Aryty Blog

Celebrate Year of the Rat!

Send a Globe, Smart or Sun load to say Happy CNY to your loved one in the Philippines!

While checking in for my flight last week from San Francisco to Manila I was not allowed to get on the plane due to the expiration date of my passport. Apparently if your passport expires in less than 6 months the Philippine government can fine the airline if they send you through and their immigration turns you away upon arrival for any reason. Unfortunately for me my passport expiration was in 5 1/2 months!

When the agent told me this at check in I was like “serioso ka ba?” and they told me no chance! Left with no choice I had to get a new passport and rebook my flight. The passport agency in SF expedited my passport for about $130 and I got it back that afternoon. With my new passport in hand I left for Manila the next day.

If you plan on travelling to the Philippines make sure your passport doesn’t expire in less than 6 months from your date of travel and if it does make sure to get it renewed before your trip. Coincidentally the woman sitting next to me on the plane was heading to a nursing convention in Manila and encountered the same problem. Travelling isn’t getting any easier but it’s was nice to go back to the Philippines!

This will be a special year at the Philippine Fiesta in New Jersey, August 18th and 19th. I am excited to announce that Beau Canlas from MYX will be joining Aryty at the event to meet with guests and even take time for photo opportunities!

I met Beau while visiting Manila last spring. This Virginia naitive is a rising star on the MYX network in the Philippines and already is hosting 2 shows on MYX stateside! Beau’s positive energy and charisma cannot be ignored but most of all this Fil-Am’s pride in his heritage truly shines through!

Check out Beau!

Make sure to stop by the Aryty booth this weekend and say hello to Beau!

I could make a long list of things of I miss in the Philippines but let me start with an easy one.

Jollibee (@-@) mmm sarap!

Get Your Chickenjoy HERE

There was a great article 2 weeks ago in the New York Times all about the lives of Overseas Filipino Workers also known as OFW’s. The story called A Good Provider is One Who Leaves discussed the benefits and challenges faced by over 3 million Filipino workers that live abroad to send support back home to their loved one’s.

The Philippines is the 4th largest remittance market in the world making up about 14% of the country’s GDP! This story did a good job at presenting the mixed blessing of remittances while giving an interesting look into the lives of the OFW’s that send them.

NYT Magazine Story Here

Google released a shiny new version of their mobile search today and I must say it’s really sweet!

There are lots of cool new features but the one I like most is the way prior search locations are stored and used for future searches. This feature allows you to avoid having to enter your zipcode each time you want to find a movie or check the weather since it will automatically use the last zipcode you entered on a prior query.

Even their Icecream is good!

I admire what a great job Google does at building effective tools that are really simple to use. Congrats on this release to Yael, a good friend and Product Manager on the Mobile Team! Now I know she really has been busy. Nice one mare!

Read all about the new mobile search functionality here on Yael’s blog post.