Moving to Wordpress

Hi! Im now on wordpress http://erikbriones.wordpress.com/.

I will continue posting some stuff there. :)

Yahoo Messenger for iPhone

There is now a Version 1.0 of the Yahoo Messenger for iPhone. I have it on mine now (2G iPhone 2.1)

You might want to give it a try, click Appstore, and Search "Y!" it will appear. Choose the one with a smiley (icon).

Its been 30mins since I installed it, and here's what i can say.

- overall GUI is GREAT. it carries the "ym" feel.
- i can easily add contacts, v.s. Fring cannot add my ym contacts (or can I?)
- i can Report Abuse as well. .. if i choose to report lol
- Settings.. add email .. everything you need.

Except maybe for VOIP (ym to ym call) which I can do with Skype on Fring.


Post some feedback if you encountered any :) Tell me if you like it or what..

Thanks to Rommel for the heads up

Finally

WHEN my friend Gerard gave me the link to this article this is the ONE word that was my quick reply to him. "FINALLY"

Finally it is published. Finally the Phil President took notice.

"MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now in Dubai to shop for investments and jobs for Filipinos displaced by the global financial crisis, but a recruitment industry consultant warned that employment opportunities had all but dried up there."

From the inquirer

Read more about it here:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090413-198977/Arroyo-in-Dubai-job-hunt-OFWs-warned

Just Listening

IM listening to AOL Radio's Accoustic Rock station from my iPhone. Oblivious to the world. LOL

The song that just ended was Sarah M.'s Angel. And it was live, from Lilith Fair. Oh I remembered, our band Mood used to play "Lilith Fair" in Handuraw before. Yep like the original Lilith Fair concept, the bands that played were all female fronted.

And it's Mr Dylan singing thru my headphones now.. telling me "..how does it feel?"


Like a Rolling Stone. The best rock song of all time. Will you argue? Google It.

Holy Discrepancies

ON my previous blog I mentioned about an archaeologist saying that the path to the crucifixion as we know it is wrong.

Yesterday also, I have read that some mosques in Mecca (Makkah) were wrongly aligned, or something like that. If im not mistaken Algebra was mastered by the Arabs, and Geometry was one of their top skills, as you can see on their artworks. But how can they come into this Holy Discrepancy? :))

Well, if a prayer is from the heart, it matters not the place. I must say.

how are you?

WELL I am good. It is 10:41 PM on a Friday, and i just had my shower.

IT is Good Friday by the way. And I am quite happy when I saw in the news that this popular beach location in the Philippines will honor it, and not allow people to "party" during this day. Seriously, I have been thinking about the Holy Week, last few days. And it dawned on me this sad realization that beach parties, and out of town trips go synonymous with the Holy Week. In our country at least. In our beloved country. The only predominantly Christian country in the south of Asia. And if I am not mistaken, the whole of Asia? I am guilty of this as well. When I was still in the Philippines, I never asked my friends "which church will you go this Holy Week?" It is always. Which beach? North of Cebu? or South of Cebu? When are we booking?

We might as well not call ourselves Christians.

I am reading this article in CNN now, where this Archaeologist stated that the "path of the crucifixion" in Jerusalem was done somewhere else. Not in another country anyway. Still just around the corner, but on a slightly different location.


There is so much to write about in the past days that went by. But I just did not have time to write. While I was searching the internet for my late Grandmother's name, I came across a digital copy of her case. It was dated 1954 or 58. Somewhere there. And the defendants in the case where of then Mayor of Cebu. I never knew of that story until now. I also made a couple of websites. Small ones, for google adsense, and ones for our new business. But I will not be posting them here, not in this article at least. TO avoid breaking the Terms of Service? or just sparing people who will come across my blog from useless self promotion. And advertising.

Cat Problem

I heard a big arabic voice in the other room a few minutes ago. It was from a man who works for a Pet Protection somethin somethin agency. I think one of our colleagues called them to solve the problem with the neighbor's cat who has been crying for days now.

:(

Google Adsense for Domains

Google Adsense is a sure way to make money from your websites. I have a couple of mine that is earning. Well for the company at least.

Now i have successfully entered my site for Google Adsense for Domains. This is the newest addition to the Google Adsense (groups).

Check out www.footballticketsonline.org. You will see that www.footballticketsonline.org, is just a simple parked domain. You design nothing, you just have to point the DNS (DNS pointing can be free if you look into the right websites), it gets approved, You EARN!

And some of my other sites that are waiting for Confirmation.

www.sportingticketsonline.org
www.bestloansshop.com
www.recruitmentonline.org
www.dubaitimeshare.org
www.dubaitimesharesales.net
www.bahrainpropertyspecialist.com

An Eye for An Eye

An eye for an eye leaves the world blind. A famous saying by Gandhi. I received an email from one of my mail groups today. It was about an article written by a Chinese in Hong Kong. And in the article he belittled the Filipinos. And called us "servants". I know we are in a Third World Country (even that phrase sounds demeaning to me), but surely he should not have said the things he did. He was talking about Spratly Islands, and how the Philippines is also claiming some part of.

I read the article, and replied to our mail group. I regret some words that I said there. I also made a racist remark towards the Chinese and those selling their flesh in particular.

