Pangan Thoughts

Happy Kindle Customer

2011-10-09T02:41:00.004+09:00

On October 1st, I ordered the new Kindle.

I opted to get the basic Kindle - no touch screen, no keyboard, no color, no 3G. I wanted a book reader that does just that and does it well. I prefer pressing real buttons when moving between pages, I don't need the physical keyboard, I prefer the E Ink Display, and wi-fi will suffice.

I was pretty excited that I even tracked the package as it travelled all the way from the US to HK to Japan. All the while, I was thinking they could have saved time and money if they just shipped it straight from China (not to mention I could have gotten it faster).

On October 7th, I got my Kindle.

I was a little frustrated when I tried setting it up as I couldn't connect to my wi-fi! I searched the web for guidance and looks like it's pretty common, even with previous versions of the book reader. After a few disappointing hours of scouring the web for answers, I finally found a solution that worked - I had to manually input all the wi-fi settings (IP Address, Subnet, Router, DNS).

Apple would never put me through all that hassle, but it's all in the past now. I have my wi-fi enabled Kindle, I am synched with my Amazon account, and I'm on my third book already.

I'm a happy customer.

Bigasan ni Rod

2011-09-12T23:59:00.001+09:00

On September 18th, Mama will be starting a new business. She will be selling bigas at a small store she had built at my grandparent's place.

Mama was a Bulacan grade school teacher, while Papa was an electrician. They both quit their jobs in 1977 to start a business together. They made embroidered products - tablecloths, pillow cases, maria clara gowns, among others.

They purchased the machines, and got the raw materials from Quiapo and Divisoria. They would make the designs and hire people from our barangay to complete the product. Some of these people would work from our small tahian, while others from their own homes. Papa and Mama would then deliver these to stores in Divisoria and Central Market, in Manila.

As with any business, there were good times as there were bad times. Fortunately, this business thrived and allowed us to live relatively comfortable lives (not luxurious but enough) and it was able see us through grade school, high school, and university. We also had the added benefit of having our parents always at home as they only needed to go to Manila two afternoons every week to deliver products and/or buy raw materials.

In 2008, Papa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and Mama decided to quit their business to focus on taking care of him. It must have been the toughest time for our family but I support her in this decision. Papa needed her and she gave him her 100 percent... maybe more.

After his long battle with Alzheimer's, Papa said goodbye in June 2011 and for the first time in almost 40 years, Mama doesn't have her partner. We, her kids, and our relatives will always be there to support her but I can only imagine how difficult it must be to no longer have your lifelong partner by your side.

It's tough but life goes on. After almost three years of giving Papa her all, she decided to start a new business. Nothing grand as she no longer needs to worry about sending us to school. As a tribute to Papa, she named it "Bigasan ni Rod".

Rod is my Papa.

United States of the Philippines

2011-09-06T22:45:00.002+09:00

Why not switch to a form of government where we divide the Philippines into smaller, more manageable states?

Each state can then have their own governor, their own laws, their own budget, and their own state language. Recognizing the different sub-cultures in the country, I believe the best way to split the country is by ethnic groups. Unfortunately, I do not think it is practical to have a state for every ethnic group as we have too many.

We can just concentrate on the big ones and have states like the Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Bicolano, Waray, Moro states, among others. Recognizing we are still one country, we will still need a central government but with less powers as compared to what Manila has at present.

We can then call it the United States of the Philippines.

State language
Each state can now determine their own language. Kids learn best when taught in the language they use at home, so this would benefit all the non-Tagalogs as they can opt to use their own language in teaching their own kids. The language used to educate kids in Cebu need not be determined by people from Manila.

State budget
Each state can now manage their own budget and they can now use the taxes collected from their states to develop their own state. All the income from the natural resources of Palawan can now be used to develop Palawan instead of building more flyovers in Manila. Only a small portion of these collections need to be remitted to the central government, only to fund inter-state and inter-national affairs.

State laws
Each state can now have laws that are specific only to their state. This would ensure the laws are well-adapted to the unique conditions of the state. The Moro state could have laws that reflect more of their Muslim culture instead of the predominantly Christian laws crafted in Manila. Polygamy may be outlawed in the Tagalog state but not in the Moro state.

State governor
Each state will have their own governor, duly elected by their own people. Much of the responsibilities currently assigned to the Philippine president will be transferred to the state governors. This would ensure faster government transactions as much of the paperwork will no longer need to wait for signatures from bureaucrats in Manila. They can all be completed within the state.

Central government
The central government, with less responsibilities under this new system, could then concentrate on inter-state and inter-national affairs. It will make sure inter-state disputes are resolved and inter-national relations are well taken cared of. It will use it's fund (remitted from the different states) to make sure it performs these responsibilities well.

The Philippines is one country with many sub-cutures and ethnic groups. We need to recognize that and take that into consideration when we design our government and define our vision for our future. While it is good to look at other countries for inspiration, we should not just copy their systems as is. Whatever we copy, we need to make it adapt to our unique situation.

Only then can we truly call the government OUR government.

Five Kilometers

2011-08-27T09:25:00.000+09:00

I started a few weeks ago, jogging a kilometer or two on a treadmill. Then I started jogging a few kilometers outside, along the river (Sumida River). Then yesterday, as it was raining outside, I decided to go back to our building's trusty gym and before I knew it -- I finished my first 5 kilometers of continuous jogging!

Success!

My strategy was to make it part of my routine by jogging every other day. I always walk half a kilometer to warm-up, then stretch, then jog. If my body permits, I'd run the last few hundred meters. I try to keep it simple by bringing only my house keys and my alien registration card (you never know when the Japanese police is going to get you).

No towels. No bags. No water containers. No phones. No music. No distractions.

It's true what they say about jogging. When I started, it felt like a chore and I would be out of breath after just the first kilometer. After doing it a few weeks though, I develop my endurance and it becomes a pleasure. A real pleasure. I feel one with my body and it actually feels like I can go on forever. It is such a good feeling.

I intend to continue this routine for now as it seems to be effective.

My next goal? Ten kilometers.

Blogging from BlogPress

2011-08-21T23:54:00.001+09:00

I've just downloaded this iPhone app called 'BlogPress' and this would be my first blog post using it. It costs 250 yen and hopefully, it's going to be worth it.

Smartphones have allowed a lot of us to spend less of our online times with our desktops/laptops and more with our phones while we're on the move. I appreciate having this ability to blog anywhere using my iPhone, especially now that I've started two new blogs (Minamisenju Blog and Tokyo Tennis Blog).

Hello again, Blogspot. Rico misses you. ;-)

Location:Tokyo, Japan

Why didn't you inform Christopher Lao?

2011-08-04T19:47:00.004+09:00

Why didn't you inform Christopher Lao, that he will be a victim of cyber bullying?

Poor Chris. Just a few minutes of televised frustration was enough for people to regard him as the stupidest person on the planet. He will be a lawyer or even a legislator someday and I'm sure he will prove them all wrong.

We support you, Chris!

Latin and English

2010-07-01T00:45:00.000+09:00

Just as Latin eventually diverged into Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French... English will eventually diverge into British, American, Canadian, and Australian.

It has already began...

New Blogger Templates

2010-06-17T07:10:00.003+09:00

It's about time Blogger updates it's templates! For the longest time, WordPress has been the runaway winner in this regard but I think with the new Blogger templates, Blogger is giving WordPress a little run for their money.

Twittering

2009-07-29T21:20:00.002+09:00

Ever wondered why I haven't blogged for more than two months now?

I've been twittering.

Classic MTV

2009-05-10T11:59:00.000+09:00

You know you're getting old when... you watch "Classic MTV" and you know all the songs.

