}
Thursday, August 31, 2006
resurrecting the addiction
I downloaded Snood the other day. I just recalled that I hadn't played it in ages. So I happily installed the game on Bo. From then on, I spend almost the entire evening beating my own top score. On the "Puzzle" game, I even went as far as completing all the possible levels. Until it told me that there are no more puzzles to solve, and that I am an extraordinary Snood player. This was at 1 AM this morning.

The game has five settings - child, easy, medium, hard, and evil. I've never won an "evil" game. Never.

That will be my next goal.
dezphaire strapped in @ 2:49 PM   5 walked through

Monday, August 28, 2006
i gawk


The treadmill and choreography. Two concepts I couldn't even handle by themselves. Let alone combine them in an artful mastery of coordination and avoidance of death.

(Chips was bugging me for ages to view this clip. I brushed it away like anything. And now I'm blogging about it. I was just being the stubborn cow that I am. Hehe. Love you baby!)
dezphaire strapped in @ 11:38 PM   12 walked through

Sunday, August 27, 2006
the new chucks
Wee! I finally got my pair of brown Chuck Taylors. I wore them today as I went shopping at Ukay. I am so happy. I've been wanting a pair for ages. And I got them for free! Well, practically free. I remembered I still have left over gift certificates from Christmas last year. I just needed to pitch in 130 bucks to cover for what the gift cheques couldn't.

Ukay was as usual such a joy. It was a new arrivals day so the stuff was still pretty expensive. Around 135 per shirt. But I was lucky to find 2 pairs of nice skinny jeans. And one of them were Levi's. Cool! I can't wait till they get out of the wash.

I'll probably wear my Chucks to work tomorrow. I don't care if it's too rugged for a Monday. Because tomorrow, the day's gonna get ugly.
dezphaire strapped in @ 9:17 PM   9 walked through

Friday, August 25, 2006
little office joys
murder by pencils
We all try to keep ourselves happy at work. There are simple things I find joy in, some very insane, and some are objectible. What's your little office joy?

Sharpened pencils. I love it when they're all in a cup and nice and pointy. Anyone who makes a mistake of landing his/her palm into it shall be sorry and impaled. The nice grinding sound the sharpener makes gives a momentary high too.

Shredding paper. It gives you the feeling that you're flushing your problems to oblivion, blowing them into smithereens minus the explosives. There's a certain kind of rush.

Punching holes into paper and filing them. Filling up 3-hole binders with documents is a weird form of therapy for me. It makes it seem that my life is organized. I haven't filed my stuff in months. I should do it soon. This is very much connected to the shredding high.

Typing fast. The clickity-clackity of the keyboard when you're speedily typing about gives this sense of accomplishment. It makes you sound dedicated and passionate about whatever you're doing. Work or blogging. Hehe.

Shutting down your computer. Another day has ended. Yey.
dezphaire strapped in @ 10:53 AM   11 walked through

Monday, August 21, 2006
the bad time of the month
It is coming. I can tell. I am craving for stuff like anything. I actually got out of bed last night to eat two sugar-raised rolls (locally called buchi-buchi). Aside from this time of the month making you retain more water, it's also the time when cravings are most prevalent. As a result, this is the time I usually don't get to fit in my clothes properly. I just hope this passes. Like quickly. Also for Chips to not be the victim of my moodswings (though he says I'm not that bad - he may by lying).

Right now I'm wanting some Lucky Me Pancit Canton. Badly. My mom refused to buy some because it's full of preservatives and stuff. Sucks. It's a weird craving. Maybe because I had it yesterday and I realized how long I've missed it. I've gone through some other weird cravings... though one thing is consistent, I've NEVER craved for chocolate. Here's some that I can remember:
  • I've eaten one whole Red Ribbon Mango Cream Pie.
  • Craved for All-beef Shawarma with Cheese (from Food Channel).
  • Also for KFC Gravy.
  • The caramel and whipped cream topped waffle from Starbucks.
  • Dunkin Donuts (when they had the vanilla glaze).
  • Blueberry cheesecake.
  • Steak with lots of gravy (ohhhh steak).
  • Sizzling crunchy sisig.
  • Cheesedogs, no need for buns.
  • Pancit Palabok. The best is the one from Red Ribbon.
  • Do shoes count?
I hate it. I want to eat pancit canton. And I didn't get to have my foot massage! SUCKS! It was raining and my car was waaaay inside the garage. Too much effort for a lazy day. So I've been on Bo the entire day, downloading and playing online poker. I'm losing money and I'm hungry and my feet still long for the massage. And there's work tomorrow.

Hoo ha.
dezphaire strapped in @ 9:09 PM   11 walked through

Sunday, August 20, 2006
feels like a saturday
It's always nice waking up in the morning knowing that there's no work tomorrow. Though today, I didn't sleep in. Why? Because I had a dentist appointment. It's not really how I'd picture starting a Sunday. Our family dentist asked my mom what the hell ever happened to me. So okay, I've been a delinquent. I never liked the chair of doom. That whizzing drill of hell. That slurpy cane that hangs from the side of your mouth. Ick. I've never gotten scared of what may come out of my closet at night. But I was goddamn terrified of the dentist.

So there we were - Chips and I - waiting for our turn in the dentist's office. The only consolation of which was it was located in a mall. Man, I got up at 8am. A far cry from my usual 2pm. Anyways, the dentist was quite a bitchy one. She had this stern, unconcerned voice. She didn't even pretend to be happy about what she was doing. I said hello, and she just swooshed me over to the chair. Well, maybe she just broke up with her boyfriend or something. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

After, I so wanted to get a foot massage. But no schedule was available. Sucks. So to relieve all that stress, I just bought a belt from Chocolate. And we had porterhouse steak with tons of gravy on a sizzling plate. Damn good. I ordered an extra bowl of gravy too. Maybe I'll get the foot massage tomorrow.

Oh and I dismantled my desktop. I'm selling it to my boss. Going to give it at a lower price coz I didn't get the soundcard to work. I totally forgot where I placed that dang installer. Oh well. Now Bo is sitting on the desk. Properly. With a nice desk lamp hovering over him. Feels good.

I'll get the foot massage tomorrow.
dezphaire strapped in @ 10:27 PM   5 walked through

Thursday, August 17, 2006
soon

i miss you. soon we will see each other again.
can't wait. to be held by your warmth.
to be wrapped in your soothing arms.
soon. just a little more wait.


We need escapes. We need to live somehow, amidst all this chaos. And sometimes I really wonder why all this stress on work. On pleasing other people. Why has society programmed us to think that the only time we feel accomplishment in our lives is when other people are there to praise you. We made ourselves like this. It's sad. But at the same time we can't escape this reality. At least that's what I think. And I think they invented vacation leaves as a consolation prize. Am I being coherent? I don't know. I'm out here working my ass off. For what, sometimes I don't even know. Does it give me a sense of purpose? Maybe. Sigh. I guess this is how one gets when waiting for the weekend becomes agonizingly slow. And you've got so many more things to do in between.

I'm just very thankful they declared Monday a national holiday.
dezphaire strapped in @ 4:26 PM   9 walked through

resigned i
Time will be, she says.
Don't you be afraid.
Just a few more days.
You know, it's the only way.

No, she smiles.
Now don't you cry.
Just think of flight.
Free soul and sky.

Because, she moves,
You don't need to prove.
It happens as it should.
You've done all you could.

This will be, she sighs.
Fate Yours and Mine.
Free soul and sky.
Live you, Die I.

9:17 AM
over breakfast
of sausages
egg
and coffee
dezphaire strapped in @ 9:43 AM   1 walked through

Tuesday, August 15, 2006
what i hate about driving
The general feeling of driving is pleasure to me. I am in control of my own little roller coaster. It can be a thrilling ride. It can also be a lame, ferris-wheel of a ride. It can be a relaxing boat kind of a ride. But as with anything, there will be annoying things sucking the fun out of something that conceptually should make you happy. For instance...
  • I hate cars without brakelights.
  • Also cars without headlights.
  • Or cars that refuse the turn on their headlights when needed.
  • I hate buses that swerve.
  • I hate buses that stop abruptly to get passengers.
  • Any form of public transportation that stops in undesignated places to get passengers.
  • I aim to kill the people waiting in undesignated places to get a ride.
  • I wish someone could legitimately run over the people standing in the middle of the road to get a ride.
  • Also the people who suddenly get off public transportation.
  • I hate tricycles who think they're cars. Or anything bigger than what they are.
  • I wish I had a big-ass car so I can nudge other slow cars around.
  • I hate people driving slow on a hi-way.
  • I hate people driving slow, period.
  • Especially if they're slow and in the middle of the road.
  • Most especially if you honk at them and they get mad at you.
  • Most most especially if there were two of them driving at exactly the same speed, beside each other, like they were in some sychronized swimming slow motion routine.
  • I revel with the thought that I can splash puddles of rain on people waiting in undesignated places to get a ride.
  • I wish it was legal to run over motorcycles in the expressway.
  • If it was legal to shoot someone for honking too much, I would've helped in controlling the population.
  • Or maybe I can shoot the tires and watch it careen out of control and into a concrete wall.
At the end of it all, I really hate that driving makes me think evil thoughts. But well, can't really help it. Evil is evil is evil. I think it's the pumps that make me think this way.
dezphaire strapped in @ 11:08 PM   10 walked through

Monday, August 14, 2006
the ambigram tutorial part 2
Long overdue. But hey, better late than never. Now, coming off from perfecting the first letter (which will be the last letter upon inversion), let us now proceed with the rest of the name. Depending on the name, you may need to work on letters two at a time. And this will require a lot of speculation and imagination as to its upside-down-ness. I suggest having a scratch pad beside you where you can scribble and draw. At least it will be easier to twist around vs. your monitor. So, let's move on shall we?

Step five. Now duplicate the next letter and bring it down beside your E. Here I've brought down two - the L and the A. Always have them on separate layers, so it would be easier to manipulate them (use the Layer via Cut selection on your polygonal lasso tool). Thinking about how it would look upside-down, these letters must also take the form of an I and an N when inverted. Study how you can make an N out of the lines you currently have. A capital N can be made out of the L and the A's curve. Can you see it?

To connect this and make it appear like the letter I want, I need to bring in a line that satisfies the purpose without looking too obtrusive. I then copy (Layer via Cut) how the stem is on the letter E and manipulate it to "connect" my A to the L. Now there's my N.


Step six. Next is the A that should be an I when inverted. This is fairly easy as the A already has a base for the small "i". I copy how the dot is rendered from the original "i" and drag that new layer onto the A's base. Tada! Once you get on a roll, it doesn't seem that hard anymore eh?

Step seven. We're almost done! Since you've already gotten the first 3 or 4 letters down, you can just merge all these layers and invert it. Why? Because in effect, you've also gotten the last letters done as well. Yehey! If you're all happy with how your first letters (above) are, just link all their layers and click Ctr+E. Right click this merged layer and select "Duplicate Layer". You may now invert this entire new layer, as I have done below.


Step eight. Everything is coming together now, isn't it? You may want to leave it as is, since it is already quite readable both ways. But if you're OC like me, you'd want to make some more trimmings. I note that the A and the I can be confusing, especially with the stem coming off to form the N. So I decide to trim some details to make the letters more distinguishable from each other, but still collectively look like the name.

Step nine. I'm very happy with how the name turned out. You may want to do some final nudging and positioning to get it perfectly the way you want it. Now for more touches of antiquity, add some fleur-inspired dingbats to complete the look. Just duplicate and invert them, then position them on the corners to frame your masterpiece.


And well, there you have it, a finished ambigram. Have yourself a happy photoshop therapy session.
dezphaire strapped in @ 9:48 AM   6 walked through

Sunday, August 13, 2006
expenses expenses
Sorry I haven't been blogging much. We were in a 3-day summit meeting in the New World Hotel. Which disappointingly didn't have wi-fi access. You actually need to pay extra if you want your function to be wi-fi enabled. Which I thought was so unstrategic for a hotel situated right smack in the business district.

Anyway, we were braindraining ourselves for almost 3 days. And on Friday, our bosses said we could leave early. Thank God. And right on time, Chips offered to go to Rockwell. Because he had invites to a private sale in TopShop. Would I resist? Hell no! He was the one who instigated. So any money spent will not be blamed on me.

I bought a nice knitted shrug, a brown leather belt and cropped denim pants. He bought a belt and two shirts. We went home mighty happy. The sale at Zara sucked. No more sizes and the items left were the formal and therefore expensive ones.

Saturday came and Chips wanted to go to another TopShop store because he was going to check if he could return one of the shirts. It turned out a size too small for him. So then we move onto the Galleria. There I bought a bikini and a black pullover. The store said he can return his shirt next week, when sale season would be over. I hated the fact that I didn't have any sizes for them tailored shorts. Sucked. I didn't get to buy a sleeve for Bo yet. So I accomplished that today. Now Bo is dressed in a nice orange jacket. I would've wanted another color but that was all they had.

