Wednesday, October 31, 2007

My Entrepreneurial Dream

I have a dream of going into business and set it up in Maasin City, my hometown in the Philippines, to sustain myself when the day comes for my complete retirement. I had so many ideas about it like venturing into a restaurant business, set-up a Beach Resort in Limasawa Island, an island right next to my home province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. I was also visioning to have a dance club or even just a bar with a few billiard tables and a bowling alley. Having a bowling alley is first in the Maasin area (as of this writing). But the problem now is how to put-up enough funds to start up whatever business I would venture into.

A close friend of mine from Cebu suggested that we could combine our resources and set-up a restaurant business in Cebu City. I don't have anything against this friend as I'm pretty sure that he is very honest in handling business affairs. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with business before in which I hate to mention it here. Because of this, I developed a phobia or fear of having a business of my own. Currently my friend is scouting for a good venue and we already had agreed for a name of the restaurant. I really have second thoughts about this because I believed that a restaurant business is a hands-on type of business. Meaning, one should be able to handle and manage the business personally at least for the first year or until everything is stable enough, then you can hire somebody trusted to handle the day-to-day affairs if necessary. At this point I still don't have the luxury to spend most of my time in the Philippines as I also have my main job here in the United States. Whatever I would decide, that remains to be seen until I get all the details from my friend who is now handling the research and study for the business to be profitable.

By the way, is there someone out there who knows the current name for "fear of business"??? Please advise as I don't have any idea at all.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Streaming Music Online To My N800

For all music lovers like me, streaming music to your PC or any internet enabled device is one convenient way to take your music anywhere. Yes, iPod and MP3 players are the most practical way of carrying your music and now videos wherever you are when there is no Internet connection. If you can go online, streaming files to any capable device is one cool thing to do. Right now, streaming devices that can connect to your home audio system is currently in the market and catching on fast with the consumers.

Since I have my new Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, one way of maximizing its capability is streaming online music. One service provider is MP3tunes.com. Once you become a member, signing up is free by the way, you will be assigned with a music locker. You can actually upload all your music files from your computer's hard drive to your online music locker. Once uploaded you can start listening to your uploaded music streamed to your device like a PC or in my case my N800. Uploaded files are stored in the provider's servers until you end your membership with them. Just like a digital music player, you can make a playlist from your music files. You can sort them by artist, music title or album title. If album art is available, this can be displayed also on your device's screen. Uploading and keeping your music files in your online music locker is basically making a backup of all your valuable music files. This is kind of hitting two birds with one stone.

Try it now and you will be amazed how easy it is to upload your files, and in no time you can start listening to your favorite music. Just like an internent radio but this time its music of your choice. Check out http://mp3tunes.com

Saturday, October 27, 2007

The Pain Of Missing Someone

Have you ever experienced the uneasiness and pain of missing a loved one, a close friend, or somebody special in your life? I have experienced this kind of emotion several times before but I can only pinpoint two instances like this that lingers on me.

The first time I remembered to have experienced this feeling was when I was still in college back in Cebu City, Philippines. In my dorm, I had this close friend whom I considered more than a brother to me. We were almost together in doing everything, except probably taking a shower. We even slept together most of the time, either in my room or his room. You probably is thinking something else happened between us two but that's a big NO! Nothing happened....NADA! We ate together, went to school together everyday, we done drunk together, watched movies together, even fucked some chicks together although we never shared girls...as far as I can remember. With all the things we did together, I could say he was my partner in crime. When he got married, he invited me over to his hometown and would not even walk the aisle with his parents to start the wedding ceremony when he noticed that I was not yet there inside the church. He wanted me to be there from the very beginning. Oh, I forgot to mention that when he courted his then girlfriend, now his wife, I was always his driver. He had this Yamaha bike and I was always the one who drives him to the girl's house, dropped him off and then picked him up later in the evening. Basically, I was a part of their love story heheheheh. After his wedding, I had to go back to Cebu because of my job. That was the last time we see each other. During the days that followed, I was always thinking of him and felt restless if I wasn't able to call him on the phone. Just hearing his voice would ease the loneliness that I felt inside. It was a weird feeling. I told him about it and he also felt the same towards me. We even joked about it like were we in love with each other, or what?
Fortunately, with the passing of time the feeling of loneliness eased out and I was able to go on with my life. Until now I still think about him sometimes and is looking forward for a chance to see him again. He is a good friend that I cannot forget for the rest of my life.

