Photoblog - Day 207, Nov 02, 2010

Soul of Coffee:

This picture was taken by Barbie and the backdrop is actually the Bo's Coffee wall in Greenhills. It's entire caption reads "Espresso, the soul of coffee" When Barbie took the picture, however, the top portion was cropped. Still, the effect gave a more surreal look.

I mean, what is the soul of coffee? Not meaning to go all Zen here, but it's the aroma of the coffee that gives it it's soul... after all, when I was a non-coffee drinker (almost a decade in the past), I was drawn to the coffee's smell - it was just fantastic to smell some coffee brewing in the background, and in more than one time, I wondered if I was missing out on something special.

Well, nowadays I'm a regular enough drinker to know the difference between brewed and instant sans taste; and I regularly purchase not just the Barista created cup, but the grounded coffee as well (for home brewing purposes). Though I may not consider myself a coffee expert yet, I have acquired the taste for it. hence my going to places like Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and the likes.

Of course, there will be times I don't feel like taking coffee - in which case I revert to taking tea.

It just hit me... it is All Soul's Day! How about that for coincidence?

Photoblog - Day 206, Nov 01, 2010

Piazza Lunch:

Today was probably the only time everyone was free - it being a holiday and all, so we scheduled to have our get together lunch with the Dubai folks, before their scheduled leave/vacation ends. Most of them are returning to the Middle East next Saturday, and as for the rest of us... work will once again intrude into our get-togethers. I also imagine them being likewise busy having to consider last minute shopping for things they may be needing to bring back there.

Honestly, it was good of the to visit - and with their nearly a month's stay, we've been able to have out-of-town trips, drinking sessions and gastronomic delights. Though once they return, I imagine it shall be back to a saner diet for me as well... at least, until Christmas.

So yeah... today's lunch was great and everyone had a wonderful time. This is them as they arrived at the Piazza. Barbie and the kids were already at Dencio's (2nd floor) ordering ahead of their arrival. Meanwhile, I was playing around with my mono-pod (and later in the restaurant, my tripod). That was what they probably saw me doing, as they arrived.

Why the mono-pod? I was experimenting with panoramic takes via photo stitching. Apparently, my first try was a mixed success... why so? I got to stitch two pictures - but the people in the middle; where the stitch happened, were out of synch. Well... at least I learned something. Will try again some time soon.

Photoblog - Day 205, Oct 31, 2010

Amici dinner:

Sunday was a quiet time for us - after all, we were still resting from the previous evening's drinking session, and though the kids were spared the alcohol, they had to play baby sitters to three of their younger cousins, so I can imagine that the evening wasn't as restful for them either.

We woke up early, and had it not been for the obligation (or practice) to attend Mass on Sundays, we'd probably just stay home. Then again, if we did that, we wouldn't have enjoyed our dinner at Amici.

Nothing spectacular, we just had two servings of seafood pasta and two pizzas - one four cheese, and the other a new offering... garlic and spinach (a vegan's delight too - if they wanted to skip the four cheese).

This picture shows Barbie and Bernice waiting for our orders to come. Apparently, there were a few changes to the restaurant - and only time will tell if those changes work. Still, maybe due ot the staff getting used to said changes, service was a bit rough on the edges (they for got to serve us our iced tea until we reminded them).

Oh well... it was a healthy and filling dinner to cap a restful day.

Photoblog - Day 204, Oct 30, 2010

Bacardi Night for the Buenaobras:

Yes it's definitely a Bacardi Night that Barbie and I planned for her brothers and sisters. Considering that most of them just came back for a one month vacation before returning to Dubai, and likewise considering that the next time they will be together would probably be after two years; and lastly... considering that it;w the star of a long weekend (though it should have been longer) - well, let's just say that a drinking session was long overdue at home with the Buenaobra siblings.

As usual, I got to let them taste Mojitos, Margaritas and BJs - and they all loved it enough to get a bit tipsy... but worry not, we made sure they were okay enough to travel home early morning. Thanks to some Starbucks coffee that I bought and Barbie brewed.

Photoblog - Day 203, Oct 29, 2010

Batty:

These little bats are real cute halloween decors, and I saw them in (of all places) a bank where I went to cash a check - enroute to depositing some money into my bank account. I guess I did not expect such a conservative business to get into the spirit of things and really pepper the office with these type of decors.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise, and when I saw these batty bats - well, I just had to ask permission ot take their pictures. Halloween being a few days away... I guess it's good to get into the spirit of the day - and the practice.

So happy halloween folks!

Photoblog - Day 202, Oct 28, 2010

White Cup:

This is obviously a Starbucks cup (or mug, if you want to be precise about it), and what is so significant about the mug this day? Simple, it's the start of my graveyard shift training that's gonna last until tomorrow (two days total)... so I'm definitely going to need my uppers - legal of course, and in this case - Starbucks coffee. naturally.

