Sinjin's House

No. This post won’t be a review of the KC Concepcion-Richard Gutierrez movie (I still haven’t even watched it yet!), but will instead be about how I did at least three things for the first time yesterday evening.

Yesterday evening, the Digital Filipino Club and Bloggers Networking Event in Cebu was held at the Teatro Casino of PAGCOR at the 3rd level of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino. It was my first time to enter the hotel once again after about 3-5 years. I didn’t know what to expect since it was my first time to attend an event of that nature. I also felt at ease due to the fact that I will not be feeling alone and out of place since I will be attending the event with my colleagues at the Cebu Bloggers Society (CBS), with whom I am already comfortable with.

The venue.

The event was the first time the CBS gathered for a formal event and it was the largest event ever attended by the group. We felt that the event was the perfect opportunity to promote our group and its advocacies even more so we grabbed it and decided to wear our “brand” shirts for the very first time. Our gimmick seemed to be successful since the shirts we brought were all sold-out during the event but if you’re interested in getting one for yourself, don’t worry because you still can by visiting this link.

Just to provide a little background, the event was organized by none other than Ms. Janette Toral, author of the DigitalFilipino.com E-Commerce Workshop E-Book and co-author/editor of the Philippine Internet Review: 10 Years of Internet History (1994 – 2004) , and sponsored by the very generous PAGCOR and was attended by members of the DigitalFilipino.com Club and the Cebu Bloggers Society, as well as other individuals who share a common interest in blogging.

So, ummm, the event started with what-else-but-dinner, which was served by Port Seafoods Restaurant, one of the tenants of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Eat-all-you-can! Yebah!

Are you drooling yet?

Hopefully these photos are enough to let those people, who failed to attend the event, regret about their decision not to go:

Yum, yum, yum… Looking at those photos again makes me feel hungry, hungry, HUNGRY!, so let’s move on.

After dinner was a meet-and-greet portion where all the attendees of the event were “required” to give a short introduction of themselves and their blogs. Unfortunately, I was not able to introduce myself since I was at the restroom while the microphone was being passed around our table (Please don’t accuse me of doing that intentionally haha). A short program then came after and it was opened by a message delivered by a representative of PAGCOR Cebu.

Ms. Janette Toral then discussed, through a visual presentation, on what the Digital Filipino Club is all about and immediately after, she presented the blogs that were able to make it to the Philippines’ Top 50 Blogs as compiled by Ratified.org and gave some background information of these blogs.

Among those whose blogs made it to the Top 50 list are CBS members Kevin Ray Chua (for his blog Mar Roxas for President in 2010) and Winston Almendras (for his blog Batang Yagit). They were each given time to share their blogging secrets to their fellow bloggers present during the event. Another CBS member, McBilly, made it to the Top 50 list but unfortunately, he was not present.

Kevin, while delivering his “speech”.

Winston, who shared his experiences as a Batang Yagit.

The program ended there but it seemed that the “party” has just begun with the entry of a live band! Rock and Roll! They performed hits from the 90s to today’s most celebrated hits. Overflowing glasses of wine and extra-sized beer were also served, and several games and a raffle promo commenced. It was my first time to take a sip of red wine and goodness, it was oh-so-bitter! =D

I didn’t know that Batang Yagit is also a Batang “Sugalero”, hahaha.

As the night proceeded, bloggers networked, chit-chatted with one another and posed for the cameras!

Above and Below: Some of the CBS members, gamely posing in front of the camera.

CBS members posing with the ever blooming Ms. Janette Toral.

Overall, everyone enjoyed the evening. Amazing venue! Amazing food! Amazing people! Amazing freebies! Simply an amazing evening! It was a fun-filled experience that will defintely be among the most unforgettable experiences in my life. Once again, I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Janette for organizing the event and to PAGCOR for sponsoring the event. It was truly a wonderful event and I am looking forward for more of the same. And ofcourse, I’d also like to thank everyone whom I’ve meet for the company. Hope to see you again some time soon.

Some more photos:

P.S. It was my first time to arrive home very late at 10:35pm (breaking my previous record of 9:20pm) and luckily, mom was asleep so I had nothing to explain. =D

1. CBS Official Site: DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Cebu Networking Event a Success!
2. Rodel: 1st-ever Cebu Bloggers Networking Event
3. Francis: Digital Filipino at Teatro Casino Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino
4. Aileen: Digital Filipino Club Fellowship Night
5. Empress: Digital Filipino Club and Bloggers Fellowship Night
6. Kevin: Digitalizing Cebu in Just One Night
7. Athan: A Gambler Blogger
8. Reynold: DigitalFilipino Club Networking Event in Cebu
9. Iggy: Digital Filipino Club Cebu Networking Event
10. Ethelbert: PAGCOR is the new Digital Filipino
11. EUTS: Digital Filipino Club Fellowship Night
12. Athan: DigitalFilipino.com Gathering attended by Cebu Bloggers Society was a Success!
13. Nick: DigitalFilipino Club in Cebu City
14. zeniamai: Digital Filipino Event
15. Orville: DigitalFilipino Club and Cebu Bloggers’ Night
16. Lance: A night for Cebu Bloggers
17. Jorich: Digital Filipino Club and Cebu Networking Event
18. Clarence: Nang-atake
19. Blog Haven: DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Cebu Networking Event
20. Rodel: DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Cebu Networking Event Was a Total Blast!
21. X: DigitalFilipino Club Networking Event in Cebu and the Cebu Bloggers
22. Arnold: The DigitalFilipino.com Club and Cebu Bloggers Society Networking Event

Popularity: 68% [?]