How to Apply for a US Tourist Visa In the Philippines
This post is 1 month overdue but I hope it would still be of help to anyone who’s researching on US Visa for Filipino tourists and families or any aspiring resident of the Philippines.
Note: This is strictly for those who wish to visit the US for a holiday/vacation and touristic purposes or for business. We care for our fellow Filipino people and we want them to have a good livelihood, but we care so much that we don’t want them to get into harms way because they entered a foreign territory illegally or they stayed longer than the prescribed maximum limit for reasons other than tourism.
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Press Release from Disney’s Sofia the First
Press Release
DISNEY PRESENTS ITS FIRST LITTLE GIRL PRINCESS
IN “SOFIA THE FIRST: ONCE UPON A PRINCESS,” AN ANIMATED TELEVISION
MOVIE PREMIERING SUNDAY, MAY 19 ON DISNEY CHANNEL
AND MONDAY, MAY 27 ON DISNEY JUNIOR
Classic Disney Princess Cinderella Makes Special Appearance
All-Star Voice Cast Includes Ariel Winter, Sara Ramirez,
Wayne Brady and Tim Gunn
Manila, May 4, 2013: Disney will introduce its first little girl princess with the debut
of “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess,” an enchanting, music-filled animated Disney
Junior television movie for the whole family, SUNDAY, MAY 19 at 11.00am on
Disney Channel and MONDAY, MAY 27 at 1.00pm on Disney Junior. A “Sofia the
First” television series will premiere in July 2013.
Set in the storybook world of Enchantia, the movie introduces Sofia, an average girl
whose life suddenly transforms when her mother marries the king and she becomes a
princess, Sofia the First. Sofia must learn to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty
while holding on to her own hopes and dreams. Her journey to being the best she
can be also paves the way for those around her to realize how special they each are.
Disney’s Cinderella makes an appearance in the movie to offer Sofia some words of
wisdom – princess to princess.
Sofia’s royal adventure begins as she prepares to move into the castle with her mom,
starting a new family with her step-father, King Roland II, and step-siblings, Amber
and James. Helping Sofia in her journey are the three headmistresses of Royal Prep
Academy – Fauna, Flora and Merryweather (the beloved fairies seen in Disney’s
classic “Sleeping Beauty”) and royal steward, Baileywick, as well as a group of cute
woodland creatures led by a wise-talking rabbit, Clover. Sofia soon discovers that
looking like a princess isn’t all that difficult, but displaying honesty, loyalty, courage,
independence, compassion and grace is what makes one truly royal.
Created for kids and their families, the stories of “Sofia the First” communicate positive
messages and life lessons that are applicable to young children. While she lives in a
captivating world of castles, wizards and flying horses, Sofia remains a relatable peer-
to-peer princess who is experiencing many of the same social situations as young
viewers at home including learning how to fit in, making new friends and mastering
new skills.
Alongside the debut of “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess”, Disney Channel and
Disney Junior will launch the DisneyChannel-asia.com and DisneyJunior-Asia.com/Sofia
website featuring a fully immersive royal experience. Kids can get creative, creating
and personalizing their own prince or princess avatars with the Royal Me game,
dressing up Sofia’s room or just having fun with the many activity pages and videos
available on the site.
“Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess” stars the voices of Ariel Winter (“Modern
Family”) as Sofia; Sara Ramirez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Queen Miranda; Wayne Brady
(“Let’s Make A Deal”) as Clover; Tim Gunn (“Project Runway”) as Baileywick; Darcy
Rose Byrnes (“Desperate Housewives”) as Amber; Zach Callison (“Land of the Lost”)
as James; Travis Willingham (“Ultimate Spider-Man”) as King Roland II; Jess Harnell
(“Doc McStuffins”) as Cedric; Ashley Eckstein (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) as Mia
the Bluebird and Meghan Strange (“Special Agent Oso”) as Robin. Disney Legend Russi
Taylor (Minnie Mouse), Barbara Dirickson and Tress MacNeille (Daisy Duck), bring
Fauna, Flora and Merryweather, respectively, to life. Jennifer Hale provides the voice of
Cinderella.
Craig Gerber (“Pixie Hollow Games”) developed the movie and serves as co-
executive producer and story editor. Jamie Mitchell (“Special Agent Oso”) is executive
producer and director. John Kavanaugh (“Winnie The Pooh: Springtime with Roo”)
serves as songwriter/music director and Kevin Kliesch (“Tangled Ever After”) is the
composer. “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess” is a production of Disney Television
Animation.
- END -
About Disney Channels Southeast Asia
Disney Channels Southeast Asia is responsible for the management, creative
development and commercial operations of Disney owned channels across all media
platforms in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Brunei, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines). Its flagship service
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps
into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Disney Channel
is available to millions of viewers around the world via basic cable and satellite. Disney
Channel is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.
Plane Food When Traveling from Kusina ni Lakapati
I am so blessed with loving friends!
