June 29, 2011

Thunderbird 5.0 Available for Download

TB5.0

I always use the FileHippo Update Checker to check if the software installed on my PC has a newer version. I was surprised to find out that Thunderbird has a version 5.0 already. They didn’t released a version 4.0 I guess.

I’ve been using Thunderbird as my email client for ages. I’m a fan of both Thunderbird and Firefox (thus the big icons of these two software on the right-side of my blog). I also believe in their motto that the Internet should be free and accessible to everyone. Thus, they’re making software that we can use free of charge (as opposed to the products of Microsoft). So, instead of using MS Outlook, Windows Live Mail, or Outlook Express, I use Thunderbird.

TB5.0b

The best feature that Thunderbird has is it’s easy setup. You don’t need to know the SMTP and POP3 server of the email address that you’re using. You just need to enter your name (that you would like to appear on the email), the email address and password that you’re using and you’re all set! Also, it works with almost all the free email address that I know (as well as the paid email address and those that comes from ISP like AT&T).

I currently have 24 email address setup in my Thunderbird! How about you, what email client are you using?

Technorati Tags:

A New Beginning

Finally, after 1 year I changed the theme of my blog. It’s a new beginning! I could start fresh.

today-memorable

Why did I retain the name of the blog? It’s my way of honoring my former lover Oreo. I will always attribute my blogging skills to him. It’s his greatest gift to me. I learned to blog because of him. No, he’s not dead. We just broke up and separated ways. Since this is a new beginning, let me re-introduce myself.

My name is Elmer, I’m 34 years old and a callboy a.k.a. call center agent. I begun blogging a year ago when I decided to do it for Oreo. Oreo, back then, was my boyfriend. We met sometime in September 2009 through a common friend. A few dates and we became lovers. We had a short time together since he was bound to Saudi Arabia to work as an executive secretary. September 18, 2009 was our anniversary.

I created this blog last year with the sole purpose of connecting with him, to let him know what’s going on with my life and to keep in touch. Unfortunately, we had an argument 3 months ago and we never recovered from there.

So I’m single and ready to mingle, so to speak. I also followed the 3-month rule and right now, I feel ready to look for that elusive husband. I’m more inspired these days since gay marriage was approved in New York City. It’s a great time to get married!

So I decided to retain the name of the blog as a way of giving thanks to my former boyfriend who taught me how to blog. I’ll continue to post the things that interests me in this blog: photography, movies, novels, Ragnarok Online, DotA, and life as a gay call center agent.

Wish me luck on finding that elusive soul mate of mine :)

June 27, 2011

Berlitz Conversation #3

I already passed the Berlitz Exam not just once or twice, but thrice! Berlitz is a language-assessment test being conducted by some US ISP companies that off-shore their Technical Support service.

As a way to prepare for the Berlitz Exam, I would write a script. It starts with the main sentence where all the questions of the interviewer would start. The technique in passing the Berlitz Exam is to talk about things you’re comfortable with and avoiding topics that you don’t want to talk about.

berlitz2

In my Berlitz Conversation #3, I only mentioned 4 things: computer games, movies, music and novels. The Interviewer has no choice but to ask me questions (follow-up questions) related to these 4 things I’ve mentioned. I already have follow-up answers to those topics.

I hope this script of mine would help future Berlitz Exam takers.

Hi! My name is Elmer. I’m 34 years old and lives in Pasig City, the Philippines. I love computer games, novels, movies and music.

My favorite game is called Defense of the Ancients, commonly known as DotA. It’s a computer game compose of 2 teams, each has 5 members. First, you need to select your Hero or character from a roster of more than 90 Heroes. Second, you need to attack the opposing team’s base and destroy all their buildings. As you progress in the game, you’ll get more gold and gains more levels and abilities for your Hero. The game ends once you destroy your opponents’ main structure called Ancients.

My favorite novel is “The Vampire Chronicles”. It’s the story of how the vampires were created, as told by the main character named Lestat. It is also about his friendship to other vampires and humans as well.

My favorite movie is “Love and Other Drugs”. It’s about a pharmacist who’s very talented and is on the road to being a top executive for pharmaceutical firm Pfizer. He then met and fell in love with a girl with Parkinson’s disease. That’s when he came to a crossroad in his life: whether to take the road to a successful career but staying single or the road to a simpler, married life. He eventually decided to stay and get married.

My favorite song is entitled “This I Promise You”. It’s about loving someone forever, like that of a wedding vow. It’s about giving the significant other, one’s heart, word, and commitment to stay married, until one’s life is through.

New Blog Theme

This blog will be celebrating it’s 1st Year Anniversary in 3 days time. I’m excited about changing the blog theme (which I intend to do annually). So I head over to Deluxe Templates and browse through hundreds of blog themes for Blogger. I selected the following:

fivefouronethreetwo

I’m having difficulty selecting which one to use for another year. Would you mind helping me by leaving a comment of your prefer template?

