Day 13, April 22, 2011

Jesus DVDs:

As most Holy Weeks go, people either do 'Visita Iglesia' (Church visits), go to Confession, do the Ways of the Cross, take Long treks (by foot) to Antipolo Church from various locations in the Metro, do  self-flagellation... either privately - or in public view, or dust off and watch classic religious themed videos... all to reconnect... or become more religious. 

Well with exception to the self-flagellation part, I could say that I've been there and done that to all of the above. This week though, as we had not really planned any trips out of town - being too busy and all, we could not go out of town, so we opted to rest. But I decided to watch videos - avoiding the usual 'Way of the Cross' type movies - with exception to 'Jesus Christ Superstar' the rock opera, which I showed to Bryce (he got amused - and through his amusement, I remembered my own amusement) at the in-your-face poking of the director with hsi modern touch (a machine gun in the marketplace being just one such scene).

Anyway, the videos in the picture were more research-oriented, and quite educational - if not controversial... the first one was about proving the 'Jesus papyrus' to be proof of eye-witness accounts to Jesus's life through the eyes of his apostles - as opposed to being stories handed down form generation to generation before being written as gospel. Intriguing...

The second was about the Shroud of Turin, and how it was mislabeled a clever forgery - and how multiple researches seem to be proving it as anything but fake... and by the way, though they do not conclusively state who the shroud represented, many people take it upon faith as to who it is... and his blood type was AB by the way.

The third was about reconciling faith with the seeming historical incongruencies (huh, why is this word not recognized?) to the Bible's writings - e.g Herod getting a bum wrap by way of the 'slaughter of innocents',

and how people - scholars of faith see these incongurencies as metaphorical, rather than factual stories... and not be considered as stubborn and not willing to see factual holes. They do see the holes, yet accept it in a different light (by the way, I fall in this category).

The fourth... and most controversial would be the Holy Blood line possibly continuing on - as postulated in Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code. This one Barbie found to be viewed in poor taste on a Good Friday - even if she was not viewing it. Me? I found it fascinating... not generally offensive and not something that would rock my faith. So what if we indulge in 'what ifs'? So what if there really is a Sang Real? Would that change my faith and beliefs? I don't think so.

All four documentaries (fictitious or otherwise) were shown in the Discovery channel - in fact, this DVD set you see in the picture is marketed as a collection of Jesus related researches by the Discovery Channel. So as you can see, it was not your typical classical Holy Week viewing for me.

Day 12, April 21, 2011

Me:

This is me indulging myself with the help of a mirror - after all, a photoblog will have a picture of it's author once in a while to show passage of time - and how the author looked back then. Well, as of this time, this is how I look - not that you could see my face here... and for that matter, the lens I was using (it's my zoom lens by the way = not that I needed to really use it for this shot). As Maundy Thursday gave me a lot of time to relax and think, at this moment, I simply looked in the mirror, saw myself, then said - why not? 

This isn't the first time I've used mirror to capture my image... and I don't think it'll be the last either. After she shot, I naturally had to flip the photo, else you'd notice it was a mirror image with the Canon brand flipped.

That said, today was all about rest and peace of mind - at least, as far as what rest need be had while worrying about house chores.  Bubbles waking me up early - as is her habit; earlier than my alarm clock - which by the way allows me to put out the trash before the trash truck comes at the ungodly hour of 5:30am.

Last night I noticed how Bernice's facial expression said volumes regarding Bryce's helping in the chores - so I gave him specific instructions... namely clearing the table after every meals, and mopping the floor with Lysol solution... this latter I've instructed him to do twice a week.

Bernice, I will still talk to regarding wiping/dusting the place and folding stuff to be kept. Time they needed to learn to be more independent... after all, by high school, I could cook, wash (without a washing machine, I might add), and clean the house - time for them to learn, specially with Ate Vicky on her one month vacation. 

C'est la vie, right?

Day 11, April 20, 2011

Back of the Napkin:

That, by the way, is the book's title - I kid you not. And it happens to be a very reachable book for almost anyone - in fact, Barbie is interested in reading it... and I would recommend that Bryce read it as well... though he may find some of the tools strange - specially if he has not stumbled upon their use yet - but then again, that is my strength, having taught Achieving Meeting Results for more than half a decade now. 

The book's direction is to form a model where you can decide what tools to use - in better conveying information to people. I read this book whenever I had.have free time - and found it interesting... after all, anything that can visually help me explain or expound on any message will be very useful to me and others... and I've a sneaky suspicion I will be using the contents of this book sooner rather than later.

If you want to know more of this try looking here: Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam.

