[Ateneo SMPH] Boost++ Medical Marketing Forum 21 July 2010

Albeit late, I saw this link on Ateneo's twitter account: http://www.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=120&type=2&aid=8641 so I rushed to inquire about participating. I was corresponding with Ms. Isobelle Ramos who was enormously helpful. She pointed me to this page where I found more details about Boost++, which was basically the first Medical Marketing Forum spearheaded by the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) Pioneer Class of 2012.
I woke up at 5:30am to prepare for this, which meant driving in sleep-inducing rain and pout-inducing hunger. I arrived at the new Medical City compound a little past seven o'clock. Parking in the basement was easy as the guards were helpful and there was a parking aide showing me the reserved area for forum attendees.
I happened to be too early for the registration, so I took my camera out and captured snapshots of the elegant building. Twice, I was mistaken by event organizers as the official photographer / videographer of the event. Hmmm, didn't know I had THAT kind of aura. I should get a more socially-acceptable haircut and clothes.
The registration committee was a group of six people who made sure that forms were prepared, guest books were signed, and name tags & certificates were printed out properly. They also provided me with a goody bag that included products from pharmaceutical companies, an ID tag, a Boost++ coffee tumbler, and a souvenir program. I would have traded the feminine wash for a notepad and pencil.

At 8:00am, the auditorium was less than half-full (or only half-empty, since I'm an optimist), so the forum started at 8:40am because of late attendees. Below was the program and list of speakers:

Here are some snapshots of the speakers:



Thanks again to the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, including everyone else who made this possible.

MNL Foursquare Badges - What if?

Noodle Night on July 9, 2010 at Wabi-Sabi

I recently visited Paolo's two week-old shop at The Collective, an event space along Malugay Street in San Antonio Village, Makati. He was with Inez and both of them were diligently fixing up the shop and finishing work. Paolo toured me around the compound and showed me the different store windows & introduced me to some of the owners, including Ibarra of Wabi-Sabi. Iya posted a recent review/ramen rant on her blog which made me additionally curious about the place. I placed some venue entries on Foursquare for information about what's inside The Collective http://ta.gd/4sq.

If you're interested in eating at Wabi-Sabi and meeting fellow twitterers/bloggers, join us on July 9, 2010.

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Postscript: Photos & Blog Entry here: http://bit.ly/bkliZO /by Mark Cerbo.

friday afternoons

Catching-up Fridays is about invigorating friends.

I met up with Lette prior to an early morning flight to Caticlan. We met up in Greenbelt, Makati after I finished work in Laguna. Simple joys filled the afternoon: book cover browsing at Fully Booked, happy hour at Spicy Fingers, and Milo Dinosaurs at Kopi Roti before she met up with Mary for the evening screening of Toy Story 3.



The succeeding Friday (July 2, 2010) brought about a spontaneous meet-up at Le Bistro Vert, the venue of the #T13Tweetup. I was invited by Janette via a late Thursday tweet. It was great to finally see Ms. Chit Juan, who manages Le Bistro Vert and Echostore.
I intended to go to the cafe during the previous weekend to drop off some samples from Carmel's Food Products that she might be able to use for her menu. The two ladies were enjoying some red wine with thin kamote chips with aioli, and Janette was explaining the benefits of Foursquare for business owners.
We also tried some Caviar Pinoy on toasted ciabatta.
Kevin, fresh from a Vietnam work trip, dropped by after his dinner meeting with Kristin and Rochelle. Banana mojito shots were served shortly, and to my surprise, the ladies out-drank the men.

If you're weakened by the week or if your spirit is running on empty, plan an early Friday happy hour or night-out with friends and revive your energy. Cheers!