Happy Birthday, Katrina May!!!

Heck, my post is a day late, but better late than never, right?

Happy 22nd birthday, Katrina May! I hope 22 will be fruitful for you. Oh, and in case you need help, I'm here, always.

I love you, hunnie!!!

Test Drive - 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer MX (Part Deux)

As I've mentioned in part one, this particular Lancer was lame performance-wise. After breaking it in properly (e.g. "behaving" for the first 1000 km), I gave it a little ripping up earlier this morning.

I left home at 6:55 a.m., and since it was coding for the day (end plate #5 on a Wednesday), I had to get to work in five minutes. Normally, home to work takes ten or so minutes, but today, I had to get to work pronto. Enter test drive.

I shifted to manual mode, and let it rip to 5000 revs at first gear. As expected, there's no I'm-sucked-into-my-seat feeling here. That's what you get for having 1,150 kilos on your car. Pushing the stick up to engage the second "gear" setting (reminder: this car has CVT -- no gears, but belts), there's barely a shock as the revs drop by 1000 revs. From two to three, another 1000 revs drop (from 5000 to 4000 revs). It's nice that I'm staying in a nice powerband, but again, no I'm-sucked-into-my-seat feeling.

If you want a brand-new sportscar, you have three choices: 1. Don't buy this car, 2. buy the MX Limited version (which has 18 more ponies, thanks to the 4G93), but plan an engine upgrade -- swap the head for a DOHC one or bolt on a turbo, or 3. stop sucking and get an Evo VIII.

The Lost Ones

Last Saturday, after leaving work to meet up with Katrina in Makati, I saw a naked man walking at the corner of Balete Drive and E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue.

The scene was somewhat scary and pitiful. He was thin, with a rounding belly, clad only with small patches of dirt, and was staring blankly towards his walking destination, as if he had lost all sanity. He was not holding anything; in fact, he had nothing.

Now I don't know what happened to that man, and how he ended up that way, but it's just dreadful to see someone lose it all. It's like a person who has lost all hope in living a normal life, and just walking towards nothingness.

A few hours later, I saw another old man near D. Tuazon Avenue, wearing only a shirt and holding a sack. I think he's still sane, but is struggling. I can tell that he's been through a lot.

Mom always told me not to lose hope, and to always work hard to attain what I want. It may not be easy in the case of the two I've mentioned, but there's still hope. Ever heard of Lucio Tan and Henry Sy? They were struggling and poor at first, but look at them now. Hard will and ambition gave birth to business empires, and they sprung forth from used bottles and shoes.

Moral Lesson: Never give up hope in surviving...

Documenting Sucks

Sure, it's dead easy, but it's also dead tedious. Right now, I'm tasked to map 182 tables. (By mapping, I meant getting the details of the database, tables, and fields, plus add sample data.)

I'm now somewhere in the 60th-ish table. No action here, unlike programming.

Sucks, sucks, sucks...

"Woe Is Me"

...now I understand.

Saturday Work

It sucks, I know. Going to the office on a day when I should be going out with Katrina or bumming in some speck on this earth. It's the Sabbath, a rest day, an I-want-to-forget-work-and-relax day, call it whatever you want.

But since we have a project to rush, well, I'm here in front of a desk that I'm only used to seeing five times a week. My boss informed my team that there will be an incentive for all this (there better be...).

Going back to the good, old college days (which was only months ago), I did extend to the weekends to finish some projects. It was in the comfort of my home or with the company of a barkada. There was much more fun back then.

Now, it's quite the same, only this time I'm wishing that I'm spending quality time with my girl. You see, back in the school days, project in or project out, we spent our time together. Perhaps gluing us together could've been no problem back then.

Today, I work for Ramcar and she works for Peoplesupport, two companies with a 10-kilometer distance barrier.

By this time, I should've fetched her from work, then head to Glorietta or to any place we can think of. But today, I'm stuck in the office with a list of things to do.

I hope this project ends sooner...

Test Drive - 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer MX

After 2 days absent from work, thanks to hyperacidity (thanks to an overdose of ascorbic acid - my fault) and headaches (thanks to, well, tension, I guess), I've finally driven to work our new family car.

So what does the MX have? It's got a 6-speed shiftronic transmission (you may call it semi-automatic, Mitsubishi calls it Invecs-III), a 1600 4-cylinder powerplant capable of producing 110 horsepower, and a luxurious interior.

I'm starting to think that there's no doubt many of these Lancers suddenly popped out of nowhere. The exterior boasts both elegance and aggression at the same time. Its front, triangular lights and swooping grille (which, thankfully, replaced the squarish one) boasts strength. The body is more rounded, and is pretty much reminiscent of the 2004 Honda Accord.

