Thursday, December 31, 2009

Two Days!!!

Tagaytay was freezing! haha! everytime the wind blew chills run down my whole body..


but now i am back home! arranging new apps and updating/getting DLC (downloadable content) from others. the new problem now would be the battery life of the Ipod! :P


since yesterday afternoon my sisters have been hooked to the games i got in my ipod, so i am doing them a favor right now and getting them some more addictive games to play. :D


tis the coming of the New Year! enter the decade of the teens! 2010 here we come!!


and for 2010, i would try a new blogging style: calling it burst-fire posting! short posts and pictures only! :D



Have a Safe New Year everyone! Peace!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Ipod apps are crazy!

before anything else, i am writing this because my family and myself will be out for two days frolicking in tagaytay. because of this i am not certain if i can blog while out there or not.


so here i am, less than 24 hours removed from concluding the crazy shit of adventure i was pulled into while looking for the gadget i would be treating myself to.


now, just to leave my thoughts on the said subject, i am just confused to why items are at their least of number AFTER Christmas day. usually in my mind i assumed that malls stock up before and after the holidays. before when people are rushing out to buy gifts and after because kids like me already have their money to buy shit.


in my case, i just wanted a lousy 32GB Ipod Touch. SM Bacoor didn't have it, so wasn't able to buy last Saturday. Robinson's Manila didn't have either, and it was a Monday (yesterday), the first day of the week, where in my mind AGAIN i ASSUMED stocks will be replenished, but alas, no Ipod Touch anywhere was within reach. in my mind again i silently cursed the individual who hoarded the units, if there as such a case. (haha)


Mall of Asia ALMOST didn't have it, but by the grace of God somebody forgot to look inside 5th Avenue (though i would not initially recommend buying from them, their service was pretty neat) where i got my hands on my dream gadget.



somehow the battle has been won, but the war has just begun..


APPS! the reason why i bought this son of a bitch and didn't want a laptop. supposedly it can do ALMOST ANYTHING with the right app at hand, so here i am now wasting my day learning the jargon (jailbreaking and shit) while looking for the apps i wanted.


i also needed to rearrange my music and videos which would suit my taste.


after much wrangling and struggling with the internet and its plethora of forums about ipods, i finally have the apps i wanted, which includes:
- a document reader which can read ppt and pdf files
- a flashlight
- apps for my subjects in med school (biochem and neuroscience!)
- 2player games!! (for me, my family and my girl)


i also came to the conclusion that Apple products do eat the shit out of our brains. but they still are pretty fucking handy.



so here it is in its current form right now. it's been a pain in the head, but it's all worth it.


hope you all have a safe New Year ahead!! see you in a few days! :)

Monday, December 28, 2009

Facebook?

relying on my vast guesstimation skills, i can safely say that around 3 out of 5 Filipinos have a Facebook account. with the other 2 being either a complete luddite or somebody who still clings to his/her Friendster account (count me in!)


allow me to share my thoughts as a person smack in the middle of this Facebook thing stuck on the outside looking in:
- Facebook is a social-networking site, like Twitter, myspace, hi5, mobo and the many other sites which exist in the interwebs that aim to connect people and establish communication lines
- As my friends and classmates in med school tell me, the apps are what separates Facebook from other sites. they have the "addicting" games and apps which encourage participation of other "friends" which allow you to unlock additional features
- The biggest draw about Faecbook though is it allows my folks (i.e. Mom) to reconnect with other friends and "tag" each other in photos (meaning somebody may see your face and tag it so that you will be notified when your are included in the picture)
- as i have read in the news and from stories of friends, Facebook allows families and clans (CLANS!) to reunite via the interwebs. it reconnects pretty much everyone to long lost friends to whom we have lost numbers or emails


with all of these advantages, i still do not feel the need to get into Facebook for the following reasons:
1. i am old-school thus a friendster account is what fits me (and kudos to those who erase their friendster accounts in favor of facebook because they decrease the massive clutter of unused accounts but at the same time damn you for leaving the site that nourished your socializing needs)
2. i already have a multiply and a twitter account. these two cover my needs just fine (in terms of uploading pictures and stuff)
3. AND! i already have a site to patronize when it comes to flash games. go to this site if you want true gaming goodness.


