Transformers

After months of anticipation, I've finally watched Transformers with AGSB friends Grace and Alpha with her officemate Fidel... So how'd I find it??? Well, there's more than meets the eye...

Transformers has been one of the more popular cartoon series in the 80s and early 90s... and after such a long while, they finally had a great idea in making it a movie... The anticipation was really on how these autobots and decepticons would look now with the more modern computer generated image technology... Of course, they look more cute and lovable with their old cartoon version but once you get the hang of it, they (especially the autobots) look so cool... Makes me wish that my car could transform and just walk me home... The decepticons are not as pleasing to the eyes unlike the autobots...

Anyway, the movie has its highs and lows... and it started a bit dragging at the start since these were more about the humans on Earth (no offense meant but I want to see the robots)... After an hour of the movie, it gets a bit exciting with the coming of the autobots (yehey... robots, finally!!!)... When it was now time for the autobots and decepticons saga, then it hits climax and makes the movie more interesting... At times, though it becomes confusing as to who the autobots are and who the deceptcons are... In the cartoon series, there's a simple formula that separates the two, autobots are cars (isn't it obvious) while the decepticons are planes... though Megatron is a robot that transforms to a gun... Overall, it was fun to watch and is still a great movie... like I said, there's more than meets the eye...

Anyway, hope it gets a sequel, this time featuring the powerful yet lovable and a bit misguided dinobots... Of course, it wouldn't be fair to the decepticons without their ally... the insecticons... Still stuck on the thought of having my car transform... hehe... my Honda City... transform!!! Naaah... maybe I would just look forward to more sequels from this franchise...

Early Bird

After several months of going to 9-7 work schedule... I decided to shift to an earlier 730 to 530 work schedule... Quite weird being an early bird this time after spending years of being the last to be in the office... Anyway, it's still the same time zone for me... it's just that instead of going to the gym early morning... I can go after office and be more flexible in case I need to meet up with friends at night... Though, there's always the question of being able to leave the office as early as 530... I had been for the past few months been receiving the bulk of my work load in the late afternoon... Then it's just a matter of wait and see... At least, I gain more leeway in the evening... Besides, the usual morning annoyance that made me decide to take a later work schedule is no more to be found... hehe...

Another reason is that things haven't really gone my way as of late... So just wanted to make a drastic shift to somehow break off the jinx... I'm not really one of the luckiest person to start with... Though I'm still blessed in certain ways... It's just that everything somehow always end up different from what is planned... It's one of the reason why I've learned to adopt to situations and improvise... Well, if life doesn't give you a door, then use a window... Maybe it's getting the best of the situation and not having the situation get the best of me... Jinx or no jinx, maybe an early bird may finally catch some luck... or if not, there's always hard work to compensate for luck...

FAA's Reunite at Fernwood

FAA Babies (or at least those still in the Philippines) reunited at Fernwood Gardens for Charry's Wedding. Jo-C (with family), Gemma (with Mario), Therry, Anna, Rita, Dorene, and me attended Charry's wedding held last June 24. FAA wasn't able to attend owing to a his presence in the board meeting at Punta Fuego (Boss, pasyal mo naman kami sa Punta Fuego)...

The FAA Group was a cluster in itself even before clustering in SGV... Of course, the old group was so dynamic that what seems like an ordinary day (especially during slack) might end up a fun-day at some place else... The funny thing was that this would be done in secrecy among staff, in-charges and seniors... Though the most of the Group would be stuck in common clients meeting impossible deadlines and go on sleepless for days... but those were the time...

So back to the present, had left Makati residence at about 340 pm, passing by the office to get the map and then proceeding to Fernwood and in one rare time, I wasn't lost using my usually flawed navigational skills... Arrived at Fernwood Garden before the scheduled start at 430 pm and to my surprise, the wedding was on time, I've been here several times and it was the first time that the wedding was on time... hehe... So, at the wedding and the reception, there's a lot of catching up with the rest of the FAA Group. Except for Anna, I've been off the loop with most of the FAA babies who attended... Anyway, it was nice to catch up and see how much our lives are much better compared before...

