Random Thoughts

It's Magic

2011-11-08T20:18:00.000+08:00

On 7 November 1991, Magic Johnson announced his retirement from basketball. He was 32, at which time, he'd already been MVP three times and won the NBA championship with the Lakers five times. I think I still have clippings of the Philippine Daily Inquirer's issue somewhere in the papers I've accumulated over the years.

Contrary to everyone's fears, he is still with us twenty years later. And, if such a thing is possible, he has actually managed to be a better person than he was a basketball player. (Skip to the 1:00 mark in the video below, for his press conference yesterday)

To this day, he remains my favorite Laker and basketball player of all time. I'm so happy you are "managing" HIV, Magic, stay well.

Review: Logitech Wireless Combo MK260

2011-11-02T00:00:00.001+08:00

I recently purchased the Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 for about P1,270 from PCX. As its name implies, it is a wireless keyboard-and-mouse set.

The keyboard is comfortable but it doesn't look and feel much different from a generic keyboard except that it has 8 "hot keys" in the upper left option which provides for volume control and a power switch, among others. Thus far, the only "hot keys" which have worked for me are the mute button and the calculator button. The other keys don't seem to work as advertised. I like the wireless mouse, it is way better than the models that CDR-King sells.

Installation was a breeze, and it worked fine with Windows 7. The USB receiver has good range - I'm using the MK260 on my desktop and I placed the receiver at the back of the CPU. Both the wireless keyboard and mouse easily detected the signal from the USB receiver.

Apart from my gripes with the "hot keys" which I rarely use anyway, I only have one problem with this product : it has no Caps Lock and Num Lock LED indicator. This, for me, is a significant omission in this age of case-sensitive passwords. If the generic keyboards have this LED at 1/5 the price of the Logitech (free, if you have a PC assembled), I'm not quite sure why Logitech would leave out this feature.

To give you an idea of the stuff which comes with the box of the MK260, see TechTigerTV's unboxing video which I found in YouTube:

Note: Windows 7 can help you out if you have one of those keyboards, like the MK260, which doesn't have a LED indicator. Go to Control Panel, click Ease of Access and choose "Change how your keyboard works." Check the box for "Turn on Toggle Keys" to hear a tone when you press Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock.

A Dance with Dragons available on Asia-Pac Kindle Store

2011-07-16T10:32:00.000+08:00

I am happy to report that George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons, the 5th book in the A Song of Fire and Ice fantasy series was made available, for pre-order and on the first day of release last 12 July 2011, on Kindle's Asia-Pacific store. Good job, Amazon!

Audible audiobooks on the Kindle 3

2011-05-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

Great news for those (like me) who "read" books by listening to them. Audible and Amazon have tied up to allow audiobooks to be accessed through the Kindle.

First, you can now order audiobooks through the Kindle and the books can be downloaded directly to your Kindle.

Second, your Audible books can be transferred to your Kindle via USB as indicated in the FAQ page of Audible:

To transfer audiobooks to your Kindle, follow these steps:
Step 1. Connect your Kindle to your computer, using the USB cable that came with the device.
Step 2. Your Kindle should appear on your computer in the same location you would normally find an external USB drive.
Step 3. Open your Kindle. You should see a folder entitled "audible." Drag any audiobooks you want to play on your Kindle into this folder.
By default your Audible audiobooks file will reside in the following locations:
▪ Windows XP Users:          C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Audible\Downloads
▪ Windows Vista/7 Users:    C:\Users\Public\Documents\Audible\Downloads
▪ Mac OS Users:                 Location of your Audible Audio files will vary
Audible.com offers four versions of its audiobook format. Kindle is compatible with format 4 (file extension: .aa) and Audible Enhanced Audio (file extension: .aax). Formats 2, 3, and audiobooks provided from other sources are not supported.
Step 4. Using your computer, eject your Kindle from your computer. The content you transferred should now appear in Home.

Ad-supported Kindle

2011-04-17T11:04:00.000+08:00

Heads up, folks! An ad-supported Kindle is now available, and it's sellling for US$25 less.

Here are the features, according to Amazon:

New, Lower Price
When you buy Kindle with Special Offers, you are getting the same bestselling Kindle for $25 less—only $114. Special offers and sponsored screensavers display on the Kindle screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen—they don't interrupt reading.
Special Offers
You'll receive special offers directly on your Kindle. Examples include:
$10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
$6 for 6 Audible Books (normally $68)
$1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store (choose from over 1 million albums)
$10 for $30 of products in the Amazon Denim Shop or Amazon Swim Shop
Sponsored Screensavers
Our goal is to display sponsored screensavers that you want to see. That's why we've created a free Kindle app and website (coming soon) called AdMash. Anyone who's interested can download AdMash and help pick future screensavers. Two prospective screensavers show up side-by-side, and you pick the one you find most attractive. The ones preferred most by customers qualify to become sponsored screensavers.

You can also set your personal Kindle Screensaver Preferences to give us hints on the style and types of sponsored screensavers you'd like to see on your Kindle. For example, you can indicate that you'd like to see more or fewer screensavers that include elements such as landscapes and scenery, architecture, travel images, photography, and illustrations. Together, AdMash voting and Kindle Screensaver Preferences help us select the most attractive and engaging sponsored screensavers to display on your Kindle.

Personally, I think a Kindle with ads should be free.

Timbuktu!

2011-04-11T22:41:00.000+08:00

My Kindle case finally arrived!

Kindle 3: software update v. 3.1

2011-02-12T17:43:00.000+08:00

As you may already know, Amazon has come out with an "early preview release" of the Kindle's software (version 3.1). Because it's a preview, it is not yet being pushed to our devices. It is, however, available for download. Please note that the "early preview release" is only for the newest generation Kindle 3.

The following are the new features, according to Amazon:

Public Notes -- This feature lets Kindle users choose to make their book notes and highlights available for others to see. Any Kindle user -- including authors, their fans, book reviewers, professors and passionate readers everywhere -- can opt-in to share their thoughts on book passages and ideas with friends, family members, colleagues, and the greater Kindle community of people who love to read. This is a new way for readers to share their excitement and knowledge about books and get more from the books they read. To review and turn on Public Notes in your own books, view the Public Notes of people you follow, track your reading activities, see Popular Highlights and your annotations, and view your full library of books, go to https://kindle.amazon.com. Learn more.

Real Page Numbers -- Our customers have told us they want real page numbers that match the page numbers in print books so they can easily reference and cite passages, and read alongside others in a book club or class. We've already added real page numbers to tens of thousands of Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions and thousands more of the most popular books. Page numbers will also be available on our free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps in the coming months. If a Kindle book includes page numbers, press the Menu key in an open Kindle book to display page numbers. Learn more.

Before You Go ... -- When you reach the end of the book, you can immediately rate the book, share a message about the book with your social network, get personalized recommendations for what to read next, and see more books by the same author. Learn more.

New Newspaper and Magazine Layout -- We're introducing a new and improved layout for newspapers and magazines. This new layout gives you a quick snapshot of the news and helps you decide what you want to read first.

PC Mag likewise has an article with a slideshow detailing the changes brought about by the new software.

And here, according to Amazon, are the instructions for download:

Determine your software version: From Home, select Menu, then Settings. On the Settings screen you will see the Kindle version at the bottom of the screen. If you see "Version Kindle 3.0.3" or earlier (3.0.3, 3.0.2, 3.0.1, or 3.0), please proceed with the steps below to update your Kindle to the latest software.

Download your software: Click on the appropriate link below to download the software update file directly to your computer:
Kindle Wi-Fi: Download 3.1 (Early Preview Release)Your serial number will start with "B008"Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) - U.S. and Canadian Customers*: Download 3.1 (Early Preview Release) Your serial number will start with "B006"Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) - European Customers*: Download 3.1 (Early Preview Release)Your serial number will start with "B00A"
Transfer software to your Kindle: Turn your Kindle on and connect it to your computer using the USB cable. Drag and drop the new update file from your computer to the root Kindle drive. (The drive contains a number of folders - such as "audible," "documents," and "music" - and is typically displayed as a "device" icon).
Monitor file transfer and disconnect: Check your file transfer progress to ensure file transfer to your Kindle is complete before disconnecting. After the file has transferred successfully, eject the Kindle to safely disconnect Kindle from your computer. Disconnect the USB cable from your Kindle and your computer.
Start the software update: Go to the Home screen, press the Menu key, and select "Settings." Press the Menu key again, and then select "Update Your Kindle." (This option will be grayed out if the most recent update has already been installed or if the file transfer was not successful.) Select "Ok" when prompted if you want to perform an update. Your Kindle will restart twice during the update. After the first restart, you will see "Your Kindle is Updating".
Once the update is complete: Your Kindle will automatically restart a second time. When you go to the Settings page, you should notice Version: Kindle 3.1 at the bottom of the screen. Once you see this, you know your update is complete.

I downloaded the new software and promptly installed it in my device. The Kindle will display this message while it is updating the software:

Thereafter, if the update is successful, the following message will be displayed on the screen:

This process will be repeated twice and then you get this screen:

You can check that you have the current software version in the Settings menu.

Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

2011-02-05T23:32:00.000+08:00

As first reported by the nytimes and ars technica, it appears that Apple wants a cut of Amazon and Sony's e-book sales (at least those purchased using an iOS app).

Uh uh. This means higher prices for Kindle e-books if purchased through the iPhone or iPad Kindle app. Solutions for people who like buying e-books from Amazon?

a. Buy the Kindle, instead of using the iPhone or the iPad Kindle app; or

b. Buy e-books through iBooks; or

c. Buy Android-based devices instead and install the Kindle app there; or

d. Buy e-books through the Kindle desktop app and read them using their iPad or iPhone.

Let's see how Amazon responds. Nice discussion over at gdgt as well.

NY Times Bestsellers and the Kindle Asia Pacific store

2011-01-22T16:55:00.000+08:00

As of 23 January 2011, the following are at the top of the NY Times Bestsellers' List for HARDCOVER FICTION:

1. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson

2. WHAT THE NIGHT KNOWS, by Dean Koontz

3. DEAD OR ALIVE, by Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood

4. THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham

5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett

Happily, all are available at the Kindle Asia-Pacific store.

Let's see, how about the 5 BEST BOOKS OF 2010 (Fiction):

FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzer
THE NEW YORKER STORIES, by Ann Beattie
ROOM, by Emma Donoghue
SELECTED STORIES, by William Trevor
A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD, by Jennifer Egan

Yup, also available.

Complaints from Oz

2011-01-20T20:58:00.000+08:00

The Aussies have spoken (much, much earlier than me it looks like), and it appears I'm not alone in my complaints. Hah!

Usapang Kindle

2011-01-19T23:34:00.000+08:00

There are a number of threads in various messageboards here in the Philippines where the Kindle is discussed. For example, there is a very active thread over in Girltalk on ebook readers in general. There's also one in Philmug, in Tipidpc and in Pinoydvd.

Where to buy the Kindle 3

2011-01-19T23:31:00.000+08:00

You may:
a. Order direct from Amazon US and have it shipped directly to the Philippines. You will be charged US$20.98 for shipping and roughly US$20 (at least for the wi-fi only version) for "Import Fees Deposit", what Amazon calls an "estimate of the Import Fees that will be levied on the items in your order for shipment to countries outside of the US." In short, you will not have any problems with the folks at the Bureau of Customs and the Kindle will arrive at your doorstep with no further charges.
b. Order from Amazon US and have it shipped to a forwarder like Johnny Air (JAC). Shipping to JAC's office in New York will be free (c/o Amazon's free super saver shipping option) and you will pay roughly US20.00 to JAC for the service.
c. Buy from reputable sellers in Pinoydvd, Tipidpc and the like.

LA Times interview with Amazon's head of content for Kindle

2011-01-19T21:34:00.000+08:00

LA Times interview with Russ Grandinetti, the head of content for Amazon.com's Kindle business.

Kindle cover

2011-01-18T23:24:00.000+08:00

I ordered this envelope sleeve from Amazon. Let's hope it gets here soon.
I didn't want a leather cover because it makes the Kindle heavier, which basically detracts from one of its main advantages. Also, I actually like the Kindle "naked", so to speak, as the page-turn buttons are easier to access that way.

Is Kindle Book Lending available for Asia-Pac?

2011-01-18T22:51:00.000+08:00

Nope! Here's Amazon's answer:

Is lending available internationally?

At this time, Kindle book lending can only be initiated by customers residing in the United States. If a loan is initiated to a customer outside the United States, the borrower may not be able to accept the loan if the title is not available in their country due to publisher geographical rights.

In these cases the borrower will be notified of this during the Loan redemption process, and the book reading and lending rights will return to the lender at the end of seven days from loan initiation. You can always check the status of a loan by viewing the book on the Manage Your Kindle page.

Now available: Rafe Bartholomew's Pacific Rims

2011-01-18T22:00:00.000+08:00

Just realized that Rafe Bartholomew's book, Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball is now available on Kindle's Asia-Pac store for US$16.97.

This book was reviewed in Slam and NBA Fanhouse. Here's Rafe talking about it:

Kindle 3 commercial

2011-01-17T23:09:00.000+08:00

No goodies for Kindle Store Asia-Pac

2011-01-17T22:41:00.000+08:00

Further to my earlier observations about the Kindle, here's a screen shot of the Kindle Store for Asia Pacific customers like me:

Note, on the other hand, the "Special Features" section in the left portion of the Kindle UK Store site, as well as the 12 Days of Kindle promo:

Finally, here's a screen shot of the Kindle Store for US customers. Note the 50% off EA Games promo at the top of the page:

If you scroll down further, there is also a "Special Features" section highlighting recommended books, NY Times bestsellers, top free e-books etc:

As they say in law, res ipsa loquitor!

Inquirer (Kindle edition)

2011-01-17T15:48:00.000+08:00

For US$10.99 monthly, you can now get the Philippine Daily Inquirer on your Kindle. Cheaper than buying the paper daily at Php 20. Not too sure how much the monthly subscription goes, if you want the paper delivered to your doorstep everyday.

P.S.

According to the Inquirer (which responded via twitter), an annual subscription to the print edition costs about Php 6,584 or roughly Php 548.67 monthly. The Kindle edition comes out cheaper.

ManyBooks.net

2011-01-16T23:37:00.000+08:00

For Kindle users in Asia-Pacific, here's how to get a hold of those classics without paying the US$2.00 which Amazon charges.

The folks at ManyBooks.net give you the very same books (in their own words) "at the best price: free!"

Just pick a book, choose the Kindle format and download. To transfer to your Kindle, here's how Amazon says you should do it:

1. Plug the larger end of the USB cable into an available USB port or a powered USB hub connected to your computer.

2. Connect the other end of the USB cable to the micro-USB port on the bottom of your Kindle. Your Kindle will go into USB drive mode and appear in the same location you would normally find an external USB drive.

3. Use your computer's file browser to drag and drop files to and from Kindle making sure to drop files in the 'Documents' folder on Kindle.

4. When finished, use your computer's undock, eject, or unmount feature to remove your Kindle.

Free e-books for Asia-Pac

2011-01-16T23:35:00.000+08:00

Do you know that most of the classics, which are free on the Kindle US and UK stores, cost US$2.00 for Asia-Pac customers?

I did, however, manage to find five classics (count 'em yeah) which are (miraculously) free even for Asia-Pacific customers:

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll;

2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne;

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens;

4. Ethics by Aristotle;

5. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau; and

6. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.

What's in the box

2011-01-16T21:55:00.000+08:00

Got my Kindle from the Amazon UK store so it came with a power adapter. According to Patrick (of The Bookish Pinoy), even Kindles purchased from the US store likewise come with a power adapter and a USB 2.0 cable. This means, you can charge your Kindle either using the power adapter or the USB cable (via your laptop or desktop).

For those who buy the "international" version of the Kindle, note that you only get the USB 2.0 cable. You need to order the adapter separately.

The Amazon Kindle 3

2011-01-16T21:17:00.000+08:00

I got a Kindle 3 (wifi only version) last Christmas.

I was going to write about its features except that I found this great post from The Bookish Pinoy, describing it in great detail with a lot of pictures to boot. Read on, folks!

Here's a video from MobileTechReview, if you don't feel like reading:

Woe to Kindle owners in the Asia-Pacific

2010-12-29T10:18:00.002+08:00

Further to my earlier observations about the Kindle, here's a screen shot of the Kindle Store for Asia Pacific customers like me:

Note, on the other hand, the "Special Features" section in the left portion of the Kindle UK Store site, as well as the 12 Days of Kindle promo:

Finally, here's a screen shot of the Kindle Store for US customers. Note the 50% off EA Games promo at the top of the page:

If you scroll down further, there is also a "Special Features" section highlighting recommended books, NY Times bestsellers, top free e-books etc:

As they say in law, res ipsa loquitor!

A review: Kindle 3 (international edition)

2010-12-27T10:58:00.001+08:00

After about 2 weeks with my Kindle 3 (wifi only version), I decided to write a letter to Amazon's customer service:

"I got a Kindle as a gift this Christmas and I love it.

Because of my location (in the Philippines), I am considered to be in the Asia-Pacific region.I am writing to complain about the rather shabby treatment we (Asia-Pacific users) are getting from Amazon.

Remember that, for reasons known only to you, all the books you sell to us are at least US$2.00 more expensive than the US price (including otherwise free e-books which are available, for free, to your US and UK customers but are being sold for US$2.00 to us).

In exchange for the considerably higher prices on e-books:

1. We, Asia-Pacific customers, get a crappy webpage which, when opened, shows a listing of "bestselling" e-books.

In contrast, the Kindle store website for UK customers shows links to "Kindle bestsellers", "award winners", "editor's picks", "free e-book selections" (which you probably cannot show here as there are only maybe 3), "e-books under 7 pounds", "kindle editions with audio/video" etc.