Facebook has been a bad influence to my classmates in med school. a lot of them are absent in class lectures due to games such as Restaurant City and Pet Society.


so there.


"Fcuk Facebook in the face!" - Funny People (2009)

Saturday, December 26, 2009

What do you want this Christmas?

what's up everyone? how did your Christmas this year go? did it go well? did something happen unexpectedly that made the season merrier and jollier? did you receive what you fervently wished for this year?


i have had a wonderful experience this year, for the sole reason that it was our family's turn to host the huge annual reunion of my father's clan. since October we have already been planning for it and yesterday everything went fairly well. the sole point of Christmas for us is having to celebrate it and sharing it with everyone else. seeing the smiles of the children and the old folks while they were participating in the activities we have prepared was really fulfilling.


but what I did on Christmas is not what I wanted to talk about, but rather what i wanted to get this season.


you see, after my birthday (which falls around the middle of the year) Christmas is the other occasion where i allow myself to buy gadgets which i terribly want (or need, if rationalized. haha.)


last year, i got my PC. this year, it was a tussle between a netbook and a new Sony Ericsson phone.


ever since i saw the Kita (or Yari by international codename), the Sony Ericsson creation has occupied the top of my list for Xmas gadgetry. it was the high-end gaming phone, sporting a 5.0 mpixel camera, walkman 3.0 player and the hands-free motion sensor which allowed for gaming ala Wii. it was the direct upgrade from my old phone (the k770) and i really wanted to buy it once it hit philippine shores. 


its tag price: P14,600 on Sony Branches (and it's bound to go down once other retailers get their hands on them too)


on the other side of the discussion, i also wanted a netbook. either a Lenovo S10-2 or the HP Mini 311 or 110. the thought of buying a netbook was a practical investment for me because of my schooling. med school demands so much printed paper that we actually changed inks 3 times during my first sem because i was too happy of printing powerpoints and pdf files. nowadays i have accustomed myself to reading ppts and pdfs on-screen (by adjusting the monitor brightness). so for the sake of not throwing away ink, i wanted to buy a netbook. 


tag price: S10-2 - P22900; HP Mini 311 - P27300 


so the debate raged in my mind for several weeks, practicality (netbook) versus luxury (phone). i termed it luxury because my phone still works and i should be in no hurry to replace it. haha!


but something happened that changed my mind on the whole Xmas gadget i was going to buy. i was introduced to the ipod touch.


it was during our HS batch reunion a week ago. some of my former classmates were rocking  their ipod touch units and i dabbled around with them since i was the unofficial DJ that time. it was back then where i had an idea..


i have a lot of classmates in med school who use their ipod touch not only for sounds but for very helpful apps as well. that is where i got to experience the multi-functionality of Apple's brainchild. the apps, the sounds, the built-in speakers. everything about the ipod touch was real good. but then the idea struck me down..


i didn't really want a laptop.


nor could i use a new phone because a lot of slider phones (including the Kita) have a bad habit of breaking down (and besides, i really wanted a candybar, not a slider phone). 


that is why the Ipod touch tops my list this year. the 32GB version (really huge space here!) is retailed for around 15k. very negotiable to my folks. and with all factors considered, getting an ipod solves problems in sounds, practicality (plus points for being integrated with my PC) and entertainment (apps galore!).


and so, the 2009 Xmas Gadget would be the Apple Ipod Touch 32GB. That is what i want for Christmas. :)

Monday, December 21, 2009

TV. Reunions. Rockband.

i just got home this afternoon after spending the whole night with high school friends. it was a fun night of swimming, drinking and merry making. a lot of stories to tell, catching up to do and memories to rehash, plus endless picture taking. and laughing. and more laughing. oh, did i already say laughing?


since there were a lot of the people and there were a lot of drinks, a lot of them ended up drunk. as in shit drunk. or fucked drunk. there were some of them who can really hold their alcohol but majority of them (exclude me because i do not drink) were really out of their mind doing random funny stuff every man and woman from college has done.


in spending the night with these guys, i fondly remember the days of high school, of which life back then was simpler and a bit more black and white. by also combining this hindsight with the present time, i appreciated that although some people have changed (for the better, i guess) they essentially remained as the same boys and girls i have met four years ago. basically the main difference of then and now may be the prevalence of alcohol in their systems which is probably one of the greatest lessons college could ever give.


