Noel & Via

First off, we are still looking for househelp, all around help. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. So please do tell us if you know of anyone.

So the story goes... our current maid is going to leave us after serving us for 2 years. (it would've been 3 if we didn't go to Italy for a year.) Her reason was that she is planning to work in Saudi. She had mentioned this to one of our family members before we hired her. It never really sounded serious then. But now we are in a crisis of sorts because:
1) We are having puppies soon! (ultrasound says 2-3) and we really need help.
2) Not only are we 2 in the house but our little sister Frannie needs to live with us since it is closer to Ateneo. (she is from Parañaque)
3) Because our original all-around girl really cooks well, and I can't imagine eating out every night. (by the way, she can cook south beach diet recipes)

First off, we are still looking for a househelp, all around help. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. So please do tell us if you know of anyone.

So the story goes... our current maid is going to leave us after serving us for 2 years. (it would've been 3 if we didn't go to italy for a year.) Her reason was that she is planning to work in Saudi. She had mentioned this to one of our family members before we hired her. It never really sounded serious then. But now we are in a crisis of sorts because:
1) We are having puppies soon! and we really need help
2) Not only are we 2 in the house but our little sister Frannie needs to live with us since it is closer to Ateneo.
3) Because she really cooks well, and I can't imagine eating out every night. (by the way, she can cook south beach diet recipes)

And we did have a replacement come in this week. Someone that is old and has grown kids. From the moment we saw her we thought that it wouldn't work out. But we gave her a chance. The week went by as slow as she walks and does her chores. Our old help would report to us that she still has to do most of the work. The other one wouldn't even lift a finger reasoning "sa isang buwan ka pa naman aalis diba?" ("anyway you'll still be leaving in a month's time right?").

Yesterday, our reliable help was scheduled for a day off. She confessed to us that the other one didn't want to stay anymore because she didn't want to do work alone! (WHAT?!! Wasn't that the whole point?) So the morning after we asked the new hire if she had anything to say. Then she started sobbing as if on cue, "I miss my bunso, (youngest) I never really worked away from them before." While she was saying that we were thinking: wait, her youngest is 22 years old not 2! And wasn't she living away before? But we knew that that wasn't the real reason.

So we let her go to. She packed her bags so quickly and was gone that same morning. We were also relieved because we were trying to figure out how to tell her she couldn't stay.

Posted by Noel at 04:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I tried out the link of Via (read her column) and I just have to say that it didn't work for me. Or maybe I don't realize that that is what I am. Anyway, tell me if its true:

You entered: Emmanuel Antonio Ongpin Perlas
There are 27 letters in your name.
Those 27 letters total to 129
There are 12 vowels and 15 consonants in your name.

Your number is: 3

The characteristics of #3 are: Expression, verbalization, socialization, the arts, the joy of living.

The expression or destiny for #3:
An Expression of 3 produces a quest for destiny with words along a variety of lines that may include writing, speaking, singing, acting or teaching; our entertainers, writers, litigators, teachers, salesmen, and composers. You also have the destiny to sell yourself or sell just about any product that comes along. You are imaginative in your presentation, and you may have creative talents in the arts, although these are more likely to be latent. You are an optimistic person that seems ever enthusiastic about life and living. You are friendly, loving and social, and people like you because you are charming and such a good conversationalist. Your ability to communicate may often inspire others. It is your role in life to inspire and motivate; to raise the spirits of those around you.

The negative side of number 3 Expression is superficiality. You may tend to scatter your forces and simply be too easygoing. It is advisable for the negative 3 to avoid dwelling on trivial matters, especially gossip.

Your Soul Urge number is: 5

A Soul Urge number of 5 means:
The 5 soul urge or motivation would like to follow a life of freedom, excitement, adventure and unexpected happening. The idea of travel and freedom to roam intrigues you. You are very much the adventurer at heart. Not particularly concerned about your future or about getting ahead, you can seem superficial and unmotivated.

