This pretty sums up everything…

Got this yearend survey from Ala, one of my favorite Filipino celebrity bloggers around:

What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Take an intro diving lesson, go to my dream places like Japan and Palawan, work in Customer Relations, write for a national newspaper’s technology section
Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t remember making any New Year’s resolutions for 2005 and I sure as hell would have performed badly in keeping most of them. *frown
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Most of my well-meaning friends are still trying to make a baby. I hope their wish comes true.
Did anyone close to you die?
A close cousin of mine was killed by robbers in Vancouver who barged into their house last November, only a few weeks after arriving in Canada. Really saaad. Made me realize that such kind of violence is not exclusive to the Third World.
What countries did you visit?
Japan. Vibrant Japan. Only Japan.
What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Who doesn’t need more money to pay all the bills??
Time, precious time to do all the things I’d like to do and spend with my family
What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The time when I first went out with MSS *sigh.
Cruising Tokyo Bay, riding the bullet train and meeting my blog friends in Japan.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I can only name a few ‘little’ achievements: surviving a graveyard shift after every graveyard shift (whew); close to 32,000 hits in just one day after being mentioned in Instapundit; starting my blog column (and missing two deadlines since); fully paying my son’s college education plan
What was your biggest failure?
Not being able to supervise my son’s school work every step of the way
What was the best thing you bought?
I used to think it’s the iPod, but I wonder why the battery drains so easily now
Whose behavior merited celebration?
MSS – for being kind, consistent, generous and selfless.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The culture of tsismis in my company appalls me
Where did most of your money go?
Clothes! the upkeep of my household and my kids
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The few times I travelled
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? — Sadder. For self-explanatory reasons.
ii. thinner or fatter? — Thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? — Richer. (surprisingly)
What do you wish you’d done more?
Read more books. Blog more.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Cuss less. (Punyeta!)
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I still hate Obscure Blogger and her ilk.
What was the best book you read?
I am still reading Memoirs of a Geisha… maybe that.
What did you want and get?
A change of work assignment. My column. A decent, devoted man.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If the Dec. 25 incident didn’t happen, my year would have gone quietly well.
What kept you sane?
My best friend who was always there to give me the wisest, most enlightening advice
Who was the best new person you met?
Blog friends and new workmates.
Somebody single, never married and younger than me like MSS.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
It pays to be alert to your own surroundings. Not everyone can be trusted.
I’ve learned to be less horny because my relationship with MSS is purely platonic (*sigh. believe it or not!)
“I will survive, no matter what.”
What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself:
“I wish I can still be as sexy as you when I am your age.” Bwahahaha
What did you like most about yourself this year?
My capacity to adapt and bounce back easily from all sorts of misfortunes and disappointments.
What did you hate most about yourself this year?
My impatience, impulsiveness and carelessness.
Was 2005 a good year for you?
Overall… yes.
What was your favorite moment of the year?
The few vacations I took.
Where were you when 2005 began?
in our old apartment, sleeping.
Where will you be when 2005 ends?
In a hotel with my son Paolo and some gay friends.
Do you have a New Year’s resolution for 2006?
Be wiser with my finances. Pay off my housing mortgage and credit card bills.
Get a new car because I feel so deprived already.
Go to Boracay again because… Boracay is calling me!
Read more books and watch more movies.
Spend more time in the kitchen.
Get rid of my clutter.
Visit Norway or the US.
Master TextTwist. (hehe)
Eat less pork and rice (masarap eh!). Watch my diet.
Wear more skirts.
Be more zealous in meeting my deadlines.
How are you different now that the year has ended?
I realize that everything is not so rosy and sheltered in our world but still, I have to keep on hoping and believe in the inner goodness of people and God’s wonderful purpose for me.
What are your wishes for the New Year?
To be a better mother and spend more quality time with my kids (they are growing up fast!)
Less crimes, poverty, and negativity around us.
Good health, prosperity and God’s never-ending blessings for my family, loved ones and all of you my friends.
Happy New Year to all!!!

2006resolutions

12 Things I learned after the incident

1. A report about the robbery was in this tabloid yesterday and I thought … it sucks to be in the newspaper when what I really want is for it to be on national television (hopefully, a picture of The Evil Bitch will be flashed on TV screens soon.)

2. Some people from my company were really cruel. Aside from reminding me about my “katangahan,” this guy from our security department was even laughing like a hyena when he read about it in the newspaper. Crab mentality at its best!

