K R I S T I N A

Apple unveils iPhone 4S

2011-10-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

This morning's "Let's Talk iPhone" event at the Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California confirmed my inkling that Apple has not come up yet with another bunny to take out of the hat. It's not the time yet, given the research, product development, advertising and productions costs that the company incurred to come up with iPhone 4. Thanks to MacWorld and Engadget, because watching their web broadcasting made me feel like I was also there doing a coverage.

Yeah, I had that "As-I-Thought-So" moment. There's no iPhone 5. Instead, Apple executive Phil Schiller announced the sequel to their hottest smartphone, the new Apple iPhone 4S. Sharing the same look as the iPhone 4 it replaces, the unveiling was followed by a strange mix of disappointment and excitement.

Listening to Phil though, it is easy to grasp that the real beauty of this revamped smartphone is in the inside, with Phil promising a major internal makeover. Meaning, the newest member of the iPhone line is faster and smarter than its predecessor.

To save you from wading the Net for the latest update, I made a list of the essential points touched. Yes, the features! So here, take a look at the basic rundown of the new iPhone 4S:

The Apple-designed A5 chip, the dual-core processor that powers the iPad is now inside the iPhone 4S. Phil said that users can expect graphic performance up to seven times faster than the single-core A4 chip, the old iPhone 4's processor.
Finally, an 8 megapixel camera with 3264x2448 resolution! Wish granted for the click-happy. Not only that, the camera comes with a Hybrid IR filter, a feature usually associated with DSLR cameras. Phil said that users can now enjoy better color accuracy.
With a new feature called Siri, iPhone owners can click the home button, and ask about the time and weather, or ask it to schedule or make a phone call.
Improved battery life. The latest iteration now allows the iPhone to offer eight hours of 3G talk time and six hours of 3G web browsing.
Users can now record video in 1080p HD resolution. That's savvy!
Other features include dual-mode GSM and CDMA radio plus AirPlay mirroring, a feature that lets your iPhone screen content to be streamed wireless to the Apple TV. If you don't have an Apple TV, an HDMI cable will do to mirror over the wire, too.

With pre-orders starting Friday, the Apple iPhone 4S--that is priced at $199, $299 and $399, depending on storage capacity--will go on sale this October 14th.

Apple also announced its new iCloud service plus an update to its iOS mobile operating system.

An Apple app that is expected to be a sure fire called Cards will also hit the market. It is an application that allows users to create/design their own photo greeting cards. Apple will print and mail them depending on location. $3 for destinations within the United States and $5 internationally.

Day 1 (For Me)

2011-04-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

But not for my colleagues, I think it's Day 4 for them.

I am talking about the unofficial 30-Day Blogging Challenge that some folks at the grind decided to embark on. The goal of this endeavor is to encourage the habit of blogging, especially for those who own blog sites but never had the time to sit down and write posts. Maybe due to work demands or because of extra-curricular activities.

Writing is part of my job, a bigger part of it actually. So working on personal blogs at home can be a struggle especially if the load at the salt mines already drained me of whatever creative juice I have.

Plus, I don't want to just sit down and type away blah-blahs like this. Readers don't want these kinds of articles sometimes. They crave for new interests or exciting twists. Not this yank-yank type of post. But after rethinking, maybe that is not completely true.

People can relate to what I am talking about. Much of the time, we make work as the biggest thing on our life's pie. While based on hours spent at the office the claim could be valid, this blogging challenge is a reminder that there's more to pursue outside. Writing could be one of those exciting things to do.

So here's my first post. I hope to catch up within the day and I will think of awesome things to talk about.

Thank you for reading! You can hit the comment box if you want to say something. It's free, don't worry. :-)

Matthew Casper, the Friendly Boss (Part 1)

2010-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Frustration was what I felt in his voice this morning as he was giving me a window on what's going on on his side of the world. We're a thousand miles apart but a phone call or an email narrows the distance for us. What makes us closer is that together--both our efforts fused--we're heading towards one goal and that is to create the loudest noise for MacMall Retail Stores, to be noticed and to pull people in.