The second time I felt this sickening feeling of missing someone just happened now. I have a close friend that went to Hawaii where he came from, to attend to his sick mother. He still doesn't know the exact day that he'd be back here in Las Vegas. Knowing this made me sick inside and missed him more. The idea of him being away felt something is missing in me. Maybe because I'm used to the idea of him living and working here in Las Vegas that we can see each other anytime we want. Now that he's out of reach made me miss him a lot. Although we regularly talked over the phone something still is missing. My only consolation though is that he'll be back sooner or later, that is for sure. And when he's back, we'll drink "Red Horse" together to oblivion.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Things I Did Or Missed Doing For The last 3 Days


Duing my last days-off from work (Sunday, Monday & Tuesday), I busied myself looking for picture frames that would fit for the souvenir pictures of Grand Canyon that I got from my last visit there. I was looking for 3 frames, in which one is out of the standard frame sizes that's being sold commercially. This "special" frame is for the souvenir picture of the Grand Canyon that I gave to my friend as a "pasalubong". I did find frames for the other two standard-sized pictures where I mounted on the wall in our living room. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the suitable size for my friend. Although I found a frame that exactly matches the size, the style was a floating frame where two sheets of clear glass are pressed together to hold the picture being framed. Taking note that the pictures I had were already matted therefore it's kind of thicker than a regular picture print. This would not make the floating frame fit together. If you know what's a floating frame, you will understand what I meant. Check out the picture in this entry for an example of a floating or float frame.

I had also one thing that I wasn't able to do for the past 3 days. I had bought a pair of jeans last month and until now I kept forgetting to have it altered. Knowing that I'm quite short to a standard American height, length of jeans or trousers that I purchased is always my problem so I resort to have them altered in terms of length.

There are also other things that I was able to do though, like make prints of all the pictures that I took from the Grand Canyon visit and gave them to my mom and also Willie and I went out almost every night. We went to our favorite Vietnamese Restaurant and also we were back in Cafe Moda, I guess our now favorite karaoke bar to hang-out.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

MY NEW TOY

Last week I received an ad email from Buy.com and I was attracted to a new gadget called an Internet Tablet by Nokia. Its the new Nokia N800 and for me its a very cool gadget. You can go online anywhere there is a wifi hot spot because it has its own Wlan connection. It also has a bluetooth connectivity. You can chat, email, video chat and internet calling using Skype. It is also a music and video player plus it has its owm webcam.
I got it for about 239 dollars which is cheaper than other online merchants.
I wrote this blog entry using my new Nokia N800....cool!

If you are interested to know more about the N800, just follow the link below:

http://www.nseries.com/products/n800/#l=products,n800

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

It Was A Beautiful Evening

Last night was one of the best nights I had. It was my last night where I'm off from work and my best friend invited me to go to a karaoke bar. It was my friend's first time to visit to that place and at first I was hesitant to go. I didn't want my friend to be out of place or not enjoy the night with me but he was persistent that we go there.
Fortunately enough, he liked the place. We had fun, and I was brave enough to sing a couple of songs maybe because I had two bottles of beer already. I happened to know the DJ that night so probably that also made me at ease to sing on stage. There was not really that much crowd inside the bar that night so that probably made my friend feel at ease too.
After about a couple or more hours, we set out for home. We enjoyed the evening together.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Grand Canyon Sunset

The Grand Canyon




Last Oct 14 & 15, we were at the South Rim of Grand Canyon. We braved the 5-hr drive to Arizona on the 14th around 10:30AM. Take note that it was a Sunday and I was working the night before so I really don't have any sleep at all but I was able to drive up to our destination. How did I do it?? I boosted myself with coffee and Red Bull energy drink. A friend of mine told me to chew some gum while taking long drives but I forgot about it. The last time that I drove to Los Angeles, chewing gum helped me to be alert and awake all throughout the 3-hr drive.


We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon around 3:00PM and we immediately went to our lodge to put our things and have our late lunch. After eating we start setting out to the rim. Maswik Lodge, where we stayed, is just about 1/4 mile from the canyon's rim, just a short walking distance. We took a free shuttle ride to bring us along the rim to some lookout points. We ended up at Hopi Point which our guide said that its the best place to view the canyon as well as watch the sunset. Looking at the canyon, you'll be amazed how powerful nature is. It was scientifically explained that water erosion brought by the Colorado River thousands of years back contributed much of the magnificent canyon rock formation and crevasses. With the sun setting, it brought bright orange colors and dramatic shadows all throughout various contours and shapes of the canyon. Finally as the sun was setting, a crescent moon rose in the sky casting faint light throughout the canyon and casting ghostly shapes on the horizon.


We came to the Grand Canyon well prepared, I've checked the weather specifically at South Rim, book our lodging in advance online. We had our jackets/sweaters on as it was so cold specially towards the evening. It was running at 60degF, kind of normal winter temperatures in Las Vegas. Since we got only two days, we were not able to take the mule ride and do some trekking along the canyon's edge. We did some shopping for some souvenirs before we head out for home.


