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stuff from hong kong

2010-10-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

1 - H&M White Long sleeve Polo

2 - Giordono socks for friends and teammates - around 15 pairs

3 - H&M Beanie

4 - H&M Green Plaid Long sleeve Polo

5 - Giordano Black, Gray and White Polo shirt

6 - H&M Black Plaid Polo for the twins

7 - Western Digital 1 TB Desktop Harddrive

8 - DLink Wireless Router

9 - H&M Slim Fit Gray Denim Pants

10 - Giordano WWS Shirts for some friends

11 - H&M Socks

12 - Bossini Gray Pants

13 - 32gb iPhone 4

the iphone 4 saga

2010-10-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

ever since the iphone 4 was announce, i have been drooling to have one or to even touch one; and since the us iphone won't be sold as unlock units, the only chance i have was to wait for globe telecoms to bring it here or i get one from gray market. i made reservations already with globe, but my frustration for globe's not getting back to me took its toll; and i decided to just risk it and get a unit from hong kong if i can get one given the scarcity of units all over the world.

i searched around on how to scout for an iphone 4 from authorized apple resellers via blogs and forums. i printed out a 2-page list of stores and their addresses - this is how i prepared to this calvary to find that elusive jesus-phone.

oct 16 - 1st day in hong kong. even though we have strict schedule, i took every chance i get to check out the stores i have in the. i have checked out different fortress stores (around 5 i guess) to no avail. we carried on to what we were supposed to do in the city - that is to visit disneyland. seeing lotsa people around playing with their iphone 4 made me feel sad and frustrated. even my brothers know how affected i am. that's how serious i was about getting an iphone there. day 1 done with no iphone and i slept with sadness within me.

oct 17 - day 2 and we really have dedicated the morning for shopping and my search for the iphone. my brothers were really supportive, and i appreciate them on cheering me up. the whole morning, while we were shopping i was checking out around if there were fortress or broadway or any apple store around. I believed we were able to check out around 20 authorized apple reseller just for that elusive phone. I gave up already and and prepared myself to go home empty handed until my brother checked out 1 store and he asked him to go back after 3 hours, they are waiting for the shipment. i rejoiced, really, that time. and even if the shipment won't happen, i held to that string of hope. we decided to go to mongkok to check out that computer center and the sneaker street. went back before 6 pm (before that 3 hours we spared) and viola, the very kind chinese guy reserved a 32gb unit for me! i was really thankful to him and also to my brother who checked out that store.

hong kong trip with the brothers

2010-10-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

there are lotsa stories to tell about this hong kong trip with my brothers ; so i'll start on how it happened. but if you wan't to learn my calvary on the search for that iphone 4, hit the link now for no iphone 4 story will be told on this post.

one early morning, i was shaken up from sleep by my brother to book a promo flight to hong kong. i was like hypnotized by his command and took my credit card without hesitations; and booked the flight in minutes.

with very little planning, we found ourselves in the airport come oct. 15. we arrived in the city at around 11:00pm; roamed around and searched for 30 mins for that inn I booked online; roamed around at midnight to see what's around the hotel then back to the room to rest and prepare for Day 1.

day 1 - the plan: big buddha via cable car and disneyland hong kong. what carried out: city outlet, disneyland and night market. well, due to that 1.5 hour queue to ride the cable car + 20 mins travel to big buddha, we decided to just check out that city outlet mall - the first mall in hk we have visited. i bought nothing while my brothers shop to death (ok, that one was exaggerated). ate at this japanese restaurant that made us smell like fried meat in olive oil. planning to take a shot; but i was told it is not allowed.

the disneyland - the major, well 2nd major, reason why i decided to go to hong kong. great experience. tiring. caters to kids and kids at heart. lotsa people there, and when i say lotsa i mean LOTSA. the most exciting part was the halloween parade. still, it'll be the best halloween celebration i had so far, and the best kuya geno's birthday celebration he had so far.

day 2 - the plan: shopping in the morning and the peak in the evening. what carried out: shopping in the morning, mongkok in the afternoon and the peak in the evening. the shopping was very tiring not for me or my younger brother, ken, but for the eldest brother. shopping around hong kong is really fun - the place to be! mongkok on the other hand was too much crowded for me; but hey, was able to score a 1tb hardrive and wireless routers for a bargain price. then the victoria peak was.. i dunno. we just enjoyed the madame tussaud's wax museum, while the peak itself was too cold and we decided to go back to the inn.

it was basically a short stint in hk; 2-day-trip packed with amazing race adventure since 'twas our first time there. but hey, i survived it and had a good wekend bonding with the siblings.

