Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I'm a Chuck Addict!

Hehehe.. Couldn't sleep much after waking up at around 3PM. So I just logged in to Facebook and checked out the "I'm a Chuck Addict" app, which I haven't actually been looking into since I first accepted it.

Well would you look at that!

I just worked my way up to 2000 points in the trivia game. Each question is worth 10points. I made some mistakes along the way, so that's definitely more than 200 questions I answered in one sitting. Geez!

Hehehe.. Just can't stop answering the trivia, espcially if you know the answers to most of the questions.

Anyway, I decided to stop at 2000 points with the Enthusiast ranking for now. Maybe next time when I'm not doing anything important such as... uhm... scrubbing the drawers to get rid of the smell of mildew mixed with varnish. Ech! :))

Monday, December 29, 2008

About Psychic Predictions for 2009

As is the common practice, countless psychics and fortunetellers are making many brave and bold predictions for the New Year. They would claim that they have correctly predicted events the previous year, so there is no doubt that their new predictions will come to pass as well.

Personally, I have a couple of problems with this notion.

First, nobody remembers in completely the many predictions of most psychics, much less the onbes who made correct predictions. I particularly hate the ones who announce that they predicted certain events -- the 9/11 attack being one of the favorites -- after said event occured.

Another thing is that many of the so-called predictions are not far-fetched, unforeseeable predictions but are actually expectations. Case in point, predictions of terrible storms that will hit the Philippines. Every single year, there's always a prediction about a big storm claiming the lives of tons of people. Don't want to sound harsh here, but duh! For a country that gets an average of twenty tropical storms a year, is this really, really, REALLY a great prediction? I'll make a prediction now then: there will be at least one storm hitting the Philippines between May and August. How's that? :))

Well, I guess there's only one way to weed out "real" and the bogus psychics: list down all of the said predictions online, say, in this blog -- or any other blog for that matter -- them review them next year.

Funny thing, though, I have not seen many online predictions lately for the coming year. Fishy? Nah... Maybe the TV networks are simply too lazy to update their sites. :))

Anyway, I managed to watch one episode of TV Patrol on TFC and I remember distinctly a prediction about Philippine President GMA and her spouse; GMA will remain healthy throughout the year but the First Gentleman Arroyo may be hospitalized sometime next year. Sorry to say I forgot who made that prediction. Anybody saw that?

Ah hell... I'll just post more 2009 predictions stuff as I get them... :)

Work, Sleep, Repeat

Hate to admit it but this shifting schedule is starting to finally take its toll on me. Sleeping at weird times is one thing. Losing track of time is another.

I was "coerced" to cover for my sick colleague last Saturday evening. Whatever plans I had for that day was ruined. And learning much later that I can actually say no to the Ops Manager made it even worse for me. Anyway, see my last post for more on that.

So I got home on Sunday morning, dropped on the bed. I didn't wake up until it was 3:00 PM! I sooo wanted to do lots of things but losing more than half of the day... well, there's simply not enough time. I'm still trying to adjust.

Aw hell... I just feel robbed of my time. I didn't get enough R & R this week. I'm supposed to be enjoying my time, not trying to recover from my lack of sleep. It sucks.

Not to mention, the old clothespins keep sliding down the bamboo pole... I guess I better buy a new set... Yep, I was doing laundry today, because that's the only thing I can do with the time I have left.

Then tomorrow, I'll be back again in the office... In the evening... Again... For the next four nights... Including New Year's Eve... Oh well...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas 2008: What we've been up to...

Can't seem to find enough time to post anything here. I'm either too tired from work... Or I'm too tired playing Vampire Wars! :)) Anyway, let's see what we've been doing the past week.....

A New Home....
The days before Christmas Day was very tiring for us because of the moving of our stuff from our old room to our new flat. The good thing is that our new home is only a few blocks away. The bad thing is that we have some things which are too heavy and bulky to carry -- case in point, our cabiet of five drawers, among other things. Luckily, we managed to acquire a trolley which, although quite small did the job just fine.

Transporting things was one thing. Reorganizing is another. Even after disposing a lot of stuff we don't need anymore, we still had so many things that it practically which are filling up our new home! I still can't get over the fact that we managed to stash all of these things in our much smaller room before! Maybe we have a pair of pants with bottomless pockets or a magical bag of holding somewhere. Hehehe :))

Work, work, work...
Unfortunately, though, I have work during Christmas and New Year. :( It's the sad part of being in the customer service industry AND being a newbie in the company.

Well actually, it's not that bad... I am on day shift during Christmas week, so I still managed to attend the Noche Buena with our friends here. The bad news is that I'm on night shift the entire New Year's Eve week... Which means, no food, no celebration, no fireworks... Not that there's any fireworks here... Well, actually, there are, but it's nothing compared to the "chaos" of New Year's Eve in the Philippines -- they simply can't do New Year's Eve the way we do them! So nothing much to miss really... At least that's what I tell to myself... Next year would be different! I'll make sure I get my vacation! Hehehe :))

And to top it off, I didn't get the straight four-days-off we normally would get; the Operations Manager called me up to cover for one of my colleagues who got sick. No one else was available so I thought I had no other choice. It's only later that I learned that I'm not obliged to cover for my colleague since I'm not the designated 24Hr Standby Person for this day. Oh well, just charge it to experience. I just think of it as a way of helping our team out. But next time, I know what to do. >:)

Well, there's one good thing here though: since it's the Holiday season and we are currently in a "change freeze", aside from the oocasional emergencies and emails, I have a lot of free time here at work. Where and when do you think I wrote this post, huh? :))

Watching more TV....
As per my last post, no new episodes to watch, so that's when marathon reruns come in handy. Just like this Friday: with nothing else to do, we watched the Monk Marathon in Star TV. We did not watch it straight, though. Every now and then, we switch to other channels such as TFC and AXN, so that we don't get, uhm, over-saturated with the Monk theme "It's a Jungle Out There". :)) It's actually a great show. Not sure why I didn't watch it all the time like I do with House, Heroes, and Chuck. I always find it fun to watch the not-so-perfect good guys trying to be, well, the good guys. Anyway, it's good to be able to watch the OC Adrian Monk again. That's another one in my list of favorite shows. :))

Well, in TFC I watch -- just like in Channel 2 back in Manila -- Deal or No Deal. It's only recently that I learned that they removed the cases containing more than 1M. Instead, they opted for the 5 cases containing 1M. Still a good deal -- best case scenario is if you reach the late game with all of the five 1M cases still up for grabs... Not sure if this scenario occurred already: the last two values left on the board are two 1M. Whoever get's that has got to be the luckiest guy out there!

And my favorite Discovery Channel show, Mythbusters! I never get to watch it on evening primetime -- usually it's because we're watching abother show in another channel. Well, during my dayoffs, I can always catch them at noon! I guess I missed a lot also -- didn't know that they replaced Iwahara with a girl -- sorry, didn't catch the name.

Christmas day itself and onwards...
Well, since there are only a few of us here left in SG -- most the others went back to Manila to spend the Holidays there -- we decided to have Noche Buena, potluck, gift-giving, etc in one place. I was the last one to arrive since I had work but still we managed to pull it off. I felt drowsy though, and I slept through most of it. :))

Also, Friday evening -- I guess since it's a weekend and everyone's still in a Christmasey mood, Cel and the gang visited us and they brought along their Magic Sing. :) Hehehe. [Note: Obviously, I didn't know at this time that I'm going to be on shift the next evening.] I was actually conscious at some point because we were really making a lot of noise; I'm not sure if we're disturbing our neighbors. Then again, it's Christmas, our time, our celebration. I don't mind them when they do all their stuff when it's their festival... I don't mind them when they make all that racket on some evenings whenever they play Mah Jongg. :)) Anyway, that's why we closed off our doors and windows anyway. :))

Play and Fun with the Laptop...
Well, I've finally signed up with Facebook, originally for the sole purpose of playing Vampire Wars. It was later when I learned that many of my colleagues -- particularly the ones who were once from Fujitsu -- are all in Facebook. :))

I also signed up for other similar games as well, but by far I enjoy Vampire Wars the most. I guess it shows, too; my character in Vampire Wars have much better stats than the other games. I have way more wins than losses and I have acquired all of the abilities and minions that are available on my current level. That's a good sign, I think; if ever you find yourself have trouble acquiring a minion or an ability, you are mostly doing something screwed up that you should not be doing. :))

Then when we can't do anything else -- i.e., we used up all of our character's energy, me and Che play a random map in Age of Mythology. Yep, the (not-so) old school strategy game. And in the newer laptops, the graphics is simply marvelous! :)) I guess it's been a while since I last played because I can't remember the build order to do a "rush" -- for the uninitiated, that's building a superior force to overpower an opponent in the early game, say, in the first five minutes. All I can remember is that you have to reach Age 2 ASAP -- that's the only age where you can actually create military units. Oh well, I don't want to look into GameFaqs or anything... I'll just play it over and over again to rediscover how that goes. :))

That's that, I guess. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And as my shift is about to end, I'll get prepped to go back to sleep... :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Christmas with no new episodes....

Well, it's that time of the year again in which the whole world -- or at least most of it -- is celebrating the Christmas season. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas. I just don't like the downside of it... No new episodes...

I guess in the spirit of Christmas -- or more appropriately, the Christmas vacation -- most of the shows are taking a long break themselves. This is a severe drawback of the season for couch potatoes such as myself. :) Well, in my case, the shows that I'm gonna really miss are House, Heroes, and Chuck.

Anyway, not to worry though: this simply means it's time to get try new stuff. Maybe I'll finally do what Che always wanted me to do: join Facebook! :)) Heard of some great online games similar to the vampire game I used to play about a couple of years ago.

