War of the Worlds

Am uber excited today. I finally installed Windows XP Professional on my Macintosh using VMware.

I researched about the programs that could give you the best of both worlds and I came down to these three guys: Parallels Desktop, Crossover and VMware. I checked Parallels at an Apple store but it was expensive. Tried running Crossover but it was looking for a certain file that I don't freakin' know how to get. So I said, screw it. Lastly, I decided to try out VMware. I wasn't new to this virtualization software so I was hopeful.

And now, here's the outcome of my perseverance & hard work.

The AI Girls

I don't care what the judges think but Syesha Mercado brought it for me with her "Mr. Jones".

It was bound to happen that Brooke White would do a Carly Simon song sooner or later. Am glad she did "You're So Vain".

What did Ramiele sing? I forgot.

What was Asia'h thinking with "All by Myself"? She reminds me of my good friend, Nikks, though.

Alaina Whitaker & Kristy Lee Cook could go home tomorrow.

I'm so disappointed with the girls tonight. No oomph!

Newsflash: Dirt is coming back next week. Yay!

The Chills

Oh my god. Did you catch David Archuleta's version of "Imagine"? It gave me goosebumps. Amazing kid! 

I also enjoyed Chikezie's take on a Donny Hathaway song and David Cook's performance.

Jason Yeager & Robbie Carrico would probably get the boot for the guys.

Am excited tomorrow on what the girls would sing. Go, Ramiele! She looks like Rufa Mae Quinto, donchathink?

Dogs Rule!

Whenever I see this commercial, it really tugs my heart. If you've got moolah to spare for our dear canine friends, send your donations to Pedigree Adoption Drive.  Help Echo (& others) find a home.

You may also buy shirts & other merchandise and portions of the proceeds go to the foundation too. WIn-WIn, eh?    

Thank, God!

I've missed going to church for 2 weeks now. I feel bad. Told myself that I must hear mass today to thank Him for all the blessings coming my way.

First the unexpected winning in the "Wicked" raffle. The first & last raffle that I won was 7 years ago. I got Miguel's secondhand microwave oven (at least, it's a nice remembrance from my ex-boss).

And then I got my first Macintosh notebook. Luv it! Am now in search for a nice bag for my baby.

An Apple a Day

Ever since I got my MacBook Air, I've been spending countless hours learning about its nature, attitude, and quirks.

You'll notice right away that the interface is very simple and clean. You don't see much of the unnecessary files lying around. A+ for organization.

Normally when I boot up my other laptop, I'd go to the pantry, make my oatmeal brekky and fix my hot chocolate and when I come back, it would be just about done with the startup. It takes quite awhile. With my MBA, it's really fast startup.

Am introduced to the DMG format. It's the counterpart of exe in Windows. You just double-click it and your installation will be on the way. On the other hand, if you wanna get rid of an application, you can just drag it to the waste basket icon and voila! You have uninstalled your program by that simple step.

There's an extra key called Command. It acts like the Control key in PCs.

The graphics is totally amazing. Can't wait to do some illustrations & photo editing here. I personally love the screen savers, Flurry & Arabesque (and yet I only heard of this term in my aerobics class).

In Apple, you can use the four corners of the display to do some stuff. This is where I set to minimize all windows and startup/disable the screen saver.

On to the functionalities. First I checked is the Quicktime. I was shocked when I tried running my divx films and all I got was sound. Went to the Apple site and downloaded the codec. After some tinkering here & there, I can now watch movies with my MBA. Yay!

I tried accessing my other laptop's CD/DVD drive. I just turned on the CD sharing in my other laptop and I could easily see the contents of the drive in my Mac. I just saved 99 dollars. I don't need the SuperDrive anymore.

Am currently working on having another OS installed in my Mac. I wanna run some Windows programs to get the best of both worlds.

Now let's talk about the quirks. When you press delete, it asks like a backspace. So be careful. You must press Function along with the Delete key.

To capture the screen, you must press the following keys: Shift+Command+3. There ain't no single button for it.

That's all I can share for now. More stories next time.

Karaoke Night @ Kirkpatrick's

We normally go to Kirkpatrick's for the free poker on Tuesday. This time though, Ogz & I tried their karaoke services. We arrived a few minoots after 9. Got our bands (to show that we're above 21 and can drink).

