the JamLegend fever

I heard of it first from my best friend. It was one fine day at Plurk when she started raving about JamLegend. I didn't take note of it until she posted that she had extra invites. I asked for one, aaand... a few days hours after joining, I got hooked. I even bought a cheapo USB keyboard I can attach to my laptop just for this purpose.

JamLegend is like Guitar Hero, only ten times better. It's accessible to practically anyone: all you need is a reliable net connection, a trusty keyboard and good speakers. It is easily another reason to spend (waste?) more time online. It is free, but since it's still on private beta stage, membership is by invitation only (I still have 2 invites). JamLegend features songs from new artists, and the list gets updated every now and then.

As for me, I'm stuck with 3 songs that I have yet to master. I still can't play past the Easy level. First time I tried Mulholland in Medium, I got booed. Oh well.

Playing on Jam Mode
(picture from Dellwood)

There are programs similar to this game that can be played offline (e.g. Frets on Fire), but what I like about JamLegend is the ranking system and the possibility of challenging your friends to a duel or a showdown. It's Guitar Hero meets MMO meets Web 2.0.

(And I almost got myself a DS Lite last month just so I can play Guitar Hero: On Tour.)

SEMCON 2008: I was there

Yeah, I was there at the Search Engine Marketing Conference in the Hotel Intercontinental along with my teammates last September 9 and 10. It was something spur-of-the-moment, and I'm really glad for the opportunity.

Listening to the industry experts was not entirely the fun part of the experience (for me, at least). The enthusiasm of people who breathe and live internet marketing was CONTAGIOUS. For some inexplicable reason, I seem to have rekindled my interest for SEM and my job. And that's a good thing.

Anyway, I don't intend to recount the sessions* here, just wanna mention my favorite parts:

• Emil Avancena on Domaining: Domain Monetization
  
• Wolfgang Jaegel on Social Media
• overflowing milk tea :P
  

*Go to PinkSEO for live updates during the conference.

so far, so good

I knew the days were bound to get better. That, or I must have unknowingly swallowed a positive pill somewhere, somehow. I'm not sure until when this positive streak will last, but to anticipate the end is indirectly being a pessimist, no? So, I'll just focus on all the good, and enjoy it while it lasts, period.

With that being said, I'm glad to share that I've pushed through with the planned purchase I mentioned on my previous post.

I now have my own "super camera" (as I'd like to call my brother's), an Olympus E-520. I'm aware that owning one doesn't guarantee a ticket to kickass photography, but that will not stop me from dreaming. I still have a lot to learn and practice. My first shots were blah, to say the least. I have to keep reminding myself not to point and shoot. Haha.

I can't wait to spend the weekend with it! I just have to get some work done tonight. Yay!

hello, September

The -ber months are here! I already heard my first Christmas song at the mall yesterday. I plan to shop early for gifts to avoid the Christmas rush--something I've been telling myself for the past few years, always failing to do just exactly that, and end up cramming until Christmas Eve. Maybe I should start with a list first. A list I would actually stick to. :D

I've been looking forward to this month, too, for the following reasons:

1. Gossip Girl Season 2! I know some of you might have seen the premiere already, but I won't be downloading the episode until I get home tonight. CAN'T. WAIT.
   
2. A planned semi-major purchase, and I'm 80%-decided to push through with it. Hmm.
3. My cousin's wedding :)

Life's been good to me on August; I know the days will just keep getting better. Cheers to September!

the wonders of bubble wrap

The other night, I was at our dining area working and stressing over a layout design (yes, I know, of all places) when I found a sheet of bubble wrap lying around. Naturally, I spent the next 10 minutes or so popping bubble wrap. I started with one bubble, and found it hard to stop. Funnn. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person who gets a kick out of popping the bubbles. :)

According to Wikipedia:

Bubble Wrap has developed a second use as a sort of stress relief: after opening the package in which the Bubble Wrap is used, popping the bubbles has been seen to have a cathartic effect on people. Whether for stress relief or simple idle occupation of one's fingers, or for the amusement of children, the action of the popping, as well as the tactile response and associated noise made, is a widely known and widely used distraction and source of amusement, to the point that a virtual version of bubble wrap for popping has been created.

I don't know if there's an explanation for it, but after popping the entire sheet, I got back to work and was eventually done after an hour. Maybe my brain just needed to relax for a bit. I sure needed the distraction.

I'd like to get myself a roll of bubble wrap, but I guess the virtual version will do for now. :)

PS: There's also a bubble wrap simulator, which is more environment-friendly and even comes in pink. Might not be as much fun as the real thing, though.

weekends are made for eating

... And eat a lot, I did. Not really productive, but yeah. :D

Last Saturday, the boyfriend and I went on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Serendra for lunch. It was my first time to dine in at Conti's, just bought cakes from them before. I had the Baked Salmon for my main course and a slice of Mango Bravo for dessert. I forgot to take a picture of my meal, probably because I was dismayed when I saw the serving size. :P It was good, but I'd still prefer Z's (in Makati) Baked Salmon which costs half of Conti's price, has a more generous serving (at least as I remember it) and yummier.

