An Expensive Month

I made two major purchases last April, one at the beginning of the month, and the other towards the end. Including the amount of taxes that I've paid, I almost hit the 6-digit mark... ouch!!!

Meet my DS Lite, Misato, named after the character in Neon Genesis Evangelion. It came with a very nice leather case and a bundled game, Brain Age 2. After a week, I bought Cooking Mama from Data Blitz, the same place where I bought my DS Lite.

I was planning to get a Wii but opted for a DS for several reasons. It's cheaper. It's safer, since it does not require major bodily movements which might cause the collapse of our house. It's compact and portable. And finally, because I wanted to play Super Robot Wars W.

I still wanted to finish the previous editions of SRW(A, R, D, J, OG1, OG2) in GBA though, before I get a copy of SRW W. So until then, I'm letting my sisters enjoy playing with Misato.

My other major item would be my new camera. It's a Canon S5 IS, which I got for a very very "tempting" price of P13K++. While on the Laguna trip with sir Melvin, Gloi called me up and asked if I wanted it. And after a careful deliberation (30+ seconds), I said yes. Then, after 2 weeks of waiting, Gloi finally arrived with it. Thanks again Gloi.. :)

I named my new camera Kaworu, who's also a character from NGE. Yeah, he's the controversial character from the Manga/Anime, which started endless debates on his sexuality, and tainted Shinji's as well, unfortunately... :(

Putting those not so important issues aside, I chose Kaworu because he's the 5th child. Asuka was the 2nd. Asuka, S2 IS and Kaworu, S5 IS. That should make a little sense now... :P

OK... now I'm feeling a little weird giving names to inanimate objects... ^_^

Anyhow, I should be minimizing my expenses in May in order to make up with the April expenses... O:)

The Last Gig

Last April 20, we visited Avilon Animal Prison, or more commonly known as Avilon Zoo. As a tribute to my semi-retired camera, I posted some of the pictures taken that day here. By the way, the full set is available on my flickr page... :)

Arapaima Gigas Feeding on Chicken Heads

Sleeping Siberian Tiger

Trixie on a Bicycle with Balancers

Flamingo

Eat Like a Jasmine Bird

Pink Flower

Budgerigars

Sun Conure

A Jas' Duck's Quack

Flock of Jas Ducks

Philippine Government Official Crocodile

Ostreeeeech!!!

Semi-Retirement

After two and a half years and more than 12,000 shots, I'm now putting my Canon PowerShot S2 IS into semi-retirement. Which means, I would no longer be bringing her along on my travels. Instead, she'll be staying at home, resting, and doing lighter tasks.

I'm not planning to sell her or give her away, because she's my 1st camera, and she's been a significant part of my life. She went as far as I could go, never complained, and gave her best, all the time. :)

I got her on September 24, 2005, a day after my return from my 1st business trip in Cebu. It was Marben who bought her from Japan, and left her with Jas on Friday (September 23). 

Coincidentally, Jas was celebrating her birthday that day. I gave her the special birthday scrapbook and box of origami's which we've made back in Cebu, in exchange for watching over my camera... :P

Since then, we've travelled to far places together, attended company outings, crashed high school reunions, enjoyed family outings, celebrated birthday parties, and many many more.

I really couldn't imagine my life in the past 2 years without her... :P

アスカちゃん。。。お疲れ様でした。

When Love Begins...

I had a really hard time uploading this image. It seems that Blogger had some technical problems. Here's the result of my poor and senseless creativity... :P

Cagayan de Oro Weekend (Day 3)

My 3rd and final installment of my CDO series. My flight was 7:40 in the morning so there was really nothing much to do.

Panic Mode

Reggie met me at the hotel around 5:30AM, we were supposed to leave for the airport, but the university service did not arrive as planned.

After minutes of wait, we started panicking because we have no idea where Mang Teddy is, and we have no way of contacting him except through Mam Christine. Although reluctant at first, we still contacted her, and she instructed Reggie to call the university.

Due to the delay, I was able to buy some pasalubong (4 boxes of Pastel) from the store just across the street.

Reggie learned from the university personnel that Mang Teddy was seen earlier but his current whereabouts is unknown.

Mang Teddy eventually came to bring us to the airport. We got to the airport in under 15 minutes with plenty of time for check-in. I bade farewell to Reggie and thanked him for his generous company during my short stay.

Boarding Time

While waiting for boarding, I also bought some souvenir shirts. One for me and another for my dad. Although they're more expensive, the quality and designs are not bad.

After I got the shirts, I noticed two guys taking turns in taking pictures with this woman. She was wearing shades so I thought she must be a TV personality of some sort. I wasn't sure if she was Bangs Garcia until I overheard a saleslady mentioning her name.

I'm not sure if the whole picture taking episode was just a ploy to attract people's attention, because it turned out that the two guys were actually with her. Anyhow, I don't remember seeing anybody else asking for a photograph so I guess they're plot failed.

I was thinking of asking a picture with her just because I wanted to see Jasmine's reaction. >:) In the end, I never had the courage to do so. :P

For those who are curious on how she looked like... from behind... just click the image... this was taken during our arrival in Manila... he he... >:P

Final Words

My Cagayan de Oro experience may have been really short, but it was indeed a memorable one. Thanks to the people that I've met and became friends with. And most importantly, for the free WiFi access all over town. :))

I'm looking forward to my next visit to the City of Golden Friendship.

