At last, my own space in the world wide web. Well, not entirely my own because I'm sharing it with someone else. In fact, that's my clue if you want to answer the question, "What is dattobank?" Just post your answer in the comments. Winner earns bragging rights :)
I have just finished reading the tenth book in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. I took me more than a year to finish all ten, only to find out that the story's not finished yet. Just a few months ago, the 11th installment came out in the bookstores and what disappointed me was that it has a cover illustration. The book does look more interesting when you can see the images of the characters, but damn it, my first ten books only have a black cover with the title in gold text! If I buy the new one, they won't look all the same. Worse, I don't think there will be a reprinting of the 11th book to have it look like the first ten because what happened was the other way around. The first ten books were reprinted to have cover illustrations. So I decided, I won't buy the first ten books again just so that my book shelf will look pretty when I have all the books lined up. I will just buy the 11th because I just want to finish the story. Then I went to the bookstore to get my copy. But just imagine my shock when I found out that there's a new addition to the WoT series aside from Book 11: Knife of Dreams. A prequel also came out entitled, New Spring: The Novel. I suspected that the story won't be finished just yet so I told myself I'll just buy the rest of the books when the story is really, really over because I don't want to be left hanging again. Anyway, I don't remember most of what's happened and the characters are all jumbled up in my head already so I don't have to worry about forgetting the storyline if I stop reading for a while because I already did. So instead of buying a book, I just went to the music store and bought JoJo's latest cd, The High Road. Hehe :)
PS. I searched the web to know how many books there will really be in the WoT and found this link in the WoT website that shows video interviews of the author. There will be twelve to thirteen books for the 'main sequence novels' and three prequel books which will serve as the prologue.
You know how it is in school where in you have different sets of barkadas? Or that within your barkada you have a sub-barkada? Or that you're not necessarily a barkada but for some reason, you've formed yourselves into a group, just because. Well, my quasi-barkada, or clique if you may call it, met up for dinner last night and had a wonderful evening of catching up on each other's lives. It's been a long time since we've gotten together and we wanted to be thorough so we really went about our updates in an orderly manner; one after the other in clockwise fashion. Oh, don't imagine it as a stiff boardroom meeting where everything is formal and awkward. In fact, it was just quite the opposite. It was like we're back in high school again, a chattering bunch of teenage girls talking about anything and everything and suddenly bursting into laughter. But we did tackle some serious stuff and this, I guess, was what made last night most memorable.
As I was listening to my friends' stories of what they've been through these past years, I came to the realization that while I was going through the whole Shakespearean-the-pain-the-suffering, they too were going through their own tough ordeals. And an even greater realization was that we've all endured and emerged victorious. That in a way, these experiences have been instrumental in shaping us into who we are now - better, stronger and happier women.
Yesterday, I had this crazy idea that I should scan my collection of stamps and postcards and put up an online album. Today, I found out that I was not the only one who thought of doing the same thing. There's Jim's Stamp Album which showcases an impressive collection of US stamps, all properly mounted, documented and scanned. For the postcards, I found , POSTCARD COLLECTING AND PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTING SITES, a site that boasts of being "Perhaps the largest online postcard collection on the net!" My collection would be so small compared to theirs, but yeah, I still would like to put it online. I can just imagine my sister giving me a quizzical look as I scan each and every piece, the same look she gave me when I was scanning my elementary and high school pictures. But what the heck, I can't help it. I like having backups in digital format :)
The last company outing I went to was five years ago so I was pretty excited when my company planned to go to Sabangan Beach Resort two Saturdays ago. It is located at Laiya, San Juan, Batangas, which is a three-hour drive from our place of work. We rented a van for the trip but those who brought their families with them decided to bring their own transportation. Our check in time was 12noon so we met up early in the morning at the office. I was even a little late because my alarm did not go off. Good thing they waited for me and we didn't get delayed much. We arrived at the resort a little before lunch time so we were able to rest before we had a hearty meal of pork adobo, shrimps and crab. Yummy!
After lunch, there was supposed to be some team-building activities but that didn't happen because everyone wanted to do different things. Some went straight to the beach, some played cards, some lounged around and some stayed in the air-conditioned cottage and watched TV or slept. In the late afternoon, a volleyball game was organized. I didn't join because I never liked the game, but it was fun watching my officemates play.
Dinner was a buffet of rellenong bangus, beef caldereta, misua and fresh fruits. Again, a delicious feast, I must say. My boss brought her Magic Sing so after dinner, a television was brought out from one of the rooms and we started singing the night away. There was also beer so those who didn't join the singing just played cards while drinking. We ended at around 2am.
I woke early the next day because the girls had to prepare breakfast. I made 24 sunny-side ups and I was pretty proud of myself. The longganisa was already pre-cooked so we just had to reheat it. We also reheated the pork adobo from the day before and incorporated some of it into the sinangag. Breakfast was a mix of eating and recalling the night before as well as laughing about a certain "embarrassing moment" by one of our officemates. Some went back to the beach after breakfast but I opted to go back to the cottage to take a bath and pack my bags. We checked out at just before noon and headed back to Manila.
