It’s the middle of the week for most everyone, but for me it’s the last of the work-week

I leave you, working guys and gals, with no less than Richard Lovelace (1618-1657)

On freedom… very fitting…

TO  ALTHEA From Prison.

WHEN Love with unconfined wings
    Hovers within my Gates ;
And my divine Althea brings
    To whisper at the Grates ;
When I lye tangled in her haire
    And fettered to her eye ;
The Gods that wanton in the Aire,
    Know no such Liberty.

When flowing Cups run swiftly round
    With no allaying Thames,
Our carelesse heads with Roses bound,
    Our hearts with Loyall Flames ;
When thirsty griefe in Wine we steepe,
    When Healths and draughts go free,
Fishes that tipple in the Deepe,
    Know no such Libertie.

When (like committed linnets) I
    With shriller throat shall sing
The sweetnes, Mercy, Majesty,
    And glories of my KING ;
When I shall voyce aloud, how Good
    He is, how Great should be ;
Enlarged Winds that curle the Flood,
    Know no such Liberty.

Stone Walls do not a Prison make,
    Nor Iron bars a Cage ;
Mindes innocent and quiet take
    That for an Hermitage ;
If I have freedome in my Love,
    And in my soule am free ;
Angels alone that sore above,
    Injoy such Liberty.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!  Watch out for a bit of street photography on the days ahead.  My treat.

I was with Jimmy and Vic when we received the call that we were gonna head to Tagaytay that day.  I knew it was going to be a fun night ahead.

My expectations were met.

We drank, and laughed.  When morning came I had breakfast with my friends.

All I can say is, cheers to my friends and to Schwavingas Chinurvanes!!! (That’s hangover talk for you, the people at Jollibee thought we were dead crazy lol)

The gang decided to meet up at the bar called Central at BF Homes Paranaque.

What a fun night!  Love you guys!

Finally I can say that with my career, I am happy where I am after months of uncertainty and turmoil.  My situation has finally settled and equalized, and I have finally become at ease.

I’m just lucky to have been given this chance to rise from the ashes once again…

I used to shelter myself from other people, believe it or not.  It had something to do with my experiences (of loss) over the last few years.  I could not appreciate people who didn’t share similar battle scars, so to speak.  I’d roll my eyes when I would hear a person complain about their life and how problematic they’ve been.  Part of me wants to slap that person back to reality by saying:  “Look, I lost my parents and my sister… been through hell and back… so tell me, is your life worth complaining about?!?!”

But the situation is different now.  Over the past few months I have gained friends that have caused me to go out of my shell.  I’m happy with that but I have, just now, realized that there are some downsides:  some people think that they can easily ridicule you just because you’re nicer.

I think I need to reflect on how I can balance this out.  In the meantime, don’t mistake me for somebody else.  I’m still an individual…  strengthened by the war of life…  surviving with a formidable will. 

In short, I can still beat the hell out of anybody.

I went straight to this gathering of friends after our Firm’s summer outing.

But I only got as far as halfway of the drinking session (after dinner) before I decided to sleep it off.  My energy is not at all inexhaustible, you know.

Just a thought:  That evening, the universe must have given me yet another gift of clarity.  Well at least it’s starting to show me the path to realizing it.  But this much is clear, there is something that’s lacking, or something that was lost along the way.  Sorry for being cryptic…

Our team at the recently concluded summer outing at the firm was white, or White Vodka Martini.  This is us (ALL of us)practicing our cheer.

The other teams were named after other stuff - Yellow Banana, etc.  We were aptly named if I do say so myself.  Here’s the proof…

We had to smuggle out so many bottles after the overnight, that my beloved backpack had to be used to haul all of them to one of the cars.

A thousand apologies, Andy Spade.  I know that you did not have this use in mind when you created the bag.  But it had to be done… lol ;-) 

By the way, the beach at Montemar was crazy fun!  Just look at those waves!!!

This must be the hangover talking, we were doing a jazillion surfing poses by the rocks.  Our senior manager had a puzzled look when he asked us, “What are you doing?”

