Game Plan 2011

Tomorrow will be 2011 and I am already referring this year as “last year”. I am that excited. As much as I want to say that having New Years resolution is so cliché’ I still end up having (and posting) mine. After all, I started this year’s (2010)  resolution around August. So yeah, I’m a lazy procrastinator. So here are my Things To Do In 2011 and The Game Plan

1. Lose Weight

Nope, this is not a recurring NY Resolution. As a matter of fact my goal last year this year was to gain weight. My mom and friends scolded me when I went home last February with collar bone showing and sunken cheeks.  They said that I am not taking care of myself. So when I get back here, I decided to put some weight and binge. It’s not really that hard to do. Especially if you have a Hawker Center downstairs selling cheesy fries at uber cheap price. But when my girlfriend came to visit here, she noticed my obvious love handles which she called muffins, and my chest turning in to boobs. Also I noticed that all my photos are showing a noticeable double chin. Fuck.

Game Plan

I bought a Nike Shoes with that smart chip thingey that monitors the calories burned, miles covered and GPS tracking. As I can only see the results when plugged in an iphone/ipod, I also need the additional hardware. So I bought an Ipod Touch 4. So the premise is, I will be motivated to run and train because its a waste of money if i didn’t use the gadgets.

I also compulsively registered for the Sundown Marathon. I signed up for the 21K. Never mind that I have been a couch potato for the rest of the year and I still use the elevator in my 3 story apartment. At least I will be forced to train. 

2. Learn to Cook

I am a self professed expert in frying and boiling foods. My current masterpieces includes boiling and frying hotdogs, frying the perfect sunny side up eggs and boiling the perfect temperature of water for nissin cup noodles and of course evenly slathering Nuttela on Gardenia. I needed to up my ante.

Game Plan

I installed this Jaime Oliver cooking app and I plan to do at least 1 recipe per week. Again the app is not free so I will be “motivated” to use it. Also I bought pots and pans and cooking wares last year when I moved place but still haven’t unpacked it yet.

3. Travel to at least 3 countries

So I’ve been to Boracay, Melaka, and Indonesia this year. (Damn my Batam Trip is still in draft mode) I am planning on going somewhere where I need to fly over. Possibly Yogyakarta, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur.

Game Plan

I finished paying my credit card dues and I think its time to max it out again. I will grab seats when there is a ticket sale, regardless if I have a travel companion or not. And I will apply for visa right away. No backing up. I was not ready for the Paris Sale ticket from Air Asia, so I gotta get even next year.

4. Shoot More Film

I bought 2 digital cameras this year. The Canon G11 that only lasted for 4  1/2 months (it went swimming on it’s own) and my current Nikon D3000. I haven’t been going out with my Holga and Vivitar underwater cams and I still have a lots of films undeveloped. I really really miss their unpredictability and artistic outputs, especially now that there are a lot of “apps” out there purportedly giving the same results. Its like piracy. If you want the effects, buy a goddamn real camera.

Game Plan

Set up a blog and stick with it. HolgaProject365 starts on January 1. I already have 31 days ready pictures I took this month to be posted all through out January.

5. New Industry

I feel like a robot now, the work is like a routine everyday. I don’t even see myself moving forward or backwards in my career. It is so sad. I became a travel agent because I thought I can travel, but it is the complete opposite. Instead, I am stuck at the office convincing clients to take this or that airlines, routes, itinerary etc. when I, myself haven’t been there. It is so fake.

Game Plan

Resign. And I did. My last day is on January 20. I already passed my resumes to creative, events and consultancy agencies. I am confident in my skills and I am a fast learner. I am techy if I may say so, and am familiar with the basics of HTML, and website designs. I think it is time for me to turn my hobby into something productive. Wish me luck on that.

So there, Happy New Year y’all and Hope you fulfil your new years resolution too!

3 years in 4:38 Minutes

If my life in 3 years is to flash. This would be it.

My Pummelvision from Million Monks on Vimeo.

How to Ruin Your Life

I finally resigned from my job today.
I've been planning that for months now and I think this is just the right time to do it.

This means that:
1. I will be stuck jobless in a foreign land.
2. I will lose a handsome income plus commission,
3. I will lose my medical insurance,
4. 18 days paid vacation,
5. Staff Discounts at airlines,
6. First dibs on airline promo fares,
7. Phone and transportation allowance,
8. I will have move out again on a smaller/cheaper room/apartment
9. And my Work Visa

Fuck

I am drowning

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… Supposedly

It's the weekend before Christmas and I found myself wandering at Orchard Road (again). The road lighting is grand, the malls are competing for the most attractive x-mas designs. There were giant snowmen, larger than life x-mas wreaths and x-mas trees as high as the mall themselves. There were mini-stages here and there with x-mas carol contest going on for every boutiques. Their songs are even overlapping each other. Makes you wonder is it Silent night you are hearing or Jingle bells? The Human traffic was horrible, with every couple, friends and families stopping to take pictures of the brilliantly lit street. Everywhere I look, every body looks happy, even the volunteers of Salvation Army in the corner standing there for a whole day with their bells and x-mas hats asking for donations and whatnots, looks contented.

