The DJ who's not a DeeJay

Last Dec. 7, I had the chance to spend the day with colleagues from several websites. First, I attended the December Networking event of Digitalfilipino.com at the Automall, near Tiendesitas which doubled as a Christmas party. My online friends, Janette Toral of Digitalfilipino.com, Manuel Villoria of villoria.com and Aileen Apolo of google.com were all there and I got to catch up on the latest IT discussions. My internet-related exchange gift went to Abby Ongyanco of virramall.com which I think was going to be useful for her business.

After the party, we were waiting for the next event which was Yehey!'s 10th anniversary to be held at the same venue. So we decided to move to Starbucks and chat. Jovel Cipriano of PinoyDelikasi.com was late but was able to join us and have us sample his newest product, camote chips. We talked about the Web Awards, our own websites, and the idea of planning an excursion to Dagupan City in Pangasinan where Bitstop Computers was located.

Afterwards, we went back to the venue where Yehey!'s 10th anniversary was commencing. During the video presentation, they showed a powerpoint-like image of 5 people, who were the original founders of Yehey! I actually know 4 of them since they were batchmates of mine.

It was nice to be around colleagues in your own industry.

I'm caught in the hectic preparations for Christmas. I have lots to post.. not just enough time. I'll try to remember everything so I can post it here in the next few days. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays to everybody !

I've basically been good to people my entire life. It's part of my nature to be helpful and sometimes even go out of my way for a friend. I've recently learned though that a couple (but am expecting a lot) of people are not happy with my decisions, my actions nor myself as a whole.

I'm not used to the concept of people hating me. I was always likeable. But some recent actions may have led others to see me in a different light. I guess I can't please everybody anymore. If I had it my way, I would take time to convince each and every person that I may be not as they perceive me to be and listen to my side of the story. However, I'm not here to please everybody. So I'll just assume the role of the bad guy and accept whatever you have to tell me.

I had a busy Tuesday as it was the day of the MTV Music Summit, which is a yearly major event of MTV Philippines and usually lasts until early morning. This year, I did less event coverage and decided to enjoy the event for a change. Nevertheless, the workaholic in me couldn't resist the photo opportunities and so I did end up being a bit busy. By 1:30am my friends and I left cause we were all hungry and tired. I got home around 3am.

I only had 2 hours of sleep and by 5am, I had to get up and accompany my mom to her regular lab testing in Makati. She also requested that I take her to Landmark and accompany her with her Christmas shopping. During breakfast I had 2 cups of coffee and didn't feel any signs of sleepiness and hoped the coffee dose could keep me awake through the day or at least till I got home.

Around 10am, I suddenly felt light headed and felt that I could think straight. I knew then I needed a quick nap. I was in the middle of a mall and was thinking if I could take a quick nap at the foodcourt 2 floors below. I was scared though to be asleep in a much crowded area with my belongings.

I also thought of crashing in one of those driver's lounges but I couldn't be too sure there too since there were other people around.

Meanwhile, a friend texted me and told me that my website was down. At that point, I needed to get to an internet cafe immediately. The nearest one was at Glorieta with a cozy ambiance. Then, it struck me immediately. I could go to the internet cafe, spend the first few minutes rebooting my website and then sleep while in front of the computer ! No one would bother me there, the airconiditioning was very cool and there were no passers by since I was situated inside. And so at the rate of 1 peso per minute, I spent 10 minutes online and the last 50 minutes sleeping with my hand on my mouse and slouched to the point of relaxation.

I also opened my Yahoo Messenger and asked 4 of my online friends to wake me up in around 30 minutes. I got a wake up call via the computer, celphone and a missed call.

After my nap, I was up and at 'em slightly rejuvenated but more importantly got my most needed shuteye even if it was just for a couple of minutes.

Now I know where to take a nap the next time I may need one.

I was at The Fort strip last Sunday with my relatives where we had lunch. They came all the way from Pangasinan that day because they were going to fetch my cousin at the airport later that day

Since they were in the Manila, they wanted to take home some food which is' nt readily available in the province. So we went to Gonuts Donuts where we bought around a dozen donuts. Luckily their ongoing promo offered 2 free cups of brewed coffee for every 6 donuts. So we all were able to have free coffee.

A while after, my other cousin from Pangasinan, texted her mom asking her to buy some donuts from the newly opened "Krispy Kreme" branch also located within The Fort. We had passed the sign earlier leading to the one and only new branch of Krispy Kreme in the Philippines.

I've heard about this donut from TV, celebrities and friends and I was also curious as what these donuts tasted like. So even if we just bought a dozen donuts, we jumped in the car and tried to look for this new donut store.

After 10 minutes of driving around, we finally found it. And to our surprise, there was a long line of about 40 people. Each person we saw paying bought at least 1 dozen. I guess they wanted to maximize their time for lining up. We couldn't even get inside just to look (and smell) the donuts cause there was a strict line enforced. I was able to check out their price list and it's like $5.00 for a dozen. That's kinda expensive compared to the other donut stores here but I guess it's a premium price for having Krispy Kreme in the Philippines.

And so I got home eating a donut but thinking about another donut. Since I'll be at the Fort area again tonight, I think I'll try my luck and see if there's a shorter line now.

I was awake as the last day of November ended and an unexpected rainy and windy midnight signified the start of December. It's now December 1 and the reality check of Christmas fast approaching is upon me. I have to make my official gift list, start giftwrapping presents, put up our Christmas tree, plan and organize a Christmas party for my friends and make sure I'll be able to greet everybody, from business contacts to dear friends and family a Merry Christmas.

I actually started my Christmas shopping and planning months ago setting aside some gifts little by little whenever I seemed it would be a great gift for that person. Now I have a box filled with gifts and I need to label them just in case I forget which gift is for which person. I usually place a number on the giftwrapped present and have an accompanying list with a description of the contents. So it's boils down to a mix 'n match selection of gift items and people to give presents to. I also love giftwrapping. I spend lots of time making the presents look presentable and unique if I could.

December is here and Christmas is around the corner. Despite being immersed in the gift-giving spirit, I'll definitely be showing the people close to my heart how much I care for them especially this coming Christmas. Happy Holidays !

There are some clothes which have been left in my closet unworn for over a year. These clothes simply didn't fit me anymore. I used to put them in a box and labelled the box "someday magkakasya" (someday it would fit). The last box I placed clothes in ended up being donated to charity since it's been kept in the box for over 3 years and became either fashionably passe or the cloth simply got worn out over the years.

Currently, I'm happy to have discovered that the 1-year old clothes that I stopped wearing cause they didn't fit anymore suddenly now fit and some are even a bit loose ! I was surprised that they fit me again. And so now, I feel that instantly, I have new wardrobe to mix and match.

Thanksgiving Day came and left but it's the things you are thankful for which should remain.

My mom told me that she was infuriated with Mike Enriquez' comment on the radio the other day that Thanksgiving is only celebrated by the Americans. I guess in the sense that they celebrate by cooking the celebrational turkey, is that other countries may not celebrate it that way. But the thought of giving thanks and acknowledging them doesn't need to be bounded by territory.

I have much to be thankful for. First, the business papers I've been working on for the past month are finally complete. Thank God. Secondly, I've been speaking with a lot of contacts who are interested and willing to partner with me for mutually beneficial business opportunities. I've also made a lot of new friends in the business who seem to have visited my website in the past and are grateful for my website's goal and purpose.

