View from the Porch

I realized that while I enjoy taking photos of buildings, landmarks, street and the like, I rarely take out my camera for subjects that are so familiar to me. I have photos of the view from my hotel window whenever I'm overseas, but it was only tonight that I took a shot of how the street outside Semihome looks at night. After several shots, I now know why.


Outside semihome | SonyDSC-H1

Egad! Those electric wires aren't lovely. >_<

{The Non-Expert} How to Say I Love You

"Question: I need 100 ways to say “I love you” to my girlfriend. We made a bet last night that I couldn’t come up with 100 and I can’t lose! Help me pa-pa-pa-pa-please non-expert. —Rod

Answer: Here’s the way to say “I love you”: rarely. To say it a hundred ways is to cheapen a pure sentiment; to place a bet with your girlfriend on your ability to do just that is to participate in a culture that has commoditized affection and thrown it into the remainder bin; and to ask someone else to come up with your hundred ways represents love at its nadir—pure romantic sloth. Why not deep-fry a bag of candy hearts and toss them on the rug for her to eat? That’s the (1) first suggestion.

Then there are the twee ways to say it: (2) with freshly cut flowers, assuming she is not a flower; (3) with a bust made of fudge; (4) with wee spaniels; (5) through blinking tears; (6) whispered to her hearing aid; (7) inscribed into her lawn with gasoline; (8) tattooed on your taint; (9) while she sleeps and you stand outside the window."


Read the remaining 91 ways here. The funniest thing I've read over the past 5 days. Before that, I actually can't remember what reading material made me laugh recently. Non-reading, it's definitely Bo Sanchez's and Hugh Grant's brand of humor.

Link fetched from dooce.com

Strike Three

Missed. (a.k.a. The things I looked forward to for weeks. Sudden change of plans and the typhoon and the lack of comm'n erased all the planning. *cries*)
+ Shanti's first solo exhibit at Bliss Cafe, Nov 25
+ Sunrise Art Festival at Baguio, Nov 23-25. :\
+ Ang Ink + Canvas' Book launch for The Boy Who Touched Heaven, this evening at Serendra.
+ Neil Gaiman in Fullybooked, Nov 24.

Caught
+ Bo Sanchez's 1Hr talk at our company, Nov 22. - Inspiring and funny. Been reading his columns / books and this was the first time I got to watch him talk live. *starstruck* :D
+ 2008 Strategic planning at Tagaytay, Nov 23. I wish we stopped for Hydrangeas and pinya!
+ 3 bars of Toblerone, prize for the Battle Cry contest. Not my entry. All 3 bars gone after 1 hr staff meeting this am.
+ Music & Lyrics, 16 Blocks, The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy.. Great. Great. OK.

+++++++++++++
reading : Blueprint Magazine back issue
feeling : Sleep deprived, still
hearing : Tokyo Drift theme by Teriyaki Boyz

Aurora

Desktop screenshot, Nov. 14.
WP courtesy of National Geographic.

Lovely.

+++++++++++++
reading : blog templates, css codes, Blogger Help - template, lots of *.txt's and *.html's
feeling : sleep deprived
hearing : imogen heap - can't take it in

Shanghai Baby - Part II

Day 2: 8-6 meeting + Dinner at The Tang Dynasty restaurant + Coffee at Pudong Riverside


 

Puxi as viewed from Pudong; Pearl Orient Tower | Sony DSC-H1



Larger versions of the images and the rest of the photos are at flickr.

Shanghai Baby

kgt_333: looks like the Taiwan fiasco was limited to.. Taiwan.

All the hoping and praying worked ;] Got to see more than Pudong Airport, Sheraton Hotel and ATC. And no greeedy drivers, too! Thanks to kgt & lara, kind souls who picked me up from my place and brought me safely to PAL C2 Terminal at Sunday 4am, and v.v. Wednesday night at 9pm.


Blurry in Shanghai | Sony DSC-h1

Day 1: Stalls/Shops outside YuYuan Garden + Divisoria-looking malls + Crab! + Nanjing Road & People's Square


So there I was, taking photos of the aged, arched roofs of *YuYuan Garden* just to find out later that they're not at all aged. ;p Arched, yes. The shops / buildings were added just recently. (The real) YuYuan Garden is a smaller structure at the center of all the stores / restuarants, waiting to show its ancient charm to anyone willing to pay ~200 pesos. Since my tour guide wasn't willing, a solo visit was mentally scheduled for Day 4. ;)






November to February are THE crab months. Yummy. There's nothing else to say really.



Went inside all the malls along Nanjing Road in search for The 2008 Journal and some brush pens. Unfruitful search, but a good excuse to visit all the malls ;p and to later sit and watch all the lights blinking and shining restlessly.

This place obviously has a happy lively vibe.

Connected!

Finally gave in and called Sixto, The SmartBro Agent, and applied for internet services at my semiHome. Tonight, it will be celebrating it's 1st week(anni)versary and so far, all I can say is : I should have done this earlier. *shakes head*

One downside is that I'm getting way much less sleep than before. My eyebags are the size of Luzon. Sleep has been traded for:

- IM exchanges with pinoyIrish, lorna bebe, Kit, Tiff!!, Crughmie, my cousin Amy, Chekla
- flickr uploads
- (long overdue) website organizing and a little tweaking here and there. Unified most of my site blogs into one and added archive browsing by labels which made more sense. 'Have also removed "read.words," which should have been a repository for, well, words *rolls eyes* and which has been "under construction" for years. Changed it to "view.maps" where I intend to track my travels. It's now still "under construction." Sus.

Alice's and Ruth's passport

ready to go! | sony dsc h1

Passport - Check. Chinese visa - Check.

Off to the land of tsinitos on Sunday. Let's all hope and pray for victory this time.