I Told You I’ll Be Back

As promised, I’m back.

I was looking for my old blogs and works on the net when I realized that I have no more outlet for my musings and wanderings. So while my personal blog (which isn’t really that personal) features a variety of things in general, I’m keeping this blog for my thoughts. If my blogs were a photoshoot, then this page would be the behind-the-scenes.

What have I been up to lately?

Well a series of unwanted and surprising events bombarded me. I turned 27 last month, met a lot of new people (interesting people, at that), got sick, got heartbroken, and got back up.

At present I’m more into music. I am forming a band in Los Banos, trying to mix up Student Meal with new members and new song, trying to cover songs with my trusty guitar, doing drills on the piano, and yeah, writing songs.

I got really inspired when I got back to my hometown for a photo exhibit by Daniel. Ivan and I have been deliberating on spearheading and organizing a free photography workshop for budding photographers in town (who mostly have cameras but don’t know how to use them). Actually this will be the second time we’ll be doing this since in 2008 we’ve already organized the same workshop.

Back to music. I think this is a good opportunity to feature one of my best discoveries in the indie OPM scene: Dream Carousel. I first heard their music while my friends and I were drinking in LB Square.

(My favorite song “Merry-Go-Round”)

Last week I met a lot of new faces in UPLB, most of which were into arts and literature. I cannot name them all but thanks to Alex for broadening my horizons in my small hometown. Certainly, this is the best way to move on.

-over and out-

~S

I’ve Moved!

SheenahTan.net

Hey people, Sheenah Tan has now moved. There’s no reason to fret since I will also be updating this blog from time to time. Please visit my new website and ‘Like’ my page on Facebook, orayt?

My Last Entry (Because the World is Going to End Tomorrow)

YES, PEOPLE, THE WORLD IS GOING TO END TOMORROW.

So let’s make most of the remaining hours of the day (assuming that you’re in the Philippines or its neighboring countries).

I have the urge to…

-Troll pages that have dates beyond May 21, 2011. Case in point, http://i.imgur.com/ymMJ5.jpg. DONE

-Urge men to come out of the closet no matter how manly they are. ALMOST DONE. ON TWITTER

-Get drunk, and when I say drunk, I mean dead drunk. IMPOSSIBLE

-Spend all money I have. RIDICULOUS

I laughed my buns out when somebody said “Christians will all go to heaven! The earth becomes more spacious to atheists!” Because the May 21, 2011 end of the world hullabaloo is based on Christian beliefs (which I don’t really get), those who do not believe will either float with the earth’s debris or go to hell. LOL.

The thing is, if we’re gonna base the end of the world with Japan tsunami, terrorism, floods, and all that jazz, the world might give in but not tomorrow. No amount of science can back that up, except if NASA reports a massive comet is going to collide to earth (and I bet Bruce Willis can save the day, still).

I am not shocked that these press releases are scaring the shit out of many. I’ve been seeing that May 21, 2011 prints on buses and billboards in Manila. So tell me again, is it 2012 or tomorrow?

I’d like to partially believe that the world is going to end tomorrow for booze binging and partying reasons (call me shallow but I’m just living up to the saying “party like there’s no more tomorrow”) but I really can’t. It’s an inconvenient truth.

So for whatever it’s worth, I’d like to stir up the May 21, 2011 shenanigans by posting this entry. You’re welcome; I’m just doing the Lord’s work.

The Very Convenient Discovery

I AM NOT the type of girl who knows every brand of make-up, which boutique is on sale, or what shade of eye shadow matches my dress but nevertheless, I still get to use what every girl should use: pantyliners.

I am in a band. I am the drummer in our school band, which is composed of a female vocalist and male guitarists. Sitting in front of the drumset during rehearsals,  gigs and jamming sessions can be pretty uncomfy down under and because of that I need the utter convenience I could get to be able to stay on the, well, rhythm.

I discovered the wonders of Charmee years ago when I was still in search for a good pantyliner. The previous one I used was too expensive and it made me feel like I was wearing a cardboard down under. The other brands I tried got crumpled, displaced or folded. Those brands were definitely not my choice of convenience.

Charmee Pantyliners Unscented, my choice of protection

I prefer using the unscented Charmee pantyliners. I carry a pack in my bag always. During band rehearsals when comfort is greatly needed, I don’t have to worry about changing pads frequently. I can go on playing the drums for hours and still feel clean and comfortable. I don’t have to lose my poise repositioning my pants when I stand up, which will only result in jeers and more jeers from bandmates. I have been there and I tell you, it made me feel like wanting to just wear a paper bag on my head while hitting the snare, toms and cymbals.

I also used to feel uncomfy and insecure in public with my previous brands of pantyliner. I had this thought that people were looking at me because something was wrong with my back. It was so embarrassing to always stop and look behind. It was like I was acknowledging my own insecurity. In public.

