store sign faux pas?

I was shopping with my girlfriend around Festival Super Mall at Filinvest when I saw this store sign and I did a double-take. "Babo" in Korean is derogatory and means "stupid" or "bird-brained." Usually friends tease each other with babo. Given this, I can only think of two things:
1. The owner is not Korean and he just whimsically coined the name.
2. The owner is Korean and is either insulting his would-be customers or referring to his staff.

obviously the owner is not Korean... or is he?

Maui's first MRT ride

The mission: Arrive at Robinson's Galleria by 7pm for an appointment.
The challenge: You have an hour to navigate the hazardous and congested streets of Makati and Mandaluyong on a Friday rush hour.
The reward: A sumptuous dinner at Walk-in restaurant. Yes, sipa will be served.

It supposed to be just a routine trip to Galleria for Maui's appointment but something didn't quite click in my mind when she first told me that we'll leave Makati at 6pm for her 7pm appointment. It finally dawned on me when I picked her up at the office. There is no way you can get to Galleria from Makati in an hour using public tranportation!!!! There is just not way!!!

Well, since both of are troopers and there is no way she can cancel her appointment, we decided to have fun going there. We thought of it as a mini The Amazing Race mission. To add to the excitement, it was Maui's first time to ride the MRT. Suffice to say, we were 30 minutes late but we did have a blast!

Where's the train??? It better come soon. People are starting to push behind me.



My first MRT stored value card!



Maui running along EDSA 'ala The Amazing Race.



Maui exhausted but mission accomplished!

Bring on the Payne!

I'm currently hooked on Max Payne 2. I've wanted to buy the game ever since me and Maui (my girlfriend) saw it on sale at the ruins tiangge at BF Homes. I'm still working through the prologue and 1st chapter. So far it appears as addicting as the first game. I'll let you know.

Is it a game or a movie?

Learning Java and teaching Oracle

I went out to canvass for a school that teaches Java programming and provides certification. I could hear a lot of my college friends grumbling over the fact that it's better to self-study than to pay for classes. Well, I'm thinking of doing classes for two reasons:
1. I want to give my brain a rest after overusing it in Korea
2. I want to get certification. Looks good on me resume too.

The price for a 30 hour Java course is a bit pricey. I guess I have check out a few more schools tomorrow.

A funny thing happened. The guy the I was talking to in one school asked if I could teach Oracle. I guess the idea popped into his head when I told him about my job and background (I worked mainly with Oracle). Hmmm, sounds tempting but I defer to reason number one as the reason for declining.

Me and Maui's baby pics

I missed my girlfriend a lot during my Korea stint. I took along a couple of her picture including a picture of her when she was a baby to keep me company.

You'd notice two things when you look back at baby pictures:
1. You don't look anything like your baby picture.
2. You still look like your baby picture.

My girlfriend Maui is so amazed at how I still have a lot of my "baby features." She finds it so cute that she treats me like her own baby. I'm such a lucky guy! =)

On the other hand, she thinks she doesn't look anything like her baby pic. I think she does a bit. Nevertheless, she is my baby!

Maui then and now

Cads then and now

Reflections on Korea

For me any trip outside the country is always followed by contemplation and reflection. When you're there, you just take everything in. When you go home, you think about how the trip changed you. Such was the case in during my 5 month trip to Korea.

I took a consulting job (on a whim) with a major retailer in South Korea back in May. Now that I'm back home, it almost feels like a dream until I pour over all the photos I took and my newly acquired taste for anything with Kimchi in it. More on my Korea experience later.

I picked a couple of interesting shots.

Starcraft tournament at COEX!!!


Lanterns during Buddha's birthday


A replica house in Gyeongbokgung palace


Philippine exhibit at the War Memorial Musuem

First steps

I'm trying to get this blog started. I should have done this ages ago but I didn't seem to find the time for it. Somehow I think I'm subconsciously putting it off on account of my persistent couch potato syndrome. Anyway, check out my profile photo. It's me lost in Seoul South during my first week there. My expression is entitled "desperation in the face of geographical dislocation."