Nirvana, Aerosmith, TLC, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Seal, Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hootie & the Blowfish, Alanis Morisette, Fugees, No Doubt, Spice Girls, Will Smith, etc.

The artists that defined my generation, are now on Classic MTV.

A Different Papa

2009-05-06T13:16:00.004+09:00

There were two reasons why I flew to the Philippines early this month. First, it was Golden Week in Japan so I just had to go somewhere. Second, I wanted to see my Papa.

Around last year at a young age of 60, my Papa was diagnosed to have Alzheimer's.

It started with minor memory loss a few years back, but on this last visit, I think it got worse. Most of the time, he's normal with minor problems remembering names and locations, but on occasion, he would fail to recognize us. There are also times he would have mood swings and would show signs of aggression.

Seeing him unable to recall my name for the first time was a very sad moment. Seeing him showing signs of aggression for the first time against people he normally loves was even sadder.

The Papa I saw on this last visit was a little different from the Papa I knew since childhood but some things haven't changed, I still love my Papa, and even though he may have difficulties remembering our names, I know he still loves us.

At one point when my Mama was trying to calm him down, he said he just wanted the best for his kids and for his kids to finish university. I'm pretty sure he'll be happy and proud to know all his kids already finished university.

If only he can remember.

Family Trips

2009-05-06T00:12:00.006+09:00

Recently, it has become tradition that whenever I visit my family in the Philippines, we would go to an out-of-town trip. In past visits, we've been to Boracay, Subic, and Tagaytay.

Last week, the place was Batangas at a resort called Acuatico Beach Resort.

Even though the beaches of Batangas were nowhere near the levels of Boracay (or maybe Palawan), I would still recommend this place, mostly because it is just a couple hours drive from Manila, a merit Boracay and Palawan can never lay claim to.

Picture-perfect.

3 AM Haiku

2009-05-05T03:00:00.001+09:00

Clock says 3 AM.
Am flying in a few hours.
Suitcase now in car.

2 AM Haiku

2009-04-29T02:00:00.000+09:00

Clock says 2 AM.
Am flying in a few hours.
Suitcase still empty.

Swine Flu Alert

2009-04-27T20:31:00.000+09:00

Just as when I thought I'd be having a relaxing vacation, swine flu happened.

Now I'm stressed.

I'll be making a stopover in Taiwan on the way to Manila. I'll be visiting three different airports, potentially exposing myself to people who've travelled to infected countries, especially Mexico. I should also be preparing myself for long lines at medical checkpoints at each airport.

And that's not all of it. Because it's Golden Week in Japan, people here are also traveling all over the world, potentially exposing themselves to the virus and bringing them back to Japan. Considering I'm a daily commuter of the sardine-packed trains of Tokyo, I'm at risk!

On second thoughts pangan thoughts, I think I shouldn't stress myself too much. I should just take all necessary precautions and leave the rest to mother nature. If I die, I die. That's the way it is. At least when I do, people will see this blog entry and say I predicted the future.

Not funny I know.

Snow-capped Fuji

2009-04-24T01:20:00.001+09:00

Snow-capped Fuji under a clear blue sky.

Taken near Yamanaka Lake (山中湖) at a place called Panorama Observatory (パノラマ台). I'm actually impressed by the beauty and enormity of this volcano. Maybe I would reconsider my earlier stand never to go up Mt. Fuji.

Impulse Buying

2009-04-18T11:05:00.001+09:00

A couple of days ago, I got the monthly email from NWA with the subject "E-Mileage Summary". A few hours later even before I knew it, I already have a round-trip ticket to Manila. Not from NWA though. By the time I clicked the confirm button on their site, somebody else took my slot.

My plan for this one-week trip? Meet up with family. Meet up with friends. Maybe attend a wedding. I am also debating where else to go. If you have suggestions/recommendations, let me know.

Waiting and Hoping

2009-04-16T23:55:00.004+09:00

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of interesting ideas from my blogger friends, who've all become a valuable source of learning and insight. Here is one from "Sleeptalking in Tokyo". I was reading her blog and chanced upon this line.

"Because waiting is time spent hoping." -- Jenny

Beautiful! When we stop waiting, we stop hoping. When we stop hoping, we stop being motivated. When we stop being motivated, we have no more reason to wake up in the morning.

By applying the law of transitivity - waiting is reason to wake up in the morning. Wait. That didn't come out right but you get the point. Applicable to careers, relationships. and life in general.

Having said that, I still hate waiting for people who are late.

Drama and Depth

2009-04-13T19:55:00.002+09:00

I was reading through my friend's blog and this line caught my attention.

"And that the friendships I have now are so cordial but have less drama and depth." -- Charlotte

Made me stop and think for a while about the friendships I have here in Tokyo. Except for maybe one or two people, I think my friendships have been lacking drama and depth as well.

Which is not a bad thing at all. I've had enough "drama" to last me a lifetime but "depth", I wouldn't mind having a little more of those.

At huwag kang bastos! Hehe.

All Too Familiar

2009-04-12T08:58:00.000+09:00

Watching CNN the other day when they featured a story about shirt rivalries in Thailand. It's the red shirts versus the yellow shirts, with the red shirts supporting their former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

To all Filipinos watching this, it all looks very familiar. We had our own version of these shirt rivalries during the EDSA Peaceful Revolution of 1986. The colors are the same with the red shirts supporting former president Ferdinand Marcos, and the yellow shirts supporting the eventual winner, former president Corazon Aquino.

While I support the Thai people in their struggles and in their determination to take part in shaping Thailand's future, I think they should be very careful with their next moves. If they were to learn from the Philippines, they should know that giving the "mob" what they want will set a precedent that will inspire future "mobs".

Inspired by the success of EDSA, the Philippines made it a tradition to get rid of their president by mobbing the streets, giving rise to EDSA 2, which deposed former president Joseph Estrada. There was also EDSA 3 which is a cheap copy of the original EDSA. Fortunately for us, it failed. It looks like the people are sick of EDSA, and are willing to wait for the next elections.

In 2010, let's just make sure we get it right.

Vote wisely.

Tilt-shifting Minamisenju

2009-04-11T12:20:00.007+09:00

I've always been impressed with tilt-shift photography and here are my first attempts at cheating tilt-shift photography.

Took some pictures from a high place, blurred some areas, and increased the saturation. Not sure if it worked but will try some more. If you guys have tips on how to improve this, let me know.

Taken using a Nikon D40X. Enhanced using Aperture and Photoshop Elements. I think you'll need to see the pictures in full size to really see the effect.

Call!

2009-04-07T20:00:00.006+09:00

One of the best tips I've found recently on the web:

"Pick up the phone and call the person!"

With all the technology we have around us, we tend to lose track of simple things that were normal not too long ago. While it's nice to send text messages and write wall posts to greet people a 'Happy Birthday!" or a "Congratulations!"... wouldn't it be nicer if we just pick up the phone and call?

Maybe it depends on how close you are to the person (or if they're using Softbank or not. Hehe).

But I guess it's worth a try.

Back to Reality

2009-04-05T20:55:00.002+09:00

I've done it!

I've gotten rid of my addiction (!) to all these social networking sites! I've gotten rid of Friendster a few months ago and now, I think I've started getting rid of Facebook and Twitter. For a while there, all I did was check (spy) on people, look at pictures, reply to statuses and post some stuff myself. Then spy on some more people.

Now, it feels weird logging on to these sites... which is good... which is my desired behavior.

Blogger is staying though as it has for the last 10 years or so. Blogger is my loyal friend. Blogger is the tool with which I will immortalize myself for all eternity. Delusions of grandeur I know.

Now that I'm back to reality. Time to spend more time with real people. See you, guys! In person.

