right...

so this is the joke...


... you really have to be out of my league.

ouch.

the plan

I was planning on continuing with the sorting of my documents, a.k.a. accumulated pile of garbage, tonight. That's the reason I left work today on the dot. But lo and behold, I turned on the TV and watched for a couple of hours, and then now I am stuck in front of the computer updating my Facebook account, and this blog. Way to go, self!

I now highly doubt that I'd be done with the sorting tonight. I even have to shred the unwanted papers tomorrow.

Lots of work in store, Ize. Lots of work in store. (Okay now, get your butt off the chair and start working!)

weekend activities

My brother and his family will be coming here in Manila for a month-long visit. Their arrival date is on the 10th (Thursday of this coming week), so the household help and I are doing general cleaning here in my apartment.


Yesterday, I cleaned the bathroom. I scrubbed everything, from the tiles to the toilet bowl. I noticed the the floor grout has been worn out, so I'm thinking of replacing it. Still, I'm figuring out how I am going to do that (it would be my first time to do such a thing), or if I'm going to do it at all. If I do, and if my father sees it, it's either I'd get a praise (if it turns out good) or a good scolding.


Anyway, today, I'm cleaning up my room - which I will have to evict, for my brother and his family to occupy. I give way for them since my nephew is used to the cold weather in Illinois, and my room is the only airconditioned room in the house. It's also good that the rainy days have arrived, that I wouldn't have to suffer from the scorching temperatures while only making do with an electric fan.


I'm thinking of where I'm going to put all my garbage (aka accumulated stuff that I'm not sure if I really need to have around).


And just like any other clean-up day, I have my stereo turned up with funky music playing the whole time. Nothing's more motivating for a physical activity than funky music. :)

frequent flyer

I just booked my second flight out of the country today. Cebu Pacific announced airfare sale for trips to and from Hong Kong. I booked a trip to HK with four friends from August 21 to 23. :)

I wasn't expecting to book anything these days since yesterday's thoughts. Looking back at my March 14 post, I was looking at this HK trip as an "extra" trip, since I was really planning on going to Singapore this July. Anyway, those unplanned trips really push through. These travel buddies of mine, we were initially aiming for a trip to Singapore this July, but the airfare isn't a match for our budget, so...

Hong Kong, here we come! :) I hope we have a good time there, just as the way we had in South Korea. :)

flight plans

I have been looking at airfare deals lately. Together with a bunch of friends, I'm considering going to Singapore or Macau this July or August. There was a sale of tickets to Macau by Cebu Pacific, and to Singapore by PAL, during the weekend, but strangely I didn't have enough enthusiasm to book a flight. Maybe I'm too excited for the arrival of my brother and his family to the country next week. I miss them so much, I haven't seen them for two years.

Anyway, the plan of going back to South Korea on October looks bleak because of the northern half throwing temper tantrums. I hope the situation doesn't go worse. It would be a waste of life and resources for stupid politics. I don't know about the North, but the South is too beautiful to be damaged due to conflict. I long to visit Seoul and Busan again.

hottah!

Something must have triggered my sumpong. I can't really identify the specific culprit, but I highly suspect that it's an effect of my monthly menopause-inducing medication.

It started when I was preparing to go to church, and I was deciding if I would take our household help with me (who has been going to church with me since I resumed this my religious obligation) or not. Suddenly, I couldn't think of bearing her company. I know it's unfair, she hasn't done anything wrong. Or maybe I'm starting not to appreciate her presence because when she's around she just sits or stands there and says nothing at all until I talk to her. When I go silent, she goes silent too.

But I couldn't consider that as a trigger to my ill temper today.

Later while at the church grounds, walking towards the door, I noticed all the palaspas vendors blocking the way of the church-goers. Some parishioners even stop on their tracks to buy the weaved palm leaves, which cause even more slow-down on the flow of people going to the church. One middle-aged female vendor blocked my way in a swoop with a palaspas she's selling. I was instantly annoyed as the leaves would have hit my face had I not slowed down. I gestured that I wasn't interested, and I think I had frowned at the woman. I know I've lost grasp at the essence of the season because of the way I acted, but the scene on the church ground at that moment hardly showed "Holy" nor respect. Behind the sight of the sea of palaspas, I saw trade - the exchange of goods for money - and the sellers do not care where they make the transactions.

