www.CCLozano.com

Speed Racer

2008-05-03T13:39:00.004+08:00

The Wachowski brothers are at it again--writing, directing, and producing the live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese anime series Speed Racer.

Looking forward to May 8, when good movies (such as this I think) make you watch (them).

Let the love shine

2008-04-28T08:01:00.002+08:00

This is a nice horoscope to jumpstart my workweek:

Even if you aren't always emotionally expressive, you are sincerely interested in the well-being of everyone in your life. Today, however, your feelings can be transformed into little actions, which clearly demonstrate what's in your heart. Let the love shine through in all that you do for others.

We Librans are externally deadma but deep inside we think of nothing but love (and making it) hehehe.

Shop TV's Summer Shindig

2008-04-26T12:57:00.006+08:00

Mocha heating up the show--all the real men were breathless

Skinny ladies and muscular men--it's the order of the day

My hardworking ASC girls--Love, Jessica, Beng, and Jean

We were at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati yesterday to help out on Shop TV's Summer Shindig. The party, attended by cable operators and participants of this year's PCTA convention (held in Crowne Plaza Ortigas), is courtesy of Home Shopping Network and featured Mocha and a fashion show of Mossimo and Nothing But Water apparel.

If you're watching Business & Leisure over at Shop TV, you might catch me in an ambush interview. Shop TV is at Destiny Cable CH9 and SkyCable CH13.

Posers' and losers' coffee fix

2008-04-21T18:00:00.007+08:00

I have never (craved/felt so addicted to) cold coffee than today--what with the sweltering summer wave striking as early as 10 in the morning.

I once thought, people lining up at posh coffee shops are either posers or losers--passing precious hours chit-chatting, flicking cigarettes butt after butt, sipping frosted, cream-topped, chocolate-chipped coffee, like its commercial rice that's too expensive you're RICH simply for being seen having it. Did that thought ever go away?

The soft-leather couches, jazz music, and ambient surrounding add to the relaxing vibe--hear its animated patrons (mostly young, call center dudes) laughing out loud, texting (or snapping camphone pictures), and getting closer/cozier--you'd think these are lucky people you can't help but envy.

Neither a poser or loser, I gave in to coffee's allure, never mind that I was never unlucky.

Hard path in front? WTF

2008-04-21T07:33:00.003+08:00

My horoscope today by Rick Levine:

There is a hard path in front of you, yet you can do what's necessary and still live your life in your own special way, even if this looks easy to others. Now, more than ever, your discipline can combine with a solid work ethic to stage a significant payoff. Don't think about cashing in your chips just yet. Rewards will follow if you just keep plodding along.

Hmm, just when did I ever had the opportunity to cash-in any chips?

It's 4am I must be lonely

2008-04-21T07:15:00.002+08:00

Either I'm getting old or putting on more weight, I sleep shorter hours and wake up earlier than usual. I'm in my mid-30s and will soon sing life begins at 40 but I couldn't help but think have I been there and done that? Not exactly how I want to be asked, but suddenly, when it's 4am and everyone else's snoring, you're quick to think that you're all alone, waiting to be wasted.

Welcome to the death highway

2008-04-16T15:30:00.004+08:00

EDSA is supreme when it comes to traffic. But EDSA (or any other thoroughfare) is nothing compared to Commonwealth Avenue's wealth of driving hazards, thanks to its more famous name death highway.

If your daily drive or commute is via this widened road in Quezon City, consider these obstacles:

non-reflectorized concrete barriers or signs you hardly notice day or night time
pedestrians crossing anywhere, anyhow
overloaded motorcycles left and right, cutting or overtaking carelessly
buses (no matter the size) swerving in 'king of the road' terrorizing speed
jeepneys loading and unloading anywhere, anyhow
new U-turn slots covering 2-3 lanes (and that irritating pink fences)

There might be more I missed mentioning, but what's worst, there's no police visibility here.

