Year 2009 Long Holidays
Pack your traveling bags, prepare your passports, and book your plane tickets ahead of time. Year 2008 may be gone but the long holidays are still here. Thanks to GMA and her holiday economics, friends and families can spend more time with each other.
Below are the dates that were officially declared as non-working holidays together with my plans on how I wish to spend it.
April 6 – Araw ng Kagitingan
(April 4-6 long holiday)
PLAN: Since this is summer time, a trip in the neighboring islands of Bohol, Cebu, or Siquijor is a good idea.
April 9-12 – (Easter Holidays)
PLAN: Since I don’t observe Easter, a trip to Boracay with some friends is a good idea. Anybody who wants to come with me is free to contact me.
May 1 – (Labor Day)
(May 1-3 long holiday)
PLAN: A day after pay day is always a good day to spend money on food. Food trip!
June 12 – Independence Day
(June 12-14 long holiday)
PLAN: A week after the classes will start. Not a good weekend to be far away. Perhaps three days to read a good book is not a bad idea.
August 31 – National Heroes Day
(August 29-31 long holiday)
PLAN: Another day after pay day. A trip to Kawasan Falls in Cebu is a good idea. I’ve never been there even if it’s just a bus ride away. Hopefully, a bonus from Silliman.
November 30 – Bonifacio Day
(November 28-30 long holiday)
PLAN: Another day right after pay day. This time, money should be on a tight leash. Save it for the holidays on December.
December 25 – 31 – Holiday Season
PLAN: Hopefully, no work between these dates just like what we had last year. This season, my friends, is dedicated to my family. I can only go home once a year so I might as well enjoy it with those people who are very close to my heart.
Note: Plans are subject to change.
Davao’s Blogger-Friendly Airport
Almost everywhere you look in Davao City, there’s free WiFi and one of its popular hotspots is no other than the Davao International Airport located in Buhangin, Davao City.
Passengers can choose between Globequest and SmartBro but I always had a hard time connecting to SmartBro.
There are also desktop computers connected to SmartBro’s Broadband Internet Connection that are available to those who need to access the web.
How to hurt us
I’ve gone through a lot of pains and heartaches in the past. Men are not the only heartbreakers in this world. Women, too, break our hearts. Right, guys?
I managed to compile how women hurt OUR hearts based on my personal experience and also from my friends’ experiences. Here’s the list:
1. Answer the guy who courts you. Then a few months later, tell him you never loved him.
2. Kiss him then tell him it’s nothing to be concerned about. It was just a friendly kiss.
3. Spend more time with him. Act like you care about him or pretend that you are starting to like/love him then tell him how you like/love another guy.
4. Blame the guy for not exerting any effort to save your relationship.
5. Sleep with another guy and tell your guy how lame he is in bed.
6. Keep photos of your ex in your wallet.
7. Have a guy best friend and tell your guy how great you feel when you are with your best bud.
8. Spread nasty rumors about your guy to your friends. Sooner or later, he’ll find out.
9. Get in contact with your ex.
10. Be passive to his physical or emotional advancements.
11. Show that you’re bored as hell when he talks. The “ah ok” and “I see” works just fine. Silence often kills.
12. Don’t show up during dates. Then later on, tell him you had more important things to do.
13. Don’t appreciate what he does.
14. Make fun of his mistakes.
15. Completely stop communicating with your guy. He’ll go crazy for sure.
All of these will surely have your guy’s heart bleeding. Enjoy.
Thou shall…
We, Filipinos, care about personal hygiene and cleanliness; therefore,
Taken in a restaurant somewhere in Dumaguete.
My 2008 Year-End Wrap-Up
The year 2008 may be over but, surely, what a great year it was! Looking back at 2008, I realized that it wasn’t just a year of reformation of myself, but also for the people close to my heart.