After I finish my Red Alert 3. Hehe.

Fear of Touching Metal

2009-04-04T10:30:00.000+09:00

I think I've recently developed this fear of touching metal. It's weird I know. I think it started a few weeks ago when I get static almost every time I touch anything metallic... the door knob... the hand rail... even my window pane. At times, it feels powerful too, it's scary.

Now, every time I need to go out and touch that door knob, I'm scared.

Metallophobia.

Second Childhood

2009-03-31T23:55:00.004+09:00

On March 24th, I ordered two PlayStation 3 games from Play-Asia. The same day, I received an email saying my games were dispatched already from their Hong Kong center. Free delivery to anywhere in Japan.

Today, March 31st, I got the games.

One week of waiting may be a little too long but I guess it's worth the wait considering English PlayStation games are very rare in Japan. People direct me to Akihabara but I cannot find the shop they're talking about.

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition, here I come! Also got Virtua Fighter 5. Interesting to note that earlier versions of these games were the games that defined my earlier life. Once I get Street Fighter 4 and once Blizzard releases Star Craft 2, then, they'll be complete.

Second childhood?

Yosi Kadiri

2009-03-30T22:30:00.001+09:00

Just as when I was close to considering smoking as another social networking tool, JR East decided that starting April 1, they will no longer allow smoking and all smoking areas will be removed from their platforms. Goodbye smokers. Good riddance.

I hope more establishments follow suit, especially that McDonald's store near my station. I love people-watching there while having breakfast/coffee at one of their outdoor tables. Too bad those tables are for smokers and non-smokers are advised to take the tables inside the establishment. I think it should be the opposite. Non-smokers outside and smokers inside, preferably in an air-tight room.

And no, I'm not considering smoking as a social networking tool.

I'll stick with my coffee.

My Favorite Social Networking Tool

2009-03-28T16:40:00.003+09:00

I've tried a lot of social networking tools - Blogger, Friendster, Facebook, Multiply, and more recently,Twitter. They all have their unique features that allowed me to socialize and to network.

In the end though, I realized I have one favorite. And no, it's not Blogger.

It's coffee.

Nothing beats a good conversation with a friend over coffee.

YouTube Overdose

2009-03-26T23:40:00.006+09:00

Just realized I've been watching too many YouTube videos.

My counter is at 6666, a very good number. I'm not watching any videos for a while just to keep that number. If only I was paid a dollar for every video I watch...

In my defense, this number also includes all the views from people who borrow my laptop or who secretly sign in using my id just to increase my counter. :p

What about you, what's your number?

Nitori vs Ikea

2009-03-25T15:10:00.000+09:00

Nitori is a Japanese furniture shop while Ikea, as most of you might know, is Swedish.

I buy stuff from both although for a long while, I preferred Nitori because it is more accessible, there are less people, and they offer free delivery. I didn't really like the first time we went to Ikea because there were so many people, very long lines, and expensive delivery costs. Not to mention I needed to find my own stuff in their warehouse!

Yesterday, I went to the new Ikea store in Shin-Misato and not surprisingly on a weekday, there were not many people. Shopping there can actually be fun. Parking was easy. Comfortable chairs, and free wifi at the cafeteria. Affordable prices. No lines at the cashier. I didn't buy any furniture so I didn't need to rummage their warehouse.

I am ready to change my mind as Ikea was proving to be so much better than Nitori. As a token of my appreciation, I bought myself a canvass artwork (not available in Nitori) to hang on my bare living room wall. Mass produced art I know, but I found it peaceful, beautiful, and yes, cheap.

My bare wall is not so bare anymore.

Looking at my living room, you'll see products from both stores. Sofa from Nitori, baby chairs from Ikea. Rag from Nitori, center table (which I put on the side) from Ikea. Bean bag couch and curtains from Nitori, canvass artwork from Ikea.

Just in case you're interested, all the other stuff in there are either from Yodobashi or Bic Camera, two popular electronics shops in Tokyo.

The green plant though, is from Daiei.

Facebook Is The New Friendster

2009-03-23T21:48:00.006+09:00

And I didn't mean that in a positive way. Not at all.

I used to love Friendster. It allowed me to keep in touch with friends I haven't seen in years. All was well until people started customizing the colors and backgrounds of their profiles to the point that they became unreadable. People started sending hundreds of app invites to the point that my daily Friendster routine included clicking on the ignore button.

A few months back, I decided I had enough. I deleted all my data from Friendster, and updated my status to "I hardly use Friendster anymore. Catch me in Facebook."

Facebook was like a refreshing oasis amidst all those bright blinking colored profiles of Friendster. It was clean with all profile pages having a simple white plain background. All was good until recently, Facebook decided to ruin it!

My news feed is now cluttered with quiz results telling where my friends should move, or what jobs they should be in, or how good they are in bed (yes there is a quiz like that). I'm also starting to get endless lists of top 5 movies, or top 5 books, or top 5 whatever. Before that, I started getting tagged and forced to read endless lists of 25 random things.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind if my friends take all these quizzes, and write all these lists, as long as I have the ability to filter them out. With the new Facebook update, I don't. I'm just hoping my friends would tire from all these quizzes and lists but for sure, some new annoying application will come, and again, flood my news feed with info I don't need.

Twitter is something I'm playing with because I thought there is no way Twitter can annoy me like how Friendster/Facebook did. It is very simple and there is a limit of 140 characters per message. I just don't have enough of my friends in Twitter as of yet.

Amidst all these chaos with the social networking sites, I'm glad there is this one social networking site that has annoyed me the least and I've been using it for more than 10 years now.

Blogger.

Blogging For Money

2009-03-22T22:55:00.003+09:00

You might notice some changes in my blog site.

You will notice ads below the banner and on top of the sidebar. I tried to make them as discreet as possible so as not to scare off all my readers... all both of you. :D

In theory, if you would click on those links, I should be getting money from Google, sent directly to my Japanese bank account. Now, if you could just click on those links at least 100 times each day, you will be contributing to the buy-rico-a-new-macbook foundation.

Oh. I am not supposed to "encourage users to click the Google ads" as that would be against their program policies.

Forget I even raised it. :p

Managing Risk

2009-03-18T21:45:00.000+09:00

This afternoon, I was talking with my colleagues about managing risk in our system and how introducing too many changes can lead to a lot of risk. I pointed out that the less changes we make, the less risk, though unfortunately, the less rewards.

One even pointed out that too much risk-taking eventually led to the fall of a certain company, which I will not mention here. Hehe.

Four hours later after arriving home, I was thinking of what I said and realized it applies to a lot of things, especially outside of work.

Less changes. Less risk. Less rewards.

Sadness.

I am Austronesian

2009-03-15T20:10:00.004+09:00

In school, we Filipinos were taught we were descendants of seafarers from Malaysia and Indonesia. They came to the islands in boats and later occupied lowlands forcing the aborigines to the mountains. This made sense because majority of Filipinos do share similarities with Indonesians and Malaysians.

Recent research though show a different story.

It's the other way around. We all came from Taiwan and linguists normally call us Austronesians. By Taiwan, I'm not talking about the Chinese settlers but the Taiwanese aborigines.

Our Taiwanese descendants became very good seafarers and a lot of them were able to migrate to what is now the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the rest of South East Asia. It is also believed that they went as far west as Madagascar, as far east as the Easter Island, and as far south as New Zealand.

This explains the physical and linguistic similarities between South East Asians, Polynesians, Taiwanese aborigines, Hawaiians, and even the people of Madagascar.

We should start updating our history books!

Search for Honshu Peak

2009-03-11T00:50:00.001+09:00

For my March vacation, I originally thought of flying away from all the coldness of Tokyo to a place warm and exotic like Vietnam, Laos, and/or Cambodia.

