3 Years of STEAM Part I

Transformation, according to Dictionary.com (using the American Heritage Dictionary's second meaning) means a marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

Our team underwent several transformations. Though, technically, people left the company and were replaced, I still would say that those changes were transformation. It was a marked change for the remaining members because it allowed us to make the most out of it. It also allowed us to ensure that the team move forward. Change is for the better.

From September 2005 to April 2006, this is STEAM batch 1.

From May 2006 to Dec 2007, STEAM underwent rigorous change.

Karla left, then Stef, then Berns...so we welcomed Maneelene, Dominic, and Norman while Erman and Rupher transferred, Kaila and Me-ann took over. Middle of 2007 saw Rey leaving the team and Darren transferring to another group...Claire and Maris enter. 2007 was supposed to end with Mark, MeMay, JP, Julie as the surviving members with the support from Maneelene, Dominic and Norman who entered middle of 06 while Kaila and Me-ann entered latter part of 06. However, Kaila decided to move on at the end of 07 so we have to find a replacement fast.

It's 2008. After Kaila, Darwin arrived. It is September and we will be celebrating our 3rd year in existence. Imagine, we are 3 years old. Definitely, we are toddlers. As toddlers, we are still capable of learning as long as our bodies and minds yearn for it. This is the new look of STEAM after 3 years. We are definitely transformed but we are not mature yet. We are a sapling to a tree.

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DVD 7 – 2 Fast 2 Furious

Cars, cars, cars, and more cars, this is the sequel to the fast-paced, exhilarating The Fast and The Furious. I am sure you know that. I have the first DVD but I will not review it yet since I haven’t watched it for a long time. I will jump right into the sequel. It has been long since the release of the DVD (a year ago) but I am at it again with the Sale Special. Hey, life is hard and if you can scrimp even on your hobby that is fine. You still get to enjoy. Let us begin.

You are planning a DVD movie session and you plan to show this DVD. Who will you invite?

1. Car enthusiasts (I do not know that much about cars but I am in love with the cars on this movie)

2. People who enjoy adrenaline rush (The movie gives that and more.)

3. Those who can appreciate movies for their entertainment purposes only. (If your friend is the movie critique wannabe, this is not for him or her.)

4. Your lady friend who appreciates cars

5. Street racers (to give you in-depth discussion on street racing – if you missed the first movie)

On to what the DVD can offer, here is the down-low.

1. Features on the cars used by Devon Aoki, Tyrese, and Paul Walker – this part are loaded with features on cars. The focus is the cars. Even the actors talked about the cars. The design of Suki’s (Devon Aoki) car is for female. This part can be accessed through the Play Movie option and it is separated based on the character. The graphics are also cool and they represent.

2. The Car Feature portion also contains Driving School. A glimpse on how they were trained (including some drifting).

3. There is also the usual suspect of making the sequel and the visual effects (which I look forward to)

4. Gag reel (where Tyrese is so funny)

5. Music video by Ludacris and the making of the video

6. Prequel to the sequel that tackles how Paul Walker’s character (which I forgot) traveled from California to Miami escaping the police. This short clip is cool.

This is what a DVD should be about. It should be loaded with features so that you can ogle at many things. For PHP187.50 this is really a gold mine. You can watch it over. You can watch it when you are alone or with your friends and family. It is not your spectacular classic, A-rated, exceptional movie but the DVD is superb. The only drawback is you have to select the subtitle language for every Bonus feature. It makes me impatient but overall, it is still something nice to add to the collection. I suggest, grab your copy while supply lasts. Would I like to rent it to you?

Hell, no!

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DVD 6 - Dreamgirls

I was not a fan of this movie. You might be wondering why I have this DVD. For the simple reason, my youngest brother loves Beyonce and the good brother that I am finally succumbed to the request. It took one year before I purchased the DVD. I bought it on sale.

The DVD was priced for PHP 375 with a buy one take one promo. It is tagged now at PHP 157.50. Is it worth the new tag?

I buy DVDs because of the features. This movie contains the following:

1. Listen Music Video
2. 12 musical scenes that were cut from the movie during editing (1 scene from Jennifer Hudson that was not shown on the movie)
3. The musical scenes were the complete version like you are watching a music video or a concert performance.

