It's not so bad, but I already moved out once upon a time with a good friend of mine. Then he moved out, and I lived alone for some time, until a storm came, flooded the area I was living in (Thank God I was living, my apartment was on the second floor), and my wallet, cellphone, credit cards, ID's and all my cash were all stolen from me. So...following that event, I decided to move out and move back to my Grandpa's place.

But now, I really feel like I need to get out of here. I need something new. I need a place of my own, where I can bring friends over without them being scrutinized for the way they dress, the way they talk or the way that they carry themselves. I like my friends the way they are. :) 

So...if you know of a place, please tell me. I cannot wait to get out of here, seriously. It's far from my school, far from work, far from anything I even remotely like. It's traffic to get here, and traffic to get out. It always floods in the areas surrounding it, even with just the smallest amount of rain. 

But until, the time that I get to move out, find my own place and live independently, truly, I'll dream about having a place like this: 

The Living Room:

The Bed Room:

The Kitchen: 

Initially what drew me in was the fact that they just looked so comfortable, much like Sanuks but much more stylish. I just always felt like I could only wear Sanuk's with rugged shorts on my way to the beach. But Tom's are just as comfortable, plus, like in their tag line, by buying a pair, you're helping out a child in need. So, why not try one for yourself? 

 You can purchase a pair at any Nothing But H20 Store in Metro Manila: Alabang, Robinson's Galleria, Trinoma, Glorietta 3 or Swim at Rockwell.   

Let's start with the new concept, the new vision for this tiny little blog, shall we? I've recently realized that there are very few blogs out here that really cater to young men, fashion, technology, design and all that other good stuff. And I thought, since this market seems like a fairly scarce one, why not enter it and see where I end up? 

So this blog will not only contain my randomness, but it will also highlight some of the fashion, technology and design aesthetics of a Young Metro Manila Guy. 

Enjoy!

2009 came with many blessings and many misfortunes. People came and people went whether I wanted them to or not. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by family and friends this past year. Many times, my relationships with them were tested, some failed but I'm happy to say most survived any distress. My family and I have become closer though we are now separated by an entire ocean. Though they are halfway around the world, I can still feel their support and their love as I made decisions that either made me or ripped me apart. They are the constant in my life that I know I can rely on no matter what.

My relationships with my friends this past year can be described as an array of heartfelt emotions. One of the friends I considered my closest friend had gone from my life. I always watched out for this one...let's call him Best. I knew that I cared for this one a lot and I wanted to make sure that Best was always safe and that Best knew that I would always be there. This person made me smile more than anyone this past year. Those little text messages, the smile, and the laugh trips; those are things I will never forget.

I distanced myself from some of my friends choosing to face a lot of my troubles on my own to prove to myself that I don't need them all the time. I needed to know that I wasn't resting on my laurels. It brought me to the brink of total destruction as I made decisions that would in the end bring about a very close demise. Thankfully, before I dove into the deep end, my closest friends and allies were there to back up without me having to ask for their help. They were there regardless of my attempts to keep them shut out from my life.

A lot of my past also came back into the picture this past year. Two of the people who affected me the most in the past was thrust into my life once again. It was sudden and it was unexpected. I was not optimistic that things would turn out well. I assumed that we could never get back the relationships we used to have. But looking back now, I see that we became even closer to each other than we ever have before. #2 and I became close friends; something I didn't know could happen. #1 and I were finally at peace and I didn't realize that we could be closer than we already were and that we could get to know each other up to the level that we know each other now. I'm glad that we have become even more comfortable with each other.

But with all the fortunes I had with the people around me, there were misfortunes that struck my family, my friends and I. The storm "Ondoy" hit us like we never expected it to. Manilenos alike never saw it coming. We were far too occupied with our petty lives to even imagine such a thing could devestate us so. I for one have never experienced such disaster let alone know so many people who went through the exact same things. I used to just watch the news about such tragedies and think to myself, "that's sad" without really fully understanding the impact that it had on the peoples' lives. Now I know how it feels.

Now it's time for a new year. Let's let go of the past, learn from our mistakes and live our lives to the fullest. Let's welcome change into our lives and open our minds to new experiences that could make us better people.

I'm ready for 2010 and I can't wait to see what it has to offer. Come and join me on this roller-coaster ride. :)

We make a choice to be with someone, and sometimes it’s not a popular choice. It’s not a popular choice with family, and friends and sometimes even your own conscience and yet, this is the choice we decide to make. What I’m talking about is the leap of faith we take when we decide that we are going to invest our whole into one person. Most of the time, deep inside we know that this person is not going to do us any good and yet, we dive into love obscurity. We get lost in the many moments that make it seem like everything is perfect and nothing could go wrong. Then one day, as per the many predictions of your friends, family and your own head, the worst happens. You get hurt.