We ordered drinks and approached the stage. There we found the song books. Surprisingly, they've got TONS of songs that I so wanted to sing. Unforch, a bar like this ain't the venue for it. I've seen some Broadway songs from Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, etc.

At 9:30, a DJ announced the start of the karaoke. We're kinda scared if the crowd will boo us. But singing daily with or without the MagicSing is a good practice so I was pretty confident.

For my first song, I sang "Alone". Ogz did "Unwell". He hasn't sung in a crowded place yet so it's, like, his baptism of fire tonight.

We noticed that if it's rock or country or danceable tunes, the crowd love it. As expected.

Second song, I did "How Do I Live". I should've chosen the Trisha Yearwood version. I didn't know a few parts in Leann's.  It's fun to see a couple dancing to my song. I later found out from Ogz that while I was singing, a lady beside Ogz whispered, "She's really good!" That was funny. Ogz sang Radiohead's "Creep".

For my final song, I sang "Last Dance". I enjoyed it more when I saw people singing along with me.

Paid our drinks (note to self: it's just 3 bucks per Michelob Ultra). Before we left, I asked the DJ for his name (Frank). He asked us to come back on Monday & of course, Friday. Oh we deffo will!!!

Next time, I plan to sing 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?", Blondie's "Call Me", and Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life".

Let's Talk About... TV

* spoilers everywhere

I remember several years ago, I used to buy big bags of chips and just slump in front of the boob tube (now why the heck it was called that?) and watch my fave tv shows: from Beverly Hills 90210, Twin Peaks, Friday the 13th, to The Twilight Zone.

In the previous seasons of "Prison Break", we've seen Fish in control of the situation. Too bad there are no tattoos to help him out here anymore. I really like the way the story is going with the current one. I dunno about you but I freakin' hate Gretchen so much. I wish any of the Scofield Bros. would just damn kill her. She's really an effective actress. Episode 12 has got to be one of the most exciting and suspenseful episode of this show. There were the Oh-my-god moments. I'm really happy that Fish decided to take his basketball-fanatic friend with them. Found out that his name is Luis. Poor Sucre though. I thought he'd die in that hole he's dug! If you like the Spanish song in the finale, it's entitled "Llorando" by Rebekah del Rio from Mulholland Drive soundtrack. You can now listen to this enigmatic song in my cassette player. Just hit Play. "Lost" is becoming more interesting. We now know that there are 6 who survived the island: Jack, Kate, Hurley. Last week, we learned that Sayid is the fourth (two to go). And now he's on a killing spree with Ben as his boss. Wassup with that?! For this week, Kate has taken Aaron as her son. Interesting. It's hot to see Kate & Sawyer in each other's arms again. What's with the memory game with Dan & Charlotte? Can't wait to know who else survived the mysterious island.

Am watching two supermodels-themed shows now. Tyra's ANTM is back. From the bunch, Dominique stands out (she looks wild), I'm interested in how they would transform Lauren into a model. As for MMAS, I'm happy that finally Perry got included in the bottom 3. This is a lesson for him not to be too cocky.

Don Ed Hardy Shoes

Was so thrilled to get my Ed Hardy shoes yesterday. I was planning to buy one last Thanksgiving when Ogz & I went to NYC but due to the incompetence of the sales associate, I didn't get my size. He informed me that they don't have a 9. After a few minoots, Ogz saw one on display. Anyhoo, that's all water under the bridge now. 

 

When I was a kid, whenever I get a new piece of clothing or pair of shoes, the "matatanda" (oldies) used to advise me to wear it to church first? 

My New Baby

More than a decade ago, I've been introduced to the Mac world. I really love the graphics capability of this other computer brand. I swam in the ocean of Adobe products. I remember when I first opened my mini iPod several years ago. It's like a reunion with Apple.

Fast forward to 2008. I just can't buh-lieve I bought my very first Macintosh laptop. This is the bag & box that it came with. Simple. Nice packaging. Opening the box is like opening a present from Santa on Christmas eve ;oP

The MacBook Air is wrapped in plastic. When you lift the MBA from the box, you'll see the all-too-familiar-white power cord and a black envelope containing the manual & the Mac OS installers.And these are all the junk inside the box. In the lower right corner are DVI cords and a soft cloth for cleaning purposes. Sweet!Even though it's already past 3 am, I still went through the setup process and all that intro stuff. Can't wait to install stuff here for my personal enjoyment/entertainment. Uhm, you know, my music, movies, illustrations, and blog stuff. More Mac stories coming up.