Thank you very much!

June 26, 2011

“Tinolang Manok”

I’m documenting all the dishes that my mom is cooking. She’s a great cook! I love all the dishes that she cooks.

I’ve been taking pictures of her dishes but I sometimes forgot to blog about it. Since the rainy season (a.k.a. typhoon season), let’s cook “Tinolang Manok”!

IMG_2434IMG_2437

Here’s the recipe (from Pinoymix website).

Ingredients

  • 1 kilo whole chicken (cut into parts or choice cuts of breast, thighs of wings).
  • 2 1/2 cups young papaya or sayote
  • 1/2 cup dahon ng sili
  • 5 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons ginger (roughly chopped)
  • 1/2 head garlic (minced)
  • 1 medium onion (diced)
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons patis
  • pinch of salt and pepper

Procedure

  1. In a casserole, heat oil and sauté' garlic, onion and ginger.
  2. Add the chicken and water.
  3. Bring to a boil and lower fire, let simmer until chicken is cooked.
  4. Pour in patis, salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Add in papaya or sayote, allow to cook.
  6. When ready to serve, put in dahon ng sili.
  7. Serve hot.

It looks easy to cook, but I’ll just leave the cooking to my mom.

HP Pavilion Slimline s5700d Desktop PC

This was my first purchased item using my HSBC Credit Card. I purchased this for my nephews way back in March 24, 2011 (the same day I got the card). I wasn’t able to blog about this before. I just remembered blogging about this today when I stumbled upon the pictures of this desktop computer while I was looking for old pictures inside my laptop.

amd athlon ii hp s5700d 

I got this for P29,990.00, out of the 30k credit limit of the card, from PC Live Megamall. It’s a 1-year installment package for P2,499.17 a month. I love the specs of this desktop. It runs “Star Craft II” and “Heroes of Newerth” very well. I wanted to have a gaming computer that is why I selected an AMD desktop.

IMG_2620 IMG_2622 IMG_2623

  • Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 265
  • Memory: 2 GB, DDR3-1333
  • Hard disk: 500 GB
  • Video card: ATI Radeon HD 5450 2GB
  • OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic (32-bit)

Although I’m working as a Technical Support Representative for 4 years now, I’m still not an expert when it comes to Gaming Computers. What do you expect, I’m only playing Ragnarok Online and DotA which runs on minimal systems.

What’s the specs of your current computer?

June 24, 2011

“Falcon” and “PinoyMonkeyPride”

Our product trainer cancelled our class today due to tropical depression “Falcon”. I was surprised since there is no typhoon signal for Metro Manila. I remember that during the “Ondoy”, it’s work as usual. Probably because, we’re still not on the Production Floor yet, so it’s not an urgent matter to resume our Product Training today.

So I have extra time to read what my friends are posting on their Facebook walls. There’s a new, Anti-Pnoy videos on YouTube made by a certain PinoyMonkeyPride. I admire how the videos are made. The creator knows a lot about Movie Maker or whatever software was used to make the videos. He even incorporated Jose Rizal and the Angry Birds in his videos to explain his comment on the Aquinos (yes, including late President Cory Aquino).

I had a few exchange of comments regarding the videos with my wavemates. I view the videos as being made specially for the Aquinos. I wonder who’s behind these latest anti-Government videos.

I don’t agree on the message of the videos against Pnoy. I believe that the current President is doing his job well. I also believe that whatever poverty the Philippines and the Filipinos are experiencing right now is not to be blamed entirely on the Government. After all, we are still responsible, as individuals, to our own happiness and status in the society. I believe the Government has done a great deal for me, in education, health, and other factors.

I also believe in John F. Kennedy’s words: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country”.

June 21, 2011

Kevin Donelly: Mr. EcoTourism 2011

That’s the new tagline for the winner of the Mossimo Bikini Summit 2011. I still like the old title: Mr. Mossimo Bikini Summit 2011. Mr. EcoTourism sounds more of a government-sponsored male pageant winner.

253896_219207761445609_184641451568907_714430_3146749_n 250469_168557696540637_161611823901891_404846_5882111_n 252427_219207184779000_184641451568907_714413_4983721_n 253483_219207561445629_184641451568907_714424_8321402_n

I’ve always admire the Mossimo Bikini Summit winners, particularly the guys. They’re the best when it comes to bikini contests. This year’s 1st runner up is Benj Bolivar (who I think is more handsome than Kevin) and 2nd runner up is Martin Flores.

I haven’t seen the interview portion, but based on the discussions in the FB page, Kevin Donelly nailed the interview. A handsome guy with brains… it’s very rare.

05KevinDonelly 13BenjBolivar 15MartinFlores

One Happy Gay Family

I can’t help but repost these pictures of Neil Patrick Harris with lover David Burtka. They’re one happy gay family!