(i even drank a shot of (fake) vodka. it was water that was in the glass. i'm getting used to this fake drinking. haha. it gives the people around me a sense of peace since they think that they have persuaded me to drink. i bet my ass i won't.)


in the bus going home, my former hs classmate vincent and i talked about how the quality of TV has sunk to an all-time low, especially in the local front. Shows have lost their originality, and most of us are stuck with old movies being remade into series or fantasy series where special effects aren't so special or simple, crappy love stories ala Daisy Siete which i abhor to the death.


the glut of TV programming has forced writers into creating content which simply captures your attention and BARELY makes an effort to improve upon their product. this happens way too often in the local TV where afternoon dramas kill the shit for sheer stupidity and lack of emotion.


(still my favorite afternoon drama scene: involves the main kontrabida who, after having a dialogue with her mother pulls out a sniper rifle from under a living room table and points it to the main couple happily picnicking in the garden. though a sniper rifle is in many levels of awesome, using it in point blank is a thing monkeys are more prone to do and WHO THE FUCK HIDES A SNIPER RIFLE UNDERNEATH A LIVING ROOM TABLE? epic fail.)


for me, playing video games beats local tv on any day, (i would rather listen to AM radio. believe me, Ted Failon is one awesome bastard.) and on this day i was able to experience the sheer coolness of the game they call ROCKBAND.


peripheral-based music games are the rage right now, with the original Guitar Hero opening the flood gates to bigger and better games. Rockband allows 4 players which consists of 2 guitars, 1 mic and 1 drum set. it's like Dance Dance Revolution of the older days, where you need to follow the keys or indicators to score points on a certain song.


what makes the new-age peripheral games (guitar hero or rockband) really sweet is that when a note is missed, the song does not play correctly. that core of the game is what really takes the cake for me, giving me the illusion that i myself am the one manning the instrument of choice (which is the drums in my case) and playing the beats to the song. really fun shit. especially when you have the full 4 player team. i honestly think this rockband should be in every house party because it is the best instant multiplayer game out there right now.


so thus begins my love for Rockband. i hope to get a few more sessions of this during vacation. drumming is really good cardio. haha!


the first weekend of my vacation was a blast. had an awesome saturday and sunday! and rockband made my day today. :D


P.S.
playing That's What You Get by Paramore got me my best score for the day on Rockband. :D

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Smiles and High Fives

today was a fun day. today is also the 1st day of my vacation. 2 weeks. not really much, but enough for me to study, chill out, hang out with old classmates and buy stuff.


tonight i finish my christmas shopping. the gift is almost complete, but it still needs one final touch. i hope i could do that in the best of moods so that it would turn out to be one of the best things that i would have done. only the best for my girl. :)


in other news, i have revamped the blog's appearance as you can see. got tired of the xml skin i was using, though xml was fun because it was easy to customize, finding good skins are such a chore. which is why i reverted my template to the classic html. thus, the new look. will be putting up links when they are available. so for those visiting this page, don't forget to drop your links in the chat box. thanks in advance.


this afternoon was the first time i drove from the house to the mall. i'm really having fun driving. though the side thoughts of causing accidents aren't really allowing me to let go. someday i'm going to be a great driver. parang sa racing lang. hahaha!


ate 2 servings of puto bumbong today, which means dinner will be delayed tonight. 


received a lot of things from my girl today. one of them was a Keroro Gunso pillow. 

me and my girlfriend still laugh so hard when we see it. :D
so today is the first day of my vacation. and today ends with a great big smile in my face. :D

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Tough luck

i had one of those days today. days where i just had to be in really, really bad situations. flunked 2 exams i was supposed to pass.. felt really bad because of something. ate lunch alone. had too much alone time today. 


i haven't posted anything new today because i was busy studying for the last set of exams for the year. too bad all the preparation went to nothing. so much for hoping of blogging about something really inspiring today. the thing is, i don't really need inspiration right now. i have it all thanks to my girlfriend. but after that, it all boils down to me. i'm supposed to be angry at myself right now because i failed. but i should know better not to be too hard on myself. 


