Here are some goal-setting videos to help us make better goals (and resolutions) for the coming new year. It's been a while since I made proper goals for myself. I kept putting it off because of the kids or work, but I should take the time to figure out what I need to achieve, what I need to do to, and how I can accomplish my goals for the year.
I want to learn new things at work and at home, hopefully to make me more productive in both areas of my life. I also want to go back into writing fiction, as well as learning more about illustration and drawing.
Pacquiao Vector Poster
Finished another photoshop/illustrator tutorial, courtesy of vector.tutsplus.com. The original tutorial teaches you how to create one of those inspirational political posters. It starts off with some basic image editing techniques in Photoshop and then load the images to illustrator.
Here is the original image taken from the vectortuts+ website:
I decided to use Manny Pacquiao as the poster boy for my vector exercise. I got this image of him from MFJ Tribune:
Actually I cheated a few steps in the tutorial. I should have used the Pen tool to trace the image of Manny (as suggested in the tutorial), but I got lazy. Instead, I used Illlustrator's Live Trace feature to automatically draw the image outline. But it works for me.
Celebrating the "End of the World"
To kick-start the doomsday/end-of-the-world party, I would like to share some of the earth-shattering videos I found online. These videos might not be as apocalyptic as the Mayans predict, but they are plausible scenarios that might happen/
I do believe we are too dependent on oil and oil is a finite resource that would run out one day. It would be wise to prepare for such an event. Personally I found the video's reaction to oil depletion a bit extreme. I think the effects of dwindling oil would be played out in a longer span of time. People would have time and resources to transition out of oil dependence into renewable energy.
Imagine the problems of global warming, global financial recession, terrorism, and dwindling resources mixed into one ticking time bomb that can trigger at any time soon. This could be another doomsday scenario that has a greater chance of occurring. I think we can weather these disasters if we are properly informed and are prepared to face these events when they happen.
Living here in Manila, I think we are too familiar with the effects of population explosion. But I think this is another possible doomsday scenario that could happen here in the Philippines more than in any other parts of the world.
I do believe we are too dependent on oil and oil is a finite resource that would run out one day. It would be wise to prepare for such an event. Personally I found the video's reaction to oil depletion a bit extreme. I think the effects of dwindling oil would be played out in a longer span of time. People would have time and resources to transition out of oil dependence into renewable energy.
Imagine the problems of global warming, global financial recession, terrorism, and dwindling resources mixed into one ticking time bomb that can trigger at any time soon. This could be another doomsday scenario that has a greater chance of occurring. I think we can weather these disasters if we are properly informed and are prepared to face these events when they happen.
Living here in Manila, I think we are too familiar with the effects of population explosion. But I think this is another possible doomsday scenario that could happen here in the Philippines more than in any other parts of the world.
The Big Four and Zero...
Wow I can't believe I have reached this stage in life. It's like hitting another big landmark (or a major stop over) in a very long journey. I can't help but think back on the old days. Occasions like this often make me want to dig up all those memories buried deep inside my head. I don't want to get sentimental or anything. But I do feel grateful for everything I had and experienced -- the good and the bad. And I am really grateful that I was given the freedom make these decisions.
Some people would want to be reminded of their accomplishments and failures. Others would prefer to spend the day in the company of their loved ones. But I prefer celebrating this day by being thankful and appreciating the things in my life. And I hope I would continue to make the most out of this borrowed time that we call life.
Some people would want to be reminded of their accomplishments and failures. Others would prefer to spend the day in the company of their loved ones. But I prefer celebrating this day by being thankful and appreciating the things in my life. And I hope I would continue to make the most out of this borrowed time that we call life.
Christmas Gifts for the Kids
With Christmas just around the corner, we have been thinking real hard on what gifts to give the kids. Both of them have been good this year so we decided to reward them with something nice. This year we avoided shopping presents in the big malls and Divisoria, knowing that we'll be competing with other consumers, hunting for the best toy bargains.
