For The First Time

I rarely watch Pinoy movies, but I had fun with Roxanne yesterday watching For The First Time. I guess sometimes lighthearted movies make you feel better in a different way. It was a good way to end a really busy weekend.

Ironically (I'm not sue if I'm using this word correctly), yesterday was exactly a year ago when Roxanne and I had our first date. It was a rainy Friday, or at least it rained that day, similar to what happened yesterday. I remember my friend Cha helping me setup a date with her, Jhen calming me before the actual date, and the mouse that ran across Pizza Hut during dinner. That was a memorable night.

And the rest is history. Now I have to finish my breakfast and get ready for work.

Thank You Eraserheads

Even though the reunion concert was cut short, I still can't thank these guys enough for giving us a really wonderful show last night. All our prayers go out to the speedy recovery of their frontman, Ely Buendia.

Before everything else, I just have to say this. The Eraserheads is probably the most influential band of my generation. Their songs were like the soundtrack of my highschool life. It's like I can attach a certain feeling or recall a certain event with their songs. They're the reason why I tried to learn the guitar and aspired to become a rockstar. Yesterday's reunion concert, in my opinion, was far better than any Ateneo - La Salle game or any international act coming to Manila.

With that said, we really had a fun yesterday. Mac and Tim met with me here at the house, and before leaving we took pictures of the tickets and I had a hard time deciding if I should bring my camera (which I did anyway). We fetched Burn at Ayala Center, then proceeded to The Fort. We arrived at around five in the afternoon, and fans were starting to occupy the field.

After a really heavy dinner, we bought bottles of mineral water, got our cameras, and proceeded to the venue. Unfortunately, big cameras (like my SLR) and water bottles were not allowed inside. Belts were also prohibited, which was a big problem for Mac and Burn. So after complying to the said rules, we were able to enter the venue, waited for another hour, and the countdown to the concert started. That was probably the longest ten minutes of my life.

And then the concert started. They sang fifteen of their hits for the first set, and it was said that more songs were to be played in the next set, including some of their all time favorites. But thirty minutes after the first set ended, it was announced that everything had to be cut short, that lead singer Ely Buendia was rushed to the hospital due to fatigue. No jeers were shouted, instead everyone cheered for the band. And a silent prayer ended the event.

We were also exhausted after the concert. I almost lost my voice singing my favorite tunes. And with the multitude of fans that came, it was hard to leave The Fort early.

We hope that another reunion gig is in the works. Again, thank you Eraserheads.

More info on the Eraserheads

With A Smile video from yesterday's concert found on Youtube

Pictures courtesy of Burn

Too Hot To Handle

This is a really busy weekend for me. Last night, me and the rest of JETS were able to attend the anniversary party of Monster Radio RX 93.1 held at my brother's bar, White Avenue located along Tomas Morato. I'm not really into clubbing, but I had a lot of fun, and so were the rest of the gang. Sadly we had to leave early, in preparation for tonight's long awaited concert.

Thanks to my brother Caloy and his associates for all the accommodation, even though the place was packed. Please check out the gallery here, most are snapshots taken as we were about to leave the venue.

Next stop, the Eraserheads reunion concert.

Harbor View

Client calls can sometimes be fun. This was the case yesterday when Stara (RM and close friend) and I went to Harbor View in Manila. Yes, it was business, but apart from that we were able to enjoy a delightful lunch, as well as take pictures of Manila's bay side.

Please check out the rest of the pictures here.

New Modem, New Life

Blogging while having breakfast. One of the perks of having a steady Internet connection.

For the past year or so, I have been frustrated with our PLDT MyDSL account. Frequent disconnections and low bandwidth are often enough to drive me nuts. But thanks to PLDT's outbound support, they replaced my modem and splitter with new ones, and now I get speeds averaging 700 kb/s. Now this speed may be slow for a lot of Internet junkies, especially those who play online games and download stuff a lot. But for me, this is more than enough.

