SAMU'T SARI & SUNDRY

Life in Seclusion

2010-09-23T23:19:00.003+08:00

This blog has been in hibernation for such a long time. Every month since it was last updated, I always had something in mind to talk about. But the rebel in me tried to stop this "nonsense" thing I started prevailed, as if blogging was something bad. Of course not. So not! Anyway, it succeeded just that to stop me from updating this page.

Until something happened.

Since the start of this month, I have been hibernating at home because of this injury that I acquired while playing badminton. My left Achilles Tendon ruptured. It was nasty. It is nasty...still! It was like a bomb waiting to explode. I didn't even do anything acrobatic or gymnastic. It was just a simple stride reaching for the ball, and then I heard a loud popping sound! It felt like someone hit me hard from the back which pushed me to fall on the ground. I was able to stand afterwards, but my muscles can't make the foot move forward. There it goes, the tendon gave up on me.

23 days on, five visits to the hospital, three changes of the cast, one ankle support/brace, two MRI scans, one X-ray, three ortho surgeons - the prospects are not any better. I still can't step on the sore leg. The visit to the hospital today proved to be the most emotionally-draining of all. The MRI scan showed an "almost 100% fully ruptured" tendon. My leg is at a mercy of few hairline tendons that are hanging in there. Lifting the surgeon's words, "there is a 99% probability that you will need a surgery". I was devastated. I felt like I wanted to cry. First time during this whole ordeal.

So many things brewed in my mind. I might lose my job. I might not be able to sing in the concert (will write about this on another post - promise!). I miss my mom. I miss my walking days. I will need to cancel all holiday plans. I will incur additional costs. I might not still be able to walk when I go home for Christmas. I might lose my sanity. Bwahahaha! And so on.. and so forth...

I figured, this is a test of my spirit. I need to hang in there, just like the few strands of tendons/ligaments that is keeping my foot "still" attached to the rest of the leg. To the leg where it belongs...rightfully.....errr leftfully. Hahaha!

I have few days to think about before I finally meet a panel of surgeons to discuss my case and present to me my options. I need all the guidance that i can solicit. I hope I will make the right choice.

Help me O Lord!

Pathetic

2009-05-27T11:07:00.005+08:00

Pathetic.

That's exactly how I am feeling now. Ang sakit!!!!!!!!!! Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!

Why do people keep on hurting each other? Can this world just go on without hurting, violence and animosity.

Spread love everybody!

I love you all! :)

Oh, by the way, did I mention I was listening to Christmas Carols this morning? That's how pathetic....

I need someone to hug me tight....

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No day but today! - from Rent

Closure

2009-05-22T00:01:00.006+08:00

Someone told me before that for one to be able to move on (on whatever scenario would that be), a closure is necessary. Yes, that was the word used - necessary. Of course, the conceited me will not easily give in to such "crappy" suggestion. Pardon my word but that' s how I reacted to it the first time I heard.

Not until last weekend.

Last week, for the first time in my life, I felt I needed to be somewhere else alone. Not that I have not travelled alone yet, but most of them were work trips. So I am kinda used of being a solo traveller. In other words, soloista! Hahaha, parang sa choir! Anyway, last Wednesday, I felt the need for one and quickly went to the Budget Airlines Websites from my list of FAVORITES on my ever-friendly Internet Explorer. I wanted to go to a place I have never been (and there's still a lot of them out there) at the cheapest cost. To cut the story short, I booked a roundtrip ticket for 3 days in Phuket, Thailand.

There, I did nothing but eat, sleep, massage, drink, eat, sleep. I brought my camera but I took only 4 pics (all of them rejects when i opened them in my PC). Did not do any of the touristy stuff (except if you consider the massage as one). Just did some soul-searching and I think I did find it. Met few solitary souls along the way, but that would be another story altogether.

I don't know if this is even worth writing, but I think it was a monumental step for me. I called my ex-hunny the moment I came back from Thailand and asked her that we have a talk. And so we did. It was a very emotional moment for both of us but we were able to clear things up. Ang hirap pala ng ganun, we confessed that we still love each other but we decided that it is best for both of us to just be apart. But at least now, we can now clearly draw the line and stand where we both should be standing. No more gray areas. It's clear as the yellow lines in the smoking area, or the red lines in the bus lanes. I'm on this side, she's on the other side.

That's a closure, and now we can both move on.

I feel great now, and lousy at the same time.

Sigh....

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No day but today! - from Rent

Quick Update

2009-04-23T17:07:00.004+08:00

As promised to my friend Nina, I am posting a quick update here on my blog.... Though there's really nothing much happening on my life now. As in very uneventful! ....sigh.....

Travel - not so much travel on the past few months, excepting 2 trips to Sydney, flights back home for Christmas and for Easter

Photography - did on-location shoots at the Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, Chinatown, Wolfgang Concert at the Esplanade

Badminton - been very slack in this area as well. For the past 4 months, only played twice. Bad!

Lovelife - after the last relationship, wala pa rin bago! Not that I am actively looking for a partner now. I still believe that she will arrive in my life in God's time. But I am praying to have one soon! Hehehe!

Sexlife - a completely different story. Need I say more?

Work - nothing changed, except on the daunting uncertainties brought about by the 2009 Economic crisis. Sana di ako makasama sa Recession statistics.

Ayan, more next time.

Have a nice day everyone....

Oh, by the way, I am hooked in Facebook. Hahaha! That's the major update in my life! Yo!

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No day but today! - from Rent

"Pamasko" - A Free Concert At The Esplanade

2008-12-11T17:56:00.005+08:00

Celebrate the holiday season at The Esplanade with a feast of events from Christmas carolling to music performances by some of your favourite local artists and ensembles. And don’t forget to pen a wish on the wishing charms!

Featuring Filipino Artists Babes Conde (composer, arranger, singer and vocal coach of the stars), Robert Sunga (of TV's "Live the Dream" fame) and the PsalmiDeo Chorale (an all-Filipino choir composed of young and talented professionals based in Singapore)! Yes, that's the Choir I am part of here in Singapore.

Concert Segment: "Pamasko (Christmas Offering)"
Concert Dates: 13 & 14 December 2008
Concert Times: 19:30–20:15 20:45–21:30 22:00-22:45
Duration: 45 minutes per set*
Ticket Price: $0.00 (it's for FREE!)
Venue: Esplanade Open Ampitheatre

*13-Dec (Sat) has three sets and 14-Dec (Sun) has only 2 sets.

13 Dec 2008 (Saturday)
19:30 - 20:15 Performance 1
20:45 - 21:30 Performance 2
22:00 - 22:45 Performance 3

14 Dec 2008 (Sunday)
19:30 - 20:15 Performance 4
20:45 - 21:30 Performance 5

The Venue: Esplanade Open Ampitheatre

Here is the choir's repertoire for the concert:
(1.) Kumukutikutitap
(2.) Diwa ng Pasko
(3.) Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin
(4.) Simbang Gabi
(5.) Christmas Praise
(6.) Anong Gagawin Mo Ngayong Pasko
(7.) Ikaw Lamang

I know this is not at the main Concert Hall or at the Sydney Opera House or at the Carnegie Hall, but I am nonetheless very excited and vexed at the same time. I can literally fell pins and needles on my legs. Break a leg!

Hope to see you all there!

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No day but today! - from Rent

F1 Fever.....Still on!

2008-10-20T18:14:00.003+08:00

Last September 28, 2008, Singapore etched itself into the history books for staging the first night race ever in the history of Formula 1 Grand Prix. Not only did it pull a spectacular show, not to mention that the race itself is enough to make everybody salivate, it was able to showcase to the world on how beautiful this Garden city really is. I watched the action Live with my camera on hand and ear plugs (with a discounted ticket - paying only SG$600 for a SG$1,400 priced ticket), but when I watched the replay on the TV, the Singapore skyline was really amazing.

From an amateur photographer's perspective, it was a mixture of excitement and trepidation for me. I was excited to be able to finally watch the real cars pass by at an average of 300km/h and yet I was apprehensive whether I will be able to get good shots of them. 61 laps of 20 cars oozing is obviously more than enough to get at least one good shot, but I had to remember that I still had the show to catch and never wanting to miss even a bit of the action. True enough, the race didn't fail to provide enough dramas. Starting with the pit stop/fuel nozzle incident for Felipe Massa of Ferrari, to the accidents involving the reigning World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, Nelson Piquet and Adrian Sutil, to the presence of 2 safety cars, and to the shoot-to-the-top victory of Fernando Alonzo, they all added to my first real-circuit experience of F1.

I waited for this race with MacLaren as my team-to-root, and I wasn't totally disappointed with the result. Of course, I wished that Lewis Hamilton will win, but his finishing third as compared to his Brazilian rival Massa's 13th position for this year's world Championship is good enough to give him more points for the Championship race.

And with Fuji (Japan) and Shanghai (China) races are over - with Lewis winning the China leg - I can almost smell the victory for Lewis and setting yet another world record for being the youngest and first Black to win the Championship. But it won't be an easy task for him because Massa will have the home-circuit advantage when they take the last race in Brazil in two weeks time. Lewis just needs at least a fifth position to clinch the victory. But I won't mind a starting pole and a podium finish for him.

The F1 Fever is really still on.... I can't wait for the staging of Singtel Singapore Grand Prix 2009. Trust me, nothing beats the real thing. If you get the chance to watch it next year, come and you will not be disappointed.....guaranteed!

Here are some of the pics I have taken. Not very fantastic but I think they are good enough for my satisfaction. Anyway, I still have next year's race to practise on.

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No day but today! - from Rent

Batjet's Meme And My New Toy

2008-05-08T00:22:00.007+08:00

I got this meme from Tita Batjet. The tag requires you to write few words on how the name of your blog was coined. Since she was one of the reasons or influences why I have this blog in the first place,(see my first post) I am very more than willing to oblige and do the meme.

Samu't Sari & Sundry, bow!

When I first started this page, I was literally just starting to get acquainted with the world of blogging. Even though I've been hearing so much from them about blogging, I wasn't really very interested to find out what was it all about. Ika nga nila, if you can't beat them, join them. And so I did.

About the blog's name, I had no idea what will it be all about. I just knew then that I will try to write something of just about anything, hence the first phrase - Samu't Sari. But to add a little personal touch to it, I added the word Sundry. Me, being an accountant, we always use the word Sundry to record transactions that are not directly classifiable under the natural accounts. Blah, blah, blah! So ayun, yung blog ko talaga ay walang katuturan at walang direksyon. But what the heck, after almost three years, I've posted more than 100 entries, but that is really immaterial to the many friends Ive known through this. The only regret I have is that I should have started earlier. O, ayan! Phew!

Ok, on a lighter note, I finally gave in to my urge to buy a zoom lens for my camera. It's not due for another three months but I started having sleepless nights just thinking about it.

Last weekend, I went to the Botanical Gardens to give a break-in try of this toy. So far, I'm liking the result. Here are few shots of it.

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No day but today! - from Rent

Theme No 3: Church and Religion

2008-04-23T02:48:00.004+08:00

Singapore, being a multi-racial country (of course multi-religion too), one would expect that there will be a lot of inspirations and possible shoot locations for this theme. True to the very essence of that statement, but I found it very challenging for me. I brought my camera almost everyday last week, walked around to shoot some, but I ended up getting frustrated everyday. Ironic!

I tried the mosques, the joos sticks ceremonies of the Buddhists, went to Little India, took some pictures of the churches around, tried taking picture of my rosary and bible - but nothing seemed to work for me. I almost gave up, can't think of any other way to get a picture for this theme.

Then one day, I ended up in the church where I normally sing (opo kunyaring member po ako ng choir) and ended up taking this picture instead. And I liked it.

What do you think?

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No day but today! - from Rent

Si Batjay Sa Singapore

2008-04-21T22:47:00.012+08:00

Ang saya-saya ko sa nakaraan na linggo kasi nagkaroon ulit kami (kasama ng aking mga kaibigan dito sa Singapore) ng pagkakataon na makasama si Batjay. Syempre, just like any other Singaporized Pinoys here in Singapore, food trip kami, kantahan at tawanan.

Sa unang pagakakataon, nagpunta kami sa Keong Saik Rd (near Chinatwon) para sa famous Curry Fish Head nila. Die-die, must-try!!!! talaga ito. Di ba Jen?

Fast forward to few days after, on his way back to the US, dumaan ulit sya dito sa Singapore. Syempre, kainan ulit. This time we went to Ponggol Marina to have a taste of Pepper Crab at marami pang iba. Then kantahan and chilling-out session na kina Leah at Eder pagkatapos.

Salamat Batjay, sa iyong pagbisita sa amin. Hanggang sa muli!

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No day but today! - from Rent

Theme No. 2: Self-Portraiture

2008-04-13T03:17:00.003+08:00

Warning: you might find this post unsual. You might get shocked why I am posting my picture here. In relation to my previous post on the weekly photography effort for my group, this week's theme is none other than....danan!!!!!!!! "Self-Portraiture'.

I don't know how this came up so soon in the categories, but yeah, I still need to take picture of myself. Thanks for the help of my camera timer, my tripod and a friend who held the flash gun for me. The challenge was more difficult that I ever imagined. Managing the light intensity, the angle, the color temperature, the shadows, the depth of field - these are just some of the things that need to be factored when doing portraiture. We took approximately 50 photos, and i think there were only two shots that at least passed my expectation. Not bad for a first try, huh!

So here's my entry for this week.

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No day but today! - from Rent

Batang Kaning Lamig - Book Launch

2008-04-11T10:53:00.003+08:00

Hear ye, hear ye! Batjay is coming to town again!

His second book, Batang Kaning Lamig, will be launched at Fully Booked (at The Fort) on Monday, 14th of April 2008 at 3pm. I'm sure this will be another one-hell-of-an-experience. If you could find time to visit the event on Monday, that would be cool. Besides, you will finally get the chance to listen, to see and to get inspired by this very down-to-earth person.

Kudos, Batjay!

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No day but today! - from Rent

Architecture: Lines and Curves

2008-04-06T22:36:00.007+08:00

My badminton group here in Singapore, which happened to have members who are crazy about photography in addition to the badminton craze, decided to use some of our spare time (when not in the court playing or at someone else's house partying) to be more serious about photography. Starting last week, we will have a weekly theme. Members are to take pictures revolving around the theme and is to submit his/her one chosen picture. The picture must be taken during the week and with minimal Post Processing (PP). Minimal post processing is subjective but we are not very stringent about it. Cropping and exposure adjustment can be used. What the heck, we are not professionals and some of us wants to learn PP as well. Should there be any PP done on the picture, we are required to disclose them when submitting the picture and we provide the original shot.

The theme for last week is "Architecture: Lines and Curves".

Last Tuesday, I walked around near the office (after office hours of course) and took few shots with the theme in mind. Since I was only allowed to submit one and I had two pics on my final list, I am posting them here instead. Hahaha.

Here are they.... Please let me know what do you think of them.

The Concourse: A Last Look At An Urban Honeycomb

The Concourse is the building next to my office, and it is about to be demolished to give way to a new building. So i thought, I'll take a picture of it before it's forever gone.

Benjamin Sheares Bridge: The Pillars

This is the first bridge that you would cross when you are going to downtown Singapore from the Changi Airport if you are taking the East Coast Parkway (ECP), which is normally the fastest route to the CBD. The access to the park below the bridge is just a 5-8 minute walk from my office.

Because of my busy schedule last week, I was able to allocate only one night for the project and just around my perimeter.

Oh, by the way, I submitted the first picture.

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No day but today! - from Rent

Another Dose Of Joloism

2008-03-30T22:13:00.003+08:00

Two years ago, I wrote something about Jolo, a friend's son. I'm coining a new Owenictionary word from him. The word is Joloism.

\ˈjō-lō-i-zəm\ - the expression of Jolo's thoughts on just about anything..... Hahaha!

Few days ago, I got the chance to encounter this young mind again and as usual, I was blown away. They came here to Singapore for a brief visit as a relative of theirs had a surgery (masectomy) because of breast cancer - (Btw, the operation was very successful). We only had at most 1.5 hours to catch up and we decided to have breakfast together at their hotel.

Halfway through the conversation, my friend reminded Jolo.....

Mom: "See Jolo, life is full of surprises. We should always try to stay healthy at all times. Eat the right food, exercise and think of happy thoughts.
Jolo: "Ok"

Silence.....

Two minutes after, Jolo came back with....

Jolo: "Mommy, what if eating junk foods and being lazy give me happy thoughts?"
Me: ~puzzled look~
Mom: "What do you mean?"
Jolo: "I can just imagine myself eating a lots of ice cream and chips, seated on the sofa and watching TV. I'm sure that will make me very happy."

Both of us wanted to laugh but we needed to control ourselves as the kid might take it differently. The mom could only say this.....

Mom: "Jolo, we have to be balanced with everything. We can eat foods like that once in a while, we can watch TV once in a while, but we have to consciously exert efforts to at least to eat healthy, and have plenty of exercise.

I felt good seeing them again!

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No day but today! - from Rent

Anchor Away, Angkor Wat

2007-10-31T21:34:00.002+08:00

Note: I saw this saved under my Drafts, and even though it's passe, I'll publish it anyway. I prepared this entry October 31, 2007.

My apologies. ~Owen (26 March 2008)

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When I saw the finalists for the selection of the New Seven Wonders of the Modern World few months back, I knew right there and then that I should make a visit to Siem reap, Cambodia. In this place we can locate the famous Angkor Wat, which is the center of the ancient city of Angkor. It didn't make it to the final seven, but even before the announcement was made, together with two of my closest colleagues (Roger and Anita), we decided to venture in a 5-day trip to visit the closest (probably cheapest and easiest) among the nominees. And it did happen this month.

Armed with our Canon cameras, we braved to wake up early in the morning despite the sleepless nights we had before we took our flight from Singapore.

This glorious sunrise was really worth the early wake up call.

Being cheapskates that we are, we only rented a tuk-tuk as our designated transport throughout the 5-day period.

Armed with detailed guide books and the plenty of research Roger did before we had the trip, we didn't hire a tour guide. The Tuk-tuk driver was enough for us as he goes to the temples so often, and he has been very well informed from the years of taxiing tourists from the town proper to the World Heritage Sites.

We spent hours and hours of studying the walls, the relics if you will, the carvings, referring from the guide books, and sometimes shooting random questions to the aplenty number of tour guides hired by the other tourists.
Have we found a match for Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile? Hmmmm.....what do you think?

Lastly, i am not surprised that Angelina Jolie adopted a Cambodian. These innocent faces really charm anybody who encounters them. Siem Reap, being a very touristy place, these kids have a very good command of the English language, and a few French lingo that comes with it. I always brought with me packs of chocolates to distribute to kids, and more often than not, you will get a reply from them, "Chocolat! merci messeur!" How lovely!

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No day but today! - from Rent

Can You Spell RELIEF?