Our car was once bumped by another car that appeared (unnoticed) from a no-u-turn slot (right after the St. Peter church)--good thing my driver steered quickly that our front left wheel mag was bumped instead (undamaged), while the culprit dented his bumper (good thing it's Nissan plastic), who later approached us very apologetic (he smelled of liquor). No police or MMDA personnel around. Nothing bad happened but it was a terrible experience, at least for me, that every time we pass by that area, I would hold my breath (pedestrians, kids mostly, rushing to cross appear instead).

Commonwealth avenue, if the government even cares about the voters passing through it, truly is one hell of a (daily) ride. Guerrilla or defensive driving is best practiced here, or you might end up adding to the rising statistics of unnecessary death highway casualties.

We can't get no satisfaction

2008-04-14T07:51:00.004+08:00

In its satisfaction survey of the Philippine president(s) performance, the Social Weather Stations ask this question:

Please tell me how satisfied you are in the performance of (name) as President of the Philippines. Are you VERY SATISFIED, SOMEWHAT SATISFIED, UNDECIDED IF SATISFIED OR NOT, SOMEWHAT DISSATISFIED, VERY DISSATISFIED, or YOU HAVE NOT EVER HEARD OR READ ANYTHING ABOUT (NAME)?

And in the SWS website indicator page, you'll find this graph of one of the survey summaries, with the falling curves like saying we're going to the dogs in glorious pink, while the rest of us would've rather not ever heard or read anything about [your choice of president].

Hello Monday

2008-04-14T06:17:00.003+08:00

Our alarm was halfway to ringing its loud bell when our driver knocked on our door. It's 4 o' clock in the morning, it's time to leave the soft bed, and greet the foggy morning with a warm smile.

It's another day, a Monday of tight schedule, piled-up paperwork, urgent phone calls, and the seemingly non-stop meetings. I used to have that not-going-to-the-office feeling every Monday, what with the scary workload ahead and this inner fear of making big mistakes--but I got over that already. You learn that, by loving your work and accepting that you have a responsibility to be of help to others, you have a purpose. And that you learn, big time, from the smallest to the biggest mistakes you commit (work and otherwise).

Monday, as the day that signals the start of a new busy week, is my morning sunshine--you can't help but smile it came.

PayPal for PI actually works

2008-04-12T13:45:00.002+08:00

Yes, it does, though I realized only recently.

PayPal.com and all its money sending/receiving features are available to users with credit/debit cards/bank accounts in the Philippines. I signed up to an account just this April and the process is actually fast and easy.

This provides Filipinos working on outsourced/online projects more flexibility in billing and getting paid (or making payments). I see it as a safer way of shopping (for over-taxed gadgets) online.

When 'deadma' is the order of the day

2008-04-12T13:30:00.004+08:00

And in all your unsuspecting demeanor, you find out somebody's sleeping on the job and forgot to not reveal proof of lack of competence. When you're too good a boss, you probably aren't for keeping them. Either them or me who's deadma.

Nokia 'Tube' the iPhone killer?

2008-04-11T14:04:00.005+08:00

Nokia unveiled a touchscreen device they're working on, what they codenamed as 'Tube' supposedly an iPhone challenger, at the Evans Data Developer Relations Conference, which could debut before the the year ends.

Given Nokia's penchant for unconventional execution of what's technologically beautiful, expect Nokia Tube to have iPhone features plus its powerhouse of Nseries capabilities--3G/HSDPA/Wi-Fi connectivity, Java applications, A-GPS, mobile TV, 5-megapixel camera with flash, and its own brand of multimedia and office productivity tools.

Either Nokia, the world's number 1 mobile phone maker, is keeping its promise of releasing a better touchscreen phone or it's simply prepping up the market as Apple is soon to come out with a 3G iPhone.

Whatever, good for us, we're not locked in with few, but presented with more choices.

Flickr has video sharing

2008-04-10T16:20:00.004+08:00

Flickr.com, one of Yahoo's many online properties, is now offering video uploading and of course sharing. While it's only limited to up to 90 seconds (for Pro members) of running time, let's not forget that Flickr.com is first and foremost a photo-sharing website, and video is intended to complement many of its snap-shot-sharing features.

A good note, though, is that Flickr.com has doubled its photo uploading limit for members with free accounts--up to 10MB per photo. Enjoy...