Personally, I have to thank the Lord for accompanying me through an emotional chapter in my life and guiding me towards a new chapter showing me what potential happiness can bring. To borrow a phrase from Jim Paredes' popular composition, "You gave me a reason for my being...and I love what I'm feeling."

Thank you too to all who's reading my blog as I've reached the 50+ mark in posting. May you not be bored with my posts. :) Take care everybody !

The events that I attend usually give out gifts as appreciation for attending. Through the many press conferences I've been attending lately, I've been able to accumulate a substantial amount of gift certificates.

Not all though are easily usable as some include dental services, ear piercing, or a purchase requirement.
Food gift certificates though are always a treat as you just need to think about what you'll be ordering on the menu. I have certificates for restaurants, coffee shops, video arcades, health & beauty services, dental services and a department store.

I remembered The movie "For Love Or Money" staring Michael J. Fox where he worked as a concierge at a hotel and had lots of contacts where he traded gift certificates and tickets of all kinds (concert, baseball, basketball etc.) with other people to get the best deal ever. I wish I had some trade partners as well. Like trade my facial gift certificate for a coffee gift certificate or may be concert tickets for fine dining.

For now, I've decided to save these gift certificates and give them away this Christmas to those who I seem would greatly benefit and appreciate it. If you receive any of these next month, you're welcome.

I've just experienced two cases of mistaken identity on separate occasions.

Last Saturday, I was at the Gateway mall. While midning my own business walking on the 3rd floor, I saw these 2 guys calling out my name. I didn't recognize them and even tried to recall if I knew them. I just didn't. Yet, these 2 guys were looking at me and I was just walking alone. It couldn't be someone else. I suddenly felt like being a victim of candid camera or being played a prank on. I also did feel that these two guys may have been tripping on me. But the name calling didn't seem like a coincidence.

What I did was go inside one of the shops and wait for a passerby to walk by so I could walk side by side and not be seen by the two. Once out of their sight, I hurriedly exited the mall.

I just found out this morning who they were. It so happens that one of the 2 guys is actually the boyfriend of a friend of mine. He's seen me through pictures and a couple of times in person but we've never been introduced to each other. So though he didn't know me personally, he called my name and perhaps was expecting I'd greet him back. Hell no ! I had no idea who he was even if he was the boyfriend of my friend. My friend (the girlfriend) asked me this morning if I was at the Gateway mall last Saturday and when I said yes, she laughed and told me who the two guys were.

The 2nd instance was during the album launch of Kjwan. I was at the center of the bar watching the gig when two girls passed behind me and one of them patted my shoulder and greeted me. I greeted back assuming I knew the girl. She looked like one of my friends, but afterwards when I glanced at her at the bar, I suddenly doubted who she was. Could have she mistakenly took me for someone else ? And I mistakenly took her for someone too in return ?

So in my mind, I'll just have to ask myself "you talking to me ???".

I 've been wanting to buy a new laptop for the past few months but only now will it push through.

I headed to Gilmore near St. Paul Quezon City, where the Mecca of computers in the Metropolis are located. It's always a feeling a sheer excitement to visit that area since you'll be handed out brochures left and right plus most of the people you'll get to talk with really know much about computers to be able to answer event the most technical questions.

I was in search of my ideal specs for a laptop, a 12" screen, a black-colored exterior, a 3-4 hour battery life all on a 12 month installment plan to be financed by a credit card which wouldn't exceed a P40K budget with 0% interest. The rest of the laptop's specs were minor to me. I didn't care much for the CPU, CD Drive and other features. Basically, what I needed was a laptop to let me work anywhere for a long period of time.

I soon discovered that I can't have everything. So it boiled down to a debate within my head on which laptop to choose and which feature to give up. In terms of brands, I narrowed it down to the following in this order: MSI, Acer, Blue, Flextra. I also discovered that almost all of the brands regardless of where they are being distributed or manufactured, are assembled in China. I hope this translates to cheaper prices rather than sub-quality.

And so that final questions that lay in my head are the following: my ideal 12" or 14", keyboard layout (mini keys vs. fullsize), screen form (tv type or dvd wide screen type), color (black, white or gray), and processor (Celeron, Centrino or AMD Turion).

However, one of the huge factors is the budget and if I can find a deal with good installment terms. Because of this, I've been drawn to choose an Acer laptop even if it may cost more than the others. The battery life though is still a turnoff. I hope to have a new laptop by mid next week. Wish me luck !

Yesterday was one unusual day for me. Lots of things happened.

I started the day as early as 5am doing my daily online chores. I was preparing all the stuff I needed to bring since I knew I was going to be out the entire day.

First on my list was to drop by a friend's house to leave a package. It was so early in the morning though that I didn't realize that the shortcut to their village was closed. And so I had to take the long route there.

Next stop, Ortigas center, where I would meet up with Jhamie to pick up her digicam which she generously lent me so I could have my own digicam serviced and reparied for a week.

Next on my agenda was Pancake House along Pasong Tamo Extension. I used to work in the Pasong Tamo Extension area and I certainly didn't want to pass by EDSA that day. With the patience of my friend Tweet, she gave me directions on how to get there using Fort Bonifacio as a backroad. It was a nice change of scenery for me to see lots of trees, nice roads and men in army, navy and military uniforms. It reminds me of the years I've been regularly going to Subic Bay when the US bases were still here. The orderliness and cleanliness of their environment affects you in such a way that it'll make you feel a sense of goodness.

Anyway, I was scheduled to meet up with Aileen, the Google Philippines Country Consultant. I met her before when I was a resource speaker for E-commerce. It was nice to exchange ideas and insights with her. When she showed us pics of the Google grounds in Mountain View, it also sparked my long time dream of working at Google as well.

Next stop was Hard Rock Cafe to attend the album launch of Pinoy Pop Superstar Gerald Santos.

Take note, so far, everything I finished on my itenerary was just an hour's interval apart. So you can imagine what kind of sched I had.

I was a bit late but delighted to be greeted by my good media friend Dennise who was alone so I joined her. We had fun chatting while waiting for the program to start. We did get a more-than-usual amount of goodies at the desert table. My partner in crime Dennise, helped me, shall we say, prolong the buffet experience to after the event. :) During the launch, MTV was also present and approached us to ask if we could appear on their request show called "MTV Get Spotted". And so we got to request for a video and greet our friends on TV. It's gonna be shown next week.

By this time, I had 2 bags with me, 2 cameras and a laptop. Along with the additional prizes and freebies I got from the launch, my backpack was fully packed. I had a hard time opening and closing it just for security guards to inspect it.

Next on my agenda was the main office and service center of Fuji in Quezon City (near Sto. Domingo church) where I was going to have my digicam serviced. This is an hour's drive away from Makati. Good thing Dennise was also headed for that direction and so I had company during the long drive. This is where Dennise and I witnessed some unusual things. First, we saw a very sleek black Expedition which was severely degraded cause a metal container (similar to those tricycles that carry pigs in) had one attached to its rear. It was like a 2 million peso SUV was used to carry some jugs of water and trash. The next weird thing was that we saw a dog trotting along EDSA in the inner most lane. When we came closer to the dog, Dennise and I were both in astonishment that the dog had its face vandalized, almost as its face was tatooed. We jokingly made a silly assumption that the dog must be cool and "astig!" After dropping off Dennise along Quezon Avenue, I surprisingly saw the comedian "Palito" walking along the sidewalk with a lonely face. Nobody was noticing him as he walked towards the overpass. That was weird for me that nobody recognized him or couldn't care less.

After more than an hour of driving, I finally got to the YKL/FUJI service center. I left my camera there (with much grief) and was told that it'll be fixed within a week.

Next on my list was Sta Lucia East Mall where I was to meet with my assistant for a weekly report and turnover of materials. Getting here from Quezon City took me another hour and so I was really tired from all the driving for the day up to this point.

Although not on my agenda, I decided to hang out with my friends over there until mall closing time. Before going home, I had the car washed, cleaned and gassed up ready for today. By the time I got home, it was 11pm and I totally forgot to eat dinner.

The entire day was one of my jam-packed days but it was exciting as well. The moment I saw the tatooed dog, I knew this entire day merits a blog entry. :)

I've been totally off time lately when it comes to lunch. I either had a late breakfast and am not really hungry when the clock strikes 12 or I'm too busy and out to have lunch at 12.

So what's my usual lunch time ? Either 2 or 3pm, which makes me eat a light lunch cause I want to leave space for merienda.

Lately, I've also been accustomed to making a cup of coffee to drink right after lunch. My favorite is the Nescafe Choco Fudge Instant Coffee Mix. It keeps me going (and awake) during the early afternoon where my energy seems to be at its lowest.

Oh yeah, and to be a bit off-topic, I'm surprised that I just lost 5 pounds. I have a feeling why. I just wasn't conscious of my lost for apetite lately.

I was in Paranaque the entire day today at my cousin's house who celebrated his birthday. Unexpectedly, My 1 yr and 3 month inaanak, Jeremiah, was also there. I wanted to have a picture with him since the last time I saw him was during his baptism.

One slight setback for me (and this is embarassing) is that I don't have any experience in holding a baby. I'm an only child so I never had any brothers and sisters to carry. It also follows that I dunno how to act properly in front of a baby... like how to make them smile, laugh or attract their attention for that matter.

So before attempting to carry my inaanak, I observed how his dad carried him. Then I attempted to carry him afterwards. It was embarassing that I couldn't seem to handle him. Eventually, out of frustration and fear, I sat down on the couch and had him sit on my thigh. It was okey for a while until he started moving and wiggling. It's a good thing that my inaanak is the silent type and didn't break into a whine or cry.

To make matters worse, I couldn't get him to look at the camera. How come it looks so easy with other people holding babies and interacting with them ? I think I need an Idiot's book on how to hold babies now.

Recently, I've found myself overflowing with thoughts, messages, lyrics, melodies and the like. I think my creative juices are suddenly flowing again. I've been taking note by typing and saving them as files. I've also kicked the dust off of my Roland keyboard and took a crack at the keys. Even though my fingers were kinda rusty at playing a song, it was such a joy to once again play. It's been a long while since I've played the keyboard and I suddenly remembered how enjoying it still is.

I made a quick composition playing around with my keyboard and sequencer and recorded a catchy drumbeat I played in real-time. This is a very short audio clip with me actually rapping. I heavily modified my vocals for this that I was surprised to hear myself saying "Freak-freaking way" instead of "Hey Which Way" which is the title of this dopey hiphop groove. Here's the link so you can download the mp3 sample: Hey Which Way

November 2 is actually the Day for the Souls but in the Philippines it's celebrated on November 1, which is actually All Saints Day.

I started the day early going to church as there was a special mass on this day.
The priest, after giving homily gave a special blessing to us all, called Plenary Indulgence, which was a type of special cleansing. It was a nice feeling to start to the day and month for that matter with this special blessing.

Today was also the day to visit our departed loved ones. We visited both of my grandparents in Loyola Marikina. It's been a long time since their death, yet I remember and reflected on the good times we shared. I was also with relatives which made the experience some sort of a reunion.

Towards the evening, heavy rains poured which reminded me of the special cleansing I had received that day. Though it was a day of grief and reflection in all aspects of my life, I feel it is one that I need to go through in order to find a deeper meaning to life as well as continue with my journey in this world.

To all my loved ones, you will always be remembered.

Last Thursday, I attended a press conference for a new album by a long time group in the Philippine Music Industry. It was one of the usual press conference over lunch. However, what made this one particularly different was that all media people were asked to pick a piece of paper which either had the word "trick" or "treat". Those who picked "treat" would be treated to a short song number by the group while those who got "trick" would do the singing.

Unfortunately, I picked "trick" and had to sing with the group.

Now if you know me, you're likely to say "wait a minute, Jay doesn't sing !". And it's a sad fact that I'm musically inclined but I just don't find my singing voice attractive. As for my speaking voice, that's fine. I can even rap as long as it's not within a melody. I do sing, but I prefer not to expose my unpleasant singing.

Back to my story...

It really helped that there were only around 8 media people and I knew half of them. So the group selected the song entitled "Pasaway" on the videoke machine and away did I go trying to keep my embarassment to myself while enduring listening to my pathetic singing. It's was great timing though as immediately after I finished, a GMA TV crew arrived and started shooting. Imagine my embarassment being shown on worldwide TV if they had come earlier !

On a similar note, I think I found another one of my rare kind who loves music but refuses to sing publicly. She also picked "trick" and was supposed to sing but for some lucky instance, she was actually serenaded by the group since she mentioned that her birthday is near. Lucky Annie !

My swatch watch's strap got busted 2 weeks ago and since then, I haven't been wearing a watch on my wrist.

I'm not used to not wearing a watch since knowing the time at any given time is cruicial for me. My wrist also feels bare.

I remember though my college English teacher asked one day which one of us didn't wear watches. Only one out of my 20 classmates raised her hand and our teacher said "Great ! You are not bounded by time. You are free." It sounded nice.. but I didn't agree with her 100%. I just remember that my reaction that day is the same as it is now... "How the hell can you survive a day without knowing the time ?"

In this day and age of technology, time is critical in applications, especially computer-based ones. And so how am I getting by without a watch ? Well, I'm currently relying on my computer, celphone and any clock or watch I can find nearby. I also get to ask people now... "Excuse me, anong oras na ?"

I happened to pass by a Greenwich outlet yesterday and saw the big tarpaulin ad of an "eat-all-you-can" pizza for only P99 from 11am to 2pm. I was also distracted by the crew member beside the tarp encouraging people to try it. Unfortunately, I was on a hectic sched and didn't have the luxury to stay and satisfy my pasta urge till my heart's content.

Today, I was able to pass by the same fastfood but with a lighter sched. It took me 5 minutes to decide whether to take the plunge and challenge my stomach or regret it. I'd say, it was a no-brainer. And so, I took a last look at the ad, before entering and ordering myself a "Pizza All You Can" package. Adding P30. will give you your choice of bottomless softdrinks. I'm not a fan of softdrinks but I needed some kind of liquid to help me achieve my goal so bottoms up !

I remember way back in college, Pizza Hut had a similar promo and me and my college pal Mark took up the challenge to see how many slices we could eat. I think I ate 5 slices.