It's in the Air

Tomas woke me up with some nudging on my legs. It's already past 8. We need to leave early if we wanna make the most of our remaining time in NYC. Ogz had already taken his shower.

We bid goodbye to Tita Mel & Letty. Rode the N train going to 59th street. Ogz & Tom went to do some more shopping at H&M.At the Apple store, I tried to cancel my online order. Spoke to one Apple Representative and told him about my purchase. But when I went to the counter, I got declined. Crap! Not again!

 

I called my bank using Ogz's cellphone but it kept on timing out. That stressed me out. I asked one Apple Rep and he told me that I could use any iPhones around. So I called Chevy Chase and they told me that my credit limit has been increased already.

Went back to the counter and tried my card again. I could see the package already but I couldn't get it until I pay for it. Extremely frustrating!

For what must've been the nth time going back and forth, Chevy Chase advised me to tell the Rep to try my card manually. Meaning, they need to enter the card number on their system instead of swiping it.The gods must have given me a break for finally, the Apple Rep handed me my first Apple laptop. I asked if she could give me another bag for it doesn't look sturdy to me. I don't want the notebook to fall when I'm carrying it.

It's already almost 1 pm when I met Tomas and Ogz at a Chinese resto. I lost my appetite already. They had buffet but didn't enjoy the food. So stay away from Midtown Buffet, guys.

We walked back to Port Authority and got our bags from Greyhound storage. You can leave your stuff there for 5 bucks each item. Very convenient if you're carrying lotsa stuff.

We bid goodbye to our friend and boarded the bus. It left earlier than the scheduled time. But we hit traffic on our way to DC. Reached the terminal around 6 already.

Rode the Metro to Franconia-Springfield. It took us about 30 minoots to get there. Then we rushed towards the parking lot hoping that our car is still there. I've never been so happy to see our car parked there all alone.

Then we travelled towards Sully. Unforch, the directions that I got from Google maps weren't that good 'cause we got lost. Ugh! We missed the 170B exit. Anyhoo, I kept on driving and noticed that we're going back to Maryland. Turned back and got lost again. We then stopped by a gas station and bought a map. 

Drove around DC for a while. Then we decided to take 50 W. That led us to Chantilly eventually. It's almost 10 when I swung by Ruby Tuesday for dinner. We're tired and hungry. We just wanna go home. I had shrimp with pasta. Ate only half of it.

After a few minoots, we finally reached 28. Oh my god! So happy to be back home.

Wicked

After having our pan de sal brekky, Ogz & I walked towards the Subway station. We'll be going first to Gershwin Theater to buy tickets for "Wicked".The ticket booth opens at 12 so Ogz & I decided to meet Tom first. We waited inside a Gap store. A few minoots later, we're reunited with our good friend. He's sporting skinhead again and he's got a new toy that he got from being a Marriott VIP member. Now, Ogz & I can be in the same photo. Teehee.First stop was this Pedigree dogstore in Times Square. Too bad we missed Kate Walsh, the star of "Private Practice" and Addison in "Grey's Anatomy". She opened the store just last week. The pet adoption store will only be here for 2 weeks. Hopefully, Pedigree could raise funds for our homeless four-legged friends.Inside, we got our free coffee & hot choco. Unforch, there were no dogs in the area yet. Otherwise, I would've enjoyed the experience more. I bought a cute shirt (knowing that I contributed to Pedigree's Dogs Rule campaign).

