Saintdune.com

Deni & Sam

2011-06-19T00:12:00.004+08:00

My two daughters have decided to reactivate their blogsite but they don't seem to be keen on having a 'joint' blogsite.. So, they have created their own blogspot account...

Now, I will ask my most common question on behalf of my daughters: "Where do we go from here?"

The Katinas

2011-06-13T20:34:00.002+08:00

http://thekatinas.com/

Google Classic

2010-10-20T23:47:00.002+08:00

H.E.R.O

2010-07-03T15:07:00.003+08:00

Can you hear me? In Times like these, we have to ask ourselves several important questions. How can you, I, our friends and children really trust that what we see on TV and hear on the radio is true? How do we know that our opinions are really our own? How can we be sure that the weak voices are heard and not scared into silence?

I can tell you how. There is one person we can thank for all of this. We can thank this person for giving us new perspectives. We can thank this person for giving us a choice. This person gives us an alternative to uniformity and short term thinking. We owe this person for making an ordinary day into something special. A day when we rise from the TV couch and say: "I've changed my opinion". There's only one word that does full justice to that person: HERO.

OK.. That was a joke!

Samantha just rebuked me and said that I should have used God's picture for He is our hero... But I don't have God's picture and this is only meant to be a joke... :-p

I Got To Meet The Person Who Solved This!

2010-05-22T12:53:00.004+08:00

CSS Based

2010-02-27T22:34:00.004+08:00

With the help of freebies, chedeng!!Miss doing this... really...

My Dining Place: http://www.mydiningplace.com.sg

10 Funny Things That Made Me Think Twice Of Coming Back To The Philippines

2010-02-19T23:28:00.007+08:00

You know what they say... onlee in da Pilipins....

Gloria Arroyo running for congress in Pampanga: People accused her of dreaming to become a Prime Minister, where's the proof?
Mikey Arroyo: Need to say more?
So obvious and yet....: ZTE Scandal, Fertilizer Scam, Northrail Project, Road User's Tax Scandal, Macapagal Boulevard Scam, Swine Scam, Hello Garci Tapes, Mikey's unexplained wealth, Jose Pidal, RFID, Questionable presidential pardon... etc, etc, etc.... Time passes, people forget... sayonara....
Camarines Sur new second district: Political accommodation, the Arroyos gunning for World Record. Good luck Mayor Fermin!
Gov. (Fr.) Panlilio unseated by Bong Pineda's wife: The poor priest-turned-politician is accused of massive cheating and harassment by a GMA ally (!?! and another !!!??!!). Same case goes for Gov. Grace Padaca. This is really hilarious!
Erap Estrada running again: This is suppose to be 'funny things'... haiz.....
C5 Extension Scam: So... If Villar doesn't face the music, he's off the case? Yes, senator, show us how you do it!
Philippines drought: After the flood, no more water! What was NIA doing all these years? Buti pa sa Farmville may tubig! ...'wonder why in Singapore (which imports water from Malaysia), water is not scarce? Ok, money talks, maybe because they pay for it, right? But what about Malaysia? As far as I can remember, there was no rain for months! How can they supply water to Singapore and still have enough for them? Ok Pinoys, look at the bigger picture, please.... Any nation around you complaining about lack of water?
Comelec's poll automation: I don't know, but I find it very funny (laughing with tears)!
Shining Stars: Have you voted for an Actor or an Actress? Are you trying to be funny, too?

Vote Wisely!

To Pinas And Back

2010-01-02T01:07:00.005+08:00

2 weeks vacation is too short. I guess it's always not enough no matter how long it takes. But for me, it is was good to take a bit of a break from work and from a great distance some more. Haiz, I can't wait for the next break! I'm now looking forward for the next holiday -- the Chinese New Year which is in February.

It was great to visit the Philippines even for just once a year. Last year's visit was short but at least it was a bit longer than the previous one in 2008. And last year was more fruitful... done a lot of things... visit a lot of places... met a lot of friends... eat a lot of food... and great to see Naga with SM! It was amazing to see a so-much-different Naga (at least the CBD2 area). I thought SM will "kill" the business in CBD1 but it is surprising to see CBD1 still having a traffic jam (not a good thing though). OK, some food chains did tranfer to SM...

Ah, yes, Mayon volcano! It's not an everyday thing to see an eruption. It was a perfect timing for me (specially for my daughters) to see God's creation and wonders at work! There is nothing camparable to the God-soak, God-saturated wonders! But, ok... Albay is better off with Mayon not erupting... I just don't know why settlers within the danger zone keep on increasing. The government should have a better program to handle this issue. Evacuating people should have not been a problem.

I miss the Philippines but anyway.... 2010, here we go!

May Pasok ba?

2009-10-23T22:43:00.004+08:00

http://maypasokba.com/
Yan, kung di mo alam kung meron o wala.... :-P

PSLE Mathematics Paper

2009-10-12T20:38:00.005+08:00

I don't remember solving this kind of math problem when I was in grade 6. Probably in high school? I don't quite remember as well.

Anyway, the problem was something like this:

Jim bought some chocolates and gave half of it to Ken. Ken bought some sweets and gave half of it to Jim. Jim ate 12 sweets and Ken ate 18 chocolates. The ratio of Jim’s sweets to chocolates became 1:7 and the ratio of Ken’s sweets to chocolates became 1:4. How many sweets did Ken buy?

This was the kind of problem solving primary 6 student faced during their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) according to the news... Can my children cope up? Yes, they will... Through God's grace, syempre...

Nick Vujicic

2009-10-03T20:51:00.001+08:00

Nick Vujicic, born with no limbs, faces obstacles every day of his life. It's not how you start, it's how you finish...

Introvoys Jam

2009-10-01T01:14:00.004+08:00

Live at O'Bar Cerritos CA, USA on Septermber 19, 2009 with my brother, Gary, playing the bass guitar.

Birthday Girl

2009-09-25T00:20:00.003+08:00

Dai na aram kung arin iinuton, mag simbag sa FaceBook o sa sms... Hay... Arog talaga kayan pag birthday... Problema lang, kulang na ako sa pansin... Ok lang, hehehehe

Happy birthday Honnie, continue to receive the Grace of God! ...More wonderful and exciting years in your life! Lavya!

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

2009-09-15T22:00:00.000+08:00

ROMANS 6:1-14
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Mikey, Mkey, MIkey....

2009-09-04T00:51:00.002+08:00

Don't you just love Mikey?

Benny Prasad: Musicianary

2009-08-30T19:10:00.009+08:00

We were so blessed to have attended the 31st Anniversary of Covenant Evangelical Free Church at Suntec City today and was able to witness a performance by Benny Prasad, the most widely travelled Indian musician. To date, he has visited 218 countries and performed before presidents and parliaments and on many stages, including 2007 Military World Games, 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2004 Olympic Games!

But what is the big deal about Benny? OK, aside from the fact that he's suppose to be dead 18 years ago, he is a self-taught guitar player and has designed a guitar the world has never seen: A guitar with bongo (and he received a doctorate degree from University of New York! --if I'm not mistaken...). But most importantly, his purpose of travelling is to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Watch this video and learn more of Benny's ministry.

From a cursed to blessed life, from sin and shame to righteousness: Benny Prasad's life story (a walking miracle) is a genuine revelation of how good our God is!

1 Corinthians 2

2009-08-25T08:12:00.002+08:00

1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. Wisdom From the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:

No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him

10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

What Is Dignity?

2009-08-21T00:04:00.009+08:00

Mikey: No dignity for GMA to eat in McDonalds!

How about this...

So what is Dignity? Dignity is defined as “the quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect.”

--------------

Today (Araw ng Dilaw) is the 26th Death Anniversary of the greatest leader the Philippines never had.

Ninoy Aquino 700 Club Interview (1981)

2009-08-14T00:20:00.005+08:00

Find more videos like this on The Emerge Network

This video clip was posted on FaceBook by Abner.

If he was not assassinated, we might be having a much-so-different Philippines today. Truly, only GOD CAN CHANGE A PERSON AND HEAL OUR LAND. I pray that God will use another "Ninoy" to lead our country to freedom from bondage.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

"God gave me a gift, a gift to articulate that brought me to the pinnacle of political power... If and when I redeem my freedom, I'd like to use this gift to witness for Him (God)" --Ninoy

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

Complete Video from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ripZFVtUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__sbeE6QXfs

Nature Walk

2009-08-13T00:23:00.010+08:00

Monday: 10 Aug 2009: A holiday: A walk through The South Ridges: From Alexandra Arch: To Henderson Waves

Singapore NDP 2009

2009-08-09T22:48:00.003+08:00

I have just finished watching the 2009 National Day Parade of Singapore on TV. Man, they are really proud of their country and their leaders and they have all the reason to celebrate! Sana, sa Pilipinas man....

Paaram Mrs. President

2009-08-03T21:36:00.005+08:00

Corazon C. Aquino
1933-2009

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."
Philippians 1:3

Day After...

2009-07-11T00:57:00.005+08:00

It is now about an hour past July 10. A day after my birthday, a day after our Care Group Fellowship, a day after my 2-day-in-house short course on customer service and a day after sending "thank you" replies on Facebook (That's the reason why I'm still awake... :-P)

I just want to thank God for being so good in my family's life. His awesomeness never fails. It is truly great to look back and count God's blessing one by one to encourage me to move on in times my faith is undergoing testing. In my two and a half stay in Singapore, I have learned to rely on God for strength. I acknowledge Him as the one who has given me the ability to work.

+++

Let me share this illustration from yesterday's lesson from our CG. Here goes:

A baby camel asked his mother, Mom, why do I have these huge three-toed feet? His mother replied, Well, son, your toes help you stay on top of the soft sand when we trek across the desert. A few minutes later the baby camel asked, Mom, why do I have these long eyelashes? His mother replied, Well, son, your eyelashes help keep the sand out of your eyes on our trips through the desert. A few minutes later the baby camel asked, Mom, why do I have these great big humps on my back? His mother, who was getting a little impatient with her son, replied, Well, son, your humps store water for our long treks across the desert, so you can go without drinking for long periods of time. That’s great, Mom, the baby camel said. We have huge feet to stop us from sinking, long eyelashes to keep sand out of our eyes, and humps to store water. But...Mom? Yes, son? Why are we in the zoo?

Too many of us are like camels in a zoo. We have everything we need to live the way God intended, yet we play it safe and fail to put ourselves in a position to use our God-given gifts and talents in keeping with His purposes.

