Crushing

Musical Treat

I love French bread. I love French fries. I love Pomplamoose. The lady singer is French? Is she? I don't know. Anyway, they're great. They're amazing. They're sublime. And they get me through this clime! Ooh, look, a rhyme! ;)

Pomplamoose on YouTube
Pomplamoose on twitter

I <3 Catanduanes

You know, I used to think it's wasteful to go back to a place I've been to, but not with Catanduanes if only for the mind-blowing coral reef. I regret not being a snorkeling/diving enthusiast. I spent most of the day surfing there. When I saw the underwater pics they took, I was absolutely envious. I want to be a better swimmer now and learn free diving at least. Probably invest in snorkeling gears and a kick-ass camera down the road.

Hey, it's been a while since my last post. I wrote a chronicle of my recent trip with wonderful, wonderful travel buddies. It's an RSS feed on the right side. (The sequence of the articles is incorrect, so visit the source site.) I took my pics with my cam phone. I think they look pretty decent.

The OC

I'm pedantic. I can't sit still if I don't go through A-Z one letter at a time. It's a compulsion.

My dilemma right now is I'm obsessed with the thought of learning C++. I'm eyeing 4 books in amazon. I've (almost) never read a programming book from cover to cover, but who does! Anyway, I'm concerned this will create a bigger hole in my pocket than necessary, even if they're reviewed as exceptional and to be treated as bibles. Who has time to read 4 books?! (Hmm. I probably do being unemployed and all. Might as well put my time for productive use, right? Aargh!)

Exceptional C++: 47 Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, and Exception-Safety Solutions

More Exceptional C++: 40 New Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, and Solutions

Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction

拼命

Lectures are a bitch when coming from people you consider strangers. No matter, the truth does sometimes hurt the ego. So I figured, instead of nursing a bruised inner self everytime my job application or pathetic love life turns southward (that's redundant), why not just suck it up and move on while skipping the getting over part 'coz that's when you feel down and pity yourself. Haha.

Anyway, it feels like deja vu when you don't get what you dream of and just settle for what's easily attainable. Well, if that gets you closer to your goal, it's probably worth the detour, right? *sighs*

PS: After finishing Boys over Flowers, I'm glad there are new Burn Notice episodes to mix make-believe with reality. (So melodramatic! *rolls eyes*)

I Skip a Heartbeat

Sings...

I do love, she does heartbreak
I did love 'til she broke my heart

I know I said serious stuff to write, but man, it's been keeping me away from blogging. So I'm just gonna go back to the usual program! Hehe. Hey, this is my space.

So yesterday, I went to some agency in Pedro Gil to get my passport. They were somewhat holding it hostage. I need it because I'm going back to Hong Kong. Woohoooooo! 3 days but who's complaining if it's free.

I intended to ride the LRT but as fate would have it, it was broken. I really had to get that passport so I took a jeepney. It broke down too half-way, so I quickly took another one. I remembered how stressful it is commuting the narrow but nevertheless still main streets of Manila. It's frustrating. Makes you wonder if they ever wonder about widening them. There's a huge business need, you headless politicians!

I did get to the agency. My contact is nice. Too nice in fact that I dreaded the encounter. I wanted to leave that place as soon as I had my passport in hand. And I did, then headed to Amoranto.

Liz was the earliest to be there -- 3 pm. I got there the last at 6 pm. We finished between 8 and 9 pm, so imagine her being there for 5 hours. Anyway, it was another sweat-ful workout. Afterwards, Jen thought we should get pedicure. They had their foot scrub too, but I just had my pedicure. I'm being a scrooge. Hehe.

Report that Taxi to LTFRB

I got a forwarded email from a cousin entitled "Mabuhay Philippines in 2020" containing mainly pictures of popular cities looking futuristic and orderly like in developed countries. Only in the end, it says "Stop dreaming and go back to work." (If I feel like it, I'll paste the pictures here.) I thought, well, why can't it be a reality! Being optimistic aside, I think it is doable. All it takes is a collective will. They say change begins with oneself, so from this point forward, it will be this blog's theme. God, please lend me humor in all these.

So, let's start. It's been raining for almost a week now. My parents and I got to finally go home after 2.5 days in the hospital. (No, none of us has AH1N1 virus, although I have a flu. Other people have it too, you know, because of the weather. :P) I should have monitored how long it took to get a cab. It felt like forever! There were a lot of picky/a-hole taxi drivers. I probably hailed like at least 20, but I only got 3 plate numbers.