Pacquiao had a fight with Solis that day but since we were on the road, we just contented ourselves with listening to the radio for a blow-by-blow account of the boxing match. By the time we stopped at Grace's Restaurant in Laguna for lunch, the fight was about to end. But before that we already knew who would win; Pacqiao of course. The restaurant had a pasalubong counter so I bought some uraro, macapuno, pastillas and boat tarts.
The rest of the ride was fairly quiet as most of us slept. We stopped at the office to drop off some things and then the van dropped us off where it is easiest for us to go home.
I took a leave the next day to rest :)
In search of a hobby 3 years ago, I thought of getting my hand into model kit building. I didn't like the usual model ships, airplanes, battle tanks and toy soldiers; I wanted something more "pop-culture-ish" so when I saw the Horizon 1/6 scale of Catwoman from the 1992 film Batman Returns, I fell in love. I immediately bought the kit from a shop in Greenhills, as well as the other materials I will be needing like a hobby knife, white putty, super glue and sand paper. I had a friend teach me the basics of putting together the pieces and after weeks of hard work, I was able to come up with my unpainted catwoman as shown in the pictures above. Sad to say, I stopped and it is only now that I'm beginning to think of continuing my unfinished piece. I still have a lot of sanding to do because the seams and other hard to reach places are not yet smooth and even. Once that's done, then I have to face a bigger task -- painting. I don't know how I'm going to go about it but I do hope I'll be able to come up with something that looks like this.
I got my HP Compaq Business Desktop dx2700 today. I was happy with the specs but I was disappointed with what I actually got. It was supposed to be a Core 2 Duo with 2.4GHz processor speed but when I turned it on, it only had 1.8GHz. The RAM and storage size are the same as in the specs but I wouldn't be surprised if the parts are not original anymore and that they have been replaced by generic brands. Also, the package was supposed to have come with Windows XP; it did have WinXP installed but the cd installer was nowhere to be found.
I don't know why, but it has become common practice for technicians and computer shop owners to cheat the consumers. I may not have paid for the merchandise but it was a prize which I legitimately won, and I should be entitled to what was promised in the raffle contest. Nothing more, nothing less.
I spend an average of 4 hours on the road going to and from work. This becomes less of a problem when I'm taking public transport because I can easily doze off and wake up just in time when I need to get off. However, it's a different matter when I take my car to work (well technically it's my mother's; but I pay for the registration, insurance and maintenance repairs so I have driving rights). Traffic can get so bad that I squirm in my seat thinking of something better to do than just wait for the car in front of me to move. At least this morning I had my digicam with me so I was able to click away my boredom. There's the intersection where I was stuck a good 10 minutes. Click! There's Baba the white sheep who keeps me company. Click! Here's my dashboard and steering wheel. Click! Here's me in the rear view mirror. Click!
So what do I do when I don't have my digicam? I imagine how good it would be if my ride was pimped in Xzibit's show at MTV, Pimp My Ride. I would be having a notebook computer that's hooked to satellite internet because I would have told him that my work as a programmer/tech support entails that I be on call 24/7 to troubleshoot any system problems. My seat would have a back massage mechanism because driving in the streets of Manila at rush hour can be so tiring and tension-packed. Also, there would be a secret hole at the bottom which I can open at the press of a button so that I could take a pee. I would have tires that never deflate because I don't know how to change a flat tire. All sides of my car would have sensors to detect other vehicles that come too close or actually bump my car, especially when it's parked. I always get dents on the doors because those stupid owners of the vehicles parked beside me don't know how to open their doors in such a way that my car won't get hit. They don't even have the courtesy to leave a note and take responsibility for the damage. There was also this one time that my brother took my car to school and parked it. Then after his class, he found a big dent on the bumper and again no note from the culprit. So with my car pimped, not only would there be sensors, there would also be cameras to take a video of the hit-and-run vehicle and vehicle owner. And finally, my car would have a self-cleaning system so I wouldn't have to wash it or have it cleaned at the car wash ever again. I don't know how this could be possible but I have faith in the Gas Team! Hehe.
Sigh, if only my car-pimping dream would come true then driving to and from work would be a little more bearable. Just a little. Hehe :)
I just found out that I won a HP computer package in a raffle and I want to jump for joy! Except I can't do that because I'm in the office so I'm just gonna do it here. JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! Whew, that was tiring! Hehe. So going back, my mom called me here at the office because someone called at home, saying that I won in a raffle. At first I thought maybe it was just a prank but then my mom said, the person was calling for Paseo Center, the one that held the raffle draw and I remembered that I did join that one. So she gave me the person's contact number and I immediately called the person. True enough, I did win and I'm going to pick my prize on Friday. I don't know the specs yet but even if it's just a basic computer setup, I won't care. It's not everyday that one can get a free pc, you know!