My training this evening, though will be Achieving Meeting Results - a course I've been very familiar with - ans one that is relatively easy for me to conduct (in fact I just conducted one last week - an afternoon to evening session). So yeah... it's been a while since I've had a graveyard shift, so we'll see how awake I can stay.

As for this shot... well, the over-all white cup with white design was, I felt, a challenge to get just right. I'd like to think I did get it right. I had to rely on bright sunlight form outside for this one though. I don't think it would have had the same effect had this been taken with less brightness and less a play with shadows.

Photoblog - Day 201, Oct 27, 2010

My other Loach:

This is a Kuhli Loach, one of two I have in my smaller fish tank (they were actually three - but I can't seem to see the other one, even after I cleaned the tank), and I guess they were both happy with their cleaned environment that they were actively swimming around the tank.

Now since I had some difficulty capturing them for pictures, I would either just get them in a far shot and do a post shot zoom-in, or just bide my time until I saw them not doing much movement. Well today was the latter... sort of.

I did say I caught them moving around a lot and they were likewise sort of playing with the internal pump. Moving in front of the pumped water and swimming against the current. Well that kind of activity will eventually make them tired, so I watched and waited... then, when one of them would rest in the gravel, I could take my shot. I actually missed catching them both in the frame by just a few seconds... but this one is cool enough.

Why my other loach, you might ask... well, I did feature my clown loaches before, right? If you want to learn more about these fishes, there's a site I could point you to.

Loaches

Read up on them, and who knows? Maybe this'll convince you to try them out as pets.

Photoblog - Day 200, Oct 26, 2010

Cold Room:

This is me in a jacket while reading a book at the back of the training room - something I'm able to do because it was my partner's turn to talk. Said partner for this day being Tess, who saw me; liked what she saw - and said she just had to take my picture, so I could add it to my photoblog.

As for me, yes the jacket is necessary. You see, where I'm sitting, I find myself in a near direct path of an industrial airconditioner's cold blast, and even if we lower the temperature a bit, it still is cold for the person in the aircon's path. In actuality, I'm trying to cover my head more than my body, more so since I'm still nursing a cough. The book I'm so engrossed with? "The Last Templar", a book I just started reading this day.

So there you have it... another picture of me this October (unintentionally done), because Tess saw a memory worth preserving - and when I saw her take of me, I thouhgt so too.

Photoblog - Day 199, Oct 25, 2010

Mohawk:

I remember first seeing people sporting the mohawks in relatively modern times (the '80's if you must know) from Mt.T - first as a formidable opponent to Rocky, and later as a comedic tough guy in the A-Team (the TV series - not the movie that has recently been shown). Naturally, this got a handful of people copying the style of Mr. T. - but more often enough it was to convince them (and others) that they were as tough as their idol.

Later the 'hawk' look was somehow revived as part of the punk rock / new wave stage in the music industry's life - and even then, this was seemingly reserved for the more erratic (some would even say wildly behaving) bands. After all, aside from the fact that they were mohawked - they were likewise gelled to look like spikes, so it was understandable that the not too many (with exception to the more eccentric followers) started sporting that style of 'hawk'.

Fast forward to the 2010s and we have a resurgence of sorts for the 'hawk' - thanks to another TV character in the series Glee. It's a more conservative 'hawk' than that of the punk rock era... and the character is more mainstream high school than Mr. T.

Guess this explains why some parents are having a ball having their kids look that way these days... and depending on how the 'hawk' goes in a decade or two, I wonder how this kid will react to seeing pictures of himself with the 'hawk'. It could go either way, of course... he could be proud of being bold enough at a young age to sport it, or he could probably keep all early pictures of himself from this particular time period.

Anyway, this shot was just on impulse - saw the kid; opened the camera and clicked. After all, as far as memories to remind me of where I was goes - this was as good as any. To preserve the kid's identity, I did not bother getting a face shot. After all, the back of his head says it as clearly.

Good luck in your future, kid.

Photoblog - Day 199, Oct 25, 2010

Ants:

Last time I tried getting these critters, I ended up with a vague orange shape on green mangoes - apparently, I still needed to learn how to better focus my camera's lens to catch these ants.

Well, as you can see, I've improved by some leaps and bounds when it comes to capturing these critters - and I couldn't be happier too. After all, being able to catch the ant clearly (and this is not yet using any zoom lens) means I'm definitely getting the hang of using my camera's features. If you look closely, you can even see the ant's eye.

Nat. Geo., here I come!