Of course, I can always watch some old reruns, episode marathons and whatever. I can also get in the Christmas spirit and try to enjoy the season with family -- most of whom are back in the Philippines -- and friends -- many of whom are also going back to the Philippines. :))

BTW, I'm not really in a foreboding mode; I'm just thinking out loud -- or rather writing it in print. Better let it out than keep it to myself, right? Hehehehe :))

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 11

Dr. House: Why are Foreman's breasts suddenly starting to droop.

Dr. Hadley: Large breasts are a classic symptom of you letting Foreman take vacation days so he can finish his FDA reports before the end of the year.

Dr. House: Why aren't you taking a vacation?



Dr. Cuddy: I'm bringing in a case. You may have noticed I've been doing that before.

Dr. House: I've noticed you a lot recently. It's almost as if you have a sexual interest in someone here. Let's say, Taub.

Dr. Cuddy: Well, Taub might think I like him if I stayed which is why I'm gonna do this. [Cuddy walks away.]

Dr. Taub: Somehow I don't think that was really about me...



Dr. House: When did teachers ever know how to motivate their students?



Dr. Kutner: This place actually smells of evil.

Dr. Taub: Where do you work again?



Dr. Taub: Why would House throw out a book worth hundreds of dollars.

Dr. Kutner: To make you ask that question. Can you really put a pricetag on screwing with people?



Dr. Wilson: Irene Adler. Christmas 2001. Sarcoid symptoms, but, she didn't respond to methotrexate. I've never seen him so obsessed. He saved her with a last minute Wegner's diagnosis, but the hours he put in, I though it would kill him. And then... Well, he fell for her. But, it was too soon after Stacy and... It sounds so silly, but Irene was the one who got away.

Dr. Kutner: Really?

Dr. Wilson: No you idiots. House is just screwing with you. You think there's some woman with mysterious green paper wrapping trademark?



Dr. House: And you... Standing there... Beseechingly.

Dr. Cuddy: Yes, I was gonna stalk you at home, but it was a busy week and your office is closer.



Dr. Taub: Just tell her how you feel. If you won't, then I will. I'll walk right down there. Damn it... Love like this needs to fly free.

Dr. House: You talked to Wilson?

Dr. Taub: He has very girly handwrriting, by the way.



Dr. Wilson: It's too bad you can't just be nice to people. You can get a real present that way.

Dr. House: If I wanted gifts, I would just look deep into my patient's eyes and act like you: Oh I'm so sorry, you're dying, Mrs. Moron. Of course, I'll sleep with you. What I lack in skill, I can make up for...

Dr. Wilson: You'd just wind up insulting her. Perhaps, calling her Mrs. Moron...



Janice: He told me, "Get over it." With or without these drugs, I don't have a long time. I'm not gonna spend it as his guinea pig.



Dr. Hadley: You're not acting like House. You are like him.



Dr. House: There was a reported case of a civil war soldier. Shot in testicles and... the musketball carried the... non-musketball into the uterus of a woman working in a neighboring field. Nine months later, miracle child was born.... Also, maybe she cheated on you.



Whitney: We do other stuff in bed. Could some of the sperm have made it up there somehow?

Dr. House: More likely it came from the guy whose penis made it up there somehow. But... Sure, anything's possible.



Dr. Cuddy: Remember when you asked me if I had kids? I don't. And I don't know, maybe it has nothing to do with it, but I was good at school, good at work, lousy in life. I screwed every relationship I ever had. I thought why would I want to bring a child into this. But then I got older. And... How you feel now will pass. Don't let it screw up your whole life.

Natalie: It's already screwed up.



Foreman's Partner: You can't see the patients as people. You can't even see them as patients. They're numbers.



Foreman's Partner: Any personal stake we have seduces studies. Science is not about human relationships. It's about results. But you know that. You work for House. Why do you think I brought you in as my partner?



Dr. Cuddy: You faked a scientific miracle just to win a bet with Wilson?

Dr. House: More an argument. I realized it would have been simpler if I just faked the maternity test. Hey, Christmas spirit and all that.

Dr. Cuddy: I think you're confusing nice and evil again.



Dr. Kutner: Jonathan?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Dr. Kutner: I'm Lawrence Kutner.

Jonathan: Why are you here?

Dr. Kutner: I wanted to apologize for all the hurtful stuff I did in high school. I'm sorry.



Dr. Hadley: I heard Janice is back on the trial.

Dr. Foreman: My Christmas gift to you.

Dr. Hadley: I was wrong. You're not House.

Dr. Foreman: Yeah, well, that's my Christmas gift to myself.

Dr. Hadley: We should go to the party.

Dr. Foreman: We should....

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Pacquiao vs De La Hoya - What a win!

We watched the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight earlier via sopcast and wow, we were blown away by the performance of the Pacman! Saying that the bout was lopsided is a very very big understatement.

BTW, we watched it the fight at MMA-TV channel in sopcast, so better take not of it, in case of any upcoming events. :)

In case you missed it, during the break after round 8, De La Hoya's side turned in the towel giving the Pacman a TKO victory. This is very, very good for the Pacman; wins via decisions are always clouded in intrigues; a knock out victory means a win beyond a shadow of a doubt.

From the get-go, Pacman danced around the ring throwing jabs and hooks, most of which caught by the Golden Boy on the head. De La Hoya wasn't throwing punches like I remembered in his last match about six or seven years ago. I would have wanted him to trade more punches, like he used to. Among the different boxers, he is one of the ones I looked up to for a long time.

Pacman's speed is the key in his success. He keeps to the middle of the ring and darts in and out, landing punches at De La Hoya then just as quickly keeps distance to avoid counterpunches. Whenever he gets to the ropes, he quickly turns and retreats to the center, to prevent from being pinned and become a stationary target for the Golden Boy.

I remember around the sixth -- or was it the seventh? did anybody record the fight? -- round in which Pacman landed a powerful four-hit combo: a hook, a hook, a straight, then another hook. The replay showed the effects on De La Hoya, as his face quite literally bounced off of Pacman's fists left and right. That, for me, was the turning point that finally drove Pacman to pummel De La Hoya down to the point that the ringside doctor had not choice but to recommend to stop the fight.

Tough decision on the part of De La Hoya, forcing to submit. Still, everyone can tell that, even if had enough gas to last four more rounds, there is really no point; Pacman was way ahead in points and the only way for him to win was via knockout -- which is not gonna happen, since he cannot even land most of his punches.

You can also tell from the interviews that, while De La Hoya's face was swollen, Pacman's face was clean and unbruised. Just shows how much he dominated the bout.

More power to Pacman! Now dominating several weight divisions, he showed that his weight gain is not a factor in his speed. If anything, I think he was even much faster now than in his last fight a few months ago. I guess that just goes to show the intensity of his training and his determination to become better, stronger, and faster fighter.

As for De La Hoya, I wish he can still continue to compete in the ring. This is, after all, his first fight in years... It's practically a coming-out-of-retirement match. And it is not just against any fighter; it's against the so-called best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. No shame in losing to a champion. And the cliche about it's not how many times you fall but how many times you come back up applies here. Hope we see more of him in the future, before his age really catches up to him. Come on Golden Boy! You can do it!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 10

Dr. Cuddy: That's it? You're not gonna argue why this case is beneath you?

Dr. House: No point. We're in an elevator. Can't run away.

Dr. Cuddy: You can't run away anyway.

Dr. House: That's just mean.



Dr. House: Why are we still together?

Dr. Cuddy: We are going into our office.

Dr. House: Pronoun confusion. Starts kicking in when you pass the child-bearing age.



Dr. House: Wow! Muscles AND curves. My penis is so confused.



Dr. Cuddy: Can you do this outside?

Dr. House: I could but that would defeat the purpose of doing it here.



Dr. House: Forget the bypass. Treat her like a fat girl.

Dr. Taub: We treat her like a sixty year old Asian man, too? She's not fat.

Dr. House: Not on the outside. But on the inside, she's still tons of fun.



Dr. House: Have you seen my balls?

Dr. Cuddy: Can you hold on a second.

Dr. House: My balls? Have you seen my balls? The giant one and the red one?

Dr. Cuddy: Your plan isn't gonna work.

Dr. House: Of course it is. I try to make you miserable to make you leave. You deny that it's making you miserable. You try to make me miserable, so I'll stop making you miserable and eventually you will leave. Citing reasons that had nothing to do with misery...

Dr. Cuddy: You're not bothering me.

Dr. House: Step one complete.



Dr. Cuddy: Hey. Yeah, I just had to explain to him that I had his balls and he's not getting them back.



Emmy: My body was like a prison. When I got the surgery, I got healthy. And when I got healthy, I got happy.

Dr. Taub: I'm not sure you're happy. But if you are, being healthy didn't do it, being pretty did. Poop in the bedpan.



Dr. Cuddy: Other doctors actually use their offices for crazy stuff like seeing patients, not throwing a ball against the wall and calling it work.

Dr. Wilson: It's his process. That ball saves lives.



Dr. Wilson: Don't take his office and pretend like all you're doing is taking his office. You chose his room because you want to be there. But, sitting near him and hoping isn't gonna get it them.

Dr. Cuddy: Leave here now, or I'll take your office.

Dr. Wilson: No, you won't.



Dr. Kutner: It's not funny.

Dr. Taub: It is. You just can't appreciate it because it's gonna destroy your career.

Dr. House: What happened? He called Foreman clean and articulate again?



Dr. Hadley: Appreciate the life lesson, but fifteen minutes, give or take, isn't gonna make a difference. Get started on your other patients, I'll be down there when we're done here.

Dr. House: Way to know where your bread is buttered, sister. Up high!



Dr. Taub: Give me your arm.

Emmy: You can ask nicely.

