Welcome 2013! It's a new day, It's a new Life =))

my Leica ;)

Bring it on 2013!

Well, my Christmas and New Year were celebrated here in in Singapore with friends.  I went to dawn masses to celebrate it spiritually and thank goodness the sermons were very refreshing to the soul.  I would say the yuletide was memorable and fulfilling.

The biggest news for this year 2013 is actually my resignation from Gemalto.  You heard me right. I resigned from Gemalto and it has been a week of me here in Singapore without a job.  I have been submitting my resume here and there :) But personally, I'd like to go back to Cebu and find work in there or maybe somewhere else.  My heart is actually telling me to explore other things - schooling, MBA?  My former Japanese teacher posted a job ad which says about an IT Engineer in Japan.  So yeah, I sent my resume to him actually and if things go well, I might consider it actually just for the experience ;)

Well, experiences are really life changing.  It makes your story meaningful.  It gives you opportunities to know yourself better and in a way tell the world of your existence.  Perhaps, meeting people whom you'll share some of your best or worst ....

Anyway, I haven't bought my ticket back to Cebu.  I was planning it over this weekend but I was waiting a reply from a friend about her SG trip this Feb.  Good thing I remembered because I promised her about the accommodation last December, otherwise I would have booked my ticket.  I am still open to any good opportunity in Singapore though which is the other reason why I haven't book a ticket.   But, my stay in Singapore will only be valid until the second week of February so I need to get a confirmation or maybe a good job.  I hope I'd get replies the soonest time possible....

And finally, I bought my first ever camera, which is a Leica.  Just for point and shoot stuff :D  This is the first ever digi-cam I bought and I am so happy about it.  The first digi-cam I had was a Panasonic Lumix which I won from a raffle draw =)).  You see,  I got a good savings after I resigned because of the last pay.  And so, the good thing to do is gift myself with a new toy to play.  My week will be filled with tourist mode and cam whoring I guess, so don't be surprised if the next entries will be mostly pictures.  Oh, don't worry because I'll try to make my post interesting.

Ciao and happy Sinulog to the whole of Cebu!!!

UFO Catcher Tips

I'm not over yet with UFO Catchers. In fact, the link which my friend told me about was there on youtube and so the most logical thing for me to do was see the video myself. She is a Japanese lady who I think lives and breathes with UFO Catchers.

To those who are very much eager to learn UFO Catcher strategies, this is a better watch :



This UFO Catcher is designed from Japan so it might be totally different with the ones designed in America. Actually, I so happened to see the machines in the US where in it is doomed to fail for a certain number of tries like 10 tries. Doomed to fail here would mean that the catcher grip is so loose that it would be impossible for the player to pick the toys. But then, after that specific number of tries, by the eleventh count the grip becomes tight and with the right skill, one can abduct those adorable toys.

The one at East Coast Park was of a Japanese design. That was the reason we got so many toys. It so happened that we were able to discover some few tricks of our own which actually is close to what the video from above has shown. We actually tried the UFO Catcher at Plaza Singapura and they were a bit rigged. You can't make a full control of the UFO Catcher as there were like an inch or two long stoppers at every edge of the levers - too bad.

My friend will be actually checking the UFO Catchers in IMM or in Centerpoint, malls in Jurong East and Boonlay respectively. We are also planning to check-out the machines in Vivo City. I might have another post regarding these machines if we can give them a good try, probably this weekend :)

Swine Flu in Japan - What about my vacation?

It's too harsh ... really bad out there.

I have wanted to visit Japan this coming July and will begin to process my Japan visa. Right now, with the spread of Swine flu virus in Japan, I am totally backing out my plan.

Last weekend, there was like less than five confirmed cases of infection for which they are Japanese citizens who came from California, USA. They ware immediately quarantined and were given the extensive medical attention. But then, out of nowhere, a high school student was infected at Kobe I believe and from there, the virus has spread. This kid has not had any travels to any country so the only cause might be that someone infected him. Since the virus' symptoms would surface on the second or third day, then he could have transmitted the disease. Right now, in the yahoo news the infection has skyrocketed to 178 and all of which are confirmed cases. Sigh....

I think I will have to postpone my vacation to Japan. It is so bad of a timing. In fact, my friend who will be with me has booked her ticket already. Well good for me, I have not booked my ticket yet as I would like to get a visa first, next week as planned by the both of us.

When I asked her about the trip, she told me that she is still going to Japan this July. Well, it was her decision but I advised her that she should not visit Kobe or Osaka - where the infection right now is; because the plan that we had was like we're going to go to Osaka, Nagasaki, and Tokyo. Tokyo is fine but it's very populous I mean one infection can spread sporadically and chances are, it will spread there eventually. Though the Japanese central government has taken measures but we can't really control everything.

Anyway, it was a bit sad to tell my friend that I won't be going. I really love to see Japan live and raw with all its exquisite culinary, arts, advanced megalopolis in terms of technology and most of all its culture. Sigh again:)

Japan won't go away so I think I will be having future trips there at the right time.