I'm a New Convert - Nilamon na ng Apple Ecosystem

I bought a Mac M1 laptop last year because of the great reviews. I got an academic discount (for teachers and students, around 2K discount, not bad), by buying it online at apple store ph. Just the base configuration, 13-inch 8GB RAM, 256 SSD.

And now I'm a convert!

Indeed, the keyboard is pleasant to use,  the integration with my iPhone and iPad is seamless. And the video editing using Da Vinci Resolve is much faster than in my 16GB RAM NVIDIA GTX 1050 gaming laptop. Like, what takes 30 minutes in the Windows laptop takes less than 10 minutes in the Mac. The trackpad can be clicked anywhere. And the battery life is insane! One full charge and I can work from 8 to 5 on battery.

I also know of several colleagues who have had Mac for 5 years and up. Most of my Windows laptops would just be good for 3 years typically. So I'm looking forward to having this laptop for several years.

That being said, there are a few things in Windows that I kind of miss in the Mac. Foremost is moving files and finding where the files are. In Windows it is intuitive how to move files from folder to folder, in Mac, it takes more steps. I only have 2 USB C's and so I bought a hub to allow me to connect to an HDMI monitor and USB harddisk. Pages is amazing because we can use LaTeX for equations but I can not save it in another document format (save for PDF) that can be opened by Word.

Other than that I'm enjoying using it. Still learning and getting pleasantly surprised.

Thank you 2021, Welcome 2022!

And just like that another year has zipped by. We're still in a pandemic and COVID-19 cases are once again rising after a few weeks of promising public health stats across the board.  Still, there's a lot to be grateful for, and I believe its better for one's mental health to have a sense of gratitude always. 

And so, here are the things I am grateful for. 

1. More and more people are getting the vaccine and booster.

2. I've gotten a better understanding of our spiritual life's journey and our purpose in the physical world.

3. I have a steady job which pays well enough that it allows me to support my family.

4. Nobody in my immediate family (close contacts) got seriously sick despite the fact that most of them have co-morbidities.

5. My brother who is working abroad, and his wife who is in Bulacan, survived COVID.

6. Amidst the pandemic, my youngest brother's food business which he runs with his wife is thriving and getting traction.

5. My project team is doing great and we have achieved several milestones.

6. I've managed living with 5 dogs in the house.

7. I've finally been able to go out of town with my family and visit dear friends outside NCR.

8. Some of my friends and colleagues who did get sick with COVID (some severely so) have survived.

9. Eisen, my  Lab, is now 13 years and 7 months - deaf, weak in the hind legs, and with occasional health scares, he still is my most faithful companion.

Elections is coming up in 2022, face to face classes in UP will probably not be happening yet, and we're back in Alert Level 3. I think the antidote to dread and despair in the coming year is to focus on our original mission, which is to love one another, and, instead of criticizing others, look inwardly and strive to be a better person.