Oh! Diyos Ko! Ano ba ito?!

I have only watched the original EHeads live once. That was during college when they guested at our fairgrounds at DB Manda during a one night concert. They were only a front-act then to Introvoys and After Image but seeing Ely, Reimund, Buddy, and Marcus play 3 songs from the Ultraelectromagneticpop! album made that a night for me to remember.

Yes I was one of those hooked to the Eraserheads phenomenon. Among their albums, I was able to collect (in cassette format):

1. Circus

2. Cutterpillow

3. Fruitcake

4. Bananatype

5. Sticker Happy

6. Natin '99

They were THE band for me at the time. So, the sudden exit of Ely from the band saddened me like any other EHead fan....

....then came this news about a one-night reunion concert at the CCP.

Oh YEAH!!!!! I hope I could land in one of those free tickets!

KIDNAP

Primetime TV (on our new Samsung LCD 32") has been limited to the missus. No thanks to ABS-CBN's lineup of teledramas (Lobo, PBB, PDA, etc.), I often resort to downloading torrents of shows I'd like to watch on our laptop. I was able to watch all seasons of the "Entourage" and "How I met your mother" ---not bad I might add. It's off-season since then so at night I often doze off easily.

But last Sunday night I was still full from our Candon, Ilocos Sur dinner of pakbet (with bagnet!) and Candon longganisa. I stayed up until I was able to see the full episode of KIDNAP, an ABS-CBN special recalling the interview-turned-KFR experience of Ces Drilon and company.

The two hour special was great, with the background music making the story-telling more chilling. I felt for Ces and her team the unfortunate ordeal that they went through. But, as Ces pointed out, it was her thirst for getting that "big scoop" that lured them to act against her superiors orders. It was her irresponsibility and probably her selfishness to get the story that lured them into being kidnapped. Remember that TV-reporter who acted similarly in DieHard-1? Well Ces definitely got more than a punch in the face after this one.

But what somehow intrigued me in this TV-special was that how come no details of the final negotiation was accounted for? On one scene, they were going to call Sen. Loren to help in the release and the next thing you know after the commercial break was that Ces and Jimmy were walking out of a private jet and later on holding a mini-presscon. Hmmm, obviously I wasn't following the details when this all transpired in the newspapers and TV. Was there really a ransom paid? I know that Mayor(?) is being questioned for getting the 30M(?) loot but who really gave the money? It couldn't be ABS-CBN, right? Hmmm...

Well Ces got a 3month suspension. But as you've seen her in the Manila-Pen incident, to this kidnapping fiasco, she might still be in the thick of things in the future. I just hope that Ces and her other media counterparts will act more responsively in the future and not put their lives at stake on behalf of their families.

Ah I almost forgot. My sis is recommending me to watch "Pushing Daisies," another hit TV series in the US. I'd better find that CD she gave me containing season 1 and bring it to the office tomorrow. (grin)

No one gets out of here alive

As you may have heard, my father-in-law whom the missus' nephews fondly call "Coco," passed away last week due to complications brought about by a 2nd stroke. It was an experience for me seeing him move from our world to the afterlife in a span of days.

I'm not a superstitious person, but, his final journey of almost two weeks started with me seeing an enormous orange and brown butterfly resting on the front porch's armrest the night before he had his 2nd stroke. With awe, I took a picture of it on our digicam for later posting. At the hospital days after, I told DR of the wonder I saw. Surprised, he mentioned that they also saw a similar butterfly on the death of one or two of his relatives. Searching the 'net, I came across other tales relating of seeing butterflies after a loved one died. Further searching showed some believe that the butterfly is the symbol of the Resurrection, a transformation from death to eternal happiness with God. Well, I do feel that Coco is now "up" there so me seeing that butterfly turned out to be a good sign.

Butterflies aside, his death had reminded me again that we are just travelers here on earth ---just passing through. That all of us, no matter the stature, will eventually be met by the world's greatest equalizer ---Death. And by all our good and bad deeds, we will be judged accordingly.

"Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives." -A. Sachs

Templates

I've been looking to change my blog template. It seems to have the same theme for several years now (wow, tagal ko na palang nagba-blog!).

But after scouring the Internet for tutorials/tips/samples on how to customize my template, I ended up with one conclusion: I am not an artistic person. Matching template colors and trying to think of burloloys to put on my blog wasn't coming up on my thoughts.

So, my dear readers, until I come up with a theme to replace my blog's template, you would have to bear for the meantime with this current template.

There is no "I" in TEAM

Well the Lakers lost today, no thanks to the Celtics' unforgiving defense. I love Kobe, who I think could be up there on the level of Air Jordan but if his teammates are not as good and balanced as the Celtics line-up, then there is no other result but a fold-up to a 39-point losing (and humiliating) margin.

Before I loved Kobe and before I loved Jordan, I loved Bird. So I guess I'm for the Celtics after all.

Congrats Celtics for a great season!

Fabulous Finds: Don Galo's

Possibly THE best tapsilog served at a dead-cheap price (P60.00).

A room with a view

Spent the weekend over at Sofitel Philippine Plaza last week with the missus and my boy. It was at a hefty price, but it was worth it ---especially with a view such as this.


BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Removal of "Funny UST Scandal" Virus

I have a knack for fixing computers since I was in high school. I couldn't say elementary since PC XTs and ATs were only presented in our classrooms when we were in high school. I found it exhilirating helping my Mom whenever she had computer problems at her school. I was particularly interested in PC virus removal, much like Ray Stanz and Dr. Egon Spengler of the Ghostbusters. Yup, I saw how the PC virus evolved from the simple (C) Brain to the Possessed virus and now....

...the UST scandal virus.

Since my Mom and youngest sis were hogging their new 42" LCD tv, I borrowed my sister's ASUS laptop to show my boy his new CD: a lethal compilation of 21 in 1 Sesame Street VCDs, all for the measly price of 40 pesos my middle sister bought from Divi.

So anyway, the laptop finished booting up when I saw this "XP Antivirus" detecting supposed trojans and viruses on her laptop. The software won't delete until I register to have it removed. Luckily, I searched Google first for "XP antivirus" and found that it was a rogue ware which is described in more detail here.

