2009 Pinoy Halloween Costumes

Skeletons? Star Wars characters? Bunny rabbits? Boring... Why go with the traditional ones when you can try these modern, up-to-date get ups:

1. The Basketball Player Fan Mauler



Getting the look: Slap on a Burger King Whoppers jersey, basketball shorts and basketball shoes. If you have a friend, he can play as the rowdy fan. If you have a lot of friends, dress them up as security personnel who just stand around and not doing anything. Bonus points if you can reenact the fight scene together with punches and kicks that never connected.

Cons: You'll probably get banned from the party you were attending which is fine because you need all the time you can get explaining to your American friends that while their NBA has the "Lakers" and the "Celtics", we have the "Whoppers" and the "Texters".

2. The Rolex Robber


Getting the look: ski mask, black shirt, black pants and a pistol or a rifle. You can also get a cardboard cutout of a mall guard which was as (in)effective as the one in the actual heist. Of course, you need to have the actual Rolex... or a Bolex. Bonus points if you arrive in a blue Honda City.

Cons: Gold just doesn't go with black.

3. The Noynoy



Getting the look: Wear a yellow suit with glasses and you're almost set. Your girl friend can come depends on her personality. If she's pretty, make her go as Shalani Soledad. If she's annoying, she can be Kris. Bonus points if you arrive to the party straight from Pink Sisters or if you shaved your head.

Cons: You arrive at the party and the crowd cheers for you. You sneeze and you still get an applause. If they ask you what you've done in the past few years, try not to look absolutely stumped.

4. The NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) Chairman



Getting the look: Standard issue barong or suit. You're supposed to go to the party but you weren't ready and you end up missing the whole thing.

Cons: After missing halloween, you become ultra-prepared now for All Saints day. You bring a truck load of candles, flowers and food but you have to deal with people telling you the "Aanhin pa ang damo..." quote all day.

5. The Bader



Getting the look: DLSU jersey and beard. You can also come as a goat or a black sheep, we all know it's the same thing. Your friends can come as Atkins, Barua and Mangahas ghosts - which was the same as this season where you can see them... but they're not doing anything at all. Bonus points if you bring your own bench.

Cons: You'll get booed off the party by the Lasallians but you''ll surely be a hit with the Ateneans. Don't bother hitting on anyone though as we all know you'll trip, make mental mistakes and you never ever score. I won't be surprised if you do pick up someone and end up heaving her into the 4th row in Araneta.

Of Fans, PBA and a guy named Wynne

The video was all over Facebook and Youtube.

Wynne Arbo… wait. His name is Wynne? as in… the pooh?

Anyways, Arboleda is now tagged as the Pinoy Ron Artest after our version of the "Malice at the Palace". After committing a flagrant foul, this fan at courtside shouted something. Next thing we know, we have a ticked off Arboleda charging towards the fan and throwing kicks and punches before being restrained and escorted away.

Now, I’ve been to these games before and fans shout a lot of stuff. If you commit a turnover, you’re immediately a “bano”. If you commit an obvious foul and still complain to the ref, you’re a “best actor”. If you throw up an airball, you’re a “duling”. If you run slow, you’re a “pagong”. If should know since this happened to er… uh… a close friend of mine.

I’m curious as to what the fan shouted to make Arboleda blow up. I’m guessing the fan shouted the Arboleda will not get promoted, will not get a salary increase and will have to work 5 quarters in a game to stay competitive with this league in another country.

Arboleda has apologized but was slapped with a season long suspension. The fan however, is suing and wants Arboleda to be banned from the league for life. The reason? I lifted this off the Internet:

“I now endure not only physical suffering, but mental anguish, uncontrollable fright, serious anxiety, a besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and other similar emotional and psychological injuries because of the respondents’ actions.”

I don’t see that statement coming from a rowdy courtside heckler. I wish he’d drop the whole thing while he’s still the good guy in this story. Once he flexes his muscles and brings in his lawyers, he twists the story into this power mad jerk who’s picking on an innocent basketball player. Poor fan though... imagine getting beat up by "Winnie"?

The Rolex Heist

Last week, the Rolex store in Greenbelt 5 was robbed by armed men wearing bomb squad uniforms in broad daylight. They went to the basement parking then told the guards that they were responding to a bomb scare. They stormed the store and did the ol’ smash and grab until they were confronted by the bodyguards of the Taguig City mayor who was having lunch nearby. One robber was shot dead while the others were able to get away.

The dead robber was carrying a .45 caliber pistol while the others had Armalite rifles. I pity the guy who drew the short stick and ended up with the pistol.

How did they pass through the entrance? Weren’t the mall guards supposed to frisk them? Maybe the guards frisked them and checked their bags but as always, they have no idea what they're looking for!

Didn’t the basement guards notice anything funny when the “bomb squad” arrived riding a Honda City and a Toyota Corolla? In our office building, it’s already a big deal when pizza delivery boys arrive in tricycles instead of their motor bikes.

Poor mall guards. Reports say they were overpowered and didn’t offer any resistance. Who could blame them? They were only armed with a batuta, a flashlight and a long stick used to “search” bags.

Can you imagine if the robbery went really wrong and they didn’t reach the Rolex store? What if they ended up robbing Pink Soda? Headlines the next day: “Really Gay Robbers Robs Pink Soda: Escaped but Looked Fabulous”

What if this was a big misunderstanding? What if they obtained a cellphone from one of the robbers with a text message “Here na us in CALTEX GREENBELT 5. Where na U?”

Parking at Greenbelt is so expensive that the robbers had to use one of the watches they stole as payment for their basement parking fee.

I heard there was supposed to be one more of them but one robber got lost and ended up at Timex.

Investigators say the whole heist was well funded but poorly executed. A rich powerful man but ridiculously stupid… hmmm…? Isn't he running for... uh... nevermind.

Here’s the thing, according to reports, the robbers ended up stealing only the “Tudor” watches. They were not able to get any Rolex watches. This means it’s like storming a local bank then making away with the bank’s ballpens and manong guard’s columnar notebook.

I pity the people who were planning to give away Rolex watches as gifts for Christmas.

I pity the people who bought those black “bomb squad” shirts in Green Hills.

Seriously though, I wish establishments would beef up security now, not just for malls but for everywhere else. Who knows where they could hit next. At least I know they couldn't hit the place where I work. Before they could get to my floor, they would have given up on those looooooooooong lines for the elevator.

WTF: Work Time Fun / Wala Tayong Facebook

According to this article in Inquirer, more than half of US companies do not allow employees to visit social networking sites. 54% of these do not allow access to these sites at all.

Bummer, especially for me who’s normally a grazer worker – meaning I take frequent breaks within the work day just like my Internet service provider.

In our company, they have this site blocker thing that redirects you to this page whenever you access certain non work sites such as youtube, facebook and other networking sites, sports sites, entertainment sites, forums and emails. Basically, they blocked all the fun sites. They do give you access to search engines, Wikipedia, technology sites and news sites. Can you imagine how fun surfing now is? Inquirer >> Philstar >> CNN >> wikipedia >> MSDN >> Inqui… zzz…

It was only then did I realize that reading the local headlines and related articles can really make you feel upset, angry and depressed (in that order).

I don’t blame the company especially since it’s a fact that some people are abusing this privilege. Take away Facebook and we have more time working (and less load for the network). At least we still have our MSN messe… oh wait, no we don’t. Well at least we can use the DVD drives to listen to mus... oh wait, no we can't. How about just listening to music in our USB driv... oh wait... crap.

Now here’s the thing. We’re not just regular employees, we’re Filipinos! Kung gusto, maraming paraan! I must admit, I saw some pretty creative ways on how to deal with this site blocker thing. I don’t think aything can really get in the way of Pinoys and their Facebook.

