12252010

Just a short note:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, PEOPLE!!!

(Sabi ko na nga ba, magpo-post pa rin ako ng Christmas greetings ko e. Hehehe.)

Happy Holidays! [A dryrun]

Well, in case I enjoy my vacation too much and forget to go online later on, here I am, wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year*!

For all the good things and bad... 

For the trials and errors... 

For good endings and new beginnings...

Cheers!!!

:p

*I'll try my best to go online later on for another round of greetings. Hehehe. Nagsisigurado lang. For now, I'll have to look for womens boots, a gift I am seriously considering for my sister. 

Christmas shopping

Today, I will be allotting a couple of hours (and I hope not the whole day) to shop for gifts -- for my mom, my sister, brother, lola, and others. I am not just sure if I really can complete this within the day. These two siblings of mine told me to be creative and to make up for last year's boo-boo (I forgot to buy them gifts, hahaha). So, this is going to be a challenging day. It's good that I have full control of what I would be buying them for Christmas, but somehow, I wish they would just give me a wishlist so it would be easier for me to find the gifts. With a wishlist, it would be like shopping for women's rain boots in the rainy season. But without a wishlist, I still have to go through the usual planning, contemplating, etc. Hay...

Goodluck. (Bakit kasi ngayon lang bibili e!)

Surprises, surprises

My sister has just completed her Christmas shopping (for gifts and some noche buena stuff) yesterday. She's actually ready to go home (province) now but we still have to wait for my brother who's working until tomorrow. Anyway, yesterday, she asked me to stay in the bedroom because she's wrapping her gifts at the sala. She didn't want me to see the gifts (of course), but she says if I've seen Personal Creations NFL gifts in commercial ads, well, it's somewhere at that level. Wow! Hehehe. I gave her my wishlist but I think it would be too much for me to hope she'd give my #1: an iPad! Hehehe.

Here's hoping your Christmas shopping would be as hassle-free as possible!

Of gods and g[r]eeks

My brother (who plays with transistors and resistors as a hobby; well, and also likes PSP and comics) attended their Christmas Party last night and he had an "interesting" (for me) conversation with one of his colleagues. It was a themed party (Greek gods) but I think he went there with his plain clothes.

Brother (B): Look at that guy (pointing to someone who is carrying a globe on his back). He shouldn't be allowed in the party. He's not wearing the theme.

Colleague (C): What do you mean?! He's Atlas.

B: Duh. Atlas is a Titan, not a god.

[Owned! That's what you get when you don't play God of War!]

C: Errr. It was probably an honest mistake. And look at you! You did not even attempt to dress up as a god!

B: Oh, come on! (Points to his messenger bag.) I'm Hermes, man!

Moral of the story: You may put on as much wrinkle cream as you want, but you just don't mess with a greek... I mean, with geek.

I am e[k]stranghero and I...

... realized I might be publishing a lot of information about some personal stuff. I have posts on this and that, about my brother's and sister's activities, and other things. So, as a consolation, I told these two siblings of mine that they need not to worry because after all, my readers (who are not that many, btw) do not know who they are. And I said I am sure of that.

And you know what they told me? "We are not worried... we're sure your readers don't know who you are, anyway. Feelingero ka naman e."

Hehehe. They are indeed right. I can probably post here that I have Medicare part D plans, and that won't post any risk on me because I am not really that famous anyway. Wahaha. Napahiya naman ako sa dalawang yun!

Arrrgh!!!

Good times, guys. :-)

Phobia, my shortfilm entry, won

I hope you guys won't take it against me, but I just have to talk about my shortfilm project again -- I won. :-) They announced it yesterday and I was so ecstatic when I saw the announcement. I mean, I am really not expecting that considering the rest of the finalists are very good and that I really have no background in film making.

If you want to watch the announcement, it's posted in Youtube as well as Pier Roxas's Web site.
My story is displayed in the TV screen on the lower right left corner above.

And I really have to admit that I liked how they filmed the announcement -- it's almost like a continuation of "Phobia". I liked how they put some minor details that will lead you to hypothesize on what's happening at the moment or what's going to happen next. I've got an N8 last time, you're wondering what the prize this time is? Nope, not some ultra high tech ekg machine or something, but some cash and bragging rights for myself to be used against "myself".

Holiday season is really just around the corner (Part 2)

This holiday break (nakiki-holiday break naman ako!), we are thinking of doing movie watching marathon at home. But we wanted a superb experience, so, we are thinking of buying something that will make the "event" wonderful. I think epson projectors are on sale but I don't think I can find a screen big enough where I can project it and really appreciate the output. We have a small house in the province (but a big home at that, hehehe), so, small walls.

Something like this would be nice, don't you think?

But in any case, I think this holiday break will be great -- minimal workload, maximum fresh air and gentle countryside breeze! Hehehe.

12152010

Today is very special to me for so many reasons. Let me share with you why.

1. My paboritong kaibigan's father is celebrating his birthday today. So, tito, maligayang kaarawan po. (And you know why I am so sure that he'll be able to receive my greetings through this blog? Hehehe, no I'm not so sure about that. I'll text him later.)
2. Today, Nokia will be announcing the winner of the Pier Roxas contest. If you've been following this blog for the last couple of weeks, you've probably noticed that I made a post on that. So, just follow this link if you are interested to know what I am talking about.
3. It was on this date year 1959 when the Everly Brothers recorded 'Let it be me', a song together with 'Devoted to you' that is instrumental to my mother and father's romantic relationship. Hehehe. So, not-so strictly speaking, the date is instrumental to my conception. Hehehe.
4. On the not-so personal side, the U.S. Bill of Rights was ratified on this day (1791). Bill. Of. Rights. Yeah! You just can't have a civilized society without this.
5. And finally, today is the 349th day of the year. :-)

So, there. Oh, by the way, if anyone else is celebrating their birthday today, happy birthday to you.

Hello, Mordsith!

xxx

Post, like, comment

If you have a Facebook account, you'd know that you can post something, "Like" that something, and comment on that something. I said, YOU CAN, but should you?

I hate it but I am a bit irritated by people who make a certain post (say, update their status), Like their post, and be the very first to comment on their own post! Can't they other people to at least make the first comment before they comment on their own?

Ang sabi nga ng kapatid ko: "Ano beh!? Wala kang friends?!"

I really am not sure why I am so effin' affected by this. Kainis lang kasi. Hehehe. Well, I guess it's my fault: Why do I even bother look at their shoutouts and posts then? Maybe it's irritating because when people open their cell phones or e-mails, they don't want to see notifications saying Y commented on something she posted and liked. Too self-centered indeed. :-) Oh well.

Hello, Monday! :-)

Slaughtered!

If the 90 day challenge I have with my siblings is a contest between me and my objective, then, I can honestly say: The challenge slaughtered me.

No mercy.

As I was telling my good friend Mordsith, I can still win this bet but I might need to chop off one of my legs (just to meet the target wieght, hehehe). But believe it or not, my brother already warned me about that. Had this been a challenge on reducing my waistline, I could probably resort to using corsets to mold and shape my mid-torso, after all, during the early 20th century, men actually used this as an accessory to have a desirable figure. (OK, I need to stop from typing now -- I am becoming more pathetic. Hehehe.)

My [sister's] new car!

My sister is so excited to have a new* car. She has been saving for some time now and I think she is ready to buy a car as soon as I find an affordable one for her. Yeah, yeah, I am in charge of finding, canvassing, buying, and testing the car. Panganay e! Hehehe. I am still looking for one. A fellow blogger, Kayni, blogged about car insurance and then I realized, I am missing that part of my "job"! Hehehe. I should start looking for cheap auto insurance, too. Or at the very least, affordable ones. Oh well...

Di naman daw siya maselan, pwede na raw ito...

Help me out, guys. Any suggestions?

*New, as in new for her, but not brand new.

Holiday season is really just around the corner

December is probably the busiest month of the year. Traffic is everywhere, mall sales happen almost everyday, and bazaars can be seen almost in every street corner of the Metro!

I went to the mall yesterday to buy a disc and it took me almost an hour to get there (I used to take the bus and get there in a matter of minutes... 15 min max). But well, yesterday, the traffic is sooooooo irritating, to say the least. I wanted to get off the cab and just walk but the sun was directly above and the heat might cause me to experience heat stroke or something. Anyway, when I got to the mall, I saw so many items on sale. And believe it or not, so many items are being sold half their original price: barcode scanner, aircon,  LCD TVs (oh, yeah!), laptops, PCs, and so many more. Oven toasters are actually sold at buy 5-take 1 promo. Hehehe.

I am contemplating if I'll buy something for myself. I'm thinking of buying a laptop as a Christmas-slash-birthday gift for me. Hmmm...

Going Android

I was at SM yesterday and I can't help but notice some new phone models on sale! They have Nokia, Samsung, and all other smart phones. Whew! I recently won an N8 (which is now with my brother) but truth be told, I don't really like the N8. Not exactly "don't like" but, I want an Android phone (htc sense or desire will do). Nokia uses Symbian technology.

Android phones are more customizable. If you like your phone to be really smart, it should be very versatile and compatible with many widgets and downloadable applications. Android is a product of Google. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, I guess I'll have to wait for lady luck to knock on my door again. Smart phones are not as affordable as they advertise them to be. Hehehe. Work, work, work!

Childhood memories

If you have a Facebook account, you probably have noticed this:

November 22 to November 29, change your profile picture on Facebook, for a cartoon of your childhood. Why is this? To see only cartoons until Monday on Facebook, to create an invasion of memories of a well spent childhood to join the fight against child violence.

Either that, or this:

Change your Facebook profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until monday there should be nohuman faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories! This is for campaign against violence on children.

Are these really the memories of your childhood? Cartoon characters?

The first one is actually the original text, according to some net reports. I did not really buy this. One, because I don't usually buy memes in Facebook. And two, because these are not really the memories that I have from my childhood. I only saw a Simpson episode just a couple of years ago. I was introduced to Yuyu Hakushi only when I entered college. Dragon Ball Z is something that I followed only when pirated DVDs became 'rampant' in commercial districts.

I am an old school kid. After class, I don't go to my room and watch TV or cartoons -- I go to the streets and wait for my friends so we can play patintero or tumbang preso. During summer, we play softball or fly kites. If I have to post childhood memories in Facebook, these are probably some of the things I'll post:

Tumbang preso, patintero, softball, kite flying, and
hide-and-seek (where places under kitchen sinks are a fortress!)
are just some of the best memories of my childhood.

Batman, Superman, and the rest of their 'species' came into my life only after my Hulk-Hogan-Ultimate-Warrior-and-Hitman phase. :-)

Wanna go biking?

We are planning to bring home (province) our bikes. It's been a while since I last used it anyway. Busy with work, with pseudo-work, and some other things that hinder me from biking around MOA and CCP. Will I be using it more frequently as soon as I bring it home in the province? I am not sure but maybe I will. The thing is, when I am in the province, I really try my best not to work. So, probably, I'll be spending it biking around the village or going to nearby towns.

My mother wants to try biking, too. And for protection, I already brought her a biking helmet (and planning to buy wrestling knee pads -- for maximum protection). San ka pa?!

Whew! Can we fast forward to Saturday now, please?

Pigging out

I was at my province last weekend and for effin's sake, I did nothing but pig-out the soonest I stepped into our house. My mom prepared my favorite food of all time -- estopadong pata!

I had it for my morning mirienda (oh yeah!), lunch, afternoon mirienda, and even dinner. And yes, for two straight days! I can't imagine my mom allowed me to eat like that... hmmm... maybe they hate me so much and it's an evil plot. Hehehe. (And seriously, I need some fda approved diet pills to counter the effect of this weekend's food fest.)

