The DJ who's not a DeeJay

I have a dear friend who's been in the US for years. I consider her to be my "cyberbunso" as I call it, like a younger sister in cyberspace. We've known each other for 12 years and I've seen her grow and mature to be a very great person. I do act as the "kuya" and not having any brothers nor sisters, made me appreciate the role even more.

We've been kinda out of touch lately. Both of us have been busy. I did manage to send her a Christmas card for the recent Holiday season.

On the last day of 2006, I got a text from someone confirming my address and asking for directions. I later found out that a cake was trying to be delivered to me. Too bad, it didn't reach their cutoff time as they closed earlier that day. I was told to expect it after New Years Day.

Until that time, I had no idea who sent me a cake and why. But the thought of someone actually giving me a cake was already very flattering. The suspense made it even more exciting, wondering who would give me a cake.

When the cake was finally delivered, I immediately opened the card to find out who it was from. I never would have guessed it. Why ? Cause she lives in the US and is at the other side of the world from here. But with the greatness of technology and ecommerce, she was able to order a cake online and have it delivered to me locally. In the card said "Happy Holidays Kuya Jay ! I know it would be too late to send a card out there... so cake na lang! ;) Enjoy !"
Awwwww.... it was my cyberbunso all along ! I was extremely touched. It was such a nice gesture from someone I totally wasn't expecting anything from due to our geographical distance. It also came at a perfect time to start the year with. And by the way, I do love Black Forest cakes especially the cherries on top.

I love you Erye. Thank you for being a true and dear friend. Take care always. I really appreciate it. Someday, I hope we'll see each other again. Thank you.

How do I know my day is going to be a long and tiring day ? Here's my top 10.
1. Just thinking about my sked for the day makes me tired.
2. The only time I have for lunch is in the car while driving and hurriedly eating during stoplights.
3. I have to time each meeting precisely or my entire sched will be me trying to catch up with it.
4. I start to enjoy traffic cause in a way, it's a break in between 2 tasks, the one I've just finished and the next one I'm going to.
5. I have 5 different places to go in a day and they're all far from each other.
6. It's 8am and I wish it were 8pm.
7. I am physically multitasking.
8. I lose track of time and instead, I keep track of appointments and tasks to do.
9. My mp3 player has reached the end of its song list and I'm not still through with my day yet.
10. I have 5 bags in my car and it looks like I've ran away from home.

I love Katsudon. The Japanese food joint where I love Katsudon the most is called Komorosoba followed by Teriyaki Boy.

I was in between meetings the other day and was kinda hungry. The building cafeteria just closed and so I had to look for a nearby place to eat. My best bet was to look for my favorite convenience store 7-11, and grab a bite of their delicious steaming hotdogs. Unfortunately, the nearest convenience store which was a block away was Ministop and so I decided to check it out.

To my surprise, I found a huge array of ready to eat meals which are microwave ready. The moment I saw a Katsudon meal, I bought the last one and heated it up for 3 minutes as stated in their microwave oven.

I sat down at the corner table and excitedly opened the container. That was the peak of my Katsudon experience as everything else went downhill from there. The pork strips didn't taste like pork (nor meat for that matter), the rice tasted like paste and the entire experience didn't have any trace of being a Japanese meal. Nevertheless, I tried to eat it. Looking at the half-filled container, I decided to quit before I get an upset stomach. The damn thing tasted awful ! It just looks nice and packaging is appealing too. But take my word for it, I wouldn't even try the other meals. I'm sticking with the 7-11 hotdog if I get hungry again.

My pair of jeans ripped while I was attending mass. I was relieved to learn that it ripped out of longevity being used rather than ripped cause of tightness or bulging thighs. Since the Holiday season was filled with mall-wide sales, I decided to replace my newly retired jeans with a new pair.

I went though the entire jeans section of Robinsons' Department Store but the ones I wanted didn't have my size. Feeling a bit sad that I couldn't find the pants I wanted, I figured I could check out the specialty shops. I tried Bizaare. I remember the last time I bought clothes from this brand was around 15 years ago. I used to like this brand back them and so I thought I'd give it a try.