So, I concluded that it was another case of virus infection due to unknowingly downloading installation files or it could've been transfered from another thumbdrive. I was able to delete the XP Antivirus and next I decided to install a good copy of Kaspersky AV.

To my dismay, I found it difficult to install it. For some reason, the laptop WON'T LET ME. Even regedit, or running the task manager won't run. "An intelligent one ey!" I thought of the virus.

I had to bring her laptop home to do further checking. After an hour or so of trying to look for solutions in the 'net (which the virus closes as well everytime I open Panda security or any similar page ---grabe, ang talino!), I decided to use my laptop to search since the virus in the infected laptop was continually closing the browser window.

I chanced upon this website.

After a few ticks here and there which lasted for about 5 minutes, the virus was gone. I was able to install Kaspersky and another infected laptop was disinfected.

Do click one of my ads below if you found this helpful.

Let the games begin!

So, you want to work abroad?

(It’s been a while since I’ve listened to Andy McKee. Scouring for his mp3s on my office laptop, I was able to find “For My Father” which I felt to be one of his greatest work. It’s been playing over and over (and over) out of my earphones for the last hour or so. The song has somehow encouraged me to access this blog and thought of writing creatively again after blogging mostly of videos I’ve found in YouTube. So here it goes….)

Earlier I got an email from AC, a college batchmate:

I would like to get your honest opinion....please don't sugarcoat your answers. Tell the hard facts. What made you decide in the first place to leave your own country? What are the pros and cons (apart from the already obvious), tradeoffs etc.? Would you recommend it to anybody who is thinking of trying it out....and what are the things that should be considered by a first timer? On what grounds would you not recommend it to someone.

This was not the first time that I’ve received such an email. AF, another college batchmate, wrote almost the same thing to our yahoogroup since he was in a dilemma of whether taking the risk of migrating his family to New Zealand or staying here in Manila. I was able to meet him in one of my Subway-sandwich lunches before he sent out his mail so he knew very well my responses. There was no need for me to reply since I knew that he knew what I had to say. I’m glad to tell you that AF has migrated and has been living with his family in New Zealand ever since.

So AC, here is my take on the subject….

Ever since I started working, it has never occurred to me to work abroad. I’m a person who’s easily contented. I never pursued (almost everyone’s?) dream leaving the Philippines and work overseas since I found my life here in Manila to be…well…complete. My family, the missus (then my gf), and my friends are all here. “So why should I leave?” I thought.

Then in July 2000, I decided to leave the company that I was working for back then. Finding myself without a job that I can take here in Manila, I thought about it deeply and, with a deep sigh, applied abroad: Singapore specifically. After Singapore I then worked for a few years in Malaysia. After that, I was able to find a job in Manila and I’ve been here since then.

Pros?

Yup the pay was damn good. The salary that you will earn abroad will speed up your goal of accumulating your life savings. The financial part of working abroad is the greatest benefit ---except of course, if you’re a spendthrift for you will lose it all. Furthermore, the fact that your based abroad gives you a different high coz you don’t get to experience the troublesome commute, crimes, politics, showbiz gossip, etc. that Manila has. When you’re living abroad, everything seems to be safe and comfortable especially in Singapore. Working with different cultures is a great plus as well. It changes your mindset. That is, there are more important things happening in this world compared to politics and showbiz in the Philippines.

Cons?

Living away from your family, friends, and loved one is a real pain if you’re abroad, especially when crisis occurs. Even when there’s the internet and budget-IDD calls, it’s no match to a handshake, a hug, or a kiss. Working with other cultures also has some disadvantages. Sometimes they’d prefer conversing in their own language so if you don’t pick up the language quickly, you might be at the losing end in meeting updates, etc. Another possible problem is the retirement part. Where do you plan to retire after your work? Note that countries like Singapore do not have welfare.

Who should I recommend it to (or not)?

I recommend working abroad to single people, those without children, to those who seek independence, to those that want to see how they will perform in a totally different setting. It is a chance for you to explore new cultures and meet different people. I don’t recommend it to people who’ll be separated from their wives or children, i.e. those that easily get homesick.

So AC, I hope this helps you make that big important decision. All the best!

Thomas and Friends

This has been playing over and over (and over!) in my head for the past few days. Blame it on my boy who loves watching this over the Playhouse Disney channel.

Unfair

I just finished the afternoon interviewing six DLSU ECE graduates hoping to be accepted in the Company's Management Trainee program. It's sort of an accelerated hiring program for fresh-grads. If accepted and after 1.5 years working for the Company, he/she is automatically promoted to Senior Engineer level ---a promotion which usually takes 3-4 years.

I'm supportive of this program except that I think it's unfair for our HR to specify that only fresh-grads from UP, La Salle, and Ateneo are accepted to this program.

It's unfair, really, no matter how you look at it.

So did he really?

KB24 MVP, baby!

Lines II

The two lines on the home pregnancy kit didn't lie. Yup, we just found out last Thursday that the missus is pregnant again, possibly for about a month already. This was after a month of "trying." Hmmm, I guess I'm really that potent since the missus got pregnant with my boy after the same duration of "trying" as well.

If our estimates are correct, my new kid will be out by January 2009. Boy or girl it doesn't matter as long as he's (or she's) normal.

Wow, I'm gonna be a father of two by then. Life is good!

Goin' to the Behtch?

Buset!

SCTEX

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. The missus, my boy and I spent the May 1 weekend at Subic and what a way to get there! It took as about 2.5 hours from our house to Subic (this excludes the traditional stop at the Shell station at NLEX which looked good btw after their renovation).

The P112.00 one-way toll was fair for the 94-km stretch unlike the P85.00 that one needs to spend at the SLEX-Skyway which is about <10kms(?).

However, I think the SCTEX management has to improve on the exit tolls. It took us quite a long while before we reached the exit toll due to the high volume of cars crawling towards the 4-lane exit toll.

Nevertheless, the ride was damn fast and smooth. The missus couldn't resist getting behind the wheel and stepped on the gas at 130kmh! Great ride indeed.

Here's a video I found on YouTube which is a collection of great pics of their ride in the SCTEX.

