nablopomo winners

the winners of nablopomo has been announced. as you can see above, i am not one of them hahaha sayang, i was secretly hoping pa naman i'll get that flickr pro account :) to all the winners, congratulations. maybe one day i get to read all your blog entries.

Day 30

I did it! I made it through. There were some rough patches there but I was still able to follow through. I'm talking of course about nablopomo or national blog posting month.

Taking its inspiration from nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month where you're expected to crank out a novel in 30 days), nablopomo participants are expected to write one blog entry a day for 30 days. There are prizes at the end of the line. Grand prize includes "Six months free hosting with purchase of a full 12-month Economy Hosting plan - or, if the winner does not wish to change hosts, a Flickr Pro Account for one year and 1 custom banner/masthead for your blog." There are other random prizes, too.

So sorry if i wasn't able to inform you about it, i only knew about it a day or two before it started. Maybe next year, we all can do it. As what fussy.org, nablopomo organizer says: Some of us lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly, but, by Grabthar's Hammer, we can update our blogs every day for a month!

in the meantime...

If you were to ask me when I was 16 what kind of life I would be living 16 years hence, I’d probably paint you a scenario that is so far removed from my present life. I’m not being regretful. In fact, I’m kinda amazed at where I am right now and how far I have gone and evolved from the foolish, impetuous girl I once was.

A good friend once told me, do not judge your life against the achievements of other people; judge yours by how far you have come as compared to your mother or grandmother. Parang every generation should be an improvement on the one that came before it. I know that if my grandparents can only see me now, they’d be proud – especially my dashing lolo Pedro. Sometimes, I just wish they lived longer.

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just had a quick dinner with old friends at The Block in SM North. the main purpose for this meal was for Bamba to hand us her wedding invitation (woohoo. I'm one of the bridesmaids, errr matron nga ba dapat?)as well as that of her sister Marie. They are getting married within less than a month of each other. Ang hectic siguro sa bahay nila ngayon :)

and the winner is...

It's the NU Rock Awards again.

It's been 13 years since that very intimitate first awarding night held at the now defunct Music Hall in Annapolis.

Buddy is nominated this year for producing Sandwich's Five on the Floor and itchyworms' Noontime Show (with Raims). The Dawn is also performing along with so many of our friends but somehow i'm not that into it this year. Maybe it's because i have a lot of things to do and i feel really tired. besides, i don't have anything special to wear (hehe vanity). anyhow, it'd still be a fun night and i already missed Admit 1's 5th year anniversary show.

Bollywood thriller

I suddenly missed my good friend Indi when i saw this youtube clip.



it's a Thriller-tribute Indian music video. the only word i understand throughout the song was "Killer!" which i think is part of the chorus. i could be wrong though hehehe. It was posted October 2006 so i'm not sure if this was done in the 80s or just recently as the costumes looked authentically 80s.

Samosa!!

it's close to midnight

sometimes there are just days (or nights) when you can't say or write anything. i don't know whether to be sad or glad or just not care.

I choose C.

yes, nicky, this is a non-blog entry. this is a 'for requirement's sake' entry. i am not proud. but these are the days i must live hahaha corny. but you know what i mean :)

friday madness

Thank.God.It's.Friday.

Although my week is far from over. There are just so many things to do this side of my life.

Happy weekend everyone. Remember to take joy wherever and whenever you can.

to the promised land

my cousin called me up yesterday at lunch to tell me he's leaving for Qatar to work as a laborer there. I was mildly surprised but not really. There really is no way for him to get a decent job here. He didn't graduate from college and the past 8 years or so, he was doing this dead-end job doing menial stuff.

His salary there is really small. I kind of made provisions of the fact that he has free uniform, lodging and food but it still doesn't give much comfort. His fiancee was really sad to see him go but what can they do? Kung yung mga me college diploma nga wala pa ring mapasukan dito, paano pa siya? How can he hope to give his future wife and family the good life he envisions for him when even brilliant teachers are forced to become domestic helpers abroad (where good-for-nothing recruiters complain about DOLE's edict that the minimum wage of DH be increased from $200 to $400 saying that in essence it's a buyer's market out there and we have no right to complain. “The Philippines, being a labor-supplying country cannot demand what it wants from foreign employers,” Fama president Eduarto Mahiya said. “That is a function of a free market, dictated by supply and demand.”)

Naalala ko tuloy itong sabi ng isang kolumnista sa Inquirer nung malaman niya na $200 lang ang sweldo ng mga DH sa Lebanon, yung mga nagsiuwian nung panahon ng pagbobomba ng Israel at Hezbollah : Why can't we even provide them with jobs that pay P10,000 here in the country?

Imagine, that they risk life and limb in a fragile country for just so they can provide for their families. And now my cousin has joined their ranks, taking the same path that his older brother and sister took a decade ago.

How to kick start your week

Nothing like dinner with old friends to help you get out of a rut.