Dr. Taub: I learned at med school that you don't actually cure with kindness.



Emmy: My helping people, my clients are making themselves healthy, better lives. Can you honestly tell me you've never done anything hypocrtitical? [Slight pause.] I'm sure you had good reasons.

Dr. Taub: Give me your arm, please?



Dr. House: I had the weirdest dream. You guys did the test in a reasonable amount of time and came back here before I had the time to fall asleep. You guys still smell that?

Dr. Kutner: Maybe you should just let her have your office.

Dr. House: Or... She sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of hers to the morgue.



Dr. Taub: I don't think sabotaging your boss's office is a wise kind of attack.

Dr. House: All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.



Dr. Hadley: I'm well aware of what's gonna happen to my body over the next eight to ten years. I do not need a visual reminder everytime I walk into that place.

Dr. Foreman: It's understandable. It's human. And you need to get over it. You show up ON TIME tomorrow, or you don't show up at all.



Dr. Taub: Why aren't we doing this in your office?

Dr. House: Obviously because it would be stupid to do this in an office without furniture. Cuddy... overreacted to my overreaction.



Dr. House: ... And why are you leaning on a 45 degree angle away from Foreman?

Dr. Hadley: I'm sitting straight...

Dr. House: Trouble in the land of false hope?

Dr. Foreman: Everything's fine. Austrian syndrome.

Dr. House: Nice deflection.



Dr. House: You want to know what happened to the toilet?

Dr. Wilson: She'll be with you where you claim to not want her.

Dr. House: I smashed it with a sledgehammer.

Dr. Wilson: I think in some ancient cultures, that was actually considered a proposal of marriage.



Dr. House: Does Foreman schedule your appointments by numbers on the clock? Or just when I'm in the middle of something?

Dr. House: Sorry, if I'm dying in a bad time for you.



Dr. House: You're not stopping me for medical reasons. You're stopping me because you have the hots for me.

Dr. Cuddy: You're still here because you have the hots for me.

Dr. House: Evidenced by the fact that I'm the one who moved in to your office.

Dr. Cuddy: It's the biggest office, and I'm not the one...

Dr. House: Why are you dressed like that? Why are you trying so hard to get my attention? Are you screwing with me?

Dr. Cuddy: Are you screwing with me?

Dr. House: That depends on your answer.

Dr. Cuddy: Everybody knows this is going somewhere... I think we're supposed to kiss now.

Dr. House: We already did that... [House touches Cuddy's breast.] Seemed like the logical next step.



Dr. House: When you were philandering with impunity, how did that feel?

Dr. Taub: Superficially, I loved it. But, deep down, I think I was miserable. Why? What's going on?

Dr. House: You weren't miserable. You gave something away to make relationship work. You rationalize when you're getting something back.



Dr. House: Sick people don't spontaneously get better.

Dr. Hadley: Yes, they do. It's called the immune system.

Dr. House: Sick people who are sick enough to make it to ME don't spontaneously get better. Not as pithy, but, yeah, technically more accurate.



Dr. House: The best you you can be is a lot more you.



Dr. House: I understand. Not many people have the guts to admit they'd rather be pretty than healthy. Income's better and you get more action.



Dr. Hadley: I wanted her to die. She just yelled so much. With no reason, she just screamed at me in front of my friends. My father tried to explain to me that her brain was literally shrinking, that she didn't mean it; that it was the disease, but I didn't care. I hated her... I never said goodbye... And she died with me hating her.



Dr. Taub: House is gonna kill us.

Dr. House: Slowly... And painfully. You're not only idiots, you're frauds. Fraudulent idiots. Fraudulent idiotic killers, as it turns out.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Our new Lenovo S10 Ideapad

Well, our trip to the Sitex a couple of weeks ago netted us a new laptop, the Lenovo S10 Ideapad. Safe to say, it's exactly what we've been looking for in a second laptop. Although, IMHO, it is not necessarily for everyone out there...

First let's get down to the basic specs:

Processor: Intel Atom N270 1600
Video Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
Display: 10.2", 1024x600 pixels (Max)
Dimensions: 9.8" x 7.3" x 0.9"
Weight: approx. 2.2 kg
Battery Life: approx. 2 hrs.

Memory can be upgraded to 2GB; same with the hard drive, up to about 160GB. Great amount of space for something so little. Ideal for massive transfers while not giving up mobility. You know, something that I government spy will find useful.

The packaged OS is Windows XP SP3, although according to the manual, it should be able to support Windows Vista as well. However, knowing how much Vista tends to hog all the resources, I think it is much more prudent to go for WinXP.

Under WinXP, the S10 boots up really fast and can run many memory and CPU-intensive intensive applications -- that is, games, hehehe -- very smoothly. Not bad if you ask me. Top notch performance in one really small package.

The feature software is the OneKey Rescue System, supposedly for backup and recovery. I haven't exactly seen this at work, since I haven't been in the situation in which the laptop crashed that I needed to recover it. Anyway, at the very least, its good to have that feature.

BTW, take note that the maximum resolution is only 1024 x 600. You might have some problems with some applications. In our case, we tried installing our old-time favorite Age of Mythology -- a fairly old Microsoft Game, so you would not expect any problem when installing it in a Windows OS, right? Well, when we tried to run it, we got an Initialization Failed error. Turns out, it has a problem with the resolution; tried running the "Safe Video" version of the game, then everything is running smoothly after that.

Portability is no sweat, thanks to its small dimensions. You can carry it literally like an actual writing notebook; it's smaller than an A4 paper. :)) BTW, it comes with a reversible slim case, which you can easily place inside your bag. Not sure if there were other available colors though; the one that came in with ours was gray one side, and pink on the reverse... not really the ideal colors that I can be proud of.

Of course, because of the size, the keyboard is a little cramped up than what I am used to. Also the touchpad is only about half the size of those in other laptops. Then again, I'm not really a touchpad person, that's why I almost buy a separate optical USB mouse.

That brings me to the other issue I have with it: it has only two USB ports; one on the right -- which is where I usually attach my mouse -- and one on the right. I would have preferred if there were at least one more USB port. IMHO, three USB ports would be ideal, especially now since tons of USB devices are out in the market. Then again, all I have to do is attach a USB port on the right USB port, then problem solved. :)

People also have some issues with the battery life being limited to only about 2 hours, depending on the applications running. Personally, I'd prefer the laptop to be plugged in anyway, so not an issue for me there. But others should take note of it.

Aside from that, it has the most usual features like the built-in webcam and microphone, built-in bluetooth and wireless, plus an ExpressCard for WWAN. :)

Lastly, this laptop does not heat up as much as the other laptops out there. I can have it sit on my lap and I barely felt it. You can place it comfortably on your lap and really call it a laptop.

So would I recommend it? Hell, yeah! Just think about some of the tiny little caveats I have here as well as in other reviews. I think its strengths are its portability and performance. For the most part, if you're looking for a really light yet relatively powerful laptop, you should really consider Lenovo S10 Ideapad.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Manny Pacman Pacquiao vs. Oscar Golden Boy De La Hoya - Tale of the Tape

It's that time once again: another Pacquiao fight. This time, the perhaps the greatest dream fight of all time: Manny Pacman Pacquiao vs. Oscar Golden Boy De La Hoya. Can't wait this Sunday! (Saturday in the US.)

Well, with all the fuzz about the glooming economy and Mumbai, I guess a little bit of highly anticipated boxing match should uplift the mood of the people.

And here's our favorite part, the tale of the tape:



Manny Pacman Pacquiao

Tale of the Tape

Oscar De La Hoya

29 yrs

Age

35 yrs

135 lbs*

Weight

154 lbs*

5'6"

Height

5'10"

67"

Reach

73"

52

Total Fights

44

47

Win

39

35

KO

30

3

Loss

5

2

Draw

0


*Exact weight to be determined on official weigh-in.




According to some *ahem* critics, the winning odds are more or less even.

Well, who can really tell which of the powerhouses has the edge over the other? Who will ultimately win? And, I guess for the betters, will it be a knockout win? And if so, which round? Just a few more days and we'll all find out... :)

BTW, some important notes:

Weigh-In: Friday, December 5, 2008, 2 P.M. E.T.
PPV: Saturday, December 6, 2008, 9 P.M. E.T.

Monday, December 01, 2008

On Wolverine and the X-Men - Episode 01 to 12

When I first heard about this, I was like "what, Wolverine again?" Like I said before, I have nothing against the short guy, except that I think he's over-exposed. Sure, he's one of the greatest superheroes out there, but he was taken to such a level that he's practically everywhere; two Wolverine comics, appears in several X-Men comics, and now, is even the star of his cartoon series.

The Good: So far, this series at least tries to be as close to the current X-Men in the comics; the "staple" characters of the "X-men universe" are there, such as, well, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Beast, and Prof X -- well, sort of. Then, there's also Emma Frost -- I guess the first incarnation of the X-Men TV franchise that ever included her -- at least the first time as part of the team.

Also, tons of the traditional X-Men villains are there: so far, there were Magneto and the Brotherhood (Ep2, Ep3, Ep10), Mr. Sinister and the Marauders (Ep12), Master Mold and the Sentinels (Ep3, Ep9), Shadowking (Ep4), Sabertooth (Ep11) -- although he's more of a "Wolverine" character.

Many of the episodes are nods to actual storylines, such as the Hulk vs Wolverine angle (Episode 7), the Sentinel saga "Days of Future Past" (Episode 9), and Weapon X (Episode 11).

The Bad: Well, Wolverine being at the helm of the X-Men. I see him more of a squad leader, more on a per mission team leader -- like the current incarnation of the X-Force in the comics. Not the overall strategist and head of the X-Men.

