Please Hug Me

One night at home - just as about you are trying to round up those work files you brought home and getting ready to work at your bedroom desk, then just suddenly a little voice called you and say "please hug me…"  What did you do? Did you even give thought just for a second? Were these words "Me ginagawa ako anak" (I'm doing something, my child) your only response?

These are the words that keep reminding me and my wife that these are precious times for us and our children. These are the times that hold even more precious to our child's mind. Times that can not and will not replace those toys and the presents we give. Nor the baon (milk money) that fill their pockets

I have forgotten how it feels for me to say "please hug me" to my father (because he was always busy at work and really never there to simply tuck me in.) But I can tell you this, I know how a father feels when he is loved by his kids. And so we make every effort not to ignore our kids' asking. For us, it may be a moment just in passing but the rewards are still everlasting. It is this little moment that strengthens the bond that we have with our kids. To show our kids that they are loved. That our kids are secured by our embrace. That in the darkness of night, everything will be alright. All it takes is 15 minutes.

Besides, give it a few more years, and we might not hear our children (at their teens) utter those words again. So I say, drop those pen and paper, set the laptop in virus-scan mode and give your kid and yourself that 15 minutes that will last you a lifetime.

Kick Ass Rides on "roids"

Yup!.. I am talking about the "Transformers" movie. The movie is a "kick-ass ride."  It dons the Michael Bay signature of showing action sequences in slow-mo and the stunts similar to "Bad Boys 1 & 2 " and "The Rock." This time, Michael Bay raised the bar as the bots change to robot form in The Matrix style and the fight sequence with the Decepticons in slow frames — they were jolly-wicked! The musical score even added to the already heightened emotions… in one word - "orgasmic"

For a fan like me, seeing the Transformers in a live-action movie was mind-blowing. And having this same experience with Jai (my son) was really something. The moment we stepped in at home, I powered up my computer and told Jai to watch the cartoon over the internet at TV Links. If you missed my previous blog on watching internet tv, click here to read about the blog. 

Well, he enjoyed the cartoon too especially seeing Grimlock (The Dino Autobot) and adding this to his list of favorite shows. So, if you haven't seen the movie yet, watch it on a weekday as the movie houses may still be SRO.

I'm surprised though that with all their (Transformers) advanced tech tools, they still hack like dinosaurs… why don't they use 802.11 b/g (hehehe, in geek lingo, its the WI-FI) just like the rest of us. hmmm!

What’s The Episode Last Night?

I won't even ask how many of your fave tv shows have you missed because you were working late last night, had a date or caught in traffic. I missed the 4rd episode of the hit series "Heroes" last Monday. Saw "24" (Season 6) halfway to the end, and missing Battlestar Gallactica Season 2 already. One is already too many!

There is still hope. No more trying to pickup the puzzles of last week's episode to this week's show, or worse wait for a lifetime for that particular episode to be shown as a re-run that may or may not happen. 

There are a hundred and one ways to keep up with your fave show - and here's mine - visit www.tv-links.co.uk. You may find "the one" episode you've been dying to see that never did!

Oh, sorry to disappoint you though, "Deal or No Deal" not available!

A Missionary’s Return

Its been a little over a month since our dear friend Obet stepped foot on Cambodia and Vietnam with high hopes of bringing the "Good News" to the people there. It was somehow difficult for me to email him and use words like God, Bible or Christian in a country where food may still be rationed and "religion-talk" is forbidden. We had to be wary about words which may get him deported and his mission trip cut short.

I am absolutely sure Obet has a lot of good (or bad) news to tell. Whatever news he brings forth hopefully will uplift and inspire us to reach out and pray for a country that has been separated by religion and economics.

 And now he's back. We have not seen nor heard from Obet yet as for sure, he is still making up for lost time with his wife, Dred and his two wonderful kids Daphne and Hannah.

As any gangsta would say,
"Welcome back, homey" I feel ya bro!

Tones

Just trying on some different color tones. Photoshots were taken from Punta Fuego in Batangas from the series of summer outings we had planned.

Surf’s Up!

  I was finally able to do a little weekend R & R at the beach with the family. This is what I dire to do for quite some time now. May not be as exciting as snorkelling into deep water but visiting a remote island in Zambales is a trip worth the wait.

As we pack our gear on a Friday morning, we were all excited as this was Jadyn's first trip to the beach and a major travel (7 hours) for her. Jai is used to this long travel as we had previous roadtrips to Pagudpud and Bicol, but were quite unsure for Jadyn as she has never really traveled this far buckled up in her car seat and bored.

