It was a good party held in honor of a great friend. =)

On Technorati: friends, party

Plan A: Use the common TV room in the basement. Unfortunately, it was closed.

Plan B: Use the second-floor TV area. No DVD player.

Plan C: Use the second-floor TV area and hook up Simon Ditner's laptop to it. We had the right cable (you gotta love geeks with cables!), but couldn't figure out how to select the video input.

Plan D: Use the projector Roger Yang brought and beam the video onto the wall of my living room. THe projector speakers turned out to be fairly good, so we didn't need external speakers. (Good thing, too, as I didn't know where I could find speakers.)

Plan D1: Watch Aardvark'd, a video about software development. The DVD that Jedediah Smith burned had problems, though.

Plan D2: Watch the music videos that Quinn Fung brought. Michael Gondry did the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I enjoyed. The music videos were terrific. =)

Definitely mind-expanding, and not a bad beta party. We'll do that again sometime!

On Technorati: party, friends

"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

You see, I'm a social chocolate eater. Knowing it to be one of my weaknesses, I try not to have chocolate unless I have company. And as 9x13 pans result in a _lot_ of brownies, I absolutely must have friends over if I'm going to even think of baking.

So I did. Dan Howard, Quinn Fung and Jedediah Smith came over. We had this absolutely decadent dessert: freshly-baked double-chocolate brownies topped with French vanilla ice cream and hot fudge bought especially for the occasion.

As a concession to healthy eating, we followed it with pineapple chunks and loose-leaf green tea. (I've graduated to loose-leaf tea! With a tea ball! Proper.)

Now _that's_ a terrific way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Proper.

Kelly blogged about brownie sundaes. I _so_ want to have a Sundae Sunday now, complete with whipped cream and a light dusting of chocolate shavings or almond slivers or toasted rice or _something_ equally indulgent...

Life is so much better when you know how to make dessert.

On Technorati: cooking, cookordie, friends, party, entertaining, dessert, chocolate

On Technorati: party

Random Japanese sentence: ペルシャ猫がテーブルの下で眠っていた。 A Persian cat was sleeping under the table.

On Technorati: carnivore, party, kathy

Random Japanese sentence: 私はこの猫の世話をしなければならない。 I have to look after this cat.

It'll be a bit of a squeeze (understatement!) to hold this in my suite. The common room's probably the best place. I won't have access to the fridge, though, so the ice cream will be all melted... Hmm. What's the best way for me to go about doing this? I need some party-planning help.

Oooh, I should plan a halo-halo party for summer, too. It's so weird here - their summer starts in _June_...

On Technorati: party

Random Japanese sentence: 彼女がドアを開けるやいなや猫が走り出た。 No sooner had she opened the door than a cat ran out.

My darling capybaras - or more formally - dear friends:

It's a long weekend, that won't be too long for the people here at Adphoto. Work came in for Saturday and Sunday (we're happy to be working!). Nonetheless, Monday is a holiday so for those of you stuck in Manila, we must celebrate ;) Besides, why would you want to miss out on all the fun?

PERTINENT DETAILS

CAPYBARA* NIGHT II: May Day, mayday! (or will it be May Day Melee? Time will tell, but if you trust us, you can bring a friend ;) ) 1 May 2006 (monday)

ADPHOTO
(Address removed)

RSVP: Monday morning at 11 - (email and phone number removed)

Start: Staggered, depending on your personality type. ;)

Dinner served at 7:30

Expect to finish by 10:30

What the heck is a capybara? Think of a guinea pig, make it 3 ft tall. That's a Capybara. Think of an experimental dish, you're the test subject... you're a capybara! ;)

—-

Following the success of the last CBN we've decided to do a follow up.

