my futile attempt at being interesting

Fuck Qube Chapter 1 – The Acquisition

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:34:36 PST

I have never felt so strongly against any product or brand, as I feel about my Qube desktop that I bought back in April. It has caused more problems in the few months that I’ve had it compared to my trusty desktops and laptops that I’ve had for years. We bought this in the Gilmore branch April this year. I just came home from my shift, and my family was waiting for me in the car so we could leave home immediately. Anything tech related at home is my responsibility since I’m the one who understands the jargon for the most part.

So off we drove to Gilmore. We got there at 10am, spent the first few minutes scouting for flyers and looking at good deals. This guy approached us and gave us a flyer for Qube, which we found interesting because of the cheap price and the extended warranty for 2 years. The extended warranty was a dead give away. I immediately looked at it as a business strategy, because it would often be cheaper to manufacture low quality items and have it replaced when it breaks down (2 years is an ample amount of time) than to invest in high quality products. But then I noticed that Michael V is their endorser. So I took a step back and decided to look around. They had laptops and mini notebooks on display. One thing I noticed was despite the room being air-conditioned, the laptops are still warm. Ok, cooling problems. That can be easily addressed by cooling solutions. Then I started breaking it down in my head. My two little sisters and my mom are the only ones who often use the desktop. We have our own laptops that we normally use so the desktop would be primarily used for chatting, research and typing. It won’t be running for hours. Our old desktop despite ultimately being punished for gaming and photo/video editing, got to survive for 7 years. How bad could Qube turn out?

We configured the desktop. I opted for an upgraded RAM and video card. We also bought a copy of Windows XP. We paid in cash, read through the Terms and Conditions of the sale, got the receipt and asked the sales person how long it would take for it to be assembled. She said it would only take an hour. It was almost lunch time so we decided to grab some lunch at SM Sta Mesa. About an hour and a half later, we came back, only to find out that it isn’t ready. I was already getting sleepy, and I still have to go to work that night, so I thought I’d waste time looking around. I came back another half hour later and it still wasn’t ready. We waited, until we noticed that people who came in later than we did are already getting theirs packed up and ready to go. Being without an inch of sleep made me crankier than usual, but I forced myself to put on a smile. I politely asked the sales person about how much time it was taking. She dialed a number and spoke to someone who said it was almost done, apologized and asked us to wait a little longer. That “little longer” meant another hour. My little threads of patience are crumbling to pieces by this time so I marched out of the waiting area, and in a tone slightly higher than usual, making sure that other people would take notice, asked about how much time the assembly is taking. The sales person looked shaken and afraid, and asked the people who were testing the assembled units to check on ours. The guy came back a few minutes later, told us that it was fully assembled, and its just taking a little time activating Windows. WTH? Activation only takes seconds, what kind of bull are they pulling on us? Another half an hour later, they finally took it down. I made damn sure I looked impatient enough for them to hurry. They tested the CPU, checked the specs according to my liking ; then tested the lcd monitor for dead pixels. Everything looked ok, and they hurriedly packed it up.

We got home at 4pm. I immediately unpacked the unit and assembled the whole system. I turned the CPU on but it won’t turn on. I checked all the connections, everything seemed right but it still would not turn on. Apparently the cheap China made power strip was the one that isn’t working. I shouldn’t be surprised at all. It looked similar to the ones you can buy for P20 at the local tiangge. So I used our old AVR. Still nothing. At this point I was already tearing my hair out. My shift starts at 12am and that meant I had to be out of the house by 9:30 and now I barely have time to snooze. That didn’t matter, I came this far and all I want is to make this darn thing work. Apparently, the power strip is not the only one defective, but the power cable as well. So I replaced that with my old power cable and now the CPU is miraculously turning on!

The nightmare did not end there. I noticed that a panel on the front of the CPU was broken, and was just attached with masking tape. These people are banking on my patience too much. Not only that, the LCD monitor is still displaying No Signal, despite the CPU running. At this point I decided to give up. At any rate, I would have to go back anyway since I need to get things replaced.

to be continued…

DisEnchanted Kingdom

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:20:55 PST

I was setting up my work station one day when Krung from another team asked me, “Bakla, sama ka sa EK sa Monday?” Me, being the kaladkarin (kahit saan mo dalhin pwede) that I am immediately said yes. Over the week, we’ve been asking people around hoping that we could encourage others to go with us. There were the usual bahala na or titingnan ko which we didn’t mind nor cared for because really, we can’t take the word of others in such a time distorted place such as the office. It’s been hell for us at work for a couple of months now, a lot of changes, transitions have been going on and we really haven’t had time to just chill.

Day before the trip, we managed to convince 8 people all together. We decided to meet up at the office at 8:30 (which in office jargon actually meant 9am). While getting ready to leave for the office, I had this gut feel that made me hobble to get Enchanted Kingdom’s phone number. I was already on my way out actually when I did a double take and decided to get Star City’s number as well, which I didn’t find by the way.

While I was commuting, I tried calling EK’s (Enchanted Kingdom) hotline but no one was picking up. Finally, at around 9am someone did. Imagine my horror when I found out that they are closed on Mondays until Wednesdays. I can’t even find the courage to break the news to the others through SMS. I then waited until I got to our meeting place to tell them the bad news. To soften the blow, I then offered an alternative. Why don’t we go to Star City instead? It’s near, it has similar rides, and at least our day won’t be wasted. It’s not as awesome as EK, but hey, it’s not that bad a second choice.

Everybody agreed that it was the better option instead of going back home like the losers that we are. Problem was, Star City won’t open until 1 or 2pm, and it was only a little past 9am. “Let’s go to Mall of Asia first, hang out for a couple of hours, then let’s go to Star City”, I suggested. The idea was feasible enough, but since Lloyd just came from his shift, he asked if he can go home first, catch a few hours of snooze, then he’ll just follow us to Star City. Being the kind-hearted ladies that we are, we all agreed to let him off the hook.

From Star Mall, we then took the bus to Mall of Asia. To add insult to injury, guess what movie was playing inside the bus? No really, guess! So there we were, staring at the irony of it all, while putting on a brave face, convincing ourselves that it will be a fun day for us.

We reached MOA (Mall of Asia) at around a little past 11. The sun was hot on our skins but we didn’t mind. The last thing we want is for it to rain. Karen suggested we go to Starbucks to which we all agreed. I’m not really a big Starbucks fun but I badly needed a pick-me-up so I gladly followed them. They didn’t want to settle for the Starbucks inside the mall. They wanted to stay at the one near the bayside. So we walked until we had Starbucks in view. There was something unusual though, it appears that there aren’t any people inside. I hurried to take a closer look and lo and behold, this particular Starbucks branch opens at 2pm. At this point we were starting to feel jinxed. It’s either we were too stubborn, or we are too much in denial to face that fact because we still decided to find another Starbucks branch.

We finally got our coffee fix at the Starbucks branch near IMAX. We stayed there for a couple of hours, then at 1:30 we dragged ourselves to Star City. You would think that this is the part where it starts to get fun. You’re wrong then, because when we got there, it was still closed. The good news is, they will open at 4pm. So we took pictures, and decided to find a place where we could sit and wait to pass time. We all decided to find a place near the sea side so walked eastward, not knowing where exactly we were going. Then we headed north, pass Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts Theatre) and Coconut Palace, only to find out that it was a dead end. So we headed south again back to where we started. Being steadfast, we just brushed off the next disappointment by heading far east, past a small tiangge, where we were greeted by the sight of boats. Eureka! We finally found the sea! We stayed there for another hour or so, talking about the office gossip of all things. Just the four of us though (Karen, Roma, Karla and I) because Krung spent it talking on the phone, abusing her Smart Unlicall.

At 3:30 we started walking back to Star City. We were a bit thirsty so we thought of getting a bite first at the Chowking branch beside it, where again, we found another disappointment. There weren’t enough seats, so we settled for eating at Tropical Hut instead. We ate just enough so in case we needed to vomit, it wont just be water and saliva. Finally, we went inside Star City. We bought a Ride-all-you-can ticket with an entry for Ice World for P375. The Ride-all-you-can itself was just P300 while the Ice World Entry was P100 so the P375 we paid for was the bundled price. We headed inside where the girl at the entrance wrote the word “ice” on the RAYC bracelet and cheerfully told us that we can enter Ice World as much as we can, which I now find weird considering the events later.

to be continued…

burjer burjer

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:04:32 PDT

Last week, matapos ko mag-encash ng check sa BDO sa ADB Avenue ay dumerecho kami ng mga katrabaho ko sa Megamall para maghanap ng kakainan. Nagyaya sila mag Tokyo Tokyo pero sabi ko, baka gusto naman nila sumubok ng iba kase medyo nakakasawa na para sa akin ang lasa ng Tokyo Tokyo. Niyaya ko sila sa Yoshinoya at pumayag naman sila. Medyo mabagal nga lang ang pagdating ng order nung iba sa amin. Mukhang giniling pa nila yung arina na ginamit nila para magawa yung noodles ng pansit kase may pansit yung bento box ng mga kasamahan ko na natagalan ang order. Habang kumakain kami ay may napansin ako na tarpaulin sa may bintana na nagsasabing nagdedeliver ang Yoshinoya ngunit di gaya ng karaniwang delivery services, imbes na telephone number ay website ang nakalagay na impormasyon sa tarpaulin. Sinabi ko sa sarili ko na tatandaan ko yung website na iyon.