[late post] mt. pinatubo x-perience

2010-09-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2010 - i know, it's super late!!

Meet up the night before to spend the night at alvin’s place somewhere in marilao, bulacan since we are planning to be on time for the scheduled adventure to the peak of mt. Pinatubo somewhere in tarlac. Behold! We were there on the dot! And we were first there like we were the most excited!

We waited for around 2 more hours from the foot of the mountain for authorization to go to trek to the crated since the weather is kinda obscure. When memo was released, around 30 4x4 trucks and 100 people gathered on the ground, getting ready for the quick adventure since everyone was advised to start climbing down before 1:00 pm.

The only thing I can say is that the view up there is majestic! it is like a foreign land out there!

cioccolo - clark, pampanga

2010-08-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

cioccolo is a gem hidden somewhere in clark, pampanga - a coffee shop / restaurant standing in the secluded royal palazzo, offerring great tasting cakes and frappucino.

very spacious with welcoming ambiance, cioccolo was able to wow our taste buds by offerring extra-ordinary tasting drinks and cakes. you will really notice the more natural flavors compared to the infamous ice blended coffees from starbucks, cbtl and gloria jean's. they also server cocktail drinks, coffee-cocktail drinks, pasta and picka foods -> the variety in the menu is like ucc's.

cioccolo is a must visit coffee shop / restaurant when you are around clark, pampanga. 5 stars!

tacsiyapo , tarlac

2010-08-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

the plan: to south, what carried out: to north; the plan: to batangas, what carried out: to tarlac; the plan: to wakeboard, what carried out: to tacsiyapo; the plan to tacsiyapo, what carried out: no tacsiyapo.

to cheer up my friends who cancelled their flight to Hong Kong this weekend due to the recent HK tourist bus hostage crisis, we decided to go out of town. as stated above, the original plan to wakeboard did not push through. Instead, we drove hundred miles to tarlac to experience tacsiyapo (stress reliever by throwing ceramics to the wall of anger) just to find out that the tacsiyapo is close. devastating! but we had fun making fun and pleading to the staff of the restaurant.

MOCKINGJAY: 3rd Installment of Hunger Games

2010-08-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last August 10, I went to National Bookstore, Glorietta 5 branch to pre-order the 3rd book of The Hunger Games Trilogy. I think I was the 36th from those who pre-listed since August 10 - that number is so lame. Despite the good marketing of NB about the first two books (and of course the Mockingjay that already has radio ads airing), me thinks that this series has very little followings here in the Philippines.

Good maketing? Yes, because this is the first ever book I finished. The Hunger Games is the reason why started reading books.

Why Pre-order? ‘Coz I am just too excited I want to be one of the firsts to have the book on August 25 (worldwide release). And mostly, the pre-order will only cost you around Php 540 - that is more than Php 200 off from the regular price of the first two books.

Lastly, I do not have plans of re-reading the first books. I am too much pre-occupied with work and work and work that i can’t even find time for myself. But I tell you, these books (referring to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire) are HIGLY RECOMMENDED. If you wanna know the plot, go toAmazon. (~~and WOW!!! that’s 825 five-star reviews)~~

dj prob - california gurls / tik tok mash-up

2010-06-04T21:07:00.001-07:00

my messy mash-up of katy perry's california gurls and ke$ha's tik tok:

download link

singapore 2010

2010-03-14T05:55:00.001-07:00

1st post of 2010. 1st trip outside the country with friends. 1st time to visit singapore and it was a blast.

$1.00 ice cream you should not miss in singapore. it's everywhere!

it's not the $ 1.00 ice cream, it's clarke quay's turkish ice cream - they have coolest way on how they handed those ice cream to clients.

