For "Patricia"

...whoever you are.

First off, the Patricia story: Believe it or not, someone e-mailed and asked me why I was not updating my blog. She (Patricia is a she, right?) missed me daw (and I quote: "I miss you… please update your blog soon"). Alright, I know "she" is just someone "something-ing" me, but in any case, here's an update. And sorry, this is not even remotely relevant to whatever significant is happening around us -- swine flu is here, Wall Street news here, J-Lo(zada) here, other news here, and this page? This page is about my favorite TV series. Hehehe.

Oh, and Patricia, if you are reading this, you may call me anytime here: (02)531-9001.

I mentioned a while back (in my Silver Screen Favorites post ) that I'll be will be posting my favorite TV series later. Well, this is it.

House MD

This is the best TV series. Ever. While some people claim that the story line is very predictable, well… actually they are, in a way, right. :-) When you are traveling, there are instances during the length of your travel wherein you know at some point, there is going to be a stopover – this stopover could be a new expressway entry point, or exit; this could be a stopover for the bus to refuel, or for the passengers to attend to their natural needs, i.e., bathroom breaks, refreshments, etc.; or some other things. If you are a regular House fan, you know that somewhere in the story line, something will happen – House will present an absurd theory/diagnosis, an unusual symptom or symptoms will present itself, House will have an epiphany, etc. But you do not know, you will never know, what it is. And every time something like that happens, you will just say “Whoa!,” “No way!,” or “That SOB is brilliant!”

Anyway, House MD is my number 1.

24

We are all aware that we are having some problems with Moro rebellion down south. If only we could ask Jack Bauer to help us… The series is airing its 7th season at CS every Tuesday, 10PM, I think. This is the only reason why I make it a point to be at home by 9PM or earlier every Tuesday. Below are some awesome trivia about Jack Bauer (I posted these at my i.PH blog before, please feel free to visit it if you like the list below).

1. Jack Bauer can unscramble an egg.
   
2. Jack Bauer was not born; he forced his way out of his mother’s womb.
   
3. Jack Bauer once stepped into quicksand; the quicksand couldn’t escape and nearly drowned.
   
4. If Jack Bauer had been a Spartan the movie would have been called "1".
   
5. When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.
   

How I Met Your Mother

I started watching this series just a month ago. And d#mn, this is so funny! This is one of the best TV series that I really liked. Do you remember Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser? That brilliant, genius young doctor? Well, he plays the character of Barney Stinson here. He is a corporate something (he never tells) who is so awesome. (Whenever he feels depressed, he stops feeling that way and be awesome instead. True story.) Well he is not the lead character here, it’s actually Ted Mosby, a 30-ish bachelor and architect. Barney is Ted’s “wingman.” Barney is an authority on awesomeness and the Bro Code. Yeah, there exists such a code.

Prison Break

This is one of the series that can possibly cause cardiac arrest to those with weak hearts. My sister almost experienced a heart attack because the CD she bought, a pirated one, lacks the last two episodes of the season! The story is a thriller! When you thought the plan is almost a success, you’ll find out they missed something in their plan/execution! And when you thought their plan is busted, you’ll realize everything is going on according to plan. Wicked!

Season 4 is airing in the local channel (CS 9). I am not sure though if they can still stretch the story line farther. But who knows, right? I didn’t know a season 7 is still possible in 24. :-)

Heroes

Now, Heroes is one of those TV series that you are not really excited to watch regularly… well, at least for me. But what I like about this series is the intriguing plot that it presents, the very complicated storyline, you know, the many what ifs, the ifs and thens, and the discussion that will transpire between you and other followers of the story.

Others

Some other TV series that I follow (and recommend that you consider watching over the weekend perhaps) are the following: Chuck, Burn Notice, Jericho, CSI: San Francisco, and CSI: Boston.

Good night!

To that Girl from UP

On Awesomeness

As a result of the long break, I have come up with this realization: Awesomeness is a matter of choice. Have a nice week ahead!

Just Another Racist Remark to the Filipinos

Just a quick post guys, here is an article by some Bridget Saunders. Stumbled upon a Facebook account. After that Hong Kong Magazine article, here's another similar racist remark from supposedly educated people.

What? What? Can you repeat that PLEASE!!

I read with a sinking stomach that Telecom, in their infinite wisdom, are moving 250 call centre jobs to Manila which will bring their number of call centre people there to 700. 

Must be a money saver...why pay Kiwis a half decent wage when you can get the job done more cheaply elsewhere?

hisssssssssss..............

I've had a lot of problems with email, am on the phone to xtra at least once a week - and it drives me nuts.

It's bad enough that Telecom/xtra can fail in their service to us full stop, and it's even worse if that failure is not reflected in a reduced phone bill, but what's really infuriating is not being able to understand the person on the other end of the line who is supposed to be helping.

Filipinos learn American English and their accents are diabolically hard to understand. They are so heavy!

When I have to call them for help I am always stressed out (because my job is communication and I can't afford to be offline and incommunicado - that would mean blank pages in About Town!) so getting someone with a voice that a) is almost unintelligible and b) grates, really fires me up. It shouldn't I know. But it does. Their voices are not just impossible to understand, they are really annoying as well. You know how some accents can be totally charming? Well, these are anything but! They must be the least attractive accents in the world!

And because these people are as close as we get to the actual corporation I allow myself to fully vent my anger...

E.g. after getting someone to repeat something 6 times I will yell in frustration.

I am better with Indian call centres since I saw Slumdog Millionaire, and I can cope with Cairo, but Manila? I lose it!

Wouldn't it be nice if Kiwis could do these jobs instead of adding to the unemployment.

It's mental. It doesn't make sense and it makes me really really mad!!!!

You can find the link of the website here .

(Honest) Scammers

Have you ever received an email from a Nigerian banker claiming they have a business proposition with you involving a huge sum of money? The usual intro is any of the following:

• He or she is a member of a very, very rich family. The family died and left him a huge amount of money. But he can't claim it yet because the government is monitoring his financial activities, and that the government intends to sequester the whole amount. So, the solution is to transfer this overseas (this is where you come in), but he needs some financial information about you first. What happens afterwards is the scamming part.
• It could also be a lawyer, with a very wealthy client who died without appointing anyone as their heir, so, if you are willing, you can have the wealth, but before that happens, you have to give an advance fee or something.

I remembered when I was in college that I initiated contact with the "Nigerian lawyer." We had an exchange of emails twice or thrice I think. I was trying to figure out how they will actually do the fraud, so, I told them I was interested; gave them some false information (fake name, address, and other information).When they finally ask a bank account, I told them I am interested to know how they are going to execute the fraud. (And that I know from the very start that they are scammers.) As a proposition, I told them I am willing to split with them 50% of my potential fraud kickback if they are going to tell me how they are going to "hack" the bank account (I assume they will hack or make fake wire transfer requests.) Unfortunately, they didn't share it with me. Sayang. :-)

Anyway, I was surfing the net a while ago and saw a post about an honest scammer:

Happy weekend everyone!

Cycle of Life

Guys, I'm just curious -- What are the three or five things you do first as soon as you arrive in your respective offices? Or for freelancers, as soon as you wake up or are in the mood to start working? Or for everyone, before SOMETHING. :-)

Here's mine (before I start working):

1. Clean my PC and the surrounding vicinity. And by surrounding vicinity, I only mean half-a-meter radius form my PC's monitor.
2. Make a cup of coffee.
3. Check/answer mails, visit my blogs/blogger friends/news.
4. If in the mood, write a post or sub-post (hi, mordsith!). If not, then, #5.
5. Take a sip of my now-not-so-warm coffee, deep breath, and convince myself: X, you live to work, you are a slave, you are not paid to dream. Work, work, work.

Then, I start working. How about you guys? Care to share your routine?