We got to watch the fight via pay per view here in our flat in Doha. We had to wake up early like around 7 a.m. to witness this classic fight. Of course almost all of us are Pacquiao fans thanks to this one guy who is a De La Hoya fan, so there was this spice in our discussions as we watch the fight. (hehe)

What we just thought was the advantage of the Golden Boy is his reach advantage, lika a ruler long! So that means the smaller Pac Man would be having difficulty in going in and hitting. But as the fight started, from round 1, there we saw that the fight is going to be a great one for the Philippine Pride.

It was a great showing of speed and boxing skills. Pacquaio hit dela Hoya.. then again and again.. by the seventh and eighth round, de la Hoya”s left eye was beginning to shut down. There was even a time in those rounds when the Golden Boy was caught in the ropes and was nearing to go down.

By the end of the eighth round, the Golden Boy has had enough, at the start of the bell for the ninth round, Oscar dela Hoya didn’t want to continue to fight. It ended in a technical knock out. And there was jubilation for the entire Philippines.

It is indeed a fight for the books. And the fact that Pacman is a Filipino makes us very proud.

What’s next for Pacman? I’m sure most will agree that a fight with the British Ricky Hatton is a very good pick.. another challenge for the pound for pound king.

This time age would not be that a factor, weight probably not that much and the reach might be almost identical. They have practically the same boxing style. So it would definitely be a fight to watch.

We stayed at the Regent Palace Hotel, just opposite the Burjuman Center, where we have our client. (good for me, just a ten minute walk! )

One of those nights we tried to dine in the boardwalk ,something like that, where you have a good view by the bay. Pretty much reminds me of the Manila bay? (homesick? lol!) But then, rain poured. It was just one of those days. But i was still happy because i really thought it would take me quite some time to again experience rain here in the Middle East! We just took some nice photos of the place and proceeded to the Jumeirah Towers where we had our sumptous dinner.

It was a great experience. Dubai is more of a modern thing compared to Qatar, which is really quite a simple place to live in. Well, that is for now, who knows, probably five, ten or more years, what’s in store for Qatar. However, by that time, i also can’t imagine how much Dubai has grown.

Looking forward to again visiting Dubai, and probably experience the shopping festival there. But now, this guy’s gonna relax and enjoy the Eid holidays.

Happy holidays everyone.

One week spent on nothing basically just a get to know the place period; two weeks on two clients; one week on training and basketball game every weekend.

Still planning on grabbing a good cam to take pictures of this place. Comments are most welcome.

My buddies in EY are also thinking of getting cams of their own. Well, maybe it’s a good past time considering the simplicity of this place.

Enough of this, just wanted to post a photo. (lol)

Here’s a look on former Deloitte now EY hunks..

It’s a very festive mood when you are out there. So many participants dancing their way in the streets and all of them have unique and colorful costumes, with their masks of course.

Masskara literally means a mask, but if you break it to “mass” which means many and “kara” which means face, then you get many faces… and yeah there are various faces of masskara dancers out there.

Be sure to have your cameras handy in case you are planning to see this annual spectacle.

Check out more of this here.

See this photo i took during the previous year’s edition of the festival:

Yep, I’m officially a part of the EY accounting practice now. Everything is new, the place, the system and the people.

Doha is a small place, but i’m still having a hard time trying to familiarize myself. It seems every street and building looks the same. Well if you’re new here, you better get used to encountering several roundabouts once in a while.

RR 10-2008 was issued on September 24, 2008 after deliberations and discussions spearheaded by the BIR and the Department of Finance to come up with the final rules and regulations to implement the law.

One of the main points of the law is the exemption of MWE from income tax. In the final RR, we have a clause there that explains the treatment on the income in excess of the ceiling for one to be considered as MWE.

Transitional provision of the RR also indicates that the law is to take effect only on July 6, 2008, such that there would be pro rata computations to be made, one before the law took effect and one implementing the new law.

Here’s a copy of Revenue Regulations 10-2008.

And this time, it is the Blue Eagles.

To the comfort of the La Sallian community, well at least they put up a great fight. Ateneo was definitely the better team. Match-up wise, they have the better firepower. And give it also to coach Norman Black. This one was dedicated by his players to him, they even wore shirts with the number 24 at one point, a tribute to the number worn by the former PBA import (Black) in his jersey.

The Blue Eagles had arguably the best rookie in Ronjay Buenafe. And they too have the MVP in Al-Hussaini. It was just fitting to be crowned champions.

For the Archers, they’d live to fight another day. After all, they are arguably the most dominant team in recent years. Having claimed several championships in the tutelage of Franz Pumaren.

To the De La Salle Green Archers faithfuls, still, it is a roaring ANIMO!

Based on some readings and news, I think based on what’s available in the market now the choices boil down to the following:

Acer Aspire One – this comes with the Linux and Windows XP OS, with 120GB SATA HDD (built- in) and a 6-cell battery.

This comes in the following color variants: blue, brown, black, white (well based on what i saw). Shops price this one at Php 26,900 with a six month installment promo.

MSI Wind U100 – also comes with the linux and xp version. This one has the largest size among the acer aspire one above and the asus Eee pc 1000 below. Almost has the same features as the Aspire One, but with bluetooth.

The MSI Wind U100Lx (Linux OS) with 80GB SATA HDD comes at Php 19,999 in one of the malls in Alabang. They have a promo of a free 160 GB upgrade though. The XP version comes at Php25,999 with a free upgrade to 2GB memory (from 1GB) and to 160 GB HDD.

Asus Eee Pc 1000– the latest from the Eee pc family. Next to 901, this also comes with the Linux and XP variant. I think this one has a larger screen and keyboard as compared to its predecessors. This machine also has a built in Wi-Fi 802.11N with HDD 160GB storage capacity. Webcam is at 1.3megapixel same as the Wind.

The Asus Eee pc 1000 is priced at a range of Php28,500 to about +Php29,000 right now.

Every UMPC has its distinct features that distinguish it from the other. So it basically depends on the preference of the user. The more choices, the better.

Though sometimes, it gives a prospective buyer quite a headache to choose from… hehe.

The book boasts of new features such as: 3D Photographic features, the book comes with a pair of 3D glasses to appreciate these 3D pictures; 100% new photographs and 60% new and updated records among others.

I’m sure  Michael Phelps would be there with what he did in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Roger Federer also made some sort of a record in his fifth straight US Open title.

In entertainment, there is the great performance at the box office of the movie “Dark Knight.”  

Know more of the records, check the nearest bookstores.

And now, we have big companies, financial institutions in the US in deep financial troubles, all blaming the mortgage crisis as the culprit.

Lehman Brothers, one of the larger US investment banks has filed a petition for bankruptcy. And then there is Bank of America acquiring Merrill Lynch in a USD 50 billion deal.

These events in the US would surely have an impact to other financial institutions and world economies.

Here in the Philippines, what might have the greater impact is the liquidity problem being faced by AIG. AIG is the parent company of Philamlife, one of the largest insurance companies in the Philippines.

We can only hope for better things to come, especially those with investments and insurance with these institutions.