Bum

So it all comes to this. I am finally a bum.

More posts about being a bum in the next few days.

NBA Regular Season 2005-2006

Well, the NBA regular season is finally over. It's certainly a lot better, and more eventful than other unmemorable seasons. I'm pretty satisfied with this season, and what do I mean by that.

First of all, two of the three teams I'm rooting for are in the playoffs. They are the LA Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, with the unfortunate disappointment that is the Golden State Warriors. Then, three of my favorite players are in the running for MVP: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade. Then I've got a new idol in Chris Paul. Then there was that 62 pts in 3-quarters followed by the historic 81 point game by Kobe Bryant who broke various records in doing so. I got the recap video stored in my precious iPod. And like what many journalists are saying, I also believe that he put the entire Eagle, Colorado thing behind him with this great season performance. He also bagged the scoring title for the first time. Next, is the re-emergence of the Human Highlight Film in Vince Carter, whose highlight reel includes a nasty throwdown early in the season against Alonzo Mourning, among others. Finally, one of the feel-good stories of the season in the LA Clippers, once the laughingstock of the NBA, clinching a playoff spot with great maturity and confidence.

Can't wait for the playoffs.

--

The end of the regular season also means the end of fantasy basketball. In our head-to-head league in the office, I got second place, losing at the end with a score of 4-5. This figure means that of all the stats we are tallying, he other guy had better numbers in five categories (field-goal %, assists, etc.) as opposed to my four. Anyway, it was a good run. Hope I win it all next year.

After Holy Week Thoughts

You know, one of the toughest things you will face while adjusting to a healthy lifestyle is having to buy clothes that will actually fit you. My office clothes are too loose for me now. My pants are one size too big; I'm now a 33. My polos are (I think) half a size too big; I'm now a 15 1/2 (whatever that numerical value means) or a medium. Anyway, if you must know, I'm pretty much done with the business attire for a while. I think my new office attire will consist of short-sleeved polos and slacks, including dress-down Fridays. It's a welcome change.

---

On Saturday, me and my college buddies are going to Subic! Finally, after weeks and weeks of not spending days off somewhere "summer-y". Man, we're wasting the summer heat by not going out. I heard that it's La Niña season. All the more we need to maximize the dry weather. The month of May should be jam-packed with outings! I'd like to try out whitewater rafting, hiking, mountain climbing, more traveling and such in the next few months.

Right now, I really, really feel that I'm waking up from something. And it feels so good.

Waking Up

I though it was appropriate to post this in the beginning of the Easter season. A new life is ahead of me, in the form of new work. Yes, friends, if you haven't heard yet, I am switching jobs after the 28th of April, in the year of our Lord 2006.

I don't talk about work much in this blog because of obvious reasons and I'm not going to go into detail now. If you want, we can always talk it over in person, through email, text, YM or by even giving me a call. But never through this blog.

I'll post another one just before my last day. It will be a general wrap-up, lessons learned, a lot of thank-yous, farewells, and wish-me-lucks.

So little time, so much to watch

It's not a habit for me to go out to the beach or to the mountains during Holy Week. Instead, like a lot of people who don't walk barefoot from Mandaluyong to Antipolo, engage in self-flagellation, or joing parish procession, I stay home and watch DVDs. Aside from the NBA and The Simpsons DVDs that I've seen recently, here are some others which I have watched during the break:

Bottle Rocket - One of Owen and Luke Wilson's earliest works about an inept group of wanna-be criminals trying to pull off a grand heist. Fairly entertaining. I don't think anybody would learn anything new from here. Pretty normal screwball comedy. Thanks to Zsazsa for lending!

The Princess Bride - Something old yet something new. Way before Shrek, came this fresh twist of fantasy about lost loves and daring (and unconventional) rescues. Special participation from Andre the Giant. Starring pre-"Men in Tights" Cary Elwes and pre-"Mrs. Penn" Robin Wright.

