I wanna take this time to look back on all four events, reflect on highlights and learnings, just like what I joke immediately after an event is done. "Okay, what went well? What went wrong? What can we improve on?"

Note: These are my opinions and thoughts, and does not necessarily mean it is also Kyle's. We discuss and make decisions about Let Them Cook together.

On our bio, we'll always say that we let new DJs (or possibly bedroom DJs) have their first gig, and experienced DJs experiment (like trying a different genre they usually don't play. If they are also a producer, try out songs or remixes they've made but haven't really put out yet.) We're really surprised to know that we're able to check those boxes immediately.

We've had four DJs tell us that our event was their first gig (not "one of their first gigs", but their ACTUAL first gig), and one tell us that they were excited because the music they're planning to play isn't usually the ones they play because they usually get booked to play more pop songs (some not even remixes).

We legit mention this in our pre or post-prod calls and just be in awe over the fact. I hope that we're able to continue being a safe space for everyone to just cook.

The vibes were more than great during "Food Poisoning" (a Let Them Cook x Lasunan fusion) and "Just Jam" (our open deck event last November). It's in these two events I really felt like people are starting to pay attention to LTC.

I think that more people attended Just Jam compared to any of our previous events at the time, even though the crowd was pretty much just the DJs who signed up and their friends. Something about the event felt intimate and special. On our collab with Lasunan, I personally don’t think that we pulled in a lot of people, but it was super interesting to see that more people were focused on the DJ booth during the latter half of the day. During Kyle’s closing set everybody was just cheering and dancing.

Another thing that has been really interesting for me to witness was how diverse the genres of music are being played in our events. It’s great for me to see because it is how we wanted LTC to sound. We’re all about encouraging DJs to play whatever songs they want, so it just makes sense that our events doesn’t have one sound, and that attendees should NOT expect to only hear one genre of electronic music.

Our Fowl Play event at Ugly Duck featured house, hip-hop, ambient, hyperpop, and an open-format set. Our Food Poisoning event featured UK Garage, house, techno, indie R&B, Latin house, pop edits, hyperpop, and budots. Our Just Jam event just strongly showed that diversity too with around 10 DJs cooking.

2024 has been fun with each event going crazier than the previous one, but there are things I have in mind that could even make LTC bigger. I hope that we’re able to do all of these, but also, no pressure!

First off, I think that we still need something that sets us apart from the other parties / raves. From the looks of it, a difference among the some I’m aware of is the genre of electronic music being played. One is focused on house, one on techno, etc. For LTC, it could be our diverse roster of genres for each event (making each edition not sound like the others), but that could be hard in terms of building an audience. Most likely, not everyone is as open as we are in listening to different genres of electronic music, and that’s okay! And so I look at other things I’ve experienced in the few events that I’ve been to.

Two notable events that I’ve been to have something special about them that makes them stand out. One is a queer rave that provides a safe space for LGBT+ people like me, and the other one is a convergence of music and visual art. I think that looking beyond the music is what can probably set us apart, and without looking any further, the concept of food is pretty much right there for us to take.

Incorporating food more to our events just makes so much sense because it is such a universal connection amongst people. Personally, I don’t know yet how we’re going to pull it off, but the idea of having food merchants and/or a potluck table has been on my mind. Food shouldn’t stop at our costumes, wordplays, visuals, etc., it should actually be seen in our events as well!

For some transparency, the money used in making our events usually come from our partners. This was the case for “Fowl Play” at Ugly Duck and “Food Poisoning” with Lasunan. Majority of the money we get go to paying talent fees, while the rest go to allowances (to cover food and transportation) for the team. To be honest, it doesn’t cover other costs that we’ve already made to start build LTC (ex. our huge logo sintra board, and our Pro Soundcloud account), but we’re super grateful for this kind of support already.

One of the things that I have in mind that we have to actually work on this year is to start generating more revenue. This way, we can continue to build on LTC like pay for the renewal of our Soundcloud Pro, and even make our own events more independently. To do this, I’m personally thinking of doing two things: merch and ticketed events. I’m hoping that the profits of the merch selling can help in making our first ticketed event, which may start the cycle for our future events as well. I hope that once we introduce ticketed events, we’ve already found our special sauce to make it even more valuable to our supporters.