Aside from the unusually on-time wedding, food was great... Fernwood is also an excellent place to have a wedding... and of course, the Company of old friends and seeing them once more is definitely a must for this occasions. So... Congrats Charry on your wedding and to the rest, nice meeting you again... and there'll be more of these getting back together stuffs... and hopefully, those now based in various places in the world would be there... looking forward to that!!!

photos available at http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Designated Driver

Started on the eve of Saturday, been tucked in the car for the whole weekend... Had to leave office early at 6 pm on a Friday to pick up my sister at the apartment and my Uncle Oca at Dusit Hotel for Dinner at Estepa Residence in Sucat, Paranaque... After dinner and a lot of chit chat that followed, we proceeded back to Dusit Hotel then to our apartment before midnight.

The next day, Had to leave Makati at 10 to catch lunch at Paranaque. After lunch, most of them took their afternoon nap but I had another thing in mind, playing around with my Canon S3 IS (photos here). In the late afternoon had to drop Auntie Esme to the airport and then again back to Paranaque for Mass in the evening... After dinner and another round of chit chat among my Aunts we left before 10 but had to drop by my unit in Makati to get some stuffs and also for me to watch PBB Eviction Night... hehe... After PBB, had to drop my mom and my aunt to Victory Terminal in Pasay where they took the 12 mn trip to Baguio...

As for me, I suddenly realize that I was low on gas so had to refuel my car before I went home and the next day will be another drive to Fernwood this time...

Interest free...

I'm now finally out of interest bearing bank loans as I was able to convert my car and personal loan into a company loan... Thank God, the interest rate is quite a heavy burden... though seeing how Citibank and BPI allocated my payment between interest and principal, I feel that it's not fair yet I'm helpless as it's how they designed this loan packages... The amount applied to the interest was so big that the deduction in the amount I have to pay was very minimal... Apparently, this loans are not meant to be paid in advance but at least, I still get to save on interest in the future... The worst part of being able to know your financial management is that you are able to equate risk and rewards into this type of transactions.

The process of inquiring and getting breakdowns was another frustrating part... Imagine BPI after not being able to fax the breakdown once, they transferred the documents for pick up, which would be impossible to happen since they never informed me... Citibank didn't even bother to send the breakdown... Well, had to pay everything off before I experience another round of interest... and the savings in the future is what makes this ordeal a bit tolerable...

For the company loan part, that should tie me down for four years... not really ... I guess I'd like to maintain my flexibility in my career options so I'm aiming to have sufficient assets in a year to cover the liability... through savings, investments and probably, to do something which I've always wanted to do - to teach MBA part time. Though teaching is something I'd still want to think over as it would also mean giving up much of my travels... As thing are, there's always an opportunity cost in every decision... It's just that I'd have to make do with what is available and where my choices leads me...

Alami-lost in Hundred Islands

Housemate

Snorkling

Life's a Dip

From being lost in translation to being in Alaminos, Pangasinan... Well, took on several odds from a surprise meeting at work... to a very long trip (7 hours Manila to Baguio and another 4 hours Baguio to Alaminos)... to barely making it in time to Baguio to meet the scheduled departure time of our van... but determination to be true to my nomad side won... I ended up in 100 islands after probably 8 or 9 years...

It's quite unusual for me to be present in family gatherings, which I have been for the past two weeks since often times when my relatives are here, I usually end up in one of my foreign travel... Anyway, hundred islands was such an enticing incentive... so really didn't want to miss this one... Of course, plus the additional incentive of being able to have another adventure with my Canon S3 IS...

Arrived in hundred islands at around 9 am Sunday... and after all the registration stuff, we boarded the small boat towards the different islands... 11 people from 3 generations in our clan had participated in this trip... Mama, Auntie Norma, Auntie Esme, Auntie Linda, Me, Cousins Simon and Jen, Nephew Arvin and Niece Nisha... Had our island hopping first then parked our stuff at Quezon island where we had breakfast... then proceeded to snorkle within the island... we were snorkling, which probably took as forever as evidenced by my very dark toned skin... I did enjoy snorkling though I like the coral gardens in galera better... Shifted to the beach front area to go around the island and for another round of swimming... til lunch time... After lunch and rest was over, the older generation had their nap while we had another round of snorkling and swimming...

