Settled In

After a week of long-time-no-see (Tuesday business meeting w/ Mindstorm Media at their QC office to discuss producing the c3Maxx video doesn't count), Liza and I are now more or less (ok, more) getting used to the weekend "liaisons" (Euphemism Device activated). And Saturday afternoon was all liaison. :) We groomed ourselves silly for the occasion. She brought the bread and cheese, I brought peanut butter and grapes. After that mini-picnic we still had enough of an appetite for dinner at Teriyaki Boy Ortigas (though she doesn't wanna go back because of the taste). Washed the bad taste away w/ a nightcap at Starbucks AshCreek, where at the parking garage I handed her her Xmas present. She gave me a black 2008 Starbucks Planner.

The Sunday afternoon "liaison" was just so she could get outta thes house and avoid any impending lectures about Life by her Mom. Although when I dropped to pick her up she wasn't ready, so I spent some time bonding w/ Auntie Sally by way of helping decorate their Xmas tree and speaking to her in Fukien Chinese whenever possible.

Finally we were off in a quest to find Pa's Xmas present: Bally socks. SM Centerpoint didn't have any in stock and said only the Big Branches (like SM City or Megamall) had them. I was disappointed since the Xmas traffic jams seemed to be still in full force. We drove back to Agno to rest a bit and reassess our options, i.e. do I wanna drive all the way to SM North EDSA and possibly miss the salmon dinner for 6 pairs of socks. In between thoughts I whipped up some egg-ang garlic fried rice for her, as her last meal was brunch. She ate it w/ fish leftover from lunch, while I had a ponkan.

Eventually we did go to SM City, the traffic thankfully not as bad as I thought. True to their word Bally socks were available, so we got Pa 6 pairs and Liza bought another 3 for her dad. We didn't bother checking out the newly built Annex, and instead walked to the other side of The Block (get it?) for some Bubble Tea (and cake that looked but thankfully didn't taste like a cross-section and dirt and freshly mowed lawn grass).

We drove back to Agno again, this time so I can have dinner. It was only after we watched the latest episode of The Mentalist (seated together on the freshly reupholstered couch) did I finally drive her home. Later we texted each other thanks for the company, then she said her mom was glad I "conversed with her" in Chinese. I was just glad she initiated it.

Wotta Weekend

SATURDAY: Picked up Liza early, so we could make a quick stopover to pick up our tickets for the musical Hairspray tomorrow. Robinson's Dept. Store branch was too by-the-book (as if Liza would have my credit card, receipt and 2 of my IDs for some other reason), so we hastily made up a letter of authorization while trying the NBS branch in Megamall. While driving outta there (loitered outside instead of properly parking) I caught a glimpse of (and almost ran over) old classmate Ian Howell Tan.

While she was slightly miffed at us being a little late (still haven't gotten the hang of driving around BGC), we still managed to meet up w/ her barkada (and their respective "Non-Barkada" beaus and bud, and baby) at Serendra. The girls exchanged gifts while the guys exchanged gabs.

SUNDAY: The afternoon in bullet points...

• Avoided traffic police who were looking for (according to Liza) handouts, car profiling rich-looking AUVs and failing to flag us down successfully when I was sure the light was still green. Or I swerved, but it was to avoid idiot traffic cop for moving in my path and waving suddenly. Or mebbe it was because of us wasn't wearing their seatbelt at the time, not sure, didn't stick around. As I drove past them my heart raced and all I could think of was Please don't have motorbikes to chase us with. (They didn't.) Call me crazy but I like to limit embarrassing incidents involving cops while w/ my girlfriend to once-a-never-again.
  
• Almost parked just outside Star City when an attendant approached and said the flat rate was 60 bucks(!) Fortunately I talked to a security guard who said parking inside the Star City lot was free . Eff to da You, highway robber parking dude, we outta there.
  
• At the Star Theater we ran into Wilson's boss Liza, and one of his ADMU classmates. For my part I shared Men's Room time w/ Ricky Davao.
• The layout of the place was different from what I pictured, with no real balcony area and just elevated rows. (Ticketworld website ought to show both bird's eye and side view diagrams) Freezing temperatures inside made Liza regret wearing a sleeveless blouse. Worse, they made changes to the seating arrangements and the middle aisle seats I paid for were now at the leftmost side of the theater. (By the second act we moved to the empty seats near the middle of our row.)
  