I should not have said what I said, but unfornately I did.

Updating My Site

I have just updated my website http://www.vacationpadsauctions.com/ you might want to check it out.

It is supposedly a portal for vacation pads that are auctioned off

Search Engine Optimization

Last week I had a good chat with my friend Gino who is now working in Singapore. He used to do Search Engine Optimization from a company we both worked for in Cebu. I think he is pretty good at what he is doing, so I asked him for some advice.

I have been doing Search Engine Optimization for 3 years now (or even more), yet I never wrote down what I have learned. I only have a general idea that, Content is King.

Keywords, Metatags, Title, all that adds up.

I think SEO (for Google) is pretty basic. You just have to do the dirty work. And it is painfully slow. But it will pay off.

I will someday write down some of the stuff that I have learned. But not now. Im too lazy for that. I mean busy.

We Joined Earth Hour

MY girlfriend and I rode a bus home, from 7:30 or maybe a little past that, and we arrived home at around 8:35 because the stop is a good 10 minutes walk from our apartment.

When we opened our door we saw it was all dark, and we were greeted by the kid on the other door, saying "It's Earth Hour".

And so we remembered. I totally forgot about it. Even though Coldplay was playing a few miles from US. And Coldplay's concert was supposedly powered by Wind Turbines. How 'cool' is that! :)

I registered for the Earth Hour as well. My macbook pro was already turned off, so we just hurried to her macbook. Lit some candles, unplugged our electronics, turned off our A/C and opened our windows. We're glad it is not summer yet. The MidEast summer.

We are glad to be part of the event, though it looks as if most people in our area either did not know about it or did not care. Cos when we opened our windows, other people's apartments are well lit. Well.

It was a bit sad. We are just 5 people there. But looking at there advert reassured us, that even if it was just 5 of us doing our share, across the globe, little number added up to thousands of people, maybe even millions. :)

They had nice adverts too, which you can find in youtube.

Oh it is work day again. Are you going on a vacation? Looking for a holiday?

iPhone 3.0

my friends are now testing iphone 3.0, yet i am still going to upgrade my phone and my girlfriend's into 2.2.1...

i will try to. lol

we're so behind.. but what the hell my phone works for me. and im gladly listening to The Outfield now

i pwn

Rashies

Me, Matet and Arman.

I gained 20lbs with the fisheye lens. lol

What the Hail

SOME parts of the country experienced hail for 5-10minutes last night. I did not see it for myself but some people said so. I cannot grab a picture of it now. A friend of mine showed me one.

It is very unusual since we are in the middle east, and we used to boast '365 days of sunshine'

The earth must be ailing.

I urge you guys to join Earth Hour 2009. It is a specific time this March where people will turnoff there electricity for an hour.

We will what happens then :)

I also dont have the direct link now. But you can google "Earth Hour"

Bad news

There were two unfortunate stories that I learned today. One was from a local paper, a story about a 12 year old girl who was raped by her uncle. It is happening here as well. And it brings a bad name to us Filipinos. :(

The other one was about an Indian guy who committed suicide. I didnt read his story in the news, or maybe not yet. The story came from one of our ex officemates who just got removed from our office. The indian guy was their landlord.

:(

sad

A few of the sites im making..

i have not kept a good record of the websites that I have made. Either that or they have been replaced.

A few of those that are running today are

Self Catering Pads | Holiday Rental

Dubai Palm Vacations

Vacation Pads Auctions | Property Auction

Homes To Let

Coldplay is playing Green

I think that is exactly what the news heading was, but yes Coldplay is playing GREEN. They are going to perform in Abu Dhabi during the "Earth Hour" and that is "8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Saturday 28 March 2009" Oh yes I "googled" it.

It was said that they are hiring a New Zealand company to offset their carbon emission during the concert. Are they going to use windmills? That is the question. And it seems that they will.

I am not heading out to see them. They're a great band yes, and their song The Scientist got immortalized in my head when it was used at the "airport scene" in the movie Wicker Park. But I dont find them very catchy now. The tune for Viva La Vida is catchy. Did you here that Joe? Apparently it was a composition by some other artist. The collective 3 notes from that song at least. Some Artist?.. It was by Joe Satriani folks. And if you dont know him... you better surf with aliens!

Sandstorms again

I must have written about this before, but today, the sandstorm was fierce! It was rather dirty the cloud that shrouded the city. Still it was business as usual.

We have just received news that one of the Sheiks from the royal family here has died. Im still uncertain though how he is related to the Prime Minister. My condolences.

OH! it is now starting to get really hot outside. I had my lunch there, also yesterday. And I think I might not take it outside, as the "garden" in our villa is no longer a nice spot to lounge and take lunch. It is friggin hot, I had a nosebleed yesterday!

I am wondering what the whether is like in the Philippines now. While I was in the Philippines, by March I would have already gone to 4 beaches already. hehehe Well, I chose to be in a Middle Eastern country. And I don't have regrets. :)

I will see you soon Philippines!

Lazy Bird Hitching a Ride

Hey mister, where you headed?
Are you in a hurry?
I need a lift to happy hour
Say oh no.

