2013 Daily To-do List (instead of the usual NY Resolutions)

I figured, instead of creating a new year's resolution (which usually gets ignored for the rest of the year), i'd turn it into a 2013 Daily To-do List so i get to check myself everyday. Hardly any progress is done on my NY resolutions and it's totally uncool how i keep on repeating the same "promises" every year like nothing happened, like 12 months isn't enough to resolve what needs resolution when in fact that's already one hell of a year. I believe a to-do list is more practical and more challenging if we really want to work on the stuff we promised to work on EVERY YEAR. The items are pretty much the same, just redefined to fit into a do-able daily activity in order to reach a bigger goal which is the usual "resolution".

1. be more hydrated

drink at least 1.5 liters of water everyday, that means i have to be able to refill my water bottle at the office for 3 times. Also, whenever i feel the need to pee, i must drink water first so my bladder is kept hydrated always. haha i know 2 liters is the recommended minimum but i can't commit to that just yet. i'm hardly a water person so imma start with 3 bottles first! haha >XD

2. be fit!

that means 500 counts of alternate knee raises every day in the office. that's the least i can commit to for now haha

i dunno how you call it, it's just doing something like bicycle paddles... irdk. basta yon. i've been in a sedentary lifestyle since i started working and there's barely time for me to exercise so i did a research on stuff i can do to keep my body uhm, stretched? and yeah, i found that haha

counts != to seconds though hahaha, it's just me counting how many raises i've done. of course i'll distribute that 500 into hundreds and do it like every 2 hours... or something? haha >XD

3. quit nail biting

i'll keep a daily tab of this... starting tomorrow LOL cos i just like involuntary bit my nail just now. argh. >:(

4. devo daily and sincerely

i'm heavily guilty of using my daily readings as a sleeping pill. while it's pretty effective for the past months, that's the devil's work and i can't allow such heresy to ruin my spiritual life. so from now on, i'll keep it a point to really take my devotions seriously. tita ruth gave me an awesome book, Experiencing God (Daily Devotionals) by Henry and Richard Blackaby, and so far since January 1 i've been thoroughly blessed by the message i get daily.

5. sleep at 10pm

gone with the 12mn limit, let's lower it down to 2 hours and be at bed at 10PM. of course, this goes to say that the maximum time i can stay in the office to be home before 10 is 7pm. hehe that gives me to time to organize myself (ie. change clothes, eat dinner, and clean my stuff) and do my devotions hehe.

6. at least 1 good deed a day (priority: strangers)

even though i believe i'm a "naturally" good person (HA-HA-HA), i would still want to do so some small volunteer good work around me (not on an organizational level tho), on top of the involuntary good things i do HAHAHA like you know, holding my sarcasm to some irritating good friends, or or... okay, fine. not much goodness in me i guess? which makes this to-do item so so valid. haha it doesn't matter to whom the act is targeted to or how big it is, as long as it's good and i was able to help... i'm cool. i just want to end each day knowing i did something good to others. what really inspired me to do this is this video, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151211016113780 it's not really hard to follow is it? plus it'll make the world a much a better place to live in!

7. at least 1 artwork a month
so i'd have 12 by the end of the year and be able to do a personalized calendar with it! haha >XD that's one of the goals though more importantly, i'd like to keep my creative juices flowing and remind myself that on top of everything else, i'm really an artist at heart.

That's pretty much all i have in mind! >XD quite a challenging list for me but nothing I can't do with proper discipline and faith (in God, in humanity and in myself that i can do this)! >XD

Good vibes, everyone!

buena mano! hihi

yey! my first completed artwork using the bamboo pen and touch! >XD a 2 years overdue supposed to be wedding gift for one of our college's prof. >:P

orayt, gotta exercise! >XD

a year of gratitude!

thank you so much Lord for all the blessings you've given me and my family this entiiiiire year. we couldn't have established this much without you! i've slashed so much off my wishlist! yeheyyy!! >XD

thank you for these new babies!


1. Samsung 32" LED TV for the family

i feel fulfilled that i was able to provide something relatively big for the family. we're not really in dire need of a new TV but all the TVs in the house are CRTs and are consuming so much electricity too. haha I initially wanted to buy LG for the same specs and also because  it's 5k cheaper but when mommy saw this she instantly liked it. add to the fact that the person in charge really knows how to sales talk and even explained the differences between TV types. oh i learned so much that day hahaha LG was a close contender but the girl in charge was like wala sa sarili. sabog pa yata. anyhow. haha

2. Western Digital 1TB External Hard Drive for myself... uhm, again

oh forgive me, this is my 2nd 1TB EHD. so now i'm selling the other one for only 3,500! haha >XD i bought this mainly because... uhm... it has warranty? and even though i'm not really experiencing any problems with my other hard disk...eerrr.. WD is WD and, and... IT'S RED huhu i just can't leave that ultra tempting red hard disk alone.

