Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Google Wave: Preview


Communication in its most advanced medium, I think. No wonder Google people get pampered while at work in the most literal sense of the word, they are so damn good!

Click here to know more about it and watch the loooongest YouTube video that I have ever seen.

Nice to have an account so request one now.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Top 10 movie flops of the decade (Reuters)

Source: Reuters Thu Nov 26, 2009, 8:01 pm EST


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Movie flops aren't just about losing money. Yes, big budgets that go bust are one consideration. But flops are also about lofty expectations dashed and high profiles brought low. They trigger embarrassing catcalls from the peanut gallery and a general whoever-thought-that-was-a-good-idea-in-the-first-place bewilderment.

Any judgments of flopitude are necessarily subjective, but here are 10 movies from the past decade that made those few moviegoers who saw them cringe. Disagree? Talk among yourselves.

10. THE SPIRIT


* Release date: December 25, 2008

* Estimated cost: $60 million

* Domestic gross: $19.8 million


Frank Miller, the man who created the comics "300" and "Sin City," and who redefined Batman and Daredevil for the modern age, directed this adaptation of Will Eisner's comic-strip hero. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and a bevy of beauties, it may have looked good on the page. But onscreen, the heavily stylized, nearly black-and-white results were disastrous. The expensive movie was killed by comic fans, who wanted Miller to go back to comics, and critics, who trashed the movie's over-the-top tones and aesthetics. Consequently, the partners at the company behind the production, Odd Lot Entertainment, parted ways after 23 years together. It even killed plans for a Miller-directed version of "Buck Rogers."

9. GRINDHOUSE


* Release date: April 6, 2007

* Estimated cost: $67 million

* Domestic gross: $25 million


Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez managed to turn twice the filmmaking firepower into half the box office (and a third of the critical praise). With "Grindhouse," what began as an explicit exercise in joyous B-movie cinema homage -- a double bill of '70s-style schlock, one film from each director -- ended up aping its scuzzy genre ancestors a little too closely in the receipts department. After the three-hour-plus "Grindhouse" opened to a mere $11.6 million, Harvey Weinstein split the film's two parts -- "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" -- and shuttled them to international markets individually. While that recouped a little of the Weinstein Co.'s money, it incurred the wrath of purists who were angry that the original film had been corrupted. Tarantino and Weinstein are famously loyal to each other, and while the writer-director eventually made good on the losses with the $120 million-grossing "Inglourious Basterds" this year, "Grindhouse" was one instance where loyalty nearly brought down the house.

8. ROLLERBALL

* Release date: February 8, 2002

* Estimated cost: $70 million

* Domestic gross: $19 million


Norman Jewison's 1975 comment on violence, corporatism and spectacle has its place in the paranoid '70s-era cult film pantheon. John McTiernan's remake, on the other hand, would be totally forgettable if it weren't so spectacularly misconceived in every way. The cast -- Jean Reno, Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos -- was a C-list mishmash closer to reality TV than big-budget studio moviemaking. McTiernan had long since dented his box-office bona fides with "Last Action Hero" and "The 13th Warrior." And the studio releasing it -- MGM -- was so aware of its bomb-worthiness that it pushed the release back four times, out of the summer 2001 field and into the barren wasteland of February. In a last act of desperation, the movie was also re-edited from an R to a PG-13 rating, sabotaging any last chance it had at an audience. Ultimately, it pretty much wrecked McTiernan's career (he has directed only one film since).

7. THE INVASION

* Release date: August 17, 2007

* Estimated cost: $80 million

* Domestic gross: $15.1 million


Nicole Kidman couldn't have started the decade any hotter, scoring with "Moulin Rouge," "The Others" and "The Hours." But after 2002, her career went cold in the U.S. ("Stepford Wives," "Bewitched," "Australia" and "The Golden Compass"); it's as if the actress was abducted by some sort of soul-draining body snatcher. But wait, isn't that what she's fighting in "The Invasion," Hollywood's latest remake of the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"? This time around, the eerie premise, based on a novel by Jack Finney, failed to catch fire. The Wachowski brothers' second unit director, James McTeigue, was called in to shoot additional scenes written by the "Matrix" whiz kids after original director Oliver Hirschbiegel was sent packing, having filmed the bulk of the movie. In an omen of things to come, Kidman suffered an on-set fender-bender during the reshoots. When the film arrived in theaters more than a year late, Kidman's regal bearing took another dent.

6. CATWOMAN


* Release date: July 23, 2004

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $40 million


It was inevitable after Michelle Pfeiffer stole scenes as Catwoman in "Batman Returns" that her black-latexed anti-heroine would get a spinoff of her own. But when the inevitable occurred in 2004, this time with Halle Berry playing the character, audiences tried hard to cover up the kitty litter. No one involved with the movie came out unscathed. Not Berry, who just two years earlier had won an Oscar for "Monster's Ball"; not Sharon Stone, who chewed up the scenery as the movie's villainess; and not Pitof, the French filmmaker making his American directorial debut. He went back to his native land and hasn't directed a theatrical feature since. The movie is another example cited by studios in their long-held contention that female superhero movies just don't work.

