Random Hunks: JOACHIM MILNER

Young English model JOACHIM MILNER with his baby face and hard body.

FYI: THE TRAVEL PLAN

A day to go and it's DECEMBER already. The holiday season officially kicks off. Many people - from students and friends up to families and relatives, will go out of town. The month will be busy, so are the roads. Christmas shopping, gift buying, itineraries etc will be in the MUST-TO-DO list. Not to mention family reunion, batch gathering, friends get together, company year end events among other activities that the Yuletide season seems to indulge.

The last month of every year will be the busiest one and this will formally open the travelling months in the PHILIPPINES that will continue until the Holy Season next year ends. The months of December up to April will be profitable for the airline, ships (cruise or carrier), and any form of land transportation including hotel chains, restaurants, and attractions. Local tourism will be at its peak and foreigners will add to our travel population. After the Christmas is over, summer preparations will start immediately.

Are you thinking the same thing? What is the best way of planning your TRAVEL PLANS whether it is for Christmas or the SUMMER?

1. PLAN AHEAD. No exact time frame can be provided, but a year before your travel itinerary kicks in will be great. Where do you want to go? Who are the people you want to be with? This will be beneficial when the travel promos come around during lean season. So make up your mind and write it down.

2. SET YOUR BUDGET. Whether it is local or not, you must draw the line on how much would you spend. This is the great way of knowing the things that you needed and that will spend.

3. GET YOUR PROMO TICKET. If you are leaving miles away from home or out of the country, you are surely to ride an airplane to save you more time. However, rocketing airline prices due to the not-so-well economic state will be your greatest enemy. This is vital after your planning was over - watch out for airline promos. For local destinations - Cebu Pacific, Air Phil Express, Zest Air, (SeAir and Air Asia for Clark bases) will be a good choice. CebuPac is the leading promo airline of the Philippines and known for their Piso fare. This year they had two (2) piso fare promos and another seven-peso base fare promo. So subscribe and tell your friends to notify you for these things. This will cost you less than regular tickets.

4. VISA and DOCUMENTS. If it is Singapore, Hongkong, or Malaysia - skip this. You won't be needing one. Actually, not only those three. DFA said that there are 25 countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe that don't need one if you are staying within the allowable days without visa (Reference: Visa Requirement for Filipinos). However, if you are flying to our neighborhood in South Korea, China, Australia, Middle East, Europe, and most of the west you will need permission to entry.   Right after planning your vacation trip outside the Philippine soil, make sure that necessary documents are on your hands. Better to get visa and other related proof of visit months before going to your destinations as sometimes, it is not easy to get and be approved.

5. STAY ON PACKAGES. Package travel deals are always cheaper than the normal routine - where you will pick your hotel, your airline, your everything one by one. Online vouchers can provide you these best deals, but always be wary of fraud transactions. Just go to trusted sites and you will be fine.

6. WHERE WILL I SLEEP? After you finalize your travel dates search online for hotels and accommodations - so what if it still six months to go or even a year. It is better than to have nothing. The great thing about this is that you can survey different options from the standard room in a cheap transient, to the middle class hotels up to luxurious places. You can always weight your options - a list of PROS and CONS. Then just book it! No dramas, no delays.

If you are in a tight budget or even not, try to go to budget places with safe surroundings, good ambiance, and good REVIEWS! Review, review, review is soooooo important. Don't forget it while searching a place to stay. It is only practical to not waste excessive money for hotels since most of the time during your vacation you will be outside rather spending more time on your bed. It will just a place to rest - THAT'S ALL. So search for cheap accommodations that still suit your needs. This is the good thing also about having the time. Since standard and de luxe rooms will still be available six months or three months prior to your travel, you will have too many options than to cram last minute and have no choice but to get an executive suite because that's all they've got.

FYI: Don't worry if you booked your hotel way way back and you need to cancel it due to unforeseen events. Just don't cancel with less than three weeks before your set arrival as it will incur penalties already. If it is a month or so - they will cancel it at no cost. 

7. SET YOUR ACTIVITIES. Day-to-day itinerary is important as you're attendance. This will be the life of your vacations. There are a lot of travel information that can be searched online so no worries. What you need to do is just choose among these adventures and find the cheapest deal. There are also local people who act as an agent to fix your activities - mostly in commercialized places like Boracay. Just find the right people to trust and know how to bargain. 