2007-09-13T23:04:00.000+08:00

When I was still in the US, 63 days before I was about to come back here in Singapore I knew right there and then that Singapore would be the place for me, at least for the next few years. The only reason why I delayed applying for my permanent residency (PR) status here in Singapore (I was eligible to apply two years ago) was because my boss hinted to me that i might be given the chance to work at our Corporate Office, and I didn't want to apply for my PR until I found out whether I would want to live in the US or not. American dream was something in my mind before. Not anymore. And so the moment I reached Singapore last June, I started compiling all my documents and did submit my application few weeks after. And six weeks after, I got the approval. I was elated.

Anyway, one of the requirements before the application is finalized is for the applicant to pass the medical examination. In this particular medical examination, they are only testing two aspects - whether one has Tuberculosis (TB) or if one is a carrier of the reactive/HIV+ virus. As for the TB, I am certain I dont have one. Symptoms for TB are so obvious, and I was not showing any. But for the HIV part, it was a clincher. I've been to numerous medical checkups already in my life, but with this specific checkup, I went through hyperparanoia. I can't believe my heartbeats were in pandemonium right after the blood sample was extracted from my left arm until I got the results the day after. I am confident I am clean but for some reasons, I was so nervous.

Trying to talk it out with my friends, they were laughing at me. Or maybe they were just laughing outside but maybe deep inside them, they were disgusted at me. Who knows? I came up of few reasons why I felt that way.

As mentioned above, I wanted this PR thingy very much. And it was almost at my fingertips, pending my clean bill of health. So I was freaking out that I might fail just because of the freakin virus on my blood.
For the past few years, I have always been going diligently for my annual comprehensive medical checkup, but all of them were done purely on my own personal accord. The last one was done weeks before I went for US. I was doing it for myself. But this thing is different, someone else is asking me to do it for them. It felt weird, I felt I was trying to prove something to them. Kinda pressured there huh.
In the current society that we live in, there's a lot of educating that needs to be done to people when it comes to HIV/AIDS. I don't know personally any HIV or AIDS carrier yet but I know that the stigma to your person if you got it would be tumultous. One of my realizations while waiting for my results to be released was that I'd rather have any disease like cancer, Parkinson's disease, dementia or any disease but AIDS. I would be a pariah anyhow, but with AIDS it would be different. Oooopppsss, but not really, i don't want any of those diseases. Touch wood!
I can confidently say that I have lots and lots of friends now and I am afraid I am going to lose them all just because a virus takes hold on my blood. I am not telling my friends will actually leave me if ever, but it is a fear I have deep inside.

Now that I got a clean bill, I am happier 200% than before I went for the checkup. Not only that I can spell RELIEF now, I can spell it with feelings now. Here goes (deep breath*), H-I-V N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E (smile*)

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No day but today! - from Rent

Pinocchio

2007-08-30T22:08:00.000+08:00

I don't fancy people who tell lies because they make me feel stupid.

I feel stupid.

I am stupid.

To be frank, I don't have the slightest freaking idea what is the truth now. I wanna know the truth and I deserve to know the truth. Pardon my ignorance, but I didn't kill the cat. Aaargghhh, I feel stupid.

Deliver me from the Pinocchios of this world!

Amen.

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No day but today! - from Rent

Buenas Diaz, Ohayo Gozaimasu, Buon Giorno, Selamat Pagi

2007-08-22T00:38:00.000+08:00

Being a nocturnal person (yes my mind is more active in the evenings, and I hate waking up early), the house will be empty by the time I get out of my room in a weekday morning. Everybody would be out, having started their day a lot earlier than me.

So normally the first persons that I will be meeting will either be our condo's gardener or our security guards. I always say "Good Morning!" to all of them and all the other niceties you say when you are happy. I consciously make an effort to greet or either smile at every person I meet in our neighborhood. Of course, there are exceptions - not to the gurangs!

And the niceties will extend until I hop on for my daily 30-minute bus ride. Everytime I greet the bus driver, he will either smile back or say thank you. I never got a "Good Morning" back from them. I don't know why but that's a fact, at least for the last two years I've been doing this.

But last Friday was different. When I said "Good Morning, Uncle!" (we address elderlies here in Singapore, "Uncle" - counterpart to Mama or Po in Tagalog) to the Driver, i got a blank face, a face painted with shock and confusion. I just ignored the indifference and tapped my fare card and stood on the alley. All the seats were taken that morning. But I could see from the rear view mirror that the Uncle has been looking at me. And maybe after 5 minutes, when the bus stopped, he called my attention and motioned me with his hand to go in front. I obliged and went to him. What he uttered surprised me. He said in a Singlish accent, "I have been driving for 8 years already and you are the first one to say Good Morning to me. Thank you and hope you have a nice day, too!"

That made my day!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Canoner!

2007-08-20T00:37:00.000+08:00

When I was doing my blog roll few days back, i came by a post from Abaniko abou his new toy. What a coincidence, I also got my new Canon EOS30D last month. After using my ever loyal Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D for 18 months, and after staying with me with all those 10 thousand-plus pictures (maybe just 1% of those shots were worth showing, but still they helped me honed my still-not-so-good-but-not-too-bad-photography skills), I finally decided to move on to a more promising toy. For those 18 months with KM, I finally realized that I really enjoy this photography thing and it's worth investing with it.

There were few reasons why I made the shift.

Just 5 months after I bought my old camera, Konica Minolta sold their camera line of business to Sony. Argh, bummer! When I got it, the only criteria I had was to get something from a company who has been on the lens and camera industry for quite some time already. Canon and Nikon were obviously the leaders but the merger of Konica and Minolta years before pushed to compete with them. I know Sony has since introduced quite few new Carl Seizz lenses, but the choices are not the varied yet, and oh boy, they're so expensive. With Canon, I now have more choices.
On my current badminton group here in Singapore, there are 7 of us who are into photography, and all the other 6 are all using Canon. I was the sore thumb.
Having said that, it gave me more option to swap lenses with my kakis (meaning buddies in the Singaporean slang).
More choices when it comes to accessories, more references available from the magazine stands and book shelfs (almost all photography books and magazines use either Nikon or Canon settings when illustrating/discussing).
Mas maporma

So far, I am still on the process of familiarizing myself into Canon User Interface, but I am liking it so far. The results are really a lot better than my KM. Ditch the old one, I am now a certified Canoner! (tawag ng grupo namin sa mga Canon users).

Sample shots from my toy. Click the images to enlarge.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Madayaw Dabaw

2007-08-14T23:25:00.000+08:00

Whatever you may call it, I was in denial.

It's not 100% true that I hibernated from the blogosphere. I still tried to keep up with my friends' stories and had my share of drafts (unposted though). I was in denial.

Currently on my "Drafts" link, I have 6 articles waiting to be published, but I digress. I just beg not to have them published. Those six articles full of details that chronicle my 6-month stay in US. I made up my mind, I am not posting anything about my US stay. Case closed.

Workwise, coming back to Singapore on June is probably the worst timing of all. The last three weeks of June and the month of July are just the busiest time of year for our Company. So just imagine upon landing in Singapore on a Saturday morning, I just a had a day to recuperate from the dreaded jetlag, and went back to work on the following Monday. And as expected, never-ending work faced me until the end of July. I was burned-out with work.

But came early August, I was able to get my boss sign my Leave Application Form. It was sort of an ambush request actually. Barged into his office (with a pissed-off and serious look on my face) and told him that I need a break and forced him to sign the form. I left his room with a big grin on my face.

First stop - Madayaw Dabaw! Yes, that Philippine's queen city of the South. Though I have been to Davao 7 years ago, I never had any recollection of any sort about the place. Not even the beautiful airport. Was there before for a week-long engagement at the Waterfront Insular Hotel, but my memory failed me terribly. I dont have my own camera then. Purits! Anyway, this time around, I made sure that I will be able to immortalize my visit to this world's biggest city (in terms of land area - beat that!).

Arrived on a Sunday morning, Bingko - a good friend from Singapore (originally from Davao) who happens to be in Davao that time also, fetched me at the airport and went directly to Luz Kinilaw, a very old carenderia-sort of eatery where they serve the best (and cheapest) tuna grills. For a breakfast, we had grilled Bagaybay (male tuna egg) and tuna esophagus (this one is surprisingly huge). Mi-aa-oooiiii!!! Just perfect for a starving Cebu Pacific passenger who left Singapore 6 hours before (with an hour-long layover at Cebu). Picture on left is taken on my flight from Cebu to Davao.

I stayed in one of the budget hotels at Downtown Davao, spent the next 6 hours with 2 pillows and a blanket. We headed to the Crocodile Park (they also have Ostrich, Bengal Tiger, Pythoons and Constrictors)in the afternoon to just try some wildlife shots. Oh by the way, Bingko is our photography guru here in Singapore. Here's a pic of one of the animals in the menagerie! :)

We headed to the Matina Town Square to cap the day with rounds and rounds of San Mig Light, before meeting some friends.

Monday was a complete thrill for me, it was my first try at Scuba Diving. Oh by the way, Bingko is also a licensed Dive Master. All my life, I was never a fan of the oceans. I always admired the mountains better. When I went to New Zealand, I enjoyed more the peaks. But this trip I think is trying to change that. Maybe not a total turnaround, but I appreciate the waters better now. We did the dive at Samal Island.

Oh, Davao offers other forms of Diving as well. *Wink!

On the next Day, we visited Pag-asa. What's a trip to Davao without paying a visit to the regal and kingly Philippine Eagle. I saw Pag-asa (he was on a big cage) but tried my luck with Arnie (I dont know why this eagle is named as such). But it gave us a good show though.

What's a better way of ending a trip to Davao than getting a taste of the best food the place has to offer. Bingko and his good mate Anne joined me in having dinner at the Jack's Ridge, where we had different parts of the infamous tuna. Hahahaha! We went straight to Magsaysay Fruit Station afterwards to get my crate of Pomelo for my Ilocos folks.

I enjoyed.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Back For Good!

2007-07-04T13:56:00.000+08:00

I'm finally back from US and oh boy, it feels so good to be back.

Back to my chili crab, chicken rice and laksa, back to my badminton games, back to endless bus and mrt rides, back to my wacky friends, back to my Clark Quay parties, back to my chill out sessions at Siloso Beach in Sentosa, back to working with the coolest colleagues in the world, and of course...back to blogging.

I missed you all! Now, you can help me pick up things from where they were.

Here's to happy days in Singapore, Cheers!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Please Pray For Me!

2007-05-17T09:31:00.000+08:00

I am trying to cheer myself up but it is not working. I think I am undergoing severe depression.

Please pray for me.

If I survive this, I will soon be back to the "sharing" days. Trust me, I have tons and tons of materials to talk about but I just don't get the motivation to write them. I thought that by at least letting out a little bit of my plight would lighten my worries an burdens.

I plead, please include me in your prayers.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Tell Me How To Go There

2007-02-26T01:32:00.000+08:00

Comparing to Singapore, public transportation here in America is not the best this world has to offer. Going from one point to another, it would be best to drive. Owning a car here is a necessity, it's not a luxury as opposed to Singapore.

For me, one of the challenges is to get around without getting lost and fortunately, there's an abundance of resources that you could obtain help from. Online maps and directories are so accurate that they become your best navigation friends. Mapquest, Yahoo Maps, Google Maps, and Yellow Pages are just among the few online resources, reliable sources that is, that you can always count on. The only thing is, you have to check them first, print it, and then take them with you when driving. Sometimes trying to read what's written on the directions, making sure that you don't miss your turn, trying not to become a hazard to other drivers by driving real slow to make sure you read the street names is definitely not fun at all. It's actually tricky sometimes. Thank goodness, there's this driving-maps-slash-directions gadget for dummies like me.

I am talking about GPS Tracking System for drivers. It's a simple, smart navigation system with voice directions. Turn-by-turn, it will tell you what to do. Sometimes, it gets irritating though as it keeps on repeating the messages. But that should be a good feature to make sure you heard what it said the first time. In 200ft, turn right.

I have tales to tell about these. One of these happen to a colleague who was driving at I-95 FWY. Upon taking the ramp to the FWY, the gadget started telling her to turn around. Turn around now!!!! Turn around now!!! All of the passengers are surprised, what is it talking about. It just keeps on going. Make a right turn now!!! But there's no street to turn to. My colleague started swearing, like you've never heard before. You will be surprised, she is not the swearing kind. #$%$#@^&&&!!!! And it goes on and on!!! She was advised to just turn it off and just follow the road signs, but she can't believe that thing was letting her down. A first for her. Then suddenly, she said, "Da*n, it is set to bicycle mode!" Bwahahaha!

Another one, last week, upon reaching Cleveland from Boston, I met up with some colleagues who are with me with a project. While waiting for our dinner, he took out his GPS gadget. Apparently the gadget saves history of your usage of it. Like what was the last few addresses saved, the last time and length of time it was used, fastest and slowest speed ran while it was used, etc. So he showed us that his fastest so far was 495 mi/h. We can't believe our eyes what the register was showing. Then he said, he turned the gadget on while he was onboard his flight from Baltimore to Cleveland. That's why!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Stars, Stripes, Sun

2007-02-11T13:01:00.000+08:00

One windy winter weekend, I was walking around Washington DC with my wish to witness the wonderful scenes of what the nation's capital at daytime. Went to the White House, to the War Memorials, etc. But one thing captured my attention, the flags were all raised at half mast, apparently for the recent passing of a former president, Gerald Ford.

I took this shot and liked its dramatic outcome.

70mm, F/9, 1/2000 sec, ISO-100

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

My First: American Football

2007-02-05T02:48:00.000+08:00

As I will be here in the US of A for just a limited time, I will try to document as much as I can all the firsts that I will be doing, experiencing, feeling, tasting, etc.

And today, because it is the XLI Super Bowl, a match between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, I will share my maiden experience about American Football.

It all started with the expression of interest to a colleague-friend Patricia to watch a professional football match. I am just amazed with the spread of pictures, articles into front pages of tabloids here about the game. So I said, if only I can share their enthusiasm with the game, I'll be more than delighted. I figured that the best way to do it is to actually watch the game. So Patricia, without me knowing, broadcasted to the whole world that I would want to watch a game, and any spare ticket will be greatly appreciated.

A week after that, I was surprised by my boss that she has two spare tickets for the match between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns on that coming weekend. Not just plain spare tickets, they were on the boxes. Yes on those friggin boxes. I was thrilled, more than anything else.

Since I have two tickets, I asked one of the many former-colleagues from Arthur Andersen who are now based here in Maryland to come and watch the game with me. The experience was surreal!!! The cheers were deafening. If I may add, the fact that we were on a suite (read: there are flowing drinks, nice spread of food, a toilet cubicle 20 steps away, and a heated room in a freezing winter day) made it more memorable.

It was the best Birthday present ever! I had a blast. On that day, the Ravens won a convincing 27-17 slate, and ended being the Division Champion but lost to in the Playoffs. As a kid, I have always wished to see a live professional sports match here in US, and you guessed it, NBA was on the top of my list. But now, no more. But I will still go and see an NBA match one day.

By the time you read this, either the Colts or the Bears must have been crowned new Super Bowl Champs.

But nevertheless, I will still shout, GO RAVENS!!!!!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

My New Zealand Trip in Pics

2007-01-19T09:46:00.000+08:00

I think it is time for these long overdue pics.

I arrived at a time when the seasons are kinda confused whether it's still winter or spring has finally arrived.

My trip started with a quick stop at the North Island's Auckland. Unfortunately, my pics for this stop was totally corrupted. Blame it on my defective memory card. I think I ought to change the title of this post. Ooooppss, don't go away yet!

Next stop is Christchurch, a very aptly name city as evidenced by these pictures.

But aside from these picturesque structures, Christchurch sunsets turn me upside down.

I was asked countless times why Pinoys are very fond of singing. Honestly, I never had a good answer to that. I was amazed by the question actually. But now, I think I know where those inquiries came from.

After few days in Christchurch, the Garden City of New Zealand, I headed down to the Adventure Destination of the country - the beautiful city of Queenstown.

I wasn't able to help myself but to take pictures of these naughty Kiwigirls peeking at your kiwibird while taking a leak.

Visit to Queenstown is not complete without partaking on what it has to offer, earning its monicker as the Adventure Destination of the country. I did just that - enjoyed the slopes of The Remarkables (one of the many locations of the hit movie The Lord of the Rings) Ski Site and did the heart-stopping Bunjy Jump.

Of course, the trip wouldn't have been an enjoyable one without the company of these wonderful hosts. Pamela from Christchurch, Fafatoy and Mariel from Queenstown and of course Michael and Maricel from Auckland.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

New Year, New Location, New Entry!

2007-01-13T02:49:00.000+08:00

Ok, it's time to make amends.

I have to admit I have been a real slacker on the previous four months. Until now, I haven't sorted my New Zealand pics, which I promised on one of my previous posts that I would share, and I still have no plans yet to do them on the next few days. I'm sure, at one point, I will be doing them. But, I don't think it's any good now to do some explaining of my hiatus. So, I figured it would be better for me to just move on and start coming back to my old blogging days, which I, admittedly, enjoyed doing it.

Ok, to start with, I would love to drop my greeting... Happy Birthday to me, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2007 to all! I am thanking everybody as well who sent their well-wishes during the holidays. There's quite a few of you and you know yourselves. Thanks a lot! It was very impolite from my end to have not acknowledged the greetings.

Just to give you a quick update, I am currently here in US since December 2006 and will be here for few more months before going back to sunny Singapore. I am based at our Corporate Office in Columbia, Maryland but I am currently here at Cleveland,Ohio taking part of a systems installation.

So far, things have been very exciting for me. With the past six weeks, a lot of "firsts" have been happening and I would be very glad to be sharing them to you on my next posts. This time, I am confident that I could make up to my promise of giving you more updates.

There you go, the monumental "come back" post is laid down. It really feels good to be back! Really!

I'm finally back!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Happy Birthday Nina!

2006-10-08T23:59:00.000+08:00

8th of October is the birthday of Nina, one of my closest friends from Manila. I'm 99% sure that of all my friends, she is the wittiest of them all. Being witty is of course just one of the good traits that this lady possesses. She's sincere, has a very good sense of humor, and fun-loving. Kahit takot syang tumawid sa kalsada, mahal ko pa rin yan!

Nina, a toast for you today on your birthday!

Happy birthday sweetie!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Kwentong Tambay Ni Nicanor David

2006-09-14T17:05:00.000+08:00

I know most of you must be expecting a chronicle or maybe a photo-post of my trip to New Zealand. But believe it or not, I still think that my mind is not yet there to start the recollection. Being away for a holiday, it only means that I will have to catch up with the emails/work that I need to read (needless to mention) and respond to them. Amazingly, I had to answer 201 emails (excluding personal inbox, spam and junk mails) with that 5-day long absence. Not that I mind doing them, but there’s really no option left for me. Is there?

Even my pics, I haven’t sorted them out from my memory cards/hard drive, and still have to sit down with them, before I can even start a decent post about them. Ooops, as if I have ever written one. Hahaha.

Ok, admittedly, I am very good in procrastinating.

Ok, back to the title of this post.

