Bookshelf update: Marvel 1602

It's been a while since I last updated my shelfari. Found a bunch of new features since I last logged in.... well, it's so long ago, I can't remember!

I decided to check it again when I just happen to be in the campus library when I came across the Marvel 1602 paperback (check my shelfari bookshelf below). I've had fun reading this before, and I have no problem reading it again!

Simply put, Marvel 1602 (due to some complicated cosmic plot I'd rather not discuss) the age of heroes (i.e., today, present time when all superheroes are about) was moved back four hundred years into the past, during the time of Queen Elizabeth I, King James of Scotland, the Spanish Inquisition, Templar Knights and the Crusades, the discovery of the New World.

We see Captain America as an (American) Indian, Nick Fury and Dr Strange as members of Queen Elizabeth's court; Magneto as the Spanish Grand Inquisitor hunting down mutants -- or witchbreed (Interesting to note is that Magneto here is a witchbreed in hiding); the witchbreed led by Carlos Javier (Prof. X.); Count Otto Von Doom the Handsome, ruler of Latveria; a young Peter Parquagh (Spider-Man) as Nick Fury's squire; Matt Murdoch (Daredevil), Nick Fury's agent; Thor and his alter-ego, Donal, the a hermit/Templar Knight and others.

If that does not convince you to read this, perhaps the name of the author will...the award-winnig English writer Neil Gaiman (The Sandman comics series, Stardust starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes).

Gaiman's take on these superheroes and taking them back in time makes a particularly good read. At least for me, who likes reading history AND comics. And most especially, for those who are always ask "what if" about history.

Countdown to homecoming!

Just a few hours left.... Tonight, we will be flying back to Manila for about a week!

I miss a lot of things from the hometown, but there are also many things I'm not really looking forward to.

One good thing is the more favorable exchange rate; last February, SGD1 = PHP27++; as of this writing, SGD1 = PHP31++, the highest so far this year. So supposedly, one SGD can buy more now than last February. The bad thing: all prices went up; rice, gas, jeep/bus fares. Well, there goes the better exchange rate... Still, at least it's higher than last time.

Traffic, I heard, was getting worse everywhere. Good thing the places we need to go are not that very far. Well, except for a few items (Cavite, etc.), but aside from that, I guess we're okay.

We've been keeping tabs on our immediate families, and I'm happy they're all good. Although seeing them all with my own eyes should be so much better than hearing them over the cellphone. We missed all their birthdays this year, but work and obligations just prevents us from doing so.

Haven't seen a lot of our friends the last time we were here. Many of them did not even know we came back! ;) Oh, well, you can only do so much in a week.

I wonder how Santana Grove looks like now? When we left, the place was already becoming a people "magnet", promising to be one of the new "gimikans" or "go-to places" in Paranaque.

Water is still a problem, though. Could be a few more months, if not years, before NAWASA/MWSS (or whatever company is making all the digs along Sucat Road) can reach our subdivision. Plus, we need a new water tank. Hehehe :)

Oh well, still... Despite the imperfections, home is home. :) Nothing better to prepare myself before the June "showdown" I'll be working on than getting the "home-feeling" again. :)

Hope we can make the most of our stay; if everything stays the same, the next time we'll be able to go back is next year.

Hmmm... Just realized my post is almost like a jumble of ramblings, one thought only loosely connected to the others. Oh well, I guess that's how I am when I'm left with these musings about home. Hehehe. :)

I guess, happy homecoming to us then! Yipee!

"Brother"'s comeback in the finale!

The finale of this season's American Idol is perhaps the most expensive and grandest so far. (Not surprising, since votes for the final week alone totalled US$97million) So many guest artist performances on stage, plus the star-studded crowd lining the front rows...

(Not to mention, the two finalists each get their own Ford Escape Hybrid!)

Halfway through the show, just when you thought things could not get any better, he returns...



Same ol', same ol' Renaldo Lapuz is back, with his white costume, white hat, and shiny cape! And this time, with a marching band!