There are also listings for the Top 100 paid books, and the Top 100 free books and the best of 2010. There are book suggestions, for history buffs, the globe trotters, entertainers etc.

I mean, really, you can't be bothered to do the same for us Asia-Pacific customers especially since we pay US2.00 MORE per book?

2. We, Asia-Pacific customers, get none of the game applications. Granted, none of these are really good and we can probably play better games using other devices, but I'm not sure I understand the basis for the lack. Are there copyright restrictions for Hangman, Monopoly and Scrabble as well?

3. We, Asia-Pacific customers, do not get any special promotions or sales. In contrast, and for example, your UK customers have a "12 days of Kindle sale", where certain books are available for only a pound.

4. We, Asia-Pacific customers, don't have dedicated Twitter or Facebook pages. Only your US customers do. So, none of your "special offers", "deals" and amazing discounts are ever applicable to us.

It's bad enough that not all e-books available for US customers can be sold to us. But we understand that there are legal impediments as of the present time. What I don't get, because it is something totally within your control, is the lack of regard you have for your international customers. Items #1 and 4 above won't even cost you extra money (as you already have people maintaining the Kindle store for Asia-Pacific customers, and opening Twitter and Facebook accounts is free). I hope you do something about this disparity in treatment as soon as possible.

Your very disappointed
international Kindle owner,

x x x"

Lest I be misunderstood, I love the Kindle 3. As advertised, it's like reading a book - there's no glare at all. It's very light. I love that you can download samples (or excerpts) of a book before you buy. I wrote the letter above and this blog just to give the user's experience of someone who's not from the United States or the UK.

For the gadget itself, here's Engadget's review. CNET (which included it among its recommended holiday gifts for 2010) chimes in as well with a video review:

A warning to all condo units with Globelines

2010-08-15T14:17:00.005+08:00

I recently moved to a new condo somewhere in Taguig. Last 18 July 2010, I received my bill for my Globe Landline + Broadband account ("Globelines"). In the bill there appeared charges for 27 calls which were made to various cel numbers on June 7(Monday) and 8 (Tuesday) and July 2, 2010 (Friday). For said calls, I was charged an additional P814.68 on top of my regular plan.

I did NOT make those phone calls. I know this for a fact because:

(a) I do not know any of the numbers reflected in the bill. I have been a Globe mobile subscriber for many years. I have never called any of the numbers I supposedly called on June 7, June 8 and July 2, as can be shown through my previous bills.

(b) The calls were made in the late morning, noon or early afternoon on WEEKDAYS, when I was in the office. The people in my office (and even some clients) can attest to my presence in the office during the times the calls were allegedly made. Moreover, during those days, no one else was in my house who could have made those calls.

(c) In addition, I own a cellphone (which is also from Globe). It does not make sense for me to go back to my house in Taguig - during office hours - only for the purpose of calling a person with a celphone through my landline when I could easily call whoever these people are using my celphone which I have with me all the time.

I disputed the charges. When I went to a Globe center to complain, I chanced upon another subscriber who was there. He told me that he worked for the property management arm of a major real estate developer in the Philippines and experienced the same thing in some of the condos he is handling. It appears that the problem is unique to those who live in condominium buildings whose units are "telephone or broadband ready". In these cases, there is a central station in the condo ("a Cable Room or Cabinet") where all phone lines from the units are connected. A linemen will just need to connect their main line (Globelines for example) to a particular unit which subscribes to their service. In other words, there is no need for the phone company to lay out all the cables from their main line to the unit.

As a result, anyone who opens the Cable Room or Cabinet can access all phone lines of all units in a condominium building. Such access apparently includes the ability to make calls using a subscribers' line without having to go inside a unit and use the supplied handset. Thus, according to the property manager, even if I lock my landline and put passwords, somebody who has access to the Cable Room or Cabinet can still make calls using my phone.

We explained all of this to the customer representative in Globe Mall of Asia. There, I was informed that Globe already reversed the charges in my bill, in response to my complaints which I relayed through phone, email and twitter (Ha!)Globe's CSR also told us that their linemen were "outsourced". Thus, if I find out who went to my condo on the relevant days, I should file a complaint with them.

On 25 July 2010, I asked the PMO of my condo to put locks on the Cable Room or Cabinet in my building. I have further asked that guards accompany a lineman every minute of everytime that he has access to said Cable Room or Cabinet. I have also asked them to list down in a logbook all people who open said room, whether connected to any telco or the PMO.

Today, I received my bill for the period July 7 to August 6, 2010. True to its promise, Globe did reverse the disputed charges. However, I found that 5 calls were made on July 22 to yet another set of cel numbers between 12.45pm to 1.36pm. Notably, July 22 is a Thursday. And no, I did not make those calls. Apart from said date, I am encouraged to note that no other unathorized calls were made from July 25, when I complained to the PMO, until August 6, the end of the billing period.

I will not rest until I found out who is committing these dastardly acts - this cheapskate, who, in this day and age of P20 peso sulit calls, can't even be bothered to pay for his own calls. In the meantime, thinking of switching to Wimax or Wi-Tribe so there are no cables for these thieves to hack.

Chicken tinola in Calbiga

2010-01-03T06:36:00.000+08:00

Tucked away in Calbiga, Samar is a restaurant called Angelina's Eatery which serves the best chicken tinola in Region 8. In fact, it serves only chicken tinola and pairs it with a special variety of rice called kalinayan.

The tinola in Angelina's Eatery is unique because it is cooked using native chicken. Yes, the kind you used to see in your backyard.

Kalinayan, on the other hand, is a special variety of rice known for its nutritive, aromatic quality. It is different because it is grown upland (or in hills) rather than on plains. It's grains are not white but have a reddish color. It costs about P50-P60 pesos per kilo.

How to get there: Calbiga is a 4th class municipality in the province of Samar. It is about 62 kilometers from Tacloban City in Leyte, or about an hour's drive on the newly asphalted National Highway. Driving there is a breeze. Travellers going to Samar from Leyte (and vice versa) are familiar with Calbiga because it is among the usual stopovers for the numerous buses and FX vehicles plying the route. As a bonus, and if you need more inducement, you get to pass through the majestic San Juanico Bridge to get there.

You also get to buy maybe the best gabi (taro) in the region, which Warays like to eat with lechon (or with anything actually), and binato, a type of banana which looks like the senorita bananas except binato needs to boiled before eating.

All in all, a trip worth making.

(P.S. I know, if there ever was a blog post that needed pictures, this is it. However, in my defense, the battery of my digital camera - which is 7 years old at least - conks out so often I've resorted to leaving it at home. In fact, that camera is so old I'm not even sure if it can be called a "digital" camera, its 2 mega pixel lens notwithstanding.)

Sarabia@Trinoma

2009-07-12T11:23:00.000+08:00

Around November last year, I decided to buy a new pair of eyeglasses. I decided to go plastic (think Tina Fey). In anticipation of summer, and because I practically squinted my way through my vacation in Sydney a few months earlier (particularly my visits to the beaches of Bondi etc), I resolved to get transition lenses as well. For those who don't wear glasses, these are the sort of lenses which darken when exposed to UV rays. My goal was to wear these pair during weekends and for sporty activities (if any) when I'm too lazy to wear contacts.

Off I went in search of the perfect pair. I saw the frame I liked at Sarabia Optical in Trinoma and promptly ordered it together with transition lenses. Since I work in Makati, I asked the staff at Trinoma to deliver the glasses to their branch in Greenbelt. A few days later, I picked up my order.

I'm not sure if you remember but December and January were so cold. I barely saw the sun during that period. When March came, I remembered my new glasses and promptly started using them during the weekends. Lo and behold, even during the hottest time of the day, the lenses never turned dark. Puzzled, I sought the help of my friends who have transition lenses for a test. While walking during midday around the parking lot in Dampa, I realized that the lenses installed on my new glasses were not transition lenses.

And so, five months after I purchased the glasses, I returned to Sarabia Optical in Trinoma and explained my predicament. They asked only one thing: whether or not the staff at Sarabia Greenbelt tested the glasses (to insure that transition lenses were indeed installed) when I went to pick up my order. I said no. They told me that they will check their records and that of the Greenbelt branch and get back to me.

Now, I have the correct lenses. And a new frame, a blue one this time. Kudos to the staff at Sarabia Trinoma, because they did the right thing even if I did not recite the provisions of Consumer Act to them, or threaten to report them to the DTI. They did not even ask why it took me five months to discover that my lenses weren't transition lenses pala (although I'm sure they were dying to do so hehe). That's what I call customer service!

First Time Part III

2008-12-30T06:21:00.001+08:00

This is the third of my "When was the last time you did something for the first time?"series. Really :) Part I is here. Part 2 is here.

1. I went to Sydney, Australia which, in itself, led to a series of firsts. I flew Qantas (nice food, but mala-domestic ang in-flight entertainment system - at least for the economy seats). I experienced my first spring. I drove a right-hand-drive ("RHD") automatic car 800 miles to go visit relatives in Melbourne. For reference, the Philippines is left-hand-drive ("LHD") country and I drive a stick shift. In doing so, I realized that my left hand (which in an RHD vehicle is used to change gears, and in an LHD vehicle is used to tap to the beat of music, hold cigarettes, open door locks and occasionally hold the steering wheel) is completely useless - thank goodness for automatic transmission cars.