3. .. and I know that people who hate/envy me for no reason are secretly gloating. A friend’s words to me ring true: ” Crimes, accidents and disasters happen.Ipagdasal na lang nila na wag ding mangyari sa kanila yan.”

4. The most comforting words I’ve heard at this time:

May God bless you and your family. God’s abundance is
already being shared to you. God is limitless in His desire
to make you prosper. – email of reader Joey Zuniga-Modi to me

I wish that you get back a thousandfold of whatever you lost this year.
Close your eyes and affirm. – from Cath

“Ju, when you are that down, there’s no other way to go but up.” – from Anna Lyn

Hmmm, sana nga. Or that nothing as bad as this will happen to me or my loved ones again.

5. Life is a cycle. Ten years ago, I was a victim of pickpocketing twice in a row and now this.

6. It had to take something like this to happen to realize that I had been complacent about home security as well as the safety of my belongings and valuables.

7. One advice: own only a gadget you can afford to lose.

8. Sometimes, those precious jewels are better off in the pawnshop or some sturdy bank vault.

9. I don’t know if I can trust a househelp again. I have to get rid of my bias that they’re all cut from the same skin. My kids will be independence-trained this early because I now totally abhor the idea of having a stranger totally unrelated to me living in my own house.

10. I am boycotting Christmas in Manila next year. Me and the kids will be off somewhere quiet. To hell with all the parties, shopping, traffic jams and chaos.

11. I remain thankful because a lot of other worse things could have happened. It was a crime painlessly committed but I still want her caught and be jailed because she still could victimize countless others.

12. And after all is said and done, experiencing something like this can be liberating. Surely there is a purpose on why this has to happen. I am not attached to material things. I don’t have to be.

Robbed on Christmas Day

Christmas 2005 has just brought me lessons too expensive to bear. I was victimized by what appeared to be a female Salisi Gang member who took all my valuables while I was taking a shower inside my house on the morning of the 25th. Her stash included money, all my jewelry and my gadgets (including an expensive one I was reviewing for MB). The only survivor of the incident was my iPod which wasn’t discovered by the Evil Bitch as it was in one of my old bags.

It shudders me to think how I could have welcomed this woman who applied as a nanny just because she was a Cebuano-talking kababayan. I am still thankful that she has not taken an interest in running away with my kids and that we are all right after this incident. I never thought this would happen to me but it has. This has made me realize that we are much in danger in our own houses as we are outside in this big stinking city.

I am still in a daze but determined to catch the culprit at all cost, with the police’s help. Luckily, this criminal left some traces and I have tracked down some of her victims who also opened their houses to her and lost their cellphones in the process. Would you believe????

To all my friends who greeted me last Christmas, sorry if I asn’t able to reply… now you know what happened. MSS (My Special Someone) has once again replaced his present with a Samsung and indeed, I have no more doubts as to the goodness of his heart. In the meantime, life goes on. Of course I am depressed and the New Year is a swell excuse to start all over again.

‘You Make Me Believe In Christmas’

To My Beloved Paolo, Dianne & Dionne,

Did I ever tell you I really don’t like Christmas …. all the traffic, the impatient drivers, the pushing and shoving in public areas, the frantic search for perfect gifts, the exorbitant prices in most shopping centers, the pressure to cook for noche buena, meeting relatives you don’t like in family reunions etc etc? By some twist of fate, your Mom is also at her lowest in Christmas this year because I have lost some very valuable things. This is exactly the reason why I can only blame Christmas because it creates a spirit of needless want in others, fosters unrealistic expectations and breeds loneliness.

Yet all is not lost between Christmas and me because I have you, or rather, that we have each other on this special day. Having you means I can look beyond the material veneer of Christmas and see it in all the childish anticipation in your eyes. Having you means searching the world for all the toys in the list you gave me because that is what a good mother must do. Because that is what I must do to compensate for these guilty feelings I have for leaving you at home and working instead.For making that painful choice of having an ‘incomplete’ family instead of coping with an ‘unhappy’ family.

So Christmas will be one of those rare times when your harassed mom finds herself puttering in the kitchen to bake those cookies and prepare that roast. When we make our pilgrimage to Bulacan to see your lola, your titas and nephews.

