If you asked such a question more than a decade ago, people would not tell you that their idea of fun would include playing online games. That would not be possible because online games were not yet a common thing then, or perhaps I should say, still unheard of then. They were not yet an everyday reality in our world then.

Today, online games are as available as the internet. In the past decade or so, few people also have internet access but now more and more people are connected to the World Wide Web. And that connection also means online games are that accessible to people now.

With the accessibility of online games and with more and more people hooked up to the net, then it is not a surprise really when people would include playing online games as one of their fun activities.

Some people might still prefer grabbing a new book to read or getting a new DVD to watch. I do agree that there is something about reading a book or watching a movie that releases us. The experience takes us to another life really, another setting and in the end, this can be very refreshing. But some people would prefer “getting interactive” and playing online games can fall into that category. An online game that is getting quite popular is the online Bingo game – Onlinebingo.com click here. Some include it now as their choice of a fun activity. Well, how about you?

Going to Manila is one of the good things in life for me since I am in Cagayan de Oro. One of the things I do is to meet with other people, fellow bloggers and postcrossers! Eyeballing with them is like putting a face on the blogs they own or on the postcards they sent. I’m sure a whole day is not even enough just to know about them.

Last time I was in Manila, last year, I had a hard time looking for a place to stay. I had my whole family with me. I had to consider the distance from the airport to the hotel and the place should be accessible to most of those who will be joining the event. It was quite heavy on the pockets too, sad to say, but we all went anyway. The date had been set many months prior.

This time I want to be wiser. I will find a place to rent which will allow me even for just a week’s stay. It would be like living in a house. Domesticated. It feels better than a hotel where all I imagine is I’ll be paying for all the supposed luxury which I do not even maximize. That is why it is good news when I learned about Manila sublets available which I can roughly see online from ibilik.ph. I can have an idea of what to expect and where. Also, the space is surely bigger than any room a hotel can give. Food preparation will not be a hassle also since I do not have to stress myself in computing and worrying about hotel restaurant prices, which I’m sure is a lot more than any carinderia nearby. If I will, I can cook for my family too, which opportunity the hotel cannot give.

Now, my only problem is the opportunity to get a SALE from leading airline!

1. UNESCO Heritage Sites – Just like other countries, Philippines boasts a lot of beautiful natural and manmade tourist worthy spots and one of them is the Puerto Princesa Underground River.

2. Waterfalls – There are many waterfalls in the Philippines. In Iligan City alone, there are 23 waterfalls!! But not all of them have their own postcards.

3. Folkdances – Since Philippines is composed of 7,107 islands, then it also means we are a country of different cultures thus almost every ethnic groups has their own folkdances.

4. Beaches – And because the Philippines has a lot of islands, we can’t deny that we are hugely blessed with a lot of beautiful beaches like Boracay, Dakak and many more!!

5. Tourist Spots – Aside from the UNESCO Heritage Sites, we have many tourist spots and most of them have postcards of their own. Not massively produces in some places but can only be acquired by local stores.

6. Churches – The Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards for almost three centuries, so having many Catholic Churches is not a big surprise.

7. Cultural Heritage – We are fond of saying “Only in the Philippines.” Why? Because there are a lot of customary things and attitude that can only be found in our country just like the “pagmamano.”

8. Map Cards – We have different map cards. Though not many but we can brag a few!

This is only a quick list. On my next posts, I will give you more ideas on each! Hope you enjoy my post. Please share!

Anyway, whatever the reasons my fellow postcrosser’s had, for me, last Friday was special. Why? Because it was my Mail Day!! My last one was last September, so I was relieved that I was able to send postcards again after a long long time!

Here is a picture of all the postcards I sent:

And here are the list of people to whom I sent them:

Not so many as the other time but enough to keep the ball rolling.

To check out the official announcement, watch the video:

After validating and checking all the billion votes, they will announce and inaugurate the final New 7 Wonders of Nature early next year. But as early as right now, I am sure Puerto Princesa Underground River will definitely make it to the official and final list of winners! I can’t wait for them to be inaugurated!!

Now, for the winners of the Puerto Princesa Underground River Postcards, they are…

For the following, I will be sending you one postcard each too. Not necessarily Puerto Princesa Underground River Postcards but a surprise:

1. Mirage
2. JenJacqs
3. Jennefer
4. Daniel Enrique Ladioray

FOR SHORT, EVERYONE IS A WINNER! YEAH!

Please email me your complete name and postal address. Will send you the postcards as soon as I can. Thanks again for your support!!!

One of the many places that I have dreamt of visiting is the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan here in my beautiful country the Philippines. As a nature lover and green advocate, I would love to see the beauty of this wonderful gift from God to mankind. As a postcard collector and proud Filipino, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Puerto Princesa Underground River) is one of the Philippines’ beautiful places that have been inducted to be one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites last December 4, 1999. And aside from that, I wanted to experience the efforts made by the Palawan Local Government Units in making their place pollution free!

Then my dad said that the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park has been nominated as one of the beautiful places in the world and the problem was, he could not remember which award giving body since he is a bit newbie with Facebook. So, I searched online and discovered that indeed Puerto Princesa Underground River has been nominated and currently one of the 28 finalists of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Isn’t that bliss!!

Anyway, since I love this place, I decided to make my own little way of promoting Puerto Princesa Underground River and help it to land as one the New 7 Wonders of Nature by having a postcard giveaway!

I will be sending 10 Puerto Princesa Underground River Postcards to 10 lucky winners!!!

