___Absolute VemSan

I won’t be updating my friendster’s blog anymore BUT will continue to do so in my blogger account:

http://www.vemsan.blogspot.com

Please update your bookmark accordingly.

Tenkyu!

‘Was absent today due to an upset
stomach . Dami kasing ininom na milky way
drinks tas inupakan pa ang ice cream eh alam nang lactose intolerant.
Hehehe

 But
hey I made this day productive - from cleaning my room, doing the
laundry, spyware removal, anti virus scan and replying to two job
questionnaires I received three days ago… Procrastinator eh no!?
Hehehe

The very inquisitive pig, YanYan

 I
tried studying SQL this afternoon but I guess my brain (If I really have
one) works best in the evening or early in the morning. So there I decided to
do some blog hopping until —– yung kasambahay (si gago, remember?)
ko me account sa myspace.com
eh trenta’y kwatro na at me tatlong anak! Isa pang rebelasyon - si
bruha nya (rememeber?!) meron ding account eh trentay’s dos at me
dalawang anak na!? Patawa nga naman, oo. Ke tanda tanda na nakiki sali
parin sa mga ganun. Hindi lang yun yung webspace nila napuno ng mga pa
cutie tootie na animations… Mga blinking epek pa! Hehehe…. Ayan
tuloy nawala yung antok ko kakatawa.. hehehe. Buti nalang di sila maka
intindi ng tagalog…or???! =p

These past few days bitter ata ako… wala lang bored lang. Naubusan na kasi ako ng mapapanuod na episodes ng Home Boy at The Buzz… Lilipas din to - Tiyak yun!

Gems of the Internet:

Funny Interpretation of Fall Out Boy’s Sugar We’re going Down

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4435593179243241083

More pics here.

Ryan and Steve (both Technical Leads @ WDS Global)  dance video (click here)

Catherine Pham (Ryan’s Asian co-worker) whom I danced with that night, told Ryan that I AM — CUTE! Ohhhh Yesssss! Hehehe.

Paraskevidekatriaphobe means
fear of friday the 13th (as if you don’t know). Although, It’s Friday
the 13th today, am not going to write about superstitious beliefs and
such- Thank God!

Since yesterday, it took me more than an hour to get home. Tila parang mga kabute na nagsulputan yung mga sasakyan.

I dropped by at Ross just to buy a blouse to be worn for the upcoming WDS Global
party (that is tomorrow night). To my disappoinment, everything were
already outmoded. Hello?!! boleros and peasant-looking outfits!!? That
is soooooo 2005. So I decided to leave and head to Safeway to buy myself a dinner. Syempre 4 na araw din akong nag instant mami (noodles) kaya tonight I deserve a better meal - had 3 spicy chicken strips and Caesar Salad.

Nandito
na si bruha ni gago. Pagdating ko sya lang yung tao. Kotse nya lang
kasi yng naka park sa labas. Since katabi ng room ko yung room ni gago
eh nung nasa aisle ako eh napatingin si bruha. Di ko binati. Punyets,
kala mo naman natutuwa akong nandito sya. Bastusan kung bastusan. Ayun
na badtrip na ako dinaan ko nalang sa pagkain at panunuod ng HomeBoy ni Boy Abunda. Peyborit… (FYI: I did subscribed to ABS CBN Now! - tv shows streaming over the internet. It’s $4/month. Not bad, though I cannot download some of the tv programs)

Maya
maya dumating na si gago. Pootek dala yung tatlong anak. Overcrowded at
maingay na naman ang gabi’t umaga ko. Ayun napilitan akong manuod ng Ok Fine Whatever
(guest nila si IC Mendoza! Ang saya! hehe!) habang nagrereklamo ako kay
Ryan. Oo si Ryan na di na nakaka intindi ng tagalog (buti nalang…
ehehehe). Tanong nya sa akin kung bakla daw si Rica Peralejo?! Hahaha

Gusto
ko ng lumipat ng matitirhan. Kaso di kaya ng budget. Kung uuwi naman
ako sa bukid (Oak Harbor) patayan na naman - 2hr drive one way to/from
work. Buti sana kung taasan suweldo ko para makabawi man lang sa gas.
Hay….