Last night as per our agreement some two weeks back, Cyn and Arnold, Maps and Raims, Buddy and I took time off from hectic schedules and all trooped to the newly-opened and sparsely-occupied Serendra mall in Fort Boni.

We all agreed to meet up at the 2nd branch of Blowup Babies. (yes, a second branch and they were invited by the mall developers no less to put up another branch. Go visit now. Bring your pets, too!) Afterwards we went to Thai Silk. The food was lovely especially their tom yung kai. Pad Thai was great although it still doesn’t quite give me the same pleasure as that street pad Thai I had a few years back (all for the price of 10 baht!). Quark and Lia were a bit late and joined us for dessert at the lovely Mary Grace home to delicious ensaymada, mini cakes, chocolate drinks and Jona, one of the most attentive wait staff I’ve ever come across. We were supposed to have dessert at Cupcakes, unfortunately, by the time we were ready for sweets, the place was closed for a private function. Dammit! We were so looking forward to it. Ika nga ni Raims “Bakit me funk naman kami a.” Di bale, we will be back.

We had loads of fun at Mary Grace. It’s great to hang out with friends and just talk about anything. My gawd, the things we talked about: Arrested Development, Entourage, how some people you just call by their full names (i.e. ArnoldArre, DiegoMapa, MarcAbaya – who incidentally we bumped into earlier in the night), work, etc… Basta, it was a fun night. I felt so relaxed and slept like a baby afterwards (which is a luxury as lately I’ve been tossing and turning in bed – too much heaven, I mean, clutter in my mind).

best scene:

Jona: Sir, kayo po ba si Quark Henares?
Quark: yes.
Jona: pwede po magpa-sign at magpa-picture?
Quark: Of course. (a little softly) Astig, kasama ko ang Eraserheads pero ako ang nakilala.

Hahaha. Riot. In fairness, when she saw Buddy’s name sa guest list (we were asked to sign 3 times: guest book, a notepad and feedback forms) she gave a tentative “zabala? Buddy Zabala?” “Sir, Erazerheads po ba kayo?” Tawa na kami ng tawa. And then we started pointing to Lia (editor ng Exodus!), Myrene (NU DJ!), Arnold (maker ng Mythology Class!), Cynthia (graphic designer ng magazine!).

Plugging:

Do watch Quark's latest movie, Wag Kang Lilingon. I'm plugging it because I might not be able to watch it. I'm such a scaredy cat. The last time i ventured into that genre was with Kelvin and Jugs to catch "What Lies Beneath." Turns out, we were a trio of easily-scared babies. Nakakatawa kami sa loob ng sinehan. Nakakahiya na nakakatawa.

fleeting, fleeing, feeling

Can't believe November is almost over and that the year is just a few weeks away from officially ending.

wow,i just stared at the monitor for almost 3 minutes there. is that any indication of how this year went for me. Can't think of anything or maybe my mind is just cluttered with so many unwanted things.

No matter. Life is still good, even though i am miserable most of the time, these days. the buggers responsible for this will get their comeuppance soon enough, ha. I so believe in karma. Must insert some kinda smiley here lest people assume i've gone all bonkers and vindictive. Nah, just venting.

inhale, exhale

The other day, Veda gleefully recounted that they are now learning about living and non-living things at school. Oooh, science. Call me geeky but I am happy about this development.

So I asked her for examples of living things and she answered: plants, dogs, animals, us! What about non-living things, then? “Pillow, bed,” she replied. How do you know that something is a living thing I asked her. She said “If it walks, eats, talks, breathes.” Would you call a robot a living thing then? “No,” came the reply. But, it walks and talks, I answered back. “But Ma,” she answered a bit exasperated, “it doesn’t breathe.” Sigh. Ain’t kids grand?

I related this story to my good friend Aimee and she recounted her brush with this particular subject back when she used to be a pre-school teacher. She asked her pupils what characterizes a living thing and one child answered: “they move.” Suddenly, a strong gust of wind went through the room and all the children excitedly spoke: “the wind, the wind! It moved. It must be a living thing.” It took sometime for the class to move on after this – they all went quiet for awhile pondering this statement.

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. ~Oprah Winfrey

the flip side of "supersize me"

Ever wondered why environmentalists like Greenpeace, consumer groups, labor rights activists seem to be forever getting on the case of Mcdonald's?

Here's a game that lets you experience the ins and outs of mcdonald's and its global impact. It might give you an understanding of where these activists are coming from.

Making money in a corporation like McDonald's is not simple at all! Behind every sandwich there is a complex process you must learn to manage: from the creation of pastures to the slaughter, from the restaurant management to the branding. You'll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company of the world.

