Pac Daddy

2008 Coca-Cola International Coastal Cleanup

2008-11-06T13:31:00.004+08:00

If people only knew how much garbage we've already accumulated, maybe (just maybe) people would start reconsidering how they handle their trash every single day. Last September 20, I was lucky to have been part of the Coca-Cola International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy. Coca-Cola Philippines sponsored the event here courtesy of Vic Manlapaz. Ok, so I was not among those who picked up the trash along the coast of Roxas Blvd but I knew and felt the importance of cleaning up our oceans.Ü

It looked like a daunting task to clean up a single stretch of the coast along Roxas Blvd. We were literally walking over garbage when Randy and I were documenting the event but after a couple of hours, we started seeing what can be considered as "real" land.Ü

Here are some of the photos I took during the event.

Before

After

Some of the participants

Gerrylou's Baby Shower

2008-11-06T13:02:00.002+08:00

Baby showers often seen in movies or TV shows usually have the female friends giving gifts to the soon mom to be. Maybe there would some occasional scenes where the partners of those female friends are there but I always thought that it was as simple as that. I guess I'm too naive about life :)

When Karen and I went to Gerrylou's baby shower, it was like a kiddie party. We were given name tags and a couple of kiddie games were played. Good thing I became the designated photographer and didn't have to join the games. hehe

Charades, Pictionary and Baby Names were some of the games that were played

Opening of gifts

Congratulations on your new pride and joy Ge and Joel!Ü

Early Bazaar

2008-11-06T00:56:00.002+08:00

Our village held an early single day bazaar last September. Karen and I went there to see what were being sold and we ended up eating more than shopping. :D

Mostly took candid shots of kids playing and eating since it was held at the villages recreation area (which what I call Tahanan Village's Park Ü).

Some Chillax for the Makati Leaders

2008-11-06T00:29:00.002+08:00

Why not spend a day of work on the beach?! How I wish this was done on a regular basis. How about, once a week? hehe

The Makati leaders were back to Laiya, Batangas but this time we stayed at Blue Coral. We didn't do much when we got there because most of us went there after our shifts so we spent most of the time sleeping. I, however, was able to sneak in a few night shots with TL Doods that night. I hoped to have them published in DPP's (Digital Photographers Philippines) Issue#22. It wasn't my time yet.Ü

Beach Volleyball (GO MITZ!Ü)

Feeling Hut! Hut! Hut! (hehe)

A Golden Relationship

2008-11-06T00:12:00.002+08:00

Tita Sonia and Tito Jessie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last August at Jumbo Kingdom restaurant. It was a simple celebration with family and friends which made it a little more special. I really believe that these moments should be celebrated with close friends and family members to make it meaningful. My cousins whom I have yet to meet (maybe I have but I cannot recall. Sorry!) and are living in the US sent a video for Tita Sonia and Tito Jessie to watch since they were unable to go home.

Sharing some of the photos I took. I wanted to be more of a guest that time and was a little too lazy to move because of the food I devoured! :D

The couple

Our table (Check out the left overs!)

Ate Jingle and her daughter Isabel

Happy Anniversary Tito Sonia and Tito Jessie!Ü

Wedding Photography Seminar by Lito Sy

2008-11-05T23:28:00.004+08:00

Last August, I had the chance to join Lito Sy's photography workshop. Sir Lito is one of the Philippines' top weddings and portraiture photographer and has won several photography contests here and abroad. With his type of resume, I was for the most part in awe of his creativity and his skills when he showcased some of his works. Aside from the formal lecture of sharing his techniques, a shoot was part of the seminar to apply what we have learned from Sir Lito's lecture. Our model was Ms. Carlene Aguilar, a former beauty queen, who had such a good mood that day that made the shoot all the more fun and exciting. Here are some of my shots.

I have a somewhat similar post on our business blog at FOCAL Studios. Feel free to also visit that blog. :)

Black Meets White

2008-10-24T09:17:00.003+08:00

I was invited by a fellow photography hobbyist in the office whom I met because of Photography Master Aaron Paggabao. I met Diosa Malabanan (aka Ms. D) during the leadership convention and I think I was not as pleasant as I should be when I first met her. It was because I was wondering who she was and why she knew my name. Sorry Ms. D! hehe

Going back, the event was held at One San Miguel's Roof Deck. I agreed to cover their event for experience as well the hope of getting paid for my shots. Our deal was they will order the prints from us. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It was charged to experience plus a chance to shoot the Ortigas skyline at night. :)

Here are some of the photos I took together with Master Rage Tianero.

The early birds

A Flasher distracting the guest for the Thief! :)

Just a few of the beautiful ladies of Voyager taken during the program proper
Master Rage was able to rent a strobe so we were able to setup a "mini-studio". Ü

Some fun shots

The hair flip (courtesy of Master Rage)

2008 eTelecare Leadership Convention

2008-10-15T09:48:00.003+08:00

eTelecare's annual leadership convention was held at The Arena, San Juan City. I was one of the volunteers to cover the company event together with my photographer friend Barry. It was one of the leadership conventions I attended that had a good impact on me. Besides the fact that I enjoyed taking pictures of the people, our guest speaker Coach Chot Reyes, aligned his speech with the company's core values. Talking about the importance of coaching and talking with your team, coupled with real-life experiences, I was able to understand the message Coach Chot wanted to convey because of the similarities (theoretically) of coaching a basketball team and coaching/mentoring a person in your team. Really made an impact on me as a team leader.

Anyway, sharing some of my shots. A few of my photos were used by our company to inform the rest of the company about the leadership convention. I have to remember to get a copy of that poster one of these days. :)

Inside The Arena

Outstanding Contributor Awards

The awardees

Barry taking a snipe at someone

Coach Chot Reyes
Until the next leadership convention!Ü

AIG-BPSI Family Day

2008-10-13T10:10:00.004+08:00

I was invited by Karen to join her office's family day and I happily obliged thinking that it was a good opportunity for a photo-op.Ü

Sadly, it was one hot day and I had a hard time moving around the place. I think almost everyone in their Alabang offices were present that day so I just picked my spots (mostly where there's shade and enough air to keep me cool hehe) and took mostly pictures of kids.Ü

Kiddos

Part of the family

Forced to get married in a marriage booth Ü
It was a fun that and it was nice to meet Karen's office friends.

Basic Food Photography Seminar by Ricky Ladia

2008-10-13T02:17:00.002+08:00

I attended another photographer seminar last June. This time its a Basic Food Lighting Photography Seminar by Ricky Ladia. Luckily it was schedule in between another basic photography seminar by Jo Avila so I was able to attend and apply some of the lessons I already learned from Sir Jo. Here are some of the shots I took. Hope you like these, too!Ü

Appetizer: Pinaupong dilis on Fita Ü (Not really sure what to call it. hehe)

Entree #1: Tinolang Manok

Entree #2: Sinalbaheng Tilapia (Name c/o Karen. Didn't know fish can bend that way.Ü)

Entree #3: Seafood Platter

Dessert: Sapin-sapin

Drinks: Calamansi Juice

Manila Breakwater

2008-10-13T01:31:00.002+08:00

Sharing a photo I took when Randy and I went to the breakwater near Jumbo Restaurant in Manila.

I lost my mood to shoot when one of the security guards called our attention while we were setting up our gear because we had no permit to shoot. Why would we need a permit to shoot the Manila Bay?! Is it now privately owned?!

Just avoid getting into an argument with the guard who appears to be one of those ignorant to photography types, we went to the admin office to inquire if we really need to have a permit to shoot. When the guard on duty their asked a supervisor, she said that as long as no building of PICC or CCP are included in the shot, then it is ok to shoot without a permit.

I know that a privately owned place reserves the right to deny having pictures of their building taken, especially if its inside the building. Deny photography in public places? It's not like the place has something to hide because its open to the public. That's why its called a public place. Anyone and everyone can see what is and what is going on. Another funny thing is, they deny a photographer of taking pictures only if he is using a dSLR. It would not be an issue if he/she is using a point-and-shoot camera. It would also not be a problem if the person holding a dSLR is a foreigner. Can you say discrimination? In my own country by my countrymen?! Sad..

Anyway, this post is turning into a ranting post so I might as well end it here. My apologies for the rant.Ü

Light and Shade Photography Workshop by Wesley Villarica

2008-10-12T23:51:00.002+08:00

Last June, I attended Wesley Villarica's basic lighting photography workshop. It was my first time to join a photography workshop after almost 2 years of doing self-study and just reading forums, online tutorials and a couple photography books. Learned a lot of good stuff with lighting and taking glamour shots! Already shared some of my shots at bitemarkstudios.multiply.com. Just doing the same here. Hope you like them.

Photographer: ME!Ü (Francis Pacunayen)
Model:Daiana Menezes
Make-up Artist: Omar Ermita
Workshop Instructor: Wesley Villarica

I would like to show that the last photo was picked by the organizers of the photography workshop for their flyers/advertising for the next photography workshop. I wish I got paid for it but for now, I'll settle for bragging rights since this was my first. Here it is.Ü

Boracay with eTel friends

2008-10-12T21:40:00.003+08:00

This year was my first time to visit the island of Boracay and what did I do afterwards? Wait for a month to go back!Ü This time, I went there with some of my office friends, namely, Ice, Joems, Doods with his girlfriend Shey, Jun-Jun, Berns, Lew, Boss Gholda and Boss Amel. We stayed at Fat Jimmy's Resort. Feedback regarding this resort: The place is clean and nice (Speaking from my experience with our room. Not sure about the other room the others occupied.). The staff were accommodating enough. My only negative feedback is its location. The resort is far from the beach, even farther than Club Ten plus its entrance is near a garbage bin. Before you reach the beach you'll go through the a wet market then through D'Mall. We were just pressed for time to reserve a resort on a very short time that most of the resorts closer to the beach were already full. All these can be ignored just because I had fun with my friends.Ü

Some photos during our first day
Our second day was spent taking a boat ride tour of Boracay. As usual, we went to Crystal Cove, went snorkelling near Crocodile Island but this time, we went to Puka Beach. Wasn't able to take pictures of the place. I was busy accompanying Karen while she was shopping for Puka shells. Thought she might need a "shopping conscience".Ü

At the entrance to Cave #1 of Crystal Cove

Kodak-an on the boat!

Group hug back at the resort

Some sunset and sky shots

The usual tourist shot by a sand castle
With the recent troubles going on with the Boracay resort owners and the goverment, I hope by next year the place would be much better and the island be well kept. Just in time for our return.Ü

2008 Summer with Karen, Arbi and Kay

2008-10-12T16:06:00.002+08:00

This year's summer was my busiest so far! Hey, I'm not complaining. It was a summer that I had so much fun that I was only held back by my obligations in the office and my budget (I wasn't born with a silver spoon you know!Ü).

Destination #1: Batangas
Batangas is becoming my own province since I've been going here more often.Ü Although this is Karen's province (mother-side), I have never gone to a province so frequently than Batangas whether its to visit Karen's relatives or to go to the beach. Quite frankly, I am enjoying the frequent road trips here. Maybe some day I can have a tour of Batangas!

We stayed at the Blue Coral Beach Resort. The sand is nice and the cottages are very close to the beach. Even though we got the pool side room, the beach is just a few steps away so it does not really matter to me if we got the pool side room. The only downside we experienced was the jellyfish. It was like migration time for the jellyfishes that you wouldn't be able to swim. It was even hard to just wade because a jellyfish will be right next to you in practically all directions.

Karen and Arbi figuring out how they can enjoy swimming in the beach

A couple of the jellyfishes that were already washed ashore

Taken by the beach

Pool shots
Before retiring to bed, I went around the resort to do practice some night photography.Ü

The following day, the jellyfish were no longer in sight. Not sure what happened or what the resort people did but Karen and Arbi were happy to be back in the water.Ü

Group Hugs!Ü
Destination #2: Cavite
After a week, all for of us again headed south for another road trip. This time its somewhere a little more relaxing and cold, where else but in Tagaytay! Of course, a visit to Tagaytay is not complete without eating at Leslie's Restaurant. I really think that their Bulalo tastes better in Tagaytay. Mas masarap higupin ang sabaw kapag malamig ang paligid (Warm soup is suited when in cold places).

The balikbayan Kay with Arbi taking a "kabataan" shot

Halo-halo in Tagaytay

My favorite! Sizzling bulalo!Ü

Karen and Kay listening intently to the singing group

A big round of applause from Kay and Arbi for the singing group Ü
After our delicious lunch, we went to Sonya's Bed and Breakfast for a little more RnR. It was my first time there and unfortunately, it was drizzling when we got there so I was not able to take much pictures of the place. I just enjoyed the massage and to be honest, I would come back for another massage! I really felt relaxed afterwards. Here are some of the pictures I took there.

Curtain beads

Walk this way..

Arbi in limbo
Destination #3: Bohol
Another first for me and Karen. It took us quite some time in planning for this trip because we arlready running low on resources. If you want to save your money on fares to go to Bohol, then the best option is to get a plane from Manila to Cebu then ride a ferry from Cebu to Bohol. It's a lot cheaper compared to taking a direct flight to Bohol. It can be compared to Boracay's Manila-Kalibo-Caticlan-Boracay Island trip which takes about 3-4 hours but the travel time is way shorter. The ferry ride is about 1hr and 45mins, give or take a few minutes. That's not bad if you really are on a tight budget and want to save some money to be able to spend while you're on your vacation. I would also suggest you allot a day or two in Cebu since you're already there. It can make the ferry ride a lot less stressful plus you got to enjoy Cebu! We'll do this next time.Ü

We got our reservation at Lost Horizon Resort thanks to Joems who suggested the place. Its a nice cozy place to stay if you're on a budget. The food they served was awesome but be prepared to pay for what you ate. The food is quite expensive but I still would recommend the place to friends. I guess we are just unlucky during this summer. This time, it was so hard to swim in the beach because of the strong waves. We were not able to go snorkling and see the dolphins because of the strong waves. We still managed to have fun when we took a tour of Bohol.Ü (Note: Some facts about Bohol were taken here.)

