oh, the roller coaster of emotions. the first time i heard of the eheads reunion concert, bimbo and i were like, for crying out loud, we have to go! however, days passed, and details were always sketchy. all full of rumors from blogs. not much information in the media. when i found out that the concert was free, i knew that i would not be going. i would not risk being in a maelstorm full of black-clad teens. ugh. the nightmare of a past fete de la musique filled with scary, simply scary people all in black is still clear in my memory. besides, i do not feel comfortable with registering online and giving strangers a copy of my id, no.

and then, and then! at the last minute, it was announced that tickets were already for sale! and there were details, and dates, and times, and places where you can buy the tickets, and for how much! now we're talking! ahaha! i would have done cartwheels only if i knew how to!

and so, bimbo and i, along with bibeduck and rubybox, trooped to the fort last saturday. oh the excitement! ahaha! we were going to see the four together again on stage!

we waited for a good hour or more. i was really amused by the fact that tickets were only sold for only three or four days, and yet hordes of people were coming to the venue. there was such a festive mood in the air. the people were going crazy with anticipation. after the hours of waiting, the giant screen displayed a huge timer: 10:00. ten minutes to go. the crowd went wild. then sobered up and realized that ten minutes is such a long time. to while away the time waiting, people had countdowns every minute--at 9:10, they would start counting down to 1, until the timer reaches 9:00, and then 8:59 and so on. and then again at 8:10, 7:10, etc. hehe. silly and fun.

and finally, when the real countdown to zero came, everyone was shouting. the video wall displayed "sa wakas...", an allusion to one of their songs, but most definitely something that everyone felt during that time. the video wall displayed various pictures of the band. an inverted E was displayed on the wall, and the world eraserheads was spelledout. and then finally, ely, raymund, marcus and buddy emerged from the stage, playing the first notes of alapaap. no front acts, no voice-over, no nothing! just plain rock and roll with the eheads! and the crowd went wild! everybody sing!

from alapaap to sembreak to toyang, everyone was singing along. it was as if we all gathered so that we can all sing the eheads' songs together. although the audience sometimes faltered with the lyrics (after "take a bite, it's alright," it's supposed to be "there's some brandy and star margarine to make it bright" on the first take and "taste the taste that sent all mothers giggling in sheer delight" on the rest. heehee), everyone was in high spirits and was enjoying the songs. it's them playing! them again, after so many years!

i love it that they played lightyears - this is my favorite song in fruitcake, and i had always wondered how it would be played live. not everyone in the audience was familiar with the song, so i was able to hear ely's voice clearly, and sing with him. :D just think, the last words that ely sang before he left the stage were these: ''i look forward to tomorrow, but can i leave yesterday behind?" *sigh*

when the screen flashed the timer--20:00, the people went aww. a 20-minute break. but that means that there's more to come! ahaha! life is good indeed!

and then it happened. after a break that was longer than 20 minutes, only raymund, marcus and buddy went up the stage, along with ely's sister, lally. my heart fell when she announced that the concert was cancelled. but we were only getting started! this concert won't happen again! no pare ko? no mass cursing during the chorus? how about ang huling el bimbo? my P,1300! but ely's health has to be prioritized. everyone walked out of the concert area as though in a trance.

i appreciate the fact that people were so understanding when lally broke the news that the concert will be cancelled. perhaps she was the one tasked to deliver the news, because she's part of ely's family. if it was one of the other three bandmates, or worse, one of the organizers, the crowd's reactions might not have been as sympathetic.

while walking around bonifacio high street and serendra, i didn't know what to do. i wanted to cry, or throw tantrums, or scream, or do everything all at once. the eheads played a big part in my teens--just ask anyone who knew me well back in high school. i had their albums from ultraelectromagneticpop to bananatype. the tapes (yes, tapes) still survive to this very day, for crying out loud. when they disbanded, i was shocked. but i slowly learned to accept the fact that not all good things are forever. just like an old flame, i learned to move on. i learned to accept the fact that they'll never be together again. but just now, like an old flame, they suddenly appeared out of nowhere and made their presence felt. i tried to brush it off (especially with the free concert that i definitely had no plans of attending), but they were insistent. things turned out the way i want them to be. and finally i relented. i had to be at the concert. this will never happen again. and i'm so glad i went! i relived the good old days of fun and music and word play and catchy tunes and nodding my head and jumping to the beat of the music. oh i've forgotten how fun this was! i was young again! i was back in high school, with all my insecurities and infatuations and dreams, the world waiting to be conquered. exhilarating.

