God it looks like danielle

Nanganak na ang asawa ni richard!!!! hehe and it came as a surprise to a lot of our projectmates since Richard kept it a secret till today. I was thinking of a great way of announcing it to the whole team - and it goes a little something like this:

The clock reads 7:58 PM…
The date on the calendar is the 26th…
The place is on San Juan de Dios…
The sex is marked as “F”…
The weighing scale shows 7.30 pounds…
The name given was Danielle…
And her surname is ALMOJUELA :)

Let us all welcome baby Danielle to the Christian world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gratz Richard for a bouncing baby girl!!!

Reunion of sorts

I went to Laguna last weekend to attend a family reunion - it was not really a reunion, but a time for the Piamonte family (mother side) to go out and have fun under the sun once again. I actually miss these guys, the last time we did something like this was...... never.

Nanieh went along and just as expected - she brought along the whole house with her :) name it - she brought it haha. Good thing i was assigned to kuya Ramil's car - alleluah. I never really got the chance to talk to them during the trip coz I was sleeping the whole time - it was almost morning when I went home last friday and I have to leave at 5 in the morning.

We went to Laiya, Batangas - at first i was imagining black sand and dirty water, but it was actually pretty decent. The sand was not white - but it was not cement-like either - it was almost white - but you can easily tell that it is artificial. I was hoping i can go snorkling but theres just no fish >_< we were suppose to drink booze that night but we ended up playing poker till early morning :) i just explained the game to them and next thing we knew - we were hooked.

We pass by for some halo-halo and some broas on our way home





Current song on my playlist: Verve Pipe - The Freshman

gilligan's island, pigsa, holy week, and taking a bath before going out of the house

it was a long weekend indeed - one of the longest weekend here in the philippines aside from the Christmas weekend. Unfortunately, as much as I would like to spend it bathing under the sun and sipping margarita on the side - i had a viral infection last weekend. Yes, viral infection = pigsa :D

Call guiness, must be the longest time a person stayed on bed - naked, during a long weekend. I really hate the pain on my butt last weekend - a single movement could have easily been fatal. Tears literally fell from my eyes when my "infection" started to burst last saturday - haha bwisit na pigsa to.

Me and my friends went out to have a little drink last wednesday at Gilligan's Island - I think we ordered more food than beers, funny. Gilligan's Island will always be remembered by my project because of their infamous "talaba" - a clam that is served/cooked just by pouring hot water over them - yummy. We cap the night off by drinking shakes/parfaits on a nearby ice cream parlor - Iceberg - haha, who said beer and ice cream do not mix.

OASIS

woohoo I finally have my very own laptop here in the office. My team have our own "support" laptop but it is assigned to the team, unlike this one where i can bring it whenever and wherever i want :)

This is actually not a new laptop - it was assigned to Don for about a year but since he will be tranferring to a new project, it is now assigned to me.

I was looking at the net for some pictures and guess what i found :) This is Oasis, this is where Milton and Jen held their wedding reception - it looks better on pictures (of course). When i attended their wedding - it was at night so I wasn't able to see the place the same way it was presented at the pictures, but I have to say it is a good place.

Note: if you look closely at the second picture, you can actually see Mt. Carmel church at the (left side) background.

one wedding and a monthsarry

I went to a wedding of a friend last saturday - gratz pads! anyways, it was a nice wedding, and knowing pads and cookie - alam kong may kakaibang mangyayari sa dulo :) they danced with their primary and secondary sponsors and with their ninongs and ninangs - on TECHNO beat (@_@) at the end of the reception.

As usual im late at the wedding, but it was not my fault - di ako ginising ng baby ko :) the reception was big, it has at least 400 guests - daming family and friends. The thing that really caught my attention was the photography - that guy is great. the church is not too shabby - but you have to see the photos - nagiba ung simbahan. Ang galing nyang kumuha ng shots - he really does capture each "moments". I dont care if he costs 70K - consider him booked for my wedding.

Summer has officially started here in the Philippines - ang init >_< the thing that bothers me the most is the kind of heat you get even at night - it will make your sleep very uncomfortable. A lot of summer outings are planned here in Accenture and with my friends - let us talk about it some time (^_^)

Last thing is our monthsarry - even though you have forgotten it - i still love you baby :) and for our monthsarry - i am gonna show you one of my finest art work depecting our never-ending love with each other MWAH

Paramita = perfection?

This will make my "jump on the bandwagon" official - I am now attempting the one thing I have always dreamed of doing - making a CD review, so here goes nothing.

Ive heard of Paramita on NU long time ago - it was their single Takipsilim, which is the very first cut on their album Tala.

Takipsilim is a perfect love story gone wrong - very typical plot but was delivered very well. Lines that goes like "aaminin ko, lahat ng ito, ay inaalay.. lamang sa iyo" gives it all away - but the beat is "raunchy" so dont think this is an MYMP hit. A perfect first track - as this usually gives the impression of the whole album and this didn't dissappoint. The song would have sounded perfect if it has been recorded properly - you can easily tell that the bass are sounding "sabog" even at a low volume - which is really annoying.