I was delighted that the slices available were of their Primo size, which was a Pizza Hut-like slice in terms of size rather than their petite and thin regular pizza. As the ad mentioned, you have a choice of either Pepperoni or Hawaiian. I am not fond of Hawaiian pizza as I believe that pineapples are not a legitimate ingredient of a true pizza. My 1st 2 slices that were served were both pepperoni. My 3rd slice though was served against my will and while I was still finishing my 1st slice. It was a Hawaiian slice. OH NO ! I was set on just asking for pepperoni slices. The tricky part here was that there should be no leftovers before ordering your next slice. So I had no choice but to consume the pineapple tidbits, which kinda dampened my pizza frenzy experience.

I was on my 7th slice when I was set on stopping when the overexcited Greenwich waiter served me an 8th slice. It was a fresh out-of-the-oven pepperoni slice. Oooohhhh !!! I couldn't resist.

And so after over an hour, and 3 softdrink refills, I am happy to have consumed 8 slices of Pizza. And the challenge was that 3 of them were Hawaiian ! All for the love of pizza... :)

Early today, my 2 cellphones, mp4 player and digicam all blinked the dreaded low batt status. My laptop was also still half charged. I then realized that a lot of my gadgets depend on stored power to operate. Not that I didn't know it yet, but it became more apparent as I also realized that if they all need to be recharged at the same time, I am in need of more power sockets. It's a good thing that these gadgets (except for the digicam) can still be used while charging. Otherwise, I'd be waiting for everything to fully charge before I could use it.

Aside from being the name of one of our dogs years back, Skippy is also my favorite dessert (next to leche flan). It may sound weird but when I'm at home, I just get a teaspoon after the meal and take out the peanut butter from the refrigerator. I take a big scoop (half an inch high at least) and lick off the top as if it were coating until the mound of peanut butter slowly flattens until it's consumed.

Of course, it's more difficult to use the same technique on the "chunky" versions of Skippy where you have pieces of chopped (but not fine) peanuts.

I ran out of peanut butter yesterday so I passed by the supermarket.
I was disappointed though that I couldn't find any Skippy branded peanut butter. So I settled for a whimsy Peter Pan. I'm not too keen on their mascot on the label looking gayish, but I hope the super rich honey-flavored peanut butter edition of theirs is enough to make me look past Peter Pan's costume.

Happy scooping !

My new mobile phone was really meant for me to be able to connect to the net at higher speeds. Unfortunately, Smart Communications has a better deal in internet usage, P10. for 30 minutes as opposed to Globe's P0.10 per kilobyte I think. Problem is my mobile number for the past 7 years has been a Globe number.

It seems so hard to switch cause I have to inform each and every person who knows my current number that I'll be using a new number. Also, I love my current number cause it has a lot of "7's" in it and kinda easy to remember.

With the switch also comes some planning. I have to let everybody know of my new number and bulk of the work is figuring out who exactly is "everybody". Hopefully, I'll be able to do this all within a week's time.

As for now, I'll enjoy my last few days with my phone number for 7 years (7 again ? is that a coincidence?)

The remote control for my TV recently got busted. I think it just needed some reprogramming. Yet I intentionally did not fix it as a way to discourage me from watching TV or at least switching channels to watch a show. I didn't fix it for a week. It's actually still not fixed and I'm okey with that.

Meanwhile, I discovered a new remote control... my mobile phone. I discovered the function where my phone can control my computer via bluetooth. So I tried it one night before sleeping. I left my pc online and internet explorer set to my friendster account. I got to my bed afterwards which is around 2 meters away from my pc and tried to access my computer. I was surprised that I could move the cursor, click and navigate windows.

Now when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can connect to the net, check my email and set files for download. I just can't read anything since I'm still in bed and barely awake for my brain to process anything intellectual (nor basic for that matter when your mind is still asleep). But the task is astonishing enough for me to give props to this technology.

I was so happy to find out that Church's Chicken has put up a branch here in the Philippines. As far as I know, it's only at the SM Mall of Asia.

I'm particularly familiar with the restaurant cause my parents used to buy chicken from Church's Chicken in San Diego when I was a kid. I remember they even had gizzards and other weird chicken parts on the menu.

Located at the extreme North area of SM Mall of Asia, it's at the corner and has a huge mascot named Churchie. (Trivia: You won't find that out unless you read what's written at the mascot's back.)

I was pleased to discover that their chicken tastes very similar to the ones I've eaten years back. A plus is that they have very affordable prices. If you get to check it out, lemme know what you think about their food.

Go to church ... church's chicken. (What a lame ad if it've existed.)

I was driving along Buenda yesterday going to Mall of Asia. It was a Sunday so the usual Makati Business District traffic was non-existent.

Upon entering the Buendia stretch from the C5 bridge, I witnessed a motorcycle at top speed disengage from the driver and both of them tumbling over and over separately. I had no idea how it happened since it was all happening at an instant. Good thing the driver wore a helmet cause I actually saw his helmet bounce on the concrete while tumbling at a fast pace. All the cars behind came an abrupt stop to give way to the unfortunate driver and check as well whether he was fine or not.

He was able to get up after a few seconds. Seems he only got some minor bruises. I don't know if his bike is okey too. Another guy on a motorcycle tried to help him but the shaken up guy kinda said something to the other guy and made some pointing signs towards a speeding car almost disappearing in sight. I guess he signaled the guy to catch up with the car. So it seems like it's a hit and run.

It was a scary sight. You see these kinds of accidents on TV but you can never prepare yourself for the shock of witnessing it live right in front of you.

A couple of nights ago, I was with my college computer science kabarkada, Kristine. She's based in Singapore and is here on vacation and to celebrate her birthday in the Philippines for a change (Happy Birthday Kristine!).

We met up and and hung out at the nearest Starbucks and reminisced about our college days and updated each other on the whereabouts of our other college peers.

Along with my new (hi-tech) 3G-capable phone, I also brought my (not-so-hitech) laptop and decided that since we were talking about our friends which we couldn't seem to remember their full names, I booted up and went online to where else but... friendster.com

I tell you it was such an easier exchange of stories viewing our friends on our friendster accounts while learning about our other classmates whereabouts and getting updated on what they're doing and more especially, how they look now. Thanks to friendster for letting users upload their self-portraits. :)

It was the day after that I realized that most of the people I know who have a friendster account have way many more friends/contacts than I do. I was envious of Kristine's friendster account who had way more contacts and friends than mine. So I decided to spend an hour searching for my other friends whom are not on my friendster list yet, to beef up my friendster count so to speak. I think after all that searching within an hour, I only found 10 more friends.

So for those who are reading this and know me personally, add me up on friendster. PLEASE !!!!
hahahaha ! No I'm not that desperate. But I'd appreciate the add up. Cya on friendster soon !

After more than two years, I finally bought myself a new phone. I was pretty much satisfied with my old Siemens M55 phone as I didn't long for video, camera, memory cards, bluetooth and other features newer phones have.

I was actually canvassing for a low budget phone, simply because my old phone became stubborn when pressing the keys. I guess after two years of pressing something, it will refuse to be pressed afterwards. I only wanted a replacement that had better keypress and a bit more color (65K as opposed to my 4K color phone).