White guy cooks chicken adobo

Hilarious!

Fabulous Finds: Cafe Ysabel

"Soooo san tayo kakaen?" the missus asked.

"Basta ako bahala." I replied.

It was our 4th year wedding anniversary last Thursday. I was running out of excuses that day since the missus was 99% certain that I was taking her to Cafe Ysabel. When she guessed it, I just gave out a hard laugh and said, "Mali! So stop guessing until we're there sa kakainan naten."

Of course, I knew that she was 100% right but to keep her in suspense, I had to keep her guessing.

The trip from the office to Cafe Ysabel in P. Guevarra Street in San Juan was not far. So when we parked up front the resto, I had to reveal to the missus that she was right after all. Well, I still get credit for the good acting skill of telling her she was wrong earlier that day.

Inside Cafe Ysabel, the setup looked purposely old which was somehow the theme. The waiters were well-versed with the menu which was a good sign.

So, we proceeded to order. But then two chef-trainees walked to our table presenting a complementary appetizer, with one of the ladies seemed nervously describing their latest food project. Surprisingly, the lady was Ms. Judy Ann Santos.

"It's part of their apprenticeship, sir." the waiter said.

Well, it's good to know that the Asian Cuisine Cooking school downstairs of the restaurant is doing a good job to Ms. Judy Ann for the appetizer she gave us was quite ok.

So on with our orders.

We started with the Bilbao Style Chorizo with Roasted Peppers and Balsamic Glaze which was quite nice. Then, Lobster Crustacean Bisque for our soup (great as well).

For the main course, the missus ordered Chateaubriand which tasted like beef tenderloin with fettucini while I got the Halibut Amandine which is a Chilean fish neatly topped with finely slivered almonds and leek sauce. Since I was going to eat fish and it was anyway our anniversary, I took the liberty of ordering a glass of the house's white wine.

The missus wanted as well so to match her beef, she ordered red wine.

I just have to say that the Halibut Amandine is heavenly delicious, especially when followed by a sip of white wine. RAPSA!

The Chateaubriand was well, ok lang naman.

For dessert, we ordered Crepes Ysabel which was the house's version of crepe. I found it to be ok as well.

Dining at Cafe Ysabel is an amazing experience all by itself. A laid-back setting coupled with good food, I highly recommend it.

Fabulous Finds: Spiral

To celebrate my mom-in-law's birthday, the missus and I took her to Sofitel Philippine Plaza for dinner buffet at The Spiral.

With its assortment of Chinese, Korean, BBQ, Japanese, Vegetarian, Indian, Seafood, and Italian food, the Spiral has, by far, become THE ultimate buffet experience for me.

Of course, the ultimate experience has to come with an eherm, ultimate price of P1788++ per head.

But as I've mentioned to the missus, it's not bad to pamper yourself to such luxuries every once in a while.

22 in 2

Early Saturday morning of the long weekend I found myself driving to St.Luke's hospital. I was going there to have a doc look at my cholesterol levels and possibly give me a prescription to normalize it.

I arrived just about 10mins before 8am so I thought I was just in time. When I finally reached the Medicard office about 10 people were already waiting in line. It took me only about 10 minutes to wait until one of the doctors by the name of Dr. Bumatay called me in.

He looked at my test-results and after a few "aahhs" he said, "Since 34 ka pa naman daanin na muna naten sa diet and exercise."

What? No prescription?

Yup, no drugs. I was still young as the doctor said. So he asked me to seriously look into dieting and exercise for about 2 months. Afterwhich, I'll see him again and have my blood taken for another cholesterol reading. Hopefully it will be all normal by then.

"So fish, fruits, and vegetables ka muna," he said.

"Doc pwede ba yung baboy na may sabaw, gaya nung sinigang?"

He shook his head, "Aahhh, hindi."

Well I guess this had to happen to motivate me in getting back in shape. I need to lose 22lbs to get back to my normal BMI level ---in TWO months.

Oh man, this is gonna be tough. Well, we will all find out the outcome when I meet the good doctor on June 5th.

Major Alarm

Working with different telco systems most of my career, I can say that the alarm monitoring features of these systems often fall in 3 categories:

Minor

Major

Critical

This week I was able to get a Major Alarm. No, not of any of the systems I'm handling. But that of my body. Yesterday morning I was able to grab hold of the results for my Annual Physical Exams. Most of the tests were normal except for the blood test which yielded the following results:

A major alarm indeed. I guess if I want something to "inspire" my weight-loss goal, THIS should be it. No more dilly-dallying. I'd better do something ---and NOW.

My next step would be to make a follow-up session with a doctor on these readings. At least he can guide me on how to normalize the HDLs and LDLs.

At the side of all this worry is the missus. She too received her APE results. Thankfully, all her readings are normal. It even made me wonder if the examiner had mistakenly swapped her blood sample with mine, producing interchanged readings on both of our APEs in the process.

She obviously was grateful for the test results so much so that she munched a lot of lechon manok, lechon baboy, siomai, rice, and ensaymada earlier at the dinner table.

Palagay ko nagkapalit talaga eh.

Fabulous Finds: Banana Leaf

Having worked ni Malaysia for 3 1/2 years, I opted to stay away from eating at Banana Leaf. The point was that I've been eating Malay cuisine during my stay there so it's just redundant to eat at Banana Leaf.

We wanted to eat at Recipes Greenbelt last Sunday but it was under construction. Well, since it has been a long while since I've gone to Malaysia, I guess now is a good time to try Banana Leaf.

And a good time it was! The Malay/Thai cuisine was authentic. The mee goreng and prata tasted equally well as that in KL. The missus and my boy's tastebuds agreed as well.

Good food if you want to venture into Malay/Thai cuisine.

The Talented Mr. Montano

I guess you're living under an internet rock if you haven't read the blog on DJ Montano. In a nutshell, it's an ongoing real-life drama on how Brian, an HIV+ Australian, is blogging his heart out to get back USD 70,000.00 from DJ Montano, a Filipino who supposedly duped Brian of the amount, having him believe of a business to be put in the Philippines. He mentioned as well that DJ is a member of the Gucci Gang, whose members include Celine(?) Lopez and Tim Yap.