2. I watched a ballet, Coppelia, presented by Ballet Philippines, described by BP as "an enchanting, effervescent family ballet, for audiences of all ages." And an audience of all ages it was - elementary school students on a field trip, doting grandmothers watching their apo's performance and employees (and bosses) who skipped work to watch a matinee.

3. I went to a gym twice (in one year) and actually exercised!

Flying the friendly skies

2008-12-25T07:27:00.000+08:00

There's nothing like flying with PAL to rid one of any holiday cheer.

Last 24 December 2008, PAL decided that its old system, where at least 2 counters were assigned to each destination, was not working. So, right smack during the Christmas rush, PAL personnel decided to implement a new system: 1 line, 3 flights (leaving one after another), 3 working counters, 6 empty counters. End result: 70 fuming passengers, and counting. It was chaos. I was in line an hour and a half before my flight and waited an hour while PAL personnel ran around calling for Zamboanga passengers (and thereafter, Iloilo passengers) who were still in line and whose flights were already boarding.

When I got to the ticket counter, I was asked to present my credit card which I had used to purchase my ticket, to "prevent credit card fraud." PAL was, apparently, protecting me from myself. Because really, which crook would go to all lengths to get my credit card information and then book a flight for me? If I knew nothing about the ticket, why would I show up at the airport on the date of the flight? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to ask for this requirement if the passenger is not the person who purchased the ticket? Or is that asking too much?

Going green

2008-11-01T14:39:00.003+08:00

During a recent trip outside the country, I noticed that supermarket chains there encouraged its clients to bring their own reusable shopping bags ("green bags") instead of packing the groceries in the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag.

Considering that I spend a little over Php 1,000 bucks on groceries every month (which fits in one or two bags), I never really paid much attention to the availability of green bags here. I decided, however, to check out the grocery chains here to see which ones offer this alternative to customers.

Shopwise has a Reusable Bag Program. The bag costs Php 99.50 each and, if you happen to be a member of their Wiseclub Program (Php 200 fee or accumulated receipts worth Php 5,000), you earn double points everytime you use the bag. Normally, you get one point for each Peso for purchases made from Rustan’s Supermarket, Shopwise, or Royal Duty Free Subic. With the green bag, you get two points! Every 10,000 points = Php 100 (Translated: Php 1 for every Php 100 or Php 2 for every Php 100 if you use the Reusable Bag)

Rustan's also has the same program (it's got the same owner as Shopwise) but it's called Fresh club or something. I don't know because I can't find Rustan's on the web. Seriously. It must also be the reason why I can't find most of the stuff I need in their groceries ;-). The good new is, Rustan's recently announced that it is a partner in the Fernando Amorsolo Retrospective entitled His Art, Our Heart: a look at the finest works of the Philippines' First National Artist. Instead of the usual green bag, Rustan's came out with the Limited Edition Amorsolo Shopping Bags. I got one (for my first green bag!) and it cost me Php 145. Since Rustan's doesn't have a website, I have no idea how its rewards system works. If I were to venture a guess, it should be similar to Shopwise.

SM also has a GreenBag, for its supermarkets and hypermart. Last I heard, shoppers can get their GreenBag for free with every Php 500 purchase of SM Supermarket's yellow tag items, inclusive of one Unilever product. To encourage reuse, SM Advantage cardholders get double points (NB, right now, per my latest rewards pamphlet, you get .5 point for every Php 200 purchase). (Translation: Shopwise/Rustan's rewards program trumps SM, except that you can redeem SM Advantage/BDO Rewards points not only in the grocery but also in the department store and SM affiliates)

Robinson's Supermarket allegedly sells reusable bags to its customers. However, they do not appear to be used in conjunction with any loyalty program or promotion. In any event, I have never seen a single sign in the supermarket in Robinson's Pioneer (my default grocery store) indicating the availability of green bags as an alternative to plastic bags.

For those who just want to use reusable bags with no affiliation, check out Mama Earth (a multiply site), the owner/s of which sell green bags with interesting designs.

Tacloban City?

2008-08-03T16:54:00.000+08:00

My officemate recently went to Tacloban City (my hometown) and promptly pronounced it as a "dead city". She said that by 8pm, all establishments are closed except for Mercury Drug.

In its defense, and because I am too lazy to be original and to take my own pictures, I hereby point you to the blog of Anton Diaz (of Our Awesome Planet fame), who recently wrote 3 posts about Tacloban (yes, he had enough materials to blog three times! hehehe)

Part 1 - The Top 10 Foodie Secrets of Tacloban
Part 2 - The Top 10 Foodie Secrets of Tacloban

and a feature on Leyte's best known pasalubong, the binagol.

Short term memory loss

2008-07-06T10:28:00.000+08:00

I am afraid to say that I have a form of short term memory loss..but it affects only my ability to recognize and remember "new music" i.e. those that came out after the 90s.

I still remember the lyrics and/or the melody of all the songs I used to hear when I was a kid - Harry Belafonte, Matt Monro, a bit of the Beatles and the Bee Gees, Perry Como, Kenny Rogers (my mom and dad's choices, if I may just be allowed to disclaim) - and when I was a little older - Madonna, Martin Nievera, Tears for Fears, Michael Jackson, Prince, Rick Astley, Wham (otherwise known as Friday Magic Madness for today's generation).

When it got into the 90s, only a few acts stuck in my head, but I could still hum a tune or two.

Nowadays, I set aside days and make it a point to listen to radio stations which play the new songs and promptly forget about the songs after. I watch the top 20 shows on Myx and MTV and come away with nothing. Some particularly good songs or artists (or infamous ones) manage to make their way to my consciousness, but only after a few years or months. Thus, for example, I now know one or two songs of Coldplay, Dave Matthews, Nelly, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Usher and Justin Timberlake. There's Bamboo and Imago and Radioactive Sago. There's also a nice song called "Umbrella" but I can't for the life of me remember who sang it. I only know Jay-Z because he is part owner of the New Jersey Nets.

It has gotten so bad that when I bring up a new song discovery to a friend who is very updated on this matters, she looks at me in horror and says "but that is so 2 years ago!" And I wonder what I was listening to 2 years ago, and why I never learned the song then.

Come to think of it, my parents can hum along to Frank Sinatra and the Cascades, but never learned Material Girl and Beat It. Maybe with age, I've lost the facility to learn new things. Maybe when you're tired from work and the stress of adulthood, it is much more comforting to listen to the familiar.

Or maybe this generation's music just sucks. Hehe!

Better Late Than Never

2008-02-25T20:17:00.001+08:00

Last November 2007, I decided to buy the Toshiba HD-A3. I was unable to resist the great deals being offered in Amazon (at US$199! plus 10 free HD-DVDs!). The HD-A3, for the non-techies, is a DVD player which plays high-definition discs, which, allegedly, is the future of movies....much like the DVD was the later and better incarnation of the VHS.

The problem was, I was in 'Pinas and didn't want to pay extra for shipping. A friend, who had a birthday coming AND relatives in the US, very nicely allowed me to ship it to her relatives' address in the US. She assured me that she was expecting a balikbayan box to be sent to her in a few weeks time, full of gifts from said relatives. She said I could expect to see my spanking new HD-DVD player before Xmas.

Valentines Day came and still no balikbayan box . In the interim, Warner went exclusively for Sony's Blu Ray, the format directly competing with Toshiba's HD-DVD. And the rest, as they say, is history. And apparently, so was my HD-DVD player, which had been rendered obsolete by the announcement that Toshiba would no longer be producing any more players, nor would the studios be releasing any more movies in the said format.

A few days ago, the balikbayan box finally arrived with my HD-A3 in pristine condition. Sabi nga nila, huli man daw at magaling...huli pa rin!. Hello HD-DVD....and so long!

What's UP?

2008-02-17T13:57:00.000+08:00

There was a mass at La Salle earlier today in support of J-Lo. There's another one tomorrow at Ateneo, plus a planned noise barrage everyday at 6pm along Katipunan. Any news from the UP front?

Laker Girl

2008-02-02T15:10:00.000+08:00

When I was growing up, there was no cable. Just regular TV..showing only one channel - RPN 9. So there was NewsWatch with Harry Gasser, Flor de Luna and those old Sampaguita movies showing in the afternoon.

And then came the Betamax. And movies for rent. Before long, enterprising folks taped the TV shows being shown in GMA (It's where you belong...) and ABS-CBN, then a fledgling channel which dared to show locally produced programs. Even better, our suki managed to get copies of NBA games a week or so after the games are played and rented them out as well. Rumor had it that the games were taped in Subic (back when it was an American base) and then shipped to various parts of the country.

