Hello World, June 2011
The "busy" gods must have played a joke on me and they seemed to enjoy themselves for the past three months. My busy streak both in and out of work started last June. I was fortunate enough to be rewarded with a vacation at the month's end, but it was almost jeopardized with the obligations I had to fulfill. Along the way, I scored some goodies for my collection to keep me sane.
What I went through last June is probably best described in photos below:
June is best described with this photo. For more than half of the month, I was wrestling with RadGrids and trying to fit them in my code to satisfy client requirements. This photo was taken in the afternoon of June 17, where I reported for work from 4PM to 8PM. My teammates were gone as they had their teambuilding in the morning and were not required to report for work after. Meanwhile, I extended my stay in the office until 4AM. I figured I couldn't make the meet-up time at 630AM in QC circle so my teammates went on with their activity without me. I was able to submit my requirements on that day, thought it felt funny that it was only I who was present on the team on that afternoon. It gets better from this point...
Ingress (June 17), PH Toycon 2011. As a collector, it has always been my goal to display my collection in the biggest pop-culture event in the country - the Philippine Toys, Hobbies, and Collectibles Convention 2011 (otherwise known as the Toycon). The road to securing my slot is tough already as slots were limited, but the timing of the ingress couldn't have worse. I was so busy with work days leading to the Toycon that I was only able to pack-up my collection the day before the Toycon. After wrapping my work (shown above), I rushed to SM Megatrade center and arranged all of my Bret Hart collection (with Rocky's help) in the display cabinet provided. However, since I came in late from work, I had little time to set-up my collection and the organizers had to close the entire Megatrade center at 10PM. With little sleep and tired from work the previous day (and I kept on thinking how to allocate my Bret Hart figures in the little shelf provided while I kept on tossing in bed), I had to come back for my collection the next morning (take note of my sleeping patterns). It's kinda ironic that with my health taking a toll on me, I didn't look around in the convention and instead opted to go home that afternoon to catch up with my sleep.
Philippine Toycon 2011 This is it! This Bret "Hitman" Hart collector has achieved his biggest milestone and has proudly displayed his collection in the Philippine Toycon 2011! What started with an innocent purchase of Classic Superstars (CS) Series 13 Bret Hart back in 2007 became an obsession to restore Hitman's glory through action figures and collectibles. Never did I imagine getting most of the Hitman figures released and be able to display them in public! This collection proudly features a personalized autograph from the Hitman himself, plus CS-custom figures by Virgil and "mugged" Bret Hart figures by Likhang Pinoy Customs. I never felt so proud of my collection whenever people would ask me details about the action figures in there. Thanks Rocky for the assist during egress!
Bad Influence personified. Cyclops Randy Bowen Full Sized-statues have been on my list since I started collecting Cyclops action figures and statues. For a long time it remained only in my list as these statues come with a premium price until the opportunity to own not one, but two Cyclops full sized statues, at a good price while I was checking out the PinoyToyKolektors (PTK) forums. Though a good deal, I still had second thoughts about buying one since (after all) I'm still letting go of a significant amount of money. Finally after much thinking, I got convinced by fellow Cyclops collector "monvdd" and long time bad influence Virgil ("get it before you get married") to finally buy those Bowens - and I did just that in the rainy June 24. I walked to JAE Collectibles in SM Megamall (coincidentally where I bought my second Cyclops figure which started the toy collecting craze) and handed out my payment in cold cash while sharing a good conversation with JAE's owner. I walked back to my car, holding my newly purchased statues carefully, and finally removed them out of the box and into my Cyclops shelves (I had to rearrange my statues) when I got home.
Did I mention there are at least three more Cyclops Bowen statues (Astonishing, First Appearance and X-Factor) on the way?
Did I mention there are at least three more Cyclops Bowen statues (Astonishing, First Appearance and X-Factor) on the way?
Exams at DCI The week after I overextended myself from work and the Toycon, I was back to my busy self, this time studying for a set of exams that our management asked me to take for the company's certification. I felt that was a plus point for me since management trusted me (along with 5 developers) even if they gave us less than 4 weeks to finish the set of exams. During the rainy days and nights of June, I locked myself up in the conference room and studied, fighting off bed weather (I was on a development break). Even after basketball games at night in Valle 1 along with my LSGH high school batchmates, I went to Starbucks just to finish my studies. I was on a tight schedule.
There was a catch however in my exams: I had to take one BEFORE June 30 to avail of the retake promo, and almost everyone from other companies taking the exams are beating the deadline as well. Because June 30 was already reserved (more on that later), I had to take at least one exam a few days earlier. On the 28th, I was geared up for the exam in MISnet in Makati, went there earlier than expected when shit happened and their building's internet connection got cut-off and they weren't able to download my exam! My exam was supposed to be scheduled after lunch but I insisted on waiting for internet connection restoration until 4PM to no avail - they said they'll have to reschedule me the next day. I got pissed already and no longer trusted them to handle my exam (true enough - the next day they still couldn't hold exams and they didn't even have a back-up connection/business contingency plan) that I decided to look elsewhere.
