UPDATE

It has been sometime since my last update. This is not really due to lack of anything to write about, but just simply me being lazy. There have been some materials I wanted to try working on, but couldn't find a time for them. Well, maybe it is not about being lazy, but simply not having the time. Hope this blog doesn't suffer the same fate as my other blogs.

COME BACK HOME

Sometime last year I have posted about homeless people here in the metropolis, and I was entertaining the thought that maybe they have come from the provinces to seek the so called "greener pasture" here and failed. It breaks my heart, especially if they have children with them, when I see them and it's raining hard. With the countless letters and emails I have sent to seek help for them, none of the correspondents have bothered to even acknowledge receipt. I myself don't have much to help them.

 

Today, as I checked the online issue of my favorite daily, I was delighted to see an article (see here) about a province in the south offering a back-to-province scheme. Eastern Samar provincial government have come up with the program recognizing the need for this after so many people were devastated by the flooding in the capital region. The program not only includes bringing them home for free, but likewise training for livelihood, counseling, and even a reasonable enough sum to jumpstart their lives. This province's government should be lauded for this program, and other provinces should follow this same scheme.

 

Metropolitan Manila is populated by some 12 million people crowding in places close to where their livelihood is. The recent floods have been partly blamed to overpopulation and to the fact that dwellings have encroached the areas considered as natural drainage systems. These waterways are in the form of creeks and a few rivers that serve as a drainage system for floods during monsoon season. Having people close to this have turned these waterways into dumping area for their wastes, which causes clogging and siltation-- a major cause for waters breaking their banks or dikes during rainy season.

 

Flocking to capital cities is understandable, especially in a third world country like the Philippines. The biggest chunk of job opportunities are available mostly to these areas that are considered as hubs. For whatever reason not everyone succeeds in the city. While some simply just try to hold on to the promise of the "greener pasture" and find other ways for living, others have lost hope altogether and are left without the capacity to return home to their provinces. It is not only the cost of the travel that makes it so hard for repatriation, but also the fact of starting all over again in a place where most likely there is lesser opportunity for them.

 

The program created by Eastern Samar, although seemingly simple, can be a bit complicated and costly. Beforehand, things to be considered for this to be a success are identification of suitable livelihood trainings to be given, studies on sustainability of these in the long run, and selection of qualified people to conduct these trainings. These areas have to be addressed first, otherwise such a program can fail and may only end up with the beneficiaries returning back to the capital region. I joked a colleague of mine from Eastern Samar that politicians in their province are just doing this to take in potential voters in the elections next year. But this is a really noble program deserving all accolades.

 

MANILA FLOODING

 

Yesterday saw Metro Manila's (well, nearby provinces as well) worst flooding in decades. I was comfortable at work while watching this happen outside. The sky seemed like it was night time already. My wife sent me a message early on asking me if I can go home earlier as the house have been flooded as well about ankle-deep. I was approved for early endshift (nevermind the term, it's common in the call center industry), so I can go home and help my wife at home. As I went out of the building two hours early of my usual endshift, my wife again texted me that everything was fine and that the flood have subsided.

 

Back at the office, I was monitoring the situation through the internet and have come to know that some parts of the highway I go through to and from work are flooded. This is the same with any alternate route I could think of, so I figured I may as well try the old route, which is EDSA by bus. I also though it may be better if I ride the MRT instead, but still my preference is by bus.

 

MRT terminal was quite full and the queues for tickets were snakeing throughout the vast station. When I went down to the north bound bus stop, a thick crowd have also gathered waiting for the sparse buses coming by. The first two buses were quite full but people tried to board anyway and about ten or so were able to get in. The next bus that came in was an airconditioned one, and I squeezed my way in. The next stop, some people boarded off the bus and I was able to get a window seat.

 

Everything's well, except for the traffic. Floodings and stalled vehicles along the highway made the traffic so slow moving that the usual 30 minutes to an hour ride took more than six hours this time. That was an experience of a lifetime. I stayed awake the whole time to try and snap some pictures I can post on this blog, but there hardly were anything worth a space on my memory card.

 

picture from bbc.co.uk

OPERA MINI 5 BETA

Yesterday I got to test drive the new Opera Mini 5 on my phone, and I was all praises for it. The touchscreen support was wonderful as well as the new tabbed browsing. There are several improvements over the current version- 4.2, but the most noticeable of course is the looks. Everything is animated that I was almost ready to believe it was not a java app but instead a flash lite. Some degree of transparency is also available to dialog and pop up windows. Personally, I don't like scrolling on touchscreen, I'd much rather prefer to have a hardware directional pads, or an optical directional gadget. But I guess we all are moving into touchscreen era now. The beta was fine with scrolling, not unlike the in-built browser on my test phone-- and LG Viewty. A simple touch was added with the sort of elasticity with scrolling, very much like on iPhone, although it's more kind of a cosmetic addition for me because it does slow down the scrolling a bit. You have to endure this "elastic" scrolling all throughout as it also is present on internal items, like going through the options on the settings. Probably the best improvement for me was the tabbed browsing support. Well, I also use a modded version of Opera Mini, and these for the longest time have had tabbed browsing. The one on the beta version though is quite different by being classy. Touchscreen support is ever present, so intead of just having tabs with names of the pages on it, you get to have block with a thumbnail of the page. This really is a great addition for me as I think visual representations are better than just text descriptions. The tab selector is hidden and comes up only when you touch the tabs icon. The navigation bar that holds the back, forward, refresh, tabs, and settings button can be hidden and can be recalled by pressing a floating transparent icon. I'm not sure if it's a bug or just on my phone, but inline editing seemed to fail sometimes, it only allows me to do offline editing the first time and then refuses to work the next time. Inline editing is done with a pop up QWERTY keyboard, but the vertical orientation provides little space for the keys that it is hard to type texts in. Of course there is a support for landscape, which should give the keys more space, but then this seem to be another bug as the app I got had problems rendering not just the pages but the entire browser on landscape. One thing more that I hope they will add on to the final version, or next beta versions, is the download manager. There already was a download manager on the previous version, but it seems to be missing on the Opera Mini 5 beta. It's never good to take off one other functions to accomodate another. Of course this is just a beta, and for sure the final version will have all these bugs straightened out. I'm positive the final version will come in the next few months, as this beta version was supposed to have been rolled out last year according to some sources.

WILL NOYNOY SUCCEED?

One time or another, I have shared on this blog that I am largely apolitical. I would rather just be reading showbiz gossip than politics news.

 

The recent clamor for Noynoy Aquino, only son of Cory and Ninoy Aquino- the couple considered to be the mother and father of democracy in the Philippines, to take a shot at presidency is very much misguided. I almost can visualize the administration people laughing their asses off as this unfolds, because for sure this breaks up the opposition furthermore. I was even suspecting the administration have hands on this as they know Noynoy has never been actively in public eye and therefore have a very slim chance of pulling this off.

 

It is a fact that Noynoy has never been in the public eye simply because he did not submit any significant laws nor headed any important committee in the senate. These whole time he has been a senator he stayed out of public eye, I'm not sure whether by choice or not, and only was recently popular because of the death of his mother. The fact is, Noynoy could not have attained so much attention recently have it not been for his actress sister Kris, who frequently mentioned him on coverages for their mother's wake and funeral and thereafter.