I am talking about my senior, or if you're feudal, my boss. I call him Boss because it sounds sweet, not because he demands for it. With a daily workload of an unbelievable magnitude, mellowing the air is the most miniscule thing I can do for him. I can't exactly remember how we met or when (probably we were introduced over the phone) but it was most shocking to hear from him one morning that he didn't know he was my direct supervisor. I had to remind him. "I didn't know, nobody told me," he said.

Awwww.

He was too busy to let the small degree of power to make his head swell. That was a very humbling moment for me. Not because I am bossy (or I'm playing like a diva) but it was the dawn of a new age, at least in a workplace like PC Mall.

God, I am working for a good man and I don't want to let him down.

We both have our fair share of unnecessary layers of BS at the workplace. I honestly understand his impatience, especially on those days when he's pressing me too hard. I don't pay any mind if he says the F-word on the phone because I am pretty sure that it's just his way of letting his steam off. Sometimes I wish I can nuke that very portion of the globe that makes the world smaller for him. Because I know that my boss is busting his ass to hell. And again, Casper is a good man.

I know too well that he's dealing with challenges, including the Accomplished Idiots who actually are oozing with Overpaid Incompetence. (To be continued).

Coffee Table Pop-up #2

2010-05-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

The subject somehow seems grotesque.

Like a punctured deflating, I exhaled noisily while staring at the ceiling with my mind wandering somewhere. Abysmal it can be called, while water begins to well around my eyelids. For the first time in my life—well not actually—I see myself challenging fate and entrusting my future to the unknown. No, you can’t call me a risk-taker. That would be an understatement.

Essentially, just call me a lover.

Maybe not an honorable way to drop out of life but I feel that I just have to do this. Perhaps the better way to put it would be choosing love over life. Some people have the privilege of breathing but actually feel like lacking life. While love breathes into life the whole essence of what it is to live, love in all its infinite power grants life its wholeness. Love defines life, removes the edges and confirms one’s existence. Love is the essence of being.

I told you, it will appear grotesque. In more ways than one, one can be blurry-eyed. I will write again tomorrow.

FULL

2010-04-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Now the bin is brimming but no one can tell. Not even the closest soul could sense that a fellow is facing the brink of slipping out. The much-dreaded edge is too excited to show its face. How it looks like, I can only guess. How would it feel, I could only imagine. Take those hands off me, please. Just let go for it will make me feel better, happier. Allow the word "barrier" deliver its meaning. Let me go back to my old days where everything is shared only by my heart and soul. Sure, none of us could ever recapture our yesterdays and that is a fact wholeheartedly welcomed with much appreciation. However, refrain from pretending to be a potter because hands are not designed to decipher the goings on of my heart and soul. Sacrifice is such a heroic term for the world but for someone assigned by destiny to do it, the essence loses its sweetest picture.

Be happy now because this soul submits itself to admission. Huh, it is guilty of the sad feeling.

The smile is still there but it can no longer hide.

Isn’t it odd, ironic or whatever you want to name it that the loner in me admits that the greatest fear it harbors is absence? The thought of not being there for another strips the skeleton off the closet. The idea of someone leaving also pulls everything out. Worse than the feeling of throwing up.

Choices leave me no floor this time—but it left the carpet for tear absorption.

Blogging Game Plan

2010-01-16T07:53:00.001-08:00

Recently I've been pretty quiet on the blogging front, primarily because I've been working a lot lately. Super swamped and I woke up today feeling just recovering from it all.

I figured that maybe I should start writing more about the latest news stories if I want an amped up reading audience. But the idea somehow bounces off the wall because I am really not the type who joins the crowd when people are creating much hype over something.

Oh chill out! It’s not that I am a killjoy but my writing compass is normally directed by my heart and passion. I walk around and see things popping out as an idea for blogging. I tend to get the story beneath the story when I put more gaze on what’s going on. Yes, I don’t take things at face value.

What I am trying to get at is I think the better thing to do is to give up blogging about stories or articles that would catch my fancy and instead, I will just concentrate on writing my take on things or events that I find interesting. It could be something that makes me proud or something that annoys me. Just about anything that I believe will be worth sharing.

