Close encounter of the Filipino kind

Since this is my first post for this topic, I'll put in 3 encounters.


1. Shy Filipino
Waitress: Pinoy ka?
Me: Oo.
Waitress: Pinoy ka pala bakit di ka nagsasalita? Ang tahimik mo naman di mo ko kinakausap.
(Do I really need to tell every Filipino that I see that I'm Filipino?)

- Cold Rock Ice cream store, Abu Dhabi Mall


2. Birds of the same brown feather should flock together

Waitress: Kabayan? (Asking me if I'm Filipino)
Me: Oo.
Waitress: Ahh.. Pilipino ka pala. Akala ko foreigner ka kasi puro foreigner kasama mo eh.
(There were 2 French, 2 South African, 1 American, 1 Filipino, and 1 Indian at our table that night)

- Dinner with colleagues at a Chinese restaurant in Sands Hotel, Abu Dhabi


3. Again, again, again. Sinabi nang birds of the same brown feather should flock together eh...

The sales ladies at the G2000 store in Abu Dhabi Mall already know me since I went there (alone) last weekend to buy 2 suits. This time I was with Jeremy, a South African of Chinese descent. While he was at the counter and I was at the back going to the dressing room:

Sales Lady: Bakit puti yung kasama mo?
Me: (smile... kasalanan ko ba kung pinanganak syang maputi?)

- go white boy!

They serve what?

Can I have toes instead of fingers with my children meal?

Deadlines

I hate deadlines. It either forces you to cram or take it really easy.. and then cram later. When you have too much time before your deadline you tend to relax too much, do other stuff and not concentrate on what you have to do. But when it comes nearer and nearer you start to panic, cram, and most probaby make hasty decisions or not make one at all. Of course, quality is affected too.

I hate deadlines. But sometimes you have to set one. Otherwise you'll be waiting in limbo... not knowing if you need to finish what you started... not knowing what to do next... not knowing when to stop.

I hate deadlines... but I need to have one... and it's getting nearer.

Tick Tock

The case of the plane and conveyor belt

I saw this problem at one of the blogs I frequently visit.

Here's the original problem essentially as it was posed to us: "A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyer). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?"

What do you think?

[G]adgets

Someone once told me that I have a lot of gadgets. Well, I dunno. The things that I own are not high-end, fancy gadgets like phones with 3.1mp cameras or wireless headphones (although, I am a fan of wireless gadgets :D ), or even a 6mp SLR's [huhu :(( ]. Well, here's a list of what I have:


Mobile / Organizer

1. Sony Ericsson Z520i




It's about time I replace my old SE T68. It has already shown signs of "old age" (freezing screen, slow response, buttons not responding when pressed). I'm not a big fan of Nokia, although I did consider the new Nokia 6101. Good thing SE came up with the SE Z520i. It's the same price as the N6101 with more features (bluetooth, etc). I don't need those 3g phones or ones with 3mp cameras (Read: I can't afford them :p). Well, I'd rather buy an iPod video and a digicam than buy a phone that can play music, videos, and take pictures.


2. Jabra BT800 bluetooth headset



Hey, the SE Z520i has bluetooth so why waste it? :p. But I have more reasons for getting a bluetooth headset. Read below.


3. Billionton bluetooth adaptor for my laptop



I've been using Yahoo's Phone In/Out service for about a month now. It allows me to call a US phone for as low as 0.01 US cent per minute! That's more than 20 to 40 times cheaper than using my globe cellphone or a phone card. PLUS, I can receive calls from the US for FREE!!! So, I use this adaptor so I can use my Jabra headset with my Yahoo voice. Plus, I can now connect my phone to my laptop! I hate wires! If I can have a wireless version of everything that currently have wires, I'd be the first one to buy them! I can't wait to have that Belkin Freescale cablefree USB hub!