 

It's a waste. He could have done better than just jump into this circus. His parents' popularity is not his own, and he should be making one for himself by showing achievements.

FLOW OF LIFE

Recently, I was in a chatroom for our island province and the topic as I came in was about the environment. One of the chatters was reporting about the current state of one of the most popular rivers in our island home- Santo Domingo river. He informed us that the river is now polluted, with trash being found not only on the banks but also in the waters.

 

Santo Domingo river is a popular dipping hole for most people in Virac, and even nearby towns, as it is only about ten to fifteen minutes away from downtown. Except during severe dry spells when there is less water flowing and moss gathers on some part, the river is mostly clean and its water is cool. This still was the case when we left Virac some three years ago, and surely it was a surprise to know this has changed in so short a time.

 

Every Viracnon have had a dip in this river at least one time or another, that is how popular this river is. Washing clothes is also done there and usually because clothes come up smelling great when washed in its waters. The river has a lot to offer as it has various parts from rapids to deep and calm water, close to the national highway or far into the forested area, and rocks islets to waterfalls (this i couldn't confirm as i have not seen it myself, but there has been accounts of waterfalls along the river). There even is an underwater cave where some of the waters source from.

 

It is heartbreaking to learn about this. I myself have fond memories of bathing there with friends and families countless of times. From the info I got, it seemed it only will be a matter of few years before the river becomes unfit for bathing. My fear is that I only will be able to tell my children stories about this river in the future. Pretty much similar to what my father have done to me when I was younger, with his stories about the former glory of the now extremely polluted Gogon river in downtown Virac.

PLANET PHILIPPINES ON GMA TV

I was looking forward on watching this special by matinee idol Richard Gutierez, mainly because of the dazzling previews of visual aired by the network a few weeks before. Finally, it was shown last night; and unfortunately, I have to catch some sleep as I have to go to work early in the morning. I was able to catch though the first parts and as with the previews, the visuals were all of high quality imagery and cinematography. It was amazing. They were superior even compared with national Geographic or Discovery Channel specials. The nature was depicted at its most beautiful. GMA News and Public Affairs deserves all praises for this work. Richard was good enough as a host, compared to his first special about global warming, but still he needs further refinements. I hope I can download the complete video somewhere.

 

EAT AND DRINK BY NEW YORK POST

 

First of all, I am largely apolitical. I just am quite ticked at the Filipino activists who are against every single administration that came to pass in the Philippine political scene.

 

This has reference to the current controversy about the government entourage for the president's US trip, involving the infamous million peso dinner(s). This was reported by US newspapers first and have been voraciously devoured by the activists and opposition politicians, and later by the local media.

 

First, look at how those reports were written on those US papers-- it basically is a descrimination towards not only our government but us Filipinos as a whole. They simply are saying Filipinos are second rate and do not deserve fine dining.

EX-PRESIDENTS

Isn't it irritating that ex-presidents act as if they still are in power and give their opinions as if the citizens have to bow commitment to it? They had their chance. Why couldn't just be part of the history and live their private lives?

BIG BOX BOUTIQUE; Star Mall Mandaluyong

Kinky, ain't it? Yes, but they are pretty comfortable and a joy to wear. Almost a year ago, me and my wife discovered this small kiosk in Star Mall selling hand-made underwear. I was hesitant at first as I was thinking no self-respecting man could wear them; but my wife was insistent on buying some. I was suprised to find them quite comfortable and well-made. Since then I always bought my briefs from that store. Look it up on Star Mall's third floor- Big Box Boutique.

ALLOW FILE ACCESS FOR APPS ON VIEWTY

For sometime now I have had an LG Viewty, but it was only recently that I have used it primarily as I have opted to have my SE K800i as my everyday phone. I bought the Viewty second hand and the former owner got it on a plan with 3 Australia and therefore had shortcuts with the network's services. I managed to find tutorials on how to get rid of those shortcuts immediately after I got the phone, but the only thing I didn't bother myself with was to allow third-party apps like Opera Mini to access the file system. This has been mostly the case for LG phones and it's not because this phone was locked before to 3 Australia.

Since ditching my K800i as my primary phone, I have been concerned though on how I can better make use of apps like Opera Mini by allowing access to files on botht the phone and the memory card. I've tried searching on the internet for the solution and found something not very specific to my problem. It simply entails changing the policy for the certificates on the phone by using a program called Bitpim.

However, the tutorial is only applicable to unlocked Viewtys, in which you have an access to the file system using Bitpim. My phone used to be locked with 3 and the system file folders are locked as well. The good thing about Bitpim though is that you'll be able to overwrite the file, so it should be only a matter of finding an exact copy of the policy file and editing it using notepad, and then overwriting the original file on the phone. Using a simple hack on Google, I found an unprotected back-up of the file stored on a website, however of a different LG model. I risked my neck and did overwrite the original file on the phone using Bitpim. After restarting the phone, I deleted the apps needing file and network access and reinstalled them. It worked fine with just a minor bad effect-- the battery somehow gets drained if you turn the phone off for sometime, which of course is solved by not turning your phone off for more than several hours or so.

It maybe rare that somebody may need to do the same thing, but anyway let me give the tutorial on how to do it here.

1. Download Bitpim from http://www.bitpim.org/ and install it on your machine. If you don't have it already installed, also look for the Viewty USB driver on Google (I found mine on Rapidshare and also there was some versions available on 4Shared).
2. Copy the text on this link to a notepad and edit the last eight (8) lines to look something like below, and then save it as "h3g.pol" (be sure to select save as all type, otherwise it will be saved as a txt file).

domain: untrusted
allow: network_access
allow: application_auto_invocation
allow: messaging
allow: local_connectivity
allow: multimedia_recording
allow: file_connection
allow: phone_call

3. Open Bitpim and connect the phone (be sure to have the USB setting on the phone set as "data" and not "memory" or "file"), go to settings on Bitpim and select the model. Bitpim works only for CDMA phones so for this you have to select LG VX9400. After Bitpim found the phone, click on read file system on the right side of the window and allow it to read the files on the system folder. Just got to LG>Media>Java>Cert and look for the file "h3g.pol". Right click on it and just select overwrite. Bitpim opens up the file explorer and just select the file that you have previously saved and let the program overwrite the original file.

4. Disconnect the Bitpim from the phone and then also disconnect the phone from the computer. Restart the phone and reinstall the applications you want to have access to the network and files with. You should be good to go.

Broiled Shrimps

This is intended for prawns, but we didn't have time to go to the supermarket and we have the shrimps in the freezer. Simply just marinate about a kilogram of shrimps or prawns in a bowl with a cup of lime soda (7-Up preferred) for half an hour. Heat a sauce pan and just pour in both the shrimps and the soda. Let it cook until the soda dries up. Add in a dash of olive oil or a small cube of butter, and cook for about ten minutes more.

LAING WITH PORKCHOPS (Taro leaves in coconut cream with porkchop)

This is a variation of the traditional Bicolano recipe. I cooked this today as I really miss home. I'll post the complete recipe later as I'm posting this from my phone.

SMART: SIMPLY AMAZING INDEED!

