Oops, I Did It Again

Arn cooks... Arn burns!!!

Yup! The great iron chef (Iron Chef Tostado) does it again. Yes yes, he has burned so many things already in both Sterling and Oakwood apartment kitchens but the Sultan of Sunog does it again with his second culinary masterpiece...

"attempted pizza"

The instructions said "preheat oven, remove plastic and place in oven for 20 minutes". I preheated the oven, removed the plastic, placed the pizza in the oven and more than 20 minutes later, there laid in front of me the monstrosity that was Burnt Pizza. Joyce will kill me for desacrating a Red Baron 4 Cheese Pizza. Sha, She and Lei were all kind enough to grab a slice, take a bite (and it sounded like someone was eating chips) and tell me "No Arn, it's not THAT burnt"

Yeah right. Like the ocean is not THAT wet.

Besides, I'm sure the pizza will passed my test for burnt food -- grab a slice, use it to knock on your flatmate's door. It he/she answers, you're screwed.

As ironic as it sounds, I've never tripped the smoke alarm... ever. I guess I'm fast in opening windows. As always, I ask... "Bakit iba itsura sa box?"

ok ok ... all together now... "COZ YOU BURNED IT STUPID"

Oh, what's my first culinary masterpiece? Burnt rice... through a rice cooker!

"How can someone burn rice from a kitchen appliance that was designed never to burn rice?!?"

It's called talent. pure talent.

Of Customer Services

I dropped by the Guitar Center along Halsted to buy some light GHS guitar strings. The guy who assisted me was this long haired, unshaven rocker looking dude and he was like "yo dude, these strings kick serious ass, this will do you good." using a surfer accent. Think... Michaelangelo from the Ninja Turtles.

On my way home, I dropped by Best Buy to buy a spindle of CD-R's. The guy who assisted me was this curly haired, short, thin, pimples and a pair of glasses. I asked about which laptop brand is the best and he was like "hmmmm... the Dells are ok but beware of the Windows blue screen... you can actually opt to get some Satellites
for Toshiba then you can just upgrade the RAM so you can maximize the performance of the new Core 2 Duo processor" in a veeeeery geeky tone. I also dropped by the camera section and it was another long haired dude but this time in a ponytail and a goatee who was telling me more stuff about photography.

I hate to stereotype people but they really did belong to whatever job they had.

This morning, I called Northwest and asked about luggage details and this guy had the old low monotone pilot voice. Now that freaked me out.

By the way, you want a challenge? Try contacting NWA's customer service and ask something about the luggage you'll be "bringing". You dont need any account number of flight details... it's just a general inquiry. In my case I wanted to know how I can bring home my acoustic guitar.

Here's the number --> 1 800 692 6955. Call me up before you do this and I'll cook myself a batch of "Arn Burgers". I'll be done eating and you'll still be on the line :P. 2nd worst customer service ever. 1st is Best Buy (Sorry guys, but your customer service sucks)

Jaye and Arn

He welcomed her to his wacky wacky world.

He promised to make hers as wacky as possible.

Brave girl.

Now the days in the life of this wacko are shared with another future wacko...

http://jayeandarn.multiply.com/

sorry ladies, I'm taken...

sorry guys, I don't swing that way...

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago botanic garden, with its world-renowned plant collections and displays, is one of the US' most visited public gardens and a preeminent center for learning and scientific research. The 385-garden features.... oh just read it from their site --> http://www.chicagobotanic.org

It was my second time in this great place. It was the first with friends. My first visit there was part of my first great Chicago tour I named "Arn's Adventures" which was a huge success. The resulting book is in our living room probably under mom's coffee or dad's beer. I didn't have the luxury of people driving me around here and so I learned to move around via buses, trains and plenty of hiking. Anyways, this time I went there with Ria, Shawee and Gezelle. Ria was so kind to pick us up from Oakwood.

This was a huuuuuge garden... like Angelina Jolie's lips. Flowers, plants, fruits, trees, vegetables and everything else that grew from dirt. There are landscapes everywhere! Fountains, gazebos, benches, sculptures. Anywhere you look looks like a post card. The animals there were cool too! There were chipmunks, squirrels, fishes, ducks, insects and all sorts of birds. I saw a wedge of Swans too. I was kinda used to seeing swans with people on their back paddling. In one pond, Gezelle and I were taking pictures of this duck while a kid was throwing fruit loops at it. The fruit loops attracted these big fishes and one just came out from below and bit the duck's butt. I was laughing for a good 20 minutes like a seven year old. I went back to the duck and laughed at it...

"ahahaahahahaha kinagat sa pwet!".

I love my digital camera. I just recently shot my 10,000th picture with it (since the picture numbering has been reset back to 0). I really feel it is one of the best gadgets I had. Then comes Gezelle with her digital SLR camera. It was like I had a slingshot and she had an AK-47. A chipmunk ran by and her camera went rat-at-at-at-at-at with continuous pics. All clear and crisp. All properly zoomed. My camera went "bark" which went down in history as one of the lousiest sound effects you can have for a shutter release. The picture...well, there's this dot on the path that was supposed to be a squirrel but it looked like something that came from a dog. (kaya pala nag bark).
Here's a more detailed comparison.

Here's the duck from my cam

From Gezelle's cam. Parang grad pic!

ahahaahahahaha kinagat sa pwet!

After visiting the garden we dropped by one of my favorite stores in the world. Krispy Kremes!!! :D:D:D This was one of those stores where they actually made the donuts. They closed the only one in downtown I know and the others are just retailers. A devil appeared on my left shoulder and told me to forget about my diet. An angel appeared on my right shoulder and told me the same. Tapos nag apir sila.

We really enjoyed this day. For Ria, for driving us all the way there... a thank you so so so big.

...like Angelina Jolie's lips.

Thanks Ria, really.

Survivor: Chicago The Finale

Day 6 and 7

Sorry for those who have been asking for updates and I appreciate all who have offered help. You have no idea how much attention this series has generated. Day 6 was a pretty boring one and so I didn't bother writing about it anymore. The funniest thing (by my standards) that happened was when I had "Green Garden Expired Salad" for lunch. It was one fourth of a salad bag, some ranch dressing, pepper and "croutons" (which are really old slices of bread that i chopped... then I later found out that croutons are actually baked which is why they're hard... not because they're old and moldy... ewww...). I was saved though on that day since Rico had his farewell party and that night I ate up all the chicken wings i could gobble.

Day 7 came. Woke up, poured some milk that was past the "sell by" date and grabbed a bag of Cheerios (which was on sale at Walgreens). Turned on my laptop, checked my account online and saw that my allowance has been credited already. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! I wanted to eat at Red Lobster that night but was too hungry to wait. I ordered for some Italian Beef (I've always wanted to try that) from Portillo's that night. Strangely, 1/4 into the sandwich and I was already full. :-S

...and so that concludes the reality bit. Some ending credits:

- I should have started a charity... "Alms for Arn" would have sounded nice.
- I lost 7.5 pounds. Maybe if my allowance took 2 more weeks, I would have gone up to 812, knocked and called Gezelle fat. :P
- Thanks to Jaye for making sure I was ok. (mwah)
- Thanks to Ria for offering the food she made for Rico's party.
- Thanks to Vince for offering to drive by and drop some canned goods.
- Thanks to Weng for offering to ship some frozen meat. Can you really do that?
- Thanks to Tessa and Copi for offering to lend me money. You guys would make a great couple.
- Thanks to Tito, Jhon and She for offering to lend me money. Jhon and She would make a good couple but... Jude's my friend e... sorry dre.
- Thanks to Mike for picking up the extra two dollars after our billiards game. That's good for 3 bars of Snickers.
- Thanks to Gezelle, Mel, J-Lo and Aji for always inviting me for dinner.
- Thanks to Gwen for the moral support. :P
- Thanks to Oakwood for the donuts and the cookies from the leasing office.
- Thanks to whoever cooked that pasta in the pantry.