Anyway, I'm back here in Manila and I'm also back to cooking my own food (instant pancit canton, mami, and the occasional tortang corned beef). And I need to visit the gym to shed off some pounds (no, not "some" pounds, so many pounds). So, wish me luck.

(Good luck!)

PS: I miss that estopado already!

Pier Roxas Short Film in HD!

Tomorrow, eight (8) different versions of what happened to Pier Roxas will be shown to the public via Nokia's website. Am I happy about how my filming of the story turned out? Yes, I am. Am I contented? Nope, not so contented. Being the first film project of mine, Phobia (my short film's title) is really something I gave my best into. I shot at different angles, different lighting conditions, the works. But when the restrictions are applied in editing (i.e., time limit and use of music), I think I somehow had to sacrifice some part of the story. I am sure real film directors can meet those requirements/conditions without sacrificing valuable part of the story, but hey, this is my first short film. Hehehe.

Anyway, I just want to ask for your help, guys, to vote or "Like" my film as soon as they release it at nokia.com.ph/pierroxas. Magagaling silang lahat. I suggest you watch the rest. You'll enjoy it. Peksman. :-)

___

PS: There was a part in my short film where it shows a hand writing down some contact information. It looked like Pier Roxas has just used an indoor tanning lotion, but in reality, it was just my brother's hand. 

It's in the blood (walang kokontra)

I am in an industry (publishing/typesetting) where automation plays a very significant role. But ironically, it's core process, editing, is something that really can't be automated. Well, only to a certain extent, I guess. But when I challenged my brother to write a software/code that can help me with basic tasks, I actually did not think he would be able to come up with something. Yesterday, he showed me his first version of a yet-to-be-named software. To my surprise, he was able to automate basic editing tasks! Wow!

According to him, it was a rushed work. He wants to come up with something very quickly and that was the product. I told him he should work on it more as it will definitely help me and my friends become more efficient and productive. Well, apparently, he is writing codes during his free time. "Just a hobby," or so he say it is. I already have a list of "future software" for him to write. Hobby pala ha? Hehehe. A directory submission software is not in my top 3 but I probably will ask him to write something like that also. It would probably be valued at hundreds of dollars, right?

To Sergey and Larry: Nauna lang kayong pinanganak! Wahaha!

Pilipinas Kay Ganda!

Seems like unlawful/unethical copying of ideas is becoming a fad nowadays. Still remember those two cases of plagiarism against one of the Supreme Court justices? (One officially heard by SC and another published by meadia but not heard en banc) Well, the executive is not about to be left behind.

Presenting, an "original" idea from the Department of Tourism (which, according to them, was checked by Noynoy himself):

This blogger made a very good post on this. The logo is very much similar to that of Poland's logo (the one below the Pilipinas Kayganda logo). Grrr! Ano ba! But I guess DOT won't say it copied the concept. They are going to say, it's just a coincidence -- same color theme, same font used, same overall idea. WTF.

I agree with that blogger: Wow Philippines may not be the best, but please, try to be original!

Labo.

Pacquiao is THE David and THE Goliath

We already know who won the fight, and honestly, I think Pacquiao is trying to control himself, or else, it would have been manslaughter for him. It was really a great fight.

Some pictures from Inquirer.net:

Again, this is a classic David and Goliath fight. But in this case, in terms of both strength and skills, we know it Pacquaio is both the David and the Goliath...

I know who Pier Roxas is!

Got in as one of the Final 8. :-)

And I will tell you all about it soon... in high definition!!! (Oh, by the way, I got this cool fone from Nokia... the Nokia N8!

50% off for LG Optimus One!

(I got the information from Yugatech's site.)

Where in the world can you find a good Android/smart fone valued at less than 10K? Well, on November 13, 2010, between 2 and 3 PM, there are four places here in the Philippines where you can find one. :-)

LG Optimus One is currently valued at around PHP13,000. It's actually cheap already at that price, I think. But LG Philippines is actually going to offer it 50% lower on its November 13 sale! It will be offered on LG Concept Stores in SM Megamall, SM North EDSA Annex, SM Cebu, and Gaisano Davao. But note that they'll be offering this from 2 to 3 PM only! Whew! (I 'm reading some blogs saying they are going to camp out during the night just to have a unit or two, if they'll be allowed. Well, at less than 7K for an Android phone, I probably would do that. 

LG Optimus One specs:

• 3.2″ capacitive display @ 320×480 pixels
• 600 MHz Processor
• 512MB RAM (it's like you have a PC with you!)
• 170MB internal storage
• up to 32GB via microSD
• HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 3.15MP autofocus camera
• Stereo FM Radio
• GPS w/ aGPS support
• 1500mAh Li-Ion battery
• Android 2.2 Froyo

So, anyone, wanna join me camp out at North Edsa? But I suggest we do some fat burning exercises first as I am quite sure, it will be a running competition once the mall opens at 9 or 10 in the morning. :-D

Woohoo!

Hmmm.. Wala lang. A friend of mine knows the reason behind this "Woohoo!!!" For the rest of you guys, I suggest you try this, too. Masayang sumigaw ng walang dahilan.* :-D

*But try to do this in a place where no one can hear you... mahirap na.

THE Pacman did it again!

THE PacMan did it again!

I think this is the second time that Rep. Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao made a singing performance on an American TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live. But this time, he had a duet ("Imagine" by Beatles) with ace comedian Will Ferrell. I haven't had the chance to watch the actual episode but I saw the singing part of the show via Youtube.

(In case the video doesn't show, click here for the Youtube link.)

Now, can any of the great fighters do what he is doing?! Hehehe. He's a few days away from his fight and yet can still manage to attend parties. campaign rallies, and TV show invitations. But I really hope he wins his fight against Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 (14, Manila time). With Margarito's reach at a few inches more than Pacquiao's, it's like Margarito is holding a box cutter every time he punches! It's really a David-and-Goliath fight, you know.