Eternal Moonwalk

2009-07-08T23:05:00.005+08:00

Everybody wanna be just like Mike!?!

Well, I guess this is the "in" thing at the moment so I thought I'll probably join the drift... Here's the video that I have uploaded to the website....

Three Sevens -- A FaceBook Note

2009-07-07T22:35:00.005+08:00

The following was taken from Honnie's Facebook Notes:

It was this very same day, two years ago, when I and my 2 daughters (Daniella and Samantha) whom I considered the 3rd most precious gifts (1st is the gift of salvation and 2nd is my husband, Dune ) I received from God, have finally touched the grounds of Singapore with deep joy in our hearts. Dune was already waiting at the arrival lobby of Changi Airport to fetch us. It was truly an overwhelming emotion because this was the time that God had answered our prayers that we as a family will be together again after Dune left the Philippines to look for a job in Singapore and through God’s grace and mercy he was able to find one, a very good one (all the glory to God!).

And today we are celebrating our two years anniversary as immigrants to Singapore as a family. I would like to take this opportunity to share all the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives here. This is not to brag anything as I don’t own anything except for the truth and promises of God in our lives. For the last two years of our stay here, we have experienced all the glory and wonders of God. He is our GREAT PROVIDER in times of insufficiency, our HEALER in times of sickness, our STRENGHT in times of weakness, our SHIELD in times of trouble, our SECURITY in times of uncertainties, our COMFORTER in times of struggles, our PEACE in times of trials, our JOY in times of sadness.. In other words, HE IS OUR EVERYTHING!

Our God is an awesome God. He will never withhold anything good from His children. His goodness no one can fathom. Every blessing that my family have now is not because of my or Dune’s good works but because of GOD’S KINDNESS and FAITHFULNESS to us. His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect for our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). I want to honor God in my life because He is my heavenly Father and He is the head of our family. I will continue to live in Him no matter what. I will praise Him with all my heart, my life and my soul. He is the stronghold of our family. I love you Jesus, thank you so much for everything. You make my life so meaningful and wonderful. Thank you for being my Lord and my Savior.

Kumusta Na?

2009-06-18T01:04:00.008+08:00

This is my second post for the year (Hurrayy!) but I feel like I got nothing much to say... I just created my Twitter account and thought maybe I could update something on this waning blog. The past few months was just overwhelmingly busy times for me. Oftentimes, I only log in to FaceBook and check my emails after I reach home from work (ah, yeah, ..and view some NBA clips... LA Laker's won!). Plus the fact that my old PC was on it's last legs, I find myself feeling lethargic to post anything... Yeah, no time to update this thing (What for?). Thank God, he blessed me with a new PC (so I can post again)!

The Visitors
We had the oppotunity to host our "inaanaks"Abner and Vic-vic last March for a few days as they attended a seminar at Singapore Expo. It was great to have some people from Naga to visit us even for a shortwhile. We also had a time to meet up with Ptr. Ching and Bro. Efren when they attended at Hope Church and during a visit to Sentosa.

This June, Lolo Tatay and Lola Mama was also with us for over 2 weeks and also had a chance to visit Macy in Bangkok over one weekend.

Opppsss, past 1am na! Post some pics later... for now, let me go back to sleep!

Bits and Pieces

2009-02-16T23:57:00.020+08:00

Have you ever wonder why, when everything seems to be perfect, then suddenly something terrible happens? I ended my previous blog with me—converted to perm. Before that, everything was great… Everything... Until last month when I hit my first and second biggest mistake in the span of a week! I thought that after two years, my familiarity with my daily grind was good enough. I was wrong. Two of my conversion programs had a simple glitch. Yeah, simple but the impact was great. I guess I was too confident, too lax that I have forgotten to seek God’s guidance. Too proud, maybe. But thank God, He was there to rescue me. He gave me peace. He delivered.

Flash Back

Ok. Now, I have to do this thing again. Same question goes: What happened, when it happened, where it happened?

December:

Honnie, Deni and Sam stayed back in Naga until after Christmas. So then, I spent my Christmas at Sengkang. Missed my family...
Created my FaceBook account (Friendster is no longer the in-thing, sabi daa.)
My third Dinner and Dance with BTMU.

bought a Yamaha PSR-E313 Keyboard as a Christmas present to my kids. Yep, it was eventually used for Care Group meetings.

Fetch my family at Changi Airport on December 27.

January:

Deni and Sam’s first day at Pei Tong Primary School

“It” happened. Well, I guess January was not really a good month for me but, like what they say, “life must go on”…
CNY: Spent the Saturday before CNY at the East Coast Park. Great.

Attended Roy’s wedding after CNY.

February:

A deep at Clementi Pool

I was so blessed when I was chosen by my boss to represent Singapore for the CMS Seminar and was given the opportunity to do a short talk to showcase Singapore CMS products. With participants from China, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh, Bankok, Sydney, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Manila and Jakarta branch, it was my first time to address an international audience! Praise God!

Myanmar Sunday Service at Rendezvous Hotel

Novembering

2008-12-09T23:52:00.004+08:00

The month of November, perhaps, the busiest month of the year as far as I'm concerned. Here's why...

November 1: As our new place at Clementi (East Singapore) was only available from the 16th of November onwards, we temporarily stayed at Mendon Springs just beside Banyan Condo (As referred by Dave and Jenny, the parents of Deni's half-pinay classmate, Elizabeth-- their friend was going back to Australia for a one-month vacation so he lend us the room for 15 days. And yes, Thanks Jolyn, our housemate, for the warm accommodation); Dan, Bing and Mama Fe at the same time transferred to their new place at Senkang (West Singapore)

Mendon Spring

Senkang

November 2: Attended my colleague's wedding (which I forgot until it's about to start then turned up in an inappropriate outfit! hehehe!)
November 14: Sam's last day in K2 (Graduation was held in the last week of October) and finalized Deni and Sam's enrollment at Pei Tong Primary School

Pasir Panjang Hill Church Kindergarten

November 16: We finally moved to Clementi, took the whole day to clean-up the place!

Clementi Flat Pics

November 21: Off to Naga City, Philippines (sa wakas, after 2 years!!!)

Train to Changi Airport

November 24 and 28: visited my former office (EDP, Naga Cityhall)
November 25: Visited the lola's at Guinobatan, Albay

November 26: Met up with our "inaanaks" Abz and Vic2 for a short dinner

November 27: Met up with my friend Ted (Dr. Semaña) for a short tea break at Kopi Roti at Magsaysay (did I spell it correctly? - And ah yeah, Magsaysay Avenue!!!)
November 30: Deni's Birthday; I was invited to do a sermon at COPA-Naga; Met Mayor Jesse at Plaza Quezon (accidentally)
December 3: Back to Singapore (Honnie, Deni and Sam will stay in Naga until December 26). Blessing: I'm converted to perm at BTMU (Thank you, Lord!) but I will surely miss Fujitsu Asia...

Two Years (and a week)

2008-10-07T23:48:00.004+08:00

That's how long I've been away from home. When will I be back to visit Naga? Soon. :-(

I guess there are other concerns I need to focus on before worrying about getting home. One of which is our relocation. Yep, we're moving. After two years of staying at Bayan Condo, my family will be transferring to a flat at Clementi (Central West) whereas my sister's family will be staying at Sengkang (North East). A month ago, the HDB flat was already offered to me, that's two weeks before we have decided not to renew our contract. Finding a new place to stay in Singapore is not that easy, but God is so gracious enough to provide us a new place without even paying for an agent's fee. And to make things sound even better, the flat is only a 3-minute walk (on a fully-sheltered pathway) away from the MRT station and it is near to a market place, hawker centers, etc. It is not an isolated place. Yes, a community, finally!... :-)

But relocation also means transferring my daughters to a new school. Ah, yeah, there's one nearby, a very good school (according to "them"). But the best thing about this school is the distance. If we need to take a 10-minute bus ride and then walk another 5 minutes from the bus stop to reach the Daniella's current school from our current home, her new school is literally only a few steps away, I mean literally! Yes, you can see the school backgate just a few meters below the master bedroom window!

Obstacles may still be on the way, but why worry? In times like these, I always dial my helpline... J33:3...

September Twenty-Five

2008-09-25T22:22:00.004+08:00

Today, my wife received dozens of text messages, emails, Yahoo IM messages and Friendster messages from friends since early in the morning. Why? It is her birthday today, that's why! But, aside from all these, she was entertained by my two daughters with greetings, dancing and singing throughout the day. I think I need a lot of things to do to cope up with the drift....

Happy, Happy Birthday! (nagugurang na kita pero beautiful ka man giraray!!!)

Three Months Later

2008-09-20T14:34:00.013+08:00

I barely noticed it was that long since I have had my last post here. Time flies so fast in Singapore, that's a fact. Well, before I forget everything, there's just a few things I need to take note during the last three months. These are:

July:

Macy and her Thai friend Dia visited us during the first week of July for a short vacation. Macy stayed for about two weeks while Dia was only here for a week.
I had my birthday celebrated during our Central West 2 Care Group. Thanks to the ever loving and supportive members! What else.... I guess there's nothing much to remember for the month of July.

August:

We had our Hope Filipino Church "Fiesta sa Bayan 2008" last 2nd of August.
We managed to have Sam enrolled to the same school where Deni is currently in. Sam will be finishing from Kinder 2 this November. Finally, I will not be spending too much for her school fees (S$475/term) next year. Both Deni and Sam will be in a government school -- their school fee will only be S$15/mo. each!
We received the approval of our Permanent Residence application from ICA last 15 August, slightly 2 weeks earlier than the expected date of release. God is truly great!

September:

We had our PR Formalities on the 2nd of September and collected my NRIC on the 10th of the same month. I can now apply for a long term social visit pass for my mother so she can stay longer (or stay for good) when she comes on October.
September 16: We had a re-structuring of our Care Group and a new Care Group was established: Central West-Family -- That's is where we now belong.
I have created a blog site for my daughters last September 14 basically to let them have a good place to keep their journal rather than using their notes and loose it eventually. Let's see how useful it can be...
We had our fire drill last 19th of September and the whole Republic Plaza was evacuated during the exercise. I was appointed as the fire warden for our department (by accident!) since nobody else wanted to take the responsibility. It's a good thing I never lead my colleagues to a dead end, hehehe! It was not a challenging thing to do actually. I just need to see whether everybody vacated the building and were safe and secured. Anyway, after we stepped back into the office, I guess nobody was on the mood to work! :-P
Formula One historic first night race is all set to stage its inaugural run at Marina Bay, Singapore on the 28th of September. That means, road closures will take effect near my workplace at Raffles Place. I better be ready with the traffic jam I will be facing in the next few days!