Do you brake for distilled spirits?
I need a break as well
The well that inibriates the guilt.
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4

Cold turkey's getting stale
Tonight I'm eating crow
Fermented salmonella poison oak, no

There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and now I'm dehydrating
My tongue is swelling up, as say 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4

Troubled times, you know I can not lie
I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride

There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and now I'm dehydrating
My tongue is swelling up, I say shit!

Troubled times, you know I can not lie
I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride

I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride
I'm hitchin' a ride

No Time?

I was writing an entry for my journal here 2 days ago but it was not finished. the story would have been about a "Pinoy Worker", I think that was the planned title for the blog. I started it by talking about the "value for money" of a pinoy worker. Being that a kabayan is more often, doing well with his or her job.

However, in the afternoon while writing my entry, each one of us was called by our boss to his office. First was one of our accountants, second was from our reservations team,.. and so on. And by then we knew, that this was the day that they will start removing some staff again. They did this before, sometime October of 2008, then again on December of that year, now 3 months came and they... did it again.

MY hands were cold when I recieved an instant message from our accountant, she told me it is her last day. I did not know what to say. I am sure she is in full control of herself, and saying some cliche' would not help. Or is not needed.

The reservations staff that got removed however was different from the discreet accountant, who kept quiet. She (the res staff), proclaimed to everyone that we will all be removed and that only one will remain, the Brit from the group. I did not hear her when she said this, this is just like one of those.. "witnesses say".

I however heard her, well she was talking to me really, when she told me that of the four people in our IT, only one will remain. And it is not me. I was scared. During this time I was already on conversation with my girlfriend over googletalk. And we were both scared. Good thing that my girlfriend assured me, and told me to wait for the final word, and not to believe what that girl said.

It came my time to be in the office. I heard the same lines our boss used when the first "wave" of retrenchment came last year. He told me "as you noticed, some people are coming my office, and some of them will be removed"..

I did not look him in the eye, and I was almost teary eyed, I thought. Then I asked my boss.. "Will I be one of them?"

He assured me. "no.. no.. you will not be removed"

I was so relieved.

And then he told me something else. That there will be changes on how the company will operate. All that stuff. That if I tell you, I will then have to kill you kind of information. Lol. I am just kidding.

You can visit a holiday rental site to know what IT means. :)

thanks!

now I finally have time to write this entry. Congratulations to all pinoy workers.

Not Bad At All

It used to be that when we come in on Sunday, being the first work day, people ask "what did you do last weekend?". Now they dont ask. They dont care anymore maybe.

But to those who care to ask, I've done a lot last weekend, and went to the beach 2 weekends back also. Summer is coming. No doubt. Even if there are occasional cold spells and fogs on some mornings, it is still evident that summer is here.

I have my first Rashguard. lol. Bought a new pair of flipflops (Quicksilver).

And.. me and my girlfriend opted to start our pasalubong shopping early. So as not to burden us on the last moment. Whew. We have bought some good amount of gifts already :)

And we are excited. However, the job climate here is still ... sad.

But then again. Not Bad :)

iPods and iPhone banned on Gates household

Lol. Well, i think everyone knows someone who owns an iPhone or an iPod to say the least. (ME gots an iphone) But in the Gates estate in Washington these gadgets are offlimits.

Hehehe well it does make sense. Would Henry Ford want to see his sons drive a Mistubishi?


Taken from Yahoo Tech News.

"Bill Gates's sprawling Washington state compound is, as you might expect, packed to the gills with bleeding-edge gear, from the heated floors and 20-seat home theater to the X-ray machine (for screening the mail, of course) and miles of fiber-optic cabling. But here's what you definitely won't find at chez Gates: an iPhone.
In the latest issue of Vogue, Bill's wife, Melinda Gates, reveals that among the "very few things" on "the banned list in our household" are—you guessed it—iPods and iPhones.

Brutal, yes—especially for Bill and Melinda's three kids (two daughters and a son, aged 12, six, and nine, respectively), who'll just have to grin and bear it as their little pals make merry with the latest and greatest iPod.

And even Melinda herself admits to an occasional pang of Apple envy: "Every now and then I look at my friends and say, 'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone.'" (Ouch!)"


Read more below. :)

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/40926

Blind Dates Are Harmful

I have always known this since the day I began liking the opposite gender. I used to frequent some chatrooms using MIRC when I was in college. And met some new friends and a group online. But never got to see them in person, or at least we almost did, but I stood them up on an EB. lol

Things didnt turn out nice for this 17year old boy in China who got so disappointed with his "blind date" that he apparently lost weight and committed suicide days after.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20070105-41820/Chinese-teen-kills-self-when-blind-date-turns-ugly----report

darn!

Think Fast Move Slow

I cannot remember where I got that phrase from, but up until now that phrase is important in my book. This morning, while in our room, we heard our housemate screaming. "eeeeriiikk" "eeerrrrriikk" it was my girlfriend who got to her first in the kitchen. I was still in bed, but not asleep, i think. When I followed my girlfriend to the kitchen, and before she got to the kitchen door, i saw reflections of orange on her face, and on the adjacent wall.