That burden of leadership should have fallen on the shoulders of Cyclops who, disgustingly, is depicted as a lovesick, out of control brat who is all about Jean, Jean, Jean. Sure, he got an episode solely focused on him (Ep 12) but, again, it's all about Jean, Jean, Jean. His character -- like the live-action X-Men films -- is not fairly nor accurately depicted. And with Wolverine taking the lead title, there's little chance that Cyclops will ever take the the leadership of the team.

Also, there is no continuity so far. With the exception of the first three episodes, you can watch the other episodes in any order you want without affecting the main story... Oh wait, there IS no story here. No continuity. No main plot. No nothing. what do we know so far? Prof X is in a coma and the remaining X-Men are trying to reform the team again. Duh! Ah well...

Sure it's a kids show, but hell, does that mean that the continuity is practically nonexistent?

The Verdict: Well, the X-Men comics is very, very promising so far and so I'm still hoping for the same in the TV series version. Only 13 of the 26 season 1 episodes have aired so far -- at least the ones dubbed in English. I'm still hoping that the remaining episodes will be much better than the last ones.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 9

Jason: Excuse me, i'm looking for Dr.Cuddy.

Dr. House: Well, she's either not here or she's under the desk. Either way you're gonna have to wait outside until i'm finished.



Dr. House: If you ask me, keeping an open line of communication is the best way to resolve conflict.



Jason: She's not a cop? Doctor Cuddy brings in the guards... ALONE!

Dr. House: She might be armed. I'd have her deliver it shirtless.



Dr. Taub: House is gonna get someone killed.

Dr. Kutner: Guy's ready to kill for a diagnosis. I can't think of a better doctor to be trapped in there with him.

Dr. Cameron: How abaout somebody's not gonna keep pushing the whackjob's buttons until it cracks.



Dr. House: First rule of triage: guys with guns go first.



Dr. House: This is a level of risk peaking beyond anonymous girl on girl action.



Dr. House: She's gonna go.

Nurse Regina: She's gonna come back.

Dr. House: She should go.

Nurse Regina: He'll kill him.

Dr. House: But not her.

Nurse Regina: Is that your version of morality?

Dr. House: If you don't think your life is worth more than someone else's, sign your donor card and kill yourself.



Dr. House: The martyr's hearts is beating dangerously slow. Are we good to go?



Jason: If it's cancer, there must be a test.

Dr. House: We just did it.

Jason: What about an X-ray or something.

Dr. House: Good idea. Oh! Damn! I left my CT machine in my other pants.

[Long pause...]

Jason: How many hostages do you think it will cost me for a trip to radiology.



Dr. House: Humiliation? Doctors treating you like a piece of meat. Too many fingers and tubes up your holes. You hate doctors, and you want to take back control. So I apologize for the fact that you ARE a piece of meat.

Jason: I just want an answer. That's all.



Jason: You're not me. This is my body. This is my life. There's a truth out there. I'd rather rot in jail knowing than... I can't handle not knowing.



Dr. Hadley: You're a coward! You need to know everything because you're afraid to be wrong! You're so afraid of being ordinary, of being just another doctor, just another human being that you'll risk other people's lives.

Dr. House: I'm arrogant. You're the coward. You're terrified of death. You just want to cheat it by making it come sooner. Gives you the illusion of control.



Jason: Not knowing what was wrong with me made me miserable. Maybe that's insane. Doing this, yeah, insane. But I had something to gain. You can't take risks with no upside at all.

Dr. House: I can't decide which is riskier. Taking crazy risks, or taking advice on crazy risks from a crazy risk-taker.



Dr. House: If you're suggesting that you screwed up because of a non-relationship with me, I don't know how I can help you. 'Coz the only change you can make from a non-relationship is... [sigh]

Dr. Cuddy: You want a relationship?

Dr. House: God, no! I'm trying to follow your logic.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Unemployed no more

Just a personal post after a long time; after more than a month out of vacation, uhm, I mean work, I finally landed a job in another company.

I just got the notification today from the company stating that my Employment Pass has already been approved. They just provided me the In Priciple Approval letter, or IPA, to them. As in common practice here in Singapore, on my first day at work, which is this Monday, I will be submitting the accomplished IPA, together with my passport and immigration card.

Same Work, New opportunities
Well, like I've said in my interviews, I've been in the IT Services/Support work for the last five years, I don't see any point shifting anytime soon.

I guess the big difference this time is that I will be working in a different environment that what I'm used to. The drive for excellence here is much more extreme than any of my previous jobs; it only encourages me to take any and all certifications I can get my hands on. I think it's about time that I invest on myself anyway, so that's what I'm gunning for in the next two to three years. :)

I hope I can finally grow my roots here, so to speak; promoted, bigger salary, and all that. Just have to work hard for it in the next few years.

Wish me luck! :)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Chuck: The first 8 episodes of Season 2

It's been a while since I posted anything Chuck-related here. That doesn't mean that I've stopped watching this great show, though. :)

I've stated before that with the writer's guild strike over, the storyline should improve a great deal in season two. And whoa boy! Did they deliver it this time! Don't care what the critics say; there will always be people who will not like this show for some reason.

Anyway, just a recap of the last eight episodes:

The first three episodes shows Chuck and Sarah trying to make their cover relationship real when they learned that the replacement Intersect will be put in place; however, recent events like the new Intersect exploding at the conclusion of S02E01 Chuck versus the First Date, and Bryce showing up at the end of S02E02 Chuck versus the Seduction and the entire S02E03 Chuck versus the Breakup, put a stop to that. In S02E03, Chuck realized that life with Sarah would never be normal and have decided to just keep their cover relationship as is -- just a cover.

The next two episodes are some "filler" episodes featuring the past of Sarah, in S02E04 Chuck versus the Cougars, and Jeff, S02E05 Chuck versus TomSawyer -- yeah, that "Nerd Herd, serial-killer" Jeff.

The latest three episodes features the biggest storyline thus far; the return of Chuck's first love, Jill. In S02E06 Chuck versus the Ex, Chuck finds himself still in love with Jill and, at the conclusion, was forced to reveal to her that he is an agent of CIA. In S02E07 Chuck versus the Fat Lady, Jill becomes an indespensible part in solving Chuck's next mission -- much to the chagrin of Sarah. The plot twist at the end of the epsisode was, well, twisted: Jill is a rogue CIA agent!

The latest episode, S02E08 Chuck versus the Gravitron, Chuck finally learns this after he flashes on an SMS in Jill's phone and upon hearing her codename "Sand Storm". Anyway, long story short, Chuck, using among others his full nerd mastery of the Castle -- that's what they call the CIA facility under Orange, Orange; not sure if this was the first episode that revealed the name of this facility though -- is able to trap Jill in the Nerd Herder.

I like the direction of the story so far. After the Jill incident, Chuck and Sarah have regained each others trust and confidence, hopefully becoming a stronger team than before. And, being awarded the Couple That We Rooted for the Most award in IGN '07, we can only speculate if the producers and writers have finally decided to make the two a real couple in the next episodes.

We're not even halfway through the season yet; this season is supposed to consist of 22 full episodes, which only means there's soooo much room for more interesting developments, some hanging plotlines to pursue, and what-not.

I'm just hoping that there would be lesser episodes dealing with the past of, say, Lester, Big Mike or the others, unless it is somehow reallyy, really, really needed in the storyline. Sorry, not a big fan of the Tom Sawyer episode.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 8

Dr. House: Nothing to say?

Dr. Wilson: No.

Dr. House: No you don't? Or no you don't don't?

Dr. Wilson: Whichever one means no.



Dr. House: Thank God some of those offshore sweatshop jobs are coming back to America.



Dr. Kutner: But not every teenager is having sex.

Dr. Foreman: But every teenager IS stupid. Teenagers in on their own are stupider.



Dr. House: No.... Oh do you want a reason? Clinical trials take time. Your time is my time.



Sofia: I know you're trying to be nice, but I'm not into the whole "pity" thing.

Dr. Kutner: I was actually doing the "I get it" thing. I lost my parents when I was six. It doesn't go away... But it gets easier. You'll learn to deal.



Dr. Taub: If you're this grown up in sixteen, what happened to thirty?

Dr. Hadley: Turn back to a kid... Like Kutner



Dr. Taub: Yeah, friendly is a dangerous thing.

Dr. Hadley: There is such a thing as too trusting.

Dr. Taub: Corollary is, there's such a thing as not trusting enough. Too much, you get hurt. Not enough, you don't live.

Dr. Hadley: So the object in life is to get hurt just the right amount. Excuse me, but I don't go out of my way to take relationship advice from you. And trust...should be earned.



Dr. Cuddy: House did something solely out of self-interest? FREAKY!



Dr. House: But your decision to "stick it to the man" clearly inspired "Oliver Twist".



Dr. House: And when I say "Foreman", I mean "Foreman". I want his signature on the paperwork, I want videotape... I want photographs of him with the patient in today's newspaper.



Dr. Cameron: You can't? Don't you work with three other doctors and a grouchy imp?



Dr. House: Yesterday, you were all BFF. Now, you think she's pathological...

Dr. Kutner: Yesterday, I had no reason to doubt her. If she'd been honest to us in the beginning...

Dr. Hadley: She lied about dead parents because it's better than rapist parents.



Dr. House: Yeah, she's drowning in her own lungs and she's delirious. She's a picture of emotional health.



Dr. House: I went to Cuddy's house. But I didn't go in... Went home without ringing either her metaphorical or actual bell.



Dr. Wilson: You made a decision. I can't tell you what's right for you.

Dr. House: Seriously?! 'Coz last week you could... Last year you could. This comes pretty easy for you.



Dr. Wilson: Do you want me to tell you what you should do?

Dr. House: I want you to stop thinking that acting inscrutible makes you anything other than annoying.