Well, that's it. There is something else that I would like to include on this post though but I rather not. Wait till it happens then post when it's done. God Bless to all!

Hope Filipino Church 11th Year Anniversary

2008-06-29T23:13:00.012+08:00

PicBlog: 29 June 2008, Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre, 5:00 to 8:00PM

June Update

2008-06-21T23:16:00.003+08:00

I have been too busy to blog over the past two weeks though I have I lot of things to post. Anyway, let me just list down the following to remind myself the important events this month.

Today (21 June) is my mother's birthday (Happy Birthday!) but she will be going back to Naga this Wednesday (We will miss you but of course you can come back anytime).
Today (21 June), we received the good news that my eldest sister Pam & husband Ptr. Jong & their children are now green card holders in US (Congrats and Praise God!)
Two weeks ago (7 June), I have submitted the Permanent Residence Application for myself and my family. Saturday is a peek day to apply for PR and only the first 100 applicants are entertained. Though we were late to reached ICA (7:15am with queue reaching up to the back of the ICA building), we still made it -- we were applicant number 96! (Praise God! ..and thanks to EDP Boys and Ma'am Tess Zapata for updating my Employment Certificate, ...owe you one ...or is it two?.. or three?... OK, I guess it is now countless...). By the way, congrats to my caregroup friends, Liel & family and Chris & April, they just received their PR Approval (Answered Prayer!!!)
I have received my Tax Assessment from IRAS for 2008 (based on my salary+bonus for 2007--I paid no tax in 2007, how about that? But wait, that's not all, read on...). Do you want to know how much I need to pay? It's about 50% less than what I paid a year when I was still in EDP (again, how about that?). Now, how on earth was I paying more tax in the Philippines than in Singapore?
My status in World 17 in TW went really bad. I have changed my remaining village name to "Free Village" (It's free, literally) since I am expecting that my village will be nobled off anytime. Anyway, I doing well in World 19. I have now 6 villages and my points reached 30K (Yeepee!!)
Thinkrefill.us is still down! Needs to finalize everything by next Saturday...
We have received the bad news that Micah, Honnie's little sis, got scoliosis but God can heal her anyway (waiting for the day when we will sing, "He'd turn my mourning into dancing again...")
Tomorrow (22 June) will be Mama Malyn and Tatay Jess' 35th Wedding Anniversary (Congrats!)
Monday (23 June) will be the start of Term 3 for Deni and Sam (That means I will be waking up much earlier than the usual... again!)
Next Sunday (29 June) will be Hope Filipino Church's 11th Year Anniversary. (Still got lots of invitation cards on hand -- must invite more! Lord, make me successful)

I got ten in the list but now, the question is, when will I be updating my blog again?

MC Today (plus plus)

2008-05-09T16:25:00.007+08:00

This afternoon, I went back home after lunch time to rest. I have taken my second MC (Medical Certificate or commonly known as Sick Leave) this year and second time since November 2006! I took my first ever MC last January 24 (half day) and the whole day of January 25.

TW update:
Three nights ago, when I checked my village in World 17, I was surprised to see incoming troops from a village named "NAGA CITY" with travelling time of 147 hours and was due to arrive on May 12 (Thats about 6 days!) But anyway, I checked who owns this village and it was Master Jessie's village... No wonder... :-) I really did not start very good in World 17 so I joined World 19 together with my colleagues and this time, I'm ranked 2nd (within my tribe).

ThinkRefill.us Update:
Hopefully, by next week the site will be operational... Still working on the checkout module... trying to add-on google checkout...

More Updates:
After Mama Malyn and Jen's visit last April, Mama Fe and Mama Mercy (Dan's mom) are here for the next two months. I will be applying for a PR (Permanent Resident) this month. With PR Status, I can have my mom as a dependent so she can stay longer...

Tribal Wars

2008-04-14T23:36:00.013+08:00

I've been playing this online game for over 2 weeks now. This was all the idea of one of my colleagues who have already been playing the game for a couple of weeks. We were encouraged to join World 17 and to start building our village. Out of curiosity, four of us joined in.

At present, we have our own tribe and we have started inviting other players to join us. I'm not into too much reading so I just played the game and see where I go from there. From time to time, I asked some of my allies how and what are the things to be done. (Save me a lot of time from reading :->)

Point-wise, they are way ahead of me, I don't know why... Perhaps, I'm not an aggressive person to raid other village? ...or do I really need to know the building order to attain more points? Too late to know, they've been sneaking out down to Republic Plaza's basement to access the free WiFi provided by Pacific Coffee with our company hand phones! Whoaa! Cheaters!!! Yeah, though we have internet access in the office, we tried to avoid logging in using our PC to access the game. Better not to, that's inviting trouble!

This is the thing, you only need a couple of minutes to fritter to play this game each time you login. After you have upgraded buildings, attack other villages, train new troops, etc etc, you can immediately logout... Then login again after a few hours (or minutes if necessary) to check how things are doing.... Subsequently, ensure whether you have enough resources to continue ordering things... Raiding weak villages is very important to haul more resources! True enough, you don't really need to spend to much time online but frequent login is somehow required!

Back 2 Web Works

2008-04-10T22:05:00.004+08:00

I got myself working on another website in over a year. When my brother-in-law asked me for a favor to do an eCommerce website for their business in New Jersey, I had the upbeat feeling about it but then the question that hit me was, "do I still remember how to code PHP?" A little rusty I guess...

Anyway, to cut the story short, I did what I need to do... Research on what are the things I need... look for which is the most suitable webhosting site (I have been using pinoyhosting.net but got to find myself a US-based hosting site)... And what tools or solution? etc, etc, etc... Finally I decided to use back osCommerce as I used it once before with souvenirsandgiftshop.com (and oh yeah, this site is down long before I knew it!). Is that all? What about payment portal? Paypal? Google Checkout? Questions after questions and still, some of it got no answers.

And the design? You mean, I'm also going to do the design myself? Whoa! Ansel used to do the design for me! ...And I had Master Jessie for technical help but I guess they will not be around this time... Oh, did I mention I'm doing this for free?

Something tells me, it's not going to be that easy...

Welcome to Singapore!

2008-04-09T23:57:00.013+08:00

THE ARRIVAL: 8 April 2008 @ 8:00pmHonnie, Mama Malyn and Jen at Changi Airport

FIRST DAY (9 April 2008): Sentosa (where else mah?)Beach Station
Palawan Beach Resort

Songs Of The Sea

Ah, today I'm on my 1st annual day leave. Do I see a busy week ahead? Esplanade on Friday... Visit Francis and Donna on Saturday... Jurong Bird Park (when?)... Zoo? nah!

Francis & Donna ROM

2008-04-06T22:42:00.010+08:00

Congrats to Francis and Donna – they finally exchanged vows thru ROM in Singapore!

Today, we went to their condo unit in Simsville to witness the event. ..And talking about “witness”, Honnie was one of the witnesses together with Francis’ officemate Chris. I just wonder if a witness means a ninong/ninang... Is that it? And talking about “Ninong and Ninang”, we are supposed to be “ninong and ninang” to our dear friends Abner and Vic-Vic this coming May (too bad, it's impossible for us to go home! huhuhu!) and I was thinking, are we already that old??? :-) ...never noticed that… ...but always knew it was coming! Anyway, Francis and Donna’s church wedding will be on September 28 this year in Manila– this time, we can’t attend to witness it anymore!

Out of Topic:

Taking the MRT on our way back, I was totally amazed by Deni’s sense or direction. She knows which MRT line, station and interchange we are taking or if the train is going to ascend from the subway and even which side of the train will open on each of the station! I can’t even recall whether the train is SBS or SMRT but she knows! I never knew she was observing anything since every trip we had, from what I can see, she was only busy playing with her sister. Make way, Magellan! We have a new navigator in the making!

Blangah Rise Primary School

2008-04-05T12:13:00.004+08:00

E-Learning:

I bet I better start saving to buy myself my own computer… My two daughters have been using my PC extensively ever since my eldest daughter had her account activated in the MOE’s Litespeed E-Learning Website. They have been enjoying add-on lessons through an interactive teacher in this website.

The School:

Daniella goes to a government primary school here in Singapore. The government subsidizes most of the school fees thus we are only paying SGD15.00 per month. The school has the facilities of a private school though: They have computer rooms and classrooms have its own PC and projector to name a few. When I attended the orientation, we were informed that they do not practice giving the students a lot of homework since most of the time homeworks are answered by the parents—they have more seatwork instead. They said homework gives children a negative impact-- they have been studying the whole day, they should rest and play at home but of course, they can always log-in to Litespeed if they want to study more...

Students are also encourage to bring English reading materials for their daily reading time while waiting for assembly to start. Primary 1 students will not be sitting for their quarterly assessment, instead they will have diagnostic test as formative assessment to gauge their standard (There is no graded report card by the way instead they make use of a performance-based progress report). Other activities like Chinese dancing and swimming are also presented with half of the fees paid by the government.

EZ-Link:

MOE issued an EZ-Link Card to every student. The card will not only serve as an Identification Card that will hold the student’s basic information but it will as also serve as a non-contact stored value ticket for use on the MRT, LRT and the buses as well– that is 45cents per ride regardless of the distance.

Arnel, Charice, Ramiele, Vincent atbp.

2008-03-30T23:51:00.007+08:00

I’m not a fan of any bands especially of a rock band for start. (Can I say Christians doesn’t like rock bands!?!) But the story behind Arnel Pineda’s “discovery” as the Journey’s new lead singer is totally mind-blowing! I have read news about it here and here and also some other blogs about him here and it was indeed a rock 'n roll fairy tale! I’m actually quite too late to read about these news but when I learned about this, I tried to search the net and Youtube to hear how he really sounds like. He was right when he said he will never be “Steve Perry” (the voice) but the way I hear it – he is very, very good! (I don't understand why some comments are so negative. The story here is that Journey hired him because he got an amazing voice and not because he sounded like SP -- What's wrong about that?) Well... Anyway... I just don’t know whether he will keep up with his voice especially when the band got a very tight concert tour schedules (As in almost everyday! --Salabat na lang nga dyan!).