To cut costs, I maintain a SIM of my network's competitor-- Smart as most of the people I know are using this network; this is because all telco promotions are exclusive to their own subscribers. Promos such as unlimited calls or texts allows us to communicate more with friends and relatives without having to pay a premium. One of those promos I avail with Smart is its Talk20, which allows a subscriber to make three three-minute Smart to Smart calls for only twenty pesos. With even the discounted rate I get for my postpaid plan with my network- Globe, twenty pesos is only worth a three minute call.

Talk20 is one of those usual call promos wherein calls are routed to VOIP to cut the cost of transmission. As such, the quality of calls can be a bit gritty; but people don't mind as at least they are able to call at low cost. This doesn't bother me either. The service though gets a bit shady as it often eats up your unused call allowance even if you are not able to contact the number you are calling. This happens to me almost every other time I register for the service. I still didn't mind it then as most of the time one or even two calls get through.

Early this morning, I was trying to reach my niece with still two calls I have for the promo that I have registered for the past evening. I was surprised to have been connected to somebody else on the other end, and the recipient herself was surprised to get me instead of the one whose number is appearing on her phone. I thought I dialled the wrong number, but then I figured it couldn't possibly be as my niece's number is stored on both the SIM and the phone itself and even on our two other phones. I tried to dial again from the phonebook but again Smart connected me to a wrong number. This time again the person I have been connected to said it was another person's number showing up on his phone and not mine.

My niece sent me a text message asking why somebody else is calling from my number. I told her exactly what I did and that I think Smart is messing up with the connections-- calls are being routed to wrong numbers. I tried to call again but this time it returned a busy tone; and shortly afterwards I got a message from Smart saying I already have used up my three calls.

I called up Smart's customer service to let them know what happened. I was not even about to complain. After the ususal touch tone menu, and a few minutes of being on hold, an agent finally took the call. She asked what she can help me with, and I told her exactly what had just happened. She simply thanked me for calling and hung up. A bit furious with the previous agent, I again called their customer service line and got through with another lady agent. After hearing what I had to say, she simply said that they only accomodate postpaid subscribers and hung up.

Some two years ago, I decided to switch over to Globe for the same reason-- Smart's lousy customer service. They simply haven't changed even now-- they'll tell you right in your face they don't give a damn. Globe on the other hand hears out their customers, and even calls you back to let you know of what they did to address your problem.

That makes Smart simply amazing!

TEST

Test post with Viewty.

HAYDEN KHO AND KATRINA HALILI SEX SCANDAL

Let's be sensible enough. These people did not intend those videos, I say even Hayden Kho, to be open to the public. Delete your copies of the videos or do not even download them at all. We should understand that this will definitely cost them their future; and that is to consider the fact that Katrina Halili is still young and still has her full life ahead of her. Again delete them from your computers or phones, never share them to anyone, or better yet do not download them at all.

Fit For A King

I have never written about Manny Pacquiao ever since I started blogging. This is despite the fact that I have witnesssed his rise to fame from his humble beginnings. He instantly caught my attention the first time I saw him fight on the amateur boxing show "Blow By Blow". Well, I really am not a boxing fan, but I knew he has a future in the sports right then. It turned out, of course, that his future is more of a destiny to be the greatest ever in his sports. Or one of the best, definitely. His recent victory now forever etched him in the history not only of boxing but the entire world of sports. Although I disagree with most that his wins brings honors to Filipinos, as I believe his success is entirely his and his team's honor, I now can truly admit that he makes me proud just to be the same nationality as he is. For a King do deserve his honors.

CLIMATE CHANGE

We may be witnessing a major evidence of climate change at the moment. Here in the tropics, we usually are this time of the year in the early-middle part of summer. Yet, since last week, it has been raining hard and eventually we now have low pressure areas (not just one but three) developing in different parts of the country. This ushers in the start of the monsoon season, which should have not been the case until the start of June. It may also be noted that the cold season have lasted until almost the end of February this year.

Leaders all over the world have recognized these facts and laid out measures to at least alleviate the possible consequences. We ourselves should brace for the worst as it is just beginning. If ever, we are having this year the shortest ever summer.

As scientists have predicted, once the shortening of warmer days begins, what surely will follow will be the beginning of the new ice age. The massive melting of our ice caps and glaciers cools the oceans and disrupts the natural cycle of atmospheric activities, which causes our weather. This phenomenon have been well demonstrated by the shifting ocean currents the past few years, which has caused some concern about some animals being displaced, and inevitably this will have cascading effects to every living thing in this planet. This oceanic currents are partly responsible for the distribution of heat throughout the planet; and as the oceans gets colder in time these currents will then stop and the planet will grow colder.

I am not being a doomsayer or anything, I am merely speaking based from facts. We all have something to fear, and this one is my biggest as it will affect every single person I know and those I love as well.

It's that or maybe only because my brother is coming home to Bicol for vacation, which almost always is hounded by stormy weather when he's there.

RAINY SUMMER

Early tonight, after battering mankind with hours of very hot afternoon, there suddenly were thunders and lightnings. Shortly thereafter, heavy rain poured. I was just into the few minutes then of trying to return to sleep, and the noise of pounding rain on the roof kept me awake instead. All in all, today I only had a couple of hours of sleep. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep my eyes open at work.

GLOBE'S PIXLINK

Just yesterday I found this new service from Globe Telecom called PixLink. It was a killer service backed by a killer app that can be installed to almost any cellphone. As it is still in it's beta version, the service is still for free. You are allowed to upload any amount of pictures without paying for the service.

What makes this better than other photo sharing services like Flickr is its being free for now. Filipinos love taking pictures and share them to everyone, and this service quickly is a winner. I have been browsing uploaded and publicly shared photos and am quite amazed at how Filipinos can be creative using just a cellphone camera.

See it for yourself.

DISCONNECTED

Around fifteen minutes before I logged in for my shift, the phone system went down and all calls on the floor got disconnected. This was a big break everyone on avail are waiting for- evidence that indeed most agent on this account would rather avoid taking calls than do the job expected of them. It was a celebration of sorts as they had time at hand to chatter with those next to their stations. A supervisor informed me that it only was happening in Manila and our counterparts in Cebu are only the ones who are able to take calls, and they have only a few agents on avail to handle the massive queue. While those of us here in Manila rejoice, I was quite worried as every single second that passes by is a lost revenue for our company and that of the client. In this time of financial crisis, the agents should have realized this is not something to be happu about.

Drip

Nothing really to write about; just to bump up this blog. Summer is really here in the tropics, making your underwear stick to your skin, which is kind of icky. Makes you always want to dip in a tub or a pool. However, we should be reminded of the fact that this planet is fast running out of fresh water sources. Let us always be mindful of turning that tap on. Be sure every drop is not wasted.

Together Alone

Basking in the darkness of our room right now. With my wife in my arms. Listening to the new voice of British soul- Joss Stone. Really nothing but the person that I always wanted to spend my life with, the uncertainty of us ever having at least one child, the love we share, and a music that we both enjoy.

CHECK IT OUT!

It's rude to stare, right? That doesn't make checking out somebody any
different. Well, I think it's alright as long as it's the opposite
sex. However, it's another thing if a gay is checking out a person of
the same sex. It should be. It's not descrimination to have a law
prohibiting such. I mean, imagine you're a straight married man, then
there's some dude at the bus or train bigger and more buff than you
are but evidently gay checking you out. I'm not against homosexuality,
and for crying out loud the house music I love so much is frequently
associated with gays; I respect their rights and they have to respect
other people back. Geez! Kaya pala ganun kasi bukas ang zipper ko.

