Are you in a good year?

I often recall which years were good ones for me, or at least which were particularly memorable based on what happened in the year, or what my predominant emotion was at the time; to the best of my memory, was I happy, or frustrated, or tired most of the year? Based on my perception, I make the determination as to whether the year was 'good', 'bad', or 'uneventful'.

It's also possible for a year to appear to be bad during the time I was experiencing it, but in hindsight, turned out to be a good year after seeing the eventual results. I take this into account also. In fact, some of the worst years actually turn out to be good years in hindsight.

I found that the common theme occurring among the favorable years were that these were the ones where I felt the most alive, carefree, and passionate. They were also years where I achieved some profound insight, or had some experience that had a big effect that stayed with me up to the present. Here's a list of my 'good' years starting from 1985 up to the present. The years in bold text were ones that were particularly memorable.

1986
1989
1991
1993
1994
1996
1998
1999
2001
2004
2006


Are you in a good year?

ADX Basketball Game Highlights

Highlights from the 3-game series organized by ADX at Ayala Heights Court. ADX won the final game in OT 35-32.

We don't live here anymore

Lately, I've been obsessed with history. Not the type of history you read in books, but rather 90's history. Or more specifically, 90's mall history.

You may not have known that back in the day, I was a world class walker. I once walked three hours straight all around the city, passing through busy smoke-filled streets, and going through various outdoor and indoor malls along the way. Exploring the ins and outs of various marketplaces was a passion of mine.

When I was in college, my favorite places to explore were the old Greenbelt shopping center, and Virra Mall in Greenhills, Ortigas. The great thing about these places was that they were relatively safe to hang out in, and they had a lot of hidden areas you could discover. Greenbelt and Virra Mall were also very disorganized and decentralized, which added to its appeal. You would have to make an effort to go from one cool spot to another, sometimes needing to cross a street or walking several blocks to another structure to get to the next place.

It remained this way up to the late 90's, until the Ayala and Ortigas developers decided to 'modernize' these places. This led to a lot of changes causing these places to be barely recognizable today from what it once was. The Virra Mall building was demolished to make room for a brand new structure which was well-lighted, had modern air conditioning, and floor tiles. While on the surface, this seemed to be an improvement over the old mall, I felt that something was lacking. The old magic was gone. It had turned into a much nicer, yet overcommercialized and dull place.

Greenbelt, as you might remember from the 90's was composed of a bunch of disjointed shopping areas such as Plaza Fair, Makati Supermarket, Greenbelt Cinema (which had only two choices of movies), Coronado Lanes bowling center, and a sprinkling of eateries such as Mushroomburger, Ulam ni San Pedro, and Tokyo Tokyo. I loved walking outside in the sun, going from Greenbelt Cinema to Plaza Fair, to Mushroomburger. If you had more energy, you would explore the streets where the multinational corporations had their offices - particularly Legaspi, Salcedo, and Paseo de Roxas. 'Jolly Jeeps' lined up the streets, these were passenger jeepneys that sold food in plastic bags to office workers.

Today, Greenbelt is barely recognizable. All the old structures are gone. They were systematically demolished and replaced piece by piece by more upper class establishments catering to yuppies and high society people. What you have in place of Greenbelt Park, Mushroomburger, and Ulam ni San Pedro is now Greenbelt 3 - ground zero for the yuppie crowd. You no longer have to cross the street to get from place to place, instead you have to pass a narrow passageway with a security guard who inspects your belongings before you can go through.

There is also this new multi-story class 'A' mall called Greenbelt 5, where all the fancy restaurants are stationed. My friend and I were even turned away one late Friday night by the guard, as he told us it was 'closed', although from a distance, we could see that he was still letting through attractive well-dressed couples in the building. He probably thought that we didn't look like we can afford any of the pricey restaurants inside.

Similarly, the bowling alley, Coronado Lanes, is gone, replaced by more yuppie restaurants and a hotel extension. The small department store, Plaza Fair, is now a pile of rubble, and I see more construction going on in the spot where it once was. I'm not sure what they are constructing in its place, perhaps more yuppie spots.

The streets of Greenbelt are not as fun to walk around as before. Instead of the free-flowing stroll around the various streets with the sunshine and fresh air, what we have now are covered pathways converging into small bottleneck checkpoints that are covered by security guards, making sure the area is safe and secure for the yuppies. I am forced to find alternate walking paths, usually small back alley streets where the air conditioning exhaust vents lie.

