Marica Gonzales is a viral campaign

I'm sure a lot of you have received this email from a certain Marica Gonzales. I tweeted about it immediately because I knew there was something fishy about it. It was well-constructed with correct grammar and punctuation. It was sent directly to me, but I knew right away that it was spam.

Well, it turns out that it was a big viral campaign for Datu Puti's soy sauce (or toyo), according to Azrael.

They have set up a YouTube channel as well.

I don't know what to think about this. Before, I vocally hoped that Pablo Banila is a viral campaign for a hair product or something.

But this Marica Gonzales thing is a bit different. It was an email directly sent to individuals, whereas that Pablo Banila thing created a buzz when a lot of users got freaked out by his weird viewing habits, gross looks, and disturbing website. But the email was a bit uncreative in the opinion and pushing it too far. How did "she" get our emails by the way?

It was a great idea, but should've been executed better.

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Wordle

My Wordle.

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Blogging by Twitter

I find myself updating my Twitter more often than this blog. Probably because I don't have to say a bunch of things anyway. So starting today, I will automatically publish my tweets here on Top Dog using LoudTwitter.

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This is me

Or probably not. I'm not really a regular hip-shaking party person, but more of a beach bum. However I really like to drink and have fun with my friends.

This is my Meez animation:

I got the site from chuvaness' blog.

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The fast few days have been crazy

Well, it's crazy enough for me not to blog for more than a week now. So this entry will be long, and full of random stories.

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April 30, 2007

My professor called off classes today, which left us with a four-day vacation. Great. Just when I was getting the groove of studying again, this had to happen. I hate that.

I woke up late and realize I was alone. My parents must have gone to the mall, leaving me with a few strips of bacon for lunch. I opened up the computer while reading the morning 'paper. The phone rang, and this girl from Citibank was looking for my dad.

Me: Di ko alam kung anung oras sya babalik.
Girl: Sino to?
Me: I'm his son.
Girl: Ilan taon ka na?
Me: 20.
Girl: 20 ka lang? Di nga?
Me: Uhm, oo.
Girl: Meron ka nang credit card?
Me: Yup, HSBC.
Girl: Extension ba yan?
Me: Nope. Ako yung primary.
Girl: Oh. Saan ka nagwowork?
Me: College pa lang ako.
Girl: Talaga? 20?

And then I wondered if I was already that old to be studying. I know I am older than most of my batchmates, but the tone of this girl's voice really left me doubting my studying status.

Girl: Saan ka nagaaral?
Me: Sa La Salle.
Girl: Talaga? Sa Main or sa Benilde?

Ugh. Why does everyone have to ask if I am from DLSU-Manila or from CSB? As in everyone. If I was studying in CSB, I would say so matter-of-factly.

Me: Main.
Girl: Wow. Anung course mo?

And this is when her voice started to sound a bit different.

Me: Engineering.
Girl: Ah. May girlfriend ka na?
Me: Wala pa.
Girl: Talaga? Bakit wala pa?

Now she sounds like a child ready to devour a big fat piece of marshmallow. I gave my usual spiel of why I still do not have a girlfriend, which I have already memorized for convenience.

Our talk shifted from my perpetual single-ness to my bedroom exploits, which is nil, zilch, zero, if you believe me. I would not go into further details so as to salvage the little reputation I have left.

Girl: Anong gusto mong gawin ngayon?

This is the signal for me to hang-up. Even if she sounded pretty AND perky. I still have my dignity.

Feeling weird and bothered and excited, I searched the Internet to find solace. Looks like I am not the only victim of horny sales agents.

Now this experience reminded me of a not-so-nice experience I had only a few weeks ago. I accompanied my mom to Makati, because she does not know how to get there.

As she was being interviewed by sales agents (see any pattern yet?), I stayed in the office's lobby trying to organize my impending beach getaway with my friends.

I was approached by this lanky male who introduced himself. I introduced myself as well and soon, he joined me in the sofa and was asking me questions. When I told him I'm 20, he seems not convinced. Do I not look like 20, I asked myself. And then I delivered my usual spiel about being single and all, heck I just really wanted to be left alone as I have a trip to plan and a non-replying friend who still has not confirmed if he would be joining.

He asked a few more questions, and soon, he was too close for comfort. I am not really a friendly guy and definitely not a touchy-feely person.

Lanky male: May scandal ka ba dyan sa celphone mo?
Me: Wala.
Lanky male: Ow? Patingin nga.
Me: Puro ako lang.
Lanky male: Pwede ko bang makuha ang number mo?

I sat there. Frozen. And shaking. I have never been asked for my number by a fellow male specie in that way. Ten seconds of awkward silence and all I cold mutter was

Me: Secret.

It was stupid. Dumb. Childish. But he left and never looked at me again, obviously embarrassed.

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May 1, 2007

Labor Day. Again, I had no class. But I had to wake up earlier because we're spending the day in Mount Sea Resort together with my relatives from my mom's side. It was a quick hour trip from our house to the resort, which is located in Cavite. Apparently, my relatives did not enjoy our summer trip last year to Virgin Beach Resort. No, not because the place was not nice, but because the trip was long - three and a half hours to be exact - and travelling along rough roads were not their idea of a relaxing summer getaway.

The resort was fairly clean, and best of all cheap. It was not a bad Labor Day trip at all.

I love the sea, and good thing the resort has a nice view of it.

Peaceful Hosted on Zooomr

Being the active family that we are, we played frisbee and volleyball,

Volleyball Hosted on Zooomr

billiards,

Hustler Hosted on Zooomr

rode the slide a few times,

Pose Hosted on Zooomr

and made our way through the obstacle course.

Yeehaa Hosted on Zooomr

I also swam around 20 laps in the pool. I am ecstatic about this, for I have been extremely out of shape lately.

But I made sure I had time to relax, escape from the city, and work on my tan.

Tan Hosted on Zooomr

All the activities and prolonged exposure to the sun left my body beat. Not exactly what I had in mind for a summer getaway. By the time we got back to the city, my brother had this brilliant idea of catching Spiderman 3. How could I resist a free movie?

Despite not being able to walk, my sister, brother, and I went to SM Southmall catch the last full show. I liked the movie, but I hated the ending. It was really underwhelming. It was a really long movie, but I never felt that it was a dragging one. I actually did not feel sleepy, which is unnatural of me, despite the fact that it was already late and my body was screaming to get some rest.

Due to a very bad decision I made, we had to walk to our house after the movie. That was probably the worst torture my body felt. Of course, nothing would ever top my cleaning visits to my dentist, but that is another story. Expectedly, I was a full hour late to my class the next day, which starts at 1030.

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May 4, 2007

We took our second quiz on Engineering Economy today. I was scared of this quiz because a) I did not prepare well, because I was busy looking at my friend's photos from their Puerto Galera trip, which I should have made if I was not taking this stupid summer class, and b) there is this nasty rumor that students who pass this dreaded second quiz can be counted in one hand.

It went well fortunately, but not after I had sweat buckets. The aircon of V501 (or was it V503?) needs to be fixed pronto.

Guilar has linked to my blog and posted this very flattering entry. Thanks for that - it really boosted my confidence. But even better, it reminded me that I still had to submit articles to my organization's newsletter. Check out Guilar's blog.

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May 5, 2007

Jamie left me a comment in my Friendster that she has already received my package. But I already knew that, thanks to Google Checkout's excellent tracking service. That plus the free $10 is great and all, but if only they get more merchants and offer lower standard shipping rates to the Philippines, they would be even better.

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It wasn't crazy at all, was it? It just is a huge relief for me to finally finish this entry I've long wanted to post.

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I am broke, but I still spend

After getting an iPod nano, numerous impulsive buying of clothes, bags, and other things, succumbing to my growling stomach almost everytime, and having a beach getaway with my friends, I am broke.

But with Google giving away free $10, I cannot resist the temptation to spend. I originally wanted a top from Aeropostale, but they do not ship to the Philippines. Heck, all the other shops do not ship to this country. And if they do, the shipping would cost me five times what the actual product costs.

Fortunately, my friend Jamie is currently in New Jersey. So I asked her if I could ship the item to her, and she naturally obliged. You're a savior Jam.

Now, I got hundreds of products to choose from. But being the greatest friend that I am, ahem, I chose a Kingston 1 GB SD Card. Now I searched for hours to find a retailer than can ship for free, but sadly I didn't find any. After deducting the free $10, the memory card would cost me Php 375. The same memory card can be purchased for about Php 750 at CD-R King, so I was happy with my purchase. Yet, it drives me nuts that I have to spend Php 375.

That amount of money is big for a struggling student like me. That could have fixed my mobile phone, which yet again refuses to cooperate by not responding to my incessant presses at the number 8. To my friends: if I haven't responded to your messages the past few days, that means I cannot find a way to reply without using the letters t,u, or v.

Being broke, the engineer inside of me started to work. I opened up my mobile, which alone took me some time, and did everything I could to try to fix it. That is, wipe and blow away the dirt, and pray that it will work. After several repetitions of opening it up and dusting off the dirt, I did what most people do - place a piece of paper, and again pray that it will work. Fortunately, it did. I was so glad not because I got my phone fixed on my own, but because of the idea of saving up Php 250 on repair.

But that is way out of what I was previously talking about. Going back, I'll get my memory card when Jamie gets here by the last week of June. Only to go back to New Jersey by September. Ah, the hassle of getting that Green Card.

Seeing that this post is long but really about nothing, I could now say that my writing skills have officially deteriorated, not that I was a good writer to begin with.

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Awful writer

Reading back my previous posts, I realized that I am a bad very bad writer. Awful. I sound like a 13 year old tween posing as a twenty year old man.

Is this what all those engineering subjects have done to me? I seriously need to start reading a lot more. Or anything that would stimulate my artsy fartsy side, if I still have one.

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My VisualDNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

What's yours?

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New Template

I made a new template for the Top Dog. Well, not really. I just tweaked a few things. The colors now are more "me". I removed the rounded corners to give (I hope) a more formal and mature look.

Plus, I made the post area bigger so I could post pictures like this:

Picture 093 Hosted on Zooomr

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The Top Dog is worth $15,242.58

I know this has been the flavor of the month 10 months ago, but please let me join in on the fun.

Apparently, this blog is worth $15,242.58

My blog is worth $15,242.58.
How much is your blog worth?

Anyone willing to buy this blog for 15 million thousand US dollars must contact me immediately. We can negotiate.

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Visitors

I don't know how they found the Top Dog, maybe by bloghopping, but there are actually people visiting this blog. They probably do not read though haha.

I wonder if my friends are one of these.

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Shortlist

The finalists for the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards have been announced. Goodluck to the Main Category Awards Finalists and the Special Awards Finalists.

Who are you rooting for?

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Nominated

This blog has been (temporarily) nominated in the Personal Category of the Philippine Blog Awards.

Alright. I'll 'fess up. I nominated myself.

Why? Because I can.

No. Seriously, because I was a new blogger, a neophyte, when they started nominations. Since I was excited with blogging and all that shit, I submitted myself. I figured they would not accept entries with crappy content, no visitors, and with a PageRanking of 0. But they did.

And so I was nominated. I was listed at the website. And suddenly, I've got several blogs linking to my blog. It boosted my Technorati ranking, albeit in a not-so-right-way. But that still made me happy. Somewhat.

I am positive I will not win the award (but of course!). I do not have my own design and my posts look like worms to other bloggers' eagles.

Why am I writing all of this? Because some of you, yes the five of you who actually read this blog, might have sleepless nights thinking how the hell this blog has been nominated.

And so I am shamelessly telling you: I nominated myself. But you have probably figured that out beforehand.

To those rightfully nominated, I congratulate you, and goodluck.

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Baldo the Dog

EDIT: For those searching about Balto the Bravest Dog, you could read this wiki and this Google search.

Google tells me that my blog appears under the search term Baldo the Dog. So I ran the search myself and I was surprised that the Top Dog actually appears 5th (as of this writing) on the results.

See for yourself!

Should I be happy or what? Who is Baldo the Dog? But the biggest question is, who actually searches for "Baldo the Dog"?

Ugh, so many questions. My head hurts now.

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About the post that I can not finish

For the past few days weeks, I've been trying to blog about what has happened to me the past few week. But no matter how I try, I seemingly cannot, for the life of God, finish it.

This week I had to deal with two more quizzes. Ah yes, the sorry life of a student.

Being in university, in a trimestral university to be specific, is like being in a battle with hordes of horse-riding quiz knights pointing their spears straight at you, ready to puncture and deflate your bubble. They keep on coming, right after the other. You can hardly breathe, and yet, here comes another quiz knight right in front of you.

Okay, I'm getting a wee bit all-over-the-place here. But to be honest, the past week has left me dull. Useless. I feel like a walking vacuum right now. I feel that all the creative juices I had (if I had any) has been sucked dry by a barrage of mean examinations. Can't think, can't write, can't type. Is the calculator the only thing I can work with now?

Just when I was about to work on that forsaken blog post today, Zooomr has decided to move to Mark III. Great. After deciding a few days ago to upload all my photos to Zooomr and make it my primary hosting service, this happens to me. Oh well, I guess I have another reason to delay that entry.

I have considered completely forgetting about the past few weeks and just start blogging anew. A fresh start, that is. But the blogger in me refused to cooperate. That damn attention-whore mofo.

Before I only have academic homework. Now I have blogging homework.

And I am completely lagging behind.

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Hiatus

I've been on blogging hiatus for about a week or so. But it felt like months.

We've all heard about sophomore slump. I think I have a "blogging slump".

I hope I can get my groove back.

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Ready, Set, Go

So I finally decided to give blogging a try...

Wait, I own several blogs! But I mostly write for myself. This time, I'm gonna take blogging a bit seriously.

Let's see where this takes me.

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