Welcome home!

For the past weeks, I've been saying that I want to buy another external hard drive. My external hard drives are running out of capacity and since I also recently upgraded to Leopard, I need a space to utilize the Time Machine function of the OS.

I know I've been making a great deal of this recent purchase...counting down the days before its arrival to our doorstep. But this is because...this was really a GREAT DEAL! If you only know how much it costs! Oooopsss...not because it's too pricey...but because it was unbelievably CHEAP! Believe me! I was supposed to buy a 1TB hard drive but the greatest deals are with 500 GB drives...so I had to make a choice. Prices of 1TB drives did not offer great savings so I just opted for the 500 GB.





Now, I'm happy that I will be able to use this function...



...and the price? Just $115 which already includes the 3-day shipping! Isn't that amazing?
*Note I just saw a SALE item today in the same website where I bought my HD... 250GB for $189.99...hahaha! I really got the best deal ever!!!

Long wait is over

I'm currently here at work...and I got this YM message that I've been waiting for the whole day!


..can't wait to go home! :)

End of innocence for MAC fans

Just stumbled upon this article in BBC news.

...but this did not change my impression on MAC and OSX.

Best way to keep your PC or MAC virus-free: "COMMON SENSE". Don't open or load any file that you don't trust.

Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7079777.stm

A world without friction

The moment I decided to work abroad I told myself that I will never be an employee forever. I will start saving for my own business in the future. When I was a child, I can still remember that I was fond of selling any kind of things/food items in my school. I would sell stationeries, home-made sampaloc candies, choc-nut, hany, renting all my pocketbooks & nursery rhyme books, etc. Even though I was not making any profits with these, I was still having fun...maybe some of the ladies here would agree to this when they were still young. And the silliest thing I did is whenever my uncle would give me Php10, I would buy different kinds of candy, put it in a recycled container, make a "FOR SALE" placard and I would sit outside our gate and position myself as if I am one of the vendors in the wet market. And I would just end up crying because no one in our subdivision would bother to look at my merchandise for sale. My siblings and my parents would just laugh at me and would tell me that time will come that I will be a great businesswoman.

I never lost that dream. I've been seeing myself to become a successful businesswoman someday. So, to pursue that dream, 10 months ago, Randy and I began planning about a business. The first business that we thought of did not push through because of different newly enacted Philippine legislations that would increase our start up and operating expenses and would somehow become detrimental to the success of our business.

So, we started all over again in the month of July/August 2007. At that time, I also joined an oil & gas company. And I never thought that I would inscribe in the industry that I was then employed.

Last September 2007, we officially launched our business. At first, I was very hesitant to start this since I've been hearing many sad stories from those who just started putting up businesses in the Philippines. But I realized that that's just part of life...I wouldn't be able to start any business if I would be very cautious all the time. We sometimes need to take risks (as what my "Rich Dad" always say...you better read the book, this has also became an eye-opener and inspiration to me).

To make things simpler, we are selling "motor oil" that protects the engine and fuel system of vehicles. Our market are mostly taxi companies/operators in the Philippines and sell the products in "drums". But because of increased demand, we started selling in "gallons" for small enterprises/individual users.

Supposedly, we are the sole sub-distributor of Bardahl Philippines - Caloocan/Valenzuela. However, there are emerging unauthorized resellers of the product (as always...tsk..tsk..tsk..). So just to give everyone a heads up, as of the time of writing of this blog, "we" are the sole reseller of the Bardahl products in the Philippines (Caloocan/Valenzuela).

For more information of our products, visit BARDAHL.

Aside from the fact that our product is way cheaper than the standard/well marketed oil brands, I will no longer indicate any more marketing statements here. Just let the website above do the talking.

For orders, please contact:
MR. ERMILANDO BAYTIONG
09194005465
We deliver within Metro Manila area.

