From Dusk Till Dawn

Went to SM Makati to pay my bills. Got an overdue PLDT bill (2 months), my Meralco bill (2600++), and my Globe bill (700++). Settled everything.

Before heading to Black Strawberry, I visited Nokia service center. I approached a representative. He recognized me and asked if I was planning to claim my phone. Was shocked to hear this so I only said, "Yes!". I gave my claim stub to another rep and she went inside to check on my phone.

After a long wait, she told me that it's still under repair. There goes my excitement! I said, "What?! You, guys, told me that it will only take 7 days to check on my phone. It's been 10 days already. Isn't that enough?!" The lady rep was trying to answer but I wasn't listening. I was furious. She told me she'd ask for how long it will take to get it fixed (obviously happy to leave me). After another long wait, she got back to me. "Sir, it's here pala". I'll have it checked before releasing it to you.

And soooo, after 12 days of not seeing my N90, it's finally reunited with its owner. I quickly checked the unit. When I saw the "Offline" message again, I felt sick to my stomach. Oh, freaking no! She went back in and after a few minoots, she showed me that it is working.

I noticed later that night, the unit has some sort of hibernation. Not sure if my battery is malfunctioning. Will definitely observe my phone. Otherwise, I'll go back to that horrible Nokia place.

Anyhoo, I visited Romie & my other friends at Black Strawberry. I bought them some crab fingers. While waiting for my friends, Romie decided to fix the roots of my dreads. That's when Lala and Beng walked in. We had some photos taken. Since my girl friends needed to do some shopping before they fly back to SIngapore, they left me under Romie's care.

Around 9, I met Table and Nikks at Glorietta. We proceeded to Greenbelt 3 for dinner. Finding a parking space was an impossible mission so I suggested to leave the mall and just pick up Beng and Lala somewhere. So we did just that.

We visited Congo Grille at Pasay Road and had our favorite meals served to us. The sinigang na hipon was quite good as always. Pork sisig was just otay. The grilled squid was good. Many thanks to the waiters. They're very attentive. Plus, they gave us free sisig coupon that is good till the end of the month. Nuthin' beats dinner with friends. We shared laughter and stories. Ahhh, I miss this so much.


Around 11, it was time to continue the fun at my condo. We had a brief stopover at Bimbo's pad. He showed us some photos of his fiancee. I also did some modeling for Emporio Armani & Replay with La as my photographer ;oP


We took the lift to my place. Bought some drinks (Red Horse, San Mig Light, and Strong Ice) and some snacks (nuts and chips).

Aedner joined in the fun a few minoots later. He wasn't present during our gimmick last Friday so I told him to join us this time. I showed him my rubik's cube too. He brought one at work a few days ago so I knew that he likes solving this puzzle. I didn't know he is a freaking genius with this toy. He solved it a few twists & turns later. I asked how to solve it but he told me the explanation would take days. I told him, "we're staying overnight here ;oP". Anyhoo, I learned the basics.

Bimbo knocked on my door later and Anetski arrived from her Superman movie.

It's funny when we take pictures of Bimbo. He always crosses his eyes and makes this funny look. Lala reminded him not to do this all the time. "Baka mahipan ng hangin at 'di na bumalik", she advised our old friend. If you're a fan of "My Name is Earl", you'd also notice that in all his photos, he has his eyes closed.


'twas past midnight when I thought of inviting Patrick. He told me that he's already home. I told him we've got booze, videoke, and women. He came over 10 minoots later. Teehee.

Of course, the night won't be complete without Table giving us her unique live performance. She sang "Papa Don't Preach". We were in stiches. Nikks and Table left together.

The most memorable performance that night came from Patrick. You should hear his "Humanap Ka ng Panget" version. Hilarious. The ladies woke up to his singing ;oP

And would you believe Bimbo sang "Bed of Roses"? Although his voice was barely audible, it was there. More practice, Bimbs.

Aedner's "Closing Time" signaled us to call it a night. It was already 5:30 when we stopped singing.

Knottydon's First TV Appearance

Big, big thanks to Kneel from Singapore for sending me these videos.