Anyway, the turning point of getting a high-tech phone was when I witnessed a 3G phone being connected to a laptop and getting DSL speeds instantly. When I saw that, I thought to myself, I need that. Fancy phones - not too keen.. can live without, but fast internet mobile connection - it's a must for my profession.

And so after a week of canvassing and searching in shops for this extremely hard-to-find phone, I finally got one at a premium price. Behold the Sony Ericsson K608i. :)

Even though the price has increased by P2,000. cause it's phased out, it's still the chepeast 3G phone available. I tried to connect the phone to my desktop and laptop and I get internet speeds of 15K/sec. which is much much better than my regular 3K/sec. dialup connection.

But now since I have the phone, I might as well utilize the other features. It's my first time to have a phone with a built-in camera. My digital SLR is still way more superior than the pics taken here, but I may use it for those times I don't have my camera with me. I still have to learn the other features. The manual given to me was in Malaysian. Good thing there are online manuals available on the Sony Ericsson Website.

For more details on this phone, check this link out.

3G baby ! Watch out ! I'm on the internet highway with a Ferrari now! Am short on gas though.

I just came from Virgin Cafe, the bar/restaurant/gig venue along Tomas Morato.

You can't smell it while you're there cause I guess it's everywhere and you get immune to it, but I swear the moment you get out from the enclosed canned airconditioned joint to the fresh, unadulterated atmosphere (or at least around 2am it is), that's where you'll start to smell your clothes, and boy do they smell !

It's the distinct scent of cigarette smoke which clings to your clothes like a leech; rendering your clothes unusable for anything afterwards with a non-stop one-way ticket to the laundry.

I need to take a shower as well cause I feel as if the smoke has penetrated my clothing walls and silently sinked into my skin.

I left my computer to conduct a complete scan test for viruses while I ate breakfast this morning. I was surprised to learn that I had over 300,000 files on my computer !

If I were to name at least some of them, like the filename and subdirectory they're in, I guess I could only reach 5,000. And I just backed up a lot of files on DVDR last week ! So I could originally have had a half a million files. I wish this were cash !

If you're not familiar with Batista, we'll he's one of the most popular wrestlers now in World Wrestling Entertainment. Batista was scheduled to visit Manila for 2 days to promote the upcoming Smackdown Manila Tour set for October 2006.

Out of the 5 malls he'd be touring, I picked the one least likely to have lots of people and on a weekday. I was with my former officemate EO and we were lucky to get in because we already had tickets for the October event. To make our experience even more exciting, both of us were two of 10 lucky texters who won a special official WWE matt and an exclusive opportunity for a meet and greet up close with the Animal.

The whole experience was so surreal and for this day in particular, I was a fan and not a media person covering the event. I was also nervous as what I could say to Batista since there was only a 15 second chance each winner got since they were rushing the event. I clearly remembered I told him "I admire the fact that you acknowledge your Filipino heritage." Ehhhh !!!! Wrong answer ! I don't think he heard me cause of the noise plus the fact the I wasn't able to finish my sentence or else I would miss the photo opportunity. I should've just said "Hope you become champ again !" ... at least it would be short and sweet.

Damn he's huge ! His shoulder is as hard as a rock and his arm is as big as my puny thigh. His thigh is huge enough to be my friend's waist !

The 3 hour wait was worth it. I got my autograph and pic. (Note: I intentionally cut the pic to hide my useless identity. hehehehe!) This is the closest I've gotten to an actual international wrestler. Whooooohooooo !!!! Batista ! Batista !

It was a first time I think that I've been complimented for my clothing, particularly my shirt.

Yesterday, three people from 3 different places noticed my shirt and complimented it saying it was a nice shirt. Well, I really didn't notice the design when I wore it yesterday. All I remember before leaving the house was that it was a black t-shirt. I didn't take any notice of how nice it was cause for me, it's a shirt, something decent to wear and clean. I wasn't aware my shirt could get compliments that day.

So now I'm taking note of this particular shirt and if I need a good shirt or at least one that may possibly attract attention, I'll wear this one. Funny thing is I don't remember where I got it.

Last Thursday was a series of shockers for me. One is bearable but 3 in succession feels like it's too much for me to digest all at once.

First, I received a text message that my girlfriend's condition in the hospital went from not good to worse. And later that night when I read more about the medical terms on Wikipedia, the more it scared me.

Second, I was at Eastwood early evening and couldn't find my celphone. I had a hunch I left it in the car, which is actually better than losing it. I figured I just forgot to bring it. I just remembered my friend Ernie who I was supposed to pick up that night, that he just lost his celphone the other night in a taxi. I was hoping I wouldn't be receiving the same fate.

So I went back to the car. I sorta panicked when after 5 minutes of looking under each car seat, I still couldn't find it. I took the flashlight then, opened all doors and crawled into the seat floors of the car. While I was losing hope, added pressure to me were 3 cars waiting for me to leave so they could take my parking spot. Don't they know I can't find my celphone and they're only interested in my parking space ? Well, can't blame them. They don't know why I was frantically moving from door to door. The security guard even had suspicions if that was my car because the way I looked puzzled. Get off my case guard. I'll show you my parking ticket if I have to.

After 10 minutes of looking and a breaking out into a cold sweat, I finally found it. It wasn't actually on the car floor. It was behind the seatbelt buckle which was why I couldn't find it right away.

After that, I drove to pick up Ernie. My knees were still trembling from that last incident. Because of the celphone incident, I was also late. I was supposed to pick up Ernie and go back to Eastwood. Since there were lots of people there that night, parking was terrible. I couldn't find a parking space nearby. Then, some guard directed us to park at a new parking lot, which I followed. To our surprise, it was a road that lead to an basement parking of an unfinished (and currently being built) building. It was scary that you parked in a place where you could see cement trucks and workers fully equipped to handle any falling debris while you and your car are totally unprepared for any such mishap. Plus the entire place smelling like fresh cement added to the creepiness of the parking lot.

The rest of the night went well even though we were late.

As the day was almost over, I was heading home feeling hungry, decided to pass by one of my favorite 7-11 branches to get a quick bite. When I parked, I noticed in front of the car was a man who was sitting down near the curve. Behind him was an ATM Machine. When I left 7-11, he was laying on the ground looking lifeless and almost looking dead enough to qualify for the "Night Of The Living Dead" cast. That scared me. And there was this guy with a motorbike helmet using the ATM behind him who paid no attention to the man. It felt like it was a scene from a scary movie. Eerie.

This is why I don't like watching scary movies. If it were anything close to my day, I'd be in shock the whole time. And just antipicating the shock leaves me agitated. Good night.

I recently went to Megamall to look for a particular item.

I used to be here almost everyday years ago since my office was nearby. Years after, and the horde of people entering this mall is still immense.

This time I was trying to lay low, keeping my head slightly tilted towards the floor and not looking too much at people. I was actually avoiding seeing someone I know. I was just too lazy to made an effort to call their attention or make some chitchat in the case I do bump into someone I know. I just wanted to get my business done and get out of there.

Unforunately, I did see someone I knew, a former college batchmate of mine. Good thing he didn't see me so I didn't have to say Hi. I know, it looks bad but I wasn't in a social mood that day. Don't worry, I'm not usually this way.

