in retrospect…

Although my job here at [hehehe] does not require me to do training or teaching for anyone, the teacher in me always surfaces whenever technical questions, most especially in Linux, arise… last week, during my 2nd day here, a question popped up that perked up my ears, and i immediately rose to the challenge… it was a fairly simple question: “Sir, how easy is it to learn Linux?“, i was asked by a subordinate… the answer? very easy!!

that was why i am now, for this week, at least, training them the essentials of running a Linux box… administration would probably come in later… we started last Monday, where i introduced them to the world of Linux [very vast], its different flavors [wow! so many!!], and what it can do for an environment like ours…

yesterday, we tackled simple installations, and today, my students will continue installation, this time, doing multi-boot environments, and so on… who knows? if my staff/students are willing enough, we might just continue this next week for advanced administration, eh?

anyway, i am now on my 2nd week at work, and i must say that i am enjoying this immensely… although my work hours are from 6am till about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, i am enjoying every bit of my stay here, so far… my co-workers are all nice [always smiling], the teachers treat me with utmost respect [everyone does, really], and my staff are all skilled and open to new ideas [like this Linux training]… i have high hopes… haayss…

next week? start of classes again, that was why we are so busy preparing everything for the re-opeing of classes… and we hope to be finished by tomorrow… see ya again soon!!

Ciao, sweetie…

aside: if you are on the lookout for Value Hotels in the Philippines to stay in for a night or even three, look no further than Legend Hotels… Legend Hotels caters to a wide range of clientele - company executives, families, OFW’s, balikbayans, provincial business travelers, local and foreign tourists. be sure not to miss it!!

Ever since 1998, when i started working on an NOS [network operating system] aside from Microsoft, i have always maintained that anything not Microsoft is infitely better… infinitely… better…

and i will still maintain that stand wherever i go, whatever compnay i am in… i have come back to work for an academe very recently, and so far, everything is working well… at least, so far as the desktops are concerned… but working with Microsoft really gives me a pain in the ass [and not because i am biased towards Linux], and I have plans now of transfeerring some of them over to Linux… of course, i cannot readily transfer applications needed primarily by the Finance and the Admissions departments, but all others, i believe i can…

for one, we have Citrix servers and about 100+ thin clients which I need to run, not because I have to, but because we already paid for them… yep, they’re not working, or if they do run, only about 40 of the 100+ clients can run all at the same time… more than that? the 2 servers will start to go crazy, and the clients will freeze up one by one… in APC before, i was able to createone whole laboratory of about 40 clients using only 1 server using LTSP… of course, i have had problems with it, like it doesn’t support a particular network card or a particular graphics card… but all in all, once the server settled down and my students started using the thin clients, everything worked fine to my satisfaction… now, i am left with the problem of making the Citrix environment run… *darn*

second, i plan to teach my people Linux administration… from there, we’d be able to plan better our next steps, i.e. which servers to migrate… prolly, we’ll start with the websites [which are, incidentally, made in ASP and dotNET] so i am now in the process of researching how to make those run in Apache…

lastly, only PLDT have lines in our area?? i am actually considering putting a redundant connection for the school, but i was told that only PLDT have rights to our area… so, do i go wireless, then?? **double darn**

anyway, that’s all for now… more [as in really more] to follow soon…

Ciao, sweetie…

Yes!! i am back in the academe, and i am loving every minute of my **still** short stay here…

you see, i have been in the academe before, on and off for about 7 to 8 years, and the longest was with Asia Pacific College, where i spent 4 glorious years of the 8 years teaching college students there…

in APC, i was the system administrator for the 1st 2 years, then moved on to being the Open Source Laboratories Administrator, doing what i loved doing: research and development of open source products!!

since then, i have been an IT consultant for 8 years, project manager, applications development manager, IT operations manager, and now, an ICT Manager for a school of up to 15-16 year olds!! yey!!

my day starts at 7am and finishes by 4pm, but i am wont to stay far longer to finish up on things, so i expect to be doing the same thing here, too… what school? I cannot tell you that, or i’d have to kill you [Bond-style]… hehehe

what can i say? i am just built for the academe, and i cannot stay away from it…

i will not be teaching, though [yebah!!]… i am part of the ICT support staff which i head, and i’ll be handling the IT needs of the whole school… i am also being asked to get at least 1 certification, and i am looking around for one… hmmmm… maybe, i can get a CCNA… hmmmm… or i can pursue my Linux studies, but the school is Microsoft-based, so i have to lean on them a bit to turn them around…

anyway, expect this blog to be technical again, from hereon, as i will be discussing all my actions here… [signing my contract as i am typing this, hahahaha]

