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To-Do List for 2010
January 14, 2010
3 comments
I’ve been wanting to write this down ever since Kath posted her list, but I keep getting waylaid by other more important things. Since I am currently high on caffeine (and therefore unable to sleep), I might as well get this done and over with and out of my head. So here’s a list of things that I hope to accomplish this year:
1. Start a new comic strip. I said I was going to do this last year but I never got around to actually doing it. Since 2010 is starting to look better than my 2009, this might just be the right time to do this.
2. Be more organized. I am probably the worst Virgo in the world in the sense that my apartment is always in a mess. And, well, so is my life. My thoughts are all over the place all the time and I keep forgetting to do things I promise to do. So this year, my challenge is to get more organized at work, at home, and in my head.
3. Move to a better apartment. This is my biggest goal for the year, and the one I want to accomplish the most. I currently live in a dinky little studio and I want to move to a bigger and better space. In order to accomplish this though, I need to work really hard and save, save, save.
4. Wear more dresses. I’m updating my wardrobe to look more like a lady. I’m tired of wearing the same old shirt-and-jeans combination and looking like a college student.
5. Learn how to ukay. I’m envious of people who find amazing clothes for uber low prices, and since I’m trying to save money, this skill will come in very handy.
6. Travel to at least 4 different places out of the city/country. Last year, I realize, that I took quite a lot of out of town trips (definitely a lot more than I was used to): Boracay, Pico de Loro (Cavite is out of town right?), Sagada, Singapore, Vigan, and Batangas. I’m not quite sure yet if I can outdo last year, but I will definitely try.
7. Get more use out of my camera. I am currently not using Don Juan to it’s maximum potential, and I need to change this so I won’t feel so bad about spending so much on it last year.
Heh. I have a lot less goals than I thought I would have. I’ll figure out the rest later in the year, I guess.
Categories: Notes to Self
2009 Year End Meme
December 30, 2009
2 comments
Looking back through my photos from this year, I realized that despite the hardships, the little heartaches, failed and unfinished projects, and the constant running out of money: 2009 was pretty good. This has been an interesting and life changing year for me and I’ve certainly learned a lot, in all aspects of my life that I value. As a recap, I’d like to do a blog meme that I also did last year (have no idea where that post is now):
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
- sang at Rockeoke, went to Boracay, climbed Pico de Loro, trekking and spelunking at Sagada, attended an Open Gaming Meet, went to a Yale party, attended and won Geek Fight, and went to Vigan, among other things.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
- I don’t even remember my resolutions last year, and I will, as always, make and break new ones for the next. Among my new year’s resolutions are to avoid beer, fast food, and Starbucks coffee, and to start drawing more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
- Gabby and Mench gave birth to a beautiful (and huge) baby boy that I will forever refer to as the Gablet.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
- Nope. Close to my heart: Michael Jackson. That was this year, right?
5. What countries did you visit?
- Singapore. Next year, must visit more countries. I’m thinking Indonesia.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
- More money, a good apartment, and a cat. Also, an iPhone, a PC, and an LCD TV would be nice.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- February in Boracay most definitely. It’s the first time I went on vacation with friends, and was a big factor in my recovery from my breakup.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- Heh. Silly thing, I think it might be winning Geek Fight LOL. That and shipping out another game (plug: Passport to Paradise has been released! Check it out at http://www.iwin.com/games/passport-to-paradise). It’s safe to say I’m not a big achiever.
9. What was your biggest failure?
- I still have unfinished commissions that I desperately need to finish next month. Aside from that, not updating this blog more often.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- Getting a bad cold right before the holidays was the worst, I think.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
- My Apple Macbook “Alphonse”, my D90 “Don Juan”, and my gladiator wedges from Charles and Keith <3
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- Mine, of course. I could have done much, much worse, but I didn’t!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- Appalled: my haters, depressed: maybe my ex, back when I we were still trying to be friends. I realized soon after that it’s better if we’re not.
14. Where did most of your money go?
- My laptop, rent, my camera, and food.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- GCA in Singapore.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
- Huh, so many songs. I can’t really choose. Maybe “Friday I’m In Love” and the songs from Rock Band.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
- A.) Happier; B.) Thinner; C.) Poorer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
- Reading, drawing, and writing. Oh, and travelling.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
- Drinking beer, smoking, and procrastinating.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
- With the yearly big ass family reunion.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
- In lust, maybe.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
- Glee would have to top everything. I watched a lot of new shows this year that has probably been around for a while now: Californication, Weeds, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Battlestar Gallactica.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
- Hate leads to suffering (say with Yoda voice). I don’t like wasting time hating people.
24. What was the best book you read?
- Not entirely sure as I didn’t get to read very much this year. Definitely something to change next year.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- Lady Gaga LOL, there’s too many to mention, and I’m writing these only because I’ve just heard of them this year: Stars, Passion Pit, Cobra Starship, Metric, and probably the best would be Flight of the Conchords.
26. What did you want and get?
- My independence. :)
27. What did you want and not get?
- For a certain someone to pay me back the money he owes me.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
- Probably Star Trek, since it’s the only good movie I can remember right now.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- Had a wine party with friends where I ended up earning Php500+, I was 25.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- More money.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
- I’m still learning about style and all that crap though I think I might have been going for geek chic.
32. What kept you sane?
- Great friends and alcohol.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- Chris Pine.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
- Not sure it’s considered political, probably Ondoy.
