well, who would've thought?

this was waiting for me in the mail this morning:

Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:41:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: NANJU FRANCISCO <nanjurf@y...>
Subject: Request to use your Nuestra Senora Shot for the Mercury Drug 2008
To: Jade Tamboon <jade.tamboon@g...>
Cc: Grace Choa <gcchoa@y...>

Dear Sir/Madam

My name is Nanju Francisco and I was asked by my boss Ms. Grace Choa of Telenetwork Media Center to contact you with regard to our latest project . Our client Mercury Drug will be producing its 2008 Calendar featuring the "Philippines Festivals" in its cover as our way of supporting and promoting tourism in our country.

This year, Mercury Drug will be printing 3 million copies of its 2008 calendar which will be distributed to their valued customers nationwide for FREE.

We are now in the process of selecting the photographs that we are going to include in this calendar. We are pleased to inform you that we have chosen your Nuestra Senora shot as one of the photos which we would like to put in this calendar.

In line with this, we would like to ask your permission to use your photo for this project and in return we will acknowledge you as its photographer.

If you agree with our request, kindly sign your name on the space provided below. We would also like to request for a hi-resolution copy of the Nuestra Senora that we need for the Calendar.

May we hear from you soon as we need to finalize everything before this Thursday.

Please feel free to call us at 811-xxxx or email us at gcchoa@y... or nanjurf@y... if you have any questions.

Yours truly,

Nanju Francisco

grace choa contacted me in flickr some weeks back, expressing interest in one of my photos (she did not specify which one exactly, but stated it's one of the virgin mary photos).

this was the follow up email, and i'm really flattered with their interest in including one of my photos in a calendar. man, they could include the photo for free, if they want, this is awesome.

my only worry is that those photos were taken using a 2MP phone camera. my phone camera's image quality is really good, but a 2MP photo would prolly not print well in a calendar.

so i replied to the mail, informing them of the problem with the image size but assured them i'm allowing them to use my photo if the image size is not going to be a problem.

i'm not too optimistic about my photo ever going to be include in the calendar but the fact that they've seriously considered it gives me a good feeling already.

survey (apologies to non-tagalog speaking friends)

ninakaw ko from Hor-Hey!
i'm cross-posting this from friendster kasi gusto ko.

1. PINAKA AYAW MONG GULAY
* kalabasa.

2. PINAKA AYAW MO SA KAIBIGAN
* hihingi ng advise, hindi ka pakikinggan, tapos hihingi ulet ng advise over the same problem.

3. PINAKA AYAW MO SA MANLILIGAW?
* wala namang nanliligaw sa akin eh.

4. PINAKA AYAW MONG DAMIT
* masikip na shirt/polo na iti-terno sa maluwag na pantalon.

5. PINAKA AYAW MONG HAIRSTYLE?
* (1) mullets. (2) mullet strands - maski sa star wars, hindi ko maintindian ba't may mullet strands ang mga batang jedi.

6. PINAKA AYAW NA SINASABI SAYO?
* "ay. wala po kaming barya, eh." so what are you gonna do about it?

7. PINAKA AYAW MONG INIINOM PAG MAY GIMIKAN
* i tried pale pilsen minsan. hindi ako iinum ng beer kung hindi sya dark.

8. PINAKA AYAW MONG LUGAR
* nakpil-orosa hehehe.

9. PINAKA AYAW MONG PALABAS?
* pinoy big brother.

10. PINAKA AYAW MONG WEBSITE
* http://support.microsoft.com

11. PINAKA AYAW MONG PAGKAIN?
* basta walang halong mansanas, okay sa kin.

12. PINAKA AYAW MONG PABANGO
* yung naaamoy mo pa rin 10 meters away.

13. PINAKA AYAW MONG PRUTAS
* chesa, kasi it looks like excrement. chico kasi parang nili-liha ang bibig mo.

14. PINAKA AYAW MONG YOSI
* i don't smoke.

15. PINAKA AYAW MONG BINABASA:
* press release na nagpapanggap as movie/music/gadget/book review.

16. PINAKA AYAW MONG UNIT NG CELLPHONE:
* yung mga designs ng nokia around 2003-2005. OA sa ornamentation

17. PINAKA AYAW MONG SUBJECT
* history, kasi history teachers almost always make the subject dull and uninteresting.

18. PINAKA AYAW MONG TEACHER NUNG HIGHSCHOOL
* statistics teacher ko nung 2nd year. wala ako natutunan sa kanya, which is very suprising dahil mahilig ako sa math.