I am sure most of you must have heard or read about Batjay and his Kwentong Tambay. Luckily, I had the privilege of meeting up with him before, when he and his loving wife Batjet were still based here in Sunny Singapore. If you have been following this blog, I mentioned in my first ever post that Batjay and the whole SGFlips group were the ones who encouraged me, or inspired me rather, to start with blogging. SGFlips was formed by “trulyly” friends who initially met through blogging. Just read my first post to fully understand what I mean.

Anyway, last Monday, when going through with my mails, I got this mail informing me of a book penned by no other than “The Man” himself, Batjay. Of course, I felt so excited, having to know that a person I know has a book published. You know that feeling of having someone in your circle that you can really be proud of having known. Starstruck ba!!! Believe me, he is a star to us.

I haven’t read the book but I heard that it is a collection of essays, stories, anecdotes about being an OFW, most of them were previously published in his Blog.. Being a certified OFW myself, and without mentioning that the author is a friend of mine, I know I will be able to enjoy this book. I will be able to relate with what is written inside.

The book was launched last September 3 over a Book Fair in Manila, but starting last Friday, Sept 08, it is now carried on all FILBARS Bookstore all over the Philippines. If I am not mistaken, there is a branch at the basement of SM Megamall Bldg A. At this point, some other places carry the book already. And it is very economically priced at P125.00 only.

So ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, to all OFWs, to all who has relatives or friends as OFW (read as 99% of all Pinoys), grab a copy of your book, for your own reading pleasure and it can be a good gift idea for Christmas as well. The “ber’ months are in so it’s a good idea to start stacking gifts for the yuletide season.

Oh yeah, once you have that, maybe I can help you get your copies signed. Hahaha, if I can catch him later. Pero bili muna kayo!!! Hahaha!

NZ post coming next.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Did I Hear Kiwi?

2006-08-25T19:32:00.000+08:00

Yes, tonight I am headed to the land of Kiwis and sheeps!

Off to Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown!

New Zealand, here I come!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Big Bang! Real Thang!

2006-08-20T12:53:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, it was the last of two weekends for a series of fireworks shows to commemorate Singapore's 41st Birthday. I was able to catch the Swiss and French's rendition of a big bang spectacle. Despite the long 2-hour wait, yes you have to be in the shoot location to be able to get a good view of the actions, the measly 15-minute show is truly worth the wait, worth the cramped butt and worth the try of a first attempt to test my skills for a fireworks photography.

It's actually a very frustrating endeavour. Those bangs are really quick. Before you can even start pressing the shutter, the "flowers" are gone and here comes another one. It was a test of precision, patience and persistence. Duh!!! i hope you will enjoy them as much as i did taking them.

Ok, the last shot is a little bit crappy, camera shake very imminent, but I just like the shuttlecock-like figure on the upper left corner. Saw that???

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Budismo, Mismo!

2006-08-15T23:16:00.000+08:00

As Wikipedia defines it, Buddhism is a religion, a philosophy and even a psychology focusing on the teachings of the founder Siddartha Gautama otherwise known as Buddha.

This post will emphasize on how we Filipinos are so ignorant towards Buddhism, and to the Lord Buddha to that effect. I hope I won't be committing blasphemy on writing these true accounts to illustrate what I am referring to.

Few years back, I went out to lunch with two of my colleagues to a Thai restaurant at the Plaza Singapura (one of the malls here in Singapore). Right by the entrance of the restaurant stand two traditional Thai Statues that look like these. So i made a comment to one of my companions and the conversation went like this.

Me: Oh, look at these statues, aren't they cool?
My friend: Sure, they are.
Me: They're the "standing" version of the one you have at your house! (Referring to the same statue that was by the doorway of his house)
My friend: Oh you mean, Lord Buddha?

Ooooppsss, it was actually the statue of the Reclining Lord Buddha. I apologized for the "oversight".

------o0o------

On another note, last month we were playing Pictionary. One of the words that were up for guessing was, yes you guessed it, "Buddha".

Noel started to draw, and the partner he had who was trying to guess was a devout Buddhist himself. It took few minutes before they finally gave up. When we looked at Noel's drawing, it was a drawing of a very fat man, seated with a lot of kids surrounding him. Our Buddist friend just can't believe in his eyes why Noel did draw that way. So we had to explain to him that that's the common impression Filipinos (or at least me and Noel) have on Buddha.

We had a nice and long laugh after that.

Now we know better.

Note: pics link were taken from www.google.com
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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Meme: Weird Habits

2006-08-11T00:24:00.000+08:00

Last month, I got tagged by Ayeza, tagged me with this weird-as-it-can-go meme. I am tasked to write six weird habits that I have/possess.

Here my list starts:

I eat balut like crazy, I eat it with rice, and i can down 5 baluts in one seating. There goes the cholesterol level!
I don't eat eggplant. But if it happened to land on my dinner plate, I will be able to eat it and be fine until I learn it is an eggplant. Knowing it as an eggplant is just a perfect recipe and ticket for a dash to the toilet bowl. Eeeewww!
My mind doesn't work in the morning. Whatever efforts that I do in the morning, it just doesnt work. I keep on forgetting things, missing appointments and waking up late. But that's how it goes, I am like a diesel-fed car. It takes time before I get to my full capacity.
I keep on singing - most of the time unconsciously. I sing inside the lifts, I sing in the MRT, I sing in the airplane. Hey, not really loud but sometimes that tendency is there get amplified. I did get once an applause inside the lift. I was drunk then and I was "alledgedly" singing real loud, with around 6 strangers inside the lift.
I am a weird friend, as most of my friends tell me, as i like to bully them. But hey, I am only naughty/crack weird jokes to people I am really comfortable with. Though, it happened in so many instances now that I offended people due to "uncalled for" jokes. But trust me, if i am like that, it is done all under the spirit of fun, close comfort zones and my expectations of broad minds. But yes, i am guilty of being tactess sometimes.
I read books inside the toilet and can stay there for hours. Im not kiddin.

Since last month, I used to think that drinking from a used glass is a weird habit, but most of you disagreed to it, so I didn't include in this list. I just couldn't care less now.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

I Keep Coming Back To Manila

2006-08-05T09:47:00.000+08:00

That's the song that has been playing on my mind (sometimes I sing it out loud as well) since last week. When I booked my flight last Saturday for yesterday's trip to Manila, I started playing all those OPM Songs that remind me of my being a Filipino. Of course, this song tops the list among other songs like songs by VST & Co., Eraserheads, Orange and Lemons, Sitti Navarro, Wolfgang, Bamboo, and a lot more.

I arrived here in Manila last night, and it is always more exciting than the last one. Despite the terrible (read as scary) flight last night, Im as excited as a 4-yr old boy waiting for his ice cream treat. Last night's flight was the first time I ever saw those oxygen masks drop from where they used to be hidden. We were just 30 minutes airbound, they just started serving the drinks when this air-pocket surprised us with a 5-seconds-few-thousand-feet-drop from 37,000 feet to i think 33,000 feet. ( I can't remember the exact figures announced by the pilot once we gained leverage again in the air, before cruising to a more stable 43,000 feet level). It was the first time in a flight where I really conceded to death. 2 seconds through that seemingly endless 5 seconds, I started praying, saying my confessions while holding tight with the armrest, drowned by the eerie screams of the ladies in the cabin. Literally, the first flight experience I ever had few years ago flashed to my mind like an Oscar-winning documentary. But to cut the story short, we were all well after that. Phew!!!

Now I am a happy bloke again, while writing this, I am waiting for my sister to serve breakfast. It's drizzling outside, but it doesn't dampen, not even a little bit, the bliss I am into now.

Manila, this is my home.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

A Convert....By The Nose

2006-07-30T23:28:00.000+08:00

In the last post, I was talking about me playing soccer, my first actually. Some of my Filipino friends raised their eyebrows upon learning of this. They said that I am slowly being converted to a true-blue Singaporean resident. Ooops, i still do not have the necessary papers, and I do not have plans of securing one in the near future, but I do not mind being branded as one. I am really enjoying this place. Only a very nice job with a good compensation package and a beautiful girl to marry can convince me to move out of this place.

Anyway, one very concrete example that could exemplify on me being a convert, is my addiction (take note of the word) to the often shunned-upon fruit by most Filipinos. I am talking about the infamous durio zibethinus otherwise known as "durian".

'Tis the time of the year when the smell of durians would delight the nostrils of the common Singaporeans, and to the converts like me.

For the past three weeks now, i have been organizing a "durian session" with some of my colleagues in the office. After office hours, I would invite people to grab some dinner at Singapore's legal red light district - Geylang, with the plan to grab some durian for dessert afterwards. Yes, Geylang is more famous for the sleazy activities that happen on its sidewalks and cheap motels, and come July or August, it becomes famous for its durians. On the opposite side of the roads where all the China girls, the Thai and Russian harlots, there's this long rows of fruit stalls, which at this time of the year is bedecked by hundreds of the sightly durian. There's this joke going around that you can find all the "smelly but delicious things in Geylang". Hahaha!!!!

And without fail, every time I go to that smelly place, I will always bring back some home for the rainy days, to the silent disapproval of Noel and Olive (my housemates). Peace mare at pare, this does not happen all year round ;)! Thank God, their 2-year old son always joins me whenever I devour the fruit. And did I tell you, eating a durian from the fridge is really heavenly. The creamy texture and the bitter-cum-sweet taste just tingles on the taste buds with every bite and sends shivering bliss down to my bones, not to mention the aromatic smell of the fruit.

Anybody out there loves durian as well??? Maybe we can arrange for a "durian session" as well??? Any takers?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Too Much Sports Drives Owen Crazy

2006-07-22T08:45:00.002+08:00

Yes, if there's only one reason to explain my hibernation for the past month, that would be sports. I won't even go to the direction of my work as that is very irrelevant...errr, more of I don't have much choice. Whether I like it or not, i will still have to perform my work, for whatever it takes. But of course, the past four weeks is quite exceptional though. Being part of the Finance Department, and having June 30 for yearend, the accounting craze is real on for the audit season and the year-end closing. But that's over now.

Getting back to the real alibi....err reason. SPORTS!!!

Let's start with the grandest reason of all - FIFA World Cup. Literally, during the last two weeks of the competition, I literally stayed through the nights (through the wee hours of the morning) to follow all the matches from second round to the finals. I am sure I am one of the very few Filipinos around Singapore who paid to subscribe the full coverage of the FIFA World Cup. I enjoyed it so much. To top it all, one of my bets, ITALY, won! Yippeeee!!!! Actually, from the start I bet on Brazil, Argentina and Italy. Since sports betting is so big here in Singapore, I actually dipped into it twice and lost 30 bucks all in all. Not bad for the fun and excitement.

Ok, enough for football, let's go to my main event, Badminton. I joined a Filipino community tournament here in Singapore towards late June, and I got two of the several gold throphies. Haha! How's that? Together with Noel, we got a gold in one of the levels in Men's Doubles and with Myra, we got another for the Mixed Doubles Events. Not the top level, but good enough. Happiness big time!

That lady in the awarding ceremonies is no other than Ms __________ , an official from the Philippine Embassy here in Singapore. (I'll find out her name later).

And to top it all, Dyaraaaannnn!!!! Hey, did i say enough for football? Not really, mea culpa! Last night, I, and other nine colleagues from the office, did a sort of a team-building. We played indoor soccer. For a start, we only played for an hour. But a very long hour indeed. It definitely looks easier in the TV than in the actual field. I still can't do the dribble, the tackle, the heel, the Ronaldo dance, the Figo head butt but I was able to perform the theatrical act of exaggerating the pain when my shin bone was kicked. Hahaha! And also, I was a culprit of an instance each of "handball", "offside" and "own goal". I love the game and I am sure I will play with them again. Can you top that?

Now, I have to prepare for another badminton game in 2 hours.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Message In A Glass

2006-06-22T00:03:00.000+08:00

I have this one habit that irritates/disgusts some of my friends, at least 5 of them. The latest on the list expressed it just this afternoon. I am referring to this habit of drinking my water from a glass which was used previously with another beverage.

To explain this, let me cite some scenarios:

After eating an ice cream in a glass, I will pour my water and drink from it. In effect, the water is not clear and it looks "dirty" to some.
At home, we always prepare fruit shakes for dinner. Same thing, the glass I used to drink the shake will be the same glass to be used to drink my water.
In the office, I use the same cup I used to drink my Macchiatto Latte to drink my water after. This is the one that happened today.

There you go! To me, i don't find anything "dirty" to it. It might be unusual but I am sure I am not the only one doing this. But of course, that does not justify my habit.

Will I irk those sensibilities in you if I keep on doing this? Tell me, should I stop this habit?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

A Year After

2006-06-18T18:58:00.000+08:00

I'm back! Alleluia! Bravo! Mabuhay!

After almost three weeks of hibernation, I am finally able to jot some thoughts here in this page. I am sorry, if I let you wait longer than you ever deserve. Sorry - the most abused word in the English vocabulary.

Anyway, i finally came back from the wet, windy and winterly cold Sydney. One of the worst combinations of weathers that could ever happen. Did I make it sound so bad? Well there are days, moments rather, of clear skies. Brief moments that I really tried my best to get pictures once the skies clear up. A sample of it is this one....

Do you see those clouds on the left corner of the pic? In just 20 minutes, they covered the whole Sydney skies, turned grey and poured just few minutes after. Whew! The nights are different story altogether, not wet but colder.

On another note, it was Father's Day last year when I started blogging. It's been a year and I am actually surprised that I survived it. I'm sure that there are more years ahead of me here in the blogosphere. Especially now that I am earning a lot of friends. I know most of you are still to be shaken-hand with or hugged but I enjoy every moment, every piece of information, every thought and every feeling that we have been sharing. It's been a year and yet I am still as excited as before, maybe not as obsessed but more enthusiastic.

Of course, I thank you, yes YOU, for having me here and letting me be part of your worlds.

Cheers for more years!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. It's father's day today! Greetings for all the dads out there!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Name Game

2006-05-30T23:36:00.000+08:00

On one of my previous posts this month, I mentioned that I availed the WILDLIFE Unlimited Membership to the three animal parks here in Singapore. Actually, it was a very wise decision for me. In just 20 days, I was able to get over 50% of the investment I put into it. Yes, I've been to the zoos twice already this month. And it looks like that i will be back there in just few weeks.

And so the membership card arrived last week. My picture looked good in it actually. Too bad, there are no pictures of animals on the card, otherwise, I would have looked better. Hehehe!

The only issue that I have with it is my name being misspelled on the card. Instead of G, they put it as B. So obviously, I called their customer service to have their database updated. Transcript of the phone conversation follows:

Lady: Yes sir, how may I help you?
Me: I just applied for a membership two weeks back and I got the card today. However I have a slight problem with it.
Lady: Yes sir
Me: My name is misspelled.
Lady: (long pause - she seemed puzzled with what she just heard) Yes ma'am, what's the problem?
Me: (a little bit puzzled as well with how she just addressed me) My name is misspelled. (I said it slower this time)
Lady: Yes Miss Peld, how may I help you?
Me: My name is Owen and it's mister, not Peld and definitely not Miss and my name on my card got a wrong spelling. That's my problem. (I was laughing telling her this, and I almost fall off my chair. This she understood and apologetically acknowledged her mistake).

Bwahahaha!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Pleasures, Happiness, Bliss

2006-05-26T01:11:00.000+08:00

I was tagged by Duke and pahabol from Vina (I was so slow in catching up with my blog-hoppin - peace V!) to list things that give me pleasures, happiness and bliss.

Instructions: Name ten (10) of life’s simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten (10) people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

Now, here's my list:

Finishing a really good book
Sleeping for at least 8 hours on a weekend
A serving of a double chocolate cheesecake with a Cafe Latte
Playing a song with my guitar or the piano
Taking a good picture from my camera (total bliss 'to)
Talking to my mom and my dad
A passionate kiss followed by a steamy sex (simple pleasure ba to? - there were a lot of violent reactions to this one, but im sticking with it. hehehe!)
A spread of authentic Japanese food
Having a good badminton game (win or loss - pero mas masaya pag nanalo, hehehe!)
Listening to my Ipod

It seems that most of the people here are already tagged with this meme. Sorry, my installment was delayed.

There you go! Whew, I enjoyed that!

There's nothing more pleasurable than thinking of happy thoughts and happy things and happy feelings!

Don't you just agree?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Life's A Beach

2006-05-18T23:16:00.000+08:00

I just came from Pinas for a very short 4-day period. Last Friday was a public holiday here in Singapore, courtesy of the Buddhists. By the way, each of the four major religions (Bhuddism, Islam, Christianity and Hunduism) here in Singapore are given two public holidays in a year. Yes, it's Christmas and Good Friday for Christians. And since May has always been a busy month for the family - it starts with my younger sister's birthday, then my parents' wedding anniversary, then my dad's birthday and of course Mother's Day - I took this chance to take a short break from work (which is driving me crazy now - a totally different story altogether) and to regain myself's equipoise. Thanks to this budget airline, going home has never been easier than this.

To cut my story short, I spent most of my time just relaxing at home. I tried my best to spend quality time with my parents. We did not do something monumental but we just let the time pass us talking about the past and catching up with stories on how have we been doing. Talking, coupled with the power of touching, can never be replaced even by frequent phone calls.

And of course, what is summer in Philippines without a trip to one of the many shores of the archipelago. My hometown, being so close to South China Sea, is gifted with a very calm and pacific shoreline. The pictures below, taken on one of the afternoons I drove my way to the seas, show what I meant.

It's so nice to be indolent on this kind of environment. Life's a beach!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Care For Egg-Hunting?

2006-05-07T14:35:00.000+08:00

Few weeks ago, my friend told me a story that happened whilst she was at the saloon doing her hair.

She was just halfway of whatever procedures she was undergoing when a lady came in and talked to the same hairstylist who is doing her hair.

Lady: Oh hi there, are you busy after her? I need your help.
Stylist: No, what can I do for you?
Lady: How long will it take more?
Stylist: Maybe 30 minutes more or so. Why?
Lady: Can you help me find eggs?
Stylist: (baffled...) Eggs? What eggs are you talking about?
Lady: I think I got lice leh. Can you check for me if you can find eggs on my hair? And if there are eggs, tell me how to get rid of them.

WAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

My friend almost fall down from her seat. If only she's not halfway done on her hair, she would have left that place. Now she's concerned whether to return to the same place to do her hair.

Pucha, may kuto!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

For The Love Of Animals

2006-05-04T01:03:00.000+08:00

Since I started coming here in Singapore, I have been going to the animal parks namely the Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari time and time again. I can't even count now how many times I've visted these places. I don't plan to count it by the way. And I am sure I will be back there, sooner than I would want to. Not only because I like going there but also I am expecting some more friends to visit me here.

Last weekend, being a long weekend (thanks to the immigration rallies in US - just kidding!) it's the best time to go round those touristy spots here in Singapore. A friend and a former colleague from Arthur Andersen was in town and I had to show her around. And of course, these parks are staple destinations for first timers - unless one would request to venture on those not-so-popular, brightly-lit spots; in which case I would willingly grant such requests.

And as mentioned about those expected visitors, I decided to get the Wildlife Unlimited Membership Card. I thought it is for a nice and worthy cause ek ek! They do use the funds for research and public education. But of course, it will be cheaper for me if i keep on going back there.