5. TOWN & COUNTRY


* Release date: April 27, 2001

* Estimated cost: $90 million

* Domestic gross: $6.7 million


Twenty-five years after he seduced audiences in "Shampoo," Warren Beatty decided the time was ripe for another sex comedy, albeit one with a somewhat older circle of friends. He somehow persuaded New Line, which usually concentrated on the youth market, to foot the bill. And what a bill it was: With the script still furiously going through rewrites, Peter Chelsom began shooting in June 1998; 10 months and take after take after take later, the film was still shooting. That's when co-stars like Diane Keaton and Gary Shandling had to leave to fulfill other commitments. A full year later, the whole cast regrouped to finish the shoot, which had escalated to more than twice its original $44 million price tag. The completed film was actually something of a tepid affair. Beatty dithers as a New York architect who cheats on his wife with several women; Shandling's his best pal trying to come out as gay. And then there's Charlton Heston, playing against type, as a gun nut.

4. GIGLI


* Release date: August 1, 2003

* Estimated cost: $54 million

* Domestic gross: $6.1 million


If the course of true love rarely runs smoothly, then "Gigli" is an object lesson in how rocky it can get. As the new century dawned, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez -- tabloid code name: Bennifer -- were the couple of the moment. With an Oscar for writing "Good Will Hunting" and starring roles in "Pearl Harbor" and "The Sum of All Fears," his movie career was in high gear; she could boast a solid-gold music resume and rom-com appeal in movies like "The Wedding Planner" and "Maid in Manhattan." Onscreen romantic sparks seemed made to order. So what went wrong? Start with that title, "Gigli," that no one was sure how to pronounce. Add lots of lovey-dovey media appearances that erased a bit of their mystique. And then there was Martin Brest's film itself: a low-rent-mobster-boy-meets-enforcer-chick tale complete with a kidnapping, severed thumbs and Al Pacino in high dudgeon. Bennifer split in 2004, just before sharing the bill in another film not too far away on the flop-o-meter, "Jersey Girl."

3. LAND OF THE LOST

* Release date: June 5, 2009

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $65 million


Producer/puppeteers Sid and Marty Kroft were masters of the weird and cheesy; their old Saturday morning TV show, "Land of the Lost," is remembered fondly by kids who grew up in the '70s. But the material experienced something of a time warp when director Brad Silbering tried to give it a hipster spin this summer with the help of Will Ferrell, playing a paleontologist who journeys to a parallel universe where he meets the Sleestaks. Normally, any movie with a rampaging Tyrannosaurus (see "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Night at the Museum") can't miss, but "Lost" was, well, lost in translation. The movie's PG-13 rating wasn't a comfort to many families when word got around of its toilet humor. Older moviegoers weren't interested, and Kroft purists weren't amused. Over the years, Disney and Sony had both held remake rights, but ultimately this hot potato landed at Universal, where it was one of the factors that resulted in the ouster of the studio's two top executives in October.

2. BATTLEFIELD EARTH

* Release date: May 12, 2000

* Estimated cost: $75 million

* Domestic gross: $21 million


Blame it on the Thetans if you want, but John Travolta's space oddity "Battlefield Earth" virtually imploded on the launching pad. Travolta's career was enjoying a resurgence in the wake of "Pulp Fiction" when he wagered a big chunk of his newfound credibility, as well as some of his own coin, on this passion project. "Battlefield Earth" was based on a 1972 sci-fi novel by Scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard, which Travolta promised would be "like 'Star Wars,' only better." Studios shied away, but Travolta found financing from Franchise Pictures, which would later be sued by investors for overstating the movie's costs as $100 million. Originally, Travolta hoped to play the young hero who leads a rebellion against the alien race that enslaves Earth, but the film took so long to assemble he ultimately opted instead to don dreadlocks and platform shoes to play the villain, barking lines like "Execute all man-animals at will, and happy hunting!" A planned sequel, which would have covered the second half of the novel, never materialized. "Some movies run off the rails," observed Roger Ebert. "This one is like the train crash in 'The Fugitive.'"

1. THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH

* Release date: August 6, 2002

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $4.4 million


Eddie Murphy is some kind of miracle. Five of his recent films lost more than $250 million, and yet he not only still gets hired but also commands his salary quote. But on the flop-o-meter, one Murphy title towers above even "Meet Dave," "Showtime" and "I Spy": Trumpets, please, for "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," whose release was delayed for 14 months. It instantly became the "Cleopatra" of our age. A sci-fi gangster comedy, complete with robot sidekick, set on the moon, "Pluto" was neither fish nor fowl -- but mostly foul. But unlike most stars who are tarnished by a mega-flop, Murphy -- who did take time off from broad comedies to redeem himself with his Oscar-nominated turn in "Dreamgirls" -- just keeps going and going and going.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Count, share your blessings

We made some rounds yesterday in Marikina, Pasig and Rizal to check out and bring some assistance to our colleagues who are affected by floods brought by Ondoy.