I went to the nearest internet cafe within Salcedo village to search for other testing centers until I discovered one very near Rocky's house: DCI International. I called them up, and they were able to accommodate me the next day even on a short notice (most exam centers were fully booked in Makati while they had no schedules at all!). A little inexperience caught up with DCI though on the 29th when it took them an hour to process my payment and set-up my exam. At that point I was worried with my June 30 plans and showed signs of impatience, but thankfully luck came my way and I was finally able to take my exam and pass it! I felt I just leaped over the 10th hurdle and running to the finish line.
There was a catch however in my exams: I had to take one BEFORE June 30 to avail of the retake promo, and almost everyone from other companies taking the exams are beating the deadline as well. Because June 30 was already reserved (more on that later), I had to take at least one exam a few days earlier. On the 28th, I was geared up for the exam in MISnet in Makati, went there earlier than expected when shit happened and their building's internet connection got cut-off and they weren't able to download my exam! My exam was supposed to be scheduled after lunch but I insisted on waiting for internet connection restoration until 4PM to no avail - they said they'll have to reschedule me the next day. I got pissed already and no longer trusted them to handle my exam (true enough - the next day they still couldn't hold exams and they didn't even have a back-up connection/business contingency plan) that I decided to look elsewhere.
I went to the nearest internet cafe within Salcedo village to search for other testing centers until I discovered one very near Rocky's house: DCI International. I called them up, and they were able to accommodate me the next day even on a short notice (most exam centers were fully booked in Makati while they had no schedules at all!). A little inexperience caught up with DCI though on the 29th when it took them an hour to process my payment and set-up my exam. At that point I was worried with my June 30 plans and showed signs of impatience, but thankfully luck came my way and I was finally able to take my exam and pass it! I felt I just leaped over the 10th hurdle and running to the finish line.
Finish Line. After all the hardwork and sleepless nights. From coding to studying. A trip almost jeopardized but thankfully pushed through. I considered those as hurdles (me being a former hurdler) and this moment in Boracay is my finish line. This is my third time in the island paradise, and though more structures were present compared to the first time I visited it in 2009, the beach still ain't bad. With buddies Jeff and Joy plus Rocky and I, we all lived the moment in Boracay from June 30 to July 3: from the beach and the sea, to the feast that the island has to offer! A great way to end the busy month of June!
More Hauls! Though the harvest is not as heavy as the previous months, my collections still didn't take a backseat despite my busy schedule. After waiting for a few months, my 1989 PBA All Star Robert Jaworski replica jersey was finally delivered by Jersey Shop. We met each other during the Ateneo-DLSU Fil-Oil Preseason cup last June 4: a game wherein Ateneo perenially lose to DLSU for 4 years now. Due to miscommunication, the jersey I got was short on length so I tried doing something about it: after dinner, Rocky and I hung out in Starbucks Veranda in Robinsons Galleria, wherein for two hours I removed the stitch of the jerseys base! I was able to fix it a few weeks ago. This jersey is loaded with history, but most important of all, Jaworski finally reconciled with estranged Toyota teammate Fernandez as they collaborated for the game's final play.
Next are four X-Men comics: 3 TPBs and a hardbound. I scored the House of M for a good price at Comic Quest in SM Megamall two days before the Toycon and finished it after 3 days. I finally knew what happened on that "M" day as I'm catching up on my comic book reading lately and I'm collecting major X-Men events. Meanwhile I got the three trade paperbacks on the last night of the Toycon, just when sellers are wrapping up their stalls. The X-Men vignettes (50% off) meanwhile are stories in between (or within) Chris Claremont's early X-Men run. I also scored the X-Men Asgardian Wars (first print) on that night at a good price of 400php and I'm currently reading it.
Hooray for hauls!
Next are four X-Men comics: 3 TPBs and a hardbound. I scored the House of M for a good price at Comic Quest in SM Megamall two days before the Toycon and finished it after 3 days. I finally knew what happened on that "M" day as I'm catching up on my comic book reading lately and I'm collecting major X-Men events. Meanwhile I got the three trade paperbacks on the last night of the Toycon, just when sellers are wrapping up their stalls. The X-Men vignettes (50% off) meanwhile are stories in between (or within) Chris Claremont's early X-Men run. I also scored the X-Men Asgardian Wars (first print) on that night at a good price of 400php and I'm currently reading it.
Hooray for hauls!
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Back To Top ^
After more than a year of hiatus, I'm kinda back. My plan is to port my blog entries to a different CMS, but I really haven't found time to do so. I did miss blogging, but I can't keep up and at the same time do a backtrack of what's happened to me over the past year until now.
For now, my blog is reopened - including old entries which made this blog very popular in Google. Comments are disabled though (so I won't get any posts demanding that I write more)
What I'm up to lately:
- PBA retro jerseys - because my basketball idol Robert "Bobby/Sonny" Jaworski is a god. Also coming up with a creative way of showcasing my jersey collection.
- PBA retro/memorabilia - trying to retrieve as much memorabilia on the very rich basketball history of the PBA, because the PBA is too careless to do so.