if there is one thing i learned from watching and reading about the Houston Rockets, it's always push, push, push and when you're tired from pushing, push a bit more. their team is a well-coached and tireless bunch. a team too wise for their collective youth. almost all of their players are easy to love (though i miss von wafer. wtf von, leaving Houston for Olympiakos? are you kidding?) and are smart, high IQ ballers.


of this hardy bunch, i particularly love Shane Battier. the no-stats all-star. the guy who is assigned the task of locking down the opposing team's leading scorer, a task i also love doing in basketball. he's smart, tough and has a big heart. he's someone i like to emulate for his utter dedication in both practice and in games. i got my "not too high, not too low" philosophy from him. life, just like a basketball game, doesn't always go the way we want to. because of this, we learn how to adapt ourselves when celebrating victories and accepting defeats. not everyday has to be your day, and from this fact alone we should accept the propensity of life to get out of whack for reasons we sometimes cannot control. after all, how would we be able to appreciate life's perfection if we do not know what its imperfections are? i would definitely love to apply Shane's philosophy of doing his routines without fail, without expecting the outcome. that way, maybe i could be more efficient and effective in doing the things that are occupying my day-to-day life.


i should start today. be more determined. be more prepared. they say preparing well is winning half the battle. like Shane and the Rockets, unimaginable adversities are bound to come time and time again, but like them, i should not let defeats deter me in pursuing my goals. i should chase, push, scrap and claw my way through to get a hold of my dreams. 


maybe one of these days i'm going to get really lucky. only time will tell. but until then, it's back to business. i have to prepare again soon.


** in other news, i have ditched the thought of buying a new phone this Christmas. i'm going to buy a lenovo s-10-2 netbook instead. a new 2GB memory stick and maybe a new case would do my sturdy k770 a good facelift.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Bored

my mind is on vacation right now. for whatever reason, when i come home somehow my brain loops the thought of vacation over and over and over again.


we only have one week to go, and that includes 3 exams which i have to be great on. kinda fucked biochemistry (the best subject to make you look stupid) and still have to make 2 handouts for both anatomy and physiology.


a lot of work, but with proper time management i would be able to do this. if there only was time left to waste. or maybe i could just wish for time to stop and enable me to dawdle around and refocus myself to the task at hand: do great in the upcoming exams.


but alas, we also have a packed Friday. we have two events to do (the college has been really gracious in giving us things to do aside from study) because of the alumni celebration, and now i heard our batch also has to sponsor one Simbang Gabi, but i do not look forward into involving myself with that.


this afternoon i will venture out into the streets of Manila and meet with my girlfriend. hopefully she can inject some really needed inspiration into myself. for now, i would have to bank on my will to overcome laziness and start studying.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Love for the game

played a round of hoop today. it's been two weeks since i last played in our court here in the subdivision where i live in. enjoyed the sweat, the trash talking and the company of old friends which have been there through the years.


i owe so much to the game. it has been in my blood for so long. well, maybe not much. i started playing when i was in 3rd grade. nothing serious, just like any kid i would venture outside the 3-point line and heave the ball with all my might hoping that it would hit the iron of the ring. (of course that was the wrong thing to do, because later on i worked more on my midrange and post up game. haha.) my cousins introduced me to the game. i only had lukewarm interest in it, and did not envy those other kids which showed prowess early on.


my love for the game started when i was in 2nd year high school. i had classmates who had a love affair with basketball. everyday we were together there would always be stories of players, teams and games. it was infectious. they played whenever they could get a chance. while i wasn't allowed to because back then i could not get my parent's permission to go to silang or dasmarinas to play ball. we had fun that year, eventually making it to 3rd place in the intramurals. i surely wished we should have won it back then, but no regrets. we had a good game. by the next year, many of them (my classmates) continued on to play for the school varsity.


i remembered getting a first taste of the action then. i was subbed in around midway of the 2nd quarter. the moment i held the ball i was whistled for a traveling violation. i walked. i didn't even remember how i did it, but that event engraved into my mind how far back i was in terms of skill level. and how allergic i've been to traveling calls (ever since i've never been whistled for it. as far as i know).


