Trisha is just turning 2 in a few months and we (Tet and I, and some of our friends as well) are amazed how well she is able to converse with people.
Anyway, I want to share an incident today when I was scolding her for not being careful when she spilled water on the couch from her water bottle.
This is how she responded.
Trisha: Galit na Daddy.
Me: Oo, galit na talaga daddy kasi hindi ka careful.
Trisha: Sorry. Sorry na Daddy. Sorry na.
This was the first time that she voluntarily apologized because usually when she does something wrong, we would tell her to say sorry and she would say it but doesn't seem to mean it. But today, she actually meant it.
How could I continue to be mad after hearing that? My heart just melted with those words. Yun lang!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
23.. 32.. Who cares?
I just turned 23 yesterday. At least that's what I want to believe my age is. Hahaha.. Anyway, at my age, I don't really expect to receive gifts from anyone except from myself, my wife and my co-workers. Haha.. Lo and behold, I received gifts from each one. I am truly blessed! =)
Let's start with what I got myself for my birthday.. I am somewhat on a budget so as a gift for my birthday, I got myself and Tet tickets to the Cinderella musical. I picked the Aug 8 show because it's the one closest to my birthday. Another gift I got for myself is the Amphipod RunLite Hydration Belt which Deedee was gracious enough to buy for me in the US.
And lastly, my Finsys teammates got me a New Balance singlet. See me model the singlet below (while holding a chocolate cake and a bottle of caramel sauce).
Let's start with what I got myself for my birthday.. I am somewhat on a budget so as a gift for my birthday, I got myself and Tet tickets to the Cinderella musical. I picked the Aug 8 show because it's the one closest to my birthday. Another gift I got for myself is the Amphipod RunLite Hydration Belt which Deedee was gracious enough to buy for me in the US.
Tet, on the other hand, got me an Oakley. It's a half jacket model (jet black frame and fire iridium lens). She got me this so that I have eye protection when I run. How thoughtful!
And lastly, my Finsys teammates got me a New Balance singlet. See me model the singlet below (while holding a chocolate cake and a bottle of caramel sauce).Thanks to me (Haha..), Tet and my Finsys teammates for the gift/s and for all those who remembered to greet me on my special day. God bless you guys!
That's it. If I had free-flowing cash, a perfect gift to myself would probably be a trip to Beijing with Tet and Trisha to watch the Olympics. I could only wish...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Another Busy Weekend..
Last weekend was a busy weekend for us. We had activities lined up from Friday to Sunday.
August 1 - Friday
We had dinner at the Kabisera restaurant in Bonifacio High Street. By "we" I meant the FinSys oldies.. hehe.. namely Wa, Jon, Joaqs, Roy, Lancer, Suraj, Barbs, Thea, Vicky + me, Tet, Trisha and Kat. The dinner was a get together for Vicky who had already resigned from HP and had recently come back from Canada.
picture to follow..
August 2 - Saturday
Joaqs' birthday party @ Linden Suites, room 1114. Tet, Trish and I were the first to arrive at around 7:30pm. Peter then arrived shortly after which was followed by Kabby, Cris and Roy. And then the others started to arrive. The food (by Verleo except for the Pancit which was bought from Orchid motel) and drinks were overflowing. Trisha had a fun time but we had to leave early (around 10pm) because it was already past her bedtime.
picture to follow..
August 3 - Sunday
Attended Smile's Christian wedding at "The Greenery" in Bulacan on a rainy day. The place was quite far and there were very few signs along the way. Wa and Kat carpooled with us and we got lost several times trying to find the venue. The wedding had already started when we got there but we were still able to witness most parts of the wedding ceremony. The place was nice especially where the actual wedding ceremony took place and the train. The food was also good. On our way back, we convoyed with Ralph's vehicle to make sure we don't get lost again.
picture to follow..
So that was our weekend. Didn't really have much time to rest but it was a fun weekend.
