Quingdom.com

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing everyone a great year filled with love!

As the new year of the Chinese calendar enters, allow me to share with you the pictures I took during our household's celebration of New Year last January. Hehehe! Shame on me for neglecting to post them on time.

Since we don't have relatives coming to our house during New Year's Eve, we decided to just eat out and join in the official countdown of Quezon City at Eastwood City, Libis. We had dinner at Momo Café as we watched the performances of Kyla, Jett Pangan and The Dawn, and Arnel Pineda of Journey, among others.

Here are the pictures I took of the artists:

And what is a countdown without fireworks to welcome the new year? I still have to learn the art of taking photos of fireworks. Nevertheless, here are the pictures:

  

After going through a month and a half of 2010, I do feel the need start over. May this inspire us to start with a clean slate and push ourselves to do better. There's no turning back.

Click here to see more pictures.

Bow,

Quality Time with Family and Friends

Good morning, readers!

I'm still awake and I don't have plans of sleeping anytime soon. Not until I finish my Saturday duties. I have to monitoring something on TV and it will air show at 10:30 am. Think I'm crazy for not getting rest? I'm too afraid that if I get some shut-eye, I would over sleep and miss the show. I'd rather stay awake and be sure that I catch it on TV than think of my well-being first and risk neglecting my duty.

Moving on to something more substantial, I want to share that I'm so blessed that I can still spend time with my family and friends no matter how short the time is. Just last night, I headed to Podium right after work to reunite with some college friends. Although we had to adjourn our small gathering earlier than expected, it was still worthwhile. It was still time well-spent. After that I went straight to Stone House to meet my mother and sister for a short night out. I was supposed to go to the venue with them, but since I had to meet with my friends (they asked me out first), I promised I would follow afterwards. And I did.

That made my day. Seeing people I love after a hard day's work was enough to make up for the stress and pressures of being employed. If it's not too much to ask, I hope I'd have more time with them. 

Now, back to my zombie self.

Bow,

Question of The Day: What was the first job that changed your life?

Having a new design has a positive effect in me. I suddenly want to keep on posting entries! I just hope I can keep up the enthusiasm. Anyway, in the pursuit of having something in my site, I turn to Question of the Day. It's a feature of TypePad, which was adapted from Vox. There's this small box on the side of the dashboard page where a random question would appear. It helps bloggers think of topics to write about, especially when nothing really interesting is happening. Here goes...

Question of the day: What was the first job that changed your life?

This is easy for me to answer since I've only had two jobs and I've been in my current job for barely 7 months. I would have to say that my first job, as a customer service associate, changed my life. Aside from it being my first job, there are other reasons I can say why it has changed my life the most.

I Want to Be Human.

I never thought I would be as desperate to go on a vacation as I am now. I'm not even making any sense. I don't intend to complain, but I think I'm taking this too far. As much I would want to do everything that is expected of me, I just couldn't get everything done at once because of the load I'm bombarded with. It's just so sad that a word I say that is not in accordance with others' perception will be taken against me.

I want to be human. I want to understand why God created rest on the seventh day. I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor, spend quality time with the people I love and take part in extra curricular activities. I want to grow and share the talents that God blessed me with.

Apparently, it's not yet my time. But I know that with God's grace, I'll get there. For now, I hope I still have the energy and the courage to face everything and take every challenge.

Bow,

Piña Barong Fabric

A bit of information for my non-Filipino readers, a barong is the traditional formalwear of Filipinos.

I think the last time I got to wear a barong was during my sister's wedding, which was at least five years ago. I'm glad I'll be able to wear one again for my friends' wedding next month. With my body frame, I couldn't buy a barong off-the-rack so I have to have one custom made. I've always wanted to wear an authentic piña barong. And now that I can afford it, I wouldn't let the chance pass.  

I just got the piña cloth to be used for my barong and I cannot stop marveling at the craftsmanship that transpired in creating such work of art. The barong is more than just an article of clothing. It is a manifestation of Filipino creativity and ingenuity that is truly world-class.

I can't wait to see the finished product!

More pictures of the piña fabric here.

Bow,

Funny, Yet Scary

I got this picture from an office mate. Initially, it's hilarious! Who would imagine public signs in Filipino text language?

I wanted to know if this is real or it's just a product of good photo editing skills.

If this is an actual sign along one of the streets of Manila, I'm hoping wording signs in this manner is just a witty way to add humor to the ordinary signs that we see everyday. However, if this was intentionally composed as such because Filipinos respond to this kind of language, we're in big trouble.

I hope text language would just remain within the LCD's of mobile phones.

Bow,

7D or 5D Mark II? The Verdict.

