The Blessing of the Jesuit Health & Wellness Center

The Jesuit Health & Wellness Center

Five years ago our High School batch was preparing for our Silver Jubilee, we were listing down beneficiaries to which our efforts will go after the said Silver Jubilee. Our batch, Ateneo High School 1987 came out with so many ideas. The funny thing was that we were quite low on funds considering that we had to raise around two million pesos to run the annual homecoming and were worried that there won't be anything more left for our beneficiaries.

Photo ops with Fr. Mario  Francisco S. J

Through the efforts of my batch mates AA Aquino and AA Legarda, they spearheaded what we call the Jesuit Infirmary Project. Our core group then composed of Rufi Parpan, Dino Tanjuatco, Jacob Divino, Dong Feliciano, Dondi Narciso, Mike Rotea, Ricky Bello, Manch Carpio, Ronald Ledesma, Noel Garcia, Poopie Estrella and Dan Soliven just followed their lead.

Fr. Herb Schneider S.J. hosting the inauguration

I remember getting an email in 2009 from my Ateneo e-groups and it elaborated the sad state of the Jesuits staying at the Ateneo Jesuit Infirmary.  Fr. Assandas Balchand, then the Jesuit Prefect for Health, spearheaded efforts to raise money by talking to various alumni and most of his former students to be able to sustain the care of the Jesuit priests in the infirmary.  As they say what can one man do to make a difference?

Mr. Ramon S. Ang & Fr. Jett Villarin S.J sharing some stories

Maybe the Jesuits are truly blessed because after a few years their prayers were answered. After a few meetings spearheaded by the Ateneo HS 1987 Jubilarian class, San Miguel Corporation President Ramon S. Ang (RSA) agreed to shoulder the construction of the Jesuit Infirmary.  

Fr. Tony Moreno & RSA unveil the marker

The project which eventually yielded millions and millions of pesos was a donation that RSA made to the institution where he entrusted most of his children. Today, the Jesuit Health and Wellness Center is now a reality thanks to Mr. Ang. One man can truly make a difference. 

  RSA also gave thanks

During the feast of St. Ignatius mass at the Ateneo High School covered courts Fr. Tony Moreno S.J, the Jesuit Provincial Superior, announced  Mr. Ramon S. Ang’s generous offering and called him and his family on stage. The ground breaking was held on December 2013. Construction of the Jesuit infirmary began January of 2014 and was set to be completed by January 2015.  

AA Legarda of AHS 87 spoke of RSA's generosity 

Unfortunately, there were so many problems that the project encountered as Fr. Tony said. One of the most debated problem then was the West Valley Fault in which the building was directly sitting on. As I said, probably the delay was the fault of the fault – a double fault. 

Do you remember them?

Eventually the Jesuits found their way around the problems and just this morning the 38 -room, four storey building was blessed and is now "Jesuit ready." The Jesuits taught me a lot especially when I was actively participating in the Days with The Lord and that was why I was so happy that this project came to be.  

AHS 87 with Fr. Florencio Cuerquis S.J

This project came to fruition because of God’s divine grace and a perfect example that when we put our minds together we can make the impossible become possible. Our thanks again to RSA, Jun Dalandan and also to Ms. Jane Llanes who has been there helping us in making sure that one man can truly make a difference.

AHS 87 with RSA & Jun Dalandan

The Blessing of the Jesuit Health & Wellness Center

The Jesuit Health & Wellness Center

Five years ago our High School batch was preparing for our Silver Jubilee, we were listing down beneficiaries to which our efforts will go after the said Silver Jubilee. Our batch, Ateneo High School 1987 came out with so many ideas. The funny thing was that we were quite low on funds considering that we had to raise around two million pesos to run the annual homecoming and were worried that there won't be anything more left for our beneficiaries.

Photo ops with Fr. Mario  Francisco S. J

Through the efforts of my batch mates AA Aquino and AA Legarda, they spearheaded what we call the Jesuit Infirmary Project. Our core group then composed of Rufi Parpan, Dino Tanjuatco, Jacob Divino, Dong Feliciano, Dondi Narciso, Mike Rotea, Ricky Bello, Manch Carpio, Ronald Ledesma, Noel Garcia, Poopie Estrella and Dan Soliven just followed their lead.

