Cruz Bros have a new project! Working together for the very first time!

Guess what? My brother Jonty and I are up to something! We have a new and exciting project we can't talk about in detail. But it's gonna be awesome! You'll get to see our antics and how we just love messing with one another.

In the upcoming weeks, you'll get to see what we've been up to! It's gonna be fun! :)

Giving in to Amazon's Kindle

Ok ok. So I gave in. I wanted to see what it was like to read on a Kindle. During my recent trip to Switzerland, I didn't want to carry a heavy hardbound on my handcarry so I decided to get a Kindle. I got the Kindle Keyboard and I got it on eBay.ph :) I have to say that it's pretty cool. But don't get me wrong. Reading on a real book is cool also.

I have an existing Amazon account so I get charged through credit card. It's pretty easy to use too!

OK now for my review.

PROS

The Kindle is very light. It's easier to carry than an iPad. Reading the text is very gentle to the eyes as well. Plus there's no glare. Using the Kindle Store is also very user friendly and downloading a book is really fast. Less than 60 seconds! Battery life is amazing as well. It can go up to a month! It can fit in your back pocket so you can practically take it where ever you want to take it. I say that it's perfect for traveling! 

CONS

I got the one with special offers and I find the offers rather annoying for one reason. When you put the Kindle to sleep, you can't change the wallpaper. You'll have to hack a code and you'll lose the warranty that comes along with it. The other thing is that a lot of the books I wanted to get weren't available in the Kindle Store. Apparently not all books are available in all territories which sucks a lot. 

For the verdict, the Kindle is a cool gadget to have if you love to read and travel. I didn't check if the books I wanted were available so make sure the books you want are available. At the end of the day, it doesn't hurt to own a Kindle. It's also still cool to go to the book store and look for the book that you want :)

Jiggy and the Chocolate Factory

Who doesn't love chocolate? It never fails to make me smile when I receive or see chocolate. It's just so damn good! Chocolate is close to my heart. Very close. Why? I used to work for chocolates. It was an awesome job because you got to try/taste/eat chocolate 5 days a week. (But everything in moderation of course)

Anyway, about a week ago in Switzerland, with the help of my 2 new friends Ton and Khan, I got to visit Le Maison Cailler or The House of Cailler. (Pronounced "KAH-YEY") It was a CHOCOLATE FACTORY! So think of all the Willy Wonka stories you know! Le Maison Cailler was also where The Chocolate Centre of Excellence is located and this is where Nestle and the top Chocolatiers make new recipes for the best chocolates!

There was a tour that explained the history of chocolate. It started with the Mexicans/Aztecs when they discovered this bean they named "Theobroma Cacao" or you can also say Food of the gods. But the main story included F.L. Cailler opening the first Swiss Chocolate Factory. It was in Switzerland where MILK CHOCOLATE was invented by a man named Daniel Peter with the assistance of Henri Nestle. 

I got to see how they made the Cailler chocolates and believe me when I say that it's one of THE BEST chocolates in the world! I mean, Cailler was the very first milk chocolate! The assortment was just broad! There's chocolate for cooking, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, premium chocolates, etc. Also interesting is that there's this part of the tour where they ask you "For you, when is it time for chocolate?" I answered "to make Misha happy :)" Gentlemen, it's been tried and tested, you need to give women chocolates! 

A tour wouldn't be complete without tasting the chocolates! So at the end, there's an all you can eat chocolate buffet!!! Argh, my mouth is drooling just recalling my experience. ANG SARAP TALAGA!

Smiling when there's chocolate inside your mouth

Cailler Ambassador

Cailler SUBLIM

Cailler Milk Chocolate

Visiting the Cailler Chocolate Factory will be an experience I will forever keep in my heart. In life, we need to make ourselves happy. C'mon, don't you want to be happy? I believe our happiest days were the days when we were kids. Why not relive our childhood days from time to time? :) Have some chocolate, the endorphins will make you happy :) Share the happiness! Give someone a bar of chocolate! We ALL deserve to be happy in life :D

Swiss Cheese

OK, so I can't think of a better title to this post. But so what? I'm cheesy! If you can't handle the cheese, deal with it! :) Haha! Kidding!

So back to the post.

It's November already and I came from an excellent trip to Switzerland. Misha is working there now but it's only temporary. I visited her for a week and here are just some snapshots of what we did in Confoederatio Helvetica aka Switzerland.

The weather was real nice! It's in between Autumn and Winter so it was getting cold but you could see the different colors of the leaves! It was beautiful! The yellow leaves were my favorite. Bihirang makakita sa Pilipinas ng yellow and white leaves.

Lake Geneva was just amazing. Walking by it in the morning gave me goosebumps. I'm not really that type of nature guy but seeing the lake, the trees, the different colored leaves, the snow on top of the mountains, the swans, etc. Man... God is good! It was just beautiful!

Switzerland will not be complete without Fondue and walking by the lake! There are a lot of museums by the lake in Vevey such as the Alimentarium (Food Museum) and the Photography Museum. Charlie Chaplain Square is also in Vevey! In Montruex, Freddie Mercury has a statue there! Plus Misha and I wanted to get cool and funny pictures of ourselves in a different country.

A long distance relationship can be difficult. You have to adjust to time zones plus you get lonely. But what's keeping me and Mish sane now is that there are only 39 days left! From that point on, no one leaves! :) If you're in a long distance relationship, visiting that special someone is just so worth it! It teaches you a lot plus it makes you realize that life is worth living with that special person.

I'll write more about my trip in the upcoming days but for now, hope the pictures entertain you :)

Switzerland :)

I said before that long distance is a b*tch but it's frikkin awesome when you get to visit your loved one :) I'm here now in Switzerland visiting Misha :) The place is beautiful!!! Check out the foliage!!! I've been here 24 hours so far and I'm enjoying the sights!!! I'll post some more pictures soon when I take more pictures. Hahaha!

Misha says hi!

Took this pic since my Mom likes the storm windows

Jiggy jumping shot!

Investing in IMAGE

Comics published today won't be as valuable as the Golden Age or the Silver Age ones. But I think that SOME Modern Age books may get valuable in the future.

IMAGE Comics have low print runs. They're not as many as the MARVEL or DC print runs which makes it more valuable.

Anyway, I recently acquired 2 KEY Image titles. One is making a name for itself in the small screen and the other is about to enter the small screen.

The Walking Dead #1 9.8 Signed by artist Tony Moore... (I couldn't get one signed by KIRKMAN!)

You watch The Walking Dead on TV? You HAVE to read the comics!!! :) IT'S FRIKKIN AWESOME!!! 

Chew #1 9.9 MINT!!! How cool is that??? 9.9 as a grade is near to impossible to achieve!!!

I hope that John Cho will pull it off as Detective Tony Chu!!! I'm rooting for you John Cho!!!

SHELL, FERRARI, and SINGAPORE!!!

This year,  I got a big surprise from Shell! I was asked to become part of their Shell V-Power Network of Champions. They wanted me to travel in different places to learn more about Shell and what they do. The first leg of the trip was in London but unfortunately I wasn't able to attend since I had prior commitments. But last September, I finally got to join the trip! I went to Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix to know more about engine health.

I joined the Philippine Team in Singapore comprised of Jinno Rufino, Beeboy Vargas, Vernon Sarne, Tim Yap and Patty Laurel. There were also other Shell V-Power Champions from European countries. Believe it or not, I was the youngest among the whole group! Pressure? Haha. 

Anyway, click on READ MORE to see what I did in Singapore.