The DJ who's not a DeeJay

I've been accustomed to taking a backseat role or hiding behind the scenes and taking on a low profile in much of what I do.
I've been a musical arranger but been behind the scenes, with our karaoke product in the limelight. I've been webmaster and creator of several websites but been distancing myself from the websites so I don't get associated with them. Last year, I also remember being the official photographer for the prestigious Awit Awards, another behind the scenes role. And for the past 2 years, I've been one of the judges for the Awit Awards.

Not that I'm not proud of the other projects and positions I've held in the past, but being invited to judge for the Awit Awards is something I'm proud enough to announce rather than be passive about it. It's nice to be considered and acknowledged for having an ear for musical talent, not just by friends or peers but from the very industry that recognizes Original Pilipino Music, that being the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry (PARI). And through the PARI's Awit Awards, the best artists are given due recognition.

This year, it's an honor to be judging side by side with the likes of Lito Camo, Christian Bautista, my good friend TBowne from 101.1YES FM, one of my favorite musical arrangers, Jimmy Antiporda and other distinguished judges bringing experience from various aspects of the music industry. It's also interesting to see if my picks win.

Check out the article I wrote with the list of nominees, winners for the pre-awarding and a couple of pictures I took from the event.

I haven't been to the US Embassy in Manila for a long time. The other day, my dad asked me to accompany him to get some documents and inquire about something.

A tip for those crossing UN Ave towards Bayview Hotel. The red light for pedestrians never turns green. We waited for more than 5 minutes patiently hoping the red man sign would turn green but it didn't. We had lots of chances to cross the street but simply didn't cause the UN Ave-Roxas Blvd. intersection was swamped with MMDA traffic officers. They didn't seem to care though about the pedestrians since all they were trafficking were the vehicles.

Upon crossing Roxas Blvd, we were greeted or rather approached by people who were offering photo ID services. They even had a lot of samples of ID pictures and sizes stuck on a long folder for display. It kinda looked like a friendster page to me.

I was warned by my friend not to bring a celphone but I forgot, and I didn't want to leave it in the car. There were 2 lines you needed to go through before entering the Embassy premises. One was for security to ask what's your business. You go through a 2nd line where only 2-3 people at a time can enter.

Once you get inside, you'll pass through their security door similar to those in the airport. I was asked to pass around 3-4 times, with each time, unloading something that could possibly trigger their alarm. First was my celphone, then my mp4 player, followed by my keys, and last were the several coins in my pocket. The alarm still triggered and I told the guard that I have nothing else metal on my body except my belt. Thank God he didn't ask to have my belt removed and took my word for it.

Next up was to surrender all celphones. I saw a sign nearby that said "Celphones are not allowed for VISA applicants." I told the guard that I wasn't applying there to apply for a VISA. But he said that there are no exceptions. That was really weird and I didn't want to argue so I just surrendered my phone. I even forgot to turn it off. You need to provide an ID for each item you're surrendering. I was also asked to surrender my MP4 player perhaps because it looked like a phone. And so I had to surrender a total of 2 IDs.

Finally, we got to enter. You'll pass through several doors depending on where you're headed. And these doors are heavy ! It was tiring trying to exert much effort to open each door. No wonder some people, would let you pass them. So you'd open the door and they'd follow you to avoid the effort.

We got to the inquiry area where we had to pass through another security door and leave an ID in exchange for a visitors pass. I was running out of IDs and good thing the guard accepted my credit card instead.

There were lots of people inside. We had to take a number and be seated. It took us around 45 minutes before our number was called. Good thing I brought a book with me. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the title of the book I brought was entitled "Inside Internet Security - What Hackers Don't Want You To Know" and suddenly let out a slight tremble, for fear that I may be perceived as suspicious or a threat (to National Security?). And so leaving the premises, I held the book so that the back cover was showing instead of the front.

It was a unique experience sorta like going through a maximum security penitentiary.
I'm just glad I don't have any business which will require me to visit the US Embassy in the near future.

