New Years!

Or... "Boy, this was a violent week for me."

Xmas! ('Nuff Said.)

Of Martyrs & Faith

Faith Quieng texted me last week asking if I was free on the 19th of this month. I found out weeks before that she was tying the knot on that date w/ Steven, her co-worker from Saint Jude Catholic School's IT Department (Faith works at the Guidance Councilors office), so I replied w/ Congratulations and teasing her about the office romance. Also weeks before I know Irene was invited but had no ride to either the wedding or the reception. I volunteered to act as escort and gatecrasher. Now it seemed I was promoted to car-pooler and guest.

I was surprised to learn (since I didn't really read the invitation thoroughly) that the wedding was going to be held in the high school building's chapel on the 2nd floor instead of St. Jude Church, but then again it's at the former where SJCS employees can get married for free. Great present from the bosses, if nothing else. No wonder they allowed me to park inside.

My second surprise came in finding out that the Uy Twins were in town. I missed seeing them last year, and with Marilyn and Marinette both based abroad in Colorado and Singapore, respectively, they only get to come home twice a year, usually at the end of the year. ('Lyn hasn't changed, but 'Nette's lost some weight.) This is also the first time in a long while I've seen the complete Uy Family ('Rents, Richard, Twins and Maricris) in attendance (Auntie Lily was a principal sponsor).

Third surprise: Adrian Ong was in town, on vacation but decided to help our batchmate and official wedding photographer Jervy Santiago get some shots of the ceremony.

As with all the weddings I've attended where the bride was Chinoy and the groom Pinoy (3, counting this one), the guests of the latter outnumbered the former 8:1. Irene and I arrived at Dragon Gate Restaurant an hour early, w/c was just as well since parking was going to prove difficult for the guests who decide to arrive on time. While emcees Frances and Jacob (probably getting their names wrong) left more to be desired (like a better emcee, singular), Jervy saved the video presentation w/ a last minute change on the projector screen from big to humongous.

Faith is the 2nd of 5 daughters but the first of them to get married. One down...

Starting SHOT

Dec. 16, 2010: As invited, promised and under pretend-threat of whatever-kind-of harm from the Managing Editor (I'm sure it wasn't bodily), I attended the launch party of SHOT Magazine at The Establishment. Being a Fort Strip newbie it took me awhile to find the place, because even if the pillar w/ the letters F, O, R T on one side served as a landmark, The Establishment's front door was pretty inconspicuous. An hour and a half past the time stated on the invite and place was moderately packed w/ people I didn't know. The dress theme was supposed to be the Golden Age of Hollywood-ish, but I lacked a Rat Pack suit or a James Dean leather jacket, so I instead wore the new shirt my sister-in-law gave me.

Normally my at-present dateless social life has me spending quiet evenings at home watching downloaded programs, but Ana G. is one of maybe three people that can get me off my duff and leave the house past 8pm to attend her late-night events. And tonight was a big deal to and for her. Print journalism may be dying but print magazines still have some life left in them, and I think she's more than qualified to see one of them through. Cocktails like brown nachos, popcorn and pigs-in-a-blanket were being served before the official unveiling of the maiden cover, all to be washed down w/ a controlled (read: limited) open bar. The bartenders wouldn't make me a mixed drink w/o paying, so for the whole evening I made do w/ glasses of white wine.

Moi, Carlos and the Managing Editor

Master of ceremonies Lucas Raven's voice reminded me of Russell Brand sans British accent, or perhaps Maurice Arcache w/o the chain-smoking rasp. The band led by Eddie Alejandro (I'm guessing related to Rachel and Hajji Alendro, since both were also present at the event) was so-so, insisting on singing an 80s cover song w/ a loud monotone akin to Cake. Oddly enough they didn't sing a single song w/ the word shot in the lyrics for some thematic symmetry. (And there's so many to choose from! Pat Benetar's Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Billy Joel's Big Shot, JLS' One Shot, and --duh--LMFAO's Shots.) I met Frenchman Henri Muzzarelli, who's in the high-rise windows cleaning business, and Carlos, who works in media and between appetizers shared his best and worst FHM-worthy multiple-partner sex stories. (True of not, it was entertaining to hear.)

The semi-crowded Establishment.

As for quasi-celebrity sightings, aside from the Alejandros there was Avi Sawa, whose almost-dress seemed to be composed of a foot or two of leather and strategically placed double-sided tape, and Vicky Belo, arriving from another party next door and showed up only to have her picture taken and to use the ladies' room. I imagined approaching her in all her low-cut-dressness and saying, "Hi, I know your ex-boyfriend's parents. Nice couple. Did you know they're attending weekly Bible study sessions w/ my ex-girlfriend's parents now?"

Finally there was party co-host Patrizha Martinez, whom I honestly didn't know until TV5's showbiz-gossip program Juicy aired their piece of the SHOT launch about a week after. Apologies.

Alas, I was not in the VIP list to receive a complimentary issue of SHOT, but I managed to browse throught a copy before the VIP owner, Nico, saw me keeping it close to my chest and asked in a strong French accent, "Are yoo mehkeeng lov to eet?" I'm guessing that would've sounded classier if spoken in actual French.

Speaking of shots, after 3.5 glasses of wine I was ready to call it a night, as tipsiness was already kicking in and would probably leave me unable to drive home straight if I had some more. Paid for it the next day w/ a allergic reaction of a splitting headache and hives.