So again, thank you PLDT for answering my needs.

Oh, and by the way, do you want to know how fast your Internet connection is? Find out at http://www.speedtest.net/, just like what I did.

Unionbank Plaza

This is where I work, a big building that resembles a blue thermos bottle located in Pasig. This has been my second home since 2005, prior to that our headquarters was located in an old (but very memorable) building in Makati's business district.

This shot was taken last Friday. There were other pictures, but most of them were just test shots, since Gelsen and I had been testing our cameras for small details.

The Photographer

I rarely post portraits of myself here, but I really like this shot courtesy of Gelsen. This was taken last Friday, we were playing with our cameras and this was one of his outputs.

You can see more of Gelsen's photos here, and some of his tutorials here. Maybe you can find something interesting from the links mentioned.

As for my shots, they are still in my camera, and I'm still deciding if I will post them here.

My Long Weekend

Apart from seeing my favorite niece Debbie and having lunch with my family (Roxanne included), this long weekend is pretty mundane. I really can't think of anything to write about.

Until I realized that last Saturday, August 16, was actually my sixth year with my present company, Unionbank of the Philippines. I felt so nostalgic that I should at least try to write something about it.

Let me rewind to the year 2002, I was a fresh graduate at that time, and to be honest, I couldn't consider myself as an Einstein when I was still in school. It took me seven months to finally land a spot in the corporate world, thanks to Unionbank. But I wasn't offered a job related to computers (well, not yet). They hired me as a bank teller, and being that fresh graduate just looking for opportunities, I didn't have second thoughts and grabbed it.

Life as a bank teller was a mixture of fun and hardship. I experienced not having my lunch for days in a row, and going home when the sun has already hidden its mystic glow, just to name a few. But here I also met some of my closest friends, one of which is Jhen. Even though there were times that I regretted my stint as a teller, I will always be thankful for the things I've learned and for the friends I've gained from my stay in the branch.

Luckily, after two years of being a front liner, I had the chance to join Electronic Banking, my current department. It was also a career boost for me in so many ways, and a source of new friends and experiences.

In general, Unionbank has made a big impact on me, not only on my career but on my personal being as well. I have experienced a lot during the past six years, some of which are those that I missed out in school. In Unionbank, I also met Roxanne, who is someone really dear to me.

Anyway, I just realized again that the from the title up to the first paragraph of this post has no relation whatsoever to the rest of this writing. And for some reason, I'm not even sure if I'm making any sense with everything written above this paragraph. I guess all I want to say is that I am thankful that I am a part of Unionbank. I'm not sure if my stay here will last another year, or another five years, for there will come a time that other opportunities will arrive and one must move on. But when that time comes, I will never forget my days as a Unionabanker. For now, I'll just enjoy my stay in this institution.

By the way, I have some more pictures of Debbie here. I sure hope you guys would take time to visit the said link.

The Way, The Truth, And The Light

Today, Roxanne and I mark our ninth month as a couple, and to celebrate we decided to hear mass at the Shrine of Jesus: The Way, The Truth, And The Light (yes, that is it's full name) near Mall of Asia. It was also an opportunity for me to take some pictures.

For different reasons, both of us were sort of out of sync today, so our celebration became quite simple. Aside from the mass, we had a short tour of the mall (very less window-shopping), and a simple dinner at a KFC branch near her house.

As always, you can check some more of the photos from today here. It's quite a small gallery by the way.

---

I think the reason I'm out of sync today is because I have been having some bad luck with my car since Friday (which was August 8, 2008, a supposedly lucky day). Two days ago, my break pads became worn out, and I had to make an emergency stop at Zafra Motors to have it replaced. Unfortunately, the cost was PHP2000.00, and more bad news came as an assessment of my car revealed that I needed to replace more parts (mostly under chassis), which costs six times what I paid for the break pad installation.