Good luck, Cong!

Paybox.me

Have you guys heard of the above site (click it so you'll also be my recruit, hehehe)? Well, to describe it briefly, it's like Paypal, only a bit different because it has an online marketplace like e-bay. Promising, huh? I joined it simply because I basically have nothing to lose anyway. In it's web site, it says:

PayBox is developing an online currency and payment processing service to make buying and selling online easier, more secure and available to everyone.

We're designing our service with the help of a dedicated group of EarlyBird users who are contributing ideas and feedback. 

Also, it has some promising features:

• You start with a $50 balance and it's free.
• PayBox will add up to $20 per day to your account for participating as we prepare to launch our new service.
• You get $5 per person you refer to PayBox.
• You'll be an EarlyBird user—before PayBox opens to the public.
• You'll help shape the development of the best payment system ever designed for the Internet.
• You could have hundreds or thousands of dollars in your account by the time we launch, without ever making a deposit!

Sounds to good to be true? Well, again, nothing to lose, so... why don't we give it a shot?

x

Todos Los Santos

 So, are you guys attending any costume parties tonight?

Rain. Almost.

Whenever Mordsith asks me for a topic she could blog about, I always say, "rain". Out of the many times I told her to do so, I think she listened to me only once. Hehehe. (If you read her blog, she shared how she feels about the topic.)

I just realized now that while I am so passionate in recommending the topic to her, I never got the chance to write anything about it. Maybe it's because I am afraid I won't give justice to the beauty of the idea if I write about it. I feel incompetent, lacking. Maybe I am afraid that after I wrote about it, I won't like my output.

From the Web

But the thing is, how would you if you are worthy of writing about it? How would you know if you are now ready to write it? I guess you just have to try... to take a risk... to take a leap of faith and trust yourself you'll just be fine.

Maybe I will try.

Soon.

I. Am. Sorry.*

Desperate times call for desperate measures. You** might have noticed the sudden influx of posts I publish here in my blog. Well, I am sure you know why. :-) I have to apologize though that sometimes (or should I say more frequently?), I am flooding/spamming your Readers, if you have subscriptions, with nonsensical posts. I am not like some writers who can play with words seamlessly***, who always have exciting tales to tell, who have great ideas to share, and so on.

So, in case you get bored or something with all these, look at the brighter side – you'll be able to appreciate more the writings of other bloggers, hehehe. (Check out my blog list on the right sidebar – Mordsith, KG, Kayni, Angeli, et al. – they are the ones who know how to write, how to tell a tale, how to express their thoughts.) Ma-drama ba? Naah, some people have disclaimers, well, I have this. I just wanted to add some personal touch to my disclaimer. Hehehe.

There you go. May isang araw pa ng bakasyon. I hope you guys are having a wonderful day!

---
*And so I won't be charged with any plagiarism case, here's the citation: Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, 27 June 2005. Hehehe. Mahirap na, uso ang pagsasampa ng plagiarism case ngayon e. :-D


**And by You, I am just actually talking to a very few blogger-friends of mine who sometimes peek into this online lair of mine. I mean, I'm not like some people who actually have people who follow their blogs. Great bloggers, great writing talents. As for me and my writing style (and unwavering belief that practice makes perfect, hehehe), I can only offer fillers, out-of-the-blue posts.

***Use deep wrinkle filler or finding the best car insurance effectively in a totally unrelated sentence and you would not even know it's there. Or at least it wouldn't bother you that it's there.

House marathon

(And no, this is not a part of the “Home sweet home” series. Well, at least not if you are to judge this from the title alone.)

House is one of my most favorite TV series. And whenever I get the chance to go home, I always watch a few episodes of House even if I have watch them for n times already. There's just something about House that makes me wanna watch it over and over again. So many things in fact: the thinking-out-of-the-box method of House and his staff, the “unrequited” and unconditional friendship being offered by Wilson, the genius of House that makes right and wrong relative yet very well defined, and of course, the romantic tension between House and Cuddy.

Last night, I was up until early 2am. If only I can be sure face acne and other health issues won't be a problem, I would be watching one whole season in one sitting – no bathroom breaks, no whatever unnecessary breaks. As House puts it, “Read less, more TV.”

The 90 day challenge

I just want to share with you guys that I have this bet with my brother and sister. We made a bet a month ago: That I should lose X amount of pounds before 2010 ends. (Nahiya pa talaga at tinago sa X, ano?) It's supposed to be a 90 day challenge when we made the bet. But after a month, I think I haven't made much progress yet. The p90x program should have been perfect. But right now, I think I might need a p60x program, if any exists at all.

Imagine trying to meat the challenge with 33% downtime. Holy effin S. I'm dead.

Talentadong Pinoy

I was watching Talentadong Pinoy with my brother, sister, and mom just a while ago (and who knows, my father might be watching with us also since it is almost All Souls Day already). The participants could be anyone. From being a medical assistant school student, unemployed tambays, to being a mom or even Elvis fanatic. And it's great to know that many people who are not even members of star guilds or artists circles can easily join such a show as long as they can show a certain talent. Past winners have been given major opportunities in their own line/career path. For example, Makata Tawanan , a former winner who excels in balagtasan, is now a regular part of a TV5 daily morning show. (And we all know it's not that easy to be a part of a daily show whose main competitors are Umagang Kay Ganda of ABS and Unang Hirit of GMA7.

I guess it's very much the same in real life outside show business. You really do not need an educational degree or a 'good breed' to suceed in your chosen profession... case in point: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zucherberg -- all are college dropouts. And then there's my uncle (a distant relative) who's filthy rich because of his buy-and-sell business which he started when he was in Grade 2!
He quit schooling since then.

Are they really that good? Or is it their fate to succeed? I don't know. I guess what I am trying to say... I guess what I am trying to ask is, what does it take to succeed? Sheer talent? Hard work? Combination? Or is it fate?