L.O.V.E for Yuga's Gadget Giveaway

2009-12-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yugatech is giving away hundreds of gadgets this holiday. This is really exciting!!!! so don't wait and jump to this link or win via tweeter:

1) Follow @abeolandres and @talk2globe on Twitter.
2) Post a tweet “Just entered to win a Modu Phone. Quick! Go follow @abeolandres and @talk2globe and retweet:http://bit.ly/6e2q7O #thanks2yugatech”

dj prob - house mix 1v2

2009-11-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

this is my very first attempt to mix house/electronic songs using virtual dj. pardon for the very noob output, IT IS MY FIRST. just stream all you want, download the music and play it on your car or when you have party to host - it is for the world to use that is if you are interested on using this.

download link: http://www.4shared.com/file/145551901/4dabe7b1/first_evah_remixv2.html

trick or treat

2009-10-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

nokia ovi: discOVIries week 3 entry # 3

2009-10-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

title: dragon fly - the closest i can get to getting a robot.

nokia ovi: discOVIries week 3 entry # 2

2009-10-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

title: boxes

nokia ovi: discOVIries week 3 entry

2009-10-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

gadgets.

this is my entry to abuggedlife photo contest sponsored by nokia. i am trying to deliver here the irony of getting a zune when you're a mac. my feeling about it is that i do get the best of both worlds.

now, i need help! put your testimonials. and i am begging it should be good so i can get the attention of the judges. i'll make another entry or two that i'll definitely post here (probably tomorrow 'coz i have packed my things up and im prepping to sleep now)

title: who is mac? who is pc?

http://share.ovi.com/media/ABuggedLife.com.GADGETSbyOVI/olyverdigg.10001

donate ONLINE for victims of typhoon ondoy (ketsana)

2009-09-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

since philippine national red cross' online donation system did not work well as tweeted by writer paulo coehlo:

"Filipinos talk to Red Cross: donations online! Fil Red Cross does not have a link to donate online, ppl cannot act on impulse. I had to send a bank order. Can't u talk to them?"

i have compiled here the different ways to send donations online through trusted organizations via credit cards , paypal , etc. click on the logo's and you will be directed to their online donation page:

to help to typhoon ondoy victims

2009-09-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

if you need to report missing loved ones or areas in need of help, call the
SAGIP KAPAMILYA HOTLINES at 4110011, 4110012, 4110013.

for a database of ondoy victims and evacuation centers, click this: ateneotaskforceondoy website.
FOR DONATIONS/VOLUNTEERS:
QUEZON CITY.- go to ateneo de manila university, katipunan avenue, and
proceed to the college covered courts to volunteer. shifts are in three hour
cycles. you can go as early as 6AM but it goes on the whole day.- please bring
packed/cooked food to 12 Denmark, Loyola Grand Villas, QC, and help
@patriciahizon whose group was the only one helping the victims in tumana
today.

@jiggycruz is mobilizing the youth who want to help, to volunteer, just go
to Balay Expo Center in Cubao, Edsa cor McArthur, 8AM onwards.

for those who want to volunteer for sagip kapamilya: call 4132667/4160387,
or go to #13 examiner st., west triangle

QC.MANILA:- DLSU along taft avenue will be accepting any and all kinds of
donations starting 830AM.

PASIG:- according to @margaga, poveda school (beside galleria) opens 9AM
tomorrow and is open to all volunteers and any kind of donations.
according to @angel21kawaii, CFC Center in Ortigas is receiving donations in cash or in kind. Call (02)7270682-87 or 09195359036.

MAKATI :- you can drop of your donations at Assumption College, San Lorenzo
Village,
you can drop off your donations at the following stores in rockwell powerplant mall: aranaz, luca, greyone social.

TAGUIG or FORT area:- you can drop off your donations in embassy superclub
in the fort.

PASAY :- @elizabacud shares that Manila Doctors College will also be
accepting donations.
Bring anything that can help at Speech Lab., Macapagal Blvd, PasayCity

SAN JUAN :- according to @dakilangkulot, you can drop off your goods at
Xavier school, volunteers will sort and bring to ateneo. this is till12nn.

