Thursday, May 22, 2008

hate Globe, love Globe

We were internet-less for 3 days!

My sister and I were expecting to experience some internet interference last week when it was raining very hard here in Iloilo and we were pleasantly surprised to see that our connection held despite the strong winds and the pouring rain. = Love Globe

So we were very disappointed when we discovered that we lost our internet connection right after breakfast last Monday, when it was no longer raining. = Hate Globe

After waiting patiently for a day to pass and for our connection to return, we decided to call their customer service hotline to find out more details regarding this matter. The customer service representatives were all very helpful and gave us all the information that they had. They did say that they were hoping to get it back by the next day but it usually takes them 3 to 5 days. = Love Globe a little

The next day, we still didn't have internet. = Hate Globe

So we called their hotline again. They informed us that the problem was a little bit more complicated than what they had expected so they called their "higher technical team" to try to fix the problem. = feel so-so

We decided to go to their office in SM City and we got to talk to one of their managers who apologized and informed us that they were really trying to fix the problem. She told us that they would most likely get it fixed that day or the next day. = Love Globe a little

Yesterday, we were already making jokes that it would probably come back on during the weekend but, at around 6 pm, we saw the fourth light of our modem blink and then light up. = Love Globe

It was incredibly frustrating not having access to the internet -- we had a lot of important business-related matters to attend to and deadlines ticking. Thankfully, Globe was able to restore the system and got us our internet again. ^_^

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Down the rabbit hole --

Johann and I bought a copy of Julie Taymor's Across the Universe this morning -- for very different reasons. He saw a trailer and really loved the imagery. I really loved Julie Taymor's Titus.

It's an interesting project -- making a rock musical using Beatles songs.

War is the theme of the movie -- how it changes people and how it changes the world. The main character, Jude, travels from Liverpool to the United States to meet his biological father who was stationed in Liverpool during World War II.

In America, he is faced with the reality of the Vietnam War. His friend, Max, an Ivy League dropout was being drafted and Max's sister lost her boyfriend in that same war. Within the country, there was also a conflict between the pro-war movement/the Government and the anti-war/radical groups.

It was interesting to see how war and peace are born from the same actions and ideas: we want the world to be better -- but, despite our best intentions, there are people who get hurt.

One of my favorite parts in the movie was towards the end when Jude meets with Max after the war -- Jude tells Max that he looks okay and Max answers that "everything below the neck works fine."

Julie Taymor also tackles the idea of "action" -- Max's father keeps pushing him to "do something" and reminds Max that he is defined by the things that he does and doesn't do. Jude, on the other hand, has a different view -- he believes that it is the way one does things that matters.

At one point, Max's sister, Lucy confronts Jude about his lack of involvement. "We're in the middle of a revolution Jude. And what are you doing? Doodles and cartoons?"

What do you do with your life? The question takes on a different kind of urgency in the midst of the Vietnam War --

What kind of action are we supposed to take?

The answer is simple and the Beatles said it best -- all you need is love.

It's an amazing and incredibly memorable movie --

As I was watching it, I came to one curious conclusion -- there seems to be a Beatles song for every kind of human experience.

... now to find the soundtrack. ^_^

Saturday, May 17, 2008

First impressions --

So, I got it last night and started tinkering with it.

It really looks amazing and I can understand the allure -- all that smooth whiteness and it smells really nice.

It isn't that difficult to navigate -- and I really love the feel of the keyboard.

I think I just need to sit down with someone who is familiar with both PC and Mac to talk me through the similarities and differences. *koff* Jin *koff*

I am a happy Tin. ^_^

Friday, May 16, 2008

The start of something new --

Today I say goodbye and thank you to my faithful laptop, my little Pentium-4 1.8 with 512mb RAM and a 30gb hard drive. I inherited this laptop from my brother and it has served us faithfully for 8 years now. Its new role involves office documents and whatnot.