In a positive sense, the energies of the number 5 make you very adaptable and versatile. You have a natural resourcefulness and enthusiasm that may mark you as a progressive with a good mind and active imagination. You seem to have a natural inclination to be a pace-setter. You are attracted to the unusual and the fast paced.

You may be overly restless and impatient at times. You may dislike the routine work that you are engaged in, and tend to jump from activity to activity, without ever finishing anything. You may have difficulty with responsibility. You don't want to be tied down to a relationship, and it may be hard to commit to one person.

Your Inner Dream number is: 9

An Inner Dream number of 9 means:
You dream of being creative, intellectual, and universal; the selfless humanitarian. You understand the needy and what to help them. You would love to be a person people count on for support and advice.

Posted by Noel at 04:57 AM | Permalink

What does your name mean? Have fun with this and be shocked at how eerily accurate some of the things are.
At least that's what I found with mine.

Maria Victoria Felisa Medina Perlas

There are 31 letters in your name.
Those 31 letters total to 146
There are 15 vowels and 16 consonants in your name.

Your number is: 11

The characteristics of #11 are: High spiritual plane, intuitive, illumination, idealist, a dreamer.

The expression or destiny for #11:
The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.

The positive aspect of the number 11 expression is an always idealistic attitude. Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the shortsighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.

The negative attitudes associated with the number 11 expression include a continuous sense of nervous tension; you may be too sensitive and temperamental. You tend to dream a lot and may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality sometimes become intermingled and you are sometimes very impractical. You tend to want to spread the illumination of your knowledge to others irrespective of their desire or need.

Your Soul Urge number is: 5

A Soul Urge number of 5 means:
The 5 soul urge or motivation would like to follow a life of freedom, excitement, adventure and unexpected happening. The idea of travel and freedom to roam intrigues you. You are very much the adventurer at heart. Not particularly concerned about your future or about getting ahead, you can seem superficial and unmotivated.

In a positive sense, the energies of the number 5 make you very adaptable and versatile. You have a natural resourcefulness and enthusiasm that may mark you as a progressive with a good mind and active imagination. You seem to have a natural inclination to be a pace-setter. You are attracted to the unusual and the fast paced.

You may be overly restless and impatient at times. You may dislike the routine work that you are engaged in, and tend to jump from activity to activity, without ever finishing anything. You may have difficulty with responsibility. You don't want to be tied down to a relationship, and it may be hard to commit to one person.

Your Inner Dream number is: 11

An Inner Dream number of 11 means:
You dream of casting the light of illumination; of being the true idealist. You secretly believe there is more to life than we can know or prove, and you would like to be provider of the 'word' from on high.

Posted by Via at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last monday I had a short lecture with one of the clubs at my old high school (Xavier.) The club was called "DigitalFX" aka computer club. I rehashed the latest presentation I did last summer, added more videos and more Tantra stuff.

I was ready for these kids, armed with Tantra freebies (ie, posters, mousepads, stickers, CDs). And it turned out quite well. Some seemed genuinely interested in the topic, while others waited for freebies. They were quite noisy at times, and their moderator had to shushh them. I remember being on their side once and boy was I noisy.

So I don't think I will teach high school. I think I will lose my voice if I do. But lecturing like this is fun once in a while. It was also nice to see my old building and some familiar faces. :) Thanks martin for inviting me to speak.

Posted by Noel at 03:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is what the timeline of a video file done in Adobe After Effects looks like. I spent the last two days, staring at my screen with little or no sleep, compromising my day job and health. This is literally timeline hell, wherein I had to edit, re-edit, render, re-render this presentation in 48 hours time. AAAAHHHKK!! The things I do.

Please tell me never to do video projects like this again. Or at least get a faster machine.. my PowerBook G4 choked during the whole process, I had to "force quit" after effects several times. But praise to After Effects since it is pretty stable and saving often doesn't take that long.