FAIRVIEW area:- Help needed in Fairview and Novaliches. Please send
clothes, food, water, meds & blankets to the Divine Savior Parish in North
Fairview.

SOUTH (alabang, las pinas, paranaque) :- drop donations or volunteer at DE
LA SALLE ZOBEL. Contact Ms. Angie Brazan at the Social Action Office
0917-8597602
you can drop donations at the ATC concierge, call 8422782 or 7721860
san beda alabang in alabang hills village is also accepting donations

you can help pack donations 10AM at st. james church, ayala alabang village
you may volunteer at Red Cross Alabang - ATC along Zapote Road fronting National Bookstore call 8097131 for info

CAVITE :- DLSU-Dasmarinas is also accepting donations, pls proceed to the
2nd floor of SBC Building

BATANGAS :- DE LA SALLE LIPA is now accepting your donations, drop off point
is at the college lobby.CEBU:- details on how you can donate are on noelle's blog or the living for a cause blog.

BACOLOD :- For your donations, drop off center is at the Coliseum in the
University of St. La Salle. 435-3857- CAFE BREIZH wil be a drop off center for
donations. text 09193651101 for details.

DAVAO :- ATENEO DE DAVAO is accepting in kind donations for ondoy. drop off
at the samahan office in jacinto campus.

for PETS in need of aid:- @kimmydeleon is announcing that PARC is open for
animals. Click this site for info of PAWS for
helping from the flood. for the official website of paws, click here

for those in SINGAPORE:- pinoys are mobilizing and gathering donations,
visit this forum for more details.

for anyone ABROAD who wants to donate:- you can donate through the paypal account link on this site.
you can also call 1-800-5272820 or visit the abs-cbn foundation website.

credits to Bianca Gonzales

in pictures: typhoon ondoy (ketsana) hits manila

2009-09-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

we never knew that our night swimming, dvd marathon and hanging out in my new place in township central, taguig city would last for 2 days and 2 nights that is after we got stranded inside the area with nothing but shelter. the ways out our condominium where impassable due to flooding caused by the non-stop raining of typhoon ondoy (ketsana), uselessly spending our weekend waiting for water to subside.

it all started when we asked for jollibee delivery that we waited for 3 hours due to traffic; until then we decided to get out of the place and look for something for our breakfast-turned-lunch. outside the gate we saw water at a height of around half of a foot, continued driving until we saw security officers talking to passing vehicles - impossible to go out of the area now. we went to another condominium and begged to be admitted just to buy something to eat. we went back to the our place, ate and waited for hours for flood to go away; yet, rain is still pouring. we knew we would stay there for another night with no food and battery-drained phones. we ranted, we whined and we cursed; because that time we have never knew the situation outside would be like this:

photos from BBC News UK:

photos from Savann Oeurm's facebook album:

when power was restored at 4 pm today, only then i realized how typhoon ondoy impacted our country. i am still shocked, and thankful that getting stranded for 2 days is the worst that happened to me and my friends.

i am calling for everyone to help those who are still stuck on their roof, to give what we can do to those who need relief and to pray for the safety of those who have been affected by the calamity. let us all be one in helping each other in lifting ourselves from this calamity.

to help:

Please text RED amount to 2899 (Globe) and 4483 (SMART). Amounts: P10, P25, P50 and P100. Please donate to Red Cross..
SAGIP KAPAMILYA Hotline : 413-2667 / 416-0387
from outside philippines: RT: typhoon victims in Philippines in dire need of food/clothng. Call theAmerican Red Cross to help. 18004357669
from outside philippines: ABS-CBN Foundation USA toll-free 1-800-527-2820

caramoan islands and beaches

2009-09-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

it was a huge surprise for me that i would be going to a known remote area somewhere in bicol region in 7 days. with no money and no permission, i was shocked and hesitant that very moment when the facts were laid down to me. basically, it has never been a surprised since i know my friends booked a flight to some dreamland and that we are going out of town to celebrate a friend's birthday. it's just i, expecting that the trip would be in november, did not really know when the trip will happen.

but hey, i survived. i survived a trip with limited budget. i survived the virgin beach of caramoan. i survived swimming with a snake. i survived 5 hours of wakeboarding at cam sur. and we were there on the setting of survivor.