I have been keeping an eye for good news about Filipino talents. These good news will at least change some perception on how other countries look at us (yeah, talking about corruption and all that...) On the list are individuals who made our country proud:

Charice Pempengco: have been invited by Ellen DeGeneres to guest in her show after she had seen her clips in youtube;
Ramiele Malubay: by far got great chances with American Idol 7
Vincent Bueno: won in an Austrian singing competition "Musical! The Show"
Manny Pacquiao: (huh? ) yeah, though he sings, he belong to a different category thus kindly ignore him from the list, hehehehe!!! (I just felt like mentioning his name-- he too made our country proud after all!)

Some of our singers are already in the business for to a certain extent but these singers I mentioned above are instantly recognized in other countries just like that. For Arnel, he will be singing to Journey’s fans who never even heard his name before but he will be singing as if he was the original vocalist. Unlike other Filipino singers who go on world tours, Arnel will not be singing to Filipino fans but to other nationalities – will that make him one of the full-blooded Filipinos with the most number of international listeners?

At least for now, Filipino singers are getting to be recognized internationally (again)... I wonder when the last time was???

TGIF: So What’s So Good About Good Fridays?

2008-03-22T11:48:00.008+08:00

Most Filipinos will have yesterday and today as a somber time. I remember when I was in my childhood days, I was scolded for making joyful noise. I was asked "don't you know that god is dead and that I should mourn?". It’s just so sad that Filipinos today are still blinded by the truth that Jesus died on the cross only once for our salvation and that was 2000 years ago but people just kill Him again and again every year. And still some insults Him by having themselves nailed on the cross as if Jesus’ death was not enough to save them from sin.

The Bible say in Hebrews 7: 24 – 28

24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

The truth is that Jesus died for our sins once and for all! No one else is capable of saving us from our sins-- It was a perfect ultimate sacrifice! We don’t expect a dead Jesus for He was already raised from the dead. So then, we should live as “Easter Sunday” people in a Good Friday world!

For me, that is what so good about Good Friday-- We don't serve a dead god! My Redeemer lives forever!

Philippines is NOT the Most Corrupt!

2008-03-14T00:05:00.003+08:00

Most corrupt in Asia?? No way!!

The survey by PERC covers only 13 “economies” in Asia and excludes other countries notorious for corruption, such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. Thus, the government still has about two more greedy years to reach the top of the list! Way to go GMA!

So pwede ba people, let GMA, the economist, continue to produce more projects so that she can have more “tongpats” from it and by the time she leaves the palace in 2010, we will definitely rank number one in corruption not only in Asia but in the world! (Hitsura lang kayan kan Bangladesh na yan!) The worst is still to come my dear people, wait till “bumukol” na ang mga loans. Can somebody tell me the current debt we have now? In trillions, right? Ok, just multiple the current debt with the interest per year and… and.. whatever… Who’s going to pay it anyway?

Hay…. If only our kababayans know what the Philippines is missing…

A Glimpse of Changi Airport Terminal 3

2008-03-09T22:48:00.009+08:00

It was still early when we arrived at Changi Airport last Friday so Honnie and I decided to have a little stroll around the newly opened Terminal 3 before we take the shuttle bus going to the budget terminal to fetch my cousin. I thought Terminal 2 was already that splendid but Terminal 3 is just exceptional. Everything is just bigger and better.

Terminal 3 now house the new Airbus A380 – Singapore Airlines is the first to fly the “biggest aircraft yet” commercially.

My AI7 Top Ten

2008-02-14T23:25:00.000+08:00

Top 24 of AI7 is finally revealed! I was very optimistic that the Pinay Contestant will be one of top contenders and she did make it. Good thing about her is that she knows her roots. In her interview, she gave Regine Velasquez a decent exposure by mentioning her name as one of her favorite singers and even mentioned that she eats "Balut". She’s very much a Filipino indeed! Yeah, you go girl, make your country proud!

Anyway, I made my own prediction of who will be on the top ten. And they are:

Will I make 80% of my list??? Let's wait and see....

Lost But Found

2008-02-12T22:40:00.001+08:00

Back from today’s customer visit, I realized that I don’t have my Nokia 6288 company hand phone with me and probably left it in the taxicab! The first thing that came into my mind was that I will be paying not less than S$200 so that BTMU can re-issue a new one for me. Its going to take that much! All the while, I thought there’s no way I can have my phone back…

But God is just so good! When my colleague tried to dial my number, the driver answered and so I manage to talk to him. He was very willing to return the phone. He advised me to go back from where I alighted and we will meet there in 15 minutes. In return, he is just going to charge me the taxi fare coming back from where he is presently situated so I agreed since it was fair enough.

So then, we met. Immediately, he opened the window and hand over to me the phone. Then I asked him how much was the charge but he quickly said, “No, it’s fine, it’s ok!” and smiled at me. I was shocked! I saw the taxi meter and it was in fact about eight dollars! I can’t believe what I heard so I asked him again, “Are you sure??? “ Then while the car window slowly started to close, he smiled back and waved his hand and said “Bye!” At that moment, it left me with only one option and that is to shout, “Thanks!”

Returning the phone to me is overwhelming but returning it at his expense!?! It's crazy, man!

Mr. X of CityCab with plate number SHA8710G, may God bless you and the works of your hand! I wish more people are like you... (Hey, we need people like him in Philippine Government!)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008-02-10T22:29:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year Holiday is over! That means everything is back to normal starting tomorrow. Well I guess the two-day break was somehow a bit worthwhile.

Wednesday: Left office at 4:05pm and passed by Giant Supermart at VivoCity to buy some food to store for the remaining days. (Most of the shops were already closed that day for the holiday and in the next two days; malls will be like ghost towns)

Thursday: Attended our CG's Family Day at the Chinese Garden (link 2).

Friday: Attended the Men’s Event at Changi General Hospital Gym and later in the evening we went to Holland Drive for the weekly CG.

Saturday: Spend the whole day at home (skipped the weekly grocery schedule) and I was visited by my shepherd Jeff later in the evening.

Sunday: Attended the morning Church Service at Hope Singapore (We have not attended the Filipino Service for more than a month now and we miss it!)

And now, back at home, blogging..

Just now, my wife greeted me “Advance Happy Anniversary”!!! Yeah, tomorrow will be our 13^th year! I’m still holding on to the photo taken that day, nothing much of a difference!!! :-) Hmmm…

Broken English

2008-02-05T21:49:00.000+08:00

I have received comments concerning the broken English that I used in constructing my sentences. One over here… and another over here... It’s not a surprise to me since I never had good grades in English during my school days, anyway. But I’m taking the comments constructively since this is basically my purpose of blogging: to improve myself and comments like this give me the motivation to do better.

And another reason why I blog is for me to keep a journal of my experiences and interests and perhaps share it and not to show off any English Writing skills as I just don’t have it.

Vocabulary is another thing. I just don’t have the highfalutin words to use to attract readers (I'm not attracting readers!). I usually use common words as long as I can express what I have in mind. If I become the best english-blogging dude then maybe I might consider a career-shift, --the print media perhaps?!? :-) Imagine that! A Computer programmer-turned-writer!

By the way, sabi sa comment sako: “Good luck with your developing your language skills.” and “especially so that you are a Filipino” –Hey! You sound just like me, Men!

Hmmm… Way to go Buddy, I mean, Dude!

JDV-GMA War

2008-02-04T22:02:00.000+08:00

Mayo na naman ako masabi sa politika sa Pilipinas kundi hay.... sana gabos sinda, mawara na sa Pilipinas! Pasain na naman kita kayan? Sana ma-realize kan mga tao na bako man para sa tao ang kariribukan ninda kundi para sa saindang political interest man lang! I just can't believe that the people can take it to see their congressmen fighting and for what? For the nation? No way! Para sainda, para kung sain sinda mayaman... Tano ta ngunian lang si JDV nagbulgar sa mga gibo-gibo ni GMA? Kung totoo siya, dapat kadto pa niya yan ginibo. Pero maski huri na siya, siya ang nag-confirm kan mga batikos kan mga taga-opposition. Si Nograles man, sarong Arroya-lapdog. Napatalsik ngani si JDV, pinalitan man ning mas tuta kan administration!! Nakakasuka na!

Hay... Nagpaloko na kita kadto, nagpapaloko pa man giraray kita ngunian. Hangang nuarin? Ano susunod? Cha-cha? Para mayo nang haralian sa pwesto?

God, please save us! Heal our Land!

Who’s Voice?

2008-02-03T21:49:00.000+08:00

One illustration we had on today’s sermon by Pastor Ben of Hope Church Singapore was about shepherd and sheep. The story goes this way:

A tourist went to a Middle East country and he happened to see some shepherds tending their sheep over the countryside. As he was taking some photo of the scenery, he heard one of the shepherds called to the sheep, “Manna, manna, manna!” [I suppose in Arabic it means, “Come!” but I’m not sure and the spelling could also be incorrect]. After this, a number of sheep breakaway from the group and followed the shepherd. Then another shepherd called the same thing and another group of sheep split from the group and followed as well. Now left with one shepherd, the tourist quickly asked the shepherd to lend him his clothes and turban and tried to imitate him by calling the sheep in Arabic. But not even one followed. So the tourist asked the shepherd “Is there any situation that your sheep followed other people except you?” Only when the sheep is sick, answered the shepherd.

“Only when the sheep is sick!”

There are a lot of voices in this world that are calling our name, a lot of different shepherds --pretending “shepherds”. Through this illustration I come to realize that many times I get spiritually sick and listened to the wrong voices [materialism, self-centeredness, ambitions, etc. which hinders me from my focus to Christ] instead of listening to Jesus who is the good shepherd. I thank God he made me understand. I’ve been running away from Him instead of following Him! All those excuses and everything…

Truly, our physical body gets weak and gets sick if we don’t take the right nourishment. Same with our spirit, it gets weak if we don’t feed it with God’s words which is our bread of life and if we lack constant communication with Him by prayer. God is spirit so we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Then we will know our shepherd, we will follow the right voice.

Text: John 10:2-5 and 10:14
2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep knows me.

Ramiele Malubay: How Far Will She Go?

2008-02-01T00:10:00.000+08:00

Another Filipino is on the way to Hollywood! Ramiele is a petite (4"11) 20 year old Filipino-American. She auditioned for American Idol in the City of Miami, Florida. Simon voted "no" for her and commented that she sounds more like a "hotel singer" [don't know what that means]. But then she got two "yes"'s and made it through. Let's see if she can be, at least, in the top 20!

