5 Tips on Saving Your Monthly Data Allowance

We all love to have that high-speed internet plans with no data capping, but most of us are still subscribed to (and locked in for 2-3 years) broadband or LTE packages which are still not unlimited.

If you have the same predicament, the next best thing to do is to find ways on how we can save those precious bandwidth allowed monthly.

So if you’re worried about using up your home broadband’s data allowance, what with so much activity you need to perform online, you simply need to follow these 5 simple tips:

1. TURN OFF YOUR GADGET’S WiFi CONNECTION.

Leaving the WiFi on your various gadgets will eat up your home broadband’s data allowance without you noticing it. The wise way to save on your monthly data allowance is to switch off your gadgets’ wiFi connection and only switch it on when you need to use your gadgets for internet surfing.

2. LOWER SCREEN RESOLUTION FOR VIDEO STREAMING.

A higher screen resolution will drain your data allowance. Save the high-resolution online streaming for when your family plans to spend Friday nightswatching movies at home; otherwise, make sure to lower the screen resolution to dodge a looming a recipe for disaster.

3. DEACTIVATE AUTOMATIC APP DOWNLOADS.

Instead of relying on auto app downloads, try to manually update apps on your gadget. This way, you can reduce your data usage and stay within the bounds of your data allowance.

4. ASSIGN A STRONG PASSWORD FOR YOUR HOME WiFi.

If your wiFi password is easy to guess, your home connection is at risk of having outsiders using your wiFi without your permission. Since you can’t track their activity, your next bill may include additional charges. To keep outsiders out and to secure your home connection, assign a strong password that is difficult to guess and regularly change it.

5. MONITOR YOUR DATA USAGE REGULARLY.

The best way to save on your data allowance is to regularly check your data usage so you know if your family needs to slow down on the data consumption. You can also download apps that help you monitor your monthly data usage.

I got these tips from One SKY Lite, SKY’s service bundle with consumable broadband, HD cable TV and mobile internet that enables families to enjoy fast internet and a slew of entertainment options while staying within budget.

For as low as P699 a month, One SKY Lite offers a generous data allowance of 20GB that will allow you to download up to over 3,000 songs or over 20 movies, experience 57 hours of non-stop video streaming,or enjoy up to 500 hours VolP talk time.

You can also choose One SKY Lite Plan 899 which offers 40GB data allowance to download over 7,000 songs, over 40 movies, experience 114 hours of non-stop video streaming,or enjoy up to 1,000 hours VolP talk time.




SKY's One SKY Lite plans also complement ABS-CBN’s transition into a digital company. SKY Cable Corporation is the broadband, cable, and direct-to-home unit of ABS-CBN.

For more information, visit mysky.com.ph.

Sea Spa to open at Adhara Boutique Resort

Imagine yourself being pampered with a relaxing massage while listening to the soothing sound of the sea. That's what Sea Spa aims to bring you as it opens in Oton, Iloilo this October 2017.

An eco-sustainable concept by Adhara Boutique Resort and 17 years of Spa Riviera will bring you the first Beach Spa in Iloilo - a perfect match to offer a holistic and down to earth approach to the spa experience.

The Sea Spa will go back to the basics, returning to nature's most powerful antioxidant - the SEA - offering all natural and organic treatments.

This new spa concept will allow guests to relax and be pampered while feeling the sea breeze. It comes with a Spa Bar Experience where you can customize your own spa treatments, made only of the freshest fruits and ingredients in season. All ingredients are carefully selected to be all natural and healthy for the mind, body, and soul.

I was invited to the press and bloggers launching of Sea Spa at Adhara recently, and accommodating staff of Spa Riviera walked us through with what they will be offering come October.

Upon arrival, guests will be offered a welcome drink while receiving an Aromatherapy Mood Enhancers and Foot Soak in a cottage at beachfront. Guests then may choose to have the Spa Treatments in a Beach Pavilion or Beach Beds fronting the sea. The pampering also includes a Meditation Time where guest is encouraged to have a time alone while sipping his calming Complimentary Tea.

