4/30/13 - Wake Up

I discovered this particular band last year with their infectious single, We Come Running. I'm still not familiar with the history of the band but I was so excited when it was announced that they were releasing their full-length debut album this year. 

Aside from their first single, we also had a taste of what their music will sound like when they released an EP last year that has songs which are included in the debut album.

If I were to describe them right now, they would be a combination of Of Monsters & Men and Walk Off The Earth, but their advantage is their music makes you feel lighter and has a brightening mood. The album title seems apt for the whole vibe of the album.

It's fun, quirky and perfect for this summer season. The vocals are lovely and the songs feel like they fit together. They were even accompanied by a children's choir on We Come Running which helped it become catchier.

They have a lot of energy and I do hope that they become the next big thing in music.

Top tracks: We Come Running, Dannyboy, Rootless

4/29/13 - Heroes Fall:Iron Man 3 OST

One of the best thing to rave about Iron Man 3 is its soundtrack. I was even more excited for the music than the movie!

However, most, if not all, songs were not played in the movie so you'll really have to buy the album. I don't regularly check out movie soundtracks but I do enjoy them once in a while especially if it includes a stellar lineup like the one on this album.

With artists like Imagine Dragons and Passion Pit contributing new songs for the album, it makes up a good listening experience. I can't say it's my favorite soundtrack but it's a good one. Though the songs are not too outstanding, it's nice to hear new music from artists in the line-up.

Other artists in the soundtrack includes Neon Trees, 3OH!3,Walk The Moon, AWOLnation and Capital Cities.

4/28/13 - Iron Man 3 + Ram's despedida

My good friend Ramel is leaving for a job in New York this Wednesday and we decided to meet up and have dinner to celebrate.

Iron Man 3 was also released in theaters this week. Me and Nicolo watched the movie before going to the dinner. It's a good thing that we bought tickets in advance because there were too many people watching especially since it was the weekend. In fact, when it opened last Thursday, it scored the biggest opening day here in the Philippines, beating the previous record holder which was Spiderman 3.

The movie was quite good. I didn't think it was so great but it has its ups and downs. I'm glad Gwyneth was such a bad-ass in the movie and not some silly damsel in distress. The movie was over 2 hours long and some parts felt dragging but overall, I like this better than the 2nd movie.

We finished at around 7 pm and we headed straight to the venue which was at the Burger Bar which was in Greenbelt 2.

It was my first time to eat there but I have heard good things about the resto so I was very excited to eat there.

I ordered The Boss which was the one where I get to pick everything that goes in my burger such as the buns and the ingredients. I even get to name my burger. I expected them to shout my order when it's prepared but it turns out that they just use it when they deliver it to the table.

The place had a good ambience overall. It wasn't so hot even if we were under the aircon. I also wanted to try out some of their food but maybe that will come next time.

We moved on to Coffee Bean to grabbed some coffee and continue our chat, mostly about our past experiences in high school. We stayed there for a while until some of us had to go. We walked around until we settled in to Glorietta 3's Cucina Andare to kill time before going home. It was also my first time to be there even though I've seen the place every week because it was in front of my gym. I did not get to try any food because I was still full by that time.

I miss days like these where I hang out with friends. Work has been stressing me since I started and have taken away my social life, and it's not even that much. I don't know how long I could keep up with the lifestyle of working on weekends but I know it's not going to be forever with the type of job I have. I just hope my body won't give up on me.

I miss my friends and I hope I get to have more opportunities to spend time with them.

4/25/13

One of my clients was dropped today. I'm not sure how I should feel about it but I do feel a tinge of sadness. It was one of my first clients that I handled and despite him being quite meticulous and pushy, I didn't mind having him as the client. I did see this coming though so I can't blame anyone. It seems like he was having issues with the actual company since he was just a middle man.

But the sadness I feel is more because of the fact that I am going to be given another client. The timing is really terrible as I'm dealing with at least 4 other clients who are on the starting stage of optimization and I am going to add another one to the mix.

I also have other problems to think about such as having to present something about SEO tomorrow. I don't know what I should talk about. I'll have to improvise.