I admire Brian's guts to use the might of the pen (err, keyboard) into getting DJ to pay back his money. I envy the guy more for the amount of money he'll be getting from all those hits in his Google-Ads.

Well Brian, for all it's worth, I hope you get back that money.

Faithfully

Arnel had confirmed that the story [below] is true. A little bit flawed from the consul's side as to who made the initial contact - Neal Schon or Arnel. Nevertheless, the story is true and confirmed. According to Noel, the people who were lining up for interview were startled when he started singing.

==========================
Forwarded by a SOMEONE who used to work the visa windows at the US embassy.

I have a nice holiday story to share: (Apologies to Snider who's now heard this 14 times, but hey, your stories aren't getting any newer.)

Months ago a band shows up at my window. It was Lemons and Oranges, or something fruity. Asked why they would play a concert in Seattle. They claimed some following there. I asked about their music; looked at their posters, CDs, etc. At the end of the interview, they were saying, "come out and see our show tonight." This invite was probably due to my withering questioning, and since they thought they were hot stuff, pride was wounded, etc. etc. It turned out that the venue is actually on the way home from the Embassy, only ten minutes away. So I says, "I can't take any free tickets yada yada yada but maybe I'll pop in."

It was a Friday. I went with two LES. We got a table, ordered some beer, fried chicken and so on. The opening band comes on. They were called "Zoo"--this I'm sure of, since I'm from Kalamazoo, the name stuck. The Zoo starts rocking out to 70/80s tunes, like Foreigner, Night Ranger, etc. But the coup de grace was indisputably when they busted out Journey. I mean, the singer was not just good--95% of all Filipinos are good singers--he was really dern good. I couldn't shut up about it. I was telling anyone who would listen, "Dude, not only does this guy have pipes, and range, he's got perfect pitch. He has only missed a few notes on some of the hardest power ballads in schlock n roll history." The LES grudgingly agreed, but they've been desensitized to the regular displays of amazing karaoke you get in Manila, so maybe they were just humoring me.

Since I'm from Michigan, I had an older brother who sported a mullet and wore softball t-shirts. His first 8-track was Styx. Ted Nugent is referred to simply as the Nuge, or Uncle Ted. The Silver Bullet invokes Bob Seger not Coors. In short, I'm qualified to judge this kind of thing. The performance was poignant for me... Images of Camaros and pegged jeans danced in my head... definitely surreal. Then.. then!... Lemons and Oranges comes on and, frankly, they were a bit of a let down. I mean, their music was Edie Brickel / Natalie Merchantesque. And that's fine --it has its place-- but let's be clear: it is a metaphysical transgression to go from Journey's "Separate Ways" into Lisa Loeb's "Stay..."

The next week I'm sitting at an NIV window next to a soon-to-be legend of an officer name Singer. Singer and I were doing FMJs and so we would trade off regular NIV applicants occassionally so that we got fair share of student visas. Singer loves the three things: the FAM, movie quotes that might cost him an EEO violation someday, and cases that make sense. Things that don't make sense, make Singer an unhappy man.

I hear Singer say, "Journey? The band Journey?" He flips through papers. He sounds unhappy.

I butt in: "What's that all about?"

He turns off his mic and looks over at me. "I don't know. This guys says he's going to try out for Journey."

I'm puzzled. "Journey? The band Journey?"

Singer goes, "That's what I just said, [EXPLETIVE]!"

"Great, another nutjob. I'll take it." Singer takes my student, I take the nutjob.

I look over his stuff and say "purpose of travel?" and all that. I start to scrutinize more carefully and realize its the guy I saw from the night before.

"Hey, does your band at Bagaberde?.. ."

He confirms and he goes on to tell me the story of how he uploaded some clips of his band that he recorded to YouTube and contacted Journey's manager, having heard they were looking for a new singer. He says they called him up and invited him to the U.S. to try out. Given the malarkey you get at a Manila NIV window, this story only got points for being original. He produced some flimsy emails and letters, etc.

So I go, in my best dubious voice, "Yeah? let's hear Wheels in the Sky!"

He belts it out for the whole waiting room and for the staff to hear (I made sure to take off my headset and let the speaker play it because what I was really doing was covering my butt).
I said, "Look sir, there isn't a person in this Embassy who would believe that story-- going to try out for Journey!-- not a soul would believe that. Except for me. I saw you sing last Friday and I couldn't shut up about how your vocals were perfect Steve Perry.

So I tell you what. I'm giving you that visa. You're going to try out. And you're going to make it...."

And the rest is rock n roll history, my friends.

(source: YouTube)

The Plan

7am. It was a typical Friday morning. I woke up and dragged myself to the treadmill to do the occasional 4km jog/walk. This was my 3rd physical activity for the week, following a previous treadmill activity on Monday and then basketball on Wednesday evening. The Griffin earphones that I bought 2 years ago at the HK airport proved helpful, plugging it on my N81 company phone and tuning it to 103.5 FM. It was at this station that I rediscovered one of the funny DJs that calmed the morning rush hour: DJ King Logan.

I first heard him on 89.9 about 9 years ago. The show was called Boys’ Night Out. I came across it accidentally when I tuned to TM after one of my evenings with the missus, who was then my girlfriend. Driving back from New Manila to Paranaque in the evening was ok, except for that mild stretch of road called Balete Drive, infamous for all those horror stories so tuning in to that funny evening show made my drive a lot less lonesome.

So anyway, as I started my Friday morning run, DJ Logan openly admitted on radio that he’ll be booking a liposuction procedure with one of those famous health clinics. He decided on going thru the knife to get rid of his excess fat since he has surrendered to all means possible to try to lose it. He ran 10km a day but he says his 195lb, 5’9” frame hasn’t slimmed down. He stressed that the liposuction he’ll be having will serve as a jump start so that he’ll be inspired to work out and keep his body fit. Furthermore, by the time the results of his lipo are noticed, it will be just in time for him to display his new improved figure in Boracay during the summer.

He asked the listeners to call/sms him on what they think about it. Some were for it while others were against it. Some said it was not “macho” for a man to go for a lipo. Logan insisted that since he has the resources (a.k.a. money) to spend, he should use it to spend for a lipo that he thinks will make him happier in his current middle-age crisis.

