Catching up while keeping up

It has been a while since I posted on my blog. I have been a bit busy with the day to day grind of life.

To bring us up to date, here’s a quick list of things that happened since my last post:
- I finally made the switch to the iMac with Mac OS X and so far it has been awesome. Althought I’m still learning how to do stuff on the Mac.
- The new iPhone 3gs was released and I was the third person to get one. I’ve been happy and satisfied with the phone except for the dead zone spots the AT&T ‘s 3g network is experiencing.
- The girlfriend is in Asia right now. I miss her and it has been tough functioning without her.
- Dad arrived from Manila and celebrated his 77th birthday.
- I started my Roth IRA and started saving for my future.
- Travelled and had some R&R in Las Vegas.

So there, a simple run down of some important events in my life so far. I also just realized that the year is half done and soon it would be Chrismas again. Geez, where did all the time go?

Filed under: About me, Events, iphone imac apple las vegas dad roth ira

The hypocrisies of an elitist can lead to disaster.

I had a horrible situation earlier today. A friend who I thought was cool gave me grief for something I did that he admitted on doing himself. WTF! I thought to myself. Giving me a hard time and then at same breath, telling me he does not really care about it.. dude make up your mind. From that moment on, I stopped caring about th rest of day. Not that my day was ruined but it ended in a way I would rather forget. I just needed to vent this frustration. Lord knows how much I wanted to give this bozo a piece of my mind… perhaps he’ll grow up and realize that he’s not all that he thinks he is. Yeah right, like that would happen. I do not think his pea-sized lump of coal he calls a brain can process such an epiphany. Epiphanies such as this require a certain degree of brain activity… which I think is not present within this creature’s cranial cavity. Enough ranting… time to cool down and cut my losses.

Filed under: About me, Opinion, 2 cents, 2009, best friend, Stress, vent

Frustrations

Mind your OWN business

Lest I’ll SMITE you with my WRATH

YOU are on NOTICE

Why is it that people would not mind their own business?

They barely have time doing what they are supposed to do but they find time snooping on other people’s stuff.

Just ranting.

Filed under: About me, Haiku, Opinion

The day the music died…

Three stars and a sun

The Nation just lost a son

His music lives on

 

I just read on twitter that Filipino rapper Francis Magalona or Francis M. passed away on March 6, 2009. I grew listening to his music that inspired nationalism and social awareness. In my opinion, Francis M. made Pinoy Rap possible. The Philippines would surely miss him and his music.

Here are some lyrics to my favorite Francis M. song: Kaleidoscope World

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate
and Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin’ round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can’t talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don’t ask me how don’t ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin’ round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Video borrowed from youtube.com subscriber budstip. All rights reserved.

Filed under: About me, Events, Haiku, 2009, Francis M. Magalona, Kaleidoscope World, Pinoy Rap, video, Youtube

Wonder-Con through a first-timer’s point of view

On a rainy first day of March, my gf and I trekked (pun intended) towards the Moscone Center in San Francisco for our first ever Wonder-Con trip. The sea of people in attendance convinced me that the Comic Book (I am sorry… Graphic Novel) industry is alive and well. As soon as we finished the registration process, raced toward the Esplanade Ballroom to get prime seats at the Chuck Panel event.

To those who do not know, Chuck is a TV series on NBC (airs Mondays at 8pm [Before Heroes]) about a geeky normal guy named Chuck (Zachary Levi) who became the US Government’s top secret asset. As a result, Secret agents from the NSA (Adam Baldwin) and CIA (Yvonne Strahovski) are on the mission to protect Chuck while beating up bad guys who threaten US interests.

Anyway, we got there rather late and therefore got seats near the cameras towards the middle aisle. The view was not bad but we needed to stretch our necks to see the actors and taking photos required steady hands and digital zoom. Times like these, I wished I invested on a SLR camera.

Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez and Zachari Levi

Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez

The panel began with an exclusive trailer from Chuck’s second season. There were tons of season spoilers. The only info I am willing to reveal is that Chuck finally finds his father (Quantum Leap anyone?). After the trailer, the panel had a warm reception from fans and the event got on its way. It was a Q&A style panel and fans got an insiders scoop on how the cast felt working on the set and their favorite episodes. I was a little bit disappointed that the moderator did not ask enough questions to Yvonne and that I was not able to get close enough to get an up-close picture of the cast. However, when the panel was leaving I was able to snap photos of Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez (They are totally nice and geeky guys).

A few minutes later the Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles panel followed. The panel was not as big as the Chuck panel but stars Summer Glau (she plays Cameron the “good” Terminator) and Shirley Manson (lead singer of Garbage as Catherine Weaver the “bad” Terminator) attended. The format was the same as the Chuck panel but this time I got a closer shot of the stars (see photo below).

Shirley Manson and Summer Glau

When the panel was over, we headed to the convention floor to look around. We soon drowned in the sea of people dressed comic book characters. There were so many that I did not even bother taking pictures. A geek’s bonus was being able to see Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia).

As we left Wonder-Con, looking at the costumed fans and trying to recover from the experience made me remember of my younger days as comic book collector. Those lazy rainy afternoons spent at the Comic Book shop while waiting for my ride home. The stories read and enjoyed made the current madness the world is experiencing right now seem… distant. I guess this is why people come in droves and flock to convention like these. To live out a fantasy, meet up with their idols and for three days, forget the realities of life.

Filed under: Events, 2009, Adam Baldwin, Canon Powershot camera, Carrie Fisher, childhood, chubax, Chuck, comic book movies, Comics, Costume, Firefly, Garbage, Graphic Novels, Heroes, Joshua Gomez, Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill, Moscone Center, NBC, Panel, photo, pictures, Princess Leia, San Francisco, Serenity, Shirley Manson, Summer Glau, Terminator, Wonder Con 2009, Wonder-Con, Yvonne Strahovski, Zachary Levi

Dealing with change

A paradigm shift

From old to new is needed

To survive the change

 

Well, I have been changing my blog titles and links at least twice.  It came to my attention that I need to do these things for my own good.

 

Therefore, with any luck, this is my last name change.  So the Eagle Beagle it is… hehehe… kinda catchy huh?

 

more changes to come… if needed.

Filed under: About me, Haiku, change, Eagle Beagle, paradigm

Chuck Sandwich… what I’m watching right now…

So the mid-season premiers are here and not a moment too soon. I’m excited that my weekly shows are back.

The shows on my watchlist:

1. Chuck (see embedded ad)

2. Heroes (season premier rocks and kinda feels like the 1st season)

3. Life (on tonight… love the zen detective stories)

4. The Office – Jim’s a baby daddy???

The rest have escaped my mind but will update later on…

Meanwhile, enjoy the Chuck Sandwich ad I grabbed from youtube.com courtesy of Ladytalon.

Filed under: About me, 2009, Affirmative Action, Chuck, Heroes, Life, Sandwich, The Office, TV, youtube.com

Animoto.com

I discovered and tested Animoto!!! This is a slideshow/ video of my gf’s surprise Bday celebration at Maggiano’s

Filed under: About me, 2008, 2009, animoto.com, best friend, Canon Powershot camera, gf, maggiano's, pictures, slideshow, surprise, testing, video

Year-end post… (if I’m that lazy in the next few days)

Whew! 2008 is finally over.  It has been a tough rough and tumble year for me personally (more on that later). However, I had some bright spots during the year that I would call the TOP 10 BEST MOMENTS of 2008!

