Summer has finally arrived in the Philippines! Even if it is summer almost all year round in the country, many Filipino tourists and foreign tourists flock the best travel destinations during the official summer season of this know Pearl of Orient.

In such a country full of beautiful landscapes and natural wonders, professional and amateur photographers ensure not to miss the opportunity to take photos whether using a digital SLR, a point-and-shoot digital camera or even a polaroid instant camera.

Instax cameras are fast becoming a hit among people here in Manila, Cebu, Davao, and the rest of the Philippines. With its cute designs, affordable polaroid films, and easy point-and-shoot capability, Filipinos are likely to enjoy using such a polaroid camera. Polaroid Philippines offer a wide selection of instax mini cameras, Instax films, and other Instax accessories that will definitely make your polaroid experience a delightful one. Don’t worry about saving your polaroid instant film since there are discount polaroid film surely available now because of the increase in recognition of Instax Philippines.

Being the jumping (almost everyone has a jump shot of themselves these days, right?) “camwhores” we Filipinos are, instant cameras will definitely suit your “jumping needs” since it can takes pictures immediately at the push of a button aside from the instant developing it is capable of. We Filipinos are also smiling “camwhores” so the Close-up Lens + Self-Shoot Mirror for Instax Mini 7S is something that would really be helpful when taking self-shots and up-close shots. A small built-in mirror is attached to the macro mode lens to help you capture a better angle of yourself.

Finally, an Instax camera bag will definitely accompany you well in your wanderlusts. There are a whole variety of bags available! Varying in colors, designs, and styles, you might go crazy in choosing one or a few to fit your style and taste!

With many planes, hotels, and resorts currently booked, summer is definitely here! So get your gear ready, your smiles on, and adventurous spirits up as a fun summer 2011 embraces the country! Don’t forget your digital cameras or instant cameras and take pictures. It will last longer.

Dear friends, hope you support my online business!

1. Choose Profile Name: “Sun BROADBAND STANDARD”.
2. Go to “Tools”.
3. Select the “Network” folder icon.
4. For “Network Type” select “WCDMA only” from the dropdown box.
5. For “Band, select “All Bands” from the dropdown box.
6. Click “Apply” button.
7. Remove dongle from USB port and transfer it to your Mac.

And voila, an HSDPA data service is established! But don’t get your hopes too high, signal strength still depends on your location.

I kinda find it odd, though, that I have to use a PC before I can change the settings of the wireless broadband. And I’m a bit annoyed with myself that I just found out about this now, all the while thinking WHY DIDN’T THE SUN CELLULAR PEOPLE INFORM ME ABOUT THIS?? No wonder I kept complaining about the crappy signal of my Sun Broadband Wireless, while Mae is all praises for hers.

Hope this little info is useful to some of you!

Tada! A SUN mobile broadband. It was Mae who introduced this to me last December, and so after I got my Globelines account terminated, I went straight to a SUN Shop, demoed a unit, signed up for an account, then took it home with me (yeah, I’m that impulsive). The SUN people told me it would take less than 24 hours to get activated, but that didn’t happen. It finally started working a few hours ago while Mae and I were at Riz‘s place. This was 32 hours later.

The connection? So far, so good! But I’m keeping my fingers crossed cos we all know how crappy Sun Cellular’s signal can get, which is not far from happening with their 3G or broadband service too. But at least I’m not stuck in their 24 months lock-in period since I opted to pay for the dongle in full (P2,500). Monthly unlimited use is P799.

I appreciate Riz and Mae for “celebrating” my birthday with me last night (I don’t mind that it’s one day late). Thanks for surprising me with a slice of cake + candle!

Past birthdays: 21, 22, 23, 24. (Ugh, I’m old).

At home, we’re also having problems.  My dad is being a pain again, as he has been for as long as I can remember.  I love my dad, but when will the madness stop??  More on this some other day.

As if these two problems aren’t enough, last night I did something that I regretted tremendously.  When that software upgrade icon showed up on my MBP‘s screen, I absentmindedly clicked ‘yes’ — not knowing that the upgrade process will take so long!  I got impatient after about 20 minutes, so I pressed the power button down to shut the laptop off.  When I turned it on again, the screen got stuck on the page where there’s an Apple logo in the center and a loading icon below it.  Even after almost an hour of waiting, it still won’t boot properly.  Of course, by then, I was already panicking.  I may know some stuff about computers, but when it comes to hardware stuff, I’m a big dummy.