I just came back from Banawe, the mecca of auto parts in Quezon City. I had to find a cheap mud guard since our terriers chewed up our front mudguards. Getting an inexpensive car accessory in Banawe is not a problem.

What you should worry about is the safety of your own car as there are lots of "tambays" who offer car services and some double as car accessories stealers. I've heard of some horror stories from Banawe. If the auto supply store doesn't have what you're looking for, they'll look for a car parked nearby and steal it for you to buy. Of course you never know if what you're buying there is hot or not.

One other thing I frown upon when in Banawe is that those street people who look for customers will stop and look at your car in detail and will critique almost everything so they can offer their services. For my car, I was told that I needed new suspension, headlight guard, another mudguard, rain protector, new tint, door protector and a paint job. If my car had any emotion, it must've gone into depression. I kept on telling the people that the car is fine and I don't need any additional accessories. Imagine, I was even offered a remote control for the car. Remote control ? For what ?!?!?

While the mudguard was being installed, there were at least 5 other people (usiseros) who had nothing to do with the installation. They just watched and eavesdropped on my conversation with the mechanic, possibly hinting for anything else they could offer me. I couldn't understand why they stay there. It isn't a damn freakshow. They made me more uncomfortable because I was thinking someone might distract me while somebody else may be stealing something from the car. I remember my side view mirror was stolen the last time I passed by this place in the past.

Anyway, I saved 80% of the regular price if I would buy it in an authorized Toyota dealer. I'm just glad I got out of there without any casualty.

I attribute my personal saddest couple of days to be last week because 3 things happened:
1. I got sick with the flu.
2. My website went down and I was too physically weak to even use the computer to fix it.
3. I lost 1 week worth of revenue because of No. 2
4. My loved one was ill too.

Now that I thought of it, it's been 1 1/2 years since I last got sick. And I don't miss it one bit. For someone who's a workaholic and is not content doing nothing, it was such an unbearable and frustrating week for me as I was restricted from doing anything but getting rest so I could get well.

And if that wasn't irritating enough, imagine my frustration that I couldn't even use the computer to go online and fix my website who is still suffering from server migration pains.

My website went down along with me for a week and I fear it sustained some damage in some way. I know it affected my steady visitor count. Also since my website was down, my online store was as well and I couldn't receive any product orders. Lastly, my advertising revenue also screeched to an abrupt halt with no ads being displayed due to the site downtime.

Lastly, the person I wished for additional comfort was in need of comfort as well as she was sick the same time I was too. As much as I wanted to be there for her, I myself was in the same predicament. We were like in a mutual support system where we had to reassure each other everything was going to be fine.

I dread having to go through something like this again. I can handle single blows but if they come in multiples, I may not be able to handle it.

Quoting my friend who texted me last week, "bawal magkasakit."

I was supposed to arrive on time for an event I was supposed to attend to. I had it all planned. I was to leave home and arrive at the Crowne Plaza Galleria exactly at 6pm. I arrived 640pm due to parking.

Robinsons' Galleria is one of those malls with so many people and so little parking space. Well it's not really little. It's just the way the parking was designed, and modified.

I'll give you a backgrounder. Robinsons Galleria was the first place on the spot of that corner on Ortigas and EDSA. It had ample parking. Then came the business building which is attached to the mall. Holiday Inn, was also adjacent with direct access to and from the mall. Few years after, there came the RCBC bldg adjacent to it where an access bridge connected to the mall. And just recently, the newest hotel in the Ortigas center is the 5 star hotel Crowne Plaza Galleria, which is also adjacent to the mall. With all these buildings adjacent and including the mall itself, guess what ? Basement parking was never expanded. And so you have all those wanting to go to any of these buildings parking at the Robinsons Galleria basement parking, which makes parking a living hell.

In addition, this is one of the most confusing parking lots where there's one way narrow roads and a lot of twists and turns. Don't get me started on Basement 3. It looks like a sewer.

I was surprised to find traffic officers actually inside the parking lot directing cars. Is it that bad ?
The only way to get a parking space at peak hours is to WAIT ! So a chunk of your parking fee goes to waiting to get an actual parking space. If I didn't need a car that day, I would've been better off commuting.

Ok... I feel better now that I've ranted.

I was fixing some stuff in my room and throwing away a lot of old brochures and papers when I stumbled across this paper bag which was sealed with a stapler and a receipt. I checked out the receipt and it says I bought this in Dec. 2004.

Curious as what did I buy then but never opened the bag, I discovered that I bought what's shown on the pic, yeah, 4 brand new 2005 mini calendars. This is kinda like a year and a half late. If this was food, this must have had grown fungus for surpassing the expiration date.

It's a good thing they were cheap. They have no value whatsoever now. I can't even sell this on Ebay.

I'm going to leave this somewhere (in a public place) and perhaps someone may be interested enough to actually pick it up and use it (for whatever reason, I couldn't care less).

I graduated from college as being someone proficient with computer software, not hardware, which is why I take pride in having the skills to tweak my own desktop.

From the generic computer, I've transformed my personal computer into one mean machine. If this were a car, I'd like to imagine it'd be one of those competing in those underground races. My basic specs are 1 cd-rom, 1 dvd-writer, 2 hard disks and 2 audio cards running on a Pentium 4 2.4 engine with 256MB RAM.

I set my PC to autoshutdown when temperature reaches 70 degrees celsius. Unfortunately, the room where my computer resides isn't that cool. In fact, it's one of the hottest rooms in the house. And for that reason, my PC autoshuts down regularly.

First, I bought a small electric fan and it's sole purpose was to cool my CPU... not enough. I've then added fans and heat sinks little by little inside my computer's casing.. but my PC just emits a lot of heat.

My last modification was to add a front panel with 3 fans which looks like an air-conditioner. I'm finally happy that my PC can stay on for a straight 24 hours now without autoshutting down. After tweaking my PC, I've noticed that I have a total of 6 fans inside. I've even placed hooks on the front to hang my portable flash drives and memory card devices. I've got a sticker on the side as well.

Then I just realized ... Damn ! I've built a refrigerator complete with door decorations !
All I need now is to install a water dispenser. hahahahaha !

I admit that when it comes to legal documents, legal terms, legal issues and anything else might having a tad bit of legalese aspect with it, my brain suddenly drops to a crawling IQ.

I had such trivial questions that I'm not quite certain if they merit any right to be asked. But I really had to ask cause I'm such a dodo with these stuff.

Here's an example. Should you staple or paper clip legal documents ? My reason for asking is that may be the document might be considered null and void if it had two holes in it (assuming you removed the staple wire leaving marks on the paper). I also had this pondering question of whether to sign all copies of a document or just sign one and photocopy the rest. Will they both be deemed legal ?

The last trivial question I had was with paper size. Is legal size the same as long bond paper ? Is A4 legal ? How come I see long bond papers in 8.5 x 13" and 8.5 x 14" ? Is the latter one called longer bond paper ? Is there a standard place to put the page number in legal documents ? On top ? Below ? Center ? Right justified ? Can I write the popular computer format of Page 2 of 3 ? Or 2/3 ? Or just Page 2 ? Or omit the Page and just write 2 ?

Arrghhh all these questions led me to the conclusion that I am better sticking to what I know best, computers.