In the meantime, Renaldo Lapuz is fast becoming an Internet Celebrity and I just found out that I was right when I said that he was a Filipino. He was formerly a tricycle driver in Sikatuna Village in QC but now has a contract with American Idol (I wonder what is stated in the contract...) Well, Simon was right when he said that he had a "horrible" feeling that his audition song will became a hit!

Leaders

2008-01-28T23:21:00.000+08:00

I was in VivoCity and was on my way home when a saw a small crowd near the front entrance of the mall. Though I noticed a "not-so-usual" number of security personnel, I thought that there could be some VIP within the crowd. I tried to walk pass by the group and sneak a quick look only to find out that it was actually the President of Singapore. Thus, I did what I usually do in times like this – grab my hand phone and took a photo [It's not everyday that you see a president walking 5 meters away from you :)].

This is just an outstanding sight – a president with a very loose security! I mean I had shaken the hand of GMA 3 times [I’ve been that close to GMA] but to see all those PSG all over the place just make me very uncomfortable -- and NOT a pretty sight in any way. The only VIP I know who can walk around or take a PUV or take a bike ride around the neighborhood ALONE is our Mayor Jesse of Naga. But hey, this person is a president! It only demonstrate how safe Singapore is! [--just like Naga before Tira's term --wish to see that in Pinas!]

Talking about leaders, as we all know, the Indonesian president just died. Since I have a little knowledge of the late leader, I asked my Indo colleague how she finds Suharto and immediately, she cracked a joke and I find it very similar with the joke we had about Marcos. I thought that joke was unique to the Philippines but anyway, from that, it was easy to conclude what Suharto was like.

There is just one new leader that I know that might just become one of those I will look up in the near future – The president-elect of South Korea, who look up to Jesus as his best model of a CEO-type leader. [wish to see more leaders like him to arise in Pinas! I mean leaders who serves and not being served!]

Pricey Cars

2008-01-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

Ever since my two daughters started schooling this January, my wife and I decided to attend Hope Church morning service since the Filipino Service ends very late and the soonest we can reach home is around 8:45pm. Today, after we had our lunch, we had our Sunday walk over Orchard Road and we then decided to sit down in front of Meritus Mandarin Hotel to have some rest. From a distance I heard a loud “Vrrruummmm” from what I thought was a sound from some sports car. Then I discovered that the sound was actually from a yellow Lamborghini that was about to park just in front of us! (Talking about right timing!) Many passersby started to take picture and I thought that I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to take a couple photos myself! (bale baya ako! hehehe!)

I walked around the parking lot and try to take photos of the other highly-priced cars parked outside the hotel. There was a couple of BMW’s, a Mercedes Benz, a Porsche and a Rolls-Royce (I guess the RR is the hotel’s service).

I also had some photos of cars beforehand and I think this is the right time to post them!

(Formula 1 and Lamborghini photo taken from Vivo City Auto Show)

I still have to take another photo of another yellow Lamborghini parked in Republic Plaza's Plaza's Parking Space. Hmmm.. just take the picture.. can't even touch it.. :(

Taglish, Singlish, Whateverlish

2008-01-18T23:58:00.000+08:00

Back from the CG gathering, I turned on my PC, connect to the internet and visited Planet Naga as usual. To my surprise, the number of views from my previous post reached 200 in one day! I was actually planning to do some editing and correct misspelled words since I was already very sleepy last night and had no time to do so. Hmmmm.. There’s nothing much to do about it anyway.

In Singapore, blogging had become my habit so I can improve my English writing (and speaking) skills. I’m not used in speaking English… I think most Filipinos are not either. I just don’t understand why it is scarier to speak English when Filipinos are around. Why do Filipinos really need to become good English speakers?

In my present job, there are a lot of Japanese bosses who doesn’t speak good English but it did not stop them to work in a foreign country and lead the locals. It did not stop them to excel in their jobs. Even Singaporeans are not that good, too. They even have their own version of English: The Singlish (either a direct translation or combination of Mandarin, Malay and English-- [Ayoh! If today cannot, then tomolo also can!]). Though there are times their sentences are grammatically wrong, they can still communicate and are able to work in big companies. The important thing is, everybody can speak and understand English. But then again, Singapore is now trying to take this culture away from the schools.

Who is Renaldo Lapuz???

2008-01-17T22:54:00.000+08:00

I have just finished watching the first two airing of American Idol Season 7 tonight over Star World and as expected, the audition was filled with bizarre people as usual. But then, I didn't expect that tonight's finale was going to be a history-in-the-making (again) just like a couple of seasons ago where William Hung was "discovered" and become a worldwide phenomenon.

Throughout the show, they keep on advertising this "winged-hat (with Simon's name on it) and with a cape" guy and I thought that he was just one of the "ordinary" untalented people who just need a "one-minute" exposure for hopes of becoming famous. But then, when he was interviewed by Ryan, I have noticed that he had a Filipino accent (with a common Pinoy-style carabao english). So I thought to myself, "Is this guy a Filipino or what?". His name sounds Filipino anyway and he sings like a Filipino (He has a voice of a true karaoke star!) . He did add some spice to tonight's show though and now, he's all over the internet! Somebody even built a site especially for him!

Ok wait, talking about American Idol, I hope another Filipino will be in the top 20 again. Filipinos are just good singers (excluding me). It was just so sad that the first Asian Idol was not a Filipino (Mau). And who would expect it would be Hady of Singapore to win the title? He wasn't even that good compared to the Indonesian or Malaysian Idol! The way I see it, Hady won because of the policy of voting for 2 countries per SMS wherein (I think) most of the voters from the populated countries (like the Philippines) would vote Singapore as a second choice since voters from these populated counties would think that Singapore have a few population and therefore will also have few voters only (include me in the list!). But it turned out that we were dead wrong!
--------------------------------
Added 31 January 2008

It turned out to be that he is a Filipino (I knew it!). I made a list of links I found in the Internet below for updates about Renaldo Lapuz:

Inquirer.Net (RL Unplugged)
YouTube.com (The Audition)
YouTube.com (Fox News Interview)
YouTube.com (Funny Tribute)

The Year At A Glance

2008-01-07T22:32:00.000+08:00

Let me list down some important things I need to remember for the year 2007.

A gloomy New Year: I started the year without my family; without the usual smoky surroundings from deafening firecrackers; it is just so dull to celebrate New Year in Singapore and I end up sleeping with the entire boredom over my head. Before the end of January, Dan and his family went back to Naga so I spent the next 2 weeks without anybody at home but walls.

February: I started attending Care Group at Dover (now held at Holland)

April Visit: At last had my family and my mother came to visit me for a month – that wasn’t long enough!

May and June: Noel, Bong and Myla arrived in Singapore and stayed with us. Unfortunately, only Bong stayed behind to stay for good.

O-Seven, O-Seven, O-Seven: Finally, my family arrived in Singapore to stay for good – at God’s favorite number! July 7, 2007!

August: We manage to enroll Deni and Sam for the fourth term of K2 and K1 respectively and at the same time we enrolled Deni for Primary 1 which started last January 2 this year.

September: Deni and Sam formally started schooling in Singapore.
November: My sister Bing and her children, PJ and Andrew and my mother came to Singapore. My mother stayed for a month and returned to Naga for the holiday season. Deni graduated from K2.

December: I met up with my Filipino colleagues and joined them in their Christmas Party.

We had our own Christmas Party celebrated as well and we had it held at the poolside of Banyan. Macy, Honnie’s sister, and her friend Sarah was there to join us fresh from Thailand. Francis and his fiancé, Donna was also present. Our CG brothers and sisters also added color to the night by singing Christmas Carols to us! Myla came before midnight.

Work: I have visited over a hundred (mostly Japanese) companies in the entire year. I have reimbursed more a thousand SGD for my taxi claim and have booked the company car over 20 times. I have also learned to love macro programming to provide some of my customers some conversion program so that they can do interface between their accounting system with our ebanking system. Though unofficial, my boss has given us the “go” signal to use my program in the event that our customers strongly request such requirement.

Spirituality: God never fails to remind me that I cannot rely to my own wisdom and understanding. I did struggle a lot but all these happened so that God can display His marvelous work in me. In this brand new year, there will be new trials and sufferings but I know I will always end up victorious in Jesus name!

A Touch of Paradise

2007-12-20T12:59:00.000+08:00

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Dinner and Dance 2007, 15 December 2007, Pan Pacific Hotel

Super Mario

2007-12-12T22:21:00.000+08:00

I found this video clip of a pianist playing the Super Mario Bros Video Game over Yahoo! Videos... I remember my High School days!?!...

BTMU Pinoy Party

2007-12-10T23:27:00.000+08:00

I finally met up with my 24 Filipinos colleagues from the IT Department of BTMU when I attended the Pinoy Christmas Party last Saturday at Melville Park. For the past year I rarely see them for their office is located at the fifth floor while I'm on the seventh floor. Every time I go down to fifth floor, I really envy their close relationship. That is for the fact that they all sit together in one room!

How it all begun:
About a month ago, my Chinese colleague informed me that she and some other Singaporeans from EB Department were going to order at "Ka Roger" as they find the menu that was passed around by the Filipinos interesting and she asked me whether I wanted to order as well. Actually, she just wanted to know what "Ginisang Monggo", "Bicol Express", "Menudo", etc. etc. are before she place her order. To cut the story short, I did joined them and since that time, I have taken my lunch at fifth floor whenever I feel like having a Filipino dish. Somehow, I came to know my kababayans. Sad thing is, some surprisingly confused me as "not being a Filipino"! I guess I can't blame them, sometimes people think of me as unfriendly because of my timidity!

At the party:
As expected, the party went well, fully organized and it was really a joyful event. But again, we celebrated the event without the celebrant! Every year (2005, 2006), this has been my observation and it's just so sad, my experience is becoming worse and worse. Our party never differs from how the Singaporeans celebrate Christmas. I mean, in Singapore, whatever religious affiliations you belong, you can celebrate Christmas "because of the holidays" without remembering the birth of our Saviour who is supposed to be the "Reason for the Season". Our party never recognized Jesus. Instead, everybody was focused on the food, the gifts, the Bingo game and worst, Santa Claus!

But above all, God has given me a new mission: To win my Filipino friends for Christ!