It could be the perfect x-mas... except that I'm here and my family,  and friends are far-away, taking pictures of each other, without me in them. Going to CCP and eating dried squids or fish balls, buying and receiving gifts in return. Gifts that comes from the heart and not because it's compulsory for the x-mas party at the office. They will be eating, puto bumbong and bibingka, and pinoy style spaghetti and keso de bola and every heart stopping food out there, and not the laksa or meesiam (noodles with diff soups) that I usually eat. I think I'll be treating myself a double spicy chicken burger at Mc Donald's, and that's about it. They will be out on x-mas morning visiting Ninong and Ninang, and giving aguinaldo to their inaanak, while I sleep my head off hopefully until 2PM because my house mates are strangers and they have to work on x-mas day and leave me home alone again.In the evening they'll feast some more and grow fat and accumulate cholesterol while I wash my clothes and iron some long sleeves because well, there’s work to do on monday.

Well, I could phone them, I definitely would. Just to hear their jokes and well wishes and their voices. I would hear them say "uwi ka na kuya" or request stupid things like "gusto ko ng dunkin donut pag uwi mo" . I'd be happy and sad at same time, until my cell phone load runs out after 30mins-45mins of international telebabad. After that, I'd be sad and miserable and wretched again, then I'll just probably force myself to sleep again.. on x-mas day.

I read somewhere (was it Shantaram?), that the character loves to sleep so much because you can't be sad when you're sleeping. That you can be happy and afraid when you dream, but you have to be fully awake to be sad. Somehow that makes sense. I can attend parties,yeah, that would be great. But then again, It's parties without my family and close friends, I'll be bored to death. It's almost always a best thing to be bored alone, than be bored with someone else. At least when you're alone you can go to sleep. Geddit?

So that's what will happen this week. Christmas week. I shudder to think what will happen next week. New years week. I have not heard any single watusi even.

Well, I can do all those things McCully Culkin did at Home Alone franchice. Set booby traps and all, or something to that effect. But I'm just amusing myself.

Anyhoo... Merry Chirstmas to all. And Merry Xmas too me too. I Hope.

Nothing To Worry About

Something weird happened just now. I was drafting a gloomy post in relation to this gloomy picture I took and wanted to call it “This way to Gotham”. It is a story on how I finally got the time to go back to this forlorn street after weeks of self imposed reasons like I’m too busy and the bus stop is too far, or what to do after, or the street is too mainstream for “dark theme photography” (is there such a thing?) but in between drafting I was chatting with a friend about the good life in Philippines, beaches we’ve been to, bitches we met, that pacman shoes we saw online, how the colors change when you squint one eye and more trivial but happy matters. I was  typing and tagging interesting snippets and words because it i think it was funny and would make a good blogging material sometime in the future. I didn’t realize I was mixing two thoughts at the same time. Anyhoo, Ithis is what it came out and  thought I’d arrange them like this to look like a poem or something.

Lets forget about
the stock market
or ruling the world
for the meanwhile
and appreciate
a glass of cold water
soft pillows
and a pleasant smile

Let's be amazed
with the fact
that the yellow sun rises
and not fuss about
promotions, 3 day sales
and winning Nobel prizes

Let's not worry
where the human race is headed
or if you will pass
tomorrows test
We can't win the universe
some times "good enough"
is better than "best"

Stop chasing for that
millionaire husband
or beauty queen wife
talk to your dog
buy ice cream
eat cake
and see the sparkle
in a simple kind of life

So yeah, there. My Lame  Attempt on Poetry (Accidental though it may be)

How to Make a Holga Splitzer

I know a lot of people who prefers the Diana instead of a Holga just for the sake of wizz bang features/add-ons/hacks. Diana got lots of lens adaptor, splitzer and even a polaroid back. Well F**k that. Yeah it may be cool but I don’t wanna shell out $$$ for a feature that I won’t really use.

Here comes Holga's answer for the Splitzer. There have been a lot of "modifications" available for a Holga making it the "Frankenstein" of all toy cameras. This this one I assure you is non-destructive.

First tip when you bought your Holga is to ditch the lens cap. Its easy to forget to take it off, and in my case, in my first few rolls I stupidly wasted almost half the roll because of this. But who says it's totally useless?  

To make a Holga Splitzer, all you need is that cap and 2 minutes of your time! Yes, that's just freaking 2 minutes! (and some band-aid if you're a clutz)

You will need;

Errmm… that’s all. And here’s what you do;

Cut it in half (that’s the first and final step)

And here are the results;

Needless to say, I need more practice in guesstimating the vanishing point, but hey if I say so myself the first self portrait was on the spot

Why I love Saturday

1. I can wake up late

2. I like to do laundry. I love the smell of powdered detergent and the vrrrooom—shsssss---vrrrooom sound of the washing machine (ok i get it I’m weird)

3. I get to cook something. Which I can’t do on weekdays. Its either I’m running late in the morning to bother breakfast, or to tired to cook dinner. On Saturday, I can cook hmmm… hotdogs at least, and boil water for my Nissin’s Cup Noodles.

4. Every reason is  a good reason to go out. Tonight I am here in Starbucks at Orchard Road for the free wifi, before this I’ve been to a lotsa place just to “check-in” in as many places as I can in Gowalla and Foursquare.

5. Saturday for the whole week of December is a Photo Bazaar day at Objectifs, and the stash of films are on sale. I bought 3 rolls of experimental 120 redscales films and 3 rolls of lomo slide films.

6. I like hanging out at my cousin’s place to play Wii.

7. Most of the time, for some reason, Saturday is Sunnier than Sunday.

8. I can sleep late, like wait for Sunday.

Anyhoo, I like all my post to have pictures however unrelated, so I present to you the most fondled Buddha Statue in Singapore! He looks so happy don’t you think?

Vivitar UWS, Fuji Sensia