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60 things to do during Earth Hour


Comes Saturday night at 8:30 in the evening, for one whole hour there will be darkness. Do you have plan on what to do? Allow me to give you a list on what can one do in the dark.




1   top of the list is attend the Earth Hour event nearest you.


2   gather family and friends for a star gazing picnic night in your local park, or in the beach.


5    roam the neighborhood and see what the neighbors have switched off.


13    turn on all the lights in every room and timing how long it will takes before someone knocks on your door.


17    get drunk alone in the dark, like you usually do right after break ups.


21   sit in the dark and shares stories, of course with someone other than your pet.


39    go for a long drive with the headlights off, not alone someone has to call 911.


47   tuck yourself and your dovey in bed for good 60 minutes, procreate the next generation of earthlings.


51   prove yourself that you can go 60 minutes without updating your facebook status.


58   congratulate yourself you survived videokeing without the teleprompter.


60   start a pool on whether there will be a baby surge in nine months.





Please do your share.



The weatherman :)





Home on a Monday

I decided to stay home the whole day and planned to catch up sleep and lazing around. With that in mind I slept late last night, so I would be waking up say past nine in the morning. Alas I woke up at six in the morning but I stayed in bed for a couple more hours. 


I had my breakfast of hotdog and egg and coffee, while catching up the live telecast of The Amazing Race. After that I can't think of things I should be doing. Boredom strikes, and when I am bored I move things around me.


This used to be the position of my bed for months now. 



Now it is the table who occupy the space. I pushed my bed to the corner to give an impression of a bigger space.




The funny part is that I am going to leave this room and move to a bigger one with a  queen size bed next week.



There is no eat bulaga on the internet today. I tried to take an afternoon nap but I just cant sleep. So I decided to finish reading this book. While doing it I was listening to shamrock , itchyworms, stonefree, and up dharma down songs on iPod.



The novel derives from the author's blog of the same title. An arrogant hiring partner at a major  law firm who is obsessed of becoming chairman,  blog to tell the world about what life is really like at the top of his profession. He takes solace in degrading his summer interns and hapless associates. The  book is funny and surprisingly interesting to read than the blog itself.






Penida's House at your serbis


Yesterday night I watched the movie Serbis at Picturehouse at The Cathay Cineplex, my first time in this place.

 


I went straight after work to catch the 7:25pm schedule. I arrived quarter before 7:00pm and bought ticket at the ground floor of the building, the cinemas are on the 5th floor. There is on-going photo exhibit of the old cinema buildings and other movie memorabilia  at the ground floor lobby.




I took a quick japanese meal at Quickbites in the basement level. This is the same japanese food I partaken at Tang's Market only of different resto name. Indeed it takes me only 10 minutes to consume the food. 



I went straight to the fourth floor where the cinema lobby is. Aside from the Picturehouse, there are 7 more regular cinemas in this building. 



The Picturehouse has an exclusive lounge where you can have your refreshments as food and drinks are not permitted inside the theater. I didn't come in, the door sign says close.



I was the first to come in then others followed after I was settled in. The theater was half full or maybe a little over. I seated unaware on the wrong seat so I was rudely been told to vacate at once by the manly guy who smells fish, you know what I mean. He is with his two friends and I suspected they came to not to watch but to see the movie. And they were not disappointed as Coco Martin semen covered genital was exposed right after copulation, imagine that. 




Serbis is a story about what's going on inside a dilapidated movie theater and the dysfunctional family who runs and owns it. I will not tell you here the plot of the story, but my opinion on how do I find the movie. The movie is visually gruesome and filthy. The director way of story telling is liken to a juggler, and  he doesn't care to resolve all of the subplots he is juggling.  As he is not contented with the patrons lip smacks, moans, offers of serbis and mumbled haggling, he trains his nakakahilong roving camera on the family walking and running, the disgusting flooded toilets, and lahat ng dugyot in explicit detail pati nga pigsa pinatulan. There is one scene where the projectionist is urinating on the bottle because maybe he is too lazy to go to toilet or Mendoza just want to expose another genital, again the three guys were roused to see the huge manhood.This is Mendoza telenovela. Imagine a goat running inside while the film is showing and the moviegoers end up chasing until the goat is gone ( Comedy) and a thief entered the building being chased by a policeman (Action). 


