Ranting for the nth Time

Here I am, supposedly on my 3-day vacation, yet I find myself working on the email updates that my teammates are sending me. Understandable for 2 of them since I left what they're running as incomplete, but as for the other one, I did 5 day's worth of input and all she had to do was update everything. WL P DXPTT ABSN XL DILLYENNW NSNZJXAPYQ? QLND XL DALG GABX HPYW LE GLZHNZ DAN PD. RLUITBPY EPZDX, GLZH TBXNZ.

UVDX KN ZNBT ABYWJ XL ABSN XAN KLDD BD JLVZ KNDX EZPNYW...

Exiting Gracefully

Here comes that feeling once again. I'm no longer satisfied with what I'm doing once again. No, scratch that - I find that I am resenting the fact that my workload is encroaching my personal life once again. It's not just the occasional sacrifices (it's a Philippine holiday, but it's business as usual in the other side of the world, and since my work is kept in sync with the other side of the world, then I have no choice but to report for work). There are a lot more reasons, but suffice to say that I no longer feel security in my line of work.

Time to break out that letter once again...

I'm Back! Well, Almost...

It's been more than a year since I last posted. Not because I didn't have anything to post, but because I've had no time to post. Is blogging even the in thing now? Well, now, there's nothing much to share, but I would still try to post every now and then. Not because I want everyone to read about my inner workings, but because I consider this as a sort of therapy. A way of letting off some steam.

Food for Thought

It's the New Year! Finally I'm back in the blogging world. You'd think, though, that after a year of sporadic blogging, I'd be back in full force. Still, there are few instances that happened in the past year that were blog-worthy (or I chose not to remember them, of course - that's always as good an excuse as any not to blog). But, since I got my home computer back up, I'll be able to blog with a little more regularity than last year.

Anyway, just to share a little food for thought...

"You can take a monkey out of the jungle, bathe him, dress him up in clothes, put expensive perfume... If he chooses not to change his ways, then that's all he will ever amount to - a monkey trying to pass for human."

To the Monkey Man

Man, you really outdid yourself this time. From the first glance I already knew that you were an asshole, but now you've just proven it to the rest of the world. No wonder no one likes you.

The Body Shot Boy is Getting Old!

...Damn. Gone are the days when pulling all-nighters came as naturally as breathing. Gone are the days when drinking beer all day long was my forte (not that it ever was). Gone are the days when clubbing was all the rage. Gone are the days when spending money came as easy as 1-2-3.

Now, it's all about how much OT I can render without feeling like a zombie the next working day and how much sleep I'll be able to get with my schedule. Money never stays too long in my wallet, since it goes to bills (damn this cashflow! My expenses are almost equalling my salary).

Well, that's all part of growing up (and growing old, and hopefully growing wiser as well).

I still miss the old me, though.

16-Bit Heaven

I remember the days when owning an SNES was the in-thing. Of course, the young gamers nowadays would have no idea as to what the letters stand for, and probably would not even recognize one if it hit them on the head. SNES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo's 16-bit console that was very very popular during the early to mid-nineties. Among the SNES's (then) huge library of games, one title I remember very clearly - Super Mario Paint.

I remember playing SMP with the SNES Mouse, drawing (horrible) pictures and composing (horrible) music. At best, I could make like a kid with a coloring book and choose preset pictures which I could color, or render the birthday song on SMP's music composer. But this video is completely out of my league. Younha's Houki Boshi, completely done in SMP.

Back to Work

As it states above, I'm gainfully employed once more. No more bum days. No more late-night-DVD marathons (at least, not on work nights). No more slacking. Limited time for blogging - but then again, I haven't been blogging for quite a while. At the very least, I'll be paid for rendering overtime (finally! A job with OT benefits - no more OT-Y). And hopefully, I'll be able to focus better on my five-year plan this way.

Spinning the Wheel of Fortune

"Bankrupt! Lose a turn! Big Money! Higher! Nooooo!!!"

Famous words from the Philippine version of Wheel of Fortune. After all the days that have passed, I still can't believe that I was able to go through the whole experience of being a studio contestant (and conversing with Kris Aquino, if only for a few minutes, but that's not the point).

I didn't win the big prize that I wanted (not the car - I'd rather win money than the car), but at least I was able to bring home a substantial amount of money in exchange for all the money and time I spent during the whole screening process. And of course, even if only for a few hours, I made a few more friends. And I had my fifteen minutes of fame.

Life is good.

Now is a Good Time...

...for a bookdrive.

end of the school year na. clear your shelves for the summer. kung di ka naman bumagsak, di mo na yan kailangan. i-donate mo na. go.

pwedeng ihatid sa Saguijo. pwedeng mag email sa books@rockedphilippines.org para ipasundo.

anytime is good time to give books to students who can't afford it.

PS: kung gusto nyo mag rally, mag rally kayo. kung ayaw nyo --wag. pero mag donate pa rin kayo ng libro, maski ano pa desisyon nyo tungkol sa mga politiko.


Text by: Gang Badoy

Updating

Just a week to go before my birthday. Another year to add to my bean counter called age. And, come to think of it, this will be the first time I'm celebrating my birthday while I'm still officially a bum (though I prefer the term "freelancing"). Sorry guys, guess my treat's gonna have to wait. Of course, gifts are a different matter. I accept all major credit cards, check, and COD. Just kidding.

Anyway, it's been years since I've looked forward to my birthdays. This year's no different. I've never really celebrated my birthday with cake, balloons, the works (and I don't plan on starting now). Maybe a birthday dinner with family and a few close friends, nothing too fancy.

**********

Soon on WOF! :P (keeping my fingers crossed)

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