8. KNOW YOUR DESTINATION. It is very important to research before going. Know the current weather conditions, the local cuisines, the best places to go, the CULTURE and ATTITUDE of people - this is very important mostly for out-of-the-country travels as cultural setting are different from region to region, and country to another one. Our actions might be illegal in the other country so beware! You don't want to be hold in the immigration or worst be in jail become of your IGNORANCE. We are already empowered by high technology which includes access to high speed internet - don't WASTE it.

9. LIGHT PACK and BE PREPARED. Number of clothes to bring, specific things to put in your luggage differ from one person to another. Try to pack things that highly needed. Don't overdo your luggage because you need to still have room for your "PASALUBONGS and SOUVENIRS" when you get back.

10. BE PRESENT & ENJOY. Now that everything is prepared and ready - encircle the dates in your planner and come on time. If you are going to the airport, make sure to be there two hours prior to your departure - the airplane won't wait you. Enjoy the moment, relax, and be back in one piece. :)

Random Hunks: FRANCISCO LACHOWSKI

Francisco Lachowski is a Brazilian model for numerous elite and global brands like Dior, Versace, Dolce & Gabanna, Armani, Robert Cavalli, Gucci among other prominent designers and labels. He is very known in the fashion and ramp modelling world and has been in many shows in Paris and Milan.

His popularity also made him photo covers of several magazines such as GQ, Vogue, Homme Essentials, Chaos etc. He is the top Brazilian model of this generation and ranked 16th on the 50 Top Male Models.

More pictures after the JUMP.

Celebrity Spot: MARTIN del ROSARIO

If you watched the recent PINTADA, you surely knew this young man - his first lead role in his home network shown promising acting skills for Martin. He rose to stardom after Jun Reyes, his current manager, spotted him.

He was then and currently a part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic after accomplishing several workshops. His innocent face will surely melt your heart but don't be fooled as the actor can also be sexy on his own ways.....and body. :D

More pictures below....

Random Hunks: ROB WILSON

Rob Wilson is a underwear model who rose to popularity when became the "THE PRICE IS RIGHT" male model. He is totally gorgeous with a great body to die for. :D

More smoking hot pictures after the jump...

FYI: How to organize your YEAR END EVENT

It's holiday season and there will be a lot of events to go to - reunion, thanksgiving, weddings, birthday, or just parties. We are used of dressing up or simply gracing such events; but how to create one?

If you will plan and conceptualize a gathering such as YEAR END EVENT, you need an ample time to do so. These are some of the guidelines I know [and did] for an effective and efficient event planning.

1. BE PREPARED. Event planning is not as simple as you think. There are a lot of aspects in an event that you need to accomplish - venue, food, guests, invitations/ads, prizes (if you have games and stuffs), sponsors etc. You will undergo stress and tedious tasks [depending on how big the event is] so you need a lot of patience.

2. PLAN AHEAD. In order to do all grand plans, you need enough time with a little allowance (like a day) for last minute changes and revisions. For a small team year end event, a month or two will be fine.

3. KNOW YOUR BUDGET. This is where it all starts. What is your budget for this event? Put it in portion - venue, food, transportation, accommodation, gifts and prizes, games, invitations, and extra budget for other expenditures. In that way, you will know how much to spend and what is your limitations when you go on with canvassing. 

4. SET YOUR THEME. What's on your mind? Every event is unique and making your own should be too!   Decide whether it is a formal party, casual party, masquerade, swimming party, dinner party etc. Brainstorm with few key people and let your ideas flow. 

5. VENUE FIRST, BEFORE EVERYTHING. Once you decide your theme, the next step is to find an appropriate place for your event. This where the time is important. Many places in December [mostly on weekends] are full and you need at least a month to reserve one. It is important to survey the area and review if the place will fit for your event's needs. If you can't do an ocular visit, please read reviews regarding the venue. This will help a lot! In that way, you won't end up dissatisfying yourself and more importantly your guests because the place isn't up to your expectations. Find at least three venues for your to check and choose.

6. WRITE YOUR GUEST LIST. Once you reserved the place and you know its capacity, it is time now to arrange your list and guest invitations. How many can you cater? How many should attend? Who are these people? Will I need special guests? What are the restrictions? These things should go through your mind. Do not over crowd the venue because you seems very friendly and you end up inviting all your friends and acquaintances. Give enough room for the people to move around, to put your paraphernalia, and some space for the food.

