TBBT Pinoy Version

Upon seeing the actress who plays the role of Agua and Bendita in a primetime TV series by ABS-CBN:

Me: Sino ba ang tatay nun? Si Michael de Mesa ba o yung kapatid nya na si Mark Gil?
Jeleen: Si Mark Gil.
Bren: Magkapatid yun?
Me: Oo. Pero Eigenmann talaga ang apelyido nila.
Bren: Talaga?
...
Bren: Diba yung 'eigen' ang ibig sabihin nun ay 'zero'?
Me: Oo yata... Parang yung sa matrix...
Me and Bren: Eigenvalues! (LOL)
Me: May eigenvector pa nga yata, diba?
Bren (sings): Our whole universe is in a hot dense state...

New Year. New Blog Title.

This is the old one with the description:

Nosebleed
-- an engineer's attempts to chronicle quarter-life drama... and struggles to improve written english

No particular reason for the title change, though. I just wanted something new this 2010.

I rode the roller coaster only twice in my life. In both events, I ended up feeling woozy and fighting the urge to puke. That's after shutting my eyes and clasping my hands tight on the rail for the whole duration of the ride. Well, except for the first few seconds when the coaster was still picking up speed and I'm still shouting arrogantly "Ang bagal naman!". Anyway, I just thought that the previous year was one hell of a horrendous roller coaster ride for me. The first half, I was braving everything. The second half, everything's gone too fast I had to close my eyes and just let life steer me to the sharpest twists and turns it can carry out. So now I'm all woozy again, but not fighting the urge to puke because I don't want to forget 2009.

I hope this year's just the same, but with higher inclines instead of sharper turns so I can keep my eyes wide open.

"Good luck"

Image from www.collider.com

Minors, if your dad is not Bryan Mills, then you'd better tell your parents your true itinerary when going on a holiday trip abroad. Heed all their advices and warnings albeit paranoidal you might not enjoy your junket anymore.

The movie is as simple as that. Its plot revolved around Bryan's search for his daughter Kim who was abducted shortly after arriving for the first time in Paris. The rest is filled with non-stop, 90-minute action akin to the Bourne series. This was the first time I've seen Liam Neeson do a lot of kick ass action scenes. I thought he's only as good as playing the roles of businessman and mentor (and that's because I've only seen Schindler's List, Star Wars 1, and Batman Begins). I only wondered why they cast someone like Famke Janssen when she only played a minor role in the film. Roles like that should have opened an opportunity for a new discovery in the film industry. Just like how Maggie Grace was cast to portray Kim, the naive but loving daughter of Bryan Mills and his ex-wife Lenore (Janssen).

The most unforgettable scenes for me were:

• Bryan: I will find you. I will kill you.
  *long pause*
  Kidnapper: Good luck.


• Sam informing Bryan of the analyst's findings about Kim's abductors (How the hell was he able to find out the voice is owned by Marko?!?)
  
• Bryan shooting Jean-Claude's wife in the arm


• Bryan finally tracking down Marko by getting him to speak the perfect words "Good luck." It was simply so kick ass hearing Mills' voice suddenly turn an octave down saying "You don't remember me..."

Notice that the scenes were not action scenes because for me they're unique, and crucial for making the movie messier, more troublesome, and deadlier. A sequel has also been announced. I say they should do a Bourne/Mills tandem, which they could make possible since they both worked in Langley.

For Sale

I'm selling my iPod Video 30GB.

iPod Video 30GB For Sale

Everything in the picture is included. Yes! Even the warranty card, user's manual in Japanese (because I bought it in Akihabara), and the other card which I haven't tried to discover what it's for. All for only Php6,500 (negotiable) including labor (setting up this photoshoot, and of course taking good care of the gadget for almost 3 years now).