In exactly a month from now, Circuit fest is going to happen! I've been mentioning that in my previous posts but I just cannot hide my excitement.

4/23/13

I guess luck is not by my side. Another week, another client for me.

One of my colleagues will have a vacation and we don't know how long. But that means her clients will be distributed to us. Knowing my luck, I received one of them. But there could be something good from that. I'm glad I didn't get one of the other big accounts that are much harder. But most importantly, with the new account, that makes my load full and that means no more new clients! Though I can't believe it happened when I haven't reached my 3rd month in the company yet. I'll just have to suck it up. I need to make some money after all and this is just a part of my learning process.

What I realized today is that I think I am spending too many time on several clients than the allotted time which is a problem for me. It's hard to follow the sched strictly because I don't want to see unfinished tasks. So I'll see what I should do less of.

I bought my Circuitfest ticket today! I thought I wouldn't make it since I spent a little more time in the office due to some reports but I made it just in time. If the control number is in order, then I can't believe I'm only the 59th person to buy a ticket. That means either many people went for the expensive section or it's gonna be a flop or people are still saving money, after all, it's vacation and there's no source of allowance unless they're working already. But that's good for me! At least it won't be too crowded. I just hope it won't get canceled.

4/22/13

I cannot contain my emotions right now! I can't believe that this has been announced as early as last week and I just found out about this yesterday!

This is a festival with 9 foreign bands. I've seen 4 of them already but I want to see them again. It's going to be held in the new Globe Circuit Venue in Makati. I haven't been there but it's gonna be another adventure for me!

The tickets are very expensive as seen in the poster. But there's an early bird promo for To Rock which is at 2K+. I'm not sure when the early bird promo will end but I am already going to buy my ticket this week, preferably tomorrow, just to be sure. There's also a meet & greet passes for sale but they're only available to the ones who bought To Mosh passes so I'll sadly skip that one. I'm looking forward to merchandises and seeing them live though.

What a way to end the summer! Too bad I'll probably finish my entire monthly salary after this event but it's so worth it.

4/21/13 - Legendary

The Summer Set is one of those bands that I learned to love so easily. I can't exactly remember when I discovered them but that is irrelevant. They have simply grown to be one of my favorites just within the past 3 years.

They have such a vibrant feel to their songs which is not far from their personality. They have mastered combining pop and rock and creating their own genre that I can't see anyone pull off. The closest act I can think off would be fun. but that one is already too far-fetched. 

What I like about them is that I have similar interests as the band members. They love How I Met Your Mother (if it wasn't obvious with the title), fascination for Taylor Swift and dislike for Adele, and being young at heart. Not too mention that their beautiful drummer has Filipino blood which rocks. I've seen them twice this year and enjoyed both shows.

Legendary is their third full-length studio album after 2011's Everything's Fine. It was released in stores last April 16, 2013. Unfortunately, it's not available here so I'll have to get it through my mom when she goes to the US just like how I got their first 2 albums.

The album is filled with 12 tracks including a collaboration with Dia Frampton, whom they have already sung with in their first album, Love Like This. It's interesting how they'll do things differently this time. Some have stated that they are going back to the sound of their first album but frankly, I don't care. I love all their songs and I'm just excited for this album.

They released a song called Fuck U Over last year. As much as I hate curse words in the title, the song was really catchy and fun and made me so anxious for the new album. Weeks and days before the album release, they released several songs from the album which were good and got me excited even more but at the same time, disappointed because I would have heard half the album already.

I'm glad I waited for the album before I listened to all tracks. It was just a perfect album from start to finish.

Maybe Tonight is a very good album opener and has an anthemic feel to it. "Raise your glasses, when times are rough" is one of my fave lines here. Come to think of it, they have a lot of songs that could have a similar effect. 

Songs like Jukebox (Life Goes On),The Way We Were and Lightning In A Bottle has a certain fun and light mood with it that would make them the perfect songs for a road trip.

7 Days and Happy For You are decent songs about love and keeping up with their anthemic mood is the song called Rescue that has a haunting beats in the background. 