7. WHAT IS YOUR PROGRAM? Program/Itinerary is important just like your guests. It is the life of the event, the flow of activities and agendas are need to be in order. If you want a prayer song, a national anthem, raffle, recognition, games, or any special guest to share and grace the party - LIST IT DOWN. 

For example, the current event I am organizing is an open swimming gathering. Guest are approximately 15-20 persons. It is a team outing in our office so the event is relatively small. Since it is a Year End Event we will have exchange gifts, games, and recognition for those people who perform well throughout the year. You need to have clear view of what will happen. In addition, should something else happens not according to plans, you should be prepared to troubleshoot.

8. WHAT'S ON THE TABLE? A gathering without food is boring. People need food over their long talks. If it is dinner time, set a dinner plate on the table and dinner foods [yeah, that includes rice] for the people. Plan what foods will be on the menu. How many courses will you serve? What cuisine will you prepare? Is it an open buffet or an assisted one or maybe a self service? Is is informal or formal [with waiters and servers]? Just always remember that when doing a headcount always add an allowance for unexpected guests. For example, if your guest is 30, prepare foods for 35. In addition, check with your guests if they have special requests or food restrictions. It is always good to prepare three meats - fish, chicken, pork/beef. 

9. DO I NEED TRANSPORTATION/ACCOMMODATION? If your place is a bit far from the city or it is an out-of-town event, absolutely transportation should be provided. You can do car pool also if it is a small gathering. If it is overnight or may take days, a place to stay and rest is important. If you are in a tight budget, put your guests in groups and find a place that combines good ambiance, cheap rental, safe surroundings etc.

10. IT IS NOT A ONE-MAN SHOW. Don't be a saint and do all the things listed above on your own. Ask people to help you or form committees. Best people to choose are those that will be part of the event. Learn to delegate tasks and give strict deadlines for them to accomplish.

11. LEARN TO ENJOY. Lastly, I know it is you that oversee all the things and you need to ensure that everything will be alright on the event day. However, you need to appreciate and enjoy your own work. Don't stress yourself too much running and ordering people around during the event. Take a moment to stop and treat yourself as a guest. With great planning and proper coordination, your event will just be perfectly fine.

That's it! I hope that you can apply this simple tips when you finally create your own event or handle one. Enjoy the event planning experience and have a happy parties and gatherings this holiday season. :D

Celebrity Spot: JOEM BASCON

First Celebrity Hunks entry - Tomas Alcantara on the recent ABS-CBN TV series Walang Hanggan. Joem Bascon is one of the known actor of his generation. He was discovered due to his resemblance to Sam Milby, who is then [and until now] a hot item in Show Business. 

He made his own identity by showing his acting prowess and now currently managed by ABS-CBN's talent agency - STAR MAGIC. He is also an underwear model for Guitar, and one of the most favorite ramp model such as Cosmo Bachelor Bash.

Philippines: Most EMOTIONAL Country

We are not only branded as the "Worst Airport and Aviation safety" and [one of the] "Most Corrupt Country", but we are also now the "MOST EMOTIONAL COUNTRY". Not to put a negative concept on the title, it might be good for the image of the country as well. Actually, it has good and bad effects in our country and to our individuality on a micro concept of the society as well.

GALLUP, a U.S. based poll/survey entity revealed that 60% of the Filipinos responded positively in the recent survey of "Countries with Emotions". Meaning - how people perceive and feel their way of living, given the economic stability of the country, freedom, openness, and general setting of life. 

Some of the questions are:

1. Did you feel well rested today?

2.Were you treated with respect all day yesterday?

3. Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?

4. Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday?

5. How about (enjoyment, physical pain, worry, sadness, stress, anger)?

While Singaporeans are ranked the lowest at 36% which is the trade-off of an industrialized and prosperous society where emotions are very limited because the focus of the government and society are all about sucess; the Philippines got the top spot.

In spite of that statistics and ranking, what is the effect of this in the Philippines? Yes, it is true, that we are one of the most happy places where you would see people laughing in every corner and in anytime of the day; but how about dealing with other emotions - pain, worry, sadness, stress?

In my perception - being engulfed in so many emotions affects the society in a good and a bad way. I created a list of my PROS and CONS on how Filipinos carry their emotions in different situations and manner.

