BoyLac's Birthday

Papa would have celebrated his 63rd birthday today if he didn't take the eternal vacation in May 2008. While we are confident that his destination is the paradise in heaven, we continue to pray for the eternal repose of his soul. Happy Birthday, Papa! We love you. And we miss you.

P2 done!

Eight months after completing ph1 of my CIV sound upgrade (head unit + seps), ph2 which includes a JBL GT5-A604 amp was completed last November 21 Saturday. From March onwards, I was able to sell my old-but-still-working-fine-sound-system which includes a Pioneer head unit, Alpine amps and Pioneer equalizer. Originally planned to include a subs upgrade in ph2 but I still have in my possession the Ryan Audio subs which came with the car when we bought it in 2007.

Now on to phase 3. After I sell my Ryan Audio subs, that will be my queue to get a new subs. I still haven't decided yet which subwoofer to get and have difficulty prioritizing porma over quality over practicality. There are just so many choices and to top it off, budget is limited. Oh well, for now, I shall enjoy listening to "Buttercup" with a 60 watt amp connected to an 8 inch pair of subwoofers!

Monte Maria, Batangas City

Monte Maria, Batangas City
Originally uploaded by dylac

My family and I made the 121 kilometer 3 hour trip to Brgy. Pagkilatan, Batangas City last Saturday November 14. The target site is the Monte Maria, the brain child of renowned healing priest Father Fernando Suarez. A Eucharistic celebration was schedule at 10am and we arrived there just in the nick of time. I estimate that there were close to 300 people who attended the mass and healing service. There were at least 20 cars, SUVs, jeepneys and 2 buses in the parking lot. The service was organized thanks to Father Suarez' angels and supporting crew.

Here's Father Fernado Suarez' site for your reference:
http://www.fatherfernando.com/

You may check out my pix taken of the breath taking place at this site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12465415@N02/4103013664/

A tita of mine apts summarizes our Saturday trip when she said via text "You and your family are now blessed."

An E90 by 40

An interview by DyLac on DyLac about his car dreams.

Q1: How much does an E46 (2002 BMW 320I) cost?
A1: It retails for P650K in the Phil market.

Q2: How much does an E46 (2004 BMW 320I) cost?
A2: It retails for P850K in the Phil. market.

Q3: How much does an E90 (2005 BMW 320I) cost?
A3: It retails for P1,3M in the Phil. market.

Q4: How much does an E90 (brand new 2009 BMW 320i) cost?
A4: An E90 cost P2,75M.

Q5: What are your sources?
A5: I checked out the ff. sites: www.buyandsellph.com, www.carfinder.com, www.sulit.com.ph, www.topgear.com.ph., www.wikipedia.com

Q6: What’s an E90?
A6: An E90 is the platform number for a BMW 3 series released in 2005 to present.

Q7: When is the 6th generation 3 series BMW going to be released?
A7: The next full revision of the 3 series is expected in 2011.

Q8: When is your 40th birthday?
A8: In March 2012.

Q9: By Y2012, how much is the expected retail price of a 5 to 7 year old E90?
A9: It would probably retail between P650K to P850K.

Q10: What color should I get?
A10: Silver, Blue or Red.

KOD - Keep On Dreaming!

A Win Win For Pacman

Why Pacman is phenomenal? He has champ belts in the ff. weight classes:
1- flyweight (112 lb)
2- super-bantam weight (122 lb)
3- feather weight (125 lb)
4- super-featherweight (130 lb)
5- lightweight (132 lb)
6- junior welterweight (140 lb)

On Sunday, he'll be facing Cotto for the welterweight crown (145 lb). If Pacman wins, he will become the ONLY FIGHTER ever to capture seven world titles in seven weight divisions. If he loses, he'll share the limelight with legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya who currently holds distinction of having titles in six different weight classes.

Pix used in SG photo exhibit

It's official, Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) used my pix taken of the Bamban Bridge in Bamban town, Tarlac, Philippines in their August 28 to 30, 2009 photo exhibit in Singapore.


This is the original photo posted in my Flickr.com (dylac) which SPM requested permission to use. This was taken using a Nikon D40 DSLR cam while on the Bamban Grotto which was a hill adjacent to the bridge.

Pix emailed by ML of SPM taken during the exhibit.

Pix emailed by ML of SPM taken during the exhibit.

Pix emailed by ML of SPM taken during the exhibit.

Here's the confirmation email from M. Lim of SPM, Singapore:

From: ML
Subject: RE: [Flickr] Request to use photo of Bamban bridge
To: DL
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 11:32 AM

Hi DL,

Yes it did, it was at the Central Library from 28 – 30 Aug. Pls see the photos. Your name was credited next to your picture.

Once again, thank you for letting us use the pics.

Warmest regards,
ML
Assistant Manager, Special Projects
SPM, 23B Coleman Street, Singapore 179807
www.spm.org.sg

From: DL
Sent: Saturday, 7 November, 2009 10:28 AM
To: ML (NHB)
Subject: Fw: [Flickr] Request to use photo of Bamban bridge

Greetings from the Philippines, ML!

I was just wondering if the 3 day exhibit already happened and if I can ask for pictures of the exhibit for my reference.