• As for the musical production itself: Good thing I saw the movie version on HBO days earlier, because I still caught the gist of the story while well-enunciated lyrics were lost on crappy sound systems. Also, no live band, so basically we watched the Minus One version.
  
• Note to Michael de Mesa: You can only drag (no pun intended) on the change-to-manly-voice joke for so long before it gets old. We already know you're in tranny mode, so live up to the feminine side of it and impress us with more dancing while wearing heels.
• Why are good American accents so hard to find in local theater nowadays? Not to sound racist but the Talalog accents were really distracting.

The real event of the evening (aside from the one that happened after the play which I won't talk about here) was the wedding reception of Chinabank Tutuban Manager Andrew Kong and his bride Aileen at Century Seafood Restaurant. Liza really wanted to go and I obliged, seeing as I was there to represent of the 'Rents, while she went in place of her mom. Five tables were allotted for Chinabank friends and clients, not that the place needed any more butts on the seats. We left the reception early enough to avail of the half-off valet parking discount (25 bucks). No wedding souvenier or lanky floral centerpiece to take home, though, the latter to Liza's frustration. Yes, she only wanted the big flower in the middle of the arrangement, but I was distacted by the other flowers that were just taped on the thinner branches.

We had a last-minute nightcap at Starbucks in Robinson's Otis. Still in formal attire, it was weird being the best-dressed couple in a coffee shop.

Not that I'm complaining. This weekend was for her, and I'm happy to serve.

Beijinoys, Bacolodians and Bicolanos (Oh My)

It's been awhile since I've gone out w/o Liza. Tonight's good a time as any.

Carpooled w/ Die! and her sister Steph (whose voice is a dead-ringer for Die!'s) from Gateway to first drop the latter off in San Juan, then to Dencio's in Rockwell for dinner w/ newly'rents Joanne and Henry Buban. Manolito, Janet (in town for business and pleasure) and Dave joined us later on. A number of the original HuaQing tenants didn't make it (Pyao, Tiff, Joyce, Cham, etc.) but as it was the evening was still enjoyable. All throughout the scarfing down of Set Menu C's entrees and iced tea, stories and laughs were shared. Dave (who couldn't get over Janet being much older than she looks--older than me, btw) and Manol are always a blast to have around, w/ enough tales of Beijing bloopers and anecdotes to make you forget the time.

(Blog ending seems anticlimactic, but then again so was the evening, with our Good-byes and Let's Do it Again Next Times.)

Laying Down the "Law" (So We Can Bend 'Em Later)

We were supposed to meet up w/ Joanne and her husband Henry (as well as other Beijinoys) for dinner, but last-minute cancellations, postponements and rescheduling moved the date to Friday.

So instead Liza and I ended up having dinner at Arya before heading back to her place to watch Californication.

Technically this would violate the recently created "Weekends Only" policy we tried to implement, devoting weeknights to work and avoiding the ire of respective 'Rents who think we see too much of each other. "Plenty of time for that if/when you settle down," pragmatic voices would say. Well, it didn't start out as a date. Just ended up that way due to aforementioned cancellations, postponements and rescheduling.

Yes, I'm making excuses and procrastinating (w/c, in using pharmaceutical analogy, is choosing quick-acting pills over the long-lasting ones). I wanna swear this will be our last Wednesday night together for a long while, but I try not to make a liar outta myself whenever possible. Best I could do is to keep telling myself to stick to weekends. Good therapy for both'a youz.

I'll try it, but don't hafta like it.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I've had the tough-love lecture from my sister several times now since I decided to stick with the family business almost 3 years ago. It never gets easier every time I hear it. Getting my teeth pulled is more tolerable.

She's right, of course. I'm pissed about that, and the condescending tone. She says (and I agree) that I'm not living to my full potential. It's almost as if I need constant inspirational/ pep talk (as opposed to nagging) to sustain my enthusiasm in the mundane business of cement dealing. I believe I have direction, but it's the degree of progress that's gnawing at me. Almost a crawl. And the distractions... my god, the distractions (this blog included)!

At the risk of sounding corny, there's now Liza to think about. To borrow a phrase from Melvin Udall: she makes me want to me a better man. I want to be a better person, a better employee, a better provider. I will not lose her (or this... thing I call a better life) on account of being a slacker. I won't have it.

So while the cost might be less time spent together, it's for a good cause. Self-improvement. And it will make seeing each other again (perhaps on weekends) all the more gratifying.

Piedra Party

This was only the second time Liza's* gone out w/ my circle of friends. One Beijinoy she's met before, the rest she'll meet for the first time.

