It's Thanksgiving Day!

Two more days to go and it's thanksgiving! It's time to think of all the good and even bad things that happened to you in the past months. All of them were given to you for a reason. Think of all the blessings that poured to you and your family despite of all the difficulties, here you are now, still standing, still fighting and at the end of the day, still alive and well and Happy! Life is good,God is great so give thanks! Celebrate with your love ones on Thanksgiving and savor the blessings right in front of you. Be thankful for everyone in your family and for the food on your table.

 It's going to be my first time to celebrate Thanksgiving with the complete family and I am thankful for that. I'm sure gonna eat a lot that night so I better prepare for some tea like  underberg at smallflower.

Advance HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Philippine SME Business Expo 2014

SME 2014:

With the ASEAN integration just around the corner,the country’s largest business-2-business trade show, conference and networking event for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the Philippine SME Business Expo 2014 - “ Boost Your Business”, held its Press Conference on November 18, 2014 at the Lucia Ristorante of Hotel Celeste, Makati City. Now on its 2nd year, Philippine SME Business Expo (PHILSME) continues to boost small businesses to become BIG and will opens its gate on Friday, November 21, 2014 at 10AM, at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall of Asia Complex Pasay City. This 3-day event also serves as a gateway for Filipino companies that like to enter the ASEAN market and vice versa. Over 200 local and international companies are exhibiting and 20,000 people are expected to visit PHILSME 2014 to network and collaborate.

The Press Conference was attended by 30 people from the major newspapers, television and online contributors, as well as by known personalities from the business community, like Henry Ong, President of the Young Entrepreneur Society Philippines (YES) and host of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Philippines; Ria Lu, Co-Founder and CEO of Unlock & Load; Earl Valencia, Founder of IdeaSpace Foundation; Arianne Kader, Regional Operations Manager, of Marketplace of ZALORA Group; Rajan Uttamchandani, Chairman and CEO of Esquire Financing Inc.; Norman Adriano, Secretary General of the Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP); Engr. Romelen Tresvalles, Head of Planning Unit of the Department of Science & Technology (National Capital Region); Chris Raeuber and Nils Walle of the Combined Logistics Networks.

From November 21-23, visitors will be able to network with over 200 exhibitors from 18 business sectors ranging from direct selling, technology and innovation, agricultural business, fast food and restaurant concepts, beverage and confectionery, to general merchandise and retail, hotels, salons, spas and gyms, malls, office furniture, machineries and supplies, bar, cafe and coffee shops.

“We aim to put together under one roof SME business owners, senior level executives, professionals, government agencies, trade associations from the Philippines and the ASEAN region to collaborate in order to boost businesses and the Philippine economy at large. The ASEAN economic community will become the 7th largest economy in the world with a combined consumer market of over 600 million people and we will do everything we can to help small businesses to get access to this market and become globally competitive,” said David Abrenilla, Founder and Managing Director of Philippine SME Business Expo and CEO of MEDIACOM SOLUTIONS, INC.

Philippine SME Business Expo will provide information on the latest innovations.

You're Not You

Kate is a suave, successful classical pianist just diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrigs Disease). Bec is a brash college student and would-be rock singer who canbarely  keep her  wildly  chaotic  affairs,  romantic  and otherwise,  together.  Yet,  when Bectakes a job assisting Kate, Kate sees something special in the way Bec takes care of her. Kateand Bec find each other’s  strength through their weaknesses. You're Not You explores howtwo  strangers  can  bring  out  the  best  in  each  other  even  in  the  midst  of  trials  andtribulations.  This movie also gives face to the much talked about ALS and will definitelymake people more compassionate with victim of the said disease.Initial release: October 10, 2014 (USA)Director: George C. WolfeRunning time: 103 minutess`Producer: Hilary SwankGenre: DramaHilary Swank, Emmy Rossum and Josh Duhamel



WHAT IS ALS?Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or  Lou Gehrig's disease, and rarely Charcot disease—isa neurodegenerative  disorderwith  various  causes.  The  term motor  neurone  disease (MND)  issometimes used interchangeably with ALS while others use it to refer to a group of similar conditionsthat  include ALS.   ALS is  characterised by  muscle spasticity,  rapidly  progressive weakness dueto muscle wasting. This results in difficulty speaking, swalllowing, and breathing. The disease usually starts around the age of 60, except in cases that are directly  inherited when the usual age of onset isaround 50.

