We Live in Interesting Times

There is a Chinese saying – some say a curse that goes this way… may you live in interesting times. Now that got my head scratching, until I thought that some aspects in life that a Chinese person would want would have to be consistency, dependability and of course stability – so… being a diplomatic bunch, their polite way of saying ‘interesting times’ would downplay the ‘hopeful’ lack of these three… in other words, inconsistency, non-dependability (as opposed to independent) and yes… instability.

Well if there is anything that might describe how I’m feeling right now, it could very well be those three traits – no consistency as to where the next pay-check will be coming from, non-dependability of my current employ – I mean, they’re trying to stabilize a contract which they prematurely lost last December, and barring that, see if they can win a new contract, and I try not to worry, but yeah… you could describe my position right now as unstable (or a lack of stability). My family is not able to rely too much on me these days as opposed to… say… just a few months ago, and we did have a little lunchtime chat about it – bless the kids, they seem to understand that possible sacrifices may be necessary – until I get a new line of work.

Am I supposed to feel better knowing that I’m not alone? After all, the reasons could very well be traced back to the global financial crisis felt in the U.S., which affected many top banks and credit lines to top businesses… which has affected a lot of folks – some seeing their hard earned pensions wiped out… and I agree, they may well be worse of than me; or the person who’s been living heavily on credit and now sees their credit being yanked from under them… man that would hurt too.

But – not to sound insensitive, I don’t know these people, so I can’t really feel for them – my friends, and me… that I understand. Right now, we need to find ways to help each other out - after all, corny as it may sound, we're capable of doing more in a combined manner than just addressing things individually.

Who’s fault is this? How did this come to pass? Some would go far as to lay the current crisis on U.S.President Bush’s lap… him and his economic policies with little checks and balances... kanda simplistic an answer. See, they thought they had a good idea and trusted in the inherent goodness of everyone else not to abuse these easier to afford measures – specially in housing. Bush wanted his legacy to be a house for every American - so he wanted restrictions relaxed so the average joe would and could afford getting his very own house.

So what happened to make the bubble burst? Interests went high… possibly due to higher fossil fuel costs (but again, that's too simplistic an answer), then many middle class people just defaulted in their properties – unable to pay for the fees. Banks were left with illiquid assets… possibly lots of them. Since no one could buy, they couldn’t sell. So in this instance, innocent people got trapped into having to give up an investment they now could not afford - and their money is washed down the drain with the return of said property. Banks that should have known better than to allow for the risky credit had their hands tied 'for patriotic reasons'. Ouch...

Meanwhile other inappropriate practices were unearthed, people discovered the loss of many money on poor investments. Others had unknowingly invested on 'get rich quick' schemes… or should I call it scams? With some silver-tongued devil trying to get in and out real quick with all the money they got. Others misrepresented (i.e. hid) their losses, hoping it would just be kept under a rug of forgetfulness – only to have to confess to the losses, when discovery seemed inevitable. All these were happening - albeit, independently form each other - yet all seemed ready to burst at the same time.

Suddenly the U.S. financial system seemed to fall like a stack of cards… and a very tightly connected global economy got dragged along. End result? World-wide worry in an economic scale that would certainly make any economic saboteur proud – had this been sabotage, that is. I'm sure a lot of novelists will have a field day spinning all these into techno or mystery thrillers.

How did this affect me and a lot of my colleagues? Simple – our client, which happens to be a highly recognized Information and Communication Technology consulting company happened to see their top clients, suddenly panicking – pulling the plug on certain projects... ones they were preparing for by building up the necessary head count. Suddenly, less money was coming in.

Less profits were coming in, and all the while expenses were continuing - clearly, things needed to be plugged. Now, since we’re a training service oriented business – we just happened to be one of the easy-to-get –rid–of expense lines in their accounting books (ironic since this is the same company that came up with a study that came up with findings that training does has an average R.O.L. (return on learning) of 5:1 - meaning for every dollar spent on training, the returns average to about 5 times more than what was spent. I guess, they don’t bother listening to their own statistics when they are likewise in 'pull-the-plug on expenses' mode.

I just wonder, wehre does reality end and fearful speculation start? Because I feel that there are some negative - sometimes, near panicky reactions to this financial crisis. Anyway, regardless of what those ansers will turn out to be, here I am, wondering what to do next… but not wondering in a frozen manner, mind you.

I’ve still a few prospects to follow up. Maybe farm my updated CV to friends and relations, once again. See what may come up. Now, I can’t just wait for PrimaryEdge to resolve things... and while waiting, I intend to read and learn – better my current knowledge (and possibly skills), be more marketable – but mostly, somehow prioritize in marketing myself better.

Interesting times, indeed… but I’m not one to just wail “who moved my cheese”, I need to search for new cheese. I know that nothing will come out of worrying too much - so I won't even waste the energy.

This New Year may still prove to be prosperous… after all, we’ve got about 360 more days to do something about it... and Barbie isn't taking anything to chance either - she just got me a Chinese counter to an otherwise, lousy year - if Chinese astrology is to be believed, said counter ably countering any bad vibes that would somehoe find itself to me this coming Chinese new year.

Lousy Internet Service part 3

The last thing I thought of before, was to see this write up in three parts - alas, fate dealt a different blow, and I'm forced to share, once again, my frustrations with the Internet service... or to be clearer, non-service might be a better word. that we - as in my family and i, were experiencing.

Last time, I wrote about how frustrated we were with PLDT's DSL service being intermittent... and as the holiday came - non-existent. Well, this made us decide to shift from PLDT to Globe - after all, we were hearing good comments from people we knew about how stable their Globe internet was - so we did just that. We got ourselves a Globe wireless DSL, complete with a phone... and the first few months were heaven.

Service was fast, and consistent. I thought that was it for this article... in fact, I think I wrote part two of this as a form of closure... just to let others know how much better my internet service was those days.

I guess good things don't last... and now I'm writing this in reaction to once again not having any internet service at all during the holidays... zip... nada... nothing. unless you accept the fact that we'd get about 5 minutes worth of service - then two hours of no service... I mean, c'mon... 5 minutes, at the speed i was getting, wasn't even enough to update a Facebook status... let alone, read and answer email from friends. So yeah... I'd say, there was no decent internet service available to our household during December.

To Globe's credit though, their customer service was way better than what we experienced with PLDT - they were kind and responsive... we had people come in to check our hardware (checked out okay), they suggested we had an external antenna connected - just in case it was all these concrete walls in close proximity limiting the search and acquisition of their signal; and their technician came after a few days to do just that.

So here we were, with a hot spanking new external antenna - and we still could not receive consistent internet signals. To make sure, the technician double-checked our modem and PC... no problem there... so that left us with one possible problem... the transmitter.

Now I won't pretend to know the details of how wireless internet connection works exactly, but I have this sneaky feeling that there is a pool of available signals up for grabs - and to ensure that services are not poor, there would - in my opinion, have to be a ceiling to be followed as to how many people should share said signal. Go beyond that and we start feeling degradation of said signal. I mean, that seems to be the way in wired networks - so I think wireless would have the same headaches.

At first, our wonderful internet service was starting show stressful moments during week-ends, meaning there seemed to be difficulty at our getting any connection starting Friday evenings, and that would last until Sunday... which led me to think that the shared pool considered the possibility that not everyone would use the maximum capacity all the time, since most would be in school or at work... great business sense - if you can get away with it. But the service we signed up for was supposed to be unlimited, meaning it should be available 24/7 - which was clearly not the case. Now I don't know if people pretended not to know - which would mean they were trying to get away with the capacity load problem, or worse... were really inept at ensuring service was being given... but whichever the case may be, the end result was lousy internet service.

Like I said - hats off to the customer service pool, all the way to the responsive technicians... but what happens when the problem is more infrastructure? I heard that there was a hardware change - from Nokia transmitters to another brand... Erickson, I think, which might explain part of the reason for the degrading of signal sometime December, but after that had been properly installed and working, shouldn't the service (and signal) be better? I mean, wouldn't that be the idea?

It looks like a classical case of 'Sales' over-selling the available service - either ignorant of... or just ignoring any performance ceiling... and 'technical' getting stuck with the 'overstretched coverage' or 'spread out too thin signal' to meet customers' demands problem in this one... but the bottom line is, we... the paying consumers, get left in the poor service rut, and we don't really care which department is at fault.

