After years of Internet shop writing, I finally have a notebook computer.  Strangely enough, I’m in an Internet shop paying ten bucks an hour for wi-fi… some things never change.

Now before you go after me with flaming torches and rusty pitchforks, let me explain.  Every job requires a tool.  Carpenters need hammers.  Plumbers need wrenches.  While a writer like myself would do well with typewriters, there’s much more prudence and relevance in having a notebook computer.  I didn’t ask for a notebook on the basis of pecuniary canons of taste.  I need a convenient way to write, and so here I am with the 21st century equivalent to quills and parchment rolls.

The Marocharim Writing Machine is one made by Lenovo Corporation, powered by a 1.73 GHz Intel Dual-Core processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 160 GB of hard disk space.  Yes, it’s an overpowered typewriter… well, it gets the job done.

I think Tonyo summed it up best as he helped me upgrade my old WordPress installation to the latest version (via Yahoo! Messenger and a phone call): atake de corazon, which I think is pidgin Spanish for “heart attack.”

It’s not that I’m technologically inept, it’s just that I’m borderline scared to do anything that requires serious site management, like SQL and databases.  Back when my blog was still in BlogDrive, I tinkered with a lot of CSS to get TMX in the familiar black-and-red.  Having a domain of my own (which reminds me that I have to pay for it soon, as soon as I can get a handle on Jehzeel Laurente) means that I need to have a little more commitment.

“Commitment,” like its romantic counterpart, basically means having the balls to take a serious step.  I had to upgrade my WordPress for three reasons:

• WordPress Whatever.point.Whatever I used before (the blue one with the big editing window) was obsolete;
• I have a lot of spare time in my hands, and;
• I wanted to see why my dashboard was pestering me with a “Please Upgrade Now” reminder that has the uncanny ability to piss me off.

Woe upon me that I can’t smoke in the Internet shop, since I can’t stand the jittery feeling of backing up what I can of the website FTP.  So I decided to give Tonyo a buzz, who reminded me that I should backup my SQL (whatever that is) through “cpanel” (wherever the heck that was).

After a long exchange of messages that reminded me of “The Matrix,” Tonyo called me up, and figured that the best thing for me at that point was to use one of those automatic upgrade plugins.  It was a cross-your-fingers thing, so much so that I was turning pale just following the instructions.

Hot damn, it worked.  WordPress 2.5.1 looks like Friendster.

I guess I have a lot of things to learn about the Interweb: search engine optimization, Internet marketing, Digg, RSS, and so on and so forth…

“Famous five-minute installation,” my ass.  Preparing to upgrade WordPress took me two hours.  The plugin did it for me in three minutes.

I switch cigarette brands like a dirty old man in a Caloocan prostitution den, but I have never used a cellphone that’s not made by Nokia.  I’ve had my Nokia 6300 for three weeks, and realized how much of a liability it is everytime I board an MRT or go to a really crowded place, like say Victory Liner Cubao.  So I made my dad an offer he can’t refuse: my N6300 for his Sony Ericsson K750i.  After all, he’s been eyeing my phone for quite a while now.

I like the K750i, even if it’s an older phone.  As much as I still despise the idea of camera phones, the K750i has a more responsive camera than the N6300.  Its sound quality is phenomenal: even better than an iPod.  The only downside is that I have a less-clearer display than the N6300, and Sony Ericsson’s layout takes a bit of getting used to.

Hey, at least it’s a heavy, bulky phone.

*     *     * 

Sometimes I ask myself why I’m such a fickle-minded customer: I can’t seem to stick with a single brand of anything.  There are a few notable exceptions to the rule:

• I almost always wear Levi’s;
• It’s Coke or nothing, and;
• I will never drink a beer that’s not proudly Philippine made.

So much for brand loyalty.

   What’s been keeping me occupied at home is not kicking ass in Civilization IV or learning how to drift in Need for Speed games (you’re damn right I don’t know how to drift), but the Dream Day games: DD Wedding, DD Honeymoon, and DD First Home.  Finding stuff in a pile of clutter is irritating, but it’s kind of exciting once you get the hang of it.

   I’ve also been using arcade emulators lately to practice on old arcade classics like Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, X-Men: Children of the Atom, and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.  Yeah, I just went retro.  Here are my characters:

• MSH: Psylocke, Captain America, Blackheart
• XSF: Cammy/Rogue, Magneto/Bison, Cammy/Chun-Li
• CotA: Psylocke, Colossus, Iceman,  Spiral
• MSF: Ken/Ryu, Chun-Li/Ken, Spiderman/Captain America

   Tekken is no longer a top-priority for me: I’ve just grown too good at it (whatever).  I just Perfect-ed a Korean playing Sergei Dragunov with my Steve Fox, which still does not have a juggle in it.  I’m not looking forward to playing T6: I don’t have problems playing Bob in the future, but I do have a problem with Miguel (who, strangely enough, looks like Antonio Banderas in “Take the Lead”). 

   I had extremely good reasons to beg my parents to buy me a new phone.  When I was in Ortigas, my seven-year-old Nokia 3310 had problems with receiving calls and sending messages.  I offered to pay them back when I can, as long as I have a phone suitable for my needs.

   Because I’m an idiot when it comes to mobile technology, I laid out my specs: my phone must store music, it must have one helluva powerful battery, and it must not have a built-in camera.  My sister, the resident expert in mobile phones, said that such a phone doesn’t exist: whether I like it or not, I have to have a camera in my phone.

   So my mom called me up awhile ago to say that until such time that I can pay them back, I am now the proud new owner of a camera phone.  Which basically means that like many camera phone owners, I will be taking pictures of myself in every conceivable park and comfort room in the country, and post the images on my Friendster account.