August 1 - Friday
We had dinner at the Kabisera restaurant in Bonifacio High Street. By "we" I meant the FinSys oldies.. hehe.. namely Wa, Jon, Joaqs, Roy, Lancer, Suraj, Barbs, Thea, Vicky + me, Tet, Trisha and Kat. The dinner was a get together for Vicky who had already resigned from HP and had recently come back from Canada.
picture to follow..
August 2 - Saturday
Joaqs' birthday party @ Linden Suites, room 1114. Tet, Trish and I were the first to arrive at around 7:30pm. Peter then arrived shortly after which was followed by Kabby, Cris and Roy. And then the others started to arrive. The food (by Verleo except for the Pancit which was bought from Orchid motel) and drinks were overflowing. Trisha had a fun time but we had to leave early (around 10pm) because it was already past her bedtime.
picture to follow..
August 3 - Sunday
Attended Smile's Christian wedding at "The Greenery" in Bulacan on a rainy day. The place was quite far and there were very few signs along the way. Wa and Kat carpooled with us and we got lost several times trying to find the venue. The wedding had already started when we got there but we were still able to witness most parts of the wedding ceremony. The place was nice especially where the actual wedding ceremony took place and the train. The food was also good. On our way back, we convoyed with Ralph's vehicle to make sure we don't get lost again.
picture to follow..
So that was our weekend. Didn't really have much time to rest but it was a fun weekend.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
北京欢迎你
August is just around the corner and it's going to be an exciting month! Aside from it being my birth month, it's the Beijing Olympics month!!
8 days from now on 08.08.08 at exactly 08:08:08 pm, the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony will begin. I'm 100% sure it's going to be one spectacular event!! On that day and at that time, I will be here in Manila watching Cinderella at the CCP. I'll just ask one of my friends to record the opening ceremonies so I could watch it after.
I've stopped hoping for a miracle that I will be in Beijing for the Olympics and besides, I wouldn't want my Cinderella tickets to go to waste. =P
Anyway, my sister called me today and told me to listen to the Beijing Olympics theme song in youtube. She said that it was a beautiful song and that I would like it. I did like it! It's a Chinese song (obviously!) entitled "Beijing Welcomes You" (北京欢迎你) featuring various Chinese artists, most of which I don't recognize. The song is quite long (over 6 mins) but it carries a beautiful melody and a nice message. The song was also performed during the 100 days countdown event in China.
These are exciting times for Beijing. Wouldn't you want to be there during the Olympics?
8 days from now on 08.08.08 at exactly 08:08:08 pm, the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony will begin. I'm 100% sure it's going to be one spectacular event!! On that day and at that time, I will be here in Manila watching Cinderella at the CCP. I'll just ask one of my friends to record the opening ceremonies so I could watch it after.
I've stopped hoping for a miracle that I will be in Beijing for the Olympics and besides, I wouldn't want my Cinderella tickets to go to waste. =P
Anyway, my sister called me today and told me to listen to the Beijing Olympics theme song in youtube. She said that it was a beautiful song and that I would like it. I did like it! It's a Chinese song (obviously!) entitled "Beijing Welcomes You" (北京欢迎你) featuring various Chinese artists, most of which I don't recognize. The song is quite long (over 6 mins) but it carries a beautiful melody and a nice message. The song was also performed during the 100 days countdown event in China.
These are exciting times for Beijing. Wouldn't you want to be there during the Olympics?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Alternative Fuels, anyone?
With the price of fuel consistently rising, more and more people are looking for ways to either cut fuel consumption or go for alternative fuels.
To cut fuel consumption, we would have to stop using our vehicles or at least minimize using them which for some of us is not really acceptable. Carpooling is also one option in cutting fuel consumption but how many of us have colleagues that live in the same place as us? Another way of cutting fuel consumption is to live close to where we work so that instead of driving to work, we'll just walk. However, this would only work if we're renting because it's not easy to just sell our house and find a new one close to our workplace. And what if we find a new job in a different location? There's also the option of changing your gas or diesel powered vehicle to a hybrid one but we all know that hybrid vehicles are expensive and I don't know if they are already available here in the Philippines (probably not).