Kaninang tanghali, habang abala ang nanay, kapatid at dalawang pinsan ko sa pagchecheck ng mga test paper ng mga estudyante ng nanay ko ay hiniritan ako ng nanay ko na magpa-meryenda daw ako. Gusto daw nila ng halo-halo kaso bawal naman sakin yun kase sinisipon ako. Sabi ng nanay ko banana-q na lang daw, kaso sa kasamaang palad ay tinakasan na naman kami nung isang kapatid namin kaya wala kaming mautusan na bumili ng banana-q. Sabi naman ng kapatid ko, ice cream na lang daw. Kaso nga, walang bibili. Kaya tumunganga kami ng pagkatagal tagal sa kakaisip kung anong bibilhin namin na meryenda. Inabutan na kami ng alas-3 ng hapon, wala pa rin sila naiisip na memeryendahin. Sabi bigla ng nanay ko, burger na lang daw. Eh kaso ayoko naman ng McDo, kase lagi na lang McDo. Sinubukan namin tingnan yung website ng Jollibee kaso wala namang presyo kung ala carte na burger lang. Tapos naisip ko yung Yoshinoya. Problema lang ngayon, hindi ko maalala yung website na nakalagay dun sa tarpaulin ng Yoshinoya. Sorry naman, tao lang. Sa sobrang kabusugan eh nakalimutan ko yung website na nakalagay dun.

Shempre, here comes Google to the rescue. Hinanap ko agad sa Google yung delivery ng Yoshinoya at napadpad ako sa www.delivery.ph. Nagtingin-tingin muna ako sa website at nakita ko na maari palang magpadeliver ng Hot Shots Burger dito sa Marikina. Sinubukan ko gumawa ng account tapos sinubukan ko mag-browse ng mga pwede orderin. Yung ibang items ay may description na makakatulong para sa mga hindi pamilyar sa mga items sa menu pero yung iba ay wala. Tapos napansin ko lang, kahit may Sign In Option ay wala namang Log Out. Wala namang mawawala kung susubukan kaya umorder ako ng 3 Junior Cheese Burger Deluxe at isang Cheese Burger Deluxe. Mayroong 1% na delivery charge at sabi dun sa website ay 30-45 minutes bago dumating ang order ko. Pagkatapos ko mag-submit ng order ko, matapos ng isang minuto ay nag-ring na ang landline namin. Ang nasa kabilang linya ay isang tao mula sa delivery.ph para mag-confirm ng order ko. Matapos ng ilan pang minuto ay tumawag rin ang Hot Shots Burger para muling mag-confirm sa order ko. Matapos ang 30 minuto ay dumating na ang delivery. Medyo mabilis na ito sa aking palagay considering na niluluto lamang nila ang burger kapag ito ay na-order na. Hindi tulad sa KFC na sa hindi malamang dahilan ay inabot ng 45 minutes para magdeliver ng na-order ko kahit na magkasing layo lang naman sila ng Hot Shots. Tumawag pa yung crew nila dahil naubusan daw sila ng cheese kaya kung pwede daw ay dagdagan na lang niya ng gravy iyong Famous Bowl na in-order ko. Pagdating naman dito, hindi ko naman napansin na nadagdagan nga ng gravy yung Famous Bowl.

Eniweis, sa tingin ko mauulit pa ang pag-order ko sa delivery.ph kase wala pa rin kaming katulong ngayon at madalas ay wala na kaming oras para magluto dito. Kaya hello fast food, goodbye savings.

Prrty Watch

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:10:56 PDT

Since I haven't updated my blog in quite a while, I wasn't quite sure what to write about first. So as a warm up, I'm blogging about my watch. A couple of years ago, my dad gave me this really great looking, blue-faced Fossil watch. After two years of service, it's bracelet sadly broke off and I found a hard time looking for a replacement because its the kind that you have to screw on. Eventually, I gave up looking and decided to make a bracelet of my own. I used denim fabric that I cut off from one of my jeans.

The one in the picture shown on the left is actually the second bracelet I made because the watch ran out of battery a couple of months ago and since I just stitched the bracelet on, I had to cut it off so I could get the battery replaced. Good riddance anyway because it already smelled bad. (Think two-year unwashed jeans) The first one I made had a pocket that is sealed by a big zipper where I keep money and whatever small things that could fit in it. Then I graffitiziced it with fabric paint.

I used denim fabric that I cut off from one of my skirts on the one in the photo. An old pop swatch bracelet was used as a base so this one is better formed than the old one. I used metallic gold colored thread to sew the seams before I teased the sides. Then I decorated it with ready-bought craft materials from the bookstore. Both watches used velcro.

A lot of people often compliment me for my watch and ask me where I buy it. When I tell them I made it they either ask me if they could buy it, or if they could have it. I always say no, but I graciously tell them that I could always make one for them if they provide the materials. That way the design would be personal, and something they would like. It gives me a sense of pride knowing that people appreciate my work.

A Confession and Proposal of sorts

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:11:20 PDT

In all my twenty-four years of existence, I can't remember getting anything I wanted. I've always had to settle for something less - be it a material thing, a status, a title, a condition, even love. Being the pseudo-righteous person that I am, and ever living the values that the Scholastican nuns have taught me, I've always tried to be contented with what life gave me. I continue to find happiness in what those second bests gave me.

Recently, I found something I wanted so bad, that I was willing to break all the barriers I've built around me. His name is Ryan. We've been friends for a couple of years, and I've always liked him. I'd like to think we potentially had something good before, but I was too afraid. You see, he's the kind of guy I've always wanted. Like the uber cool Alienware Aurora that I would gladly sell my soul for. (Yah hear that Satan?) He completes me in ways I could never explain. He understands every bit of me, without even me having to say a word. He's a treasure, and at that time I felt too scared to ruin something good. So I kept mum about the growing affection I had for him, instead I focused on someone dispensable. I kept my distance, because I knew exposing myself to him more could only lead to disaster.

We remained friends, with the occasional flirting to pacify my cravings for him. We've always had something special, and he always remained to be that amazing thing I want but is too lazy/dumb to work for it. Much like that HTC Touch I always look at whenever I'm at the cellphone store at the mall, but never had the courage to come inside the store and ask about it. I just know I can't afford it, and I was too lazy to work for it. And if for some reason I was able to buy it, I would probably just break or lose it. He was special, and I put him up on a pedestal, with pretty lights blinking around just for kicks.

I'm an independent and liberal minded woman who's been in a string of relationships in the past. Some are so-so, some more serious than the others, but more importantly, I had them to pacify my need for companionship. You see, although I appear to be a bitch who's got more balls than any guy I know, the truth is I'm just afraid to expose my self and get hurt in the process. Yep, that's me. I make people think guys are dispensable (although most of them really are), and I make guys think I can live without them. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very loving and caring person. I just dislike sadness as much as I dislike dugyot emo kids. Well, now I think karma has finally caught up with me... in the form of Ryan.

A couple of months ago, scarred from the number of dilemmas that life has thrown my way, I finally decided to eat up some of my inhibitions and throw away some of my fears. I needed something real, and I knew he was the only one who could make me feel better. I thought to myself, I'm already miserable, it can't get any worse than this. So for once, I went out of my shell and showed someone how vulnerable I am. I showed him how I feel, and it felt good for a while. He reciprocated. He was sweet and caring as always. He made me feel secure. But not knowing where I stand soon ate up my sanity, and I wanted to know he was mine. So I told him I liked him... a lot, and I was afraid of losing him. I want him for myself, and I want him to want me back. I told him I can no longer stand not having claiming rights over him. I told him I want to have every right to be jealous. He was very quiet, and he said I caught him off guard. This isn't how things go in the movies, or in any romance novel. I was disappointed, broken, and hurt. It hurt so much that I had to stay away, in hopes that these feelings might go away and disappear into the pits of hell. I wanted to forget him, and I wanted my old self back - safe and practical. But then he asked me to stay, and I could feel all my fears melting away, washed down by those tears that just won't stop from flowing. I hate how he has so much power over me. I hate how his words work like a command string in my system. I practically turn to mush in his hands. For once in years I felt human. He then told me not to worry and enjoy what we have. He also said, "For now, I'm yours, and you are mine". My mind passively ignored the "for now" part. All I could think of was how amazing I felt when he said that. He's mine, and that's all that mattered. It was heaven and hell from there. I was happy to be with him, but beneath those sweet moments we shared, I still felt that stabbing pain in my heart.

Things again, went well after that. He bugged me to play Cabal so that we could play together. As much as I dislike E-games, I made a character on one condition. I won't tell him the name of my character. All he knew was that I made a wizard, and that I would challenge him to a duel once I catch up to his level. So I grinded, and leveled and did everything to learn the game. It wasn't that much work because he has a job and can't go on addict mode. Still, those days were very tormenting. I barely slept, played like crazy, and I tried so hard to fight the urge of finding him in game and stare mindlessly at his character. Yez, pathetic much? I'm in lurve, hmmkay? I'm at least entitled to be stupet. One day, as I was running back to DS from doing some quests, I saw his character. He was right in the middle of the circle pavement in front of Dunhike. I stared in amazement, and I tried so hard to stop myself from coming close and taking a dozen or so screen shots. In my mind I was thinking, He doesn't know I'm online. He thinks I'm ukay shopping with my little sister. What are the chances of him finding out its me?! One screenie won't hurt! Then poof! I got disconnected and there was no Internet connection for four excruciating hours. I knoe rite?! Anyway, I've had a number of close encounters after that, but I was able to stop myself from spoiling the surprise. Then one day, when I was finally nearing my goal, something bad happened at home. I was distraught, and he noticed. We talked about what happened for a while, and because I dislike drama with the pizzazz of Anakbayan's hatred for our mouse of a president, I jokingly told him, "date mo naman ako in-game". He asked, "I thought you're not gonna introduce yourself until you get to my level?" Well screw surprises, I felt bad and I needed some comforting.

He asked what channel I was in, but I said I'll go to his channel instead. I was nervous. It felt as if it was the first time I was going out on a date. And to think this was a virtual date at that! He said he'll just finish his dungeon quest while I changed channels. We agreed to meet in GD. I sat near the grocer, nervous as hell. I kept thinking of a sweet gesture I could do. I mentally listed ways to surprise him. I alt tabbed and waited for him to reply in YM. Then it happened. I saw his character walking towards the grocer. I panicked! Does he know it's me? How could he know? Nobody else knows about my character. He stopped beside my character and made a pointing gesture. I tried to ignore him. No, he couldn't have possibly known. But he stayed there, so I finally whispered, "How did you know it was me?"

