Post Summer Exile

Puerto Galera beaches are nice and cheap.

For the weekend, my family and I went to Puerto Galera for some R&R. It's a great chance for mom and dad to have some break from all the city work. And I'm glad they loved it. Me, I had fun, but the beach/province life isn't for me, I missed the city, I missed my orange padito, my lovely pc, and work. But once in a while, it never hurts to go out to the beach. Next stop, Baguio.

Revenge of the Sith

The power of the Force is out!

We watched Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith the first day it came out. I couldn't resist so I had tickets reserved 4 days in advance. I was really excited to see this last installment of the Lucas masterpiece that made me watch movies with a passion. This franchise started it all, when I was in college, I saw Star Wars Special Edition in theaters and it totally blew me away. It's different seeing it on the big screen with Dolby Digital Sounds in a theater certified by THX. So after seeing Episode 4, I watched movies every week. Sometimes 3-4 times a week. Anyway, I loved this movie, this has got to be the best in the prequel trilogy. It's just pure eye candy! But one thing that turned me off was the bland script. But I dont blame Lucas for it, he gave us this fantastic universe and for that, I am grateful. Grievous though was not utilized effectively, having 4 sabers at the same time seemed like a threatening idea but it really wasnt much of a threat, spinning blades around and getting his arms cut in mere seconds. ive been reading the Episode 3 novelzation and I think it was handled better there. With more emphasis on Anakin's desperation to save Padme hence converting (not easily)to the dark side. Well, I enjoyed watching this film and I think people should watch it and just have fun! After all, its just a movie.

Inside the Orange Pad

The lavalamp IS the most mezmerising invention by man... next to the mini-skirt, of course.

Here it is, the final setup. After fixing all the wires and making it organized, I am now happy with what I'm seeing. My mom just gave me a lavalamp (retro, I know) and I am loving it! It just adds some movement and energy in the room. The other night, my Wacom got fixed. So I painted a little. But after shutting down the PC and turning it on the next day, the problem is still there... sigh... I thought it'd be the end of it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to live with the jitters. Frustrating.
Last night in the Contender, we saw the fight between Jesse Brinkley and Anthony Bonsante. Now, I hated Anthony for doing the things he did before. And I almost fell to my seat when I thought he was going to win it. In 4 rounds, I guess it was Bonsante all the way. And then a devastating punch from Jesse took all those away. Anthony was knocked out! It was one of the most exciting moments in television history (for me)! I was so happy and relieved that Jesse won the bout. Well, the final 4 remaining are the good guys so whoever wins the million dollar, I'll be happy for them. They all deserve it. Sergio Mora though is still my favorite.

Gateway Virgin

Earlier, me and Guia went out to watch Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott. Although I was planning on watching it in our usual SM City sessions, I decided to try out this new place in Cubao clled the Gateway. I've been hearing a lot of good things on this place. And well, they were right! It was one of the best malls I've been so far. Food is everywhere! And THAT is always good. So while were there, we tried out Taco Bell, another first for me and her as well. The food was delicious, the Burrito, although it was too soft, the filling was overflowing and I found myself messing up my napkin. Mmmmm! After that, we went to ShopWise and picked up some grub to eat tonight. I'm sure we'll be back to that place. I sure enjoyed our short visit... Episode 3 at Gateway? Count me in!
Before all those, I bought a new Wacom Graphire 3. The old one had jittering cursor so I thought it's about time I buy a new one. So I did. And went home before going to meet up Guia. I tried it and alas! The jitters are still there! I went back to the store, about 30 minutes from my house and tried it out in their unit. And the cursor is nonexistent... so the problem would be my location. Well, I asked if I could have the item replaced with a printer and they were kind enough to oblige. I got an Epson C65 printer instead. I figured, my old Wacom may not be broken... Oh well.

XPC replaced my Ex-pc

My new workstation... ahh... it's a thing of beauty!

After a long and tedious bout with the PC Ghouls, I decided to take action and upgrade to a faster and better workstation. Since this is where I do my living, I convinced myself that this is woth the investment, a lot of my friends and colleagues think so too. Under the hood of this black Shuttle XPC, we have an Intel P4 3.4 Ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 256 MB Inno3D Geforce FX5200 and the usual setup. And everything runs well now. Photoshop is happy running on more than 256 of ram which I had before. The only thing that bothers me with this setup is the ultra compact keyboard. I guess I still have to get used to it but it actually disorients my work flow. But that can be fixed, of course. Next week, I'll be replacing my old HP printer (the thing that looks like a bread box) to an Epson or a Canon since the inks are cheaper with those brands. Now... if only I could fix those wires that show behind the setup. I hate those. Hmm... Well, I'm a happy man, a little out of budget but happy... and content.