And then I saw people bunched at the front door of the church. I opted that we go for the side doors and I was right - there were not much crowd there. We were able to get inside the church, no sweat. But inside there were hardly any vacant seats. And the people that were seated, sat in a spaced manner that one would not consider squeezing into those spaces. (Pinoys have huge personal space.) We decided to stand on the sides until the end of the mass.

At first I was absolutely fine. Until more and more people trickled in. With my hot flashes, I barely stopped fanning. And then there were too many people around me that the effect of fanning has diminished. I feel guilty about not being able to properly pray. Every now and then, distractions pop out in front of me that makes my mind wander. And then with little space to move due to the crowd around me, my claustrophobia started to kick in. I was starting to feel like screaming in my head.

I decided that we get out of the church immediately after the blessing. Just as the people were raising and shuffling the palaspas in the air, we were on our way out.

At the street, it was sooo hot as the sun was directly shining at us. Jeepneys lined the lanes, making it impossible for other vehicles to pass through. I was already feeling bad from the heat when I spotted a taxi. I hailed it and told my companion to get on board. Once inside the taxi, I felt relief from the heat due to the air-conditioning. But then, something else made me even more sick - it smelled like rotten, thawed fish inside the cab. I wanted to barf but held it. After a few minutes I asked the cabbie to pull over, feigning having to buy something at a shop along the way, paid the fare, and got off with my companion. We hailed another taxi.

We headed to the mall, which is a bad decision. While half of the city's populace were in churches, the other half were in malls. Too many people undergoing retail therapy. And the crowd is maddening. Some people just stop on their tracks, insensitive of those behind them. And then, while I'm about to check out a merchandise on a rack, someone gets in the way... and stays there. (Hmp!)

It felt like my head's going to expand, so I decided to buy take out food and go home.

Home. I locked myself in my room. Felt the ire filling my head. I screamed a soundless one. And then I cried.

Feels a bit better now.

severely itchy feet

SG on July

Barely a week after arriving from Korea and I'm planning another out-of-the-country trip with my friends. This time it's the (mer)lion city of Singapore.

We're planning to have our visit on July - the end of the Great Sale. But aside from shopping, our - of course - agenda is to see the attractions of the city and immerse in the culture as much as we possibly can. And one way to do that is have a food trip. Apparently (and luckily), food sits in the center of Singaporean culture.

I'm excited at the thought of seeing another foreign land, but this doesn't match what I felt when I was about to go to Korea. Maybe it is because of the effect of Hallyu, or because the landscape is so different from what we have.

Cebu (or Palawan) on June

My brother and his family will be having their vaykay from the States on June, and they plan to take the family to Cebu for a few days. However, I will try to persuade my brother to spend our vaykay in Palawan instead. I'd love to see the subterranean river and the powder-dust like sands of Honda Bay.

Macau/Hong Kong in August

If I could squeeze this trip in, I would! Really!

South Korea in October

Yahoo! I hope this pushes through. It would be my first autumn. :)

withdrawal symptoms

this is the difficult part after touring South Korea... the withdrawal symptoms!

It's not just that I'm afflicted with wanderlust, but I fell in love with the cities of Seoul and Busan. A week after I've come back from my travel (with friends) to the "sparkling" land, I still have images of these two cities flashing in my head. And at night, I still dream of being there. On my waking hours I still could smell the food, feel the biting cold in my skin, and hear the incomprehensible chattering of foreign tongues. I miss South Korea!

I am also in serious envy of that country - their advancement in technology, social systems, and citizens' discipline. If only our government officials were truly honorable and true to their duties... if only we Pinoys were patriotic enough... maybe this land of ours could even be in better state than theirs. We Pinoys show so much potential in intellect, talent, and diskarte. Our land is so rich in every aspect. Sadly, so far, hanggang potential pa rin tayo.

Pero hindi ko pa rin ipagpapalit ang Pinas. Manigas sila sa inggit, ako nakatira sa isang tropical paradise.Maybe this is just the effect of being plucked out of an environment that I've been in my entire life. New sights, new sounds...

What amazes me more is the (general) niceness of the Korean people. One allowed us to take the cab first in a taxi stop even though he and his friends got there first. "You are guests. We take care of our guests," he said.