Christmas is in the air

(Ok, it's official: I have a home sweet home blog series now. Hehehe.)

I arrived in our home with Christmas music playing in the radio, artificial christmas trees outside and inside, some garlands and poinsettia hanging here and there, and believe it or not, ham in the fridge. Hehehe. Wow. Is Christmas really that fast approaching already? It seems like it was just yesterday when we had a family reunion and Christmas party in our place. The reunion/party was held in our home because my mom takes care our lola, so, all her (mom's) brothers (she's an unica hija) and their families of course spent Christmas here. T'was really fun.

And this December, I heard that my uncles are coming here as early as the 24th. Looks like they are planning something big this time of the year.

How about you, can you feel the spirit of Christmas already?

Clean and green

And still a part of the “home sweet home” blog series (hahaha), I just wanted to share my mom's small vegetable garden here. I was telling mordsith that except for the squash, you can find every ingredient of pinakbet in our backyard. My mom wanted to have something like this way back when we were still in QC, but as you probably know, a garden in a place in like Manila is really a luxury.

Anyway, my mom's garden has ampalaya, ube, sili, okra, sibuyas, papaya (3, in fact), and some other plants/vegetables I do not know. O, malunggay, too. The truth is, staying here for a week or so is like having a nodular acne treatment (good bye impurities!) as she always have a vegetable dish every meal.

I am sorry. I really am so excited blogging about going home. :-) Bear with me, please.

Home sweet home

So, after a few weeks of being in Metro Manila, I am really excited to get home this long weekend. And after a couple of hours of travel, I'm finally here. :-)

What can I say? The smell and feel of fresh air here is a lot more “homey” than that in our 19th floor unit in Makati. The only sounds you'll hear here are chirping of birds, my brother shouting while playing GTA in his PS, and the kids in the village practicing their cheering routine (we have an upcoming basketball league here and I guess there would be a cheer dance competition, too.

At the back of our house is a long horizon of undeveloped land, and you probably need to use bushnell binoculars to see the next house/structure on this direction (our house is situated at the undeveloped area of the subdivision – we specifically look for this part).

Oh, yeah, this is what I call home sweet home.

UP Naming Mahal faces extinction

Did you know that the UP Alumni Association is currently looking for a new hymn and lyrics, I think, that will replace the UP Naming Mahal? I just cannot remember my source (newspaper, online paper or blog) but I'm sure I've read it from somewhere.

Anyway, I am not trying to be close-minded here but I cannot see the need for that change. Singing the hymn during flag ceremonies or UAAP games gives me the chills... especially the non-official one by a group of artists including Noel Cabangon (formerly of Buklod), Cooky Chua (former lead singer of Color It Read), Chikoy Pura (lead singer of The Jerks), Gary Granada and Bayang Barrios (formerly of Joey Ayala at Ang Bagong Lumad).

Oh well...

Here's the lyrics of that song, by the way:

U.P. Naming Mahal

U.P. naming mahal

Pamantasan ng bayan

Tinig ng masa

Ang siyang lagi nang pakikinggan

Malayong lupain

Di kailangang marating

Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

Silangang mapula

Sagisag magpakailanman

Ating ipaglaban

Laya ng diwa’t kaisipan

Humayo’t itanghal

Giting, tapang at dangal

Mabuhay ang lingkod ng taong bayan

Mabuhay ang lingkod ng taong bayan

Silangang mapula

Sagisag magpakailanman

Ating ipaglaban

Laya ng diwa’t kaisipan

Malayong lupain

Di kailangang marating

Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

A bit progressive than the official lyrics, but I like it.

Long weekend. Again.

It's twice in a row already. It's long weekend once again. If the government will change its mind, Tuesday might even be a nonworking holiday also. Well, for most people who are so stressed out from work, this is the time for them (us!) to relax, to unwind, to forget thinking about productivity statistics, to set aside planning how to deal with Outer Banks foreclosures, to make some roadtrips, and to basically do anything not totally related about work.

I am on my way to my hometown a little up north and excited to see my mom's little garden. Hehehe. And to the rest of you guys planning out-of-town trips or something, good luck to you all and be safe.

The cookies have spoken

Well, remember this downer post a few days back? I guess it's just a consequence of jogging an hour a day and depriving yourself of pork adobo, chicken afritada, burger, etc. Hehehe. O yeah, I'm trying to live a healthy lifestyle (and stopped thinking of weight loss pills that work for hours everyday). And I am announcing it here so I'll be embarrassed if I suddenly stopped doing this (more fitness activities and less not-so-healthy food).

What else could better predict my future than something that doesn't have a stake on it?

PS: Do you know the reason behind the success of the traditional Indian rain dance? Indians do not stop dancing until it actually rains... So, here's my billionaire song. Sing with me if you want (to be a billionaire, too).

Take 1!

*I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

(Repeat * until you become a billionaire.)

:p

The other side of America

Familiar with this work of art?

The faces, from left to right, are those of former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

The sculptures were carved by Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum (father and son) into the face of Mount Rushmore in the United States. These presidents  represent the first 150 years of the history of the United States.

Now, do you want to see what's behind those faces? I know this picture is a bit (?) old already, but for those who haven't seen this yet, here:

Guys, you're hiding as if you need some herbal male enhancement, ah? Hehehe, peace, Uncle Sam!

Have a great week, guys!

On creativity

So you think you are a creative person? Well, check this out. I saw this website which posted some very unique resume presentations. And from that post, I am inserting below the Top 3 resumes I really liked a lot.

 

Now, if they can make this kind of resumes that attractive, I am sure Christmas Party Invitations (which is very timely this part of the year) are going to be a lot more presentable and more creative. I mean, in resumes, you still have to maintain a little bit of restraint because after all, you are more or less applying for a job, and formality is still somehow expected. But with parties and other informal gathering, naah. hahaha.