But anyway, dessert made up for whatever the main course lacked.

Huuuge slice. I was blown away.

After the hearty meal, we walked around High Street. It would've been the perfect time to shoot with the sun out, but I didn't have any of my film cameras. :( Reminder to self: bring cameras out, I still have too many films in the fridge.

Dinner that night was shabu-shabu (hot pot) at Tong Yang, my mom's post-birthday celebration with some of our relatives. I was too hungry to even bother taking pictures, and besides, I couldn't take my camera out when the melted butter on the grill was splattering onto my arms, leaving me with a couple of tiny burns. :(

Sunday, we drove to Mall of Asia. It has been more than a year since I last ate at A Veneto and I was craving for it. We didn't scrimp on our order. Kain kung kain.

Spicy Baked Mussels
Loooved the marinara! :)


New York + Double Pepperoni = happy tummy


Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana

A couple of years ago when I was still working in Makati, I usually went to A Venetto Glorietta whenever I needed comfort food. I am glad the food is still as good, servings still generous (we didn't finish the pasta), and the price, although increased, still reasonable.

Next week, food trip ulit! I really need to enrol myself in dance classes soon. :D

what have you been up to lately?

It's been almost three months since my previous post; needless to say, a lot has been going on. The recent turn of events brought about endless realizations and questions about how I've been doing in life in general. Not that I'm complaining. I'm thankful for the wake-up call. :)

For the lack of words to describe what's been up, I shall resort to pictures.

JabbaWockeeZ is ♥!

I only learned about JabbaWockeeZ yesterday (from an officemate), and I couldn't stop raving ever since. They were in the first season of America's Best Dance Crew, and they, well, won. They were also in Step Up 2, a movie I haven't seen yet so I still need to buy a copy of it. Apparently, some of them are Pinoy which makes them even more rave-able. Heheh. I've been spreading the JabbaWockeeZ luv, and I thought I'd just post their compiled presentation vid here:

They got me at Apologize. ♥♥♥ Yes, I'm now a fan. :)

ouch

My heart broke at this scene:

the weekend in threes

After a stressful week at work (much thanks to you, Big G), I tried not to think of SERPs and the dreaded 40% as much as I could. I somehow managed to relax and de-stress during the weekend, so yay. No retail therapy included. :P

Sunday was of lights and loops and a makeshift snow hill. We made a quick trip to Star City, my first time there. Went to Snow World and stayed inside for about 15 minutes until our fingers were numb. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that we already have a hanging roller coaster here in the country, the Star Flyer. The ride only took about less than a minute though, pft.

Monday was of sleep and food, glorious food. Finally satiated my craving, and had my fill of sashimi. So much for Operation: Stick-Thin. Haha.

Tomorrow, it’s back to reality again. I’m really just grateful for weekends. :)

_____________________
New flickr set: Three's a Company, a brainchild to replace the discontinued Project 365.

zeezoobic

It was nice seeing people not worrying about traffic stats, affiliates, banner ads, email campaigns, link building, and web content. It was nice seeing people just having plain fun, letting loose and not thinking about work. Even just for a weekend.

I brought Fish out for the first time. More lomo-fied Zeezoobic pictures here.

a non-review: Amazing Cones

It’s past midnight and I’m still up.

I went downstairs to look for food because my stomach’s grumbling. I just realized I haven’t had a proper dinner yet. The last meal I had consisted of a can of Coke and a pizza cone. The boyfriend and I tried this place at Greenhills called “Amazing Cones” that serves pizza, well, in a cone. Pretty unusual, I know. Let’s just say that curiosity got the best of me. I was handed one of their flyers on our way to V-Mall. After rounds and rounds of looking for an appropriate screen protector for my laptop, I was craving for pizza and the flyer got me at the “mess-free” part.

The place was nice. The counters were kept clean, so there was no undesirable odor unlike in other fast foods. Basically, they just microwave their pizza cones. I’m not a fan of microwaved food, but we were there, tired and hungry. It took less than 10 minutes before our cones were served.

I had the supremo italiano. The verdict: except for the mozzarella cheese on top, the pizza cone wasn’t all that amazing. The crust/cone was fine, but overall, it lacked the pizza taste. A Jimini’s Pizza Bar would’ve been more flavorful. The price was pretty steep, too—PHP 70/75 for something close to the size of your favorite drumstick ice cream. Their ads also claim their cones to be mess-free, but by the time we were done with ours, our table was littered with crumbs. Handy, yes, but definitely not mess-free.

The idea is brilliant, but they could definitely improve on the flavor part of their pizza cones. This is not to say there will never be a next time because I still haven’t tried their ice cream, and I would like to be back for the bubblegum kool twist. :)

I took crappy photos with my camera phone so I won't bother posting them. You can see the Amazing Cones website here.

getting my muse back

Cheers to the new layout :) Finally made one for this blogspot however simple it may be. Hand-coded a classic template from scratch because I don’t how to make one on Blogger Beta (boo, XML). Needless to say, I’m pretty much satisfied with how this turned out. So who cares if my codes are a mess, LOL. (And I still have to put something in place of the Lorem ipsum on the sidebar.)