Ayun, tumawag din si Superluwi sa akin. Nagpasalamat sa binigay kong "I am your webmaster, you must submit"
tshirt. Kwento nya isinuot nya yung shirt para ipang hili sa ka trabaho
nya. Bukas isusuot nya daw ule yun. Tinanong ko kung nilabhan nya.
Hindi daw. Hindi naman daw sya pinagpawisan. Hehehe. Ka boses ni Superluwi  yung college buddy ko. As in. Kinalibutan nga ako eh. Muntik ko ng tanungin, "Alfred, ikaw ba yan ?!" Hehe.

Bat ako nag taglish dito? Kasi na inspire ako nung blog ni Sir Marhgil - prof ko dati sa AMA- Batangas. I was just checking out Inq7’s 2BU bloggers  archive when I saw his name. Familiar kako.  Si Sir Marhgil nga. Tska malay mo, nagbabasa ng blog ko si gago. Hehehe

Party bukas ng gabi. Me karaoke daw. Kantahin ko kaya yung song ng Blackeyed Peas, ‘My humps"?! Ma shock kaya sila?! ehehehe. Mag je jeans lang ako bukas… Jeans + pink stilleto + sequined clutch bag + black blouse.
Feeling Ashlee Simpson na ba?! Nakabili ako noon ng dalawang sequined
armbands di ko naman magamit gamit. Kaso pag sinuot ko bukas maging
dress-to-kill naman ako kasi pati clutch bag ko, sequined! Para tuloy
akong walking disco ball. Hehehe.

Pramis ko, next week :

1) mag co commute na talaga ako
2) mag jo jogging every weekend
3) mag re review ng SQL + MCDST
4) magti tipid na ako (?!)
5) makikinig na ako ng Pinoy podcast

Sana nga lang din meron na akong kaibigan na pinay/pinoy dito. Hirap ng walang ka chokaran eh. So, If you’re a Filipino situated in Greater Seattle Area, please… please drop me a note! Sabi nga ni Boy Abunda, "Kaibigan, halika usap tayo"… =p

From 10am to 5:30pm all I did at work was to do some blog-hopping since we ran out of requests/projects to work on.

Let me share some of the interesting topics that I chanced upon:

1) SEATTLE, WA is the most EDUCATED city in the U.S (See picture below)
Vemsan’s Two Cents worth:
Upon reading this headline to my coworkers, one of them blurted out
"Why not Boston, where Harvard and Boston University are situated?"
Well, maybe because
university/college graduates from not just the U.S but around the globe, flocked to Washinton state to work for Boeing/Microsoft/Amazon. So maybe, that explains why Seattle is the most educated city in the US.

2) It has been raining in Seattle for 19 consecutive days now
Vemsan’s Two Cents worth:  Nothing to be shocked or alarmed of. That’s a normal day here in the Evergreen state.

3) How to steal I mean save Youtube and Google videos (read more)
Vemsan’s Two Cents worth: I
have not yet attempted to do it but I will in the coming days. But of
course, I’m planning to have a complete video collection of
Koreanovela’s Full House and Attic Cat (available on Youtube)!

3) You can order a stronger and better Starbucks Cappuccino for a cent less than the so-called "Preferred Starbuck’s Customer" size (read:Tall) read more
Vemsan’s Two Cents worth: Am not into Starbucks or coffee in general though, I have my interview tomorrow at Tully’s Cafe in Bellevue. Barista — sounds like a fun job! Still I don’t drink coffee. harharhar

Went to Jiffy Lubes
this morning for an (my car’s) oil change. In Oak Harbor, it cost me
around US$40 for a full service (oil change + vacuum services) but here
in Kirkland it amounted to *gasp* US$110++:

US$60.00 = Fuel Filter Change (they said I have to change it every 30 000mi. Never I recalled having it changed since last year)

US$1.00 = Environmental and Shop Fee (?!)