Survivor: Chicago Day 5

Still no money. Actually I have 18 bucks left but I’m setting it aside for emergency. Gezelle paid me 10 bucks (we ate out last week), and loaned me another 10 bucks.

Same question. Different morning. What’s in the kitchen? I have tostito’s, a few more slices of bread, some pasta noodles, and spices. Spaghetti noodles with chips, basil, olive oil and pepper? Sounds nasty but I can place it there with the squirrel recipe :P

Now it gets real ugly. For lunch, I skipped the team lunch out since I went to the bank with Reza to help her setup her account and I thought it would be best if I don’t eat out for the next few days to hold on to what I have left.

Across our conference room was another room where a meeting just ended. It was a lunch meeting and so naturally… there was lunch. But they were now gone… and there was my lunch. I took a bite out of a roast beef sandwich with the petrified bread which carved the upper part of my mouth. Who cares? After that, in the pantry was a big platter of chocolate cookies, brownies and fudge bars.

I had dinner with She, Lei and Sha at Rock N Roll McDonald's. She and I shared a cheeseburger meal. =)

Breakfast: took 2 donuts from the Oakwood lobby
Lunch: kwento
Merienda: Pasta and brownies
Dinner: McDo

Thanks to…
Reza, Pads and Lianne for providing the kwento (or listening to mine)
She, Sha and Lei =D

Status: hungry.

Survivor: Chicago day 4

Still no money. No more pasta. No magic menudo. It’s always the same question I ask every morning while staring at my bare fridge.

“Now what?”

I don’t know why I even bother opening the fridge. Nothing there but my Brita pitcher, some packets of ketchup, cheese and other condiments. For lunch, I ate out with the team and used my emergency funds. I found out there was no maintaining balance for my account. Good.

I had dinner with She and Sha at my place after another long pictorial along Michigan ave. Though it wasn’t much, having people over for lunch/dinner makes you more full.

Breakfast: a donut. It’s on sale at Walgreens
Lunch: cheeseburger and fries at Portillo’s
Merienda: cookie which I took from the leasing office (hee hee hee)
Dinner: Jewel roasted chicken and bread.
Late night snack: the rest of the donuts. Portillo’s choco cake!!!

Thanks to:
Walgreens for placing the donuts on sale. I didn’t check the expiration date anymore. Don’t worry, if it’s bad already, I won’t sue.
Leasing office
She and Sha for having dinner with me. =)
Ria for the choco cake! My favorite!!! :D :D :D

Status: good but wondering when the blessings will end.

Survivor: Chicago day 3

No money. No more pasta. I was checking the house for any makeshift squirrel hunting gear.

Now it’s turning ugly. I was able to use the loose change I have to buy a wrap at the canteen. After work, I went grocery shopping and got me a roasted chicken (my tummy wasn’t well anymore). I invited Gezelle over to help me with the chicken. She brought the rice =)

Breakfast: a cup of water
Lunch: a half wrap.
Merienda: coffee from the pantry
Dinner: Jewel chicken
Late night snack: more water

Thanks to
Gezelle
My ashtray for holding my change for me.

Status: hanging on.

Survivor: Chicago day 2

No money. No more menudo. Time to hunt squirrels at the park?

I went to the office with a laptop and a prayer. Lunch time came and I was going to have coffee for lunch. I bumped into Shellane…

Shellane: yan lang lunch mo?
Arnold: a oo. Diet hahahhah…

20 minutes later she IM’d me and told me there was free salad and pasta at the pantry. 10 seconds later I was at the pantry with a styro plate and a big spoon. Salad? Nah… I took some pasta and placed it in a bowl, grabbed another empty bowl and placed a rubber band. I grabbed another bowl and ate that for lunch. The other one’s for dinner. I’m saved!!! Gezelle IM’d me a few minutes later saying that there’s pasta in the pantry.

“ows? Di nga?” :P

Breakfast: one last serving of menudo. Bye bye menudo.
Lunch: the pantry pasta
Merienda cold pantry pasta
Dinner: pantry pasta in a bowl (and a slice of bread)
Late night snack: even more pantry pasta

And they all tasted like menudo.

Thanks to…
Shellane
Gezelle
Whoever provided the pasta

Status: good.

Survivor: Chicago day 1

The biggest problem will be food as expected. I can go on a few more days without shopping for anything else but food will be the main hurdle.

Breakfast: menudo from tito roger
Lunch: reheated menudo from tito roger
Merienda: reheated menudo from tito roger
Dinner: reheated menudo from tito roger
Late night snack: reheated menudo from tito roger

Thanks to…
- Tito Roger
- Gezelle for bringing me food from Tito Roger =D

Status: good. Developed a strong dislike for menudo for the next few days.

Survivor: Chicago

The Greek tragedy of financial planning. Here’s what happened in a nutshell. I charged a lot for expenses this pay period and so I’m expecting a haul. Pay is given on the 7th. On the 6th, I bought myself a laptop which cost a lot but it was ok since I was gonna get paid the next day anyway. I think it was something I did but fate just came down and kung fu kicked that plan on the crotch.

My payroll processing got screwed up and they couldn’t give me the money yet. Right now my money is there and I’m sure to get it before I leave. The only question is when.

How about my credit card? Good question. There’s another twist when I bought my laptop. I bought one online, I was informed it was backlogged (will take 25 days to ship from their warehouse) and so I cancelled the order. The problem was that the amount floated in my credit account and now my credit card is worthless.

It’s not as bad as it seems to without money while on an onshore assignment. The utilities have been paid for. I have some groceries. Maybe this will be so easy… it will actually be boring and I’ll end up asking you guys to ignore these posts.

So what’s the status? I have 25.05 dollars, a CTA Pass (no need to pay bus/train fares), an ashtray full of loose change and some coins under the couch.

I appreciate the people who are trying to help me. The thing is, I dug myself into this hole and I’ll figure out how to get through this.

…I think.

Welcome to my first reality show series exclusive here at the ArnoldRocks blog! (who would post something this stupid anyway?) By the way, these were all posted on the same day here but I wrote it on my other blog days ago. Don’t mind the date/time. =)

The Past Few Days...

Ran Lakeshore
After some rehab sessions I was ready to try out my knee through some long distance running. Oakwood to Lakefront to North Ave Pier and all the way back. I was running while talking to my friend behind me. I think I was explaining something then a minute later, I looked back and Gezelle was more than 10 feet away from me. We reached the end of the pier with a magnificent view of the Chicago skyline, Lake Michigan and some geese. Dang! We didn’t bring our cameras =(

The next day, I got tendinitis and I was back on the disabled list.

Lucky Strike
Mike and I have been looking for pool tables around downtown to no avail. I know some pool tables but… well… they’re in bars and it’s a totally different environment there. There’s only one place here I know that has those Manila-style pool halls with 15-20 tables lined up.

Gezelle, Mike and I were supposed to go to Lucky Strike down Illinois St. Gezelle bailed out on the last minute after our 2 hour long pictorial in Michigan (pagod :P). Mike and I had to play one on one now on a small 14 dollar an hour table. 14 dollars?!??! (pause to convert)… but we were so desperate to play that we agreed anyway. This was the fastest game I played. No more thinking or strategizing. Just aim and shoot, aim and shoot, aim and shoot and once the 9 ball was down, 5 seconds later the balls are already set followed by a break another 5 seconds later. Mike won 11-6. Bill was 17 dollars (included tax) and we didn’t tip anymore. Mike didn’t know we had to. I didn’t know that Mike didn’t know. So it's Mike fault.