DINNER MENU

Starters:

Pumpkin - Curry soup & Pappadams (tried and tested, we just need to look for a new blender. The last one crashed on my foot, cementing one of our new HSE house rules. Wear shoes when cooking, the other one would be - cook beside a fire extinguisher :) - I'm kidding! I'm kidding! *<:o) )

Main Course:

Chicken with Prosciutto (bacon), Cherry tomatoes, and Asparagus.
I honestly don't know what it's called, and can't find the recipe (hence, mayday). I saw it on Discovery Channel though, Jamie Oliver rocks!!!! It looks simple, easy and mouth-watering. For those of you who live alone (and drink a lot!) it might be worthwhile for you to come and experiment with us. It's a one person dish and all you need is a stove and a can of wine or a glass of beer. We'll figure out the recipe and you can check it out on Claire's blog (Happy eclair, I don't know her surname) or Sacha's wiki (sacha chua of course) (don't know where they are, google it or click here. Unless someone wants to help me document capybara night, and we can put up a capybara blog.

Hybrid Risotto
I don't know if it's the real deal, but I promise you it tastes great and is easy enough to make alone. (Might actually be a risotto/ pilaf hybrid). Same risotto we've served in the last couple of years of CN (carnivore night).

Dessert
c/o The Shy Ones (they're bringing the goods)

—-

Here's the thing. THIS IS NOT MASS MAIL.... well not really. Okay, it's well thought out mass mail.

If you got this invite from me, please know that I've carefully considered the guest list, and I'm pretty sure you'll get along with the people who are coming. (if you don't live in the Philippines, then I thought you might find this funny, or get an idea for your next party) If you have a funny friend you'd like to bring, pass the message on. Ask them to email me for security clearance and psychological test. If they pass, we'll give them a sticker (e.g. Hi I'm Pedro, what's yours? ;) ).

If you got this invite from a friend of mine (or a friend of a friend) then they think highly enough of you to bring you along (I was kidding about the sticker and the psych test, but email me anyway so I know who you are. Remember to behave and bring your sense of humor. You are not gatecrashing, you are welcome! Read on!

Brilliant (or hungry) Marcelle who BTW requested to hold the CBN follow-up, suggested that guests pitch in with the dinner production so it becomes cost effective for the host (me) and so we can hold it more often (Yay!). Following this month's raid at the Bombproof store, and getting axed with taxes, I heartily agree. :)

So how does it work?

CAPYBARA SORTER

just for dinner (be here by 7 if you want to be a Capybara)
There are those among us who are either really shy or really busy. It's okay, you don't have to be there while we attempt to cook. Dinner will be served at 7.30pm. You can bring us ready-made appetizers, salad, something to drink or dessert. It's just fair. :) For those of you who feel like they'd fall under this category. Please reply to this email with SHY CAPYBARA under the subject category. It would be wonderful to see you still don't worry.

coming to cook for dinner
And learn a new dish too! Be here by 5:30 pm. Please reply to this email with CAPYBARA CHEF under the subject category. We will email you which ingredient to bring. If you can't make it to that time, SMS us EARLY (number removed) so we can go into crisis-resolution mode and swing by the supermarket. (Kinda hard to make a chicken recipe without the chicken)

coming to shop
All aboard! We're taking a field trip to the nearest supermarket and deli. Bring Php. 200 - 300, we'll all pitch in for dinner (the more, the many-er! ;) ) Please be here by 3 pm. We need to get organized. Please reply to this email with SHOPPING CAPYBARA under the subject category. See you here

requiring Environmental/ Behavioral Enrichment
Find yourself pacing lately? Or engaging in stereotypical/ self destructive behaviors (plucking hair/ nail-biting). Come and be enriched. I'll make you a puzzle feeder for dinner. ;) some ideas

Either that or you just really miss me, which is fine. :) Yeah, yeah, you can come to the house as early as you want (after 10 am... otherwise you'll meet a grumpy monkey.) Bring your favorite DVD (Marcelle, nothing too cheesy), your favorite set of clothes, or a board/bored game. We'll figure out what to do with you when you get here.

Whew! That was a long invite....

Anyway, looking forward to seeing you here!