All he said was, "I just know", and I found myself smiling silly.

After that I began to spend more time with him in-game that it was almost like a ritual. And as Cupid has a way of fucking things over and making you miserable, I fell deeper. It came to a point where I realized, that keeping up with this would be an insult to my ego. (At the risk of sounding like an ass) I'm an awesome person. I'm smart, talented, cute, caring, thoughtful and downright lovable. I'm girlfriend material. Why doesn't he want to be with me? He obviously likes me and he obviously cares for me. Why can't he love me back? Maybe he's afraid too, I dunno. All I'm sure is that he can't possibly faking all the affection he's showering me with.

As much as it hurts my ego, I still chose to stay and be with him. Maybe in time I can move on and forget about him, but for now I choose to hang on to all my hopes and cross my fingers and hope for the best. I know I deserve him, and I know I'm doing everything I can to let him know how much I care, in hopes that he may someday care for me as much as I care for him. If he doesn't, I know that I'll still have him as a friend, and I get to bring with me memories from the last time I gambled for love. No regrets, no pain...just memories.

PS. I know you will be reading this, I hope you won't find it weird. I enjoy being with you, and I'd like to save up as much trinkets as I can that would remind me of the time I did these silly things because of you. Lastly, this one's for you...

Dummies Guide to being a successful chixilog in the world of online games

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:35:30 PDT

1. Steal pictures of a very pretty girl on Friendster. Plus points if the girl is mestiza and chinita because those kind of girls look innocent and virginal... exactly the types of boys who play online games in hopes of getting laid. It's important that you have many pictures to minimize doubts of you just stealing those photos from someone else's Friendster account.

2. Make a dummy Yahoo account. Use a common girl name like Jen, Karen or Apple followed by a the word "cute" and a number. Example: karen_cute_18@yahoo.com. The more people who have names just like yours, the lesser are the chances of you getting caught. Don't bother editing the Yahoo profile, nobody checks that anyway.

3. Make a dummy Friendster account and use the photos that you stole. Also, take screen shots of your character and blingify it. Upload everything to your dummy Friendster account. Use a girly Friendster lay out to complete the illusion. Modify your profile in txt speak to make it cuter. Everybody thinks "hi pEePz, jaz aDd mEh uP" is adorable.

Pay attention to detail when it comes to editing the About Me part. Say something like, "iM a FrIeNdLy pErSon n aM sWeeT n maLamBinG tO pPoL wHo are nIcE 2 mEh." You can also try being emo, it really depends on your style.

4. Find an easy target. Possible qualities include: a teen, a bit emo, always on karir mode, a virgin, a power gamer. By power gamer I mean someone who spends a lot of money on the game so he could have a very formidable character. You know what they say about the dicks of guys with big cars? Well the same thing applies here.

5. Find an opportunity for you and the target to meet in-game. Pretend to be a helpless dame in need of saving from the gallant knight. Now here is where the importance of the dummy Friendster account comes in. For some reason, after finding out that the person behind a character is a girl, online gamers tend to ask for "her" Friendster account so "she" could prove that she is indeed a girl. It doesn't matter if the account looks awfully new, and that "she" barely has friends. You could always say you made a new account because the ex-boyfriend hacked your old account.

6. Now that you have acquainted yourself, you can now start befriending your target. This is crucial! Be cute and charming but play hard-to-get. Never appear to be easy because that's when doubts might seep in. Remember, we are after long-term leeching. Find out about his interests and weakness. Be sweet! Always let him know you miss him but don't give away too much. Be available, but not achievable.

7. I'm sure that after some time, the target will be putty in your hands. He will finally court you, and after some time of waiting, you two will finally be a couple. And as a couple, he is obliged to dress up your character and buy you fancy items as gifts. Then you can sell those items for PHP, using another character of course. Just tell him you got hacked and sob incessantly so he can replace your items again. Or better yet, you can hack his account once he trusts you enough with his account info.

If you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment. With my expertise, you will be the legendary chixilog of whatever online game it is that you're playing!

Technorati Tags: chixilog,online games,MMORPG

Turning bad

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:28:26 PDT

The world wide web holds many marvels and one of these is the ability to find and connect to people through various social networking sites. Recently, I realized how many people I've lost touch with has been reachable through various social networking sites. Not that they weren't on these social bandwagons before, but since I'm not really the type who makes it her weekly habit to blingify my Friendster profile and scour 3rd level connections for people I might know, I didn't get to be connected with them sooner. Normally, revived connections are greeted with much gusto. You ask questions and try to catch up with what has happened to them in the past years. I'm not a fan of that. For a lot of reasons actually, but more inclined to the fact that I don't care. I don't care not because it's not important. I don't care because it doesn't matter, you're an old friend and I really don't mind what is it that you do or have been doing. As long as you're not an ass then you're cool with me.

I believe that, despite my aversion to labels, people play roles in life. I'm the ever so helpful bitch~bully classmate who always gets awesome grades despite being a troublemaker (ok self centered moment there), and someone else is the goody-two shoes teacher's pet who always plays patintero between the love-hate line of our schoolmates. Although it's true that change is the only constant thing in this world, I still don't believe that a person can change so much that it borders on the extreme. So where am I going here? Due to various circumstances, I was able to catch up and be in regular communication with some of my classmates/schoolmates from grade school and high school. I was surprised because, some of them have become so different. The obscure and quiet geek became a big jerk who thinks he's too cool for everyone else while the nice, helpful guy became someone who tells people that he has buried his high school memories behind and is now an ass who thinks (in his own world) that he is uber kewl and that a lot of chicks dig him. Ok, so I know I'm being a bitch here but why do good people turn out to be such big assholes?

I don't understand the whole fitting in thing. Sure it's normal in grade school up to maybe early high school but jeezus up to now? Have you totally screwed up your personality by pretending to be someone you're not? It's terribly disappointing and to those people if you ever figure out that you're the people I'm talking about -- You were better people before.

For most people, college is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. You have freed yourself from the shadows of your clique in high school and now you can be, or at least pretend to be, someone else. I know that most people take advantage of this but pretending can only go so far and I see most of them go back to their old cliques (where they feel more at ease) after a year or so. For some though, who are so intent on leaving their past behind, the change becomes permanent. I wonder if they miss their old selves. I actually think more highly of those people who despite of being confined to a clique that is in not cool according to the stupid norm, they still choose to be who they really are not mind those people who talk shit about them. That to me, is the epitome of awesomeness.

So this other guy was bragging about chicks and how much he need a beer and I'm like, you didn't even like beer back then and now you're telling people that you're an beer guzzling hunk WTF?! Ok, so I know I'm not really in the position to criticize you because unlike me, you have a job and you have a BS (bullshit) degree in God knows what. At least I've enjoyed a better life than you did that's for sure. At least I'm not caught up in a lie that has become so tangled that no light passes through. So enough about this rant post. I just wish them (and everyone else who is in a similar position) all the happiness. May you finally find your place under the sun.

Pepe shorts

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:02:35 PDT

Photo courtesy of Ali of MASSDEFECT.

Kung may pepe shorts ang babae, may betlog shorts din ba ang mga lalake?

Ano nga ba yung pepe shorts? Eto yung mga nausong shorts ngayon, karaniwan ay maong, na hanggang singit lang. Sa sobrang ikli nito, kita na mga kuyukot ng kung sino man ang magsuot nito. Ito ay hulog ng langit para sa mga kalalakihang tigang.

Entrecard rocks the socks off boggers!

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:32:18 PDT

Following the set of huge updates that Entrecard released two months ago, they are now working hand in hand with SezWho to make the blogosphere an even livelier place.

Wait... Incoming word vomit... *Graham Langdon is a blogging hero and should have his own star on the blogosphere's walk of fame.* OK, glad I got that one out.

Just the other day I commented on a blog post asking why despite her efforts to make readers comment, she still doesn't get that many comments. Generally, bloggers are hesitant to comment. Now, I am not the most friendly person around. I tend to be quiet, lurk and am contented to just be reading and digesting the stuff I read. I am antisocial off the Internet, and still a wee bit hesitant to socialize over the Internet. I don't usually get comments here in my blog, probably because I don't comment as much on other people's blogs. For a lot of reasons actually. For one, I'm not one of those people who would say anything just to get to post a comment and build an backlink. Oh noes, me is not that desperate. The only time that I would take the effort to click on that comment thingamajig is when I have something really insightful to say and I don't spend more than necessary to think about it. While reading a post, an idea starts to build up and if that idea is cohesive enough, that's the only time I would click on the Comment button. If by the end of reading the whole post, I still haven't gathered enough thoughts, or if I can't just quite organize the jumble of ideas stuck in my head; then I would just move on to another blog. Why pressure myself right? Opinion should be innate and if I don't have enough opinion to come up with a sentence or two then it's not worthy of other people's time. Yezh, I'm that considerate. I don't like people wasting my time and as the whole karma rule goes, neither am I wasting anyone's time.

Anyway, now with this partnership with Entrecard ans SezWho, I will probably get more motivation to post a comment. Probably -- because I'm lazy and all ya' know. And since I don't drop as much cards as I should, (because pretending to be busy takes up most of my time), I'm now relying on this Super Secret Contest that Entrecard is running so I can earn credits to buy ad spots. If you're already on Entrecard you have probably received an email about this, unless you're one of them kinds who hardly check their mails. If you're still not on Entrecard you should probably consider doing so. You can read more about the Entrecard and SezWho partnership if you wish to find out more about this amazing blogging revolution.

Random Pic of the Week

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:15:20 PDT

It's 2am on a stormy night, for some reason, you can't sleep. You feel a slight grumbling in your tummy, and you suddenly crave for something to eat. You go to the kitchen, look around, but nothing catches your fancy. You found some pancake mix, and then your salivary glands starts to go on overdrive.

