A Heartfelt Journey: Volunteering at MBY Dog Rescue Sanctuary.

 Join me on a heartwarming adventure as I volunteer at the MBY Dog Rescue Sanctuary, located at 113 Sitio Talaga Proper, Barangay Maybancal, Morong, Rizal, 1960. The sanctuary is a beacon of hope, offering a safe haven for stray dogs and cats. The dedicated team at MBY works tirelessly to make a difference, save lives, and prevent animal abuse and cruelty. Their mission resonates deeply with my own passion for animal welfare, and I was eager to contribute to their noble cause. This journey was not just about giving back; it was about embracing the power of love and compassion to transform lives.

In this video, I share my heartfelt experience of bringing food, feeding the dogs, helping clean the sanctuary, and immersing myself in the lives of these incredible animals as I joined the outreach program of Juan Umbrella, a private organization for employee engagement. As a devoted dog lover, this journey deepened my emotional connection with these wonderful creatures and reinforced the importance of giving back. The day was filled with moments of joy, heartache, and profound fulfillment as I witnessed firsthand the impact of compassion and care on these animals' lives.

🎥 WATCH THE VLOG:

Walking through the sanctuary, I was struck by the resilience and unconditional love these dogs exuded despite their past hardships. Each wag of their tails and each hopeful look in their eyes told a story of survival and the transformative power of kindness. Volunteering at MBY Dog Rescue Sanctuary not only opened my eyes to the pressing need for animal welfare but also inspired me to advocate more passionately for these voiceless beings. It was a poignant reminder that every small act of kindness can ripple into profound change.

Witness the joy, resilience, and unconditional love these dogs bring, and discover the immense fulfillment that comes from helping them. For those who are unable to visit but wish to contribute, donations can be sent to the following accounts:

• Account Name: Marita Yasuda, 
• Gcash/Maya Account: 0966 814 4456, 
• BPI Account: 4059 3146 37, 
• BDO Account: 0066 3021 5825, 
• Metrobank Account: 402 3402 24461 6, 
• Paypal Account: twister0408@msn.com. 

Your support will help continue the vital work of the MBY Dog Rescue Sanctuary, providing food, medical care, and love to the animals in their care. Together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of these deserving animals.

Conquering The World’s Highest Canyon Swing, THE PLUNGE of Danao, Bohol.

I’ve been saying this quote “live life to the fullest co’z life is worth celebrating for”. I always kept in mind that I have to embody such statement in my every day way of living. Do not settle in a boring situation because we can only live once and so; we have to make the most out of it. I always make sure that I have to experience exciting things that I’ve never done before.

Looking back these past 30 years of my existence, I think this one of the most extreme adventures that I have experienced – to conquer the world’s highest canyon swing.  May 26, 2018 together with William Pombo ( a good friend of mine) and my cousins from Bohol – Rosemarie “Inday”Bastasa and Vitaliano “Bajun” Bastasa Jr. Witnessed how I shouted when I was released and got swing towards –somewhat, I called it infinity. 


I don’t have any phobia of height at all but the experience was mind blowing wherein it will leave a scar of happiness and fulfilment in my whole being.  Undeniably, it was one of the highlights in my life. This story took place at Municipality of Danao, Province of Bohol which we really spent time and effort just to get there. It was then worthy to give aim this (in) famous dignifying “THE PLUNGE” for the amount of PHP700. Indeed, I was not paying for “the Plunge” itself but I paid for the so called “EXPERIENCE” and it is priceless for me.


“The Plunge” is just one of the main activities offered by E.A.T (Extreme Adventure Tour)  Danao. EatDanao is Bohol’s ecotourism park where tourist can go river trekking, rappelling, rock climbing, caving and even kayaking through the parks incredible and picturesque landscape.  A canyon swing adventure attraction named “The Plunge” is mounted over a 200 meter high and 300 meter wide defile. The swing itself calls for you to free fall for about 70 meters before being launched into a pendulum swing, 100 meters wide back and forth – which really made me dizzy and threw up afterwards.

