DBB

DBB stands for dalum balay burger.

When Ms Jo mentioned the origins of this burger house, I remember Iloilo's Perri Todds. Both originated from home-based snack joints which eventually evolved into a bustling restaurant.

Half finished with our fraps (Ms Jo had a caramel grande, glen's was mocha venti and mine, a dark mocha venti), we decided to try DBB at their shopping branch. We walked most of the way with Ms Jo regaling us with a little bit of history.

I forgot what we ordered but it was the biggest and the most expensive :)

It was too much for one person so we had it cut into four. Each of of the girls had only one-fourth and guess who ate the rest (he was secretly recording how fast he could finish his portion off. apparently planning on taking on the 5-min challenge, i.e. to eat a giant burger, fries and down a glassful of iced tea in 5 minutes and not pay a cent)?

We had to wait for about 15 minutes to be served. No wonder it needed a lot of time to cook. The patty was about an inch thick. And by the time we finished, the sandwich was still warm.

And the greatest thing is that DBB kept hunger at bay even after an hour of malling, an hour and a half of Hotel Transyvania and another hour on the bus going home.

Does it merit another visit? Definitely...and soon.

EPSUG 2nd Meetup

Returning to this page six days after the event, I was surprised to see that all I have managed to write the last time I visited the site was the title :)

EPSUG stands for ETEACH Programming Society Users Group which the 2001 senior IT students of AMA put up. The purpose of the meet up was simple: "Learn by Sharing in the Cyberworld".


They did the sharing while we did the learning.

I wasn't sure about going but somehow I found myself preparing for the 7:30 bus to the big city last Saturday. From the smses that I exchanged with no less than the club's secretary, there will be talks on programming, animation and robotics and an on-the-spot Web Design contest. That sounded interesting enough.

I went with seven students, two of which, Champ and Gilbor, tried their mettle and competed with visual graphics design students in website development.

A seminar is a good venue to share what's new in any field of expertise. In IT, a more effective way of sharing learning is a seminar workshop, which hopefully  EPSUG will sponsor soon.

Modelling and animation have always fascinated me, but who has the time?

another mouthful to go

Finally after the most agonizing six weeks of my current existence, it is (almost) over.

The seemingly endless trips to the big city, gallons (true, I have quite a soft spot for venti) of Starbucks coffee, reaching the safe haven that's home at almost midnight (or even sleeping over at Bel-Air), countless double cheese burgers from McDonald's have proven to be fruitful after all.

To enhance the learning that we have derived from the training, the provincial director herself facilitated a workshop on the critical aspect of the agency. We worked in groups of five. Two groups worked on the same topic. One group reports on their output and the other group reacts or adds to what was presented.

from left to right: Julius, Edward, JM, Moi, Herbert, Ms Gin, Ms Roms

We called our team TRANSFORMERS with members from my school, lcc, pcci and that other school (I'm sorry Jules). I can safely say that our synergy has done us well.

the road to 27

I'm being cryptic, I know.
All I can say right now that this is something related to my "linger'-ing dilemma.
I'm not sure if this is overdoing it.
However which way, I believe that this is a win-win endeavor.
Today has been my third day into this new venture.
Everything feels right so far.
My only hope is sustaining the effort in reaching "the road to 27" finish line.

new toy for big girl

(this is a week and a day late)

After school last Saturday (before my unofficial graduation dinner), I dropped by the Sun Shop and Robinson's to inquire about the status of my plan. Though I have an idea that it's on a September, I am not sure about the exact date. According to the agent, my plan turned two on the fourth. That made me eligible for the Sun Loyalty perk. There were only three choices: Alcatel Glory (which I am already interested in), Nokia and LG cookie.

Ended up going home with a new toy which doubled as an advanced graduation gift to self.

Tonight's Study Schedule

8:00 PM - TMC 1 (sms trainor on data required for pre-test/post test statistical analysis. Update Facebook and chat on mobile while waiting for response)

9:00 PM - EDUC 101 (Post a very short essay  listing and explaining the waysBy which education improves the Filipinos’ quality of life.)

11:00 PM RECESS (saute minced garlic in 2T olive oil. Add hotdogs, prawns and Clara Ole chunky tomato and basil sauce. Pour over cooked spaghetti. Top with cheese, photograph and post status on FB. Eat.)

