Project 365

I know, it’s a bit lame. You’ve probably heard a bunch of people who started with their 365 project.

365 project is a project for photography aficionados where they would take a picture a day to see how well they have improved. It will be posted on www.365project.org for everyone to see.

Well, just about over a month ago, we bought a Canon DSLR EOS 500D which we brought on our trip in Singapore. It was neat because I was able to play with the aperture, shutter speed and all but we mostly used the Auto mode. It’s just like buying a really expensive digital camera. I have an excuse though. We bought the DSLR the day before we left for Singapore. When I got back, I started looking for tutorials and videos on how to go around with the DSLR.

This is the best shot I had so far.

This was taken last April 30. I used a candle lamp we got last Christmas. Trying to be artistic, I placed the subject on the left and used the flash from my BlackBerry. If you look closely, I didn’t even had the chance to wipe the table clean.

I’m gonna play around with stills first then move my way to macro then landscape. I’m also gonna try on some online classes even if I have to pay for it. They say an eye for art is not enough in Photography, you need to skills to show it.

Here’s some more that I’ve taken:

 

Everyone’s help is welcome. Please email me if you know some classes I could take. You could also email me some tips you guys already know.

Email: kiroblogger@gmail.com

BBM: 23861ec0

 

Thanks!

 

More-more Singapore!

Last Saturday, on board Cebu Pacific Air, we landed in Singapore (Budget Terminal coz I’m so cheap) at around 5:30pm. At kahit na wala pa akong tulog (kagagaling ko lang ng 9pm to 6am shift at nag-finalize ng mga inimpake from 7am to 10am), nabuhay ang diwa ko paglapag namin ng airport. Isa lang ang ibig sabihin niyan: LAMON, WALDAS AT GALA! Keipayn, tatlo!

Singapore is like Hong Kong but it’s not. Parehas halos sa lahat, kaso mas marami lang tao! At mas maraming halo ng tao – Indians, Malaysians, Filipinos, Americans, and maraming maraming Filipinos!

 

• Sunblock
  
  • Hindi naman sa nag-iinarte ako. Medyo na-trauma na ako nung pumunta ako sa Hong Kong eh. Imagine spending roughly 4 hours under the sun, siguradong sunog ka! At since mas malapit ang Singapore sa equator, I figured it’ll be hotter. When we got to Singapore last Saturday, medyo maulan. Pero mabuti na ring nag-iingat, remember ang UV rays.
    

     

• Bring adapters for your chargers
  
  • This was our biggest mistake from our last trip. Make sure you have researched before you even get to the plane what socket is most commonly used. Hotels usually won’t provide adapters for your chargers or power supply. Good thing BlackBerry provides adapters for almost all socket types so I didn’t have to buy an adapter.
    

     

• Activate Roaming
  
  • You’ll never know when you need to contact someone back home when you’re abroad. Do this an hour before your flight and make sure you have a spare prepaid reload card (if you’re on prepaid). Also, make sure you’re fully aware of the charges para hindi kayo magaya sa akin. Usually, I don’t mind texting a lot kasi sa ilang beses ko ba namang mag-load para sa BB Data services, ang dami ko nang free text (431 free text as of last check). Eh, malay ko ba namang PhP15 + PhP2.50 ang charge kada text! Aba’y buong giliw ba naman akong mag-text giving update sa mga tao dito. Buti hindi na nag-reply si Salbe sa akin LOL. Nga pala, while roaming, hindi pala gumagana ang BB ON. When I got back to Manila, I had to reboot my phone para mare-activate yung BIS ko.
    

My BlackBerry na kulay white. SingTel ang partner ng Globe sa Singapore. Notice that I’m already on OS 6! Inggit you much?!

 

• US Dollars
  
  • Days before you leave, make sure you’ve already changed the money you’ll bring to US Dollars (Not Singaporean Dollars, I’ll tell you in a few). BDO is the best place to have them changed. They have a reservation policy if you’re gonna need more than US$ 1000. Why not Singaporean dollars? Coz you’ll get more when you exchange a US$ than directly changing your PhP to S$.
    

     

• Where to stay
  
  • It doesn’t really have to be expensive. Important point: You don’t need TV! You’ll be spending the whole day outside your hotel so why get a hotel with a TV in your room. All you need is a nice bed, shower and AC. That’s it. And oh, don’t worry about leaving your valuables inside the room especially when you know that the hotel crew members are mostly Singaporeans. I’ll tell you more about this in a few.
    