Let's face it, we have a food problem that's getting worst

2008-04-10T14:12:00.005+08:00

If any, the long lines of people waiting to get at least a kilo of the government-subsidized (NFA) rice can be an indication of this looming food-shortage crisis. Or is this simply economics doing its scientific wonders (via the overly used law of supply and demand)? Are we Filipinos to blame for panicking, when there's actually a lot of other commercial rice available (priced as high as P60 per kilo) but instead we scour the metro to get a few kilos of NFA rice, knowing that this is supposedly for the less-privileged (but we're buying anyway because it's what we can afford and just so we're sure there's enough to eat)?

And this same staple, selling now at P18.25, will soon be sold at a higher price (what with our heavy import losses caused by the continuing rise in world rice prices). Would the less than $10 a day earnings of a typical Filipino worker still keep him nourished then?

I think this is rather a clear indication of Juan dela Cruz's losing his faith in the present government, a government that is too busy cleaning up its messy scandals and dragging controversies and is doing nothing but keep itself look untainted by its own politicking. We are at a time when, we have nothing to count on but ourselves. Reminds me of the dog eats dog scenario--which I hope we don't end up in.

If there is really no reason to panic, why do I have this feeling that we Pinoys have to?

Joyride: Angeles, Pampanga

2008-04-08T11:31:00.001+08:00

It's the expected re-scheduled Araw ng Kagitingan holiday last Monday, and was perfect timing for the family to go to Angeles, Pampanga and attend my wife's aunt's birthday party (in their posh crib, in the subdivision where most expats working in Clark live). It was like 36 degrees Celsius hot! And the sumptuous variety of dishes, interesting chit-chats, money-betting card games, and ice-cold beer did nothing to stop a terrible headache. Some of the expat-wives thought I was a foreigner?! (Don't I look Pinoy anymore?!)

My kids were all too sleepy (and sweaty) to strike a pose.

Videoke day at the office

2008-04-06T10:44:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, we had our first chill out activity at the office--it's videoke day! Unlike our usual Fish! and Wacky Work days, this sing-your-heart-out-eat-a-lot-of-junk-food activity did not require so much preparation (and take much of agents' time) in fact, I did most of the work.

It's fun--seeing and hearing each agent interpret a song that somehow reflects the personality--and can't help but laugh out loud as we try to outperform each other by avoiding getting out of tune, doing hilarious dance moves and antics, and keeping the score at least 80.

It was a feat, hehehe.

Say goodbye to our American Idol bet this season

2008-04-03T13:22:00.004+08:00

The cute and sweet Ramiele Malubay, our Fil-Am bet in this year's American Idol, gets eliminated. At least she's joining the tour, if that's any consolation.
Image by Fox

Your ticket to the Beijing Olympics 2008

2008-04-01T17:48:00.003+08:00

Head on to the NBC Tent at The Fort on April 3 and join Solar Sports' launch party of the Beijing Olympics 2008 coverage.

And if you're lucky, you might win tickets to see the games live in Beijing China!

I love volleyball!

2008-03-31T17:54:00.004+08:00

While my wife Lhen plays volleyball and cares for nothing when the game's on--this is why I love this sport...
Photo from Business Mirror, Ateneo vs. Thai at The Arena in San Juan

Lost in MH Del Pilar

2008-03-31T08:08:00.004+08:00

JR, Angelica, Queenie, CCLozano, and Jessica

CCLozano and Mama Sexy

Congratulations to Lovely Navera, my sister Lina's daughter who graduated last Saturday--after her board she'll be the first Architect in the family. Yesterday was the celebration, and while we had a hard time looking for MH Del Pilar where they live (the house on construction's designed by Lovely), it became a family reunion of sorts. My sister's spouse happens to have just arrived from Saudi--gave up my classic Guns N' Roses T-shirt from Brazil for him--Atoy, after a few shots of gin was crying with the thought the graduate already has a boyfriend and will soon tie the knot (a typical fatherly reaction). Two years have easily gone by and my pamangkins have all grown up (JR doesn't look his age but looks like the mini-me of Kuya Boy). Mother was of course very proud, of my sister and her apos. Makes me wonder, how I'll react if I were in Atoy's shoes?