Then I remembered it's recession time so I decided to save some money and stay in Japan. My press release will say "I need to watch my carbon footprint" to appear smart and environmentally responsible.

I also realized I have already explored every nook and cranny of Kyushu but not yet of Honshu, where I'm now based. I also remembered how much I loved mountains, volcanoes, falls, forests, and big bodies of water. My favorite so far is Kagoshima's Kirishima, with its beautiful craters and amazing peaks. Kaimon, also in Kagoshima, comes a distant second.

The places I've hiked/trekked in Honshu were nice as well though I still felt Honshu has more to offer. Takao is too close to Tokyo and the peak is very anti-climactic. Mitake has a wonderful rock garden though I think that's it. Okutama is too close to a dam to even feel remote.

Mt. Fuji you say? I don't know anybody who enjoyed climbing Mt. Fuji. Enough said.

Two Week Battle

2009-03-08T12:10:00.000+09:00

February 23
While at work, my body started shaking and I started feeling very weak. I was in Otemachi at the time and didn't know where the nearest clinic was. I decided to just take the rest of the day off, go home and rest.

February 24
I woke up early hoping I'd feel better. I didn't so I decided to take the day off as well. I rested and drank lots of water/fruit juices, as advised by my mom. Later that day, I felt better and I decided I'm ready to go back to work the next day.

February 25
I woke up early, felt better, and went to work. All was well until midday, the shaking restarted. Again, I felt weak I couldn't even finish half my lunch, which to those who know me well would know is very unlike me. This time, I decided to fight it through and after a few hours, I started perspiring, which I thought was a good sign. I felt better after that and I was able to stay at work for the rest of the day.

February 26 - March 5
I went to work every day as usual though every day during lunch time, I would feel weak though only for a while. Something was obviously wrong but I thought it was just the weather, which was also very chilly lately.

March 6
Around lunch time, I felt the now usual midday weakness but this time, it felt worse. The shaking was back, I felt really cold, I felt feverish, and I started feeling joint pains. I was in Roppongi this time so it was easier to visit the doctor, which I did.

They took my body temperature. They took blood samples. They took urine samples. No influenza. No flu. No viruses. No bacteria. I'm supposed to be as healthy as a bouncing baby boy, but they couldn't explain the shaking, the fever, and the joint pains.

The symptoms look familiar though. The last time I had them, it was bacterial infection. I just wonder why they didn't see it in my tests. As a precaution, they just gave me antibiotics, and pain-killers. They also told me it can be influenza or bacterial infection, but maybe, it was too early to detect.

My diagnosis
I think it's a bacteria, which I acquired late February. My immune system was trying to fight the bacteria for two weeks and was successful for the most part but on March 6, it had enough, and decided it was time to get some help from the antibiotics.

The antibiotics seem to be working well and I am not feeling any midday weaknesses for two days now. I should have taken them a week earlier and this bacteria wouldn't have deserved this long blog entry.

As a precaution, I'm stocking my supply of antibiotics, antibacterial lotion, and face masks.

Just in case.

Bee-ta Bay-ta

2009-03-06T20:30:00.001+09:00

I am changing the way I pronounce "Beta".

I've always been pronouncing beta as "bay-ta" as this is the pronunciation I learned from the Philippines. But after working with a lot of people from different cultures and different countries, I learned that "bee-ta" is more common.

Looks like Americans and Filipinos tend to pronounce it as "bay-ta" and everybody else tend to pronounce it as "bee-ta". 2 against everybody else?

I choose everybody else.

Knowing Your Market

2009-03-01T03:25:00.002+09:00

Like most of Tokyo's workforce, Rico takes the train to work. He gets on the 7:00 train. He sees there are no seats available. He decided to stand in front of the person he thought would be getting off next.

In front of him, there was this poster containing this sentence that inspired him for the rest of the day.

「だけど、がんばり過ぎちゃって余計に忙しくなってませんか」

Clever advertising.

Blogger Update

2009-02-21T22:00:00.010+09:00

After years of not playing with my blogger template, I decided to do so. I opted to use "Minima Dark" because it's simple, it's black and it's easy to update the header picture, which I plan to update often.

Here are other changes:

Added "Recent posts" section
Added "Recent comments" section
Renamed "What I write" section to "Archive"
Changed "Archive" from hierarcy to dropdown
Added "Subscribe to" section
Removed "What I read" section
Removed mailto link in each post
Enabled showing backlinks on each post

New template. New life.

Dichotomy of Contentment

2009-02-19T20:30:00.001+09:00

On one side, people need to be content to be happy. On the other, people should never be content to remain motivated.

It's a never-ending balancing act.

Kulang

2009-02-15T23:20:00.003+09:00

The other day, Rico and his longtime friend from University were walking from work on their way to Tokyo Station.

"Nung nasa university tayo ito na yung pinangarap natin no?" commented Rico. "Ang magtrabaho sa pinakamalalaking kumpanya sa isa sa pinakamalalaking financial centers ng mundo."

"Kaya nga eh no." his friend replied.

There was a brief moment of silence while the two continued walking amidst the tall buildings of Otemachi, Tokyo's financial district.

"Pero bakit parang kulang pa rin?"

What If

2009-02-10T20:00:00.001+09:00

The mind is full of what if's. What if I said yes? What if I said no? What if I do? What if I don't? What if I followed my heart? What if I followed my mind? What if I let it happen? What if I stopped it from happening?

Tomorrow is another potential what if situation. Depending on which Rico would show up, the answer to the ever-present-what-if question will be very different.

I already know the answer but sometimes, the alternatives can be tempting.

When Right Was Wrong

2009-02-08T11:30:00.002+09:00

I was driving through the streets of Ginza on my way home. Following a white car, I turned right on a street that leads to Tokyo station. Then, there was a guy directing the white car, in front of me, to stop. Before I knew it, there was another guy directing my car to stop as well.

Looks like I turned right on a no-right-turn intersection. I tried to argue I was just following the car in front of me but obviously, that couldn't save me. In my defense, I really didn't know turning right in that intersection was illegal and I've done it several times before already.

Got my ticket and a 7,000 yen fine. Two points deducted from my license. Got the usual compliment from the police for how good my Japanese was. I guess my gold license, which I was supposed to get in March, will have to wait another year.

In a way, it felt good though.

I felt human.

Birthday Soul Searching

2009-02-05T23:30:00.005+09:00

I just had my birthday yesterday and birthdays always make me do a little soul searching. It seems this year's theme is motivation: what motivates me.

Money? Friends? Family? All of the above? None of the above?

I just know it's not money.

Money was a big motivator. I'll admit to that. I left the comforts of living in my home country to work in Japan largely because of money. I left the warmth of the people of Kagoshima to work in cold Tokyo largely because of money.

Tokyo changed me though. Tokyo taught me you can have money and still be unhappy.

I need a big mac.

The Weak One

2009-02-04T06:55:00.003+09:00

How big could a problem be to merit ending one's own life? How weak could a person be to think there is no other solution?

Yesterday, a person decided to end his life on the tracks of Tokyo's Hibiya line.

An hour later, the rails were cleaned. The trains resumed. Life moved on.

Except for one.

Blogging For Ten Years!

2009-01-26T21:00:00.002+09:00

Ten years ago in 1999, I was reading a compilation of short writings by Jose Rizal when I realized how powerful the written word can be. One hundred years after his death, people could still take a peek at his thoughts and his ideas. He was immortalized through his writings.

Suffering from a mild case of 'delusions of grandeur', I thought people one hundred years after my death would certainly want to read about me as well.

So I started writing.