Here's the link to the website of those great resumes above, by the way: http://bestlistoflists.com/80-excellent-examples-of-creative-resumes-to-inspire-you-enough.html.

Things do happen for a reason

I was off to bed last night as early as 6 or 7 o'clock. I think. Woke up at around 1 or 2am, unintentionally, and suddenly so many stuff came running into my mind.

1. Why did the American economy came tumbling down a few years ago? Why didn't it happen years earlier (like, when I was not yet interested in the equity markets)? 
2. Why do some opportunities, professionally and personally, come too early sometimes? Too early that when you accept them, you get to miss so many more opportunities along the way.
3. Why are some things so unreachable, and the wrong ones just an arm's length away from us?
4. Why do many 'bad' people become a lot more luckier than the good ones who play fair all the time? Our world/human laws may be flawed, but isn't there a supernatural law that should supercede these flaws?
5. How come someone like Willie Revillame earn a lot, lot more than some people who are more capable, more talented, and more deserving?

*They say things happen for a reason. Of course they do. They should. But agains, see #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then repeat * until you can give me an explanation on these, assuming you want to.

Another week will begin in a very few minutes. It will be a manic Monday, Cyber Monday, or just ordinary Monday to some. But to me, I can only hope it will bring me better insights on things that are not clear to me. Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Eat-all-you-can Saturday

Mordsith, sorry, just got to read your recommendation today, so, I guess we'll have to debunk or prove that rumor some other time. Allan, Dennis and I are going out this week and I'll recommend that place -- takaw Japanese cuisine mga yun. :-)

Because Glorietta/Greenbelt is the best and most comfortable place to go to from our place, we went there yesterday. And because I've been depriving myself of 'decent' food since Monday, we decided (I 'suggested') we go to a not-so-expensive Japanese resto but somewhere we can enjoy the value of our money. Dad's Kamayan/Saisaki in Glorietta is on top of our list. So, Saisaki it was for us.

You have Japanese food, lotsa dessert, Filipino food, free equestrian helmets for early birds*, etc. I stayed most of the time near the something-bar where they have maki and sushi. We were convinced we were not short-changed. Lalo na ako. Hahaha. My only problem was, I think the last two weeks of dieting I went through went to trash. Oh well.

*Naah, I was just kidding -- they gave us three small pillow-ish toys. Again, not bad.

Long weekend!

Looks like it's going to be a bright shiny day today. And considering the last few days of heavy rains, this is really a welcome improvement. I hope you guys enjoy your Saturday and Sunday. Oh, yeah, and Monday. Ako? We'll, we'll do some bonding activities this weekend. Hehehe. I, my bro and sis are going out and look for a good Japanese restaurant a little later. Any suggestions?

I can only assume you also have a great plan this weekend, this long weekend. Or maybe, just relax at home, put on some anti wrinkle serum to neutralize the effect of a hectic work week, and just spend the day lying down on your bed.

Either way, have a great day!

A Glimpse of the Google TV

I am a Google fan even before Gmail can be availed of without an invitation. I am not really sure if I remember it right, but I think it was TPS who sent me the invitation to open a Gmail account.

Anyway, Google has gone from a search company to Massive Dynamic-ish corporation. Right now, one of the gadgets I am excited to get my hands on is the Google TV. I mean, look, it is a TV but it has apps, it can search the web... the whole web. You can just put it in your living room, watch your favorite show, or browse your favorite Youtube videos -- all these things in the comfort of your fingertip, while you are comfortably lying down on your sofa. Di ba?

Either I apply for payday advance loans or I really have to win that Mega lotto tonight! Argh!

You are reading the blog of the next Mega Lotto winner

I wish. Hehehe.

Did you know that the the Super Lotto and Grand Lotto prizes are at least P121,208,572 and P236,691,122, respectively? Both will have another draw this Saturday and Sunday, and it is expected that the prizes will be higher. Argh! In case you are wondering about your chances of winning, let me paste here a part of a previous post of mine on another site:

I computed the chance of a single ticket winning in the super lotto and it’s 0.00000715112384201852%. If it is hard to imagine, well, look at this: If there are 100 people in your company, the chance that 1 of you will be absent today is around 0.0007151123842018520000000%. Hmmm… still hard to picture out, yeah? Here’s a better one. Given that chance (of winning in the superlotto), how many employees should there be so that there is only a probability that 1 person will be absent in any given day? Here it is: ~14,000,000 employees… 13,983,816 to be exact.

After reading that again, I realized it would be easier if I say, there are 13,983,816 possible combinations in the 6/49 lotto (Super Lotto) and 28,989,675 possible combinations in the 6/55 lotto (Mega Lotto). The question is, do you think you'll be lucky enough to guess that winning combination considering the number of possibilities?

PS: If I'd be the lucky winner of this lotto, I'll buy not just one HDTV, but a hundred of them and give all those who will comment here one HDTV and some balato. Hehehe.

Moving on...

This is one of the things that I think the present government will never be able to accomplish (among so many other things). Aquino will always blame the previous administration for everything bad that has happened or will happen to the Philippines. In fact, I think I won't be surprised if (or probably when) Aquino, on his 6th State of the Nation Address, blames Arroyo for his poor performance in the last 6 years of his administration.

I was reading the Official Gazette and a lot of his speeches include his usual Arroyo-bashing. Imagine, he was able to bash the previous administration in his "Statement ... on Supertyphoon Juan, October 19, 2010"?! Saan ka pa, di ba? In Aquino's world view, Arroyo is to the country as a malignant Mesothelioma is to a human body.

As I've mentioned to my dear friend, Mordsith, I still have high hopes for our country -- but none of it is in any way connected to this present administration.

Happy Friday!

Free rider for life

Those of you who know me personally wouldn't be surprised if I say I've been researching diets that work fast for the last few weeks. D#rn this schedule of mine, I don't even get to feel the sun shine on me on some days! Sedentary lifestyle at its best!