Another idea that has been on my mind is to have a “tip box” on our events. Our events are usually free or a part of another event, but any financial support for LTC would be great too. We’ll probably do this soon (even online), but if you’re eager to send in support, head over to the “Wanna support?” section below.

We’ve only been through a humble few months for LTC, but our events just keep on getting crazier every time. With what I’ve already mentioned in the previous parts, we’re also being really ambitious.

On top of independently-made events, we also want to be part of events that we’ve been a fan of for a while. One of our goals (and this is legit written on an internal doc) is to be a part of events like Hola, Escolta!, Fete De La Musique, and Purveyr Fair (the area of the fair with food merchants had great vibes even though it was hot, so I imagined having our own lil stage there.) We want to be a part of the programming of such events, or have our own pocket stage in a bigger music festival or event. If you’re an event organizer and would like to have LTC be part of it, do let us know (more info below!)

Speaking of being a part of an event, I personally want to be back at Lasunan. I just feel like our level of chaos are just so aligned, that our Food Poisoning with them made so much sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if we do it again. I mean… some of the DJs from our collab (including me) will be playing on their next event this February 16, so a relationship has been cooking after our event with them.

If what you’ve seen from us or what you’re hearing sounds great and you’d like to help out in whatever form, do let us know! These are the ways I think you can help out, but you’re pretty much not limited to:

• Share your time and skills (ex. photography, videography, social media, production assistance, etc. etc. etc.) by being a part of our adhoc team that we can reach out to!

  • Side Note: Personally, it’s better to just let us know what you wanna do / offer so that we can just tap you whenever we see something fit for you.

• Donate to LTC so we can be more independent in making our events!

  • We’ll send in payment information when you reach out.

• Have LTC as part of your event’s programming, or let us do an event at your venue!

  • Right now, I think we’re more likely to say yes if the offer is like our previous events wherein budgets will be covered by your event or venue.

  • We are also more than open to help you look for DJs for your event / venue without the whole LTC-kind of production. The goal of LTC is to give DJs a gig, so if you need help that way, we’ll be more than happy to help you.

I might write another post about this certain topic in the near future, but you don’t have to wait for that if ever you want to help out. Just simply send us what you have in mind via Instagram DMs (@lettehemcook.ph) or email (letthemcook.ph@gmail.com)!

For an event series that just started last August, the trajectory of Let Them Cook has been awesome and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of a lot of people. Let me take this time to give some shout outs / thank yous to everyone who have been a part of our journey.

First off, to Kyle, for being my other half. I legit don’t know where LTC will be without you. Sounds like things are about to get crazier from here, and I just know we’ll reach greater heights because I have you.

To Comuna, Ugly Duck, and Mono, for having us do our little event in their space. It’s an honor to have our event in your spaces.

To Lasunan, for having our chefs play for their event, and for just being aligned with our vision.

To all the DJs that signed up on our form and the DJs that have played on any of our events, for blessing our ears with your personal taste in music.

To Isha, Ian, and Whenzy, for capturing these special moments in our lives.

To Manila Community Radio, for letting us share a taste of our events through the station. Personally, it fulfills my lowkey dream of being a show producer for Apple Music Radio, so it means a lot.

To everyone who attended any of our events, especially the regulars, for showing up for the DJs and LTC in general. I hope we’ve given you a great time.

To basically everyone who has played a role in our journey, no matter how big or small, for helping us build our little space in what I highly think is the next generation of the nightlife scene. That is how big I see the possibilities are for Let Them Cook, and that is also how grateful I am to you.

I wrote the outline for this post during the last weeks of 2024, intending to post what you've read before the year ended. January 2025 has already ended, with its last weeks giving us a crazier taste of what's possible for LTC.

Just Jam 2, our open-deck event, where it felt even more like a house party compared to the first edition. The week after, we did a collab event with Club Euphoria for their club night at Hoesik (Euphoria Fridays). In those two events, there were a lot of happenings.