In Busan, an ajumma gave back my extra 20,000 won after I mistakenly gave her 3 pieces of 10,000won bills to pay for a 3,000won pack of bread (thinking I gave her 3 pcs. of 1,000won bills - I was confused with the number of zeros), and then gave me the change to the 10,000won.

And the food... the food! Hindi sila nagtitipid sa ingredients. My friends and I found Crown Bakery, a bakeshop/cafe in Insa-dong where they serve goodies similar to those of Bread Talk. But you would say "Bread Talk, what?" if you saw their goodies. I had a pizza bread - its bread is almost twice the size of BT's and the topping is sooo thick! They used mozzarella that really forms a string when you bite off it. Isang bread lang, busog na ako. And their prices for their products are just right. Mas mahal pa ang same type of food dito sa Pinas.

Before going to SK, I was excited about the thought/possibility of seeing an actor in one of those novelas, but when I was there all I could do is wonder at the sights and think of immersing in the culture as much as I could with the little time we have there. Walang K-Pop sa utak ko. I enjoyed whatever it is before me, wherever it is I am in.

I highly recommend to anyone visiting SK to go to Busan. That city is just beautiful even in the cold of snow-less winter. Check out exhibit A: Yeongdo Park

Taejongdae Park

you know you're addicted when...

... despite it triggering hot flashes that could almost make you cry, you still drink coffee.

seoul preps III

• reserved rooms at Seoul Backpackers today. I tried to do that thru their website's reservation form yesterday, but I didn't get a reply, so I sent them an e-mail to make sure my request goes thru. Fortunately, I did, because that's only when I got a response from them. I wonder what the point of having an online form if it doesn't work the way it should.

• thinking about going to the mall tomorrow before work and do some canvassing of stuff to buy for the trip. that is if I get up earlier than 9AM tomorrow. it's up to the lazy me.

• still haven't finalized the itinerary - although we don't plan on sticking to a definite course of things to do. it would be a great help to have a list of alternatives of places to go or things to do. it's still winter in Korea, some tourist spots may not be as pleasing to visit as they should in summer or autumn.

seoul preps II

Got my Korean visa.


Now is the time to really buy stuff I need for the trip... such as:

• hiking boots
• traveler adapter (for all those e-gadget charging needs)
• memory cards
• camcorder

... and all other things I think I need but probably won't be able to use.


I'm half-excited, half-scared. It's my first time out of the country, and me and my travel companions are doing it DIY. (The idea of restricted itinerary doesn't appeal to us.) And the first-timer me is doing most of the research and preps for our itinerary.


And we even have the guts to travel by train from Seoul to Busan - and then back to Seoul all within a day.


I hope this trip goes very well as I plan to go back to see Nami Island and the Korean Folk Village by September with my folks.


Goodluck to us.

that bbq feeling

I started having my lupron shots a month ago - that med that's gonna cause me temporary menopause (to stop new cysts from growing in my ovary) for a month, and since I'm in a 6-month program, I get a shot once a month till June.

It's only the second month, and the low level of estrogen is already wreaking havoc in my body, i.e. hot flashes, night sweats, sleeplessness in the night, sleepiness by day, and mood swings. My hot flashes ain't the kind you experience when you blush when you see your crush. It's the kind of feeling you get when you run a marathon and then suddenly stopped on your tracks - it's a burning feeling from the inside. It starts at the back of the neck, or at the upper back, and then spreads (sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly) to the torso and the limbs. Even when inside an airconditioned room, I sweat like I was under the midday sun. Imagine me in the office, fanning myself to cool down while everybody else is donning a jacket. What's crazier is that when I cool down, I cool down to a chill. And then I get goosebumps from the low temperature.

Now I understand why 'occasional crying' is a menopausal symptom - the roller coaster temperature, when it happens in short intervals, is enough to drive you crazy. And frustrated. And irked. So irked, you cry. And then you get the mood swings.

"Now you know how it is to menopause," my doctor told me, "remember that when you get old."

Think about that. All that suffering plus mid-life crisis.