Another TV Appearance

Ruthie sent me a text message yesterday. Apparently, they showed a clip at the IMAX theatre lobby last Wednesday night. Ruth recognized my red jacket and my dreadlocks. I was seen pacing around in the background ;oP

This is my second tv appearance in the week. Sweeeet!!!

Other Things to Do at MoA (Part One)

While Table was buying Superman tickets for her colleague (this happened a couple of days ago), Nikks and I decided to walk around the mall. At 10, the stores are closed already... except Tom's World, an arcade shop.

Nikks left me to go to the restroom. I checked out the place. That's when I bumped into 2 celebrities, Alfred Vargas and LJ sumpthin. Didn't wanna stare at this couple so I continued wandering around the noisy area. I could hear shots, bells ringing, mad players, etc.

I found this booth for videoke singing (max. capacity of 3). Y'know how addict I am to singing. I found out that each token costs 6 bucks. The booth requires 2. 12 bucks for a song. Not bad, eh? The songbook is placed at the middle of 2 booths. Unforch, you cannot take it inside the booth with you. I scanned the pages. Found some new songs ;oP

When Table and Nikks joined me later, I bought them 2 tokens each so we could all sing one song while waiting for our Superman movie. We had difficulty at first with the machine. Kept calling the store assistants.

I sang "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield (brought back Sta. Ana memories). Nikks sang her favorite, "Promise Me". And Table sang "Without You". We didn't know that we'll be scored at the end of our songs. Nikks got 84 or 87 (forgot), Table got a 90, and I got 94.

Advice: Don't stand near the speakers (my mistake). Just sit down and you'll hear the song better. Key in your song number before inserting the 2 tokens.

Superman... Back for Good

Just got back from the movies. The movie started late. It was slated at 12 midnight but MoA encountered some technical difficulties. Little did we know that we're gonna experience one too.

It's been a while since I last watched a Superman movie. Seeing him flying again brought back childhood memories.

There were 4 scenes where they showed the film in 3D. First one was when Superboy was running around the cornfields; second, when he's saving the plane (great action scene!); third, when the cruise ship was torn in two; and lastly, when Superman was flying in the end. All in all, 20 minoots. Would've been great if they showed everything in 3D.

I love the flying scenes! I love the Labrador. I love the way the people of Metropolis helped Superman when he needed some assistance. Jason (Superman's kiddo) was adorable.

Brandon Routh needs some more acting lessons. Evident in one scene where Lex and his men beat the crap out of him. Although, I must say, he looks perfect for the role. Kate Bosworth was kinda otay as Lois Lane but (I agree with Table) she lacks spunk. I love Kevin Spacey. I was surprised to see Kal Penn (Kumar in "Harold & Kumar go to White Castle").

And yep, we encountered our own technical difficulty. After the scene where Perry White instructed Lois to look best for tonight, the screen went blank. We could hear audio but there was no vid. We lost about 10 seconds. People complained by shouting. When it resumed, they didn't even bother to rewind the scene we've lost. Crap! One more thing, it's not advisable to watch at midnight at MoA. The central airconditioner was turned off already.

I will definitely watch this movie again (not in MoA anymore).

Loooook! Up in the Sky!

Sssssuuppper excited about tonight's movie. I'll be watching "Superman Returns" with Table and Nikks at IMAX theatre in MOA ;oP I heard from a colleague (thanks, Allen) that some scenes were in 3D. TTOW!!!

On a side note, have you ever dreamt of flying? I enjoy flying in my dreams. There were times when I find it hard to take off. I flew for a few seconds then I landed immediately. Sometimes I just flew, flew, and flew. What the hell does flying in dreams mean?

Happy Birthday, Arlyn!!!

Thanks the heavens... I almost didn't make it on time.

Starbucks Break

After paying Table a surprise visit at her office (I finally saw Anetski too), Nikks, Table and I went to Starbucks to consume Eric's (big thanks) free Java chip frap coupon. We also bought ensaymada, carrot cake, and choco chip banana muffin. Was planning to pay with my credit card but I noticed that I only have my UnionBank card with me. I just withdrew my last 500 bucks from it. I requested Table to pay first ;oP

It's been a while since I last hanged out at Starbucks. I kinda miss the ambiance. The baristas didn't know my name anymore. I miss the way they call me by my first name.