3G iPhone by June?

2008-03-29T08:29:00.004+08:00

Already speculated last year, Apple's expected to launch its high-speed, 3G iPhone around the time it holds its annual developer conference in June this year. Of course Apple representatives decline to make any comments.

Well as for our dear PI, I wonder if Apple is ever launching the iPhone formally here. I mean, essential to iPhone's many features is the iTunes store, which until now is not open to Filipinos (although you can make purchases by means of gift cards you can buy from other sites).

While his royal IT-highness Steve Jobs sees Manila as the copy-from-the-original capital or land of the media pirates, closing its doors to us only encourages (read: legitimizes) piracy or illegal downloading. What to do when you have an iPod that can store thousands of your favorite old and new songs (and movies)?

At its first launch, a day or so iPhones were already available here (costing an arm and a leg though). That's how fast and tech-savvy we Pinoy are. And I don't think it's going to get any different when the 3G iPhone finally comes out.

Wow, I have PageRank?

2008-03-28T14:25:00.003+08:00

I know this blog's read, but to actually have at least 1/10 PageRank by Google, when I haven't been blogging regularly, that's a wow.

If I lose the ranking tomorrow, then I's probably guinea-pigged by Google who's fooling around with their system yet again.

Into the Wild

2008-03-25T13:42:00.001+08:00

In the best-selling book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer extends the sad story of Christopher McCandless, who's body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness.

Inspired by the article he wrote for the Outside, Krakauer retraces the travels of Chris McCandless (known early on under the moniker Alex Supertramp) and interprets what could have pushed this intelligent young man to give up his family, his huge savings, his car and what's left in his wallet to begin his misadventures in the snow-covered trails of Alaska. Imagine living only with roots, berries, (and a few game like moose) for food. Chris McCandless reportedly died of starvation, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happened, as described in detail by Krakauer.

I came across this book because of the movie soundtrack, a solo by Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam's front man). Yes, this has been adapted into a movie with the same title directed by Sean Penn, with Emile Hirsch getting an Oscar nomination this year for his performance as Chris McCandless.

This book gave me the melancholy I needed last Holy Week--it made me think that there are misadventures that are funny or stupid for most but are actually empowering for some.

Our Manaoag trip

2008-03-16T10:45:00.006+08:00

With no preparation at all but have decided to go anyway, we marked the 15th of March to pay a long-delayed visit to Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. Waking up at 12am (with only about an hour of sleep) was a feat, keeping wide awake proved to be more challenging. At 2am, we were up and about--my wife, her sister and mom, with Marvin who's driving the car.

Julia Rose, that's the black Toyota Corolla Altis, looked and played her part very well--the usually 4-hour long drive only took us less than 3 hours--she's longing for the road trip and she did the treading with ease like a princess of the well-paved NLEX road.

We lit candles, said the required prayer, lined up in the already long queue of devotees waiting their turn to rub their what-have-yous to Our Lady of the Manaoag image, and then attended the hourly mass. The mass, said in the traditional hymns and touchy verses, was overwhelming--it was the feast of Saint Joseph--and it was difficult not to listen. We bought small souvenirs, then went off to take our breakfast of fried Tilapia and steamed white rice. Dau being a stopover, we went to Angeles to visit my wife's relatives, and eat lunch there. By 4pm, we're home with the fondest of our joyrides.

Real Chefs: A Documentary

2008-03-05T11:34:00.005+08:00

The special screening of Real Chefs: A Documentary by Shop TV and Gourdo's Inc. at the Cinema 2 of Greenbelt 1. Later that evening, Gourdo's World Market (at Greenbelt 2) had its ribbon-cutting ceremonies and opened its doors to guests (and walk-in customers).

All smiles--I, with Jessica and Love, enjoyed the film--it showcased our very own chefs as they work their way in bagging the gold team competition in last year's HOFEX (an international food and hospitality tradeshow in Hong Kong). Need not be a gourmand to appreciate the documentary, it was funny and entertaining (I could hear my stomach grumbling 'dinner, it's late').