Kampai! (At the blood compact site)

Baclayon Church (one of the oldest churches in the Philippines a.k.a. The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception)

Inside Baclayon Church

Bohol's Longest and Biggest Python in Captivity

With the owner

Cute little tarsiers!

Loboc Church (The second oldest church in Bohol a.k.a. The Church of San Pedro)

Loboc River ride entertainment

Kay, Karen and Arbi enjoying the boat ride after a hearty lunch

A tour of Bohol is not complete without seeing the Chocolate Hills
It was really fun being with Karen, Kay and Arbi. My only regret was we were not able to join you on your Ilocos trip.Ü

2008 Transport Show

2008-10-12T15:11:00.002+08:00

Another transport show, another chance to shoot beautiful cars modelled by beautiful women!Ü

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X (I WANT!!!)

Colossus

Beautiful ladies

Beam-ing smile

Harley

Vic's first ride before his Battle-Feroza

Herbie got pimped!Ü

More beautiful ladies

Caliraya Planning Session

2008-10-12T14:07:00.003+08:00

I have never been to Lake Caliraya Resort. My family and I were supposed to go there when I was still in high school on summer vacation but due to some mechanical problems we settled for Pansol, Laguna. When I learned that Site Makati was to hold its Q2 planning session there, I was excited! I've heard a lot of good things about the place. Besides the activities we could do, I was more interested on the possibility of another photo-op for me.

(Incomplete) Makati Leaders. Taken during one of our breaks.

Jun-Jun Livin' large!

Multiple Choice: a) Stressed b) Insane c) All of the above

Lew's Best Friend

F-"I.T." Team Bataan
The place was so cool that I went back there after a few days. This time around the resort. I was with Karen, Photography Master Aaron Paggabao (a.k.a. PMAP) and Ultimate Master and Lord Drin Collantes (a.k.a. UMLDC). Our first stop, a water tower along the road to Lake Caliraya.

The Road Trip (L-R): Karen, Pacs, PMAP and UMLDC
After satisfying the Master's photography cravings when then went to the Japanese Garden where PMAP showed off his IR prowess.

Bitten by the Korean bug :)

Playing around with my camera's settings

Thought this was a shrine until I got closer and saw that it was a grave.

My successful attempt at photostitching!Ü
Our last stop was supposed to be one of the falls found in Cavinti, Laguna but when we asked around how to get there we got discouraged. According to one of the people there, we had to walk down 700 steps to get to the bottom of the falls. 700 steps?!? I don't mind the going down part but think about going up 700 steps?! While carrying my gear?! Next stop, please!Ü

It was still early and we still have not satisfied our hunger to shoot. I suggested going to Laiya, Batangas for some rocks and waters shots with a sunset. I forgot that on that side of Batangas, the sun sets behind a mountain. :( We still had some good shots and Karen even met one of her old classmates staying in La Luz.

HDR

La Luz's cottages at night

Candy and Karen
It was a long day for all of us but it was all good. Thank you Photography Master Aaron Paggabao and Ultimate Master and Lord Drin Collantes for the lessons and for sharing some of your tips to me.

M.I.A.S. and a reunion

2008-09-19T08:17:00.003+08:00

The Manila International Auto Show held last April at the World Trade Center was what I consider one of the biggest automotive shows I have ever been to since I started going to these events. It was my first time to watch world renowned precision driver Russ Swift show off his incredible driving skills! I was so amazed that I even watched it twice. I can't share any photos of his show because I was so in awe of his precision driving.Ü What I can share though are some of the shots I took of the cars and models while waiting for Mr. Swift's show.

With Mr. Russ Swift

It was also during this weekend that I was going to meet up with some old office frieds. It has been more than 2 years since I last saw these guys. They were the first team I handled when I became a supervisor. This group of people have a strong bond between them not because most of them were teammates since training but because their characters compliment each other. Which was why when I was invited by Joanne to join their reunion, I was surprised and happy that even after such a long time they considered inviting me even with the rough times I have given them being their team lead.

Lloyd, Erwin, Ced, Angel, Joanne and Aaron
Maybe we can do this again when the new Singapore residents get back to the Philippines.Ü

R.O.T.C! (Return of the Comeback!)

2008-09-18T11:10:00.003+08:00

I am so sorry blogger. I have neglected you for months. I've haven't been updating my blog for months! I've been busy with a lot of stuff lately and I totally forgot to post some updates.

Now that I am seeing a little bit of space in my schedule (as if I had control over my schedule Ü) plus I need to get some electrons out of my system, I should (not sure, again) be able to update my blog at least once a week. I know it's incredibly late but I'll be posting updates going back to my summer this year. I'm praying that this post starts the proverbial ball rolling. :)

I guess, I can start with birthday greetings. I will take this opportunity to greet some office friends of mine. Belated happy birthday to your Ice-ness, Joe-Maldita, and to the good tree who bears good fruits, Chippy! Also, belated happy 60th birthday to my dad! :)

Family Lunch to celebrate my dad's 60th Birthday, last July 19 (Very recent, right?Ü)

Maldita, Ate Plow and Good Tree Chippy lurking at the back.

Something I made for Ice (a.k.a. Ate Plow) on her birthday (Sorry, I was not able to make something for Joems and GP)

Macro and DIY Light Box

2008-04-03T17:01:00.002+08:00

I borrowed Randy's close-up filter and try out some macro shots using my DIY "light box". It's not a complete light box yet because I still lack the proper lighting equipment. I was just lucky that when I took these, there was enough light coming in to my room that the box was still well lit. C&C are very much welcome.

Note: Forgot to clean the Ferrari cars and only noticed the dirt after I took the photos. (Need to pay attention to detail.)

Tropa Tup's Reunion

2008-04-03T16:33:00.004+08:00

Sunday is considered to be family day. This past Sunday was similar to it when Karena and I went out with our friends Dave and Anne with Baby Via, Barry and Kathy with Selle and Resty. All of whom were married. As usual, we were often asked as to when we would be married. We'll get to that soon enough guys. Just sit tight. :)

It's always fun to be with these guys and I hope even with our busy schedules, we can get to see each other more often. Maybe in Bohol? :)

On a side note, Baby Via is getting bigger and I had fun taking photos of her during Hector's (Karen and Ian's baby) 1st birthday. Check out some of the photos I took.

Boracay 2008 (Day 2)

2008-03-20T17:21:00.004+08:00

We woke up early for our wonderful breakfast of tapa and tocino courtesy of Club Ten. It was a good way to start our second day. Our second day was what I would call our adventure day in Boracay. For Php1300, we went on a boat ride going to Crystal Cove. A nice, small island with a nice view of the open sea and two underwater caves. On our way there, Karen got scared because of the waves. I even told her that the boat ride was a little similar to what I experienced the last time I went to Corregidor. The difference was, the waves in Boracay were less rough compared to Corregidor. :) I was not able to get inside the first cave because the way down was a little narrow considering my size and my camera gear. According to Karen, the first cave was a little scary because it was dark and the waves were really splashing hard that they were not allowed to swim even with a life saver on. We walked around the island to get to the second cave. Inside the second cave, there was an even smaller one that you would have to crouch to get inside but we were not that adventurous so we just stayed near the mouth of the cave.Ü

A couple shots of the view above Cave 1

View from the stairwell going down to Cave 1 (The closest I could get Ü)

On our way to Cave 2 (Prepare for a long walk under the sun)

Cave 2 (Click on the picture to see the note on the entrance to the smaller cave)

On our way back to the boat
We then headed to the snorkelling site and it was like a small port when we got there. I guess the other tourists also thought that it was a good time to go snorkelling. :)

Karen having fun swimming with the fishes

Ice cream sold in the middle of the sea for Php40
We got back just in time for lunch and we ate at Big Mamas Pinoy Hot Pot and Grill. Unfortunately for Karen, they were serving grilled food only during dinner. After lunch and a short break, we then went on a buggy ride heading to Mount Luho for a view of Boracay from above. We were supposed to ride an ATV but Karen was not up to driving so we settled for a buggy. We were supposed to go a butterfly farm as well but we opted to stay longer in Mount Luho and forego the butterfly farm. I was hoping to get some sunset shots there but since it was still early, the sun was still too high for sunset shots.

Sunset at Mount Luho

The other side of Boracay

Some of our photos

Love this quote

Nice little bugger, I mean, buggies :) (Cost: Php2300)
How else would we cap our day but with a dinner at Jonah's with the fruit shake! We knew we made the right choice to have dinner as soon as we tasted the pasta and the pizza. :)

Yummy Pizza from Jonah's
I was not going home without getting a henna tattoo. I think I got bit by the henna bug way too much, though. :)

On our third day, we did not do much since we would be leaving Boracay by noon. We just spent the day with another Jonah's fruit shake. Karen went swimming for a few minutes while I had my henna tattoo retouched.Ü

We had a wonderful time in Boracay. It really is different when you are out on a trip and enjoying the beautiful scenery. My only regret was that Boracay has become too commercialized. The stores/stands found near the beach is quite alright. They do provide some sort of accessibility when it comes to the needs of the tourists. What I do not like are the people who keep on appraching you selling stuff like sunglasses or souvenir wood carvings. These people made me feel like I was walking around in Greenhills where a guy just walks towards me asking me if I would like to buy some DVDs. It is a little difficult to enjoy the beach atmosphere when these "entrepreneur" keep on interrupting your relaxing beach moments. :(

If you are after going out and having fun at night on a beach setting, then Boracay is one of the places you are looking for. However, if you would like to have a relaxing time on the beach, you might be better off going to some other beach/island/province.

Boracay 2008 (Day 1)

2008-03-19T10:18:00.003+08:00

Aaahhh.... Cool sea breeze, powder-like white sand beach, (not so) clear waters...My expectations of Boracay were met, including the high priced activities and number of tourists.Ü (I was a bit disappointed with the algae, though.)

We left Manila at around 8:20AM via Cebu Pacific Airlines and got to Kalibo Airport after 45 minutes. I guess I was so excited that I did not notice the time. We were lucky to have been able to get a room at The Club Ten because their price was so affordable (Php3,700 for 3D/2N) and it already includes transfer to and from the Kalibo Airport. Not bad for those who are on a tight budget and do not mind walking a few feet along a side street to get to the beach. The only trouble we had along the way was the bus ride going to the Caticlan port from the airport. The air conditioning inside the bus was not able to compensate for the heat that day. We got to Club Ten around 12 noon and had very little time for rest. Karen and I were already hungry and after we were done figuring out how we were going to unpack and spend the rest of the day, we went to D'Mall for our lunch. We ate at Mang Inasal because we were so hungry that we no longer tried to look for other places to eat. Besides, we were both getting cranky because of hunger and the heat.Ü

To cool our heads a bit, we went over to Jonah's where I got to taste their famous fruit shakes! I ordered banana mocha shake and Karen had vanilla milkshake.

It was so good that I almost finished the glass before I remember to take a photo of it!Ü

Karen enjoying her vanilla milkshake
Afterwards, we continued went for a leisurely wlak along Station 1 of Boracay and since it was also sunset, I was also scouting for a good place to take sunset photos. It was hard to find a spot with the least number of people because there were already a lot of tourists in Boracay that weekend. Luckily, as the sun went down the crowd was also getting smaller and I was able to setup near the grotto. It was also in front of Nigi Nigi Too where Jerome, Sol and Velvet stayed.

Some sky shots

Karen as Mari Mar Ü

Boracay Sunset

With Jerome, Velvet, and Sol

Grotto
After one bottle of beer with Jerome, Velvet and Sol, we had to call it a night because Karen has not had any sleep since she came from her shift.

That's it for today. I'll continue this tomorrow.Ü

LAKBAYAN Grade Updated

2008-03-19T01:20:00.003+08:00

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

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

Created by Eugene Villar.

I am now a C- Traveler! Woohoo! :)

"I.T." Bonding at Bataan and Corregidor

2008-03-10T08:06:00.003+08:00

Another road trip right after the Panagbenga was something my co-team leads planned spontaneously. Before I went to Baguio, my "I.T." (I.T. - Iwas Trabaho) friends wanted to go out while they still had the same days off. It was only I who had a different schedule but I didn't want to pass up the chance to go to Bataan and Corregidor because I haven't been to Bataan and the last time I went to Corregidor was MANY years ago on one of our high school field trips. Luckily, my application for leave was approved. :)

We first went to Mount Samat where the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) can be seen. It was cloudy when we got there so I was not able to get good shots of the cross but we still managed to have some fun while we were there.

The towering cross atop Mount Samat and some scultures found at its base.
We went up the cross and had a glimpse of what the view was at that altitude.

Moment factor

F."I.T. Five (Fabulous "I.T." Five)
The following day, we woke up early and prepared for our trip to Corregidor via a banca (small fisherman's boat). I had to borrow Master Aaron's dry bag so I can ride the banca at ease knowing that my camera is safe from getting wet.Ü

Here are some the photos I took in Corregidor.