Logan’s lipo adventure made me think more seriously about my current battle with my weight. My recent annual physical exam proved, yet again, that I’m overweight (22lbs to be exact) from attaining a normal BMI. I’ve been stuck at the 170-172lb range for what seemed to be ages now so I think I better plan this out for real. Nope, I will not resort to lipo or any of those slimming pills. If you look carefully at those products that tell you it will make you lose weight, the fine print will show that all these equipment/pills will only be effective IF AND ONLY IF it is accompanied by REGULAR EXERCISE and a PROPER DIET.

Starting today, I hope to implement my health plan below:

1. Monday to Friday: no rice, no merienda. Drink lots and lots of water. Pantawid gutom: papak oatmeal.
2. Saturday to Sunday: eat anything.
3. Treadmill: 3 times a week. 4-5kms per session.
4. Basketball: every Wednesday evening with my office buddies. If none, replace with treadmill.
5. No colas.

I hope to follow the above program to the letter. I now weigh about 172lbs. My target weight loss is 22lbs. Therefore, my target weight should be 150lbs when this is all over.

It’s tough. But, personally, it’s better than lipo.

Let’s DO this!

"...the business is over..."

Ang galing mo idol!

You gotta be kidding me!

Fabulous Finds: Cookbook Kitchen

The missus, Owa, and I had dinner earlier at the Cookbook Kitchen, a quaint semi-fine-dining resto hidden within the residential neighborhood of Mandaluyong City. The place was recommended by my officemate JD, who frequents such hidden dining venues in search for that sumptuous meal.

We ordered the cream of squash soup and italian toast for appetizers. For the main course, the missus ordered the Pork Steak with Honey Mustard Sauce, the Farfalle pasta for Owa, and the Parmesan Crusted White Fish for me (which I found very very melt-in-your-mouth delicious!).

For dessert, we all shared a slice of Kittin's Scarlet Cake which, true enough, lived up to its description of "Something you've never seen or tasted before."

The whole dinner totaled a little over P1,100 which we found reasonable considering the delectable meal that we had.

Btw, you can view Cookbook Kitchen's menu via their multiply site here.

Great food!

Vista Blues

"Gusto mo ng bagong (office) laptop?", my boss called.

I looked like a surprised kid on Christmas morning when I saw a fresh delivery of laptops to my boss' office last Friday which were part of a delivery for this year's budget.

"Oo naman!" I said while picking up one of the laptop bags. It contained an HP with 2GB RAM and 140GB harddisk, running on the latest Windows Vista equipped with a finger scanner. This was waaay cool since I saw my Mom buy a similar laptop with the same fingerprint technology.

So I spent half of last Saturday and the whole of today (Monday) in setting-up the laptop and transferring files from my old laptop.

Then, happiness turned to dismay.

I was able to install Outlook 97 but it was damn slow. Error-prompts kept appearing. Then, AFTER I transfered all my files I realized that the Office programs and Norton Antivirus were all trial-versions only. To add further, there was a confirmed incompatibility from Microsoft on Windows Vista Home Edition working with office-networks: the two simply don't work together.

With a heavy heart, I then decided to migrate back my files to my old laptop (running in Win2000) and give the new laptop to AC, my staff, who incidentally was the guy I picked to sign the ownership form. I heard the other guys who got the same laptop will request for a downgrade to the WinXP version to make it work with the office LAN, but I won't bother anymore. I think I'll stick with this old laptop of mine which still works perfectly.

US Trip 2008 (Conclusion)

We arrived in Manila last Saturday 6am. Outside temperature was at 26 degrees Celsius, warmly indicating that we were not in the United States anymore.

THAT three-week vacation in the US was really needed, since the last time I had a long break from work was from January to December of 2002 when I bummed-out in Manila waiting for my next contract work to be realized. It was enjoyable to have the missus and my boy go around North Hills, Reno, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, touring around to see the sights and eating the food.

We might go back there again but not in the next 2 or 3 years. Ipon muna uli ng pamasahe and let my boy grow up a little so that he can appreciate Disneyland more. I highly recommend those capable of spending their time and money to see the US. You'll see for yourself why so many people around the world want to migrate there, the land of milk and honey.

It can be tempting to migrate there, but for now, the missus and I are still decided on staying put here in Manila. For nothing beats driving at 7am in the morning with the missus and my boy in tow to our favorite tapsilog store for a pair of tapsi-takeouts for breakfast.

Been There, Done That: Staples Center

Since the missus was in-charge of our US itenerary, I made it a point to watch a live Lakers game during our stay. Lucky enough, there was a home game versus the Atlanta Hawks on Feb19, just 2 days before we were to fly back to Manila.

I was able to get a seat at the upper section (as in taas na taas) courtesy of CV (thanks pare!). G drove me just about 2 blocks away from the Staples Center since traffic was quite heavy during that time. No problem since the weather was cool for walking.

There was a long queue but I managed to get in within 5 minutes. The level that I entered was "m" which I supposed stood for mezzanine. My ticket was marked "u" so I had to find a way to get to the upper level. Good thing there were guides available for lowly first-timers like me.

As I walked onto the upper level, I found my seat had to be reached by passing thru 2 heavy-built Mexicans, 3 normal-built Americans, and a European couple holding a less than a year old infant. They were all kind enough to stand up and let me pass.

When I reached my seat and looked down at the famed basketball court below me with the scoring monitors in clear view, I felt tears about to drop from my eyes. As in every NBA fan's wishlist, it was my dream to watch an NBA game live ---and I was finally there. This is truly on top of my "been there, done that" list.

There were unconfirmed reports earlier that day that Kobe wasn't going to play because of an injured pinky. But he was there, along with newly-signed star player Pau Gasol who's playing his first home game.

The stadium was about 95% full, with all sorts of characters and countless #24 jerseys worn among some of the crowd. When the Hawks' starting 5 was introduced, the home crowd booed as usual, the loudest of which was for star guard Mike Bibby. He was the only star player I know from that team, the last one being the great dunker Dominique Wilkins pero syempre matagal nang retired yun.