Reason for selling? I really don't use it much, even when it was just new. I bring it on out-of-town trips, but I only use it during travelling. My daily commute to the office allows me only a 7- to 10-song listening time. I haven't even explored its other features like games, alarm clock, etc. I store photos and videos there, but I don't have that special cord you have to connect to external displays so I could brag about them to other people. Lastly, I'm a mild obsessive-compulsive. Each and every song in my iPod has to have an album cover, correct title, album, album artist, year, etc. In other words, the wealth of information I can put on a song is making me go haywire. All I want now is something that won't require/show all the details. Something like an iPod shuffle *wink*.

Interested? You may reach me through this number: +63917-8114365.

L-R, T-B: (1) Turned on its back (2) Johnny Depp on the box (3) Inside the box (4) Enclosing box (5) Papers (6) Mini studio set-up

Anti-Stress Part N (for Ndi tuloy)

I'm wasting the night of April 24 away. Oh, it's April 25 already. In about 2 hours, I should be leaving for McDonald's Katipunan. It's our meeting place for the Mt. Pinatubo trek we all vainly called 'Conquer Pinatubo: Rain or Shine'. Sadly, the trip was cancelled a few hours ago due to... the universe.

The original plan was way, way back March (3rd week, if I remember correctly). I already had a scheduled trip at that time so we decided to move it to the succeeding weekend. However, as the open invitation reached recipients outside our group who wanted to join but only if it could be done on April, we now moved from March to April 18. Further discussions and negotiations urged more people to join the trip and move again the schedule to its final date of April 25. And so we wait in delight.

But the universe said: "Not so fast, techies. Let's see if you can dodge this!". The first roadblock: There's an ongoing US-RP Balikatan exercises. They will only allow the 4x4s to pass through at these times: 7-8am, 12-1pm, 5-6pm. Ok. So let's move our meeting time from 5am to 3am. Fine. Kaya yan! Let's go sago!

Incensed, the universe again: "Aba, ayaw nyo talaga ha. Uhm! (Throws in two low pressure areas in the middle of summer, thereby not only ruining our own plan, but the rest of the Filipino people who also wanted to chillax this weekend)". Ah, ok lang yan, hindi naman umuulan sa umaga eh. Tignan nyo 'tong forecast ng PAG-ASA sa Capas, Tarlac. Kaya pa yan! Let's go sago!

Universe: "Mwahahaha! Yan ang akala nyo!". Then Gyobs finally received an SMS saying that the 'skyway' (the path we're supposed to trek towards the crater) has been rendered impassable by the heavy rainfall...

Si Jenard kasi pakipot pa kay Finley eh! Bumili pa man din si Milo ng sandals for the trek. :P

Gone are the days

I miss the old office life. The previous years were like the kindergarten of schooling. It was like the dermatology department of SGH if you've seen Grey's Anatomy season 5 (episode 4). Back then a group is composed only of 20+ engineers, a batch of new hardware engineers could treat all HW groups to a meryenda, there's no hassle in delivering your work products to the customer, and I could win prizes from my favorite radio program in the afternoon!

**** !@#$%^&*()_+ ****

I should've been at the Caramoan Peninsula right now for my very first and much needed R&R this summer. Sadly, I had to cancel an October 2008-booked flight a week before the scheduled trip. I felt there was too much apprehension with my project task's delay and preparations for the trip that I started feeling chronic abdominal pains for almost a week. One colleague described it as an IBS and its article said that it may begin after an infection or a stressful life event. I blamed the latter and, true enough, after getting rid of the Caramoan-CWC getaway and resigning myself to programming work on Friday & Monday, the IBS has subsided.

Gone are the days... tsk, tsk...

It's the best time for...

Finally bringing this topic up. I just remembered this as I dined in at Wendy's today: their food pricing is, for lack of a wider vocabulary, weird. Since college this was the only fastfood restaurant that has got me looking longer at a receipt than I normally would.

I bought a Bacon Mushroom Melt (Php 82) and a Baked Potato (Php 88). Total: Php 170. Part of the receipt showed this:

BMM            :  73.21
BP             :  78.57
-----------------------
Sub-total      : 151.78
12%RVAT        :  18.21
1.01% local tax:   1.53
=======================
Total          : 171.52

First of all, I don't remember seeing the 'local tax' itemized in other fastfood restos' receipts. I could be wrong and it may be a city ordinance to exclude the local tax from the food item's price (as seen by the customer's naked eye), then add it later in the receipt. It didn't really bother me.

