Batangas Beeyotches

Last Friday I got a day off of sorts and went w/ Liza and her dad to Batangas to try out their jet ski and banana boat. It was a triumvirate first for me on all counts. The beach was so-so, but what was important was we had the ocean to try out Uncle David's toys for the big boys.

At first he drove the jet ski, pulling a life-preserver from behind while I was riding on it. It was similar to my water-skiing experience in CWC in Naga, in that my butt hurt and it felt like I was being given an involuntary enema.

Later on he let me drive it solo. He barely finished giving me instructions when I turbo-boosted away, all the while inhaling game fumes and spewing seawater. The jet ski proved difficult w/ trying to negotiate a decent turn, but at high speeds it was exhilarating as it skimmed the top of the water, bucking like a racehorse, only w/ definitely more than 1 horsepower. My second ride on it had Liza on the driver's seat, w/c meant cruising on comfortable, safe (read: "slow") speeds. It freaked her out a bit when I placed my hands over hers and pressed the accelerator.

While lunch was tasty helping of pork chops, chicken and fish, it was a chore having to eat w/ only one utensil. But now that I think about it, it was just as well, since one hand had to be free to repeatedly shoo away the bangaws in our midst. (You'd think they'd wait til we finish eating our meal before considering it garbage and calling dibs.)

My last beach activity consisted of all 3 of us on the banana boat. While we apparently chose the DON'T-try-to-shake-us-off option, Liza still got the short end of the stick when she sat in the front and thus had to endure the full brunt of seaspray w/o the benefit of goggles.

After we left the beach we stopped by 3 more places (a beach-resort near Taal Lake to pay for the jet ski storage; speedboat storage place, and visited an old family friend in one of those exclusive vacation-home villages, respectively) before grabbing some dinner at Kanin Club in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. In a show a gratitude for all he did for us today Liza and I opted to pay for the meal. Loved their loaded fried rice.

While the trip to Batangas via Skyway was quick (I assume, since I slept a lot), the drive back was marred by traffic at the SLEX, no thanks to 2 cars breaking down and the surge of 10-wheeler trucks. Managed to make it home by eleven.

My TV Watchlist

My TV Watchlist started last year with almost 30 shows. At least eight have finished their run. Three new shows -- The Listener and The Unusuals - - I’ve tried to watch but gave up on after a couple of episodes. Castle was new but as innovative, so I gave up on that, too, Nathan Fillon’s presence notwithstanding.

The rest of my list w/ snap judgments:

My Comedy Central Staples

• The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - My 4x-a-week fun-filtered source of current events, although the latter as surpassed the former in The Funny.

• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil - Eight mock cases per season (my favorite being the pilot episode, The Case of Oprah V. The Catholic Church).
  

My Weekly Comedy Staples

• 30 Rock, My Name is Earl & The Office - NBC's Thursday Night lineup is deserving of the Must-See-TV tagline. Ironically my least favorite of the trio, Earl, has been the most consistent for me in delivering the laughs.

• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Think South Park in terms of over-the-top storylines and humor. Nothing is sacred, and it's all the funnier for it.
  

• Reno 911! - Each episode seems to be just a bunch of non-related comic situations tied together by the barest of main plot threads. It's almost as if similarly-themed "skits" (gay hustler, bridge jumpers, petty thieves, etc.) are shot in one day, then mixed together in post production. That said, the show's still improv funny. Somebody remind me to get the first 4 seasons online.
  

My "Background" Shows

• 24, King of the Hill & The Simpsons - By background I mean I could leave these shows playing on the TV or PC while I'm doing something else. (Though in the case of 24 I sometimes have to fast-forward it.)

• Burn Notice – Getting formulaic, but otherwise not bad, not that I can remember any of his lifesaving Spy Tips
  

• Everybody Hates Chris- Still funny, though.
  

My Premium Cable Faves

• Californication - David Duchovny gets all the best lines and best babes. (I think I just described James Bond…)

• Dexter - Lastest season wasn't as strong as the last, but it was still good. I always thought of Dexter as more cheerful and meticulous version of The Punisher.
  

My 1-Hour Dramas

• Chuck – Awesome 2nd season finish. Sucks if they cancel it. Saved the 3-D episode 'til I can get ahold of a pair of 3-D specs.
  

• Damages – Favorite (and only) legal drama I watched

• Heroes - Barely saved itself from crappy season 3.
  

• Flashpoint – Only way you can tell this cool show’s produced in Canada (specifically Toronto) is the fact almost every episode you can see everyone's breath.

• The Unit – Still the best Guy Show. I call it 24 done right. Sucks if they cancel it.

• House - Gave up on it a little past mid-season. It was getting repetitive for me. Might move it to my "Background" list.
  

My New Shows

• Better Off Ted – Quirky corporation comedy.
  

• Dollhouse - What if The Pretender was an unwilling subject? Cool stuff. Sucks if they cancel it.

• Important Things w/ Demetri Martin - A comedy central show by a Yale nerd graduate. Skits, large pad drawings and fake remote controls. HI-larious, seriously.
  