Survivor setting up for one of their immunity challenge. Island will be closed in the afternoon for the shooting.

caramoan islands rose to fame when survivor france shoot their 8th season on the islands. with it's natural and virgin beauty, more survivor franchises used caramoan as their setting.

Residents of Port Sabang, Camarines Sur rush to arriving boat to carry luggages and the people themselves for 20 pesos

Private island where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stayed when she visited Caramoan Islands

katorse

2009-09-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

starring the 14-year-old-mom Dionisia

jusk kidding :))

stop motion with olympus e-p1

2009-09-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

this motion stop video is amusing and amazing. took them 60,000 shots, 10,000+ prints using the small but very powerful olympus ep-1 (picture below).

this e-p1 is, if i have not mistaken, the first camera to use the micro four-thirds technology. that is right, this camera is like an SLR that can fir in your pocket. it has 12 megapixel live mos sensor, can shoot up to 720p HD video, built-in image stabilization (IS), and a lot more features you can find on most digital SLR now. that you can own for about $ 800 or P 38,000 with zuiko 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and 17mm f2.8 pancake lenses included in the package.

bohol beach and side trip (long overdue pics)

2009-09-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

this overly planned (sarcasm included) bohol-cebu getaway was the first time my friends and i had to fly on an airplane and that is worth mentioning. i am having difficulty on what to write on this post since it has been months ago, but the experience was amazing (and that is still understatement to describe how the trip was).

i was disappointed with my shots. pictires could either be rated underexposed or overexposed. i think i was too overwhelmed with the excitement of touring bohol, and i got no time to evaluate the pictures i took. but i learned one great lesson from that - "you are just wasting money and reputation if you can't get your pictures right". i know i am just single gram to greatness but i was in manual mode that time and i really dunno what i was thinking. btw, pictures are posted below:

list if the places we've been to:

bohol beach club
tarsier zoo (that is not what they call it"
hanging bridge
man-made forest (feast to my eyes)
butterfly farm
loboc river cruise
that old church that i do not know (cause i did not went outside the van when we get there)
that huge snake (i let it pass and decided to sleep in the van)
bohol bee farm (where i had my first experience of eating flowers)

tinkering on my new toy.... kendra

2009-08-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

i have not touched olyver for a very while now.. i might have been too busy with work, and with my new toy, kendra. she is not the playboy goddess we know with the bouncing boobie and a comedic wedding; but she is my new macbook pro that is 23 days with me now.

pardon for the low quality pictures; i bet olyver was jealous that very day and did not cooperate with this photo shoot.

wondergirls' nobody: new beginning of network war

2009-08-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

korean pop group wondergirls made a big international hit with the single "nobody"; even the philippines has been caught in this craze. undeniably, the upbeat tempo will give you a long-lasting LSS. and once you saw the video, it did not fail that you will get hypnotized seeing yourself grooving the *point *clap-clap *point *clap. even the famous cebu inmates took a piece in the popularity of the hit song.

but that is not the big news here. one of the hottest topic on forums and even coffee tables from different coffee shops now is how ABS-CBN and GMA were able to present the song through its variety shows. its again the beginning of a new era in network war; not on the ratings but on production numbers. see those videos for yourself; then judge who wins this side of the network war.

check it also in youtube so you may confirm if your harsh critiques are same as the others.

Could iPhone be a serious photography tool??

2009-07-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Got this article from Cnet Australia that talks about how some people use iPhone as serious photography tool. According to the article, iPhone has taken the top spot for the most device used on Flickr.

Well, iPhone does really take good pictures despite it's specs. I can say it is better than a 5 megapixel Nokia phone with flash. I have had some good shots with my iPhone which got erased when I upgraded my firmware. Will try to check if I still got some good shots from my iPhone.

Jump over to the link:

http://www.cnet.com.au/iphone-photography-art-or-gimmick-339297259.htm

the long overdue pics of PCD in Manila

2009-07-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

the pictures are a month over due sitting in my local drive - The Pussycat Doll minus 1 (Jessica Sutta was not there- but people did not care coz all we want to see is Nicole) held their 2nd concert in Manila last June 11. the concert was good and made us move to the groove. im just uploading the pics for the record.