So today I brought my laptop to the nearest Apple store from our office, the Power Mac Center in Greenbelt.  After work, I rushed to their service center, took a number, and waited for it to be called.  When it was my turn, I explained to the lady that the problem occurred after some idiot interrupted the software upgrade process. I didn’t have to tell her that the “idiot” was me, it was pretty obvious.  She said that that happens a lot to Macbooks, and the best thing to do is for me to leave my MBP at their store as there’s a long queue of units waiting to be repaired and it will take 2 days up to a week for them to find out what’s wrong with mine.  In my head, I was screaming “Oh no, what about my files?? What will I tell the clients?? Will they understand? Should I recreate the mockups from scratch? What have I done??!!”

I just stared with disbelief at the lady for a few seconds. Then, I started blabbering that, because I’ve got plenty of work to do, I can’t afford to lose 2-7 days!  Can’t she do something about it now?  Where else can I go to get an immediate attention?  And then, out of desperation, I played my PUPPY DOG EYES, PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRY ON TOP card. Think Puss in Boots in Shrek 2:

The lady reluctantly smiled and told me they probably need to reinstall the software which will take long. They’re also gonna need an installer.  Without thinking, I took out the installer CDs from my bag and asked her how I can do the installation myself.  I got more reluctant smiles from her — I’m pretty sure she was getting annoyed.  Heh.  Finally, she took the CDs from me and started working on my laptop.  She said she’d take care of it and that I can come back in 2 hours.  I thanked her profusely.

I bought a book so I have something to read while I wait.  After almost 2 hours, I came back to Power Mac Center.  When the woman at the counter saw me, she faced the laptop’s screen my way to show me that the loading page is gone.  Seeing the familiar wallpaper on my MBP’s Desktop brought a huge smile to my face.  I almost hugged her in delight!  When I asked her how much I should pay for their service, she waved it off and told me to just forget about it.

Btw, that woman’s name is Christine.  I’m grateful to her for being so cool about everything.  See, strangers can be kind.

Enough yapping now, this dummy has tons of work to do. Enjoy your weekend!

Because it was rush hour we got stuck in a horrific traffic in Ortigas Avenue. Considering that was the only road going to Medical City, I don’t know how an ambulance could speed up through that kind of traffic to get the patient to the hospital on time! I pity the employees who are on their way to their Ortigas offices too. Made me kinda glad that my way to my office isn’t as bad as that one. Fortunately, my dad got his breathing back to normal right after we stepped out of the house. Even so, I still brought him to the hospital to find out what was wrong.

The doctor’s findings were nothing new. My dad has been a smoker and drinker for years which is why we were no longer shocked to hear the doctor’s news. His breathing trouble was caused by the boxes of cigarettes he had smoked, and his diabetes (and that slight liver problem) was caused by the gallons of alcohol he had drank for years since before I was born. Well, gallons is an understatement. It’s a miracle he hasn’t gotten either of the two big “C’s” yet. Thank you, Jesus.

He and my mom stayed in the hospital for two days, where he was given a bunch of medicines, tests, and insulin shots that I could no longer count. His doctor wanted him to stay for another 5 days but my dad insisted on leaving yesterday so he could help prepare for my brother’s wedding this Sunday. He’s not in a critical condition or anything like that, so the doctor just let him sign a waiver. My dad’s probably the most stubborn person I know.

I’m glad he’s hanging on. He says he’s not gonna drink again and that he will try to phase out the smoking. Like I haven’t heard him say that many times before. I hope he’s serious this time, though.

In other news, I got my Macbook Pro this week too. I’m still trying to find my way around it — it’s like stepping into a whole new world, groping in the dark, and trying to learn everything from scratch. I can’t say I’m enjoying it yet because, really, as opposed to “enthusiasm”, this is close to how I look when I’m in front of the thing:

LOLZ. My brother’s wedding is 2 days away! And some of our friends are arriving here from Bacolod City tomorrow! Next week should be FUN.

How was your week?

