the smart thing to do ... netphone

I finally caught the bug and jumped on the Android bandwagon.

Good thing Smart has offered a very affordable handset in the Smart Netphone, a Qualcomm-powered, Android 2.2 Froyo-running smartphone. Applied this morning and got the unit the same day at the Smart Wireless Center along Ayala Avenue.

This rather drastic purchase of smartphone now dashes my initial dreams of buying a Samsung Galaxy. The promo for the Netphone was simply irresistible -- at Datalite Plan 800 (yes, I'm back in the world of post-paid after more than 5 years), the unit is yours free although you do have to shell out Php 1,500.00 (so it isn't free at all, I guess). What makes getting the phone attractive is Smart's free-of-charge internet bundle of social networking until December 31, 2011. FB and Twitter to sawa until December.

The advertised features of the Netphone aren't bad and the SmartNet capabilities show some promise albeit it's still in its infancy. Probably when more and more subscribers come onboard, Smart will roll out more apps and programs. Wi-fi -- check! Camera -- check although there's no flash so night-pics might be problematic. FM radio -- check! The Netphone comes packed with a 2GB micro-SD card but if you're a sucker for space, you can upgrade it up to 16GB.

One of the best features of the phone is that it runs on Android. And that means Android Market with gazillions of apps available (okay, I'm exaggerating). Haven't tested installing apps yet.

Unfortunately, my line isn't working yet so I cannot yet enjoy the promised free internet features but I already tested the wi-fi capability of my Netphone and I'm contented.

Late review on the Smart Netphone coming soon.

tuesday tidbits: resurrecting the 6680, abe lincoln is a vampire hunter, freakangels, the bibliophile bug itch

There is this post that I've done last week before I left for Kidapawan about my frustrations here at the Desk. I've debated about posting it for public consumption and finally sealed it as "DEFERRED". My feelings about the issue remain to this day (I am still very much frustrated) but I'm keeping the post in reserve for when I finally have had enough of the stupidity and absurdity of things.

On now to other stuff ...

* * * *

Since it will be some time before I get hold off an Android-powered phone (unless some good soul gifts me with one), I'm resurrecting my Nokia 6680. The main reason why I decided to forego it a whiles back was because of the fast battery drain. Over lunch, I got myself a new battery for it along with a spanking black housing. It still worked! However, after just an hour of use, the battery was already draining and it's supposed to last three days on standby mode.

Remembering how the old battery became discharged and bloated, I did a quick search online with a query of "6680 battery draining fast" on Yahoo Search and I was rewarded with an answer -- battery is draining fast most likely because the phone is "shorting" it. This would be the likely case, says the forum answerer, if your battery looked bloated. Which was exactly what my last battery looked out. The solution was to have the phone checked and the short-circuiting fixed. Otherwise, I'll just end up buying battery after battery.

Hopefully, the local repairmasters here in the P.I. would be able to fix this dilemma so that I can get back to using my trusty 6680. And then I'll likely hand over the SE T303 I'm currently using to my sis-in-law so that she can replace her old 3100.

* * * *

I surprised myself recently by finishing a book in less than a week, more specifically just under five days. This is such a rare feat by yours truly as the last time I've finished a book that quick was in 2005 when I was out of work and staying at home all day long.

The book I'm talking about is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, a mash-up (new term for me too, folks) which I bought last June 29 and finished reading last Saturday afternoon, July 2.

I've seen the book before on previous trips to bookstores I frequently haunt and was always curious what this was all about since the front cover had the portrait of old Abe Lincoln standing all regal and elegant but the back cover had him holding an ax and a severed head of a vampire. I finally bought the book last week because I wanted to satiate my curiousity and that this could be a good reference of sorts for a new personal project I'm working on. I didn't count on the book being a mash-up though.

Have to admit that I'm a sucker for history stuff, even fictional ones (like the chronological listing of events following the War of the Ring that can be found on the back of The Return of the King), thus I guess that's the reason I finished this book in record time. Add to that, Abe Lincoln was probably one of my earliest historic heroes -- I was exposed to the American president's exploits before I even heard of Jose Rizal (unfortunately true, honest). And this is my first vampire book, ever. I've never been fond of vampires and stories about them even though Twilight and Ms Stephanie Meyer made vamps sexy. But the way how the book was written -- ala diary entries of Abe Lincoln about his vampire-hunting days on his "secret journals" -- saved the book for me and I found myself enjoying it.

Will try and do a review of the book soon while the story is still fresh on my mind. Imagine the wickedness of the author to mash up a historic figure such as Abe Lincoln with something extra-ordinary such as vampires and vampire hunting. That's cross-genre, indeed.

* * * *

Like I said earlier, I went to Kidapawan for Desk work.

Didn't get to go around the city as much as there wasn't really much to go around to in the first place. While Kidapawan is categorized as a city, don't expect to find the comforts of city life here. Local shops abound but the only branded establishment that one would recognize would be Jollibee. When people wanted to shop for branded stuff, they took the trip to Davao (4 hours via public commute, 2 hours by private vehicle).

However, the idea that Kidapawan is a dangerous place is, in my opinion, a bit exaggerated. While I didn't stay long (only one night), the city was generally peaceful during my stay. There was a bombing incident that took place earlier last week but our branch personnel said that the incident happened some ways out of the city proper and that the bombers just abandoned their getaway vehicle within the city limits. Nevertheless, our branch personnel weren't taking any chances and they insisted on bringing me to the doors of my hotel when we finished our pre-event meeting at 8pm.

Well, better safe than sorry, I guess.