Scene At a Warehouse Supermarket

Spotted while going around S&R this morning:

What kinda kid is counting calories on a modified lollipop? They're not eating these things for their health value, yannow.

"Toasted Vanilla" w/ "Cocoa butter." Not sure whether to bathe in it or eat it.

"Calming Lavender," for the fussy baby that's sick of the original Furious Yellow.

"Less Intense." That's pretty much how I'd classify any liquid you put in your mouth that has zero alcohol.

Lessons in Kettlebelling

This week I finished a grueling 16-stage kettlebell workout program that’s supposed to help increase my strength and stamina. It differed from my regular k-bell workouts in that there was less variety but more repetitions. If you had told me years back I’d be swinging approximately 70-pound weights explosively over my chest then above my head as many as 60 times I’d have asked if you missed taking your medication, or looked for DeLorean time machine.

I came out of the program w/ calluses on my palms thick enough to file off, as well as a newfound appreciation for packaging tape, anti-perspirant sticks, petroleum jelly and paper napkins (in lieu of having actual protective gloves we wrappped our hands in so much packaging tape we looked like poorly financed Muay Thai fighters.)

But sometimes our improvised "gloves" weren’t enough. As the tape wore out the calluses graduated to to blisters that formed because of friction heat generated by our repetitive swinging movements. I came across a seemingly obvious solution: reduce the friction with petroleum jelly. Thanks to that my blisters didn’t break and/or bleed, unlike w/ some of my k-bell classmates. The gross downside is picking on calloused skin like scabs on a wound.

Psychology was also key in finishing the more insane workouts. For example: one of them had us do 3 sets of 40 reps, but I found it was easier to finish if I counted it as 5 mini-sets of 8 reps instead of a straightforward 1-40 rep count.

Workout buddies also help. I got my cousin John(son) to join me about a month after I did, and like Lyndon before him in my past gym days, it’s good to have someone to pace with and challenge you to see how much your body can take. John and I are the same age, but even though physically he’s bigger in size (and appetite) I’m relatively stronger than him. I believe he’s also the only relative I know who also lifts weights for exercise, but unlike him I don’t have a sport to fall back on (he’s an avid golfer.)

This is all I have for now in terms of weight training, or even as a pseudo-sport. (Bowling and swimming are done for fun and cardio, respectively.) While I’m sure to be getting a stronger (and better looking, at least w/ the right room lighting) physique out of this, I just hope the rewards exceed the damages (achy joints, slipped discs, etc.).

Where Geeks Dwell

Last Sunday National Bookstore at Powerplant Mall opened their Comics Zone, an expanded section dedicated to graphic novels. I accompanied Lola both as wingman and comics consultant. She even dressed for the occasion, wearing Flash-themed colors w/ a red top, a yellow belt and his lightning bolt insignia button. Actually her overall look more closely resembled Wonder Girl's current costume, but at least it's still comics-related.

When we arrived a small crowd was already gathering outside the store, their attention caught by a big sign that said FREE COMIC SUNDAY. Either that or they had just finished having their pictures taken with the partially mechanized life-sized white tigers and giant pandas displayed in front of the bookstore and were looking for something else to do.

Aside from giveaways in the from of Free Comic Book Day (actual trademarked term) leftovers (and 20% off all graphic novels), they set up autograph tables manned by renowned talent like Tony Zuniga, Edgar Tadeo and Leinil Yu, w/ the latter's sketch of The Hulk being given away a the grand prize on their raffle. And if you asked them nicely they'd even oblige you w/ a free sketch.

I can sum up the main difference between The Comics Zone and the graphic novel sections of other bookstores in 2 words: Open. Copies. Without fear of discreetly removing shrink-wrap or ignoring DO NOT OPEN PLEASE ASK FOR ASSISTANCE notices, I was finally able to peek at the interiors of the thin-but-humongous Wednesday Comics hardcover, while disparaging DC Comics' inconsistency w/ their production values of deluxe hardcovers. (Superman VS Muhammad Ali gets recolored and superior paper stock, but Alan Moore's Superman run gets printed on something that's just practically one ply above newsprint? Thank god Marvel Comics gives equal treatment to all its trades and hardcovers. Thick and glossy paper for all, even the $#!++y titles.)

While browsing for titles it was fun chatting w/ fellow fans of the medium (complete strangers, btw, save for Mike Smith, Product Manager of Nokia Philippines, who gave me his business card afterwards) and sharing insights on our favorite titles and writers. (Coulda used more chicks, though. Just saying. :p) I may have gone all prudish w/ my reaction to seeing Mark Millar's Kick-Ass on the bottom rung of their display wall, where kids can easily get to it, next to Flash: Rebirth, another book that, no offense to Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, is more PG than GP. (The former is choc-full of over-the-top blood and violence, while the latter has someone being violently murdered in the first 3 pages. Yes, I've read both books, and even in context I wouldn't lend it to kids.) I pointed this out to Lola and suggested we replaced Kick-Ass w/ X-Men: First Class (rhyming unintended), IMO a good "gateway" comic.

