"How many geeks does it take to..." is a standard joke whenever my barkada (close group of friends) in the Philippines gets together. Just like last year, they celebrated my actual birthday with a tele-party. Instead of hanging out at some wireless cafe in Glorietta, they trooped over to my parents' new place, bringing flowers for my mom. (Awwww! After all, she did all the hard work on my zeroth birthday!)

It took me a while to get my side up and running. I hadn't figured out how to set up sound under Ubuntu, so I booted to Microsoft Windows. Troubleshooting a network connection in a Japanese language operating system was Not Fun, though. Through trial and error I figured out that I needed to disable the firewall. Then I realized that the network was blocking my MAC address because it detected a duplicate registration. The network had worked under Linux because I'd cloned the MAC address for my Lifebook onto my Vaio, but I hadn't set it up under Windows. I switched back to copy the MAC address and then figured out how to set the MAC address under Windows (again, still working in Japanese). Skype kept crashing, too, which was decidedly not fun.

So we decided to go with Yahoo Messenger. My friends set up the wireless router and got three laptops on the network. It's a good thing, too, as we needed all three just to keep up with the chatter! We set up the webcams and made funny faces at each other. There was also that interesting bit with the identity musical chairs. Heh.

It was so nice to see and talk to my friends again. I so miss them and my family. Iba talaga ang barkada. I guess Canadians might know what it's like. Still... Maybe it's just the people I know or the culture here, but it still doesn't have quite the same feel as our hell-or-high-water crazy-as-anything barkadas with gimmicks and dramas and in-jokes galore. I miss my friends back home, and I love them them to bits!

Clair and Peppy blogged about the party, too. Check out their stories!

On Technorati: barkada, friends, philippines, party, birthday

He's in Manila to take the JITSE, a standard IT examination that'll give him more qualifications for his work in Japan. I appreciate the fact that Jerome managed to take time off from his busy schedule (advocating .NET is a full-time job! =) ) to give Dave JITSE tips and chat about life, and I'm glad that the rest of my friends made him feel welcome. =)

"Dave's a nice guy to talk to. I guess I can imagine why he and Sacha get along," blogged Marcelle. Yeah, Dave's awesome. Always smiling, always warm and open. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing him upset even once. If you read the friends-locked posts on his Livejournal, you'll know he's a Good Guy.

With few exceptions, my friends generally get along very well with each other, and I'm glad he fits right in. Too bad Dominique won't get to meet him, though. They'd get along, too. =) (But then again, Dominique gets along with everyone...)

I hope Dave has fun on the test, and I hope he enjoys Manila!

On Technorati: friends, barkada

Random Japanese sentence: 私は犬のほうが猫より好きです、何故なら犬のほうが猫より忠実ですから。 I like dogs better than cats, because the former are more faithful than the latter. Watashi wa ino no hou ga neko yori suki desu. Nazekara inu no hou ga neko yori choujitsu desu kara.

I checked my mailbox last Friday and saw a note telling me to pick up a package during office hours. It was past 5 already, so I didn't get to pick it up until today. Perfect, perfect timing. =) My mom sent me a wonderful little heart pillow signed by my friends at the Skype party they held a few weeks ago. She also included a smiley sign, similarly dedicated. And just because my mom's the kind of ultrathoughtful mom who anticipates everything, she also sent me a set of contacts. =)

It was the perfect pick-me-up, and I feel very, very, very much loved.

On one side of the heart:

And on the other side of the heart:

I hung the smiley sign on the tackboard in my cubicle. It reads:

Life will work out. It always does. =)

On Technorati: happy, barkada, friends, family

Random Japanese sentence: 私は何匹かのかわいそうな猫が追い出されるのを見た。 I saw some poor cats kicked out. Watashi wa nanbiki ka no kawaiisou na neko ga oidasareru no o mita.

It seems to always take us an hour to get over technical difficulties if we're using Windows. We tried three different VOIP programs - Skype, Gizmo Project and Yahoo Messenger - and none of them worked to satisfaction. After struggling with audio problems and dealing with consistent crashes, my mom and I decided to go back to Mac and Linux (respectively).

I haven't figured out how to get all the webcam stuff working under Linux (or even if it's possible for me to view their webcam), but voice worked pretty well.

That was a terrific, terrific way to start my day. =)

On Technorati: barkada, friends

Random Japanese sentence:

猫は椅子の上にいますか、椅子の下にいますか。 Is the cat on the chair or under the chair?

Ay, Clair. I'd seen her around our high school before, but I hadn't really known her other than as a friend of a friend. Blogs brought us together. Protesting the Digital Pinay IT role model search whose application form included bust measurements, I found that I wasn't alone. Clair not only coordinated with other outspoken Filipinas, but also went to press conferences, gathered all the articles and blog posts related to the controversy, and posted strong opinions on her blog. The contest's sponsors backed out, and the contest was cancelled. Hooray!

Since then, she's gone from Linux newbie to PLUG board member, from shy librarian to happy problogger. Geek _and_ girl to the core (just ask her about happy socks or dangling earrings!), Clair's just _amazing._

And she's a fantastic, fantastic friend. She's seen me cry. She's seen me laugh. She's seen me flail madly in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do. And she ate the results anyway! Wow.