Our street is a busy major road but neat, clean and orderly. One day, our street was suddenly infested with gatecrashers. They wrecked havoc, used their toys to slit our road, caused mayhem traffic and went on a marathon rampage to injure our strong road. And then, they moved in and became instant neighbors. They were always awake and noisy.

I'm talking about the MWSS or as I like to consider them, the city gophers, who destoy the roads and sidewalks, dig deep holes to install some pipes, and leave the scene of the crime with an ugly scar.

Without any prior warning, several officials with the MWSS uniforms came by the dozens, followed by another dozen or so workers containing the area with "caution tapes" as if our neighborhood is being converted into a containment facility to prevent any outbreak. Then the noise continued non-stop as the workers started drilling away a part of the road followed by our sidewalk. They also parked a bunch of their company vehicles across our street, some pickup trucks, vans and company cars followed by machinery equipment and power supply. The last and surprising addition to their stake, was a mobile trailer, complete with windows, blinds, air conditioning and a water dispenser placed near the entrance. It seemed like that was their new headquarters. Beside this was a huge tent with lots of monoblock chairs serving as their secondary outpost.

In a couple of hours, our once, quiet and peaceful road was transformed into an MWSS boot camp.

What was disconcerning was that we the homeowners, residents and neighbors weren't informed of what was happening. So most of us was just looking at what was going on as it progressed. We asked them what happened and it seems that a major water pipe got busted in our area which is why they need to replace it. When we asked if our water supply will be affected, we were told that they'll turn it off in the evening. Guess what ? Before lunch that day, were already waterless. Our disgruntled neighbor was furious cause she was cooking that time and needed water.

It was also strange to see a whole lot of officials in the scene watching on, discussing and at some points of the day, looked like they were celebrating a party with food and drinks. Usually, I'd see only workers at the scene but this seemed out of the ordinary.

Well it's been a week now and we've been enduring the sounds of drills, a regular honking of horns due to traffic and the inconveniency of backing up our car to whats left of our road. At night, the road is still bright because their powerful search lights. I woke up at 3 in the morning one day and still saw them working.

If us homeowners were only properly informed of what was going on, as well at their work would be clean and neat, I'd have no problems with them. I'm just looking at the positive side to this, being, our water source is being upgraded.

I just fear that what I've witnessed with some areas may be the fate of our road as well. When they're finished, there's a big chance that our road will never look the same again... sort of a facelift for the worst.

Developing an e-commerce solution usually includes the general perception that you need a to tap a lot of resources and fully integrate them. The likes of creating and acquiring a robust website, a web hosting provider, a registered domain, a merchant account, a content management system, a security certificate, a shopping cart seem to be essential in conducting an e-commerce business.

However, nowadays, with a myriad of websites offering third party support, you may not even need any or all of these to conduct online transactions.
If you're wondering how to accept credit cards in the Philippines with Email Billing, it's possible and currently available. YESpayments, a Philippine based company, who provides an internet payment gateway for E-commerce, offers this convenient service for entrepreneurs who intend to charge their customers or clients via credit card.

The entrepreneur can easily log into the Yespayments website, enter the information needed to bill the customer/client and Yespayments will create the billing statement information. What's more convenient about this service is that the entrepreneur gets a copy via e-mail of the billing statement along with details on how to pay, which can then be customized or personalized to reflect the entrepreneurs' branding. Even some personal notes can be included before forwarding the e-mail billing statment to the customer.

The customer then receives the e-mail with instructions on how to pay, which is basically clicking on the link redirecting them to the YESpayments website for the credit card transaction payment facility. Everything else is securely provided by YESpayments so the entrepreneur need not worry about credit card fraud, security issues, a merchant account nor confirming payment.

Furthermore, the service isn't ideal only for physical goods but also with services rendered, which makes the option flexible. Surely, this makes entrepreneurs easily accept credit cards in the Philippines with Email Billing, without spending a lot on resources. To learn more about YESpayments, you can visit their website at http://www.yespayments.com.ph.

