life is like a box of chocnuts...

thank you 2011

2011-12-31T22:59:00.000+08:00

2011.

you were a fun ride while you lasted.

you had drama packed in as well as some life lessons thrown in for good measure.

thank you for giving me good people to work with.

thank you for giving me travel times to places where i get to appreciate what the human can accomplish if they set their heart to it.

thank you for the gifts from loved ones - to the smallest down to the most luxurious.

thank you for a very understanding and loving partner who spoils me rotten, and i love it :)

thank you for my family that always stands by me.

thank you for the sad times, they let me see what happiness is.

thank you for the trying times, they let me how far creativity will bring you.

thank you for the hard lessons, they humble me.

but most of all, you had my family back together in one place after 8 long years.

sweet november

2011-11-27T00:15:00.000+08:00

just for being my birthmonth, yes, november is definitely sweet :)

this year, it was extraordinarily so. and a whole lot to be thankful for.

an LV bag, a PS watch, a trip to EU. and all thanks to my sponsors!

not that this year was a piece of cake. it was a particularly challenging one, to put it mildly.

it was pretty difficult to see a lot of people you loved working with, go.

it is even more difficult when you yourself, had to go.

not much as an ego trip, but you begin to question your skills, your ability.

but it looks like everything is going to turn out good, in the end.

it always does. it is mostly a matter of dealing with what you have right now.

and making the most out of it :)

but most of all, we do have a loving God.

thank you Lord :)

sinking

2011-10-14T09:45:00.001+08:00

time and again, you have this sinking feeling.
that you am not up to par with what is expected of you.
that you am flailing with no sight of a lifebouy.

in whatever it is that we do, validation that what we are doing is right and is appreciated goes a long way.
some see compensation as enough for that. others, appreciate an occasional, "good job" when you are doing right, and some expressed concern if things aren't going as expected. in short, taking the time to talk to people makes them feel they are appreciated, that they are still important and recognized as contributing members.

it is sometimes sad when only the people you directly work with truly appreciate the work that you do.
and if they are the only ones that are making you stay.

baby steps with lomo

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000+08:00

lomography was something i wanted to try for sometime now after i saw some lomo pix of a friend. however, was not quite ready to exchange my dslr yet so it was just something i had pushed at the back of my mind.

when a friend left for SG and left me here mini-diana for safekeeping, i finally had my chance :)

the first roll was a total waste :( everything was fully exposed. but my 2nd roll turned out a little better, with a few better shots as shown below :) now, onto my 3rd roll and hopefully we get a lot more better shots. what's exciting about it? you don't know how your snaps will turn out until you got it developed :)

experimenting with multi-exposures:

my first 10k run

2011-10-02T23:04:00.001+08:00

02 october 2011

the 35th National Milo Marathon 2011 is just the 2nd race I have officially joined, the 1st being the Cebu Marathon 2011 earlier this January. Not that I have illusions of winning :) it was really about pushing myself to try new things. instead of the 5k though, nolan and i opted to run the 10k. it was only later when i learned that runners failing to meet the cut off time of 1 hr 30 mins are going to be swept. oh dear, what had i gotten into!

for the past weeks, i have been working crazy hours with an average of 4 hours of sleep per day. so in between that, we tried squeezing some practice runs. and i never did manage to finish a 10k run. the closest i got was 9.7 km and my time then was going to mean i am going to the finish line with the marshalls!

but i did survive! my time was slow but it was 7 minutes off the cut-off :) and i was just happy to finish the race. they changed the running route so instead of the mental map of what time i should be in a specific place, i had to improvise. i just kept on running and walking and looking for the water stations ;) one other good thing about this was that i got reacquainted with the streets of cebu. and, after the run, i got to ride the jeepney again!

lessons learned/reinforced in today's race:

* just keep putting your foot forward. pretty soon you will be at the finish line.

* your mind is stronger than your body. but do listen to what your body is saying.

* it is never too late to start running :)

identity crisis

2011-09-09T14:23:00.001+08:00

having gone through 4 passport renewals and having travelled to a number of countries including those that require visa for entry, i was pretty confident i can prove my Philippine identity. it did came as a shock when i learned i was not in the NSO (aka National Statistics Office) database. what gives?

i was born in a rural area, during the time of manual data processing ( giving away my age, aye? ). as expected, getting legal documents was a hassle and meant too much red tape.

however, after finally getting a passport for the first time using an NSO certified certificate of live birth, i thought all the hassle was over. and boy was i wrong. now, with an impending interview schedule requiring an NSO certified birth certificate, i have to go through the process of (re)registering with NSO.

i am sure there are thousands of people like me who have to go through all these hassle. not only does it take time, but precious money as well.

i just hope the government gets its act together and make their systems communicate with each other properly. it is not as if we have different sets of citizens, depending on which government agency you are talking to.

but for now, i just hope i get the document i need in time.

mythical man-month

2011-08-14T20:49:00.000+08:00

Whenever faced with beating deadlines, most are wont to think that adding more people to do the remaining work will help increase the chances of actually nailing that delivery. More hands, More brains, more work, no?

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. More so with software project development. There is a very good read on how this is so written by Fred Brooks - The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering. Essentially, Brooks is saying that "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later".

Some factors why this is really more difficult with software development. For one, getting the additional people up to speed with the current implementation is definitely going to be a challenge. Not all would be able to easily read code and jump right onto it and fix it without introducing regressions. Another factor is to ensure all the work is synced properly. This often requires proper updates being passed back and forth especially if shifting is put into place.

All that said, it is really possible to add more brainpower especially if they are to work on a set of work that can be compartmentalized and integrated at one point in time. Integration is going to be factor but if the interfaces are defined properly, it should be manageable at some point. The timing is also going to be a crucial factor.

When deciding on whether to add more hands to the mix, one really needs to ask the team where and which items they really need help or how then can be helped for that matter. But really, why buy more people when all one really needs is buy more time?

handwriting

2011-07-12T13:30:00.001+08:00

i used to have legible handwriting. it was not always this bad, promise :)

back in primary education, i remember the writing exercises, making circles and pointed arches, endlessly. then came writing the alphabets and numbers. all the while, you need to be hitting the guide lines.

the said exercises i would say paved the way for me to have (relatively) legible handwriting. as the years passed on though, i noticed the total disregard for making the letters hit the guide lines. i was becoming a miser-writer - writing in those insanely miniscule script to save paper and space. my motto in college was 1 pc of yellow paper a day. save the trees, right? :)

eventually working with computers did not help at all. my fingers fell in love with the keyboard, it totally forgot its love affair with the pen. but i am now trying to fix that. for 2 years now, i have been trying to religiously note down things using my planner which really is a journal in disguise. hopefully, there will come a time when checking out old journals will not make me pause and decipher what i had written some time ago.

my varekai weekend

2011-07-11T17:40:00.000+08:00

july 2, 2011

when i first heard that cirque du soleil was coming to the PH, i knew i had to make an effort to watch them again. my first cirque experience was their show in tokyo sometime in 2001ish and "hidam" made me realize the circus can be a place of art. :)

understandably, we could not take photos during the show so we had to make do where it was allowed. the show was truly amazing. the colors, the segments, the actors, they were truly fantastic. it was like seeing through the mind of the artist who conceptualized this show. well worth each centavo we paid for. on top of the fact that we got moved to much better seats ;)

the cirque venue was at the quirino grandstand and we were staying at the corporate inn hotel which was a stone's throw away so we walked to and back. walking back finally realized one of my want to say things, "namasyal sa luneta, ng walang pera" hehe.

rizal park is probably one of the few public parks (if not the only one) here in PH that we can be proud of. we really should have more parks like this all over the country.

the day was capped by a foodie trip to binondo, manila. we went to a place called wai ying fastfood and considering that we had to do a bee line before getting some seats, we knew this place was a find. the food was so yummy it made the wait a very small price to pay. and it was very wallet friendly as well :) eng bee tin was also a stop in the foodie trip where we found hopia with tikoy inside! what can be more chinese than that? :)

lin dan in action

2011-06-23T00:33:00.001+08:00

after picking up badminton as a sport, i have grown fascinated with China's Lin Dan. he with the pure athleticism coupled with the ability to make smart moves and his fair share of trick shots as well. not to mention his powerful jump smashes. i just knew i had to see him play in person.

i ticked that personal goal last June 18, 2011 at the Li Ning Singapore Open 2011.

watching him play peter gade was just an added treat. it was a good decision though to watch the semi-final game instead of the finals given the walkover and lin dan getting sick. nevertheless, i still admire the man and his extraordinary skills as a badminton player :)

smarter not harder

2011-05-30T23:59:00.000+08:00

my yoda master once reiterated, we need to work smarter, not harder. or, play smarter, not harder. :)

when we get caught up in the frenzy of things we are doing - getting that product out of the door, playing a game of badminton or even just getting to the office to beat the clock, this principle is something that could guide us very well.