I made purchases online, mostly through ebay.ph and sulit.com. It sounds funny but I think I have grown more confident and trusting of online shopping (compared to a few years back). And I think we made some good choices in the presents we'd give our kids.
For Nika, we'll be giving her a Doc McStuffin doll. At first I wanted to buy her a collection of Disney Princess dolls, but I don't think she'll appreciate them. Nika absolutely adores Doc McStuffin, so I think she'll treasure this gift more.
For Aaron, we'll be giving him another set of Thomas Tomy toy trains. One of the trains would be a new Hiro train set. He lost his old Hiro train at school and he has been hoping to find him again. I also saw some second hand Thomas Tomy trains at ebay, worth 180 to 280 pesos. I think these trains would be a good addition to his Thomas train collection.
I made purchases online, mostly through ebay.ph and sulit.com. It sounds funny but I think I have grown more confident and trusting of online shopping (compared to a few years back). And I think we made some good choices in the presents we'd give our kids.
For Nika, we'll be giving her a Doc McStuffin doll. At first I wanted to buy her a collection of Disney Princess dolls, but I don't think she'll appreciate them. Nika absolutely adores Doc McStuffin, so I think she'll treasure this gift more.
For Aaron, we'll be giving him another set of Thomas Tomy toy trains. One of the trains would be a new Hiro train set. He lost his old Hiro train at school and he has been hoping to find him again. I also saw some second hand Thomas Tomy trains at ebay, worth 180 to 280 pesos. I think these trains would be a good addition to his Thomas train collection.
Aside from the Train set, I am still not sure if it is time to get Aaron his own set of Lego bricks. He now makes wonderful Duplo buildings, cars, and planes. But I don't think his hands are capable of manipulating smaller Lego bricks. I am thinking of getting two more Lego Shell Ferrari car sets, have him play around with it, and see how he manages with the small sets. Hopefully I will be able to decide if he can finally graduate from Duplo toys and move to Lego.
Printing Large Posters Using Home Printer
I am writing an instructional post, explaining how to create a large poster using a lot of A4 (standard white bond) paper, a normal home printer (I used a Canon MP 287), and Adobe Acrobat (standard edition).
I was tasked to draw animals for our church's nativity play and I came out with a few vector illustrations.
Once the animals were approved, I needed to convert these digital images into large drawings for the Christmas play. I searched online, hoping to find some tutorials on how to make these big illustrations.
I did find a few useful sites that can help my work, but the perfect site (for me) was blockposters.com. The site offers a three step approach to creating wall-sized posters from any size image. Obviously, the three steps are -- (1) uploading the image, (2) slicing the image, and (3) downloading the image.
The site can only slice any image file with 1MB file size or lower. I wish they could increase the file size up to 5MB or more, but we have to do with what is available to us.
So I uploaded one of my vector sheep images into the site and this is how it sliced up the image:
Once the animals were approved, I needed to convert these digital images into large drawings for the Christmas play. I searched online, hoping to find some tutorials on how to make these big illustrations.
I did find a few useful sites that can help my work, but the perfect site (for me) was blockposters.com. The site offers a three step approach to creating wall-sized posters from any size image. Obviously, the three steps are -- (1) uploading the image, (2) slicing the image, and (3) downloading the image.
The site can only slice any image file with 1MB file size or lower. I wish they could increase the file size up to 5MB or more, but we have to do with what is available to us.
So I uploaded one of my vector sheep images into the site and this is how it sliced up the image:
You must select how many pages wide you like your poster to come out. I decided to make my poster four pages wide (portrait sized). You will be able to see how your image looks like once you made the selection.
Once the image has been sliced up, you can download a pdf version of the image. You can open the pdf image using Adobe Reader and print it out with any home printer.
Another way of printing large images is with Adobe Acrobat Professional, using the Tile Large Page feature. Make sure you convert your large image into a pdf file and open the file in Adobe Acrobat Professional.