and then it ended. abruptly. just like an old flame who left without a word.

still, i am happy about the fifteen songs. the more reason to treasure them. i appreciate that the four were able to get together, set aside their differences and play again, even if for the last time, for their fans. a parting gift, if you may. oh, how i love these four guys. thank you, thank you.

eh. it's not exactly what i expected, but this will do, i think. the image above should actually display some survey questions that i have answered. the survey i answered simply consisted of personal, autograph-type questions. there are other surveys available on dNeero, but i absolutely have no clue about the issues (citizenship for sale?).

my officemates and i are exploring the myriad of earning opportunities online. these are the legit ones (hopefully), like search boxes, and like dNeero. i haven't quite mastered the ins and outs, but dNeero offers payment for "surveys" that you have answered and posted in your blog. with the limitations of multiply, i'm unable to post the whole script in my blog, so a generic link has been included instead. normally, the answers to the surveys can be viewed because of the script, but here, you still have to click the link to be able to view the answers. you may wish to try it out and see if it's for you. :)

i do. so here it goes.

BEFORE

AFTER

finally. after weeks of window shopping, net surfing and asking around, bimbo and i were able to purchase a laptop. nothing fancy or high-end really, just the best possible specs for the best possible price. so we ended up with an acer laptop with an amd turion 64 X2 processor, 2GB memory and 160 HDD. not bad at all.

we saw the laptop on pccorner's website, and during that time, there were freebies included if you purchase in cash. we stalled for a few weeks, so that when bimbo finally called to inquire, the promo had already ended. but somehow, due to bimbo's negotiating powers, he was able to get a promise from the sales rep that the freebies will still be given to us. yay!

the week after that, we went to pccorner in gilmore to make our purchase! aaargh! so many people in such cramped space! we never thought that this many peeps would be buying laptops. however, for such a busy day, we thought that we were never luckier. acer had a promo, pccorner had a promo, and the branch owner was in such a giving mood.

we waited for a total of three hours, since our sales rep was assisting another customer. also, what they do with the laptop is start with a 512MB memory and 80GB hard drive, and have an acer representative add the extra shebang. but the wait was worth it. we got a discount on the laptop, and got a load of freebies. when we got out of the shop, we were carrying big packages. aside from the laptop, we got, of course, the free laptop bag and sleeve. we also had a free 2GB USB, a headset, an optical mouse, a 3-in-1 printer (brother printer, scanner and copier), a nokia cellphone (nokia 1200 lang) and two cans of coke zero! hahaha!

now that's what i call a deal!

our team went to krispy kreme for a snack. the place felt like it was christmas time! the array of donuts were displayed in big glass cases. the ingredients used for the donuts, like copious amounts of hershey's chocolates, were also in plain view of the customers. yum! sugar heaven! the music they played was reminiscent of christmas--those choruses with bells in the background. we went there in the afternoon, and the place was chock-full of adults, employees working in the ayala avenue vicinity.

Because of the cheery air, we were able to gather up the courage to ask for the

paper hats given to children, wear them, and have our pictures taken. one of the staff was kind enough to take our pictures, seeing that we were changing photographers, depending on who the camera owner was.

I ate the New York Cheesecake donut, mm-mm! Cheesecake + donut = yum! I also had a taste of the Hershey's Dark Chocolate donut-something-or-the other, and that tasted even better. Maybe because the donut was not mine? Heehee. Yum. Crushed dark chocolate bits on top of a donut.