In support of the event (and to take advantage of the sale) I bought several volumes of Ex Machina* and Vol. 12 of 100 Bullets to fill holes in my collections. Before that I caught Lola chatting w/a famous newspaper writer (and well-known bibliophile). Although she didn't introduce me to her I noticed the writer's earrings, w/c were made from empty tubes of Mighty Bond. Eclectic or fashion accessory cheapskate? You decide.

We stayed all afternoon, and as her way of thanking me Lola had my Mighty Avengers hardcover autographed by Leinil Yu, and bought us dinner at Cafe Mediterranean.

*POSTSCRIPT: Later that evening I removed the shrink-wrap plastic on Vol. 7 and was shocked to discover that the plastic masked the shoddy condition the TPB was in. Not only was the back cover's usually glossy finish almost gone like it was cleaned w/ metal polish, but a laminated display table tag was stuck on the cover page! Two days later I went back to NBS to have it replaced and/or exchanged, but while they agreed to replace it the cash register girl had the gall to try and charge me w/ paying the balance of the book's pre-discounted price! I stood my ground and in the end they gave me Vol. 6 at no extra cost.

By coincidence, famous newspaper writer was also there, standing at the cashier next to me and purchasing a lifestyle mag. She was still wearing her Mighty Bond earrings.

Slipped My Mind... I Mean, Disc

The other week or so I was diagnosed with having a Grade II (prolapsed) herniated disc. The bewildered look on friends' faces when I informed them of my condition turned to one of surprise and concern when I used the layman's term --a slipped disc-- immediately after. Guess that pain in my lower back that I've been experiencing since Bora was more serious than I thought.

Ok but how serious is it, really?

After our family friend/spine surgeon saw my MRI films and expressed "Hmms" of concern, he immediately showed me a Powerpoint presentation (either he's been at this profession for a while or my condition is more common than I thought) discussing the problem and possible solutions, both involving surgery. Option A was involves a bigger incision and at least an overnight hospital stay. The latter uses a smaller incision and is an outpatient treatment. Both involve slicing away the "slipped" portion of the disc (w/c will not regenerate, mind you), but he says the former is more effective than the latter. So much for efficiency being the better way to go.

Suffice to say I had mixed feeling about the situation, but to give you a sense of my priorities my second thought was how will this affect my workout schedule? Doc said I'm gonna be limited to just doing bench presses, or any heavy lifting will have to be done lying down. I was almost resigned to that situation before the benefit of internet research and some phone calls/texts.

Huzzah! Seems it is still possible to continue kettlebell workouts in my condition. (No-no on the regular sit-ups or crunches, though.) Still, online information is sparse.

An online reply from Sadrina suggested I contact Dr. George Canlas, sports medicine doctor for our local Olympic team (start at the top, why don't we...) who supposedly charges a thousand bucks for a consult. A text from Lisabelle, a Bowen Technique practitioner, referred me to Sandro Toledo, a "Connective Tissue Mobilization Specialist or Acupuncturist." When I met w/ Dr. "Strix" at one his clinics (located, oddly enough, at a hair salon), he looked me over, gave me some pointers on proper sitting (admittedly that sounded less silly in my head) and told me surgery should really be a last resort. He also looked my at my MRI films and said my condition (and he's seen much worse), while not completely reversible, is definitely treatable.

Maybe it was the painkiller I took the other day, but I felt real relief from hearing that. The next day he sent me the number of Rheysonn Cornilla, PT for the Coca-Cola Tigers, now known as the Powerade Tigers. (NBA names teams by state, PBA does it by corporate sponsor.)

Two days ago Rheysonn came by the house for our appointed PT session. The cheapskate in me was grateful he didn't charge by the hour, coz he was around for almost 3 hours showing me butt, back and core-strengthening exercises I can do on my own, as well as answering my 101 questions on what past exercises I can still do (weighted obliques no, sumo deadlift and jump squats yes) and even what sleeping positions are good for the current state of my back. While checking my back he also delivered some well-placed pokes that would've brought me down if I was mugger and he was Spock from Star Trek. He also gave me some common-sense pointers when it came to dealing w/ the dull pain the slipped disc caused. (A dull pinch that starts from my right buttcheek that crawls down to just below the right knee.)

I am grateful to be out of my worrisome funk and back in the game. I'm reminded of Chris Rock's joke of how Man will not cure AIDS ("because the money's in the medicine") and instead will just find a way for people to live with it. I hope that my newfound knowledge I will learn to live w/ my Grade II (prolapsed) herniated disc and still do the things I wanna do with the physique I wanna have w/o having to undergo surgery.

Blast from the Printer Past

Found amongst a collection of papers from the office clear-binder. Ah, 1999, with all the enjoyment of youth matched w/ self-righteousness.

F.A.G. (For Ana G.)

'Rents are in China for the week, so BoiT & Family took over the Master Bedroom for the duration of their absence.

I was feeling the pangs of d-loaded media-viewing burnout. (Finished the last 34 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood's 64-episode run yesterday and today.) Today (Monday) was a holiday thanks to the Barangay-SK elections. I had nothing else going on and nothing keeping me home. So it was just good timing (around 9:30PM) that while chatting w/ Ana Gonzales (as she was hosting her radio program The Disenchanted Kingdom on 99.5RT) she asked if I was free to meet up for drinks and a chat after her show's over. In Makati. Past 10PM. Tonight.

