Bus Ride of a Lifetime

Been to Bulacan last night for business expansion. And after a few months of self-imposed isolation from the business, I was asked to present the business structure to potential business partners. Boy, was I nervous. I couldn't read my notes right, and my thoughts were disorganized, to say the least.

It's kinda funny that whenever I join my business partners for these trips I end up with a more positive outlook in life, however bad my day was before I accompany them. I believe that it's as Kuya Mike says, "You don't have to search far and wide to have a more positive outlook in life. If you know the right people, and you hang out with them more, then you'll have a more positive outlook as well. Hawa-hawa lang yan."

More positive people please! I'll take them anytime of the day.

I Really Should...

...dedicate an entire gallery for my nephew. I enjoy taking pictures of him and, at the same time, perfecting my photography skills.



Picture taken by yours truly, using my (sister's) Sony CyberShot DSC-S40. Roxas District, Quezon City. December 25, 2007.

It's the New Year!

This is what New Year is supposed to be. Glorious fun with family, friends, food, and booze.

Picture taken by yours truly, using my (sister's) Sony CyberShot DSC-S40. Quezon City, Philippines. New Year 2008.

Threesome

Gheof, pa-kopya ng picture! :P

Spent almost the whole of December 16th with Trix and Gheof at the Mall of Asia and Global Fun. A whole day of fun with friends. Makes the whole friendship thing worthwhile (not that it wasn't worthwhile to begin with).

Wishing this could happen more often.

Picture taken by yours truly, on Gheof's mobile phone (sorry, forgot what model it was). Global Fun, Pasay City, December 16, 2007.

New Year, New Life

This is it. Only a few days left before the New Year. As I mentioned previously, it's time to end my one-year vacation from reality. I've already put in my last hour in handling other people's (virtual) money. Well, actually, the work wasn't getting to me; I kinda liked the nature of the work. What I was increasingly discontent about were the working hours I have to put in, as well as differences in... well, let's just say I wasn't too happy about an incident that happened just this month.

Oh well, water under the bridge.

I shouldn't start the New Year with such thoughts. I don't want to be contaminated for the whole year.

Anyway, what I'm looking forward to next year are things I have to make happen, no matter what. I've already checked out quite a few details of what I hope to be doing next year; I just need to finalize some details before I actually do it.



Happy New Year!!

Picture taken by Trix Gumban, March 2005, UST Manila.

Moving On

...Time to end this one-year vacation from reality. Nothing can be gained from remaining here. And I have no more desire or will power to keep on carrying the world on my shoulders. I'll leave that for the shoulders of others foolish enough to keep on carrying that weight. Time to move on.

Catching the Photography Bug

One of my earliest experimental pictures (ha! I even used myself as a guinea pig for such a thing). Photography has always been a subject of amazement for me, especially since I've been able to see for myself the works of professional photographers (well, not the formal ones, anyway). I guess that was when I started to get the photography bug.

When I actually started taking pictures, it's been usually taken using OPC (other people's cameras). Of course, that was the most inexpensive way for me to be able to learn to take pictures. Of course, anyone can point a camera at anything and take a picture, but I guess it takes real skill to be able to use the surroundings to emphasize or complement whatever it is you're taking a picture of. I remember Kuya Mike (fashion photographer and proprietor of QF Studio on Holy Spirit Drive) saying, "Nakakalibre ka ng photography lessons sa akin ah!" Makes me feel I should take formal lessons, as there are lots of things I have yet to learn about photography.

Wishlist for next year (well, for anything and everything photography-related):

• a basic Sony CyberShot camera
• a good-quality digital SLR camera
• supply of high-capacity memory cards
• a variety of lenses (I've been wanting to experiment with fish-eye lenses for quite some time now)

Of course, I'd have to make sure my wallet doesn't suffer too much.

(Feeling) Model: Yours truly. Photo credits by yours truly. Taken using my (sister's) Sony Cybershot DSC-40 and a mirror wall. Hyatt Regency Manila, October 2006.

Marié Digby

She's Marié Digby (pronounced mar-ee-ay), a singer who started posting her videos on YouTube and has now signed a contract with Hollywood Records. Hope she goes a long way in the industry.

If perchance I were to become a comet...