I went from being a very serious writer, inspired by the great Jose Rizal, to the more casual boy-next-door-singing-nonsense blogger that I am now. So much for my delusions of grandeur.

Here are some of the highlights.

Serious Rico
I wrote about the death of a friend, who was shot to his death by hired gunmen, in what was allegedly a fraternity-related incident. Reading this entry still inspires me to this day.

Japayuki Rico
Starting a new life in Japan provided enough inspiration for me to write more. This series of articles actually made me famous among new grads wanting to work for my first company. It became normal for me to meet new Filipinos in the office and they would tell me how they know all about me from my blogs.

Atheist Rico
Trying to put all my religious views in writing, I wrote Meditations of an Atheist. As expected, it drew a lot of comments from religious people trying to convince me back into the religious flock. The exchanges in the comment section is as interesting as the article itself.

Rico in love
After years of avoiding putting anything personal in my blog, I decided to maybe loosen up a bit and this is what happened. Even the people who convinced me to blog more personal stuff got an overdose. I think this entry earned the most number of comments in my 10-year history.

Rico in love no more
Some good things never last. As it turned out, my relationship with the girl was one of them. I spent the most part of January 2008 recovering from it and blogging about it kinda helped. This marked the end of me blogging about personal stuff. All that drama made me decide to return to my old self and blog less about my personal life.

So I guess until I decide to write about personal stuff again, you'll have to suffer listening to my songs and watching me play the piano. Hehe.

Fun!

What Goes Around Comes Around (Cover)

2009-01-12T23:24:00.001+09:00

I've been playing with GarageBand for over a year now but I haven't really posted anything I created from there.

Until now.

I recorded this song about a year ago but didn't really post it because of the "situation" back then. The "situation" is different now, and now it's all about the music and the technology I used to create it.

The song is called "What Goes Around Comes Around" originally by Justin Timberlake.

You will need QuickTime installed to listen to it.

Kailan Cover

2009-01-07T00:26:00.004+09:00

My first attempt at translating a Filipino song to Japanese. Feel free to correct my translation. I will learn from it.

I chose an Eraserheads song simply because they're just my favorite musicians in the whole wide world.

The song is called "Kailan" ("When" in English, "いつ" in Japanese) by the Eraserheads.

Flickr Yearender

2009-01-05T18:44:00.008+09:00

According to flickr, these are my most popular pics from the previous two years. I am not really sure about the criteria they use to determine this ranking but their explanation says "This is a view of your 75 most popular bits, ordered by interestingness. "

I just split them by years to make it a little more interesting.

Most popular picture from 2008

Most popular picture from 2007

Looks very similar. Both have clouds. Both have buildings. Both have a body of water. Even the horizon is almost at the same level.

I will update them again next year and hopefully, the most popular picture of 2009 will have a little different theme.

Tennis Court Trader

2008-12-19T00:19:00.003+09:00

That would be my new job description.

I've mastered the art of getting tennis courts in Tokyo! My strategy is so successful I can almost get court reservations at will.

I've been able to reserve courts for about 4 weekends now. Just for this weekend, I was able to reserve at least 15 hours! I decided I only wanted to play 5 hours so I'm canceling 10. That's how good I am now.

Now if only I can find equally successful strategies in forex or stocks trading, I'd be a very very rich man.

Defending Japanese Companies

2008-12-18T02:00:00.001+09:00

Being surrounded by a lot of people who've never worked for a Japanese company, I find myself in a weird situation when people around me start raising negative stereotypes about them.

It's true that compared to American companies, Japanese companies may appear rather undesirable. They're known to have relatively low pay, relatively small desks, and getting approval for your vacation requests is almost next to impossible.

Yet, I refuse to believe they are all that bad because if they were, they wouldn't have succeeded and helped make Japan the second richest country in the world, with successful brands known the world over.

Having worked for Japanese companies, I will take it as my responsibility to defend the underdog. Besides, if people ask me which company I enjoyed the most, my answer has always been Epson, a Japanese company.

Why?

I believe it's because Epson gave me that feeling of being part of a family. Everybody was incredibly polite and courteous. My colleagues treated me as if I were their brother and my superiors treated me as if I were their son.

Employees were focused on working as a team instead of worrying about internal competition. Rumors about who's dating who are commonplace, and yet, professional backbiting is unheard of.

I think this is made possible because of two things, (1) age-based promotion, and (2) bonuses based largely on just the company's performance. Both practices are very common among Japanese companies.

With these two, both internal competition and professional backbiting become meaningless. There's no use destroying the competition if doing so doesn't guarantee you faster promotion or bigger bonuses.

The bonus system helps promote teamwork as well. Being the superstar in a team doesn't guarantee you bigger bonuses. It's the performance of the company that matters and this is best achieved if all the big parts and all the small parts of the team work as one.

I'm not saying these should be applied to all companies in the world. No. In fact, I don't see these working for any other cultures other than the Japanese. I believe companies should promote a company culture that's tailor-made for the individual cultures of the people they employ.

What works for the Japanese may not necessarily work for the Americans. Vice versa. In a company that's a marriage between the Japanese and the American corporate cultures, it would be interesting to see the hybrid culture that would evolve.

楽しみに。

Transmission vs BitTorrent

2008-12-12T22:31:00.002+09:00

On my Mac, I've been using the BitTorrent client for a while and noticed every time I start downloading anything, my internet connection crawls to a halt. This is maybe the reason why I lost interest in torrents and thought they are not worth the effort.

And then there was Transmission.

It's small, it's simple and it does the job, without interfering with with my internet connection. I'm not really a fan of those bulky torrent clients that have all those features I don't really need. Simple is good.

My first download? I got the first four Eraseheads albums!

...Magda-drive ako hanggang Baguio...

When Great People Fall

2008-12-08T23:40:00.000+09:00

Last weekend, I watched a boxing match pitting Oscar De La Hoya against Manny Pacquiao. Initially, I thought it was a mismatch against our shorter kababayan. Nothing could have prepared me for the outcome.

Manny won. Convincingly in 8 rounds.

While I celebrate with all my kababayans with this victory (Yehey!), there is this part of me that feels bad about the loss of the great Mexican-American. It is the same feeling I get when I read about the fall of Rome or the fall of Egypt. It is the same feeling I get when Federer lost to Nadal at Wimbledon 2008.

It's the feeling I get when great people lose to younger opponents. Maybe this confirms I'm a conservative - that I want to maintain the status quo. I want great people and great civilizations to remain great. Why change greatness if it's already great.

But of course great people grow old and civilizations fall. Autumn leaves fall to give way to newer Spring leaves.

A few years from now, Manny will suffer a similar loss to a younger up-and-coming boxer. Chances are, I will feel bad for him as well.

But that will not take a way the fact that he is still great.

Magic Mic Competition

2008-12-03T22:12:00.003+09:00

Looks like Magic Mic is going to have some tough competition in the form of JoySound Wii due on December 18.

I think the game comes with about a hundred pre-bundled Japanese songs but you can access 30,000 songs if you pay them a measly 300 yen for 24 hour unlimited access or up to 2000 yen for 90 days unlimited access.

Not bad. I'm sure the number of songs will also increase in the coming months. I checked their list of songs and no Filipino songs yet.

I feel so cheap talking about this in such detail.

Oh well. Hehe.

Lead Me Lord

2008-11-29T11:07:00.004+09:00

Even if I am not the religious type, I still love religious songs. Must be all that exposure I had when I was young listening to church music, joining church choirs, and well, my singing big brother.

Here's my big bro singing Lead me Lord at a Bukas Palad concert in Pampanga.