When Pa paranoiyingly (paranoid + annoying + ly) thought Taguig was too far me to drive there on my own (had I said The Fort or Serenda --w/c Pa still thinks is in Makati-- he probably wouldn't have blinked), he insisted the family driver be used. Fine by me. My last chauffered date was during Senior Prom. At least parking won't be an issue.

Tintin was dropped off my house and then we picked up Di. When the found out about Liza they could barely contain their curiosity and excitement. We didn't stay at Liza's house since we were running kinda late. By the time we walked back to the Hi-Ace T & D already moved to the back seats to give us space in the middle, otherwise I would've ended up sitting shotgun, giving Francis directions on how to get to The Contessa's place.

Fast foward to 4 girls and a guy off to Fort Strip Mall. Piedra was at the 3rd level, but we first ate dinner at the Persian restaurant downstairs. We had stuffed chicken kebab (dee-lish), lamb kebab (salty) and veggie-meat-thingie-resembling-dried-asado kebab (weird) because Di was having a Veggie Day.

We got the party about 45 minutes after Piedra's Open Bar started. Not 30 seconds after we arrive did Liza run into a fellow CAT officer from her ICA days (Next Gen Beijinoy, apparently). Birthday Boy Manol was, like the club's music, up and loud. Aside from Beijinoys like Dave, Pyao and Jarvey I also ran into old Ayala, Alabang faces like Piko, CB, Ana G, Izzy and Andy, and w/ each one I met I got a kick out of saying, ", this is my girlfriend, Liza." As she met them all for the first time, I had my first open bar experience w/ my first glass (ever) of R&C (Rum & Coke). Hmm, not bad.

Unfortunately a curfew meant we could only stay a little over an hour. Would've loved to have asked Ana G in person about whether or not she's back w/ex Igo (said, "We're enjoying ourselves for the moment."), or shoot the breeze w/ Andy. At least I got to say Hi to almost everyone I knew. Even Grand, whom I ran into in the men's room. After I introduced Liza to him Grand in turn introduced us to "Patrick," who turned out to be Patrick Garcia. On the ride home Liza said she didn't recognize him, hence the lack of starstruck-ness on her part.

On the other hand if I wasn't in a hurry to drive the ladies home (or just being cowardly) I might've said to Patrick, "Big fan of your work. Loved you in Batang PX."

*Seeing as we're already a couple, I'm giving up this omniscient narrator thing.

Iloilo and Bacolod Baycay (Part 4 of 4)

Day 4 (Oct. 19) Bacolod:

After the all-niter w/ Manols I could barely keep my eyes open on the Weesam boat ride back to Bacolod. Still, it was the power nap I needed. The newlyweds picked me up and dropped me off my hotel, where I slept the rest of the morning and woke up a little after 3 in the afternoon. Not feeling particularly choosy, I walked to the nearby SM Departmart Store and bought-to-go a large thin-crust Classic Beef & Onion Shakey's Pizza for lunch. And as per my practice since I checked in I refilled my 1-liter Starbucks water bottle at the hotel bar's water cooler.

The portable DVD player was a godsend. I managed to catch up on movies (Redbelt; Bigger, Stronger, Faster; War, Inc.; Chicago 10, the first half of The Fall), TV series (Midnight Man; Sharpe's Challenge) and saw some of the local programming. Bel Galindez appears to be Iloilo's answer to Cory Quirino, w/ her own program giving lifestyle and feng shui tips, all while hawking vitamins and suppliments in front of a single camera and little by way of production value.

I joined the newlyweds later in the evening for one last dinner, this time a Japanese buffet (hmm, crab recipes...). Afterward I got to see their newly renovated home, a real "White House." (Insert bad-taste Mayor Sanchez joke here.) They got their own space away from Sen's 'Rents, separated by a garden w/ a waterfall. The space alloted for the library and gym on the second floor was huge, and beneath that lay the home theater room, where-- when done-- they plan to install an OHP and just play HD quality d-loaded flicks. Ah, progress. Too bad I didn't take any pictures.

Over the Hurdle and Into the Breach

While she wasn't able to make it to his nephew's birthday party at his house (had to mind the store from morning til lunchtime), he did manage to deliver her birthday present. Afterward he picked her up at the train station, one stop further than he expected. They went back to his place to hang out and w/ no concrete plans. Exercise? Watch a movie (Death Defying Acts) in 720p format via her laptop attached to the Bravia? Have some leftover party food? Whatever goes.