The sight (and smell) was really depressing. Paano na kaya ang nararamdaman ng mismong mga residente dun? Nakakaawa talaga.

Who would have thought that the furniture you dusted, electric appliances you used and books you just read last Friday would turn to garbage the next day?

Maswerte ang karamihan sa atin na nakaligtas sa perwisyo at nasa kabilang side ng pangyayaring ito. Mas mabuti na ang makasama sa mga tumutulong kaysa sa isa ka sa mga nanghihingi nito. Dahil sabi nga ng isa kong ka-opisina, hindi lang sa ari-arian ikaw dapat makarekober, kundi pati rin sa trauma na naranasan.

Malakas na naman ang ulan sa labas.

Ingat na lang sa ating lahat.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Showing the best during the worst of times

Nabigo ako sa pangako ko, nag-hibernate mode na naman ako for more than a month. Kung kelan may internet na ako sa bahay, lalo pang dumalang ang pagbisita ko dito. Oh well.

Maraming naganap, maraming nawala, maraming dumating sa loob lamang ng isang buwan.

If my blog is a pet, it could have left me to find a new master. Hiatus = neglect.

Last weekend, as we all know, was another replay lesson for all of us: Mother Nature has its own way of exacting revenge to those who abuse her. We had no other way out emotionally and physically but to call it a day, learn from it and hope for the best.

I won't share na my own stories that day, besides it's way nothing compared to what are being shown in the news.

Sa mga hindi naapektuhan, reach out, help out in any way possible and be thankful for having your properties and your family spared from this very unfortunate event.

Lately kahit papaano napalitan ng mga kwento tungkol sa tulungan at damayan ang mga balita ng sisihan, trayduran at siraan. Nakakalungkot lang at kailangan pa ng matinding dagok sa iba para lang manahimik ang mga taong ito.

Kaya natin ito. Makakaraos din tayo.

Narinig ko kanina sa FX habang nasa byahe kami ng mahal ko papuntang ofc, and I thought napapanahon ito.

Ngiti Lang - KC Concepcion

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

"Don’t take it as a career, Take it as a calling"

“That’s the great part of it. I don’t take it as a career, I take it as a calling,” White House chef Fil-Am Cristeta Pasia Comerford said to Inquirer.net on her role in the US First Family's home.

Sarap pakinggan; sana it applies to everybody. Sana masabi ko rin yun sa trabaho ko. Hayz.

I've been contemplating lately about my job. Though relatively it pays well (just exclude the loan deductions) and sure most of the people outside the three corners of my cubicle (pader kasi yung likuran ko) are nice, friendly creatures. What I mean is my work routine. My task. My role.

I still have pending documents to write and my accomplishment so far is staring at my online references for almost a week. The goal is there as well as the deadline; I have enough resources and I'm pretty much interested to do it. One thing is missing: I'm lacking motivation and I don't know where to get enough of it.

Isa pa, I did expect that being part of the project management team, payment follow ups from suppliers and partners are nothing but normal. But it's getting extra phenomenal if it squeezes out your creative juices to give highly believable reasons to them just saying that they will not get what they want. Worse, you do the same thing the next day. So ito pa lang, drained na energy mo sa isang araw.

So what's it gonna be today?

****

Balita muna:

Day off proposed for employees to register

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 21:03:00 08/24/2009


MANILA, Philippines—Employees should be given one day off with pay to allow them to register for the May 2010 election, a party list lawmaker proposed on Monday.

Kabataan Representative Raymond Palatino said there is a need for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to encourage more new voters to register given the low turnout of registrants.

Of its three million target, only 821,200 have so far registered, Palatino said, quoting figures from the poll body.

Palatino filed House Resolution 1336 asking the Department of Labor and Employment to direct public and private companies to implement a one-day off with pay to encourage their employees to register.

Deadline for registration is on October 30 this year.

The congressman said that employees often do not have time to register because by the time their shift ends, registration offices have already closed.

“It is the responsibility of the DOLE to ensure that employees nationwide not be disenfranchised in the coming 2010 election because of this limitation,” he said.

Palatino cited the 100 percent employee voters registration program of Nexus, a business process outsourcing firm, as an example of such initiative. Nexus, he said, gave free tickets to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds for the first fifty employees who submit their official voter registration documents to its human resource department.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Happy Three Months, Baby!





Regalo namin ni mahal sa kanya? Si Tita Angie (mag aalaga muna sa kanya), yehey!!!