If you ask me anak, my greatest souvenir of Christmas was when you gave me those cards you made in school. when I thought “Merry Christmas Mom & I love you” were the best phrases I read the whole year. Of course I also can’t wait for you Paolo to open your piggy bank and see what gift you have in mind for me. *wink

Yes I have my shortcomings and I can never claim to be the perfect mother. But Christmas seems to be the best time to tell you that I love you and will never leave you. To thank God because he has given me the opportunity to be a parent to the three of you ~ not the most coveted job in the world but certainly the most rewarding. There is no greater joy for me than hugging and kissing you all and thanking Him for giving me beautiful creations in all of you. There will be more frenzied December days to come but we will survive everything with God’s help.

Love always,
Mom

Ajay on Instapundit

I am just lazily surfing while on my shift in this dead hour of the morning when I noticed my stats counter…. 39 peeps online?? Shucks, this can’t be true. So I check my Wordpress control panel to verify the culprit and find a direct link to Instapundit which is just like … one of the most famous blogs in the universe

Here is Prof. Glenn Reynolds’ short mention about me which was enough to drive up my relatively pathetic blog traffic:

“ANNALYN HAS A CELLPHONE with a built-in flashlight. Great for power failures. In Nigeria, actually, people favor phones with bright screens so that they can be used as emergency light sources during the frequent outages, so I guess this is the next logical step.”

Technically, I found the flashlight feature in my SE W550i quite neat amazing hence the special mention in my blog post. It’s one of the things where you say: “Why didn’t they think of this before?” It’s something so basic, even life-saving yet lacking in the new phone models whose overarching purpose is to impress their users. I still have to ask my tech editor if the W550i has already been reviewed in our newspaper but if I was the writer, I have to say the flashlight really rocks!!

P.S. 1. Reader Countertop comments that he uses the phone’s flashlight to find his way to bed because his wife doesn’t want him “turning on all the lights.” Haha!! Cool!!

P.S. 2 In the aftermath of my Instapundit mention, Brother Batjay alerted me on this Wikipedia link about the person sometimes referred to as The BlogFather.

” Because of its popularity, an Instapundit link to another site can cause the traffic of that site to spike. Such an increase is often referred to as an “instalanche”, an Instapundit avalanche.”

I am deluged indeed! Thank you all for visiting my site… mabuhay from Manila! (hehe)

Present perfect

Yay! I didn’t expect to get my super-special present a week before Christmas and now I am a happy owner of the Sony Ericsson W550i, otherwise known as “the other Walkman phone.” All I can say is that it’s damn good ~ well, at least better than the basic phone I had before this.

What I was thinking before buying: “Oh gee, these unscrupulous merchants have jacked up cellphone prices just because it’s Christmas. But since I might spend the money on something else, sige bilhin na nga! (Go ahead, I’ll buy it!)”

Total damage: 15K at the Robinsons Manila Telecoms World

What I like about this phone:

256 MB of internal memory (sorely needed for storing my large number of contacts)

1.3 megapixel cam

user-friendly nav key on the front panel

a flashlight!

great sound quality, great voice reception

slim & handy form factor

not only has an FM radio but is definitely a Walkman music player

easy transfer of songs from PC to phone with Disc2Phone software

cheaper than its brother, the W800

Downside:

the keypad feels awkward at first and takes getting used to

“missed calls” from a single number list only the last time called

the “twist” mechanism which I don’t get the rationale for. Why doesn’t SE just have a slider?

clumsy looking part on the uppermost portion na parang hood ng sasakyan

In search of a new cellphone

MSS has promised to give me a new cellphone for Christmas and in the meantime I’ve been busy scouring the shops to fit the $200 budget. Cellphones are quite expensive to have – the good ones would fall within the $300 to $500 price range – yet it’s amazing how people would splurge their entire bonuses on these gadgets. The wise among us would surely find this appalling (as opposed to appealing, hehe) A money-conscious geek like would rather invest in jewelry which appreciates over time than a spanking new mobile phone which depreciates after two months (!!!! – note the exclamation point) . Here are the factors I’ve been considering in my search for a new cellphone ~ who knows you might find them useful too:

1. What do I need the cellphone for?

- Most of my friends are lugging the 9500 Communicator which is quite bulky for me. They’re raving over the fact that it works like a laptop and lets you stay connected anywhere especially with the growing number of outlets now offering free wi-fi.

But even though I am tempted with the idea of push email, I realized that what I really need is to get connected off the internet. My routine is home-office, office-home and I already have an overdose of connectivity in those two places… so why bother??