Under normal circumstances those last 3 points would have me disappointingly decline the invite, but hoorah for me, this was not. Next thing I knew I showered, put on black T-shirt and left my comfort zone, driving to Makati. As serendipity would have it as I parked the car and got out I spotted Ana G walking down the street heading for her condo (bar we were supposed to meet in was already closed), so we just went to the roof/hot-tub deck (where she held her 30th bday party) to down her complimentary bottles of Kristov Vodka Cruiser (stuff's tamer than Barcardi Breezer) and shoot the breeze.

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Asked As a Favor to Do So

Last Friday old Dopeyz member Claudette asked me and fellow Dopeyz Lynette (no relation, just rhymes) to act as judges for a couple of marketing presentations done by some of her students as part of their final grade. Being completely unqualified but opinionated, I said "Sure" (If Donald Trump can host --and own-- beauty contests...) and drove to Philippine Christian University, blithely parking by their basketball court and leaving the guard w/ a "Oh well, he already got in," look on his face while I lamented the lax campus security. Ah well, so long as parking is free. While waiting for the students Claudy treated us to a McDonald's breakfast.

Having started late and w/ some students more than ill-prepared, we watched only 2 groups present their case for the reinvigoration of Maggi Instant Noodles. Group 1 had a commercial jingle and even a new mascot in their plan. Group 2 presented "eco-friendly" packaging (in actuality was more buzzword than sincere, but at least they shaved off an entire minute off the fictional 3-minute cooking time). Oddly enough both groups, while deciding to give an encyclopedic written history of Maggi Noodles (kids, no-one cares it originated from 19th Century Switzerland, unless it tasted like cheese and kept accurate time), failed to mention the most recognizable symbol of their product: Tita Maggi herself. It was like ignoring the ginger-haired, freckle-faced girl of Wendy's, Aunt Jemima on her pancake syrup bottles or a Playmate of the Month's bunny tattoo by her... nevermind.

It was sadly possible (and indicative of my age) that these kids were born after the mid-80s and have never actually seen Tita Maggi in those noodle commercials. Or they tried a Google image search and came up w/ bupkis. (If it's the latter I can sympathize, as I tried the same thing to help accentuate the blog entry). So while I busy poking holes in their presentations (one girl in Group 2 was giving us the Evil Eye) Lynette disputed the figures in their budget plan. Group 1 was fine w/ spending about 7M pesos per month for an arbitrary 4 months, while group wanted 1M per month for 3 months, and really really wanted Vice Ganda to be their celebrity endorser.

I hope the final scores I gave them don't end up failing anyone, as some the students who presented today clearly have no interest in Advertising, but just took the class as a requirement. As for those who do want to learn about the biz, I may have inadvertently gave them a hint that people in this line of work will have other people telling you that you suck. A lot.

101010 (Not Binary Code)

Had Sunday lunch w/ Dee at Cafe Mediterranean in SM MoA to help pass the time as the 'Rents attended a birthday lunch party at Century Seafood. For the first time I didn't completely finish my moussaka.

Later that evening I ran into Dee's sister Marilyn at Jehan Sia (Li)'s wedding reception at Sofitel (went w/ BoiT and Dionne), seated at the table next to ours. Since Jehan's little brother married my cousin Eliza it was no surprise that the Hao Chins were present, as well.

The newlyweds seemed to have a allotted a significant portion of the wedding budget to photographers. Aside from having 2 shutter-guys (Jervy Santiago among them), the now-obligatory photo booth was replaced by an actual photographer standing by w/ her DSLR camera, while her partner worked on a laptop and portable photo-printer.

Tonight was also the largest gathering of Ad Extremians (aka SJCS Batch 1994) in formal wear since our Senior prom. Tim Yap emceed and did improv for the evening, while Jehan's dad performed w/ his Argentinian Tango dance group, same as last year. I was also surprised to see Joy Lua since I thought had already formally settled in Australia. Also on my list of "Hey, it's you!" sightings: Winston Co, Richard Uy, Jane Kingsu, Ritchie Ang, Peterson Tieng (actually that shouldn't come as a surprise since he officiated the church wedding) and 2 DLSU professors, including Julie Tanada. Unfortunately the other guy's name escape me, although we did recognize each other.

Déjà View

I need to come up w/ new poses...

Missed the Boat

This Saturday was the Galeón Andalucía's (a replica of a 17th century Spanish galleon used during the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco -- thanks, InterNets) last day docked at Manila's South Harbor, where it arrived October 6 and was open to the public. For its last day visiting hours were only going to be from 8AM to 12 noon, so Lola and I woke up early and arrived at a quarter to eight.

Guess we should've arrived earlier, because the line outside South Harbor was already insanely long. Even as we were able to sneak past the gates (told the guard we had an appointment at the Manila Standard), we only ended up on the tail end of an even longer line, because like us they also decided to check out the boat last-minute like. On the other end of the line was a sign posted on the gate of the registration office that read Please be ready for long lines. Registration is from 9-10:30AM. I thought things were looking bleak, but Lola the optimist wanted to stay on.

(Incidentally that's where I also caught sight of a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln on 3-wheeled motorized scooter. Boy, the things you find on street corners...)