Watch My Vlog:

Truly, I will never ever forget this event in my life. The feeling - seemingly it was the end of the world, those shouts that echoed within the location, those laughter from the people watching me while I was swinging, those were memories that will leave a mark in my heart. And I want you guys to experience that.



Promise! I’ll bet my life if you will not enjoy it.  Love Love Love..

10 Things To Do To Maximize Holy Week Vacation.

Everyone is excited about this 2016 summer, especially that Holy Week is about to come. You have enough time to do what’s on your bucket list.   But for some- still they don’t have ideas on what to do.

Well, let me share with you what best activity that suits you, just to maximize your vacation.  

Go out with your friends 

 A simple drinking session with the guitar is perfect to celebrate your friendship. I knew that it has been a long time when you guys met due to each other’s busy life.

Go to the nearby beaches 

Summer comes only once a year and summer is associated with the beach. Grab your backpack and go to the nearest beach possible.

Try extreme yet fun activities

– Everyone deserves to be crazy at least once a year. You can try tremendous activities but make sure that its calculated risk. Try Surfing maybe!

Do Something worth Reminiscing For

 I suggest you do things that one day you will remember. Why not try Fire Dancing at the stretch of Puerto Galera or Boracay maybe.

Become Weird and do not follow the system of Uniformity

– Being distinct will dominates your characteristic against others. Why not try a hair tattoo?  It maybe sounds peculiar but cool, isn’t it?

Try SAMALAMIG 

Anything that will cure your thirst, then try it.

Eat or Sell HaluHalo 

 Halo-halo or Halo-halo is a popular Filipino dessert with mixtures of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans, jello, and fruits. It is served in a tall glass or bowl. Remember, a Filipino Summer without halo-halo is suffering and incomplete.

Stay inside your house

While others are enjoying outdoor activities, admit it – at some point in your life, staying inside your house is more fun rather than experiencing heatstroke outside. Particularly, if you are dwelling in an air-conditioned home with lots of food inside the ref and movies in your laptop. 

Celebrate  The Moriones Festival in Marinduque

 The Moriones is an annual festival held on Holy Week on the island of Marinduque, Philippines; and so it is timely. The "Moriones" are men and women in costumes and masks replicating the garb of biblical Roman soldiers as interpreted by local folks.

Go back to where you came from

Visiting the family is part of the culture of Filipinos during Holy Week.  Once in a while, it is very important to go back to the place where you truly belong despite your heavy schedule. And Holy Week is the best time for that during summer.

Visita Iglesias

Visita Iglesia (Spanish for "Church Visit") is Holy Week devotion among Filipino Roman Catholics of visiting seven or fourteen churches in order to pray and meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ. It commences in the late afternoon or early evening of Holy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper when the Blessed Sacrament is already reserved at the Altar of Repose for adoration inside the Church until midnight when it is concluded without solemnity since liturgically, the day of the Lord's Passion has already begun.

Calaguas Island: Yoga for Soul.

I became an Instant Yogi in Calaguas Island when James Betia, shares his expertise about yoga during the travel. Eight in the morning, after we went back from the sunset watching, we just quickly grabbed our breakfast – coffee with kakanin prepared by chief Arvin. When everyone was ok - after the meal, James gathered us for a Yoga session. At first I was hesitant to join because I can’t really get the point of that activity- corny. So, what I did, I just joined them for picture taking only. Until when I started to stretch my arms, synchronized my core and expanded my legs – I felt something strange.

James taught us the proper breathing -With those few inhales and exhales, I felt eased deep within. Unconsciously, I enjoyed now the activity and I continued joining them when I felt the sweat from my body. “Sige na nga , tuloy ko nalang to”, I said. It was my first time to practice it and it gives me the impression that Yoga is fun (but on the beginning, I thought it’s a kinda corny stuff).

