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The 30 Day Blogging Challenge ended yesterday. For the entire month of October, I was able to do daily blogging. It feels great that I was able to accomplish such task! It’s no easy feat considering there were some challenges along the way, and I fulfilled them all!  I’m a bit exhausted from my Siquijor trip with the Cebu bloggers (I’ll blog about it in the coming days) but I don’t want to break the streak, so here I am trying to make another blog post.  LESSON LEARNED Here are the lessons I learned from this blogging exercise: 1. Blogging becomes a habit if you do it for 30 consecutive days. It feels off that I won’t be able to blog in a day. If not every day, probably I wish to blog at least twice a week. Blogging has not become a part of my daily life. 2. Write for your readers, not just for yourself. When writing for my blog, I realized not I should write something that will give value to my readers. I’m not just writing a diary but a ...

Yes, the air in Metro Cebu is already considered unhealthy for sensitive groups according to Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-7). Cebu Daily News confirmed that there is haze in Cebu, as there are ‘small dust particles exceeding the allowable limits’ present in the air. ABOUT HAZE, SMAZE, AND NEWS BITES What is haze? According to Wikipedia, it is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky. What is smaze? It’s basically haze plus smoke or air pollution in the metro. What caused Cebu haze? According to Cebu Daily News, Mactan weather bureau chief Alfredo Quiblat and atmospheric physicist Gerry Bagtasa believed that the haze is from the ongoing forest fires in Indonesia. This has to be verified in the coming weeks after getting all the results of the tests conducted. Is this haze just in Metro Cebu? No, it’s not exclusive to Cebu. PAG-ASA also confirmed that haze is present in Davao, Cagayan and Pal...

Many of us Filipinos love traveling so much. However, traveling isn’t always something that can happen on a whim. When the country you really want to visit requires information-heavy visa applications and a visit (or multiple visits) to that country’s embassy, it can certainly tarnish the fairy tale feel. The process itself can take a while, and since there’s no promise you’ll actually receive that visa in the end, it can also end up being cost-ineffective. But don’t let that discourage you from traveling. Stay positive! There is hope. Not all countries require that pesky visa. In fact, Philippine passport holders have a treasure trove of countries they can visit. Limits vary, but some countries allow you to stick around for more than 90 days! Here’s a breakdown of these countries and their respective limits. This information was compiled by the DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs, Wiki and GMA News Online. Visa-free (zero limits): Cape Verde Islands Comoros St. H...

Traveling requires more than going out and spending your time in a different environment. It requires planning, patience and a good state of mind. It is a great opportunity to explore new places, meet new friends, learn new things and rediscover yourself. For me, a fulfilling trip is one that is spent with positive attitude and good vibes. You should know by now a few tips on traveling like planning ahead your itinerary, going beyond your comfort zones and appreciating the little things. Here let me share 5 tips on how to keep your good vibes while traveling: 1. Don't forget your earplugs. This , my friend, is a traveler's best friend. At some point on your trip, you'll need to muffle the sounds of annoying passengers, noisy engines, crying babies, barking dogs and more. Make sure to keep your cool and turn that good music on. But be sensitive when to use it especially when traveling with someone or with your friends. 2. Don’t be afraid to laugh a...

The University of the Philippines Cebu is looked up to as among the top universities in Cebu and the Visayas. That label is not drawn from thin air. The UP Cebu lifestyle is unique, being the university that demands the most out of its students. More than academic excellence, UP Cebu students are expected to be involved with the community at large in living up to their Iskolar ng Bayan tag. If that in itself is not yet too daunting as an expectation to live up to, the UP Cebu lifestyle also requires learning to get along with different personalities, make do with meager learning resources, help shape up school policies, uphold academic freedom, and stand up for what you think is right. Because of such a demanding lifestyle, not every UPCAT passer ends his or her UP Cebu journey with a diploma in hand. But there are those who made it to the end, some barely surviving yet some doing it with flying colors. We asked those who went through living the UP Cebu lifestyle and earned...