Boomerang is also one of the catchiest track on the album, namedropping people from Jay-Z to Audrey Hepburn and keeping the album very upbeat and leaves you with a positive feeling.

Heart On The Floor is the song with Dia and those who were expecting heavy exposure for Dia might be disappointed as she does not have relevant participation in the song aside from providing additional vocals but it doesn't mean that the song is bad. It's probably the only weak song on the album but that's not saying much.

The title track, Legendary, is a mellowed down version and a song that they actually made out of their obsession  with HIMYM. "I've been spending too many nights watching How I Met Your Mother alone" is just one line that references and namedrops the show along with yellow umbrella.

The only major element in this album that might be noticeable is that their is a certain electronic beat that is similar in most songs. I'm not against it but others may think that they all sound the same. To me, it's just a trademark and what makes their sound different and unique to them.

With this album, they just proved that they might as well be on the road to become a legendary act on my list.

Top tracks: Lightning In A Bottle, Maybe Tonight, Rescue

4/20/13

This week's news has been crazy. I'm sure everyone has heard the bombings that rocked the Boston marathon. America has been struck with a lot of tragedies last year and this year is no different.

The bombings caused 3 people to die including an 8 yr. old kid and a lot of injuries. Several people lost their body parts and I'm sure this will traumatize a lot of people especially those who were there and survived. It's even sadder that the family of the Newtown shooting victims last year were there to watch the event and have to go through another disaster again.

Many made their speculations and theories on what happened and most are concluding that it is terrorism. The government did not specifically state the reason but they are saying that it was not done by a group of people and probably by some activist or a loner.

Just a day after, a Texas fertilizer plant exploded leaving some deaths and hundreds of injuries and made residents nearby fleeing their homes, most of which were destroyed.  But this was an accident and not related to the Boston bombings.

After several reports of suspects and false alarms, the FBI finally released pictures of two suspects and they believed that the bomb they used was a pressure cooker filled with nails and scrap metal. They were Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, brothers with Chechen heritage but lived in the US for a decade accdg. to their uncle. 

As if they have not done enough damage to Boston already, the brothers robbed a 7/11 store, killed a police officer at MIT, hijacked a car and had a shoot out with the cops and threw explosives at them. Tamerlan was killed during the chase but his younger brother fled on foot leading to a manhunt and the city of Boston to be on lockdown.

It's crazy when the FBI and many police are having a hard time going after a 19 year old kid. He was apparently using social media during that time and kept on tweeting but there were allegations that it was not his account.

I woke up this morning to see the news and he has been captured! The people  of Boston finally found relief which is good news. The suspect is now beuing treated for his injuries at a hospital. 

I haven't been invested in the news lately except for this one. But I hope that this won't be another reason for Americans to discriminate Chechens.

The motives aren't clear yet but we'll have to wait for Dzokhar to stabilize and hope that no other tragedy will strike.

But please do keep the victims and their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.

4/18/13

Sweating. That is something that happens to me very excessively and would do anything to stop it in an instant.

It can be attributed to the heat of the summer but it has been happening to me for several months already, maybe even more than a year. I even sweat a lot in an airconditioned room while doing nothing. I don;t see other people sweat as much as I do.

The funny thing is that I usually sweat more when I'm not working out rather than when I do a lot of physically exhausting activities at the gym.

It is really bothersome as everytime I go to work, I am already soaking wet. I walk from Greenbelt to the office which usually takes a 20-30 minute walk.

I don't even  do cardio workout at the gym cause my walk from the office already compensates that particular workout.

It's not just affecting me but others too. I feel that they're afraid to go near me out of disgust of my sweat which I can't blame them.

I don't really know how to treat it. I take a bath daily, put on anti-perspirant and stay out of the sun as much as possible but it's clearly not working and hard to do considering the humidity of our country.

I've even done some small research on what is happening to me and I think I might have this condition called hyperhidrosis.

I even tried to pinpoint the reason aside from the weather and thought that it might be a side effect of the whey protein that I've been taking a lot. I did see a lot of people saying they are sweating when they drink it before bedtime. I couldn't find a simpler and straight to the point answer so I couldn't pinpoint what exactly is the problem. I even read some weird stuff about it underlying a bigger problem that is health related and I am worried about that. It's not like I can drop by a hospital and ask a doctor what is wrong with me. They'll just dismiss me and say it's the heat.