MAC 101: Printscreen in Mac

I still consider myself as an amateur when it comes to mac apps & functions though I've been a mac user for more than a year now. So, there are still tough times for me where I couldn't figure out how to do some commands in mac that I can seamlessly do in PC. So, I decided to document each discovery I encounter. For those who already know this, good for you... just ignore my post and do your own thing, hahaha! No need to comment... just a caution for "mr/ms know-it-all".

So, here's the story: I was about to post a blog entry today regarding something that I'm excited about. To do that, I had to capture printscreen. But I'm using mac right now...as I was about to hit Apple command key (functions just like the Ctrl key in PC) and *Prtscrn* button... I was like..."Where's the Prtscrn button?" I forgot that I haven't seen in my mac keyboard any button similar to the PRTSCRN button of a PC keyboard. Then, I started researching about it. As always, mac never fails to amaze me with its capabilities. Here's how to do a print screen in mac:

TO PRINT JUST A SPECIFIC AREA IN YOUR SCREEN:
Hold down the key and the key and press the numeral <4>. Your mouse pointer will now look like a shooting target symbol (don't know how to describe this but this is the symbol you get when you try to aim at a subject using a shotgun while looking at the eyepiece of the gun) with numerals that keeps on changing as you move your mouse. Position the mouse pointer and drag over the image in your screen you want to capture. Once you release your mouse pointer, you will hear a faint click, like a camera shutter. The Image will be automatically saved to your desktop as a .png file in OSX 70DPI. And on the hard drive in OS9. Here's the outcome:



TO PRINT THE WHOLE SCREEN OF YOUR MAC:
Hold down the key plus the key and press the numeral <3>. This will give you a full screen shot that is saved to your desktop as a .png file. Here's the outcome:



Now, the question is...What's with the FedEx screenshots? Wehehehehe...

Let's wait til Friday... or maybe Wednesday...who knows! :)

Ivy's last...Lei's first ...for today!

1. Who is the best hugger that you
know?
--> Randy (safe si Ivy sumagot sa tanong na to, hahaha)

2. Do you believe in love at first
sight:
--> a big NO!

3. Is there something you want to tell
someone:
--> Yes..."pakiayos at pakifinalize nga yang work instructions nyo nang matapos na rin ako sa ginagawa ko...buset!"

4. What brand of shirt are you
wearing?
--> New York & Company

5.How many kids do you want to have?:
--> 2

6.Do you wanna change your name?:
--> mmm...wag na lang.

7.What did you do for your last
birthday?:
--> sumakay ng erpleyn

8.What time did you wake up today?:
--> 6:50am

9.What were you doing at midnight last
night?
--> sleeping

10.Name something u cannot wait to
do:
--> rest! tagal naman magpasko!

11.What is one thing you wish you could
change about your life?:
--> nothing

12. Which hand do u like better?:
--> right...mas may silbi ang right hand ko.

13. What are u listening to?:
--> server...hahaha..sandamakmak tong nasa tabi ko eh.

14. Have u ever donated money for a
good cause:
--> yes

15. Have u ever talked about someone
behind their back?
--> sabihin mo nga sakin kung never mo pa tong nagawa! sige nga! sige nga!

16. Who's getting on ur nerves ryt
now?:
--> hmmm..right now? wala naman. peaceful ako ngayon.

17. Most visited website:
--> multiply, pex, blogspot, friendster, gmail, yahoo, flickr

18. Coke or Pepsi?:
--> pepsi

19. Do u have a crush?:
--> yeah..

20 Have u kissed or been kissed by
anyone in the past 3 days?:
--> yeah, baby!

21. Do u disagree with alot of things
going on in the world?:
--> I definitely think so!

22. Do u enjoy your friendship with
your friends?:
--> yeah!

23. Do u think flirting is bad?:
--> of course!

24. Do u flirt with anyone?:
--> No.

37. Do you regret telling anyone
something?:
--> Yes

Sunugin ang mga manggagaya!

Just to be warned...