Cannon-ICE-d

Master Doods taking a photo of our top super model, Shen-Shen

F."I.T." Trio - TL Ice, TL Jun-Jun and TL Joems

Malinta Tunnel

Thanks to our "I.T." head Doods "Rick" Nario and his parents for allowing us to stay at their home in Mariveles, Bataan. Doods' parents were so accommodating during our stay that Senyora Ice was already begging to be adopted!Ü Tita Zeny cooked us hearty meals with her famous adobo! Yummy! It was also there that I discovered a very delicious dessert made by Tita Zeny. Sliced banana with caramle syrup! It was just a simple dish of sliced banana covered with caramel. The caramel had the right consistency that it did not make the banana slices crunchy to the bite. TL Jun-Jun fell in love with the dessert so much that he did not even share it with us when we took some home with us. Thank you guys! I had such a blast! Until the next time!

Panagbenga 2008 (Day 3)

2008-03-07T10:10:00.004+08:00

The main event! Sunday, Feb 24, was the parade of the flowers. Although, there was a little rain, the parade will still go on. The rain gave us a hard time because we didn't want to get our gear get wet and we were just standing under the overpass when the parade began. As soon as some of the floats with tons of flowers came down session road, even though it was still drizzling, we went closer to the float and clicked away! Master Aaron and Master Randy showed once again their ingenuity by improvising on covering their lenses. I really didn't fear much for my lens because I trusted Canon when they said that their 70-200mm f/4L IS lens was weather sealed but I knew that my camera wasn't so I had no choice but to just pray that the rain won't get inside my camera. I just had to constantly wipe off the water on my lens and camera..while silently praying.Ü

Master Randy and Master Aaron showing off their supreme ingenuity.Ü

Chowking and their models

GMA Network with some of their stars, Ms. Iza Calsado, Ms. Iwa Moto and Ms. Jewel Mische. (Mr. Alfred Vargas and Mr. Richard Gutierrez were also on the float)

SM

Nescafe's flower float

The winner: SMC's flower float

Here are some more celebrities who joined the parade.From Top-Bottom/Left-Right, Ms. Angelica Panganiban, Mrs. Jodie Santamaria-Lacson, Ms. Kim Chiu, Mr. Jomari Yllana, Ms. Melanie Marquez and Mr. Gerald Anderson.

I had such a blast while I was in Baguio. Hopefully, next year would be better since it's Baguio's centennial as a city. Karen should be with me by then.

Panagbenga 2008 (Day 2)

2008-03-06T10:10:00.002+08:00

We really didn't have much sleep from the previous day because of the incredibly hard time we had when we were trying to hail a cab so we can go home. We didn't know that there was some unwritten law in Baguio regarding getting a cab during night time. Apparently, cab drivers there can afford to choose their passengers that the only way for a person to be able to ride a cab is if you get lucky that one of them pulls over somewhere near you because they have to drop off a passenger. Other than that, it would be best to know how to get to your destination via jeepney or by walking.Ü

Anyway, we did manage to wake up early the following day to catch the preparations for the Panagbenga Street Dance.

Street Dance Preparation
When we learned that the Panagbenga Street Dance was about to start we tried to make our way down to the bottom of Session Road to get a better place to stay and take photos of the parade. We even tried to steal some photos along the way but the people kept on calling our attention because we were blocking their view.

Kids started to get crankyÜ
After the parade, we ate lunch at Andok's along Session Rd. then went back to our transient house for a rest. We tried to review our photos on the small LCDs of our camera's to try and save more space for the Flower parade the following day. We also waited for our photography guru, Ultimate Master Drin Collantes a.k.a. UMDC (famous for his world class photo watermark/signature DCP/2008) to arrive in Baguio. However, he missed the earliest bus ride to Baguio and I believe there were also some problems with the bus liners that day because of the thousands of people who wanted to go see the Panagbenga. We (Master Randy, Master Aaron and I) left for SM Baguio for another shoot around 6pm and meet up with UMDC. The Itchyworms would be playing there plus we also need to back up our photos just to be safe. We do not want to run out of memory card space during the flower parade nor do we want to go back home to Manila with no photos because our memory cards crashed. Good thing Master Randy had his portable hard drive with him. You're my gadgets idol Master Randy!Ü

My Masters (L-R: Master Randy, Ultimate Master Drin Collantes, Master Aaron)

The Itchyworms
As usual, we had another hard time getting a cab ride back to our transient home but it was not as hard as our first night. Thank God!Ü

Another good day for a photo op over. We capped the night off by drinking beer. Sad part was, the four of us shared the single 500ml of Red Horse because the store near our transient house was closed. WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERS, RIGHT?hehe

Panagbenga 2008 (Day 1)

2008-03-05T11:11:00.004+08:00

It was my first time to see Baguio's famous flower festival known as the Panagbenga. I went there together with my family and a few of my office friends, Master Aaron, Master Randy, and our photography guru, Master Drin. **bow**

We went there last Feb. 22 to 24 and I was really excited because it was also my first to go to an event with a photographer's pass. Thanks to Aaron who was able to get us our photographer IDs for the said event. We left Manila at around 5:30AM and we arrived around 12PM. We would have gotten there earlier had it not been for a couple of stop overs.Ü We wasted little time when we got to Baguio because after resting for about two hours Randy, Aaron and I went to Baguio Cathedral to begin our photo op in Baguio. I remembered a funny moment we had while we were there. All three of us were using our wide lenses and after several photos outside the cathedral, we then switched to our zoom lenses. By the time all three of us were ready to shoot, I noticed that we were taking a picture of the same subject with just different angles!Ü I guess noobs think alike, right Master Drin? hehe

Stained glass inside Baguio Cathedral

We then decided to go to SM Baguio to take some Baguio scenery shots. Along our walk to SM Baguio we noticed a cute and "funny" Jollibee balloon sitting on top of the police station. I quoted the word funny because there was something wrong with the balloon. If you are a little imaginative in a naughty sort of way, you will easily notice what I am talking about. I apologize in advance if you find the succeeding pictures a bit offensive or if you find my interpretation of the balloon offensive.

Notice anything "funny"?

How about now?
When we got there it was already late in the afternoon, we took advantage and took several sunset shots.

Sunflower (while walking towards SM Baguio)

View from SM Baguio

Sunset shots at SM Baguio
We then walked down Session Road heading towards Abanao Sqaure for the Abanao Nights. We were hoping we would see Sugarfree, Mojofly and Tropical Depression perform that night but their program for that day was the Globe Kantabataan Competition for the band who will the front act for the Itchyworms who played in SM Baguio the following night. I think Tropical Depression took to the stage in Abanao Square past 11PM. We could no longer wait for them to play because we were so freezing cold and we didn't bring any jacket!

The hosts of the Feb 22 Abanao Night

Globe Kantabataan moments

Too noisy or just too loud?

Walang katulad
That's it for now. I'll post the rest of our adventure hopefully soon. I need to get some rest since I still have work tonight.Ü

Manikako, Future Ko!

2008-02-18T05:44:00.004+08:00

After a couple of weekends of being stuck at home due to sickness, Karen and I were able to go malling! Together with my family, we went to The Podium in Ortigas. Karen hasn't been to Podium so I wanted her to have a look around inside. While we were checking out the shops and doing some window shopping, we didn't know that there wasa fund raising activity being held there. It was Manikako, Future Ko! A Fund Raising Doll Affair. It was a fund raiser to give free art workshops to poor kids. I was not able to ask much because there were a lot of people looking at their exhibit that they were very busy. I was only able to get a photo of the people working at the event. However, here's what I got from their blog site, Manikako.

"Manikako is the launch event of ArtHoc or House of Comfort Art Network, a non profit organization that hosts free art workshops to children."

The dolls are what you can call simple rag dolls. However, the beauty of these dolls comes from heart as the dolls being displayed were designed/dressed by some of our National artists such as Napoleon Abueva, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and other Filipino artists. The basic dolls are for sale for Php250 and either you or their designer can design the doll for you. The event runs from February 16 to 23, 2008. Several were on display and what was supposed to be a simple malling turned out to be a mini photo op for me. You can check out there website at www.manikako.com/.

The staff of Manikako, Future Ko!

Maria Clarang Jeprox

Fairy Dollmother

A doll for photographers/paparazzi
After doing a little more walking around The Podium, I saw a shoe that I really liked in Adidas.

Adidas Originals Porsche Design CMF 3 Lea
I really wanted to buy the shoe, if it wasn't for the price! The shoe costs roughly around Php5000++. I couldn't remember the exact price. I had to control myself and push it down my wishlist for the time being. I still have other things that would need my resources and I believe this wonderful shoe can wait. At least until it goes on sale. **big grin**

B&W

2008-02-17T09:57:00.005+08:00

I took these while I was waiting for our breakfast. I decided to try shooting in black and white and played around with the camera's B&W filter and toning effects.

Original

Toning effect: Sepia

Original

Toning effect: Sepia; Filter effect: Green

Toning effect: Sepia; Filter effect: Red

Filter effect: Orange

Filter effect: Yellow

Out of the ordinary

2008-02-15T13:04:00.006+08:00

Since I've been cooped up in my room for almost a week due to illness. I decided to get out of my routine of watching CSI upon getting home. I grabbed my camera and my new tripod and took some random shots at home.

Dried out

Give it up for the Person above

Hand picked

Can someone help me ID this flower?Ü

Pops

2008-02-15T13:00:00.004+08:00

Please welcome our latest "baby"

Pops

Happy Heart's Day

2008-02-14T10:44:00.002+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Love!

I Love You!Ü

Hate being sick :(

2008-02-13T16:55:00.003+08:00

I haven't been feeling well since coming back from the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta last Thursday. I think it's because of the cold weather and partly because I did not wear any cap or hat during the event that my immune system broke down. What started as a simple sore throat Thursday night worsened to a fever the following day. Just when I thought I was already getting better since my temperature was already going back down to normal, I could not get rid of my coughs and cold. ...arrrgghhh... HATE IT!!!

It's nice to stay home and rest but I'd rather do it when I'm not under the weather. To think that it's almost Valentine's Day! :( Hope to get back my strength/health back and get back to work tomorrow night. (Yes, is this me? Wanting to work rather than stay home? I really am sick. :p)

12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

2008-02-09T07:35:00.004+08:00

I've been wanting to go to Clark Economic Zone for the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta since last year. I finally got to see the spectacle dubbed as the country's biggest aviation sports event (according to the website http://www.philskies.net/library/pihabf2008/). I was able to get my parents to come with me to watch the event and I have to say that it is an awesome sight to behold! I only wish I had an ID pass so I could be inside the field right next to the balloons. I inquired about how to get one and according to the lady, the ID pass was only for the media. Not sure if that is correct. When I was in line to buy our entrance tickets, I saw some of the guys who were also in line got to go inside the event proper. I was not really very happy with my photos because the balloons were facing the sunrise and I had a hard time getting the right exposure for my shots. I had to do some major post processing for several of my photos.

Up, up and away!

A flying octopus

While waiting for the balloons

Silhouette

PhotoWorld Asia 2008

2008-02-03T11:11:00.001+08:00

Randy and I went to PhotoWorld Asia held at the Glorietta Activity Center, from January 31 to February 5. It's a photography convention and trade show organized by the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. The trade show is where you can find the country's leading photo importers, distributors, and dealers. Check out PhotoWorld Manila to know more. I was looking for a tripod for my camera because the gift that I got from Karen a couple of years back can no longer hold my camera steady.Ü This is also the time and place where I can get to live one of my dreams. To use Canon's 1D series! :)

Ms. Tina and Ms. Psyche Canon models

Ms. Psyche

I WANT!!!Ü

Daveanne Shaniqua's First Birthday

2008-02-03T11:00:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday Vhia!Ü

The birthday girl with her mommy

Vhia with her daddy

Vhia with Ninang Karen

Makati Leadership Team at Casa San Pablo

2008-02-03T09:51:00.000+08:00

It was my third trip to San Pablo, Laguna. The first one was when Jboy and Eden got married and the second was when my family together with Karen went to Villa Escudero (which I was not able to post). The leadership team of Makati went to Casa San Pablo (a.k.a. Kay Inay) for our planning session. We were hoping that this planning session would not take too long but I guess we still have a lot to learn and do prior to our planning session in order for our dream of having a four-hour planning session become a reality. :)

We left the office at around 5am and we got there by 8am. While we were getting ready to start the planning session Mr. Boots Alcantara, the owner of Casa San Pablo, gave us a brief introduction about the place and it gave me the feeling that we were all welcome there. Its not usual that an owner would take time to give introductory speeches about the history of the place. The people who worked there were also very friendly and accommodating. Food was also delish so we didn't any comlaints during our breaks.Ü

Boots Alcantara, owner of Casa San Pablo

Founder and CEO of CBG Makati's APF (Amel Piad Foundation)Ü

Shift Kinis Manager Jerome Lanuzo

A little goofing around to keep people from getting stressed outÜ
Casa San Pablo looks like what you would expect from a Bed and Breakfast and it has nothing grand to offer like Villa Escudero's lunch at Labasin falls but I think what Casa San Pablo has to offer is their exemplary customer service. That is something that will make people keep coming back. Hope to get my family to stay there overnight this summer.

A welcome solitude

Care to take a dip

Peep hole

Sablay!

2008-02-03T09:34:00.000+08:00

According to pinoyslang, "sablay" means missed (basketball didnt go in the ring), wrong, not straight, unsuccessful. I highlighted unsuccesful because that's what happened when I tried to get to Barry and Kathy's wedding. Karen and I left the house a little late that day. I tried to catch up but I did not expect the traffic at SLEX so I was not able to make it on time. I was part of their entourage which made things worse. When we got there, the ceremony was almost over and I did not know how to approach them. I was too ashamed to even face them all I could say to both of them was sorry.

