I was always enchanted by this story ever since I've come to learn about it (of when I cannot  remember anymore). Those who I've talked about it take pity on Phantom's unrequited love. The first song that I've learned from its musical was 'Think of Me'. I remember when I was in high school, our group practiced singing it for a school presentation. When I saw the film adaptation years after its release, I was deeply moved with the story, the music, and the characters.

A few weeks from now, this timeless masterpiece will be presented again in broadway at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Theater. I've learned about this two years earlier because of a blog post in Chico Garcia's site and I've waited for it ever since. A few months before, I thought of not actually seeing the show (because the tickets are somewhat expensive). Fortunately because of certain turn of events, I am actually watching!

Here's the proof. YAY!

It's not everywhere that we find a signal for wifi network. That's why it's still advantageous to be subscribed to an unlimited data plan. Alternatively this is also available to prepaid subscribers with a rate of Php10 per 30 minutes of connection.

For Android users that are Globe subscribers and want to connect the internet via the mobile network, here's the APN settings that worked for my phone which is an HTC Wildfire S running on Android 2.3.5.

Name:      [you can put any name here]
APN:        www.globe.com.ph
Proxy:       203.177.42.214
Port:         8080
Authenitcation Type:  PAP
APN Type:   default

Leave the other fields with their default values. With these settings you can now connect to the globe mobile network and surf the internet.


~o~

For the month of July, I was one of those Globe subscribers who availed of their one-month long promo of free access to mobile Twitter. Through this, I got to explore the settings of mobile network on my phone. This information could be helpful for other subscribers of the network so I decided to make a post about it. :)


[UPDATE]: Many have found this post helpful and I'm glad that this setting worked for you. As for those asking, I'd reiterate points here that have been asked several times by blog visitors *see long list of comments below*

• You need balance to be able to surf using this setting.

          You need at least Php5.00 to be able to surf the internet (Regular rates cost P5/15minutes).

• Internet connection using this setting may be very sloooow.

          Internet speed actually would depend on the 3G signal in your location. As for me, internet was fastest when I'm in Manila. Worst case I've experienced was the internet was too slow that no web page would load. I had to refresh the page several times before the web page loaded successfully. This may be the case for those who posted that this setting is not working for them. Certain apps (i.e. Facebook) may also encounter errors/exceptions because it cannot connect successfully to the internet.

• I recommend to use Opera Mini Browser when using this setting. 

          This browser uses less data (compared to other mobile browsers) in surfing the mobile net. With a slow connection, this browser can load web pages faster because it needs fewer data to load the pages. Other browsers would still work too though.

• I have tried  this setting only on a Globe simcard.

          I haven't used this on a TM, but maybe it would work too. Just try it yourself. :D

If your question was not answered by the points above, scroll down on the comments section below. Others might have posted the same question that you have. :)

~o~

[UPDATE (July 19, 2013)]
Hi guys. I've tried using this setting for 3G recently and to my surprise, it was not working and displayed 'Invalid APN Setting'. I am not sure what happened but it was connecting properly before. Maybe Globe modified the network setting?

Anyway, please continue sending your feedback. I hope this becomes fixed soon.

[UPDATE (October 27, 2013)]
I think it's working again! I tried to connect again from my phone today and no error was displayed. I was able to load a page (twitter.com) but the connection is still too slow. :O

[UPDATE April 24, 2015]
So I received this advisory from Globe, and by the looks of it, you won't be needing to set up any setting or configuration on your phone to start mobile surfing! Read their advisory below:

Experience a new way of surfing with Globe Prepaid! Now you can go online automatically using your phone even without configuring the internet settings. To avoid unexpected charges, turn on SurfAlert. This FREE service will put browsing on hold when your device tries to connect online and you're not registered to a surf promo. For info, dial *143# > My Account > Mobile Internet Usage. You  can also turn off your cellular data in your phone settings. Have a wonderful day!

I have not tried this myself. Have you? Share your experience on the comments below. :D

Another goal has come to a dead end.

I was not able to accomplish this goal because of a lot of circumstances. First of which is the fact that I'm no longer a member of the Dong Bang Island circle.

I decided to leave because things were beginning to lose its meaning. Maybe because I am finally moving on,

Just last night, me and a close friend went to this spa in Makati -  Lasema Jjim Jil Bang Spa. It's a Korean spa, just like those that are being shown in dramas. We were both fond of kpop and kdramas so we were very excited when we learned that Lasema was having a promo for a whole package of their services and we didn't have second thoughts in availing it.