In the 80s, there were only 2 teams worth rooting for: the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. My dad loved Larry Bird and the Celtics. I had no choice but to hate them! And so I became a Laker girl. When we went to the video shop, we rented not just 21 Jump Street and Palibhasa Lalake, but also the games played by the Celtics and the Lakers. I loved Magic Johnson and the Showtime era. Got spoiled too...thinking that the Lakers would win the championship every year. (and they almost did, winning in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988 and being the runner-up in 1983, 1984 and 1989).

I remember this today because the Lakers just acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. I learned the news this morning and I have not stopped smiling since. Well, alright.. I'm exaggerating. Nonetheless, what a great day to be a Laker fan!

What savings?

2007-12-29T15:01:00.000+08:00

In the last quarter of this year, I decided I wanted my own house. Granted, it was spurred by the fact that I couldn't hang anything on the walls of my rented unit because my landlord forbids it. But hey, it's a step towards having a concrete goal (pun intended bwahahaha!) instead of my usual aimless wanderings.

And that's when I realized a few things -

1. I've been working in the same firm for 7 years. For the 7 years, I've purchased a home theater system (including my latest acquisitions a plasma tv and an hd dvd player), I have traveled near and far, though mostly near (Palawan, Davao, Singapore, Bohol, Cebu, Banaue etc), I purchased a car and all the gadgets I liked (PDAs, phones, a nintendo DS). I have DVDs and CDs galore (originals, mind you), I even have a life insurance/pension fund (though I'm still paying for it). From the enumeration above, you can probably guess that I'm not really into clothes and shoes and bags, but I like to think (at least for corporate dressing purposes) that I am appropriately dressed. Most times.

2. I have no savings - nada - except for the money I have been setting aside since last year for my well-publicized plan to go to Australia to visit my sister who, at least as of right this very moment, lives there. Which basically means that the money will be gone in a few month's time, when I do get around to going there. Which means I have no savings.

3. I am still in debt, to my parents, who generously albeit with fear in their hearts, lent me part of the money they got when they retired from government service, for the downpayment of my car.

In essence, this basically means that I do not even have money to pay for the downpayment of a lot, much less a house and lot. In view thereof (couldn't resist, haven't written a pleading in days), I resolved, this December, to dedicate the next 5 years of my life to save and save and save - so I can buy a lot and build a house. Which means no more money for gadgets, or purchases on a whim, or impulse trips.

For this sacrifice, at the end of 5 years, I will have my own house and lot, a 9 year old car and a 20 year mortgage. And, more importantly, still no savings! Where is the justice in this world?

So all of you who read this blog, who have been given condominium units, apartments, townhouses or houses, maybe even cars, by your parents or relatives, as a graduation or birthday gift, or simply for existing, free, without any conditions or obligations -- RUN, run like the wind to where your parents/benefactors are, hug them and thank them for saving you from eternal debt and servitude. And for goodness sake, save!

Finding Nemo

2007-11-05T17:46:00.000+08:00

Where I grew up, the beach was only 15 minutes away. As there were no malls to go to, my family ended up on a beach almost every weekend (or so it seemed). After a while, it was like, "Isn't there someplace else we can go?" As a sign of protest, I never learned how to swim. Ok, maybe it was because I almost drowned while I was playing along the shore....but that's another story.

I only realized how much I loved being near the ocean when I started studying here in Manila...eons ago, it seems. Much as I loved Manila's malls, airconditioned moviehouses, fastfood takeout and delivery, groceries with many counters and wide streets, I realized that here, it's a 3 hour drive (or a plane ride) to the nearest beach, unless Manila Bay counts.

As a consequence, I appreciate the ocean more. Learning to swim has been added to my "Things to Do Before I Die" list. In the past few years, I've gone to Boracay, Bohol, Puerto Galera and Palawan. I have kayak-ed like mad. I have also taken quite a liking to snorkeling, which is some kinda achievement if you can't swim and are a wee bit afraid of the ocean, as I am.

As a reward for my er..courage, I had the privilege of seeing a clownfish (better known as Nemo, as in Pixar's Finding Nemo) recently. Several of them actually. As in the movie, they were swimming near a sea anemone. What an amazing sight!

On to the next long weekend!

The Joke is on us

2007-09-20T19:24:00.001+08:00

Dear Joker,

Akala ko ba, 'pag bad ka, lagot ka!'? WTF are you doing defending FG, GMA, Abalos and their ilk?

Meg

Gulong ng buhay

2007-09-02T22:12:00.000+08:00

Why is it that drivers of vehicles with less than 4 wheels (e.g. motorcyles, tricycles, pedicab) seem to think that traffic rules do not apply to them? Where is it written that one-way, no left turn and no u-turn signs or traffic lights for that matter, are applicable only to cars?

Blast from the past

2007-06-24T11:22:00.000+08:00

Nancy Drew is back - and in a movie!

When I was growing up, I read a good number of the books in the series (at least those that managed to make their way to the bookstores in Tacloban City). I've lost track since then, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a movie had been made about her adventures. Apparently, the younger generation has been introduced to her. Amazing! I didn't know kids still read today. Bwahahahaha!

In a related development, according to wikipedia, Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller are talking about making The Hardy Men, the grown-up reincarnation of the Hardy Boys. What next? the Bobbsey Twins?

Paano Kita Iibigin?

2007-06-10T11:42:00.000+08:00

Let me just say, for the record, that I am a fan of Regine Velasquez and Piolo Pascual. While my admiration for the latter seems to need no explanation (as we say in law, res ipsa loquitor), I often find myself at the defensive end when asked about Regine. As this particular blog is not all about her, let's just say that I believe that Regine is a true superstar, who has crossed-over from not only being a singer, but also an actress. Not a great one, mind you, but one popular and likeable enough for people to want to watch her movies. For reference, there are only three other singers who have managed the transition: Nora Aunor, Sharon Cuneta (and only if you consider her a singer first, via Mr. DJ) and Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard). Beyonce does not count, yet, because she has not made a movie truly her own. Jennifer Hudson stole Dreamgirls from her. Let me also cite some of those who tried but failed to make the transition: Madonna, Kuh Ledesma, Lea Salonga. Thus, while I may not approve of Regine's transformation from simple Bulacan lass to an English-speaking-with-a-twang person ( I blame Ronnie Henares for that) and her choice of men (past and present), that does not detract from her greatness. In the same manner, Michael Jackson's present er.. incarnation will not erase his moonwalking previous self from our collective consciousness and the annals of music history.

But I digress. I am especially a fan of the movies that Regine and Piolo have done, separately, and with different partners, with Bb. Joyce. In particular, I loved:

1. Dahil May Isang Ikaw with Aga Muhlach and Regine, the first of their 2 movies together (the better one, if you ask me);
2. Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw with Robin Padilla and Regine;
3. 'Til There Was You, with Piolo and Juday; and
4. Don't Give Up on Us, again with Piolo and Juday.

Thus, it was with much anticipation that I watched Paano Kita Iibigin yesterday, which featured both Piolo and Regine and had Bb. Joyce Bernal at the helm.

It sucked. No wonder PowerPlant isn't showing it anymore. And can you believe that ABS isn't even running one of those obviously self-serving ads saying that the movie is on its second week and that it is still showing in 100 theaters nationwide and is breaking box-office records!

What was wrong with it?

1. Regine is a tad too old for Piolo. It's like that Sharon-Aga movie a few years back. You can't ask moviegoers to suspend their disbelief even on this point. One look at the two of them together should have warranted a script revision - an explanation why Piolo, who's previous girlfriend/wife was Iya Villania, would be drawn to Regine.

2. Piolo was crying 3/4 of the movie. I mean, c'mon, one of these days, Piolo will set the record as the leading man who has cried the most in Pinoy movies. He was crying so much no one could understand what he was saying in the penultimate scene, when he and Regine were supposed to be working out their differences before the obligatory wedding scene in the end.

3. Ogie Alcasid proved too much of a distraction to the movie. When people looked at Regine, they thought 'omg, kawawa naman si michelle.'

The big loser in this movie is Regine. How ironic that when she did Wanted Perfect Mother, the one complaint I had in the movie was that Christoper de Leon was too old for her. Now, she's the old one. Her character was never fully threshed out in the movie, so viewers never identified with her. It's not because she's not moviestar pretty. Juday isn't, nor was Nora Aunor in her prime, but that never stopped people from believing that Piolo and Pip could fall in love with them. Remember that this movie was billed not just as a typical boy-meets-girl love story, but rather posed a complication. What if one party was carrying so much baggage that he was incapable of loving someone else? (hence the title) In their desire to make Piolo lovable despite his emotional hang-ups, the scriptwriter and the director forgot to make Regine lovable as well, not only in Piolo's eyes but more importantly, with the moviegoers.

On the bright side, Piolo was his usual gorgeous self. Eugene Domingo and Quintin Alianza (who played Regine's son) were scene-stealers and provided the only bright spots to an otherwise too melodramatic movie.

On a personal note, let me just say that I love 3-day weekends. It gives me an opportunity to write about things without referencing the SCRA and to find a blog like this, which gives an insight on Direk Joyce.

Hapee!

