Chocolate hills, butterfly sanctuary, tarsier sanctuary, Loboc river, Hinagdanan cave, Baclayon church, Python, Sandugo...

Tara na, viaje tayo!!!

For so many times it has been proven how good things do come to those wait... in life, in love, and everything under the sun... and computers are no exception.

Last year, I blogged (see http://chenmeixi.multiply.com/journal/item/1) that I wanted a Mac. Or that I needed a real serious upgrade to my almost obsolete single-core PC rig. Being the Windows power user that I've become for a decade or more (since 5th grade, that was in 1993? Yikes!), the Mac dream remained a dream... It was another dimension really. But a year and 3 days later, the dream did come true. Although not in a sci-fi alien abduction kinda thing I anticipated.

A blast from the past...



They say "once you go Mac, you never go back" and I can't believe I'm really saying this, although it's cliché to say, "What took me so long to switch!?" Well, I do actually know why! DUH! Because I was financially-challenged and in fact, I still am now especially after I bought the iMac. But I have my ways. I'm a workaholic, you know! Of note, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth and FYI, there isn't any family wealth to be inherited. But I do manage to live a comfortable life. Quite content with just this really, but I wouldn't mind if money would grow on trees. Then again, if we were to dream... we ought to dream BIG! After all, dreams can come true. Meet my 24" Maki.








I'd like to think of Charlie as a genie for granting me this wish. You gotta love Digital Walker! And shoutouts to the wonderful people at PhilMug for putting up with me and being there to answer my questions when I made the switch! ^_^

So labor of love, hopes, and dreams -- this only brings to mind, Sailor Moon!


This is my current desktop. ^^,

Why Mac? I can state a thousand reasons, no, a million reasons even! It will probably take a year or more to blog it all out. Bottomline: It's a Mac. Self-explanatory! Okay, let me try again. Why should you ditch your PC and switch to a Mac? This subject is one of those subjects in the IT world that can raise strong passions. And according to Apple, if you spend more time trying to get your computer to work and less time doing what you want, it’s time to get a Mac. Because Apple makes both the software and the hardware, everything works together, just as it should. That’s why people who get a Mac love a Mac. And why you will, too. Is that enough to convince you? No? Hmmm... Maybe it's time you check out the PC vs. Mac videos? They load fast! GO! What are you waiting for? There's a whole bunch of them that might just convince you! http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

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PC and Mac.. and ME! HAHAHAHA!



On second thought, to make this blog worth the read, maybe I should just give you my first impressions when I got Maki. This isn't a paid ad, okay!? And pardon me if I don't get to list down other amazingly cool features of a Mac. So forgive me, fanboys. I'm just enumerating the things I have observed and realized and finally believe in now that I have switched! Tee hee!

• No viruses. No spywares. No malwares. How's that for security? I read that Mac OS X is built on UNIX, which is synonymous with stability.  Windows, on the other hand is synonymous with the blue screen of death.
  
• Alas, I got Windows. Yup! I have Windows installed INSIDE my Mac! Take that PC! Tee hee. What do I need Windows for? Work, unfortunately. Some really old voice file format (.dss) don't seem to work with Mac. If anyone out there could give me a codec that actually runs with Express Scribe for Mac, I will love you forever. Hehe.

• Start up and shutdown times are lighting fast. You know how it works with the iPod Touch. It's the same thing. No more waiting time. Unbelievable! Until now... ^_^
  
• Browsing is super fast with Safari and even with Firefox. 100 notifications in Facebook? Absolutely no worries... open them all in the tabs and it won't even crash! :D How's that for stability?
  
• Amazing speed and even installing programs/applications is a breeze... Just drag and drop. That's it! It's installed! Actually, everything is like DRAG N DROP with Mac.. even my Lola can use my Maki! And my mom was greatly impressed by the speed it took to switch programs, open them, and close them. She was like, "Mao na'y computer!" (Now that's a computer!)
  