I recently learned that there will be 2 wrestling events coming to the Philippines, one with the oldies like Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Iron Shiek and other 80's superstars, and the more exciting and antipicated one being WWE Smackdown.

It's set for October 21 and 22, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum. I was able to watch both WWE Raw Live in Manila events last Feb. and I learned from my mistake back then: "don't wait for the last minute to buy your tickets". I almost wasn't able to buy the tickets I wanted. I was actually waiting for confirmation from friends that wanted to watch. I wanted to know what tickets they'd buy so I we can all be together.

Therefore I will do 2 things which will benefit me.
First, I will coordinate much earlier with my friends. My friend Quen, her daughter and my former officemates are kinda psyched up about it. Quen & I get excited just talking about the upcoming event and planning for it. :)

Second, I will create a fund for my ticket source. I'm definitely going. It's just when and what section I need to know. I just donated a P1,000. bill in an envelope labelled "WWE Smackdown Fund".

(Update: I removed the bill cause I needed to deposit it in the bank and replaced it with a P100. bill.)

ako
Yesterday, I saw this sign in front of a local restaurant:
"Drink and pay moderately".

I just had to think about it. Are they really concerned with their customer's spending habits in correlation to their drinking habits ? Now why would they want customers to pay moderately ? If I were the manager, I'd want my customers to spend lavishly.

I thought of it as a joke and just had to share this.
Blog and post moderately.

Before anything else, I just want to apologize for the huge interval between my last post. Been extremely busy. Now back to our regular blog programming...

Yesterday was banking day and I had to go to 4 different banks, to perform various transactions: check deposit, cash deposit, credit card payment and ATM widthrawal. 2 of the 4 banks I went to had long lines. I was the 20th person in line and there were only 2 tellers open. It took me a whopping 45 minutes before I got to the front. I had some gadgets with me just in case I would take this long. I had my celphone but unfortunately, the bank didn't allow celphones to be used while inside. I had my mp4 player where I could listen to some podcasts I downloaded. Problem was I forgot to bring my earphones and the external speakers would be much too distracting to the others. I could hold it up my ear but that would look like I was using a celphone. So my last resort was going back to basics. I had a book with me and was able to finish 1 chapter within the time I was in line.

While in line, I was thinking. "What if the line was on a conveyor belt with seats lined up so everybody would be seated down and in line. Sort of the Haunted House or Pirates of the Carribean in Disneyland where you sit and enjoy the ride. That would make lining up so much enjoyable. Oh well, back to reality.

I just fed our 3 dogs their dinner when I noticed these 2 flies on top of the hood of our car not moving at all. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were mating. Since they didn't fly away by my presence, even though I was accidentally close to the car, I thought of taking a pic of this rare scene.

I rushed inside the house and got my digital camera and tried to take some macro shots of them. It was hard cause my camera kept on autofocusing on the hood than them, being very minute creatures.

Finally, after around 30 shots, I got some very good and detailed shots of their copulation. On one hand, a fascination led me to think that this is how National Geographic makes documentaries. On the other (and sleazy) hand, I immediately felt like filming a porn movie for insects. I bet that those 2 flies were cursing me for watching them and even taking photos of them.

While I was taking my last few pics, a third fly approached them. The 2 flies suddenly stopped and froze as if the 3rd fly couldn't see them. It was witnessing animal behavior at its finest and very educational I might add. And of course my other evil half of me was thinking that this fly wanted to join in for a threesome but got the cold shoulder.




Oh well, it's still an amazing experience and I did get a chance to try shooting a little creature in macro mode. If you'll notice the picture of the flies, there are actually hairs seen sticking out of their bodies. Way cool !

Porn errr... I mean the animal kingdom rocks !

I was just told by a client to renew their expiring corporate domain and so I did.

Not really thinking about searching around after renewing their domain, I checked my name and was surprised to learn that it's available ! I remember not seriously checking for my name's availability on the net and it was taken.

It took me around 5 minutes to finally decide that it's such a good opportunity to miss. And so I have a new domain: http://www.jaydejesus.com

I kinda have an idea of what I want to put there. But for now, I'm just placing my online resume just so there would be something to see if you visit.

Now I'm pondering on the idea of switching my primary emails to this. Hmmmmm....

Earlier today, my colleague in the media Dennise, told me that she met someone yesterday who knows me.
I asked who and how. She was in Philcoa getting an ID, which took longer than expected. She was beside this guy and they started chatting. They talked about the education system cause he's currently doing a paper on that and Dennise could relate cause she handles biddings for textbooks in public schools.

Anyway, as they conversed more, she told him she works for a music magazine. And that's when the guy told her that he had a student who put up a music website. Since Dennise knows me and my website, she mentioned my website to him and he immediately mentioned my name to her. She was surprised to know that he knew me.

Okey, to cut the suspense short, the guy is Mr. James Esguerra, my former Electronics teacher in college.

It's such a pleasant surprise to hear about these kinds of stories and more pleasant to know that your teacher still remembers you. It feels like he's proud to have had me under his tutelage. It makes me proud to have stood out enough for him to remember me.

Thanks Dennise for making my day and to Mr. Esguerra for remembering me. :)

Last May 21, 2006 was the opening day of the SM Mall Of Asia, one giant mall divided into 4 buildings with lots of everything... food stores, clothing, entertainment, you name it, they got it.

My folks and I decided to visit the mall. It's the first time I've visited a mall on its first day and I tell you, it's hell ! Of course everything is new so it's a new experience. But that's not really a plus. People didn't know which was where and how to get from point A to point B. We got lost inside and went in circles. You couldn't rely much on the janitors to direct you much less the other people since it was everybody's first day. I couldn't figure out their cryptic map of the mall either.

To make matters worse, every restaurant and fastfood joint was jampacked due to the tremendous surge of people wanting to see the new mall for the very first time. This translated to long lines of hungry people. And to top it all, electricity fluctuated around this time forcing these restaurants to close and not accept people inside. That was a real bummer. This left a lot of hungry people angry and frustrated. I guess the mall didn't go through an trial or demo stage to simulate if the mall could handle the enormous demand for electricity.

So we finally found a restaurant which did allow customers despite havin no electricity and so we ate in an unlit restaurant with the heat slowly picking up.

Lastly, I hated their parking structure. You have 6 levels of parking for a 2 storey mall and so you need to go down from the parking to get to the mall. There are three elevators but it would take you years before you could get on one. Most of the people took the stairs but I should point out that this is torture for the unphysically fit and elderly.

There were still lots of activities lined up for the day in the mall but we decided to call it a day at around mid afternoon and go home. We were so tired from walking in that huge mall. Everything is so far from one another. I don't think big is best.

Okey... I modified a phrase I borrowed from a muppet character named Gary Gnu from The Great Space Coaster. Remember him ? If you've watched him say this at the end of every news flash he reports, you know how he says it. *wink*

Anyway, it's really about me buying a newspaper on a Monday or Wednesday morning but actually get to read it 1 to 3 days after. I do have the utmost intention of reading it on the day it was bought. After all, that's when the news is still fresh and new. However, due to the myriad of things listed in my "to-do" list, reading the newspaper gets a backseat and my only incentive then for reading the 2-day old paper is that I want to buy another newspaper and I can't afford to have them pile up (although this did happen before).

Trivia: At the earliest, I usually read the daily paper after dinner.

