.: gibberIsh

kaladkarin goes surfing in bali

2010-03-10T04:22:00.002+08:00

Of course, I wasn't going to let a trip to Bali pass by without trying to catch a wave! I signed up for surf classes on our last day, and I have nothing but praises for the Pro Surf School in Kuta. Kudos!

Thanks Errol for the pictures! =) I look funny when I put on my game face --- that's why I resolve to not take myself so seriously. Nyahaha.

[ Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/43/kaladkarin_goes_surfing_in_bali ]

kaladkarin hits hk+macau with ke

2009-11-09T04:20:00.002+08:00

(this shall henceforth be known as the trip wherein ke and i survived with our cellphone cams. bow.)

passport? check. usd? check. camera? check. memory card?... uh-oh. houston, we have a problem.

after giving ourselves a serious smack in the head, we pushed on with our sightseeing of eventful HK and pretty macau, armed only with our nokia cams. i think we've identified 1001 sights spread across the wax museum, disneyland and macau that would have been kick-ass, only if we've caught it with nothing less than a point-and-shoot. i'd like to think that the pictures were crappy this time... because we're definitely coming back! :) (ke, one thing though --- do we have a picture with crisel?! eep!)

[ Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/42/kaladkarin_hits_hkmacau_with_ke ]

kaladkarin gets high @ macau

2009-11-03T04:18:00.002+08:00

finally ticked this off from my bucket list. something tells me this is just the first of many jumps. =P

[ Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/41/kaladkarin_gets_high_macau ]

Kaladkarin Gets Charmed by Bicol

2009-04-10T04:17:00.001+08:00

There was no way I was leaving the land of glorious beaches without one last trip. Since Jan already had a trip set with her high-school++ friends, Alex, Ralph & I invited ourselves to Jan's hometown for the Holy Week break (hehe =P).

8 hours on the bus + 1.5 hours on the back of a pickup + 2 hours on a boat = sore butts. By noon, we find ourselves arriving at Caramoan, with a welcome lunch waiting for us prepared by Caramoan's parish priest. After several bouts of conversation about boat trips, islands, sharks and malunggay, we proceeded to a house in a barrio by the seaside to settle. It was nice to be reminded of the trips I had before HP happened -- where electricity and a shower were luxuries, but nothing could beat the sights and calm. Roselyn, Jan's HS buddy, was an awesome cook and led the troops in the kitchen. After dinner, we literally laid down on the road right outside the house, chatting the night away under the stars with beers at hand. This is the life.

Next morning, we got up early to go island-hopping. First, we paid a courtesy visit to the Grotto; it was an unexpected climb. The statue of the Virgin Mary watches over the island from her stoop 500+ steps up; tiring, but the pics made it worth it. Next was my favorite -- Matukad offered the best beach out of the 4 we visited. We hit Lahus next, before we went to our last island (I forgot the name!); we had to go through a small cave that opened up to a beach spot where reef rocks tried to break the waves before they hit you. It was like swimming in an outdoor wave pool, complete with the view. I've never seen anything like it before -- simply awesome. Another thing that I haven't seen anywhere else were waves that swelled up from out of nowhere and crashed in the middle of the sea. Astig!

After island-hopping, my camera battery ran out, but not the adventures. Tope, our team's new hire, joined us when we went back to Naga and invaded Jan's home with for pizza, ice cream, and Jan-stories, courtesy of her mom. =) Jan lived near Magsaysay, a street lined with coffee houses and restos for night-owls. We trooped over for some billiards and beer, before retiring to our room at the Golden Leaf Hotel.

Jan had to leave for Sorsogon, so Tope was our tour guide for the final day. Fortunately, we had time to go kneeboarding at the infamous CWC. Yep, Tope was the only one who managed to finish the whole course, but we had tons of fun. Will definitely go back here again! =)

Three words for the rest of the trip -- FOOD TRIP GALORE. Kinalas. Kinunot. Laing. Pinangat. Bicol Express. Ice Blink's Halo-Halo. Toasted Siopao. I have a feeling it's going to take days before my craving for Bicolano food runs out.

Thanks to Roselyn, Osette, Jess, Ronan, Fred, Jan and Tope for hosting our merry band of trotters. =) To the Bubong People -- Jan, Ralph and Alex -- thanks for making this last trip oh-so-memorable. Astig kayo. Love you guys!

[ Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Kaladkarin_Gets_Charmed_by_Bicol. ]

commencement exercises

2009-03-25T04:02:00.000+08:00

When you realize that you barely have two weeks to spend in a company where you have done a lot of growing up, the feeling can be overwhelming. You think a lot about loose ends to tie up. About the relationships you want to hold on to. About how this can be the last time you can find anything as awesome as this. It feels a lot like graduating, to tell you the truth.

Bootcamp for the Culinarily-Challenged: Round Two!

2009-03-01T15:42:00.001+08:00

Challenge #2 was to cook a cream-based pasta dish. What originally started as pesto sauce came out to be what I'll call Pasta with Turkey and Cream Cheese Sauce. =P I have a feeling that the best (or at least, most enjoyable) recipes are the ones that aren't planned. I had a lot of mishaps this time (i.e. the bowl falling into the pan, me pouring A LOT of basil instead of just a dash), but those things just made round 2 a lot of fun. =P And oh, I also made a blueberry pie for my sweet tooth (again, instant, but hey, I'm baking!)

Bootcamp for the Culinarily-Challenged: One Down!

2009-02-22T04:01:00.001+08:00

There have been some instances when I was able to whip up something miraculous out of the blue -- none of those feats involve the kitchen, however. During team offsites, I'd rather be in charge of drinks instead of food, lest I want my friends to die from starvation (or worse, from food poisoning! Eep!).

This year, I resolved to take matters into my own hands, and I'll be forcing myself to cook at least one decent dish per month (except for Feb, I have to cook 2 since I skipped January =P). And you know what? It was actually possible! I was able to come up with fusilli topped with some random ingredients (tomatoes, tuna, mushroom and cheese) without screwing anything up. I also wanted to try out a friend's tip about baking (our oven's busted but he told me that a turbo broiler does more or less the same thing), so I put a box of instant brownie mix to the test and, booyah, yummy dessert. =) The folks at home finished off their meals without collapsing, so I think it's fair enough to say that round one has been officially conquered.

Yep, I know it's still a longshot from warranting the respect of anyone culinarily-able, but at least I'm making baby steps.I am just so psyched right now. Whoopee! =)

My 25 Random Things

2009-02-10T03:59:00.000+08:00

I finally got this done! Am tagging everyone who wants to make their own list. Hehe. =P

1. I'm a true-blue kaladkarin. It takes all of my will to say no to an interesting trip, event or experience. A great year would be getting to visit 12 islands in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao within 12 months. An awesome year would be wherein every trip is paid for by someone else. Haha!

2. Each time before I take a bath, I dip my hand into the water and make the sign of the cross. It was an odd habit I picked up way back when our housekeeper made me do it every time she would give me a bath.

3. I could Youtube all day. I look up dance vids, commercials, series episodes, viral vids, almost everything online. Yep, that also goes to say that I barely watch TV. I blame Youtube for multiple counts of tardiness.

4. I used to write like crazy. I almost took Journalism instead of Computer Science. No regrets here.

5. I like geek talk, so sue me.

6. If you ask my closest friends, almost all my crushes have NOTHING in common.

7. As a child, I was a church rat. My kababatas are composed of members of the kids' choir and the Knights of the Altar. We still hang out. One of us just got hitched last month; I think he was the first of the bunch.

8. I have a 15-year old niece, Ikay -- her presence dots my Multiply albums. Ikay, my elder sister Ate Teng and I compose the Tres Marias of my family. We hang out a lot and goof out more often. Our favorite gimiks are going out to see flicks (especially cartoons!), wasting time at the arcade, window-shopping at toy stores and of course, gorging on comfort food. Ikay eats the most out of us three.

9. I'm that movie freak that laughs out loud and even claps (!) in the middle of movies. Back in HS, my favorite game with my movie buddies was Guess-That-Movie-Trailer. Sometimes the games turned to shouting matches wherein the winner was the one who blurted out the movie title first. Trust me, you would have hated to be seated next to us. I've also watched movies solo several times, and regretted none of those instances.

10. I think I'll always be an outdoors girl, even if I'm actually terrified of swimming in anything that's beyond the reach of my toes.

11. The farthest and most challenging mountain I've ever climbed was Mt. Apo, and that by far was the most humbling experience I've ever had in my life.

12. I've found a new vice in dancing. I'd scrimp on money for food, but not money for weekend dance classes. I dance while I walk. I dance while I work. I dance while I type. I sincerely hope I could do this forever.

13. I get sad when I commute without listening to music from my mp3 player (either I left it at home or it ran out of battery). Truly sad. I get so irritable that sometimes I throw tantrums, and God forbid that you should find yourself in the middle of an Ish-tantrum.

14. It doesn't suit me, but I'm such a crier. I cry when I laugh. I cry when I get mad. I cry at sad movies. I cried upon hearing the first riffs of 'Alapaap' during the EHeads concert.

15. I've lost more than 10 cellphones in less than 10 years. The one I had longest with me was for less than a year; the shortest lifespan was 2 weeks. But if you're a close friend, you probably already knew that.

16. I'm the youngest of five girls. Even if out of the five, I have the least chance of getting anything new, I have the comfort of knowing that I'm the cute one. Haha! =P I often think of how it could have been like if all of us could have grown up at least in the same country (two of them are in Canada, while one's in Singapore). Riot!

17. Ikay and I borrow each other's clothes and shoes. Good thing we have the same taste.

18. I still have a vivid recollection of the first time I cheated on a test. It was during Grade 3 -- I had some trouble memorizing the multiplication table. In the middle of a quiz, I felt someone kick me and I saw my seatmate gesture to a copy of the multiplication table underneath our chairs. You know who you are! =P

19. When Neil Gaiman came to Manila, I got to hug him! Thanks Quel for hooking me up.

20. One sure-fire way to make me sleepy -- scratch my head.

21. One sure way to tick me off is to let me catch you littering. Argh! Ang laki naman ng basurahan mo.

22. I got my first INC and my first DRP in UP when I took up masters. Humabol pa...

23. 2008 was a good year for me. It was the first time I stepped out of Philippine territory -- and my first destination was India. Definitely an experience.

24. I dream of doing a lot of things, but the one thing I really want to do is to bungee jump. My parents are going to kill me, but I'm going to die anyway. =P

25. I want to finish writing a book as well someday. Maybe something on being single forever. =P

i heart.

2009-01-27T03:58:00.001+08:00

a 'hearts' post THIS near to february? coming from me? the world must be coming to an end.

the topic's usually too sappy for my own taste (oh spare me the accusing looks), but this was too astonishing to just brush off. i came across a post of heart-shaped natural features found in the planet -- islands, lakes, forests, you name it. awesome, right?

the first one's an island called Galesnjak in Croatia, the second one's a heart-shaped mangrove in New Caledonia, while the last one's a real forest in Cantabria, Spain. amazing. maybe we can have heart-shaped rice terraces. anyway, if you want more, just click over here to get bowled over.

Kaladkarin Invades Cebu Once Again!

2009-01-23T04:12:00.004+08:00

Proof that if things don't go as planned, then your plan was wrong. =P We originally wanted to idle away in Boracay for January, but after some discussions, hotel-scouting, and some shifts in the constellations, plans changed and we opted to meet up with Mike in Cebu instead.

And thank God we did. It was already my 3rd time in Cebu in less than 3 years, yet I still got to experience a lot of new things. Sky Adventure, Plantation Bay, table tennis marathons, badminton matches, Sutukil+Pod5 Videoke, Cawasan Falls, Moalboal Beach, clubbing, and of course, our lamon-til-you-drop binging sessions -- yep, all those in 5 days. And for a change, we only checked out the mall during our last day! Ralph already did a great job documenting every step we took during those 5 days; check out his photos. One thing's for sure -- it wouldn't have been as fun if the Sepulvedas did not take us under their wing and put up with our merry band of pasaway bakasyonistas. Daghang salamat! (Mike, uwi ka na ulit! =P)

Okay, enough babbling. More photos over at Ralph and Philip's multiply sites, and of course, mine as well:
http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/35/Kaladkarin_Flies_High_Sky_Walk#
http://rarefied.multiply.com/photos
http://peejay6459.multiply.com/photos/album/14/Plantation_Bay_-_Kawasan_-_Moalboal#

Tres Marias Set Loose in Manila Ocean Park

2009-01-03T04:09:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since our last kids' day out, so Ate Ting, Ikay (my niece) and I set off for Manila for a fishy escapade at Manila Ocean Park. Apparently, a lot of other kiddies also had the same idea. The place was so packed, you had to get a number, just to BUY the ticket. To give you an idea, the number I got was 890; they were still serving number 357. The three of us let the time pass by gorging on munchies and looking for good photo-op spots.

Finally, we got our tickets and entered the oceanarium. As you may have already predicted, we saw fish after fish after fish after fish. I had fun, though, as I've never been in another oceanarium before. The shark tank was a bit of a downer, though; I was hoping to see big ones. However, all in all, since I had Ate Ting and Ikay for company, there was never a dull moment. :)

Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/34/Tres_Marias_Set_Loose_At_Ocean_Park.

Let's Do The Year-end Thing

2008-12-25T20:01:00.001+08:00

owe it to this year's unexpected Christmas house arrest due to the flu-- i already weeded out my old clothes, bags & notes, and got to do my year-end thing way earlier than expected. =P i usually make a calendar/wallpaper as an ode to year that has passed, but for this year, i made animotos instead (sinong tamad?). rummaging through my PC and online albums for pics made me see that this year was more eventful than i realized. the fact that i can't squeeze all the pics i want into the vids tells me i have a lot of thanking to do. =) i'm thankful that The Man Up Above granted me the chances, as well as the challenges, I've encountered this year. admittedly, i've grown, even just for a teeny bit. thanks for everyone who's been part of my 2008, who's made it something worth making all of these vids. =P

here are some of the year's highlights:
.: Sinulog + Bohol Adventures (Jan)
.: SWAT's Putipot Offsite (Feb)
.: Ben's homecoming @ Palawan (Apr)
.: SWAT's life-changing Anilao offsite (Apr)
.: Anawangin getaway with Cla, Patch & Xtin (May)
.: Bugsy encounters Baboon-Shark, among other things, @ Boracay (May)
.: Kaladkarin Loose in Bangalore, India (May)
.: SWAT Resignation Dramas (June)
.: The Legendary SEA Backpacking Escape: Kuala Lumpur - Siam Reap - Ho Chi Minh City (July)
.: SG F1 Grand Prix + A Peek at my Sister's Life in SG (Sept-Oct)
.: My 1st dance compet @ Dolce (Oct)
.: Cliff-diving @ Tali (Oct)
.: Bugsy's day-out @ Tagaytay (Dec)

[Jan-Feb-Mar]

[Apr-May-June]

[July-Aug-Sept]

[Oct-Nov-Dec]

note to self

2008-12-21T21:21:00.000+08:00

Dear Self,

Nobody was ever born perfect,so get used to making mistakes.

Get used to doing things that you wish you haven't done. Get used to NOT doing things you should have done, if only you had the wits (or guts) that a meaningful life calls for.

Bottom line - get used to making mistakes. Lots of them. In fact, start enjoying the experience.

shout-out for 1984 kiddos

2008-12-08T03:54:00.000+08:00

the thing that i love about hanging out with Team Bugsy are the zany theories we throw at each other, ranging from the hands-down-insane to the this-might-be-worth-taking-a-look-at. during one of our bouts during the long weekend, a friend piped up with this conclusion -- there are no good-looking guys born during our year, 1984.

okay, okay, before the hostile reactions, i admit that this might be quite a rash generalization --- that's why we're asking people to prove us wrong. do you guys beg to differ? send us pics, and we'll eat our words. =P otherwise, who knows, ridiculous as it sounds, this might just have a hint of truth that we never really thought about. [i have a feeling i might have a lot of hate mail after this. haha!]

i hate motorcycles.