It's probably the stress but whatever it is, it's been really tough for me to deal with this unwanted condition.

4/17/13

Not much update today since I'm in a hurry.

As I expected, workload has been getting heavier with a new client being assigned to me. I hope it's the last one for now.

I also learned how to create a new Facebook page!Too bad it's not getting likes:/

Also, I've been buying a lot of cds recently and I'm not even finished yet!I am so excited to get more since a lot of cds I like are on sale!

I'm supposed to attend a Google event tomorrow but it turns out that it's for sales people only so I'm gonna be stuck at the office instead. I was really looking forward for that one. But at least I won't have to wake up so early since the event starts at 8 am.

4/14/13

This weekend seems to pass by so fast. Though it has been for 2 months already, this seems different and I can't point out why. Perhaps it's because I felt so unproductive and I know that this coming work week will be hectic since I have a bunch of tasks to do and I feel that something big is gonna happen. They've already started when they changed some policies and work routines to be implemented this week.

But at least they finally installed an aircon in our office!It's not as cold as I hoped for but the air isn't as humid as before. Now, the problem is the timer which we use for our log time. It started to malfunction last week and when they fixed it, they set it up 5 minutes in advance which may cause me to accumulate more undeserved tardiness.

I've been having One Tree Hill marathons for the past few weeks and I'm on season 5 already. It's amazing how much memory it brings back and how I can relate to their problems even up to now. No wonder it's my favorite show ever. How I wish I could be a part of their made-up world. I've been watching it everytime I'm at home especially on weekends which is probably why I feel so unproductive.

But on the good side, I received a lot of cds last week that I've always wanted. My music collection is growing continuously especially since I started working again so at least there's one good side of going to work, well at least until they start deducting taxes. Not to mention the food that I usually buy for dinner since I go home late during gym days. My budget's got to be well-planned.

Two months passed and I'm still having a hard time sleeping early. It's mostly because I'm afraid of what's gonna happen the following day but it just makes me feel tired even on weekends when I should be enjoying it.

Let's see if this week will have something nice to look forward to aside from another weekend.

4/13/13 - Neverstore

Just by looking at the album cover, I thought they were just another punk rock wannabe but I was wrong.

I was prepared to hear songs that sounded like demos with unpolished screams and rip-offs but they are actually good. A quick search about them reveals that they're a Swedish pop-punk band that are actually more established than I thought and have performed with well-known bands such as Good Charlotte and My Chemical Romance and even nominated in the MTV EMA back in 2007.

I guess it's not too late to like them now. They're music is actually worth checking out and reminds me of several artists I like and though that may be a problem in terms of having their own identity, that doesn't mean their music is no good. It's a nice fun album that's worth checking out.

Top tracks: For The Rest Of My Life, Bullets And Quicksand, Got My Heart To The Left

4/11/13 - Collider

They are one of those bands that I've discovered within 2-3 years ago. They have already released 3 albums by that time which makes this album the 1st album that I have been anticipating for from them.

They're a pop/rock band which fits perfectly to my taste. I fell in love instantly with their first single from this album, Uninspired, and I had a good feeling about the album.

I have been listening to the entire album since it was available and my feeling wasn't wrong. Though I may have seen some reviews saying that this isn't as edgy as compared to their previews albums, I won't bother to make a comparison since it ain't fair when they were still unknown to me during their growth as a band. I can't say that they're new to me since I do have all their previous albums on my iPod and I liked them. Still, this album is full of catchy hooks and choruses that makes it fun to listen to. Plus this might be irrelevant but I love the album cover. It's nothing special but it's appealing to me.

Top tracks: Uninspired, Second Chances, Take Me With You

4/10/13 - Should've Gone To Bed

Plain White T's released a new EP recently. It's a follow up to their full length album from 2010. They did release some new music in between but those were mostly for soundtracks. With this EP, I guess I can expect a new album from them soon.