Pancake is done, and you start eating. For some annoyingly stupid reason, the need for sleep starts to kick in, and you fall into a slumber.

SLEEP EATING~

LASINGing Bee

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:15:20 PDT

Vocabulary Words:

Lasing - a Tagalog word meaning drunk or intoxicated

Singing Bee - a foreign game show franchised in the Philippines where players must sing the lyrics of a given song correctly in order to win cash

My barkada like most cliques have our own set of traditions. Since all of us are busy with our own shait most of the time, we see to it that we get together every once in a while, particularly during Eric's birthday and our annual Christmas party. Now, unlike some people who are contented with just getting drunk, we like to keep things interesting. This is why every time we have a get together, we try to come up with games that all of us could play while drinking. And I'm not just talking about childish drinking games, we are already good at that so it's not much of a challenge anymore.

A few weeks ago, Eric was luckily chosen as a contestant to one of the hottest game shows on primetime TV right now, The Singing Bee. He was one of the very first contestants on the show and his stint was shown on the second week of the show's telecast. You can read more about his experience at Naknampootah. Inspired by the same game show, Eric decided to scout Raon for a decent videoke dvd player. He was able to buy one with part of his winnings as the Singing Bee Champion. To cut the long story short, we spent the night drinking, singing, and being plain silly. I already had a bad cough, but that still didn't stop me from singing anything from house music to beerhouse music. God knows I badly needed to get drunk. Anyway, I ended up with a really bad sore throat and I lost my voice, which I already said on my previous post.

The highlight of the night would have been Eric and Badong's duet as they sang Lando. Yep, that Gloc 9 song. Well, that's just how we are, we tend to act silly and we laugh at the corniest things. We are not afraid to be labeled because we know who we are. Some might think we act gay and that its weird because we sing jologs songs, but we don't really mind. It's all for fun and if people don't get that then screw them.

Looking back to our Christmas party last year, when people start inviting people to their kid's Christening, even if the baby hasn't been born yet; people showing ultrasound photos; and calling each other ninong, ninang and kumpareng tunay; we all sound different. We carry on the same thing now with the guys talking about work, salary, family, about being father's; over beer and cigarettes. Things have certainly changed, but what would never change is our love for all things fun.

I can't hardly wait for our Christmas Party. Eric plans to have a Singing Bee trophy spoofed to make it look like a drunk bee and that would be the coveted prize for our Christmas party activity.

Virus and Religion

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:13:46 PDT

I still feel like kicking my brother over for not going to the doctor when he should have. Now, I'm still sick and non-functional. It started over a week ago when I started sneezing. Whenever it's the "time of the month", I always feel weak and a bit sick. It must have aggravated the bug I caught from my brother because even if the cycle ended, I still kept sneezing. Unluckily, Kulyan's birthday celebration was set last Saturday. No amount of sickness can stop me from going there so I went there, got drunk, had fun, and played LASINGing Bee. As a result, I have a really bad cough, my voice is coarse (buti nga meron na eh, a few days ago all that comes out whenever I try to speak is a squeak), and I feel really weak. It's like my life energy escapes whenever I cough.

On a side note, kida and I got banned for 7 days over at the newly opened Ikariam Zeta server for an account sitting violation. Don't ask, totally my fault. So now I'm thinking of getting him ambrosia to make up for it. Sucks a bit because we have just started the Zeta branch of our VIRUS alliance. I made a kick ass external alliance page only to get banned. WTF! Anyway, its just 4 days more until I get to play in Zeta again. In Delta on the other hand, I've been struggling to upgrade my capital to Level 18. I also painstakingly managed to upgrade my palace. So now, I'm planning to upgrade my marble town and have many citizens who would generate gold to compensate for the corruption when I start building my 4th town. I intend to upgrade the Governor's Residence in my marble town then work on my 4th colony and maybe just struggle my way out of corruption. I badly need marble. I fookien needed marble so much that I even traded crystal for marble 2:1. Anyway, there's a screenie of my capital now.

Last Educational Monday, Dakila talked about Religion on the Brewrats. To anyone interested in downloading a copy of the show, you can do so by clicking on the following links:

Educational Monday - Dakila talks about Religion Part 1

Educational Monday - Dakila talks about Religion Part 2

All in all, it was a very good episode. Sadly, 2 hours just wasn't enough to cover everything. The Brewrats IRC channel was also teeming with discussions about religion and I was glad to have contributed to their knowledge. So, I'm not about to discuss about my faith here because it's only Saturday and you can only talk about faith on Sundays. If you ask, I'm a Catholic on paper, a Christian on special occasions and a wiccan when needed. If you want, you can read my previous post about my faith, HERE.

Recounting the Fete de la Musique 2008

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:55 PDT

The last gig I've been to, before this one, was incidentally the Fete de la Musique 2006. One of the reasons I came to that one was because I wanted to see Hard Boiled Eggz live. Since Rohan and I have been friends I have never seen them play live. I have been inactive in the scene because of personal issues and I don't have as much time to go to gigs as before. Sadly, I didn't get to catch them that time. When we arrived at the Mall of Asia, their set was already over.

Fast forward two years later, and again, I found the time to go to a gig which is incidentally, the Fete de la Musique at the Mall of Asia (again). Last year the Fete was in Malate. This year, it has moved back to the Mall of Asia, but was done in different areas. In 2006, there were five stages scattered throughout the mall. The rock stage was the only disappointment because it was located near the garbage dump and the stench reached the stage. This year, however, there were only three stages. The Jazz/Electronica/World music stage was within the comforts of the mall while the Pop and RnB stage was across the street near the bay. Surprisingly, the rock stage was located in the parking lot a few meters away from Sofitel. It was THAT far. It felt as if they deliberately isolated the stage.

When we arrived, the first stage we visited was the pop and RnB. Jing and I were still waiting for our other friends so we didn't venture too far. It was raining so we decided to go to the Jazz/Electronica/World music stage for the mean time. We were able to watch the band called Slavedrum. This is the first time I've seen them play and I must say that I really like their music. It's like the dark side of electronica. Apparently, they were the last band to play on that stage. Following their set were the DJ's so I was pretty disappointed because I was really looking forward to watching Brass Munkey again. It's been years since I've seen them play. Oh well, guess we have no choice but to go to the rock stage.

The rock stage was almost a kilometer away from the two other stages. It was located past the open parking lot, on the dirt grounds near Sofitel. Because of the rain, the place was really muddy. Good thing there were tents around. We found a big one and settled there. A few minutes later, Badong and Michelle saw us and we joined them. We sat on the grass, it was then that I got to take a good look at my surroundings. Gawd. The first thing that came to my mind when I looked around was, "Shit, I think I'm too old for this". Majority of the people were kids, probably high school, even grade school kids. They were really rowdy and noisy, so I put on my "don't-you-dare-mess-with-me-look" so they wouldn't get anywhere near us. They were so jologs and dugyot. They swipe cigarettes (oo, nangaagaw sila ng yosi) from other people and they ask for drinks from people they don't know. It was obvious these kids had no cash. Throughout the night we continually talked about being in that age. Yes, we moshed but we were never as boisterous as that. Kids screaming and slam dancing and being unpleasantly noisy made my night unbearable.

I felt a bit better when The Wuds went up on stage. As always, they were amazing. It was obvious most of the kids only know them by name and don't really know their songs. They played Inosente lang ang Nagtataka and immediately, all the kids were slam dancing and singing along. They know the song because Rivermaya covered that song. Then they played Nakalimutan ang Diyos and everyone around us were clueless as we sang along to the song. What a disappointment... Then there was Kjwan. Predictably, the kids were again singing and slam dancing to their songs. Badong jokingly pretended to be Marc Abaya and said, "Manood kayo ng show ko na Ligaw na Bulaklak". He was pertaining to the afternoon soap opera of Marc Abaya. There was also Faspitch, last year's winner of the World Battle of the Bands. I can only describe them as pogi metal. It wasn't a surprise that they won because their music was so commercial. Although it had really fast beats and nice guitar riffs, it lacked the rawness that is eminent in metal music. There was also Gayuma, the last winner of the Redhorse Musiklaban. I didn't listen to them. Don't ask why.

Finally, Hard Boiled Eggz went up on stage. I squeezed my way to the front so I could take good pictures of the band so I could upload them on their Yahoo Groups. I almost hit a guy on the face when he started making snide comments and disrespected the band. It was so nice to see Rohan again, I haven't even congratulated him on his very cute baby. Then there was Imbue No Kudos. I really admire the spirit of these guys. I first met these guys around four years ago. They registered at Pulp community and they were having gigs like crazy. Hailing from Olongapo, these guys were always eager to play in Manila and be recognized by the scene here.The first time I've seen them play was at the Pulp community gathering at Purplehaze bar (back when it was still in Marikina). They had no qualms about being the first band to play. And the moment they started playing, I understood why. As soon as they played everyone outside immediately got in and watched them. I even had it on videotape (which sadly I still haven't converted to dvd). Their hard work really paid off and they really have gone a long way. Then Maryzark, Boy Elroy and Subscapular subsequently went up on stage, but I didn't get to watch because Jing dragged me to the Tropang Bangko's spot. We met up with Khaye and Kathy and the other Tropang Bangko people.

At around past 1am, Greyhoundz went up on stage and as expected, they got the kupaw crowd going. I was secretly wishing that all the kids would go home after their set so I could finally enjoy my fete experience. Although Cheese wasn't in the line up, Ian Tayao performed with Greyhoundz. Midway into their set, it suddenly started raining (again). The rain wasn't much, it was the winds that posed trouble. The winds were really fucking strong. They finished their set around past 2am. As much as I would have loved to stay and watch the bands that I've been really looking forward to watching (Bloodshed, Bane and Sanctus), my legs were already numb from the cold, and I can't handle the rowdiness of the crowd. A few minutes more and I would have punched somebody in the face. My only consolation was I could still hear Bloodshed play as we walked our way out of the lot.