It's a good thing that the blasted donuts were so darn expensive for my pocket. A heady sugar rush day in and day out isn't exactly good for me, or for anyone for that matter. But one or two donuts every once in a while will surely make my day.

never in my life had it crossed my mind that someday i will have to exert an effort to lose weight. i was thin as a rail when i was a student and during the first few years i was working, and my problem then was how to put a bit more flesh into my frame. now, i've gained a few pounds (nasa normal pa rin weight ko no), which is fine with me, but somehow all those pounds, instead of being distributed evenly in my body, all end up in my midsection. just.like.my.mom. uh-oh.

so i've been doing my research, and i've come across a few abs-toning exercises that do not involve any crunches (i never found out how to do crunches properly). however, such exercises are not really for spot-reducing, because there is no such thing, but mroe on muscle toning. mostly, i really have to lose weight overall to be able to trim my body.

i've also been thinking about how to restrict my diet in such a way that i don't eat what i won't be able to burn. my work is still sedentary, but the time difference has made an impact on my habits. now that i am awake in the day and asleep at night, i eat more than when i was in the graveyard shift. now, i have afternoon snacks and dinner. when i worked at night, my only meal was...gasp! my midnight lunch.

i don't have any specific regime yet, and i have no plans of signing up for gym membership. i jog once a week, which i know is not much, but at least that still counts as physical activity. i'll have to exercise more, and eat more fruits and veggies, and drink lots of water. you know, the things always taught to us in school during nutrition month (that's in july, every single school year). ugh, i never knew it would be that difficult.

thanks to vincent and his ability to find cracks to trial versions of online games, i have been able to play the online version of monopoly. it has been a long time since i played the board game (read: elementary), and i was thrilled to find the game online!

at first, i always went bankrupt. i always resorted to mortgaging my assets whenever i ran out of cash. and i always knew that landing on my opponent's lot that had four houses or a hotel would be the end of me. i was focused on keeping my cash intact, that i lost all of it in the end.

jeff told me to never mind the cash. he told me to focus on monopolizing lots--you know, the ones with the same colors. if i don't get any lots monopolized, i have to use my cash to trade with my opponent. i tried his advice, and it turns out that i have to fork out a LOT of cash to be able to get an opponent's lot which i needed to complete my monopoly. but it worked! since i owned all the lots for a certain color, rent is doubled. i was able build houses on these lots, and eventually, hotels. and the cash i used to buy the lot from my opponent came back to me several times over, through the rentals.

so now i always win. heehee. it takes over an hour or so, but i always win. seems that i really need to learn to see beyond the current value of assets, because they may grow to be more valuable over time, if i let go of what i have now and make the correct investments.

1. last week's payday
2. the expected windfall (?)
3. my new wallet
4. tosh
5. most importantly, passing the training. :D

my best friends right now: IntelliSense, F11

my worst enemies: Postback event! Gridview, especially when the datasource is hard-coded! Yeaaaaaaaaaargh!

as a novice investor (and a small-time one at that), this is my first time to experience the bear market. last 2007, i was waiting for an opportune time to start investing in equities for the long-term. the bull market was in a run last year, but sometime march, stock prices all over the world nosedived as an effect of the china stock market. i grabbed the opportunity and got an equity mutual fund. throughout 2007, the market was robust, and my fund posted around 24% yield for the year.

but now, the stock market is starting to spiral down. my fund's navps is even lower than when i started investing. people are in a panic, but not me. i don't have any plans of selling my shares, since i've set aside my fund as a long-term investment. the 24% gain last year didn't affect me, and the 10% drop so far this year won't either. it's only a paper loss.

with my limited financial knowledge, the best way i know on how to react on this bear market is to buy more shares. after all, the rule is buy low, sell high. and it's a great time to add more shares, while the navps is low.

hopefully, i'll be riding out this bear market the right way.

i never dreamed or planned of having a starbucks planner, because that meant spending over P2,000 worth of coffee. but because of so many gatherings last december, along with the double your stickers promotion, bimbo and i were able to get our own planner each last december.

the double your stickers thing was such a hit. during 8pm to 930pm, the supposed relaxing mecca that is starbucks turns into the maelstorm of a jollibee store during lunchtime weekends. so many people scrambling to get a planner! it's a status symbol of some sort. especially a few years back, when having a starbucks planner, especially in the call center industry where i used to belong, elicited wow comments.

the marketing strategy works. i noticed that many other establishments have jumped on this planner bandwagon. you can get a jollibee planner (um...), a gateway mall planner (with kris aquino in the cover), a seattle's best coffee planner, a kahlua planner, et cetera. but the starbucks planner is still king. after all, the planner has a nice cover, quality paper, and a youthful yet classy design. and there's the excitement of counting how many stickers you  still need to acquire before you claim the elusive planner.

