... and the rig is dead
After a year and a few months of service, my rig had died.
A quick trip to a computer repair service last Monday confirmed the worst: motherboard got fried due to overheating and if I wanted to still use the rig, I needed to cough out around Php 20K. Even after that, there's no guarantee the same problem would not occur again. Apparently, the overheating problem by both the AMD Turion chip and the corresponding ATi video-chip caused the rig's motherboard to warp and conk out. According to Mr Hacker, Momon, the solution could either be replacement of the entire motherboard with a new one or a more gung-ho approach done by some repair shops is to subject the warped motherboard to extensive heat blasts and force the board back to its original shape. Unfortunately, both are short-term solutions according to the tech. The rig will still be exposed to the same conditions (overheating chips) as before and the problem would recurr.
The better solution is to buy a new laptop, and make sure the new one won't be experiencing the same problem as the Compaq CQ40.
It was hurtful to hear the tech say this laptop model is disposable. There goes the Php 27K I plopped last year from my separation pay with the old Desk. His advice was to sell the defective laptop. Not sell it whole as buyers will surely give me an absurd price -- "babaratin ka nyan", the tech said. He said buyers will make an offer of Php 3K. Better to take the thing apart and sell it part by part which will, if negotiations are favorable, would yield about half the amount of the original purchase price for the entire unit.
Salvageable parts include the keyboard, the LCD (quite new, replaced last September), the battery, the memory modules, optical drive, and other bits and pieces.
... won't be available online most of the time
And due to the death of my rig, I can't be as online as before as there's no other computer in the house that's readily available.
The only computer we can use is the Lenovo issued to my wife by her office. Unfortunately, since the Lenovo is an office-issue there's nothing you really can't do beyond the usual surfing and word processing. No stand-alone games. No Sims, no GTA, no Freedom Force for the meantime. I will then have to content myself with playing Facebook games.
But even playing Facebook games would be limited as the laptop is not always brought home. And with so many restrictions on the said laptop (no CD use, no USB use, no installation of any software, no downloading from the 'net, etc.), what can be done is quite limiting. The laptop is essentially a business-only laptop so there's not much enjoyment that can be derived from it.
So, you won't be seeing me around much online. I'll be checking my emails and my Facebook every now and then but don't expect me to answer right away. If there's anything urgent, text or call me.
... issa turns 1 at shakey's
We didn't expect that many guests to share and celebrate with us Issa's first year last Sunday.
The second floor of Shakey's Makati Avenue was packed but the good thing is that there was enough food for everyone and nothing was wasted. Unlike a few years earlier when we celebrated Ikai's first year in the same venue, a lot of the bunch of lunches and the kiddie meals went to waste as the kids and adults didn't patronize the salad and spaghetti.
This time around what we did was ordered nine sets of their monster meal deals (barkada meals for 8-10 persons) and just paid for the party amenities that included the cake, party hats (good party hats actually), loot bags for the kids, games prizes, party decors and the balloons. All in all, the bill which we expected to be beyond the Php 30K mark only came down to about Php 28K. And that's even with additional orders of pitchers and mugs of beer for some of the male guests, additional drinks, and a take home package for one of Issa's special guests.
The meals were served buffet style. Guests had to leave their table to get the food which consisted of red and white sauce spaghetti, the popular and delicious Shakey's fried chicken, and two types of pizza -- pepperoni and Shakey's Special. Dessert was a choice of either a mango, ube, or choco ice cream.
And the kids, while only a few at the start of the party, enjoyed the ample space for their playing. Kids were running around, batting balloons, making balloon sticks make whizzing sounds, and lots of shouting and squeals. Leading the kids in squealing was our very own Ikai. The games were generally for kids. Good thing they dispensed with forcing adults to play games. Pass-the-cup, longest line, and bring-me were the games which the kids enjoyed. There was also Suzy the mascot who came after everyone had gotten their fill and before the cake-candle-blowing.