Well, joining the buzz is not a cooler idea after all. Actually, I gave it this much thought after talking to my colleagues Jet and Ryan on increasing site traffic. I have decided to just leave it to other bloggers to do the trumpeting. Since the rest of the world are making all that noise for what’s in the news, then maybe I can stay backstage and just prepare the bigger stuffs for the next show… LOL. I guess my eyes are designed to look at things that others tend to overlook.

Like I said, it’s just a thought. Maybe that’s what happens when you wake up super late on a Saturday.

LOL.

Coffee Table Pop-up #1

2010-01-08T19:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, my Facebook status was "I like my COFFEE black." I was happy to see friends responding to it but what made me happier was nobody realized that I meant to post it figuratively.

Then this morning, while I was making my coffee, I found it cute that my cup reflects or mirrors our flat's windows. It reminded me of what I once wrote about coffee.

That just like what my eyes would do, to share a cup of coffee means granting someone a window to my real feelings.

To sit down and talk over coffee is something that I treat--more than being special--as sacred.

So back to my Facebook status, the reason why I said that is because just like my coffee, I want my man dark, not exactly black.

Unfortunately, people at work are teasing me to the wrong person. I guess I placed myself in trouble. I know everything is just for laughs. No biggie. :-)

Friendship vs. Flirting = Breach of Trust

2009-12-22T06:22:00.001-08:00

Eve flirted with temptation when she gave the forbidden fruit that fateful bite that changed the human race.

What am I getting at? For several times, this girl friend of mine would always ask why she always gets the worst of the guys. Often, she would feel offended because the guys' ways of letting her know that she is admired will include literally telling her that they want to sleep with her. I didn't really bother to think about it. Like figuring out why, although admittedly I felt it in my gut that she herself has something to do with how men would treat her.

To be endowed with physical features that stand out is one thing. There is this natural tendency that an awesome combo of a gorgeous bod and prettier face will of course solicit more praises. Beauty is a handiwork of the Heavenly Hand. An act of God. It is given. To be beautiful means being magnetic--attractive. But we need to draw some line here. To use your features to purposely draw men towards your direction isn't prescribed by the One that created you. That is not an act of God.

That is an act of FLIRTING.

Now you'd ask? Where will this blog come in?

Okay, here's the thing that is-NOW I'M BEING MORE HONEST-yes, freaking me out. The apple of my girl friend's eye-shall I say, the object of her flirtation-is someone that's within my everyday world. All along, she made me believe that that guy irritated her. So there I was, a fool who was always more than eager to drop some bombs about my friend's APPLE. You know, stuffs that were just for laughs. I meant no serious harm, swear. Just trying to squeeze in some good time. But I didn't know that I was the one that was looking funny.

Why didn't I think that it was possible that she liked him? I should have taken the clues last time, when all accusing eyes were casting stares towards her direction, very nosy of something fishy going on. And yes, she was cooking up something! Foolish I was that I trusted her words more than what was actually served on the table.

I am prompted to write this because I felt that she used all the info I shared with her to pull the guy closer. That is none of my business. It is her breaching my trust where I believe her fault lies. She became less of a friend there. It's unbelievable that she traded our friendship for something so cheap, just so she can advance her hot pursuit to win the guy.

Wow, I can only heave a sigh.

Another bout with Ali's syndrome

2009-10-22T23:31:00.001-07:00

No, I am not struck with an illness called Ali. This girl that in our circle we've secretly christened ALI is sick with something that no known panacea can ever cure. As always the case, the more you try to stay away from Ali while keeping your eye on the road, the more she blocks your sight. Oh well what do you expect from someone whose heart is knitted with a myopic outlook in life, immaturity and insecurity? Of course, a hump on your aisle to success when she sees you as well-driven.

But heavens, what I don't understand is how come I can afford to just love her when her evil attitude just devours her. How come I can offer her understanding and patience when she's out to kill the apple of my life which is my work? I can't see her eyes as belonging to a human soul because she can't see goodness in things that really matter.

Oh well, I'll continue writing later. My cab just stopped.