So, to the kid reading this: don't get irritated by your middle-aged mother's fits. (Glad I wasn't when my Mom went through this.) You don't know how it is to be barbecued from the inside every now and then.

seoul preps

I got into a tour sched, with a group of peeps from work, to South Korea. So far, I'm doing all of the preparations for the group's trip: from booking, re-booking... to setting the itinerary.

It would be my first flight, and of course, my first foreign trip. It's just odd for me to think that albeit going with a couple of non-first-time-fliers, I'm the one who's doing all the preps. Maybe I just want to make this trip as hassle-free as possible. That being said, I'm even going back on learning Hangul, the Korean language, because I've learned that street signs in Seoul rarely have English translations. Although I've heard that people in Seoul are very friendly and speak some English, it would help a lot if I would know how to read signs. Anyway, I got time until March (the tour schedule) to learn the language, and I've heard that it's quite easy to learn unlike Nippongo.

As per my last research, and our group's latest agreement, we would spend the 4-day trip as follows:

• Day 1 - Manila to Incheon: get to Seoul and check-in to a hostel immediately. Get a ticket for KTX (bullet train) for a trip to Busan the next day.
• Day 2 - Get up early in the morning and hop on a trip on the KTX to Busan, spend the whole day there, and then get on a KTX trip back to Seoul before nightfall. Go to Namdaemun market for souvenirs.
• Day 3 - Get around Seoul on-foot. Stroll early in the morning at the Cheonggye stream, see the palaces, visit Hongdae (where Coffee Prince is), and go to N Seoul Tower.
• Day 4 - Hop on a train trip back to Incheon, go to Sindo Island to visit the Full House filming location, go back to Incheon airport. Back to Manila.

It would be a fully-packed trip, but we would actually be missing some places that we would like to see like the Korean Folk Village (filming location of "Jewel in the Palace"), and Nami Island (filming location of "Winter Sonata"). If I can have another opportunity next year, I would go back on September to visit these two places in time for autumn. Nami Island would be gorgeous by then.

I'm planning to get my visa this December, and then book the hostel accommodations for the group. Something tells me I make be a good travel agent. :P

I'm even researching the weather, and what clothes do wear on March. :)

scared and all

Sometimes I see myself as a strong person - whenever I get into a difficult situation, I cry but then I force myself to go through it. I've lost count of how many times I've psyched myself that "this too will pass," "this is just a phase," and "I'm just being too negative." I create a hard shell to protect the person inside that only wants to cry.

Prayers really help. I pray a lot especially during tough times like this. Like this time, that I have cysts in my ovaries: four little ones in the left, and one, 5cm., blood-filled cyst on the right.

How did I find out? I've been bleeding in between my periods lately. Normal spotting doesn't look as red as the blood coming out of my body at a time that it's not supposed to. At first, I thought it was UTI, which also worried me a lot because it could have meant something somewhere in my urinary tract could be majorly bleeding basing on the amount of blood that's coming out. But I don't have the severe UTI symptoms, like burning feeling when you pee, or severe pain on the flank area. So, I gathered my guts and went to the hospital for a consultation. Good thing I did.

The OB-GYN first interviewed me about my symptoms, and then asked me to lay on the bed then she pressed on my lower abdomen, searching for a lump. She asked me if I felt any pain, but I didn't. That's when she recommended me for a trans-rectal scan.

You read it right, it's trans-rectal. As in right up the arse.

I went back after a day to have my TRS. And boy, was it painful, if not uncomfy. I would have opted to spare the reader the details of this, but I've decided I'm gonna document this. If you, the reader, feels queasy about this, skip this paragraph. Okay, so a probe, bigger than my thumb was stuck up my arse. The doctor told me to push, but the shy and uncomfy me wasn't able to do so. Next thing I knew, the probe was already in and I felt a tear. (I know, ew!) I had to endure that for about 5 minutes. I couldn't decide on which to focus my attention to: the discomfort and the pain, or hearing that I have cysts in my ovaries. Then the doctor said, "okay, just a little bit more and this is gonna be over," to my relief, but then again the phone rang and the assistant said, "hold on, I'm gonna have to answer that." I wanted to grab her arm and yell, "No! Stay here and let's get this over with!" But even if I tried to, I wouldn't be able to do so, since she zapped off to get the phone. I was so thankful that the phone conversation didn't take long.

After the scan, I headed immediately to my OB's office, but I was informed that she's yet to come at 1PM. At it was only a little past 11AM.

