Life in MegaPixels

I saw this on Peaches’ multiply and I just felt moved by their story. I hope that in my own little way, I am able to reach out to the readers of this blog and share the true meaning of selfless love through the story of Team Hoyt.

Although I work for one of the leading manufacturers of inks and printers, I am foremost a consumer trying to save a few pennies off my personal printing costs. I tried to look for alternative third party ink solutions for my 3-in-1 and I found a good resource online that sells not only generic 3rd party ink but real branded inks at a fraction of a cost.

Aside from ink, they also sell toners, toner cartridges and fax cartridges. The good thing about inkers.biz is that they actually offer 100% no defect for 1 year from purchase and a no-questions-asked return policy within a month.

In this day and age, when printing is ridiculously expensive, it does help to save up on a few dollars with ink and toner purchases.

I was hanging out with my girlfriends the past couple of days, talking girl stuff (translation: boys). Most of our qualms were all too familiar, I can barely differentiate one from the other. I’ll try to keep this list very generic to protect the identity of our preys, but boys, if you’re reading this… just think about it. Maybe it’s time to take a hint and grow up!

1.    BOYS are immature. Women love MATURE men.
“You know how it’s like in traffic”, my friend Jenny shared, “he starts kicking and getting uneasy. I can almost see a child wailing in the driver’s seat!” She complained that her boyfriend tend to have tantrums when he’s getting late for an appointment.  This is indicative of how boys tend to behave sometimes, like come children do when they don’t get what they want. This rarely happens to mature men who plan ahead. If it’s out of control, they call to inform them they will be late.  Boys, no amount of tantrums will solve the traffic problem of the metro, so if you can’t stand it, you might as well stay at home.

2.    BOYS are coward, MEN are brave.
More often than not, boys can’t stand up on their own two feet. They hide behind mommy’s skirt like a little kid afraid to get lost in the supermarket.  Yeah, it’s sweet that they have close ties with their moms they talk to them about their decisions, but sometimes, things like this could go way out of hand. At some point in our lives, especially reaching the twenties, we have to take ownership of the things we do with our lives. This is something real men are not afraid of.  Men take responsibility of their lives and actions, and they march into life knowing what they want and how to get there. Let mommy take the backseat and drive their lives like the modern-day hero that they are.

3.    BOYS are irresponsible, MEN take ownership.
My friend Trixie shared how difficult it is trying to get her boyfriend to be responsible. They made plans to take the NMAT together and qualify to get into a hospital in the US for their residency. However, his boyfriend did not complete his requirements on time for the exam, so he had to wait for the next cycle to be eligible. She later shared that the reason he did not get to complete his requirements was because of swimming practice that got in the way. Clearly, boys like this think the world evolves around them.  Again, a real man do not go through this kind of trouble, unless it was beyond control. Men plan their actions well and strategize to come up with a plan to comply what’s needed within the time. Taking cue from Stephen Covey’s URGENT – IMPORTANT and NOT URGENT – NOT IMPORTANT, men oftentimes prioritize according to this philosophy.

4.    BOYS want to be babied, MEN take care of the women.
Admittedly, it’s cute to some extent when they’re acting quite like a baby. But sometimes, the act could get way out of hand. For instance, when eating out, they would let you make the calls but when the food arrives, that’s when they start complaining. Such is the problem Chelsea had with her boyfriend. He’d let her pick the food to order, but when it arrives, he complains how it’s not healthy to eat this and that. Men do not allow these things to happen. They would usually have the date planned ahead or if not, they would always take the initiative to figure things out.

5.    BOYS are easily distracted, MEN stay focused.
Maybe it’s influenced by factors outside of our control, but sometimes, boys could easily get distracted from achieving a certain goal. This happens to the best of us, but not to men. Most men know what they want and how to get it, without getting sidetracked. Because boys have yet to reach this level of maturity, their arguments and priorities are judged with a sense of mediocrity. They’re actions are oftentimes dictated by a “will this make mom happy?” attitude rather than “will this make me happy in the long run?”

Funny how similar yet different these situations could get. True enough, It takes more than rocket science to understand the male mind and how they tend to react to certain circumstances. I was watching Tyra the other night and the episode was all about decoding the male mind. It was truly evident, based on the demographics and their responses to certain questions, that there is a huge gap in judgment and maturity between boys and men. Love it or live with it… it’s every woman’s choice!

