Retro DLSU Pep Squad

I was searching Youtube for old Ateneo - La Salle game clips when I bumped into this. This is a video of the DLSU Pep Squad back in 1995 (I was still in highschool back then, and entering college, particularly La Salle, was the last thing on my mind). It actually made me miss the Haydee Three Times cheer. For those unfamiliar, here it is (taken from the Pinoy Exchange archives):

Haydee three times! (Haydee three times!)
Ready! (READY!)
1-2-3

Haydee, Kaydee Kala Wala Waydee
Kala Wala Wingo, Dingo, Daydee
HUSH! KUSH!
Kala Wala Wush Wush
Kala Wala Wingo Dingo Dash!
(Repeat 2x going faster)

ANIMO.....LA SALLE!

Photo Safari Part Two: American War Memorial

Mac looking for things to "shoot".

The American War Memorial in Taguig was our second and final stop for the day. We weren't able to go to more destinations since the summer sun was scorching hot (we just decided to hang out at Serendra until the sun was a little bit tamer).

I think that I shall never see,
A poem lovely as a tree...
...or something to that effect.

We arrived 25 minutes before closing time, which I realized was not enough for me to take all the pictures that I want. The park usually closes at 5 in the afternoon, I wish they would extend this since this is usually the perfect time to take pictures, with the heat out of the way and the sunset casting a nice shadow. The last time I was here, it was high noon and scorching hot.

I find this place peaceful, I might go here more often.

Asides from the monuments commemorating our liberators, it's nice to spot some fauna in the vicinity. We even had a glimpse of a squirrel climbing a tree, too bad we didn't have a chance to take a picture of it.

You can view the rest of the pictures here. Compared to most galleries of the park posted on the web, I think mine pales in comparison. I guess I have to schedule another visit to perfect my craft.

So that was our one day photo safari. I don't know when Mac will upload his shots, I going to look forward to that (and probably post the links here).

Photo Safari Part One: Manila Ocean Park

I'm kinda beat up from the summer heat and from carrying all the photography stuff that I have, plus tomorrow I have to go back to work. But I still want to post the outcome of my one day photo op with my high school buddy Mac.

The main lobby and ticket booth.

We dedicated the morning to visiting the fairly recent Manila Ocean Park. I got a discount since I'm a Manila resident, but a visit would usually set you back PHP400.00 (PHP 350.00 for minors).

For some reason, I'm reminded of SpongeBob whenever I see this fish.

Since I'm really tired, I want to shorten my story. It was really hard photographing the fishes, due to the lack of light inside the complex and the occasional reflection from the glass. You can check my gallery here.

If you've been to Hong Kong's Ocean Park, you'll probably recognize this, minus the walkalator.

In my opinion, PHP400.00 is too much. I don't know, but I'm not fully satisfied with my visit. Although the complex is only halfway done, I guess the only thing missing is the mall. I hope I'm wrong, I really want to see this palce flourish.

On a lighter side note, Mac and I were sort of wearing the same shirt, same pants, and we were almost sporting the same camera bag (Crumpler). One of the attandants asked Mac if we work for Crumpler, and if the black collared shirts we were wearing was Crumpler's new uniform. Mac jokingly replied "kinda".

Nothing To Post

I had all the time to post something since last week, and yet I can't find anything interesting to write about. I'm actually on vacation leave since yesterday, and Roxanne is also enjoying her stay at her hometown, Ilagan. I'm supposed to go on a "solo photo safari", some sort of personal project that I want to accomplish. Unfortunately, some unforeseen circumstances (plus the urge to just bum out at home) hindered me from doing so. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will be able to do this tomorrow, which would be the last day of my break. But I will no longer be alone, as my close friend Mac, also a photo enthusiast, will accompany me, along with his Nikon D80.

On the bright side, I was able to have my car maintained during the first two days of my leave. Thanks to Sir Charles and his staff at Petron - J. Luna Branch for the change oil and car wash, and to Mang Emer of Romy's Auto Parts for aligning my wheels (see photo above).

Debbie

This is my niece (and godchild) Debbie. She is my kid brother's first child. Currently, she's the pride and joy of our family.

You can see more photos of Debbie here. All pictures were taken using my nifty-fifty (EF 50mm f1.8).

De La Salle University

I always wanted to go back to school to try out my ultra wide lens. Last Friday, this chance became a reality.

YUCHENGCO HALL: The St. Athanasius Gym used to be here. Construction was still ongoing when I left campus.

I had a client call near La Salle that day, and what better way to spend my lunch break than to visit the school. The summer heat was on, but the bright midnoon sun provided a nice effect, combined with a polarizer. I was expecting a campus devoid of people, only to realize that it was still final exam week.

MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL: Said to be the most haunted place in campus.

It felt nice going around campus, taking pictures and reminiscing old times (and at times, exploring new areas). There have been many changes since I graduated in 2001: new buildings, WiFi around campus, more laptop toting students left and right. But the same feeling of pride for the green and white still resides.

I USED TO ROAM THESE HALLS: One of the hallways of Gokongwei Hall, with students taking their final exams inside the classrooms. This building used to be my second home for almost five years.

In my two hours of loitering around campus, I was able to visit Brother Andrew Hall, a building that didn't exist during my time. This building is also said to be the tallest academic structure here in the Philippines. Too bad the chapel was locked, since this was my point of interest in this building.

THE FUTURE BEGINS HERE: Lobby of Brother Andrew Hall that leads to the new Admissions Office.