Once we were out of the tent, that was when we realized just how strong the winds are. Walking was effortless, the winds literally blew us forward. At one time I even had to hang onto a post because I would have skidded forward when the wind blew. We stopped by 7-11 to grab a pack of cigarettes and other refreshments. Lighting a cigarette was a challenge. Good thing there was an area that was safe from the winds, but I wasn't all that lucky. The moment we stepped out of that area I only got about 5 puffs from my stick before the wind blew the rest of it off. It burned so fast because of the strong winds. Finally, we got to the area where the buses pass by. The bus that was there was almost full so we decided to let it pass and just take the next one. We almost regretted that decision because the light posts in that area were making noises and were like warning us to stand back. Good thing another bus came by after a few minutes. After plying its route towards coastal road and back to Roxas Boulevard and then EDSA -Taft Crossing, the bus was so full that it was already leaning on one side. Most of the other passengers were the same rowdy kids that I've been trying to get away from. They were again, noisy and disrespectful. Most of the refused to pay and gave alibis like they lost their money or their wallets have been stolen. What bollocks! Taena pumupunta sa gig ng walang pera mga pulubi ampotah! Not that I don't like beggars, but those kids represent everything I dislike in the scene. Disrespect, Irresponsibility, Extreme Compulsiveness, Stupidity.

The driver decided to make them go down the bus at Guadalupe. The driver told them, "Naiintindihan namin kayo pero sana naiintindihan nyo din kami. Hahanapan kami ng kita ng bus company. Di na makasakay mga tao sa dami nyo." So almost everyone went down and the bus was finally spacious. When we got to Cubao, I told Jing that we should take an FX instead because it would be warmer compared to taking a jeep. That we did and I finally got home at around 4am.

Moral of the story: Typhoon Frank is an asshole!

Technorati Tags: Fete de la Musique

A fairytale...

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:02:35 PDT

WARNING: Cheesy content follows! Do not continue if you are not a fan of love, hope and fantasies...

Once there was a princess and a mighty warrior who became really good friends. Their friendship transcended physical boundaries and the princess was really happy to be with the warrior. I assume she had feelings for him, but hesitated to express it because the warrior might not feel the same. After all, he never said anything concrete. In time, the princess found another love but the warrior remained in her heart. She still yearned for their long talks, his smart-aleck comments, his sweetness and care. They still talked sometimes, and those talks only made the princess realize how much she misses the warrior.

After some time, the princess could no longer deny her emotions. She was miserable, and day by day she yearned to be in the arms of the warrior. So she said goodbye to her present love and spent some time alone. Still, the yearning in her heart grew stronger. The princess is losing hope. She feels bad. She knows it was her lack of judgement that made them drift apart. She's not used to feeling this way, she's used to being wooed. Whether it's plain stupidity that the princess is doing this, I don't know. I guess she needs to spend some time alone in hopes that she could get over those emotions that might never get reciprocated.

Fete de la Musique 2008

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:55 PDT

It's that time of the year again when summer starts in the northern hemisphere and music is celebrated in this worldwide feast. This year, the yearly music festival is organized by PULP and will be happening on June 21 (this Saturday) at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay.

Here is the line up:

FETE DELA MUSIQUE 2008

SM Mall of Asia/San Miguel by the Bay

Entrance is absolutely free

Pop and R&B Stage

Shift * Battle City * Delara * Playphonics Ciudad * Zelle * Lala * Purplechickens * Chubibo * The Pin Up Girls * Sugarfree * Stonefree * Gloc 9 * Reklamo * Hale * Dice & K9/Mobbstarr * Itchyworms * Taken By Cars * Pamilya Dimagiba * Chilitees * UpDharmaDown * Out of Body Special * Sino Sikat? * Mike's Apartment * Paramita * Brigada Topjunk

Rock Stage
Boy Elroy * Astrojuan * Hija * Kinetic Daze * The Low Techs * Skies of Ember * Kastigo * Shotgun Lola * Syalam * Hilera * Faspitch * Wuds * Kjwan * The Youth * Nictynasty * Imbuenokudos * Maryzark * 4MH * Subscapular * Bloodshedd * Witchtreesymbol * Sanctus * Bane *Andrea Marie * Republika de Lata * Acidstone

Jazz, Blues, World, Reggae, Electronica Stage
Radioactive Sago Project * Tropical Depression * Blue Rats * Coffeebreak Island Skaramouche * Drip * Johnny Alegre * Bembol Rockers * Brass Munky * Bagetsafonik * Outerhope * Swissy * Juan Pablo Dream * Elemento * Slavedrum * Nyko Maca + Playground * Spaceflower Show * DJ Andy T. * DJ Red-i * DJ Vernon Perez aka Spoonman * DJ Astrid aka Soulflower * DJ Christina Bartges aka Miss Badkiizz * DJ Manifesto * DJ Vikno * DJ Brando Umali * DJ Marts Ballesca * Jay De Leon * Manifesto * Clang Sison * Pilipinas Street Plan

Pagsuko

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:35:41 PDT

May ilang linggo na rin akong absent sa pagsusulat. Naging abala ako sa pagbuklat ng panibagong kabanata ng aking pag-school hop. Oo, binibitiwan ko na ang aking pagnanais na magaral muli sa Iligan dahil sa maraming dahilan. Una, nahihirapan talaga ako aralin ang Bisaya. Hindi naman sa dahil mahirap sya intindihin. Mabilis lang talaga sila magsalita. Pangalawa, marami pa palang salin ang dyalektong ito. Pangatlo, masyadong bata ang mga naging kamag-aral ko. Sa Iligan (hindi ko alam sa ibang bahagi ng Visayas at Mindanao), 15-anyos pa lang ay pumapasok na sa kolehiyo. Siguro dahil walang Grade 7 at (kadalasan) Kindergarten ang mga paaralan doon. Kung mayroon man silang Kinder, eh iisa lang, hindi kagaya dito sa Maynila na may Kinder 1 na may Kinder 2 pa ( o Kinder A at Kinder B - kung ano man trip itawag ng paaralan sa kanila). Dahil sa maliit ang populasyon ng mga mag-aaral, halos lahat ay magkakakilala. Kung mayroong anunsyo mula sa inyong guro ay kadalasan ipinapasa lamang ito. At dahil hindi ko sila (masyado) naiintindihan eh kadalasan hindi nakakarating sakin ang anunsyo.

Doble ang pagsisikap ko nuong naandon ako dahil wala akong ibang aasahan kundi ang sarili ko. Sa isang banda, may mga mababait at palakaibigan sa kanila pero dahil (slightly) antisocial ako eh hindi ko mapilit ang sarili ko na makihalubilo sa kanila kung hindi naman kinakailangan. Naiingayan ako sa kanila, parang mga bata sa high school. Sabagay, dapat nga naman nasa high school pa sila. Naandyan yung may sumisigaw sila mula sa loob ng jeep para tawagin ang isang kakilala na nakita sa daan. Minsan din eh kita ko na ang tonsils nila sa kakatawa sa loob ng silid-aralan. Andyan din yung peer pressure at pagpapasikat na ugali ng mga teenager. Lahat yan, bagama't hindi nakakainis eh nakakapagpataas ng kilay ko (sa imagination lang kase hindi ko naman talaga kaya itaas ang kilay ko gaya nung mga kontrabida sa telebisyon).

Sinubok ko din ang pumasok sa extra-curricular activities upang magkaroon ng dagdag na pagkaka-abalahan at kakilala. Nagpasa ako ng isang sulatin sa punong patnugot ng college publication. Sa kabutihang palad (at hindi naman sa pagmamalaki) ay nakapasok ako. (Dapat lang!) Natuwa naman ako dahil nakita ko na maganda ang lathala nila. May istilong pang magazine. Ngunit, isa sa mga napansin ko ay ang kakontian ng mga manunulat nila. Nung nagkaroon ng taunang pagtitipon para sa mga miyembro ng publikasyon, binoto nila ako bilang editor ng Entertainment Section. Madami sana akong balak para dito ngunit dahil sa kakulangan ng kakayahan na mag-Bisaya eh hindi ko naisakatuparan ang mga plano ko. Akala ko, marami sa mga tao dito ang marunong mag-Tagalog. Nanonood naman sila ng mga teleserye araw araw at may mga aklat na nasusulat sa Tagalog. Sa kabila nito ay marami pa rin sa kanila ang hindi masyado marunong mag-Tagalog. Alam ko naman na bilang Tagalog sa Mindanao, dapat ay matuto ako mag-Bisaya, ngunit paano ako matututo kung hindi rin nila ako kayang kausapin sa wikang alam ko. Madalas, English na lang ang ginagamit ko sa pakikipag-usap dahil mas malamang na magkaintindihan kami.

Dahil na rin sa pagkabilib sakin ng punong patnugot ng publikasyon, inirekomenda nya ako upang makasali sa Essay Writing Contest sa Foundation Week. Ang mga kalaban ay magmumula sa iba't ibang kolehiyo sa unibersidad. Dahil sobrang abala ang mga tao dito (hindi ko alam kung bakit), nung araw bago ng kompetisyon ko lang nakausap yung guro na dapat na magsasanay sa 'kin. Kaya para naman maging handa ay nagsaliksik na ko tungkol dito. Sa ilang minuto na aming paguusap ay binigyan nya ako ng mga handout at binigyan ng kaunting overview tungkol sa paksa ng kompetisyon na base sa tema ng Palakasan (yun ang tawag sa Foundation Week). Ang tema ng Palakasan ay "Enhancing knowledge workforce through quality education and culture of peace". Labo diba? Natuyo ang utak ko nun. Dahil sa kawalan ng gana, madaling araw ko na natapos basahin yung mga handout na binigay sa akin. Ang kompetisyon ay magsisimula ng ika-8 ng umaga. Dapat makarating ako dun ng 7:30 para makapag-rehistro. Pero dahil sa trapik na parang himalang lumabas nung araw na yun 8:00 na ko nakarating sa venue. Anyway, nanalo naman ako ng 2nd place. Dapat nga daw 1st place kaso may deduction dahil sa pagiging late ko.