We had to fill our stomachs so we checked out this pizza place by a certain Ray's. I ordered spaghetti for Ogz & I. Tom wasn't hungry.Then we headed back to W 51st for our tickets. There's a line for cancellations. If you want to wait for that, you must pay the full price, which is about 110++ sumpthin. Then there's a separate line for the raffle. Y'see, Wicked gives out 26 tickets for the price of 26.25 bucks each. Yep, all you need to do is to wait in line from 12:30 till about 1 o'clock. Then they will announce the 13 winners. You may register a friend with you by indicating on a piece of paper the number 2. I tried writing down 3 'cause I want Tom to see the show too but it's not allowed. While waiting, Tom joked that if he won, he'll tear up the ticket into pieces in front of me. Or he'd sell it to me for double the price. Or he'll take Ogz instead of me.When it was time for the 13 names to be called, the theatergoers (more than a hundred participated) went quiet and huddled. Then the guy in a suit started shouting the names. I'm not quite lucky when it comes to raffle. I never win. When I heard, "Salvador Balan!" Ogz and I shouted, "OH MY GOD!!!" Then I dashed to the front and gave the people my biggest smile. I couldn't believe it. I was so freakin' happy.I presented my ID and paid the tickets. I also bought my souvenir junk: a Program, a t-shirt and a magnet.On Sundays, they only have one show at 3. We've got more than an hour to kill so we just walked around the city. We decided to look for the Apple store on 57th street. On our way there, we heard honks & shouts from peeps in cars waving a red flag with a double-headed eagle.Near Central Park, we located the Time Warner Center. This is where we did most of our photo ops. Work it out!We found the Apple store on 5th Avenue. I tried to buy a MacBook Air but got declined. Oh well, I just need to cancel my existing order online so I could make the purchase tomorrow.At 2:30, we started walking back to Gershwin Theatre. We parted ways with Tom. He'll meet us later after the show.

So excited to see this show after hearing about it from my evil twin sister, Joyish. I tried twice last year. During the first time, I didn't win the raffle so I didn't get my ticket. The second time, I bought a 180 worth of ticket but due to the writers' strike, I had to get a refund. Then now, I'd finally get to see it from the first freakin' row!!! Yep. I was seated at the dead center of the first row.

There's a big map covering the stage.  On both sides, there are mechanical thingamajigs, industrial lights and stairs for the actors. On top, you could see a mechanical dragon. Since we're seated on the front, we could see the orchestra down below. I could touch the Musical Director if I wanted to.I noticed that peeps who are seated on the first row were smiling at one another. We're all too damn happy to win ;oP

Elphaba is played by Stephanie J. Block while Guh-linda is played by Annaleigh Ashford. Ms. Block reminds me of Iza Calzado. Annaleigh, on the other hand, reminds me of Reese in "Legally Blonde". Found out later that Annaleigh used to be a cast in the Broadway version. 

I like the songs, the costumes and the production. My favorite was the bedroom scene with Elphie & Galinda. That's Galinda's moment. I absolutely adore her. It would've been more enjoyable if I caught Kristin Chenoweth's performance in the original Broadway production. I love Kristin in "Pushing Daisies". I like the control in Stephanie's voice. Her "Defying Gravity" number was awesome. The opening scene of the second act reminded me so much of the balcony scene in "Evita". The final scene of the two friends featuring "For Good" brought tears to my eyes.

After the show, we met Tom at an H&M store. He recommended to have dinner at Japas where you can eat & drink all you want for, like, 30 bucks. Unforch, when we got there, the 30-buck-all-you-can-eat promo is good from Monday to Saturday only. But the big books of songs were too tempting to pass up. They've got Tagalog songs too!

I was able to sing songs that I've always wanted to sing: "The Phantom of the Opera", "Last Dance", "Don't Rain on my Parade", "Kailangan Kita", "Just Because", "We Belong Together", "With You I'm Born Again". So happy.The food that we ordered was pretty good too. We only stayed there for 3 hours though. For the first two hours, it's 8 bucks per person per hour. If you wanna sing more, it will be 15 bucks. But the bad thing is, after your time, you must go. They don't care if there's still food or drinks on your table. Oh well.We went back to the Apple store but still I couldn't buy the MBA 'cause of insufficient credit. Very frustrating!Before heading to the subway on 42nd street, Tom bought us coffee at Starbucks. I had caramel macchiato. Thanks, Tom!We then waited for our R train. After waiting for, like, forever, I noticed that Tom & Ogz had left. I quickly followed them but they were nowhere to be found. I searched all around. Very close to panicking. Subway in New York is confusing when you're a bit drunk and tired. I decided to just look for a 7 train going to Queens. I still remember the way home. If they decided to go to Port Authority and leave me behind, I just didn't care anymore. So tired and sleepy. 

Before the 7 train left, I heard my name being called. It's Tom & Ogz. They bought Gatorade and were looking for me. I gave 'em the cold shoulder.