not all of us become experts in a skill but this does not necessarily mean we are going to be on the losing end. sometimes, it is a combination of being able to utilize your skills and the right tactic to win the game.

i have been playing badminton for over a year now and i still have a lot of facets in my game that i need to improve on. but from what i have observed so far, you cannot always go toe to toe with someone who has a strong smashing arm. you need to be able to adjust your game so that your opponent is not able to smash his/her way to winning the game. common sense, aye?

the same goes when trying to beat a deadline. if there is no focus on what really needs to get delivered for a specific sprint, we may end up with a full featured product that no one is really able to use. the same is true for a developer who attempts to fix a bug without really knowing the cause of the bug.

people need to get smart with how they deal with life. sometimes, it is really a matter of thinking what is the best approach to the current problem and working on it.

to put it in another way, paddling too hard does not necessarily mean you go forward :)

the coriander by sheldon

2011-05-29T23:08:00.000+08:00

28 May 2011

finally got to try the coriander by sheldon at crossroads and i would have to say i enjoyed the dining experience :) i have wanted to check it out for sometime now ever since a friend told me they have been going back to the said resto on a regular basis. so regular that i suspect they already have a table reserved for them there :)

we started with their version of tomato soup with pita bread. not the usual tomato soup but yummy nonetheless. it is now a toss for me between giuseppe's and the coriander's when it comes to tomato soup :)

i decided to try their hainanese chicken to see if this would make me appreciate it this time around. i tried having this dish the first time i was in singapore and my taste buds did not quite agree with it then. their hainanese was so delicious and so filling. the sauces are not shown in the photo below but i believe the sauces - especially the chili sauce was just right.

our other dish was the tandoori fish fillet. it was spicy but just enough to make me appreciate it.

i definitely recommend the coriander by sheldon when you are in cebu. good food, good service, good price. what more can you ask for? :)

thank you notes

2011-05-24T11:11:00.000+08:00

23 May 2011

i am proud to say i don't have a thankless job :)

i earn pretty much enough to get by and have a few left for leisure and for savings.
i learn a lot with the projects and from the team i work with.

and long after the project team has moved on to work on other endeavors, i still have that pleasant experience and memories of having worked and having fun with such good people.

what is icing on the cake though would be the thank you notes i received during the most unexpected of days.

today was one of those days. i got not just one, but 2 thank you notes :) one was profuse with gratitude for my pushing him into something he thought he was not confident enough to share and teach. one was a heartfelt thank you for helping him get to a new and (am sure) interesting project. and all i ever did was put in a good word or two :)

despite all the difficulties and challenges that await a lowly project manager like me, these are one of the moments that make it all worth it :)

people watching: from the badminton courtside

2011-02-23T23:29:00.000+08:00

tonight was not badminton night - for me.

definitely feeling under the weather ( translated: on and off fever, throbbing headache, generally weakened state), i still decided to see what i was missing. after around 2 hours of being in the sidelights, these were the things i noted with a "keen" eye.

50% of players were women.
2 of 40 players were lefties. and they were playing against each other!
3 were openly gay, 2 of them could not seem to stop themselves from being overly affectionate with quick pecks on the kisser in between points.

12 were wearing black tops, with white being a close runner up at 8.
4 wearing jogging/legging pants, 3 wearing skorts and the rest wearing shorts.
6 brands of shoes being worn.
the rackets were a little too fuzzy to call so no count done there.

so what did i learn today? that it takes creativity to think of how many ways you can differentiate a given populace :)

keeping the faith

2011-02-08T09:51:00.001+08:00

Cebu as we all know is Sto. Nino country. One of Cebu's major tourist attractions (that local and foreign visitors look forward to) is in fact a celebration of Sto Nino - The Sinulog. Organizers of the Sinulog has taken to sponsoring a photo contest meant to capture the celebrations.

I have always loved the Sinulog Photo Exhibits once the results of the photo contest are published. You cannot help but marvel how beautiful the pictures are along with the drama and color that went with it.

This year's winner of the Sidelights category caught my eye and my heart as well. I could not help but wonder how exactly the lady in the photo is feeling. Is she crying for help? Pleading the Sto Nino to make her illness go away? Is it a cry of thanks? Perhaps she has only been recently bedridden but is now able to walk and give homage to the Sto Nino? How and whatever it is that this lady in the picture is experiencing, I pray that she and her family gets pass this particularly troubling time in their lives. I wish that all those who see this picture would do the same though. After all, if two or more pray for the same intention, God grants the petition.

Viva Sr. Sto Nino!

jethro gibbs

2011-01-19T22:55:00.000+08:00

jethro gibbs was his name. he stayed only over a month with us but he managed to endear himself to all of us. for a dog person like me, one of the breeds i was not really keen on having (blame it on the movies) is a rottweiler. jethro gibbs proved me wrong. he can be fierce looking but be as playful as a labrador. i was probably more of a playmate to him since once my mom hollered his name, he would go running.

i will miss him waiting for me down the staircase and start tugging or biting my feet once i within striking distance :) . i will miss his (failed) attempts at going up to my room at the second level of our house. he never got the chance to do so. i always thought it was only a matter of months before he would be able to do so. i am sure my family will have different reasons why they would miss him.

thank you jethro gibbs for the sweet and (some literally) painful moments.

one day soon, i will have one like you again :)

and the fun run craze hits me :)

2011-01-10T22:18:00.000+08:00

09 January 2011.

waking up to the alarm at 3am was harder that i thought. nope, it was not an early flight that had me setting my alarm to this ungodly hour. it was to be my very first ever fun run at 5k. i have always wondered what it was about running that have a lot of people all agog over it.

wanting to start the year with the right athletic frame of mind (and in the process loose the holiday poundage), it looked like the Cebu City Marathon was the perfect event to join. the kicker to joining was of course the free New Balance shirt for the first 4500 registrants :)

the early morning 5k run resulted in a few surprises. i realized that running with the crowd made it easier for me to push myself to go faster and longer. whereas doing a 5k run around the Abellana oval was often laborious but mind-clearing, joining the fun run was altogether fun!

doing the run also made me give a few more respectful nods to the runners. from what i have seen, it is usually a case of trying to beat your own time as evidenced by how the runners often check their watches to see how they are doing. it also takes a really disciplined individual to wake up in the "really" wee hours of the morning, imho :)

watching a friend cross the finish line for his first ever marathon made me think if this was something that i could also hope to achieve. i still am vacillating between my love for my duvet and being able to cross out a do a marathon in my lifetime to do list. 5K is after just a 30-40 minute run. a 42k means a couple of hours of serious running :) let's wait and see though if the running bug does catch me.

with my running mate :)

and this was the crowd ahead of us.

thumbs up for me! i finished and beat my record at that :)

new year, new goals, new hopes

2011-01-10T22:11:00.000+08:00

we are now on the 1st year after the 1st decade of the 2000s. indeed, how time flies!
looking at numbers always leaves me in awe and makes me realize that it is really a matter of what we make of our time here on earth.

only in recent years have i been more religious with setting personal goals in a more focused manner. most of my to-do list was always something to do with work. perhaps the bout with vertigo made me realize that nelanie has to work hard but play even harder :)

2010 was a good year for me. my Maestrodev team is one of the best project groups i have had the pleasure of working with. my family was in good health although there were some financial challenges to deal with but we are doing ok. my heart is happy with my longtime && handsome beau. and i was fit and healthy and sporty. and i finally learned how to swim properly :D

There were some losses to deal with but trite the saying maybe, when God closes a door - somewhere He opens a window. The important thing is to take a stock of things and learn from it.

2011 should be a better year though.
more time to spend with the people that matter.
more places and events to see.
more people to meet and get to know well.
more productive efforts in producing things of value.
more skills to master.

and the list just made me realize i should get that calendar and plans filled up! :)

what's in your bag - mother lily?

2010-11-24T18:01:00.000+08:00

not a mother myself, i have often been amused (in a good way of course) about how women change their habits when they become a mother. one of the most obvious change is the (hand) bag they carry. i have a number of lady friends who carried small bags (or not at all) when they were still single but switched to carrying big carry-all bags when they had children.

lily or mother lily is a mother to 2 very young and cute kids. iirc, she used to carry a just-big-enough bag around. look at how she has transformed :)

this is the school-day with leila bag. she is ready for anything when going out with a 3-yr old kid :)

this is the day-out with liam and leila bag.

this is the only-lily bag :) looks really light!

what's in your bag - practical Rhyze?

2010-11-24T15:46:00.000+08:00

after sharing my bag's contents, i got my friends to share their version of what's in my bag.

the ever quick to the draw Rhyze was the first who shared her photos so here goes!

rhyze's bag : closed and personal

judging from what i am seeing in her bag, she is really practical Rhyze :) a mineral water bottle, charger and some important cables, a comb to make sure the hair is in place, pens, wallet and i think she has something to eat somewhere inside :)

so what's in my bag?