Though it may be true that it was the person who hurt you or did the deed that broke your heart, but in essence, the reason you got hurt was because of the choice that you made. We are the ones who decide to be in a relationship with another person with no assurance that it will lead to happy moments toting a picnic basket skipping under the warm rays of the summer sun. We may not realize it at the time, but all those giddy moments and the butterflies in the stomach manifest into a feeling of utter emptiness.

We choose to be in them because we want to feel that feeling; the feeling of falling in love. And in those moments, we ignore the signs around us that inform us of the dangers that we will soon encounter. I may sound like a bitter broken-hearted pessimist, but I’m just giving you the harsh truth. We need to hear it as often as possible.

This is a warning for those who are afraid of getting hurt. You have to make a choice. Either you decide that you are willing to risk getting hurt to experience those “moments” of love OR you decide to pass on what could be the love of your life to salvage your mending heart.

I’m not telling anyone to choose the latter and pass on that potential true love, but rather make sure that you are prepared once you dive into that decision and know that it can go either way. We need to be prepared and we need to be ready if and when the time comes that we are going to get hurt.

Personally, I choose to take that dive. You never know where you’re going to end up. J

twitter.com/jrecarro

In a way, it opened up my eyes to a lot of things that used to elude me in the past. Prior to this storm, I would see news clips and videos of storms, typhoons and hurricanes hitting several places all over the world. I sit there in front of my TV screen, thinking to myself, "Gosh...that's sad." But really, I never knew what it actually felt to be there, suffering. Actually, I still don't. But it's a lot closer to home than I'd hoped.

I was one of the lucky few who was saved from having to brave the floods, the raging under-currents, the mud, the dirt and the pain-staking hunger others had to survive. Before I could even get near my place, the roads were being closed due to the amount of water that was starting to rise. I spent my weekend in Ortigas and Pasig. Sunday night, I spent over at my friends place in Quezon City. I didn't get home until Monday morning.

The way home was eerie. You can see the marks on the buidlings showing you how high the water level got at some places. The traffic was worse than ever, and yet I couldn't feel it. There were people outside without shoes, slippers. They were wearing tattered clothes and were holding on to each other with a look of longing in their eyes. I couldn't imagine what it was they were thinking.

My best friend and I stopped to visit our friends who were stranded for over 24 hours without food. The last we heard from them was Saturday night. They were staying on top of a Jeepney because the water had risen that high. Their efforts to try and walk through the flood was futile. The water was taller than most of them and the under-current was growing increasingly strong. 

On  the way to my friends house, you can see the destruction it left. Garbage, more than normal anyway, was scattered all throughout the streets. There was mud everywhere and remnants of what looked like household furniture was in the middle of the road, probably swept off from the dwellings nearby. 

My friends encountered their story to me and my best friend and we were in utter shock at the events that they had to go through. They had to climb and stay the night on the roof of a covered basketball court in the area. They said there were kids as young as 1 yr. old that they had to help to get there, whilst others were just watching in anticipation. For hours they waited for somebody to rescue them, trying to contact who they could and then eventually all of their cell phone batteries died. 

Food was scarce and they had to share what they had. When bags of chips would float by, they would swim for it and share it with the rest. One guy, Joff, said that it seemed as though they were playing out a disaster movie. One of the things they said that moved me and really struck a chord, was that the fact that they were there was both a curse and a blessing, because of they weren't there, what would happen to those who could not help themselves get to safety. Heroes, that's what these people are. 

I eventually got to Cainta after waiting an hour or so through the traffic and waiting for any vehicle to drive me there. Once there, I opted to walk rather than to commute straight to my place. When I got off, I could barely recognize the place. A bustling market became a ghost town. All the roads were filled with mud, some areas had a fowl stench that I was hoping came from garbage rather than from bodies. 

As I walked home, I decided to try and visit the relatives that were nearby. For some odd reason, my family is extremely tight and like to stay in a very close vicinity towards each other. Houses that have never been flooded before now were in ruins. The clean up efforts at my cousins' place were just beginning. There was no running water, no electricity, no signal on our phones(which would have been useless anyway since all the phones were dead). At my cousins neighborhood, the water level went as high as above people's heads. I couldn't imagine having been there all weekend. 

This storm really scared the lving life out of me. I couldn't contact my friends or family. My family back in Canada, my mom and dad were frantic to try and get a hold of me or anyone for that matter. The feeling that you weren't in control really took over and it was the scariest feeling I have ever felt. Not knowing what the outcome would be, not knowing who's safe and who's not, being in the dark as to what was happening around you; I felt nothing but trepidation. 