19. PINAKA AYAW MONG PANGALAN
* hindi pangalan mismo, pero a way of spelling the name. yung nagdadagdag ng "H" sa spelling: e.g., bhong, jhon, jhoanne, phedrhow, etc.

20. PINAKA AYAW MONG BUWAN
* abril.

21. PINAKA AYAW MONG GINAGAWA PAG UMAGA:
* mag-ayos para pumasok.

22. PINAKA AYAW MONG GINAGAWA PAG GABI:
* mag-alis ng gamit ng utol ko mula sa kama ko.

23. PINAKA AYAW MO: MAMALANTSA, MAGLABA:
* you mean mas ayaw: mamalantsa.

24. PINAKA AYAW MONG TINITIGNAN O NAKIKITA DITO SA FRIENDSTER:
* super-OA na CSS customizations sa profiles.
* i hate background music sa profiles. kung gusto kong may naririnig na tugtog habang nagba-browse ako, magpapatugtog ako ng music.
* i hate over glittery na background-images. styling advise na turo sa akin: gift-wrappers make poor/ugly wallpapers.
* mouse trails are sooo early 90s. the same goes for tacky animated gifs. they should be banned.

25. PINAKA AYAW MONG NARERECEIVE NA TEXT
* yung hinihikayat kang ipasa yun sa 20 tao kung hindi mamamatay ang nanay mo.

26. PINAKA AYAW MONG TINATAWAG SAYO:
* "kuya" - it's reserved for my siblings and cousins. if you're not a blood relative, NEVER call me "kuya."

27. PINAKA AYAW MO SA GF/BF:
* i can't blame him na ayaw nya, pero i wish kaya kong i-nibble ang tenga ng boyfriend ko. kaso very sensitive sa touch ang earlobes nya.

28. PINAKA AYAW MONG MAALALA NA NANGYARI SA BUHAY MO:
* stupid question. ayaw ko na nga alalahanin tapos ipapaalala mo pa?

29. PINAKA AYAW MONG NAKILALANG TAO:
* i'm not naming names.

30. PINAKAAYAW MONG SPORT:
* basketball.

31. PINAKAAYAW MONG ORAS PAG TINETEXT KA
* pag tulog ako, tapos ini-expect nila na sasagot ako kaagad. tapos pag gising ko, may 8 or more messages ako from the same person na paulit-ulet lang. if you really wanted to talk to me, tawagan mo na lang ako o at least ring my phone and drop the call as soon as i pick up.

32. PINAKA AYAW MONG ULAM AT DI KINAKAIN
* ginatang kalabasa. or any dish that's mostly kalabasa.

33. PINAKA AYAW MONG LAHI NG TAO:
* mako-consider bang lahi ang opus dei?

34. PINAKA AYAW MONG NAIISIP NGAYON
* forever na lang akong phone monkey.

35. PINAKA AYAW MONG UGALI NG TAO
* pagiging "holier than thou." pero guilty rin ako dyan, minsan.

and one would think situations like this are too ridiculous to happen in real life.

a few minutes ago, in an internet cafe.

customer: the yahoo id i'm using isn't accepted! what's wrong with this?
internet cafe owner: have you already signed up for the account?
customer: not yet!

(the exchange was so much better heard in the local language.)

the point is. i will not fucking work in fucking alabang. ever.

