While preparing to go to bed after a long day, I just realized that I’ve attended two Wordcamp firsts: the first Wordcamp in Australia (Wordcamp Melbourne 2007), and the first Wordcamp in Southeast Asia (Wordcamp Philippines 2008. Darn you Beijing for holding one last year; it would’ve been first in Asia!)

Smug declarations aside, I’m pretty happy with today’s programs. Hands down, it was one of the BEST blog events of 2008. Wordpress is something all the participants were passionate about, and you can really see how much bloggers are interested in learning more about this powerful blogging platform. There was an eclectic mix of participants – newbies, probloggers, personal bloggers, developers, designers. All the breakaway sessions were well attended (because they’re all interesting), and the afternoon’s plenary session was especially interesting because it was when Matt Mullenweg delivered his State of the Word address and had a short Q&A session with the campers. I think Matt was amused at how we love to take photos and took plenty of shots of campers taking a picture of him.

Matt and his fans

 
Then there was the serious business of camwhoring after the program We all posed for a class picture with Matt, then the Wordcamp organizers and volunteers had their photos taken with the huge backdrop. Then comes the jumpshots. Matt was so amused by all of it, that he had to join the other photographers in taking photos and joining the organizers eventually. Almost everybody wanted a photo with Matt, and he willingly obliged to each request, even chatting up the groups who came up to him for a photo.

I guess that’s one of the reasons why this was such a fun event: Matt was so easy going and friendly. Despite his popularity and status, he remains down to earth. It really was such an honor to meet a person like Matt Mullenweg.

Wordcamp Philippines Organizers and Volunteers

Of course, a big part of why this event was one of the best ever are the organizers. I have to hand it to the Mindanao Bloggers; they really worked hard for Wordcamp Philippines, and it paid off. I was watching them work while I was waiting (because I arrived way too early), and I saw every volunteer doing their assigned tasks, and all the leaders working with them, instead of just ordering people around. That, my friends, is the recipe for a great event

Looking forward to Wordcamp Philippines 2009!
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 23% [?]

Contrary to what you might be thinking, my continuous raving about the Mt. Daguldol hike really wasn’t because of the sponsorship. Don’t get me wrong — it was great to get the free gear, but it was the people and the experience that made this trip so unforgettable.

Me, AJ, Ricky, Phoebe, Jayvee and Ferdz
Photo by Dino de Leon

 
It was my first trip out of town with this group. It was even my first time to meet Phoebe and Ferdz, and my first time to really get to interact with AJ and Jayvee, whom I both met in previous events. It’s actually like a school field trip. You get to know the people you share your classes with outside of the classroom.

Jump!
Photo by Dino de Leon

 
Also, just like field trips, there are those moments when you act really immature and take photos of people sleeping. (No, I’m not posting sleeping photos here because I’m not *that* evil. But you can see them over at my flickr or my multiply )

Shooting Phoebe and AJ’s fasyon spread

 
This was also my first real camping experience. The last time I slept inside a tent was the time my cousins and I stayed overnight at the cemetery during Halloween. We weren’t really roughing it because Halloween and All Saint’s Day in the Philippines is more like a huge outdoor party — there are long lines at the toilet and a Pizzahut kiosk right beside our tent. Prior to that was the camping we had for scouting back in grade school. We only camped inside the school grounds, and the school was only one street away from my house, so it wasn’t much of an experience. Though I think I did see a white lady in one of the classrooms… THIS was real camping though. With tents, camp stoves, peeing in the bushes.

Dino’s Halo-halo

 
Then there’s the halo-halo. On the way back down to San Juan, we stopped by Mang Lizardo’s for halo-halo. One high-maintenance hiker who shall remain nameless ordered a high-maintenance halo-halo: no kamote, no munggo, no pinipig and only one scoop of sugar.

With Ricky, Columbia Sportswear’s Megamall branch manager

 
That started the teasing the high maintenance hiker got all the way back to Manila. Of course, this high maintenance hiker made things worse by commenting on the “local ice cream.” In fairness, masarap ang local ice cream! Remember, Creamline is the official ice cream of high maintenance hikers!

Phoebe, Jayvee and Phoebe’s bucchi

 
High maintenance hikers aside, there was one blogger who made a great display of his strenght during this climb. While everybody was huffing and puffing from the exertion, this blogger was huffing and puffing away on his cigarettes. Winner! He kept up a running commentary, even singing Broadway hits, which kept us entertained and kept our minds off from the strain of the hike. To further show off his manly prowess, this tough guy pulled our van out of the muddy ditch it got stuck in on the drive back to Laiya. It’s a shame nobody got a video of this amazing display of strength.

Me and Ferdz

 
Another highlight for me was learning how to skip rocks! Though I still lack practice, I was able to get them to skip three times. Thanks for the lessons, Ferdz!

My 10,000th photo with the Ixus 75! (Pardon the cheesy poses)

 
It was also during this trip that I reached the 10,000th mark on my digital camera. It took me almost three years to reach 10,000 in my old A70, but with the Ixus 75, it only took seven months. I was initially planning some elaborate shoot to celebrate the 10K, but I’m glad that the 10,000th photo was a sort-of spontaneous happy shot. As my friend said, “at least it has someone wearing a shirt that says “I’m too horny.”"

Popularity: 20% [?]