Blogging is one of the things you can do if you love writing. Consider your blog as a project that you can venture into while you’re still alive. There are many benefits of blogging. It can become your portfolio, you can earn money from it, and it can connect you to your community. For those people who are interested in blogging, they ask: how to start a blog? There are many resources you can get online and today, I am giving you easy steps in creating your blog. START. These are the 7 easy steps in starting a blog. 1. Choose your niche. Know what you want to write and choose a topic that is close to your heart. Be original in your content and make sure to choose a consistent voice in all your blog posts. If possible, you can write your voice as if you’re talking to your readers. 2. Select your blog name. In choosing a blog name, make sure to aim for simplicity. It shouldn’t be hard to remember and it matches your domain name. Try to Google your blog...

One of the things that a blogger should be concerned about is that blogging entails responsibilities. Just like a writer, a blogger should write with accuracy and proper ethics.  I have recently read a blog article about the Code of Ethics for Bloggers, Social Media, and Content Curators . It shows a list of 12 points that will help you become a responsible blogger. On another event during the Cebu Blogging Community’s first official meetup, we discussed some rules that every blogger member should abide.  Just recently, I tried to search some ways how to become a responsible blogger. I asked some peers and my personal research has made me realized that I can create some points that every blogger can read and apply on their own blogs. Without further ado, here are the things that you can do to be a responsible blogger: 1. Check your facts. It’s your freedom to speak your opinion but make sure that the facts included are actually verified. You don’t w...

One of biggest problems that this world cannot solve is the behavior of every human being. No matter how good we are, we still cannot tell others to be good to the rest of this population. There will always be people whose pastime is making others feel good, but their actions aren’t genuine. These paasa people are the reason why we have to guard ourselves not be used by these kinds of toxic. If we don’t, kita ra sad ang luoy. It’s still up to us whether we allow them to use us or we get rid of them from our lives. How to Spot A Paasa Partner If you want to know more about these kinds of toxic people, here are the signs that you are with a paasa partner: 1. He/She doesn’t care about you, but just how you treat him/her. These paasa people might just look at you physically, but they don’t care about how you feel. They will pretend to like you and make you feel good, as long as they get the right treatment they wanted.  2. He/She calls you only when he/...

I plan to explore a place in Cebu that I haven’t been into. It has been on my bucket list for sometime now but I haven’t fulfilled it yet. Here’s a challenge I give myself: I will be travelling to anywhere in Cebu before the year ends, whatever it takes. I’ll be blogging my experience, too. My fellow CBC bloggers Monica of Afterglowbe and Melanie of Fueled by Caffeine inspired me to write this blog post today. While reading this 10 Questions To Answer Before Going on A Solo Trip , I am happy to announce that I accept the challenge to go on a trip as a solo backpacker. Since this will just be my first time, I’ll be going somewhere in Cebu. Not to mention I want to explore new places in Cebu, too. For first time solo backpackers like me, here are some tips that we need to consider before embarking on this journey that we haven’t tried before: 1. Remember: It’s A Date with Yourself Solo backpacking is definitely a date with no one else but yourself. Understand tha...

TIPS. Here are some tips on how to survive a 30-day Blogging Challenge. As of this writing, I have yet to survive the 30 Day Blogging Challenge of Cebu Blogging Community. Will I survive? That is the question. Confession: It’s just the fourth day of the challenge and while I have a list of possible ideas already, I haven’t fully written down these blog posts yet.  For other bloggers who wanted to survive this challenge, I have here some tips on how to achieve this. 1. Read Tips Online Before starting to write your first blog post, you should at least consider reading some tips online. Searching for “blogging challenge tips” or “how to survive blogging challenge” in Google will yield relevant results. Keeping an editorial calendar for your future content is the most generic tip you’ll get. Given the fact that blogging daily is a definitely a challenge, planning your future content and not anything-you-feel-to-write on the day itself is what you need to...