A day before leaving Manila for US, my lovely and generous friend, Lakapati, sent over several banana chewies for our plane food. She’s very thoughtful! She knew we’ll starve in our over 18 hours of travel…
Hey, if you are wondering what a banana chewy is..please go to her Facebook page!
Trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA
It was a great trip up Long Beach for an educational visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Everyone in my family (young and old) were very happy and satisfied with what we saw and learned from the Aquarium.
We saw all sorts of jelly fishies- from small to HUGE sizes and those that had different colors on it and also those that are plain transparent.
Cute Magellan Penguins are so nice too! My Mom’s so amazed by those over sized fishies too.
After the Aquarium, we had a mile walk to the Shoreline and ate at a nice pizza house at the end of the pier.
You can rent bicycles if you want to really feel the breeze and go up the light house too.
There’s also a free bus ride to Queen Mary and the submarine just right outside the Aquarium. It’ll take you back to where you rode too.
A few minutes drive from the Aquarium is the Battleship IOWA. I suggest that you go early if you want to roam inside the battleship since it closes at 5PM.
US Trip Day 1
Hey everyone, sorry for intermittent blogging hiatus.
Our days are crazy for the next two months as we are traveling around the West Coast and probably soon the East Coast too.
We used Air China Airline for our Los Angeles trip simply because they’re the cheapest airline during the time we purchased the ticket. It was cheap so we were not expecting stellar service from them. Anyway, the service was fine and the food was okay and we did get what we paid for and I meant it not in a bad way.
Our flight was MNL- Beijing-LA and on the first leg, the plane was small and we were thankful it was just a 4 hour flight. We had an hour and a half lay over at Beijing just enough time to run to the transfer desks for immigration clearance and grab a quick lunch.
The Beijing- Los Angeles trip was 12 hours and thankfully the little girl just slept most of the time. The flight and crew were fine (the crew though could smile more often) and we had an individual entertainment TV and I spent most of the time watching and snoozing.
Upon arrival at LAX, the immigration clearance was a breeze contrary to the posts I read from Tripadvisor. The Immigration Officer was friendly (though looks so bored) and asked us some basic question like: :“What are you going to do in the US? “
We were given 6 months of stay. Cool, huh?
Next was the Customs and it was a breeze too. We were just asked how much money we had and how long we are staying. Our luggage were not opened and scanned.
Peaches was so happy to meet my parents and we were off to our first buffet at La Puente Hills, SAKA seafood buffet. Dinner was In and Out.
Sorry again for the lack of photos since WordPress seem to dislike me adding them for now.
What’s Your Summer Activities?
Scorching heat, sweaty days and sunblock demands- we are definitely into Summer.
Where’s your family heading and spending the 2013 Summer?
I’m no fan of too much heat. I do like beach weather because of the breeze but not the heat we get around the Metro during Summertime so a US trip has been planned and slated. It’s Spring there so we will be experiencing a bit of the nippy weather. I’d prefer a winter vacation but maybe next year. Spring though is nice since we want the little girl to see the flowers bloom and feel comfortable walking around sans heavy jackets or winter gears.
We will find a class for the little girl in the States so she can still have something to do on some days since we’re staying at my parents for 2 months. We’ll be visiting other counties and possibly fly to the West Coast but not sure yet.
We’re bound to leave on April 3rd and I am 40% done with packing. I hope to accomplish it today. HOPE because we are to attend several get together today and tomorrow.
Here’s Peaches saying goodbye to Ted.
Anyways, please do share your summer activities!
2013 Summer Activities for Kids in Manila
SPORTS
Bert Lozada Swim School
- the schedules differ per location, call them up at 563-5532.
- they have programs for infants to adults.
- 2013 Summer Program starts on April 1. Click here to know how to enroll.
Milo Summer Sports Clinics
- click here for schedules and venues
- click here for sponsored programs (AAK Karatedo, Ateneo Football Center, BEST center basketball, BEST center volleyball,Children’s Tennis workshop, club gymnasitca, Metropolitan chess club, SM bowling, SM ice skating,Swimtech, Taekwondo)
Olympians Taekwondo Training Center
- Call 889 5463
- They offer Taekwondo classes and Arnis
Continue reading “2013 Summer Activities for Kids in Manila” »
WAHM JOB ALERT: Awesome Virtual Assistant Needed
I’m looking for an awesome Virtual Assistant that could work 8hrs/day NYC timezone
(9PM-5AM PH time with 1hr lunch break)
It’s a small real estate company in the US. The client is not computer savvy so you have to be in constant Skype or email communication with him.
When a client has been “won”, the VA goes to Freshbook to update the client’s details and payment schemes. VA will also be in close contact with the client and the customers.
