Updates, updates, it's been crazy at work... I'm bracing myself for more "changes" to come. I've finally decided to stay in My's team. Long story why, but I'm starting to accept my new post...slowly settling in. We'll see how it goes. I'm still supporting my old team, but only until Tine gets back from HK. I'm due to start a new project next week, which I'm excited about. The only thing I don't like is the transfer from the 14th to the 10th floor...no, I'm not so thrilled about that. :(

I played badminton last night with Deo, Ayin and other officemates at Powersmash. Bitin! It's been a busy past two weeks and we were only able to squeeze a game in last night. We joined the game late, but were able to play a couple of good sets so that was fun. :)

Lukas won Rockstar Supernova...I don't really like him much...except when he sang Creep by Radiohead.

I'm going out with my college barkada this weekend. Last time we saw each other as a group was hmmm... when was Maximo Oliveros shown? All I know is it's been too long. There's a lot to catch up on.

I passed! I passed! *jubilant*
Barely passed... but nevertheless, that's one down and one to go. :)

In case you're lost with what I'm talking about, I passed my first exam for the OCA track! I feel some tinge of regret that I didn't study as much as I should have (as in like, not 2 weeks before the exam). I think I really could have scored better if I had put more time into it, but I've never been the studious type I guess. But I am changing that starting today. I'm already preparing for my next exam, which I will take some time in December. I'll let you know how it goes.

In other matters... hmmm... work is... confusing at this point. That's all I can say about that.

Badminton... Red remained at last place for the PalakaSun tournament. Blue came out as the overall champions, but even though Red didn't place as well as we hoped, we still had fun. And we're the only team with the distinction of having the "killer smiles" no matter if we win or lose.

In the SmashSun sa CSA tourney (I was Red again!), Ayin and I won 2 out of our 3 games. And countless other side matches. :) We won against Manny and Charrisse in an on the side match, close fight, but satisfied my curiosity as to who will win if we played a match together. :) Boss Manny, if you're reading this, I don't mind a rematch, hehehe. :)

Overall, our team placed 2nd to the last, I consider that an improvement over the PalakaSun standings so, I didn't feel too bad about that.

Anyway, till next post.

Finally, retribution for the Red team's Level 3 players!

Louie and I won in straight sets against Yellow's Karla and Yane, while Meggy and I were able to win over Karla and Teng in three sets. Yes! :)

You're wondering why I'm so happy? Coz this is our first victory EVER in this tournament. We were really feeling depressed, being the only ones in the team without wins... and Cap Crab made sure we knew it... hehe. We only have 1 more game left (against Blue), but whether we win or lose that one, we're happy we were able to at least bag a victory. :)

That's all for now... I'm beat! Wish us luck for the last game of the tournament, hopefully we'll add another notch in our belts... *fingers crossed*

Oh, and speaking of badminton, the CSA badminton tourney (SmashSun sa CSA) will be on August 26, can't wait, can't wait! But as the day gets closer, so is my OCA exam, scheduled for September 1. I took a mock exam and scored a disappointing 68%. :( Must review...

**Van logs off to review her SQL materials** :-)

I've spent the last three days with office buddies Mich and Leslie at the Oracle University, learning Advance PL/SQL. Of course, whenever the 3 of us are together, we're guaranteed to have fun. The learning stuff is just a bonus. :)

So what did we learn? Hmmm.. tons of stuff! Will we be able to apply them? Perhaps. Makes me want to run to the office and look at some codes. I'm such a geek.

The last time we had a training together was two years ago, when we first took up Oracle 9i Forms and Reports. All I can say is, a lot has changed from the first time we attended training. I'm not going to reminisce here, just wanted to mention that, hehehe. :)

Anyway, lately I've taken into watching Rockstar Supernova. I must admit, the rockers are all pretty talented and compared to last year's batch, I think Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted will have a harder time choosing their lead singer. Sadly though, Josh was eliminated last night... :( I really, really like his voice, and his smile... *sigh*.

On the same note, INXS will be performing here in Manila, with frontman JD Fortune. Mig Ayesa will be playing also. Unfortunately though, I don't have tickets.

Anyways, I still owe a Baguio post. Just lazy, no excuses. Next time na lang. :)

Oh, and I sold my Palm already! 1 gadget down, two left... hmmm... I've decided to stall all gadget purchases until next year. Let's see if I can stick to that. Say it with me, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

It's Red vs. Orange in Game 6 of the PalakaSun badminton tourney tonight... Louie and I have yet to capture our first win. :( Hopefully, tonight's the night. *fingers crossed*

Obivously, my Palm has done nothing to help me blog more... :)

Updates, updates... last July 7 marked the start of the PalakaSun Badminton Tournament, as one of the members of the Red team, we must congratulate the Blue team for almost totally defeating us in all levels, save for one. My partner Louie and I, lost to Arren and Jaime 21-23, 23-21, 11-6. Dang.

Oh well, it's just the first match of the tourney, this week it's Red vs. Green. Good luck to us. :)

I'm currently training at Oracle, taking up Data Modeling and Relational DB design. It's interesting...but somehow not as I expected. The fact that we're in the middle of a storm is not helping. And I spend most of the afternoons freezing in that cold, cold training room listening to the instructor talk about entities and relationships and attributes and denormalization...

My relatives from Hawaii and England are also in town. We're all going to Baguio next week for some family bonding. :) I'm just hoping the weather improves... Baguio was declared a state of calamity today because of landslides and floods... :( But we have faith, hopefully the weather would clear up by Monday.

Oh, and yes, Pirates! The heavy rains and heavy floods did not stop us from watching the Pirates Opening Night. I love Jack Sparrow! :) Although I felt the 2nd movie was somewhat longer and a bit "messy", I was still thoroughly entertained, and some parts got me laughing so hard my jaw hurt. :)

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Next week, hopefully I'll have much to say about our trip to Baguio.

Elizabeth Swann: There will come a moment when you have the chance to do the right thing.
Jack Sparrow: I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.

I've recently acquired a Palm Tungsten T3 from my sister (at a discount of course!), and now I'm finding things to do with it. Right now, I'm using to to draft my blog entries, which I hope can help me post more updates. :) I also uploaded my review materials for my OCA exam. Mobile studying anyone?

This brings the total of mobile devices I own to 3. My cellphone/camera K750i, which provides great small-sized pics with it's 2.0 Megapixel camera (perfect for blogging!). My music on the go, 30GB Ipod Video, and this keep your life organized, Palm.

I wonder what good all these gadgets will do me? :) Well, aside from the obvious advantages of mobility, new and/or old gadgets just make me happy. Hehe.

On Da Vinci and The Last Stand

X3 wins hands down! :)

Hehehe... of course we can't really compare these two, but I didn't like Da Vinci code that much. I think Tom Hanks' performance was just average, and the actress that played Sophie was just so... blah. Ian McKellen as Teabing was a good call, as was Paul Bettany as Silas. :)

I guess this is what happens when you have such high expectations of something, you're bound to be let down.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad movie... not a great one either. The scenery was amazing though, but the subtle changes to the story didn't sit quite well with me. And I don't understand all the brouhaha that's going on about it. Even Sunday mass isn't spared...the movie wasn't all that convincing you know? The book had so much more impact, and it didn't seem to shake the Catholic faith that much now, did it?

Faith is faith. The book and the movie is fiction. Let's leave it at that.

Now, X-Men3 on the other hand, was just amazing! Great effects, great acting, great powers and great story... fun, fun, fun!

And don't leave until after the credits okay? You'll see what I mean.

Hopefully, there's still an X4 in the works.