Free Lasik screening!

Yesterday I went to the Lasik Surgery Center (LSC) at the Megaclinic in Megamall to claim my free Lasik surgery screening. Yes, it's free! Why, you ask?

I joined a promo by Business World and Lasik Surgery Clinic where all you need to do... is tell them how lasik surgery can change your life, and for a mere 50 words and 5 minutes of your time, you get a free Lasik screening and 20% off on the actual Lasik procedure package! The prize of course is a free Lasik procedure, and only those who are good candidates for Lasik can qualify for the contest.

I was really planning to get my eyes corrected this year or next year, but since the opportunity presented itself, I thought, why not? It was Batangas Fiesta yesterday so we were on Holiday, so I got myself an appointment at LSC and went.

It was quite interesting really, aside from the usual test like reading the letters and looking at that red house in the distance, they made me take other tests like looking through a tunnel and another where I had to stare at a fuzzy red light. Another interesting test was when they literally touched my eyes with a probe thingy after the dropped an anesthetic on them, and when the doctor peered into my eyeballs after the dilated my pupils.

They also showed me a video presentation of how the actual procedure will happen, and a one on one discussion to clear any doubts and answer any questions I had.

I am really hoping to win this contest (I'll post my entry only if I win) so I can get that free Lasik! That would be awesome! Pray for me aight.

(Photo taken from http://www.drwilliamboothe-lasik.net/index.html)

The Beginning of an Addiction: Coffee

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional nor have I have taken any tests that prove that I am suffering from any psychological disorders.


This post is in response to a really cool website featured a few days ago on "Blogs of Note" called Coffee Messiah. It was all about, well...coffee. :D

I started drinking coffee about 9 years ago. My first cup of espresso was on the dinner table of the Pizzocherro house in Cascine San Pietro, Italy. I didn't like the strong bitter flavor at first so the next time they offered I took some cappucino instead. Italians love their coffee almost as much as their wine, so every meal we had ended with a "Cafe?" from Mama Ornella...

By the time we were to leave Italy I was hooked. To Manila I brought home a Moka (espresso maker) and bags of Italian coffee. After I've gone through those I went for Starbucks. :p When Starbucks began giving those planners for Christmas, I would usually get at least 2 - and that translates to how much coffee I've consumed!

In the years that have passed though, my coffe addiction has waned. I've had lesser and lesser coffee for health reasons (acid!), as well as financial reasons (recession!). Starbucks isn't getting cheaper.

So I've kicked the habit, save for a few months ago when I "rediscovered" coffee and learned to enjoy it in a different way (pressed coffee!). My dad, also a coffee drinker, wants to buy a coffee press now.

But coffee, like shampoo or underwear, will always be a part of my life. I probably will be drinking coffee until the acid burns a hole in my stomach and I can't drink it anymore, then I'd have to take it intravenously. xp


Read my old post about Coffee addiction on Xanga waaay back in 2006 here.

Pagudpud, Vigan and other related adventures

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As mentioned in my last post, me and my family, my girlfriend, my sister's boyfriend, and my grandmom all went to Pagudpud for the long holiday. Pagudpud can be found at the northernmost tip of the Philippines' biggest island, Luzon. Click here for some more info about Pagudpud.

Obama, Dureza, AI, and the end of my 11-day Holiday

Obama will be US President on January 20, 2009. The question now becomes: can he live up to all the hype? I sure hope so.

But in any case, we Filipinos shouldn't worry. Sec. Dureza says, we are, along with China, the 2 most resilient economies in the East. I suppose it's just a fluke that the equity funds I own are now almost half the value. Hehehe...

AI is coming too! That's American Idol. On the 15th! (Or is the 16th?) And again, I'll be hawking away at youtube, trying to find the clips before it gets taken down.

My 11-day vacation is over.
It was actually too long I almost forgot I even work. Haha.

My family & I, with my lola, my gf and my sister's bf, drove 2 cars up north to the white sandy beaches of Pagudpud. We were not disappointed, the beach was great! We had so much fun "fighting" the waves and losing, and rolling around on the sand. Haha.

We also took photos of the windmills. Awesome clean energy!
We had lunch at Vigan. Passed the Patapat Bridge. Jumped off the northernmost tip of Luzon. (Don't worry, I'll post pictures of this!) And visited relatives in Cagayan.

Kudos! NLEX and SCTEX rock! lol.

It's great to spend time with your loved ones. :D I highly recommend it.

Family, Friends and Memories

It has become a sort of Christmas tradition of mine to send out a Christmas greeting to everyone I've met from around the world. Usually, a lot of emails bounce because either email accounts have been closed or their inboxes full (hopefully of Christmas & New Year messages like this one), but most get through, and it gives me great satisfaction to think that somewhere on the other parts of the world, a friend or family is reading my holiday greetings!

Sometimes a few reply with the fondest greetings and some even with photos. That's the coolest thing about it really: that even though we have not seen each other in years, and even if it is just once a year, we remember and smile for the memories. :D

A WARM MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR from me & my family!!!

Seeing Stars

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A couple of weeks ago, I had my eyes checked. Turns out, the contacts and the glasses I am using now are already obsolete for my requirements.

So I bought new contact lenses (which cost a fortune) and tried them out last Saturday.

That evening I went out to the balcony to look at the stars.
For the last few years, when I looked at the stars I saw them as blobs of overlapping double images. They didn't even twinkle.

But that night, I saw them again. For the first time in a long time. As stars, and not as blobs of white.

And then at that moment, it was worth every centavo.

It's a Holiday?!?

I never thought I'd ever be this disappointed to hear about a new holiday...



Monday, December 8 is a holiday in the whole of Batangas Province.

Arfgh!