01.
i guess i should've realized it sooner. they didn't ask me for a demo class. they we're getting me a trainer. the job offer was too soon, which means they just wanted me to be an agent. agent hiring is an easy process.

i declined.

don't you want to get in as an agent first, then work your way up? one of the company officers asked me. i told her the point of me looking for a job in another company was because i didn't want to be an agent anymore. i wanted to add: the point is, i've been working my way up for the last three years. i don't want to start from scratch and work my way up again.

but i didn't tell her that.

02.
it started to rain while the bus was passing bicutan. and i didn't have an umbrella. when the bus reached mantrade, the street was already flooded.

a friend whom i was exchanging text messages with told me it's not so bad.

"but it is," i told him. "my bag's not waterproof." and i have a paper envelop with me--

only, i didn't have the paper envelop anymore. i must've left it in the mall near the office building, or in the office itself. fuck it. and those documents were needed for a loan application i was preparing. i got off ayala then took another bus to alabang.

only, the bus was not stopping to alabang. it'll go straight to pacita. i got off at mantrade, spent five minutes under the rain waiting for a bus to alabang with only a corduroy jacket to cover me.

at this point, my temper's near breaking point already. you'd know because i'll swear in irritation over the most mundane incovenience.

03.
i got back to the mall just as the place was closing. i found the toilet where i tidied up before the job offer. the janitor said he didn't see the yellow paper envelop that had my tax return form.

so i probably left it in the office. at my current state, i wouldn't trust myself to go back to the office at that point. i asked daryl to look for the envelop for me. i resigned myself to the fact of the missing documents, and trudged back to the highway to get another bus to makati.

04.
the rain has stopped.

i decided to pass by my bank and pay for a bill that was due today. the ATM was offline. the bank's ATMs were all offline for the last 3 days, what the fuck's with that? they should throw those damn things to the sea and turn them to man-made reefs.

i pased by the mall near my house and tried another go at the ATM there. still dead, boy was i surprised.

one last attempt was to pay online. i tried it in the only open net cafe near my house but the bank's website's java application doesn't work properly.

fuck these layers upon fucking layers of frustration.

05.
i didn't have my keys when i arrived at my house, and the gates were already locked. bloody hell. the universe threw a prank at me and decided that for today, nothing will go my way.

mum heard me bang the gate in frustration and she sent my sister to open the gate.

i thought, at least i could pay the bill online using my sister's computer. at least the day will end with me being able to do something i've set out to do today. but guess what? stupid dial-up connection won't even download the java application completely. i'm still stumped.

my mother was wondering why i was very irritable when i got home. she will not understand. no one will. not unless one spends the entire afternoon travelling and waiting and killing time, and spending money to occupy yourself. getting frustrated over one thing. then another. then another. then one more thing, to round things off.

the friend i was texting to said i was having a terrible day. i told him that didn't even begin to describe it.

Art Exhibit: REIFIED DELUSIONS

Start:	Aug 11, '07
End:	Sep 9, '07
Location:	Cubicle Art Gallery

REIFIED DELUSIONS

Cubicle Art Gallery
40a C. Raymundo Ave cor Stella Maris Ave.
Pasig City

August 11-Sept 9, 2007

Creation Story for the Digital Age

http://celobox.googlepages.com/god.html
"In the beginning there was the Computer.
Loading Universe Kernel....
And God said
_ LET THERE BE LIGHT!
login: GOD
password: OMNISCIENT
Password incorrect. Try again..."


And that's how it all begun.

Death and What Comes Next (A Discworld short story by Terry Pratchett)

Death and What Comes Next
A Discworld short story
By Terry Pratchett

When Death met the philosopher, the philosopher said, rather excitedly: "At this point, you realise, I'm both dead and not dead."

There was a sigh from Death. Oh dear, one of those, he thought. This is going to be about quantum again. He hated dealing with philosophers. They always tried to wriggle out of it.

"You see," said the philosopher, while Death, motionless, watched the sands of his life drain through the hourglass, "everything is made of tiny particles, which have the strange property of being in many places at one time. But things made of tiny particles tend to stay in one place at one time, which does not seem right according to quantum theory. May I continue?"

