TOSH
It's the last day of October. Since it was not declared as a holiday, everyone was hoping their offices would declare a half-day. Not on ours.
After the two-day seminar, decided that I'll be reporting to our Makati office. Besides, it would be the last day of my friend before her one month vacation at the US. It's the first time I saw their temporary office at the Pacific Star. It may not be much, but still comfortable being there. Maybe because of the people there... (",)
Met my friend for lunch to treat her at
The Old Spaghetti House (TOSH). It's my delayed birthday treat to her. Missed the taste... c",) We had buffalo wings for appetizer and mud pie for dessert, she had American baked spareribs and iced tea, and I had Gambasetti and Pepsi.
For
merienda, my friend who is going to the US and I went to
Starbucks.
Seminar, Sofitel
Today is the last of the two-day seminar I have attended. It is fun and a learning experience. If not for the speaker, the seminar would have fallen "flat". Since the seminar is in Binondo, hitched a ride with an office mate for two days so she can drop me off where I can easily get a ride home.
On the first day, we got lost twice!!! On the second day, we learned our lesson. Hehehe! She dropped me off at
Robinson's Place where I can easily get a taxi going to
Sofitel where my aunt's 70th birthday will be celebrated. Since the driver was concerned that the traffic might be heavy because of the seminar attended by foreign delegates at the
Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), I assured him that I passed by Roxas Boulevard earlier and the traffic is not heavy. On the way, since the news was on, and there is a slight traffic, just made small talk about the events being reported on the radio. Then, out of the blue, the driver kept asking questions where I worked, asking if we can be friends, adding that I can TXT him so he can pick me up from work to go home, etc. When we were already at the CCP Compound (the hotel is within the CCP Compound), he is driving slow as he keeps on insisting that I get his number or I give him mine. Good thing for the foreign delegates convention, there is a blockade near the
Coconut Palace, paid him immediately and walked towards Sofitel.
My relatives (and the guests) were wonderfully dressed. I'm in my maong pants, Nike rubber shoes and white polo (changed from my colorful t-shirt). There were lots of singing as my aunt loves to sing. She was serenaded by her kids, grandchildren and friends. There was ballroom dancing after. (",)
Shoot That Star
Woke up really early since I would be taking more photos for our theme: wheel. With Manong, the driver, went to places we have already identified to have ongoing construction. After having my "fill", had breakfast first at
McDonald's before proceeding home.
After resting, proceeded to
Glorietta to pick up the six-cell lithium ion I ordered. It really won't work--the laptop does not recognize the battery. So, left the sub-notebook at
PC Corner to have their supplier check the problem.
Decided to stroll around
Glorietta (Christmas decorations were already put up), ate lunch, then proceeded home.
Next stop is
Star City. This is hoping that I would be able to find a roulette. Na-uhh.... Since we were already there, tried our hand to some rides and most of their horror house (Dungeon,
Gabi ng Lagim,
Kilabot ng Mummy). I wouldn't dare their Star Flyer, and The Surf Dance. c",)
After which, proceeded to
The Aristocrat to buy chicken honey and chicken barbecue for our dinner. Left my companion to wait for our take-out order while I was along Roxas Boulevard capturing the Manila sunset...
Living Hell
(Writing this in front of Cinderella at Glorietta 4...)My movie weekend again. There are four movies which opened this week:
High School Musical 3: Senior Year,
Nights at Rodanthe,
Living Hell, and
The Chanting 2.
Don't feel like watching High School Musical 3, nor Nights at Rodanthe (it would surely be drama), and The Chanting 2 is no longer being shown in any of Glorietta cinemas. Thus, Living Hell it is.
A teacher, haunted by what happened to him as a child involving his mother, leaving him with a scar "Subsection 3, Vault 12" so that he would remember... Come to think of it, if he had not warned them not to disturb it, the creature would have not "risen". Hehehe!
Funny thing which happened, while buying my food at
Burger King to bring inside the cinema, the manager asked me if I have a discount card for their store. I said no (I did not realize they even offer discount cards... hehehe!). She said, since I am their
suki, she'll still give me the discount even without the discount card... c",)
After the movie, attended the anticipated Mass and had dinner at
Italianni's. Then, went to
The Landmark to buy candles for the coming
Todos Los Santos.
Max Payne
Have to drop by our Ortigas office.
But first, tried to pick-up the 6-cell lithium ion battery for my MSI Wind. It is defective. Thus, have to wait for its replacement.
