going back

I'm downright insane, fallin', gazin into your eyes...nothing like this before. I'm dreamin of daylight, sunlight...dandelions, I brush my hands against the grass. Fallin' like never before, coming back to life, going back to the basics. It's just you and me, let's fall in love once again, hold my hand and never let go. Going crazy, laughing like there's no tomorrow. Being born again, like a child, I smile, jumpin' high. I'm living life, learning to live childlike.

Friday shift writes

Its friday and you know what that means! woohoo! hahaha, just feelin' that weekend jive. listening to my ipod and to some house music. I'm having my VL monday and tuesday so it's going to be a long weekend for me. Thats how life is, sometimes you're down and sometimes you just feel like flyin' hehe. I'm planning to get myself a new phone, you know just something to reward myself for working hard hehe. Oh, mom's day...gotta get my mom somethin' too. What else, oh the wedding, that too. Somehow weddings give me the jeepers creepers hehe, its like I'm allergic to it or something, I guess I'm not yet ready for that sort of thing. I have been posting some serious anti-extreme islamist stuff on this blog, it's something very personal for me you know, just my own convictions. It just blows me away to find out that there's this group of people who lives in the same planet as me who wants to destroy the rest of us who doesn't agree or think the way they do. I don't know about you but that really upsets me, makes me angry. I love my freedom, I love my faith. I think if push comes to shove, I'll be one of those people who'll be in the frontlines. Anyway, enough about that bullcrap. It's a friday and I ain't gonna let some terrorist crap ruin my day.

5:07, just a couple of more hours..hehe.

major product exam

people are staring at their monitors and their cheat sheets all over the floor, because of adobe's new line of products...the Creative Suite 3, major major upgrade and really cool software if I may say so myself. Great product but a bit steep in the pricing department. I love designing stuff like webpages, did some graphics and design with YWAM so I know a bit on how this stuff brings out the really cool creative side of your brain to its full potential. If I can just get a legit copy myself...wow.

Sad news

I tried calling one of my friends in the States, he did not want to talk to me. I was able to talk to his mom who told me that he was becoming a big problem. Apparently he was getting into a lot of weird stuff, staying in his room all day, reading the Bible, he constantly talks to God and well tells everyone that he has been given some revelations...he also has a lot of strange interpretations of the Bible. I am really saddened by this news.

updates

Friday! Or is it Saturday? in front of my pc at work. updating and finishing up with all my profiles. Baby sitting and temporarily handling Team Testarossa. Downloaded some new podcasts to my iPod, really cool. I'm just beginning to really love this gadget, very versatile, very cool. Its been quite awhile since I updated this blog, hopefully I'll have time to do that during this weekend.

MacNews!!

The tech loving people on the floor just had a field day today. The reason? MacWorld 2007. So everyone is glued to their computer screen, not busy doing their xsales or any thing of that sort, but basically eyes epoxeyd to MacDailyNews.com, macrumorslive.com and egadget.com. So whats the big news since the MacPro? The iPhone. Yup, you better believe it. The future is definitely here. Quad band, think ipod/smartphone/cool and you'll get the picture. Mac fans such as myself is definitely having a field day with this. News such as the new Apple TV, colaborations with Google, Yahoo and Cingular, I mean what can go wrong with Apple this year? And by the way its no longer Apple Computers, Steve Jobs Inc has decided to call themselves Apple Inc.

Italy fights against coffee popularized by Starbucks

THE GUARDIAN, ROME
Tuesday, Jan 02, 2007, Page 6

In a fight against against the global spread of super-sized frappuccinos and iced cappuccinos, Italy has certified what it considers the classic cappuccino.

In a snub to the Starbucks-driven craze for loading gallons of hot frothy coffee-flavored liquid into cardboard pots, Italy's National Institute for Italian Espresso is defending the traditional squirt of steamed milk over a shot of espresso that is knocked back by millions of Italians every morning at zinc-topped bars all over the country.

The newly certified milky coffee, which is served only in a ceramic cup, was offered to members of parliament and ministers at an event sponsored by the parliamentary culture commission.