Now, I realized that these events don't discriminate. They don't just hit the lowly provinces. They don't just hit the poor and the homeless. They don't just target a specific group of people. They can and they will affect anyone. I learned that this past weekend and am still learning it today. 

We all need to start living our lives to the fullest. We should look at the world in a positive light and master and conquer our true potential. 

To those who are furious and are on the hate campaign right now, I know that I cannot even assume to understand your frustrations. But, let's stop looking at who's to blame for not being prepared for this storm, or not having the resources to prevent all the deaths and misplaced families. Rather, let's look on to the future on how we can solve the problem that the storm has left for us to deal with. Let's prepare for any future storm and make certain that we are ready when Mother Nature crosses our paths again. Let's leave irrelevant discussion of somebody's facebook comment to simpletons. Let's help each other out, fix the problem and prepare for the future. This is the only way to progress and grow and move on from such a calamity. 

Please donate to the victims of the storm. To donate to the Philippine National Red Cross via text message:

Just type “RED <space> <amount>” then send to 2899 for Globe and 4483 for Smart. Valid denominations are 5, 25, 50, 100 and 300.

 He is incredible. This is his take on the Glee casts rendition of the Journey classic "Don't Stop Believing."

[video align='align-left']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIoSTbPt_PI[/video]

There are some who make the obvious choices; flight, invisibility, super strength and so on. And there are those that make the more thought provoking choices which usually come with a drawn out explanation of why they chose it; teleportation, mind-control, going back and forth in time, etc.

Ever since, I've always had the same answer. The one superpower I would love to have is telekinesis. Moving things with your mind is just way too cool. Plus, you could play with people's heads because they have no idea what's going on, and because I was a lazy child. haha.

Today though, for the first time in all of the times that I've asked this question, I answered differently when I was asked the question. I said I wished that I could be in two places at once. I have no idea where the thought came from. But it seemed like such a good super power for me. Imagine being able to do so many different things and having so many great experiences if you could be at two places at once.

You would meet twice the people, make twice as many friends, drink twice as many, go to twice as many parties. I mean the list goes on and on. It's incredible. Especially with my dillema right now, it would be extremely helpful.

Then someone stopped me short, being the negative git that he was. He told me to think about twice the pain I could feel, twice the mistakes I could make, twice the stress and so forth.

What a party pooper. :(

Addendum:

So, this is the reply most worthy of re-posting...this was from Ryan Oxby:

"I've given this issue some thought, and I'd totally pick not needing sleep 

as a power. 

Imagine the doors that would open. You'd double your useful time on this earth.

You'd have time to do everything you always said you'd do if you only had time

for it.
 
Plus, it'd cure my insomnia."

 -Mr. Ryan Oxby

-------------------

-JP

Reason being is that I have had 4 different phones stolen from me and I only possessed these phones for a few months or less. The most daunting being the Samsung G800 which at the time was the only phone to boast a 5-megapixel camera. I lost it only after two months of having used it. It was stolen from me while I was sound asleep from my place during the Tropical Storm Frank.

Anyway, because of this, I have been so scared to get a new phone. And since this phone, th Motorolla L7i has been the first and the only phone that seems to be un-steal worthy, I decided it was safe to stick to this phone. After all, it still did the functions that I really "needed" from a phone. It made calls and I can create text messages. I don't use any of the other functions on the phone.

But now, I want an upgrade. I'm sick of not being able to check my email when I want, or taking pictures using it, or listening to music using one device. The only question I have now is which phone do I get and are these phones a good enough investment?

I mean, I for one know that technology is the worst investment one can make because it changes very quickly. New technologies and ideas come about everyday and the old gadgets get phased out in a matter of a few months.

So, I'm trying to consider my options in a logical and fiscal manner. I need a phone that can do the tasks of a phone, and hopefully others, and yet still be a sound investment. I don't want to buy a phone that I can feel that in a few weeks a new version will come out that's better and cheaper.

I'm looking at a few phones right now. The first one being the Nokia N97 (27,500PHP). The others are the Blackberry Curve 8520 (19,900PHP), Blackberry Bold (26,300PHP) or the Blackberry Storm 9530 (22,900PHP). I'm also thinking of the Nokia E71 (14,900PHP) and the Samsung Omnia (19,800PHP).

You might be wondering why I don't have the iPhone up in that list. Well, it's because of a few reasons. One, it's so damn expensive. Two, I don't really see what the hype is all about. Three, I'm not the iPhone kind of guy(touchscreen only will not do). And finally, I am not allowed. Yes, I cannot get it because it's supposed to be for him. Boo.

 Anyhow, tell me what you think. Here are a few pics of the phones that I'm looking to get.