Occasional Ramblings

An image of a ferry with cars being transported. Image generated using Opera's Aria AI. In Cat Carrier Originally uploaded by Jepster . The first part of the trip went on smoothly. I took a half day's leave so that we could leave earlier. The starting port is just a few minutes away from the office but our travel agent booked us an earlier trip for the first boat ride so that we would not be in a hurry to catch the next ferry. We left after lunch and arrived at the port 10 minutes later. After processing all the required formalities, (we needed a permit from the coastguard, a quarantine document for Brat where he was classified as a "Breeder Cat" -- haha yeah right...), we placed stickers on our clothes that identified us as part of a tour group then proceeded to board the ferry. We were one of the earlier cars to arrive so we were ushered to the back of the vessel to park the car. The cargo hold where the cars are parked is located at the lower portion of the ship w...

A matter of privacy

I was in a restaurant jotting down stuff for my blog on my PDA when one of the crewmembers approached me with a hefty looking logbook. For a minute there I thought I already overstayed my welcome given the fact that the salmon teriyaki I ordered was already finished and digested probably hours ago. She was looking at me so intently with the logbook in her hands that she looked ready to beat me with it. Well, as it turns out the logbook was a customer feedback record. I quickly answered the questionnaire and jotted down some generic comments about how good the food and service was and that I will be coming back again just to get it over with. What I found strange however was the type of personal information it was asking. Normally a feedback form of this sort would be concerned with the basic demographical questions like age group, sex, probably household income bracket, and the like. But in this case, it was very specific. It asked for my name, address, even contact number, and actual ...

Sydney Trip Diaries: Sydney Leg, Chilly Mornings

The business seats on the flight to Sydney was much nicer. My seat was on the second floor on the first row just at the back of the cockpit which is cool because of two things: You get to catch glimpses of what they do in there whenever a crewmember would speak to the pilots (I could actually hear some of the navigation instruments when we were landing - it was a digital voice counting down presumably the altitude reading) and more importantly you get to be served first - haha! I watched a couple of movies before sleep overcame me (I haven't had much sleep the previous night). Oh and I have this neighbor who drinks a lot of Shiraz during the flight and kept on glancing on my LCD screen. The flight attendant asked her twice if she needed help but she just asked for more wine. The flight attendant even made a mistake and called her Ms. ****** --> my family name. I found this mildly amusing and I told the flight attendant jokingly that no we are not married. My neighbor didn't...

New Year Traditions

This was my first time to spend the new year in my new apartment. New year at my new place however was uneventful. I did notice that it was noisier there than it was in the previous apartment (more firecrackers). The fireworks display was very nice. I tried to be neighborly and went down to watch the fireworks with the other residents and greet people a happy new year. After that I went back to eat some spaghetti I made and some smoked ham. We have a family tradition of serving 12 round fruits for the new year. Only criteria is they should be unique fruits (having green apples and red ones doesn't count as 2) and they should not be sour (so that your luck for the new year doesn't get sour?). So despite the fact that I was celebrating the new year alone, I still bought the requisite 12 fruits. Let me see if I remember it correctly: apples, oranges, grapes, pears, guava, chickos, melon, watermelon, honeydew, pomelo, papaya and kiwi. OK so the problem is how to eat all of these fr...

Yahoo 360º is Evil!!!

Am I the only person who thinks there's something wrong with Yahoo 360º? I'm not saying it's a bad concept as a social networking hub. In fact, Yahoo is in a great position to leverage their tools from photo sharing, avatars, blogging, sharing friends lists (social networking), website customization and potentially a lot more in the future. They were able to do this with an instant user base of millions of yahoo messenger users that have signed up for the beta. Not bad considering there are dozens of other sites that offer more or less the same service and have been in this game far longer than Yahoo. But that's not the reason why I do not like the idea. Turning something design for a certain purpose into something else entirely will certainly have repercussions. There's a lot of things I don't like about 360º in a privacy point of view. I am in fact a 360º member but only because I don't know how to shut it off. I just deleted all my friend list (after disc...

I've created a SubStack account!

If you want to be able to read all of my posts conveniently delivered to your inbox, consider subscribing to my email list. For now, I am alternating between sending out my current posts and selected past posts that I think are interesting enough (I will not be sending everything). Check out my SubStack account in the following link: Occasional Ramblings | Substack Also, what do you think of the new logo? :)

Panay's Liberation Day: Honoring Heroes and Sacrifices

The Liberation of Panay Holiday, observed every March 18, commemorates the successful liberation of Panay Island from Japanese forces during World War II. This pivotal event honors the courage and sacrifices of Filipino guerrillas and Allied forces who fought tirelessly to free Panay and its neighboring islands. The day not only marks the triumph of resistance and unity but also serves as a tribute to those who gave their lives for freedom. Panay was liberated on March 18, 1945, a victory achieved through the coordinated efforts of Filipino guerrilla fighters and U.S. military forces. The campaign showcased remarkable bravery and resilience, especially among local guerrillas who endured hardship to disrupt enemy operations and pave the way for Allied landings. The success of the liberation greatly contributed to the larger goal of reclaiming the Philippines from Japanese occupation. A graphic representing the Liberation of Panay by the Joint Filipino and US Forces in WW2. Images by Dal...

Saving up for the new year

Piggy Series Originally uploaded by Jepster It's a fresh new year and I'm still trying to pay off the expenses I incurred during the holidays. That is why for this year, I have resolved to be more budget conscious (no more impulse buying *sob*) and hopefully finish the projects I have started last year that I was not able to complete because of lack of funds. The biggest of these projects is of course my flat which after more than 2 years since moving in still looks like a storage space with a small clearing for the bed and a small table. Things that I should spend less on: * Eating out -- I used to cook often but lately I have been eating out a lot. I hope to change that this year. The downside is that I tend to get fatter when I do my own cooking :p * Buying overpriced coffee -- Ok I admit it, I have probably spend a whole lot of money on coffee than I should have just for the months of November, December and January. All because of a lousy planner that I have just...

Statues of the Sto. Niño in indigenous garb for Dinagyang 2025

Statues of the Sto. Niño in Indigenous garb for Dinagyang 2025. Photo by Jep c/o Flickr. With the Dinagyang 2025 festival fast approaching in Iloilo City, Philippines, displays such as this are common at shopping malls and other areas with heavy foot traffic.

Tardiness for the new year?

Originally uploaded by Jepster . I woke up at 8:30 this morning! I panicked when I saw my alarm clock. I have been late everyday since coming back for the new year that my boss is beginning to take notice. Is it my imagination or is he frowning at me every time I see him. It could just be my overactive imagination but I can't be sure. I was supposed to go early starting today. Oh well, I suppose I could start that tomorrow. It's a good thing that I had a meeting taking up the rest of my morning. I only knew about it the moment I arrived (the phone was ringing in my desk when I was unlocking my door and quickly answered it trying to mask my heavy breathing from running through the hallway). So when a colleague asked where I was the whole morning, I wasn't lying when I told him I was in a meeting hehe. I would then feel sleepy the whole morning with my productivity increasing only after lunchtime. I have long since stopped being a coffee addict so I didn't have the u...

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