after 2nd year and every summer after, i started taking ball seriously. and my friends did too. we formed a team which also led to the forming of our group. we didn't really have a name yet, and i will always remember those years when we used to get up every morning at around 6am and play until 9am. and get beat up over and over again by the other teams we played with. it was always a challenge for us back then, up to now. we've basically played all of the people here in our place. and whenever our team was found around the court, they're the ones inviting us to play. this part of ball is what i love. respect between teams, as individuals, respect for the game. although sometimes there would be jerks who are just too flamboyant for their own good and for which i took personal satisfaction in beating their team up.


aside from seeing the team grow and mature through the years, i simply amaze myself by looking back and seeing how far my game has come. basketball has been the true example of hard work paying off for me. something that i would wish to emulate in my studies. the attitude to always learn and look for some things which would improve my game to the endless hours spent in front of the pc watching videos of players teaching their skills. i especially like to watch Kobe videos. he's the most complete player of his generation and has a ton of moves to teach. he also possesses the killer mentality that MJ had, and is really the best Jordan since Jordan. 


i would really like to go on and on and on about my love for the game and my basketball story. but as of today, my love for the game has been the only thing that i would be able to talk about. maybe i'll save my story as a player and write it here next year. whenever the mood strikes me. 


Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. this is the most important thing i think basketball taught me.






random:
* i have finished watching Entourage. season 7 begins next year and it has been kinda epic that there is nothing in my bittorrent client to be downloaded.
** i really have to upgrade to windows 7. i hope my classmate can give me a copy.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Moody

i am not doing the urinary system notes that i should be doing tonight.
because of one reason: i am not in the mood.


though i may not look like it, i am a person governed by moods. when i am in the mood to work, i am instantly motivated and turn out my best work. when i am not in the mood, well, forced shit happens. not that the quality of work looks really bad, but rather a veil of dissatisfaction covers my work done while not in the mood.


ever since grade school, i already have pointed out the importance of being in the mood, the right state of mind to do things. i think i answered the question "what motivates you the most to do your work" with the phrase " i have to get into the mood."


it's like having sex. you don't really want to be banging all the time because you are just too aware that the human body has its own internal limits. and making love while not enjoying it, ergo being "not in the mood" may suck in its entirety. tv teaches a lot of things of this nature right?


so, what does get me amped up to go to work? that i really do not know. sometimes i operate on a whim, sometimes i sleep and wake up feeling really powerful and trying to do everything in a flash. but i know it won't happen, not when the mood starts to flag down a little. you see, getting into the mood and staying in the mood are two different animals to contend with. that is why having this style of working by the mood cycle can sometimes be both a blessing and a curse. you may turn out the best work when you are in the zone, but what if the situation demands something now and by all chances you're not in the mood? in my case i get stumped. which is not the best situation to be in.


my girlfriend preaches the "motivation gets you started, discipline takes you there" mantra, and there have been times that i've bought into it. i try to stoke myself up and fight the laziness which was inhibiting the working mood from manifesting itself. there are times where it works and times where it doesn't. and then there are occurrences where i am totally focused or totally lazy. such is a guy being governed by his moods.


damn, i sound like a girl.

Politika

what's up everyone? i only had morning classes today, and still i was an hour late. i overslept (damn i was dog tired) but i'm still thankful since that extra amount of sleep had me recharged and ready for the day's work.


let's talk about politics.


haven't watched the news lately, but i have been doing my reading in the internet. the massacre in Maguindanao has boiled over. rebellion raps left and right. now declaration of martial law in the area. really juicy stuff for experts and pundits to munch upon, but as it stands, almost every institution related to the government is in shambles right now. there are just too many problems to deal with.


we have automations which are just ready to fail in May next year. i really don't buy into the apparent "preparedness" of the Comelec, since it was the automated elections in Mindanao that brought the Ampatuans into power. maybe i'm wrong, and i would be relieved as hell if i ever was wrong, but the scene follows the same script.


we also have a shameless president who's just had too much fun riding the highest position in the land. now aspiring for a congressional seat after her term, all signs point to another power play set to target a Constitutional Assembly in a matter of years.


