GOALS: How and Why...

Here are some things learned about "goals", coming from a very good mentor:

• Never set goals backwards based on your past experiences.

• Find goals that are big enough to challenge you to your limits.

• When you set a goal you are committed to a constant need for improvement.

• No one has ever achieved a goal by being interested. One must be committed.

• As soon as you find yourself close to achieving your goal, you need
  to sit down and set your next goal.

• Make Your goals and commitments to people who will hold you to a higher standard.

• All goal settings must be followed by a plan of action and a deadline.
  

• Set up your goal for a tremendous and fantastic growth experience.

• Commit to your goal... Commit! Commit! Commit!

• Achieving Your goal is more than just doing it. It is the steps you have taken and the lives you have touched while achieving your goal that is most fulfilling in the end.

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When you commit to a goal, you will be challenged...

The Biker's Creed

• I ride because I enjoy it.
  

• I ride because I enjoy the freedom I feel from being exposed to the elements, and the vulnerability to the danger that is intrinsic to riding

• I do not ride because it is fashionable to do so. I ride my machine not wear it.
  

• My machine is not a symbol of status. It exists simply for me, and me alone.
  

• My machine is not a toy. It is an extension of my being, and I will treat it accordingly, with same respect as I have for myself.
  

• I strive to understand the inner-workings of my machine, from the most basic to the most complex. I will learn everything I can about my machine, so that I am reliant upon no one but myself for it's health and well-being.
  

• I strive to constantly better my skill of control over my machine. I will learn its limits, and use my skill to become one with my machine so that we may keep each other alive. I am the master, it is the servant. Working together in harmony, we will become an invincible team.
  

• I DO NOT FEAR DEATH, I WILL, HOWEVER, DO ALL POSSIBLE TO AVOID DEATH PREMATURELY. Fear is the enemy, not death. Fear on the highway leads to death, therefore I will not let fear be my master. I WILL MASTER IT.
  

• My machine will outlive me. Therefore it is my legacy. I will care for it for future bikers to cherish as I have cherished them, whoever they may be.
  

• I do not ride to gain attention, respect, or fear from those that do NOT ride, nor do I wish to intimidate or annoy them. For those that do not know me, all I wish for them is to ignore me. For those that desire to know me, I will share with them the truth of my self so that they might understand me and not fear others like me.
  

• I will never be the aggressor on the highway. However, should others f*ck with me, their aggression will be dealt with in as severe manner as I can cast upon them.
  

• I will show respect to other bikers more experienced or knowledgeable than I am. I will learn from them all I can. However, if my respect is not acknowledged or appreciated, it will end.
  

• I will not show disrespect to other bikers less experienced or knowledgeable than I am. I will teach them what I can. However, if they show me disrespect, they will be bitch-slapped.
  

• It will be my task to mentor new riders, that so desires, into the lifestyle of the biker, so that the breed will continue. I shall instruct them, as I have been instructed by those before me, and I will pass them on unaltered.
  

• I will not judge bikers on their choice of machine, their appearance, or their profession. I will judge them only by their conduct as bikers. I am proud of my accomplishment as a biker, though I will not flaunt them to others. If they ask, I will share them.
  

• I will stand ready to help any other biker that truly needs my help. I will never ask another biker to do for me what I can do for myself.
  

• I am not a part-time biker. I am a biker when, and wherever I go. I am proud to be a biker and hide my chosen lifestyle from no one.
  

• I ride because I love freedom, independence, and the movement of the ground passing beneath me. But most of all, I ride to better understand myself, my machine, the lands in which I ride, and to seek out and know other bikers like myself.

re-registering my bike

After procrastinating for a while, I finally shook my legs out and took my bike for a morning spin to LTO Makati to have it's registration renewed. The rush hour traffic was very kind to me and I got to LTO Makati in a quick 15 minutes from my home.

Upon arriving there, I was greeted by a "tambay" who asked if I was going to renew my bike's registration. I said "Yes", and so he asked if I already have TPL insurance coverage and Emission Test Results. "Wala pa" I said so he directed me to a sidewalk stall-cum-insurance-office that was offering TPL coverage. I reckoned they were a legit operation because there were other people getting TPL from them as well. I later learned that the "tambay" was actually a "customer spotter" for this insurance firm. Good location, captive market... Makes good business sense. Hmmmm... I wonder how much commission he gets per customer he refers? 10 minutes and P380.00 got me my TPL coverage.

