i am greateful for...

my family, friends, pixel, champagne, lunch walks, ultimate, glory points, layout catches, my new camera — rojo, yoyo, pinky, wifi, wireless broadband, film, coffee, haikus, pan de americano, wii, my job, my diploma, hot shower, my new pad, my health, boots, wedges, rifts, knee support, zips, long and colorful socks, facebook, twitter, podcasts, ebay, amazon, credit cards, music, incubus, fionna apple, rhcp, bon jovi, air conditioning, sausage mcmuffin, cream cheese, sushi, spanish sardines, house, buffy, twilight, tru blood, discovery channel, timon and pumbaa, heroes, attack of the show, leche flan, my teachers and advisers, jack black, hell boy, colored pens, photo printer, notebooks, jollyhotdog breakfast meal, coffee buns

for the gadgets i’ve yet to acquire
for the places i’ve yet to visit
for the people i’ve yet to meet
for the experiences i’ve yet to enjoy and learn from

i am blessed.

2nd place! yey!

first time i joined our company's photo contest, out of almost 50 entries, my photo was chosen 2nd :)

googlability

according to google ...

using my popular name
i am..

from Portland, Oregon
a graduate of fairfield methodist primary school, singapore
a web professional based in massachusetts
a member of legacy toastmasters club in taiwan
an employee of webex communications, inc.
is a supporter of rolling dog ranch animal sanctuary
is a member of the ooltimayt disc athlethes
joined the running for relief at salt lake city, utah
is an organizer of the fuego beach ultiamte
is in honor roll of class 58 in northwestern university
an actress married to a writer
won 2nd place in a computer science graduate competion


using my legal name
i...

co-authered a paper in the 6th philippine computing science congress
authored a presentation on java network simulator
authored a presentation on peer-based recovery for rmtp
is an alumni of llamas school
was invited in a ust college of science alumni homecoming
submitted a photo in the click the city summer snapshot contest
requested to join holgaga.blogspot.com
have a lomo.com account
have a facebook account
joined the rush to infinity run




yes i am bored.

drool

i thought i'll be getting on to the dslr village. but not yet. i just found the perfect camera for me. since i switched to a point and shoot (canon sx100) from my old prosumer (s2IS), i thought i'll be shooting more. but somehow i got lazy taking quality, composed pics. its not as fun and as fulfilling as shooting with my S2 before.

and then when i just was planning to get a Nikon D60, i stumbled upon this cute fella. its not an slr, (although some might disagree) and its not a prosumer. its the first of its kind -- micro four thirds. I want Panasonic DMC-G1!!!

bottom line, slr-like sensor and image quality, relatively light weight, fast, interchangeable lenses, and what i like most about it, has a swivel live view. but beauty has its price. its even more expensive than a Nikon D60. well its only a month's worth of condo installment. haven't seen this is in the malls yet though. sa quiapo kaya? mura kaya sa singapore?

the last time i obsessed with a gadget, i was able to get it in a weeks time -- that was my laptop champagne. i wonder how long will it take me to hold this itch. bonus coming up in 3 months. friends going to the states in march. me and luca going to quiapo next week.

Oh, well

What you did to me made me
See myself something different
Though I try to talk sense to myself
But I just won't listen

Won't you go away
Turned yourself in
You're no good at confession
Before the image that you burned me in
Tries to teach you a lesson

What you did to me made me see myself somethin' awful
A voice once stentorian is now again meek and muffled
It took me such a long time to get back up the first time you did it
I spent all I had to get it back, and now it seems I've been outbidded

My peace and quiet was stolen from me
When I was looking with calm affection
You were searching out my imperfections

What wasted unconditional love
On somebody
Who doesn't believe in the stuff

You came upon me like a hypnic jerk
When I was just about settled
And when it counts you recoil
With a cryptic word and leave a love belittled

Oh what a cold and common old way to go
I was feeding on the need for you to know me
Devastated at the rate you fell below me

What wasted unconditional love
On somebody
Who doesn't believe in the stuff

--fiona apple

never is a promise

Youll never see the courage I know
Its colors richness wont appear within your view
Ill never glow - the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgements made on you

But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you

Youll say you understand, but you dont understand
Youll say youd never give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise, and you cant afford to lie

Youll never touch - these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
Youll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than Ive ever shown - to you