2007-06-03T10:52:00.000+08:00

One fine day, while I was at home channel surfing, I chanced upon a tv show in ANC where Cecilio K. Pedro, the President of Lamoiyan Corporation, was being interviewed. Lamoiyan is a Filipino corporation which manufactures and distributes Hapee toothpaste. At that time, Ruffa Gutierrez (pre Ylmaz) was the primary endorser of Hapee.

I don't remember much of the interview, except the part where Mr. Pedro said that the multinationals (presumably the manufacturers of Colgate and Close-Up) routinely purchased shelf space in supermarkets so that the other toothpaste distributors would no longer have any space to sell their products.

From that time on, I started using Hapee toothpaste. And I noticed that indeed, there were some supermarkets (or health and beauty shops a.k.a Watson's, Hortaleza) who didn't have Hapee on the shelves. But this did not deter me. I purposely held off from buying any other brand until I could find a store which had Hapee. I squeezed every last drop...er...gel from the tube. I kept an extra tube in case of shortage.

Nowadays, my happiness is two-fold. More and more supermarkets and h&b shops carry Hapee (even if its shelf space is 1/8 that of the others). And Lea Salonga is the new face of Hapee. As she puts it in Hapee's new tv ad, "[i]pinagmamalaki ko ang Hapee at ang mga Pinoy na tumatangkilik nito!"

Green Thumb

2007-04-29T07:17:00.000+08:00

I have what passes for a balcony in my apartment. However, it is accessible only through a single window from which sunlight seeps through every morning. For the curious, no, I am not in jail. Really.

As my contribution to the prevention of global warming, I don't drive my car to the office every Tuesday. I also keep a bunch of plants on my balcony. A friend of mine got me started on this a few years back, theorizing that my lungs need all the help it can get with the metro's polluted air, especially as I live fairly close to EDSA.

I try to water the plants every day. My efforts, however, are sporadic at best. My plants have now gotten used to being watered at the oddest hours. In fairness (to me, I think), I have managed to kill only one plant in the 3 years I've lived in this house. My secret? I get only the self-sufficient kind, those which are pleasantly surprised when I remember to water them, but manage to plod through and survive on the days when I completely forget their existence.

The Finisher

2007-04-29T06:17:00.000+08:00

Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako.

Never has the phrase been so apt than when i joined the the PSE Bull Run Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya last 30 January 2007. While I was huffing and puffing on my way to the halfway point of the 3K event I joined, there went the 10K and 5K participants making their way to the finish line. With nary a sweat. And no pauses every 5 minutes.

In fairness...I did manage to finish the race [hence, the photograph of the finish line]. And I even got a free "finisher" shirt to boot.

I don't know Jack!

2007-04-29T06:06:00.000+08:00

3 easy steps to change a tire:

1. Remember which key opens the spare wheel container at the back of the car - check!
2. Remember where the jack is kept - check!
3. Actually have a jack where the jack should be - uh uh...

I have no idea how I lost the jack of my car. Heck, I can't even say if I had one in the first place. The only thing I remember my car dealer giving me is a handlebar lock. No jack.

After the incident, I was told (repeatedly) that I am the only driver who doesn't have a jack. So much so that I succumbed to pressure and went to Greenbelt 1 and promptly purchased one from Blade. Sale at P799. Red color...nice.Comes in a plasticky gray container thing. Very zen. Apparently, it might even be able to lift my car, which is a tad heavier than a regular sedan.

Next step? I'm working up enough enthusiasm to actually take the jack out of its plastic compartment and figure out how to use it. Hopefully in my garage, with my dad looking on proudly, and not in some desolate street in the middle of the night.

Last song syndrome

2007-02-22T23:35:00.000+08:00

I watched Music and Lyrics a few days back. Let's see. The popcorn was great and cheese flosss from Bread Talk, divine! The movie? Funny in some parts. But I'm big on chemistry between the lead stars and unfortunately, Hugh and Drew had nada.

It should have been so simple. Leave the movie house, forget the movie. But I can't. It's been five days now and I'm haunted by it. I find myself singing Pop! Goes My Heart and/or Way Back Into Love.....incessantly. In the middle of drafting a pleading...while driving...and even after I watched Simon Cowell practically crown Lakisha as the American Idol only two days into the competition.

Help me.

First time...ulit?

2007-01-29T23:28:00.000+08:00

(or, When was the last time you did something for the first time? Part 2)

An update on my list of 'firsts'....

i watched an opera, specifically,Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin which, I learned later on, is based on Alexandr Pushkin's novel of the same name. first act. i watched and listened and ended up mostly puzzled. during the intermission, i wondered out loud what the hell that was all about. i was handed a program and realized that the songs were in russian! according to wikipedia, the opera is also episodic, in that it chose to show only highlights of Eugene's life and not a continuous story. apparently Pushkin's novel was so well known that Tchaikovsky assumed that the audience would just fill in any missing detail. so that's why i didn't understand a thing! note to self: before watching an opera, research! also, accost english lit teacher during upcoming high school reunion for gaps in my education. i never knew that "eugene onegin", "pushkin" and "well-known" could be uttered in the same breath.

i got a flat tire. 2 years and 9 months. that's how long i've driven my car without incident. and then one day, rather than go home immediately as it was already 1am, i decided that i must absolutely buy gas from the Caltex station along boni avenue. which turned out to be a good thing because there i learned that my front tire (driver's side) was flat. kudos to the gasoline boys there who helped me change my tire :)

hair color, anyone? in showbiz-speak...i'd like to thank sherwin of studio 546 for the streaks (er highlights?) on my hair. but mostly for persuading me that looking like the guy from hellraiser for a few minutes is a good trade-off for nicer-looking hair.

customer service tales

2006-12-26T20:58:00.000+08:00

cebu pacific...I asked for a refund on a ticket i purchased online. they said the processing would take 60 days. i'm on my 140th day of waiting. can't get through their 'refund' department as the line is always busy. nor have i received any response to the 3 emails i sent to their 'customer service' department.

SM...i purchased P1,000 worth of gift certificates and was informed only buyers who buy P2,000 worth are given envelopes. and guess how many you get when you do buy P2,000 worth of GCs? a grand total of one (as in 1, single, lone, uno).

on the other hand, kudos to the staff of starbucks in Caltex-SLEX (the side going to back to manila) who gave as many envelopes as i wanted for the GCs i purchased from them, shopwise in makati who, in the midst of this year's xmas rush, accomodated our 32 orders of xmas gift bags and, without being asked, offered to deliver the orders to our office for easier distribution and mr. quickie in greenbelt 1, who not only perform regular maintenance on my shoes but also punched additional holes on a belt i brought, free of charge. may your tribe increase.

Mario's back!

2006-12-09T21:00:00.000+08:00

Did you ever play Super Mario on a family computer? I did. Of course, I don't recall ever getting past World 5, unlike my sis and my cousin, who really did manage to rescue the princess.

Well, I now have a chance to redeem myself, having just gotten a Nintendo DS Lite (as an advance xmas gift). Unlike the family computer, it's portable and has a touch screen to boot! More importantly, Mario's back with the New Super Mario Bros adventures. I'm now in World 2 , so princess...here I come!

Greenpffft! (Or How I Almost Joined the Greenpeace Run for Climate Change)

2006-11-26T11:16:00.000+08:00

Two birds with one stone. That's what I thought I'd achieve when I saw the announcement for Greenpeace's Walk/Run/Bike for Climate Change.

I have been biking regularly at UP since I 'inherited' a bike around July this year. As ahem cross training, I also resumed walking/running along the academic oval. My plan was to join a 'fun run' this year, just the 3K or 5K kind, to test my physical fitness (or lack thereof).

So when I saw the announcement posted by a Greenpeace volunteer at pinoymtbikers forum, I made sure to place it in my calendar. I would not only be able to join a fun run, it would be in UP (familiar place: check!), more importantly, it would also be for a good cause (the environment and the future of this world no less: check!).

So, of course, I ended up being late for the fun run. For my efforts, I got a pin and a sticker from the Greenpeace guy I talked to, who seemed to think that my main motivation for signing up was to get the free dri-fit shirt they gave away to early registrants. Not true, of course, as I am also for climate change - I'd prefer that the Philippines have four seasons, instead of just extremely hot and Milenyo-rainy.

I am kidding, of course. Greenpeace actually wants to stop climate change. I am, however, miffed, nay, offended, at the suggestion that I only wanted the dri-fit shirt. Though it would have been nice to get the blue and white one. Hahaha!

Bikers anonymous

2006-08-28T22:00:00.000+08:00

PICT0068,
originally uploaded by megdegs.

I got a mountain bike by inheritance :) It was gray and blue, very cool and unobtrusive. It was also a tad too large for me.

So off I went to a bike shop (or should I say numerous ones?), and had the frame changed to one more suitable for my height. Did I mention that I picked a candy-red frame? :)

I don't recall ever having owned a red anything before, apart from shirts. The one great thing about a red bike is, I save on reflectors, because everyone can see me from a mile away.