Munich - You'd think the break is also about giving your brain a break from thinking as well. But I watched Munich anyway. It's a movie about retaliation against the group Black September who was responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre. The message is pretty clear for anyone who watches the movie. Still, I could've watched a movie that was a lot easier to digest.

Still on the To-Watch List:

Goal!, Crash, Capote

The Ricky Gervais Show Podcast

Part of the appeal of having an iPod (or any digital audio player for that matter) is listening to podcasts or radio shows, whenever you want. There are a lot of podcasts available over the Internet. You can get NBA daily recaps and updates, Vintage ToonCasts (which include nostalgic Superman cartoons) and various other TV show and Music news updates. Most of them are free while some are on a paid subscription basis (which I think automatically classifies them as audiobooks instead). One of the most famous podcast series is The Ricky Gervais Show.

I'd rather not repeat whatever's in the Wikipedia article so I'll just say that I find this show really funny and really insane at the same time. It's not so much a radio show as it is usapang lasing. I understand though that the humor (sorry, humour) is not for everyone.

Unfortunately, the producers of the show have decided to stop the free distribution of the podcast. Due to its popularity, they've decided to capitalize on the tremendous demand for the podcast and distribute them on a paid basis from Audible.com.

Of course, there's still P2P networks. This show deserves to be heard by everyone.

Craziness Ensues

I came from V-mall yesterday and the iPod (w/ video) 30GB is at the P14,xxx.xx level in most stores. I still don't know the reason for the price drop. Anyway, I'm satisfied with my iPod. I've loaded about 8GB of data including movie trailers, video podcasts and an episode of Sealab 2021 (Lost in Time, my favorite). I've experienced only one glitch so far when it froze after not using it for a day. Resetting the unit did the trick and everything's still intact.

Quicktime Pro 7 is terrible at converting some videos. That Sealab 2021 episode that I got took two hours to convert. After which, it turned out that the output video had no sound. In contrast, the cool and very free software called Videora did the job in about ten minutes. No sweat.

--

We had that FHM autograph signing the other day and of course I had to buy a copy of the magazine. I read it a few days ago. It's not really all that interesting to read. I guess there's a market for this somewhere. Me? I wouldn't buy another copy unless there's another autograph signing worth going to.

--

After a really long break, resulting to dangerously skinny arms, I've gone back to lifting a few weights every now and then. It's always very hard to start something after a long hiatus and yet very easy to stop something like this (whenever I feel like). So anyway, good luck to me and my willpower.

--

Holy Week: Time to Reflect.

Nancy

IMG_0591
Originally uploaded by ton2fig.

Me and the guys at the office decided to do something for kicks.

Yesterday, we went to Robinson's Galleria for lunch. As we went up the escalators, we noticed a banner promoting an autograph signing for FHM Philippines, with covergirl-actress Nancy Castiglione.

Ding! Light bulb!

So anyway, I had to convince the guys to go and have some magazines signed today. Of course at first, everybody was enthusiastic and we'd laugh at ourselves for coming up with the idea. They didn't realize that it was a serious suggestion. Hah!

It could've been embarrassing and humiliating. But, Carpe Diem!

I even had to bring my trusty Powershot S80 to show them that I was serious.

Anyway, I don't even have the slightest crush on Nancy. I mean, she's cute in print and in person (ok, a slight crush). But this is more of a quick boy's night out, and it just cost us P125.00 for the magazine. It took us about ten minutes to walk to Robinsons' from the office, around ten minutes to line up (the line stopped moving when she got interviewed for a few minutes), and we were already out of there before six in the evening.

The line wasn't so long yet, when we arrived. There were around 10 people ahead of us in the line. Lots more not in the line, but phone cameras in hand surrounding the area. When it was our turn, she was kind enough to sign the article inside and also the glossy cover (which will probably fade away soon) and pose for a few quick snaps. She wore this green tee that said "I'm not with Stupid [we just broke up]". I don't get it.

Go check out the flickr pics I took with Marjay, Toberts and Jon.

I wonder who's on the next cover?