May gumagalang imitator na blogger...kinokopya nya ang entries ng iba't ibang tao and claiming as if she's the writer. She even posts yung mga layouts ng digiscrappers. Ang masama eh verbatim ito...so pag kinopya nya ang post mo at may binanggit kang relatives mo dun, magiging relatives nya rin :lol: Pati pictures ng relatives mo na nasa LO mo, kokopyahin nya rin...problema, pixelized na ang post nya so halatang *trying hard copycat* sya talaga...(lol).

Sunugin ang mga manggagaya!

This reminds me of *iPod Nano*...(lol)...wanna know who's iPod Nano? Send me PM, hahaha!

Here's Mai's entry regarding this culprit....

Midnight shopping hang-over

My lips are soo dry...My eyes are drooping...My body feels sooo depleted... My wallet thickness slimmed down...but nevertheless...

I'm HAPPY!

As the clock struck midnight (November 23, 12am), we went off our place and hit this "place".
We were all new to the place but we never cared (Thanks to the irritating GPS voice that guided us in all our maneuvers and to the untiring effort of QOSMIO) . The traffic was brutal...believe me! And there was no available parking space by the time we got there. The place was full-packed with people and cars. No one cared about the 15-degree Fahrenheit temperature and some ice (and I mean ICE here) on the road. And here's the best thing -- they endured the long queue for each of the brands while freezing in the coldness of the early morning. And I said "they" because I never attempted to enter these brands with long queue.
What did we buy? (The question that keeps on popping in my screen from my IM window...information that my friends want me to divulge now since there are still 2 days more of shopping). Well just pieces of clothing for the winter season...with the killer boots, winter office attire and all...but mostly are for Randy. Why? Because I had to draw his attention to some other things rather than being pushy to buy PS3, hahaha! If you want to know the great deals (with prices) that we got, just send me PM. Hurry -- there are still 2 more days!

We haven't hit the electronics shops (of course!)...but I don't plan to buy anything spectacular. I tried buying online this morning a 1 TB external hard drive (because this is what I really need right now and I'm too tired to go outside) thru this site. But the hell...all the things that I want are already "sold-out"! Tsk...tsk...tsk...

At 5am, we hurried off to have our breakfast at the nearest ihop. And at 8am, I started to close my eyes and doze off.

Though the shopping is somehow tiring and exhausts our savings... the activity becomes more meaningful when shared with friends. See you again in LA, qosmio, our all-time travel buddy! 'Twas nice to meet your wife!

So, that's how we spent our Thanksgiving...how about you, how did you spend the holidays?

Walang mag-iisa ngayong pasko

My friend, Barry, my kapamilya has been bugging me to view the Abs-cbn's Christmas station ID for 2007. Because of my hectic schedule, I never had the chance to visit youtube and take a look at this station ID.

And because I was very emotional last night because of the snow thingy, I decided to watch the Abs-cbn's station ID.

...I hate to admit that I almost cried.. *almost pa ba yung konting kurap na lang ng mata eh lalaglag na yung namumuong luha ko*

First REAL snow experience...

Today is the night before the thanksgiving day! Because of that, nagcutting ako sa client ko, hahaha! Everybody was in a vacation mode already so I decided to go home by 12nn. At 4pm, we went to the nearby shopping mall and did some shopping for some more winter clothes.

It was forecasted this morning that today will be the "first drop of snow". At 8:30PM, we already decided to go home. It was raining hard when we hopped inside the cab. When we arrived at our place, Randy was shouting with joy outside the cab while I was handing our payment to the cab driver. To my surprise, he was jumping for joy because it's snowing already! Hahaha... we were like crazy jumping and twirling around under the drops of snow!

hahaha...nakapagski dubai naman kami...but then, this is our first real snow experience...with matching umuulan ulan ng snow! Sayang, it's dark na kasi outside at malakas talaga ang hangin so I can't take my cam outside and take a picture. Maybe tomorrow, I can somehow take snapshots...

