FR-f-ff--ffrer---freee-zing

Can't say much now, other than I'm in Chicago staying at Emark's cousin Gleason's house, and shivering so much I'm having trouble typing.

San Jose Digs

Stayed up 'til the early hours of Friday waiting for 5Kim to take Mark and Me to the train/bus station for the bus ride to Seattle (and subsequent train ride to California). Thanks to rushed packing on my part I ended up leaving my shades, SIM card and video camera but brought the vidcam accessories. Extra weight I don't need. Border crossing was routine.

After an exhausting 25-hour train ride (only because it took awhile to find a comfortable sleeping position on those 2 seats in coach) I arrive at San Jose 1 hour 45 minutes late. Emark disembarked one stop earlier at Oakland. Amtrak didnt' even apologize. There to greet me at the station was Dulcie and (to my surprise) her husband Mark, a native of Vietnam who moved to the US when he was nine, though his accent could pass him off as Vietnamese with a Southern twang. For lunch they took me to Jollibee, with it's $4.99 Chicken Joy Meal (well, it was served with mashed potatoes, more rice and a bottomless beverage). After lunch we headed for (and crossed half of) the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe it was the searing heat, but I wasn't that impressed with it. Dulcie and Mark seemed surprised that I wasn't taking more pictures. Next stop, the Exploratorium, where they filmed the scene between Sean Connery and Claire Forlani in The Rock. (Turns out there's no bench in the center spot where they sat.) Lots of people having their wedding pictures taken there, though.

Next up was Fishermans' Wharf and Pier 39, where I saw sea lions, shops and shops and shops (probably should've brought the vidcam), and bought a new pair of shades ($7.99 + tax) for myself and 2 bracelets for Rachelle ($10). We then headed for Coit Tower, a lookout point to see the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. We probably would've seen more had we actually climed the tower but none of us wanted to pay the $3.75 fee. Last stop of the day was Chinatown, where after some window-shopping we ate at a (what else) Chinese restaurant once visited by the likes of Jackie Chan, Nicholas Cage and Emeril Lagasse. Mark ordered enough food to feed (IMO) 5 people. I was stuffed and was getting a migraine from all the walking we did. Trooper that I was I didn't let on about it.

Now I'm typing this on Dulcie's roomate Eloisa's (aka Balut) computer. After checking my email (12:03am), I find that a couple of my Ebay auctions got bids, and it closes in a couple of hours. Eloisa and Dulcie (and 3rd roomate Joel) have a couple of friends over and are currently watching an F4 concert (is there no escaping these dorks?) on VCD. I just had 2 glasses of Corona beer with lemon, and I feel fine.

Bad New Pours...

First, I had trouble making calls from my cellphone, despite having loaded about 500 bucks in credit. After calling up Globe I find out that I ran out of credit due to the 50 bucks a minute incoming call charge, 80 bucks for outgoing calls and 15 bucks for text messages. That 35 free text messages thing and 40 cents a minute thing don't count abroad and for prepaid users, apparently. I started regretting all those non-essential text messages I sent (damn Yolanda for asking be for Maritess' number).

Second, Ebay removed my Smallville CD set from auction. Well, that I kinda expected. The amount of attention it got (up 41 dollars from last count) was bound to raise some red flags.

So Much for Comics Sales, But...

Talks with Mile High Comics didn't go as expected. Will Moulton offered my 70 bucks for 22 tpbs, but passed on the box of comics. As for my Ebay auctions, it's still 0 bids for any of the comics. On the bright side, the Smallville VCD set is doing great. In fact I even received offers to make copies. Just having trouble figuring out how much to charge them, with CD's costing about 50 cents (Canadian, or about 20 bucks) apiece. Went out with 5-Kim and Emark to Staples to buy the supplies: CDs and CD pouches, but settled for "envelopes" and used boxes on the latter.

"Day of Rest," My @$$

Vancouver weather is funny. Funny strange, not funny "haha." After 3 days of straight chilly rain, now it's bright and sunny. And warm. Don't need the jacket now. I'm actually sweating. Then again maybe it's because Emark and I just finished lugging 4 cartons of bottled water up 5-Kim's parent's apartment. Ten minutes after we got home I went out with Erson and Delwin to work out at the gym for about an hour. Afterwards we raked leaves. NorthAm "Tour" Week 1 is done.

Just When Ya Thought It Was Safe to Go Out...

Rained in again. News reports say the downpour's a record. I couldn't care less. Just stop #$*ing raining already!

NorthAm "Tour" Day 4

Heavier rains today. Stuck in house all day. Spent it researching Ebay auctions.

Okay, went out for a while with Delwin to the local gym... and again for dinner out with 5-Kim's family friends.

NorthAm "Tour" Day 3

Day 2: Me and Mark took a trip to the train station to check out the schedules for the impeding trek around America. After getting forms we headed downtown for and window-shopping (okay, got a couple of issues of Wizard at 99 Canadian cents each) and lunch .

Today, it's freezing and drizzling. Still decided if we're going to check out the Metrotown Mall.

(....)

Okay, we hitched a ride with 5-Kim to Metro Mall. Walked around for an hour before taking the train home. Freezing drizzle on the subsequent walk (4 blocks) didn't help. About 90 minutes later all of us (sans Erson who had an exam) went out again for dinner at 5-Kim's folk's apartment.

NorthAm "Tour" Day 1

Past 6pm in Vancouver (about 9am back home) and I am feeling tired. Turns out to be Thanksgiving today in Canada. After so many meals on the plane (w/c I almost threw up due to damn turbulence) and fried rice for a late lunch I'm not sure I'm up for more eating. First time I had pasta on a plane, though (courtesy of Cathay Pacific).

Goal: get rid of my 70+lbs. box full of comics. Avoid: getting fatter and heavier.

"Hey, That Bloopers Show is On."

Just finished watching the new local comedy(?)/drama(?) Single Girls, and I use the term watching lightly, or, conversely, with effort. Show about 3 single girls living it up in the city, (specifically Manila, though with the aerial shots you get the impression it's Makati) along with their obligatory single gay male friend. Sex & The City without the sex, natch. Also without the wit, feel, humor, production value... A for effort, and this is a "pity A."

Can't really comment on the script too much because the sound was soo bad (either get better microphones or loop the damn dialogue) I couldn't hear what the characters were saying.

That dating show Match TV is one of the sponsors/ producers of SG, and the "actors" of the latter look like they came from the former. Won't be surprised if I'm right.Bad pacing, blocking, editing, directing... wow, I feel like a COMARTS professor. Just tearing this show apart. Not that it doesn't deserve it. It this was a thesis, I'd fail 'em.

BUT, being a pilot episode, if they follow the American formula for pilot episodes (hell, they've been attmepting to follow the American formula for everything else) the future installments of Single Girls have the opportunity to improve. Not holding my breath on that, though.

Prize is Right

The crowd for this year's Moon Cake dice-throwing Thingie for Ma's hight school Alumni was bigger, the prizes better and the table...stickier than last year. In addition to the door prize (300 bucks), I got a bottle of orange juice, two 4-packs of Hello (choco wafer), instant shoe polish (like the kind you get in hotels, though if I knew that instead of thinking that it was actual shoe polish I would've chosen something else), gum, a trash can, and 200 bucks.

While things went well there, things went @%# all with my personal belongings. My old shoes (which I'm trying to salvage) are crumbling, I'm having trouble with the silicone sealant and liquid caulk (i.e. Elmer's glue with water) and I just cut my finger.

'Slong as I'm Here, Might as Well Update...