Oooh yeah!

Special thanks to Cocoidol08 for the amazing upload!

Trudging work with streaming radio

In case you didn't know, my job isn't exactly what I thought it was. The process (or lack thereof) definitely has room for improvement. A pseudo-team (one team leader and one team member) simply does not work for me. The organizational hierarchy is also bad, since any higher-ups can assign work to us without going through the team leader. Plus, the escalation of issues practically does not exist; most of the time, the issue goes directly to manager instead of us. (I guess, coming from a "real" technical support job, I can see clearly that the "escalation" procedure is -- well, let's just say it could use a major overhaul.... :) On top of it all, our projects are there and we get constant pings from the same manager who assigns multiple "very urgent" (but mostly trivial) tasks.

Oh well, enough of the rants... :)

Ever since my last job, I simply work better with music on. Back then, it was cellphone radios and earphones. Now, I can use that, but then again, I can only pick up SG radio stations. :( They're not THAT bad, but I comes down to cultural preferences, I guess.. Example, I just don't get a kick out of any Chinese, Malaysian, or Indian songs which get played as much as the English songs we know.

So, it's got to be internet radio! Unlike other companies here, it's a good thing that streaming (audio or video) is not blocked. Although there are days when it gets disconnected, mostly due to network issues. (They should really replace some of the devices here!) If streaming were blocked, I don't know how I would keep myself sane. Radio helps me relax back then. It's helping me relax now... or at least entertained enough to get through the day. :)

I listen to RX most of the time. :) That's were I get my daily dose of songs and news -- entertainment or otherwise. Keeps me updated on latest hits. (Che was really happy to know that Say It Again topped the top charts.)

Sadly, I don't get to work that early, so I can only hear the last hour of Chico and Delamar. I could go to work earlier, but then again, why the hell should I? :)

Okay, back to "work"! Hehehe :)

Lapse in posting...

Looks like I was too busy the last few days that I didn't realize it has been more than a week since I last posted here. So let's see...

Che is in Thailand again -- hopefully for the last time -- since last Thursday (or was it Wednesday?) for server reinstallation on the client side (apparently, someone screwed up the servers beyond the point of recovery, such that everything has to be reinstalled from scratch). She should be back later this week.

Dad's birthday last Friday. Had quite a long talk over the phone. Good thing it's a Friday -- everyone could be there for the dinner...well, except us of course!

Geez, still can't get over the fact that the price of rice per kilo is not lower than PHP 35! Also, the gas price soaring PHP50+ per liter! How disappointing... Prices are going up... except salaries! Reminds me of why we went here to work in the first place...

May 19 was also Vesak Day, official Singaporean holiday! So that was an extended three-day weekend for us. Didn't really do much of anything. Just had to catch up on my reading -- been reading Investing for Dummies for a while now. :)

Went to get the exit pass from Lucky Plaza (iRemit). Strange thing is, one single exit pass is only SGD 5.50. A Pinoy colleague went directly to the Philippine Embassy the day before and the single exit pass costs SGD6.00. Sure, not a big deal for some. Question is this: why is it cheaper in Lucky Plaza (think of it as just a branch office) than in Philippine Embassy itself? Oh well, maybe a transition of prices. Whatever. :)

So yeah... I got the exit pass because we're going back to home!!! Hehehe. :) We'll be flying this coming Friday evening. That reminds me... I better fix our agenda for our week-long stay to maximize everything.

That's all for the last week updates and upcoming events! Hehehe :))

Our Marie Digby Weekend!

UPDATE: Check out Che's post on her blog.

In case you haven't been checking out Che's blog, Che is one of the biggest Marie Digby fans out there. Ever since she found out about her sometime last year in YouTube, she's always checking out her youtube for her latest music videos.