* * * *

As mentioned on the upper right corner of this blog, I'm currently reading FreakAngels, a free, weekly web-comic written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Paul Duffield.

The web comic follows the lives of the FreakAngels, 11 individuals with telekinetic, teleportation, and psychic powers who caused armaggedon to happen and what happens to them thereafter. According to reports, Ellis got the idea from John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned).

I'm a fan. If you're not, head on over to FreakAngels.

* * * *

The bibliophile bug is itching.

After finishing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I found myself at Fully Booked Rockwell last Saturday purchasing a copy of Kevin J. Anderson's The Edge of the World, the first volume in his Terra Incognita series. I had to restrain myself from also buying the sequel.

I think before the week is out, I might end up buying another book or two. And just to satisfy the craving while keeping within means, I think a trip to Booksale is in order.

monday mumblings: goodbye leila, new rig, new book, new way to escape traffic to tagaytay

Last week ended on a rather sad note.

Last Saturday as I was getting ready for a day at the mall, I received a text message from a former colleague that another former colleague of ours, and a dear and wonderful friend, Leila Luna-Cacanindin, had just passed away.

Leila had been battling a form of ovarian cancer for about 7 months now. Unfortunately, her body, already weakened by the ordeal wasn't able to last any longer but as narrated by her mother and her husband, she was still being funny and her usual jolly self towards the end. And according to her mom, she just slept and didn't suffer any pain when she relinquished her hold on life early morning of Saturday.

Yesterday, a group of Leila's friends and colleagues (present and former) including myself and Elvie trekked to Tagaytay to pay our respects to our dearly departed friend and console Lei's loved ones.

Our condolences to Leila's bereaved loved ones, including her mother, her husband Obet, and her daughter, Yshia.

* * * *

Our entourage to Leila's wake included a certain 4-year old with a knack for asking questions that demand rather hard-to-explain answers.

While Ikai primarily went with us because she wanted to see Ate Yshia (Ikai attended Yshia's seventh birthday last January), she also got to see a a departed person in a coffin for the first time in her life. While she did not show any fear or apprehension, she of course was curious about all that was happening inside Yshia's home.

Before the wake, we had already explained to her in as simple terms as possible the circumstances about Leila's death, euphemizing death as "the sleep you never wake up from". We told her that Yshia's mom is already in heaven with Jesus and that people are going to be sad and some might be crying because they won't be able to be with Yshia's mom. I even tried explaining to her using science -- explaining that the spirit is like the phase of matter gas -- can't be seen and that this

spirit/gas has already went to heaven leaving the solid / body behind.

Arriving home last night from the wake, Ikai got me cornered and peppered me with more questions.

Apparently, she thought that heaven was the rectangular box Leila's mother was in so I had to explain that the coffin wasn't heaven and that heaven was somewhere else. She asked where and I said no one knows (a hard answer to say to a child, mind you). I again tried to explain that sometimes people sleep forever and never wake up and that they leave loved ones behind and reunite with them later on (as in really later on and not just like next week or so)

I believe in the course of that 20-minutes-something conversation I may have used words such as death, dead people, spirit, ghost, heaven, after-life, etc. etc. but I don't think I made the notion of death any clearer to her.

However, when I closed my eyes for a bit, Ikai suddenly shook my arm and said in a rather alarmed voice, "Bakit mo close yung eyes mo, Papa?".

I ended the conversation (before it turned morbid) by saying that things like death and dead people she will understand when she gets older. Ikai started to say why again but I cut her off with a basta and again told her that when she gets older, she'll understand.

* * * *

The big red car is missing one mudguard so while in SM Megamall last Saturday, I found myself inside Concorde, the car accessories shop hoping to score a new mudguard.

After a few minutes of going around the shop, I found the mudguards but they had no Innova '07 mudguards on display. I went to a store personnel and asked where I could find '07 Innova mudguards and after receiving a baffled look, he directed me to another part of the store and pointed to door sunvisors and promptly left me for another customer. Egad!

To their credit, they had a lot of customers that time so I guess they were hilong-talilong so I forgave the first chap and proceeded to get the attention of another store personnel. I went to one and asked if they had the mudguards I needed. He motioned affirmative and led me to another area in the store, pointed at the shelf and left. Unfortunately, he pointed to those decorative fiber glass

stuff you could put on your vehicle's hood. What I needed went under the car, not above it.

Seeing that getting the right mudguard would be pointless at that time, I left the store but not before commenting to the lady security guard that their store personnel needed additional training.

* * * *

There's a new rig in the apartment.

That was the main reason for the trip to Megamall as we had ample resource to buy a new rig.

But it wasn't a full laptop that we purchased but a netbook, an Asus Eee PC which we scored for a very friendly amount. Albeit, the downside is that it didn't come with an OS so before the 30-day trial lapses, I need to get the netbook installed with a full Windows 7 OS. I asked if it were possible to install Windows XP on it but the personnel at Complink told me that the netbook's drivers were meant for at least a Windows 7 OS. I guess that settled it.

The new Asus is a decent enough machine -- 1 GB DDR3 memory with a 250GB hard disk. It runs on an Intel Atom N450 processor with integrated video graphics. I don't expect to play Sims 2 on this machine but it had no problem running the FB games I play. It's not as fast as I had hoped it would be but then again, the machine does what it's meant to do -- surf the net, connect to wi-fi, and well, although untested yet, I think it'll be able to do your usual MS Office stuff: word processing, MS Excel, and probably Power Point.

For the meantime, this netbook will have to do. We're still looking at purchasing a full laptop but it's not a priority right now.