[pause]

Dr. Wilson: Interesting...

Dr. House: Holding things in can give you cancer!



Dr. Hadley: Not addressing what happened won't make it go away.

Sofia: Yeah? What do I have to do to make it go away.



Sofia: Reporting it just labels me: "Girl Raped By Dad".

Dr. Hadley: It doesn't have to define you.

Sofia: It's how you see me.



Dr. Chase: There's a point when Cameron and I aren't enough.

Dr. Foreman: We're not there.

[Kid crashes and is stabilized by Foreman and Chase.]

Dr. Chase: Foreman... We're there.



Sofia: That's it? No advice? No be careful out there kiddo?

Dr. Hadley: You want my advice?

Sofia: "Want" is one thing. "Expect" is another.



Dr. House: Just because we call something a "poison", doesn't mean it's bad for you.



Dr. House: Biopsy a lesion, confirm that she's dying, then load her up with arsenic. Keep her alive till you can convince her that "rapist" marrow and "rapist-enabling" marrow works just as awell as the unleaded stuff.



Dr. House: You didn't flinch when we found out a sixteen-year-old could be dying in the next few days. 'Means you're here about someone even younger dying even faster.



Dr. House: You think that if you tell me what I should do, my instincts are to push back. So by not telling me what you think I should do, I'll do what you think I should do.



Dr. Wilson: So my not doing anything isn't causing you to do anything?

Dr. House: Right.

Dr. Wilson: I'm okay with that.

Dr. House: No you're not! You are designed to have opinions and to force them on people.



Sofia: If I do this, I'll owe my life to them. It'd mean everything else that happened somehow okay. They don't deserve that. They're not in my life. If that means I'm dead then I'm dead.



Dr. Taub: I have Huntington's disease. I'm dying. I don't know when it'll happen, but it'll be sooner than I ever planned. And I'd do anything to stop it. Because the only way to make anything right... The only way to make your life matter is to live as long and as well as you possibly can.



Sofia: Have you ever been raped?

Dr. Taub: No.

Sofia: Don't try to walk in my shoes and I won't try to walk in yours.



Dr. Hadley: What she wants could kill her. What she needs could save her.

Dr. House: Our job is to find out what's killing patients, not treat them for chronic idiocy.

Dr. Hadley: Idiocy is what's killing her.

Dr. House: And since we can't cure that, I'm going home.



Dr. Foreman: It's the opposite of jealous. He includes Jonah in everything he does: makes sure he eats, brushes his teeth...

[Pause then Foreman takes off.]

Dr. Chase: You think we gave him an idea?

Dr. Cameron: Either that or he's off to kill House.



Dr. House: You need people to see how independent you are; how well you're coping. 'Coz they want to see the lost, hurt, little girl. Because that's not what you see. You see someone who did something terrible: deserves to suffer that doesn't deserve to live. What did you do?



Sofia: I killed their son. I killed my brother. I was supposed to watch him. He was in the bath. I could hear him laughing. Every time they look at me, it's like I'd kill him again.



Dr. House: If you don't take your parent's bone marrow, you'd be killing their other child. If they don't hate you now, they will then.



Dr. House: You want someone to tell you that it's just an accident, that it's not that bad. Well.. It is that bad. And you know it. There's nothing you can do to change that. But there is one thing you can do: to not make it worse...



Dr. House: Can I give my reasons later? Or NEVER?



Dr. House: Three days ago, you asked me. Now, you told me. Can't say no if it's not a question.



Dr. Wilson: Nice thing you did for Foreman.

Dr. House: He speaks!

Dr. Wilson: He deflects!



Dr. Wilson: You just needed to prove it to him. You're an ass. But, a noble one.

Dr. House: I sound clever.

Dr. Wilson: Thank you.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Crocs Expo Weekend

Slashing the prices from SGD60+ down to SGD20 or less, it's no big surprise that the Crocs Expo this last weekend is one of the biggest expos of the year. And, in my case, the longest queue I've ever had the pain of experiencing.

Here's the collage showing what everyone who went to the Crocs Expo went through:



Top-left panel shows the sign showing where the queue to the Crocs Expo is; posted everywhere from the Expo MRT station all the way to Hall4A.

Next is the queue to get in the Crocs Expo during Day 3 at around 9:30AM. With am extremely large turnout (and that is just putting it mildly), the queue had extended from the entrance of Hall4A all the way inside Hall3, as shown here. The queue "snaked" around Hall3 and the was quickly jam-packed by 10AM.

The last panel on the first row shows the reason people go to the Crocs Expo in the first place: footwear! Clogs, sandals, shoes!

The next two pictures show the typical scene after people got what they wanted; after grabbing all the footwear that they can get their hands on, people look for an empty spot on the floor and sort them out, keeping the footwear that they actually like and leaving everything else on the floor. The rejected footwear are then grabbed by the other people around who would then continue to grab any and all footwear they can find. Same cycle, continuously grabbing everything then sorting them out later. Well, talk about kiasu of the highest level! :))

Lastly, the dreaded payment queue. The queue was so long, it filled up half of the Expo Hall and reached the other stalls. I remember we were on the credit card payment queue at around 3PM; we reached the payment counter just before 6PM! Damn! Longest queue I've ever had!

Anyway, we got the black-red Athens (mens) and the black-grey Ithaca (womens).



So, is it worth it? I would have to say yes. SGD 100 is usually just enough to buy one pair of Crocs. This expo, SGD 100 netted us at least 5 Crocs! And if you came during day three, it was further slashed down to just SGD15! Do the math!

For those going home and looking for gifts or pasalubong,this would have been a goldmine! Hope you had you're share! :)

Related Info:
Ever wonder why prices have been slashed way, way down? We have thought of at least two reasons:


What do you think?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 7

Dr. House: Anybody can hate humanity after getting shot. It takes a big man to hate it beforehand.



Dr. House: See? Perfectly reasonable explanation. She's definitely not here trying to work her way back on the team; steal your job or anything...



Dr. House: I kinda hit that last night, so now she's all on my jock.

Dr. Hadley: Wow! She looks pretty good for someone on roofies



Dr. House: Tsk. The Foremster and the Camster, kicking it old school. I'd think she's not trying to steal your job.



Dr. House: Kinda hit that. So, she's all on my jock.

Dr. Wilson: Whoa... What... What?

Dr. House: Huh... Everyone else though I was kidding.



Dr. Wilson: There's a reason....

Dr. House: Yes, those large things in her bra...

Dr. Wilson: You were hiding it from me. Means it meant something to you.

Dr. House: Yeah, I fiendishly concealed it within the phrase "I hid that".



Dr. Cameron: You would have said interesting no matter what the answer.

Dr. House: And no matter the answer would have been interesting. No engagements, commitment issues. His place, control issues.



Stewart: You obviously can't stand people. But for me, it's worse, alright. I'd rather die in here, than live out there.



Dr. Cuddy: Uh, everything involving me kissing House is good... Oh God! You dragged it out of me. You're a genius.



Dr. Wilson: Funny, I've leaned on friends in the past. Never leaned so far that my tongue fell in their mouths.



Dr. Cuddy: The benefit of being boss, is that I don't have to argue. You're all off the case.




Dr. Chase: Fine, forget about the patient. What's goin' on with you? This is why we left House's team; to avoid this constant flood of pure craziness.

Dr. Cameron: That's why I left House. You got fired.



Dr. Wilson: Any relationship that doesn't end in a breakup ends in death. Everything falls apart in the end. That's YOUR worldview. The corollary, which you keep forgetting, is that you have to grab any chance for happiness.



Dr. House: Foreman. Listen to that little voice in your head. It's coming from the telephone. FORCEFEED HIM!



Dr. Cuddy: Or maybe it would be better if just... had sex.

Dr. Wilson: Pardon me?



Dr. House: When you confess adultery, things tend to go bad. When one part of your life does a Titanic, you make a liferaft out of whatever's left, which makes your job more significant, which is why you did the surgery when he pulled an all-nighter, and why'll you do this.



Dr. Wilson: House, you're a drug addict. You're ALWAYS imagining things.



Dr. Chase: You know why we spend nights in my house? 'Coz when we spend them at yours, I could tell you didn't want me there.



Dr. Chase: You always kick me out every morning. You never offered me a drawer. You never cleared out your closet for me. I was just a visitor.



Dr. House: Yeah, he's got PTSD. Yeah, he's agoraphobic. He's also a coward. You want to change your life, do something. Don't believe in your own rationalizations, or just lock yourself up and pretend you're happy.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

On Interviews

Well, I'm still alive and kicking here. As expected, I've been busy the past few days with lots of phone and face-to-face interviews. As I continuously search for the ideal job, I guess now would be a good time to share something I've learned about interviews.

Questions To Prepare For

Among all of my interviews for the last two weeks, here are the top five topics that were asked by all of my interviewers:

  • Description of your current job

  • Reason for leaving your current job

  • Your career plans/targets/goals

  • Your strengths/weaknesses

  • Worst problem encountered and how to deal with it


The following are other notable information/questions that, although not always asked, are quite tough to answer if you are caught offguard:

  • Your knowledge of the company

  • Your knowledge of the position applied for

  • An actual example showing your skills, initiative, sense of responsibility, etc

  • Management style you prefer

  • Current and expected salary, and notice period/availability


Delivery of your Answers

Take care when answering the above questions. Your answers reflect your personality to the interviewer, which is basically the main reason for asking these in the first place; they want to know you and your work attitude; at that point, they can already decide whether they want you or not.

Here are some tips which should prove useful:

  • Prepare your answer. Don't think of the answer just when the interviewer asks you right then and there; you know that at some point that it is going to be asked, so you might as well prepare a good answer.