And just this afternoon, a pedicab rammed the left side of my fender, causing it to protrude. I'm guessing it's his fault, since the pedicab came out of nowhere while I was doing a reverse. Thank God the damage was just minor (and cosmetic).

Spring Cleaning

We don't have spring here in the Philippines, we don't even have four seasons here. But I guess I like using the term "spring cleaning" whenever I want to clean my room.

Today, I decided to do that. The sun was bright outside, but I was too lazy to get out. But then again, I really wanted to achieve something today, and not let the day go to waste. So I sorted out my clothes, disposed most of my old socks and underwear, and relegated old shirts as pambahay. I also had the chance to dispose some of my old receipts.

Admittedly, cleaning my room will always be a never ending task. It's just so messy, I can't clean it entirely in just one day. Oftentimes I'm confused at what to organize first, and at what to dispose. Hopefully, one of these days, my lazy side would just take a backseat and let me do my chores.

My friend Jhen also cleaned her room a few days back, and found letters from old friends. Me, I just found old underwear while cleaning.

World Press Photo Exhibition

Winning photos from the 2007 World Press Photo Competition are currently on display at The Podium until August 7, and will tour other malls in the Metro until August 22. These are some of the best photos from photojournalists worldwide in the past year. Mind you, some of the pictures are quite disturbing, a good eye-opener for some of us who are naive of what is happening on other parts of the globe.

For more information, click here.

G5 Turns Five (And Other Stuff)

It was this day in 2003 that, after weeks of deliberation, I decided to buy my first "serious" camera. I remember coming from a meeting that day (coincidentally, it was also a Saturday, and La Salle also had a game that day), and afterwards I went to Hidalgo (camera mecca of the Philippines) for the first time, not really knowing what to expect. After a few moments of testing and chatting with Nicholson of Henry's Camera and Photo Supply (where I still buy most of my stuff), I went home with my new camera, a Canon Powershot G5.

This camera has taught me a lot about photography, it was my lone camera for 3 years before I finally bought a DSLR. It was with me in Baguio three times, in Ilocos, in the wilderness of Mount Banahaw, and even as far as Hong Kong. It has been to many events as well, including my first stint at sports photography (a badminton event).

Even with a disintegrated grip, this camera still sees a lot of action to this day. I use it often for macro photography, since I still don't have a dedicated macro lens. And for night shots as well, since the vari-angle LCD is very useful in composing images. I also bring this camera to work often, and at times I let my friends borrow it.

If the time comes that I have to retire my G5, I might buy another camera from Canon's G series, or probably from its A series. But right now, I will keep on enjoying my G5.

Below is a mosaic of my Flickr G5 set (courtesy of Big Huge Labs), plus the links to each of the photos shown. You may also check my Multiply photos page for more photos.


1. Breakwater, 2. Manila Bay Sunset, 3. Subic Sunset, 4. Baguio Country Club at Night, 5. Hong Kong Skyline, 6. Spectators, 7. Having a Snack, 8. Duck, 9. Tambayan, 10. Spongebob and Mac, 11. Alone, 12. Chilling in Vigan, 13. Manila Bay at Night, 14. Line to Heaven, 15. Politics in Chess, 16. Politics in Chess, 17. Gashapon, 18. Paoay Church, 19. Panalangin, 20. Unwanted Visitor, 21. Room Temperature, 22. Ube, 23. MOA, 24. MOA, 25. MOA, 26. Makati at Night, 27. Mushrooms, 28. Mini Turtle, 29. Kung Fu Panda and Mini Panda, 30. Sweethearts

---

It's been raining like hell these past few days, and last Thursday was the worst, as floods in several parts of the Metro caused some major traffic. I was stranded in Buendia for almost an hour, which by any standards is not fun.

---

La Salle lost to the University of the East this afternoon, but more disturbing is that Simon Atkins was taken to the hospital when he fell to the floor and banged his head hard. My prayers go out to his speedy recovery.