• LTC alum, arigoggles, has been a witness of our growth (she’s been to all events as of writing) to the point that it made sense to have her as part of our team.

• Our selected DJ for the Club Euphoria collab, Ko BB, had our event as his first gig (and first club gig). During the collab event, he got booked for the next week as well. Kyle, Ari, and I went to that gig and it gave graduation vibes, and I personally felt like a proud dad.

• Speaking of our collab event with Club Euphoria, we had a B4B (yes, 4 DJs B2B2B2B-ing) and I was able to DJ inside Hoesik’s kitchen (a dream Kyle and I had of doing probably since the beginning), on top of food-themed drag performances.

I am still in awe with what happened in those two events, but I want to take this time to highlight the Club Euphoria collab. I personally felt so supported, which I did not expect because these are people who I personally have not met / became close with. It just baffles my mind how a group of people can just understand what we want to do and what it means to us, without even that close of a relationship yet.

They were the ones who pitched the B4B,the DJ set in the kitchen, and the food-themed drag performances, as a way to really make an impact when introducing LTC to their crowd. They did about 90-95% of the work, while LTC just put up an open call for DJs and forwarded the list of interested DJs to them (selecting Ko BB was agreed upon by both parties). We legit just showed up with our lil chef outfits (…is that us in drag, technically?), and were surprised to see the Club Euphoria team with aprons on as well. We even got financial support from them after the event, which is so significant knowing the expenses we’ve already made, ON TOP of covering talent fees.

I know that we are worthy of support, but I did not expect it to come from a group that is just new to my radar (especially us to them). To be shown that amount of support from them? Crazy. I just hope that while it felt like we did not do a lot, we were able to bring value to them. Feedback was that the team was super happy with everything, and I am still in denial / choosing not to believe that for IDK reason.

To Edgy who invited us on the spot when she joined our 2025 Planning back in December (and to think she was just invited to the planning last minute, lmao.) This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for that invite that came out of nowhere.

To Earvin, the founder of Club Euphoria, for letting us cook. Real talk: I wrote your name as someone who I wanted to invite for LTC to DJ in because you joined the same DJ workshop that Kyle and I took. Who would’ve thought this is how we’d work together?!

To everyone at Club Euphoria and Hoesik (the queens, the team, the management), we really felt loved and supported. We are truly grateful.

While writing this epilogue, it has really just been me trying to process what has happened. I feel like I’m discounting the amount of support everyone has given us, and it makes me feel weird because I truly am grateful.

Personally, there are thoughts, questions, and realizations I have that I did not include on this post, which magnified my emotions about the whole Club Eu collab, but I wouldn’t want to include it because it makes the ending of this post be on a sour note.

I guess I’ll end with this: I’m super thankful for the support everyone has given us. With our ambitious asses getting ready for the rest of 2025 (and by the looks of it, the next months are about to get even crazier), we’re gonna need even more support, and I hope we don’t disappoint.

"We will dance to our own song, and whirl around.
All you children gather around. We will dance together."
- "All You Children" by Jamie xx feat. The Avalanches

Anyways, that’s about it for this post. If you think this was interesting, consider collecting this post! It can help fund this event too!

Or if you want to just get the latest blog posts from me, consider subscribing! You’ll get an email every time I put out a new post (and I rarely do so, so it’s not spammy, lol).

For the whole time that HOHOL has been alive, I've been doing this event called "Next Slide Please", which is mainly Powerpoint Parties where anyone can talk about anything they want... while drunk. This has been the only event that I have put up as HOHOL (aside from an EP launch back in May), and what I'm about to share is something totally different.

Let Them Cook (LTC) is a new event series where we let beginner DJs have their first gig or experienced DJs to experiment.

Joining me on this journey is my friend Kyle Lim (aka Kadiliman) who is also my batch mate on the DJ workshop I joined last year. This will be a different entity, and is not affiliated to HOHOL.

LTC is inspired by my experience as a new DJ (it's only been a year since I learned how to). As a new DJ, I don't usually get gigs, and so in true Gian fashion, I made myself one. "Gian, you gotta put yourself out there, even just online." Well making mixes in my bedroom is boring af. I would rather physically put myself out there and dance with a bunch of people.