The institute has already given a government-backed certification to the perfect espresso coffee.

On Sunday the organization's president, Marco Paladini, stood up for the beleaguered cappuccino, promising "to protect this important expression of our national gastronomic culture ... A great success abroad, but not always made with adequate sensory quality", the newspaper Il Giornale quoted him as saying.

More froth than liquid, the Italian cappuccino can be swallowed in seconds and according to purists should leave a smear of milk on the inside of the cup. Stirring the beverage to mix the milk with the coffee that lurks in the bottom should not produce an overall brown color, but streaks of coffee in the pure white foam.

According to many Italians, the light brown color is similar to that of the robes worn by Italy's Capuchin monks, hence the name.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/01/02/2003343056

on call centers

Contact Centers or callcenters are all the rage as of now. Companies have sprung up from nowhere (I'm waiting for someone to start a Bangladeshi or Tibetan call center here in the Philippines). Now with all this in mind. I'm a bit upset when someone tries to generalize everyone working in a "Call Center", seemingly a lot of people have this preconcieve idea that all you need to have in terms of skill in order to get hired is to be proficient in the English language, that most people who work in the industry are either highschool grads and don't require a degree to get hired. Although this is true in some cases (not to offend our neighbor upstairs hehe) not all companies are like this. I guess the major reason I am writing this, is to defend not only the industry from generalizations and preconcieve ideas but also to let people know that most of us who work in this industry are as educated and as skillful as our other counterparts in other industries. Some of the people that I work with have degrees in software engineering, programming, computer science, marketing...among others. Outsourcing, contact centers, no matter how you call it, requires skill, requires education and requires professionalism. I think I rest my case, need to go back to work.

One of my faverite plces to eat in the States is Applebees, it beats the heck out of McDonalds, especially if ur looking for a cheap place to eat. Thinking about it, I do wish they'd open up a franchise here in Manila in the future.

I owe my life to a Jew

Christmas is just around the corner. I'm quite frizzled a bit since I haven't even started my shopping yet. So much to do, so little time. I haven't even bought myself a shiny new iPod or cellphone yet! What about clothes?? I need new clothes for the holidays you know, a new shirt, pants, maybe a new pair of sneakers to keep my toes cozy warm. But of course there's that longer than the Bataan death march line to the cashier, I have to put up with that! And what is wrong with these cab drivers?? Asking for something extra in addition to what the meter charges, sheesh. So many problems, so many things that irritate me.

Christmas...it got me really thinking. Is this really all about me? Is this really all about shopping, new cellphones, iPods etc.. Like some kind of crazed maniac, everybody is going around without really even thinking why we're even celebrating. All this songs about Santa Clause, red nose raindeers...I mean, is this really what Christmas is all about?

And then I remember. I remember the reason for all of this. That thousands of years ago, a Jew was born. Yes, a Jew...born of simple parents, on a nondescript town... sent to change the world, sent to change your life and mine. Born so that you and I can have life and to have it abundantly, born so that you and I can be saved. Behind this hoopla, this foolish shopping orgy thats going on, I try to remember what this season really is all about. No, I think I'm gonna skip on that black iPod video I've been drooling to for months, no I don't care if I don't get the latest Nokia, I think I'm gonna try to save my money for the rainy days...maybe I'll buy some lechong manok and give it to that family that lives in that kariton. Better yet, I'm going to give remember with gratefulness, how my life has changed because of a Jew. I owe him that much. I owe my life to a Jew.

The Special Ops A47 Spetsnaz

This morning, the airsoft group of OSRP, me included went to Sir Tuks house in Makati to finally get our hands on our much awaited weaponry. I finally decided on getting a Spetsnaz A47, all I can say is wow, 330 FPS out of the box and was highly recommended by some of the vet airsofters. It certainly beats the crap out of the Super M and the S-System in performance although of course the M4's still get my attention in terms of their pogi points. But of course when it comes to real tine performance specially in CQB's (close quarter battles) it's the A47 who's hands down the winner. I can't believe this is actually an Ak-47 variation, although an icon, I really have not been a through and through fan of this rifle since it's been the weapon of choice for those communist/terrorist countries, like the former Soviet Union, the Taliban has also been known to use the 47. The Spetsnaz is currently used by Special Ops teams in Russia, Poland etc.

a glimpse of my station

I know, she's really pretty right? hehe, some eye candy to make work a lil bit easier and of course helps me to concentrate more on my screen hahaha.

