On hurdling challenges

The year 2007 has both been easy and challenging for me. Personally, it was satisfying because I got the chance to look after my growing sons. Being on consulting work and working at home gave me that enough leeway and free time to look after them. At the same time, it gave me that rest I have been longing for. It was also an opportunity for me to take on blogging (read: writing), which I have always wanted to do. Blogging gave me that...

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Maligayang Pasko

To all my online friends, readers, family, friends and "supporters" I wish you a blessed Christmas and another fruitful New Year to you and your family....

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How Baguio wants to be remembered

My former SLU psych professor, Fr. Evarist Verlinden, once showed us a beautifully (and painstakingly) carved 1-piece Belen (with complete characters!). We all agreed that it was really very beautiful work of art. Then he ranted that the carvers of Baguio and Benguet should instead put the pieces of wood to good use like making an art piece like the Belen he showed us, instead of those nasty wood carvings sold in the market. When I was...

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Another tag: 5 questions

I almost forgot to respond to the tag of Monaco. As I have explained in my previous blogs, I am hooked to photography, and just today, I learned about HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. It was one of the challenges posed by the previous challenge's winner. It sounds too techie, but I will try to learn more about it. I still have to master basics particularly my exposures. (lols!). It is really hard to shift to DSLR from point-and-shoot!Anyway, I am here to answer the 5 tag questions passed on to me by Monaco. So here it is:How long have you been blogging?I have been blogging since April (officially), but I actually started a blog in...

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My photo blog -- where two passions meet

For a time, I have neglected my photo blog, Viewpoint. I was more concentrating on social issues. But for a while, you have to face the reality that your need to look after your personal growth as well. Being more serious in honing my craft in photography I was hooked up with Flickr, especially to my group Pinoy Kodakero where we have fun and exciting contests on various themes (from the simple [color] to outrageous [shots taken at 5,000 ft])....

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Unveiling my photo gallery

Earlier, I blogged about making photography my priority. I was lucky to go back to Baguio last Monday and Tuesday to start the case study I was commissioned to do. And I was more lucky when I learned that I will be going to Brgy. Gibraltar where the Good Shepherd convent is located (yes, the one producing great tasting jams and jellies). It is just a stone's throw away from Mines View park. All these augured well for a photo opportunity,...

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Between two passions

Finally, I have the time to blog. I have been busy for the past weeks finishing a case study on water system delivery. And I am about to embark again on a journey, which is related to work. For my avid readers (Bwahahaha! Feeling!) do not worry, because when I come back, I will be bringing with me a whole new set of experiences, memories and vignettes.I am now caught between two passions--between blogging and photography. That is why, blogging...

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Pretty Anne and the Amazing Bloggers!

I am smiling at the title because it sounds like a title of a carnival show, or "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Fun Factory." I am just a bit crazy. Wala lang! (Just for the heck of it!). I have been nasty in my earlier blog. I guess that brings out the bad thing about me. But I only get impatient with people who are inefficient! I am now feeling better, despite my suffering from gas pains (which is the reason I cannot sleep yet) and constant...

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The problem with call centers

Since Wednesday, I was offline. After trying to connect, my DSL connection just did not respond. I checked all the cables because there could be some lose connection. I restarted but no response. It was only when I was about to call the customer service hotline, did I realize that my phone did not have a dial tone. Not again! Without any other recourse, I had to use my prepaid cellular phone to call the hotline. Again, it took them too long...

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Celebrating Life, instead!

I wanted to blog something about suicide because of the blog of Liz about another suicide supposedly attributed to poverty, and because I want to advocate that the media should stop this media-hype because of the possibility that suicide might actually be "copied" and misconstrued that it is cool to commit suicide as what Prudence has mentioned in her blog as Werther Syndrome. I had to refresh my psychology since it was already eons ago! I...

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Countdown to Christmas

WE WERE A BIT LATE in sprucing the house with Christmas decors. We were all too busy doing our work after the Halloween break. It is already a tradition that a day after the Halloween, I would gather my family as I bring out the tree from its box and let the kids adorn it with balls and stars.Gio, during his prep and grade school years, always looked forward to seeing the tree spruced up. I would see him in such awe and being so delighted with...

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A poor kid nation

Isolated case? Telling the whole world that the case of Mariannet is an isolated case is clearly irresponsible a statement and an oversight of the glaring truths that the government itself has known. In fact, the government is merely talking about one side of the coin. Are people in Malacañang not even aware of the real stories behind death because of poverty—especially among children? Definitely, they are not aware of how it means to be poor and...

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My blog is featured at Mindanao Bloggers!

I just submitted my blog, answered a few questions, and not long enough, my blog was featured. I just thought it was cool!Thank you, Blogie and the rest of the Mindanao Bloggers!Click this link to read the feature and why I am part of Mindanao Blogge...

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Marianette: without seeing the dawn

"Gusto ko na makatapos ako sa pag-aaral at gustong-gusto ko na makabili ng bagong bike." (I wish to finish my studies, and I really like to buy a bike) - Marianette, in her tala-arawan (diary) entry dated October 14. I HAVE ALWAYS been reading Inquirer.Net. I browsed through the news but never really paid attention to this article because I was rushing a project proposal on a project related to poverty alleviation. It is a shame on my part to...

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Arroyo, Estrada and the zarzuela in Malacañang

Finally, I am breaking my silence regarding the plunder case of Joseph Estrada, which I followed for the past months. I opted not to write about this in deference for the blog action I initiated for the Glorietta victims, then the Halloween break.It was also necessary for me not to react immediately, as this article has to be well-thought and carefully written. So here I am, still writing on this issue. Read on.... Politicized justice"Pardon one offense, and you encourage the commission of many." - Publilius Syrus, ~100BCPardoning former president Joseph Estrada has created not only quite a stir in the Philippine political arena. More than...

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The tale of two spinsters

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, my late father would always warn us not to get inside the big compound owned by two spinsters, which occupies at least one-thirds of the entire block. Since the owner of the compound is a distant relative, and being young and innocent, we did not see anything wrong wandering and playing hide and seek inside. He would irrationally scold us whenever he saw me playing with my cousins and my nephews and nieces my age inside the compound. The compound was like a mini forest, planted with bamboo groves, fruit trees, bananas, bushes and tall grass. It was enough reason for a scolding because there might be snakes especially near...

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Are ORBS ghosts?

MY FORMER INTERNS borrowed my digital camera and had a photo session in the Speakers’ Guest House in Baguio City. It was in July 2006, and their last day in Baguio during their LGU exposure trip so they took turns on shooting each other’s photos for posterity. When they were done, I reviewed what they got, and was surprised to see an orb or two in some of the photos. These are indoor shots and apparently, these are the only indoor shots that have...

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An Offering for the Glorietta 2 victims and their families

Photos in this blog entry are courtesy of Prof. Lalaine H. Siruno of UP Dept. of Philosophy which she sent through email as her show of support and sympathy to the families.This blog entry is dedicated to the victims of Glorietta 2 Blast.It has been a harrowing experience for the entire country,especially for those who have lost their loved ones and those wounded but survived.Many have offered their prayers and condolences in various ways--and this...

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At home with Joomla

REMEMBER THAT WEBHOSTING PACKAGE that I won at PBS Wika 2007 blog tilt? It has come to life with the help of Joomla. It is an Open Source Content Management System. Honestly, I do not know anything about web development or content management system. So I asked Jared, one of my previous officemates who is now working as Systems Administrator for the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Norte and is currently based in Dipolog City, and he recommended...

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