I'm also saying goodbye to an OS that I've had a love-hate relationship with. Before XP came along, I was a Rah-rah girl for Windows 98 and I resisted shifting to XP for as long as I could. Now that XP is finally stable, Microsoft has decided to retire it.

But I digress.

Later today, I will say hello to a Macbook and to a new OS. It's a white 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo with more RAM and hard drive space than my old laptop.

I figured 30 is a good age to try out what the "other side" has to offer. ^_^

Thankies to my dear friend, Jin, who patiently accommodated all of my questions. ^_^

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Happy food --

Avocado is one of my happy food.

But it is a frustrating fruit to love -- selecting and buying avocado from the supermarket is a hit-or-miss adventure. While it may look beautiful and promising on the outside, the inside might be a mess of mush and stringy bits that look like hair.

So far this year, I've only had one or two good avocados. It is a scarce thing but highly sought-after in my house. There are times when, as the younger sister, I am called to make the supreme sacrifice and give up a bowl of avocado to my sister.

A few days ago, my dad's assistant gave us some really beautiful avocado. I've never seen avocado of that size before. It came from a tree in his backyard. (I want to steal that tree. >_<)

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So I've been waiting for them to ripen. Two days ago, I decided to speed up the process by placing two avocados beside our never-ending stock of bananas. True enough, these two avocados ripened much faster. (A bit of science: Bananas give off a gas which helps nearby fruits/vegetables ripen.)

This morning, one of them was ready for eating.

I wanted to swoon when I saw how beautiful the inside was. It's exactly how Nigella describes it -- buttery, firm and gorgeous. >_<

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I like my avocado mushed up with some powdered milk and sugar. When I am especially impatient, I eat it immediately but it is also very delicious cold.

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One of the giant avocados was enough for two bowls -- one for me and one for my sister. This time, I got the bigger share. ^_^

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Some random things --

One of our local AM stations has a very interesting morning program -- they visit government offices at the start of the day to check if government employees go to work on time.

The day I was listening, they visited the Comelec office near my house. It was really funny to hear how exasperated the reporter was because no one was there.

We pass by there fairly regularly at random times of the day and I've never actually seen it open.

When we passed by later that day, I noticed that the office was open. Hahahaha!

* * *

Fan Girl Mode Switch: On --

A and G introduced me to Ouran High School Host Club during their visit here to Iloilo last weekend.

I am hooked.

I've been busy reading the manga and I finally finished it last Monday.

Now I am planning to watch the anime a second time. ^_^

This is also the reason why I haven't been progressing with my Book Binge list. I am not in reading mode right now --

Sunday, May 11, 2008

This would have been interesting to watch --

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Repertory staged Hamlet last February and the interpretation looks so cool! It kinda reminds me of Final Fantasy.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

A scare --

This morning started out typically -- between 6 to 7 in the morning, I was enjoying my chapters of Ouran before breakfast while Seth was "getting some sun" upstairs with his yaya.

At 7, I was called to breakfast and Seth and I had a lovely meal of pancakes and hotdogs.

The trouble started after breakfast when I tried to load the next page of the online scanlation.

My computer froze and I couldn't even do a CTRL+ALT+DEL --

So I had to turn it off manually. When I turned it back on, I was greeted with a blank screen.

My computer went kaput on me. T_T

... and right in the middle of an exciting chapter! >_<

I was frantic! T_T

We eventually had to do a system restore to fix the problem. And we had to do it twice because the first time was also problematic.

So here I am, reinstalling all of my important files -- like my cute Cat theme for Firefox. =^_^=

And I am once again reunited with Chapter 44 of Ouran. ^_^

* * *

On a serious note --

I only just realized that this laptop is 8 years old. I inherited it from my brother a few years back when he decided to upgrade.

So now I'm thinking of getting an upgrade for myself.

It would be a first for me -- so I'm excited. ^_^

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Interesting list --

75 Skills Every Man Should Master

* * *

What I learned from an anime --

Mirai yori mo
Ima ga kanjin

More important than the future
Is the present

Thank you A and G for OuHosu. =^_^=