Then, the stadium lights all turned off and a long white curtain encircling the scoring monitors dropped to the court which doubled as a large 360 degree screen. It was the Lakers' turn to introduce their starting five. Man, it gave me chills!

Watching the game is totally different when watched from TV. There are no sports commentators but there were instant replays courtesy of the viewing monitors on top of the court. The Laker Girls performance is something to be enjoyed as well, of course (wink wink).

The game ended lopsided in favor of the Lakers, which beat the Hawks by over 30 points. It was expected of course, since the Hawks are no match for the Lakers' firepower.

As I walked off to the pick-up point that G and I agreed on, I felt a smile on my face. Another item checked on my to-do list.

Life is good.

Day15-17: Las Vegas

The drive from California to Las Vegas took us about 3 1/2 hours, thanks to T's F1 driving on the Fed Hway, from 8pm 'til close to midnight. It seems that going 70mph was fast from the backseat so when I had the chance to drive from the Cali-LasVegas stateline to our hotel, I thought of driving conservatively. To my surprise the Rover that we used didn't feel that fast once you're the driver. I managed to reach 90mph (144kmh)!

We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel which is a theme-hotel focusing on the medieval ages. I laughed at the thought that the bellboys will be dressed as knights, carrying our baggages to our room unmindful of their heavy armor-wear.

The next day we headed to the outlet shops which was quite a good deal, except that I couldn't find anything at Nike or Adidas that excited me. That's one downer about outlet shops: they don't sell all products compared to the ones found in their mall-branches.

After the outlet shop, the missus and I suddenly had a weird, compulsive idea to get married again since we were in the wedding-capital of the US. It sort of came out as a dare at first and then, slowly, excitement and eagerness came into play. So T, who was driving then, turned a few streets until we found the famous Little White Chapel wherein Michael Jordan got married.

The Little White Chapel had several chapels and a drive-thru. YES, you read that right: a DRIVE-THRU wedding option. The missus wanted the chapel option. For those who want to get married, a marriage-license is required but since the missus and I were just renewing our wedding vows, we didn't need it.

So after paying for 144USD for the chapel, ceremony, a white rose, and a 12-shot photo-option from their official photographer (who was a kind Mexican btw), we got married again in front of a Hawaiian chief. At least, as the missus says, "Ibang trip ito. Only a few can say that they toured Vegas and got married there."

We hopped back into the Rover and headed for our "reception" which was at the Mirage Hotel Cravings buffet. Incidentally, it was T who missed our original reception since she had to attend to their Dad who got ill then. So, along with her daughter B, they were the only guests on our 2nd reception which was quite a good meal.

B had a stomach-ache so she and T had to leave me, the missus, and my boy left to explore the Vegas strip. The famed Bellagio fountain, shown at the ending of the Clooney film Oceans 11, was quite a performance. I highly recommend those that would go to Vegas watch it (it's free, so don't worry). We walked from The Mirage, to Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio, Monte Carlo, NY-NY, and then Excalibur. YES, we walked almost half of the strip which was about 1.49miles according to Yahoo Maps. It was a good 30-40 minutes of walking (while pushing my boy's stroller) so at least the buffet dinner I ate had burned (10% of the whole calorie-intake? hehe).

The following morning we checked-out and headed to the hotel's arcade located downstairs. Do you know that game wherein there's a 3-hook crane that you try to get a stuffed-toy? I really find it hard to think that anyone could win that game ---until that day. With the help of the missus panning the z-axis, I measured the crane's x-axis that we got that big big (BIG!) Los Angeles ball for my boy (who screamed in his high-pitched delighted voice, "BALL!").

T and B won a lot of stuffed toys as well while the missus rode a 3-course 4D ride which took quite some time to complete.

We boarded the Rover for our trip back to North Hills. This route took us almost 7 hours(?) since it seemed that the rest of those who spent the long-weekend at Vegas decided to go back to their homes at the same time as ours.

Las Vegas was quite a city. Even though the missus and I lost about 80USD on the slot machines, it was quite an enjoyable trip.

Day11-13 San Francisco

Thanks to Lola Da's prescription of cheese-flavored popcorn, my boy was calm and relaxed throughout the flight from/to San Francisco. The weather when we arrived was somewhat cold as in LA but was more windy.

We stayed at the downtown area wherein we met a variety of nationalities: a Vietnamese taxi driver and quite a number of Filipinos working there.

Notable food was that of Tod's Steakhouse wherein we had a sumptuous dinner of the household steak specialty.

The famous cable car was there as well, which seems to have carved a niche in San Francisco. It will cost you $5 for a one-day pass so that you can tour the downtown area via cable car.

We opted to take the 3-hour Gray-line bus tour which took us around the city:

1. Fisherman's Wharf (although we weren't able to eat the invitingly creamy clam chowder)

2. Twin Peaks (we had a good vantage view of the whole city)

3. victorian houses

4. Golden Gate Park (my boy absolutely loved this one)

5. Gold Gate bridge (of course; we had a good view of Alcatraz from here as well)

I can describe SF as an Americanized version of Singapore (due to the numerous people walking about to their destination which, btw, accounted for almost zero obese people that I saw during our stay) and Philippines (due to a lot of beggars).

If I were still single and wanted to work in the US, then SF would be my city.

US Day8&9

Day 8

Dr. M rented a Chevy Suburban for our Lake Tahoe trip. It was only less than 2 hours from their house so the drive was quite easy especially since my boy fell asleep throughout. We parked at Heavenly Snow Resort and bought tickets for the gondola ride which Tita D was apprehensive about since she didn't like heights. This could've been a nervous experience she had with the Genting Highland gondola when the missus and I were still in Malaysia. Of course being outnumbered, she had no choice but to ride the gondola up to the summit.

Heavenly's summit can well be described as, well, heavenly. There were a lot of people going about the resort: skiing and snowboarding mostly. My boy and I were able to catch 25 minutes before the tubing area closed. It was a tiring experience for me since I had to carry my boy all the up to the end of the incline while carrying a palanggana-shaped plastic that would serve as our snowcraft for the descent. But it was all FUN all the way down although my boy kept saying his favorite phrase: ayaw na, daddy na lang. But I think he liked it. The missus took a turn with my boy as well. We tried to put in my boy alone for the descent but the missus had to halt the videocam since she panicked when she saw my boy lying down instead of sitting up during the descent. Don't worry folks! No harm done. My boy enjoyed what may have been a dizzying ride to the bottom.