* * * *

A day after writing that I was meaning to buy as my next book purchase James A. Owen's The Search for the Red Dragon, I contradicted myself and bought instead the second installment of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

In all honesty, I already had The Search for the Red Dragon in my hand at Power Books last Saturday and was on my way to the cashier (with my daughter, Ikai, in tow after we purchased a couple of activity books for her) when I espied the second volume of Trenton Lee Stewart's series hawked on the stands at a irresistably lower price.

I immediately looked again at the price of the book I had in my hand -- Php 379 -- and looked again at The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey on the display -- Php 279 -- and after a few seconds of thinking of buying the two books, I sheepishly returned the higher priced book to its shelf. Sorry, James. Next time.

I still ended up paying Php 295 for the Stewart book. Why? Because I overlooked their ad -- they were selling the book for Php 279 if you bought it with a Citibank credit card. Since I bought the book in cash, I didn't get the discount (on most occasions, the promo works the other way around, you get a lower price if you pay in cash).

And here's the clincher ... I found myself at Fully Booked Greenbelt over lunch today and smacked my forehead with my hand in utter disbelief --- Fully Booked was selling the same Stewart book for a freaking Php 280! I've been had!

* * * *

Incidentally, Fully Booked also sells the third volume of The Mysterious Benedict Society series entitled The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma at a slightly higher price -- Php 285. Resisted the urge to bring out the wallet and hurried myself out of Fully Booked before my impulsive book-buying self emerged.

* * * *

Dreading the weekend traffic to Tagaytay on the usual route?

Take the alternate -- via Aguinaldo Hi-Way.

It's not a shortcut. It's a longer route but it gets you to Tagaytay faster (for now) because you avoid the traffic hassles of Paseo de Sta. Rosa and Nuvali (both ways!).

From SLEX, exit either at Southwoods or Carmona and head off to Governor's Drive. Drive the route all the way to SM Dasma and then turn left on Aguinaldo Hi-way. It's then a straight travel up to the Tagaytay rotunda. Saves you some 40 minutes of travel time and when you drive a stick shift like I do, you would want to avoid the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay road traffic jams at all cost!

It's actually not a new route. It's actually an old route but people have generally by-passed it in favor of the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road because the latter is shorter. Unfortunately, like I said, the developments along the shorter route to Tagaytay have compounded the traffic jams that made traveling the shorter route take a longer time.

late review: samsung wave 525

Forgive me for the spelling errors in the last post.

I was writing that using a Samsung Wave 525 and still had trouble hitting the touchscreen keys with my not-so-dainty fingers. It's rather hard to hit the right keys on the virtual keypad with when your fingers are callused and a bit flat on the edges (blaming too much guitar-playing recently).

But lest you get any idea, let me mention that the Samsung Wave isn't my phone. I was just borrowing it and taking it for a test drive.

And like I've mentioned, it packs a powerful punch with its Bada OS and useful apps. I've learned online that Bada is a homebrew of Samsung and was developed with the aim of being able to market smartphones to the masa. Of course, I've checked what apps where possible with Bada and discovered that there's a whole slew of games and related apps online (both for free and for purchase) but sadly there's no dependable e-reader app yet. There is one that allows you to read Vietnamese and English e-books but based on comments from previous people who've downloaded and used the app, this e-reader is still a work in progress.

But the Samsung Wave 525 by itself is a great smartphone. Upgradeable to 16GB memory card and packing a 3.2 mega pixel cam, that means lots and lots of photos. The video recorder is also nice. Not perfect but nice enough for those quick instances when you just need to video-record something or someone.

The Wave 525 allows for two ways for you to type -- vertical or horizontal. When you turn the phone on its side, it automatically changes orientation and the landscape view allows for bigger virtual keys which is helpful for people like me with not-so-dainty fingers. A stylus pen could also be helpful but then again, maybe one just needs to practice typing more on the screen to get the hang of things.

The touchscreen is wide, 3.2" -- you can check the tech-specs at the Wave site here -- and you won't be squinting to see the text on the web pages you call up using the phone's built-in wifi capability. Sadly, the screen is only TFT, not Samsung's acclaimed AMOLED technology that allows for crispier images. Then again, you can read what's on the screen of a Wave 525 clearly so it's ok.

On the entertainment side, the best asset of the Wave 525 is its wifi connectivity. With it's wifi finder turned on, it easily detects wireless devices and notifies you if such devices are nearby. If no wifi is available, you can opt for either blue tooth connection or the standard GPRS/HSDPA connection which will sadly take off pesos off your credit or load whatever the case may be. I've yet to try both blue tooth and GPRS/HSDPA connections as I find the idea of chunking off precious call minutes from my load absurd when there's a wifi spot at just about every corner.

The Wave 525 also has an FM radio receiver, music player, video recorder and some games. But sadly, except for the dice game, all the other games stored on the phone are demo games. But at Php 50 pesos per game, it won't be long before we'll be downloading probably one or two of the games (my wife is eyeing the Bejewelled-like game while I'm interested in the mobile version of popular realty boardgame Monopoly). Plus, like I mentioned earlier, there tons of free games that can be downloaded and loaded onto the phone via the Bada site so there won't be a shortage of games, at least.

Being a first-time user of a touch-phone, using the Wave 525 for what it is -- a phone to make phone calls with -- was tricky. To answer incoming calls and to dial numbers, you had to press-hold the green phone icon. To end the call or cancel dialling, you also had to make sure you're press-holding the red phone icon otherwise the phone call won't disengage. Those used to using the Nokia keypad will need getting used to when texting or punching in numbers using the virtual QWERTY keypad. Since I've had practice before in using a QWERTY phone, I had little trouble adjusting to the virtual keypad. Like I said, the only trouble I had was hitting the right keys with my flat and fat fingers.