Confirmed Swine Flu (AH1N1) Case in our Office

2009-06-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

the communication sent out by the management

Team,
We have been informed this morning that a recent visitor to XXXXX has been confirmed to have contracted the Influenza-A (H1N1) virus upon arriving back at their home country. Even if the employee did not display any symptoms of H1N1 virus whilst visiting the Philippines, we felt it prudent to take these precautionary measures:
1. The said employee is now quarantined in his home country.
2. The people who have had contact with the employee during the person's stay last week were identified and have been contacted. They have been advised either to work from home or have been isolated.
3. To date, none of them are exhibiting any of the symptoms of the Influenza-A (H1N1) virus. However, they have been advised to monitor their health for any flu-like symptoms and asked to consult their doctors appropriately.
We will also put in place the following actions for our offices:
1. GRE will continue to clean and disinfect XXXX floors in the upcoming days.
2. Bottles of rubbing alcohol will be available for employees via the Admin Assistant. These can be used to regularly disinfect their hands and clean shared furniture like tables, phone handsets, door knobs, etc.
3. If you exhibit flu-like symptoms, please immediately consult with our company doctor/nurse temporarily located at the 15th floor for your convenience. You will be advised on what the next steps are.
4. If you’d like to consult with a doctor while you are in the office, please consult with our company doctor/nurse.
PERSONAL:
1. Regularly wash your hands
2. Boost your immune system, drink vitamins
3. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing
4. Clean your own workstation, telephone before and after using it.
We would like to request everyone to continually read messages being sent out by the Shift Management Team, XXXXX Management, GRE and Employee Health and Safety and comply with the documented procedures. Safety tips are also posted in all floors at the pantry area for reference.
Please note, all communications regarding this or any other emergency response should be handled or approved by the Philippine CMT. For any questions or clarifications, please address them to your Tower Managers.
Please do take the time to read the attachment regarding the A(H1N1) virus.

tips: shooting in low light situations - concert or indoor events

2009-06-10T07:18:00.001-07:00

this is an interesting post from olyclubph.com. i will be collecting tips that caught my interest and post it here for easier access.

In my experience with the 520, when shooting at indoor night events:

Use matrix metering as this will do a decent job at handling wider range of lightings.

Without using the flash, use higher ISO like 400 - 800 or even 1600 if you really want to get that shot. You can clean the image afterwards. Activate IS when the shutter speed gets too low. Go manual kung kaya mo, If not go for Aperture priority if you want to control your DOF. Shutter priority if you want to control blur. The minimum speed should be equal to the focal length of your lens (this can go lower with IS). Or go for Program which will give you a "balance" setting and more time to compose your shots.

If you find that the whites or highlights in your shots are overexposed, adjust your EV to a lower setting like -3

When using the built-in flash, i still suggest that you use higher ISO pa din (400 - 800) if the place is dim. This way, the camera can still pick-up anbient light in the background. Grain is not that noticeable. If grain is a really big issue, PP the shots or just use lower ISO, but you have to get really near your subjects as the internal flash has a very limited range which results in dark backgrounds. Oh, turn off the flash strobe assist (illuminat), it's very distracting on your people subjects.Try to use aperture priority especially when there's a group shot.

Nagtaka lang ako sa sinabi mo na "kapag malapit, sobrang bright naman". Normally, the camera with it's TTL technology will adjust the light whether near or far. May problema kaya camera mo?

If you have very good eyes in the dark while looking thru a small viewfinder, then by all means go manual focusing. If not, use AF. The AF will take some time in locking on a target on dim situations. Make sure to focus on high-contrast areas of your subject so that the AF can lock on quickly.

Setting your lens on infinity might not help espcially if your aperture is limited and your subjects are near you. It's better to use "Pre-focusing".

by
Mike De Vera
http://www.olyclubph.com/portal/index.php?topic=1700.0

i fell in love wit Korea!!

2009-06-04T01:53:00.000-07:00

yey! I am back to my blogging and I will start off with my freshest experience that is South Korea.