I saw a pair of jeans on sale for P299. and so I tried my size. I was shocked when it was loose. And so I did the unthinkable... and asked for one size smaller. Guess what... IT FITS ! I never tried nor attempted to wear jeans one size smaller for years simply because the size I've been wearing is just right (and there were times that my size was actually tight).

And so, I'm so proud to wear these new pair of jeans knowing that it fits me. I think the 12lbs I lost is now showing in my clothes as well. I'm beginning to try clothes in my closet that I haven't worn for years cause they were getting smaller for me. And they all fit now. I think I'm on the road to getting slimmer. I didn't use to care much about my figure but since my body is changing, I might as well appreciate it and try to maintain it at the very least.

I wonder when I'll be needing another size smaller than my current one now. hmmmm....

Last Dec. 7, I had the chance to spend the day with colleagues from several websites. First, I attended the December Networking event of Digitalfilipino.com at the Automall, near Tiendesitas which doubled as a Christmas party. My online friends, Janette Toral of Digitalfilipino.com, Manuel Villoria of villoria.com and Aileen Apolo of google.com were all there and I got to catch up on the latest IT discussions. My internet-related exchange gift went to Abby Ongyanco of virramall.com which I think was going to be useful for her business.

After the party, we were waiting for the next event which was Yehey!'s 10th anniversary to be held at the same venue. So we decided to move to Starbucks and chat. Jovel Cipriano of PinoyDelikasi.com was late but was able to join us and have us sample his newest product, camote chips. We talked about the Web Awards, our own websites, and the idea of planning an excursion to Dagupan City in Pangasinan where Bitstop Computers was located.

Afterwards, we went back to the venue where Yehey!'s 10th anniversary was commencing. During the video presentation, they showed a powerpoint-like image of 5 people, who were the original founders of Yehey! I actually know 4 of them since they were batchmates of mine.

It was nice to be around colleagues in your own industry.

I'm caught in the hectic preparations for Christmas. I have lots to post.. not just enough time. I'll try to remember everything so I can post it here in the next few days. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays to everybody !

I've basically been good to people my entire life. It's part of my nature to be helpful and sometimes even go out of my way for a friend. I've recently learned though that a couple (but am expecting a lot) of people are not happy with my decisions, my actions nor myself as a whole.

I'm not used to the concept of people hating me. I was always likeable. But some recent actions may have led others to see me in a different light. I guess I can't please everybody anymore. If I had it my way, I would take time to convince each and every person that I may be not as they perceive me to be and listen to my side of the story. However, I'm not here to please everybody. So I'll just assume the role of the bad guy and accept whatever you have to tell me.

I had a busy Tuesday as it was the day of the MTV Music Summit, which is a yearly major event of MTV Philippines and usually lasts until early morning. This year, I did less event coverage and decided to enjoy the event for a change. Nevertheless, the workaholic in me couldn't resist the photo opportunities and so I did end up being a bit busy. By 1:30am my friends and I left cause we were all hungry and tired. I got home around 3am.

I only had 2 hours of sleep and by 5am, I had to get up and accompany my mom to her regular lab testing in Makati. She also requested that I take her to Landmark and accompany her with her Christmas shopping. During breakfast I had 2 cups of coffee and didn't feel any signs of sleepiness and hoped the coffee dose could keep me awake through the day or at least till I got home.

Around 10am, I suddenly felt light headed and felt that I could think straight. I knew then I needed a quick nap. I was in the middle of a mall and was thinking if I could take a quick nap at the foodcourt 2 floors below. I was scared though to be asleep in a much crowded area with my belongings.

I also thought of crashing in one of those driver's lounges but I couldn't be too sure there too since there were other people around.

Meanwhile, a friend texted me and told me that my website was down. At that point, I needed to get to an internet cafe immediately. The nearest one was at Glorieta with a cozy ambiance. Then, it struck me immediately. I could go to the internet cafe, spend the first few minutes rebooting my website and then sleep while in front of the computer ! No one would bother me there, the airconiditioning was very cool and there were no passers by since I was situated inside. And so at the rate of 1 peso per minute, I spent 10 minutes online and the last 50 minutes sleeping with my hand on my mouse and slouched to the point of relaxation.

I also opened my Yahoo Messenger and asked 4 of my online friends to wake me up in around 30 minutes. I got a wake up call via the computer, celphone and a missed call.

After my nap, I was up and at 'em slightly rejuvenated but more importantly got my most needed shuteye even if it was just for a couple of minutes.

Now I know where to take a nap the next time I may need one.

I was at The Fort strip last Sunday with my relatives where we had lunch. They came all the way from Pangasinan that day because they were going to fetch my cousin at the airport later that day

Since they were in the Manila, they wanted to take home some food which is' nt readily available in the province. So we went to Gonuts Donuts where we bought around a dozen donuts. Luckily their ongoing promo offered 2 free cups of brewed coffee for every 6 donuts. So we all were able to have free coffee.

A while after, my other cousin from Pangasinan, texted her mom asking her to buy some donuts from the newly opened "Krispy Kreme" branch also located within The Fort. We had passed the sign earlier leading to the one and only new branch of Krispy Kreme in the Philippines.

I've heard about this donut from TV, celebrities and friends and I was also curious as what these donuts tasted like. So even if we just bought a dozen donuts, we jumped in the car and tried to look for this new donut store.

After 10 minutes of driving around, we finally found it. And to our surprise, there was a long line of about 40 people. Each person we saw paying bought at least 1 dozen. I guess they wanted to maximize their time for lining up. We couldn't even get inside just to look (and smell) the donuts cause there was a strict line enforced. I was able to check out their price list and it's like $5.00 for a dozen. That's kinda expensive compared to the other donut stores here but I guess it's a premium price for having Krispy Kreme in the Philippines.

And so I got home eating a donut but thinking about another donut. Since I'll be at the Fort area again tonight, I think I'll try my luck and see if there's a shorter line now.

I was awake as the last day of November ended and an unexpected rainy and windy midnight signified the start of December. It's now December 1 and the reality check of Christmas fast approaching is upon me. I have to make my official gift list, start giftwrapping presents, put up our Christmas tree, plan and organize a Christmas party for my friends and make sure I'll be able to greet everybody, from business contacts to dear friends and family a Merry Christmas.

I actually started my Christmas shopping and planning months ago setting aside some gifts little by little whenever I seemed it would be a great gift for that person. Now I have a box filled with gifts and I need to label them just in case I forget which gift is for which person. I usually place a number on the giftwrapped present and have an accompanying list with a description of the contents. So it's boils down to a mix 'n match selection of gift items and people to give presents to. I also love giftwrapping. I spend lots of time making the presents look presentable and unique if I could.

December is here and Christmas is around the corner. Despite being immersed in the gift-giving spirit, I'll definitely be showing the people close to my heart how much I care for them especially this coming Christmas. Happy Holidays !

There are some clothes which have been left in my closet unworn for over a year. These clothes simply didn't fit me anymore. I used to put them in a box and labelled the box "someday magkakasya" (someday it would fit). The last box I placed clothes in ended up being donated to charity since it's been kept in the box for over 3 years and became either fashionably passe or the cloth simply got worn out over the years.

Currently, I'm happy to have discovered that the 1-year old clothes that I stopped wearing cause they didn't fit anymore suddenly now fit and some are even a bit loose ! I was surprised that they fit me again. And so now, I feel that instantly, I have new wardrobe to mix and match.

Thanksgiving Day came and left but it's the things you are thankful for which should remain.

My mom told me that she was infuriated with Mike Enriquez' comment on the radio the other day that Thanksgiving is only celebrated by the Americans. I guess in the sense that they celebrate by cooking the celebrational turkey, is that other countries may not celebrate it that way. But the thought of giving thanks and acknowledging them doesn't need to be bounded by territory.