I've been enjoying photography with my Canon 400D for approximately three years now. I'm impressed that it still can deliver good shots vis-à-vis later camera models. The lenses and accessories greatly help.

But I'm so grateful that I'm already up for a camera upgrade. I told myself before that the next camera I'd have is the Canon 50D. However, the advent of the Canon 7D gave me options. And after a Canon salesperson talked my father into getting a Canon 5D Mark II, my options widened even more!

After much research and deliberation, I've trimmed it down to two options - Canon 7D or Canon 5D Mark II. Still, choosing between the two camera models is as difficult. Both models have their strengths and weaknesses. Let me share with you the features I liked and disliked.

Canon 7D

I Like...

• that it has flash. Come to think of it, I had stopped using the pop-up flash of my Canon 7D since I got a Speedlite. Nevertheless, it's still good to have a pop-up flash especially when the Speedlite batteries die.
• the 8 frames per second capability for continuous shooting. This is so good for jump shots! Hehehe!
• its 19 AF points.
• the wireless flash commander.

I Don't Like...

• that it's not full-frame. I'll explain later why this is a big deal for me

Canon 5D Mark II

I Like...

• that it's full-frame. I recently got hold of the digitized film pictures I took years ago with my film camera Nikon F55D (Yes, I was once a Nikon user). Looking back, I'm appreciating the beauty of having a full-frame camera. Since I already have a 400D, which is not full-frame, I just think it's better if I get a full-frame camera this time.
• that pictures will have less digital noise. Noise level in pictures is one of the issues that photographers take into consideration when getting a camera and scrutinizing pictures. With Mark II, I'd get clean images even at ISO 3200!

I Don't Like...

• that it has no flash. I don't understand why this camera doesn't have a pop-up flash. I've read somewhere that adding a flash affects weather-proofing the camera. Oh well.
• that continuous shooting is up to 3.9 frames per second only. The 7D stomps Mark II in this department.

Honestly, there are other features the 7D has that the 5D Mark II doesn't. I searched the internet for information to help me make the decision including my favorite KenRockwell.com that taught me about the full-frame advantage. It's really a tough decision.

But I've made up my mind.

Ondoy and the Filipinos

I originally wanted to write something about my own typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) experience, but I realized being stranded on the road for more than eight hours is nothing compared to the accounts of other people. I really feel for the people who virtually lost everything and whose lives were endangered. Some of them are my friends. I'm thankful, on the other hand, that I'm blessed to be able to extend assistance.

If there's one good thing that came out of this tragedy is that it brought out the heroism in every Filipino. I'm impressed with the number of people who helped the victims by donating goods or expending their time and efforts. Bayanihan was truly felt by many. Good job, kababayan! Filipinos once again proved to be a dependable race. 

We hope to see more of the noble trait in everyday life.

Bow,

Challenged.

When it rains, it pours. And the same goes for the challenges in my life.

I'm on my third week in my new job and I'm already being challenged. I've got various tasks that are different from my previous job. And it's a very good thing. I now get to do real work. I get to develop many of my skills and better myself as a whole. If there is one thing I need to learn and master at this point, it's time management. And it's not something I can learn from a book, from a class or from a person. I have to learn it on my own. It may not be easy, but it is workable. And it's a skill. It needs practice.

What makes my life more "interesting" is that I'm facing challenges apart from work. I don't know what is more difficult to go through though. Some are minor like finally cleaning up my room, and some are complicated like facing fears.

I wish I could make challenges come one at a time, but there's I couldn't.

However, I can ask for guidance and the strength to get through all of this.  :)

Bow,

A Day of the Past and the Present

Today was my first day of work with my new job! Horay! I still can't believe that I'm working again and, more importantly, in the industry I have always wanted. Things happened so fast and it hasn't come to my senses yet. To be perfectly honest, I am anxious. I want to do good, but I am afraid to fail. There's nothing more I can do at this point but give it my best shot. I'm just so grateful that I'm blessed with this new chapter in my life. This is truly a blessing from the Lord.

I had to leave early and visit the previous company I worked for to complete my clearance. Which brings me to the second part of my day.

I was happy to see my former colleagues again. I felt their warmth and their joy in seeing me. It was just like the old days. They were eager to know how life has been treating me and, needless to say, I was more than excited to tell them about my new job. However, a part of me felt sad to realize the uncertainty that lingers in their hearts. Slowly, they are trying to accept the fact that sooner or later, they might to lose their jobs. I couldn't believe how a company that seemed so stable is laying off workers. I felt sad. I felt their fear.

I'll try to help them as much as I could and definitely pray for them.