I'll also add that half of the gigs I've played are from friends, and so while I'm thankful for the opportunity, I'm also lowkey kinda frustrated with the fact that I have to play specific music (most likely "what's poppin' on the radio now... or years back"). It helps me practice technical stuff, but it doesn't really fulfill the whole "expressing myself" part.

I've thought of doing LTC as something that may be beneficial for new DJs like me. 1.) I'm booked for a gig — therefore legitimizing someone as a DJ —, 2.) I get to play the music I want to a crowd. Thinking deeper, I thought of a DJ friend of mine who wants to play a different genre of music than the ones they usually play. And so I thought, "why not here?" Let Them Cook, in short, just lets DJs "cook".

Kyle is in the same situation as I am, and understood what I wanted to do and achieve, so we joined forces to bring you this event series!

While LTC serves as a legit gig, we also wanted to lower the pressure, compared to a gig, rave, or club night. I personally call LTC a "part-gig, part-practice session", so while yes, you are paid to DJ at a gig, we just want you to do your best, and shrug off any mistakes you do. That's pretty much why it's called "Let Them Cook" too. It's encouraging and acknowledges that there may be a few mistakes here and there.

We're new DJs too! You think you mixed bad? It's okay, because it's part of the learning process! We get it! That's the point of the event too!

The whole thing is all about learning and exploring, so we're open to any genre of music, and we expect our attendees to be the same.

To somehow paint a picture of the whole "low pressure vibe", here's two mixes from Book Club Radio whose thumbnails are pretty much on our mood board.

In line with the whole "low pressure" vibe of the event, we plan to do these events during the afternoon to probably early evening. We think it changes the vibe from the usual gig / rave / club night, to some sort of rooftop party or just plain chilling with friends. On top of that, we're also planning to hold these events at places that are more chill, and because this is Let Them Cook, priority is given to places that serve food and drinks. Think cafes, rooftop bars, parks, or even beside pop-ups in the middle of the street where the DJ booth is next to a grill where someone's making BBQs.

Interesting Observation: We saw this new event series at Singapore called beans&beats where they DJ at cafes in the middle of the afternoon. I think this is the start of earlier parties or raves.

Techno rave at 3 in the afternoon, followed by an ambient set at 4, then a DNB set at 5? Game! Again, play whatever genre you want! We're here to let you cook!

Now, let's talk about the visual identity! The graphic designer in me just wants to talk about the inspo. Overall, the identity is very much based on diners. While diners aren't really a thing here in the Philippines, I think that the concept of going somewhere to eat and hangout with friends is connected to the whole "diner" experience, which is universal. Also, it aligns to the whole "low pressure / chill" vibe that we aim for. A diner is also a place where people cook, so there's that too!

Fun Fact: While everything looks very retro American diner, the logo is actually inspired by Rodic's Diner, a popular local food establishment!

Quick Share: The set times poster was supposed to be called "Menu", but it kinda implies that we're eating people... which sounds inappropriate, so I didn't call it that. HAHAHA

We want to offer various kinds of experiences, especially to beginner DJs. From the usual 1-hour set at a gig (the main LTC event), to possibly longer sets in club nights or all-nighters ("Upsize"), a residency perhaps ("Meal Prep"), B2B sets ("Combo Meal" or "Paresan", lmao), etc. All the names are going to be food-related!

The initial idea is to let beginner DJs experience these various contexts, while playing the music they want. Kinda like making a curriculum. I feel like "the curriculum" now is just learn how to DJ, then upload a mix, and that's it, which I feel like is just the beginning of the journey... and the rest of the learning experience is like a big ass shrugging emoji 🤷, and I'm like "tf? 🥴"

Speaking of "learn how to DJ", I wanna do a workshop! We started from one! Also, it opens the opportunity to add more people to our already growing talent pool.

Yeah... we're adding to the growing number of channels of mixes on Youtube. 😂 To be honest, I personally think we're NOT trying to be like the next Boiler Room or Book Club Radio. I don't know yet how we're gonna do this (like how would it look like), but my only hope is that it's kinda aligned to it as a recording for the DJ to 1.) use as proof of work, but more importantly, 2.) go back to to take notes ("Oh that transition was actually good", "This song's kinda out of place", etc.)