Youll say, dont fear your dreams, its easier than it seems
Youll say youd never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you cant afford to lie

Youll never live the life that I live
Ill never live the life that wakes me in the night
Youll never hear the message I give
Youll say it looks as though I might give up this fight

But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you

Youll say you understand, youll never understand
Ill say Ill never wake up knowing how or why
I dont know what to believe in, you dont know who I am
Youll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
But never is a promise and Ill never need a lie

-- fiona apple

champagne gold

... that's the color of my new laptop.. and its a vaio!  :) and i love it! i haven't touched my wii since i bought it a week ago.  :)  i can't explain it, but there seems to be some pleasure by just typing in it.  

my old laptop served me well, she's more than thre years old now. i remember rushing to sm city to find a new computer because my desktop pc broke down in the middle of my thesis project simulation. :)  had a good deal back then. but i had a better deal with champagne :)

meet gibby

hoops, yoyo and piddles just got a new friend / travel companion today. meet gibby, the flying monkey. :) his previous keeper, jason transferred full custody to me:) thanks again son-son!

we just got back from hanging out at jason's place at serendra :) from an afternoon swim, we were treated to a somptuous adobo and chicken curry dinner. we also had a toda wii-limpics tournament. two teams were formed -- the wowowiis (ages 29 and above) and the wii-youngs ("laban-laban, ba-wii-bawiii!" -- yes they have a cheer :p) . guess which team im in?. :p anyways, my team got a beating from the wii play games but catched up on wii sports games. the score was tied until the last sports game -- golf. i didn't know who won the games, jb said they might have got tired playing golf because it was too long. : ) we were distracted because we were watching the video clips from finals yesterdays game.

i couldn't believe me eyes seeing j.lo and wendell playing boxing in wii. they were hillarious,, and still competitive of course. and jj on starwars game.. haha , lets say he was like kirk lazarus, he was in character all the time :) i've never seen darth vader so chatty.

i will really miss jason and hanging out in his condo. his stay here in the country was cut short. i think he will be back in texas in two weeks. :( btw, i thought he was too lazy to change the display picture in one of his picture frames. it was his girlfriend pala,, yes his girlfriend is a model. a very good reason to hurry back home.

p.s. it's asmo's birthday today. Hyvää syntymäpäivää asmo! :)

p.p.s. i just found out that gibby has a lot of lying friends. maybe this is a start of another amazon shopping spree. :p

where will i place the washing machine?

i can see now that we can't have a sectional sofa. and if i want to have a breakfast nook, i will have to settle for a smaller dinning table.

question

a friend of mine asked me an obvious, almost stupid question...

it got me thinking..
why would he ask such question?
my answer is expected but i wanted to say more. but i can't.
i said yes of course...

so much, that i did what i did... i really wish i can say otherwise...

i should have exercised last may

need i say more?

back from davao

i think some of the toda girls have documented our trip quite verbosely in their own blogs. and im still infected by the colds virus i got from jc and dall (while in davao), so its very difficulty for me to think and be creatve to blog it.

i'll post the links to their blogs later at home.
oh, btw, i've edited the video in the white water rafting. i'ts in youTube, find my channel :p. anyway for my personal interest, i will post all the uploaded media here for a consolidated documentation :)


for the meantime, here's a preview of the pics:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.


white water rafting edited video:




from roxy's cam:

TODA in Isla Reta, Talicud Island

Toda Hengs in Davao

from sym and bok's cam:
Isla Reta, Davao

Davao River White Water Rafting

Eden Nature Park, Davao

from tisha's cam:

Davao Trip, 2008.09.26 - 09.29

anxiety

some days are just better than others. i think it will never evade me. i wish i could just not care. i don't know what's worse, forever worrying about the extinct or walking blind beside your worst nightmare.

davao for the weekend

the 17 todians are going to davao this weekend. if we had known before that we'll have games on this date, i think we'll just let the zero fare pass us.. ohwel goodluck to the 5 hijas girls that will be playing this sunday. :)

here's our it: (c/o roxy)


===============================
Davao Trippers
(B): Wendell, Chris, Randall, Russ, Bok, Jeremy, JC, Jaybee, Crab
(G): GB, Pia, Tish, Sym, Rox, Jaybee, Claire, Cricket, Joy, Nina

ETA: 6AM.
Check-in sa house ng Lolo ni Tish.
Van Rental (12 ppl): P1,800 per day *exclusive of gas ~ P750 per person