Photoblog - Day 198, Oct 24, 2010

Cuenca Visit with 'Dubai' folks:

I normally try to visit my mom and sister in Cuenca at least once a quarter. Recently, though, this has not been the case. For example, I was supposed to go last August to celebrate the birthdays of Li, Bing and Patty in one go - wasn't able to make it due to a busy schedule. Darned if I would pass up this opportunity though.

Cuenca trips are well remembered by my 'Dubai' in-laws because of the gastronomic dishes we serve them there - and most of them being of generous and extra large serving. This time out, it seems the classic grilled Liempo was outdone by the humble smoked fish... something I guess they've really missed eating.

That said, we all ate more than enough to last us beyond dinner - and such a filling situation gave everyone else an excuse to walk around. Me? I finished reading a book while awaiting the famous Batangas Barako Coffee to be served.

My next trip will most likely be in the Christmas season... not sure if I can make a trip for Mom's birthday - but I'll see. Unfortunately, the 'Dubai' folks will be long gone to enjoy either or of these possible trips - having to go back to where they're working. But that's okay... I'm sure they have lots to talk about - with pictures to share too.

Photoblog - Day 197, Oct 23, 2010

Spa time!

This was a scheduled day at the Spa specifically for Barbie's Dubai-working relatives, and a few others. In this Photo, that would be Brian and Joji, while Ben and I... well, we're the 'few others', at least in the gentlemen side. This is them in robes after the massage (hence the uncombed hairs).

As I accompanied them, Barbie was enjoying a similar experience with her siblings Bea and Dette, with sister-in-law Lhynn. After this much needed relaxation (as mentioned by Joji and Brian to me), we had a late dinner at Eastwood, and that in itself was a nice experience... definitely better than the aborted plan to go to the Piazza in McKinley. After all, from all indications, the architecture and clock tower are the same - with exception that while Eastwood is filled with lots of places to hang out in, the Piazza looks near empty after you consider dinner.

Photoblog - Day 196, Oct 22, 2010

Red Tomatoes 2010:

This is a free concert sponsored by my favorite FM radio station; 99.5 RT - in fact, I've been an avid RT listener since... well, since college actually. Though the station went on a near 2 decade hiatus (or was it longer than 2 decades?). Anyway, they're back with a vengeance, and I get to listen to them in the morning and evening, specifically when I'm driving to or from work.

This was how I learned of their concert, and coincidence as it is... You might even say that the coincidence became stronger when I learned that a previously planned family outing was cancelled, leaving my Saturday evening open. I was in McKinley that day, conducting my last day for PM Estimating. That said, it was a simple matter of waiting for the appointed start time.

Hence I was able to get some pics of the bands playing - well, just two of them actually... Sinosikat (in the picture) and Sandwich. In between I saw a few RT jocks too. But what got me going was of course a chance to try taking really great pics of the bands.

Photoblog - Day 195, Oct 21, 2010

Great pumpkin time!

Yes, it's close to Halloween! Though we don't really celebrate it here that much in the past, it's commercial possibilities have seemingly caught on in the malls - then again, it's no real surprise, since it's the more affluent subdivisions and neighborhoods that have traditionally practiced this... I guess, wanting to make sure they have a semblance of the celebration here as in the U.S.

Still, I don't begrudge the commercial practice - after all, it's and opportunity for kids to enjoy one night of trick or treats (specially the treats) and is likewise a reason for dining places - like the coffee shop to spruce up their locale with decors of webs, witches and whatnots. In this case, the jack-o-lantern inspired decors are an attractive attention-getter. It obviously caught mine enough to take it's picture.

Ah... to be a child again, and get to enjoy trick or treats... wouldn't that be nice?

Photoblog - Day 194, Oct 20, 2010

Yummm!

By themselves, each food item is a very tasty dessert - the white items are Macapuno (preserved, sweetened coconut meat), while the yellowish item with a near burned caramel top is Leche Flan (sweetened milk pudding?). Both are well known in the Philippines, and both can be overwhelmingly sweet at times.

Fortunately, these two are not - even when placed side-by-side. Why so? For starters, these two were home made (not my home, though) and I was just lucky to be a recipient of such wonderful cooking. Believe me, these two are temptations to anyone with a sweet tooth; myself included, but I can honestly say that I have been winning the EQ war with this one - the bad part? Others at home are not so controlling, so unless I decide to eat these sooner (like this evening) I may very well end up not being able to taste them.

So as you can see, I took matters into hand last night as barbie was getting herself some. At least, I got to taste this combination... now if I cna only find some Ube (taro-flavored) ice cream...

Photoblog - Day 193, Oct 19, 2010

Current Book I'm Reading.