Currently listening to...

Take a Picture by Filter. Cool song.

Updates from work

11:45 PM

Almost everyone is tuned in to online radios, listening in to the storm updates. It already started raining on my way to work, hopefully we can still go home early before the eye of the storm hits the metro. I'm currently tuned in to DZRB using RealPlayer.

Some more pics of the M4A1

Let's get it on!

The office airsoft team is about to be launched and will soon be doing combat missions by early January, as soon as the rest of the team including me completes all the gear we need. Here is a picture of my weapon of choice. M4A1 aka "Super M". Shown with some modifications, this gun definitely rocks. Unofficial name of the team: OSRP Strikers, kinda cheesy..we'll probably change it as we go along.

Whenever I get dissensitized by everything thats going on around me, bombarded by media, popculture and popular opinion. Whenever I feel I've lost my way, wilderness wanderings to places and paths I should have not taken...so far away from where I should be. I try to deeply look inside of me, I draw from deep within and take root of who I really am, holding on to my faith, holding on to what I believe...my convictions. Sometimes I do not feel as strong as I was before, and my body is aching and weary from all the battles. When my face is wet with tears and all the people I call friends have gone away and there is nobody else to listen to me. I try to listen to that still small voice inside, saying that I am not alone and that when I am weak...I can hold on to someone who's strong. Whenever my doubts and fears gets the better of me, whenever I fall down, when I don't feel loved and when loneliness sets in, grace takes hold of me and picks me so I can fight another day. Whenever I am pounded by the raging waves of the daily grind, I see the faint light of the lighthouse and I am led back to the security of the shores. There is one thing I know, that I am never alone, that I am forever held by the loving arms of grace.

Foreground (my fellow techie bud Jay with Khits and Grace. Thats me, the Chinese looking guy who's trying to look cute on camera.

Fridays and just lovin' my job

Here I am chillin at my desk, listenin to Ja Rule, my mp3 collection to keep me company, iBook by my side. I haven't finished doing the rest of my company profilling yet, well there's no hurry..its a Friday and I'm just jiviin to this weekend feel. Me, I'm just enjoying my life, my job. Man! how many people can say that? that they love their job, but its true I do. I think I have one of the bestest job in the world. I get to work with computers, software...techie stuff, I can watch YouTube whenever I want, I get calls from my clients who like what I do for them and well, I don't have to sweat it when it comes to closing a deal. Maybe it's this music, feel good, lovelife tune. A newly opened Starbucks just a few steps from my office...boy! this must be heaven. I'm surrounded by one the coolest bunch of people this side of the planet. Man, I'm blessed. Christmas is just around the corner, I think I am really going to enjoy this coming holidays, it'll be different. Company just installed a new high tech biometric scanner, hehe how cool is that! Sometimes, change can do us good, it'll open up new opportunities. Whoah! we're going home! Somethings up! see you next week.

I was listening to this song on my way to work. Beautiful, I can't stop listening to it.

Well its not far down to paradise
At least not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me

Its not far to never-never land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me

Sailing takes me away
To where Ive always heard it could be
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free

Fantasy
It gets the best of me
When Im sailing

All the world in a reverie
Every word is a symphony
Wont you believe me?

Sailing [takes me away] takes me away
To where Ive always heard it could be [where I wanna be]
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free

Ahhh....

Its not far back to sanity
At least its not for me
And if he wind is right you can sail away
And find serenity
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby, believe me

Sailing takes me away
To where Ive always heard it could be
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free [free!]

Sailing takes me away
To where Ive always heard it could be [Ive always heard it could be]
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free yeah.