DEMANDING

It's scary how the business relationship between our company and the
client on which account I am assigned to has become sort of
sadomasochistic. The client do know very well it is the "bread and
butter" or the biggest client of the company, and that their departure
will definitely mean the break or make of the latter in the global
outsourcing industry.The former uses this fact to its advantage by
demanding seemingly impossible things in exchange for their continued
patronage of our company's services.

In just a matter of a year, the client have managed to demand at least
25% increase in the sales quota for our company while going tougher on
the requirements for incentives. Additionally, the client also have
indirectly imposed upon us calibrations on the quality standards that
have us almost begging customers for sales. It is a known fact that
they do not have the same high quota, strict metrics requirements for
incentives, and tough quality standards in their own center in the US.

I understand the position of our company on this matter-- the account
serving this client employs anything from a couple to three hundred
people; losing this client means letting go of these people. I would
like to believe that our company, especially now that it has been
bought out by a bigger conglomerate, can survive loss of such a big
client, and that it's main reason for keeping the client was to
continue providing employment for us, agents of this account.

Recently, the managers of the account came up with a mandatory 8 hours
overtime for agents to render within the month. The directive was so
sudden that it makes anyone think the spike in number of calls was
never announced by the client. We have no news about it but certainly
this should mean reduction in queue for our US counterparts,
presumably because of the bad economy of the US and they want to cut
down costs by increasing the volume of calls in the Philippine center,
as our hourly rates are less than half of their agents in the US.

I hope the client soon realizes the injustice they are doing with the
demands they have to our company. On the other hand, I hope also our
company can stand for its employees as we have done in its name. I
believe everyone do have compassion in their hearts.

THIRD

I did write about bad luck coming in threes as from my experience, and
I hated to be right but I just simply am. The third death in the
family this year. It was a cousin again, and this time it was somebody
close to my age and I grew up with. Leukemia was the bringer, and it
did not last very long for him. He succumbed soon as the symptoms
appeared. His family were trying to deny the fact, especially his
nurse sister who has been living in new york. They very well knew the
symptoms and the blotches on his skin could only mean one thing, and
they have tried and tried to get from second to fourth opinion, hoping
in vain that at least a doctor will give them a different diagnosis.
It's morbid, I know, but I did anticipate he will be the third. The
tragic thing is that he left his wife and three young children.

On the other hand, I kind of had three bad lucks of my own recently.
First, my PSP was dropped by my nephew and stopped working. And then,
a few days later, while trying to transfer the files from its memory
card to a flash disk, the memory card suddenly went out and could not
be detected anymore by the system; and it contained pictures from our
vacation in Bicol in December and also pictures from my niece's
wedding, not to mention my favorite games. And then a few days ago, my
phones stopped working one after the other. They just turned off and
never came back on. When I brought them to the service center for
repair, as I do need at least one of the phones, I have been quoted at
least PHP 1,500.00 for each phone.

Talk about bad luck.

Test 2

TEST FROM BOX.NET

77 Strings.mp3

TEST POST

This is a test post for my Box.net account, for me to share music.

Born Slippy.mp3

FIVE, SIX

It has been a few months since the transition of management of my company from it's American upper management to Indian has been complete. Our company has been acquired by a big Indian owned conglomerate. The employees of the company though, who mostly are Filipinos, have not grown accustomed to seeing Indians from the management.

It seemed this is also true the other way around-- on my way home from work early this morning, I happened to share the elevator with an Indian national. I smiled at him and he seemed undecided whether to smile back or not. When we reached the ground floor, it was only then he smiled and asked for me to go first.

The truth is that I have always been fascinated by India and it's people since I was young. You probably can blame it to such stories as Jungle Book and Secret Garden. Indians are known for their perseverance and also as hardworkers. We have a neighboring family who are full-blooded Indians but have been living here in the Philippines for several years already. Some two years ago, their home was ravaged by fire, leaving them nothing but the clothes on their back and a few thousand Pesos of savings in a bank account. They have to start from scratch all over again, and it amazes me to see that in just two years the family is almost back to their former glory. All because they pooled their efforts. If only Filipinos have the same determination.

Most Filipinos only know Indians as the people who are in the lending business fondly called five-six-- simply, the system is called five-six from the example that if you borrow five pesos you will pay six pesos for it (I wonder why not instead one-two, three-four, or even nine-ten?). These people, or any Indian for that matter, are called by Filipinos as "Bumbay", apparently with reference to Bombay or Mumbai. The word "Bumbay" has become synonymous for Filipinos to being strict and always business-like.

These people at the office are alot more different. They are from the educated and professional lot of their country. Some of my colleagues fear of what could be the the outcome of apparent move by the company to replace people from the former management with those from their country. I understand the move, not only for the fact that the new owners of the company now are Indians, but also for that Indians have been in the BPO business longer than any other country in Asia. I'm not saying the former American management then are not experienced in this industry. It should be taken into consideration that India still is considered the number one in this industry. The Philippines certainly can use their expertise to further expand the BPO business here.

The so-called colonial mentality of Filipinos could be the culprit why most employees here in our company prefer the former American management then. Filipinos indeed are more accustomed to the American culture than Indian culture. However, we may be forgetting that their presence here may also be a culture shock to them. Yes, we do have alot in common as countries-- the humid and warm weather, the love for spicy foods, the song and dance numbers in locally produced movies. But then it may be startling for them to see our fenced highways, the presence of mall and fastfood in just about every corner, and the staggering number of gay people (discreet or screaming out loud) in the Filipino workplace (hahahahaha!).

I'm sure it's not just me-- I do love Indians, and as a matter of fact I am a big fan of M. Night; and well, yeah, Kumar Patel of Harold and Kumar fame (potentially also I may love Slumdog Millionaire with so much buzz about it, but I have yet to see it). I love their perseverance, steadfast faith to their religion, and let's just say everything that Mahatma personified. They said in every Indian lives a little Mahatma, so what's not to love there? Mother Teresa couldn't possibly be wrong, could she? My opinion is that if Filipinos are to emulate a particular race, it should be none other than Indians.

India is bullish about its future as a developed country. It has strategically positioned itself in the technology world, in basically subcategories like BPO that are largely unexplored before, and emerged as a stronghold for talents and skills that are required in the global community. Philippines have only been in the business for several years and could certainly learn from India. With the acquisition of our company by the bigger conglomerate, I sort of am having a vision of the two countries helping out each other-- with India providing the knowhow, and the Philippines augmenting the need for talents and skills.

The decision of the management to sell the company was largely due to the bleak forecast for the US and global economy in the coming years. Our CEO then must have known best to have decided about it. The conglomerate certainly is at a better position to absorb any impact of the global crisis to the operation of the company until everything gets better. The name of the subsidiary of the conglomerate, true to itself, swooped in to protect the company and the thousands it employs. The economics is that it is better to lose managment of the company (and get compensated for it), than have thousands of people lose their jobs (insert here the warming "aaaaaahhhhh").

All these said and done, I think the Philippines should look at Indian BPO industry not as a competitor, but rather a partner with whom we can grow and have a song and dance number with (with M. Night directing).