I paid 502, and got 330. I'm pretty sure I still know basic arithmetic so it's crystal clear they rounded up the total price to 172. Which I don't blame against them, and instead would like to ask why they need to sell food priced at N.XX? (where N is a natural number not less than 100 and XX is any random no. from 0 to 9). Why? It's not an issue at all had the total been 172. The feeling is like being sold with a 115-peso worth, paying 150, and getting only 30 because a denomination of 5 doesn't exist anymore. Ok it's an exaggeration, but if you're going to add up all those unreturned centavos from all customers, then the sum must've been quite evident.

Which leads me to ask another question: why not just come up with a raw price that will total to a decent normal price after taxes so that meddling customers like me won't feel, uh, cheated? I know it's only 48 centavos, but what if this happens to all their customers always? From the 1.01% local tax and 12% VAT, they could easily determine how much would be the 'normal' initial food price. That way I won't have to do calculations inside my head anymore and just start consuming the food happily. Besides, their balance sheets will be clean. Or could it be the lost centavos amounting to we-may-never-know are going somewhere we-will-never-know? Or maybe, just maybe, it's a naturally occuring accounting/business phenomenon so this rodomontade is pointless.

So, still the best time for Wendy's? I haven't tried their Baconator yet, though.

and a Happy New Year!

My prayer for a rainy new year's eve fell short. It only drizzled and the fireworks still, well, worked. Are there 'smokeless' fireworks?

Same old customs on a new year's eve: round fruits, wear something red, turn on all lights, radios, car alarm, and anything that can contribute to the otherwise loud noise of the firecrackers. And here I am, still up at 0213h, thinking of a name for this little one:

Pollux? Vincent? or Neil?

Merry Christmas!

So I'm back from a short stay in the two Sans in Pangasinan (San Jacinto and San Manuel) and all I can say is: it was too tiring. First day, I drove from Manila to San Manuel. Second day, I drove from San Manuel to San Jacinto and back. Third day, I drove from San Manuel back to Manila. How cool is that?

This December really tired me a lot. And my wallet, too! To think that I still have a long to-do list which SHOULD expire before the year ends.

• Figure out which set of cousins will receive which set of gifts.


• Do 5S (it's a jap thing) on all the stuff in my room. Not that I'm into professional hoarding, but watching it in Oprah made me think I'm a 'mild' hoarder. Like how I'd like to think that I have 'mild' OCD. hehe


• Try to keep track of finances next year. Just TRY.

Did I say long list? Well, the list is just collapsed. Expanding it will be just as tiring to do. And I have 8 effing days left! Haayyy I'm definitely gonna miss procrastinating.

Torn

After test driving the Canon IXUS 95 IS (which is just a pabili when I went to Japan), I suddenly realized maybe the reason why I've always wanted to dabble in photography but couldn't appreciate the images I'm capturing is because of the camera. Comparing the Disneyland photos taken using Canon with Sony, and borrowing a few clicks from an officemate's EOS Kiss X2, I'm now thinking of buying a Canon camera. And I'm choosing among these three.

Which reminds me of the Wii. I was planning on buying it in Akihabs, but due to time constraints and most people telling me about the jap version, mod, and updates thingy, I decided to buy it here in Manila (Greenhills, to be exact). So now... To Wii, or not to Wii? That is the question.

déjà vu

I'll be on a junket to Tokyo in a few days. Same autumn time, same dorm, same train line, same cobblestone streets to the office, same old, same old. I just hope it's not the same attendant at the weekly mansion. The last time I stayed there I left a rice cooker half-filled with, well, cooked rice. I didn't have time to gobble up breakfast as my companions were on a hurry. We were the next back-to-pinas trippers after Hans & Andrei set a milestone in the company history by being the first junketeers to miss the plane. Naturally, we can't set a second milestone just a few weeks after them or else our asses will be on the line when we get back home.

