HONEY, Honeymoon Is Over
Posted at 12:21 PM

The White Flag Is Up
Posted at 12:27 AM

After more than eight weeks of resistance and delaying tactics, I've finally decided to join the second batch of the newly-established hosting team of the account that I'm currently servicing.

In short, I've surrendered and gave in to the persistent bludgeoning of peers and supervisors alike to test my mettle and take on the more challenging role of facing and talking to more technologically savy customers.



Officially at 10 p.m. earlier, we started what would be a five-day day training on the intricacies of hosting a web site, touching on the myriad aspects of web development, scripting, uploading a web site via FTP, configuring e-mails, among many other things.

Funny thing is, what I've been doing so far was my version of a lame attempt to suppress an ever increasing number of yawns, despite the two mugs of super strong coffee that I've managed to consume during the first two hours of training.

Darn!

I AM SO SLEEPY!!!

If I'm this sleepy, then this probably means that the night owl in me has actually adjusted --- and doing quite well, if I may add --- to the rigors and demands of a "day job," in the sense that I'm now working in the morning shift... 'though still in a call center.

And even though I still have to console myself from time to time that receiving a much diminished pay check more that compensates the fact that I'm able to go out and get in touch with long-lost and not-so-long-lost (duh? what a term!) friends almost every night or spend more quality time with My Baby (cheezy ng gago!)... damn! this has become a very long-winded and overloaded sentence --- what's your freaking point Jones?

My point is I'm actually happier with my current schedule.

How about that?

So Far, So Good
Posted at 02:55 AM

Last night's opening class of the Advance Hosting Course proved to be what it is supposed to be, which is an ice-breaker of sorts to welcome us and to provide us a taste of what heaven and hell will mean to us in the next few days. By the time we left the training room at 6 in the morning, we more or less managed to discuss and grope our way in creating an FTP account... allowing and restricting FTP access to a certain number of people... learned how to use FileZilla (one of the numerous FTP clients available in the market and on the web as a freeware, i.e. Cute FTP and Fetch)... and in uploading a web site to the company's name servers using the said FTP client. Oh! By the way, we also purchased our very own domain name last night... guess what I bought... http://www.toffee-drives.com

Houston, We Have A Problem
Posted at 09:26 PM

For me, night three of the Advance Hosting Course on developing a web site using MS FrontPage and uploading the finished page/pages on the server utilizing a UNIX platform, while making sure that the FrontPage Extensions of the interface that we're using is enabled (whoa! what a mouthful)... turned out to be an exhausting but funny 8-hour crash course of my very own version of the greatest reality TV show on earth... Jones' Idiot's Guide to Using MS FrontPage... and a syndicated version with another title, which is Jones' MS FrontPage for Dummies.

Fortunately, I'm such a fast study and a very crofty one at that (naks! yabang! ).

So while everbody else was busy editing, polishing and publishing their web site, and discussing the Gospel According to John since Holy Week is fast approaching (see! PeopleSupport employees are sooo religious) using YM (read: Yahoo Messenger, so go figure what they were talking about)... I was also VERY busy pulling-up one MS FrontPage tutorial after another.

I started with www.w3schools.com and ended with a tutorial from The Florida Gulf Coast Univeristy... but came up with such a pathetic web site. Hehehe!

***to be continued...

Mine Is A Confused Heart
Posted at 08:45 AM

"Cover thy face,
 Mine eyes dazzle;
 She died young."
     -The Vampire Lestat to the Child Claudia

Why do you have to come back and make a mess of my mind?

Why do you have to come back and make a mess of my heart?

Why do you have to return with your sweet smile and tight embrace?

Why do you have to deluge my senses with your sweet words and empty promises?

I'm in the eye of the storm.

You're a tempest in disguise.

The World's Most...
Posted at 12:21 PM

While we were having class last week, our trainer showed us a couple of pictures featuring what they tagged as the "world's highest tennis court." Upon viewing, it was indeed situated at such an altitude and turned out to be the helipad of Burj Al Arab, itself acknowledged as the "most luxurious" and the only 7-Star Hotel in the world.

Here are the pictures --- which is actually part of a series of photographs designed to promote the US$1 million Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open. Take a look for yourself:










For me, what's more interesting to note is the structure where that tennis court is located. "Designed to resemble a billowing sail, the hotel soars to a height of 321 metres, dominating the Dubai coastline."