3. Lenovo A60+ for my sister

i'll probably review this when i get the time but you see, i'm being drawn to lenovo more and more kasi hahaha! >XD this is like something i've wanted to give my sister for so long. a new phone! at laaaast! now she has no excuses to ignore my calls and messages. grr grr goodbye to her good ol' nokia 1280. yeheyy!! >XD

4. and of course, none of these will be possible if you didn't put me in Smart. The company has done a lot of things for me and even though majority of that lot is stress, employee benefits and incentives are way awesome! this year, we were entitled to until 18th month bonus! that's like 5 months more than the government mandated 13th month, but the company guaranteed 15 months so that's 3 months additional bonus HUHU thank you so much. haha 

i just don't understand why there are still a lot of employees complaining about the 18 months kasi dati rati umaabot ng 22 and blah. but seriously, maybe i'm just new but for me it's already a great blessing to be in a company that promises more than what you expect. it's probably just wrong to expect the bonuses, kaya nga sya tinawag na bonus. LOL

// Lord, thank you so much for all these blessings. for giving me the means to buy stuff for my family and still be able to save and tithe regularly. you really love us. >XD

// next project... Dear Lord, this is what i've been saving my money at mutual funds po. HYUNDAI TUCSON!!! >XD in Jesus' name! in Jesus' name! kinikilig ako grrrr >XD .... and also a Lenovo Ultrabook... whichever comes first... ay pero super first pala yung Lenovo P700i na white HAHAHAHA 

// sige lang Yan, dream big. dream big. >XD AMEN!

Drawn to a still world

I've never really thought much about it, but there are times when I want to own a kick ass camera and shoot landscapes, hold shoots and capture every perfect moment in my life! Every time I see some of my friends updating their facebook timelines with photoshoot albums, I always wonder if it's really that hard to take nice pictures. I know a lot of people are underestimating photographers, saying their services are only overpriced because of their overpriced camera, and that photography is as easy as point and shoot, but really... you know a photo is skillfully taken when it captures not just the moment or scene, but also a fragment of your heart, leaping into that frame, wanting to be part of that still world. 

I've come across of a lot of photography and art showcase sites just for appreciation and just recently I found ArtStar, an online gallery full of artworks for sale at very affordable prices; illustrations, photos and everything else. It's nice to look around a lot of photos and see where it takes you. It's also cool to discover other artists too, like this one I saw: Guenter Knop who enjoys experimenting in nude, black and white photography and has a penchant for shooting Parisian scenes. Paris is beautiful and it's amazing how, even in black and white, his photos exude the same vibrance as with colored ones.

It's a really good way to unwind, looking at beautiful photos and letting yourself drown in the scenery. Life is full of wonderful things!

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DIY Masquerade Mask (with template!)

finished product!

oh, i could hardly call myself crafty but this tutorial made me! our department christmas party is coming up soon with the good 'ol masquerade theme, and i didn't like the masks i saw out on the stores so i searched google for possible tutorials on how to make your own, and voila! said DIY tutorial came up! it's so simple that i didn't have to shell loads of creative juice for it, seriously! why? because the instructions are so easy, the materials very accessible, and well... the only physical requirement you need for this is to have STEADY HANDS.

this is basically just a reiteration of the abovementioned tutorial... so let's start!

What you'll need:
1. a print out of the mask template to be found here
Print it as is, no scaling needed as the image is set to the actual mask size. >:D
2. scissors/cutter and tape
3. tulle or sheer fabric
i used white tulle fabric. half a yard cost around 45 pesos at local fabric shops. i bought mine at Carolina's Glorietta. the size is too big but that's the smallest they offer so yeah. hehe
4. textile/fabric paint in tube (see pic below)
i had a hard time looking for tube paints so i settled with Pebeo Touch Deco Glitter (noir black). it costs 99.75 pesos at National Bookstore. they have a variant for fabric called Touch Textile but it wasn't available at the time so i thought this could work naman. haha
5. cling wrap
from the tutorial it says saran wrap, i didn't know what saran wrap is so judging from the pictures i thought it's just plastic cover haha. it's cling wrap pala. but we didn't have one so i just used the regular plastic cover.

ORAYT!

1. tape the template down on the table

2. put plastic cover/cling wrap over it

3. then put the tulle fabric on top, make sure it covers the entire mask.

4. using your fabric paint, in my case glitter paint...

... trace. this is where you'll need your steady hands for. whew

5. when done, let it sit and dry overnight

6. when dry, cut it out including the eye holes. if you used cling wrap, i think it would be easier to peel off the tulle from the wrap. but since i used plastic cover, i had a hard time peeling them apart so i just cut the thing with the plastic cover hehe

aaaand done. :)

my next problem is probably how to make it stick to my face (not a ribbon fan). for the purpose of that shot i  used tape. haha

5-day Drawing Workshop este Java SE6 training

the best thing about wide post containers is that it's so fun to post pictures! but i won't for now hehe

anyway, this entire week i was at a 5-day Java SE6 training by Oracle University. my expectations were high for this, but they kinda got crushed when i first came in the room and saw that the free notebook and pen they had for us is not from oracle. grrr. i already let it pass that we're not taking the class at Pacific Star Bldg., where oracle u's at, cos you know it sounds cooler when you're at the real place, with real freebies and legit oracle peeps all around. yeah that's my habol (sortof), the oracle feeling, and the red notebook! just because it looks cool hihi. the pen isn't even working! >:P

so what happened? honestly, come day 3 and i'm all sabog. i thought i could use this week to escape from work (which i did! haha) but haay i still had to come back after office hours to practice for the christmas presentation. in the end, i was home late the entire week and never felt completely rested as i had to wake up early to catch the 9am class. to hell with fixed schedules huhu.

well i still thank God cos the food was good, it wasn't 5 star good but it's free! and because i was not expecting any food to be served, ya get 5 stars from me! yeheyy! >XD

the lesson was jam packed, i lost it at Class Design. whatever you are, you got me lost grrrr. but hey i learned something new! MAHJONG TITANS ohaaaa andali lang pala mag mahjong hihi and no, it's wasn't a class exercise... it was my personal exercise hahaha.