Of course, the celebrant was the center of the party but half-way throughout the fun, she fell asleep and no noise awakened her. Thus, it was her Ate Ikai who blew the cake's candle and distributed the loot bags to the kids.
It was a fun day, made especially so since I saw once again my friends who I have not seen for quite some time. Pictures of the party will be posted most likely this weekend on Facebook. Special thanks to Wendz and Monique and their electrifying Ziggy, to Pilar and Dennis and their two li'l ones, to Josh and Che and their eldest Luis, to Ronald (from whom I am starting a Sunlife investment), to Jenny Rodil who drove all the way from Laguna along with Yosef and Uriel, to the Destructive Twins Janie and Nascel who always are able to share our mini-celebrations, to Edmon who surprisingly surprised us with his appearance, to newly-weds Kristine and Aaron for taking the time to drop by, and to all other guests who managed to take time off their Sundays to share the day with us.
... cormyr
If I hadn't pursued journalism and college and pursued marketing and advertising as a profession, I might have ended up as a historian or at least a student of history.
And my liking for history extends even to the fantastical realms especially after discovering Middle-Earth's history at the back of an old copy of The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien when I was but a wee boy.
Cormyr, a Forgotten Realms novel, reads like a history book. But in between, the current story is interwoven. The actual story itself is quite short but the historical chapters in between allows one a glimpse to Cormyr's past, providing some details about how one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Realms was established. The historical lessons not only provides one with details but they also tie up to the present story as some sort of backgrounder of how past events established the events of the present. As the timeline of the current story moves forward, the chapters of the historical account of Cormyr also move forward and you breeze through the most important events that have happened in the kingdom and you are introduced to the four past Royal Magicians who were tasked with the keeping Cormyr starting from Bauerable, to Ameliadahast, to Thanderdahast, to Jorunhast, and the current Royal Mage, Vangerdahast.
I admit when I first attempted to read the book (newly-bought then), some six year ago, I had difficulty reading it (much like the difficulty encountered when I read Anathem). But this time around, I guess I was in the right frame of mind and re-reading it was exhilirating that I was looking forward to reading the book night after night (usually drifting off to sleep with the book falling off my hands).
After finishing Cormyr, I think I'll be looking at purchasing some more Forgotten Realms books.
... dune historical novels
And speaking of historical fantastical books ... the next book I immediately looked for from my bookcase were my Dune prequels. Right now, I am starting to read The Butlerian Jihad which starts off the back-story for Dune universe and how it came to be that way by the time of original Frank Herbert Dune series.
To be honest, I find reading the elder Herbert's Dune series (the original series) to be a difficult read. It's probably in the way they were written. So far, I have read through Dune, Messiah, and Children of Dune, but have yet to finish God Emperor of Dune and the Heretics of Dune.
My introduction to the Dune universe was through Brian Herbert's and Kevin Anderson's prelude to Dune series (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino) before I began collecting the original series. When the Legends of Dune series was announced, I also collected all three -- Butlerian Jihad, Machine Crusade, and The Battle of Corrin. Unread Dune novels that I have also amassed are the post-F. Herbert continuations including Chapterhouse: Dune, Hunters of Dune (a Christmas exchange gift), and the Sandworms of Dune. I have yet to buy any of the Heroes of Dune series of which Paul of Dune, and The Winds of Dune have already been published.
One at a time. Hoping this Christmas break would be enough time to get some reading done.
... so where will you be this christmas?
As for me, I'll be at my folks' home in Laguna along with Elvie, the girls, their cousin, and probably their aunt as well as our yaya.
We'll likely be going to Laguna on the 23rd along with millions of others but will make a quick trip the next day to attend the Christmas Mass at the UCCP Cosmopolitan Church along Taft. We've been attending the Christmas Mass for several years now and why break what has become a tradition already? The mass on the 24th ends around 8pm and then we'll be zipping off back to Laguna with a few hours to spare before the noche buena at midnight.
Hopefully traffic won't be much of a problem especially with news that the Skyway is now open all the way to Sucat.