I realized that our kitchen was on fire. They where both screaming. Lol. And when I actually saw our gas range, I saw a huge fire forming from on top of the frying pan and reaching our cupboards. No it wasnt fancy chinese cooking.

I grabbed the handle of the frying pan and placed, more like dropped it, at the kitchen sink. And it was all over. The bacon too fell on the sink, instead of the dinner plate.

We all caught our breath back. :)) I dont know why but I am like that. I dont know if it is just me, but somehow I feel like I see captured moments of "accidents" like these freeze in time, and then I react.

Similar to what happened to my sister, when she accidentaly touched the grounding part of my macbook pro's power supply. This happened while we were going on our summer trip back in Samboan. I saw her. The situation froze before me, and I snapped the wire of her arms.

I am unsure now whether that was moving slow. But I can certainly say that I do not panic a lot. I only feel the 'sense of danger' of the situation after a few minutes it was resolved.

Hmm.. I was held at knife point by some frat boys back in Cebu. Only because I went out of the car to try to free my friends away from them. IT was brave of me.. but 2 hours later (probably around 4 a.m.) I realized what I did was dangerous. lol and got scared.

I panic. In some situations, some very oddly minor situations. Like when the delivery guy bringing our hamburgers. I think i jumped our of bed more quickly then, than when i heard the screaming this morning.

:)

Whatta Week

The work week ends today. I think I may not have written much this past few days, I was very busy. My boss came from his vacation from the US, and the projects which i put on hold due to 'the flu', was running on full steam. I had a very productive week I must say. :)

Some things I have read in the news, or learned this week.

The US market still is not in a good shape, in my opinion, after those expensive 'bailout' funds.

A giant Stingray was caught today. It was measured 7ft x 7ft, and has a 10ft long poisonous tail. They threw it back at the ocean though.

The UAE Government promised $20 Billion for the Dubai. Nothing like the US version but still it gave quite a positive stir, and will likely strengthen Dubai now. A much needed help, in a timely manner... again my opinion.

And yeah, I started to write about it yesterday but I was on a hurry. A big publishing company here removed some 50 people and stopped its production of 7 magazine. They say the '7 mags' are only 5% of what they produce. So that more or less gives us the idea how big they are. What is striking about this news is that I applied for this company, upon referral from my friend, Id like to thank her though, and we dont have communication, and I hope she's not part of the 50. But yeah I applied, and they gave me the offer, nothing written, maybe I was still 70-80% hired then. Luckily the salary they are willing to give me is too low. It was higher than my present salary, but it was a little too low to bet my ass on, with so much risk. First In Last Out.

It must have been my skills at math, or my playing Poker on my iPhone, or even Scrabble, that I got the odds out pretty quickly. And thought it was a bad deal. So I stayed. And celebrated my 2 years yesterday. Internally. Lol. I congratulated myself, for #1 2 years in a company is a first. #2 it aint so bad, here in this Country.

I guess that's it. And yeah I must say. I survived the week with literally ZERO money on my wallet. :)) I spent nothing. hmmmm i borrowed 100AEd from my girlfriend to buy phone credits to renew my Sim Card. Ah remember.. 2years?.. gotta renew. But besides that, I spent nothing!... Absolutely nothing. I have a few dollars on my wallet though. Should the need arise. And Im glad I kept them. They are worth more in pesos (now), than they were before.

I think the blog was almost all about money, stocks, math. Pretty boring.

Here's something not boring. Cold Season is officially over I think. And summer is still not kicking in. WE DO NOT LIKE SUMMER here. We only like the middle of both season. so, the weather is FINE. :)

Actually the weather is brilliant. its a star. massively brilliant. bloody brilliant. fucking fucked up. :))

That's All Folks.

Whew! And 2 Years

Today is the 2nd year anniversary of my stay here in the office. Sadly there was no celebration. It is Ash Wednesday today btw. No gifts, no cakes. My boss only handed me his Nikon camera, and bragged about his newly bought heavy-arse lens!hehe

Close cool too. Good thing i did not resign from this office and moved to the new one. Good that they didnt give me a much nicer offer. Why? They just published that they are removing 50 people. And stopped around 10 magazines.

I would certainly be one of those who got axed.

Lol

Bigfoot Party

My first company gave me the lasting impression that it was ran by the coolest people. From the CEO (yeah the CEO dude!.. speak English). To everyone else. We work hard but we know how to party. Yep. Even if I was no longer with the company, I still joined in their parties, and actually got to play with girls.. oops with the guitars.

:)

here's one of many pics. grabbed from Xylon's Facebook. :)

Busy Day

i had a fairly busy day yesterday. i felt what a cpu must have felt when too many applications are running... i "almost" crashed. i was doing a "gilid" (as Rey would say it) in other words sideline. I did not expect that it would take me that long to finish it. There were a hundred million minor revisions. But I was glad that it was over. Done. All that is lacking now is the invoice.

That was yesterday. Today, well, I had to do the ads again. The usual.

I'm just tired, I'm looking forward for the weekend. Really!

Job Hiring - Dubai

For those who are seeking for job right now, this may help you.

