WordCamp Philippines 2008

I’m sure you already know that WordCamp is coming to Manila on September 6, 2008 and if you have any idea what WordCamp is then like me, you must be freaking excited. So yep, you’re sure to find me at the Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater, College of Saint Benilde in Manila on that day. 

WordCamp is one of the premiere events in the blogging world and definitely THE event for Wordpress users and developers alike, which is why I am personally thankful to the folks over at  Mindanao Bloggers for getting this together. WordCamp Philippines is also brought you in part by: 

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia
• Orange County Business Lawyer

And yes! You read that right! i.PH is playing a part in all of this and I must say, I’m quite happy about that. So get your butts in gear and head on over here for more information and to get one of the few remaining slots so you can be there with us at WordCamp Philippines, the first one here in the country and all of South East Asia. If that’s not enough reason for you, then how about a chance to actually meet the man behind WP, Mr. Matt Mullenweg himself. Yep, I know for a fact that he’ll be there. So what are you still doing here? Click click! Go!

Super Late Buhay Coke ng Blogger’s Party Post

This is a ridiculously late post for an event that happened in Taste Asia over at SM MoA last Friday. What? You missed it? Well it sucks to be you then. You missed one great party. The food was good, the booze was overflowing, the Coke Zero, even more so. But of course, it was the awesome company that made the party even better. I was glad to see a small contingent of i.phers there. It’s nice to see the community growing and participating in these things. It was pretty cool to rub elbows with a lot of interesting bloggers as well. My cohorts from TMB were also there which meant that towards the end of the evening, things got pretty crazy which, trust me, is always a good thing. Anyway, because I seem to have reached a level of blogging suckitude that even I can’t stand, I’ll just share photos of some people who were there:

(more…)

A Birthday, A Ruined Treat and a Case of Libel in the Blogosphere

I was actually in a really good mood when I got to the office today. Sure, I’ve finally hit the big three-oh but I actually feel a hell of a lot healthier than I did 5 years ago. I was in such a good mood in fact that I was thinking of treating my officemates to some cheeseburgers.

Unfortunately I received a rather strongly worded email today that completely ruined my cheery disposition. Someone was demanding that we remove some allegedly libelous content from one of our user’s site. It went on to ask us to prevent our user from ever posting anything negative about him or his companies. As it is, we have been given 48 hours to comply or else face "adverse and strong action" against us. Whoopdeedoo!!!

I don’t know about you guys, but I seriously do not appreciate receiving threats on my freaking birthday!

At SM you’ve got it al…ways Coca-Cola.

SM Hypermarket and Coke are throwing us blogging folks a party called Buhay Coke ng Bloggers! The particulars are below: 

What: Buhay Coke ng Bloggers with SM Hypermarket (party ito!)
When: June 27, 2008, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Taste Asia (beside SM Hypermarket) at the Mall of Asia
Why: Para magsaya! Loads of prizes up for grabs!

To join, kindly REGISTER HERE. All bloggers who register and come also get a case of Coke Zero 330ml. How awesome is that?! 

Also, as obviously inspired by the new Coke ad, people who come in an angel or devil costume have a chance at bringing home even more prizes. I’ll definitely  be there! In fact, I already have a costume in mind! I hope I run into a lot of i.ph bloggers at the event too. So what are you waiting for? Sign up already! You know you want to.

A letter to my Beer Belly

My dearest Beer Belly,

It’s been nearly a decade since you showed up and since then, you’ve grown to become a really big part of my life. I remember at one point, when I tipped the scales at a whoping 230 pounds, I endearingly called you my ab. While I knew I had to lose you at some point, it was always easier to just keep you and not be ashamed of you and embrace you as part of who I am. I mean, you are quite literally a part of me, right? As such, I started to use the moniker, "The Human Walrus" both because I’ve always been a fairly strong swimmer and the fact that because of you my dear beer belly, I looked pretty much like a walrus when I was in the water. Sometimes, I even depended on you to keep me grounded. Whenever I found myself complaining about something, I would look down at you and realize that while I may not have everything that I want, I am still a lot better off. There were many people in the world who were starving for one reason or another. You were always there to remind me that I still lived in excess and I should be grateful for that.