Do give it a try and see if you can come up with an environmetally-, consumer-, employee rights- friendly food corporation? Or give in and accept that "this is the price to pay in order to preserve our lifestyle."

the cost of life

I came across this game called the cost of life. you are given a haitian family to take care of: 2 parents, 3 kids all uneducated with limited funds and a small farm. The goal mo is to help them overcome their very third world beginnings - get them to school, work, volunteer with unicef. Nakakaloka kasi ang mga trabahong nakukuha nila ay pamatay katawan dahil nga wala silang napag-aralan. It took me a long time before I got the right strategy.

What is it like to live in poverty, struggling every day to stay healthy, keep out of debt, and get educated?

Find out now in this challenging role playing game created by Global Kids and Gamelab, in which you take responsibility for a family of five in rural Haiti.

Play it here. (via jayisgames)

don't smoke

somebody emailed this to me sometime ago. Very clever.

Delete-ious

I tried to watch my copy of Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It’s messed up though so I wasn’t able to progress beyond Jim Carrey taking an impulsive train ride to Montauk (it’s pirated kasi bought at a measly price of P60 – so I can’t really complain if it zonked out.)

I love this film. It’s such a wonderful insight into how our hearts and minds work. I won’t attempt a review here as I know you have your own take on the movie. But if you do want to read about the movie and what the critics say about ESOTSM, go here.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about deletion – not so much in the extreme way that Joel and Clementine and all the other patients in the movie did – but something akin to that.

What if somehow, we have evolved a social norm where if you got tired with someone, you just say: I delete you from my life and the person instantly goes away no questions asked? I am not implying I wanna do these to some people in my life but sometimes lang I think we get into situations where it’s just so tempting to do it this way.

It’s escapism I know and somehow it’s sad if we can actually do that. I remember this story about a friend. During a more turbulent time in the country, their father was forced to go underground. By dint of whatever circumstance, he met a woman and they formed their own family. When the father emerged sometime later, he asked his wife for an annulment. My friend’s mom denied his request on the grounds that annulment makes it seem that the marriage never happened; that prior to his leaving, they didn’t have a life together. Annulment, at least in her view is tantamount to invalidating their life together.

Delete. Oh dear, the many times in my life when I would have loved to have this convenience. Delete this person and along with the person goes all the bad things and vibes and hurt feelings. But it does beg the question: who will I be and where will I be without these people in my life. When you delete someone from your life, logic dictates that even the good times should be thrown out – a bad case of throwing the baby with the bath water. Naalala ko tuloy the many times when I deleted software or programs from my trusty computer only to be confronted later on by a message that goes something like: software not available to open this particular document. The software may have been deleted but some files in my computer needed that to run perfectly.

For better or worse, these delete-ious people do define who I am at the present. I just wish I had more wisdom to weed out the not-so-nurturing people in my life before they had a chance to imprint themselves on me. Here’s hoping that I’m better equipped now.

guidepost

something about me #23: sometimes, i rely on my daily horoscope to help me get through the day or aid me in my self-reflection.

Although you are often concerned with production and accomplishment, today you might not care as much about what others think of you. You are more concerned about the ethics motivating you and your associates. Self-contemplation has you seeking meaning in your life instead of advancement. Don't worry about leaving the real word behind, but for now, sink into the hidden mysteries for a new set of answers.

11 Nov 2006 via tarot.com

...

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more here

tired is the new 'busy as a bee'

The Dawn album launch, a success.

"Ang Iyong Paalam" music vid directed by Quark and edited by Lia, is great. Can't wait for the final edit.

Gonna watch The Prestige tonight with Buddy somewhere in the Makati area. Hang out with Teenee afterwards.

Prepare for Sherman's birthday dinner this Saturday.

Looking forward to dinner with friends two Mondays from now. Without meaning to, we all have turned into people who need to schedule things like 'have dinner with friends.'

In the meantime, work.

how projects really work

Ever wondered how projects evolve from conceptualization to execution?

Project Cartoon shows you how.


How the customer explained it.


How the project leader understood it.


How the analyst designed it.

See the whole series here or make your own here.

make love not war, literally

Let us continue with yesterday's topic about orgasm, shall we? hehehe stumbled upon this site called Global Orgasm.

I'm at a loss for words on how to describe this site and its purpose so i will let the site speak for itself.

"The mission of the Global Orgasm is to effect change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy. Now that there are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti- submarine equipment that can only be for use against Iran, the time to change Earth’s energy is NOW! Read more about the fleet buildup here.

The intent is that the participants concentrate any thoughts during and after orgasm on peace. The combination of high- energy orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than previous mass meditations and prayers.

The goal is to add so much concentrated and high-energy positive input into the energy field of the Earth that it will reduce the current dangerous levels of aggression and violence throughout the world.

Global Orgasm is an experiment open to everyone in the world.

The results will be measured on the worldwide monitor system of the Global Consciousness Project.

This is the First Annual Winter Solstice Synchronized Global Orgasm for Peace, leading up to Winter Solstice of 2012, when the Mayan Calendar ends with a new beginning."

Here's their demo on how the whole thing works.

Naloloka ako sa concept.