At about 4 pm, we were on our way back but not after passing by Governor's island and having a few snapshots of the Pinoy Big Brother house in 100 islands... After freshening up and packing our things, it was time to go home but after 11 hours of travel, I decided to just take a bus in Dagupan towards Manila instead of going back to Baguio... since I had work the next day... After 11 hours traveling and hours spend swimming and snorkling the beach... the next five hours trip seemed do long as i had the itch to be united with my bed... After 5 hours, I was finally home... tired and weary but did have a great time... so as all my travel adventure ends... It's time for a good night sleep...

photos at http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Lost in Translation

A few minutes before end of office hours Friday... I was informed by Ms. Del that our CEO sent an SMS requesting me to sit in the meeting with him, the head of marketing production, Philippine operation and treasury the next day... no problem... not really, I was suppose to go home, pack my bags and go to Baguio for a trip to 100 Islands in Pangasinan on Sunday... Being the loyal employee that I am... hehe... I attended the meeting, which was held in the afternoon... the medium of communication was mandarin, being the rest except me Taiwanese... Imagine watching those koreanovelos with no subtitles... Apparently our CEO wanted me to be more in the loop on other operational issues and for the 5% of the time that English was the mode of communication... I was able to grab some, at the very least...

Anyway, I really need to learn mandarin, with the travel schedule I have in chinese speaking countries but I'll probably take one after September as I'm still enjoying life after studying for some time... So was really lost in translation but even if they had the whole meeting in English, the case would still be the same... as my mind is wondering in the journey to the province of Alaminos... and as the meeting adjourned, I decided to skip dinner and next was my dash towards another adventure... so off I go...

3 on 4

Watched Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer yesterday with AGSB friends Grace and Alpha... Ok... We're only 3... can't meet the magic 4... hehe... so we're adopting Ronald who wasn't able to come as the fourth member but will be christened the invisible man... hehe...

On the movie... I really liked it though the little over 90 minutes time for the whole movie is a bit short compared to recent superhero flicks... though a good thing about the movie was despite not being lengthy is that it was able to explore different angles of the story... from the struggles of the group... Sue (By the way, Jessica Alba has one of the prettiest face in Hollywood) and Reed on their several times postponed wedding... till the so called entry of the silver surfer, who's powers are so cool and so strong... and interesting role played by Dr. Doom and the choices led to a great ending...


It's just the second day that the movie is showing so I'd rather not go into details... all I can say is that it was well fit movie though had they added another 30 minutes or more... I really won't complain... I find part 2 better than part 1 since in the first installment it was more on the getting to know the fantastic four and now it's more on saving the world...

Anyway, the movie season is not yet over... So it's still movie time...

Ipodless... No More!!!

A few weeks after losing my Ipod... I was able to obtain a new Ipod shuffle courtesy of the free ipod shuffle in SGV friend Ruth's laptop which I was able to buy at such a friendly price...

Still pondering if I'm gonna get another Ipod video or wait around for the new Iphone since my Ipod has been my memory bank for photos aside from being my handy source for music... I just love viewing slide shows of my adventures and misadventures plus the tons of TV series i get to watch anytime... though it's all backed up in my laptop at home...

At the very least, I now have a trusty little Ipod shuffle that I can bring to the gym during my early morning workouts... and at the same time I can say I'm Ipodless... No More...

Btw... counting my early blogs from friendster, this is my 100th blog... Happy 100th Blog to me!!!

Byaheng Escudero

Had my first visit to Villa Escudero yesterday... good thing it was a holiday... Proceeded to Estepa residence in Sucat, Paranaque from our apartment in Makati at early 5 am... left at around 620 am for our almost two hours (good thing there was no traffic at this time) drive to Villa Escudero in San Pablo City and arrived before 8 am for the opening of the Villa Escudero facilities...

The museum was the maiden destination, which featured so many memorabilia from religious artifacts, to monetary bills, to armors, to military uniforms, to antiques, to chandeliers and a whole lot more... Took me only a short time here though my Titas took probably 3 to 4 times more in this place... The appreciation of artifacts I guess comes with age...

