birthday gifts

My birthday gifts to myself have arrived!

Not the red one. But still nice.

Big-ass lens.

The Lumix LX3 has so many delicious accessories, and they're not too expensive-- I mean, relative to a DSLR's lenses and accessories. I was trying to decide whether to get the wide, fisheye, telephoto or super macro lens, but in the end, I went with the telephoto.

Because where I live, I can take a picture of the sunset everyday, if I wanted to. How about you? Hehe.

So how are the pictures? Who cares?! Take a look at this setup.

Ang kulit.

The truth is, it's been raining a lot since my new toys arrived, so I haven't taken the tele lens out for a real workout yet, but the test shots look good.

Now if only I can find an instruction manual for it...

i heart google

Did anybody see the show on Discovery Travel and Living about how Google, the company, makes sure that their employees eat the best yummy and healthy food made from fresh produce that's sourced from around the area? The employees are happy. The farmers are happy.

It's so great. Why can't all big business be like that?

And then today, on Yahoo! News, I read about Google's decision to pull out of China. Click to enlarge.


Google, you rock! Even though China is the biggest market out there, it's not always about the money. I hope others follow Google's lead. Stand fast! China does NOT NOT NOT own the world.

My brother tells me that my blog is blocked in China.

come have a join us

Callling all Basecampers! This weekend is our joint birthday celebration-- me, Bunny Rabbit, Wonder Dog, Amazing Margaux and Steve Shadow's cousin Marsy.

Today is Wonder Dog's birthday, so last night we went out just before midnight to meet and greet.

Getting ready.

Summer Place had a nice groove going on, courtesy of Ben the Professional Boracaynon.

I just wanna rock, DJ!

Still early (?) at midnight.

And then the people started coming. And the drinks started pouring.


The big boss of Summer Place surveys his handiwork.

The original James Yap.

Happy birthday, Wonder Dog (January 9) and Bunny Rabbit (January 4)!

The birthday boys.

my new look

Well, not me. I mean my blog. I changed the template and now, I'm taking it out for a spin.

Looks good so far. The white background makes everything clearer. The placement of the widgets is more streamlined. And blue, of course, is my favorite color. Go, Eagles!

How it looked last year:

Oy, so dorky.

Ain't technology grand? The interweb makes it all so easy nowadays-- a click here, a drag and drop there. The term "user-friendly" is almost obsolete now, since everything is ridiculously easy to use.

happy new year!

How did we spend New Year's Eve?

7pm-- Simple dinner at Basecamp. Some friends came over to visit and hang around.


11:30pm to 12:30am-- Watched the fireworks. Sorry, no pictures. Fireworks have to be experienced live. Pictures, or even video, are no good because they can't capture the smell of the gunpowder, the sighs and yells of the crowds and the sheer spectacle of this once-a-year mega light show. Here's something not too many people know: Boracay is the best place to celebrate New Year's-- over three kilometers of white-sand beach, almost an hour of (expensive) fireworks, sparkly sparkles reflected over the water, and parties until sunrise. This year's pyrotechnic display was truly exceptional. We were a bit worried that the resorts wouldn't spend as much as last year because of the state of the economy, but we were wrong!

And yez, there were white people skinny dipping everywhere.

1:30am-- Started walking along the beach to check out the par-tays. Had a shot of Bacardi at Pat's Bar and had to sit down. Ate some wonderful nachos with homemade salsa and delicious oysters adobo.


3pm-- Last stop, Summer Place. Said "hi" to the DJ. The place was crazy packed.


4:30am-- Went home and slept.

11am-- Made pancakes and bacon for brunch. Yum!

1pm-- Went back to sleep.

7pm-- Had an extraordinary dinner at Rusty's house. A great start for 2010. Happy New Year, friends.