• Watching movies on a widescreen? You must be insane not to enjoy that!
• Beautiful, beautiful apps available. The iLife '09 is a wonder! Even Photoshop, MS Word, and all the messengers look so pretty inside the Mac. There's really a difference. Now this is the part where Windows should have wooed me with. When I use the PC in our dining room, I hate to admit it, but I just have to roll my eyes and say, "Gawd, it's ugly." (Even though I had FlyakiteOSX installed in it.) Bleh =P
• I get to finish work fast, meaning cut the time in half to increase productivity and output, because of its ease of use and blazing quick turbo speed computing! Okay, I still procrastinate from time to time... ^_^ Tao, lang po... I still get distracted, you know.
  
• How about looks? Track back 2 bullets. Of course, Mac is a thing of beauty. If you like minimalistic and simple designs, it's gonna be love at first sight! But I gotta be conscious with my hands now, I don't wanna get all the white keys smudged.
  
• Plug N Play anything. That's right. No drivers needed. It just works.
  
• Wireless N. 'Nuff said.
• Spotlight is new Search! I'm amazed at how easy it is to find anything. I have a tendency to be a scatterbrain and forget what folders I save files to. So enter Spotlight... just type in a keyword and EVERYTHING, as in ANYTHING, that relates to it shows up! And it doesn't even take a blink to show you results! I am sooo happy with this feature. Saves me so much time when looking for files.
• Then there's the dashboard, the Exposé, the list goes on...
  

Those are just the highlights on what made me switch. If you care, you might wanna READ THIS for even more OS X goodness! The FAQ is in here.

To tell you the truth, it took me a week to get familiar and deal with the learning curve. It's been a month now since I got Maki, and I think I know by now how the Terminal works. Hey, I'm a fast learner when I'm genuinely interested in something.

Okay, this is a certified convert blogging. I was dead, now I'm reborn. Mac is LIFE! Learn it. Live it. Love it. 

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

Start:	Apr 25, '09 04:00a
End:	Apr 27, '09 8:00p
Location:	Cave Country, Philippines

Summer, here we come! For the annual Barks&Co. Summer Thing...

Have you ever felt like you've got so much free effing time on your hands and you run out of websites to check? Well, I have and today, I discovered something very REWARDING! For real!

Have you heard about earning money from answering surveys? Not the Myspace/Friendster bulletin boards surveys, okay... We do that for the heck of it. I don't think there's anything you really get out of it but killing time and some minor personal gossip.

You see, I used to work for a call center, which was more like a marketing research center, and we used to call people up and have them answer surveys. We even pay them just to get their email adds! Now, there's also a different kind of survey that you can take online. Ranging from two to a bazillion questions even! And it actually pays out... I know some of my friends who really did receive checks before and also payouts (via Paypal) for the surveys they took.

So I got bored and tried some surveys... and what do you know!? I GOT PAID for my honest opinion. Weeee!

Still not interested? Well, why don't you check it out and judge for yourself.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW!



Signing up is FREE, you know!!!

And guess what!? They offer a $6.00 Welcome Survey After Free Registration! Now that's something you can keep and use to buy something online later!!! Perhaps a membership to a site or something from eBay. Well, it's your money now... so do what you want with it! Tee hee.



I think it's not bad at all to kill your time and earn from it. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. Yeah? The only thing you need really is time... so go ahead and do something productive. Who knows? Maybe you'll thank me for it! *wink*

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

And on the third night, we ate. LOL! Naghinam2x na jud ug kaon ug lechon. Goodbye diet! Hello calories! ^_^

A night like any other -- poker faces and videoke queens. Except that I am a year older now. Geez.

Thanks for celebrating it with me. SAYANG! NAKALEMTAN GYUD ANG CAKE PAG KUHA SA IKEA!!! Dah.. TAGAM! Wa'y nakahinumdom sa gi order! ^_^



Location: In the garage. Laysho?! Wa'y lain venue. LOL!

In honor of the Feast of the Divine Mercy having completed the 9-day novena and of course, since it's my birthday... we went to Recla to give the kids some treats.

Works of mercy? Check.




Location: @ Recla

For the first time in history, I didn't celebrate my birthday at home! LOL!

Here's to a night out in town!

way poker... ligo2x ang show.. ug testing sa underwater cam! way klarong mga pix ni.. pero sige.. tan-awa lang ninyo hehehe

Happy kaarawan to me!!! ^_^

P.S. Mao ni training sa gusto mag adik-adik kay pataasay ug utong! hala... BAM BAM! Let's get it on!!!