I don't want it to be just another "DJ in booth with crowd at the back" or "recording of a house party I wasn't able to attend".

I think I'm going to have a battle with the idea of "Mixes on Youtube as a marketing tool" when thinking about this.

On the other hand, we may also do just audio on Soundcloud or Mixcloud... and/or maybe commission mixes as part of another form of programming ("Lutong Bahay / Home-cooked"?!)

Personally, I think LTC can have its own place in 10 years. I don't know if it will look like a bar / club for us to hold events in, or it will look like a studio — see Pirate Studios, which also holds open deck events at their studios — for any DJ to practice in.

Having a larger scale event would be nice, like an electronic music + food festival! Lots of DJs in a couple of stages / tents + lots of food merchants serving good food. We can also just have our own stage / area at a music festival or bigger event, say "Let Them Cook Stage at Wanderland or UNKNWN." 😳

While these sound huge / materialistic, what matters most to us is that we're able to give an opportunity to someone. What if because of our gig, someone gets discovered and gets booked even more? What if a bunch of people in our talent pool becomes friends and makes their own event series, and then becomes big? Having each DJ do a set for one of our events is already a huge success to us. 💖

If this sounds interesting to you, a beginner or experienced DJ, and you wanna join in the fun and be a chef, please follow @letthemcook.ph on Instagram and DM us! We'll send next steps after, but I'll give you a heads up and say that we'll look for any proof that you're a DJ (can be a mix you did at home and uploaded online, or a poster to a gig you were part of the lineup).

If you want to help out in other ways (ex. be a photographer, help in producing the video recordings, own or run a bar where your looking for people to play, etc. etc. etc., feel free to DM us on Instagram, or email us at letthemcook.ph@gmail.com

If you want to just attend our events, our first event, "Amuse-Bouche" is happening on Saturday at Comuna! The best part? Entrance is FREE!

An "amuse-bouche" is like an appetizer, except it's served free and the chef usually makes it to give you a glimpse of their style. Kinda like the event... where it's free... and gives you a glimpse of 1.) the music the DJs play, and 2.) what LTC is all about!

Cooking on the decks are Chynna, Kosmos Khaos, Kadiliman (Kyle), and DJ Better Living (me), from 3 in the afternoon, 'til 9 in the evening. Yup! We're partying and resting early! 🔥

BTW, Comuna's food & beverage tenants will be open during their usual operating hours, and coinciding LTC are a few more F&B pop-ups, so go check them out and fill your tummies!

As for future events, we originally intended for this to happen every other month, but with the number of interested DJs already, we're highly considering doing this monthly. 😳

Either way, follow us on Instagram to get the latest updates!

Anyways, that’s about it for this post. If you think this was interesting, consider collecting this post! It can help fund this event too!

Or if you want to just get the latest blog posts from me, consider subscribing! You’ll get an email every time I put out a new post (and I rarely do so, so it’s not spammy, lol).

I started writing this hours before entering the festival gates, and I am just filled with excitement... which is weird because 98% of the time, IDK anyone in the lineup or have only heard 1-2 songs or just the hits. After the previous events (heck, even years after), some I started listening to casually from time to time, some of the local acts I've watched and enjoyed in smaller events and have loved ever since, and in the rarest of occasions, I've even became friends with.

BTW, I saw comments that this year's lineup is "mid", and I couldn't care less because even if I attended any of the previous years, I still don't know or am not a huge fan of anyone. (Yes, even Carly Rae Jepsen.)

So why am I sentimental about attending this music and arts festival?! It has something to do with me growing up becoming a graphic designer and event organizer.

I'm gonna go back to 2014, probably the first time that the name "Wanderland" actually got stuck in my head. This was the time that I've become aware of music festivals globally. As a fan of electronic music, I found out about music festivals like Ultra Music Festival in Miami (and various parts of the world) and Tomorrowland in Belgium. What got me excited during those first years of being aware of these events were the stages. Every year the stages will look different, I always look forward to seeing each year's look, and I sometimes just search it up from time to time to just be in awe again.

