Random – Marcus Can Blog

The Strange Coincidence I Noticed While Watching The Minimalists: Less Is Now

Don’t I look good in my minimalist workspace?

There’s always been a minimalist in me. I like keeping my stuff simple and clutter‑free. But like anyone else, there’s always room for improvement. Case in point: our cabinet is almost full of clothes—especially since I stopped working.

After getting tired of thriller and crime series, I decided to break the pattern (and the algorithm) by checking out some documentaries. One Netflix suggestion led me back to The Minimalists: Less Is Now. I realized I had already started it long ago because it was tagged “Resume Playing.” So I restarted it from the beginning.

Everything soon looked familiar. I remembered scenes up to about halfway through, but this time I paid more attention to what the hosts and the featured minimalists were saying.

Things got more interesting when one of The Minimalists’ cofounder, Ryan Nicodemus, shared his story. He talked about being called into a meeting by his boss, only to find HR there too. Long story short: he was fired on the spot. That hit close to home. Been there.

It made me wonder—did Netflix somehow sense what happened to me a month ago and push this documentary back into my recommendations? Hard to dodge the algorithm nowadays.

And here’s another funny coincidence: I actually resemble Ryan a wee bit—shoulder‑length hair, facial hair, similar build. Isn’t that interesting.

Last night, I started reevaluating my stuff. The plan is to start small—cables, old chargers, broken electronics. Among other things, I even reset my Garmin and my Apple Watch Series 4 to prepare them for disposal. They’ve served their purpose, and hopefully someone else can still find them useful.

It’s a small step, but it feels like the right direction to being minimalist. More in the next days.

My Father‑and‑Son Victory Over Totenreich’s Final Boss in Call of Duty Zombies

The final boss has finally fallen. Three days ago, I began my showdown with Call of Duty’s Dravakar with Marcus leading the charge. The creature was colossal, vicious, and freezing to the core. Its health bar barely moved no matter how many rounds I pumped into it. The Voyak and every upgrade I slapped onto it felt useless. The unstable Xbox connection ever since we switched to PLDT’s WiFi 6 router didn’t help either. On this first fight, I was crushed.

The next afternoon, we tried again. Fingers crossed, we loaded into Zombies mode. I was tense, determined to finish the fight, and hoping Marcus wouldn’t end the session annoyed that his old man played like a noob again. I prepared my GobbleGum kit, including Perkaholic—the one that instantly grants every available perk. No more scrambling for essence, hunting down Perk Machines, or buying each perk while dodging stray undead. With this, I felt unstoppable. All I had to do was focus on clearing each wave and wait for Marcus to call the shots.

“We will now proceed with the boss fight,” he announced several waves later. We were teleported straight into the arena. Dravakar loomed ahead, and next to it was the Iron Sentinel—an equally massive ally—marched forward to engage. My controller vibrated almost nonstop, my palms were sweating, and zombies began pouring in from every direction. A long battle was coming. My plan was simple: follow Marcus’ commands like a clueless private trying to impress his sergeant.

Then the Gjallarfrost appeared. A floating, icy skull drifting around the battlefield like the boss’s personal enforcer. Marcus explained that it takes heavy damage when you toss lethal equipment—grenades, molotovs, semtex—straight into its open mouth. I threw whatever I had, unsure where each of it landed, but at least I followed orders.

The fight felt endless. Dravakar was relentless, hurling massive ice chunks at us, forcing us to hide behind rock pillars while trying to shoot its glowing weak points (which reminded me of those body pain commercials). It summoned icy spikes from the ground, and the chaos just kept building. I was overwhelmed but determined to push through.

Eventually, I found my rhythm. Marcus’ quick instructions started making sense. I focused on staying alive even as my eyes strained from the nonstop action. I kept firing the Voyak, tossing grenades, and triggering Frenzied Guard whenever things got too intense. After several minutes of pure mayhem, the Harbinger’s health finally hit zero. Whew!

It was over. We won.

***

Free from final boss. True story: exactly today I am no longer reporting to a boss. Today marks the end of my employment. More COD games ahead.

Marcus is now 18!

Been AI-while Crocodile (I’m Back)

Saltwater crocodile lying in shallow mangrove creek water with greenery around — AI-generated image

So what did I miss? After four years of WordPress dormancy, I’m back—and a lot has changed on the social media platforms I used to know. Twitter is now X. There’s TikTok, which until now I haven’t wanted to use—not even look at. Facebook is no longer just for keeping up with friends (you now even have ex-friends who choose to stay just to see you fail). Then there’s AI.

2026 is definitely an AI year, and I don’t even need to define what AI is unless you’ve been living under a rock. I first became aware of AI’s growing presence last year through the news, and then more personally through someone abroad who mentioned that her son had started working with an AI company—with a very significant paycheck. Stress on very significant.

This means businesses are now starting to invest more heavily in AI. Good news if you’re a stockholder or part of the teams developing it. Bad news if you’re just an end user. It reminds me of the anxiety we felt when we first learned about increasing and improving manufacturing automation somewhere around the year 2000.

AI is meant to change our lives, like it or not. It is meant to take over, like it or not. Like the print on my favorite Uniqlo shirt says, “Neither friend nor enemy.” It’s all in how you perceive it. The faster you accept its existence and adapt to its use, the better off you’ll be.

So I choose to adapt. In fact, I’ve been using it much more frequently lately. I choose to befriend AI—even if it’s probably one of the reasons I now find myself with a lot of free time.

Jobless in a few weeks.

IKEA, for real

“Meatballs to die for”, “best meatballs I ever had”, and “I’d line up for hours for IKEA’s meatballs” are just a few of so many testimonials I have read since the biggest IKEA opened here in the Philippines. So off we go for the second time to IKEA. Take note, second time.

If there’s something the three of us could be proud of is the very fact that we are probably the first customers to set foot at IKEA Philippines . Yes, July 2018 we were there, absentmindedly, immediately after I read in the papers about the Swedish brand opening in our country just to later realize I missed the part where it’s building was just being constructed. That booboo felt like sitting on an IKEA stool with one leg completed. Proud but embarrassed about the experience.

Yesterday we finally made it for real. We made it inside IKEA’s famous restaurant and eagerly lined up for the meatballs—actually skipped a long one because we got ushered to the priority lane for kids, seniors, and PWD. Wifey also got us spring rolls, baked salmon, carrot cake, and chocolate cake. On my count most customers did have Swedish meatballs on their trays.

So was the meatballs worth the two-hour trip? Hate to disappoint but personally it wasn’t. I have tasted better meatballs and wifey can even do a much tastier version. And take my word, skip the baked salmon too—its sauce was bland. I liked the spring rolls and the cakes a lot better. Coffee was strong and it’s free refill so it made up for the meatballs.

***

IKEA was crowded on a Saturday. It’s like Baclaran with overwhelming pricey stuff. I feel like everyone was there just because everyone was there. If ain’t for the masks, it was as if COVID-19 never ever happened.

***

Last time I drove up the Skyway going to the airport was January 2020 before the pandemic and I was on my trip to Kansas. I was back a week after and by then was driving back late at night with me anxiously wanting to reach home because Taal erupted. And yesterday by coincidence, just before we left home for IKEA we received an alert from NDRRMC about Taal erupting and being on level 3 again. As of this writing we haven’t gotten any SMS alerts except one at 4 AM. Since then it’s been calm at least from where we are at.

***

In the midst of the pandemic this current administration continues its Build Build Build initiatives and among of which is the Skyway extension that starts just before Alabang. Yesterday we passed there on our way to IKEA and it did cut travel time by almost 30 minutes to an hour. Going back was likewise a breeze because this time we skipped the congested SLEX and exited past Alabang. Isn’t it good to see where our taxes go—well, at least some of it.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Long weekend)

Masked Mall Rats

Things seem to start going back to normal. Thanks to the ongoing vaccination program, COVID-19 cases have significantly gone down, at least what the government statistics say. (But hey, props to them. Give credit to whom credit is due.) So in the past weeks we’ve been seeing traffic volume building up—not that we’re happy about it. Businesses are opening again one after the other. And people flock to the malls once more. Us included.

Two weeks after Marcus finally got his second COVID-19 vaccine we packed ourselves in the car and headed to the destination we once frequent before the pandemic hit. With a wee bit of anxiety, we set foot on Festival Mall’s ground, almost two years after. All three of us in the mall just like the good old days.

The mall no longer requires contact tracing forms to be completed upon entry but restaurants maintain their own policy for precautions. Yellow Cab for one allows only fully vaccinated customers to dine in— the cashier did check our vaccination cards. Activities inside the mall are close to pre-pandemic days with difference of masked mall rats and the ubiquitous social distancing signages. We agree it’s an inconvenience but this is the new norm so let’s deal with it.

***

What makes yesterday more special? Taylor Swift’s birthday! Among the things we did in common at home during the quarantine period—and continues to this day—is karaoke with Marcus on weekends. Early days during start of social distancing and isolation Marcus grew fond of singing and big chunk of his repertoire are Taylor’s songs—then some BTS and couple of rock, to indulge wifey and me, respectively. He’s still working on the tunes but it’s been fun all the time. I even learned—or forced myself—to dance while he sings. Good way to burn midnight snack.

***

Except for Saturday, two days this long weekend we skipped the karaoke. Sunday was finale of the F1 2021 season where we saw ourselves screaming especially when Max Verstappen stopped the championship streak of Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi race. It’s been a long while since F1 was this exciting. Actually both drivers deserve the title but this time we were rooting for Max who is now the first ever Dutch F1 driver champion.

Then last night, coming from the mall and powdered by Starbucks Americano I found myself glued watching Taylor Swift’s Fearless video on Blu Ray. Interestingly, we realized that Blu Ray is a technology that is no longer supported even by major appliances stores but thankfully Xbox still plays it.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Cold kettlebell workout)

Wistful and happy

If your 2021 were a playlist what would it sound like? Mine would be wistful and happy. At least, according to the data collected by Spotify about my music choices which by the way I discovered from Marcus yesterday. Apparently, Spotify had been tracking my favorite songs and genres since day one of 2021–without my consent or maybe I just missed the fine prints.

Spotify captured that I have spent 93,000 plus minutes (and counting) since January this year or an average of 282 minutes per day listening to music on their streaming service alone. It also recorded that close to 3,000 artists have played on my phone during this same period and interestingly, Spotify Wrapped shows that while I have explored other genres like Chill pop, hardcore rap, and even Taylor Swift’s, and yes, BTS’ songs too, New Wave continues to be my top genre. Age alert.

So if you have been stuck fiddling from one playlists to another on your Spotify, check out that icon that shows Spotify Wrapped and learn what Spotify had been spying about you and your music. See if like me you’ve been listening to wistful and happy music. Take note, guilty pleasure songs you’ve repeatedly played in your car while driving alone are there but thankfully, Spotify doesn’t record moments we sang out of tune. Well, not yet.

***

Mood: 1/10 Honks! (All three of us are now fully vaccinated.)

I Survived November

Ever had those days when paranoia sets in because the series of events do not make sense? That was November for me, my stuffs were breaking one a time like I was cursed. And oddly enough , after I posted about my streak of bad luck, a couple more were added on the list of things I broke clearly unintentionally.

Following my Apple Watch was my AfterShokz Titanium headset. It just snapped while I was cleaning it after my 5K. Then last Monday my work desktop just stopped leaving me unproductive almost majority of the day. And that wasn’t the worst part but it was the thought that I would need to report to work the next day—which means I would be driving. I was thinking Final Destination scenario.

I made it back home the next day despite having to stay up all night at work to conduct an 8-hour training—my first time to talk nonstop for almost the entire shift.

Wednesday was next, Thursday, and finally Friday. Then the final weekend when I had an uneventful drive to my 2nd COVID-19 vaccination, then the 29th, and then the 30th. Yes, I was counting the days until November will be over.

So last night I can’t recall being more than excited to see the calendar show December 1 finally. It was a holiday and I spent more time playing The Hunter with Marcus while keeping to myself that I’m on the the lookout if I’d break something—maybe a glass, my Xbox controller, the door knob even. But nothing happened. I stepped out of Marcus’ room two hours past midnight. November’s over and I survived it. Whew. That night, Jim Bean and Netflix never felt that good.

***

I had my progressive glasses fixed which only required frame replacement. I paid for a cheaper one this time just in case I break it again. Knock on wood.

An accessory I found on Lazada also gave my Apple Watch a new lease on life. I paid only P141 including shipping from China. I regret discovering it late but at least it now covers the crack and makes the watch look like brand new.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (So this is how it feels to be 48.)

Clocking in, clocking out

Clock starts now. It was almost a month ago when I stopped posting on Facebook. Cold turkey. No hints, no drama. I feel like it was the most appropriate thing to do. While leaving just like them also seems like apathy, during the times when friends need consoling, need uplifting, or some needing validation, I just woke up one morning saying “no more.”

The last weeks with Facebook was dreary. Couple of friends or friends posting about people they personally knew either dead or dying of COVID-19 was creeping in on me as well. I have extended help to some in my own little ways but there would be more coming in on my timeline. Different persons.

Then there’s that guilty feeling after realizing that I could actually do more. Last post I had was me testing my MIG welding machine. An innocent post but when I scrolled down there were others once again telling stories, asking assistance. And I just spent P6K for an item I would eventually store. An amount that could‘be been used for someone else’s medication.

So yesterday after reading in the news about some ex-FB employee squealing about privacy issues being left unaddressed I decided that it was a good reason to deactivate. So I did and it feels good. Now I have more time to put to good use. Like writing again. Clock stops.

Twenty minutes for this post. Need to practice once more. If procrastination doesn’t strike.

***

Mood: 1/10 Honks! (I’m an ex-FB prisoner and now I’m free)

Lobster trip

A couple of days ago my wife and I were having lunch of chicken liver and gizzard adobo when we talked about trying new menu for a change. A thought out of having to eat same thing over and over again, not being able to dine out together since this pandemic hit.

What about lobster? “Nah, that likely tastes like regular crab,” I answered her suggestion. But I listed lobster anyhow among my next to-buy list on my next trip. I already had on my OneNote Cubi wafers, peanut butter, and CoQ10–all items for Marcus. Yes, just three.

This morning that trip happened. I left early wanting to beat the crowd especially now that variants of COVID-19 have started to spread. I arrived at S&R 30 minutes before it opens.

I tried to stick to what I had on my list but just like any trip to this membership shopping, I grabbed stuff from here and there though I made sure I’m still within budget if I find a lobster.

Few minutes at the frozen section didn’t yield any lobster so I looked for an alternative. Maybe a king crab. Yes, a king crab like those from Discovery’s Deadliest Catch. And I found one. Eureka! But what’s the price tag? P3,999 for about 4-5 claws. Shoot. Ended grabbing sushis for lunch. Maybe next time I’d find a lobster or could already afford eating a king crab.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Few minutes before Marcus starts his weekend videoke)