Sure... Globe may be willing to talk about rebates or write-offs for services undelivered... but how do you equate the inability to connect to friends and loved ones during these past holidays? Now these may not have been transactions worth millions - but they were lost cherished moments, nonetheless.

Aside from that... it can simply be frustrating when for all your efforts in trying to do some possible repairs to get the system running, all I get from Windows is the diagnostic message: There may be a problem with your Domain Name Server (DNS) configuration. Windows failed to fins a well known host "www.microsoft.com" using the DNS. The server may be down.

As it is, we're thinking of switching to another provider - sure, there's a lock-down on the service, but if one party can't seem to deliver what was the agreed upon service, isn't the other party within their right to dissolve the contract? After all, we were never delinquent with our payments.

The big question though, is... if the two biggest Telecom service providers in the Philippines can't deliver internet service that is both responsive and really available 24/7 - specially during weekends, then who do we turn to?

A friend mentioned cable... and we already do have cable TV, so maybe... just maybe... that would be worth a try. So definitely, I'll have a part four for this... and hopefully... it will be a real closure to this problem.

Goodbye 2008 (or how I spent Dec.31)

Last December 30, I had a great night with two colleagues (Jingo and Brian), with Barbie and Ben. Jingo, Brian and I normally dub these as Bacardi nights because... well, it involves sharing a lot of Bacardi - though in reality it just wasn't Bacardi, as we also consumed Absolut Mandarin, Jagermeister and s few 'blow jobs' - a concoction of Kahlua, Bailey's and Cointreau in one shot glass... but mostly Bacardi with Orange juice or Absolut Mandarin with orange juice.

The discussions were great - and we were enjoying the drinks and snacks (mostly a variety of chips or peanuts), and before we knew it - what started out at 9pm was already moving strong until 2:30am. Had Brian and Jingo not have the need to go home, I'm sure we wouldn't have minded extending the gathering for another hour or more.

Definitely acquaintances worth keeping and sharing... and yes, we look forward to another Bacardi night.

The next day which was basically the last day of 2008, I found myself having a slight buzz - the one a person gets after having had many drinks the night before... a buzz that is not a hang-over (which goes to show that I drank a lot, but did not drink recklessly; meaning taking care to make sure that whatever I, and my drinking companions drank during that night, we followed the 'beer over whiskey, very risky' rule. In other words - a good buzz... not one where you woke up the next day swearing to yourself for putting you in a situation where the slightest noise would be jarring - due to a headache.

Just to share with those who do not know, the complete rule can be described this way: 'Beer over whiskey, very risky... whiskey over beer, never fear' Simply put, this means its okay to drink something else, so long as it does not contain a lesser alcohol level - that is, if you want to avoid a hang-over the next day. Whether its true is something I don't really know... but its proven to be a wise guide to follow - and the few times I did not follow such a drinking pattern, are those few times I had a bad morning the next day.

Anyway, back to December 31st... I had done the buying of necessary groceries the day before, but realized that there were a few more items I had not bought, so I needed to get then this day - preferably before the new year came, specially since one or two were needed for tonight's food. So off I went to Unimart... after I'd passed a cake shop near Tomas Morato to get myself a Chocolate cake we reserved the day before, too.

Once I got to Unimart, I realized the main reason I had the good sense do do my groceries the day before; mainly, to avoid the kind of crowd I now saw mingling in the groceries. There were people everywhere, and long lines at the counters - and you definitely know that the grocery was full - if not for the obvious physical proof as presented by the people all around, but by the fact that Unimart's shopping carts were scarce. It took me a minute and a half to find one just abandoned by its previous user.

To make matters worse, it seemed the the grocery had abandoned its express lanes, so people who needed to buy just a handful of items (like me) had to brave the usual lanes and line up with those who were doing all their shopping that day. Had I another option, I would have decided to just forget the entire thing... I mean, the scenario was not worth any effort of getting a few items only. But since I had no other choice, I just had to line up with the rest of the crowd.

Now... you'd think I'd find this exercise rather frustrating, right? Well... yes... and no. Normally, that would be a definite yes, but something different happened in that line - not too profound, but it still affected how I felt that morning.

So, yes... it was frustrating, because the grocery might have had establish better 'crowd control' and enforced the express lane - or not having that, opened the few remaining lanes to accommodate the large crowds... as I spotted at least five other cash registers not being used that morning... preferably both options should have been used of course, after all, I'm sure this kind of pre-New Year shopping happens all the time. So many people love to do things on the last minute... strange, huh?

Then again, as i was saying earlier, 'No'... because those long lines gave me the time to text my new year greetings to my friends and relations - something I might not have done otherwise. I mean, hectic as things were this entire Christmas season, I hardly had tome to plan for and greet my friends. So as I was in the line, I whipped up my cell phone ans started texting my New Year's message.

One more thing, this waiting in line afforded me an opportunity to meet a very amiable old lady, who happened to be right behind me, in the line. She was very friendly, rather conversational and would have made a very great grandma for any family get together. She needed to get something else, so she asked that I wathc over her cart - which I did. Now, since the line was moving (thank God for small favors) she probably got confused as to wehre she had left her cart - you see, I had kept her cart beside (behind) mine, and the carts ans I had eventually moved closer to the counter as she tried looked around for those other things she needed.

She eventually found me and explained, in her own pleasant way why she took a little long - because she had forgotten where she left her cart (as I suspected) - and this was not fully her fault; guess she forgot about the moving lines, and she probably was looking for her cart in the last place she left it.

Anyway, having talked to her a bit, I eventually came to the cashier and paid - and as I was about to leave, we greeted each other a Happy New Year. To think, I did not even get her name. We were just two complete strangers, making pleasantries in an otherwise time consuming and possibly frustrating situation. But that simple act of communicating in a very pleasant manner, changed the frustrating factor into a nice and friendly conversation.

Since that happened in the morning, you could say it set the tone for the rest of the day. New year seemed relatively fair, and with the overcast clouds and seemingly constant shower; which I'm sure many people who had invested a lot in fire works for the evening, found it worrisome. But for me, I'd choose that weather for New Year's anytime.

See, though I had bought just a few fireworks (about 500 pesos worth) just for the tradition, I wasn't really going to lose money had the rains really poured. I mean, tradition it may be, but its still a night filed with noise and smokes. And I never really did like my New Years too noisy or polluted.

As it happened, everyone had a window for good weather minutes to midnight - long enough to have our fireworks light up, then have the rains come afterward to wash out all the dust, smoke and garbage.

We did our traditional noise barrage using pots and pans, threw coins in every room for fortune, and yes... even jumped high for the possibility of growing taller... well, this tradition was for the kids really, not I. After which we took a few pictures, and then decided to rest... after all, we had things to do the next day - a Cavite trip being one of them.

Over all, 2008 was a good year. Not spectacular - but it gave me more than enough to save for the holidays. It could have been better, of course... but no complaints here. As I look back and reminisce with my handy dandy 2008 planner, I see some poignant events that happened... mostly work related... some just trivial... met new friends - lost one. Sat in for teach-backs of some colleagues... and watched them get better as recognized facilitators.

Went to Hong Kong with the family, facilitated a wonderful and honest to goodness cross-cultural session, watched Bernice as a scout leader, watched Bryce (on the side) enjoy his first date. My faily - including the Cuenca side, were all relatively healthy... specially Bing Bing, who had a scooter accident with a jeep/truck and had to undergo a painful operation to reset her bones in August... now relatively cast-free. Yup... thank God for that one.


Now, all I need to do, is work for an equally spectacular 2009. ... aside from the fact that we're all wondering how this coming year will be - based on how the world is being affected by the U.S. recession - I'm sure there are a lot of promising activities just waiting to be explored.

One can dream, right? And as long as its a positive dream... well, let's let the Law of Attraction do its work.

The Shack - a wonderful read.

The Shack
by William P. Young

The plot is quite simple... while on a camping trip with his kids, Mackenzie Allen Philips experiences something most fathers dread – the abduction of his youngest daughter - Missy. To make matters worse, with exception to a bloodied dress, she is never found. How this affects Mack and his family, however is just the prelude – the set-up for the REAL story... and what a story it is.

How does one recover from such a tragedy? How would anyone not question the existence of God – specially a God that allows this tragedy to happen? Well, Mack's family tried to do the first, and Mack definitely did the second... and pain of not having any closure for Missy was giving his entire family the 'great sadness'.