US$26.00 = Service Fee

$10.00 = Fuel Upgrade

Add Sales Tax (8.5%)

===========================

I
know nothing about car detailing so I consented to the above services.
Besides, whatever it cost me/takes for me to be safe on the road, I’ll
go for it!

Finally always remember…..

"If the grass is greener on the other side, it is usually because there is more shit in the soil" - Chuck Dy

I noted in my mind that today I am
going to have my car’s oil, be change. But the fact that I woke up late
and went straight to my pc (to catch up on tech updates) change it into
a non-priority task. On the brighter side, that will compel me to
commute (starting tomorrow) for fear that the car will stall on my way
to work or worst on my way back home (rush hour). Getting your car
towed means burning a hole in your pocket. It’s that expensive.

Been checking out stock options (buy/sell) on the web last night. I nearly submitted my application to buy Google stock
for a mere $4/month but then I decided to close the web browser after
reading an online article written by a stock broker about keeping
thyself from buying Google stocks.

Anyways, out of boredom I googled the word "Filipina"
and the first 10 matches were those of mail order brides. I checked
some of their pictures, hoping to see my picture in any one of them.
JK! hehehe. Don’t ask me to comment on the pics that I have chanced
upon. Please don’t. =p

Six more days before that WDS Global 10-year anniversary party.
I still have no idea on what to wear. Jeans and black blouse with obi
belt (Japanese) would be nice. Still IF POSSIBLE I wanted to
incorporate Philippine jewelries/accessories. Too late though, to order
online. Poofff!

Housemate#1′s cat had been meow-ing on the other room. I think it had been locked by Housemate#2
in the room, out of frustration and hatred. The cat just peed/pooed in
the kitchen. Did I took the responsibility to clean it? Hell no! Why
would I? =p

Housemate#3 wanted to move out.

I
think I wanted to go back to the world of tech support. With my current
job, salary increases and benefits are possible IF and only IF I have
been promoted to a regular employee. I’m just contractual. It’s a
stable job yet contractual.

Housemate#4 works for Wave Broadband, a building away from my previous job (WDS Global). Their salary increases after three months, monthly bonus, full benefits and food discounts (e.g Quiznos..mmmm.. toasty! LOL) But then………………………………………..

Websites worthy of your mouseclick:

Friendster.com Atrocities :

The Atrocities of Friendster Vol. 4

The Atrocities of Friendster Vol. 3

The Atrocities of Friendster Vol. 2

The Atrocities of Friendster Vol. 1

Today:

- worked on XML conversion of old .asp files… 10 more (out of 25) requests to go!


- wrote a report regarding the bugs/error I’ve encountered while using  XTemp (MS Infopath) and emailed it to  Preetha (departamental Lead) and to a   T-Mobile’s software developer in Bellevue,WA


- was pondering (in between working and munching on stale Lay’s potato chips.. hehe) on whether I should move out of my current apartment, look for a new one OR just go back to Oak Harbor and drive 2-hours (one way) to/from work….


Sarap kasi batukan yung isa dito sa bahay..Grrrrrr….(tagalog-in
ko na, baka mabasa eh! harhar) tas darating pa kupal na gelpren sa
isang linggo… gelpren na nag mamagaling.. eh ano kung manager sya ng
isang kumpanya aba eh di nya naman kayang umupa ng hotel..harharhar…
Di na rin magkasundo sa bayaran ng utilities kesyo di naman daw yung
"dalawa" nanunuod ng tv. Oo nga naman yung mga anak lang ni gago ang
panay nuod ng tv. Lalo naman siguro ako, halos mapanis na ako dito sa
kwarto kasi inasawa ko na yung kompyuter…hehe

-
I left my cellphone in my bed. Good thing I arrived home, safe and
sound (though ‘took me 45min instead of 15min to get home….. Waaaaaaaaa)

- voicemail from Apex Systems
regarding a tech support position for a tax software company in
Bellevue,WA. As usual, I did not return his call. No more tech support
job for me, thank you very much!