Strangely relaxing dream about my niece Mia being able to talk (more). Felt like an after-school special. Borrowed Boit's CD/RW drive so I can move my movie files outta the office. Two days we received the notice of termination of our services for Touch Mobile by year's end. Ah, well...

About 10 days to go before I go abroad. I keep telling everyone I don't know how long I'd be gone. Part of me would want to stay if I receive the job opportunity of a lifetime there... whatever it is. Part of me wouldn't want to stay because I'd miss Mia growing up. Career versus family ties. Sometimes you can't trade pragmatism with sentimentality. Gaaahhh...why oh WHY hasn't economical teleportation technology been perfected?!?

Had nothing but carbo as the main course of my meals today ('cept for breakfast which was oats). For the office party I had noodles (both pansit and bihon) and for the Moon Cake party at the See Compound it was spaghetti with watery meat sauce. My prizes included lens cloth cleaner (3M), salad dressing shaker (looks like a plastic milk bottle) and skin moisterizer (Jergens). Ogie won the top prize (again) of 5K.

Road Trip From Hell

All because of an errand. Wilson needed some papers delivered to certain office in Makati. Because he wrote the wrong address Boit and I had more than a little trouble finding it. At one point we ended up in Pasay. While attempting to return to Makati I texted Lala for directions to Rufino Tower. Turns out it was the building next to the one Ma sends me to sometimes...nowhere near the address Wilson wrote. Worse, when Boit tried to get in the security guard said the office didn't exist and moved to Pasig. Got to work by eleven, not that I would've spent the time any better (probably would've just dozed off). Still, I hate missing my Tofu Vendor.

Poor Prince Indeed

Using the Hi-Ace and accompanied by Mom, I met up with Rachelle at UN Avenue (after a convulted lost 'n' found over which McDonald's restaurant to meet in) and then proceeded to the office of Syncmaster, the company that dubs foreign shows like GMA 7's Chinese teen drama The Poor Prince and animes, among other things. The office was in Intramuros, and with none of having been there before we had a little trouble finding it.

Their operations (set-up) was a lot smaller than I thought, and the talent fee they offered seemed to confirm it. (Five hundred bucks an episode?!? Chirst, college kids pay me more than that.) Still, we were already there and auditioned, anyway. The lack of a script had me flubbing my lines, and they commented on my supposed lack of fluency in Tagalog. (I would've argued otherwise but they didn't have a script for me to back it up with.)

In the end it was a "Call us 'coz we won't call you," not that they offered much of an incentive for that to happen. Rache and I killed time waiting for Ma (to come back from Cash & Carry, then fetch Dad) at Starbucks.

Wendy's Birthday Pizza Party

This late entry comes courtesy of my coming home late from Wendy Lee's surprise birthday party at Chatterbox Pizza. Batchmates in attendance included Jasper Soon and Irene Uy. Teresa Tan dropped by but couldn't stay. Despite the small number (the rest of the crowd were of family and college friends) I had a good time. The vegetarian pizza they named after Wendy for that evening wasn't that good (had to order some nachos just to get a cheesier, meatier flavor), but the after-meal chit-chat more than made up for it. When the stage acts started we had to speak a little louder; not quite shouting bit forced. I mention this 'coz I'm afraid my throat's gonna be sore tomorrow. Ironic, considering that the birthday girl's one of the quietest people I know.

New Shoes, Tired Feet

Didn't exercise today, but I got a workout of sorts nonetheless, walking around Glorietta and Greenbelt during their Midnight Madness Sale. With and Ma Aissa I got a new pair of shoes (a bit tight), jeans (a bit loose) and Big Books (Losers and Vice). Would've gotten sunglasses but they opted to ask Evett and see if we can get a cheaper pair of Rudy Project shades. After mallling we picked up Boit and his employees at SM Megamall.

Back on Track (Not Crack)

Got the internet connection after a couple of days of no network connection, w/c had me going to the office yesterday (holiday) just to check on a embroidery design. Actually I was glad to go since they probably would've made me go to Bayview if I stayed home. One thing I hate about these constant reformats of drive C at home is the loss of the codecs and Explorer bookmarks. Don't they know how hard it is to compile those lists of links?

Loud Lunch

Had lunch with Aimee and Annette at the GT Tower. I commuted with Annette, who complained the whole way there. Not to put her in a bad light... the trip was farther than she expected, and it was a hot day. I'm giving what I belive were extenuating circumstances that brought about the bitching. While I'm sure that she's only like this to people she feels close to, I fear any future boyfriend might think he'd bitten off more than he can chew once they get this close in a relationship.

Weekend Update

SATURDAY--Spent all day fixing up the Boardwalk designs, but then stupid program decides not to format Barudan properly.

SUNDAY--After a dull afternoon reading comics on the computer (but not before going to Bayview to get the Boardwalk designs formatted properly), at the spur of the moment (meaning I was still in "house clothes") I decided to watch Finding Nemo at SM Centerpoint with Boit and the Abigan Family. Actually, Boit missed the movie and bought office supplies, instead. After the movie I was able to buy the proper connector for the portable CD player to be able to play on the stereo (you'd have to see it to get a better idea of what I'm talking about).

Speakin of "computer comics" (downloaded by Oti via Bit Torrent) I've got a huge backlog of reading material. The entire run of Generation X as well as Uncanny X-Men #250-300 await.

Comics Sale Aftermath (or Fallout...)

Done "reading" the Wizard magazines, as well as the Impulse comics. While browsing online I found that a second Catwoman trade paperback is due out in December. My frustration over this discovery was slightly quelled when I checked and saw that I had gaps in the issues I bought (#6-7, 11-15). Oh, well. More books to the "Mile High Comics" box.

Stuffed Silly

5-Kim hosted a B-day party for herself at the Marianas Clubhouse, with the food was great. I stuffed myself twice: once at the party, the second time during dinner since we brought home the lion's share of leftovers. And the day would've ended so well had Sis not decided to butt her nose into my business concerning my "working style" at Bayview, going so far as to make up an entirely baseless accusation (someone about my refusing a request from Danny to work on an embroidery design) just to try and get an answer from me.

I'm having trouble articulating what it is that drives Sis to butt in like this. My work style is my work style. Just because it doesn't into her (or Ma's) idea of a "good employee" she thinks I'm slacking. It's hard enough trying to find the direction you want in life without your own family being backseat drivers.

If Only...

Watched Bad Boys II (reached my saturation point for action scene servings) at SM City then checked out the mall-wide sale, not that I had the choice. The size of the crowd made it look like rush hour at the MRT, and just as hot and humid. I wish I came on Day 1 instead of Day 2 of this 3-day sale, 'coz Comic Quest was going all out with a P30-P40 back issue sale. Needless to say most of the good titles were gone. I did manage to pick up a couple of Impluse and 9 issues of Catwoman (please don't come out as a trade), as well as one Codename: Knockout and 3 issues of Wizard . Got them to knock 150 bucks total off the sale price on those.

Ever since the Trade Paperback explosion and my discovery of Bit Torrent, the hunt for back issues that might not show up online has been getting harder. At least I get to save on cash, such as it is.

All That's Left are Shades

After work I went with Ma and Aissa to Glorietta where I managed to buy new pairs of shoes, sandals, shirts and pants. Ran into Pamela Yu and Janet Chua at the shoe store and saw Debbie (Heintje's ex) pass by Marks & Spencers. Nothing interesting in the book departments despite Power Book's month-long sale.

Emark dropped by to talk about rough plans for our planned trip to North America. Lucky for him he already has a Canadian visa to go with his US one. I still have to reapply for the former. We plan to leave by end of the month.

Yes, But There be Work Tomorrow?