Ciao, sweetie…

just about 2 weeks ago, i went in for an executive checkup at one of the high-end clinics in Robinson’s Galleria, and there, i was raped… thrice… that was an experience that i would like to, as much as possible, avoid in the very near future… possibly never…

but yesterday saw me going into another high-end clinic in Makati, this time, for another executive check up and you can just imagine my apprehensive mutterings when i checked in and handed over my filled up form to the nurse-in-charge… was i going to be raped once again? will i go through that harrowing experience one more time? is this what executives are going through year in and year out??

as you may well suspect, i had no answer to those questions myself… so, blindly, i went through all the procedures once again…

all i can say was that the experience was totally different from my last… a dedicated nurse saw me through all that i need… she was with me the whole time that i never lacked for a companion wherever i went: she took my BP (120/70), took my height (5′9″ or 175 cms), weight (65 kilos), took my blood, checked up my eyes [20/20 still], took me to the x-ray guy, was outside the door while a male (!) doctor was doing my physical exam [side note: this time, i was only made to bend over and looked at my arse hole... never did he look at my balls to examine them... ], took me up to the 2nd floor to have my drug test [side note again: never was i made to pee in front of the guy, with the guy looking at my pee to make sure it was mine... yes, he was there while i peed, but my back was to him giving me a little privacy], and finally, she was there for my dental check up… she even escorted me until the office’s door when i was leaving a little under 2 hours later…

now, that is how a check up should be… everything should be explained before doing anything to you, as one of my commenters said… it is your body and you have the right to refuse something done to you when you don’t want it… all in all, the air in that clinic was short of festive, with free juice or coffee, with lounge chairs in abundance and one can seat anywhere, magazines everywhere [though i still preferred reading my e-book], and all sorts of ammenities short of being a hotel lounge!!

i even saw a female badminton friend [hi Annie!!] undergoing the same procedures as i was, and she and I went to lunch together at a nearby restaurant…

basically, the whole affair was very engaging, and i can imagine myself eagerly going back there everytime i would need a check up… you guys are number 1!!

Ciao, sweetie…

as a child, i have no worries except where to play, when my next meal will be, and what time i have to go home to sleep, no worries for the next day, except more of the same… mundane? yes… simple? at the time? no…

as a teenager, my worries grew to such proportions that i found myself worrying not only for myself, but also for others… i was already working at an early age, i already have scores of responsibility, and i already answer to a lot of people… this went on until college, when i have to work on 2 jobs, go to school, and manage a school paper all at the same time…

and through all these, the only thing that does not change was my idealism… that i will not forsake what i believe in, simply to earn money, or to make friends, or to be liked… that i will not stoop to what i know was wrong, simply to make my betters feel happy about me… i wasn’t an ass-kisser… never was, and never will…

or so i thought…

now that i am a little more older and, i hope, wiser, i was forced to stoop to people who know nothing but to push pencils around as well as push people around… i am being regulated by a lot of corporate shit that i am already up to my neck in it… it wouldn’t have been worse if i really don’t know better, but the fact remains that their solution is far more expensive [and much harder to implement] than mine… but who am i, eh?

i have had encounters before with bosses who don’t know anything, and yet maintain that they need to control me… control my budget? no… more like control what i do… i have proven in the past that my solutions far outweight theirs, but because of “nakasanayan na yan e” attitude (”that is how it was done before“)… and now, i am stuck in this job that allows me only a liitle bit of freedom, gets the most out of me, and leaves me wanting to kill myself at the end of the day…

but do i have to take these sitting down??

no… i can do several things, really…

one is to show them that I can do what i was hired to do… they hired me to do a particular job, then they must trust that i will do it to the best of my ability… the problem is, someone looks over my shoulders everytime i make a move, and that makes it doubly harder, since i feel like i am under a microscope… haayysss

second, i can look for another job… i know, easier said than done… but what can i do?? except…

third, take all of these sitting down… i can just simply go along with the flow, not really caring whether the project is doable or not, whether the things they are doing are correct or not… i will just be manager by name…

now, question is: what shall i do??

what do you think??