Self serving na magulang, hehe. Love u baby!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Katawang laman

"Nothing to worry," says doc after reading the result of Mahal's biopsy. A big sigh of relief and bigger reason to thank Him (not the doc) for hearing our devotional prayers.

***

It's my turn to wait for my neck x-ray result. It took me almost a month before I decided to have it checked due to its unusual recurring stiffness and mild pain. The doc suspects a neck spasm. Hope nothing really serious.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Joey de Leon says it all

I'm not an avid fan of the writer and will not express my thoughts on this new scandal of Willie anymore (sobrang dami na, di na ako makikisawsaw); I just want to share Joey's poem for those who do not read The Philippine Star (a local broadsheet).

The funeral cortege of former Pres. Cory Aquino: My tears came naturally

Wala na sa piling ng mga Pilipino,
Tinig ng awiting Mga Kababayan Ko,
At lumisan na rin noong isang Sabado,
Inang nagpalipad sa awiting Bayan Ko.
Ako'y sumasaludo, paalam Pangulo,
May isa 'kong lihim, kay tagal itinago,
Sa lahat nang inabot kong mga namuno,
Tanging ikaw lang sa luha ko'y nagpatulo.

Marami ang nalungkot sa iyong pagyao,
Magalang ang lahat at puno ng respeto,
Nagpasalamat pa nga Kapamilya sa 'yo,
Dahil kanilang himpilan naibalik mo.

Subalit ano itong nabalitaan ko?
Nangyari noong Lunes, a-tres ng Agosto,
Habang inililipat ang mga labi mo,
Ika'y parang nabastos sa isang TV show.

At ang napakasaklap at masakit dito,
Ang nambastos pa'y kapamilya ng anak mo,
Napanood ito ng tao at publiko,
Kakaunti na nga, ngunit lahat nahilo.
Sabi ng TV host na mainit ang ulo
Pagkakita sa video na kanyang kasalo,
"Sandali, meron akong ano... sa'ting ano...
Hindi naman sa ano," nagkaanu-ano!
Ayon sa Internet, meron pa s'yang nasambit,
"Sana pakitanggal muna 'yan sa'ting traffic..."
At 'di maaalis sa iyong pag-iisip,
Ang parada ng patay ang pinaliligpit!
At dagdag pa daw ng naghahari-harian,
"I don't think na dapat n'yong ipakita iyan..."
Nasaan naman ang paggalang, o nasaan?
Mga sinasabi natin minsa'y pag-ingatan.

At 'di pa nangimi nang sumunod na araw,
Pinilit pa ring ginawa n'ya ay tama raw,
Mga nakarinig 'di na nakagalaw
At ayon sa iba sila na la'y napa-wow!

"... Pero ako, totoo 'ko eh ... ", sabi kuno,
Totoo nga at totoo ring walang modo,
Pwede namang sabihin itong pa-sikreto,
Kaya't wala na rin mga paliwanag mo.

"Kung ganyan, pakita na lang 'yan!", ang hamon pa,
Para bang ang prusisyon nila-"lang - lang" lang ba,
Ang pangasiwaan ay pinapili pa n'ya,
Sumunod ang himpilan, nung August 5 wala s'ya.

May mga komentong pwede nang pang-harapan,
"On camera" baga sa TV ang tawag d'yan
At kung sensitibo man ang gustong bitawan,
Pagpasok ng commercial, hintayin mo na lang.

Matutong magbaba muna ng mikropono
At saka idikta lahat ng iyong gusto,
Lagi kang mataas lahat daw takot sa 'yo,
Ratings lang ang mababa — totoo ba ito?

The breaking news breaks your heart — at 'yan ang bawi mo,
Nang mahalata mong sumablay ang pasok mo,
Pero sigurado ika'y maa-abswelto,
'Di ba ikaw rin ang may-ari ng network n'yo?
Nung Hueves nag-apologize sa diario naman,
O, akala ko ba wala kang kasalanan,
Tapos ng angalan, sunod paliwanagan —
COMPLAIN before you EXPLAIN ka na naman!
O ito kaya ay isa na namang "glitch" lang,
Tulad ng "two-zero" 'di na natin nalaman,
O ito ay maliwanag na kabobohan?
Sa tingin ng marami, mahirap lusutan.

Ang sabi ng iba — istupidong mayabang,
At giit ng iba — istupidong mayaman,
Mayaman man o mayabang ang tiyak diyan,
Napakayaman n'ya sa kaistupiduhan.

Buti pa ang apat na honor guards ni Cory —
Sina Malab, Laguindan, Rodriguez, Cadiente,
Walong oras tumayo sa ulan at viaje,
Ang lahat ay tiniis at walang sinabi.

Samantalang ikaw na may bubong sa ulo,
Komportable ka lang sa malamig na studio,
Nang kapirasong libing sa TV sumalo,
Angal at inis ang sumambulat sa iyo.