I also found myself dialling and texting and writing on the Wave 525 on its horizontal orientation ostensibly because the keypads were bigger that way. Reading web pages were also easier on the landscape orientation because the screen was larger. No point in striving to determine the text on the phone's vertical orientation when it's easier the other way around. This feature tells you that Samsung has taken great pains to understand the user and added features that made the Wave 525 easier to use and handle.

And oh, the Samsung Wave 525 fitted perfectly in my palm. Just like the phone I'm planning to purchase, the Samsung Galaxy Mini, the Wave 525 was palmable. And the retail price isn't bad at all. Like I said, Samsung developed this particular smartphone with the masa in mind so it's no wonder if this model becomes a hit with a lot of people.

If you're on a lookout for a great enough smartphone but don't have the budget for an iPhone or the Xperia, then head on over to a Samsung corner and check out the Wave 525. It packs a power package for less the buck.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

wednesday warbles: manny pacman, i found my galaxy, superman's next director

Over at RingTV.com, boxing writer, commentator, and boxing correspondent Ted Lerner has written an interesting three-part story on Manny Pacquiao's preparations for his upcoming fight versus Antonio Margarito this coming November 13.

Lerner is in Baguio City (as of the article's 3rd part) where he is one of the dozens of boxing scribes covering Pacquiao as the Filipino boxing icon works on his goal for an 8th division win.

The first part of Lerner's story deals with Pacquiao, head coach Freddie Roach, strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez, and the rest of the Team Pacquiao posse starting camp initially in Metro Manila before moving on to Baguio. The second focuses on Ariza's role in the triumvirate that includes himself, Pacquiao and Roach and the success that the formula old school (Pacquiao) + old school (Roach) + new school (Ariza) has brought the trio. The third part of the series then focuses on multi-tasking Pacquiao and the seemingly unending energy he has to do lots of stuff -- that despite being in rigorous training, he is still indirectly doing his duties as a congressman, and still very much a father to his daughter, and doing wacky stuff like getting hooked on Plants and Zombies.

Interesting read even if you're not a boxing fanatic. For your benefit, here are the articles from Lerner and RingTV.com:

Pacquiao in Baguio City: Training Camp Begins

Ariza: Integral Part of Pacquiao's Formula for Success

Pacquiao in Baguio City: Serious Sparring, Boundless Energy

* * * *

I found my new phone. Take note, found. I've yet to buy it.

While doing the rounds of the tech-shops at SM Megamall's Cyber Zone last weekend, I drifted over to the Samsung shop to drool over the Galaxy S -- as previously blogged, a prospect phone -- which I know I will no longer buy because of a) the steep price, and, b) because it wasn't comfortable to handle for me. But right beside the Galaxy S, unbeknownst to me all this time (all this time I've been looking at Nokia and Sony Ericsson smartphones) was the little brother of the Galaxy S -- the Galaxy 5!

Little brother because of its size (which I can palm perfectly) but definitely not lacking the punch as this Android-powered smartphone boasts of features that can be seen in the otherwise larger Galaxy S. With such features and at a price range of somewhere between P10,290 and P11,400 (I canvassed the mobile phone shops for the best price) the Galaxy 5 bowled me over and instantly became my prospect phone.

Let's look at the tech-specs:

• Android Eclair (upgradeable to Froyo) -- woohoo over 100,000 possible apps from the Android Marketplace (that's what the advertising says!)
• Internet: HSDPA 7.2mbps / HSUPA 5.76mbps plus WiFi
• EDGE / GPRS
• Display is a crystal clear and brilliantly bright HVGA AMOLED at 3.2"
• Multimedia: 2 megapixel camera, video (MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV), audio (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, RA), FM radio
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, MicroUSB
• Storage: can use an mobile memory card (forgot which one) up to 16GB

And since it's running on Android, it comes packed with all the necessary Google apps and services including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search. With the GPRS and Google Maps, here's to hoping one doesn't get lost anymore. And I can just imagine the tons of books I will be able to carry -- electronically, that is -- when I go out of town (and probably I can even download comics for mobile with it).

Aside from the geeky stuff, the comfort factor is a plus. If the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S had been smaller, I still would consider it even with the tag price it had. However, it was too bulky for my rather dainty hand. The Samsung i7500 Galaxy 5 however was a perfect fit! It handles like my recently-deceased Nokia 6680 and now all that I would have to adopt to is the use of touch screen technology.

With the following factors -- comfort and ease of use, superior tech-specs, and of course, the reasonable price for a smartphone -- the Samsung Galaxy 5 is a no-brainer as my next phone.

I just hope there's still stocks left when I finally purchase it. Maybe next month. Maybe December.

* * * *

While we're at it talking tech ... another prospect to purchase for me and my wife is a netbook. Why?

For mobile computing and browsing, of course (but if I get the Galaxy 5, I won't really need a netbook if only to browse, right?).

And among the netbooks currently out in the market, I'm looking hard at getting us a Gateway -- the AMD-powered one that comes with ATi Radeon graphics card. That's serious computing power for a netbook -- you might be even to play serious games with that (Cafe World and Baking Life excluded, thank you).

And at around P19,000 - P24,000, the price is just right -- a steal even because you're getting one heck of a machine.

Hay, I really need to get those sidelines running if I'm ever to purchase the Gateway (and the Galaxy 5)!

