Entrance to H.K. Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland offers transport services from its hotels to the theme park, and these leave every ten-minute intervals. I counted at least 10 buses - and mind you, these are full-blown large buses that can easily seat at least 50 people comfortably (though I really did not bother to count, so consider this a rough estimation). These are buses worthy of tourist-use... and as elegant as the hotel was, the buses were. likewise, a reflection of the quality that Disneyland experience that I had read about in various articles.

Such was the bus that we boarded from the Honk Kong Disneyland Hotel, and it took us around 20 minutes to get to the theme park, since we also had to make a detour to the other Disney Hotel - Hollywood Disneyland Hotel. If our hotel had an old English feel, this looked to simulate a more contemporary Hollywood circa 50s feel. Retro - yet classical. We did not bother getting down to look around, as we were pressed for time - armed with our itinerary and with the hope of catching up to the first scheduled show in our plan.

We finally reached the theme park and alighted out of the bus from its terminal, to walk under the afternoon sun (we had been advised by a hotel staff that we might want to bring lots of water, since it would be warm).


Entrance to HK Disneyland

People had to then line up to buy entrance tickets to the theme park - but we already had our park pass (part of the package we got), given to us at the hotel - so we just proceeded to the entrance - showing our tickets. An intriguing feature in the entrance was the fact that aside from getting our tickets, we had to place our finger to a scanner - my guess, it took an image of our finger and stored it in the ticket... a simple but effective use of biometrics to prevent people from coming in by using other's tickets.

We then saw this impressive fountain designed with a lot of Disney cartoon characters - with Mickey, standing on a surfboard and floating by way of a whale shooting water out of its water hole.


Nice fountain with surfing Mickey


Notice how Mickey is being pushed up by the water coming out of the whale's water hole? (which explains why Mickey's head was cut off from the picture) Alright, alright, so I was unable to consider this small detail when taking the picture... but it proves the fact that Mickey does go up and down.

I found an online map of HK Disneyland - in case anyone is interested in seeing the lay of the land, it can be viewed at this address:
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/general/popup?name=ExplorerParkMapPage

Or here's a smaller view to just give everyone an idea...


HK Disneyland map. The fountain on the above-shown pictures, can be seen at the bottom of the map.

Side note: This map came from the official HK Disneyland website - its a whole lot more interactive there than in my blog, and it shows a lot of pictures from their shows (which guests were advised not to take pictures of - and I complied). On a technical perspective, this may be the very first Photoshop edited image I have done and posted. Score one more lesson learned by way of my creating entries to this blog.

The Disneyland Magic - interlude

Before I continue, let me just mention that I have often wondered about visiting Disneyland when I was younger - sure, I knew it was in another country, making it difficult to just do. I likewise knew that this was just another theme park, but I wonder if my looking at it as such was a way for me to compensate (psychologically) for the fact that I was not going to see it... after all, I grew up in a family background that - due to its situation, we were relatively living on a hand-to-mouth existence... maybe not poor, but definitely middle-income comes to mind, and definitely just looking at overseas trips as pipe dreams... specially since Disneyland was just in the United States. This is not a sob story - just a fact.

I also grew up with Disney movies being shown intermittently, and literally liked their products (movies), from Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins... these were great movies, and I ended up imagining how these things were done. As I grew older, newer Disney films would come... and as I endeavored to gather a collection of Disney DVDs, I would have my kids watch them and relive the magic with them as well - in this way, I could ensure that they would appreciate the Disney films.

I would, of course, remove the yearnings to see Disneyland. After all, this posed no reality nor practicality to me. Even if I wanted to see Disneyland, I had to contend myself with the thought that the closest I would get so something like it was to go visit the Enchanted Kingdom over at Laguna. To even think of stepping into Disneyland was, well... something I had put out of my mind - simply for its sheer impracticality.

I even thought I outgrew Disney's magic. Oh, I marveled at Hook - a Spielberg live rendition of Peter Pan's story as a grown up... but this was not Disney. Yet in some Disney movies, when things went right... I would find myself teary-eyed, take Mulan's movie... I silently wept with joy when her father accepted her for what she was... as opposed to what society expected from her. The Lion King was closer to home, far as I was concerned - after all, it represented tradition, teachings and a loving relationship between a father and his son. Hercules was a dud - and I think Disney did not get this as well as it could have, but their Tarzan was great as well. Toy Story (1 and 2) raised the bar with computer animation, and ensured my continuing appreciation for what they do.

This Hong Kong Disneyland trip, I will have to admit, came as a surprise. But it was a welcome surprise. Thought I would not openly admit it, I wanted to see Disneyland - my inner child was excited... and I wonder if my kids know how lucky they are. I had to wait for more than four and a half decades of my life to pass before seeing Disneyland.

I mention this, so one can get a feel of what I was going through, as I entered the Disney resort. I was cool and calculating on the outside - but my inner child was excited to experience something four and a half decades in-waiting.




Now that you know... I continue my blog about our H.K. Disney experience.

HK trip - Disneyland Hotel

From the airport's arrival area, we went to the booth to inquire about where our pick-up point was to HK Disneyland, and after waiting for about 30 more minutes, we were finally led to the bus that would take us to Disneyland. Apparently, incoming tourists were not that many at this time (around 8AM) for Disneyland - since we had the bus all to ourselves.


Barbie and Bernice on the bus ride to Disneyland


My smile courtesy of the Starbuck frap I had taken earlier.

We then arrived at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel - one of two hotels in the entire place, and it came across as a sort of Somewhere in Time (the movie) Old English (I'm reluctant to say Victorian, but it came to mind) design. This struck me as... well, a bit disappointing - after all, what had Disneyland to do with 'old English'?


Disneyland hotel (from the back) - Old English elegance meets Disney magic

What exactly was I expecting in a Disney hotel, you might say? I dunno... maybe a few more overt Disneyland-related designs... I mean, it need not be a castle - but I was hoping to see more visible Disney-related themes. Still, I brushed this initial reaction off - after all, we would not be staying in the hotel for long periods of time, it was a place to rest after the busy Disneyland exploration.

When we entered the hotel's lobby some of my expectations were met. Right after entering the double door, and at opposite sides of the lobby's entrance were the first overt manifestations that this was a Disney hotel... two bronze statues of Disney's first couple - Mickey and Minnie, placed on green marbled pillars (or pedestals). Both Disney - and stylishly matching the hotel's theme.


Bernice posing beside a bronzed statue of Minnie Mouse.

Checking-in took some time, as we were apparently coming in together with some convention delegates. And as we were on our way to our room, we bumped into a few recognizable characters, as seen in the pictures below.


Alice (of Wonderland fame) taking time to pose with us before continuing her chase for the White rabbit.


Snow White and Bernice - two of the fairest in the land?

After those pictures were taken and once we reached our room, we decided to let the kids have a power nap and freshen up before going to the Disneyland theme park proper... this while I studied the schedules of shows we would like to catch to maximize the day.

Had I been more rested, I would have probably taken more pictures - but I was also making sure my batteries would not run out while I was at Disneyland proper... yes I had a spare, but it was not cooperating too well with me, hence the sparse pictures of the hotel, since there was not much to take back then.

By the way, there were a lot of hidden Mickey's in the hotel - including the floor's designs. I apparently just wasn't looking hard enough... but they were there... at the main lobby's waiting area, the floor's marble design, the maze garden outside at the back... all Easter eggs ready to be found, as I eventually did the next day after a full bight's sleep. As for the hotel's wall paintings - I guess you can't get more overt than that.

I guess its safe to say that the slight disappointment I felt reagrding the hotel was just a first impression - one that was easily removed upon closer scrutiny of the hotel's surroundings. I must also say that the hotel staff were very accomodating and definitely helpful. Our room smelled great as we entered - and we had a nice view of the garden as well as the South China Sea. The rooms's television was large - and the kids naturally switched to the Disney Channel - yes, even in Disneyland they wanted to watch Disney shows. All in all - great service and facilities... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

HK trip - flight and arrival

A new day... and what a way to view it!

Our flight lasted approximately an hour and 30 minutes. We all spent it watching our different TV progrmas - as the inflight movies were uninspiring... after all, we've seen 27 dresses and were hardly interested in the latest Rambo - not to mention that the flight would definitely end prior to the movie, so why bother... as the kids watched Disney, and Barbie chose ET, I caught up a bit with Heroes - man... its been a long time, and I just realize that this is one of the many pending items I had lined up, shold the week-end where I'm not doing anything arise.

Anyway, back to the trip itself. The plane was okay - if you can call uneventful and not filled with excitement, okay (which is okay by me) - we had our in-flgiht meals, which for Barbie and me, was breakfast... and for the kids... well, their second breakfast - but definitely better than the rammen they had at the airport departure area.

Upon arrival, the first thing you will notice is the glaring contrast between the NAIA-1 departure area and general ground-crew work areas and that of its HK counterpart. Of course, to be fair... there is a NAIA-2 which is a whole lot newer and better than the facilities of its predecessor... and I understand that NAIA-3 will finally... let me repeat that... finally be operational by December this year.

Hopefully, the eye-sore that is NAIA-1 can finally rest - or be converted to purely cargo-related use (and I'm not even talking about out older domestic departure area with exception to this one line).

First things first... the size. How amny conveyors did we use to get form point A to point B? I lost count really. But yes... those conveyors made the otherwise long walk more enjoyable for first-time HK visitors (which included Bryce, Bernice and I).


We could actually take several pictures and still keep a conversation going while using those conveyors (a.k.a. walkways).


Man... my eye also caught many advertisments of service providers (more likely, Systems integrators) and the only reason I noticed this was that they were prominently placed, and in my line of work... I would notice these things.

But that's not all... consider for a moment that these conveyors had people coming our way and going the other way... which I assumed to be people departing HK (one that I would realisze to be a wrong assumption when we would be departing). So you've got a pair of these for both directions.

Once we got through customs and immigration, we had some money changed and the first thing I got in Hong Kong was a Starbucks mocha frap - the one sold in convenience stores. I was, after all, feeling the effects of nto having slept for... oh, just about 24 hours.

See... I normally wake up early, even on non-work days - if not because of body-clock reasons, Bubbles... our dog, wakes me to go out too. Such was the case that past Saturday, and had I been home sleeping - I'm sure it would have been the case this Sunday morning.

On a side note, we left Bubble with Barbie's yongest brother, Ben who would be minding the home while we were gone, so she (Bubbles) would have to bother him for a few days should she want out.


The Hong Kong airport was stylish without being too overbearing - its near-minimalist, yet stylized designes were nice to look at - and directions/signs were well placed. No awkward English used here... after all, this was, for a long time, a British colony - so people should be able to speak English (but not all, as I would find out later too).

Just to show you HK airport's salute to aviation history, they have a replica of the plane made by the Wright brothers - at least, that's what I think it is, hanging on the ceiling.


Here we are waiting for our lugages.


Bernice the global traveler


The countdown to Beijing's Olympics continues - whic can be a timestamp on my arrival at HK as well.

HK trip - departure

Due to time constraints (i.e. the limited time we would be in Hong Kong), we had to try and maximize our trip. Arriving in HK, traveling to the hotel, checking-in... and other details around that would eat up a lot of time - time better spent roaming around Disneyland.

With that in mind, we - at first, thought about an early flight out (naturally), but were thinking about waing up 6, and leaving at 9 - but our Cathay pacific flight coordinator politely mentioned that should we take such a flight, we might well end up in Disneyland around 2PM - half the day gone. Luckily for us, there was a 6AM flight out - unlucky for us, in this post-9/11 world, that would mean having to be in the airport by 3AM. So... we decided that despite the ungodly hour - it was worth leaving earlier.

Our ealier plan - in preparing for this early flight, was to do everything we had to, by Friday's end and leave Saturday free - possibly have a long afternoon nap and feel fresh enough for the early trip. Well, guess what... Saturday was spent in last-minute preperations. Afternoon nap? Nope... not done. What caused this? Thought Barbie and I could buy all the stuff we would need earlier - work got in the way, and the kids could hardly go out and buy stuff themselves. To be fair, I did get to but almost all the stuff I thought I'd need - btu ended up getting more while barbie and the kids had their last-minute shopping.

What exactly did I get? Two pairs of slacks (more for work, but ones I was thinking of wearing to HK), a black denim (as the blue ones could not fit me, and besides... this I could also use for Friday attire at work) and a slip on leather shoe... not too casual, not too formal (and yes, one I can use for work too).


Barbie preparing rammen for Bernice

Anyway... we do get to the airport - sleep-deprived, and all. Throught the help of modern-day technology, Barbie was able to confirm our flight - and choose seats via the internet. So we really had no worry about coming in late for choice of seats. I cannot over-emphasize this convenience, so people... please, if you want hassle free-flgiht confirmation, use the on-line option whenever possible. I think the only limitation right now is that you can only do this three day prior to departure - and I've no idea until what it can be done prior to the flight time.

From depositing our luggage, we went to the departure area and rested at the lounge - with the kids having some hot rammen (while looking like zombies, he he), until our flight was finally called for boarding... from then on, I could observe anticipation, excitement (and some worry? - nah... they were too sleepy to worry) on our kids eyes, as we boarded the plane for HK.