This trip's 2 weeks shorter than the previous one, which means lesser allowance, lesser time for gallivanting around Akihabs albeit the one lucky holiday (galing mag-propose ng sked ni koya, hehe), and lesser whatever. It was also a 2-week notice, which left me with little time to figure out what to do with my hair when it starts braving the dull, arid autumn air of Japan. I don't want to look like this anymore: (pic to follow)

Which leaves me with: (1) haircut? (2) leave-on hair conditioner? (3) wig? (4) shave?

Too bad both Toray and AIG are already finished. I would've been willing to pay even if Masha's absent. Still, I might not be able to watch if I'm not with Tin (Tan) or Teddy. Anyway, trekking with Frodo (not his real name) in the cavernous bazaars of Okachimachi will likely be our jaunt during the day-offs. The mission: find the ring. Yes, the ring who will bind him with his wife-to-be. I just hope he already knows the size. If Tin's (not Tan) coming with us then she could do the fitting for him, just not me. I'll be staying in that stall where the Jap who sells perfumes speaks Tagalog and Cebuano very fluently.

Breakfast in Bed

Meet my workstation. Ace (the laptop - not an Acer brand as you might suspect from his nickname, so I'll give his full name just to prolong the digression: Sam 'Ace' Rothstein) sitting atop his 'cooler' throne, fits snugly on the tray. Sadly, there's little room left for the mouse to wander around, which makes life playing DotA a tad more laborious as I have to sweep the mouse at least twice just to get my hero running to a far-flung place on the map. Well, you can't have it all. Still the tray's a best buy costing me only around Php500. Plus it has devotedly served my potato couch disposition in working in front of a computer for months now. So there, be strong for me tray, er, nameless-wooden-tray, ok?

Movies that I missed

...so far:

• Iron Man - haven't seen Robert Downey, Jr. in a film (as far as I can remember)


• Wall-E - although an officemate told me it's boring at the first half of the film.


• Righteous Kill - I'm a De Niro/Pacino fan. If someone says s/he's also a fan but didn't even know Heat, then s/he's lying.


• Eagle Eye - premiere of this flick happened to have started sometime around the days of the UAAP Finals. When Ateneo won the championship, my classmates started asking if anyone wants to watch 'Blue Eagle Eye'. Corny, hehe. They watched it anyway.

And then there are movies I might (highly likely) miss for the rest of the year, so I'll just have to patiently download:

• The Changeling - the type of flick where I would want to see Angelina Jolie become an actress (just like in A Mighty Heart). I've heard her acting here has generated quite an Oscar buzz.


• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad's turn this time. He's not the only reason I want to see the film, though, but also Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.


• The Day the Earth Stood Still - it's been a while since we've last seen Keanu in a movie. I also have a side story with regards to this film. Once in the office I happen to get this fortune: 'Klaatu barada nikto!'. That was in the morning and I just wondered what the hell that fortune is all about. When I got home in the evening and surfed about movies for 2008, I read the entry about this film and its trivia section said:
  
  

  Trivia: Klaatu is famous in part due to the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto!” used in the film and its re-use in the Bruce Campbell cult film Army of Darkness.

  
  Oookay. Now I know. Thanks!


• Body of Lies - could DiCaprio get an Oscar this time around?


• Angels & Demons - though I didn't like The Da Vinci Code at all.


• Quantum of Solace - even though Daniel Craig disappoints me as James Bond (he's rough, even in his ways with women, and his hair's blond for chrissakes - is that how Bond's supposed to be? A B'l'ond?), there are other equally important aspects making up a Bond film. There's his car/s, gadgets, women, villains, and for me the most important (and lasting) of them all - the song. Performed by Jack White (of the White Stripes) and Alicia Keys, I have yet to hear it. I'm hoping the orchestral arrangement (if there's any, although it should be present because it's an identifying element in bond films) is as sophisticated as the ones arranged for GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is Not Enough (all Brosnan). Alright, add Nobody Does It Better (performed by Carly Simon for The Spy Who Loved Me).


• Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt - need I say more?

Ok, go ahead. You can now flash on me an 'L' on your forehead, but not for long because I've already seen The Dark Knight. :P

1.01 sparse fifo

• This week, I've forgotten I'm experiencing the "so-called" QLC (at its peak) just because all my favorite US TV series have finally commenced their respective new seasons: House M.D. in its 5th season, Prison Break in its 4th season, and Heroes in its 3rd. So I'm back to potato couch mode again.


• I got a slight fever (again) on Monday, so I went on sick leave (again) on Tuesday. A pathetic, sick potato couch. hehe


• Mom's returning next week and I'll be the one to pick her up at the airport. Which also means I won't be able to attend a former officemate's wedding. Not much social life for me these days.

fifo empty.

Woes of a Wretched Week

It's as if the whole universe has conspired to give me everything there is to make last week (probably) the worst week of my life.

Sunday: After taking a bath and getting ready for the church mass, I felt quite unwell, like a general feeling of discomfort. Malaise is the medical term for that, I think. And as we leave the house for church, La Salle just lost game 1 to Ateneo.

Monday came and I'm already feverish. But the fever somehow felt different. I can feel slight, stinging pain in my feet, my knees, practically everywhere. The pain just travels from one body part to another. A few paracetamols and I felt better towards the end of the day. Unfortunately, cough and cold replaced the fever. Never mind, at least I can already go to work tomorrow.

Tuesday saw me going to the nearby clinic instead of the office because the fever is back. But I felt confident since I am now armed with medicine that will fix me. Again, I felt better towards the end of the day. Also, news came telling me that a Singaporean employer is coming to the Philippines to conduct interviews. I'd better get well soon so I can prepare for this.

Wednesday and I'm finally in the office. But the day was marred with frequent visits to the clinic because of the recurring fever. To make things more worse, I couldn't breath most of the time due to a clogged nose, making it hard for me to swallow food and eventually losing my appetite. As I got home I'm still burning with fever, so I already called up my ninang for help. Everyone was alerted of my condition (even my mom's cousin who lives in the nearby village), and so they came and asked if I wanted to be confined in the hospital. I said I'll just rest the whole evening and tomorrow if my condition's still worse, I'll have myself confined. And in the middle of my uneasiness, the call from Singapore came and asked me if I could come for the interview on Saturday.

Thursday: I just went for a check-up since I'm already feeling fine. Plus, if I'll be confined today, there's a big chance they won't discharge me by Friday so I can go to the interview on Saturday. Got my blood extracted for CBC, waited for 3 freaking hours in the cold, dull corridors of the MATI building for the lady doctor who looks like Susan Roces, had my CBC results interpreted by her, then finally went home. Everything was normal in the CBC except for the white blood count which frightened me. It was way below normal, but the doctor said that's 'normal' when you have a viral infection. I see. So that's what's gotten into me. She even added that it's usually 3 to 4 days. Dammit. And to end a rather fever-free day for me, the Archers lost the championship to the Blue Eagles.

The whole Friday was spent in recovery and in doing nothing to prepare for the interview. I've already read the job position requirements and none of them matches with my current skills anyway. So there goes our popular mantra back in college: "Bahala na!"

Then Saturday. Eventually I failed the interview because I'm not really proficient in C++. And that's what was needed in all 3 available positions. I even felt stupid showing off my expertise in e when the employer told me "This is not C." Fine. All of my officemates (who went to the interview) got the job, but my college classmate also got the axe like me. At least I'll be taking this as an experience in being interviewed by a foreigner. More opportunities to come, I hope. But for now, I'll just content myself with thinking about how to move on for the other, hopefully wonderful weeks ahead.

Lakbayan

A geeky officemate of mine created this nifty website that gauges how much I've traversed my very own country, the Philippines. Well, a picture's worth a thousand words they say, but the places I've been to don't even amount to a hundred words. Nonetheless, here's the outcome of my adventures.