I've been riding the bike (old and new frame combined) for about a month now. In the process of upgrading my frame, I've bugged numerous bike shops, and the nice folks at pinoymtb forums. I've also changed the pedals, the saddle and the stem, the latter two to fit my body's dimensions (or so I tell myself). I've also purchased a pump (for air), tire levers, allen wrenches, tire gauges, cycling shorts, water bottles and a book on mountain bike maintenance.

Did I mention I did all that in the last month or so? Btw, I'm Meg and I'm a bike-a-holic.

First Time

2006-05-23T18:27:00.000+08:00

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?"

That was the tagline of an airline commercial a few years back, and one I always remember when I am trying to persuade myself to step out of my comfort zone to try something new. I'm a creature of habit you see, and it takes a bit of persuading to get me to break my routine.

For this year, I've done a few "firsts":

I ate taho for the first time. For some reason, I've never eaten taho before this year. I'm thinking that taho is a Tagalog thing, the reason why I never encountered it when I was growing up (as I'm from the Visayas). Or maybe not. Eating taho is part of my sunday jogging routine now, serving as my reward for completing one round of the UP academic oval.

I went to Bohol. It's always stressful (for me at least) to travel to a place for the first time. I worry about every little thing - how organized the airport is (or the pier, in the case of Bohol), how to get a ride to and from the hotel, what sort of accomodations the hotel actually has (pictures are rarely accurate), how fluffy the towels are, what channels are available in its cable tv service, what kind of food is served, who my neighbors will be - the list is endless. Thank goodness Bohol was worth all the stress. Next stop: Laoag and Vigan on July.

I went on one of those walking tours. With my friends, I took the walking tour of intramuros (the one provided by Mr. Celdran). I've been to most of the places subject of the tour before, but Mr. Celdran gave enough insight to enable me to see the places from a different viewpoint. Next on the agenda: Binondo.

I tried driving an automatic transmission car. Let me just say that it was not a pleasant experience for my passengers, one of whom hit her head on the windshield. I kept looking for the clutch and moving the stick shift. To compensate, I drove at a very, hmm, sedate pace of 20km/h.

Let's see if I can add more "firsts" as the year progresses.

Wow Bohol!

2006-05-23T15:37:00.000+08:00

In fairness, ang ganda ng Pilipinas. Tapos, in general, mababait ang mga Pilipino. Friendly pa. Unfortunately for those of us who are here, we are reminded daily na ang pangit ng taste natin (sa elected officials), at para tayong si Dory ng Finding Nemo, may short term memory. Di matandaan ang lessons ng history. Kaya eto, 20 years after EDSA, we are complaining about the exact same things - corruption, dinayang eleksyon, disregard for the constitution, presyo ng galunggong. Nakaka-depress.

I'll just go on with my life, taking as little part in Philippine politics as possible. Maghahanap na lang ako ng mga maganda tungkol sa 'Pinas. Para sa kasiyahan ng mga taong andito pa rin (by choice or by force of circumstance). Starting with the beautiful places I've been lucky enough to visit, such as Bohol.

I was in Bohol early February this year. I stayed at the Bohol Beach Club (short review: so-so accomodations for the price, exorbitant kayak rates, good food, great beach, boracay-ish sand, where you can walk along the shore without bumping into someone). The great thing about Bohol is that apart from the great beaches, you can see old churches, historical places, the tarsier and the not-so-Chocolate Hills (at least at that time, as it was lush with trees and plants). Not to mention the chance to dance to the Pinoy Big Brother theme while on board one of the boats for the Loboc River cruise.

Mini-me

2006-03-26T09:58:00.000+08:00

I lost my 02 XDA mini a few weeks back, 11 months after I purchased it.

Before the mini, I owned 2 other phones, the Nokia 5110 and 5210. The 5110, in particular, is not only virtually indestructible, it also guarantees that should you, by any chance, forget it in a restaurant or any other establishment, the staff will RUN after you just to return it. I once left a 5110 in a cab in singapore. After confirming that I was indeed the owner of the phone, the passenger who rode the cab after I got off, promptly returned it to me the next day. My mom left a 5110 in a restaurant in Ayala Center, Cebu, and the waiter chased us all over the mall just to return it.

No such luck on my mini. The waiters of the restaurant in Powerplant swore to high heavens that I didn't leave it there, even if I used the mini to text a friend 10 minutes before we left. The staff at 2/f comfort room, where we went after dinner at the resto, also saw nothing. When my friend tried to call my phone, I, apparently, could no longer be reached.

That's when it hit me. I didn't know anyone's phone number except my office, our landline in the province and 8-MCDO for delivery. Thank goodness for the dude who thought of "sync-ing" the data in pdas with Microsoft Outlook, and those who put the address book feature in yahoo, gmail and other free email.

Now, I'm temporarily using my dad's Motorola E398. Which is pretty good, except for a few things: (a) the space bar is the left button of the last row, instead of the middle (like Nokia's), (b) you have to press the <1> button four times if you want to put a comma in your text message (unlike the Nokia's two times), (c) you can't put insert a smiley like this =) or :-) because it takes too long to find those symbols and by the time you do, you're too pissed to put a smiley on your message. More importantly, it can store maybe 50 messages. To put things in perspective, I had about 800 messages in my Inbox and 500 messages in the Sent Items folder of my mini. Now, I get daily warnings that my phone's memory is low because I have 30 messages on my inbox!

I store all my appointments in an appointment book I got as a giveaway last Christmas. It's the size of a grade 1 notebook, though, hence, a bit bulky. I miss the convenience of taking one look at my calendar in the mini (month view) and being able to say, up front, whether I am free or not on that day. Instead, I have to manually leaf through the pages of my appointment book to check.

I think I've remained fairly sane, despite the loss. I'm trying to muster enough EQ to wait for a good time to buy a replacement, instead of running to the nearest shop. I want either the PalmOne Treo 650, the PalmOne 700w or the 02 Atom to replace my mini, all of which won't sync with my computer because they require Win XP (my computer is using Win ME at the moment, due to hardware constraints). So, now, on top of everything else, I have to upgrade my computer. But that's another story.

TV talk

2005-11-28T23:38:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, there are a few things about Pinoy TV that make me smile:

1. Kris Aquino's White Cat detergent commercial - the person who thought of the brandname White Cat (for a detergent!!!) is either completely mad or a genius. I'm not quite sure yet;
2. Franzen being booted out of PBB;
3. Aga Muhlach finally getting a haircut.

Laker Magic

2005-11-23T23:56:00.000+08:00

I became a Laker fan because of Magic's passes. No-look, behind the back, off the dribble, cross court passes. I especially loved the smile on his face everytime his pass led to a Worthy dunk, or a coop-a-loop. He was the only player I knew who seemed to love it more when he helped other people score.

I learned to appreciate the assist because of him, and by extension, players who had the same court vision - Larry Bird, John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. Heck, I even like J-Will (Sacramento days).

Lakers v. Sixers, 11.12.05

2005-11-12T11:18:00.000+08:00

a horrible game to watch. the guy at espn said it best, the two teams committed enough mistakes to keep the game close.

that kid igoudala was all over kobe the whole game. and when kobe got free of him, 3 more people swarmed around him. whew. lakers didn't adjust to that, they lost. looks like the game plan for the rest of the nba is clear, defend kobe, and watch the other lakers disintegrate.

that being said, the lakers almost won. kobe being kobe, and despite having missed a ton of shots, took a 3 pointer to win the game, with about 8 seconds left. that, after having scored the lakers last 5 points and getting them within 2 points. i didn't mind the 3 point attempt actually, if he made it, he'd be everyone's hero despite shooting 30% the entire game. bottom line, he always thinks he can sink the last second shot and most times, he does. just not tonight. stat line: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists. that's a great game for most players, but very sub par for him.

with games like, i wish kobe could be more circumspect about his shot selection. and try to concentrate on other things, like rebounding and passing when the shots aren't falling early on. that way, he lulls the igoudalas of the world to thinking they can guard him, then just take over when they let their guard slip.

most times, however, i can't complain. he works hard, plays every second like it's the last, thrives in end game situations. he is the ultimate closer. if only the other lakers help him keep the games close.

P.S.
props to chris mihm and lamar. and devean for that 3 point shot late in the 4th to get them within 2.

Music to my ears

2005-10-26T22:39:00.000+08:00

It started with Diana Krall and the Bee Gees.

January, 2002.

I decided to buy a DVD player. After checking with the helpful folks at pinoydvd, I was introduced to a world where watching a movie at home was not just about turning on your tv, playing a disc and plopping down on your sofa with chips and soda within easy reach. It was all about experiencing the movie - seeing the images in the manner which the filmmakers envisioned, and being enveloped by the sound of it.

I scoured the metro for shops selling home theater systems and learned about speakers and amplifiers and wires. I also met a kind shopowner who loved Diana Krall's version of "Let's Face the Music and Dance" , and played it over and over, using different speakers and amps, just to demonstrate the nuances of each equipment. I'd never heard of Diana Krall before, and after one or two sessions with him, I went to a music store, got the album and played it on my cd player. It wasn't the same. I went back to his shop, and this time, he asked me to watch the dvd of the Bee Gees - One Night Only. I sat on his sofa, dreading the thought of listening to Night Fever and Tragedy, and found, to my chagrin, that I was tapping my feet in rhythm.

