Just chillin'

Movie marathon! Just what I need. Have you heard of the old line, “Relax. See a movie.”? It does make sense. I have not attained a sense of nirvana sitting down in the dark and letting my mind absorb these movies, nor did it make my worries vanish in thin air, but it did offer some relief.

Bear in mind that this entry is not my personal review of the recent movies I watched, nor their endorsement: Ratatouille, Surfs Up, Wild Hogs and Stardust. If you're just as mentally drained, or stressed or just plain bored, relax and go see a movie.

New Toy

For some quirky reason, getting a new toy lifts my spirits up. Don't ask me why. It just does. And with my present state of mind, this mouse is just what I need. Which brings me to it. Why the heck do I have to bother with an introduction anyway? Lol. It's the writer in me, I suppose. Or the penchant for melodrama. Lol. Where is this leading? This is not a stream of consciousness entry, but an unpaid promo for this mouse -- the BenQ M310 Optical Wireless Mouse.

I got it just a while ago, and of course, opened it soon right after. It even came with two Duracell batteries. This tiny mouse even has built-in storage space for the wireless receiver. Neat. It also switches off automatically if not used for five minutes. I plugged it in my office computer and it worked just fine. It even matches my blue mouse pad. I got a blue one, by the way (which is my favorite color!) which also matches the color of my laptop. Yay. After an emotionally exhausting day yesterday, this new gadget sure did wonders on my mood. If you're curious what the techies have to say about this mouse, read CNET's review.

ANCORS Newsletter

Like a proud father (or mother, to be politically correct), I am pleased to post here in my blog my new baby -- the inaugural issue of the ANCORS Newsletter. Although I am not exactly a newbie in this field (having spent a good part of my geeky college life writing for and later managing/editing the college paper and previously, our high school paper) it is my first time to put up something entirely from scratch. Talk about an all-in-one editorial team: layout artist, writer, editor. Oh well, someone had to do it. Not that I am complaining. I actually had fun doing it.

After pouring in hours (that I could have better spent writing my darn thesis or better yet, swimming), seeing the first issue and hearing all the positive (and not so positive) comments really makes me happy. Well, I am not hard to please anyway. For the greater part, I would like thank the Centre's principal research fellow, Lee Cordner, who trusted me to be co-editor of the Newsletter. And my (ever- so-proud) mom, whose desire to see her son's name on the paper gave me the guts to write it down.

View the First Issue of ANCORS Newsletter.

My
brain's

so

tired.

I wanna cry.

My Lakbayan grade is B!

I consider myself quite lucky that given my limited means, I was able to travel quite extensively in the Philippines and abroad. Thanks to my wonderful job at the UP Law Center, I was able to practically cover every province for free (they were actually paying me for it -- what luck!) giving out MCLE seminars to lawyers around the country. Aside from the free air ticket (which earned me PAL mileage, mind you) the handsome honoraria, hotel accomodation, freebies (some enterprising older colleagues taught me how to 'charge' pre-paid load, etc. to my room service bill), we would go home with cartloads of free stuff courtesy of the kind IBP lawyers that we meet. Those were such happy times. I remember flying home from one trip only to pack my stuff for another trip the following day. Miss those days...

A UNDP Project which undertook a national consultation of key stakeholders regarding the Philippines' planning framework also brought me all over the country -- free, of course and paid for it, in addition. Wow.

Compared with pretentious, self-proclaimed jet setters like Malu Hernandez, I consider this no small feat for a Bulakeno lass coming from a middle class family background. Didn't I mention countless times in this blog how generous God has been to me? He has. And for that, I am forever grateful.

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!