Major Drop in Pounds and Prices

Hey, I finally reached my goal of losing weight down to 145 lbs from an all-time high of 156 lbs. Actually, it fluctuates from 145-148, which is pretty good for me. Unfortunately, I'm in danger of looking scrawny and still have a flabby waist. How gross does that look? I'm not starving myself, anyway. I just eat fruits (fuji apples and crimson seedless grapes), yoghurt or raisins when I'm hungry. Sometimes, I drink grape juice. Hey, it worked for me.

True enough, it's a lifestyle change, and I like it so far. It's just a bit expensive to maintain (for example, non-fat yoghurt costs around P28.00 a cup) but yields dividends. I learned to cover the costs by cutting down on chocolate, junk food (although, I've given up junk food a long-long time ago, except for the occassional kropek), soft drinks and artificial juices.

But I better start going back to weight lifting soon and continue the "slimming" momentum with some aerobic exercise like jogging. Remember the flabby waist? I learned that of all the obvious body flab, they're the last to go. So there's still a lot of work to be done.

--

I lost the argument.

And because I did, I now have a brand new iPod Video 30GB! Woohoo!

If you remember a few posts back, I said that I could never convince myself that I need an iPod. Ok, so maybe I still don't need it now, but I certainly wanted it when I bought it. One big reason is the BIG DROP IN PRICES of the iPod. I listed the iPod Video 30GB at P18,990 locally. Guess what, it's down to P15,xxx.xx in V-Mall (the former Virra Mall) in Greenhills. If you're lucky (or unlike me, not particular about color) you can get it as low as P14,800.00. That's even cheaper than in the U.S.! So go! Buy now! I've no idea why they dropped prices. There's no explanation except that they've gone crazy.

Meanwhile, I have to go load my CDs in, and download some podcasts...

--

Hey, congratulations to all who passed the BAR exams! Just what we need, more lawyers!

Powerbooks Warehouse Sale and Sauna

Powerbooks is having a warehouse sale in Brixton St. in Barrio Kapitolyo in Pasig. The selection is fairly good but it was as hot as hell in that warehouse (the common complaint). The books are at least 20% off (even more for stickered copies, up to 70% or a specific price). For example, their Harry Potter 6 hardbound sells for P499.00. Yesterday, I got a copy of Frank Miller's Sin City: Family Values for 400-something pesos, but it was as hot as hell in that warehouse. If you have a book in mind that you want to buy at a discounted price, there's not really a good chance that you may find it. But you might as well take a look. Did I mention that it was as hot as hell in that warehouse? At least the children's section and the cashiers are in airconditioned rooms.

You can try to park inside the warehouse itself if there's space available or you can park outside in the streets. They say that new bargains are coming in everyday so for book lovers, it's time to get lucky. You can pay in cash or credit card.

There's a Sonya's Garden she hides.

IMG_0538
Originally uploaded by ton2fig.

It's time for Amateur Photography! (also known as "tinkering with the macro setting").

So have a look at our little trip to Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay. Check out the salad and pasta that they served us. Mmm-mm! http://www.flickr.com/photos/ton2fig/sets/72057594088829556/

Didn't have time to look up the scientific names of these flowers. So if you want to name the flowers, knock yourself out with Flickr's note or comment feature. I'd appreciate it.

Absolutely no Shame in 3rd. And Three? It's the magic number.

So that was the end of our team's basketball season. Having a total record of 3-4 but winning in the battle for 3rd place, it was a fine ending. I was disappointed, though, that only seven of us were able to play on this last game. At least it meant, more Gatorade for those of us who showed up. Unsurprisingly, I scored eight points in this last game. We zoomed to an early lead at the start. They slowly climbed back in the 4th quarter. Under two minutes left, it could have been anybody's game. My missed free throws almost cost the game, but I redeemed myself right after by cleanly stealing the ball on the other end. Two more free throws from our team sealed the five-point victory.