New Tech Blog that is worthy of your mouseclick:

http://www.oks.ph/

So, Palm Treo 700W is already available thru *ehem* Verizon Wireless *smirk*

Jst got my 1st ever business card courtesy of  Ciber. Yihaaa!

Unrelated News:

Thanks to my classmate, Glenda I was able to have a copy of our class pic back in Kindergarten (1989).  (See pic below)

Dinner last night

Can you say, "Yum yum?"

Less than 3? as in <3… It means " to heart" or "to love"… You didn’t get it? Tilt your head to your right and  <3 looks like a heart! Heh!

Being a lurker at pinoy tech blogs (e.g Ka Edong’s, Anton’s, AnP,
Sacha, etc.), am salivating at those gadgets and technology being
discussed in there. Not that technology here in the US sucks (hey we
have 3G/CDMA!) but buying the
latest gadget like mobile phone/BT headset seems futile - at least in
my case since I don’t have that much close friends here. If there are
people to call that would be my family and housemates. But most of the
time, I just SMS them.

For the record, I amaze people when I’m texting… super fast daw mag text *evil grins*

Ascii
characters, blinking text, uber-cool ringtones and picture msgs —
things I hope to see/receive on my cellphone starting this year… =(

Been looking forward to attending the upcoming WDS Global 10-Year Anniversary
party this coming Jan. 14. Ryan has two invites so he gave me the other
one. But of course, I used to work for WDS and It would be great to
seeing familiar faces again oohhhh (See screenshot below to view the
details of the said party).

.

Miscellaneous:

- Started honing my SQL/Excel skills.

- Applied last night at Tully’s Coffee for the Barista position. I really wanted to be a barista. (Read previous blog entry for details)

- went to Safeway
last night to buy food/household necessities (toiletries, etc.) and my
bill totalled to $70++. Bought several instant cup noodles (na naman?!) and "complete" frozen meals which is 10 for $10. Complete because for instance one box has :

1 fried chicken (breast)
mashed potatoes
corn kernel

……………………. Not bad for a dollar meal, eh?!

-
Argh I needed a month-long vacation. I have been in the workforce since
right after I graduated from college. But of course monetary issues
kept me from having one… =p

- Roadtrip sounds great. Think of the movie WhiteCastle
– they travelled for like 60mi (?!) just to satisfy their craving for
a WhiteCastle burger. ‘Was teasing Ryan that we should go to Carl’s Jr .  Of course that means driving for  three hours since the nearest one is located in *gasp* Vancouver, WA (border of Oregon state)…. hehehe

- Went to downtown Seattle to watch the Pyro Display @ Space Needle… Watch here

- Was searching for 2006 predictions/astrology/horoscope
and I chanced upon this chinese astrology wherein it stated that those
born in the year of the Dog/Sagittarius are bound to —- settle down, this year???!!!
What???!! Hahahaha ROTFL. I can hardly pay my debts much more get
married…. where am I going to get the money for the church wedding?
reception? Geez…..

In Chinese Astrology, 2006 will be Year of the Dog
— my, Ryan and Hugo’s (my housemates) birth year. Is that to our
advantage or to our disadvantage? Well, I have yet to know the
predictions for my sign. You see I am a big fan of astrology/horoscope. Typical Pinay indeed! Mwehehehez

——————————————————————————-
FYI: I have (daily)  subscription  to Yahoo Horoscope via my celfone…Hehehe
——————————————————————————-

What I look forward to in  2006:

1) at least one technical certification (Brainbench is an exemption)

2) commute instead of driving to/from work
- I just swapped my $20 gas voucher with Ryan’s FlexPass (he loathes public transpo) which is good for a maximum of $4.75/day fare and expires in one year. One way is only $1.25.
-
with so many bad Washington drivers, soaring high gas prices and not
having medical insurance, I definitely need to carpool/commute

3) SQL / T-SQL
- they pay minimum of $18/hr @ Microsoft for a Contract Support Analyst position. If you’re a direct hire, then probably around $25+/hr
- work for Google?!
Err hopefully in the coming years but I’ve read they require people
with excellent C/C++/Java coding skills only to make them "play" with
Javascripts @ work. Heh!

