[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!

LimeTweetup2

More Saturday surprises, this time from Chef Arch's Lime 88 restaurant.


Last Saturday was the third time for me to visit Lime. Previously, I went to see an old LSGH grade school classmate, Eugene Claravall, who is also a part-owner of the restaurant. Among the other (original) owners are Chef Arch (who is in New Zealand) and his brother Vince (pictured below with his lovely wife, Sandz.


Among the food items we had were the Osso Bucco Kare-Kare with home made Bagoong, Green Mango Salad, and Crispy Dinuguan.





There will be more pictures on JP Manahan's multiply photo page.
Thanks to Vince, Sandz and the rest of Lime's staff for the drinks and awesome food! Till the next foodfest!

Breakfast

I have to say, I enjoy new food experiences.

These don't have to be exotic (Hakarl or the regurgitated rice from a dog that a former office mate was telling me about), nor expensively upscale (USD5,000 burger?), just something that tells me a new story about the maker, the chef or the person I'm sharing the meal with.

I was researching about my ideal weight, and given my age (mid-30s) and height (5'5.5"), I should be only around 135 pounds. My pessimistic weighing scale determines that I have to lose more than 20 pounds, which means I have to augment my exercise and decrease caloric intake. I don't want to go scientific about it yet. I want to try something that I can sustain, so I'm riding a mountain bike to work (with knobbied wheels to make the pedal resistance greater) and cutting down on rice (half-a-cup of rice or none at all) during regular meals.
I've lost an inch around my tummy area because of (starvation?) discipline. I feel a lot lighter when I engage in sports, though I have to take care of the knees.

This morning's meal was pan de sal with Santol spread.
In a past life, it would have been half-a-can of SPAM and garlic fried rice with a little turmeric. And coffee. Not anymore.


Compared to normal jams/jellies, this didn't remind me of childhood & Santol fruits from the backyard (both of the homes where I stay have Santol trees visible from the topographic Google maps). The taste was very mild citrus, clouded by the sugary mixture. It might a while to get used to, especially since I'm a fan of guava jelly (nothing comes close).

What's your favorite jam? Spread the word!

Future Tweetups in Philippines = To Help Business

I just wanted to share this article I came across today. I hope we can do this in Manila and build business AND business networks.

'TweetUP' is about new forms of communication
by MATT QUILLEN

SYLACAUGA – Business owners held their first “TweetUP” Tuesday, to discuss the various uses of Twitter and other social media.

The “meet ups” of people who “Tweet,” the common phrase for sending someone a message via Twitter, have become a regular occurrence nationwide.

Nick Lovelady, co-owner of Cupboards, organized the meeting with Wanda Craft of Just Vintage. Tabby Evans, owner of Gabby’s Coffee House, hosted the get-together.

Lovelady passed out flyers with “25 ideal ways to use social media.”

“There are probably 2,500 more reasons why you should do it,” he said. “I think that, especially in the business world, if you are not headed in that direction you are going to be left behind.”

Josh Andrews, owner of The Outsourced Associate law services, and Harris Bond, pastor at Knollwood Presbyterian Church, both attended the meeting. Andrews and Bond said they had found a variety of uses for Facebook and Twitter.

“Before I moved here, (Twitter and LinkedIn) is what got my business launched in Birmingham,” Andrews said. “I got on social media, and the effect it had on my business after just six months was exponential.”

Bond said he enjoyed passing along information to his friends through Facebook and Twitter, such as a good recommendation for a restaurant. But he also said it was a great way to relay information to his congregation.

“I can tell them what is happening on Sunday, I do a lot of that,” he said.

Chamber of Commerce director Carol Emlich-Bates also attended. She said social media could help keep the community better informed of what was going on and widen the chamber’s audience.

“We have people calling us and wanting to know why we aren’t (on Twitter),” Bates said. “We have a great website, and I can tie Twitter and Facebook to the website also. It’s the ‘old dog, new trick’ syndrome. We have to get out of old habits and try new forms of communicating too.”

The organizers said they planned on making the “TweetUP” a regular meeting. People with questions can contact participating businesses through Twitter at www.twitter.com/cupboards, www.twitter.com/JustVintage and www.twitter.com/GabbysCoffee2.

Article published at: The Daily Home website.