Which brings me back to my obsession for history, namely mall history. As I walk around these old areas, I close my eyes and try to remember what it once was. I look through old pictures, and old maps showing what these places looked like before they were 'modernized'. I try to identify where the old Mushroomburger, the old Plaza Fair, the old Coronado Lanes, and the old shops of Virra Mall once existed. When I am able to successfully recall these and get back the old feeling, I make a note of it for future reference.

In essence, I am like a ghost, wandering around the old hangout places, trying to remember the way things used to be. These places used to be home. Today, they are just malls.

ADX Basketball at Ayala Heights

Basketball Addicts invitational game at Ayala Heights.

Independence Day

For the past nine months, I've been eagerly anticipating the day I return back home to the Philippines. And that day finally came last Wednesday. And let me tell you, the past few days have been some of the happiest days in my life. It was such a great feeling to see my parents again, healthier and happier than they were last year. I have experienced a reawakening - a rebirth of the old 'rob'. I feel much more healthier, happier, stronger, and more inspired than I've ever felt the past five years since I left my home country.

I've been analyzing what it is exactly about the Philippines that makes everything so much better. What is the secret sauce in it that enhances the flavor of almost everything in daily life? I still haven't figured it out. It could be the warm, sunny weather where you can go out in shorts and sando on the street, and feel right at home. Maybe it's the genuineness and friendliness of the people where I can be myself. In the US, everywhere you go, people have their defenses up - they don't reveal too much of themselves out of fear and privacy. I have found this environment both very strange and uncomfortable. In the Philippines, people have their defenses down and are mostly free to talk about anything without fear of malice or offense. Here, I can be as silly or act as dumb as I want, and we all have a good laugh about it - trivial matters are not taken seriously. There is also a very relaxed attitude on time ('Filipino Time' as it is popularly known). I would talk to my parents and friends without needing to rush to the next appointment or meeting. This results in a healthier outlook on life, and a state of mindfulness where we are all living in the moment. There may not be a single secret sauce, but rather a whole smorgasborg of spices in Philippine life that makes everything taste better.

In the west, people have a tendency to equate material possessions, career achievements, and 'busyness' with happiness. The one with the most toys, most prestigious title, and the one who is preoccupied the most is judged the winner. In the Philippines, these are all side quests in life - distractions to the most important goal of joy and happiness. We take our time to appreciate the finer things of living: Family, Friends, Food, Relationships, Health.

Having lived in the US the past five years, and just returning home, makes me appreciate so much more the country I came from and my true identity. Filipinos already live in a paradise - most just don't know it yet. But let's keep this a secret between the two of us, ok?

Jeepney Inspiration

I'm rereading the book Seven Laws of Spiritual Success written by Deepak Chopra. For years, I've had this as a gift almost six years ago, and went over it rather quickly - too quickly in fact. It's only now that I'm starting to appreciate the concepts contained in the book. It's completely different from what they teach you in big corporations or in school.

I've had glimpses of inspiration in the past that I now realize were close to some of the ideas in the book. It was during these short instances where I had this overwhelming feeling of freedom and confidence that I could do anything.

I remember one time while I was lining up to ride a jeepney to either go home or go to work, I forgot which. All of a sudden, I had this emotion that I could just let go and let things stay the way they are, that I would accept whatever would happen to me in the future, while at the same time pursuing what I loved doing the best. It was this moment that I felt this sense of joy, that I could do anything I want and things will turn out alright.

Up to this day, I still remember this feeling vividly. And I would recapture part of it once in a while, but not to the extent that I had before. I believe Deepak refers to this in the book as the law of least effort and law of detachment. The concept where you can achieve great things through letting go and embracing uncertainty, not being attached to any result.

I'll write more about this in future posts. I also need to finish reading the book. If you're curious, there's a good summary of the seven laws here.

WinAmp and Enhancer Plug-In for Better Music

If you listen to music on your computer, you'll be interested to know that there's software that actually improves the playback quality of CDs, mp3s, and other media formats on the PC. I was shocked at how big a difference it made and how much richer the songs sounded.

To get this experience, you'll need to install Winamp with the Enhancer plugin. Remember Winamp? Back then it was pretty popular and it's still widely used as of the present time. It's a free media player that was designed to be extensible through plug-ins - software components developed by third parties that enhance and add new functionality. You take the basic player and optionally install whatever plug-ins you want. You can also add skins to the program, that is, add a user interface template to it to give it a different look. I remember back then my brother used Winamp with some sort of customized anime skin.