4) emotionally and financially rewarding job
- currently I have an emotionally rewarding job with (above-minimum) DECENT salary… =p
- Am not into coffee (Starbucks? ewww) but I wanted to be a part time barista… Probably because of the so called "coffee frenzy" nowadays (For the record, I saw a two-year old girl sipping Starbucks Frappuccino!!) meaning :

more coffee patrons = more tips/extra money *wink*

5) new living quarters
-
actually I look forward to moving out here in my Kirkland apartment
next year. Living here for 5 months made me appreciate and thankful
that I was born, Filipino. ‘Enuff said.
- I was advised by Ryan (my housemate) that I should buy myself a condo/house back home in the Philippines while I am still working here in Washington state. Good idea but mine is better:

given a high-paying job, I’ll purchase a condo here . After several years, sell it, go home and buy a house in Batangas/Makati/Tagaytay… how is that?!

For now it is just *wishful thinking*. Too bad.

6) Xmas/New Year  in the Philippines
- I definitely missed my lifestyle back home: MRT/jeepney/tricycle rides, tinapay sa umaga, hapon at gabi (bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner!), solitary loitering in the bag/filipina/home appliance section of SM Megamall during weekends, hawker foods, underground punk gigs, hiking, mall strolling, karaoke…. and the list goes on
- been wanting to go to Batanes; shopping galore (Philippines clothes and accessories are the best!) and not to mention food trip (lechon, sisig— yum!)
- countless reunions which means you are always the spender but why? hehehe jk!

I got the chance to watch Rex Navarette’s Badass Madapaka dvd and he said one mistake he did prior to going home in the Philippines is informing his relatives…. Why? Go Figure!

7) Filipino friends in WA state
-
it is nice to have foreign friends (in my case, here am the
"foreigner"!) but nothing beats having your kababayan friend here in WA
state which unfortunately, I doesn’t have. That is why a week ago I did
a Friendster
search for Filipinas (age ranges from 20-24) living here in Kirkland.
So far I befriended three among 15 that I chanced upon. You can call me
names but I am hesitant to befriend a Filipino/Filipina who are MORE Americans than real Americans - physically, emotionally and socially. From my experience, they are the one who badmouths/makes fun of Philippines infront of other race(s). To this I tell them, "Hey yo! Mukha ka lang namang unggoy na binihisan." =p Bad Vemsan. Very bad Vemsan.

That’s all for now! Happy Prosperous New Year!

.I celebrated my birthday just with
Ryan (two of my housemates knew that it’s my birthday but since Ryan
insisted to shoulder the bills…. go figure!). We went to Claim Jumper in Lynwood for dinner. (See pictures here)

There were people  that I did not expect to greet me on my natal day YET  they did

AND

those that I was expecting to drop me a note BUT didn’t! Ppppffftt!

Anyways. allow me to use this opportunity to thank my former workmate at Ann System, Raoul for sending me this audio page linking to his version of Happy Birthday

…. and Superluwi for the animated birthday card (View here)

‘will just post the remaining pics on my next blog entry!

Random Thoughts:

Nung isang linggo, bago
Ngayong linggo, bago ule
Ano kamo dito manunuluyan?
Dinagdagan mo ba bayad mo? Sympre hindi. Wais eh!

Isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat… akalain mo apat… baka bukas lima na
eh kung magsarili ka nalang kaya?!

pootek!