Ondoy's Aftermath

It started last Friday night with heavy rains. Then I woke-up last Saturday at past 10:30am wondering why its kinda cold. I noticed the rain hasn't stop since Friday hence I wasn't able to go out in the morning. According to news, Storm Ondoy has unleashed its wrath, not with strong winds but with heavy rains. Within 5-6 hours, Ondoy poured in rainfall equivalent to a month that turned Metro Manila and other nearby provinces to a water world (in a literal sense). Good thing our location was fine despite floods at the entrance of our village (the lowest point probably). Also we were spared from possible brownouts and water shortages but we were sad because some of my friends and relatives were badly affected by the storm (I hope they're OK now). By 5pm, heavy rains subsided and I was able to go online to check what happened.

Yesterday, I went to my fiancee's place in Manila to spend quality time with her and check if they're OK. It took me a while to reach the place though but I was surprised that more than 2 underpass were totally submerged in water (Lagusnilad and Quezon Blvd going to España). I wanted to take some pictures of Ondoy's aftermath but due to time (and weather) constraints, I decided not to push through with it and went straight to her place. We simply spend the entire afternoon together and do important things.

I won't be putting here the entire details on how Ondoy almost drowned every Filipino's spirit. Costing 100 lives and displaced thousands but of course, there would be hope at the end of despair.

Dutdutan 2009

Pardon for the late posting about what happened last Saturday at Dutdutan 2009. I met Vince first since our meeting time was at 2pm. Then we waited for Alex, his brother and his office mate this time at around 4pm. Since we have to kill some time, Vince and I decided to eat first at Dad's meryenda buffet. for 175php, we were really stuffed because we ate a lot of pasta and some nice pinoy desserts as well. After a while, we were able to meet Alex and company before heading to A Venue.

Getting stamped before getting in

Once we got there, we met Robin there who is almost on his way home since he still need to get some sleep for his 9pm work. Tickets cost 250php but it has some freebies except for beer (we got that last year though). Good thing the place was not jam-packed yet as we were able to take photos of the tattoos (big tattoo category). Here are some pictures (unedited) that I've taken 

 

  

  

  

After the tattoo show, Dice and K9 together with Hi-C performed on stage. Too bad Robin left a few minutes earlier, tsk tsk tsk... We were able to spot some celebrities like Savannah (have our pictures taken with her) and Janna of Fear Factor Argentina as well as Will Devaughn and KC Montero. And after Hi-C's second performance, its time for the Bikini Contest. 

The place was entirely cramped in front as most people wanted to see the ladies in their bikinis. The trio from Boys Night Out hosted the portion. We were able to take some photos with them though most were a bit blurry. After the bikini show, we went back to relax and listen to the bands play. I recall Kamikaze and The Wuds (Original line-up) played that night. We left early (11:30pm) since we have other commitments the next day.

All in all, the event was fine and I'm looking forward to Dutdutan 2010 (and getting a tattoo perhaps). XD

Up for now

After my home PC crashed for a few days, I was able to boot it back to windows. Though it took me a while since I need to repair windows on drive C, I think it would be much better now. The only downside was all files from the C drive as well as those saved from the desktop was deleted. actually, what i did was just convert FAT32 to NTFS and I'm not sure though if its just the same as re-installing windows. 

But at least I could do editing for now since my work is piling up again. Maybe next year, I could buy another home PC. XD

Flashback (Dutdutan 2008)

As far as I remember, Dutdutan is a tattoo expo with live bands that play mostly loud music. For that year (2008) they have included a car show (they called it Cruzin Nyts) and a bikini contest for the audience to have a reason to stay put and stay longer.

For 250 Php, you would be able to enter the events venue, plus one free beer (courtesy of Colt 45), 50 Php discount on their souvenir (T-Shirt from tribal gear), and they made sure we stayed there until almost midnight.

I went there together with my good friend Alex who was at that time, the only one on our group that has a DSLR (I was just using a point-and-shoot back then) but didn't prevent me from taking good pictures ad well. Before the bikini contest started, we took some of the cars on display for Cruzin Nyts as well as the graffiti contest.

We spotted some celebrities like Nancy Castiglione, Maggie Wilson, and Even Dylan from NU 107.5 was also there. We have our pictures taken with them as well as had some small talk as usual.