For the pictures, just check out Che's blog for any updates... That's her niche, so she gets first picks on the pictures to post. :) I guess I'll just stick with the story-telling of what went down. :)

Friday, May 9, Acoustic Session. We were outside the Zouk Velvet Underground waiting to get inside to watch Marie Digby's acoustic session. We were there around 7:30 PM, but the queue has already reached the street. Still, after a few minutes, the queue even got longer; it extended down to the tunnel to the basement parking of the hotel next door.

Around 8:00, people were let in. The place was too crowded. The front row was already full. We managed to squeeze in somewhere in the middle. To our dismay, the big taller guys are hogging the front rows. I had my doubts about us getting a decent picture or video of Marie later.

It's 8:30. She finally came out. She really is as white as in the youtube videos. She would really stood out in the middle of any crowd.

Just as I feared: we can barely get a good shot of Marie. In almost every picture, you'll see this guy's head, and this guy's Jamaican hair, and this guy's big camphone popping out from nowhere. Still, we managed to get good shots, but we had to do a lot of cropping and stuff. :)

Anyway, she was a great performer. She's good with botht he guitar and the piano/organ. She sang five songs from her new album which of course included "Say It Again" and her version of "Umbrella". I was a bit surprised though that she only sang five songs. Well, she was on a tight schedule and this was not a concert, so I guess that explains it. The session lasted around half an hour -- about half an hour shorter than the time we spent on queue. I'm not complaining, though. It was worth the smile on Che's face. I knew she was happy so I'm okay with it.

Sure, my flat feet were aching again, but it was a great show anyway. :)

Here's the video we got from our camera:



Saturday, May 10, Autograph Session. We were at GAP in the Wisma Atria along Orchard Road. The session was at 4:00 PM so we arrived 30 minutes earlier. Still, the queue was already too long and I ended up on the outside; we were like number 30 in the queue or something. I stood in the queue while I let Che and the rest of the "Batswan" inside the store to "maximize" the aircon. :)

We had everything ready: the poster, the CD label, the section of the label where we want her to sign, and a gift. [Che wanted to make sure that Marie would get something out of her visit here.]

When she finally came out and after singing two songs, the autograph signing was under way. Che promptly went to my place and we waited patiently on the queue. The rest of the "Batswan" were on the front row ready to take all the pictures they can when it's Che's turn for the autograph signing.

It took around 20 to 30 minutes before it was finally Che's turn. I guess due to the time and the still long queue, the staff there were a bit irritated: they kept saying no pictures, no notebooks, no scratch papers or the like; only autographs on posters and/or CD labels are allowed.

Despite what the staff around were saying, my gutsy wife introduced herself to Marie [they already exchanged messages in MySpace] and then gave her the gift. Then, the thing that Che was only dreaming of happened:

Marie Digby stood up from her sofa, leaned over, and gave Che a hug!

And the crowd went wild!!! Not only that, I managed to get a picture of the two of them! :)Obviously, the staff can't do anything about that. The crowd cheered as they knew that at that moment, my wife was the luckiest Marie Digby fan! :)

Needless to say, my wife was all-smiles. She has that "smile that had to be surgically removed"; she was very, very, very happy. And so was I.

Anyway, just check Che's blog to know her thoughts about her close encounter. :)

My Birthday Feast

Well, check the details on Che's post Happy Birthday to My Baby!

Most of the story is already there so just check it out. I'll just place here the food that they have prepared for me! Awww... How sweet. :)




Che became a master chef of sorts. Che and Cel prepared most of the food for the feast. The menu included the following:

• Baked Tanigue
• Pork and Veggies in Mushroom Sauce
• Pancit Bihon
• Salmon and Seafood Fried Rice
• Roasted Chicken
• Leche Flan
• Chilled Buko Salad

She cooks the best dishes! When we return to the Philippines, I bet she can start her own catering business. :)

Be, thanks for everything! Through the good times and the hard ones, you're always there. From my highs and successes through all of my lows and failures, you're there. And now I've grown a year older, you're still there. Thank you. :)

To Sentosa we will go...