Some snaps over the weekend....

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Busted By The Bus Stop

2006-04-24T23:15:00.000+08:00

Going around in a foreign land is always one of the primary challenges a traveller like me would need to tackle the moment I alight from my plane. Of course, there is the taxi, the going-around-for-the-dummies ride. But despite the comfort and ease of riding on it, if it is not on a company-business, I'd rather take the other options. Especially if you are travelling with your hard-earned peso. Taxi rides outside Philippines (read: in a first world country) are too hefty even for a working class Pinoy.

The better alternatives of course are trains and buses, where available.

Yesterday, I had a very weird experience while waiting for my bus.

I went to hear mass and went to the mall afterwards to grab something to eat. When I needed to head back home to pick my things for my weekly badminton game, I had enough time to spare. I decided to take the bus (over the MRT and the taxi). It turned out to be the worse decision.

The bus wait unfortunately took a lot longer than usual. After sitting there for 25 minutes, not even a shadow of the bus is in sight. This an old man beside me started complaining to me.

Old Man: Bus 147 pass by here leh? (Singlish accent)
Me: Yes, I'm waiting for the same service as well.
Old Man: Are you Malay or Chinese?
No: I'm a Filipino.
Old Man: Ok, how old are you?
Me: (I told him an age lower than my actual age - make sense) How about you?
Old Man: You guess....
Me: 65? (he really looked old - but Im wrong)
Old Man: Im 71 leh (he looks younger for his actual age)
Me: Ok.
Old Man: Are you married?
Me: No.
Old Man: So how, do you f#$% anybody?
Me: What? (me laughing surprised) I always make sure I get my share...(obligingly engaging in this weird converstaion)
Old Man: But you know ah, my mouth suck your c*ck feel good too you know. Want or not? There's toilet over there (pointing to the hotel opposite of the road)

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Before I even realize, I was on board the next taxi that passed by.

Taxi is always the better choice ............. if the bus is not available.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Selamat Hari Paskah!

2006-04-21T01:13:00.000+08:00

Selamat Hari Paskah! That's "Happy Easter" in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of the Republic of Indonesia. Yes, I was in Jakarta over the weekend to spend some "relaxing" times with some friends of old. I know that word seems not an apt word to describe how the last days of the Holy Week and Easter are spent. But i did really have a relaxing time. And yes, I did my share in observing the "holiness" of the days.

The Monas; the scenic Sudirman Ave in Central Jakarta

Remember Jolo? I stayed with them in their mansion-like house. For the past few years, it's been a trend of me giving him the annual installment of the Guiness Book of World Records. I have always been amazed on how well he can remember the facts inside the books. As always expected he will throw in a lot of questions, which are obviously too hard for me to even guess. But of course, this post will not be complete without quoting one of Jolo's classic lines.

While reading the Guiness, he goes...

Jolo: Tito Owen, do you think there will be an entry here for the poorest man in the world? (knowing that an entry in the book will mean an award of US$1M)
Me: Of course (without me thinking)
Jolo: I don't think that is possible. Because if they put one, and award him a million dollar, then he will not be poor anyone.

A chrysanthemum flower (no significance - just like the shot); Jolo with his PSP; the Pizza Man

On another note, I arrived here in Singapore at around 8pm on Sunday, a birthday dinner party for Noel was waiting. We have guests - one of our colleagues from our Manila office, together with her family were in town. Due to their tight schedule, I insisted that we go to the Night Safari that night to maximize their time here. Even though it was raining, we enjoyed the trek.

At the Night Safari with Ida and Joanne.

Happy Easter!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Third Time Crazy

2006-04-11T23:16:00.000+08:00

Few weeks back, a friend gave me this very interesting item she got from Incheon International Airport. Upon receiving it, I felt so lucky to having it in my hand.

Two weeks after that, I got an additional credit to my bank account. Not that much but enough to make me feel recognized/appreciated. Second time lucky eh!

And a week after that, because of my latest addiction, I was not able to control myself in buying a matching partner for the item I received (I used the additional credit to my account). I bought this thing to reward myself. What the heck, I think I deserve it. My friends tell me I am crazy. If I am, then let it be! At least I am enjoying more than ever in filling out my 9x9 grid. Third time crazy indeed!

Sige na, pagbigyan nyo na ako! (C'mon, let this one pass!)

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Just Another Friday

2006-04-09T01:41:00.000+08:00

Last Friday was just another day to most of us, but to two of my friends-cum-officemates, it was a special day for them. They just resigned recently from the Company for reasons I am sure are well grounded, and last Friday was their last day with us - as colleagues.

The gang decided to gather for a dinner at Al Dente, an Al Fresco Italian Restaurant at the Esplanade - Theatres By The Bay (4th picture below). We had a blast! Good luck guys!

Anyway, with 45 minutes spare time before the agreed appointment, a colleague and I decided to walk that 800-meter long distance restaurant from the office. But along the way, we brought out our cameras and took some shots. Here are some of them... (click the pictures to enlarge)

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

SuDoku Syndrome

2006-03-29T00:00:00.000+08:00

What is Sudoku? Contrary to what the name might suggest, it's not an original Japanese game but they helped popularize it.

It all began two weeks ago, on a lazy Friday afternoon. That was the Friday before I was to leave for Japan. I was just flipping through the pages of the tabloid, Today, when I first encountered this number game. All right, not the first time, but categorically first as that was the first time I attempted of learning its logic and mechanics. Surprisingly, I finished it within 6 minutes. That was quick eh! I discovered it later that the level of difficulty of that specifc puzzle was "easy". Anyway, it was good enough to engage my enthusiasm towards the game.

The next day, I started browsing the web and found some free puzzles here. I printed 20 free puzzles from the site and it was enough to keep me busy and awake on my flight to Tokyo. It was so ironic that most of the time, I always look forward to my flights to catch the latest flicks on Singapore Airlines Krisworld, but on that particular flight, my eyes were pegged on those 81-cell grid. Right there and then, it was confirmed that I was hooked.

In Japan, those long train rides were never boring as my mind was occupied with the game. It was time very well spent. Hahaha!

The craze did not stop there. When I got back here in SIngapore, as I was browsing my to-read-books, I accidentally found a Sudoku book on the pile. As my eyes are already big, they became bigger with the promising sight. I grabbed it and immediately abandoned the others. I never even realized that I have this book. I must have picked it up from one of the book sales I've been to before as the price is conservatively priced at SGD4.00 (US$2.20). It is a compilation of 201 puzzles.

Literally, all my free times were spent solving one of those puzzles. From the bus ride to and from the office, during lunch breaks, even after-dinner breaks and yes, including the seating time in the loo.

Honestly, quite a few funny incidents happened out of this craze. I missed my MRT stop twice already. I let the bus passed me by thrice. I missed my bus stop once. I was late for an appointment once, even though I was on the same building of our rendezvous, but I literally stopped on the ground floor solving the puzzle for 20 minutes. I was only shaken when my mobile phone rang. And the worst of all effects, I almost forgot about this blog page.

So far, I am now on puzzle number 162. That leaves me 39 puzzles to go.

SOS, I am under the spell of the "Sudoku Syndrome"!

By the way, most of my officemates are starting to get hooked to it as well. You guessed it, thanks to me!

Wanna try? Give yourself 10 minutes for this.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Sprint ~ Sprinkler ~ Shoelaces ~ Spree ~ Spring

2006-03-15T22:33:00.000+08:00

I arrived here in Tokyo last Sunday and so far, things have been so exciting, enjoyable and enriching (not to mention ecstatic - because of food).

It has been 4 days and these four days is the longest period so far that I haven't been listening to my friendly Ipod. Of course, I am not liking it but I just have to. Bicycles are a common sight to Tokyo streets, so common that they keep on popping out wherever you are. On the sidewalks especially, people practically needs to walk in a single pile to give way to the sprinting bikes. Just imagine an Ipod stuck to your ears, and played on a full blast, one won't hear the warning bells (sometimes chimes or whistles) from the bikes. Since there are plenty of them anyway, one could live without an Ipod music. The bells, chimes and whistles make a good harmony and are music to the ears.

~~~

This sight caught my attention as we were walking along a high-rise mall looking for a place to eat. As you can see, they are regular looking pots. But they are taken on the sixth floor and there a lot of them to cover few floors down. Notice the nylon tubes that are inserted on the pots. These tubes are connected to a water pipe and are used to sprinkle waters on them. Innovative huh!

~~~

One of the things that I really look forward to when visiting Japan is the food. Except for the fried eggplant in a tempura dish, each meal leaves me ecstatic. Just like this Soba place (pic above). The food is heavenly. The place is exquisitely designed and very traditional. They have tatami mats on the floor. This means that you have to eat squatting and of course, you have to take off your shoes. I've been to two places so far this trip and I really hated my shoes as they are the ones with shoelaces. How I wish I am in my slip-on shoes if visit these eating places. Shoelaces stifles! Sigh!

~~~

When i arrived last Sunday morning, with 8 hours to spare, I called a local friend to go around for a walking spree and visit a place I haven't been to. For a change, i didn't want to go to my fave hangout - the Electric Town of Akihabara. It was so fortunate that there is this traditional religious event happening in Takaosan, a mountain suburb in Western Tokyo. These group perform rituals that test their members' faith (not fate). The following pic shows people (men and women, adults and kids alike) "walking on fire". They burn pine and cypress branches and with the live embers, they make a dash and walk over them. They put salt first on their bare feet and then brave the heat.

When night time came, we headed up to Yokohama, another metropolitan city here in Japan. Originally, I thought Yokohama was part of Tokyo (as it can be reached by train in half an hour) but it is actually politically incorrect to be referred to it as such. In fact, as I learned while strolling on this city, it is the second largest city of Japan, (with more than 3 million inhabitants), only next to Tokyo.

~~~

Officially, it is not spring yet. We're still on the last weeks of winter. But I just can't help but feel the spring air when I witnessed few trees displaying these Sakura blooms!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Second Serving Of Faux Pas

2006-03-09T00:06:00.000+08:00

Disclaimer: The following might be construed as a racial slur but believe me, I don't have any of that intention. Not even a bit. I am just here to tell my story.

This incident happened on my flight from New Delhi to Manila via Cathay Pacific (meaning I have a layover at Hong Kong Airport). It happened on December 2002, few days before Christmas, hence the flight was quite full. I was seated on an F seat, just few rows from the front. Beside me is an Indian lady seated in Seat E and another Pinoy guy in Seat G.

We just boarded the flight and while the plane is taxiing for take off, I started smelling a very strong odour and I was quite positive it was coming from the lady beside me. Of course, I did not execute any violent physical reaction. Not even a trace of disgust or disappointment from my face. But at the back of my mind, I just can't believe the luck that I got knowing that I have to endure the smell for the next 6 hours. The only thing that I managed to do was to say few words to the Pinoy guy beside me. And so I went, "Ang baho naman ng katabi kong ale." (In fairness, sobrang baho talaga.). He just laughed and even teased me "Good Luck 'pre!"

It ended there. And so we thought....

An hour later, after serving lunch, while eating my ice cream, from out of the blue, she started to talk to me and asked me a question. She said, "Saan kayo nakatira sa Manila?" Yeah, I heard her right. Wooohhhh, I can't believe she understands Tagalog and speaks it fluently. Apparently, they have been staying in Sta. Mesa for the past 14 years. My mind raced backwards and I tried to recollect any words that I might have said that might be offensive. Right there and then, I felt really embarrassed. I don't know if she heard what I said, but if airplane seats have "Passenger Eject" button, I would have ejected myself and disappear.

It was the most uneasy 6-hours for me. Right before the flight, I was looking forward for the movies I will be watching. But on the duration of the flight, I had to pretend I was sleeping and if not, I kept going to the bathroom and stayed on breakout area.

I learned that she is also on the same connecting flight to Manila. So to prevent further humiliation for myself, the moment we disembarked in Hong Kong, I immediately approached one ground staff and requested my seat to be changed towards the rear of the plane.

I still had a Merry Christmas after that though!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Faux Pas In The Sky

2006-03-05T12:27:00.000+08:00

February 2006 surprisingly becomes one of those few months that I stayed put in a place for more than 30 days. So far, I've been here for 33 days and I have 6 days more before I cross the immigration counter again. The experience is surreal but a part of me tells me that i miss the travel.....terribly!

While doing some thinking last night, right before I went to bed (was waiting for my hair to dry, though my eyes were closed), I was reexamining the different experiences I had while travelling.

Last week, I was talking to a Singaporean friend on my plans of getting a post-graduate education here in Singapore. The pull is really there but the dilemma that if I do that, I will have to give up the travelling part of my job; which I unfortunately can not give up. Not yet.

Anyway, during that 15-minute wait, two very vivid incidents came to mind that happened to me during those travels. Incidents that I wish never happened at all because I feel bad everytime I think of them. Yes, they haunt me still up to these days.

The first incident happened on a flight from Bangkok to Manila via Thai Airways, way back in 2000. I was seated on the aisle and a beautiful lady is seated one row in front of me on the opposite aisle. Beautiful with a semblance to Harlene Bautista. I was on aisle seat C, she was on aisle seat D - got the picture? While on mid-air, she stood up to get something from the overhead compartment. She was wearing a light khaki pants and I noticed that there is a blood stain at the back side of her pants. Her monthly period maybe is just starting. How the hell will I know. It is about the size of a Philippine ten-peso coin. I turned my eyes away and just thought of it. I didn't know what to do, and behold I did not do anything. (Moron!) To cut the story short, when we are about to alight, and she stood up, the stain multiplied significantly. I bet you could put 6 ten-peso coins side by side. Another lady noticed it and called her attention. She was so embarrassed and can't even look to anybody. But it was too late. The damage has been done. I felt really guilty for failing to do something.

I have a lot of alibis for not doing something. But I will not even tell them, they will just sound as lame excuses. Probably they are! Oh for sure they are! I could have told her right from the start. But it felt really awkward. Or I could have told the flight stewardess and let her break the news to the lady. Or I could have offered a pair of jeans, which was meticulously folded on my computer bag. (Forget the third one!)

I felt really bad. And I am asking an apology to that lady, whoever she is, and to all the ladies in the house that got offended with this situation.