- Cyclops and Bret Hart collection - I think I've exhausted most of the ones available out there except for the really expensive ones, so I'm just getting new releases. I still have to write about my collection hauls for the past 6 months over at the toy forums. Maybe if I find time, I'll post them in here as well. Bret Hart did return last year, and this fan couldn't be happier.
- Back to Ortigas again for almost a year now (and still is an ASP.net web developer) after staying in Taguig for summer of 2010 (funny story). I passed MS exam 70-515 (.net 4.0 web development) last March since starting to study early this year! Yey
- I've been updating my Multiply website lately. Yes, I still post my photos in Multiply. I guess blogs are better with lots of pictures.
- I can bench press at 170lbs right now. Still going to "Manchest Gym" once a week.
- Still actively playing hoops at least once a week since last year. My jerseys bear the name of #7, Jaworski.
- Snowbell the cat is still here in our house for about 4 years now. We still chase each other.
- While I miss the Ginebra I've written about in this blog since 2005, the team is changing and I can't romanticize them. I do hope they can go at it again this season while slowly rebuilding for the future. Meanwhile, Ateneo's so strong on paper, I can only remember the days when they used to fall short of a championship.
- Mom has been very active in Facebook lately, in a very funny way.
- Rocky and I are turning 6 years this September! and we've visited 94 Starbucks branches all over the country already. Aiming for 100!
- You can find me in Twitter. Twitter spoils me.
That's all for now. Until the next update next year. Haha!
Road Trips/ Places
Monday, February 15, 2010 @ 12:40:17 AM
Monday, February 15, 2010 @ 12:40:17 AM
Road Trips/ Places
Sunday, February 14, 2010 @ 11:04:43 PM
Sunday, February 14, 2010 @ 11:04:43 PM
Late post, but as mentioned in my previous blog, I got too busy since coming home from our New Year's family vacation in Hong Kong/Macau and making life-changing decisions, plus a lot of basketball games and/or fitness activities. I fixed my multiply account also over the past three weeks (including 10 detailed albums of our Hong Kong/Macau trip some which are opened to the public) before updating this blog.
Anyway for the third straight year, Mom treated us to another family vacation outside the country: From Hong Kong in summer of 2007, Christmas vacation in Malaysia in 2008, and this time a birthday/New Year's vacation in Hong Kong and Macau again. Here are some snapshots of our experience in Macau:
In Manila, we don't have snowmen. We left Manila on the 27th of December and a freaking 10C stinging cold wind greeted us when we got to Hong Kong at about 8PM. Just like on our first Hong Kong vacation, we stayed in BP International House (which looks like a favorite for Filipino travelers). Took this picture at the lobby.
At 26. It's my first declaration of my new age the next day (December 28), as we were asked to fill out this health sheet on our way to Macau. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Macau from Hong Kong via ferry. The same weather greeted us at Macau where I wore double clothes!
Dragonball Z? Took this pic from Emperor Hotel where we stayed in Macau for two nights. After settling down, we ate late lunch/early dinner at "Restaurante Fong Fong Kei" to celebrate my birthday where we were served Macau delicacy.
Le Arc. With no plans on our first day in Macau, we strolled around the buildings in Avenide de Amizade starting with Wynn Casino. Wynn carried branded stuff that just amused ourselves by window-shopping. We attempted to get in the casino but the lady security guard (who turned out to be a Filipina) denied Linel entry (deny girl with pink jacket). We strolled around the public park and took pics of the casinos nearby, notably Le' Arc where this pic was taken.
With nothing much to do when we got back to the hotel at 7PM, I watched X-Men episodes that I carried with me on my iPod until I fell asleep at 830PM. It's a boring way of celebrating my birthday but I'm thankful that I'm experiencing another place. :)
With nothing much to do when we got back to the hotel at 7PM, I watched X-Men episodes that I carried with me on my iPod until I fell asleep at 830PM. It's a boring way of celebrating my birthday but I'm thankful that I'm experiencing another place. :)
A-Ma Temple. This marks the start of a very long day in Macau for us as we had the city tours in the morning. First agenda was to visit the A-ma Temple where this pic was taken. A-ma temple has existed since the 1400s. While this temple is a nice place to go to, the scent of incense hurt our noses. I and my siblings just watched in amazement as we can see our breaths due to the cold air. Honestly, I'm more of a fan of Christian relics/old churches than temples. :-) But still to see a structure 500 years old is something nice to see.
V for Vendetta dressed as a waiter? This picture was taken at the Macau Fisherman's Wharf where we were treated to a buffet lunch. I took pictures around, marveling at the amazing replica buildings in the area. This theme park has replica of a volcano, Roman Ampitheatre, and buildings with 1800s architecture.
Ruins of St. Paul Perhaps one of the iconic structures in Macau, the Ruins of St. Paul features what's left of the old St. Paul's cathedral. Only the facade and some remnants of its pillars remained and preserved. At the other end of the ruins (or the altar side), there's a crypt/museum downstairs which plays Gregorian sounds in the background. Really spooky and creepy if you ask me. The museum features relics and artifacts from the 1500s to the 1700s relating to Christian faith. There's even a bone by a priest which has been preserved. While I was climbing down, I accidentally slipped (stupid rain) which opened a wound to my left middle finger and didn't stop bleeding all throughout the tour. boo. :( Complete pictures here.