I Have A Dream

2008-11-22T00:52:00.002+09:00

View of Makati From Ortigas
Originally uploaded by Msbernal

(Found this amazing picture of the Makati skyline in Flickr)

I have a dream that one day, when foreigners think about Metro Manila, they do not think of the slums that are forever the image shown by international TV, but of this beautiful skyline that is perhaps one of the best in the world.

I have a dream.

No Friends

2008-11-06T20:15:00.004+09:00

I was playing around Facebook and something sad caught my attention.

Ouch. ;-)

My Second Car

2008-10-31T21:07:00.008+09:00

When I was in Kagoshima, I got me a second hand Toyota Allion, which I reluctantly sold before moving to Tokyo.

Just last month, I got me one of these.

I need to save money.

Return of the Super Yen

2008-10-25T07:53:00.004+09:00

Just how strong is the yen right now? It's so strong it's cheaper to buy a book from Amazon US than from Amazon Japan!

I bought a book from Amazon US and it only cost me 3,283 yen and that includes international shipping. Buying the exact same book from Amazon Japan would cost me 4,459 yen.

That's a 26% saving from the Amazon Japan cost!

As of this writing, 1 USD = 92.8332714 JPY according to Google although the exchange rate being used by Amazon is 1 USD = 96.1580751144 JPY. Even with that inaccurate exchange rate, it is still cheaper.

State of the Mutual Fund

2008-10-24T23:07:00.003+09:00

After much hesitation, I decided to check the status of my mutual funds and see how it has been performing so far. I've been making regular monthly contributions for almost two years now.

Gain/Loss Percentage: -28.61%

Sadness.

Ateneo Beats UP in 2008 World University Rankings

2008-10-17T19:11:00.005+09:00

The unthinkable has happened!

Ateneo beats UP in the 2008 World University Rankings.

My brother's going to make fun of me when he sees this.

Oh no.

Handkerchiefs and Undershirts

2008-10-16T00:15:00.000+09:00

I started to rid myself of two non-essentials.

First, handkerchiefs. Why use them when I can use tissue paper that's readily available in most places? I got rid of this after a colleague vividly described how dirty a handkerchief can get after a whole day's usage.

Second, undershirts. I don't think I need them especially when it's cold and we don't normally sweat as much as during the summer. I got rid of this after unsuccessful attempts to keep my white undershirts white. I need to learn more laundry techniques.

Having less laundry is always good. Good for the environment too considering I use less water.

I wonder what I should put next on my list.

Boxers?

Hehe.

Beautiful Angela Aki Song - Tegami

2008-10-12T19:36:00.005+09:00

It's been a while since a song brought tears to my eyes.

I was watching NHK and there was this Latina looking lady singing a rather beautiful Japanese song. I wasn't even paying much attention to the lyrics and I didn't even know who she was but the melody of the song was just beautiful.

Now I know the singer is Angela Aki and the song Tegami (手紙〜拝啓十五の君へ〜) is about a 15 year-old writing a letter to himself/herself. Sad, uplifting and beautiful.

Not On Time

2008-10-12T10:10:00.003+09:00

Eight years in Japan taught me how to be always on time. Now that I'm again surrounded by Filipinos, I'm having problems adjusting back to Filipino time.

It's not uncommon I see myself waiting for friends who are always oh so fashionably late. Even if I try to force myself to just come in late just like everybody else, I can't!

Being always on time is a trait I do not want to lose even if it would mean having to forever wait for my oh so fashionably late friends.

Or maybe, I should just find new friends. It's always been my policy to surround myself with good people, and at least in my book, tardiness is a most definite no-no.

Forever (Cover)

2008-10-11T20:00:00.001+09:00

This is my rendition of the upbeat Chris Brown song.

No matter how much I practice this song, I still cannot get some of the notes right. It's a good thing singing is not my profession as I would definitely be a big flop.

But that doesn't mean I should stop singing as I just love doing it for the sake of doing it. Hehe

Rich Rico, Poor Rico

2008-10-08T21:40:00.002+09:00

I was having this discussion with a friend on who is more likely to succeed - an employee or an entrepreneur.

To get more insight, I tried to look for people I actually know and see who are successful and try learn from their example.

Among people at work, the most successful are the employees able to climb the corporate ladder and thus receive big paychecks and bonuses. I think there are also those who made successes in their investments.

Among my friends from university, I think the most successful is an entrepreneur making money breeding and selling milkfish.

Among my friends from high school, I think the most successful is an entrepreneur who started a Funeral Homes business.

Among the parents of my friends from high school, I think the most successful are the entrepreneurs who own businesses manufacturing clothes, producing poultry feeds, breeding swines, lending money. I cannot even name a family who became rich working as employees for a company.

This is also true among people in my hometown. The biggest houses are either those owned by families with businesses or those who are married to retiring foreigners.

I knew there's a whole book dedicated to this topic (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and yes, I've read it already and yes, I'm convinced the entrepreneur (Rich Dad) is more likely to succeed.

At age 31, it's becoming more obvious I am following the path of the Poor Dad. The formula is simple -- study in a good university, then work for a good company. Until I retire, I need to work out strategies to get more and more pay.

A lot of people call it "climbing the corporate ladder". Critics call it a "rat race".

May the best rat win.

Nippori to Narita in 36 Minutes

2008-10-05T18:07:00.004+09:00

It looks like travel time from my place to Narita will be reduced by a whopping 15 minutes (!) although admittedly, the idea of saving 30 minutes (round trip) a year doesn't sound very fantastic considering I only fly abroad about once a year.

NRA Website (Japanese)
http://www.nra36.co.jp

Almost Lover (Cover)

2008-09-27T09:30:00.000+09:00

This is an old song from Alison Sudol (A Fine Frenzy). Listening to it yesterday brought back old... very old memories of a time when I thought I was in love... and brokenhearted.

Ah memories.

This is also my first complete cover song.

Tokyo Is The New Wall Street

2008-09-24T23:22:00.003+09:00

With all these Japanese banks making their advances into American banks, I predict Tokyo is going to be the New Wall Street! All the world's biggest banks will be based here and Tokyo will be the world's biggest financial center!

I told my gaijin friend this and he remarked it's "actually not nice ... it'll just flood the streets with gaijins".

No more clean subways.

We Have A Buyer

2008-09-23T09:20:00.000+09:00

After a week of stressful waiting, Lehman Brothers Asia finally has a buyer. Nomura, Japan's biggest brokerage firm, bought Lehman's Asia units.

What this means for me? I'll be again working for a Japanese company. We're no longer a Wall Street company as all connections to New York will be lost (Barclays bought Lehman Brother's US units). I no longer fear for my employment status.

Life goes on... for now.

Bring It On

2008-09-15T22:27:00.003+09:00

Yes, my company is having problems.

Yes, I'll be at work tomorrow.

Bring it on.

When You Say You Love Me (Cover)

2008-08-16T17:25:00.000+09:00

My trip to the Philippines presented an opportunity to record a video using the piano from my childhood.

We bought this piano when I was in first grade and amazingly, I believe it still sounds great. My electric piano back in Tokyo sounds very cheap compared to this almost 25-year old beauty.

The song is "When You Say You Love Me" originally by Josh Groban.

Dried Mango Alternatives

2008-08-15T20:12:00.005+09:00

On my recent visit to the Philippines, I decided to go against the flow and not go for the tried-and-tested Dried Mango omiyage.

Success.

Top 3. Pastillas de Leche. It is very popular among the Indians. It seems they have something very similar, also made from milk and sugar. It's also popular among the Chinese but not the Japanese -- they think it's too sweet. One French office mate commented it looks very suspicious.

It does.

Top 2. Polvoron. It is popular among the French and the Americans. One French office mate kept asking for more though unfortunately, I didn't buy that many. A British office mate commented that it is exotic seeing the casuy and pinipig variants.