Maaari din namang pabayaan na s'ya,
Subalit ang nangyari'y mabigat talaga,
Namayapang pangulo'y huling paalam na,
'Di mo pa pinagbigyan ... hoy, nag-iisa ka!

At nais ko lang sabihin at ipagyabang
Sa mahigit na s'yam na libong tanghalian,
Sa limang pangulong sa Bulaga'y dumaan,
Kahit isa wala kaming nilapastangan.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Hope

Two things:
We got the biopsy result last week. The explanation is quite technical in the medical sense but there is a "benign" word which I think tells a very good meaning. Babalik kami kay dok bukas para malaman namin ang buong kwento.

***

Team Pilipinas (Powerade) is doing good in the current Fiba Men's Championship. Don't mind the detractors; basketball - no matter how vertically challenging it is for us - has become our deep-rooted national passion. We cannot deny this fact. Kaya manalo-matalo, ayos lang.

(pic courtesy of china2009.fiba.com)

Looking forward to Philippines (Smart Gilas) Team when they reach their full potential in the very near future. GO PINOY!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Mabilisan lang

SCENE: Our Ayel was dedicated to Our Lord last Sunday.




SEEN: In just two months after going under the knife, Mahal will take another visit at the OR for a breast mass excision. She was discovered having small cystic lumps in her breasts. Hopefully the surgical biopsy shall give favorable result.

Friday, June 19, 2009

My First Dad's Day as a Dad

Isa na ako sa mga nakakatanggap ng Father's Day greetings. Para siyang yearly certificate of accomplishment or recognition for passing paternal courses. For me, I guess makakakuha ako ng good grades sa Baby Diaper Changing 101, Baby Supplies Buying 101 at Baby Feeding 101. Medyo kinaya naman ang puyatan kahit "overnight classes" ang mga ito.

So sa lahat ng mga tatay dyan, isang pagbati sa inyo this coming June 20, and we really deserve more than a mug on that day. =)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Our Ayel has Arrived!

May 23, 2009

10am - Mahal and I planned to go to Robinsons to buy additional baby stuffs, but after going to a specialty clinic referred by my mom to check for their maternity package (though we have agreed to go to New Era Hospital when the time comes).

11am - We arrived at Drueco Specialist Clinic and registered at the nurse station so we could have a record and an initial check up by the Ob-Gyne doctor on duty. This was when we found out that Mahal was already in labor and her cervix had opened na pala @ 3cm! So we have to postponed our shopping.

12noon - Mahal was admitted while I got back to our house to get extra clothes for her and our baby (thanks sir Toyie for the baby gifts last December).



1pm - She went to active labor. Hindi ko maisip ang sakit na nararamdaman ng isang nagli-labor. All I know is I had to be strong and must convince her to be strong as well for our baby. Though she tried to tell me how painful it was:





7pm - Mahal was transferred to the Delivery Room after mag-8cm siya.

On this moment, I was overwhelmed by mixed emotions, same feeling when I was about to get married.

8:10pm - May narinig na akong iyak ng baby!



Ayel was taken out of the Delivery Room and I got to see my son for the first time...




Tatay na ako. =)




Definitely, this is just the end of the beginning of a wonderful journey called parenting.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Argh! Ugh!

Almost 3 hours kami pinaghintay ng bago sanang OB-Gyne ni Mahal. N'ung una kinausap lang kami sa cellphone at kumatulong na lang ng isang doktor na kamukha ng mga cast ng japanese horror Infection. Ngayon naman nagpa-antay ng isa't kalahating oras at pagbalik namin, namuti na ang mata namin at wala pa rin siya. 1-3 ang schedule niya, so 3:30 umalis na kami.

***

Biglang na lang nag-"no network coverage" yung SIM ko kahapon. Pucha akala ko magpapalit na naman ako ng SIM eh wala pang limang buwan nung nasira yung dati kong SIM. Buti na lang bumalik sa normal kagabi. Malas lang, kinain na yung load ko.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Dugs

Feeling Employer: Ano n'ang nangyari sa pinapa-update ko?
Empleyado: Ay ma'am, na email ko na po sa inyo.
Feeling Employer: Kaya nga tinatanong ko sa 'yo kasi hindi pa ako nakakapagbukas ng computer.

Papaano maiisa-isa ni empleyado ang laman ng Excel file na pina-update sa kanya, at anong mapapala ng Feeling Employer kung isa-isahin sa kanya yun? Abangan!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Our Ayel's Development: Week 37



Foetal development during week 37 of being pregnant - Ayel's head may engage, dropping right down into the cervix ready for birth.

My Wife

Mahal may have a sudden urge in the last few weeks to decorate, bake or even start patchwork cot covers, this is known as 'nesting' but not all women experience this. She may feel hot all the time, because your body is working extremely hard. You have more blood circulating and are burning more calories.