Sorry I ruined one of the most important days of your lives. Hope I can make it up too the two of you.

Indiongco - Tiu Nuptial

2008-01-15T11:19:00.000+08:00

January 6, 2008 was a very significant date for an office friend and a good boss of mine before. It was the wedding day of Boss Eileen and Boss Jason. Their wedding was held at the new (and not completely finished Ü) Fernbrook Gardens, Daang Reyna, Las Piñas. As quoted from their website, "Fernbrook Gardens is the latest brainchild of Al de Veyra, the same visionary that designed and created Fernwood Gardens in Metro North." With that said, I was really excited to see the place because I've already seen Fernwoods and I was in awe when I saw the place. True enough, even with the place not finished, I already saw how grand the place would be once finished.

The groom waiting for his bride to arrive

The walk down the aisle

Happily getting married

Bling-bling!Ü

Sealed with a kiss
The wedding went so smoothly that I almost thought that the whole thing was practiced. Eventhough, the guests waited for quite sometime for the bride and groom to come inside the reception, they were able to provide some food and drinks to pass the time but once they came in the program was aslo well executed. I think this was the first wedding I attended where the guests did not finish the program. I still saw a lot of people when we were leaving. I was only able to take a couple of pictures during the reception. Hey, I’m still a guest! I had the privilege to eat.Ü

Their short modelling stint as a couple.Ü

CONGRATULATIONS BOSS EILEEN AND BOSS JASON!Ü

Maceda Clan Reunion

2008-01-09T11:07:00.000+08:00

So glad I was able to attend our annual New Year's day family reunion at one of my grandmother's house in Q.C. I was not able to attend last year because of reasons I can no longer recall.

My cousins having a fun photo with Lola Banjo

After lunch kwentuhan
This happen event unfortunately, didn't end on a happy note because it was also the day that Lola Lourdes died after being in the hospital for several days. She was laid to rest last Saturday at Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina. We will surely miss you Lola Lourdes!

Madmoz_Bomb Reunion

2008-01-09T10:59:00.000+08:00

A day before New Year's Eve, one of my high school barkada, decided to have a reunion 6 months after when Jet came home to visit with his wife last June. This time Gayle was with us but the rest of the gang was not present because had another party to attend. Had so much fun especially when the girls reminisced about their high school days.Ü Maybe this 2008 we can have our reunion out of town. hehe

Serrano - Villanueva Pre-Nup

2008-01-09T10:02:00.000+08:00

I haven't been able to post recently after my posting mania a few weeks back. A week before Christmas I took the opportunity to combine a TropaTups reunion with Barry and Kathy's pre-nup shoot. We really didn't have much time to prepare for their pre-nup so we had to improvise with the schedule constraints and some other stuff. Feel free to criticize the pre-nup photos I took.

I can't believe that Barry and Kathy will be getting married in a couple of days! Congratulations and best wishes to you! :)

Pambihira! I’m broke, again!

2007-12-21T16:22:00.000+08:00

Yes, I’m broke (again) and I’m not done buying gifts for my friends! :( This is because Canon started another sale on their lenses last December 15 (until January 15) and with a price drop of almost Php20k, how can I refuse?!? This is the latest addition to my camera gear.

My first L lens

Sample

Pizza Fiesta! Woohoo!

2007-12-21T16:17:00.000+08:00

Before attending the Simbang Gabi, I went to the office Monday night to distribute my gifts to my bosses, my co-TLs and my team members. I also recalled that it food will be given to the teams in celebration of our recent 85% customer satisfaction rating. The office exchange gift was also scheduled that night. I almost missed the third day of Simbang Gabi because the exchanging of gifts started late. :)

Pizza Stack

TL Ice preparing the exchange gift list (DO NOT DISTURB-ED!Ü)

First Time

2007-12-21T15:59:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was the most hectic yet exciting weekend I have ever had! My team had our GA at Gerry’s Grill in Greenhills, San Juan. It was supposed to be a trip to La Luz but they changed the minds a few weeks before December 15 that’s why we ended up having it in the city. For the record, I still wanted to go to La Luz. The reason the others agreed to change the plans was to give the other members a chance to join the GA but I guess they still had other important things to do that day which was why they were not able to attend. (I had a hard time putting that line in and making it sound positive Ü) Thank you Selle (and Resty), Randy, Marion, Lhoi, Kris, Chris, Dan, Tom-Tom and Badette for spending your precious time and have a small celebration with the team. :)

Afterwards, I had another GA to attend. This time, it’s my shift’s GA and even if Karen and I were not able to sleep much the morning of that day, the venue that my boss chose to hold the GA was so tempting because it would be my first time going to such a place! You’ve heard of having team building sessions in a hotel suite, right? How about a team building session in a motel suite? Being in the Philippines, people here have a different idea when spending time in a motel. I hope people do not get into trouble with the pictures I posted. :)

Inside Shhh...

Whoa!Ü

Shen-Shen PG

Is that what I think it is? A flashlight?Ü
Now that I drank beer and been to a motel, what else needs to be done? It’s not really something I needed to do. Rather it is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Be able to attend the Simbang Gabi (Christmas evening mass), again. Check out this website to find out more about Simbang Gabi, http://www.rcam.org/library/SIMBANG_GABI.htm. I filed for a week long leave to be able to do it and took advantage of the opportunity to be able to hear mass with my family everyday, for nine days until Christmas. Hopefully, I can save my leaves and have weekends off schedule to be able to continue doing this tradition next year. :)

First night (Jesus the Divine Healer Parish)

Hello Kiddos!

2007-12-21T15:50:00.000+08:00

Please welcome the latest addition to our (Karen and I) growing family!Ü

Raine

Baby Kha and Baby Pacs

Sam and Alicia

New kids on the block

Still growing!Ü

New Team Pacs Pacunayen

2007-12-21T15:46:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to share a photo of my team with its new members taken by TL Edu Nario. My outbound team together with my tech review team (not complete, though). I think he will be using it on the banner he’s designing for the site to show off our latest and greatest (at least for now) achievement, 85% customer satisfaction! 90% customer satisfaction will be coming anytime soon! :)

Doughnut Bai!

2007-12-21T15:39:00.000+08:00

It was a great follow up to have a doughnut day, thanks to our site’s HR, 24 hours after our house warming party. Giving everyone a little moral boost. The sugar rush was something I didn’t need because I ate lot of food the day before. Unfortunately, I was convinced after a long heated argument with my colleagues to get one doughnut courtesy of Go Nuts Donuts’ Holiday doughnuts. Alright, alright! My co-TLs just asked me once and I happily obliged. :) tsk tsk tsk

Go Nuts Donuts

Sneak Peak

The Nth Site Makati Matrix CBG House Warming Party

2007-12-21T15:26:00.000+08:00

I think I’ve been in at least 3 house warming parties for Matrix since I’ve been with site Makati. We’ve always been the program of choice when it comes to moving from one floor to another. To accommodate other program’s needs, in terms of workstations, Matrix has been the “lucky one” because of our “flexibility”. Although, it has not been always a nice experience when moving to a different floor (UATs and all) I guess the good thing about it is we have a celebration every time! We had the party last December 11 and to top it off, we were also the first site to reach a program milestone of 85% customer satisfaction! Gidjeb everyone! :)

Big Bosses Mahesh, Joe and Keith

TL GP having a party of his ownÜ

Behind the scenes

TL Ice's fall back career

Whoa! Intimate moment?Ü Keith and Amel

Welcome EldersÜ

Urban Glam

2007-12-21T15:18:00.000+08:00

So many things happened this December and allow me to start my series of posts with my company’s Urban Glam Christmas Party held last December 2 (Early isn’t it? Ü). Like what the title suggests, the theme was Hip-Hop and the people were so into the theme that a lot of them really looked glamorous! It was somehow refreshing to see old and new faces looking different. It is during these times that I see one of the reasons a lot of (young) people are considering going into the call center. *wink wink*

We got there late so I was not able to take good photos of the party. My site’s dance group also won the dance competition that night! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! :)

Merienda at Dayrit's

2007-11-25T20:08:00.000+08:00

Just wanted to share the afternoon me and my family had today. After we went to San Juan to look for a dinner table, we decided to have merienda at Dayrit's Magallanes. The last time I remembered eating at Dayrit's was way back when I was in grade school! I am glad that they are not totally closed and Karen was able to taste their burger. My mom influenced her into eating my usual order of Burger Ghetti because of the burger.

Dayrit's Magallanes

Dayrit's Burger Ghetti
Hope to get back there soon!Ü

Savory Beowulf in 3D

2007-11-24T08:35:00.000+08:00

Karen and I finally had the chance to watch Beowulf in 3D yesterday! After we got Karen's TIN ID from BIR Las Piñas, we went straight to MOA to buy the tickets. We got there early and lucky for me, I bought the UP Commemorative plate or else I would have been caught by the traffic enforcers in Pasay because I forgot that my car was coding yesterday.Ü Since it was still early we still had time to walk around MOA and looked for a pet store. Karen needed to buy Myong and Dyoknok (Karen's 2 dogs) new collars and leashes. While we were on our way to the pet store, I saw a familiar sign a few feet away and as we got closer I knew where we would be having our dinner after the movie. At long last my craving for Savory Chicken will be satisfied!ÜÜÜ

Classic Savory Chicken MOA

Savory Chicken Half Order (Simply Perfect! Php170++)

Stir Fry Beef with Broccoli (Php190++)

Savory Fried Rice (Php140++)

B-U-S-O-G!Ü
Beowulf was awesome! Not to mention that the whole movie was in 3D so it was more than worth watching it on IMAX.Ü Then capping the day off at Savory was the cherry on top!Ü

The Classic Savory Chicken
1st Level, Entertainment Mall
Central Business Park
Bay Blvd., Bay City
Pasay City

Auto Salon 2007

2007-11-16T22:05:00.000+08:00

Just got back from SM MOA to check out the 2007 Auto Salon being held in SMX Convention Center. This event is from Nov 15 - 18, 2007 and it showcases a lot of very well tuned and customed cars, trucks and motorbikes. I was not able to take a close look at all of the automobiles displayed and the models who add spunk to the cars because Karen's brothers were going to watch Beowulf. We were all supposed to watch the movie in IMAX and see it in 3D but Karen still has work tonight. We looked around the show for only about 5 minutes and it really made me want to come back tomorrow and probably on Sunday if I don't get satisfied with my photos. :) Will try to provide more photos tomorrow. Hopefully, I could also finish post processing my other photos from the other car shows I went. :) Maybe I can also find the people who would be willing to customize my car for a lower prize (maybe even free!Ü) and they can use it anytime they would like to join car shows such as this. (hint hint to automobile customizing shops hehe Ü)

Thinking of getting my Giselle (GSR) a bumper kit like this :)

Mobile

Hope I could get to meet some of these fine ladies to start my portfolio.Ü

UPDATE: I was able to go back last Saturday and took some more photos of the event. Feel free to check them out on my flickr account.Ü

Pizza Company

2007-11-12T09:17:00.000+08:00

I've always wondered how good the pizza is at Pizza Company. Finally, we got to try their food last October at their branch in Festival Mall, Filinvest, Muntinlupa. I have to say that we were not disappointed. The pizza was really good! Their pizza dip was also delicious! It really blended and added more flavor to the pizza. Their serving is not as big as those pizza shops with pizza sizes as big as 18inches but I think it is enough for two people. Karen and I are not just your regular people so we still ordered carbonara.Ü The people were also very accomodating and they are eager to help out with ordering the pizza. Take a look at what we had.

Filly couldn't wait to taste what we ordered!Ü

New Toys!

2007-11-12T05:08:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to post this as soon as I got my babies but I think I was still in heaven. :) I bought these lenses during the Canon Sale last September and I could not resist buying them since the drop on the prices were REALLY big! They were also my birthday/Christmas gifts to myself. So here they are and some sample shots.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM (Loving this lens!Ü)

Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 USM

Canon EF 50mmf/1.8 II (My savings from the sale got me the opportunity to buy this as well.Ü)
Sample shots

Canon EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM Sample

Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 USM Sample (Haven't really had the chance to shoot landscapes with this one.)

Canon EF 50mmf/1.8 II Sample

For me? Thank you! :)

2007-10-24T14:48:00.000+08:00

My very first award on the internet. Thank you so much Mich for giving me this Friendly Site Award!

Really appreciate it! I would like to share this awardwith my other online buddies, Selle, Peachy and Karen.