We saw Earl and Mike on their way to 7-Eleven to buy some smokes. Asked Mike to buy us sumpthin. He searched instead for his free Java chip frap coupon. After checking all his stuff, he found it and gave it to us ;oP

Reunited And It Feels So Good

Around 4 this afternoon, I got a visit from a very good friend... Lala. She spent her first week with her family & Beng in Boracay. Now she and Beng are back in Manila for one more week before they both fly back to Singapore. It's soooo good to see my very first friend in Enterworks.

I quickly gave her a tour. Warned her that she would be seeing a lot of new faces around. First stop was the accounting room. Next was the support area. Dax, Mikee, Boyette, and Nicko were there to greet her. Then we spent time at the pantry with Candy and Rudy. She thought of buying ice cream for the company so she gave money to Rudy. Rudy came back with 6 half gallons of ice cream. I was happy to see a Choco Marble flavor but it was sooo cold that scooping with a spoon was a test of patience.

Many people arrived to greet Lala. From Jon Church, Eric, Ning, Bimbo, Joe, to Mimi (who celebrated her birthday yesterday). We also introduced Lala to the new guys. Shortly after, Beng joined in the fun.

Before having dinner, Nikks, with Beng as her partner, played pingpong with Lala and I. They defeated us twice so we requested for 3 more games. Good thing, they obliged. There was a lot of screaming in the game. Lala did her signature "palo" with one leg up in the air. Beng moaned after a miss. After game 5, Lala and I were the happy couple ;oP

Nikks, Beng, Lala, and I proceeded to Recipes for dinner. We ordered the usual stuff. Waited for our other friends while we caught up on each other's (love) lives. Bimbo, Cathy, and Pasaway later arrived.

Knottydon on TV?

Missed the mall so much that after work last Friday, I immediately visited Glorietta. I hanged out with my friends at Black Strawberry. I also learned later on that somebody from ABS-CBN will do an interview with Romy, my dreads repair guy. Sweeeet! They told me to hangout for a while so I can see the shooting ;oP

After an hour or so, two guys carrying cameras and a lady reporter appeared. I'm not a Kapamilya so I don't know her. She quickly asked the identity of her interviewee. We all pointed to Romy's direction. Romy was repairing the dreads of a male model named Jasper.

Before the interview happened, a security guard walked in and asked for the permit. The reporter told him that they've already talked to some lady. He wanted a written version though. When he left to check on the issue, the reporter started what she came for.

It's my first time to watch an interview. The interview process was quick. I couldn't hear the questions 'cause it's kinda loud outside. There were some uzizeros (onlookers), as expected. The cameramen knew their shots. They took videos of the shop, of the peeps in dreads (including me), of the merchandise being sold at the shop.

The reporter shortly interviewed the other knotty peeps. She asked why I changed my hair. Told her that I've already tried different hairstyles: from skinhead, short hair, and now to dreads. I couldn't remember my other answers. Not sure if I'd be proud of what I talked about. I didn't prepare at all for this. Teehee.

Anyhoo, if you want to know the outcome of that interview, watch "The Correspondents" on Monday, June 26, on Channel 2. Who knows? You might get to catch me on teevee. Not counting on it though ;oP

Happy Birthday, Lance!

Dream big, kid! I love you, Lance!

Patience is a Vulture!

I still don't have my phone back. I've been calling Nokia service center in Glorietta but they don't have any status for me yet. Crap!

I'm Freaking Stuck!

My friend, Charo, sent me this funny article on a "badly"-designed USB stick.

Superman Returns + Lego = TTOW!

6 days to go before we get to see the Man of Steel flying again.

In the meantime, enjoy this fun trailer.