\m/ai

I'm not talking about the love of my life this time... and I'm not even talking about Havaianas either. You know what's the perfect pair? GUESS!!!





There's nothing like a tiny thing that produces big, big sounds! HAHA! Kinda reminds me of someone! ^_^  Okay, so this is the X-MINI... MAX!!! You know those hamburger speakers? Yup, this is better. IMHO. If you wanna get techy, accordingly: In actual numbers, audio output for the Max is under 3.5W and 85dB compared with the original X-mini's 2.4W. How did I figure that out? I didn't. I read it from a CNET review. Hee hee. Oh, and I almost forgot... THIS IS NOW IN (((STEREO))), baby!!!




I never got interested in portable speakers before, well, not until Manoy showed me the x-mini and I got to thinking.. "Maybe this is better than having earphones stuck to my ears all the time. I might as well go deaf that way." And then I saw the RED x-mini from Silie Nation, I knew I just had to have it. It's absolutely perfect my for red Sofie and my MeiXiPod! Have a look!







The thing is, I use these mainly when I'm in the car, especially since I didn't get my sounds set up anymore... (Manoy Mark, if you're reading this, please return my amplifier! NOW!!!) The x-mini max would be the perfect replacement, as compared to using head/earphones and risking a car accident. *Knock on wood!* And you know what, this is perfect for practicing those dance moves in the shower!!! LOL!!!

Overall, I'm very pleased... So pleased that I blogged about it! HAHA! Okay, time to get my x-mini max on a test drive to Pomponan, let's see how this little thing impresses everyone.





Ciao!

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

Another picture worth a thousand words. (Too lazy to blog here!)
So here you go, guys:


BISITA IGLESIA is a Filipino tradition that is believed to be a form of penitence during the lenten season.  In this tradition, you will be traveling to at least 7 churches and pray solemnly each station between churches.

You know how us Catholic girls can be
We make up for so much time a little too late
I never forgot it, confusing as it was
No fun with no guilt feelings
The sinners, the saviors, the loverless priests
I'll see you next Sunday

We all had our reasons to be there
We all had a thing or two to learn
We all needed something to cling to
So we did

I sang Alleluia in the choir
I confessed my darkest deeds to an envious man
My brothers they never went blind for what they did
But I may as well have
In the name of the Father, the Skeptic and the Son
I had one more stupid question

We all had our reasons to be there
We all had a thing or two to learn
We all needed something to cling to
So we did

What I learned I rejected but I believe again
I will suffer the consequence of this inquisition
If I jump in this fountain, will I be forgiven
We all had our reasons to be there
We all had a thing or two to learn
We all needed something to cling to
So we did

We all had delusions in our head
We all had our minds made up for us
We had to believe in something
So we did

I was gonna do a blog about the whole Lenten season and post pictures from the bisita iglesia, but then I reckon so many people have posted the same things... of different variations... so instead, here's a little diversion.






My Good Friday dinner. =^_^= WHATEVER HAPPENED TO FASTING???  I know my "SushiMai" is nowhere near perfect but it's absolutely the same freaking delicious thing you pay for a hundred bucks or more in a Japanese resto. Kore wa ii sushi desu! Itadakimasu! Nam nam nam...

Hope you guys have a blessed Holy Week!


⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

... sans Dapoieee. Watashi wa anata wa ga koishi i desu.. 私はあなたが恋しいです。



WE MISS YOU, DIAPERRR!!! Kami ra ni Bobeta with special participation of Baboy. ^_^

A year worth of savings... in honor of my one-year anniversary of using the LOCAL OBAGI... here's something you don't see everyday. Hee hee.


And stop staring at my freaking eye bags, I need to work on that next!!! ^_^

Okay, now you know why I was such a fan of bangs before because I kept my skin (forehead to be specific!) hidden since it was all so nasty to look at! But that's a thing of the past... looking back, I now have a really good reason to celebrate!

So, cheers!!! LOCAL OBAGI RULES!!!


P.S. Hey, resellers! Yeah, that's some of you... please ask my permission if you want to use this pic on your Ebay or whatever accounts. Geez. I'm surprised to see my testimony posted all over the internet already! Gimme some credits, will ya?

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西