 

 

 

10. I noticed a drop of telemarketing calls for refinancing and loans. (Yehey!)

9.  My best friend Chubax visited me on my birthday. (and I got to visit him and Jong in Vegas on August 2008 – plus a Zappos Tour)

8.  I discovered Twitter! (and social networking is never the same… for me at least)

7.  I lost 15 lbs so far from the lifetime high of 240 lbs (more on the weight gain)

6.  I read more books this year than the books I read from 2003-2006 combined.

5.  Comic book movies did not suck (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Dark Knight, etc)

4.  I paid off my credit card bills (and I have a few month’s worth of expenses in the bank)

3. My financial misery of 2007 was over

2. Barack Obama won the US Presidential elections

1. My personal and love life survived a year’s worth of ups and downs.

 

I’m sure I left out tons of great moments but what is a list if it is not exclusive?  Perhaps I will tackle more of that as soon as I remember them.  Now, with every New Year, most people tend to make New Year’s resolutions.  I’d rather make New Year goals.  At least with goals, I’ll fight harder to achieve them than resolutions.  In addition, having a deadline can add more pressure to complete these goals.

 

TOP 10 GOALS for 2009:

 

 1) Pay Off Car Loan – I’ll be done by Feb 2009

 2) Open a ROTH IRA account – I should do this before 2008 ends

 3) Increase emergency savings to at least 18 months of expenses by 12/31/2009

 4) Clean up and organize my feeds, links and bookmarks by June 2009

 5) Read 20 new books by 12/31/2009

 6) Organize photos, videos and music files by 06/01/2009

 7) Save for an iMac (yeah, I already have 2 linux pcs and 2 windows pcs but an iMac would complete the circle)

 8) Weigh 200 lbs by 04/01/2009 – and be healthier

 9) Organize and clean up the Apartment once and for all – get rid of boxes and junk

 10) Make major life changes by 12/31/2009 – Academic, professional and personal

 

These are my best moments of 2008 and goals for 2009.  It may not be as grand and challenging as President-elect Barack Obama but personally, I have a huge challenge on my hands come 2009.

 

Stay tuned for updates.

Filed under: About me, 2008, 2009, apartment, Barack Obama, best friend, Canon Powershot camera, chubax, clean-up, clutter, color, comic book movies, dark knoght, deadline, Disorder, election, emergency fund, exercise, exercise ball pump, family, financial, fitness, games, goals, health, hulk, imac, iron man, jong, lazy, linux, loans, movies, multiply, new year, Obama, personal, photo, pictures, President-elect, refinancing, resolutions, roth ira, savings, social networking, telemarketing, tour, twitter, vanguard, windows, year end, Zappos, zappos.com

De-cluttering the clutter in my very cluttered apartment

I was compelled to do some clean-up yesterday.  It’s one of those rare days when I woke up early on a Sunday and then just went to work.  Maybe it was the need to find my old Gameboy Advance SP and some games. Or maybe it was about time to do some cleaning.  You see, my gf and I moved in our current apartment over a year ago.  13 months is enough time to finish unpacking… not really.  I blame this on simple laziness.  Also, since we have an extra room (which functions as her office), we never really had the urgency to organize our (mainly my) stuff.

 

However, last Friday (Black Friday), I bought a new Nintendo DS.  The gf kinda wants one too and I figured if I could trade in my old GBA SP, I could get the DS a little cheaper.  So the search began.  I ended up, organizing and moving her books (which were scattered and buried under piles of paper) to their new home on our hallway console.  I was able to clear out empty paper and plastic bags (which we plan to recycle) and added more stuff in our “clothes to give away” bin. 

 

Here are a list of things I  “recovered”:

• Exercise Ball air pump
• Canon Powershot Camera (Which my gf “lost” a year ago)
• GBA SP and games
• My old class pictures (High school)
• Some really old important mail

Although I’m not exactly done.  I was impressed with the items I found.  Most important of all, some space to walk on…

 

more to come…

Filed under: About me, apartment, black Friday, books, Canon Powershot camera, clean-up, clutter, DS, exercise ball pump, Game boy Advance SP, games, GBA SP, high school, laziness, Nintendo DS, recycle