About

After staring at the PC for the past half and hour thinking of what to write about myself, it dawned upon me that I’m not as interesting as I initially though I was. Hence, on this page, you will not find:

  • My 100,000 word autobiography.
  • Recollections of my life in a 1,000 word essay.
  • A 100 word blurb justifying why certain personal facts have to be tucked away here in the “About” page instead of the main page.
  • Nekkid pictures of myself.

Being an IT geek, I like to break down information into structured and palatable bits, sparing my audience the agony of having to decipher the infinite ramblings of a mind going into a recursive loop, visiting and revisiting facts if only to present them in an alternate manner or viewpoint so as to create some semblence of variety in an already overwhelmingly monotonous and prosaic existence.

Huh?

Ok, without further ado, I present to you the INK FAQ:

Why INK?
Coz those are my initials. I think having cool initials is pretty, um, cool. It makes for a good conversation topic and saves me the trouble of having to repeat my actual name (Irving) over 5 times to the guy at Starbucks/Coffee Bean because they can’t figure out what to write on that empty plastic cup.

A/S/L? (that’s age/sex/location for you non-IRC folks)
Old enough/Straight enough/Depends on when you are reading this.

Are you married?
Indeed I am; to the most beautiful, caring and sweet woman I have ever met. I’m sure she thinks the same of me (despite my thinning hair and ever darkening eyebags).

Well then, any kids to complete the household yet?
My wife just gave birth on 22nd January 2006 to the most beautiful (see a pattern here?) baby I have ever had the pleasure of cradling. Ashley - our daughter - has big eyes, thick hair, pouty lips, and tons of attitude. Attitude is probably an understatement taking into the consideration the number of times she has peed and crapped on me when all I do is carry her and show her a little TLC. Nonetheless, everytime she smiles, everything in the world suddenly becomes well again.

Oh, and like her dad, she has ultra cool initials - ARK!

You really have tons of picture on your blog. What’s your gear?
Previously, a trusty Canon Powershot G3, but now a more souped up (and BIGGER) Fuji 9500Z. Occassionaly, I rely on the mini built-in camera on my Nokia 6111 handphone for those impromptu shots. Will I ever go the DSLR path? I don’t know, but the thought of lugging over 1kg of lenses does tend to put me off. And yes, not to mention the cost too.

Do you believe in God?
Every morning I wake up to a brand new day, to realize that I still exist and that I carry with me the thoughts of all that has happened the day before, and the day before that, and to have hope in me for the day ahead, and tomorrow, I believe that my continued existence and state in this world is a miracle.

Every day I see, touch and hear my wife say “I love you”, to fathom how there is another human being in this world who can be so in tune with my feelings and emotions, to have someone who can complement all that I feel missing in myself, to add to me, I feel as if I’ve been gifted a miracle.

Every time I look at Ashley, to see how innocent and wide-eyed she is, to see how in 9 months two small cells could develop into a healthy human being, to imagine how one day she will grow up and have kids of her own, I see a miracle growing before my own eyes.

Yes, I do believe in God, the one who makes the impossible possible. I believe in the living God - the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I believe in His promise for salvation and obey His commandments to love one another.

What kind of person are you?
Going by the four temperaments described in Tim LaHaye’s books, I’d like to think of myself as a sanguine-choleric on working days and phlegmetic-melancholic on weekends. If you have no idea what these terms mean, don’t fret, you’re not any more confused than I am!

What to you do for a living?
I work as a consultant in the IT line, developing solutions and applications for large corporations in the government, finance, elections, real-estate and utilities sectors. The irony is that there’s not much “living” left after factoring in all the stress and long working hours! However, less you think I’m whining about my career path, I happen to enjoy my job tremendously as it allows me to constantly learn new skills and technologies.

The funny thing is that I only ended up studying IT because of the misconception that IT equated to computer games, something which I was really hooked on during my secondary school and JC days. If Internet, P2P, instant messaging software (ICQ, MSN Messenger, etc) and blogging had existed in those days, I think I would’ve passed out from the excitement.

Is it true that you are a cat lover?
Yes, I love cats and have a Ragdoll over at my in-laws at the moment. Throughout my growing up years, my family has always had cats at home and I’ve grown to admire cats as adorable yet mysterious creatures. Cats aside, I think if only everyone in society could learn to love animals more, i.e. learn how to treasure a life whose fate lies solely in our hands, this would go a long way towards shaping a more humane society.

Why do you call yourself a geek?
Don’t you know that in this age of knowledge and information, geeks rule? Ok, seriously, it’s because I have neither the body nor lack of brains to qualify as a hunk. Juuuuuuuuuust kidding! No offence to those smart hunks out there.

Do you have any other hobbies besides being a geek?
Firstly, being a geek is not a hobby. It’s a lifestyle.

Anyway, from being a sports fanatic a few years back doing soccer and badminton every week, I’ve now acquired a taste for food appreciation. Exacerbating my already sedentary lifestyle even further, I love sitting and enjoying a nice Japanese or Italian meal while being in the company of close friends. I also enjoy going for movies and playing boardgames (please, boardgames is much more than just Monopoly and Scrabble!) with friends as the interaction with people simply perks me up.

I spend a lot of time on the Internet talking to people and reading. I’ve not given up reading actual printed books though, seeing how my book collection is growing this year.

Oh, and did I mention I like computer games? Unfortunately, no time for that nowadays.

Finally, I love travelling (I think it was my wife who infected with the travel bug)! I’ve been to places like Bali, Bintan, Phuket, Hongkong, Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, North and South Island in New Zealand and Melbourne. Among some other dream destinations that I must visit before I grow too old are Hokkaido, Greece, Shanghai, Rome, Prague, Bora Bora and Fiji. Oh yes, did I mention that I grew up in Kuching and Manila too?

What is your IQ?
That’s a sensitive question. I’d rather tell you my age and underwear size.

Well, that’s just about all the questions I can think of tonight. If there are any other questions you would like to ask Mr. INK, just leave a comment on this page and I’ll attend to you whenever I check this page again or finish my 100,000 word autobiography (whichever comes first).

Popularity: 11% [?]