Transit
Clubbing and drinking on a Saturday night in Chicago. We went to transit again (see Gwenny’s blog for details about our previous event there). It was that night when me, She, Sha, Lorna, John and Mike were all not ourselves. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was the atmosphere. On a Saturday night that was supposed to be our rest night after a grueling trek earlier that morning, despite the fact that was raining ridiculously, we had fun. Lots of it.

Bought a laptop
It’s a Toshiba A105! :D Cool machine! I bought a lower version of this laptop online but then the order got backordered and fixing that was such a pain. You should have heard me over the phone with a customer service representative who could barely speak English. I was so upset you would have sworn I was talking German.

I eventually cancelled that order and bought one directly at Best Buy Clark. Patience really isn’t one of my virtues.

Rent
“I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you…”

Gezelle and I watched Rent… the musical/movie (so do you call it a movical?). We were glued from start to end… analyzing, feeling, singing then finally crying at the end.

Gezelle used up all my tissues. :P The next few hours I was singing about everything I saw…

“The eggs are buuuuurrned… the eggs are buuuuuuurned again”
“I don’t wanna get up, doesn’t feel good, doesn’t feel right after a weird and wacky Saturday niiiiiiiiight”
“I hab to do my laund-ree… so I hab to call up melody… but melody is busy… so I hab to wait for mon-dee”
“Whhhhhhhhhhhhy is the garter of my brip sira…”

oops… overshare :P

Labor Day

No-work Holidays are very few and far between here in the US so I plan to make the most of labor day on Monday next week.

I still don't get it though. We celebrate labor day...

...by not doing labor?

Not that I'm complaining but just like NAIA's terminal fee, it just doesn't make any sense.

The Journey to Chi-town

It was time to leave for the airport and I was still snoozing with my bags still barely packed. I added an extra hour to the usual 3 hour check in requirement for international flights because of that London bombing attempt incident. A few minutes later, I woke up in panic and I was stuffing all the items I think I’ll need into my bag. I got ready in around 15 minutes, zipped Crispin and Basilio close (yes, my two luggages have names) and dumped them into the car.

A day before that our company sent out a memo that there will be no carry-on luggages allowed which means all I could bring with me was my passport and my travel documents in a big brown envelope. That was it. No iPods, no laptops, or other reading materials as they were all checked in.

I still don’t get it. Some time ago some dude placed a bomb in his shoes and now we have to take off our shoes every inspection. Now some dude had a bomb made of gel and liquid and now we can’t bring my Bench Fix hair gel and Gatorade on board? Imagine if that bomber snuck a bomb in his pants… :-/

So I was at the airport late and checked in just in time. I was able to meet up with Lianne but no sign of Gezelle. It was while in the check in line at Northwest when it was announced that we could bring electronics and carry on luggage after all (but still no liquid substances). I quickly stuck my hand into my luggage and grabbed any item I could take with me in my brown envelope. First try, I was able to pull my camera. Yay! I needed that. Next I was able to pull out a can of shaving cream. Hmm… back it went. Third try drew a Digtal Fortress book. Cool! At least now I have more things to entertain myself with.

After checking in, I had to pay the terminal fee. Fee for what? NAIA looks like a mess. The award for the stupidest fee is a toss up between the NAIA terminal fee and the LTO computer fee.

Then came the inspection. I was asked if I had any liquid with me. I wanted to tell her that the human body is made up of approximately 60% water but I know more than to fire jokes at airport security personnel. My inspection lasted for only a minute since I practically brought nothing - it was just a brown envelope in a plastic bag which I grabbed right before I left the house. The poor guy behind me was held up by the security people. He was holding something that was being analyzed and seriously discussed by four inspectors and they were obviously baffled about what to do with what he brought – a block of tofu in a tupperware. Well, in fairness it wasn’t really liquid and it wasn’t gel-like right?

Finally I was at the gates with Lianne who looked like a zombie… just like me. She made fun of the plastic bag I used to carry my envelope with. Well, I didn’t have time to grab the manliest plastic bag I could.

Pogi points = pogi points – 50

zombie

I boarded the plane, set down to my seat and was quickly asleep even before the plane took off. When I woke up we were already at Narita. Wow! That was fast!

At Narita airport, we were finally able to meet up with Gezelle who quickly made fun of my plastic bag as well. I was beginning to think maybe I should have taken the extra minute to look for my camouflage or my black Chicago Bulls plastic bag but noooooo… I had to grab the mint green and baby blue bag with two sissy fishies blowing bubbles.

Lianne and Gezelle’s flight was an hour earlier than mine so I used up the extra time to have lunch first at a nearby McDonald’s. Good thing they accept US dollars. In a heartbeat, I devoured my Beeg Maaku meela and laaaj frinch fraaaays. (you have to read it with a Japanese accent you goober).

I was mostly asleep during the 14 hour trek to Detroit and nothing big really happened. At the US immigration booth, the agent was laughing at me because I was going to Chicago and I was wearing a BoSox shirt. He told me not to get beat up there.

Next came the Detroit luggage carousel as I was looking for Crispin and Basilio. After going around the two carousels I found out that some jerk picked up Basilio and put him on the floor. Hey, if you grab a bag and it ain’t yours, put it back to tee carousel so it can er… uh… carouse its way to its owner (I’m bad at making up words). As for Crispin, it was on the other carousel. More inspections came and I was now even more tempted to fire the “body has 60% water” joke but I had to restrain myself. (No Arn, huwag dito…) After ditching my bags and going through another set of inspections, it was a mad rush to the gate for my connecting flight as I only had 10 minutes to reach the end of the Detroit Airport. I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu since the same thing happened back in Minnesota a few months ago.

Now I was flying FIRST CLASS to Chicago! Wow! All that frequent flying finally paid off. I was sitting in seat 1 – B. I was amazed with all the leg room I had and I was frequently looking back at row 6 behind me (the economy people) while swinging my legs madly. Heheheh (I’m so mean). I had a Pepsi and they gave me a glass of ice… not that dinky plastic cup. They also gave me gourmet mixed nuts which I finished within 20 seconds. They also gave me some pretzels which tasted like sticks with salt… ewww… this was 1st class?!? Oh well…

Wheee... first class...

So there I was back in Chicago. Hello my friend we meet again… I ran to the luggage carousel and quickly retrieved Basilio. Where’s Crispin? I was waiting for more than an hour frantically looking for Crispin until the carousel stopped with still no sign of it. I was frantically running back and forth the carousels looking for Crispin but I still couldn’t find it. I wanted to shout “Crispiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!” but that would just look too stupid. Besides there were a lot of Filipinos in the crowd who might wonder why Sisa suddenly become so fat. I lined up at the nearby Northwest office and found out that Crispin was still in Detroit and will be arriving in an hour. So there I was sitting at one of the benches - exhausted and drained. An hour later, I was now deciding whether to take a 40 dollar cab ride or a 1.75 dollar train ride. My weary body was begging my brain to go for the cab but the wallet says take the blue line instead. So train train ride it was.

I arrived at the Thompson Center and lugged Crispin and Basilio out to the street for the 4 block journey to my hotel. It was real nice of Tessa to book me in that hotel. What a friend! Just when I was finally starting to feel happy fate just decided to put a halt to that. One of Crispin’s wheel came loose and now won’t turn and now it was like pulling a large sack of rice. 4 blocks later, I was at the hotel exhausted, drained and now sore, when I heard that one sentence that haunted me for a week - “There’s no Arnold here”. I didn’t have a reservation. “but but but my prend kold last wik and booked me to dis pleys.” (nawala na accent ko sa pagod). Turns out Tessa booked me to the wrong hotel more than 10 blocks away.

