Of Love, Friendship, and Paper Lanterns | This is it :)

I woke up a little disoriented. I checked my watch and found that its 6:30pm. I must have slept by more than an hour. In front of me, Suzette soundly sleeps. Oh I missed this lady, and the rest of the gang.

I stood up and checked myself in the mirror. My hair is a mess. I remember how my boyfriend Ray told me that we have to help in the preparations for this evening because tonight we're having a bonfire. Wee! We're composed of 4 vans, and almost 50 people, all from the process engineering department. They're technically my second family, as my first 5 years as a professional really evolved with these people. In spite of my resignation a couple of months ago, these people remain close to my heart.  There have been a lot of new engineers, but what's really cool is how a lot of engineers brought their families and special someone's to this outing. It's not every day that you can organize a whole department trip to Potipot, Zambales anyway! Hat's off to Sir Francis for that! It’s our best summer outing to date!

  

I looked for Ray but he was nowhere to be found. I tried to get back in and look for him in the kitchen, in the other rooms, and in the other areas of the resort but I couldn't find him. And I started to notice how the rest of the group wasn't in the resort either.

Soon, Ate Hya and Kuya Francis arrived. “San kayo galing” I asked. "Naghanap ng kahoy sa bonfire", they answered.

I didn't stop looking for Ray. I kept asking people around where he was and I was slowly getting agitated. Then I finally saw him and I was like "Kanina pa kita hinahanap san ka galing?", and Ray just answered "Ah naghanap lang kami ng kahoy sa bonfire".

So lahat ng tao naghahanap ng kahoy sa bonfire ganon??

And so we had a sumptuous dinner courtesy of kuya Philbert and his wife, and the much awaited bonfire began.  We huddled around the fire, with Zane, Sham, and Reinald doing the singing, and me the ‘saling ketket’. Zane and Sham are two of my dearest friends and I've always loved our jam sessions. Zane has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever known and Sham’s musicality is both energetic and fun. Reinald is a pretty new engineer who sings and plays the guitar really well. ;) Together, they would sing the soundtrack to the most unforgettable night of my life. :)

A couple of minutes after, a series of slides were displayed on our improvised projector-by-the-beach. They showed pictures of us in our outing last year, at Muntingbuhangin Batangas. They were fun memories that everyone laughed along with. Then I saw a photo of me, sound asleep, mouth-wide open, leaning on papa ray's shoulder. EMBARASSMENT haha!

Then the succeeding slides started to show my pictures with Ray. It had our pictures in batangas, pictures in tagaytay, pictures in random dates. I was getting embarassed again I mean what the hell are these things doing here? But then I saw the caption "I just want to make you happy". Oh man. Ray is up to something.

Zane and the gang sings Bruno Mars's "Just the way you are". I try to join in by making use of the shaker. But I find it hard to keep in tune because I see some of our officemates fussing about something, with Ray seemingly tense. Why?

Then one by one, dear friends of mine approach me, holding pictures on wooden paperclips. These are me and Ray's photos starting from the day we've met, our favorite dates, random night-outs, and out of towns. I struggle to read them all but the pictures just keep coming and coming! Ray loves to relive memories and experiences that we've shared, I'm torn between smiling and staring at Ray in bewilderment. It was like taking a trip down memory lane.

The last one I would not forget, Ate Hya Insisted that I read this first. It was a photo taken in Majayjay 2 years ago, where he knelt down in front of me as if asking for my hand, under a waterfall.

MY MIND WAS SPINNING.

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Hush.. The Butterfly has come (HTC)

We took a while prior posting this entry because we've been HELLA busy for the past few weeks. Nevertheless this is one of those blogs that we looked forward to working at mainly because we're actually fans of the product. #fanmodeON!

We found ourselves marching from Laguna to Dillingers over at Greenbelt 3 last February 26 for the launch of HTC Butterfly. I'm glad we got invited for this one because I've been curious as to what the hype really is about. Much praise has been said of the Butterfly for its stunning design and features, and we wanted to see it with our own eyes.

  

Dillingers is actually a steak and brew restaurant, there was just a small HTC tarp near the door and a handful of people on the tables, so we were a little hesitant to get in. Turns out, we were led to a corner where there was a small gray-walled tunnel that led down to the Prohibition lounge, a wine bar and pub with a reception area. I think the setup was really classy and old school, like the guests were being invited to a secret. Perfect way to present the elegance of what was to come.