So, finding alternative fuels that are cheaper is probably the most sensible way to combat the rising fuel prices. But what are the available alternative fuels in the Philippines?
One available option is to convert our vehicles to run on LPG since it is cheaper than gasoline or diesel and according to reports is environmentally friendly. The conversion cost is around P70,000 for gas-powered vehicles. I'm not sure if diesel-powered vehicles can be converted. One UK site says it can but that it is more costly. Of course, there are pros and cons in using LPG. But from what I've been reading, there are more advantages than disadvantages. Developed countries like the UK, US and Japan are adapting LPG-powered vehicles. I remember when I was in Japan in 2000, the cabs there were already running on LPG. Anyway, one major concern here in the Philippines about using LPG is the supposedly adverse effect on health. If that is untrue, then converting to LPG is a good option (after shelling out the P70,000 conversion cost and giving up your trunk space).
But if you don't have P70,000 or do not want to have an LPG tank in your vehicle or is convinced that installing LPG in your vehicle will have a bad effect on your health, the option is to use ethanol-blended gasoline on your vehicle. Currently, some oil companies already offer what they call E10 gasolines (90% gas & 10% bioethanol). They are normally P2/liter cheaper than the regular gasolines. According to reports, there should be no need for any conversion and should have no difference from regular gasolines in terms of vehicle performance and is also good for the environment. But I've heard different opinions about E10. Some say that it's only for newer vehicles and some say that as long as a vehicle has an EFI engine then it's safe to use E10. I personally am not sure what to believe but I found an AU site that can help determine which vehicles can use E10. I think this is the easiest option for most car owners since there's no tweaking needed and can be done at once. Unfortunately, this is not for all and gas stations offering E10 are not widely available yet. Most importantly, the P2/liter price difference may not be enough as compared to the huge difference one can save when using LPG or other cheaper alternative fuels.
And then there's taking Bioethanol to the next level. It's the same fuel used in E10 but instead of only 10% bioethanol & 90% gas, this time it's 85% bioethanol & 15% gas.They call it E85. Saw this in the news today. This is already available in Manila. However, there's a device that needs to be put in the engine first before E85 can be used by a vehicle as a fuel. And the device costs around P25,000. It's relatively cheaper than converting to an LPG and the fuel price is almost the same. You don't have to sacrifice trunk space and it's also environmentally friendly.
At the end of the day, it's up to us to decide which of the options available will work for us. As for me, I think I'm leaning more into the E85 for now.
To cut fuel consumption, we would have to stop using our vehicles or at least minimize using them which for some of us is not really acceptable. Carpooling is also one option in cutting fuel consumption but how many of us have colleagues that live in the same place as us? Another way of cutting fuel consumption is to live close to where we work so that instead of driving to work, we'll just walk. However, this would only work if we're renting because it's not easy to just sell our house and find a new one close to our workplace. And what if we find a new job in a different location? There's also the option of changing your gas or diesel powered vehicle to a hybrid one but we all know that hybrid vehicles are expensive and I don't know if they are already available here in the Philippines (probably not).
So, finding alternative fuels that are cheaper is probably the most sensible way to combat the rising fuel prices. But what are the available alternative fuels in the Philippines?
One available option is to convert our vehicles to run on LPG since it is cheaper than gasoline or diesel and according to reports is environmentally friendly. The conversion cost is around P70,000 for gas-powered vehicles. I'm not sure if diesel-powered vehicles can be converted. One UK site says it can but that it is more costly. Of course, there are pros and cons in using LPG. But from what I've been reading, there are more advantages than disadvantages. Developed countries like the UK, US and Japan are adapting LPG-powered vehicles. I remember when I was in Japan in 2000, the cabs there were already running on LPG. Anyway, one major concern here in the Philippines about using LPG is the supposedly adverse effect on health. If that is untrue, then converting to LPG is a good option (after shelling out the P70,000 conversion cost and giving up your trunk space).
But if you don't have P70,000 or do not want to have an LPG tank in your vehicle or is convinced that installing LPG in your vehicle will have a bad effect on your health, the option is to use ethanol-blended gasoline on your vehicle. Currently, some oil companies already offer what they call E10 gasolines (90% gas & 10% bioethanol). They are normally P2/liter cheaper than the regular gasolines. According to reports, there should be no need for any conversion and should have no difference from regular gasolines in terms of vehicle performance and is also good for the environment. But I've heard different opinions about E10. Some say that it's only for newer vehicles and some say that as long as a vehicle has an EFI engine then it's safe to use E10. I personally am not sure what to believe but I found an AU site that can help determine which vehicles can use E10. I think this is the easiest option for most car owners since there's no tweaking needed and can be done at once. Unfortunately, this is not for all and gas stations offering E10 are not widely available yet. Most importantly, the P2/liter price difference may not be enough as compared to the huge difference one can save when using LPG or other cheaper alternative fuels.
And then there's taking Bioethanol to the next level. It's the same fuel used in E10 but instead of only 10% bioethanol & 90% gas, this time it's 85% bioethanol & 15% gas.They call it E85. Saw this in the news today. This is already available in Manila. However, there's a device that needs to be put in the engine first before E85 can be used by a vehicle as a fuel. And the device costs around P25,000. It's relatively cheaper than converting to an LPG and the fuel price is almost the same. You don't have to sacrifice trunk space and it's also environmentally friendly.
At the end of the day, it's up to us to decide which of the options available will work for us. As for me, I think I'm leaning more into the E85 for now.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Dark Knight @ IMAX Incident!!
Tet and I watched "The Dark Knight" last Sunday at the IMAX theater in SM MOA. I know it's already late to be talking about this movie as a lot of people have already watched this and all of them are raving about this movie. Read somewhere that this movie might be the one to break the Titanic record of being the highest grossing movie of all time!
Anyway, what I want to share is what we witnessed inside the IMAX theater that really pissed us off. No, there was no technical problem. Everything was perfect! It's just that there was one couple who didn't even bother to stand up while the Philippine National Anthem was being played. How disrespectful!! They remain seated during the entire duration of the song while everyone (including some foreigners) was on their feet. I wanted to take pictures of them so that I could post it here but it was dark inside.
So to the two of you (whoever you are), SHAME ON YOU!
Anyway, what I want to share is what we witnessed inside the IMAX theater that really pissed us off. No, there was no technical problem. Everything was perfect! It's just that there was one couple who didn't even bother to stand up while the Philippine National Anthem was being played. How disrespectful!! They remain seated during the entire duration of the song while everyone (including some foreigners) was on their feet. I wanted to take pictures of them so that I could post it here but it was dark inside.
So to the two of you (whoever you are), SHAME ON YOU!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pain, pain, go away!
I hurt my left knee from the last Mizuno run and I haven't had the time to go see a doctor yet. My work has been keeping me from going to the doctor but I hope to go to one before I run again. It's been over 3 weeks since the Mizuno run and I sometimes still feel pain on my knee.
I'm disappointed that I'll be passing up the TNF 100 (10K) and Robinson's Supermarket 5K buddy run. I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to participate in the Milo Marathon (10K) on Aug 3 but I'm more likely to sit this one out as well. =( But what I'm really excited about is the MH Miracle run (10K) on Aug 17. That one I will not miss! I'll make sure that I will be ready for that run.
By the way, does anyone know of a good Ortho/Rehab doctor? Please recommend!
I'm disappointed that I'll be passing up the TNF 100 (10K) and Robinson's Supermarket 5K buddy run. I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to participate in the Milo Marathon (10K) on Aug 3 but I'm more likely to sit this one out as well. =( But what I'm really excited about is the MH Miracle run (10K) on Aug 17. That one I will not miss! I'll make sure that I will be ready for that run.
By the way, does anyone know of a good Ortho/Rehab doctor? Please recommend!
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