This is Ronald, our practice manager…

At the end of the trip, I was satisfied and happy…  This is a great teambuilding activity.

I love summer

Here I am posing with my friend Rach at the Company’s Summer Outing.

Just take a guess why THAT’s the title.

We both love our sunglasses, don’t we?  I myself buy them at least once a year.  Mossimo is my fave brand, because they’re stylish enough and won’t cost you an arm.

(The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania (1846) by Sir Joseph Noel Patton)

The names Oberon and Titania have been bugging me all day, so I just had to google it.  Of course I know my lore, that they are the king and queen of the fairies.  I just wanted to know these archetypes’ origins.

I’ve been so out of the anime/cosplay convention loop that I know not when the next event will be.

These pics were taken last December at the SMX Convention Center.

I’m missing doing that asian trademark pose in the most appropriate place ever!!!

Can anyone tell me if there’s one coming up?  Pretty please?!!!

I bought my first dual sim phone, the S22 Duo.  I’m loving it.

S22 DUO
The First Dual Active SIM Slider Phone

Specifications:

Network: GPRS/GSM 900/1800
Camera: 1.3 Megapixels CMOS
Display: 176 x 220 pixels, 2.0”, 262K colors TFT
Connectivity: USB
Memory: 800 entries Phonebook Memory
Expansion: Micro SD/T-flash memory card slot up to 1GB
Device Control: Alphanumeric keypad
MEssaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, E-mail
GPRS: Class 12, WAP 2.0 browser
Sound: 2 stereo speakers, 3D-surround effect
Multimedia: MP3/MP4 player/Video Recorder
Battery: 950 mAh
Dimension: 98 x 49 x 17.9mm
Weight: 102g

Standby time: 100 hrs.
Talk time: 120 mins.

I think the phone is very basic but it does the job fine.  I can finally just carry one phone during weekends (My Nokia E61i I’m keeping for office use).  My Nokia 2630 is now up for sale by the way.

BBQ time at the Besas!!!  We talked, laughed and drank under the stars

And with the candle lit tables, we got some nice shots… as enigmatic as cholo can get hahaha…  joke!

And as enigmatic as the self-dubbed Enigma, Richard can get uhhh… redundant?

Fun fun night, I got home at 7am and just fell into slumber the whole day after…

Compliments to the bartender, Pau for the great drinks (and the spoiler-proof picture!  Idol!!!)

The days just fly by and are just way fun with these guys.

These are different solo shots of some of my good friends

I always thought that I wasn’t the type of person who could give so much love… that having a one-track mind meant having a one-track heart.  But I’m glad these people proved me wrong.  I now know that love is an infinite commodity.  We can make as much as we want…

Eyelavem…

We had fun at the courts last Saturday

Just another weekend

This is the Pentax Optio W10.

I think this is the camera that my friend Rubi said she’d buy for me.  Good good friend!

Here are some of the features according to the site:

High waterproof performance, without the need for a case

The Optio W10 complies with JIS class 8 waterproof performance, enabling it to withstand up to 30 minutes of continuous operation at an underwater depth of 1.5 meters. Furthermore, the Optio W10 has also been proven to conform to Class 5 dustproof performance of category 2 (machines produced to prevent internal changes in atmospheric pressure). Such capabilities make it ideal for use when skiing, taking part in marine sports, going fishing or enjoying other outdoor events. Waterproof performance of this kind also means users can simply rinse the camera off any time it becomes dirty.

2.5-inch LCD monitor with superb visibility outdoors

The Optio W10 comes with a new 2.5-inch low-reflection LCD monitor. The LCD cover is finished with a non-glare coating, making the screen easier to see even outside on a sunny day. The LCD backlighting mechanism features a brightness adjustment as well as a Power Saving mode, which automatically reduces the backlight intensity to preserve battery life.

High-quality movie recording

The Optio W10 smoothly captures movies at 30 fps (frames per second) at sizes up to 640 × 480 pixels with image quality rivaling camcorders.