I have much to be thankful for. First, the business papers I've been working on for the past month are finally complete. Thank God. Secondly, I've been speaking with a lot of contacts who are interested and willing to partner with me for mutually beneficial business opportunities. I've also made a lot of new friends in the business who seem to have visited my website in the past and are grateful for my website's goal and purpose.

Personally, I have to thank the Lord for accompanying me through an emotional chapter in my life and guiding me towards a new chapter showing me what potential happiness can bring. To borrow a phrase from Jim Paredes' popular composition, "You gave me a reason for my being...and I love what I'm feeling."

Thank you too to all who's reading my blog as I've reached the 50+ mark in posting. May you not be bored with my posts. :) Take care everybody !

The events that I attend usually give out gifts as appreciation for attending. Through the many press conferences I've been attending lately, I've been able to accumulate a substantial amount of gift certificates.

Not all though are easily usable as some include dental services, ear piercing, or a purchase requirement.
Food gift certificates though are always a treat as you just need to think about what you'll be ordering on the menu. I have certificates for restaurants, coffee shops, video arcades, health & beauty services, dental services and a department store.

I remembered The movie "For Love Or Money" staring Michael J. Fox where he worked as a concierge at a hotel and had lots of contacts where he traded gift certificates and tickets of all kinds (concert, baseball, basketball etc.) with other people to get the best deal ever. I wish I had some trade partners as well. Like trade my facial gift certificate for a coffee gift certificate or may be concert tickets for fine dining.

For now, I've decided to save these gift certificates and give them away this Christmas to those who I seem would greatly benefit and appreciate it. If you receive any of these next month, you're welcome.

I've just experienced two cases of mistaken identity on separate occasions.

Last Saturday, I was at the Gateway mall. While midning my own business walking on the 3rd floor, I saw these 2 guys calling out my name. I didn't recognize them and even tried to recall if I knew them. I just didn't. Yet, these 2 guys were looking at me and I was just walking alone. It couldn't be someone else. I suddenly felt like being a victim of candid camera or being played a prank on. I also did feel that these two guys may have been tripping on me. But the name calling didn't seem like a coincidence.

What I did was go inside one of the shops and wait for a passerby to walk by so I could walk side by side and not be seen by the two. Once out of their sight, I hurriedly exited the mall.

I just found out this morning who they were. It so happens that one of the 2 guys is actually the boyfriend of a friend of mine. He's seen me through pictures and a couple of times in person but we've never been introduced to each other. So though he didn't know me personally, he called my name and perhaps was expecting I'd greet him back. Hell no ! I had no idea who he was even if he was the boyfriend of my friend. My friend (the girlfriend) asked me this morning if I was at the Gateway mall last Saturday and when I said yes, she laughed and told me who the two guys were.

The 2nd instance was during the album launch of Kjwan. I was at the center of the bar watching the gig when two girls passed behind me and one of them patted my shoulder and greeted me. I greeted back assuming I knew the girl. She looked like one of my friends, but afterwards when I glanced at her at the bar, I suddenly doubted who she was. Could have she mistakenly took me for someone else ? And I mistakenly took her for someone too in return ?

So in my mind, I'll just have to ask myself "you talking to me ???".

I 've been wanting to buy a new laptop for the past few months but only now will it push through.

I headed to Gilmore near St. Paul Quezon City, where the Mecca of computers in the Metropolis are located. It's always a feeling a sheer excitement to visit that area since you'll be handed out brochures left and right plus most of the people you'll get to talk with really know much about computers to be able to answer event the most technical questions.

I was in search of my ideal specs for a laptop, a 12" screen, a black-colored exterior, a 3-4 hour battery life all on a 12 month installment plan to be financed by a credit card which wouldn't exceed a P40K budget with 0% interest. The rest of the laptop's specs were minor to me. I didn't care much for the CPU, CD Drive and other features. Basically, what I needed was a laptop to let me work anywhere for a long period of time.