Lots of lessons learned, of course. First is the fact that I'm past the prime of my basketball life. The kids are taking over. Second, I still suck at making free throws. I made none this season, out of around 7 or 8 attempts. A little digression first. When I was in grade 5 or 6, I was one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in my class. It was enough to split a 100 peso second prize in one of our school family days. Getting back to the discussion, I also learned that I can't run around for more than 10 minutes tops. To add to that, I'm slow to get back on transition defense. I mean, if I was coaching the team from the bench and I saw myself play that kind of defense, I'd bench my lazy ass. Third, and very appropriate, is that I still have a decent 3-pt shot. I wouldn't say I'm a deadshot and that it's accurate. It's more of the fact that I'm confident enough to know that I can drill it from that range. Last is the sad fact that I haven't grown any taller since more than a decade ago. But then, I really can't do anything about that.

--

I was coach-for-hire again for another women's team who actually had their own offensive playbook. I didn't really do much coaching, just a bit of cheering and motivating, really. The girls won third place too, and I think they had a lot of fun playing. Which is what's really important in these sportsfest games. To the girls of that team, if I had any part in making you believe more that you could win, then it's a job well done for me. Naks, drama!

DSL: Do Stay up Late. Won't somebody think of the children?!

Much like when I discovered Civilization I, II, Alpha Centauri,
SimCity4 and The Sims, I was again tempted to stay up until the wee
hours of the morning with my new toy, an ADSL connection.

Brief background on Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. Generally,
ADSL connections have more bandwidth for downloads as compared to
uploads. It still runs through existing phone lines but using
different frequencies. And of course, you need an ADSL modem for that.

So this is PLDT Plan 999 Unlimited. And it's mine, all mine! Even the bill! :P

First thing of course is dealing with some unfinished business like
uploading the rest of the pictures from my Hong Kong trip. It's all in
flickr, 600+ shots. Not all of them good, though, but it's worth
taking anyway.

Next is playing around with Google Earth, swooping over cities and landmasses.

Software updates galore of course. I hope I don't get bored early with
having ADSL.

My mom, of course, appreciates the fact that it doesn't tie up the phone lines.

--

Funny thread going on in our Ateneo high school class mailing list.
Here's the gist of it:

T: Hi guys, sorry for telling everyone this late, but I got married
already and my wife is expecting.

Everybody: Congrats!...

D: Anybody else?

N: Me too, we're expecting a baby. But we haven't gotten married yet.

Everybody: Congrats!

C: I'm pregnant!

Everybody: :|

What can I say, it's certainly a very pro-life group of people.

So there, congratulations to Terry & Isabel, Nicol & Ange, Pao & Frankie!

To paraphrase Nicol, they're not bhoys anymore, they're men anymore!

H for Handouts

Can you believe this? I'm 26 years old, blood pressure of 140/90, almost five years out of school and into professional life and yet I just received a thousand pesos from one of my tita's from the U.S. ala aguinaldo galing sa ninang. It's quite embarrassing really but then I refused at first. Anyway, she wanted to give me something so I had to reluctantly accept it.

I probably am contradicting myself regarding receiving freebies and money from relatives. Right before my Hong Kong trip, I talked about almost getting some pocket money from my grandfather. The difference of course is that I don't really need money right now. To confuse you even further, I actually do really need some money right now.

Assuming you didn't click-away to other webpages because of my nonsensical ramblings, what I really wanted to say was this. You lose some amount of pride when somebody gives you money, even as a gift, especially if you didn't ask for it, or didn't expect it. Some people my age already have their own families, living on their own, paying for their housing loans, putting their kids to school. Here I am, still living the single life, quite uncertain of a lot of things (hence the blog title), living in times of uncertainty. Currently burning out from work (which I dare not discuss in this blog. Some other time, I promise), and health may be declining. Money may be the least of my problems.

--

V for Vendetta

Watched V for Vendetta this weekend at Greenbelt 3. As with most comic book adaptations, the comic books have much more intricate details in the story and are rarely as simplistic as their 2-hour screen counterparts. This movie is no exception. For those who liked the film, go pick up the 900-something peso copy. Or you can borrow a copy from me, as long as you promise to put plastic cover on it :P It's getting pretty respectable reviews and rating so far (around 60-70% from Rottentomatoes). I think the reason and the message of the movie is much more socially relevant today all over the world. "Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither." I hope I got the quote right. Anyway, I'm quite surprised it hasn't received much attention especially in it's admittedly terroristic methods of dealing with oppression. It isn't a black and white issue, apparently, in a Fight Club sort of way. But go read the comic book. It's much richer.

