Promo Archives, Southology

We have ourselves a winner!

Well, it’s been exactly two months (never mind that one of those months was only 28 days long), and though we considered yet *another* extension (mainly to get more participants, hahaha), we’ve finally decided that it’s time to name a winner for our “I Love the South” promo!

Before we get on with our-ahem, ahem… “awarding ceremony” (hahaha), we’d like to send out a heartfelt “Thank you!” to those who sent in their responses. Your insights made us appreciate the South more, and comforted us with the fact that we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed groovy traffic guys and their antics (“kala namin ang babaw babaw na namin”  pare pareho lang naman pala tayo!).

So… read on to find out the witty, zany, heartwarming ways our readers completed the sentence “I love the South because”- (Oh, and we saved our winner for last, so you can appreciate as much as we did how unique and cheeky (and therefore truly South) his answer is.)

Southern Suburbia and the Comforts of Home

-It’s “urbanized suburbia.” You get big city comforts with the cozy village feel.” -Althea

“BF still has portions that remind me of the Shire.” -Peewee

“The South is still mainly residential in nature: ergo, no overly crowded places; ergo, not too much cars; ergo, cleaner air.” -Peewee

“The weekend seems longer when you live in the South because the pace slows down to calm even the most haggard CEO.” -Peewee

Everything You Need, Right in Your Back Yard

“BF has everything in it; you don’t even have to gimik anywhere else!” -Peewee

“The South rocks since it has evolved into a good location for business, shopping, eating, etc… everything is there already!” -Cheryl

“It’s friendly to small businesses, especially restaurants owned and run by South residents themselves.” -Althea (Live where you work, work where you live, and work for yourself, eh? -ed)

“We have great schools for kids, which is a big plus for parents who want quality education for their kids at a convenient location.” -Peewee

“We are so much nearer to great vacation places: beaches in Batangas, springs in Laguna, cooler climate in Tagaytay, and Enchanted Kingdom, which is the one and only REAL theme park in the country.” -Peewee

Iyong Suking Tindahan

“Only in BF and Las Pinas is there proper storage of generation memorabilla: Pogs, late 90’s Jordan NBA cards, and TEXT (not SMS, but the real deal: the small paper thingies with anime / NBA things etched on them… c’mon… y’know what I’m talking about!)” -Tommy (Uuuhhh… I’m not too keen on this, but isn’t that Tex? Or, well… OK, never mind, I don’t really know what I’m talking about, hehehe. :) -ed)

“Lots of food offerings that people from the North can only drool about: Conti’s (doesn’t matter if there’s a branch in GH, the BF branch is a lot lovelier!), Amalia’s, Gourmet (for the Killer Tacos!), Carlo’s Pizza, Café Francais, Chateau Europe, the only other Taco Bell in the Philippines; and inuman bars: Central, Merge, and Chateau Europe.” -Peewee

“We have a diverse set of malls in this vicinity: Southmall, ATC, Festival Mall.” -Peewee

“Every establishment is your neighborhood place, from your suking tindahan to your suking Starbucks to your suking The Spa.” -Althea

“Extra Rice. Sa Bigfoods sya, yun dating tapsihan, kaya mukha siyang tapsihan, pero specialty nya mga sausages, mga longganiza from Ilocos to Quezon to Germany. At para sa di kumakain ng karne, danggit bay. Masarap din ang garlic fly rice nila, di sunog ang bawang at malambot ang kanin. Wholesome yung cast, kids doing their homework while daddy cooks. Get the tables outside kasi mahirap kumain sa counter, mataas yung table. Or baka pandak lang ako.” -Apollo

“You can hang out at The Vivere Skyline, sip your drink of choice, view how busy Makati is, and then feel good about where your feet are planted at the moment.” -Althea

Driving and Traffic - South Style

“The long commute home, either by car or by bus, is part of the gimik, and everyday can be an instant road trip.” -Althea

“It’s a great place for ‘Sunday driving.’ You know, a joyride of sorts in a car you don’t usually drive.” -Peewee