I decided to go home for the meantime, because I didn't want to wait and contemplate at the hospital. I called my boss and informed her that I'm gonna take half the day's work off so I could have the follow-up consultation. I didn't tell her about the cysts, so I think it was the reason why she asked me if I could have the consultation on another day. But I insisted and told her that my OB only comes to the hospital in the afternoon. She agreed.

At home, I got to contemplate and go anxious about what I heard from the doctor who did the scan. I refused to read the printed result that she gave me. Negative thoughts bombarded my head and I went to tears. I prayed, begged, pleaded...

And then my Mom called, asking how I was. I haven't told her about me going to the doctor yet, at the time. And so I told her, but spared her the details. I told her that I was yet to have my follow-up consultation and that I would be telling her about it after.

It broke my heart thinking about the possibilities and me not telling her everything. I worry about my Mom too, since she has a heart condition. I didn't want her to worry about something that I don't even know the answer to. If I'm gonna tell her anything, I had to know exactly what I'm having first.

Before 1PM, I headed back to the hospital. My mind was further screwed while waiting for my turn at the consultation. I kept on praying. I prayed for good news.

Consultation time. I handed the scan results to the OB, and she read it before she spoke to me. And then she explained to me the anatomy of the female reproductive organ. And then, part by part, she explained the scan results to me.

She told me that aside from the cysts, my right ovary is filled with blood. One of the theories that they, doctors, are looking at at such conditions is that part of the flesh in the uterus that turns into blood during menstruation had slipped (or somehow found its way) into my ovary, hence the blood. And the blood doesn't go anywhere. The ovary just gets filled up, menstrual period after period, and the risk in that is that at some point the cyst could burst. (Another doctor told me, another risk is that the cyst could twist along with the ovary.) She told me that there's a treatment where I could get injected with a drug that would stop my menstrual cycle for 6 months, until the cysts would disappear. But for cysts more than 4cm in size, the drug would have little to no effect. The drug can only help me with my smaller cysts in my left ovary. But for the one in the right, I would have to undergo surgery to have it removed. It has to be removed in order to save my ovary.

My hands turned cold and sweaty at that instant. The doctor tried to make me laugh, but I forgot what the joke was. I laughed a little and she seemed to be relieved. I must have looked awful to her.

And then I asked if I need to undergo surgery immediately. She told me, "The sooner, the better. But it's all up to you. You have to get yourself ready for it." I had to pick the date.

First, off I was told that I was going to be opened up. And then I have to choose when they are going to do it to me. If that's not pressure enough...

I couldn't believe myself while I watched me utter these words: "Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to have it removed, so I think we should do it within the month." I said that I'm gonna wait till my parents arrive from the province, and then we will schedule the operation.

So what's the good news? There's no mention of the "C". And my prayers might have been heard because I didn't shake and cry upon hearing what I did. I realized all that when I left the hospital and played the scene again in my head.

I told my friends whom I got to talk to, about it, right away. I wasn't seeking for sympathy, I was looking for a hand to hold and an ear to tell my concerns to. And it helped because I got to laugh while telling the whole story. And then I had the guts to call my parents to tell them about it.

I was laughing and (probably) sounding confident while I talked to my parents. My Dad even said, "I'm not worried because you don't seem to be afraid of it." I told him, "I'm actually nervous, but I know that I have to go through surgery sooner or later, so I'm choosing to have it the soonest possible time so the risks are lesser." What can I say? Though I worry about them worrying about me, lying to my parents has become a difficult thing for me to do.

I talk about it to my friends whenever I could, so I would feel less stressed about it. Although I'm thinking that I might be talking too much about it already. Anyway, nobody has complained about it yet.

I try to rationalize. I keep remembering why I should undergo surgery. I keep on praying.

I'm so scared. The last surgery I had was when I was nine, when the tip of my left index finger was amputated after getting caught in a doorjamb. I had surgery twice for it, because after the first operation (the emergency procedure) the bone was trying to protrude to they had to remove a bit off it. That entire experience wasn't pleasant at all. And then I'm having this.