Junky

I'm sorry. I tried but I couldn't just do it. It has cast its root so deep into my person over the years that I almost immediately have withdrawal not having it for even just half a day. I have amassed so much of it that I'll most likely be judged several lifetimes if it is illegal. I can't change anymore. This is one hard habit to break. Not even a rehab will mend me; I might as well be dead. Only then can I be cured of this addiction. Damn you, house music!

SLEEPLESS IN MANILA

I have gone for more than three days now without sleep. Surprisingly, though, I still am not feeling groggy nor even having double vision that are associated with lack of sleep. I am not feeling tried too. No, I'm not on drugs and never have been. It started Saturday morning after coming home from work. I'm supposed to be asleep during the day as my work is at graveyard shit. I did sleep on the way home on the bus for like half an hour or so, and then nothing more. I just lay on the bed listening to music and trying to relax my mind. I'm not thinking of anything, just laying there enjoying the music. My wife closed the blinds and drapes to simulate night time, but still I am not able to sleep. I only listen to light jazz or chillout music to relax, but still without success. A friend suggested I must be stressed out, which I thought to be strange because I normally sleep alot instead when I'm stressed out. And then again, today as I go home from work, I will be on my three-day off. Although I don't feel drowsy or anything, I sure want to rest my eyes and have a good long sleep.

SOON ON THIS BLOG: I will be installing a widget for visitors to stream house or electronic music on this blog. I just am refining the playlist for it.

GOING BACK TO TRIPHOP

On the way home from work yesterday morning, I found myself bored with the music I have on my phone. For almost two years now, I have been without a dedicated digital audio player and have been using my phones instead as I dread carrying alot of things with me. The tracks on the phone I mostly carry with me, a Sony Ericsson K800i, have not been updated for more than a year already. I have been lazy replacing the files on its memory card with those I have on the computer at home.

The phone contained mostly house music, about 100 of them, and then the other half are of mixed genre from pop to triphop. I realized the triphop songs have been on my phone since I first bought a memory card for it, but have rarely listened to them, often just skipping as one starts to play. They mostly are from my favorite triphop band- Portishead, and then several tracks also from Massive Attack and Sneaker Pimps. I decided to create a new playlist with just the triphop tracks and some ambient and chillout tracks I also have on the phone and listened to it the whole two hours of my ride home.

I first had my taste of triphop back in the heyday of Massive Attack around mid-90's. That, along with techno and mostly electronica consisted the playlists on my computer then. For a brief period in the early 90's, I was into alternative rock, especially grunge and Seattle; but have never abandoned my passion for electronic music. Then, around 1995, I discovered chillout music. I have always been drawn to the kind of melancholic/dark that chillout music sort of creates, and so I figured I should learn more about it. In the process of trying to learn more about chillout, I have uncovered a sort of subgenre darker and more melancholic than anything else i have heard, and that is triphop.

Tricky was the first band I have come to identify with triphop. Back then internet was expensive and file-sharing is virtually still in its infancy. The only source I have for feeding my crave for certain kinds of music is to ask my brother here in Metro Manila to look for CDs for me. He managed to get me CDs of Portishead and Massive Attack. At first I was more into Massive Attack, and then even Sneaker Pimps, than Portishead. When Portishead though churned out their self-titled second album, I was convinced they are the best triphop outfit there is. Their CD stayed for some months on my CD changer in my bedroom and I faithfully listened to each and every song almost every single day then. I mean it rarely happens that you would like each and every single song in an album, much more if you are somebody like me whose taste for music is diverse as one can get.

As far back as I can remember, I always have been into music, and I have grown my appetite for electronic music as a young boy when I first got hold of a cassette album by Kraftwerk. I have listened to anything from classical and traditional Celtic music to rock and electronica, with everything else in between. Rock though was kind of a favorite as I was growing up- I view it as a type of music that gets you in the gut. Then as I grow older, it unfolded to me that riffs and screams doesn't necessarily help you vent out your angst, dark and morbid melodies can too, and even more effectively. Until I saw myself veering away from youth's staple of rock and more venturing into the realm of electronic music.

My fascination with triphop peaked about 2001, when I was about to realize my dream of becoming a club DJ. That time I have both the albums considered to be the best triphop albums ever-- Portishead's self-titled and Massive Attack's Mezzanine (pictured above). Then as I landed a job being a resident DJ at a club in our town, I have more and more concentrated on House music.

As you probably have known by now, it already has been more than 2 years since I have left residency at the club I was working for, and the club itself have also closed doors shortly after I left. Still I kept up with the latest in house music. That is until recently. I have been finding myself opting to listen to radio on my commute to and from work instead of the lot of house music files I have on my phone. I was thinking before that it may be because I have just gotten tired of listening to house, as I have sworn before that in house I found the soundtrack of my lifetime. Well, I stand corrected.

FISH OUT OF WATER

I feel always like fish out of water. Never will I become part nor adapted to this life. There stands the need to be in water. Otherwise I'll perish in this strife. Hahahaha! My broken poetry sense! Geez!

SEEING RED

On the way home from my cousin's wake in Sucat near midnight last week, I decided to just take the bus as I figured traffic will not be too heavy. I took the very first aircon bus that went by near the Sucat exit from the South Superhighway. I was going through the seats to select the best location when I saw a familiar face right near very end row of the bus. He smiled at me and I was trying to remember his name, but I do know that he was on the same account I was on before at the company I work for.

He seem to have sensed me struggling for his name so he volunteered it. He was the same as before, always smiling, although he seemed sick this time and evidently he lost so much weight. I remember him being a bit on the chubby side, and let me just say that it's a far cry from how he is now. We talked for awhile about what happened with our lives since the time he left our company. Nothing has been changed with both our lives, except that he now is earning almost double than I am. He's with another call center in the south.

Everything's well, until I asked him how come he trimmed down his weight. He jokingly said it was not intentional, and that he actually is sick. I was not about to ask him what's wrong, but he said he has AIDS. The revelation almost had me falling off the seat, and he most likely noticed how surprised I was. He just chuckled and said for me not to worry as he is on medication to maintain his health. I can see he's trying to be brave disclosing me all these. AIDS is a fatal disease, and sexually transmitted most of the time nonetheless.

I have know him before to be discretely gay. Until he admits to you, you really will have no idea about his sexual preference. We go the same route even before, and the trip can be around one and a half hour duration, so we have alot of time in our hands to talk. He admitted to have been hooked into unsafe sex almost immediately after leaving our company, and that certainly was what led him to his demise. The sad thing is that his family have disowned him and he's currently living on his own. He also is afraid he may lose his job if his company finds out about his condition.

What's even more tragic is that he has two children and he used to be married too back in his province in the northern part of the Philippines. Despite having been separated, he remained friends with his ex-wife, and he continued to support his children by her. However, his ex-wife only found out he was gay when the news about him having contracted the disease spread in his hometown. Since then, he have been denied visitation nor even just to see his children as his ex-wife and her new husband moved to another place.

It may be rude, but then I was not able to hold myself back to ask him the question-- if he has regrets. He looked down and then shortly he broke into sobs, still trying to hold back his emotions. I know this is something really big, and evidently it has changed his life thoroughly. To comfort him, I patted him on his back and apologized for popping the question, and that I know it was stupid for me to ask. He lifted up his face, he smiled and still with tears asked me if I still do want to know his answer anyway. I said yes.