For that price, I think it was fair because the features lasted for almost an hour. The movie lasted longer. However, if it was me, I will still not purchase the DVD. What about you, what can you look forward if you purchase this DVD?

1. If you love singing, you and your friends can sing their hearts out to the musical scenes and the music video.

2. You can sing with the movie especially the Jennifer Hudson solo where they removed her from the group.

3. You can get a glimpse of how it was during the apartheid and how the Afro-American singers created a niche on the music industry.

4. Jennifer Hudson was not that bad but she is definitely Heavy. Watch the movie to get the drift.

5. You can see Beyonce pushes her limits with acting. Though, she fails miserably in this category. She was overshadowed by other characters.

If you are the musical fanatic, you can add this to your lineup. Do not expect others to share the joys with you though. I say grab your popcorn and watch it alone. At least, you can sing to your heart out. You can keep it. I will rent it to others. You can be one of them.

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DVD 5 - Erin Brockovich

I will start by saying that the DVD was a blah. This is the type of DVD that relied heavily on the strength of:

1. The movie – it was critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated

2. The lead star – Julia Robert’s Academy award winning performance

However, a DVD is supposed to contain features not a rundown of the accomplishments of the actor, actress, and director. No wonder it was left on the shelf.

You might argue that this is an old movie. 9 years is a very long time but can’t they put together a decent feature. They have 9 years to work on it. It would have been appreciated if there was an effort like Julia talking about how the movie was made or the real person stepping out and telling how she thought of the movie. A rehash of this would still be okay.

But no, it was just the movie. Luckily, the movie was fun to watch. It was what it was supposed to be. Since there are no features, what would I talk about?

Well, I can persuade you not to buy but I will say this:

1. Buy it if you are a big Julia Roberts fan

2. Buy it if you really loved the movie and you will feel it would be a classic

3. Buy it if you haven’t watch it and you do not want to borrow

For me, I will rent it out to recoup the losses. Want to rent it? Ping me.

Why did I purchase it?

1. On sale – not a good reason though

2. I thought the movie will outweigh the lack of features

3. I was thinking if it did not make me happy then I can rent it out.

What are you waiting for? Ping me, PHP 15 for a day. Overdue fine: PHP 100 per night.

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DVD 4 - Stomp the Yard

It is popcorn time again. Gather the brothers and your dancer friends because it is time to watch a different kind of dance. It is no ordinary battle. It is a battle for tradition, for family, and for honor. This movie steps toward self-improvement and redemption.

I purchased it for PHP375 buy one, take one. I am such a cheapskate when collecting DVDs. As a DVD collector, you take into consideration, the movie and the features. On my end, I loved watching features more than the movie (especially if I have watched the movie on the silver screen). This DVD did not falter in providing some features.

1. Documentary on how the movie evolved. This particular part concentrated on the choreography and how the actors were cast. It also tackled why they chose Stepping instead of other dance moves.

2. It also has a gag reel.

3. It also contains deleted scenes.

If you expect more from this, then it will be a disappointment brutha. The movie was not created to become a critically acclaimed film. Here are the disappointments:

1. Stepping is good but it is not as good as other dance movies since the battles are fiercer.

2. Dance battles here are okay but it is more of cheering than anything else. I am not saying there is something wrong with cheerdancing but it is not new. Come here in the Philippines and you will see many cheerdancing teams combining stepping with hip-hop and other types of dancing.

3. Storyline is overused. It is a blah.

4. As for the contents of the DVD, it is the usual suspect. There is nothing to excite or something new to the palate.

The quote from the movie "Stepping is for p*ss*es" is so apt. This DVD is not worth the penny. If you are into dancing and wants to incorporate stepping as part of it, go to Youtube and you will learn. I daresay borrow than purchase. For me, there are other ways to recoup lost investments.

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2 Months Ago - The Picnic Experience

This is an overdue post. Our company picnic happened last June. However, I needed to process what transpired to recount it properly. The event transpired last May will not be topped as my "fave" experience. However, the consistent inconsistency of the people behind the production was just totally appalling you want to puke. (Though I did not, because the end portion was amazing.) I also do not want to put all the credit to the production team because they are not the only one who can ruin one event.