Aside from the exclusivity and tranquility of the beach spa experience, Sea Spa will also have the following:

Beach Bar - A wide variety of fresh and healthy drinks will be offered.
Spa Bar - Choices of services for skin using fruits and vegetables in season.
Spa Day - Whole packages which includes 3-4 treatments, swimming, organic lunch and snacks, detox drinks, back and forth transfers, or just a choice of spa treatments only.

Sea Spa promises that guest will be taken care of intimately with one-to-one guest-attendant ratio. Couples may opt to have airconditioned Cabanas for their treatments.

We can't for October to come and try this great pampering experience in a spa by the sea of Adhara and Spa Riviera!

Keep it here at Nonoynet.com as I will surely update you on their rates, promos and other perks as soon as those are made official. For inquiries and bookings, just contact Spa Riviera or Adhara through their social media pages.

Korean Film Festival 2017 schedule, movies

The highly-anticipated Korean Film Festival is back in the Philippines this 2017, with 5 quality movies set to be shown in six major cities around the country.

Themed "Boldness of Youth," this year's festival will feature young characters who face various challenges in their lives. Through these films, young viewers can get encouragement if they're facing the same situation, while older ones will be moved to reminisce about their past, or even try to understand the problems encountered by the youth of today.




To help you decide which Korean film to watch during the festival (or you can watch all of them because admission is FREE), here are the synopses of the 6 movies:

Movies

#1: Twenty (스물)
Chi-ho (Kim Woo-bin), Kyung-jae (Kang Ha-neul) and Dong-woo (Lee Junho) are best friends who've just graduated from high school and turned 20. Chi-ho is an unemployed playboy who prioritizes dating and chasing women. Kyung-jae is a goody-two-shoes university student whose goal is to get accepted at a corporate job. Happy-go-lucky Dong-woo dreams of becoming a cartoonist but when his family goes bankrupt he is forced to become the breadwinner of the family and take on several part-time jobs. Twenty is a story of three friends in their 20s and must decide what to do with their life.

#2: The King of Jokgu (족구왕)
Hong Man-Sub is known to be the “King of Jokgu” (a Korean sport that shares elements of both football and volleyball) and is infamous for his unstoppable foot spike. On his return to university after military service, he discovers that the Jokgu court has been removed due to complaints from the Student Council. Man-Sub, along with his team of unlikely friends, decides to file a petition to the school President in order to get the court back.

#3: Very Ordinary Couple
Lee Dong-hee (Lee Min-ki) and Jang Young (Kim Min-hee) work at the same bank. They are on an on-and-off relationship for three years before breaking up. Still working together in the same bank puts great pressure on the two, made worse by a scandalous confrontation between the former lovers during a company party. Though they end up screaming at each other, it’s vivid clear that they still have feelings for each other and decide to give their relationship another chance.

#4: My Brilliant Life
Dae-soo (Kang Dong-won) and Mi-ra (Song Hye-kyo) are parents of Ah-reum, a child who was diagnosed with the extremely rare genetic disorder, Progeria, which makes him age prematurely and rapidly. Several years later, Ah-reum grows up as a 16-year-old boy but with a body condition of an eighty-year-old man. Sensing that he doesn't have much time left, Ah-reum decides to write a story about how his young parents fell in love and how he came to be, hoping to give as a present to them on his seventeenth birthday.

#5: How to Steal a Dog
Ten-year-old Ji-so lives in pizza truck with her family. Her father suddenly disappeared after their pizza business went bankrupt. When she sees a missing dog poster with a $500 reward, Ji-so simply believes that that amount of money would be enough to buy her family a house. She hatches a plan with her friend Chae-rang to find a dog with a rich owner, steal it and return the dog by pretending to have found it to get a reward. Their target is Wolly, the dog of an old rich lady who owns the restaurant where Ji-so's mom works.