He said he doesn't regret anything that he has done, and whatever the consequences were for his actions. He believes we always should stand by our actions. Sex in the workplace (or outside) is always a possibility anywhere in a corporate environment. Much more in the call center industry, as most people here have liberated mindset about sex or sexuality, owing probably to the colonial mentality allowed by constant exposure to the western culture. Additionally, call centers also have the largest ratio of gay population in the workplace.

We continued to talk some more until it was finally my stop. I watched the bus roll away, filled with thoughts on really how things can change for the worst almost in an instant if you are not too careful.

BE REMINDED: AIDS DO NOT ONLY AFFLICT HOMOSEXUALS OR JUNKIES, it also can any of us.

WAITING FOR THIRD

Doesn't luck always strike thrice? And as I have experienced, it does the same way for bad luck.

This month we have had two deaths already in the family-- an uncle and a cousin. Barely two weeks away from each other and both with the same cause as my mother had-- heart disease. I'm not sure if we should take this as a warning, but then if it does strike thrice as it had before, then there is really nothing to stop it. The family is bracing for the worst, anyhow, but I say accept anything as fate would have it. We sure can do everything we can to avoid such fate, and that's about it.

It's bleak, I know, to look at it this way. The truth is that I really am not a superstitious person; it's just that I am basing this from my own experience-- LUCK BE IT GOOD OR OTHERWISE ALWAYS COMES IN THREES. And then again, they only come in threes.... and nothing more.

URADIO 107.9 FM

For sometime now, an underground radio station has been operating here in Metro Manila. It's location is undisclosed, just the same as the owners and the operators. There are no DJs; they utilize automated playlist from a computer with mix sets of popular DJs, both local and abroad, and they operate 24/7 (or so I think). I'm not sure if it is unlicensed to broadcast, or if it's just a gimmick. But then they also do not air commercials save for station ID and regular stingers about upcoming clubbing events in the metro or also warnings about drunk driving and driving while using a cellphone.

They play underground club music, ranging from house to techno, even drum n bass some of the times. The playlist can be so underground that many of the tracks being played are unrecognized. This doesn't mean, however, that the music is not good-- believe me, they will blow you away even if you are not a clubber. I also am not sure whether they do play live mix sets sometimes, but surely what they play most often are mix sets.

uRadio broadcasts on 107.9 mHz and may not be available in some locations as their transmitter is only 500 watts. And then they also have a live streaming site from where you can listen anywhere in the world. You can find the link here. You also can see more info about the staion here.

UPDATE:
Apparently, uRadio (or UnderGround Radio) 107.9mHz is operated by Brainstone Broadcasting Inc., with studio in Pasig and transmitter in Tagaytay city. Circa 2000, it was known as Power 108FM and was owned then by ConAmor Broadcasting Systems, they played then mostly urban music. The station closed in 2004 as it was then speculated to be a pirate station. It opened again in 2006, and this time with the trademark underground club music playlist, but also then shortly shut down due to complaints by licensed FM stations. They returned on air in April 2007, shifting frequencies to 108, 107.1, and 107.9mHz (so, that's why it comes and goes on our radio back home those times), but also had to close again after some months. Then, in October 2007, armed with newly acquired NTC permit, it went back on the air and this time with live broadcasts of mix sets from two of the most popular bars/clubs in Metro Manila. And then again, late September of 2008, it was closed down by NTC due to expired permit. It resumed broadcasting October 12, 2008 and remained on the air up to this writing.

Meaty Eggplant Torta

This recipe is quite common, and this is a variation of the regular eggplant torta. My brother, whom we consider as the one who inherited my mother's skills in the kitchen, taught me this recipe sometime ago.

You will need the following ingredients- 5 pcs medium length eggplants, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1 finely chopped onion, 1/4 kilo ground beef (or pork), 5 pcs tomatoes chopped,
a dash of ground black pepper, 1 pkt of coarsely ground crackers, 3 whole eggs, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 4 bell peppers cut into strips, 1/2 cup of button mushrooms cut diagonally, a dash of MSG (optional), juice of 3 pcs calamansi, and salt to taste.

Boil or roast the eggplant and then peel off the skin. Flatten the skinned eggplant, letting the excess liquid drain. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredient together to make a thick paste.

In a pan, heat 3 tbsp cooking oil, then spread one of the eggplants in the pan. Put in a liberal thickness of the filling, then cook until the underside browns. Turnover with spatula to cook the other side with the filling.

Serve with hot sauce, ketchup, or mayonaise as dip. Ground beef or pork can be substituted with bits of cooked bacon, ham, or sausages.

UP CLOSE

On my way to work today, I chanced upon this old bus from a transport company that I have for so long avoided for being the cause of all occasions I have been late for work. But knowing buses going my route is hard to come by this time of the night, I boarded this one as I presume rush hour is a few hours past and it doesn't have anymore excuses to keep on stopping waiting for passengers.

Every thing's well, if only for the hint of stink owing to the fact that the bus is already old and its passenger must have not given a thought of cleaning things up after themselves. Food wrappers are on the floor and some have been slipped into crevices or gaps between seats. I kept my mind off these and instead turned up the music on my headset.

Indeed, unlike my past experiences with buses of this company, the driver ignored minor bus stops and went on to speed ahead and stopped only on major loading/unloading stations. One of such stations was Ortigas, and a few passengers boarded the bus as we shortly stopped. With the seats in front of me recently vacated, two new passengers, both males, readily took the seats. I didn't mind them at first, as they seem no more than office personnel coming home late. However, I did notice that both are blessed with things I unfortunately didn't have-- good looks and gym-fit bodies.

As we continued on, I opted to play the new game I have just installed on my PSP. Then I suddenly heard the lady beside me blurting cuss words. I lifted my head and turned to her; she was looking at the seats in front of us and so I turned to look also. And there, up close and right in our faces, two gym-fit men passionately kissing! Yeeeccchhhh! I have never seen such a thing. It may have been less shocking if one of them was really effeminate. I guess my mind is still not sensitized for such a thing eventhough we now are living an era when tolerance and acceptance is very much alive.

NEW TEMPLATE

If you have noticed, I have this new template on the blog. Well, this is not the one my friend gave me, which I wrote about a couple of posts back. This is just to test how the template copying works.

REPOST: REDISCOVERING PURARAN

This is a repost of a story I contributed to one of my previous online communities-- http://www.catanduanes.net/.

Because of my job, I have to reschedule my Valentine's date a week after the red day itself. My date and I agreed we'll spend it in a beach; but until the day came, we have not decided on where to go. We have spent almost all weekends of both our lifetime in beaches here in Virac and San Andres, I figured we have to go somewhere else.

The first thing that came into my mind was Puraran. I have been there only twice and the last one was like eons ago. I have forgotten what the place looked like; all I can remember is that it is a beautiful cove.

The trouble with Puraran is it's too far. Not quite remote, but too far. You'll be too spent with the trip to enjoy the place when you get there. Then a question popped up in my head, " Where did your sense of adventure go?". Oh yeah, I have spent too much time mixing dance music for Virac clubbers that I have forgotten my former life as an avid nature tripper. When I was in college, my batch (Batch 99) started the tradition of weekly trek by BS Biology students at Catanduanes State Colleges. I have since been hooked to nature treks and mountain climbing. That was until I took my place in Virac Clublife.