4. Garmin iQue 3600



PDA + GPS = Perfect! I should've bought this the first time I went to the US. Imagine.. no more mapquest printouts, no more open laptops while driving, no more asking for directions, no more guessing how far the next service station is, or where the next In and Out restaurant is! =)). Before I got this, I was already driving almost everywhere. Imagine where I can go now =)). Now if only I have a UAE map installed...


Music

5. iPod mini 6gb



6gb is enough for me. Plus, I like the built of this iPod. It's looks sturdier than the other iPods. Plus, with the Agent18 casing, everyone can still see its color! Green! Yup, green. Not white (boring), not black (ho-hum). Green :D.


6. PlaneQuiet NC6 Noise Cancelling Headphones



Hey, what good is an iPod inside a plane when all you can hear with regular headsets are the plane's engine? I believe this is one of the best noise cancelling headphones out there at a very affordable price.


Photo

7. Canon EOS 500 Film SLR



My first cam! I learned to shoot using this cam when I went to Paris 3 years ago (Special thanks to my shooting buddies Socs and Francis). It's just a basic SLR but I love it! I've taken a lot of photos with this cam and I hope to have more soon!


8. Canon PowerShot A610



My new and first P&S Digicam! 5mp, 4x zoom, video mode, AV, TV and manual mode. Well, of course the manual controls are not as good as an SLR, but for a P&S it's great! Just ask pusang palaboy hehe.


9. Action Sampler Lomo Cam



Toy Lomo Cam. It takes 4 sequential shots and arrange them in 4 equal rectangles (see how the lens are arranged). I'll load some sample pics later.


10. Manfrotto 728B Tripod



I used to have a lightweight and simple tripod until a strong wind blew it down along with my camera! The tripod and cam didn't break, but after that I knew I needed a more stable and sturdy (and not to mention, attractive) tripod. Another motivation is when I tried shooting the fireworks display last July 4, 2004 in D.C. My old tripod was too short that I couldn't shoot past the 5ft fence!


11. PrimeFilm 1800 Film Scanner



Used to scan old negatives. Quality is not that good, but it will do for old negs.


12. Tamrac Velocity 5 camera bag



I love my cams so they deserve a good camera bag :D.


Storage

13. iomega 160gb external hard drive



A place to store all those photos, mp3's, and videos.


14. SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive 512mb

Used to transfer photo's, mp3's and videos from one pc to another :D.


Etc

15. Nikai cordless flat iron



I told you I love wireless devices haha! If I could just have everything wireless...


16. Oral-B Professional Care 7850 Electric toothbrush



When you have braces, you really need a good toothbrush. You can buy this for about $100 a pair. So guess who has the other one. Yihee!


That's it! Oh, I also have a Yamaha portable keyboard, which I left with Pads in San Jose hahaha!

smile! phbbt! sad! wacky!

That's me, Topher, Pads, Leah and Chona crammed inside a vintage Polaroid ID machine in Musee Mechanique, SF.

How to make a tuna sandwich

Step 1: buy one of these...




Posted outside a magnet store in Pier 39, San Francisco

i knew there was a good explanation...

Why our Heads cannot be Removed
(A Sagada Story as told by Maria Likigan)

A long time ago, when the world was young, people's heads could be removed. People could remove their heads to wash them. They did not have to bother anybody to look for their lice, because they could remove their own heads and see for themselves. People had lots of fun sometimes exchanging their heads.

But one day there was a girl who washed her head and when she finished washing her head, she examined it carefully and then hung it on the fence in front of her house to dry. Then she went in to cook. When she was inside, a dog came along. The dog thought that the head hanging there was a bone or a piece of meat so he got it and ran away. The neighbors did not pay attentiopn because they also thought that it was the hairy bone of some animal.

But alas! When the girl came out, she found that her head was gone. She knew right away that it was a dog that had run away with it. She cried bitterly and for the whole day she cursed and said she wished that the heads of people would not be removed. The god, Lumawig, heard her and pitied her so much that he granted her wish.

That is why our heads cannot be removed nowadays.


So what's the moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for.