Glorietta Post-Blast Images

October 28, 2007

Pictures taken last Saturday (October 27 - 7 days after the blast) using a camera phone:

Under normal circumstances, this part of Glorietta would have been packed with passing vehicles and crossing shoppers.

A makeshift altar was constructed where family and friends can offer prayers, flowers and candles for the 11 innocent lives lost in the blast.

Third floor corridor of SM is so shiny and squeaky clean - no heavy foot traffic going to the MRT station. No foot traffic at all.

Empty tables collecting dust: no afternoon beer drinkers

Nearby malls such as SM are just as affected by the blast

Glorietta 2 blast ground zero - damaged vehicles outside Glorietta 2 have been removed, area cleared of debris but remains barricaded. Police and security guards are manning the area.

Many shops and fast food restaurants around the perimeter of Glorietta 2 remain closed - due to damages sustained (cracked walls, shattered glasses). Most of these shops seem intact but have been sealed off to prevent possible gas leak from Glorietta 2.

Walled up and painted white: But many parts of the mall particularly the wing going to SM (Giordano area) and Glorietta 4 reek of noxious gas stench seeping through these open areas of the mall.

PRC FINALLY Releases Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) 2007 Results

October 26, 2007

After two gruelling months of waiting, the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) finally released the results for the Licensure Examination for Teachers 2007 just this morning. From philstar.com:

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 18,376 elementary teachers out of 66,709 examinees and 16,811 secondary teachers out of 57,723 examinees successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T) given by the Board for Professional Teachers on August 26, 2007 in 19 testing centers all over the Philippines.

TOP 10 HIGHEST PLACES IN SECONDARY LEVEL

1.Joel Lising Adamos (University of Santo Tomas) Manuel Tablante Eusebio (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Aaron Dalisay Galamgam (University of the Philippines-Diliman)

2.Virgo Mamaclay Gulan (Philippine Normal University-Isabela) Melissa Elinore Manuel Wang (Ateneo de Manila University -QC)

3.Sherwin Barrete Iñigo (Mindanao State University-Marawi City) Missy Dazzle Molinyawe Olea (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Blessilda Perez Rapoza (Philippine Normal University-Manila)

4.Eisha Vienna Maliksi Fernandez (Philippine Normal University-Manila) Julius Abel Bicos Galpao (Centro Escolar Unversity-Manila)

5.Rommel Ambal Ramos (University of Batangas)

6.Jorge JR Salvador Baclor (Philippine Normal University-Manila) Tom Ng Chu (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Celina Punzalan Sarmiento (Philippine Normal University-Manila)

7.Nestor Gonzales Acala (Mindanao State University-Marawi City) Ferdinand Licup Aguila (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Rachel Edita Oñate Roxas (University of the Philippines-Los Baños) Mona Lisa Pardilla Siacor (Central Philippine University)

8.Gissella Bahoyo Lebron (De La Salle University-Manila) Helma Yusa Mesa (University of the Philippines-Diliman)

9.Agripina Lagasca Arboleda (Saint Louis University) Oliver Garejo Daitol (University of the East-Caloocan) Angeli Soledad Roque Echiverri (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Angelita Profeta Radiel (University of the Philippines-Los Baños)

10.Krystal Dianne Masangkay Dolarte (Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sta. Mesa) Glaiza David Tarine (Holy Angel University)


And miracle of all miracles, I landed in the top ten (that's me in no. 8 position)! I would have been happy just to see my name in the list of successful examinees but to be in the top ten is too much of a blessing.

Although credit is given to De La Salle University, my alma mater (B.S. Chemistry) in the official PRC release, equal credit should be given to Philippine Normal University where I took my education units that made me eligible to take the board examination in the first place. If not for the training and schooling and disciplining I got from these two fine universities, I don't think I would have even passed the boards. Special thanks to Immaculate Conception Academy (San Juan), St. Theresa's College (Q.C.), De La Salle University Physics Department and University of Santo Tomas Pharmacy Math Department - schools where I taught and grew as a teacher. But no thanks to MSA reviewer (I didn't enroll in any review center but I made the terrible mistake of picking up an error-laden MSA reviewer).

Getting Slim and Pink

October 25, 2007

I wish I were talking about my body for the slim part of the title and my skin color for the pink part. But hell no. This entry isn't about my body or skin (But yes - if you insist, I'm on my way to getting slim. As for my skin turning pink, it would take I guess carbon monoxide poisoning to achieve that baby skin tone.). I'm talking about my newest toy: my rose pink psp (portable Play Station) slim and lite.
I bought it last month at Go Gadgets Electronic Boutique in Gilmore. And it took me one month to write an entry about my new toy and addiction. Why is that? Every time I would attempt to write this entry, I feel that precious time is wasted writing about my psp instead of playing with it. I think anyone who has this toy would feel the same way. The only time I got to work on this entry was when I was recharging my psp. Although I still could play with it while on recharge, I thought that recharge time should be rest time for psp. I certainly don't want it to die on me so soon.