Once the pdf image is open, click File > Print. The Print window appears, showing different printing options and settings. On the Page Handling section, select "Tile large pages" from the Page Scaling option. The preview image on the right will show how your image would be printed. Click OK to print your image.
Dream House
I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the perfect home for my growing family. It would be nice to buy one of those fancy townhouses made by big real estate developers. But I personally think property prices in the metropolis are way to high, probably higher than their actual values.
It would be wonderful to build your own house, probably something that reflects your personal tastes and ideas. Personally I prefer smaller houses because they are easier to manage and easier to clean. If given the choice, I would build a house that would look something like this:
The house would probably have three bedrooms - one for the boys, one for Nika, and one for me and Jen. I think tiny houses like these would allow us to be more aware of our surroundings and become closer as a family. The smaller space would teach us to be more conscious of the things we own (and force us to stop collecting junk).
I also found a site that features tiny houses in America. It offers a lot of wonderful ideas on building these small houses. I could imagine living in one of these homes.
I think these tiny houses offer a different approach to family and home building. We have been trained to think that "big is better" and having more stuff means you are rich or successful. But living small doesn't mean you are depriving yourself of the many luxuries of life. It only means that you are focusing on the essentials and the things that really matter to you.
It would be wonderful to build your own house, probably something that reflects your personal tastes and ideas. Personally I prefer smaller houses because they are easier to manage and easier to clean. If given the choice, I would build a house that would look something like this:
The house would probably have three bedrooms - one for the boys, one for Nika, and one for me and Jen. I think tiny houses like these would allow us to be more aware of our surroundings and become closer as a family. The smaller space would teach us to be more conscious of the things we own (and force us to stop collecting junk).
I also found a site that features tiny houses in America. It offers a lot of wonderful ideas on building these small houses. I could imagine living in one of these homes.
I think these tiny houses offer a different approach to family and home building. We have been trained to think that "big is better" and having more stuff means you are rich or successful. But living small doesn't mean you are depriving yourself of the many luxuries of life. It only means that you are focusing on the essentials and the things that really matter to you.
Wednesday Morning Music
I'm glad he came out with another new song. It's been a while since I last heard him in the radio.
The Dream of Early Retirement
This is something I would love to do. I don't know if I can actually leave work at an earlier age (perhaps at 45 years old), with three kids to support. I haven't talked to Jen about it yet and I think the first question she'll ask is what I plan to do once I "retire".
For me, retirement is not actually leaving work or the office. I picture retirement as a career shift, perhaps into a work that is less stressful, less demanding, and more fulfilling. I still want to earn money, perhaps discover a few passive income sources and spending more time with my family and my hobbies.
There are tons of videos and articles online, teaching people how they can retire early. According to these financial gurus, the three most common habits that can help you retire early are: (1) eliminate debt, (2) save, and (3) practice frugality.
I think I have mastered the first and second habits. But I still need to be more frugal and cut down on the urge for impulse buying. A big chunk of my cash outflow is devoted to savings and paying off various financial investments. It would be a challenge when all the kids go to school, but I think retiring early is a feasible goal that I can achieve.
Here are two interesting videos that I found online, hopefully they can inspire you to plan for your own early retirement:
For me, retirement is not actually leaving work or the office. I picture retirement as a career shift, perhaps into a work that is less stressful, less demanding, and more fulfilling. I still want to earn money, perhaps discover a few passive income sources and spending more time with my family and my hobbies.
There are tons of videos and articles online, teaching people how they can retire early. According to these financial gurus, the three most common habits that can help you retire early are: (1) eliminate debt, (2) save, and (3) practice frugality.
I think I have mastered the first and second habits. But I still need to be more frugal and cut down on the urge for impulse buying. A big chunk of my cash outflow is devoted to savings and paying off various financial investments. It would be a challenge when all the kids go to school, but I think retiring early is a feasible goal that I can achieve.