2010-11-15T16:25:00.000+08:00

not that i am a celebrity :) but just wanted to share what is in my bag :)

and yes, i do use them on a day to day basis :)

sulit meals : bbq + puso + squid balls :)

2010-11-05T16:50:00.000+08:00

sharing one of my favorite sulit (worth every penny and filling) meals.

location: food area of Save More at the Park Mall ( Mandaue City )

total cost: 128-pesos

the fun part: eating it while standing :)

baking adventure: chocolate banana bread

2010-11-02T12:05:00.000+08:00

finally got the time to use my recent impulse buys - the bread book by sarah lewis. as a certified chocoholic, of course my first attempt should be something with chocolate in it. so i decided on the chocolate banana bread. i had an altogether different recipe for a banana bread so wanted to try out a different recipe this time.

the recipe for this bread did not have a picture to go with it but this is what i came up with.

my mom said it tastes great! but of course, moms are always supportive, right? :)

me thinks i really need to consider enrolling in a baking course soon.

a sporting life

2010-10-25T19:40:00.001+08:00

a muffin top. being breathless when using the stairs. easily getting tired after a few minutes of physically challenging activities. i knew i was out of shape. and my pants were getting too tight for my taste. not to mention that my uber-guapo partner wants to lose some excess poundage as well, so it was time to engage in some calorie-burning activities.

badminton was a natural choice. for one, i had a regular group to play with. and i have to mention that they are quite good and fast players so my work was cut out for me. i just love the adrenalin rush one gets when trying to keep that shuttlecock from dropping on your court, running around in an effort to do so. i had to add though that most of the shots come my way simply because i am the weaker player in my group. however, i am learning to be at least toe to toe with them. and an initial 10-session coaching (no, make that 7 since i stopped showing up after the 7th session) for the basics of the game did help. at least you will learn how to do things right, thereby preventing yourself from unnecessary injuries.

swimming was always something i loved to do but never did learn to do it properly. for someone who loves to snorkel and loves the sea, it is strange right? so a few months back, i decided to do something about it. after learning from a good friend that waterfront does offer personalized swimming lessons, i jumped right into the pool so to speak. i would have to mention though that my sister started taking lessons at about the same time so i said to myself, why not, right? i had a former competitive swimmer ( Dino Aranda ) for my instructor and for someone so young, he sure was very patient. it is true that it is definitely hard to teach an old dog new tricks. and the reason for this is that old dogs have to unlearn what they have been doing a trick they have been doing their way - and not exactly the right way. so i did (finally!) learn to do the freestyle and the backstroke properly. breastroke and butterfly would have to come later. and of course, i have to stop training momentarily because i was almost blending perfectly with my black shorts :)

and there is of course running which is the current craze right now in cebu. with almost weekly organized runs happening, how can one ignore it? so i have resolved to at least go for one 5k run one of these days. and sign-up i did for the cebu marathon in early january. which just means i really, really have to prepare for that soon :)

i did at one point got a bowling ball (second-hand of course) just to see if i can get serious with bowling but the game does make a serious dent on your wallet so that really did not prosper.

if there is one thing i am learning from all these activity, it is that your best bet at keeping your weight down and being fit is to combine proper diet with exercise. exercise alone will not do. much more if one goes with diet.

at least i can say that i have significantly reduced my muffin top :)

the frozen yoghurt craze

2010-10-09T23:41:00.001+08:00

with the fitness ( and running ) craze sweeping cebu, a number of yoghurt places have opened up offering a variety of ways to enjoy this very nutritious food.

the idea for this blog entry came out after trying white hat's monkey hat combo. monkey hat is yoghurt with generous toppings of banana, fudge bar and caramel sauce.

for those who like it really sweet and that strong yoghurt flavor.

light-flavored yoghurt it feels like you're having snowpy.

strong flavored yoghurt with just the right sweetness. super love their fudge!

and this is white hat's health nut yoghurt. mango is just great with everything, methinks :)

and with the craze just starting, looks like i have a few more to try out. :)

green september

2010-09-12T20:19:00.000+08:00

September 11, 2010. As a way to celebrate my company's 9th year of EXISTence, we went on a tree planting activity and take part in Cebu's reforestation.

i have done this before but this time, i brought along my nieces leanne and lexinne to hopefully get them more environmentally aware. Getting their hands dirty was part of the process but I think they came out of it proud to have planted 9 seedlings - as lexi recounted.

On my way to work, I see the mountains of Cebu and have seen it changing before my eyes. Whereas before, green was the main color, i see the color of concrete and exposed yellowish land as the more prevailing color scheme. I trust that the government would be vigilant in terms of enforcing environmental laws and policies as urbanization is slowly creeping into the Cebu mountains. I also pray that the real estate developers would have the conscience to be more careful in planning their developments so we will not lose flora and fauna endemic to Cebu to modernization.

sitti turns into a crime scene

2010-08-26T00:00:00.001+08:00

sitti got hurt today. a thief smashed sitti's side window and took of with my black NF knapsack containing my running gear.

sitti was parked in my usual spot at the 2nd floor of the i2 building in asiatown IT park. i never really liked this spot because it is near a washing area where most of the food stall vendors cleaned up. but then again, i thought that was a going to be a blessing since no one would really think of doing anything nasty given such regular foot traffic to the washing area. and boy was a i wrong.

based on a food attendant's account, she last washed around 4:30pm and sitti was still okay. i went down to the parking lot shortly before 6:45. my original plan was to go down around 6:15pm to get my knapsack to go jogging but wrapping up a few things at work delayed me. wondered if i had gone down sooner, would i have caught the thief.

the thief knew how to do it. my car alarm was still engaged when i chanced upon the crime scene. which is something that Honda should really explain to me. to pay for an upgraded alarm that cost me 7k+ and not make a sound even with such force on the window. for measure, i kicked the wheel with the alarm engaged and the alarm went off. just so weird.

the thief got my North Face backpack. with my only used once (that's how new it was) New Balance running shoes. and my favorite Giordano jogging pants. am sure he should be able to get a good price for those items. he did not took off with the badminton racket perhaps because it will make him too conspicuous. that could have easily commanded a good price if he sold it to the right person.

in fairness, the building guards were quite helpful and promised to help secure the police report. i know they are really ill-equipped to secure the 2nd floor parking space. the owner and bldg manager though should have had the foresight on installing security cameras in these areas. it is not really assuring to be told that the plan has been proposed and is awaiting approval.

i am furious. i feel violated. no matter how poor or in dire need of cash you are. there is never an excuse to steal. i know how it feels to literally have nothing to eat and not to have even loose change to buy a measly pandesal. i never like wishing ill of someone but i just wish the thief gets his dose of bad karma - for like an eternity. and i hope his face gets smashed just like how he smashed sitti's window. the same wish goes for whoever buys my things. may you rot in hell.

am sure i am going to regret wishing ill of someone tomorrow but writing has always been a therapy for me. i hope this feeling passes soon. :(

Breathing Agile : Communication Issues

2010-08-23T23:22:00.000+08:00

Agile software development espouses frequent inspection, frequent adaptation, teamwork, accountability. All these would not really be possible if the team does not communicate.

Forming an agile team that is essentially weak in communication skills is a recipe for disaster.

In the first place, one of the main expectations of the team members are that they are fully functioning individuals. Individuals who are skilled enough to help work on the backlog. Individuals who are motivated enough to seek to understand what needs to be done or how to get things done. And of course, there is the daily updates wherein the team is expected to communicate their current progress, their plan for the day and whatever blocker they see that is stopping them from delivering. Without communicating, I do not see how this can be done.

For the longest time that I have been exposed and dealing with agile teams, communication skills (or the lack of it) continues to be an Achilles heel that really needs to be dipped again in the river Styx. It may be traceable to culture and how we are brought up. It may be a personality trait like shyness or lack of confidence. Or just plain ego.

Either way, communication skills are very important to getting agile to work.

Isn't just speaking out what you are working on and having trouble with easier than dying hard trying?