Fr. Herb Schneider S.J. hosting the inauguration

I remember getting an email in 2009 from my Ateneo e-groups and it elaborated the sad state of the Jesuits staying at the Ateneo Jesuit Infirmary.  Fr. Assandas Balchand, then the Jesuit Prefect for Health, spearheaded efforts to raise money by talking to various alumni and most of his former students to be able to sustain the care of the Jesuit priests in the infirmary.  As they say what can one man do to make a difference?

Mr. Ramon S. Ang & Fr. Jett Villarin S.J sharing some stories

Maybe the Jesuits are truly blessed because after a few years their prayers were answered. After a few meetings spearheaded by the Ateneo HS 1987 Jubilarian class, San Miguel Corporation President Ramon S. Ang (RSA) agreed to shoulder the construction of the Jesuit Infirmary.  

Fr. Tony Moreno & RSA unveil the marker

The project which eventually yielded millions and millions of pesos was a donation that RSA made to the institution where he entrusted most of his children. Today, the Jesuit Health and Wellness Center is now a reality thanks to Mr. Ang. One man can truly make a difference. 

  RSA also gave thanks

During the feast of St. Ignatius mass at the Ateneo High School covered courts Fr. Tony Moreno S.J, the Jesuit Provincial Superior, announced  Mr. Ramon S. Ang’s generous offering and called him and his family on stage. The ground breaking was held on December 2013. Construction of the Jesuit infirmary began January of 2014 and was set to be completed by January 2015.  

AA Legarda of AHS 87 spoke of RSA's generosity 

Unfortunately, there were so many problems that the project encountered as Fr. Tony said. One of the most debated problem then was the West Valley Fault in which the building was directly sitting on. As I said, probably the delay was the fault of the fault – a double fault. 

Do you remember them?

Eventually the Jesuits found their way around the problems and just this morning the 38 -room, four storey building was blessed and is now "Jesuit ready." The Jesuits taught me a lot especially when I was actively participating in the Days with The Lord and that was why I was so happy that this project came to be.  

AHS 87 with Fr. Florencio Cuerquis S.J

This project came to fruition because of God’s divine grace and a perfect example that when we put our minds together we can make the impossible become possible. Our thanks again to RSA, Jun Dalandan and also to Ms. Jane Llanes who has been there helping us in making sure that one man can truly make a difference.

AHS 87 with RSA & Jun Dalandan

Orchard Hotel Singapore

Along Orchard Road

When you say Orchard Road, you will always refer to that famous shopping street which is the retail and entertainment hub OF Singapore. Orchard road is a major tourist attraction. One of the major malls in the place is the Lucky Plaza which is frequented by most Filipinos in Singapore.  

The Orchard Station

The place is very accessible since the Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transport has three major stations within the Orchard vicinity namely the Orchard Station, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut Station. There are also many bus services plying the area with SBS Transit, SMRT Buses and Tower Transit Singapore which makes the place easier to go to.

My room at the Hotel

The Orchard Hotel Singapore is one of the top hotels in the area as the hotel boasts of more than 600 rooms and suites that will fit your need. The Orchard Hotel is a part of the Millennium Hotels and Resorts group that manages other hotels form around the world. That means what you get is world class service in this hotel.

The Orchard lobby

One thing nice about this hotel is the accessibility to other things. You can walk to the MRT and go to Universal Studios if you like. You can also eat at their fine dining restaurants or opt to get your food from the adjacent convenient store or supermarket which is just beside the hotel.

The usual amenities

Registration took us just a few minutes to finish and with no paper work. At the same time they let us check-in way before the standard 2:00 pm check in time which helped us a lot since we were going to the University studios and were rushing to get there. The rooms are classy and it will definitely fit your needs of having a good hotel with great service. When in Singapore, you can check out this hotel if you want to go and shop and look for great signature stuff in Singapore.