But Mack gets a chance that most anyone would either balk at or find too incredulous – he receives a note asking him to meet the sender at the last know location where traces of Missy's existence, her life, was found... an old abandoned shack in the middle of the wilderness. The note's sender? 'Papa' which is their family's simple and private reference to God.

How would you feel if you got such a note? Would you believe it? Would you pass it off as a cruel joke? Would you just tear it up? Would you not pass up the chance to tell God in the face what you think of his existence and love; specially since having allowed Missy to be a victim and casualty? Mack eventually did – and his experience, as the book elaborates, borders on incredible to believable, from simple to profound... and the story is a testament to love and healing.

As a father myself, I found that I could empathize – even sympathize with Mack... his questions, his frustrations, his rage... these could easily be my own as well – and with exception to the latter, I really could relate. And as Mack approached the Shack – no spoilers in that one, after all... there'd be no story had Mack decided to ignore the note and not go to the shack, I read with equal curiosity.

The author requests that the book's readers help spread the book – specially if they found it a fascinating read, and that is the reason for this blog. He also requests that we do not give anything away... hence my being vague about the book's contents with exception to the said conversation with God, that I have read from a friend's blog... so I feel that I am not giving anything away.

I will not be surprised if many others who read this will find themselves profoundly touched and changed – and it is a very engaging read. Imagine me reading the book, while having my annual physical... it was not just helping me pass the time in between waits, it helped me look at a few well entrenched religious perceptions... one of them which is automatically thinking God is a he – due to the well entrenched 'God the father' connotation... and yes, Jesus is here too – and for people who respect but wonder about the Holy Trinity, well, let me just say that this book will either leave you with a better understanding of such trinity, or leave you with more questions.

Oh yeah... before I forget... fine, I'm man enough to admit that the book made me cry -- seven times, and I can only imagine how I looked; tearful and all, while waiting for my next test. It touched me... and maybe, in some ways, strengthened and renewed my faith... and if I could, I would not hesitate to give several copies of this book to loved-ones and friends. Unfortunately, I'm currently experiencing what is hopefully a temporary setback with financial earnings (its connected to the global recession - thanks for nothing Wall Street), so instead, I write this blog and openly recommend the book – I hope my friends read it, and look forward to meaningful conversations about The Shack.

My suggestion? Give the book a try, but I guess this comes with some caveats - if some of your religious values are being questioned, don't stop right there and just toss the book down, thinking its a subtle trap from the devil – rather, go beyond your views, and see this story through – after all, just because you feel or think you are right, does not make your view the absolute truth or right (unless you can say you've had as close a conversation with God as Mack did – in which case you could likewise ask someone to write your story).

Why am I saying this? Because I believe that many institutionalized ideas and notions may suffer from its pedestals, and the book may be given a bad rap. But when you really think (and feel) about it, you might... just might give a grudging consideration to the topics and ideas being discussed within the book's pages.

If you don't agree with the ideas put forth, I'd likewise respect that. But if you find the book equally enjoyable... and maybe even revelatory, then well and good – nice to know it would have helped – and in my little way, I too helped facilitate this chance for change.

As for me... how did it affect me? Well, I can't wait for the movie adaptation, and am already wondering who they'd cast for the main parts... but that 's just the surface considerations – do I have deeper value changes as a result of reading the book?

The concept and value of forgiveness springs to mind... not that I'm not a forgiving soul... I'd like to think that I am; just that I find it difficult in certain situations to dish out forgiveness. This book gives me a fresh perspective on some concepts, and it definitely make me more 'self-aware' – as the book made me reflect on the meaning of unconditional love... and yes – even the simple concept of verbs versus nouns... (read the book, so you'll understand where I'm coming from) will have a deeper effect on me.

I envy Mack his experience... though at this point in time, I am honestly not in any real hurry to experience what he did. After all, having a conversation with God isn't something one can say they are prepared for. I wouldn't even mind reading the book a second time... though I think I'll lend it to my sister and mom first – God knows they could use it. I expect not just a few tearful moments from them too.

As for you, reading this entry... should you (hopefully) decide to give The Shack a try, and find the book moving, well; as the lyric goes: '...tell me all your thoughts about God... cause I'd really like to hear 'em...'

No... really... I wouldn't mind hearing them.

P.S. Thanks are due to my friend, Gege Sugue... it was her blog about this book that made me decide to go ahead and read it. You see, by itself, the book's blurb left something to be desired... rather than wanting to read it, I felt that I had better things to do. Only after reading Gege's blog did I realize that I was possibly missing out on something great. So... Thanks Ge!

Finally got my Starbucks planner - 2009

A few weeks ago, I posted in my other blog the fact that Starbucks had released its new planner - and the accompanying card where you're expected to collect and stick stickers for said planner, and though I had not yet seen it, I was already commenting on the fat that a lot of people would start getting their coffee fixes in Starbucks, just to get the necessary stickers for the new planner as reward after you've had the required number of stickers stuck to your card.

This year, the number of stickers have been lessened, form around 20, we now just need 16 stickers... guess they wizened up... maybe less people got the planner last year - me being one of them... but that was more because the design didn't strike me as worth getting - see, last year's design was too artsy for me. Hence I just bought a simple but elegant planner from National (as you can see from this picture - the green one of course)

I was, in fact, half ready to once again buy the same planner - but when I saw the Starbucks' planner for this year, I thought it was indeed less artsy - simple and handy... so i thought, its just 16 stickers anyway, and i would not go out of my way to buy and drink the coffee, so... it was worth a try. After all, even if its just one coffee a day - for 16 days... I'd have my planner before Christmas... that assumes, of course that I would start my daily coffee or 'frap' on the first day of December (I started earlier), and it wouldn't be like I was addicted to the stuff - nor was I getting more than my usual, just to get the planner.

Well, I finally got my planner about two weeks ago - yeah, that fast, and I'm happy to say I did not overdose on caffeine either. See, I had help... Barbie and the kids would order their fraps on a Saturday, and naturally, we'd get four stickers just like that. Sometimes, barbie would even pay for the drinks, so those would be free stickers - hey, why will I complain?

I chose black, of course... I mean, I found that red and blue, though stylish, were not exactly my color - if they'd have had green, that would have been my choice - but lacking that, the only other color option they (and I) had was black... so black it is. Though if I'm to understand them, red seems to be a favorite color... maybe for the ladies. Anyway... I'm satisfied with what I got.

A week or two later, Barbie also got her card filled and she went for the black as well (since there was no red). Now? I'm still collecting stickers - but only when I chance upon as Starbucks. If I can find a red, that is what I'll get next so I'd most probably give it to Barbie... if she's interested.

Where is Christmas?

It's the middle of December - and in just a few more days (exactly a week from now) the Christmas season will officially start here in the Philippines' Simbang Gabi. The malls have started showing signs of decorating their surroundings with Christmas themes and television shows have started the Christmas countdown some months ago. Offices have already set up their own trees, and carols have been introduced into shopping center's piped-in speakers. Yet despite the obvious trappings of our surroundings, I seem to detect a lack of enthusiasm for this Christmas - ans to seemingly cooperate with the lack of spirit, even the weather has deemed to make us think it's close to summer than the usual cooler ambiance that accompanies December. What gives?

Well for starters, everyone around the world is seemingly reacting to the sobering news of a sluggish U.S. economy that has officially been in Recession since last year, and quite possibly Depression - if corrective actions that are being undertaken do not pump some much needed stability and confidence in its buyers and creditors. Since life seems had in the west, the eastern hemisphere seems to be reacting - specially in a market closely tied together with trading through the internet, one shrinkage is easily felt across either the Pacific or Atlantic... and a market as large as the U.S. is hard to miss - nor its repercussions easy to avoid.

It is in this backdrop that this year's Christmas seems bleaker than usual... where we normally try to forget the year's worries and problems to try and celebrate - to get into the spirit of giving (and receiving), I notice a dearth of spirit... and some multinational companies showing effects of a tighter U.S. economy by likewise tightening their belts is not a positive indicator that things are getting better.

Indeed, many companies have started their belt-tightening activities... this despite the fact that economists try to point out that our fundamentals are stable... but are seemingly met by a deaf crowd, that presumably believes otherwise. Again, let me emphasize here - the Asian Development Bank has been asked - possibly several times, if we (Asia) will be in a recession - and the bank has repeatedly said that we are not.. but has this been emphasized by media? Meanwhile. many people are hunkering down to preservation mode - not willing to spend and therefore letting the economy slow down... not because of having no money - but because they are wary of spending money in a seemingly unstable world.