Somewhere between 26 and Death, and the Week in Review

Just had our annual medical check-up this past weekend. The biggest (non-)news is my alarming high-blood pressure, 140/90 (I think). Of course, a lot of factors contribute to high-blood pressure such as, work-related stress, excitement, eating fatty foods, lack of exercise, and coaching women's basketball teams (hehe, just kidding :P). So, this health thing is actually getting real. Anyway, I plan to eat healthier, exercise a lot more, and loosen up on work, whenever I can. Also more fat-free products as well as fruits and vegetables. It has to be a conscious effort, but I won't let it dictate my life yet. I should get a check up in a few weeks to see if I make progress, and also to see if I need to take medication.

Gettin' old, man. I'm gettin' old.

--

I got talked into buying a new pair of glasses on the same day as the check-up. It's been a while since I last replaced my glasses (maybe two years or so). The doctor said that my eyesight got rid of some astigmatism and that my current lenses are too corrective for me now. Oh well, another unplanned purchase. I'm getting the new pair on Tuesday.

--

Basketball!

Well, my team officially sucks enough to battle for third place in two weeks. Five games already and I haven't scored in double figures yet. On a lighter note, I have a streak of shooting at least one 3-pt shot per game going. Not that it actually matters. I was actually a lot more fit last year because of all the exercise I did.

I'm also coaching the women's team (of another team actually) in basketball. It feels like playing chess; No, actually, it feels like playing Command and Conquer. You put the pieces where you want them and have them duke it out on their own. Plus, I get to say all the coaching stuff that I want that not even I could follow all the time. No butt-slapping allowed, though.

So the girls are in the championship game to be played in two weeks' time. They're up against some stiff competition. It's easier to tell guys not to get too emotional about the game. But girls? Who knows?

--

We've finally had it with PLDT Vibe, so we're going to have DSL soon. Maybe it's time to buy that 120 GB hard drive. But I should bop myself in the head after writing that. I'm a bit short on money these days. Well, not really, but I mean short on money that I can spend. I'm still paying for my car, my camera, my phone usage, and now this DSL. Why doesn't money grow on trees?

--

It's so damn hot these days and nights. Must...resist...turning on...aircon...

--

I hope to write updates more often. Maybe blogging lowers blood pressure.

LOST, Flickr, La Niña, and rants galore.

I've written about this before. And I say again, if you're a serious LOST fan waiting for AXN-Asia to air Season 2 of the hit TV show, LOST, the wait is over.

Tomorrow, Monday, they'll show the 2-hour season premiere in which the answers themselves raise more questions. The episode is very nicely done, and the score is good. Watch it, damn you!

--

So what else's been happening? Well, I still feel vindicated about pushing that Puerto Galera trip last weekend, when the situation in the Metro got a bit edgy, but the weather stayed perfect. On the other hand, had we pursued with plan B (doing it over this weekend), I'm afraid we could have encountered a little La Niña. Again, you can have a look at our little vacation.

I've also been given a sponsored Flickr pro account. Unfortunately, I couldn't find time to upload days 2 and 3 of my Hong Kong trip, which included the outskirts (hehe) of Disneyland Hong Kong.

My mom says, I can travel wherever and whenever I want to, and that it's just a matter of priorities. She's absolutely correct. If I don't care about rainy days, I might as well splurge. But at my age, rainy days are as important as tomorrow's meal.

--

Again, I've been very-very busy in and out of work. I've also been reaching out to friends and making an effort. I haven't seen some of them in months, even years. You just don't know when you'll need them, and vice-versa. I have a feeling that one day, I'll be missing each and every one of them a lot, but then that's another story and maybe another post. Summer outing, gimik or drinking session anyone? Anything but this year's Live AIDS. Drei, I'll give you the Good Will Hunting treatment. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault...