It was about 3pm when the resort closed so we had to board the gondola again going back to the base of the mountain.

We had a late lunch at Appleby's in which my boy liked the salad ("do you want vegetables?") and the ice cream ("ice....cream").

After Tahoe, we dropped off at the Holiday Inn at 6th Street to meet up with the missus' ex-officemate, Tita A which my boy fondly calls Tita Orange since her name sounded like it. They treated us to dinner at Hannah's Casino for a buffet dinner which was quite ok except that the ribs and NY steak could've been better. Well, at least my boy liked the ice cream with oreo and butterfinger crumbs.

After Tita Orange, I scooted alone to meet up with RB who's a highschool friend of mine working in Reno for the past 7 years as an ICU specialist in one of the hospitals here. Incidentally, he showed me a pic of him with the great Don-Don Ampalayo a.k.a. Yellow Liver Man of the Jaworski-led Ginebra basketball team. It seems that Don-Don has been working in Sacramento doing the same thing as RB has. I hope he's doing good here.

RB treated me to two bots at the Grand Sierra Resort bar, occassionally looking at prostitution at work with Russians, fifty (even sixty) year old blondes looking out for possible prey. Yup, prostitution is allowed in Nevada so it was quite I sight I might say.

After drinking he toured me to see the other side of Reno which is not found in your normal tourist brochures. From the looks of it, I guess sex really sells in Reno. We stopped at an adult XXX store to see what could be found. It was quite interesting to see the assortment of sex toys and other paraphernalia being sold there. The store even had cubicles wherein for a dollar, you can watch a strip show although it's only on TV (bummer). If it were live, then I would've spent 10 dollars. Hehe.

RB then took me to a local 7-11 for a drink of those bottled Starbucks frappuccinos to cap the nighht, err, morning since it was already 2am. The drink was not that cold but my body was shaking since we were drinking out in the cold night under 32 degree farenheit (that's ZERO degrees celsius) weather. RB noticed it so we went back to his RAV4 to turn up the heater and dropped me back home.

Day 9

We went to the Little Flower Church for our Sunday Mass at 12noon although my boy had other matters ("play with the baby!") since I had to watch him go out of the church to play with the locals. It's quite interesting to note that my boy is very at ease here in the US since we came. He's really enjoying it. It could be because of the cold weather or the long running-paths in his Tita T's house. Hmmm.

After Mass we had lunch at a Chinese buffet restaurant. The receptionist there seemed to sound like that Chinese-voice in the "Dude, Where's My Car?" film: "AND THEN???"

Notable in their buffet was the buttered-mussles, "Pork Chinese FRI rice," "French FRIED", and mongolian bbq noodles. No need to mention it but my boy liked the ice cream as well.

The flight back to LA from Reno was full of problems. It started with my boy becoming uneasy throughout the flight since his ears seemed to hate the ascent/descent of the plane. He was crying badly throughout that the missus and I just felt sorry for the other passengers who had to hear his constant cries of "go out na" or "go home na."

Second was that the check-in baggage arrived late on the carousel that we missed what could've been a stress-free bus ride to Van Nuys station. Sadly, there seemed to have been a small commotion with the driver and one of the passengers. We didn't know exactly what it was but it caused us about 40mins delay to leave the airport with LAPD and airport police present. Good thing my boy was not as uneasy as when he was on the plane.

We arrived home by close to midnight but not without driving-thru Jack-In-The-Box for a late dinner of Chicken Fajitas for the missus and Sirloin beef sandwich for me. Yum!

Day 6&7 - Reno, Nevada

Reno is a small town in Nevada where we went to visit the missus' cousin who's a doctor married to a nurse (quite comforting to know that while staying in their place, just in case).

The house is soooooooooooo beautiful that it could've have been taken from those interior design magazines. American style, it boasts of fine furnishings amidst its butter-yellow walls.

The village is surrounded by snow-capped mountains although the place itself has only small packets of ice left from the winter.

I just love this house's interior design. Kudos to Dr.M and Nurse M for having such a wonderful home!

We won't go out tonight since the missus is still recovering from a light flu. We're going to have In n' Out Burger for dinner which Dr.M boasts of being THE best burger he's ever tasted ----better than McDo or Jollibee.

Tomorrow, we take a trip to Lake Tahoe where my boy will definitely see lots of ice and snow. I hope (and pray) he's done with the jetlag and sleeps early tonight.

Random Notes: LA Day5

M writng dis frm my fon via wifi so pardon d txt shortcuts.

We spent d day at Universal Studios, a must 4 any1 who's into Hollywud. D studio tour was gr8, taking us 2 d set of movies/tv-shows such as Jaws, Psycho, Desperate Housewyvs, and even Heroes!

My boy liked d amusement park as wel since he was able 2 meet Shrek, Spongebob, and Dora. He got real scared though of d Waterworld show so he & d misus had 2 go out early.

It was 42nate dat C.A., d misus' frend frm Glendale, was wid us 2 show us around dat day. D misus & i wer able 2 go 2 d main atractns:

1. Hous of horors (teribly scary. A walk thru horor xperiens)

2. Terminator 3d (as d hostes has said, 'SUPER!')

3. Jurasic Park boat ryd (got slytly wet)

4. The Mummy Ride (a speed ryd w/c d misus lykd so much she rode it 4 times! I did it 2x only)

We had dinner at Tony Roma's (yummeh ribs!) and kofi at Starbucks wherein my boy liked d choco cookie. Even by d folowng mrng he finishd d cookie dat we brought home.

Nex stop: Reno.

Random Notes: L.A. Day 3&4

Day 3

It was my first time to drive ---in California. The directions to the Northridge Mall was quite easy: left, left, right, then straight all the way until you see the mall. It was easy although I think I overexaggerated at stopping at the intersection. It's required you make a full stop at an intersection if there's no traffic light. I think I stopped for 5 seconds too long each time (grin).

