December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year! Let’s all enjoy the Holidays and let’s not forget the birthday celebrant on this wonderful day!

Cheers!

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The wonderful Christmas Tree in front of the Immaculate Conception Parish Church (Pasig Cathedral), Pasig City.

December 22, 2012

“The Host” by Stephenie Meyer

Here’s another movie to look forward to -- “The Host”. It’s based on the new novel of Stephenie Meyer – the same author who gave us the Twilight Saga. The poster reminds me of “Twilight” though – 1 girl, 2 guys. I have no idea on what the novel is all about but hopefully, I’ll be able to read it soon.

“The Host” opens March 29, 2012.

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November 25, 2012

Markki Stroem in “Slumber Party”

My crush Markki Stroem is one of the casts of the upcoming movie “Slumber Party”. This is one of the movies that will be shown in the Cinema One Originals 2012 Festival. “Slumber Party” will have a premiere night on November 30, 2012 7:00 PM at Robinson’s Galleria.

I believe this will be Markki’s first gay role. I’ve watched the trailer and he’s very good with his acting. Aside from Markki Stroem, other stars of the movie that I would love to see is Archie Alemania (“Wazzup Wazzup”) Sef Cadayona. Visit their Facebook page here.

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I really find the trailer very hilarious.

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November 17, 2012

2012 Christmas Party of Transcom Asia

Transcom Asia will have their annual Christmas Part at Club Manila East in Taytay, Rizal on December 8, 2012. This will be a wet and wild pool party and all Transcom Asia employees are invited.

transcom xmas party

November 12, 2012

Vampire Diaries Season 4

I’ve been watching The Vampire Diaries since Season 1. Now it’s already running Season 4 and Elena Gilbert is already a vampire. I was shocked at this development since in the novel, she never became a vampire. In fact, in the movie, she became sort of an angel with powers that rivals that of Bonnie.

Anyway, I’m still watching the latest season simply because of the hunks – Matt, Jeremy and Tyler. I love Jeremy (actor Steven McQueen) the most.

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November 1, 2012

Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters

Ever since I saw Jeremy Renner in the 4th Mission Impossible movie, I became his fan. I also saw him on “The Hurt Locker” and “The Bourne Legacy”. I’m looking forward to his new movie, “Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters”. It follows the current trend in fairy tales that started with “Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White and the Huntsman”.

I will definitely love the twist in this classic tale.

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Hansel & Gretel in theaters January 2013

 

October 2, 2012

“Call Me Maybe” By Transcom Asia

Transcom Logo

My current company, Transcom Asia, released today their version of the highly-popular song “Call Me Maybe”. It’s a bit late since “Gangnam Style” is already the viral music these days but nonetheless, I appreciate the effort of Transcom Asia to come up with a very entertaining video.

This is part of Transcom Asia’s core value of having FUN at work.

The “Call Me Maybe” fever is still hot among Transcom employees
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September 29, 2012

Mario Maurer for “Suddenly It’s Magic”

I can’t help but blog about the upcoming film of Thai actor Mario Maurer entitled Suddenly It’s Magic. I became his fan when he starred in such films as The Love of Siam and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

I’m still secretly hoping that he’ll star in a gay movie but for now, let’s just be contended with his upcoming movie.

Thailand Superstar Mario Maurer is also a product endorser for Penshoppe

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3B Resthouse, Antipolo City

The first ever team building that I attended was back in 2007 with my former team mates for the Sony VAIO account in Alorica Philippines. It was held at 3B Resthouse in Antipolo City. I forgot the name of this resort until yesterday, when my current team at my current call center decided to have our team building.

They never mentioned the name of the resort when we went there in Antipolo and I was surprised that it was again held at 3B Resthouse. This place must be really affordable thus the coincidence. There are so many resorts in Antipolo and for our team building to be held in the same place twice definitely says something about the affordability of this place.

The place has a decent size swimming pool, 4 bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining space. You’ll also have a great view of Metro Manila! There’s also a refrigerator and videoke machine and for some reason, our TL manage to book it for only P4,500.00. I called them today after our team building to verify if the number posted on their signage is still working. I was told that on a weekends, 3B Resthouse is for rent at a price of P6,000.00 but they offer a P500 discount if it’s weekdays. This place is definitely value for your money.