TV News Reporter: “…police are in Wacker drive here in downtown Chicago investigating on a filed report about a madman threatening a certain ‘Teysa’ while shouting what appears to be profane words in Tagalog near the Club Quarters hotel before fleeing away in a cab. Sources say that he is backed up by two goons named ‘Crispin’ and ‘Basilio’. Police wanted to label him as armed and dangerous but surveillance cameras show us what appears to be a mint green and baby blue plastic bag with two sissy fishies blowing bubbles and eventually declared him as just a big wuss…”

1 Win - 0 Loss

I think this was the first sport I ever played in Chicago. I hit two home runs while hitting with a left handed stance. The first was sliced to the opposite way just barely grazing the fence while the second was way over the fence to center.

Amazing? No doubt!

Felt good? Not one bit. :(

We were playing tennis.

Mike and I played last week too, I was losing 0 – 3 before they closed the courts. This time, I was losing 2 – 6 in the 1st set and was losing 0 – 5 in the 2nd set, when Mike decided to call time out and eventually called it quits.

So… according to the rule book, I get the win right?

Milan

The story of neverending onshore drama...

Stole this Quiz from Gwenny...

'What" will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Book Tag

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag three people.

“Being too handsome is indeed a problem that though has only plagued a select few, involves a big challenge and should be addressed properly in addition with the problems of being too sexy and too talented. In this chapter, we will be discussing these three problems all at once and at the same time, learning how to mingle with the average Joes and how to “dress down” so as to not offend the other not so fortunate and blessed ones. Humility will be discussed in full in the next chapter.”

… Ok fine I made that up. Here’s the real thing:

“Query parameters are different from report parameters in that they filter the rows of a dataset and are always linked to report parameters to get a value. When specifying a query parameter in a query, the notation that must be used is the @ sign followed by the parameter name. To manually create a map between the query parameter and a report parameter, select the dataset in the Data view, click the Edit Selected Dataset button, and select the Parameter tab.”

page 123, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Report Services for Dummies by Mark Robinson.

This is what I’ve been reading the past week since this is why I’m here in the first place. =) What a geek!

I tag... Liza, Gezelle and Rogeena. =)

Back Where It All Happened

What are you doing here?

I don’t know.

You’re not yet supposed to be here.

I know.

…and yet I am. Back to the place that has meant so much to me already. Back to the place where it all happened. It’s weird coming back here. Surreal. Both Oakwood and Sterling have that aura. Same goes with La Salle drive, McDonald’s, #22 bus and Singha. So many places. So many events. So many memories.

To be with the people I said good bye to a few months ago. People I thought I would never be with again. It feels weird to be walking these streets and being with these people again.

Surreal. There isn’t any other word to describe it.

Elevator Basics

(set sarcastic_tone = true) … ok game...

The elevator is a veeeeeery complicated machine... I know... On the ground floor, there’s only one button and since it doesn’t have a label, who knows what it’s for right? When you enter one, there are too many buttons inside! I only need to go to the 22nd floor… Gee… I wonder which one I should press… I tried the one beside the big number “12” but oh no!!! it stopped on the 12th floor!!! There’s got to be an instruction manual somewhere… maybe it’s that sheet of paper the size of a stamp that’s on a 8x11 frame oh wait, that’s only the elevator permit. (Look, I’m not a legal expert but maaaaaaaaybe there’s a law that they have to print it on a 2x2 paper… the size of a photo ID… maaaaaaaaybe it’s to conserve paper, help the environment and save the endangered Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat… I really don’t know…)

Anyways, don’t worry because though I am weird, at least I’m helping you guys out by sharing my vast knowledge in the world of elevator usage.

Press the button just once. You’re on the ground floor, you’re late or you really have to go to the bathroom, you press the up button. Good job. Look, there’s no need to press it again. If it’s lit, it knows what you want. It’s thaaaat smart. Pressing and mashing the up button won’t make the cars arrive earlier. Once is enough. Besides, that technique is only known to work in remote controls. Press the change channel button and it doesn’t do anything. Press it harder and lo, more channels!

Look at the up/down lights. You press the “up” button because you want to go up. I won’t tell you what the “down” button does… there’s a quiz later. Once one of the elevator cars is available and does that doorbell-like sound, look at the lights on the outside – there’s an up light and a down light. If the down light is lit, it will go down. If teh up light is lit, it will go up. Trust me. I’ve tried it.

Closing doors. Filipinos are not known to hold the elevator door open for others, actually they even press the close button. If you are about to board an elevator then the door suddenly starts to close, there’s absolutely no need to shout and panic. There’s no need to scream at the people already inside the elevator. Just put your arm between the doors and it will open. There’s a silver thingie as well on the edge that once pressed, will open the doors too. It’s designed to close but not to crush people ok? Just stick out your arm, you’ll be amazed.

Face anywhere. While inside the elevator, there’s no rule where I can face right? I mentioned I’m no legal expert but this one I can be sure of. With that, if I want to board the elevator with my back against the door while facing the other people inside it, I will. Yes, Arnold is THAT weird. Besides, whenever I’m waiting for the elevator going down, then it does arrive but it’s already full and so I have to catch the next one, it’s funny how people “arrange” themselves such that when the door opens, it looks like a big family portrait.

Lastly, if the elevator buzzes, it’s saying “HEY!!! ARE YOU GETTING ON OR WHAT?!? DECIDE NOW AND STOP TALKING TO YOUR FRIEND! IF YOU WANNA TALK TO HIM, BOARD THE NEXT ONE, IF NOT, GET IN!”.

Ok fine, that last one I made up but if the elevator does start buzzing, and you’re still deciding whether to get in or not, you have issues, dude.

…and stop asking me what the “push to call” button is for.

That Night

Before leaving for Glorietta that night, Jaye cut out some packaging tape as we wrapped the wiper blades which left a big question mark on Allan’s head. At least the wiper’s there. That’s Arn’s basic concept for repairs – if it moves but it shouldn’t, use packaging tape. If it doesn’t move but it should, use oil. Simple as that.

Funny thing I saw while driving home. On this one way street, a cop was in the middle waving his towel and directing traffic. Dude, it’s a one way street… where else would I go?!? Maybe he’s the same guy who worked at the DFA. Somewhere out there in the city, some helpless guy was probably held up but are the cops there to help him? Noooooo… they’re in Marikina… directing traffic on a one way street. Sheeesh…

By the way, remember the thing with my knee right? Last month, after more than 2 years of rest and rehab, I finally got the clearance from my doctor to play again. Cool! The first activity I did and I injured my foot – plantar fasciitis and it’s a bad one. Automatically, I was shut down for another 1 month. Finally, after lots of medicine and exercise, my foot’s good to go now.

… then I stepped on a pothole in the mall parking lot and badly sprained my ankle. I fell flat on the pavement again.

It’s like the Greek tragedy of rehabilitation stints. “Arn meet pavement… pavement meet Arn…”

“you again?!?”

That’s the thing with having badly injured legs like mine, it’s strong per se but one push and it collapses. One thing I learned through rehab is that it’s better to fall down than to try and regain balance since you injure yourself more frequently that way. This means that once I become even slightly off balanced I fall down as if I was shot by snipers… or like those world cup players.

On a side note, interesting how those soccer players, especially during the world cup play right? They are bringing down the ball, someone slides a few feet in front of them barely touching them, they fall writhing in pain, screaming as if someone pinched their… you know… with pliers, lie down, roll around, holding their leg then once the referee’s whistle blows, they quickly stand up and run casually to the opposite side of the field as if nothing happened. Wow!