  • Be brief and concise. No need to beat around the bush or say any gibberish; just get straight to the point. Based from experience, your answer is brief and concise if it consists of not more than three sentences and if you can say it in not more than two minutes; if you exceed these, you might consider shortening your answer a bit, while still getting the message across.

  • Be confident. You have to convince yourself and your interviewer. If you don't believe your own words, neither will anyone else.

  • If you don't know, be honest about it. You are not really expected to answer every little question asked. If you don't know the answer, just say it so you can move on. If you dwell to much on a particular question, that is the most likely thing that the interviewers will remember about you when they are shortlisting of candidates: the guy who wasted our time.

  • Practice! In a certain company, 80% of applicants failed their interviews not because of lacking technical skills, but because they did not practice what to say. You may know your stuff but if nobody understands what you're saying, there's no point.


Interview the Interviewer

Interviews are two-way; the company (through the interviewer) evaluates whether you fit the job; likewise, you, the interviewee, evaluates whether the position/company is worth going to -- or at least it should be. Know your employer before you proceed any further.

The following topics should have been discussed during the course of your interviews:

  • Complete/detailed job description

  • Working environment

  • Benefits package (medical, leaves, bonuses, allowances, etc)

  • Whether your career plan coincides with the career path set by the company for the position

  • Trainings offered, if any


Hope this posts helps anyone who will be having interviews in the near future.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weekend Reprieve - Vacuum Bag Saturday

The previous week was a busy one; loaded with tons of phone and face-to-face interviews. And this week would be just as tough... if not worse! For me, that makes it imperative that I enjoy this intermediary weekend!

Not sure if I have fully maximized my weekend, but it's safe to say that it's more enjoyable than my typical weekend at home.

Saturday was a great D.I.Y. day, with me learning a few tricks with the large zip bags sold in Daiso (the SGD2 store here in SG).

Christmas season is upon us and it is common for Pinoys to be sending some things back to families and friends in the Philippines through balikbayan boxes and such.

(BTW, normal balikbayan boxes usually deliver within two weeks; during peak seasons, this could take longer because of *ahem* tighter customs inspections. *wink* *wink*)

Anyway, in our case, we sent pillows and clothes among other things; if only we had shrink-wrapped them, we could have thrown in even more stuff back home! The space consumed by one Akemi pillow could easily accomodate 4 or more Akemi pillows once compressed. That would have made a very big difference! Oh well, next year, we'll know what to do. :)

Just some notes on using the zip bags:

  • Place the articles as neatly and orderly as possible inside the bag;

  • Zip the bag leaving a small opening just enough for the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner; we suggest using the "corner" nozzle adapter;

  • Ensure that neither the plastic bag nor the articles inside are clogging the nozzle to maximize shrinkage;

  • Stop the vacuum, remove the nozzle, then zip the bag as quickly as possible; if you can do this in one fluid motion, you're great!

  • Regarding the pillows, note that:

    • The 90x80 bag accomodates two standard-sized pillows (usually 80x45);

    • The 110x110 bag accomodates four bolsters.



Take note of these if you are going home this Christmas or if you are sending via balikbayan boxes. Our housemates, who will be going home this November, managed to eliminate one bag after shrink-wrapping about 8 pillows and 4 bolsters. Great space saver, especially for the packrats out there!

That's all for this Saturday. Separate post for what we did this Sunday. :)

Friday, November 07, 2008

Coming Soon! SITEX 2008

The so-called infocomm event of the year is returning to Singapore.

This is actually the first IT Expo we attended since coming here in Singapore last year. Of course back then, since we were still new to our jobs, we didn't really have splurged since. This time around, it's gonna be different! Hehehe :))

This year is their 20th anniversary, it is the longest running IT Event in Singapore, so hopefully this will be something to look forward to.

Anyway, here are the details:

SITEX
November 27 to 30, 2008
Singapore Expo
Halls 5 and 6, Foyer 2, and Atrium 5
11am to 9pm


The only downside -- at least in my view -- is that this will be all the way in Expo all the way in the east Singapore area; quite far for the rest of us who are in the western part of the country. Still, going there should be worthwhile.

So if you're going, see you there! :)

Did you remit a few days ago?

Ever since the global economic troubles began when Lehman Brothers went out, we've been monitoring the SGD-PHP Exchange Rate. From PHP33 a few months ago, it dipped to just above PHP30. And with Christmas season looming, we're not really expecting it to go up any higher (since, as you may know, PHP tends to go lower during this season because more Pinoys remit home for the Holidays).

Then, we got a lucky break last week; starting October 31st, the exchange rate rose to PHP32.60, the highest it's been in weeks. Tuesday, November 4th, it went down to PHP32.40. As of this writing, by November 6th, the rate has now dropped to PHP32.35.

Hope you guys took advantage of this. Sudden favorable rise in exchange rates tends to last only a few days, maybe a week at most. After that, you'd have to settle to lower exchange rates for the next few months.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Top 10 Things I Learned from Avenue Q

It's the simple, little things where you learn a lot about life. The simple comedy of Avenue Q has depth and value; real-hard truths. Who said we can't learn anything from comedy? :)

The Top Ten Things I Learned from Avenue Q:

10: Schadenfreude, a German term for "happiness at the misfortune of others" is a common trait of many people, not just Germans; that's why there are people you love to hate.

9: Everyone is a racist in their own way; just different degrees and different steroetypes.

8: Don't leave an important note for someone to somebody you don't know or trust. Geez, use your cellphone! Or the internet!

7: Any object (regardless of size, shape, and density) dropped from high altitudes may be fatal. So lookout! And don't throw anything when you're way up there!

6: There's life outside your apartment. When you're depressed, don't sulk; get out there and have fun!

5: Be thankful for people who accept you for who you are, whether you're straight, gay, bisexual, or whatever; they are your real friends.

4: You may think your life sucks, but there's someone else whose life sucks more than you; so cheer up!

3: There's a fine line between lover and friend, between reality and pretend, between love and a waste of time. (Just listen to the song; it's pretty straightforward.)

2: You can earn millions from Internet porn; it's only a matter of how. In the midst of economic turmoil, there will always be people who would go for porn. It's up to you if you want to take advantage of it. :))

1: You may or may not know your purpose, but that should not stop you from living your life. Everything in life is only for now; so don't waste it.

Monday, November 03, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 6 Quotes

Jerry: Did you invite Shelby for Saturday?

Samantha: No

Jerry: Do you want me to call her?

Samantha: Yeah, that would be great. You call a twelve-year old girl for a sleep over.



Dr. Cuddy: She's not a crack baby!

Dr. House: NO! Mother's perfectly healthy. It's just that she had to give up the baby to continue her work on the human genome.



Dr. House: What they don't confess to you is almost always more interesting.



Dr. Taub: I think the traditional family is a fraud. Even married moms or single moms, daddy just pay some bills and reads just enough bedtime stories to not kill themselves out of guilt.

Dr. Hadley: My dad was great! After my mom died...

Dr. Taub: He might be the exception. On the otherhand, you are fairly screwed up.



Becca: Why did I chose a single mom? My grandmother was married for 37 years to a man who treated her like garbage. My mom would have seem right and my loser dad got along, but he dumped her. You know I never understood how you could fall for the same crap as your mother. Then I met Tony... When I read your bio, a doctor, a head of a hospital, I saw your picture... I don't want her raised by a loser.



Dr. Hadley: You're afraid you'll make the same mistake you made with your wife? Get caught taking some other kid to a ballgame?

Dr. Taub: I like my life as it is.



[After House splashes "baby barf" on Cuddy's sweater.]

Dr. Cuddy: Well played, sir. You leave me no choice but to change... MY CLOTHES, not my mind.

Dr. House: It's exactly my point. If it's not gonna be me and a cup, it's gonna be eight times a day. If you can't handle that stain, you can't handle a baby.



Dr. Cuddy: Why do you even care? It's not like I'm EVER gonna ask you to baby sit.

Dr. House: I'm a humanitarian.



Dr. Hadley: I don't want the "good-get-the-new-customer-hooked" stuff. I want the "stepped-on-keep-the-old-customer-coming-back-for-more" stuff.

Sadie: Are you crazy, b!tch?

Dr. Hadley: No, I'm just a b!tch who knows what she wants.



Dr. House: Is it really worth it? Just for the the pursuit of unconditional love?

Dr. Cuddy: Only you see that as a bad thing.

Dr. House: It's a fake thing. There's no unconditional love. It's just unconditional need. Don't make this child a victim of your biological clock.



[After House pushes the lamp off the table.]

Dr. Cuddy: Let me guess. I'm gonna tell her not to play ball in the house, but she's not gonna listen.

Dr. House: No! Actually, I was going for "she sneaks her boyfriend her in while you were sleeping, and he wants to do it on the desk. At first, she says no, but, she has issues with self-esteem."

Dr. Cuddy: You know you're gonna pay for that.

Dr. House: I'm paying for it now... with WISDOM.



Dr. House: See, this is what's screwed up here. You're not sure if this is the right call, but you ARE sure this is what you want to tell her. And that scares you because your motives aren't medical. Some part of you doesn't want this baby. And that part wants her to kill it.



Dr. Wilson: Adoption is cheating? Are they giving her a fake kid?

Dr. House: It's the problem. She gets to have a relationship with a kid, she can't handle one with an adult. So, she's gonna kill it.

Dr. Wilson: It does seem cleaner.



Dr. House: Guy's bleeding out of his pores. What does that tell us? Other than you don't want to play basketball against him AND he's dying.



Becca: THIS IS NOT MY BABY! I've already sacrificed 9 months for this stupid mistake. I don't want to sacrifice anymore.

Dr. Cuddy: Becca, you asked my opinion because you wanted to do the right thing. You are giving up this baby because you don't want to make the mistakes your mom made... her mom made. You have a chance to break the cycle. To do something great for this baby.