     

• Where to eat
  
  • Wag ka nang mag-effort maghanap ng Filipino food. Sa Lucky Plaza lang mayrun at talaga namang impiyerno dun kapag Linggo! Eat at Glutton’s Bay, Makansutra (I know, may pagka-kinky ang pangalan). Try everything! Sarap, sobra! Try niyo rin yung Shabu-shabu sa may Bugis.
    

Ang pinaka-kinky na kainan. Hindi lang pangalan ang masarap.

 

• Smoking
  
  • Dito ako nagsisisi kung bakit hindi ko dinala yung portable ash tray na niregalo sa akin nung pasko. Singapore’s really strict when it comes to smoking. You can’t just smoke anywhere. And when you find a place to smoke, they usually don’t have a trash bin where you can throw your cigarette butts in. Once, we were smoking in front of Marina Square. Puro Pilipino kausap ko, siguro nawili ako at nakalimutang nasa Singapore ako kasi puro nga Pilipino ang kausap ko. Tinapon ko sa sahig ang upos ng sigarliyo at pinatay pa gamit ang sapatos ko. Aba! Lahat naman sila’y napa-gasp ng matindi at namutla ako slight. Wag daw ako magtatapon kung saan-saan kasi ang mga police dun ay mga naka-civilian at pwede kang damputin na lang. Buti na lang walang ibang nakakita. Tsaka, mahal ang yosi, S$12. Halos PhP400! Sus, kung hindi ka pa mapatigil magyosi dahil dun, baka dahil sa mga picture na nakalagay sa box. Ito nga pala ang sampol ng isang yosi sa kanila:
    

Kaderder lang, di ba? Paano ka naman magkakaroon ng gangrene sa pagyo-yosi?! Tumatapak siguro sa kanal kapag nagyo-yosi!

• Singaporeans are honest people
  
  • Napatunayan namin ito. Maraming beses na kaming nag-iwan ng gamit sa loob ng hotel room, nagalaw at nalinis na ang buong room, pero yung pinagkainan namin, yung bag naming, andun pa rin. May nakwento pa sa amin na kapag may naiwan kang gamit sa cab or anywhere, just hope na walang Pilipino. I know, medyo unfair para sa mga Pilipino notorious na ang nakawan dun at 95% of the time, Pilipino rin ang may pakana. Kapag Singaporean, i-expect mo na in within 24 hours, may tatawag sa’yo at magsosoli ng gamit mo.
    
  • Kapag magtatanong ng direction, sa Singaporean ka magtanong. Nung nasa Harbor Front kami, may tinanungan kami na mga pinoy. Nagtuturuan sila at alam mong nanti-trip lang. Napamura tuloy ako. Mas madali kapag Singaporean kasi lahat sila nakakapag-english at minsan ihahatid ka pa dun mismo.
    

     

• Lucky Plaza
  
  • If you unfortunately ran out of prepaid credits, kasi shushunga-shunga kang mag-text sa mga kabarkada mo, pumunta ka dito. This is along Orchard, across Takashimaya. Impyerno nga lang kapag Linggo! Susmiyo, ang mga pinoy dinadagsa talaga ang lugar na ito! Makikita mo mga nagpi-picnic sa gilid! Haysus!
    

Speaking of Orchard Road…

• Running shoes
  
  • Or any shoes that you think would be most comfortable. Yung tipong pwede mong ipanglakad hanggang Indonesia. Kasi kapag nasimulan mo nang maglakad sa Orchard, lahat ng mall talaga namang papasukin mo at lilibutin! Wag kalimutang magpa-picture! Nung nilakad namin ang Orchard, kulang na lang sipain ako ng sarili kong paa. As in, hindi ko na sila maramdaman pagbalik namin sa hotel!
    

  
  

  Syempre kahit masakit na ang paa, todo smile pa rin sa pictures
  

   

• Take the MRT
  
  • You’ll love their MRT. Kasi, you’ll just need one ticket (don’t buy the “Per Day” cards, you won’t need it) and you can get in to the trains. Konektado kasi lahat. Just be mindful of the platform gap (yan ang paulit-ulit mong maririnig).
    

Sa Dhoby Ghaut Interchange Station yata ito.

Somerset Station going to Marina Bay

 

• Keep left
  
  • Especially on escalators. Ito ang pinaka-natutunan ko sa Singapore. People follow the left hand rule everywhere. So when you’re in an escalator, be mindful to stay on the left side to give way for people rushing on your right.
    

     

• Lakasan ang loob
  
  • Na magtanong at kapalan ang mukha. Malay niyo, magaya kayo sa amin na nakapuslit mag-dinner sa Sands on 57 kung saan hotel guests lang ang pwede pumunta (yata) or people with reservations. As in nakapasok kami mismo dun sa pool area kung saan ginawa ang last challenge sa The Amazing Race Asia 4. See attached file:
    

Actually, bawal yung yosi na niyo-yosi namin. Dala naming yan from Pinas, naipuslit sa bagahe ang 4 packs. Lakasan ng loob lang.

 

Obviously, hindi ako ang kumuha nito.

 

Smile-smile lang. Kunwari may pambayad.

Yosi lang. Ninenerbyos na ako niyan kung magkano ang bill namin.

 

Hulaan kung magkano ang total bill namin?

 

Yun lang. Ito naman ang mga feeling pro pictures ko:

 

Oops, syempre, wag kakalimutang kumuha ng pang-profile pic!

 

The Esplanade Theatre – the durian (their national fruit) inspired theatre

 

Sunset view from our hotel room

 

Inside Marina Bay Sands Hotel

 

The Giant Gulaman Jugs inside Marina Bay Sands Hotel

 

Pesteng puno yan oh!

 

Ang pinakamagandang kuha ko… so far.

Sa presinto ka magpaliwanag

Marami akong ayaw sa buhay, coz it’s me already! Hindi naman ako maarte, but there are certain things I just can’t stand. So I came up with another list of my Top Pet Peeves.

• Overly Choleric People
  • Sila yung laging, “Yes, we can do it if we just follow the rules” or laging idealistic or puro na lang galing sa leadership books ang sinasabi.

    Minsan kapag kausap ko sila, I simply nod my head and secretly roll my eyes. Choleric is the least of my personalities.

     

• Bingi
  • Ayoko ng paulit-ulit. Nasasayang ang effort ko or tingin ko nananadyang mang-asar.

     

• Time pressure
  • Lalo akong nagkakamali. Pasensya ka na, dalawa lang kamay ko! You won’t like me when I’m angry

     

• Nagmumura
  • Nagmumura rin naman ako, pero kapag sobrang galit na or labis na nagugulat lang. Kaya kapag nakakarinig ako ng nagmumura pero hindi ka naman nagulat to the max, ang dating sa akin ay sobrang galit ka.

   

• Nagpapaliwanag
  • Ayoko nga eh. Okeipayn, sa tingin ko kasi kapag nasabi ko na yung reason ko, ayoko ng hinuhukay pang maigi. Para kasi sa akin, mga criminal lang ang kailangang magpaliwanag. Kung kilala mo ako at may tiwala ka sa akin, hindi mo kailangan ang paliwanag ko. At kung kaaway kita, hindi ka maniniwala sa paliwanag ko.

Yan lang muna. Like I said, hindi naman ako maarteng tao.

Blogobersaryo

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year since I first posted an article here in WordPress.

Haay, isang taon na ang nakalipas… ano ba ang natutunan ko?

Really?! It’s been a year?

Ang totoo, hindi ko alam talaga kung paano ise-celebrate ang anniversary. Una, gusto kong magpasalamat sa mga bumati. Eto sila:

Krisjewel

 

Mommy Kaye

Kuya Bong

Kuya Pong

Jkuli

Glentot

Salbe

Lian Lee

JC – Cheesecake

O, di ba? Ang sweet?

Salamat sa lahat ng bumati sa Facebook, Plurk and Twitter (Yes, shameless plugging na ito!) Sa mga hindi pa bumabati… bakit ayaw niyong bumati ha?! galit you? Inggiterang frog!

Gusto ko ring pasalamatan si Yvarro (kasama ng mga maskara), sa pag-introduce din sa akin ng WordPress. Dati akong palaboy-laboy na blogger sa Blogspot – so lost, so confused. Obkors echoss lang yun. Pero dahil kawawa naman me at iisa lang ang follower (si Yvarro), naisipan at nagpabuyo sa suhestiyon na ako’y mag-wordpress. Tinulungan niya akong mag-ayos at maglipat ng mga gamit ko mula sa dati kong bahay papunta dito sa wordpress.

Panghuli, gusto kong pasalamatan ang mga nakilala ko dito sa WordPress at nakilala pang mabuti sa mga maiikling usapan, tsismisan intelligent talk, kwentuhan, ka-plurk, ka-twitter, ka-BBM, ka-YM, ka-email, kapalitang-comment, ka-spammer, kapalitan ng recipe at kung anu-ano pa. Sa mga payo sa buhay and life in general.