It's All Coming Back To Me Now

Problem bringing back your mp3s from your iPod to your PCs? Big thanks to Patrick for this advice:

1) Locate your iPod directory. In my case, it's Nano (F:)

2) Go to Tools menu and choose Folder Options

3) On the View tab, unmark both "Hide protected operating system files" and "Hide extensions for known file types"

4) Click OK to save changes

5) Go back to your iPod directory, you will see an iPod_Control directory. Under Music, it now contains your mp3s. It sucks big time that the files were renamed... But at least, everything is in there

Capisce!!!

Please Pray...

for the health of my sister-in-law, Angela. She just lost her would-be third baby today. I feel very sad now =o(

Biggest Batch

It's another EPX training week for me. This time, I have 10 participants from different departments. Plus, OJTs and Returnees ;oP

Here are my PAX: Toffee & Aedner (QA); Butch (Xacta Sr. Security Specialist); Neil (Development); Louie, Oni, and Patrick (TS); and the OJTs (Ktel, JR, Gerald).

Back to Basics

It's pretty tough not to have a cellphone these days. So I bought a secondhand phone in Glorietta last night.

I told the vendors that me budget is only 1 thousand bucks. They offered a Nokia 6150 for 13 hundred. Interesting... My very first Nokia phone was a 6150. I got it for 13,500. That was 7 years ago. Looked around for some other models. I couldn't bear to look at another 6150. It will remind me of the time I left it inside a cab. That effing driver!

I found an 8250 for 1500. Since it's almost closing time, I bought it.

No warranty. No accessories. No camera. No video. No 3G. No colors except a blue backlight. No radio. No mp3s.

In Search of the Cheapest Phone

Since I won't get to see my phone for at least 7 days, I'm now gonna search for the cheapest phone in the market. After mass tonight, I'm going back to Glorietta. Hmmm... I wonder if there's one that would cost me less than 1 G. It doesn't have to be Nokia ;oP

Dead to the Telecom World

Last night, I noticed that my cellphone displays Offline. I tried reinserting the SIM and turning the unit on and off but still it won't change. I also tried changing the profile to General but still, it says that I couldn't change it because it's Offline. WTF!

So today, I went to Glorietta to have it fixed. First, I visited Globe but they informed me, for technical problems, I need to go to Nokia service center near Friday's. When I got there, the Nokia rep told me that I should come back the next day 'cause I didn't reach their cut-off repair time (3:00 pm). Bummer!

He also told me that my SIM doesn't have a problem. We tried using a different SIM but it still didn't work. I asked if they have another phone so I could test if I need to get a new SIM. The rep was pretty sure that it's not my SIM. It's a phone problem. Oh, well....

I proceeded to Black Strawberry (where I get my dreads fixed) to test my SIM on another phone. I quickly looked for Romy. Yep, we found out that my SIM is still working. Yay! I don't need to change my cellphone numbah =o>

Drunken Master

It's Friday night and I can't wait to put some booze in my system. But first, I had to eat. Kendz, Nikks, Ning and I went to the old Greenbelt for dinner. We tried to find a place where they offer cheap but good food and accept credit cards. We planned to use Kendz's card again tonight ;oP Unforch, we couldn't find any.

We settled for Tokyo Tokyo. I had sumo beef misono. Yummmmy! Ning, as usual, munched on some ice for dessert.

Afterwards, we proceeded to Cena where we were joined by Paul and Kate. They haven't had dinner yet so they ordered pizza while we asked for frozen zombie.

It's a good night for people watching. In the table next to us, two foreigners were "eating" some Pinays. Kendz felt awkward. We saw some celebrities like Paul Alvarez and Paulo Contis with Isabel Oli.

After consuming our first frozen drink, we ordered for frozen gin pomelo (a favorite). Mike with his girlfriend arrived. A few minoots later, Ning excused herself. She was replaced by Joy and Earl.

Frozen dalandan was next. Joy ordered calamari and Earl got himself some kamikaze (which arrived in a cocktail glass). We teased him. After the dalandan, we tried mango but it didn't taste like an alcoholic drink. More like a mango shake. Crap!

The last drink we shared was the frozen gin pomelo. We got a complimentary paella. We don't know why it was given to us. Maybe because we're regular clients.

Kendz paid for our bill.