I can't remember anymore if I mentioned that I have a slight obsession to modify my Toyota Corolla. Blame it on playing the video game Need For Speed & Fast & Furious plus more recently, watching Transformers The Movie.

After checking out some auto accessories stores and canvassing at some car shops, I've come to the conclusion that I don't have the budget for any major modification. So any 17" mags, adding bumpers, spoilers, sidesteps and the like will for now remain a dream.

What I was able to do with my limited budget was customize my car by adding some reflectors, stickers and minor car accessories.

Out of frustration, I decided to turn my customization obsession to my laptop. Thinking of how my laptop would stand out, I wanted to place some neon lights on the cover, but haven't been able to go to Gilmore where the computer haven awaits me. So with the extra car accessories I bought which I didn't use for my car, I thought of adding them on to my laptop. What is supposed to be applied to the car doors to prevent it from being dented, is the exact same thing I placed on top of my laptop. I also added some other visuals to make it more appealing and hip.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome cause it doesn't look like a standard laptop anymore.

I still plan on placing two blue or red neon lights wihch would intersect at the top center highlighting the autobot insignia. Great too while the Transformers hype is still at an all-time high.

I wonder what else I can do to my laptop ?

I just took this test to determine what type of finger you are based on your personality.
I'm a thumb. Never really appreciated my thumb than my index finger.

Just looked at the way I type and I was surprised that I use my middle fingers the most followed by my index fingers in typing. Interesting. We had a typing class in high school and were trained to use all fingers on a typewriter. It seems I've deviated from the norm and I least use my pinky fingers in typing. No wonder they're puny, weak and prone to injury.

I consider the computer keyboard way easier to press though as an organ (the musical one mind you, for the lingering naughty minds) is to a piano. Of course I could get heat for what I said from piano players. But that's another topic.

Anyway, here's the result... I kinda agree on the analysis.

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

I was at the Ayala Center 2 days ago set to attend the monthly Digitalfilipino.com eyeball. Whenever I'm in the Ayala Center area, I only park either at the Glorietta 3 underground parking (between Shangri-la Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe) or at Park Square (with a bridge connecting to Landmark and Glorietta 2 I think). The venue for the meetup was at the EGG internet cafe which was located at Glorietta 4. I've never been to that cafe before and I was running late so I decided to park somewhere closer. I decided then to try parking at the Glorietta 4 underground carpark, which is below the fountain/park.

I was surprised to learn that this parking lot leads directly to the Glorietta food court and cinemas which is convenient. The meeting ended early and next on my agenda was a 9pm album launch in the Ortigas area. So I decided to hang around Glorietta for a while. Around 7:30pm, I was set to leave Makati. I went down to the carpark, started the car and was ready to leave when suddenly, I couldn't find my parking card. I searched for a full 5 minutes in the car and even took out a flashlight to check underneath the seats, but couldn't find it.

I suspected that I may have dropped it somewhere in the mall. And so I retraced all the places I've been to in the mall and asked the security and customer service officers at each location if they found any lost parking pass but got no luck in doing so. Being an OC person, I was really frustrated that I couldn't find it nor remember where I placed it. I couldn't reconcile the fact that I misplaced it. By this time, I knew I was going to be late for my 9pm event if I didn't leave yet. And so I went back to the parking lot and asked the guard on duty how to proceed with a lost parking pass. I was asked to provide license & registration. To make matters worse, my face and license number are literally erased providing me with as much identification as a fake license. It's a good thing I had an additional SSS ID with me.

So after filling out a form, I was told to bring the receipt to the carparking checkout booth and pay a total of P260. P200 is for the lost card (which I can reimburse at Ayala Customer Service if I do find the card) and P60. is my parking fee. I wasn't really concerned of the amount. I was more concerned that I wasted time looking for the card which I never found and being late.


Anyway, I was late for my 9pm event at Ortigas. I got home past midnight and discovered the darndest thing. As I took out my laptop to recharge, my carparking pass fell to the ground.

I was actually happier to discover that I never lost the card, I just misplaced it. Now Ayala parking owes me P200.