Around 11AM the combined stifling heat and frustration that the lot of us may be lining up for naught were making some people in line antsy and very vocal about line-cutters. One guy, who wore a ring as a necklace while his curly white chest hair was poking out of his shirt (Lola couldn't stop laughing when I whispered that description of the guy has he walked past us) even grabbed a long piece of wood, presumably to look bad-ass and show line-cutter he means business. Right, like he'd risk assaulting someone and face possible jail time because someone wanted to get on a boat earlier than him.

By 11:45 we had to leave the line because I was due to meet Eileen at Robinson's Ermita in a couple of hours (to watch The Town), my feet were killing me and I wanted to eat lunch first since I only had one tall glass of Ovaltine before I left the house this morning. When we got the gate the crowd outside was even bigger than when we last saw it. Good luck, suckers.

Two meaty meals, Royce chocolate samplings and drinks of Cafe Mocha later Eileen found us at Starbucks. Unfortunately Lola didn't join us for the movie because she was determined to clean up her room today. I'd cross my fingers, but based on her past attempts to get her room-cleaning started I'll just end up w/ sore fingers.

After the movie it was "official:" I've been out of the house all day, but once I got home I showered and changed, preparing to join and drive the 'rents to a Chinese Sweet Sixteen (he's a dude) birthday dinner party in President Tea House in Binondo. And what better way to celebrate your 16-year-old Chinese son becoming a... late teenager than by giving guests boxed bottles of Johnny Walker. My head still hurts from being bombard all night by Chinese KTV.

Kara's Day

Today I became Ninong to one Kara Naomi Uy Chong (named after Battlestar Galactica and anime characters, respectively, yes-the-dad-is-a-geek), home from Hong Kong w/ her parents Richard and Aimee.

(Lookit that, isn't she a whole-round bundle of CUTE?)

I more or less arrived early at the Santuaro de San Jose in Greenhills but still failed to get a decent parking spot. Fellow godparents included SJCS alumni Marilyn Chua, her hubby Allan Go-Alcantara and Christopher Uy. Pretty much went off w/o a hitch, and afterwards we headed for Gloris Maris for lunch.

As a gift I got her a couple of Supergirl T-shirts because my inner geek would like to believe she was half-named after Kara Zor-El.

Robredo, not Robredon't

Tonight --upon 4-Ku's initiative-- we hosted a small dinner for my Ninong, "acting" Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government and current crab mentality victim Jesse Robredo.

Jesse and his wife Lenny --close family friends since my parents were kids-- were selected to be my godparents for my Catholic Confirmation in SJCS. (Another pair was being considered but eventually passed over because my sister thought they would've spoiled me rotten.) To my knowledge they're the only living godparents I have left and ones I had a say in choosing, as I know next-to-nothing about my baptismal godparents.

The man is barely 2 months into his post and all it took was one disgruntled, most-likely crooked, trigger happy ex-cop, a bus full of tourists and a media $#!+storm to threaten the good he's barely done and will do. 4-Ku wanted to see him and ask how we was doing. His worrying was for naught (reading the papers lately doesn't help), since Ninong Jess said he's doing fine (not reading the papers helps him stay that way). You don't get to be a man w/ this much integrity w/o being thick-skinned.

It's also this integrity that makes me believe him when he said was informed too-little-too-late about the hostage situation (w/c was horribly mishandled and mismanaged), and that he really wants to help the PNP grunts, but of course the power to do so was taken away by The President.

He says he won't resign, but won't fight if he's fired for the sake of politics. Any would-be replacement won't do the job better than him, but will probably be more willing to "play the game." Oh, and Jesus Versoza is a real boob and should've retired earlier.

If all this is coming off as one-sided and name-droppish that wasn't my intention. He doesn't need me to defend him, and he already knows that family and friends are behind him all the way. I'm doing this for me. I'm proud to be his godson. I'm lucky to know someone who's good at what he does and will do it for the good of others. To know that there's a good guy in government gives me the kind of hope having Noynoy Aquino as president never will.

(Yes, the irony of Ninong Jess campaigning for Noynoy does not escape me; but I with Dick Gordon called him, instead.)

More Ketchup, Please

This is becoming a regular feature in my delayed-and-w/o-too-much-detail blogging lifestyle. (Ah, well. Beats having to open a Twitter account.):

Aug. 14: The Contessa's newlywed friends Elwood and Sarah Mae invited us to their lovely new home in Quezon City, a 2-storey structure featuring the current architectural fad of horizontal beams, large exterior ornamental stone designs and super-high ceilings. Guys like me went gaga over the 54-inch plasma TV in the living room (w/ surround speakers installed in the ceiling over the couch), while the ladies went lala over one particular lamp next to the couch.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Mae's cousins Rhea and Racquel (and her husband Alfred). While the rest of the grown-ups were chatting I was playing Build-a-Cup-and-Coaster-Castle w/ Racquel's daughter (whose name escapes me at the moment, but seeing as she's only Prep I in SJCS I doubt she'll hold a grudge).

Aug. 15: Hanging w/ Lola at our usual Starbucks joint (Ash Creek), secretly making fun of the cabal of teenage-to-adolescent Chinoy males huddled at the table behind her. It was like watching the gathering of the Asian cast of Revenge of the Nerds.

Aug. 23: Arya Greenhills for a double dinner date (The Contessa would probably object to the "date" part, but rest assured I'm only in this for the alliteration) w/ Rhea (see how fast I can make friends?) and her friend Dino. It should have been a sextuple supper but Sarah and Elwood had to leave early, so apologies for them for only taking out the camera after they departed. No Robin Padilla sighting this time, but we did see Angelu de Leon having dinner at the table across from ours.