Day 10, April 19, 2011

U2K2 Cafeteria:

I'm not at liberty to talk about project U2K2, in fact, the only reason I can even mention U2K2 here is because the acronym is cryptic enough to mean little to anyone outside the project... and it's members have been give jerseys and shirts with the U2K2 emblem (the same on in the picture background) - so that part isn't exactly secretive or sensitive - heck, a Goggle search would give anyone a very good idea of the project itself. However, such is the life of information security - and though it may not warrant the attention of James Bond types, it still is considered serious enough as it involves a global corporate's infrastructure being set up.

What I am showing you would be tantamount to a non-sensitive location - the eating place for the project's personnel... the place where I will be eating for the duration of the project. Yup... this is my life for the short term - and it will involve a lot of eating free food (catered), drinking a lot of tea - as I try to lessen my coffee consumption while I'm at it... and the fact that brewed coffee is being offered for free does not help me either, but I try to persevere... as I equally persevere with my new responsibilities.

So... as the U2K2 project's broad brush strokes may be considered public domain - it's details are not. This is another reason I have not brought my DSLR with me all the time - just being careful in my first days of working with the new client, though I will find prudent use of my Blackberry's camera just to keeep my photoblog going . 

On the other hand, should the project  - or corporation have 'media events' I may consider bringing said DSLR to capture such events.

Day 9, April 18, 2011

Searching for Askals:

Sunday afternoons aren't typically times for us - our family; that is, to be out in the open hot sun - even under the roof of a stadium, to watch a football match, more so a practice session match between two unknown teams. And yet, here we were - at the Makati University football field, observing some Askals in action. Don't ask me who, though... football isn't really a sport I follow with great interest... even in this sudden interest with a Philippine football team that was able to achieve things beyond expectations... and are now finding themselves the new sports public and media darlings.

We did not get to see the entire team, of course, nor did we spot the more familiar (I would say, media favorite guys) were not visibly present... but yeah, this gave me an opportunity to practice tacking pictures from afar (in the stadium) to see if I could get great action shots. 

Well, it seems that I could - but I realized that I would have to follow the ball a lot faster - to predict where it would go and hope that the players would react in a picture-perfect manner. Lord knows I missed a lot of opportunities - which means I had not been diligently following the game at all... something for me to consider next time I find myself in a similar situation.

So until the next time I go Askal watching, I have a clearer idea of what I should do.

Day 8, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday:

As has been practiced for a long time now, the Holy Week officially starts with the commemoration of Palm Sunday - and as shown in this picture, church devotees would bring palms as props to mass and as it seems these past years - I say this because it seemed not ot be the case in my childhood, the priest would then have a mini-dramatization of Palm Sunday.

This picture was taken using my zoom lens - though I felt it better not to zoom in and capture the environment as well. As you can see, we did not attend Palm Sunday in church but rather in the Greenhills Promenade mall where we frequent going to early Sunday mass... and in the mass, the gospel dramatization was no exception - thus Bryce and Bernice, both carrying a palm each, joined the rest fo the crowd to go around the priest - listen to the sermon, and wave their palms upon instruction - as he (the priest) blesses the palms, before requesting everyone to return to their seats and continue the mass. 

Day 7, April 16, 2011

Barbie and Sophia:

It is with great pride that I show this picture - not just because it shows Barbie and Sophia in a very frame worthy pose, but it proves the resiliency of the Filipino in general. "How so?" you ask... simple... the reason we (that is, Barbie, the kids and I) went to visit Cavite was to visit daddy - Barbie's father, who is struggling with his health - battling cancer of the intestines (they were taken out, but his cancer cells still prove to be stubborn in submitting to remission - in fact, his status is anything but in remission state). Simply put, he is losing his battle, and Barbie was very much affected by this news.

The day before, she was crying - and on our way to Cavite she was pensive - dreading to see how he would look. Well, when we arrived, we saw that he was thinner; his hair was cut shorter - supposedly due to many thick dandruff flakes he was experiencing, and although we knew he had a catheter on, it was not that obvious. Yes he was not obviously in the pink of health - but he hardly looked like he was on death's door either. So score one for resiliency.

Then there's this picture. Even in times of personal stress - I'm sure Barbie was very relieved to see her father... and despite what she may think, she showed a brave face in front of him - allowing herself to enjoy the company of Sophia. 

Truly remarkable, indeed. 

Day 6, April 15, 2011

Large Pictures:

Around ACN's offices, you will find wall poster sized pictures like the one I'm standing in front of - normally depicting either scenes of the Filipino fiesta, tourist spots or... as like this one, ones symbolical of one specific characteristic that the organization would like their employees to emulate. This one in particular, mentioning the character trait of collaboration... or being collaborative.

Said traits used to be part of the materials we would cover in the usual New Joiner's Orientation talks - I know this because I myself would be a speaker in these orientations - and yes, I would talk about these traits and what they would mean to the organization and the individual. There are other pictures depicting the core values as well... one's that I would like to pose in front of as well... specially those I feel strongly about. But that may not happen - at least, until October, since I shall be deployed elsewhere by the next week.