And Drama - Penida matriarch brings to court her husband for bigamy. In an ironic twist, his son Jerome opts to testify on behalf of his father. His reasoning is simple - a guilty verdict would mean his father has legal obligation to his current family  which means may makakahati pa silang magkakapatid  sa mamanahin when his father leave earth. He and his siblings neglect about their mother's feeling, lahat ng paghihirap para maitaguyod sila mula ng iwan sila nung tatay nila. I don't know how much is left for them that made the siblings connive against their mother, Mendoza didn't tell he is busy showing the filthy moviehouse.  A mother's revenge or cash for desperate family? Mga anak na walang utang na loob.


I like Gina Pareno character in the movie, strong-willed matriarch. She was at her best when she comes down on stairs and went straight to the ticket booth, you can feel her character. 


Serbis is an art film according to Mendoza, a negative depiction of the country and it's people. So slumdog. A couple didn't bother to finish the movie, they left abruptly in the middle of the showing. I have one suggestion to Mendoza, please watch and study "Himala". There are other ways of being extremely creative under worst circumstances.



Sunday day out

I thought last Sunday was second sunday of the month so I went to Novena Church in the morning to attend the tagalog mass. I was wrong, I was not able to hear mass  but planned to go back in the afternoon for the 5:30 pm schedule. After leaving church I went to my second itinerary for the day.




At the Supreme Court of Singapore, for  the Living Courthouse. For two days the Supreme Court building opened its doors to the public to see, learn, and explore about Singapore's legal system. Every floor level, nine of them plus two basements, have activities lined up. Upon coming in, visitors will be subjected to security check the same as that in the airport and will be given a leaflet. In it listed all the activities, highlights, do and dont's, and the Justice trail. The justice trail contains 12 questions for you to answer during the course of your tour and upon completion, a souvenir item can be redeem. I was determined to complete the task but after trying one I decided not to. 



I attended the enactment of a criminal proceeding, a humorous but real court hearing set up at the auditorium and not in a usual courtroom to accommodate a bigger crowd. Just imagine how many people turn out to the hearing, and this is just for this particular schedule which is done every 30 minutes.


The Accused, The Big Bad Wolf for causing the fall of Humpty Dumpy.

The Witness, the Blind Mice, was called in to testify against the accused.


After this I decided not to complete the whole trail. I went up to second floor and marveled the interiors of the building. It is a modern new building of steel and concrete.



After that I rushed up to the top floor. From the outside, this floor resembled of a spaceship that landed on top of the building. It is conical in shape as the windows  at a slant.  



From the inside you can have a panoramic view of the vicinity. 




The top floor is housed the Court of Appeals. The tour guide explained the layout of the hall, from the reporters designated place to the audience viewing place. I did not pay much attention to what she was saying as I occupied myself wandering to the interior of the room. I thought it looked smaller with all the division but I overheard her saying that actually it is a lot bigger as compared to the old building.





From the top floor I took the elevator straight to ground floor and decided to leave the building. Just outside I bought a souvenir mug. For buying it I got a free shoe bag, the one you will get if you completed the 12 questions on the justice trail I mentioned above. Hahah so I made a wise decision then not to complete the 12.


I had a quick lunch at the nearby Peninsula Plaza. This place is where Burmese  can claim their own. Everything here is Myanmar, like Lucky Plaza for Filipinos. Basement level is where you can find some nice and cosy restaurants that offers Mynmar cuisines. I opted for over the counter food so that I can see the food. I choose three from the display, fish, chicken, and a soup. The food look the same to any asian food and surprisingly delicious but with a very distinctive taste. Serving is small so it is a bit expensive. I like the taste and I must say it is much better than the thai food and considering that it is an over the counter food. Difinitely I will come for more and try one of the restaurants there.





After that I was on to my next destination, where else but to Suntec for the last day of IT Show. I almost back out upon reaching the place, it's people everywhere. Elevators had to be regulated to prevent breakdown. But still I braved myself though I have no plan of buying any gadget this time and wait for the PC Show on June instead. But i'm not closing for a good buy.




