The Digital Daguerréotype

Christmas Rosemary

2006-12-11T10:46:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Gallery)

The Sea Lions are Back

2006-11-14T15:01:00.001+08:00

(click the title to view Gallery)

St Patrick Cathedral

2006-10-06T12:53:00.000+08:00

(click title to view the St Patrick Cathedral Gallery)

9/11

2006-09-11T13:51:00.000+08:00

Today was the day commemorating the September 11 attacks on World Trade Center. People were wary that there might be another terrorist attack. But instead of the rumored altercation--of burning buildings and whatnot--my day ended with a burning bridge. I tendered my resignation effective September 18, 2006 but instead of a simple acknowledgment, I got a comment for being unprofessional.

I won't divulge on the details since I respect my boss enough. He's a very unpretentious individual and I commend him for that. However, I would've been more approving of him if he had given me enough credit for just giving the company a 1 week notice. I did what I did and I shared my reasons for doing it. So, I'll leave it at that and wish us all a better future.

-------------

Update: Boss called me up in his office. Bridge stopped burning.

Now I realize, the manner I gave my resignation was a bit cold. The boss understands that I am a good kid without that much experience and I appreciate the parting pieces of advice he gave. And yes, I learned an important lesson today. In some cases, people come first before paper. Formalities come after personal relations. (Sort of similar to laws being made after an insight into the experience of a nation..but that's taking it a bit too far)

Thanks.

Los Angeles

2006-09-09T13:26:00.000+08:00

(click title to view Los Angeles Gallery)

Commuter-Onlooker

2006-08-11T12:53:00.000+08:00

I have commuted before in Manila. I have taken jeepneys, taxis, FX, MRT, LRT and I'm not romanticizing the experience. For the most part, it was just ordinary because most Filipinos in Manila are too conscious of how they act in front of other people.

Here in foggy San Francisco, I must say, people act crazy and say the darndest things. I have been taking the BART to work for the past few months and there have been a few characters here and there: an African-American exercising his rapping skills and his moves on the 'sisters', Chinese grandmothers massaging their feet, gay couples parting morning kisses, punk kids squeezing other people's behinds, and Filipinos...well, just being overly conscious once again. Basically, there's nothing much out of the ordinary. Trains are at the right end of the craziness curve basically.

At the top of the curve is Samtrans, the local provider of public buses in the San Mateo area. (I rode the bus this day because my dad was using the car to accompany my visiting uncle.) Oh my goodness, there are a lot of crazy people in public buses! Maybe because a bus is more personal and you observe more people in closer proximity. But, damn, the crazy people just keep coming. Ok ok, I'll give an example. It's only in a bus where you'll find a Filipino conversing with another Filipino a couple of seats away. Yes, long distance! Here's the dialogue (background: Chinese grandmothers chatting, Mexicans with their nasal conversations and buzzing rap music from a white kid's headphones)

Filipina1: _____! May anak ka na pala.
Filipina2: Opo, 7 years old (said with a slang). I have been taking classes in ROP, business administration. Hirap nga po eh dahil dito. (points to his son)
Filipina1: Ahh! Anong lahi naman 'yan?
Filipina2: Uhm, Africa...Filipino-African. (smile)
Filipina1: Buti hindi masyadong kulot yan.
Filipina2: Oo nga po eh. (combs the hair of her child)
Filipino1: Yung tatay ba nyan kinky?!
Filipino2: Oho, kinky-ng kinky!
..... (and the conversation goes on)

That just made my day!

Pardon

2006-07-22T15:38:00.000+08:00

Can you hear the American Dream?

2006-07-20T13:36:00.000+08:00

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Brambles

2006-07-16T08:56:00.000+08:00

It does take extra effort to be healthy here in foggy San Francisco. For one major thing, the year-round cold temperature is a disincentive to move and exercise. It's much like waking up with classes suspended because of a typhoon. Yep, it's hard during weekday mornings when the cold underside of the pillow reminds you of signal number 2-3 typhoons in the Philippines (and I'm not being insensitive on people severely affected by typhoons). Memories.

So, i try to move as much as possible. I jog around the park and play basketball even though out of a 1-hour routine i only get to sweat cold...cold sweat. It's weird when your heart's pumping hard and you feel the heat with just barely a drop of sweat shed.