The 5 hours of driving to Arizona as well as another 5 hours in going back to Las Vegas was actually worth the time after you see the grandeur that is the Grand Canyon.
Checkout a slideshow of the sun setting as viewed from the South Rim of The Grand Canyon at the bottom of this page.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Disappointing Evening

I went to Ara's small birthday party last night only to find out that the rest of our friends that she invited were not able to come. We ended up with me, Ara, her causin Frank and her mother-in-law trying to finish all the food that they prepared. Unfortunatley we were not able to finish them all. We had some few rounds of drinks and started karaoke singing. We managed to have fun afterall.
We decided to go out that night but I told them to wait out with my friend Willie to get off from work and he might want to go out, too. Willie then called past 11PM and told me that he and some friends are going to this Vietnamese restaurant. We decided to join him as he said that we are welcome to join them. We then planned to proceed to a karaoke bar and have a bottle or two of beer before retiring to bed but unfortunately Willie doesn't want to join us. His friends even pushed him to join us but he insisted to go home because he said he's tired. Well, who am I to force him to join us anyway. I was kind of disappointed though because I just wanted him to be with me that night. He maybe has his own reasons (I hope its a legitimate one) not to join us that night. Whatever the reason, I dont want to know...probably wait to tell me himself.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Hoping For This Day To Be Okay!

In my previous entry, I was planning to take a friend out for a night cap last night but unfortunately a tragedy struck. There was a major problem at the pharmacy that I worked. The problem involved the hospital system that we used to migrate patient orders/medications to our sytem in order for the automated dispensing robot would start filling patient's medication for the following day. I ended up working in the pharmacy last night helping my co-worker do the manual cart-fill, that is manually picking all the meds and we're talking about 2000 doses. We were done around 4AM, so I went home and went to bed around 5AM already.
Today is Ara's birthday and as I woke up this morning, I was hoping that this day, last day-off of the week would be okay. My first sign that my hopes and prayers were answered was a call from the pharmacy informing me that the program glitch was fixed but when my co-worker ran the system, she still got the problem. She informed the hospital IT department and after about an hour's wait, I got information that the problem was really resolved. It was a relief for me because I can go to Ara's birhday party tonight. Unfortunately, my friend Willie is not coming because he's working today and be off from work around 11PM and its too late for him to go and attend the party...we're all spent and drunk by then.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Enjoying Monday


Last night, I did went to Gaye & Cesar's house for dinner and several rounds of drinks. I was careful not to drink that much as I would be driving back home. We drank Patron Tequila and finished 3 bottles of the liquor. We called it a night around 2AM.
I previously planned to have my car serviced for its regular maintenance including change oil, tire rotation, etc. After gym, I went directly to Dessert Toyota, the car dealership where I bought my Toyota Highlander and have it serviced. I was kind of lonely at the customer's waiting lounge so I called my friend Willie to pick me up for lunch as it was already around 11AM. Fortunately he was already awake and I was just lucky since he agreed to pick me up for a brunch at Orchids Garden Restaurant. This is a Chinese restaurant where they served dim sum during lunch time.
While we were still in the middle of enjoying our lunch, the Sales Representative from the car dealership called informing me that they were done with my car. After we had our fill, Willie dropped me off the dealership and he proceeded to his house getting ready for his work. I paid my dues and drove my car back home. I'm planning to go out tonight and invite Willie for a night cap, I hope he's not tired from work as he usually get off around 11PM.
My mom said that she wanted to go and visit The Grand Canyon this coming weekend so I went online, booked a hotel at the South Rim of the canyon. South Rim is the most beautiful part of Grand Canyon and the panoramic views that you always see on postcards, posters and photos from National Geographic are most likely taken from this part of the canyon. I am excited too as this will be my first time to visit this magnificent work of nature and surely I'd be bringing my camera with photo lenses and wide-angle lenses to capture the grandeur that is the Grand Canyon.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Telebisyon

This is my second post for today. You guess it right, I have nothing to do today so in order to get out from boredom, I decided to linger on my blog and post something else.
Well, I remember the last time I went chatting online that I asked a friend of mine from the Philippines how to view pinoy movies and TV shows online and for free. He suggested this particular site named: Telebisyon. "Telebisyon" is actually a reused word making it Tagalog sounding for television. With this name of the website...its already self-explanatory.... pinoy television. You will notice that once you become a member, this site is actually a forum where members share messages, ideas and most importantly video files from movies (pinoy & foreign) as well as pinoy TV programs in their entirety.
Check out this link:
http://telebisyon.spreebb.com/
Once you're there, dont forget to meet some new friends...I did! Happy viewing.