But then...I don't like winter season. Lamigin kasi ako...plus the fact that this reminds me na malapit na ang christmas... and I am away from my family. :(

Career realizations

I can vividly remember during those times that I would say that my current job is the most boring job I've ever had. But it's really surprising that right now, I am starting to realize the importance and the challenges that my job tends to offer. Some say that this is very much different from my professional degree and license...but right now, I was able to realize that yes this is very much different...but that is why I'm having the edge from other people who has the same license/degree with mine.

With my current job, I'm learning how the system works (particularly SAP)...not only in UI...but also how it works in the background! I'm just surprised at times that I am now able to configure and to troubleshoot some of the system errors on my own. And since I am dealing with FDA regulations, I am also exposed to different Goods Manufacturing Processes (GMPs), Best Practices and other business processess across all manufacturing modules. My work is actually beyond understanding the business process (which is more likely to be Internal Audit) but also deals with how the system executes those business processes.

...but then I still cannot erase the fact that I am somehow depressed when I don't usually understand the terminologies/jargons that my co-workers are using -- of course, I'm dealing with system/IT professionals and I'm not one of them! And it really sucks when the system stops working for the reason I can't really figure out! Grrr...

But then, at least I now learn how to appreciate things... :) That's one thing to be joyful about right at this moment.

Oh...speaking of the devil...batch determination of my SAP environment didn't take place...Grrr...need to dig this out of my system!

sick puppy

I'm sick today!

Grrr... I really hate having colds. My father would always complain when I was a child na "amo raw ako ng sipon". I easily get colds. Especially now that we have negative temp here...

I'm hoping that I will be well soon...I have tons of work to do... :(

...and also, thanksgiving holidays are up this coming week. I want to enjoy the holidays!

38 Qs

I was tagged by LC.... so here's mine!

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Randy. Kasi ginagaya nya si Bear Gylls ng Man Vs. Wild. Nakakatawa kasi yung pagsabi nya ng "Veetamin C". Hanggang ngayon natatawa pa rin ako...


2. What were you doing at 0800? Travelling in Highway 45
   


3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Tinatapos ko ang Production Planning Module ng SAP. Laban ka? hahaha...


4. What happened to you in 2006? Married my bestfriend (for 9 years)
   


5. What was the last thing you said out loud? (Ran)- deeeee...(diko na matandaan kung bakit kasi palagi ko yan sinasabi kahit wala naman akong sasabihin kay Randy. Trip ko lang syang tawagin palagi.)
   


6. How many beverages did you have today? Two - Veetamin C juice at tubig, hahaha!


7. What color is your hairbrush? Black na binili ko sa Spinneys-Mercato, Jumeirah, hehehe. (Nilalagyan ko ng kwento para mas masaya...hehehe!)


8. What was the last thing you paid for? Ang hirap naman...diko maalala. Basta pagkain siguro kasi naman di pa ulet kami naggrocery, marami pa laman ang ref.
   


9. Where were you last night? Nasa kama, nagtatrabaho habang nanonood ng TV.
   


10. What color is your front door? Brown.
    


11. Where do you keep your change? Kung saan-saan lang. Tamad ako magtago ng sukli.


12. What’s the weather like today? Sunny ngayon, kaya masaya...ay hindi pala..malas pala ko ngayong araw na to.


13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Jamoca Almond Fudge ng Baskin Robbins pa rin.
    


14. What excites you? Christmas & New Year holidays!


15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, sobrang haba nya na ngayon.
    


16. Are you over the age of 25? No. sakto ka lang.
    


17. Do you talk a lot? Depende kung sino kausap.
    


18. Do you watch the O.C.? No


19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Aba, oo!
    


20. Do you make up your own words? Oo minsan...
    


21. Are you a jealous person? Yata...
    


22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Alvin


23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kaye
    


24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Chris
    


25. What does the last text message you received say? Your balance is now 547 minutes..ek..ek..ek...nagload ako sa fone, weheheheh!
    


26. Do you chew on your straw? No


27. Do you have curly hair? Yes...salamat sa teknolohiya ng rebond.
    


28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Kama, tulog na.
    