Guess where we went earlier today :)

2007-10-13T14:11:00.000+08:00

Early morning shopping

DOF (What I've always wanted to do)

Rosie! Favorite mo! hehe

Suki! We can't get enough of Symphony Sweets cakes! :)

Where the rich in Makati do their market shopping Ü
Yup! Karen and I missed going to the Salcedo Weekend Market. We went there with some of the CBG Makati TLs Ice, Joems, Jun-Jun, Onie and Boss Amel. Boss Jerome was supposed to join us but I guess, he was busy with his emails. hehe

We were not able to mingle with the TLs much because I was concerned about Karen. She's not used to staying up long after her shift so I had to make our shopping, breakfast and photo-op quick. Of course a visit to the Salcedo Weekend Market is not complete without stopping by Symphony Sweets and buying at least one of their delicious cakes!Ü

I had the Nasi Goreng (some kind of seafood fried rice) while Karen bought the spicy talong with bagoong (but without the chili pepper Ü)

I'll try this one next time. Getting hungry just thinking about Symphony Sweets Cakes!Ü
Maybe the next time we go there more of the CBG Makati people can join us.Ü

Benjamin Ross is One

2007-10-08T06:25:00.000+08:00

Benjamin Ross, Tads' baby boy and my inaanak, just celebrated his first birthday at Big Red Barn, Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas last Saturday, October 6. It was the first time that Karen and I got to see the Fun Ranch. It's really a haven for kids and kids at heart!Ü Although, we were not able to go around to check out the place but based on what I saw, the stores are tailor-made for little children. There was a coffee shop for kids (Could not remember which coffee shop it was, though). The little toy booths. There was even a toy store where they have a Barbie salon inside where little girls can have their hair fixed ala Barbie.Ü

The Big Red Barn has a very large play pen where kids can play around with other kids which can keep them preoccupied for hours. Enough time for their parents to enjoy their food.Ü There was free face and body painting for their guests. We got there early because we went there right after my shift so Karen was able to get one on her arm. I never really asked about Grace's profession and I think we saw what it was during the party. If I'm not mistaken, she's a preschool teacher because she was the one who hosted the party and she was so into the games for the kids similar to what preschool teachers do to get the kids' participation in the activity.Ü Here are some of the pictures that I took.

Love PG!Ü

Peek-a-boo Ü

Baby Benjamin clapping together with mommy

Who's blowing the candle?Ü

One Happy Family

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BABY BENJAMIN!Ü

Free-View

2007-10-05T11:21:00.000+08:00

I was tagged by Mich to share my Desktop to the rest of the blogging community. :)

This is one of my pictures when we went to Sigayan Bay Beach Resort Laiya, San Juan, Batangas. I find it relaxing. :) I have a lot of icons (a lot I really don't useÜ) but they serve as a reminder for me that I have such an application installed in my PC.Ü

I wish to see the desktops of selle, randy, cj, and andrea.

Note: Copy Starts Here!

Desktop Free View Instruction:

A.Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:

[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).

[3] If you wish, you can â€œeditâ€ the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

iRonnie - I Set No Corner

Thess - Thesserie

Rebecca - Skippy Heart

Knoizki - A Dialogue With K

Beng - Kauderwelch

- domlawrenceOSB

- bluepanjeetâ„¢ OTWOMDâ„¢

Marie @ Vanidosa Marie and Vanidosa at blogspot

Ems @ Just Let Go and Pieces of Me

Yen @ Me and Mine, Little Peanut and Our Pea in a Pod

Alpha @ my blog
Mich @ Random Thoughts
Pacs @ Pac Daddy

Subic (mis)Adventure

2007-10-04T11:29:00.000+08:00

After much planning and preparation for our trip to Subic (with just Karen and I), we finally had the adventure (or should I say mis-adventure Ü) we wanted to have. Mind you this was right after I got home from La Luz, Laiya, Batangas so I really didn't have that much rest. We left the house at 5AM so we can avoid the weekend traffic of the North Luzon Expressway. However, we were not so lucky because after we stopped over at Burger King at Shell, we got into some heavy traffic because of some road repairs being made not to mention the drivers who were looking on the road accident that happened on the southbound lane of NLEX. I also not familiar with the road to Subic so I was not able to drive as fast as I wanted. It was raining so hard on our way to Zoobic and I was already thinking of going to the Tiara Crowne Peak Appartelle first and wait for the rain to stop. I had Karen help out with the navigation but because she was not really used to doing that we missed the turn to get to Tiara so I just went ahead and drove straight to Zoobic Safari. We got there at around 10AM and the rain was still pouring hard. I didn't want to waste our vacation so I decided to continue with the tour despite the strong rains. I think we made the right decision because the tour continued. Thank God there were two umbrellas inside RV so I was still able to take some pictures. On a side note, there were also some people there who were from eTelecare. I was not sure if they were from the recently acquired AOL site or from the recruiting team who went to Subic.Ü Here are some of the photos I was able to take while waiting for the tour to start.

Our tour guide Nolen

Tiger Cub Lilo
We first went to the Zoobic Park. Just like your typical zoo, different kinds of animals are there. Some were caged while some were free to roam around the park. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a lot of good photos because I was only holding my camera with one hand while the other is holding the umbrella.Ü

Duck Walk

More ducks enjoying the rain

Black BabeÜ

A few goats who do not want to get wet

A cross-breed between a horse and a pony
After the Zoobic Park we went to the Serpentarium where you will find different kinds of reptiles.

Burmese Albino Python

Iguana

That must be one heavy shell for its size Ü
After walking for about 30 minutes, it was now time for the Tiger Safari! I was very much excited to get up-close to some large cats. Even with the heavy down pour of rain, these tigers were still very active and were eager to pounce on the chicken that our group bought to feed them. The chicken though was a little pricey for 200Php but the experience of seeing them get agressive just to grab the chicken was awesome! Check out the shots I got.

Waiting for the food

Finger-Lickin' Good (KFC)

My... What big teeth you have!Ü

Say AHH..

One of the tigers stalking us
After the safari, we were then given a tour around the rest of the zoo via a trambia. We were given the option to bring out car or avail of their trambia. I suggest riding their trambia since it only costs 50Php. We were brought to the Savannah where the ostriches were. There was also another Tiger close encounter where we were able to view the tigers inside their cages.

Kha inside the trambia

Some sleepy tigers :)
We were also brought to the Crocodile Land.

Crocoloco
It was a very educational experience for both Karen and I. I hope to bring my parents with us when we go back here before going to Baguio.Ü After the Zoobic Safari tour, we went (more like searched) for Tiara Crowne Peak where we were booked to stay overnight. If you are on a tight budget, then this could be a good place to stay overnight. Although, if you have money to spare, you might want to consider other places. We were expecting a hotel type with regard to the room and their service but I guess that's what we get for 2000Php. They had no room service, which is important because the nearest food establishment (without worrying about the taste and quality of the food) is about 30mins away.

Our next stop before we went home was Ocean Adventure. It was about 15 minute drive away from Zoobic Safari and we were getting more excited because it was not raining on our way there. However, I don't think a trip to Subic would not be complete without being caught by the SBMA police because of their very strict traffic laws. Honestly, they have certain traffic laws there that are not being implemented here in Manila so the warning people always saw about Subic and their traffic laws need a little more emphasis. When you go there, drive like you are driving around the US and you won't get caught violating their traffic laws. We were lucky that the SMBA police who caught us were kind enough to let us go with a stern warning since we were just first time tourists. :) My suggestion is to give out flyer about their traffic rules. That would really help tourists enjoy their trip more instead of worrying about the traffic laws.

Going back to my happy thoughts, going to the Ocean Adventure was the best way to spend our last day in Subic. The park was very well layed out. They also had a small zoo inside so you're not restricted to seeing just dolphins, fishes and other sea animals. We missed the first dolphin and sea lion shows but we looked around the park and I was able to take some pictures of the dolphins and some false killer whales during their playtime and training. The false killer whales were somehow checking us out when we got there like they were trying to put on a small show for us and my camera.Ü

False Killer Whales

Bottlenose Dolphins
While waiting for the shows, we first got inside their aquarium. Karen and I were so amazed upon seeing the different types of fishes. The corals were also beautiful! That was as close as I could get to seeing live corals. Maybe soon I will get to see them in ther natural habitat.Ü

Since we still had time, we then went to see their mini zoo. It was something like a rescue center since they only have a very small collection of animals.

The entrance to their mini zoo

At around 1230PM, we then headed to the Dolphin Show. I think the show would have lasted longer that what we saw but because the dolphins were being distracted, they had to adjust the show and feature just one bottlenose dolphin and 2 false killer whales. Here are some of the photos I took during the show.

After the show we had our lunch at their restaurant. The food is a bit expensive but food was ok. The lasagna I had was quite delectable so I didn't mind paying 175Php for it. Plus I was also hungry.Ü Afterward lunch, we went to the Sea Lion Show and met Coby and Simba, two of the stars in the sea lion show. It was again an educational show since the show was not all about what the sea lions can do but more on how we can help save them and the environment.Ü

Meet Coby

Here's Simba
On our way out, we had to pass through their gift shop. Karen and I would also like you to meet our Subic Babies.Ü

Coby, Blush and SimbaÜ
Until our next adventure!Ü

Site Makati's Planning Session at La Luz

2007-10-04T07:53:00.000+08:00

It's the start of Q4 and since CBG Makati is in it's somewhat infant stage, old Site Makati TLs but with Boss Amel as a new Operations Officer In Charge (OOIC), we needed to have a relaxing but fruitful planning session. I was excited when Boss Jerome chose La Luz as our venue for our planning session because it was my first time to go there. I've heard so many things about La Luz and how beautiful the beach was. IMHO, the beach was not really out of the ordinary, except probably with the how we got there. It was my first time to experience going up a mountain to get to the beach. I think it was because of this that La Luz had the feel of a secluded beach.Ü The cabanas were also nice and very relaxing. The mandatory 900Php for the food was worth it because the food tastes great and it was a buffet!Ü The rooms were also well designed and I suggest going there as a group of at least 4 to fully utilize their rooms. I guess the biggest difference between La Luz and the nearby beaches with the Sigayan/Kabayan beaches is the water. Sea life is more abundant in La Luz compared to Sigayan. According to TL Berns, even saw an eel while snorkling in La Luz' beach.

We missed out on the beautiful skies the previous day but I was not a loss because the planning session we had was a good one. Ideas were flowing freely and there was a feeling of ownership since the action plans set mostly came from the TLs.

Doods and I were hoping to get clear skies the following morning after the planning session but the weather was not on our side. I had a hard time taking pictures of the beach because of the thick haze even with a polarizer. I wanted to go to the other side of the beach were there were a lot of rocks along the shore but my enthusiasm was dampened due to the hot and very cloudy weather. I will surely go back there but I'll plan it to make sure that I get clear skies when I do. :)

Here are some of the pictures I took while I was there.

A couple of shots during our planning session breaksÜ (Last photo taken by Doods)

I wish we got the same weather conditions the following day

Night shots

Candle light dinner

Tama na yan inuman na!

Bacardi 151

Gasera

La Luz

Nuni..nuninuu... Nuninuninuninu..Nuni...nuninuu...Ü

Rock Formation

Enjoying the cabana
Until the next planning session. Hopefully we can do ocular inspection by then! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Brent!Ü

2007-09-26T19:13:00.000+08:00

Cute Baby Brent, Lloyd's youngest kid, just celebrated his 1st Birthday last Sunday. It was refreshing to see a children's party with the balloons and small tables and chairs for the kids. Been used to going to birthday parties with overflowing booze and heart-stopping food (a.k.a. fatty food). Karen was having a blast because there were so many balloons that she didn't really know where she wanted her picture to be taken. There was a clown and trees made of balloons and balloons of different shapes and sizes hanging from the ceiling. Karen was having so much fun with them that she wanted to bring home one of the tree balloons. Had I brought RV instead of Giselle, we might have. (Whew! Buti na lang!Ü) Lloyd and Melissa also had a great idea when they placed a small food stand that served french fries and fish balls for kids (and kids at heart) who might be hungry and just wants a small snack. A good way to keep the kids busy and yet stay in one place so the parents/guardians can eat and mingle for a short while.

Unfortunately, Lucky and Eunice were not able to come with us because they had other things to do. Good thing Mane was there to keep us company since Karen only knew a few of the people there. Pepe, Mane's little boy, was also having fun that Mane had a difficult time asking him to stay put for a few photos. Good thing I already bought a fast lens (I'll talk about this soon. Ü) or else it would have been agonizing for Pepe to stay in one place for more than 10 seconds! hehe

Check out the balloons on the stage! (Wish I could fit in one of these chairs again.Ü)

Brent's Birthday Cake

Kha and her love for balloons Ü

Mane and Kha

Mane and Pepe with Barney

Kha with Barney

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BABY BRENT! :)

House and Lot for Sale

2007-09-26T16:18:00.000+08:00

My parents are in the real estate business and they just recently finished renovating our house in BF which they are selling. I was not able to take much pictures because there were to buyers who were looking around the house but here are some of the pictures that I was able to take.

Facade

Kitchen

Master's Bedroom

Master's Bathroom

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 1 Bathroom

Maid's Quarters (At the back of the house)

Lanai
I really do not have the details but in case you are interested or you know someone who might be interested, please feel free to contact (+632)9195524476 and inquire about the house.Ü

Roque - Frias Nuptial

2007-09-26T14:38:00.000+08:00

This is the other important event that I mentioned on my earlier post. This time I attended the wedding of an old high school friend of mine held in Sanctuario de San Jose, East Greenhills, San Juan last March 8, 2007. Another late post and I haven't even sent her a copy of the pictures! It's because I'm not sure which email address I can use. :)

It was such a long time since the last time I saw Ochie. I was hoping that the rest of the Wizpah, my other high school barkada, would be able to see the wedding itself but I guess it wasn't really possible because they all had work that day. I was just lucky that my leave got approved which was why I was able to attend.Ü We really didn't have that close a relationship like the rest of the Wizpah barkada because she was not able to attend our get together much but being the first one to get married in the barkada, I couldn't let that pass!Ü I didn't think she was even aware that I was there until the end of the wedding and I was already mingling with their official photographer because we had almost the same gear except for the flash. Hehe It was fun because Ochie's official photographer was like doing a normal photo op and kept on showing his shots to me and comparing with mine. It was a good learning experience so I really didn't mind comparing photos and camera settings. :) Anyway, here are some of the shots I took. I didn't really get much during the wedding because they were so far up the altar that I was shy to keep on walking around and going up the altar. After all, I was just a guest and I might mess up their video if I suddenly pop up in their shot. I was also kinda messing around with the camera and the flash so there would be little to very obvious foul ups in the photos. Sorry about that Ochie. :(

Ochie

The bride with her Mom and Dad

The flower girls

A shot of the couple in front of the altar of Sanctuario de San Jose

The couple with the priest (Cool goatee!Ü)

Wacky shot with their friends

I was also lucky to have also taken some pre-reception shots with San Juan's sunset as the background.