Dutdutan was not that crowded as expected since only a few would appreciate the art of tatoo (as the objective of the event implies). At around 4:00pm, we were inside the venue watching bands play their brand of music.

We stayed there long enough to watch at least 8-9 bands play plus we were able to take photos of them. There was also the bikini show that most male (and some female) spectators watched and feast their eyes on. 

As I finish this, I'm preparing to collect my thoughts what happened last Saturday night at Dutdutan 2009. So stay tuned. ^_^ 

Nth Encounter with Cristine Reyes

Yes, this would be the 4th time that we would be meeting Cristine Resyes in person as FHM hosted another autograph signing for her since she was the covergirl for September. It has been 2 years and a month since the last time she graced the cover of FHM and even had 2 autograph signing sessions (I have attended only the first one).

Going there from SM Megamall didn't take us that long being a Sunday. Together with my Fiancee and some of my good friends, we arrived there at around 5:30-5:45pm and we were quite surprised that the line is already long (tailend at KFC). We see some of our good friends already lined-up and ready for the signing. Usually, we used to be always first in line or within the first 10-20 people in front but it did't much matter if we have to wait for a while before our turn. 

While waiting, there were two promo girls giving out samples of Cobra Energy Drink and took some to quench our thirst (Their booth is located near the stage). And we spotted Ryza Cenon adn EB Babe Saida while were in line. Then Sam YG (aka Shivaker) began hosting the event signaling the start of the much awaited autograph signing.

As the autograph signing started, we tried to take some pictures of her while waiting for our turn. And it almost took us an hour before we were able to set foot on their stage. But before that, we were informed by the FHM staff that Cristine will be sign the cover ONLY. Most of us (as well as the autograph signing veterans) were surprised about that policy. Will they bring that old rule back? I hope not because if they do, a lot of people will vent out. Moving forward, I was able to a have a small talk with her and tell her how long we've waited for her to cover again for FHM. I wanted to ask her if it was a special request that she would only sign the cover but I'd rather not ask. I thank her for signing my FHM (another priceless FHM added to my collection), and more importantly, have our picture taken. I looked a bit small in the picture since Cristine was wearing high heels that time. XD

After most of us were done with the signing, we tried to take photos of her once more for a few times before we left the stage. We even saw EIC Allan Madrilejos himself and thank him for getting Cristine to cover once more. Some of us even asked why Robin Padilla did not have an autograph signing. We parted ways after dinner with a smile on our face waiting for the next FHM Autograph Signing. ^_^

One Big Bite

After attending the Y4IT at UP Diliman, I decided to look for this burger joint named Bite Club. It was raining non-stop that day but it didn't stop me from pursuing it after reading about its biggest burger from this month's issue of FHM.

It took me at least an hour and a half to reach Bite Club (that includes wondering around Katipunan area). I even passed by Monasterio de Sta Clara that time and my feet were almost soaking wet (my mistake for wearing my chucks that time). Good thing, it took me one jeepney ride and one cab to get there since I have to study the location of the place.

As I enter the place, I noticed that the space of Bite Club is just small and I thought Its floor area could be the same as your regular burger joint area. The cooking area is on the left side of the entrance (IMO, the cooking area is at the back of almost any dining area. After ordering their famous XXX with the works, I went up on the second floor to take a breather and rest since I've been almost soaking wet.

When my burger was served, I was shocked. "isang dangkal ko yung diameter nung beef patty nila at one pound." I tried to eat it with my hands but it was impossible for me to hold that humongous burger. And it took me almost two hours to finish the whole thing. After that, I was extremely stuffed and I could almost barely stand after eating.

The day ended with me stuffed but smiling since I was able to eat another one-pounder burger. XD

Recollection

Starting tonight, I will be recollecting some thoughts on my mind that has been with me for the past few weeks as well as some flashbacks that happened for the past 7-10 years. I will put them here (in draft before launching) but I will be publishing them randomly. 

I have to release all of these to clear my head and start anew. ^_^

Disturbed

Somethings bothering me for the past few weeks and I don't know how to approach and resolve it. As far as i can remember, the last time it happened to me that was 5 years ago when I got too hooked-up with Ragnarok Online. Though I was able to overcome its addiction for the past few years, The habit came back. Not in the form of RO but something else. It could be another test that I have to overcome. I did it before and I know I could do it again, however, things changed a lot. 

