The Geek

I had nothing better to do so I decided to take pictures of my different machines and setups…

1. We did not have a decent office laptop during the first few weeks so I had to use my personal laptop to work with folks from Manila. Mike was also kind enough to allow me to take home one of the LCD monitors during the weekends to help me work better.

2. When I finally got the laptop, a cool HP 6910, I decided to make my personal one a download and chatting machine instead. =) Here’s a snapshot of how I our living room was setup when my roomies went out-of-town for the weekend.

3. I saw an unused docking station in the office so I grabbed it for my own use. It’s just so much more convenient when I can just come in, place it on the dock and I’m all ready to go. I wish I could have this setup at home too. Even more, how I wish I could have one like this in the Manila office.

4. My work haven in Austin. I just love working when it’s all quiet and peaceful. Plus I love the headset on our phone… it is just so convenient to be attending a meeting and being able to have both hands free. Another thing I wish I could have in the Manila office.

Pictures are on my Multiply account.

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Lesson From Narnia

I watched The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian with a couple of officemates today (free movie nights!!!).

It was a big confusing at first since I did not watch the first movie. Luckily, the plot became clearer as the movie went on. Thanks to my seat mate, Ej, for filling me in on some of the details.

*Warning: Minor spoiler*

What stuck to my mind was this conversation?

C: “I do not think I am ready [to become King of Narnia]“
A: “It’s for that reason, I know you are.”

Very simple yet very profound… and the funny thing was that I was just talking about this very idea/philosophy with a good friend of mine.

I hope that I will also have this philosophy and that I do not become influenced by the “instant-gratification” trend common in today’s generation.

Crazy

… and with nothing better to do. Yup, that’s exactly me, right now.

I found this list from a friend’s blog and since I have nothing better to do, I went ahead and tried it out. I decided to keep them unchecked and simply count to avoid future embarrassment. However, I made a couple of notes (in italics) on some items that I did do.

I ended up with 77 out of a possible 144. Pretty decent, I guess.

===

Level 1
( ) smoked a cigarette
( ) smoked a cigar
( ) done weed
( ) drank alcohol

SO FAR: 3

Level 2
( ) been in love
( ) been dumped
( ) shoplifted
( ) been fired
( ) been in a fist fight

SO FAR: 7

Level 3
( ) sneak out of the house
( ) had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) been arrested
( ) made out with a stranger
( ) gone out on a blind date

SO FAR: 10

Level 4
( ) had a crush on an older person
( ) skipped school
( ) slept (not sex) with a co-worker — read between the parenthesis
( ) seen someone/something die

SO FAR: 13

Level 5
( ) had/have a crush or liked on one of your friends.
( ) been to Paris -
( ) been to Spain
( ) been on a plane
( ) thrown up from drinking

SO FAR: 16

Level 6
( ) eaten Sushi
( ) been snowboarding
( ) met someone BECAUSE of myspace
( ) been mosh pitting – not sure if this counts since it was in a very small crowd

SO FAR: 18

Level 7
( ) been in an abusive relationship
( ) taken pain killers
( ) love/loved someone who you can’t have
( ) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( ) made a snow angel

SO FAR: 20

Level 8
( ) had a tea party
( ) flown a kite
( ) built a sand castle
( ) gone puddle jumping
( ) played dress ups

SO FAR: 22

Level 9
( ) jumped into a pile of leaves
( ) gone sledging
( ) cheated while playing a game
( ) been lonely
( ) fallen asleep at work/school

SO FAR: 25

Level 10
( ) used a fake/someone else’s ID
( ) watched the sun set
( ) felt an earthquake
( ) killed a snake — a very small one at that

SO FAR: 28

Level 11
( ) been tickled
( ) been robbed/vandalized
( ) robbed someone
( ) been misunderstood
( ) pet a deer

SO FAR: 31

Level 12
( ) won a contest
( ) been suspended from school
( ) had detention
( ) been in a car/motorcycle/4-wheeler accident

SO FAR: 33

Level 13
( ) had/have braces
( ) eaten a whole tub of ice cream in one night
( ) had deja vu
( ) danced in the moonlight

SO FAR: 35

Level 14
( ) hated the way you look — not really hated but I guess that counts too
( ) witnessed a crime — someone took off after hitting a tricycle. They eventually caught the person because I took down the plate number.
( ) pole danced
( ) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes

SO FAR: 39

Level 15
( ) squished barefoot through the mud
( ) been lost
( ) been to the opposite side of the world
( ) swam in the ocean
( ) felt like you were dying