IN SOLITUDE

2009-09-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Once in the most puzzled times of my life
I secluded myself out of everyone’s sight.
I reached for a pillow and let go of myself
Suddenly, silence was all I felt.
Then I searched the depths of my being.
Surprisingly I found every fabric of my becoming.
Every thread that connects my heart and soul
The reason why all is in control.
As I continue traversing my very self
I accidentally bumped into an imaginary shelf.
Wherein I store life’s memoirs
Private reveries formed in still hours.
Savored each minute that I had in the past
I marveled how time has come so fast.
Instilled thoughts kept on echoing
I can’t vividly define such a feeling!
For all I could feel is satisfaction
Free from shades of consternation.
That instant I’ve come to know
In solitude, there lives my soul!
Solitary mood brings lasting peace,
A gift that ends my elusive quest.

(Photo taken at the Puerto Princesa City Wharf)

Gloomy Friday

2009-08-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought that the rainy days are over, heavens began to weep again around four this afternoon. Maybe I expected too much from the Sun. I wanted to see it set today but the weather played tantrums again. Well, I certainly loved how the rays kicked off my Friday earlier. Very promising.

But now here I am, trying to make shapes on a foggy window unmindful of people passing by. Sipping coffee. Thinking. Reminiscing. Perhaps needing someone to talk to. But there’s nobody here.

It’s just me and my coffee.

Thoughts of my fun-filled yesterday are starting to surface, making me smile for a few seconds. It was at this very hour—before sunset on a Thursday—that a flicker of happiness popped up out of the blue.

Today, the pour outside speaks volumes about how I miss that moment. Just like the weather, inside I feel like crazy, wanting to burst or explode. Some good things never last, I know. But I want to play rewind. Hopefully, tomorrow or in the next days, the Sun will shine again and will be more than up to make my day.

(April 24, 2009, at the pantry)

Small Talk with Sadness

2009-08-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes events in life let us in on a small talk with sadness, what it is like to lose the ability to display your real smile. We can anytime paint it on our faces of course but not in happy colors always. What I mean is, before happiness or joy sinks in naturally without actually searching for them. But now, you know exactly that these are the things that are missing.

So it must be true that whenever we say we miss a thing, something's really gone amiss. Or nothing's really wrong. It is just that what's going on only forms part of the phase--the process that is the consequence of those decisions that changed the course of your life forever.

Uhm, I just felt sad. I've been clinging on to this feeling since I don't know when...but it all started when I got here in Manila and when I realize that someone in 10-D deserves to die for being so mean and unfair in judging people.

Look, I have so much to be thankful for. It is my job, my friend Tiny who is a true and hard-to-find gem. Add to that, Bevz and friends in IBM. Of course way on top of this is that one special person who brings out the best in me. Whenever people at home would make me feel less of a person or I don't have any worth, he knows the way to lift me high and will really make me feel that even those who use crutches to walk through life's lane can reach the summit.

But God, sadness still creeps down my spine, especially when I'm taking the lonesome trip to PBComm. The length of time gives me space to think about the day, yesterday and yes, tomorrow. I realized that you can never find comfort in something unpredictable like the day after today. I can only play but not really rule the game. It is not just about the job, but it is about those things that use to coat me with hope but now are not within my reach.

Maybe I am saying this right now because i don't feel well. But nope, I know it's not because of that. The thing that really triggered me to be this sad is that I can't look forward to Yule because I might not be home. I'd be celebrating my birthday here in Manila far from my siblings who complete my existence. Suddenly, things that matter--or people--are so far away.

This is what is really sad. Yesterday, I lost my phone. Last Saturday, somebody stole my headset. I will pay for this loss and would need to buy a new one...grrr! Then my life's must have are so hard to achieve like crutches and new pair of shoes that before, I don't have to pay any mind on any of these because my family takes care of them. Tell me what could be sadder?

Now, I am on my own and I feel so alone.

Just like what Tiny said, a true friend in Manila is a hard find...you have to put on the treasure hunter's suit. Not all your fellows are friends...they are just there for convenience and uh huh, for the meantime. But there is Someone who is here to stay. God.

I thank God because He is everywhere in and out of my system. I thank Him for my true friends, people who make me thank God for creating their kind. With them, you just know that you can smile again...with honesty, anytime.

Right now, I miss them.