Smooth as Soya - este Silk

2010-08-23T16:11:00.000+08:00

never been a fan of soya especially since i have always equated soya with tofu. so when a friend mentioned about a soya milk that does not taste like soya, i was intrigued. and it comes in chocolate flavor! so on a little hunt i went, which brought me to starbucks. and the rest is well, silk soya addiction :)

the only downside to liking silk's chocolate flavored soya milk is that it is quite difficult to get a hold of here in cebu city. so what does an avid fan do? entice other friends to get hooked to it and create a pact with them that whoever sees silk soya on the grocery shelves should alert the rest on its availability.
so far, it is working ;)

the july whirlwind

2010-08-23T15:33:00.000+08:00

july came by so fast it felt just like that. a whirlwind.
but it was a healthy kind of whirlwind if i may say so. healthy in the sense that i had gotten into the groove of better mixing work and leisure.

work-wise, i feel my team - the wonderful maestrodev team - are up to the challenge of making a really handy and cool tool for software development especially in the current landscape of automation.

personally, i am ticking of some of my long time want to do things.
like learning to swim properly! there are really things that are better learned when you are younger. however, if you have the chance to relearn or master a new skill, it is never too late :)
i have also been working on my to read list. i still have a pile of books to read but at least i am getting on top of it now. i just need to stop dropping by the bookstore and adding to my pile that is easily taller than me now.

august should be equally busy. it is the good kind of busy though. nothing that will turn me into a stressball. or at least i hope not.

the june 2010 experiment - day 30

2010-07-01T15:18:00.000+08:00

30 june 2010.

other than the day being P-Noy's (aka Noynoy Aquino) inauguration as the Philippine's 15th president, it is also the end of the cloud series. thus, i am compelled to punctuate this series with a number of pictures albeit taken with my camera phone. nature never ceases to amaze me with the works of art she renders on our skies. i hope the future generations would still get to see what see now when we look up.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 29

2010-06-29T22:59:00.000+08:00

29 june 2010

blue and white has reclaimed the sky :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 28

2010-06-29T00:07:00.001+08:00

28 june 2010

rainy monday today. no picture. sorry.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 27

2010-06-27T20:41:00.000+08:00

27 june 2010

lazy day today. baked some macaroons though and just one snap of the sky :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 26

2010-06-27T20:35:00.000+08:00

26 june 2010.

a day adventure at imperial palace cebu resort. a belated birthday gift for ian :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 25

2010-06-27T20:22:00.000+08:00

25 june 2010

a belated post. a lot happening today. but did manage to get a few shots using my phone - again :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 24

2010-06-24T22:58:00.000+08:00

24 june 2010

fair weather we are having today :)

Lego Drama

2010-06-24T01:01:00.000+08:00

i have recently started a series on setting up a lego drama of the day (aka LDOD) and sharing it via twitter ( twitter.com/nelanie ).

this was borne out of some discussions with friends who are also into lego although some more seriously than i do.

and of course, i have an office-mate who has tons of lego stuff that i can borrow :) honestly, i just want the lego mindstorm and one of the lego train sets but i am digressing now.

as i am using my phone to capture this scene, it is a little bit tricky to get all the details in. for this post, i wanted to share how this LDOD (for june 23, 2010) aptly titled "not your usual day at the park" came to be.

so why " not your usual day at the park"?

the 1st 2 LDODs i did all involved negative aura at some point.

that is, the 1st saw two policemen going down, the 2nd was a car chase scene. my frame of mind was probably a reflection of the tv series i keep tuned into - bones, criminal minds, ncis, chuck. the 3rd should be more positive, right? :)

and what can be more positive than a day in the park!

the setup as started by an office-mate started on the right track. trees, flowers, benches, a hotdog stand. we have 2 people in deep discussion over coffee, just enjoying the day. perhaps discussing what is taking so long for npanday 1.2 to release? hehe

and we need to have some lovebirds enjoy some biking bonding moments. sweet, no?

but could not resist - why not 2 prisoners in handcuffs enjoying the park as well? with 2 prisoners around, there should be their jail guards somewhere right? so we find one jail guard manning the hotdog stand for some extra money :D and the other biking around with his girl.

the chef was quite shocked to see who was asking for some of what he was having. there are some extras at the back as well. no reason really except for that they were there.

and that was how my 3rd LDOD went. hopefully, this is not going to be my last :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 23

2010-06-24T00:58:00.000+08:00

23 june 2010

cloudy day again, mostly grays. tried doing a 180-degree shot - that is, take one shot then do a 180-degree turn and take another shot. this is what i came up with. notice the stark difference a turn makes.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 22

2010-06-22T23:30:00.000+08:00

22 june 2010

cloudy day today. that may be an understatement :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 21

2010-06-21T23:55:00.000+08:00

21 june 2010

rain was playing with us today. mostly just whites, not much of blue to make a contrast. of course, i am making excuses :) totally forgot to take one shot hehe. posting one i took on the way to sm though (yesterday). it looked like a flying dog to me.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 20

2010-06-21T00:23:00.002+08:00

20 june 2010.

day of obligation. :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 19

2010-06-19T23:10:00.000+08:00

19 june 2010

stayed at home the whole day. which partly explains the snaps i took for today :)

this gumamela variety took my attention because of its petals. and i ended up with a bokeh shot :)

another bokeh shot of the lone surviving bloom of an orchid.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 18

2010-06-19T11:09:00.000+08:00

18 june 2010

and we had rain later at night.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 17

2010-06-17T22:44:00.000+08:00

17 june 2010

cloudy day, blue skies still visible tough. raining as of this posting. traffic was heavy earlier, which explains why i manage to get a shot of what i can see from my side mirror. :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 16

2010-06-16T23:51:00.000+08:00

16 june 2010

1st 3 shots taken from the corner window of our 8th floor office.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 15

2010-06-15T23:51:00.000+08:00

15 june 2010

nice cloud display today. most of the shots though are taken with a camera phone. but, lovely, nonetheless.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 14

2010-06-15T23:33:00.001+08:00

14 june 2010

a belated post. twas a gloomy day.

yet again - unintentional eavesdropper

2010-06-15T16:10:00.000+08:00

i believe i had a previous post about being an unintentional eavesdropper months before.
most of us are anyway and one really interesting thing happened earlier today.

as i entered the coffee shop, there was this couple sitting right by the door. i could not possibly miss them especially since the girl looked up to me with her eyes all puffy and red. after ordering the usual, i had no choice but to sit right right next to the couple - lovers if you will.

i only had my phone to while away the time, waiting for our drinks so i could not (really!) help but be an uninvited party to their conversation. there was talk of betrayal, and apologies ...all said while the strains of the music was whispering " don't give up on us baby, we're still worth one, more try..." .

talk about coincidence!

when we did finally leave, it looks like things were getting better. if the holding hands were an indication of things to come :)

radio does have its purposes ;)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 13

2010-06-13T21:53:00.000+08:00

13 june 2010

a giveaway for what we were having for lunch :)

and this was what i was doing for the rest of the afternoon as well.

lexi's shot is i think my best shot for the day. could not get a clear shot of leanne who has been camera shy lately. beautiful ain't she? :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 12

2010-06-13T00:01:00.000+08:00

12 june 2010

today is the 112th Philippine independence day.
and this is the only picture i got with the Philippine flag on it :)

what follows are snaps taken late morning (today). one side had really ominous gray clouds but shifting your eyes a little bit and you are greeted with white and blues. looks like summer will not easily relent to the rainy season :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 11

2010-06-12T01:29:00.000+08:00

11 june 2010

on my way to work, the sky was just full of clouds. mostly whites with a few patches of blue.
was not able to take some snaps during the day though. so i ended up with these, hastily taken while waiting for my ride to our regular badminton game.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 10

2010-06-10T22:28:00.000+08:00

10 june 2010

woke up to the sound of rain today. such a welcome sound after a long spell of dry weather.
by the time i was fully awake though, the rain was gone. and this was how the sky looked.

such beautiful colors - blue and white that is
maxi thinks otherwise... she just loves the color brown :D

the june 2010 experiment - Day 9

2010-06-09T23:56:00.000+08:00

09 june 2010

today was a battle between gray and white. seems like gray is winning.

checking out if it will be more interesting to make it a background. wdyt? :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 8

2010-06-08T22:31:00.000+08:00

08 june 2010

tinges of gray on the clouds observed today. looks like cebu will have the onset of the rains soon.
the sky is just pregnant with all those clouds. rain will be a welcome relief after the few weeks of oppressive heat we have been having here.

was just tempted to take this shot. will do it again, when i am a passenger ;)

see the grayish tinge? can't wait for rain to come...for as long as it does not bring flood!

the gray is more pronounced just as i was about to go up the parking lot.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 7

2010-06-07T23:46:00.000+08:00

07 june 2010

changing the rules for this experiment. no d50 today. was too tired (== lazy) to bring it along :)
these were taken during lunch time. cumulus clouds galore! i really should learn the subtle difference between the different kinds of clouds :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 6

2010-06-06T20:25:00.000+08:00

06 june 2010

day of obligation, so naturally, pics around my church which is but a 2-3 minute drive away from my home :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 5

2010-06-05T14:30:00.001+08:00

05 june 2010

took a friend's advice to heart and set the aperture to F5.6. methinks it worked.

took some snaps of a leafy tree with traces of clouds against the pale blue sky.

just a regular saturday morning on our street.

i like the pattern of the screen against the sky.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 4

2010-06-04T23:38:00.000+08:00

04 june 2010

looking up the sky on the 4th day of the experiment was rewarded with a view of the moon against the pale blue sky, with nary a cloud in sight. i am still hopeless at getting the right settings to make this a much better picture using an old 50mm F1.8 lens (nikon e series) that can only be used full manual with the d50. and i was in no mood to enhance the photo :)

shots of some oh so white clouds on my way to work. promise, i was not mobile when i took these shots :)

so many clouds but so little rain. at least the rain that came my way while i was on the road :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 3

2010-06-03T23:57:00.000+08:00

03 june 2010

cotton balls in the sky :)

and more cotton balls floating later in the day, set to black and white to punctuate the drama.

it's as if the clouds were posing along with the buildings as well :)

of migraines and vertigo

2010-06-03T17:42:00.000+08:00

no matter how much you avoid it, you will get to know how one is feeling or what they are experiencing. especially if you are on FB or twitter of any other social networking tool that allows you to post updates.

it is not really that which irritates (or putting it mildly: bothers) me. it is how some people have the propensity to magnify what they are feeling. is it a case of just begging for attention? this need to make things worse than they really are?

my current peeve is how people so loosely associate headache with migraine or vertigo for a short fainting spell.

some people tweet about having a migraine but almost too soon, their next tweet (or activity for that matter) belie their situation. come on, you have a migraine but still be able to play on FB or comment on those who comment on your status? :)

i have a couple of friends who genuinely suffer from migraine and i have seen some of them up close when suffering from it. as documentation would suggest, the attack would normally range from 4 hours to 72 hours, usually with a throbbing headache in only one side of the head. the migraine sufferer would also have bouts with nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light (aka photophobia) and increase sensitivity to sound (aka phonophobia). it is even reported that some sufferers report perceiving aura before an attack.

so yes, you may have a splitting headache, a throbbing tick in your head that it is bothering you but please, do not loosely say you already have a migraine. that is just an insult to the millions who suffer regularly from migraine attack.

other than using "migraine" as a convenient excuse, some people have taken to using the term "vertigo" to mean they are not feeling well, that the room is indeed spinning (perhaps due to lack of sleep). i suffered from vertigo and believe me, it is not as easy as that. yes, the world spins around you, so fast that even when you close your eyes, you can still feel it moving. and yes, a bedpan would be your best friend when you are having a vertigo attack. what with the nausea and the vomiting bout you are most likely to be engaged in.

i guess, my point is that if you have a migraine or vertigo attack, you would not be able to engage in anything that will require focus and concentration. the simple act of reading or listening would be very difficult to say the very least.

as they say. be very careful what you wish for. it just might come true.

the june 2010 experiment - Day 2

2010-06-02T23:07:00.001+08:00

02 June 2010

still taken from our front yard. as it was still early, the sky was still sky blue. i liked the contrast of the leafless tree against the pale blue sky punctuated with a a seemingly whimsical brush of thin clouds.

took one more photo using my phone and enhanced it a bit as i just loved the drama of the curves of the clouds. the sky was just filled with white and a few touches of gray. i knew at some point it was going to rain. :)

the june 2010 experiment - Day 1

2010-06-01T23:07:00.000+08:00

01 june 2010

i have always been fascinated with clouds and cloud formations. whether it be a bright and sunny day with wisps of clouds just adorning the blue sky or the more dramatic heavy and dark clouds threatening to dampen the land.

just had a light bulb idea to try and document the sky at least for this month.

this is what i saw earlier today when i looked up at the sky, in our own backyard. the clouds were but thin wisps across the pale blue sky.

it was a different story when i arrived later in the office. i had a view (albeit only from the 2nd floor) of my favorite cumulus clouds.

i wonder what the sky would bring tomorrow ...

speaking out.

2010-06-01T09:32:00.000+08:00

a lot of us have difficulty speaking out what we think and how we feel.

sometimes, there are opportunities that we let pass simply because we felt we were not ready to bare our minds and our emotions to others.

for some who have seized the opportunity to speak out, the result was not always what they would have wanted thus they decry having seized the opportunity at all. better to have bitten their lips and said nothing. and they go into a "once bitten, twice shy" mode.

for some who seized the opportunity to speak out, the result was so overwhelming it opened doors for them. better to have said it all out, thereby clearing the path for the future. and they espouse the motto, "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

but how we seize the opportunity to speak out, either way, it always turns out that it changes our lives.
changes us in how we deal or not deal with others in the issues affecting them.

but shouldn't we be more open to speaking out to our family? to our friends? presumably, these are the people who are mostly likely not to judge us but to accept us for what we are.

for isn't it how people judge us that we are most wary of?

surely, family and friends will accept as for what we are. but we need to let them know how we feel and see things, different they may be.

to iphone or not

2010-05-31T12:00:00.003+08:00

not really a stranger to the ipod family so this question may seem like a no brainer for me. but it is :)

i purchased my 1st ipod the next day after it debuted in japan. yes, even when the news was in japanese, steve jobs marketing the new ipod still worked on me :)

in any case, after that came the ipod touch which i still think has the perfect size if you want an organizer/entertainment gadget all in one package. the real downer though would be how you need to use iTunes to synch with it not to mention having to convert your videos to the mp4 format. why not support avi, apple? :)

but i was never really attracted to the iphone. i love my ipod touch but to put phone call capabilities into it? hmm...not for me. until i had it for free :)

my brother was "rewarded" (by Globe) with a 32GB, 3GS Iphone and he was concerned with piling up unknowingly his phone usage so he promptly gave it to me to use. it was "sayang" to put such an expensive gadget to non-use thus i am now giving it a chance. i am guessing that i will eventually get used to the difficulty of replying to messages or calling for that matter especially when driving.

but i am missing my Nokia E51. perfect size for a phone with call and text functionality && enough capability for some useful utilities/apps. best of all, it is very sturdy too! God knows how enough I have dropped this phone and relieved every time time I check for scratches and bruises :)

let's see how long i go with the iphone :)

the dolphin hunt - bais version

2010-05-03T09:34:00.000+08:00

this time, it did not feel like a hunt at all. whereas in bohol, the motors thundered as we were moving in search of the dolphins, it was a different approach altogether in Bais. The boat trudged along the calm waters, barely creating waves as it moved. we were told it would take an hour to the place where dolphins are known to frequent.

after around half an hour of moving quite surreptitiously, we found them :)
they were quite a friendly bunch, moving along the boat, ensuring we got photos of them swimming right below us.

will make the photos speak for itself at this point :)

and yes, dolphin watching is a must in bais :)

the virgin island - bohol (aka puntod )

2010-05-03T08:54:00.000+08:00

after the dolphin watching activity, our next stop was virgin island. the locals call it puntod though.

Puntod also had an interesting shape, S-like and you can see the marks of the water where were exposed during the low tide.

the sand was fine and almost white. it was really nice to walk barefoot. and write my name on it as well :)

it was also relatively clean of modern age waste...just the requisite seaweeds washed up to shore.

hope they maintain this as well.

and the water was just beautiful :)

the dolphin hunt - bohol version

2010-04-25T21:23:00.000+08:00

yes, it was a dolphin hunt. minus the blood and gore of course. :)

ian and lexi were up really early for their encounter with the dolphins. i was just praying that the dolphins will show up. and show up they did :)

the dolphins number were not as numerous as what we had witnessed several years ago on my 1st dolphin watching experience. the spinning in the air display of the dolphins were missing as well.
but at least they did not fail us.

this was about the only decent photo i got of the dolphins that we saw earlier. yes, they are the dark-grey things in a sea of blue. :)

this was the dolphin armada (as i call it) that were on the seas to catch the dolphins pass by this part of bohol. if i were a dolphin, i would be scared as well with all these white "animals" ganging up on me. it was like a highway hold-up on the seas. but then again, this is way better compared to how they were hunted for meat years ago.

am pretty sure that the dolphin watching crews have all been told how eco-tourism would be a win-win situation for the dolphins and men. i hope though there would be a better control in place so that we would not drive away the dolphins to somewhere they would be more at peace. what they have done with donsol and the whale sharks would be a good thing for the dolphin watching industry in bohol as well.

calling denr?!?!

The Blind Side - A review

2010-04-19T14:49:00.003+08:00

it was a particularly lazy saturday for me. was not really keen on going to a jampacked mall and join the melee of bargain hunters. just thinking of finding a parking space made me shudder. a throbbing headache sealed the decision for me. it was home sweet home day.

after catching up on sleep, i decided it was going to process my video/tv series backlog. started with Bones, Human Target, Criminal Minds and to end the video marathon, the movie that recently won sandra bullock an oscar nod, the blind side.

the blind side is based on the story of Michael Oher. He was a homeless and traumatized boy who was met a wonderful family that helped him become an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick.

the blind side is a movie that reminds you to count your blessings. on top of this, one realizes that it is not only the disadvantaged that is helped but the helping party grows as well.

i am not really a movie critique per se but i liked sandra bullock's performance. it was down to earth believable and consistent. the rest of the cast were equally believable. the story telling itself was clean and "light" but had the most meaningful dialogues that will pinch one's heart and conscience.

the movie was tear-provoking (in a good way) and was able to draw out some good laughs as well. the best part though was that it was a thought-provoking experience for me. it made me wonder how i could also help (in my own little way) someone achieve their full potential.