Barbie with a more awake Benice


Bryce and me - in plane

Hey...! I got to post several pictures in one article! Cool!

Our HK trip

Last Sunday, my family went on a trip to Hong Kong... our very first trip out of the country, and you might say... our very first official vacation in years. Our itinerary was daunting... in three days we were to visit Disneyland, go see Ocean Park and prior to the return trip - go shopping.

Sounds like fun? Well it was... immensely so, but not without the downside of fatigue in between. But that one damper aside, it was a worthy excursion - one not made possible had it not been for Barbie having won outstanding leadership recognition from her regional organization's viewpoint (we used her prize money), and a summer promo by Cathay Pacific - specifically their 'buy three, one free' offer... thus allowing us to get to Hong Kong at 75% of our usual cost.

Okay... enough with the economics. I'll be presenting some pictures (with running commentaries, of course) of our experience. But due to limitations - either of the site or my imagination, I will have to do this in tidbits, as I have yet to see how I can upload several pictures in one article.

Nature pics - part four

There's something to be said about a well-maintained lawn, or garden. This may very well be the best spot to look at in Greenbelt. Where others may be beauty in isolated cases, this has beauty in its totality.

I likes this view - the seeming artistic sculpture of the plants positioning and if you just focus on these - leaving out the building in the background... one can forget (for a brief moment) that they are in the heat of the city. Behind me is a restaurant, and I must say, this view; while eating your meal in the evening, can be very enticing to relaxing and enjoying said meal - specially with good company... be it a loved-one or friends.

Whay is not too evident about the picture is that the shaded area in the middle can actually seem like an alcove - a naturally made one, that can shade people caught in light rain. From a religious (Roman Catholic) viewpoint, I'd say it would be perfect to place a statue of the Virgin Mary... but it can easily be as perfect for, say any religious statue, since the place can definitely promote tranquility.

Nature pics - part three

Talking about ponds - what's a pond without fishes... and when we think of fishes, what comes to mind are Koi. This has been a dream of mine... owning a place where I can afford to put in a pond, and in that pond... Koi.

Meanwhile, I'll just have to contend myself with taking pictures of such - and continue dreaming of the day I can afford to set up a Koi pond.

About the picture? I was slightly worried about taking a picture of the fishes, as they were moving. I had little success with my fishes in the aquarium - but I guess, that was because I set my speed to a slower option to compensate for less light - end result was blurry pictures of my fishes. On the other hand, these seemed to turn out right. But I guess, I can than the sunny day for this.

Nature pics - part two

Here's a nice looking scene with bamboo on the side of a pond. Some people say that a great photographer should have the eye for beauty - maybe similar to how a cinematographer sees things. I'm not sure I'm there yet... but I hope my eyes can catch some beauties in the middle of the Metro... and show that there are spots of paradise in the city... if only people take the time out from their busy schedule to notice these.

Nature pictures this time

This time around, I'm trying my hand on taking nature-related pictures. Here's an orchid that can be found in the middle of Greenbelt's park - I noticed it before, and thought to myself that I should have brought my camera. Naturally, the next time I went, I looked for this orchid and took one shot.


I hardly had to make any changes to the image. You might say, this is one picture that I am proud of - the subject is very much in focus and does not get smothered by its surroundings - and the surroundings are not exactly something to ignore either. Its just that the orchid seems to naturally stand out - it was begging to be taken.

A friend and colleague of mine (Mon Villar) commented that I should have taken the picture much closer - thus making the orchid the real main subject of the picture. It also makes the focus zoom into the flower and sort of zoom out (defocus) the background. This is something his wife did. Sound advice... problem was I couldn't go nearer said orchid anymore, as there were other natural and man-made barriers between the flower and me. Good thing too... I suspect that the flower might not have been there long had it been easy to access.

Still, I will try out said advice come the next time.

Poor Internet Service (update)

For a moment there, it seemed that we'd be having problems with Globe as well. Let me explain... when the DSL of Globe was being set up by their engineer, I was at work - btu Barbie was home, and watched him set up the new phone, connect the PC to the DSL connection, and upon Barbie's query about connecting the DSL to our router, he said that we would have to do it later. Note that he did not tell her that this was somethign they did nto allow.

Upon my arrival, I did just that - attempting to connect the router with the DSL, I had to know tow things - our account number and password... something that PLDT gave willingly. But to our surprise, Globe did not want to divulge this.

Now maybe they had security reasons - which could have been easily dealt with by ensuring the router was properly configured - passwords and all... so it shold not hvae been an issue. The one obvious reaons I saw was that they did not want us to use multi-computers with their connection since they had a package at a higher monthly rate that automatically allowed this.

Now, being semi-educated in Networking concepts, I knew that the curernt set-up can allwo for this - or that there was no real reason - with exception to a business model for more profitability, to withhold the requested information.

It was only when Barbie threatened to report them to DTI - and being a Customer Service Manager, she knew the ins and outs of DTI concerns, and telling them that they migth as well remove the connection, that the person on the phone relented by tellng her that a hub could solve her problem.

Again, my networking concepts told me that a router is a more sophisticated hub. So why did we have to buy a new hub? This stance was supported by the technial people in the computer shop we went to in the effort of buying a hub - at least, these people were not after our money... and I did buy a hard disk from them before.

Anyway, apparently - the problem stemmed from having similar IP addresses - and though I knew the concept, the steps were harder to execute... consider it due to poor technical documentation of the router's part (did I mention that the model I'm using is apaprently not supported anymore - yet still being sold?).

Lucky for me, I've a brother-in-law who is much better in hardware set-ups than me. He looked at it and was able to conenct the router with the Globe DSL. Now we're looking at how things are running - no thanks to Globe.

On the bright side? So far it seems that the service of Globe is more stable than PLDT's.

Touchy topic of Torchwood

In a previous entry, I had mentioned the creation of a Torchwood and Doctor Who site.

This is just to follow up on what I've been seeing lately in Torchwood.

Recent episodes that I've seen - specifically those in the latter part of season 1 and the pilot of season 2, has lately shown the character of Captain Jack (John Barrowman) showing overt - though not lewd, homo/heterosexual preferences - first with Captain Jack (the real one who died and who's name he took - though I must add that it was the original Captain Jack who took the Torchwood Captain jack to a dance floor for a slow drag), then there's the Pilot where Captain Jack, upon seeing an old associate, rush into what seemed like a fist fight - only to lock lips, then fight. It is also in this same episode that Captain Jack asks one of his team mate - Yanto, if he's open for a date.

Now, maybe its the British in the episode, maybe the show is trying to be really daring - I don't know. But is the show openly presenting the fact that the characters find having a gay relationship openly acceptable. Sure, there's a lot of trysts amongst the male and female population, and there was one episode where one female staff or Torchwood ended up having a relationship with another female (again, tastefully done) - but with scenes like this, I can understand the possible reluctance for these episodes to be shown locally.

I noticed some uneasiness while I was watching - a certain shock value... but only for a few moments, though I had to make sure my kids were not watching it - lest they get the wrong impression. After all, I may be bordering on tolerant if not accepting the practice - though not personally... as I've had gay friends, and can easily understand them - but not share their life. Sorry... call it my catholic upbringing, but I'm strictly heterosexual. But this does not mean I can't have gay people as friends.

Am I, therefore, a hypocrite? Nope... at least I hope not. I believe in diversity, and respect the lifestyle choices of others - so at least, I'm tolerant... but 'tolerant' sounds so condescending - and I don't want to be that. Like any parent with strong Catholic upbringing, I would be very uneasy should my kids stray from acceptable Catholic norms of heterosexuality. That is as honest a statement as I can give... but I don't see others - more so my friends who are in homosexual relationships as wrong... despite the church's stance or what it may say.

I'm just a realist to the fact that society does not look acceptably to the practice. By the way, I think the better explanation for captain Jack is that he can be bi-sexual... meaning he can work both ways... showing a greater openness, perhaps?

Has this stopped me from watching Torchwood - nope. But I'll be more careful watching it around my kids.

Again, ironic. With all the issues covered by both Torchwood and Doctor Who, I find that I'm not too open about bi-sexual and homosexual relationships. In a way, this is good - in a self-awareness viewpoint. It shows that I need to be more open and acceptable... specially since I do lecture on Managing (and accepting) Diversity. But apparently, there are still some lines I will not cross - nor will I find it naturally acceptable for my kids to cross. Hope this means I'm still an okay person - specially to my gay friends.

More not so picture-perfect experiments

Ok - it seems that I am limited in what I can enter in this site - either that or I've not yet discovered how to do what I want to do, which is namely publish more than one picture in one article. So for now, it seems that I've got to place these pictures in separate articles.

That said, here's my experiment with monotones. Though I started out with a colored picture, I later changed its color mixture with your usual Microsoft picture editor. This here is my son, Bryce - in profile, holding a gun (not a real one, of course - just an airsoft version). The picture's graininess was an offshoot of the experiment, but rather than clean it up - I felt that it left a nice effect.

My not so picture-perfect experiments

I'm still experimenting with this blog - at least, when time allows. I find it a necessary extension of my experimenting with photography - though having said that, my camera is a simple point and shoot, digital Ixus V by Canon - and I do intend to go SLR... but not yet.
Naturally, I've been wondering how pictures can be added - its not a question of 'can it be done?' but more a question of 'how can it be done?'. After all, I've seen others do it, and given time, I know I could do this as well - soon as I discover how.
Well, this site allows pictures to be added - so here's giving it a try...
Exhibit #1 - a picture of my daughter Bernice during her uncle Dict's wedding. Nothing too fancy, just a straight up flash photography take. Results are clear, and one cans even say that they're picture perfect. Discerning eyes, though, may say that the picture lacks over-all depth, though the presence of her cousin and brother in the picture's background seems to cover that angle.

Lousy Internet Service (update)

Last January, I made mention of my family's having to experience lousy Internet services by PLDT's DSL. Well, today, we've finally done something about it - namely switched from PLDT's DSL service to Globe's DSL service. Slightly more expensive, but if its not intermittent, then worth the price we would pay per month.

This plus the fact that we get another phone line with the DSL from Globe - another thing I found funny with the PLDT service, since I know they also offered phones with their DSL installations - but apparently did not bother offering us said package. Ah well...

We're still keeping our PLDT landline - but it will be some time until we decide to trust PLDT's quality of service beyond their usual phone lines. Meanwhile, lest I be considered biased to Globe - let me just say that I will be observing how their service will be faring. If by chance they'll be really better - I will be carping about it. Otherwise, I just might have a 'part two' to this topic. Here's hoping - for Globe's sake (and ours), this won't be the case.

Torchwood and Doctor Who site by me

I've started a new Yahoo group - both for experimental purposes with the hope of learning more about the tool and all its capabilities, and for the sheer enjoyment of the subject matter.

This Yahoo group is called Torchwood Tinders and Sonic Screwdrivers - a fan site of sorts, focusing on two British SciFi Television shows, namely Doctor Who (who tends to use a sonic screwdriver) and Torchwood (a quasi-government group, formed to deal with extra-terrestrial incursions in Earth).

The site address is:
http://www.friendster.com/group/tabmain.php?gid=1249024

I still need to discover how to integrate photos and other things to make the site more attractive, and I still need a way to further populate the site with interested parties willing to discuss both shows.

Should you stumble upon this entry and find the two TV shows interesting - or intriguing, why not drop by my site, and give a comment or two?

The type of advice I have been giving lately

Not really a specific advice... but more the thought process that I used when I was giving them. This was a discovery of sorts... but let me start from the beginning.

Of late - since last week, I have been privy two conversations - one with a friend, another with a colleague and they both had female-related problems. I was, it would seem the intended recipient due to the fact that maybe they can and do trust me to be discreet... as both their situations would demand some discretion - hence the reason for my not being too detailed in mentioning any of these situations.

To jump to the point, here is what I can remember to be my thought process. First... both situations had to deal with love triangles (if these were ever the right way to call them), so in both cases, there was a third party being wronged. So my first - obvious suggestion, or reminder is that what they were in was wrong, and I was not playing the immorality card at all - heck, whether they were enjoying any coupling considerations, I shall not say... but even in a platonic style, it would be wrong to the third party involved - I say this loosely, since these two people I had such discussions were more likely to be the real third-party to said relationships.

So like I mentioned, I reminded of the lack of trust in such situations - they of course knew it, and would possibly justify things to themselves. But as I was mentioning the moral repercussions (again, not in a religiously moral stance - but in a natural order moral stance) I also seemed to notice the seeming reluctance for them to acknowledge the situation in such a manner - after, be it a one nighter affair or a longer lasting fling, the fact remains that they were doing something behind another's back or without another's knowledge - the fact that they were doing things in a hidden style - for some fear of discovery, signifies that they acknowledge the wrongness of the situation.

So, what did I learn form this? Well for one, I'm not a prude - let people fornicate for all I care, so long as they do it without betraying others... other than that, they're consenting adults, so they can do whatever they want - after all, I'm not in any moral obligation to stop them, and I did caution them.