2008-12-06T03:55:00.000+08:00

nah, hate isn't the word. i LOATHE motorcycles. got hit by one earlier while i was crossing the street with Ikay. joey was right -- it'll literally send you spinning. the driver didn't even have the decency to stop and go back to apologize; i absolutely hated myself when i stood there, stunned, and then shouted after him, 'Sorry!'. tanga. grrr.

i wish that was the worst part. in all the flurry, i didn't realize that he sent my earphones flying off to oblivion. kakabili ko lang nun! grrr talaga. buti na lang mabilis ang karma. Dear Lord, kung okay lang naman, please make this one extra fast. Amen.

bugsy chills @ tagaytay

2008-12-03T11:54:00.000+08:00

another long weekend well-spent. =) after watching Live Aids just the night before with the girls, we whisked ourselves away to Tidoy's pad @ Tagaytay to bum together (couldn't imagine a better way to spend the time =P).

for girls with no plans, we certainly got to do a lot together:
.: crashing 2 weddings @ sonya's garden (even bumped into Joy!)
.: braving the cold with only coffee from starbux
.: stuffed ourselves with greek dishes @ a-random-greek-resto-by-the-road
.: got wowed by tidoy's awesome driving through the fog and the Highland's winding roads with a visibility of only 3 feet (holy cow, how does she do that?!)
.: had dancing lessons courtesy of tidoy's floor-to-ceiling mirror panels
.: went loony during an emo pictorial with joey & tetel (and found a new respect for kids putting eyeliner, btw)
.: saw plants, plants and more plants, and got treated to a healthy breakfast at the Highland's Bistro Saratoga
.: capped off an idyllic weekend getting pampered at the T House Spa

Unwinding with these guys was exactly the type of rescuing I needed, and I'm utterly euphoric that I wasn't able to miss this one. It was a thrill to see how much we've grown, and how much we haven't really. =P Here's to Bugsy, and can't wait til our next escape. Mace, Kmed and Crisel, you absolutely HAVE to be there next time! =)

Pics over at http://ishg.multiply.com/photos/album/28/bugsy_chills_tagaytay.

the superficial

2008-11-10T03:53:00.000+08:00

saw this blog entry about kate moss' legs. i feel better now. =P

ditto, elizabeth bishop.

2008-11-02T03:53:00.001+08:00

at the risk of putting up another emo post [yet again! eeep, i'm on a streak], i'm sharing this poem i came across while reading a melissa bank novel. i may as well have had written this poem myself. if it's possible for your spirits to rise & fall at the same time, then i believe mine just went through that exact (non)rise/(non)fall a moment ago.

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

it's that time of year...

2008-10-21T03:52:00.001+08:00

october -- we love it for the beerbash, but dread it for the annual performance review. over at our end, our ratings (& more importantly, our increase) depend on this laborious document called PPR that we have to draft, detailing every itty-bitty achievement you've got that screams you deserve a 'K' (a.k.a. masokistang-istariray) rating.

i was thinking, if one were to take the work-life balance adage literally, then shouldn't we make a PPR for life as well? for instance, instead of the 'Employee' section, you'll have one for 'Peer' or 'Person'. or instead of 'Operational Excellence', you'll have one for 'Existential Feats', and so on. yeah, yeah, i know i'm being so geeky about it, but i can't help it --- my head's now spinning with the million analogies dying to make it to this post.

i mean, why not? if you were going to make a PPR for life, how would it look like?

same old, same old

2008-10-08T02:19:00.000+08:00

it gets tiring, crying yourself to sleep each time. quite frankly, the self-pity is pathetic and enough is enough.

Day 4: Kaladkarin Goes F1-Crazy in Singapore

2008-09-28T23:15:00.000+08:00

Finally, the day of the race! KE, Ate Tina and I hauled ass over to Suntec for the F1 Motorshow. The two cool things I got to do: (1) don a Maclaren jumpsuit at panindigan ang pagka-poser, (2) watch the car stunts show by world-record holders Russ & Paul Swift (apt names, huh?) and actually get to ride in the car with the stunt drivers! Woot-woo, six bucks well spent! Spent the rest of the time snapping away with the cam and ogling over the race cars.

By nighttime, we joined the rest of the F1 groupies at Marina Bay for the historic event. You could tell that KE & Vic, all clad in Ferrari Red, were so revved up (KE finally got to buy her Ferrari cap, by the way =P). I won't attempt to describe how electric the air was for those 2 hours -- ask KE for the kwento. =) Here are some highlights though -- (1) car crashing right in front of us (yeah, best seats in the house!), (2) me turning into a Lewis Hamilton-groupie, and (3) us joining the rest of the Ferrari fans in utter shock of what happened to Massa and Raikonnen (oh well, crap happens, even in F1).

After the race, we got to stroll on the track proper, and KE and I trooped over to Clarke Quay -- supposedly for some clubbing, but MoS was closed. On a Sunday. On an F1 weekend. Go figure. KE, Ben and I ended up gabbing the night way over ice cream at the riverside, which was a nice ending to a hyper-weekend.

Day 3: Kaladkarin's Adventures in Singapore

2008-09-28T03:50:00.000+08:00

After a barrage of malls, we had an outdoor-sy agenda for this Saturday. Rhea, Mike, Ben, KE and I trooped to the outskirts of Bedok for a 'Forest Adventure'. You know you're in for an exciting day when (1), you have no idea of what the 'Forest Adventure' actually is (hiking, I presumed), and (2), you have no idea of how to go there. So out went the handy-dandy maps again as we navigated our way to the Bedok Reservoir.

Turns out the 'Forest Adventure' leaned heavily more on the 'adventure' part than a commune with nature. The 'forest' were actually the trees that dotted the Bedok Reservoir Park, and Forest Adventure was actually a facility for ziplining and 4 sites of rope bridges enough to whip up any ROTC-whiner into shape.

As we put on the harnesses and helmets, an instructor gave us a drill of how to use the carabiners and told us that the whole adventure course would take around 2 hours. In my head, I was going like, 'Wenk, 2 hours? Magsla-slide lang naman ako. How hard can that be?' As usual, I was dead wrong. Rope ladder pa lang, gegewang-gewang na kami. Ziplining over the reservoir trying not to have another crash landing was the easy part. Going head-to-head with the rope bridges was totally another story! We tarzan-ed, airsplit-ted, air-crawled and practically did every aerial acrobatics move possible (sans somersaulting & flying). The bridge aptly baptized as 'The Trapeze' was the most challenging one -- imagine a log suspended by two ropes (one at each side), resembling a swing. Now imagine crossing over a whole row of those, with nothing to grip on but the ropes and nothing to step on but the logs. I swear, by the last step of that section, we all practically jumped onto the platform hugging the tree branch at the end of the site. Effort! But as exhausting as it may be, there were no regrets (err, except maybe for not being brave enough to bring a camera up on the treetops. alas, all those missed photo ops! darn.)

Famished, we took the bus and the train ride over to Bugis for a food trip. I was already nursing cough and colds ever since I arrived in SG; the morning adventure cost me more energy so I dozed off for a while in the train. And surprise, surprise, kahit sa SG, I can't help being Ish. Yep, when I woke up and we got off at Bugis, I left my wallet on the train. Tsa-ran! We immediately went to the control booth and reported the lost wallet (which contained all my money, IDs, ATM cards, MRT cards... sigh). The troop tried to cheer me up and we went off for some (awesome!) chow at this Thai & Chinese resto. Around an hour later, my sister called us up, saying that someone called her and said that the wallet was found and returned at the MRT! WHEEE! Singapore, what a fine city you are! I was just so psyched to have the wallet back, that I didn't mind when Mike, Rhea, et.al. were taking pictures to document my reunion with my wallet-slash-bag. Whee!

The day must have really taken a toll, because I couldn't bring myself to go out again, even for some clubbing that night. At home, all it took was one plop on the bed and I was a goner. Good night. :)

Day 2: Kaladkarin (aka the F1-Poser) Invades Singapore

2008-09-26T23:26:00.000+08:00

Among other things, KE was dead set on scoring some Charles & Keith shoes, so after a quick breakfast, Ate Ting, KE and I whisked ourselves off to Orchard Road. Not too many stores later, I confirmed that I really was a compulsive shopper, as I bought myself a new blouse even before KE got to pick out shoes. =P We've raided Taka Mall, Isetan and Suntec Mall, before KE had her heart set upon the perfect black C&K heels.

Food-tripping is really a treat in Singapore, as you can always find affordable food in their uber-organized food courts. Everything's already labeled and grouped together -- Dim Sum, Vegetarian Food, Indian Food, Thai Food, Noodles -- all you have to do is choose! Their desserts were to-die-for as well; KE bought this rich white chocolate brownie, which melted in your mouth, and cakes, pastries and chocolates (Royce! eep!) offered free tastes. It's enough to drive any sweet tooth crazy from the limitless choices, I tell you.

The afternoon was set for the F1 Practice Race. Again, as I've mentioned, I know nada about F1; KE even printed out handouts for me with the driver's pictures and everything. :) But the fever tends to be contagious once you find yourself in the midst of all the hard-core F1 groupies. Left and right, the F1 caps/shirts/bags were ubiquitous; seeing people donned in all-Ferrari red from head to foot was not unusual. Groups of fans waved gigantic flags to cheer on their racing heroes. The air was electric from the excitement and anxiety of the first ever night race for F1; this poser considers herself lucky to be part of F1 history. Germans, Japanese, Singaporeans, Aussies, Indians, Brazilians, Filipinoes --- it's a regular UN meeting (or work-conf-call) in here! Vic was right --- seeing it in TV was really different from experiencing it first hand -- hearing the roar of the motors and squeals from the tires, feeling the ground shake under your feet, anticipating the slam of the car as it goes from breakneck speed to a sharp turn.... these things you can't get from the tube. I got baptized into the world of formula-racing, and I have KE to thank for something I can tell I'll be definitely hooked into for the coming years. =)

5 Things I Wish I Can Do

2008-09-10T05:47:00.000+08:00

* Sleep right.
* Eat real food, not food out of the box nor food from over the fastfood counter.
* Not eat at my desk.
* Clean my room.
* Be punctual. Always.

What's the deal with me and phones?

2008-09-07T10:00:00.002+08:00

I guess some things are just not meant to be. Yep, you guessed it right. In less than a month, I lost yet another cellphone. This September '08 loss was brought to you by SMB Oktoberfest --- mahaba-haba nga yung inuman pagkatapos.

To be honest, I lost count of how many phones I've said goodbye to (or rather, how many phones never bothered to tell me goodbye... sniff.). Must be around 10? (Bugsy, how many times did you receive 'Hi-I-lost-my-phone' messages?) I can only remember the highlights. Like my first phone --- it was a Nokia 5110, lost in MegaMall's Surplus Shop. I left it in the dressing room, and it was gone when I came back for it. I was crying so hard (in public! Eeeep!). I almost told Tidoy I couldn't go to her debut because I was too sad. Emo much? Haha!

I've been trying to rack my brain, but I can't remember what phone came after that. I do remember that I had a Nokia 3330, 8250 (I loved this one!), 7250i, 3310, Motorola Slvr L7, Razr... sheesh. I had to look for a visual poster on the evolution of Nokia phone models to remind me. Can't remember if I ever owned an Ericsson. I do know I had a Samsung something -- I was the only one who knew how to send messages with it. Haha.

After going through so many losses, you'd think I'd be more wary. At least I've stuck to keeping my phones on a cord, as my sister always reminds me to get one after each 'na-Ish-nanaman-ako' moment. It's happened so many times that no one really in my family really gets shocked anymore when I tell them I lost another one. It's more like, 'O, talaga? Text mo, baka isoli. Hanap ka ng lumang di ginagamit. O eto uli number ko.'

Most of the time, I've accepted that it's just this thing with me. Like how some people forget their keys. The most recent loss was the only one that really got me fuming mad. It was the first time that a phone was deliberately ripped off from my pocket. Hinayupak na Jumping Jolog yun; mabangga ka sana ng trak, mabalia't mabugbog at manatiling buhay. I guess most of the time, it's not really that I'm too careless; it's just that I'm too naive that I really do believe that nobody really wishes to do you harm, or nobody really conceives of doing something mean to anyone else. Hay. Right now, I hate the fact that I get paranoid whenever I see groups of Jumping Jologs (or JJs for short). Yesterday, I didn't know if it was just paranoia or if Sta. Lucia should officially be declared JJ-hotel. I've lost that good-old trust in people. Dammit.

Oh well, so friends, you know the drill. I'll probably be getting around to getting my old number reactivated this afternoon, so send me your names & numbers tomorrow to replenish the phonebook. Thanks guys, and hopefully I can hold on to my new phone for at least the end of the year. :)

Detached and grateful

2008-09-03T13:09:00.001+08:00

Someone once told me that if things don't go according to plan, then your plan was wrong. From the depths of my heart, once again, thank you, Lord, for showing me that I was wrong.

I don't know what I did right to deserve a second chance, but thank you, Lord, for giving me the wake-up calls of wake-up calls.

Thank you, Lord, for showing me the difference of passion and obligation.

Thank you, Lord, for showing me that instead of trying to outmatch the pace of other clueless zombies like me, I only actually had myself to compete with.

Thank you, Lord, for making me realize that accomplishing greats feats in all other things pale in comparison to the satisfaction I get whenever I finally get over a baby step for something I sincerely love to do. It's the difference between contentment and pure, utter bliss.

Thank you, Lord, for showing me which things were actually worth losing sleep over. I still have a bit of trouble detaching from my old 'programmed' ways, but I'm getting there and frankly, I'm surprising myself every step of the way.

For all these, thank you, Lord -- thank you, thank you, thank you for saving my life.

The Eheads Reunion: An Ultraelectromagnetic Experience

2008-08-31T04:37:00.000+08:00

(For the record, I've got a lot of unposted entries swimming in my head, but this one DEFINITELY deserves to be jotted down, remembered, and immortalized.)

It was a reunion concert, that was for sure, but not just for the Eraserheads. It was for all the 90s kiddos out there, for all the fans and vanguards loyal to OPM, and for all the friends who found a compelling reason to meet up again after a long lull.

Thanks to the fabulously-early Ethel, who was already there as early as 2 pm, we got a great spot at the front of the Patron area, conveniently near the McDo stall of the VIP area. By 8, we were complete and as giddy as eager groupies (maybe even more). Dana pointed out that this was our first time to see the EHeads perform live. Excitement as well as anxiety took over, as I was wondering what the catch would be for this much-anticipated event. Would they only be singing 3 songs? Where the heck were the instruments? Would we be only getting live video feed? I swear, if that happens, I'll find a way to the SVIP section, just to give the organizer a good whack in the head.

Eight-thirty rolled along, and the 10-minute countdown began. Fellow EHeads groupies chanted down every last 10 seconds of each minute, and were cheering like hell for the last one minute. The 'SA WAKAS!' line that flashed on the screen practically summed it all up. Our eyes were glued to the montage of the group's pics on the screen, as we were all wondering what would come next. Then, the familiar intro rifts hit the air, and everybody immediately knew it was Alapaap. Suddenly, something was rising out of the platform -- the stage, instruments, killer sound system, and oh yeah, the EHeads appeared! I don't think there was anyone who wasn't shouting and jumping up and down at that moment. I swear, it was like it was U2 who came out of that stage. I myself was shrieking incessantly, and I could feel tears streaking down my face. It was really happening! Fireworks shooted from the top, the side and the bottom of the stage, sending an already-fired-up audience to a frenzy.

And it was like that for the next 12(?13?14) songs -- everybody jumping up and down, everyone singing at the top of their lungs (never mind hitting the right tone), everyone just so glad to see that yes, miracles do happen. Even Buddy himself was all smiles (I swear, I was such a groupie --- up to the 3rd song, I was shrieking, 'Si Buddy!' everytime the camera focused on him). I love them for singing With a Smile, Shake Yer Head and Toyang. I love them for making me miss lyrics that are at par with Ligaya, Kailan and Huwag Mo Nang Itanong. I love that they featured snapshots of UP while singing Sembreak. God, I love them so much that I even found myself singing to Fruitcake. Ethel was right in saying that there was so much love in there that evening, that friends were reunited and were just there to sincerely enjoy good music and all it stood for. The crowd never really needed any encouragement. It was like playing the National Anthem --- everyone stood at attention and knew what to do by instinct (i.e. wave their hands, hoot loudly, sing 'Do-doo-doo-dooooo!' perfectly during With a Smile).

