:: Sunday, November 30, 2003 ::
I DIDN'T DO THIS...



... wish I did though.

This is the winning watercolor entry of Mitch Ridder for Artist's Magazine's 2003 Art Competition in the Animal category. And I'm totally blown away by the amount of details in this tightly cropped painting of a good ol' Rhino!

I'm thinking of doing an ostrich version. I remember taking a close-up shot of an ostrich's head at the Franklin Park Zoo in South Boston. Its beak was literally an inch away from my lens and I was wary he'd knock them off. He was game enough to pose though.

Read more about Mitch Ridder's Rhino here...


:: rene 11/30/2003 07:28:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, November 20, 2003 ::
BOHOL: In Pictures and a little bit of Words...


Chipping in 50 pesos at the Blood Compact site's drinking session...


Centuries-old structures at the Baclayon Church


Tripping on the mangrooves


Finally meeting a tarsier...


... and trying to look like one!


Getting ready for the Loboc River Cruise


Trees leading up to heaven at the man-made forest in Bilar, Bohol


We must climb these long flight of stairs...


... to get here! Whew! Wow!


Just Hanging Around


The Famous Hinagdanan Cave


The resort's poolside at night...


A view of the man-made islet during dinner


Nice bungalows at the Panglao Island Nature Resort


Moored Banca


Shadow Play


Poolside Heaven


Guarding Lives


My take at Panglao's sunset... too bad we we're at the eastern side of the island. Could have been a better view at Alona's Beach.

And lastly...


The life I left behind in Bohol... sigh...


:: rene 11/20/2003 04:27:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Friday, November 07, 2003 ::
MEMO

I'll be eating lechon in Cebu and probably stare into a tarsier's eye in Bohol next week. Hehe! Ah be back!


:: rene 11/07/2003 01:22:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 ::
WASTED THOUGHTS

Had been dragging my butt between Cavite and QC and Ortigas the past few days or so.

Processing my papers for this Germany thing is really getting to be a pain! What's more frustrating is that going to NSO and POEA makes you realize how rotten their systems are!

It was actually a respite to see that everything seems orderly at the releasing section of the NSO. Then it happened, you'd see the releasing officer shouting, "Hoy! Bingi ka ba? Kanina ko pa tinatawag ang pangalan mo ah!". And to think that they have no microphone there and everybody's yakking about. Geesh! No, it wasn't me she was shouting at. I wouldn't be writing this now if she had done that to me. God knows I could do a Wasted !!! Maybe gouge out her eyeballs or something. Haha!

When it was my turn, I was just tongue-in-the-cheek told that they have to verify further where my document is and set another date for me to return. Damn them! Damn them to hell! They already told me to get my docs on that date and now they're extending it again?! What's wrong with these people?! Why can't they set a final schedule where all their verifications are done and over with? I swear I'd bring a flamethrower to that place a day before I die!

The POEA is another class act all by itself. Yes, I saw that they want to serve those people wanting to go abroad but they don't have to be so anal about everything. Yesterday, I was already on the road by 5:30am because I wanted to get a parking space at the POEA which opens at 6am. Then like a conspiracy theory out to derail me from my time table, there was this huge volume of cars at the Expressway already! I thought that those cars would surely spill over at EDSA so I decided to park at Glorietta and just take the MRT to Ortigas. I reached Ayala around 7am and since the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar(PDOS) was still at 9am, I figured I still have ample time for coffee at 6750. After 30 minutes, I left for the MRT station and got to Ortigas by 8am. Imagine my surprise when the people lining for the PDOS registration were showing their PASSPORTS(!) along with the PDOS referral slip. Damn! It wasn't mentioned anywhere that we had to bring passports which I left in the car! Arghh!

Like what any insane person would do, I ran --- yes, literally ran --- to the Ortigas MRT station from the POEA which is at the corner of EDSA and Ortigas. I'm sure can imagine how far that is --- and they had the gall to call it the Ortigas station?!! Why not Between-Galleria-and-Megamall station?!!! Anyways, I got at Ayala around 8:20am and was running back at to the MRT as soon as I got the passport. After so much huffin' and puffin', I finally got to the the POEA at 8:45am. Yohoo! Fifteen more minutes to spare! But imagine my dismay when the guard turned me away without any expression on her face, "Hindi na pwede ser. Hanggang 8:30 lang ang registration." I was like, "Are you kidding me? The seminar won't start until 9am pa, di ba?

"Hindi na talaga pwede ser. Pa-reschedule na lang kayo."

I had to refrain from blowing my top or else I had already maimed anybody who was near me at that time. But I think it showed I was already angry. Hindi na kasi ako nagtatagalog. Hehe! Nag-e-english na yata ako nun. Hehe! Then they must have realized I'm no pushover and finally decided to let me in. Pwede pa pala eh! Kakitiran lang kasi ng utak ang pinapa-iral! I just hope my flamethrower will still have gas left after I torch the NSO. Wasted thoughts I should say! Bwahahaha!


:: rene 11/05/2003 10:27:00 PM [+] ::
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