Part of me is melting with fear, and part of me is trying to stay tough. I cannot be weak, at least for the sake of my family. One who has gone through the same thing might think that this is not at all a big thing. But for someone like me who go nuts at the slightest illness, and has never had a surgery in the abdominal area... this is major. Especially that I was told that the procedure is similar to a caesarian operation. My abdomen is going to have a scar. (That's one thing I'm being sentimental about, too, as absurd as it may seem. I plan to take a picture of my tummy before the surgery.)

Right now, I'm battling fear. There are times when I stop and think and couldn't believe that this is happening to me.

Apart from the surgery, I'm going to have to go through temporary menopause for six months after the operation because of the medication that I will have to go through to temporarily stop my menstruation. The doctor said that my hormonal cycle is one of the things that feed the growth of the cysts, so it has to stop for a time. The cache? Menopausal symptoms. And according to the literature that I read, there are 35 symptoms. Among them are: mood swings, hot flashes, sweaty nights, insomnia, depression, and all the things that we've witnessed our mothers went through at middle age. Menopause twice in life. Go figure.

I have warned my officemates of how I might be next year once I undergo the treatment. At this point I'm already asking for their understanding. I'm already explaining things to them so that they would know that whatever mean thing I do, it wouldn't be me, but the lack of estrogen. I'm even researching on ways to ease the symptoms.

Of all the symptoms, I fear depression the most, as I have had bouts twice before already. And it wasn't a pleasant thing at all. Talk about wondering what use there is trying to live life. You wake up in the morning and find no enthusiasm to do anything at all. And then you're constantly bombarded with bouts of anxiety. At some point I didn't know who I was. I questioned my very personality. What was the me within these flesh and bones. Good thing, I love life too much to give up. Again, prayers helped a lot during these episodes.

I've been through depression, and I know how painful it is in the mind, in the heart, and in the spirit. I fear going through it again. I hope that my prayers will again be heard. I pray that I don't go through depression again.

Here I am, scared and all. To think, that vain people purposely go under the knife to change the way they look. I wonder where they draw their courage for that.

So this is me, psyching myself for that surgery. It only feels okay when I think of holding on to The One Above for strength.

cold, cold turkey

... pushing thru with joining the tree-planting activity on Saturday at Tanay, Rizal - despite the oncoming typhoon. We're required to bring a shovel, so I'm planning on buying a small one. (Magpa-sweet ba?) The only thing I'm not so comfy about this activity is having to be at the meeting place at 5:30AM. My usual waking hour (due to my work schedule) is around 10AM. I just hope the rains don't pour on Saturday. It wouldn't feel so nice being drenched while lacking sleep. soooo...

... I'm trying to get off the caffeine hook due to health reasons. Been doing it for a week now. It's amazing, actually, for someone like me who gets a daily doze of up to 2 cups. It seems like caffeine has got a hold on me. I used to be able to ignore my coffee cravings, but now I have to take substitutes like hot choco, or keep myself full so I don't crave for anything more to put into my mouth. I'm a sniff short of getting the chills... I feel uneasy whenever I feel sleepy at mid-afternoon - more so when I smell someone else's freshly-mixed 3-in-1 in the office.

... Feelin' like I have to curb my shopping drive. Couldn't help but buy, buy, buy things. Have to remind self that I still have to pay, pay, pay bills. It's not easy resisting purchasing nice clothes during a sale. Or a marked-down photographic equipment.

downsize the F's

... cleaned-out my Facebook account: cleaned my personal info, removed my photo albums, removed my notes, removed those boxes, deactivated some applications. I only left Farmtown and Fish World active, mainly due to sentimental value. And because it's where I could let play the inner decorator in me.

... cleaned-out my Friendster account too: cleaned my personal info, removed my photo albums, removed my blog entries, removed some friends. Mean! I know. But I think they don't want to have anything to do with me too.

... was tempted to close both accounts. Thinking about spending time on more productive things. (Was really tempted to close the Friendster account, kasi nababaduyan na ako.) What stopped me from doing so are the friends whom I still want to stay connected with.

... still not doing a more productive alternative to Facebooking. Still Facebooking.

... why did I erase the photos? My photos are everywhere: buzznet, flickr, blogger, multiply, friendster, and facebook. It's time I keep them where they should be stored. Besides Facebook (and friendster) is not giving my photos justice, as per their color. And my friends don't really have the time to browse through those photos anyway, so what's the point of "sharing" it in a social networking site where everyone is very much occupied with their own vanities? Better reduce my own vanity and keep the stuff in my FB (and friendster) account lean.

welcome aboard, Lil Harry!