Candy-coated Atheism

2007-12-05T22:23:00.000+08:00

This is how Christians describes the new movie, The Golden Compass. The devil has always a way to advocate the non-existence of God and this is practically one of his best ways. The film did earned praises from reviews and indeed, it does have great CG animations. If you would go see the movie, it would definitely make you say "wow" over and over. Just like Harry Potter, it was also a movie at it's best but what? It teaches us that witchcraft is good and many turned out wanting to be a witch!

So what is the price to pay for all these? Imagine, the three-part story of this new movie ends in an epic battle in which God dies! Those children who would see the film would implant into their minds that God can die! Author Phillip Pullman denies that he is promoting atheism. He said in an interview that "he is just a story teller". He might be right in a way -- he just doesn't know. Sometimes, we are not aware that the devil is using us for his schemes -- that is if we don't know God's ways. It is important for us to know what is light to determine what is darkness.

We, Christians should guard our faith. The campaign to boycott the film doesn't stop millions from seeing the movie. The only way for us not to be deceived is to read God's Word, know His ways and share God's love to others.

Lando Strikes Back

2007-11-28T00:05:00.000+08:00

We have just returned home from our Care Group where Deni's Birthday was also celebrated. Upon arriving, I tried to access the Naga City Website but was unable to connect to it. I was trying to find out how's the weather in Naga so I opened the typhoon2000.ph website instead. Surprisingly, I found out that Typhoon Lando actually came back to the Philippines and directly hitting Bicol Region after it left the country days ago. Typhoon Mina did spare Bicol but here came another "old" typhoon that was supposed to be in Viet Nam already, made a 180 degrees turn, and smashed the Philippines again! Though it was not that strong anymore, I just wonder why this thing happened. After the unusual behavior of Typhoon Mina, I never thought to see a more unusual behavior from Typhoon Lando....

Heroes

2007-11-25T23:08:00.001+08:00

Heroes had become my favorite TV show since I have seen the first season last summer over StarWorld. As for Season 2, I just finished watching the first 7 Chapters last Saturday from the HD DVD I borrowed and today I watched the 8th Chapter from Youtube.com. I actually have the chapters 1 to 12 and the last 5 chapters of season 1. Anyway, I really like how the story goes, lots of twists, new characters, etc. and it kept me impatient from knowing what will happen next! ....still waiting from more of the DVD copies of the remaining chapters!

Too bad I missed the cast's Singapore tour which was held in Vivo City.

Stunned!

2007-11-15T15:17:00.000+08:00

Days from now, I will be on my second contract year. I took a leave today till tomorrow so that I could clear out my annual leave before it gets forfeited.

Last Tuesday, I received an email from my boss in Fujitsu and she mentioned that my boss in Bank of Tokyo appreciates my performance and that they "highly think of me". I'm not used to receive words of affirmation specially from my boss, I really felt very good (Last July, I also received same praises when she slipped a letter inside my payslip and it was already heart-warming!) She then informed me that there is some changes on my contract and that I need to go down to the main office to sign on it. So today, I visited our HR Department and see what the changes are.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! They are actually giving me a raise! Another 12 percent! God is really awesome, He never stop to work wonders! I really did not expect it since my 3-year contract never mentioned of any increase! Isn't God so, so good? I give back to God all the glory and praises for He provided me that ability to work! Without Him, I am nothing!

Mom's coming!
Today, my mother will be arriving together with my sister and her two kids!

Look What God Has Done!

2007-11-12T22:25:00.000+08:00

Talking about an "extreme makeover", yesterday's sermon by Ptr. Ben KC Lee was about Paul's radical change from a blasphemer and persecutor to an evangelist, from a hunter of the believers to a hunter of the lost. He even calls himself, "the worst of the sinners"! But look what God has done in his life! No matter what his past was, God loved and saved him because of God's Grace and Mercy. God really uses us to demonstrate his patience-- I mean, forget about Paul, just take a look at ourselves, God does need a lot of patience, right? But the good news is that when God forgives, He forgets. So no matter how we think how bad we are, there is hope. Experience Christ and experience the extreme makeover yourself!

Bless God!

3 Things to Blog Tonight

2007-11-10T00:49:00.000+08:00

It's been my nightly habit to visit Planet Naga, Inquirer.net, NBA.com and other sites. Consequently, I have 3 things to blog tonight....

Deepavali: We're on holiday!
Tonight, I was anticipating for Shay's new blog entry to come out so I can view the pictures he has taken during last Thursday's Central West Sports Fest since I did not have any good photos with me. And as expected, it's out and extra kami!!! (I wonder if he can provide me with the original soft copies... nagpapadangog lang, hehehe...)

Strong PESO?
Tonight's Inquirer Headline is about surging Peso against the Dollar currency (Php42.79:US$1), a 7-year high! Opppsss, wait! It's not because Peso is getting stronger, it's the US$ that is getting weaker... That means bad news for OFW's, exporters and still, to the common Filipinos... Prices of basic commodities are still high (Please! tell me I'm wrong! --slap me! para matauhan!)

Ocean Park:
On my way home from office, I was watching over the TV Mobile the Channel News Asia's feature on Manila's Ocean Park which will be opened to the public this coming December 15, 2007. This is good news indeed! The news says it will be Asia's most advanced oceanarium, much better than Sentosa's Underwater World!

Naga After a Year

2007-11-07T23:44:00.000+08:00

I never thought that one day I would read some news about "deteriorating peace and order situation in Naga City"! It really shocked me when I read the open letter to Arroyo (forgive me for not including the "P" word, just to think her number one dupe is backing up the Macoy, what can she do?) from Willy's blog and Naga City Journal tonight. Before I left Naga a year ago, it was already scary when you hear those cellphone-snatching-by-a-motor-biker news. ....And now we're talking about organized crimes like robbery with homicide! ...And all these politically controlled PNP issues, what is this!?! How would you expect to be protected when even the drugstore inside the PNP compound was ransacked? Where can we go to? It is indeed a "Dark night" for Naga...

May God bless Naga...

Living By Faith

2007-11-04T23:35:00.000+08:00

Days from now, I will be in my first year in my present job. This morning I tried to check on my financial obligations in the Philippines and see whether what are the present balances of each of my loans. I guess when I sold my business to my sister, I should have ask her to pay the full amount rather than settle for a partial payment. Thus, making my other loans unsettled. Funny thing is, my sister is also selling it for they have also decided to move to Singapore this November 15. Hmmm, sayang, I should have sold it to someone else, huh??? How will I know....

Anyways, I was forced to create a budget plan for the next year. It was like I'm starting all over again. The way I see it, it will take another year before I can fully enjoy what I'm earning. When I decided to take my family here with me, I keep my eyes closed and ask God to take control. I'm allowing God to take full control of my finances. I just hope I'm not listening to my own thoughts this time.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Thank God, He kept on reminding me to trust in His Word. His Divine providence never gets exhausted.

You Sing?!?

2007-11-02T21:06:00.000+08:00

I was on my way back to office from a customer visit when uncle Tony, our company driver, tune in the car radio to a local FM station which was playing some oldies song. I was so tired then, I felt very sleepy. Halfway through the journey, the radio played a familiar song, I tried to sing along with it (I just don't realize it but I'm actually beginning to sing louder). To Uncle Tony's surprise, he looked at me and ask, "You sing"!?! (yeah, in my dreams, men!) Syempre, I replied him "not really....". Then he started telling a story about him and that he is in a band playing the keyboard and that their two lead singers are Filipinos. --That's not so surprising, Singaporeans know for sure that when you hear the word "Filipino", it means "good singer". (I wonder why I can't sing???) I remember my previous Japanese boss also mentioned that there are places here that house a good Filipino bands. (How will I know?? I haven't been to any Jazz Bars here!!!) Well, better see you to the Hope Church Filipino Service then you'll see what Filipinos are made of when it comes to Praise and Worship!

Graduation Concert

2007-10-30T22:04:00.000+08:00

Here are some videos I took during Deni's Graduation last Saturday at PPHBC Kindergarten. Though Deni finished her K2 at BLICA, we had to enroll her for the fourth term so she will cope up with the learning environment. It's a blessing, both Deni and Sam enjoyed their school! My prayers were answered, Thank you Lord!

Deni's Performance:

Sam's Performance:

The Haze Is Back!

2007-10-17T22:29:00.000+08:00

I almost did not noticed that I have been in Singapore for a year now. When I arrived here a year ago, there was haze everywhere caused by the forest fire in Indonesia. Today when I was about to leave from our Praise and Worship practice for the Thursday Care Group in Holland Drive, I realized that the haze is back. I assumed it was all over Singapore. I had a good vision of the island-country from the 21st floor of the HDB building. I just hope it would not last long and its not that bad compared to last year. I remember last year's Haze was really horrible, there was almost no sunlight which means, the temperature is actually cooler --advantageous huh?? No way!
By the way, I took my annual leave (oh, great!) and had a chance to accompany my kids to Pasir Panjang Hill Church Kindergarten for the first time! Later in the afternoon, Honnie and I was able to visit Blangah Rise Primary School to complete the requirements needed for Deni's schooling by January next year. Thank God, everything went out smoothly!

Live Doll

2007-10-15T22:58:00.000+08:00

I was trying to re-organized my files when I came across with the videos I took years back and while reviewing it, I found this clip of my younger daughter. Out of her innocence (she was about 2 years old), she practically obeyed whatever her yaya commanded her. Here it goes, enjoy!

Just now, I edited this blog 'coz I don't want to miss out my eldest daughter's video! She was the tiniest ballerina ever (at age 3)! Again, enjoy!

Internet Breakdown

2007-10-06T23:03:00.000+08:00

Honnie, my wife, and my two daughters, Deni and Sam were in the middle of a "chat session" with Lola Mama when the internet suddenly lost it's connection last Thursday evening. After checking it through, I realized that it was a device malfunction. My PC cannot detect the Vodafone Broadband Modem! What entered my mind that instance was to check the M1 contract to see the guidelines. I felt dismayed upon knowing that the fee for a damage device is S$374!!! Is device malfunction tantamount to damage device? Are they talking about "physical" damage or what?? That I need to check with the service center the following day. The circumstance made me sleepless the whole night...

It was a great relief to find out that M1 will have to replace the modem without any fee!!! Praise God! Now, I'm blogging again!

By the way, thanks to Francis, he was able to send me an authorization letter for the replacement of the unit.

