down gmail

I couldn't open my gmail at home all through this long
week-end. We didn't have work yesterday (Monday) as it was National
Heroes' Day. I don't know why I couldn't get into gmail when yahoo
and even google search engine work fine.

Thus, yesterday, I cleaned up my hard disk, defragmented it
and started cleaning the hardware (CPU, desktop, etc.), which I
haven't done for a very, very long time or years :).

But when I turned on my computer again last night, I kept
hearing a beep-beep sound which I take to mean trouble :) I was so
thorough in cleaning my keyboard that some water might have gotten
inside it. How do I know that it's the keyboard that causes the alarm
in the CPU? The CPU simply doesn't sound whenever I take off the
keyboard from its port. I might have to buy a new keyboard if I want
to use my computer at home tonight :)

sayong
08-28-07 6pm

ADVISORY: August 27, 2007 as special (non-working) holiday

ADVISORY: DECLARING MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2007 AS SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) HOLIDAY
(from: http://www.news.ops.gov.ph/)

 

Per a contact at the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), there'll be no need to issue a proclamation for this one as it's already in RA 9492.  Confusion arose because of the law's provision regarding the issuance of a proclamation for movable holidays and last August 20's non-working day was included in Proclamation 1353.


sayong
08-22-07  5:45pm


---------- Forwarded message ----------
National Heroes Day
Monday August 27, 2007
All Day
(This event repeats annually on the last Monday.)
Location: regular holiday

Notes:

Per RA 9492, approved July 24, 2007:
shall be observed last Monday of August

RA 9492 Sec. 1 c) In the event the holiday falls on a Wednesday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday of the week. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows.
For movable holidays, the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a nonworking day.

2007 anniversary fun

We were at the office until almost 10pm last Friday. Most
government employees have gone home by noon, though, because of the
suspension of work due to typhoon Egay.

It was our agency's 37th anniversary celebration. Our real
anniversary is July 29. However, we are used to celebrating it from
mid to end of August because our agency is always very busy in July.
This year, our agency Head didn't want to celebrate it so late so we
had our thanksgiving mass and breakfast at the palace last July 30.
Sportsfest, film showing, Malacanang Museum tour, tree planting at La
Mesa Dam and other events preceded our celebration last Friday.

As I've been with the agency for more than ten years, I got
loyalty award recognition. I didn't win any major prize though :( I
was hoping to get a sturdy umbrella in the minor prizes category.
Umbrellas sold nowadays are very cheap but easily broken. I got a
pouch bag instead.

More pictures at
http://sayscrapbook.blogspot.com/2007/08/2007-anniversary-fun.html.

sayong
08-22-07 4:50pm

Stormy anniversary

Because of Typhoon Egay, all work in government offices in
the NCR has once again been suspended. But it�s our agency�s
anniversary celebration so we might be staying until about 8pm.

In the morning, we, the employees had a general assembly
with the head of agency. After lunch, our team practiced for the
presentation late this afternoon. Our anniversary theme is retro and
our team has been assigned the 80s.

sayong
08-17-07 4pm

on typhoon egay

Even without a copy, I alerted (emailed/texted) my
classmates in French that work in government offices (in the NCR) has
already been suspended based on Memorandum Circular 139. For us, this
means that we will not have a class tonight.

I�ve been contemplating this morning if I should return home
as I was already late for work and didn�t know what time I could get
to the office. I left home earlier than usual because it has already
been raining hard this morning and I know that there would surely be a
heavy traffic. Unfortunately, I didn�t count on the flood at Pureza
that made the traffic doubly heavy. It took me two hours just to get
to work when it should have only been 30 minutes.

sayong
08-15-07 2pm

posting pictures in blogspot

Blogger.com gave me a pleasant surprise tonight. I checked
what I posted earlier by email (known as mobile blogging) and saw that
even the pictures attached to my message were posted.

In the past, all the pictures I emailed to my Blogger
account were never posted. I either had to use Hello or upload
pictures while I'm logged on to Blogger.

Now, posting pictures in Blogger is as simple as posting in
Friendster Blog, i.e. as easy as sending an email with attachment :)

sayong
08-14-07 11:50pm

Malacanang Museum tour

For the first time in more than 10 years of working in the
OP, I participated in a guided tour of the old Malacanang Palace.

I had pictures taken with:

1) the original governor general�s chair at the Old Waiting
Room. Notice the crest with GG engraved. The tour guide said that
the other chairs had M engraved to indicate either Marcos or
Malacanan.

2) the executive chair where Ferdinand Marcos declared
Martial Law in September 23, 1972. I couldn�t resist although I was
reluctant to sit on it at the beginning. I thought that it might not
be able to bear my weight :)

3) the facade of the old Malacanang Palace or more
popularly known as Kalayaan Hall nowadays. Of course!

sayong
08-14-07 7:30pm

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I finally watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
at SM City Sta. Mesa Cinema last Saturday. It has been almost a month
since it was first shown here. From 160 pesos then, the ticket now
costs 100 pesos only.

Having read and heard some reviews beforehand, I wasn't keen
on seeing it although I am a Potter fan. Ever since the third Harry
Potter movie (HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban), I haven't been pleased
with the movie versions.

The Goblet of Fire movie was quite okay. The latest movie
was, however, the most disappointing one for me. I tried not to think
of the book as I watch, to find out if I could follow the storyline.
I believe that the movie was, however, harder to understand if one has
not read the book. The actions were so fast-paced that emotions
hardly got through.

One of the highlights of the 5th book was the publication of
Rita Skeeter's interview with Harry Potter about Voldemort's return.
It wasn't there.

Harry Potter was quite emotional and explosive in the 5th
book but even-tempered in the movie.

The Mrs. Figgs in the movie didn't seem nervous, angry at
Mundungus (but since there was no Dung in the movie, at the least she
should have), worried about Dumbledore's reaction. She simply didn't
manage to portray the gravity of the Dementor attack.

The battle at the Department of Mysteries was also
disappointing. I believe that in all the previous movies, it was
obvious that wizards and witches were human beings. They can
disapparate (disappear and appear) but they do not "fly" like evil
spirits (black smoke) as they attack. The statues at the Ministry of
Magic were there and it would have been cinematic to make these move
to protect Harry, just like in the book. It was missing in the movie
again. So was the phoenix Fawkes.

Dumbledore's Army didn't come across as important in the
rebellion against Dolores Umbridge as in the book.

Of the seven books, I love Goblet of Fire and the Order of
the Phoenix best. It's too bad that the movie versions didn't live up
to them.

sayong
08-13-07 11:50pm

Ça y est!

Ça y est! Our final exam is over :)

Je suis heureuse :) And this despite all the mistakes I did
:) Seriously. Je sais que I'm not infallible :)

Bebot pointed out that manquer (to miss), which I used twice
in the oral exam, has a different structure et j'ai oublié. Je pense
que Alix a dit on déjà, even if it's just in passing. I remember that
our classmate Faith asked about it in our first term. But je ne peux
pas trouver quelque chose dans mon carnet. Il y a seulement la
question : Qu'est-qu'il manque ?

Whatever, I'm just happy. It's over and done with. There
will be another term to experiment and make more mistakes, provided
that Alix permits it :)

BTW, the episode of Alias tonight (Channel 23) had several
dialogues in French.

sayong
08-10-07 12:10am