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Monday, June 27th, 2005
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9:31 pm - Back to School
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I finally decided to go back to school to formalize what I love to do--graphic design.
I enrolled in a two-year, 6-trimester course in New Media Design at Phoenix One in Pasong Tamo (formerly NIIT, they also have an Ortigas branch). Its been two weeks and so far, so good. The subjects are pretty interesting if you dig design--Color Theory, Visual Communications, Typography and Symbolism and Drawing Fundamentals. Pretty basic first term stuff. The instructors are competent and are practicing professional designers (one just flew in from NY the other day). The course is not limited to learning software, it combines traditional design with the use of the computer as a design tool.
If only this was available years ago. This course beats Industrial Engineering hands down :D
De La Salle's College of St. Benilde offers a similar course called Multimedia Design. A couple of my classmates transferred from there. They felt that the subjects offered in my school are pretty much 'straightforward.' I wasn't able to ask them what they meant by that. I'm guessing they want to do away with PE, Algebra, Trigonometry and all those 'unnecessary' subjects and concentrate on design. Right-brain people seem to be an impatient lot. One of the disgruntled ex-Benildeans even pointed out that Typography is a one-day lecture in La Salle, while one whole term is devoted to this subject in this school.
Hopefully, when I finish this course, I'll be a well-rounded designer and well-versed in the Adobe and Macromedia apps as well as Alias/Wavefront's Maya. Wish me luck.
current mood:  content
current music: Girl-Ilhan Ersahin
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| Wednesday, May 25th, 2005
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8:40 am - The Amazing Yoda Sex Line Generator :D
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| Your Amazing Yoda Sex Line |
"Do me or do me not - there is no try." |
current mood:  sleepy
current music: Samba de Avio - Antonio Carlos Jobim
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8:35 am - What age do you act?
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One of those polls to pad my otherwise inactive blog: :D
You Are 21 Years Old |
21
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
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current mood: sleepy
current music: The Night - Miguel Migs
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8:01 am - Which Revenge of the Sith character are you?
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| Saturday, April 9th, 2005
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11:47 pm - Batangas
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| Friday, April 1st, 2005
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8:27 pm - iPod Photo
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Woohoo! Finally got an iPod Photo. I was planning on getting the 40 Gb but I ended up w/ the 30. I called up a number of dealers including Microwarehouse, but to my dismay, stocks for the 40Gb already ran out so I had to settle w/ the 40. The 60gb is out of my budget. After getting my iPod from Ynzal this morning, I headed over at Charlie's to get an iSkin for my baby. I bumped into Doc Adel S. of Philmug at Digital Walker--he was checking out the Axio bags, I think he got an iLap.
current mood: happy
current music: Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 - Frederic Chopin
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| Friday, March 18th, 2005
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8:38 pm - Must...resist...40Gb iPod
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There's a 40Gb iPod Photo with my name on it.
My 3G iPod has about 22 mb of space left. When I bought it 3 years ago I thought I was set for 5 years, heck maybe 10, right? The first few months I used it to backup files, installers, TV episodes, Palm books, photos, whatever I can copy from my Macs just to fill it up. Now I only have space left for one fucking album (or less).
The thing with having an iPod and all those Gb's is you force yourself to try new music so you can fill it up, which is not a bad thing actually. Expanding your horizons and all that. You start being curious about a certain genre and the next thing you know it turns into an obsession. Staying up till 3am scouring the Internet (The Acquisition Music Store), browsing racks upon racks of CDs at PowerBooks and Tower for 'new' music. Consider this, I was reading about (and started collecting) the Brazilans Jobim, Gualberto, and Powell and I ended up downloading the Indians and Arabians: Shankar, Khaled, Keita and Haza--who they? Exactly.
So now I'm stuck with all this 'old' music with no more space for the 'new' The Who-Basement Jaxx-AC/DC-The Shins-Thelonious Monk tracks. But with a 40Gb iPod, I'm set for 5 years. Di ba, di ba?