Schedule

Just like last year, the Korean Film Festival will be screened in the cities of Manila, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Pampanga this September and October 2017. For my fellow Ilonggos, here's the schedule of screenings in SM City Iloilo Cinema 8:

September 21, Thursday
7:00 PM - How to Steal a Dog

September 22, Friday
12:00 PM - The King of Jokgu
3:00 PM - Very Ordinary Couple
6:00 Pm - My Brilliant Life

September 23, Saturday
12:00 PM - Twenty
3:00 PM - The King of Jokgu
6:00 PM - How to Steal a Dog

September 24, Sunday
12:00 PM - Very Ordinary Couple
3:00 PM - My Brilliant Life
6:00 PM - Twenty

Here's the full schedule of screenings in 6 cities and the SM Cinemas that will be showing it. Once again, admission to the festival films is free.

• MANILA - SM Megamall Cinema 6 - September 7-10
• DAVAO - SM Lanang Premier Cinema 1 - September 14-17
• ILOILO - SM City Iloilo Cinema 8 - September 21-24
• CEBU - SM City Cebu Cinema 5 - September 28-October 1
• PAMPANGA - SM City Clark Cinema 3 - October 5-8
• CAVITE - SM City Dasmariñas Cinema 5 - October 12-15

Ticketing Information

For Iloilo and other REGIONAL Screenings:
- First screening will be a VIP event and open only to LIMITED audience members.
- Tickets are available for FREE outside the cinema.
- Tickets will be released on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.
- Viewers are suggested to line up outside the cinema and wait for the releasing of tickets.
- Ticketing procedure will vary depending on regional location. Please follow advice of SM Cinema personnel.
- Only food bought from SNACKTIME (SM Cinema food concessionaire) will be allowed inside the cinema.

The 2017 Korean Film Festival is the flagship project of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines that aims to showcase the culture of Korea through film.

EIGASAI: Japanese Film Festival goes to Iloilo

The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) widely known as EIGASAI is celebrating its 20th year in the Philippines, and for the first time, expands its reach to Iloilo!

Officially opened in Manila last July 6, EIGASAI 2017 is the festival's biggest and best celebration yet as it brought to the country 20 films of various genres selected for more than 100 screenings across six major cities nationwide. Aside from Manila and Iloilo, Japanese films will also be shown in Cebu, Davao, Baguio and Bacolod.

Of the 20 films, 17 of which are with English subtitles and three are dubbed in Tagalog, offering Japanese film lovers the chance to experience their favorite genre while discovering something new.

Of course, we Ilonggos are interested what's in store for us. They have chosen to show the following films in FDCP CINEMATHEQUE-Iloilo at Solis Street, City Proper:

IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD

A postman dying from a brain tumor gets a visit from the devil who offerd him a deal. The postman will get to live another day everytime he lets the devil make something disappear from the world. The post agrees, but when things started disappearing, the memories he has attached to those things are also erased.

WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY!
A heartwarming comedy which portrays a different family in a story about elderly parents considering divorce which sends their whole family into panic.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan Now; 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival, Officially Recommended; 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.

SWEET BEAN (AN)
Sweet Bean is about a dorayaki shop owner who meets an elderly woman, Tokue, with her own wonderful recipe for the pancake-like snack filled with red bean paste. Their newfound partnership and booming business, however, is threatened when an unkind rumor drives Tokue away.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard; 2015 Cork Film Festival, Audience Award; 2015 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Best Performance; 2015 Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Audience Award; 2015 Valladolid International Film Festival, Best Director; 2015 Valletta Film Festival, Best Film & Best Actress.

HER LOVE BOILS BATHWATER
A family drama about the intense feeling of a dying mother with a bombshell ending that breaks heart. When a mother abruptly receives a diagnosis of terminal illness, she aims to use the brief amount of time she has left to bring back her husband, restart the family business and set her daughter on the path of independence.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan Now; 2016 Busan International Film Festival, A Window on Asian Cinema; 2016 Montreal Work Film Festival, Focus on World Cinema.

TSUKIJI WONDERLAND
A documentary filmed over 16 months which closely chronicles this center of Japanese food culture as it prepares to be moved to a different location.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2016 Seattle International Film Festival, Culinary Cinema; 2016 Montreal World Film Festival; 2016 San Sebastian International Film Festival, Culinary Cinema.