35. Who did you miss?
- My sister.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
- I’ve met so many great people this year, it’s hard to choose who was the best.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
- Same as the next question’s answer.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
- “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime you find you get what you need.”
Categories: Meme
IGDA Monthly Meetup for November ‘09 Report
November 11, 2009
5 comments
IGDA Manila’s first monthly meetup last night at Mag:Net High Street was, in my opinion, a big success. We had around 20 attendees coming from Kuju, Gameloft, Boomzap, and Anino Entertainment, as well as freelancers, game enthusiasts and hobbyist developers. A big shout out to Mr. Sony Valdez who came all the way from Baguio just to attend the meetup (Shame on you guys who live much closer and didn’t attend! j/k, please attend next month!)
Julius Cebreros, our speaker of the night, gave a very entertaining postmortem on the game he created for the Biomodd project. For those of you unfamiliar with Biomodd, here’s the description of the project from their site (alternatively, just click on the link):
Biomodd is an interactive and collaborative art project that integrates nature and technology. One of aims of the project is to create an art installation in which different forms of plant life coexist with a fully functioning computer system. This system is built almost entirely from recycled computers, and plant growth is stimulated by the excess heat of the working electronics. Visitors can interact with the art installation by playing a multiplayer computer game that runs on this hybrid system.
Biomodd Game screenshot
I can tell you all about his presentation as best as I can remember it, but upon further research, I’ve discovered that the game development process was pretty heavily documented on their site. You can read it at http://www.biomodd.net/game-development-subteam-wiki where it will be better explained. What I personally found most interesting about the game itself is it’s integration to Twitter. According to their blog, the game “will tweet about the people who logged in to play the game and also their game progress”. It will also recognize key words in @ mentions that can affect the game world. I find the ability to control a game remotely via Twitter to be highly entertaining, mostly because of the potential massive damage I can render to the game world/the ability to fuck up someone else’s gaming experience in the comfort of my living room.
The Twitter integration also ties in nicely with the objectives of the project of making it community/cooperation based. (OT: I am beginning to wonder if the BangonPinoy hashtag project, had it been tied to a game, would be more fun and fulfilling for Tweeters/Tweeple/Twitterers/whatever.) The Twitter account of the Biomodd game is, apparently, still active as I write this. You can check and follow the account at http://twitter.com/maria_makiling.
For those of you who’ve missed last night’s postmortem, Julius has an online version of his talk at his blog.
Next month, IGDA Manila Chairguy Ryan Sumo will be talking about life as a freelance game developer and Chester Ocampo will be sharing with us some insights to his creative process (announcing it now so he can’t back out) so don’t miss it!
P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures of the actual event, I forgot to bring my camera.
Categories: IGDA Manila
Biomodd, game development, IGDA Manila, Julius Cebreros, postmortems, Twitter
Taxi Cab Tales: Meet the Preacher
November 9, 2009
4 comments
Ever since I moved into the city, I’ve decided that the only forms of transportation I can still take are cabs and the occasional trike and train. On most occasions, I would get a cab where the only piece of conversation I would have with the driver is him asking me where I want to go and me giving him directions. Sometimes, though, I would get myself a ‘chatter’. Most of the chatters I encounter are harmless enough and mostly talk to themselves.
Tonight’s taxi cab tale is of a particular type of chatter that I hope never to encounter again. Though I have to admit, it was mildly amusing.
I had a coffee date with my friend Rory at Greenbelt and since I was already running pretty late, I decided to take a cab instead of the original plan of taking the LRT-MRT route to Makati. I managed to get a cab right in front of my apartment building and when I hopped into the cab, the driver kissed the rosary hanging from his rearview mirror and uttered the words “Salamat po, panginoon, nakakuha po ako ng papuntang Greenbelt.” (trans: “Thank you, Lord, I’ve got someone who’s going to Greenbelt.”)
I thought to myself, “Okay, maybe that’s just his ritual.” I didn’t think it was going to get any weirder, until he started singing to himself. Not only was he singing to himself, he was singing… inspirational songs, like the ones you hear in church. At first, he kept his voice to a level which I can still shut out. Halfway to Makati, a homeless person (I’m assuming) walks up to the taxi and asks for some change. The cab driver gives the guy a few coins, and says “Merry Christmas”, then turns to me and says “Sinabi ng Holy Spirit na dun sa taxi humingi.” (trans: “The Holy Spirit told him to ask the taxi for change.”) He then proceeds to quote verses from the Bible, and lectures me on how doing good things for others is good for your soul, etcetera.
Throughout his sermon, all I did was nod my head in pretentious agreement. After his lecture, though, the cab driver starts singing again. This time, much louder and with more gusto. In between songs, he shares tidbits from his life, how his 17-year-old son died of gunshot and his wife passing away from sickness (I felt a little bad about this). He tells me how he learned to never lose hope, and how singing helps him to stay awake. After another song, he pretended to thank the crowd for the silent applause, which, I admit, made me laugh.
It’s not everyday that I meet a cab driver who can double as a preacher/entertainer, but I still prefer cab drivers who just turn the music up (even if it was a bad radio station) and don’t bother to talk to me unless they need to ask for directions.
I ended up tipping him Php25, though.
Categories: Taxi Cab Tales
life, Taxi Cab Tales
Caroline Dy is…