The Venetian. http://cricohermoso.multiply.com/photos/album/245/The_Venetian_Dec._29_2009
Everyday Life
Sunday, February 7, 2010 @ 12:58:15 PM
Sunday, February 7, 2010 @ 12:58:15 PM
Since I'm a little busy lately and much as I want to catch up on my blogging (ala-"As of late" series I did in November-December), my hectic schedule lately prevents me from doing so. Here's a summary instead of how I spent the first month of 2010 in numbers:
11 basketball games (3 in ABL, 4 in the LSGH 2001 league, 4 practices)
3 weekly runs (I started running again in our cemetery, progressing from 3 rounds to 4 rounds and 5 rounds)
2 sessions at Manchest Gym (goal is to visit the gym at least 6 times a month. I failed miserably)
2 wins 1 loss in the ABL. Woot.
0 wins 4 losses in the LSGH 2001 league.
17 minutes on my first 3-round run
22 minutes on my second 4-round run
26 minutes on my third 5-round run.
That's 16 physical activities in 31 days. Not bad.
5 series of interviews: 1 HR, 2 technical interviews, 2 managerial interviews (all in the same company)
1 out of 2 hits. I was referred to another department by the big company I applied to. Fortunately the second department accepted me.
4 visits to Fort Bonifacio. Yeah, soon I'll be moving from Ortigas, Pasig City to Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
And I have given my 30 days notice from the current company I'm working in. It's been a good 4 years 6 months run so far.
Big purchases:
2 new shoes: 1 leather shoes (thanks Rocky for helping me!) and 1 new Adidas Basketball shoes. Additional pair of shoes if you count the shoes I bought from our Hong Kong trip.
500GB Seagate Freeagent Go External Hard Drive (from Rising Sun Computers)
1 Nike + iPod sensor for my weekend running workouts.
1 Griffin Streamline Sports Armband for my iPod.
9 collectibles came from US through the help of fellow Wrestlefreak Leeyowc. Includes 2 Cyclops busts, 2 Bret Hart figures, 3 Japan-based Cyclops figurines, and 1 Bret Hart autograph.
Hopefully when I find the time to blog once more, I'll expound those numbers in full details.
Hello Blog!
Road Trips/ Places
Sunday, December 27, 2009 @ 04:45:19 AM
Sunday, December 27, 2009 @ 04:45:19 AM
Once again I'll be on the road away from the country as our family will take a vacation. Destination: Hong Kong and Macau.
Itinerary:
Dec 27: Will leave Manila at 6pm, land at HK at 8pm, will stay at BP International Hotel in Austin Road (where we stayed in our HK trip 2 years ago)
Dec 28 (My birthday!): Check-out from BP, 1 hour ferry ride to Macau. Check in at Emperor Hotel in Macau. Half day city tour.
Dec 29: Whole day city tour.
Dec 30: Check out from Emperor Hotel, ferry ride back to HK. Check in again in BP International. Half day shopping spree/free day
Dec 31: Disneyland Day tour (again :-S)
Jan 1: Free day again. Will leave HK at 10pm.
***
Finished packing up. No shorts as temperature within HK and Macau ranges from 11C to 19C. No gyms in BP nor in Emperor Hotel (yeah adik ako). Printed Starbucks locations and will definitely visit the toy stores in Mong Kok area. Printed maps too. Hooray too for I have internet access with my iPod! Brought my 70-536 readings (let's see if I can read some). Ripped and uploaded X-Men Animated series (90s) cartoons as well in my iPod haha!
Shoes of the trip: my Adidas "Country" non-basketball shoe (boo!)
Jacket of the trip: still, my lucky Ateneo Adidas jacket from Rocky :-) Also my heavy track and field warmer which I wore back in UAAP 2002.
Everyday Life
Saturday, December 26, 2009 @ 03:07:54 AM
Saturday, December 26, 2009 @ 03:07:54 AM
Greetings of Happy Holidays from me and my girl! :D
I've said it before that December is my favorite month of the year because of the lights, the cool breeze, visiting Ateneo and hearing a Simbang Gabi mass at the Church of the Gesu, and munching food and donuts afterwards. The experience came a little too late though as Rocky and I went to celebrate his grandpa's 82nd birthday (and still awesomely healthy!) last Saturday, while I got downed with a bum stomach on Sunday when we planned to hear mass in Ateneo. The bum stomach was bad, but I was downed too with work as I had to work overtime last weekend I felt a little sad, as one of my December goals faded away with unfortunate events. Also, there's something with December which makes me a little sad when I see lights around and malls open for extended hours and everyone's busy with Christmas -- a month later, everything would be back to normal. I feel like I'm in a rush to celebrate the season at the same time get worried that the season would end sooner.
But it wasn't too late though, and good thing there are a few days left before Christmas which was enough for me and Rocky to celebrate the Christmas season together. On the 22nd, Rocky and I met at Mom & Tina's in C5 and handed out our presents to each other: I gave her a GAP "Dream" perfume (which I planned to give to her back in our 4th anniversary) while she gave me a Nike Fit basketball shorts. I told her not to give me any present anymore as she spent some money with my iPod, but she insisted. She also gave me... err my family some Cello's donuts too for Christmas.