Jakuli, Salbehe, Pong, Mommy Kaye, Sebastian, Vajayjay, Kuya Bong, Duking and the likes… kahit hindi ko pa kayo nakikita nang personal, nakita ko naman ang mga puso niyo. Sa mga dumalaw at tumaguyod sa “Run, MD! Run!” Maraming salamat!

Yes, I gained so much weight and may have lost the purpose of me creating this blog. Pero ang importante, nakilala ko kayong lahat.

Sa mga gustong humabol sa pic greetings, pwede pa. Email niyo na lang ako: kiroblogger@gmail.com

 

Muli, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat!

 

Top Facebook Sablay Moments

I’m a big fan of The Morning Rush with Chico and Delamar on RX 93.1. I remember listening to them every morning while I make my way to school. Now I just download their podcast and listen to their Top 10 Knock-knock jokes and still laugh every time!
So now, I tried to rip them off a little by making my own list of Facebook sablay moments. It’s all about the facepalm, annoying, or embarrassing moments people shared on Facebook. They are either status messages, pictures, videos and whatnots!

1. “I have a feelings this is it!”
Ang dami naman niyang feeling mo!

2. “I’m logging out from {Company Name}, I’ll gonna miss you all”
People like you make me feel embarrassed to be in the BPO industry! Kahiya ka! Pasusyal ka pa kasi, mali naman ang grammar mo!

3. “What you sow is what you reep”
Hhhmnkey…

4. Trying to be malalim, posted “Malancholy and the infinite sadness”
Sige, ikaw na!

5. “You have me, and I have you… And that’s the true”
Hhhmnkey…

6. People who post status messages and like their own status message and comment on their own status message and like their own comment on their own status message.
Wawa naman you! Wala kang friend?

7. People who create a Picbadge with their own picture on the badge and then ask everyone to support their Picbadge!
Pathetic! You’re chachaluzer!

8. Relatives posting their messages to you, or worse, someone else in your family, on your wall, pictures and status update!
Mom, I love you so much but please stop posting on my wall! Same thing goes out to every member of my family! Please use the private message feature, it’s less embarassing that way!

9. Bitter blind items or Parinig
This is just annoying! Do you really have to let everyone in the world know that you are arguing with someone?

10. Excessive liking of everyone’s status
Salbe does this all the time so I thought why won’t I do it too? It was good at first, but it has gone worse when people gets annoyed when I liked even the unfortunate posts like somebody dies or gets in an accident. Only salbe can do it, I think.

11. “You’re not even an inch of me”
This has left us scratching our head until someone said, “Baka ibig niyang sabihin ay, ‘Wala ka sa kalingkingan ko’.” Ooh… Aaaah… Hhmmmnkey…

12. People selling stuff
It’s okay to see your pictures on the live feed page, but do you really have to tag me on every photos of the stuff you’re selling?

That’s all I have so far… Please feel free to share your own Facebook sablay moments!

Thanksss, chossss, omaygassss!

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Wanted, Kuya

Sila ang mga pamangkin ko. Si Vhon ang nasa kaliwa, si Vince ang nasa kanan. Hindi ako yung astronaut. Sa litratong ito, makikita niyo ba kung sino ang mas pilyo? Clue, hindi yung astronaut.

Born a day after I turned 21, Vhon came in the most unexpected time. I remember he was the cutest little baby, walang bias. Para siyang si Jose Rizal, maliit ang katawan at malaki ang ulo. Si Kuya ko ang kinuhang ninong alinsunod sa nakasanayang tamang order ng pagpili ng ninong kahit na anong pilit ko na ako dapat kasi magkasunod lang kami ng birthday.

Nung lumalaki si Vhon, napansin kong napakatahimik niyang bata. Kapag may kakausap sa kanya, titignan lang niya; laging nakanganga. Todo effort patawanin or pangitiin kapag kinukunan ng picture pero hindi naman suplado or matatakutin sa tao.

Vince was born 2 years after his Kuya Vhon. Nauna akong pumunta sa center nung pinanganak siya. Siguro dahil sa ako ang naunang nagpunta nung pinanganak siya or alinsunod din sa nakagawian, ako ang piniling ninong.

Masungit, suplado at moody. Laging nakakabit sa nanay niya.