I hope my lucky streak continues. Didn't I tell you that I also won a DVD player in the company Christmas party last year? :)
"Really getting to do what you love to do everyday, that's the ultimate luxury; and particularly when you can do it with terrific people around you."
Part 1: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=NBb_T9lKZnI
Part 2: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=mPbYedr636s&mode=related&search=
Part 3: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=bXHp544KWdU&mode=related&search=
Part 4: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=6f2122tpojA&mode=related&search=
Part 5: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=lmEW9He2Wrc&mode=related&search=
I almost forgot about it yesterday until my high school barkada texted me and greeted me a "Happy April 10 day!" April 10 signifies the first day we entered the workforce; and this year, we're celebrating our 7th anniversary. I can still remember it clearly (this is a good sign, right? hehe): fresh out of college and raring to try it out in the real world, we trooped to Bohol Mansions at Sgt. Esguerra Ave. to start our first day in ABSi. We were excited and we didn't know what to expect. Finally, we opened the door and I was in awe, "So this is what a dotcom startup company looks like!"
There were four of us who started on that same day. The other two, I believe, are still with ABSi. My hs barkada and I have moved elsewhere. She went to teach at our high school and I've jumped from company to company until I've finally settled here at RosettaNet.
Who knows what might still happen for the four of us? The future lies ahead. But still, it is nice to look back every once in while and reminisce about the good 'ole times :)
This is my character's profile in the game, Neverwinter Nights. I was able to finish it last Saturday, of course with the help of my boyfriend. He and I formed a party and we went adventuring every weekend until we were able to go through all the chapters. He has finished the game a lot of times already but I think this is only the first time that he has used a cleric for his character. As for me, I've tried playing the game before but I never got past the first chapter as a halfling ranger with Tomi Undergallow (a halfling rogue) as my henchman. This time, I chose a human monk and formed a party with Geer Goodman (my boyfriend's human cleric) and together, we were able to battle dragons, goblins, orcs, undead, giant spiders, evil wizards and ultimately all the people and creatures that were behind the plague and chaos in Neverwinter.
Next in my agenda are the expansions for this game, Shadows of Undretide and Hordes of the Underdark. After that, there's Neverwinter Nights 2. I just hope that my pc can still handle the games, if not NWN 2 then at least the expansions of NWN 1 :)
No exercise for a month and no swimming for a whole year makes for a very bad combination. After swimming with my friend this afternoon, I felt so weak, it was like all energy was drained off me. Right now, I couldn't even raise my arms because my muscles are all sore. And even if I'm so tired and sleepy, I'm afraid to go to bed because I may not be able to get up in the morning with my body aching all over. This is what I get for skipping on my workouts. I must revive my gym regimen if I am to survive our company outing which is scheduled next week. More swimming. Eeps!
So aside from this blog update which could have waited 'til I was more rested, why am I online again? Right, I need to send some documents needed by my US boss. Blast that Blackberry!
I like the Lenten Season. In fact, it's my favorite "holiday", if you could call it that. The atmosphere is generally calm and serene; none of the hustle and bustle of Christmas, costume parties of Halloween, or the artificial sweet-romancing of Valentines Day. It allows me to stop and think on what I've been doing with my life. It gives me the chance to meditate and renew my faith.
People used to hate Lent because there's nothing to do, nothing to watch on television and nowhere to go because the malls are all closed. Now they're starting to like it, but I guess for the wrong reasons. For some, it's time to catch up on their favorite American TV series on DVD. For others, it's time to take advantage of the long break and price promos on the domestic airlines to head off to the various island-beaches in the country. Even I was guilty of going to Davao last year and taking a dip at the beach on Good Friday. This year, I'm going swimming on Maundy Thursday. But I do hope we can go on Visita Iglesia here in Manila or in the province. Or maybe we would visit the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes like we used to do when I was little. We'll see then I'll just update you :)
I've just finished coding a feature enhancement on a client-server application I am supporting. Now the next step would be to do some testing to make sure that it works as it should and that the additional changes didn't break anything on the existing functionalities. This is the part I don't like. Thinking of all the test cases and trying them out do not thrill me. I prefer that someone else tests what I've done and just inform me of any errors so I can do some debugging, which is the part that I like. Unfortunately, this is not the way software development works. Although there is a QA process which is done by the QA Engineer, one still has to do unit testing on one's own work. The only good thing that comes out after testing is that I'm able to find out whether everything works fine or not. If it works, I proceed to the next coding task. If not, I debug. And the cycle continues.
I received an email over the weekend informing me that my G00GL3 ADS3NS3 application has been approved (forgive the encryption, I'm paranoid that any wrong move may violate the terms and conditions). True enough, the box below my shoutbox started reflecting text links related to my site content. I have submitted my tax information and have already chosen my payment option. Now all I have to do is hope and wait. Sweet :)
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