Judging from what I observed of people coming out of the hall, it was pretty obvious that printer was selling like a hot cake, and followed by notebooks. Who says Singapore is in recession? Sale during the three days was higher compared to last year according to the local news. I ended up buying my mac a shell and keyboard guard, though I don't like the color brown  but I have no choice as it was cheap and the only one left. I was hoping to buy for a steal a 500gb external password enable HD, but the price in the show was pretty much same compared to regular store.




I left Suntec and proceeded to Esplanade promenade for a steamboat dinner, my fourth time here.



After dinner, and while on my way to the nearest mrt station, I suddenly remember I was supposed to go back to church to hear mass. I hope HE is not mad at me. Does attending next Sunday two masses compensate? 


By the way Big Bad Wolf was acquitted, in case you are wondering.





Three shades of green

green.



greener



greenest




not my present state, naghanap lang ako ng maililibang ko. Lol




At the current moment

This came about because of Mokong and I am Xprosaic



The basic premise is this – answers should all be “at the current moment.”

Let's do this! 


1. Where is your cellphone --- charging

2. Your hair --- black with a few white due to stress heheh not the one you thinking!

3. Your father --- in heaven

4. Your favorite thing --- my mac

5. Your dream last night --- none, I have been counting sheep lately

6. Your favorite drink --- brewed coffee 

7. Your dream goal --- own a building

8. The room you are in --- bedroom

9. Your fear --- for the world economy to continue at its present state

10. Where do you want to be in 6 years --- still on earth

11. Muffins --- banana flavor

12. One of your wish list items --- learn mandarin, reason here

13. Where you grew up --- in camsur - the next best thing!

14. The last thing you did --- hot shower

15. What are you wearing --- sleep wear

16. Your TV --- 19" Aquos LCD white

17. Your pet --- mini me, don't ask the obvious 

18. Your computer --- MacBook white

19. Your life --- monotonous

20. Your mood --- erratic

21. Missing someone --- yes

22. Your car --- don't have

23. Favorite store --- cold storage, nearby supermarket

24. Your summer --- beach

25. Your favorite color --- white

26. When was the last time you laughed --- when a colleague imitate someone the other day

27. When was the last time you cried --- haven't been since tatay's...

28. Last person who emailed you --- Yiting of Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) asking for additional documents.

29. Your favorite food --- sinigang, all kind 

30. A place you would rather be right now --- chillin at Boom Boom Bar in Boracay...miss the place


I would like to pass this tag to whom I believe it would be great to know them more by tagging heheh

1) Reena- please dont think this is payback time heheh...

2) Klivingood - time to share some facts to your readers...

3) kittykat - here's another tag for you heheh

4) eben - thanks for the traffic tol, in return tag kita heheh

5) wiLfRed - hope we can dive together tol, for the meantime tag muna kita heheh

Cheap daw ang Manila

According to survey Singapore is ranked 10th most expensive city worldwide kasunod ang Hongkong though labas ang Hongkong sa top 10 kasi ranked 11th sila. Tokyo and Osaka topped as the world's most expensive cities for expatriates taking the position of 1st and 2nd respectively. 


I am mentioning here only cities in Asia na pasok as most expensive cities  ranked by EIU.


Singapore is ranked first and Bangkok is second kung pag-uusapan naman ang cities within the southeast asia, being Bangkok on the 72th worldwide and Kuala Lumpur is 90th.


The basis of the survey was by comparing the cost of products and services of the 140 cities. Survey was aimed at helping companies calculate allowances for executives and their families being sent overseas

 

I am not an expatriate, but let me see really how much it cost me to stay here in Singapore.


My small room in an HDB flat cost me $400 a month all inclusive. The room is not air-conditioned but comes with a stand fan. It has a single bed, a wardrobe, a dresser, and a small working table. I brought in my tv set.


I am taking MRT when reporting to work, occasional taxi, and bus. My transportation expenses in a month is $150 on average.


