I didn’t even realize it was the end of May already until I checked my Monday schedule to see if I had any client calls to make. And Monday happens to be the 31st too! Whew, how time flies indeed and what a month it was. I have a ton of pending blog entries to write too but here’s a quick summary of what has happened this month from all over.

1. The Worst Oil Spill in History – Louisiana Oil Spill of 2010 threatens to end the livelihood of fishermen (if it hasn’t already) and destroy the marine habitat where the oil still continues to expand and spill over. Experts say over 5,000 barrels of oil are continually being spewed on from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico and the hopeful solution in plugging that leak had failed.

2. PH First Automated Elections a Success? – Amidst all the doubts on how the Philippines could possibly put in place an automated election system that works… it is finally over. And it seems that it the proclamation of the winners this election year should and will be unprecedented. And barring any last-minute whistle-blowing allegations that may affect its credibility, I’m sure many are surprised at it’s success, including myself. Cheers!

3. Lebron’s Cavs bow out to the Celtics – LBJ proves that winning the MVP and having the best record in the league all season means nothing in the playoffs. The seemingly old and raggedy Celtics seem rejuvenated after being called underdogs going up against a seemingly invincible Cavs squad. It may just be the last time Cleveland sees LBJ wearing that jersey and it’s also the stage where Rajon Rondo became a legit superstar in the league without question.

There are other smaller news, like Wowowee host Willie Revillame resigning because some gay guy said some bad things about his show and how he wanted that person fired if not he would leave and threaten that there ARE other networks. It’s not really news but I just wanted to point out how there are such INGRATES in this world. And on a more personal note, I got offered 3 jobs this month haha, but ended up staying in the same place. Hmm.

I know it’s April already but it’s better late than never! Some of these movies have already shown while most of them are coming soon. There are quite a few interesting ones down the line and you can check them out below. So here’s a sneak peak at the posters and titles of what’s to come! Click on the picture to see the hi-res poster!

I’m particularly excited with the new batch of 3D movies coming up as I was blown away with my first experience. If the first two I watched was any indication of how much greater movies are going to be after watching Alice and Clash of the Titans, then I can’t wait to see how Prince of Persia does!

Related Links:
Movies of 2009: What else to Look Forward to?

The much-awaited return of the 6th season of House finally premiered last night in a 2-hour special. Episodes 1 and 2 were combined to kick the new season off where House had ended the 5th entering Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital to help fight off his addiction to vicodin and stave off his hallucinations.

Even while in the hospital, House is still up to his scheming ways as he finds ways to get the ward chief’s letter of recommendation for him to leave the place and be able to practice medicine again. He inevitably finds out that his ways are ineffective as he is up against someone who is always one step ahead of him.

He tries to “help” one of his co-patients using his typical ways but ended up almost killing him. He even almost needed someone again and realized in himself that he needed to follow the rules to be able to truly get better. In the end, he still found a way to help two of his fellow patients to finally get better and it was a fitting end to his cleansing process.

Surprisingly, all this allowed House to finally realize the wrong of his ways and actually SEEMS like he has allowed himself to be open to change. So it will be interesting to see what happens when he gets back to Princeton-Plainsboro.

There are very good performances from some notable stars like Andre Braugher (The Mist, Rise of the Silver Surfer), who played the ward chief very well and who seemed to have “broken” House, and Franka Potente (Bourne Supremacy) who was the girl House almost fell for.

All in all, it was a very good start to Season 6! I can’t wait for the next episode when he gets back in Princeton-Plainsboro to see if he really has changed his ways! You can download the 2-hour special on the torrent options below. Enjoy!

Download Links:
House Season 6 Premiere Episodes 1 and 2 HDTV (699.87MB)
House Season 6 Premiere Episodes 1 and 2 720p (2.19GB)

Four days ago, my friends and I flew to Boracay for a vacation amidst warnings of a few torrential rains and thunderstorms. But it didn’t matter since one of us had offered 12 eggs to the Gods to bless us with fair weather, hehe, and it worked wonders! And after all, I hadn’t set foot there for three years because I’m not a real big beach fan, but the trip turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.

We stayed at The Tides and it was a more than decent resort, but whatever good attributes it had was totally overshadowed and trumped when we were toured around Shangri-La’s Resort & Spa by our contact Yvette Recto. By definition:

Shan·gri-la \ (shnggr-lä) \ noun
1: an imaginary remote paradise on earth; utopia.
2: a distant and secluded hideaway, usually of great beauty and peacefulness.

And boy, was it that and more! I have been to quite a few resorts here and around the globe, and I’m a very picky too, but I can say that this resort is definitely world-class. We arrived at Shangri-La about half past eleven and we were treated to a sumptuous lunch buffet at the Vintana. The food was exquisite and not the typical buffet where food is stuffed in your face from all over and you’re bloated even before you’ve started. The mix of cuisines from East and West was a great combination and the desserts tickled your sweet-tooth with its fanciful variety.

After our hearty lunch we were whisked off to the guided tour of the resort. Just to give you guys an idea as to how huge the place was, we started touring from the main lobby at 2:30pm and ended up back there riding in our golf carts at around 4:30pm. And to think we probably walked through only half of the entire resort and it took us 2 full hours! All the images contained here are directly from my camera, raw, and this is exactly what we saw walking around this pure Utopia.

We started from the lobby and moved to their deluxe room, which is their smallest room at 60sqm and has broadband access coupled with a flatscreen TV, an iPod dock, and a private balcony with a daybed facing the sea. From there, we moved to their function rooms and then to the Entertainment Centre! This place had everything! It has 2 billiard tables, a karaoke room, an X Box 360, an air hockey table, a ping-pong table, and even a basketball arcade!

And right beside it is the Adventure Zone, a kid’s paradise with 2 huge slides! One that holds 3 to race and drops you down wearing a sack, while the other one dropping you down on a myriad of bouncy balls! I’m telling you, a family can stay here for hours on end and not be bored at all!

After that, we were brought to their gym and gee whiz, you wouldn’t think a resort would have this kind of a facility. It’s state-of-the-art with jacuzzi’s and sauna rooms and a really huge locker room and honestly, I didn’t expect to see this kind of quality. Moving further down, we had a short walk to the Villas, which is really one of the highlights of the tour. It was 99sqm and you would be wowed by how it looked inside. And when you open your door to the outside, it’s already the beachside!

And lastly, the jewel of the resort is the 5,714-square-metre Chi Spa. It is separated into pavillions built specifically to cater to your particular needs and designed as a sanctuary within the resort. If you were looking for a blissful place to relax and soothe those aching muscles from a whole day at the beach, then this is your haven.

Between that and the infinity pools and seemingly endless forest-like paths, the walk was absolutely breathtaking. I was ooohing and aahhhing on practically every place we set foot on and to think ALL of this is part of the package when you stay in the Shangri-La in Boracay.

The cost of staying in paradise? Their promo until October is a mere 14,000++ Php for 3 days/2 nights for 2 pax with the 2nd night free along with breakfast and transfer to and from the airport! All the perks in this resort for 14k is a gift if you ask me compared to whatever resort you’re staying in wherever in the world. I think I’ll go pack now and book another flight to Boracay again for next week, haha!

It has been one heck of a 2008 and I must say, I have been very blessed this year. Two highlights of my year had me move from IBM (where I spent 4 years) to Hewlett-Packard where I am very happy and finally not all stressed out And I was engaged to the love of my life and will be getting married on January 25, 2009 Here’s to an even better 2009 to all of us! Happy New Year!