I was intimidated with the complexity and customizability of Winamp, preferring instead to use Windows Media Player, the default music player in Windows. I didn't really understand why other people would take the trouble to select different skins and experiment with various plug-ins on their Winamp when I could just simply double-click an mp3 file to open it in Windows Media Player, listen to the song, and close it when done.

I get it now though. There are many reasons why you would want to use Winamp, but let me tell you mine. The main reason is simply because if you use it with the Enhancer plug-in, it dramatically improves the sound quality of the music played. You'll have to try it yourself to know what I mean. Everything sounds sharper and more pronounced, and I can hear the different layers to the song.

The Enhancer plug-in also allows you more control over the equalizer depending on the type of song played and your musical preference. For instance, if you like deep loud bass, you can set it so that the bass is more pronounced. If you like drums and cymbals, you can isolate it so that it sounds louder. I discovered that I'm more of a Treble guy, and would adjust for a higher treble setting on some of my favorite songs.

There is also a nifty Volume function that automatically adjusts the volume when playing multiple songs in the playlist. A frequent case is having a list of songs queued up, with some songs recorded at a much higher volume than the rest, causing the sound to go loud in one song, then quiet in the next. With Enhancer, it adjusts the volume automatically so you don't have to do it yourself.

But the most important reason for using Winamp is because it's fun. You can try out new plug-ins, rearrange the window components (much like a stackable mini component stereo system), select different skins to reduce tedium and many other things I haven't experimented with yet. Winamp adds much enjoyment to the music listening experience.

Coffee and Beer

Lately, I've started to appreciate the beneficial effects of drinking two well-known beverages: coffee and beer. I didn't realize just how stimulating they were until a few weeks ago.

I used to have coffee only when out with friends at starbucks. I'd order a tall 'coffee of the day'because it was the cheapest one you can order. Always plain black, no cream or sugar, to get the full effect of the caffeine. Once I tried getting the Javanilla shake and though it tasted good, I quickly regretted having it, as I didn't get the same buzz and hyperactivity I had with regular coffee. I found that getting the full black coffee effect makes me a better listener and table companion.

For some reason, coffee tastes best when drank from a medium-sized paper cup, and it goes well when it is drunk while waiting for something, such as in an a hospital, or auto-repair shop. It also goes surprisingly well with a burger and fries at McDonald's or Wendy's (try it instead of having a softdrink). Life is good when you can relax at home with a cup of coffee while watching TV or reading a book.

Many years ago while working in Ortigas, I was one of the most stressed out people at work. My former boss gave me a hard time and there were a couple of other unpleasant people to deal with in the office. During that time, I would relax with a beer or two when I got home. I don't know what it is about the properties of beer, but it helped me get through that tense period. Oddly enough, my job drove me to drinking, but in a comedic way.

There were also times in the past when I would feel sick, either with a cold or sore throat or some sort of ailment where you knew you would feel a lot worse physically the following day. On some of those days, my officemates would want to go out after work, and I'd beg off, saying I wasn't feeling well. To which they would promptly reply that several beers would wipe out the illness, and that if I wanted to get well it was in my best interest to hang out with them. And the amazing thing is that it actually worked - by some miracle, I would instantly feel better after a couple of beers. And more often than not, my sickness would be eradicated and I would be healthy and active at work the following day.


I used to think that it was actually the company of friends boosting my spirits, rather than the liquor, that helped me get well. But now I'm thinking that the beer itself must have something to do with it. Because lately, on some nights I wouldn't be feeling that great, then have a drink, and it would just reinvigorate me. Now I know that alcohol is supposed to be a depressant, but for some reason it has the opposite effect on me. After drinking, I actually feel like going running, or doing a lot of push ups and sit ups. Drinking beer while exercising is something entirely new to me.

This new awareness of these two wonder drinks makes me understand why people get addicted to caffeine or become alcoholics. The tendency is to abuse these two stimulants to the effect that you get desensitized to their benefits, leading you to consume more and more of it to get that extra buzz. For this reason, it is important to limit your consumption of coffee and beer to get the full effect when you do drink them. So you won't be seeing me having them every day. Maybe only every other day. Or only during Friday nights and the weekend. Drink up!

Moonwalk

Last night I left the office way past midnight. I probably still could have caught the last bus, but decided to walk instead as the air was cool and I was feeling unusually good about myself. I was outside for just a minute or two when, like Forrest Gump, for no particular reason, I thought maybe I'd run instead. So I ran. I just kept going, guided by the night air and moon, and didn't stop until I arrived at the apartment. It was kind of nice. Maybe I'll do it again.