You may call them at 02-697-2793, 0917-257-0081 and 0918-501-1152 to know more information.

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September 19, 2012

The Most Gorgeous Bachelor: Markki Stroem

If Carl Guevarra is the most gorgeous guy in the Bench Universe (for me), Markki Stroem on the other hand, is the most gorgeous Bachelor for me. I believe he showed the most gorgeous body (and face) yesterday at the annual Cosmo Bachelor Bash.

Congrats Markki Stroem! You definitely have what it takes to be the most gorgeous and eligible bachelor this year (for me)

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September 15, 2012

Tokwa And Lumpia From Mang Inggo

Mang Inggo Lugawan Mamihan Atbp is a popular place here in Nagpayong, Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City. It’s located along Molave Street and you’ll see it before reaching the Nagpayong Elementary School.

They offer the most affordable yet very delicious Filipino foods like lugaw, goto, mami, lumpia, tokwa, tapsilog, among others. I’m one of their regular customers for years now and I love taking pictures of their foods.

Here’s my favorite – lumpia and tokwa (both P7 per piece).

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September 14, 2012

Carl Guevarra: Hottest Guy In The Bench Universe

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The recently concluded Bench Universe Underwear and Denim Fashion Show is jam-packed with fans of their gorgeous male and female models. Upon seeing the pictures posted on OPMB’s Facebook page (and taken by Bruce Casanova), I find Carl Guevarra the most gorgeous and the hottest guy in the Bench Universe.

I’m definitely his fan. Hope to see more pictures of Carl Guevarra in upcoming events.

September 1, 2012

Philippine Holidays for 2013

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(Photo taken from Home Escapade)

In case humanity survives the End of the World on December 21, 2012, here are the holidays that we’ll be observing here in the Philippines as declared by Malacanang Palace. This was originally published on Yahoo! Philippines:

A. Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day, Jan. 1 (Tuesday)
Maundy Thursday, Mar. 28
Good Friday, Mar. 29
Araw ng Kagitingan, Apr. 9 (Tuesday)
Labor Day, May 1 (Wednesday)
Independence Day, June 12 (Wednesday)
National Heroes Day, Aug. 26 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day, Nov. 30 (Saturday)
Christmas Day, Dec. 25 (Wednesday)
Rizal Day, Dec. 30 (Monday)

B. Special (Non-Working) Days
Black Saturday, Mar. 30
Ninoy Aquino Day, Aug. 21 (Wednesday)
All Saints Day, Nov. 1 (Friday)
Additional special (non-working) days
-Nov. 2 (Saturday)
-Dec. 24 (Tuesday)
Last Day of the Year, Dec. 31 (Tuesday)

C. Special Holiday (for all schools)
EDSA Revolution Anniversary, Feb. 25 (Monday)

August 11, 2012

More Pictures of Hagupit ng Habagat

I have posted most of my pictures of the most recent flooding in Metro Manila (known as the Genesis 8:7-12 coincidence) in my blog el toro bumingo. I don’t want to saturate that blog with pictures of Hagupit ng Habagat (Onslaught of Habagat).

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However, I haven’t posted the pictures I took last August 7, 2012 on my BlackBerry 8520. So I decided to post these pictures here. I took these pictures when I walked in the flooded waters of Sandoval Avenue from Pinagbuhatan (passing through Guzman and Villa Alegre) to Palatiw, Pasig City.

Today, the floodwaters were already reduced significantly and hopefully by the end of next week, there would no longer be floodwaters in Sandoval Avenue. It’s a very busy street and several residents of Pinagbuhatan and Palatiw are affected by the flood.

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Sandoval Avenue, Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City

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Villa Alegre Subdivision

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Grand Monaco Subdivision

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Palatiw, Pasig City

July 30, 2012

The Longest Day Part 2 of 2

July 27, 2012 – Friday

It’s 5:44PM and I’m still waiting for the final interview. I was here around 2:15PM and I’m hoping that this will end soon and that I’ll bring home the bacon (job offer). When I applied in Sufferland almost 3 years ago, it took more than 14 hours for the 1-day recruitment process to end. I got my job interview at Sufferland around 1AM. I hope it doesn’t happen here at Transcom. I’m starting to feel sleepy.