My sister reminded us that there's one place we haven't been to yet... Well, actually, we haven't been to the many go-to places in Singapore yet, but that's not the point. :) Anyway, read my previous post about this here.

After six months, we finally needed to take a very good breather and so we went to Sentosa! I guess carefully laid-out plans don't always push through. We've always been planning to go there only to end up too lazy to push through. Drawing, drawing, drawing... This trip was simply made out of the blue; someone suggested it, everyone agreed to it, so awaaaaaaaaay we go!


While going down the beach, we spotted what appears to be an out-of-place Siberian Husky in the middle of the tropics...




Us with the rest of the gang!




This one was taken on one end of the beach....

Shot on another part of the beach are the bridge and the viewing platforms on the inlet, which is dubbed the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia.




The two of us on the bridge to the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia.




On the platform that links the "two towers" i.e. the viewing platforms.




The rock says:

"The inlet that you are standing on now is 135 KM north of the Equator and is described as the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia.

This inlet is linked to Asia via a suspension bridge which is linked to mainland Singapore by a 710 meter long causeway bridge. Singapore is further linked to Peninsular Malaysia and Asia by the Singapore-Johore Causeway."



Note: It's a bit tedious writing the "Southernmost Point of Continental Asia." This is like the fourth time it was written within this one post...


The two of us on the iconic rocks that spell "Sentosa".



See also Che's post on this one here.

My sister's family's one-stop visit

As per my last post, my sister visited us here in Singapore before they would go on their amazing race.



BTW, they're Sheila, Peter and Konrad, my sister, her husband, and their son. And of course us. :)

Tiny trivia: for the last six months, we haven't set foot in Sentosa yet. Sheila, staying in SG for only one day, got there first before us. Hmmm... I guess that means...... to be continued.... :)

My Bangkok Getaway!

As per my last post, April was bad for me.

I was sooooooo sick of my work, that all it took was one SMS from Che and I booked a flight to Bangkok!

Che was also having a hard time at the customer's site in Bangkok that she kept texting me to book a flight and go there -- as always, since she the first time she was sent there. She never expected me to actually book a flight and go there. She just wanted a little bit of comfort since her work there is also *ahem* a "winner"! Imagine her surprise when I said that okay, I would go there. The next couple of messages were my flight booking notifications I forwarded to her.

I know, I know... This is no different from impulsive buying... But at least now, I understand possibly one of the factors why people become impulsive buyers in the first place. At that time I didn't care. I just wanted to get out.

BTW, it's not just any airline. I booked a Singapore Airlines seat. I figured this is the only opportunity I had to fly on a more decent flight. [I've always flown cheaper ones like Cebu Pacific and Jetstar.] Well, the flight did not disappoint. Seats are larger and much more comfortable. I opted for the movie National Treasure 2 as my entertainment me during the flight. The served lunch was also great. The aircrew were nice and very accomodating.

It turns out that Thailand would be celebrating the Thai New Year, a three-day holiday starting the following Monday. Too bad I had to leave on the preceding Sunday, but that's okay. I enjoyed every minute of my stay there! :)

Since there was no actual plan here, we didn't see any of the tourist destinations there, except for one - the Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Market.



Bunch of clothes, trinkets, and pets for sale. We spent several hours there but managed to go around only the south-eastern section of the market. The place was just too damn large! I'm glad Che had a blast buying stuff for home. Me, well aside from my aching feet, I had fun as well. :)

Aside from that, we decided to go to Siam Paragon, one of the got-to-see malls in Bangkok. To get there, we had to take the MRT from the hotel. Not much to do there, just our typical day in the mall. Just different places, different brands, different food, and people talk to us in their local dialect -- to which we reply mai ko jai -- not sure exactly how it's written but that's what it sounded like. It means "I don't understand". Hehehe :)

BTW, while Bangkok is similar to Manila in so many ways, what separates Bangkok from Manila is the train system. Bangkok's MRT, while may not be as efficient as that of Singapore, is simply much better than the MRT systems in Manila. The Bangkok MRT system is clean, well-maintained, and although there is certainly room for improvement, it is nevertheless effecient.
So anyway, moving on...