About 5 to 10% of cases are directly inherited from a person's parents.  ALS is the most common of the five types of motor neuron disease.The average survival from onset to death is three to four years.   Only 4% survive longer than 10years, although rare cases survive 50 years or more. Most die from respiratory failure. In much ofthe world rates of ALS are unknown.  In Europe the disease affects about 2.2 people per 100,000per  year. In  the  United  States,  more  than  5,600  are  diagnosed  every  year,  and  up  to  30,000Americans are currently affected. ALS is responsible for 2 deaths per 100,000 people per year.Descriptions  of  the disease date back  to at  least  1824 by Charles  Bell. In  1869 the connectionbetween  the  symptoms and the  underlying  neurological  problems were  first  described by Jean-Martin Charcot who in 1874 began using the term amyotrophic lateral  sclerosis.   It  became wellknown in the United States when it affected a famous baseball player by the name of Lou Gehrig, and later when the ice bucket challenge became popular in 2014.
Source: Wikepedia

Who is Lou Gehrig?

Baseball player1. Henry Louis or Lou; Gehrig was an American baseball first basemanwho played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees.  Usingnumber 4 as his mark, Lou plays First baseman and pinch hitter2. Born: June 19, 1903, Yorkville, New York City, New York, United States3. Died: June  2,  1941, Riverdale,  New  York  City,  New  York,  United  States andburied in Kensico Cemetery, New York.4. Spouse: Eleanor Gehrig (m. 1933–1941)

Silip Bulilit Campaign

 The Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology (PAO), Apl.de.Ap Foundation International, and WesternUnion.com team-up to reduce the number of blind babies resulting from “Retinopathy of Prematurity” (ROP) in the Philippines. ROP is an eye disease that strikes at least 10% of all premature births in the country. It is potentially blinding but preventable with timely screening and management. During the launch, the three organizations commit to develop information and promotion activities through PAO’s “Silip Bulilit” nationwide advocacy program and Apl.de.Ap Foundation International’s “Campaign for Filipino Children” initiative. These programs help create awareness of the importance of vision screening in children, especially among premature babies. The group will also work to generate resources for ROP screening training and services.

Photo shows (L-R) Vision Center Children’s Hospital director, Dr. Thomas C. Lee; Apl.de.Ap Foundation International executive director, Sonia Delen, Apl.de.Ap Foundation International founder, Apl de Ap; PAO president, Dr. Harvey Uy; PAO-ROP Working Group chairman, Dr. Pearl Tamesis-Villalon; and Vitreo-Retina Society of the Philippines president, Dr. Milagros Arroyo.

Philippine Academy of Opthalmology and Silip Bulilit

The Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology (PAO) join in observing World Prematurity Day through the roll-out of their nationwide advocacy campaign, “Silip Bulilit”.  The program aims to help reduce the number of blind babies resulting from “Retinopathy of Prematurity” (ROP), a condition that robs premature babies of their vision.

World Prematurity Day is observed on November 17 each year since 2011 to raise awareness of preterm babies and the concerns of premature babies and their families worldwide.  According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15 million babies are born preterm each year, accounting for about one in ten of all babies born worldwide.

“ROP is an eye disease that occurs in premature infants,” explains Dr. Havey Uy, president of PAO.  “It is potentially blinding, but preventable with timely screening and management.”  

Not all premature babies will develop ROP. However, a few can deteriorate into the late visually debilitating stages of ROP and will need treatment.

Infants at risk should be referred by the neonatologist and/or pediatrician to ophthalmologist for screening and proper treatment or surgery depending on the ROP stage and situation of the eye. 

Statistics show that 50,000 infants worldwide are blinded by ROP every year.  In the Philippines, ROP strikes at least 10% of all premature births and causes irreversible blindness if untreated.

“The key is early detection,” stresses Dr. Uy.  “We recommend that babies born less than 35 weeks and with birth weight less than 2000 grams should undergo ROP screening.”

As such, PAO recently launched “Silip Bulilit” to help create awareness of ROP and encourage families, health professionals, hospitals, parent groups, and other groups involved in preterm birth and childcare to seek professional assistance from ophthalmologist for sight-saving intervention.

“Since ROP screening is not included in the newborn screening program of the government, we hope ‘Silip Bulilit’ will fill in the gap to ensure the total well-being of every Filipino child.” said Dr. Uy. 

“Silip Bulilit” is in partnership with Filipino-American rapper, Apl de Ap, best known as a member of the Grammy Award-winning group The Black Eyed Peas.  Through his Campaign for Filipino Children, Apl.de.Ap Foundation International  and WesternUnion.com, a strong collaboration will be forged to develop information and promotion programs that will help create awareness of the importance of vision screening in children especially among premature babies and generate resources for ROP screening.

(Press Release)

Mesoestetic Beauty Elixirs

Last Friday,  at Balboa Restarant in Shangri-La Mall, Mesoesteticc introduced Beauty Elixirs made in Barcelona, Spain
Most beauty products comes in the form of capsule. Mesoestetic Beauty Elixirs is a new nutricosmetic that is drinkaable. In short, Mesoestetic Beauty Elixirs are a great top-up as these are absorbed easily by the body. A daily dose of these nutriceuticals acts as an internal hydrator to help slow down the aging process thereby vanishing wrinkles, erasing age spots and plumping the skin.