I was waiting for this invention, but I guess it will take a while before this goes out in the market.

Anyway, yesterday, I was able to have a workout at Gold's Gym for free. One of the few simple pleasures you get to experience from time to time. :-) A colleague of mine offered to arrange this free visit for me. A target shooting on a weekend was also offered. (What did I do to deserve all these freebies?!) And because it felt so good to be out there and burn these fats down, I might make this a regular thing. Hehehe.

PS: I am not referring to the Gym workout being a regular thing, but the free something from time to time. I still have 2 free movie tickets here with me. D@rn, can't contact Sollenn!

Speaking of courage and principles: A modern Wonder Woman

I'm not sure if you've read the news that a college major, at 20 years old, was appointed chief of police in a town in Mexico. We'll in case you haven't read that yet, actually, that's not yet the actual news. You see, Mexico is well-known for its drug cartels and drug wars, right? And since its president declared war against illegal drugs a few years back, more than 20,000 lives have been lost -- I can only assume this number includes criminals, victims, as well as collateral damage, so to speak.

Anyway, going back to the 20-year-old criminal major student, Marisol Valles García was chosen as chief because she's the only one who applied for the job! It seems like, in their town, going into public service is like a suicide attempt. No, it's not as if you'll just need an offshore injury lawyer and everything will be alright. Public officials have become targets of assassinations. According to a news report from Yahoo!:

Public officials have increasingly become the targets of assassination as Mexican cartels try to tighten their grasp on the country. Just this year, 11 Mexican mayors have been slain, including the former mayor of Guadalupe [the town where the lady heads the police force], who was killed in June. In the small town, "police officers and security agents have been killed, some of them beheaded," according to the AFP.

According to García, "[t]he weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention." If only our officials in the Philippines have that courage to fight off the diseases of the society... We'll pray for you, Ms. Marisol Valles García.

The collective wisdom of the Supreme Court Justices vs Microsoft Word

I have always known that justice is on my side when I was accused of plagiarism. You see, in college, I accidentally deleted 99 reference citations when I used someone else's work in writing my paper. I accidentally deleted terms like "According to Machiavelli", "as argued by Foucault", or "Marx cited...." Had I raised my case to the Supreme Court of the Philippines, I would have been cleared of the plagiarism charges. (Hindi tuloy ako naka-graduate ngayon.)

In a recent case invoving a Supreme Court Magistrate himself, a case very related to my plagiarism charge, the Supreme Court ruled that (from GMA news)

Del Castillo [the SC Magistrate] did not commit plagiarism because when his researcher "cut" research materials from a law website and "pasted" them on the decision's main manuscript, the attributions were "accidentally deleted."

The mistake of Justice del Castillo's researcher is that, after the Justice had decided what texts, passages, and citations were to be retained, including those from the Criddle-Descent and Ellis, and when she was already cleaning up her work and deleting all subject tags, she unintentionally deleted the footnotes that went with such tags — with disastrous effect," said the SC.

See? That was exactly what happened to me. I just accidentally deleted the reference citations and footnotes showing the original source of the idea in my paper. And because I am just a human, I really cannot easily detect if part or partial of my paper has been copied/pasted without proper attribution. If there is anyone or anything to be blamed, I think Microsoft's operating system is the culprit. Again, in the recent case mentioned above, SC ruled:

The court also held that Del Castillo cannot be accused of plagiarism because the program used in writing the decision cannot detect "copied and pasted" material, so to speak.

 During their deliberation, the Justices ruled, in essence, that the culprit is no less than the Windows operating system itself!

Microsoft Word program does not have a function that raises an alarm when original materials are cut up or pruned. The portions that remain simply blend in with the rest of the manuscript, adjusting the footnote number and removing any clue that what should stick together had just been severed," said the SC.

See? If I directly copied materials from a certain website, say, www.lipofuzereviews.com, would MS Word detect that? I guess not. The software application is very stupid. Or if it not stupid, it is not very intelligent as well so as to detect copied ideas and alarm the user!

Tsk tsk tsk.

With this SC decision, we can now be assured that students who have good intentions of just using another's idea or work who just happen to accidentally delete the reference citations (like in my case, 99 reference citations) will be protected by law.

Good job, Supreme Court Justices. Bad job, Bill Gates.

Am I just lucky or what: Part II

Do you still remember when I wrote something about this lucky day (relatively) when I received 31 USD via Paypal from someone I really do not know? I mean, how often do you receive 31 USD without knowing what the reason is, right? So, I thought as far as surprises and luck are concerned, that 31 USD basically covers a few years of my life already, and that the next surprise/luck of that type would probably come when I'm in my 40s.

I. Was. Wrong. (And I am so happy I was.)

But not wrong like this poor creature which was
at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Just a while ago, an LBC personnel delivered a package to me (nope, not some Diets pills that work or health magazines). It's more like a pouch. And you know what it contains? Two movie tickets to any Ayala Cinemas. The tickets were from Nokia. I am sure I didn't sign or avail of any of their promos online or offline, so, at the moment, I really have no idea what these tickets are for. But who cares, right? These are two tickets. Free movies. Hmmm... any chance you guys can help me contact Sollenn Heusaff?

Google: Imagining the impossibilities

It's probably not an impossibility for Apple to come up with an iTable, or an iBlanket for that matter (and I'm sure you know what I mean by these two gadgets). I wouldn't be surprised if Nokia would come up with a cellphone which can project holograms or something like that. And again, Microsoft building a Windows version that is "almost bug free" is not that surprising. (But IBM offering term life insurance quotes? That is something else.)

But Google is the only company I know of that keeps on doing something that normal people like me did not even think of as possible within the next few years. Here's report from Yahoo!:

Google tests cars that can steer without drivers

By DANIEL WAGNER, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON – Google Inc. is road-testing cars that steer, stop and start without a human driver, the company says.