* * * *

Hollywood will soon be re-booting Spiderman (again) but another comic-book hero is also set for another re-boot. Not the Hulk, but the big, blue cheese himself -- Superman.

I know that isn't new news but what's new is that reports on the 'net have revealed that producers of the upcoming Superman re-boot, Christopher Nolan (of Batman Begins / Dark Knight and Inception fame) and David Goyer (screenplays of the Batman films as well as the new Superman film), have chosen Zack Snyder to helm the film.

Comic-book-turned-into-movies buffs will recall Snyder as the director of the film version of cult comic classic Watchmen as well as the graphically-graphic retelling of the Spartan's last stand against Persian invaders in 300. Yahoo Movies has a report on Snyder being chosen to direct the new Supes flick as well as an analysis on why Superman is a difficult comic-book character to portray on film.

Re-boots have become sort of the norm, especially when a film touted to do well in the box office bombs out. In other cases, even if the film does well with tickets, the big bosses still insist on rebooting the franchise (case-in-point: Spiderman -- Tobey Maguire is out as Spidey and a new Spidey/Peter Parker in the person of Andrew Garfield is set to step onto the characters webbings in a planned reboot -- how many ways can a film show a radio-active spider bite a geeky teenage photographer that turns him into a web-slinging superhero?). In the case of the recent Superman Returns which starred Brandon Routh, film execs at Warner and Legendary Pictures pointed out that while the film generally received positive reviews, it was a "disappointment" in the box office as it only earned roughly US$391 million worldwide -- expected returns from the film was at US$500 million. This caused Superman Returns director Bryan Singer to react "I don't know what constitutes under-performing these days."

Well, Singer is off the project and now the trio of Nolan-Goyer-Snyder have the gargantuan task of making sure the next Supes flick grosses (overgrosses more preferable by the studio execs for sure) while at the same time delivering something worth one's while. As I understand it, execs want more action in the next Superman re-boot to cash in on the aggressive hormones of a young male movie-going audience but with Nolan around, let's hope it'll indeed be something worth all our whiles.

And oh, I liked Superman Returns.

While it was not as action-overlaid as say X-Men or Spiderman or as dark and gritty as Nolan's Batman flicks, the storytelling was well-done and the balance of action and drama (in the vein of Christopher Reeve's Superman series) was good. Like many critics, I felt Kate Bosworth was not Lois Lane but Kevin Spacey was great as Lex Luthor. Routh's acting was good ... not perfect, but good enough for the film (there's not much acting to be done once you don the Superman costume -- that's like being a god but his Clark Kent portrayal pays homage to the bumbling Reeve characterization of Supes' alter ego). It would be good to see him return to the role which he says he would be happy to play again.

* * * *

This entry was written over two days, in spurts, in between work at the Desk :)

friday frolicks part 2: missing old work, lunch affair, wala lang, galaxy

The current project I'm working on, a recruitment eDM for the Desk's Human Resources Department, has made me realize again how I miss the the faster pace of things over at the online marketing arena. The Desk is not one of those who gamely tries out new media. It's still very much brick-and-mortar like its core business. So, it goes for mostly the tried-and-test means of marketing: print ads, radio ads, streamers, flyers, etc.

Good thing I'm working on PinoyHomes4You.com which hopefully will keep me in practice so that my online marketing skills won't be tarnished.

* * * *

Lunch was a three-viand affair: 1.5 pieces of dinaing na galunggong, a cup of pinakbet (majorly comprising of kalabasa), and a cup of Lucky Me Supreme Jjam Ppong -- the spicy variant of those cup noodles.

The Jjam Ppong was a late addition to the lunch baon. As the rains poured a while ago and as the room got colder and colder, I craved for sabaw and something hot (in the two gastronomical nuances of the word). So, braving the pitter-patter, I got down and went to the next-door South Star Drugstore and Grocery and bought myself the spicy noodles. Was debating between Lucky Me and Nissins Cup Noodles but ended buying the former based on experience (I had bought a Jjam Ppong a couple of weeks back, accidentally picking it up when what I had intended to buy was the Special Beef variant).

Lunch was great! Just right and hopefully won't be damaging to the big D.

* * * *

Our daughter, Ikai, while becoming the conversant little doll, has picked up a nasty habit -- answering the question "Why?" with an unemphatic "Wala lang."

Asking her about a star that her teacher stamped on her hand (a mark that she has done something very good at school), she answers, "Wala lang."

Asking her why she wants to watch TV when its already past her bedtime, she answers, "Wala lang."

Asking her why she says "I love you" to her Mama, she answers, "Wala lang."

I believe she answers "wala lang" when she doesn't know what to answer. It's when she's unable to express her feelings and thoughts (of course, at this age -- she's 3 going on 4 next month -- the vocabulary isn't that deep yet), "wala lang" provides an easy-to-tell answer. However, it leaves you dumbfounded.

Asking her why she didn't finish her food, she answers, "Wala lang."

Asking why she keeps on touching her Mama's ears when she wants to go to sleep she answers, "Wala lang."

It's perplexing, sometimes annoying as the answer "wala lang" is a dead-end answer. It sometimes drives me nuts when she answers me with that.

Asking her why she doesn't want to do her assignment, she answers, "Wala lang."

Asking her why she ouched her baby sister she answers, "Wala lang."

"Wala lang po :P"

* * * *

While attempting to pay for our landline/internet (which didn't materialize as waiting for an hour only resulted in 2 customers being serviced that entire time), the newly-refurbished Globe Business Center in Greenbelt showcased their latest phones with pre-paid and post-paid plans (Globe used to have two separate yet adjacent stores before -- one dealing with Globelines (landline and internet) and the other store dealing with Handyphone and related services. Since then, they've merged both stores so in my opinion, it has become more troublesome as landline customers are now mixed with the mobile customers in the cue!) and while the iPhone 4 was there, I gravitated towards what was my prospect -- the Samsung i9000 Galaxy.

