality posts about my island vacations escapades supported by nice pictures and videos taken by the GoPro Hero Camera/Video. And to give due recognition to my supporters’ selfless efforts, I deemed it proper to include them in this list of  MY REAL FRIENDS:

My Journey- My Writing Passion

Writing is really my passion and part of my journey in life. I love to write compositions in my theme notebooks during my elementary days.  I wrote essays during high school and did feature writing as editor-in-chief of the college organ. In college, I participated in essay writing contests and became a regional essay writing competition champion. My writing activity came to a halt when I had landed a job in government in 1987. It was only in the 3^rd quarter of 2010 that my love for writing was resurrected when my son, who is a freelance programmer and website developer, had developed a site for me. I wrote on everything under the sun about my island life. Upon reading my posts, a nephew of mine, who is into online SEO-related job, advised me to write keyword-based articles, which I did. Later on, my son told me to submit my articles to ezinearticles.com, which I also did. Within one week after the approval of my first submitted article, ezine had elevated me to the status of platinum expert writer. I need to transform my writing endeavors from generalist in nature into a niche-specific one, hence, I decided to venture into travel writing  as it is closer to my heart. Relative thereto, I launched this travel site on the last few remaining hours of December 31, 2010.

My Journey- Choosing the Site Format: Article Writing or Blogging?

I was then on a dilemma on what writing format to use in my travel site: was it article writing or blogging? I love article writing not only that I am used to it but I like the idea of writing on the readers’  shoes with the word “you” being emphasized through and through. However, I also like  blogging and takes pleasure in writing on my own shoe and frequently use “I” and “my” in my write-ups.

To settle once and for all, I decided to combine the two formats and choose to go into article writing first and venture into blogging later on when I can get hold of a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera which I can call my own. I consulted professional photographers on the best brand of DSLR and they were on the consensus that I should buy Nikon. I surfed the net on the cheap camera suppliers in Manila and was informed by Out of Town Travel Blog about Henry’s Camera and Photo Supply. I traced the address 310 P. Gomez Street corner R. Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, Manila and was able to buy my  Nikon  D7000 Kit at a price much lower than at the malls. So here I am, posting my maiden blog, as promised.

My Journey-What’s In The Name

After a series of self-brain storming sessions, I choose MY JOURNEY as blog title. In this, I shall not only write about my travels but also any other interesting facets of my life’s journey. Unlike my articles which, as much as possible, shall be focused on island vacations in island getaways, here in My Journey blog I shall post my sojourn in all my travel destinations.

Scene of a typical rush sales hour inside Henry's Camera & Photo Supply

Another view of the sales activities inside Henry's Camera & Photo Supply- and establishment which became a part of my journey in travel blogging.