Cagayan de Oro Weekend (Day 2)

The 2nd part of my CDO series... it's taking me quite some time to publish anything significant these days, it must be the weather. :P

Anyhow, I told myself that I'm gonna finish this one today, especially that the PhilNITS FE results were already out. :S

April 6 was the PhilNITS examination day. I had to be on the testing site before 7AM so I got up around 5AM, took a quick shower and had the free breakfast. Mam Christine met me at the hotel, then we proceeded to Capitol University. Taxi ride from Hotel Conchita to CU took less than 10 minutes.

When we arrived at CU, Reggie was already there. Some of the examinees were also early.

On the Exams

We started the examination at 9AM then everything else went smoothly, except for some occasional text messages from the PhilNITS counterpart in Manila, which contains the corrections for some test items.

After the AM part, we had our lunch break at the faculty room. I had grilled milk fish for lunch. Then, I rested for a few minutes in the dean's office before going back to the exam room.

For the PM part, it was pretty much the same as the AM part. As stated in the Proctor's Guidelines, we had to stay in the exam room at all times, record any unusual events that happens, record the attendance, arrange the answer sheets in a prescribed order, seal and sign the envelopes that will contain the answer sheets, any many more.

After the last examinee submitted his answer sheet, we started packing all the exam stuffs, cleaned the area, and called it a day.

Time to Relax

We decided to go to LimKetKai to relax and also to have dinner somewhere in Rosario Arcade. But before that, I had to return to the hotel to leave the big heavy box. Mam Christine, on the other hand, had to meet someone, so we just decided to meet up her sometime before dinner.

While waiting for Mam Christine, Reggie and I, hit the arcade and played some racing and shooting games. After that, we got some snacks from a nearby hotdog stand. A few minutes more, Mam Christine arrived. Then we proceeded to Rosario Arcade.

Rosario Arcade is somewhat equivalent to Greenbelt in Makati. This is where the most popular coffee shops, restaurants and bars are located. Bigby's, Sun Burst, Bo's Coffee, Taza Coffee, and Cafe Macumba, to name a few.

We ordered some drinks from Taza Coffee, shared a couple of nice stories, and went around to take some nice pictures. A few minutes more, Merbert came. He's a professor in STI, he was the thesis adviser and a good friend of Reggie. He's also a good friend of Mam Christine. By the way, Reggie and Merbert, are both younger than me, although they both agree that it's not obvious. :)

Dinner Time

After a while, we decided to order some dinner, Mam Christine and Reggie went for the buffet in East Wok, while Merbert and I settled for Cafe Macumba. I ordered fish and fries for dinner. After eating, we stayed for at least an hour more to listen to the old guy singing some nice classics. He was really good. :)

This is also the time that I discovered somebody who can recite the garbled lyrics of "Ken Lee" perfectly. It was Merbert. :P

Divisoria

The first time I heard the name, I immediately thought of the market place in Tondo. I was wrong. It turned out to be a very nice long plaza in the middle of the street populated with colorful lamp posts similar to the ones you can find in Roxas Boulevard.

During Fridays and Saturdays, they have live band performances in the evening. There's also a big screen in the middle, where people can watch TV shows, movies, and events like Pacquiao's boxing match. You can also find several blind masseurs offering their services to visitors in the plaza.

At the far end of the plaza, you'll find another popular place called "The Park Cafe". According to Mam Christine, it's similar to the park in-between Glorietta and 6750.

We stayed there for another hour or so. Talked some more, drank some more, and ate some more. Until we finally felt tired and sleepy.

They accompanied me to the hotel, said our good byes and parted ways. It was a tiring but interesting day indeed. :)

To be continued...

Recent Acquisitions

After more than a month of anticipation, it's finally here... :)

I bought this from YesAsia last March 13, but the notice from the Makati Post Office only came last week, even though the package was already there since April 2. :|

And because the package stayed there for a while, I had to pay a storage fee of P35.00. I guess this is their way of generating "extra" revenues. :P

When I went there to pick up the package, the customs guy opened it and asked me how much did I pay for it. I told him around P1500. Probably, after realizing that he won't get that much money from it, he did not bother to charge me any additional fees. >:P

It's the latest album of BoA. I recently stopped getting the singles and just opted to wait for the album because most of the songs in her singles will also appear in her album. That's another addition to my collection. :) :) :)

Despair Stuffs

Speaking of delayed packages, Jasmine purchased some items from Despair, Inc. last December. And for some unknown reason, the 1st time the item was shipped, it was lost, or probably stolen by some custom official. After weeks of e-mail correspondence with Despair, they willingly re-shipped the items. It reached the post office last February 26, and the notice came mid of March. Jasmine almost gave up on it. :P

Here's the custom calendar from Despair. You can choose your preferred Demotivator for every month. You can even add custom holidays or special events.

The 2nd item is an ego t-shirt, for people with superiority complex. Although I don't consider myself being one, wearing something like this still looks pretty cool... and provocative... >:)

Finally, a must-read book for executives and a must-not-read book for employees, according to it's author... The Art of Demotivation. I'm reading this out of pure interest and not because I'm aspiring to be an executive. O:)

It's a pretty interesting and unorthodox book with a nifty camouflage cover, supposedly boring, so that regular employees would not be interested in discovering what's in it.

At first, I thought that it was a misprint, but the author explained it in the preface section of the book.

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P.S. Happy Birthday to President Erap... Wishing you more success in your political career. >:)