YES, BUT NOT INDEFINITELY, said Death, EVERYTHING IS TRANSIENT. He did not take his gaze away from the tumbling sand.

"Well, then, if we agreed that there are an infinite number of universes, then the problem is solved! If there are an unlimited number of universes, this bed can be in millions of them, all at the same time!"

DOES IT MOVE?

"What?

Death nodded at the bed. CAN YOU FEEL IT MOVING? he said.

"No, because there are a million versions of me, too, And...here is the good bit ...in some of them I am not about to pass away! Anything is possible!"

Death tapped the handle of his scythe as he considered this.

AND YOUR POINT IS...?

"Well, I'm not exactly dying, correct? You are no longer such a certainty."

There was a sigh from Death. Space he thought. That was the trouble. It was never like this on worlds with everlastingly cloudy skies. But once humans saw all that space, their brains expanded to try and fill it up.

"No answer, eh?" said the dying philosopher. "Feel a bit old-fashioned, do we?"

THIS IS A CONUNDRUM CERTAINLY, said Death. Once they prayed, he thought. Mind you, he'd never been sure that prayer worked, either. He thought for a while. AND I SHALL ANSWER IT IN THIS MANNER, he added. YOU LOVE YOUR WIFE?

"What?"

THE LADY WHO HAS BEEN LOOKING AFTER YOU. YOU LOVE HER?

"Yes. Of course."

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE, WITHOUT YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY CHANGING IN ANY WAY YOU WOULD AT THIS MOMENT PICK UP A KNIFE AND STAB HER? said Death. FOR EXAMPLE?

"Certainly not!"

BUT YOUR THEORY SAYS THAT YOU MUST. IT IS EASILY POSSIBLE WITHIN THE PHYSICAL LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THEREFORE MUST HAPPEN, AND HAPPEN MANY TIMES. EVERY MOMENT IS A BILLION, BILLION MOMENTS, AND IN THOSE MOMENTS ALL THINGS THAT ARE POSSIBLE ARE INEVITABLE. ALL TIME SOONER OR LATER, BOILS DOWN TO A MOMENT.

"But of course we can make choices between-"

ARE THERE CHOICES? EVERYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN, MUST HAPPEN. YOUR THEORY SAYS THAT FOR EVERY UNIVERSE THAT'S FORMED TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR 'NO', THERE MUST BE ONE TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR 'YES'. BUT YOU SAID YOU WOULD NEVER COMMIT MURDER. THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS TREMBLES BEFORE YOUR TERRIBLE CERTAINTY. YOUR MORALITY BECOMES A FORCE AS STRONG AS GRAVITY. And, thought Death, space certainly has a lot to answer for.

"Was that sarcasm?"

ACTUALLY, NO. I AM IMPRESSED AND INTRIGUED, said Death. THE CONCEPT YOU PUT BEFORE ME PROVES THE EXISTENCE OF TWO HITHERTO MYTHICAL PLACES. SOMEWHERE, THERE IS A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE, THE MORAL CHOICE, THE CHOICE THAT MAXIMISED THE HAPPINESS OF THEIR FELLOW CREATURES, OF COURSE, THAT ALSO MEANS THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE IS THE SMOKING REMNANT OF THE WORLD WHERE THEY DID NOT ...

"Oh, come on! I know what you're implying, and I've never believed in any of that Heaven and Hell nonsense!"

The room was growing darker. The blue gleam along the edge of the reaper's scythe was becoming more obvious.

ASTONISHING, said Death. REALLY ASTONISHING. LET ME PUT FORWARD ANOTHER SUGGESTION: THAT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LUCKY SPECIES OF APE THAT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF CREATION VIA A LANGUAGE THAT EVOLVED IN ORDER TO TELL ONE ANOTHER WHERE THE RIPE FRUIT WAS?

Fighting for breath, the philosopher managed to say: "Don't be silly."

THE REMARK WAS NOT INTENDED AS DEROGATORY, said Death. UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU HAVE ACHIEVED A GREAT DEAL.