So FAR: 42

Level 16
( ) cried yourself to sleep
( ) played cops and robbers
( ) recently colored w/crayons/colored pencils/markers
( ) sang karaoke
( ) paid for a meal with only coins

SO FAR: 45

Level 17
( ) done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
( ) made prank phone calls
( ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) kissed in the rain

So FAR: 48

Level 18
( ) written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) been kissed under a mistletoe
( ) watched the sun set with someone you care/cared about
( ) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach

So FAR: 50

Level 19
( ) crashed a party
( ) have traveled more than 5 days with a car full of people
( ) gone rollerskating/blading
( ) had a wish come true

SO FAR: 52

Level 20
( ) worn pearls
( ) jumped off a bridge
( ) screamed “you suck” in class
( ) swam with dolphins

SO FAR: 52

Level 22
( ) got your tongue stuck to a freezer/ice cube
( ) kissed a fish
( ) worn the opposite sex’s clothes
( ) sat on a roof top — poor roof, huh?

SO FAR: 54

Level 23
( ) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done/attempted a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 5 hours
( ) stayed up all night — I’m doing this right now

SO FAR: 57

Level 24
( ) picked and ate an apple right off the tree
( ) climbed a tree
( ) had/been in a tree house
( ) are scared to watch scary movies alone

SO FAR: 60

Level 25
( ) believe in ghosts
( ) have/had more than 30 pairs of shoes throughout your life
( ) gone streaking
( ) gone to jail

SO FAR: 62

Level 26
( ) played chicken
( ) been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
( ) been told you’re cute by a complete stranger
( ) been easily amused

SO FAR: 64

Level 27
( ) caught a fish then ate it
( ) almost drowned in a pool — a couple of times actually
( ) caught a butterfly
( ) laughed so hard you cried
( ) cried so hard you laughed

SO FAR: 67

Level 28
( ) mooned /flashed someone
( ) had someone moon/flash you
( ) cheated on a test
( ) forgotten someone’s name
( ) slept naked
( ) French braided someone’s hair
( ) gone skinny dipping in a pool
( ) been kicked out of your house

SO FAR: 72

Level 30
( ) rode on a roller coaster
( ) went scuba-diving/snorkeling
( ) had a cavity
( ) Black-mailed someone
( ) been black mailed

SO FAR: 75

Level 31
( ) been used
( ) fell going up the stairs
( ) licked a cat
( ) bitten someone
( ) licked someone

TOTAL: 77

2913 items

… on my Google Reader and this is already after reading about 200 items from the people-i-know folder.

Yes, that’s how long I have been away from reading feeds/blogs and also from writing on my own blog. There are a lot of reasons behind this blogging break:

1. Work: We have lots of deliverables and the team really needs to exert a lot of effort to ‘em out of the door on time.
2. Personal stuff: I choose not to talk about the details yet.
3. Procrastination and plain laziness: Despite the heavy workload at work and the personal stuff I went through, I could still have made time to blog but just did not get to it.

Anyway, since we have a four-day weekend here in Manila (in observance of the Holy Week), I figured that it was the best time to get started again.

In that absence, I’ve had many realizations and observations so expect some new posts on this site. Not to mention the many pictures that I have not uploaded yet…

What’s so funny?

Last Saturday was the “Big Night” for the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2. Although I am not really a big fan of this edition (I watched each show of the first edition), I keep myself up-to-date through my mom as well as Alaine’s grandma.

The final outcome, with Ruben coming out as the Big Winner, did not really come as a surprise. Filipinos usually had the soft heart for the underdogs or those with humble beginnings. I still remember Hero Angeles’ video during the Star Circle Quest (yeah, I watched the finals of that show too… only the finals ha!).

What I noticed about that “Big Night” though was the spoof that they did on the Big Four. Although some parts were funny, most of it was bland and you come out with the feeling that the script was not well prepared. Then again, it might just be me.

But that’s not what I was referring to. I am referring to the spoof made about Riza admitting her virginity. First, let me just say that even though I was a leader in YFC and SFC, I have always been open-minded about sex. Still, I do not find it funny when people tease others about their virginity. I just believe that those who are virgin-by-choice were the ones who chose the road less traveled, and were strong enough to stand by their decision.

While we are on the subject, I just want to share this image I found on the PostSecret blog. The message was pretty close to what I told a friend a couple of years back.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that you need to sleep with your boyfriend to know his REAL character. But if you are, then this is one crazy way to find out.