We then took our Carabao ride to the pavilion of Villa Escudero with matching folk songs... Interesting to note during our ride the one guiding the cart told us that how the well treated they are by the Escuderos, with benefits including receipt of land for their houses, scholarships and their employment... Upon reaching the pavilion, we had a round of snacks and after that- rafting along the lake. The lake seem so serene and beautiful...

After rafting, it was time to fill our tummies with nourishment... and what is the best spot for such than under a falls with water flowing freely along your feet... The dish was more of the inihaw variety with several fruits and vegetable... yum yum... A refreshing site accompanied by a refreshing meal... After lunch, we still took time to snap some shots along the area with waterfalls and the swamp-like area as backdrop... Then came the invite from those who would be performing in the cultural show later.

At 2 pm, the cultural show started featuring dances from the country's history and the different cultural groups in the Philippines as performed by their various employees... and also featuring the Villa Escudero Rondalia Group... the dances was well performed and enjoyed by the audience... The show took about an hour and after this we bought a few souvenirs and waited in line for our carabao ride back to the exit... It is good to note that the carabao rides is more in demand than the regular jeepney ride around the place...

So as we reached the exit... it would be followed by then another long drive back to Makati... this time with a taste of traffic in some portions of Batangas and Calamba... Reached home at 7 pm and cap a trip called, "Byaheng Escudero..."

photos at http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Tagging Along Tagaytay

On a Sunday of a Long weekend, we decided to tag along my Auntie Esme's (from Australia) visit to Tagaytay... Started our drive towards Estepa residence in Sucat, Paranaque then off we went to Tagaytay at around 830 am... SLEX was not crowded though there were some roadworks at the moment...

Upon reaching Tagaytay, the first stop was the People's Park for the view deck... Spent some time to appreciate Taal volcano and lake... then a nice buffet meal at Josephine's followed... I really loved their Kare Kare and Liempo plus their wide array of desserts... as a last stop we were suppose to go to Paradizoo but since the directions we got from the locals were not clear, we ended up at the Residence, which is the smaller version of the Zoo.. Since it was my second time here and I already had a pic here with a baby tiger so decided to have a pic this time with a much bigger tiger; which almost ended up as a disaster with me almost got bitten by the tiger in the face but the trainer was able to grab hold of the tiger in time... still worth the experience...

Anyway, raindrops started to fall so started our way back to Makati at around 330 pm and arriving home at around 530 pm. After a long drive and a long day, we took the rest of the day to rest for the next day, we're going to Villa Escudero in San Pablo City...

Photos at http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Stuck on a Grey Area

Started watching the first season of Grey's Anatomy borrowed from Jing during the weekend and so far going to the 7th episodes, I'm usually hooked by the series of first year interns who are in the so-called phase of being in the bottom of the food chain in the surgery group... hehe... it kinds of my new staff days in SGV, which like first year interns are at the bottom in the audit profession... hehe... Anyway, the story is great!!! Since the plot lines are in surgery, things at times like blood and actual operations may appear to be inconvenient to the eyes (especially that seeing these situations is not necessarily my strong suit)... Anyway, the strength of the show comes from the day to day life and death deciding moments that these interns and doctors go through... and apart from the medical drama; there's also, a touch of the respective personal lives of the various characters...

Medicine... like Law... can easily be glorified in movies and tv series... The stakes seems always higher... come to think of it... hmmm... how about a series detailing life of CPAs... hehe... This will probably even bore me in the process... So back to being stuck in the Grey area, I have still more than 2 and a half seasons to go...

6 weird things about me

I got tagged by banggigay so now I have to write 6 weird things about me... grr... so hard to think... hehe...

1) It takes time for me to warm up... when I wake up (it takes time before I start getting noisy)... when I start to work (it takes time before I start to focus) when I meet new people (it takes time before I get comfortable with people that's why I usually get the first impression of being a snob) but once i start to get comfortable I'm such a warm, thoughtful and selfless being...

2) Whenever I read something or study at home (when still studying)... it is a must that the TV is turned on and that I'm comfortable with the show I'm watching... or else, I'd be easily bored or just sleep instead... Interestingly, I also have a fast grasp on what I read or hear under this setup... I'm still in awe on how I became a CPA and MBA under this setup...