By Sunday afernoon, we were back in Singapore. We rode on two separate flights -- hers was a Singapore Airline flight at 1PM, while mine was a JetStar flight at 9AM. Reason for different flights? Her company reserved her for that flight. I, on the otherhand, just booked on impulse (as I explained earlier). That was the only available flight available to me for that day.

By the time I returned to Singapore, I learned that my sister was also here with her family. They were planning their own "Amazing Race", arriving in Singapore that Sunday, then leaving for KL (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia the next day via train. After doing some business in KL, they'd go to Thailand after which they would fly back to Manila. Go figure. :)

Anyway, we met them on Sunday evening and treated them to dinner in Marche (again) in VivoCity. But I guess, that's another post for another time.... :)

Thanks for reading...

Phew! Surviving April...

Finally! After an extended hiatus from blogging, I'm back!! Well, sort of...

While many Filipino students had or were preparing for graduation day, Singaporean kids are preparing for the start of the school year. Hence, after a couple months of minimal activity, the campus network would be getting a real workout.

Much has happened this April at work, that -- I guess -- pushed me to the limit. :(

We had at least two big network downtimes at least two more which affected computer laboratories. On top of these, the big boss gave me a a lot of trivial things to check such as Yahoo! Messenger not having transparent proxy, or a particular person not being able to VPN into the network from home.

Then of course there's the big network server migration coming this June. I had to map each of the hundred plus servers to the corresponding switch ports -- manually! If the lack of documentation was not enough, I had no consistent information about the server hostnames and IP addresses (they change these too often), ARP tables of most switches are imcompleteso I had to rely on MAC addresses, which means I have to ask the server owners to provide that information since I don't have access to any of these servers.

Then there's me getting "lectured" for not updating in a timely manner all of the big boss's trivial follow-ups and what-not.

My colleague said that I should not take my job seriously. If I let everything in my work affect me, there's no way you I can survive another six months.

[Oh yeah, end of April marks my sixth month in this job! Yipee! Six more to go!]

Anyway, the thing is, my work already has affected me. In my last job, it was easier to "change hats". When I'm in the office, I work hard. When work's done for the day, I leave everything behind in the office. After I leave the office, I'm a husband, a friend, or whatever -- just not a stressed office worker. I leave the work and the stress behind. I don't even think of work when I'm with my friends, with Che, or with the rest of our family.

But now, I can't help but think of work. I had to bring home the laptop they provided me so I can work from home. I brought home the stress. I get full six hourse of sleep (longer than what I used to back in Philippines) but still restless when I wake up.

Point is, my colleague's right. This is exactly what I told Che a few years ago when she was stressed with her job. Don't soak everything that's thrown your way -- let it slide off your back. So what if you can't meet the SLA? So what if you can't meet the deadline? What'd they do? Fire me? They'd be doing me a favor! At least I wouldn't have to pay the bond AND I get my freedome back! :)

So many lessons learned. The support structure and processes suck and that's the reason people leave this job whenever they can. Work attitude here is very different from what I'm used to. No choice but to adapt. Bossses want their money's worth. Technically-challenged users shout because they are too stupid to do know anything else. Blame game is the common work attitude -- someone's gotta fall and take all the hits for whatever problems encountered. I'm still thinking of ways how I can curb this away from me when I'm the duty engineer as well as how I can use this to my advantage. Hehehe... Plans, motives, conspiracy... the plot thickens.. hahaha :)

Blogging has been therapeutic for me. I want to post more regardless of the heavy workload. And I want to post less work and more life outside work. Enough about work. It's a new month, and it's my month, I might add. A new beginning of sorts for me. :)

That's it for this post. New goal: post something other than work. Hehehehe :))