Next up - emission testing. I wondered how my bike would fare in the testing. Again, the "tambay" refered me to an emission testing center along Reposo a few blocks away. Went to the testing center, parked my bike, paid the P300 testing fee, and gave the test number to the technician who went on to perform the test. I started my bike and he inserted this probe that "smells" the exhaust coming out of the engine and prints what it finds out. Out came the printed test result and I gave it to the "receiving" section and another 10 minutes I got the result... "PASSED" it said. Whew, thank God for 4-stroke engines :)

And now armed with my TPL and Emission Test Result, I quickly rode back to LTO and presented it to Window #5. The lady by the window got my papers, filled up a form and gave it to an "inspection assistant" who dutifully stencilled the chassis code and engine code of my bike. I gave the papers back to the lady in window #5 and I was told to wait by Window #9 for the payment. Good thing the waiting area in LTO Makati was air-conditioned because I had to wait a while before the cashier called out my name. She really wasn't doing much so I was wondering what was taking her too long. I peaked at the window and I saw one of the employees playing "solitaire" on his computer. Wow ha! Our taxes are being used to pay government employees to play solitaire??? So after 40 minutes of waiting and watching the korean soap tele-serye on TV minus the audio, my name was called. Payment was P498.00 for the renewal.

Next up, Window 11. A sign on the window said "Not available Stickers for MC2005". Just my luck, they ran out of stickers. What then? The guy inside the window received my papers and told me to call them up to check if stickers are available already and to come back by then. Ok Ok, no problemo... Somebody must have pocketed the stickers no? :)

The damage:

TPL coverage: P380.00
Emission Testing: P300.00
Registration Renewal: P498.00
Watching an LTO employee play Solitaire: PRICELESS

Total time consumed: less than 2 hours

Ate pork steak and rice with coke at their cafeteria after completing everything. Yum!

Mobile Blogging

I'm resting at home listening to the radio while lounging on my favorite chair, and i'm blogging on my Nokia 6680 and trying out how mobile blogging is done... Hmmm, It's really easy. I just browse to my Gmail account, compose my email blog, and then send it to my blogspot email address.

This reminds me that I should configure my email account settings on my phone's email client so that I could just email away without having to launch the wap browser, thereby saving on per-kb charges which Smart is charging at P0.25/kb. Expensive 'no? But then, I'm connected! That'smore than good enough for me :-)

First

Finally, after much dilly-dallying, I finally succumbed to my craving to build my own blog here. There will be a slight transition from my existing blog in Friendster (Yes! I do have an account there.. so add me up), so I'll still be posting a few messages there... and then a few messages here... and also a few messages in my other blogspot. I'm still thinking about how I will make my two blogspots distinct; probably Dexter's Lib will reaveal a bit of my techie nature and talk about some hobbies I'm pursuing, while my Pepperstripe blog will deal about all the other stuff, pancakes and the like.

So let's see how it goes.....

I Choose Freedom...

My Affirmations for Daily Living

• I love and accept myself.
• I am unique and loving, loved, and free.
• I am safe and always feel protected.
• I am surrounded with loving, caring people in my life.
• I am loving and accepting of others and this creates lasting frienships for me.
• I trust my inner being to lead me in the right path.
• I do all I can every day to make a loving environment for all those around me, including myself.
• My inner vision is always clear and focused.

My Affirmations for Health

• I am in control of my health and wellness.
• I have abundant energy, vitality and well-being.
• I am healthy in all aspects of my being.
• I do not fear being unhealthy because I know that I control my own body.
• I am always able to maintain my ideal weight.
• I am filled with energy to do all the daily activities in my life.
• I love and care for my body and it cares for me.

My Affirmations for Abundance

• I am a success in all that I do.
• Everything I touch returns riches to me.
• I am always productive.
• My work is always recognized positively.
• I respect my abilities and always work to my full potential.
• I am constantly adding to my income.
• I always spend money wisely.
• A always have enough money for all that I need.
• I am rewarded for all the work I do.
• I attract the money I need.

My Affirmations for Peace and Harmony in Life

• I am at peace with myself.
• I am always in harmony with the Universe.
• I am at peace with all those around me.
• I have provided a harmonious place for myself and those I love
• The more honest I am with those around me, the more love is returned to me.
• I express anger in appropriate ways so that peace and harmony are balanced at all times.
• I am at one with the inner child in me.

My Affirmations for My Spirituality

• I am free to be myself.
• I am a forgiving and loving person.
• I am responsible for my own Spiritual Growth.
• I have given myself permission to be at one with the Universe.
• My strength comes from forgiveness of those who hurt me.
• I am worthy of love.
• Love is eternal and ever-lasting.
• The more I love, the more that love is returned to me.
• I nurture my inner child, love him and have allowed him to heal.
• I am responsible for my life and always maintain the power I need to be positive and have joy.

Think Rich Pinoy

While waiting for a meeting with some friends in Greenbelt last Thursday, I stumbled upon Larry Gamboa's book in National Book Store, aptly titled "Think Rich Pinoy".  It's a small, thin book with a purple cover.  In this book Larry writes about his real-life experiences on real estate business in the Philippines, buying foreclosed properties and applying Robert Kiyosaki's principles in the book Rich Dad Poor Dad.

I scanned a page... and then another... and then another... until I was almost through with the book and I received a text message from my friend saying that they are about to go to the meeting place.  Bitin!!!  So I hastily bought three books: one for myself, one to lend to a friend, and another to lend to a stranger I don't know, hahaha.  This book is really a good read. 

Sacha Chua has a different view though.

But Edwin "Ka Edong" has the same point of view as me.

Buy one quick and see if it's really worth it or not... Better still, buy three :)

A New Toy

Yipeee!  Smart was kind enough to *give* me a new Nokia 6680 phone.  It's certainly better than the Nokia 3650 phone Globe gave me two years ago.  Lucky me... the two carriers are really very generous with me :-P

   
"The Nokia 6680 looks so much better than the 6630.  The more square shape to the design instantly makes it look like a professional's tool, rather than the slightly gimmicky pear-shape of its predecessor.  The keypad, despite still being a little small, doesn't have that slightly odd upwards curve to it.  So it's easier to use and just feels better in your hand." (The Register, 6/10/2005)

   
Nokia calls it the Nokia 6680 Imaging Smartphone.  A few of its features are:

• Two integrated cameras: 1.3 megapixel at the back and a VGA camera at the front


• High-speed data connection with 3G and EDGE


• Two-way video call capability for face-to-face communication


• Video Sharing Capability


• Nokia XpressPrint printing solution including PictBridge direct printing


• Fast, convenient email access


• High-resolution 262,144-color display


• Music Player and stereo audio

   
I'm really enjoying using it's rear camera feature which can be quickly activated simply by sliding open the rear cover.  Expect to see more photos of Dexter's Adventures as recorded from the Nokia 6680 imaging phone soon...

   
You can watch a commercial video of the phone here => in Quicktime or in RealPlayer

   
A great review of the phone can be found here.
   

weekend food trip!

can't believe it, the food never stopped flowing during the weekend... not my fault, the people must have had their birthday receptors "on"...

• roast duck


• chicken cooked malaysian style with anchovies


• roasted spicy peanuts


• pipino


• chocolate cake


• fried tofu


• chop suey


• more noodles chinese style


• sprouted mongo seeds


• beef curry


• chinese noodles


• scrambled egg with onions


• tiger beer


• kangkong with sili


• spicy beef steak


• pizza hut super supreme


• pepsi


• mc chicken with spaghetti


• hotshots deluxe burger with C2


• taho


• iced tea


• spicy grilled squid


• rice, rice and more rice!


• thai noodles with chicken bits


• capuccino


• pandesal with coco jam


• pancit bihon


• bamboo clams


• yang chow fried rice


• chocolate chocolate and more chocolate


• fried cucumber


• french fries with OJ


• balut with asin and suka (1 only)

haaaay, busog talaga... got to get back on that positrim program again quick ;-)

Who would you call?

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

-Stephen Levine

Butterfly Butterfly Fly Away...

                                "Spread your wings and prepare to fly
                                For you have become a butterfly
                                Fly abandonedly into the sun
                                If you should return to me
                                We truly were meant to be
                                So spread your wings and fly butterfly"

Hmmm... this sounds deceptively like my favorite butterfly song:

                                Fly, Fly, Fly, the Butterfly 
                                In the garden is flying high
                                In the meadow is flying low
                                Fly, Fly, Fly, the Butterfly.

Fly low, Fly high.......

Star Wars Quotes

Can't get enough of it... I watched Star Wars Episode III again for the 3rd time...   and it's still as awesome as ever!  It's the missing link that connects Episode IV, V and VI with Episodes I and II. 

Do you really need a movie review?  It's definitely THE movie to watch this year!  It's makes me want to watch the other episodes all over again.

Here's some very memorable quotes from all of the episodes.

However, this is still my favorite, wickedest quote of all:

    As Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite:
    Princess Leia: (emotionally) "I love you."
    Han Solo: "I know.…" (with a snicker)

Definitely a classic wicked quote.  It's taken from the original Shaft movie.  It's a joke in the movie where women always tell Shaft, "I love you".  Shaft replies, "I know".  The other big joke is "Where're you going, Shaft?"  Shaft replies, "To get laid, where're you going?"