With banks and Auto industries citing financial woes - with real estate being sluggish, with the seemingly impossible meltdown of institutions like Citicorp and A.I.G., one would think that this will definitely be one of the worst crisis the wordl has collectively faced.

Personally, it seems not too promising - Accenture has (out of the blue) pulled out all its scheduled trainings (hence my bread and butter) for the rest of the year. And there may be some uncertainties as to what can happen next year. Everyone is holding their collective breath... many fear the worst. Its a classic who moved my cheese moment - and I have been farming out for other opportunities in a 'not putting every eggs in one basket' basis. I may be affected with a sudden loss of PrimaryEdge training B.P.O. contract with Accenture, but I'm not totally out of the fight... plus I'd trust Car (Testa) to likewise be able to negotiate another year (at least) of servicing Accenture's training needs. now if things don't happen that way - well, there are other options... but I won't lose sleep over 'what may be', focusing rather on what I can do.

Maybe now is the best time to remind ourselves that Christmas is not about material gains - granted it helps make the season merry... but simply focusing on gift-giving (or receiving) is the wrong philosophy -its the wrong practice, and it definitely runs counter to the original Christmas story. Its about giving... yes; and receiving - but this is basically about sharing... about remembering the arrival of our savior Jesus Christ (yes I'm Roman Catholic). Perhaps its time to reflect (once again) on the fact that the nativity happened in a most humbling location... a stable.

We may have problems - we may experience some slowdown - and until the U.S. economy seems to finally get out of the hole it finds itself in, people may hoard their money or belongings, we will continue having such difficulties... but this should not distract us from Christmas. It shouldn't affect our celebration. Counting blessings aside, we need to refocus on the meaning and spirit of Christmas.

Be thankful for what we have... focus on what is good. If anything, the Secret (a book and DVD) have told us the power of an idea - that if we think positive... positive things will happen. I mean, what can we expect when a lot of people foresee bleakness? Sometimes we have the capacity to have self-fulfilling prophecies - and if we are always thinking negative thoughts, what do we expect?

So what can we expect when a lot of people foresee bleakness? Sometimes we have the capacity to have self-fulfilling prophecies - and if we are all thinking problematic situations - aren't we just asking for it?

Nope... not I. Even if bleakness seems to surround us, I would like to focus on the positive, and everyone else should too. So do me a favor... stop griping, stop worrying... by all means, prepare for what may happen - but stop thinking of the worst case scenario - think instead of the good that can happen. Prepare for the better times, and lets start by celebrating (even in an austere manner) the true meaning of Christmas.

Its all about hope, people. Start acting it. Where is Christmas? Its always been with us - in us. All we need do is look inside... remember and be thankful. Oh yeah... and if you find the capacity to give - by all means, do so. You've surely got something... anything to be thankful for, so start paying it forward.

Even if its the hottest year, even if its one of the bleakest economy - find something to be thankful for. Guess that's what I envy about the U.S. they've got a holiday (aside from Christmas) for being thankful (unless you're a turkey). Share the love - share the spiritual wealth. Remember the true meaning of Christmas - after all, if we just let this pass, we'll have to wait another 365 days for the next one to come.

Christmas can be found; alive and well in us all - we just have to wish it so. Why am I so... spiritual? Why am I suddenly so... profound? maybe its the Coffee and Krispy Kreme I had - who knows? I just felt like blogging tonight - after a relatively long hiatus. What better way to retart with what is hopefully... a reminder to hope? A Meaningful and Merry Christmas to all - real soon.

A Fernbrook wedding

Last November 15, 2008, found me attending a colleague's wedding... that of Alain, and his lovely bride, Ryna. Alain was (hopefully, still is) a fellow trainer for Professional Development courses that we conduct in Accenture, through PrimaryEdge. Having said that, Alain invited a couple of us - his just recent colleagues, and aside from me, Jingo, Mon, Naira, Melody, Fiel and Marimel arrived. We had another co-facilitator in the wedding as well, Menchu... but being a close friend of both the bride and groom, she was too busy being part of the entourage... and later on, as a co-emcee for the reception's program. But enough about us... let me try to describe the place the wedding was held in - that being Fernbrook. After all, present company excluded - one of the main attractions for this particular wedding was the place.

From afar, the place can be clearly seen; as its transparent cathedral-like domes are very visible to anyone passing through the Daang-Hari (translated as King's Road) high way - that long road connecting Alabang to Cavite, and should you be coming from the Alabang area, you will eventually find Fernbrook's domes to the left of the road, as you near an intersection leading to Daang-Reyna (translated as Queen's Road).

If you chance upon Daang-hari and traverse its path, you will eventually end up near SM Molino (Cavite). However, if you happen to be observant enough, as you notice the road veering right, you will spy what looks like a cathedral shaped, transparent-domed (and my first impression was... is that glass?) edifice... quite tall, and majestically standing above its surroundings - which are mostly greens (trees) towards your left - you see, if you turn right, you continue to follow Daang Hari; while left would bring you Daang Reyna. Be careful though, the intersection has no visible street signs, and had I not stopped with Mon (who rode with me) to ask someone, we would not that the street we guessed to be Daang Reyna, would have indeed turned out to be Daang Reyna.

Going back to Fernbrook... that first time time I saw the seemingly transparent (glass?) church , I marveled at the concept... a glass church (well, it did look cathedral like), and imagined how the patrons/congregation would feel under the blistering summer sun... but that tidbit aside, a glass church was an architectural first in the Philippines, as far as I know. I mean, who in their right mind would build an all-glass church in this earthquake prone area? Wouldn't that instigate a panic should the glass ceiling suddenly crack?

During that afternoon when Mon and i were finally approaching Fernbrook, I realize my mistaken assumption, as it turns out that the 'glass' was made of a more pliable, thus, relatively sturdier than glass material - though the proper material name escapes me right now, lets just say it was actually a strong plastic material. But until said wedding date, I did not know that - so as I 'went to' and 'came from' Cavite, I would look at that glass church and one thing i would think of is "why so big?"

Maybe because the place was not just a cathedral, but had a columbarium (place where you have an apartment like construct for the ashes of your loved ones) perhaps? Goes to show what I knew (or imagined) back then.

Well, finally, I was enlightened... and I realized that the place was hardly a church - though it did house a chapel, the transparent dome happened to roof what would turn out to be a large central, open-spaced lobby leading to at least two function rooms and across the lobby entrance - past the garden centerpiece that had, as past of its focus, a central garden with two cockatoos - which also led to the bridge way towards the chapel... but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me backtrack a bit.

The wedding was scheduled at 3PM, and by Mon's suggestion, I showed up at his place around 2PM, so we could beat the afternoon south-bound traffic. He then rode shotgun with me, as he directed me to numerous twists and turns in what was the little known, but more traffic-forgiving routes cutting across Paranaque to Alabang, thus avoiding what was a relatively heavy traffic build-up in South Super Highway.

Since I knew Daang-Hari, I had a vague impression of where Daang-Reyna was. So it was time to test my theory (which turned out to be right). Daang Reyna was the seemingly main fork I noticed, leading to the left - remember I said there was no visible signage pointing to the fact. We took the left - and lucky for us, there was a man standing near the corner, so we could confirm our theory... had we been less enterprising, or open to asking questions, we, and anyone for that matter, could've easily missed that turn during the day, or hardly even see it during the night.

As it is, Mon and I arrived on time, as wedding guests and entourage were beginning to arrive. We brought out our trusty cameras, and I then proceeded to notice how stylized the place seemed. From afar, the plastic cathedral started transforming into a seemingly elegant country club - at least, that was my impression. And the motif of gold colors, playing against the transparent sheets, which, by the way seemed to act like a giant botanical garden green house effect with all the indoor plants, vines and trees, complete with pin lights... it was like stepping into a fantasy piece. No wonder the couple chose this. It looked magnificent - even in its half-finished nature, it was beginning to look like a wonderful scenery. It could easily be a fairy tale's locale.

Unfortunately the signage at the entrance instructed people not to take pictures - maybe because they wanted to prevent its motif and prevent potential competitors from copying said motif - yet, such a sign was seemingly ignored by many people later in the day. as cameras were clicking left and right.