2. Do I need the cellphone to keep up with the Joneses?

Sadly some people waste their money on new cellphones to keep up with like-minded show-offs. In Manila, it’s not surprising to see peeps sporting pricey gadgets like the P900i or Nokia’s N models while riding the jeepney.

It is perhaps my way of rebelling against established norms that I – a hotshot tech writer kuno – am sporting the basic Nokia 6030 which I bought on loan from my company. It’s your entry level phone but I just love those Nokia fonts and very tactile keypad.

3. What has been your cellphone usage for the past 6-12 months?
Some peeps require a hardworking phone because their work requires them to. Others prefer the games and stereo. On the other hand, my usage has been moderate at best and my friends know that I’ve turned out to be such a lazy texter (does this go with advancing age? lol..) I rarely make calls, unless of course you’re using your own to call me. And of course there are other ways of staying in touch such as the landline,YM or email.

4. Check out what other gadgets you have and see if they duplicate the features of what you’re going to buy to save on cost.
In my case, I don’t really need a phone with an MP3 player since I already have a mini IPod (which “hangs” by the way, ugh!)

5. Write it down before you act.

Having said all these, here are my requirements for that much-wished for new phone:

camera – at least 1 megapixel; I still have my 3.2 mp cam reserved for other uses

little or no video capability – I am not yet a video junkie

games? – i don’t use these at all.

capacity for contacts, at least 500; extra memory slot preferred for storing text messages and everything else

radio – for when I go to the gym and too lazy to bring along my music player

has bluetooth for downloading pics from the phone to the PC

good calendar/to do/ alarm function to remind me of important appointments

triband

Security – since I am fond of leaving my phone in office corners, I have my doubts about owning another monobloc or candy bar phone where my incoming calls or messages can easily be seen; maybe a clamshell (fold-up) or sliding phone would be less prone to “intrusions” from other people.

Cost – definitely not too expensive and not too cheap as my present one either. It’s always good to work within a budget. And just in case, it might be necessary to ask yourself ” how prepared am I to lose this phone?” knowing how cellphones have become the most targetted item for thieves in Manila. Sometimes its wise not to be attached to your cellphone because it might cost you your life!

I recently reviewed the Nokia 6111 slider which is really pretty but found the keypad to be not amply spaced to maneuver in. I am more inclined towards the orange, Walkman SE 550i but I’ve had problems with the SE interface and signals in the past.

Sigh! you’re probably laughing now over how I can agonize myself just buying a cellphone within the $200-$300 category but that’s how the decision-making goes. Your feedbacks/ recommendations would be appreciated.

Ajay’s Kudos & Kvetches 2005

Oodles of Kudos! – things that made me smile this year:

change of work, change of pace
commencing my Blog-O-Rama column
Blog interviewees who reply promptly to my emails
the twins going to kindergarten school (and loving it!)
Paolo’s joining the Boy Scouts, wearing his BS uniform and going on his first camping trip
i baked my first cheesecake (yummy!)
my first trip to Japan:)
my dream vacation to Palawan realized
male and female lanes in the LRT
blog comments (thank you, you make my day)
eyeballs with the Blogkada
SkyDSL
Skype, Yahoo Voice Chat, Google Talk (Anna Lyn in Norway seems so near:)
getting in touch with long-lost friends like my high-school, college buddies
best cellphone reviewed this year: Sony Ericsson k750i
best music player listened to: Sony Walkman NW-E507 (sorry, it’s not the iPod)
never-ending food trips in and out of the metro
weekend markets
three hula sessions with Mme. M
YouSendIt
bargain shopping galore and products Made in China
Citations for AWOTW
free blog designs from my friends
Switching to WordPress

kvetch ~ meaning, to complain. Some of the things worth frowning about:

having no time to cook (and not updating my food blog in the process)
reading nothing but chick lit in the league of titles like Bergdorf Blondes
domestic helpers from hell (my friends are so full of stories about them, and so am i)
taxi drivers who don’t know their destinations.. when they should
this publicist who told me : “but we expected more” in response to a half page story i wrote on their client-company (go ahead miss, buy the whole newspaper)
publicists who run out of giveaways during presscons
media friends na mahirap pakiusapan (it’s pretty frustrating to request 20x for a particular press release to come out and then nothing happens. that’s why i’d rather plant camote than be a PR.. again)
Blog interviewees who ask me to feature them and when the article comes out, I hear nothing from them (one word for you: user! )
People sorely lacking in etiquette and don’t reply to courteous and urgent emails
Blog snobs and bloggers with a false sense of importance
Supposed friends who enlist in email groups and then leave without a word
Supposed friends who delete you from Friendster without a moment’s notice
This investigative journalists’ organization (kuno) who did not even give me the courtesy of replying to my email when I registered for their bloggers’ conference (sige na nga, kayo lang ang magagaling magsulat. Go forth and multiply with your ‘racket’)
Insecure peeps like ‘Obscure Blogger’ who take it against other women if they don’t have a sex life and are unattractive to men (ugh!)
Office tsismis and office politics
This Chinese restaurant in Malate which works ‘magic’ on your take-out food: e.g. if you take take out 1 lb. of pata tim, it becomes 1/2 lb. when you get home (ang takaw siguro ng mga tao sa kitchen!)
hobo fashion overload
fuel price hikes and the corresponding increases in $ of commodities

(to be continued)

Onboard Manila’s Jumbo Kingdom

There are a number of floating restaurants in Manila but none is as quite posh and lavish as The Jumbo Kingdom which is docked in the CCP Complex, along the Manila Bay . “Ano ba yan, para akong nasa ibang bansa! (Oh my! Looks like am in another country)” is a common reaction of Manila’s pollution-induced visitors upon seeing this giant ship which looks every inch like a majestic temple at night with its resplendent display of bright neon lights. Reportedly costing $600 million, this one is not your run-of-the-mill Superferry dear; this one was towed all the way from Hong Kong where it was formerly based.

I am more apt to describe The Jumbo as the Chinese version of the Titanic. I’ve eaten two times here and the food is not much to crow about; but my mouth certainly gaped at the expensive pieces of Orientalia as well as the intricate Chinese sculptures and paintings adorning the whole place. It is a tourist attraction in itself, especially if you’re like me who’s been everywhere but Hong Kong. The ship is h-u-g-e and just perfect for those banquets; the most cozy spot is the open air roof deck on the fourth floor with a bar, karaoke room and unlimited view of Manila’s glorious skyline and sunset.

The first time, we had to go to Jumbo Kingdom because they were selling whole fried chicken at five pesos (or roughly 10 cents). The catch was that we had to order $10 worth of food from their a la carte menu, and so we did. They also offer a dimsum set lunch for only P160 which we still have to try along with their other temptingly good promotions which change every week. My verdict is that Jumbo Kingdom is not as good as the other Chinese restaurants in Manila like my favorite Golden Pavilion in Heritage Hotel. The service staff also act like they’re virtual neophytes, as in… maybe the management can retrain those dudes??? But as I would say again, you’d appreciate this floating jumbo ship more for its presentation and ambiance. Go ahead tour your provincemates and balikbayan relatives here and literally smell the breeze.

Dear God, From The Mouth of Babes

Kids can be the cutest during their most candid moments. A group of primary schoolers were told: “if you were to come face to face with God, what would you tell him?” Here’s what they said they would ask:

“Dear God, did you mean for giraffe to look like that or was it just an accident?”

”God, instead of letting people die and haveing to make new ones, why don’t you just keep the ones you got now?”

“I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that ok?”

“Thank you for the baby brother but what what I prayed for was a puppy.”

“Dear-God-if-we-come-back-as-something-please-don’t-let-me-be-Jennifer-Horton-because-I-hate-her.”

“If you give me genie lamp like Alladin, I’ll give you anything you want except my money or my chess set.”

“I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.”

“God, I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible.”

“We read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school, they said you did it. So I bet he stoled your idea.”

In the meantime, this got me to thinking what my kids have been saying to God apart from the routine prayers for Jesus, Mama Mary and their guardian angels being taught them in school.

Could it be the following?…

From Paolo: “Dear God, If Alexander has only one sister, then why do I have two and they’re both the same age?”

“Why do Dianne and Dionne’s clothes always have to match?”

From the twins: “Dear God, we hope Paolo stays longer in school so we can have Cartoon Network to ourselves.”

or maybe they have these to say:

“Dear God, Please tell Mom to stop telling us to tone down the TV volume everytime she’s in front of the computer.”

“Please make her bake chocolate chip cookies becoz it has been a long time since she did that.”

“P.S. We hope she stops trying out all these restaurants and realize that for us Jollibee will do.”

” God, we hope Mom stops moving around and be still. Be s-t-i-l-l.”

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