The Day My Wiper Bailed Out

It was raining hard this morning just like it did the past few days. I was stuck in the usual C5 morning traffic listening to Chico and Delamar gazing at the dark sky through my windshield which was temporarily cleared by my old reliable wipers which would wipe the rainwater off for a few seconds before it gets shrouded again.

The wipers each have 2 main clips on each end and 4 others in the middle. The 2 at the end hold the wiper blade while the 4 give it that arched design so it can glide through the glass cleanly. Then came the most horrific scene of the day, one of the clips came loose as the wiper was somewhat severely arched like a crossbow. What the?!?

Taran-taran-tarararan…

“Pop!” goes the wiper…

It was like I pressed the “eject wiper” button somewhere in the dashboard as it flew out – like a missile. Good thing it landed on top of my hood.

The bad news is that with the wiper out, the right side of the windshield wasn’t being cleared. The good news is that the left one was still working. The really really bad news is that without the right wiper, the 6 clips turned into 6 claws badly scratching away at my windshield. I quickly turned it off as the irritating metal-to-glass scratching sound was gone.

Great. Now I can’t see a thing.

I stopped and got out the car to fix the wiper blade. So there I was, drenched in the rain, studying how the whole wiper thing works by studying the left one and comparing it with the right one until I realized that the wiper blade is already damaged and I cannot really fix it.

Ok McGyver within, let’s see what you got.

I just reclipped it. I didn’t have time to gather up a paper clip, a string and some bubblegum (I dunno… this is what McGyver would look for I assume) and I was already drenched in the rain just like in those boyband music videos.

It worked… for a while. In Makati, the wiper came loose again and it started scratching at the windshield. I just turned it off and used my Jedi powers to navigate all the way until the office parking lot. Actually I was driving with my head constantly bobbing like a parrot looking for spaces on the windshield that is clear of rainwater. I also stick my head out of the side window ala Ace Ventura (but not all the way of course). Some Jedi power eh?

Going home tonight will be trickier I imagine…

Arn @ the Dept of Foreign Affairs

I had my passport renewed for my botched onshore assignment. I’m not a big fan of government agencies as they all have the same long boring lines, poorly implemented system, manual processes and hundreds and hundreds of people.

Here are some random thoughts while at the DFA:

- As always, there are fixers everywhere! There’s an amazing booth outside the DFA that will “inspect” your photo and will come up with something that makes it unacceptable (and therefore you have to take your picture there).

- The instructions for renewing your passport is posted outside: “Proceed to the DFA basketball court and fall in line”. Basketball court? So you have to shoot some free throws to get your passport renewed? Make 1 out of 5 and get it 2 weeks later? Make 5 out of 5 and you’ll get it tomorrow? Make a shot from half court and you get a green card? Weird.

- The dude at the “data inspection” counter amazed me. He got my papers, typed something on the computer, stamped it then signed it… all without looking at my documents and without looking at the screen while talking to the girl at the other counter (who was doing the same thing). Wow!

- The passport claim area shows us the type of system these guys have. We have a window for all last names ending with “A”, another for “B”, for “C”, “D”, “E” “F” and “G” were in one window, well, you get the idea. “M” had its own window. “W” “X” “Y” and “Z” were all in the last window. Based on that, we all know how this was supposed to work right?

… and my passport came out of the “C” window. Genius.

- Here’s the funniest thing that happened that morning – all the people there had the same claim forms since we were all there just for one reason… (and that’s why they called it the “passport claiming area”)… Anyways, all the people fell in line and submitted our claim forms then we wait for our name to be called in an area 10 feet away from the counters. One annoyed employee picked up one of the forms, raised it up and asked sternly “Kanino ito?”

People were quiet. I was chuckling.

“KANINO ITO? DI KO MABASA YUNG SULAT.”

Look dude, if you can’t read it from 5 inches from your face, how can we at 10 feet? People started laughing. The poor dude was embarrassed.

Well, I got my passport now. Next stop…

Secret :)

On Weird Habits

I was blog hopping and I stumbled into Liza’s site again. I know I’ve already read this particular entry of hers before but I only realized now that I was tagged.

The topic?

8 Weird things about yourself…

So it’s a weirdo telling everyone else weird things about himself… where do I start?

Here’s how to play: The rules are, “once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog post with (8) weird things/habits about yourself”. At the end you need to choose the 8 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says Tag You’re It.” in their comments and tell them to read your blog…

1. Sound Effects
… which led me to think about applying at RX 93.1 with Gene. It didn’t push through though. I still do the old Donald Duck voice to quiet down crying babies. Sadly, I couldn’t do one of my favorites anymore ever since I reached 20 – the crying dog wail. I used to do that when cars would pass by hee hee.

2. OC and locking cars
It’s my daily routine – I park my car in the morning. I hop out then walk towards the lifts. 20 steps away, I run back to the car and check if I locked it. I walk towards the lifts again then I forget if I did lock it or not.

Sometimes while I’m at my desk the thought still lingers… “did I really lock my car?”

3. Lists and Post Its
I always have a to do list, a to buy list, a to do for now list, a to buy just for this particular trip list, a to do now or never list and I even use sublists like say, a to do list for the weekend which will have a list inside it just for Saturday afternoon. Once I start working on the things on my list, anything not on it will have to wait which is why my mom would always sneak in her chores into my list. Nice one mom…

I have post its everywhere. Most of these are quick thoughts and random “to do’s”. My last post it pad actually I used up all in writing verses and quotes and guitar chords all of which I stuck behind my guitar. For some of you, you know which quote I'm talking about...

4. Switch Shooter
…when playing basketball. I shoot free throws with my left hand. I shoot three point shots with my right. I shoot left handed on the right side of the court and I shoot right handed on the left side of the court. Go figure. I guess that makes me harder to defend?

5. LSS
When I get hit by LSS it’s always a bad case. It doesn’t matter if the song is old and new, sung by a guy or a girl, ballad or rock, pop or novelty. For some reason, the unusual songs are the ones that catch on really fast (eg. Quit Playing Games with My Heart and Don’t Touch my Birdie)

6. Microscopic Handwriting.
I measured it, it’s 1mm for lower case letters and 1.5 for upper case. It’s handy when I have just a small amount of material with so many things to write and it’s impossible to be copied from during exams. I would just leave my paper on top my desk and still no one could copy off it. The downside is that it takes me forever to write a sentence. This is why I never really write down my thoughts since my brain gives them out faster than I write them (which leads to a lot of lost thoughts). I have to type them :-/

7. MSN status
Ok ok. I admit I kinda got the idea from Gezelle but I really do love using the MSN status feature for letting out what I feel. Sometimes I write out the exact line of a song that just made me think (not necessarily it applies to me). Oftentimes it leads to controversy and a lot of questions. It’s amazing how other people really do notice these messages (eg. Mahar, Berns, Jaye and Ria). One thing I observed? The people who notice my status messages are the same people who let it all out through MSN statuses as well. Takes one to know one I guess.

8. No Sense at All
Typical Arn – does a lot of things that just doesn’t make sense. I sing songs even though a different song is being played on the radio. I would pick up an item in a shop then browse on another item that’s on the display. I make up my own nickname for all my friends (eg. Mags is now Maggie, Ester is now Liggy, Fritzie is Fritty, etc etc…). I wear my watch on my right hand and I remove it when I’m in the office and set it beside my keyboard. I eat a double whopper and fries with diet coke… etc etc etc... absolutely no sense at all.

Told ya I’m weird…

I’m tagging hmmm…
Mags, Fritzie, Gwenny, Ria, Geena, June, Pamie and Knoll

You’re it!!! =D

I'm a Talent!