Ciao, sweetie…

well, i have news first… i have now a new job as a janitor of one of the biggest consulting firms in the Philippines, literally… janitor? well, yeah, for me it is… but, really, my current position is Manager of IT Operations, and my job is to clean up the mess of the previous occupants of my position… messes like spaghetti in the data room [literally!!] and the spaghetti-like cables of the PABX and the data cables… like cleaning the ranks of the IT Ops of people who cannot cope with the rigors of the job… like cleaning the servers [again, both literally and figuratively] like, there are about 79 servers [both clones and branded] half of which are not working right, while half of the remaining are redundant servers of the other fourth… haaysss… ergo, janitor…

anyway, as part of the requirement of the job, i need to have myself checked up, and so, this morning, i went to the clinic and gave my papers to the nurse-aide in the counter… i was made to fill up forms, and made to wait a few minutes… the next hour saw me in a whirlwind of activity, from blood check, to xray, to blood pressure check, and finally, to the eye check… and this was where my nightmare early in the morning started…

rape number 1

i was waiting for my drug test [di ako nag-rebyu!!] when my name was called from about 10 meters away… so, i left the line and went to the counter where i was told that they will do my dental check, instead…

now, if you know me, you’d know that i have really terrible teeth, yellowed due to almost 25 years of smoking, with gaps and broken crowns… and so, i was made to sit in the dental chair, my mouth opened wide, while the lady dentist prodded that thing with the mirror at the end around my mouth, doing this and that [all the while telling me not to breath through my mouth as my breath is foggying up the mirror] and writing on my chart… at the end of that harrowing experience, i felt my insides turned out, and one that i would not want to experience again for a long time…

rape number 2

after the dental exam, i was made to wait for just a short while, and then, off to Consultation Room 2, where there was a small bed and a lab gown… i was told to strip to the skin, put on the lab gown, and told to wait… i am not a complete stranger to physical check ups… in fact, i have had several over the years as part of my physical regimen… but today, it was totally different…

so, i was there all in the nude with only a flimsy lab gown over me, and waiting for my doctor… while waiting, my eyes took in the room, the chair, the small bed, and that lady doctor’s frock… errrr… what??? a lady doctor’s frock… suddenly, my heart beat faster and i felt like it was trying to leap out of my body and through my mouth… all saliva just immediately evaporated that my mouth felt like it was full of grit, and i was just so suddenly afraid…

and just then, the object of my desire fear came into the room… a somewhat young doctor, she just smiled at me, and asked me several questions about my condition [which was, at that point, really bad and not getting better]… after the questions, she made me lie down on the small bed, pressed her fingers on my abdomen and asking me if it hurt… just then, she made me stand, turn around, and she just took hold of the hem of the lab gown i was wearing, pulled it up, made me hold my butt cheeks, and i was made to spread!!! goodness!! that was 1 point for her, and zero for me… but it didn’t end there!!

i was made to face her again, and again, taking hold of my lab gown, she opened them, exposing myself to her!! my poor penis just suddenly wilted!! she took hold of my balls and i was made to cough 3 times, released them, and i immediately closed my gown… sheessshhh!! that was so, uhhh, embarrasing… i lost miserably, 2-0…

to her credit, she was all clinical, professional, and impersonal… but to me, it was all too personal… i have gone through the same procedure many times before, but always with a male doctor… i believe, the last time i disrobed in front of a woman without making love to her was when i was still a baby!!

next time, before going through that, i will ask first if my doctor will be male or female… tsk tsk tsk…

rape number 3

and when i thought the worst was over, i was made to fall in line for the drug testing [again, i never studied for this test, so i just might fail this one... ]

each person undergoing this test goes into a room, stays for about 20-25 minutes each time, then goes out… we were standing outside the testing room, so i don’t really know what was happening behind those doors… and so, we just waited until our turn comes… one incident outside: a lady came out of the room all puffed up and looking mad which made us all wonder why… anyway…