‘twas a blast! – that is how I describe my 1 week vacation in SoKor. Weather is nice and good enough for touring the country – that is very cold compare to the Philippines. Had skin troubles due to the very cold weather which became more than I could take on our last day. Am not good at memorizing names of the places we have been to; but I will try to research so I could put captions on each photographs on this post.

The photography experience – since it a foreign land, every second of my stay seems like a photography opportunities. Since I cannot afford to ruin this opportunity like what I did with my Bohol getaway, I set my camera to Aperture Priority + Auto Focus, then I am just adjusting flash, exposure, ISO and other technical stuffs that I am really not aware of and viola!!! – I was able to produce decent pictures.

blog holiday!!

2009-04-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

i'll be somewhere in bohol. have a nice week peep!!

manny pacquiao is a huge business in the philippines

2009-04-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

america has britney spears that stands like a corporation. every britney move, breath, sweat is money, not only for britney but also for those who milk the bitch. it doesn't matter if she lied bout her virginity, had a short vegas wedding or wore a dress without undies, every story and every britney picture is money. the pride of the philippines is manny pacquiao, who stands as a business himself. the biggest philippine networks are fighting for exclusivity of airing his high rating bouts. His screechy, awkward and all negative vocals grabbed him a recording contract. His very own accent which only he can understand paved the way for a hosting gig. He also has numerous product endorsements and tv commercials. And now, his boxing matches are also good business for restaurants and movie houses. they are investing on airing the fight for a penny plus a can of beer plus projectors plus exclusivity which will have huge ROI after the 2-3 hours match. Damn, what pacman business could i think of?

manny pacquiao vs ricky haton on may 2

2009-04-30T04:41:00.000-07:00

I won't be in the city on may 2 to watch the haton vs pacman boxing match, but sure enough i will get advance and inconsistent text messages about the bout. Let me say "Good Luck to Manny", with huge Filipino pride in me.

I will be in bohol tomorrow. Have a safe trip Olyver!!

like i was in blog holiday

2009-04-23T00:08:00.001-07:00

i was actually too lazy to blog in the past weeks because of one very addicting tool that is twitter. i was really into making shout outs (tweets) and making friends, i am addicted to following tweets from olivia munn, kevin pereira (both from attach of the show), fred durst, ryan seacrest giuliana rancic (of e!), oprah, ellen degeneres, and i love that i cursed perez hilton.

c'mon people, join now the bandwagon. register for a twitter account and start tweeting.

follow me: http://twitter.com/problematik

the invites

2009-03-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

4 hours after the pictorial, here are what our team came up:

this is a good business idea. any takers out there who wanted to try our services?

amateur home studio

2009-03-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

volunteered to take shots of the twins for their invitations in celebration of their 7th birthday. i was exhausted that day and so were the twins. at 10 in the evening, all energies went so high that i decided to do second set of pictorial and i set up a mini home studio.

this is how the we set up our amateurish studio using some long white cloth and a duct tape (plus accessories used in the shoot). no flash box, reflector, that black umbrella thing or whatsoever- just the camera and its built-in flash.

the built-in flash is enough already to flatten the background; at high intensity flash, the off background turned to white.

these are some of the shots i took with minimal post processing.

dodging bullet to m&m's

2009-03-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

sure my blog title is exaggerated, but that is how i see this picture i discovered thru digg.com - so that means that this picture is not mine. i can only take shots of m&ms still on a black sheet, but exploding m&ms would just be in m dreams. this one surely uses a high-speed camera to capture the movement frame by frame. check out the photographer's gallery here.

tang fruit teaz flash mob.. idea was taken from t-mobile ad?