Inside is a delight, starting off with the Mit-Air air conditioning system, something Mitsubishi is really boastful of. Then the cozy leather interior. Then the hands-free phone answering system. Then the 6-speaker sound system. Then the overhead sunglass holder and map lights. Then, well, that is if we decided to dish in another 80 thousand pesos, a LCD monitor (the package comes with a 1800 4-cylinder engine as well).

Legroom is also outstanding. My family has an average height of 5'8", and all five of us are seated comfortably. For its class, it sure has lots and lots of legroom -- lots more compared to a 2005 Nissan Sentra or a 2004 Mazda3.

Then, I drove it. Pure comfort. That's what you get for driving a car with CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission), having belts doing the shifting for you instead of gears. What do you get? Shock-free upshifting. In fact, all I had to do was step on the pedal, and watch the tachometer hit 2000 revs and see it stay there. If you think that means lesser fuel economy, think again -- it's already in its optimal powerband, which means you won't need to step deeper into the pedal to get the engine speed up.

I mentioned that it featured Invecs-III. It allows the driver to shift from automatic to manual mode. The plus-minus fun of the arcades can be realized in this car. Although this feature is available, I still prefer the automatic function to do the shifting in city driving (you don't need this unless you intend to rip beyond 4000 revs).

On a performance viewpoint, it's not too impressive. Although steering is very responsive, thanks to gummy 195/60R15's wrapping the wheels, it's bulky 1150-kilogram weight makes it more of a comfort car than a performance car (but compare this to the competition right now, and this Lancer still is a relatively light car). Acceleration is smooth, and can sometimes be deceptively quick, but not as quick as a 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer GLXi (which has the same power rating, but only packs 1025 kilograms). One thing to note here is the MX's better straight-line fuel efficiency; it can travel 6th gear at 80 km/h at 2000 revs (as compared to the GLXi's 70 km/h at the same engine speed).

Verdict: Having four Lancers in our family since 1980, there's no doubt my parents picked this car. It's classy and comfy, thanks to leather seats and automatic transmission. But being me, I still prefer something with a manual transmission, so I could have more control over acceleration and more playtime with the heel-and-toe.

Alternatives: If you prefer a model that would save more fuel in city driving, try the 2004 Honda City. It features a 7-speed CVT powered by either a 1.3L or a 1.5L engine, and has lots of room.

Subconscious Sadness

At this very instant, I feel sad. I had to drag myself out of bed, eat breakfast, take a shower, suit up, then drive to work.

Problem is that I haven't figured out the source of it. Perhaps it's an accumulation of so many things. Perhaps it's my biorhythm. Who knows?

Taking a look at myself, I'm still far from the John that I want to be. I still tend to be reckless with my actions. I still haven't reached my preferred asset value. I still haven't been the perfect/ideal boyfriend. I still want to realize a good number of dreams.

Perhaps it's because I think that I've got a long way to go before I touch down and attain what I want. Problem is that I tend to stray from the solutions, even though I know what to do.

Well... time to get back to work. I have to tweak this demo for later.

Evil John

The first step to shifting attitudes is by acknowledging your own faults. In my case, I have a dozen bad habits... or maybe less.

It's been 25 months since Katrina and I got together. As of late, it's been quite rocky, thanks to yours truly. That's why I can't help but say goodbye to a cold December. It's not just cold Fahrenheit-wise, but cold inside as well.

I have to confess that I have a nasty habit of hiding things. If you noticed, when I walk around, I tend to slip one of my hands in my pocket -- something I found to be expressive of one of my traits. And one product of concealment is deception.

But why deceive? It is primarily due to fear; fear of facing the consequences once the entire book named me is revealed.

But to deceive is wrong. It's mentioned in the scriptures. Not only that, but it hurts the ones who believe in you. It shakens the trust a person has built and guarded around you. Sometimes, rationalizing that "better hide than hurt someone" pops up, but in reality, that hidden truth will clog up your arteries with guilt. Slowly, an invisible wall is built around you and the one who believes in you.

Evil John has to revert sooner or later, for he loves and cares for someone... and I hope he'd realize what true love is all about.

Goodbye, Cold December

2005. What's in store for the year of the Rooster? Will things change, or will they remain the same? Will life be easier, or would it be, God forbid, the opposite?

Will I ever change? Will I grow up to be a more responsible person? Will I be wiser then? Will I learn more, perhaps the wiser way (for fools learn from their own mistakes)?

Will things get worse, or will there be a shift of tide?

We'll soon find out...