Last night there were rumours of a coup, so a bunch of people decided to hold a vigil in EDSA. Turns out they should've been watching Makati, because that's where 200+ soldiers (from 10 to 20 to 50 guys, now this) went this morning and lined up the Oakwood Hotel with explosives (though they let the civilians out first).

It's now 7:30 in the evening, 2 and a half hours into the extended deadline given by the president to the rogue soldiers. Suffice to say no one's leaving Makati City yet, not that anyone went, since the soldiers took over Glorietta, as well. Hope they don't destroy the bookstore.

Shot at The Monster

Last night while doing Pilates I heard an ad on RX 93.1 about auditions for on-air talent. Today I called them up and they said auditions were held after 6pm. I decided to go to their office at the Strata 2000 Building after gym. Bus ride to EDSA was hell, trafficwise. Jeep ride to Ortigas center was a lot easier. About less then 10 people were there when I arrived. During the about-half-hour wait I met a guy who was dropping off his band's demo for some band tryout/ contest RX was having. He figured since he was already there why try out for the DJ thing? This despite the fact he already has a job as a music scorer for ABS-CBN. Apparently he's friends with Marieton (Trocino) Pacheco. When my turn came I met with Jude Rocha and read an copy ad twice on mic. Five minutes, maybe less. Wish I left my calling card.

What, No iMesh?

I am typing this from a computer stationed in the cyber-nook of Marlyn Ng's office of Reach... whatever. Don't know what they do, but, boy are these monitors BIG. NEC Multisync LCD 1810x, the thing says. Just came from lunch with Marlyn at the neighboring LKG Tower's Food Odyssey, which I had trouble finding at first. Then again, I always have trouble finding places I've never been to.

Still haven't decided whether to go to the gym once I head back to the office. Muscles stil sore from the workout 2 days ago. Yes, in case I haven't mentioned it (and I haven't), I decided to start my weight training at Slimmer's World again.

Bad News and Bad News

Bad news: something I supposedly did last night caused all the Excel files on the hard drive (D) to disappear. (When in doubt, neither confirm nor deny.) Bad news: while recovering the (D) files a lot of data, Excel and otherwise, was lost, including stuff my folder that I can't get worked up about (i.e. panic) because I can't remember most of them.

Okay, remembering now. The comics inventory. AARRRRGH!!!

Starbucks and Nuptials

Attended Aimee's wedding at San Agustin Church (the one I almost went to for Mona's wedding, w/c was at the other church in Intramuros). Batch guests included Annette, Marjorie, Caren, Geralinde, Adeline, Grace, Allen, Kirby and Glenn. Aimee's brother Jeffrey is now confined to a wheelchair for some reason. After the wedding the ladies (sans Marj) and I grabbed a bite and small-talked at Starbucks. I kidded 'Nette about her "emotional issues," as she seemed to shout out every question and comment made (to me, at least). Unfortunately, in the end only 'Nette and I went to the reception at Century Restaurant.

I was surprised to see Jorinda, Laurie, Leslie Mapua and Stacy Biagtan at the reception. More surprised to learn they were guests of the groom Richard. A pleasant surprise, though. Lisabelle and Gilbert showed up, as well as Mariane Ting (back from Canada and taking her MBA at DLSU), Christopher Uy and Albert Go-Alcantarea. Allan was there sans infanticipating Marilyn. Food: so-so. Host Harvey: bad. Someone from my table managed to spike my Sprite with some Johnny Walker while I chatted with Leslie.

Never any Alaxan When You Need It

Well, I was right. Pecs and biceps ache like the dickens, despite intake of Paracetamol. Nonetheless I rode through the ache and watched 28 Days Later (not a sequel to Sandra Bullock's movie about an alcoholic) with Wella at Centerpoint. Not bad, though the only "jolt" I got from the film was in the car alarm scene. Man, zombies move fast for a bunch of dead people.

Still Have...Strength...To Type...

Started weight training again today, this time concentrating more on bodybuilding than endurance. Boy, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.

Maybe Next Time She'll Actually Speak

My niece Mia kissed my cheek today. What's significant about this is when it came to giving anyone a peck her Yaya Lourdes has to be the one to ask her to do so. Then I saw Ma ask Mia and Mia obliged, so I tried it out. Sure enough I got my peck. Still can't get her to hug, though.

And Speaking of Comics...

A package arrived today from Mile High Comics and it (naturally) contained the books I ordered from them, with a nice bonus of free comics from Free Comic Book Day. This year there were more titles, even ones from Disney, CrossGen and Future (lame). At first I was afraid the package contained the books I sent to them for sale.

All this in the heels of yet another new business idea (acutally a modification of an old one) I had last night and the strange dream I had this morning. I'd get into more details but I'm tired.

Singles, Trade or...Online?

Just this evening I've managed to read 2 volumes of Ultimate X-Men recently downloaded via IMesh. Volumes 3 and 6, to be exact. I would've gotten volume 5 (The Ultimate War) but I already ordered the trade. What's frustrating is now I'm left with a scattered collection of UXM trades that proabably weren't worth buying in the first place, discounted or otherwise.

June Wedding

Watched Hulk yesterday. Much was said about the comic panel-like wipes, but they weren't that distracting. Reminded me more of 24 or a 70's Bond movie than a comic book.

For today it was the wedding of my sort-of sister-in-law Michelle and beau Vinton. Reception was at the Manila Penn, where we were seated in the room next to the main ballroom (too many guests). For familar faces there was Cathy Sy (back from banking in Hong Kong, but will go back this Friday), Julie Chen (sat at the table next to ours) and Marilyn Abella, (spotted after the dinner).

Wednesday Spent Spending

Took Rachelle out to Bubba Gump's Restaurant for a birthday lunch. Ordered too much potato products. (note to self: when one meal has mashed potato, don't order the fries). Bill: 795 bucks. After lunch we checked out Aimee and Bongs wedding registry at Rustans. Turns out I was the first one to actually use it. With Rae's help I picked the P495 bathroom scale, w/c was more practical than the long-stemmed teaspoons. Finally we stopped by Bibliarch where I got The Big Book of Bad, which looked worse for wear by the time I got home. You'd think a book that cost P748 wouldn't dog-ear and cover-curve (yes, I made the word up) so easily. Rae in turn gave me the long-delayed b-day gifts: a ornamental candle holder (candle included) and gold-painted embossed notebook.

Sunday at Marianas

Yesterday the Marianas branch of the Santos family tree hosted a lunch party for the Agno and Paco branches. I drove the parents to Tramway first to get some chow. Afterwards we arrived at Wilson's place where I got to swim in the Marianas Townhome's pool for the first time. Needless to say it's been awhile since I swam so the irritation my eyes felt from the chlorine shouldn't have surprised me. Spent most of my pool time towing and pushing Mia in her inflatable shaped like a shoe, which had it's air leaking out so we had to constantly pump it full of air. I dubbed it the SS Mia, SS for "sinking shoe."

After lunch (Chinese food and my spaghetti) I drove the 'Rents to their new accupuncturist. I didn't join in the session this time, but Ma got a sharp end of the needles, so to speak. She said unlike the other accupuncturist this guy stuck in more needles... and deeper into her shoulder. Yes, it hurts just thinking about it. I learned my lesson from last time and brought some comics to pass the time while waiting.

Let the Sh*tstorm Begin

Recently posted a pic of Tim Yap on the Batch94 message board. The pic itself probably won't invoke any hostility from fellow batchmates, but my comments on it might. Well, that's something I'm not unfamiliar with. Might make the message board more interesting, though.

More Birthday Stuff, Etc.