Along with this, I've been doing this healthy eating for a while now. But compared to all those Jenny Craig and Southbeach diets, mine is simpler. Eat colorful. Yep, that's it. Satisfies your gastronomic desires as well as your viewing pleasure. So there's my simple health advice. But don't be a smart aleck and eat paint or fruit loops. You know what i mean.

Now, let me enjoy these raspberries. :)

Fourth of July

2006-07-07T13:50:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Fourth of July Gallery)

Golden Gate Adventure

2006-07-05T15:14:00.000+08:00

(click title to view the Golden Gate Adventure Gallery)

Downtown San Francisco

2006-07-05T07:35:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Downtown San Francisco Gallery)

My Two-Seater Bench

2006-06-19T00:50:00.000+08:00

Pour Connaître L'amour et Le Monde

2006-06-17T15:42:00.000+08:00

I found this video in YouTube.com. Wow! It's the music video we made for French class. Thank you Sansan for uploading the video.

The song "Je Cours"(I Run) was a random song i found while scouring Kazaa (Hehe, pirate!) for nice French songs for the project. I liked the melody the moment I heard it. The lyrics were profoundly simple, and compared to the sappy music videos of the others that entered the competition, ours had a bit of a philosophical underpinning (quoting Mike). Copy the lyrics and translate it here to see what I mean. Imho, our concept was even better than the original Je Cours video. Coupled with youth angst and we had a deadly combination.

Anyway, we just won 3rd place with a P2000 cash prize, which, if my memory serves me right, went to the video editing fee. But I had a lot of fun making the video. (One of the last scenes with the leaf flying after the step was my suggestion, hehe. I love that shot.--Vain!) Thanks to my groupmates and the very lovely and beautiful Maria Luisa Young. Ca va? Moi? Ca va bien!

"Now the world premiere of Kyo's angsty and philosophical song 'Je Cours'--Filipino version"

Aurevoir!

The Marikina Bahay Kubo - Google Earth

2006-06-14T14:32:00.000+08:00

Kahit malayo, malapit din
(So far, yet so near)

Getting bigger by the raisin

2006-06-13T14:18:00.000+08:00

My friends know that my guilty pleasure is chocolate especially Cadbury Fruit and Nut. There's something about that slow-killer which makes me feel happy. Anyway, I have been going through different stores: Target, Albertson's, Walgreens, Safeway, and almost every candy store in downtown San Francisco. Unfortunately, they don't have my slow-killers in their shelves. I even unintentionally asked a Target employee twice. How stupid and desperate could I be. A little more desperate and I'd be asking See's candies for it. (They're the local chocolate maker--Goya tastes better than their overly priced chocolates!)

So now, I am left with the closest alternative: Nestle Raisinets. It has similar ingredients though not at par with the creaminess and after-taste of Cadbury chocolate. But come to think of it, Raisinets has its own advantages:
> no nuts
>at least 50% fruit
>serving size is relatively smaller so it seems you're eating more
>and according to the label, it's 30% less fat compared to other brands
(Haha, I just noticed the overtones of this critique. Haha.)

I gobbled up a pack in just one sitting. It tastes like heaven. Maybe just 6th heaven give or take. But it's still good! And I'm getting bigger by the raisin...maybe a bag or so, give and take. :P

At this rate, I'll be a babe...the pig! See you guys after 5 years when I'm 100lbs heavier. Haha.

The 94015

2006-05-30T14:36:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Daly City 94015 Gallery)

A Different Laugh

2006-05-20T15:29:00.000+08:00

It's a bit different going to another country for purposes of vacation or for education than residing there for an indefinite time, trying to make a living away from 22 years of a Juan dela Cruz life. As much as one would like to enjoy oneself like before and make new friends, it's still different. It's not bad. It's just different. Entertainment 1,800+ miles away from home, thus, comes differently as well. And believe it or not, I found one while in the car listening to a radio commercial. Here it goes. (This is not exact, but you''ll get the idea.)

Customer: I thought you said text messaging is free on my phone
Representative: Yes, it's true!
Customer: Then why do I have such a large text messaging fee on my last bill?
Representative: Oh, only outgoing text messages are free and not the incoming text messages.
Customer: But isn't that what text messaging is supposed to be?
Representative: Uhm, uhm, and the vowels are charged extra too.
Customer: Huwhat?
Representative: Oh, uhm, it's a supply and demand thing you know, scarcity.

My goodness, corny na ako! :)

Well anyway, it's a different smile when I hear this:

Ano ang pagkakaiba ng JOKE at MAGTANIM?
Ang JOKE...
ay biro.
ang MAGTANIM...
ay di biro.

Hahahaha!

Saramago's Ec102

2006-05-12T14:10:00.000+08:00

Seeing a $500 Tommy Hilfiger jacket that's made in the Philippines and gasoline prices reaching $3.29/gallon, this is what I picked up reading Baltasar and Blimunda while in the BART going to work.

Lesson 1: A simple closed economy
"To raise...bread to one's mouth requires little effort, an excellent thing to do when hunger demands it, eating bread nourishes the body and benefits the farmer, some farmers more than others, who from the moment the wheat is cut until the bread is eaten know how to turn their labours into profits, and that is the rule."

Lesson 2: An economy
"...there is never enough wheat to satisfy the perpetual hunger of the [people] for bread, and they give the impression of being unable to eat anything else and that explains why the foreigners who live here, in their anxiety to satisfy our needs, which germinate more abundantly than pumpkin seeds, have dispatched from their own and other lands fleets of a hundred ships laden with grain...such abundant supplies have transformed the shortage into a temporary surfeit.
(An external shock happens causing prices to be lowered to stay where it is)...whenever it proves to be necessary, several granaries are burned to the ground and a shortage is immediately declared because of the grain lost in the blaze, although it is widely known that there is more than enough grain for everyone. These are the mysteries of commerce as taught by foreign merchants and learned by those who live here, though our own merchants are on the whole cretins and leave it to foreigners to arrange the import of merchandise from other lands and are quite content to buy the grain from foreigners who take advantage of our ingenuousness and get rich at our expense, by buying at prices we do not know and selling at prices we do know to be excessive, while we repay them with malicious tongues and eventually with our lives."

Nasugbu, Batangas

2006-04-17T07:51:00.000+08:00

(click title to view Nasugbu Gallery)

Graduation

2006-04-17T07:49:00.000+08:00

KBlock06

Bonfire (UAAP Soccer)

2006-03-17T02:16:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Bonfire Gallery)

Madlum Adventure

2006-02-21T12:41:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Madlum Adventure Gallery)

Life's Simple Pleasures

2006-02-09T03:03:00.000+08:00

Most of my friends have done this, but have limited it to 5 items. I have taken the liberty of listing all that I can remember. :)

Waking up to a "good morning" SMS message
The cold underside of a pillow
Watching improvs in Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Ticking an item in a To-do list
Doing laps in swimming (this I haven't done for ages)
Brushing my teeth (along with flossing and mouthwash)
A hot shower
Fresh clean clothes
Tingling sensation when cleaning my ears with cotton buds
Chocolate (bar, cake, chip cookie, whatever)
Learning a riff
Making my friends laugh
Naps which turn to sleep
Cold and rainy mornings
Relaxing on the foyer ledge
Smell and feel of newly acquired tomes
Email messages that are not from groups
Inspecting my car's engine and underside
Using MS equation editor
Re-blocking my room
Playing with Michiko

...and many more

The Anniversary

2006-02-06T22:07:00.000+08:00

This is to celebrate the 1st year anniversary of the idea: of capturing light through Michiko and The Digital Daguerréotype. It was Februry 6, 2005, the day I lay down in bed in the good old Bahay Kubo and it came: the symbolic photo in my first post that led to what this photoblog is all about (and then some).