At Dillingers

The marketing head, Francisco Turno, and country president Richard Javier were there. I actually liked the product presentation. Straightforward and no frills. You can check http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-butterfly/ for the specs.

The HTC Butterfly is the first to bring 441ppi screen resolution in town. Take this: magazine photos are printed at about 300 ppi, museum-grade photos work with 400ppi, while this phone comes with 440ppi. So just imagine the display calibre this phone packs itself with. True enough, when we tried it, we were welcomed with unparalleled color vibrance for a phone. It was pleasure enough just to browse through the screen!

The phone also comes with a dedicated imaging chip. Well, not all 8mp cameras are created equal. Even some 12mp cameras suffer with over saturation of colors. But the HTC butterfly makes use of an imaging chip for quick shooting and better image processing. Guys, the thing can snap photos in as quick as 0.2 secs! Faster than you'd say "smile!" :p You'd never miss a precious, or hilarious moment with this one. :)

It also comes with a front 2.0megapixel camera for those vanity shots and group barkada pics (when you couldn't find someone else to take your group picture and you have to make use of "tantsameter" to fit all of you in the frame. Heheh!)

Product demo was straight forward and product-centered

Video shooting is also topnotch quality, as again, this is the first to offer 1080p HD video playback and shoot. That's like bringing your HD TV wherever you are. For whatever purpose you may have in mind, it also has a  slow motion video capture and playback capability, so that's being able to capture the smallest details of your basketball game, make fun of your friends while they eat, or just take a surreal moment of the time when your crush said "hi!".

We weren't able to check the actual performance since we only got to play with it for a short time, but so far I'm really liking the intuitive HTC Sense OS. And at 2gb RAM and 1.5Ghz, you'd expect that this is a blazing fast device.

One thing we had to check out were the audio quality and speakers. Being music lovers, this is one of our top priorities for a phone. For the previous One X and One X+ handsets, the sound quality with headsets on were good because of Beats audio, however when you use the speaker it tends to get distorted. For the Butterfly I tried to stream a couple of songs, one electronic rock, and one with heavy bass, over the internet (yes there was wi-fi), and the sound quality was pretty nice, with considerably loud volume, thanks to the built in amplifier.

rarr! I want one!!

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Are You Ready for Line?

Last Thursday, while everyone else rushed to their valentine dates, we drove through the heavy C5 traffic to check out the product launch of the latest messaging craze to hit the Philippines: Line.

Interestingly, Line was launched last 2011 after the Japan earthquake. Communication systems have been severely damaged and kept people from contacting each other, and data service was found to be more effective. So they came up with a messaging service that allows for messaging and calls using data connection. And because it's Japanese, you can count that they'd do it with their own sense of fun and style (Japan-japan characters, colors and all). Only two years after their launching, they already have 231 million users around the globe and counting, so I guess it just makes a lot of sense for them to launch the product in the text-crazy land of Pinoys. :)

The basic services of Line are free calls, free messaging, photo/location sharing and group messaging among peers. Now this is quite already available for other messaging services like Viber and such, so what makes Line different? I downloaded the app to find out. App size is 15mb so it's good enough for the average smartphone, it's available for iOS, Android, and Blackberry OS, it's also being developed for Windows.

So basically this is the homepage. It looks very much like Facebook, and it even has its own timeline.

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Kopiccino Lovin!!

Who needs Starbucks when you can have it right at the comforts of your own home?

I just want to rave that Kopiko Kopiccino is my latest FAVORITE coffee. I've always loved Kopiko because its coffee the way i want it. I love the flavor, the aroma, and the rich coffee experience. Really wakes me up in the morning, but THIS KOPICCINO is pure LOVE.

Me and Papa Ray were working on some weekend projects, and part of the plan was to unwind afterwards at a coffee shop. However we lost hold of time and found ourselves rushing towards the evening so we decided to just have Kopiccino indoors instead. Indeed it was the best idea because we were just chilling in the comforts of our place, while the coffee peaked up our productivity. And it tastes reaaaally good. It's the same delicious coffee, with thick foam at the top plus the choco granules that add the extra sweetness and texture. As you can see on the photo above, we even had fun working out random figures using the granules. :p

I love simple joys. And a pack of deliciousness for only php8 is just perfect for me. I'm actually about to stock myself with lots of these for the coming days since this is the perfect companion for all-nighters. Yehmen! \m/

Remembering Love Letters :)

Me and Papa Ray celebrated our 14^th monthsary last Saturday, Nov 24, and I decided to write him a love letter :D wee! Yep, the old school ballpen-on-yellowpad type of loveletter. Actually when he saw it he said “wow LIHAM! Meron akong LIHAM!” hahaha!