These events are huge inspirations to me as a graphic designer because it's like making a different world every year, especially Tomorrowland, which actually has a theme every year.

Now let's go back to Wanderland. On its 3rd edition (2015, the year after I got Wanderland's existence implanted in my brain), they had a "Camp" theme. When I saw the poster, I immediately thought "OH. Are they going to have a new theme every year ALSO?!" You bet your ass they did. Carnival, Camp, Space, Jungle, Arcade, Magic, Sports, and now Neighborhood. Just like how I get excited every year to see the stages of Ultra and Tomorrowland, I also look forward to seeing what the theme will be for Wanderland. I legit have a note on my Notes app with a list of previous themes Wanderland has already made, and some ideas I have (like Kingdom, Desert, Museum, and Cinema)

The graphic designer me also always look forward to how the theme would be interpreted in digital collaterals and how they're decorating the whole event space, so I also check out photos of the event once it's done.

Growing up and trying to be in-the-know of music festivals around the globe, I see people post A LOT of photos and videos of their experiences online. Moments of fans being able to sing out loud songs that have connected with them in a deeply personal level, and moments of just plain hanging out with friends. Seeing how people connect with each other in these events is what made me also want to do events.

While my events aren't gigs or music festivals as of writing (I let anyone give presentations on random-ass topics while drunk, lmao), I want to be able to make those kinds of events too. I want to enable people to feel a lot in the spectrum of emotions. While I consider myself as a business-minded person (thinking of revenue, profit margins, possible losses, etc.), my number one KPI always is that I let people connect with other people. My little event lets people express themselves, be passionate about something or be silly, and every attendee gets it. A music festival fosters connections through music and community, and that's why I want to make one as well. If the overall sentiment of attendees is that they had a great time, then I think I accomplished my mission.

I think the one thing people would like to know was if there were a lot of people, and based from stories from friends, it's significantly less. I got to go to the front of the stage for each set I watched, or at least somewhere near that I can still see the artist. Lines for food and the toilets were not long so it was stress-free... and I was expecting wayyy worse, so I think I haven't really had a full-on music festival experience. 😅

Aside from the usual "going with friends", I also saw some families there (Yes, even grandparents)! IDK if this is just because of their new "Kids under 8 go for free" or this has been a thing this whole time, but it was super cute to see. Like "YES, go run around, dance, and feel free, kids! ADULTS, BE AWARE WHEN DANCING AND DON'T HARM THE KIDS!" (Note: I don't like kids. Me being able to have this thought says a lot about the vibe in Wanderland.)

To address the elephant in the room, yes, I just vibed throughout the performances I watched. But here are some rapid fire thoughts on the acts I watched:

• Ena Mori - I'm so happy to see her on the Wanderland stage. She deserves it.

• Jose Miguel - Dear lord, WHAT A VOICE. 😍😭

• Beenzino - His vibe is just infectious. His music + seeing him live = You feel that vibe as well.

• HWASA - I needed a longer set. That was too short for such an energizing performer.

• Thundercat - Was just in awe with the talent and skill he has.

• Parcels - The highlight of my Wanderland experience. Great stuff.

They are all great discoveries for me.

I'm going to be dramatic now. After I entered the gates on Day 1, going around the whole festival grounds, I was just in awe. To be fair, it's just a bunch of booths and the stage that were set up, but to finally see things that I've only seen in pictures, it's something else for me. When I was seated in the middle of the two stages, I had a few tears. To be face-to-face with what has got to be the biggest stage set-up I've seen in my life (so far, lol), the focal point of the whole event that I've been following for more than a decade, a lot of emotions were felt. "I'm finally here", "I want to do something like this", "Someday I will do something like this, and of this scale".

Before I end this post, I want to thank a few people.

My friends Nikka and Bea, for buying me a ticket last year when Wanderland announced a new kind of ticket, the "Loyal Wanderer" promo, where tickets are only sold at the venue, and at its lowest price. I'd say that I wouldn't be able to attend Wanderland if it weren't for y'all.