Finally we heard mass in Ateneo after buying donuts. It was refreshing to hear a Jesuit mass inside the Church of the Gesu which was decorated with purple and white parols inside. Fr. Dacanay hosted the mass and he gave a really nice homily. We both love celebrating Christmas by hearing mass together. :)
Of course, mass wouldn't be complete without eating food from the food stalls outside! Too bad Fish & Co didn't have any stalls in there but we treated ourselves to a cheesy sausage. We also goofed off in Bellarmine field with the lights hanging by the Bellarmine trees around us. These are the moments I live for with Rocky :) Finally, we went over at Eastwood Mall to celebrate Anj's Birthday as she treated us with crepes (thanks Anj for inviting us always since 2005! I didn't catch 2008 Anj birthday edition though). Always nice to celebrate Christmas season with friends.
The next day, 23rd, we came in a little too late as we were downed with work and we got caught in a crazy checkpoint in front of Eastwood in C5 (of all the days). We only came in Gesu in the offertory part of the mass. We decided to continue hearing mass, and treated ourselves to a light home-made iced tea from one of the stalls from entrepreneurial Atenean co-eds after the mass. We went to Eastwood Mall by 10pm to eat yogurt from Red Mango and walked around. We also watched the fountain display in front of Eastwood Mall late at night while the cold wind flew around us.
A Christmas ball shot from the giant Christmas tree in front of Eastwood mall. We didn't have any shot in Ateneo, sayang!
Ahh... Christmas is happier to spend it with loved ones. :) Wasn't too late but thankfully Rocky and I were able to celebrate together.
Thanks Rocky :)
Virgil's Classic Lead Figurine Collection by Eaglemoss
5 stacks of cases and one big long case. The "Mega Specials" and "Special" figurines aren't even enclosed in cases: Virgil's Classic Lead Figurines by Eaglemoss. On top of these is his Iron Man Armory.
It started with a Classic Marvel Figurine Emma Frost I gave to Virgil two Christmases ago. Back then we both thought he would start a completist Emma Frost collection. Then little by little, figurines started to come in. After two years, this became full blown collection consisting of 98 regular Marvel Figurines, 4 Double-Pack Specials, 7 Specials, and 3 Mega-Specials plus 14 regular DC Figurines and a Batman on Motorcycle Special! = 127 figures! Totally awesome! It's a product of endless pambubuyo, of sprees and awesome deals with collectors from the toy forums.
These figurines are 4" in height and cost 800php each in the average (Virgil doesn't even want to know how much he's spent in total haha). Every purchase is usually followed by a mini-celebration by having a good dinner and/or merienda.
This Christmas season is even more special for Virgil's collection, as I was able to sell some of his Marvel Legends figures and turn them into additions to his lead figures collection. Virgil has long given-up on the "plastic" collection and retained the nice looking figurines and the BAFs (build-a-figure). What he's getting in return though is a collection whose quality are more awesome despite its size, are classier looking, durable, in-scale, and display-friendly. It sure felt like Christmas as Virgil had an average of a figurine a week as he was able to secure the following: Task Master (Nov 5), Gladiator (Nov 12), Original Green Lantern (Nov 19), Watcher (Nov 20), Kingpin (Nov 24), Hobgoblin and Scorpion (Dec 9), Kazar-Sabu Double Pack (Dec 15), Madrox (Dec 18), and finally one for the road (i.e. vacation) in Shocker (Dec 23). Meanwhile, I gave him two lead figures (on-sale) as a Christmas present in the form of Baron Zemo and Sabretooth. That's 13 figures in the past two months!
November-December Hauls taken by Virgil's iPhone. Hey Virg, we're going to Druid's in January for Union Jack and Martian Manhunter, right? And others you're missing in Moleman, Absorbing Man, Nighthawk, Blink, Morbius, Valkyrie, and Impossible Man (for complete issues 1-100 Marvel Figurines!)
Totally awesome collection. Memories which surround it makes the experience better. Beers, man!
eBay spree! November-December 2009 edition
Some of the figures arriving in January 2010, courtesy of leeyowc. Thanks buddy!
I've experience a toy drought for about two months save for the Jim Lee LPC Mighty Muggs customs back in October. Meanwhile, I've been eyeing two Cyclops busts in eBay.com, just waiting for the right time to buy two of the missing busts in my collection. In one random night in November, I kidded Virgil by bidding on a kinda-expensive but still a bargain Cyclops 1998 Bowen Bust (one of Bowen's early creations) which cost $300 in the market. The auction had a low starting bid and I placed mine. I told Virgil that someone would snipe it from us anyway at the last minute. Lo-and-behold, I actually won the item for a significant fraction of the market price! The joke was on me. I don't know if that's good news or bad news for me, but it's still a collectible whose price would definitely appreciate compared to "plastic" figures. That "innocent" purchase triggered a few more which I tried to fit just in time for shipping: another Cyclops bust, a few Cyclops mini-figures, and the last two Bret Hart figures from Jakks' WWE Classic Superstars series. Once more, fellow Wrestlefreak Leeyowc agreed to receive the items and ship it via Johnny Air. ETA should be early January. Can't wait to receive them and add them to my display shelves!