Next stop was Vodka bar. Only 5 of us were left: Joy, Earl, Nikks, Kendz and I. I kept bugging Patrick (Jan's younger brother) to join us. After a few minoots, he arrived.

Dancing was more fun because there were lots of ladies on the dance floor. Kendz and Nikks danced on the makeshift ledge. Patrick and I had our eyes on one particular girl with a nice body.

Dreadlocks has its perks. A lady tapped me and asked about it. Her name is Aileen and she's a nursing student. Danced with her for a while.

The doorman informed me that our friend, the bald guy, was in da club earlier. I thought he's referring to Alistair but he hasn't seen us with Alistair. It dawned on me that he's talking about Dennis Laceda. I miss that guy!

We closed the club and proceeded to the office for some noodles. It was past 4 when we called it a night... er, a day.

Pingpong: Revisited

When Nikks called my name for a table tennis match, I thought, "Why not?" It's been awhile since I last handled a racket. I played doubles with Ken, this time. Our opponents are Nikks and Rudy. I remember when Rudy and I placed second during the last pingpong tournament. Anyhoo, we won 5 games. It felt good. What a freakin' workout!

Afterwards, Ken and I played against each other. He killed me ;oP

Oh, man. There was a time when I used to play pingpong till late evening at the office. I miss those days!

A Pizza Hut Feast

We finally settled our problem regarding the wrong scheduled ticket that was given to us. So Table, Nikks, and I will DEFINITELY watch "Superman Returns" on the freakin' early morning of June 29. We checked and double-checked the new tickets.

Afterwards, we went to Pizza Hut Bistro. Otay, I told myself that I won't go back to this place especially after my first horrible table-waiting experience. But since Table and Nikks haven't eaten here, I let them savor the good food. We ordered combo platter (fries, fried chix, and bbq ribs), a carbonara pizza, and sausage rigatoni. While waiting, one of the waiters gave us some bread. Sweet! The ladies also ordered some kiwi-strawberry-banana smoothies. Just a bottomless 7-Up for the knottydon.

When the food arrived, I waited for their reaction to the ribs. I knew they would love it. It's a must-try here. When the pasta arrived, I waited again for their verdict. They said it was good and complement their smoothies. I guess my taste in food is still up there ;oP

We had an interesting discussion about a goal we'd like to start pursuing on July 1st. For now, I won't reveal it yet.

Don't You Miss This?

Last Sunday night, while I was playing with the kids at RSCC, someone brought out a plastic balloon. Instant fun!!!

Under the Shade of an Aratiles Tree

After getting some money from the bank today, Nikks and I waited for an FX to pass by. While waiting under the shade of an aratiles (Jamaica Cherry) tree, Nikks noticed some fruits. There's one riped fruit that we couldn't reach. I almost grabbed a tall guy passing by so he could reach it for us. Teehee. Anyhoo, I tried reaching for a nearby branch and pulled it. Voila! I was able to get the riped fruit.

At the mall, we exhanged our dollars to Peso (53.30). I also washed my little fruits and ate 'em. Very sweet. Brought back childhood memories.

Goodbye, My Lover

Caught James Blunt's haunting performance of "Goodbye, My Lover" on Oprah. Wow! Ya gotta hear it. I'll try to get a copy of that rendition.

I first heard of this guy when I was in Singapore last September. I was captivated by his interesting voice. "You're Beautiful" became my favorite then. Did you know that "Goodbye, My Lover" was written and recorded in a bathroom? Teehee...

A Superman Midnight

At 12 midnight on June 29, Table, Nikks, and I will go see "Superman Returns". Thanks to Table's workmate, she found out that we could already buy tickets in advance. The damage? 350 bucks for an IMAX screening. I don't care. It's BIG screen baby. Start counting down...

A few hours later, I got a text message from Table. She wanted me to check my ticket. Turned out that the ticket lady misheard our preferred time. Instead of 12 midnight of June 29, we're scheduled at 12 noon on June 28. What would we do now?

Effing Bad Joke

When I setup my laptop this morning, I found some scratches on the lid. Son of a bitch!!! I have really, really taken care of this laptop for a year and 7 months, only to find out one morning that scratches would appear from nowhere. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccckkk! I need a miracle scratch remover. Where do I get one?