Stiv the Pedestrian

2009-08-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

After taking a lungful of polluted air, with a stronger brand of conviction I never had in my life, I crossed EDSA all by myself for the first time--call it an act of SUICIDE for someone whose daily metal accessories are not bangles or earrings but hehe, crutches. It was May 04.

Putting on the needed amount of courage was not chicken. It required me to consult my heart and soul and of course...my survival needs. I thought, if I won't brave EDSA and be a beautiful pedestrian, I won't reach the office and that means no work for me. No work, no pay...no money to buy myself my daily dose of coffee. (So there goes my source of motivation...hehehe!).

Since I came here in Manila, I have crossed many lanes (read: fears) that I never thought I would learn to overcome. Crossing streets, for one. Using escalator is also another story. But the biggest story of course is deciding to settle here for work.

The decision itself is a major crossover, to think that there is plenty to fear here. I thought I wouldn't make it. During my first week, when all my housemates weren't home, I would find myself in tears for mixed reasons like I missed everybody at home. I dreaded the next sunrise because I would have to cross EDSA or I would need to take the bus again. Plus, I felt uncomfortable when people cast surveying stares while I crossed the streets...oh God, all these and more gave me the creeps.

It was like forcibly, the state of being alone that I forever embraced started to kick me out of its base and sent signals that the time has come for me to face my fears and enjoy the battlefield. After learning the basics (and still mastering the ropes), I believe today I am having fun!

Crossing Fear Avenue did not only make me reach the Unafraid Shore. It also paved the aisle for me to get to Life's Boulevard and there I saw more things in a vista and guess what, one day, I hope to make it big time out there.

It's like, so what if I have to cross the streets? In this world of great compromise and long roads, there is nothing to fear as long as you're on the right path. The shortest distance between two poles is a straight line, right? In my heart I know that always God prepares the best timing and He has designed for me an avenue with effective traffic lights that will tell me when to take the pedestrian lane.

Hearsays

2008-08-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Rumors that spread around our sphere everyday are signs that we are doing great. More, the right thing. They signal that our personal and professional decisions of going against our limitations or weaknesses are worth taking.

Man, it is just sad that rumors exist because we cannot always expect that everybody will be pleased about the goings on in our life. Out there, I mean, everywhere there is a corner that houses persons who are full of insecurities. The sadder part here is that, they will not remain that way. And by allowing themselves to be engulfed by envy and jealousy--whether or not you are aware that they are your enemies--your happy hours are numbered. That is the saddest.

You will not understand why suddenly they become offensive and you have no way to get away with it. It is either you allow yourself to be hurt or you fight back. The latter of course is pathetic. Highest patience and sympathy should go to people who cannot accept the fact that there are some things where you dictate the field and there they have no say.

They think that their best weapon to drag you down is through their winged offenses. Humans as we are, gossips tend to arrest a decoder instantly because these are long on rhetoric. But these will never bring proof to the surface. These are always short on evidence. Plus people behind it will not show their faces. One sign of lack of substance and verity.

Usually a mixture of truth and untruth, fabricated stories fly around, passed around by word of mouth and BOOM! Suddenly, you are at fault. Suddenly you are bad. You will never know what's cooking up to poison the minds of the very people whose confidence go out to you. What is left to do is to fight for your own stead. In times like this, keeping your cool is the most potent defense. Who is stabbing you from behind is always a question. It is like your worst nightmare coming true.

How come in a competitive world--invaded by learned people--gossip secures itself as the currency? Worse, it could happen within your industry or your company. Worst, unbelievable too, is that there are some people your senior who count gossips, rumors, or hearsays as facts. They believe instantly without giving the rumor's subject the chance to disprove them. I know some people that opted to leave their posts because of hearsays. Driven perhaps by lack of nerve to stay or they cannot afford anymore to stand the unhealthy atmosphere.

This note reminds me of them, inspired by these people actually.

Talk, especially of the anonymous kind, is forever cheap. The most notorious form of it is hearsay. It follows a format that always targets a destroying end. Men responsible for this evil act want you to feel that you have invisible enemies around and you are not safe from their tongues. But pay them no attention. Expect that people behind the wheels of manipulation will never shed the cloak of anonymity and will never have the nerve to come forward.

That qualifies them not as worthy opponents.