So there was my weekend. I splurged half my salary here and there. And I wonder how I'd get through two more weekends. Demmit. I shall just play Need for Speed again (I created a new profile). At least no expense for that.
dezphaire strapped in @ 9:36 PM   0 walked through

Tuesday, August 08, 2006
blogging with bo
I brought Bo to the office today. Everyone was in awe. He's really just so cool to look at. I was also complaining to our IT guys that I couldn't get Bo into the network. They said that we're only allowed one computer unit per person. If I wanted Bo to access the internet, I'd have to decide to give up my desktop and just use Bo as my work unit. It was like ehhh. No thanks. I'll just check if I can steal some wifi access somewhere. Bo will purely be for pleasure and possibly some sidelines.

I did realize though that I can't have the desktop at home as well. So I'm going to have to sell it. And then leave all the gaming to my dad's PC. Now I just have to find out how much that blasted thing is supposed to be on sale for... (and I don't even know what the specs are).

I think my boss was captivated by Bo. I think she's going to end up buying a twin. I don't mind. At least I found him first :)
dezphaire strapped in @ 10:40 PM   9 walked through

Monday, August 07, 2006
meet Bo


He's nice and sleek. Shiny and new.



He's got a Core Duo Processor.
And packs 512 for RAM.
(I will try to install Need for Speed)
With a 60GB HDD.



Got Altec-Lansing speakers.
DVD-CDRW Combo drive.
He can wi-fi.
He can sit there and be pretty.

Oh he's just oh-so pretty.
dezphaire strapped in @ 2:50 PM   14 walked through

Sunday, August 06, 2006
getting better
Okay, at least this year I didn't cram. This year, I actually remembered to kinda prepare. Although I was on the brink of forgetting. At first I told him I wouldn't have time to prepare and shop for gifts. Well, I was thinking I might end up rushing like last year... so at least I've set that up. The deal was that at least (if the gift never happens), I'd treat him to dinner.

But then I thought, well, if I have time let's get him a gift. One lunch time, I left early to browse for a gift. I knew that he wanted an FM transmitter for his Nano. But the one we saw was kinda expensive. I got to find one that's about 500 bucks cheaper (or maybe more). That done, I was already kind of proud of myself.

I walked on through another mall, on the way to 6750 where I was supposed to have a meeting with Client at around 2PM. I passed by a video store. And then ching! An idea hit me. I'd get him his favorite movie. I knew that they had a 2-disc special. I thought of actually not getting them, since I already had a gift in my hand. But this gift was predictable. I need something that will surprise him. So there they were, now being paid, the card being swiped: Batman and Batman Returns. Over the budget now, but well, who cares. It's going to make him happy.

So today I gave him the gifts, plus a nice card. I treated him to dinner at Sorabol, for a Korean BBQ extravaganza. We then had coffee to balance out the headaches brewing from eating too much. It was a happy birthday. It's a great feeling, when the happiness of one person makes you feel all nice and giddy inside. Happy Birthday to my man. Mwah!
Here's what I wrote in the card:
No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go,
we will go together, over the waters of time.
No one else will travel through the shadows with me,
only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.
-- Pablo Neruda, LXXXI
I'm getting better, ain't I?
dezphaire strapped in @ 1:54 AM   3 walked through

Wednesday, August 02, 2006
laptop thinking
I'm thinking of buying a laptop. Just a cheap one. No special frills. As long as it can wi-fi and handle Photoshop, I'm fine. I found one while I was malling this weekend. The leading candidate is a Twinhead notebook. At around 53K (that's around 960 USD). I think that's a pretty good deal. I'm just a bit iffy about it being white. I was also looking at the Toshibas and Compaq's of the world, they're a bit over the budget.

I really, really want one. I'm trying to justify the expense by equalizing it with the overwhelming emotion of missing my old laptop (it was stolen at school). Also by using my hectic and mobile career as leverage.

Gah. I wish I was rich.
dezphaire strapped in @ 10:09 AM   9 walked through

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Name:
Location: Philippines

Sometimes bored. Most of the time oddly alive. Phobic of butterflies. Creatively suppressed. Hungry for coffee and shoes. This is my subconscious talking... at times interrupted by my reality.

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shop around
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reklamadorang ako
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Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis. But it's just the price to pay, Destiny is calling me. Open up my eager eyes 'cause I'm Mr. Brightside -- "Mr. Brightside" The Killers
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