Jadyn's first dip at the beach, enthused by the clear water.

To sum up her (Jadyn) experience, she was fascinated by her newfound escapade. We could tell by her actions while I was preparing these photos for our blog. She was grabbing my pc's screen and donning her grin simply telling us to go back to the beach. Well, good for her as we plan for another beach trip this Tuesday.

It was a bonding time for me and Jai as well. Both of us enjoyed as I pulled Jai on the water (while he keeps getting salt water into his mouth) - teaching him the flutter kicks and the arm strokes. Letting him ride on my back while swimming was something. Well, I hope Jai will be joining Butch and I on our snorkelling very soon.

Mi Famiglia with my wife's youngest sistah - Jovy, taking a snapshot break.

This was taken inland. We were awestruck by the island's beauty.. the stream, the pine trees, the lake, fortunately this remote island is not yet known to many - unadulterated!

Some more landscape shots at Anawangin Island.

 
Hitting landfall after 30 minutes of boat ride

Jovanni on his way to the cliff


Overlooking the beach from the cliff's edge

Almost cliff hanging

This is how the beachline looks like from the opposite site. 

And a little few shots that's worth showing

 Oh, by the way, you can also visit our Flickr site. Just click on the Flickr logo to view this set.

I am not dead yet!

I'm not dead yet! Many of you may think why I haven't been blogging lately. Well, its a typical excuse that there is too much work on my hands. Well, the truth is, I have been so fascinated with Web2.0 which opened more opportunities for me (and my team.) My wife and kids are enthused with my work we may (and hope) to retire early. 

Visit this blogsite for more updates.

Riverdance and Celtic Culture

I have always been a big fan of Irish Culture - it all started with Braveheart (which I even used as a lecturing tool to a group of Trainors back in my UP days.)  Then come the icons "Enya" and "The Corrs" who made me even more fascinated with their music. These kinds of music bring a different tone from the ones I usually hear on cd or radio, and perhaps this is what excites me.

Have you ever heard of Christian Celtic Music - now that is really something. Try Celtic Woman! (pronounced as KELTIK NOT SELTIK) I just had to correct that since I hear lots of people say it the wrong way. At any rate though, their's is some sort of serenity and peace trying to break through you.

Then upon seeing the Riverdance at Youtube, I said to myself  "I have got to share this at my blog." Fortunately, I was able to visit one of my favorite blog pages that I read  here at i.ph and learned Youtube can NOW be viewed here. To followers of my blog, they knew I tried embedding video at i.ph without success so I guess this is proper timing since I just saw this yesterday.

Well, enough said. Enjoy watching. Go to youtube and you'll see more of this.

I, Friendster

   Wow! It was Friendster Week! I spent the whole weekend learning the ropes of Friendster. And the week is already about to close and found 35 friends online! Who would have thought a 40-year old guy like me, all serious, all-work, no-play, would be joining Friendster. And would be enjoying searching those names of friends I lost touch with after high school. I even tried searching friends from my grade school years (no luck on here though.)

That's why these social communities sites are popular (with a google pagerank of 7 out of 10) and where the money is. This site is a congregation of friends… looking for friends.

Well, please drop by my friendster page. Who know's, we might have someone in common.

Transmogrified

Whew! My recently concluded web project has taken the life out of me. I missed several blog entries, I have to answer about 40-50 personal emails from last week, and send out about 40 emails to the clients-in-waiting.

Before I go back to work grind, I just have to relax and read a few "Calvin and Hobbes" pages and here's something i scanned for you too. I'm just so glad my son does not go berserk whenever he arrives from school.

Valentine Greetings

Our prayers, our cares, our wishes, and our greetings all packed in one big heap go to you all our friends, families and fellow bloggers this Valentine's Day.

May you celebrate this day with lots of love and laughters as you bring back memories or perhaps talk about your life plan together. Sa mga ayaw mag-date today dahil jam-packed ang mga restos, have a great late weekend celebration to you.

labs from,
Alf and Butch

Life in full circle

   
  
Who would have thought that this two would hook up and ended up as a married couple. Nobody! God's ways are truly mysterious.

Looking back from the time when we used to backpack in the boondocks of Tanay with the ladies (our trainees back then), we got to do a lot of matchmaking in the midst of the leadership training, we got to learn a thousand-and-one ways to cook sardines, and got to know these women a whole lot more during the 3-hour hike to the reatreat house and back - these were fond memories to re-live again.