As I type this Jasmine's birthday party is winding down. Only kids left are the celebrant and Laiza (Francis' daughter) playing on the former's new plastic kiddie picnic table. Still, to avoid leaving anyone out 3 birthday cakes were bought, one each for Jasmine, Hans and Mia. Needless to say the photo session was a circus since the kids kept blowing out the candles the second they were lit.

As for how I spent the afternoon I finished packing up the comics I plan to get rid off, only this time with the hope of getting some money out of it, as opposed to just giving it away like last time. All in all: 303 comics (hardcovers included) packed in 62 bags, all in one box. Lots of leftover plastic covers.

And for the day before (Friday) I stopped by Glorietta for the Midnight Madness Sale and got the latest Hellblazer and Exiles trades, as well as The Big Book of Scandal.

Wet Birthday

Typhoon Chedeng (accent 1st syllable) has left, it's rainy tail still wagging, leaving drizzles in it's wake. So naturally I went to the office. Irma Flores dropped by for a sales pitch to the ladies for the spa she's working for at City Garden Hotel across the street. No sale.

The Families (sans Boit) attended the first birthday party of John2's son Matthew at Gloria Maris GH (where just last Saturday I attended China friend Bernadette's wedding reception). Better food this time, though as always the kid's table seemed to get a better meal with fried rice, shrimp balls and sweet 'n' sour pork.

By coincidence it's Jasmine's (and Ogi's) birthday today, as well. I got Jasmine an inflatable toy. I wanted something more "educational" but since Jocelyn's family sells school supplies coming up with something original wasn't easy.

Rain, Rain, and Alla the Rest.

Day Two of almost non-stop rain. Didn't report for work (but still record the news via phone). Bored bored bored.

So ANYway...

Yesterday I went to Makati, hitching a ride with Jocelyn (a first for both of us, I believe), then going our separate ways as she headed for Rustan's and I to Glorietta. Ran into Richard Lim (who tells me that Jasper Soon is in the country, apparently for months now) and Mona (who tells me I'm really losing my hair), accompanied by their respective beaus. Finally I bumped into DJ and her cute friend Janelle at A Different Bookstore.

Managed to find a gift for Jasmine for her birthday this Thursday, but held of buying any new graphic novels (or factoid books) 'til this Friday.

Annette's back for China, apparently for almost a month now. Seems she came back but was quarrantined for SARS (precaution) for two weeks, so they rented a place for her that had no phone. Still she managed to bump into Boit yesterday in Greenhills.

Migraine Reloaded

After an unventful afternoon spent watching episodes of Smallville on the computer ('Rents and Bebot went to Subic for some overnight event), Boit and I went to watch Matrix Reloaded after dinner. Though we arrived at SM Centerpoint fairly early almost all the seats in teh Deluxe section were taken, save the first row. At first I thought, No big deal, I've sat in the front row sections before, at least 3-4 rows from the front. But at the movie started (and the trailers before that) the headaches did as well. Note to self: 1st row for really desperate people. We eventually went to the back. Man, were those action scenes exhausting.

Schitzophrenic Sunday

Arrived a bit late to a christening party at Dad's/ Saisaki (Glorietta branch) that didn't happen. Since Lisabelle's husband Gilbert's grandfather died 2 weeks ago the party was cancelled. I heard of the former news but failed to deduce the latter, though it would've helped if Lisa actually told me that the party was postponed, probably 'til Baby Nigel's birthday in December. Drove home in time to get picked up for a lunch party at Tramway.

After lunch, however, instead of heading home we went to Le Pavillion in Pasay to check out Oti's booth at a wedding convention being held there. (Nice Apple monitors.) Stayed for about an hour, or 45 minutes more than I could stand. Did we head straight home after that? Nope. First, dropped Dad off at the Holiday Inn, then picked up Sis and the kids at their place for a supposed trip to Makati... which somehow turned into a trip to Intramuros and (get this) Manila Zoo. And for a place that was currently under rennovation (hence the lack of giraffes and lions), the 40-peso ticket price (half price for Manila residents) was definitely not worth it. I haven't been here for more of less 2 decades (and boy, I wish it was 3 decades).

After the zoo we picked up Dad and finally went home, though 45 minutes later we went out again for dinner at Country Waffles. Saw Bernadette Sembrano and a gentleman friend (and someone I assumed to be the gentleman friend's mother). Good steak, though the pink lemonade was too sweet. I think one of the waiters tried to flatter (or irritate) Berns by belting out "Wish Ko Lang," at random. If he really wanted to flatter her he should've called the owner of the car that was blocking theirs when they were trying to leave.

Power Out, Out of Power

Got up really early. Six AM, in fact. Why? Last night the power went out (11:16PM, according to Meralco) in a "scheduled power interruption," and there I was just finishing a Tae Bo workout a few minutes earlier. Needless to say trying to get some sleep was a bitch. Power came back 7 hours later.

Had lunch with Joy at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Even though I had already packed a lunch (2nd time this happened with her) the restaurant staff didn't make a fuss when I had fried rice with their bucket of mahi mahi, shrimp and lobster (and fries buried underneath).

Tonight I had dinner with Rafael, Cheryl Uy and 2 of their friends from Canada, Jocelyn and Grace, at Josef Imbus Stube, a German restaurant in San Juan. Like with Ivy's wedding reception, not being the "alpha male" of the conversations, I only had a moderately good time. Nothing against the company, but they simply had more history together. Most of the time I didn't know what they were talking about. Part of me regretted uninviting Josephine (and Marjorie by association) to this get-together. A small consolation come in the form of Karen Lim and her batchmate Laurie, both of whom also went there to eat.

"So, How Was Your Labor Day Weekend?"

April 28: Had lunch with Joy at Gloria Maris in Greenbelt, despite the fact I packed a hotdog lunch for myself that morning. Hell with it. I haven't seen her for a long time. Also managed to download and print myself a copy of the latest Michael Crichton novel Prey. Almost got Michael Moore's Stupid White Men too but the stupid PDF file was in German.

May 1: Watched X2 with Vince, DJ, Russell and Beth (Dee couldn't make it) at Robinson's Galleria. Missed the opening sequence featuring Nightcrawler, but was really frustrated me was the P120, "single viewing only" ticket price. Save for the ridiculous climax (which had Wrath of Khan written all over it), the movie kicked ass. And I was right about the spoiler.

May 2: Goverment employees had an extra day off. No such luck with private employees such as yours truly. Luckily Ma was in the neighborhood and picked me up from work. We went to Megamall to check out the 3-day sale, Day 1. Got some new shorts, a baby carriage (gift), plastic flower pots and a couple of electric fans. I got another "missing" issue of Black Panther and Captain Marvel, as well as Codename: Knockout #16, while issues 0 to 15 are still with Jeffrey Co in the US. Well, gotta start somewhere.

Damn You, Spoilers! DAMN YOU!!!!
Rache came by the office for some voice icon recordings. Afterwards we had tea and frappuccino at Starbucks.

So an accidental glance at one of the questions from a online interview with Famke Janssen and James Marsden for X2 may have revealed a major spoiler for the film. And after all the effort I made to avoid such things til tomorrow when I plan to watch it with Dee and Vince. Worse, this spoiler may be nothing else but the "surprise ending" I've read about! Please don't let me be right!

"Holy Naga Weekend!"

Holy Week was spent by all 3 Families in Naga City. Planned 6-hour trips back-and-forth turned into 10-hour trips with stopovers, overtakes and traffic. Should've brought more than 5 CDs and 1 tpb (Danger Girl: The Ultimate Collection, bought with Rachelle whom I treated to tea at Seattle's Best last Wednesday after Aimee treated me to lunch at Grappos that same day... but that's another story)

Day 1 was spent settling in the established houses where we'd be sleeping. Took a trip to the LCC (their version of SM) "mall," then to my maternal grandmother's gravesite, then finally capping off with dinner at 3-Ku's house.