Carousel, The Indefinite transitions Of Per are the next two tracks - i almost never noticed the they are two different cuts since they do feel like one - and yes the bass still sounds weird >_< you can easily tell that the vocals are recorded on top of the guitars and drums since it is much clearer.



A Dreamer's Lullaby - the softest side of the band - and a very good song to say the least. I love the part where there is a second voice singing "close your eyes and i'll sing you a lullaby, nothing to fear coz i'm right here by your side" continuosly on a fast pace while a soft/slow voice is singing "come live another day..." and everything will stop right before the second voice finishes "nothing to fear coz i'm right here by your side" - ahhhhh just perfect.

Hiling - is one of their singles , and has the same premise as takipsilim - you can easily tell that Ria must have experienced the agony of heartbreaks as she sings every line convincingly. Simple tagalog sentences sound so complex when performed by the band - which shows how deep the band is. The quality of the songs are OPM at its finest form.
NOTE: Do not listen to Hiling if you are on a similar situation coz this one is a tearjerker, do stay away from sharp objects as it might find its way to your wrist. Best line on the song:

"kung ito ang 'yong hiling, gaano man kasakit sa akin - ibibigay sa yo...
nanlalamig na bang pag-ibig mo? (repeat till blood is already flowing from your wrist"
*stayed number 1 on NU's countdown for 3 weeks

Stillness reminds me of a Cynthia Alexander song - which means it is good. Lyrics is again good - another highlight of the album. Best line - "i sold half my soul, am i free to keep the other half?" - take note of the violins on the background - nice.

Tala - if you are still conscious (from the blood loss) by the time you are hearing this song - you are one lucky son of a bitch. The song still has the same progression the band is using so if you love the first few songs on the album - chances are you will like them all. I saw them performed on breakfast but i only catched them singing Takipsilim, and just like Tala - they know how to use their instruments well, notice how they would like to speed-up and suddenly slow-up the beat of a song. They have done this so well as if the song is a living story - with great climax and unforgetable endings.

Waiting for a Sign is like an english version of Panaginip Lang - so I dont know what sign should I wait for before I notice the difference :)

Porcelain/Sunrise - is another highlight of the album for me, I dont know why I am thinking of Cynthia Alexander (again) when im listening to this song - but i like the progression. They again used the 2-voices-singing-alongside-each-other attack at several points of the song and i like the way they transition to each other as if they are two different singers. Not sure if i interpret the song right but its about two people who have changed along the years. It can be lovers or friends - but again, a song for your wrist.

The album is a must buy for music enthusiasts - I am not sure if they have been advertised well by IVORY records coz I feel it should have sold or at least have been advertised better. The songs will easily attach to you as you can easily relate to them. I have said this a lot of times but the way they attack a song is very much different, simple words that may sound awkward if sang by Jolina or Sharon Cuneta sounds unique with Paramita - and that is their gift - listen to Panaginip Lang and you'll know what i mean. They do know their strengths and they do know how to maximize it - this is not your ordinary pinoy music - THIS IS REAL OPM.

One thing I pointed out is the recording - the sounds of the drums and guitars are "grungy" as if they are set at the max level even on soft parts of a song. But mind you, dont let this things prevent you from grabbing this piece of gold - cant wait to see them perform live coz it should be one hell of an experience.

Paramita - B+

beauty is in the eye of the reviewer

I plan to put reviews of CDs, Movies, Restaurants, games, etc on my future posts - before you bat an eye, I will try to be as objective as I can be (yes, even for you Cueshe fans)

I will base my reviews on the normal A to E rating. A brief and logical explanation is written below:

A - the creme ala creme of music, the jaworski of movies, and the kingkong of restaurants. An A rating will be given only to those who deserves it - keep in mind that my rating is based on the idea "is it worth your money, time, etc". A basic example of this is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I gave it an A because it deserves an A - it is something that every people should see, despite of your movie preference. Same goes with any CDs, if a CD is worthy of your hard-earned money, I will definitely give it an A. If you dont have Lumines on your PSP - stop reading this post and get it, it is a basic sample of a worthy item.

B - This is a borderline rating, to give you an understanding on how B works - think of the NBA Live game on any platform. It is not the best game visually, it is not even on the top 10 of the best game on every platform - but i will give it a B rating. The simple reason that this game will be played throughout the whole year, even before the day the next installment comes simply proves of its worthyness. If you spend your money on this item - it will not go to waste - be it a CD, a movie or a restaurant. It may not just be for everyone but it still deserves to be up there.

C - a C rating is given to something that is a mediocre item. It can also be labeled as "Meets Expectations" rating *wink *wink. The product has not done something phenomenal but it has not completely failed either - it will not be a "lost" if you dont buy/try this product, as it may cater to a specific group. *COUGH*Cueshe fans*COUGH - i hope you get the idea

D - a D rating is more of a formality rating (as I try to avoid an E rating) ^_^ basic example is a Jolina Magdangal CD - it is something that only a die hard jolens fan will appreciate - insert yasmine kardi here.

E - two words - Mike Chan

current CD on my player - Sandwich's Five on the Floor

speaking of cueshe - you may want to get a load of this: