in retrospect…

:d

it was my birthday yesterday, July 30, and i am now officialy 38 years old… old? naahhh… don’t feel old at all, barring joint pains, not feeling it at all!! hehehe…

anyways, Apples and I celebrated our birthday month [her's was on July 13] together…

as her gift to me, she brought me to Circles Event Cafe in Shangri-La Makati for a casual lunch… there was a buffet of Indian and Chinese food, American and Japanese, and of course, the dessert buffet which was simply heavenly!!

i gorged myself on the Japanese and seafood buffet… Apples is more inclined to try the American food [roasted lamb and duck]…

after that, we had the same tastes in dessert since we both go for chocolate than anything else…

after that very wonderful and filling lunch, and as my gift to her, we went to Blue Mountains Spa where we indulged ourselves in a couples’ spa [designed for couples, of course!!]… after the initial shower, we went into a couples’ spa where we stayed for 15 minutes trying to burn all our excess fats and toxins… after that, we went into separate rooms for the body scrub… i tell you guys, if you haven’t been into one yet, i suggest you do and you will feel as if you’ve missed half of your life… and you’d want to do it over and over again… after the body scrub [where i opted to get the Chocolate Scrub again!!], it was off to the foot spa… the chair alone [which is a massage chair in itself] is great, and couple that with a foot spa and scrub, then you’d think you are in heaven… the great hands of our attendants Alma and Lily worked wonders on our over-tired feet… and finally, off to the massage room… cannot tell you much because after the first few minutes of the very soothing massage, i am off to wonderland [sleeping!!]…

well, that’s all… and today, i am back at the salt mines… but i don’t have the feeling of not wanting to go to work anymore… in fact, i am not feeling anything at all!! i am still in my birthday mood and i will not let anything disturb me today…

later in the afternoon, Mich, William, and I will celebrate our birthdays together with a dinner for the staff here at the office…

[click on attached pictures for more...]

Ciao, sweetie…

currently somewhere attending our yearly MANCOM planning… we are now on our second — and hopefully the last — day of planning…

anyway, i was watching The Simpson’s last night before going to bed, and i heard the following exchanges between Bart and Liza:

Bart: why is it destroying other toys?
Liza: maybe it is after the competition…
Bart: you mean, like Microsoft?

their words, not mine… :d

Ciao, sweetie…

inspirations for me to go to work nowadays are too few and far in between…

i mean, before, when i was starting, there was the challenge of knowing everyone in the team… of knowing the technology this new job offers, of having sleepless nights mulling over a big problem… and so forth…

today, the challenge is still there, technology is ever evolving, and bigger problems still crop up… but i am now having a harder time getting up early in the morning, taking a bath, and going to work early like before… it seems that all these endless problems, both with work and the people i manage, will never end… i am now on my 8th month with company, and this started around a month ago…

7th [year] month itch? probably… the longest i have stayed with a company is about 4 years, and that is when i used to teach at a local college… i have never really felt like this when i was with that company — but then again, i’ve never really thought about it — not much time to think…

but with this company, i am starting to rethink my options… i mean, the job pays really well [with a car, to boot!], the people are all great… but this feeling of not being inspired anymore keeps on nagging me… and i don’t like this…

right in the middle of a very large project, i can’t do this to myself nor to the company… i have to be in the right focus to be able to successfuly see this project through… i cannot, i cannot, i cannot…

Ciao, sweetie…

…now this is one good initiative which i am willing to support:

if we only have ports of the game in either of the 2 OS, everyone would be very happy… most of all I since i use Linux all the time at home [and use only Windblows for gaming] and Mac at work…

Ciao, sweetie…

and that was why i have forsaken Catholicism, or any organized religion for that matter… as a friend would say:

This. Is. Pure. Crap.

well… i would say shit, but Crap is better… thanks, Kay!

sucks to be Catholic now, doesn’t it?? :d

Ciao, sweetie…

mga tsong, ang sulat na ito ay para sa inyong lahat…

oo, pre, tinagalog ko na lang, para hindi maintindinhan ng mga banyaga at ng hindi tayo matukso…

alam nyo, ako’y isang normal na Pinoy lang, gumigising, nag-aalmusal, pasok sa trabaho, uuwi sa bahay, at matutulog na uli tapos ng hapunan… hindi naman sa pag-aangat ng bangko, ano, pero masasabi mo rin naman na may kaunti na akong na-ipon… kaunting kagamitan na maipagmamalaki ko rin naman, magarang kotse na ginagamit ko araw-araw papasok sa trabaho, at nakaka-kain din naman ako ng tatlong beses isang araw… hindi naman sa pagmamayabang, pero nakuha ko ang lahat ng meron ako ngayon dahil sa sarili kong pawis at pagod…

di tulad ng iba dyan, may kotse nga, pero san naman kaya galing? may napaka-laking bahay nga sa Ayala-Alabang, pero ano naman kaya ang kinurakot para mabili yun? o binili nga ba? magkano ba ang nagiging buwis mo sa trabaho? dalawampu’t limang porsyento [kung ikaw ay may asawa at dalawang anak] [mas malaki kung wala] ng iyong sweldo ang napupunta sa gobyerno tuwing a-kinse’t katapusan, alam mo ba yun? alam mo rin ba na ito ay dapat na napupunta sa mga pa-sweldo sa mga empleyado ng gobyerno? oo, tama ka kaibigan, pati na sweldo ni Glorya, mga senador, at mga kongresman… lahat sila, mga pa-sweldo mo… ibig sabihin, ikaw ang kanilang amo, at hindi ang kabaligtaran…