Kalanggaman Island

2010-04-13T23:46:00.009+08:00

our recent trip back to malapascua was just to relax and enjoy the crystal clear waters and the fine powdery sand. i wish i could say soak in the sun but i really couldnt afford too much sun anymore :)

after 4 hour plus bus ride and a 30 minute bangka ride, we were finally at malaspacua!
kalanggaman island was mentioned to us by a canvasser who was walking with us on our way to the resort. from then on, our idea of just lounging around on the beach and mixing it with dips in the crystal clear beach just went kaput...at least for saturday. :)

the boat ride to kalanggaman island was long - 2.5 hours long! it would have probably been shorter if we had a faster boat but the appearance of the dolphins on our way did make up for it, even for a bit. the other boats did not see them. i guess being slow does have its benefits.

and it was worth it. more than i expected. i believe the pictures say it all.
i would have to say that the lunch prepared for us was great! fresh grilled fish and chicken bbq. the couple who owned the boat were also very gracious and attentive to us.

the island...

Power Distance Index and how we do things

2010-04-03T13:52:00.007+08:00

just finished absorbing the book "outliers" by malcolm gladwell and one of the chapters that really engaged me was the writeup on the ethnic theory of plane crashes.

the more i read on, the more i realized how i have seen it before. not that i have ever been in the cockpit of a plane, nor in a crash (God forbid!). and guess what, i have seen it played out a number of times now although nothing as catastrophic like a plane crash.

the world is so much smaller now. we find ourselves working with different nationalities, in different locales. in most cases, we are forced to work and adjust to different cultures while dealing with our own cultural leanings. on top of language barriers at times. more often than not, the failure in communication can be attributed to this.

One of Hofstede's Dimensions, Power Distance is concerned with attitudes towards hierarchy. To be more specific, it has to do with how culture values and respects authority. Hofstede used questions like these to measure power distance:
* are employees afraid to express disagreement with their managers?
* to what extent do the less powerful members of the organization accept and expect that power is distributed unequally?

In high power distance countries, the superiors make the decision. Subordinates hint at solutions but still expect their bosses to make the decisions. Experience is given much weight as well. Examples would be South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Mexico among others.

In low power distance countries, decision-making is a shared responsibility. This is most especially seen in flat organizations or in countries like Australia, Denmark, Israel, USA among others.

Does a country's language mirror their Power Distance index (PDI)? I would think so. Having so many layers of respect best seen in how people speak should be a very good indicator. I still have to confirm this though but take a look at the Korean language.

No matter how you do things, the Power Distance aspect should probably be factored in especially for those dealing with different nationalities. In the same way identifying what development process works best for your team.

A yes may not necessarily be a yes, neither is a No simply a No. It may mean both. :)

am back!

2010-03-30T17:19:00.003+08:00

to blogging that is :)

and it all started with a cute umbrella. my friend was making "bida" about her uber cutesy umbrella and she said she posted in her blog.

well, i of course went on to reading her other entries but it also made me want to write about anything as well. am no where near as good as her but writing about things have always been sort of therapeutic for me. i love to read back on what i have written months and months before. if i have been disciplined enough to finally put down my thoughts on my hard-earned and wallet-emptying starbucks planner, i should be able to do this right? wishing myself luck on this though.

btw, if anyone ever reads this blog and wonders which blog made me go back, here it is: http://dayun-mo.blogspot.com/

core family ...

2009-07-14T14:59:00.004+08:00

our view of the core family has always been represented by that poignant scene in the manger, with Joseph and Mary looking over their newly born son Jesus. to put it into an equation: Father + Mother = Child(ren).

a recent anecdote brought this concept to the fore and made me look at it really hard.

a young girl of 7 was asking her grandma where her father is. she was just told at school that a family MUST have a father, mother and child(ren). so she came home confused because she did have a mother, but no father. she however had her mommy lo and aunt and uncle growing up with her. isn't that her family?

the story of where her father is, is not the point that bothered me.

i have had friends who had dysfunctional lives. Dealing with a broken family (whether physically broken or emotionally broken) must be on one of hell's version here on earth.

to have it (painfully) underlined by a teacher will leave an indelible mark on the child as we very well know how teachers can become the earliest idols they will know. it will definitely take a very stable home environment to make that child feel she is not a misfit in society.

in the end, we really just have to be careful with what we say. especially if we are a person of authority. physical wounds heal but the wounds our tongue bring may not.

Filipino speaking consular officer ftw!

2009-06-05T16:46:00.005+08:00

we have jokes going around about US visa application interviews. one of these jokes revolved around a grandfather being turned down a US visa because he does not know how to speak English. The grandfather retorted something to the effect that the consular officer has no right to be in the Philippines as he does not know how to speak Filipino as well.

perhaps the consular officer that interviewed us read this story somewhere and proceeded to demonstrate that this is not entirely true at all :)

after going through the usual security check, submitting the application forms and getting a number in return and finally being finger-scanned, we had to wait out in the interview room as i call it with the rest of those aspiring to get that much sought after visa. seeing and eavesdropping (unintentionally) on the interviews initially makes you jittery but later on actually can make nerves calm. at least that was it for me. there were a number of outright turn-downs and i'm sorry's and only a handful of approval.

in the midst of all these interviews, one friendly Filipino speaking voice can be heard from my seat. i could not see who was speaking Filipino but you could tell he was an American by the accent. and by luck, we got his window for the interview.

i would have to say he was quite good with the language and was really friendly throughout the interview interpersing a joke here and there but you can tell he was really smart. his questions would seem harmless but were meant to draw out any hidden desire to stay in the US for good.

it was a very good interview i would say and i do not say that because we got approved but because it was refreshing to see a foreigner take the time to learn the language and in the process understand the filipino culture during his term here. i cebuano, dili siya mabaligya :D

two thumbs up to the consular officer :)

Note: Read "joke" here...

my dream beach house

2009-05-30T20:15:00.003+08:00

finally finished my dream beach house today. weeks of waiting for it to arrive was worth it! my smart alec 5-yr old niece of course had to ask... "where is the beach auntie lot?".

this is the first design though as there are 3 beach house designs you can do with this kit. will let it stand for a week or two before doing the next design :)

the "real" beach house would have to wait though. for now, lego should do.

the long and short of it

2009-05-17T20:03:00.004+08:00

may 2, 2009 was a particularly special event as we all jetted to manila, got dressed and dolled up to witness the culmination of the may and jay lovestory. being close to both sides gave me a good glimpse of how they are a perfect foil for each other's strengths and weaknesses.

the courtship, the getting to know each other, the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship all took a long 15 years but the runup to the wedding was particularly short. it seemed like it was just a matter of setting the wedding date. :)

personally, no matter how long or short the engagement is, it is how you use the time to get to know each other that matters. by then, the next step becomes but a natural step to growing both as individuals and as a couple.

panatang makabayan

2009-04-03T09:50:00.002+08:00

"Panatang makabayan, iniibig ko ang Pilipinas....".

This was something we used to recite by heart during flag ceremonies then. Admittedly, it was done by rote but nonetheless, recited by heart. A recent chat with an old friend made me rethink this.

His words were quite loaded or at least it was for me. "I passed the written exam for the Canadian citizenship. I have to take the oath to the queen of England Queen Elizabeth II." My reaction was automatic as well. Congratulating him about the feat and I was genuinely happy for him.

But that little snippet of conversation bugged me the whole day.

I don't have anything against people wanting to migrate to other countries. It is a matter of personal choice.

But for me, the rest of the world is just out there to be visited. Working in a foreign country for a period of time is ok with me as well. I love going to different places, experiencing different cultures. I love being able to experience different seasons. I love the goodies that my sister sends me and my family regularly. But my home has always been the hot and humid Philippines. I cannot quite imagine (just yet) how it feels to make an oath of allegiance to another flag.