Its Sunday....

Today is a Sunday and I'm off from work. That was notable...off from work. Its not that I dont like work but since I'm living in a party central, that's Las Vegas baby, one can always look forward to the days when they are off from work.
Nothing special is happening today though because I spent the morning sleeping. I actually woke up around 2:30pm and had late lunch with my folks.
I also received a text message from Gaye inviting me for a bbq dinner at their house in Summerlin. Her brother Cris is home since last night from his tour of duty, he's a Navy soldier by the way.
Well, that's all that I can report for what's happening in my life today. Got to go ready for dinner at Gaye's.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Same 'ol Day


I missed entries for the past two days as I already started my workdays.

In the past, I mentioned in my old blog that I practically hate hospital food. I work in a hospital and I'm exposed to this scenario where you eat almost the same food every day. My shift starts a 8pm and ends at 6:30am the following morning. Unfortunately the food served by the hospital's cafeteria is all the same and they no longer appeal to my taste buds.

Lately though, we are seeing huge improvements in terms of the quality of food. Considering that management has restructured the kitchen staff for the evening shift or commonly known as graveyard shift, and the addition of two new cook definitely is the key that food mentioned has become more palatable.

Take for instance my dinner last night. I had a BBQ chicken breast with mashed potatoes, green peas and mixed veggies as sidings. I had also a potato salad as a good source of carbs and finished it off with an iced tea for beverage. Whew! that was good.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

How I Spent My last Day Off Of The Week


I started this day going to the gym. I focused on my lower body and did some exercises for my legs and my butt..hehehehehe. I also joined the step aerobics class again for an hour and I was sweating like hell. It was a good feeling though.

After gym, I had my SUV washed. Its been awhile since I had it in a car spa as you call it. I had it washed, waxed and vacuumed. At last after 4 weeks, my car is shining brightly under the sun. My car by the way is a 2004 Toyota Highlander, a mid-size SUV.

This afternoon, I'll be meeting with my partner and probably will do some naughty things together.

Hey, this day is not done yet. I'll make another entry late tonight as to what happens next.

A Day of Activities

I went to the gym this morning(Monday morning) and joined the step aerobics class for about an hour. This is actually my second time to attend this class. I figured that this would work wonders in my pursuit of a more lean body and become healthy. I have proven this before that what works for me in shedding off some weight is a regular attendance in aerobics classes such as kickboxing, step aerobics and aerobic dancing or jazzercise.
After the gym, I received a phone call from my best friend from Hawaii informing me that he'll be flying back to Las Vegas in the afternoon. I was happy to hear that as I've got to see my friend again.
After lunch at home, I went out to meet Ara (first time I mentioned a name of my friend) at Boulevard Mall and do some window shopping. Unfortunately, my being an impulse buyer kicked in and bought myself a new pair of jeans from Express. The jeans still needs to be altered and I will bring it to a tailor tomorrow. By the way, it was Ara who strongly suggested the color of the jeans that I picked up. Ara and I just roamed around the mall when another friend of mine, Gaye invited me to have dinner at her house. By the way Gaye and Ara are happily married so you guys better quit thinking they are my girlfriends and I'm not a two-timer.
Dinner was good with baked pork ribs as the main course. After eating we just launge around the living room watching Dancing With The Stars on TV. Ara by the way did not come with me as she has to work so we parted our ways after leaving the mall.
That's how I spent my second day being off from work.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Nothing To Do....

Its the start of another set of days off from work. Although this entry was stampped date as Monday, I'm talking about Sunday as I wrote this past midnight already.
I practically have done nothing today. In the morning, I went online to check my emails, go chatting for awhile with my friend from Vietnam. I met him online through Yahoo chat and we've been in touch with each other for a week now. He seems nice although at times he's not open to me and only replied to me in single words like yes, no, thanks & ok.....and I find it rude. Maybe because of the language barrier, he can't express himself much through English. His command of English though is good considering he's a Vietnamese or maybe he got to learn the language because he is working in the tourism industry. This morning while we were chatting, he told me that he's busy learning the English language by self-study.
After getting online, I went to bed and slept to dreamland through 7:00PM. By the way, I got a call this morning from my best friend who's currently in Hawaii visiting his folks there. I can't wait to see him again when he's back from his short vacation.
I woke up around 7:00pm and ate my first meal of the day with my parents. Afterwards, I watched 2 movies on HBO and then went back to my room and wrote this entry for the day.
Nothing much happened today, though but I'm glad I got to relax and have a short break from work.
Tomorrow I will go back to the gym and continue my never ending quest for physical perfection.