Well it ended up being the second and third one. While they stayed in later than expected, his Dad comes home and finally meets her. On the other hand he was in another room at the time, and as such was unable to make the formal introduction. Good thing Mom was in there to rectify the situation, and thus began the "formal" interview. She injected the few words of Fukien she remembered how to use (if not pronounce) while Dad struggled w/ his own Tagalog deficiency.

He finally managed to join them in the living room and sat on the adjoining sofa by her side. Every once in a while Dad would wave his hand dismissively at him when he tried to assist in answering his questions to her. Sometimes the questions got repetitive (boy, Dad really wants to know how many siblings her father has) and business advisor-ish ("Do you think your textile shop will do well in the long run?"). At one point she whispered to him, "Can we leave early?" He said, "Looks like you're staying for dinner." And she did.

Finally the baptism of fire was over. He could never be as in love w/ someone as he was w/ her at that moment. That post-Meet the Parents moment. She was so good to put up with this and come out unscathed. They stayed for dinner and had a nightcap at Starbucks.

At Starbucks in between laughs they talked about a sort of disciplinary test. They agreed to go cold turkey in terms of meeting up for the next 5 days this week until the big event they had planned for the weekend (aside from the Madagascar 2 IMAX screening). Texting's still allowed, otherwise no physical contact whatsoever. Also, usually she initiates phone-chat invites and goings out, but now it'll be his turn to ask. All in all she said it won't be easy for her. Meanwhile he has not been in a serious relationship since Ramos was president, so 5 days of absence makes the heart grow fonder come Day 6 for him.

Let the stakeout begin...

Iloilo and Bacolod Baycay (Part 3 of 4)

Day 3 (Oct. 18): Bacolod

I would have missed my 8:15AM WeeSam boat ride to Bacolod had it not been for a chance purchase of a would-be passenger's ticket who changed her mind about going. During the hour-plus-long trip I noticed the difference between Economy and "First Class" is the access of the latter to cushioned seats, red carpeting, air conditioning and a TV, all behind a closed door. Still, I paid less than 300 bucks and could get off the back of the boat before them. I was greeted at the local port by Beijinoy Bacolodians Bea, Angelie and JacJac. After breakfast at Beyz's Business Inn they took me around downtown, where vendors filled the sidewalks and people were making preparations for this evening's Masskara festivities. Beyz and JacJac got me a mini-mask.

There were stopovers at one of the downtown hotels that had a Masskara-themed art exhibit by the lobby, and at the Sugarlandia store where amidst the sinambags and kinamoncils they showed us one of the new products they'd be debut at the next food expo: the "healthy" barquillos. Whole wheat, untreated sugar, no high-fructose corn syrup, the works.

Our last stop before lunch was at the burned out Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson Mansion, now officially designated The Ruins. It reminded me of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Macao, only instead of just the front facade the whole house-- albeit gutted-- was still standing. Main stairs to the second floor will end in a fast drop back to the first if you weren't careful. Surrounded by a lush gardens and grand fountain, it seemed an ideal spot for wedding photo shoots and outdoor parties.

Melissa managed to join us for lunch at Chicken House (I purposely avoided all Bacolod-themed chicken in Manila 'til I could taste the real thing), then we met up w/ Manol and his friend Janet (Tee Lim, artist and employed by the exclusive distributor of Yakult in Bacolod) for coffee and cake. When Manol asked me to stay overnight my planned day trip to Bacolod was--to my delight/dismay-- about to turn into an all nighter bar-hopping "adventure." Naturally I had to go back to the WeeSam ticket office to reschedule my return trip before I finally said goodbye to the girls as they dropped me off to meet w/ Manol again.

We checked out Janet's charcoal art exhibit at the nearby hotel before heading out again. The Masskara festival was in full swing, but we missed the motorcade and parade. In the downtown area (w/c looked like the rotunda in front of Binondo Church) crowds filled the streets, trees and amphitheater seats as they watched the finals of a group dance contest. They kept using the same song (a remix of folk tunes and hip-hop) but the costumed dancers and elaborate props kept things fresh. The heavy masks and mid-afternoon heat didn't ease matters on the dancers, as the former cut their faces while the latter had them passing out from exhaustion and subsequently brought to a makeshift emergency sickbay nearby.

As darkness crept in (at 17:30, oddly enough) we went to Janet's friend's dog show exhibition held at the golfing clubhouse. Milo the jack russell terrier (aka Frasier's and Stanley Ipkiss' dog in Jim Carrey's The Mask) was particulary talent, playing dead when you shout Bang and leaping on to her owner's shoulder on command like a giant hairy pirate's parrot. He was definitely more entertaining than that tiptoe-on-hind-legs, Frisbee-catching-from-3-feet German Shepherd. This dog won top prize at the TV5 show Talentado? That show's producers were had. Speaking of had, we had ribs for dinner.

After dinner we first went to Janet's place to pick up her dog then to Manol's house to freshen up before we headed out to check out the street parties. We watched live bands play while chugging Red Horse and scarfing fried peanuts. When Janet called it a night come midnight it was just beginning for Manol, and by extension myself. I got a chance to shower and borrow one of his shirts (it fit, thankfully) while being fascinated at his house, w/c seemed to be stuck in the late seventies. DC Superhero stickers (featuring Neal Adams art) on the closet doors. A multitude of Sanrio characters in the girl's bedroom wall. Old bottles of perfumes and cologne displayed behind glass doors. It's like someone took a picture of my old house in Padre Herera and stuck it here. But I digress.

We first picked up a couple of Manol's friends who also came in from Manila, and headed north for North, a club where Philip Morris was hosting a party. Pretty crowded, and main show stretch all the way out to the grassy outdoors, with only plywood walls painted blue separating us from the riffraff (and acting as a piss-wall for dudes). We ran into Beyz again, and I had my 2nd glass of beer, w/c I managed to stretch out during my entire time there. Clubbing isn't really for me. Whoo, 4:30AM, way past my usual bedtime. Coupla barhops, beer and something that tasted like a weaker version of Pina Colada later we were back at Beyz's hotel for breakfast. Didn't see the sun rise, but it was getting brighter outside. We made it back to Manol's where I managed about an hour's worth of sleep before his driver took me back to the dock for my morning WeeSam ride back to Iloilo. Hmm, his subdivision looks much classier (and way less creepy) in the daytime than it did last night.

Iloilo and Bacolod Baycay (Part 2 of 4)

Day 2 (Oct. 17):

Had a stroll around the block (or two) looking for a place to have brunch. After finding nothing to the left of the hotel a nice surprise awaited to the right of it: namely an SM Department Store. While I had a Big Mac meal across the street from SM the branch manager suddenly started a brief parlor game that reminded me of those inane gimmicks Cebu Pacific stewards would impose upon passengers in lieu of complimentary food and drinks.

AM's driver(one of them, anyway) picked me up at around 2:30, and after picking up 2 more guests (one of them speaking something that sounded Korean) we found ourselves at St. Joesph the Worker Parish for the Rafael (IV) - Fernandez nuptials.

Ceremony itself was pretty straightforward, and place wasn't packed, being a weekday and all. Christ and Chey acted as wedding paps to counter the other freelancing paps who approached Sen's mother Tita Melinda w/ a bunch of pix to peddle to her. I managed to sneak a shot in w/ the "Bride and Groom with Friends" part of the pictorial.

Hitched a ride w/ Christ and Chey's family, and we drove to a couple of lots, where Christ said they were having houses built, one of them being his new home. We headed for the reception at the Puerto Real Clubhouse afterward. Osram lights of the 700-watt range were set up for mood lighting, and obviously no-one took advantage of the swimming pools. The Claycakes Book-themed piece they ordered thankfully survived the trip, and it was bigger than any of us imagined. Rons later said if they knew the 10-books were gonna be so thick they woulda thought of titles for the spines. Surrounding the cake were souvenirs of small glass flowers, gel candles and bowls of pudding for the cake (w/c everyone who stayed after the ceremonies got to sample in all its chocolatey goodness). Unfortunately the secondary sponsors failed to execute the proper distribution of said souvenirs; so in the midst of the free-for-all-grab-'em, the bigger gifts for the principal sponsors (model seashell sailboats hidden under the wedding cake table) were inadvertently taken as well.

After everyone stuffed themselves w/ the buffet dinner (mmm, roast beef and various kinds of pasta...) the fathers of the couple gave their speeches. Rons' dad had one prepared but since he forgot his reading glasses he opted to improvise. On the other hand Arsenio Rafael III's eyesight was fine for reading out his piece, and he began by singing a couple of lines from Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This was followed balloon-themed games for the single-by-choice-or-circumstance guests (still think condoms for balloons wouldα've been funnier, if not totally inappropriate) and the First Dance, w/ Sen singing along to Lifehouse's You and Me as he cut the red carpet w/ his new bride.