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

At a rate of 2 to 3 new places per year, I wonder when will I get to have a grade of A? I'm gonna tell Jho & Tin to push through with Busuanga, Coron in Palawan, then Caramoan in Camarines Sur. Wohoo!

Blog Hiatus

I'm on extreme OCD mode these days, trying to apply my CSS learnings in this blog. So don't be surprised if you suddenly see unusually large fonts somewhere, or distorted layout, or you simply find this blog very uninteresting already (I doubt it ever became interesting to anyone). This is how I'm coping with my QLC, which is apparently at its peak these days. It could be a mere hormonal thing, though. I'll double check the Wiki article. In the meantime, I want the ads and external (to Blogger) widgets to be at the center of the sidebar. Maybe I'll want to add some more widgets to spice things up a bit, too. Be back in a few days...

Scam or Spam?

Pued po b akong humingi ng 2long sa inyo? I'm Anne, 21yo fresh grad po from bacolod. Gagawin ko po ang lahat ng kapalit na gusto nio, ma2lungan nio lng po akong makapunta sa mynila. Im willing to take the risks. MY job hiring na po kc ako jan sa smc-ortigas, sayang naman po kung madidissolve lng.. My picture po ako at supporting documents sa www.annevelasco.cjb.net - Anne

August 17, Sunday, 0900h and I'm busy experiencing r.e.m. when my cellphone in its loudest profile woke me up for the SMS received above. Anyone could get easily annoyed by this, but I felt different. Of all the scams-thru-SMS I receive, this is by far the most... I should say, elaborate. I even got to the point of checking out the said website. hehe.

You'd think twice when you see the webpage. (By the way, as of this writing, I checked the URL again and it now points to a different webpage, so it's a scam after all! But I'm getting ahead of my story). The girl tells her family history in the webpage, from how she became an orphan to the beauty contests that she joined just to support herself. She's currently living with a relative and, as what her SMS said, she's already accepted a job in Manila. She even has a copy of her transcript of records and a grad photo.

There are a lot of loopholes in that strategy (or modus operandi, as commonly used with criminals/scammers for that matter), and I'm not gonna enumerate them anymore. The point is that there really are people who would do anything to scam you, and my mobile number seems to be roaming (not as in I'm abroad) far and wide as I receive more scams, more offers of loans at lower discounts, more invites to something at somewhere, etc.

I'd rather have the endless forwards by my friends just because they are on unlimited txting. :)

Bummer Monday - Not!

0634h : Woke up to a spicy tuna breakfast and a cloud-obstructed sunrise
0720h : Left the house still feeling sleepy
0834h : Arrived at Powersmash (Pasong Tamo), played badminton 'till 1230h
1300h : First time in the Powerplant Mall
1330h : Pepper Lunch at last!
1530h : Bogged down for the next 2 1/2 hrs
1900h : Addict mode - net-surfin'

"The Queen no longer bleeds..."

...and she somehow resembles Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the Philippine president) when she speaks. Nevertheless, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is my second best movie of the year next to "The Dark Knight". Well, my top three are: (1) The Dark Knight, (2) The Other Boleyn Girl, and (3) Wanted, and nothing more... because those were the only flicks I've seen this year. :D

Image from www.dvdizzy.com

This film's plot is kick-ass. If one is not aware this is based on a novel, one would believe this is what really happened. Of course I researched about it in Wikipedia, but the article was too long it bored me. I don't know if Henry VIII really had a bastard son with the other Boleyn girl. No twists, but full of the most mundane of emotions that drive the characters' actions and their attitudes towards others.

Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is strong, cunning, and intelligent (only in the beginning), while Mary is naive and simple. For this, Portman overshadowed Johansson. However, I find that Johansson's portrayal of Mary brought out an exceptional actress in her. Anyway, if it was Portman, she would have done it all the same - but they would need to find a 'bitchier' actress than her to play the part of Anne. Since towards the end they somehow switched qualities (e.g. the other became weak, the other stronger), their acting styles were also swapped, so it evens them out.

I wonder why it only scored a measly 41% in Rotten Tomatoes?