Touch screen fun!

Woohoo! My gadget arsenal is slowly building. :)

I finally settled on a digital camera... why the sudden purchase you may ask? First of all, let me explain, I've wanted a digicam for years. And now, with office travels looming (one as early as September), I figured it would be the best time to buy one. This is my 3rd major purchase for 2007. The first was my SE Z610i last April, then my 120Gb portable hard drive, and now this. I'm thinking this will be the last for 2K7. :)

So... what did I buy? After weeks of research, I finally chose the Pentax Optio T30. Factors mainly considered for this was value for money, memory card format (I wanted an SD to simplify PC transfers), LCD screen, user reviews, picture quality and of course extra features... Among the best selling points for me was the the big, bright 3" LCD screen, the touch screen interface which just blew me away with its simplicity and responsiveness, and the fact that I can do so much with it! I can edit, resize, crop, modify, frame my pictures, even use the stylus to make notes on the photos, or even record sound commentaries to go with it! Isn't it just geeky?

And it's slim and stylish too! Not bad...not bad at all. :)

For more info, you can visit the Pentax website - http://www.digital.pentax.co.jp/en/compact/optio-t30/feature.html

Now all I need is a reason to start taking snaps so I can practice using my cam before I go to Ukraine. :p

What I don't have...

I don't own a digital camera. And for someone whose gadget lust is as developed as mine, it's hard to imagine, since nowadays, everyone I know seems to have a digital camera.

But I think holding out on buying a digital camera has been one of my wisest gadget-related decisions to date (maybe even ever). You know why? Because just a couple of months ago, a 7 megapixel digital camera was revolutionary, now, it's practically a standard! With cellphone manufacturers coming out with 5-megapixel cameraphones (SE K850i), there's no telling how technologically advanced digital cameras will be when I finally get around to buying one.

When talking about digital cameras, it used to be all about megapixels. The higher the better, now there's so much more to consider in a typical point and shoot digicam. Price, LCD screen size, optical zoom capability, bundled accessories, memory card format, built in applications that allow you to edit the images right on the camera, connectivity options like bluetooth and wifi, form factor, durability, water-resistance, image stabilization, face recognition, anti-blur technologies, scene selections, ISO, shooting modes...and that's just the list of factors I'm concerned about! I'm pretty sure other more knowledgeable photographers consider a lot more technical features that I probably did not consider since I have no idea what it's for. (Note, I am not a professional photographer, nor do I have any intention of being one anytime soon.)

Anyway, the point is, with so much to choose from and so many things to consider, how can I buy a digital camera without experiencing buyers' remorse later on? With new cameras sprouting up practically every month, it's only a matter of time before this months extraordinary features become standard, and I would then again want the newer, better, more fully-featured camera.

If I keep thinking this way, I may never buy a digital camera. *sigh*

I guess my 2.0 megapixel SE Z610i will have to do for now. =D

I'm leaving for Bora again in a few hours...I just can't wait!

I owe myself this vacation... consider it my gift to myself for passing my Oracle certification. :)

Yes, I passed... as Mich would call it, 'miraculously' passed... hehe. I'm not sad or anything, I studied well for that exam, and even though I had difficulty with it, I know that it wasn't because of luck that I passed, I know and I understand the concepts I took. I might have been unfamiliar with some, but considering that I don't have that much exposure to it, I think I did pretty well.

So now, I have a right to sign my name with an OCA at the end, hehehe.

I definitely need a vacation, and a 6 days, 5 nights stint at Boracay with my relatives is just what I need. I brought a book, my Ipod (loaded with gigabytes of songs and videos), playing cards, and was even tempted to bring a Scrabble board. I plan to just lounge around, listen to my Ipod, and just bask in the glory of doing (and thinking) about nothing.

Then, when I get back to Manila on Monday, I have to prepare myself for Irene's turnover of the PAM-HK project. Hopefully, I'll be out of vacation mode by then. :p

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*