I love this month of August because…

ONE.

Powerbooks is having their biggest sale of the year every August. I recall August of last year when I also bought Haruki Murakami novels at Powerbooks, and this year (once again) proved how impulsive I can be when it comes to books. This time, I immersed myself in the Harry Potter series. I admit that I was a bit indifferent toward J.K. Rowling‘s best-selling masterpiece when it was released a few years ago (I was watching the movies but I wasn’t reading the books. I only read The Sorcerer’s Stone back then). I kept telling myself that I should get on with reading the rest of it, but I also kept pushing the idea back. Finally, last month, just before the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film came out, I began reading the series again. And because Powerbooks is having a 30% discount on their Harry Potter books, I went ahead and bought the rest of them. It’s needless to say that I have also been officially sucked into Harry Potter’s magical world.

I still haven’t read Book Seven, though. I wanted to wait for the paperback copy but it looks like it’s not going to be released for another 6 months or so. Fine – I guess the hardbound one will do. Or should I just read the e-book? Heh.

TWO.

I got my new laptop last week. Almost four weeks ago, I asked my boss, who’s living in the US, if he could buy me a Notebook PC before he comes to visit us here in Manila again. I was so psyched when he agreed to it. However, there was a slight delay with its delivery which made me worry a little (it was also held at Customs!). But that doesn’t matter anymore — it was definitely worth the wait. (Thanks, Graeme! If you happen to chance upon this blog post. Hehe.)

Sony VAIO VGN-N325E

I guess you could say that this laptop is something “that blogging bought“, in line with the list (or is it a meme?) the top Pinoy bloggers came up with (Yes, Riz, you’re one of them. Hehe!). But, technically, this laptop is something “that advertisers bought” me — this and the refrigerator that’s sitting downstairs. Lol. Site advertisers are welcome to inquire, BTW.

Note: Hi Jaypee! I know you’ve been waiting for this post. Lol.

THREE.

Deej celebrated his 23rd birthday this month. And because he’s as addicted to surfing as I am to books, we agreed to pool some of our money so he can finally purchase his very own surfboard. Fortunately, he knew someone who was selling a pre-owned one for only half its original price. We decided to throw caution into the wind and buy the second-hand board even though we were clueless about its condition. I wasn’t there when the surfboard was handed to him at the recent Surfing Event in Zambales, so when he called me up to tell me, enthusiastically, that the board looks great, I was a little bit skeptical… Until I saw the photos myself. It doesn’t look pre-owned at all! In fact, it looks like it’s fresh from the store (or at least it does in the photos, heh!). I have to commend the previous owner for taking extra good care of it!

Egay, the surfboard

We named the board “Egay” after the recent typhoon that visited the Philippines, which was around the time Deej got the surfboard. Hehe! And although I really won’t be able to play with it myself (I’m a lousy surfer) I’m happy because, from now on, he’s not gonna be renting boards anymore when he and his friends go surfing, nor is he going to waste any more time waiting for his turn to ride the waves. Deej, kung saan ka masaya, suportahan ta ka! Hehehe!

So, those are some of the highlights of my August. The month’s coming to an end in a couple of days, but I don’t feel bad about it… Because the “-ber” months are almost here! Pretty soon, it’s going to be Christmas again. I’m gonna spend Christmas with my parents this year (I wasn’t able to last year) so that’s one of the things I’m looking forward to…

Wait — Was I talking about Christmas?? I’m getting WAY AHEAD of myself. Sorry.

Earlier today I downloaded a bunch of stuff, saved them on my flash drive and planned to use them on some projects when I get home. Now I’m home, I’ve rummaged through my bag three times, but found no flash drive. I had to leave the office right away this afternoon which is probably why I forgot to remove it from the USB port and put it inside my bag.

So now, I’m staring at the screen of my laptop.. thinking, “I could download all of the files again, but that would just take up so much of my time tonight.. and I have to find the website I got the files from because I also forgot the URL, I don’t know if I’m willing to do that right now.. Plus my back is aching so bad from sitting the whole day and I really just want to lie down and rest for a while..” So… I decided to log on to my blog and just rant about it. Hahaha

Don’t you hate it when something like this happens? You’re all excited to do something (fyi, that rarely happens to me nowadays) and when you get to it, you find out you’re not able to. Boo.