Address:

442 Orchard Road

Singapore,

238879

     

A July Solstice

Took a pic passing by

I had a meeting at 8 Rockwell Building which was near the Power Plant Mall. First I was amazed at the security measures of the building since they gave me back my ID after scanning it. They eventually gave me a card that I had to swipe going in and swipe again for the elevators.   Great security. After our meeting I was asked to join my prospective event sponsors for lunch at Solstice which was at the ground floor of their building.

These are my Salad Days

It was unfortunate that I was running late for another meeting so I had to eat and run once the food was served. In the little time that I was in the restaurant I was amazed at one of the owners who greeted us and called on the waiter to assist us in our needs.

A little heavy on the belly

A quick look at their menu showed that they their appetizers plenty of diverse food namely Beef Salpicao, Chilean Black Mussels, Avocado Supreme and Swiss Cheese Fondue. Instead of the appetizers I went for the Caeasar’s Salad with its crisp romaine and crispy bacon. 

The Chicken was very tasty

I didn’t go for the soup either but got the Pomodoro Pasta and we also settled for the Garlic Shrimp Pizza. I wanted to eat light since I was going to another meeting in Laguna and didn’t want to go there stuffed. My lunch mate ordered their Chicken Dish and after a few minutes I hit it off. It’s so nice to be treated for lunch especially when you are in a rush.

Delicious Shrimp in the Pizza

The name Solstice is derived from the astronomical transitions that happens in June and December. For their full menu check out the Blog Our Awesome Planet where you can check every detail of what they serve. For me on a simple Tuesday this day in July, I was just passing by and admired what i had for lunch.

photos were taken from my Samsung phone

Brad & Pits Ribshack: Angelina would love these chops

If you believe in the saying that there is a parallel universe, then you can say that Maginhawa street in Quezon City is the parallel universe of Lilac Street in Marikina. If you are in search of great food then you would understand what I am saying. The explorer in us brought us to Lilac Street in Marikina one Sunday morning and have our lunch at Brad & Pits Ribshack.

From the Restaurants name alone you would know that the specialty of the house is baby back ribs. Since we had no prior knowledge of the place we just asked what their specialty is and the four of us ordered separately to have a taste of each and every dish we ordered.

Rothz ordered the Spicy rib Pomodoro which is a Baby Back ribs dish served with Pasta instead of the  usual rice that goes with it. Considering that the dish costs P 189.00 you can say that its quite okay with the serving and the taste was okay for its price. I ordered the Rib Mountain Baby Back Ribs which was enough for my appetite.

Krisvi on the other hand tried a different dish. She tried the Chicken wings and upgraded the Mashed potatoes for her side dish. I tasted the wings and nice to say it did not disappoint. RJ tried their basic Spicy Baby Back ribs which had 

For their drinks their Naturally brewed "Allmytea" Iced tea caught my eye. I don't usually drink Iced tea but this one was quite tasty and I liked the taste specially when poured on a glass of ice cubes. For those looking for something new check out this restaurant. Their menu is flexible specially if you want to eat a lot or just want something on your stomach. 

BRAD & PIT’S RIBSHACK

116 Lilac St, SSS Village, Concepcion Dos,

Marikina, 1811 Metro Manila

Talka and Dine at SOBREMESA

Right at the heart of the Ortigas Business District SOBREMESA proves to be a good restaurant for those who enjoy a fusion of Filipino and South American dishes.

Sobremesa was the right choice to reunite with my friends who came from Hong Kong Louise Sarte - Aldecoa and her husband Arvin. The place highly recommends chatting with friends rather than tinkering with your gadgets.They actually have a mini-cage to put your phones for the whole duration of your stay.

These Croquetas were a hit as appetizers

The Spicy and Crispy Squid was a revelation

The Beef was quite entertaining as well and the taste was wonderful

The Chicken Pochero proved to be different but tasty. I loved the sausages that were incorporated in the dish

I loved the Grilled Lamb Steaks - a must try

The Grilled Pork Belly added more zest to our meal

I am not much a fan of chocolate cakes but this one is a winner

By the time we finished we had some cocktails. Luckily there was a happy hour that got us two margaritas for the price of one.

Had to share some light moments with Harvard de Baron who is one of the owners of SobreMesa.

SOBREMESA

Sapphire Bloc,

Ortigas Center