Of course, as everyone probably knows by now, the event was cut short, as Buddy, Marcus & Raymund, together with Ely's sister, announced that Ely had to be rushed to the hospital and that they themselves were at a state of shock. Despite the obvious disappointment at going from such a great kickoff to a sudden halt, I don't think I heard a jeer or a boo. Heck, Ely belted out a 15-song set, people; one would think that he just gave as much as his strength would permit, before plopping down and calling it quits. The crowd took the news in, understood, and gave the band the heartfelt applause that was due them. A minute of silence was given for prayers, before the crowd parted. Although, I think everyone still kept their tickets, just in case, and prayed for an equally-surreal Part Two. Heck, I would still pay for tickets if there was a Part Two. Frankly, I actually think we still owe them. More than sulit, I tell you. We went on for hours later on, for the most part wondering what songs they were actually planning to do next (Magasin? Para sa Masa? Pare Ko?).

The best part of it all was I got to spend this never-to-forget moment with my high school buddies, Team Bugsy (oo, high school kami nun kaya may pangalan). These were the songs we grew up with, the songs that would trigger memories at once for everyone (i.e. kanta ni Mace, Huwag Kang Matakot's special message, etc.), the songs that were somehow made a part of us and who we were. Just think, how many groups out there were also going through the same thing? Love, miracles and magic went on this August 30th, I tell you. Here's to long friendships, invincible bands, and the power of timeless music.

[nerdox post] Xobni: Friendster for your Outlook

2008-08-21T06:35:00.001+08:00

My Outlook's on steroids. Seriously.

If you're like any other IT yuppie, then my guess is that the bulk of your time is spent writing emails, responding to emails, classifying your emails and yet later, still checking your email client if there's anything you missed. If your work revolves around your Outlook, then this freeware will do you wonders. Or entertain you, at least.

What's exactly so wonderful about Xobni, you ask? It's not that it indexes your inbox and enables email searching at Google-pace. It's not being able to draw stats about your email and email buddies, such as who are your top 10 correspondents, the top 10 people who respond to you the fastest, even your peak email hour/day/week/month [according to Xobni, 11 pm Tuesdays = hell for me]. It's not the profile sidebar that enables you to see each contact, along with your common friends, his email time-habits, your threads and all the attached files in your emails. It's actually the fact that no matter how shamelessly nerdy you get, it just hooks you in, making you visualize your stats over and over, and you just can't wait to tell all your email-slaved friends about it.

One downside though -- it's only for Outlook. Well, never were friends with Notes anyway.

If this post wasn't still as nerdy as hell for you, go check it out or view Xobni's demo vid below:

hep. take a breather.

2008-07-02T03:26:00.002+08:00

i find that life comes in phases. one time, you'll find life so uneventful and boring that you begin to nitpick and question everything. next, you'll find that life hurls everything but the kitchen sink at you that you just want to zone out. bored. nitpick. battered. zone out. chill. think of what's next.

i'm somewhere in that zoning out part right now. recently, to say that things have been chaotic is to put it nicely. i've never thought of myself as that resistant to change, but when it haunts you at home, at work, when you're with your friends, it can be a tad overwhelming. gawd, for crying out loud, i've got this 3 gigantic zits in my face (oo, mayabang na, but when i get zits, that's a very bad sign.) i've already got them named -- BEA, youtube and mike (oo mike, i'm holding you responsible for this. you owe me pond's. =p) but i say, boo-hoo, have a cry over it, be a bratinella if you need to, but then move on. zone out and chill. speak in abbreviated sentences.

as with any muni-muni moment, i usually take a trip down nostalgia lane to calm myself down. i got reoriented with friendster and multiply, and retroed while reading all my past posts and testimonials. it was kind of funny, actually, when i got to reading the oldest testimonials -- these were posts by my high school friends. if you were only getting to know me for the first time, you'll get the impression that i was this patient, uber-nice and perky person who would never complain about anything. i could already hear my officemates' eyebrows hitting the roof. "Si Ish?! Patient?? On what alternate universe?!"

i know i've changed my stance in a lot of ways, but it never really sinked in this much. i guess in challenging times, you get to know who you are, who you want to be, or at least who you were all along. for the record, i've never really believed that soul-searching for who you are would solve anything -- what mattered was that you're happy with whoever you are at a given time.

so that brings us to the question -- am i happy with who i am now? the reborn brat who needs to put on the brakes and grow up? (fyi, i'm still debating with myself if that's a need.) i found that i may be weaker and more vulnerable now than the disciplined thinker i was then. but there's something with being a feeler that's just draws you in; i guess any brand-new feeling is impossible to resist. well, one thing's for sure -- i'm happy that FINALLY i'm able to detach myself from my work (o SWAT, paki-baba uli ng kilay.) now i understand that work is just work. i finally got it through my thick head that work does not define me. big feat, trust me.

so there goes zone out; this is probably the chill phase. so, what's next?

i'd rather

2008-06-13T03:21:00.001+08:00

the problem about dancing is not having to deal with sore muscles and bruises every time. it's that afterwards, you begin to question why you bother doing anything else.

teacher: back, flip, back, stand, back. got it?
kami: (...) sureeee.

how to be unproductive at work 101

2008-06-06T12:30:00.002+08:00

i'm so in love with animoto right now. =p

Day 5 - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-31T22:49:00.002+08:00

It was bittersweet - I was taking my time rolling in the covers that morning, as I knew it would be the last day that I'll be hugging these ultra-soft linens. Even harder to swallow was that we were about to take our last breakfast buffet in the hotel (pun intended). How would breakfast be without the most perfect muffins I've ever tasted? As if by fate, a man approached me and asked how my meal was. He turned out to be the hotel chef and like a starstruck teen, I gushed about how divine every meal was. He promised to whip up something extra special if ever we came back for another visit. Of course, I couldn't let him go without a picture. =)

Lorena had to go back to the office for a meeting with the HP India folks; I actually had the whole day for myself. The day had 'gung-ho adventure' written all over it. I grabbed my bag and set out, only to be met by a throng of people walking ala 'Alay Lakad' towards the city center. It turned out that today was a big day for Bangalore, as they were going to install new members of the Parliamentary. I stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the sea of men on a mission. Good thing that I wore rubber shoes, as I've already walked a good few kilometers before I was able to hail an autorickshaw (i.e. India's 3-wheeled motorcycle that took you anywhere in the city, and I mean anywhere, even on the main highway). That's when I met Babu, my 'tour guide' for the day. At first, I only intended to get a ride to the Lalbargh garden, famous for its huge global collection of horticulture. Babu took me directly to the garden and didn't attempt to impose a sidetrip to a souvenir shop in search of a commision, which was the foremost warning by online tourist reviews and tips. As it was easy to tell that I was an eager tourist, Babu offered to wait for me and take me to my next destination. As Babu seemed to be genuinely nice & quick-witted, I took him up on his offer. True enough, Babu took me directly where I wanted to go; he shattered the image I had of Bangalore's auto-rickshaw drivers.

The garden was a big park in the middle of the city -- and by big, I mean absurdly gigantic. It had a big lake in its heart, where you could go see Lalbagh's gigantic birds in flight. I've never seen so many unrestrained birds up this close. In fact in the middle of bird-watching, one came too close and the coward in me panicked and looked for another good spot in the park. The park was actually a garden started by an emperor and was continued by his son afterwards, who imported plants from all over the world to showcase. Trees were labeled with their location of origin. Aside from the plants, there were interesting monuments & buildings, with which this happy tourist went trigger-happy.

After a looong stroll around the park, I went back to Babu and asked to be taken to the famous Premiere Bookstore over at Church Street. It was a quaint establishment that you could easily pass by the line of stores and not notice it. The bookstore had a 'Book Sale' feel; the walls were filled with shelves of books and in the middle of the room, novels were stacked one over the other in endless piles. I almost fell over when I got to see the titles and authors that easily jumped out. Grishams. Prachetts. Ayn Rands. Classics. Modern best sellers. And all for a good price! I took home 'Eat Pray Love', a Murakami, the Erich Segal book I was looking forward to read for the longest time, and a book written by a recommended Indian author. Of course, I couldn't leave without taking a picture of the shop owner. He asked me where I came from, and when I replied 'the Philippines', he instantly said, "Ah. The Marcoses." Dang it, that was the second time I got that reaction; I refuse to believe that the Marcoses are representative of how we deserve to be seen in the world.

Anyhow, I still walked back to the autorickshaw with my new books and a stupid smile on my face. My next stop was Garupa Mall, which was recommended by Ali. Frankly, I think The Forum had a better selection of shops, but in their department store, I did set my eyes upon a lamp that I definitely MUST have. Never mind that it was about more than a feet tall and would not probaby pass as a hand-carry; I just had to have it! I lugged around my lamp and went back to Babu.

Our next stop was Commercial street, a magnet for bargain hunters. It resembled our Binondo -- the main road was dotted with stalls of textiles, crafts and other what-nots and the by-streets were still brimming with more shops. The prices were remarkably lower than what I've seen in the malls & MG Road. You had to take your time searching for the goods that called out to you; at the end of the day, I came away with a very nice kurta + trousers + stole set for my mom, cute bracelets for my niece, and some trinkets for my officemates. If you find yourself here one day, check out a handicrafts store named 'Bombay Traders'; they had the best selection from what I've seen in Commercial street, and they offer them at a fair price. If you go ga-ga and haul away lots of souvenirs, they give you a sizeable discount. Sweet!

As evening was fast approaching, it was time to call the adventure over. I met up with Lorena and had to bid goodbye to Babu. Babu was waiting with a farewell gift for me -- an orange rose. How's that for total customer experience? Yep, I was lucky enough to meet Bangalore's nicest autorickshaw driver. =)

Dugyot -- that was an apt word to describe us when we got back to our hotel. Since check-out time was 12 noon, we already checked out in the morning and our bags were currently at the luggage counter. However, things were still starting to get better -- the hotel offered us a room where we could freshen up, use the facilities and do some last-minute packing. Just when I thought they couldn't possibly do anything better, I (pleasantly) was proven wrong.

I don't know how I managed to fit in everything I had into my bags, but a couple of hours later, we finally got packed and ready to leave. We bid goodbye to our friend Ali at the shop; I made a mental note to draft up goodbye-and-thank-you emails to the friends we made in India. Taking in India is certainly a experience (and for some people, India is THE experience). I thought I was already an apt traveler, but I could not put into words how much the past 5 days have taught me not only about the world, but also about myself. All in all, India has made me feel bigger yet smaller at the same time. Fate has definitely been sweet to make my first step out of my comfort zone happen in India.

(p.s. In case you're wondering, I did manage to pass off my lamp as hand-carry all the way to Manila. Whee!)

Day 4 - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-30T00:43:00.001+08:00

You could tell our instructor was in a hurry -- we finished our class by noon. Of course, Lorena & I didn't let him go without bombarding him with questions --- and taking some pics, of course. We also took pictures of the whole class. Afterwards, we swung by the HP Main Office and we got to see Ajith's workstation at the River block. The HP main office was divided into several blocks -- Earth, River, Ocean, Time, Space. As I saw Ajith joke around with his teammates, I reminded of how light it was to be in an HP office. I mean, the work pinned you to your seat, but the crowd made it all worth it.

During the afternoon, we had a quick peek over at MG Road & Brigade Road. Shops lined the street, neons lit the place and pedestrians were everywhere, making the place resemble an Indian Hong Kong. We ended up only buying groceries & dinner instead, since the lines were so long everywhere. We retired to the hotel soon after.

Since it was our last night in the hotel, Lorena & I decided to make the most of our stay. As any tourist, we hoarded the shampoo bottles and what-nots, and asked the housekeeping guy for more of the sewing kits. He came back with six; he even brought along more stuff and insisted we keep everything! I asked him if they had a first aid kit. Some minutes later, another guy comes knocking at the door with a huge toolbox in hand. He said he came as soon as possible and asked if we were fine. They thought we had an emergency! The cut Lorena got the other day when she bumped her foot at the table turned out to be a lifesaver; our official excuse was we just needed band-aids. =p

A few moments later, Lorena & I went out to explore the facilities. I got decked in my shirt & shorts, looking forward to finally check out the gym. The first place we checked out was the hotel shop. Surprise, surprise -- we always seem to gravitate towards saris, carpets, shawls! We instantly forged a friendship with the shop-owner Ali from Kashmir, who also exports textiles to Singapore and Delhi. I got to learn so much about quality & history of pashminas and carpets. Ali was such a character -- just looking at person, he knew what that person fancied. He almost converted a non-shawl person like me! Ali also showed us another 'magic carpet', similar to the one we saw the other day. However, this one by was far STUNNING, and it was handwoven silk on silk. Silk on Silk = way expensive, but as something that qualifies as a work of art, I think it's worth the price. By the end of the night, Lorena hauled away a treasure for her soon-to-own condo, plus 2 new gorgeous pashminas.

We checked out the business center next for a bit of emailing and Googling. It was getting late, so Lorena went ahead and got back to our room. I was in my shorts anyway, so I swung by the fitness center for a quick run. I finally retired to the room soon after, took a shower and after a lame attempt to get some packing done, called it a night.

Day 3 - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-29T01:38:00.001+08:00

This day in one-word: trigger-happy. On the way to the office, Lorena and I already had our cameras at hand, hungry to finally get some snapshots of India. The Parliament! Click. Rickshaws! Click. Temples! Click. Cows! Click. Click. Click.

Lorena actually had to go to a meeting in the HP Main Office, so I was by myself at the training for the morning. Anirudha was still the best seatmate -- he troubleshooted my configurations when the labs don't work and he lent me the LAN port so that I could catch up with the SWAT news. Whee! It took me the whole afternoon to realize that nothing was seeping through my mind; I was too excited thinking about visiting this mall we always pass by on our way back to the hotel. Our view of India was still too microscopic (i.e. Airport + Hotel + Office), so we asked Dinesh to drive and wait for us at the mall, where we could at least peek at the normal Indian way of urban life. And surprise, surprise, left and right were saris and scarves, that we just had to have our fill. We also got to see India's version of McDonald's (I wish they'd serve McVeggie and wraps in Manila!). The big burgers were just for 60 bucks each! Sheesh. Lorena bought herself some shoes, while I finally bought my dad the belt he was asking for. As the hunger pangs kicked in, Lorena & I grabbed some dinner. As if tempting fate, I just HAD to grab a Zinger meal from India's KFC. Haha, death wish.

And of course, Dinesh never failed us. He took us to this fancy-looking crafts place named Asian Arts Emporium over at Cunningham Road, saying that we should check out the sandlewood crafts there. As if we knew what sandalwood was, we got down and got greeted by more than just wood carvings. Delicate figurines, carpets, pashminas and vases lined the store's walls from floor to ceiling. Carvings of elephants, camels and turtles looked up from the shelves. Famous Indian jewelry were showcased in a separate room. The store owners were also very eager to fill us in on the history and background about the crafts, and were very helpful to help you spot which stuff suits you. We even got treated to a 'magic' show, with the 'magic box' and of course, the 'magic carpet' (long amusing story). For all those going to Bangalore, you MUST check this shop out. :)

After yet another unplanned spree, we finally retired to our hotel. After dinner, Lorena & I decided to try on the saris we bought earlier. After one pathetic attempt after another, we must have come up with 100 ways of how to NOT wear your sari. We still had lots of fun trying to wear/wrap/pleat/tuck the gorgeous cloths. When we finally came up with something decent enough to pass off as wearable, of course, we had our mini-pictorial. Click. Click. Click.

To cap the day off, I had another pleasant surprise: I got to talk with the GWeb guys over the phone. God, I wish everyone could come over here -- I've been sober for a week now! Haha. GWeb, enjoy the offsite!

Day 2 - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-27T23:36:00.001+08:00

Time for breakfast heaven again! After all the spicy stuff, I almost fell to my knees when I spotted some Chinese dumpling in the buffet table. God, I swear, it was the best chicken dumpling EVER. After a few minutes, we braced the traffic again to the Surya Park office. Erwin So would have fit right in with the drivers in India; the buses were the ones being bullied in the road.