The Winner. Drumrolls.

Top 1. Banana Chips! This is suprisingly popular. The packaging did not even say "Export Quality" like the Polvoron and the usual Dried Mangoes. The Japanese love it. I should have bought more of this.

I can start a business exporting Banana Chips to Japan.

Not a bad idea.

Highlights of my Philippine Trip

2008-08-13T22:45:00.001+09:00

Leaving the airport with nobody waiting for me. That's a first. Sister arrived 40 minutes later.
Watching "Blu-ray quality DVDs" (I still don't get how that's possible) with my brother and sister. Bonding time with siblings.
Watching local television with my dad until 10 PM. He usually sleeps at 7.
Receiving a photo album containing pictures since I was one year old from my mom. I brought it with me to Tokyo.
Lunch at SLEX Jollibee with three beautiful women dressed for a wedding. Everybody was looking at us.
Taking my family to my Makati apartment. Bonding time with family.
Beautiful hilltop wedding with amazing fireworks. Nice photo slideshow and videos during the reception.
Entering six bars/clubs in Makati in one night. "Heckel & Jeckel" in Jupiter St. is my favorite. "Ice" is too loud. "Temple" is for teenagers. "Club Havana" is for expats.
Dinner at Earl's with my sister. Bonding time with little sister.
Coffee at Rockwell Starbucks with friend from university. We can talk for hours.
Midnight coffee at Ministop with friend from Highschool. He kept me company as I wait to leave for my 7:45 AM flight.
Having to pass through a bazillion x-ray machines before I can ride my plane. I had to remove my shoes and belt at least two times. Talk about redundancy.

Best Tennis Match Ever

2008-07-07T05:57:00.001+09:00

Today, I just saw the BEST tennis match I have ever seen! Ever!

Congratulations to Rafael NADAL for winning Wimbledon 2008! I think he deserved to win even if I was rooting for Roger FEDERER the whole time. Both played amazingly near-perfect tennis for the whole duration of the match, which could possibly be the best tennis match of ALL time!

Roger had the better serve and arguably the better forehand. Nadal had better groundstrokes and was visibly more consistent. Surprisingly, Rafa looked more of a complete player as Roger's weakness, his backhand, was very evident especially in the first two sets. Rafa took advantage of this by serving almost exclusively to Roger's backhand, like he always does even at the French Open.

In the end, the player with the better groundstrokes won.

By the way, thanks to NHK for allowing me to see this amazing game in High-Definition Digital Broadcast! It was well worth it!

10 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81

2008-06-28T13:27:00.000+09:00

That's how I lost in today's tournament. Final Score: 81.

I don't feel bad though.

I gave it my best. My first serves were fine. My forehand was accurate. My backhand slice was ok. It just so happens he is better than me. Maybe a lot better than me.

On to the next tournament!

Cheap Microsoft Office

2008-06-28T13:12:00.002+09:00

I just got the DVD installer of Microsoft Office:mac 2008, which I bought for 3,150 yen through Microsoft's Home Use Program and I'm not even excited to open the box!

What's wrong with me?

Microsoft does not excite me anymore as it used to. I remember when Windows 3.1 came out or even Windows 95... I'd do anything to get a copy. I even have body scars to prove it.

Hehe.

Now, I think I get more excitement from Apple than I do from Microsoft. The tide has turned.

Saturday Is The Day

2008-06-26T23:44:00.000+09:00

Saturday is the day I make my singles tennis tournament debut. I've put on a new outer grip, got me the company tennis shirt and replaced my strings - I'm all set.

Can't wait. Can't sleep.

I just hope I don't lose 8-0 in my first match.

My Japan Story

2008-06-19T00:00:00.003+09:00

8 years ago today, I took a plane from the Philippines to Japan.

Who would have thought I'd still be here 8 years later. Of the 9 people I was with on that plane, only 2 of us are still here and yes, we still work together, seated almost next to each other.

Here's my story to the tune of "The Time Of My Life" by David Cook.

It's been a blast with its fair share of ups and downs.

Mostly ups.

I'm a Frustrated Architect

2008-06-12T00:15:00.008+09:00

I always wanted to be an architect. Architecture was the first thing that came to my mind when I first applied for University. "There is no money in Architecture" was the common reaction I get when I consulted my family and friends during those times.

If I were not an IT professional now, I would most certainly have been an architect. This also explains my love for Engineering Drawing when I was in University. My sister's an architect. I also have at least one cousin who's an architect.

It's in the blood.

Thank Google for SketchUp, I can still live this dream... at least during my free time.

Here's something I've worked on today - a typical one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo. Maybe I can get real-estate companies to pay me to make these models and prove my friends wrong.

Hehe.

61 63 60

2008-06-09T19:49:00.000+09:00

That's the score I saw this morning when I checked to see if Federer finally defeated Nadal at the French Open.

Sadness.

I feel for Federer. He has never lost like this before. This is the person I look up to. This is the person I try to emulate in my tennis. This is the person who I believe is the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen.

How could he have lost with such a demoralizing score line?!! Seeing him lose like this is like seeing Lex Luther bombard Superman with kryptonite bullets. It's disheartening!

I hope this defeat only makes him a better player. I hope he succeeds in his defense of his Wimbledon crown this year.

I hope.

Roland Garros Live

2008-06-06T21:49:00.000+09:00

Don't have Wowow channel to watch the French Open?

Try this.

This is what I'm using to watch the men's semifinals and hopefully the finals as well.

With You (Cover)

2008-06-06T21:01:00.003+09:00

I'm posting another video of me singing.

I know.

My intention is not really to be noticed or discovered or anything. I'm too old for that. I'm posting videos of me singing for the same reasons I started writing blogs in 1999 -- so that people would have something to remember me by when I die.

Morbid? Yes but true.

This time, I decided to do a cover of "With You" by Chris Brown. No pianos in this cover but am using a karaoke video I found on YouTube.

Until next time.

Dancing Shopping Singing

2008-06-06T01:12:00.005+09:00

Was googling for Philippine Independence Day Celebrations in Tokyo and this is what I found.

Dancing Shopping Singing -- Sounds like fun.

See you there! I hope it doesn't rain.

Expanded Seatbelt Law

2008-06-04T19:05:00.002+09:00

The Japanese seatbelt law was updated last Sunday (June 1st) to also require back-seat passengers to wear seat belts! Violators will be given penalties.

Be warned!

It looks like thousands were given police warnings on Sunday the first day the rule was implemented.

Singles Game and Strings

2008-06-01T23:33:00.000+09:00

Today, I fought a set against one of the other players from the office tennis club.

I was feeling good and immediately went up 5-1. And then shit happened -- my first serve stopped working! My backhand slice started missing the lines! He started playing better.

Slowly, he inched his way up 2-5... 3-5... 4-5 and before I knew it, he was leading 6-5! At that moment, I thought I knew how Roger Federer felt during the first set of that encounter against Rafael Nadal during the 2008 Hamburg Masters. It didn't feel good at all.

My turn to serve.

Five minutes remaining before our court reservation ends. I needed to win this game to at least end in a tie. How could I have lost the last 5 games! What happened to my first serve! Why am I serving to stay in the set when I was already leading 5-1!

Time's up. It's a tie 6-6.

Whew!

By the way, I was looking at my strings during the game and it's just shouting "Replace me! Replace me!". I'm visiting Victoria in Jimbocho this Tuesday to have them replaced.

You can see the main strings (Wilson Natural Gut) is just screaming to be replaced. I got these just three months ago! Natural guts are so not durable. In comparison, the cross strings (Luxilon Big Banger) still looks new.