ibig sabihin nun, dapat, pag nagsalita ka, nakikinig sila… at aaksyunan anu man ang iyong hilingin…

pero san ba talaga napupunta ang pa-sweldong ito? sa mga pulis na pinoproteksyunan ang interes ng mga nasa gobyerno at hindi ang iyo? sa mga mayor na mas inaatupag pa ang kanilang mga sariling interes imbes na ayusing ang mga sirang daan para naman ikaw ay maka-daan ng maayos? sa mga kongresman, na dapat ay nagpapasa ng mga batas na naa-ayon sa iyong mga kagustuhan, pero ang ipinapasa ay mga batas na sisira sa kalikasan? tama ba yun?

o ano ngayon, senador? masama na ang tingin mo sa akin! bakit? ang tingin ma sa akin ngayon ay isang subersibo na dapat ay tigilan na ang pagsasalita at baka may maniwala? ibig sabihin ba nitong mga sinabi ko e ibabagsak ko na ang gobyerno mo? mali ba? sige nga, at sabihin mo!

pero kayo naman, mga Pinoy… kung hindi ba naman kayo isang… ewan ko ba kung ano itatawag ko sa inyo… ba’t kayo nagpapaloko? ayaw nyo ng gulo, ganun? hindi nyo ba alam na sa haba-haba ng panahon na naka-upo ang mga iyan sa puwesto e ikaw ang gina-gago? tumayo ka naman at magsalita… kung buhay pa siguro si Ninoy, baka pinagba-batukan kayo nun isa-isa e…

o sya, tama na ito at baka ihanay pa ako ng gobyernong ito sa mga en-pi-ey… hoy, mga pre, di lahat ng namumundok ay en-pi-ey, ano? minsan, talagang mas gusto kong kasama ang mga hayop sa bundok… kahit papano, alam nilang mga hayop sila, at alam ko din na di sila gagawa ng matino… kahit paano, nagkakaintindihan kami…

di tulad ng mga hayop sa siyudad…

o sya, babay…

hehehe… i was surprised when i visited the website of Ragnarok Online just now… click on the image below to blow it up…

still don’t get it? ok, look at the banner image on top… then, slide your eyes downwards until you get to the Google advertisement… see now??

:d it is an advertisement for bots and private servers!! :d

Ciao, sweetie…

as of this writing, typhoon GLENDA is still battering the Philippines, especially the western part…

classes have been suspended since last night… good thing our school officials had the presence of mind to do that BEFORE classes for the day starts… and not when children are already in school, with no way to get home…

work has been suspended since 3pm… we were told by our HR that i can let my people go… but go where? out in that storm? oh well…

i’d like to say, “Hey, have a good day!” but it seems that it isn’t applicable today…

[Newsflash: heard from a morning show today (20060725) that the original name of this typhoon was Gloria or Glorya... according to PAGASA, they changed the name in deference to the SONA that was held yesterday... how apt...]

Ciao, sweetie…

(n)

…and this is one of those days that i hate… i am so sorry, blog, but you are my only outlet in times like these…

i am now doing actual development work… coding [at least, trying to] for WAP, looking at logs of this damn service, which has been running for several months now, and all of a sudden, pop! the thing goes down with a fever and decides to just lie there and die; and, trying to figure out this media streaming thing, which i am close to doing, if not only with the other things i really, really have to do…

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!! GGGGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

whew! i needed that… well, back to work…

[i owe, i owe, so off to work i go... -- sung to the tune of hi ho, hi ho by the Seven Dwarfs]

Ciao, sweetie… ;(

:[

i really hate driving around Metro Manila these days... people [i meant drivers, of course] seem intent on getting their way just to get to where they were going… even to the extent of not following traffic lights… grrr…

at the intersection of JP Rizal and Mandaluyong Bridge, there was supposed to be a traffic light… i said ’supposed to be’ because drivers do not actually follow the lights… jeepney drivers, mostly, are the transgessors… taxi and tricycle drivers even!! and this was just a couple of hundred meters away from the Makati City Hall!! and isn’t there any rule against tricycle drivers plying along major roads?? if policemen [yes, there are policemen in the area] will not implement this law, might as well take this out of the rulebook, diba??

and do you see those pedicabs [bicycles with seats, much like tricycles only not motorized] with clothes hanging on them?? isn’t there any law against these? if there aren’t then we should make one!! they are accidents waiting to happen when they are crossing the Mandaluyong Bridge, you know… and that is because they have to get down, and push their ‘vehicles’ up the bridge, sometimes unmindful that they are hogging 1 side of a 2 car bridge!!

and like what i have been saying before, taxi and jeepney drivers weaving in and out of Metro Manila streets should be better placed in rallye sites than normal streets… they can give Michael Schumacher a run for his money!!

Ciao, sweetie…