Becca: ... No... [sigh]



Dr. House: Now it's time to say those magic words you'll be telling her for the rest of her life: "Mommy's gotta go to work!"



Dr. House: Sorry. Daddy's perfectly healthy. We would want you to give him a kidney because, it would be cool if he had three.



Dr. Wilson: Cuddy is positively aglow. What's your theory? She's only acting happy to make you miserable?



Dr. House: I need a genetic disease.

Dr. Wilson: I'm sure you're carrying a few.



Dr. Wilson: Adoption's a cheat, remember? There's no real pregnancy, so there's no stranded dopamine receptors, so there's no post partum depression. Cuddy will be the happiest new mother you've ever seen.

[slight pause]

Dr. Wilson: I've just given you the answer, haven't I? And now you're going to walk out of here without saying a word.

Dr. House: Nope.



Dr. Hadley: But if you can't feel pleasure, what's with the cocaine?

Dr. House: Really?! Is that when you do drugs? 'Coz your happy? Most people do them because they want to be happy. The subconscious craved it, needed it...



Becca: When I saw you hold her, and the look on your face, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And that's when I realized, I can't... My life, it's always been about pain, anger, and disappointment; never about love. And that's when I realize, you know, it could be. And I can't give that away...



Dr. Cuddy: It's a decision that changes everything. Changes the rest of your life.

Becca: ...I hope so.



Dr. Cuddy: You son of a b!tch! When I was getting a baby, you told me I'd suck as a mother. Now that I've lost it, you tell me I'd be great as a mother. Why do you need to negate everything...

Dr. House: I don't know.....

[Followed by a long, passionate.... whoops, spoiler.. :)) ]

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Walking down Avenue Q in Singapore

We watched Avenue Q in the Esplanade Theatre last night with the gang from the East Coast (of Singapore). It's been a long time since we enjoyed theatre and having the best seats in the house, I must say, is worth every cent.

The front row definitely has an advantage: you have a close up view of everything. You can see every single detail, every minute facial expression; the best way to fully appreciate the performance of the actors. We got to see firsthand why Avenue Q is one of the hottest shows in London and New York and why it won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Okay, in case you didn't know, Avenue Q is a musical loosely based on Sesame Street, with the puppets and everything. Though it has, uhm, shall we say, "adult" elements to it, it is a simple story that, I think, anyone can relate to. It's a coming-of-age story of a person, learning for the very first time exactly what life, dreams, purpose, and friendship is all about. The musical is an honest reflection of our times. Don't want to give away a lot of spoilers here (unless you want me to, in which case, I'll do that in a separate post). Just watch the show; trust me, it's worth it. ;)

The cast is a great ensemble of Filipino performers -- well, most of them anyway (six out of seven). :)) Pinoy voice and acting talents have always been one of the best in the world (Lea Salonga anyone?); and many would agree. During the intermission, I overheard one group of caucasians (from the accent, I guess they're American) who were applauding Carla Guevara-Laforteza's last musical number in Act One, There's a Fine, Fine Line.

Do yourself a favor and WATCH IT! :)

Here are some facts about the show:

Avenue Q The Musical (Uncut and Uncensored)
30 October - 16 November 2008
Esplanade Theatre

Rating: R16 (Suitable for ages 16 and above.)
Duration: 2 hours 30 mins (inclusive of 20 minute intermission)

Cast (in order of appearance)
  • Princeton (Felix Rivera), a fresh-faced kid just out of college

  • Brian (Rycharde Everley), a laid-back guy engaged to Christmas Eve

  • Kate Monster (Carla Guevara-Laforteza), a kindergarten teaching assistant

  • Rod (Felix Rivera), a Republican investment banker with a secret

  • Nicky (Joel Trinidad), a bit of a slacker, who lives with Rod

  • Christmas Eve (Frenchie Dy), a therapist who moved here from Japan

  • Gary Coleman (Aiza Seguerra), Yes, that Gary Coleman, superintendent

  • Trekkie Monster (Joel Trinidad), a reclusive creature obsessed with the internet

  • Bad Idea Bear #1 (Thea Tadiar-Everley), snuggly cute teddy-bear type

  • Bad Idea Bear #2 (Joel Trinidad), snuggly cute teddy-bear type

  • Lucy the Slut (Carla Guevara-Laforteza), a vixenish vamp with a dangerous edge

  • Mrs. T. (Thea Tadiar-Everley), Kate's ancient boss


Musical Numbers/Soundtrack
  • Act One
    • The Avenue Q Theme

    • What Do You Do with a B.A. in English

    • It Sucks To Be Me

    • If You Were Gay

    • Purpose

    • Everyone's a Little Bit Racist

    • The Internet is for Porn

    • Mix Tape

    • I'm not Wearing Underwear Today

    • Special

    • You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Making Love)

    • Fantasies Come True

    • My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada

    • There's a Fine, Fine Line

  • Act Two
    • There is Life Outside your Apartment

    • The More You Ruv Someone

    • Schadenfreude

    • I Wish I Could Go Back to College

    • The Money Song

    • School for Monsters / The Money Song (Reprise)

    • There's a Fine, Fine Line (Reprise)

    • What Do You Do with a B.A. in English (Reprise)

    • For now

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Eating to Lose Weight

As I have posted earlier, I wanted to lose a great deal of weight. For almost a month now, we've been listing our weight in our whiteboard here and I'm glad to say that we lost several pounds already.

Best part is, there is very minimal effort on our part to lose this amount weight. By this, I mean exercise is limited only to the normal day-to-day walking; nothing unusual. The only thing we changed in our routine is our eating habits. Significantly changed, I might add.

Before this little experiment of ours, what we consume everyday is as follows:
  • heavy brunch + snacks + heavy dinner + snacks; or

  • light breakfast + heavy lunch + snacks + heavy dinner + snacks.


Lots of "heavy" in there plus lots of extra snacks. No surprise with our weight then.

Now, we are sticking with this eating, uhm, "patterns", if you will:
  • cereal brunch + heavy dinner + snacks; or

  • cereal breakfast + heavy lunch + cereal dinner + snacks.


In this new plan, we have reduced from two to three heavy rice meals to just one rice meal a day. Wheat bread or cereals serve as the substitutes for the missing heavy meals.

Weekends are also important; we noticed a trend in which we actually gained a few pounds during weekends. This is when we go out and have fun, which always includes eating a lot. We then realized that we have to be more committed; when going out, we not only plan where we will be going, but also what we will be eating.

Take this Saturday, for example. We have plans to meet with friends and watch the play "Avenue Q" in the evening. We anticipated a heavy dinner. So for today, we plan on having a cereal brunch (which I just finished), probably some wheat bread for in-betweener snacks, then the heavy dinner, wherever that will be. Sounds like a good plan to me. :)

In this case, the whiteboard is a great motivator for us. Whenever we see that we lost more weight than we expected, we are more encouraged to stick to our eating plan and to think of other ways to lose even more weight.

Like I said, we lost weight just by changing our eating habits. However, we still have a long way to go. In the next few days, I plan on including some regular exercises as well. This will be tougher for us, I think, but it's something that must be done. :)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

House M. D. - Season 5 Episode 5 Quotes

Dr. House: Oh my goodness! I played a practical joke on my best friend. I think he's badly injured. Should have learned this valuable lesson earlier.


Dr. House: How does thirteen know about it?

Dr. Cameron: Uh. Apparently, she was with the patient last night.

Dr. House: At 3 AM? [long pause]
Oh yeah!!! Penthouse foreign meets medical mystery. Maybe there IS a God.



Dr. House: Empty transient sex? I've been waiting for you to spiral out of control ever since you got your Huntington's diagnosis, but this more than I dare hope for.



Dr. House: That's what we're trying to diagnose. It's how steep of a spiral you are on.



Dr. House: Is he in this room? Reason he's not, I don't care what he thinks. Unless he's a she and she was there last night, too, in which case I care VERY deeply.



Dr. House: Thirteen, go stick a needle in your girlfriend's pelvis. And, no, that one wasn't a metaphor. Suck out some marrow. That one was.

[As Thirteen starts to leave and notices House is following her.]

Dr. House: I like to watch.



Dr. House: I assume my name came out last night in a form of a moan?



Spencer: Whatever you think we did, we... we did. And then some.



Dr. Hadley: You used me.

Spencer: You used me.

Dr. Hadley: My motives were clear.

Spencer: You might have figured out my motives faster if you'd bothered to ask my name.



Dr. Hadley: Yeah, I get it. I was wrong. Can we move on?

Dr. House: You're just upset coz the whole time she was with you she was thinking of my huge... throbbing... diagnostic skills...



[To Dr. Foreman who's trying to pick the doorlock of Thirteen's apartment.]

Dr. House: You're a disgrace to your stereotype.



Dr. Foreman: There are ways of getting to know people without committing felonies.

Dr. House: People interest me. Conversations don't.

Dr. Foreman: 'Coz conversations go both ways.

Dr. House & Dr. Foreman: Like Thirteen.



Spencer:We just met. We were both drunk. It's not like there wasn't potential. Little more practice for the both of us, I'd say we're looking at a nine, easy. But, that would require a repeat performance.



Dr. Foreman: Just spoke to my brother.

Dr. House: And by brother you mean?

Dr. Foreman: I mean my parents' other son

Dr. House: Wow! Same dad.



[After Foreman concludes that House was wasn't taunting him because House find anything on him.]

Dr. House: That's because... You haven't done anything stupid, spontaneous, or even vaguely interesting since you were seventeen. And that's just sad.



[After Thirteen gets fired by House.]

Dr. House: No. I just prevented you from getting a drug test. Probably saved your career. I'm already taking responsibility for one doctor with a drug habit.