At the training room, my connection was still crappy and I couldn't get emails or access anything online. I never thought I would be one for homesickness; I must admit I miss my teammates, my sister, my niece, our dance classes, the office pantry, everything. I even stopped to watch our SWAT video just to crack a smile. :p

The pace of our lecture was actually too fast, I found myself grasping with concepts flying over my head. From what I got from my seatmate Anirudha, I realized I was in the midst of experienced developers. After our class, we chatted with one of our classmates and found out that she was a solution architect. An actual solution architect (i.e. a myth in the Manila office)! She has 11 years of industry experience -- I have a lot of catching up to do.

Definitely the highlight of our day was when Dinesh, our cab driver, took us to a shop named Silk Udyog tucked away in one of the streets of S.R. Nagar (or as we fondly refer to it, the 'sari-sari' store). Shelves decked with colorful saris bidded us in. Woven saris. Painted saris. Saris with elaborate embroidery. Saris with shiny stones. The store-owners made us sit in front of a platform and even offered us coffeee & tea, as they laid out silks one by one in front of us. To say that they have a wide range of selection is an understatement; you just have to tell your price range, and they'll show you the best value for your money. We saw saris from 300-5000 and there's really one to suit each fashionista out there. To cap it all off, they were selling the saris, clothes and scarves in factory prices. I was in clothes shopping heaven!

After spending a full hour in the shop, we got back to the hotel with our loot. The shopping nirvana set us into such a high, that we didn't mind that we had to spend the whole night catching up in the lab work for the training. After the Nth lab exercise was completed, I finally realized that my mind was just a huge lumped mess and it was time to call it a day.

Day 1 - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-27T09:17:00.001+08:00

This was it, there's no turning back -- we landed in Bangalore a few minutes after midnight. It still wasn't sinking in; I still felt that a few minutes from now, they would eventually find out something wrong with my visa or ticket and they'll have to send me back. But by some miracle, I got through and was allowed to roam Bangalore for the next 6 days. It was official -- the Indian adventure was to begin.

Sunil & Santosh were nice enough to wait for us to find our cab going to the hotel and we exchanged cards before leaving. The right-hand drive cars were at first disorienting. The trip going out of the airport parking lot alone gave us our first taste of Indian traffic. It turned out that the new airport was VERY far away from our hotel -- 33 kilometers in fact. It felt like we landed in Subic and had to go back to the metro. We finally arrived, and Sunil was right; the Windsor hotel treat us like royalty. Once we got to our room, it only took a few minutes for me to (literally) sink into the soft linens and doze off to sleep.

We woke up just a few hours later, bathed, dressed up and hurried off to the buffet breakfast downstairs. It was sheer heaven -- Danish pastries, lassi, fresh fruits, omelets -- it could seriously turn me into a breakfast person! Alas, we only had a few minutes for breakfast since we had to hurry off to the office, which was another 40+ km away! I now know how Alwin feels when he shuttles back and forth from Batangas and Ortigas. There was also construction going on on the main highway, so traffic was really bad. But I almost didn't notice, as I tried to take in the sights of this totally awesome and distinct culture. The majestic Parliament building, the High Court & Cuppan Park were the first landmarks to greet these thirsty tourists. I gaped as girls in colorful and elaborate saris braved the streets in ease as if wearing jeans. I also got to see my first cow and eagle(!) in the middle of the city.

Finally, we reached the HP Surya Park Labs in Electronic City. Apparently, in the Electronic City alone, there were 3 HP offices. HP has 18,000 employees in Bangalore in total... and I thought we were packed in Manila. I felt as if I've left my senses somewhere else -- I didn't know how to open their doors, we couldn't find our contact, we had to ask everyone for access, and I struggled to get my laptop's internet to work. To cap that off, Lorena & I didn't have any rupees with us yet, since Lorena's AMEX card only works with selected banks, banks of which we have no idea where to find. The first hours of that day was just so damn frustrating -- utter bewilderment, I tell you -- that I was really beginning to miss our Ortigas office. I now felt how it was to be at the other side -- I thought of all those visitors from Warsaw, China & India who flew in to our Manila office.

Fortunately, things looked up at the latter part of the day. Lorena & I finally got to spot an HDFC bank after a long walk. Ajith, one of our training classmates, was also nice enough to give us a ride to the HP Main Office after class; he also worked with the Travel Desk to arrange a cab service to shuttle us to and fro our hotel for the next 5 days. What can I say, some of God's angels must be in HP. =) At the end of the day, when we got back to the hotel, we had leftover pizza for dinner (yeah, we played safe). The day must have been more draining than I thought -- I just laid for a few minutes in bed and dozed off in my work clothes.

Prologue - Kaladkarin Invades India

2008-05-25T23:55:00.002+08:00

"You have less fear of strangers than most people and today brings you even farther out into the world! It's a great day to strike up random conversations with strangers and see where they lead. " -- my horoscope for the day. it wasn't kidding.

It was Wednesday afternoon when they told me I was going to India for training. India. This coming Sunday. Eeep. My kalakadkarin-ness rose to another level. Before I knew it, Lorena and I were shuttling to and fro the HP offices & the Indian embassy, trying to pull up everything we need for the trip. Don't even get me started on how hard it was to get to the embassy -- whose brilliant idea was it anyway to put a government office right smack in the middle of Dasmarinas village, a.k.a. land of the ultra-paranoid security guards?

Somehow, everything fell into place (except maybe for my AMEX application) and we found ourselves in NAIA on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't even sinking in yet that I was to go on my first trip outside Philippine soil. As if that wasn't surreal enough, Jericho Rosales stepped out of the plane we were about to get on. Sweet!

We landed in the Kuala Lumpur airport for our connecting trip to Bangalore. Awesome, simply awesome. We even got on a train to get to the other side of the airport. I wish NAIA at least had a train that connected it to the rest of civilization. While waiting for the flight to board, Lorena and I spotted several people with HP backpacks - a dead giveaway for HP employees. Once we boarded the plane, we were right next to the HP backpack guys and it happened that they indeed were based in one of the HP India offices. Our new friends Sunil & Santosh gave us a lot of tips to prepare us for the city. A nifty treat was that the new India airport was just opened 2 days ago (as Sunil put it, the old airport was 'pathetic'), and we were all seeing it for the first time.

During the trip, we also got a preview of the cuisine we were about to brace for the next few days -- lamb curry & chutney were being served for dinner. I counted the hours, knowing that the next few days would bring about something even more interesting.

condo window shopping

2008-04-21T00:49:00.002+08:00

back then, i never really approved of my mom's job. especially when real estate was in the slumps, i've always thought that her job cost her more than it gave -- between the cost of gas to tour prospective buyers who only bought like 1% of the time, and her constant urge to feed every broker under her. thank God that the real estate industry is picking up now, and at a good time too, since my mom really gets to earn for herself since my sisters and i have already graduated.

today, my mom and i went condo-window shopping. i finally thought it was time that i curb my laboy-like-hell lifestyle and think of putting that hard-earned money into something more beneficial. we cruised around and scrutinized model units, floor plans, and cost projections. looking for your future home can really put your priorities into perspective -- you'll realize what you're looking for, what you want and what you can't live without. a lot of what i saw were really nice, but i've narrowed down my choices to a high-rise condo or a mid-rise unit, both in taguig. i must say, the DMCI projects are really spacious and homey, considering that they're in the middle-class price range. condo-window shopping can be an icebreaker for today's yuppie; i'd recommend giving it a try. =)

afterwards, my mom and i even put our heads together to think of my game plan on how to pay for all of it. yes, this kaladkarin will have to trade in her flip-flops for some good old office shoes and face real world words like interests, monthly balance payments, mortgages and fees. eeek. oh well, even if when the time comes, i have to bear with blank walls, blank floors, and a whole lot of stress, i know it'll all be worth it. =)

groove@hp pictorial

2008-04-17T11:49:00.003+08:00

it was a saturday well spent --- spent being the operative word.

dancing was something i discovered i liked late during the college years. fortunately, post-college, i still had the chance to join a dance interest group at work, and it was certainly a whole new experience. last saturday, groove@hp and shutters@hp (the HP photography interest group) hooked up for a pictorial. whee!

i'll never heckle anyone in ANTM again; what they were asked to do was hard, man! i've officially confirmed that i have no talent at posing. nyahaha. having to dance while trying hopelessly to look decent for the camera was hard enough; add to that the people from the full-court bball game nearby who were racking their brains, wondering what the heck we were doing.

but don't get me wrong, i definitely loved that i got to be part of this. it's definitely another item checked off from my life's to-do list (well, one thing was to be in a formal pictorial. the other unexpected item was to be in a 'wet-and-wild' pictorial. haha.) it was an outing + mid-day alchemy + hazing for the Chiara the newbie = total bonding experience for groove@hp (and shutters too! thanks paul, allan and gabby for the awesome pics!)

kaladkarin goes to palawan

2008-04-13T21:22:00.004+08:00

getaways during long weekends have almost become mandatory, but hey, after what we put ourselves through at work, we deserve it.

obviously everyone had the same idea for the 'araw ng kagitingan' weekend. at 7 am, the airport was jampacked; we even bumped into our boss! several hours later, we landed at palawan and the getaway commenced.

there's certainly a lot of things that made this trip memorable:
- the awesome snorkeling at Honda Bay! a few steps from the shore was all it took to be surrounded by schools of fish. i wish i read on corals and marine life first; i feel there's so much more to appreciate if i did that first. it was also my first time to plunge without a life vest. yep, i'm officially over the fear of the depths. whee!
- manong's bat-jokes at the underground river:
* bakit laging tulog ang bat sa umaga? kasi BATugan siya
* anong tawag sa paniking mababa ang lipad? lo-BAT
* (while Alex was holding the flashlight to see the rock formations) "Itapat mo diyan sa taas. Kaliwa pa, di, kaliwa pa. Yan, yan. Kita niyo yan? Bato yan."
- Mang Pepito's lunch spread at Pandan Island -- stuffed pusit, shrimp with garlic, grilled lapu-lapu... yum! (Add to that the spread at Bilao't Palayok, Badjao's seaside resto... remind me why i came back home again? =p)
- the giant jellyfish at Sabang Beach... holy crap, it was the biggest live jellyfish i've ever seen. and poked. and took a picture with. =p
- Taboo and charades til you dropped. And of course, Alex's rendition of Bambi... let's do the Bambi dance!!

Definitely, Palawan has not seen the last of us yet. Our guide, Mang Pepito told us of other spots to see aside from Puerto Princesa, and this kaladkarin can't wait for the next Palawan invasion. If you want an awesome Palawan adventure for your own, you can reach Mang Pepito at +63919-6423107 and he'll hook you up.(yan Mang Pepito ha, plinug na kita. =p)

thanks wes, mich, james & geebs for the pics!

wala lang

2008-03-22T23:29:00.004+08:00

kapag wala kang nakikita, ang nakikita mo ay wala.

kapag wala kang ginagawa, ang ginagawa mo ay wala.

kung gayon, ang wala ay binubuo ng mga mumunting pangyayari o gawain na tila walang kabuluhan. o hindi binibigyang kabuluhan.

doon marahil gawa ang black hole. ang black hole na mas malapit kaysa sa ating akala.

Pick-up Lines for the Java Geeks Out There

2008-03-16T19:19:00.002+08:00

"Are you an exception? Let me catch you."

"public class YourWorld extends MyWorld"

"Are you an applet? You make me feel all GUI (gooey) inside."

"You are my loop condition. I keep coming back to you."

"Buti pa ang Strings, nag-mamatch."

"Buti pa ang data type, may value."

"Buti pa ang Swing components, may Listeners."

"Are you a double? The thought of you always floats inside my head."

"Di na tayo kailangang i-cast pa; magkatype na tayo, e..."

Check out Kaba Modern

2008-03-03T00:58:00.003+08:00

If you know me well, you know I'm close to my niece who's in high school. The cool thing about that is that she always has someone to nag her about her studies, and I always have someone to remind me that I still have a lot to learn (okay, sige, baka nga lugi siya dun...).

For this weekend, Ikay "nagged" me to check out America's Best Dance Crew in youtube. It's sort of the American Idol for street dance. You have to check out this one college group, Kaba Modern. Their choreography is slamming; I particularly like the way they end their routines. Again, it sent me to this spell of regret on why I didn't pick up on sports & dancing earlier, but hey, that's the beauty of today, right? Good thing Ikay's around. =)

for a change

2008-03-02T13:08:00.001+08:00

i got to take part in a Trainor's training last week (for which I'm very grateful for); however, as expected of the typical Ish, i found myself totally unprepared for it. i had no training module, i had no slides, all the "training plans" i've had had no semblance of, well, a plan. good thing a co-trainee was able to give me some in-house training slides for Goal Setting 101 to work with.

and in the end, it worked out well. i even got sold on my own training -- i suddenly had this urge to set some measurable & time-bounded goals for 2008 (sheesh, could i sound yuppie-er?). for someone who never got around to setting goals -- whether it was for the new year or for the PPR -- this is big. they say that if you broadcast your goals, then you're more likely to stick to actually doing them, so here goes:

1. Drink milk everyday.
2. Learn how to dive and get certified. (Anyone up for the same thing? =))
3. Run for 10k without stopping.
4. Go to 12 awesome sites in the Philippines I've never been before. (I've already got 3 down.)

SWAT invades Putipot & Subic

2008-02-18T00:28:00.006+08:00

One thing that I'm really currently grateful for is that I have insane teammates that enable me to hang on to my sanity amidst everything. At work, SWAT is probably known to be a lot of things, but sometimes, you can also get to know SWAT through the things that we're not:

1. We're not squeamish about taking our pictures taken. At all. Apparently, this goes for anything and anywhere.

2. We're not your cookie-cutter team. During this trip, we discovered our superpowers:
Jan - super strength (di tinatamaan)
Jerry - invisibility
Mara - mind control (17, 18, tumbling!)
Me - immortality (never seems to sleep & expire)
Mike - timeshifter (lagi lang ngang late =p)
Noel - magic (eto na yung pulis... engggggg...)
Paul - x-ray & super-zoom vision
Ralph - super-speed (sa paggawa ng docs)
Alex - Sylar, who else?

3. We're definitely not the shy, strong, silent types. Amidst all the wisecracks and tabloid-worthy headlines we throw back and forth during our meetings, it's a miracle we still get anything done.

4. If there's one thing we're famouse for, it's that we're probably not the best choice of companions for someone wishing for sobriety in their lives. (And no, I shall not post our team-building pic proving that. Haha.)

Thanks to Paul for introducing us to Putipot Island, thanks to Paul & Ralph for the awesome pictures, and thanks SWAT for another awesome trip! Sa March uli! =)

OOOF! goes to Anawangin

2008-01-29T10:33:00.001+08:00

it's one of the more fun things I "have" to do in HP -- make sure that everyone's distracted from their work. :)

the Out-Of-Office Fun! initiative had a climb+beach getaway last Sunday, thanks to our great TL Kian, who put it all together. The day started as early as 4:30 am at the Victory Liner terminal at Caloocan; Jan made herself the trip's target by arriving last several hours later. :)

At around 10:30, we were dropped off at San Antonio, Zambales and took tricycles to the jump-off point. After putting on sunblock and a round of stretching, we started the trek. The mountain's relatively a Level 0.5, so it took us just around 4 hours for the whole climb (that's going up + rest stops + singing + lunch + photo ops at peak + alaskahan + going down).

What we found on the other side of the mountain was a beach paradise waiting for us. We couldn't wait to take our fill of this isolated strip of heaven, which we practically had all for ourselves. My words would probably not do justice to the moments of utter bliss we had, so I'd let the pictures do the talking instead. More pics from the great Paul and Kian. thanks to Paul, Kian & Ronnel for posting the pics!

Day 1: Kaladkarin Invades Singapore

2008-01-25T23:26:00.000+08:00

gibberIsh
Compose Entry
Blog Entry Commencement Exercises Mar 25, '09 10:01 AM
for ish's network
When you realize that you barely have two weeks to spend in a company where you have done a lot of growing up, the feeling can be overwhelming. You think a lot about loose ends to tie up. About the relationships you want to hold on to. About how this can be the last time you can find anything as awesome as this. It feels a lot like graduating, to tell you the truth.
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Blog Entry Bootcamp for the Culinarily-Challenged: Round Two! Mar 1, '09 10:56 PM
for ish's network

Challenge #2 was to cook a cream-based pasta dish. What originally started as pesto sauce came out to be what I'll call Pasta with Turkey and Cream Cheese Sauce. =P I have a feeling that the best (or at least, most enjoyable) recipes are the ones that aren't planned. I had a lot of mishaps this time (i.e. the bowl falling into the pan, me pouring A LOT of basil instead of just a dash), but those things just made round 2 a lot of fun. =P And oh, I also made a blueberry pie for my sweet tooth (again, instant, but hey, I'm baking!)
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Blog Entry Bootcamp for the Culinarily-Challenged: One Down! Feb 22, '09 8:55 PM
for ish's network
There have been some instances when I was able to whip up something miraculous out of the blue -- none of those feats involve the kitchen, however. During team offsites, I'd rather be in charge of drinks instead of food, lest I want my friends to die from starvation (or worse, from food poisoning! Eep!).

This year, I resolved to take matters into my own hands, and I'll be forcing myself to cook at least one decent dish per month (except for Feb, I have to cook 2 since I skipped January =P). And you know what? It was actually possible! I was able to come up with fusilli topped with some random ingredients (tomatoes, tuna, mushroom and cheese) without screwing anything up. I also wanted to try out a friend's tip about baking (our oven's busted but he told me that a turbo broiler does more or less the same thing), so I put a box of instant brownie mix to the test and, booyah, yummy dessert. =) The folks at home finished off their meals without collapsing, so I think it's fair enough to say that round one has been officially conquered.

Yep, I know it's still a longshot from warranting the respect of anyone culinarily-able, but at least I'm making baby steps.I am just so psyched right now. Whoopee! =)
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Blog Entry AJSS Grand Reunion on May 23 Feb 19, '09 12:02 AM
for everyone
It's about time. =P

Calling all Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar (AJSS) alumni -- be there at the Grand Reunion slated for May 23, 2009, after the graduation of the 42nd batch of AJSS.

I don't have the specifics yet, but if you're itching for details, you can contact Kamille Tabalan (Assistant Coordinator for AJSS) at (02) 426-6001 loc. 5152, or email her at ktabalan@ateneo.edu. Hope to see you guys there! And oh, bring lots of pics & memorabilia. Haha! =)

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Blog Entry I know you'd want to know... Feb 12, '09 12:25 PM
for ish's network
Each name here corresponds to a question. If you want to know the q's, just message me, but you'll have to post your own answers as well. Have fun! =)

1. KE Enriquez
2. Tidoy Abastillas
3. Heidi Klum
4. Mara Manalad
5. Crisel Consunji
6. Tons Jadaone
7. Carlos Lasa
8. Jan San Jose
9. Bob Ong. Masaya to.
10. Joy Catapang
11. Ralph Mandingiado
12. Ikay Gagno (may bayad to...)
13. Mike Sepulveda
14. Peggy Ongsiaco
15. Vic Endriga
16. Kat Rivera
17. Ako, definitely.
18. Ikay Gagno
19. Tidoy Abastillas. Very very.
20. Pepoy Ferrer
21. Gigi Torres and April Rodriguez
22. Tina Gagno
23. Si Lord.
24. Mara Manalad
25. Ethel Francisco
26. Hmm. I honestly haven't really thought about it.
27. My mom
28. Denise Verastigue
29. Oo, ikaw yun. Dali na.
30. This was fun. Haha!
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Blog Entry My 25 Random Things Feb 10, '09 2:48 AM
for ish's network
I finally got this done! Am tagging everyone who wants to make their own list. Hehe. =P

1. I'm a true-blue kaladkarin. It takes all of my will to say no to an interesting trip, event or experience. A great year would be getting to visit 12 islands in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao within 12 months. An awesome year would be wherein every trip is paid for by someone else. Haha!

2. Each time before I take a bath, I dip my hand into the water and make the sign of the cross. It was an odd habit I picked up way back when our housekeeper made me do it every time she would give me a bath.

3. I could Youtube all day. I look up dance vids, commercials, series episodes, viral vids, almost everything online. Yep, that also goes to say that I barely watch TV. I blame Youtube for multiple counts of tardiness.

4. I used to write like crazy. I almost took Journalism instead of Computer Science. No regrets here.

5. I like geek talk, so sue me.

6. If you ask my closest friends, almost all my crushes have NOTHING in common.

7. As a child, I was a church rat. My kababatas are composed of members of the kids' choir and the Knights of the Altar. We still hang out. One of us just got hitched last month; I think he was the first of the bunch.

8. I have a 15-year old niece, Ikay -- her presence dots my Multiply albums. Ikay, my elder sister Ate Teng and I compose the Tres Marias of my family. We hang out a lot and goof out more often. Our favorite gimiks are going out to see flicks (especially cartoons!), wasting time at the arcade, window-shopping at toy stores and of course, gorging on comfort food. Ikay eats the most out of us three.

9. I'm that movie freak that laughs out loud and even claps (!) in the middle of movies. Back in HS, my favorite game with my movie buddies was Guess-That-Movie-Trailer. Sometimes the games turned to shouting matches wherein the winner was the one who blurted out the movie title first. Trust me, you would have hated to be seated next to us. I've also watched movies solo several times, and regretted none of those instances.

10. I think I'll always be an outdoors girl, even if I'm actually terrified of swimming in anything that's beyond the reach of my toes.

11. The farthest and most challenging mountain I've ever climbed was Mt. Apo, and that by far was the most humbling experience I've ever had in my life.

12. I've found a new vice in dancing. I'd scrimp on money for food, but not money for weekend dance classes. I dance while I walk. I dance while I work. I dance while I type. I sincerely hope I could do this forever.

13. I get sad when I commute without listening to music from my mp3 player (either I left it at home or it ran out of battery). Truly sad. I get so irritable that sometimes I throw tantrums, and God forbid that you should find yourself in the middle of an Ish-tantrum.

14. It doesn't suit me, but I'm such a crier. I cry when I laugh. I cry when I get mad. I cry at sad movies. I cried upon hearing the first riffs of 'Alapaap' during the EHeads concert.

15. I've lost more than 10 cellphones in less than 10 years. The one I had longest with me was for less than a year; the shortest lifespan was 2 weeks. But if you're a close friend, you probably already knew that.

16. I'm the youngest of five girls. Even if out of the five, I have the least chance of getting anything new, I have the comfort of knowing that I'm the cute one. Haha! =P I often think of how it could have been like if all of us could have grown up at least in the same country (two of them are in Canada, while one's in Singapore). Riot!

17. Ikay and I borrow each other's clothes and shoes. Good thing we have the same taste.

18. I still have a vivid recollection of the first time I cheated on a test. It was during Grade 3 -- I had some trouble memorizing the multiplication table. In the middle of a quiz, I felt someone kick me and I saw my seatmate gesture to a copy of the multiplication table underneath our chairs. You know who you are! =P

19. When Neil Gaiman came to Manila, I got to hug him! Thanks Quel for hooking me up.

20. One sure-fire way to make me sleepy -- scratch my head.

21. One sure way to tick me off is to let me catch you littering. Argh! Ang laki naman ng basurahan mo.

22. I got my first INC and my first DRP in UP when I took up masters. Humabol pa...

23. 2008 was a good year for me. It was the first time I stepped out of Philippine territory -- and my first destination was India. Definitely an experience.

24. I dream of doing a lot of things, but the one thing I really want to do is to bungee jump. My parents are going to kill me, but I'm going to die anyway. =P

25. I want to finish writing a book as well someday. Maybe something on being single forever. =P
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Blog Entry i heart. Jan 27, '09 3:42 AM
for everyone
a 'hearts' post THIS near to february? coming from me? the world must be coming to an end.

the topic's usually too sappy for my own taste (oh spare me the accusing looks), but this was too astonishing to just brush off. i came across a post of heart-shaped natural features found in the planet -- islands, lakes, forests, you name it. awesome, right?

the first one's an island called Galesnjak in Croatia, the second one's a heart-shaped mangrove in New Caledonia, while the last one's a real forest in Cantabria, Spain. amazing. maybe we can have heart-shaped rice terraces. anyway, if you want more, just click over here to get bowled over.
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Blog Entry Let's Do The Year-end Thing Dec 25, '08 8:48 PM
for everyone
owe it to this year's unexpected Christmas house arrest due to the flu-- i already weeded out my old clothes, bags & notes, and got to do my year-end thing way earlier than expected. =P i usually make a calendar/wallpaper as an ode to year that has passed, but for this year, i made animotos instead (sinong tamad?). rummaging through my PC and online albums for pics made me see that this year was more eventful than i realized. the fact that i can't squeeze all the pics i want into the vids tells me i have a lot of thanking to do. =) i'm thankful that The Man Up Above granted me the chances, as well as the challenges, I've encountered this year. admittedly, i've grown, even just for a teeny bit. thanks for everyone who's been part of my 2008, who's made it something worth making all of these vids. =P

here are some of the year's highlights:
.: Sinulog + Bohol Adventures (Jan)
.: SWAT's Putipot Offsite (Feb)
.: Ben's homecoming @ Palawan (Apr)
.: SWAT's life-changing Anilao offsite (Apr)
.: Anawangin getaway with Cla, Patch & Xtin (May)
.: Bugsy encounters Baboon-Shark, among other things, @ Boracay (May)
.: Kaladkarin Loose in Bangalore, India (May)
.: SWAT Resignation Dramas (June)
.: The Legendary SEA Backpacking Escape: Kuala Lumpur - Siam Reap - Ho Chi Minh City (July)
.: SG F1 Grand Prix + A Peek at my Sister's Life in SG (Sept-Oct)
.: My 1st dance compet @ Dolce (Oct)
.: Cliff-diving @ Tali (Oct)
.: Bugsy's day-out @ Tagaytay (Dec)

[Jan-Feb-Mar]

[Apr-May-June]

[July-Aug-Sept]

[Oct-Nov-Dec]

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Blog Entry Urban Pleasures: Big Apple Express Spa Dec 23, '08 10:44 PM
for ish's network
my sister was feeling under the weather, so instead of window-shopping-to-death as we always do, we decided to hit the Beauty & Wellness nook in Galleria in search of some pampering.

the rock-bottom prices advertised in Big Apple Express Spa's banner caught our eye. i signed up for the Wall Street Express (P 149 for a 30-min full body massage), while my sister went for the Manhattan Express (P 299 for a 1-hr full body massage). we were not really expecting much, given that we almost paid for the spa treatment with a song. to our surprise, we were called and were led to private rooms with these comfy beds & towels; the tea lights and relaxing music added to the ambiance. moments later, we were given worth for our money with a soothing massage, enough to unwind any strung-out yuppie. i love that the spa took off the frills; i was there for the good-old rubdown anyway. it was so tranquil, i think i even dozed off for a few minutes. i go gaga over foot massages, so i signed up for an extra FootRelax Massage (P49 for 15 mins) after my masseuse was done. 200 bucks for a full body massage + extra foot pampering? Sulit! :p

i'll definitely be coming back here -- most likely when we're back at work and would be in most need to reclaim some peace of mind. or when the emo attacks come and i just need to indulge in some self-pampering without burning a hole in my pocket. for those who want to check it out, there are branches in Gateway Mall, Robinsons Galleria, Market! Market! and SM Pasig (Hypermart).
Tags: massage, review, spa
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Blog Entry message to self Dec 21, '08 9:32 PM
for ish's network
Dear Self,

Nobody was ever born perfect,so get used to making mistakes.

Get used to doing things that you wish you haven't done. Get used to NOT doing things you should have done, if only you had the wits (or guts) that a meaningful life calls for.

Bottom line - get used to making mistakes. Lots of them. In fact, start enjoying the experience.
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Blog Entry i hate motorcycles. Dec 6, '08 11:10 PM
for ish's network
nah, hate isn't the word. i LOATHE motorcycles. got hit by one earlier while i was crossing the street with Ikay. joey was right -- it'll literally send you spinning. the driver didn't even have the decency to stop and go back to apologize; i absolutely hated myself when i stood there, stunned, and then shouted after him, 'Sorry!'. tanga. grrr.

i wish that was the worst part. in all the flurry, i didn't realize that he sent my earphones flying off to oblivion. kakabili ko lang nun! grrr talaga. buti na lang mabilis ang karma. Dear Lord, kung okay lang naman, please make this one extra fast. Amen.
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Blog Entry shout-out for 1984 kiddos Dec 4, '08 1:33 AM
for ish's contacts

the thing that i love about hanging out with Team Bugsy are the zany theories we throw at each other, ranging from the hands-down-insane to the this-might-be-worth-taking-a-look-at. during one of our bouts during the long weekend, a friend piped up with this conclusion -- there are no good-looking guys born during our year, 1984.

okay, okay, before the hostile reactions, i admit that this might be quite a rash generalization --- that's why we're asking people to prove us wrong. do you guys beg to differ? send us pics, and we'll eat our words. =P otherwise, who knows, ridiculous as it sounds, this might just have a hint of truth that we never really thought about. [i have a feeling i might have a lot of hate mail after this. haha!]
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Blog Entry the superficial Nov 10, '08 12:59 PM
for ish's network
saw this blog entry about kate moss' legs. i feel better now. =P
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Blog Entry ditto, elizabeth bishop. Nov 2, '08 11:00 PM
for ish's network
at the risk of putting up another emo post [yet again! eeep, i'm on a streak], i'm sharing this poem i came across while reading a melissa bank novel. i may as well have had written this poem myself. if it's possible for your spirits to rise & fall at the same time, then i believe mine just went through that exact (non)rise/(non)fall a moment ago.

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

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Blog Entry it's that time of year... Oct 21, '08 2:04 AM
for ish's network
october -- we love it for the beerbash, but dread it for the annual performance review. over at our end, our ratings (& more importantly, our increase) depend on this laborious document called PPR that we have to draft, detailing every itty-bitty achievement you've got that screams you deserve a 'K' (a.k.a. masokistang-istariray) rating.

i was thinking, if one were to take the work-life balance adage literally, then shouldn't we make a PPR for life as well? for instance, instead of the 'Employee' section, you'll have one for 'Peer' or 'Person'. or instead of 'Operational Excellence', you'll have one for 'Existential Feats', and so on. yeah, yeah, i know i'm being so geeky about it, but i can't help it --- my head's now spinning with the million analogies dying to make it to this post.

i mean, why not? if you were going to make a PPR for life, how would it look like?
Tags: hp, work
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Blog Entry same old, same old Oct 8, '08 2:19 AM
for ish's network
it gets tiring, crying yourself to sleep each time. quite frankly, the self-pity is pathetic and enough is enough.
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Blog Entry Day 4: Kaladkarin Goes F1 Crazy in Singapore Oct 2, '08 5:09 AM
for ish's network
Finally, the day of the race! KE, Ate Tina and I hauled ass over to Suntec for the F1 Motorshow. The two cool things I got to do: (1) don a Maclaren jumpsuit at panindigan ang pagka-poser, (2) watch the car stunts show by world-record holders Russ & Paul Swift (apt names, huh?) and actually get to ride in the car with the stunt drivers! Woot-woo, six bucks well spent! Spent the rest of the time snapping away with the cam and ogling over the race cars.

By nighttime, we joined the rest of the F1 groupies at Marina Bay for the historic event. You could tell that KE & Vic, all clad in Ferrari Red, were so revved up (KE finally got to buy her Ferrari cap, by the way =P). I won't attempt to describe how electric the air was for those 2 hours -- ask KE for the kwento. =) Here are some highlights though -- (1) car crashing right in front of us (yeah, best seats in the house!), (2) me turning into a Lewis Hamilton-groupie, and (3) us joining the rest of the Ferrari fans in utter shock of what happened to Massa and Raikonnen (oh well, crap happens, even in F1).

After the race, we got to stroll on the track proper, and KE and I trooped over to Clarke Quay -- supposedly for some clubbing, but MoS was closed. On a Sunday. On an F1 weekend. Go figure. KE, Ben and I ended up gabbing the night way over ice cream at the riverside, which was a nice ending to a hyper-weekend.
Tags: travel, vacation, singapore, hp, bugsy, tourist, f1, grand prix, ferrari, marina bay, clarke quay, suntec, motorshow
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Blog Entry Day 3: Kaladkarin's Adventures in Singapore Sep 28, '08 3:16 AM
for ish's network
After a barrage of malls, we had an outdoor-sy agenda for this Saturday. Rhea, Mike, Ben, KE and I trooped to the outskirts of Bedok for a 'Forest Adventure'. You know you're in for an exciting day when (1), you have no idea of what the 'Forest Adventure' actually is (hiking, I presumed), and (2), you have no idea of how to go there. So out went the handy-dandy maps again as we navigated our way to the Bedok Reservoir.

Turns out the 'Forest Adventure' leaned heavily more on the 'adventure' part than a commune with nature. The 'forest' were actually the trees that dotted the Bedok Reservoir Park, and Forest Adventure was actually a facility for ziplining and 4 sites of rope bridges enough to whip up any ROTC-whiner into shape.

As we put on the harnesses and helmets, an instructor gave us a drill of how to use the carabiners and told us that the whole adventure course would take around 2 hours. In my head, I was going like, 'Wenk, 2 hours? Magsla-slide lang naman ako. How hard can that be?' As usual, I was dead wrong. Rope ladder pa lang, gegewang-gewang na kami. Ziplining over the reservoir trying not to have another crash landing was the easy part. Going head-to-head with the rope bridges was totally another story! We tarzan-ed, airsplit-ted, air-crawled and practically did every aerial acrobatics move possible (sans somersaulting & flying). The bridge aptly baptized as 'The Trapeze' was the most challenging one -- imagine a log suspended by two ropes (one at each side), resembling a swing. Now imagine crossing over a whole row of those, with nothing to grip on but the ropes and nothing to step on but the logs. I swear, by the last step of that section, we all practically jumped onto the platform hugging the tree branch at the end of the site. Effort! But as exhausting as it may be, there were no regrets (err, except maybe for not being brave enough to bring a camera up on the treetops. alas, all those missed photo ops! darn.)

Famished, we took the bus and the train ride over to Bugis for a food trip. I was already nursing cough and colds ever since I arrived in SG; the morning adventure cost me more energy so I dozed off for a while in the train. And surprise, surprise, kahit sa SG, I can't help being Ish. Yep, when I woke up and we got off at Bugis, I left my wallet on the train. Tsa-ran! We immediately went to the control booth and reported the lost wallet (which contained all my money, IDs, ATM cards, MRT cards... sigh). The troop tried to cheer me up and we went off for some (awesome!) chow at this Thai & Chinese resto. Around an hour later, my sister called us up, saying that someone called her and said that the wallet was found and returned at the MRT! WHEEE! Singapore, what a fine city you are! I was just so psyched to have the wallet back, that I didn't mind when Mike, Rhea, et.al. were taking pictures to document my reunion with my wallet-slash-bag. Whee!

The day must have really taken a toll, because I couldn't bring myself to go out again, even for some clubbing that night. At home, all it took was one plop on the bed and I was a goner. Good night. :)
Tags: travel, vacation, singapore, hp, bugsy, food, tourist, forest adventure, bedok, zipline, rope bridge
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Blog Entry Day 2: Kaladkarin (a.k.a. the F1 Poser) Invades Singapore Sep 26, '08 11:26 PM
for ish's network
Among other things, KE was dead set on scoring some Charles & Keith shoes, so after a quick breakfast, Ate Ting, KE and I whisked ourselves off to Orchard Road. Not too many stores later, I confirmed that I really was a compulsive shopper, as I bought myself a new blouse even before KE got to pick out shoes. =P We've raided Taka Mall, Isetan and Suntec Mall, before KE had her heart set upon the perfect black C&K heels.

Food-tripping is really a treat in Singapore, as you can always find affordable food in their uber-organized food courts. Everything's already labeled and grouped together -- Dim Sum, Vegetarian Food, Indian Food, Thai Food, Noodles -- all you have to do is choose! Their desserts were to-die-for as well; KE bought this rich white chocolate brownie, which melted in your mouth, and cakes, pastries and chocolates (Royce! eep!) offered free tastes. It's enough to drive any sweet tooth crazy from the limitless choices, I tell you.

The afternoon was set for the F1 Practice Race. Again, as I've mentioned, I know nada about F1; KE even printed out handouts for me with the driver's pictures and everything. :) But the fever tends to be contagious once you find yourself in the midst of all the hard-core F1 groupies. Left and right, the F1 caps/shirts/bags were ubiquitous; seeing people donned in all-Ferrari red from head to foot was not unusual. Groups of fans waved gigantic flags to cheer on their racing heroes. The air was electric from the excitement and anxiety of the first ever night race for F1; this poser considers herself lucky to be part of F1 history. Germans, Japanese, Singaporeans, Aussies, Indians, Brazilians, Filipinoes --- it's a regular UN meeting (or work-conf-call) in here! Vic was right --- seeing it in TV was really different from experiencing it first hand -- hearing the roar of the motors and squeals from the tires, feeling the ground shake under your feet, anticipating the slam of the car as it goes from breakneck speed to a sharp turn.... these things you can't get from the tube. I got baptized into the world of formula-racing, and I have KE to thank for something I can tell I'll be definitely hooked into for the coming years. =)
Tags: travel, singapore, orchard, f1, grand prix
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Blog Entry Day 1: Kaladkarin Invades Singapore Sep 25, '08 11:58 PM
for ish's network
I can't even remember why the heck I bought 10k tickets for the F1 SG Grand Prix when I don't have the slightest inkling about cars (heck, I don't even know how to drive!), but thank God, I did book this getaway. This vacation happened just at a time when I needed it most; I needed some down time for peace of mind and to recover whatever semblance of sanity I had left.

So just hours before my flight, I dumped all my things into my luggage (with the other things I shouldn't mention, just as any good old Pinoy would do for their SG-based relatives). Camera? Check. 1 week's worth of clothes? Hmm, pwede na, check. Laptop? Definitely not coming with me!

My sister (Ate Ting) and I hauled ass to the airport and met up with KE; we picked out some booze for my sister in SG (as gratitude for the awesome accommodations =P). I slept through most of the flight, as always. The taxi ride to Ate Bec's place near Tiong Bahru was a gabfest, as we caught up on how the trip was, what to expect, and what we were going to do the next few days. Ate Ting's going to relocate to Singapore as well, so their plans actually went on for the next few weeks. I took some time to zone out and take in my first glimpse of Singapore. As expected, the roads were clean and wide, the drivers were orderly, the buildings were tall and shiny --- an OC's paradise. Despite the limitation on land, there were actually a lot of development and construction still ongoing; unlike ours, their sites were actually dotted with cranes, and it was rare sight to catch a construction worker balancing on bamboo scaffoldings.

I caught my first whiff of incense and first pigeon sighting as we alighted the cab; I really was in another country. We settled in and rushed off to the nearest McDonald's to finally catch some late lunch (side note: if you want a quick estimate of how your currency compares with foreign currencies, check out the McDonald's menu prices and adjust accordingly). Conveniently, her place was just a block away from the nearest MRT station, so as any giddy kaladkarin, we secured our EZ link cards and prepared ourselves for some hyper-commuting.

Navigating their train system came easily; just follow the arrows, color codes and the throng of tourists. We got off at the Orchard station and the first mall we thoroughly explored was -- surprise, surprise -- Lucky Plaza. They were right; the place had that Virra Mall feel and was distinctly Pinoy. Shops peddled Mang Tomas, sinigang mixes, chicharon and the like; remittance counters were aplenty. We traversed through the other malls along Orchard Road, visited the SG Visitor Centre and scored ourselves some maps and pamphlets. Ate Bec insisted we try the $1 wafer-ice cream sandwiches sold ala-sorbetero in the streets; the mint one's a must-try!

KE and I were actually up for some museum-raiding (some museums waived the entrance fee after 6 pm and that scored high in our cheapskate-turista meter), so we broke off from the group. The shameless turista in me carried that trusty (not to mention, huge) SG-street map in my pocket at all times, as we braved the SG streets in search of the museum. One funny thing happened along the way, though -- we got approached by this chatty lady who asked for our email addreses and said that she was part of this modelling agency. Haha, talk about SG job opportunities! Nyahaha, kapal. =P Oh well, that's what you get when you have 2 tall girls all smiles and giddy about the coming adventure. Kahit malabo lang malamang yung mga mata niya, natuwa pa rin kami. Haha.

We treaded on and finally got to our destination. But lo and behold, an actual Ferrari was just parked in front of the museum! For a moment, we just got so wrapped up in taking shots of it that we practically ignored the museum standing behind the car. The building itself was a marvel -- majestic in white that blushed in its dramatic lights. Inside, the color streaks in the window panes screamed art, while the swinging chandeliers overhead literally stopped us in our tracks and had us hypnotized. We got to check out the Film & Fashion rooms, as well as a few other exhibits; snapshots to follow.

We had to cut the exploration short, as we rushed off to Newton Hawker Center to meet up with (ex)HP folks in SG. Again, I whipped out my handy-dandy map and fortunately we found ourselves in the right place. It's a certainty that seeing familiar faces in such a foreign setting will mean a grand time like no other. Smiles and story-swapping flowed abundantly, as our SG-based friends made sure that we had our fill of the local must-tries (chili crabs, oyster cakes, need I say more?). I also had my first Tiger beer in SG to officially kick-off the chillax escape. Several plates, jokes and hours later, we bid adieu and made plans to meet up for the next following days. KE & I again managed to find our way home via the trains; not a bad first day at all for these kaladkarins. :)

learnings from the cebu-bohol getaway

2008-01-25T08:42:00.001+08:00

1.) The best vacations are when you throw all caution to the air.

During a very vulnerable (i.e. stress galore) moment in December, a friend asked me if I'd like to come along to their trip to see the Sinulog in Cebu and to frolic in Bohol. Of course I said yes; I couldn't have said it any quicker. Never mind that it might come right smack in the middle of one of the heaviest months I've ever had at work; I drastically needed my life back. So off we go to Cebu!

2.) You don't find the festival; Sinulog finds you.
Our first day was mostly spent in malls: lechon at CNT by SM Cebu, Timezone at Ayala & dinner at Dessert Factory. Sinulog was all over -- billboards greeting you Pit Senor!, ubiquitous festive banderitas, all-out performers going around the malls. At the afternoon, we did go off to downtown Cebu to see Magellan's cross by the Basilica. And lo and behold, the rest of Cebu was there. There we were, right in the middle of the ocean of people at the Plaza, looking at fireworks during the rainy daytime and at hundreds of balloons going up in the air. Minutes later, the Sto Nino and his entourage went by and everyone started waving! Made me want to wave too, if only we had an idea of what was going on. We braved the rain and the Binondo-like streets, got a little lost, then finally made it to the cross. Siyempre, photo-op. :)

3.) Get up early at Sinulog. Really.

Rhea and I got up early to see the parade right outside where we were staying, heeding Alex's advice. What we didn't know was the guys weren't planning to do the same, so we went ahead and looked for breakfast. The Sinulog parade was already going by; good thing we found a VERY good spot in front of Manila Bulletin's judging station and had an awesome view of all the contingents, decked with elaborate costumes, props and their best Sinulog smiles. Rhea got good shots of the performers, right next to the pros from travel channels & magazines, armed with SLRs. Camarines Sur was the most entertaining one we got to see (right guys? *wink*) I even got to see the contingent from my province, Tangub City, which was a huge treat. Experiencing the festival rather than just admiring it from your tv screen was definitely a rush. Definitely something every Filipino must see.

4.) Tidoy is the best!

But of course, I didn't have to go to Mactan to know that. :) Tidoy's eldest sister, Ate Abby, was having her wedding at Shangri-la Mactan at the same day, so my officemates and I were officially invited gatecrashers to her wedding. They had their own Sinulog show, yummy food (lobsters! prawns! blue marlin! seafood heaven!), awesome AVPs, and fireworks to boot! It actually drizzled and rained towards the end, but that didn't stop the party from going on.

5.) Speaking of parties -- Cebuanos know how to party.

Alex took us out to Vudu at Crossroads to meet his college buddies. And again, lo and behold, the rest of the Cebu night-owls were there, partying to the last second of Sinulog and beyond. The dance floor was full, the tracks were hot, and the vodka shots kept coming in -- need I say more? Got to see Ethel Booba party too. Haha.

6.) Bohol holds many surprises.

The next morning, we were off to Bohol. I already got my fill of the Bohol tour during our family trip last year, so I wasn't expecting anything new. I was proven wrong, however, when we were taken to dine at Bohol Bee Farm for dinner. It was like Sonya's garden -- only better. Overhanging vines and trees loomed over almost each step, fireflies danced before the view of the sea, sungka sets waited for you at the low wooden tables, bee-shaped lanterns adorned the ceilings and passageways. The elves at LOTR would have taken a liking here. And definitely, the food was heavenly. A must-go stop at Bohol. We also got to go to Alona Beach afterwards; it was getting late so it looked like no swimming was going to get done today. But the water was so nice, I couldn't resist taking a dive! Haha. :p

The next day, we went for the Bohol tour -- Chocolate Hills, Tarsier Sanctuary, Loboc River Tour, Man-made Forest, souvenir shops galore. What can I say but photo op, photo op, photo op. Got to meet Joseph and the Muro-Ami gang (that's another story). The rain graced us again, but that didn't stop us from taking another dip at Alona Beach.

7.) Ben + Booze = ankulit!

For our final night, we just hung out at our rooms Olman's view, where we were staying. We had to finish off the booze we had + Ben's pasalubong from Singapore + Ian's mango chips. And of course, the night would not be complete without the rounds of bridge, which turned out to be this trip's official card game. It was face-off time -- Philippines (Alex & me) vs. China (Ben & Wes). Losers had to down shots, and also resign from HP (or in Ben's case, go back to HP. haha. siraan ng buhay, anyone? :p) After 2 shots of gin, while Ben was itching for more, he was also literally itching!
But it wasn't a little anti-histamine and a lot of nonsense from your drunk friends won't fix. :) (And oh, if you want to know more about Ben --- He's Ben. He lives in Singapore. He uses Clear. And he has no friends... kidding. :p)

Before this trip, I was looking for God to save me from going out of my mind, and boy, God does deliver. After the hard work, playing hard grows even sweeter. Thanks to Rhea & Ian for the pictures! Let's end this post with some Wes quotes:

"Come to think of it, why no?"

"You know what? Whatever."

up centennial kickoff

2008-01-09T01:02:00.000+08:00

i actually had some important tasks & meetings to attend, but the centennial celeb only came once a century, right? so naturally, whisking off our butts to UP came first. :)

and it was worth the hurrying, waiting, and eventually missing my meeting. it's just something about UP -- there were no fancy floats, over-the-top decor, or other gimmicks. it was just one huge melee of iskos and iskas, gathering to celebrate, watch and cheer as we experience what can only come once in your lifetime. it was fun to bump into familiar faces in the vast ocean of people. classic Republic of UP - so big and so small at the same time. damn, i miss UP.

and the fireworks were definitely the icing on the cake. i was already expecting something exceptional by UP standards, but this was definitely the best fireworks display i've ever seen, surpassing what i've seen from fireworks competitions. well, i guess even UP deserves a little extravagance once in a while. once in every 100 years, in fact. :)

ode to 2007

2008-01-06T10:20:00.001+08:00

i realized i haven't done the year-end thing yet. since pictures do soooo much better, now we have this:

warning: more stats your way

2008-01-05T16:14:00.002+08:00

so true

2008-01-05T16:12:00.000+08:00

halfway between petix and motmot

2008-01-05T14:57:00.001+08:00

i've been known to corrupt the sanity of my peers; i guess i just have that effect. i highly doubt i was put on this earth for humanity's enlightenment. in fact, i highly doubt that anyone was put on this earth for anything. once you get rid of the notion that we're here for some higher reason other than our species just refuses to die out, then it liberates you to actually just live. just exist. and just die out like any normal being. none of that messianic gibberish.

spcp cheering time-warp

2007-12-24T15:47:00.002+08:00

i just hooked up the new router, so i've pretty much spent the last few days surfing at every comfy nook in the house. =)

i was in the mood to watch some dance vids, when i came across some videos of our HS batch's cheering routines. man, i forgot how the rush felt when you and 100+ of your batchmates get your game on out on the floor. here's to batch 2002. =)

don't mess with GWeb.

2007-12-11T01:16:00.000+08:00

thanks to Ronnel and Ralph for the pictures! and thanks to GWeb for the awesome GWeb weekend! :)

the five people you meet in your head

2007-11-29T14:55:00.001+08:00

a friend from work told me that you could only master a maximum of 5 versions of you. meaning, you had only 5 aspects of yourself that you could expect to do well, and anything beyond that will be stretching yourself too thin.

at first, i was a real cynic; being the brat that i was, i didn't appreciate anyone wagging a 'general rule' to my face and telling me what i can or cannot do. why stop at 5, right? who was i supposed to be?

but then now, i stopped to think -- what's so wrong with being flat? maybe i should just reset, start with one thing -- just ONE thing -- and then be satisfied. if ever later on i should feel that i'm stable enough to add something else on, then it'll be time to reassess. yep, that's the safe approach; God knows that some focus would do some good for my heart. Or my sanity for that matter.

ditto!

2007-11-20T15:31:00.001+08:00

this girl is brilliant. :) check out the other indexed stuff at http://indexed.blogspot.com.

in my head

2007-11-19T16:11:00.000+08:00

in my head, i'm always dancing. whether i'm typing, commuting, sitting, standing, zoning out -- when the beat picks up, i dance. i don't know if others see it too, but i just do.

one night last week, while waiting for the UP-Katipunan jeep to get filled, the guy to my right starts drumming, using his hand, his leg, and the seats. the guy to my left does the same. i wonder if we all hear each other when we're wrapped into our own little worlds.

tesla coils, cool? no way!

2007-11-13T11:54:00.001+08:00

only a geek would have cooked up something like this, to be appreciated by fellow geeks. (hear the loud geek shout 'Yeah!' in the background).

and only a geek would post it in her blog. haha. by far the coolest thing i saw all week. :)

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

2007-11-12T00:07:00.001+08:00

i've been devouring books lately, mostly because i'm taking advantage of the sembreak. admittedly, i got drawn to buy james frey's 'a million little pieces' because of its cover (the piece looked like candy sprinkles... how can i resist?), but the story turned out to be not bad, not bad at all.

it's about an addict's account of his stay at a treatment center. although it claims to be an autobiography, a friend just told me that the author owned up to making up some of the parts, but still that does not make the book less of a good read.

it's the type of book you guzzle in two sittings. the author writes in such a way that you can peek into an addict's mind, and find out that whatever you thought about how being addicted must feel --- YOU JUST HAVE NO IDEA. i like the part where he goes off at a tv show for glamourizing addicts & alcoholics; he'd like to lock the show's writers in room, feed them all the crack they could swallow and then watch if they can make their doctors fall in love with them and walk away with their pet golden retrievers. honestly, i don't think i'll be able to relate to a person who's not sarcastic or ranting at least half the time, and the author did not fail me at all.

the only thing that put me off was the love angle. the book throws me grit, cursing, despair, and then magically, love conquers all. i was like, 'what the hell?!'. seriously. here he was: broken. hardened. furious. an addict, an alcoholic & a criminal, who at 23 has been through hell so many times it's like the park for him. and then the only thing that makes him say the ultimate 'NO' to drugs is the girlfriend he met at the treatment center. dang. the author let me down on that one. because if love is the only thing that can save the utterly hopeless, then i'm seriously screwed.

The Man in my Basement by Walter Mosley

2007-11-07T18:34:00.002+08:00

"If suicide meant giving up, then I'd be dead by now."

I got chills from reading. I don't know whether it was because of the book's dark theme, or because never had I identified this much with a book character -- and he was a grown black man who was also a drunk unemployed thief. It was as if someone has found the words for me to articulate not just my thoughts, but my angry musings.

And to think I almost passed this book up. Powerbooks was having a sale, and although I've never heard of the title nor of the author, the premise was promising, so I spared 99 bucks. 99 bucks for this surprise whack in the head. sweet.

I also liked the part wherein the lead was asked the quintessential question, 'Have you ever been in love?'. He did not pretend to stare off deeply and say 'yes'; for him, if others described love as like gravity for its unexplicable but irrefutable attraction, then he was a floating astronaut. ditto.

thumbs up for walter mosley.

blast from the past

2007-11-04T00:35:00.000+08:00

while spending the whole weekend bumming at home, i caught the spice girls comeback video in E! earlier. could you believe it? then i saw backstreet perform their new single on jay leno.

who's next, Take 5? the moffatts? (oh wait, there's Same Same already...) 911? woohoo!

stay in the room

2007-11-03T00:29:00.000+08:00

that's what she managed to say despite the tubes stuck through her nose and mouth. he fought back the tears and tried to shut out the pain.

the news of the cancer struck them so hard and fast, that they barely had time to reel. like the pang of their first fight. the throb of their Nth quarrel 40 years later. the slap they felt when they realized they somehow became total strangers. like the heartbreak in her face when he said he was leaving. then this.

so he stayed.

how can one feel numb?

2007-11-02T00:24:00.001+08:00

it's a sad, futile cycle, really. we prod, we stress, we overcompensate -- only to find a void still there, which eats away from inside out. sorry, i know it's so emo, but i can't seem to shake it off for now.

it's both amusing and sad, actually, how articulate we get when we're down.

------------

they say luck is the lazy man's excuse for not working for anything.

well, come to think of it, yeah. the only question is if the lazy are whiny, or if the optimistic are delusional.

tayo na't maki-mega

2007-10-22T08:43:00.000+08:00

nothing's more driven than a worn-and-beaten woman out to do some shopping.

and nothing's more satisfying than when you find the single thing you've been looking for! i hauled away a blouse i've been eyeing for half the price, and the jacket that i've scoured so many malls for. in less than 3 hours! my shopping batting average has improved, i must say. just fab.

and i have great books to go home to! i dropped by the quaint used-book store at UP and got myself a thriller, an Anne Rice, and a Pear awardee. sweet.

i correct myself. nothing's more satisfying when you find yourself slapped in the face with a great day when you least expect it.

eeek.

2007-10-17T13:06:00.000+08:00

Today on my Daily Quote Widget:

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop." - Ovid

Fudge. My crop must be hideous then. More like crap.

ppr woes

2007-10-12T19:32:00.000+08:00

it took me 5 hours straight to draft my performance plan rating report for the year. 5 hours to document everything you've done for the past 12 months. every obstacle you leaped over. every person you had to deal with. 5 hours. eeek.

and i'm so glad it's almost over. oktoberfest na!

astounding.

2007-10-11T10:56:00.002+08:00

Most times, I take it for granted, but I just realized that I really am surrounded by AMAZING people.

For example, to my sister Ate Ting -- you're amazing. You have the biggest vault of patience out of everyone I've ever known, and you're not stingy with it. You never asked to look after a little sister like me, and I know for a fact that I can be quite a handful. You know when to just be agreeable, and even more, you know when to give me a good smack in the head. You turned not only me, but also Ikay, into Photoshop nuts (and I haven't even gone around to teaching you the guitar or HTML yet, after all these years. You're simply amazing.

To my teammates, Mike & Jan -- you're amazing. As I've already told Jan, you two are among -- if not the biggest -- the factors why I probably am still sticking around. I never really saw myself in something so corporate, but you guys make it seem homey -- no, actually, it's more like a playground. You guys are amazing.

To my partners in goofiness and all other crimes, Rhea & Liz -- you're amazing. There's never been a time when you guys failed to crack me up. Yet, even when I'm in the lowest of lows, you guys are also the same ones I turn to. I consider myself soooo lucky to find buddies with the same wavelength. You're amazing.

To Bugsy -- need I say it? You're amazing. We all are so into our own things, yet we never let each other forget that we still have kindred spirits out there, egging us on. We have something time nor distance can't break. You're amazing.

To my parents, you're amazing. Putting up with a know-it-all brat like me is a feat. You accept with without question -- even in my ugliest moods, even if I shut you out, even after I lose my phone for the nth time. You're amazing.

And what's better is I know there are lots more amazing people not yet mentioned in this post. Hay. I should have posts like these more often.

surprisingly, sometimes, things do look up

2007-10-10T23:33:00.000+08:00

the past few weeks have drained so much even beyond my usual tolerance of stress, that i've finally imposed an albeit escapist non-work thing on myself tonight. both Neil Gaiman fans, rhea and i caught Stardust at the cinema. LOVED IT. i loved it so much that i didn't mind seeing claire danes almost for the entire movie. i was so ready with my criticisms that i was caught off guard. it was just what i needed, thank God. (thanks also to one of my best destressing buddies, rhea. we have so much to catch up on pa! haha.)

i keep on telling myself that the hullabaloo will all be over once October passes, but i know that it's a longshot. but now, oh well, on a time when i can hardly catch my breath, i'm taking a breather, lounging out on the lazy boy (a VERY rare luxury), flipping through the channels. sometimes, it defies logic, but you find that it's just all good.

everybody should dance more

2007-10-07T21:04:00.000+08:00

theory of relativity, and then some

2007-10-07T21:02:00.001+08:00

one guys chose cryptography for our MS reporting, and he defined gibberish as 'of unintelligible meaning'. i couldn't have put it better.

it's funny how relative everything else. how something 'unintelligible' to one holds a whole lot of meaning to another. how something trivial to some is the the whole world to somebody, that he obsesses over immortalizing words and unleashing them for everyone to see, when he had no intention of sharing it anyway.

avenue q

2007-09-23T23:06:00.001+08:00

i've been hearing so much about this play that i just had to to see it. i expected to cry from laughter; i braced myself for the expected adult humor. what i did not expect was to be hit with just the advice i needed.

for now. everything's for now. it's okay to not sweat things, to not take yourself so seriously, to not know what you'll be in the future, or why you exist in the first place. sometimes we just get to wrapped up in 'what's next?' that we actually forget to actually live the now. in the end, after all, the past and present have no say in the now.

hey ya world (finally)

2007-09-20T21:54:00.002+08:00

As I'm still reeling from a Chocnut-&-Flat-Tops induced sugar rush, I'm going to take advantage of this sudden urge to type to (finally!) post these imaginary entries that have been piled up in my head for the past few weeks. (whee!)

-----

you can't help but love youtube. it has done for videos what google has done for, well, everything. want videos of the tv episodes you missed? it's here. want a break-down of killer dance moves? it's here. want another run of that SNL skit? guess what? it's still here. even bored-out-of-my-head videos finally found their place here.

i was scouring for some old 80s & 90s tunes when i came upon this. weird, though, it was the only video for UMD's Always that i was able to find, perhaps the only video that immortalized what will forever haunt the minds of 90s babies everywhere.

-----

another great site i found was imeem.com, a network for sharing playlists and music. i find the coolest tracks here, and there's no need to download them and clog the network for i can play them online. check out this link to listen snow patrol's cover of Crazy In Love (originally by Beyonce) and an acoustic cover of Hey Ya (I swear, I used to hate this song til now).

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

2007-09-03T12:20:00.001+08:00

Mind-blowing story, but not nearly as mind-blowing as the storytelling. But what do you expect from the writer of Fight Club? Bravo. Not only did it keep me hooked, it was an unexpected source of subtle Ayn Rand-ish insight. Two points etched:

(1) The What Now? Phenomenon
From high school to college to post-graduate studies, we try hard to ingrain as much technique and technical mastery as possible. Come graduation, here we are, erudites in our own respective fields, and we still find ourselves lacking in the one thing schools can't assure you -- inspiration. It's kind of sad, us adept and driven, but without direction. After beating ourselves to a pulp, we're still missing our why-isque what (or that what-tic why, if you prefer). Then we curse the unschooled genius who comes along and whips up the excellent from nothing. Dang.

(2) Everything's our diary. All that we touch, all that we make are telltales of who we are. The colors we choose. The words we pick. The stains on your clothes. What's in your bag. What's not in your bag. Everything's a tattler.

Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World

2007-09-02T11:05:00.001+08:00

A long-overdue wake-up call for me. I think this piece of fiction holds more promise than any self-help book out there (not that I've ever been a fan of self-help books). I'm barely past halfway, and already its words have already seeped through how I think, process, accept, and reject things. A good guide for the lost, for those putting up with a streak of defeat, or for those settling for just leaning on life's inertia. I love how its lines overwhelm me, that I just have to stop and let the words just linger for a while.

Of course, like any other insight, it should not be mistaken for wisdom. For knowledge without action remains simply as that -- knowledge. Or worse, folly.

long weekend at paradise

2007-08-27T12:57:00.001+08:00

a fellow wanderer once said that he loved travelling because he always came back as a changed person. ditto.

yep, i'm that lousy at writing now, i don't even have words to describe how gorgeous bohol and cebu are, and how the whole world misses out on what we have. all i can say is that i'm so glad my family got to do this, and i can't wait to go back again.

balik sa bohol, balik...

check out more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ishgagno/CebuBohol0807

scavenging bookworm

2007-08-15T10:54:00.000+08:00

I finally found some time to check out this quaint used books store at the UP Shopping Center, and Lord, I was so happy -- I've hit the jackpot! It's dreadful to be cliche, especially about a bookstore, but I felt like a brat set loose in a candy shop.

Left and right, classics and modern takes. Anne Rices. Grishams. Kurderas. Gaimans. Ayn Rands. All for around 50-200 bucks. Whee! It was the first bookstore I've been to that has a copy of Erich Segal's Acts of Faith -- it was that heavenly. For my first haul (definitely to be followed by more), I whisked away a George Orwell, an Og Mandino and a Douglas Adams.

I love devouring books -- they give me a view of the world I would not get to see otherwise. It's uncanny, but I get hit by the right dose of wake-up calls I just need during each time, be it new insight or good advice I've already forgotten. It's like travelling -- after each book, I come back as a new person. Or an awakened old me. Or even both. :)

the closest i'll probably get to being in a movie poster

2007-07-16T14:27:00.001+08:00

new bunch of politically-correct terms

2007-07-09T13:55:00.000+08:00

Abortion - Near-Life Experience
Alcoholic - Anti-Sobriety Activist
Alive - metabolically abled
Bad Cook - microwave-compatible
Bad hair day - rebellious follicle syndrome
Blind - photonically non-receptive
Bum - Involuntarily Domiciled
Cannibalism - Intra-Species Dining
Clumsy - uniquely coordinated
Corpse - Permanently Static Post-Human Mass
Crackpot - certified astrological consultant / past-life regression hypnotist
Crime Rate - street activity index
Deaf - Visually Oriented
Dish Washer - utensil sanitizer
Drunk - verbally dyslexic
Fail - achieve a deficiency
Fat - person of substance
Full of Crap - fecally plenary
Gang - Youth Group
Homeless - residentially flexible
Ignorant - factually unencumbered
Incompetent - Uniquely Proficient
Insult - Emotional Rape
Jerk - suffers from rectal-cranial inversion
Learning Disability - Self-Paced Cognitive Ability
Stoned - Chemically inconvenienced
Undress someone with your eyes - Introspective pornographic moment
Unemployed - Involuntarily leisured
Worst - least best

buzzed

2007-07-06T08:27:00.001+08:00

It's odd that I find noise in my life comforting. Maybe it just confirms what I've known all along -- that I'm an escapist by nature. Filling my head with things to do, then pointlessly mulling over getting them done ironically aids to keep my sanity. Because there are worse things out there than noise. It's called TRUTH. And it bites.

I hate free time.

2007-07-04T12:42:00.000+08:00

Free time breeds discontent and paranoia.

Much as I love to loaf around, it's too risky to give an opening for moping and sulking. Argh, I'm doing it again.

bangag. don't ask.

2007-07-04T08:30:00.001+08:00

Where does one get wisdom?

Never really been a fan of self-help books. I'm more interested to learn from real people's encounters, but all these are reactive. Are we doomed to get messed up first, then learn later?

We all wish that it would be that easy -- that answers fall into your lap, that the signs you ask for would be as obvious as MMDA's 'Walang Tawiran, Nakamamatay', that every life-altering choice you would have to make could be decided by using some neat, nifty algorithm.