Here are two interesting videos that I found online, hopefully they can inspire you to plan for your own early retirement:
Vectorized Nativity Animals
With Christmas coming in a few more months, I decided to help a friend of mine draw some animals for the yearly nativity play.
I tried to make some hand-drawn sketches but decided to try creating vector animals using Adobe Illustrator.
Here are some of the animals I made:
I tried to make some hand-drawn sketches but decided to try creating vector animals using Adobe Illustrator.
Here are some of the animals I made:
Hey Ho...
Listening to Gin Wigmore...
Sad that the series is finally over. Some good things never really last.
Sad that the series is finally over. Some good things never really last.
Reposting Interesting Video about the Global Financial Crisis
I found an interesting video documentary that explains the current global financial crisis, linking the dot.com bubble, the 9-11 terrorist attack, the US real estate/housing bubble, and the bail out bubble. What I found disturbing was the idea that we are all living in borrowed time. It makes you wonder when the next financial crisis would strike.
It looks pretty grim but ironically the local economy is doing good -- thanks to the income generated by the BPO companies and OFWs sending money back home. But I think governments and private citizens do their share in preparing for another possible financial crisis.
It looks pretty grim but ironically the local economy is doing good -- thanks to the income generated by the BPO companies and OFWs sending money back home. But I think governments and private citizens do their share in preparing for another possible financial crisis.
Sandman Mystery Theater (Fan Art)
I've been reading old issues of "Sandman Mystery Theater". I loved the stories and the art. Here are some sketches I made of the main characters in the series.
Money Management (How to Build Wealth)
This is an interesting video that explains how we should manage our money and build our wealth. It talks about money being allotted to three different types of "buckets" -- from the "budget for expenses" bucket, the "passive income and investment" bucket, and the "fun" bucket.
I like the idea of how the allotment of money changes when you become richer and it further changes when you actually have more money in your passive income and investment bucket to cover your expenses. That is true financial freedom.
Sometimes I wish we were taught these sort of practical money management lessons at school. I think children should learn about these concepts from an early age so they can learn how to manage their money and start building their wealth for the future.
I like the idea of how the allotment of money changes when you become richer and it further changes when you actually have more money in your passive income and investment bucket to cover your expenses. That is true financial freedom.
Sometimes I wish we were taught these sort of practical money management lessons at school. I think children should learn about these concepts from an early age so they can learn how to manage their money and start building their wealth for the future.
Small project on the side...
I want to check if I still have my green thumb. I got these office do-it-yourself plant ornaments from a not-so-likely-place-that-sells-everything.
The instructions are pretty simple: open the container, put water, wait for the seed to germinate, and put the sapling under the sun to grow.
Unfortunately it did not specify how much water to put, how long the seeds would germinate, or how often do you sunbathe the plant.
Good luck to me. I'm planning to grow these plants in my cubicle at work. From the size of the containers, these plants will grow into miniature bonsai-like shrubs that would add a bit of greenery to my drab office space.
I'll try to post updates on these plants when I have the chance.
The instructions are pretty simple: open the container, put water, wait for the seed to germinate, and put the sapling under the sun to grow.
Unfortunately it did not specify how much water to put, how long the seeds would germinate, or how often do you sunbathe the plant.
Good luck to me. I'm planning to grow these plants in my cubicle at work. From the size of the containers, these plants will grow into miniature bonsai-like shrubs that would add a bit of greenery to my drab office space.
I'll try to post updates on these plants when I have the chance.
Donating Old Books and Old Computers
I thought I would post about a local non-profit NGO that works to provide education for under-privileged children living in conflicted regions populated by extremists and insurgents. Kris Library (Kristiyano-Islam Peace Library) offers scholarship programs and educational projects for hundreds of students in Zamboanga city, Davao city, and other parts of the country.
They are accepting donations to support their scholars, build/maintain their libraries, and ship materials to the province. I think the worst form of child abuse is to grow up without access to education, become a victim of poverty, and be subject to the terrors of war and combat.
The organization is accepting old books, old computers, and cash. I gave away some of the kids' old picture books and story books a couple of weeks ago. They have offices/donation centers in Manila and Quezon city. For those who are interested in giving away their old books (or computers), you are click this link for more details.
(Photo taken from KrisLibrary website)
They are accepting donations to support their scholars, build/maintain their libraries, and ship materials to the province. I think the worst form of child abuse is to grow up without access to education, become a victim of poverty, and be subject to the terrors of war and combat.
The organization is accepting old books, old computers, and cash. I gave away some of the kids' old picture books and story books a couple of weeks ago. They have offices/donation centers in Manila and Quezon city. For those who are interested in giving away their old books (or computers), you are click this link for more details.
(Photo taken from KrisLibrary website)
Technical Vector Illustrations
Here are some technical drawings I made using Adobe Illustrator. These designs are rear-view illustrations of the stuff I work with in the office.
The first image was base from the chassis of a tech-manufacturer. The original illustration was kind of blurry, so I just replicated my own version of the drawing, over the old image.
I base the second image from another supplier of computer network switches. I made it as generic as possible, removing the brand name and the other distinguishing marks.
Here is a picture of the two machines combined, along with the cables:
This is just one of the many proposals that didn't make it through the first review. The details of the ports and cards are not that accurate, nor are the cables the right size. But I think these pictures show that I've learned a lot with Adobe Illustrator (and that I still have a long way to go).
The first image was base from the chassis of a tech-manufacturer. The original illustration was kind of blurry, so I just replicated my own version of the drawing, over the old image.
Retro Music Weekend
Even though the typhoon is gone, the weather here still looks gloomy. They say that it's just the usual monsoon rains, but I feel that it's more than just the typical downpour.
I've been listening to some old 90s music while doing my work. It's funny to equate 90s music as something old, because these were songs I heard (and loved) not so long ago. Maybe the rain is making me feel nostalgic.
One of the bands that kept playing on my desktop was the spunky Danish pop band, Aqua. I remember the time I heard "Barbie Girl" on the radio for the first time. I didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that
it was one of those hypnotic rhythmic songs that didn't make any sense. Call it the first symptoms of LSS, but my mind started playing back the song for some time. Over time, I began to appreciate the song and the other music of Aqua.
What made me appreciate the band was that their could deliver cheesy melodies and campy music videos, much like those 90s pop bands. But they also have a serious side to their songs, like "Turn Back Time".
I came across a YouTube clip of the band singing "Barbie Girl" ten years after. They looked older and more mature, I think. They still have that playful personality that has tamed down over the passing years.
I also came across one of their latest songs, "Playmate to Jesus", which has that same serious and beautiful melody like "Turn Back Time". I'm looking forward to more wonderful songs from the band.
I've been listening to some old 90s music while doing my work. It's funny to equate 90s music as something old, because these were songs I heard (and loved) not so long ago. Maybe the rain is making me feel nostalgic.
One of the bands that kept playing on my desktop was the spunky Danish pop band, Aqua. I remember the time I heard "Barbie Girl" on the radio for the first time. I didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that
it was one of those hypnotic rhythmic songs that didn't make any sense. Call it the first symptoms of LSS, but my mind started playing back the song for some time. Over time, I began to appreciate the song and the other music of Aqua.
What made me appreciate the band was that their could deliver cheesy melodies and campy music videos, much like those 90s pop bands. But they also have a serious side to their songs, like "Turn Back Time".
I came across a YouTube clip of the band singing "Barbie Girl" ten years after. They looked older and more mature, I think. They still have that playful personality that has tamed down over the passing years.
I also came across one of their latest songs, "Playmate to Jesus", which has that same serious and beautiful melody like "Turn Back Time". I'm looking forward to more wonderful songs from the band.
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