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I came here at Transcom hoping to take pictures of Tiendesitas but I guess that will be for another time. My greatest fear at this time is my salary due on the 30th (Monday). The termination paper was printed July 23, 2012 and it’s the same day where the cut-off for the 30th pay happens. If my ATM is still empty by Monday morning, I will be in serious trouble.

6:00PM

I was just handed a Versant English Test. I guess this is my 3rd time to take this test. Prior to this, I was given the usual computer and sales test (navigation, DSL connection and grammar).

6:30 PM

I just finished the Versant English Test. I didn’t perform well with the sentence construction part of it. I also had a hard time retelling a story. It’s like I had a memory gap and had difficulties hearing some words. Perhaps my hearing has been affected by hours of taking calls for the past 5 years. I remember taking this test a few years ago and I aced it. This time was my terrible performance with the Versant English Test.

I was only confident on the reading part of this language test as well as on the repeating the sentence part and answering a simple question (from a bottle!). Questions like:

  • What color will you mix with Red to make it Orange?
  • How many moon does the Earth has?

I hope I passed it. It’s embarrassing for me to fail the Versant English Test since I’ve been taking calls for ages. Hopefully I’ll advance to the final interview and bring home the job offer.

6:56 PM

The results of the Versant English Test were released. There were 3 waves of applicants that were called one after the other. It’s like a StarStruck or X-Factor moment. Each wave of applicants called were composed of 4-5 people. The first two waves that were called were naligwak and na-tsugi (didn’t make it). We’re the 3rd group to be called and were greeted with “Congratulations! You passed the Versant”.

7:30 PM

We just finished our dinner. I had Chicken Curry for P40. Good thing they also provided a P30 snack tab so I only added P10.

9:30 PM

I just finished the final interview with a Filipina (probably a TL) and an Australian (the account manager).

10:30 PM

I was told I passed the final interview and I was given the medical exam endorsement paper. My first day of training will start on August 6, 2012 and the contract signing will also occur on that day after I passed the requirements which includes:

  • Proof of Social Security Number (photocopy)
  • Proof of Tax Identification Number (photocopy)
  • Valid NBI Clearance (original copy and should cover first 6 months)
  • Photocopy of Birth Certificate
  • Pre-employment Medical Exam (company-shouldered)

So on Monday, I’ll be at SM Megamall for the renewal of my NBI Clearance. Hopefully I’ll find the account very interesting, fun and promising. I was given a Technical Account for an Australian company which caters support for laptops, tablets and other gadgets.

It was indeed a long day. I got home around 12:00AM so I was technically awake for around 31 hours.

BTW, if you want to know more about Transcom, you may visit their Facebook page here. You can also send them a text message at 0917-553-9775. Their recruitment office is located at G/F Transcom Center Building, Las Fiestas Road, Frontera Verde Compound (a.k.a. Tiendesitas), Pasig City.

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July 29, 2012

The Longest Day Part 1 of 2

Let me post here the article that I wrote on paper while I was applying a job at Transcom near Tiendesitas, Pasig City.

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This line leads to the entrance of Mega Trade Hall for the DZRH Job Fair

July 27, 2012 – Friday

It’s 5:12PM and I’m seating here at the 4th floor, waiting area, of Transcom (a BPO company) near Tiendesitas, Pasig City. Yup, I’m applying for a job. So much has happened within the past 24 hours and I haven’t got any sleep since yesterday afternoon.

Around 5PM yesterday, July 26, I was watching a re-run of “The Amazing Race Season 3” while preparing to go to work. Then I had a dinner around 6:45 PM, took a bath and then off to work. I was on leave from Tuesday-Wednesday. So I took my 9 hour shift (including my paid lunch) as normal.