I looked up at the night sky alone and saw a comet go by
It popped up for a split second then disappeared again
When I think of you I start to hurt
I want to see you now, but I can't fly through the sky

If I were to become a comet
I could fly through the sky
No matter what happens tomorrow, this thought is strong
So this comet will never break up

When I complain about the rain
Even now I remember what you said
After the rains, the stars will brilliantly come out again
When I think about that, I guess I could like the rain too

If I were to become a comet
I would shed an overflowing light
And whenever you were sad, looking up at the night sky
I'd shine even brighter, so that you would smile

You are always alone fighting something
I can't do anything but be next to you, but

If I were to become a comet
I'd surely fly through the sky
And this instance of light would definitely reach you
Lighting you up for that time, flying around the sky

If I were to become a comet
I'd always be next to you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go Youn-ha, or Yunna in Japanese, is a Korean K-Pop and J-Pop singer. Yup, K-Pop and J-Pop. Yup, she's Korean. She's active in Japan, speaks Japanese well, and is one of the few Koreans to rank on the Oricon chart. Gotta love her.

The song featured above, Houkiboshi (Jap. Comet), is Younha's second single released on June 1, 2005, and was used as the third ending song for the animé Bleach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yozora o miage hitori houkiboshi o mita no
Isshun de hajikete wa kiete shimatta kedo
Anata no koto omou to mune ga itaku naru no
Ima sugu aitai yo dakedo sora wa tobenai kara

Moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba
Sora kakenuke tonde iku, donna
Ashita ga kite mo ko no omoi wa tsuyoi
Dakara houkiboshi zutto kowarenai yo

Ame ga futte iyada to boyaiteita toki ni
Anata ga itta koto ima demo oboeteru
Ame no ato no yozora wa kirei ni hoshi ga deru
Sore o kangaeru to ame mo suki ni nareru yo ne to

Moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba
Afureru hikari furasu yo itsumo
Kanashii toki yozora miru anata ga
Egao ni naru youni motto kagayakitai

Anata wa itsumo hitori nanika to tatakatteru
Soba ni iru koto shika atashi ni wa dekinai kedo

Moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba
Sora kakenuke tonde iku kitto
Kanarazu todoku ko no isshun no hikari de
Anata no IMA terashi sora o megurou

Atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba
Kitto soba ni ite ageru, donna toki mo

Thoughts

Is there a written rule somewhere that identifies what type of relationship you have with someone over the phone? I seem to be hearing that quite a lot nowadays. I've known a lot of guys who are normally loud whenever they talk, but when it comes to phone conversations with a girlfriend (or a boyfriend, in some instances), the decibel range of his voice ranges from just audible to near-silent. It's kinda funny that way, actually, since others would immediately assume that the person you're talking to on the other end is a girlfriend, and the immediately drop comments like "Alak pa!", or "Binibitin mo naman yung ka-table mo eh!", or even worse, "Akala ko ba 'tong kasama natin yung girlfriend mo? Ba't may iba ka pang kausap d'yan?"

I recently heard someone speaking in this manner. I'd say it was pretty obvious that there was some hanky-panky involved. Why, you ask? The guy (whom I heard on the phone) was married, and his wife was in the other room at the time, and therefore couldn't be the one the guy was speaking to. I would have said "Way to go! You're really a hit with the ladies!", but then it got me thinking. Is it really such a good idea to fool around with somebody else when you're already married? Now, among my family members, almost all the male members have had their own share of dalliances, but I guess they got over it already. What does it really prove, anyway? Is it a requisite for being a real man's man? Is it really worth risking a marriage?

Call me silly, but I really don't believe in playing around when you're already married or committed. If you're single, then by all means go ahead and be a player if you want to. I know I haven't had my share of relationships (not so much from lack of opportunity, but from other reasons), but I'd say I wouldn't be able to do that. Never say never, though (as I know the temptation will always be there), but I think I'd rather burn all that excess energy in chasing women BEFORE I get married. Or maybe not. I'd rather spend my energy (and money) looking for someone with whome I can have a real relationship, not some one-night-stand who I won't be calling the morning after, anyway.

Inday! Ang Sosyal na Katulong

Amo: Inday, bumili ka nga ng mga isda.Oo nga pala, Inglesera ka na ngayon. Would you please purchase many fishes for our food this week?
Inday: Judging from your statement, I believe you meant a variety of fish. The term “fishes”, although rarely used, connotes a plethora or an array of different kind of afformentioned gilled creatures. But the more pressing question before I traverse the road to the market would be : What certain type of fish? Fillet or not? Frozen or just right smack the day’s catch?
(pauses)
Aaahhh….by manner of careful extrapolation, given the meager budget of this household’s quasi-peasant middle class taste, I assume then that I will source the staple ga-lewng-gowng, am I correct?
Amo: Leche!
Inday: You meant the freshwater milkfish? Then, ba-ngooz, is it?
(Hanep, hindi lang nosebleed, internal hemorrage pa!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a sample of the many text messages that were circulated regarding the life and times of Inday, ang Sosyal na Katulong. Now Inday has her own blog! If by any chance you missed out on any of her trademark comments, you can check it out at Blog ni Inday. Be sure to check out her Biodata! Heh heh heh...

Finally!

For a few months I felt as if I've been sent back to the Industrial Age. Well, my computer broke down (I think it was just time for that computer to finally be put to rest). Well, right now I feel revived, or more accurately, reborn. I got a new PC today! Yes! I'm back in the blogging world! Hehehehe :P

Watch for a few more updates in the coming days! :P

Double X Powered!

Me. On top of a wall. Powered by Nutrilite Double X. 'Nuff said.

Picture taken by Ritche Gorospe, 25 August 2007, Le Pavilion Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

Dreams

I have a phlegmatic personality. Yes, I am pessimistic by nature. Yes, I am also an introvert - I'd much rather spend my time reading or watching videos than interacting with other people (at least people I do know personally, anyway). But that's not to say I don't have dreams of my own. Every so often, I find myself wondering about what I want to be doing in a few years' time. But pessimism rears its big ugly head more often than not - engulfing my visions of paradise in roaring flames of disappointment.

Whatever. I do have dreams. I do want to make my dreams come true (though, of course, that is limited to those dreams that are physically possible). For instance, I don't want to spend the next 40 or so years of my life working at a job I don't really enjoy, and finally retiring with 40% less than what I made in my whole career working. And there are other dreams I want to make into reality. Sometimes it's what keeps me going during those tough times.

As a wise man once said, not all our dreams come true. But those dreams that come true would not have come true were it not for an idea to make it into reality. Now, all it should take for our dreams to become reality is for the right idea to keep us striving to fulfill our dreams.

Live in the present, but place importance on dreams as well. It really helps a whole lot.

Finally!

Yes, I finished Book 7 of Harry Potter. Yes, my previous post about the so-called "spoiler" wannabe is totally unnecessary. Yes, what he mentioned about the story is a pile of do-do. But no, it didn't take me more than a week to finish Book 7.

I went to claim my order from Trixie last Saturday. Months and months of waiting, all to be gratified, with all questions to be answered. The final leg of Harry's journey into the Wizarding world is upon us (Now, I'm actually kinda glad I ordered from Trixie, since I was able to avoid the tidal wave of Muggles all eager to pursue Harry's adventure in the final installment of Harry Potter; I have to repay her back somehow).

Well, suffice to say that I was able to finish reading the book by Monday morning (I would have been able to finish the book by Sunday morning, had I not have had some other things to do as well). I was almost teary-eyed as a lot of the characters met their ends. But the final showdown, the epic battle, whatever you might wish to call it - that really was the best! Kudos to Ms. Rowling for such an amazing run with her brainchild.

Now, if only Jo would satisfy the needs of all the Harry Potter fans and complete her planned writing of the Harry Potter encyclopedia...

No Spoilers!

Amazing how some people would go to such lengths to spoil other people's happiness.

(I guess I don't have to hide the text anymore, as the information that the hacker supposedly got from the publisher is a load of - well, you know what I mean :P )
[BEGIN]
************************************************************
* Harry Potter 0day
*
************************************************************

Dear my brothers,

Voldemort killed Hermione. Yes, that's true. And we knew that 2 days ago.

This is the end of the not yet published (someone could call that 0day) book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

At the end of the story Hagrid was killed by Snape in the attempt of ambush Hermione and Ron.
Ron and Hermione flees in privet drive but Voldermort, surprising them, engaged a magical duel with Ron and Hermione.

Voldemort attacked trough the imperius curse and Hermione, to protect the life of Ron fight hardly for more than 6 pages and then finally die.
(boring, very boring... it's always the same story!)

Then, to make a long story short, Harry came up, killed all the bad guys and Hogwarts against became a good place to stay and have fun.

Ah, i missed one important information about Draco Malfoy, he started to create Horcrux (for fun and profit!).
The end.
************************************************************

Yes, we did it.
We did it by following the precious words of the great Pope Benedict XVI when he still was Cardinal Josepth Ratzinger.
He explained why Harry Potter bring the youngs of our earth to Neo Paganism faith.

So we make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring.

The attack strategy was the easiest one.
The usual milw0rm downloaded exploit delivered by email/click-on-the-link/open-browser/click-on-this-animated-icon/back-connect to some employee of Bloomsbury Publishing, the company that's behind the Harry crap.

It's amazing to see how much people inside the company have copies and drafts of this book.
Curiosity killed the cat.

Who kill curiosity?

To protect you and your families

God bless you

Gabriel
[END]
Quite amazing, really.

By the way, I don't believe that Harry Potter is a vehicle of Neo-Paganism. I mean, come on! We're all rational people here, right? And just to get things straight: I'm Catholic. I am secure in my faith, and my being Catholic doesn't prevent me from enjoying the Harry Potter books. Conversely, my enjoying the Harry Potter books doesn't prevent me from fulfilling my duties as a Catholic. It's not as if my reading these books will damage or shatter my faith in God, since I understand (as I am quite sure many others who read Harry Potter do) that Harry Potter is a work of fiction. And if anyone who reads the books understand this fact, then there's no way that this will damage one's faith in God.

Now, I hope nobody will say that the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings are works pertaining to the devil, and that Jack and the Beanstalk is blasphemy. That would be too much.

Tabemashou!

Out of sheer boredom, I thought about my answers to the following questions. ANyway, here they are:

Ano ang iyong almusal kanina? (What did you have for breakfast today?)

A tin of Del Monte's Fruit Express with Passionfruit juice. I work crazy hours, so I almost never eat breakfast on breakfast time. For the most part, if I'm not sleepy at breakfast time, I eat whatever light fare is available.

Ikaw ay may itlog — nilagang itlog. Paano mo ito kakainin? (You have a hardboiled egg. How will you eat it?)

Depends on whatever I'm craving for at the time I possess said hardboiled egg. Usually, though, I just eat the hardboiled egg as is - no seasoning, no rice, no bread, no nothing - just the pure, eggy goodness.

Ano ang paborito mong local na junkfood? (What's your favorite local - meaning Filipino- junkfood?)

Does Boy Bawang count? Hehe.

Actually, there isn't much that I don't like to eat (obviously), though I'm trying to cut down on my junk food intake. But on a normal day, if I can get my hands on any of the following, then my daily snack problem is taken care of: V-Cut Barbecue, Taquitos Ranch Barbecue, Chippy Chili n Cheese, Chiz Curls, Potato Chips, Piknik Chisnak (yes, the ones that cost 1 peso per small snack pack).

Ikaw ay kinuhang TOP CHEF sa isang engrandeng pagtitipon. Ano ang iyong ihahain sa mga bisita? (Note: Ang mga pagkain na ihahain mo ay ang mga alam mong lutuin. Bawal magsinungaling) (You have been made Top Chef for a grand affair. What will you serve? Note: You can only serve what you know how to make yourself. No lying.)

I experiment a lot with my food, so I do know a thing or two about cooking. as to what I would serve, hmmm, let me see...

- Caesar salad with fresh Parmesan cheese

- Penne Rigate pasta in meaty red sauce with cheesy white topping

- Steak ala Pobre with homemade gravy

- Mango Bravo (I'm gonna cheat a bit on this, since I don't usually make dessert, so I'll settle for the Mango Bravo, available at Conti's)

- a good red or white wine (I'm never really sure which goes with what, when it comes to wine)

Kung ikaw ay makakain sa restaurant ngayon din, saang restaurant ka pupunta at bakit? (If you can go to a restaurant right now, which would you choose and why?)

Good question. Right now I'm not really craving for anything in particular. But if I really had to choose, I'd say Teriyaki Boy. I'm kinda missing their Mapo Tofu, and theirs is one of the good ones I've tasted so far (bit funny, though, as it's a Szechuan original cuisine, yet a Japanese-themed restaurant is serving it).

Saang restaurant mo gustong makapunta, pero di ka lang nakakarating pa? (What restaurant would you want to visit, which you haven't been to yet?)

I'd say the restaurants of either Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Cat Cora, or Masaharu Morimoto (Yes, they're all Iron Chefs).

May pizza sa harap mo. Ano ang ayaw mong makitang topping sa pizza mo? (There's a pizza in front of you. What don't you want to see on your pizza?)

Anchovies. Anything but anchovies on my pizza.

Ano ang madalas mong orderin sa Jollibee? (What do you often order at Jollibee?)

1-piece Chickenjoy with rice, dalandan juice, and if I feel the need for dessert, either the Strawberry Cream Frost Blend or Ube Keso Ice Craze.

Paano magluto ng Sinigang? Marunong ka ba? (How does one cook Sinigang? Do you know how?)

When it comes to sinigang, I am much more adept at consuming it than at preparing it. I prefer either a really (I mean REALLY) sour sinigang with tamarind and lots and lots of gabi, labanos, and kangkong, or sinigang sa bayabas.

Ikaw ay may fried chicken sa harap mo. Ano ang dapat niyang kapartner para masarap ang kain? (You have fried chicken before you. What would be its perfect pair?)

Siyempre, rice!

Oh, wait, are we talking about dips and sauces? In that case, I like dipping my fried chicken in Mang Tomas Hot and Spicy All-Around Sarsa. I also like mixing ketchup with soy sauce, McCormick's Crushed Chili Peppers, and a small amount of calamansi juice. Yum yum!

Kumakain ka ba ng dinuguan? Alam mo ba kung saan ito gawa? (Do you eat Dinuguan? Do you know what it's made of?)

Yup, but I only prefer the Nueva Ecija style of dinuguan (called tinumis). I think it utilizes tamarind instead of vinegar. Of course, dinuguan is not dinuguan without pork blood.

Missing You

"...Like a cold summer afternoon / Like the snow coming down in June / Like a wedding without a groom / I'm missing you / I'm the desert without the sand / You're the woman without a man / I'm the ring without a hand / I'm missing you..." Case, Missing You

A lot's been happening to me, and yet nothing much has happened. Work, family, friends, my other work (which I hope I can improve on in order to replace my original line of work), and other stuff leaves me almost no time for resting, let alone blogging. Somehow, I miss a lot of the days when I was busy and yet having fun.

Case#1: school - Nowadays, I'd much rather be in school than at work. It's easier to remedy your mistakes in school than at work.

Case#2: school org - Yup. I had what I believe to be the most fun being in an org. Lots of pressure, but with very big rewards.

Well anyway, that's life. Cherish the memories of moments past, but don't delay in moving onward.

~~~~~~~~~~

I keep telling my folks at home that I don't have a steady girlfriend right now. Same with some of my other friends. Right now, I don't have time to go steady with a girl (wow, I'm beginning to sound old. Is the phrase "going steady" still being used nowadays?). Well, that plus the fact that I don't have much cash to spend on dates and movies and whatnot (I believe in going on dates only if you have enough money to spend). It's not like there aren't any girls whom I'd like to date. But I do miss the feeling of being in a relationship.

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm planning to take up photography lessons sometime in the next few weeks or so. Good thing I know an up-and-coming photographer with his own studio who's willing to teach me for free. Well, not exactly free, since we're partners in a business venture he came up to me with. But anyways, it sure beats going to photography school.

Techie Repression

I can't surf at home! My PC's in one of those days when you can't browse the web, a lot of things are going wrong with the system, and the system doesn't respond as fast as it used to. Well, I could still watch online episodes of Bleach at home, but it would take probably 45 minutes to 1 hour to watch a 23-minute episode, even with DSL. Darn it!

So here I am, making a shopping list for my PC. New hard drive, more memory, maybe a video card and a sound card, but my top priority right now would be the hard drive and the memory. Ubos na naman ang sweldo ko. Where's a pot of gold when you need one?

Hmmm... might as well buy a new PC. Or maybe a laptop. Maybe later, when I'm already earning twice as much as I do now.

Good Times

Watched Spiderman 3 yesterday with Trixie and Gheof. It was actually my bright idea to ask them to go to the movies, since it was Labor Day yesterday, so they had no work (unfortunately for me, it didn't apply to my work sked since it's during the US holidays that we don't have work). Anyway, we went to Gateway for the first movie screening. Lo and behold, a lot of other people apparently had the same idea, so the Gateway Cineplex was literally crawling with people intent on one thing: Spiderman 3.

Anyway, I digress. The movie was very good, but that's not the whole point. I enjoyed going out with my best buds from school, something that we've never done since college (actually, I've gone with Trixie to the movies, but it was just the two of us, so I don't think it should count). It was the same good thing, albeit a little more sosyal, as we obviously had more money to spend now than when we were in college. Coffee in Figaro, bookhunting at Fully Booked, movie watching at the Cineplex, late lunch at Cafe Ten Titas, searching for Haagen-Dazs ice cream and a bunch of chocolates at Rustan's - these were things we certainly couldn't have afforded back in college.

Isa na lang ang kulang: si Rheza. Were she here, I'm sure the whole movie bonding experience would have been much more enjoyable. Rheza, uwi na sa 'Pinas, dali!!!

(Stupid me, I forgot to bring a camera. Plus, my phone wasn't charged, so I wasn't able to take pictures.)

Picture taken by Gheof Hilario, using his Nokia 3230. Taken 1 May 2007 at Cafe Ten Titas, Third Floor, Gateway.