I'm a Talent!

You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life.

Talent: 56%
Lifer: 44%
Mandarin: 41%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

I got this from Gwenny's blog. =D

Hail to the Pacman

He KO'd Morales a few months ago and he just toyed with Larios in his last bout last weekend. He's a symbol of hope for Filipinos that through hard work you can achieve anything.

This is why I'm not surprised he's in all the ads around the country. He has given so much to this country that I think he should be given more than just endorsement deals, a movie and an album.

Why not...

make him our national hero!



and while we're at it, why not put his face on one of our bills?



yup! Give credit where credit is due!

Of Chicago Parks and Statues

Lots and lots of parks… one of the things I really like about Chicago. There are more parks in Chicago than there are Ministops in Makati and these are parks where you can actually hang out and do stuff in. We also have parks here but they aren’t as nice the ones there. Besides, if I wanted to go to a place where I can read a book, draw or write something or just bum around, I’d probably go to the nearest Starbucks...

… or I can go to work.

My favorite parks in Chicago would include Wicker (hay…), Millenium (skating!), Grant (big open space) and Lincoln (lotsa squirrels).

Some things I found weird though about the parks, particularly the statues in it:

1. Lincoln in Grant Park

Walk into Grant park and you would see Buckingham fountain which used to be the biggest fountain in the world. Walk around and you would see a statue of… Abe Lincoln? What’s Lincoln doing in Grant park? Why not call this Lincoln park instead? Dunno, doesn’t make any sense really.

2. Grant in Lincoln Park

Take bus #22 along Clark and go down at Lincoln Park Zoo. It’s a nice clean place and best thing about is… it’s free! It’s also the place where I found the most squirrels (and you know I love them little critters). The pond at the middle, the ducks and geese, there’s a camel and oh wait… there’s a statue of Grant. Now what’s HE doing here?!?

Lincoln in Grant park. Grant in Lincoln park. It still doesn’t make any sense. In fact, what the heck where they thinking?!? How did they name these places?!?

Flashback to the early 1900’s:
Person 1: The Chicago Parks committee meeting is now in session. Now what do we name that place where Grant’s statue is?
Person 2: Lincoln park!
Person 1: Wow! That’s smart! But what do we name that place where Lincoln’s status is if we’re gonna call this other place Lincoln park already?
Person 2: Uh… Grant park?
Person 1: Wow! I NEVER thought of that!

Yeah yeah let’s laugh at them but years later they built the Sears Tower, reversed the flow of the Chicago river and drafted Michael Jordan.

At least we know whose statue to find when we go to Rizal Park :P

3. Grant’s Shoes

Here’s a theory: Maybe the statues were originally placed where they should supposed to be. If that was the case, how did they “switch” them? Maybe Lincoln and Grant walked… hahahahah

Or did they?

Here’s a pic of Grant’s statue. See his shoes? Those are grass and straw caught in his shoe. Wow! Could it be possible that this statue actually walked all the way there? You know what this means? You’re already riding a horse… then you decide to walk all the way instead?!?

4. Unusual Lincoln statue

Statues of people either in their finest moment or in a made up majestic pose. Did you see Michael Jordan’s statue at the United Center? Did you see the Christopher Columbus statue shrine? How about Lincoln… I wonder which pose he should have?

Never mind the “sitting Lincoln” statue. This here is the “fabulous Lincoln” version.

Weird isn’t it?

Now where did I see that pose before... lemme see... hmmm...

oh right...

Of Carnival Games and Prizes

I loooooove carnival games.

Probably since it’s one of the happy childhood memories I have. I remember dad bringing me to places like Payanig sa Pasig and Star City to exclusively play games like these. I would end up bringing home a bag of stuffed toys that my folks would give out to other people.

I also love that crane thingie machine. Those who have been with me at Gurnee and Kenosha (namely Ria, Che, Lianne, Rico and Allan) would know. That one started with my fascination with the “UFO Catcher” game which is commonly found in arcades here in Manila. The US version uses the 3 fingered claw which took me a while to get the hang of.

I love these games and I wouldn’t mind spending on them. Honestly I hate it when I couldn’t win a game I know I can win (and have won before). Take those basketball free throws at 6 flags. Back home, my free throw % stat (before I got hurt) was 92%. I know hey, even after 6 months of rust I still could make one right? wrong. I couldn’t get one there. Rats! Same story at Universal studios which is now a mid range jumper… not really my specialty but hey, they ran that play for me when I moved to shooting guard.

The most important carnival game in my life? It was in this fair in Pomona, California. The game was simple enough. Throw a wiffle ball off a board and into a basket. I tried that in 6 flags and it was impossible… well… until I studied it in Pomona. The trick was simple. Throw it with reverse spin, at the right target with the right speed and it falls all the time (as in all the time) into the basket.

How much was the game? 2 bucks for a ball. 5 bucks for three. Get one into the basket and get the big prize. Get two and get the bigger prize. Sounds easy?

I got one with the first five balls I threw. Too easy. But I’m greedy… I wanted the bigger prize. I dunno… for some reason I choked as I was missing badly. It was until I reached my spending threshold when I had to give it up.

After getting the 1st ball in, I spent 40 bucks getting the 2nd one and failed. Damn ball.

I ended up with the big prize which was…

I gave it to my cousin. No way I was going home with it (since it was as big as my suitcase!). I still wanted to get the bigger prize, maybe in the future… maybe if it comes up again. I really wouldn’t mind spending 40 bucks more for getting just one of 24 balls into a basketball in a game I know how to win in.

This game set my records for “most money spent in”, “biggest prize”, “biggest crowd drawn”, “biggest cheering squad”, and ironically, “worst choke performances all time”.

The bigger prize?

An Xbox.

The Flight Home

Probably the one single day in the US that I regretted that I had a good night sleep. You see, I never sleep the night before that 17 year flight (yea, it really feels that long) from RP to US and back and I always sleep through the whole thing except when the "Chicken or fish" lady comes by.

The flight home was pretty dull. My plane seat was in the waaaaaaaaaay back and beside me was this skinny girl who slept through the whole flight with her mouth open. She looked like an extra from some horror movie.

In flight movie? Hmmm… I think there was one. I think it was the one with Amanda Bynes with her being “the man”. I think there was a screen somewhere. Here’s the view from my seat:

See my point? The worst part was when he placed his pillow behind his head. Sheesh…

So how did I amuse myself?

Sudoku books. It was no fun solving these alone though L I breezed through the whole “easy” section of the book but I stopped when I messed up one. Dang.

My iPod. I loaded mine with videos… only to find out these were all deleted probably when I synched it before leaving. Oh well.

My bathroom reader book of useless trivia. Hey, finally a use for this book! The entries are short enough to give you frequent eye breaks but long enough to keep you interested.

Since I couldn’t watch the movie from where I was sitting, it was a good thing that the one beside ms zombie-i-sleep-with-my-mouth-open had a portable DVD player. The problem was, he was watching some Japanese action flick. Can’t relate. :-/

Nothing really interesting happened until I arrived at NAIA. The luggage carousel was one of the things that made me realize I was already in the Philippines (well, that and the big “welcome to the Philippines sign”). The carousel was loaded with those big ol’ boxes with 6 sides labeled and heavily taped (the whole thing was big block of duct tape) and I was able to use my boxing out skills I learned during my basketball days.

Outside, the air was warm, the exhaust fumes were overwhelming, people were rude and the traffic was ridiculous. On my way home, I can’t help but notice that Manny Pacquiao is in almost all billboards. Wow! The last straw: Pacquiao the movie (starring Jericho Rosales).

Welcome back, Arn!

