It’s one of those rare moments to enjoy alcoholic drinks here in Doha, Qatar…
Looking for more meaningful content? Not really.
Sorry, I just actually want to showcase some of my not-so-good photography portfolio. 🙂
Here’s another, a night view of Doha:
Went to the concert last Thursday. The performance was fine. No, it was great actually.
There were some problems, though, before the show started. The area was basically an open field, meaning people were coming from different directions. But the organizers didn’t anticipate that, or maybe they did anticipate but did nothing to bring the entrance of the audience to a complete coordination. Come 7:30 pm (the show was about to start at 8 pm), the absence of a queue was apparent.
Monoblock chairs (it was an open field, remember) for VVIP’s and VIP’s with tagged numbers at the back of the chairs supposed to correspond to ticket numbers. But some numbers were missing, while some chairs were not tagged, bringing the event to the verge of chaos.
The night was cold. No, it was very cold. It was obvious from the trembling voices of the performers. Sarah Geronimo I presume caught a cold after the show.
Thank God, it didn’t rain, though (yes, there is rain in Qatar, one that could really ruin your day. Look at the Opening Ceremony of the Doha Games 2006. You can read more about the rain in Qatar in Anthony’s blog. It’s a good read, I promise).
Yet, the numbers delivered by the performers, which comprised Sarah Geronimo, Rachelle Ann Go, Christian and Mark Bautista, and Randy Santiago, were for lack of words, marvelous… entertaining… great!
We were seated quite far from the stage, that’s why I didn’t get a good shot using my not-so-suited-for-low-light-photography lens, the EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6IS USM (that’s why I hate Salam Plaza Photo Imaging Section.) Here’s one, though, for your viewing pleasure.
This is a guest post from Marky.
So early in life and I’m already assessing my self if where I am now is where I really wanted to be. 23 years so far, passed high school without a glitch, cruised around college life, thrived qualifying for a professional license, struggled with work, now here abroad earning my fair share of the greenback as an auditor. I know that where I am now would have been the envy of a lot of guys around my age. But if you ask me if it’s all worth it, the financial stability, the prospect of going no where but up, the bright future that lies ahead, I think not.
I can vividly remember the chat I had with my officemate a few a days back. We were contemplating about what type of work we would opt to be doing. We had a few requirements. For starters, we wanted a job that we would be doing only if we want to. We sighted examples such as being an FX driver, or maybe something that has to do with freelance photography. Next, something that we would be doing because we love doing, again photography popped up, graphic artist maybe and probably pro athlete. Writing also appeared out of the back of my mind, playing music too, as well as doing some sketching. Another requirement we had was that we would have a steady income no matter what. I can only think of one profession that fits the bill, an owner of a “paupahan”.
This incident is quite new. I haven’t heard of it before until today, when I was given a copy of the affidavit supposedly filed by the complainant in the Philippines. Why the victim filed a complaint in Manila already and not in Qatar? Well, it appears that it’s because of negligence of duty in the offices of the Philippine Embassy here in Qatar and OWWA.
I wanted to verify the authenticity of this affidavit. If this case really happened, there should already have been discussions all over the net. So I tried googling for her name (the victim). And I found this one at the Pinoy Exchange. It’s going to be a long read, but please read the whole story.
I really can’t imagine we have such kind of Embassy and OWWA office here in Qatar. I would like to believe that it’s not true. Because if it is, WHAT IF? I can’t imagine!
Just got myself a new Imation USB2.0 Pocket Flash Drive, a 4GB one, as a replacement for my old 256mb generic flash drive I bought 2 years ago from CD-R King in Glorieta, Makati.
The old flash drive malfunctioned after I pulled it off the usb port while my notebook was busy writing/reading it (another lesson learned!). I grew impatient and pulled it off without following the safety removal process of the hardware.
Anyway, this new one (Imation), with its 4gb capacity, I can use to hold my Uniserver, as well as tons and tons of my documents. Yet, it’s compact and lightweight.
But what I liked most about this pocket flash drive is the password protection and drive partitioning software provided within the product. Unlike truecrypt, it doesn’t require an administrator privilege anymore to access the secured partition of the drive.
