Underworld [Monday, September 29, 2003]
The Last Song [Wednesday, September 24, 2003]
Kill Stealing [Monday, September 22, 2003]
Ragnarok Mayhem [Sunday, September 21, 2003]
The People's Mall [Saturday, September 20, 2003]
The Most Massive Woman Wins [Friday, September 20, 2003]
Select Case [Thursday, September 18, 2003]
DVD Nonsense [Wednesday, September 17, 2003]
Back to the Future [Monday, September 15, 2003]
Extended Happy Hours [Sunday, September 14, 2003]
Forty Winks [Wednesday, September 10, 2003]
Worms of the Earth [Tuesday, September 9, 2003]
10h00m10s [Monday, September 8, 2003]
Enetation [Monday, September 8, 2003]
Sequential Weekend [Sunday, September 7, 2003]
The Devil's Playground [Friday, Septemtber 5, 2003]
Work and Videogames [Friday, September 5, 2003]
Home Sweet Home [Tuesday, September 2, 2003]
Perfecting Evil [Monday, September 1, 2003]
Comments [Monday, September 1, 2003]
Poof!
Just like that and it has already been 5 days since my last journal entry. Hardly noticed it.
Been pretty occupied with work lately, and when you've got a body system that does not cooperate with each other, it gets to be very tiring. There are times where you'd hard fall asleep even though you are already tired and sleepy. Other times you'd be so active, feeling you can do anything at all and at the most inappropriate moment, you're body just gives up.
In particular, I really have trouble sleeping before the first day of the work week, which currently is on a Tuesday. Monday nights usually find me awake until the wee hours of the morning. This has always been a problem for me even when I was in college.
I am so messed up, even my bodily functions do not work in synch.
Spent Sunday watching movies I have bought on VCD, namely American Wedding, The Runabout, and Underworld. Yes, I have yet to see The Godfather CDs that I have bought weeks ago.
American Wedding, which is being released here as American Pie 3: The Wedding, was good for a few laughs here and there, but it hardly came close to the success of the first film which was downright outrageous. Much to my disappointment, there was no Tara Reid and Shannon Elizabeth in this sequel. Allyson Hannigan is simply adorable as always, especially when she talks in this real panicky manner, just irresistible. Overall, it is an OK film to end the trilogy, that is if it is indeed a trilogy. With my week pretty much settled for nothing else but work and traveling, this is not one movie I'd waste time on and see at the theaters.
Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock stars in The Runabout, which is a flashy action movie about running errands. Pretty standard stuff that you'd see in an action flick. The hand-to-hand combat was pretty tight. Capoeira, which is a Brazilian martial art was nicely done in one of the sequences for the film. As for explosion and guns, there were hardly any, mainly because the main character refused to use guns except for the final scenes. One thing though is how human flesh could possibly obliterate a concrete pillar. Simply unimaginable.
A word of advice. Do not watch the two films one after the other, Sean William Scott is on both of them, and at a certain point, it gets pretty disturbing and annoying.
Vampires versus Werewolves, who could possibly go wrong with such an idea. Underworld made this possible but in a more Romeo and Juliet way. A tale of forbidden love between vampire and Lycan (werewolf) and the war that ensued after. This is one movie I was waiting to watch in the theaters first but went ahead and watched it on VCD anyway, since the CD was lying around the house. I loved the film but it could have been better. The movie scores points mainly for the dark gothic setting as well as combining vampires and werewolves.
As nice as the theme is, there are a lot of pitfalls, or things I did not like. The usual magnificence of vampires was not shown in this film and the appearance of werewolves was not good. They looked like big lumbering things. I prefer the werewolves in An American Werewolf in Paris. The aristocratic appeal of vampires was still there. The action and fight scenes between vampires and werewolves was lacking. Mixing vampires and werewolves maybe a good idea, but mixing in guns into the picture makes the idea a tad lame. Regardless, I still liked the movie and would definitely recommend it. If I had the time, I'd watch it again in the theaters.
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The question is: Would there ever be an end to this?
Ah, fuck. Forget about that. Am just really amused by this fancy little song by The All American Rejects. After hearing Swing swing and The Last song, I decided to just purchase their album though I have yet to listen to it again. Hardly have the time for that.
Mentioned something before about the Cine Europa films, and tomorrow would mark it's first week, and I still have to see a movie they feature and it seems like I would not be able to.
Geez. Am just too damn sleepy and tired right now. Am just waiting for my stomach to digest the food that I have consumed. It is not a good habit going straight to sleep after a heavy meal. Well, that's what my father used to say, and being a doctor himself gives me more reason to believe it.
I've noticed that the past few logs are quite long, especially when they are viewed within the website, as the width is decreased by more than a half compared to the normal width you'd see when writing it down on FrontPage.
So, I'll keep this short.
Physical Status : Drop-dead sleepy.
Mental Status : Blank.
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Damn. My Bl@st prepaid account ran out. I guess I could still play using PLDT's Vibe, but I don't think it's worth it. There are around 10,000 people playing right now, and because of my connection, the game plays really slow. The lag is bearable, the real problem is after they removed the 3X experience and item drop status, the gaining levels became too slow. Have been playing for more than 2 hours and I have yet to gain a level. Maybe they rolled back the experience too much, or maybe I just got used to how fast one would level up due to the 3X experience.