Hello HR Team and Security Team, I know you’re reading this and NO, I'm not going to tell you how. Try searching for that other blog, you know, the one from that guy who writes... you know... the one with the… you know…

Just a Thought

Personally, I don’t see the difference between person A who visits Facebook, person B who visits CNN, person C who reads a book and person D who plays with his/her PSP during office hours. Let’s throw in Person E who’s sleeping. If persons A, D and E are reprimanded, shouldn’t B and C as well? I mean, all of them are as productive as Lito Lapid anyway. Diba?

I don’t get it…

31 pesos for a 1L Real Leaf green tea drink. I’m really ok with the price but I don’t understand why their cashiers get really really irritated when I don’t have a 1 peso coin with me. Maybe it’s because there are times when I know I have 75 cents in my pocket, I take out each 25 cent coin one by one then hand them a pocket lint with a “ay, bitin!”.

2009 Fantasy Basketball

It's Fantasy Basketball Season Again!

Last year, I walked away as the co-winner in our league and I can't wait to defend my title. This year, I was picking 4th in a "snake" format with rotisserie scoring.

By the way, I know fantasy basketball is big in the office but I had no idea it was THIS big. My style has always been reading articles over the Internet, making personal notes and ranking players manually. Some colleagues of mine even purchase extensive draft kits which have full, in-depth analysis and predictions of the players’ performances this season.

Here are the picks I made this year. Instead of using the same old pictures of them, I decided to use random odd pictures... wala lang, para maiba lang.

#1 Chris Paul, PG - They already picked Lebron, Wade and Kobe in that order. The 4th pick is always Chris Paul and the 5th pick is always Dwight Howard. This is as predictable as sunrise. Chris Paul is a very quick point guard who scores, passes and defends well, until he's kicked in the yagballs.

#2 Chris Bosh, PF - I was looking for another point guard and while Deron was gone, Nash was still on the board. Do I risk picking an aging point guard or an injury prone forward? Nash just signed a fresh contract while Bosh is on the last year of his. Greedy players are good but I don't think cowboy hats go with basketball jerseys unless they're doing some sort of Brokeback basketball.

#3 Carmelo Anthony, SF - I'm not sure how he slid this far but he was available so I took him. Honestly, I made this pick first before thinking about it. It's like craving for some Hotshots from KFC but opting to get the chicken wings because there's only one order left.

#4 Mehmet Okur, C - Memo on the 4th round? There were only a few good centers to go around. Pau Gasol, Al Jefferson, Howard, Brand and even Brook Lopez were already gone. There were still lots of good forwards and guards but I just had to pick a center... and a played with a name that doesn't start with "C" and could play basketball in a suit.

#5 Stephen Jackson, SF - I was going for Arenas but he was picked right before my turn. I wanted Rashard Lewis but he'll be having a bad year with VC clogging the position. I wanted Boozer but I know he'll be playing for half a season only this year. That plus I don't like his name.

#6 Mo Williams, PG - I wanted to go for a point guard and so can't explain why I picked a fake one. Mo is listed as a point guard but he neither points nor guards. He's a chucker which makes him a true shooting guard. I passed on Okafor for Mo based on a gut feeling... or deep inside I know Okafor has no power and can't run forward. Besides, how can you go wrong on a guy named “Mo”?

#7 John Salmons, SG - He was the best player available. If already had Anthony and Jackson so why pick another played with the same skill set? Well, there were two other good players available - Al Harrington, a center who plays like a small forward and Andrea Bargnani. I'm not picking a player named "Andrea".

#8 Zach Randolph, PF - My first true risk. Zach is playing on a new team which is good, but he's playing with Iverson which is bad. He had good numbers last season which was good but he was injured a lot which is bad. Zach is really good when's good and really bad when he's bad. Does that makes sense? Just do me a favor and don't get into fights too much ok?

#9 Eric Gordon, SG - I wanted Felton here but Gordon is another risk. In theory, Eric should have a superb year with a year of experience. In theory, he should be a superstar next season. I've heard of the sophomore jinx as well where second year players play terribly for the entire year, but that's just a theory.

#10 Raymond Felton, PG - Funny. Ever since round 2 I said I was looking for a point guard and I picked my second guard in the 10th round. Felton was the best available player available who happens to be a point guard. Sorry Raymond, not that I don't believe in you, well... actually... I don't. While other players do fist pumps or show off their biceps after doing something spectacular, here you are showing off your... armpit?

#11 Marc Gasol, C - Beasley, Kaman and Bynum were both gone at this point and I wanted to make sure I had another decent center. Tyrus Thomas would have been the high risk - high reward pick but I opted for this big lug who loves reporters instead.

#12 Leandro Barbosa, PG - I'm predicting Steve Nash will be injured for most of the season and so Barbosa will be a beast. If Nash ends up playing all the games for Phoenix and Barbosa gets another bad year, he’s the first player I imagine I would drop back to the waiver wire.

Overall, I'm pleased with my picks. I know by half the season I’ll be dropping half of them anyway for surprise players or players having breakout years. Ah, Fantasy Basketball… It’s that thing that makes guys come to the office early, keep stats on paper and start cheering individual players and not the teams. Funny isn’t it?

Back from Blog Leave

I'm back from blog leave!

It was a crazy month of September as life gave me lots of lemons and I wasn't sure if making lemonade was the smart thing to do. It was a month when reality finally set in, true friends showed themselves and big decisions had to be made.

During these times, I promised myself to think about things very carefully, to set aside my emotions and to slap a temporary restraining order on blogging.

Don't promise anything when you're happy. Don't blog when you're... well, in my case, emotional.

It's a good thing things are back to normal now. Tuloy ang ligaya!

BOB ONG's - whatever u call it.

1. “Kung hindi mo mahal ang isang tao, wag ka nang magpakita ng motibo para mahalin ka nya..”

2. “Huwag mong bitawan ang bagay na hindi mo kayang makitang hawak ng iba.”

3. “Huwag mong hawakan kung alam mong bibitawan mo lang.”

4. “Huwag na huwag ka hahawak kapag alam mong may hawak ka na.”

5. “Parang elevator lang yan eh, bakit mo pagsisiksikan ung sarili mo kung walang pwesto para sayo. Eh meron naman hagdan, ayaw mo lang pansinin.”

6. “Kung maghihintay ka nang lalandi sayo, walang mangyayari sa buhay mo. Dapat lumandi ka din.”

7. “Pag may mahal ka at ayaw sayo, hayaan mo. Malay mo sa mga susunod na araw ayaw mo na din sa kanya, naunahan ka lang.”

8. “Hiwalayan na kung di ka na masaya. Walang gamot sa tanga kundi pagkukusa.”

9. “Pag hindi ka mahal ng mahal mo wag ka magreklamo. Kasi may mga tao rin na di mo mahal pero mahal ka. Kaya quits lang.”

10. “Kung dalawa ang mahal mo, piliin mo yung pangalawa. Kasi hindi ka naman magmamahal ng iba kung mahal mo talaga yung una.”

11. “Hindi porke’t madalas mong ka-chat, kausap sa telepono, kasama sa mga lakad o ka-text ng wantusawa eh may gusto sayo at magkakatuluyan kayo. Meron lang talagang mga taong sadyang friendly, sweet, flirt, malandi, pa-fall o paasa.”

12. “Huwag magmadali sa lalaki o babae. Tatlo, lima, sampung taon, mag-iiba ang pamantayan mo at maiisip mong hindi pala tamang pumili ng kapareha dahil lang maganda o nakaka----- ito. Totoong mas mahalaga ang kalooban ng tao higit sa anuman. Sa paglipas ng panahon, maging ang mga crush ng bayan nagmumukha ding pandesal, maniwala ka."

13. “Minsan kahit ikaw ang nakaschedule, kailangan mo pa rin maghintay, kasi hindi ikaw ang priority.”

14. “Mahirap pumapel sa buhay ng tao. Lalo na kung hindi ikaw yung bida sa script na pinili nya.”

15. “Alam mo ba kung gaano kalayo ang pagitan ng dalawang tao pag nagtalikuran na sila? Kailangan mong libutin ang buong mundo para lang makaharap ulit ang taong tinalikuran mo.”

16. “Mas mabuting mabigo sa paggawa ng isang bagay kesa magtagumpay sa paggawa ng wala."

17. “Hindi lahat ng kaya mong intindihin ay katotohan, at hindi lahat ng hindi mo kayang intindihin ay kasinungalingan."

18. “Kung nagmahal ka ng taong di dapat at nasaktan ka, wag mong sisihin ang puso mo. Tumitibok lang yan para mag-supply ng dugo sa katawan mo. Ngayon, kung magaling ka sa anatomy at ang sisisihin mo naman ay ang hypothalamus mo na kumokontrol ng emotions mo, mali ka pa rin! Bakit? Utang na loob! Wag mong isisi sa body organs mo ang mga sama ng loob mo sa buhay! Tandaan mo: magiging masaya ka lang kung matututo kang tanggapin na hindi ang puso, utak, atay o bituka mo ang may kasalanan sa lahat ng nangyari sayo, kundi IKAW mismo!”

19. “Pakawalan mo yung mga bagay na nakakasakit sa iyo kahit na pinasasaya ka nito. Wag mong hintayin ang araw na sakit na lang ang nararamdaman mo at iniwan ka na ng kasiyahan mo.”

20. “Gamitin ang puso para alagaan ang mga taong malalapit sa iyo. Gamitin ang utak para alagaan ang sarili mo.”

21. “Ang pag-ibig parang imburnal…nakakatakot mahulog…at kapag nahulog ka, it’s either by accident or talagang tanga ka.”

La Salle - Ateneo

I wrote an article for DLSU’s first game of the season however, seeing that I could sum it up in one sentence, I opted not to post it anymore. "DLSU was playing larong buko". I watched the second game and maybe I can do a different critique but again I saw the same larong buko plays. The next few games were very interesting as the team finally showed some potential. The last game against Adamson was disappointing and that I'll file under "Experience".

Ateneo - La Salle games are always entertaining. This season, Ateneo is fielding a strong championship caliber team while DLSU is filled with members from he RP Youth team, veterans who play like rookies and actual rookies.

Studio 23 gave their keys to winning for DLSU but I think it's too general and I'll opt to write my own keys to winning the game:

- Bader Malabes: Play him the first 5 minutes and turn him loose. Let him do what he wants but if he plays the way he has been playing the past few games (jumpshots that look like dead ducks, silly turnovers and just poor decision making on the floor), send him to the locker room and tie him up to a chair.

- Peejay Barua: Use him off the bench immediately. We need to know immediately if he’s hot. If he’s not, bring him back to the bench and use him only to check if Bader is still tied up and if he needs to eat, drink or go to the bathroom.

- James Mangahas: Fake a freak injury for him and so it's "unfortunate" he won't be able to play. Let's say a dog bit him in the leg and the arm. If ever, La Salle gets an excuse for losing (which no one from La Salle will believe) while Mangahas gets an excuse for playing like he has an arm and leg injury. Win-win!

- Press for 40 minutes. You know Ateneo will eat us up in the half court anyway. Have one guy back, either Andrada the pogo stick or Ferdinand who's now known by just a singular name "Ferdinand"... ala Madonna.

- Guard Rabeh with single coverage against Andrada. Sure he’ll score, let him go wild. Concentrate on guarding the shooters and boxing out for the defensive rebound. He's good but I don't see him exploding for 50.

- Play the rookies more. They wouldn't have the jitters anymore since this is the second game right? Besides, we're playing more for next season and they need the experience. If we lose this game, the more minutes they played, the more experience they'll learn.

Q1 7:00 - Ateneo sprints to an 8-0 lead. La Salle calls a timeout and brings in… Bader “The Heart Attack” Malabes. Maybe he'll have a good game! Maybe he'll be today's savior! He drives and causes a quick turnover.

Psst! Peejay! The rope's behind the cooler! *wink*

Q1 6:00 - Webb goes in for a fast break layup for the first basket for La Salle which was off a full court press turnover. Just a layup? No... fist pumping or screaming? Just a plain old humble two point layup?

Q1 4:30 - Managahas bricked a three then La Salle brings in Yutien Andrada. I hate to be mean especially to a La Salle player but I swear I saw him in Men In Black. I'd love to bring him to a kindergarden class and have the kids draw him and I bet they'll get him right. He looks... ok fine, I'll stop now but I still have a million of these jokes.

Q1 1:50 - Maui Villanueva with his newly shaved head hit back to back jumpers. Have you noticed that the La Salle wins were always behind someone who was having a breakout game of the season? Bringas was the guy against UST. Marata was the guy against UP. Webb was the guy against Ateneo. For the next possession, let him shoot! I don't care if he has Baclao on him! Pass him the ball and let him shoot!

End of Q1 - Malabes throws up a brick. The rivers continued to flow and the moon continued to rotate around the Earth. Yep, no surprise there.

Q2 8:30 - Maui hits a scoop layup. I’m telling you, give him the ball and get out of his way! The next play? Malabes threw a three point shot that misses everything… oh wait, was that Barua? Sorry Bader, force of habit.

Q2 7:00 - “Grawp” Monfort hits a three and La Salle, now down by 10 calls a timeout. During the break, I saw for the first time that new Greenwich “at kung kailangan mo ako” commercial. Fun-ee!

Q2 6:00 - Mangahas hits a running jumper. Finally, he opted not to throw up another clanker. Will we see this play again? I doubt. I hope Studio 23 uses that weird "zoom" feature in replays to show Mangahas' dog bite injuries.

Q2 5:00 - Marata enters the game and immediately hits a three off a curl. I like this kid. He should get more attempts in this game but I'm guessing the next play will be Malabes killing another lizard.

Q2 3:50 - Kish Co hits a set shot. Four things I’d love to see in the court again: someone who shoots a set shot, someone who shoots a sky hook, someone who wears short shorts and someone who shoots an underhanded free throw.

Q2 2:00 - Salamat gets a steal and finishes with a layup. He salutes the Ateneo crowd. Yep, that was a good steal. Was that a taunt? Nah, he’s just a guy having a good time. Ateneo fans love it, DLSU fans hate it and thse always keeps the game interesting.

Q2 1:30 - Webb hits a layup and gets a foul. He salutes the Ateneo crowd and hits the and 1 free throw. Dirty? Nope. Illegal? Nope. Jerk? Yeah but I’d try anything to get the crowd going. La Salle’s starting to get buried. If I’m Ateneo and I want to get even, tell Baclao to guard him and if he gets a block, go ahead and salute Webb. Think about it, the Salamat salute makes the game interesting. The Webb salute makes you want to watch the game live so you can experience the reaction from the fans.

End of Q2 - Bringas hoists a three and again bricks it. I don’t think anyone from La Salle except for Marata has hit a three. In this case, I think it’s a still good play for now. Again, La Salle is a rebuilding team against the bigger, faster and more experienced defending champions. La Salle can only beat Ateneo by sheer luck or a really really hot player. Villanueva looked good. Marata, Barua and Webb are having decent games. Andrada is still that long freak. I’d ask Malabes to stay in the locker room and play Mafia Wars for now. Bringas can join him. At this point, I’d take out my secret play for the game: I’ll bring out Ritualo, have him wear a wig and a fake beard, give him Malabes’ jersey and tell him he can play but he has to shoot overhead.

Q3 9:00 - Salamat hits a scoop layup. Crafty guy... really crafty.

Q3 8:00 - “Malabes” barrels into Rabeh and gets a foul. Good play Ren Re… er… Bader!

Q3 6:00 - Ateneo is now scoring at will. Where's La Salle's defense? I see the press but it's turned down to just the first gear. Half hearted traps and no third guy to rattle the pass. Ugh.

Q3 5:00 - Salamat hits a jumper, gets a steal and passes off to Rabeh for an easy 2. Ateneo is now in cruise mode and are now just having fun.

Q3 4:00 - Bringas gets a warning for trash talking. I wonder how "trash talking" is defined in the league. Did he use a swear word? Did he tell Rabeh he sucks? Did he tell Baclao he thought he was Andrada? (maybe that merited the warning).

Q3 2:00 - Rabeh throws the ball to the La Salle crowd. It was a few feet above Monfort and it was thrown like a 99 mph fast ball. It didn't even dive down. Ouch!

End of Q3 - Now’s the time you adjust the goals for the game. Will La Salle still win this? Unlikely. I say we bring the rookies for experience. I have no idea what Bringas is doing. He has three points and a couple of turnovers and he’s trash talking. I’m ok with the on court chit chat but only if you have the game to back it up with. As for the rest of the team, if you’re going down, go down fighting.

One more quick note for Bringas - wasn't he supposed to be a talented low post player? I didn't follow him in high school but he's billed as a low post / banger / rebounder player. What the heck is he doing on the outside throwing threes?

Q4 8:00 - Marata hits another three to bring down the lead to 13. The next plays are: Bringas forcing a shot then Bringas throwing the ball away. Apparently, whatever bug Bader had, Bringas sure caught it. Good thing Pumaren quickly took him out.

Q4 6:00 - La Salle calls a timeout for its final push. I’d bring in Marata, Barua, Andrada, Villanueva and Webb. Pumaren brought in: Marata, Mangahas, Webb, Villanueva and... Bader? First play, the commentator goes “Malabes throws… something”. It’s not even defined as a shot anymore.

Q4 5:00 - Ateneo hits another three and they’re just having fun. I think Rabeh’s on the court now with a cellphone and is tweeting as he's playing. He looks bored.

Q4 4:00 - The scorer’s table calls a timeout. It’s an official’s timeout. Bringas was brought in to replace an injured Mangahas. I told you James, you should have faked an injury earlier. I hope it's nothing serious though.

Where’s Malabes? Put him in! At least we’ll write something tomorrow! Oh wait, Bringas just threw up another airball. Never mind Bader, go back to the bench. Bringas is our recipient of the “Bader Malabes” hayop ka award.

Q4 2:00 - La Salle is now in full desperation mode however, they missed two easy layups. Bringas is back in? He gets an offensive rebound and misses everything. If you're that big and that close to the basket, aren't you even to accidentally hit the rim or something?

Whatever Pumaren tried today, it sure didn't work. Ateneo wins big time and sends the Archers to its third straight loss as it battles UST and UE for the final four slot (where they will automatically be first round fodder).

I've been watching the UAAP and cheering for La Salle for the past few years and honestly, this is the first time I'll say I can't wait for our veterans to graduate. I'm telling you, Malabes' graduation picture will symbolize a new era and hope for us all. *Sigh*

ABL Game 6

It's the last game of the season and it's a pretty major game - we win, we're automatically in the playoffs but if we lose, we could either slip down to #3 or we would have played our last game of the season. Looking back at the season, I say the team's performing really really well especially now that we're getting a good player back and the team is starting to gel as a team. Given that it's a big game, again I'm not expecting anything in terms of playing time. I expected to just suit up, warm up, support the team and be ready for anything.

The game started really slow as both benches were virtually empty. The opponent had a bigger problem when one player had a dislocated shoulder and had to be rushed to the hospital. The game picked up in the second quarter when our best lineup came in and built a big lead. During the third quarter, they managed to trim down the lead but in the fourth quarter, our best lineup again put the game away with hustle and effort. It wasn't an exciting win but it was happy nontheless.

This was the first game where I had full game video clips. Jaye took a video of the game while I was in during the second and third quarters.

I realized I was a lot slower than I expected. I had no idea I looked this terrible running up and down the court. It was horrible watching me run up and down the court... slower, then slower, then slower... I showed the clip to my nephew and even he grew tired just watching me job up and down.

My jumpshot has mutated into a weird catapult, overhead heave-ho. I used to take pride in my jump shot which I reengineered a few years back. I watched the clip over and over again and wondered why I was trebuchet-ing the basketball (and short rimming all shots). I think this is the reason why I've only made one basket the whole season (I'm counting the bricks I throw during warm up as well). I guess when you're not in shape, all mechanics just go out the window. So wait, are you keeping score? (1) slow, (2) butt ugly jump shot.

This was my first multi-rebound game. I had three! These weren't those gimme lucky rebounds that just happened to fall in front of you but real hard earned ones. My first rebound was a snatch rebound. I turned quickly and sprinted down the court ala Shawn Marion. This was the video that my nephews absolutely loved. Was it because I went coast to coast, got the bucket and a foul? Nah. It was because after a great rebound, I sprinted down the court and got winded out just after crossing the half court. If I had a fuel gauge you would see it move from "F" to "E" in just 5 seconds. After crossing half court, I couldn't run anymore and I ended up flicking the ball to Fred. My nephews had a great laugh watching me tire out right before their very eyes like a butter melting in a very hot pan.

There was another play that drew a big laugh off my nephews. Djigs and I were sprinting down the court for a fast break. There were two defenders. I was looking at Djigs and begged him not to throw the ball. Remember Fred back in our 3rd game?

Djigs threw me the ball.

Ok fine, three things I didn't want to happen - (1) trip over the ball, (2) dribble the ball of my foot and (3) go up for a shot without the ball.... again.

After getting the ball, I pivoted and drove right against the defender. I rose up for an off balanced jump shot.

The ball sailed a foot off the left side of the rim and hit barely the bottom of the board. Drat, that would have been the 4th thing I didn't want to happen.

Also showed this clip which could have been my first block of the season. Their big guy came barrelling towards me and I threw my hands up - both of them landed cleanly on the ball and it got knocked out of his hands. The referee saw the play, looked at me, thought that "there was no way this guy who couldn't even jump could ever record a block", blew the whistle and called me for a foul. I didn't protest or flail my arms as it could merit a technical foul. I just stomped the court like a stubborn little girl. THAT looked funny on video.

More idiotic things I did:
- Sprinting down the court while everyone was walking (talk about wasting energy)
- Bricking all jumpshots
- Threw my first turnover of the season. A grandma-esque pass which was so slow, I wasn't even sure it would have reached my teammate even if no one touched it. It was easily intercepted.
- I muffed two rebounds.

Lastly, I looked lost on offense as I found myself in all wrong offensive positions. Come to think of it, is there a right offensive position for me? I'm too short for the low post, I'm too slow to drive to the basket and I'm bricking all jumpshots. I ended up being "the wall".

"The Wall"? Is it because of my great defensive play wherein no matter could get through me? Hardly. I was "The Wall" because all passes to me I almost immediately passed back. I had no business in offense and I didn't want to mess up the game by going 0-10 where none of my jumpshots were close. I don't have my drive anymore. I don't even have my 2 patented weapons anymore (my bread and butter during college). The best thing I could do is pass the ball back and get out of the way.

I think it's a good upgrade. I was a traffic cone in the last game. Now I'm an inanimate wall. Next week maybe I could be a plant or something.

I'm working on those weapons again and checking how my knee responds. If given the opportunity, I'll try it during game time. Maybe I could skip all inanimate objects and get upgraded to a baboon in a basketball uniform. =)

Thanks Tita Cory

It's a sad for the Philippines as we say thanks and good bye to an icon of democracy in the Philippines. Now, I'll be honest - I wasn't here during the time of Marcos and Martial Law. I was too young to care about politics when I was young and so I don't have that deep appreciation of what Cory or even Ninoy did for the Philippines like what my older friends have.

I'm really more affected in the fact that as we lay Cory Aquino to rest, there are no others who would command such respect and honor from the Filipino people.

I don't see anyone else who would get showered with confetti along Makati.

I don't see anyone who would receive condolences from the white house and the other world leaders.

I don't see anyone who would get condolences from the Pope.

I don't see anyone who would unite the Filipino people this way.

I don't see anyone who rightfully should be on a Philippine bank note.

I was pondering on that last point and I've wondered if Cory should get her own note or if she should be included in the 500 bill with Ninoy. I say she should appear in the 500 bill.

On the lighter side, I just found out Erap is on the Php 2000 bill. No, really: http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/banknotes_comsale.asp Scroll down to the 1998 Commemorative Note.

On an even lighter side, look at what the Manila Bulletin printed:

ABL Game 5

(cue slow motion effect)

4th quarter. Our ball with just seconds remaining in the game.

Sonn grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to me on the left side of the free throw line.

I pulled up for a jumpshot.

The ball bounced off the side of the rim, then off the back of the rim.

Then it went in.

The whole bench was shouting and jumping. Sonn ran towards me and gave me a big chest bump. The crowd was shouting and cheering. Jaye was applauding with a big smile on her face. I faced the bench, raised my fists in triumph and let out a big "YEAAAHHHH!!!"

Game over! We win! Our season continues!

Well, we were already up by 19 at that time and it was already garbage time. The team starters were already resting as they've given the bench players some more playing time. After going 0-7 in the leveling game and 0-5 for the entire season, I finally got my first basket of the season.

Hence my nickname "The Human Victory Cigar". If there are players who can provide instant offense or instant defense, I was the one who could provide instant entertainment. I think every team has this token guy off the bench for this purpose. It's like the modern day Dodot Jaworski.

Plug them in the game during garbage time and you get your icing on the cake. In my case, you never know what I'll probably do next. Hit a three pointer? Lose a rebound off my head? Trip by myself? Gets fouled and hits a free throw?

I actually enjoy the role of being "Mr Instant Entertainment". As a photographer or a lead singer or a team lead or any other role I played, I have never ever generated this much applause.

Actually, I first entered the game in the second quarter and I quickly went to the floor after someone barrelled me over, elbowing me in the gut. Ouch. I fell to the floor and tried to get up quickly. I was too dazed since I was hurt in the play. It felt like someone threw a body shot at me, it felt like getting hit with a bat, it felt like watching DLSU's first 2 games (yes, that painful). I continued to play on and even got a decent shot attempt - the defender bit on a shot fake and I drove in for a spot up jumper which clanked out.

Of course no sequence is complete without me muffing YET ANOTHER REBOUND. This was off an airball that bounced off the board, through my arms and onto the defenders hands. I did get an official rebound in the game though when a missed jumpshot just happened to drop in front of me. I guess just by standing around the rim, you're bound to get these "accidental" rebounds.

I had trouble breathing on this game though since I had flu like symptoms just 2 days before the game. I played another minute in the 3rd quarter and I let Don yank me out since they were going for the winning run then. It was also the time when the opponent started pressing and since I couldn't run, it was an automatic bench ride for me. Overall the team played really really great. Everyone had an extra spring on their steps.

By the time the fourth quarter came, we were already up big time and Fritzie from the spectator stands was shouting to put me in. The opponent called a timeout and Don obliged by inserting the bench players.

Bert got a rebound and ran a fast break with Ferdie and Sonn which was then I realized that we were the "round" lineup. If there's a fastbreak lineup or a tall lineup, we were the round lineup since all of us were on the chubby side. That play set up my jumpshot and with the win, we got pizza the next day instead of the usual donuts.

I hope in our next game we get a chance to light up ole "VC" again. Maybe he does something more than a jumpshot. Maybe he goes for a *shudder* layup! Maybe we get the "space ball" tear drop shot again!

Graffiti

It's the usual morning rush and I again was stuck in traffic along Ortigas. I was so bored that I started not only noticing the graffiti on the wall but actually reading them. I hate to sound like an old coot but I was surprised with what kids were writing about these days.

I've seen lots and lots of graffiti back then behind toilet doors, cement walls, all around school and just about anywhere you can carve or write on. Graffiti for me can be categorized into the following: a romantic statement, a name or symbol of a group or organization, a message for the people or your "street" name.

Then I found this







cutie is cute? Gagoy is cute? Zengky is cute? JR is cute?

Your street name is "Gagoy"?!?

You're replacing the letter "S" with a "6"? You're placed eyes on the letter "U" to make it a smiley face?

What next? "Pay your taxes"? "I drink milk before I sleep"? "Bananas are good sources of potassium"? "Flowers are pretty"?

Kids these days...

ABL Game 4

The loss in our previous game placed our season against the ropes as another loss would mean elimination and a whole lot of garbage time up ahead. Game 4 came and we were again faced with a dangerous team and a dangerous player.

Big games usually mean small minutes for me and I've already embraced my role in the team. I can't run and I can't jump. Usually my shooting is my saving grace but I've been 0-3 so far for the season with 2 airballs and this doesn't include the 0-7 mess I made during the leveling games.

The game started well until Charlie picked up 2 quick fouls prompting them to put me in waaaaaaay ahead of time. I had to play forward, a position I've never placed since I was 12. I was surprisingly running fast in this game as I found myself running with the team during fast breaks. There were no knee pains as well. I guess my rehab sessions were paying off.

I muffed three rebounds - giving them up as offensive rebounds. I absolutely have little skill on rebounds and boxing out. Ugh, even a traffic cone would have gotten an offensive rebound off me.

I had fouls and all of them were hard, aggressive, playoff type fouls. The first was an illegal pick when I decked the opponent. This one I didn't understand since he rammed into me. The second pick was a hard hack in which I hoped I take out the guy's thumb and the third one was when their best player drove past by me and took a jumpshot behind me. He jumped up really high and I can't block it so I grabbed his forearms and brought him back down. Foul, fine but at he wasn't getting any three point plays off me.

Then came the funniest play of the game. Fred and I were the two guards in the game on defense. Fred got a steal and I sprinted to our basket. Fred threw me the ball and I found myself driving to the basket against their two defenders. I took the ball to the free throw line and was about to take a jump shot. I took one last dribble and elevated for the shot.

The ball slipped out of my hands as the ball just harmlessly went into the defender's hands.

I was charged with a turnover but Fred should have been fined for giving me the ball on a fast break.

The game also had my first true statistic. Fred got an offensive rebound and saw me behind the three point line. He passed the ball to me but I saw a wide open team mate on the wing. I shovel passed the ball to him and he casually drained a three pointer. He ran back and shouted "nice pass". Hmmm, that was one of the ugliest passes in the game (I don't think anyone passes the ball underhand anymore) and it was a no brainer pass since there was no defender. I thought about it and realized that "nice pass" actually meant "thanks for passing the ball instead of hoisting up another airball". The fact that the game went into overtime proved that he was right. Djigs had a very good fast break that led to a three point play.

Jong and Don took over in overtime and eventually we won the big game. My knees were fine but this time were thighs were so stiff. I was one full court sprint away from getting cramps. I was kneeling down on the bench and was grasping Jaye's arm as the pain just spread on the entire leg. I gulped down he rest of my Gatorade and a few minutes later I was well enough to walk.

I finished with 0 points, 1 assist, 0 rebounds and three fouls. I was 0-1 from the field (yes, they counted that free throw gaffe as an "attempt"). At least I was running harder and faster in this game. This was the first game as well where I didn't beg to be taken out due to exhaustion. There's another game in just a little over a week and there's a ton of preparations up ahead.

The Quick Gray Rat Jumped Over the Fat Man and His Lazy Dog

It was a weekday and I was done with work for the day. I love that small window between the time you actually fall asleep and after you complete all your tasks (work and nonwork) for the day. That's when my brain stops thinking and goes to auto-pilot. I hate thinking about stuff during that time anyway. I would sometimes read magazines or listen to my iPod but on this night, I decided to play with my PSP.

I was playing Patapon while sitting on my bed when this big rat jumped on my shoulder out of nowhere! It yelped out an "eek!" and disappeared under one of my boxes. I yelped out an "eek!" as well albeit it was a lot more manlier that the rat's.

I stood up and checked where it would have gone to. There was no sign of Mr. Jumpy Rat. I needed help so I took my chihuahua Hershey and brought her to my room. Hershey licked my hand then slept on my bed. Damn lazy dog.

There was a rat under the table and the dog's now sleeping on my bed. I ended up sleeping on the couch outside. Like I said, I hate thinking.

ABL Game 3

Just a recap, we've now had 3 games in the basketball league in our company. I missed the 1st game because I had a conference call. I played in the 2nd game but I really didn't do anything except run back and forth and launch an airball from a very goofy angle.

The third game came and I wasn't as giddy anymore. It was just like any other game for me and I was actually feeling better this time because my physical rehab has been coming along well. We were up against a good team and so I know I'll probably play during garbage time or not at all. The game was your usual game and we eventually lost since they were just that good.

I got to enter the game once in the second quarter and I started the fourth quarter. I played a total of four minutes and it was the usual game for me - I run back and forth, wave my arms like an idiot and shoot the occassional airball. I finished 0-2 with one airball and one foul. Three interesting incidents though:

- I played forward in this game which means I had to rebound. The opponent took a shot and missed. As soon as it hit the rim, I jumped and severely mistimed the rebound. I'm not sure what happened, maybe I thought I was seven feet or I was playing NBA Live.

- I was battling for a rebound with this tall guy. The fatso that I am, I do my rebound battles on the ground by shoving you. If it becomes a jumping contest, I'm the last guy on the team you want for that. Tall guy jumps and gets a rebound while I pathetically jump and try to swipe it from him. I didn't reach the ball (hey, I couldn't even reach his elbows). I got called for the foul and I complained to the ref that I couldn't even jump and touch the guy, how could that be a foul?

- Funny sequence: we scored so I ran back on defense. After crossing midcourt, we stole the ball so I ran back. They missed the layup and I ran back on defense again. We quickly got the ball back and everyone ran for a quick offense. I was already panting and wheezing at that time. After we scored again I ran back as fast as I can on defense and went into position complete with the textbook defensive stance. I looked for my teammates and they were... on the bench drinking water? They called a time out and I was alone in the court looking like an idiot.

Jaye arrived during the fourth quarter. Good thing she was able to catch up since she had a conference call as well that night. I was already done though and I've loosened up my shoes and my knee braces. Jaye was standing beside Des who's the girlfriend of our team's best player, Don. On the court, Don was sprinting down the court, eludes two defenders off the dribble and finished with a contested reverse lay up. Everyone cheered as he ran back. Everyone was watching this guy while Jaye was watching this other guy on the bench who's highlight of the quarter was drinking a liter of Gatorade and going to the rest room every other timeout. It made me realize more how lucky I am.

Hot Be Careful

Here's another interesting picture. Wendy's has this small booth downstairs and they've recycled their materials for other products. With this, it was my first to end up a frosty that was "Hot, be careful"

Thai Take Out Food

I love Thai food even those that come from take out boxes. It's just a bit awkward ordering take out from somewhere called "Thai in a Box" because face it, not all people will pronounce "Thai" properly.

Punch Out!

ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy ohboy!!!

There are three (so far) Wii games I’m looking forward to this year. One of them just arrived today in the Philippines, it's now distributed by the local software shop and it’s now reserved under my name *ultra big smile*

Remember this guy?


Yup, that's King Hippo and he's from the old Punch Out game for NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Man, did I love this game. I played this a lot with my childhood chums while it was still too hot out to go biking, play patintero or to play in nearby construction sites, particularly the sand mountains.

There were other family computer games that are close to my heart but Mike Tyson’s Punch Out is one of the closest (it’s right there with Twin Bee, Contra, Ice Climber, Jackal, Adventure Island, Double Dragon and my ultimate favorite: Mario 3). The family computer was one of the defining things in my generation which one would automatically belong as to if you knew "up up down down left right left right B A B A" and what it did.

I had a big rush of nostalgia back in 2007 when I was assigned to Chicago. I was bored one day and stumbled upon an old NES emulator application and a site where I can download some old roms. Punch Out was one of the things I looked for right away and playing it again after so long felt so happy. I was still rusty though and I had trouble playing it through a keyboard and even old Piston Honda (the level 3 opponent) put me down. I felt like a kid again.

A few months ago, I caught this ad while watching Red Sox clips online announcing that Punch Out will be making its return to the Wii gaming platform after so many years. I was just sooooo happy happy happy happy. *ultra big smile again*

Eventually, the game was released in the US and I was eager for it to arrive in the Philippines. I frequented the nearby software shop from my place but they didn’t carry it. They didn’t even know what it was. Over a month has past and still nothing, not even a peep. I was getting worried since I know I’m probably part of a small population that buys original games and it’s possible that not all games would make it here to Manila.

If it will come, it will come and true enough it did.

I called the shop again to ask about a different game (Grand Slam Tennis) and they said it was just recently released and it will probably take weeks before it arrives… “but oh, Punch Out’s available now, would you like to reserve one?”.

“ummm... ok”

Now define coincidence. That software shop is just beside the shop Jaye and I will be dropping by later (we’ll be getting some drivers for our laptop). That plus, it's a holiday tomorrow.

Oh happy day. =)

CG3 vs GT Towers

That's the Cybergate 3 building on the left. GT Tower is on the right.

When I was a new hire, I was assigned first to the PSE building where I took my training. After a month, I was assigned to 6750 then to MSE then eventually to GT Towers where I stayed for almost 5 years. Last month, we packed our rolling bins and went to Robinson's Cybergate 3 in Mandaluyong. I'm still try to get used to life A.G.T (after GT) and I can't help but compare the last 2 offices I've worked in. Which one's better?

Office ambiance
Let’s start from the outside. GT is found right smack in the middle of Makati. Working in Makati gives you the same sense as working downtown (in the US) where all the big businesses are based. Look outside the window and you'll see PBCom (the tallest building in the Philippines) and RCBC (one of the most modern buildings in the Philippines). Look at the office directory and you'll notice you share the building with other major international companies.

Look outside CG and you’ll see a regular office building (Globe). On the other side, there's the Pasig river and a construction site where shirtless workers play basketball every afternoon. While some businesses are near CG, suddenly I don’t feel as big as before. Knowing that you share the building with local businesses doesn't help either.

CG3 is also known for thefts. We get stories of items being stolen from the desks and even from inside the bins. Sad isn't it?

If I stand up, I see people working side by side like in a factory assembly line or an internet cafe. There are barely any decorations and the pantry is small. There’s also just one microwave oven so you need to fall in line early. Toilets are ok if you’re a guy since there are two on each side. There’s only one ladies’ room, go figure. Conference rooms are the same but CG3 has these huddle rooms for small meetings.

Working in GT is like driving my mom's car. It's clean, it's nice, there's a CD collection on the visors and the car stereo gives justice to the good music I listen to. Working in CG is like driving my dad's car. There are newspapers, shoes and clothes in the backseat. There are onions below the seat. The radio barely works and the inside smells like old socks. Yes, it takes you where you want to go but there are days when the rolling onions aren't really funny anymore.

Advantage: GT

Stores and Restaurants
GT boasts the 12th floor “Food and Art Galerie”. Being a photographer, I love it when they hold exhibits because the entries are really good. The cafeteria has a variety of snack stands and big booths. While I like the food they serve, the prices are high since a normal meal would cost 80-100 bucks. They also have a single booth for drinks and they really jack up the prices. How can they serve mocha fraps that are almost as expensive as Starbucks?

CG3 has this dinky cafeteria in the ground floor. It has small booths that serve decent food. They’re pretty much unknown except for Country Style Donuts and Wendy’s. There are also some small restaurants up front and they all serve relatively cheap food. There’s also a mall 15 minutes away you can go to in case you're suddenly craving for KFC's famous bowls.

So who wins? Both have nearby Ministop stores. Both are within walking distance from a Starbucks and a McDonald's. CG3 though has rumors of rat related stories and there are some people who refused to eat downstairs and wouldn't tell why. Let's put it this way, if I told you there were rats in GT, would you think I'm lying?

Me neither.

Advantage: CG3. I'm gave a minus point to GT for all those Fitness First agents that harrassed me but I gave it plus points since it was somewhat near to a Jollibee. Hmmm, maybe that's why they harrassed me.

Amenities
GT had a Metrobank machine in the 12th floor and in the ground floor. GT is beside a BPI which has this ATM machine that has that automated cash deposit. GT is also beside Cityland where Jaye pays her apartment fees. GT is also closer to Jaye’s apartment so we can have lunches over there. There’s also a nearby camera shop where I buy my stuff so it’s easy to head out there during lunch breaks. On the business side, everything’s there however on the leisure side, it’s close to zilch unless you love shopping at Book Sale.

CG3 doesn’t have a Metrobank machine. CG3 doesn’t have that fancy BPI ATM booth. It’s close to a mall so you can buy there all the small items you need (Mercury Drugstore, grocery, department store, National bookstore, etc…). There’s a big badminton court beside CG3 (though I haven’t been there).

Advantage: CG3. I’m really a mall kind of guy and I’ve been itching to play badminton again with Jaye.

Parking
GT charges 130 per day. CG3 charges 80 per 12 hours (then 10 bucks per hour afterwards). The backup for GT is RCBC while the backup for CG3 is CG2 and the mall parking. Space is scarce though since the parking space in CG3 is full by 8:30am compare to 10:30am in GT.

Advantage: CG3. The lack of parking space made me come in earlier and I guess that’s a good thing. The weird spiral ramp also gives me a chance to work on my drifting skills.

Location
Let me put it this way. Travel time to GT: 1.5 hours. Travel time to CG3: 30-45 minutes. That's almost one hour less battling with EDSA buses, FX drivers and less strain on my knee stepping on the clutch. I also don't miss Makati's weird one way streets.

Advantage: CG3… by a mile.

My Final Verdict:

Cybergate 3. Location and distance were major categories but I'm going with CG3 since Jaye's here as well. =)

The Comeback (Sort Of)

It’s nice to be back on the basketball court with my uniform and my sneakers on for my first game since my major injury. Is it a coincidence that I’m playing on the court (sort of) where I last played tournament basketball 5 years ago?

There are a lot of things that have changed.

5 years ago, I wore my red And1 basketball shoe, my only red shoe at that time. Last night, I wore my second ever red shoe – my Nike Air Zoom Kobe IV.

5 years ago, I wore a thigh sleeve. Last night, I wore metal knee braces on both knees.

5 years ago, I wore a headband to keep sweat off my eyes since I had very short hair. Last night, I wanted to wear a headband to keep my hair off my eyes (but didn’t since my white headband didn’t go with the rest of the uniform).

5 years ago, I’m the scorer type – running fast breaks, hitting open three’s and harassing dribblers. Last night, I was on the post setting screens and just jumping around senselessly. I couldn't shoot anymore and I couldn't even last long on the court with my poor stamina.

5 years ago, well, I was 20 pounds lighter and I wasn’t undergoing rehab then. I’m still in stage 2 of my rehab which means I can have limited lateral movement and I can sprint in bursts. Still a long ways to go but then, it’s a long season.

My stats last night – 10 minutes, 1 assist, 2 fouls and one wild tear drop that barely grazed the rim. We won by 16. My knees were already numb, my foot was giving out, my ankles were screaming and my thigh felt like it was poked with syringes. The pain’s there but I never really felt it and I still had a big smile.

5 years ago, I was alone in these games. I lost games alone. I won games alone. This time, Jaye’s on my side and I almost pity her since she’s cheering for the worst and fattest player on the court. Last night, I've never been so happy playing this game after 5 long years.

Analyzing Idol

That, I never saw that coming.

Nothing against Kris (though I’ve been giving Ria, my Kris Allen fanatic friend, a hard time on this), but I called this to be heavily in favor of Adam Lambert and boy was I wrong. I even considered how the votes from the female population would swing given that Kris is the “FOGI” (as Ria would say) boy next door while Adam is the… well, flamboyant one. So why did he lose (from my point of view)?

- The finale song “No Boundaries” just reeked. There wasn’t anything you can do about it. The lyrics were sappy and the tune was just plain weird.
- Adam’s studio records were inferior to his live performances. It’s also tough to sing Adam Lambert songs.
- He was the judges’ pet. AI was actually renamed by some to the “Adam Lambert Show” sensing it was an easy win and this cost votes.
- Maybe America just isn’t ready for a gay (as in really gay) idol.

Either way, despite my best bet losing in the 2nd to the last round, I still think this is one of the best seasons ever. =)

It's Idol Season

Jaye and I love idol season. Last year we were big David Cook fans and we were so happy he won the whole thing.

This year, Jaye picked Danny Gokey to win the whole thing in the episode where he auditioned for Idol. His audition episode – that’s when she first saw the guy. She really has an ear for singing skills. She also had a second pick – Adam Lambert but he’s a distant second since he barged into the competition with a punk rock reputation. Jaye’s not into those. I on the other hand cannot differentiate a guy singing in tune from a guy snoring. I didn’t even have a pick early in the season.

Now the competition is down to 5. Danny Gokey had a strong performance from “Rat Pack” week. I was going with Danny as well when the top 13 was introduced but I was keeping an eye on Adam. I remember his first few performances were all screaming and shrieking but if he can pull off a slow ballad he’d be my bet to win the whole thing. I want Danny to win the whole thing but I think this will be Adam’s year because he can hit a note that only he could reach (and only a few dogs could hear). All he has to do is find a way to use this note in his arrangement and it’s a sure hit. He could sing the Seiko wallet theme song and still win a Grammy. What I love in this season is the depth of the competition.

Last year, it was a 2 horse race between the two Davids. This year, I think it will be a Danny – Adam finals with Kris Allen and that girl who looks like Ruby Rodriguez a perfect song away from an upset. That guy who thinks he’s Justin Timberlake? I think he’s going home.

Longing for the Tube

The Nokia 5800 aka the "Tube".



Don't you hate it when you want to buy something but you just can't seem to justify it?

I'm a big gadget freak but for some reason, I'm not a mobile phone kind of guy. I still do upgrades though as my current Nokia 6300 is actually my 6th phone however I always stray away from the high end ones.

Until now.

I first saw the Nokia 5800 when I bought a new charger at this phone store at the mall. I was fascinated by it and started to set aside a budget to purchase it. After a few weeks of analyzing and arguing with myself to buy it, I decided that this was an unnecessary purchase and that I should purchase some basic photography lighting equipment instead since I needed that more. I bought the lights and scrapped my plans for the 5800.

The phone seems to follow me everywhere still and now I'm considering purchasing it again.

The One Minute Manager Book Review

I was asked if I write. I said I kept a blog. They asked me to do a book review. I said writing a book review is different than posting blog entries. They insisted. I agreed to write the entry only if I write the whole thing my way. They agreed.

So one of the most unusual book reviews was finally written:

The One Minute Manager Book Review
by Arn

One must appreciate the beauty of working in such a competitive environment as it brings out the best in us in so many ways. To succeed, we must perform better than our peers. If they can close fifteen tickets in a day, you close twenty. If they deliver requests in four days, you deliver it in three. If it takes them three minutes to get coffee from the pantry, you get yours in two… you get the idea. It’s no wonder that most, if not all are willing to learn new tips and tricks to ease work and increase their productivity and efficiency.

Enter the One Minute Manager book written by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. It’s one of the most popular management and self improvement books around because its message is simple and it’s easy to read. The book tells a simple story about a young man and his search for the most effective manager which led him to a man they called the “One Minute Manager”. The One Minute Manager is not a wizard on a quest or a vampire who drives a Volvo but he’s this cool guy who has a simple strategy to get the most out of his people and keeping them happy at the same time. He’s not an autocratic manager who concentrates only in results or a democratic manager who looks out only for his people. He’s there right down the middle and his technique is further discussed in the book.

The book won’t bore you with complex philosophies, charts, calculations, catchy acronyms (as if we needed more) or any big words. It concentrates on three major concepts and how to use them effectively together: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praises and One Minute Reprimands – all of which are not really new to us in Accenture.

The book, apparently written by Captain Obvious explains that setting goals, commending and reprimanding people at the correct time are all important. A little too simple isn’t it?

If it’s so simple, why is the book such a big hit? Why do some companies have this as a mandatory reading material for all their leaders and managers? Personally, I believe it’s because most of us have over-analyzed our managing skills and have implemented complex changes to improve. The book reminds us some of the basics of managing, most of which we probably strayed away from. Think about it: do you set realistic short term goals or just say “to do my best and get promoted”? If someone did a good job, do you approach them right away to tell them or just IM them with an animated thank you smiley? After reprimanding someone, was it done in such a way that that someone walks back to his/her desk to do a better job or storms off to the 12th floor to smoke?

Sophisticated problems are mostly solved with very basic solutions – a powerful message from a short book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but my recommendation comes with a waiver. It’s a good read for everyone however I don’t recommend doing exactly what the One Minute Manager did in the story. You have to analyze why it worked for the One Minute Manager, analyze your own current situation and customize your own processes keeping in mind the basics discussed in the book. Remember, the book uses a generic setting with examples which can be applied to virtually any industry.

Again, the book can certainly improve your productivity and efficiency and can give you the edge you’ve wanted, unless of course everyone has read it which means you’ll need to check if someone has already written “The 20 Second Manager” (No, I checked and it doesn’t exist yet. Sorry.)

The Server Move Release

97 hours.

That’s how much work I logged last week alone. If you do the math, there are 168 hours in a week which means 57.7% of my time was spent on working. The remaining 42.3% would be for sleeping, eating, and driving to and from the office. This isn’t even counting the work I’m doing while stuck in traffic as I have my laptop with me on the passenger seat. This doesn’t even include the 3 additional hours I did last Sunday AFTER I passed my time charges at 7pm.

I wasn’t alone though as my entire technical architecture team – Jeff, James and Fred were all part of this. I told my team at the beginning that this particular week would have a reality show aura and I was dead right.

This is Jeff showing off his shirt. I took this picture when I took over the day shift on Sunday.



The whole experience (including the previous 2 weeks) brought out the best and the worst out of us. I saw emotion from people I’ve never seen before. I never saw people acted like this before and I guess stress has that effect on people.

What kind of work did we actually do? Well, we were moving our servers from Little Rock, Arkansas to Chicago, Illinois. Believe me, it's not as simple as it sounds. Even though we already drew up plans for these things, half the time we were scrambling for alternative solutions. We had to be creative enough to make MacGyver proud. The last two days – the actual deployment weekend were the worst days of the activity simply because none of us had any gas in our tanks left.

This was our team picture when the day shift team (me and Fred), relieved the night shift team (Jeff and James). Yes, I wore shorts to the office since they turned off the air conditioner and there weren't any fans around. To complete this outfit, I even wore my blue Crocs.



The good part about this? The project sponsored our food. I ordered this Yellow Cab pasta for lunch.



Sunday mid afternoon, I had a massive headache and I officially declared myself a zombie. I couldn't think anymore as all I could do was sleep on my desk. I also had a tummy ache and my back and my legs were all sore. I was in such a sour mood... until an angel dropped by to visit. Yep, Jaye dropped by to visit me and bring me drinks. I was so happy! My body aches were gone. Too bad she had to leave a few minutes later but her short visit made the difference that afternoon as that enabled me to finish the day strong.

Sunday midnight and we were done. We passed over the tasks to Chicago who will be finishing up the rest. We were all so beat up and stressed. Fred was bored while Jeffrey and James were stopping by the condo unit to rest up. I was walking to Jaye’s but then we decided to stay a couple of hours more in the condo unit to talk about what happened and to relax. Past experiences have told me never to sleep with too much on my mind and so I thought this was a good idea, I could spare an hour anyway. We picked up a couple of beers and hanged out.




We didn’t have any bottle openers though so each of us had to think of a way to open up the bottle.
Fred tried to open his with a spoon. (He did but got a gash on his finger).



James tried to open his with a knife.



And Jeff tried to open his with the side of a spoon. (He did and ALSO got a gash on his finger)



Me? The lead that I am, whoever opened his bottle used the same technique to open mine. What a great leader :P





My team (Jeff, me, Fred and James)

The Eclipse

A lunar penumbral eclipse.

Ok, I know “lunar” and “eclipse” but penumbral sounds like a part of your body. Oh, google it up (in simple terms: it’s a part of a shadow)

The Monday night skies were the stage for a lunar penumbral eclipse which is perfect to my newfound mission to take a really good shot of the moon this year. If you read my last moon entry, you’ll know how sentimental I get when staring at the moon so this day, I dragged Jaye along to take another moon picture.

The eclipse was scheduled from 8:30pm until just past midnight. I setup my tripod and my camera and looked up.

Clouds. Clouds. Clouds.

The clouds were so thick we didn’t even have an idea where the moon was.

We were looking up the rest of the night until eventually, we realized that the clouds looked so pretty and the light bounced off the moon had a cool effect. We took a picture of the clouds instead.

Starting The Year

2008 was a crazy year.

While it was generally a happy year full of love and laughter, it had its share of struggles and challenges. Life taught me a lot of things and I spent the final 2 weeks of the year figuring things out.

2009 came and it was time to change strategies. Instead of taking on the new year with resolutions and promises, I spent the entire month of January on the sidelines observing things and getting rid of bad habits. Before I introduce new habits, I have to get rid of the old ones. This time, I’m being more patient with myself.

I watched myself do things I usually do – observing my routines, how I deal with problems and constructed my overall pattern. Funny how that works though since I became ultra passive with my actions. I didn’t make any major decisions, I didn’t purchase expensive items, I didn’t have major activities. It was just one month spent resting, healing up, analyzing and strategizing. Heck, I didn't even post a single entry here.

Things have been weird with me doing things the way I normally don’t. The month ended and I didn’t know myself anymore.

I guess the plan worked and now I’m excited.

I plan to live all the days of my life from hereon.