ADENU HS Batch 91 Soccer Team

2007-10-02T22:14:00.000+08:00

Last month, I received an email from my old friend (Dr) Ted Semaña with attached pictures of our batch's soccer team. According to him, I was supposed to be in the team (eheemmm... sad to say, I'm not in Naga kaya sorry na lang sinda!!!) Anyway, 15 of our batchmates joined the team (some of them are not in the picture). They had a monthly tournament in Ateneo field, 7 players per team per game and played in a half field only. Each game is played in 20 minutes but they are able to play 5 games the whole day. They had 2 tournaments last July and followed by another last September (only God knows if they can still keep up for another month!).

It's true, men our age should exercise more often and having a sport is exercise and fun combined. They are really having fun. And talking about fun, the "funny" thing is that, according to his story, they are always eliminated since they are playing against younger, stronger and healthier players while most of them have huge bellies and always have "yosi " breaks in between games (Ted is suffering from arthritis, wahh!!).

On the positive side, they have the best uniform (yeah, he believes!) complete with all the gadgets needed and brand new spikes and socks --just like FIFA!!!

Stand Amazed

2007-10-02T01:05:00.000+08:00

Thank God, I have now an internet access from home! I did not know how I can subscribe since my Employment Pass will actually expire (and to be renewed) this November thus making me ineligible to register for a new internet connection. I will need at least six months validity period for me to register. But God has his ways... Francis Marco, My wife's cousin, was helpful enough to register on my behalf! At around 7pm tonight, we visited the M1 shop at The Paragon. Yesterday, Shay was supposed to be the one to help us but he was in a meeting for the Hope Church's Batam, Indonesia "Survivor" Camp (hey, though it did not materialized, thanks for the willingness to help!!).

But wait... Where did I get my PC from? I was previously planning to buy myself a PC this November since I don't have enough savings. I needed to prioritized my finances for my family 's air fare and for the registration fee of my two daughters for pre-school. But my desire to buy a PC at an earlier time was answered by God. Just after a day I prayed for it, I received an email from Fujitsu that they happened to pull-out 80 units IBM NetVista P4 PC's from a project and wanted to dispose everything for there is no more space available to stock these PC's and that they are selling it to the staff at S$70 per unit. Syempre, I can't stop myself from getting a unit! Now, my S$1500 budget for a new PC will be used for another purpose! Ah, God never stopped to amaze me...

Dependant's Pass

2007-07-24T21:55:00.000+08:00

Finally, after a week, my family's Dependant's Pass is now approved! My two daughters approval was released last Thursday followed by my Wife's approval yesterday. The good news is, the Ministry of Manpower did not require my wife to undergo Medical Examination thus saves us another S$50.00! What a blessing! God works in mysterious ways!

'Witch'ing the World

2007-07-24T21:22:00.000+08:00

J.K. Rowling's last series of the Harry Potter books was released around the world recently and was able to break sales record. It sold millions of copies in just 24 hours (I'm not too sure of the actual figure). True enough, it's unbelievable!

But what does this book series really promotes? Witchcraft! Wahh! Now, a lot of Harry Potter fans wanted to be magical! --Able to perform magic, fly and everything! Worst case would be -- they wanted to become witches!

So sad to see, it's becoming the world best-seller, overthrowing the Bible! How many of these Harry Potter readers have spend even an hour to read the Bible?

I'm too spiritual? Well, yes... Actually, there are only two sides we can have in this life. It's either you're with God, or against God -- or with the devil to be precise. Where does these "powers" these witches has come from? Definitely not from God! So that means it's from the other side. The Bible says, you can not serve two masters at the same time. It's either you're on God's side or not.

It's just a book! Well yes, okey... You know the devil never fails to find ways to steal our soul thus he can create whatever possible way he can steal, kill and destroy!

End of Block Leave

2007-07-22T10:55:00.000+08:00

Huring aldaw kan sakong block leave ngunian na aldaw. It was a short one but somehow I have accomplished something.

Before my family arrived last 7/7/7, I attended 2 seminars: Compliance Seminar and Business Approach (Working on a Japanese Company) and was quite fulfilling. It was also the last week for my Boss and a new one just arrived.

Last 7/10 was my birthday and I let the day past by without anybody from the office knowing it but had a celebration with my CareGroup last 7/12. I never had my birthday celebrated without spending a single cent (except for my transportation fare)! --They prepared everything and all I have to do is to attend!

This week was my block leave -- and ends today. My wife, Hennie, and I went to different schools and also to the Ministry of Education to settle on my children's schooling here. Thank God, everything worked out fine. God led us to the right path, right timing and right decision though we still needs a lot of prayer for us to enroll Deni to the best choice of school. --Please help us pray!

Bonus: We also found some time to spend together. Last Monday, we went to West Coast Park and last Tuesday to Sentosa. Finally, God blessed us with talented kids! My kids now can swim! I am just so amazed that Deni can cross the whole length (not the width) of the pool all by herself while Sam can also swim without my help. Now, all I have to do is watch them swim.. with pride!

iPhone It All!!!!

2007-07-02T22:23:00.000+08:00

Do everything with iPhone, except calling....

You got to get me one of that!!!

Click here to watch the commercial...

Generally Good!

2007-05-26T01:46:00.000+08:00

Election result is almost out. GO dominates and only 2 from TU will have the chance to join the 12 seats for senate. Tessie and Tito will not make it to the senate this time around, as well as all actor-candidates. Specially Chavit! He thought the hostage drama and helicoper crash will turn out to be favorable for him. Seemed like voters are now thinking clearly and “hocus pocus” did not find it's way to change the outcome. Too bad, about a hundred plus died on what comelec pronounced as "very peaceful election".

Naga City voters, as usual, is the best example of what voters should become.

Pero, my God! Dai na naraya ang Camarines Sur!

Anyway, dai na ako manhihinayang na dai ako nakaboto. At least, most of the candidates whom I should vote won.

Mayor Fermin Mabulo, congrats palan!

Karamotan na!

2007-05-06T23:33:00.000+08:00

Shocking talaga ang nagbulaga sakong bareta tungkol sa nangyayari ngunian sa Naga! Ulay ko dai man pero nabasa ko sa blog ni Willy kaya ko na confirm! Napapangirit akong nasusuya! Obiyoson man! Palibasa dai kaya sa pamamagitan ning eleksyon! Hayy.. perfect crime in the making!

Movers just arrived!

2007-05-05T10:57:00.000+08:00

I mean these movers...

Welcome to Singapore!

Giant Deal

2007-05-05T09:50:00.000+08:00

It really pays to wait. After I have subscribed for a hand phone line, I needed to buy a microSD memory card for the free Samsung SGH-Z240 that comes under the M1's SunTalk Plus 100 plan to store some music and photos. The usual price of the 1 GB memory card was around S$49.95 (Kingston). But just in time, there was a big promotion and price drop-off at Giants Hypermarket on their electronic products including memory cards, flash drives and other media devices. Now, I bought it at S$19.95!

Gone in 30 days

2007-05-02T21:50:00.000+08:00

Back to the lonely old days... 30 days is not enough after all. Now, I have to plan for my family to be back here and stay for good. After the left, what kept bugging me was how on earth did I allow them to leave? The feeling of watching the plane leave was really indescribable.

It was truly a very exciting experience last month, we really had fun. At least we had visited most of the tourist spots and other famous landmarks. But the most exciting thing is having each other everyday. It is priceless…

Kaya this time, I asked my wife to resign and not to wait for next year where she will be ten years with BPI. It’s really not worth it…

Fried Caregroup

2007-03-15T22:47:00.000+08:00

It's been about 2 months now since I have first attended the Hope Singapore Filipino Caregroup in Dover. During every meeting, it's not only being with Filipinos that matters. It's how each one ministers to anyone in need and edifying the lost. Each week, more and more "new comers" are welcomed. I really missed being back in the ministry, lalo na to be able to play the keyboard during a Sunday Service. Yesterday, I had a "little" jam with another Bicolano while others sang worship songs. But the one thing I cannot forget last night was the dinner served... Piniritong sira (na may sawsawang toyo na may sili) saka ginataang gulay na kalabasa! haay.. It felt just like having dinner at home!

Busy Weekend

2007-03-05T15:05:00.000+08:00

It could be my busiest weekend ever. At least for a change, I had something to do over the weekend aside from doing the laundry and watching TV. Last Saturday, BTMU had a community service and went to the East Coast Beach to pick up rubbish. It seemed much different from the “real” thing since it appears more like an outing to me, not to mention an allowance of S$20 each. By the way, East coast park has a facility for wakeboarding similar to CamSur Watersports Complex. CWC is much, much bigger!!!

In the afternoon, just after lunch, I had to travel from the east to the west of Singapore, specifically to Nanyang Technological University, for the Hope Filipino Church Olympics. I was to play basketball but when I reached the place, I can’t bear the heat and I was already exhausted from the morning activity so I just watched the games. Anyway, we will have some fellowship game this Wednesday. Ahh, Excercise, keeps the body fit and healthy!

Batasang Pambuaya

2007-03-01T22:21:00.000+08:00

Sarong bagay (ay dakol palan) na nahihiling kung pagkakaiba kan Pilipinas saka Singapura pag-abot sa batas, sa Singapura, madali mag-gibo ning batas saka mayong controbersiya, may pagkakasaro saka ipinapatupad ning tama. Sa Pilipinas man, ata gulpi nang pasicot-sicot, coruntrahan pa ning coruntrahan.. minsan pag abot sa dulo, dai pa na-ipapasa!! Gulpihon na lang sinayang na cwarta kan bayan sa isnakan ninda, dai man napakinabangan (pira ang gastos kada sesyon ninda???). Ang iba pa, nag-gigibong batas dahil gustong paburan ang mga cumpanya na nagtabang sainda sa eleksyon! Cung igwa man batas na macacatabang sa mga ordinaryong tawo, dai man naipapatupad! Nanay ko po! Elecsyon na naman pati! Garastusan na naman si mga trapo saka mga buaya sa congreso saca senado! Ang bawi man….... aram na!

Lotto and Politics

2007-02-21T12:49:00.000+08:00

What makes lotto similar to Philippine politics? -- Pareho sinda igwa ning panahon ning bolahan! Yeepeee! The good thing is, I’m not going to vote this year, pero sayang lang, my only regret is that I will not be able to vote for Naga City Officials... There’s nothing I can do about that right now.