And other hauls
Marvel Universe Secret Wars Series 2 Hulk and Cyclops set bought from the 2nd Annual Christmas Toy Fair at 700php. Awesome!
On the first day of the 2nd Annual Christmas Toy fair in SM Megatrade Hall last December 16, I didn't expect much but I decided to drop by. I was busy with work but a quick look wouldn't hurt. Good thing that my curious look earned me a Secret Wars 2 Cyclops/Hulk pack from CADs toy store stall for 700php. The SW2 Cyclops/Hulk has been recently released in the Hasbro Toy Fair in SM Mall of Asia but its products haven't reached Ortigas-based toy stores. Good thing I found this piece of collectible which has been announced more than a year ago and was released in the US back in October. Finally, my patience paid off and I was able to buy one at a lesser price than the SRP of 900php. I couldn't even believe that this costs 700php, I wanted to talk to the sales lady if there was any mistake in the pricing. A fellow PTKer "slangards" bought the Hulk piece at an even price. Awesome catch, my 3 3/4 Cyclops collection from Hasbro is now complete! This annual Christmas toy fair is always memorable as I started my early days of toy collecting in here back in Christmas 2006 dubbed as "sanib night" by Virgil and I. I scored a Spider-Man and Friends "Laser Blast" Cyclops and Marvel Famous Couples Boxset Cyclops from this event, while Virgil traced his roots to collecting by getting a 7-PVC JLA set. Meanwhile, Rocky bought me two Cyclops replica busts from the same event as an advanced Christmas and Birthday present. Yey!
Mini-Cyclops coin bank
To close the year in my collection (but wait, there's still my HK-Macau trip in the last week of the year), I was informed by fellow collectors from PTK "mightyshield" (a Captain America collector) and "Zapzuu" (Iron-Man collector) about a Cyclops coin bank finding its way in one of the toy stores in Shoppesville in Green Hills. I wasn't sure about what the coin bank was when Zapzuu described it for me. In an instant, I knew it was one of the missing pieces in my collection. I saw some sightings of it in eBay Singapore a few months ago but the seller hasn't reposted it since. A day before Christmas when I had less sleep, in a spur of the moment, I decided to go to Green Hills and get it ahead of my fellow Cyclops collectors before I leave for Hong Kong next week. I got it for 200php, but the price I paid for it was more as I experienced a hell-ish experience afterwards: stores and restaurants closed at 7pm in Megamall and Gateway! I had to squeeze my way inside the MRT to Cubao, and I managed to find an open KFC restaurant in Cubao full of people buying food for Noche Buena. I endured 30 minutes of waiting in line before I grabbed a bite of two-pieces of awesome KFC chicken. Chicken never tasted better after that crazy experience. Finally I went to Ateneo via a FX and trike to meet my family as we heard anticipated Christmas mass in Gesu.
This coin bank is a mini-me of the big Cyclops coin bank I scored last May made by Sun Hing Toys. Japanese-based Marvel figures are rare and kinda hard to catch. Hopefully when my eBay purchases arrive, I'll complete the Cyclops collectibles that came out from Japan.
1/2 Certified
The site of my MS Certification exam which was months in the making.
The nasty sciatic injury left me no choice but to put all my efforts into studying for my Microsoft Certification for .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications. The studying part was 14 months in the making, as I read the whole 13 chapters of my readings. I have to admit I wasn't disciplined in studying to the point of not moving my readings for 3 months before I picked up the pieces again. Every week I tried studying a total of 5 hours but that wasn't really consistent. To push and motivate me with picking up with my readings, I scheduled my exam in December 10 last November 5 -- a month to catch up with my readings.
I spent two more weeks reading the remaining chapters and another two for general review and practice tests. At first, I was totally pwnd by the Measure-Up practice tests that I had to backread a little into the chapters. Eventually I was able to remember everything and I gradually improved my practice exam scores. I spent more time reviewing just like when I was in college preparing for final exams.
Frequent studying at Starbucks easily earned me my 2010 planner.
Late November/Early December weekends were spent mostly in Starbucks in Podium, Anson's, and as far as Fort Bonifacio. Rocky was a big part of it, giving way for our regular weekend dates and turning them to "study dates". I loved the experience of just sitting on my seat enjoying my coffee and reading while watching sundown and the Christmas lights turned on outside from Starbucks. Nice memory of December 2009. Rocky was supportive that she bought Harry Potter 5 (she doesn't read much except Harry Potter) just to accompany me in Starbucks where I stayed for at least 6 hours in the weekends. Whenever she got tired of reading, she would window-shop around and come back just in time for Starbucks dinner! Because of my frequent stay in Starbucks, I was able to eventually complete my stickers for my 2010 Starbucks Planner!