I just have to let it out!

~~~ the other story is coming next ~~~

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

All About Olympics

2006-02-28T21:38:00.000+08:00

Before I proceed, I would like to apologize for not updating this space for a significant amount of time - 23 days to be exact. Those 23 days were pretty extraordinary as far as work load is concerned. It was during these twenty-three long days that my sleep pattern was disrupted. Very long days, literally. On the average, I have only been sleeping 4-hour nights per day - and in those worse days, I only sleep 4 hours but not continuous. Last night is a classic example of this. I slept at 1130 pm, have to wake up at 1 am to make a call to our Corporate Office, gone back to bed at 430 am and wake up at 7am to get ready for work. Tonight, I am taking a break. I just refuse to continue this unhealthy habit of not sleeping.

Anyway, in a way, I don't have any regrets of those few nights when I was awake during the wee hours of the morning. All because of the just-recently concluded Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

One good thing about here in Singapore, as compared in Manila, TV coverage for such world-class sporting events is really extensive. Extensive to a sense that almost all events are covered LIVE and subsequently replayed the following day. Another examples were the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 2003 Euro Cup and all the major Badminton Opens. The only downside is, NBA is not covered really well.

I have this life long dream of attending the Olympics one day. One Summer Games and one Winter Games. The closest chance that I have right now is the upcoming Summer Games in Beijing in 2008. I actually started expanding my network now to ensure this dream is fulfilled in two years time. I started talking to colleagues in Shanghai to scout for me a cheap but nice hotel in Beijing, and to use the influence to get good industry rates. Vancouver 2010 for the next Winter Games is still too long to plan.

The only thing lacking now is a companion that would like to do the same thing. So if you have plans of catching the Games in Beijing in 2008, let me know and we can start planning and we are in for a great ride!

Any takers?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a lighter note, I watched Steven Spielberg's movie about the drama that happened with the Israeli athletes in the 1972 Summer Games in Munich. The movie is relatively long but I enjoyed every minute of it, despite the fact that I never had enough sleep the night before. Try to catch the movie.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

OPM Overload

2006-02-05T18:34:00.000+08:00

Original Pilipino Music, or as it is more popularly known as OPM, has its own share of producing excellent songs or at some times it had its slack season, wherein you barely hear good and original songs. There was a point in time wherein Revival Hits dominated the Music Charts, not only for weeks, but for months. Admittedly, I boycotted most of these projects by our artists.

However, on my trip to Manila last week during the 4-day long Chinese New Year holiday, I was surprised to hear a lot of new good OPM songs from MTV, MYX, from the FM stations, and even from my neighbors' Hi-Fi. I felt a certain tinge of elation hearing all these good songs.

Despite the tight schedule I had on that 4-day visit, I was able to squeeze in to go to Tower Records on my way to the airport for my flight back to Singapore. Conservatively priced at a range of P250-P280 (USD5.0 - USD5.5), I ended up grabbing eight CDs on my hand. I'm sure, if I had more time, I would have taken more.

Now, here's a list of the CDs I picked including some of the CDs I had for the past 4 months:
1. Brownman Revival - Steady Lang (ok there are revivals here but there are original tracks inside that are worth listening too)
2. Cueshe - Half Empty, Half Full
3. 6 Cycle Mind - Panorama
4. Parokya ni Edgar - Halina sa Parokya
5. Orange and Lemons - Strike Whilst The Iron Is Hot
6. Christian Bautista - Completely (this will be a gift for a friend from Jakarta. Surprisingly, he's a big hit in the land of Rupiah)
7. Various Artists - Ultraelectromagneticjam (ok, these are revivals but it is a tribute to my all-time fave Filipino Band - the Eraserheads)
8. Barbie Almalbis - The Singles
9. Hale - Hale
10. Kitchie Nadal - Kitchie Nadal
11. Bamboo - Light, Peace, Love

11 OPM CDs in 4 months? Not bad huh! Extraordinary I should say! I can still remember during the early 90s (or late 80s) when the likes of Eraserheads, Rivermaya, the Dawn, Yano, The Teeth, et al monopolized the airwaves. It was a total bliss listening to good OPM Alternative music and it was also because I was starting to learn how to play the guitar that time.

One week passed, i haven't got over these records. The music still play on my Home Theatre, on my PC, on my Ipod and on my new Moto Rokr.

OPM rocks!
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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Thoughts For A Perfect Lover!

2006-02-02T12:02:00.000+08:00

This is long overdue, sorry for the delay Gari and who knows, there might be more of tags there that I failed to notice. The delay was caused, not by the fact that I don't have time to do it - the lamest excuse one could explore - but by the fact that my brain stopped for the longest time to think about love.

Very unromantic huh! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Since the last relationship I had, and with the move from Manila to Singapore, I'm afraid my mind turned completely neuter. Ooopps, please read me properly, only the brain closed the door but my groin did not. Hehehe! There are still dates that I attend to frequently (read as - I still have all the sex I want), but I am not really at the point of looking for a perfect lover, not yet.

Reading Tanggero's comment on my last post and this tag, it was sort of a wake-up-call for me. Nobody knows, maybe the year of the dog will awaken the beast, er Casanova, in me.

Without much ado, I will do this tag. I will try to be truthful as much as I could. Remember, my mind is not yet fully into it. And I beg not to reminisce memories of my previous relationship.

The Perfect Lover
Target: Female

1. Witty and clever - someone who I can share my thougts with and can share hers as well
2. Travel mate - since I love travelling, I would like somebody who could join me in our quest to conquer the world.
3. Has a nice contour of the face - Since I will be waking up each day with that face in front of mine, a good view each morning will surely be a good day-starter.
4. Has a Good sense of humor - she can make me laugh
5. Sexy - you know what i mean here.
6. Adventurous in bed - need I say more?
7. A good mother material - someone who has the affinity to kids, will love our kids. They say this is inherent to most mothers but I hope not to have someone like Dave Pelzer's mom.
8. God fearing - who will not philander, who will not commit adultery (aren't these two same?), etc.

There you go! It took me 26 minutes to think of those eight points.

Damn, I am still thinking about them.

I will not tag anybody.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Ode To White Hairs

2006-01-26T22:41:00.000+08:00

I won't deny but the reason I haven't been updating this space is because I have been working too much. I think this is the price to pay for going for a very long holiday. After this, I will think really hard again next time should I wish to go for a holiday. Since I came back from US, I am still in the midst of clearing backlogs from the previous month. Not to mention, the current jobs that I need to tackle as well. They just keep on piling up.

One of the resolutions that I had when I was in NY for the New Year was that I will try to put more efforts to proper Time Management. To tell you the truth, with just barely 25 days for 2006, I am slowly failing in this aspect. Sigh!

Few days ago, as I was combing my hair in front of the mirror, I was distracted because something in my head glistened. It was very quick and hence, I did not pay much attention to it. But on the follwoing day, same time, same location, it happened again. I then decided to examine what was that. Lo and behold, it was a white hair! I began to search for more and found two more. Yes I now have three white hairs.

The three white hairs freaked me out! Freaked me that it never left my mind for few days.

It was sort of a wake-up call for me! "Ding! Dong! You're not getting any younger! Ding! Dong!" What might have caused this? Definitely, not on the genes. My dad at his very ripe age of 70, you can barely see grey hairs. Might I be working too hard? Maybe the stress level is way too much for me already? Or am I just plainly getting old? No doubt, day in day out I'm getting older but my age doesn't justify the showing of white hairs.

Resolution? I will try to lessen the time I am allotting for work and divert those times to more relaxing activities (e.g. hanging out with friends, reading more books, watching more movies and playing more).

I will start this next month. I still have 11 months to go. Wink!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Happy New Year Everybody!

2006-01-16T20:26:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to All Of You! I am so sorry that this comes a little too late but as the cliche goes.... Better Late Than Never!

The past month was such a blissful one for me. I always liked December and the last one was no exception at all. I think it even topped all the previous ones.

To start with, it is my birthday month, and for 2005 I had to celebrate it for 4 different times. First with friends, the second with colleagues, the third with family and the last one was with another set of friends. If I may add, "Tropang SG - or SGFlips" are planning for a post-birthday celebrations for all the Sagittarians and Capricorns of the group. Just for the record, I did not have a birthday wish, instead I thanked God for all my family and friends that He blessed me with. And you were one of them.

The second one, of course is the most obvious to all, it's Christmas month. Nothing beats the nostalgia and optimism that Christmas brings. I know this post is quite outdated, but please let me get away with this. Just this one.

And of course, the last - with the blast - was my US trip. The trip brought me a mixture of feelings and realizations. Yeah, not all good. But the not-so-good ones made the good ones better. I will dwell with the good ones though.

Being a self-confessed die-hard Levi's fan, could there be any better place to get my pair of rugged jeans than in San Francisco?

And could there be more peaceful place than the neighborhood of San Jose?

Could there be a better spot to try one's luck on the slots than on the Strip? Viva Las Vegas!

Is there a better place to watch a movie than in one of the 24-hr movie places in Hollywood?

Or is there a better place to catch a glimpse of America's political structures than in Washington DC?

And where the buzz is? New York it is! Witnessing for myself the famous Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center; to crossing the Brooklyn Bridge; to watching a musical in Broadway, going to the top of the world... errr of the Empire State Building; encountering in person members of the NYPD; and of course experiencing and tasting my first snow and throwing my first snow ball. I saw Lady Liberty but my camera failed me on that, so no glimpse of her. Oh yeah, I almost forgot I joined the crowd in Times Square in singing "Auld Lang Syne". All right, not that close. I was in one of the bars in Fifth Avenue holding a can Heineken while waiting for the ball to drop.

But seriously, I am hoping someday to be part of the crowd that creates the hustle bustle in Wall St in Lower Manhattan. But standing on Ground Zero is such a different phenomenon. I wasn't able to help when a teardrop escaped my right eyelid. A little girl who was standing beside me noticed it and offered me her handkerchief. I asked her if I can have it and she agreed. I still have the hanky with me.

It's a shame that I only found time to write about my previous trip when I am already on my next destination. By the way, I am here in Sydney now.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T15:06:00.000+08:00

I am praying that all your earnest wishes will be granted this Holiday Season and the whole year through!

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Off To Winterland

2005-12-17T15:51:00.000+08:00

I was not able to update this page for the past few days as I was really busy trying to shorten my "Things-To-Do" list. This always happens everytime I go off for a holiday. I don't mind going through the same "hell" , if you will, as I always expect good, nice and exciting things to happen on the trip that lies ahead. Things that will surely rejuvenate me to keep me going for another six months before I embark on another trip.

I am here on Changi Airport now, trying to document the moment. It's 75 minutes before takeoff for Winterland!

Goodbye sleepless nights, welcome me - the Snowman! America...here I come!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

In the Urinal

2005-12-12T22:16:00.000+08:00

One day, while having a leak in a toilet in Japan, this framed artwork shouted at me. The timing was perfect as I was real drunk then. Unruly intoxicated!

Of course, I didn't miss the alcohol. You bet, after coming out from the loo, I started pondering on how can I be an "asshole" on that night. Too bad, the gin tonic's power was mightier. Before I even noticed, I was up to my bedroom face flat on the bed!

In the urinal! Bow!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

It's Singlish What? Yah lah!

2005-12-07T19:33:00.000+08:00

One aspect of Singapore that a newcomer in this place will recognize immediately will be the way they speak English, if you will. It's more popularly known as Singlish - same as the Taglish we have back home. The only difference here is that they use this, unconsciously, even for business writing and formal conversation.

The first time I heard it, I really have a hard time understanding them. Not only that they speak 120km/h, there are also a lot of missing words, dangling modifiers and tenseless verbs. I must admit I am slowly getting used to it. And sometimes, I even blurt things out the Singlish way one. I will just be interrupted by my colleagues if I talk that way. That's the truth so what to do!

I came across of one article last Friday on Today, a free tabloid normally distributed at MRT stations or for some cases, distributed to doorsteps of HDB flats early in the morning; the counterpart of Inquirer Libre in Manila. It was hilariously written by a blogger too (sorry, I don't know his website). He tried to explain that having to write something in "proper Singlish" is a talent. But I would say, for non-Singaporeans like us, understanding and trying to get the message of a written Singlish is also a talent.

It's true what!

Try reading the link below. Starting on the 6th paragraph, the writer shifted to "Singlish mode". If you think you can understand everything he wa saying, then you'll be able to survive here faster than anyone could imagine.

Good luck and enjoy!

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/87886.asp

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Forget Regrets Or Life Is Yours To Miss!!!

2005-12-04T20:02:00.000+08:00

Forget regrets or life is yours to miss!

This is the message that the musical RENT is trying to send to all of us! It's a celebration of life.

For the fourth time, I caught the recent production of Rent here in Singapore last night. Yes you heard me right, I saw the Manila production thrice before. Too much??? I don't think so. Because for each of those moments, I always came out of the theater hall feeling very alive! And last night was no exception. As usual, I had the feeling that it was money and time well spent!

"There is no future, there is no past - No day but today"

"How do you measure a year in the life? Measure in love!"

"Because I'm used to relying on intellect. But I try to open up to what I don't know. Because reason says I should have died three years ago."

"You'll never share real love until you love your self"

"Stop escaping your pain.... There's so much to care about"

These are just some of the life-affirming lines from the show.

This production boasts an All-broadway cast. All of them performed once on the past ten years the show has been running in New York. They're good, they're fabulous. For most of the characters like Angel, Mark, Maureen and Roger, just close your eyes and you'll get the closest experience as listening to your Ipod with the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

But since I have seen other productions, I can't help but to compare. I think the Filipino casts are at par, if not even better, when it comes to the vocals/singing prowess. But they are far better when it comes to the "heart" aspect. Cheers to the Filipino casts (walang halong bola to ah)!

But all the same I enjoyed the show. It justified my claim that this is my all-time favorite musical. Unlike Miss Saigon, Cats or Les Mis, this show tackles issues that affect my generation. Issues like materialism, AIDS, drugs. Issues that are currently being faced by the world. I can relate to the story very much, especially to Mark Cohen's character. Find out what I am talking about and you will probably know me better after that.

Try to catch the show but if you can't, there is a movie to be released soon by Sony Pictures. Check this out.

You bet I am going to watch that again!

Viva La Vie Boheme!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

The Resurrected Reader

2005-11-30T22:45:00.000+08:00

While spending my time at home, trying to rest and waiting for the colds to be flushed down, I ended up reading three books from my pile of Still-To-Be-Read Books. Okay, two-and-a-half only. The first one was started last week and I was already halfway when I picked it up last Sunday.

I started the book marathon with the very timely "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci.

It was followed by Alan Cumming's "Tommy's Tale" - a story of a Gen-X man suffering from a premature midlife crisis.

And it was culminated by Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones.

Ooopps, are you waiting for a book review? Nah! I won't do justice to these good books if I try to write something about them. I am not just good at it. They are all entertaining I should say. They helped me wander from the four corners of my bedroom!

This is phenomenal, never in my life that I read more than two books in a lesser number of days. Thanks mostly to the abnormal sleeping habits when one is sick. Because of the daytime sleeps, I would wake up in the middle of the night and will have a hard time going back to sleep. The easiest alternative to pass away time was to grab a book and immerse myself in it.
At least something good came out from my going down with the colds - except of course for the fact that I was totally rested.

Note: The pictures were lifted from Barnes and Noble.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Down With Colds!

2005-11-26T17:44:00.000+08:00

The worst thing that could happen to an office-worker during weekends is getting sick. That's the state I am currently in. I don't know if I got the flu but for sure, I got the colds! A terrible one.

Since Wednesday night, I already felt that this is coming. I tried to drink tons and tons of water to flush it out. It worked for three nights but this morning, the inevitable happened. Last night I can't breathe and I have to wake three times during the night.

I am so pissed off and sleepy from the doses of paracetamol and phenylpropanolamine i have been inducing since last night.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Babies!

2005-11-23T10:31:00.000+08:00

I got this link from Tita Batjet on my Inbox today and I thought it was hilarious.

It's a children's book from Germany. It scared the hell out of me on how am I going to show this to the kids at home, well if I ever got the book with me. It's so direct to the point and knowing how kids' minds run, they might ask you how it happened. That would be a lot better though than them asking you to show it to them.

Take a peek and pitch in your idea about it.

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/babies/index.htm

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Join Me For A Ride

2005-11-21T23:07:00.000+08:00

The past 10 days or so has been a roller coaster ride for me. On some days, things are just rolling mildly, on some there were quick drops and of course, there were high and easy points.

On the Friday of the week before last week, I was reprimanded by my boss for being delayed on one of the projects he has been asking me to do. I overpromised and I underdelivered and I am guilty. No ifs, no buts, no becauses. I admitted my mistakes and I apologized. It was a wake up call for me, it was time to regroup my thoughts, my priorities and refocus. It was really a weekend spoiler. But as I have said, since I am guilty, I really didnt feel that bad of the ruined weekend. Not like one of those days wherein you get surprised by bitches and jerks for no apparent reason. This time, it was different. I surrendered and I gave in to the fact that I was at fault.

Because of that, the following days were literally sleepless nights. I decided to finish all my pending works to ease off the burden from my mind. That's the reason why I haven't been updating this space here. I was really busy and was damned tired. I can't even remember anymore when was the last time I worked that hard. One realization that came to me was that it felt good to be really focused on what you are doing. Things are done faster, decisions are reached more sensibly, and the long overdue satisfaction followed after a finished job.

Thursday came, it was a Harry Potter night for me! The day was another work-filled day. With the objective in mind to finish my stuff before 5:30pm, I did my work as if there is no tomorrow. My IPod was put to the side, earphones were parked on the drawer, MSN messenger was on Invisible Mode and I was unapproachable. It paid off, at exactly 5:35pm, I finished my job.

I dashed off towards the lift, never minding all those queasy looks from the other people on the office. Things were going pretty well. But the moment we hopped on the cab, we knew something was wrong. The cab stinks - the stink that comes from a dried urine on someone's pants. It was really bad that we have to pull down the windows to let the fresh air in. The "uncle" (the Singaporean lingo for 'manong') driver was an old man, probably on his early 70s. Since we were on the Expressway (ECP), we obviously can't stop him. But we were laughing at our luck on why we have to be on that cab. Then on the freeway, we hit a pick-up truck. It was really hard that my companion screamed real hard with the shock. With the speed of 100km/h, we were lucky to have survived a fatal crash. I was stunned but the uncle seems to be fine. He was still smiling and even uttered "That was close" - or something to that effect. When we are to alight, the door got stuck. Because of the bump, the side was totally wrecked. After getting down, all I can whisper was - "That was close!" Another lease of life. With that incident in mind, I was glad the movie exceeded my expectations. I had a good night sleep still.

The weekend was a lazy one. I tried to rest from the eventful days that just passed. I took it easy and relaxing.

Today is different though. I was planning for my holidays and got the approval from my manager. I informed him of my itinerary and he suggested that after my holiday, I will stay there for an official business engagement on that place. You know what that means, don't you? I am happy

That was a ride! Whew!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Sydney Pics This Time

2005-11-13T00:58:00.000+08:00

For those who tried to guess the pics on my previous post, here are the answers. I would say, you all did great.

The first picture was actually the center dome of the famous Queen Victoria Building (left pic above). It was taken right under the dome from the basement. The second picture was didgeridoos. These are musical instruments used by the Aboriginal people in Australia. (see right pic above) It is a hollow branch/trunk of a tree which was consumed by termites in the inside. These are real heavy stuff. Learn more about didgeridoo here.

Here are some pics that I got from my Sydney trip.

Taken from the Manly Harbor. The first pic is the view that I got from my hotel room.

Spring 2005 - Sydney in bloom.

The Sydney Opera House (where I watched ABC's (Australian Ballet Company) production of Romeo and Juliet) and the Sydney Harbor Bridge (I climbed the summit of the bridge)

Taken at The Rocks along George St (Sydney's counterpart to Ayala Ave.). After 3 hours of brisk walking, I treated myself to 4 doughnuts and a cup of large Cafe Au Lait from Krispy Kreme. Yum yum!

The Sydney Tower on the background (great dining on the "revolving restaurant" on top. The image of Queen Victoria. And the Sydney Town Hall.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Guess....

2005-11-10T12:14:00.000+08:00

I asked few of my friends what do they think these pictures are and 75% of them failed, not even near to what they actually are!

Give it a try!

Clue - these were taken on a lazy Saturday afternoon stroll I had in downtown Sydney.

Enjoy!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Few Reasons To Mourn

2005-11-04T19:03:00.000+08:00

First, for the death of my right big toe. Having been playing badminton for few years now, I already graced the elite club of becoming a member for many times to the "Dead Toe Society". Yes, I always hurt my big toe. Borrowing Manny Pacquiao's line "Mali kasi yung medyas na nasuot ko e". (I wore the wrong pair of socks!) But this time, it's different. After 7 weeks from the time I got hurt, there's no sign that the wound is healing. I can still see beneath the nail an imminent streak of red blood, instead of the dark black (is there such a thing as light black? - labo) blood clot. And I don't see any sign of the severed nail lifting up from the skin. Now I am getting scared. And I always include this in my daily prayer that nothing serious and no big deal with that right big toe.

~~~ooo000ooo~~~

Second, it happened earlier today. While on the bus on my way to work, (of course I was running in late again) while listening to Jamie Cullum's new Album - Catching Tales - my IPod went dead. I am sure I didnt run out of battery as it was just recharged the night before. On the fourth song, I felt a grind on the hard disk and it stopped from there. Bugger!