The missus had the usual chinese food combo while I ventured on mongolian bbq. There was no rice for the mongolian, only noodles that looked like spaghetti noodles. Needless to say I didn't finish much of my $8 meal.

I was able to buy my two NBA T-shirts: one Arenas and one Kobe. The shirts are cool since the logos and names were all rubberized. Pwede panlakad or panlaro. Kahit sa porma man lang, panalo. Hehe.

My boy liked the playground mall so much that it was the 1st time we saw him take the slide. It was funny to watch that we recorded a video (to be uploaded soon on my boy's blog).

In the evening we needed to check-in at Tropicana Hotel which was in front of Disney Anaheim so that we can maximize our one day there easily. Along the way we stopped at Denny's for dinner. The hamburger was huge (as any other food served here). I ordered a choco milkshake, which, without A doubt, was THE best choco milkshake I've ever ever ever (ever!) had.

Day 4

It was not as cold in Anaheim as it was in North Hills. But still, it was chilly. It was a cold walk from the hotel to the Disney park which actually had 2 parks: California and Disneyland. California had more wild rides while Disney was, well, everything Disney.

I liked the motto that the missus read on Disneyland: Where you meet old friends for the very first time. Yup it was truly a wonderful experience for me to meet Mickey & Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio, Winnie The Pooh, Eor, and Tigger for the first time when the only times I've met them was through the TV. Hmm, I didn't catch Donald Duck though. Maybe he flew south? Grin.

My boy loved it too. He liked Winnie The Pooh that he smiles cheerfully whenever I show him our pic with the famous Pooh. Although Barney was not around though coz I think he's (she's?) under another label.

We rode a lot of the rides as well:

1. Star Tours (Star Wars theme wherein you ride a simulator flying to the planet Enron. Yup, I know the bugoys would've loved this one. There was even a Jedi Training School.)

2. Pirates of the Caribbean (the missus says this has been updated to include Capt. Jack Sparrow. Quite dark, scary at first, but not so much after the first drop. Wink)

3. Haunted Mansion (I laughed when I heard the guy managing the queue when he said in a kind classy voice, "Please! Move inside a little further. Others are just "dying" to join us!")

4. Winnie The Pooh (well, my boy didn't like dark places, "Ayaw naaaaa")

5. Space Mountain (Cool ride. You SHOULD NOT miss this ride if you're in Disney Anaheim)

6. Buzz Lightyear (the ride was great since it included shoot em 'up wherein you zap Buzz's enemies and the score is updated on your dashboard)

7. Peter Pan

8. Disney train (a train that goes around the park complete with underpasses showing different times like prehistoric, the Canyon, etc)

Good thing the missus mentioned about the end-day parade. It was exciting to wait along the sidewalk among the other visitors to wait for the parade. It was fortunate that we found a nice open spot wherein we got a good view. Unfortunately my boy was slept through it, only waking up crying to see the Alice in Wonderland scary flowers in front of him. Well, at least he got a chance to see Simba on the Lion King float.

The day was capped with a dinner at IHOP (Intl House Of Pancakes). This was what the missus had been craving for sooo long ever since we thought of vacationing in California. She ordered the Colorado Omelette which came with 3 buttermilk pancakes. When the omelette arrived, it seemed to be good for 3 people. She finished half of it and just barely finished 1 of 3 pancakes. I tasted the pancake to see what the hype was really all about. Since they're called Int'l House Of Pancakes, I expected something good. It tasted nowhere close to Pancake House's X-factor pancake. Oh well, at least I ordered the Chicken Crepe which was quite nice.

I think all this food writing made me want to go back to Denny's. Maybe tomorrow since today is Ash Wednesday.

Random Notes: L.A. Trip Day2

We went to Six Flags theme park today. It was extra cold today with my hands freezing while pushing my boy's stroller from the parking to the entrance. The missus was still with her sandal gear so she managed to get all of the freezing weather especially when we road the Batman rollercoaster ride.

My boy rode the merry-go-round ---twice. In both instances he shouted "ride the horse" when we were going towards it, cried "AYAW NA" when we were in. Then cried "ride the horse again" when we walked away from it.

The rollercoaster was slightly different cause it's just open seats with your feet dangling. The ride, although lasting a little over 10 seconds, was an exciting chest-pounding experience. My only fault was that I closed my eyes too often. The missus said that I shouldn't so that I can see and anticipate the next turn so as not to scare me more.

I can finally say that I've eaten at Chuckee Cheese. I've heard so much about it in US-film dialogues that I didn't exactly know what it was until today. My boy definitely enjoyed it, screaming and crying "DRIVE!" everytime I had to pull him away from a car arcade game.

I was able to experience home-security the wrong way. Feeling that the room was warm, I slid open the glass window which triggered the house-alarm. Next thing I knew my sis-in-law ran from her room to the garage to disable the alarm. Then the phone rang. It was the home-security company checking if everything was alright. WHEW! At least we knew that the alarm was working (grin).

Random Notes: L.A. Trip Day1

LAX airport's arrival carousel was mayhem. The length of the carousel was half the size in the KL airport. Add to that a full flight, looking for your baggage was quite a task. The stroller, which should've been given when we were at the tarmac, was in the carousel as well. Airport security was tight, complete with K-9 dogs that smell your check-in baggages for food (no wonder the PAL stewardess announced to leave all food in the airplane before leaving it). One British Airline passenger got the dog's attention by bringing in a banned half-eaten banana.

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The weather was less than 20 degress celsius. C-C-C-Cold! Good thing for heaters!

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The freeway is as it is: a free way for cars to maneouver at speeds of over 70MPH! Take note: MILES per hour, not kilometers.

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Food so far eaten: Thai dinner, Filipino breakfast (pandesal), Chinese lunch (Panda Express), and Italian Pizza takeout (Pizzahut) and pancit dinner. Just goes to show how multicultural the US has been.

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The body will take time to adjust to the US timezone. My boy, in fact, slept at 3am and had to be woken up at 12noon (LA time).

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The missus was able to find the last remaining Bo Bice CD (See The Light) at Wal-Mart North Hills. Finally! (I hope Bo Bice can read this for her benefit)