The RubeTube

So it was my 22nd birthday yesterday, August 22... And you're never too late to drop a greeting, you know!

Thanks to everyone who sent their greetings. I think I received more greetings this year than last year, and I'm really happy that I even got some from unexpected sources. But the strangest greeting I got this year was from my past self! Imagine my surprise when I checked my email and found this message with subject "You're 22":

Dear FuturePunzki,

You have just turned too old to be considered "cool."

So sad.

Cheers,
PastPunzki

This surreal birthday greeting came courtesy of FutureMe.org, sent on August 1, 2006. I swear, I have no recollection of ever writing to my future self!

Seriously though, now that I'm a year wiser, I think 22 is a pretty darn cool age.

Labels: :), birthday

Check out the photos of my niece Tinsel's 6th birthday celebration last weekend. My brother took most of them.

On Saturday (her actual birthday), we went for lunch at Burgoo in Gateway Mall which was followed up in the afternoon with a visit to Active Fun (at their branch in Fun Ranch, Pasig). Active Fun is essentially a blown-up version of a McDonald's "play place." My brother and I took turns accompanying the kids inside; we had to watch over Anton who was too small to defend himself against playground bullies. (Interestingly enough, the "no-play" adult pass is cheaper than a kiddie pass. But when you follow kids around, you have no choice but to play along with them. The adult pass is unlimited too!)

Tinsel was very, very excited to go there. I was very skeptical about the appeal of such a place at first, but having experienced it first-hand, I must say that I probably had more fun than the kids! This is a video of me and Anton on the giant slide:
And here is a photo of Tinsel and Anton in the playground:


On Sunday, we had a kiddie party at their home with her friends. Notice how incredibly pink the party was! This is the birthday girl looking pretty in pink:

Labels: birthday, family, photos, videos

Happy 21st birthday to you, my one and only Andreé.

I pray that you continue touching and blessing other people's lives as you have mine. I love you, honey!

(Today is November 30, 2006.)

Labels: :), Andree, birthday

In belated celebration of the 21 years and 1 week of my life, here are 21 random facts about myself. Exclusively on the RubeTube, of course.

1. My all-time favorite food is bacon. I'd eat it for breakfast without hesitation. Same goes for lunch and dinner. I like 'em slightly burnt, toasted to a crisp, with all the excess fatty oil removed.
   
2. A teacher from fourth grade (Mr. Angeles) in Ateneo Grade School was the one who gave me the nickname "Punzki". He wasn't even one of my regular teachers; he just proctored us for one of our quarterly exams. He announced the top scorers for each subject and he got tired of saying my full name so he came up with this ridiculous nickname.
3. I failed Biology in Philippine Science High School in my third year for one quarter. I flunked because I didn't do my lab reports and I always went to lab sessions unprepared.
4. 17 is my favorite number. It's the most beautiful number one can think of. Prime numbers are inherently beautiful, and 17 is the "most prime" prime number. And 17 is so obviously prime. You can't say the same for "2" or "29" or "97". 13 comes a close second though.
5. My parents say I looked like E.T. when I was a baby. And sadly, it's true.
6. My preschool years were spent at G.O.A.L. Montessori, a school inside our subdivision. G.O.A.L. stands for "Gift of Advanced Learning". I'm not sure if I ever learned anything advanced.
7. I am one of the most asymmetrical people you will ever meet. My left hand fingers are longer. I can hear better with my left ear. My left foot is bigger and that makes it hard to buy shoes. When I say every part of my is asymmetrical, I mean every part.
8. I've always been good at math, but I never really liked the subject. I just wanted the A's.
9. I first used a computer when I was 5 years old. I started with GW-BASIC on a Philips 286 PC clone which cost a fortune back then.
10. My first email address was mark@freemail.webquest.com. Webquest is a long-dead Philippine ISP. I remember having to use Eudora Lite as my POP3 email client. Do people still use that?
    
11. My ICQ number is 19812952. Now when was the last time I used it? Heck, I had to search for myself on their People Search to remember my number. I'm pretty sure that's me unless there's another Mark Punzalan born on August 22, 1985 nicknamed "Punzki".
12. I learned how to whistle by sucking air in instead of blowing it out. I always thought that was the way most people did it.
13. I composed the musical arrangement for our high school batch's graduation song. Well, most of it anyway.
14. I once had an allergic reaction from eating a choco-flavored lollipop. I thought it was absurd to get an allergy from a choco-flavored lollipop but I've never had any since then.
15. I actually like airline food. Most of the time.
16. I have never played DotA and I've only played Counter-Strike once. I don't like to be "in" when it comes to gaming.
17. I never learned how to properly eat with a spoon until I was 16 years old, in high school. I always thought you were supposed to hold it like a shovel at all times until someone pointed out my lack of dining etiquette.
18. I totally pissed my brother off when I deleted the hard disk partition from our 286. I was 6 years old then and I was curious if "fdisk" was a game.
19. My favorite computer game of all time is Civilization. Sid Meier is a genius. Who cares if it's unrealistic that a phalanx can defeat a battleship?
20. I puke whenever I try to eat squash or any of its derivatives.
21. I can't swim to save my life. They say it's impossible for a human being not to float in water but I'll never believe them. I don't float.

As a bonus, here is a cute (?) kiddie photo of me, circa 1988:


Boy, this is gonna be much harder next year...

Labels: birthday, facts, Punzki

It's no longer August 22 in any part of the world. It's so nice to know that the Earth is still in one piece after some wacko scholars predicted the beginning of a nuclear war on my birthday. World peace? Best birthday gift ever. What more could a guy want?

Labels: birthday, WTF

Oh yeah, I just turned 21 an hour ago!

Happy birthday to me!

A comment would do. Electronic greeting cards are also welcome. You may email me at punzki [at] gmail [dot] com. Or SMS me at +639064973012. Now would be a good time to try the meebo me widget on my blog. How about singing "Happy birthday", recording it, and sending me an MP3? Or a video of it? Better yet, post your video on YouTube and send me the link!

Or... how about doing all of the above?

Labels: :), birthday

It's just speculation, but I sure hope that the nuclear apocalypse could wait until after my 21st birthday. Crazy American (and Russian) prophets.

Seriously though, according to the Mayans (the true masters of the universe), the actual end of the world won't come until December 2012. It's either on the 21st or 23rd, depending on which Wikipedia article you want to believe. Until then, carpe diem!

Labels: birthday, WTF