2009-03-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

i was surprised to see this new tang fruit teaz commercial today cause it was very familiar... very much familiar... started recalling videos that i have seen, then abuggedlife.com poped out of my mind; and i was right, jayvee was there, taking video from his phone, when this flash mob happened.

with so much delight, i started reading comments posted for this video while on-repeat. to my surprise, somebody said that twas first done by the english lads for an advertisment, so i tried researching. twas t-mobile who did the very same idea in liverpool train station .. it is just they did it some 3 weeks ahead of this teazperiment done in the philippines.

random nature shots

2009-03-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

this is still in batangas. nothing to do with the beach so i posted it separately.

batangas beach

2009-03-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

had to escape the pressure of work, so we decided to get away from the city and to feel cozy on a beach front suites last weekend; we ended up going to laia, batangas. while the sun heat is at its best, we were walking on the sands looking for a nice cheap place to stay, that is blue coral resort. had 30 minutes negotiation on the package and voila!! we're in!!

generally, the beach itself is nice. white (not boracay-fine) sands makes the scenery beautiful and relaxing. the resorts in laia, batangas is one nice beach for family getaway.

colors

2009-03-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

been thinking of shooting the colorful uno and that wonderful thing that melts in your mouth not in your hands..

i cannot be too technical here 'coz i am just a beginner when it comes to photography. as far as i remember i used ISO 400, f3.5 - f5.6 on those photos, shutter speed at 1.3", an old cashmere shirt, a chair and a shoe box.

fundamentals of photography: apperture, shutter speed and iso

2009-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

these are two videos that helped me best understand the concepts surrounding aperture, shutter speed and iso. i know there are few of you who are lazy in reading the manual (i am a very good example) so this might save your time and lessen your effort.

rin on the rox got suspended by youtube.. how, when, why?

2009-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

this is a usual useless saturday night. got nothing to do (hey, i have thing to do that i opted not to do) so i sit in my desk with my pc on my facade (while thinking if i should buy a mac.. what do you think guys?). started surfing the world wide web in which i ended up playing and singing to instrumental/karaoke musics in youtube. got interested on the covers i am singing, so i started searching different covers. i thought of going to boyce avenue page but i started typing rin on the rox. this is where the news starts.

the search result that youtube gave me was so not ordinary. i clicked a video of rin on the rox so i can go to their homepage to found out that the video was just grabbed. i searched again for the hiphoprox keyword (the gals' youtube username) but it gave me results like 'hiphoprox suspended', 'hiphoprox petition', et cetera. there are still no clues to the reason youtube banned these sensational-ellen-guest'd-girls. if you want to get updates or sign up to their petition, head down to rin and rox's myspace page.

shopaholic movie experience... fun and gay..

2009-02-20T04:41:00.000-08:00

went to office at 10:30 in d' morning, and went out at exactly 3:00 in d' afternoon. i was pushed to the limit by my college friends who, apparently are also working in the same company, were on holiday. we had our lunch at 12:30 noon 'till 2:00. they decided to see the confessions of a shopaholic and i told them that we might meet again after my work, which hopefully will also be the end of their movie. but they insisted that i must go with them. i did and had an early out at 3:00.

the movie. it is funny and engaging. the girls behind our seat was so into the story; and those teeny boppers were noisy. at this time were america is in recession, this shopaholic story is the right movie that will give you the value of saving (not really saving... it is more on not spending too much). its a must see feel good movie.

man, that is not the end of the shopaholic movie. when credits were crawling up on the screen, and light slowly brighten the room, i was looking around to realize most of those watching are girls. i was laughing with another guy friend, and was tripping like we were gays. while people are piling up in the door, we saw a group of boys and that made us feel a bit better. but after some minutes, a boy from that groups opened his mouth and started talking like a crazy teeny bopper who wants to flirt with hugh dancy (the male lead). we realized then that those were group of gay friends and i stuttered to my guy friend "does this make us gay?".

random stuffs at hotel aloha

2009-02-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

the first public appearance of olyver digg was in hotel aloha, roxas blvd. for a family dinner. with 0 knowledge on what photography is, i was taking shots like a crazy kid playing with his new toy. the experience was just like a playing with a point and shoot digital camera in the form of a black, bulky and ugly body, 'coz i really dunno how to use the power it has. anyway, below are some of the shots i took that night.

what i forgot that night is to take some shots of the food. chinese foods served were great! i would love to come back next time.

first chapter...

2009-02-19T05:03:00.000-08:00

i have no plans on getting in to the dslr bandwagon. but this thing is really a dream that i wanted to come to reality back when i was a kid. did not realize that i would spend some penny for this thing called photography until the time i open the box of my first ever camera.

now, i am in this world. and i have to find my path in the world of shutters, lenses, aperture, viewfinder..