Naging busy ako sa trabaho kaya hindi ko nasubaybayan ang paglaki ni Vince. Nakita ko na lang siya ulet nitong December. Umuwi kasi sila mama at papa para dito magbakasyon; unang beses nilang makikita ang bunso nilang apo. Nagulat ako na ibang-iba na ang batang dati’y ayaw magpakarga sa akin. Ngumiti siya at tinawag akong “Dada” (tawag kasi ng mga kamag-anak ko sa akin ay Dan-dan). Pagsambit ni Vince ng Dada, pakiramdam ko kilalang kilala niya ako kahit na dun lang niya ako ulit nakita.

Napansin ko minsan habang naglalaro silang magkapatid, kasama ang mga anak ng mga pinsan namin, na si Vhon ang mas tahimik di tulad ni Vince na paikot-ikot at panay interact sa ibang kalaro. Nakuha ni Vince ang ugali ng daddy niya at nakuha naman ni Vhon ang ugali ko. Maya-maya pa’y dumating na ang kalaro nilang isang malaking bully. Pinagkukuha ang mga laruan at tinulak si Vhon. Hindi nag-react si Vhon at biglang lumapit si Vince at tinulak ang tumulak sa kuya niya. Nung umambang gaganti ang bully sa kanya, bigla namang sumipa si Vince para hindi na makalapit sa kuya niya ang bully. Syempre, bilang tiyuhin nila kunwari sinaway ko ang violence, pero sa loob ko tuwang-tuwa ako.

Don’t get me wrong, hindi ko tinuturuan na maging bayolente or basag-ulo ang mga pamangkin ko. Lalong hindi ko tino-tolerate ang sakitan. Ang kinatuwa ko ay kung paano pinakita ni Vince ang pagmamahal niya sa Kuya niya. Napansin ko na everytime may umaaway sa kuya niya, lumalapit siya sa kanya at hinaharang ang umaaway at pinagtatanggol ang kuya niya.

Dito ako naiinggit sa kanila. Hindi kasi ganun ang mga kapatid ko. Although we grew up together, magkakaiba ang paglaki namin. Si kuya, tahimik lang at hindi nakikisalamuha sa tao kahit kamag-anak. Yung bunso, lahat ng kapitbahay kilala. Ako, yung kilala ko lang kinakausap ko. Hindi ako lumaking may kakampi. Kaya naman nung nagkamuang na ako at nagkaroon ng kakayanang kumita ng pera, bumukod na ako sa mga kapatid ko. Bagay na hindi maintindihan nila mama.

Kapag naaalala ko ang mga pamangkin ko, naiisip ko kung paano ba dapat ang mga magkakapatid. Mas magkatugma ang DNA ng magkapatid kaya dapat mas malalim ang ugnayan. Naiinggit nga ako sa mga kwento ng magkakapatid na sobrang close. Minsan kapag may nakakausap ako, iniisip ko na sana, swap na lang sila ng mga kapatid ko. Hindi naman kasi uso ang heart to heart talk or bonding sa pamilya namin.

Tinitignan ko lagi ang mga picture ng mga pamangkin ko. Nakakatuwa lalo na kapag magkaparehas ang mga damit nila. Naaalala ko noon na sa lahat halos ng picture naming magkakapatid, lagi magkakaparehas ang damit naming. Naiisip ko tuloy, kung ang ugnayan naming magkakapatid ay gaya ng sa mga pamangkin ko. Sana nung may umaaway sa akin nung bata ako, may nagtatanggol din.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry

Time to trim down

Y’all know how I’ve been trying to lose some pounds. If you would look at the picture below, my weight just tips the scale at around 155 lbs. That’s like 5 pounds that I gained from last week! At this rate I’d be a panda before this year ends!
Maybe you’re thinking that I may be over-reacting. I know my ideal weight is around 155 lbs, but it’s a problem when most of that weight is concentrated in my mid section. It gets worse when your what used to be 30″ waistline is near 38″!
Okay, I admit that cutting down my carb intake is gonna be really hard. Just now, I just binged a whole bowl of Salted Fish and Chicken Fried rice from North Park in between writing this post down and it just kills me to know that I couldn’t refuse that extra serving of rice.
Over the weekend, we had our Team Building in Pansol. I’m just there for the pool! I for one can’t swim to save my life but I know how to make myself float like a log or swim like a frog. I don’t know, but swimming makes me not want to light a cigarette. Maybe it’s the endorphines produced by the whole-body work-out, but somehow I feel happy.
Right now, I’m planning to get into a swimmingg class but I couldn’t find one that caters to adults. I can just imagine the sight of me swimming with floaters surrounded by a bunch of kids who can swim better than I can! Embursing much!
I’m gonna end this post for now. I’ll go worry about the spam SMS we’ve been receiving. Grrr much!

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.