when it was my turn, i was just so eager to go through with it so that i can get home already… i went inside, made to fill up several forms [i wonder why they just didn't give out the forms outside for us to fill up while waiting??]… then, an interview followed, asking me the same questions as the forms [my full name, age, sex(??), marital status, and so on...]… then, the guy [!!] doing the interview handed me a bottle and was told to fill it up with pee… again, no biggie, so i stood up, looked around for some privacy, and when finding none, i asked the guy where was the little boy’s room so that i can do the deed… the guy just looked at me blandly, and told me to do it right in front of him!! what??? yes, you read it right… i have to do it in front of him!! so, without further ado, i took my penis out in front of him [was he gay? i was wondering], peed into that empty bottle [the mouth of the bottle is just so small for the head of my penis... really small...], capped it up, and gave it back to the guy…

now i understood why that lady in front of me was so mad coming out of the room!!

the next time i have to go through all of those again, i have to ask questions first… kainis…

Ciao, sweetie…

haaayyysssss….

here i go again… i have been doing so many things that i have been forgetting to post in here again… anyway, several news first:

• Clan Heritage now have a new blog [the link is up on the headers] and forum site… if you are a Clan Heritage member and don’t know those sites yet, i suggest go to them now…
• with the race to get to level 100 heating up, i have been spending most of my time in-game than anything else… dami prizes!!
• i still have no steady job yet, but still looking for one… so, if any of you know of something, can you please drop me a line?
• it will be Christmas soon… i wonder what i can give my wife?? (what do you want sweetie? hehehe)

anyway, i came from a job interview yesterday [one of soooo many already] and i must say i was amazed at the way that interview went…

first, i was made to take an exam [an exam!! and for a managerial position yet!! LOL] which was, in itself, kinda easy since i used to teach C and most of the questions were in C… but my question is: what do they [the company] hope to achieve in giving exams?? to gauge a persons technical knowledge? for me, i really don’t believe in exams… for one, you are only given a certain amount of time to finish that exam, and the pressure of not going over that time will reflect on the outcome… second, exams does not really show a person’s technical knowldge… i would rather give the person a chance at work and show me what the person can really do…

second, the IT Manager and the CTO interviewed me, which took up to 1 1/2 hours each [looonnngggg] that i thought they will soon invite me to dinner… heheheh i just hope that they are an equal opportunity employer, is all…

there was supposed to be a 3rd interview using conference call, but they cannot establish a connection with the other person, that they decided to re-schedule that…

all in all, the interview was very nice, and i am crossing my fingers that it will turn out positively for me… can you please cross your fingers for me, too?? thanks!! LOL

that’s all for now, folks… my next post my be next year already… i have almost given up on this since i dont have much time for posting anymore… but i am still holding on…

Ciao, sweetie…

aside: are you one of those looking for property in Singapore?? then look no further!! go to HDB, now!! You can use it to find great bargains and investments on a vast majority of Singaporean property listings.

ok, i am now settling very gently in my new job… i am a project manager for a company in Libis, QC, and i must say that the usual honeymoon period between PM and programmers [which usually last from a week to about 2, and not a month!!] didn’t happen in my case… after that 1st day of orienting myself with the operations of the company, and the individuals behind them, i went on ahead and started really working after that 1st day… i was barraged by work from then on, and that’s what’s keeping me busy nowadays… well, aside from PW, of course…

i am not complaining, though… far from it, in fact… i love my new job!! i get to play around with technology [Windows Vista really suck when your PCs RAM is only 512MB, tsk tsk tsk], and i get to manage a nice bunch of young people [am not the oldest at 39 with the youngest at 21], and i get to regularly talk to with my counterpart abroad… ti’s really a nice job so far… really… hehehe…

at the homefront, it really is nice to find out that your 1-year old son is following in your footsteps… the other day, while i was at my keyboard, he came near, and push my keyboard away from me, sat on my lap and said nonsense to me [like how 1 year olds do], pointed to my PC, and said “‘puter” indicating that he is telling me something about my computer… the wife remarked, “uh oh, even this early, i think i know what he will be when he grow up…” all the while tsking… and even before he was able to say “mommy!!“… he can now say “di” to call me, “ter” for water, and other gobbledy-gook which i can only call normal for his age… i can’t wait for him to close my monitor while i was working!!

makes you feel good knowing that your son is being brought up nice, eh?