Overnight Spa
Since the package includes a 12-hour stay at the  Jjim Jil Bang Spa, we decided to maximize it. Straight from our day work, we went to Lasema at around 11PM. At the front desk, we were given our number, locker keys, clothes (matching shirt and shorts) and a small towel. Footwears are not allowed inside so we removed and carried our shoes to the locker area. The floor is made of wood and the area is clean and being barefoot is comfortable.

Ever since I was able to actually own a DSLR, this is one of those photography techniques that I wanted to try. However since a good tripod is essential to do this, I had to postpone the idea for a while.

All I know about HDR (high dynamic range) photography is that you take a shot of the same scene for several times with different exposures each and then use a photo editing software (i.e. Photoshop) to stack all the photos in one frame. The effect is that the photo will show all the details of the scene taken (eliminating the shadows and overexposed parts) and it will have this painting-like aura of it.

This blog teaches how to create an HDR image in the simplest way with GIMP. This is perfect since I don't have Photoshop in my machine. It is very easy to follow and it also tells more about HDR photography.

So, this is my first ever attempt to create an HDR image. The first subject that was available to me is our house. I took three shots of our dining table, with a -2, 0, and -2 exposures following this method in choosing the shutter speed for the camera.

Just last weekend, our company held our yearly outing at a resort in Batangas (2-hour drive south of Manila). It was actually the worst time to do go out of town because the weather was not really good and it was a heavy downpour throughout the day. Well, one of my main objectives for coming along the trip was to take photos within a different environment. I took this opportunity because for sure, there would be sceneries awaiting there that is worth capturing on the lens.

And thankfully, I was not dissapointed.

A recent visit to a local bookstore made me realize how much I missed reading books, and that I needed to do some catching up to keep up with my to-read list. I am a big fan of book sales. Whenever I drop by the mall, I never (most of the time) fail to visit Booksale, Filbars, National Bookstore, or Powerbooks (whichever is available at the mall). Recently, my love for books is beginning to come back. Usually I spend my spare time doing stuff online but now I just read books instead. During my visit, I saw several of  the books that I've been meaning to read for so long, but because of one reason or another, failed to do so.

One of the most memorable book purchases that I did was for my copy of 'The Silver Chair', an installment to the Chronicles of Narnia book series. Until now, I can't believe I just bought it for Pph15.00 (around $0.34) in one of the Booksale branches when I was in high school. It was already an old copy but it is still in good reading condition.

I'm planning to reread these.

This is actually quite true. I have my way of organizing things. I'm a big to-do list person, and I maintain everything in order by writing and organizing them. However, I have something about the level of focus that I exert for each of my goals. I have a definite number of them and actually enumerated them on a list. However most of the time, I lose focus and become confused on the things that should really be prioritized. It's true, at some point I lack flexibility.


Through this test, I learned one of my weaknesses. Now I know I need to work on this.

Nowadays, Korean stores and restaurants have sprouted like mushrooms all  around the Metro, and it's all to the Halyu wave to blame. For the past years, Korean culture has slowly creeped into the country starting from Korean dramas, to music and to the whole culture itself. As a kpop fan myself, I am actually delighted to this kind of progress. :D

Recently, my sister and I visited Holly's Coffee, a Korean cafe, at SM Southmall. Several scenes of our recently concluded kdrama fandom, Rooftop Prince, have been shot in that cafe shop. This is one major reason why we wanted to visit the place.

Scenes from the drama Rooftop Prince done at Hollys

Shutter speed represents the time that the shutter remains open when taking a photograph.

Trying different shutter speed settings produces dramatic effects on the photo. Slow shutter speed captures motion into the picture while fast shutter speed crisply freezes the object, even if it is moving fast while the photo is being taken.


LIGHT ABSORPTION
Aside from motion, the amount of light captured into an image can also be affected by the shutter speed. Take these series of photos as example.

1/250

1/125

I was doing the laundry today when I noticed this water puddle at the side fence of our house. I gazed on the clouds and the blue sky reflected on it. As I walked closer to it, I felt this sensation of falling into that gap and into the sky, as if the Earth reversed its gravity. It would be like a free-fall into nothingness, because it would never end. This just made me think about things, about the fact that our world is just a tiny dot within the vast universe and on what really lies beyond this life.