• Krod Mandoon & the Sword of Fire – Fantasy genre, ala Kevin Sorbo Hercules or Xena, only intentionally funny.

• Lie to Me – What if a Gregory House-like character (only this time the actor playing him gets to keep his English accent) leads a forensic-facial team?

• The Mentalist – More entertaining that Psych, less neurotic than Monk.

• Party Down – Funny like Seinfeld, in that the laughs come from the awkward situations the characters get themselves into, and no life lessons are taught (nor sought).

• United States of Tara – Fun and Dramedy w/ Multiple Personality Disorder.
  

My Cancelled/Finished Shows

• Battlestar Galactica - Ended too soon, and the ending wasn't all the coherent. RIP, anti-Star Trek show.
  

• Flight of the ConChords - Just as well they ended before the novelty songs stopped becoming funny.

• Life – Sucks they cancelled it, but if they followed through w/ the hint that

• Life On Mars – Better than the UK version. Even had a cheerier, more sci-fi tacked sense of closure.

• Pushing Daisies – Quirkyness in saturated color. Sucks it was cancelled.

• Sit Down Shut Up – Funnier than Dilbert, but not by much. Not surprised they gave it the axe.

Where No Date Has Gone Before

Today I became a blood donor for the first time. To commemorate the event I asked the girlfriend to willingly bleed w/ me, for w/c she was game. In a prick on irony Aissa, who initiated this early morning Red Cross activity (along w/ Sis and Raymond) was classified as underweight, thus unable to give blood.

After we had breakfast in Jollibee I kept telling my needle-phobic cousin that injections were just like ant bites. After seeing (and feeling) that larger-than-usual needle pierce my arm, I quickly reevaluated that analogy from ant to aah-JEEZUS-that-hurt bite. As 450ml of blood flowed into a plasic bag I distracted myself w/ cable TV, apple juice and a peanut-butter-flavored cracker sandwich.

Strangely enough I experienced a migraine after lunch. If this was a side effect of giving blood it's not exactly an incentive for me to repeat the gesture 3 months from now. It went away after Liza and I dropped dad off and went to SM MoA, but came back after we finished watching the latest episode of Lie to Me at the Coffee Bean. Good this the pain was manageable enough so that I made it through watching Star Trek on IMAX, enjoying it thoroughly. Possilbly the best film I've seen this year, but definitely the best I've seen on IMAX so far, even w/o 3-D.

Well, It Is Just EmBARRASSING

...how long I've gone w/o updating. Can't even tell you how long I've been gone.

Got Picasa again, to better organize the pix. Got older, if not wiser. Things w/ girlfriend are OK, if you don't count the times I have to remind her to... well, not gonna embarrass her by mentioning it here. :)

Getting my hair treated. Getting my shoulder injury to more manageable levels (thanks, anti-inflammatory medication). Getting thinner from not doing weight-training to sticking to aerobic exercise.

Listened to 10 audiobooks (so far) this year, and 6 movies in the cinema. Still haven't given Lola her Xmas present, while I got shirts, CDs, earphones and a bookmark for my birthday. And cash.

Speaking of birthday, since mine fell on Easter Sunday this year, it was celebrated at Agno house w/ an Easter Egg hunt. Lots of prizes (edible and otherwise) given away.

Lost train of thought. To be continued... (sigh)

Mini Le Freak (or Because Youtube Won't Play the Audio. Copyright, Shmopyright.)

WaterWords

In March a bunch of us (sans BoiT and Dionne, as the latter’s still preggers) went to Splash Island. The waters of the Balsa River were greener than in my last visit. Jade went from being afraid from getting jaded (pun intended) riding the long spirals and splashdowns of the Rio Montañosa Slide. This was also Jian’s and Lance’s first visit to Splash, and most of it was spent splashing around (‘natch) the Water Wahoo area. Mia and Jasmine tried to push back the artificial waves produced by the Agos Grandes, but to no avail.

* * *

A couple of weeks after Splash the Kids (except for Jian) were signed up for 10 swimming lessons at Marianas. I joined then, albeit as babysitter and not as a student. Doc Pipo’s been telling me to swim as physical therapy for my bum right shoulder, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to get to it.

I discovered that, aside from my lousy form (compared to what the kids were learning, my freestyle has too much “free” and not enough “style”) doing laps does wonders for the back and chest. When I got out of the pool after about 15 laps or so my torso looked like it’d been doing pushups all morning. And I caught a hint of a V-shaped back. No wonder Michael Phelp’s back looks like a superhero drawing. On the minus side the shoulder felt worse, like there was soreness on top of the soreness. So much for low impact. Bring out the Ibuprofen!

Parents, The Meet

Replaced my slippers. Lost my shades. Need to get the Zen display screen checked. Thus ends my "Twitter" moment.

* * *

We celebrated Pa's b-day w/a buffet dinner at Shangri-La's Circle. Ma decided to invite Liza's folks (and her, of course) and now we had the momentous First Meeting of our folks.

