The above post refers to 2 things. One: we made the papers! Online, anyway. Sure, they spelled my (Chinese) name wrong and failed to mention everyone else in the article, but HEY we got our picture online!
Two: 'Nols, Eileen, Tin (Palawan), Wendy and I hiked our butts off last Sunday at Xi Shui Hu, about 3 hours outside of Beijing. Nothing like small groups to make things more manageable. Got good pics out of it, too.
Jun 17, 2004
Jun 10, 2004
Not Quite as Hot as You-Know-Where, but Close
Day 2 of Beijing heatwave. Never experienced it before, not that I wanted to. It's 7:30 PM but outside it feels like the inside of a bathroom after a 30-minute shower. Hot summer night is right.
Jun 9, 2004
Photo Finish
As a unique way to kill the afternoon, I, along with Manol, Elaine, Jella and Joanne decided to catch the Olympic torch relay by Wudaokou. Amidst the blistering heat (hell, even my feet were burning) and lots of shoving as the really-short-lady with the torched passed by, I managed to get a perfect shot of her. At least I hope it's perfect. At the last minuted I was pushed so I'm not sure how the picture will come out. Still, some good stuff happened. A reporter for BeijingNews.com saw us with our Philippine flag and interviewed us. If nothing else comes out right I pray we at least make the 6 o'clock online news.
Jun 6, 2004
Bye, Ronnie.
Ronald Reagan died today at the age of 94. I first knew of him as President of the US. The "surprising" discoveries came later. He used to be governor of California? He was an actor? He's the oldest president voted into office? He was almost assassinated? He has Alzheimer's? My generation grew up during his 2 terms.Okay, so he wasn't the best president (hell, who was), but he was certainly one of the most popular.
Jun 4, 2004
So ANYway...
I'm still in Beijing. May stay here for the summer (as well as the rest of the year). Studying and teahing, studying and teaching. Very routine. If only I can add "went out with bevy of ladies" in that routine. Sigh.
Got a PC. By "got" I mean "borrowed" from my Chinese friend Sunny's flatmate. The PC came from the animation office he used to work for. When the office closed the PC had nowhere to go and just lay here in their appartment. Having no scruples whatsoever I borrowed it. Bought a CD writer, speakers, and had ADSL installed in my room a week later. Whee. And you think I slept late before...
My sister's have given birth. I miss my nieces and nephew like the dickens. Aunt came to Beijing last week and brought stuff in from Manila, thankfully. Lily's Peanut Butter. Ovaltine. My shorts, sandals and slippers. It almost feels like home again.
Got a PC. By "got" I mean "borrowed" from my Chinese friend Sunny's flatmate. The PC came from the animation office he used to work for. When the office closed the PC had nowhere to go and just lay here in their appartment. Having no scruples whatsoever I borrowed it. Bought a CD writer, speakers, and had ADSL installed in my room a week later. Whee. And you think I slept late before...
My sister's have given birth. I miss my nieces and nephew like the dickens. Aunt came to Beijing last week and brought stuff in from Manila, thankfully. Lily's Peanut Butter. Ovaltine. My shorts, sandals and slippers. It almost feels like home again.
Jan 17, 2004
What I've Been Doing
Not much, I think.
Came home last December after a month and a half of going around the US. Came home to work the last 2 weeks of my job at Teleall. Got the severance check. Got plans to write a book (non-fiction reference). Got plans to go the China for 6 months of studying the language. Haven't seen Return of the King, but I'm about halfway through the 1st season of The West Wing on DVD. Have yet to see The 7 Samurai in it's entirety, w/c is why I haven't previewed the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Wilson (and family) got me for Chirstmas.
My first movie of the year was Crying Ladies (slightly overrated), which I watched with Wella, who revcently dyed her hair brown (like the old color better). Met up with Rachelle and exchanged Xmas gifts. She gave me a dreamcatcher, I gave her porn and the rope bracelets I bought in San Francisco. Hmm, wonder who got the better deal.
So I'm currently unemployed, dividing my time with reading downloaded comics, downloading more comics, fidgeting with the internet connection and researching for the book. Trying to keep busy isn't easy, especially with a dad who has specific ideas for you and won't let you be idle around the house.
Came home last December after a month and a half of going around the US. Came home to work the last 2 weeks of my job at Teleall. Got the severance check. Got plans to write a book (non-fiction reference). Got plans to go the China for 6 months of studying the language. Haven't seen Return of the King, but I'm about halfway through the 1st season of The West Wing on DVD. Have yet to see The 7 Samurai in it's entirety, w/c is why I haven't previewed the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Wilson (and family) got me for Chirstmas.
My first movie of the year was Crying Ladies (slightly overrated), which I watched with Wella, who revcently dyed her hair brown (like the old color better). Met up with Rachelle and exchanged Xmas gifts. She gave me a dreamcatcher, I gave her porn and the rope bracelets I bought in San Francisco. Hmm, wonder who got the better deal.
So I'm currently unemployed, dividing my time with reading downloaded comics, downloading more comics, fidgeting with the internet connection and researching for the book. Trying to keep busy isn't easy, especially with a dad who has specific ideas for you and won't let you be idle around the house.
Nov 6, 2003
FR-f-ff--ffrer---freee-zing
Can't say much now, other than I'm in Chicago staying at Emark's cousin Gleason's house, and shivering so much I'm having trouble typing.
Oct 26, 2003
San Jose Digs
Stayed up 'til the early hours of Friday waiting for 5Kim to take Mark and Me to the train/bus station for the bus ride to Seattle (and subsequent train ride to California). Thanks to rushed packing on my part I ended up leaving my shades, SIM card and video camera but brought the vidcam accessories. Extra weight I don't need. Border crossing was routine.
After an exhausting 25-hour train ride (only because it took awhile to find a comfortable sleeping position on those 2 seats in coach) I arrive at San Jose 1 hour 45 minutes late. Emark disembarked one stop earlier at Oakland. Amtrak didnt' even apologize. There to greet me at the station was Dulcie and (to my surprise) her husband Mark, a native of Vietnam who moved to the US when he was nine, though his accent could pass him off as Vietnamese with a Southern twang. For lunch they took me to Jollibee, with it's $4.99 Chicken Joy Meal (well, it was served with mashed potatoes, more rice and a bottomless beverage). After lunch we headed for (and crossed half of) the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe it was the searing heat, but I wasn't that impressed with it. Dulcie and Mark seemed surprised that I wasn't taking more pictures. Next stop, the Exploratorium, where they filmed the scene between Sean Connery and Claire Forlani in The Rock. (Turns out there's no bench in the center spot where they sat.) Lots of people having their wedding pictures taken there, though.
Next up was Fishermans' Wharf and Pier 39, where I saw sea lions, shops and shops and shops (probably should've brought the vidcam), and bought a new pair of shades ($7.99 + tax) for myself and 2 bracelets for Rachelle ($10). We then headed for Coit Tower, a lookout point to see the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. We probably would've seen more had we actually climed the tower but none of us wanted to pay the $3.75 fee. Last stop of the day was Chinatown, where after some window-shopping we ate at a (what else) Chinese restaurant once visited by the likes of Jackie Chan, Nicholas Cage and Emeril Lagasse. Mark ordered enough food to feed (IMO) 5 people. I was stuffed and was getting a migraine from all the walking we did. Trooper that I was I didn't let on about it.
Now I'm typing this on Dulcie's roomate Eloisa's (aka Balut) computer. After checking my email (12:03am), I find that a couple of my Ebay auctions got bids, and it closes in a couple of hours. Eloisa and Dulcie (and 3rd roomate Joel) have a couple of friends over and are currently watching an F4 concert (is there no escaping these dorks?) on VCD. I just had 2 glasses of Corona beer with lemon, and I feel fine.
After an exhausting 25-hour train ride (only because it took awhile to find a comfortable sleeping position on those 2 seats in coach) I arrive at San Jose 1 hour 45 minutes late. Emark disembarked one stop earlier at Oakland. Amtrak didnt' even apologize. There to greet me at the station was Dulcie and (to my surprise) her husband Mark, a native of Vietnam who moved to the US when he was nine, though his accent could pass him off as Vietnamese with a Southern twang. For lunch they took me to Jollibee, with it's $4.99 Chicken Joy Meal (well, it was served with mashed potatoes, more rice and a bottomless beverage). After lunch we headed for (and crossed half of) the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe it was the searing heat, but I wasn't that impressed with it. Dulcie and Mark seemed surprised that I wasn't taking more pictures. Next stop, the Exploratorium, where they filmed the scene between Sean Connery and Claire Forlani in The Rock. (Turns out there's no bench in the center spot where they sat.) Lots of people having their wedding pictures taken there, though.
Next up was Fishermans' Wharf and Pier 39, where I saw sea lions, shops and shops and shops (probably should've brought the vidcam), and bought a new pair of shades ($7.99 + tax) for myself and 2 bracelets for Rachelle ($10). We then headed for Coit Tower, a lookout point to see the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. We probably would've seen more had we actually climed the tower but none of us wanted to pay the $3.75 fee. Last stop of the day was Chinatown, where after some window-shopping we ate at a (what else) Chinese restaurant once visited by the likes of Jackie Chan, Nicholas Cage and Emeril Lagasse. Mark ordered enough food to feed (IMO) 5 people. I was stuffed and was getting a migraine from all the walking we did. Trooper that I was I didn't let on about it.
Now I'm typing this on Dulcie's roomate Eloisa's (aka Balut) computer. After checking my email (12:03am), I find that a couple of my Ebay auctions got bids, and it closes in a couple of hours. Eloisa and Dulcie (and 3rd roomate Joel) have a couple of friends over and are currently watching an F4 concert (is there no escaping these dorks?) on VCD. I just had 2 glasses of Corona beer with lemon, and I feel fine.
Oct 23, 2003
Bad New Pours...
First, I had trouble making calls from my cellphone, despite having loaded about 500 bucks in credit. After calling up Globe I find out that I ran out of credit due to the 50 bucks a minute incoming call charge, 80 bucks for outgoing calls and 15 bucks for text messages. That 35 free text messages thing and 40 cents a minute thing don't count abroad and for prepaid users, apparently. I started regretting all those non-essential text messages I sent (damn Yolanda for asking be for Maritess' number).
Second, Ebay removed my Smallville CD set from auction. Well, that I kinda expected. The amount of attention it got (up 41 dollars from last count) was bound to raise some red flags.
Second, Ebay removed my Smallville CD set from auction. Well, that I kinda expected. The amount of attention it got (up 41 dollars from last count) was bound to raise some red flags.
Oct 22, 2003
So Much for Comics Sales, But...
Talks with Mile High Comics didn't go as expected. Will Moulton offered my 70 bucks for 22 tpbs, but passed on the box of comics. As for my Ebay auctions, it's still 0 bids for any of the comics. On the bright side, the Smallville VCD set is doing great. In fact I even received offers to make copies. Just having trouble figuring out how much to charge them, with CD's costing about 50 cents (Canadian, or about 20 bucks) apiece. Went out with 5-Kim and Emark to Staples to buy the supplies: CDs and CD pouches, but settled for "envelopes" and used boxes on the latter.