First impression -- sexy, smooth, and looked chic. Downside: it was too wide for my rather smallish hand. It was a bit difficult to cradle in one hand and when I tried typing, my chubby fingers kept hitting the letters I wasn't supposed to hit. These were the only downside to an otherwise perfect phone. And oh, the unit price was also prohibitive, by the way.

But the unit came packed -- crammed even with gadgets and program and software. And I think I could spend hours tinkering with the Galaxy and loading stuff and reading ebooks and pushing and pulling mail and surfing.

And it ran on the Android mobile operating system. That's what I'm looking for in my next phone. Plus, wi-fi so that you don't need to carry around a laptop (but we're also planning to buy a netbook for our business on the side).

For now, the Galaxy is an option especially if the budget permits. However, I will need to canvass other Android phones as well as one other model (such as that from HTC or LG) might be packed similarly but priced affordably.

Samsung i9000 Galaxy image sourced from Wikipedia. All rights belong to Samsung!

* * * *

Here's hoping to get more sleep tonight :) Happy weekend, folks!

the big red car

Today is "coding" for the big red car (as Ikai calls it). On normal coding days, the big red car doesn't move a budge from where it is parked (it often does not even move at all for days and days even!) but today it had to move before 7am because later today we have a walk (lakad) with the kids. And given the incredible (or incredulous) system of our public taxi transport, the big red car becomes a necessity.

So, after dropping off my wife at her office, the big red car went to its designated parking space (thank goodness for free parking!) where it will wait for the next ten hours or so for us to embark upon it and take us home.

* * * *

They say that the first ever car any new driver possesses will be the "practice" car -- the car that gets all the bumps and bruises as its driver learns and masters the deadly art of metropolitan driving.

The big red car is no exception, I guess, no matter how hard I try to be careful. But I am quite thankful that up until now (since I got the big red car last summer), it has received nothing more than two small bumps on the rear bumper.

The first bump is hardly discernible -- a slight bump of a concrete post along a street down Chrysanthemum Village in San Pedro, Laguna. I was backing, trying to maneuver my way out of a dead-end and very tight street (that I knew from first-hand biking experience in youth was not a dead-end) when I miscalculated the pedal and brake and very, very slight bumped the concrete post. My wife, who was acting as my back-up assistant swore she saw the rear bumper buckle when I hit the post but that it sprang back to shape when the big red car trudged a bit forward.

The second bump was a result of a parking miscue. I have yet to really master the suave art of parking and in this one instance when I was parking in my designated parking space I was trying to avoid three obstacles -- a Pajero on my left front, another SUV on my right front, and thirdly the circular building post on my rear right. As it was a tight squeeze, I was looking on my front and at the right side-mirror and was neglecting my left side-mirror when I suddenly heard a crunch (I was backing up inch by inch as I was trying to avoid hitting the sides of the SUVs) -- I had hit a building column on my left side.I nudged the big red car forward a bit, got down and to my my dismay -- scratches on the left bumper. Worse, the bump had misaligned the bumper a bit. Despite this, at least it's still a minor damage and didn't affect the vehicle in any way (and not really bothered as the front bumper were also a bit loose when the vehicle was first bought second-hand -- like it didn't fit properly, this assembly car being like one big jigsaw puzzle).

Despite these two incidents, I still don't like to think about the big red car as one "practice" car. It's going to stay with me and my family for the next five years so I really need to take good care of it.

It's the one and only so it's the only option I have.

* * * *

The big red car was not brand new when I got it.

It's a second-hand 2007 Innova J (manual transmission, gasoline-powered) that I got through the Desk's car plan for officers. I got it from an employee of a media outfit who sold it at a reasonable price because he had to avail of their company's car plan policy.

The big red car was well-kept and CASA-maintained but had the inevitable scratches and marks (more now than then since it's usually parked outside on the street subject to all forms of torture such as falling twigs and leafs, bird droppings, dust and dirt, mud (when it rains and water rises a bit), and kids). I'd like to make sure it retains its shiny coat though so it has to undergo detailing one of these days.

Since I got it, the only improvement I've made was to put an alarm system to it (for security as, like I said, it is parked outside) and a sign tacked at the back window that says "Kids Onboard". But someday, I do hope to add bells and whistles to it -- a DVD system probably, chrome accessories probably, buy a car cover for it, a better sound system with four speakers (it only has two, up front), and maybe accessorize it with a top rack. I've seen newer Innovas sporting custom-fenders and body sculpting but I'm ok with the big red car's body as it is.

Probably just fix up the bumpers a bit to make them fit snugly and new paint.

* * * *

So, now you probably know why I refer to it as the big red car. Ikai's point of comparison is her Lolo's car, a '97 Mazda 323 Familia converted (metallic gray, lowered, custom front and rear bumpers, spoiler, noisy noisy muffler) which she call's "Lolo's car yung gray".

The Mazda was my first "practice" car. When my folks went to the US for a vacation around March this year, I took home to Makati the Mazda to use it rather than allow the car to be "stuck-up" in Laguna and gather rust and corrosives. The car, not leaving the home, would also be a telltale sign that no one's home and both it and the house could be the target of akyat-bahays.