Upon hearing that the community of Cebu bloggers formally known as Cebu Blogging Community will conduct at 30-day blogging challenge this October 2015, I didn’t hesitate to participate.  Joining such an activity is definitely a challenge to me since I haven’t successfully done a 30-day challenge prior to this one. I attempted to do several challenges before like reading one literary piece per day or jogging everyday but failed due to my busy schedule and, honestly, I had some problem with commitment due to my dramatically diverse lifestyle. If asked why I decided to participate this 30 Day Blogging Challenge, here are the reasons why: 1. More Posts Blogging, especially for neophytes, is definitely a tedious challenge. Starting a blog is so easy that keeping it alive after years, or even just months, may not be possible for those people who are too busy to focus on other things.  Thus, joining this 30 Day Blogging Challenge will definitely benefit ...

NEW LAYOUT. Welcome aboard to a new Zuprome.com that works on both web and mobile! Your blog reflects your personality. Finding a theme that will perfectly suit what you need and what you want on your blog is somewhat complicated and can sometimes be expensive. If you're like me who wishes to spend the least amount of money, I wanted to find a free theme on the web that I can just use without extensive coding  and give credits to the owner at the bottom of the page. If you haven't tried googling "free blogger theme" then it's the perfect time to start doing it. It's already 2015 and Google recently added the mobile-friendliness as a factor in SEO. With this movement, our blogs should have a mobile counterpart . If you're asking me what will be the best step to preserve the image of your blog, a RESPONSIVE layout is now encouraged , especially that we're dealing with Blogger. You can now try googling " free responsive blogger theme ...

UP HELL WEEK. Ang tulog nababawi. Ang singko hindi. Yes, that's true, Iskolar! Source: Judah dela Cruz Iskolars, last hunat na lang! In the next few weeks before this semester officially ends, you need to exert all efforts to save your dying grades. In UP Cebu, seeing zombies in the campus from time to time is slowly becoming a normal sighting. This will go until the end of the semester since some postponed exams are now finally scheduled and you have no choice but to take them. In the next few weeks, unsay tips sa mga freshie and feeling freshie nga wala kahibawo unsay buhaton to survive this UP Hell Week(s)?   After asking my friends what tips to recommend to the UP Cebu students, I have compiled 7 chronological steps you may want to take to survive this UP Hell Week happening every semester's end. (Warning: I am not liable to any physical, emotional, spiritual or mental damage if you decide to follow these steps.) 1. Prepare. Before anything el...

Is everyone excited to attend the most anticipated annual event in UP Cebu ?  UP Cookout 2014 will be held in the  University of the Philippines Cebu on October 24, 2014 from 6pm to 6am the next day. It’s a 12-hour non-stop party plus something every UP student is known for—social relevance.  I’m hearing clamor from the Freshies and the rest of the community who have not yet attended the event to get a list of the things you should know to fully enjoy UP Cookut 2014 . From my point-of-view, here are some of the tips that everyone should be aware of : 1. UP Cookout 2014 is free for all UP Cebu students. You just have to be enrolled this current semester and you’ll be fine. No money to get an entrance pass to this awesome event of the year. 2. Tickets are sold at P100 only. Tickets are sold on the event night. You can also buy tickets before the big night. Tickets sold before the day will only be P80. For more information, contact the U...

After four long months of summer, University of the Philippines Cebu will officially start the academic year 2014-2015  2015-2016 this mid-August after the academic shift took effect and improvements have been done to the UP Cebu campus .  After writing the dos and don’ts in UP Cebu for freshies, I’ve decided to create this blog post containing tips that every Freshie Iskolar entering UP Cebu should be mindful about .  Iskolar, here are the 10 tips every UP Cebu Freshie should read: 1 - Form 5. Invoice. Bring it on your first few weeks each new semester. Your Form 5  Invoice will be your ticket to your classes. This serves as your proof that you are enrolled in that semester. Some teachers prefer to sign your  Form 5  Invoice. If you decide to join an organization, it may require you to submit a photocopy of your  Form 5  Invoice and ID picture for org recognition purposes. Scholarships will also require ...