For me, last year was…
…the Year I started to read books seriously;
…the Year I realized how sloppy my room was, thus, forcing me to clean the room from floor to ceiling;
…the Year I lost my grandmother;
…the Year I started to see the fruits of my labor (bought a laptop and a phone with my own money);
…the Year I realized that once you forgot to pay your credit card on time, you will be charged with PHP500;
…the Year I passed my Civil Service Examination;
…the Year I got to travel to places I’ve never been to;
…the Year I found myself in a situation where I had to choose between two people;
…the Year I carnapped two motorcycles and got away with it easily;
…the Year I single-handedly knocked down five friends with beer (Luckily, I don’t drink; otherwise, I’m also included);
…the Year I almost killed two people (driving at 60 and suddenly two stupid people, who stopped their motorcycle in the middle of the road, appeared out of nowhere. Good thing I have good reflexes.);
…the Year I managed to take care of a child as her father for two days;
…the Year Madapaka was born.
To wrap it all up, 2008 was one of the best years of my life. Looking forward for a great year this year.
My 2009 to-do list
Here’s my Year 2009 list of things to do. Hopefully, I can achieve all of these before the year ends.
- Stop being a slave-driver.
- Clean my room every week.
- Learn to love and love to learn.
- Start to appreciate rock music.
- Smile more often.
- Value health.
- Value career.
- Value people.
- Value relationships.
- Value money.
- Value values.
- Quit online games.
- Start making plans and fulfill them this time.
- Learn to play another musical instrument.
- Manage our family business.
- Find a serious relationship.
- Love God even more.
- Finish reading Koran even though I’m not a Muslim.
- Have at least 8 hours of sleep.
- Earn more money.
- Read more books.
- Write more often.
DGTE-CBU-DVO Trip
Last December 19, I left Dumaguete to go home to Davao via Cebu. I had the chance to meet some of my friends in Cebu. These are some of the pictures that we took despite the fact that time was running short. I was supposed to board the plane at around 6:00 in the evening but unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic and the plane left without me. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I enjoyed their company.
The Palengke Senator
Sen. Mar Roxas, known as the charismatic and maka-masa Mr. Palengke and known to be as one of the staunch supporters of the Anti-Gloria and Anti-Cha-cha movement, joined the rally yesterday to express their “righteous anger” against the revision of the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly.
“Putang ina! Patayin ang Gloria-forever Cha-cha na ito!”, screamed Sen. Mar Roxas during the rally.
Mr. Senator, there are proper channels to express your disgust with the government. Publicly cursing the government and uttering profanity in front of thousands of Filipinos (including nuns and children) are not what I expect from you.
Mukha ngang bagay talaga sa iyo ang tawaging Mr. Palengke dahil sa bunganga mo.
User Interfaces: the mouse and its cousins
The computer mouse just turned 40 years old earlier this week. And from the time it was first demonstrated by Douglas Engelbart in 1968, it evolved from the one-button device made of wood to the present day 2 to 3-button device that comes in different sizes, shapes, and colors.
Undeniably, the computer mouse helped us over the years to interact with the computer but with the advent of single-touch and multi-touch interfaces today, users are slowly moving away with the point-and-click interface using the mouse.
Single-touch interfaces were developed in the early 80s. It uses a touchscreen panel where it could only sense a single point in the screen. This is common in PDAs and early laptop touchpads.
On the other hand, multi-touch interfaces allow users to touch multiple points in the screen/touchpad using highly-sensitive pads, light emitting diodes and cameras that can capture both heat and pressure.
This technology was first seen in phones when Apple, right after it acquired Fingerworks, launched the iPhone in 1997.
Jeff Han, founder of Perceptive Pixel and developer of the multi-touch interface first seen in TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), is also one of those who took user experience to a whole new level. The idea behind Han’s multi-touch screen system is that users can directly interact and manipulate objects, pictures, sound, and some desktop applications using their fingers (plural form).
So what can we expect from user interfaces in the future? Honestly, the possibilities are endless. But there’s one thing for sure: We will surely have the best user experience than any computer mouse could offer.
My Madapaka Sheet 