David Burtka is the biological father of twins Harper and Gideon (through a surrogate mother) and it really made the relationship of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka stronger and complete. “Parang commercial lang ng Centrum” (Similar to the TV commercial of vitamin brand Centrum). A living proof that gay relationship could work. One in a million you probably could say, but nonetheless, it exists.

I’m still hoping I could have such a happy family. We’ll probably try adoption.

  neil-patrick-harris-david-burtka-twins-fathers-day-03     

Photos taken from Just Jared.

June 19, 2011

Happy 150th Birthday Pepe!

 rizal150

Everyone’s greeting our National Hero in his full name, that’s why I’m greeting him in his nickname.

Jose Rizal has been one of my idols since college years. “The Life and Works of Rizal” is one of my favorite subjects in college. I remember doing a report in this subject about Rizal’s romantic relationship with the Boustead sisters.

I also admire his friendship with Ferdinand Blumentritt. That’s the reason why I searched for foreign correspondence, due to Rizal’s influence. Blumentritt was from Litoměřice, Czech Republic and my current foreign correspondent, Honza, is also from Czech Republic. Sometimes, I would tell Honza that we’re the modern version of Rizal-Blumentritt correspondence.

Rizal was also my idol when it comes to writing and blogging. My ultimate goal when it comes to writing, like Rizal, is also to write a novel.

tatak-rizal-celebrating-jose-rizal-at-150th-birth-anniversary

Sometimes, I can’t stop but think that Jose Rizal, like me, is also gay. I’m intrigued why he didn’t have any love child, like most of today’s prominent guy celebrities. I’m also intrigued why his best friend is a foreigner and not a fellow Filipino. Is it because he could tell his inner most feelings to someone who’s more open-minded?

Also, it seems that Rizal was the most prominent writer during his time, which seems to be unlikely if he’s as straight as Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, or Andres Bonifacio. His contemporaries also wrote pieces of literature but not as flamboyant as Rizal.

Don’t take it negatively dear readers. These are just personal opinions of mine. You might want to read J. Neil C. Garcia’s essay here to know why we think he’s gay.

Whatever his sexual orientation was, only Jose Rizal knows.

One thing is certain: we owe so much to Rizal. Independence among others. Truly, si Rizal ay Haligi ng Bayan.(Rizal is a foundation of our Nation)

Happy 150th Birthday Pepe!

jose-rizal-150

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Impressions

first-impression-300x198

Two weeks have passed and we’re done with our American Culture and Language training. As a last activity, we formed a circle and was handed a piece of bond paper each. We wrote our name and was asked by our trainer to pass it to the next person to our right. We were then asked to write something about the person (first impressions included). After the activity, I was shocked to read my classmates impression of me:

  • Big brother, wise and kind friend
  • He’s like a trusted big brother
  • Always happy
  • Smart
  • Good kuya (Older brother)
  • He is really nice
  • Prim and proper
  • Sensible person
  • Intelligent. We can learn something from him
  • The architect (he probably saw some of my drawings)
  • The brain
  • Approachable
  • Persistent guy, looks witty
  • One experienced guy as well
  • Has his own little world (this one is an honest impression)
  • He’s a smiley
  • Nice
  • Jolly person
  • Smart – bookworm rock!
  • Nice guy!
  • Nice guy to talk to
  • Elmer Fudd! Nice and jolly
  • Cobra dude (I don’t understand why)
  • Witty
  • Well talented guy! Quiet man

Next week will be the Product Training. Since I’m comfortable to most of them already, they’ll probably see a different Elmer: loud and talkative!

June 12, 2011

It’s Dallas vs. Miami!

Yeah, as if I’m a fan of NBA, or basketball in general.

versus-dallas-mavericks-vs-miami-heat

I never played the sport either. It’s because I’m nearsighted. I noticed my nearsightedness during elementary. I’m having difficulty seeing things on the blackboard from the last row in the room.

Since basketball is a contact sports that needs 20/20 vision, I refrain from joining my classmates whenever they play. So I was an outcast. I’m the only one who’s not into the game.

Back then, I avoided anything related to basketball. I only knew the local basketball teams since most of my classmates are talking about it most of the time. I can’t forget the Añejo Rhum 65. I guess, it was their favorite team at that time.

High school, college and work came, and I never had interest with the game. My source of basketball information are from co-workers, American Culture training, and the Internet, not because I search for it, but because I can’t avoid knowing it. I also avoid reading the last part of most newspapers.

So most of my classmates (from training) are divided into Team Miami and Team Dallas (as well as popular celebrities). They already have their bets. If ever they ask me which team I think would win, I’ll probably say Dallas (since it’s Billy Crawford’s bet).

How about you fellow gays out there, are you into basketball?

