Wherever I May Roam…

It’s April 25, 2009 and I just got off from my 16-hour shift. I barely finished implementing a PostgreSQL contingency plan (just in case MySQL went evil) on our Outage Management System. I looked at my watch and sighed, it’s 8:30AM local time. A few more hours to go before the release party. Took a bath, ate my breakfast, drank a big mug of Baracco coffee then headed for the bus station. I checked my iPod Nano after parking my truck. Yeah, I still have Robert Greene and Stephen Covey’s audio books. I also made sure I have a few FLOSS Weekly, TWiT, Security Now, and Linux Action Show podcasts. This is a 6-hour trip to Cubao. I boarded the bus, took my seat, and closed my eyes as I hit the play button. Need sleep… I’ve got a long day ahead of me.

I reached Cubao a little after 4PM, lit a stick and waited for a cab. I went straight to CD-R King at SM Megamall and bought pack of CD-R’s for the burnfest then headed to Starbucks. I booted my Wind and check… Crap! No public Wi-fi! I sipped my Mocha Grande and waited for Carlos.

It’s already 6PM and we still can’t find Strata 2000. We passed by Orient Square and Strata 100 (which I insisted as Strata 2000). Asked the security guard and he pointed us to the right direction.

We reached the venue at around 6:30PM, knocked on the door and, in my manly voice, said “Domino’s Pizza”.

We introduced ourselves as I kept looking at the 64-bit CD-ROM (a humongous pizza cut in 64 slices). I finally met Doc Mana of the Philippine Linux Users Group and a retired professor of Ateneo. The organizer of the event – Allan. And host of our party – Johann. I also met astronomy enthusiasts and photographers Rochelle and Frederick. I also met G.ho.st representattive Gener and Troy of the Internet Cafe Association of Imus, Cavite. A Web Developer JC and a fairly discrete computer technician from Fairview, Jay. And of course, media reporter Chin Wong.

We adjourned at around 9PM. No Burnfest, no presentations, no other activities except getting to know one another and sharing our Ubuntu stories.

I got to the Cubao bus station at around 10:30PM. I relived the few hours we’ve been together as I was waiting for the bus to depart. With a smile on my face, I said to myself – ‘Great guys!’.

I cringed at the though of spending the next 6 hours on the bus. So I closed my eyes and hoped to doze off while listening to Leo and Randall’s FLOSS Weekly.

Courtesy of Dr. Pablo Manalastas

Chin Wong’s Interview

Links:
Jay’s Flickr
JC’s Blog
JC’s Photos
Doc Mana’s Multiply
Chin’s Blog

Manila Standard Today Article