For someone like me... an outdoors person at heart, this was a nice amalgam of nature and modern living. And as this was turning out to be a country club, of sorts, I imagined an 18-hole golf course right beside the 'glass cathedral' to perfectly match this ambiance. The over-all effects were enhanced by the fact that there was a horse-led bridal carriage, and a vintage Bentley parked just by the driveway entrance. Posh, elegant... almost decadent, these were the words going through my mind, as I was taking in the place and all its designs.

Then we crossed the small bridge way connecting the maid building with the chapel. Should it be completed, said bridge way would be crossing above a brook, complete with fishes, I would imagine. As I approached the chapel, i was able to see inside it. Such was simple, seemingly austere - far as chapels go... and I suspect that it could be transformed into a function room (maybe it was really one), as many of the props suggested a non-finished, portable state, including the large hanging crucifix at the chapel's main intersection. What struck me the most was the fact that there was a garden backdrop, complete with a small waterfall, soothing to the senses - both visual and auditory. In front of this, naturally stood the altar.

Hanging above the altar was an imposing cross with a suffering Christ - a colleague of mine, Fiel being both an Engineer and Seminarian commented that it would have been better to have the cross with a resurrected Christ statue, as that would better compliment the backdrop. He also pointed out (through his engineering-trained eye) how seemingly roughshod the chapel's finishing looked... whether this was due to the whole place's 'still under construction' phase, or quite possibly an effect most planned, I wouldn't know.

As for the possible hot sun's glare, as shown in the picture, there were hanging white cloths to help diffuse the sunlight - yet keep the room alive. Ferns were hanging from the side columns, and suspended on the roof. My first question was, how did they water those? Yet the place seemed designed with a green house effect in mind. The guests had wrought iron chairs - no pews here... and no sacristy either - hence my 'temporary chapel' thought. Despite this, the ambiance could not be denied... and neither could the afternoon heat, as the air conditioners and industrial fans were working overtime to keep the guests comfortable.

But the surrounding outside winds made us decide to witness the wedding from outside, while enjoying said cool winds - after all, the entire room was transparent, so we did not miss anything.

I marveled at he seeming production number, after all... I counted at least two professional looking movie cameras - not to mention all those DSLRs with very long zoom lenses... I mean, Mon and I had our point and shoot and we were intimidated by all those high end cameras - whew... but then again, all these were (rightfully) focused on the wedding couple, and we needed to show that we too were there, so our cameras were needed for that.

After the wedding ceremony, the reception was held in one large room - once again, filled with plants and vines - and white cloth hanging on the ceiling from the center moving outwards, complete with small white lights. Entertainment was supplied by many guests - including Jingo singing a number... but what was touching was Ryna singing for Alain, and even later... Alain singing for or at least trying to sing for) Ryna. All this while a large backdrop on the side was constantly showing pictures of the couple prior to their wedding.

I must say that the location was great, the production was grand - yet not over the top, and the couple? I've never seen so loving a couple as these two that evening - and oh yeah... remember that earlier mentioned seeming production number filming the wedding? It was apparently edited and shown as everything else was happening... someone commented that 'kanina lang yun, ah' (that was just a while ago) - giving a compliment to whoever handled the capturing of the wedding memories... and I must say, the portion where Ryna entered... with bubbles and all - a part that made me thingk it was slightly over the top, actually came out very well, as the cameras apparently had swift action coverage and the person carrying it knowing that as he moved circling Ryna, the film would show something similar to MTV productions - or the Matrix... damn... but that was good.

If only for that - capturing Ryna on 360' with bubbles suspended in time and all... that was worth all the planning and set-up. Whoever this team was - my hat's off to them... not just in the technical effects aspect, but in the obvious speed in how it was edited and shown.

Oh yeah... the food was great too - and the giveaways? Cute, creative and useful - basically a small towel with an I(heart)NY, reminiscent of all those I(heart) New York signs - though in this case, the NY here represented their family name initials. Like I said, creative.

Alain, Ryna... great wedding - and now the new standard I will follow in judging other weddings I may attend in the future.

Cuenca visit - November 8

November 8 happens to be my mom's birthday, and therefore makes a great reason to plan a visit to her in Cuenca, Batangas. Not that I'll ever need an excuse to visit her and my sisters, but any two and a half hour trip out of the city will definitely need some planning and logistical considerations.

For example, the days leading to that particular day, a Saturday I might add, left me with a transportation concern. Normally, I'd bring our car to Cuenca... it would be the most comfortable manner I can think of. But that assumes that we'd not go beyond having five people on board. Six would really be pushing it, and it would hardly be comfortable (or wise) to overload the car's loading capacity for such a long trip.

So... here I was, considering having to bring my family - Barbie, Bryce and Bernice; Barbie's brother, Ben; our visiting extended family - Jogie; Fred (my friend) whom Barbie and i bumped into and mentioned his interest to join us in Cuenca (despite some difficulties with his call center work schedule) and Boy - my barber - and a special request from my mom, since he also cuts her - and my sister Bing's hair when they happen to go to Manila. That makes it eight people - and the kids are not exacly kids anymore, so definitely... the car wouldn't do.

Luckily, I could borrow my Dad's van - a regular sized High Ace which could easily fit a dozen people. So transport problem solved. The van would not be as comfortable (and maneuverable) as the car, but it will get the job done. Since I was the designated driver, it meant a little sacrifice to drive there, but I was willing to do it. This of course meant getting the van from my dad's place and fetching everyone in their respective places.

As plans go... nothing is final until the day itself - lucky for me it was not transportation specific. The van, as I was to find out, was tuned-up and ready to go, specifically for my use that day. Some people though - specifically Fred and Ben; due to work or school related reasons, could not come with us after all. Suddenly, the van was large for six people - but the car was still too small for us. So I proceeded to use the van (though had I known about our final count earlier, I would have tried getting a smaller vehicle). So I left the house at around 6:30, got the van and fetched Boy close to 8AM - which by that time meant that Barbie and the rest would have been ready to be fetched. I also got two boxes of Crispy Kremes for everyone.

I also had to bring along a few things... ones which my mom reminded me nto to forget by way of text messaging. Some books that Bing wanted to read (I left two of them behind in my rush to load stuff into the van), a few stuff mom wanted me to bring/return, and of course the gift my mom requested from me - an electric fan. I also dragged the cooler with ice and some drinks so we wouldn't get thirsty along the way.

So, there we were... on our way to Batangas, and I could say that the traffic was nto that heavy - though the repair works were still responsible for our slowing down and taking longer than usual. We also had a few stops - breakfast at the Jolibee/Shell stop-over, buying a cake for Ma at Lipa - the usual stuff.

We arrived in Cuenca by noon. Perfect timing for a lunch birthday celebration, and the first thing I noticed was another van parked inside our area - one that happened to be used by Francis (Chie) Torres - an uncle of mine; mom's cousin. He had brought his family, plus his elder sister (Tita Tessa), for the same reason - to celebrate Ma's birthday... and later report his visit to his mom (and my mom's aunt), Lola Nora. The things we do for our mothers... Anyway, this gave us the time to touch base with each other again, and Chie showed us a lot of pictures from their family's U.S. reunion.

The celebration was austere, simple, no frills - though the food was aplenty. Grilled tilapia; likewise with the pork... chopped for grilling, some eggplant were grilled as well, then mixed with chopped salted eggs and tomatoes... we hardly had space for desert. Sometime along the way, Boy finally got to do what he was brought there to do... and gave not just Ma and Bing a haircut, but he also cut Miguel's hair and trimmed Jogie's as well. Here's Ma and Bing sporting their new cut.

Since Barbie had other things to do (she was leaving for Singapore the next day, and had not yet had the time to pack), we opted to leave around 3PM (earlier would have been better - btu we had to wait for Boy to finish with his haircuts).

I then had to bring Jogie to Cavite, then brought the van back, then drop Boy off to the nearest bus station he could ride - and only then could we focus on Barbie getting her toiletries. All the while, I was trying to get back home by 8PM, but it was not to be... and Bryce missed his on-line war games that evening. Ah well... I tried, but too many things on the plate and all... We didn't even enjoy the stop over to Greenhills because most shops were already closing.

We eventually got home close to 9PM. Bubbbles - our pet dog, and at this particular day, our house guard, was of course happy to see us... and I was just glad I could finally rest and call this particular long day 'over and done'.