Is it all play with my psp? Ninety percent of the time it is. There's virtually no limit as to which games (and even consoles) I could play in my psp. As of this writing, emulators for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo games have already been tested to work perfectly with the psp slim. That means I can already play GBA and other Nintendo games in my psp! Some Playstation games have been known to work without a glitch with psp slim. This device has virtually become an all-in-one gaming device. Thanks to the very active international homebrewing and hacking community which continues to develop applications, games and utilities for every psp need or wish one can think of. But this little wonder is more than a handheld gaming device. It plays my favorite mp3s. I can view photos with it. I can watch my favorite tv shows and movies on this toy too. So it does what an ipod video and other mp3 players do. But there's more it can do. With its wifi feature, I can surf the net and play with/against fellow psp users. Loaded with the right homebrew application, I can use my psp to read and view ebooks and comic books. Something the ipod video or any other mp3 players will not allow you to do, as far as I know.

New to the slim version is the optional feature that connects the psp slim to a TV set for movie viewing and game playing although the latter requires a TV with a progressive scan capability. I have yet to try this feature though. A 1.3MP Chotto Shot camera when attached to the device allows one to take pictures (I have a camera phone that takes images at a higher resolution so I have no plans of getting a Chotto Shot.).

The only gripe I have is that its speakers are not as loud as I want them to be. But connected to a headset, its volume improves significantly.

Needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyway), I am one happy PSP owner. If truth be told, I'm more than happy. I'm ecstatic over what my PSP is capable of doing and what else it could do as homebrewers and hackers bring this psp to its full potential.

A95 Update and Baby Joaquin Santino

October 23, 2007

Sometime last month, I brought my Canon Powershot A95 digicam to Canon Service Center in Makati for a CCD repair/replacement. The customer service guy told me it would take approximately 14 working days (excluding saturdays and sundays) for the repair. Already out of warranty plus the fact it was a grey unit (which means it's not entitled to a local Canon warranty in the first place), I was just relieved that they would repair it still. What's better they did the repair for free. I wasn't expecting Canon to keep their 14-working days promise but they did. Last October 15, I got my A95 back. And what a perfect timing. My first cousin's daughter Jona gave birth to a baby boy the following day. My mother paid her and baby Joaquin Santino a visit. Here are the baby snapshots my mother took using the newly-repaired A95.


To Canon Philippines, thank you for the prompt service!

To baby Joaquin Santino, you're a welcome addition to our big family.

Great Buys at Powerbooks OctoberBOOKfest

October 13, 2007

Powerbooks Warehouse in Pasig is 1 short jeepney ride, 3 MRT stations and 1 bumpy trike ride away from my place. I am well aware of the existence of this outlet store which sells books at a discounted rate. But cheaper the books may be, I am never one to trudge on unknown paths if getting to the destination involves tricycles going head-on with trucks and cars of all sizes on steep narrow roads. But the lure of "up to 90% discount" in what I believe is Powerbooks first ever OctoberBOOKfest is too strong to resist and so a friend and I decided to pay the warehouse a visit last Thursday.

It was a warehouse all right. It was dusty and dark. But the outlet store which is inside the warehouse wasn't. It's airconditioned, clean, the books well-organized and the staff helpful and friendly. They also accept major credit cards and BPI's EPS. And of course, there are couches where you can sit and read comfortably to your heart's content. So it's like a regular bookshop in your favorite mall except when you look at the tags, you know you're not in a regular bookshop in your favorite mall. All the better because the books here are really cheap!

I only bought 4 books. A bit disappointed because I was expecting Murakami, Hornby and Eugenides would be on the shelf. Nonetheless, there are many great finds and these are mine: 1) The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver), 2) The Body Artist (Don DeLillo) 3) Persepolis 2 (Marjane Satrapi) and 4) Everything is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer).


The Poisonwood Bible is sold at a regular price of Php 515. Got my copy for only Php 89!

The Body Artist at Php 99.

Everything is Illuminated, 70% off. Got it for just Php 208.50 (regular price: Php 695).


Persepolis 2 at 50% off (regular price: Php 585).


OctoberBookfest ends today, October 14th.

Getting there: Take the MRT and amble off at the Boni station. Hail a tricycle in front of Robinson's Pioneer. Tell the driver to take you to the Powerbooks Warehouse.