My Dream Pet

awww
Originally uploaded by golfpunkgirl

I'm just in "awww" of this picture. I've always dreamed of having a British Bulldog as a pet. I like how ugly they are and the way they walk is just so awkwardly cute. :)

The Last 5 Days

I've tendered my resignation to our boss a couple of weeks ago and today is my last last day at work. I'll give you a rundown on what happened this week.

Monday - My modest target at the beginning of this week is not to be late for work. At our office, I'm known for being a notorious late comer. I was hoping to spend the last days to come at work on time but it was such a daunting task. I tried... I really did but my daily morning routine of dilly-dallying will not be denied. I just justified to myself "What's the use of coming at work on time just because it's my last week at work? I should be consistent and keep the tradition running. I'll just let my office mates remember me as The Most Tardy Person... Ever."

With that on mind, I proceed with my usual hullabaloo. I arrived 45 minutes late only to see that my boss wasn't around and in fact he was ABSENT. Dammit... If I've known I should have just filed and use my remaining vacation leave. Anyway, the day isn't over yet so I just went for the second best option, go on a half-day leave. What a way to start the week. :)

Tuesday - With what happened last Monday, I guess this day is the official start of my last week at work. I woke up inspired yet unmotivated to go to work. I arrived almost an hour late and to add insult to injury, the most dreaded situation (for habitual late comers like me) happened: While I was on my way to the entrance of our office, i saw our boss making his way to the same door with a roll of tissue paper tucked in his arms (on such a way that you'll know that nothing can stand on his way and the nearest toilet) and at this moment I knew that collision is inevitable. I just said "Ohayou gozaimasu!" or good morning in Japanese. He acted surprisingly and replied "Ohayou" back at me. Statistics say that 1 out of 99 times this would happen. (:

Wednesday - At last! I arrived on time for work. Not much to do this day other than surf the net. I was supposed to sign the contract with the company that hired me but there were so much people inside the agency. I just slipped by our office without filing any kind of leave nor informing any higher ups so When I heard that it would take a while I just went back to the office.

Thursday - Took the day off and went back to the agency to sign the contract. Just a Visa away to being an OFW.

Friday - Finally, last day at work. So this how it feels like... for the past 3 years I've felt like the place was a second home. At 5:00PM everything ended in an anticlimactic way with everyone going home and saying goodbye just like the usual Friday. Taking a last glimpse of the workplace, I felt happy knowing I'm on my way to starting a new chapter in my young career and as the elevator closes a new horizon will open... waiting for me to hold it by it's throat and say "This is my life".

Andrew McMahon's statement about the U.S. Elections

To all considering to vote in this upcoming election: DO! We are in the midst of one of the most important elections in history right now. I am the first to admit that I believe all politicians are flawed and the system is broken, but the only way to affect change is to take a stand and vote. We owe it to ourselves to watch these debates and cut through the massive amount of bullshit and try and find the candidate that speaks most clearly to our own core values. We can argue that neither of these men or their tickets represent us as a country and while that may very well be true, I dare say that it's best we all find one that gets close verses allowing either to take a pass and become our next president because we did not stand up and let our own voices be heard. Every persons politics is their business and my goal would never be to try and force mine, the only point worth forcing now is getting informed and getting to the polls.

-Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin / Something Corporate
Article taken from Absolutepunk.net.

For the past 27 years of my life, I never had the experience of voting on the elections. Either I'm always late to register or I really didn't bother to do so. I feel hopeless for our country, in terms of politics. Corruption have been incorporated in the Filipino culture for so long now and although we condemn it, we still tolerate it.

I'm very disappointed every time that someone from showbiz is elected. The masses have still a long way to go when it comes to maturity in electing a person on the basis of their credibility and not just by popularity alone. I understand that the choices are quite limited and maybe the only thing we can do is choose the lesser evil.

Come 2010, I promise to myself that I'm going to exercise my right to vote and one thing is for sure, Mar Roxas is the man. :)

Album Review: The Morning Light

It's no secret that aside from punk i'm also fond of listening to catchy, poppy music and that what makes The Morning Light's album one of my favorite releases this year. The record opens up with "Wake Up" the most upbeat and optimistic song in the album with lyrics "i'm ready for the change" makes it a perfect theme for starting your day. Second track, "Done Writing Love Songs" is cut-out to be a future single with such a catchy and big chorus that will instantly get stuck in your head at first listen. "Brand New Friends" is a piano-laiden track that continues the band's formula of creating memorable melodies and catchy hooks."Virginia" is very folk sounding which usually is not a good thing but after a few listens it kinda grew into me. Track 5, "Clouds" is a personal favorite and my recommended track in the album if you want to have an idea what The Morning Light is all about you should listen to this one. The rest of the album consists of "Happy Now", "Follow Me Home", "Honest (Apologies Endless)", "Have You Tonight" all have their highs and lows, from upbeat to mellow but still remains true to the album's simple yet unpredictable sound, shifting from pop-punk to the Beatles and classical orchestration. "This Way" is an emotional ballad that will catch you off guard with the sudden change of pace. It reminds me of the song "Tests on My Heart" by Umbrellas' with the similarities of the mood and melody down to the vocalist's similar high pitched voice, it offers a respite from the vast instrumentation of the earlier songs. The record aptly ends with "Movin Along" closing the album on a high-note.

With proper record-label backing and constant touring for this album, The Morning Light is destined to be on mainstream radio soon.

Track List
----------
1. Wake Up! 2:40
2. Done Writing Love Songs 2:41
3. Brand, New, Friends 3:11
4. Virginia 2:30
5. Clouds 3:36
6. Happy-Now 2:48
7. Follow Me Home 3:23
8. Honest (Apologies Endless) 3:40
9. Have You Tonight 3:06
10. This Way 2:52
11. Movin' Along 4:20

Listen to Track #5 Boomp3.com

Adobe Lightroom: A Photographer's Bestfriend

Yesterday, I downloaded this great application, yet again from Adobe, called Lightroom. It functions a lot like Photoshop but it caters more to the Photography fanatics. Unlike PS, It has a non-destructive way of editing your images so you need not to worry even if you've edited your picture files a gazillion times. I wasn't a big fan of editing pictures 'coz I felt that it kinda defeats the idea of being into analog photography but I guess I've embraced the idea that there's no harm on doing some adjustments as long as it's not so much to alter the picture completely. I've done some contrast adjustments in my monochromatic pictures and it looked really good. I've always wondered how some people in flickr and lomomanila attain rich contrast on their B&W pics but now I know why (cheaters!). If you can't beat 'em join 'em! :)