Before I went home this morning (around 5:30AM) my TL approach me and said that we’ll be seeing the HR. The moment she mentioned this, I already have a feeling that they’ll serve my termination paper. They did. They asked me if I have any questions and I just asked for the complete name of the country manager. They provided it and even gave me the names of the VP and company attorney as if saying “go ahead, file a complaint against the company”.

So I went home and told my mom about it. I was actually surprised that my mom already had a gut feeling that I was just terminated from Sufferland. It probably showed all over my face. So I told her everything that happened and my plans. This is probably the 5th time that she saw my “mom, I just got fired from work” look.

Around 9AM, I was already at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) building at Banaue Avenue in Quezon City. I filled out a Complaint Request Form, have it encoded and verified, photocopied 3 times and brought the papers to the labor arbiter’s office. By 9:30AM, everything is set for a hearing in August. This is my 2nd time that I filed an illegal dismissal case at this government agency. The first one was 3 years ago versus Teleperformance. I won that case but chose not to get reinstated for fear of retaliation. Besides, I was already working with Sufferland for almost a month when the decision was served.

I walked towards Santo Domingo Church and it was my first time at that church. I love the tranquility of the place and said a prayer asking God to be my avenger and give me Divine Justice. I then had a meryenda at Dunkin Donuts and decided to go home.

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I passed by SM Megamall and thought of checking the Mega Trade Hall for a possible job fair. Sure enough, there is a job fair sponsored by DZRH on the occasion of their 73rd Anniversary. I checked the exhibitors and most of the jobs are from the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry. Here we go again.

I saw the booth of Transcom and since I haven’t been to Tiendesitas, I decided to have an initial interview and it was a casual talk. I passed with minimal pronunciation lapses and I saw my younger self in the next applicants. Most of them are first time to the BPO industry and they were asked to read a series of sentences. Most of them didn’t pass the initial interview. I ended up as the only one in the van en route to Transcom.

Transcom owned the entire building and they have a recruitment center on the ground floor as well as on the 4th floor. I was also given a P50 meal stub followed by a P30 snack stub a few hours after. I was able to see their pantry, recruitment and waiting areas as well as the toilets. The entire recruitment area, pantry, the hallways (areas that I have access to) were carpeted. Sosyal! (Glamorous).

I immediately liked the building of Transcom. It has a convenient store and Metrobank is on the ground floor as well. I imagined myself attending the training on this building. The training rooms here at Transcom are named after the provinces: Bohol, Cebu, etc. Even the interview rooms have their own name like Moriones, Pahiyas, Sinulog and even their core values like Fun, Innovation, Passion, and Honesty. The seats at the waiting area are similar to the ones being used in airports – those made with metal.

To be continued.

Teen Choice Awards 2012 Winners

When I saw the list of this year’s winners for the annual Teen Choice Awards (TCA), I was a bit surprised that a lot of the winners are also my favorites. I’m starting to think that my taste for movies, music and TV seems to remain with that of a US teen.

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Here are my favorite actors, TV shows and movies that won the recent TCA: Tyler Posey, Channing Tatum, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Trevino, “Teen Wolf”, “The Vampire Diaries”, Facebook, Ellen DeGeneres, “The Hunger Games”, Ian Somerhalder, One Direction, “Call Me Maybe”, “What Makes You Beautiful”, Chris Hemsworth, Zac Efron, and “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1”.

See a complete list of winners below (From Huffington Post TV):

TELEVISION
Choice TV Show: Drama

“Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Actor: Drama
Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Actress: Drama
Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
“The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Show: Action
“CSI: Miami”

Choice TV Actor: Action
Adam Rodriguez, “CSI: Miami”

Choice TV Actress: Action
Linda Hunt, “NCIS: Los Angeles”

Choice TV Show: Comedy
"Glee"

Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Chris Colfer, "Glee"

Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Lea Michele, "Glee"

Choice TV: Animated Show
"The Simpsons"

Choice TV: Male Personality
Simon Cowell, "The X Factor"

Choice TV: Female Personality
Jennifer Lopez, "American Idol"

Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
"The X Factor"

Choice TV: Reality Show
“Punk’d”

Choice TV: Male Reality Star
Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, "Jersey Shore" and "The Pauly D Project"