Posted by Noel at 03:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had to handfeed our Jack (while in this bed of hers) who is getting more and more difficult to feed. She used to have a very voracious appetite. (I checked with the vet and breeder, this is a symptom of being on the "puppy way"!)

It's very strange that she now grabs a chance to eat lettuce leaves that find them way to our kitchen floor. Even doggies crave pala during pregnancy. Strange as that may be.

Posted by Via at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When I was 5 is still being built but please do visit occasionally. Illustration and design by Pepper Roxas, flash animations by me.

Posted by Noel at 01:47 AM | Permalink

13 July 2005
9:00pm Mocha Blends, J. Vargas

1 mini decadent cake
drenched in caramel sauce
1 Mocha booster- delightful blend with malt!

14 July 2005
11:30 am, at home
half of a candy-coated Gonuts donut

12:30 nn
the other half

Somebody help me curb my sweet tooth please!!! (is there any way to do this minus the cranky bitch withdrawal syndrome?)

Posted by Via at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Finally! Last night, Noel and I were able to get tickets to the first (and only, as far as we know) La-Z-Boy cinema at Gateway Mall. Only forty seats. With unlimited popcorn and soda, similar to Shangri-la Mall's Premiere Theater come-on. (In a movie-crazed country like the Philippines, one must constantly think up of new services for the movie-going fanatic). And one must pick up the reserved tickets- reserved by phone- 2 hours ahead of time. If I'm not mistaken, it was this exact La-Z-Boy that were we each enveloped in as we watched Fantastic 4. There is a little table in between 2 La-Z-Boy's for snacks, and one can even order pica-pica (finger food)from the bar and it will be served inside the theater. It was quite a relaxing way to approach cinema, although Noel and I were thinking that the set-up makes you feel like you're watching the movie alone. It would be nice if you were right next to the other person you were viewing with, instead of having the glass-topped table in between. In fact, it would be fun to have this at home with a nice mini-theater system.

Posted by Via at 04:55 AM | Permalink

This article was taken from an alumni egoup

Conventional Wisdom tells us who are winning and who are losing:

Philippine Economy. 50-50. Peso down versus the dollar. Businessmen are jittery. Amazingly however, the full impact initially thought the GloriaGate scandal will bring to the economy hasn't happened.

Filipino People. 50-50. Call it people-power fatigue. Call it political maturity. Call it apathy. Call it pragmatism (no-better-alternative-syndrome). The Filipinos are more discerning now of issues and are aware who is taking advantage of what. Either that, or we are pathetically dulled already not to react anymore to series upon series of scandals inflicted upon us.

PGMA. 50-50. Finally, an admission of what all of us knew already. It is of great irony that the same type of charges hauled by her camp against Erap a few years ago (jueteng and integrity )are now being used against her and her family. Sabi nga ng commercial...Bilog Ang Mundo. Her simple aspiration "not to be a great president but be a good president" has failed so soon. And her betrayal (once proven true) will be more hurting because she once epitomized our ideals and our hopes for our country.

She has been lucky though that the confluences of the apathy of the Filipino people, the still-loyal military, the sober Susan Roces, the rainy season, the school season, the not-so-photogenic whistle-blower that is Sammy Ong , and the not-so-conducive-for-revolution Guadalupe bridge are working to her advantage. But for how long? As Randy David said "if you will ask me if she will be president next week.... I will say yes."

Noli de Castro. Winner. Some sectors are already courting him to replace PGMA. To his credit, he has not bitten the bait.....yet.

Susan Roces. Winner. For being the picture of grace, sobriety, and common sense. For showing us the decent face of show business after our exposure for the longest time to the likes of shabu-using Ate Guy, tax-evading Richard Gomez, kidnapping-linked Dennis Roldan, almost-pedophilic Kris Aquino, and the general antics of Annabel Rama, Boy Abunda, and Christy Fermin. These are the showbiz creatures who inflict their disgusting presence on us... Truly, Swanee is the face that refreshes.

