Nap Time Rocks!

so free yet so chained

this is the reason why i’m not a fan of zoos and animal attractions. well, aside from the smell.

it’s just so cruel how the animals are forced to work all day, eat nothing but fatteners and carry around  unnecessary weight.

i don’t care if they’re built for it. it’s just not right.

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people’s park, tagaytay | June 2010 | Canon EOS 400D Rebel Xti

Everything about life i learned while beheading shrimps

believe it or not, something so mundane (and gross) can be therapeutic. all it takes are rubber gloves and a little creativity.

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• there are things in life that you need to do. sometimes because no one else will.
• bigger is better. but big things can also have sharp pointy edges so be prepared to get hurt.
• when you need distraction, try doing something mechanical, a chore that doesn’t require you to think, just skillful hands.
• beheading is easy. all it takes is one quick pulling motion. it’s a little brutal and messy but it gets the job done.
• when you do something often enough, you develop a technique. it saves you a lot of time.

but out of all these, this is the most valuable lesson:

• make sure to clean up your mess after. if you don’t, it stinks.

yey. =)

little miracles part 1

the day God moved time

i woke up that morning half a stress ball and half sleepy. not a good combination, i know, but there are worse things to be. i had a meeting in 2 hours, at 9am i was sure, and i wanted to be in early. but i had that nagging, are-you-sure-it’s-really-at-9 kind of feeling so i sent a text to an officemate confirming our schedule.

“8:30 ang nasa sked ko” (it’s 8:30 on my schedule)

the clock said it was 7:50am. with barely 2 spoonfuls of whatever breakfast food i swallowed (not even chewed), i grabbed my bags and practically zoomed out of the driveway.

EDSA Cubao, slowing-to-a-crawl traffic. “Lord please, help me make it on time.” it usually takes an hour to get from my house in QC to Makati.

8am, EDSA Annapolis. and then it takes another 5-10 minutes to get a decent parking slot. “Lord, pleeeease, make time stop. i know i should’ve opened that email again.” i was already mentally banging my head on a wall for forgetting to check the schedule. i sent another text message confirming the time with another officemate.

8:15am, EDSA Shaw underpass.

“it’s at 9am dear =)”

———-

i felt ashamed for having so little faith. and yet it felt so grand to have Someone so infinitely wiser and more responsible to have your back, always.

1 of 100 Islands

so many islands, so little time.

Martha’s Island, Hundred Islands National Park, Brgy. Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan. April 2010.

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Canon EOS Rebel Xti 400D | 1/800sec | F/9 | 18mm | ISO 400 | photoscaped.

This blog is carbon neutral…

… how about yours?

blog about the campaign so kaufDA can plant a tree for you too.

learn more about the campaign here — Carbon Neutral.

Simple things

these days i’m not so hard to please. probably because of other things that (thankfully) provide so much contrast to what i’m blessed with.

like an adorable little girl who loves to pose for the camera…

who can also manage to lift a 2lbs dslr and take a photo…

and whose simple joy is to watch fireworks even from afar, whether from our 3rd floor bedroom window or atop the car in a parking lot hundreds of meters too far away.

i was so disappointed that we didn’t get to watch the world pyro olympics at MOA up close and that it took us more than an hour to get there, and that i had to walk a gazillion miles to buy food, and that our view was conveniently blocked by a bunch of trees.

but the way her face lit up with each colorful explosion, the way she squealed with delight at the big and small sparkles, the way she pointed at each one, i ought to have been ashamed of myself for missing the beauty of the simplest of things.

really, if you have trouble appreciating things around you because of problems or work, try sitting with a child. it never fails.

what simple thing did you appreciate this week?

Are you earth friendly?

we hear of many protests against companies and organizations that aren’t exactly doing a great service to mother nature. and yet we can’t even put a candy wrapper or a tissue paper in our pockets even for just a while when there’s no trash can in sight. the world is our dumpster and it’s really sad.

i for one, have learned not to throw wrappers, plastics bags, little trashes if there’s no garbage can nearby. i put it in my bag or slip it into my pocket until i can throw it away later. i also bring my own shopping bag to the mall or grocery. what have you done lately? and tomorrow we honor Earth Hour again, at 830pm. will you be switching off your lights, or will you also turn off all your electrical appliances?

there are just so many ways we can take care of the earth. at http://www.nviro.com, there are several technologies already that can help conserve energy, recycle water and wastes, treat them in such a way that they become useful and economical, and cost efficient. for us individuals, that doesn’t have direct impact, but for companies that’s a big way of reducing operating costs (hence, higher profits).

here’s a video explaining that:

More »

10 things i hate about summer

when you hear something in the kitchen and nobody’s there, what do you do?

i picked up Mia’s dirty diaper to throw in the kitchen trash and went to investigate. i knew it was just us at home; my parents were at church, my brothers had their own lakad. i was never the scaredy cat when home alone, so to heck with it and went down the stairs.

i went to the sink and found some containers that are normally sitting atop the window sill above the sink were scattered. the window was closed so i looked up and noticed something. it looked like a hose was slinking down the side. on closer inspection, i realized what it was.

a snake. oh hell no.

there is no man in the house so what do you do? you scream of course. =D

i did manage an impressive “oh crap!”. my cousin J and her boyfriend K came (we live in a compound so that’s a relief) to my rescue. K tried to catch it with a broomstick, a mop handle, and — wait for it — a saw. uh-huh, as in lagari. san ka pa? McK to the rescue. haha.

anyway. one of those things i hate about summer is that snakes come out. other than that, i really can’t come up with 5 more things i can hate about this season because frankly, i love it.

so what do you hate about summer? para maiba naman

Have you seen Barbara?