One Ring to Rule Them All

If I were Frodo, and Gandalf handed this ring to me, I'd definitely keep it. Heck, I'd even wrestle Gollum if he even comes close to taking it away from me. Fight to the finish!

Ziggy-zaggy-ziggy-zaggy-oy-oy-oy!!!

If you're interested to get me one ;oP, proceed to thinkgeek.com.

There's No Place Like Home

Can't remember when I last saw this 1939 MGM movie. The first film ever shown in color! Thought of checking it out once more this weekend.

The first 18 minoots were done in sepia tone (the way movies were presented back then). The twister effect was plain silly. The Oz plants look plastic.

I forgot about the Wicked Witch of the East (WWE). Sadly, we didn't see the tag team of the two Wicked Bitches. That would be fun! Imagine them ganging up on Dorothy ;oP

Glinda was the witch from the North. But where's the South witch?

Hmmm... let's talk about the munchkins. Those sinister-lookin' bunch. The one that came out of a manhole looks like a younger version of Conan O'Brien. Why do they all sound like chipmunk-y? I can't wait to meet a munchkin with a deep baritone voice. He'd be cool.

I saw a lollypop munchkin giving our heroine a big lolly. If Kuya Germs were one of the munchkins, he'd give Dorothy the following: Birch Tree, VCDs from MagnaVision, Hapee toothpaste, Doc's candles, Tupuro water purifier, etc.

The ruby slippers originally came from the WWE. Do the shoes fit all?

The exit of the WWW revealed the trapdoor. She can only disappear on that specific spot. Teehee. Listen very closely, one of the munchkin uttered, "oh my god".

The cornstraw that the crow picked from the Scarecrow's chest magically appeared after he fell down.

The Tin Man should be the toughest lookin' character and yet, he acts sooo gay. Teehee. Plus, he did the Michael Jackson move in "Smooth Criminal".

The cowardly Lion was just adorable.

It's funny that before the color of the horse changes, they need to change the camera focus and get it out of the view. In Hollywood now, it would be sooooo easy.

Didn't like the makeover of the lion. Wassup with the ribbon on the head?! Where's the Fab 5 when you need 'em?

When the lion sang his "If I Were King of the Foreeeeesssst", he sounded like Earl. Teehee.

The broken crown moved from its place. Before Dorothy cried, it was behind the 4. After her teary speech, it was now seen a few feet away.

The red smoke and the fire effects were used twice: as an entrance/exit for WWW and in the Wizard's den.

It would've been more fun if Simon Cowell got the part of the Wizard.

Who would've thought that Toto could mountain climb?

Rollercoaster

Can't remember when we last had our MagicSing session at the office. Since we're gonna have a long weekend, I brought my MagicSing for some cheap entertainment.

As usual, it was Kendz and I who started the fun. We started with OPM. I sang Ariel Rivera's "Ayoko na Sana" and Kendz sang "Sa Isip Ko" by Agot Isidro. I followed up my song with "Paalam Na". I noticed that I couldn't reach the high notes easily. I badly needed a warm-up exercise. Anyhoo, I dedicated that song to a colleague who just broke up with his girlfriend.

Table later arrived. She sang "Longer" which was badly titled as "Lonely". Beng sang "I'm Not in Love". I texted Earl this message, "Isang Janno Gibbs naman dyan!" He later arrived and sang "Each Passing Night" from a random selection. Ning joined us too and gave us her favorite, "You Made Me Live Again" by Janet Basco. Even Rudy and Felix sang too.

Nikks arrived from the mall. It was then that we decided to eat. We had our dinner at North Park. Bengers, Nikks, Table, Kendz, and I shared our dinner--Lemon Chix, Fried Beancurd, Beef with Broc, and Salted Garlic Squid.

We went back to the office and continued singing. My voice was now ready for more challenging songs.

Around midnight, we dropped Beng off at her place. Table, Nikks and I had our coffee at Starbucks in Blue Wave. Been awhile since I last had my Starbucks coffee. Anyhoo, the stories that we talked about were quite depressing so we all went home in a gloomy mood.