To put things into perspective, I stand at 5'6" - so imagine how large the pictures are. Someday, I hope to have some kind of exhibit where some of my very own pictures will be displayed in such a scale.

Day 5, April 14, 2011

Buffy:

When I saw Buffy sitting (or is that semi sitting?) down with the rubber toy in front of her - plus the fact that she was quite straight, I just decided to take her picture. After all, if Bubbles was the previous day's subject, why can't Buffy be today's subject? Yeah... she complete's the dynamic duo dogs we've got - lovable and adoring... but she's also got a nasty habit of wanting to munch and chew on stuff... this toy is just one of two able to survive her chops.

Just a regular lens here... after all, this was ground level. No other fancy options tried - just a great picture of Buffy, that's all.

Day 4, April 13, 2011

Healthy Sandwich:

I normally like eating healthy...this is not to say I don't eat what will be considered unhealthy food - as most Filipinos would know where many famous dishes may be found. Dishes like sisig, lechon and the likes. But I would rarely partake of them. Often, I find myself choosing chicken and or fish over pork and beef... not out of any specific need - but to just eat healthy whenever possible.

That said, this picture shows a sandwich from Starbucks that I had in the afternoon (after experiencing high blood pressure while going through the motions of getting a healthy - or healthy enough bill of work).. This was while I was waiting for Barbie in said Starbucks in Gateway, Cubao - not our usual hang out area... but we were there after we had brought Bernice to a classmate's house to spend the afternoon. So we just decided to go someplace near... where Barbie could shop - hence Cubao, hence Gateway, hence Starbucks... and yes... hence the choice of sandwich - not just for it's health perspective but the need to watch my diet closer than in the past. (sigh)

Day 3, April 12, 2011

Friends and colleagues:

This evening, we had a mini get together... namely, Jingo, Gina (both shown in this picture), Brian and me. The reason? Two actually... first was a belated birthday celebration of Jingo, and the second? A small, impromptu send-off for me. What for? At this time, I am in a transition - from work that I have been doing for nearly six years... more if you count my other years in other companies... to one that I know of, but have yet to experience... from training to handling the project management office.

As celebrations go, this was small and relatively short (after all, it was impromptu and done in the middle of the work-week), but a celebration of friends none the less.

Day 2, April 11, 2011

Paper planes:

These planes are the result of an exercise that we do as part of the Leader's Window training. They happen to be four different models - of varying difficulty and are expected to be built by the team, relying their speed and strategy on how to get the highest number of points per round (there are 3 rounds). 

On the surface it happens to just look like a simple and enjoyable game - but it reveals layers of characteristics for its participants. For starters, how would the leader lead his/her team? Will the leader monitor the team's progress and step in where needed? 

All these are not given as instructions and are left to chance... the game is also done in short timeframes to see grace under pressure - but the number one reason for doing this just gets discovered in the succeeding day... the process time out ahd how it is hopefully used, to realize, readjust and realign.

On a personal note, I found the need to use pristine bond paper as scratch for this game a waste - and in this day and age of going green... of being environmental aware, it smacks as wasteful at the least.  Reason for using this paper? Worry for information security. I mean... aren't the participants from the same company as well? What's so important about - say, training information security to shred them all and not be set aside as useful for training-related activities as this?

Day 1, April 10, 2011

Bubbles:

She's now on her fourth year with us, and the once cheerful puppy has definitely grown into a refined lady - she still remains lovable, loyal and disciplined... except when the neighborhood stray cat comes visiting the garage.

This photo shows her in her favorite spot... the upper stair area, where she loves to sit (or lie down) to have a commanding view of the ground floor - and more importantly, the outside from both the front door and windows. You could sy that this is her favorite guard post.

I used my zoom lens to get a close up of her face from the ground floor.

Year 2!

Helllo. You've stumbled upon this, my second year for doing a project 365 photoblog. In case you missed the first one, I suggest you check out my other blog - minutiaemusings' Year 1 blog.

So what's in store for this second round of photo-blogging? More pictures, naturally... and hopefully, better ones at that. I may not strive to update this on a daily basis, as I have found out that it is not that easy to do... but I will  definitely update this at least, once a week - and maybe... on really busy moments, every two weeks.

Oh yeah... I will not create this new blog, if it were to just insert 365 random daily pictures - nope... though I say this is officially Year 2, I look forward to having as many years as I can accommodate. So I hope you now see the significance of giving this blog such a name. It may not be as creative as my other blogs... but who knows? I may just change the name later for something better suiting both this blog's reason for being, and my sophisticated (and creative) taste.

So Tally Ho, and let the new journey begin!

Butch