Thanks.

DL

Cat has 9, I have 1

Everyday is a blessing! Each time I wake up in the morning, I thank God for letting me live another wonderful day. I intend to do this until I breathe my last breath. There are not-so-good days but I sleep at night praying that the next day will be different. Attitude really matters.

This year marks my 5th year for surviving a “holocaust” of life threatening experiences. Last July officially marked my being part of the elite 95% survival rate club. I’d rather not elaborate and leave that part in mystery but will elaborate on this entry my second brush with the grim reaper.

It was a cloudy day in September 2004 when my officemates whom I consider friends Andy and Roland where on the way to Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro. While cruising around 60 kph on a slippery road of Victoria town in Oriental Mindoro, the white Toyota Hilux Pick up truck owned by the company skid, made a quarter turn, hit a tree before going back to the upright position. The three of us survived the accident thanks to THE TREE. If not for the sturdiness of the tree, we would have gone through the house near it. We got out of the wreck with some bruises and body pain.

After the smoke cleared and everybody checked in to be alright, I called my father and asked if he was OK. He said he was so I told him that since he and mother were alright, that we’ve met a car accident in Victoria, Or. Mindoro but we were alright. It was a room full of alrights!

Alright so this wraps up my blog entry. Have a great day ahead to everyone. Smile – it helps!

DYK that AYT in email and text lingo means ALRIGHT.

Bivouac in Banahaw

Tiring? Punishing? Exhausting? Energy Zapping?

Our escapade last October 23 Friday brought us to Mount Banahaw located along the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. Imagine travelling by car for 8 hours, walking up and downhill for 3 hours to plant 1 tree. That is considered a sacrifice to a typical office worker like me who spends an average of eight hours a day at work.

HOW IT STARTED
It started when our department head Bing Payumo encouraged all her direct reports to contribute to mother nature's longevity by joining the tree planting in Mount Banahaw which was organized by HR and PA. After doing Mount Pinatubo in February this year with the Smart Photo Club and Smart Mountaineering Club, I reckon ths would be a relatively easy climb.

EARLY BIRD
The day started early. I woke up at 2AM, just in time to prepare, pick up some officemates on the way to Icon, QAve. Registration started at 4AM and by a little past 5AM we were on the road to Quezon province. Before 10AM, the trek uphill to the site started and we reached there just a little past noontime. Lunch was served on a banana trunk and leaf. The sub 1 hour planting session ended just before 3PM and that marked the start of our descent. By 10PM, we were back to our homebase in Manila.

TREE'S NOT A CROWD
The seedlings planted last October 23 were Lauan (an endemic tree) and fruit bearing lansones.

While it is unfortunate that we were only able to plant only one tree, October 23 is a special day because of our sacrifice for mother nature.

Mom's in School

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. ~Henry L. Doherty





My net research says the oldest university student is 95 year old Nola Ochs from Fort Hays State Universtiy in 2007. Mom is not actually the oldest student and in fact she is more than 3 decades younger than the oldest student on record hence she has a lot of educational mileage on her odometer.

She's taking up an associate degree in Early Childhood education at a state college in the US. This comes 3 decades after she finished her Masters in Public Administration in her hometown university when we were growing up.

To up the ante, she's doing this while working at a pre-school. This actually qualifies her to be called A WORKING STUDENT.

In search of a new Nokia celfone

The Requirements:
(1) quad band
(2) mms/gprs/3g ready
(3) wlan ready
(4) bluetooth
(5) 3.2MP camera
(6) data suite compatible
(7) micro sd card compatible
(8) lightweight
(9) mytv (nice to have)

My almost 2 year old phone is still doing its job effectively. It has served me well but I wish to upgrade to a better model while it still has a decent value. I plan to sell it between p7k to p9k then upgrade to another Nokia celfone with a budget of P15K thereabouts.

My choices:
E75 (top notcher, P17K)
E52 (1st runner up, P15K)
E66 (2nd runner up, P13K)
N52 (P15K)
N85 (P18K)
N96 (mytv, P28K)
E51 (P10K)

I'm down to my last 2 choices, the E75 that is out of my budget by P2K and the E52 that exactly fits my budget. I'm giving myself two more weeks to research and get the best value for my money.

SAI-nara by Toyota

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q4/2010_toyota_sai-auto_shows

Toyota recently unveiled the all new first generation hybrid car Sai at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. It adapts the body of its more elite brother Lexus HS250h but will be offered as a Toyota brand. The Toyota Sai won't compete against its more popular smaller brother Prius since the Sai is considered a mid sized sedan.

We dream of owning a hybrid sedan in 2012 when we're done working for the 3G Vee. The realistic choices include a hybrid compact sedan or a compact SUV. We really want a BMW 3 series or a BMW X3 but that's considered an unrealistic choice. If we win the P100M lotto jackpot, I'm off to the nearest BMW dealership and buy the car of our dreams!

Going back to reality, the 2009 Toyota Prius retails for P2.2M currently. The Philippine congress is cooking up something (I hope it's a law) to bring down the cost. I heard in the grapevine that once in effect, the cost of a Prius might be down to P1.3M. I guess that's more within range compared to a P2.7M BMW 320i or a P3.9M BMW X3.