Dreamwalker

"Everyone should have a notebook this advanced. And now everyone can."

Or so says Steve Jobs, who has been magically convincing people to pay considerable amounts of money for his creations. One thing you cannot argue with, though, is that the MacBook Air is indeed advanced.

Yesterday, I was surprised that the new MacBook Airs had arrived in the Philippines. I knew they were coming, but I thought it would take another week at least. Needless to say, the surprise was very pleasant. Understatement of the year.



So I now I find myself with a 13-inch MBA with 128 GB of flash storage, and I only have three words to describe my new baby/source of livelihood/toy.
Fast. Everyone has been talking about how fast the new MBAs are. The benchmarks testify to that. One thing: you really won't appreciate just how fast these babies are until you use them. When they say instant shut down, they mean instant. Even with all the programs I need installed, I still find myself amazed at h…

A couple of weekends ago, my friends and I embarked on an adventure, which was of course focused on food. We decided to get out of our little comfort zone called Eastwood and go back to our roots - the UP area. Our target was this cafe called "Van Gogh is Bipolar" - how can you not want to try out a place with a name like that?

Unfortunately, we weren't able to find it easily, and we ended up at a cozy restaurant called "Kiss the Cook".
Located at 59 Maginhawa St., UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City, the restaurant has a very welcoming look to it. They have this tiny kitschy boutique at a corner inside. As I said, though, food was the main thing that night, and for that reason, the boutique didn't get much attention.
The interior was very comfy - and so was the seating, with lots of pillows!
The menu looked interesting, with the prices being very reasonable.
I highly recommend the French Onion Soup - which you can easily find in other places, but Kiss the Co…

Earlier this week, I had the chance to eat at Mr. Jones, a little diner at Greenbelt 5. I had passed by the establishment several times in the recent months, but I have to admit that it didn't really call out to me. Then again, with all the things you find in that area (anything from diners to shops selling high end kitchenware to avo cigars cheap to lingerie to artisan bread shops - name it, you'll find it somewhere), it's really not surprising if you overlook a shop or two.

In any case, Mr. Jones was a pleasant discovery. I didn't really get a chance to take lots of photos, but I was able to take a couple. I was meeting up with friends, and we tried the Angus Beef Tapa (thin slices of beef marinated in soy and vinegar, with lots of pepper and garlic) and the Superman Burger.

The Man of Steel himself would balk at having to finish the two thick patties for breakfast. I am not sure why the Swiss and EU flag are there, though.
Good morning, sunshine! This was the mos…

It has been hellish in Manila for the past days. If it ever rained in hell, that is. Typhoons all over the place just get your mood down, even if the temperature change does feel nice.

After days and days of rain, I am looking forward to filling up my beach meter again. Next week, I head over to Bohol for some sun - I hope!

Even though I have to work like a dog till then, I am creating a checklist of must-bring things:
Camera AND battery. The last time I went away, I had mistakenly left the batter in the charger, which was plugged in. I could have borrowed batteries from my sister but all she had were canon batteries. Sucked to be me, but I have learned my lesson since then!

Laptop AND power cord
Mobile phone
Clothes

I am SO ready to see this sight again:



Dear typhoons, please stay away from the Philippines next week!t

There was one excited panda at the mall the other day when she caught a glimpse of this Ferrari case for the iPhone. Needless to say, there was no question about buying the case.

At least that's what I learned in the past week. In my previous post, I briefly said something about a horrible experience with Globe Customer Service Agents. Looking back, I suppose I was exaggerating. It was not good, but it was not really that horrible.

It started on the 30th of June, when I dialed 211 (every Globe subscriber knows this number by heart) to inquire about the possibility of getting an iPhone 4 since my contract is ending in August. They have this rewards system which gives you all sorts of bonuses after a certain period has gone by - in this case, the end of my lock-in period.

There really was no issue with the first call - everything was straightforward. I could get the iPhone for x amount under my current plan. It would be delivered when I got back from Cebu. Perfect.

Then it was pointed out to me (after I had hung up) that I would be making huge savings on the x amount I needed to pay for the phone if I upgraded my plan. Within 30 minutes of the first cal…

Anyone who knows me (in person) knows that I have been lusting (for the lack of a better word) for the iPhone ever since it was announced. I also have been postponing getting one, mainly because of my kakuriputan (I guess stinginess is a good translation).

Then came the opportunity - my contract with Globe is ending in August, and I apparently qualified for a "reward". This simply meant a discounted iPhone. Sure, I had to go up to a higher plan to get the substantial discount, but it meant that I didn't have to go and check out payday loans to pay for the phone. Seriously, I actually got a nice deal after some help figuring out which set up was the best.

So now I have my new baby, Casey. After four (five?) long years...

Photo taken by Kvothe (Nokia E63). Of course, I also had to immediately get a case.
Pretty, huh? When I find time, I'll write a more detailed post about how this all happened. (Hint: harrowing experience with customer service, but all's well that…