Fast forward 17 years after, most of us young people back then have ended up as married couples - Butch and I, Obet and Dred, Jun and Susan, Benjie and Lot, Reno and Tina, and now the most recent - Jhong and Irene. Such a wonderful circle. Bonds are strong and friendships are deeply-rooted.

Haay! Well anyway, this particular blog is dedicated to the newly-weds - Jhong and Irene, Congratulations and Best Wishes to you both, hope to see you again when you get back from overseas.

Withdrawal Symptoms!

That was what my wife said this weekend when I was a bit down under the weather. I had not a single sip of Coca-Cola this weekend. Is Coke addictive? I gobble down coke on lunch, dinner or even during late night works. Having this drink is a hard habit to break.

And it was very unusual this weekend - I did not have a single sip of coke this. That's perhaps the reason why I got sick. Some people take PROZAC, I take Coke! HAHAHA! Perhaps I should be buying Securities and Stocks of Coca-Cola instead - this could make me rich then I could buy all the cokes I want.

Seriously, it was a very busy week and so by the end of this week, I felt a bit tired - not to mention I barely had a 3 hour sleep. I've been juggling work and family life like crazy. I finished a website for only 3 days, shop for some forclosed properties and met some of the owners already, and helped with the laundry at Fabricare (laundromat.) Some week I must say!

So I believe I need some uppers now (Coke.)  So there won't be any withdrawal symptoms… and perhaps get me through this day.

Oh, by the way, if anyone reading this works for a bank, I'm looking for foreclosed properties (house and lot, plexes, condo units) so we can start investing in our own home.

Back To Grind

Kuh! Back to reality na naman pala… back to grind! After 3 weeks of vacation, sasabak na naman ulit. And just like everybody else who decorated their homes with christmas lanterns, christmas trees and other ornaments, i'll be bringing down yung mga palamuti na ginamit ko dito sa site.

Maghahanda na naman para sa Valentine's Day. 

First Sign of Jealousy

Our son has finally expressed his jealousy over his younger sister. It is something we have been expecting since the new baby arrived home. Butch and I believe that no matter how much we try to balance what we show to our 2 little children, one, if not both will show signs of jealousy. It is a good thing that Jai (the kuya) somehow expressed his true feelings of jealousy in words - talking about it and not otherwise.

We're both glad to say that we are off to a good start.

Preparaciones

Wow! Just a few more days before Christmas. I have been able to accomplish some stuff needed before the year ends.  I bet some of us are rushing again (time and time again.) All roads lead to the malls. And I may have to go back to Divisoria. I've seen wonderful toy dinosaurs (for Jai) over there.

Some of the things I've accomplished and still need to do more…
1. completed Jadyn's 6-in-1 and bcg vaccines.
2. tinkered with the header image (hehehe)
3. sent the sample multimedia cd to sweden (work-related.) But some more tweaks needed.
4. prepared my son's costume for his PICC performance
5. still looking around though for a gift for our son - he has a deep fascination for dinosaurs. (he is so glad i completed the Walking With Dinosaur… Sea Monsters… and Beast series) We are also wondering what to get for our baby.
6. i have yet to find a gift for my wife. (any suggestions? - last year was a wrist watch)
7. we still need to do some shopping for our clan's reunion.
8. need to finish up meetings with clients.
9. wow. gift wrapping pa pala. sandamakmak itong gifts na ipamimigay.
10. i need to finish up my company's website.

A Work In Progress

Now that I've completed the first page, that includes tweaking the images, posting some photos and creating themes for the pages, night owls do need to sleep also. Besides, duty ulit ako to feed Jadyn (the new baby.)

Come to think of it, Jadyn has adapted the sleeping pattern of her kuya Jai. I'm trying to recall about the way we (Butch — misis ko and I) stayed awake during graveyard shift just to feed the baby.  Nandyan yung magpapa-alarm ako every 2 hours para magtimpla at painumin ng gatas. There were also times that we dragged ourselves out of bed. Me wisdom pala doon when we feed the baby every 2 hours even after midnight.

It's called "Parent-Directed Feeding" or PDF. The beauty in here is that when the baby grows a little older, you never have to stay awake after midnight. You can finally rest and wake up at 6:00am instead for feeding time. You'll be able to complete at least a 6-hour sleep.

Not In My Case
Well, simply because I am a night owl and I am more lucid at night. Most of the juciy work is done at night.

Ooopps! time to feed the baby (hehehe)