It’s Nastier the Second Time

Mum was asleep in her room. The door opened and the light from the outside room woke her up. Then entered this person whose silhouette placed a huge question mark on top of her head.

You could see it coming.

“Quack.”

Mom was screaming. So was dad… like a little school girl.

Yup!

I pulled off another surprise trip home. =) Glad to be back!

Five Corporate Lessons

Corporate Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: - If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position toprevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: - If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager arewalking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: - Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: - "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: - To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able toget to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: - Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Of Lovers and Friends

Lovers fight... and so do friends. But lovers kiss and make-up. Friends make-up only. But when lovers didn't make up, usually they just cool it off and find hard to be the same again. When friends didn't make up, it's the most different feeling in the world so they make-up eventually.

Lovers get jealous... and so do friends. But lovers get jealous because they demand commitment. Friends get jealous because they demand attention. But when lovers get jealous, they really look serious. When friends get jealous, they look funny. Lovers give each other gifts. And so do friends. But when lovers do this, it's but natural. When friends give each other gifts, it's sooooo sweet.

Lovers make each other happy... and so do friends. They hang out, call one another, talk, yell, encourage when the other is down, sing, dance, eat together. They share secrets, dreams, take care of each other. But lovers expect these from one another. Friends expect these from others too but get from each other instead.

Lovers can be complicated... and so do friends. But lovers usually try hard to adjust with one another. Friends just stay as what they are and don't give a damn whether they are nuts, or freaks, or stupids. Cause friends are not turned-off; they only laugh.

Lovers freak-out when you forgot birthdays... and so do friends. But lovers wouldn't forgive until they forget. Friends wouldn't forgive until an hour after when they receive a li'l bar of chocolate with a cheap card.

Lovers really love each other... and so do friends. But lovers either get married or break up. Friends either stay friends or be lovers or nothing at all.

WaterColours

I’m bad at painting and drawing as I am with cooking. I still remember my high school days when Nego would draw his notes instead of writing them. It made studying for The Iliad a lot lot lot easier.

I tried drawing and… well…I drew a cow that looked like a house… go figure.

Here’s my first stab at watercolor painting:



I asked my officemates what they thought this was. Their answers?

Nikki: wine and cheese.
Jenn: wine fruits and cheese.
Che: dog.

Wine and cheese that looks like a dog. Move over Mr. Cow-house! This is my new masterpiece!

Weather Discussions

So now I understand why the weather is always an interesting topic here. Ask that question everyday and you'll get different answers. Ask that question from different towns and you also get different answers. I noticed that answers ALWAYS come in this format:

“How’s the weather?”

ANSWER:
It’s . . nah, it doesn’t have to be true :P>. .

Care to try?

“It’s cold. When I stepped out the train, I was covered in snow in 10 seconds flat. It wasn’t as bad as 3 years ago when snow was up until cars’ door handles. I heard though that it was worse in Minnesota. I wish it would be warmer.”

See? :P

Thoughts while walking downtown

My usual trip to the library was a little interesting today. There was a lot of people downtown, mostly Latinos who participated in the "A Day Without Immigrants" rally at Grant Park.

My first thought was "wow, it looks a lot like Makati at 5:30pm on a Friday.". Until I noticed some things:

• Sure it caused traffic, but the cars were still moving. Slow. But moving nonetheless.
• The crowd was disciplined. They lined up for the subways and waited for pedestrian signals. No one complained. They just followed.
• No street vendors.
• On my way back from the library, there were only a few people left walking in the streets… which were still clean.

Hmmm… now it just looked a little like Makati… until I started observing the obvious things like the Sears Tower which is no PBCom, McDonald's restaurants with no Jollibees nearby (unheard of!!!), the temperature, the wind… hey I can go on all day…

Nah… not even close.

Oh by the way, I got me (finally) a library card! Wheee…

Interesting Sunday

5:36 am – Still awake from last night’s party. Drunk? Nah… Was working a little and chattin’ with Jaye. Was out like a light a few minutes later. zzz

7:00 am – something was beeping… my tired eyes saw a digital image of “7:00”… not sure what it was but it went flying across the room a few seconds later… back to sleep… zzz

Sometime between 8:00 am and 8:30 am
Tummy: *growl*
Brain: “later na… natutulog pa si Arn e.”
Tummy: *growl* *growl*
Brain: “shut up!”
Bladder: *growl*
Brain: “Get up get up get up!”

… ok, so bladders probably don’t growl but you get the idea…

9:00 am – another beeping sound, it was my mobile this time. Oh yea, I have to be on standby for work. I grabbed the support phone and… zzz

11:13 am – Woke up again… tried to get out of bed, no luck… tried to roll over, no luck… glanced at the phone, no calls… zzz

12:15 pm – Finally got up. Boiled water for my pasta lunch. Did some more work. Che called and wanted to borrow my rice cooker… and rice na rin hehhe. It’s a cold rainy day. Maybe that’s why my bed was like a black hole again.

12:45 pm – (@ Che’s). was in my hearts pajamas and Stephen Jackson jersey. Didn’t even bother brushing my hair. Went back to my unit to finish up work (workaholic)

2:00 pm – went up to Che’s again for lunch. STILL didn’t bother brushing my hair. Watched some celeb shows. Lianne went home since she had work to do. Gwen also left a few minutes later. Me? I fell asleep sa couch. Zzz…

3:15 pm – went back home. dozing off every few minutes. I was channel surfing when the BoSox game popped up. Bosox down 3 in the 9th. Lowell homers, Pena homer, Nixon walks, Snow hit by pitch, Youkilis strikes out, Loretta grounds out and game… dang. Bitin.

4:00 pm – I was finally awake. Wanted to go to University of Chicago but it was raining. :( I was waiting for the southbound #10 bus but… after just a few minutes I bailed. My patience is short when I’m standing in the rain. Decided to walk south. U of C can wait...

4:05 pm – one block away. I was now in front of the Chicago theater and ABC news room. Chicago theater was headlining Late Night with Conan O’Brien. I tried heckling the news anchors to no avail...

4:30 pm – Shopping at Old Navy. Nothing interesting on sale. Ended up buying some shirts anyway hehehehe.

5:10 pm – I was rattling the closed doors of the public library. Oh, it’s closed already. :( What to do in State… hmmm… Jewel? Nah… went home instead.

5:40 pm – zzzzzzzzz

6:30 pm –
Tummy: *growl*
Brain: “Patience my pet…”

7:30 pm - @ Portillo’s with Tessa and Edison. Had a giant charbroiled burger with bacon and cheese and fries swimming in even more cheese. My drink? Ironically, it’s a diet coke.

8:30 pm - @ Oakwood at Edison’s. Just hanging out playing games. Tess was playing Kingdom Hearts 2 which looked like a really cool role playing game. I suddenly missed my PS2 back home.

10:30 pm - @ Oakwood at Jaye’s. I sent her the pics from last night. She was screaming because of the Sadako picture of Amy. I wonder how she would react if she saw the vid… :-/

11:30 pm - @ walking at Clark. No more rain :D Dropped by 7-11 for a slurpee nightcap. Mmmmmm!

11:45 pm – Spurs at Kings. Kings up big time over the Spurs. Wooohoooo!!!

12:30 am – Laundry. Wheeee… :-/

1:00 am – Iron clothes. Wheeee… :-/ I left ¼ of the load as advised by Jaye. We answered some blog quizzes instead, one of which I posted before this entry. Interesting results… :P

2:30 am – zzz (finally) :P

Wow, when you do write about what kind of day you had, it just makes it even better :)

I am a warrior soul

You Are a Warrior Soul

You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating. You don't give up. You're committed and brave. Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle. Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog. You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods. You also value honesty and fairness a great deal. You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding. You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

(Thanks Jaye! :D)

Weird Weather

Last Sunday morning it was hot - too hot to wear a jacket. Early afternoon, it was so windy that there was a mini sandstorm at the North avenue beach. Late afternoon it was getting chilly.