Ciao, sweetie…

Tags: [ work | parenting ]

aside: want to be a part of a Philippines Chat Room where you can express your thoughts and ideas on a variety of subjects?? well, there’s Kuro.ph, a message board which talks about parenting, photography, politics, love and courtship to marriage all in one breath… you don’t have to join those specialized boards anymore as there is one which basically talks about almost all a Pinoy here and abroad will encounter… so, why not try them out??

This is a DigitalFilipino.com Club-sponsored post

ok, i know i have been too remiss in my posts this past month… i actually have several in my plate right now, and i am having a hard time dealing with them… but slowly and surely, they’re all going away one at a time, and i hope to be back regularly posting in the next week or so…

to give all of you a rundown:

have you ever been fired from the company you were working from?? if you were and you want to get back, then, your bestfriend will be the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)… if you really have a valid claim, then go to the NLRC along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City, file a simple form detailing the owner/general manager of the company you are filing a claim against, then have your claim raffled off to an arbiter… the arbiter will then set a date for a conference between you and the company or its representative at a later date…

if, during or after the conference, which is set for 2 days, you or the company representative do not agree on a settlement and decided to bring this to court, you have 2 choices: either 1) you get a lawyer to create and file a position paper for you; or 2) you can drop your claim if you think you don’t have the time or resources to go through with your suit…

me? i decided to go through with it since i know i have a very strong and very valid case… or at least, that’s what my lawyer was telling…. LOL

———–

i will be going to several blogging activities during this month… two of which will be A Taste of Asia at the Mall of Asia [July 3] and a food writing workshop [July 14]… last Tuesday [June 26], we also went to the opening of the Krispy Kreme DriveThrough in Greenhills, the 1st ever in Asia and the Philippines… we got to bring home to big boxes of their very tasty [but very fattening] donuts for free!! weeee….

we will now become regulars of the blogger badminton every Thursdays which include the likes of Abe, Gail with husband Marc, Bimbo and wife Des, and others… Abe invited us specifically to challenge the husband and wife teamup of Bimbo and Des… hehehe…

———–

i am now an avid player of PerfectWorld from LevelUp… you’ll be able to read a very extensive review of the game [at least from my point of view] from my game site…

a softlaunch of the game was held July 1 at the Robinson’s in Malate and i was able to get a set of installer CDs for the open beta which will start on the 18th…. but again, that news is not meant for this… watch out for that in my game site…

———–

it was a very good thing that i wasn’t very active in any activities, if there, where i need to take pictures, since i don’t have my Pentax with me… i have to bring it back to where i bought it from, and they, in turn, have to send it back to Japan, for repairs on the built-in flash… this i did last May 6, and only got my camera back last Friday, June 29, in time for the softlaunch yesterday afternoon…

———–
and finally, i have a new job… it is a project management job, and the guys i work with are all very good at what they do… as far as relationships go, i still am very new at the company, and will find out about that in the coming weeks and months… but we came off a good start, at least… so i am keeping my fingers crossed…

that’s it?? that’s it!! for now…

Ciao, sweetie…

let’s play a little game of “If I Were A Senator…” the object of the game is to list down all the things that you will do if you were elected to the Senate of the Philippines… since i started this game, let me go first:

– i’d make a law prohibiting any politician from putting their names in projects done using the people’s money… case in point are those schools in Batangas named Sen Ralph G Recto Type School Building and Mayor V S Recto Type School Building… these schools were provided for by the pork barrel given to Recto, and this came from the people’s hard earned taxes… or on those roads where the billboard says Brought to you by Mayor So and So… again, not theirs… not even their money was used to put these projects up… i know, they’re doing this for immediate name recall… but this is just not right…

– i’d pass a law which will make political dynasties a crime… i don’t care if they are doing good to the people… but if they are, these are just isolated cases… more often than not, this is detrimental to the growth of the dynasty’s constituents… one person from each family in government, ONLY!!

– i’d pass a law directing the MMDA to study the possibility of limiting the number of buses plying EDSA and jeepneys plying the city streets… or having a regular time for departure and arrival… this way, we decongest our streets, and people get to their destinations on time, without limiting access to public transport…

– i’d pass a law banning prayers of any sect/religion from all public functions… enough said…

you?? what are your take on this??

Ciao, sweetie…

Tags: [ Philippine Senate | laws ]