Some people are quite annoying too. Kill stealing is an issue with MMORPG's and Ragnarok is not an exception, and everyone hates it. Since everyone does hate it, you don't have to mention it every second. One should also consider the amount of lag there is. When you see a creature, if it is free you would attack it, but due to the lag, by the time you get there, someone else is already striking the creature. At that point, the previous action you did, which is attack, takes effect, and you can hardly do anything about it, but steer away after striking the creature once. It is not something you could avoid, and you did not do it on purpose, so there is no need to mention it every freaking second. Your not the only one affected by this.
Anyway, I don't think I'd be playing it again today since I have no more net
credits, though I still have unlimited game time for Ragnarok. Unfortunately,
this would expire on Monday next week.
Well, i just played it, and the game is starting to build a little respect. PLDT Vibe works faster, almost without any lag at all, though building levels is still a pain. It is a videogame, and what ever pitfalls it may have is quite unnoticeable for me, as long as I am having fun.
After a three-day work week, tomorrow seems to be the first whole work week in this new team, more appropriately put, the first "real work" week. Good thing I have packed a lot of sleep, maybe too much even, as I have no idea how I will be able to sleep later this night. This is a problem I have had for as long as I could remember, sleeping during the first day of the week.
Mental Status: Addicted.
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I should be playing Ragnarok Online right now, but with more than 12 thousand people on the same server playing at the same time, who could have fun with that, especially if you are using a dial-up connection. It was just too much, even if it was free and the experience points plus item drops were double, I could hardly see any worth in it. It was not, in any way, fun at all.
The entries before this is what I call cheating, as I did not log them on that day itself. I was supposed to make one long entry for everything until the length of today's entry was becoming distractingly long. As a result, I cut them up into small bite size pieces. This explain why the time on the past two entries is marked as xx:xx.
Am going to play Ragnarok while it's free, then I'd upload this page. After I finish all my stuff online, I'll be playing Ragnarok again. I have my game card ready with me right now. Need to level up fast. Addicted.
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Could have gone to Megamall earlier, but decided to hang around the office with my new teammates. It's so hard trying to change that, "I don't care and I'd rather be alone" attitude. It was great though.
By the time I got to Megamall, it was almost 6 in the evening and I was having second doubts about watching one of the Cine Europa flicks that night. This changed once I saw the line in front of cinema 6, I guess every Tom, Dick and Harry heard about the films being free so everyone was there. Add to that, it was a weekend and this is Megamall, the people's mall. After this, I just did not bother at all, am really picky with movies and I hate watching a movie in a packed cinema. Unless of course the movie was something I'd die for just to see. But there is one film that is scheduled next Saturday that I really want to see, and this time I would be there early. Also, I'd check if the weekdays would be any different, because if it isn't, I won't even bother.
Scrapped the plan of watching a movie that day as all the other movies that week did not hold any interest for me. So I did the usual stuff, walking around the new Cyberzone corner of the mall, and let's not forget, record bars. The last time I passed by, I was having thoughts of buying The All American Rejects CD, but after hearing The Last Song, I guessed it was worth it, even though they are dying. Saw a copy of Marty Mcfly's EP, which was under an independent label, and purchased it as well.
Still not lucky enough to come across copies of Finch's What It Is To Burn or Thursday's new album. I wish they'd release the upcoming Finch album here, Worms of the Earth. I guess they would as they are included in the soundtrack for the movie Underworld, even better if the song would be the main theme of the soundtrack, comparable to Evanescence on the Daredevil soundtrack. Atleast, this way, I'd be able to get my filthy hands on a copy.
Before leaving, I decided to pass by the arcade, and to my amazement, the three popular shoot-em-ups have just released their 3rd installment. Namco's Time Crisis 3, Sega's House of the Dead 3, and Capcom's Virtua Cop 3, and they all look visually astonishing.
Bought some tokens and picked to play House of the Dead 3 and was surprised with the gun itself, as it was a shotgun, long and heavy. Yes, heavy, which would probably one of the downsides of the game (or maybe am just too weak). The game was easier though as you only have to reload the gun like any normal shotgun compared to the old game where you have to shoot outside the screen or cover the sensor with finger when you want to reload, but unlike a shotgun, it loads very fast. No lag time between reloading and shooting, which is just like covering the end with your finger.
Didn't get to play Time Crisis 3 and Virtua Cop 3, but I can say they are great, visually at least. Plus, there are a few new things such as multiple weapons for Time Crisis 3, and the implementation of a foot pedal for Virtua Cop 3.
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The rolling poll booths for NU 107 was currently at Sta. Lucia, and I decided to drop by since I still had some time to burn before the play at Miriam. Sadly, I was not able to get there on time to get my free stickers, but I was still able to vote, plus I was able to meet a few old friends there. Bought a couple of games for the PS2, Midnight Club 2 and Zone of the Enders.
The heavens poured and the streets were flooded, yet I was still able to watch The Most Massive Woman Wins, a play by the 3rd year CA students of Miriam College. A friend invited us, unfortunately we were not able to see her role onstage. Shucks. From the scenes that we saw, I could say we missed a lot as it was a fun and entertaining play.
Over at Kafe Katipunan, the Broken Middle Finger production was ongoing, and that night was the release of Sponge Cola's EP. With initial plans of just purchasing the EP and going home, I hanged out for a little while, watching the sets of Boy Elroy and Itchy Worms. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't stay any longer and had to go home as I still had to traverse a long winding road home.