I wasted my money and time on the most popular brand of pantyliner but at least I discovered Charmee sooner. It is thick but soft and it stays in place even when I was walking or running. It has a good packaging and it fits perfectly in my purse. Also, it is not as expensive as the most popular pantyliner brand. Charmee is already my choice of pantyliner and for me it is the best. Indeed, it is not with the brand popularity or price or expensive and insistent advertising; it IS with the quality.

I am very particular with the brands I use when it comes to hygiene and self-maintenance. When I discover *my* brand, I stick to it. I do not have to look more for new brands and again scout for the best. It is like I already know each brand – its looks, price and varieties. My choice of brands is my identity and even if I am not the “girl” type of girl, I still know how to stay clean, look good, feel comfortable and convenient without having to spend a lot.

I recommend Charmee Pantyliners to every girl out there. To find out more about Charmee, visit:

Charmee.com.ph
Charmee on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

I’m blogging about my shampoo brand soon.

Gilmore: A Haven for PC Users

Gilmore is an Avenue in Quezon City (part of New Manila) that is best known for cheap computers and peripherals. If you want to save money in your computer purchases, take a safe trip to Gilmore and be amazed.

LRT 2 Gilmore Station - Google Maps

Located just below LRT 2 Gilmore Station is a street with malls and stores that purely sell computers (laptops, desktops), accessories and software. If you ever have been to Hidalgo in Manila, imagine the same look of the street only this time, it’s computers and not cameras.

One side of Gilmore Ave

There are big and small computer stores in Gilmore Ave. IT Center is the biggest mall in the avenue and it holds three floors of computer stores. Outside the mall are more stores.

I cannot forget when Microsoft Windows had a massive promotion in the area. I was scouting for my Vaio’s memory when some Windows promoters handed me refreshments with the Windows logo. They were giving away freebies, which I gladly refused for reasons I cannot remember.

I bought my sister’s netbook (she named ‘Sheenah’)  in Gilmore. It was 17,500 if paid in straight cash. I checked the mall price and it was a little above 20,000. I got it for 17,500 with lots of freebies.

Stores in Gilmore accept credit cards but give big discounts to those who pay in cold cash. My strategy is to act as if I have the whole money in my pocket and that I’m ready to buy something right away. Sellers become excited with that and hence will make bargains. You can haggle.

Many would complain that Gilmore isn’t very accessible. Well, not really.

There are only three ways I know of getting there (from south):

1. Via EDSA: Via MRT/LRT 2 – Take the MRT northbound to Cubao. From Gateway, take the LRT 2 (southbound) to Gilmore Stn.

2. Via EDSA: Bus/LRT 2 – Take the bus to Cubao Farmer’s (usual city buses from Baclaran to North Ave), then go to Gateway Mall and take the LRT 2 southbound to Gilmore Station.

3. Via Pasay/Manila: LRT 1/LRT 2 – Take the LRT 1 northbound to Doroteo Jose Station. Take the long walkway (near FEU) to LRT 2 Recto Station (terminal station) From there, take the LRT 2 northbound to Gilmore Ave.

If you don’t want to take the risk, take the cab. It will pass by shortcuts. From Makati, it will probably take the Zamora Bridge to Sta. Mesa and go straight to Gilmore. Just a precaution: as much as possible take the cab from Gilmore (if you already purchased anything) to a safer place. Snatchers and robbers still find computers attractive.

Be sure that when you go to Gilmore, you already know what you’re looking for. Some fixers there will give you more options and it’s best for you to have a fair knowledge of what you need so you’ll be ready to be bombarded with other deals.

Gilmore is a haven to those computer users with the longing to save. Do not worry about products being pirated or non-legit; you can always check the authenticity, plus, scammers in Gilmore will get caught easily.

So come down to Gilmore for some techie adventure.

ABS CBN Harapan on RH Bill

I have never seen so many Filipinos gather on Twitter to give their two cents about a very controversial issue in the Philippines. This is about the RH Bill on ABS CBN Harapan. The pulse and the debate was so intense that ANC had to make a really big deal out of one thing: the #harapan hashtag became the top worldwide trending topic during Harapan. That’s a side issue.

Harapan was live streamed on the ABS CBN news website and I am thankful it was. To be able to vote, Twitter users used the hashtags #harapan (the title of the show), #ipasa (pass the RH Bill) and #ibasura (reject the bill). The debaters, who seemed to have the authority for their claim (sugarcoated or not), were downright entertaining, let alone funny. The arguments of the anti-RH Bill supporters were repetitive and uhm, pointless.