"The blinding source
we strive
to see
to make sense
of this world"

A Comment by Fairy Godmother

2006-01-26T23:04:00.000+08:00

If
Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Payatas

2006-01-24T02:04:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Payatas Gallery)

Black and White Ateneo

2006-01-07T18:34:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Black and White Ateneo Gallery)

Flowers Up Above (World Pyro Olympics)

2005-12-28T01:59:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view World Pyro Olympics Gallery)

Night Shots

2005-12-24T05:07:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Night Shots Gallery)

Simbang Gabi (Church of the Gesù)

2005-12-23T05:21:00.000+08:00

(click the title to view Simbang Gabi Gallery)

Nonchalance

2005-12-06T03:39:00.000+08:00

Blue Skies

2005-11-20T18:44:00.000+08:00

Post

Fort Santiago

2005-11-20T18:41:00.000+08:00

Entrance

UAAP Soccer

2005-11-12T00:02:00.000+08:00

Sidestep
(click the main title to view UAAP Soccer Gallery)

Balete

2005-11-09T20:55:00.000+08:00

Sunset Rendezvous
(click the main title to view the Balete Gallery)

Asian Formula 3

2005-11-09T05:15:00.000+08:00

Ananda Mikola
(click the main title to view the AF3 Gallery)

Cavite

2005-11-08T21:35:00.000+08:00

Bonifacio Trial House
(click the main title to view the Cavite Gallery)

Caped Crusader

2005-10-23T02:31:00.001+08:00

Happy 1st Birthday
© Vic Capistrano

Ateneo Forest

2005-10-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

Barks and Branches

Nostalgic

2005-10-18T15:27:00.000+08:00

SEC Hallway

Outstretched

2005-10-18T00:01:00.000+08:00

Acacia
© Vic Capistrano

Bougainvilla Fortress

2005-10-13T23:48:00.000+08:00

Bird Nap
© Vic Capistrano

Pollock

2005-10-13T23:44:00.000+08:00

Fractal Patterns in Real Life
© Vic Capistrano

Rainy Sunday

2005-10-01T23:31:00.000+08:00

Leaf Wound
© Vic Capistrano

A Lesson on Portraits

2005-09-30T01:24:00.000+08:00

Keep it Simple Sweetheart (K.I.S.S.)
© Vic Capistrano

A PhP30 Sunset

2005-09-25T21:56:00.000+08:00

Manila Bay
© Vic Capistrano

Rizal

2005-09-14T01:28:00.000+08:00

Church and Flag
© Vic Capistrano

Fort Santiago

2005-09-14T01:25:00.000+08:00

Lilies and the Moat
© Vic Capistrano

A Lesson on Panning

2005-09-13T02:11:00.000+08:00

The Hand
© Vic Capistrano

Fort Santiago

2005-09-13T01:58:00.000+08:00

Footsteps of Rizal
© Vic Capistrano

Predominance of Machines

2005-08-24T21:30:00.000+08:00

Waiting for My Muse

2005-07-20T22:40:00.000+08:00

"Soon." she said.

Parched

2005-07-09T15:48:00.000+08:00

Great Things

2005-07-09T15:46:00.000+08:00

Growth

2005-07-09T15:45:00.001+08:00

Iñigo

2005-07-09T15:45:00.000+08:00

Nourish and Bring New Life

2005-07-09T15:44:00.000+08:00

Cloud Drift

2005-07-09T15:43:00.000+08:00

The End of Metamorphosis

2005-07-09T15:42:00.000+08:00

Capodecina

2005-07-04T19:08:00.000+08:00

Distractions

2005-07-03T21:56:00.000+08:00

It's the first time I got a score of 7M+ at the first game so here are the lessons I learned:

Always re-fuel. Never underestimate the length of time Space Cadet will be bouncing off bumpers and walls, going through wormholes and travelling through hyperspace. See the purple ramp and the way under it? Go through them as often as possible to re-feul. Second, turn off the sound. It will only get you nervous and excited making you commit some unforced errors. My suggestion is to listen to emo music such as Hale (Good album by the way). Last, and most important of all, DO NOT play Space Cadet ever again. It will only ruin your study habit. (Do not watch Wimbledon either just for the sake of Maria)

PS. Would you believe 3D Pinball Space Cadet for Windows has cheats?

Everything I Hated I Loved, Everything I Loved, I Loved Even More

2005-06-28T00:02:00.000+08:00

I never thought that I would have the impulse or the courage to bare my soul in a weblog. But from now on, this is my therapy.

