Day 283, Jan 16, 2012

The Chipmunks!

If you're my age, I'm sure you've heard of or have seen cartoons about the Chipmunks - Theodore, Simon and of course, Alvin. The three would be seen singing songs and I'm sure I probably hummed along with them. Believe it or not, my parents even got me a long playing album of the Chipmunks singing Beatles songs, which I played again and again until I memorized all the songs  (and that is how I got introduced to the Beatles).

Timewarp to the present - the Chipmunks now appear in live-action/computer generated movies (I believe the latest one is their third movie) and maybe a new generation is getting to know them - but my generation... including Fiel; as seen in this picture, still fondly remember the Chipmunks, and maybe watch the movie - though I prefer watching them in TV, as I feel that with the current prices of movies, these kind of movies are not must see ones.

Still... as you can see with Fiel's face, its still a pleasure to think of these three... so much so that Fiel won't care with what others say about him posing with the statues of these three, with a bit of a suspension of realism... if only to imagine one's self actually having their pictures taken with the three (imagined to be live) Chipmunks.

Heck, I would have wanted a picture with these as well.

Day 282, Jan 15, 2012

Exercise:

Yeah yeah yeah... this is something I have not really been doing for the past years - or if I do, its an on and off thing. But I do know the need and importance of exercise - its just that I find it difficult to get into a routine to do them continuously.

This year,  though, with the help of our very own elliptical bike, this will change. After all, its just here at home, so there's no need to dress up for the gym - no need to worry about having to wait my turn in long lines to the equipment, no need to worry about being too tired to go to the gym because this particular equipment is already at home... a place I will eventually be going to anyway.

I also learned that two habits of successful people who lost weight and kept it - as opposed to remission and regaining their weight, are that they exercise at home (the treadmill was mentioned) and that they monitor their weight with a weight scale everyday. The other aspect, of course, is to steer clear from temptation - like avoiding that doughnut shop in the corner by walking in a different path - well its nice to know there are no such shops near home, and when I drive home, its usually straight home anyway.

So here's to me - good luck to me and hope I get positive results that I can brag about before this blog ends.

Day 281, Jan 14, 2012

Sausages:

Hungarian, Garlic, Cheese... oh yeah, and the Tender juicy version for kids... these were the stars of the night with respect to what was served at John's grill-filled evening get together with friends.

I was lucky to be a part of this and I have to admit to trying almost one of each sausage - a filling experience, leading me not to take any rice as part of my dinner.

Aside from these sausages, we also had some fish (Gindara just being one of them) and clams. There was some barbecued chicken as well - but I did not even bother with these, as I was too busy enjoying the sausages. I also tried a few grilled pork... but not too much.

This evening was definitely a gastronomic event, and this is something I look forward to - but not too often as such will ensure a very dramatic change to my weight. So here's to more of these - and next time, I'll drag Barbie along.

Day 280, Jan 13, 2012

Yogurt!

There was a time that taking yogurt was not so fun. It came with a slightly bitter taste and people who took it as mainly a weigh reducing tool did not really look forward to such. Luckily, there are better options available these days.

Yo Swirl is just one of these options, and in this case, I've leaned towards the vanilla flavored version of their yogurt, topped with strawberries (as seen in the picture). I could literally eat a gallon of this - though I wonder if that would defeat the purpose of having a healthy snack.

Day 279, Jan 12, 2012

Juke Box:

I like this contraption. It hies back to the 50's - days when Rock and Roll was the generational dividing line, and Soda Fountains or Shops were the in thing... and oh yes, lets not forget the Juke Box that supposedly had 45s (vinyl) in them, and you could select what to play for a few coins.

Well believe it or not, this item beside me is a CD player - but its designed with the same principle in mind - namely have a great number of songs, ready for your choosing and listening pleasure.

As A kid, I could recall seeing some of these things in malt shops lie A&W or Dairy Queen, or I vaguely remember one of my mom's company outing where we went swimming, and I saw one of these - found a favorite song of mine in it ans started playing the same song again and again and again (Paul McCartney and the Wings' Live and Let Die... what can I say, I was a James Bond fan?)

The point is, I liked this CD player designed to remind us of the hey days of said juke boxes - did I ever say I'm a bit of an Anachronist? Well now you know, right? Oh yeah... I've learned... if I should ever ask anyone to take my pic with my camera, I just set it to auto mode - that way, I need not worry about blurred pics of me.