 Me and Beer Belly in Boracay

As my 30th birthday looms ever closer however, I knew that I could not keep you for much longer, at least not without serious consequences to my health. So I started taking steps to get rid of you. I bought me a set of weights and tried my best to eat healthy. I took every opportunity burn off calories. I park farther from my office building not only to save on parking fees but more to force myself to take those few extra steps every day. Trips to the beach found me swimming hard instead of lazing around the shore hunting for camel toes and nip slips. The effort paid off to some degree. By the time this year started I was down to 200 pounds. It was then that I decided to lose you completely before I turn thirty. I sought to lose another 30 pounds. It was at this point that you became stubborn. The past five months have been a tug of war, with my weight yo-yoing crazily.  I am currently at 190 pounds. With less than a month to go before my self imposed deadline, it seems clear that you will win this round. I do not resent you for sticking around a little longer though. I know now that at some point, as long as I keep my resolve, I can live without you. It might even be possible that once I’ve moved on, I can trade you, my dear ab, for a pack of six smaller and tighter ones. I know, looking at myself now that it seems quite unlikely but hey, I can dream can’t I? So my dear Beer Belly, while we shared some good times, I am still very much determined to say good bye to you once and for all. I hope you can accept that and make this process easier for both of us. Thank you for understanding. 

Sincerely,

Peter "The Mordo" Juan 

A Hairy Situation

I’ve been bald by choice for so many years I’ve actually lost count. A shaved head, I believe, is the look that suits me best. And then of course there are the inherent advantages to being bald. I never had to worry about how my hair looked because it was impossible to get it messed up. As such, I never had to contend with the dizzying array of hair products available now. I never had to go to a salon. Any good ol’ barber could cut my hair and they could only go wrong if they shave off a small chunk of my scalp. In fact, I didn’t even go to the barber shop all that often because I could shave off my own hair with my trusty Gilette Mach 3. Simply put, I like being bald. It’s awesome. Think about it, some of the most awesome men in history were bald. There’s Michael Jordan, Samuel L. Jackson, Winston Churchill, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Professor Charles Xavier just to name a few. 

I was supposed to get my head shaved last weekend because I haven’t had time to actually shave it myself and my hair’s gotten too long for my Mach 3 to handle. But then, my lovely wife asks me to grow my hair long again. She wants me to keep growing it until next year. Now you have to understand why this is rather disconcerting. I mean, I’m not going to deny Jen of such a simple request. Thing is, the complications of having hair actually worries me a bit, not to mention the fact that I doubt I’d look good with hair. I mean, I already don’t have much to work with here. Dark skinned, overweight, with a lop-sided smile, that’s me. The bald head at least gives me some attitude. I suppose I’ve just gotten so used to this:

(more…)

I AM APOCALYPSE!!!

It's true! I took a test!  

Your results:
You are Apocalypse

Apocalypse 98% Lex Luthor 94% Magneto 93% Dr. Doom 86% Green Goblin 83% Juggernaut 83% Kingpin 79% Mr. Freeze 78% Venom 69% Catwoman 67% The Joker 58% Dark Phoenix 53% Mystique 47% Two-Face 43% Riddler 37% Poison Ivy 35%

You believe in survival of the fittest and you believe that you are the fittest.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

A Valentine’s Day Post

I've spent the better part of 3 hours trying to figure out what to write on this blog for today and I've just about worn out my backspace key. At first I was trying to write about a bunch of useless Valentine's day trivia, like how the catholic church meant it to replace the Roamn feast of Lupercalia, a pagan love ritual or that for some odd reason, at least 3% of pet owners will give valentine's day gifts to their pets. (Please don't ask how many of them actually "get lucky". I don't want to know.) But then I got bored with the idea. I tried to write about the many pitfalls men have to contend with during this day but it's been done several times and much better than I could ever hope to. I tried writing about alternative Valentine's day gifts and possible activities for couples but that fell flat too. I suppose it's because it's really not what I want to say.

What follows after the jump is a short letter to my wife. If you are averse to stuff usually written in mushy love letters, I suggest you leave now. If you're disillusioned about love and relationships then please go elsewhere. Because frankly, you won't like it. For everyone else, feel free to read on. I will forgive anyone who barfs later on. 

(more…)

Come Back King?

What's this I hear about Erap making a comeback in the film industry? I understand he now wants to try out being a comedian.

Didn't he already do that? It was called his presidency if I remember correctly. I miss it sometimes.

Ha ha ha. 

About Quitting Cold Turkey

Failure. I HAS IT!

A mere 85 hours after I smoked that wonderful Villiger cigar and attempted to quit the habit, my will crumbles and I give in to the craving. I have just returned to my desk from what I thought was a trip downstairs to buy myself a bottle of Del Monte Fit & Right that suddenly turned into a ciggy break. Yes. I know. I suck.
(more…)