Here are the reasons why that picnic was all wrong. It started at the wrong foot.

1. Departure time was supposed to be 900 am. We left 30 minutes later.

Since the company outing is just a one-day affair, you want to be there early. There are only 11 of us from the team and only 7 rode the bus to Subic. Our team was complete before 900 am. The account riding the bus with us wanted to wait for one person. Imagine the nerve and logical thinking process, I really cannot understand why we have to wait for 30 minutes for one person. He wasn't even the President the company. He was a nobody. Well, he has friends with the account but who cares. We have an itinerary to follow. We wanted to go to many places Subic can offer so we really wanted to be there. We know the party would not start until 700 pm so there was a lot of time. Since we freaking left late, the itinerary became a plan without any fruition of becoming a reality.

At this point, tempers from our team is really running high and we were ready to go on a shouting match. Luckily, the marshal was the lady guard our team have a working relationship. She decided to leave without waiting for that one person. We arrived at Subic at around 130pm. 1 hour and a half late from the expected arrival time.

2. 7 in a room for some, 11 in a room and men and women are together

For some teams, this is okay. It is not a problem or they just don't think about it. However, if the room is a deluxe room and you fit 7 people with bags and other paraphernalia, this becomes a nightmare. One, 7 people will be using the bathroom. Each one has different time of actually using the bathroom. This becomes a logistics nightmare especially if you have an itinerary to follow. Girls tend to last longer in a bathroom and if you wants to sit on the throne it becomes a problem.

Two, sleeping arrangements is such a hassle. Some will be sleeping on the hard portion of the bed. That is such an inconvenience. Even if you claim a bed, people tend to forget especially if they become drunk. Imagine 4 of us on a queen size bed, 3 men and 1 woman was on the same bed. Fortunately, we do not have an issue since we are flatmates. Nevertheless, it is a bit weird from an outsider's perspective. I was even hoping that at least it was a villa type with multiple rooms. This one, I blame to poor hotel coordination.

3. Food not enough to satiate hunger

For any event, this is something people remember the most. If the food served was not good, no matter how amazing the program, the event still fails. In our case, the lucheon buffet was amazingly poor. Food portion is similar to what we see in movies, where nuns serve the homeless in a soup kitchen. I wonder, did the production team even checked the food portions when they got the said caterer? It was alarming because it has been ongoing since 2006. The food they served seems better if it was served ala carte. Actually, no. It would not even pass for any ala carte menu. I wish that the food was similar to the picture on the right.

From a tiring trip, a shitty room, you get shitty food. What's next? This does not end here. Our last experience totally made my top blew.

Our last stop, for me overall, was the most unpleasant experience.

4. The almost Zoobic Safari mishap

Since we are going to Subic, some my co-workers planned on spending time either on Zoobic Safari or Ocean Adventure. After arriving late and eating a lousy lunch and trying to cramp ourselves in the tiny room, we decided to go out and still do our itinerary. We decided to check the Safari. From the hotel, we made it to the marina where buses that will drive us to the Safari are situated.

After arriving at the marina, the first thing we did was ask when the next bus would leave. Tthe attendant from the production team, or I should say attendants, told us that the last bus left because the safari apparently closes at 5pm. It was 4pm then. I inquired why there was a communication gap. It was clearly stated that the last bus would leave at 530pm. This type of stupidity is really irksome. Stupid in the sense that, as part of the production team, you must know what happended. Second, you should have worked with the other vendors regarding their time. The reason we joined the picnic was to try out certain things and because of errors and lapses on communication. We travelled from the hotel to nowhere. At this time, I was already asking for their manager and point of contact with the support group that handles the picnic. All they can do was stare. It was frustrating that I almost grabbed something to throw at them.

Unfortunately, it was their lucky day. A bus that roams the area for potential Safari visitors passed by the area and we climbed so that we can go to our destination. The Safari was fun. We even have photos of tigers and more tigers. Since I do not want to bore you to death with tigers, I will not show it.

Overall, this experience ranks second as a shitty experience this year. I am sure there are more shitty thing to experience next year. What can more I expect from this support group? Ummm, nothing!

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