Aug. 28: Spent the late afternoon and evening w/ Amie, Lyndon's friend whom I met coupla years back. After I had a massage we went to Marina at Metrowalk for some dinner.

If anyone noticed that the path of these meetings took me from Quezon City to San Juan to Mandaluyong, well.... correlation is not causation. :p

First Rule of GeekFight! Club:

Friday night, on the eve of the 3 Families' annual shopping sojourn to Hong Kong, Lola and I attended Geekfight!, a pop culture-centric quiz nite event at Quantum Cafe in Makati. The quiz's catergories were: Gadgets, Dinosaurs, Comic books, Music, Video Games, Crime Movies, Sci-Fi and the Geek IQ Portion, with bonus Star Wars round. I chose the name Capricornix, in honor of Caprica and Boy Bawang.

The one Gadget question they threw that surprised me was "What device is used to open the New Gods' boom tubes?" (A: Mother Box), since that was really more of a Comics question. Apparently they wanted to delve into fictional gadgets as well.

While no-one in our team (adopted members Ed and Frances --who thought the team name was an allusion to Asterix-- included) had much to offer by way of right answers in the Music category (we opted for funny ones, instead), the Comic Books category was a chance for me to have what Lola called my "smug face." The only ones I answered incorrectly was due to my not having read the books in question, no pun intended (Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6 and Slam Dunk, specifically). Meanwhile Lols and Ed saved our butts in the Video Games category.

This was only the second quiz nite event I've attended, but the first one I managed to stay the whole evening for, and the evening ran late, much to Ma's frustration (told her I'd be done by 10, but it ran 'til 1AM). In terms of overall ranking we were No. 6 out of 15 participating teams. Least we made the top 10, in not the top 5.

Notes From a Blackout

July 14: I type this at 35 mins past one in the morning in a powerless house, using up precious netbook battery power. Just got home a good half-hour before that after driving through intense windy storms. Before that I brought home The Contessa and Lola after we caught the last screening of Toy Story 3(D) at Gateway Mall.

The 3D part was more trouble than it’s worth. Halfway thru the second act the screen goes blank. When the picture came back the 3D wasn’t working properly. Characters in close-up looked fine w/o using the glasses, in plain 2D (w/c wasn’t what I paid for), but foreground characters had ghost images. They “rewound” the film a second time but it also took awhile before the 3D “synched” again. Lola found herself teary-eyed over the ending.

Had the film gone w/o a hitch we would’ve left a good half-hour earlier and not have driven through dark streets and seeing tree branches scattered all over the road. I was taking The Contessa home when we witnessed the street and traffic lights go the same timeas the simulcast radio-tv news on DZBB.

I can now say I’ve driven through a storm in the middle of the night amidst a citywide blackout. Cue Dean Devlin and our disaster-movie of the year.

Spent the afternoon reading. Finished Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, Mighty Avengers: Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 9 collections. (Yes: For the most part my new books only see the light of day when the power's out.)

Escaped the blackout in my neighborhood by going to my 6pm kettlebell exercise class (power in their building returned before lunch), and afterwards hung out at my cousin's house for dinner, a hot shower and a screening of I Love You, Philip Morris. Good times had to end, though, as I went home to a powerless house.

I was about to get into some midnight reading (charged my cellphone and netbook at my cousin's) when The Contessa texted me, saying she was w/ M1, and that the latter said that if I wanted to a "sincere reconciliation" I'd should join them in Greenbelt ASAP. Not bloody likely.

July 15: The power came back around 1:30AM, only to go out again 8 hours later but come back after 4 hours in a "scheduled" brownout rotation. Whee... not.

The Internet Said It, So It MUST BE TRUE

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Frankly I like this badge better than the last one I was given when it analyzed the previous blog entry and said I wrote like DAN BROWN. Just shoot me.

Bicol Bacation Bideo Brouhaha

Long story short: I made a video of my recent trip to Bicol, and it made some of my fellow travelers upset, either by its content or the way it was edited (the way some pictures were juxtaposed, not from a technical standpoint). Some of them are no longer speaking to me.

Short story long (Names have been "Singularized" out of my possibly misplaced sense of courtesy):

The video took 3 weeks to produce and uploaded to Facebook at an ungodly hour. Minutes later one of the girls in the video, M1, said she didn't like me putting in certain pix in the final product. In my "defense" those pix in question were my harmless way of getting back at her for putting in certain pix in her version of the Bicol vacation video that I didn't like. Requests for edit=1.

Later that morning I received a text from C --asking me to remove certain swimsuit pictures-- and from M2, in a frantic text saying C left me the above message. (Panicky much?) Requests for edit=2. The harried nature of their messages was probably because I uploaded the video for viewing for Friends instead of limiting it to just my fellow travelers, and they hoped they could get me to take it down fix it before it receives any more viewings.

I was more disappointed than mad at their reactions, especially w/ C and M2. C, embarrassed by the video, called it ugly and wanted her pictures taken out of it because she said it was her pictures. I took that to mean she was claiming ownership, w/c I had doubts about, and after checking confirmed those pics in question were shot with my camera. M2 (after calling me an idiot) clarified that C was talking about her being in those pictures, and that she had a right to ask them to be taken down if she didn't want them made public (as least in video form, 'coz she sure as heck didn't object when those same pictures were previously posted on Facebook.) True, she had the right to ask, just as I had to refuse if I thought the request was unreasonable.