Proposed Itinerary

FRIDAY: Chillax sa Beach ~ P1,350 per person
· 9AM-4PM: Samal Island Hopping at Talikud Island, Paradise Island ~ P450 per person
· Optional: Bat Conservatory
· 5PM: Aldevinco for Pasalubongs. Unahin na 'to. ~ P500 per person
· 7 PM: Dinner at FG ~ P200 per person
· Kasaginggan (everything bananas for dessert!) ~ P200 per person
· Durian Park

SATURDAY: Adbenchur! ~ P2,200 per person
· 8am to 5pm: White water rafting and Crocodile Farm ~ P1,800 per person
· Dinner at Rancheros Grill or wherever ~ P200 per person
· Bakbak - beeeeer! ~ P200 per person
· Statue of David/ Autoshop

SUNDAY: Bundok ~ P730 per person
· 8am-2pm: Zipline at Camp Sabros, Mt. Apo ~ P300 per person
· Mid-afternoon: Eden - Fishing, Camwhoring, Horseback riding, Snacks ~ P230 per person
· Late Dinner: Jack's Ridge ~ P200 per person
· People's Park

Special stuff to bring are the following:
Clothes: thin shirts or surf shirts (ihuhulog kayo sa tubig bago magumpisa ang rafting eh), board shorts or any comfortable-when-wet shorts. Also, swimsuits/swimwear
Footwear: hiking/rubber shoes with good grip and water/aqua shoes.
Others: goggles, snorkel mask

Budget for major activities (per person):
Samal Island Hopping: P500 (boat, food, Paradise Beach entrance)
White water rafting: P1,800 (equipment, guide, tshirt, pictures/videos, packed lunch, 1 juice, 2 bottled water)
Eden Nature Park Resort: P230 (entrance + snacks + fishing village + horseback + swimming pool)
Zipline: P300
Budget per Meal: P200
Below Zero Beer: P28/bottle
Excess (Coffee, Pasalubong, Taxi, what is..): P2,000
Airport Terminal Fee: P400 (NAIA 3 and DIA)
(Plus, for the whole group: Van Rental P1,800/day + Gas (est. P4,000) for 2 vehicles = inaayos pa namin ni Russ to.)

my abc poem

by asereth

Amidst the turmoil
Be still with yourself
Calmness is what you need
Do not think of the worst
Even if it is so hard
Fear is not your friend
God is
Have in faith in Him
I do
Just keep on praying
Keep your thoughts positive
Look at the bright side
May you be always be strong
Never give up
Often it may seem bleak
Place your confidence in the Almighty
Quiet the murmurings of your heart
Rest in the truth
Someday this will come to pass
Then everything will be bright again
Understand that this is just temporary
Very soon it will come to an end
Wait with patience and trust
Xpect His blessings
You are loved by God
Zoom in on this thought

staring problem

by No Doubt

My eyes are so rootless
They wander, I follow
I keep staring, I can't stop it
I know I shouldn't
But I can't stop it
...
S-T-A-R-I-N-G
I can't stop staring
S-T-A-R-I-N-G
I can't stop staring
...

closer to solving to mysteries of the universe

i just learned today that cern has built the most powerful particle accelerator ever built. its called the LHC or the Large Hardon Collider. with this new powerful tool, they can have protons travel upto 99.9999991% the speed of light. :) when protons collide at this high energies, new particles will form -- like anti matter. they are expecting/hoping to create the higgs bosson as suggested by the strings theory, that may lead to the validity of hidden dimensions.

this huge gadget in geneva is 27 kilometers in circumference. Protons can travel in the ring upto 11,000 revolutions per second. they have started operations last september 10. :) there hasn't been any major discoveries the theoretical physics for the last 30 years. this new gadget will hope to verify (or falsify) theories proposed about the birth of our universe.

although there are groups who are opposed of the lhc. they said it could destroy our earth, or even our solar system. there are theories that lhc can start a black hole that can eat up our whole solar system. but cern scientist disapproves of this because if there are any microscopic black holes that will be formed, it will i imaterialize instantaneously. i can't help imagine a movie like worst case scenario when some mad scientist tries to pull of a powerful and dangerous experiment. scary, but an exciting time for physics once again :)

happy birthday ma!