It's just a short EP with 4 songs. But even so, it's better than I expected. They sound different but still good. The vocals seems to have changed  without having a change in line-up but that's a sign of maturity and it's a welcome treat.

If this sound is the direction they're taking, then I'm very excited to hear new material from them.

4/9/13 - Save Rock And Roll

Fall Out Boy is making a big and unexpected return this year! Earlier this year, they released their first single called My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark. The song just popped out of nowhere but it quickly captured the attention of fans and started climbing the charts and even trended on Twitter.

They've been on a long hiatus for a long time now and some even thought they broke up already but I'm glad they didn't

As their new album, Save Rock And Roll, is about to be released, they streamed it last night and I got to download it already!

I have to say that the album is really good and one of the best albums I've heard this year. Admittedly, I own two of their previous albums but I only bought them because they were on sale. But I might make an exception with this album just because it's so good. Great vocals and great lyrics makes up this album. Their sound has evolved in a good way and shows creative growth.  They have a lot of collaborations on this album even if they are quite unnecessary but doesn't bring down the song's weight. One odd collab on this album is the one with Elton John but it actually works somehow. Fortunately, I didn't have to hear Elton sing a lot on the song.

With the title, one would assume that it's full of heavy guitar-ridden songs they might be disappointed. Sure, all the tracks are quite upbeat but it's not what others would label as rock and roll but that genre is hard to define nowadays so it doesn't matter. They manage to grow up and still keep the vintage sound that makes an FOB record.

Top tracks: The Phoenix, Just One Yesterday and Rat A Tat

4/8/13

I am so glad that we have no work tomorrow!. It turns out that it's a special holiday so we get the day off.

I plan to spend it at home and relax. My mom's coming home tomorrow and she has my new cds. It's also our payday this Wednesday so that's something to look forwards to since I don't have money anymore. My wallet's never been so thin since high school.

I wish I could say more right now but I'm just so tired. Just the thought of having a free day tomorrow gave me some energy to post.

4/7/13 - Chasing Mavericks

Gerard Butler stars in this drama based on a real life story of a surfer named Jay Moriarity. Gerard plays Frosty who is an experienced surfer and Jay is a young kid who loves to surf since he was young. Jay enlists the help of Frosty to train him survive one of the biggest waves on Earth called the Mavericks.

I admit that I wasn't really interested to watch this when I saw the trailer. It seemed like a decent movie but not something I'd go out to watch.

But earlier, I couldn't pick any movie and so I decided to get a copy of this movie. I can't really say much about it but it was actually a good family oriented movie. It can be a little dragging and boring at parts but the end makes up for it.

I didn't know it was based on a true story until before writing this but it was inspirational. The story happened mostly when he was 15 years old and I'm impressed by his surfing skills.

The acting was good and the beach is generally a nice view to look at. So if you're looking for a nice movie to watch on a calm night, go ahead and try watching this one.

4/6/13

Just when I thought things wouldn't get worse at work, it did.

The other day, me and my colleague were called by the boos and showed a conversation between him and one of my clients. It was quite an unpleasant conversation and I felt so embarrassed. I don't know what I'm doing wrong since I'm doing everything I can to help them and I'm doing all my tasks. Although my boss didn't do drastic moves that he could have done such as to humiliate or scold us in front of our officemates, I felt like the whole session was towards me especially since I am handling the account. I felt ashamed for my colleague who was the team leader and the one who handed me the account and I feel like I let her down. This isn't the first time I fewlt that way and I hope that will stop. As much as I want to do more, there's really not much I can do and his account is affecting my other clients. Speaking of other clients, two of my new clients are in their early stage of the campaign which is a delicate part since I have to do a lot of optimization to do for them. 