I was invited by my friend Lia to do a photoshoot with her class at the La Salle College International in Salcedo Village. Coming from a hectic month of travelling to Japan and China, and to Cagayan de Oro the week after, I decided to cap the year with a shoot. So I said yes, and we agreed on the timing. One of the concepts that I really liked is Adam & Even, because of the simplicity and sensuality that came with it.

Please click on the photo to view more

I know it’s a pathetic excuse for laziness but whatever… I finally managed to recall my old password and here I am blogging the morning away…AGAIN! In all honesty, I really don’t have anything to blog about.

But hey, maybe a quick hello to folks who left me messages in YM. Thanks for remembering!!! …and yes, indeed I am still alive, but have not been shooting for a while. I was on a sabbatical for the most of December and January, so when I got back to Makati, let’s just say 70% of my waking hours were spent infront of my laptop… WORKING LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW!

I managed to squeeze in a bit of happy slip meet and greet in between so watch out for my next post when I wake up later! For now I gotta get some ZzzZZZzzzzZzzzzz………..

I stumbled upon the blog of Ms. Harvey Chua – The Business of Photography, through ShutterBox PHilippines. I can’t help but post a reply to her entry entitled Stop, Continue and Start: A Self-examination in Three Questions. Personally, I think this self-examination is long overdue, but glad to be reminded about it. Here goes my pondering…

1. What am I doing that I should continue to do?
- I should keep my options open.
- I should continue searching.
- I should carry on learning.
- I should continue pursuing my goals.

2. What am I doing that I should stop doing?
It took me a good 5 minutes to actually think of an answer for question number 1. My mind is wandering off lazily, trying to avoid the question. Then it dawned on me. This is what I need to stop doing.
- I need to stay focused on my longterm plans. I need to stop procrastinating. I need to stop being sidetracked into doing things that would bring me further away from my goals.
- I need to stop staying up til 5AM.
- I need to overcome my fears of doctors and seriously consider help to cure my insomnia. It is getting worse day in and day out.

3. What should I start doing?
- I should start to print my photos.
- I should start to build my portfolio.
- I should start looking for a means to get across the ocean, 10k miles away from here.
- I should start working on my weight (which is damn hard!!!)

Reading through the questions, I can’t help but go back to where I started in the first place. And I realized, I need one kickass portfolio, one enormously huge bank account and 10,000 reasons why I should be happy where I am now.

*** If you find this interesting, you can copy this and make your own answers to the 3 questions. Make sure to add a link to the blog where you got this post from. Let’s see how far the virus could spread! Happy weekend everyone!

Grabbed from:
1. Business of Photography
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I am proud to say that, after 4 elections since I became eligible to exercise my right to suffrage, I have not voted for a single president or senator in this country, nor did I even think of registering to vote. I don’t mean to put down all those who actually voted and still had faith that their votes will actually make a difference. Really, it is noble and it is good that there are people like you. But like I always say, I am different.

Even as a kid, I never had faith in our government. More so, on the people who actually run it. I don’t know about you but my eyes have been opened to the unscrupulous practices and the universal grandstanding of our political figures early in my high school life that I have totally stopped believing. My exposure to journalism, in and out of the campus, showed me more than enough corruption that my young mind could afford at that time, that I have stopped trusting our government altogether.

Where I come from, is a place where everybody knows everybody. And it’s really difficult to keep a secret in a small town like that. Bombo Radyo usually reports expose of anomalies in our local government day in and day out. I had to live with this for the whole 16 years that I was growing up, exposed to small-town corruption, intrigues and…again, corruption.

When I entered the university, I became part of the Pi Sigma Delta, a sorority based in the University of the Philippines Manila. It was thru Pi that I have somehow switched on my idealistic and nationalistic heart, with a passion to render service to the masses, while keeping my sense of dignity and self-respect. For two years, I proudly shouted MAKIBAKA! and I fought, with a fury and conviction, for a cause that I truly believed in. But I never voted. Not because I do not trust that it mattered. But because even if it did matter, I personally thought it was a futile attempt to support someone to extort more funds from the people’s money!:-) Call it distorted, but I hate to be an accomplice if these people steal away from our taxes!

I know I am exagerrating a bit but my reasons are deep-rooted. When I was a kid, I have seen people going in and out of our house, having lunch/dinner, staying at our guest room. Innocent that I was, I tried to be hospitable at all times. In fact, I even let our so-called guests use the remote control so they can watch TV in the living room, even if there’s a show that I so want to watch.