My son... the book writer II

Last time, I mentioned how I found Bryce's writing a book lenghth adventure as something I can be proud about. Well... consider this an update. No... the book is by no means done yet - I'd be surprised if it was, after all, this is basically happening in-between school time and other family activities (not to mention this week being their exam week - so that project should be on a temporary hiatus, at least, until exams are done).

But let me share something else that is happening with Bryce and his on-line friends. Apparently, he's not the only one writing... some of his friends are too... and they review each other's works - giving suggestions on how to improve certain things.

It seems that Bryce is likewise gifted in giving these type of comments to the point that some of his friends see him as a critic (in a positive sense) and someone who can give improvement points to their stories - it has even come to a point that some of his colleagues call him "Sir Bryce"; bestowing on him (knowingly or not) the seeming position - and experience of an editor, at least, with respect to content and story flow.

how about that? Wait'll I tell his Tita Bing about this one too.

My son... a book writer?

One particular Sunday night - actually, last Sunday evening, as I was about to lie down to sleep, my wife; Barbie, comes close to me, and in a conspiratorial manner, whispers that she noticed our son typing out in the PC... which would not be a real concern for her, after all, she knows he spends most of his free time in front of the PC - usually, with gaming intent.

She, however spotted something different... displayed at the wide, flat-screen of the PC, she spied pages and pages of MS Word created paragraphs... but what caught her fancy, and surprise was the fact that some of these pages had 'chapter titles' - the ones that we normally see in books.

Now this was new to her... after all, games may have something like this... but it would not be displayed or seen in that regaard. In fact, she saw him typing into these pages... he was writing something and this particular something was several chapters long. What was this?

Quite simple. My thirteen year old son was writing a book-like lengthy adventure that he had been imagining for some time now. His inspiration? The online game he was playing. His story? One made by his imagination. His characters? His avatar - and I would harbor to guess, the avatars of some of his game companions.

See... what was a surprise to her was basically something I knew was happening for some time now. Maybe Bryce was inspired by what he was playing, maybe he saw samples of such adventures written by others in the game forum he would frequent... but to write? Where did this impetus come from?

I may be to blame. After all, I had, at one time or another, showed Bryce some fan-fic that I had done for Avengers Forever. He naturally thought that if I could do it, why not him too? Ah... but consider - I'm 47... and started my first real Fan-fic a year ago. He's 13! Can you imagine... if he continues this interest, his skills will grow and maybe he'll have a published book before his 18th birthday - who knows?

So this was what Barbie was whispering to me... she could not believe, and had to ask me if what she saw Bryce doing was just exactly that - seemingly writing a book. And yet, the concept of her son writing anything was new... a book length story, was even more surprising. She was evidently curious, and asked him what he was writing about... but I guess Bryce was a bit too busy, or uninterested to answer. Maybe he felt (and this is pure speculation on my part) that she might not think too high of his work. Bryce, after all, is rather reserved and private. I can reach out to him - and maybe he sees me as able to understand - and possibly appreciate what he's doing... he may not be too sure about his mom.

I'll see what I can do to bridge this seemign gap, and hope Barbie gets a chance to let Bryce explain his work... and when he does... show appreciation for it. After all, how many 13 year olds do you see writing a book like adventure? Maybe he hasn't been the first - but he surely is the youngest in our family to do just that. I mean, my sister - Bing bing has the capacity to write, I know she came up with a children's story at one time; but aside from her... no one in the family has exhibited such an interest to write - then write... and to do so at an early age? Unheard of... at least, with my family.

This interest is obviously something Bryce has taken time to do... and to think that he just naturally came up with the thought and started writing (or in this case, typing his story).I hope he can sustain the interest. I'd be real curious to see the refined version of his current work.

Meanwhile, I'll just let him type away... and by the way, I've been given permission to read his work, and he's even asked me to edit it. I confess I've yet to do so. Guess when I find more free time, that is what I will do. Maybe it won't get published in a physical sense - but who cares? I'd just as soon see it placed in a blog of his own.

To think... at an early age, Bryce has started to surpass me... at least, in writing. Hot damn! It may not make him rich (not yet anyway), but I can't help but feel a sense of pride in this accomplishment that he's done - and hopefully, continue to do so. As he continues with his work, I shall keep a keen eye - and when he finally gets to post it, I'll make sure to place a link of his work to this article.

Various tidbits

Tidbit 1: This site slowing down?

This site is starting to become a bit sluggish... perhaps due to the number of pictures I've inserted. the question is, what is the limit (if any) to all these? I would like to continue adding pictures where and when I can, but if the database integrity is being compromised - if by adding more, this side becomes less responsive, I would find that worrisome.

I have a mirror site for this, and this is, of course, born from the idea that such would be a back up for this site's articles - but should it be realized that that other site can manage resources a bit better, then that may very well turn into the primary site, and this may likely be the secondary site.

Tidbit 2: Visitors from Dubai...

It seems the my brother-in-law and my nephew/god son (Jogie and Gabby, respectively) will be arriving in Manila on the 11th of October - and they shall be staying here for at least a month. I imagine their staying with us. It is but logical, since Jogie is here for training, and his training is in the Ortigas area, hence oru place is the closest area to said training venue.

It will be interesting to talk to Jogie, and to see Gabby. Just worried that while Jogie is working, will Gab like being left alone?

Tidbit 3: Newly met relatives...

I met three of my cousins for the first time. These are the children of my Tito Manolet (Dad's half-brother, whom I've had the vague pleasure of meeting when I was still smaller... way back when). As a Syyap, I hardly join reunions scheduled involving my Dad and his siblings - more so Tito Manolet, whom I would think may not be openly invited - unless it is my Dad's birthday, in which case, he would definitely invite Tito Manolet.

So yeah... I only got to meet Tania, Boogie and Nicki Syyap in our grandfather's funeral. Auspicious start... hopefully our next get together will be less serious and more celebratory.

Tidbit 4: More relatives...

But these three are not the only Syyaps I've had the pleasure of contacting lately... Shiela, my cousin to Tito Caloy (his eldest) contacted me via Facebook - a social site that I've started getting more active in. While her younger half-brother Carl, and another one - Ian, I met through both Friendster and Facebook. Its a great feeling to connect - and I am curious as to who they are, what they're doing and hopefully meeting them soon... yes... even Shiela, whom I've only met very briefly in parties... hardly a place to sit down and catch up with. So yeah... we're all strangers.

It would be nice to have a Syyap reunion - open to all. Now, aside from this, I know of at least one other Syyap that I've yet to meet. had the phone number... but had not called them. Unfortunately I lost the number (more like misplaced) and I hope to find it again, and make contact.

Pictures of Dict's Wedding

I took some pictures in Dict's (my brother-in-law) wedding. This was a great opportunity for me to practice with a lot of subjects, and it was a great time for me to, likewise, capture a few priceless moments. This happened last December 2007 - between Christmas and New Year.

This first one was of the kids - a rare occasion when Bryce and Bernice are with their cousins. There was actually another picture of them, in a more behaved manner - but I find this (almost) stolen shot to be more appealing - natural. Why did I like this better? Simple... it shows Gabby at the verge of grabbing the teddy bear from Bernice, as she looks on - a nice touch, while everyone else is either reacting to the situation, or trying to look at the camera.

The church had a balcony on both sides, and I automatically thought 'Wouldn't it be great to have some pictured viewing the wedding from above?' Call it my 'How to Draw Comics the Marvel way' training - specifically realizing that there can be more dramatic ways to draw scenes - well, who said it can just be limited to drawings? Surely pictures can show the same drama. So up I went - and here are a few shots I took. This second shot is a view of the bride and groom with their parents and sponsors.

I like this one - it was a clear shot of the couple with the priest - again, as viewed from above... one could almost imagine that this was the view 'from up above', as they exchanged their vows. I would title this picture 'as witnessed from heaven'. To think i was just using my trusty Ixus V, digicam... zoomed in for that more focused shot.

Here's the view from the balcony... I was trying to include the flower display from the balcony - unfortunately, my flashbulb made the foreground (flower) overexposed - or the background underexposed. I know I can probably fix this in photoshop - maybe this is could be my next project in editing photos.

Of course, making it official is the signing of the marriage contract. This balcony is a great design for wedding picture taking - I wonder if they really planned it this way, or if i was just one of a few people who'd think of such angles. I know that these - and my other pictures were well appreciated by both Dict and Tonette - after all, I wasn't the official photographer, but I hope I was able to add to the capture of their special date. You could say that this was my personal gift to them.