we are going to have the most difficult elections next year. maybe Randy David was right. we SHOULD wage war against every man and woman allied to the scum president that we have, and let us make our votes count. let us not make the administration cronies woo us again with any shit that comes out of their holes. we have grown to be smarter and more critical of what is happening. let us put this education we have and manifest it into a vote. shame on the people who do not wish to vote. they too should be held accountable for their inactivity and the apathy they display to society.


i have a college friend who is taking up masteral studies in political science. he loves politics. he bleeds politics, loves the healthy discussion and debate, the speculation and the wanton acts our esteemed leaders every so often commit. i would always remember him because he would be having so much fun right now dissecting what the hell is happening in the country.


am i a political person? well fuck yes. i am involved and aware of what is happening, and i am fully knowledgeable of the power my vote can bring. i know my opinion matters. 


on a related note, i still do not have anyone to put in my ballot next year. i also disapprove of the "approval" of the premature campaigning in this year's elections.

Recurrent

i'm still trying out the new blogger XML. the customization has been better now since a lot of the html stuff has been reduced and all you needed to do is just point and click.


i've noticed that i have written entries which have revolved around my on and off relationship with writing. now that i've mentioned it, i think that a need to explain myself is due.


i've been writing since gradeschool. i gladly remember winning a contest in elementary which got me a Wizard of Oz book to read. i also remembered having to rewrite my winning essay because the faculty lost my submission. i think i didn't really enter that contest because i liked it but it was more of a requirement that we had to write about something and it was being judged by the teachers. i couldn't recall what was the topic back then, and the sweetness of that victory wasn't really savored since all i knew back then was just to play, play and play.


i remember the first time i fell in love. the words which couldn't escape my mouth flowed throughout the time i was holding a pen. she said i wrote the sweetest letters. i remember the heartbreaks that i went through everyday when rejection came. i remember being the best writer that i am when i was sad. yeah, maybe that was the catch. that was one really compelling reason not to write about anything, since i wasn't really that sad at all..


but then, i remembered how good i was when i'm madly in love, like i am today.


i really needed to polish my words because this holiday season i plan on writing a letter that would knock the socks off the heels of the woman i have loved for so long. 


so this has been a tale of extremes. of one end being the heartbroken, melancholic and stressed out person or of one being the jubilant, loved and cheerful opposite. 


writing has been a very powerful tool of expressing how i feel. people around me do not see the raw emotion unless they have seen my writings. that just about works for me anyway, and i'll be putting the finishing marks on my nth "i'm back" entry tonight.


because on this day, i'm gonna be back to writing. hopefully for good.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Finally

i was supposed to do this blogger facelift on the 18th. unfortunately i had too much time on my hands on a Sunday evening while trying to figure out how to study for my upcoming exams and downloading tv shows on the internet. (what a pirate i must be)

i really have a lot of ideas to write about. i've been thinking about them for the past 2 weeks. since mentally i've been preparing myself to make a serious run at blogging. since medical school has only compelled me to read, read and read, i opted to make use of this blogger account to write, write and write. i've noticed my deficiency in writing during the past few months and thus i had made up my mind to make use of this personal space of mine to make up for the absence of writing in my personal life right now.

so, what have i been up to lately? still studying. passing the exams. somehow i have adjusted to the grind of medical school. slowly i've been developing a system for learning, but it isn't that complete yet. in case you're wondering, i have been enjoying myself in school. i'm getting to know the other people of the batch i belong to, and so far the experience has been pretty damn fun.

particularly enjoyable was the whole JFT experience. a really great event to participate in. almost everybody in the batch did something for the success of our presentations, though there were still some knuckleheads who really didn't want any part of it. well, i rest on the fact that the experience we had was a complete WIN. it was their loss that they did not participate.

i enjoyed managing and coordinating the batch production. i'm really a behind the scenes guy and i do my best behind the curtain. one thing that really amuses me is the reputation i have been slowly building within my peers as a flexible and capable person. as i was telling my girlfriend over at dinner yesterday, i really wanted to be someone who can be depended on and i think my efforts have not gone unnoticed. it's enough to say that i'm pretty amped already for next year now that ideas have started to pour in. hopefully everyone on board today will still be on board next year.

so that would be all for tonight.
finally, blogging again. it is nice to be back.