"We've certainly escaped from outmoded superstitions!"

WELL DONE, said Death. THAT'S THE SPIRIT. I JUST WANTED TO CHECK.

He leaned forward.

AND ARE YOU AWARE OF THE THEORY THAT THE STATE OF SOME TINY PARTICLES IS INDETERMINATE UNTIL THE MOMENT THEY ARE OBSERVED? A CAT IN A BOX IS OFTEN MENTIONED.

"Oh, yes," said the philosopher.

GOOD, said Death. He got to his feet as the last of the light died, and smiled.

I SEE YOU...

CINEMANILA Digital Lokal Full-Length Competition Schedule (Filipino Films)

Start:	Aug 11, '07
End:	Aug 13, '07
Location:	Gateway Mall, Cubao

9th CINEMANILA Digital Lokal Full-Length Competition Schedule (Filipino Films)
Official Selection for 9th Cinemanila Digital Lokal Full-length Competition

1. Ala Muerte Ala Swerte by Briccio Santos
2. Autohystoria by Raya Martin
3. Juan Baybayin by Roxlee
4. Pain Things by John Red
5. Tilted Screens and Extended Scenes of Loneliness: Filiino on high Definiton By John Torres

Digital Lokal Competition Juries
1. Oliver Piere-Artistic Director Director's Fornight Cannes Film Festival
2. Jacklyn Jose- Award Winning Filipina Actress
3. Ansgar Vogt- Member Berlin International Film Festival

9TH CINEMANILA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULES FILIPINO FILMS

AUGUST 8 - 19, 2007
VENUE 1: GATEWAY MALL CINEPLEX 10
VENUE 2: BORACAY ISLAND , PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 11 SATURDAY
CINEMA 6
3:00PM JUAN BAYBAYIN BY ROXLEE
7:30PM AUTOHYSTORIA BY RAYA MARTIN

AUGUST 12 SUNDAY
5:00PM VOICES, TILTED SCREENS & EXTENDED SCENES OF
LONELINESS: FILIPINOS IN HIGH DEFINITION CINEMAS BY JOHN TORRES
7:00PM PAIN THINGS BY JOHN RED

AUGUST 13 MONDAY
CINEMA 6
7:00PM A LA SUERTE A LA MUERTE BY BRICCIO SANTOS

NOTE: SCHEDULE OF 2ND WEEK SCREENINGS (From August 15 - 19)
- To Be Announced Later -
o Best of Cinemanila 2007
o Screenings of Award Winners and Audience Choices
o More Philippine premieres
o Critic After Dark Programme by Noel Vera

SCHEDULE of CINEMANILA Short Films for Competition & Exhibition

Start:	Aug 11, '07
End:	Aug 12, '07
Location:	Gateway Mall, Cubao

FINAL SCHEDULE of CINEMANILA Short Films for Competition & Exhibition

AUGUST 8 to 19, 2007
VENUE 1: GATEWAY MALL CINEPLEX 10
VENUE 2: BORACAY ISLAND , PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 11 SATURDAY
CINEMA 4
7:00PM YOUNG CINEMA NIGHT SHORT FILM COMPETITION

1. Libingan (Ramon del Prado)
2. The Calling (Christopher Gozum)
3. Three Boys (Ming Kai Leung)
4. Delusions (Ernest Michael Manalastas)
5. Parang Sirang Plaka (Real Florido)
6. Bingit (Michael Christian Cardoz)
7. Kasila (Sherwin Desierto)

AUGUST 12 SUNDAY
CINEMA 4
8:00PM YOUNG CINEMA NIGHT 2 (EXHIBITION)

1. Afterbirth (Reginald Vinluan)
2. Umbilical (Jason Joven)
3. Sa Kanlungan ng Impyerno (Milo Tolentino)
4. Ambulancia (Richard Soriano Legaspi)
5. Qwerty (Paolo Dy)
6. Walang Paraiso (Ivy Tayag Baldoza)
7. Tres Pas (Janus Victoria)