Choice TV: Female Reality Star
The Kardashians, "Keeping Up With The Kardashians"

Choice Summer TV Show
"Teen Wolf"

Choice Summer TV Star: Female
Troian Bellisario, "Pretty Little Liars"

Choice Summer TV Star: Male
Tyler Posey, "Teen Wolf"

Choice TV Villain
Janel Parrish, "Pretty Little Liars"

Choice TV Female Scene Stealer
Candice Accola, "The Vampire Diaries"

Choice TV Male Scene Stealer
Michael Trevino, "The Vampire Diaries"

Choice TV Breakout Show
"The X Factor"

Choice TV Breakout Star: Female
Hannah Simone, "New Girl"

Choice TV Breakout Star: Male
Beau Mirchoff, "Awkward"

MOVIES
Choice Movie: Action

“Abduction”

Choice Movie Actor: Action
Taylor Lautner, “Abduction”

Choice Movie Actress: Action
Zoe Saldana, “Colombiana”

Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games” and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie: Drama
“The Lucky One”

Choice Movie Actor: Drama

Zac Efron, “The Lucky One”

Choice Movie Actress: Drama

Emma Stone, “The Help”

Choice Movie: Comedy
“21 Jump Street”

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Channing Tatum, “21 Jump Street”

Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Emma Stone, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

Choice Movie: Romance
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1””

Choice Movie Actor: Romance
Zac Efron, “The Lucky One”

Choice Movie Actress: Romance

Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”

Choice Movie Voice
Taylor Swift as Audrey, “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”

Choice Movie Chemistry
Jennifer Lawrence and Amandla Stenberg, “The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie Liplock
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie Hissy Fit
Charlize Theron, “Snow White & The Huntsman”

Choice Movie Villain
Alexander Ludwig, “The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie Scene Stealer: Male
Liam Hemsworth, “The Hunger Games”

Choice Movie Scene Stealer: Female
Ashley Greene, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”

Choice Movie Breakout
Rihanna, “Battleship”

Choice Summer Movie: Action

“The Avengers”

Choice Summer Movie: Comedy/Music

“Katy Perry: Part of Me”

Choice Summer Movie Star: Male
Chris Hemsworth, “Snow White & The Huntsman” and “The Avengers”

Choice Summer Movie Star: Female
Kristen Stewart, “Snow White & The Huntsman”

MUSIC
Choice Male Artist

Justin Bieber

Choice Female Artist
Taylor Swift

Choice Music Group
Selena Gomez & The Scene

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist

Nicki Minaj

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song
“Starships,” Nicki Minaj

Choice Rock Group

fun.

Choice Rock Song
“Paradise,” Coldplay

Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist

David Guetta

Choice Single by a Group
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

Choice Single by a Female Artist
“Eyes Open,” Taylor Swift

Choice Single by a Male Artist
“Boyfriend,” Justin Bieber

Choice Male Country Artist
Hunter Hayes

Choice Female Country Artist
Taylor Swift

Choice Country Song
“Sparks Fly,” Taylor Swift

Choice Country Group
Lady Antebellum

Choice Summer Song
“Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen

Choice Love Song
“What Makes You Beautiful,” One Direction

Choice Break-Up Song
“Payphone,” Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa

Choice Summer Music Star: Female
Demi Lovato

Choice Summer Music Star: Male
Justin Bieber

Choice Summer Music Star: Group
One Direction

Choice Music: Breakout Artist
Carly Rae Jepsen

Choice Music: Breakout Group
One Direction

FASHION
Choice Fashion Icon: Female

Katy Perry

Choice Fashion Icon: Male
Justin Bieber

Choice Female Hottie
Miley Cyrus

Choice Male Hottie
Ian Somerhalder

SPORTS
Choice Female Athlete

Serena Williams (Tennis)

Choice Male Athlete
David Beckham (Soccer)

OTHER
Choice Book

“The Hunger Games” trilogy, Suzanne Collins

Choice Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres

Choice Twit
Demi Lovato

Choice Web Star
Sophia Grace and Rosie

Choice Video Game
Just Dance 3

Choice Social Network
Facebook