-- Exactly what I've been noticing to her this week. Kaya todo bantay siya sa paggawa ng kuwarto ni Ayel kahit pinagbabawalan ko sumilip nang matagal dahil umaamoy yung pintura.

Tapos kagabi kelangan ko itutok yung aircon sa kanya dahil init na init daw siya. So ayun... kaya pala. =)

Ayel

He is now much plumper and his lungs are ready for the birth. As birth approaches, the amniotic fluid inside Mahal's womb has begun to diminish and Ayel is growing to fill the space. His head may engage, dropping right down into the cervix ready for birth. He should settle with his head facing down and tummy facing your back.

Research suggests it's Ayel's hormones that kick-start labour. When he is ready to emerge his brain will trigger the production of hormones that stimulate the uterus to encourage contractions. His face is filling out, and now has eyelashes. His neck is now thickening and his eyelids can now open and close easily.



Infos courtesy of http://www.askbaby.com.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

PacMania

HappySlip Greeting for Manny!

Commuter woes

Banned dapat ang mga taong ito sa mga public AUV/Garage Service:

1. Humihikab nang bukang buka ang bibig at may tunog pa.
2. Pasahero sa gitnang upuan na alam namang may sasakay e hindi pa agad uusog hangga't hindi mo bubuksan ang pinto.
3. Mga nagpipilit sumandal, kahit balikat mo na mismo ang maipit.

***

Friday, May 8, 2009

Trivia on online videos

What to know what's the most viewed videos over the web? Here's a news clip from Yahoo News.

Visible Measures, which measures the use of online videos across more than 150 video-sharing sites, has compiled a list called the "100 Million Views Club" which is of online videos that have topped the 100 million viewership.

Topping the list is a music video by rapper Soulja Boy of "Crank That," which recorded 356 million hits, followed by a trailer for the vampire movie "Twilight" with 267 million clicks.

In third and four places, with 230 million and 197 million views respectively, came Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" music video and a user generated video by American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian Jeff Dunham called "Achmed the Dead Terrorist."

Boyle, who performed on "Britain's Got Talent," was in fifth place with 186 million views.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

It pays to ask

Or it saves to ask, to put it literally; and better if you ask the right person.

Galing kami sa MegaClinic ni Mahal kahapon para magpa-Urine C/S G/S. Nakapag inquire na kami sa fee which is around 700 pesos. Buti na lang naisipan ni Mahal ko na bumisita sa HMO office para magbaka-sakaling covered siya ng benefits. Dati kasi sinubukan namin humingi ng request for Urinalysis pero nasopla kami nung nurse o OJT yata yun na hindi raw mako-cover kapag pregnancy related.

Buti na lang iba ang naka-duty kahapon. So nagtanong ulit si Mahal. Nung nalaman nila na buntis ang magre-request, sinabi lang na kelangan muna ma-assess ng accredited doctor kung ipapa-cover sa HMO yung particular lab test.

Wala pang 5 minutes, approved na yung request namin at nakatipid kami ng Php700 for the Urine C/S G/S. Buti na lang 85 pesos lang ang Urinalysis, kung hindi, ha-huntingin ko yung mga nagmarunong na HMO attendant na yun!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Hospital Hopping

Last night we went to Hope General Hospital, a private health care establishment to find out their maternity packages. Their normal delivery service costs around Php15K-17K while CS without complications ranges from Php35K-40K. These are actually the usual prices that we also learned from relatives and friends. We also checked out their maternity rooms which I would say comfy enough for us. Its Php800/day is sure ok and within the budget.

Next stop: Novaliches General Hospital. They have this Php7K maternity package promo displayed at their building's facade so we inquired about it. Unluckily, one should have gotten enrolled to this program first during her first to fifth month of pregnancy to avail it. Their normal delivery is Php25K-30K and CS at Php50K-60K.

Last Stop: New Era General Hospital.
Normal - Php25K and up
CS - Php45 and up
The Billing Attendant was kind enough to explain to me how much Philhealth would cover some expenses, depending on various cases. Too bad we are quite far from this hospital.

I guess we'll hope for the best maternity care at Hope.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Our 36 Week-old Ayel

Here's the last pelvic ultrasound of Mahal. This time Ayel can be very well seen and he's quite busy thumb sucking ;-)



It will somehow look like this if taken through a sonogram (just got the image from the Internet, mahal daw magpaganito e, hehe).



Her OB confirms our baby's gender by pointing out to us Ayel's "pototoy" (BB Boy).



Happy happy!!!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

blotter

Mahal is now feeling okay. Two days siyang nag-leave at mahirap nga mag-isa sa bahay dahil wala pa ngang kagamit gamit dun.

Lumalaki na naman ang tyan ko. Nagsimula ito nung nakaraang long holiday break. Kelangan ko na namang mag mansanas lang sa gabi.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Our Ayel's Development: Week 32

Our baby weighs around 5lb. He can blink and his eyes will be open if he is awake. The lanugo hair and vernix covering him are beginning to disappear. Ayel spends 60 percent of the last trimester of pregnancy dreaming.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Anniv Erratum

Ito yung isa sa mga Sustagen Premium moments ko na unti-unting dumarami. Hindi nga pala pritong tilapia at talong ang kinain namin nung first wedding anniversary, kundi Sweet and Sour Lapu-lapu, Baked Mac at Ampalaya Guisado and with Fruit Salad as dessert. How in the world did I forget it??? Yung tilapia session with Japan Pizza ay nung last Saturday nga lang pala. My bad.

Kanina naman sobrang alinsangan na kahit 5am pa lang ng umaga. I think today will be a lot warmer than yesterday. Sabi sa balita, kahapon ang hottest day of this year's summer.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Our Ayel's Development: Week 31

Ayel's fingernails reach the fingertips, his skin is pink and smooth and his body looks much more rounded. There is a store of glycogen building in his liver. He will draw on this reserve energy during labor and the following days while feeding is established.

Our baby's brain is expanding rapidly, with the hearing and speech centers are maturing to a point where he will be able to recognize Mahal's voice at birth.

Monday, April 13, 2009

1st Wedding Anniversary

It has been more than a week when I should have wrote this. I could hardly catch up with time, sobrang bilis na talaga ng panahon.

We celebrated it with lots of fried tilapia and talong at lunch and had our "spacious" living room crowded by both sides of our families to watch "Taken" and "Slumdog Millionaire" (spacious kasi wala pang kagamit gamit).

Masarap pala yung pakiramdam na dinadalaw dalaw ka ng mga mahal mo sa buhay, sa sariling mong bahay.

Yes, we have survived our first year as married couple. No major fights, new circle of so called friends na puro may mga asa-asawa na rin, more budgeting sessions, lesser interest on things that we usually hunt when shopping, etc.

Next anniversary will be extra special because we have our very own bundle of joy by that time.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Parang Monday

I missed the wedding of my friend in the name of work but not definitely for the love of it.

I just had to do it and I also knew that I'm helping out another friend who is helping out our new office mate. So there's a difference.

I hope this new colleague of ours would help our boss in winning big projects and vindicate my no appearance to my friend's wedding.

Congrats my dear Mishy! Idol!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Patay!

Kahit ilang beses nang napatunayan na sa bandang huli humaharurot ang Barangay Ginebra Kings ko, hindi pa rin mawala ang mga agam agam... E ang lalakas din ng mga imports ng ibang team, makahabol kaya sila?

Kagabi talo na naman sila, buti hindi ako nakapanood kundi sira ang tulog ko.

***

Kahapon galing akong bangko, at ang unang sumalubong na bati sa aking ng customer service attendant nila ay isang malutong na "PATAY!."

Hindi, "Hi sir," o "Good afternoon po." Isang kahindik hindik na... "PATAY!"

Heto ang buong linya niya sa abot ng aking pagkakaalala:

"PATAY, IPAPA-VERIFY PA NATIN ITO!"

Bakit kaya patay ang nasabi niya? E magpapa-encash lang naman ako ng cheke mula sa ibang branch nila at natapos naman ang verification in 30 minutes nang walang dumanak na dugo.



Freaky lady.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Our Ayel's Development: Week 28

Our baby Ayel's nostrils are now open and his lungs are developing air sacs. He is now taking on a more normal flesh colour and a less wrinkled appearance. His bones will be hardening and the lanugo will start to disappear, though some patches may remain after birth.

As he grows bigger he will have less space to turn and roll, but will still kick vigorously. His arms and legs pull up towards the chest as he finds a position which is comfortable for his developing size.

Our doctors may check at this stage to see which position Ayel is lying in. If born now, he has over a 95% chance of survival.

He will be learning to live with the sound of Mahal's blood humming and whooshing and all the digestive gurglings. Apart from the lungs, his major organs are functioning. The lungs are still full of amniotic fluid and the air-exchange sacs (alveoli) will not be formed for several more weeks. His brain has grown larger and a fatty protective sheath covers the nerve fibres. This allows the impulses to the brain to travel faster, so he can learn more quickly.

Monday, March 16, 2009

SSS (Super Stupid System)

Ngayon lang ako ulit nakabisita sa SSS Online at hindi ako makapaniwala sa ginawang downgrading ng nasabing website. Heto ang ilan sa mga nabago na syempre ang assumption nila ay mas makatutulong sa mga pobreng myembro nito:

1. Naging inutil na ang Online Inquiry dahil tinanggal na nila ang mga useful tabs like Member History, Actual Premiums, Loan Status.... Pagka-click mo, hihingan ka ulit ng username/password at pagka enter mo, ibabalik ka lang sa main page. Nakakabobo, di ba?

2. Ang pinalit nila sa Online Inquiry ay Request Records. Dati makikita mo in an instant yung mga kelangan mong info, pero ngayon, kelangan mo nang mag-request and you have to pick it up at their uber crowded metro branches. Heto pa ang malupit... MAGBABAYAD KA NA! Paano ko nalaman? Kapag nakagawa ka na ng request at nai-send sa 'yo yung confirmation via e-mail, dun mo lang malalaman na may babayaran ka. Wala ka nang magagawa, walang cancel or abort option man lang:



Hindi kaya pakana ito ng sangkot sa ZTE scandal? Dagdag kita mo ba ito, Sec?

3. May Schedule Appointment na sila. Sana lang pagpunta mo dun ay i-honor nila ang nai-set mong appointment sa kanila. Alam mo naman, sobrang busy sila kaya kelangan nilang mag check muna sa system nila na laging down para malaman nila kung sino-sino ang nakipag set ng appointment sa kanila. Again, walang option to cancel kaya hindi mo alam kung anong gagawin sa 'yo kapag hindi ka nakasipot sa appointment, wala silang pakialam sa idadahilan mo.

4. Online Transaction - Ito pinakawalang kwenta. Ang makikita mo lang ay "Maternity Notification" at pagka-click mo, sasabihin lang sa 'yo ay ganito (naisalin na sa tagalog):

"Hoy tanga, alam mo namang employed ka kaya dun ka magpasa sa opisina n'yo, at wala akong pakialam kung may tanong ka, gaga!"

Sana nasa "beta" phase lang muna itong mga pagbabago sa site nila dahil walang mapapala ngayon ang mga members sa ginawa nilang "improvements." Hayz.

3 Stories

Three movies over the weekend was good 'nuff of a break after a 5 mentally atrophic office days:

Friday: Shrooms - Virus meets Gothika. Ito ang hirap kapag nasanay na sa mga palabas na yung twist ng istorya ay ipapakita sa last minutes nung film. Mahirap na ma-enjoy yung kwento kasi mas ina-anticipate mo na there was something behind all the crimes and it will be exposed before the credits show up.

Saturday: Slumdog Millionaire - It reminds me of Lino Brocka/Ishmael Bernal social realist genres pero ang pagkakaiba nila happy ang ending. Kakabilib umarte yung mga batang Jamal, Salim at Latika who, if I'm not mistaken, are amateurs in acting. Nakatulong din kasi siguro yung tunay na pamumuhay ng mga bata, na kung hindi ako ulit nagkakamali, kinuha sila sa slum area ng India. From the dynamic direk Danny Boyle (Remember Trainspotting?).

Sunday: Changeling - 2 things:
1. Mahabang komentaryo ng bulok na sistema noon na kita pa rin ngayon (Ho-hum).
2. My first encounter of the word 'Changeling.'

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tipid Mode

Ang tagal pa ng sweldo, aarrgh! - tipikal na reaksyon ng isang certified manggagawa.

Sa ngayon, tiis tiis muna kami ni mahal. Hindi muna makakakain sa Yoshi at Wham, hati muna sa medium size na Mango Frugurt ng Fruit Magic, at wala munang bili bili ng ng kung anu-ano.

***

So far, so good ang baby namin ni mahal after their check up. Sobrang likot (lalaki talaga), hirap yung OB niya na ma-steady yung Fetal Doppler Baby Heart Beat Monitor aaahhhhhhh(habol hininga).

Next check up would be on the 31st.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Live to work?

Hindi ko natapos ang isa sa tatlong proposals kahapon.
At ang proposal na ito ay nanganak ng isa pa.
Plus may isang presentation pa ako na gagawin...

But wait, there's more!

Isang bid document at mga request letters sa clients.

Lahat dapat matapos today.

Please give my life back!!! T-T

Mamaya check-up ni mahal for her 6th month of pregnancy. Balitaan ko kayo bukas.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Thank you, Master Rapper...

Enough poetic excuses. This blog could be one of my few legacies to my loved ones so I'd better take care of it as if each day would be my last.

Sad news to all Pinoys last weekend. Francis Magalona succumbed to 4th-stage leukemia after a gallant battle with it which I think lasted for seven months. I checked his multiply account and read his last posts that reflected his burning passion to life and undefiable hope of winning over earthly death.

Salamat sa lahat, kababayan ko...

***

Just had breakfast with our Prez and the 'twas first time I was asked to go with him without the rest of the early bird guys.

Free breakfast = Confidence level upgrade = Workload = Monday, it is!

Anyways, gusto ko pa sana magkwento pero past 9a.m. na and I have 3 proposals to complete today. Ciao!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Blog Coma

It struck me without warning, without mercy.

Thanks for this dose of occupational idleness...

Dalaw lang...

Galaw galaw lang...

Lapit na anniversary namin...

Then in a few months more, our Ayel (Jan Daniel) will arrive!