Carlos Celdran, who came in the studio without much of an intense fashion sense, is the best speaker in the show for me. Joey Lina, who is anti-RH Bill, had an attempt to discuss reproduction but nonetheless got debunked. The priests did not contribute much but some speakers got too personal. Welcome to the intellectuals’ playground.

I myself did not go deeper into the debate. I did not bother but I swear this is not something I’d be dead apathetic about. Let me just share with you my Twitter timeline while the debate was happening:

Twitter Timeline 1: for the church

I swear that Tweet above isn’t a rhetorical question. Feel free to answer through comments.

Twitter timeline 2: Sex education

Sex education entails thousands of loopholes, which is why it stirs a lot of controversies. To be honest, I think this is the least relevant part of the debate and the bill, and I was not really interested on what each speakers had to say.

Twitter timeline 3

Let me just share with you where my troll post went:

Harapan website: I trolled

Sorry, I can’t help it. The airhead speaker was from UP Diliman.

And the last…

Twitter timeline 4: the conclusion/s

Joey Lina, I voted for you.  Regardless of my wasted vote, I’m now glad you lost.

The text poll (oh I forgot to mention this very lucrative pulse means) results are *drumroll*

65.38% for #ibasura (anti RH Bill)
34.62% for #ipasa (pro RH Bill)

I do not accept defeat on this, why? It’s because text votes are very inaccurate. Who knows them priests urged their followers during their homily to vote in favor of them. Who knows they have more than enough cell phones or text bots to favor them? Oh, discrepancies.

My conclusion? RH Bill has to be passed. President Aquino fully supports it but is hindered by critics and devotees. Why can’t he give the bill a good pushing when he can do so? I thought he’s the president. (I do not mind his ratings to plunge or be piled deeper if he exercises his power; the text vote result isn’t real. IT ISN’T REAL.)

Anyway, I’m not gonna discuss with you my stance on this issue. You’re very welcome.

Now, contest me through comments and I’ll be your guest.

Movie Review: Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist

An early poster of Fast Five

Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist is the fifth installment of the Vin Diesel-Paul Walker movie Fast and Furious.

Short summary that doesn’t really spoil the movie:
The movie starts with Dominic Toretto (Diesel) who gets sentenced to years of imprisonment with no possible chance of parole. But of course he has made his way to freedom, and this time he lives it in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (making him the most wanted criminal in territories).

The story revolves around Dominic, Brian (Parker) and Mia (Brewster) and their new found team of the finest racers for them to have one last chance of freedom. In order to be free, they get face to face with Rio’s finest drug dealer.

The stunts
Oh yes, Fast and Furious will be nothing without the stunts. The train scene at the early part of the movie is insane. My heart was racing all throughout the stunts such as encounters with the much-obsessed cop Hobbs (Johnson). The final stunt is, as always, stunning. Hands down to Dom and Paul for being able to tow a massive vault without sacrificing the thing that made them famous (and notorious): speeding up.

Common things with the previous FF movies:
I cannot shrug off the fact that Fast Five contains snippets from the previous FF movies. Of course recurrent scenes and sub-stories are part of a movie series. Let me start with cops. Paul was a cop who went undercover in FF1 and eventually became allies with the Torettos. Paul let Dom escape but was still torn between his job and his friendship with Dom. The we-are-not-exactly-the-enemy-here stand does not go off. There has got to be a third party or some bad people between cops and the main characters (cannot aptly call them the heroes). Then, of course, the insane car speed and the jeerings during car race.

The title:
Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist is a good and not-so-good title. Fast Five (shortcut) is good, but I have some problems with Rio Heist. It deeply reminds me of one of the so-so movies of 2001. After watching the movie, somebody suggested that the title should be Fast Five: The Vault. I can’t not agree more.

The characters:
There are more interesting characters in this movie. First, Dom and Paul create a team of badass people to complete the misison. The sexy Gisele (Gadot) is a badass speed driver with a Korean lover Han (Kang). Ludacris and Don Omar join the gang. Funny scenes include lines from Roman (Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Leo (Calderon).

Dom finds an ally in Elena (Pataky), a cop who does her job passionately to get back on the bad guy Reyes (de Almeida) for killing her husband. Still not over Leticia’s death, Dom sees the sadness in Elena’s life. I just gave out a clue on who’s dating who in the end of the movie.

Mia takes the backseat as she is only limited to doing a few stunts.

Dom’s new elite team does a great mission with some satirical acts as side dish.

The final stunt is insane. And I swear I could have watched again a portion of the movie (about three minutes) that explains how the twist was done. It’s a mind fuck.

Don’t tell me that some stunts and scenes are impossible because Fast and Furious is about the impossible (sans the superhero stunts) but is still stunning.

I advise you not to leave your seat during the tail credit. Something comes up, something that involves a ghost.

All in all, I give this movie 5 out of 5. Vin Diesel did great in acting and producing the film, and as always, it has awesome stunts, lines, plot and cars.