The way home was hell. Was unlucky enough to miss the last jeep, which was already full. It was not bad at all, except that I had to wait for the next jeep to fill up before it could leave, and at the time, I really needed some sleep since I still had work the next day. Good thing, the jeep was short. Sadly, you could also say the same about the temper and patience of the driver. A taxi bumped into him, well, from our perspective, the taxi was wrong. Stupid jeepney driver did not want to argue at all so he just got back on the seat and hurried away. Of course, the taxi went after him and every time the jeep stopped, he would block his taxi in front. Nice. I didn't know how they settled everything, but am sure glad they did as I don't know how I'd be able to get home from there.
Crazy punk ass driving.
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A regular job really teaches one to organize and manage time wisely, in such a way that you'd be able to do everything you want to do. Well, atleast almost everything. Juggling between night-outs with different groups of friends, videogames, and of course, movies is such a task. I have already neglected and have therefore lost interest in further enhancing my web designing skills. That is, if there are any at all. There will be no new layout this month. Shucks!
Case 1: Videogames.
This is something I know I could live without, not totally, but with minimal play time. Then you get to play a certain game for a few hours and before you know it, your hooked. In other words, ADDICTED.
Case in point, Ragnarok. It has been ages since I last played it. Only touched it a week ago so that my character would not just disappear due to inactivity. Last night, I played, and before I knew it, "Light Na!" Purchased a Internet card for the day, but I did not notice that I have used up all of my game credits for Ragnarok. No Ragnarok for me today, to think there was a recent bug in RA and as a form of consolation for the players, experience points are tripled. Oh well, I can still take advantage of it during the weekend when everyone else would be playing, especially since the whole weekend would be free for everyone. I wanna play!
Case 2: Movies.
It has been two weeks since I last saw a movie in the theater, which was Pirates of the Caribbean. Hardly any movies out now that am really eager to see right now. This changed when I came across Cine Europa.
From September 18 - 28, SM Megamall Cinema 6 would be showing 12 contemporary and critically-acclaimed films from Europe, for FREE, but on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyway, am planning on seeing as much as I can, and have planned on how am going to accomplish this. The screening times are 2 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:00 pm, and 9:30 pm, where the second screening falls squarely in my current schedule. Right after work, I can rush over to Megamall and catch the 4:30 screening, then on Saturdays, I can stay until the last full show since there would be no work the next day. With this in mind, I can watch 9 out of the 12 films. Here's hoping there would be no abrupt changes in schedules.
Oh my God! I still have this Godfather collection sitting around the house, waiting for me to touch it. Don't worry, be patience. In time, we would get there.
Case 3: Friends.
Was going to blabber on about my apparent lack of close friends, but if I did that, I won't be finished until God knows when. So let's make it simple, everyone needs a good friend and if your lucky enough, a bunch of good friends.
Even if you are so occupied with work and other stuff, a nice day with old friends is a welcome change, and hence should not ignore them, which is probably what I have been doing over the past few years. No wonder no one sticks around. Anyway, this job I have as that kind of friendly environment which is not at all, stiff or rigid. It's almost like you are going back to school, only this time, you are being paid for it. Well, for me, this is what the current work atmosphere brings me.
Lengthy introduction for saying that I am going to watch a play by one of my friends tomorrow, and who knows what may happen on Saturday, since it is the 3rd Saturday of the month, i.e. Admit One at Rock Radio Cafe. Almost 2 weeks since my last gig, and remarkably, I have a longer break from the movies than from gigs. Usually the other way around.
Case 4: Music.
Gigs and concerts are not my only source of audible satisfaction. This is quite lengthy already, and I need to sleep, so I'd probably get into that tomorrow.
What is with this "Cases" ?!
Guess it's my way of outlining how I am overcoming Entertainment Deprivation and hence, save myself from insanity. Or is it too late already?
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This is the life. After coming from a three day weekend and working for a day, two day-offs follow, and that isn't the end of it. Based on our schedule for next week, day-offs fall on Sunday and Monday, meaning, after going back to work on Friday and Saturday, two more day-offs follow. Amusing. In a week, I only worked for three days. Cool. The un-cool part about is that it shaved a thousand plus off the next pay check. Should be happy about being showered with so many day-offs now as you'll never know when the next one would be.
Speaking of pay checks, am starting to hate pay-days. The day is a depressant for me, further pushing me down that long winding pit of absolute depression. Just shows that the saying, "Money can't buy happiness" holds true. I'd rather, nah, never mind.
It's not really a depression but rather a confusion, confusion on how you'd spend money. The thing is, I've been spending it alone the whole of my life, and I guess I want that to change. Anyway, I keep on remembering what a friend told me, "You worked for that hence can spend it anyway you want to." Of course, it would be save a little of it every time, but not to the extent that you'd miss out on all the good things in life just to save more. With this kind of salary, you should not expect to be able to save up for a car or a townhouse in the next two years, sure it is in a way possible, but you would hardly enjoy life that way. Personally, I'd have as much fun as I can, saving a few now and again. Just spend, spend, and spend.
Purchased the VCD collection of The Godfather since I was having a hard time looking for a DVD version of it. I don't know what it is exactly, but something is keeping me from buying DVDs, weird but amusing.