Now that I’ve grown up, it became clear to me. I realized that these engineers, masquerading as guests, were actually staying at our place so they can go to the bar/club at the expense of our business. Apparently, they do that to juice out the contractors before the billing docs get signed. These are the small time ones that I’ve seen. But there are bigger ones I’m sure, where percentages get deducted from the actual billed amount. But that I have no proof of. I wish I had though, but then that won’t make much of a difference now, does it?

Early in my life, I have witnessed corruption unfold before my eyes. It’s real. It bit me hard. I guess that’s why I’ve stopped believing that this country will rise above the challenge. I wish these new set of senators could prove me wrong though. I just wish.

As my previous post suggests, I have just moved to a new place. And yes, I failed my 90-day challenge miserably and I’m making up for it by blogging. I need about 12 sensible blog topics so if there’s anything that you wish to read about, holler! I will try to post something about yur topic and hopefully, you will come back and click my adsense! hahaha!

So anyway, here’s a checklist I’d like to share with people who are moving.

MOVING OUT
1. Review your current contract and see if:
- you will get all your deposit and when
- how soon you should give them notice
2. Always put everything in writing.
- have your notice received with timestamp
- have them sign an exit form upon turnover of unit/key to signify that you left the unit in good condition
3. Start looking for your new place before you send your notice.
4. Settle all your bills before moving.
5. Arrange for transfer/disconnection of your:
- Phone and DSL - at least 3 weeks before moving. Make sure to say it is “simultaneous transfer”
- Electricity (if you need to have it disconnected) – at least 1 week before moving.
- Cable - at least 1 week before moving.
6. Start packing 2-4 weeks before moving, depending on how much stuff you got.
- Sort your stuff and make sure to remember which box you put them!
7. Contact a mover at least 3 days before your move. Remember to haggle and canvass! The going rate as of this post is around 1200-1500.00 with helper. That will save you the headache of actually carrying all your stuff.

MOVING IN PREWORK:
1. Make sure to call your phone, DSL and cable provider before moving to see if you can transfer your existing lines. If you intend to apply for a new connection, please ignore this step.
2. Check the location for:
- Electricity problems (might also be good to check if you’re within the residential rates or you’ll end up paying so much for electricity)
- Flooding issues
- Water problems
- Phone line availability and DSL availability
*** Make sure to do your homework on this one, or you’ll end up regretting your move!!!
3. Visit the new place at night, and middle of the night to see if it’s well lit and safe.
4. Contract. Again, review the contract terms and conditions before moving in, if it suits you.
5. Ask your landlord/landlady to have the unit cleaned at least a week before your move in date and visit it before moving in to make sure that you’re satisfied.
6. Align your schedules. Leave at least 2 full days to move and arrange stuff in the new house.
7. Secure your new place. Have new locks installed.

MOVING IN:
1. Make sure to count how many boxes you’re moving and account for each box/item after the movers have unloaded them in your new place.
2. Feed the movers. That is the least you could do. I prefer to give people food than money.
3. Position the big appliances/furniture first.
4. Unload the rest and fill the cabinets.
5. Start decorating and clean up after the mess.
6. Follow up on your phone/dsl/cable if they’re not yet ready. It usually takes a while.
7. Make friends with your neighbors (smile to them so they’ll keep an eye on your place while you’re away!)
8. Keep it clean!

Hello world!!! finally I’m back from internetless and phoneless nights. Yay, I’m back from the pit. and yeah, I am making up for lost time. I know I haven’t been posting on my blog religiously and I’ve been skipping my regular visit to the gym. Not that anyone really cares, but I guess I miss blogging too. But hey, I have loads of experiences to share during my move that people who are moving out might find useful. and I guess for me, to keep in mind so that the next time i consider moving somewhere, i know what to look out for. So watch out for that post.

For now, I just wanted to shout out to the world… I’m finally back on my feet again and ready to make noise…but not sin :p

Everyday. Everywhere. We see a lot of contradiction.

For some, it is a nightmare that haunts them.

For some, it is the fire the ignites their senses.

For some, it is the strength the fuels their passion.

Contradiction. It is such an amazing thing. It drives, it kills, it renews the spirit.

This is a piece, I offer to the world.

Of Contradictions.