The art of writing love letters has been easily lost in the sea of text messages, chat, email, and FB status messages. It’s just much easier, quicker, and more convenient. In our case we've been very busy for the past months and most expressions of love have been through texting and chatting (well aside from being together almost everyday nyehehe).

Still, a little re-validation and appreciation of love can go a long way. Sometimes our loved ones get way too integrated into our daily routines, and can get lost in the midst of our fast paced lifestyle. If we’re not careful, this might cause us to take for granted the smallest things that make our heart smile.

Just like everything else in life, it’s always nice to pause and appreciate the beauty around you, and the love that you've got. For me, a great way to do this is to actually sit down, take a pen and paper, and write a love letter. 

While I was writing the first few lines, I tended to have this urge of finishing it fast. Like I wish I could just let everything out with one snap of a finger. We all know that typing (whether in cellphones or in keyboards) is much faster than doing the manual cursive, and so it had to take a little getting used to. However, that precisely is the beauty of writing a letter with a pen: the fact that it takes much longer forces you to feel and savor every word uttered. While you watch the lines along the paper, you tend to reflect on how much you mean what you really say. And before you know it, you end up spilling your heart out and enjoying the moment. I think I am much more focused when writing on paper (probably because there’s no alt-tab option to steal my attention away? Hehe ).

Sentence construction also takes the time and effort: “What are the things I want to say? How do I say it?”, and this time, there’s no friendly red line that tells you your spelling is wrong or that your grammar is awful. You do your own checking and well that’s part of the effort.

For me, the simpler is always the better. I love saying I straight to the point. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t end up with short love letters. In fact they’re actually quite long. Or maybe that’s just because of how wonderful he is. Lol #kesomucho.

Aaaaaaaaand the really fun part was folding the letter afterwards. Hahah! Who among you guys remember the number of ways to fold a letter? I went for the old school way, the type of fold that you really use for snail mails. Here goes:

Starting with your letter facing the upright position

Take the upper right hand corner and fold it diagonally downwards

Fold it again as shown above

Take the upper left hand corner and fold downwards

Fold it in half... and dont forget the magic line "Smile before you open"! hahaha :D

Writing letters probably isn't for everyone, but i find it a very refreshing way to express myself because that's just me, unplugged. I think its also a very intimate act of love and appreciation. And well all it takes is effort and some time. 

Ray was laughing the whole time because it really felt old school, but well I still had my prize: a tight hug and a kiss. Wee! 

Cars, Driving, and Such :p



So hot you want to lick it :p

I've always had a thing for shiny cars heheh. This is taken from a transport show of vintage cars by papa ray. Was browsing his photos when I came across this one. *Fell-in-love*Just like Asiong Salonga's car!

**

Tatay asked me "What if we upgrade your license to non-pro?"

Geez I wish I even had the time to finish our driving lesson sessions. I really get a kick out of sitting behind the steering wheel. :p

Tatay has got to be one of the best drivers I know. Basically because he knows how to enter a time-space warp every 6:45 am just to beat our shuttle to the pickup point, OR chase it all the way to San Pedro. Hahaha! Early morning thrills for ya! (And I enjoy the father-daughter talks we share on the road :p )

AND, he takes the ride so smooth you don't even feel you're chasing. Well unless he beats the green traffic light as it counts 3…2…1… SPACEWARP!

Haha. Must finish those driving lesson sessions this year. #notetoself

Hitting the Top, One Shot at a Time :)

You might have noticed that top right section of the blog no longer holds the "About Me" portion, but now has the "Contributors" link. Weee I'd like to welcome my co-creator for my blogs (and the love of my life :D ), Papa Ray! (applause!)


In a nutshell, I'll do the writing while he does the 'shooting', great deal, yes? :D

What I'm loving about this is that we both get to develop the things we'd like to do, and in the process get better at this, together :D

And I'm super excited! :D


*Singing* Because once we hit the top there's no stopping us! :D