“We have cool traffic cops (Like that dancing traffic enforcer along Presidents’ Avenue in the mornings in militia attire, and that cowboy cop stationed near Concha Cruz). Don’t tell me you haven’t seen those guys?” -Peewee (Yeah, we know them, and obviously, someone else has seen them too, as you can see, haha… -ed)

“Only in BF will you find the two most amusing traffic enforcers in the Philippines!!! 1.) The dancing, happy, probably-on-shabu traffic man who’ er… mans the intersection by Caltex BF in the morning, and the intersection of Tirona and Aguirre in the afternoon. 2.) Mr. Cowboy Man, who is always flashy as hell, with the cowboy hat, boots, tight shirt, heeled shoes, and matching sideburns and FPJ walk… intense!” -Tommy

“The jeepney drivers don’t honk their horns like they have collective diarrhea.” -Althea

(Oh, and I can’t resist, I have to add this: When you honk at the BF tricycle drivers who are hogging the road, they usually move to the side to let you pass. Amazing! -ed)

“The unbelievable traffic along Alabang-Zapote Road makes me a more patient woman. =p Now, EDSA seems like a piece of cake.” -Peewee (We hereby confer a special award on Peewee for gamely turning a negative thing into something positive! Unfortunately, the special award doesn’t come with coffee” -ed )

Clean and Green

“Alabang has hills. And the rest of Muntinlupa, hardwood trees.” -Althea

“Dining al fresco here is really ‘in the fresh.’” -Althea

“After a stressful day at work, I can go home to cleaner air and quieter surroundings.” -Peewee

“The wind still blows strong enough for kids to fly a kite.” -Althea

“In this part of the city, you can still see the stars.” -Althea

No Place Like Home

“There is still that sense of irreplaceable security from living in the suburbs and not THERE in the North where you get nothing but dirty air, noise and a higher crime rate (Ahehehe…. North-side bashing?).” -Peewee (Aha! Another person who admits to indulging in North-bashing, hahaha! Sorry, people of the North, nothing personal. :) -ed)

“I really love living in the South since it gives me peace of mind in spite of the heavy traffic that I face everyday.” -Cheryl

“For some reason, whenever I walk around BF and kids are playing with those trumpos with the nail ends, I dont get scared… But when I’m in my NSTP class in Mandaluyong and the kids there start playing with their trumpos‘ I get scared as hell!” -Tommy (Yes, we understand that… in the same way that we can drive fearlessly around the bowels of Las Pinas, surrounded by topless men with large bellies clenching beer bottles while the sun’s still up, and thuggy youths with their tattoos, and not feel worried at all… teritoryo mo pa kasi. -ed)

“Because the south has a life of its own. And everywhere you go, each spot has its own steady heartbeat. It can’t get any better than that.” -Rain

“I live in the South so its definitely a much cooler place to live! =p” -Peewee

The Big Event

“Everytime I go to gigs in a venue in the South (Rock Radio…  wala na ngayon, San Mig Pub, The Breakfast Club, etc.), the crowd is so appreciative! I love jamming and moshing against my kind of people. Even bands say that they love to play gigs in the South.” -Peewee

“The annual St. James Bazaar at Ayala Alabang!” -Peewee (Yes, despite the crowds, the heat (or the rain, as the case may be), the parking, and the inevitable looong lines at the gate, nothing beats the Bazaar. -ed)

And our winner…

The *Other* Big Event

“I lost my virginity here, hahaha!” -Tommy

(Note to Tommy: We’re not printing your last name, in case your folks read this, hahaha. We’ll get in touch with you to give you your GCs and shirt (BTW, you can request it in your size), but that’ll have to be after the Holy Week vacation (hmmm… rather incongruous to see the phrase “Holy Week” in the same paragraph as your, er, prize winning entry, hehe). Congratulations!)

So there you have it, folks: what you love about the South. Turns out much of it is what we love too (except maybe for the last bit, but we’re not telling”). We want to add one more thing, though: We love the South because it’s got great people and a great sense of community, and those people are proud of who they are and where they live (that means you, Southbound reader. Duh…). Keep on fueling the flames of Southern pride, and while you’re at it, extend it to the rest of our poor, beleaguered country (and no, I’m not running for anything). Spread the love, boys and girls! And have a blessed Holy Week vacation!

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