Now, another reason to relax. Right the day after the Hearts from Home Concert, Regine and company will be in Qatar Sports Club for Smart Pinoy Goes to Middle East (Qatar).
Just an update, we’ve already secured tickets for the Hearts from Home Concert, and planning to attend also this one! However, the sad news is that my EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens is still in Salam for repair (because of faulty autofocus). Darn, I hate that Salam! My lens is with them already for almost a month, and right now they’re still waiting for the parts from Dubai.
I’ll just have to try my best to take good pictures out of my EFS 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.
The Iloilo international airport will be open to commercial flights in April and is expected to boost the tourism industry and economy in Western Visayas.
The P8.759-billion project is 97-percent complete and the first commercial flight will land there on April 18, according to Senator Franklin Drilon, who inspected the site with Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza on Friday.
Read News: Inquirer.net, NewsToday
Does this mean I can now take a direct flight to and from Qatar and Iloilo?
Equipped with modern equipment, the NIADP which will be operational 24 hours a day could accommodate bigger aircrafts like Airbus 330 and Airbus 340 and even Boeing 747.
Let’s see.
Construction of the Iloilo international airport started in 2004 and will be completed on March 18. The airport is being built on a 188-hectare area straddling Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan towns, 24 kilometers west of here.
I’m not sure yet how far will the terminal be from the city, and from Tigbauan. I haven’t seen the area yet.
Mybloglog, just like friendster and myspace, is a social network or community website basically for bloggers and readers alike. What better way to describe it than by its about page.
MyBlogLog is launching this new Communities service to empower authors and readers to operate at the same level. For the first time, everyone who reads a web site or blog can learn about and engage with one another, and in the process take the conversation to a whole new level.
Readers can become friends with other people who read your favorite blogs. See what else they’re reading. Check out their MySpace and Friendster profiles and view their Flickr photostreams. Authors can learn more about their readers individually and as a group. What do they like and what are they ignoring? What are they reading elsewhere on the Web?
Sounds interesting? Well, actually, Mybloglog has been a talk in the blogosphere in the past month or so (although it has been in existence for almost 2 years now) including news of it being acquired by Yahoo! Yet, I just actually signed up for it 2 weeks ago. And so far I had a great use for it.
Another thing, the statistics analytics tool within Mybloglog comes very handy. It provided interesting info about my visitors, like where did they come from (how did they come here), which pages did they view, and what outside links from my site did they click.
So, what did I find interesting from all these stats?
I just found this actually in Filipino Expats Qatar.
Sounds interesting, considering that this is but just one of the few concerts by Filipino artists here in Doha. It can also be a good answer to Mike’s concern.
I’m wondering if it can do a good night of relaxation!
This is a guest post from Marky.
What might have been, it’s most probably the hardest question you’ll ever ask yourself. To live in utter regret and confusion, as memories of lost opportunities seep through your inner spirit. As you see your dreams go down the drain even before you plunge in and give it a go. A question perhaps you’ll never know the answer, not even when the opportunity, no matter how rarely it may seem, comes knocking at your door the second time around.
As time passes by, circumstances change. Nothing is the same. No matter how hard you convince yourself that you are better off with the way you are now. There will always be a point in your journey where you stop and ask this improbable question. And would you call it malcontent, irreverence towards where God led you, or is it just part of our human nature to question our frailty in standing up to our decisions? I don’t know.
Sometimes I feel that maybe it is God’s way of showing us that we are free beings, beings who make decisions out of the desires of his heart, out of the fleeting emotions one feels at a certain point in time? Yes, free beings, and no matter how free we are, we are however not free from the consequences of our decisions. We could either, live in shame, sulk in regret or move on hoping that the next decision we make won’t create the same amount of disarray in our system.
In my 23 something years of existence, I have asked this question a tad too much. Is it my lack of confidence in my own capacities? Is it my overtly eager spirit? Truth is, I don’t have answers. What I do know is that when I made my decisions, Christ was with me, and as I go along, either regretting my decision or rejoicing in utmost glee, he would still be with me. I may not have sought Christ’s counsel in some of the decisions I’ve made, but I know that he was with me and continues to be with me, for he said in his word, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, and that ought to be enough comfort to any disgruntled mind asking the question of “what might have been?”.