I'm not going to dive in Tubbataha anymore (Huhuhu galore!), but I guess it'd be better for me to hone my diving skills first, learn the lingo, study the gear and perfect my buoyancy. More dives are in order. And hey! Look at what I got in the mail.
PADI Americas 30151 Tomas Street Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-2125 800-729-7234, or (949) 858-7234 http://www.padi.com -----------------------------------------------------
Dear Alia,
Congratulations and thanks for choosing PADI. Every one of us at PADI and more than 10 million certified divers worldwide welcome you to the sport and look forward to helping you continue to explore the thrill, excitement, and majesty of PADI diving. You've just joined an elite group of adventure minded water sports enthusiasts. Receipt of this email indicates your certification card has been processed. Due to various global mail delays, this email may reach you before you receive your card. If this is the case, please allow a little longer for the receipt of your card. If you do not receive your card in the near future, please follow up with your PADI Dive Center, Resort or Instructor.
Through our global network of professionals, retailers and resorts, PADI Diving Society in PADI America and PADI International Limited, our PADI Partners program in PADI Asia Pacific, you are never far from programs, products, friends and experiences to help you further your lifelong enjoyment of diving. To help get you started, I've listed a few ways for you to further your interest below:
The PADI Diving Society, available in PADI America and PADI International Limited, is a fun group of ocean enthusiasts that share a common lifestyle and receive valuable member benefits, such as equipment rebates, award winning magazines, and travel incentives. Join people from around the world that share your interest in diving and water sports recreation. Find out how by visiting http://www.padi.com/english/americas/divesoc/
Bring your friends into diving and you can get cash and saving on your equipment purchases http://www.padi.com/promo/BringAFriend/referral-forms/! In almost every country and territory we service, your non-diving friends can try scuba through PADI's Discover Scuba Diving experience program. There's a program for almost everyone, including the PADI SEAL Team for kids starting at age 8. Visit http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/.
Emergency First Response gives you the tools you need to perform CPR and First Aid. Whether you're a diver or a non-diver, Emergency First Response prepares you to properly handle potentially life-threatening situations http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/efrc.asp.
Expand your role as an "ambassador" for our lakes, rivers, and oceans by participating in Project AWARE. The Project AWARE Foundation is a non-profit organization targeted toward protecting our underwater world. Participate in clean ups and learn how you can protect our precious resources. Visit http://www.projectaware.org/ to learn more about Project AWARE or start helping today by becoming a Project AWARE Patron at https://www.padimembers.com/Sforms/aware/default.htm. And you can always get the latest information on diving and PADI by visiting http://www.padi.com.
That's just the beginning! Share your new found love of diving by entering the MY PADI Profile where you can tell thousands of divers about your latest dive or sign up for the equipment registry and track your continued diving experience and recognition while meeting buddies around the world. It fun and it's free, sign up today at http://www.padi.com/padiprofile/. Again, congratulations and we hope to meet you underwater soon! Good diving and great vis!
John J. Cronin CEO PADI Worldwide Corp.
Oooh, I'm not deleting this from my inbox EVER!
My license is coming! Woohoo! And my instructor Tantan doesn't just hand it over when it arrives. No, no, no! He has to give it underwater, like a right to passage whatever, and that means my officemates and I are going to have to dive together this April to get officially certified. Yeba! Aquaventure, here we come!!!
*** Trigger Happy's got a new 2001 gallery, and some new pics in the August and November 2002 and March 2003 galleries. :)
I just finished watching The Probe Team here in the office and I must say that the news/ TV magazine job is just so stressful and scary.
Before The show came on, we were watching Saksi where a quick shorty on the Sex Drive Premiere in UP Diliman aired. I had just arrived from that very premiere, so I was aliw with how fast news could be edited, voiced and aired. Minutes later, The Probe Team started and the spiels made good use of the new crane and dolly. Tsk! But by the third segment, hala! There was still one more tape being assembled upstairs! The system is this. Probe Team edits Monday to Tuesday and assembles and rushes the tapes to GMA 7 right before airing time. But sometimes, certain stories take longer to edit, so those are submitted in pahabol style, rushed to the station as soon as possible before the breaks and the ads.