When I was in Tokyo two weeks ago, I got a bad feeling that this will happen soon. I actually went to the shops and scouted for an external hard disk to be used as a backup and storage for my Ipod songs and growing gallery of pictures. I found the price a little bit hefty as compared to Singapore prices, I wobbled and decided not to buy. Promise, first thing in the morning, I will rush to the Apple Shop in Orchard Road and if they can salvage it (I just need to have a backup of the 6,000+ songs I have in there), I will go directly and buy a hard disk and started copying them. If I can backup them, I don't care what will happen to it anymore. At least I have the peace of mind now that the moment this machine will give up on me, I can always get a new one and fill it up again. I am expecting that this toy's life is nearing its end. Afterall, I have been using it at an average of 30 days in a month for the past 16 months. Not bad I guess. I am crossing my fingers!

~~~ooo000ooo~~~

Now seriously, the third one is the passing away of the husband of a good friend of mine. He passed away last Monday due to cancer. It was a tough fight for him. Having been diagnosed of the disease on its 4th critical stage, he failed to cross cancer boundaries. He was such a good man. Other people can attest to that. But I am sharing the loss that my friend suffered. I am almost lost for words now. All I can afford is to pray that his soul will rest in peace and that God may guide her throughout the days.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

More Pictures from Japan

2005-11-02T22:32:00.000+08:00

The Japanese flag taken from a speeding ferry!

A "big" serving of a Coffee Latte at my hotel's lounge. ~ A map of Tokyo's Railway System. Put beneath it the City's Subway System, and you'll have the most complicated, well-planned public transportation system of the world.

The extremes - The Yen Shop offers just anything you need at JPY100 or JPY200. Care for a durian at JPY4000 (US$40) each?

The busy street of Shinjuku ~ A stone tablet at Asakusa ~ And my ever favorite Electronics City of Akihabara.

Domo arigato gazaimasu!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

The Songs In My Life

2005-10-28T07:43:00.000+08:00

Actually this post is all about Ate Enid. She sent a mail into our "family yahoo groups" and it really touched me dearly. Maybe because I witnessed the events written on the letter. Maybe I was too young or maybe too insenstive to some of the events that time, but hearing it from her now, really aimed at the softer side of me.

The mail had a subject line - "THE SONGS IN MY LIFE".

Here it goes....

Hi Everyone,

I would like to share the following experiences I hadand the songs that uplifted me from these experiences:

In September 2002, I received a text message from an unknown person with the following message : "Walanghiya ka tigilan mo na kami, huwag mo na kaming guluhin, masaya na kami." With this simple message I did'n't have enough sleep for a week which caused me to suffer from Nervous Break Down.

That time, my ex-boyfriend from Australia was with his family having a vacation here in the Philippines. My ex-boyfriend was also my college barkada. He requested us, his remaining barkadas here in the Philippines to have a Get-Together. Unfortunately, I was one of those who was not able to attend that Get-Together because I was on a retreat at San Carlos Seminary together with the Chapel Servants of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel that weekend.

One of our barkadas who attended the Get-Together who also happened to be my officemate, handed me the following Monday the pasalubong that my ex-boyfriend gave for me and my family. And what I did is to ask for his contact number to say a simple "Thank You" since they were at Camiguin na that time having a vacation with his family. When I got the contact number I texted this message "Thank you sa pasalubong. Pasensiya ka na hindi ako naka attend sa Get-Together kasi nasa Retreat ako. If you need a ride I could offer you a ride". I didn't receive any reply until I received the unknown message. I had a nervous break down that time because I did not have enough sleep thinking of this message from the unknown person that was sent to me. Naisip ko tuloy baka iyong wife ng ex-boyfriend ko ang nag text and she was thinking that I am a threat to their relationship.

Before they left for Australia, we had a Get-Together again with some of our barkadas. In this Get-Together, I met his family and he met my husband Jet and son Kevin. I also showed them our Wedding Album, Yearbook in College and my Album when I was sent by Equitable Bank in North Carolina and NewJersey and New York USA for a 3-week training. After the Get-Together, I was embraced by his wife and she said to me "Thank You".

During that time when I had a nervous break down, I was able to utter the following words from this song which I believe help me to recover (Siguro kung hindi saMental Hospital na ako napunta).

I Give to You
=============
I give to you my heart
I give to you my will
I give to you my mind
Now I am yours to fill.

And what I give please take
And what you take please break
And what you break please use
Use it for your glory
Use it for your glory alone.

In November 2002, my son Kevin had to be rushed to the emergency because he had a convulsion which they attributed for him having a low-calcium and low magnesium in his body. He needed to be injected with calcium and magnesium. The calcium was given through IV. The magnesium was given also through IV. However, his fragile body suffered from a shock because of the unberable pain of the injection of the magnesium. That time he almost died having a flat line on the monitor for some seconds. My husband witnessed it but I did not. When I arrived, he has already recovered.

That time I recalled this song :

Diyos ay Pag-ibig
==============
Hiram sa Diyos ang ating buhay
Ikaw at Akoý tanging handog lamang
Di ko ninais na akoý mabuhay
Ngunit salamat dahil may buhay

Ligaya ko nang akoý isilang
Pagkat tao ay mayroong dangal
Sinong may pag-ibig, sinong nagmamahal
Kundi ang taong Diyos ang pinagmulan

In September 2003, I had a miscarriage (2months) on my third baby. When I was in the recovery room, I was so hysterical remembering all what had happened to my first baby and to this baby (my third baby). When I was finally moved to my room, I was really glad to see my husband and one of my barkada waiting for me and telling me to get well soon.

The following morning, I texted the OLG Community the following "My Angel baby is now in the good hands of our Lord". They offered me prayers and texted me uplifting words which really helped me to recover very fast.

The song I sung when I woke up that night I had a miscarriage was :

I Offer My Life
===============
All that I am All that I have
I lay them down before you O Lord
All my regrets All my acclaim
The joy and the pain I'm making them Yours

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.

Things in the past things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes all of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to You.

In December 2003, my son Kevin suffered from Dengue Fever. He was transfused by eight (8) bags of platelets because it went down to as low as 40. While I was holding him in my arms I was singing the song :

The Power of Your Love
======================
Lord, I come to You
Let my heart be changed renewed.
Flowing from grace that I've found in You.
And Lord I've come to know the weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away in the power of Your love.

Hold me close let your love surround me.
Bring me near draw me to your side
And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with yourY our spirit
Leads me on in the pow'r of Your Love.

Lord, unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your Love
As You live in me
Lord, renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living ev'ry day
In the power of Your Love.

That time I was praying that there is no disease greater than the power of God's Love.My son Kevin recovered from it. My son is really a survivor. I really thank God for all these experiences that He has given me. It really made me a stronger person now. And now with the talent that He has given me, I will continue to serve Him during the Holy Mass through singing.

God bless!

Yours in Christ,
Enid

~~~~~ooo000ooo~~~~~

Today , 28th of October is the 10th wedding anniversary of Ate Enid and Kuya Jet. Happy Anniversary to both of them!

Please join me in wishing them happiness, strength in tackling the challenges ahead, a strong faith, and the love that binded, still binds and will bind them in their journey together.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Snaphots......And More Snapshots

2005-10-25T17:24:00.000+08:00

As promised before, I am posting some of the pics I have on my library.

I'll start with my trip to KL, where I got the chance to meet Jolo again.

Pic 1 ~ Introducing Jolo
Pic 2 ~ The Dome at Suria KLCC
Pic 3 ~ The Petronas Tower from the bottom
Pic 4 ~ The Twin Towers - no edition was done on this. It turned out blue and i liked it.
Pic 5 ~ Public Bank of Malaysia (?) not sure actually

Pic 6 ~ Jolo with siblings - Kyla and Jaiko

~~~~~~ooo000ooo~~~~~~

And now, here are some shots from my recent trip to Tokyo.

Taken from the Japanese garden by the hotel. The first pic, I would say, is my first successful shot playing with my cam's shutterspeed adjustments (see the effect on the waterfalls).

The Miyako Radisson Hotel Tokyo Lobby Lounge and the Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba, Tokyo.

My good friends Dedy and Onie's sons - Akira and Abi.

Pics from Asakusa

~~~~~~ooo000ooo~~~~~~

My friendly blogger.com host is telling me my limit is reached. I will post the rest next time. I hope you won't encounter problems in viewing them.

Enjoy!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

G'day mate! How Ya Doin?

2005-10-20T19:59:00.000+08:00

I really had a blast for the past ten days. Having to eat my favorite Japanese cuisine from the Land of the Rising Sun itself, nothing beats that. But right now, I am here in Sydney for another 10-day engagement, and I just need to change mindset. I need to forget the Japanese tea and miso soup's sensations and prepare for the intoxicating bliss brought about by Australian wines.

One thing very unusual happened to me today at the Sydney Immigration Counter. For the first time, except for the interview with the officer in the Immigrations counter, I was not interrogated to the max by the hardworking immigration guys in Sydney Airport. For the past trips I had here, it would be a regular scene with me being asked by at least three officers. One from the counter, another one right after passing the counter and another one from the carousel area, while waiting for my luggage to come out. Yes, it has been like that. It has been consistently like that. And if I am really lucky, I will get another one from the Customs Area. I was so used to it that on my way to collect my luggage I even slowed down when an officer was heading towards my direction. Surprisingly, he did not stop me. Instead he smiled and gave me the staple greeting, "G'day mate! How ya doin?". Clearly said with the unique Aussie accent.

Now check this out. On the customs department, the officer didn't even ask me to open my luggage. She asked if I have something to declare, and I mentioned the sports shoes I have inside. She just smiled, took the declaration form and let me pass.

On my ride to the hotel, a Chinese man was on the wheel of the cab I was in. He engaged me on a casual conversation, asking things like where did I come from, what do I do, how long will I stay, and lots and lots of stuff. I was so stunned when suddenly he started speaking fluent Tagalog (the Philippine native tongue). Apparently, he had 15 trips to Manila spanning 3 years, the last being made 10 years ago. From the start, he decided to learn the language. And I would say, he did it with flying colors. And guess what, I learned few Tagalog words from him. Who would have thought that he will be the one to tell me what is the Tagalog term of "ash tray". Maybe you can make a guess.

I hope these are good omens for a worthwhile trip here in Sydney. I hope things will further get better from here.

Ok, I need to go and have my Fish and Chips!

Cheers!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Being Tagged The Second Time Around

2005-10-15T21:57:00.000+08:00

I was tasked by Penovate to state "20 random facts about me then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts".

Here you go.....

1. I love reading books...any books.
2. I don't eat eggplant but I love radish.
3. I love travelling.
4. I have a Type O blood.
5. I am a Filipino...and proud of being one.
6. I am working in Singapore.
7. I am a certified public accountant....and love to do audit.
8. I have a fetish on teeth.
9. I love to drink but get drunk easily.
10. I am a Harry Potter fan.
11. I love Singapore Airlines.
12. I consider Japanese cuisine to be the best.
13. I am one of the many captured market of Apple Ipod.
14. I still have a 20-20 vision.
15. I love photography...but still not so good at it.
16. I love singing.
17. I enjoy going for a massage...the authentic one.
18. I am a big Beatles and Lisa Ono fan.
19. I love Math but I don't understand Calculus.
20. I want to learn calligraphy...because I have a terrible penmanship. Im glad they invented keyboards.

Huh.... that was a quick 6 minutes.

Now I am passing the favor to the following.

Abaniko
Teacher Sol
Amgine
On Line G
ELA
Rachel

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Korewa Fugu Desu!

2005-10-11T21:44:00.000+08:00

Ever since I can remember, I always liked Japanese food. From the fresh sashimi, to the yummy sushi to the healthy soba and even the fresh-from-the-fire yakitori. And yes, who would miss out the deep fried tempura and the ever-filling kamameshi. I never fancied the bento boxes though, except if they have a serving of the unagi or the fresh water eel. Oh I almost forgot, I love miso soup the best, no matter how is it prepared.

Gindara teriyaki, okonomiyaki, chawan mushi, tamagotchi (este tamago), etc....and the list can continue to eternity and i will never get over them. They are just plainly yummy!

Of all Japanese food, for this matter - a delicacy, I always shunned the mysterious "FUGU" or the more commonly known puffer fish or blowfish. Last night was monumental and exceptional though. It will be a night that I will never ever forget. I was finally swayed in by my Japanese host to eat this fish. For the past 6 years since I first came here in Tokyo, I was constantly asked if I would mind eating fugu. I always feared the idea of being poisoned and always politely declined the offers.

I once read in National Geographic Magazine in one of their features about toxins, Pufferfish poison was one of the most potent of all toxins, together with Venom, Arsenic, etc. The toxin, which is located at the fish's gonads, intestines, liver and skin, is so powerful that within minutes of ingesting it, one can die. To make it worse, there are no symptoms like vomitting or nausea before it cuts your breath, and the toxin is colorless, odorless and tasteless. So one would not know if the food in front of him is poisonous or not. By the way, the chef who prepares this dish needs to have a license and be accredited by the government.

I don't know how I was convinced last night. But thinking about it, it was more of my curiosity to try it, just for the sake of trying it and be able to say I have tasted it...errr tried it. The food was tasteless. No peculiar or unique taste whatsoever, just plain "fish taste".

So there you go.....I have tried it and I am now passing the challenge to everybody. Any takers?

Of course, i took a picture of it. Get a glimpse.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

HDB's Up For Sale....Let's Tie The Knot (So Not!)

2005-09-29T15:05:00.000+08:00

Being a bachelor and having to work together with a bunch of daddies and husbands everyday is definitely a classic stage of life someone like me has to undergo, or to endure to that effect. During lunch times or in-between badminton games or on drinking sessions, I will surely get a question when do I plan to get married, or if the girl I had dinner with the night before is the right girl, or if I am planning to go for a Chinese, a Malay or a Pinay for a wife, and many other trivial questions about my decision to remain bachelor. More often than not, I always tell them that at this point I am not yet keen to it. Afterall, I am getting my share of sexcapades in this world. Enough of it that I am surprisingly contented....I guess!

While having lunch today, the series of questioning came up again. I don't know whether they're trying to point out to me that I'd rather be married and not free than be single and happily being rich. Or they are just simply trying to get into my nerves. Either way, there are trade-offs! It's kinda sort of the "damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't" phenomenon.

Giving more thinking to it, I asked two of my Singaporean colleagues what made them decide to finally go down the aisle. I was so shocked of what I got for an answer. Both of them got married because that's the only way they can get one of those govenrment-funded HDB (Home Development Board) flats. By the way, single persons here in Singapore are not allowed to buy an HDB flat (which is reasonably cheaper than the highly priced private apartments or those we fondly call Condominiums) until they reach the age of 35. The first guy was very much aware that they need to have a marriage certificate to be able to avail of the new flats, hence they got married before proceeding with the purchase but the other one was not aware. They already reserved a unit (hence paying the hefty deposit, which is unrefundable) and when they were processing the papers, they were asked to provide their certificate. Since they don't have, they rushed to schedule their marriage just to get that piece of paper, to eventually be able to get that much-coveted HDB Flat.

They jokingly added that I would be getting this answer most of the time from Singaporean men! I was just so dumbfounded.

I still have few more years to count before I can buy the flat as a bachelor. But should I lose my patience and not be able to wait for that time, I might as well take the same path my two friends took. I should say, this is a very practical, yet economical reason of getting hitched! Oh yeah, I almost forgot I am an accountant. The most economical option will always be the best option, provided the opportunity loss from the other options are not that material in the decision making process.

Sigh!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Quidam! Quidam!

2005-09-24T01:56:00.000+08:00

Quidam it is! (picture lifted from Sistic)

I treated myself and my mom and my sis last week when we went to see the latest offering of the world's most famous Circus Group - Cirque du Soleil here in Singapore. Apparently, this run is already the third time they are coming here in Singapore.

The ticket price is quite hefty. I was kinda expecting that anyway, because when they were preparing the venue for the show, they totally asphalted the whole football field to put up their tapis rouge. That's a helluva of an investment there. But as some of my friends who saw it before advised me, "One should see the show at least once in his life". So I never had any second thoughts before pressing the "Confirm" button and let my Visa Card get charged. Of course I did not get the most expensive ticket, actually we got the 2nd to the cheapest seats. I was just so glad to find out upon entering the venue that the setup is quite intimate. There are just few rows of chairs. (I thought before of the Sting Concert here last January 2005. Even though we paid the most expensive ticket, we were still behind hundred rows before the stage.) Only if I have known of this, i would have taken the cheapest ticket. Believe me, I would not have been able to tell the difference anyway.

The show was really a world class showcase. It was almost flawless; well at least to what I saw. The most recommended segment anyway is the group of four chinese girls doing the Diabolos. This was the most applauded act, I should say.

The show lasted for two and a half hours, with one intermission. Though the price was high, the exeperince was well worth it. I had fun! Wicked!

Try to catch it if you can.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

What's In A Child's Mind?

2005-09-22T23:01:00.000+08:00

I have always marveled on how witty kids are nowadays. I don't know if it is wittiness or it is just plain and unadulterated honesty.

My friend's seven year old son have all these things to say about anything.

Me: Jolo, what do you want to become when you grow up?
Jolo: I don't know yet. I just wanna be rich.

Me: Jolo, have you read the new Harry Potter book?
Jolo: No. I never read any of the first books.
Me: Oh why not? Your kuya loves reading them.
Jolo: I know. That's why I am not reading them. Kuya will tell me the story
anyway.

One day, the whole family went to a squatter area to distribute their unwanted toys and clothes. It was Jolo's younger sister's birthday wish to make the poor kid's happy on her birthday. Jolo's siblings and their mom happily distributed the goods, but Jolo stayed in the car. Apparently he doesn't feel good seeing the situation of the poor kids.

Mommy: Jolo, why are you not joining us?
Jolo: I don't want. I will just pray for them.

Contemplating on all of these, I am sure I would not have the capacity to answer in this manner when I was of Jolo's age.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Touring Singapore

2005-09-19T23:39:00.000+08:00

The past ten days was really a busy one for me. Not because of work, but because my mom, my sis, two cousins and a friend came to visit me here in Singapore.

These pictures say it all! Im glad they had fun and enjoyed every moment of their visit. There were places that they wanted to see but time was not enough. Maybe, they will do it when they come...the second time around. But of course, their visit would not be this great without the warm welcome and hospitality they got from Noel and Olive. And of course it was jazzed up more with Jacob's killer smiles.

Part of me says that it's time for me to relax but the other part of me longs for the warmth they brought with them when they arrived. Nothing beats the natural high you get when you're around with family.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

A Man's Right To Shoes

2005-09-15T12:01:00.000+08:00

How many pairs of shoes do you have?

Well for me, I have three formal shoes which I use when going to the office for work, 2 pairs of casual shoes (jeans shoes), 3 pairs of badminton shoes (i use the oldest one when going for a run or to the gym), two pairs of sandals (one rubber and one leather), 2 pairs of slippers (one used inside the house and the other one for the bedroom). I think that's a pretty conservative line of footwear and I am sure you will concur.

Last night, my brother sent me a bunch of recent pictures of him and his family. Of course most of these pictures are those of my nieces. But in the lot, he included one picture in the end that really perflexed me. It's a picture of his collection of Air Jordan Basketball Shoes. No wonder, he even asked me last month when I was in Manila to check a certain pair (of course Air Jordan again) in Glorietta as it ran out of stock in California. Apparently it's a limited edition. According to the Nike boutique in Glorietta, they only had two pairs (and the only pairs shipped to Philippines) and they were gone on the first day of display. That quick eh! Somebody must be as crazy as my brother when it comes to Air Jordan Shoes. Oh yeah, I have to mention that he left one pair of them in Manila when he came for a visit last Easter.

I don't think I am over reacting here. I am attaching the said picture for you to decide for yourselves.

What do you think?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

I Had A Dream.... Finally!

2005-09-13T23:03:00.000+08:00

On one of my earlier posts, I discussed the fact that I never experience REM (Rapid Eye Movement). This only means that I don't have dreams on my sleep. In that post, I promised to share the story if ever I have one.

Well that instance happened last Thursday evening. I was awaken on Friday morning with a very weird dream going on. I am sporting a semi-bald haircut right now, ok it grew to at least half inch already. But in my dream, at the top of my head, yes just at the top of my head at approximately 3 inches in diameter, the hairs grew there to almost one foot and they are all standing. Just imagine Ronaldo's hairdo during the World Cup in 2002, move a little bit to the center, make the hairs longer and make them stand. Have you painted the picture in your mind already? Weird isn't it? With my slightly bigger than normal eyes, what came to my mind upon reliving the dream, i almost looked like one of Russ Trolls.

(picture lifted from www.ebay.com)
Thank God, my hair didn't turn Orange or Yellow or Pink.

As I am not very superstitious when it comes to dreams, it might mean something. What do you think?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Pilipinas Chronicles (Long Overdue) - Part 1

2005-09-05T22:20:00.000+08:00

If this post would have been a debtor's account (receivables) this is already very long overdue and by this time, I could have already received, not only reminder letters, but copies of legal proceedings against the account.

I'll start with the flight experience I had.

On my previous post, I said I will discuss about my experience with the budget airline. I went with Tiger Airways. At check-in time in Chnagi Airport, I arrived 90 minutes before departure. Surprisingly, on the Budget Airline counter, no security personnel performing checks on the checked-in luggages. Weird indeed...especially during these times when terrorism is a major concern worldwide. Check in time is slow, despite the influx of passengers and the queue is really getting longer, there were only two counters open. There are 5 counters all in all. Comparing to the adjacent airline, which is Jetstar, there were 4 counters open.