12:00 AM  TMC 1 (Statistical Analysis of Pre-Test/Post Test Results using t-test, Interpretation of Data, conclusion and recommendation.)

1:00 AM - EDS 103 (read Module 2 on Learning styles)

2:00 AM - Sleep

the (unofficial) graduate

The day was met with a lot of oppositions.
I went to school and stationed myself in the server room hoping for some peace and quiet while preparing for the assessment of my last module. Thinking that if I stay in the office, people stopping by to chat or paying their accounts would be inevitable. One thing I did not count was the presence of a very chatty colleague who decided to chat me up that day. So, my session ended with my having been able to print some portfolio materials but never get to finish the video I intended to emulate during my presentation.
I left the house at sometime past 1 already. The trip to the big city was fine until we got to Manville area where we got stuck for a good 30 minutes. An immobile PUJ has unfortunately blocked one lane of the narrow bridge separating Sum-ag from Tangub.
On the PUJ drive from the terminal to Burgos, a hearse went before us. So we arrived at the center two hours later than planned and presented two hours later to finish some documentary requirements.

I had to do my demo twice. The first time I did it, transitions from various stages weren't emphasized. I reckon I should be a good actress to get better at this. Ed's input are well appreciated. I know it will help me greatly in bagging that NC next month.
To celebrate my unofficial graduation, I ordered a roast beef set meal from Pancake House with refillable brewed coffee tempered with fresh milk (from a carton...hahaha) and brown sugar. Sweet!

reading and happy-ness

Reading works all the time.
Yesterday, I took an e-test on Conducting Competency Assessment after much prodding from fellow trainees, Herbert and Edward, to take a plunge like they always did. It was a venture into the unknown. And as expected, the result was dismal. I was a point shy of the passing score on my first run. I did another take after briefly scanning the self-check for the items which I thought I made a mistake. I passed the test on second try and naturally, I wasn't happy at all that I took the bait.
Today, I stretched my patience a little bit and read through the CBLM and answered all the self-check activities in earnest before asking to be tested. And the end justified the means. I passed the test. At this time, I only have one thing to think about, i.e., how to ace my demo on facilitating a learning session after lunch tomorrow.
To celebrate our near-finished status, JM and I stopped by McDo for some comforting double cheese burger meal. I dunno but this combo never failed to make me happy.

coffee talk

Her infectious laugh or the funny way she keeps repeating some words or phrases,  I can always trust Annie to put a smile on my face. It was a good thing that I made it to our meeting tonight.

When my training demo did not start on time, I silently slipped out of the room and took the long way to Starbucks where Annie has been in the past four hours. Instead of my usual venti cup of the house blend brew, I ordered capuccino for a change. The wise barista must have sensed my aversion to cinnamon, she suggested I try dusting my drink with vanilla powder. I did. It was good but not as good as Kuppa's. The caffeine was very much evident though. It chased my headache away. If only it could chase the pain in my heart as well (drama).
Our little corner rang with laughter as we regaled each other with stories of our Gs and what nots.

Look at who's been promoted...

Progress is everywhere.

Buildings are being built one after the other.

New discoveries are unveiled everyday.

Well, ten years is a long time not to see any progress about a person. So it's no wonder seeing a former "konduktor" of VTI now working as an Inspector in the same. 2003 is a long way back. Well, enough time to age, I had to look real hard to match the "now" to the "then" face. He used to work with the Bacolod-Cebu via Canlaon route and looked like just out of his teens. Back then, he was good at his job, quick to assist the passengers and kept the trip light with his amusing stories about just anything. He's still good at what he does, i.e., inspecting tickets, not mincing words with the errant "konduktor" who kept collecting fares without punching the tickets. 

Moral of the story is do what is right. 

God is too good not to reward you in His time.

Perpetuity of a dream...

I could be just dreaming for all I know, replaying events in my mind of which I have no control whatsoever.
I'm lucky if it brings me joy. Woe to me if I find myself stymied.
What's not fair is that just when you're about to wake up, something happens that make you want to hold on to sleep some more. And more often than not, it's moot to dismiss the potent lure of slumber. One rarely wins over it, especially me.