Amore

Taken at the Lobby of Wack-Wack Country Club

Wedding Cake

The reception was held at the Wack-Wack Country Club and I waited for Niña, Jouie, Cathy and Renn to arrive before I went in because when I check we were seated on separate tables. Gino was late so he was not able to join the picture taking with the couple. Luckily Ochie's cousin was able to provide us with a table where we can all be together.Ü

Renn, Cathy, Niña, Jouie, me with the newly wed.
We also took advantage of this rare chance that we were all together so we headed to Greenhills for a little catch up chat. We really didn't stay long since they still had work in the morning. I hope we can see each other again during the holidays. Miss you guys!

Best Wishes Ochie! Hope you can invite us to your future baby's baptism. Dra. Niña Gaerlan will be one of the Ninangs! Hehehe

Baldoria - Alzona Nuptial

2007-09-26T13:03:00.000+08:00

I finally found time to blog about one of the two important events that I went a few months back. No excuses here because it's all my fault. Anyways, better late than never, right? hehe

Ryan, an office mate of Randy and I, got married last March 3, 2007. Yes, you read it right, this should have been posted way back in March. Laziness is such a deadly disease! :( Going back, Randy and I offered if we could be his unofficial photographers since they already hired a photographer. Not to mention that I'm not that good with events photography and I still considered myself as a novice and still need to hone my skills. I also did not have the right equipment during that time and I am somewhat thankful for the opportunity Ryan gave me because I was forced to buy the necessary flash and zoom lens that I needed for his wedding. Gave me a chance to learn how to take photos with them. The shoot was fun even though there were times that his official photographers were trying to muscle their way into getting the position that I already have to get a better picture.Ü Ryan and Mafe were also very easy to photograph because they were always smiling during the whole ceremony. I'm sure it's because they are both happy to finally get married but I think there was also some priest factor in those smiles because of the little blunders from the priest. An example that I can recall was "Do you accept her, Ryan, as your husband?"Ü It was also the first time that I saw an adult ring bearer (JJ) and flower girl (Elaine)! They even have a little bride and a little groom! Hehe

The Groom (directing traffic before the wedding started)

The Bride

Ryan's Parents

Saying their vows

Wearing of the rings

Should have been candid but Mafe's radar was fast :)

The kiss

The newly wed with the little bride and little groom
It rained hard when we got to the Mango Farm for their reception so they had to delay the ceremonies and I was only able to get a few pictures because I was afraid that my camera would get wet. Here are some of the shots that I was able to take before and after the rain.

The wedding cake

Ice sculpture before and after the rain (Amazing how it still had its form after the rain)

Another kiss before letting the doves fly

Congratulations on your wedding Ryan and the baby that you'll be having. Or should I say have? :)

Eu.. N-I-C-E..

2007-09-07T14:05:00.000+08:00

Met another one of Karen's friends last weekend, Eunice, at Mojito Bay SM Mall of Asia. We were supposed to just stay at home and get some rest but we wanted to help out a friend who needs to relax and get even a tiny bit of stress out of her system. It was actually a good idea because Karen rarely sees her old buddies, especially Lloyd, because of their busy schedules. It was also nice to finally meet Eunice in person.Ü

We didn't get to spend much time there because Eunice had to go home early to take care of important matters. When things get better, we can probably have another get together somewhere in the metro or better yet an out of town gimmick.Ü

Kha, me, Lloyd, Lucky and Eunice

Hello, I'm Blue...

2007-09-07T13:57:00.000+08:00

I'm not really sad nor grumpy...
It's just an image.Ü

Balay Indang

2007-09-07T12:13:00.000+08:00

I was a little bit confused about whether I would enjoy the WTE we had for the leadership team. Confused because of the office problems that have been going on before we went there. Wait, let's not go there now and I don't want additional stress while writing this post. Anyway, I did have some fun while interacting with the rest of the TLs not to mention the fun Joems, Doods and I had when we walked around the place and have our photo-op.Ü

Balay Indang is a very good place to relax and unwind. The huge garden had a very beautiful landscape and the inside was well decorated with various things such as antique furnitures to Thai Buddhas. They even setup some picnic tables and a few hammocks around the area. They even have a recreation area for those who can get easily bored with nature and needs a touch of civilization. The recreation area is right beside Balay Indang's pool and it had a pool table, some old board games like dama, tic-tac-toe, sungka, a magic sing and a mahjong table! Master Berns had to teach TL Ice, OM Ycel, SM Erica and SOIC Jerome how to play mahjong and they got hooked on it like our lolo's and lola's back in their days.Ü Joems and I played sungka and I lost. Hehe.. We even had some activities like a weird tug-o-war with 4 teams pulling all at the same time. This was where I hurt my self and burnt my hand because the rope had no knots to hold on. I tried to tie the rope around my hand (STUPID IDEA) to have a better grip but it slipped. We wanted to get a massage since they had one but I think we were all too tired to even ask for one so we got to bed earlier than the rest of the TLs. The rooms are nice and have airconditioning. Convenient especially on hot days. Each room had its own bathroom, which I think needed an exhaust fan in case somebody needs to take a dump. (Sorry, no positive scripting there.Ü) The idea of using white stones as the flooring for the shower area, it was a but painful when you're bare foot so I suggest bringing an extra pair of slippers for taking a bath. Balay Indang was also prepared with a mosquito repellant because the mosquitos there are very much hardcore. I mean, it hurts when they bite, and they linger around you even if you try to shoo them away. You'd have to kill them just to get rid of them! This was why I had to go back in and forget about taking long exposure photograph that night.Ü

The food was also delicious and enough to feed a family with a BIG appetite. You will never feel hungry because they served us breakfast, lunch and dinner with meriendas in between! The people were also very nice and accomodating.

I would definitely suggest going there to relax. Eventhough, its a little pricey for me (~1,700Php to 1,800Php per person) I would try to go back there possibly with some friends or family. Place is too big for just two persons. Hopefully, I could afford to go to places like this more often (envying Anton Diaz right now..Ü).

I Got A D?!?

2007-08-29T01:33:00.000+08:00

My Lakbayan grade is D!

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

Created by Eugene Villar.
I got this from a Randy. Don't know if this is even accurate because I don't feel like I've seen much. Need (more like want Ü) to go out more and see the beauty that is the Philippines! :) Hopefully, I'll be able to improve my grade soon. Would need additional resources (aka moolah) to do this, though. :(

Double Date

2007-08-20T11:08:00.000+08:00

We were supposed to have a team GA last Saturday but thanks to the typhoon, we had to postpone it. Barry was on leave that day to be able to join so I thought, why not make the most out of the rainy day and just have a small get together with old friends. Kha and I met with them at Pier One, Fort Bonifacio since this was the place I know that everyone could meet half way with regard to travel time and distance. However, unforseen circumstances happened that night that the get together turned out into a double date.Ü Though, it would have been nice to have everyone around, we still managed to have fun. Mix a couple of drinks, some good food with a lot of catching up stories, how could it go wrong! Hopefully we can have the Tropa Tups complete the next time we meet. Too bad I was not able to take pictures. :(

PS: You know you are starting to "mature" if you couldn't stand being seated beside loud speakers that are playing remixed songs. Guess we've started to out-grow being "party" people.Ü

BIG Happy Family and Growing

2007-08-20T10:57:00.000+08:00

Introducing the newest members of the family.

L-R: Une, Sunny, Sunchai, Keiko and Flo

Kha's Funshine Bear PillowÜ

The family' still growing!Ü

Happy 7th Birthday Aubrey

2007-08-20T10:53:00.000+08:00

Happy 7th Birthday Aubrey!Ü

Baby Calvin's Baptism

2007-08-20T10:45:00.000+08:00

Welcome to the Christian World Baby Calvin!Ü

Movie Week

2007-08-16T10:25:00.001+08:00

We seem to be on a movie week since Sunday. Karen and I have already seen 2 movies, Rush Hour 3 and A Love Story.

Rush Hour 3 was an OK movie for me. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker still had their magical touch when it comes to mixing comedy and martial arts action. They antics in the movie were so hilarious that it was able to make up for the predictability of the story. Its predictability was what hurt the movie. The movie was also fast paced but thanks for being action and comedy packed, you can let go of the idea that the movie was a little bit short. I also found it weird that Lee (Jackie Chan's character) and Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada's character) were able to understand each other even if they spoke different languages in the movie. Lee spoke in Chinese while Kenji in Japanese! I think Rush Hour 3 is still alright to be watched in the big screen but I would have waited for the DVD release to get more from it.

A Love Story is another must see movie IMHO. Karen and I watched this on its opening day yesterday at Festival Supermail despite the storm yesterday. I rarely appreciate Filipino movies because if most of the stories are pretty much the same so it gets quite boring to watch. However, this movie was very well thought. Nice work by its Director, Maryo J. delos Reyes, on how the story went and how he unfolded it. I had a hard time watching it because it was so heavy on the heart that I found it very hard to get angry at the characters. Instead, I felt pity for all of them because each of them had their own problems and that its hard to say who's to blame for all of their problems. I won't say any further as I might give out the story so I'll just leave it here.

Movies lined up: Surf's Up and Bourne Ultimatum (I'd have to watch Bourne Identity and Supremacy first before Ultimatum.Ü)

Jumbo Hotdog

2007-08-05T08:26:00.000+08:00

I could not resist posting this one. Ang kulit! Hehe

Thriller

2007-08-05T08:09:00.000+08:00

I got this from an office friend. I now believe that you can find something fun to do anywhere you may be. Ayos to Kapau! hehe

Here's another one. Enjoy!

Double Header

2007-07-29T10:03:00.000+08:00

Last night Karen and I went to Festival Mall to watch Ouija and The Simpsons Movie. I'm more of a feel good movie king of guy and horror flicks are really not my thing. Not since I saw The Exorcist (Director's cut) that I started to get scared of horror flicks. hehe However, Karen loves watching thses kinds of flicks and I thought why not give her a chance. The trailers of Ouija looked good to me and I like the cast. I won't go into the details of the movie but kudos to the cast and crew because I found it to be a nice movie. I got scared while watching but somehow I was not really as scared as I thought I would be in the movie house. Watching a horror movie with other people can sometimes take the scare out of you. I found it a little funny when the audience would scream when the ghosts are about to appear. Still I found Ouija to be more than I expected it to be. I would recommend this movie.

Of course wouldn't let myself go to sleep with the images of Quija in my mind. How else would you do this but by watching another movie. A comical nonsense movie like The Simpsons Movie. Its not really all nonsense. Just like your typical Simpsons show on TV, it tries to teach some morals but is more often than not twisted by the writers of the show. It had a lot of laughs but I also felt that some of the jokes were not as funny. Maybe its me and I would buy its DVD but not as eagerly as waiting for the Transformers DVD. I felt they were trying so hard to make the movie last more than 30 mins in order to make it into a movie. I guess I'll just stick to the Simpsons TV Show. :)

Philippine Call Centers Are Music To The Ears of American Callers

2007-07-27T07:44:00.000+08:00

Just wanted to share an article about the industry that I am in and my company, eTelecare Global Solutions.