To Gana, my gig buddy for almost a decade now, for being open to the idea of buying the Loyal Wanderer ticket last year and joining me in this experience. You're more likely to be a fan of someone from the international lineup, so that really checks out. 😂 Just want to mention to the reader that we sometimes forget that we're going, and that's what happens when you buy a ticket one year in advance.

To the Karpos team, for being a huge inspiration, even though our music tastes are not alike. I can't wait for next year. (Please get local neo-boyband KINDRED in the lineup.) 💖

Anyways, here's some photos.

In case you want to have an idea on some logistical stuff as an attendee, here's some thoughts on the price of stuff, lines, etc.:

• Food = PHP 200-400++ for a main dish, PHP 150-200 for a side.

• Drinks = PHP 50-100 for bottled water and softdrinks. Bring a water bottle instead, refills are free!!! Beer from San Miguel is at PHP 150, cocktails from Johnnie Walker at PHP 200-300. Cocktails are more worth it because it hits me more than a bottle of beer.

• Merch = Smaller items are around PHP 250-500, Shirts are at PHP 1,000. Artist merch and previous official merch are also available. I got a shirt from last year's official collection at PHP 850.

• Lines = Remember that this was a significantly smaller crowd. There were no lines for toilets and merch. I had many visits to the toilets in Day 2 thanks to the free water bottle refills and never encountered a line throughout the whole day. Lines for food were not as long, but the wait for your order can take 10-15 minutes.

• Payment Methods = Some accepted card (specifically Johnnie Walker and the merch booth). GCash is accepted, but signal is low af, so good luck with that. Cash is the best way to go. I think the alternative to using cash (for eWallets and cards) was using Grab to order food and just picking it up when it's already made, but again, signal was low, so I didn't try that option too.

• Transportation = I'm honestly just one long jeep ride away from the venue, so going there was easy (and cheap!) Was able to book a motorcycle taxi home minutes after the event. (Hooray for getting signal immediately at the most important time!) Almost the whole crowd was gone in minutes! A motorcycle taxi ride to/from my place in Parañaque is at PHP 150. I highly suggesting commuting as near to the venue as possible before booking a ride.

Anyways, that’s about it for this post. If you think this was interesting, consider collecting this post.

Or if you want to just get the latest blog posts from me, consider subscribing! You’ll get an email every time I put out a new post (and I rarely do so, so it’s not spammy, lol).

I want to set aside different amounts of money to different bank accounts for various reasons. These reasons being:

1. Savings

2. Payments for my insurance (and possibly an HMO in the future)

3. A fund for the higher-priced items I want (like a smart TV or a new laptop)

4. A fund that I can use when I’m funemployed, and

5. Payments to my yearly subscriptions

It was kinda hard for me because I didn’t have banks which allows me to make a lot of accounts for small amounts of money. An account in a traditional bank has a required average daily balance, and if you go lower that you pay a fee.

I tried out a digital bank to try accomplish my goal, but there was just something petty I didn’t like about it. In total fairness, I don’t regularly check that bank, so I don’t end up spending the money I set aside there. Transferring to a bank I regularly withdraw from costs a fee or takes time, so it lessens the chances of me spending the money for gigs and splurges.

I have accounts in a few banks which offers various kinds of products. I took some time checking all of them out, including banks I’ve never used before, comparing them to one another. Here’s my thoughts on them and my plan moving forward!

What I’m currently using

Quick Rundown: BPI, Unionbank, CIMB, GCash, Maya (both wallet and bank)

I have various accounts in 3 banks, all with small amounts of money in them (one just has PHP 14, about USD 0.36)

My personal bank account has always been BPI, even since I was a kid.

I got a Unionbank account because the company that I worked for had their payroll there. I still use it to receive my salary in other companies I’ve worked for if that’s where they also do their payroll.

I mainly opened a GSave account (under CIMB, a digital bank, via GCash) because using the various features of GCash can make me unlock GCredit — which I wanted.

Because I wanted to set aside money for various reasons in various accounts, the higher interest rates (compared to traditional banks) led me to open the other types of accounts being offered by CIMB (Fast Plus and UpSave), so I now have 3 under CIMB.