The goal is to "help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and reduce carbon emissions" through ride sharing and "the new 'highway trains of tomorrow,'" project leader Sebastian Thrun wrote Saturday on Google's corporate blog.

The cars are never unmanned, Thrun wrote. He said a backup driver is always behind the wheel to monitor the software.

It's not the first signal that Google wants to change how people get from place to place. In a speech Sept. 29 at the TechCrunch "Disrupt" conference, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said "your car should drive itself. It just makes sense."

"It's a bug that cars were invented before computers," Schmidt said.

The cars have traveled a total of 140,000 miles on major California roads without much human intervention, according to Google's corporate blog.

More... 

I mean, Google started out with its search algorithm, and now, look at its ventures -- green technology, "mainstreaming" trips to the moon, phones, and now, this? Google is like Massive Dynamic!

Next stop for Google: Beam me up, Scotty!

The Google StarShip!

:p

All I Want For Christmas

Prinsesa Musang initiated an "exchange gift party" between bloggers. And I joined it! (E kasi naman, PC lang ang kaharap ko 24-7, hahaha.) And if you guys are interested to join, you should visit her site here so you can read the mechanics. :-)

Prinisesa Musang, advanced Merry Christmas to you! :-)

• Something small: thumb/usb flash drive
• Something big: gym bag
• Something cute: ang hirap naman nito... ahmm.. cute na wall decor?
• Something soft: pillow, specifically, that one advertised as having medical/soothing effect when you sleep
• Something techie: i'd wish for an iPad, but i guess that would be too much, so, an external drive... 1 terabyte!
• Something fancy: can i pass on this one? wala akong maisip e.
• Something BLACK: training shorts/pants and i'm big, so, this is also a "something big" for me. hehehe.
• Something wearable: see may something BLACK. :-)
• Something you need: a thumb drive, 1 TB external drive, or a UPS for my PC. Or amazon gift cards.
• Something you can use for work: an organizer for 2011. :-))
• Something sweet: sollenn heusaff... ah, wait, tons of kitkats will do. but please try sollen heusaff first.

All I Want For Christmas:
Love and peace on Earth. And a 1 TB external drive for my PC. :-)

Sollenn Heusaff, will you marry me?

Guys, do you know who Sollenn Heusaff is? In case you do not know her, she's one of the cast aways in GMA-7's celebrity edition of Survivor. Here's a picture of her:

Sollenn Heusaff

Anyway, my sister who is a fan of the show (and later on, I found out, of Sollenn), talked to me and my younger brother yesterday. Very serious. She asked us to promise her that we will do everything that we can to make sure that Sollenn will become her sister-in-law -- either one of us has to marry Sollenn. Errr... Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what she asked us to promise.

I know it's really not an impossibility on my part (wahahaha!), but unfortunately, my heart already belongs to someone. So, Li'l Bro, goodluck! Make us proud!

100%

I am a certified workaholic: I give my 100% effort for my work from Mondays to Sundays. Yeah, all 7 days of the week. And FYI, I am most efficient on Wednesdays! I love Wednesdays.

You don't have to add, alright? It's 100%. :-)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Vulcan Hoodie I Want!

Jack Bauer bag, then, this one. Ahem... Lapit na birthday ko.

Sana si Kris na lang

Noynoy's Honeymoon stage (first 100 days) is almost over. Will he survive the next 100 days of his presidency? I don't know. Really. But I do hope so, because the potential consequences of the contrary is quite scary. Right now, I know he is facing so many controversies and has made so many wrong moves already (in addition to his biggest mistake to run for the presidency!).

• having a DI and LG departments :-D ;
• releasing the IIRC report to the Chinese first (and then saying later on that it's not yet final);
• having misinformed Communications Group heads;
• sacking off a esteemed, talented, and patriotic PAG-ASA head, but retaining in his backyard incompetent people like Lacierda and Ochoa (yeah, and Robredo and Puno, and that incompetent little kid who heads the PMS! and more...);
• hiring a PR firm (saying it's SOP -- bull S!) to make his image look good abroad;
• oh, the list is long.

He is now claiming he doesn't care about his trust ratings. Ahhh, eto na. This reasoning is the gateway that leads to dictatorships. This is the point when a leader thinks he knows better than the rest of his constituents. :-(

Tsk tsk tsk... 14,000,000 Filipinos...

Blooper

Not that it's really a big deal, but Carandang (?) said he was trying to reach Noynoy (who left last week, I think, to attend the UN meeting in the States) but failed to do so, because Noynoy forgot his phone here in Manila. Whhhhhhat?!?!

Good luck, Philippines.

when you stop thinking, and start doing, things happen*

Things like...

Coffee at Ebai's after a 6-hour bus trip

While on another 6-hour bus trip...

and again...

and again...

and again...

Breath-taking views never end...

Peksman.

Whew. First day pa lang yan.


*From the wisdom of the great Barney Stinson.

Am I just lucky or what?

When I checked my email yesterday, I was surprised, to say the least, to see this message:

I have no idea what transaction/invoice the email is referring to, and I have no idea who the sender is. Now, should I refund this? I don't know. My Paypal account address is so unique and I don't think this is an accident! Hehehe.

Woah! It's not that much, but hey, how often do we really receive an email saying funds were transfered to our Paypal account from someone we really do not know? I am not expecting any Paypal funds since the last time I borrowed around 7K from someone (you know who you are... Thank you again.). And then all of a sudden, there it is! :-)

And because of this, I was able to purchase my own domain -- ekstranghero.com. Yay! I'll be using that domain for this blog. i have know for quite sometime already that more opportunities will be available to your blog if you have your own paid domain. Well, bloggers like kg, mordsith, and zarine are exceptions. :-)

Now, if it is not too much for me to ask from you, dear readers, may I request that you change your links from ekstranghero.blogspot.com to ekstranghero.com? And by the way, I am still reconstructing my sidebar -- I'll be linking you up in no time. :-)

---

Wait, could the sender be Patricia?