First of all, where the hell am I gonna watch it on? Right now, the nice big TV is still busted and the only ones that work are 14 inch ones, where is the fun in that. Second, the player, if I buy a DVD now, I'd watch in on my Playstation 2. Sure it is good enough for watching DVDs, but what if it does not work since it has been modified, it may not play certain CDs. Third, I'd rather go for the cheaper VCDs unless of course for movies I really love. Then again, I'd only purchase them if the DVD version has loads of extra footage and extras like The Matrix, LOTR, Starwars, etc. Then again (third level?), movies like these get limited releases outside the Philippines which contain even more extra stuff and makes your DVD version look like dog pooh.
I guess it is as simple as me not being ready for DVDs yet. If I were outside the country, or Asia, I'd have no other choice but to purchase DVDs as VCD format is not a legal format in the US and Europe. Legal, in the sense that vendors do not release movies on VCD, only on DVD and VHS. In other words, not a valid format. Besides, who the hell wants to switch CDs in the middle of a movie?!
This is amusing. A minute ago, I had almost nothing to say, but now, when I look back at what I typed, am like, "Wow! I typed all of that just now?" The thing is, I have not said everything I wanted to say/ talk about yet. Atleast, I have something for tomorrow's entry.
Hmmm...I wonder how am gonna find the time to watch the whole Godfather series in one sitting as each one is more than 2 hours long. I wonder.
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How long has it been since I saw one of the movies from the series?
Damn, I could hardly remember. Like Batman and Ghostbusters, it is one of the movie series we watched back when we were in Manila, which goes back quite a bit.
A local band here uses the name of the lead character, Marty McFly as their band name. A few months ago, I read that the DVD for this series was just released. Two instances that reminded me of the series and how much I liked it back then. Typical science fiction geeky movies, so to speak.
While browsing through movies last week, I came across a VCD copy of the trilogy, and of course, I bought it without any doubts whatsoever. Had no work today , thus giving me the time needed to watch the trilogy in one sitting.
**Intermission**
Damn. Why the hell do you do this to me? I just wasted two valuable hours of my time pondering on why I let your meager existence affect my life so. I wish I could just hate you. Am so lost in thought right now, and I was in a mood to write a few things here. You ruined my bloody mood.
**End of Intermission**
Let's see if we can do this now.
I really missed this trilogy, and for me, this is one of the best that I have seen. Nostalgic moments of childhood moments pop in here and there. Seeing it now, probably more than ten years after I first did was a welcome treat for me, and Monday provided the perfect venue for viewing. The 80's pop culture was really different back then, and you could feel that in this trilogy. Watching it now, in one sitting made things clearer due to the continuity and other factors.
Being quite the movie geek, names now tend to be clearer and come as added surprises for me. I did not know that Robert Zemeckis (What Lies Beneath, Cast Away) conceptualized and directed the trilogy. All I knew before was that in some way, Steven Spielberg was involved and that was it. Then there is Alan Silvestri who conceptualized the music for several films today. The biggest surprise though is Crispin Glover a.k.a. Crazy Thin Man of Charlie's Angels fame. I did not know he has been in movies for that long, plus he spoke here which was more surprising. One more thing, along with Michael J. Fox, his face hardly changed at all since the trilogy, as well as the hair.
The movie itself was great from what I remember of it before, but now I was able to understand the story better and piece certain pieces together. I just love the complexity of the events that happened and how they interweaved with each other to create one long continuous story. Pretty much made up my day, that is, until she came along.
Personally, I like the second movie the most because it was the most visually enticing among the three with vivid scenes of the future and alternate realities. Almost every point in the second movie related or was referenced to the first, like event this affected event this and so on. The thing that amazed me the most in the second movie was how the viewers were able to see scenes from the first movie, but this time in a whole new perspective.
How I miss movies from that era, the late 80s and early 90s. Movies such as Zapped, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, and Back to the Future. After watching Back to the Future, I am going to start looking for copies of Ghostbusters, if not, I'll move on to Gremlins. Hah, move on.
It's getting late now as it is already 9:06 in the evening. (remember, I had that two hour intermission) Tomorrow is the start of real work, and am not sure if am excited about it or nervous. I guess I'd just say that I am nervously excited about it.
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One year. One whole year. That's how long it has been since it ended. The thing is, it has not yet ended at all. This is what I want, and am not going to talk about it anymore.
What a busy week! Has been 4 days since my last entry which was too short to even be called one. All through those days, a lot has happened. One of the more remarkable things would be me having intoxicated myself to some extent, three days in a row. Happy hours to the extreme.
It would have been nice if I was able to chronicle each day as it finished, while all the details are still fresh. It is more of a recollection of the more significant things that happened throughout the long and early weekend.
Let's start with Thursday, trying to be as sequential as possible.
09-11-03 -- ... Of Silence
Found out that we were dispersed to different teams, bringing the number of days left for us to be together down to 2. Decided to have a little get together over at Whistlestop. Almost everyone was there for a drink or two. After dinner time, only four were left, but that was enough for us to stay until 10 pm drinking more and sharing stories. As usual, I had nothing to say or share. Well, nothing significant to say, as the one thing I want to talk about may bring me to tears plus I would be listening to the same advises that I have been refusing to consider since this began. Needless to say, it was fun and great even if I only had a few hours of sleep, since I got home around 11 in the evening.
Alcohol: 7 bottles of San Miguel Light.
09-12-03 -- So, where are we really going to?
The last day we would be together as one collective group was more than enough reason for a celebration. With a van at hand and knowledge that there was no work tomorrow, we were all set to go anywhere. Without any solid idea where to go, confusion was in the air. Settled with a few options in the end. Ate at a restaurant beside Ultra, which name I have no idea how to spell, so I won't even try. Proceeded to Nipa Hut for a nice venue to chug down a couple of alcoholic drinks. Boredom set in, and the idea of videoke and billiards ensued. Bargo's was the most viable option for this. The rooms were full and the waiting list did not move at all. As the night dragged on, billiards and videogames kept has entertained and occupied, as well as a couple more beers. Pass midnight, the thoughts of videoke grew dim, and everyone decided to end the night.
On the whole, it could have been better if it was planned outright, but this time, every single one was present, and that is the most important thing.
Alcohol: 5 bottles of San Miguel Light.
09-13-03 -- Subic
Knowing that the weekend was free, called a few friends from college to confirm the whole trip. The night before was spent out with friends from work, and the trip to Subic was early the next day. Got home with just enough time to fix my stuff, have a bath, and lie down for a few minutes. Visually experienced the effects of lahar to the province of Pampangga, and was amused by the natural splendor of Subic.
Spent most of the time Saturday afternoon, grilling food which when gathered on the table was a feast fit for a king. Basking under the sun was not a good idea, due to the intense heat. Waited for the sun to recede and spent the cooler parts of the afternoon in the water. Ice cold chills started to penetrate our skin as the evening approached. After a good shower, everyone was set to start drinking the night away, sharing stories from comedic experiences to serious discussions about taxes, government, and of course, love.
Like every time that awful topic is brought into a conversation, I cover myself with my security blanket, and build a wall around myself. Besides, to begin with, I do not have any significant or memorable experiences to share. The only one I could possibly share is, I guess too sensitive for me right now. (One year and still too sensitive) It's nothing really, I've heard every advise already, and in it's self, it is quite stupid, hence would be useless to share since I would not even listen to these advises, and do things in contrast with what I should have done. I am doing it my way.
Eventually, the drinks were consumed and everyone needed some sleep. Everyone was too tired to do any stupid ideas like pictures and lip stick, which was a good thing as everyone was able to sleep in peace, more so for myself, since I was lying on the bed, unlike the rest who were on the floor. The morning was pretty much the same, except for the grilling time, which was significantly lower this time.
As for the sights, it was quite a disappointment. I did not forget to bring my eye glasses, but you hardly needed it here. Being in Libis is much more of an eyestrain than what I expected Subic Bay to be. During the first day, the beach was filled with kids having a tour. At night, it seemed we were the only people left. Actually, we were. Come Sunday, there were a few sights, unfortunately, we had to go home by then. Bad timing indeed.
The trip home was fast and quick, hardly any traffic along the expressway. Of course, that is why it is called an "expressway", right? Expressways in the country are no different from Manila, traffic due to construction everywhere.
All in all, the outing was time well spent with old friends, this time there was more than enough food and the drinks were estimated correctly hence, consumed. It could have been better though if the whole group was complete.
Alcohol: 3 cans of Red Horse.
There goes the weekend, have only one free day left, which is tomorrow. Day-offs were spent wisely, though they may be costly and nay, luxurious but starting Tuesday, real work begins and I doubt it if the opportunity to do this again would come by in the next few months or so. Glad that I made the most out of it. Till next time.
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Smile therapy simply does wonders in eliminating depression. The downside is it makes you look stupid and crazy. Imagine yourself smiling all the time for no reason at all. Get the picture? For a person who often talks to himself, it hardly makes a different. It's still normal.
Added some new gadgets that have caught my attention, have a wristwatch and a portable hard drive. Check them out here or better yet, go to Think Geek, I found them there.
Am not in the mood to write a lengthy journal entry tonight. I am too sleepy, and I really need to sleep.
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Videogames just have the coolest soundtracks ever, which I guess is brought by the catchy tunes of J-pop and orchestral instruments. Currently, listening to Beyond the Bounds, the main theme from Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner. Am setting aside a few bucks for videogame soundtracks.
Heard of this cool new vampire movie starring Cate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor) entitled Underworld a few weeks ago as I was checking out movies.com for new movie updates. Being a vampire movie with a dark gothic theme makes me anticipate the film more, though I hardly know anymore details about it, like when it will be released in theaters everywhere.
Then I forgot about the movie for a moment, until I came across it's soundtrack. For some reason, vampires have been associated closely with rock bands (say, stars) as what was depicted in Queen of the Damned. So for a movie like this, you'd expect a nice collection of rock bands for it's soundtrack, including 2 songs from A Perfect Circle, one of them being a new one.
Surprisingly, I saw Finch on the list. Actually, it was the other way around. I was surprised to see Finch on the list. Wait. That did not make any sense at all, it's still the same thing. To make things simpler, I saw the link to the soundtrack through Finch's official website, and they actually had a video for the song. I immediately downloaded the song on mp3 and video. Have yet to see the full video, but I am listening to the song over and over. Worms of the Earth, that's the title of the new song, and if am not mistaken, is also the title of their upcoming album.
What shocked me the most was the song itself, it was so NOT finch, in fact they sound more like a local band than the Finch I know. Even Project Mayhem does not come close to its intensity. They really sound different in this song, very much different, which is a good thing indeed. I like it.
Work was a breeze, again. One will never get bored of training, especially if you are getting paid for this. Got off pretty early, so I got the chance to pass by the mall.
Upon arrival, the movie glitch got me and when I thought I won't be seeing another movie until Wednesday, I was at the brink of choosing which one I'd watch. A choice between Sinbad and Legally Blonde 2, a choice highly comparable to life and death, both being movies I had no plans on seeing in the theaters due to the selective screening mechanism in my system. Was more inclined to Legally Blonde 2, but the screening time was 3:45 and I was looking at the time table at 3:50. On the other end, Sinbad started around 2 with a next screening of pass 4 pm.
Proceeded then with window shopping. Since I started working, I have yet to buy any article of clothing for myself, and I decided that would change today. After hopping across a few stores, I found a shirt I liked, only to notice AFTER paying for it, that I have a shirt with the SAME design already. Note, not SIMILAR but the SAME design, only with a darker color. This is my stupidity at its best. What the hell was I thinking about back then?!? Oh, I remember, but it still does not excuse me from my stupidity.
How can I remedy such a thing? I know. With a good video CD purchase.
While I was browsing through tons of DVDs, I found a copy of Jason and the Argonauts, a movie I have not seen yet (yeah, poor me). It was for sale at a reduced price (P450), and I was seriously giving the thought of buying it. The fact that the movie was worth it since it was three hours long and based on Greek mythology made the DVD more enticing. Placed the DVD back on the rack and told myself, "I'll come back for you later."
Walked around the store more, looking for a more note-worthy purchase and came across the most amazing thing, a Back To The Future trilogy VCD pack. Fine! The most amazing thing would be seeing a DVD copy of the series, but the VCD copy gave me more than enough reasons to pick it up and purchase it. The feeling was like a trance, like something possessed me, and by the time I came to my senses, I was outside the video store already.
Now, I am eagerly anticipating the weekend so I can watch the series one after the other without any breaks, except for bio-breaks and food. I could watch one now, but it would not be fun. Own every VCD of Starwars, except episode 3 of course, and I have yet to watch The Clone Wars ever since I bought the copy, I told myself a year ago that I'd wait for the right opportunity to watch Episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 in one sitting and no interaction with the outside world.
The LOTR series, which would wrap up this year would have a special screening in selected theaters in the United States. You could watch all three movies at once for one big 9+ hour movie. Too bad, we have to wait till January to get our chance to see the final installment unless you'd opt for a premiere screening during December, which am undeniably not going to turn down.
So, any one got tickets for premiere screening of LOTR: Return of the King?
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How nice. It's the eight day of the month and the enetation entry number also happened to be an 8. Oh how I despise the bloody number but still, I keep on remembering.
Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner is awesome. Who the hell can go wrong mixing Hideo Kojima, Konami, mechs, and anime into one fantastic game?
Just finished the game and now am gonna search under rocks for a copy of the first game. I know I should have played it sequentially, but I had a hard time looking for a copy of the first Zone of the Enders. So I foolishly picked this copy when I passed by the videogame store as there was nothing else of particular interest. Good thing the game had a summarized version of the first game, and unlike other games wherein you simply read the story, this one lets you sit back and watch the actual scenes from the first game. This is quite obvious since the first game looked more 3D than anime, and the second one looked more anime than 3D. Anyway, this feature gives you a good idea about the story so you won't be clueless and dumbfounded about what is happening. Yet, I still need to play the first game to get the whole feel of the series.
The perfect way to spend day-offs, a good game. I am surprised that I used my two free days just playing with it when lately I have been more inclined to use the PC for whatsoever reason it maybe. The game time after I finished was 10:00:10 (h:m:s) and 10 hours in two days is quite something. I used to take note of this back when I was in college, where on the average I play 10 hours worth of videogaming during the weekend (the only time I am home). Intense.
An added note, if I played for 10 minutes more, the game time would be the same as the time I came out of this world. Small amusing things.
Since I consumed my free time playing Z.O.E., I was not able to do anything for this site with regards to the new layout. Heck, I wasn't even able to write a new monologue now that I have a couple of ideas for it. I sincerely doubt that I would be able to make a new one for the site. If worst comes to worst, I'll just make a few modifications with the current layout.
Besides, it is not required that I do it, right? Am just making the most out of my spare time. Videogaming is my only real friend.
Procrastination and laziness at its best. (say, ADDICTION)
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And it works.
The comments thing is now working. Was a simple problem of hypenation. Stupid site, they should have said that hypens are not allowed.
Oh well, at least it works now.
So go check it out, and react.
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Confused and dazed I am right now, wishing there was more time available to do stuff.
If you noticed, the comments thing for the page is still not working and I have no idea why it won't work, neither have I the patience right now to dig into things and find out why it won't work at all. The funny thing is that it works perfectly with Mozilla and Opera, sadly, most people use IE 6.0.
Wait, I changed one little thing and now the new window pops out, though it says that the page cannot be displayed, the window still popped out unlike before whence it won't come out at all, in IE 6.0 that is. I hope once I upload it again, it would work like a charm and we'd see the comments rolling in.