She is not a creature of your imagination. She is not just a creepy sighting. She is real.

Barbara is an old fashioned girl and she refuses to update her look. Hairy legs, bushy eyebrows, and all.

Catch her in resplendent sepia glory and take her photo (stolen shots are best) and upload it on this website and you might just win a Macbook Pro.

—

Contest mechanics here.

Movie checklist 2010

i’ve started my movie year right, so far.

• Avatar (IMAX; James Cameron)

- rockin way to kick off 2010 movies. this movie absolutely falls under my hall of famers. the editing was great, the CGIs seamless, the storyline, well a bit predictable but i didn’t mind, and not boring.

• Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie)

- Jude Law = adorable (but that’s just me), the perfect englishman who kicks arse (say it with an accent now). RDJ = brilliant. their partnership = perfect. it’s one of those movies that did great because of its cast (and no horrible accents).

• Clash of the Titans (Louis Leterrier) opening March 26

- the trailer made it look really interesting. CGIs keep getting better don’t they?

• Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Chris Columbus) opening February 12

- i don’t know about you, but movie titles with colons (“:”) on them have a way of being spectacular series. well, so far.

• Eclipse (David Slade)  June 2010

- oh yes, the 3rd Twilight installment. most intriguing how they will pull off a rather predictable and uncomfortably cheesy love story. it’s just my opinion but i think the latter Twilight books have been trying too hard to be adult-like.

• The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson) January 2010

- i haven’t read the book yet, so i’ll let the movie convince me, what with Peter Jackson (of The Lord of the Rings fame) directing it.

• Legion (Scott Stewart) Jan 22

- aren’t we all tired of vampires yet?

• Tooth Fairy (Micheal Lembeck)  Jan 22

- i will definitely need a break from all that.

• Valentine’s Day (Gary Marshall) Feb 12
  

- it’s like Love Actually all over again!

• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam) January 2009

- it’s the last (albeit unfinished) film of Heath Ledger. it’s with a circus setting. it’s magically realist. it has all of colin farrell, johnny depp, and heath ledger. all of my requirements met

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how about you, which movies made it in your 2010 movie checklist?

Ito, makapal [LP]

na-figure out mo na kung ano to?

ang kasunod sa susunod na linggo na theme

—-

Dec 31 09 | Bataan

Starbeckz planners

We’re selling 2 Starbucks (PhP1,000) planners =) I already love my TeNeus planner and my cousin has an extra one so sayang naman if we let it go to waste. It’s this design:

Send me an email (iris at gmail [dot] com) or text me thru 09228118200 (para mas mabilis) ONLY IF YOU’RE GETTING IT PLEASE. They’re still in their boxes too (and I only opened mine to have a look at it).

I’m sending it through courier only, most likely through 2GO (click to check the rates; most likely to fall under the 0.5kg cat). I’ll send you the payment details (through Smart Money and BDO only) once you confirm.

(I will also update this post to let you know if they’re still available. Oh, and pardon my slang. hehe).

Waterfront beach resort: how not to be a good manager

the customer is always right. well at least you try to placate them or please them if need be. ibang usapan na yun if the customer himself is rude, right?

anyway, I was in charge of looking for a family outing venue for new year’s and one of the resorts I contacted was The Waterfront Beach Resort in Morong, Bataan (what a mistake that was). I was actually satisfied how the first 2 representatives (Claire and Michelle) handled my requests, inquiries and clarifications, compared to the first (rather posh) one I called earlier. it turns out that it’s not always the “posh” ones that are hard to talk to.

I had the resort hold any reservation until I was sure my family would be ok with the quotations (I was comparing 3). I was already inclined to take theirs only because they were the more affordable one but the place, well, not so ok. so to cut the long story short, I reserved another resort for our outing and sent a text to the other 2 saying that I’m cancelling the inquiry and that for future company activities, could they send me a corporate rate?

lo and behold my cellphone rang and this angry old woman was short of screaming at me over the phone. she was clarifying a concern I had earlier but I said I was no longer interested because I already got another resort. then she told me over and over (or was asking, i don’t know because the tone was the same) that I was canceling my “reservation”. she was so rude and hang up on me too. so here’s the rest of the story (click on the photo to view a larger version):

I know I am one tough customer but then again, apathy kills, you know? some may tell me to just let it go. sure, after an apology.

the year that was

busy, busy, busy. year ends and holidays are always packed with so much things to do.
—
my 2009 wasn’t all that good, nope it wasn’t.

but there are even more things to be thankful for.
—
so many deaths, so little redemption.

may justice be served.

—

i’ve made some progress with my hobby. click, portraits, zoom in, manual panoramic shots. photos that make social sense.

now to actually get something out of it. *wink wink*

—

there are people ought to be forgotten.

but there are some worth getting in touch with again. i’m thankful that these things happen within reach of each other.

God sure knows His timing.
—
what are you thankful for this 2009?

World peace, bow [LP]

ang regalo na gusto kong matanggap mula kay God ay simple lang. mas magandang kinabukasan at buhay para kay Mia. as for all the children in the world who cannot have it on their own.

ikaw anong regalo gusto mo matanggap bukas?

happy holidays, everyone!

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Litratong Pinoy theme this week: Regalo (gift)

EDSA Shangri-la | 121409 | Canon EOS 400d | F1.8 50mm 1/15sec | photo by my Dad | postprocessed by yours truly | creative shot directed by Mia herself =)