3) I have my own room at our house in Baguio but whenever I'm home, I rarely use my room preferring to sleep in the sofa in our living room... Now, that I recently got a new sofa at my apartment, I'm starting to adopt the habit already... hehe...

4) I don't eat breakfast... Ever since high school, I don't usually eat breakfast since I prefer to use my just in time system of waking up. Wake up just in time to take a bath and just in time to leave and go to my destination...

5) I have this hero complex of always wanting to help friends and people (always wanting to save the world... hehe)... This is attributable to having an Eneagram profile of 2 or being a giver... People won't usually miss me since I try to always be around when needed just like a light house that guides the ships to shore...

6) I was born premature and spent 45 days in an incubator. Interestingly, the gap between the my age and my older sister is just 11 months and 3 days and guess what, we were both born via caesarian section... we have a very tough mom - two caesarian operation in a little over 11 months.

Tough to think of 6 weird things... I'm tagging rondz, she, arnold , mark, mascy and jan. For those I've tagged with multiply accounts who don't blog much... blog na...

My Newest Partner in Crime

Finally got hold of my newest partner in crime, Canon S3 IS 6.0 MP with 12 x optical zoom... more adventures with you to come...

What's in Angkor Wat???

After previously blogging about the candidates for the next 7 wonders (click me), here I am exploring one of the 21 candidates before the announcement on 07.07.07, Angkor Wat, located in Siem Reap Province in Cambodia. Angkor Wat is one of the most important monument of South East Asian Khmer Empire and the world's largest sacred temples built during the 8th to 12th century. A visit to the place would make you wonder how they were able to come up with structures like this in the 12th century...

Upon arriving in Siem Reap (damage for bus fare is $20-round trip), we contracted a Tuktuk driver to take us around (damage is $22 for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning)... The driver was real friendly and gave us a great tour and advises on how to save money on the tour... Anyway, after booking at the hotel ($40 a night... there are also cheaper low end hotel) and a trip to Cambodian Cultural Village... off we went to Angkor Wat (Travel Tip: If you get your ticket at $20 for the next day at past 4;30 pm, they would allow you to tour Angkor Wat free for the rest of the day instead of buying a two pass day of $40)...

1st Stop was Angkor Wat temple at 4:45 pm which lasted until 6:00 pm... I love the lake fronting Angkor Wat since it's quite big and provides a nice reflection of the clouds and the Angkor Wat Temple. Going inside the temple is a breathtaking experience as it gets better as you get deeper in the temple... (Travel Tip: It's best that you have a comfortable shoes as the walking part occupies the bulk of the tour but as I always says, it's well worth it)... After going around the various climbs, twist and turns of the temple, we went back to try to catch the sunset at the mountain nearby...

Too bad for us was that the clouds was too thick and that the sunset would not be visible anyway so we decided to freshen up a bit for dinner which was at a local buffet restaurant (damage:$12) which also had a show of Cambodian dances and play... It's a unique experience and also nourishing (all you can eat) as well... The show was nice and there were so many foreigners who also came to watch... Just had a walk at the bars near our hotel afterwards... By the way, another travel tip is to buy souvenirs in the market as its much cheaper there...

The next day, we went to Bayon temple where we took an elephant ride (damage: $10) towards the temple... I love the experience of being there riding an elephant (that doesn't really happen often)... Bayon temple features the four faced Buddha and the temple is really big and is quite overwhelming in terms of its picturesque state and the challenge of going up and down through the temple... There are also adjoining temple which you could also visit... The temple is also rich in history and if you have the resources you could hire various locals to tell you the story or buy books regarding this topic...

Ta Phrom temple was next in line, which is situated in a forest and you can see a mix of an old temple and forest with trees growing over some of the temples walls and borders... It gives you an ancient feel as if finding a lost temple in the woods... Incidentally, according to one of the locals, the film Tomb Raider was shot in this temple... The temple is quite deep and may seem endless but it's somehow gives you a satisfying feeling at seeing the beauty of the temple and at the same time see how a forest can grow over such structure...