Reference: CNNMoney.com

Philippine Call Centers Are Music To The Ears of American Callers
July 18, 2007: 08:05 PM EST

Jul. 18, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily) --
The playwright George Bernard Shaw famously quipped that "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." Any American who's called tech support lately might feel the same way about India.
Many tech firms are outsourcing their call centers to India, thanks to its surfeit of high-tech workers at low wages who speak English. But that English, inherited from Britain and processed through Indian phonemes, can be hard for Americans to understand.
That's one reason why the fastest growing call-center market right now is the Philippines.
As a former U.S. colony, it picked up American English right from the source. The fact that hundreds of thousands of Filipinos have family in the U.S. keeps the two cultures connected.
Growing Industry
According to Robert W. Baird, the Philippine call-center industry is growing 40% a year. That compares to 23% for India and 1% for the U.S.
ETelecare Global Solutions ETEL was in early on that trend. In 1999 two former workers at McKinsey & Co. set up shop in Quezon City, near Manila. The team saw that the linguistic amity could let it offer higher-end services than the typical offshore call center.
"Our core philosophy is that we want to be a value-added provider, not a commodity provider," Chief Executive John Harris said. "So we look for opportunities where we handle more complex voice interactions -- those that require certifications for the agents or extensive training."
ETelecare backs this up with a complex system of metrics to show exactly how much they're worth to their clients.
For instance, the firm values its services for an unnamed telecom at $11million a year. It reckons that every 1% improvement in customer satisfaction generates $1.12 per hour, while every 1% rise in up-selling and cross-selling yields $3.60 an hour. The company clocks its sales conversion rate at 25% and its dissatisfaction rate at only 5%.
All this number-crunching applies to workers as well, says Harris.
"We have an elaborate scorecarding system that's driven to every employee in the company, from myself down," he said. "It's very strongly focused on performance -- where we rank within the vendor set that serves the customer."
Baird analyst David Koning says it's hard to tell how accurate these figures are. But the approach seems to be working.
"The reason we believe it's true is that their margins are better than their competitors'," he said. (Baird was an underwriter for eTelecare's March IPO.) "They do seem to be doing something right."
The firm's first-quarter operating margin stood at 11.8%. That's a little behind West Corp. and Convergys CVG, but ahead of most others, including larger Sykes Enterprises (NASDAQ:SYKE) SYKE and Teletech Holdings (NASDAQ:TTEC) TTEC.
Overall, eTelecare had an excellent first quarter. Revenue jumped 50% to $62.1 million, while profit gained 217% to 19 cents a share. Analysts expect full-year earnings growth of 82% this year to 80 cents a share, steadying to about 30% in each of the next two years. They see yearly revenue growth at an industry-leading 23%.
Koning says eTelecare can stay competitive by spreading to other places. The firm already went beyond the islands with its 2004 buyout of Phase 2, based in California.
At first blush, this may seem to be paddling up the waterfall. The past few years, eTelecare's rivals have been pouring from North America to distant tropical climes, and here eTelecare heads the other way.
However, the U.S. still has the biggest outsourced call-center industry. Koning says many firms like having all their reps in the mother country. Still others like having reps in a range of places and time zones.
"We primarily serve Fortune 1000 companies, which tend to have needs in multiple locations," said Harris. "We plan to maintain a presence in the U.S., though it will probably grow modestly compared to offshore locations."
Harris says the firm plans to move into other countries in the future. He especially likes Latin America, another hot call-center region with 21% annual growth.
The management also hopes to diversify the customer base. In 2006, the top five clients brought in 80% of the revenue. Cingular, now part of AT&T's T wireless unit, led the way with 42%, with Dell DELL providing 18%. Vonage VG, Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) TWX AOL and Sprint (NYSE:FON) Nextel S each kicked in 6% to 7%.
Harris says this concentration is partly a sign that clients like eTelecare and keep bringing it into more parts of their business.
Dell is a good example. It has two programs with eTelecare, one for less complex services and another for more complex ones. In the first quarter, Dell's revenue contribution rose to 25%.
Still, analysts fear that reliance on such a small number of clients is risky. This was evident in 2005 when the loss of a major client account helped drive the company into the red.
But Harris says that such concentration is normal for a firm the size and age of eTelecare. He believes that the problem should naturally dwindle as the company grows.
Vonage Account
Nonetheless, eTelecare is shrinking its customer base a bit by scaling back its relationship with Vonage. The VoIP provider has been bleeding money and is entangled in a patent fight with Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZC) (NYSE:VZ) VZ, so less exposure makes sense.
Another risk eTelecare faces is exchange rates. "About a third of their costs are incurred in Philippine pesos, and if the peso gets stronger against the dollar, effectively their costs go up," said Dhruv Chopra, analyst with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:BDJ) (NYSE:MS) (NYSE:MWJ) (NASDAQ:ESTX) (NASDAQ:MNDX) , another underwriter.
Chief Financial Officer Mike Dodson says the company expects to launch a hedging program in the third quarter to reduce this risk.
That hasn't stopped eTelecare from expanding its Philippine business. On July 17, the firm announced plans to build a new service center there housing at least 3,000 employees. It's already building one there about the same size, due to open in the third quarter. When both centers are running, eTelecare will have about 13,000 Philippine employees in all.Newstex ID: IBD-0001-18237359
Originally published in the July 18, 2007 version of Investor's Business Daily.
Copyright (c) 2007, Investor's Business Daily, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Investor's Business Daily, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Shift PG's Night Out

2007-07-27T06:56:00.000+08:00

It has been a while since Shift PG went out. This is different from the Matrix ACS Makati's party because this time it was only us TLs and IMHO, one of the best bosses we have in eTelecare, Boss Amel. We originally planned to go to Punta Fuego but luck was not on our side because not everyone in the shift would be able to join plus monetary constraints. Instead, we went to Seaside, near MOA. Since she said she hasn't been there, we decided why not go there and possibly sing a couple of songs afterwards.Ü We were all excited to eat that Boss Amel even skipped lunch in preparation for the scrumptious feast we were going to eat.

Sinigang na Hipon

Spicy Crab

Buttered Shrimp
We also had Baked Tahong, Tempura and Calamari but we all so hungry that I was no longer able to take photos of them.Ü

After the buffet like meal we had, we went over to Music Match Reloaded at Hobbies Mall (or is it building? Its the one right beside Seaside!Ü) for a little singing.

Music Match Reloaded

Kha, TL Joems and Boss Amel

Da, STL Berns and me
I almost lost my voice that night because Karen had me sing the songs she wanted to sing. She wasn't in the mood that night because of a headache she suddenly got after dinner. Must be the shrimp and the crab.Ü

Can't wait for the next Shift PG gimmick! I hope we can all keep in touch eventhough we no longer belong with the same program.

Leonidas

2007-07-16T20:51:00.000+08:00

Welcome Leonidas! :)

The happy mommy of five :)

Laguna Outing with Karen's Friends

2007-07-16T14:46:00.000+08:00

It was Kay's last weekend here in Manila before leaving for Japan. So they decided to spend it with a little singing and some swimming. We were supposed to go to one of Jocris' resorts but due to monetary difficulties we went for a cheaper place. Good thing Anne knew someone who has a place in Pansol, Laguna and they were kind enough to allow us to use their place for 4k but the place was had no air conditioning. It was still ok because the place was big. Lucky even went there but also went home early in the morning. We had so much fun not to mention Vhia was so cute when she was swimming with her mommy.

Arbi, Ces, Kay and Kha

Vhia trying out the water in the kiddie pool and swimming with mommy
Karen and I also decided to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after bringing Arbi and Kay home. We watched it at IMAX because I heard that part of the movie was made in 3D. I wanted Karen to experience watching a movie in 3D so even if the movie cost us 800 bucks not to mention they made it into a free seating movie (guaranteed seats without letting you pick the seats you want a.k.a. first come first serve for movie seats). It was a great movie and I can't wait to see it again on DVD. :)

Check out the line!

Love wearing her 3D glasses

Two's

2007-07-11T19:18:00.000+08:00

I was tagged by Mich.

Two names you go by: Pacs, Francis
Two things you are wearing right now: shorts only
Two things you want in a relationship: love and trust
Two of your favorite things to do: photography and playing video games (still a kid at heartÜ)
Two things you want very badly at this moment: rest and massage
Two pets you have had: Dog and a goat (yes, you read that right a G-O-A-T)
Two people who will fill this out: peachy and andrea
Two things you did last night: worked :( and got sick
Two people who live at your house: mom and dad
Two things you ate today: home-made tapsi and mechado
Two people you talked to last: my boss and my teammates
Two things you are going to do tomorrow: get well and go to work in the evening
Two longest car rides: Ilocos and Baguio
Two favorite holidays: Christmas and New Year!
Two favorite drink: chocolate and grape juice

Night Out with Karen's High School Friends and Baby Hector's Christening

2007-07-09T11:19:00.000+08:00

It was another busy weekend for Karen and I with a few engagements to attend will very little time to rest. First on our intinerary was Baby Hector's Christening at 11am. I logged out at 6am and only had a couple of hours to rest before picking up Karen. We arrived a bit late at the Saint Andrew's Parish and I was only able to get a few shots of the Karen (Ong-Marasigan)and Ian's Baby. It was the first time that I saw an almost private Christening because there were only 2 babies being baptized and both of the babies seem to have common ties. Not sure if their parents were relatives or close friends because they were also at the reception. We also met with Dave and Anne at Dencio's Jupiter because they were stuck in traffic and were not able to make it to the church.

Saint Andrew's Parish Altar

Baby Hector with his proud parents Karen and Ian Marasigan

Pouring of water of Baby Hector

With the Ninongs and Ninangs
We went home to freshen up after the baptism and then went straight to Dencio's Paseo Center for the Farewell Party of Matrix ACS Site Makati at 6pm. It was fun hanging out with the people but it is also quite sad that they would be moving over to a different program.

Check out the name on the reservationÜ

Karen and I could not stay long because Karen's high school friend came home from the US and they wanted to see each other ASAP. It would also be my first time to meet Arbi and Kay so I didn't let that chance pass by. We had a hard time going to Kay's place in Pandacan because the way they knew was closed so we had to make a detour. To be honest, the detour was a bit stressful because it was difficult for 1 car to navigate through the narrow road. Karen even told me that Kay found me to be a snob because I didn't pay her much attention when we got there. I'm sorry Kay if that was my first impression to you. Hope I was able to make it up the rest of the night.Ü It was great to see Karen having fun and enjoying her time with her old friends. All thanks to Kay, Arbi, Karen and Ian. Hopefully, Anne and Dave would be able to join us before you leave on July 16.Ü

Kha, Kay, Arbi and Karen

What they had for the nightÜ

Kha, Kay and Arbi

Tropa Tups, Transform and Roll Out!

2007-07-09T11:17:00.000+08:00

I could not wait to watch Transformers eversince its trailer was released. I even have Optimus Prime as my wallpaper!Ü As soon as I had the chance, I took Karen to Eastwood to watch Transformers. We were supposed to go to Caleruega early Sunday morning but I was not able to wake up early because we went home late the night before when my other high school barkada had a reunion.

We got to Eastwood around lunch time and Karen wanted to eat some Chinese food. We were supposed to eat at Super Bowl but unfortunately, it was closed so we went to Shanghai Bistro. It was a good experience dining there not to mention the food was awesome. Not only did the food taste great, the serving was also good for at least 3-4 people! Had we known of their serving size, we would have ordered a little less than what we did.Ü

Stir Fried Beef with Brocolli (Php205++)

Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic (Php366++)

Salt and Pepper Squid (Php 223++)

Chicken Fillet in Orange Sauce (Php205++)

Yang Chow Fried Rice (Php178++)
We even texted Allan, Barry and Selle to come and join us. Ok more like, help us out finish the food.Ü After eating, Karen wanted to have her picture taken with some of the still animals that were at the open area in front of Shanghai Bistro. Here are some of them.

We met with Allan at around 3pm to watch Transformers but Selle and Resty were going to Trinoma to buy Selle Avaiator glasses at Topshop. We decided to accompany her there and just come back to Eastwood later that night to watch the movie. It was also my chance to check out the newest Ayala Mall in town. I read in Anton Diaz' blog their mis-adventures when they went there not to mention the things I got from a friend of mine in college who gave not so good feedback when they went there. It was probably because the mall is not completely finished. Although, we were not able to walk around the mall, the small park at the top floor was pretty. The flowing water was relaxing and enjoyable for the kids. There were a couple of things that I thought they might need to improve on. First, their parking area. There were a lot of ways to enter the parking building but it only has 2 lanes for vehicles plus the road is a bit narrow. Second, the restaurants can be found outside the mall, quite similar to MOA. The difference is you have to go through their security inspection if you want to check out the other restaurants on the other floors. It would be better if they had an escalator or stairs to be able to access the other floors without having to go inside the mall.

We ate dinner at Bangus before going back to Eastwood. Another first for Karen and I, so we were not quite sure what to eat and we were still full with the semi-buffet we had for lunch.Ü The Bangus sisig and the Lumpiang Bangus were delicious! That Karen and I were able to find the space in our belly to eat them!Ü

Bangus Sisig

Lumpiang Bangus (photo taken by RZTBoi)

TropaTups at Bangus Trinoma

Check out their menu.

The movie was incredible! Special effects were nicely done. I only hope they used the old transformation sound more. I can't wait for the sequels!

Next movie date?

Madmoz_Bomb Reunion

2007-07-09T08:55:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Jet coming home for a couple of days from Germany, we were able to have our long overdue reunion. I haven't been able to attend several gatherings in the past because of work but since everyone decided to meet up on a Saturday, I was finally able to come. We also had a good venue to hold the reunion, Molokai Grill at Festival mall, Muntinlupa where Bonsai is a part-owner (Silent part-owner daw). I was not able to go its opening, a few weeks back and I was a bit excited to see the place not to mention that the last time I went to a bar was eons ago! It was also a chance for me to meet Jet's wife, Michelle. It was great hanging out with everyone again!

Jet and Christine

Bonsai with Cyril (a.k.a. Silverfilter)

Jet and Toto with the ladies of Madmoz (Rona, Marie, K-An, Na-K, AJ and Kitty)

The Bomb (me, Don, Cyril, Bonsai and Jet)
Til next time! Out of town perhaps? Pwede rin sa bahay nila Marie! Hehe

"The Rabid Wolverine" No More

2007-07-03T14:01:00.000+08:00

I just learned that Chris Benoit, known in the WWE as The Rabid Wolverine, is now dead together with his wife and little kid. I haven't been able to watch the WWE shows lately but hearing this story made me think what is really going on behind the scenes. Yes, I admit, they are entertaining but what I find entertaining is the story lines they have for the wrestlers and their acting. The wrestling part I watch because of amazement, not for entertainment. It's just sad that wrestlers are dying at a young age. Sure there are those who are getting old and made it to the WWE Hall of Fame. I guess those guys were the ones who knew what they needed to do to get to the top of the wrestling business and most important of all, they knew how to do it right.

Here's where I read about it, Not in the script: Too many pro wrestlers dying young.

Newest Member of the Family

2007-07-03T09:46:00.000+08:00

Now that my blog is fixed. I got my blogging grove back and would like to start by welcoming the newest member in our family.