As I was about to end my tour, I climbed upon Saint Joseph Hall, originally wanting to take pictures of the eerie hallways that it housed. Instead, I was drawn to the view outside William Hall (connected by a bridge from SJ). It was a view of reality: poverty just around the corner. I hope one day I can be a part of any solution to this concern.

REALITY AT LA SALLE'S BACKYARD: View of the shanty houses from William Hall.

So that was my tour of De La Salle University. I hope I can visit the campus again soon, and take more pictures. For more pictures of my ultra wide escapade, click here. You can also check the following links:

* my visit to La Salle last year.
* DLSU website.
* a blog entry I found on Google.

Distant Sunset

Limiting myself to only using an ultra wide lens, I wasn't able to replicate last Saturday's sunset shots.

Oh well. Better luck next time, I guess.

New Old Stuff

I uploaded some of my old (and fairly new) G5 and 400D shots. Enjoy!

Sunset At Mall Of Asia

There's something about Mall of Asia that makes me want to take photos all the time. Last time, it was all about long exposures. Yesterday, it was the setting sun.

Many of my shots yesterday were taken haphazardly, since the sun was quickly setting. We might return there tomorrow, since we still want to do some last minute shopping. I'm just not sure if I'll have the opportunity again to take pictures.

Anyway, you can view the rest of the gallery here.

Disintegrated!

This is really weird. So weird, I just have to post it ASAP. Heck, I even used my phone's camera just to do so.

I usually carry my Canon Powershot G5 wherever I go. I'm not sure if it's old age (my camera is turning five in a few months), the summer heat, the cold bottle of C2 inside my bag, or a combination of these that caused my camera's grip to disintegrate. I plucked my camera out of my bag, and to my surprise, all that's left in it's handle is these gooey glue-like stuff. The rubber piece that this gooey stuff used to hold is scattered in small pieces inside my bag.

Does the camera still work? Yes, it does. But I don't want to hold something slimy while taking pictures. I guess I better find a way to remove all this sticky stuff, or at least find a suitable material to replace the grip. I don't want to retire my camera this early.

Nokia E51

I consider myself as Nokia's prodigal son. I started out with Nokia nine years ago. My first phone was a Nokia 3210, a gift from my mom, which was unfortunately stolen while I was on a bus. It was followed by a 6150, a 6210, and a 6230.

When I started my postpaid subscription to Globe, I decided to try Sony Ericsson, in particular, the K750i. I fell in love with SE phones, and vowed to stick to SE and ditch Nokia.

I guess I was wrong. I still love SE, but their current lineup pales in comparison to Nokia's offerings. Since my K750i is already struggling, I needed a new phone fast, and I had to jump ship once again.

It basically was a choice between the E51 and the N82, another stellar Nokia phone. But I couldn't justify the extra price for a slightly better camera and GPS, plus the ergonomics of the N82 is just, well, not for me. Hence, the E51. I funded this phone using the proceeds of the 5310 I had for sale (thanks to Tina for purchasing the unit).

I'm not so good at doing reviews, so click here, here, and here for more extensive reports on the E51. Anyway, here are my observations about the phone:

* one of my biggest pet peeves about this phone is that updating your contacts doesn't update the sender information in your SMS inbox. I think this is common to most Nokia Series 60/90 phones, since Roxanne's 7650, one of Nokia's earlier Symbian phones, share the same traits.

* inputting birthdays in your contacts via the phone or thru the PC Suite does not update your calendar. You have to use Outlook or something similar to do so. Other than that, the phonebook is fantastic, it can hold so may information.

* text messaging can either be a pro or a con. You can type part of the sender's name and the phone will give you a list of matches, or send it automatically if there's only one match. Inputting the sender's number via the phonebook may require extra clicks, especially if the contact has more that one number.

* smileys are only available by enabling the T9 dictionary. I miss the smileys from my K750i.

* for a Symbian phone, it's quite fast.

* in my 1 week of use, it only froze on me once. Well, not exactly froze, the Home button just stopped functioning. A quick reboot of the phone solved this.

* pictures and videos from the camera occasionally has a greenish tint.

* i love the fact that you can set recurring alarms, and have the option to set it only during workdays. Perfect for waking me up.

* the radio is much better than my K750i's.

* I can't understand why sometimes my phone uses 3G to surf the web even though I'm connected to a WiFi hotspot.

* speaking of WiFi, for me that was the phone's main selling point. It does the job well, but some sites are not supported. I cannot open my Lycos account because the text boxes are missing.

* regarding the battery, WiFi and Bluetooth can really drain it. Extensive use of the said protocols only gave me roughly two days of use. On a positive note, the phone charges really quick (more or less an hour) and the included charger is smaller than what I'm used to.

* telephony is average for me, but good enough.

All in all, I love this phone. I think for the price, it's a best buy.

Lens And Laptop

Last Monday, one of my lenses and my laptop turned a year old. I know it's nonsense to celebrate birthadays of inanimate objects, but this post inspired me to do something similar.

The Canon EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS USM is my first lens investment, an upgrade from the kit lens and the Nifty Fifty. I got it cheaper than usual since it was a gray market version. This is my most abused lens, it's very ideal for landscapes, portraits, and sports. For samples, you can check my Flickr gallery.

My laptop, an Asus A8Jn, is only a few hours younger than the lens. It's not only my first laptop, it's also the first item that I availed on installment. Lately this device stays at home since the bank issued me my own laptop.