Sa kabila ng lahat ng achievements ko hindi pa rin sapat yun para ipagpatuloy ko ang pagaaral ko dun. Masyado nang komplikado, ang hirap bumangon. Ang plano ko talaga gusto ko na magtrabaho kaso pinilit ako ng tatay ko mag-enroll dito. Ginawa ko naman lahat ng makakaya ko, pero parang hindi talaga para sakin. Nakapagdesisyon na ko. Maghahanap muna ko ng trabaho tapos next year magaaral ako ng culinary arts. Tuloy pa rin ang laban, sa ibang eksena nga lang!

The Breast Awareness Campaign

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:14:33 PDT

This tag is from Ate Mhel of Marikenya. I don't know that many bloggers so I'm not tagging anyone but feel free to spread the word about it.

June is the International Month for Breast Cancer Awareness, let us all pitch in to spread the information on this killer disease in the blogosphere to help more people worldwide.

Facts we need to know about Breast Cancer:

• The first sign of breast cancer usually shows up on a woman’s mammogram before it can be felt or any other symptoms are present.

• Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, delaying pregnancy until after age 30 or never becoming pregnant, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.

• Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.
• Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.

• Over eighty percent of breast lumps are not cancerous, but benign such as fibrocystic breast disease.

• You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty.

(Resources: American Cancer Society National Cancer Institute Komen Foundation)

You can help save lives of many women by spreading the word about The Breast Cancer Site and clicking on the pink button many times as you can. If The Breast Cancer Site receives 8 million clicks on the pink button in June, their premier sponsor -Bare Necessities- will donate $10,000 for more free mammograms. CLICK the pink button today!

To my blogger friends, please help spread the word to reach more and more women and even men, everyday.

It's not enough that we had to worry about getting good grades

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:14:18 PDT

It's not enough that we had to worry about getting good grades; we also had to worry if our parents can afford to pay for the remaining college tuition fee installments, school projects, books, school supplies, or if they can even give us money for transportation and snacks. Last week, I saw part of a newsflash that said that enrollment numbers in public and private colleges and universities have dropped by at least 50%. I wasn't surprised at all.

Today on the news, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to stop the schools from increasing tuition fees for the coming school year. Now isn't it too late for that? I think enrollment in colleges and universities have already started and many students have already accepted their fate. With all the rising costs of living, it's not at all surprising that many students have dropped out.

At this point, I start to think, would having a diploma really matter in the real world? A lot of my friends who have already graduated work in call centers -- along with a bunch of other people who haven't graduated yet. Diploma or no diploma, call center agents manage to earn a very acceptable salary. In the call center industry, work experience seems to matter more than school credentials. Still, there are those few principled people who choose to earn little in an industry they love and support rather than prostitute themselves as a call center agent.

Ever since those fucked up College Insurance plans messed up, a lot of college student's dreams have gone down the drain. The effects may not have been instant, but slowly, most parents stopped sending their children to school. I remember envying a classmate because her CAP Educational Plan always paid more that what she should be paying for. At the end of the school year, she was able to apply for a refund and she spent all the refund money shopping. When rumors of CAP going bankrupt surfaced, I gave my head a little noggin'. It was silly of me to envy that classmate and I was thankful that my Platinum College Plan didn't suffer the same fate as CAP.

We all know what happened. The 'thankfulness' didn't last long. After a year, Platinum stopped issuing checks and my parents have to start including my tuition fee in their budgets. Everything became harder since then. In a statement that Platinum released that year, they said they would be issuing refunds to all their plan holders starting 2008. Last year, I reminded my mom of that and she said I should go to their office in Makati to inquire. Since I was too lazy to go to a far place with an unsure agenda, I just shrugged it off. Some time early this year, I happened to be in the area so I decided to pass by their office. Their office was in this building in front of Mapua Makati. When I got there, Platinum Plans was not among the listings outside the building. I told my mom about that when I got home and she said they must have moved. Since I had to go back to Iligan in a few days, she said she'll just take care of it.

Fast forward to now, my mom found their office to be somewhere in the Ortigas area near their other old office building, Tektite Towers. My mom was informed that checks will start to be issued in 2010. Wow, they must be waiting for the end of the world so they can get away from their obligations. I wonder if their stock holders can sleep at night knowing they have single-handedly managed to thwart the dreams of thousands of college students.

Thursday, Panic at the Disco and the Sando Night Party

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:55 PDT

Another set of foreign bands will again set foot to rock Manila this rainy season. Screamo band Thursday from North Brunswick, New Jersey will be heading over to the Philippines to play shows on the following dates:

May 30 at A-Venue along Makati Avenue, the same place where Shadows Fall played when they were here last March. Tickets cost P1000. For more information you can log on to www.pulpcommunity.com or call 6871709-10.

May 31 at the Kaogma Festival in Camarines Sur. The band said that they are excited to be the first American band to be invited to play at the Festival and they are just as hyped to finally meet their Filipino fans. The Kaogma Festival is a 450-year old tradition celebrating the founding of Camarines Sur. The band will be playing a free concert along with Typecast, Chicosci, Angulo and April Morning Skies to culminate the week's festivities. In the past, only Pinoy bands were invited to perform at the festival that's why the band is honored to have been invited. Joining the band on their trek here is bassist Manuel Carrero of Glassjaw, Stillsuit and currently, Saves the Day.

While I feel very much against some bands in the line up, I have no control over it. I think they could have chosen better bands to play alongside Thursday. Thursday is composed of Geoff Rickley (my most favorite emogame character ever) on vocals, Tom Keeley on guitars, Andrew Everding on keyboards, Steve Pedulla on rhythm, Tim Payne on bass and Tucker Rule on drums.

Daughtry, the band of American Idol fifth season finalist, Chris Daughtry will be coming to Manila to play at Eastwood Central Plaza in Eastwood City, Libis on July 29. Seat prices are as follows :

SUPER VIP (FRONT ROWS) (Reserved Seating)	5775
VIP CENTER (Reserved Seating)	4515
VIP RIGHT/LEFT (1ST 3 ROWS) (Reserved Seating)	4515
VIP RIGHT/LEFT (Reserved Seating)	4190
LOWER PATRON (Reserved Seating)	3413
UPPER PATRON (Reserved Seating)	2625
General (Eastwood City Box Office only) (Reserved Seating)	1550
General (Eastwood City Box Office only) (Free Seating)	650

I know it's forbidden to talk about it, but like most manufactured bands (remember Rivermaya), we all know what would happen to this band someday. So you better take this chance to watch the band live before they become part of music history. Tickets can be bought at TicketNet.

Panic at the Disco, losing the (!), and releasing their second album titled Pretty. Odd., will be coming to Manila on August 14 to play at the Araneta Coliseum. Ticket Prices are to the left and tickets can be bought from TicketNet. Listening to the single of their second album reminds critics of The Beatles, that is, in a good way, I guess... Members are Brendon Urie, Ryan Joss, Jon Walker and Spencer Smith. Although many people would classify them as emo, I could only describe their music as a mix of bits and pieces with electronica. Ok, so I'm bad with descriptions. Bottom line is, they're good and I enjoy their music very much.

Sando Night Party Thursdays

Their guest yesterday is a band called Pedro Phile. When asked about the origin of their band name, they said something about Pedro being the opposite of the Filipino commoner, Juan. Anyway, I'm not buying it because everyone who has been on the Internet for years would know that pedrophile is an age-old Internet nick that has been used by many pervs in Yahoo chat and IRC. You can listen to snippets of the show by clicking on the image below. Shiro's sensational call can also be downloaded and played here. Leave a message if you encounter any problem. Wasak!

Technorati Tags: Thursday,Panic at the Disco,Daughtry,Brewrats

One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl season finale and other bits of randomness

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:55 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

Excuse me for a minute while I catch my breath. *Breathes in, breathes out*. There. Now let me start by saying that both the season finales of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill suck big time! Again, since I don't live in the US, and I'm (in local terms) could be described as nothing less that atat (can't wait), I spent two grueling hours buffering both episodes. At one time, Gossip girl even stopped at 67% and since I wanted to watch it straight, I had no choice but to refresh the page and wait (again) until it loads up properly. For the mean time, I spent some time dropping EC's and chatting on the chat widget installed on the page that streams the episode. I found it funny that some people didn't even bother to change their names from the default Anon[random number]. I began to wonder if they're one of those people who are gifted with very nice gadgets yet have no idea how to maximize the usage of it. Ok, so I'm bitter. I just hate to see good tools put to waste.

Back to the episodes... I first watched One Tree Hill.

One Tree Hill Season 5 Episode 18 - What comes after the blues

Basically, the whole episode was about conquering fears. Kate Voegel was in the episode so that's something nice. After Angie's surgery, Brook suddenly received a call from the agency telling her that Angie would be going home that day. She initially thought that she had 8 more days to be with the baby but as the hot doctor said, the program works that way. They book the next available flight once the surgery was over. So Brooke then had to deal with letting go of the baby. She eventually did. Meanwhile, Nathan had to deal with the challenge of training. Everybody believes he can go back to playing except himself. He later admitted to Quentin that he was afraid to fail. Cute Scott kid, Jamie, heard the revelation and talked to his dad about being afraid of going in the pool after the accident that almost cost him his life. Father and son found strength in each other and eventually overcame their fears. Nathan made a dunk past Quentin and Jamie jumped into the pool. Dan was a surprise in this episode. At one point I thought that he was beyond salvation but he proved me wrong. After walking out of the hospital triumphantly, choosing to do the good thing, he got ran over by a car. Talk about karma, right? Now we go to the biggest excitement of all... What happens to Lucas and Peyton? On the last part of EP17, Lucas told Peyton that he hated her and blamed her for ruining his life. Fast forward to EP18, Lucas grabbed a student/player from the other team that they were playing up against, then he got himself drunk day-in and day-out. Luke became messed up because Lindsey called him during half time to tell him that she's seeing someone else. She lied and I don't know why she said that but I didn't like her from the start and I don't like her even more now. Peyton, hurt by what Luke said, started a new hobby of throwing water balloons from the top of the Clothes over Bros shop. Haley, realizing the immensity of the situation, helped both Peyton and Lucas. Now, Peyton being the tortured artist, painted a mural on the river court where she wrote that she will always love Lucas. Luke saw this and talked to Peyton. Now, this is the part that I most hate. It's about a minute until the end of the episode. Lucas was at the airport lounge. He called someone. Now I don't know who that someone is. It could possibly be anyone between Linds, Peyton and Brooke but it's just as possible that it could be all of them; and Luke asked that someone, "I'm at the airport and I have two tickets to Las Vegas. Will you marry me tonight?" (or something to that effect) and I'm like, wow! Way to end the season with your viewers left hanging! And then I thought again, Wow, how little could Luke's self esteem be that he needed to get married pronto!

Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 18 - Much 'I do' about nothing

The episode starts with Serena trying to find Dan and Rufus and Lily waking up in bed together. Serena comes over to the Humphrey loft to find Dan with Georgina. She calls G and evil manipulative bitch and G acts like a poor, helpless girl. Lily and Rufus talk and all that talk was boring so to sum it all up, Lily chose to push thru with the wedding. Nothing really happened much at the wedding. Serena and Dan broke up. Chuck admitted to Nate that he is in love with Blair. Chuck gets inspired and ditches the best man speech he made and strung words from the heart that no one thought "THE Chuck Bass" had. With the help of Chuck, Nate catches his dad trying to skip town to escape his embezzlement charges. Summer starts with Blair and Chuck going to France, Serena spends time with Nate, Dan is repainting with Vanessa and Jenny got an internship to Parson's with Eleanor Waldorf.

Thoughts

It seemed to me that the writers on CW are still hung over the WGA strike and decided to take it out on the shows by writing bad episodes. Props to all of you for that! Bravo! You better hope to God that I don't find out who you are and if I do, hope so more that I never get anywhere within a 5 mile radius from where you are because you could be damn sure that I'll [bleep].

On the randomness

I just got sent 2000 EC's directly from Entrecard. Woohoo!

I'm starting to wonder how some people blog despite having really bad English.

I notice Twitter is a bit slow these past days. Or is it just me?

My little sister woke up with a fever and she had a hard time walking. Her wound got infected and it was all pus filled now. I made her drink paracetamol then we went to the doctor to have it checked. I didn't want to self medicate because her derma has been prescribing her some antibiotics for her skin asthma. When we got home, I pricked the wound to let the pus out and administer her medicines.

J Scott of BeforeIamFamous.com is giving away, $15 (paid thru paypal), 250 Entrecredits/Blog Explosion Credits, and permanent links in celebration of his 1000th post. Contest ends on May 23, 12:00 am EDT. This is one of the simplest blog contests I've seen. To register, all you have to do is register via email and comment on the contest post so that your email address will be matched to that in the feeds. You can also gain another entry if you post about the contest.

Domain name and hosting contest

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:10:26 PDT

I received a message through Entrecard today from Alvin of ModPinoy.com. Surprisingly, not only is he from Marikina, but he also graduated high school from the same school that I did. We are both alumni of Marikina Science High School, which in our time was still called Marikina Institute of Science and Technology. Anyway, I've been joining blog contests since last February to try out my luck. I've blogged about the whole premise before but I'm too lazy to link it up now.

I've been thinking of getting my own domain name and hosting for years but for a couple of reasons, I have decided that the only way I would be getting one is if someone gives it to. I will not, in any way, spend my own money for it. Secondly, if ever someone does give me one, I will not give up this blog. I will instead, start a new blog there, and maintain both.

In line with this, ModPinoy.com is having a contest and the Grand Prize is a domain name and hosting for one year. This comes with WordPress installed, OIO Publisher direct pro plugin and WP-Auction (free version) plugin. Runner ups can win either a 125x125 or 250x250 ad spot for one month. There are three ways to enter.

a) blog about the contest for 25 entries

b) subscribe by email; 5 entries for every participating blog you subscribe to

c) post a comment on any of the participating blogs for 2 entries

Participating Sites
- PinoyConsole.com
- ModPinoy.com
- Pinoy ModShop.com
- Pinoy TV Show
- Pinoy Gamers Hub

Contest ends 12:00AM, May 31. Good Luck! You can check out the contest page HERE.

Social.card.sters

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:35:28 PDT

While dropping cards today, I noticed that aside from the usual U Drop, I Follow logo, some users are sporting a new image. Ben Spark of benspark.com started this new group called the Socialcardsters made up of Social Spark members who are also Entrecard users.

The blogroll is set up to be random so it's updated every day. While I can't go through all of these blogs everyday, it's still some link love right?

Updated! Tricia's Musings
Updated! Big Paw Blog
Updated! The Raging Tech
Updated! Online Presence
Updated! Pinaymama's Diary
Updated! Jude�s Eclectic Resources
Updated! Christy's Coffee Break
Updated! Personal Tapestry (Heart of Rachel)
Updated! Ramblings of An Ad Hoc Doctor
Updated! Wonderful Things In Life

Updated! Can of Thoughts
Updated! A little piece of me
Updated! Mr. Javo dot Com
Updated! The Media Guru
Updated! Time!
Updated! Ugh!!�s Greymatter Honeypot
Updated! OnlineEarns
Updated! Syn's Life
Updated! Truth Unedited
Updated! The Friday Traffic Report

Updated! Blog About Your Blog
Updated! TysBlog.com
Updated! HelpMyCashGrow.com
Updated! My Sweet Escape
Updated! ::hip & cool I'll always be::
Updated! My Opinion Counts
Updated! theNetGuruZ Tech Blog
Updated! Everything and Anything
Updated! Espreson
Updated! Inconclusive Result

Updated! nimrodjo.com
Updated! Live Life! Love Life!
Updated! I'm Blogging That
Updated! Crumley Family Blog
Updated! Advertising for Success blog
Updated! Before I am Famous
Updated! Generation Star Wars
Updated! MomReviews
Updated! InvestorBlogger
Updated! The Mom With Brownies

Updated! The Fate of Tyrlon and other Dubious Things
Updated! Everyday Randomness
Updated! The Positive Side
Updated! The Pond
Updated! RealityTVFan.org
Updated! Sweet Surrender
Updated! 4ever7 Heaven
Updated! Retail Therapy Lounge
Updated! lifeOmaniac
Updated! BloggerFocus.com

Updated! Our Life & Our World
Updated! Aronil
Updated! Dagboek van Thesserie
Updated! Nanashi-Inc
Updated! Pandora's Casket
Updated! Laane on the World
Updated! Good Boy Gone Bad
Updated! My Life as Mama Jodi
Updated! Rambling On
Updated! yowazzup

Updated! My Dogs Keep Me Sane
Updated! Five Dollar Shake
Updated! My Trips
Updated! peep holE
Updated! www.amazus.org
Updated! Ang.�s Chicken Coop
Updated! It�s sanni-licious
Updated! Hand Me Down Life
Updated! Humane Blogging Tips
Updated! Michael Aulia�s Blog

Updated! Kater-Bug Blue
Updated! CoolAdzine for Marketers blog
Updated! A Simple Life
Updated! Toast & Egg & Me�
Updated! Celebrating life
Updated! India Through The Eyes Of An Indian
Updated! Ramblings of Maggie
Updated! Texas RV Travel blog
Updated! Pho-Tog B-Log
Updated! Daisy the Curly Cat

Updated! LadyJava's Lounge
Updated! Mummified Times Five
Updated! Maria Finds
Updated! That Grrl
Updated! Pages Bleu
Updated! Photography by KML
Updated! Have A Life!
Updated! The Shvoong
Journey Down The Tracks Of Life
LosingPounds.org

The Beauty Denominator
The Internet Junkyard
The Creative Nerd
1stopmom blog
Brain Loops
Karlonia.com
ClickdTalk
Simple PC Talk.com
Chic-Street
Roxiticus Desperate Housewives

Mom Knows Everything
Zero and Up
Second Life Update
..:::Mi Blog:::..
Brain Foggles
Beth & Cory's Mom
The Kat House
The Sewing Mom
The BenSpark
Beautiful Mess

Modern Witchcraft School
Curiously Awesome
Flight of The Eaglehawk
Juuust a Bit Outside
VampAmber�s Clutter
CorpoAlert
Mature Not Senile
Lofty Matters
Lofty Matters
The Den of Iniquity

Abc's of Fine Design
I'm just a blogger
Mountain Dew Knight
eL{dot}fReaKzTeR
Writing Nag
Always, Alli
The Buzz Nutter
Happy Family Matters
Kaleidoscope
A Grateful Heart

The Random Forest
Is 8 Enough
Farvel Cargo
Mummy Diaries
Photo Projectz
Online Earning Opportunities
Internet is for Fun
Laura�s Daily Life
Buy Better and Have a Better Life
Sabrina�s Money Madness

Markus Langenfeld - Life, Tech News & Reviews
Feathers, Fur and Fins
Bird On A Wire
New York Renovator
moms..... check nyo
Luna Tail
Stay at Home Mom & Military Wife
Kumo Japan Drama
Simple Mindz
Blog Engage Blog

New York Traveler.net
Neptunebaby Dot Com
Saphrym
Retroblog
Starryskye.org
VintageGent's Menswear Daily
Infinite Possibility
Tiddlywinks
WYPOV.com
My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings

The Grill Man
Mental Refugee
GEEK LOAD
Mr Nice Guy
Infektia
Carol's Corner
Imagination MADNESS
Sultana's Blog
Blogging with Cents
Tip Tail

Winged Words
The (Other) End of the Internet
Epic Lyrics INC
X-division Center International Limited
Sidebits dot Com
Hidden Gems from Untold Treasures
lifepassedby.com
My Road Less Traveled By
View of Sue
oh, hey. what's up?