Contrary to the common belief that these airlines are very particular with your baggage allowance, they were pretty lenient about it. The passenger who checked-in ahead of me had 21 kilos, but he was not charged. That's 6 kilos over the allowed limit of 15 kilos.

There were no seating assignments on the boarding pass but boarding was smooth. The cabin was newly refurbished. The carpets are clean, chair upholstery is well maintained, airconditioning is excellent, but the carry-on luggage compartment is small. This is the reason why I was not able to bring my guitar with me. No inflight entertainment, but i was entertained by this guy who sat infront of me, he's playing a one-man orchestra via his polyphonic snores. It's irritating but entertaining. I did not have to endure it all the way though as my Ipod came to the rescue. They sell meals, which is very reasonably priced. And yes, they have duty-free items also.

One thing that I found very unique to them is the way they phrased their inflight reminders.

One goes like this: "Please be reminded that smoking in this flight is A BIG NO-NO!"

And another one goes like this: "As we are about to land, please ensure that your chairs are on their upright position, tray tables are securely stowed, window shades are up and YOU"RE BUCKLED UP."

With my all the flights I ever had, I never heard this "BIG NO-NO" and "YOU'RE BUCKLED UP" before. Have you?

Take-off and landing were smooth as silk. I highly commend the pilots of Tiger Airways!

Now my verdict with the service and the experience - 9 out of 10! Of course, I lowered down my expectations considering the price I paid for it. Definitely, it was worth the money shelled out for it.

And yes, I will ride with them again. Maybe on my next trip, I'll try Jetstar. But, Singapore Airlines has this 2-to-go promo right now. Promotional rates from these commercial airlines are getting more frequent to attract travellers to their flights. Either way, It's a win-win situation for passengers like me.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Old Friend.... Big Friend!

2005-09-02T23:35:00.000+08:00

HAHAHA! Umpisa pa lang, natatawa na ako!!!

A good laugh is almost inevitable when meeting up an old friend, whom you haven't seen for ages. Last Wednesday, I got a message from Dennis that he is stranded in Singapore and will have to stay here for two days. Dennis is an old colleague from SGV. He is now working in Diego Garcia, in one of those islands in this US Military Base in Indian Ocean. Being a restricted destination, only chartered military flights are allowed to fly in and out of the territory. In short, he was at the mercy of the flight skeds of the uniformed men. It's suppose to be a spoiler for him, but it turned out to be a good one for us here in Singapore. Selfish me!!!

True to my expectation, upon meeting him at Borders, we started reminiscing those old audit days and kept on laughing as if we're the only persons in the book store, which is of course a big irony. We were joined later by Joyce, another colleague from SGV, who is working with Ernst and Young here in Singapore. Dennis decided to buy a book, with my suggestion of course. Since his criteria for a good read is "yung hindi makapal" (not too thick), I recommended Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night Time. The catch is, since that book is on the 3 For 2 Section, he decided to get me and Joyce one book each from the same selection. Joyce went for Sidney Sheldon's Are You Afraid Of the Dark and I settled for one of Isabel Allende's memoirs, My Invented Country. Thanks Densch!

These are big friends of mine, having dinner at Seoul Garden in 5F Takashimaya in Orchard Road. Oh man, you need to check him out when eating. He has dinosaur appetite! I wish I can have that too!!! Oooopppsss!!

Then we had had Starbucks after. Why Starbucks? may sentimental value sa amin ang Coffee Shop na to. Way back during SGV days, when Starbucks is just new in Manila, we were a common sight in 6750 Ayala Ave, one of the first branches of Starbucks in Phils.

One thing worth telling here is, ang dami nyang dalang pekeng DVD. Buti nga di sya, nacheck sa SG Customs, otherwise lagot sya! siguro mga isandaang piraso yun.

I had a nice time last night. There's this certain feeling that completes you when you're with friends. I felt that last night. Mga pare, sa susunod ulit!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

A Walkout Again....

2005-08-31T00:16:00.000+08:00

Actually, I would hate to talk about politics, but late afternoon today, when one of the Singaporean friends called me up in my mobile and informed me me that the members of the Congress walked-out of the Session right before they have to vote about ***something***. This reminded me of the first impeachment hearing to discuss the fate of former president Erap. That time was the Senate's show. A different show all in all.

Let me share an excerpt of the discussion I had with this friend.

Singaporean: Why do they always do that (walkout)?
Me: (trying to conceal the bad image that the situation presents) This is a sign that democracy is still working in our country.
Singaporean: But why do you want to impeach all presidents that you have previously elected?
Me: (trying to give an answer, no matter how lame it is) Democracy is still at work, we vote but we can reverse the decision if we find out that they are not worthy of the position entrusted to them. Also, partisan politics is a big thing in Philippines.
Singaporean: That's a big irony! We are democratic also but we don't have to go this far because, whatever candidates/officials we have, we are sure that they will do good for our country.
Me: (Shrugged my shoulder and let out a fake chuckle)
(3 seconds of silence followed)

That totally caught me by surprise. I didn't dare contradict him, maybe because I know at the back of my mind that he is stating a fact.

Im just hoping that this political drama that is haunting the Philippines will end gracefully.....soon!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

I'm Tagged.......7/7 (as in Pito-pito)

2005-08-29T23:24:00.000+08:00

Before I went away for my holiday, Niko tagged me to do this quiz. And now I am now doing the honor to have been chosen by him. I hope I will at least do justice to it. But Im sure, at the end of this, most of you will find out how trivial my life is...so far!

Seven things that scare you:
1. Nobody would be able to love me back in my lifetime
2. Snakes
3. Plane crash
4. Nightmares
5. Acquiring a sexually transmitted disease
6. Car accident
7. Eggplant (yes I despise that veggie too much...)

Seven things you like the most:
1. Playing Badminton with my friends
2. Books - any kind
3. Chilling out with a glass of liqueur listening to jazz music
4. My Beatles CD, DVDs and books
5. My stamps collection
6. Piano
7. A Good Home Theater System

Seven important things in your bedroom:
1. Books
2. Bolster (i need to hug it to be able to get a good sleep)
3. Bedroom sandals
4. Dehumidifier
5. Reading Lamp
6. Mirror
7. Trash can

Seven random facts about you:
1. I have big eyes
2. I have a Type O blood
3. I’m 5’6” tall
4. I’m trusting
5. I’m cheerful
6. I’m a nocturnal person - im slow, really slow in the morning
7. I’m a good listener - i am bad in giving advices

Seven things you plan to do before you die:
1. Have my own family
2. Visit the Vatican and the Holy Land
3. Learn to play the piano very well
4. Write a book
5. To be able to buy a farm in Ilocos (or anywhere in Philippines) and put up a rest house, a menagerie maybe
6. To be able to convince my dad to go out and explore the world (ayaw nya lumabas ng Pilipinas e)
7. To be able to learn a foreign language (maybe Chinese, Japanese or Spanish)

Seven things you can do:
1. I can stay in the bathroom for hours reading a book
2. I can enjoy a drink alone
3. I can do a hocus-focus on your tax returns (hehehe!!!)
4. I can read musical notes (even though it takes time for me perfect it)
5. I can fake a smile (im really good at this, and can be very consistent even during tough times)
6. I can be very adventurous with food
7. I can sing

Seven things you can't do:
1. I can't cook
2. Fake friendship with someone I abhor (copied from Niko)
3. I can't dare to do drugs
4. I can't ride a bike on free-hand
5. I can't kill (somebody or myself)
6. I can't show disrespect to my parents
7. I can't dance

Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1. Nice set of teeth
2. Witty
3. Nice face contour
4. Smooth skin
5. God-fearing
6. defined butt
7. Clean Toes

Seven things you say the most:
1. Putcha!
2. Bobo ako!!! (pag nagkamali ako)
3. Yung kuwan
4. Ok
5. Ummmmmmm
6. Yeah right
7. Syet!

Seven celeb crushes (whether local or foreign):
1. Drew Barrymore
2. Kate Hudson
3. Julia Roberts
4. Bernadette Sembrano
5. Sarah Meier
6. Jennifer Lopez
7. Lindsay Lohan

Seven people you want to see take this quiz:
Since I think I am one of the last persons to have taken this quiz, and for those six persons or maybe seven that are following my posts, they have already answered these questions, I am afraid I have nobody to tag this to. But i'll give it a try anyway. I am tagging Tanggero, Leah, Tin, Balikbayan, Amgine, Watson and Olive.

Ayan!

This Is For The Number One Woman In My Life.....

2005-08-22T23:49:00.000+08:00

For those who really know me, you might be wondering who's this woman I am referring to. Hush....don't worry, I am not keeping a major secret from all of you. There's still no special someone who is linked romantically to me...at least not for now. Of course I am referring to my mom...my one and only.

Today is my mom's 65th birthday!

Actually, I'm lost for words right now. That's how I am actually feeling. There is no enough words that can describe the love, the respect, and the reverence I have for my mom.

I can still remember when I was younger (read as I am still young...hehehe!!!), my mom will tell us stories about the sacrifices and hardships that she had gone through as a kid and as a youth. Being an orphan, brought about by the 2nd World War's aftermath, she went through the hardest life one could ever experience. But of course I will not dwell on those tearjerking moments of her life. There are happier moments that could be written about her, though I am sure that words will never be enough to give her what is due her.

The greatest legacy that my mom would ever impart to us will be her almost always positive outlook in life. She is I think the most optimistic person I have ever encountered in this life. Even for all those hopeless moments, she will always be there to remind you that there is still hope. Maybe it's partly because of her strong spiritual piety. To her, everything is happening according to the Almighty's plans. I would often start a debate with her, especially on those times wherein "free will" is involved in making decisions. She would go to being unreasonable and keeps on insisting, "It's God's will that will be done." But this is what making her optimistic at all times.

Relatively, my mom is a very cheerful woman. I invited some friends before to visit our place in Ilocos and they had to stay at our place. They had to endure my dad's corny, sometimes offensive, tactless and semi-censored jokes. But they were also exposed to my mom's never-ending giggles. My friends told me that everytime my mom speaks, she will laugh or giggle at the end. Actually, i was never aware of it until they brought it out to my attention. And yes, almost all statements that go out of her mouth will be concluded with a laugh or maybe a childish giggle.

This morning, I scanned my sister's collection of Quiapo DVDs (huwag maingay, she has hoards and hoards of pekeng DVD...hehehe!). Since I don't have enough time for a full-length movie, as I am waiting for the finals of the IBF Badminton World Championships, I have shortlisted the Animated Movies. In the end, I chose Walt Disney's Aladdin.

On the disc's Special Features, the film's "Deleted Songs" are "honored". One song caught my attention wherein Aladdin worked hard to prove to her mom that he is not a waste in this world. I am dedicating this song to my mom on her 65th birthday. The song did not make to the final cut of the movie, but I will use it to pay tribute to my mom. The song goes this way......

Proud of Your Boy
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman

Proud of your boy

I'll make you proud of your boy

Believe me, bad as I've been,

Ma You're in for a pleasant surprise

I've wasted time I've wasted me

So say I'm slow for my age A late bloomer, okay, I agree
That I've been one rotten kid

Some son, some pride and some joy

But I'll get over these lousin' up Messin' up, screwin' up times

You'll se, Ma, now comes the better part

Someone's gonna make good Cross his stupid heart

Make good and finally make you

Proud of your boy

Tell me that I've been a louse and a loafer

You won't get a fight here, no ma'am

Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good

But that couldn't be all that I am
Water flows under the bridge

Let it pass, let it go

There's no good reason that you should believe me

Not yet, I know, but
Someday and soon I'll make you proud of your boy

Though I can't make myself taller

Or smarter or handsome or wise
I'll do my best, what else can I do?

Since I wasn't born perfect like Dad or you Mom,

I will try to Try hard to make you

Proud of your boy

Mang, this is your son, duffing his hat to you!

You are the best mother in this world. You definitely did well in bringing up... us, your three kids.

I love you very much!!!!!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Manila Here I Come!

2005-08-12T23:20:00.000+08:00

One more non-REM sleep and I will be finally in Manila! Yahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Hear ye! Hear ye! I am coming.................. Prepare the sinigang na corned beef, Jollibee chickenjoy, bulalo, Pares, tapsilog sa Tapa King, etc..... YUM! YUM!

See you all soon!!!!!!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

I Am One Proud Pinoy!!!

2005-08-09T22:37:00.000+08:00

It's Singapore's 40th Birthday!!!!

Looking at the celebration today, noticing the patriotism that is in the air, I am really a very proud Pinoy to be working here in Singapore. Working here is no way near perfect but so far, the experiences I am having are commendable. If I am made to choose again in which city would I want to be relocated, I will still choose Singapore over the other cities here in Asia Pacific like Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, etc. I like all these cities but I fell in love with Singapore the moment I stepped on it six years ago.

Listening to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Message for 2005, it reaffirmed more of my decision to choose Singapore as my home away from my beloved Pilipinas.

An excerpt of the message follows:

On 9 August 1965, Singapore became an independent and sovereign nation.
Suddenly, we were on our own, with no natural resources to exploit, no
hinterland to fall back upon, and no army to defend ourselves. But we were
determined to survive, and started building a nation from scratch. We worked
hard to improve our lives, and create a future for our children.
Today, we have every reason to rejoice. In 40 years, we have succeeded beyond all
expectations.
a. Our economy has developed and prospered. After each downturn
we have bounced back, to create more jobs and a better life for all.
b. Our society is harmonious and cohesive. We have built mutual trust between different
communities, and drawn all Singaporeans closer to one another.
(Source: Channel News Asia)

For the full text of the message, check it out here.

Point b above is, I would say, my best reason why I love this place. The harmonious living of the various races (Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc) makes it easier for outsiders like Filipinos to feel accepted in a foreign land. Besides the fact that we "look like them" in many aspects, hence strenghtening the sense of belongingness, people here are not judgmental and not discriminatory. Huh, I just love the place and the people that lives in it.

Happy Birthday Singapore!!!!!!!

(P.S. The countdown is now at 3 days and 8 hours to go before I board my flight for Manila!!!)
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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

The AIDS Busters

2005-08-08T23:17:00.000+08:00

Last March, few days before I had to leave Eder and Leah's place in Punggol to join Noel and Olive in Potong Pasir, Leah handed me this piggy bank (eerrrrr - it doesnt resemble a swine at all, still halal!) or a kiddie bank (hhhmmmm....definitely the design is not at all GP but R-18). Having a condom as a design for a coin bank, I will call it the "bachelor's kinky financial friend". Looking at it will always remind someone like me, "Hey, you gotta save for the future" or the more appropriate "Unprotected sex is always a no-no!!!"

When Leah gave this to me, she gave me a very important pointer on how to establish a relationship with this new-found friend. According to her, this friend will be most happy if i feed it only with a gold coin (aka the SG$1 coin). I heeded that advice and started giving its dose of a dollar coin every time I get hold of one, sometimes two and when really lucky, I gave it four. As a matter of fact, I can't even remember now when was the last time I spent a dollar coin that came my way. There were even times when I needed to pay, say $0.90, and I have a gold coin and a $5 bill, i will gladly hand out the latter. The coin will end up with my friend waiting at home.

Tonight I had 2 pieces to drop but when I pushed them in to its lips, it spilled them out. Aha, it was already full. In barely four months, I filled it to the brim. That was rather quick. I decided to open it up and count how much can it handle. No, I didn't throw it against the wall. True to its rubber design, if needed for it to be opened, the owner must do it really gently to avoid breaking it. There's a peep hole at the bottom with a rubber stopper. With my excitement flowing over the house, Olive gladly helped me in counting it. The total amount is two hundred and seventy dollars! That's a big amount considering that they were set aside in small denominations every time. If it is to be converted in pesos, I would be able to buy in Manila a good acoustic guitar or buy a roundtrip ticket via a budget airline or buy a good badminton racket. Of course, I am not going to spend it yet, but the idea of it just excites me so much. I know that's too shallow but I consider it is an accomplishment nevertheless.

I transferred the lot into a velvet pouch bag and i will start the feeding all over again! Hopefully, the first dollar coin will come to my hand tomorrow.

***(P.S. The countdown is now at 4 days and 7 hours before i board my flight for Manila!!!)***

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

And The Countdown Starts......Now!!!

2005-08-07T00:59:00.000+08:00

I had a late lunch today at around 3pm. Since I am still home alone, even though I was not in the mood to go out (didn't actually plan for it), I had to drag myself out as I was starving. I fixed myself and headed to Plaza Singapura and on the 3rd level, I made myself comfortable at the restaurant called Secret Recipe. I ordered a Vietnamese Style Beef Noodles and while waiting for it to be served, I enjoyed the sight of all the people passing by. As usual, the whole shopping mall is packed again to the brim.

What caught my attention though was the family on the table next to mine. There were three of them - the son (who I guess has the same age as mine), and the parents (both at their prime - late 60s to early 70s). They were there for a dessert only. They all ordered a cup of brewed coffee each and a slice of blueberry cheesecake, which they all shared together. Obviously they were enjoying each other's company. One can see from their smiles and hear from their sporadic laughters. They are such a nice sight to gaze upon. If only I had my camera with me, i would have discreetly took a shot of them.

Sigh! I think I am just homesick! That family made me miss my mom and dad terribly! That family was a reason enough for me to give a call to my parents right after my lunch.

I should cheer up because in less than a week, I will be reunited with them again. I am starting the countdown now. It's exactly 6 days and 5 hours to go before I board on my flight going home.

And still counting.........

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

A Desperate Act For Survival

2005-08-04T22:53:00.000+08:00

Today is definitely an exceptional day for me.

I called in sick today, not because I am bed ridden or down with the flu but I just felt that something is not right with me. My body is a little bit sore from a heavy game last night but still manageable! When I woke up, I somewhat felt that I dont want to go to work. My usual "pick-me-up" routines in the morning are not around today. I don't have the served-hot breakfast (courtesy of Olive) and the cheerful laughs and shrieks of Jacob (not to mention his killer smiles). They went to Kuala Lumpur yesterday to spend the rest of the week with Noel in Sunway Lagoon. They'll be back on Saturday.

Without the breakfast, i settled with my cereal bars, my peppermint tea and apple. But when lunchtime came, I didnt have anything to eat. I could have easily rode on my bike and went to Potong Pasir to grab some but the weather was not cooperating. The sky seemed to be full of obituary pages and the clouds were raised half-mast. The heavens are crying and a lazy rain has been pouring since the morning.

The fridge is full but not with cooked food. That means I had to do something for me to survive the day. I needed to cook my food. I have surrendered to the fact long-time ago that the kitchen will never be my turf. But today, my culinary skills (or the lack of it) were put to test.

The freezer has ground pork, salmon head, tanigue, bacon, sausages, beef ribs, fish cake, hams and sausages, and some stuff that were wrapped with Manila Bulletin newspaper (Noel's brother just came from Manila last Friday). I never dared open the lot. What you don't know won't hurt you. I will never know how to cook it anyway, whatever may be inside that package. Ooopps, i should mention, all the items here are rock solid! Thanks to the brand new fridge provided by the lessor.