This is Boyd Morrison's The Ark - an okay read. Guess it's true that unlike Cebu where I had nothing to distract me with after work (and where I was able to finish reading two paperback in the span of one every two days), my reading once again, becomes slower... even if they happen to be thrillers. Guess it's because my attention is demanded (or distracted) by so many other things. Hence I bring the book wherever I go (even to trainings), so when I find those ever elusive free moments, I go through a chapter or two.

As for this novel, the premise (so far) is sound - and so is the science, though I've yet to see how he integrates Noah's ark into the story aside from it being just a background plot. Hope the fact that Boyd happened to be a Jeopardy champion translates into a great story teller... or at least, god enough to enjoy until the next book.

Photoblog - Day 192, Oct 18, 2010

Signs of Christmas...

It's definitely getting to be that time of the year. Although we may see some malls starting to place display corners or show windows with Christmas, it's not yet full blast, as some stores realize that before they should go all out Christmassy, they should at least try to milk some cash form the public with Halloween.

Still, what some people try to deny, nature so often starts reminding us by way of having such plants bloom. This is a poinsettia - otherwise referred to some as the Christmas plant due to it's reddening leaves thus giving it the traditional Christmas colors of Red and Green. It happens to be a favorite plant to bring out the Christmas look, and apparently, they are already starting to show up in gardens and flower shops.

Further alluding to it's being a Christmas plant is the fact that the leaves only seeming turn red this time of the year - yup... definitely in time for Christmas. So yeah... even if it's still early early and Halloween is around the corner (not to mention All Saint's and All Soul's days and a near-ignored Barangay Election), it's nice to see these plants blooming - and though we may suspect shop owners' intentions for jumping into the Christmas celebration too early, how can we likewise think such of Nature and her impeccable internal clock?

Photoblog - Day 191, Oct 17, 2010

Starbucks with a nice view.

If Bernice was the reason for our having to wake up early yesterday, today it was Bryce... particularly his entrance exam in De La Salle University. He had to be there by 7AM, and naturally, Barbie and I saw him off (with the understanding that we'd fetch him after he had lunch with his friends who also took the exam that day.

Naturally, once we had dropped Bryce off for his exam, the obvious question was how would we now kill time... and where? A Starbucks was the obvious choice, and though I knew of one near D.L.S.U., I had concerns about parking.

It was then that I remembered that there was a Starbucks at the area near the Cultural Arts Theater... the one with many eating spots. I thought that there would definitely be more than enough parking... and it was not too far from La Salle as well.

What I did not expect was that the Starbucks had a nice view and some great entertainment factor (by way of watching many Sunday morning enthusiasts gyrating to the beat of some dance songs while obviously following the lead of an aerobics instructor). one grandmother, in particular showed how versatile and soft her body was - even if she was at the portly side. Amazing... and yeah, entertaining.

But the clincher for this Starbucks was the view - if I had seen this picture and not known of it's location, I would not think it was just the marina (notice the yachts?) in Manila Bay... I'd think that this was probably one of Barbie's out of the country trip.

Photoblog - Day 190, Oct 16, 2010

Bernice's Confirmation Seminar:

This is what made Barbie and I wake up early on a Saturday when we normally would have wanted to sleep longer. Since Bernice will be having her confirmation this coming November, the school, naturally, wanted to make sure their students' parents were well aware of the Christian (specifically, the Catholic) values - sooo.... we got dressed in a more smart casual manner - as opposed to my more relaxed shirt and shorts weekend get-up, and off we went to O.B. Montessori, with Bernice in tow.

I dropped them off so they did not have to walk too far from the parking with the understanding that I would pass by Starbucks as well to get Barbie her much needed coffee.

Turns out they (the school) only needed - and allowed one parent per child - a fact Bernice forgot to mention, and I sudden felt I was dressed with no place to go *sigh*. So I got Barbie's coffee - brought it to her then as I was about to leave and just kill time in Greenhills (I had been there the night before - remember my latest batch of comics?); I decided to take this picture to remind me of what was so different about this Saturday. Nothing fancy... either, just a wide angle shot to capture the set-up.

Lucky for me, I brought a book to read.

Photoblog - Day 189, Oct 15, 2010

Yes... more comics:

This particular batch makes me updated with the latest releases; considering we're just a few days different from the U.S. release - they get theirs on Wednesday and we get the same come Friday or Saturday, so it's just a two to three day delay... isn't that great?

What's so special about this particular batch? For starters, it's got Secret Avengers, which to me is the best Avengers title out in the market right now. Next, it has the 2nd issue of the new Classic Invaders story - and other gem... but aside from these two, I got to get a few Return of Bruce Wayne one-shots; a surprise since I did not even know of these issues, and was lucky to see them before they were all sold out. So yeah... this is a good batch - one I intend to read sooner rather than later.