Sometime last year, I posted about having some sort of a block thus resorting to freely distributed layouts on the web (with a few tweaks here and there). I also said something about needing a new (own) layout, and what it had to do with the rarity of posts.

Maybe now, I’d find myself updating this more often. :P

newest toy

Picked this up today, and the seller also gave me a free Fuji Proplus 100. Yay! I hope the sun's out tomorrow so I can start on my first roll. :)

Next on the list: Fisheye. Or maybe the Supersampler. Or maybe that 35mm reusable underwater camera I saw in Hidalgo which Kodak sells for thrice as much. Or the IC 400, if I happen to find one. Ang dami kong gusto, hay.

weekends are made for movies

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.

And, of course:

Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work... fuck that.

comfort food of the week

Caramel Banana Walnut pancakes, with a giant scoop of butter and smothered with a generous amount of maple syrup. Sometimes, it doesn't take much to relieve stress. Really. :)

internet marketing bootcamp

The Internet Marketing Bootcamp: Learn the Industry Trends

In recent years, the Internet has become a potent tool for selling products or services. It has also opened employment and income-generating opportunities to many Filipinos. So much so, Internet marketing has become the latest buzzword in the online sphere.

A series of seminars aims at sharing basic information on the creative and technical aspects of Internet Marketing. The “Internet Marketing Bootcamp” will run for six consecutive weeks from January 26 to March 1, 2008. Each session will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at RCC Center, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig City.

Some of the country’s Internet Marketing luminaries from U.S. Auto Parts Philippines (USAP) will discuss the key concepts and strategies on this emerging field:
• Michael Joseph Villar, USAP Affiliate Marketing Manager, will give a crash course on performance-based marketing, how companies and individuals can benefit from it, as well as the challenges confronting affiliate marketing.
• Email Marketing Manager Alvin Jimenez will present the email marketing campaigns and their relevance.
• Rico Sta. Cruz, USAP Creative Director, will discuss the essential principles in Web design and how to apply them to the Web.
• Copy Editing Supervisor Jennelyn Tabora will talk about online copywriting and its crucial role in attracting and building readership.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Project Managers Gabriel Libacao Jr. and Rhiza Sanchez will explain the basics of search engine marketing and how to convert visitors into sales and profits.
• Senior Web Analytics Specialist Maia Nuguid will discuss how Web analytics can help in assessing Internet marketing strategies.

Marc Hil Macalua, USAP Vice President for Marketing, will give the inspirational speech. Web Project Manager Elymar Apao will facilitate the Bootcamp sessions.

The Bootcamp is sponsored by the U.S. Auto Parts Network, the premier warehouse of auto replacement and performance part brands in the United States. One of the leading players in the Internet retailing industry, U.S. Auto Parts ranks among the top 100 online retailers in the United States in 2007.

The Bootcamp is open for all professional bloggers, Internet marketing enthusiasts, or anyone who has a background in Internet marketing. Interested persons may send their updated resumés at elymar@usautoparts.net or glibacao@mbsautomotive.com. Qualified applicants will be informed via a confirmation email.

Participants are encouraged to bring their resumes as a Job Fair will closely follow each seminar.

For further details, please visit the US Auto Parts Internet Marketing Bootcamp, US Auto Parts Official Website and US Auto Parts Job Listing.

Contact Persons:
Elymar Apao and Gabriel Libacao Jr.

the past week that was

Obviously this blog isn't being true to its description; maybe I should put semi-weekly (or monthly?) instead of semi-daily. As much as I wanted to sit down and blog about things, I just couldn't find the time and energy. The past week has been a flurry of events (not counting work), so I'm just posting a few pictures I took to remember.

There was the Boracay trip, thanks to my uncle and aunt who came home to the country after 23 long years, along with their son who has never set foot here before. The vacation was on a very short notice, and I was glad to be able to sneak away some time off from work.

There's food. The boyfriend and I recently discovered Sushi-ya. Cheap bento sets for two! :)

Then there was the cousins' dinner at Pho Hoa. I loved Pho Hoa ever since my mom has found the joys of free wi-fi in Galleria, and she had no other place to stay but there. She surfs, I eat.

So yes, the lack of posts is mostly because of food. I just got hungry again for posting these pictures.

welcoming the new year

For Media Noche, I cooked chili crabs and pork pochero. It was my first attempt at making both dishes and I was glad it turned out the way it was supposed to. :)

It was fun playing around the kitchen, knowing that everyone's dinner depends on your hands. *insert proud smile here*

To cap this off, I've decided to make a list of self-reminders (I refuse to call them resolutions):

• Get enough sleep.
  
• Cook, cook, cook. Experiment more in the kitchen.
  
• Read at least 20 books, watch at least 50 movies.
• Travel more. (farthest I've gone to for the past two years: Baguio. Zzz.)
• Spend more time with people, instead of wasting away hours in front of the computer.
• Avoid impulsive shopping.
  
• Start a new hobby, and actually do it. Last year I bought a couple of toy cameras, and now, they're still sitting in my room gathering dust.
• SAVE UP. I did not open a bank account for nothing.