The chiller is also full of fruits and vegetables - the likes of carrots, tomatoes, spinach, string beans, cabbage, squash, leeks, mushrooms, baby corns, celery, capsicums, "ampalaya", chili, eggplant (yucks!!!), guavas, apples and oranges.

The main compartment is literally empty, except for the chocolates, bottles of water, cheese, butter and jams.

I was dumbfounded! I didn't know what to do with all these stuff in front of me. I made up my mind and settled for the string beans. I tried to do a "ginisang sitaw" (sauteed string beans). I used the following ingredients: 6 pcs of beans, 1 medium tomato, few slices of pork, a stem of leeks, and 2 tbsps of patis (fish sauce). I cooked the meat and the tomato first, adding the patis, putting the beans and the leeks on the very last, continuously stirring it for 4 mins. The final result is this.

The food was not very good but it was not revortingly awful. I still give a star to myself for this feat. I have never done a "Jamie Oliver" attempt before. It was good enough to cross over that hunger I had today.

I don't know what was missing with the recipe, maybe you could tell me. Ah, by the way, the rice I ate was a leftover from yesterday. I needed the microwave's help on that.
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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

When I'm Sixty Four

2005-08-03T12:22:00.000+08:00

"Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I'm sixty four? "

Sounds familiar? Yes, that came from one of The Beatles song from their album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". I personally consider this as the best album from the Fab Four. And this song (When Im Sixty Four) is one of my favorites in it.

I am now sixty four!

Of course, I am not talking about my age. I am not even halfway through it. I am talking about my weight. I am only 64 kg now. Yay! Most of you might just shrug and say, "So what?".

Last month, I bought a weighing scale just for the heck of buying it. It was on sale in Ikea and got it for SGD6 only. Cheap eh! I was 68 kg then. From then on, I ventured into a conscious effort of trying to lose weight, in line with the Singapore governement's call to the poeple to watch their BMI (Body Mass Index). With my height and with 68kg, I had a 23.8 BMI, which is on the "moderate risk" range. Well my target was 65 kg. With that I will be on the "healthy range". I easily achieved that after 4 weeks and I actually overdid my self. Check out your BMI here.

What did I do? Nothing really spectacular. My diet did not undergo a major overhaul except for the following: I ate one apple a day, tried to shun carbonated drinks (except those times when I had to eat chilli and pepper crab, and Coke Light was just the best beverage that goes with them), tried to avoid fried foods (especially fried fowls - that includes chicken, duck, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and the partridge in a pear tree - hehehe!) and had more fruits and veggies. My protein and carbohydrates intake did not change at all.

But of course, I played more badminton. I had to play average of two hours three times a week. That's a major improvement from the previous once-a-week sessions I've been having.

An insight I had with this experience - that losing weight is definitely achievable. With that in mind, and having actually gone through the experience, I have one more reason again to eat and eat and eat more of just about anything. When the need for me to lose more weight comes, I can always count of this experience and start doing it again.

At the back of my mind, I am torn whether to continue this once and for all or to go back to the usual routine. Maybe on the physical activities, i will continue or maybe improve it. But on the "food thing", I will eat anything and do it to my heart's content.

I feel good.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

It's turning to be a good day after all....

2005-07-29T15:13:00.000+08:00

It's only 3pm and I cant wait to put this on record. I accomplished something positive just now. I finally picked my guts and put them to work.

For the past 4 days, it has been a roller-coaster ride for me with the auditors. We have to submit the report today by 9pm to US, and until yesterday things are not going the way i want them to be. Some findings are in the report which i dont totally agree. I have been trying to tell the auditors my side and they just wont budge.

It's partly my fault. I admit it. I did not come off strong enough to them to defend my side. Maybe I was too pissed off by them. I have been working with them for the past 6 months and it was never fun. I have enough of them. I would say I succumbed to whatever they want just to put an end to this debacle.

The morning was spent totally building up my case. It's now a firefighting attempt to fix the mess. I dug all the possible documents I could get, exhausted all possible means of disproving them. I found what i was looking for and was able to present to them by lunch time. I rushed to the hawker center for a very quick Yung Tau Fu lunch. When I got back, I have the best news on my Outlook Inbox. I was able to sway them in to my side. Yehey!

Now I am just looking forward to my game later tonight and to the dinner and KTV sessions with Tin, Ronald, Eder, Jay and Jet (yes, they're back from Manila the other day and flying off for US tomorrow). Leah is not in town yet until tomorrow.

It's turning to be a very good Friday the 29th.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

On the Budget Airline Bandwagon

2005-07-27T23:07:00.000+08:00

I tried my luck and applied for a holiday to Manila and my boss approved it. I got a 10-day leave and yes I am going home this August. Despite the current political roller coaster back home, i am still very excited to go back. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam! As the cliche goes, there's no place like home.

Another interesting thing that happened is, I got a very cheap rate via Tiger Airways. It's only a quarter of the normal rates of Singapore Airlines. I actually don't mind the hour-long trip from Clark to the city as our house is at Fairview, Q.C. Hence, nearer from Clark. It doesnt make much difference anyway because a normal trip from NAIA to Fairview takes more than an hour. Worse if you land during peak hours. The perennial problem of heavy traffic congestion either in EDSA or C-5 will always welcome you back home. When you're in the midst of the jam, you will realize sooner than you expected that you're finally home.

I've heard few comments on budget airlines. Some are bad but most of them are good. As for me, I am not expecting anything. That's why it's called "budget airline" as it won't have the perks one normally gets from a commercial airline. You get what your money's worth! I'll just enjoy the ride and think ahead of the destination rather than dwelling on the trip itself. But that would be "an experience" I am sure. With the homesickness and excitement going inside you, the trip just would be a very short three and a half hours! I will just tag along a book and a fully charged IPOD, I guess i will be fine.

An update, got a buzz from a friend last night and rates for Christmas season are now available. That means i should start planning for the Holidays - apply leave again, book the flights, start buying gifts and think of all the nice food back home. Wait....im going way too far.... hehehe!

For now, I am just looking forward to my August trip back home, looking forward to my first budget airline experience.

I am now on to the Budget Airline Bandwagon! On my next trip, I will try Jetstar Airways.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

I am not a Chinese

2005-07-26T23:24:00.000+08:00

I am not Chinese.... isn't it obvious? I am just surprised that it happened thrice today that folks have mistaken me for a Chinese.

The first was with the taxi driver this morning on my way to the office. Upon boarding and telling him my destination, the uncle started speaking in Chinese. Apparently, he was asking me which way do i want to pass through. It took me three "Excuse me?"s to send him the message that I didn't understand a single word he said. The sun was not shining this morning, but it's bright enough to see me clearly. i just ignored him.

The second happened at the counter of Bread Talk, my favorite bread shop here in Sinagpore. I wanted to buy a Carrot Loaf Bread and I asked one attanedant when is its expiry date. He politely replied to me in Chinese, telling me it is ok to consume within 5 days. I understood it at once. Not that I understood what she said but thanks to the "Snapping Five" gesture. (See one of my previous posts.) With this, being the second incident, it forced a grin in my lips.

The third installment of this "mistaken-Chinese-phenomenon" happened on the cab again. On my way home. As usual, my ever friendly IPod entertained me during these solitary moments. Thanks to Maroon 5's This Love, I unconsciously sang with Adam Levine through the song's chorus. When I was done with the song, the driver suddenly spoke to me and said (in English), "You have good voice ah" (ahem) "can sing this song to me?" Before i can even humbly deny his claim that my voice is good, a song suddenly played from his car's stereo, in fairness to him, his car's acoustics really oozes! And guess what song did he play, a chinese song! Waaaahhhhhh!!!!!

It's really unbelievable. With my big eyes and my bronze complexion, how the hell did they mistake me as an offshoot from China. Honestly, I don't know. I really don't.

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

An Evening With Morrie

2005-07-24T23:40:00.000+08:00

I rushed home from my regular badminton game to catch the final leg of the Tour de France 2005. I wanted to see this historic feat for Lance Armstrong in his attempt to take the title for 7 consecutive years. How good one cyclist can get to be able to achieve that; not to mention that he was suffering from testicular cancer before he started racing. He's really amazing.

When I reached home, took a breather and made myself comfortable in front of the TV and my Thinkpad. The moment I opened the ever-friendly Internet Explorer, I saw the headline and he indeed won. As they say the event should be renamed now "Tour de Lance". Not that I was really surprised of the result, but it was a spoiler enough and dampened my interest on the race. It was still 40 kms to go but since I knew the end result ahead, I did the thing that my mom really hated; i.e. letting my fingers fiddle endlessly with the remote control buttons.
In the Hallmark Channel, the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie" was being shown. I read the book maybe five years ago, and have never seen the movie before. I forgot the details of the book but I am quite sure that I enjoyed reading it. As a matter of fact, I highly recommended the book to friends and even gave some (maybe five) as a gift.

Seeing the movie really inspired me. It's a depressing movie but inspiring nonetheless. It's all about the importance of health and the urgency of making every moment count. It's all about the efforts that a person makes after learning that somebody you love is about to die. It's all about the last-minute desperation act to try to learn a lot of things from a person you really love, adore and admire before he finally leaves this life.

What a way to end this adrenaline-pumped evening. I'm off to bed!
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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Give Me A Snapping Five

2005-07-22T23:06:00.000+08:00

After 9 months of continuous stay here in Singapore, I would say I am still in the "getting-to-know-Singapore" stage. Every day still brings a surprise...sometimes maybe two.

A few hours back, my colleague left his bag at the badminton hall in Delta Sports Hall. The bag contained few important stuff like his passport, his airticket to Vietnam, his laptop, etc. Not really a surprise but the bag was turned over to the admin office. Im just still amazed on how honest people here are. Without any bad intention, I don't know if the laptop will still be around if it happened in Manila. I once lost a wallet during a badminton match in Manila, and the bad guy was really quick. In 30 minutes, he was able to charge a TV set on my Credit card. Whew...that was a real head scratcher.

Ok, back to Singapore.

One interesting discovery that I made for the past months was the way the Singaporeans let their hand speak with their lips when they say anything which is related to number 5. Yes...five, cinco, lima, wu. You heard me right. Everytime they need to say five or fifteen or twenty five or fifty or five hundred, five thousand, and anything with five in it, they have this interesting hand gesture. It's done like they're mimicking a crocodiles mouth, but it's done twice (generally) and real quick!

From the first picture to the next one, it's done on an average of two times and it's done really fast. Can you try doing that??? There you go!

It took me months to figure out that this is actually a common thing that Singaporeans do. From the auntie in the hawker center, to the receptionist in a hotel, to my badminton friends and even my boss, they all do this amazing gesture.

Few interesting scenarios....

I was on my way to my boss' office and he was currently engaged in a call, he did the gesture and I was expected to understand that i should give him 5 minutes to finish the call.
The lady who sits on the table next to mine, when she talks over the phone and would say anything with five, the hand gesture will always be in action. And just imagine if you are in an Accounts Department and numbers are always our chants and hymns, you'll be surprised to witness all those hands coming from nowhere and snapping right in front of your face.
Even if both hands are holding something, maybe a mobile phone and a book or an IPOD, they will find time to drop whatever they're holding to do the gesture. For them, the essence of the word "five" is not complete if it doesnt come with the gesture.

And Im sure there are more scenarios to this. This becomes a part of a Singaporean's life. Being here, living with them, would I want to learn it? I don't think so. It's enough that I understand what do they mean. But you never know, you might catch me one time doing it. And if you do, please call my attention.

Give me five!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Ma-an, best wishes!

2005-07-18T23:18:00.000+08:00

This day is a very special day, not to me, but to a person I truly treasure!

Ma-an, this is your special day! All the best!

8)

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Patience, patience, and more patience...

2005-07-17T17:09:00.000+08:00

I am reading a book now by Caldwell and Thomason. The book is "The Rule of Four". I got this from a book sale in Concourse (a building near our office) and it has been in my stack of unread books for months. I am a Harry Potter fan but I opted not to get the penultimate installment of the saga - not yet. I made a conscious decision to catch up with my books on my closet. 1 down, 11 more to go!

A script from the book caught my attention. It reads:

“To count a hundred million stars, at the rate of one per second, sounds like a
job that no one could possibly complete in a lifetime. In reality, it
would only take three years. The key is focus, a willingness not to be
distracted. And that is one’s gift: an intuition of just how much a person
can do slowly.”

The power of the metaphor on this case is simply unbearable, something that I am not capable of doing. Not even the thought of it but I will finish the 10 books left in due time.

One of the admitted weaknesses I have is the lack of patience. I finally gave in that I am really an impatient person because most of my friends (read as people I know from different walks of life) tell me so. And I would conclude that 10 people telling the same thing on me is not at all a coincidence. Never. By the way, of those persons, my own mom is not yet included. My mother used to tell me that I need more of that "virtue". I am sure though, that if I am still living with her, I will have countless reminders from her telling me to be more patient. Mother knows best eh!

By profession, I am an accountant. Most of new acquaintances that I had along the way will have the first reaction - whoa!!!! I don't know what could be running in their minds upon hearing this but I could only speculate.

I started my career with an auditing firm in Manila. And I am glad I did that. On my audit assignments, I worked with accountants (day in, day out). I saw my clients how would they spend a normal day at work. And I saw them deal with month-end requirements and tantamount pressures from deadlines from management. And worst of all, I saw how they survived financial yearends (needless to say - especially when the f*&^%$# auditors are around). I can only salute them! I am not like them. I hope someday I will! I couldn't imagine myself dealing with "auditors" with their endless and repetitive requirements. Oh yes, I am currently experiencing this now. I am currently being audited by PwC auditors on my "financial system management" function in our Company. And yes, they get to my nerves, more often than not. I don't know, I should know better because I was once in their shoes and I know how it felt dealing with a client who doesn't want to cooperate with you. I get impatient so quickly with all those "ridiculous" and (once again) repetitive requirements. I know I am being unfair and unreasonable when I feel that way towards them. But I am always not to my senses when I do.

I should try to focus more on the issue and be patient towards them and try to finish the engagement as swiftly as possible. Afterall, they might be as impatient as me when they are on my side. Alternatively, they can learn from their experiences with me and my streaks of impatience!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

Come Fly With Me....

2005-07-12T23:40:00.000+08:00

It is a very lazy evening for me. I left office without any exact plans of what to do tonight. I dont feel like going to the gym (my legs are still sore from a very tough badminton game last Sunday), I don't feel like starting a new book (I still have 11 unread books on my cabinet). I was scheduled to go for a bike stroll but since it rained this afternoon, I decided not to. Riding a bike on a wet road only means a dirty shirt after.Last Sunday, I volunteered to do some errands to buy something from Potong Pasir Market, that's a 15-minute walk from our place. But since there's a bike around, doing some errands is a breeze. When I left home, it was all perfect but on my way back the skies turned gray, winds started to blow and in a tick, the rain poured. Real hard! Being unprepared for it and with a box of salt on my care, I rushed home. But when i reached home my vanilla-colored shirt became a dalmatian (with a shade of vanilla) shirt. Eeewww....

Anyway, this lazy evening ushered me, as usual, in front of the TV. I dont have new DVDs. I feel sick to watch the news, there's just no good news lately and I thought tonight wont be an exception. The Sports Channels are all showing boring stuff - World Pool Championships was concluded last night, Tour de France is not being aired for few hours more, no more F1 Races, no badminton replays, no Wimbledon. I did an endless switching between the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel. In the end, I got stuck with NGC. They were showing Air Crash Investigation. Watching the show gave me a reasonable amount of chills - as it has always been giving me in the past during those countless times that I watched the same investigative show. Maybe because the nature of my job requires me to travel more than I would want? Or maybe because I am going nearer to the point of becoming part of the "statistics". Let's take for instance, if the statistics says that 1 out of 1 million flights, a crash happens, and if I had 200 flights already, it only means that I am 999,800 flights away from that point. Whew! I know that is too far from happening but just the thought of it is excruciating. Actually, this is one good reason why I transferred here in Singapore because when I was still based in Manila, 50% of my travel is MNL-SIN-MNL, mostly to touchbase with my Manager who is based here.

I should stop watching this show once and for all. Or maybe I will still watch it - dagdag kaalaman din e! hehehe!. But everytime I watch this, I never felt good in the end. I think I am already paranoid of plane crash. I haven't been to one, and hopefully never. Knock on wood! Knock on the table more! Just a slight turbulence drives me crazy, what more of a crash! There I go again! STOP ME!

But don't get me wrong. I will still fly and will try to enjoy every minute of it. I will still have to experience A380 and that's only few months away from happening. I did not have the chance to experience the "Concorde Bliss" but A380 will just be as good I guess.

Come Fly With Me!

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler

My hobby....is back!

2005-07-10T23:19:00.000+08:00

When I was in high school, back in Philippines, I started a hobby...just because. It's philately...or simply said - the art of stamp collecting. For no particular reason, I took all the stamps that came my way. To beef up the number of the stamps I had, I literally went to my parents' stack of letters in the bodega and started lifting all the stamps that were in them. Being a neophyte that time on this art, I would say I destroyed (stripping the "collection value") most of them. But then, I was not aware of it yet, so I was nevertheless happy. I think I have traded some of them to other friends ( I guess they didn't know it too...hehehe!). That was the start and it all flowed from there.

For 3 years I just collected and collected all the stamps that come my way. And then on the fourth year, somebody advised me that to be able to have a better collection, I should start to concentrate on a certain topic, theme, country or anything to narrow down/filter my collection. According to him, the value of the collection lies on the completeness and the uniqueness of the items on the collection. And with that, it's almost impossible to get all the stamps in the world, to end up with a good collection unless it's concentrated with a certain theme. I heeded his advice and chose "Modes of Transportation" as the theme of my main collection - with emphasis on Clipper Ships and Trains. I started trading the other stuff that I had with other collectors to improve my collection, but I didnt know why I never let go of the stamps that are related to "Citius! Altius! Fortius!" Yes, I held on to my Olympics Stamps.

Until now, my collection just keeps on growing on these two areas. Yes, I am a philatelist!

Something interesting happened last week. Since the 117th IOC Session was being held here in Singapore, I played a wild card and took my chances whether a stamp will be issued to commemorate the event. And yes, they did. I managed to get 3 First Day Covers on July 5 o n the issues to this event with the cancellation stamp of the 5 city candidates.

This will be a rare item in my collection as most of the ones I already have are only commemorative stamps of the actual games itself. No IOC sessions.

The actual stamps issued are the following.

And it did not end there, I browsed on SingPost's collection of previous issues and looked what I've found.....dananan!!!!!!

Yes, they are stamps issued last year featuring "Clipper Ships". This was really an unexpected treat for me.

My hobby was on hiatus for 4 years (with the exception of the Athens games of course - got few of the stamps issued around the world on this) and Im glad I got the chance to revive it now.

What about that?

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The Best or nothing! - Gottlieb Daimler