ADVANTAGES:

1. Most Filipinos can adapt to any stress. Naturally happy, Philippines is famously known of smiling despite problems. The high poverty rate, together with calamities, made the Filipinos tough enough to surpass many life's challenges. So SMILE! :D

2. Our nation can symphatize. We are easily affected by someone's tragic event. Just like in the series of typhoons that we had, Filipinos are kind enough to reach and to give anything that we have in our hands. This kindness unite us and the whole nation in time of crisis. This results to our BAYANIHAN system.

3. We are united. Filipinos are very close to their families and relatives. Family ties is very important to us and we do treasure them a lot. 

DISADVANTAGES:

1. We are too emotional. When bad things happen, we tend to over react. When someone's been hurt - we get FURIOUS. When someone succeeded - we are ENVIOUS enough to drag them down; which resulted to CRAB MENTALITY. 

A perfect example is the AMALAYER - she rant out of a public place just because she failed to comply with the security checks. On the other hand, netizens bombarded her with harsh and cruel words just to point her mistake. 

Because we are too emotional over almost everything, we FORGET how to be LOGICAL. How to use our brains and get them working whenever needed and highly appropriated.

2. Filipinos exaggerate gratitude (UTANG NA LOOB). We are helpful to others - it is a fact. However, it is not always a good thing. When the time comes that we need to return the favor, no option is there but a YES. Even when the favor being asked is totally wrong and inappropriate, most of the times we couldn't say NO because we are indebted to that person. Our capability to think is again SUPRESSED. 

3. We give and do favors a lot than necessary. Political dynasty, Palakasan system among other bad Filipino traits happen because of this. Since we value our ties, we often favored wrong people. Like in politics and business, 90% of the time, we choose our family and friends rather than picking the rightful one. This is again driven by our emotions than critical and logical thinking.

4. We are always concern with someone's emotions. Mostly in business, we are not straight forward because we always overthink what harm it can do to a person. We cannot point what's wrong directly and go long routes of flowery statements. 

Overall, being too emotional hinders our growth - personally and economy wise. Every decision is affected by our emotions thus, intelligent thinking is clouded most of the times. We supressed ourselves to succeed and prosperous by putting our emotions first. Filipinos have this system when doing something critical - EMOTION + THINKING = EMOTIONALLY DEPENDENT DECISION. For once, why don't we change the formula? THINKING + EMOTION = WISE & LOGICAL DECISION. It is true and only proper that brain is higher than the heart because you need to think first, subsequently feeling your own decision [putting yourself in someone's shoes] and filter or revise any inhumane and harsh parts of your logic before arriving at your final judgment. 

References:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-20/singapore-confronts-an-emotion-deficit

COSMO ONLINE HUNK, An intoduction.

I have many plans for my blog. At first, this is solely a page for boys, hunks, sexy males etc. However, my passion is not limited to male species and I convert this to be a general blog - from guys, I am now writing also fitness and health, current events, and politics. But most of the time, it will still be BOYS.

I am not an avid-avid FAN of COSMO but I find their online website a good portal to visit once and awhile. Every weekend, whenever lazy time is available, I always visit the site particularly the COSMO ONLINE HUNK page; And an idea hits me! 

I will now regularly post COSMO ONLINE HUNK updates here in my blog for better exposure and an addition to my plans of regular updates - hopefully on weekends regularly. I will also try to cover the past months to complete the collection. This will be an easy way to spot your favorite hunk mostly when you just have a little time on your break but sadly you can't access the cosmo.com.ph because it is blocked in your workplace. STOP.. Please do it on your break only, I don't want you to be caught or worst be fired because of this. :D

I will start with NOVEMBER 2012 - John Spainhour SOON.

People's Sexiest Man Alive: CHANNING TATUM

I totally agree with PEOPLE MAGAZINE to brand Channing as the sexiest male species in the world - that is still breathing and able to flex his muscles. :D

Inviting.

The phenomenal actor of Step-up, Dear John, The Vow, and the sexy comedy-drama movie Magic Mike rose to stardom from being a stripper and model because of his good looks, physique, and sheer talent. I really like the man because of his strong face and stone-body. Agree? DEFINITELY. Lucky Jenna Dewan. 

Currently, he has no projects after Magic Mike but we will be seeing him again next year as he will be joining the cast for G.I. JOE: Retaliation. We should also await the sequel of MAGIC MIKE. More male flesh coming up. :D

How about those wiggling smooth butts? OH!