Day 2 was "leisure time," first with a trip to a private beach house in Bacacai, Legazpi. The filthy sea water kinda ruined it, but the kids swam anyway. We even got to bury Herman in the sand. After lunch we headed for the Mayon Volcano, specifically the rest stop at the bottom (or 1/4 the way up). Simultaneous hot-sunny and cool-breezy was really annoying. Before heading back to the beach house for dinner we stopped by the local zoo, which was pretty cool, in a "looks better than Manila Zoo and smells better than Tagaytay Zoo" kinda way. I couldn't figure out though why the ostriches, mountain goats, sheep and chickens were in the same cage/lot. Low budget, or were they going for a Noah's Ark theme? Capped off the evening watching Mean Machine on DVD.

Day 3 went more slowly. Thinking that our ride to Bestra would be late Emark and I had a heavy lunch. Wouldn't ya know it, the ride came early, so unfortunately we were too full to enjoy any of the party food prepared for April's birthday. After killing time watching Transformers The Movie on DVD (newly noticed details: Megatron's oily blood and drool, and pike actually said Oh, shit!), we headed out for Pasacao to check out the family owned ports. (I thought they planned to swim again.) Sis had a small accident when she slipped the busted the infra-red cover of the video camera. Failing to swim in the surprisingly cleaner Pasacao waters we caught up with Glen and his family at a water resort in Penafrancia. The kids got to swim and slide while we got video footage of Herman going down the water slide with Mia...and slipping while trying to stand up! Funny and scary and the same time. Big dinner party at Mabulo (5-Kim's house) that ended with one group going to 5-Kim's brother Atoy's ice making factory and the other out bowling. Boit and Sis tied at 125, while I sucked at 76.

Not sleeping on my final night in Naga I watched One Hour Photo, then got picked up at 4 AM to head for Mabulo (I slept in Emark's house), where the Families met up, had a big breakfastm and departed at 5:15 in the morning. Four stops and 1 lunch at Max's Restaurant later we arrived home at 4 in the afternoon.

Birthday Bowling Party

Yesterday I had a birthday bowling party at the Playdium. Expected 12 people, 8 showed up, and late, at that. (lesson #1: invite more guests than you expect to arrive to break even. lesson #2: don't show up on time your own party, 'coz the guests won't) Vince kicked my ass, score-wise. Dee beat me by a couple of points, but only because she does that dainty, get-the-ball-rolling-like-a-senior-citizen bowling techinique. All of us kicked DJ's ass. Lisabelle and Gilbert just watched our 2 sets, since they were pooped from staying up all night with the baby. After the game I brought Vince, Dee and DJ to the house for some ice cream.

Most the gifts consisted of pastry, 'cept for Rafael, who got me a necktie with a sheep-pattern design.

Operation Now What?!?

Three weeks later US forces have overtaken Bagdhad, looting is rampant (why is it an opressed society's first instinct upon being "liberated" is stealing?) and Saddam Hussein is nowhere to be found. People seem to have forgotten why the US invaded Iraqin the first place: recover weapons of mass destruction and capture/kill Saddam. Guess what? Neither goal has been achieved.

Now for happier news. For my birthday we (the families) had dinner at The Outback. Wilson (though the card said From Jasmine)got me an Adobe Photoshop 7.0 book while Jocelyn got The 7 Samurai DVD.

Ongpin Odyssey (experienced Tuesday, entered Wednesday)

After completing the morning errands I drove Pa to his favorite barber shop in Soler Street, Binondo. It's the same one he's been going to since...forever. When Boit and I were younger (re: prepubescent) Pa would take us to Soler (where my second cousin used to have a store selling wholesale fabric) to get a haircut. We've outgrown the place since then, with me going to NitKat in Aurora and Boit to Greenhills. Still pay half of what he does, though.

ANYhoo, Pa said it'd take him an about an hour to finish (haircut, shave, massage) so I killed time going around Tutuban Center. When I came back for him he still wasn't done so I headed for the parking lot but not without getting a little lost first. When Pa finally arrived he made me get out of the car so we could grab a bite to eat. I was surprised to learn that we weren't that far from the President's Tea House, were we had siomai and siopao. Saw (but didn't approach, as is my way) Jenny, an old batchmate from SJCS, chatting with friends. After snacks came the walk to the drugstore, the convenience store, and finally the street vendors for some fruit. Even ran into 2-Ku, who was staying at the Fortune Hotel.

I just experienced a typical afternoon for Pa when he's in Ongpin. It had its moments (particularly when he was paying for everything since I didn't have any money), but on the whole I'd rather stay home.

Saisaki Saturday

For Sis' birthday the families had dinner at Saisaki QC. It's been a while since I last ate there so I was surprised to see ice cream added to the dessert buffet selection, as well as having the sushi buffet move exclusively to the sushi bar. More sanitary, I guess. This time I stayed away from the rice I stuffed myself with sushi (notably octopus), steak and tempura. Dessert consisted of watermelon and chocolate ice cream.

Day 2 of Really Hot Summer, as in no cool breeze, day or night. Ech.

Thanks But No Credit

After arriving at the office I left about 45 minutes later and went to DLSU to attend the thesis defense of my ComArts clients Reena and Mon. The screening of their animated feature went well with the audience (and thesis panelists) and even got its fair share of laughs. Like I said (but not out loud): a good presentation can make up for what's lacking in content, in this case some glaring plot holes. Sadly the stroking of my ego never came as nobody asked about the voiceover work. Seens the presentation was so good they overlooked the fact the only 2 people did the voices for the numerous characters in the cartoon. Voiceover work is so thankless sometimes. It pays, but still thankless.

Okay, you get thanks, but no recognition.

On a side note, next time I head for DLSU I'll make sure the return trip is for home, not the office. Commuting from DLSU to Makati is an absolute pain.

Weekend You Know What

Sunday: Hitched a ride with Ma and her old classmates to Megamall (they were headed for Shangri La) and picked up the latest 100 Bullets trade, as well as hard-to-find back issues (1 each) of Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Supergirl. I was done for the day so I took the MRT home because I wanted to get some exercise before going out later with the family for Alan Hao Chin's grandma's birthday party at Mario's. Gaile Robredo also graduated from Ateneo that morning, so I gave her the Stardust trade as a gift, which she found touching.

Good and Eh...

Went to Robinson's Galleria and watched Gangs of New York with Wella. Three hours later she had dinner at Don Don (small Japanese restaurant), then we both commuted home. After dinner (at home) I finally watched The French Connection on DVD, which confirmed my earlier contention of not buying critically acclaimed classics on dvd, at least not until I've actually seen the film. As with other films made before 1980 there were scenes that, in my opinion, dragged on so much that if the film were made today it'd be on the "deleted" section of the dvd. (Which should make the viewing of the deleted scenes on this DVD interesting. Wonder what they considered "dragging scenes" back then?) Yep, it's another case of "if I knew then what I knew now" I wouldn't have bought it.

Enchanted Weekend Update

Saturday: Went to Virramall to look for comics for resale up on Ebay. Got two sets of the last Transmetropolitan story, 2 sets of 6 issues. For my personal collection I got John Arudi's Doom Patrol and Thunderbolts. After lunch I went to SM Centerpoint and watched Chicago. (Was supposed to watch it with Dee but she cancelled on me earlier that day.) Not as spectacular as Moulin Rouge, but a good flick, nontheless. I'd call it great but the film stock I watched looked as if 2 weeks of screening wore it out. Either that or the projectionist was drunk.

Sunday: Went with Sis, Bros and kids to Enchanted Kingdom. Though as prepared as I thought I was with an extra clothes (but, much to my regret later on, no extra underwear), it never occured to me bring sunblock. And was as hot as all-fuck. Good thing Sis brought 2 bottles (kid and adult). Rode the usual rides (Stan Lee's 7th Portal at the Realto was terrible), with the exception of the roller-coaster. Since Wilson and Sis were "the money," plus Wilson wanted to get away from the heat, for the first time I got to eat at one of the restaurants inside EK. Kids were more well-behaved than usual, which is always a good thing. Luck was not on my side at the Log Jam and Rio Grande rides, as I experienced a slight shower at the former but got soaked to the bone at the latter. Worst moment: waiting to get a videoshot of Sis and Boit coming down the Rio Grande for almost an hour, when it turns out I already missed them. Guess the line wasn't as long the 2nd time they got on. Surprising moment: seeing Patty Ragaza (Rachelle's classmate from DLSU) singning with the band playing at the food court. Frustrating moment: us leaving before she finished her set, and 10 minutes before the fireworks display.

War! Whassit Good For?

US airstrikes began a few hours ago over Bagdhad. Bush has gone from saying the war will be swift to "long and difficult." No surprise especially when you're getting into situations in over your head.

Counting Down to Crap

War in Iraq may be imminent. America sucks right now.

I'm Booked

Got a surprise today in the form of new comics from Albert (at least I think he brought it as I was dozin' at the time). Mostly big hardcovers this time, and no DVDs. Both Planetary books were pretty dented up, though. Hulk hardover stays shrink-wrapped. One surprise was the inclusion of The International Licensing Directory 1993/94, something that looks to be about at exiting a read as a phone book. Wonder what it's doing here?

Oh, yeah, Dad had the real birthday dinner last night at New World Hotel. Spotted Auston See and his family, but didn't recognize him right away, namewise. Kept staring at his sister Suzette 'coz I was equally unsure it was her. After dinner a few of us hung out by the pool area, then got called back downstairs because of a headcount discrepancy when the bill came. Suffice to say it was hard to find one specific "mysterious guy in red" at a Tsinoy dinner party. Turned out to be Raymond who kept jumping seats.

Dad's B-day

Checked out the sale at Ayala malls but got nothing. Ma handled Pa's gift for me yesterday, so no problem there. Ironically Pa wasn't able to join us for dinner because of a dinner meeting at the Sy Association. Not that I'm complaining, as there was barely enough King Crab and Via Mare oysters to go around. Everyone was present for the family dinner, which turned into a gossip session about the househelp, courtesy of Ma, Jocelyn, Sis and Aissa. Frankly I don't think I can run this house in the future with all this backbiting. When Pa finally came home we played around with and kids and their blowing of the sole birthday candle, with Sis and Boit making full use of their newly acquired digital cameras.

On The (Voice) Job

Went back to DLSU yesterday for a new voice job for Wella's (as well as a follow-up session for Reena's) thesis with Rachelle. One challenge on the latter was screaming, as in screaming in fear, something I've never done in my life, well at least not in the way they wanted me to do it. Sure, there's been the occasional startled "Gah!" or the yelling while the roller coaster goes down, but I've never screamed like a woman. Still, I tried my best. Rache was less inhibited about the matter. Then again, being a girl of course she can scream like one.

What's Happened So Far...

Late update 'coz the DSL was on the fritz the past couple of days. Parents just got back yesterday from their Southeast Asian cruise via Star Cruise's Superstar Virgo. They got to see Singapore and Malaysia and came back all the oranger for it. Summer heat didn't help.

Two HBO series premiered Thursday on the Solar channel, of all places, The Wire and Oz. The former I was curious to see, though said curiousity quickly waned as I found it boring. The latter was a masterpiece compared to Wire. As proof of how old Oz is Edie Falco of Sopranos fame is in it, looking a bit...healthier then her current role of Carmela Soprano. Wire plays it too straight, while Oz reminds us that, for all its gritty realism the show is still fiction, making use of first person narration and cinematic flashback sequences. The lesson here? Just stick to the critically acclaimed HBO shows. No to Mind of a Married Man, yes to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Here's what I've heard:

There's this Senior student who got in trouble after racking up a huge gambling debt (reportedly ranging from 300K-1M!) from betting in NBA/ college basketball games. After the bookies (also Seniors) couldn't get the money from the student they went to see the Dad. When the Mom found out she told the principal. After a preliminary investigation it turns out a several Juniors and Seniors were into it, but only betting small amounts.

I don't know what's more shocking: the amount the Senior girl owes (yes, the student in trouble is FEMALE) or the very existence of
bookies and bettors in the school. (Then again I was naive enough to think that everyone from our batch would graduate high school still virgins, but's that's another story.)

Bettors and bookies have been identified. Girl (who according to now ex-friends definitely has a gambling problem) initially tried to pay
off the debt with a check that later bounced. Principal asked her not to pay off the debt, as the bookies (and the probably illegal
organization handling the money) don't want to go public with this. School is in a bind about what to do with the girl. She's about to
graduate. They're thinking of having the guilty parties perform community service (as opposed to conduct C, suspension or expulsion)
in school, though what's obviously needed is professional therapist.

Girl's father is no help as he seems to be a gambler as well and condones her daughters behavior ('cept for racking up the huge debt,
of course.) Girl's mother just agrees to what the father says. Girl is stuck on a dangerous path w/c she can't get of because SJCS lacks resources. Man, a lot's changed since I left high school.

Ouchie

A portion of my face (specifically the area below my left eye, before the cheekbone and after the left nostril) has been numb since yesterday. I couldn't figure out why. Having my teeth cleaned 3 days ago couldn't have caused it, and my sinusitis never displayed such a symptom before. And in contradiction to the numbness when I press hard on the numb area it hurts more than the normal right side of my face, almost like it's tender.

When my folks brought me to their accupuncturist this afternoon he couldn't figure it out, either. Instead he gave me some Chinese physical therapy exercises to do and pressure point massages. He also gave me a 20 minute accupuncture session and stuck needles on my left forearm, right hand, left foot and my numb face. The initial needle push stung, definitely not like an ant bite. Got a nice nap out of it, though. Unfortunately I was also prescribed some ground leaf powder drink to be taken twice a day for the next 4 days. It was the same strong smelling medicine he's having my parents drink, only mine only needs hot water, not boiling water. Hope this goes away soon. The 'rents are going on a cruise for a week starting tomorrow and there's nothing worse than being sick when they're not around.

And You Thought Driving in the Philippines was a Pain...

Went to get my driver's license renewed yesterday with Aissa, who was renewing Wilson's car registration. Even computerized the Land Transportation Office still couldn't do away with the lines and the delays, presumably because they still entertain "fixers" who come into the office to sneak in the paperwork of their "clients," disregarding the people lined up outside (and the fact that it's totally illegal). Immediately after we parked the car a guy with a ponytail approached Aissa offering to speed up the insurance paperwork for 700 bucks. Meanwhile my journey through the "legitimate" process consisted to a trip to the doctor (2 minutes and 50 bucks), the drug testing center (2 minutes and 300 bucks), drug test proper (15 minutes plus having to pee into a little plastic bottle with the bathroom door open), picture-taking (1 minute), payment (1 hour at the cashier) and finally issuance of the temporary license (30 minutes). I don't know what's more bewildering: the fact that a cursory medical exam is a lot cheaper than being asked to pee into a bottle, or that the whole experience cost 402 pesos and 80 centavos more than the last renewal.

Win & Lose

The auction period for a bunch of comics I put up on Ebay ended today. The biggest winner was the Flex Mentallo mini-series at 54 dollars (after an initial "investment" of $4). The biggest loss was the Promethea set with 18 issues for only $10.99, or a buck sixty-three per piece. Yeah, yeah, my orginal intent was to get rid of my collection, and if I happen to make some money out of it, then fine. Still, maybe this will teach me to start the bidding price at cost.

Easier Said Than Bought

Went to Virramall today in search of back issue comics to sell to Milehigh Comics. Their website posted a list of comics they would pay big (and little) bucks for, like early issues of Witchblade and Planetary. Unfortunately my search through the back issue bins proved fruitless. I did manage to find another issue of Supergirl and a couple of Hitman for my personal collection, though. And CATs finally got the long-delayed (from me) issues of Doom Patrol, except they hiked the price by 10 bucks. That tears it. I'm sticking to Filbar's from now on.

Sunday Hero

The family (all 3) went to Greenbelt 3 for a family day outing. Actually I and the 3 married couples watched Hero (uninteresting 1st act w/c quickly redeemed itself in the 2nd but lt itself down again in the 3rd) while Boit and the kids arrived afterwards. While hanging around MusicOne after the movie mom decided to treat us to our choice of CDs. I got the Chicago OST and Tony Bennet/ KD Lang, while Sis got Sharon Cuneta. NOt sure What Wilson got. After all of us got together we killed some time in TimeZone before finally having dinner at Italiannis. For once I wasn't able to finish my herb roasted chicken. Damn appetizers.

"Hey....you."

Just got home a few minutes ago from another Sy Association banquet with the parents, this time at one of the ballrooms at the Century Park Sheraton (as opposed the the Century Restaurant itself). Before the program started I snuck out to Filbar's Harrison Plaza and bought the latest Punisher and Flash tpbs. Upon my return I was surprised by the presence of 2 familiar faces: Romeo Young (Rafael's older brother) Fai Ting Chua. The former accompanied his wife, who's dad was apparently the new president. It took me a while to recognize the latter (I was juggling with Randolph Ang and Armin Chua) so it's a good thing he texted his b'card to me in mid-conversation. Blah food and even blah-er raffle and "door prizes (200 bucks, a fake Gucci wallet and a pen with an "emergency light" attachment). The surreal moment for me was Ma borrowing the Punisher tpb to read...and actually enjoying it.

Now for horrible Valentine's stories courtesy of Rachelle: while having lunch at their home Rache and family were heard at the sound of a child screaming over their next door neighbor's. When mom climbed up the water tower to peek she started screaming as well from what she saw: 2 rotweilers attacking a child. Blood was everywhere. Mom asks Rache to get a pail to water to throw at the dogs while screaming for anyone next door to come help. Eventually the maid (Rache says its her kid) come out. Twenty-four hours later Rache says the dogs are no longer around and may have been put to sleep.

Her 2nd bit of bad news? Our old Communications teacher Mrs. Amy Lopez Forbes (first local Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? millionaire) may be going blind. It started with headaches, then next thing you know she's cancelling appointments and delegating schoolwork to other faculty members.

First house dogs doing dingo impressions, then old teachers going blind. I chided Rache for telling me news I couldn't make fun of.

Maybe I Should've Come In...

Yesterday I took a day off from the office. Sort of. Actually I recorded all the news the day before. With Aissa trying to get pregnant seems she's only available for part-time work at the Agno office, so I "volunteered" to assist Tuesdays and Thursdays. Day One did not begin pleasantly with Sis on the helm and bossing me around for the first half hour. Luckily she mellowed out later on, probably when she saw me telling Ma her people skills were miniscule. Work comprised of 2 trips the bank (for deposit and payment), dull paperwork and more dull paperwork. I lazed off after lunch and just watched Signs on DVD. Turns out this movie is like ID4 without the action.

Don't Do Drugs (without Supervision)

Thanks to this cough I've had for the past week I finished off all the Robitussin in the house. Even with only an alcohol content of only 3% I might as well be drunk. My throat was itchy so last night Ma gave an antibiotic. Five hundred milligrams of Amoxicillin later my body later my body felt like a damp dish rag and my nose started to get runny. I felt so weak that I decided to turn in early (11:30!). It was weird lying in bed feeling your body relax and yet unable to sleep. My dreams felt like a long drug trip. Well, at least if that's what drug trips felt like it's a good thing I never started.

Pre-weekend Update

Gaile Robredo finally wrote back. She said she was busy with last minute college work, with graduation coming and all.

John from the office upgraded our computers (except Joy's) to run Windows XP. A bit slow, but at least I got a bigger hard drive, so no more sharing disk space with Lala's computer. Got Imesh running again, and just in time, too 'coz I think John managed to wipe out the media files I stored in Lala's CPU.

Thursday night I had dinner with the family at Good Earth Tea House (Greenbelt 3) for Wilson's birthday. Even Sis and her family managed to make it. Familiar faces seen included Harvey (from my Taiwan trip days) and Aldwin who was giving a visitor from China (she works for a TV station there) a tour of GB3.

Am having trouble with the DVD player in the living room. Seems it's a bit picky with what DVDs it wants to play. Sometimes it'll play Aissa's bootlegs, sometimes it won't, with me experiencing more of the latter. I knew should've finished watching A Beautiful Mind last night.

Thanks to US Prez Bush's paranoia on Irag, war jitters dragged the peso-dollar exchange rate to P54-$1. Hell for me, the online shopper. Still I made the last Ebay payment with that rate. With Billpoint about to disappear and my Paypal account still "limited" my online bidding activities gonna be on haitus for a while.

"No Sale"

This morning (i.e. past midnight) I called up Dulcie in California to greet her Happy Birthday. About 40 minutes later (40 cents/minute at $1-P53.75...that's 860 pesos. Oooff) before I said goodbye. Cheapskate that I am maybe I shoulda just emailed. Then again she said she was touched and didn't expect it. Nothing like making a gal smile long distance. : )

My trips to both SM City and Robinson's Ermita mall-wide sales were a bust. The former only had a 20% dicount for comics (and 50 bucks each for year 2000 titles...yeah, right) while the latter didn't have a sale at all. Then again they had little to offer in terms of back issues of Supergirl, Black Panther or Captain Marvel so maybe it's just as well. I called up the Filbar's store in Robinson's Galleria but they only had the latest Flash trade paperback, so that kills my plans of going there. Man, I coulda just stayed home and watched DVDs.

Come on Time if You Can

Last night I watched Catch Me If You Can with Dee and Vince at Glorietta 4. For the first time Boit (accompanied by an employee) joined us, sort of. Okay, they arrived late and weren't able to join us so my guess is they just had dinner and hung around Powerbooks. After 2 hours and 15 minutes we met up downstairs and had a late dinner at Don Henrico's. Boit (for lack of a better word) monopolized the conversation but that's the why it is when we're with friends: only one of us get to do the talking, 'coz you wouldn't want us going at it simultaneously, not if you value your sanity.

Today marks the first day of simultaneous 3-day mall-wide sales for SM City and all the Robinson's mall branches. At the same time there's a Marvel trade convention happening at The Fort. I'm curious about the last one. The papers say they'll be featuring trade shows, booths and Marvel merchandise, but no mention of comics. Hell, none of the sponsors seem to be related to comics. Isn't that like a gun show that featured nothing but bullets and holsters? Whats the point of going to a convention where they'd be featuring characters but not their medium of origin?

Today's also Chinese New Year's Eve. I'd talk more about it but I'm at the office and the party's not until tonight.