Late for almost half an hour already, I rushed to my motorcycle and pumped up Disturbed's "Stupify" into my headphones. My girlfriend has been complaining of my always being late and surely I am again this time. I could almost see her fuming mad and pacing furiously in front of their house.

My girlfriend did not talk to me on our way. I spent the whole time listening to Portishead and Massive Attack on my mp3 jukebox. Of course with occasional gasps at the sight of the beautiful seaside scenery of Baras town. This town is truly blessed with miles of stretches of fine white sand beaches. Perhaps much more extensive that either Virac or San Andres or both of them combined.

After about an hour and a half of rough roads and pot holes, I steered right into a paved downhill, I mean very downhill road that leads to the beach. My jaw dropped in pure awe with the paradise of a place that was before us. My girlfriend exclaimed, "Ung gayun palan dindi!" (I had no idea how breathtaking this would be). That was all it took to get her to talk to me again, and I teased her for it. The raw beauty of Puraran brings out raw emotions out of anybody who beholds it for the first time. We both could not take the smiles out of our faces, with us now is the opportunity to share a day we might never forget in our lives, be it we end up together or not. And at the center of it is the awesome wonder that is Puraran.

We approached the man on the resort and asked about the rates for the cottages. Suspecting we were there only to get laid, he said it was P150 for a short time-- three hours maximum. Yes, we were there to do that, but that was aside from enjoying the place. We were told the overnight rate is P250, and I gave the man that before I even realized how much affordable it was. It's official now, paradise is affordable. Paradise Beach Resort is on the other side of the island in San Andres; I have been there too and I say Puraran deserves the name much more than the other.

While our cottage was being prepared, we sat on the grass and filled our eyes with the scenes going about. It was nearly three o' clock in the afternoon. A few people were cleaning out the beach of washed up sea grass and algae. There is a group of Caucasians combing the beach, and a couple of Japanese-looking couple were swimming.

It's no wonder surfers from all over the world flock here. The waves are not quite perfect, but at leas it is consistently of good height. I am not an expert surfer to ever have an authority to say this; I have only learned to surf a beaten up old short board the summer of last year. However, I have enough experience to say the least.

The cottage is basically furnished. With a cushioned bed, an electric fan, running water and toilet, and electricity. It was made with wood, bamboo, and thatched roof. All three cottages owned by our host were nestled at the foot of the hill we descended from earlier. The only thing I didn't quite like was that there is no chair inside the cottage, there are only fixed benches on the porch; and the steps leading up to the porch are too thin, you could break your neck with one false step. All in all though, it's livable. There are another two resorts operating in the cove. One located after another.

We rested for about an hour or two, and then we combed the beach until the sunset. The fading lights did not at all lessen the beauty of the place. In fact it even enhanced it-- making the sight from the beach very romantic. What amazed us most is that it is very clean everywhere, even as the lights increasingly dimmed, the water is still quite clear-- from the beach you still can see the grassy bottom of the sea.

We had our dinner of freshly caught fish and newly milled rice. The smell of the broiled fish and the steamy rice made us very hungry that we probably ate like horses. We were so full afterwards we had a hard time burping. Upon learning we were first timers, our host did not make us pay for our meal. Before leaving for our cottage, we bought a bottle of punch, bags of potato chips, and a pack of something to make sure we do not develop a problem nine months from now.

After having our baths and slipping into something comfortable, we cuddled on the porch wrapped in blankets while consuming the punch and potato chips. The breeze gently blows, but with almost freezing chill. Along with the rhythmic breaking of the waves were the different sounds of nocturnal animals and crickets. It was very dark around, but I know the quarter moon will shine a few hours later from the mountain edges of the cove. The whole thing provided a feeling of utmost serenity, like the whole world is not coming into a verge of a war, like we were innocent children talking about whimsical things. The soft rhythmic thump of trance music from the small powered speakers I connected to my mp3 player is the only reminder of every single night I had for the past seven months as one of the resident DJs of Pacific Wave Disco in Virac.

Around eleven, the moon began to creep from the mountains; draping the whole cove, the rocky islet, and the ocean with its silvery rays. It was almost magical. We can feel each other's sighs coming after another. The only night lights I have known for the past few months were the neons, lasers, strobes, halogens, and scanners from the club I'm working for. This is a very radical but pleasant change in atmosphere. I turned off all the lights from the cottage and let in the moonlight. An idea hit me like a speeding bullet train from Tokyo. I closed my eyes and with the playing trance music, I imagined myself spinning for a beach party-- with hundreds of sweaty bodies gyrating, bonfires burning, and the moonlight is the only dancing light on. We should have that here in Catanduanes sometime.

I pulled the sheets and the pillows from the bed and laid them on the porch. Then I programmed my mp3 jukebox to repeat play all 89 songs in my acoustic selection folder. With half-dazed minds over the punch, tiredness and sleepiness, the endless sighs, the beautiful sights, the thought of having only a few hours left before our one day vacation is over, and our raging hormones, we laid and bathed our half-naked bodies with the magical rays of the moon.

Early before sunrise, we have to leave for Virac. We may not have another glimpse of Puraran's cove for a long time after this. So we took a last long look at the nature's masterpiece that is Puraran, making sure it sticks in our minds forever.

TRAFFIC

As you probably can see, there is not much traffic in this blog according to the real-time traffic feed I have recently installed. I have decided to install it as the hit counter on top of the page was reporting hits of more than 100,000 a week. I am not sure how the counter works, or how the live traffic feed works, but certainly it is nice to know some people are interested on what I pour on this blog.

A friend of mine sent me some weeks ago a template for Blogger, and forgive me but I am not really knowledgeable on HTML so I still am figuring out on how to use the template. I am planning to overhaul the blog and use a better layout and template, also put in more things, but then I'm holding it for now as I want to be able to work on the blog in just one big sitting. I also am awaiting consents from owners of the blogs I frequent to add their URLs on my links, and I am planning to setup a sub-blog accessible through this one showcasing sketches that I have done over the years.

It is funny how I started this blog some four months ago thinking it may meet the same fate as other blogs I have started before, that is abandoned. Not that I have not gotten enough traffic in my previous blogs, but I really first thought blogging was just a passing trend and will quickly go away in the same manner as it came. My very first blog was way back in 1999, using Lycos owned Tripod services, which really is not a blogging service but rather a webpage hosting service. I favored using Tripod then because of the extent of customization it allows. I later have migrated to Yahoo's Geocities and several other hosting services.

Probably, the widest read blog I have had was during my employment as an internet cafe manager from 2004-2006. I created the blog around mid-year of 2004 and have maintained it up until mid-year 2006. It was with a flash-based hosting service, which allowed for fancy flash animations to hold the contents. It basically was part of the website I created for the club I was also working for then, and it had real-time audio/video streaming every night from the DJ booth of the club, which is owned by the same people as the internet cafe. We also had real-time chat, streaming exclusive mix set of house and urban music, a substantial gallery of events we have hosted, and a separate gallery for my drawings. The streaming contents though were hosted on another site as web 2.0 I think was not that popular then.