For about two months, I basically drove the Mazda -- practicing my newly-acquired driving skills with it. I got my first two traffic violation tickets with it. While it wasn't used everyday, I did manage to drive it to Los Baños, Laguna and in the process learn how to effectively stop-and-go on an incline; wheeled it around the Metro while I looked at potential Innovas I would be buying (ended up buying the big red car in Sampaloc), and experienced my first night-driving and night-driving-with-accompanying-storm with it.

So, it was with fond memories when I finally brought the Mazda back to its parking home in my folk's home's driveway where it patiently awaited its true driver.

* * * *

The first time that I ever drove the big red car was when I went to Libis to pick it up from the seller.

Of all the places, Libis was unfamiliar territory and it was a last minute call by the seller and rather than delay it, I went to the meeting place in Libis (McDo along C5) and was handed the keys and given the general tour of the vehicle.

Problem was I wasn't wearing the proper footwear. I was wearing a heeled pair and being a newbie driver, that posed problems (until now I prefer to use flat soled shoes for driving and when I drive to the office, I carry with me my office shoes). As I was driving out of the McDo parking onto C5, I immediately knew my footing would be a prob so I turned on the hazards and turtled my way through the traffic hoping to find the u-turn slot that'll take me back to Makati.

Second problem was that the configuration of an AUV is different from a typical sedan. I had to deal with the bigness of the Innova from the inside and having been used to the dimensions of the Mazda, the Innova's seemingly bigger and bulkier form was intimidating. Plus, the sitting orientation is different -- in a sedan, you tended to be laid back a bit while in the Innova, you were sitting up. Totally different environ that built up the panic a bit.

To top it all up, the gas meter showed that it was nearly empty! Nice one. I was in unfamiliar territory, driving an unfamiliar vehicle, and I had no idea where the nearest gas station was. Fortunately, enroute to the u-turn slot, I espied a gas station on the other side so I quickened the pace a bit (panicking I might end up pushing the Innova when it runs out of gas, or worse, getting it towed) and managed to reach the gas station and had the big red car filled up.

Then I ditched my shoes, turned on the radio for some AM talkies, and lowered the airconditioning. Then I drove home with nothing but my socks on and started enjoying the ride.

It was with a breathe of relief that I finally arrived an hour or so later (drove around 30-40kph and missed a flyover) and texted my wife that I'm just outside the gate.

tuesday tidbits: issa at 8 months, hk trip, bookcase, apartment, cartoons, cq40

Hmm, I've been quite remiss in maintaining this here blog of mine that my long-time partner-in-crime turned OFW in the big desert, Noel, has pointedly informed me for the second such time that he has been frequenting The Coffee House Chronicles and I've been caught red-handed not updating for weeks on weeks.

Belated happy birthday, my friend, and I hope to sit down with you for some sugar-free coffee when you do come home for a vacation.

As for maintaining my blog (as it seems to be a source of tsismis for you :P), I'll try and keep you entertained by posting frequently especially when work (and FB games) don't get in the way of the upkeep.

* * * *

I just realized that it has been 2 months since my last post. What have I been doing the past 8 weeks that have kept me from blogging?

Well, family stuff mostly demanded my time last month as my sister, Wheng, flew in from Dubai, UAE for her annual vacation and our weekends were spent mostly at our home in San Pedro, Laguna. Being a school month, my sister only got to spend time with her pamangkins on the weekend. So, as soon as school and office were done on Fridays, we got on board the "big red car" (that's what Ikai calls our ride) and sped off to Laguna for the weekend.

And oh, yeah, we went to Hong Kong last month. My parents, Wheng, Elvie and our little ones spent four days and three nights in HK thanks to the discounted airfare we bought way back in April. So, even though things were rather tight on the financial side of things, we pushed through with the trip and enjoyed it actually -- enough to warrant us (me and wifey) to yearn for more as the trip was bitin.

The highlight of the trip was supposed to be Disneyland Hong Kong but it turned out that our visits to The Peak (via the Peak Tram, of course!) and to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum were more enjoyable than the chaos we encountered in Disneyland HK. Even Ikai didn't enjoy the Disney trip as she was made to wait in line for at least 45 minutes before getting to board the 3-minute ride. In 6 hours spent at the amusement park, she only managed to ride 5 rides.

I was amazed with the efficiency of their train system -- their MTR. Using the MTR was a bit intimidating, at first, but you quickly learn to navigate your way around. Every sign was bilingual so you won't really get lost unless you can't read or dyslexic. For a big part of the three days, our mode of transport in HK was mainly the MTR and on every trip, you'll get to appreciate the efficiency of the system. I could only hope that the same thing can be achieved with our own MRT-LRT-PNR rail system.

I did a lot walking while in HK especially during the nights when the weather was cooler (August is summer in HK -- summer with much rain!). When everyone else was tired and was off to bed early, I strolled the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon -- not shopping or eating but just taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of one of the world's most vibrant cities.

I could ramble on and on about our trip but let's leave that for another day. For pictures, my sister Wheng has posted two galleries on her Facebook account (here) so no point in duplicating them here in CFC.

* * * *

And while in HK, we celebrated Baby Issa's 8th month!

We didn't go out as everyone was tired and just stayed at the hostel for a Yoshinoya feast. To top it off, we bought a "mango" cake from a popular HK bakeshop.

The photo on the right shows my sister, Wheng, holding Baby Issa along with Ikai who can't wait for the dinner to commence.

Issa is now 9 months old.

* * * *

My trusty Nokia 6680 opted for suicide and promptly died on me yesterday. I know I can still get that repaired somehow and a new battery will extend its life some more but as that is unexpected expenditure that I cannot expedite for now, I'm going low-tech with a Nokia 3100 circa 2003.

