Hot Steamy Rice

Greetings
of a prosperous new year from right here, live (and dead several
heartbeats later, unless I hit "REPAIR" on the Smart Bro LAN
Connection) in Quezon City!

I’ll hit my new year right with a
blog entry about our famous Metro Manila eyesore (or eyecandy,
*snicker* lol), the MMDA footbridge.

A
few years ago, I found myself on one of these hulking monstrosities of
steel (probably from the chairman’s own steel mill I digress) in Quezon
Avenue, near Capitol Medical Center. And from there, we got our own
personal view of the people’s champ, the man, the legend, the Alaxan
junkie, the Extrem Magec Seng(tm) endorser, the one, the only, Mr.
Manny ‘the PacMan’ Pacquiao. World Champion in his own right, Champion
of the Filipino masses; right there with former Manila Mayor Lito
Atienza - waving in front of the starstruck (or trafficstruck) crowd as
they and hundreds of ‘mirons’ in their fancy floats went on a
Metro-wide tour to celebrate his championship victory. Mr. Manny
Pacquiao deserves a blog entry but it’s not him I’m about to dissect,
it’s the viewing platform slash steel pedestrian overpass that I’m
about to make famous.

How typical of us Pinoys to turn one
object into numerous other things for which it was not designed. Just
like using fruits and vegetables for numerous other pleasurable things,
like using patola as a nightstick or billy club or using bananas as
ballistic missiles (or was it our neighbors, the Thais?)

Right
now, the footbridge has been turned into a peddler’s lane like all over
and underpasses in the metropolis. Kudos to Manila City government for
turning the underpasses in their city into near-safe places by
sanctioning and legalizing trading within them. But I cannot say if
these ambulant vendors in the footbridges are actually making people
just using them from getting from point A to point B feel safer with
their presence. Personally, I don’t mind. It’s actually sad to think
that these illegal ambulant vendors are always on the run. Whenever
raiding parties come near, the vendors go on a comic mad rush and are
gone in less than a minute. hehe.

When the Aurora Blvd. - EDSA
Footbridge was installed, the Cubao denizens used the footbridge as a,
well, footbridge by day and as a cheap sex trading spot by night. How
freaky it was to find these poor girls in their ghastly make-up and
blacktooth grin offer you a "night you will never forget" right there
in the sanctity of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s Blue and
Pink Steel Footbridge? ¡Que Horror!

And right up north, where
the mayor’s moustached smiley face/caricature is all over the place -
we have one of our more infamous footbridge. Let’s just say, the
footbridge has been also turned into a viewing platform, but the view
is from a different angle. lol

Stumped
for the perfect gift to give this Christmas? Why don’t you buy your
loved ones the "aerobics" cube. Also known as the puzzle cube or puzzel
cube, it’s the best gift you can give your loved ones this Christmas.
You ask why, I’ll tell you why: The damn cube can give you a nice total
body work-out. No more pointing finger push-ups and middle finger
stretching while killing time, the aerobics cube is designed to give
total body work-out, just ask your local sidewalk vendor!

Seriously
though, you can obviously tell that the sidewalk vendor mistook
"rubik’s cube" for "aerobics cube". Wahehehe.. ohmigawrsh, I can
understand ‘puzzle’ or ‘puzzel’ cube for lack of better description,
but ‘aerobics’.. XD You can get this knock-off of the original cube for
20 pesos on the sidewalk or at "Vente" kiosks and shops. Nice deal
actually.

And
then there’s the ‘intellectual cube’, an expensive Taiwan knock-off in
which the 5×5 version retails for 600+ pesos in National Bookstore
outlets. An actual 5×5 rubik’s (and even up to 7×7 or down to 2×2) cube
exists in reality but getting your hands on the original 3×3 rubik’s
cube is hard enough.

Strangely though, the Taiwan version
advocates the disassembly of the cube if you’re stuck. o.o;; lol You
might as well (like what me and my wife agreed upon) use an "emergency
kit" containing spare color sticker labels of the cube. rofl!

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all!

n.b. For added challenge, try solving the cube while under the influence of alcohol.

The
Nokia 6151 has got to be one of the hardest 2nd hand phone models to
find these days. Either teh hoi polloi is holding on this particular
model or it must be too sucky even for the hoi polloi.

I was
with my ‘2 weeks to go guy’, Arnold, yesterday at Greenhills just to
look for a 6151. Of course, what better to place to start the hunt at
the catwalks between Virra Mall and Shoppesville.

We started
looking for an ‘estante’ (glass shelf) with the sign that says the
people behind the estante is able to accept credit cards readily. Just
a tip for the bargain cellphone hunter, it maybe just possible that
each and everyone of those merchants are actually offering credit card
payments for an additional fee.

As is typical in bargain
hunting, these merchants will offer you a price for the model at the
condition (brand new, open line, service provider-locked, never opened,
slightly used, or the phone happened to be in an African elephant orgy
party) you’re looking for. And as is typical.. if you show disinterest
because of the price or show interest but gave you three raised
eyebrows for the offered price, these guys are more than willing to
lower the price to match their competitors or slightly lower the price
for you. It all depends on the prevailing trading price, plus and minus
the condition of the unit.

It might sound
sad for us out there, that these guys in Greenhills are actually
disheartened by the fact that they have sold only one or two units the
whole day, so some may actually go a bit more lower than the final
asking price. But I’d rather not take advantage of that on general
principle as a human being.

The condition of the unit is an
important selling point of the unit as we’ve experienced. They will
gently but firmly retort behind your back as soon as you leave that
their unit is in mint condition, hence the offered price. I gently and
goofishly retorted that, in truth, I would just be returning a phone
that was issued to me by the company. And it would be a violation of my
general principle as an @$$hole that I will not return a brand new unit
just to be enjoyed by some noob jockstrap in the consumables sales
department. *grin* Well, I did not actually say that but, I managed to
get the point across, which of course raised more than a few laughs
with the merchants.

We settled for a moderately used unit for
4,500 php (with a free Kingston 520Mb MicroSD).. which would strangely
mirror the condition of the 6151 I lost early this year. Oh wait, did I
just say lost? Wahehe, yes the reason I was bargain hunting iz becosh
it is the deadline for returning the phone to management (and the line,
since we have a new line on a different provider) and I have nothing to
return. ^^;;

In adjunct to the final price, an 8% ’swipe’ fee
was imposed which isn’t really bad. And judging from the rapport I made
with my Moslem merchant, she was happy with our transaction. Positive
FB please! XD

Oh btw, the first picture is supposedly a picture
of the 6151 from the Nokia.ph site, but unfortunately led to a 404 page
with a picture of a noob jockstrap from the consumables sales
department. Just kidding. XD It would seem that Nokia.ph no longer
sells the 6151! ^^;; Just for kicks, here’s two more ‘random’ images
from the same 404 page:

Okay..
that was rich. XD Okay without any further tummy rumbling, here’s a
stock photo of the phone from GSMArena.com (some rare model, huh?) :

Haha, first entry in September. XD

My
regular visit to csifiles.com yielded an interesting news regarding a
CSI (Crime Scene Investigaton) season 7 icon - one of the miniatures
made by the ‘miniature killer’, : Gil Grissom’s office. The actual prop
used in CBS’s CSI is now being auctioned off on eBay for the benefit of
abused and neglected children in foster care through CASA, a non-profit
organization and CBS itself.

As
of today, the current bid on the miniature (estimated to be worth
$25,000) is $15,000 by an anonymous bidder. eBay protects its users by
masking the usernames involving high priced or high profile items that
are up for bid. And, the auction is also pre-approved, i.e., all
interested bidders have to sign up first and get screened by the
sponsors before they are allowed to actually bid. Just how scandalous
it would be if the bidding was won by some under-aged geek on some
corner of the planet, for $25,000 with only twelve dollars to his
name..XD Interesting to note that the miniature started bidding at a
little less than $10. With seven days to go, God only knows how big
it’s gonna be.

Getting
a driver’s license has got to be one of the more macho things a boy
goes through in his life. The anticipation of making a four wheeled
monster come to life and make it obey your every command.

Nothing
says macho like honking your horn at the top of the morning just to
annoy your sleepy neighbors or run over stray animals just because you
can or just because askals can’t get a driver’s license even if they
wanted to run you over in return and actually learned how to drive
(after actually surviving the incident).

But nothing! And the
Rock means nothing! Nothing can be more macho than a stamp on your
wrist when you enter LTO Diliman premises in East Avenue for your
driver’s license.

This
entry is dedicated to FMEI Customer Support Department. These are the
best and baddest motherf*ckers in medical equipment service.

Who
says you can’t get anything from imbibing a cold bottle of frosty
alcoholic beverage? Only from an inuman session can you get life’s
harshest lessons and get knocked out in style.

One
of the life lessons I learned last night was that a case of Extra
Strong Red Horse Beer always includes one bottle of an "Extra Extra
Strong" Red Horse Beer. Take a look at the pictures and spot the
difference between bottles. The one with the smiling horse and the one
with the red logo is the Extra Extra Strong RHB (encircled red).

So who gets the smiling horse in your next inuman session, leave it to the celebrant.

2007 heralds the coming of the ultimate gadget for us shwingers: the very toight, the very shexy iPhone! *applause* *applause*

Author Disclaimer: No, this is not some lame "state of the nation" crap-tastic ego-trip. Thank you very much.

Anyway.
Nothing defines ultimate gadget eye candy and functionality for gadget
lovers (like yours truly) like the iPhone. It combines the functions of
an iPod Video and a mobile phone with a wi-fi connectivity in a design
that seems the word "sexy" was actually defined for.

I caught
sight of the gadget in a cover of Mac Life magazine earlier tonight.
The word "Amazing" was used to define this marvelous invention of Steve
Jobs and his people at Apple. Hey, just looking at it and how you
operate it and what it can do for you, really, "Amazing" seems fitting
enough a word.

I’ve read of the gadget
ever since its launch last June and since then, there’s been mixed
reviews of the iPhone. Basic mobilephone features are not present and
problems like activation (you need to download the latest iTunes to
activate it) and no support for custom ringtones (wtf?) plus lack of
support for common web objects like Java in the Safari browser and no
support for removable media (iPhones are only available in 4Gb or 8Gb
versions).

And
there goes another facet of the iPhone: availability. As of now, you
can get it on a US AT&T plan. And I think that’s about it. So the
question goes, "WHEN DO WE EXPECT THE IPHONE ON PHILIPPINE SHORES??"
I’ve heard from an officemate one of his neighbors purchased one from
the US and brought it home here. And well, practically, he’s got the
sexiest iPod Video in the Philippines. ^^;;

Internet Sources say
2008 is the target for an Asia-Pacific release. Maybe I’d have enough
munny by that time when the phone is released. I’ll start whacking more
weeds and hurting Heartless with my keyblade starting tomorrow. XD

Well before that fateful day arrives.. I’ll be with my ay! Phone… shown here in this lovely photo. LOL

This has got to be one of the most bizarre rain-filled weeks we’ve ever
had. When I look up in the sky, I expected criss-cut storm clouds.

Why?
Here’s what happened today: 7:50H - dark clouds blot out the sun..
8:15H - the mother of all downpours ensue.. 9:00H - the rain gently
breaks.. 9:30H - slight drizzle, storm clouds thin out.. 10:00H - a
bright yellow sun actually appears.. 10:30H - it rains yet again..
10:45H - rain stops.. 11:00H - it rains again.. 11:10H - the sun shines
like mad.. 11:15H - mild shower.. 12:00H rain stops, not a sunbeam in
sight.. 13:00H - it rains again.. 14:00H - heavy downpour again..
15:00H - hello, sunshine!.. 15:30H - hello rain!.. 14:00H - ULTIMATELY,
THE F*CKING RAIN THEN SUNSHINE STOPS AND THE HEAVENS FINALLY SETTLES
FOR "CLOUDY SKIES!"

While all this was happening, the government
thankfully decides to suspend all classes and stop all government work
while the heavenly riot ensues. And poor little me made the trek from
the office to Makati Medical Center for fieldwork between 11:00am and
4:00pm.

And tomorrow, we may all yet be lucky as classes in all
levels are already suspended and government and private businesses may
soon follow suit.

Ngiti naman d’yan.

As
a senior field service engineer, you get to travel the country whenever
a new hospital equipment model is installed or a branch needs help in
servicing a machine.

I’ve only been twice to Cebu City and hell,
no trip to Cebu can ever be complete without dining at the famous
Larsian! Larsian serves barbecued chicken, pork meat, innards or
seafood along with rice cooked in a leaf wrapper, known as ‘puso’. Part
of the good experience when eating here is that you eat with your hands!

Larsian
can be found adjacent to the Fuente Osmena Circle (where the fountain
you see on the 50 peso bill is located) right beside Chong Hua Hospital.

Larsian
attracts all kinds of people from the masa to the office workers to
businessmen and tourists / FE students. And alongside the good food and
festive ambiance, you do get to see some ’sights’ as well due to well,
the attraction factor.

I
tell you, nothing beats barbecue, a spicy dip, and a glass of frosty
beverage while being with friends and colleagues. Hey, did I mention
the food is cheap too?

As a bonus for this blog entry.. while
still in Cebu, go to CNT Lechon (they have a branch in Ayala Center
Cebu’s Foodcourt near the cinemas) for the best m’f'n tastin’ roast
piggie this side of the planet! And the rumors are true when they say,
it can last the transit from Cebu to Manila without getting all funky
(if ya smell what i’m cookin’).

Some people know that I dig Japanese music in addition to Western or
local Philippine acts. The first Japanese digital music file I had was
the opening theme for Borutesu Faibu-ni. Don’t know what that means? ^^
Think Brod Pete. lol

From there, into
anime op’s and ed’s and eventually transcended into specific artists
like Maaya Sakamoto, Masami Okui and Ayumi Hamasaki. With the exception
of Maaya-kun, my auditory senses tuned themselves into a new direction
: J-Urban.

After hearing m-flo’s (m-flo is Verbal as MC and Taku
Takahashi as DJ) collaboration track with melody. (yes, small caps with
a period) and Ryohei, "miss you", it was all downhill from there. m-flo
is probably the center of the J-Urban movement. They say Orange Range
is the most successful proponent of J-Urban, but imho, their style
really doesn’t intersect with the pop / hiphop / r&b mix that is
the present in the music genre’s artists.

With Verbal going
westside as part of the Teriyaki Boyz to collaborate the soundtrack for
the film, Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift and with a recent team-up
between Teriyaki Boyz with Kanye West, J-Urban should get the world’s
notice and the exposure it deserves. This may not seat well with other
fans of the genre as some would argue for many reasons, one being,
Verbal and m-flo has strayed too far from true J-Urban. I dunno, but I
am a very big fan of m-flo (with LISA and during the m-flo loves
collaborations).

And so people would point out, "you can barely
understand Japanese!" I’d rather die than listen to another sappy Air
Supply song on local radio station Love Radio. Bite Me. Besides,
Philippine commercial FM radio died a horrible death years ago.

Anyway,
if you’re a fan of R&B and hip-hop - try the music from J-Urban
luminaries m-flo, Soul’d Out, Crystal Kay, Kumi Koda, Namie Amuro and
yes, BoA. Visit Wiki.ThePPN for a lowdown