Stupid Dog

Our once cute but stubborn labrador Puppy (he's grown bigger but we were still too lazy to give him a proper name) turned plain irritating when he got into the house and grabbed one of Pa's slippers. Instead of following me out of the house as the usually does I had to give chase around the house before finally bonking him on the head with a stick. Not the best way to start the morning, as adrenaline rushes on an empty stomach feel most uncomfortable. I rescued the slipper but he retaliated a few minutes later by grabbing one of the maid's slippers. The ensuing chase was slower this time (I just ate breakfast then) and Jojo the security guard helped in retrieving that slipper, as well. Note to self: when the dog's out, leave no doors open.

10+ Days Later

This update is late due to an unreliable internet connections at the office, which until now comes and goes like a bad headache. Lots happened, Ivy Ong's wedding to a grocery store bigwig from Zamboanga, for one. I attended the reception with Aldwin, Carlos and Heidi, after which (for some reason they didn't to bother with even greeting the bride) the 4 of us had went with Maritess and her husband to Seattle's Best for ice cream shakes. All in all a dull affair, which surprised me.

A better affair came about with the voiceover job I did with Rachelle at DLSU for a theis animation project. Af first the students wanted me to voice the lead character, but my kiddie voice could only go so high, so in the end Rache did it. In the it turned into another multi-part assignment for the both of us, since the guy who was supposed to play the "crab" character wasn't around. We finished about a an hour and a half early, but got paid in full just the same. The animation (done with Flash) was better than I expected. Finally, a VO job I can stand to look at.

The weather's been a bit on the cold side these past couple of weeks. I've also been lapse with "gym attendance," which isn't good news, as I can feel the biannual gut coming out.

My Day at the Greenbelt

Rachelle dropped by the office to make a demo CD to present to her client Wella. After getting all 2 minutes worth of voice icons (waste of good CD space) we had lunch at Jollibee. After that we headed for Greenbelt 3 to meet up with Wella. After going back and forth Music One and Tower Records/Powerbooks (where I browsed through the Batgirl and American Century tpbs) we finally met up at the former. Wella dresses like Rache has slightly wavy hair. When I said it had a Sarah Jessica Parker she shreiked (with joy) and said that's exactly what she was going for. See? You can be a straight man and notice these things. While (and after) using the restroom we spotted Miriam Quimbao and a GMA 7 camera crew, then headed down to Starbucks, where we spent a long time chatting away--when I was supposed to be back at the office an hour and a half ago. When we finally parted ways I ended walking Wella back to Tower Records/Powerbooks, and spent more time chatting about the tpbs and fantasy novels. It was hard to leave, since I liked this ongoing lively conversation and finding a girl who was into comics like she was was a rarity in itself. But leave I did, since I thought I had to explain my absence. Ironically, I was coming back to Greenbelt in an hour and a half for Lynette's birthday dinner.

When I got to the office (alibi set) everyone was gone. Ah, well. No internet connection. Nuts. Uh, oh, Mona was calling my cellphone (left it at the office). We chatted until her husband Melvin came home for dinner. Okay, back to Greenbelt, specifically Big Buddha. Before I found Lynette & Co. I ran into Rocelyn (arrived from the US last month), Cheryl Uy and Girlie, and Elaine Jane Chua. When I found Lynette the only other recognizable faces were Thelma and that other couple I met at Onstage for the True Faith concert. Anne and Claudette couldn't make it, it seemed. Thelms was snapping away with the camera, though I took a couple of pix, as well. After dinner at BB we had a nightcap at Chilis. Okay, they had a nightcap 'coz my ride was well on its way, leaving me with no time to order anything (I was full, anyway) but enough time to snap a few more pix.

So That's It

Patricia Borromeo, former model, teacher and girlfriend of Richard Gomez died last night. Seems she'd been suffering from Hodgkin's Disease for quite some time now. Speculations-wise I'm starting to understand why she and Richard broke up. The former may not have wanted to "burden" the relationship with such a fatal outcome while the latter didn't want to be a widower at his young age though he definitely wanted to settle down.

Speaking of cancer, my old classmate July Coo recently disclosed that she'd been diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. Her doctor suspects it was caused by all the soy/ soy-filled foods in her diet and told her to stop eating them. That's the first time I've heard of such a thing. I've been consuming taho every morning for quite some time now and I've yet to feel ill. Quick research on the 'net revealed that the soy-cancer link is only with the women. Whew, now I'll only have to worry about overexposure to sunlight, second hand smoke, lead paint, radioactive waste and tobacco.

Weekend Update
Long story short: internet connection was unvailable at home over the weekend so I'm doing this in the office.

Saturday: Went with Mom to EDSA Shangri-La to attend the 50th wedding anniversary dinner of Allan Hao Chin's grandparents. It was similar to the Olivan-Robredo-Hao Chin gathering we had a few years back, with the same (and some new) faces attending and having 4-Ku and Penny yuk it up in front of the microphone. It turned into your typical Hao Chin family affair when the kids presented their program with the usual song and dance--stuff I'd see at the Hao Chin Xmas party. I was tempted to emcee the affair to maybe formalize the program, when I realized that's the last thing it needed. Gaile (Jesse Robredo's niece, whose name I finally spelled correctly) worked feverishly 'til the last minute on a Flash slide-show presentation which lasted about a minute and a half, so we had to play it twice, with Alan nicely accomanying the second screening with his piano playing Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You. Even after all the Thank You speeches and group pictures were taken both Hao Chin kids and Robredo sisters couldn't help but go into lounge singer mode when Alan was behind the keyboard. Surpsrisingly alcoholic beverages weren't involved in their loss in inhibition to belt out those tunes. The very small audience of relatives, maybe.

Sunday: Mona Cu's wedding at the Manila Cathedral. A day full of coincidences. Before Mona's scheduled 10am wedding, the 9:30 ceremony was for Charlzen Chua's (friend from the Taiwan Field Trip in '98) schoolmate, with Charlzen, wife Jill, Gilbert and his girlfriend in attendance. I saw Philip outside with a video camera. Then the 10:30 wedding (all 3 ceremonies ran late since the church probably didn't account for lateness and long photo sessions) was attended by my parents for a business associate. Marjorie Cosiquien was there for that, as well. After the wedding I hightailed it outta there, but before losing my way trying to get to Gloria Maris in Greenhills. (note to self: work out route in head before rushing off) Part of me is relieved I'm usually driving solo when I get lost. Less embarrassing that way. Among those In attendance at the reception were Charlene Sison (another Taiwan "field mate") and her mom, my friend Jane from DLSU and Sheryll Lane Co accompanied by boyfriend Richmond Lee. The emcee wasn't that good (acquaintance of Sheryll Lane not withstanding), the video presentation needed work (why do the interview portions always have girls asked about the bride and guys the groom exclusively? Don't couple have friends of the opposite sex?) and the food was same as always. But what am I complaining about? This is Mona's day. Okay, Melvin's day, too but Mona did most of the work. After the lunch reception I had one last picture taken of me with the couple before we all went our separate ways. A stop by CATS rewarded me (and my patience) with the long lost, hard to find copy of Promethea #18! Ebay, here I come!

Long New Year Weekend

This is the last day of my long Xmas-New Year vacation (started Dec. 28), and boy was it dull. New Year's Eve was celebrated with another dinner buffet, (accentuated with tacos --Sis' idea), the usual light-up-but-not-see-'coz-it's -dangerous fireworks, and late night blackjack. My nightcap consisted of counting and wrapping my piggybank (actually a Spider-Man) change: all 670 pesos and 70 centavos of it. New Year's Day for me started at 11 with no visits to -- and from -- relatives, except for Ma who went to see 4-Ku after lunch. Had a taco salad for a snack and am currently regretting doing nothing but run on a treadmill for excercise. Probably gonna regret it more when I go to Tae Bo after this. Groan.