Bugs

Yes, we've been busy. Real busy the past three weeks trying to get to feature complete and whittling down the bug list. Today, for the first time in weeks, I actually felt good about our status. We're going to be code complete tomorrow, and release the website update on Thursday. It's not over yet of course as many unexpected things can still go wrong between today and Thursday. But for now I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Bug-wise, we're down to less than ten bugs. All but two of them are assigned to me, and I guess that's what I'm doing tomorrow, along with updating the setup document. During long coding stretches such as this, you get tensed up, your brain is hyperactive trying to get the bugs fixed in a reasonable amount of time, and keep everyone happy, the testers, managers, etc. It's a lonely and stressful time, but it feels good when it's all done.

Good Advice

Lately I've been trying to do more cardiovascular-type exercise. So the past week after work I would do a slow jog home. Nothing too strenuous, just a light jog for ten minutes, then slow down when I get tired, then resume again. I'm definitely a bit out of shape, but slowly but surely I'll eventually get back to my target fitness level.

This was a bit challenging because the past two weeks were a bit hectic in the office. We've been dealing with some crazy deadlines, and people at work seem more highly strung than usual. I think it's because it's close to review time which makes people act weirder than usual. To tell you the truth, I never really cared about reviews, and I think this attitude has served me well in the past.

Another challenging thing the past two weeks has been the curious increase in other people trying to tell me what to do, to change my behavior, giving me advice and tips. While I certainly appreciate any advice I can get, frankly, most of the advice I get nowadays seem more like boasting, and a disturbing amount of 'advice' are just plain wrong and dangerous. Of course I never want to turn down any advice, wrong as it may be, so I try to stay polite and say something like "Oh, I didn't know that" or "That may be just what I need". It makes people feel better about themselves. I guess the best advice is to not believe everything you read and take everything with a grain of salt. In the end you have to make your own decisions and do what you think is best for yourself and not what other people tell you to do.

I've also got a backlog of books to read and DVDs to watch. Need to catch up on that. After this week I should have more free time.

The Notebook

I used to carry around a notebook/organizer with me wherever I went. I used this to write down reminders, cellphone numbers, to do items, and lots of little lists and notes. I even put down my daily expenses and a short one sentence summary of the day I had. That way I could go back and recall what happened to me exactly one year ago, for instance. It was fun reading that one line summary of the day and remembering what I thought or felt during the time I wrote it.

I used to call my organizer "buhay ko" or 'my life' because I got so dependent on it, that it would be a real tragedy if I lost it. It was an extension of my brain and I felt a lot smarter when I had it with me (which was all the time).

Then for some reason (around 2001) I used my organizer less and less, and would even go weeks without updating it or carrying it with me. I kind of lost the habit of using it, until I eventually went organizer-less. While it had its positive benefits - both my hands were free when riding the bus/jeep or walking outside, the negative effect was that I had to rely on my memory more and more, and I easily lost track of todo lists and friends' contact numbers. At least I was no longer accidentally mistaken as being a 'mangangaral' in the bus, as the organizer looked a bit like a bible and I dressed similarly to those who went around asking people for love offering donations.

What I miss the most about it was not being able to record those one sentence description of the day I had. I would write something like "Went to Winner's with Max and Jeth, even though I was a loser for the day". Sometimes it would be funny, or ironic, or serious, depending on my mood at the time. It's like a diary without spending too much time writing the entries.

So it's 2007, and I think it's a good idea to keep at least an online journal of what's happening. And while I'm at it, I'll post some of my thoughts and some of the music and books I like. I do maintain a couple of other blogs, some I continue to update, such as dangerousreviewers (with co-contributors max and roehl), and a lot of others that I stopped updating due to laziness or lack of interest. I don't think it will happen with this one though, I intend coffeefriday to be my main journal and repository in the years to come.

Occasionally, you'll also read posts from my alter-ego/doppelganger 'robtwister'. We're the same person, but I'll use him from time to time when I want to absolve myself of all responsibility. Why coffee friday as the title? I was looking for an available domain url I can use for future web projects, and www.coffeefriday.com was available. It combines two of my favorite things: Friday nights (because everyone's happy to be out of work and looking forward to the weekend), and relaxing and hanging out with friends over a cup of coffee at starbucks (although nowadays, there are plenty of alternative coffee shops - UCC, Bo's, Coffee Bean, etc.). The two together makes for a killer combination.