Lend Me Yer Ear

It's been quite awhile since I last had an earring on my left ear. So when Nikks and I went shopping for one, I got worried that the abandoned piercing has closed up already. Nikks wanted me to wear a loop but we couldn't find a nice looking one. I just wanted a stud. Got one for 200 bucks.

While walking around Glorietta, some of my dreadies got entangled in my earring. I lost my earring lock. Crap!

For 2 weeks, I asked people around in the office for an extra lock. Nicks brought me one but it didn't fit. Joyce's did the trick. Yay!

"So You Think You Can Dance" Returns

Yay! I'm super happy that this show is back! Last year, we grooved with the hot bodies of Melissa (who look like my crush, Chloe from "Smallville"), Nick (you gotta love his turns), Blake (remember his sexy striptease turn?), Ryan (the freakin' head stand!), and hot, hot, hot Kamilah. Every single episode was fun to watch. I'm truly amazed by these guys' talents.

In the season 2 premiere, watch out for the hot couple (Juliya and Stanislav), the new-and-improved Musa Cooper, Greek hottie Natalie, popper Michael Kim, and Dave ("Ouch!") Warshaw.

The new host, Cat, is adorable ;oP

And His Number is 666

The 1976 version of "The Omen" was a bit disappointing. I was prepared to get scared but sadly, I was able to watch it while cooking my wicked adobo!!! That means, it was NOT frightening at all.

Watching the first few minoots wasn't fun for me. I couldn't wait for the child to grow up and wreak havoc. The child wasn't that skewwy. I thought the nanny was more evil looking.

One thing I noticed about the film is the score. It was good but looooudddd!

My favorite scene was the priest-in-the-park moment. They used a lot of blowers, leaves, lightning from hell, and again, the loud score.

Do you, guys, remember the "Aaaaahh Aaaahhh Aaaaah Aaaaaaah" theme from "Regal Shockers"? Well, I just found out where they got it from. Fast forward to 1:43:16th mark. Trust me, it will bring back cheap Pinoy horror movies ;oP

Must Sleep

Didn't get much sleep last night. Freakin' insomnia kicking in again. I switched on my laptop around 3 am. Decided to watch the original version of "The Omen". But nuthin came out of the Windows Media player... just a blank screen. I could hear the audio though. I downloaded a decoder. After a few minoots, I replayed the movie. The eerie music during the opening credits forced me to shut down and sleep ;oP

I will definitely watch the original tonight (if I can stay awake, that is). I'm sleepy already at 5 pm.

It's Not Freakin' Funny

Lemme tell you... this has got to be one of the most interesting training days in my 12-year career. My participants have encountered so many problems. From access denied messages, insufficient disk space, to missing databases. Ugh! It's not funny anymore.

Well as for my participants, I am getting a good vibe on them. One is connected to a famous local band (Clue: "To be is all I gotta be"); one is a younger brother of one of our developers; and the other four spend their time playing online games. TTOW!!!

Our network administrator suggested to install the latest service pack of our database server. It worked on the 3. I'm stumped on the fourth though.

After 3 hours of working on the same damn machine, I asked Joe for help. He suggested to use Malgor instead. I said, "Why not?"

It worked. It freakin' worked!!! Allelujah!

You Gotta Love the Songbird

Her musical director in this US concert is her brother-in-law, Raul Mitra. Mitra loves to start a medley with an introduction from another song. Unfortunately, Regine thought it's "Run to You" that she's about to sing first. Turned out it's "I Will Always Love You". She had to repeat the song again. This is funny ;oP

If you listen very closely, you could hear someone singing "And I..." before the chorus starts.

Wimbledon

I could use a good date movie every now and then. And "Wimbledon" is one of those movies that you wish there's someone beside you... serving you popcorn ;oP

I seldom watch a tennis match. The only tennis player I (personally) know is Boyette. And I haven't seen him play yet. Teehee. I tried playing tennis before in Illinois but after one game, I told myself it wasn't my sport.

Anyhoo, there was a lot of CSI-effects in the movie. During matches, they also let the viewers know what's on the mind of Peter... Peter Colt (Paul Bettany). Sometimes it's funny but other times, I couldn't understand it 'cause of my lousy speakers.