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| Thursday, March 17th, 2005
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8:16 pm - 289 days and counting...
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| Monday, August 9th, 2004
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1:48 am - My Dad's Grape iMac 333
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I'm planning on giving a used iMac to my dad this coming week. I'm just waiting for the guy from Bidshot to replace the iMac's RAM before we make the transaction final.
My dad's a 72-year old retired Comelec commissioner and trial judge. He's passionate about reforming our country's crappy electoral system and he's written a lot of articles in the papers and various journals about reform. He's also written a couple of books about Election Law. He's never touched a computer in his life w/c is funny considering we had a lot--from the Apple II to the Mac, you name it!
I'm pretty excited for my dad because I know that even an old iMac coupled with a fast Internet connection would help him in his writing.
The other day, I was at the office sitting at our shared desk and I noticed two letters from the embassies of Pakistan and France informing my dad that the information he was requesting from them was online, and wouldn't be able to send these to him thru regular mail. They even provided the urls. This got me thinking..
I have a crapload of Macs at home, a high-speed, wireless Internet connection and I couldn't even help my dad get on the Internet! Why was that? Like most people over the age of 60, my parents are technophobic and ignorant about technology. Who could blame them, technology is changing at a very rapid pace, even tech-savvy people are having a hard time catching up.
My daughter recently gave up on teaching my mom how to use sms on her mobile phone after two years of trying--which made no difference we found out later, since her phone was usually turned off to "conserve its batteries." She only turned it on to make a call! :) I also remembered while I was in college, my sister and I tried to teach my dad how to use a PowerBook, a 150 (Mac OS 7.1). At first he seemed very eager to learn but after 30 minutes, he looked bored and uninterested. Eventually we were back at "Anak, paki type nga ito sa computer."
Its 2004 and I'm determined to help my dad access the information he needs with the help of an old iMac. When I asked him this afternoon if he wanted a computer, he didn't answer, but my mom did--with a wink! I just might be able to pull it off this time. Maybe a year from now, he'll be asking me for a G5 iMac. :)
Wish me luck.
current mood: calm
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| Sunday, July 4th, 2004
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9:13 am - Chef's school
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Well, she finally did it. After procrastinating for about four years, my wife decided to enroll in chef school. After watching the episode w/ the pizza guy passing off as a chef in 'Faking It,' she finally took the plunge. 'Heck, if that dude can fake it, why can't I be the real thing,' she said.
current mood: cheerful
current music: Kitu-Deepak Ram
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| Thursday, May 27th, 2004
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4:29 am - Contemplation
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I don't consider myself a religious person, but on certain times God especially on hot, balmy nights such as this seem to tap you on your shoulder to remind you of your mortality.
While trying to sleep, I suddenly remembered that yesterday was the interment of Dr. Jake Tan, a surgeon at St. Victoria who passed away last week of either acute pancreatitis or abdominal aneurism--depends on w/c doctor you talk to (I wasn't able to confirm since I was home nursing a cold). It was so sudden and he was still young at age 43. He was single.
I'm not particularly close w/ Dr. Tan, we usually exchange abrupt nods when we cross paths at the hospital's corridors. He struck me as quiet and introspective. The morning he was brought in at the ER, and pronounced DOA, a number of doctors and hospital staff were disconsolate and some were openly weeping (including a couple of patients). He was buried at 1 pm yesterday and we weren't able to attend the funeral rites.
Last year, Rushel and I attended our first contemplative retreat in Tagaytay presided by Fr. Tanseco of CEFAM. This one was unlike the previous retreats for couples we've attended wherein you get to share your experiences w/ the other retreatants and end the day in a room w/ your spouse. For 2 1/2 days we were required to keep quiet, were instructed not to talk w/ anyone and slept alone in different rooms (amenities were spartan). It was the closest thing to living in a monastery, I would think.
As Catholics, we were all trained that the only way to communicate w/ God was by talking to Him through prayer and that's what we usually do--TALK--we ask for this and that, we thank Him for such and such, we ask for forgiveness for the sins we've committed, etc. Nothing wrong w/ that, but this retreat added a new dimension to the relationship by teaching us the exact opposite w/c is to shut up once in a while and listen to what He has to say, literally.
During the 2nd night of the retreat, Fr. Tanseco instructed us that before going to sleep, we read a passage in the Bible (forgot w/c), turn off the lights, lie in bed quietly w/ arms at the side, and contemplate about death, specifically, our own. And listen. Everyone thought it was morbid, to say the least.
Uneasy, I did as instructed and before long, I was overwhelmed by a profound emotion. It was liberating. I felt alone and yet at peace. Its the relief (multiplied by a thousand) you get when you come back home to check to see and discover that you didn't actually leave the stove burning, all the while fidgeting in your car while stuck in 9 am EDSA traffic looking for a turn--I felt satisfaction and gratitude. I was accepted as I am. I felt welcome, complete and forgiven.
I'm sure this is how it would be like at the end because I believe God's love for us is merciful, absolute and unconditional.
I really didn't know Jake Tan, but he obviously touched a lot people while he was still alive. May God have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace.
current mood: awake
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| Wednesday, May 26th, 2004
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8:01 am - Studio Foujita
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While browsing for prints at AllPosters.com, I stumbled upon the work of this Japanese painter named Tsuguharu Foujita. He was a contemporary of Western artists Matisse and Picasso and actually lived in Paris for a while and eventually died in Zurich in 1968. He applied French oil techniques to Japanese-style paintings.
In this painting "Quai Aux Fleurs," he applied Western techniques to a Western subject. It kind of reminds me of a Studio Ghibli scene.
current mood:  sick
current music: Cold Shot - Stevie Ray Vaughan
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| Tuesday, May 25th, 2004
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12:24 pm - Miracle coconut
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I finished designing a box for Nature's Blessings Coconut Oil, a product of my ninang's company. They're trying to break into the US market. One of the requirements of the US retailer was to have the product come in a box instead of just a bottle.
This ninang of mine miraculously survived breast cancer and used natural products including coconut oil during her therapy. From a manager of a well-known tech firm in the 90's to a natural health product manufacturer. She swears by her products.
current mood: sick
current music: Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
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11:08 am - 36 days and counting
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Talk about the torrents of summer. What started out as small cracks on the kitchen counter have become one the year's most expensive projects.
Before moving in to the next door apartment last month, my sister had the place renovated to make it more liveable and cheery for her lovely daughter, Andie. It turned out well, too well in fact, that Rushel and I contracted the nasty renovation bug. We've been living in this apartment for almost 10 years, without making any sort of improvement aside from painting it an Arizona-ish yellow a few years back.
The renovations started an eternity ago. While removing the dirty kitchen counter tile, the guy we hired, accidentally burst a pipe in the bathroom, w/c was behind the kitchen counter. It was crazy, the CR had a hole as big as a man's fist with water dripping all over. We decided to might as well, change the bathroom wall & floor tiles. We decided on a cool blue color to remind us of that Boracay trip we had last Feb. Asa pa.
Midway through the construction w/c took a full week plus changing all the bath fixtures including the trono, we decided to include in the renovations the preparation counter in the 'real' kitchen (not the 'dirty' kitchen) inside the apartment. After that, we were convinced that to make the house more 'inviting,' (to whom, I couldn't care less), we had to paint the walls an earthy brown (Stone Hearth, accdg to the paint label). By this time, my daughter's birthday/slumber party was days away and the place was still ashambles.
My daughter's birthday came and went (we eventually celebrated it at another place) and I'm still stuck here w/ the workers, bored as hell contemplating the fate of my poor bank book. Hopefully, I'll be back working at the hospital next week after a weekend of cleaning all this junk. Crap.
current mood:  cranky
current music: Down - 311
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ericcalderon's journal