This one was taken at the reception... when they were officially introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Benedict and Tonette Buenaobra - prior to their first dance.

Now... why didn't I publish this earlier? Simple, I gave Dict the pictures and thought I kept copies for myself... when I was looking for them, I somehow could not find them. Lucky for me, Dict and my in-laws had copies of the pictures. SO here they are... there are more, but they don't present newer angles. Besides, I just wanted to share my first foray into taking pictures of a wedding. Imagine what else I could do with a more sophisticated camera... ah well, maybe next year I will be able to get said Canon Digital SLR.

New Trek teaser Posters released

I recently came across some teaser posters, supposedly released at a comic convention, that are connected to the upcoming Star Trek movie. Its a set of four, with each poster focusing on one character per poster... and as of this time, I can easily recognize three of the four, but I draw a blank with one of them. I can't place the character (or for that matter, the race - assuming this is an alien race being represented).

Each poster is also presented in a monochrome color, with Uhura in red, Spock in blue, Kirk in Gold and the mystery person in Black... and by the way, these colors mean something in Classic Trek - Gold for command, Blue for Science and Engineering, while Red is for Support (including Security and Communications). Later, in the next generation, for some unexplained reason, they interchanged Gold, Blue and Red to now represent Engineering, Science and Medicine and Command - though in the latter case, it now looks more Maroon than Red.

So who are the characters I can name? Well there's Spock (the Vulcan), as Portrayed by Zachary Quinto of the Heroes TV fame - though I must sat that this Spock looks somewhat surprised ar at awe, as his eyes seem to portray. I wonder... does this mean he's a bit more emotional than he should be?

Then there's James T. Kirk (Human) as portrayed by Chris Pine (hey! I remember his name, guess he's getting more famous for this role!), and followers of the classic Trek series know that Kirk was the Captain of the USS Enterprise - the youngest ever in the history of Starfleet.

The last one I recognize is Nyota Uhura, the communications officer of the Enterprise... and the name of the actress escapes me right now, but Nyota is suppoed to be really pretty, and I think this lady chosen to prtray her does not dissappoint. I look forward to the fact that the classic uniform for ladies were really short skirts, and I would like to see this new Uhura in it. Call it a natural male fantasy.

Now, one other aspect of these poster is the fact that they can be placed in a quadrant to form a large symbol of the Star Trek logo, with the unrecognized character at the upper left, Uhura at teh upper right, Spock at the lower left and Kirk at the lower right.

One more thing, each poster has the expected relaese date of Star Trek XI, which is 05.08.09 (or May 8, 2009 for those who find the numbers slightly confusing), in ohter words, an early summer release.

View from on high

I've recently taken pictures of surrounding building tops from the offices or buildings I have been able to visit or chance upon. It may be a strange hobby - or subject matter, and I'm sure others might have thought it, well, unusual. So why my sudden interest?

Call it a vivid imagination, but have you ever wondered how the city would look like from the viewpoint of someone either swinging from building to building, or better yet, flying low - but not too low, of course... that you could see everything or everyone like the size of ants? Where vehicles looked like toys, or maybe even smaller? I have, hence, taken these pictures... to sort of put into perspective what artists in comicbooks might refer to as the bird's eye view.

To see, or at least, get to imagine, what a person who could do such feats would see - how they would see it, and consider... what would they be thinking as they passed above us, a populace that may be unaware of their moving silently (or not so silently) above us... possibly looking down on what we are doing, or ignoring us as they focus on other possibly more important things in their minds.

Here is my collection of pictures - ones that try to capture said feeling, such view. As you see these pictures, imagine yourself moving past these scenes, and consider - what first comes to mind as you witness such a view from above.

Could you easily locate your home from above? Would you be disoriented by the differing view? I can imagine how easily lost may people would feel from the ground - would their sense of direction be improved if they came form above? Or would they be further lost by the very different viewpoint? Consider, for example, do you remember what the color of your roof is? What is the closest landmark you can remember, how would this look from above? Could you spot it miles away, just by its unique shape?

Notice the beauty of each view - how the city seems to look very different from what you would normally see at the street level... how vast and open the space above seems to suddenly feel, as opposed to the close, cramped feeling one might experience with grounded vehicles and corridors.

Would you feel happier, or brighter because of this? Would you possibly feel a sense of superiority?

Would your perspective of the human race change, if you are able to do this and you know, for a fact that you were unique in having this skill or power, would your fellowship with everyone else be affected? I hope not. But not everyone might feel grounded - yes, ironic isn’t it… that one would have the need to feel grounded if he (or she) could fly?

Is this how a hero would feel? Would there be a certain smugness? Would a person's values change overnight? Would mine? I'd like to think that they won't. I'll still think of myself as the same, except for the simple fact that I could suddenly fly that is. But change my habits? Change my thinking? Change how I treat others? I'd like to think that my values are more grounded (there's that word again, I know...), more solid... similar to those instilled on a young boy who grew up from Smallville.

In connection to this, I remember reading one of the earlier profound lessons shared by Merlin to Arthur (I know I read it somewhere – I think it came from the Once and Future King – great book that); anyway , as Arthur, who was still a boy, was transformed into a bird, he flew on high and as he looked down, he saw how the lands looked from above - how the lines he expected to see – those normally found in maps, those that would normally discern one country from another; and segregated territories from each other… were surprisingly missing from above... making Arthur realize that there really were no separating lines, and that these territories were more man-made out of political convenience or arrangements. A lesson he would later use to consider consolidation rather than segregation.

It was, after all, at that point that Arthur started learning wisdom and a greater (though not yet global) perspective in life that others had not even imagined. So simple an idea… so wonderful a though, yet so different from the reality we live in.

Similarly, do we see city boundaries? Or like Arthur, would we just see a continuing mass of land, with countless roofs and patches of greens? Would the differences likewise elude us when viewed from above?

Lucky for us, there is software that can give us an idea as to how our city – and neighborhood would look like from above through satellite pictures – hence giving us that bird’s eye view perspective, and more. But that is limited to just one dimension – not having the option to look at things from different perspectives. I mean, can you imagine looking at the city through a 3-D version? Yes we have Google Earth, and Sim City to give us an idea about this. But something seemed missing in both – maybe if these two could be integrated?

Anyway, As I was saying, this gave me a different perspective… as it may do others. Now, what perspective that is, is really up to the person and said person’s action sometimes. Would you feel like Superman and feel the need to protect this city? Or be ever vigilant like Batman? Would you thrill to swinging from roof to roof like Spider-man? Would your (or my) interest be put to good use? Or would I use them poorly? Would I be the consummate voyeur - looking at windows and rooftops to see people doing things on the mistaken assumption that they are safe from prying eyes? The thought had occurred to me.

One definite advantage I can see, I won't be as affected by rising gasoline prices, and maybe I won't have to inhale too much pollution too. Travel from one place to another would simply be from point A to B, without worrying about traffic signs, crooked cops waiting to entrap you with their vague signs, nor crazy public transport drivers.

Mind you, this is not a flight (pun intended) of fancy. But I do wonder at times, heck I even dream it in some cases – about me flying... so I guess, its a flight of fantasy - and how it seems the most natural thing at that. No... I won’t be proceeding to a roof or ceiling to test that theory like Peter Petrelli of Heroes – I've a vivid imagination, but I’m still grounded on reality – thank you very much (but it is tempting).

So, until I accidentally find a flying carpet, or they finally invent a jet pack for one's back just like in James Bond, or a device that just defies gravity for whatever reason, these pictures will be as close to my seeing how I would view the world while flying... that is, if I could.