Funny how something so small is able to dictate what I should or shouldn’t do. How did technology gain this much power?!

Fine, then. I’ll work on them tomorrow night.

Madali lang ako kausap. lol

I bet the first instinct you have in answering this question is say “Yes, I CAN live without it.” I, on the other hand, have to say I CAN’T. Make no mistake there are days when I virtually don’t need it but then… if there are days when you don’t need it, there will be days when you’ll be desperate for it.

I also agree that it’s just instinct to say “Yes” because the truth is, it’s so hard to live without a mobile phone these days. I left my cell phone at home last Monday and I had the hardest time getting in touch with the two people I was gonna meet that night. I even resorted to using the payphone! Not that it’s a weird thing, but it’s just unusual. Something I haven’t done in a very long time. Heehee.

I hardly remember how it was back in the days when not everyone has a mobile phone. Only daddies carry (a bulky with the long antenna) one which was only necessary for work. A cell phone back then is a luxury. Today it’s a necessity (well, almost). One can easily live without a landline telephone but not a cellular phone. This, IMO, is usually how it is today. Or at least it is in the Philippines.

Nowadays it is very common to see individuals investing in technology such as LCD monitors, digital cameras, PDAs, mobile phones, and other tech products. Even I, myself, am surprised to see myself investing in these (and am now trying to save money to buy a new gadget. LOL.). The HP Pavilion laptop looks veeeerry tempting (Congratulations to Ganns who just got his Compaq Presario laptop by the way! ), and I hope I don’t fall into this kind of temptation!

*For all the tech-savvy people in France, UK, Spain and Italy, you’d be happy to know that the UK Shopping search engine is now open to provide us with affordable tech products. It is a next-generation shopping search engine launched last year which uses a propriety crawl technology to aggregate merchant offers. Visit the website today for convenient tech gadget shopping.

“Sam” is a Samsung 19″ Widescreen LCD Monitor. We bought it at a cheaper price than what it’s worth. If you’re interested, ask me where you can get it. My nosy older brothers also love it. They keep knocking on my door once in a while to beg me to let them use my PC. Bwahahaha! They’re planning to save already — I hope that one goes well. That way, it will finally be my turn to benefit from them!

That’s Papa Wentworth Miller :heart: on my screen, btw.

***

Last Thursday, we finally said goodbye to an officemate. Tina is one of my favorite people in the office. She and I have a lot of things in common and we went to the same university which is probably why we just clicked automatically even though we’ve only known each other for 3 months. It’s sad to see her go, especially for the others who have known her longer, but we all understand how important this is for her, so there’s really no point in forcing her to stay or letting her feel miserable about it. It’s just a fact of life. Some time later, for everyone, there’s always a greener pasture to move to somewhere.

Her closest friends arranged an “ultra secret” despedida lunch for her, and I was a tag-along. Invited at the veeery last minute. LOL. We were at Redbox karaoke in Greenbelt 3 having lunch and taking turns holding the microphone. The ultimate goal of our lunch together was to make Tina cry. She almost didn’t! Not until we coerced her to give her goodbye speech.

Sosyalan! Automated at de-remote itech!

Mark and Marc rendering their doble-kara version of Endless Love

The beautiful people of DWH

Tina singing “Stay” (by Lisa Loeb)

Incidentally, RedBox is having an awesome, awesome promo. From 12nn-3pm, you and your friends can get meals at affordable prices (from Php 100 – Php 200) and the karaoke room is free! So if you feel like singing in the middle of the day while having lunch with your friends, try Redbox in Greenbelt 3.

I swear I don’t work for Redbox or anything like that.

Goodbye, Tina! We’re now one pretty face less in the office. Huhu. We will miss you dearly.

As you can see, I have only a handful of contacts in my gTalk. Most of my friends are in Yahoo! Messenger, but unfortunately, Yahoo! seems to be lagging behind in the integrated instant-messaging area. I really wish they’d catch up quick. I’ve been waiting for the Yahoo! Messenger inside Yahoo! Mail feature which was announced 48 years ago but until today remains unavailable in my Yahoo! account.

More info: short YouTube video, GoogleBlog entry