At last December 10 came and I took the exam in Prometric center in Ateneo Professional Schools in Salcedo Village in Makati. Makati skyscrapers never fail to intimidate me as I tried looking for my way in the corporate jungle for Ateneo. Kinda timely that I took the test in December 10 -- the exact date for Ateneo's Sesquicentennial anniversary! The Prometric guys were strict, and the exam was quite hard and totally different from my practice exams, but thankfully I was able to pass it! To cap the experience off, I rewarded myself with a hardbound X-Men-Avengers Utopia comic book from Comic Quest. I've been obsessing about it and looking for ways to justify the purchase, and I delayed my purchase of the comic book until I pass the exams. Thankfully I did!
Newest Comic Book in my shelf: X-Men Avengers Utopia HC! I got it since it's an awesome testament to Cyclops' leadership
Exam 70-528 (Web Based Client Development) is just one half of the requirements I need to pass to earn the MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) title. I still have to take exam 70-536 (Application Software Foundation). Actually, most MS gurus recommend that I take this first before my specialization exam (70-528) but I found that out too late. I already printed the exam materials and hopefully I'll finish my readings within 6 weeks as I plan to take the exam in early March.
Hooray for career upgrade!
Work
While I can't expound on work details in my blog, what I can say is I've been working solo for the past quarter to deliver a new module for our enterprise product. I incorporated some of the technologies I learned in my certification review while at the same time overhauling the navigation and the process flow of the entire site and migrating features here and there. Thankfully our product and development head was very pleased with my initial work that he wanted it out the soonest -- which meant tighter deadlines for me. The second week of December, right after my certification, were busy times for me as I worked double time with my coding. As release candidate # 1 (RC1) came, I stumbled upon a block that I had to work overtime last weekend and rebuild the site. It was too bad that I had to sacrifice an ABL basketball practice and Ateneo Simbang Gabi weekend with Rocky at the height of Christmas season. :( Since I'm the lone integrator, yeah, I also worked on that too as I synched files and database objects, and built the installer and test it. Thankfully my module works fine after 4 months of hard, solo work and I delivered it just in time, Carlo style.
Meanwhile, my girl Rocky wasn't that much fortunate with her work either. We guess December is really a seasonal thing for her that meant more deadlines as the year ends (coupled with bonggang Christmas party practices too which ate her time). Just like last year, I headed over to Fort Bonifacio to wait for her while working on my certification review and at the same time drive her home. Our jobs aren't perfect but we're pretty strong about dealing with them.
Party! DTC on the Red Carpet
Awesome crazy company people.
This is the fifth Christmas (see 2005 and 2008 entries) that I spent with my current company, where I have enjoyably worked for four years already. For this time, I decided to finally cooperate with the organizers with their theme, "Red Carpet." I also gave decent gifts this time to our annual Kris Kringle gift for my Kris Kringle "baby" (Ipe our SysAd) after years of giving nasty gifts to my past babies (ridiculous gifts include toothpaste, romance pocket-books, Ginebra Bilog, itlog na maalat, and condoms). Also, I finally took time to wear something for our theme to make sure I'll be one of the candidates for Male Star of the Night (which Borgy has been winning) by bringing my Americana and pants (which I used for my 3rd year High School prom 10 years ago! It still fits perfectly!) My female officemates too made a career out of the theme by really dressing up! Complete with the hair ironing.
We had our Christmas party once more in 7 Corners in nearby Crowne Plaza where we were treated to a delicious feast! I guess I ate too much that I gave up with food early in the night. For our team presentation, we presented an MTV that we made (wherein we made sure our star would be our country manager who's so into the video!). To the opposition of the other teams, we won the team presentation! haha! I'm glad to have worked on it last November when we were taping during our work breaks. I was offended and really pissed off by the presentation of another team that it kinda spoiled the experience, but it's not for public consumption. Good thing we won still. :)
The Christmas party in our office is one of the events I'm always looking forward to (next to our Summer outing), as we leave our desks, have fun, and party out like crazy. It's where corporate faces take a back seat and real personalities come out. Borgy has an even more detailed experience in his blog.
Rocky shows who's the boss between us. But nah, that's from my accident. Read below.
Haven't blogged much lately, so here's a run down of what's been happening to me for the past month:
Injuries...
Just when I was preparing for the two basketball leagues I'm joining in January next year (namely Team Manalastas in ABL and Team Lee in our own LSGH High School batch 2001 league), I suffered a nasty injury in our ABL practice last November 7, which later I was able to self diagnose as "sciatica" (or a pinched sciatic nerve. in the vernacular, "Naipit na ugat"). The pain ran through my right hip all the way to my right knee that I found it very hard to bend or to stand-up and/or sit-down. Just like back when I was injured with my right hamstring 5 years ago, I found it really frustrating as I had to skip basketball for a month and I didn't visit the gym for one month. I couldn't even do abdominal workouts with my gym ball and medicine ball at home. Last October I only had three gym sessions (Ondoy screwed up my gym schedule) and zilch on November. I skipped all of the LSGH 2001 weekly practice games, nor I couldn't even drop by Richmond Village for my dose of Sunday afternoon basketball. Not even jogging. Ugh. Talk about feeling unhealthy.