Still had time so we drop by the Royal Swimming pool, which was actually as big as a lake and really look like a very big lake, maybe they're quite good swimmers just to finish one lap at the Royal swimming Pool... Last was another temple Bantaey temple, which was like a smaller version of the Bayon Temple but still exudes its unique charm among the other temples... There are still a lot of temples within Angkor Wat but I guess visiting the bigger more famous temple has made this trip priceless and memorable... Took the 6 hour trip back to Phnom Penh at 1230 noon onward to our flight back to Philippines the next day...

Before I voted for Angkor Wat, as one of the next 7 wonders (my other vote went to Eiffel Tower, which I was able to visit in 2003), because we have a facility there but after this trip I know that it deserved to stand beside among the world's best... So What's in Angkor Wat? A taste of ancient infrastructure that has managed to stand out over the more modern infrastructures today...

Photos at: http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Culture Watch at Cambodian Cultural Village

After an almost 6 hours bus ride on our way to Angkor Wat, which is located in Siem Reap province, we decided to go the Cambodian Cultural Village also located in Siem Reap... FYI... going to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh, you get to pass two more provinces, Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom. Cambodian Cultural Village showcases the different cultures and influences that has shaped Cambodia through time...

There are several villages, Khmer , Floating and fishing, Chinese, Kroeng, Phnorong, Cham, Kola and Khmer Surin... each showcasing a different type of people and lifestyle prevalent in Cambodia... Also featured in this location are several shows, wax museum and miniature of the wonders within Cambodia... Unfortunately for us, there were no scheduled shows for the day...

It was nice to wander at the different infrastructures and landscape and the diversity that came to this country... The damage visiting this place is just $9 and in return you'll get a wealth of information plus a lot of excellent landscapes... the whole area is about 210,000 square meters and would take an hour or two to visit... and it's quite exhausting walking but I guess, the sites may as well be worth it... though if you're not the type who'd love to walk... there's electronic car to bring you around, but it cost you an additional $10 so might as well consider having a nice brisk walk around...

Photos at: http//franckxethee.multiply.com

Cambodia Wave 1

Left for Cambodia last May 28 for a week-long trip to visit our manufacturing facility at Cambodia via Thai Airways... The first few days was spent in Phnom Penh, the Capital of Cambodia... Phnom Penh looked like an older version of Metro Manila though it boasts of the Royal Palace and have motorcycles and TukTuk as its primary vehicles... Didn't really go around Phnom Penh but was able to have a quick glance as we past through some of the key monuments like the Independence monument, the Royal Palace and a few temples and pagodas along the way...

Going to Kampong Cham province where our manufacturing facilities are located; was like going past the rice fields in central luzon before but one thing that did stand out was that the day was so clear and you can actually appreciate the clouds and the blue sky and how they mesh with the fields.... At our plant, it was quite educational watching the whole process from cotton spinning to coming our with the linens... It's both asset and labor intensive but a on the other hand, the linen manufacturing industry is not as solid as other industries owing to the power of China exporters... but it's still doing fine as of now...

Of course, this was the work part of the part... and in time, it'll be about the fun part of the tour... a weekend spent in Angkor Wat... Up Next...

photos at http://franckxethee.multiply.com

Worm Tail

I was suppose to blog about my recent Cambodia trip but I'll just write a short piece about the worm that hit my laptop which proved inconvenient for me and my YM friends... Anyway, to those who were in a way bothered by those auto generated messages, my sincerest apologies.

It started with a message from my officemate who was using another work station about coolpics which I clicked and from there it went into my system planted itself on my homepage and continued sending auto generated messages... The worm proved difficult to shake as it was still in my laptop after a few scans... and I noticed that it managed to tracked my YM once online and continue stalking my messages... somehow, it managed to know when I was online and resume its annoyance...

Anyway, after a few more scans and an afternoon which I wasn't able to use my YM... I was able to remove all the tracking cookies and the the dreaded worm... and since I was off to Angkor Wat the next day; haven't used it since and just to be sure that the worm is eliminated, I asked our IT to check on the laptop and as for me... I'm back to my regular office computer... which at the very least is worm-free...