Forgot to mention that I have already seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in the theaters last Thursday and have made a pledge that I'll stay away from pirates until I see movies of this caliber in the theater. See them in the theater then watch it on pirated VCDs. It's been weeks since I watched the movie on VCD so it was still a good experience seeing it again plus a little surprise at the end of the credits, a scene you won't be able to see on a bootleg copy.
Moving on to the weekend, which was alright, nothing special, nothing intense, but it was fine.
Spent some time with friends in Libis after work. There was sort of a surprise party for three of our friends who were celebrating their birthdays. Cool idea. Hanged out at Bargo's after that, playing billiards and drinking. Dined out at some restaurant I don't know of and stayed there until 11 pm.
The night did not end there, it was still way too early. Being the first Saturday of the month, I proceeded to Freedom Bar in Anonas for the Admit One gig there, with the hopes of seeing her there. Unfortunately, she was not there and makes me wonder if she'd go to the Admit One gig in Alabang on the 20th and if I'd see her if I go to that gig. Sadly, some friends have plans to go to Baguio on the 19th which means I have no one to go with to Alabang and watch that gig. This is what happens when you let once in a lifetime opportunities slip by and don't seize the moment, and you either regret it for the rest of your life or you move on. Personally, I prefer the former.
Back to the gig then. It was Kris Gorra's birthday, and the whole gig was like a celebration of her birthday, and because of that, I don't have to make a write-up about the gig. So I won't go into the details too much. By the way, it was a free gig. Dicta License did not play that night, which came to me as quite a disappointment. Good thing, I still got there in time to watch Sugarfree. Of course, Fatal Posporos performed last, as it was Kris Gorra's band.
Went home after that and slept the whole day today.
I bought a copy of Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner last Thursday, when I was out to see Pirates. Only got to play the game today, and I have to say it is a very nice and challenging game. It is from Hideo Kojima, so you could only expect the best. Now, if only I could get my hands on a copy of the first game. This explains why hardly anything new appears on this site lately, despite the weekend. Yeah, when was the last time there was something brand new on this site?
Anyway, I wonder if I'd be able to create a new layout by the end of the month. With my procrastination and attention span of a child, I highly doubt there would be.
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In my efforts to add a little interactivity with viewers of the site, I decided to use a comment provider (is that what they are called?) and the top of the list was enetation. The problem is that I can't get it to run properly in Microsoft IE 6.0. It works fine with Mozilla and Opera, allowing one to add comments. In IE 6.0, the pop up window does not even pop out. Stupid Microsoft. I wonder what the problem could be. How I wish I have the time to figure this out.
Best bet is to check the forums over at enetation for help. Post the problem later and a link to my site and then check it again come Sunday.
If only I had a decent web host that would allow me to use PHP or CGI scripts, I'd be able to transform this journal into something more easy to organize with all the fun stuff like comments, journal categories, and trackback.
It's the first Saturday of the month tomorrow and if you've been reading this for quite sometime, you'd know what that means. Admit One at Freedom Bar Anonas Q.C. Yes! I wonder if fate would be nice this time and give me a second chance? Or maybe that second chance would be given when the same venue is met and an Admit One gig is happening? Exciting to think what may happen, but let's not get our hopes up to high or else, we'll fall further into this black empty pit of depression.
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"I need to speak to your supervisor."
These words marked the first ever call I received at Etelecare. A wonderful way to start this new career I have chosen. And they say that you'd never forget your first call. I agree, am definitely not going to forget this first call. Truly a wonderful and memorable experience.
So far, work has been challenging and fun. Hope I can say the same tomorrow, when we start taking regular calls one after the other. Good thing my first three calls were relatively successful, giving me the right dosage of confidence to take more calls and relax during a call. It is not as hard as I first thought it would be. Again, I hope I won't be eating my words one day in the future.
Unfortunately, we are going to be transferred to another program on Tuesday and have to undergo another week of training which is not a bad idea, since training is fun and easy. As with anything else, there are advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages would be that the facilities for that program is better than what we have now. Another would be the possibility of us being one team, intact and undivided. These people have grown on me in such a way that it would be weird if we have to be dispersed into different teams. One more advantage, would be the fact that promotions would be easier since the program just started this year.
On the other hand, there are the disadvantages, the location of that program is in Makati, which translates to a problem for me regarding commuting. I guess I would be paying my cousins in Pasig a visit if ever that happens. Not such a big deal, except that it is time away from my PC and if there is one thing I can't let go off, it would have to be this PC and website. I knew I should not have said that a new layout would be up by October. Me and my big bloody mouth.
I am actually dealing with my break-up with the Playstation 2. I'll just befriend it anew when games like Final Fantasy X-2, Xenosaga: Episode 2, and Drakengard come out. At least, it would welcome me back with open arms.
Final Fantasy X-2 is the first ever official sequel to a Final Fantasy game. Yes, we already have Final Fantasy X, and the number denotes its number in a series, right? Yes and no. Final Fantasies were never sequels to each other, certain elements of the game stuck as the game moved from each series, crystals, chocobos, mogs, Cid, etc. and most important the story, your epic saga in saving the world. Well, Final Fantasy X-2 breaks that loop and is more of an action-RPG than its predecessor. It's by SquareEnix and it is a Final Fantasy, so I am excited about this. Counting the days until November.
Hmmm...Xenosaga. The first series in the saga was subtitled Der Willie zur Macht (The Will to Power). The second game in the series would be subtitled Jenseits von Gut und Bose (Beyond Good and Evil). Interesting right? Well, here's something more to tickle you, they are both titles of books by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher. I don't care about the title, I just want to play the next game in the series ASAP.
And then there is Drakengard, aka Drag-on Dragoon in Japan. A game initially developed by Enix, but since the two RPG behemoths have merged, well, I leave it at that and let the whole thing sink in for you, and when it does, don't forget to wipe the drool off your face. And please, close your mouth. After watching numerous (just 2) video clips about Drakengard, I have learned to do just that, though I still forget to close my mouth and wipe the excess drool. It has dragons. Period. Enough said. Being mostly a Playstation "fanboy", I am not one of the fortunate ones to play games under the Panzer Dragoon series, especially the more RPG-inclined ones, namely Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn) and Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox). From the screens I've seen so far, this game allows me to live out that fantasy of riding a dragon, spewing fire and disintegrating poor helpless people. sadly, I have to wait until next year for this one.
Am gonna say this now, "These games are worth the wait. The long wait." If I could only read and understand Japanese, I'd be able to play these games earlier.
God! This entry is excessively long. And I still have something more to say. I should blog more often and there is no need in uploading it at once. That way, the entry exists and is valid and am not just faking it (creating entries and labeling them as previous dates) unlike someone I know who is real good at faking things.
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I hate rainy days. Stormy, windy, rainy, wet, gloomy, flooded days at that. Better.
Initially, had plans of dropping by a mall and catching some Pirates as well as buy a few stuff, but decided to drop the idea because of the rain and I did not want to be stuck somewhere because of another stupid decision I made in a split second even when all of my senses and instinct tell me not to.
Pizza is something I miss, and was craving for some on the trip home. Planned on buying some before catching the final ride home, but them I don't want a pizza that's ice cold and wet by the time I get home. On the way home, hunger struck me anew and I thought of donuts. Saying that they would do just fine in the absence of pizza. Decided to look for a donut stall in town. No go. They did not have any donuts, well, not the ones I like. Another great idea gone sour. Don't even bother mentioning that I could order pizza here.
As a result, am starting to really hate this place where we live in right now. The house is great, the backyard is spacious (almost a whole hill for yourself), the place, the view, and most important of all, it's a home. Aside from that, nothing else would make me want to stay here. Nothing at all. If you've been around for some time, you'd know that am never satisfied and I want the things that I don't/can't have, and this place easily generates a list for me, no cable, no food deliveries, no DSL, no malls within a 30 minute area, etc. Add a bunch of things this place has and can very much live with out (i.e. politicians) and you've got quite a mix indeed. I wish we can leave this place soon and go back to the polluted, flooded, crowded, GHASTLY place that is Manila.
If you did not get the "ghastly" pun, then shame on you. Have you been hiding under a rock or something?
And for those who have been wondering about the current title of the site, here's a link to the lyrics of Perfecting Loneliness by Jets to Brazil.
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Sometime last week I used the title of this site as my topic for speech craft. I don't know if I was able to explain it clearly that time, but I guess I did. There isn't much to say anyway, except that I have yet to Perfect Loneliness, as I don't really like being alone, am just bearing with the loneliness. I would not go as far as living like a hermit without even connection to the outside world. Perfecting Loneliness in the sense of coping with the fact of being alone and stabbing loneliness right in the face.
One more thing, it isn't just a theme for the site, but it has been the theme of my life for the past few months more so before I started to work. To say the least, a lot has changed from that day. Not as substantial as I wanted these changes to be, but something that altered my daily routine.
Up to now, I am thinking of a new theme for this website, a theme I have used and hardly changed in a span of five months. Over at Neopages, someone mentioned that a good layout can last up to six months, and am not saying that my present layout is any good at all, but a layout is long overdue. Now entering it's sixth month, changes must be done and a spanking new layout should be up by the end of the month. I hope I could be able to do this, it is half done aside from a few graphical tweaks, I'd be all set. Stop that! Let's stop hoping and actually do something. Allow me to restate that, by the end of the month there WILL be a totally new layout. <gulp>.
Ha! I don't even have a theme for it yet. What magic would I be performing this time?
Perfecting Evil. Unique idea, but does the new theme still have to be about perfecting something? It has to be something new, something unheard of. Besides, I am a real nice person and that theme would not, in any way, fit my personality. Yeah, right. Maybe that other side of me that craves for mass mayhem, gore, violence, madness, insanity, and love. I'd probably discuss this with myself at one point during the week.
Going back to the task at hand, I need a theme that defines me as a person during a time like this. Cool, I see lots of cloud callouts popping all over the place. Perfect. Now all I need is a little free time.
Sadly, that's the hard part as I need time for my other entertainment needs like my monthly shot of Admit One anti-depressants, weekly theater energy drinks, and (almost) daily videogaming steroids.
And of course, let's not forget sleep.
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If anyone does read this stuff, could you click on the "nobody cares" link at the end of each entry. Added comments to the site, and am wondering if they are working correctly. Thanks.
Just a little interactivity, not that there would be much anyway.
Comments enabled by enetation.
It would be nice if they were my own, PHP or Perl, b2 or movable type, but without a decent web host, I cannot do this. I forgot another important thing, I don't have the time either.
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