I soon discovered that I can't have everything. So it boiled down to a debate within my head on which laptop to choose and which feature to give up. In terms of brands, I narrowed it down to the following in this order: MSI, Acer, Blue, Flextra. I also discovered that almost all of the brands regardless of where they are being distributed or manufactured, are assembled in China. I hope this translates to cheaper prices rather than sub-quality.

And so that final questions that lay in my head are the following: my ideal 12" or 14", keyboard layout (mini keys vs. fullsize), screen form (tv type or dvd wide screen type), color (black, white or gray), and processor (Celeron, Centrino or AMD Turion).

However, one of the huge factors is the budget and if I can find a deal with good installment terms. Because of this, I've been drawn to choose an Acer laptop even if it may cost more than the others. The battery life though is still a turnoff. I hope to have a new laptop by mid next week. Wish me luck !

Yesterday was one unusual day for me. Lots of things happened.

I started the day as early as 5am doing my daily online chores. I was preparing all the stuff I needed to bring since I knew I was going to be out the entire day.

First on my list was to drop by a friend's house to leave a package. It was so early in the morning though that I didn't realize that the shortcut to their village was closed. And so I had to take the long route there.

Next stop, Ortigas center, where I would meet up with Jhamie to pick up her digicam which she generously lent me so I could have my own digicam serviced and reparied for a week.

Next on my agenda was Pancake House along Pasong Tamo Extension. I used to work in the Pasong Tamo Extension area and I certainly didn't want to pass by EDSA that day. With the patience of my friend Tweet, she gave me directions on how to get there using Fort Bonifacio as a backroad. It was a nice change of scenery for me to see lots of trees, nice roads and men in army, navy and military uniforms. It reminds me of the years I've been regularly going to Subic Bay when the US bases were still here. The orderliness and cleanliness of their environment affects you in such a way that it'll make you feel a sense of goodness.

Anyway, I was scheduled to meet up with Aileen, the Google Philippines Country Consultant. I met her before when I was a resource speaker for E-commerce. It was nice to exchange ideas and insights with her. When she showed us pics of the Google grounds in Mountain View, it also sparked my long time dream of working at Google as well.

Next stop was Hard Rock Cafe to attend the album launch of Pinoy Pop Superstar Gerald Santos.

Take note, so far, everything I finished on my itenerary was just an hour's interval apart. So you can imagine what kind of sched I had.

I was a bit late but delighted to be greeted by my good media friend Dennise who was alone so I joined her. We had fun chatting while waiting for the program to start. We did get a more-than-usual amount of goodies at the desert table. My partner in crime Dennise, helped me, shall we say, prolong the buffet experience to after the event. :) During the launch, MTV was also present and approached us to ask if we could appear on their request show called "MTV Get Spotted". And so we got to request for a video and greet our friends on TV. It's gonna be shown next week.

By this time, I had 2 bags with me, 2 cameras and a laptop. Along with the additional prizes and freebies I got from the launch, my backpack was fully packed. I had a hard time opening and closing it just for security guards to inspect it.

Next on my agenda was the main office and service center of Fuji in Quezon City (near Sto. Domingo church) where I was going to have my digicam serviced. This is an hour's drive away from Makati. Good thing Dennise was also headed for that direction and so I had company during the long drive. This is where Dennise and I witnessed some unusual things. First, we saw a very sleek black Expedition which was severely degraded cause a metal container (similar to those tricycles that carry pigs in) had one attached to its rear. It was like a 2 million peso SUV was used to carry some jugs of water and trash. The next weird thing was that we saw a dog trotting along EDSA in the inner most lane. When we came closer to the dog, Dennise and I were both in astonishment that the dog had its face vandalized, almost as its face was tatooed. We jokingly made a silly assumption that the dog must be cool and "astig!" After dropping off Dennise along Quezon Avenue, I surprisingly saw the comedian "Palito" walking along the sidewalk with a lonely face. Nobody was noticing him as he walked towards the overpass. That was weird for me that nobody recognized him or couldn't care less.