The ADECCO Company is hiring people for DU COMMUNICATIONS. They need 80 customer service and 80 sales person. Salary offer range to 4,000 to 5,000 dirhams.

For those who are interested, please submit your updated CV to Ms. Rhoda email add rhoda.capio@adecco.com

Mad Coder

I just came across a "web developer" who wrote on his blog that "...PHP, an awesome language, only that, you hardly get any forums in the internet to help you grow"

are you f***ing kidding me?

im not a PHP cultist, or a guy who solely codes on PHP. In fact, I am not handling sites in PHP as of the moment. lol We are more on ASP on MS SQL and MS Access. But i took offence. It is silly. Cos it is his blog, and he can say whatever he wants really. But to say that forums about the language is scarce is crazy!

There are even forums about skyscrapers, making the ugliest pc cases and mods, and he cant find one for php?

And that hinders his growth. As a believer of "constructive criticism", i give him this link. http://www.php.net/manual/en/index.php

It contains everything he wants to know. Not a "forum" really, but it even has comments by people who actually use the code. (Does MSDN have it? Comments by devs? whoops! i just started a debate. I use ASP. hahaha)

i am now pacified after the blurt. But really. He can just go to www.w3schools.com

and click PHP

:))

Energy Saving Light

Yesterday we bought 6 energy saving light bulbs. It costs a little bit more than the normal ones, but it was 100+lumens brighter and approx 60% less wattage.

Our normal bulbs are at 40watts, now they are 13watts. And we replaced all 6 of them.

Our contribution to the planet. :) They also come in a nice box made of recycled paper (i think)

Drake & Scull Job Hiring

Drake and Scull International (DSI) is looking to fill more than 100 new positions, ranging from back office operations to project managers and directors for all its business streamlines.

Interested? go to DSI's office at Dubai Investment Park tomorrow Saturday. It starts at 9am.


Im not part of this company, just trying to pass the news :)

OPPPS Graduation

What started as a chaperon job ended with me having a certificate after 2 months. Congratulations to my girlfriend, i think she did a good job with her photos. Nakasali nga sa "display" hehe di nga lang nanalo. Pero her photos where nice, even better than mine! argh! Balik mo sa akin camera ko :))

Sikat Ka Nang Baboy Ka

What we did get right, I'm quite sure, was making sure that the amazing, porky delights of "sisig" got plenty of camera time. If you've never had this divine mosaic of pig parts, chopped and served sizzling and crisp on one side on a screaming hot platter, then you've yet to have one of the world's best beer drinking dishes. And speaking of pig? It can now be said that of all the whole roasted pigs I've had all over the world, the slow roasted lechon I had on Cebu was the best. This puts the standings in the Hierarchy of Pork as follows:

#1. Philippines

#2. Bali

#3. Puerto Rico


http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/read/hierarchy-of-pork

The Beach

The Beach, the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio and The Beach, the real, white sand beach, which I truly adore. That is what this blog is about. (not a movie review)

Last night my girlfriend and I watched the movie The Beach. It was an old movie, but thanks to Mark's collection of movies which I copied last weekend, we got to watch it again. I cannot seem to recall much of the details from the movie, when I watched it a couple of years back. I only remember that, One, it has Moby's Porcelain in the soundtrack. Two, it has the All Saints' Pure Shores. Third, there was some romantic scenes done amidst glowing planktons at night. Ok so I still remember the Marijuana plantation. :)

Back in Cebu, I loved going to the beach. I love getting drunk on the beach to be specific. I love the beaches of Cebu. There are lots of beautiful beaches in Cebu. Say that again loudly for me please. haha. I think it is partly because I was grew up loving "water". Our neighbor had a pool which we can use anytime. I almost drowned there several times, and while writing this blog, i remember the times I made tiny strokes to cross the ends of the pool. It was such a nice feeling. Struggling, panting and getting there. Then, I joined the swimming club, where swimming was no longer a pastime but a sport. Goddamn that 100 laps that I made.

We also grew up near the beach. But my sister and I and most of our friends dont swim there because it was dirty. Too bad. I was good at breast stroke and freestyle, but not really into back stroke and butterfly. Years after, I still think I am not that bad at breast stroke. Lol

I also just remembered, that one time i fell while windsurfing. I was around 8 then. No i didnt windsurf, it was my friend's dad, and he asked us to hop in. His board can take us 3 kids then as our weight was practically negligible. Anyway so it was me, my sister and Nino our neighbor, and his dad on that board. We were facing Bohol. When our "ride" made a strong curve, and fell. I was free falling. I think I must have panicked or I still didnt know how to swim them but what I was sure of was that I saw the dark water, and I was falling down. Fortunately, my Ninong went to grab me, and all was well.

Ok now to the movie. The introduction was nice. Richard (Leonardo di Caprio) was looking for something. Something new, something different, and he travelled to Thailand. At first he thought he was on top of things. He knew not to mess with the locals, not to get swayed by the fake items being sold. However, on a very unusual way he met Daffy, a not so sober white guy who gave him a hit. And Francois, a beautiful French woman at the other room, with a boyfriend.

They went on a quest to find this secret island following only Daffy's map and his story. Daffy is dead by this time. He was murdered in his room, but the police had little information and couldnt care less.