The past few months have been really life-changing for me and oddly enough it made me look back on things I've always ignored. I had my first work experience and my family and I lived thousands of miles (or maybe just 1800) away from our life in the good old Marikina bahay-kubo. I remember my relatives thanking this house for its swerte that rubbed off on them because they passed their professional examinations, that they got their business going, or for simple but important reasons that their own families felt closer than ever after being in the house.

It’s true, this house has been the center of Capistrano and Atienza ‘counseling sessions’ and celebrations almost every weekend when my dad would be the most gracious and accommodating host and my mom would be there by his side miraculously attending to the guests and coordinating the chaos in the kitchen at the same time. All of my uncles and aunts would come by with their 200 pound children who would be the first and last at the dining table. I remember the time when these young and hyperactive cousins of mine would mess up the pool table with talcum powder, drop the balls on the ground constantly, gobble up desserts like rice and get scolded for having wrestling matches in the game room. My Mom and Dad hate-loved that.

But, what my dad really looked forward to during these occasions were the times when he would take out his usual brandy and drink the night away with my older cousins, uncles and even grand uncles who've always attended such gatherings even when we were still in the house made of stone. They would talk about politics, and mind you this is hardcore talk of politics while having a pulutan of grilled tuna jaw and belly from Surigao, liempo, and tilapia from Talisay stuffed with tomatoes and onions (mmm..mmm…mmm). I never liked their sort of politics (though I loved the food) and I think I got such predisposition from my mom. These ‘sessions’ went on until 2am, until all the issues in the broadsheets have been exhausted and they’ve ran out of news about themselves that they could talk about.

I have to admit that my dad had a way with people. And I never realized it till that day in the basement when my cousin from San Francisco admired my dad for his people skills, which I rarely do because I always think that people don’t take my dad and his seemingly unorthodox ways seriously. My cousin told me, “It’s not what you know, but who you know. (Along with, ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game!’ but that’s another blog)”. Come to think of it, my dad was one of the smoothest individuals I have ever known. He knew almost every manager in the restaurants we went to, got the craziest discounts from his friends’ establishments, had lots of Gift Cheques from his friends in Rustan’s and made my life easier in a lot of ways (including getting my license and car registration from the LTO in less than an hour). Simply put, my dad can get things done. And that’s why I only worry for a while when I imagine them in that far away place on the hills of San Francisco with less friends and even lesser children now that I am back here in the good old bahay-kubo.

Mom, Dad, this house is too big for me and Ate, but it seemed too small when you were around. You don’t know how I really miss the routine reminders which sometimes get into my nerves, Dad’s corny jokes and antics,the nagging Mom (Ate is not a very good alternative), the 3 hour dinners, the clean and organized closets, and knowing that when I mess up the car again I would have somebody to call to quell the raging driver (knock on wood).Now it seems everything I hated I loved and everything I loved, I loved even more.

I love you Mom and Dad. You don’t have to worry about us. (Now, I'm sure of it.)

Pacifica

2005-05-23T08:01:00.000+08:00

Bay Area

2005-05-21T09:31:00.000+08:00

Lake Tahoe

2005-04-11T07:54:00.001+08:00

My Fixation

2005-04-05T00:51:00.000+08:00

Holy Week Special

2005-03-27T03:00:00.000+08:00

Holy Week Special

2005-03-27T02:51:00.000+08:00

An Eat and Run Trip

2005-03-21T23:12:00.000+08:00

Imagination

2005-03-08T23:25:00.000+08:00

The Gates (in Central Park)

2005-02-20T19:33:00.000+08:00

Talisay Fishing Village

2005-02-09T01:24:00.000+08:00

A Snippet from The Book

2005-02-08T22:13:00.000+08:00

"Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away.
Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love,
he would be roundly mocked."

Recent Additions

2005-02-08T21:51:00.000+08:00

Ateneo

2005-02-08T21:09:00.000+08:00

Christmas in Quezon

2005-02-08T19:30:00.000+08:00

Puerto Galera

2005-02-08T19:11:00.000+08:00

The Garden

2005-02-08T19:06:00.000+08:00

Puerto Galera (by Eli Llorente)

2005-02-08T18:58:00.000+08:00

Things Above Me

2005-02-06T21:38:00.000+08:00