Since the meeting would still be at 3:30PM, decided to watch
Max Payne, an action, drama, thriller movie about a DEA agent haunted by the death of his family.
Then, a series of strange murders in the city seems to have a connection with his family. The movie is dark and the treatment is as if the theme is supernatural. It is not. c",)
After which, went to our Ortigas office for the meeting.
Re-route Treat
Was already on the way to
Ayala Center to go to
MRT's Ayala Station for my way to
SM Megamall. Then, received a call regarding issues on the transfer of the 7th Floor. It is scheduled to be renovated. Thus, turned around and went to our Makati office.
After identifying the items for disposal, and coordinating with those who still have not transferred their workstations/servers so that the construction can begin, proceeded to SM Megamall's
Cabalen for my treat to my staff.
(Hair) Cut: Ghost!!!
Went to the parlor to have my hair cut and treatment plus.... c",)
After which, proceeded to
Burger King for my lunch and blogged.
Good thing, we went to the
Sta. Ana Race Track yesterday. I was able to submit an entry to the
Lomo Mission 019: Halloween. Called it "Ghost Horse and Rider". Aside from my Canon dSLR, I also used my Lomo LC-A during our photo shoot... c",)
Ordination
Woke up really early as we are to meet at the
Sta. Ana Race Track around 5:30AM. (Henry Sy, the mall magnate, already bought the land where the race track is standing. I guess, he would build another mall. The race track is being moved somewhere in Cavite.)
Once more, we tried to take images while the horses are being exercised. This time, we tried manipulating the white balance, exposure compensation, aside from playing with the shutter speed and exposure.
After having our fill, we had breakfast at
McDonald's. Then, we parted ways, with our group trying to catch images for our final project in
Inner Vision (Advanced) under the Mr.
Tilak Hettige.
We were hoping to reach
Binondo. But, we ended up at the
Manila Cathedral. If it's coincidence or not, there is an ongoing ordination at the cathedral. So, that's how priests are being ordained....
Quietly, we did what we set out to do. Took images of the stained glass in a different perspective.
Then, the two of us were dropped off at the
Glorietta, and we had lunch at
The New Bombay restaurant.
Decided to "offload"; thus, went home to drop my gear and do some "success"... hehehe! After which, went back to Glorietta to have my film developed (using my Lomo LC-A camera), attended the anticipated Mass and had dinner at
Friday's for my treat.
We had Buffalo Wings for appetizer, Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta, Shanghai Chicken Salad and Mud Pie for dessert.
Transfer
The weather must be sympathizing.. it is rainy and dreary. Ate just two
pandesal at home, thus, decided to go first to
McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin meal for breakfast before going to the office.
Have to catch up as I would be on leave for one week next week. While the rest on the floor is busy packing their things, am busy working as the schedule for my workstation to be transferred would be after office. If I have known that they would be transferred only in the next building, would have left one workstation to be transferred there, too. At least, I would have a PC to use when I am in our Makati office...
After office, went first to
The Landmark department store to buy a battery-operated lantern. The better to see with (in the dark).... Hehehe!
Happy (?) Birthday!!!
It's my birthday today... a day after the fire in our house.
Received several SMS greetings. Friends who know what happened don't know what to say. How can you wish for your special day to be happy when your house caught fire? The work of cleaning the house (what with the damp and dirt), identifying things that are beyond repair, fixing the damage, and ensuring that the cause of the fire will not again happen. Wait... what is the cause of the fire?
Anyway, took pictures of the damage, in order to give to the insurance company. Then, went to
Glorietta to have it printed. Visited the
Greenbelt Chapel to thank Him for the blessing He has bestowed me and my family for the past years, and seeking His guidance for the challenges ahead. Then proceeded home, waiting for the driver to arrive so that I can buy dinner at
Emerald Garden Restaurant, which we can share with our friends who would drop by.
My birthday this year is truly different from the past years. But yesterday's events makes me grateful for having families, relatives and friends who willingly lent a helping hand in their own special way...
Fire!!!
I was with our users when my cousin called my mobile phone. She said that I am welcome to sleep in their house or my other aunt's house. I was stunned! So, I asked her why would I sleep there. That's when she realized that I did not know that our house was on fire.
Immediately left the office and proceeded home.
The fire has died down. Good thing no one was hurt. From their stories, there were actually a lot of smoke. Although our house is mostly made of wood, the wood used by my Lola when she have the house constructed is really, really strong. The fire did not spread, just emitting lots of smoke. The firemen has to remove our ceiling so that the smoke would escape.
Like refugees, we transferred to our other property a stone's throw away from our house since our house do not have power. It took some time to clean my room what with the wet things and dirt.
And if it is not bad enough, my car has to hit a rock, tearing the bumper, when the driver was asked to buy a cot and mattress!
Gary Fong's Universal Lightsphere
Finally! Was able to find the
Gary Fong's Universal Lightsphere--an accessory I can use for my camera's flash. Found it at
Infomax at
Park Square 1. Now, I don't have to ask my friend who is going to Hongkong to buy me one...
Direct Flash
Bounced Flash
Lightsphere without Dome
Lightsphere with Dome
Inner Vision (Advanced), Day 3: Mirrors and Witchcraft
We are to meet at
Tilak Hettige's house to discuss about our final assignment. We went through the process of coming up with an exhibit.
After which, our classmate dropped us off at
Glorietta. Since it is raining, decided to watch a movie--two movies actually--before going home. c",)
First is
Mag-ingat Ka Sa... Kulam, a horror, suspense movie starring Judy Ann Santos and Dennis Trillo. Recovering from an accident, "Mira" gets amnesia. But then, unusual things started to happen. As she slowly recalls things, she feels she's a victim of
kulam (translation: witchcraft). Odd thing, the movie is more of a ghost story than of witchcraft...
Next is
Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland. An ex-cop, recovering from a post-traumatic stress syndrome, takes a job as a night watchman of a luxury department store that was burned by fire. Soon after, he was haunted by images in the mirrors of the store. In order to save his life and his family, he has to look for Esseker. Others before him also experienced the same, failed to find Esseker, and paid dearly with their lives and their family's lives.
Which I find odd, what is the intention of guarding an empty building? Why don't they just destroy the burned-down building, and build a new one on the lot. They said that "Mirrors" is a remake of a Korean horror film,
Geoul sokeuro. Since I have not watched the latter, I have nothing to compare it with (like The Ring for the Japanese and American version). As they say, you always consider the first version you watched to be better than the other... Hehehe!
Inner Vision (Advanced), Day 2
Woke up really, really early. Supposed to meet at the
Philippine Center for Creative Imaging (PCCI) around 5:30AM; then, we will proceed to the
Sta. Ana Race Track for our photo shoot.
We spent several hours at the race track, practicing our shots. Changing to different shutter speeds, to different appertures, to understand its impact in our images. We also tried our hand at shooting backlit images.
Then, proceeded to PCCI for our breakfast and to do some more shooting. This time, we are to take images of crystals, vase, attempting to capture abstract images, making use of different characteristics of light.
After lunch, Tilak gave some tips on how to judge images. This is for us to also learn how to appreciate and evaluate photos. Also, it is a good way for us to understand how to take outstanding images.
With some images assigned to us, we gave our comments on said images. After which, presented to the class the pictures we took that morning.
My First Roll Of Lomo LC-A+
BOW!!!!
Surprise! Surprise! Plus Inner Vision (Advanced), Day 1
It's my niece birthday. First thing we did today, brought her her birthday cake (a Tiramisu from
Red Ribbon). Oooopsss... forgot the candles! =P
After office, proceeded to
Philippine Center for Creative Imaging (PCCI) to attend the advanced class of
Inner Vision under the
Tilak Hettige.
I was the last to arrive in class. So made it quickly through dinner before the actual lesson started. Tilak gave tips on what makes for a good photograph, sharing at the same time the images he took. This is to prime us up for our scheduled photo shoot on Saturday.
Lomo LC-A+
There's no work since it was declared as a holiday due to end of Ramadan. Would have liked to watch the two movies to be released today (
Mirrors and
Mag-ingat ka sa... Kulam), but my back pain stops me to do so.
Then, I remembered about the lomo cam I reserved. So, called
Graphic Designed Lifestyle at
Rockwell and inquired from them if they already have the
Lomo LC-A+. They did!
What back pain? Immediately dressed up and proceeded to Rockwell. Am afraid somebody might "grab" it before me. Hehehe! In fact, when we reached the store, there was a guy planning to buy a lomo cam. Good thing, he is interested in the Holga 35mm (or a Diana). Well, gave my opinion about using it (Holga 35mm), with the benefit of using a regular film. (wink)