Day 278, Jan 11, 2012

First Class:

No, this isn't a passenger airline's premiere lounge... nor is it a VIP room... and neither is it the merry band of mutants formed by... well, you know that, and its irrelevant to the picture, so lets just explain the title.

This picture represents my very first class in the new year 2012. Yup... I had no work for the entire week coming from New Year, and its only now that I have returned to Accenture to do what I normally do - namely facilitate their trainings... in this case, the Packaged Application Design School (a.k.a. PADS). My partner in this endeavor is Jinky, and what's nice about the training is its a bit laid back (specially when compared to other courses available.

So there you have it... nothing special in terms of adjustments, disturbances, or picture configuration - just a picture of my first class for 2012.

Day 277, Jan 10, 2012

Venti Green Tea Frap:

I rarely go Venti... so this is obviously a sign that I plan to stay here for a while. I would normally do this with the occasional comic books in my possession - so I could read leisurely while I sipped my Green Tea Frap - the healthiest Frap being sold in Starbucks I might add.

Now this isn't the first time I've taken a picture of said frap... after all, I go to Starbucks occasionally and there would be lots of opportunities for me to take a picture of my drink.  So nope... taking the picture of another frap... even in venti size, would not be that much of an event.

What I did notice, however, was the table's design - of its words spiraling inwards or outwards; depending on one's interpretation, and I then decided to take the design's picture - but... I needed a prop... after all, how interesting would the table be without anything on it? Thus, I strategically placed my drink in the perceived center. Got my camera out, and snapped a few shots.

Day 276, Jan 09, 2012

New Printer / Scanner / Fax:

This printer is a Christmas gift from Bern, Barbie's older brother, who happens ot be working in Lexmark at Cebu. He brought it here a few days before Christmas - just informing us that it could double as a scanner and fax machine. Did I mention it has WiFi, so it won't need physical cables connecting to a PC or laptop when printing had to be done?

Now, our current (at least, current until this came) printer could likewise scan (and in that sense, also copy/reproduce stuff), and for all intents and purposes, its a great printer - except for the fact that it really eats up printer ink fast - due ot its internal cleaning process. The downside of this is that the ink s were pricey (specially the cartridge for black), and it had a design flaw (at least to me) of not working - rather, refusing to work, when even one ink cartridge was deemed empty.

Anyway, as I was not in any hurry to do anything, I deemed it the right time to set up the printer properly and introduce it (with its WiFi capabilities) to our home network. Glad to announce it works fine - and the longest part was the printer's self configuration and downloading of its needed files. Oh yeah. the technical manual was confusing somewhere in the middle of it all. So much for great documentation.

Day 275, Jan 08, 2012

Banana-Q:

Normally served skewered in a barbecue stick, this sweet snack is made up of caramelized (via brown sugar) and deep fried bananas. Ideally, they're supposed to be just right to the bite - meaning not too soft as they may just fll out of the stick.

Well this afternoon's snack happens to be the above-mentioned delicacy, and what we do at home is to add some powdered milk to the banana, thus giving it a sweet and milky taste when we bite into it. I had to hold myself back as I could have easily consumed three of these babies - okay, maybe six... but I wanted others to have a chance to taste this snack. As it is, I'm sure a lot of people on diet will want to pass up the cahnce to enjoy this... but not I. You can't be a real pinoy if you don't like banana-q.

Being a bit lazy, I simply placed the camera on close up shot mode and clicked a few times. The result, as seen, is a slightly macro shot - tightly focused in teh middle, with a tendency to blur as we move outwards. I did not use any flash for this picture, though I tried using it... but it was still harshly looking. Hence this non flash option became the better picture.

Day 274, Jan 07, 2012

Restful:

This picture represents how our day today felt. No mad rush to shop, no appointments to chase, no work-related tasks to think about. If there were any need to go and do things, it was minimal (like doing the groceries), but aside from that, I'm glad to say that this was a rest day for us at home - well, except for Bryce who had class, anyway.

So these two sleepy heads, enjoying the air-conditioned room and our bed represents what we were (or at least, I was) doing a lot this day... namely resting, reading comics, sleeping eating - and by the way... eating a great number of sea foods (ones I bought this morning). So yeah... Saturdays should always be this way.