I cook sometimes on weekend whenever I crave for home cooked food. I know how to cook adobo, sinigang, nilaga, tinola, no pork allowed. As cooked fish is expensive, if I want to eat one I cook  and always by the oven. But most of the time I buy my food outside. Lunch just now is Mc chicken burger meal that cost $6.10 in nearby Mc Donalds. My monthly food expense is $500.


I watch movie, malling, occasional beer night-out and my budget for these is $200. If I bought something in a mall I charged it. Last night while on my way home I pass by the mall since it was raining, had dinner and purchased 2 backpacks (sale kasi) that costs me $125. 


My monthly mobile phone bill is $110 on average. My internet, landline, and cable tv monthly pay is $115.


So that's the reason why I still end up not earning much at the end of the month.


If I stay in Manila I would be spending just a fraction of that.


Which brings to this, according to the same survey Manila is one of the cheapest city to live worldwide being rank 98th, in the same level of Kathmandu, New Delhi, Mumbai where the slumdog millionaire came from. And Karachi ang pinacheap. 


Cheap nga siguro talaga sa Manila o cheap nga ba talaga?

One of my regrets

Today I am still sulking. Not that I was not able to use my plane ticket for pinas because it is not refundable nor can be reuse. Not because I was not able to get a leave from work, ah well partly yes...

Who would not be? Ha?? Read On...

*grabe! We made history here!!! Legendary talaga Eheads! naku asa pa kung may tatapat sa kanila! Lungkot, last set na, the hype, the adrenalin! SOBRANG ASTIG!!!!!!!!! Meron ako nabasa na site sabi ni raimund they play well together but they can only stand each other for a short period of time...La lang, sana tapos na lahat ng gap nila di ba. Past na yun eh! I REALLY LOVE EHEADS!!! PEACE!!!

*astig! astig! pinagpala tayong lahat na nandun nang gabing yon... sana ASAP labas nila yung DVD...

*Sarap balik-balikan ang nakaraan. Naalala ko nung high-school ako. Salamat Eraserheads sa mga kantang binigay ninyo sa amin.

*wow sarap! memorable night. may hang over pa din ako kahit sa VIP labas lang ako nanood.. pero grabe naguumpisa na ang dami pa din bumibili ng ticket..

*sayang i thought they will sing Para Sa Masa that night,,then mag-iiyakan mga fans..but its ok na rin,..ung Huling El Bimbo na Farewell Song...babaunin natin hanggang sa pagtanda ang mga kanta,at alaala ng ERASERHEADS!!!..longlive!!..\m /

*astig talaga grabe.. sayang lang wala yung Para sa Masa, wala rin si Shirley at si Aling Nena at yung Balikbayan Box hindi dumating, wala ring nagpakitang Maselang Bahaghari, walang Saturn Return at hindi dumaan sa Tollgate, Easy ka lang, Andalusian Dog, Sa Wakas.. haayyy bitin pa rin pero ok na ok parin..Sana may Final Set Part Two.. hehehe... dun sana nila kantahin yung mga di nila nakanta.. Astig! WALA PA RIN PAPALIT SA EHEADS!

*grabe npaka sulit ng concert ... the best...
pinaka astig na concert n npanuod q,,,

*hangang ngaun ubod ng saya ko padin pero ilang days na nkalipas ahaha ganda ng concert classic


These were the comments copied on youtube on the videos of the final concert.

I promised myself I have to be there right after when Eraserheads announced that they will do a repeat concert, thus the ticket.




I am sulking. Bigtime!

Reality biting

Last week I received a txt from someone I met in a hawker's center. I came to know him while ordering a set meal of a quarter fried chicken, coleslaw, and french fries together with the soup of the day. First time I saw him he was in full smile and I don't know if he recognized me as kabayan or he's just being friendly. I sensed that he is kabayan but I am not sure so I asked him if he's one in a guarded tone. He jolted upon hearing the word and sabi na lang kuya??! ako naman ang nagulat kasi though he look young at 25 and because of his height di pa naman ako katandaan. While I was seated just in front of him and waiting for the food, he keeps talking to me in a loud voice. Since I assume that no one understand us, I do the same thing. On our not so convenient conversation, I learned from him that he is new here just over two months. That he is being discriminated by his co workers as he is earning higher than them. That he is having difficulty in his job and staying in his uncle's place far away from his work place. That he paid equivalent to two months pay for him to get his job here. That the job offer he got in pinas was an assistant cook in a restaurant, contrary to his present post which is server and cashier in a small foodstall in a hawkers center.