i never showed any mushy emotions with my family. i always avoided drama. i don't know why but i seem to extrude a sense of toughness when im with them. i always have stronger personality compared with my brother. when we were growing up my parents said that we should exchange personalities. don't get me wrong, my brother is super straight. :) but he likes barry manilow and i like korn. you get the point.

i don't even kiss my mom when arrive at home. i do talk with her about my friends and all, but not on an emotional level.

it was a little hard shopping for a gift for my mom. she doesn't have any hobbies or interest. she cooks well, but i think her only aim is to feed us. she never liked any crafts or sports, she doesn't even like cats. but one thing she never fails to do is wake up and prepare my food and clothes for the day. yes my mom still makes me packed lunch and sandwich for breakfast and merienda everyday. i used to analyze what's my mom's passion is. i now see that her passion is caring for me and my brother.

my mom would probably never read my blog or hear me say these words: i love you ma!

Vivital Ultra Wide and Slim : Camera Review

The Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim camera is commonly taged as the "poor man's Lomo". Its pictures resembles the ones taken from the Russian Vintage Lomo L-CA which costs around $300. I got this ultra cheepo camera at ebay for around 10 dollars. Shipping from UK to the Philippines costed me 8 dollars more. I named her "Viv" :) . This is my official entry to Epic Edit's PHOTO PROJECT: The $50 Film Camera.


Look and Feel
Viv is plastic all over. It has no flash, no batteries, ergo, manual film rewinding. Its certainly does look like a toy camera. It is also ultra lightweight and portable.

Technical Specs
It doesn't take much to learn how to use Viv. It doesn't have any options or controls, other than the shutter release button and the film advance wheel. Here are its vitals:

Film Size: 135
Shutter speed: 1/125
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 22mm
Focus range: 1.5m to Infinity


What I Like
Its super cheap, lightweight and portable. And what makes it great is that it takes pictures with vignettes. And if paired with a crossed-processed film, you'll get richer, wilder colors, and higher contrast results.

What I Don't Like
I find it very hard to open the film door. It usually takes me 5 tries to get a grip on it pull it open (when i'm lucky) . And since it doesn't have flash or bulb function, its only ideal for the sunny outdoors. So its use is limited. Also, for cross-processed films, the images are more grainy, especially when its underexposed.

What's Weird
The film advance wheel is placed in the lower left corner at the back of the camera. Most film camera have it on the upper right. It's a bit harder to reach wheel at bottom of the camera. I'm just saying that its less ergonomic. And why is it only available in England? and gift wrapped? -- well, it is a year ago. Just a thought :)


Sample Shots
For this project, for every shot i took from Viv, i also take one from a digital camera. I used my digital Canon PowerShot SX100 IS and set it to auto mode. I left all the photos un-tweaked so we can correctly compare the images. I used Fuji Sensia 100 film (Transparency) and have it crossed-processed. Also presented here are some shots i took from my archive from different film types. The picture on the left is from vivtar, and on the right is from the digital canon. i knew i should have set the digital to vivitar's exposure settings, but i was too lazy :p



ultra wide



you will really need a good dose of lighting to get the best shot possible.
the baby is just so irresistibly cute. :)



vivitar vignettes. richer colors. higher contrast.




In this shot, i pressed the shutter at the same time. The jeepney was probably at 40km/hr tops. Notice the in delay shutter trigger in digital cameras.



cross processing results in unexpected colors.

Here's the whole set. I've crammed up on this project that i took the last dozen shots on the way to the printers yesterday. Unfortunately, the sun didn't come up yesterday, turning my photos underexposed. See the flicker set here.

-------------
Sets from my archive

This set was taken the day I got Viv(this camera). Loaded a Fuji YKL 100 roll (color negative) and walked through my lunch break for some test shots. It was a very sunny day. I may have done some tweaking here, but mostly adjusting the contrast and highlights. Vignettes as not as visible compared with a cross-processed film. See flickr set here.







This set was taken with Fuji Provia (i think), but i'm sure its a transparency film, and then have it cross-processed. Walked around an old school and some parks, under overcast skies. See the flickr set here.

This set was taken on a beach resort on a sunny day. I used Kodak Ektachrome -- and its now my favorite film! Its the richest color results i've got so far in using Viv. ) Flickr set here.

i have yet to try a black and white film for viv. maybe somebody can sponsor this. :D