This 3100 was all-jazzy and hi-tech with its colored screen some seven years ago but in today's standards -- it's simply prehistoric. The 3100 I'm using however is quite well-traveled. This one was the same 3100 my sister, Rochelle, asked me to buy for her in 2003 (under my name as she had no permanent work that time and thus would have slim chances of getting a postpaid line). After the lock-in period lapsed, she had it "unlocked" so that she could use another network's prepaid sim. Then in 2004, it went to the US when my sister went there where it was in use mainly as a roaming phone until my sis settled for a local carrier that had her use Motorola. This 3100 went back to the P.I. last year via padalas and was used by my father as a Globe phone (for playing a text game on Eat Bulaga, of all things) until he realized he was wasting his cellphone load on a game whereby his chances of winning were close to nil. It has then stayed "in the cupboard" until I resurrected it yesterday.

For now, this'll be my main phone until I get the 6680 fixed. My wife has been teasing me to get a new phone and maybe I will. The new Samsung Champ looks attractive enough -- price-wise and feature-wise :)

* * * *

My laptop also underwent repairs last month.

A couple of months before the warranty expired, my Compaq CQ40 started exhibiting "flickering" symptoms. I would later find out through online research that the LCD "flickering" problem was a popular one for such units and the best solution would be to have the entire LCD replaced.

I've also read up on problems encountered by Pinoys who have availed of the service at the HP Service Center and when I finally found the time to drop by and get the rig repaired, I was ready for an all-out war (online horror stories about repairs for the CQ40 reported a month-long stay of your unit at the service center among other things). In my case, I was actually surprised that it took no more than a week to get my LCD replaced (it being a hardware problem) and getting the laptop back was a delay on my part as I wasn't able to go to the service center due to conflicting schedules.

It's been one month since I placed the rig under repair and so far it has shown any recurrence of the flickering issue. Kudos to HP Service Center! One satisfied customer here!

* * * *

The desk has blocked access to all forms of social networking -- FB, Twitter, Foursquare -- and even access to blogging has been blocked. That alone has hampered my ability to be more frequent in my posting.

When I come home after work, of course, one has to spend time with family. After 8 or so hours away, who would not want to be loved ones, right? And I've made it a point to spend time with Ikai and help her with her assignments (especially with Elvie doing the shifting schedule once in a while). And while Ikai is makulit and I find myself sometimes raising my voice to curb her naughtiness and focus on studying and finishing her homework, I do enjoy my time with my daughter as we tackle her schoolwork.

* * * *

Remember me blogging about the need to cough up a bookcase so that my books won't be cluttering the apartment?

Well, the bookcase has been bought and now is part of our bedroom's furniture. It stands right next to the TV stand and is need, one of these days, of a serious re-arrangement as books, magazines and other bits and ends like photo albums, school supplies, tin can (containing mementos), coloring books (Ikai's), etc. have been placed haphazardly.

This bookcase was a 4-level D-I-Y from Shopwise which I assembled in under an hour. To prevent it from warping (especially the first three shelves from the bottom), you had to make sure the bottom portions were filled to the brim with books. You had wedge books so that the shelves maintained their levels. The heaviest and widest stuff were at the bottom -- large books, magazines (my Entrepreneur, FHM, Heavy Metal, and Dragon issues). The next level contained special edition sized or UK-sized or special soft-cover books. These books were joined by several stacks of conventionally-sized pocketbooks. The third level was for pocketbooks. The last level had photo albums, my comics and graphic novels, Ikai's books, and a few more odds and ends.

As expected, the bookcase couldn't contain all my books. There are probably about a dozen or so books still scattered all over the apartment (and a couple more stacks left at Laguna) so another bookcase is needed but that will have to wait until we get a bigger abode.

* * * *

Speaking of abode ... we will be moving again next year as soon as school is out.

The new owner of the apartment row where we currently reside has decided to increase the rent by more than 20% and we just feel the new rental amount isn't practical. For the increased rental amount you can get a bigger space somewhere and that's what we intend to find out.

We've already given notice and by early next year we would have to start looking around. We're hoping to be able to find a reasonably-priced place still within Makati as this is the most practical for us. My wife and I are both working in Makati while Ikai and her cousin, Mark (who is living with us), both have their schools here. While we're planning to move Ikai to a bigger school next year, our target school is still located within Makati.

Any suggestions? Preferably somewhere in the vicinity of Guadalupe Viejo-Poblacion-Olympia and where it doesn't flood. Around the same time last year, the apartment was inundated. Good thing we had a second floor.

The apartment or house for rent has to be a couple of stories with at least 2 bedrooms (three would be much better) and public transport is accessible. We're looking for one that has its own garage and its own electric and water meters.

* * * *

Oh, I've been sketching again ... a lot ... mostly on scratch papers when I'm thinking or talking to someone on the phone in the office. That's the only time I get to doodle hence a lot of my drawings are mostly half-baked stuff on the margins of documents, or, like I said, the back of scratch papers.

Will post them one of these days. Need to get photos of them first.

* * * *

One of my website domains is expiring soon and I don't have enough moolah yet to renew it! Aaarghhh!!! I'll need to tighten the spending a bit as I really need to renew the domain and not let it go to waste.

* * * *

Got lots of cartoons to watch! I've managed to secure copies of several DC Animated Universe direct-to-video films such as Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Batman: Gotham Knight, and Superman/Batman:Apocalypse.

Now, I just need time to enjoy, savor and cherish these. Hay!

* * * *

That should be enough for now, folks. I'll try to post more frequently, promise :)