CHIHAYAFURU Part 1 and 2
A wonderful story about friends brought together by their passion for the traditional Japanese card game of Karuta. Determined to be the best, Chihaya forms a competitive Karuta< club with Taichi to prove that the game is more than just about old customs and to hopefully reunite with their estranged friend Arata.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2016 – Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, World Fantastic Blue, Fantasia International Film Festival.

SADAKO VS. KAYAKO
Two of Japanese horror's biggest characters square off in this crossover film. In the movie, university student gets hold of a video and plays it, unaware that it is cursed and brings death to whoever watchers it.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2016 MOTELX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, Room Service; 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, Midnight Madness; 2016 Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Midnight X-Tream; 2016 San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival, Official Section.

THE MAGNIFICENT NINE
The movie comically depicts the efforts of an inn town in Sendai fief to save themselves from impoverishment by running a moneylending business against the fiefdom.

Film Festivals, Awards: 2016 – Toronto International Film Festival, Opening Film, Japan Cuts, Camera Japan Festival.

Schedule

You may catch these movies for free on a first-come, first-served basis. Here's the schedule of showtimes in FDCP CINEMATHEQUE-Iloilo:
25-Aug, Friday
2:30 - IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD 世界から猫が消えたなら(Tagalized)
5:30 WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY! 家族はつらいよ

26-Aug, Saturday
2:30 SWEET BEAN (AN) あん
5:30 HER LOVE BOILS BATHWATER 湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

27-Aug, Sunday
2:30 SWEET BEAN (AN)あん
5:30 TSUKIJI WONDERLAND 築地ワンダーランド

28-Aug, Monday
2:30 CHIHAYAFURU Part.1 ちはやふる 上の句
5:30 SADAKO VS. KAYAKO 貞子vs伽椰子(Tagalized)

29-Aug, Tuesday
2:30 CHIHAYAFURU Part.2 ちはやふる 下の句
5:30 THE MAGNIFICENT NINE 殿、利息でござる！

The Japanese Film Festival is presented and run by the Japan Foundation, Manila and is now an established annual event which is held in July in celebration of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Month. Launched in 1997, EIGASAI has grown to one of the largest and popular film festivals attracting over 20,000 audiences every year across the Philippines, showcasing a vast variety of cinematic delights from drama, romance, anime to recently released films in Japan.

Japan is always synonymous with quality, so I'm pretty sure that the films in this JFF will not disappoint Ilonggo film critics and moviegoers. Tsukiji Wonderland piqued my interest, so I'll definitely go watch that one. See you at FDCP CINEMATHEQUE on August 25-29!

BAMBIKE: Ride a bamboo bicycle around Iloilo Business Park

Ilonggo bikers and enthusiasts, there's something new to try in Iloilo City as bamboo bicycles is now available for rent at Iloilo Business Park.

THUMBS UP for Bambikes! Iloilo City Sports Division head Jojo B. Castro, Bambike CEO Bryan McClelland and Megaworld's Estate Management head Arnie Batac during the launching of bamboo bikes in IBP.

Socio-ecological enterprise Bamb EcoLogical Technology Inc. introduced their handmade bamboo bicycles called Bambike in the launching of the Iloilo Business Park Bike Rental project on Friday, August 11.

As part of their support to Iloilo City as Bike Friendly City, Iloilo Business Park, in partnership with Bambike, will provide the bikes for rent to interested bikers.

Built by rural villagers under sustainable livelihood development program of Gawad Kalinga Foundation, these bambikes use sturdy and durable bamboo poles as frame and feature solid, flat-free tires hassle-free biking around the 72-hectare township of Megaworld Corporation in Mandurriao district.

These bambike frames look strong and sturdy.

Bike rentals will be offered for P60 per hour of cycling around the 2.4-kilometer safe bike lane of Iloilo Business Park.

Megaworld's head of estate management Arnie Batac, Bamb Ecological Technology Inc.'s president and CEO Bryan McClelland, and Iloilo City sports division head Jojo B. Castro graced the launching.

I always go around the Iloilo Business Park with my BMX bike, so definitely I will be riding this bambike one of these days. Surely, will update you about the experience.

See you around IBP!  [Photos by Jojo B. Castro]