Sciatica is self healing, normally takes up to 12 weeks of no strenuous physical activity. I couldn't wait that long though so after 4 weeks I was off to the courts again. I played four basketball game days since (two on Rainbow, one with Team Manalastas, and one with Team Lee). I have started visiting familiar Manchest Gym, although I reduced the weights I'm lifting significantly on the leg exercises and about 5-10 lbs for the upper body exercises. Hopefully I can get my groove back after a month and a half hiatus.
A Nasty Accident
Black eyed. Day 0 and Day 1. November 20, 2009
I got involved in a nasty jeepney accident (a first, and hopefully the last) when I was on my way home in the wee hours of November 20. The jeepney I rode in was a speed freak, and he tried to race all jeepneys and motorcycles who stood on his way. Just before the San Martin village here in Angono, the jeep took the other lane at full throttle and it hit a speeding motorcycle from the other lane. I was thrown from the seat near the exit (where I sat) all the way to the back of the jeepney driver's seat (which was made of steel). At that time, the left part of my head felt really numb, and I couldn't care less about the unfortunate driver of the motorcycle. I was really concerned with my head. "Buti nga sayo, panagutan mo yan," said the new jeepney driver to the other jeepney driver. He had a big point. The only thing I saw was the helmet of the motorcycle driver thrown off, the front wheel of the motorcycle ruptured, and the civilian with the motorcycle driver struggling to stand-up. Heck, the baranggay tanod who directed the traffic said "Patay na yan." God bless his poor soul. The injury left me with a nasty black eye on my left eye. It took a week or two before my eyes got back to normal, but it wasn't easy moving around with my left eye half closed.
Angono Bayan Revisited
With nothing to do on Sunday afternoons due to my injury coupled with the jeepney accident, I tried pushing myself to hear mass again. I'm not a saint and my spiritual life isn't one of the best in the world, but I'm trying. During the Angono fiesta weekend (3 days after the jeepney accident) of November 22, I heard the afternoon mass. I felt it was one of the good things I've done lately. On my way back, I figured to take a walk instead of taking a tricycle. Lo and behold where my feet led me.
Lumang tambayan: Unishoppe Buildling in Angono "Bayan"
I visited the old Unishoppe building near the Angono-Binangonan boundary. This used to be the centerpiece of Angono development back in my childhood. I remember hanging out in here alone when I was in grade school, either watching other kids playing their SNES/Sega/arcade games in the gaming stores, or just going over the comic books available at "Book Sale". I used to buy OPM cassette tapes too weekly from a music stall when I was in Grade 6. High school came and back in 1999, Jollibee and Greenwich made its mark in Angono (a mark of civilization!) at the cost of eating up spaces of the stores I used to visit which I felt killed the spirit of the place. In college meanwhile, I dropped by Unishoppe on Christmas breaks to try to relive my childhood while looking at the tiangge stores that have sprouted in there. I had my Nokia NGage loaded with games in one of the stalls. I think 2004 was the last visit I made in Unishoppe.
Unishoppe hasn't really changed as cellphone stores and tiangge stalls are still there while I tried to recall where the gaming stores used to be and the stalls I used to visit. The building is in a sorry state, made even worse by the coming of Save More (SM) building a few meters away from Unishoppe a few years back. There wasn't anything to see in the stalls, so I left Unishoppe and headed to Save More instead, looking at the various stores in there, including the surplus shop.
Footstep footwear branch in Angono/Binangonan boundary
The sidewalks were full of stalls which was a yearly thing as Fiesta and Christmas approached. These stalls sold various stuff ranging from 20php to 50php: from clothes to porcelain, to toys, etc. Walking down a few meters more, I visited the Footstep store and took my time looking at the footwear the store is offering. Mom used to bring me in Footstep in Taytay when I was a kid. Footstep is a poor man's footwear shop, with shoes being sold from 300-500php, and it carries the old Kaypee footwear (Kaypee used to sponsor PBA teams!). What attracted me though is the variety of Islander slippers offered in one section, which aren't even present in the department stores in major malls. I felt the entry of Havaiannas and Crocs killed the little spirit of Islander in Islander's own turf, but at the same time brought out the best in the brand as Islander came up with catchy designs. In any other day, I know Islander slippers can outlast or outperform Havaiannas. As the saying goes, "kapal ng orig, tibay ng orig." I will definitely teach my kids to patronize quality Filipino products. :P
Islander giant poster outside Footstep
Variety of Islander Slippers inside Footstep
I killed time in there by browsing through each of the designs available. I remember back in 3rd year college when I bought two pairs of slippers from this same branch which was almost the same style. I left one accidentally in Caylabne, and the other just wore off. I have been using Kirby's old "pambahay" slippers inside our house for four years already, and I figured it's time to replace the worn out thing. I rewarded myself with a new "slip-on" slippers for 220php. I don't go for "Y" shaped slippers at home since I have problems with it whenever I'm on socks and I'm dressing up.
My new Islander slippers which will someday find its way in this blog's banner again
I left Footstep with my new catch, excited to try them out in the house. Along the way I dropped by Zagu in Save More to buy me a grande Mango shake and a mini "Graciosa" bread from Julie's Bakeshop. The latter, I used to always drop by when I was home in college. I happily ate my meal and wore my new slippers when I was back at home after a long walk. It was a good day for memories, indeed.
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