Now for the mechanics:

- First, I want you to watch this video made by La Venta Discovery, a group of Italian Scientist and Explorers about Puerto Princesa Underground River:

- After watching, you believe that Puerto Princesa Underground River deserves to be one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, please visit the link and vote for it together with the other six finalists you want below:

VOTE FOR PUERTO PRINCESA UNDERGROUD RIVER

- After voting or not voting (yes, you still have your free will not to vote or VOTE, you can still win since I wouldn’t know if you voted or not, I just rely on your conscience… hehehehe…), please comment below with the following or similar format:

o Comment anything about Puerto Princesa Underground River. I would love to hear your thoughts on the place.
o Facebook Profile URL

- Giveaway will start today and ends on October 12, 2011 11:59PM +8 GMT. Open worldwide.
- 10 winners will be drawn using a randomizer (video will be provided).
- Winners will be announced here and at my Facebook Fan Page. So make sure you visit often and like my Fan Page at Facebook.
- Winners will receive one postcard each of Puerto Princesa Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Philippines plus other postcard goodies.

To all my friends and readers, the mechanics might be easy or hard for you but I implore your gracious hearts, PLEASE VOTE FOR PUERTO PRINCESA UNDERGROUD RIVER!!! Thank you so much!

NOTE: If your in the Philippines, please text PPUR to 2861 to make the Puerto Princesa Underground River one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

Here are some photos I took while we were at the Cagayan de Oro City Post Office yesterday:

Commemorative Stamps Used

The Family that Stamps Together, Stays Together

Stamped and Posted

My next trip to the post office will be next month. Probably on October 10, 2011.

By the way, did you find your name below? If yes, how many times? If not, then I guess you should email or private message me now at Facebook before I forget your name. Hehehehe…

Postcrossing Enthusiasts Postcard Gift for Members:

1. Vix P.
2. Genny K.
3. Jeanine D.
4. Jessica N.
5. Charmaine Y.
6. Hazel H.
7. Tera R.
8. Arlene C.
9. Lucia D.
10. Jonathan B.
11. Eleanor A. (re-sending)

Private Swaps:

1. Sally J.
2. Michael E.
3. Hazel H. (3)
4. Augusta T. (2)
5. Anya M.
6. Col. Akhil K.
7. Nita T.
8. Elizabeth/Anna B.
9. Genny K.
10. Ashley D.
11. Aaron H. (2)
12. Ping L.
13. Inigo G. (3)
14. Houda G.
15. Traci C.
16. Edge A. (2)
17. Jennifer Y.
18. Desislava E. (5)

PMC Mom:

1. Rosalie D.

Birthday Postcards:

1. Gianne C.

Walltype:

1. Sally J. (costumes)
2. Kirsten F. (bridges)
3. Jocelyn (lighthouses)

Swap-Bot:

1. Maarit (Vertical Postcard Swap)
2. Greg (Vertical Postcard Swap)
3. Dori (Vertical Postcard Swap)
4. Genny (Anything Green)
5. Lisa (Anything Green)

Postcrossing.com Regular Swap:

1. Marija
2. Allen
3. Joanna
4. Sanna

Round Robin 1 – Water (Postcard Swapping FB Group):

1. Angelique V.
2. Michael E.
3. Anita M.
4. Ria R.
5. Landi L.
6. Jo A.

WiP – Historical Landmark Swap:

1. Rod E.
2. Cathy D.
3. Fidel A.
4. Reluca M.
5. Sabine L.
6. Wanda W.
7. Zhong W.
8. Bernadett C.
9. Ruth S.

Postcrossing Enthusiasts September General Swap – UNESCO Heritage Site:

1. Eleanor A.
2. Clarissa S.
3. Jennefer B.
4. Mel C.
5. Kristie E.

Philatelic Materials:

1. Jonathan B.

Summary…

Envelopes:
Philippines – 1
Internatinal – 2

Postcards:
Luzon/Visayas – 6
Mindanao – 5
International – 55

The only postcards that are constantly produced are those from Sterling Paper Products Ent., Inc., National Bookstore and Philippines Postcards. If you have been constantly exchanging postcards from the Philippines, I am sure you have gotten one or more similar postcards from these companies. But still, we keep on sending these postcards because these are the only postcards we have that are descent enough to send because of their high quality prints. Aside from that, Philippines Postcards is the only company who produces map cards of our country and its islands.

Now, if you are not choosy or picky in quality and in print, you can actually get rare postcards from the Philippines. Just like the kind of postcards I mentioned earlier. These rare postcards were printed back then when technology was not yet at its finest both in printing and in photography. These postcards were dug at old local bookstores that were hidden because the sales clerk probably thinks they are instinct or nobody wants them.

So, how do we appreciate Philippine Postcards?

Simple, if you get postcards that are already yellowish or has low quality print, don’t think bad of the sender for sending you a cheap postcard or an ugly one. Think of it this way, your sender probably have scoured all bookstores in their city, searched high and low just to find another postcard to send. And if not, just think that these postcards where printed back in the 90s or much older. Or, just think of this, the postcard in your hand right now is unique. It is not the same as any of the other postcards in the Philippines and even the rest of the world.

And if you get the same postcards from the Philippines (those that are constantly produced), think of this: the sender made a great deal to send you the only descent postcard he or she can find. The person doesn’t want you to feel bad about the postcard he or she sent.

To make my short post shorter, every postcard sent from the Philippines whether old or newly produced is unique. Your sender gave time and effort in looking for postcard. They spent hours or even days visiting different bookstores just to get these postcards and be able to send you something different than the usual. This just means that your Filipino sender valued you so much!

Therefore, to appreciate a Philippine Postcard is to appreciate your sender, the history of how the postcard was found and sent to you. Why do I know these things? I know because everytime I send my postcard, I pour out more than my time and effort to it, I put even my HEART!!