if i'm not mistaken, i was only able to contribute two cups of coffee to acquire my planner. not a bad ROI, eh? i don't really plan to get another one for next year. but if another one comes my way without much effort, that's no problem with me. :)

 Last Saturday, Bimbo and I were lucky to have been given free tickets to bo sanchez's seminar, How to Be Truly Rich. The seminar was based on his book, "8 Secrets of the Truly Rich." I've read the book, so I was familiar with the topics that he discussed. But as Bo Sanchez said, it's good to keep on reinforcing your knowledge so that you stay focused.

Bo discussed wealth, and how it goes hand in hand with spirituality. He told us that we can forget everything he said in the seminar, but one thing: The purpose of wealth is to love.

After the seminar, we were informed that we were entitled to three financial check-up sessions, absolutely free! Woohoo! Bimbo bought two books by Bo Sanchez, and had them signed. I, in turn, had my picture taken with him. Heehee.

I only found out now. J.K. Rowling made seven handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The book contains five tales, including the tale mentioned in the Deathly hallows book. Amazon.com got hold of the one copy that was auctioned off, and they have posted information on their website regarding this book. I'm not sure if the URL will still work, but this link to amazon.com provides readers with a plot summary and a review of the five tales. Now we can have an idea of the stories inside the book that Dumbledore gave Hermione. Magnificent!

i admit that i'm kj when it comes to company activities. in my last work, i rarely attended company functions such as parties and outings. true to form, i didn't have any plans of attending the company christmas party this year. but i was forced to attend because all employees hired this year were required to present at the christmas party.

we presented a whole skit, but i fortunately didn't have any part in that, aside from the finale where everyone dances on stage. now, i can say that i was able to learn something here in this company, and that is to dance to the tune of michael jackson's "thriller."

i figured, that wasn't too bad. i dance in front of all ptc employees, but i danced with a lot of people, and positioned myself near the back.

but before all that was an impromptu appearance onstage. donna and i were just standing, waiting to have our pictures taken, when ms. jen from hr saw us and asked us to be ABC girls. we didn't find the guts to say no. so we were given one letter each, along with another hr girl. i was given a large letter C cutout. you know those noontime game shows where there are a lot of contestants and they eliminate people based on their answer to a trivia question? contestants choose among three answers, they line up behind a person holding up the answer, and the people who chose the wrong answer get eliminated. we were the ones who were holding up the answer. aaah! and when we were introduced, "please welcome the ABC girls!" we went to the stage, one by one. and the host asked us to dance! duh, we didn't even know that we will be holding these letter cutouts five minutes ago! since we didn't prepare any routine, we simply danced, or rather made some small "kembot" moves while holding our letter cutout. aaargh!

it was a good thing that a lot of people got eliminated early in the game, so we didn't have to stand up that long on stage. now if i can only find the official photos and see myself with that letter C...

a dance number and a game show. not bad for my first christmas party. 

it's the small things. it's an indescribable feeling to be able to bring my cellphone in to work, either inside my bag or in my pocket, instead of surrendering it to the guard, and be able to receive and send text messages to anyone while in the office. it feels so great to wake up in the morning and sleep at night, instead of the other way around. it feels great to know that i'll always have weekends off. and it's very comforting to know that i'll be home for christmas and new year and all the holidays! woohoo!

i consider myself a fast learner, and a studious one at that. but the supposed training for logic basics has got me overwhelmed. i didn't even know how to open or save files in visual studio, let alone do anything in vb.net. i thought we were supposed to learn logic formulation, but we were already tasked to write programs. what has happened for the last five days was a nightmare. it's like teaching someone to drive a car. you inform him that this is the steering wheel, this is the brake, clutch, etc. now GO! yech.

instead of learning proper logic, i was forced to do trial and error instead. everything's graded, so i got more concerned with getting it right the shortcut way, which is running the program, and if there are errors, checking to see whether there's some other place where i can put the blasted erroneous code. it's like high school physics all over again. i understood bits of it, but not the entirety. and certainly not the basics.

i hope the next training days will be much better. i wouldn't want to go back to where i came from.