HoundsGood
Lisa Reviews
Everything Web Related
Lifes Like That
Makin The Money
And That�s�.the Truth
This Woman's Blog
Ride to Remedy
Push A Pixel
Susans Home

The New Wolfs Howl
Vainzine
That Bitchy Chick
My Road
Found Not Lost
Mouse Clone
Table for Five
Life with Kim
Journey in Search of Life - JiSoL
What A Load Of Bullshit

Trickster GamicPress
SpeakerG
Web Site SB Small Business Web Site Design
Simon�s Notes
Lightersville
Sneezie Breezie
WarKitty
The Symposium
Ladyhawkcj Talks
The Ridiculously Mundane

Tail Pix
Dolphinitis
Culture Shock
Gadget5.com
Operation Bob
Million Dollar Challenge
No Crappy Crap
Make A Pound
thewanderblog
Nette Life

modemlooper
writer
Is Good Stuff - Blog Resources and Goodies
the river city
Tales From The Tracks
Weblog Money
kampung halaman
HomeBiz Resource
Blog Income Project
My Diet, Health and Fitness

Hawaii Food and Recipe Blog
Free Advertising and Links
Jenn Cooks
Useful and Funny Stuff
The Adventure of making money online
Ramblings of an Undisturbed Mind
Hugo Says
The English Armchair Abroad
Domestic Diva
Blogging Addiction

The Transparent Hypnotist
Marianne's Motifs
Just shooting the breeze with Breezie
Boating in Beautiful British Columbia
The DigiPix
Broken Perfection
The Entrecarder
Blogoholism.com
Lostland Multimedia
jtfmulder -- movies, TV, pop culture, tie-ins...

Personal Weblog of Hashim
One Foxy Hound
Bring Me Up
ads space market
Flo�s Place
Alternative Marketing 101
QueenB
Perspective
Daffodils & Dragonflies
Windy City Restaurant Hopper

The Nykaza Family
My Experiments And The Truth

Powered by
BlogRolling

The Beauty Denominator
The Internet Junkyard
The Creative Nerd
1stopmom blog
Brain Loops
Karlonia.com
ClickdTalk
Simple PC Talk.com
Chic-Street
Roxiticus Desperate Housewives

Mom Knows Everything
Zero and Up
Second Life Update
..:::Mi Blog:::..
Brain Foggles
Beth & Cory's Mom
The Kat House
The Sewing Mom
The BenSpark
Beautiful Mess

Modern Witchcraft School
Curiously Awesome
Flight of The Eaglehawk
Juuust a Bit Outside
VampAmber�s Clutter
CorpoAlert
Mature Not Senile
Lofty Matters
Lofty Matters
The Den of Iniquity

Abc's of Fine Design
I'm just a blogger
Mountain Dew Knight
eL{dot}fReaKzTeR
Writing Nag
Always, Alli
The Buzz Nutter
Happy Family Matters
Kaleidoscope
A Grateful Heart

New York Traveler.net
Neptunebaby Dot Com
Saphrym
Retroblog
Starryskye.org
VintageGent's Menswear Daily
Infinite Possibility
Tiddlywinks
WYPOV.com
My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings

The Grill Man
Mental Refugee
GEEK LOAD
Mr Nice Guy
Infektia
Carol's Corner
Imagination MADNESS
Sultana's Blog
Blogging with Cents
Tip Tail

HoundsGood
Lisa Reviews
Everything Web Related
Lifes Like That
Makin The Money
And That�s�.the Truth
This Woman's Blog
Ride to Remedy
Push A Pixel
Susans Home

The New Wolfs Howl
Vainzine
That Bitchy Chick
My Road
Found Not Lost
Mouse Clone
Table for Five
Life with Kim
Journey in Search of Life - JiSoL
What A Load Of Bullshit

Trickster GamicPress
SpeakerG
Web Site SB Small Business Web Site Design
Simon�s Notes
Lightersville
Sneezie Breezie
WarKitty
The Symposium
Ladyhawkcj Talks
The Ridiculously Mundane

Tail Pix
Dolphinitis
Culture Shock
Gadget5.com
Operation Bob
Million Dollar Challenge
No Crappy Crap
Make A Pound
thewanderblog
Nette Life

modemlooper
writer
Is Good Stuff - Blog Resources and Goodies
the river city
Tales From The Tracks
Weblog Money
kampung halaman
HomeBiz Resource
Blog Income Project
My Diet, Health and Fitness

Personal Weblog of Hashim
One Foxy Hound
Bring Me Up
ads space market
Flo�s Place
Alternative Marketing 101
QueenB
Perspective
Daffodils & Dragonflies
Windy City Restaurant Hopper

The Nykaza Family
My Experiments And The Truth

Powered by
BlogRolling

Technorati Tags: Entrecard

Huge Entrecard Updates

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:52:31 PDT

Following the changes in the pricing system, Entrecard launched yet another set of huge updates that would no doubt, users would enjoy. First is the enabling of having multiple accounts in one account. Many bloggers maintain multiple blogs and this will make it easier for them to manage their accounts. Before, only one blog is registered per email address so users with multiple blogs who wish to put Entrecard on all their blogs have to register a different account for each blog. But now, with this update, they will be able to link all their accounts. Another good news is, Entrecard is holding a contest. If you link your account to another account, you will automatically be entered in the contest to win 15,000 credits!

To link your Entrecard account to another account, all you have to do is click on the switch link beside your email address on the top right area of the page. This will bring you to the Linked blogs page where you have to enter the email address and password of your other Entrecard accounts. And that's it! You've officially entered the 15,000 EC contest!

Another big update is the release of the official Entrecard e-book. If you're new to Entrecard, this e-book contains all information you will need to familiarize yourself with the system, and to make the most out of the service. You can download the free e-book HERE.

They also have another blog post contest where you could win 2000 EC's. All you have to do is blog about their "add new blog" feature and their official e-book. Contest ends on June 25.

Technorati Tags: Entrecard

Death note in US

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:55 PDT

Anime and manga fans in the US will surely rejoice as DeathNote (Desu Nōto) will be screened in select theatres for two nights only, May 20 and 21. Another unrated movie, the movie is equivalent to an R rating but I'm sure this wouldn't stop the younger fans from watching. You can find the list of theatres HERE.

The movie is a series of two live action Japanese films that is based on the popular manga series of the same title by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I first heard of the anime series in the first quarter of 2007. Many of my otaku friends were raving about it and encouraging me to watch the series.

The movie is about a student named Light Yagami who accidentally finds a DeathNote. The DeathNote was dropped by a rogue shinigami (Death God) named Ryuk. The rules of the DeathNote are written on the first page.

1. The human whose name is written on the note shall die.

2. The note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind while writing the name. This is to avoid people of the same name from being affected.

3. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.

4. If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will die of heart attack.

5. After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written within the next 400 seconds.

Light vowed to use the Death note to get rid of evil people. When criminals started dying, the authorities sent the legendary detective "L" to investigate, and is soon on Light's trail. The movie is English dubbed so I'm still curious because the ones I've watched are subtitled. The movie has Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dani California on its soundtrack.

How cool would it be to have a supernatural characteristic! If I had a supernatural trait, it would be reading minds. I would find people's weaknesses and use it to my advantage. [insert evil, maniacal laugh here]

Technorati Tags: Death note

Gossip, insecurities and what people expect from us

purpleportal@gmail.com (iSeL) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:11:20 PDT

I spent time yesterday catching up with the new episodes of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Since I don't live in the US, and the episodes here are not updated, I watched streaming videos instead from Sidereel. I have put off watching the episodes for the past weeks because I've been busy and that I haven't been liking what I'm hearing about Little Jenny. So for those who haven't watched them yet, I should warn you that this post contains bits of spoilers.

In the past episodes, Little Jenny Humphrey fought a great battle with the Queen Bee aka Blair Waldorf for the inclusion in the "It Group". As much as I see the same scenario in the numerous teen shows and movies that have been made, I still can't believe the magnitude that is often portrayed in those media. Ok, so maybe the American culture is far more liberal than what we have here in the Philippines; but too much sex, drugs, sabotage and even death -- all those in high school?

Frankly, I don't see why some people, especially ones that grew in a beautiful and loving family like the Humphreys, get to have very low self esteem and would resort to stealing and lying just to be accepted. I know that it is important to belong to a group but why did she bother so much about being "in"? She's still a freshman, she still has a couple more years to find a posse or be part of one. What's the rush?

Everyone has insecurities. We all went through that phase, but I don't remember doing anything extreme just to be one of the "in crowd". Well, now that I think of it, it wasn't really hard for me to fit in. Luckily, I was a geek, not a nerd, talented and I was street-smart. I was cool by stereotype. Since I was in grade school, I didn't find it hard to have friends although I was a bit antisocial. The only problem I had was finance-related. We're not rich so it was hard at times to not be able to share in their talks about stuff. But that didn't make me pretend to be someone I'm not. Often, I had to submit a promissory note to the school just so I could take our exams. I didn't always get my report card on time. I'm glad that my friends saw beyond that and my honors and merits overshadow my family's financial status.

I'm glad Little Jenny already realized her mistakes, but not without permanent damage. In this case, wealth was still Blair's best ally, and her expertise proved to stellar.

Another big thing that happened during the past episodes was the appearance of Georgina Sparks. One thing I really don't get with the whole thing was, like what often appears in shows like this, why is it so hard for people to tell the truth? Why do people choose to torment themselves rather than share their problem to someone who cares? Wouldn't the world be so much better if people were a bit more honest? Keeping things to yourself in hopes of protecting the people special to you doesn't always work right. You hurt those people in the process because you alienate them and make them feel unwanted. Remember that trust is always your best ally. Serena could have avoided so much trouble if she just involved Dan in the problem. That way they could have dealt with it together. So now, Dan slept with Georgina, and now I'm disappointed in Dan. Looks like the hero is tarnished after all.