Though I am not really much of a fan, I still acknowledge the fact that Charice already has a spot in the international scene. Did you guys know she was in the recently released sequel of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'? Anyway, I wish her good luck on May 11 when her album is finally released. We will find out if she really has what it takes to be a star. (Note: Her first single 'Note to God' was number 1 both on iTunes and Amazon but quickly slipped after only a day. How will she fair in album sales?)

The wait is over! Here is the future number 1 song on the Billboard charts. Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce in Telephone.

Last February 11, my livejournal friend Chuvaness posted this on her blog. A 22-year-old call center employee was reported missing after he left his house and never showed up for work. The post immediately attracted my attention because we work in the same industry and I know how precarious it is to brave the dark streets of the city to earn for rent.

I've also heard of a lot of scary stories of missing call center employees. In Alabang, a suspicious van was going around in circles in front of one of the North Gate buildings. It was around 2AM.  The curious call center agents just watched and counted how many times the van passed by. Little did they know, a helpless, drugged female agent was being gang-raped inside.

A friend of mine got victimized by a different gang. She was waiting for a cab when she was abducted in broad daylight. She was forced to ride a van. There were two men and a woman who demanded that she give them her wallet, bag and ATM card. They went to an ATM machine to withdraw all her money. The guy was smart - he covered his knife with his jacket while putting his arms around my poor friend. If you're a passerby you'd think they were lovers. They got all her money from both her payroll and savings accounts. She was held in the van for two more hours before she was left penniless somewhere near Greenbelt 1.

These are true stories. I am very sure there are more unreported cases out there. The story of Leo Allen Pangilinan is no different which is why I am curious as to what happened to him. Was he abducted? Did they take his money/laptop/ATM card? Was he hurt? After all the worries and words of kindness posted on both Chuvaness' and his blog, I think the public deserves a short albeit complete explanation. After all, people went out of their way to help the family out. (BPI folks looked into his account to check if there were movements).

Why am I curious? Because this story, if it's another crime against my people, should be exposed so people are aware and will be careful.

If they can't disclose what happened to everyone, I will be happy with a simple email sent to my address. Rest assured it will not be posted on my blog.

Just saying.

I've always admired Kelly Cutrone, owner of PR firm People's Revolution. She's appeared on reality shows such as The Hills and The City. It's only a matter of time before Bravo picked up her no nonsense demeanor and put together a show about her and her PR company. The show is called 'Kell on Earth' on Bravo Monday nights. It's a great show! You can see that there's little room for manipulating the plot on the show since the cast are just more real than Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge.

A few surprising facts about this year's Valentine's day:


1. Out of the hundreds of people I saw at the SM Mall of Asia, only a few people wore Red.

2. I only saw two couples give each other a smack kiss.

3.  I didn't catch anyone heavily making out in public.

4. There were no large bears or any stuffed animals like the one Taylor Swift had.

5. I didn't get 100 plus messages on love or lack thereof on Valentine's day.

My Pre-Valentine's started with Melai, Mitchie and Jameson. We went to Veluz for the sketch of her wedding gown. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of weddings (and marriage) but Veluz Reyes' gowns are really beautiful and magical that every hopeless romantic will think about getting married soon. Her office was really hard to find with all the one way streets leading to nowhere. When we finally figured it out, the car was filled with shrieks and laughter. We were all excited.


It was my first time to see a designer at work. She gave us a sort of a mise-en-scene like it was happening right before her. I couldn't really visualize how it would look like but she showed the materials that will be used, the sketch, plus a few more things. I was definitely convinced that it's going to be a beautiful gown.


We stopped by Piandre in Quezon avenue to relax our hands and feet. Then we went to SM Megamall for the bridal fair. I realized there's a multi-million peso worth of revenue in weddings. On the right you will find the expensive albeit hideous gowns. On the left you will see pricey invitations made out of different raw materials. There were caterers - some of which were the ones who cooked for celebrity weddings. There were bands, mobile bars, photo booths, etc. Is 2010 the year for weddings?

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If this laptop could talk, it would be hurling invectives at me right now. I've changed a lot in its 3-year-old system and it probably is tired by now. I always say, it's time to replace it but I just can't.

I thought the recent upgrade to Windows 7 have officially put an end to my broadband modem errors. Unfortunately, I was wrong. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to connect through Smart Bro and it just wouldn't. There was no error message this time - just a pop-up window that keeps saying 'Connecting' but nothing happens after that.

I initially thought another reformatting session would resolve it but my tech support/friend was against it. Then I realized that all this problem started when I installed some updates for Win 7. He suggested that I do a restore from the time I did the installation and see if that would work. Lo and behold, it did. So I'm never going to install that one update or if I accidentally do, I know what to do next.

In the middle of the Smart Bro crisis, I went to the mall and made an impulse purchase: a Sun Broadband modem. I bought it because I don't read a lot of negative blog posts online about their service (at least not as much as Globe Tattoo). I just tried connecting today and I have to say it's pretty stable. I've been connected for three hours now and I haven't experienced any interruptions.

Speed is forgivable - I have yet to reach their maximum 3 mbps limit. It's still better than Smart Bro because I don't jump from 0Kbps to 50 to 115 to 800 to 1.89Mbps then slide back to 0. There would be times when I would disconnect just to get a better connection. The result: it keeps 'churning' my load while I have not gone through any web page successfully. What a waste.



As of now, Sun has been more stable. Plus, it's cheap! I get unlimited internet for only 50 Pesos. I first thought that's insane. The Sun CSR explained that the clock starts at the time you obtain a connection. This means if you get connected at 3PM, you may connect through the internet and enjoy unlimited surfing until 3PM the next day.

I just hope this thing still has signal once the Sun goes down. I know it's a joke but yeah it did happen to me in the past when I still had a Sun prepaid Sim.

Last Saturday, I spent some time with a few members of my team. They've been inviting me to go to Enchanted Kingdom for quite some time now and so I finally said yes. EK doesn't fascinate me anymore - I've been there more than 10 times now. It's the moments you share with the people you're with that makes that place special.

Unfortunately, I had to skip the Space Shuttle because the lines were outrageously long. When we bought the tickets at the entrance, there's a line of buses loaded with school kids with their happy faces. I had a feeling this is going to be a crowded Saturday at EK. We did have fun at the Log Jam, Anchor's Away, and even the horror house. Me...in a horror house...right. It did happen.

But something happened that was more freaky that those guys in masks chasing us in the horror house. While waiting in line at the Space Shuttle, Aira took a picture of Marse and Mikey. When they looked at the picture, there was a girl in fuschia shirt who was also in it. Well, her body is but her head was missing! My hair's raising as I write this.

We analyzed the picture thoroughly. Maybe her hair was blocking her face? She had long hair and it was dark. However, I looked closer and her head was definitely sort of cut off. If it was there, it should have been blocking something. But we could see the speaker and the blue light that she was supposed to be blocking. It was freaky!

Aira told the poor girl in an attempt to warn her. I've seen it a couple of times on TV that when someone loses her head (literally) on a picture, it means something bad will happen to her.

She seemed so calm. They also tried to take pictures using their camera. After ignoring what she was told, she went back in line and waited for their turn at the Space Shuttle.. YES the same ride. I turned to my friends and said - Okay let's go. Maybe it was not the right time to get on a rollercoaster.

Today I made a follow-up visit to my doctor - same one who saw me when I had tonsilitis. HE was supposed to recommend new medication since the first one didn't work. Fortunately, he said my tonsils are looking pretty normal so there's no need for another round of antibiotics. I am free to buy my favorite Dairy Queen mix!

Here's the thing. Last night, I noticed my left ear is sort of numb. I can hear everything with a slight echo. It got worse throughout the day. When I was a kid, I experienced the same thing. The doctor said my eardrums were 'displaced' and he sucked the pressure out of my nasal passages to put it back in place. I asked the doctor if this is the same thing. He said yes, probably. He said I should buy a gum and just play with my jaws. He also asked me to take a hearing test.

The hearing test is pretty weird and cool. I sat on this egg shaped chair and they asked me to put on a headset. I was supposed to press a button whenever I hear a beep. The volume of each beep varies. It's supposed to measure the amout of decibels I can take. Second test - this lady was reading some words and I was supposed to repeat them. VOlumes also vary but that's not the problem. Her pronunciation was not good that I really literally couldn't understand what she was saying.

The results are with me but it has to be read by the same doctor who referred me to them. There is a portion which says something about having hearing problems on my left ear. Pretty scary. I will go back to the doctor on Saturday to find out what the heck is going on.

In November, I stood up in the middle of the office and gave a very important advice to my team. Overdose in Vitamin C. Stay healthy. Do not be absent as we're about to enter the busiest time of the year. Some were asked to work on Christmas and New Year's. I was one of them. I told them this is so critical that absences will be unforgivable.

On Christmas Eve, I had very high fever and I skipped work - for three freaking days.

After two days, I finally went to the Emergency Room of the Makati Medical Center because I was getting worried about my health. I could barely stand and I was having a hard time swallowing or drinking. I started losing weight and I have never been that sick in my entire life. The doctor said I had (correction: STILL have) tonsilitis and I needed to take some antibiotics for 7 days.

A few days after I started taking the meds, I felt a little better. I managed to drag myself to work although I still couldn't eat like a normal person. I got better and better but some rashes appeared on my arms. So I went to see the doctor and he told me that the meds didn't work - that even though I can now eat, my tonsils are still swollen so he wanted to give me another set of meds which I need to take for another seven days.

The problem is that I have high sensitivity to the meds. Now another doctor gave me some anti-histamines to get rid of the rashes. If they do work and the rashes disappear by Thursday, then I can start with my medication for the tonsilitis. If not, then I'm probably doomed.

You know what's sad? I was never sick the entire 2009. It's quite ironic that the fever and tonsilitis hit me on the last few days of the year. Does that mean anything at all?

Looks like the 2010 summer line-up is going to be a good one! Here's your first look at Iron Man 2. Looks great!

This story of mine probably happened to you too. When I was in grade school, I had a friend who always lands on the top ten of the entire batch every end of the quarter. During that time, the so-called geniuses were not your average nerds who wear dorky glasses and always hang out in the library. They play sports, drown themselves in video games, sing with the choir, do some presentation with the theatre club, or throw parties at their house. They were, in short, the cool ones.

My friend Marvin* was one of those guys. I secretly envied him for many years. I would hang out with him, hoping his genius gene would somehow crawl into my veins so I can easily go through math like an Olympic hockey player playing against a rookie. We always have these 'intellectual conversations', trying to squeeze each other's brains for information - things that the other did not know and would want to know. It was a game. And often, I lose because he would mention some things I had never heard of - something he read in the ginormous Encyclopedia or some expensive journal.

As my envy grew stronger, I pushed myself to compete with Marvin every single quarter. I would work harder, stay in the library, and read more, pick up the trash (hoping to have some sort of cleanliness award), help the teacher carry her bag (known as the early phase of kissing ass) and mirror his interests. However, they didn't work. They never worked. The closest I got was at top 16 in a class of 42. And where was Marvin? Top 1 - from the entire batch of 294 - yet again.

Why did I suddenly think about this story? Because I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's book called 'Outliers'. It's probably one of the most interesting books I've ever read. The best value for my 300 bucks.

The book talks about how we view success as a product of hardwork, determination and persistence. Sure those things are important ingredients. But one important thing to look at when asking why one person is successful is his background. I agree with Gladwell's conclusion that success of some people are not exceptional  but grounded by ' a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky - but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all.'

In one of the chapters, he talks about why Asian students perform better than American students. It makes sense: Asian schools like in the Philippines have more school days than American schools. Here, we only have two months of Summer break while in the US - they have almost 3 months. Also, there are special schools (like Science High Schools) where a student has more subjects and longer school time than any other student. It provides more OPPORTUNITY for the student to learn more and outlearn the other.

Going back to the case of Marvin and me - Gladwell's thesis explains why he would always win against me. After all, Marvin's family was well off. He had access to informational magazines. He travelled to several countries during summer. His parents can afford to pay for special classes. He had all those opportunities for growth. He was outlearning me while I was playing outside with my friends. There was no freaking way I could compete with someone who spent a lot of time learning all the stuff I didn't know about.

After going through the first few chapters, I realized Gladwell is basically saying we're all fucked up because there can only be one Bill Gates or Donald Trump and their string of opportunities. Rich will be richer. I will never get that kind of success. Then I looked at myself in the mirror and analyzed my own string of opportunities:

When I started as an entry-level employee at my previous company, I wanted so badly to climb up the ladder and be a leader. Unfortunately, I wasn't given that opportunity for two things - I was still incredibly immature and management just basically didn't see that potential in me. My solution was to move to a new company and find my grand opportunity an seize it.

After four months, an opening was published and I applied for the post. Sadly, I didn't get the job. I was disheartened. However, the department I was working at was growing and they needed new supervisors. I had no interest at all because I didn't think I could handle the job. But my supervisor then was the one who pushed me to go for it. And so I did - and I got the job. I was a supervisor for more than three years.

But I know very well that success doesn't end with one goal. You always aim higher. So I moved from one department to another - searching for that new golden opportunity. Finally, one was presented to me when my former boss resigned and I was asked to take her place. It would be easy to say with pride that I worked hard to get this but the truth is even though I worked so hard and she didn't leave the company, I would still be doing the same thing I was doing last year. It was a mix of both effort and advantage that allowed me to be where I am today.

Lesson learned: it's not bad to admit that we all just got lucky! Sure we work hard - very hard for things we want in life but it takes an ounce of humility to admit that yeah, I didn't do it all by myself.

Like one of my favorite shows, this blog went on a hiatus when a lot of things happened to me. It's kinda funny and sad at the same time that my last post was about my N97 review. Well, here's the thing: I lost the N97. It was Saturday and I just came from a friend's place in Ortigas. I took the bus on my way home because I was too tired to climb the stairs leading to the Metro. The last thing I remember was someone put something on my mouth. When I woke up, I was already in Taft Avenue and the right pocket of my jeans was slashed - and my pretty Nokia N97 was gone.

I was speechless for a few hours then I realized the best thing to do is to replace the phone. And so I did. I went to Park Square and got myself a Nokia 5530.The touch feature is very responsive and it has an HD screen. The only downside is that it's not a 3G phone and the memory is only 4GB (may be upgraded to 8GB). I cannot say I miss the N97 - I miss its 32GB capacity.

One more thing, I already moved to my new place. It's a bit small but very cozy. I love it. There's a lot of things to be fixed. I still don't have my curtains and I need to install hooks in the bathroom plus I think I want an LCD TV to save space (haha). I think I've adjusted well to my new environment. I just need to find more gym options and I need to actually go there to workout and not just inquire about rates.

I haven't been on Facebook for weeks. I only logged in today and found friend requests and tagged but unwanted photos. I had to screen. I still couldn't make the SmartBro plugit work on my laptop so occasionally (like today) I go to places with free wi-fi just to get myself connected to the worldwide web. Hopefully, the troubleshooting steps I found online will help. Or else, a new laptop will definitely be useful. I already have my eyes on the Dell Inspiron with Windows 7 Premium.

Two weeks ago, I was in Greenbelt 1 to watch 'Fame'. The battery of the company-issued Nokia phone died so I decided to go to the Nokia store and charge it. While waiting, I watched the N97 ads on the monitor. I instantly fell in love with it! To cut the story short, I sold my iPhone 3G to my good friend Elmer and got myself an N97.


I have to say, I don't like the touchscreen feature - it's nothing like the iPhone but still better than its predecessors like the Nokia 5800. It responds well but the old Nokia flaw of freezing is still there. The icons are also a little bit mediocre. I read online that critics slammed its Symbian OS which is nothing compared to the Android and iPhone OS.

I don't think this phone will kill anything other than the previous Nokia releases. The steep price doesn't really offer much other than it's 32GB internal memory, nice set of accessories (a Nokia tradition) and 3G capabilities (fast internet, apps, video calling, etc). There's still a lot of reasons to love this phone and I don't think I'll be missing my iPhone that much. I just wish they will give more options on their Ovi store which is their version of the App store.

And oh, even the Ovi site needs improvement Nokia! The interface is much like the phone which is bad. I wonder when it will reach the Apple standard - even the icons on the N97 look a bit funny.

Again, the best thing about this is its memory - as much as 32 movies on your phone!

Oh my! The Sheriff just announced that the Balloon Boy story was a hoax. If you recall, the 6-year-old kid Falcon heene was reportedly on a balloon flight across Denver causing a nationwide panic. The boy allegedly emerged about the intense rescue operation but not from the balloon - from his family's garage. What sparked the speculation that this is a hoax is when the kid said on CNN that they did it for the show.

Apparently the Heenes were shopping for a TV deal just like the popular 'Jon and Kate plus 8'. They already appeared on another TV show called 'Wife Swap'. The couple are expected to face felony charges.

We went to this exhibit in Makati and the place was packed. A few people incurred my ire for stepping out of the line and trying to make their way inside the venue free of charge. Obviously the organizers did not anticipate the number of people who showed up. After all, they didn't have anything to control the crowd like velvet rope or stanchions or barricades. They relied heavily on their ushers which also had worried looks on their faces when some people at the door started packing heat.

This should be a lesson for the organizers. Never rely on human barricades. They should have planned the event well and made sure crowd control measures where in place. I would have been a much appreciated event if not for the lack of action from the organizers.

I just realized my last blog entry was on 27 September. That was a long time. So much has happened - a big typhoon hit the metro and there was water all over. The water in our house was knee-high. Damage was minimal but there were people - real people who lost their homes. Every time some co-workers talk about the big flood I try to avoid the conversation. Who would want to recount those dark moments? Although my family is okay, I was cognizant of what was happening in all the other places around our city. There was so much damage and all I could do is sit, tweet, pray and donate whatever I have on my PayPal account.

Then there was a lot of drama at work. I cannot believe that I've been doing this for how many months now and I'm still not used to all the drama. I can't stand working with people who just don't get it. I consider myself the least intelligent person at work so if there is something I can figure out in a matter of seconds that you cannot, what should I call you? A bacteria? But wait - those guys have culture and you don't. So what should I call you then?

Work is always a world of compromise. If someone doesn't get the job done, they should at least have something to give you to alleviate the pain they caused. If someone doesn't meet the deadline, they should work a few more hours for free to make up for their lack of perseverance. If someone doesn't act his/her age, they should at least stay away from you so they can save themselves from getting shot by a rifle.

What I am writing here doesn't make any sense at all. I am just wasting space. That's what I am always good at - wasting space in this universe. Pardon this blogorrhea. I'll try my best not to let this happen again.

Don't you just hate it when cable companies promise to give you premium channels and don't deliver? It's pretty disappointing. They wouldn't be giving such ridiculously low deals for nothing. Sometimes, I think it's better to switch to a more reliable service from Direct TV. Not only do they give channels in HD, they also have stronger signal as supposed to most cable networks.

There are currently some good Direct TV Packages being offered online. You get to choose your favorite channels (good for sports buffs) and most of them are now available in HD. This is the big advantage for Directtv. Cable usually gives you 100+ channels and you're only going to watch 20% of it. With Direct TV you will only choose what you like.

Oh my - Typhoon Ondoy really wanted to be remembered.
Sorry for those lives we lost.
Sorry for those who haven't been rescued.
I am praying for the safety of the rest of us who are still struggling as I write this.

It's the BER season: the HTC Tattoo tops my Christmas wishlist. It's just beautiful LOL. I think that out of all the touch screen phones that compete with the iPhone, only HTC comes close. The only downside is that the internal memory is too small.



- Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz processor
- 512MB ROM
- 256MB RAM
- 2.8" touchscreen LCD display at 240 x 320 resolution
- 900/2100MHz HSPA/UMTS
- Quad-band GSM/EDGE
- 3.5mm headset jack
- microSD memory card slot
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Built-in GPS and digital compass
- Bluetooth 2.0 support
- 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus

I didn't want to write about it until I actually tried it. Now it can be told: iTunes 9.0 is so freaking cool! It features a less cluttered, more organized iTunes.



I like the two biggest updates of the iTunes software. First is the Home Sharing feature which allows you to copy a song from one PC to another. Just select the song and drag it to your desired directory. That's the catch though - both PCs have to be in a local area network and not connected through the internet. Also, both PCs have to be authorized to play copy-protected media. Remember DRM?

However, the coolest new feature is the ability to organize your applications for iPhone or iPod touch directly on your screen! You don't have to wait for your iPod or iPhone to sync until you organize he apps. Once installed, you can immediately rearrange them to your heart's desire.

I had an opportunity to own a Zune (wink wink) two years ago. It was a fun device. I never thought it was better than an iPod but it was still cool. I was hoping they would have a major upgrade on their line of devices which can compete with the iPod nation. Unfortunately, Zune does not go beyond the music player category - even with the new Zune HD.



The problem is that people's needs have changed - we now have to tweet, play games, and browse the internet. These are things that the Zune HD device does not allow us to do. So if you really love music, videos and photos, the Zune HD device will be good enough for you. But if you are a fan of the thousand of apps on the App store - then this will disappoint big time.

It seems that people are now looking at dogs rebound partners after a hurtful break-up. Celebrities like Jessica Simpson are currently looking for dog experts who can guide them on proper Dog care. Not surprising - if you're down from a relationship that didn't work out maybe it's time to find love on animals!

The thing I didn't like about having a dog is that just like a relationship, it can be pretty high maintenance. Dogs need their dog transport, toys and special bedding so they can feel comfortable and loved. Thank goodness these things can be bought on sites like Shopwiki which works like a search engine for the lowest prices on items you want to buy online. Next time you will shop for your dog care items, you might want to look online.

When I was in third grade, I used to be in the Glee Club. I loved it. I love music and best of all performing. I did more than a couple performances in grade school. I was also a member of the high school choir. I swear I hated my parents for asking me to quit the UP Manila Chorale in college because their rehearsals sometimes end at 11pm or 12MN. Guess what, I now work on graveyard hours -- ironic isn't it?

I first heard of 'Glee' from a Facebook friend. Been hearing a lot of good things about this show. I cannot wait to see it. The trailer's out and it brought back a lot of memories. Only thing is that the Glee Club I used to be a part of wasn't a group of weirdos. We were actually a cool group haha.

Enjoy - the music is excellent!