Who knows, I might be changing a different tune in 5 years or so....

fireflies of donsol

2009-03-02T15:54:00.006+08:00

after the meeting the butandings, we had set an appointment with the fireflies of the donsol river later in the night. as we were too early for our ride, we whiled the time away trying to capture donsol's beautiful sunset.

and when it was almost pitch black, our boat came and we slowly chugged along the calm waters of donsol bay into the donsol river. our boat was ably guided by a simple flashlight. it was an unusually calm night but i got shivers thinking that we were out on this small boat in open sea with no life jacket on. who knows if the butandings would suddenly make a comeback :)

in any case, after crossing the bridge that marked entry into the river, we slowly tried to make our eyes get used to seeing natural light. in a matter of minutes, were were approaching a tree of fireflies. it was nature's version of the christmas lights. and nature can put on quite a show as well :)

our guide told us what we needed to know about fireflies including how to determine a firefly's gender, their short lifespan and other interesting things about the insect. dong even managed to catch a firefly on his hand ;)

we also discovered that planktons are like fireflies as well. the donsol river was rich with plankton so that when the boatmen stirred the water with the oars, they will light up as well.

it was also an opportunity for jay, may and dong to teach me the finer things about using the bulb feature of a dslr, in the dark.

this is the best i can come up with using the nikon d50. with may's help i might add. just wanted to pinch myself for not exactly getting acquainted with the cam so that i can properly use it to capture how the fireflies danced along the branches of the talisay tree. i am sorry if you are going to strain your eyes with the above photo. hehe then again, there are things best seen with your own eyes as it is the best camera of all :)

Better pix of the fireflies here :)

the whole experience was enlightening as it was only then that i gave it thought that i was lucky to have played with fireflies in my childhood. i know not all have that privilege.

meeting the butandings

2009-02-27T18:18:00.005+08:00

our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer)

BIO wannabees

spot the butanding!

i can finally lay claim that i swam with the butandings of donsol!
i love snorkeling, i love the sea and i am not really a swimmer but i just had to meet the butandings!

we had 2 briefings which were pretty important if we want to keep the butandings coming back to donsol. a video briefing giving out instructions and guidance on how we should behave. after all, this was butanding turf. :) the second briefing was that from the BIO who gave specific instructions that we just had to follow him.

when our BIO said "baba!", i just did so. not minding (and realizing later) that this deep blue expanse was 150m++ deep. holy cow!

and the butandings did not disappoint. they were quite the gentle ang gracious host just letting us swim up to them. of course we had to be careful not to get caught by their tail nor to even attempt to touch them.

it was a very unnerving but exhilirating experience to meet up front these gentle creatures. and yes, they do have this huge mouths!

if there is one regret i have, it was for lack of a picture-taking opportunity with them. hmm...it looks like i really need that digital underwater camera after all.

borrowing a pix taken of one of the butandings we met :)

Shy Mayon

2009-02-27T17:43:00.006+08:00

from the hotel, marred by man-made "useful things"

@ the "our lady of the gate" church

@cagsawa ruins after circling the heart of albay

@ the mayon resthouse's planetarium

at the mayon rest house, still hiding

as seen at the cagsawa ruins

mt mayon i realized was quite a bashful one. i had dreamt of seeing mt mayon in all its naked glory, with nary a cloud on its majestic bearing. alas, it was not meant to be.

i had to content with seeing glimpses of its near-perfect cone but i was comforted with the thought that some visitors never got to get a glimpse of that until their nth visit.

one hint though given to us by the children who sell their wares and offer trick shot tips, mt mayon keeps a 6am to 7am schedule. so, for those whose lifelong dream is to see mayon up close and personal, you know when to go to cagsawa!

the plight of an ofw and his child

2009-02-03T09:21:00.002+08:00

scene: at a gasoline station
ian : dad, diha na lang diay ka apply og work ? nag wanted man na sila...

this was conversation that transpired between my brother who is set to go back to china to resume work and his eldest, a smart-aleck 8 yr. old girl. sweet but poignant, right?

my neices have always been told that their dad needs to work outside of the country to be able to prepare for their future and send them to the best school and provide them with a comfortable living.

as adults, we know the sacrifice involves a battle with homesickness, getting used to a foreign culture and other sacrifices an ofw would have to make.

but this convo made me realize and think how a child feels when they are made to understand the situation. especially when they are made to feel they are the reason why one of the parents has to be away.

as children, we have been oblivious to how our parents had to make ends meet. what matters is we have our parents and siblings with us and that food, no matter how scant is always there for the family to share.

as children become adults though, what we experienced in our childhood (especially if it had been rough) is something we don't want our children to experience. such is the case with my brother. perhaps this is something that the children of OFW must be made to understand.

we tend to protect the young from the harsh realities of life. but seldom do we share why we do so. a better understanding of how things come to be can be a way to soften the harshness and make them focus on appreciating the time they have with their parents.

piecing things together

2009-01-25T13:28:00.004+08:00

my sis got me back to this. pressures at work have been getting to me and i needed another way to relax without necessarily hurting by wallet. seeing her put together a very pink and shocked snoopy made me think it would do me well to have a diversion.

it is pretty hard to find a really good jigsaw puzzle in cebu. good thing that powerbooks had a new set of jigsaw puzzles available. and this kandinsky puzzle seemed something worth hanging on the wall as soon as i put it together.

opening it though made me realize that the jigsaw puzzles i did usually had my sis doing the brunt of the work hehe. was almost tempted to seal the box and send it over to the US for her to while her time away. sorting the pieces by color or pattern was a little overwhelming. but in the end, as a finally watched the pieces spread over and after putting a few pieces fit, i am optimistic! God knows how long this is going to take to put together, get framed and hang on the wall. But i know i will get there. if all always, fails, i can always count on nolan hehe.

(unintentional) eavesdropping

2008-12-31T01:05:00.003+08:00

after a day of housework (and yes, i do the occasional-clean-the-house act) and nolan's day of tennis (playing with fingers only!), we went out for coffee to unwind. the original plan was to check out the new starbucks shop but it closed too early for us thus we ended up in mcdo for some reason. i guess the (4th) starbucks planner can wait :)

anyways, after discussing mundane things like the recent bank holidays of the rural banks and the recent christmas revelry and nice TODOs for the new year, we were drawn to the talk of barely legal teens simply because they were talking so loud it felt like we were part of their clique.

listening to them talk (oh well, we could not help but hear them anyway so might as well listen hehe) made us realize how different most teens now while away their time. while they talk of getting drunk at some gas station after a few hours at a local bar, our nights back then was either at home or the occasional birthday parties. but then again, maybe nolan and i were an exception even then. :)

we finally had our peace after the barely legal teens went off to wherever they were going to spend the rest of the evening.

soon after, i caught myself eavesdropping again. this time, i was wishing i knew how to do sign language so i can understand what some deaf-mutes were talking about. they seemed so animated and loud in their conversation.

so that was how our evening went. an evening of unintentional eavesdropping.
fun, informative, reflective. :)

judging a book by its cover

2008-12-18T13:48:00.003+08:00

picture this.

in an elevator, 2 women facing each other.

one was wearing stiletto heels, skinny jeans and an equally revealing blouse covered (modestly) with a semi-formal jacket. she is armed with some chichiria and sneakily munching away (sneakily as she was hiding it in her jacket from time to time).

the other was wearing chucks, hipster jeans and an anime character shirt. she is trying to get some kick into her system with starbucks.

it is tough to tell i daresay who has more work "responsibilities" or who has a higher pay for that matter.

bacolod!

2008-11-01T19:28:00.006+08:00

fullly costumed dancers

when fully garbed, no reason to be shy, right?

all you need is your own camera, no ids required!

yummy hot piaya :)

i finally got the chance to visit bacolod last year and the excuse was the masskara festival :)

bacolod had always been a so near and yet so far affair for me. there had been a number of invitations extended but it was only recently that the group just agreed at the spur of the moment to ask jay to invite us over :)

masskara was not as grandiose as the sinulog but it was still something to marvel at. the maskara that the dancers wore were not as light as how they appeared. i tried one on and was surprised at their weight and it was hot wearing it as well!

mambukal resort and its hot springs was also something that would definitely be a come on for others wanting to see bacolod.

what capped a very relaxing and entertaining stay was eating hot piaya :) it was realization that piaya does not flake that much when it is hot. so for those who love piaya and just buy their stock from the grocery, try heating it first. i still have to try though which works best, microwave or toast it in the oven.

what i loved about bacolod was that it just had the right taste of urban life in a very laid back atmostphere. we are definitely going to be back as we felt there is so much more to see and experience :)

a love story

2008-09-12T12:51:00.002+08:00

sharing with you a love story. :)

i have seen how utterly devoted he is.
lucky girl! but i know the girl deserves it in more ways than one.