There has got to be a sequel. I don’t really believe in ghosts.

Graduate School

I just heard the best news this day so far: I can continue my Master’s in an open university.

It’s obvious that I’m eyeing on University of the Philippines Open University. As always, I am more attached to UP than any other schools. I feel like there’s something I need to finish there, like a degree perhaps?

I chose an open university instead of the regular classroom setting since I am working, and I have Danah, and I am not really the school girl type (I swear, my college classmates both in UPLB and Lyceum can attest to that).  My degree in Communication is not enough.

(I am considering the law school, too, but that would require lots of time and money)

I have two open universities in mind. Here’s a SWOT analysis:

UP OPEN UNIVERSITY:

Strengths: it’s UP, it was established in 1995 (the other OU is still a baby); 5-minute drive from where I live

Weakness: the course I want and need isn’t offered

Opportunity: it will give me a good career and reputation

Threat: I might switch paths if I take my Master’s in Development Communication (the nearest, most related course)

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES OPEN UNIVERSITY

Strength: they offer Master in Communication (that’s my degree)

Weaknesses: the OU is still a baby; it’s in Manila (I still have to make an appearance at times)

Opportunities: stronger career path; more diversity

Threats: none

I have until next week to decide, which is why this blog post serves as a solicitation of all your advices.

I am really, really excited to study once again. I need this, and I need my future to be awesome.

Osama is Dead, What Now?

The existence of the Al Quaeda doesn’t cease after bin Laden’s death.

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group al Quaeda was announced dead by the White House an hour ago. Al Quaeda was behind the 9/11 attacks ten years ago.

CNN reported that Bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Abbottābad in Pakistan a week ago. The US government has acquired his body after a series of tests was conducted for verification.

Osama is dead, but what now?

It is an axiom in every group that when its leader dies, the next in line assumes the leader’s position. In Al Quaeda’s case, it will be very similar. After the 9/11 attacks, the world hunted for Bin Laden’s head but he was nowhere to be seen. Some say he lived a rat’s life to avoid captivity while some say he dug underground for shelter. All the same, he was alive but untraceable. Now Al Quaeda is sure to have its second man in line.

The world rejoices with Bin Laden’s death since it implies justice. However, the world, especially US, should not be complacent. A death of a terrorist leader only makes room for the worse things. It’s time to greatly increase security for a week, a month, a year, or even a couple of years.

President Obama is giving his address about Osama’s death right now.

Eight Evil Job Interview Questions Answered

I stumbled upon this article from EarthlingJobs.com and I thought of practicing probable evil job interviews in the future and sharing it with all of you. You’re welcome; it’s probably one of my many lost blog topics.

Being in the workforce for three years now, I still can’t say I’m a hustler when it comes to landing job interviews, answering job interviews and landing jobs. I just have my ways, like most of you. I’ve been to more than a dozen job interviews since 2008 and fortunately, I haven’t encountered the following evil questions (but I answered them nonetheless):

1. “Some of this job will be repetitive and mundane. Are you seriously okay with that?”

Every job has its mundane and repetitive moments. You get to do the some thing every now and then and it’s called routine, and yes I’m okay with that.

[Yes, even the most exciting job in the world can be quirky and boring at times. If it isn't, then you're working beyond your job description.]

2. “How have you managed to attend this job interview during office hours?”

I managed to be here because I filed a leave since being an employee, I am entitled to leaves — paid or not.

[Some companies would be pleased that you took off some of your office working hours for them. If the interviewer shows antagonistic feelings about it, just ask them how on earth are you going to make it to the job interview on a weekend.]

3. “You know what the job involves – which part do you think sounds the least appealing?”

The least appealing part in the job is the part where it becomes mundane and repetitive, just like any other jobs BUT I’m still up for the job.

[Just don't talk to much about this. You're just being honest, with reference to question #1.]

4. “What kind of person do you find it hard to work alongside?”

People who take things personally. I know it’s impossible not to take things personally, but this is the workforce, not some open forum wherein people get to dissect each other’s sentiments, grudges and whatnot.

5. “To be honest, you seem to be overqualified for this position…”

Thank you.

6. “You haven’t been in your current job very long – why?”

Because I need the time gap to rest and better myself [I'm serious] for my next job.

7. “Have you been attending other job interviews?”

Yes. Is that an issue?

[It shouldn't be an issue. You are weighing your options. It's just like bidding; whoever has the best deal wins.]

8. “What is your current salary?”

[This one is very sensitive, but for record's sake, disclose it.] Well, my current salary ranges from [think of two values that do not necessarily average your salary.] Say it with pride and without hesitation and make no room for further questions. Remember every company aims to cut costs and you don’t want to bargain yourself for the job.