I ended up getting a bigger TV, an amplifier and front and center speakers. On my wish list: a subwoofer and two rear speakers for 5.1 effect, and maybe a turntable.

Fast forward to April, 2004.

"I am not changing anything in this car. I can't afford it." I say this to myself over and over again. But I couldn't bear to play Diana Krall's album in my car knowing that it sounded so much better when I played it at home. A month later, I was frequenting the forums in www.tsikot.com and www.kotseaudioclub.com trying to learn about car audio systems. Four months later, I had new speakers, an amp and a subwoofer installed.

Up to now, I can still remember the feeling when I drove my car home after the speakers, amp and sub were installed. I played "Let's Face the Music and Dance", turned the volume knob up, and broke into a smile. I changed CDs, drove around some more, and still couldn't get the smile off my face. I was so happy, I didn't want to stop driving. When exhaustion hit me, I drove home, parked my car, killed the engine, and listened to my CDs again, still with a stupid grin on my face.

A year later.

I still don't have the subwoofer, rear speakers and turntable for my home theater system. Doubt if I'll get around to buying any of them, actually, except maybe the turntable. I'm happy with how everything sounds right now at home.

I just changed the head unit in my car. I got a newer model which plays MP3s and has a screensaver. I still love to drive, especially at night when it's quieter, and the pace, more relaxed. Just me and the music.

Harare

2005-08-08T16:31:00.000+08:00

Harare.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the answer to the burning question in the Philippines right now. Nope, not CHA-CHA, impeachment or Hello Garci. The one question, which is asked daily, and yet somehow remains unanswered is:

"What is the capital of Zimbabwe?"

P.S.

For those not in the Philippines, or those who choose to stay away from local TV channels, this is the question asked by a Miss Tapia-ish teacher of her elementary school students in a dandruff commercial (repeat after me: "Hu-wat is the capital of [dramatic pause] Zimbabwe?") The poor boy who has dandruff chooses that precise moment to scratch his hair and of course, gets called on by the teacher. Inexplicably, however, the makers of the TV commercial leave the viewers hanging by not giving the boy a second chance to answer the question (after removing all traces of dandruff from his hair). Instead, the teacher asks yet another question, which the boy answers with a question of his own.

What is up with that?

Food trip

2005-08-04T18:51:00.000+08:00

my current cravings:

1. beef steak and beef caldereta from Rodic's;

2. ube jam from Good Shepherd (Baguio or Market!Market!);

3. the mushrooms-wrapped-in-bacon thingy in Teriyaki Boy;

4. Double Dutch ice cream from Magnolia's Gold Label and Quezo Real from Selecta;

5. yema (P5 each, the triangular shaped kind wrapped in gold paper)

Yum.

Taxi

2005-08-04T18:44:00.000+08:00

The perfect taxi driver should have only two words for his passenger: "saan kayo?". His ID and the contact numbers of his cab company are prominently displayed. the cab is clean, with jazz music playing softly in the background. All the door handles work, the front seats can be adjusted and reclined.

In the real world, however, we make do with the Pinoy cab driver. No ID. The markings on his cab are from a few owners ago (too expensive to update current owner's name, contact number, hence the usual, "ay, hindi na po sa las pinas ang garahe nito. sa qc na. yung dating may-ari kasi taga las pinas"). Seat cover is in dire need of washing. can't open the door from the inside (broken door handle). Chooses his passenger (the signs of rejection: slight kamot to the head, and the dreaded words "traffic dun eh" or "pa-garahe na ako, ma'am"). And of course, love radio ("kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?").

On top of all of that, the Pinoy cab driver never shuts up.

There are those who talk about politics. For the past years, i've listened to pro-Erap, pro-GMA, pro-Ramos and yes, even those who look back fondly at the Marcos days.

There are of course, the obligatory religious nuts, who try to make you see his god's light in the 30 minute cab ride. I've had a driver continually extend his hand to the back seat (where i was) and ask me to say "Amen" to whatever it was he was saying. I've been asked to repent so many times, it's a wonder i'm not seeing a shrink. or a priest.

Then there are the nosy ones, who ask about your personal life, and your job. So far, i've been single (bad, because you're subjected to a pass from the gigolo driver), in a relationship (bad, because of the obligatory follow up questions, like what does he do, does he treat you well), married (see above), separated (prepare for an onslaught of his own sob stories). I have also been an accountant, a call center operator, a teacher, a programmer and a UP student (which, i was, a few years back).

I'm actually scared of the silent ones because they are either sleeping (while weaving through edsa), or about to have an epileptic attack (true story, my mom and i had to get off about 400 meters away from our actual destination because she got scared of the involuntary er "twitching" that the driver was experiencing).

How Sweet It Is!

2005-02-19T14:55:00.000+08:00

*I wrote this in 1999. Wow. I can't believe it's been more than 5 years.

Whoever coined the phrase "March Madness" must have been a 3rd year law student. Our first year was terrifying; the second year, a blast. Third year? It was, (notice the use of the past tense) as Charles Dickens said, the best of times and the worst of times.

Notice the pattern. First, third year lulled us into complacency. During the early stages of the first sem, the Dean was in Rome and our teachers were never in. In the second sem, Pebrero na nang makita ni Jenny ang iba nating guro. Then, before we could express our disgust (ahem) over the quality of education we were getting for six thousand bucks in peyups...it was time for our final exams. Much like a boxer intent on throwing a right straight and instead being hit by a sneaky upper cut, we ended up on the floor, bruised and dazed at the sudden turn of events.
I, for one, emerged a better albeit a battered person, from it all. Days after the last exam I ventured gingerly into the real world and walked amongst "normal" people. It was wonderful to be with those who knew not the meaning of SCRA. I touched the floors of Megamall and found to my delight that it was as dirty as it had always been. The supermarket clerks still don't give the exact change, the ATM's still don't work when you're out of cash, the jeepney drivers still drive as if the devil himself was after them. More importantly, there was PowerBooks and Tower Records and Starbucks and the Art Film in Glorietta and HBO, ESPN, AXN and Egyptian TV on cable. I was nearly in tears. 'Pinas was exactly the same as I had left it in early March.

It is indeed both humbling and gratifying to realize that the world just went on its merry way around the sun despite us. Or should I say, without us. Hopefully, when we recover enough of ourselves and decide to rejoin the rest of humanity this summer, we will find not only comfort in the familiarity of our surroundings but also wonder at the beauty of it all.

The Longest Journey

2005-02-19T14:50:00.000+08:00

*this is one of a series of essays i wrote while i was in law school.

9am, 9 October 2000 - I stood on the second level of the MRT station near the SM City and watched in horror as traffic towards Quezon Avenue slowly built up until the bottleneck reached the intersection of EDSA, West Ave and North Ave. Minutes later, thousands of people got off from the buses they were riding and made their way towards the MRT station. My MRT station, the one I am supposed to ride in on my way to Makati to handcarry my resume et al. I watched helplessly as the lines on the ticket counter got longer and longer and longer. You might be wondering why I didn't buy my ticket and ride the MRT sooner and instead watched the catastrophe unfold right before my eyes. Well, I was waiting for two people (itago na lang natin sila sa pangalang Jenny at Emily) who promised to join me in my odyssey (i.e. to find a job). The two, unbeknownst to me, had been delayed because the taxi (which they thought would bring them faster to the said MRT station) apparently caught fire and started bellowing smoke.
And that was just the beginning of our day.

By the end of it, we had traversed the entire breadth and length of Salcedo and Legaspi Village in Makati. By foot. We started at the Pacific Star Building at the corner of Makati Avenue and Buendia, and ended up in Perea St. in Legaspi Village. For proper reference to the QC residents, imagine yourself walking from UP (Math Building) to the Rotonda in Quezon Avenue.

We had ridden every conceivable kind of elevator - from the really slow ones which took forever to even open its doors (think UP Law Center elevator) to an elevator so fast I felt my ears would explode (think ear discomfort during take-off and landing on airplanes). There were spacious elevators and cramped ones, well lighted elevators and really dark ones.

We had met every kind of receptionist. The snooty, the welcoming, the one who can't stop talking and one stationed in what should have been the lobby of the office. My bag had never been subjected to such utter humiliation! Imagine being thought of as a carrier of bombs and other weapons of mass destruction by every security guard in the whole Makati area.

I had never walked so far in my life. I felt like I invented the Alay Lakad and the Walkathon. When we handed in the last of our resume, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I saw fireworks in the sky. I heard the soundtrack of the recently concluded Sydney Olympics in my mind pushing me to walk faster, to cover more ground (maybe the Ortigas area). I heard the cheers of the crowd egging me on, I felt goosebumps on my body. Yes! I had done it! I submitted my resume to every imaginable law office in Makati.

It was 3 days before I could walk properly again.