Teody and Tisha

asking for a raise

2008-08-14T15:21:00.002+08:00

how do we in fact ask for a (salary) raise in the PH?

we do have the labor unions organizing rallies to press for an increase in the daily wage but i have yet to see the other working sector go to the streets to do this. oops, with the exception of the public school teachers i suppose.

is it a matter of changing jobs (i.e. companies) in the hope of getting a higher salary and better benefits?

in my more than a decade of working in the IT industry, i have seen people leave because they managed to get higher-paying jobs. never mind that they have to relocate. it seems that the relocation added a spice of adventure in this case. for those who chose to stay, they relied on performance evaluations to be able to get the annual salary increases. sadly, the increases sometimes do not even cover for inflation. there were cases where an open-forum brought about issues related to salaries forward but there was never a clear demand for the increase. just "suggestions" which where either ignored or simply discarded. :)

i have not heard of someone (i actually know) marching up to the bosses and asking for an increase. or hearing of someone getting fired because of it (as foreign comics) would suggest. hehe

is this an asian thing? or is my world just so culturally isolated that i have not seen this? or was i just under the radar then with respect to office gossip? :)

in any case, managers (esp. foreigners or western-thinking bosses) may need to be more attuned to how we feel (about salaries & benefits). that we may not always be assertive to say what we want and that we have this tendency of spreading this using a proxy or sending out feelers. and if the feelers or proxy do not make any headway, we simply look for other opportunities.

saying goodbyes and so longs

2008-08-04T10:18:00.002+08:00

i had the briefest of chats today. the brief chat though got me to thinking.

for the past months, i have seen people come and go.

those who go are never wished a so long and good luck on your new journey.
people are only expected to just miss the person out of the blue and realize that they are gone.
some people though just can't go without saying their thank-yous and goodbyes. they do so with one last email. but nothing official is said about their leaving.

the rationale (i think) is that those who are left behind will be affected if they know people are leaving. that they will be affected too much to think of leaving themselves or get people to think why they are staying.

but shouldn't it be a case of saying our goodbyes and so longs properly and in the same context letting people know exactly why they are leaving? of course we expect things to be done in a "nice" way that will not burn bridges we may have to cross (again) sometime soon. after all, the message is really as good as how it is delivered.

that not officially announcing will have the message of "if you go, you will not be missed at all"? that you are not even worth a formal goodbye? and this actually can get people to thinking that they are not really worth that much?

i always thought that we just need to expect people to be mature enough to take things as they are. and if they don't, then we deal with them then.

dealing with clients

2008-07-30T17:18:00.003+08:00

dealing with clients. it comes with the job. more so in my job as a software project manager. sometimes, i feel that we get paid more because of this responsibility over our planning and management tasks.

i have seen different versions but for this purpose, i just want to categorize them into 2: the (seemingly) perfect clients and the i-want-to-strangle-you-but-cant clients.

the perfect clients. these are the people who are very kind and generous that sometimes you can't help but ask what you have done to deserve them! other than the attitude, they allow for you to do what you are being paid to do. they do not micromanage. they provide you with enough room to make decisions while not losing sight of what their product goals are. these are the clients that you want to work with for the rest of your life and welcome them as part of your family! these clients may get angry but they are normally justified in blowing their top. and if they do, they get right back to business and try to help out fix the issues (where they can help).

and there are the i-want-to-strangle-you-but-cant clients. these come in different forms.
there are chameleon types who are one-minute very nice and suddenly utterly vicious. and that is with no provocation. there are also the i-know-it-all clients who dont-know-anything-at-all normally coming in different gradients. there are clients who are so close-minded that you need all your wits about you just to stay sane.

and how do i deal with clients? i simply believe in the maxim: patience is a virtue.
but patience does not mean being a push-over. patience means taking your time to make them see how things are and how things should be done.

and if push comes to shove, make them see the folly of their mistakes - firsthand.

so far, my approach has been working. or so i think ....

jetlagged!

2008-07-29T21:41:00.004+08:00

and i refused to admit it :)

but it had been a fast and furious 2 weeks that saw my body clock really whacked out.

imagine this. leaving and arriving on the same day. after 2 1/2 days, needing to adjust the body clock again to another time zone.. in a few days time, adjusting again for an hour and after a few days adjusting to another time zone again. going through 3 time zones - and that's only on the way home :)

so i was not really jetlagged. i just had lesser sleep than usual and it finally caught up with me in cebu. really. ;)

good charlotte & casting crowns

2008-07-29T21:21:00.002+08:00

unlike movies that have a specific sound track, most of us have specific soundtracks at certain stages in our life. soundtracks that we associate with memorable moments.

i had compiled some music that for the most part of this year (and late last year) has been a staple on my car stereo. and yes, that included good charlotte's good morning revival. this is easily one of my recent favorites.

listening to this soundtrack of most of my current life in my current company always brings back memories of being in the swirl of things - technology and simply being at the core of changing things. yes, it was a very good time for me. it was a time of realizing people do see what i can put on the table. it was a time of working with one of the best minds and (with the right attitude! to boot) in my career in IT. it was a stressful time as well. but stress is nothing compared to the drive to see things change. of believing in something.

but things change. whether we like it or not. and so did my soundtrack. now it is more of the casting crowns' altar and the door.

and for some reason, i realize that my soundtrack is not much with the lyrics. it is more of the energy that the music brings.

in a few months time, i know that i will probably be changing soundtracks again. whatever it is, only time will tell. :)

a glimpse of bogo, cebu

2008-05-11T17:46:00.004+08:00

for 3 years now, me and my brother have been paying homage to sr. san vicente ferrer, bogo's patron saint. here are some photos i took of their century++ old and very beautiful church.

fruit trees

2008-05-11T17:10:00.004+08:00

one lazy sunday found me trying to make a stock inventory of the fruit-bearing trees we have in our yard.

our mango tree decided to bear a few this year.

our nangka is quite prolific.

tambis! ours is bigger than the usual tambis.

coconut!

our lomboy is sickly though..

we also have banana, atis and chinese iba but failed to take a picture though. but with the recent rice shortage, maybe we should start planting camote and corn. rice just aint possible since our area is not that big hehe.

manggang hilaw

2008-04-19T15:29:00.003+08:00

this is how i eat my manggang hilaw (green mango). soy sauce + brown sugar and a little salt at the side. i do like bagoong from time to time but either this or just plain salt works for me! hmm..my mouth is watering again...

a tricycle ride

2008-04-05T19:46:00.003+08:00

we took a tricycle ride to the meeting point for the island hopping dong had planned to mark his birthday. but this post is not about that. :)

the beauty of being a passenger is that i get to take a look at the scenery and see how people go about their lives. the more one is able to do this since tricycles generally run really slow. now matter how hard the motor grunts, the one we were riding was really trudging along.

subdivisions, resorts, condominiums sprouting where shrubs used to.
there was an old woman cleaning a car in the garage. a barber doing his thing. a few teenagers strolling along the side of the narrow street. and of course the tricycle driver who was concentrating on getting us to our destination.

as always, it crossed my mind whether life was harsh for them. most of them work and really sweat to get food on the table and perhaps even have to skip meals simply because they cannot afford it. but perhaps they sleep better at night.

and where was i going with this post? i feel guilty for at times splurging on things and justifying it because i worked hard for it. i feel guilty of paying for dinner that cost more than the mandated daily wage.

in the end though, it is really how we appreciate what we have now and giving it value. and to thank God for all these.

fixing broken windows

2008-03-27T20:55:00.003+08:00

this is the sight i pass by each day i go to work. not a pretty sight aye? and this is just for one stretch. i know it is all over the place. it bespeaks of the underlying lawlessness that if left unchecked will definitely make the city one of the undesirables.

i don't think the city government of lapu-lapu has heard of this - fixing broken windows. or they may have heard of it but may have other priorities. but then again, maybe we need another election before things get cleaned up.

fixing broken windows simply mean fixing things while they are small. it makes sense to me. better to put out a small fire rather than deal with a conflagration.

playing with my cam -

2008-03-20T19:04:00.004+08:00

this is what happens when i am bored and i have my cam around...

chancing upon verni varga

2008-03-20T18:46:00.002+08:00

we managed to catch the last portion of her free show at ayala cebu. verni varga is probably one of the best visayan voices around. she doesn't simply sing, she performs. she really is good with scat. thanks ayala center for the special treat for free!

- i offer my life -

2008-03-01T19:21:00.003+08:00

this is one of my all-time favorite songs.
it humbles me, keeping me grounded.

===

: - I Offer My Life :
by dan moen

(Verse 1)
All that I am, all that I have
I lay them down before you, oh Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaims
The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours

(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life

(Verse 2)
Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes, alll of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to you

(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life

(Bridge)
What can we give
That you have not given?
And what do we have
That is not already yours?
All we possess
Are these lives we're living
That's what we give to you, Lord

(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life

(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Lord I offer you my life

thank God it's friday

2008-02-22T22:15:00.005+08:00

this week was particularly taxing and i was developing sinusitis.
and when i get tired, i tend to get easily irritated (well, who doesn't?) :)
and in times like these, my little tongue can be a little harsh.
so i tend to clam up. biting my lip instead of saying something i may not be able take back.

the downside to this is that every time i clam up, they assume i was upset over something. but then again, it does sound strange when someone as opinionated as me suddenly stops talking. hehe.

granting this but really. there are just times when i just want to listen. it can get really tiring. hearing your voice over and over again. just because no one else is talking, it doesn't have to mean i have to take the slack, right? i can be part of the mute(d) audience from time to time...but definitely not for long. hehe

and this post has this title because i started writing it on friday.