Am amazed by how good they executed the tennis scenes. Bettany could really pass off as a player.

I wonder why they always show Bettany's bum. Is it included in his contract?

Time to Relax

Next week is the start of another 2-3 week training session. And then after that, I have another one. Ugh! I need to relax or I'll burn myself out again. Imagine two months of straight talking. I dunno. Maybe I'm getting old or it's just I've been doing training for all my life that I need to have some time off every now and then. It's fun that I got to do some testing a month ago. I truly enjoyed myself there. Now, it's back to training. Speaking for at least 7 hours can really be taxing to an ole knotty guy.

Haberdey, Earlissimo!

Better late than never, bro! Happy birthday!!! I miss the booze, the laughter, the dancing, and the akira moves ;oP

3 Servings of Firewall

It's my first time to watch a movie in 3 seatings. I just started this Paul-Bettany marathon. After watching him in "The Da Vinci Code", I thought of watching his past films. Jayjay gave me his copy of "Wimbledon" today. I plan to watch it this weekend.

Now let's go back to "Firewall". I seldom watch Harrison Ford movies. But casting him as Jack Stanfield was a good decision for the movie maker. The audience could relate to his role. He was believable when he couldn't figure out what to do next. When he makes a brave move, I could almost hear the audience cheering for him.

Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chloe from Fox's hit show "24", was perfect for the role of Janet Stone. She's funny without trying too hard. She might get typecast as a geek woman though. When she says, "Jack", in the movie, I was expecting Jack Bauer to appear. Teehee.

Some small details they put in: the failed escape of Jack's family was a good touch (heck, getaways cannot be successful all the time); the villain eating a cookie; the delapidated car of Janet (a good reality check); Jack's fumbling scene was funny; and all throughout the fight scene, Jack was wearing his ID. That made me laugh.

When a whimpering Rusty was walking all alone, I bet ya uttered, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww" too ;oP

Watch out for the mano-a-mano fight scene of Jack and Cox. 'twas well executed. I think the actors did their own stunts in most of it.

The scene where Rusty was walking behind the family and he looked at his owner/trainer before proceeding was PRICELESS! That's my favorite scene ;oP

Clean Slate

First there was the cleanup project on my condo unit. It took me weeks to clean up all the mess in my small room space. Next was my office cube.

Now, it's my laptop's turn. Yesterday, after backing up my stuff on one of the machines here in the office, I inserted the Product Recovery disks that came with the laptop. It took awhile to finish so I had dinner first with Nikks and Table at the Mall of Asia.

We had barbeque dinner at Aristocrat--one of my favorite restos. Nikks ordered the chix bbq while I stuck to my ole-time fave, pork barbeque. I thought they would only serve 1 stick so I asked the waiter how much each stick costs. He didn't know either but he informed me that they serve 2 sticks of barbies. Sweet! It took awhile to be served though but it's worth the wait. The only eyesore is the Java sauce that came in sachets. WTF! I'm eating in a restaurant not a fastfood chain. In Yoshinoya, they now serve the chili powder in sachets too. Cost cutting 101.

Table was very kind enuff to offer her second stick to me since she was full already. I never say 'no' to a good food ;oP

Oh, super thanks again to Table for that wonderful dinner.

Afterwards, we checked out the ice rink. It would cost 280 for a weekday of skating (no limits!) and 350 for weekends. 'twas already late so it wasn't wise to try it. But we plan to ice skate next time. Oh, they also teach ice hockey and figure skating. Can you imagine the knottydon in ice? TTOW!

We got curious so we went inside this Feng Shui shop. For people born in the Ox year, we need to put a red horse on the south of our bedroom for luck... The problem is, I don't know the freakin' direction points when I'm in my condo unit. I never see where the sun shines nor where it sets. Might borrow a compass first ;oP

Again, it's advisable to visit the mall in July where almost all of the shops would be open. Check out the IMAX theatre for a different viewing experience. And don't forget to bring a comfy pair of shoes/sandals when you visit the mall.