Warmest regards,

Kathy Chua
Head Capybara

On Technorati: party, kathy

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

It was amazing how quickly they took me in and made me feel welcome. Upon hearing that I'd graduated from Ateneo, no fewer than three Atenistas started chatting with me about our alma mater. Then there were questions about high school, grade school (turns out a number of them had also been associated with St. Scholastica's College), the diabolo I brought... And of course, the brownies were a big hit.

What really made me melt, though, was how they repeatedly referred to the Philippines as home. Even those who had moved as far back as 1988 still had very active connections with the Philippines, still thought of retiring (or at least skipping the Canadian winter) in the Philippines to teach. With all of our tsk-tsk-tsking over the political messes the country gets itself into, there was still that underlying pride in our country.

And oh, how Filipino we were last night. From discussions of traditional delicacies to musings on the lyrical properties of deep Filipino, it was an evening celebrating our culture. Top it all off with truly horrendous puns (like the name of an actual salon: Scissors Palace), another Filipino specialty, and you've got a night to remember.

I had a lot of fun teaching Gretchen how to do the diabolo, and by the end of the night both she and Leslie could get it spinning pretty quickly. Tito Gil made very passable and amusing attempts. He's a natural comic and performer, positively twinkling with energy and joy. I'd like to be like that when I grow old! It'll take me years to gain the kind of ease and confidence he had, though... Amazing, really.

What a fantastic group of people! I'm really, really glad I had an opportunity to meet them, and I hope to get to know them better over the next couple of years.

そのコンピュータはかなり時代遅れだったので役に立たなかった。 The computer was so outdated that it was good for nothing.

On Technorati: filipino, philippines, party, friends

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

I want to know what people's interests and plans are so that I can keep an eye out for interesting information and opportunities while I'm there. I also plan to throw another party when I get back, reviewing people's goals and finding out how far we are in achieving them.

Start thinking about who you want to be in two years and what you want to do. Come to the Enrique studio, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. We're next to Mercury Drug. Map: 2005.07.06#5 Time: 1 - 5, program at 3. Traditional Filipino snacks will be served. =)

See you there!

このコンピュータ１年前に買ったばかりなのに、もうすっかり時代遅れだわ。 I bought this computer one year ago and it's already a dinosaur. [F]

On Technorati: party

私はコンピューターについてあまり知識がない。 I don't know much about computers.

On Technorati: party

I'll be holding my despedida and advanced birthday party on July 9, 2005 (Saturday). Sorry about the short notice, but it was so hard to plan anything not knowing if I'd actually be leaving.

Sacha's 22nd birthday party and 2nd despedida

http://www.adphoto.com.ph/uploads/Main/map.gif

Don't bring gifts. My baggage allowance is too small. ;) I would, however, really really appreciate it if you could write me a letter telling me what you've been up to this last year (or last N years, depending on when we last talked). We're also going to talk about our plans for the next two years, so spend some time thinking about your two-year plan (what you want to do) and be prepared to share it with everyone in a speech of maybe a minute or two.

Come and hang out. I want to know what you're interested in, and I want you to get to meet other people I know just in case you find that you've got similar interests and goals.

Light snacks will be served.

This is pretty much an open party, so if you know people who know me and don't mind talking about their goals and giving advice or whatever for about a minute or two, drag them along. =)

COME!

そのコンピュータは最新式だ。 The computer is up to date.

On Technorati: canada, gradschool, party

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

Dr. Oposa had some dance instructors over. Had tons of fun ballroom dancing, particularly doing the swing. I love dancing. =)

彼女の猫、また四匹も産んだんだ。 Her cat had another four kittens.

On Technorati: party, dancing

Ended up going with my sister, my godfather and his nephew. We went to the Absolut party in Rockwell, where I ran into an old friend from the Calf Upstairs. Then we went to Cafe Havana, and I seriously, seriously missed dancing.

Interesting. It's not as alien as it used to be.

No, I didn't drink anything.

ネコはへいの割れ目を通り抜けた。 The cat went through a gap in the fence.

On Technorati: kathy, party