Bloggers Fest Thunderbird Resort April 16, 2011

• Bus Pick-up point at Makati City to Thunderbirds Resort.

          We arrived at the pick-up location at 9:20 a.m.  By that time the first bus was already packed and ready to leave.  We waited together with other bloggers for the other buses and vans.  After 20 minutes, a tourist van arrived and we were asked to ride there.  After a couple of hours and a few curvy roads, we arrived at Thunderbirds Resort in Binangonan Rizal.  

• Arrival at Event Center Thunderbirds Resort (11:00 a.m)

          Upon arrival, we registered at the front desk.  We were each given 100-php worth of Casino Tickets and an environment bag with a freebies.  We entered the elegant event center with chandeliers and color changing crystal lightings and left our belongings at our chosen seats.  We had our photos taken for free at the Baicapture photobooth just outside the room.  At around 1 p.m. the program started by giving away free Thunderbirds Resort T-shirts and Kurt was one of the raffle winners.  Then we were shown an introductory video of Thunderbirds Resort.  To our surprise, the place looks big and nice but we never had the opportunity to roam around and actually see its beauty.  Afterwards, the hotel manager Mr. Williams gave the opening speech and declared the lunch buffet open.

• Lunch Buffet

Kurt's Lunch

           The long buffet offered fresh salads with 2 dressings, pasta with white sauce, cream of vegetable soup with broccoli and carrot bits, fish fillet, boiled mix vegetables, roast chicken and rice. At the end of the table, there were fresh fruits and and leche flan.  Waiters roamed around serving ice tea and water.  They were also quick and attentive that they collected our plates as soon as we finished.  

• Awarding of the Extra Ordinary Online Video Contest 

          We were shown 7 videos: 1 Favorite Video Award, 1 Grand Winner and 5 Consolation for Most-liked Video.  We really liked the inspirational idea of the Grand Winner and also commend the winner for the favorite video award.  But we only liked 2 out of 5 most-liked videos.  

• Speakers and Short Seminars (We missed some because we went to the Casino...)

1. Blogging 101 by Azreal Coladilla and Sharing your story through personal blogging by Mica

         We used to think that a blog should only have one topic and we could never decide on which to pick.  But seeing Azreal's and Mica's examples, we were convinced that if others could do it so could we.

          

      2.  Blogging and writing with SEO in mind by Jonel Uy and How to Write Awesome Blog Posts by Fitz

          When we saw Jonel on stage, we thought he looked familiar.  (Coincidentally, we rode the same jeep to the meet-up location with him)  Although his topic sounded the most intriguing among all topics, the talk was merely introductory.  Since both of us are not writers, we found Fitz tips on writing really useful.  

      3.  Domain and DNS Management for your blogs by JP and How to Secure your Blog from Hacking 

           Both talks made us aware of two areas we never cared about before.  We should allocate some of our spare time in learning more about them. 

Stacy's Losing Entry for the Food Blog Workshop

• Break Time with Dunkin Donuts and Workshop 

           During break time a variety of Dunkin Donuts were served.  Stacy mistakenly took a chocolate filled donut thinking it was mocha just like in Country Style.  Kurt picked his favorite: Strawberry-filled donut.  Then Stacy joined the Food blogging workshop while Kurt chose Photography.  Kurt tells Stacy that the problem with her entry photo is that it was too far to be enticing.  What do you think?

• The Fiesta Casino and After-Effect

Our Free Fiesta Cash Ticket

           We extended our break time by going to the Fiesta Casino just beside the event center.  It was surprisingly crowded.  Stacy chose a slot machine and lost her entire 100-php worth Casino in about 3 minutes.  On the other hand, Kurt was able to cash out 900 php.  But he felt this urge to go back and bet again because he feels that he could earn around thousands more.  So he came back entered his 100 php encashed bill and lost it in just a few clicks.  As soon as we came back to the event center, Kurt was still talking about the Casino and how he could still win more money.  He kept on talking about it even while we were in the bus.  He says I should never let him go to the casino again.

• Unlucky Raffle and Departure

           We could have sworn that there were nearly a hundred raffle prizes given during the last part of the event but unfortunately we never got picked.  At the Casino or even at the raffle, Stacy didn't win anything.  We noticed there were only a few of us who didn't win anything while others won more than 3 times.  At around 7 p.m., all the raffle prizes were disposed of and we all took a group picture.  We quickly went out, rode the bus to Makati City. 

• Remarks

          Overall, the event was a success.  Everything was well-organized despite it being free.  We scheduled a lot to be able to attend and it was worth it.  This event also marks the beginning of our blog.