I've been upgrading some PC parts and gadgets that I happen to have some of them left unused after taken out or placed on a forced retirement plan.

I've made a simply inventory and it seems I have the following gadgets which work but I don't use anymore: 64MB MP3 player, CD Writer, 2.5" Hard Disk Portable Storage Device/Card Reader, and some spare xD memory cards.

Ebay to the rescue ! I haven't sold anything on Ebay for the past 3 years. So the thrill of selling again came to me like a newbie once again. It's exciting to see people bid (and sometimes declare war on other bidders which is good for me) on my items up for auction.

With the money I'll be getting from selling these gadgets though, I may end up buying a newer (and better) gadget and may repeat the cycle of selling newly retired gadgets.

I was in a terrible traffic jam due to the unexpected sudden heavy rains. The first typhoon of the year (named Kaloy) is here and I'm not missing it one bit. I got stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours and the rains caused it. I exhausted my mp4 player... listened to 2 1-hour podcasts, all of my remaining mp3 songs until my player displayed the low batt icon. I tried stretching and turning from side to side while in the car to stretch and relieve my sore butt from sitting. Good thing I had a hunch I'd be stuck in traffic and passed by Caltex's Starmart convenience store to get an instant Nescafe Capucchino and some bread. I got to eat that plus an additional bottle of mineral water while in traffic as well. Good thing I didn't have to deal with any flooded roads.

Looks like the rainy season is here to stay... and the only thing I like about it is that it's not that damn hot anymore... but that's just about it.

I had to go to Manila this morning for business, and from our place, that's a 1 hour drive. I didn't want to choose between the regular breakfast joints such as Jollibee, Burger King, Chowking or McDonalds. So I cruised the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) area and discovered this new place called Harbour Square. It's right beside the place where you book for Corregidor Tours.

Upon checking out the places to eat at that early in the morning, I found Tapa King, Starbucks and Pancake House. Of the three, it was Pancake House that had the best view of the Bay.

It was a pleasurable and calming experience to have breakfast by the bay. I got to see the Manila Yacht Club, some Philippine Navy ships, people exercising along the bay stretch, the rowing team and the Corregidor Sun Cruiser leaving for their daily trips to the historic Corregidor in Bataan, while enjoying a continental breakfast consisting of sausages, eggs, hash browns and toast. For a change, I chose to have tea instead of coffee.

Sad to say this was the highest point of my day as everything afterwards went downhill. But this particular trip to Manila was worth taking, even if it was just for breakfast.

We have 3 lovable but terrible terriers, namely, Yoda, Potter and Dixie. Dixie is the girl among the 3.

Dixie is now on her way to motherhood and we have no idea who the father is.

If it's Yoda, then we have a master jedi dog in the making. If it's Potter, then we have a master magician to arise.

Oh, these three dogs eat and munch on anything, from leaves to our Toyota Corolla, that's why they're terrible. But they all will give you a good licking of loyalty.

I was at SM North EDSA yesterday and had no intention of spending much when suddenly, I happened to pass by Comic Quest and I realized that I hadn't been updated in my Transformers Comics collection since February 2006.

I was surprised to learn that there were new series, issues and reissues that I didn't have yet.

I ended up buying 4 out of 6 comic books I didn't have yet. I would've bought 6 but my budget didn't allow me to. Actually, it's not a matter of whether I'd buy or not... it's a matter of how much I'd have at hand and what could I buy with that. LOL!

I got Transformers vs GI Joe new series and 2 reissues from 1986.
Now I'm happily broke. hehehe !

If you know who Doogie Howser is, then chances are we're just about the same age. :)

For those who have no idea who he is, he was the character in the 90's tv series Doogie Howser MD, a genius doctor at the early age of 16 I think.

He had a computer journal which was the highlight and ending of each episode. It was a simple text journal on a blue screen background.

I was inspired by this at the time that I created a program that would simulate this. I even placed an authentication system so secure that even I eventually couldn't get it. I remember I maintained this for more than a year. However, it's gone forever... trapped forever in a 5.25 floppy diskette which got filled with molds due to old age. I do remember that unlike the genius doctor Doogie, I on the other hand placed very simple entries, most of them being about a crush I had from another school at that time.

If Doogie were still around now, his "then" journal wouldn't be that spectacular, as blogs are everywhere on the net now.

And so, to pay tribute to my old journal 15 years ago, I present my online blog.
And by the way, I can also be an MD - Mr. DeJesus for that matter. ;)

Upon pondering on the concept of habits, I realized that a bad habit is formed by repeatedly doing something wrong. It's either break the bad habit or change it with a good habit.

One of my bad habits is staying in front of the computer in a pitch dark room with only the monitor glare lighting up my face. I'm lucky to have 20/20 vision and not wear glasses even though I've been using the computer for the past 15 years. I do hope it doesn't take its toll on my eyes though.

Good thing I'm far sighted and my face is at least 2 feet away from the computer. :)

For the first time in a very long time, my credit card is close to being maxed out. This doesn't bother me much since I can control my expenses. However, I do have monthly recurring charges (and in US Dollars take note) that may come in any time and cause my card to go beyong my credit limit.

That's why I'm going to the bank first thing tomorrow and paying 1/3rd of my balance.

On the lighter side, I'm getting great points for overusing my card now. I should cash in on that.

I've officially been awake for more than 24 hours now. I woke up around 2am yesterday and couldn't get back to sleep so I went online and did some research.

Right now I can feel the sleepiness .....zzzzzzz... signing off!

My website is suffering from out of memory problems right now. It's that time again where my website is using extremely huge server resources which forces my host to automatically kill some processes which includes accessing the website. In layman's term, my website is inaccessible right now.

I shouldn't be affected by it. I guess if I knew that only a couple of people visit, I wouldn't be worried. But knowing that an average of 7,000 people regularly visit my website on a daily basis (some do on an hourly basis), makes me feel like an offline atm machine being frowned upon by people who wanted to widthraw money.

This couldn't have come at a better time than now knowing that tomorrow I'll be attending the website's monthly EB with some balikbayans enthusiastically wanting to meet the other regulars from the website.

The only good thing coming out of this is that I get to check up on my other websites which I shamefully spend less time and attention to. Oh well... life goes on.

BRING MY WEBSITE BACK ONLINE PLEASE !!!

Lately, I've been analyzing my website and I need more automation to make my life simpler. So I've gone back to programming. I noticed that I'm kinda behind the newest technologies. It's always nice though to know that even though you haven't been doing something for a long time, you still know how to do it once given the chance, like riding a bike.

Right now I'm creating lots of admin tools and applications to make my life simpler. I wonder why I haven't thought of this before.

I still need to make time for a complete website overhaul which is 2 years overdue.

Oh well... hack the planet !

Okey I just wanted to imitate an Anime flick entitled "Rise of the Overfiend".
What I really wanted to say is that due to this intense summer heat, I've been ending up taking a shower 2 to 3 times a day. I just can't stand it being all sweaty. Of course the downside is that I use more deodorant, gel, soap, shampoo, clothes and just about everything more. I do feel fresh though. :)

If I do take a shower before I sleep, I don't groom my hair anymore. It's refreshing not being conscious about how you look since you'll be sleeping afterwards. I just get a scare when I wake up.