Some of the entries that have garnered much attention from my previous blogs mostly were about destinations in my island home- Catanduanes. I have a motorcycle then, which allowed me to go to most places within the island. Other contents my blogs before that had so much traffic were posts containing my sketches in pencils. The sketches may have not been tastefully done, nor it may not be artistic, yet I usually include with them lengthy descriptions or stories related to the sketches. I didn't have digital camera then, and the way I was able to digitize the contents/pictures was through scanners.

I have closed my last blog before this one some two years ago, immediately after my wife and I have decided to try our luck here in Metro Manila. I have contributed contents to other people's blogs or communities in between, but I have never setup another for myself until this one. With still only a handful of entries to count, I look forward into making this grow further. The fact is that I have still a handful of unpublished posts I am not ready to share as of yet. I really do not proof-read my contents so you may find some typo errors here and there, but it is important for me that it could be of use to somebody somewhere, so I make sure the information I post are correct and are up to date.

picture from: thisisbroken.com

LOST GROOVE

It has been more than two years since I last had my hands on decks. I'm afraid I'm rusty by now and will need to refine my skills if I ever want to go back to spinning. I miss the nightly gigs I used to have back in Bicol as a resident DJ of a club there. I miss the feel of vinyl grooves in my fingers, and having to scratch on the first beat of the bar before starting the mix even though it is not necessary.

On the bus on my way to work tonight, I was listening to my playlist of house music on my phone. Although I brought along my PSP, I opted to just listen to the music instead and daydream (or nightdream) about the past years.

The crowd took a break and there are only a few on the floor. It was a few more hours before the club closes, and most are already tired dancing to my previous sets of RnB and HipHop. It is strange that I specialize in house music, yet it seem so hard to me to push for acceptance from my crowd, as they more prefer urban music than real club music.

I pushed the playing track into a backward spin, while slowly introducing the other deck as I scratch the first beat of Kaskade's remix of Here I Am by David Morales. The people on the floor turned to look at me, as if asking what the hell I was doing it for. Throwing them a smile, I killed the upfader on the outgoing and let the vinyl go on the other deck.

Some people got up from their tables and soon after the floor filled up. The perfect house pattern of the song makes me jump to it, as my wife beside me dances with me. We each have on the booth a bottle of SanMig Light, from friends of us in the crowd. Good tracks, despite the crowd not knowing it, always have the effect that makes them go wild.

From my crate, I took the vinyl for Robyn's Be Mine, and laid it on the other deck. I set the tonearm to the beginning of the track and then put on the headphone and pressed the PFL (pre-fader listening) button. I took the tonearm back to the beginning of the track and then scratched the first beat in sync with the beat of the current song playing. Then I let go of it to be able to adjust the BPM. I took one ear off the headphone to hear the playing track from the monitor on the booth, while still being able to hear the incoming track on the other ear.

Shortly after the first few beats, the incoming song goes a bit faster than the other, and I have to tap a bit on the pitch bend button and adjust two notches below on the pitch slider. I let the incoming song playing, and making adjustments accordingly as it goes off-sync. Stopped the incoming deck and returned the tonearm to the beginning of the track, again scratching to the beat of the outgoing song waiting for the first beat of a bar. I have let the incoming ride the beat of the outgoing on my headphone to check if it is perfectly in sync for at least 32 beats.

Went back to enjoying the currently playing song, while the next song is cued on the other deck. As the outgoing song nears the end, breaking down to just the music, I let the incoming track go and then adjusted the channel's low EQ to just half (I don't know with other DJs, I always adjust the bass of the incoming as I do the mix mostly when there still is substantial music instruments on the song). Slowly, I push the upfader on the incoming's channel to blend with the outgoing. While doing this, I also am adjusting the high EQ of the outgoing by small increments.

Kaskade's Big Room Remix of Here I Am by David Morales has this perfect house beat pattern, while Robyn's Be Mine has this off-beat snare where supposedly the hihat cymbal should be. It is a joy to introduce the off-beat snare into the typical house beat. AS the mix progresses, the two tracks are always in perfect sync and the melodies from the two are blending very nicely. I have started to introduce the bassline of the incoming by slowly turning up its low EQ, and I started to slowly slide down the upfader for the outgoing. Then suddenly both the track goes into a breakdown where the outgoing will be shifting to just drums, while the incoming goes into full swing. I killed the upfader for the outgoing and let the incoming take the main feed.

Just another perfect mix. And the crowd went wilder.

I wish I have my own decks. So I don't have to dream about mixing ever again.

PHANTOM MENACE

I got an email from somebody named John Leroy sent under the email address helpagent01@gmail.com. I received the email as our distribution list in our company was included in the recipients it was sent to. The email is as follows, copied and pasted directly from the message body:

To ****** Team,

We are group of agents who represent integrity and have in the past refused to let up on bad practises on the floor. Although it seems that our leadership team is determined to make us hollow by allowing practises on the floor which are against human values. The conversion pressure is so high that we have been asked to split itinearies for room nights , we are constantly asked to drop calls which have potentially no sale oppurtunities and focus more with others so that our conversion looks better.

In the past we have tried bringing up these issues with our management but they have warned us for such behaviour and have asked us to continue practising these or else get out. One of us tried blogging independently in the web regarding this issue but we were shunned down( you can check with Mr *** or Mr **** ****** about these issues).We agree being competetive with other call centers but not to an extent where our values are sold.

Hope this can be fixed soon after escalation ,someone needs to audit the floor and people to understand what s going on.

Thank you.

Although I agree with what they represent, I am not part of any group and never has been. I still have my loyalty to my company and would not do anything to the effect of damaging its image. The entry from which this sender seem to be referring to has been deleted from this blog not just to protect myself but foremostly my company. It can be clearly seen that the sender have a different style of writing, which more leans on the technical side while mine is on creative side.

THE TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL!

I was supposed to have this entry posted some two days ago, and I had a picture on my phone to back it up. My memory card has this bad habit of corrupting files every now and then and it just did that yesterday when I was trying to back up its content on my computer. The lone casualty was the very image I was to include with this post.

I got into trouble for something I have posted on this blog last weekend. The post have to be deleted after three days of publishing it online, otherwise it would cost me dear.

This happened as I was on my way to work early evening Wednesday. That night and the whole day before, I was weighing some options on whatever is the best thing for me to do. I have consulted my lawyer cousin with regards to my problem, and in turn she consulted her husband who runs with his brothers a law firm catering mostly to labor cases, and whose client includes a labor union of one of the biggest companies in the country. Apparently, the current cyber-crime law couldn't hold me liable for that blog entry, even if I have a contract with the entity I had sort of put into bad light in that post. Still, the resolution I have in mind leans more on moving away from trouble and sparing people of having to go through the whole process of an inquiry.

As the bus I was on stopped for the light in the corner of Ayala and Paseo De Roxas, the electronic marquee (or is it a billboard) on the corner building that usually flashes news and stock exchange indeces, flashed the following words in all capital letters-- "THE TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL!" with the label national news and later on international news. It should have flashed instead headline news, but there it was, as if a message from Above, and it stayed during the whole time the light was red. I hurriedly took a picture of it with my camera phone to make sure I was not hallucinating, and surely enough it registered on the camera.

Nothing for me to do but smile. Coincidence has always been a good friend to me.