Month of Firsts

2008-05-29T21:03:00.000+09:00

June is going to be a month of firsts.

It's the first time my company is joining the Dunlop-sponsored Tokyo Worker's Tennis Tournament (ダンロップ社会人テニス選手権). It's the first time I'll be joining a tennis tournament in Tokyo. It's the first time I'll be joining a singles competition.

Bring it on!

Where Hibiya Parks

2008-05-27T21:35:00.008+09:00

Where do all the Hibiya line trains park?

No, not in Hibiya Park (corny!) but in Minamisenju. I found some of them lined up beautifully next to each other in Minamisenju.

By the way, one of these buildings is going to be my next home.

Tennis in Arakawa-ku

2008-05-26T00:11:00.000+09:00

The search is on!

As I move to my new Arakawa-ku apartment in July, I need to search for a new place to get my weekly doze of tennis. If anybody knows any good tennis school in Arakawa-ku or in neighboring wards, please let me know.

I've already searched Google Maps for tennis courts but I haven't done my research on them yet.

My Musical Influences

2008-05-25T21:04:00.006+09:00

A friend asked my who my musical influences were and I decided the answer to that question deserves a whole blog in itself.

I cannot readily name artists who actually influence me but I do remember the type of music or the albums I was listen to, ever since I was younger.

When I was in Gradeschool, I don't buy my own tapes, to I mostly listened to the ones we already have at home. I remember listening to a lot of Beatles, Elvis Presley and Broadway. I listened to a lot of Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Miss Saigon. I particularly like Miss Saigon's "Bui-Doy" by Peter Policarpou. I know this is so unknown but I really loved the power of this song.

I also loved a lot of church songs - a specific version of "Ama Namin", which we sing in our local church and a specific version of "Take and Receive", which we sing in school.

When I was in Highschool, I remember listening to a lot of OST -- Lion King and Alladin. I also have the Titanic OST, which I love mostly because of the operatic and dramatic instrumental music. I love the music they were playing when the ship was sinking.

In University, I remember listening to a lot of Chicago, Buklod, and the Eraserheards. I think this is also the time I started listening to a lot of Eminem when I'm driving and Enya when I'm studying.

When I moved to Japan, I started to listen to a lot of J-Pop - Def Tech, Southern All Stars, Ayumi Hamasaki, Rip Slyme, Chemistry and Hirai Ken. For a good number of years, I was detached to music outside Japan.

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Linkin Park, Timbaland, Simple Plan, Black Eyed Peas and more recently, American Idol music, and some Chris Brown, Ne-yo type of R&B music.

Looking back, I just realized the variety of music I listen to from Church Music all the way to Eminem.

I love music.

Apologize (Cover)

2008-05-24T10:55:00.008+09:00

This was a song I already used before for my (ehem) ex but after watching Ryan Tedder of One Republic sing this live on TV, I knew I just really really love this song, with or without the background story of when I first used it.

Ryan Teddy has mad vocals. I think he even outsang the singing prodigy that is David Archuleta. Both were very good though and their voices blended quite well especially near the end.

Apologies for having to cut the video in the middle of the second verse. That off-note was just too horrible. Hehe.

Eleanor Rigby (Cover)

2008-05-13T22:27:00.002+09:00

I'm not content with letting you listen to my voice when we're at a karaoke bar. I will still haunt you wherever you go wherever there's an internet connection. Hehe.

When I recorded this, I swear it was on time. Something got screwed up with the site I used to record this it appears I am a few milliseconds delayed.

Oh well.

Farewell, my VIP!

2008-04-21T21:28:00.000+09:00

We've been together for more than a year now. My weekends were never complete without my regular visits to your most welcoming doors. All the laughter and the sweat we shared together, I'll never forget.

"Good things they never last", so goes the cliche.

It was a sad day when I learned you'll forever close your doors. Goodbye, VIP Indoor Sports Club (Kinshichou) and to all my friends from Sunday Intermediate Class M!

I'll miss you all!

My TV Debut

2008-04-14T20:44:00.003+09:00

I've always wanted to be on TV.

But not like this! Hehe.

Three Famous People

2008-04-09T22:00:00.005+09:00

We met three famous people in Tagaytay this morning.

Tim Yap, Raymond Gutierrez and KC Concepcion. :D

How My Brother Sings

2008-03-31T08:36:00.001+09:00

Wanna watch/hear how my brother sings?

Click here.

Proud of you, big bro! That was very very good!

HALLELUJAH Cover

2008-03-29T12:34:00.004+09:00

First heard this song from Jason Castro. Didn't like it at first thought it was too dramatic. Now, after listening to it several times and seeing covers on Youtube and buying the Rufus Wainwright original on iTunes, I love it now.

Love it so much I am even doing my own cover. :-)

Tennis Goods in Tokyo

2008-03-24T21:29:00.000+09:00

Shopping for tennis goods in Tokyo?

Victoria Wardrobe in Kanda is probably the best place to visit (unless any of my readers could prove me otherwise).

They have tennis goods at the 4th floor, men's wear at the 2nd and women's wear at the 3rd.

This week, I bought me a new set of tennis wear (Nike) and strings (Gut-Luxilon Hybrid). I also bought a cheap pair of sunglasses because I plan to play some outdoor tennis now that winter is over (wohoo!)

WiFi in Tokyo

2008-03-16T23:22:00.000+09:00

I recently bought an iPod Touch and was excited at the idea of being able to connect it to the internet anywhere I can get a free WiFi connection.

And connect I did.

WiFi seems to be all over Tokyo. Walking from my apartment to the station while checking available networks, I can see several. A lot of them are secure but luckily, some are not. I just go near any apartment building and for sure, there are available networks.

I see lots of Livedoor and YahooBB named networks near my place. I also occassionaly see some secure Planex networks, which I do know the default password because I am a Planex network owner myself. I did rename my own network to something else to avoid like-minded people prying into my connection. Hehe.

At the subway stations, I can always see three secure networks... 0033, Docomo and Flets-spot. I guess you need to pay them to be able to access them.

Unfortunately most of the time, signals are one-bar weak and sometimes not enough to actually connect me to the web. The strongest connection I can find is, well, inside my apartment. Hehe.

Seriously, I don't think WiFi has a future... even in hi-tech Tokyo. Signal is too spotty and unreliable.

Can't wait for WiMAX!

Graf beats Navratilova (2008)

2008-03-15T23:00:00.000+09:00

Dream Match 2008 was a surprisingly good set of matches!

Kimiko Date beats Martina Navratilova. Steffi Graf beats Navratilova. Date beats Graf.

Against Navratilova, Graf won the tiebreaker 10-5. Both were playing very well.

Shots, slices and serves were accurate. Navratilova was refreshingly funny. Graf was still a force to reckon with although she was obviously tired in her final match with Date. She was crushed 62 63.

Tickets were sold-out. Ariake Coliseum was packed. More pictures on my Picasa site.

I love tennis!

I'm a Graphical Person

2008-03-12T23:27:00.011+09:00

I'm a Graphical Person!

In Highschool, I always preferred Geometry and Trigonometry over Arithmetic. I also took painting as my elective instead of the more popular computer programming (that was 1994).

In University, I breezed through Engineering Drawing a.k.a. ES1 even though most of my friends were happy just to get a passing mark. Secretly, I believed I was the best ES1 student my University ever had. Serious. ;-)

At work, I enjoy drawing flowcharts and UML diagrams so much more than actually writing the code. I love looking at graphs and charts so much more than looking at actual numbers and tables. All my Excel sheets are colorful and need I say it, graphical.

Come to think of it, I'd rather watch the movie than read the book.

Why am I talking about this?

Beats me.