Skills would be:
Speaks and write English well – Very important
Knowledge on Freshbooks a plus if not, it can be learned
Update website content (WordPress knowledge is a huge plus)
Competent and honest
Tasks:
Enter details on Freshbooks
Call and follow up on customers via Skype voice
implement admin requests from the client (via audio file or email)
update wordpress sites
Follow up customers after transactions
Timedoctor will possibly be used to track your working hours
Has good working condition at home
Headset is important as you will be on Skype mostly
If you’re interested, please email your resume and cover letter at renz@vaprostaff.com
The VA is needed ASAP.
Dedicating Family Hour – Spending Quality Time with Your Family
I have read and found something wonderful in Facebook (yes, sometimes I am skeptical about the thought of finding something really good in Facebook, but apparently there are some, a tiny bit. lol). This is something worth sharing because even I, a work at home dad – who should have more time with my family, still sometimes shoo away the wife and the kid because I am busy until the wee hours of the night. I am guilty as well, not spending some quality time with my daughter at times, even if I am physically there and yes, I do see them, but my mind and thoughts are away.
Quoting Dr Harwell, a good American Expatriate who once lived in the Philippines, “We live to work, not work to live”, we are slaves to our jobs, the system and money and most of us don’t own our time anymore. Although money is quite as important in order to live in at least according to our needs and not just our lifestyle, but also we need to devote some time to our family which is the main goal on why we work so hard in the first place.
Read below a sweet story about a father and a son:
Continue reading “Dedicating Family Hour – Spending Quality Time with Your Family” »
Will You Be Like Kate Winslet?
Being a parent is a huge responsibility and while I have my parents as my role model, I still look up to other people as my guiding stars when it comes to parenting.
Today, I came across this wonderful photo by Kate Winslet discussing perhaps one of the most controversial issues in parenting- homosexuality.
I believe that sexuality or gender identity is a choice that we give to our children. We only provide them all the necessary information, knowledge and experience to help them find their way. I do not want my child to be naive with the 3rd gender in our society. I want her to embrace them as I did.
More so, I do not want my children to grow up thinking that homosexuality is bad or something to be scared and keep a secret.
How about you, what’s your take on this?
Growing Up Worries
I regularly get my routine dose of Cheezburger. Yes, I check this site many times a week because aside from the fact that I love cats, it is uplifting and it cheers me up all the time. Today I saw this, and even though I am a dad, it sent me a similar signal that one day our daughter will grow up as well and would start hiding those butterfly kisses.
Continue reading “Growing Up Worries” »
Hooray For Today!
No I’m not writing about McDonald’s famous line but quite literally about what my hoorah for today is.
Despite the fact that my assistant is on leave today, I was able to meet all my deadlines and put smiles on my clients’ faces. I think I also did a lot of extra miles for their businesses today.
Though I’d say my day isn’t perfect, I refuse to dwell in them and just move on and make tomorrow a better one.
I’m happy that my close friend is soon living near me and we can meet up almost everyday!
I’m happy that Peaches is showing a lot of progress during our daily study time together. She can now read sentences and I think she enjoys them too.
I’m happy that I am learning new things about myself each day and it’s comforting to know that there are still new things to learn about my husband and our relationship.
It may not be a perfect day but in the end, I’m happy that all is well.
Here’s to a happy week for all of my Pinay Mommy readers!
Skinny is Not Healthy Just Like Fat is Not Unhealthy
I mean come on, how many fat people do you know that are healthier than you? The point here is that there are several reasons why people are over weight and not just because they over eat . There’s genetic and hormonal imbalance to name a few.
So what does it take to be healthy if not weight?
It’s your blood test and chem test. Go to the doctor and have yourself checked. You might have the body of a super model but you’re not free from any other illness. The same way that you’re overweight but turns out you passed all your medical tests with flying colors.
Continue reading “Skinny is Not Healthy Just Like Fat is Not Unhealthy” »
Renewing your Philippine Passort through different DFA Portals
When visiting other countries, one document that you cannot go without is a passport. It would be very much difficult getting out of a country without this travel document. A passport is a government issued identification document that will not only allow you to go places but also record each entry and exit you make in a specific country. Having one and keeping it up to date is the owner’s responsibility so it is important that once you have one, always renew it ahead of time.
Technically, you can depart the country even if your passport is 3-6 months away from expiring as long as you will be just away for a few days. If your destination country requires a visa, they might require a passport with longer validity (most of the time at least 1 year valid). So months prior to leaving, make sure to check your passports because if in any case it is expiring or is already expired, even with a valid purchased ticket, you will not get passed immigration counters. Continue reading “Renewing your Philippine Passort through different DFA Portals” »
Touching Short Cartoon Clip: Changing Batteries
Before plunging in to a crazy Thursday, let’s watch a very touching but short cartoon clip.
Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Continue reading “Touching Short Cartoon Clip: Changing Batteries” »
How To Register A Business In The Philippines
We’re brewing a business plan that we hope we’ll be able to launch mid this year. I am so grateful I found this infographic on how Philippine businesses are registered.
Source: WAHM Manila Group in Facebook
D5 Creation