After more than an hour of driving, I finally got to the YKL/FUJI service center. I left my camera there (with much grief) and was told that it'll be fixed within a week.

Next on my list was Sta Lucia East Mall where I was to meet with my assistant for a weekly report and turnover of materials. Getting here from Quezon City took me another hour and so I was really tired from all the driving for the day up to this point.

Although not on my agenda, I decided to hang out with my friends over there until mall closing time. Before going home, I had the car washed, cleaned and gassed up ready for today. By the time I got home, it was 11pm and I totally forgot to eat dinner.

The entire day was one of my jam-packed days but it was exciting as well. The moment I saw the tatooed dog, I knew this entire day merits a blog entry. :)

I've been totally off time lately when it comes to lunch. I either had a late breakfast and am not really hungry when the clock strikes 12 or I'm too busy and out to have lunch at 12.

So what's my usual lunch time ? Either 2 or 3pm, which makes me eat a light lunch cause I want to leave space for merienda.

Lately, I've also been accustomed to making a cup of coffee to drink right after lunch. My favorite is the Nescafe Choco Fudge Instant Coffee Mix. It keeps me going (and awake) during the early afternoon where my energy seems to be at its lowest.

Oh yeah, and to be a bit off-topic, I'm surprised that I just lost 5 pounds. I have a feeling why. I just wasn't conscious of my lost for apetite lately.

I was in Paranaque the entire day today at my cousin's house who celebrated his birthday. Unexpectedly, My 1 yr and 3 month inaanak, Jeremiah, was also there. I wanted to have a picture with him since the last time I saw him was during his baptism.

One slight setback for me (and this is embarassing) is that I don't have any experience in holding a baby. I'm an only child so I never had any brothers and sisters to carry. It also follows that I dunno how to act properly in front of a baby... like how to make them smile, laugh or attract their attention for that matter.

So before attempting to carry my inaanak, I observed how his dad carried him. Then I attempted to carry him afterwards. It was embarassing that I couldn't seem to handle him. Eventually, out of frustration and fear, I sat down on the couch and had him sit on my thigh. It was okey for a while until he started moving and wiggling. It's a good thing that my inaanak is the silent type and didn't break into a whine or cry.

To make matters worse, I couldn't get him to look at the camera. How come it looks so easy with other people holding babies and interacting with them ? I think I need an Idiot's book on how to hold babies now.

Recently, I've found myself overflowing with thoughts, messages, lyrics, melodies and the like. I think my creative juices are suddenly flowing again. I've been taking note by typing and saving them as files. I've also kicked the dust off of my Roland keyboard and took a crack at the keys. Even though my fingers were kinda rusty at playing a song, it was such a joy to once again play. It's been a long while since I've played the keyboard and I suddenly remembered how enjoying it still is.

I made a quick composition playing around with my keyboard and sequencer and recorded a catchy drumbeat I played in real-time. This is a very short audio clip with me actually rapping. I heavily modified my vocals for this that I was surprised to hear myself saying "Freak-freaking way" instead of "Hey Which Way" which is the title of this dopey hiphop groove. Here's the link so you can download the mp3 sample: Hey Which Way

November 2 is actually the Day for the Souls but in the Philippines it's celebrated on November 1, which is actually All Saints Day.

I started the day early going to church as there was a special mass on this day.
The priest, after giving homily gave a special blessing to us all, called Plenary Indulgence, which was a type of special cleansing. It was a nice feeling to start to the day and month for that matter with this special blessing.

Today was also the day to visit our departed loved ones. We visited both of my grandparents in Loyola Marikina. It's been a long time since their death, yet I remember and reflected on the good times we shared. I was also with relatives which made the experience some sort of a reunion.

Towards the evening, heavy rains poured which reminded me of the special cleansing I had received that day. Though it was a day of grief and reflection in all aspects of my life, I feel it is one that I need to go through in order to find a deeper meaning to life as well as continue with my journey in this world.

To all my loved ones, you will always be remembered.