So here's to Clair:

(animate-string "Happy Birthday, Clair!" 1)

On Technorati: barkada

Christmas is about love, not shopping. ^_^ So let's have a letter exchange! Instead of scouring tiangges looking for the perfect gift that'll fit into your already tight budget, write a nice, long, warm, heart-felt letter instead. Also, make one New Year's Resolution and dedicate it to your recipient. We could all use a little help in keeping _those_... =)

Incidentally, the organizer can rig it. I didn't, though. ;) It would be fun to have it randomized. Of course, nothing's stopping us from writing letters for _everyone_, if we feel particularly diligent... =)

Check out Elfster and set up your Secret Santa gift exchange soon!

On Technorati: christmas, barkada, friendship

And my mom remembered that I bought books on dealing with quarter-life crisis, and recommended them to Clair. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... That's so cool!

I have fantastic friends. I'm a happy girl.

On Technorati: barkada, friends

It was slightly weird because there were six people chatting around one computer in a coffee shop in Manila, one person connecting from U.P. Baguio (Mario), and of course me, connecting from my dorm. Six people! One keyboard! Still, through the valiant efforts of Dominique and Charo, Mario and I "heard" enough of the conversation to laugh ourselves to bits. Mario was the only one who could see my webcam, but he took a screenshot just so that the others could see me with my cute hat! =)

To commemorate my birth, my friends dug into a tub of dulce de leche ice cream. Knowing what kind of ice cream they had (and how quickly it was disappearing) reminded me of the ice cream parties we had when I was there. =) I remember our quest for dulce de leche, too! Oooooh... yummy... Not to be left out, I told them I'm going to cook lasagna later. Marcelle and Dominique remember what my lasagna tastes like. =)

They even called up long-distance and passed around the phone for quick birthday greetings!

_That's_ how you throw a geek birthday party.

Thanks, everyone. You really made my day special. That warm and fuzzy feeling you gave me this morning is what's getting me through the rest of this quiet day...

^_^

It's so great to have such friends! =D

On Technorati: geek, party, friends, barkada, happy

Here's a toast to a totally amazing group of friends without whom I would be missing out on so much wonderfulness.

やめとけやめとけ。それより薬局に性能の良いコンピューターがあるんだよ。 Don't do that!!! There's a computer at the drug store.

On Technorati: friends, barkada

I'm going to watch it later. I think I've gotten the rhythm of things and I've found little sources of joy here.

I can't wait to see what they've come up with. =)

ここのパソコンはシステムを変えることができないので何もできない。 Because the personal computer here cannot change the system, anything cannot be done.

On Technorati: friends, barkada

If you're reading this blog, consider yourself invited.

私はコンピューターに興味がある。 I am interested in computer.

On Technorati: party, friends, barkada

妻は独眼の猫を見て身震いした。 My wife shuddered at the sight of a one-eyed cat.

On Technorati: barkada, friends, party

Yay yay yay yay!

私は、例えば、猫や犬のような動物が好きです。 I like animals, for example, a cat or a dog.

On Technorati: friends, barkada

フランス語のＣＨＡＴは英語のＣＡＴを意味する。 The French word `chat' means `cat'

On Technorati: friends, barkada

私たちはその猫をミミとなずけた。 We named the cat Mimi.

On Technorati: friends, barkada

We headed over to Bizu for dessert, where we ran into Aaron—an old college friend I hadn't seen in ages. It was a lot of fun chatting with Aaron, and it looks like business is treating him very well despite the demanding schedule. He juggles and is looking forward to our show. =) As for me—the low-sugar chocolates and the positively decadent chocolate souffle sent me into seventh heaven. I can't recommend that place enough.

The evening was great fun, and I look forward to meeting Sean and our other friends soon. It's funny... I really _do_ think meeting some people would be more interesting than watching TV—or maybe even working with the computer. Oooh, my hidden extrovert is showing... ;)

イヌとは対照的に、ネコはごく最近になって飼い慣らされたものである。 In contrast to the dog, the cat has become domesticated only in recent times.

On Technorati: barkada, friends

She beat Dominique at thumb-wrestling, so he still doesn't have her complete approval...

On Technorati: dominique, barkada, friends

I'm assmilating JM into our collective. ;) He's a good fit. He's interested in kinesthetic puzzles, chess, books, firespinning, and writing. =)

Dominique has been absolutely wonderful. I'm torturing Marcelle by being so obviously thrilled—but I can't help it. He's just so... <smile>

I'm glad to be home.

On Technorati: dominique, barkada, friends

Ranulf Goss, a support specialist from the Philippine office of anti-virus firm Trend Micro, was named the new chairman of the Manila chapter of the International Game Development Association (IGDA).

...

Among the first to be named are World Cybergames Philippines coordinator Tjader Regis to head of the IGDA Events Group; Spoon Interactive's Willy Tang to head the Interactive Group; Gabby Dizon and Luna Cruz, both of whom had worked with Anino Entertainment to head the Arts and Design Group; and Ateneo de Manila University professor Eric Vidal to head the Academic Group.

I think we'll see great things from this group. =)

On Technorati: barkada, philippines