Welcome Anto! :)

Anto with Karingking, Pacasoy and Filly

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2007-06-17T19:20:00.000+08:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!

I LOVE YOU!

Anti-Stress

2007-05-26T07:23:00.000+08:00

How do you fight stress you are almost about to explode because of it? As the Kit-Kat Chocolate Waffer commercial goes...

HAVE A BREAK...HAVE A ONE WEEK VACATION!

WOOHOO!!!

When it rains... IT POURS...

2007-05-17T05:50:00.000+08:00

Have you ever felt like you are about to explode and you would want to just scream or hit something because of so much stress? I think I'm almost there.

Haven't really been myself lately. Been trying to relieve some of the stress by joking around with my other officemates trying to laugh things off but its not enough. Still under pressure to finish my team's PA and quite frankly, it starting to get to me. Since Monday evening I have been quite and just looking at my monitor trying to finish my tasks but last night was quite different. Probably thanks to the additional stress outside the office, which I got before going to work, I was feeling dizzy with my nape feeling a bit numb. I was having so much trouble concentrating on what I was doing and was starting to get very irritable. My apologies to Nicx because he was the one who got a sample of my irritableness when he asked me about something. Sorry about that Nicx.

Maybe it would help me cope with it if I understood what stress was and here's what I found. These are excerpts from the article I found in TeensHealth.

What Is Stress?
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

What Causes Stress Overload?
Although just enough stress can be a good thing, stress overload is a different story - too much stress isn't good for anyone.

Pressures that are too intense or last too long, or troubles that are shouldered alone, can cause people to feel stress overload. Here are some of the things that can overwhelm the body's ability to cope if they continue for a long time:

being bullied or exposed to violence or injury
relationship stress, family conflicts, or the heavy emotions that can accompany a broken heart or the death of a loved one
ongoing problems with schoolwork related to a learning disability or other problems, such as ADHD (usually once the problem is recognized and the person is given the right learning support the stress disappears)
crammed schedules, not having enough time to rest and relax, and always being on the go

Signs of Stress Overload
People who are experiencing stress overload may notice some of the following signs:

anxiety or panic attacks
a feeling of being constantly pressured, hassled, and hurried
irritability and moodiness
physical symptoms, such as stomach problems, headaches, or even chest pain
allergic reactions, such as eczema or asthma
problems sleeping
drinking too much, smoking, overeating, or doing drugs
sadness or depression
Everyone experiences stress a little differently. Some people become angry and act out their stress or take it out on others. Some people internalize it and develop eating disorders or substance abuse problems. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.

Keep Stress Under Control
The most helpful method of dealing with stress is learning how to manage the stress that comes along with any new challenge, good or bad. Stress-management skills work best when they're used regularly, not just when the pressure's on. Knowing how to "de-stress" and doing it when things are relatively calm can help you get through challenging circumstances that may arise. Here are some things that can help keep stress under control.

Build Your Resilience
Ever notice that certain people seem to adapt quickly to stressful circumstances and take things in stride? They're cool under pressure and able to handle problems as they come up. Researchers have identified the qualities that make some people seem naturally resilient even when faced with high levels of stress. If you want to build your resilience, work on developing these attitudes and behaviors:

Think of change as a challenging and normal part of life.
See setbacks and problems as temporary and solvable.
Believe that you will succeed if you keep working toward your goals.
Take action to solve problems that crop up.
Build strong relationships and keep commitments to family and friends.
Have a support system and ask for help.
Participate regularly in activities for relaxation and fun.

I guess having problems outside the office does not really help but its not an excuse to take it out on other (innocent) people. Thanks to this, I might learn how to manage stress and be resilient soon.

BANG - BANG, KLANG - KLANG

2007-05-16T06:43:00.000+08:00

Been in so much stress lately in the office that I don't even have the time to take my lunch! :( Besides the regular dose of stress from doing my daily tasks, I am being pressured by my OM to finish the PAs (performance appraisals) of my team. Not that I'm complaining, its not that easy to make PAs for several agents especially if some of them have more than a couple of BSCs (Balanced Score Cards) for just one quarter! Do not get me wrong but making PAs is something I like. I love making formulas to make it as automated as possible. I know that this is something important for my team. Heck, its important for me, too! I won't get my bonus unless they do!

I just wish that they would understand that unlike the inbound teams who's PAs are made by the corporate scorecard team, my team's PAs are made by me alone. Data collection and template generation are all mine. I would naturally need more time to finish compared to the inbound teams who just need to plug in their employee numbers and voila, instant PA!

There's also the pressure of making a communication packet presentation to our client manager and the data we need is still not ready. Hopefully, I can finish them all tonight (and pray to God I do!). So I can at least have the rest of the week to have a little more breathing room.

Wish I had their free time as well... :)

Mother's Day Prayer

2007-05-13T08:40:00.000+08:00

Mother's Day Prayer
by Gaynell Bordes Cronin

I love you, Mom. I love your aliveness,
your joy in living, your understanding,
your giving.

And what I love best of all
is that you love me.

God of all Mothers,
thank you for my mom!

—From the book Friend Jesus: Prayers for Children

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! Especially, to my Mom! I LOVE YOU!Ü

Tagged by Mich

2007-05-11T08:26:00.000+08:00

Got tagged by Mich.

Instruction: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

Here we go!

* I am actually a shy person but people normally construe this as being a snob.Ü
* I am an only child. I was supposed to have a big brother but he died while he was still a baby. :(
* I am an anime addict. Although, I mostly collect old ones like Dragon Ball, DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc.
* I dream of being a computer programmer. I still do! Just could find the time to study the different programming languages.
* I am also a certified video games addict. I once played Diablo II (LOD) for more than 9 hours straight!
* I am a thrifty person. (A more positive way of saying "makunat!"Ü) I was even called by my parents as "silid-doño" when I was a kid because I almost always put the allowance they give me inside a small attache case for saving!Ü
* I am a God fearing man.

Now I'm tagging Allan, Cat, CJ, Lars, Peachy, Randy, and Selle.

The Prodigal Daughter

2007-05-11T07:38:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, was another special day for Karen and I. We received a card from the post office stating that we have a package waiting to be picked up at the Parañaque Post Office. We had to postpone picking up the package because I was already preparing to go to work that time and the card said that pick up is only during Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturday was definitely too far away so I asked my Dad to accompany us in going to the post office. I was not sure where it was exactly. I only knew that the Parañaque Post Office was somewhere in Sucat. Karen and I were both so excited that we got there 15 minutes early and the claiming window was still closed. We had to wait for them to open at 8AM. When they opened we were already anxious to see the package. I think we were all expecting to get a box instead of a normal envelope like package. My Dad even commented, "Yan na ba yon? Bakit ang liit?" I honestly could not wait any longer so I told Karen to open it to "check" if what we got was correct. hehe I was so happy to see Karen smile upon seeing the content of the package. I think if she could, she would have shouted... "F-I-L-L-Y!!!"

Yes, we were lucky enough to have purchased another Filly Beanie Baby on eBay. Thanks to eBay Member, 21adams! It was very refreshing to see Karen smile and be happy whenever she sees a horse.

Meet the Family!

Happy Mommy!Ü

Filly's apartment for more than 10 days

TY Beanie Baby, Filly

Welcome back my daughter!Ü

Exquisite Dining at Mann Hann with Spidey

2007-05-11T06:22:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday, Karen and I went to Mall of Asia to watch the much awaited Spider-Man 3. I was planning on seeing it on IMax hoping that it was 3D. It was also our first time to watch at IMax so we were really excited. Before that, Karen and I were looking for a place to have dinner. We were first thinking of pizza and pasta at Sbarro but we decided to try something new, not to mention the line at Sbarro was terrible and the seats were also full. We decided to try eating at Mann Hann. Actually, it was Karen's idea to eat there. Don't know what got into her but I no longer questioned her decision eventhough I knew she was not fond of eating Chinese food.Ü We were quite hungry that time so we ordered these

Steamed Fish Fillet (Php185)

Yang Chow Fried Rice (Php170)

Prawn Tempura (Php190)

Beef Brocolli Flower (Php195)
All of them were very delicious. Even Karen said that they tasted really good and it was one of those rare occasions that she was able to eat well in a Chinese restaurant.

After dinner and a couple of minutes of talking and letting the food settle inside our happy tummies, we then walked towards IMax. While we were walking towards IMax, we noticed a long line for the "regular" cinemas in MOA. I already knew that it was a line for the movie, Spider-Man 3. I was already praying that the line in IMax was not as bad. When we got there, there was a very short line. I already had a smile on my face but once I saw the screen showing how many seats were still left for the 7:30PM screening, I suddenly felt a little despair. Only 7 seats left?!? So that was why there were a lot of people outside... They were just waiting to be seated. We were lucky enough to have gotten seats in the middle, J24 and J25 to be exact. The others opted for the 10:30PM screening and I think there were also cancellations because the movie was only going to be shown on 2D. I actually did not mind paying Php700 for the tickets (Php350 each) by just recalling the line on the normal cinemas. I was also quite surprised because I would normally have problems bringing in my camera inside the movie house because most of the guards cannot distinguish the difference between a digicam and a DSLR, but I had no such hassle of leaving my camera with the guards because people were allowed to take pictures inside! At first I thought that the people inside were only kidding when one said out loud, "Kuhanan nyo ko ng picture! Manonood ako ng movie sa IMax!" When I saw others taking shots of their friends, what the heck! I'll also take a picture of Karen! hehe

I was really impressed with the movie. Special effects were great! The characters were well played by the actors. Kirsten Dunst (played MJ Watson) was H-O-T! Bryce Dallas Howard (played Gwen Stacy) was also H-O-T! The story was incredible. Although, I was not able to follow the comic book but I think Stan Lee wouldn't really allow the filmmakers to stray away from the comic book story that much, right? One thing I didn't like about the movie was there was no hint of it having another sequel. Sorry to spoil it for those who have not seen the movie yet. Anyway, I do hope they continue with the series even with different actors. I mean, it would be whole of a lot better if Toby and Kirsten are in the movie. Its just that, Spidey is such a good comic book that it might be a shame if it would end there. Well, I might be wrong on this one because they might find it hard to top off the previous ones. Hey, Superman and Batman were able to make a comeback, right? I mean, people will always have kids inside them so comic book movies will always flourish.

Can't wait for the next Marvel comic book movie, Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer. Check out the site here.

10 - DERNESS!Ü

2007-05-02T01:17:00.000+08:00

HAPPY 10TH MONTH MY LOVE!
I LOVE YOU!

Crumpler!

2007-05-01T09:02:00.000+08:00

Now that I've cooled down, just wanted to share what I got when my family and I, together with Karen went to Greenhills last Sunday. While my parents were busy checking out the goods, Karen and I went to Digital Walker where I saw a nice black Crumpler camera bag. Since it was almost pay day plus I still had some extra cash, I thought of buying the darn thing cause my old Sumdex camera bag is now too small to carry all of my accessories. I felt sorry for it and for myself cause I had to remove a couple of things first before I can get my camera out. I was hoping for the blag one to still be there but unfortunately, it was already out of stock! The only available Crumpler bag is the blue one and I mean ONLY! No new stocks and the one on display was their last! I was having second thoughts of buying the camera bag then but I really needed a bigger bag because I did not also want to strain the Sumdex and later on damage it. Its still useful for those pack-light travels!Ü

Comparing the two camera bags

See how roomy it is!Ü
Sorry Randy for buying a big similar to yours. I was also thinking of buying the Tamrac Pro bag which was cheaper but it was too big and was too obvious to be a camera bag. Baka pigilan din ako ng mga tao kapag namamasyal para lang magpapicture for Php50 each! hehe

Stupidity is spelled as P-N-C-C

2007-05-01T07:01:00.000+08:00

I just got home from work and I am in a foul mood because of the traffic, or should I say HORRIBLE traffic because of the amazing intelligence and planning (with GREAT sarcasm!) of the people who manage the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Philippine National Construction Corporation. Why say such a statement about them? Picture this scenario, PNCC is in the process of fixing the connecting ramps for the Skyway near Magallanes and of course they are going to affect both lanes since the ramp from the Villamor Airbase is going to cross the SLEX so they have to build a column in between. It is very much understandable to motorists using SLEX that the area would be a traffic bottleneck because they are going to use a lane or to for their construction materials. What's so stupid about that you say? Someone VERY SMART from the PNCC decided to close all the lanes going south! Meaning, people going to Bicutan would have to detour and pass through the service road. I would also like to add that going through the service road is like going through a dirt road because of the infinite number of pot holes and uneven asphalt! The dirt road going to the beaches in Laiya, Batangas feels smoother compared to the service road in SLEX! I left the office at 5:15AM and I got home at around 6:30AM. A normal 20-minute trip turned into a 1-hour and 15-minute trip! &$*(#&q)*($&#)(*&$)(*@&)(*#$)(*#^$*&#@)(&*)@&$)(#@)*(^)#@^!!!!!!!!! ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

Do not get me wrong, I am not against road construction and improvements because this is an important component for growth. I also would not have minded closing all of the lanes going south if it were done during the wee hours of the morning plus some early warning devices or if they distributed flyers or even post simple notices on their toll plazas to inform motorists ahead of time, then this would have been easily avoided. But then again, thanks to the BRILLIANT minds of the people in PNCC, people had to go through the traffic jam they created. True, sacrifices are to be made in order to improve but this is one sacrifice that SLEX motorists could have dodged if people only flexed a little more muscle. Hopefully, this incident could be avoided moving forward.