Jose Rizal in Chinese Museum

December 2008

Chin Kang, China

Who would have thought of seeing the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal, in China. I never thought I would, so when I saw his portrait in one of the museums I had my picture taken with him right away. It turns out that he was a native from Jinjiang province. His portrait came with the following description:

Jose P. Rizal (1861-1896), native of Jinjiang, was the leader of the national independent movement of the Philippines, an author, poet, PhD of medicine. He was killed by the Spanish colonist authority, for his poems exposing the crime of Spanish colonization, his organization of the Union of the Philippines and leading the civil revolution of the Philippines. He was honored to be the Chief Hero and Father of the Nation after the independence of the Philippines.

Share a cup with me

Mocha Blends, Asiatown IT Park
Cebu City, Philippines

These were taken during one of our (former officemates and friends) coffee sessions right at the ground floor of my former office in Cebu City. The coffee shop just recently opened back then. It was where we splurged our winnings! The good old days. (^O^)/

Think of this site when you are on a break, relaxing, sipping a glass of coffee. Let me be your coffee companion. If you don't go for coffee, I can be your tea companion as well. I'm flexible, whatever you prefer. hehehe (^O^)/

Sports Action: Aviva Badminton Open

AVIVA SINGAPORE OPEN
JUNE 13-15, 2008
Singapore Indoor Stadium



Jubilation in Victory, Sadness in Defeat

The Malaysian pair won over the Chinese pair. Xie Zhongbo (China) shown in the picture with his head bowed.

Joachim Persson in Action

My Canon 350D is not fast enough for sports photography but I got lucky and got a clear shot of Persson (above) hitting an overhead shot. I was so envious of the faster cameras the Pros were using. One click and their shutters would fire away like machine guns! But my new lens (Sigma OS 18-200mm) came in handy as I was shooting from the stands. How can I get better shots?

SEH-MON!

Simon Santoso is Indonesia's up and coming badminton star. At 22 years old, he is already one of Indonesia's best hopes for an olympic medal in Beijing. He was runner up at the Aviva Singapore Open 2008 starting off really well against Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but the more experienced Chong Wei ran off with the match in the second set. His name is pronounced by his fans as SEH-MON as opposed to the more popular pronounciation of SAHY-MON. I like the way he plays! Hopefully I can see him more on TV so I can imitate his game ^^

Sexy Sunsets

June 8, 2008
Boracay Island, Philippines

My second to the last hurrah before grad classes start again. The last time I was in Boracay was 10 years ago with college friends. The place has changed a lot! It now tops my list of beach getaways. See my teasers here.

Saffron Robes

Ayutthaya, Thailand
May 5, 2008

First picture is a beautiful painting being sold in a souvenir shop near Wat Pho. Since I couldn't afford it, I just took a photo of it and planned to have it printed.

Second shot is my take on the first photo. While walking along the ruins in Ayutthaya, I saw a group of monks walking away, since I didn't have that much time to spare I just snapped away whatever was infront of me. Post processed the photo using Fake HDR technique and applied the Orton effect, making it appear more like a painting, which I learned/heard from my friend Ken.