Before I go online, I make sure I know what to do (including the no. of hours I have to spend online and which sites I should go to). But once I'm online, I do get lost all of a sudden. I mean, I have a lot of things in mind that I could blog but once I'm online, alas I'm somewhere else all of a sudden. XD. 

I have to do something about this or I would be trapped again. X/

Still Raining

Up to now, it seems its raining non-stop. Even yesterday when I was hoping it won't rain, still rained. I left home yesterday with the sun shining, only to reach Manila raining hard. But it didn't stop us to accomplish the things that we need to do. Despite the rain, we traveled the streets of Manila to go on hotel-hopping. After dinner, I let her ride a jeep first before heading home, Soaking wet.

Rainy Monday

Canceling 3 or 4 scheduled photoshoot/events due to bad weather, what more can you asked for? Pag minamalas ka nga naman talaga. Hayyyy. Mabuti na lang at may facebook para may malilibangan. XD.

I hope tomorrow won't rain so I could catch up on my shooting.

Another Sudden Change

Due to the unpredictability of the weather, I've decided to cancel my schedule for today. I was supposed to go to UST for a photoshoot but because of rain, I have no choice but to move it on a different date. Probably this is the nth  time I've canceled my schedule due to unforseen circumstances. 

If the weather have cooperated with me today, I should be on my way to UST now. But instead, I have to make sudden changes. 

How to save your screen

Damn!!! I just learned this now. Here it goes...

1. Make sure MS Paint is open.

2. Press Printscreen button on your desired picture.

3. Go to MS Paint

4. Click on edit then click on paste.

5. Make necessary changes

6. Save your work. 

Ayun. Ganun lang pala sya kadali. Inabot pa ako ng siyam-siyam para matutunan yun.

Salamat kay Vince sa tip. XD 

Heto 1st Sample ko. Di pa ako nageedit nyan. XD 

Getting ready for tomorrow

Good thing my left foot is so much better now. I could walk it without hurting. I never imagined it would heal this fast. 

Only a few hours to go before another shoot. ^_^

Getting up on the wrong foot (Literally)

I don't know what happened but when I got up this morning, I felt something on my foot. it was not sore but it gave me a hard time to walk properly. I tried to ignore it while having my breakfast but the pain stings a little bit.

I tried to pin-point the exact spot where it hurts most and good thing I spotted it. Though it doesn't hurt much, being unable to walk straight makes me feel uncomfortable. 

Until now, I cant walk straight. I hope I could do something about it until tomorrow. Otherwise, I would have no choice but to cancel my appointments on Saturday. =(

Country before Self

These was the words that came from Sen. Mar Roxas after he endorsed fellow Senator and fellow LP Member Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III as their standard bearer for the 2010 Presidential Election. 

As I watch the evening news last night, during Sen Roxas' press conference at club filipino, I anticipated the possibility of him giving way to Noynoy to run for higher office. Everybody was shocked to hear the news that Mar would give way to Noynoy. Most of Mar's supporters were saddened by the news but he didn't show any signs of regret as he flashed LP's handsign. Moreso, he will be supporting Noynoy althroughout the election.

The question would be if Noynoy would rise up to the challenge and accepts Mar's endorsement.

 

Watching late night documentaries

Since I started my so-called vacation, I had this habit of watching late-night documentaries. Usually, these start after the late night news which is airs at almost midnight.And because of that, it keeps me awake until late in the morning (which talks about my plans of sleeping early at 11pm which it extends up to 2am =\ ).

These documentaries are informative in a way that it opens our eyes to the reality that most people are not aware of. Personally, I've learned a lot from watching these late night documentaries and I could advise today's youth to watch and learn from others experience and insight. 

If these documentaries could be moved to mid morning (between 9am-11am) or early evening (7pm-9pm), more people could watch instead of watching these so-called novela re-runs. Honestly, I'm learning a lot from watching these.

Creating the Blog Hour.

I've been almost on cyberspace everyday of the since July 10. Maybe I should allot at least an hour blogging about various things. Be it about everyday life, what happened within the other day, or probably anything under the sun. 

Maybe its time for me to go up another level and do something about it. ^_^