Beach tip: Get one of those foldable beach banigs for P99.00 in Watson's.

--

PLDT Vibe officially sucks. It dials but doesn't connect. If it connects, there's a chance it might disconnect you. What sort of amateur ISP are these clowns running? If you want a reliable dial-up connection, you might as well go prepaid. It's been one year. Though it has saved me some cash, I spent a lot of grief. I don't know if it's worth it. Probably not.

Puerto Galera MMS Outing Feb 25-26, 2006 - a photoset on Flickr

Puerto Galera MMS Outing Feb 25-26, 2006 - a photoset on Flickr

So here it is, in it's entirety. Presenting to you, our Puerto Galera Trip in pictures.

Thanks to Noel for the flickr pro sponsorship! And Shelley for the other camera, and the temporary storage!

If you're looking for me, you better check under the sea...

Before I get my flickr pro sponsorship from Noel (payable upon his arrival in the country) , I though I'd post the underwater pics through Shelley's flickr pro account. I took them using my Canon Powershot S80 with WP-DC1 Waterproof Case. I bought the case from Hong Kong. I just kept snapping and snapping. Here are the shots we took. We fed the fish some bread and generally had some fun snorkeling.

I had to do some auto-leveling before I posted them which brought out more color in the scenes. Hope you like the pics!

Puerto Galera!

With all of these things happening around the metro, we thought we'd have our Puerto Galera outing cancelled or postponed. Of course, I was one of those who vehemently objected to having it held at a later date other than Feb 25-26. We had planned this early in January. I had also been eagerly waiting that long.

To make the long story short, the original count dwindled down to just eight people from around eleven. So, no problem. The trip was excellent. We got to beach hop, snorkel, take pictures underwater (!!!), have a taste of Mindoro Sling, and have henna tattoos drawn on us. I'd love to post the pictures in flickr, but then I'm trying to find a way to pay through credit card (since the drop down box of the country for the billing address doesn't include Philippines) to get a pro account. Little help, anyone, anyone?

I'm so excited to upload pictures like these:

Thanks to the group for still continuing on the vacation despite the situation. Thanks to Shelley, Lory, Darius, Lara, Toberts, MJ and Marjay! That was a good one!

Important Haggling Points

I managed to do some haggling in Hong Kong for my Waterproof Case and Battery. I don't remember If I ever did that here, but I'm pretty sure, it wasn't for something as expensive. I don't claim to be of any authority on haggling, but then it's part of being Asian to bargain (or so the rest of the world thinks).

Anyway, rule number one is: Do your homework. Find out about the retail prices so that you can gauge how much more expensive they're charging you. For the Waterproof Case, I had it pegged at a retail price of HK$ 1430.00, and the battery at $400 from Canon HK website. The guy at the Wan Chai Computer Centre ("Sam") is selling it for HK$ 1450.00, but is selling the battery for only about HK$350. I told him about the website price of the Waterproof case, and we brought down the price to HK$1400 for the case, and $350 for the battery. I saved about HK$ 80 total, which wasn't so bad. I didn't really know if I could bring it down even lower, but I thought I should close the deal since I already had saved some money right then.

Rule number two: Take the time to have a look around first. Barring some sort of cartel in the area (much like what they do with Mazda parts along Banawe Ave.), the prices you are looking for should fall in some range (see rule #1). The 512MB iPod Shuffle went from the suggested retail price of HK$550 to as high as HK$ 780 in some stores in the same area. Never discount the fact, though, being in some foreign country, that there could be miscommunication (like giving the wrong price for that product). For brand name products like the iPod, it's almost impossible to get it lower than the suggested price unless you're buying bulk or the store is having some promo. The same also holds true for already discounted items. Anyway, the point was to not pay more than you should.

Other than these two, is the fact that the product you are buying is the product that you want to buy. Check for product defects, incompatibilities, non-international warranties, return policies, and such.