In Yoga, you should harmonize your physical, mental and spiritual being to reach your aim – that is body and mind transformation. Meditation is one way, but sometimes it is necessary to prepare the body for meditation by stretching and building strength. As Yoga becomes increasingly diffuse, diverse and popular, there are now innumerable establishments (e.g. fitness gym) that offer YOGA class.

The word yoga comes from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. It is a derivation of the word yuj, which means yoking, as in a team of oxen.

The chanting at the beginning was a great way to get into the mindset of what the next 90 minutes will require of you.  There was a solid warm up and then some fast paced flows to get you sweating, and then it slows down for some balancing and more challenging poses which always satisfied my explorative and playful side.  At the end, before Shavasana, they sometimes do a brief guided meditation which is really nice.

What I love the most of all those poses was the tree pose – because it taught me how to balance. Just like how we need to balance in our life to avoid failures. We need to balance the pros and cons in decision making. Moreover, a tree-pose can be executed with partner. And I noticed that the tree-pose with a partner is easier compared in doing it alone – just like in real life – it is easier in a journey with a partner in life.

More Yoga .. More learnings . More fun in the Ph.

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Ultimate Frisbee: Catching the flying disc and the beauty of Calaguas Island

In nature, I am a sporty-type of person. I love various sports despite of my asthma.  One of the ultimate sports that gave me a hard time of breathing is Frisbee. In the first place; I know that Frisbee is not that easy upon knowing some sports icon that plays such game eg. Derik Ramsey and Marc Nelson.  I am curious about it because since I love beach it seems that sport is perfect during my beach bumming. (Well, I don’t have guts to play it, to be honest)

During my Calaguas Travel, I had a chance to play Frisbee with some of sporty travelers.  They taught me how to play properly in accordance to the rule. Ultimate (aka Frisbee) is played between two teams of seven players on a large rectangular pitch so Calaguas shoreline is very large – that was perfect for it. A line drawn across the pitch at either end creates two "endzones" (like in American Football) but we just drew it imaginary. These are the goal-scoring areas. A goal is scored when a team completes a pass to a player standing (or more likely running) in the end zone they are attacking.

Ultimate in 10 simple rules as per Steve Courlang

The Field -- A rectangular shape with endzones at each end. A regulation field is 64m by 37m, with end zones 18m deep.

Initiate Play -- Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective end zone line. The defense throws ("pulls") the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.

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Scoring -- Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's end zone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.

Movement of the Disc -- The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc ("thrower") has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower ("marker") counts out the stall count.

Change of possession -- When a pass in not completed (e.g. out of bounds, drop, block, interception), the defense immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.

Substitutions -- Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.

Non-contact -- No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.

Fouls -- When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

Self-Refereeing -- Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.

Spirit of the Game -- Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

A flying disc is a disc-shaped gliding toy or sporting item that is generally plastic and roughly 20 to 25 centimeters (8 to 10 in) in diameter with a lip, used recreationally and competitively for throwing and catching, for example, in flying disc games.

I really enjoyed the sport because it takes total stamina, alertness and endurance to perform infinite run.  It was my first time and if given a chance, I’ll play it over and over.

Intrepid Surfing in the Large Waves in Sabang Beach, Baler Aurora.

As I finished the Challenge ( Thanks JOJO for Capturing) 

Truly if you experienced one thing and you enjoyed it the most on the first attempt, surely the next thing you will do is to experience it again. Yes, I admit it especially Surfing. The first time I was able to balance myself on the waves was during my Zambales Tour. It was my memorable and glorifying involvement with the waves. So I promised myself to Surf again due to the fact that I enjoyed it a lot.

When we say Baler, it has something to do with Surfing. For surfers and surf wannabes this place is best and nearest among the surfing spots in the Philippines. Baler is famous for Cemento beach, Sabang Beach, and Baler Bay that offers its large sizes and tunnel-like waves which is perfect for practicing.

