Battling the Dreaded Big C

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With the recent demise of Jennifer Gonzales Roxas, fellow blogger and part of the Cook magazine team, who succumbed to stage 4 breast cancer, the blogging community is grieving, especially those who have one way or another met with Jenny personally during one or more blogger events.

I remember her as the more endearing among her lady friends. She seems to be the most mature or older in her group of other lady bloggers often seen as four lovely ladies of lifestyle. All four of them were the epitome of class and sophistication, but she seemed to be the most reserved or conservative of the four.

I was fortunate to see her just a few days ago during one of the events I attended. I can't help but notice how she seems to be looking different from the former days when I used to see her as gloriously beaming with health and confidence. I never knew she was suffering from cancer lately so I guess the big C does really put you down physically. May it be cancer of the breast, ovary, lungs or any other part of our body, the absence of a cure until now makes cancer so much a dreaded killer.

But I am totally overwhelmed realizing she was still passionately pursuing her blogging activities even though even though she has cancer. This means cancer has failed to totally keep her from her true passion of engaging and socializing at events so she can afterwards tell the stories through her blog.

However, it finally ended her life, but she will remain living in our hearts because of the wonderful memories we will continue to remember of her.

We know she is now at a better place and among the angels looking down on us from the heavens. Thank you Jenny for being a part of our lives.
Life is really unpredictable, and we would always be caught surprised and unprepared for many instances no matter how we think we are ready and able to face challenges.

I believe everyone should take extra effort in determining the possible occurrence of cancer at an early stage so as to have better opportunities to treat the dreaded disease even before it becomes worst. Women should not wait for the time when they feel a lump or pain in their breasts. Please do regularly have a mammogram - an X-ray image of your breast used to screen for breast cancer. Mammograms play a key role in early breast cancer detection and help decrease breast cancer deaths.

Polo Ravales Topbills Hercules: The Valiant Warrior of Thebes Musical

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We will soon see another mighty rendition of the epic Greek hero Hercules tale approximately two months from the recent press conference and launch held on July 15, 2016 at Garage88 located at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

This time it will be a musical play top-billed by actor Polo Ravales, and partnering with his real life girlfriend, CJ Flores Marin, a beauty queen who won as Miss Earth Philippines Water 2015, who plays the role of his wife in the play. Both of them will be singing but since Polo is more of an actor rather than a singer, he gets his encouragement from CJ who can easily belt out a tune.

The two will definitely be a match made in heaven, or at least Mt. Olympus, where Zeus, father of Hercules, will be among the many other characters who will also get some spotlight on the musical. The story will not only focus entirely on Hercules but also on his supporting casts made of Natasha Cabrera, Ronah Rostata, CJ Flores Marin, Paw Castillo, Fatima Cadiz, Hutch Perales, Jhay-R Baccol, Francelle Fetalvero, Jovito Bonita, Jasper Jimenez, Jasmin Salvo, Ren Medina, and Tina Dela Cruz.

The musical is directed by acclaimed actor Riki Benedicto, who has been guiding his actors throughout a series of rehearsals. They still have a couple of months to go before their first playdate on September 15 at the Star Theater located at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP Complex) in Pasay.

Zoomanity Hosts 4th Farm Tourism Conference at Paradizoo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Robert Yupangco, the visionary head honcho and mastermind of the Zoomanity Group of companies, personally met with us during our visit at Paradizoo and Residence Inn Tagaytay properties. We were actually invited there to witness the 4th Farm Tourism Conference being held at Paradizoo from July 14 to 16, 2016 and attended by several delegates from all over the country.

Among the many known farm spots in Tagaytay, Paradizoo was chosen as one of the featured successful farm tour destination during the 4th Farm Tourism Conference.

The Zoomanity group also took the opportunity to show us the Residence Inn property so we could also see how they are fully engaged in farm tourism. So aside from petting and feeding animals, tasting their meals cooked with fresh poultry, livestock and fruits and veggies directly sourced from the Paradizoo farm itself, we also got to experience almost the same within the few minutes at Residence Inn munching on their pancit and pineapple jam spread on toasted bread, a short tour of the many animals showcased there, and the zipline highlight to end the tour with lots of shrieks and laughter as we coursed through the amazing zipline overlooking the Tagaytay lake.

The Zoomanity theme parks, which can be found at different parts of the country and even two abroad, are focused on farm and agri tourism where people can get up close and personal with both animals and plant life. However, the farms were built more as an advocacy geared in promoting best practices in living a better and healthier life.