Googling "UP Concert Chorus"

Last night I was Googling "UP Concert Chorus", more out of habit than anything else, and found my old blogsite on Xanga. My first post was on Saturday, March 27, 2004. Wow.

At the time I was, 22 and still in college (ha!), I was with Liz for 1 year, I was President of the UP Concert Chorus, and we were preparing for a 3 week tour of Germany, Italy and France scheduled later that year... We had performances left and right, twice a week rehearsals for the coming tour.

Going on tour with the UPCC was really the highlight of my college life. My first tour in 2000 was my first time (ever) to be away from home for more than a week. I was 18 (and young and innocent haha!) and when you're touring the world at that age, there's just so much to learn and so many things to see. You could say that my first tour really globalized my perception, it opened the world to me, literally!

My second tour in 2003 was my toughest but most exciting and most memorable of the three. First, because Liz and I had just gotten together a month before we left for the tour. They say the first few months are always the make or break period in any relationship, and yes it was difficult at times, but we made it through, and with a tighter relationship too. ;)

Second, I was UPCC Stage Manager and Soloist. It was not such a difficult job on tour since most places are already equipped with stages and lights, etc., (although there were times where we had to move altars and benches, and huge tables...) but I did manage to enjoy both, especially the latter one. Haha! Hey, after all, I am The Tenor. lol... (a private joke which came about during the time when a lot of UPCC Tenors left for the San Miguel Chorale and there were some shows where I was the ONLY tenor there, hence the title...)

My third and last tour, the 2004 tour was my most relaxed tour. Hehe. I was President of UPCC, and I was graduating the following year. It was a short 3-week tour during the semestral break, which means none of the homesick teenagers, and petty quarrels over nothing. We went to Bochum, Germany for the Acapella Festival where I got to sing "Ikaw Ang Lahat sa Akin" to this awesome audience (and I have a video!). We also went to Cascine San Pietro in Italy, where one of my dearest host families live, the Pizzocherros and the Sudatis. :D And finally we went to Paris. Yes, Paris. :D My only regret during the 2004 tour was that Liz couldn't go. :_(

Anyway, it's late and I better get to bed. I'll ramble more about it some other time. :p

Bohol Bohol

Bohol Bohol

Here are some photos from our trip to Bohol.

The weather was awesome when we arrived. It had been raining for a couple of weeks and the forecast was gloomy, but it was all sunshine and cirrus clouds when we arrived.

We had booked a PAL flight to Tagbilaran via this packaged tour promo, and the flight was scheduled really early in the morning. We had to be at the Centennial Airport at 6AM...

The American Elections

I've been trying to follow the US Elections and may I say, it has really been very interesting, thought provoking, and (at the risk of sounding too geeky) really exciting. Haha.

Here's two very different candidates for the US Presidential seat: one old and experienced Caucasian guy called John (you can't get a more common white American name than that!), and the other an African American, black newbie Senator whose name, formerly unknown in the greater US and the rest of the world, but is now one of the most recognizable names in US Presidentiables history: Barack.

So it's John McCain vs Barack Obama. (Osama! ...no relation, just wanted to show how alike their names are, hehe!) I would personally vote for Barack, and apparently, so does majority of Americans (or at least the places where they do their polls). Obama has been leading in almost all the polls, be it online or otherwise. Although someone may argue that McCain's supporters are not exactly the crowd (or the generation?) that goes online and votes on polls. Obviously the younger Americans loves the younger candidate, but it's also Obama's "youth" and inexperience that they take against him.

And then there's the matter of the Vice President. If Obama is a Rockstar, then so Palin. Haha! If they win, she will probably NOT make a good VP in terms of skills and knowhow, but she will definitely capture the attention of the public.

Biden who?

I don't presume to know more than the average American Joe (or John) when I make this shamelessly unqualified prediction, that Barack will win. Despite the immense popularity of Palin, it's just not Palin vs Obama, it's the old guy vs Obama. And with a unique name like that, why wouldn't you vote for him?

Haha!

Bisperas ng Pasko

Yes I know it's only September. :p

I was checking the CCAFI Blog email when I saw a blog entry by UPCC alumnus and composer/arranger extraordinaire Manong Nhick Pacis (now based in the US). He posted a recording of a song called "Bisperas ng Pasko" on his Multiply page. He had this song recorded way back in 2000 (or 2001, not sure) when I was still kinda new with UPCC. Some of the members brought me to that "bara-bara" recording and I actually sang on it! (I sing the first few lines with Mon T.)
Here is the link>>
http://npacis.multiply.com/music/item/6
but you have to sign up with multiply before you can play it. :p hehe.

Enjoy!

I just feel like typing today

I have tons of work to do ... but I just feel like typing today (tonight, to be exact).

"Hey hey hey, are you OK?"
I am now a certified First Aider! I'm hoping I never get to use my new skills, but knowing that you know how to save someone's life is kinda cool. I can imagine how doctors must feel. Hehehe...

I'm off to Singapore (agen) next week for a few days. I'm attending a workshop this time around. Whoever is there, buy me some coffee aight. :D I'm leaving on Wednesday from the Centennial Airport (Terminal 2, the nicer airport). I'll be back in Maynila on Sunday next week. Oh, and I read somewhere that the NAIA 3 Terminal is now open (finally!).

They've formed a choir here in Shell Tabangao, and I'm one of the singers of course. Our conductor is a former Madz who took up Choral Conducting in the UPCMu.

It's a HOLIDAY on MONDAY! yay!

Tatay @ 50

Today, my dad celebrates his 50th Birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'TAY!!!


For the moment, my family is in different parts of the world: Tatay in Oman, Nanay & Ate in California, me in Batangas & Jett in Manila, but nevertheless, we will celebrate Tatay's 50th each in our own way. And the BIG parteh will come later. Hehe!


We love you Tatay!