You probably know that they can be reported to the LTFRB and they may have a landline or cellular hotline, but I doubt many would have either number in their contact list, so fret not. You can file a complaint hassle-free online: http://www.ltfrb.gov.ph/complain.aspx?navid=1168

PS: While my sister was in the other room, we were talking about whether to attend tomorrow's muay session or not and dinner through YM! I know I say this again and again, but isn't technology sooooo cool?! ^_^

Absolutely Still

This gray room
This bunker
The air is humming
Us to sleep

While outside
The city hurries
The endless worries
Are out of reach

(*) Promise me we'll never leave this room
A million years from now would be too soon

(**) The world is spinning turning day to night
And my thoughts are running at the speed of light
Got an empty feeling that I never want to fill
Absolutely still
I waited longer 'cause I needed proof
That every door I shut is leading me to you
And there's a nervous feeling that I never want to kill
Absolutely still

We were running
From the same noise
We were stuck in
The same pursuit

Now the door's locked
And I find that
This dizzy madness
Is bleeding through

(Repeat *, **)

(Repeat *, **)

I'll go anywhere you want tonight
'Cause my head is spinning like a satellite
I got a restless feeling that I never want to feel
I'm absolutely still

Sense and Sensibility

I admit. I'm overly OC sometimes. I say sometimes now because I used to be so almost on all matters. Time has mellowed me down. Anyway, I hope everyone has sensitive ears for treble and bass balance. It's far from rocket science really. You just gotta have a sensible hearing. Like when the bit rate of an audio file is below 128 kbps or when it's hard to tune in to a certain radio frequency or when you and those around have different musical tastes, don't play it loud. It grates on the ears. Live and let live, man! =P

Psyche

In no way is this a researched conclusion or a general fact. This is just based on my personal experience and opinion.

In the Philippines, there's a culture to exploit employees whether consciously or unconsciously. Of course, it can be argued that there will be no exploitation if no one allows it. I guess that it's a Filipino (or maybe even an Asian) character to be submissive or agreeable. We are the polar opposite of our vocal and litigious Western counterparts.

Like, why do we feel overly obligated to work beyond our work hours, work days and job title? Where else can you find an online English instructor also be a tech support, troubleshooter and semi-consultant rolled into one? Why do we do overtime and feel bad declaring the actual time we spent?

There's a good side and a bad side to things. For developing nations, it's good that they appear more viable to outsourcing companies, but it's bad that it's at the expense of the employees.

Now, I can only ask these questions. To change this would require a whole lot of people standing up for themselves.

PS

I don't have anything worthy for a post. Life has been blah! But I have post-scripts if you wanna fill your time with something to do (asinine as they may be). (Post-scripts?! I just don't know how to transition from one random thought to another.)

PS (1): Subscribe! Stop for a moment and think before clicking that button. Don't you have too many subscriptions already? Sure, you read each one for at most a week, then oblivion! With the information age, they go straight to your inbox. And thank God and the chap/gal who thought of filter. Emails can be sorted into their designated folder automatically. Now, when you glance over your folders' list, you have literally hundreds of unread emails accumulated over time.

PS (2): Text and instant messaging, email, online social networking sites (the whole slew of them... Like, really, when are they gonna stop making new ones!). I don't know when my sister and I started ignoring the (landline) phone ring.

PS (3): Ants are annoying! Especially the smallest kind that are super fast for my finger to stomp.

PS (4): This is officially going to be my first post/semi-post/non-post in my new home, but I haven't found a new home yet. I did find some articles comparing blog service providers. It's a big deal, you know. Wherever I end could be my home for a long time. (Insert preferred laugh sound here.)

Links:
Which Blog Service is the best? WordPress vs Blogger vs LiveJournal
Seven Blogging Tools Reviewed

PS (5): What is the purpose of writing haha, hehe, hihi, bwahaha, nyahaha, etc.? I think they're okay if you're reacting to something from another person or if it's a nervous/coy habit, but a little uncool if you're trying to be funny or laughing at your own joke. What do you think? Do you generally like or dislike them?

PS (6): I've read the reviews on blog sites, but I still want the hands-on experience, so for the meantime, I'm going to maintain one in both Blogspot and WordPress. =P