Did this realization bother me? Nope. Other than the fact that others might be hurt - or feel betrayed, I said it was up to them. After all, when dispensing advice, one need be careful - fools won't heed it, and the wise won't need it.

Did my giving advice help them? I hope so - unsolicited or not, I wanted to remind them of the situation they were entering into. As a friend, I can do no less.

So why didn't I enter this in the Coaching blog? Well... in this case, though it may be considered a part of coaching, I was more focused on listening and giving advice... not coaching. It was not done in a professional manner, and I was not acting as a coach - but more a sounding board (as I suspect they wanted me to be).

I've imparted my 'wisdom'; only time will tell if it bears fruit or was wasted in this instance. Either way, like I said... I can't intervene any further - and I don't really care. I've mentioned how this will possibly affect them and other parties affected. I've reminded them about the karmic possibilities - what else can or should I do?

I cautioned right... I advised well. I weighed options, helped look at their situation in other angles and mentioned options. Other than that, I can't say more due to the limited exposure, or knowledge of each case - so the rest would be speculation (though in the latter, it seemed to be appropriate inference and deduction).

Good luck to them both, separately of course.

Pet Peeves

Admit it, you have one... something that gets your goat, no matter how well-mannered you may be, there's just someone (or some people) who - out of sheer inconsideration... or sheer stupidity or maybe even both, gets you wondering how come Darwin's theory of evolution has not yet made such creature extinct.

I am of course referring to those people who hog the road or not practice road courtesy by way of their just having a vehicle and damn the rest; who should watch out for them. These incompetents come in the form of either the raging bus driver, who cares not which lane he may be treading, or which lane he may be crossing - I say he, here in consideration of having seen, on very rare occasions, a female bus driver, and naturally may intentionally or uncaringly threaten to bump other vehicles should they not watch out for the bus's long and large dimensions.

Then there are the jeepney drivers - as people from the Philippines can attest, these kinds of vehicles can almost be found plying every part of the city's thoroughfares. But the jeepney in itself is not the culprit - its also perhaps, the equally unimpressive, insensitive driver, who's only difference with the bus driver is the size of the vehicle they bring. These people ply the streets - hogging lanes as if they own it and not mindful if they stay there for more than 15 minutes, all the while blocking others from moving forward.

On rarer occasions - though it may also be because they are not allowed to ply the major streets, we have the tricycles and pedicabs who also at times like to hod the lanes, unmindful that they block other faster vehicles from possibly overtaking in a proper manner, due to their unmindful style of driving or pedalling... and be careful, since some of them are ignorant of the meaning of signalling, whether by hand or by signal lights. One wonders if they even know some road courtesy.

But these tri-wheeled vehicles are less reckless than some people plying the streets on motor bikes as they drive through with reckless abandon and are likewise unmindful of traffic situations where some cars yield to offer other cars the right of way to move or turn in intersections. Instead, it seems some of these drivers only have two actions and either move fast or move faster. Sometimes it is ironic that they hog the entire road when they can easily stay a little to the side to allow for faster vehicles to pass them without fanfare - but would be the first to zig and zag in densely populated streets, unmindful of their reckless cutting ways.

This does not of course exempt other vehicles - cars, vans or the likes, with drivers who likewise were in some past (and I won't be surprised if it was a past life if they also drove the same way) a reckless bus, jeepney, taxi or motorcycle driver.

Little surprise that others can get road rage - more so those that ply and drive in a mindful and courteous manner. Simply put, the streets have seemingly gone to the dogs - and this can be attested to the seemingly unavailability - or uncaring attitude of traffic enforcers (another story can be said about them too), and without enforcement, we have chaos. In order to survive this concrete jungle's manic drivers, one has to either drive extra careful or adapt a more aggressive attitude and be armed with an equal amount of tricks - basically 'push-backs' to let these pushy drivers know that you are not one to be pushed around.

I've heard before - from some foreigners, that you would have to be crazy to drive in the Philippines, and seeing how the collective madness of the street seems to play out - i would have to reluctantly agree.

To be fair, there are drivers in such profession that seem to epitomize great character, upbringing and even courtesy while driving... but these people are more the exception to the rule, and I would consider it a miracle when I meet one of these rare breed of drivers handling a public transport.

So what can one think of when faced with these crazies? Well for one, are you willing to fight fire with fire? Are you just willing to let another one go? ... and if so, how many more?... how long before you say 'enough!'? Would it be worth your while to stoop to their level? Of course not. Would you win in an altercation? Most of the time, these aggressive a-holes will suddenly become meek when they realise they can't pay for damages their recklessness incurred. So where's the justice? Nope... one has to just bear with this stupidity and check one's self for any like-minded stupid action. Its not a case of right or wrong here, its a case of self-preservation... both in time, sanity and grief.

The problem is, some of these reckless drivers rely just on that fact. They don't care that they can't pay for their recklessness - nope. They count on the fact that you know its not worth it, so they get away with their arrogance.

Like I said before... I really wonder why these questionably educated (if they are educated at all) reckless public transport or private drivers (again, of which not every driver fits into) are still around - you'd think that Darwin's natural selection process would have removed them from the gene pool already. Ah well... maybe next week.

Podcasts - a new learning dimension or entertaining medium?

Call me a late bloomer in terms of technology, it basically spans from my not getting an iPod until this last Christmas 2007, (thank you Jogie and Bernadette!) and naturally, I just glossed over what such a tool can do or offer. I mean, why bother? I didn't have it, so I didn't come upon the advantages - I guess, if I did not learn about what I could do, I'd miss it less.. and avoid any frustrations or bouts of longings that come with knowing you want it but don't have it.

Not exactly a positive - visualizing exercise, but I also had not watched 'The Secret' yet during that time.

To me it was just plain practicality - waste no time with things I did not have or could not do - and this is still a practical manner in my actions. Why worry if your worrying won't change things? Why cry over spilled milk? So it was, so it went.

But now that I have an iPod, I have started to explore what I could do with it - lo and behold... I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts!

The idea is not new - basically we have audio (and video) recordings, programs of interests by people who love talking about certain crafts, sports or hobbies (definitely an idea presented as early as the time of cassette tapes or CVs). I love the fact that there are a lot to choose from and even better... they're all FREE!!! All one needs to do is subscribe to certain 'casts' of interest and they get downloaded into your PC for your perusal - then, once I connect my iPod to the PC, iTunes (Apple's software to help synchronize the iPod's contents) just downloads these podcasts for our listening pleasure.

So, aside from being free... you get to choose when you want to listen to these podcasts. What have I subscribed to? I will try to remember them - but there are a lot. In fact, I might just write entires about them separately. Still, just to let you know... here is a tentative list of what I listen to:

• 60 second Science


• Amazing Comicast


• Budget Health Nut


• Business Week


• Comic Geek Speak


• DC Comics


• Digital Photography Tips


• Discovery Channel Video


• Doctor Who Podshock


• Golf Smarter


• I read Comics


• Joel Osteen


• Leo Laport - The Tech Guy


• LSAT - Logic in Everyday Life


• Make it So - a Star Trek Podcast


• Marvel Podcast


• Ragingbullets


• 10th Wonder Poscast


• TPN: The Digital Photography Show


• WNYC Radio Labs

and this is by no means a compete list - just the ones I currently have in my iPod. Aside from this, I listen to French lessons, a sexy teacher for words and more.

I find time to listen to the podcasts when I'm waiting, rarely when I'm driving - unless I find a proper speaker or interface with the car stereo, when I'm walking from one building to another - in other words, those usual time eaters that I don't notice, but do nowadays since I find time to listen during those in-between moments. I listen when I'm waiting for my next conduct.. when I'm waiting for my participants to finish their activities.

My worry is that this is seriously eating into my reading time - and yet, if I get audio books, thats still getting the contents of a particular book - but rather than read, I'm listening... which is a good thing too, since I sometimes forget my reading glasses.

Just to let you know how I sometimes multi-task (assuming focusing is not that necessary), I am entering these words while I'm listening to a podcast. How about that?

If you've not yet embraced the world of podcasts, well... in case you finally get an iPod (or some other MP4 player), you might want to give this a try. Your problem - like mine, would literally be wading through the options available - and should you not find your area of interest, well why not create your own podcast as well? Join the ranks, fill a niche... get like minded folks to join you. Me? I'm still enjoying the experience too much.

Crusaders for a better world

It is often nice to come across people who try to make this place a better world - be it by activities that help empower others, build goodwill or simply make one smile...

Well here's a site I recently discovered through a colleague - and what makes this blog even more impressive is that its set up by youths - undergraduates who seem better skilled than I in coming up with blogs or web sites. But lest I digress, its not the tehnical aspect of the site that matters (though you'll see it is nice) but the contents in it.

Its called "I Share Happiness" - and they do indeed. You can find it at : http://www.isharehappiness.blogspot.com/




Give the site a try.