So it was just Richard, Francois, and Etienne(Francois' boyfriend) taking the trip back to this hidden paradise.

They got there and they had problems.


When I got my first job around 2003, that is when I started going to the beach. And from 2003 to 2006 I went to quite a few already. I have been to Bantayan, Malapascua, Camotes, Panglao, Samboan, Alcoy, Argao. Our clan is from Samboan, and our relatives have a nice beach house there so it is the most convenient and cheapest, as I need only to go by bus. However, I think I will always want to be in Malapascua. When I go there I always stay at Dano, this is not plugging but, i like where it was situated. It wasnt at the center where people mostly go, it was a few beach walks to the left side of the island. It was more, private.

At one point of my beach outings, I have said to myself, that the beach is god.

I am really at awe everytime I see a long stretch of white sand, and the clean sea and hearing its crashing waves or its calm tide.

Get drunk on the beach. Check. Sleep on the beach. Check. Smoke somethin on the beach. Check


n the movie, these 3 young "adventurers" got to "paradise". But there where some hitches. The marijuana plantation, which at first glance was heaven on earth, was actually a farm owned by AK47 totting locals. But as their leader said.. "Do you think Im going to do you harm? Im just a farmer". It is all business for him. He grows the plants, sells them, sends money to his family. The other group that was there was a kind of a hippie tribe of whites from different parts of Europe. Also a black guy who thinks Christianity and Cricket are the two pillars of "happiness"?check that.

This hippie tribe swore to themselves that they will never go back to the mainland, only when they buy their necessities. Daffy was once one of them. But he fled from the island paradise and went back to bangkok, where he met Richard. It was not so clear, but I think he was killed by either the tribesmen or the farmer's crew. I do not know.

The tribe is lead by Sal or Sol, portrayed by Hilda Swinton. I am a fan of her. (Facebook)

She keeps them together, along with a few stict rules. No one has to know about the island. And no one else must come. That is the deal with the farmers. But as Richard realized it, it is also the only way to keep paradise as paradise. That is one of the main reason also why I didnt, and maybe will never visit this particular beach spot on the Philippines.

They encountered some issues as a group and within themselves. The farmers didnt want them in the island anymore, and in the end, the hippies went back to normalcy, and so did Richard.

I have always wanted to go to Phi Phi Don. That is in Thailand if you dont know. I have been looking at flights to there, and room rates. This was circa 2004. Before the tsunami. I wanted to go there, but I wouldnt want to be staying in a luxurious hotel. I would want to go to a small cottage. Just like that.

Oh and I did jump off a waterfall before. In Borgasok, in Argao, after 4 hours of hiking. I also experienced hiking for approximately 8 hours. I fell sick the next day.

After seeing the movie last night, I begged my girlfriend that we go to Thailand, and do the same. But I thought to myself, If I will go there, I would want to stay there forever. Just like Sol (Tilda). I wouldnt want to go as a tourist and stay there for just a couple of days.


I would want to live in that hippie tribe.

Woman Misses Her Flight

Franken-Sites

One my current projects

http://www.dubaivacationpads.com/ will slowly be changed into http://www.dubaivacationpads.com/index-revised.asp

The Problem With Random

I once read a nice skit from Dilbert. He was asked to give 3 random numbers, and he said "1,2,3"

It is funny. Geekly funny.

The other guy said "The problem with random, is that you never know if it is really random"

Hard to explain, but if you look at it, its quite simple. "Random" gives absolute freedom to choose whatever. In my opinion. Just like when Dilbert said "1,2 and 3" well who can say that it is not "random"

IT is a matter of mathematical probability.

Let's take a die(dice) with number 1-6. When you throw a die, this is called "randomly" getting a number. But there is still a chance you will get "2" at 3 consecutive throws.

Although slim, 2,2,2 can still be called random.

So my project is put on hold. Till i finish lunch. And get a proper randomization of properties.

Quotable Quotes

"marami nga akong date, wla namang nauulit" - Kalendaryo


"sabaa ninyo oi. di ko ka dungog sa among tabi" - akong classmate pag highschool

Angie - The Rolling Stones

Angie, angie, when will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, angie, where will it lead us from here?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You cant say were satisfied
But angie, angie, you cant say we never tried
Angie, youre beautiful, but aint it time we said good-bye?
Angie, I still love you, remember all those nights we cried?
All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear:
Angie, angie, where will it lead us from here?
Oh, angie, dont you weep, all your kisses still taste sweet
I hate that sadness in your eyes
But angie, angie, aint it time we said good-bye?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You cant say were satisfied
But angie, I still love you, baby
Evrywhere I look I see your eyes
There aint a woman that comes close to you
Come on baby, dry your eyes
But angie, angie, aint it good to be alive?
Angie, angie, they cant say we never tried

I Can't See Offline

Hi All,

I log on to yahoo messenger using a browser. This is via mail.yahoo.com. So i cannot view anyone that is offline, only Online peeps. ;))

I do not know if there is a way to fix that, so I can see offline names and click them, but for the time being it is as it is.