But then again, if it were that easy, then the point would be lost. I guess this is why of all species, we were given minds that can handle complex thought, so that we can cope with inherently being complex beings. Frankly, I wish God gave me a stronger heart instead, so that I can go out there and make the moves that matter, instead of just cowering and surrendering to the hammock of complacency we've hung for ourselves.

Why is it so hard to sit still? Why do we always have to question the state of our lives? And why is it that it is almost always certain that the answer will be unsatisfactory?

Sana monk na lang ako sa Tibet. Paging inner peace. Is it only I that think that I seriously need a shrink? Haha.

Don't get me wrong. I am certain that I lead one of the more interesting lives. It's one of the millions of more interesting lives out there. The fact is both uplifting and disconcerting at the same times, not to mention enlightening in so many ways.

I'm a single.

2007-07-01T20:44:00.000+08:00

I don't know if it's just from the piles of forms I had to fill out ever since I joined the rat race. After ticking that S in the Marital Status checkbox, I just got hit with it. After 22 years, I'm a Single. This, in a world made for couples (i.e. duo, combos, dinner and movie for 2, marriage). Even my mom can't wait to raffle me off. Dang, I'm a Single (sorry, just can't seem to say it enough).

What's stranger is that I'm not entirely sure if I'm bothered by it or not. As always, kebs.

CS 210 Day 2

2007-06-20T21:46:00.001+08:00

brace yourself for a geeky post.

damn it, after 2 years, i never thought this day would come. i finally understood the master theorem!!! at first, i got lost with the deltas, omegas, and approximations [felt a lot like my first Calculus encounter. yeech, not a good feeling.], but later on, lo and behold, it finally made sense! it's been long since i had a Matrix moment -- you know, when things just fall into place.

wala lang, i'm just so overwhelmed i had to jot it down. minsan lang to. haha.

ish is crankyish.

2007-06-19T23:36:00.001+08:00

it took an hour of wearing myself out on the treadmill to finally knock some sense into me.

i actually thought i got past my 'moody' phase. i think i have anger management issues. one time, i'm calm -- the next, i'm nuts. at times, when the peeves rear their ugly heads, all caution & rationality goes out the window. i don't even realize when i'm indulging myself in uber-crankiness, and i just blurt out whatever comes into mind. it's like one messy hangover, and the guilt afterwards is hell.

i mean, i don't get violent, but i for all people should know that words could do worse damage. this is for you, all the people who had been unfortunate enough to bump into me during one of my sungit attacks. i sincerely apologize.

sometimes, i get through okay, or i just get away with it. come to think of it, believe it or not, i'm actually an uncomplicated person. it's just when things like pressure, expectations and feeling come into the equation that i lose grasp of sense. if only things were meant to be uncomplicated. if only questions came with answers. if only we had a unified sense of good. if only good was inevitable. if only your crush had a crush on you too, those kind of things.

damn it, someone please fix me.

first day of school

2007-06-13T21:45:00.000+08:00

brute force. haha. haven't heard that term in a long time.

it's just pain.

2007-06-04T07:45:00.000+08:00

best advice i've ever gotten.

guess what? more pics

2007-05-29T00:36:00.001+08:00

at last, the pics are in!

for more, check out http://picasaweb.google.com/ishgagno/LakayApoTeamMay2007. thanks to lillian and tj for posting their pics.

it'll definitely difficult to top this summer, as i never thought i would be given the chance to literally explore luzon, visayas and mindanao. but hey, who knows? do i hear a sagada, bohol and camiguin? woohoo!

last call for summer

2007-05-28T15:30:00.001+08:00

after a testosterone-filled apo trip, i was truly grateful for tidoy's invite to a chill-ax getaway at subic. we whisked ourselves to this cozy place called Courtyard Inn, which was more luxurious than what i was used to. we had our own beds, cable tv, room service, the works. perfect for the brat within who was crying for some pampering.

in truly girl-bonding fashion, we hit the spa, the subic yacht club pool and the duty-free shops. a tiny misadventure was thrown our way though, when tidoy's battery was discharged when we left the headlights on (funny though, because it was in the middle of the afternoon). mga diyosa talaga ang mga kasama ko -- a bunch of guys swarmed & came to the rescue, and even asked us out for dinner afterwards. bugsy, ever so anti-social, opted for a jazz-club dinner & russian-vodka guzzling at our inn afterwards. sarap! haha.

of course, what trip would be without its photo ops? we also swung by zambales and took a quick dip at the sea, to bid goodbye to a glorious summer. for more pics, check out tidoy's multiply album at http://doyti.multiply.com/photos/album/26. thanks again guys for the great weekend!

---------

as i was scouring for our subic trip pics, i came across some old hs pics from mae & tidoy. can you say, time warp? :)

----------

pag minsan, swerte ka talaga at may teammate ka na magaling kumuha ng picture. mwehehe. some shots of jam's gig at the HP Q2 Hoola Palooza Coffee Talk, courtesy of the legendary Paul Garcia:

bizarre, simply

2007-05-23T07:24:00.000+08:00

the first days after a long climb are always disconcerting.

like how disoriented i was, given my first full dose of light and electricity i had when i stepped into sm davao fresh from the mountain.

like how i felt i was drowning in pillows during that first night back at home (that was a nice feeling, actually).

like how strange it seemed when i woke up and saw no mud or twigs, not even the roof of a tent; how weird it felt that i wasn't to spend my whole day trekking with faces that had gotten familiar.

like how odd it was that i was actually getting food and water from the ref. on a whim.

like how i felt i was still cruising through the streets of davao the first night i went out of the house (good thing i'm on night shift this week; the makati rush may actually succeed in driving the still-unprepared me nuts).

i actually don't know if i feel good or not.

the mt. apo experience

2007-05-21T11:59:00.001+08:00

i love vacations. they allow you to disconnect and free you to be a non-functional individual of the human race.

despite not pushing through with camiguin & rafting as planned, to say that climbing mt. apo was memorable is a huge understatement.

definitely, this was the hardest physical battle i've had. at times, i'm sure i lost, bruised, wounded and sprained, but the learnings i took from the experience were priceless and unexpected ones, and that's always a delight.

thinking about the whole Davao experience sends my head in all directions, but it's the tiny details that stick. the sight of the clouds way below your feet. the roar of the river as you cross. the pinch from your 'battle scars' and the numbness from cold. the canopy that swallows you whole. the feel of the boulders and the smell of sulfur. the glorious sunrise that makes it all worth it.

i'm definitely no good in giving justice to what it was like, so i guess i'll just let the pics do the talking, as soon as they come.

to the Lakay Apo team, saludo ako sa inyo. daghang salamat, you guys saved my butt out there. sana balang araw makabawi ako. kudos!

--------------------

Panalong Quote:
[habang malakas ang ulan ngunit umaaraw]
"Buti pa ang tikbalang, kinakasal; ako single pa rin!"

i'm outta here

2007-05-15T22:00:00.000+08:00

how apt it is that on the exact date of my stepping into the rat race (happy may 15th, everyone!), i took the day off. i dropped by UP to finally submit my MS application, was delightfully surprised to meet Jan there, and then spent the rest of my day at my favorite mall (Divisoria's 168, of course).

in exactly 6 hours and 21 minutes, i'll be heading off to Davao to do what I guess every mountaineer has thought of doing some time in his life -- climb Mt. Apo. and yep, it has dawned upon me that this may be my last post ever, due to two possibilities:

(1) once i meet the boulders of Mt. Apo, i might not be able to come back,

and

(2) once i blissfully take a break from reality, in exchange for the terrains of Davao, the sands of Camiguin, and the rapids of Cagayan de Oro, i might not want to ever come back. mwehehe.

wish me luck! (jan, hinabilin ko na sayo password ko ha? :) )

------------------

took ikay to her first wall-climb last saturday:

sometimes, there just comes a point wherein we just want to throw all caution to the wind and see exactly how high we can reach. of course, when frustrations surface, you can always delude yourself in the mean time and do it literally. :P

nostalgic, what's new

2007-05-09T13:54:00.000+08:00

I dropped by UP today to wrap up some stuff for my enrolment. It didn't take more than a minute for nostalgia to take over once I stepped into Eng'g.

In the world of heavy textbooks, calculus and algorithms, life was far simpler. I miss the nonchalance of walking -- no, prancing -- around UP, with your head up in the clouds, thinking about trivial musings, as well as how one day you are someday to change the world.

don't mind me, i'm just rambling

2007-05-08T23:23:00.001+08:00

life /lIf/ (n): the condition of living or the state of being alive; the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body

If your life consists of just getting through the day's and hoping that tomorrow will bring less drudgery, would that qualify as life?

If your life sans eclat would boil down to simply counting down the hours until you go pffft, would that count at all?

Again, don't mind me, I'm just rambling. It's just ironically, now that I can call the shots to where I want to be headed, I haven't the faintest idea on where to go, let alone what to do. How my life has simmered down to this state of limbo, I could not fathom. It's silly, really --- I don't know if it's just hormones or some long-suspected clinical condition, but sometimes I feel so lost and alone, that I could just spontaneously burst into tears. Now, that could be awkward if I bawl in the middle of typing. Sheesh.

Maybe it's just because recently, nothing has recently made me happy, as in with the true sense of bliss. Nothing bad really happened, but nothing that good, either. They say life is supposed to be this big adventure, this roller coaster. Then you discover that it's really more of a Rialto --- scream all you want, but it's just as real as you would want it to be.

Oh well, enough whining.

----------------------

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. I'll keep that in mind.

we

2007-05-05T09:43:00.001+08:00

I have belief in my generation. We are to be the success story which our nation awaits. We have all the capacity to be -- the right mix of idealism, cynicism, brilliance, and heart. Throw in today's myriad of opportunities.

Bear in mind, we also can be the nation's ultimate tragedy and disappointment. Let's make sure it won't be so.

free the boyband inside

2007-05-04T00:33:00.000+08:00

as with everything you wished to be hidden, it eventually finds its way to youtube. what the hell, since the cat's out of the bag, might as well put it into good use. if you're stressed, depressed, or looking for something to laugh at, check our swat's despedida gift to vic:

i still think that everyone needs to free that boyband inside once in a while, at least for sanity's sake. to scout for ideas, i actually hunted down blast-from-the-past boyband mtvs. fun. i've actually forgotten how 5ive looked like. haha.

post-labor day post

2007-05-02T12:17:00.000+08:00

Dang holidays. They make it all the more difficult to go back to work.

After 1 1/2 hours of dawdling, I finally got the hint that I wasn't about to conjure up anything productive, except if you call staring at my screen & pressing the Outlook Send/Receive button a dozen times meaningful. So I gathered up all my SQL handouts and headed off to the nearest coffee shop for some quiet review time.

Can't wait to enroll next sem.

bugsy takes on manila

2007-05-02T01:13:00.001+08:00

sometimes, the best plan is to not have a plan at all.

i woke up a little bit earlier for a non-work day, since i had to meet tidoy and ke for some wedding-cake-tasting. yes, it's every bit as delightful as it sounds. this was my first cake-tasting event, and i tried not to appear too giddy as we helped ourselves to the baker's creations. the baker was a certified chocoholic, so aside from the lemon butter, apple walnut, and other cakes, she also gave us fudge filling, dark chocolate cake and white chocolate bars. my sweet tooth shall not be denied, braced as it may be.

i also got to confirm my level of maturity when we flipped through some wedding cake magazines for ideas. as tidoy and ke were gushing over these classic, elegant cakes, i went gaga over a blue & yellow beach-themed cake, complete with gumpaste shells & starfish and the cartoonish bride and groom with oversized heads. haha, fun. :)

as if we hadn't had enough, the three of us decided to go on a food trip for lunch. after several quips (tagaytay? indian resto? mediterranean?), we decided to invade Old Manila. Our quest to find Hizon's failed, and we nearly settled for Robinson's Ermita in desperation. Good thing another option was still open -- Intramuros. We set off for the cobbled roads and dropped by Barbara's, a fancy date-place resto on the second floor on what used to be a gobernadorcillo's house. In true Bugsy-bakya fashion, we whipped out a cam and went trigger-happy with our photo ops (never mind that any second an 'orb' may just appear in the shot. nyay!). good thing we found this resto -- the ambiance was perfect, the food was great and the staff were really nice -- triple threat!

after our brief romance with Barbara's pasta, we went exploring and looked around the nearby museum. for the complete turista experience, we entered the Manila Cathedral and were dumbfounded with awe. i mean, i've seen stained-glass windows before, but these were something else. not to mention that the Cathedral never fails to dwarf anyone. astig.

it was still too early to call it a day, so tidoy suggested that we check out Cartimar street, which was a strip of 'Divisoria' for pet-lovers. ke & i already got attached to a yorkshire terrier, although deep inside i know that that dog (or any dog, for that matter) is better off without me, unless you want to watch how trauma manifests in dogs.

after cooing with birds, dogs, cats, fishes and worms (yes, even worms), the three of us punctuated the trip with a cool halo-halo at Razon's (haha, umabot pang Buendia.) we also drove by ziggurat and a persian restaurant near jupiter, places that are already in our food-trip hitlist. can't wait.

yep, today, the kaladkarins conquer Manila. just goes to show how much there is more to discover in the grounds you take for granted, and how you don't really need to travel far to have fun. in the end, it dawns on you that it wasn't so much the place as much as the company.

this was probably one of the best Labor Days i've ever had in my lifetime. yey. hope you guys had a fun non-work Labor day too. :)

in memory of the unblogged

2007-04-30T11:44:00.000+08:00

[ Sat, April 28 ]

had my braces adjusted for the 1st time today. eeep.

since I was in the area, i dropped by the sunken garden in UP today for some long-overdue mot-mot (a.k.a. 'emote-emote') time. time to embrace the loner in me. curling up my mp3 player and a tub of ice cream, i soaked in the chaos and serenity that was UP. soccer to the left, kites to the right, frisbees all over the place --- it was THE soothing alternative to tv. i should do this more often.

----------

[ Sun, April 29 ]

got to (finally) watch Mines' recital (dapat lang, gra-graduate na si mines!). mines, di ko alam kung bakit pa ako nagugulat, pero you were phenomenal! you're one of the rare gems that deserve all the gifts God has given you. :)

------------

it's the commuter's curse: the (sometimes unwanted) gift of time to zone out and reflect.

what's worse, poring over a question that you know will never get resolved, or not even having the capacity to ponder at all?

------------

i don't know how i magically converted to a certified homebody. some days, it's really an effort to drag myself out of the house in hope of creating some semblance of a life. dang.

top 10 great things about boracay

2007-04-18T18:17:00.001+08:00

1.) Getting to leave your laptop behind, and shutting your phone for 4 days. Enough said.

2.) The beach, of course. It was like one giant pool, all for the taking. Bahala nang ma-nognog.

3.) Jetskis. Talk about 'road' rage! It was one hell of a driving lesson... can't wait til the next time!

4.) Parasailing. Flight's a beautiful thing. Far from the adrenaline rush I thought it would be, it was relaxing, sedating even. The world's literally at your feet.

5.) Escapism heaven. As I write this, I'm lying on a lounge by the beach, sipping my watermelon cooler, with Jack Johnson in my ear. Need I ask for more?

6.) The parties. Whether it's trance, reggae or simply chill out tunes, Boracay would not be without its shindigs.

7.) Shopping havens. It was just like Greenbelt, only sand was at your feet and everyone's in bikinis.

8.) And speaking of swimwear, the bods. No matter what they say, Boracay is indeed full of beautiful people. It's 300 all over again.

9.) The Boracay stories. These are the souvenirs you can't buy, from the Swirly Bits, the Sand Slumber & the All-Night Laugh-o-Rama. Of course, dear friends, what happens in Boracay, stays in Boracay.

10.) Getting to have it all with your friends. Of course, you can have your fill of the beach, water sports, & parties, but cliche as it might seem, all is meaningless without people to enjoy it with. Thanks to our marvelous PMs, She & Nic for pulling off this long-needed getaway. Although I can't thank you enough, thanks everyone for making this memorable, for making me forget every worry, for just being there. Sa uulitin. :)