…and this morning there's ice everywhere.

Labo no?

Taking Back Sunday

Apr 12
Ria: "u want to watch taking back sunday on sunday? hahaha sorry short notice :D"

Oo naman ako before even asking what the heck is she talking about. Turns out Taking Back Sunday is this alternative band probably only known in the alternative circles (or I guess I'm just that ignorant). Tickets are only avaible at stubhub so if we were going, we had to purchase the tickets ASAP. Since it's an alternative band, Rico had a no-brainer decision. Lianne had to check who the heck are they but ended up going with us as well. Too bad the others couldn't make it. We were still missing a fifth member since only 5 or 3 tickets can be bought at 12 bucks each. After hours and hours of asking others, the tickets were bought and we ended up buying the 4 ticket set at 17 bucks each. 5 bucks down the drain :(

That Sunday was Easter Sunday. We went over to Tito Roger's first for lunch then went back downtown a few hours before the start of the concert. It was pouring that afternoon, probably the most rain I've seen during my stay here in Chi-Town. Since I still have the "I'd rather get wet in my jacket than carry an umbrella around" attitude, I was soaked. Actually, we were all soaked :P. We looked like a boy band music video (where dudes in muscle shirts gets soaked for some unexplainable reason - eg. washing a car, sudden rain, spilled drink etc...). Good thing the rain stopped when we reached the venue.

Damn! No cameras allowed at the House of Blues. Sorry guys, I know I promised posting more pics but I should be excused for this one. The place was packed. First up was:

Suicide City
They were a loud punk band with lots and lots of headbanging and jumping. Watching them on stage was like playing pinball. Rico told me the bassist looked like a chick. Dude, that WAS a chick. Overall, I liked the band. I'm not much of a critic anyway. The music was loud but it still sounded great. During the intermission, I got to talk to the bassist outside near the shops. ("hey" "hey" lang naman...). Next was,

Tokyo Rose
A light alternative band. I dunno, after watching Suicide City's performance, Tokyo Rose looked as boring as the aquarium channel. The lead singer looked a lot like April Boy. He was good though. The songs were nice too but they really should've played first. In addition to that, I couldn't understand a word they were saying other than "thanks guys" and "buy our CD's"... and to think they were a LIGHT alternative band. After two bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade (I ended up drinking Ria's), finally it was Taking Back Sunday on stage.

Taking Back Sunday
...was like a punk version of Green Day. I don't know any of their songs but the wild crowd together with the spiked lemonade put me in the mood for really really loud music. The lead singer kept swinging the microphone around his arms and around his neck and it was like watching one of two olympic events I couldn't really understand - that event where gymnasts swirl around a stick with some stringy material attached at the end. (By the way, the other event is Curling). Overall they're a great band and I wouldn't mind buying their CD. :)

The funniest thing that happened was probably during Suicide city's performance where while they were playing their usual head banging ultra upbeat songs and people started to do Crowd Surfing

Crowd Surfing (noun): This is usually done by either asking someone to give you a boost on the crowd or by putting your hands on the person in front of you and climbing up their back. You then spread your body out like you would after a dive and then surf to where you want by rolling your body.

So people are now being carried to the front of the stage... until it was one dude's turn, he was in the middle part of the crowd... then the song suddenly ends. Poor guy was dropped to the ground hee hee. Funny :P

Cool gig! It was waaay worth it!

Cooking with Arnold V

…just when I thought I got the hang of cooking…

Breaded Chicken

1. Roll chicken breast in egg.
2. Roll chicken breast in flour.
3. Roll chicken breast in bread crumbs.
4. The bread crumbs aren't sticking! Roll it in egg again.
5. Great. Now the flour and bread crumbs were washed off. Roll it in flour.
6. Roll it in… oh wait… the bread crumbs won't stick right?
7. Mix the egg with the flour and the bread crumbs. NOW roll the chicken breast in it. Genius…
8. Empty a bottle of cooking oil in a saucepan.
9. Once hot, drop the chicken in it.
10. It's cooking now… it's smelling good... uh oh… now it's smoking! The oil is too hot you idiot! Fish it out! Fish it out! mayday mayday!!



Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!

The Arnold cooking style - Burnt on the outside, raw in the inside :D

Lakeshore Drive Chronicles III

Young Arnold: I can’t paint. I can’t see art.
Master Zare: Never assume because a man has no eyes he cannot see. Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Arnold: Music from my iPod?
Master Zare: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Young Arnold: No
Master Zare: Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?
Young Arnold: (steps on grasshopper) oops! Slightly older (but still pretty) woman, how is it that you hear these things?
Master Zare: Foolish boy! Poor grasshopper! How is it that you do not?

… and so master asked young grasshopper to concentrate more…



PS: Play “Glory of Love” to complete the scene...

LakeShore Drive Chronicles II

Woke up one morning with a really bad hangover and a sore hamstring. Now what would Arnold do?

So off to Lakeshore drive again I went. That was the first time I was at Lakeshore on a clear and sunny weekend. This time I did lots and lots of warm ups… so much that it looked like I was shooting an exercise video.

I really looooove this place. Since I wasn’t in a hurry for our production support call in the evening this time, I finally was able to just sit down and watch the lake from the lighthouse. I also got to see more people in bad jogging outfits



Nice isn’t it?

Mahar's Bodacious Bangus!

Hungry? Cheap? Tired of the same old filet mignon and lobster lunches? Visit a 7-11 near you and try their new daing na bangus rice meal express!

Scientists have proved that eating milkfish has health benefits like more protein for less calories compared to eating that nasty old tenderloin steak. Besides, a purchase of a daing na bangus meal from 7-11 will contribute to the Mahar Charity Foundation which benefits uh… Mahar.

Actually Mahar, my officemate, distributes milkfish from Dagupan to 7-11 for their yummy rice meals. He catches each and every one of these fishes by hand, does quality control, guts, cuts and cooks them, place them in styro packages with rice and atsara then runs around Manila to distribute them to different 7-11 stores and still make it on time for office.

Yup, he’s just that good.

That Darn Gadget

I bought something that I’ve been cursing every morning.

A replacement primary support phone? Nah…

An alarm clock? kinda… but nah…

It’s my new high tech digital weighing scale with % body fat calculator. Great purchase isn’t it? A twenty dollar gadget that tells you everyday that you’re overweight. The thing with this one is that unlike my old manual scale, I can’t tiptoe or shift my weight anymore to “lose” 3 to 6 pounds. All it really lacks is a voice feature that really tells you every day… “Dude, you’re still fat.”

Damn smart-ass weighing scale.

of Chicago Bascule bridges

“Pre, nakataas yung La Salle bridge a.” Rico said as he passed by.

I leaped up, put on my jacket and sprinted 2 blocks to see the Bascule bridge along La Salle go up.

(Btw, La Salle is the name of the street our office and apartment is in. We have to cross this bridge over Chicago river everyday to work)

Upon reaching the last perpendicular street (which was Wacker), the bridge was already going down. I was able to take some pics from where I was but it was boring from this angle. The perfect one would be from the other bridge such that I’ll be on the sides while the bridge is up forming an inverted V.

By the time I was at the bridge, it was already down :(

“Noooooooooooooooo!” (pigeons flying)

Luckily, the bridge was up again 2 hours later. I guess they were calibrating it or something. Guess where I am… I was at the Clark bridge which was directly beside it. Hee hee



Doesn’t that look cool or what? :D