29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? ha! Andami kaya...kalimutan na lang natin sila. Hindi sila dapat inaalala at dapat ay binabaon sa limot!
    


30. What was the last thing you ate? Ice cream!!! Salamat, jessamyn at dahil sa status mo sa YM, naalala kong may ice cream pako sa freezer, hehehe!
    


31. Will you get married in the future? I am "married" already.
    


32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Pwede bang next week mo na ko tanungin nyan? Next week na lang ulit ako makakapanood eh.
    


33. Is there anyone you like right now? Oo naman noh.
    


34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Kanina lang.
    


35. Are you currently depressed? No


36. Did you cry today? No


37. Why did you answer and post this? Kasi ayoko nang may pending work to do, hahaha!
    


38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Emtee, Ab, Chachung, Ibyang, Gy

Architecture Cruise

Yesterday, finally, Randy and I were able to meet with Arbour Dubai officemate, Edward. He has been here in US for 1 month already but we haven't met ever since he came here. We were just 10 days apart of departure from Dubai in October. I came here last October 7 and I think he arrived here last October 17. He was assigned in Indiana which is 3 hours away from Chicago.

So yesterday, after so many research on how he can reach Chicago by train, he finally was able to come to Chicago! Our first stop? NAVY PIER! This is also our first time to go to Navy Pier. By the time we got there, it was already full-packed with sooo many people. So, we tried the number 1 activity that Chicago is boasting about...the Shoreline Architecture Cruise. Actually, this is Edward's idea since he only had 1 day to spend in Chicago. Sobrang layo ng travel nya from Indiana to Chicago. Supposedly, he will be joining us in our place, however, he parked his car in the train station in Indiana na hindi pwedeng overnight parking. So he had to come back at that day also.

This cruise showcases Chicago's architectural heritage. The guided Architecture Cruise departs from Navy Pier and travels for one-hour on the historic Chicago River. We were able to see more than 40 of the world's most celebrated buildings in Chicago. During the cruise, what made us proud is, the tour guide mentioned the BURJ DUBAI Tower and another building soon to be built in Abu Dhabi!

And another funny thing is (shift to t-a-g-a-l-o-g) naglipana na naman ang mga bola-bola na mga Pana (yung may pulang marka sa noo nila!) sa cruise! At syempre nagpapakaepal pa rin at pilit na isinisigaw ang bansa nila...bwahahaha! We were laughing so hard!

The cruise was great since we were able to learn so many things about the architecture in Chicago...which is also needed by Randy since he will soon start to find jobs here. Actually, he started already but he can't start to work until he receive his EAD (work permit). For now, houseband muna sya...and I can assure you that that is only for now...hehehe! (Minsan, naaawa din kasi ako sa kanya na nasa house lang sya eh...)

After the cruise, we ate at Navy Pier and headed to Millenium Park...dropped by to some souvenir shops and did some shopping.

Next Friday, Edward will be heading back to Dubai and will just come back here on 1st December.

I will post some of our pictures soon!

First christmas outside Pinas

While everybody's busy preparing their christmas list and doing some christmas shopping errands, I am busy planning for our first christmas outside Pinas and away from our family. I have accepted this fact since the beginning of the year (while busy preparing for our wedding) but then, I was thinking of celebrating christmas in Dubai with friends. But since we're already out of Dubai, I thought of coming up with some other plans. But definitely outside from where we are right now. By December, snow might already be covering our place with several inches thick! I don't wanna experience christmas just staying indoors. So, I planned this trip:

After the Fight, Criss Angel has something to say...

I posted last week about a fight that happened on LIVE in the tv program, PHENOMENON.

Well, here's the explanation of Criss Angel why he reacted that way...

http://www.nbc.com/Phenomenon/video/#mea=178444

And...I totally agree!

After the Fight, Criss Angel has something to say...

I posted last week about a fight that happened on LIVE in the tv program, PHENOMENON.

Well, here's the explanation of Criss Angel why he reacted that way...

And...I totally agree!