He sms me to let me know that he just lost his job, just on his third month because the stall he was manning closed shop. His employer already canceled his work permit and channeled his last month pay to his local recruitment agency. The agency deducted some outstanding amount which he was not aware of and ended up getting only a few hundreds. Now he is busy looking for job and he must find one within 30 days. If not he has to go back to pinas. Given the current situation here, it would be very difficult now to find a job. But he has to find job here since the amount he paid in the agency in pinas was a loan and is not been paid yet.

In my current job, for now things seems to be alright. Tomorrow the contractor will start building our site office and has given a month to complete and make it operational. Once completed only then they can proceed with the work. The contractor has given two years to complete the job, it could be longer than that since my previous project site got a year extension. As my current job assignment is a government priority project, maybe I should not worry.

Well just maybe, for now.

Slumdog Monday

I was out on a rainy monday. I supposed to do the errand the day before, but because it would be too frustrating doing it  on that day, I waited for the next day. The reason was to send money back home in Lucky Plaza, where else. Lucky Plaza on a sunday is like Megamall having their midnight madness sale, and sending money there on that day is well, like you are going to watch a blockbuster movie. Who would want to be falling in line three times in a day on a situation like that? Yes I did send money separately in three different counters that day.


The first stop was at this remittance center for my niece who asked me for her school fees. First time she asked me so I was obliged. I send the money thru this firm because it would be convenient for her to pick up the money in M. Lhullier any branch in pinas and also she will be needing just one ID card to show to claim the money if the money came from this firm as compared to two from other remittance centers including the next one.


Here in the next outlet was where I sent money for my credit cards bill payment. I have two cards. They charge half the price from the first one. So since I have two transactions, it would mean two charges. 


The third one was here. Two transactions here also, one goes to my account for my monthly savings and the other one to my nanay account for her daily stipend. 



Being Monday and mid afternoon I thought there will be me or just a few kabayans would be doing transactions. I was surprised since I still have to fall in line, but it was manageable as I was able to complete the task in over half an hour. 



After that I decided to watch movie at Lido Shaw. Yes finally I was able to watched Slumdog Millionaire after the third try. I got a ticket for the 4:15pm showing. I still have 20 minutes to kill so I treat myself for mocha frappucino. And while at it, I busied myself gawking down the atrium of the mall, the elevator reminds me of the shang mall, the guy with the macbook was having an argument with the lady companion while tinkering  the gadget. My drink is not allowed inside the movie house though it was purchased within the theatre lobby so I have to consumed it before the usher will let me in.





I agree with the comment by an Indian that Slumdog is a white man’s imagined India’ and ‘a poverty tour’. I must admit though that the movie is well made. Watching that movie give me some relief about my pinas. I thought there is no place can beat Smokey Mountain and Parola.


So before heading home, I decided to have dinner first time in one of the restos in Lucky Plaza. First I went to try Jologs Cafe, I heard a lot about their silogs but I want to try other food. Alas, they were closed on Mondays second time happened to me, remember the Mack's Inasal



So I opted for another resto GP and aimed to have sinigang whatever is available though I drool for tuna panga. I seated myself. Five minutes still nobody wants to take my order. Three lady servers were just standing at the corner near the cash register. I assumed they saw me the moment I stepped in. Few minutes more they still pretended they did not notice me. What's wrong with me why nobody came to serve me, despite of a few people came in and they just standing there. Damn suddenly it hit me, I am slumdog to these foodservers. Disgusted I stood up and cursed silently the place and swear never to sit foot come what may. I ended up at Tang's Market and settled for japanese Tori Q.




Sometimes you can not blame me to have a word or two of these kabayans who look down of fellows and assumes you don't deserve to be served. Do I have to win millions? Is it written?