I'm blogging using Mack's new brother, Lil Harry - a 2140 HP Mini. Bought it last Saturday with Curly and Esme at SM Annex. I wasn't very sure then about purchasing a netbook, but seeing how the HP Mini works made me decide to buy one.

Yeah, I already have Mack, why have another mobile PC? First off, I can't bring Mack and Nik-Nik together. I don't have the courage to jam them both in one bag. Secondly, Lil Harry, with its size and build (aluminum body), can happily swim with Nik-Nik in my backpack and emerge unscathed, unlike Mack who is now showing battle scars from frequent use & abuse.

And no, I'm not disposing Mack anytime soon. Should I buy a new MacBook Pro (which I plan to on December), Mack will go to my folks. :)

So far, I'm having fun using this new toy. What I like most about it, apart from the aluminum body, is its keyboard - the buttons are larger than that of a regular PC keyboard. It's very comfortable to type on it. It's MacBook look is also a bonus - hind ba jologs tignan.

And of course, hindi takaw-pansing dalhin si Lil Harry. :)

closer

So I got this new extension tube for Nik-nik, so I could shoot macro with it. The thing takes the lens farther from the camera sensor so the lens could have higher reproduction ratio - close-up on the subject much better.

This one I bought is an ordinary extension tube (made in China), with no mechanism that connects the lens to the camera body. So I have to set the aperture of the lens first before disconnecting it from the body (which is still powered on) and fitting the extension tube in between.

It scared me a bit to use this extension tube, because aside from this being the first time I'm gonna use one, the thing came with an all-Chinese manual. I guess it's the price I pay for buying a P800-worth extension ring. I just hope this would not cost me any further.

This tube is actually segmented into three parts - hence the numbers 1 to 3. The parts could be separated (1 being the shortest) and fitted in between the camera body and the lens solo or in combinations.

A friend recommended buying this after I made shout out at my Facebook account regarding my dilemma on buying macro lens so I could shoot more interesting subjects for the art exhibit I joined for reasons I don't exactly know why. I will make an entry about that exhibit later on.

I preferred this over close-up filters, which adds another layer of glass to the lens, affecting clarity of the shot. I have to be very careful in using it, though, as it exposes the sensor to dust while I fit it on the camera, and it's not that stable.

And so I experimented shooting my "souvenir items" from beaches I've been to. This one here is a shell about an inch in size. If I remember it right, I got this from Baler, Aurora.

This one is another shell of the same size. (From Baler too, I think.) I shot the inside part of it to show the other side of the twirling pattern.

This one is a coral, about 1.5in. in size. The pores that can be seen on the photo are actually very small, pinheads coud fit in them.

I will post more macro shots later.

that la, la, la song!

Just a while ago, I was weeding out mp3 files from my iTunes library to free up Max's memory space when I saw the Coffee Prince theme song, "La, La, La, It's Love!" I played it out of fancy, and in an instant I was zapped back to my Coffee Prince addiction.

The song, as I'm writing this entry, is playing on repeat on my iTunes. Scenes from the TV series are flashing in my brain, making me want to watch a marathon of Coffee Prince once again. (Oh, I remember the last time I did it, I barely slept during the weekend - I practically camped out in the living room: food, beddings and all.)

Oh my goodness! (Where's that DVD, by the way?)

7 more months before Gong Yoo (Arthur) comes out of the military. And one month to his birthday - July 10. He will be turning 30. He's one of us, '79ers!

Happy Birthday Gong Ji-Cheol!

Alrighty then!

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm good!

One! Two! Come on!

La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la...

La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la...

snapshots of the day

The number of people infected with the virus is growing. As part of the company's preparations to prevent/deal with a possible infection in its own yard, people were given masks and encouraged to wear the protective covers especially when they're starting to feel the "symptoms." Simple message: If you think you have it, then help to not spread it.

But trust the people of the Jungle Watch Crew to put a little twist to it by making it appear like a new fad...

Too much work can drive people nuts. Sometimes to avoid going nuts, you have to pre-empt the symptoms...