Moreover, Surfing is one of the itineraries of the said Baler Tour. When we arrived in the morning at the camp, the first activity I joined was the surfing lesson. I have my surf instructor named Philip who patiently taught me. “Do you know how to swim?” he asked. “I’m sorry Buddy, I don’t know how to swim but don’t worry this is now my second time do surfing”, I answered.

When I looked at the sea, I was scared because of the large waves; it was really larger compared to waves in Zambales. It was also raining, the sky is darker and Philip told me it’s because of low pressure. “Buddy, Don’t get scared, if you fall down, don’t get panic and just look for the cord , grab it and just ride back to the deck of the board.” He gave the instruction.

Philip and I

We went ahead going deeper, my heart started to beat faster when I noticed that I can’t feel anymore the sand on my feet. The waves are getting stronger as I tried to go deeper.  But Philip was still behind me pushing the surfboard. The experience was totally different, in Zambales. The Surfer can easily go to the deep part of the sea to wait for the incoming waves but in Baler it’s totally different, you need to struggle facing the large wave just to reach the deep part. However, the advantage in Baler, there’s no need for you to wait the waves because it is continuously coming every now and then. In addition, due to the strong current, you can stand up easily and balance right away unlike to the small waves in Zambales. Therefore I must say that in Zambales that’s advisable for the first timer and in Baler for advance surfer. No wonder many celebrities and professional surfer visits this place just to surf.

In just one hour surfing lesson, I learned to adjust myself from large and strong waves. But the best lesson I learned is to face you fear, regardless if I am not a good swimmer.

The Surf Instructors

After the lesson I got a chance to meet my instructor to personally thank him. I was able to have a short conversation also with his co- instructor. Until today, Phillip and I are still connected through Facebook and he invited me to visit back in Baler to surf for a discounted amount. Nice to hear right? That’s the advantage if you will have local friends in a place where you used to travel.

Surfing: Another Art of Balancing (Liw-Liwa , San Felipe, Zambalez)

I already featured here the Art of Balancing which is conducted in Tanay Rizal the so called Rock Balancing.


But today, another experience, yes my first ever experience doing another form of art in balancing in the water the so called surfing, rides using the surf board facing forward of a moving wave that normally carrying the “surfer” towards the shore line.

Waves can me natural or man-made depending on the availability, it can be also an extreme large waves or just a small one depending on the surfer capacity. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or in rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal bore.

Surfing is one of the activities prepared by Journeying James on his 3rd year Blog anniversary and #PROJECTJOMALIG thanksgiving Sept 28 and 29, 2013 in Liw-Liwa, San Felipe, Zambalez. Surfing was also included to our Tour Package to experience and learn surfing free for one hour with instructor. But if you  are going to rent a surfboard , prices varies depending the length of time you’re gonna use the board, i.e. for 1hr rent worth 200, with instructor per hour is 200 also. But if you are already a surfer, you can rent a surf board without an instructor for an amount of 400 half day. But if you guys are beginners, I advise you to get an instructor because they will help you on timing and balancing. They will also conduct a basic training prior on surfing for safety purposes.

First few minutes, a trainer will orient the newbies at the shoreline.

View Pictures Below.

Lying position with the stomach under on the Surf Board

Standing on the Surf Board, One foot forward (It can be right foot or left)

It was great experience, the first time you ascend on the surf board it was scary but the time you started to stand up, expect that you will fall down. As you will do it all over again, you will learned to balance now, and the feeling was glorifying and fulfilling, in just a few seconds standing and balancing on a surfboard your stress disappear. Up until you will not notice the time that one hour is finished.

The first day September 28, 2013 I used my slot for surfing and luckily another free slot was offered to me when Irish (one of the travelers/campers/surfers) don’t want to avail her surfing lesson and she gave her slot to me. Therefore September 29, 2013, afternoon, another free Surfing Lesson I enjoyed THANKS IRISH!