Albert came down asking, "Sinong may kotse?!?!" Jason offered his car and they drove to the station in time for the last half of the third story and the CBB.
God. They're show's so difficult to work for. But man, their stories tonight were superb, about SARS, South Korea, and the lonely Robert in London. Galing. Tonight was a good ep. Good, good.
As I mentioned above, I went to the premiere of Robert Quebral's Sex Drive a few hours ago. I think that it was funny in a sort of American Pie sort of way, with some pretty shots, good lighting and good use of live sound. Um, a little too much sex for me,t hough. Hehe. But other than that, it was very entertaining with creative visuals and a good soundtrack, really funny scenarios and twists. And wow, I've no idea how the MTRCB reacted to this movie. It'll be showing in theaters today, so I'm curious to see if anything I saw a while ago will be cut out.
Katya wa quite a surprise. Her acting was pretty good. Maui, well, blah. And hello! Who would wear a cleavage that big in a tight, white top in a Dangwa bus station?!?! Crazy.
Yesterday was also the screening of the films by Quark's students in Ateneo. I liked a lot of the earlier films that were shown, but my favorites were Chess by a kid named Zig, and Bianca Gonzalez's Stoplight. Both were short and sweet. Chess was dramatic, and I think I appreciated the mix of the characters' conversation with the progress in their game. Stoplight was about a young man's silent reaction to his girlfriend's "I'm pregnant" announcement in the car. The visuals created by the funny edit and the cute SFX were very good, and the metaphors reminded me of Ally McBeal. Like when she likes a guy and her tongue shoots out of her mouth and drops to the ground. Or when she was dumped by a guy and the next shot was her getting dumped into a garbage truck. That type.
Anyway, i'm not being biased because Bianca is the sister of an old friend. Hehe. Or because she used my banged and bruised camera Bai. Tsk! No, no. I was truly impressed by her work and I hope that she keeps moving forward from here.
I also enjoyed the first movie entitled Ganito kami ngayon...so what the fuck? (Or something like that) by Wincy of the indie band Narda. I was surprised to see Lee (Dakilang tambay ng UPM. :) and Akong (From SPIT.) in the film, and I found the jump-from-here-to-here format of the script interesting, the different stories of 4 or 5 characters finally meshing together in the end. There was also the film by Nick Reyes (Shit, I forget the title.) which had experimental editing with pop-ins and abrupt changes in lighting. Yan and Issa were the actors, so I also found it cool that Issa, until now, was still willing to play roles that most students wouldn't play. Well, she's not a student anymore, but what the hey. That's how she was in college, too. And then there was Kapag Tumibok ang Puso by Boby Bonifacio, a musical about a girl who likes her teacher but actually likes her bespren who also likes her but can't seem to show it. Get? Anyway, I had a fun time watching it. The edit was pretty good since it was song and dance type, and I loved how the actors were so game. Haha! It made me miss college all the more.
I wasn't able to appreciate the rest of the films because I was so tired. Some films were 30 or 40 minutes long, and by the time I left, only 10 or 12 out of 30 films had been played. Egad. Still, it was nice to see some of Quark's students do good. They're the future you know. Hehe.
Katya Santos: "Hindi naman. Mild pa nga 'yan eh. Hindi siya pornography." Maui Taylor: "Oo nga! At 'saka film siya eh. Hindi siya, ano, in the flesh."
Silence. Stare at a friend. Then start laughing like a hyena. All together now!
In fairness, they did ok in the film, but I just wish that they'd do good off-cam as well. I mean, they're the ones promoting the movie, right? Wait a minute. They were still on-cam. Bah.
Reminds me of Kris Aquino. Sometimes I think that she just acts bobo on purpose para maging masa or something. Come on, women! I'm sure you have brains! Agh!