I tried out Maya’s Savings feature (which is their main difference from GCash) just because of the higher interest rate, which is paid daily and not monthly.

For eWallets, I only use GCash and Maya as my eWallets. Other than using them for daily expenses, I also use them to pay bills. I do it there instead of the apps of the banks mentioned earlier because I’m aiming to raise my credit scores for GCredit and Maya Credit (where they don’t mention what is yours), and probably to take advantage of their loan products (like GGives and GLoan).

Thinking about it now, maybe I should actually be doing it through the banks especially if I want to get a credit card from them… Oh well, I don’t really trust our current financial system that much, so why not try new forms of it? (With regards to the last part, yes, I am interested in crypto and its various use cases — one being finance.)

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What I’ll be using moving forward

Quick Rundown: BPI, Unionbank, Tonik, Maya Bank. The eWallets will always be present.

I’ll always have a BPI account. I plan to just let it be where I receive my salary and also where my personal monthly allowance for daily expenses (mainly food and commuting) will stay.

I’ve thought about closing my Unionbank account because I use it less than how I use BPI when both are kind of the same for me. I ended up thinking that I should keep it as a back up account to receive my salary.

I’m letting go of my CIMB accounts, and switching to Tonik, another digital bank. As mentioned earlier, I want to have various accounts for various reasons. While my CIMB accounts serve that purpose, I don’t like how each has its own interest rate. GSave is 2.6%, UpSave is 2.5%, and Fast Plus is 0.75%. While they have different amounts deposited in them and that interest earned will really differ from each account, I want them all to have the same interest. It’s just less information for me to have in mind.

Tonik allows me to make up to 5 Stashes (equivalent to CIMB’s UpSave — which you can make up to 10 accounts — and somehow like Maya Bank’s Goals), which I’m planning to use for the various reasons mentioned earlier.

One of the reasons I’m switching is interest rates. Tonik and CIMB have lowered their interest rates already. The high 6% and 4% respectively were pretty much just for promotion when they were just starting, so I’m not surprised they lowered them, and don’t really expect it to go lower soon. Tonik is now giving 4%, while CIMB’s highest is 2.6%.

While there are other digital banks giving higher interest rates, I still chose Tonik because I expect the other digital banks to lower interest rates too, and because the higher interests are really for time deposit accounts. This means that you can add more to the account, but you’ll pay a fee if ever you want to close it earlier than your specified date. This is also the case for Maya Bank’s Goals. I don’t want that, and this is the main reason I chose Tonik.

Maya Bank will serve as my actual savings account because their interest rate is 4% compared to CIMB’s 2.6% for GSave, and Tonik’s 1% for the main savings account.

Not related, but interesting

Before I start, I just want to say that this is about crypto. So if you don’t care about learning something new, you may stop reading already. Personally, I think this is interesting because I kind of have not seen something exactly like it in any bank.

In crypto, there’s this thing called “smart contracts” which anyone can program to do anything the ecosystem can do. One example are Split smart contracts. What it does is instantly split the crypto sent to the smart contract to various accounts. It can by percentage or by specified amounts. You can make one here without learning how to code.

Here’s some samples:

BTW, don’t mind the “ENS not found”. Basically you should put a valid crypto wallet address, haha.

If I’m being paid in crypto, this is actually a convenient way of doing what I want to accomplish. Banks and eWallets have an Auto-Transfer feature which kinda allows you to do the same, but you have to switch through various apps in order to set them up, copy and pasting or entering account details.

Not to mention, there are fees with transferring to different banks. BPI charges PHP 50, while GCash, Maya, and Unionbank charges PHP 10-15, and the free-to-use PESONet has a cut-off time and will send the money later. A Split just costs a one-time fee to deploy.

Some fun facts about it:

• You can put a Split as a recipient for another Split.

• An interesting use case for Splits is paying collaborators for something you sold

  • Example: A recording artist selling music digitally with sales going to a Split so that collaborators, like the graphic artist for the cover art, can also instantly get a cut from that sale. Here’s a link to one of the many times this was done.

Anyways, that’s about it for this post. If you think this was interesting, consider collecting this post so that I can fill up those financial goals faster, hahaha.

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