Dr. Hadley: I don't have a drug habit.

Dr. House: Slutty, party girl is fun, til she pukes on your shoes. Then she's just a pain in the ass.



Dr. House: He's an idiot with a messiah complex. Savior to all who needs saving. That's why his first wife had a wooden leg, second wife was Canadian. He's the one whi needs to be saved.

Lucas: From you or the ho?

Dr. House: The ho's just using him for his money... Wait... Bad example.



Dr. House: Why not men? You're bisexual. You're just being self-destructive. If you're having random sex with men, better chance of getting assaulted, catching a disease. If this were just getting laid, it would be easier to pick up men. Or ugly girls. This woman's hot. Which means you like the challenge of conquest. It's the control that gets you off. By controlling women is as close as you're gonna get to controlling to what's going to happen to you.

Dr. Hadley: Here I though I was just into boobs.

Dr. House: Why don't you try taking it to the next level. Play God. Tell the girl that she's got ten years to live.



Dr. Hadley: You're gonna be numb for a few more days. Then you'll go home and cry for a few weeks. And then you get angry. Start telling yourself nothing matters anymore. You start doing stupid things. Maybe you go out to bars and pick up a bunch of women.

Spencer:You're.. [Thirteen nods.] How long do you have?

Dr. Hadley: Maybe a little more than you. Maybe a little less... I'll race you.



Dr. Chase: You don't let other people's problems affect. You don't let your OWN problems affect you. And it's the screw-ups that make us interesting. You're never out of control. Which is good, and... boring. Never losing control also means never putting yourself out there. Never.. pushing your limits.



Dr. Wilson: I'm actually kind of insulted. No way I'm a drug addict. But you completely buy that I fell in love with a prostitute.

Dr. House: You played to your strengths. By which, I mean you played to your weaknesses.



Dr. House: Oh my god! You invoked your dead girlfriend's name to sell me. You're my hero!

Dr. Wilson: Best thirty dollars I ever spent.



Dr. House: Another life saved, by girl on girl action.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Scouting for a new flat in Singapore

Just the other day, we had attended a viewing of one HDB here in Singapore. As this is our first time to actually view a room for ourselves, we hadn't exactly done much in terms of preparation.

Anyway, the viewing turned out well (and decided not to rent out the highly-contested unit) and we had come to some realizations. Hope this can help others looking for a room, HDB unit, house, or condo, or whatever here in Singapore:

Before you go, here are some things that you should check out first or bring along with you:

  • Map. Go to www.streetdirectory.com or get the book to check out the locales, nearby establishments, roads, nearest MRT stations, etc.

  • Compass. Just bring it for whatever reason you have. Either for a simple and practical reason as to finding out whether the windows will be directly facing the sunrise, or for a more esoteric, perhaps "Feng Shui", reason such as determining whether any of the eight directional compass points cross any of the critical elements such as a door, stove, toilet, or whatever. [Yeah, I dabbled a little with Feng Shui since high school. I don't claim to be an expert; I just know the basics.]

  • Pen and Notebook. Never hurts to lilst down things.

  • Camera. Either the digicam or a phonecam with a high-enough resolution. In case you are like viewing a total of 10 units or more, bring one so you can remember what every unit looks like. Be polite and ask the agent and/or landlord if you can take pictures yet. Or, you may want to be as discrete as possible.


Now here are some things to note about the general physical condition of the flat:
  • Flooring. Do you prefer linoleum, tiles, or wood parquet? Do you find the flooring neat or dirty? Do you prefer light-colored or dark-colored flooring? We actually prefer large, white tiles for flooring as this contributes to how well-lit the place is.

  • Walls and Ceilings. Same principle as above.

  • Natural lighting and ventilation. How many windows does it have? Do the windows provide ample natural lighting as well as ventilation? Are there buildings that are blocking the air and sunlight? This is where the compass comes in handy.

  • Floor area of each room. You only have a limited amount of floor space to use, so make the most of it. The flat that we viewed, although had a lot of space for the bedroom, living room, and dining areas, the kitchen and laundry areas are crammed into a very tiny amount of space. We actually wanted more space in the kitchen area so we can move freely while cooking. Of course, others might not find this a very big issue, though. This is up to one's personal preference.

  • Toilets. How many are there? This would matter greatly for larger groups of people who would go to work around the same time. More toilets means more people can be accomodated at a time.

  • Inclusive Furnishings. Determine which furnitures and appliances will be provided once you move in. In our opinion, these are the must-haves: sofa set, bed, cabinet/drawers, dining table and chairs, TV, refrigerator, stove, aircon, and washer/dryer. Others necessities include (but is not limited to) phone lines, internet connection, oven, and electric fans.


After the viewing, better clear up some details by asking questions to the agent and/or owner (whoever showed you the place):

  • Payment details. Of course, the monthly rate, any possible discounts, and the method of payment (cash, online transfer, GIRO, etc.)

  • Prepwork before move-in. Confirm if the owner would be shouldering the renovation, repainting, and/or cleaning of the unit before the desired move-in date. Take note especially if the unit you viewed is currently occupied by the outgoing tenants.

  • Specific policies. This could be anything under the sun: no smoking, no cooking, no visitors, shouldering of PUB (public utility bills), etc.


Not sure if I've covered all the bases here. However, I think the above should be enough to get you started.

Word of caution: It's best if you check out the forums as well. There have been recent incidents in which some tenants paid for a unit only to find out that it is currently occupied and is not for sale/rent.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

House M.D. - Season 5 Episode 4 Quotes

Chinese guy whose name was not mentioned: Why don't we go back to their house? Wait for them there.

Nicole: Yeah. 'Coz they'll probably answer the door the sixteenth time I knocked.



Dr. House: Well, that's the way women sound when their spouse of fifty years dies.



Dr. Foreman:
Anybody read Chinese? Otherwise, we have no idea what these doctors did to her.

Dr. House: Kutner, you're sort of Asian, right? Get it translated.



Dr. House:
I'm not deflecting because I'm avoiding something deep. I'm deflecting because I'm avoiding something shallow. Seriously, I'm fine. I didn't even like the man.



Dr. House: Like a salmon returning to the stream where it was born. You become whole again but you get eaten by bears.

Nicole: They denied my existence... [cough]

Dr. House: Four parents, not one of them taught you to cover your mouth.



Dr. House: I'm just a technician. Her doctors will be by later, you can schmooze tha...

Nicole's Dad: Can you let them know that we uh... we went by her apartment, collected all her medication.

Dr. House: I'm a technician and a doctor.



Dr. Cuddy: If there's anything I can do to just...

Dr. House: You know, you're right. I don't think I can sleep alone tonight.



Dr. Cuddy: Drop your pants.

Dr. House: You know, I usually pay tens of dollars to hear that.



Dr. Cuddy: Your mother wants you to deliver a eulogy.

Dr. House: Eulogy. From the Greek for "good word". If she actually asked me to deliver a "bastardogy", I'd be happy to.



Dr. House: ...My mom didn't call Cuddy. She called YOU! I knew you couldn't stay away. I knew you love me too much...

Dr. Wilson: I'm doing this for your mom.

Dr. House: I'm not doing this at all. If there were something to be done, I would have done it in the year he spent dying.



[MmmBop plays on House's cellphone.]

Dr. House: Where's my phone? It's the team. It's their ringtone.



[To Dr. Wilson after House's team called.]

Dr. House: My ringtone for you is Dancing Queen by Abba.



Dr. Wilson: You don't want to say anything, don't say anything, but GO! Tell your mom, you're sad. FOR HER!

Dr. House: Just by being there, I'd be lying.

Dr. Wilson: She wants to think, for a moment, that she had a happy family. So give her the gift. LIE!



Dr. Kutner: We have these two categories: inside and outside. Patients stay inside and then when they're better, we let them go outside.



[To a curious passerby.]

Dr. Kutner: Such a beautiful, we thought we'd do all our doctoring outside.



Nicole: People stare at me anytime I'm out with my family. It's like a puzzle: which one of these things doesn't belong.



Dr. Wilson: Of course. You were a brilliant, socially isolated 12-year old and you create a parallel universe and that your life doesn't suck.



Dr. House: I look at the facts. First of all, he was deployed on training exercises off Okinawa during the time I had to be conceived.

Dr. Wilson: And since you are a hundred fifty years old, air travel was impossible.



Dr. Kutner: She was adopted when the parents thought they couldn't have kids. Then they had three more. She took the message as "thanks for playing, but we have our real children now".

Dr. Taub: And the real children probably think they're accidents, while she was handpicked. Everybody's got problems with their parents.



Dr. House: You lost track of your speed? I think that was Hitler's excuse: lost track of the Jews. No one held him resposible.



[Dr. Greg House was called to stand to deliver the eulogy to his father.]

Dr. House:
There's a lot of people here today, including some from the corps. And I noticed that everyone of them is either my father's rank or higher. And it doesn't surprise me. Because if the test of the man is how he treats
those he has power over, its a test my father failed. This man you're eager to pay homage to was incapable of admitting any point of view but his own. He punished failure, not accept anything less than... [pause]

He loved doing what he did. He saw his work as some kind of... sacred calling, more important than any personal relationship.

Maybe if he'd been a better father, I'd be a better son. But I am what I am because of him, for better or for worse.

I just... I just wish...



Dr. Wilson: That's what you wanted, wasn't it? Why should it depress you?

Dr. House: It doesn't depress me. Doesn't make any difference at all. That's what depresses me.

Dr. Wilson: Well, I guess nobody gets to choose who their parents are. I'm not even sure anymore we get to choose who are friends are.



Dr. House: If you're coming back because you're attracted to the shine of my neediness... I'd be okay with that.