Checking on the news, I noticed there are a lot of balimbingan, trapos returning and new players as well. These people, what are they really thinking? Are they genuine enough to serve the country? –like Pacman, who I think is true to his words when he said he wants to serve pero I just feel sorry for him, now he has a chance to ruin his career! Anyway, we have been looking kasi for new faces in politics kaya these famous personalities, including actors and actresses steps into the scene. And for the old ones, like Sotto and Oreta—now they realized GMA is not a cheater? Kaya they are now administration candidates? Hay.. dai ko maintindihan how people will vote this coming election. The arena is filled with for jueteng lords, gambling lords, mga trapos, etc. While the Filipino people is still in the process of learning to wise voters, these crocodiles are taking advantage out of it.

Lunar New Year

2007-02-20T19:20:00.000+08:00

Two days mayong laog! Nagkataon All-star weekend sa NBA kaya sa wakas nakadalan ako, live last sunday and yesterday! Today, I wanted to hit the mall but, too bad, most of the shops are closed for the holiday, arog palan yan kani digdi? Raffle's Place is like a ghost town! There are only a couple of buses that are on the streets pero sa MRT man, puro Indians... Ok, fine. I'll just spend the whole day watching TV... and, yeah, I need to chat with Rex regarding payroll program sa cityhall, but before that, let me get some sleep, it's 3:20am!

Signs of the Times

2007-02-12T15:00:00.000+08:00

Revelation 13 tells us about the "mark of the beast" wherein no one can buy or sell without having this mark. Tonight as I watch National Geographics' Science of Surveillance, I come to realize that this is not far from reality today. It is very much real and is very much ready and available. This episode shows its actual implant of a chip (about the size of a rice grain). With it, the man implanted by the chip became a member of a Baja club, “scanned” to enter the club and “scanned” to buy liquor... very useful, huh?

I remember in the late 80’s when I first heard of this “mark”, it was all science fiction to me but now, the more the people is looking for convenience, the more this technology is being developed. One of these days, it will be equipped with a GPS... there will be nowhere to hide...

In some countries, including Singapore, the government is pursuing policies to eliminate cash and checks. This is almost possible since with Singapore’s NETS, you can pay about anything, whether in restaurants, groceries, taxis, pay phone bills, electric bills, etc. etc. etc. Well, cards are “not so” convenient, why not replace it with a chip instead, right? Just let them scan your hand and you're paid!

Unfortunately, all these "advantages" and "convinience" comes at a high price to pay... Eternal death! That is why we need to be innocent of evil but do not be ignorant of it.

Mark: charagma; from greek charax meaning to stake down into or "stick into"

This Day in History

2007-02-11T20:29:00.000+08:00

To others, this day is just an ordinary day. But for me it's one of the most memorable day. 12 years ago at Light of the World Church in Naga, Honnie finally realized that I'm "Gods will" for her, days before I knew for sure she's "God's will" for me :-). Happy Anniversary, Mommy!

It's All Here!

2007-02-07T15:43:00.000+08:00

Finally, my sister's family has arrived, fresh from the Naga! They have brought back some of the things I have asked Honnie to buy for me (Stuff from the Philippines is quite cheap compared to what you can buy in Singapore--almost 4 times the price!). Let's see now... longsleeves, pants, socks, towel, tees, shaver and a handphone... Ah, for the first time, a colored handphone, a colored 3G handphone! Plus a bonus! -- pictures and clips of my wife and kids! Yes! I always thought that I would never need any colored phone--as long as I can send SMS and call, that's it! Why would you need a handphone for other things anyway? I've been using monocrome phones since I had my first Nokia 7110. The latest I had was a monocrome LG Phone.

But this time, I was "forced :-)" to buy one... opppsss! ...only that it is still locked to Globe and I still cannot use it with any other sim card, particularly my SingTel sim card.

Now, please don't ask why I ever bought a locked handphone?!? Tooooink!!! ..and knowing N70 is still impossible to unlock!?! ...and the oldest model of the NSeries!?! My Answer? SO WHAT? :-) It was bought at half the original price, anyway! ..and one of these days it can be unlock! ..and I can use it to listen to radio, shoot clips and pictures and most of all, I can use it to surf the net, check my email, and even chat (Yahoo! Go) in a number restaurants, malls and most part of Singapore for free! and.. and.. hhhmmm ... Is it acceptable enough?

Hhmmm... Now, I have to carry two handphones all the time :~( It's a good thing my sister is not using her old Samsung handphone...

What A Mess!

2007-02-07T14:24:00.000+08:00

Ever wonder how my table looks like? It's like this....

Messy isn't it? Believe me, it's not all the time I have a table like this... just today.. I'm going to clean it up, ok? The laptop is not mine so it would do much problem.

No Luck with Lucks but Blessed

2007-02-07T13:36:00.000+08:00

For the second time in 2 months, I had a chance to win a PC or a laptop. Last December, during BTMU’s Dinner and Dance, I almost had it but still left with none.

Last February 2, I attended the Fujitsu Asia’s Dinner and Dance and again, the lucky draw prizes were almost the same as those from BTMU’s Lucky draw. In fact, they had the same program, the same theme (Viva Las Vegas) – and the handled by the same coordinator. Only that the venue this time was at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Going back to the prizes, 6 of the top 10 ranges from Desktop IBM PC to Fujitsu Lifebook but the grand prize was a tourism package worth S$4.2K… Wow! .. I’m sure you know what happened next... I didn’t won a single prize, no, not one. But the good thing is that, I finally met my Filipino colleagues from FAPL. That would be a better prize, right?

Young Busker

2007-01-29T13:04:00.000+08:00

I was on my way to hope church when I saw a large crowd along the busy Orchard Road. I can hear someone playing the drums with a Christian Music (Hillsongs Music) accompaniment. Since it was a large crowd, I did not see at once the one who was playing but as I can already say it was actually very good. So I tried sneak into the crowd until I finally can see who was playing. To my surprise, he was just a little boy! His name is Ethan Ong, Singapore’s youngest busker at age 7.Photo grabbed from Ethan Ong Website.

Good News and Bad News

2007-01-26T15:32:00.000+08:00

Good news is, as I watch Pinoy Dream Academy “top six” as they perform at Homeboy over TFC, I started to have a high regard for the Filipino talents especially when it comes to singing. I also started to appreciate ASAP. I also remembered Lea Salonga when she performed the closing song at 15th Asian Games Doha. Yes, Filipino talent is well known to our Asian brothers and this makes me proud.

Bad news? Oh, just watch the news. I mean, come on…

I didn't know that!

2007-01-26T13:29:00.000+08:00

I was on my way to church last sunday when I saw Republic Plaza from Chinatown. It was the only visible building from Raffles Place as seen from Chinatown. I thought to myself that the building where I go in everyday is quite tall. So I did some research and I was surprised to find out that it was actually one of the three tallest skycrapers in Singapore and the 50th over-all. Hmmm... Now, I know.

Rudy Olaño on FoxNews

2007-01-25T13:09:00.001+08:00

Nice to see you again sir! Only this time on TV! ..or rather over the internet!

It’s been over 10 years since I have last seen Sir Rudy. He was my first college professor in Computer Science in UNC before he left and settle in the United States. I remember Sir Roel Lirag used to say to us about him, “If you have any questions about computers, ask Sir Rudy, He can answer you anything even if he’s asleep!”

Well, computer is his thing. In this FoxNews feature, Mike Straka of FoxNews gets help from “Friendly Computers” to fix his laptop by replacing busted capacitors. I wonder… Ted Litana of EDP Naga could have done just the same… I bet he is eligible to be on FoxNews, too!

Thanks Sandee for providing the link!

Week at a Glance

2007-01-22T06:25:00.000+08:00

Nothing much this week, I just felt like writing something since I haven’t post anything for two weeks. I got lost track of my activities... (waahhh!)

Monday to Friday: We had a week-long product testing and dry-run on operation flow for BTMU’s new iRTMS eBanking product to be released next month.

Monday: I and my wife decided to sell our Internet Café to my brother-in-law after our car was sold last Friday. This will help us save while I’m still working here. We’re still praying for our plan whether to move my family here. My only hesitation right now is for my daughters' education. They say government school is not that good and private schools are very expensive.

Thursday: I attended a meeting at SAP office at Market St. for a possible basic training for eBanking staff on SAP. Next week, hopefully SAP would be able to come up with the training design and schedule.

Saturday: my sister’s family left for Naga. They will not be around in the next 2 weeks. That means I will be all alone for two weeks (another waahhh!)!!! It’s a good thing my Dan left his laptop, now I can blog!

Hawker Center

2007-01-08T04:55:00.000+08:00

I finally found a way to save for lunch. Being in the busiest business district in Singapore, most of the restaurants and food centers are charging 3 to 15 SingDollars for a meal. I remember I spend $20 at one time (my officemates spends too much, that’s why, huh!).

This week, I found this “Golden Shoe” Hawker Center just across the block north of Republic Plaza (where BTMU is situated). Now I can spend on Sing$2.00 per meal (Rice + 3 dishes). It’s better than not saving at all.

Photo grabbed from http://www.singapore-travel-guide.de/singaporephotos.html

Unwired

2007-01-07T15:34:00.000+08:00

“Finally, broadband is everywhere”. –M1

Dan’s M1 broadband subscription is really cool. You can practically connect to the internet wherever you are in Singapore. At the park, office, home, sea, river, gym, convention centers, name it, it’s there. As long as there is a signal from its cell sites, there is internet. Unlike the wireless signal from somewhere in Banyan Condo (yes, some internet subscriber has his LinkSys Wireless Router is unsecured), if I go down to the first floor, the signal is dead. I usually connect to it since it has an 11.0 Mbps connection speed, only when the router is turned off, then I use the M1 internet connection.

Maybe, Naga’s cellphone companies should start thinking of using this same technology. More and more Naguenos are now using laptops; they should go with the flow.

Tale of 2 T’s and 2 Michelle’s

2007-01-07T12:04:00.000+08:00

Last August, My friend Ted asked me to be one of his groomsmen. I agreed to him not knowing I will be here in Singapore during his wedding day so I told him that I can not make it and that he should find a “proxy”.

Last December, another friend, Ton, invited me to his wedding. I never thought I will still be attending a wedding this January… and in Singapore. It’s funny, both weddings are happening in the same day, January 6, and both my friends are marrying a girl named Michelle.

This morning a called my friend in Manila and greeted him with best wishes and this afternoon, I went to a the Church of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic church, along Upper Thompson Road but came in late. Well, you know what they say, better late than never….