According to the FAQ sheet that was provided online, the Burj Al Arab took roughly five years to construct, wherein two years was dedicated in reclaiming the land from the sea and a little less than three years to construct the building. It was officially opened to the public last December 1999.

I'm A GenTxter!!!
Posted at 11:17 AM

Guess what I got from the mail yesterday?

Well, it's not a million pesos.

And it's definitely not a sex doll. (Although that would have been nice. I think. )

It's something that I've been waiting to receive since last year and one that has no monetary value, at all. Hmmm, except maybe if I remember to show it to the cashier the next time that I buy something from Penshoppe or at one of the stores that gives out discounts to registered cardholders.

What I'm actually talking about is my very own GenTxt Card from Globe. I've gone through a lot of hoops to secure one because it seems that everytime I apply for a card, the system would always inform me to wait for the card for at least a month and that it will be sent through snail mail. Unfortunately, nothing has arrived.

Until now.

In fact, this is the third time that I've submitted my application for a GenTxt card since I changed my SIM card for a new one three times last year and with that --- my cellphone number, too.

Not that I had a choice on this matter, mind you. But I was forced by circumstance to do this, with the assistance of certain bad elements in the environment, if I may add.

In any case, I'm so glad that I have my own card now.

 

So, are you one of us?

A STARSHOOTER Of A Movie
Posted at 09:50 AM

This is not a movie review.

Let me assure you that on this page you will not hear me rave about the film Million Dollar Baby.

Suffice it to say that as far as I'm concerned, if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' criteria in handing out the gold statuette for Best Picture is a movie that effectively portrays "the triumph of the human spirit," then the film Million Dollar Baby met the necessary requirement hands down. I concur.

In the same breath, the cast and the production people deserves to receive an A+ rating for doing such a superb job.

I'm one with the crowd in standing up and shouting "Bravo!"

Another One Bites The Dust
Posted at 08:40 AM

"As it would turn out, Pacquiao is all sound, no fury." -Fernando Beltran, Morales' manager.





The dust has settled.

Well, only at the Grand Garden Arena at Las Vegas, Nevada.

However from the other side of the ocean, Filipinos are still shaking their heads in bewilderment upon learning of the staggering defeat that Manny Pacquiao suffered at the hands of Mexican ring idol Erik Morales.

All the sensational promotion of Paquiao's weapon, which is supposed to make "Morales fall in one round... in two rounds... 10 rounds..." or that would result in a "knock-out" turned out to be such a disappointment.

Hmmm... at least he'll still be taking home P95M in cold cash.

Home Alone: A Lenten Special
Posted at 04:39 PM

Living all alone can be such a boon to bachelors like me.

It affords us a degree of privacy that we can never get if we live with our parents or with our relatives (oh my! ). In fact, I think that we still can't get that sense of "real privacy" that we really like even if we're under the same roof with friends and colleagues.

Case in point, let us look at the usual practice of young professionals nowadays, wherein two buddies decide to rent a 2-bedroom apartment and share the cost between them. Of course, one accupant per room, unless... you know!

Then how are you supposed to entertain a "special guest" for a late night tete-a-tete in the privacy of your quarters?

That can be a pretty challenging task, don't you think?

Aside from the element of privacy, living on your own also gives us a sense of independence. It makes us feel so mature. So free!

It's like receiving an official memoranda certifying that you are now an adult.



On the other hand, living alone can also be the bane of existence for some people, especially those select few that's used to the comfort and pampering of their parents and their housemaids who literally follow their every step to clean up the clutter that they leave behind.

As for me, that's basically my only complain with my present living arrangement. I don't have my mother or one of the housemaids to look after me in the house and to help me with even the easiest chore of keeping my things clean and tidy.

That is why to help me out with these daunting tasks, I came up with a simple list that I wrote down on a Post-It and tacked on the wall facing the kitchen sink.

Here's what I have on paper...

Every 15th and 30th day of the month:
*****clean kitchen sink, bathroom and living quarters.
*****change bed spread and blanket.

Every Sunday:
*****change pillowcases.
*****change bathroom towel.

Every end of the month:
*****change disposable razor.



Currently Listening To:
Hari ng Sablay by SugarFree

From Now On...
Posted at 11:30 AM

... NO UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.

God, Grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change,

The Courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Amen.

Thank You, Come Again!
Posted at 12:49 PM

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE,

I AM RENOVATING THIS SITE TO SERVE YOU GUYS BETTER.