And then there's R, who was in the same "objectionable" pictures as M1, on a warpath. R was mad at me (M1 just disappointed, but at least ok w/ it all now) because there was a tacit agreement between us that those pictures would not go online in any form.

Ok, they got me there. My bad. At first I privatized the video, but to avoid any further conflict (and realizing logic will never win over emotion in these kinds of arguments) I just apologized to C, R and M1 and took down the video. (Hell w/ M2, fighting C's fight when C's perfectly capable of doing it.) But nooo, it wasn't enough for R, who wanted all pictures I posted on Facebook w/ them on it taken down.

Mad and disappointed? No. Annoyed? Hell, YES. Sino siya, si Katrina Halili? I can swear on my own grave that the video is cool and unobjectionable to anyone (else) that has or might see it.

The fact that C, R and M2 are taking the same kettle-bell class as me would've made further contact awkward, but fortunately I attend the class scheduled an hour earlier. Other fellow travelers who've seen the video don't see what the fuss and bile is all about.

Long story short: I was slightly in the wrong, but made peace w/ some, while others are still in the Petty Zone. Hope they enjoy their stay there.

(Taking) Forever

I’m currently seated on a 2-foot tall circular pedestal that's supporting myself, 6 mannequins and fellow customers (or companions, friends, relatives, lovers w/ no cash/credit/inclination to shop with/for) at the Forever21 Shop in SM Megamall. I’m guessing on normal shopping days we’d be asked not to sit on the pedestal and block the view of the shoes that are also on display. But this was only their 3rd day of being Officially Open, so I guess there’s some leeway.

Lola talked into coming here, and obviously I didn’t know what I was getting myself talked into. The current amount of activity in here reminded me of the Las Vegas Comicon, only the comics are replaced by clothes, and geeks in costume by costumed fiberglass statues.

The shopping women outnumber the clueless men (self included) maybe 6:1. Guys would either dutifully follow their ladyfriends one step behind, looking bored or offering rhetorical shopping advice; otherwise they’re like me, opting to wait at one spot inside the store, write then wait to be approached by said ladyfriend for solicited shopping advice. Or perhaps just wait, cellphones or Nintendo DS at hand.

This “event” has been shaped to look like a Big Deal. Our first faux pas upon arriving to the store was following the “LINE FOR FOREVER21 STARTS HERE” sign in the wrong direction. When we got to the end of the non-existent queue we were greeted by a closed entrance and window-view of inside the store, which showed lots of shoppers (natch’) and, to my surprise, big security guys. Not the rent-a-cop kind, but the kind you see in “hot” nightclubs: big bodied w/ SECURITY printed in all-caps yellow in from of their black t-shirts, and sporting either sunglasses or a headset.

Jeez, was the size of the crowd, or the threat of shoplifting expected to be that rampant? It couldn't be the former, as the number of people inside wasn’t enough to merit elbow-rubbing capacity. Can’t be the latter; these are just rtw clothes, for crying out loud. Perhaps they were limiting the numbers of shoppers to X number of people at a time for crowd control? While on the surface it makes the experience sound exclusive, it would probably be illegal.

When we got inside seeing Jane Kingsu (formerly of Chalk magazine) seated by a makeshift booth preparing P100 gift vouchers, it started to make sense. I asked her if she was responsible for the presence of the security guys. She said yes, as she was in charge of marketing and those guys were mostly for show.

The store is ridiculously huge for a boutique shop, almost like the entire floor of the regular SM Department Store clothing section. Getting lost inside is easy, like in a casino (no wall clocks or easily discernable exit. I have to admit I’ve never seen/been to a clothing sale made to appear like a society event. At least they didn’t stamp our wrists and ask for ID. Worse, you can’t pick up chicks here. No booze. Maybe if you offered to buy them a blouse that’d get the ball rolling.

OMG, I Have CP (CatchPhrases)

I think that if I were ever a long-term participant in reality shows like Big Brother or The Amazing Race I'd be easy to parody. This is due to my tendency to use catchphrases, and unoriginal ones, at that.

After some self-examination (mentally, not physically, mind you) I found that I've been using the following a lot lately:

• "Those people are idiots."
• "Ah, no, you don't/you're not ."
• "That may have been a mistake."
• "Omigod, please stop talking!"
• "Apparently."
• "Seriously."
• "Well, this can't be good."
• "Well, that went well."
• "Well, DUH on a stick."

I'm like Reagan in that I say "Well" more often than Dumb Blondes say "like," in every other sentence. Hopefully that'll change in time.

Closure Stings

ME: good morning ****

HER*: hi

ME: i hear congratulations are in order? ;)

HER: huh?

HER: for what?

ME: u got yourself a boyfriend over the weekend?

HER: yes.

HER: ha

ME: Lucky guy

HER: :)

*NOT the ex

Mayonnaise

MAY 30-- Ana G. and her cousin at the Roofdeck Party III (The Return), where I learned my networking "skills" need work.


MAY 31-- Cel and Mela after my an Mel's first ever kettlebell workout. Goofy grins courtesy of endorphins?

JUNE 8-- With Die! and Mela at Coffee Bean Greenhills. It's Die's! last day in Manila (after a week's vacation here) before the flies back to South Korea.

Browned/Bronzed Bicol Biyahe Blog (Bart 3)

SATURDAY, May 22: Lyndon, Mimi and I had our first and only St. Ellis breakfast before the group drove out to Naga, but not before stopping by the Cagsawa ruins by Mayon Volcano for some trick photography shots. I would have enjoyed myself more had I not needed to pee real badly that time, but the only restroom had a locked gate. (Hell with it, piss can pass between iron bars.) One guy assisted us, apparently having done this routine over and over for all kinds of tourists, so he knows all the right low-angle and forced perspective shots to take. (Hmm, still owe Mimi my share of the tip.)

When we arrived in Naga we spent the whole day at the Camsur Watersports Complex, and boy what a HOT day it was. Our whole afternoon comprised of WiFi web-browsing, IPodding, fruit-molesting, fake lesbian kissing, photo-pimping and chillaxing w/ laing or plain-cheese pizza, either by the pool or by the shaded area facing the artificial lake, w/ some us waiting for our name to be called informing us that it's our turn at the wakeboard area. Unfortunately we arrived on the first day of a week-long Kaogma festival and preparations for the 5h Philippine Wakeboard Nationals, so our chances of skimming the waters were slim-to-none. Luckily I managed to sneak a dip into the pool. Since its use limited to paid green wristband wearers and wakeboarders), when the anal "lifeguard" asked me where my wristband was, I said I was just waiting for my name to be called for the wakeboarding. (Snuck out of the pool area afterwards.)

Fernand fell on his butt trying out the skateboard rails. Mae managed to get herself tipsy after 4 beers. I called 3-Ku to tell him we were in town. He initially invited us to dinner, but when I told him there were 9 of us he had to rescind the offer. :P

Later that evening we checked in at NagaLand Hotel, but after freshening up we had dinner at Avenue Plaza Hotel, as per Xeng's recommendation. After dinner Mimi "treated" us to her song stylings, belting out a couple of ballads accompanied by piano and violin. Afterwards we all tucked in early (after some minor roughhousing on our 2nd-floor hotel corridor). "Anyway, cheers!"

Browned/Bronzed Bicol Biyahe Blog (Bart 2)

FRIDAY, MAY 21: We woke up and began w/ a not-so-great-breakfast before we headed off to our island-hopping tour in Matnog. First stop was Tikling Island, where not much was happening. We saw a treehouse, but didn't climb up.

A little swimming and it was off to the marine sanctuary, w/c seemed more like a euphemism for "fish pens." The fishermen/caretakers gave us a fish-feeding demonstration, w/c was fascinating because it looked as if the fish were able to predict where the food would land, and they'd rush to that exact spot before the bait even hit the water and fed in a frenzy.

We jumped in from one enclosed area to another, looking at fishes and a sea cucumber (and on an unrelated matter I found a toy submachine gun in the water), but the highlight was seeing a sea turtle. It reminded me of that tortoise in South Africa, only was wetter, more likely to snap my nose off if I got too close, and it swam away faster than expected when we let it go after some exploitative picture-taking. At another fish pen I saw live and swimming bangus and lapu-lapu, which was new for me since I usually see them frozen, cooked or de-boned. Nothing different when I saw the lobsters, though: caged and in the water.

We later hopped 0ff to Subic Beach (not related to the more popular Subic Bay) for lunch, and swam some more while our guides grilled the pork-chops (everything else-- shrimp, chop suey, sweet & sour fish, beverages-- was ready). Speaking of w/c, the shrimp was a little dry but the pork-chops were awesome. After lunch the others talked about life and love, while Cel and I talked about her workout routine, w/c at present was composed of krav maga and kettle-bell exercises.

Our final stop was Calintaan Island, but we really just went around it instead of coming to shore because we wanted to check out the caves. The ocean floor was filled w/ corals, anemones and fields of sea grapes, a few of w/c were picked and fed to us by our dive-guide Sadam. There was near-scare encounter w/ a sea snake, but it turned to be near-dead, so naturally some of played w/ the carcass for picture purposes.

(This would never happen w/ roadkill.) During one last group shot in the caves Wena shoved me and my left 4th toe ended up being pierced by 5 sea urchin nettles. Hurt like hell, but I wasn't able to pull out the splinters so I immediately swam back to the boat. Even onboard I couldn't get them out, so I had to endure this minor agony on the boat ride back to Bantigui Beach Resort. No luck w/ tweezers, as the nettles were so brittle some of them practically crumbled in my toe by the time I got to them. Hmm, doesn't feel poisonous....

One shower and failed nettle extraction later, we late-checked out and drove back to Legazpi to meet up w/ Fernds and Xeng for dinner at Small Talk Cafe, where I had my first taste of Bicol Express pasta and Laing. Fernd's driver had called it a night (seeing as he was w/ since Matnog it's understandable), so chauffeur duties fell unto me and I drove us in the Imperial Hi-Ace (that handled like an L300) to St. Ellis for our last night in Legazpi. Again sleep was delayed for me owing to an overseas argument between my roommate and beau via celphone, and I desperately looked for my earphones to no avail. Fortunately calmer heads prevailed and the phone-call ended peacefully.

Boy, this mattress is really comfy...