Rez Cortez. Loser. I reserved one full paragraph for this opportunist leech. Rez, please don't leave the day-job you are very good at : playing goon, bum, rapist, murderer, arsonist...and yes, Judas Iscariot. You have become to PGMA what Amay Bisaya was to Cory. (No offense to Amay!). Unsolicited advice to the government: first thing in your reform agenda is to uplift the plight of the movie industry so that unemployed actors like Rez and Niño Muhlach will have more worthwhile things to do other than dip their hands into politics

Samuel Ong / Sandra Cam. 50-50. While they may be telling the truth, their initials make me suspect their true motives and characters. S.ONG and S.CAM. One sings a not so perfect tune and the other is
attempting to stage a scam.

Secretary Bunye: Loser. The most unenviable position in the land. Super ang dapa na una ang mukha. To be caught lying, fumbling and mumbling...and on national television at that. If I were Sec. Bunye, I would demand a salary raise for all the humiliation I've experienced.

Garci. Winner. Instant celebrity. Maximum exposure for minimum effort.

Globe / Smart / Sun Telecoms: Winners. Text messages and ring tones galore. Panalo. Whoever made the "Hello Garci ring tone" should be honored with a Magsaysay Award.

Sgt. Doble. 50-50. Doble, meaning double. In his case, double-faced. The dramatic rescue by his wife through the help of texts will remain to be one of the comic highlights of this incident. This again proves how pusong-mamon our soldiers are. Bring in the crying wife, the wailing mother, and the wide-eyed innocent children...and whatever attempt to grab power dissipates. (See Oakwood mutiny.)

NTC / DOJ. Losers. For having no balls to make good of their threat to arrest anyone in possession of the tape and ring tone. Suggestion:

Arrest Secretary Bunye first. Sige nga....arestuhin ang may mga tape at ringtone? Hahahaha...baka mapuno ang kulungan.

Nene Pimentel. Loser. Give it a rest, Nene, while we still have an ounce of respect for you. Please do other worthwhile things for yourself at the twilight of your life (like having your huge eye bags removed, for one). Same goes to Ping Lacson, Kit Tatad and all those who are obviously trying to maximize for their own benefit this Gloriagate scandal. Ang babait ninyo....sana, kunin na kayo ni Lord!

Cardinal Jaime Sin. Winner. For supporting and being a main player in two successful People Power movements, and for having the presence of mind to die and not witness what People Power has been reduced to.

The Arroyo Men. Losers. Losers. Losers. Gloria, these men are literally the rust that will destroy the steel that is you. The mere physical appearance of Mike Arroyo (despite the cosmetic surgery) is
repulsive enough. And that...that..that...... Mikey Arroyo has the guts to have a movie shown at the height of the jueteng and gloriagate scandal. Pity to the movie producer and more pity to the moviegoers. These Arroyo Men are simply walking human rights violations.

San Carlos Seminary. Loser. This is definitely no EDSA Shrine. There is nothing photogenic with this place and hardly the place to inspire another people power. True, the "Filipino can stop military tanks" in 1986, but this time no amount of courage can make us stop smoke belching flying buses driven by a maniacal drivers along EDSA. While the EDSA Shrine has the prominent statue of the Virgin Mary for
inspiration, San Carlos Seminary has the view of the Mesolipo advertisement billboard of Dra. Belo.

And so the question remains..... Will there be an EDSA 4? As Melanie Marquez would say "you can fool me once, you can fool me twice, you can even fool me thrice......but you can never fool me four." This is the story of our lives. Same shit, different politicians. It constantly amazes me how resilient, humorous, masochistic, and patient we are as a people. God Bless the Philippines, indeed!

Posted by Noel at 07:23 PM | Permalink

"We pray for our country, the land of our birth.
We pray for our nation, that peache be on earth. Ave, ave, ave Mari-a. Ave, ave, ave Marii-a." Suddenly I remembered how the choir would sound at church singing this song to Mother Mary. How we desperately need you to intercede for our country now.

Posted by Via at 06:38 AM | Permalink