Technorati Tags:

June 10, 2011

“Buking” (Was Found Out)

800px-DesertEagle_50AE

In our free speech today, we were asked to write one question on a piece of paper, and one-by-one, we pick one question for us to answer. I got the question:

The love of your life has been infected by a virus that causes a person to die and then turn them to a heartless, mindless, and soulless zombies who eat human beings. You have a .50 Dessert Eagle with 1 bullet. How would you use the gun and its 1 bullet? Why?

I don’t know what a .50 Dessert Eagle, so I asked about it from my classmates. I was advised it was a sort of pistol. Then I answered the question with the pronoun “him” (I was thinking of Oreo), the whole class was in uproar! I realized, they’re actually expecting the pronoun “her”. I smiled, corrected myself, and went on with my answer. Something like:

I would definitely shoot him, I mean, her, with the pistol. I don’t want her to see me die in the hands of those zombies.

I know, it wasn’t the smartest of answers, because it’s an impromptu speech and also, partly because of my initial “slip of the tongue” (using the pronoun “him”). I don’t want to explain myself to the class and tell them, “it’s actually correct since I’m gay and I’m really referring to my male lover Oreo”.

I tried my best to keep a low profile about my sexual preference. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy being gay but I don’t want to broadcast it at work (even though it’s a call center) since I hate being stereo-typed as another gay “parlorista”. They don’t seem to know that there are so many “variants” of gays, other than the “parlorista” type.

So I act as straight as possible when I’m at work. But if I was ask, if I’m gay, I give a straight “yes” answer. I don’t deny it. But I want people to ask it, straight to my face.

Also, I’m one of those gays who don’t have the fantasy to cross-dress or join a beauty contest. I don’t want to be a drag queen and I don’t want to be called “pretty”. I always wanted to be like gay-porn stars: straight on the outside, but definitely gay inside. Handsome gays. I enjoy being a “paminta” (literally, “pepper” but it’s similar to butch gays). Some call it discreet or closet-gay.

What I don’t understand from the “parlorista” type of gays, is their thinking that we’re hypocrite and doesn’t want to “come out of the closet”. But I am already out of the closet! It’s just not my cup-of-tea to be in a dress or to be a pa-girl.

I’m really laughing right now because of the slip of the tongue. “Nabuking tuloy ako” (I was found out to be gay). If ever one of my classmates would ask me later if I’m gay, I would definitely say “yes, and I’m happy about it”.

Technorati Tags:

Update: Angry Birds

Another quick post. I just found out today that there is an “Angry Birds” version for the browser Google Chrome. You can install it using that browser from this website. It’s a simpler version of the one I posted yesterday. Check out the following screenshots.

 angry birds chrome2 angry birds chrome3angry birds chrome angry birds chrome4 angry birds chrome5 angry birds chrome6 angry birds chrome7

I also love the soundtrack of this game and the bird-chirping effect. Also, there is another game from the Google App Store that I wanted to try: “Lord of Ultima”. I’ll try to install it and give you guys the screenshots.

June 9, 2011

Angry Birds

Just a quick post. After I finished “Plants vs. Zombies”, this is my next favorite PC game at the moment: “Angry Birds”. It was an original iPhone game and now it’s also available in the PC. I just finished Episode 1 and it unlocked Episodes 2-4 for me. Check out the following screenshots!

angry birdsangry birds2angry birds3angry birds4angry birds5

Technorati Tags:

Back to Square One

So much has been happening to me lately that I wasn’t able to blog about it. Yeah, I know that I have a moral obligation to blog as often as possible to keep my loyal followers (and I thank you all for continuously reading my blog).

back_to_square_one_sign

Regarding my job, I failed the Quality Assurance Certification for the computer brand account. Thankfully, I was given another account. This time, it’s a different anti-virus brand. This would be my 6th account in my present BPO company in the span of 1 year 8 months.

So I’m back to square one. Today would be my 3rd day of training. My class would start at 7:00 AM today. I’m part of Wave 3 and we’re around 30 in class. Lots of gorgeous guys in our class!

The first part of our training is a 2 week Language training. We are studying the basics: grammar, pronunciation and American culture. It would then be followed by product training and then nesting (actual call-listening). Lots of “petiks” time for us LOL. “Petiks” is doing nothing or resting when one is supposed to be busy working.

Also, Oreo and I are no longer lovers. I’ll talk about it in my next post. I’ve been struggling whether to keep this blog or not, since I created this for the sole purpose of keeping him updated on the things that I’ve been doing so as to keep the Long Distance Relationship working. But since the blog evolved into a photo-blog, I decided to keep it anyway. I’ll probably change the format, before it’s 1 year anniversary, which is approaching very fast.

I hope you’ll keep on following this blog, even though if it would be all about a simple, single, gay guy working in a BPO industry.

Technorati Tags: