I'm Google Earthing, Earthlings

It's been a week since I started using this fun tool from google.

I've found my house,

the family house in bulacan,
the insane islands UAE people are trying to build
and Nazcan Lines (Hummingbird).
Try it out! Its tons of fun.

A Shining Star Amidst an Otherwise Dreary October Day

Tsk, tsk... this would have been a great picture. That's if it wasn't overshadowed by the two people in its foreground.













Why? Why did they have to pose in front of the camera? That bonklers with the goatee and that 'ever so pretty, charming and angelic host of Us Girls' Francesca (Chesca/Cheska) Garcia.


Seriously, I was having an absolutely rotten day. I got stuck on my way to Makati and arrived incredibly late. I accidentally left my phone with her the previous night so I had absolutely no line of communication. The reception desk of Renaissance Hotel was adamant that she hasn't checked out yet. I wasted 3 hours having the operator call her room and going up to knock on her door.

There was a 'thank you for respecting my privacy' tag on her door so the staff are not allowed to barge in. That really worried me with the what-ifs. What if she dozed off and missed her flight? What if she slipped an knocked herself out? What if some crazy bloke sneaked in and... *shudder*. I wanted to call my mobile that was with her, but how? All they had that can call outside was fonkard payphones and their business center/landmark didn't sell cards to use on it.
Long version of the story removed from here to save you from boredom
So abandoning monetary efficiency I found a way to get my mom's mobile number and then found out that my sister left the hotel 30 mins before I arrived and barely made it to the flight. Up to this moment, I'm still flummoxed about the 'privacy' and 'hasn't checked out' bits of the story.

I was tired, sweaty and pissed so walked back to grab lunch then head home. With a determined indifference to what was happening in the world I could have missed it, but I didn't. An angelic phantasm appeared to my left. My heart skipped a couple of beats then raced like mad. Such brilliance! The old me would have shied away and regretted it for the rest of my life. I did want to be reborn, with a love for life and enjoy it as if there is no tomorrow. I fiddled and checked the 350D's settings and made a beeline towards her. I waited for her to finish her yo, stepped up and said:

"Excuse me..." she turns to me with an encouraging smile.
"Can I take a picture with you?"
"Sure :)"
Fiddle, fiddle. Click.
"Thank you :3"
Then I walked away.

With wobbly knees but giddy happy, I realized later that I got to screw up this magical moment. [tech] I prefer having just the center AF point active instead of all 7 of them[/tech]. So the trees behind us is in focus and we are a bit soft and blurred. But heck, this is a success for my courage, screw the perfect photo :P

When September Ends

SCU
A friend recently described me as a Self-Contained Unit(SCU). The term was not familiar, but it more or less explains itself. I don't know what is worse, that it was somehow accurate or that it is used to describe houses. Is being at that level of independence really a good thing? I love the feeling of being needed, but why can't I extend that same courtesy/opportunity to other people? Probably shows that I am a Taurus born in the year of the sheep: stubborn and bullheaded. Baaaaaaaaaaa.

Sheep simply want a bit of peace. They enjoy carrying on with life in their own quiet, individual way, content to be in the middle of it all rather than to be leading it. Sheep are quiet and calm people. They enjoy cultural things and focus much of their energy on artistic hobbies. Sheep are easygoing and relaxed, happy to be going with the flow.

THE EARTH SHEEP 19l9 AND 1979

The Earth element gives the Sheep a grounded effect. Although he struggles with a lack of self-confidence, this Sheep is a very stable person. They are independent and practical, leaning more towards conservancy than liberality. An Earth Sheep’s family is his most important asset and he spends his life working hard to provide for his loved ones. Earth Sheep are born with a joy for life that generally becomes infectious as you get to know him.

TAUREAN SHEEP

These Sheep are a bit materialistic and desire much wealth. Although they aren’t money hungry, they do out themselves and their own comfort before everyone else.

from this site

Homecoming
Its been ten years since my batchmates and I stepped out of high school. Feels both like an eternity and a blink of an eye. High School was the first and only time I slept in a dorm, backed out from performing in public, played a guitar, gone into a dodgy theater, kissed by a girl (on the cheek, lame I know), dressed in a suit, used a computer, used an SLR camera, frequented R.Hidalgo, joined a contest, and met my first girlfriend.
Some see HS just as a stage of growth, for me it marked a lot of firsts and even half my life after, brings back fond memories. [pics here]
For the homecoming, I made an AudioVisual Presentation(avp) here. Its around 9mb so leave it to load and just go back to it later(right-click, rewind, play).



Medical Mission
This a was a project initially cooked up by joey and mic, based on simple assumptions: lots of batchmates in the medical field and moderate contacts to pharmaceutical firms. With that and generous contributions from various sources, the mission was underway. RockEd also volunteered to teach kids and parents alike. [pics][joey's pics][mic's pics][leonardo coll's pics]

Knocking out the Philippines
Last time all it took was a ton of jellyfish. This time around, its a direct hit from a storm. That's 30+ hours of black-out, no internet, phone(bayantel) nor mobile(globe). Boo.

Panget's Back
Due to the need to chaperone a client, Blessma is back in Manila. She had to drop by the house earlier than scheduled because my dad in UAE got worried. No texts, internet, movies, games, work. Its been a lousy couple of days.

Deafening Silence, Blinding Darkness
Its been ages since I last experienced this. I'm used to sleeping with scores of LEDs blinking, a couple of fans spinning and 3 7200rpm HDs whirring. Those are the lullabyes that put me to sleep. The blackout robbed me of all of this and left me with such eerie silence and darkness, it almost drove me insane.

I once watched an anime series (PLANETES) where the lead character got lost in space and exhibited a disorder due to trauma (Deep Space Disorder). It manifested itself when the lead was placed in a room deprived of light and sound. He went nutters in a matter of seconds.

I had a ringing noise in my ear, monochrome blurred images playing regardless of my eyes opened or not. I'd be glad to have all the real noise and blinkers back...

Beals-a-bug
We went out to SM MoA to watch "Ant Bully" on IMAX 3D. For an animated film that seemed to be for kids, it had tons of hidden jokes and easter eggs: "Beals-a-bug", the name of the exterminators company is probably a pun for beelzebub. Notable voice actors for me are: Allison Mack as Tiffany(also Chloe from Smallville) and Zach Tyler as Lucas Nickle(also Avatar from Avatar:The Last Airbender)