Just the other night on my way home, I got to walk along my officemate since we left the office the same time and we talked about some stuff that is mostly about our careers. He revealed that he didn't expect that he will last long in the company and in the field of our company in general and even asked me if I was happy. I couldn't really answer him straight and just told him that I was doing fine because as much as I am glad that I have a job, I feel like I don't have the heart and passion to do it. Don't get me wrong, I wanted this job but I expectantly made another wrong choice. I thought this was perfect for me but it looks like I've lost that drive to do well in this job. What's worse is that it's just my 2nd month since I've started but it feels like I've been with them for a year. I don't want to quit and I really have to reach that goal of being with them for a year, which means I have 10 more months at least! He revealed his plans of leaving the country to get another job and how I wish I could do the same. But I'm more glad for him that he has a plan for his life unlike me.

Work has been bugging me and today for instance, my sleep was interrupted when I woke up a few minutes before 9:00 am and panicked that no one woke me up until I realized that it's a Saturday.

I've been rewatching One Tree Hill and I'm already on season 2. Hope I could finish it by tomorrow before the new work week starts.

4/3/2013 - Paper Towns

I finished another John Green book a week ago. I forgot to write about it so I'm doing it now.

This is another novel about a couple of childhood friends, Margo Roth Spielman and Quentin Jacobsen.

They were good friends when we were young as they were neighbors. But as they grew up, they got separated into different social circles. Margo became one of the more well-known girls in school while Quentin was more content with his own circle of friends. But despite that, they didn't really grew apart from each other and still consider each other as friends.

Quentin is more of the responsible type who is afraid to break rules but does not restrict himself to it while Margo had a history of being mischievous and running away from home which her parents got used to.

During one night, Margo and Quentin breaks the rules and does some stuff together in the middle of the night and for once, felt like they were the good friends that they were. Quentin discovers some personal and surprising tidbits about Margo particularly her wrong but playful ways.

Despite that night of closeness, things seemed to be back to normal until one day, Margo's parents revealed that Margo has disappeared. As contrary to what parents would react, Margo's parents doesn't seem to care as much as they should. But they revealed that she had a history of running away and would leave vague clues behind.

This gives Quentin a motivation to find Margo and bring her back home and brings along his friends even if it means skipping their high school graduation.

The story is nothing groundbreaking but it's a nice read. I think I'm already getting the style of John Green as it's usually about a love story of a boy and a girl and going on a trip. In fact, I'm reading another John Green book right now and almost reminds me of his other books. But I'm not complaining as I'm enjoying what I've read from him so far.

The ending of the book is quite underwhelming but the main body or the journey towards that point is good. If you're wondering why it's called Paper Towns, you'll have to read the book.

4/2/13 - R.E.V.O.

I realize that this band became known for their cover of Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know but I found out about them through their EP.

What got me hooked is their soothing voices that mixed well together while singing those insanely catchy hooks. Although it's easy to compare them with the likes of similar artists, it doesn't mean they're not good on their own. With their different instruments, they sing their songs collectively as a group that creates a perfect summer-y feeling of joy that will make you feel good and light.

Though they did release some previous materials before, this album is a good introduction to their music. It's one of my faves of the year so far.

Top tracks: Red Hands, Gang Of Rhythm, Speeches

4/1/13

Happy April Fool's Day!Well I'm quite late but it's still the 1st in other countries anyway.

It's our first day back at work today and I got swamped with work right away! They gave me a new client to work with. I was hoping it was an April Fool's joke but it wasn't.

It would have been okay since their contract is only up to one month but their site is so disorganized and they have at least a hundred pages to optimize which I have to fit in 20 hours of work in a month. I know it's wrong to think this way but I am praying that they won't renew their contract. At least not now perhaps since we're all swamped with work and we seriously lack people in the office. The though of doing that R word is on the back of my head especially after this Holy week passed by but I'm still holding on to my goal of staying for a year at least. This could be my most challenging but meaningful job I have so far and I want to learn a lot from it as much as I can.

I've started rewatching One Tree Hill from the very start these past few days and I am reminded of why this is my favorite show. I'm planning to do the same for the other TV shows but I don't have the complete seasons of all of them so I'll just have to do it with the complete ones first.

Speaking of TV shows, I just saw the season 3 finale of The Walking Dead and I was quite disappointed. I expected a lot of action but it was underwhelming plus they killed the wrong character. I was really hoping Andrea would be in the show for quite some time and have some redemption for her character. We won't see that now. Season 4 better be good.