:)

Lazy Day

I feel very lazy today. Maybe someday my boss gets to see this post and he will realize that i have been doing nothing on the first day of his away trip. :))

I'm going to try to do some work a bit later. But for now, the flu, just has to be followed.

This is an image of my mug. An African Art "encrusted" mug. Trust me on the art, and sorry for having blurry photos, i just think blur is the new sharp. lolz

I bought this mug when started working here in this company.

Here's the story.

I work for a small-to-medium size real estate brokerage company. I flew here February 21 2007. If you can manage to look at a 2007 calendar, February 21 falls on a Wednesday. I still remember that first 4 days when I first came to this country. It was the first time i flew on a plane! Really. And it was 8 hours long. I can't sleep and I got restless. I only had around P300 on my wallet and $20 because i spent most of my pocket money on FEES from the Manila Airport.

My friend Jerus, who was the one who referred to me this job, picked me up at the airport. And so did my good friend Dwynn. I live in a small "resort" in Cebu so I dont find "seeing foreigners" something new. I also work with a lot of them from my previous company. And there are lots of Koreans in Cebu. So diversity in skin tones and manner of dressing up is not a strange thing. What was unfamiliar then though was a Toyota Camry as a taxi! LOL. I even remember one of my friends back in college bragging to me that his uncle owns a Toyota Camry which was considered a luxury car (i dont realy know and i have no time to research). Yes, and it was not the lone hi-luxury taxi i saw, there was a whole fleet of them Camrys. When I got inside, I was even awed that the taxi has an electronic meter and a GPS navigator as well. Ok so this must be nothing new for other more advanced cities, but for me, it was something like a city from a Popular Mechanics page popping up.

I spent my first 2 days fixing up my things, texting some people in the Phils, and hitting the beach. Before I came here, i was a son of a beach. I mean, it felt like the crashing waves call my name. So the beach has to be one item on the checklist of "places to live". But as time goes by it appears as elusive as a bottle of Tanduay Rhum. The rhum i so love to consume while walking the beaches of Cebu. But that's another story.

So Jerus and Arman played host, to me, a probinsyano in a new city. Jerus still had work that day Wednesday, and when he got back he told me that I am to start work Sunday next week. I was happy but felt odd. Why work on a Sunday? And to top that, why start on a Sunday?

Again, the details began to reveal itself as the days go by. Friday is the "no work day" here, and people usually start on Saturday or Sunday. Our company chose Sunday to Thursday as our work week, hence the term TITS. Thank *** Its Thursday, So.

Anyway, so Sunday, 25th of February, 2007 I officially started in this company. Notice how I came here on February 21, and started 25th of Feb? Yeah. Well it is a British thing i suppose. That "Dates" should come before "Months". Got me chap?

The mug. ok The mug.

The company was growing in number. New faces came to join us and the office space proved to be insufficient. That was when they asked me and our accountant (a guy) to occupy our extension office. I was happy-sad, that we were separated from the rest. Happy, that i dont get to hear those loud voices on the phones, and the phones ringing. Sad, that I dont get to mingle with my officemates. Hehehe

Our main office was nice. We had a pantry, refrigerator, microwave oven all the essentials. But on the extension office there was none. We had to buy our own water, as there was no dispenser. And we bought some paper plates, a can opener, and mugs.

I cannot quite believe it that a good 2 years after, my mug is still here with me. It is only for water. NO COFFEE!

Flexible Design

While re-reading my post The Pains of a Web Designer. I figured it is partly my responsibility as a web designer to make my websites more flexible, given the circumstances that these "tidy up later" things are always unavoidable.

An update that is more than just content update, but lesser than a revamp. That is where the grey line is drawn.

yawn. yawn

Sign My Guestbook

For those who just want to blah blah..

My Love For Guitars, Gadgets, and other electronic things

I love guitars, not to the point that i collect them, but i love seeing them. In my 27 years i think i have owned 3 acoustic guitars, and 1 electric. Which I sadly don't have with me now. I left them at the motherland. lol.

Last weekend while my girlfriend had her hair done, I went straight to an "Electronics" shop near the area. I saw lots of nice looking Fender guitars, and there are vintage looking ones too. Battered and torn guitars, which if where lefty, and Kurt being alive, he would have certainly picked it up.

I roamed around. I am certain that the tour will not end into me picking up something. The last musical instrument i bought... was a harmonica. lol. Till now i still struggle to make a good tune out of it. But it is nice to play with.

So as i was looking at all these guitars, i strummed some of them. Can't resist. I was looking for some MAudio products, but they dont. They only have a couple of Roland keyboards, mics, and headphones.

Ahh. the time passed by quickly, I had to ran back to my girlfriend.

*In my heaven, i will be surrounded by these guitars. Particularly Gibson models.

It Is Real

Last Thursday evening as I sat in my "assigned" seat of our carlift (carpool), I was greeted with a sad statement. One of the my friends in the group said "Erik, magsasara na kami" (Erik, our company is closing). I was shocked and saddened. It was supposed to be the last day of the work week. And the weekend is going to be Valentines Day. Her voice was so small, so weak yet sends the message right through. There were a million thoughts that came to me when I heard her statement.