Aquarium update - July 2008

I went to Caritmar last Sunday, on the off chance of finding some fish that I was looking for. This place isn't the usual place I would go to because it really is rather out of the way with my usual routes... and I normally ply the Greenhills area, or Mandaluyong - but Pasay? Nope. I'd need a strong incentive to go there. Sunday was different though - we; that is, the kids and I, had nothing to do, so we decided to go to my dad's place in Paranaque to get something. Unfortunately, we were unable to get what we went to get, but lucky for me, I had our portable hard drive at the trunk of the car, so we went and delivered it to their uncle Dict's place in Makati - for him to check if it was still okay (turns out that it was, the problem being the casing and not the hard drive itself - lucky for me and our stored data). However, since Uncle Dict wasn't home either (we just left the hard drive), I decided to try out Cartimar in search for that elusive Cardinal Tetra - a fish I have been unsuccessfully trying to source for nearly a year - and I even tried 'Ask Yahoo' about where I could find them, which goes to show how much I was willing to try unorthodox (at least to me) ways to find a store that had them. Anyway, someone did answer Yahoo Questions, telling me that there were Cardinals in Cartimar, and I was somewhat skeptical of this answer, so I just ignored it. Still, we were already in Makati, which was a relatively short drive to Cartimar, and since there was nothing to do at home... off we went that Sunday afternoon - hoping, but not expecting, to find Cardinals. I was somewhat surprised to see the place upgraded in some places - though not all stalls were affected, but I was impressed with some of the shops - and their prices were hardly Cartimar-oriented these days, meaning they were not exactly cheap. Just to give an example, one aqua shop was seling Crystal Shrimps (first time I've seen them) for 1,500 pesos each... definitely an eyebrow raiser, specially when you think that one shrimp is hardly an inch long. They're colored a bright red-orange and white, so they somehow resemble the color patterns of Koi fish. Cherry shrimps were at 50 pesos each - again rather costly... and this time, they're roughly a centimeter long - easily ignored. But this shop was also selling discus, with small ones priced at 400 pesos each, and I did not bother to ask how much the bigger ones were (roughly the same price as the expensive shrimp - maybe more). But I did not get anything from them - I just placed things into memory for future reference. I, then started searching the different stalls for possible Cardinals, but it seemed that none of them were carrying such... I then tried the smaller stalls - those side by side to each other in the less glamorous stalls - but no go. So I resigned myself to getting a few Neon tetras which I saw in just one stall - reasoning out that if I could not get Cardinals, well... neons were as close to them as I could find. Let me explain... from afar, you'd think these two were of the same breed - same shape, same bright color, but for one tiny detail... the Neons have a bright blue hue on top of a red hue that disappears towards its stomach to the head - in other words, the red stripe is not fully presented at its bottom. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have said red stripe all the way from right after the fish's head up to right before its tail - a solid stripe, not disappearing. Now that you know, see if you can spot the Cardinal from the Neons in this page. Mind you, the differences do not end there - for example, Neons prefere colder climate, and cooler aquariums, while Cardinals like it warm (hence are great companions to Discus fishes, who like the same temperature). Neons are frail, while Cardinals are sturdy. Neons can breed in captivity with no problem, while Cardinals, on the other hand, have not been bred successfully - or those that have been bred in captivity lose their bright hues; which explains why they are hard to find in pet shops - they have to taken from their normal breeding grounds in the Amazon river.

Anyway, if I could not find Cardinals, then Neons would have to suffice. I bought some plants to place in the aquariums - it seems that the stall owner said they were onion-like plants, though to me they seemed like vallisneira, which happen to be long thin leaves - and having a bunch of them could help form a great natural backdrop of greens for my aquarium.

For good measure, I also got me four female Sword tails to supplement the three males I have at home, and likewise decided to add some Pink danioes. If we were leaving catimar, I thought that at least it would not be empty handed... and the trip would not be a total waste.

Then, just out of the blue, I tell the kids that we might as well look at the other shops - get to know what they have, and then I spot a rather nice and well maintained shop with small fishes (you can't miss it because its at the corner), and as I look around I see Rummy noses - hmmm... I was thinking that I'll be needing some of that too, then as I look up to scan the other partitions, I notice a small sign saying 'Cardinal' - but no cardinals were in it. Why am I not surprised?

So, out of the blue, I ask the lady if they had no more cardinals - and she says they STILL DO! She then shows me eight - they were in the row right behind what I was looking for, full sized by the looks of them and tells me they have more upstairs! I asked how much, and they cost a fairly reasonable 80 pesos each. Bio Research sells them for 140 to 170 each! - man, what a rip-off... and lucky I did not buy form them when they had - and they rarely have, by the way. In a too good to be true feeling I automatically ask if they give discounts for anyone getting 10 pieces... and she says, yes... 75 pesos each.

You could guess that this was my moment of truth, and after a very brief moment's hesitation; all two seconds fo it, I bought 10. She then tells me that they also have Otos (Otocinclus), and mine died a few months ago; so I got two - then I asked if they also had shrimp - they did. This kind of shop was what I 've been looking for - they had the fished I wanted and were professional in caring for their fishes - she even took time to cover the Cardinals' plastic with newspapers to either keep them in the dark - less stress from the travel with bright sunlight, or so the plastics won't be stuck with each other.

I honestly didn't know what to do with my Neons now, but resolved to place them in a separate aquarium from my Cardinals - can't have them crowding around... besides, the shop I got the Neons from were - lets jsut say, not as serious with the quality fo their handling fishes, so I did not want to put these two groups together.

I have to say that watching my Cardinals is a joy, and I'm just glad to have found them. The Sword tails look happy (at least, the males do), the Danios look fine - though my Neons looked unable to adapt (they are a rather frail breed), and have since disappeared - either dead or eaten.

Ah well, it may sound a bit cruel or insensitive of me, but they were just replacements for cardianls - and not too costly at that, so I don't really mind their loss. As for my plants, I'll be fixing them maybe later to make their environs better - but for now, the plants are in the aquarium where there are Clown Loaches and Red Tail Sharks, which is where I also added the Sword tails, Danios and Neon Tetras. In case the plants have snail eggs - and I start having snail infestations... these fishes will make short work of said snails.

I would have wanted to show off my awuarium, but I've had difficulties taking pictures of my aquarium fishes - always getting blurry pictures - but for the sake of this entry, I'll try again. As it is, the pictures above were lifted from the internet.

Now, to mention my current inventory of fishes, in my 35 gallon community tank, I hvae the following : Red Tail Sharks (2), Tiger Barbs (4), Clown Loaches (4), Sword tails (7), Pink Danios (4), Spotted Talking Catfish (1), Neon tetra (0) - none survived the transition.

In my 23 gallon octagon tank, I have the following: Cardinals (10), Rummy Nose (1), Ottos (2), Albino Corys (3), Ghost Shrimps (M.I.A.), I suspect that some of these fishes are responsible for them being unseen... they could be in hiding, or they could be pushing daisies... so far, I've only discovered three of them, and that was only because they went out of their hidey holes becasue they smelled food.

Now it can be told - how I destroyed my first aquarium

This happened several years ago, and its repercussions are still being felt up to now. The 35-gallon aquarium I have is actually a ‘hand-me-down’, but its by no means my original aquarium. though my original was likewise a black-bordered aquarium, like the one I have right now, it was basically newer and its glass was not as scratched as the one I have right now.

So what happened to my original aquarium? A simple case of gravity and stupidity, really - the first being a natural law, the second; borne out of a belief (poor gamble really) that I could beat the gravity odds.

See, I was cleaning the aquarium - and I mean, really cleaning this one, so I removed the fishes… got the gravel into a pail to clean it up, removed the water of course and cleaned the filter. Now,since our water pressure was basically weak that day, I had some difficulty holding the hose in place, as the water was trickling into the aquarium.

Feeling a bit impatient and tired of holding the hose, I looked for something to keep it in place, but could not find anything that would hold the hose in place. What I found, actually, was a small dumbbell and decided that if I could balance it at the aquarium’s corner, as it holds down the hose, I could then do other things while the water filled itself up.

Unfortunately, gravity had other plans… I had just let go of the dumbbell and taken a few paces away, when the dumbbell slips form the corner, and in true Murphy’s Law fashion, it falls into the aquarium, hits the bottom, and goes through said bottom… spilling the already accumulated water (possibly 5 gallons of water)
onto the floor. So… I had to act fast or just keep my fish in the large water container where I had placed them. Lucky for me, I remember my dad having an old aquarium, which, for some reason I was not privy to, ws no longer being used. So I asked for it… drove to Paranaque… loaded the old aquarium… drove home and cleaned said aquarium.

So as I said earlier, this stupidity with the dumbbell… its still being felt, at least, until I get to buy a new aquarium. What was I thinking of? Boy… did I learn a lesson.

In the past, i was too embarrassed to mention this… but now, I can easily laugh about the experience. So what made me bring it up now? I've been transferring blog posts from here to my mirror blog, and I came across several old aquarium blogs. Naturally I remembered this, and decided to share it.