Liza was all nervous about it, while I remembered how all the Meet The Fockers moments w/ Boit and Wilson and their now-in-laws were handled mostly by my folks chatting w/ them and sharing family histories. The kids stayed either by their side at the dinner table or just ate quietly and compared notes later. We did the former, enjoying roast beef slices and slices of frest fruit.

Valentine's Card to Liza

Dear Liza,

Thanks for the humongous Valentine's card. Sorry the late reply. Actually, I'm sorry for some other stuff, too.

I'm sorry for being an insensitive jerk sometimes suffering from foot-in-mouth disease.

I'm sorry for pushing you hard to exercise when I should be pushing you "up" (i.e. positive reinforcement). When you asked me to help you work out and lose weight, please know that my teasing you about your figure was the closest to tough love I could do w/o watching you get down and giving me twenty.

I'm sorry I find your Cartoon Voice cute but not sexy.

I'm sorry for sometimes thinking you deserve better than yours truly.

I'm not sorry, however, for having met you. I'm not sorry to having my current crop of blog entries be about you. I'm not sorry for trying to help you stick to your decisions. I'm not sorry to have you as a part of my life. I'm not sorry we talk things out when it feels uncomfortable --but necessary-- to avoid misunderstandings.

Most of all, I'm not sorry for loving you.

Happy Valentine's Day.

-Wilben

Catchup puhctaC (Revised desiveR)

I may have to go at this backwards, freshest memory first:

TUESDAY: Since her Αh mah's b-day is on Valentine's Day, Liza and I got together tonight instead. Cuddled up while watching Blades of Glory and scarfing down a Whopper. Last week she got me an imitation LaCoste shoulder bag, while tonight I gave her the free pink Timex watch I got from HSBC for applying to their credit card.

(Love means never having to say, "You're cheap.")

She also got half a loaf of wholewheat bread and the HDMI cable I asked her to buy. Tested the latter on the WDTV and after few false starts I got my crisp, HD-quality picture. Still no 5.1 Dolby sound, though.

MONDAY: Shoulders and upper back sore from Yoga yesterday. Why are the "healthy" options always the most painful?

Attended another Sy Association dinner at Century Seafood Restaurant. It started at 7pm and ended past 11:30, by w/c time I managed to read the first 11 chapters of Bob Woodward's book State of Denial. Food seemed to come out in 15-minute intervals, and all invited guests managed to fill up all the tables, including those in back room where they viewed the events onstage via screen projector.

SUNDAY: Des' own Beijinoy friends dropped her off my house (she had a steak brunch in Tomas Morato), and after a quick tour of mi casa we headed for Tutuban to pick up Liza. The three of us went to Metrowalk for some personal gadget shopping (man, lotsa bootleg Blue-Rays), then Liza and I had dinner at Yoo-Hoo BBQ (formerly Yahoo BBQ, though I don't see how changing the business name from an Internet company to that of a chocolate drink would save them from future copyright lawsuits).

We decided to catch a flick at Promenade. Des was nice enough to treat us to a screening of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. (How does Michael Sheen go from Frost/Nixon to this editorially dizzying piece of cliched violence?) We originally planned to see Inkheart but Greenhills Theater only screened that one during the first half of the day. After the movie we hung around Fully Booked, browsing titles and waiting for Amerasian friend Andy's reply on whether or not he'd hang out w/ us. The hour was getting late and we were conflicted between waiting for him or yours truly getting the girls home at a decent hour.

In the end Des decided to wait for him in case he showed up. Behind all our reassurances that it was fine and she can take care of herself, I felt guilty about having to leave Des behind. As a precaution Liza suggested we park nearby in case Andy doesn't make it and we'd have to drive Des home. We parked across Virramall for another 20 minutes, passing the time watching Scrubs on Liza's laptop. Later Des texted me not to worry and that Andy came. Whew.

Weekendies

SATURDAY: Ordered --and got-- a Western Digital Network Media Tank for the Bravia. After a software upgrade I can now watch d-loaded HDTV and .mkv-format vids with more ease. Before that I plugged the flash-drive into the USB port of the Philips DVD player, w/c could read the data, but slow w/ rewinds and fast-forwardsand I've lost my readers now. Hello? Anyone? "Boobies?"

Saturday night out became an unwanted (and avoidable had I been a better road-vs-map reader) road trip that brought us to the Balintawak N-Lex tollbooth. Not the priciest mistake in the world, but 72 bucks in still 72 bucks, and for going through a gate we weren't supposed to go through to begin with.

Once we got our street bearings (and Liza's superior sense of direction) we found her friend Paige's place and partook of a humble home-fried meal of chicken, mushroom, flat fried fishballs and cake. We also had a partial screening of A Tale of Two Sisters (US version entitled The Uninvited) before she got tipsy from the punch. Getting home was faster as the street directions were more straightfoward.

SUNDAY: After some Us Time dinner(wherever)-and-a-movie(Australia)-out became delivery(Shakey's)-and-a-TV-show(Lie to Me)-in. We had the house to ourselves as the 'Rents to watch a Chinese circus performance.