For the expat community working here now, that is a reality. Well, I cannot speak for all, but for me and most of my friends. Everyday we talk about the effect of the global crisis here. We hear people numbering in hundreds get redundant (that's how they say layoff here.) Families separated from each other at least geographically, due to unbearable budget costs, and a whole lot more. Rise of crime, scams and other stuff are more evident as well. Or maybe just highlighted because of the present situation.

However they were all news. Until i heard it first hand from someone saying "I Lost my Job". My other group of friends, the ex-Officemates from Cebu, they are struggling as well, but i think faired better. Congrats to Froilan, he is starting in his new job now.

One of the million things that came to me that day was, what if it was me? What if it was my girlfriend? Will things between us change? I might be guilty of being selfish, but yes, the story worried me more thinking "if it was me".

I told my friend, no matter what happened, it is still not the end of her career.

We saw her again this morning, as we were going to work. She said she cried all weekend.

Sleepy Like The Economy

im sleepy. lol :))

Photo of The Day

Wow, i can actually have something like this on my blog? hehe

i hurriedly took a snapshot of myself from my iphone, and uploaded it to the "Photo of The Day"box.

:))

that photo doesnt mean anything really. there's nothing special about it. :))

oh there is. i think blurred photos look good. really. i mean, people go for sharpness., but i think if taken purposely, a blurred image looks just as nice.

Pains of a Web Designer

I have been designing and developing websites for nearly 8 years now. I did it since i was 2nd year in college, and I was part of the school's in house Internet Service Provider. Its a fun job, creating "artworks" that can be accessed anywhere in the globe (ok so -anywhere in the globe- is actually just a figure of speach, you need to have internet access and something that you can use to browse the internet).

But it is such a pain.

Most people, clients, dont understand that for a website to be effective, preparations has to be made. It takes a lot of thinking to develop a site, it takes a lot of time as well. And even more time will be consumed without proper planning. The ideal phase of a website can be summed up in 3 parts. Planning and Documentation, Design, and then Development. Let's just take Quality Testing as part of the final stages of the Development of the website.

Planning and Documentation although tedious, and most often considered 'boring' and 'skippable' is vital for the next 2 stages to be running smoothly.

This part takes the hit of most of my design experience. Clients often say 'do some mockups first and lets just tidy up the contents later'. I then hastily do the design. They say 'Wow' then i build the site. Slowly, they will say, "Hmm.. it lacks box 1 (box 1 being an imaginary component, which takes up the a page's real estate)". I add box 1. A few visits later, another imaginary component is needed to be up in the website, and then I add it again.

Until my website looks nothing like the approved mockup, but a franken-site. A patch of so many things that we didnt "thought" was needed before.

I think i have made about a hundred of this franken-sites before. And more to come. Sadly, these kind of sites get revamped quite easily as they dont have the essence of a good site. Pleasing to the eye, and easy to use. Considering that it is functional at all.

I felt really down this afternoon. As I am about to build another franken-site.

How Does Cross Posting work?

I do not know.

Mad Camels

Its the first morning of a new day. The weather was also intune with my "new phase" gig. I think winter is moving away, and summer is coming in. This shift in the weather is usually symbolized by strong dusty winds. I dont know why its like that, from Summer to Winter we experience dust storms, from Winter going to Summer, we experience dust storms. There must be some scientific reason why this happens, must be electromagnetic forces of the wind blah blah. But i personally think its the mythical ten thousand mad camels of the desert. These camels roam calmly across the wide wide deserts however when they feel like the weather is changing they go mad, and run around in circles across the deserts causing these sand storms.

I know you wont believe me. But it is true.

World Domination

Who plans on ruling the world and posting it on his blog while in the office, tired and dazed with a headache.

that's me.

bwahahah.

one small step at a time.

Rise of "The New Blogspot for Erik"

I have a headache. Didnt come in the first 2 work days of the week because of fever. The weather is getting stubborn by the day. Sometimes, too cold, sometimes hints of summer. Not the summer that you see on travel magazines, but "bloody" hot summer.

I'm in the office, just finished scanning some floor plans (not my project, just a "task" as i put it), and I'm in no mood to do some serious work. Well i did finish some important parts of my project this morning. But that's another case. I'm really lazy. With severe procrastination flu.

Chatting with my friends. Reading some news online. Oh, btw, for those who dont know the old Erik had an attention span disorder, where he writes blogs, and not finish it due to spacing out.. and again with reference above, the flu.

This is bound to be finished. I must finish writing this blog. I want to make this blog my moneymaker. By whatever means. *insert evil laugh here*

So what really made me create this blog?

I used to be "A Day in the Life Of"(http://erikbriones.blogspot.com), moved to Multiply on one fateful morning. 5 AM to be exact. I came home from a drinking session where i got sort of "disappointed" by how the world revolves. I tried to write my thoughts over at my old blogspot, and it caused some errors. I got really pissed that I began using my Multiply account. From there I think i made a lot of new friends, I use it more than any other Social sites that i have an account in. But it's time to move away from that. I think

So here. Welcome to "A Day in the Second Life of..." My new spot. My new corner.

I expect you to come here, and post your thoughts. As this is not just about me. This blog is guided by what I write, but ultimately will be more fun with yours too :)