one last-ditch effort? say sorry, perhaps??

Saddam Hussein. The White House, according to the wires, is now preparing for this convicted/ousted dictator to be hanged as early as this weekend. I will reserve my comment after his death.

things to do (on or) before 2007

1. finish the yearend report. this is the most "exciting" part of our job. imagine that you have to make a single article of all the articles you've written the entire year. saonz! mag-blog nalang ko!
2. lose weight. i think that's a must. or i'll have to buy new pants, shirts, undies, and things that seem to have shrunk in the past weeks. wait, there's still New Year. so hopefully, immediately after that. anyway, i'm good at skipping meals (on regular days). good luck!
3. return all the borrowed books before the owners would come and sue me. but have to read them first. more time pleasssssssse...
4. save. save what's left in my account. i wish i could. darn, i'm such an ass in this department i think i should hire a financial consultant. ding! wake up!
5. sleep at least 10 hours straight. havent done that as an adult. bah! i miss it. i may have the ability to stay in bed for more than 10 hours, if i have that luxury of time, but you can never call that a solid rest. insomniac.
6. stay away from coke. i swear it's getting creepy already, i smell symptoms of diabetes in me, and it's not good. and i swear, doing it is a hard thing. it is! i will damn try.
7. play. everyone needs it. play with fire or whatever. dare me! killjoy.
8. learn to say "no." i will, definitely.
9. buy a digital SLR. yo! forget about item # 4. ghad, i would really worship anyone who could give me this thing. i wanna try photography next year.
10. shout. be angry. kill. i wish!
11. travel. yeah, travel outside the country. sana!
12. grow up. grow up! grow up!

that Starbucks planner

kids are great. they are amazing (and amusing) at times but when they congregate, they can easily become an uncontrollable bunch of tiny devils. they are sooo cute, i almost wanted to eat them whole last night when they came to that kids' party we organized. i shouldn't have invited them, but it could never be a children's party with only me and my friends in attendance, so it was a night of "last nalang ka (insert name of the crazy kid)" everytime a misdemeanor or a violation of party rules was committed , which was practically every second! but heck, it was fun (i think they loved our lil presents for them)! and i could say it was a smash even if i almost lost my voice for laughing out loud (ug sa pamadlong).

...then we all drunk the night away for the sucess and for being broke once again.

then this afternoon, a happy and hot Christmas, i finally won that Starbucks 2007 planner sa wakas. i had to drag three of my childhood friends to complete the 21-sticker card, which was 4 more stickers away to that precious prize. and im so glad they were game even if we came to the mall only to drink coffee. i have to thank other friends, too, for sharing their time with me during that weeks (4?) of frantically visiting Starbucks just to get the planner the soonest (Christmas was my target). to joy e., kaloy, phoebe, jute, joy b., atty. mitch, sona, ate malou, wakwik, bebeth... daghang salamat! the planner, as promised, will go to the juter kay i've decided to give it away to put it to good use. i don't plan my life, i just sit and watch as i let it die (while jute, even her death is well-planned. haha!). yeah, i love to have this too, but i don't think i will bring it everyday or even once a year bec im just so tapulan to carry additional weight in my bag. again, thank you for sharing your time with me (in Starbucks SM mostly. i just discovered, mocha frap in Ayala is not the way mocha frap should be. it's a waste of money, really.)--the very reason i was so especially keen on this promo. and now that it's over, back to 3-in-1 Nescafe classic na sad ta. dag-on nalang na sa kutaw. hehehe

simbang gabi

two more dawn masses to Christmas. of the seven i only attended the first and the third 'cause waking up very early in the morning (mass starts at 4) is just a terrible ordeal for me, even if we have the wackiest priest to look forward to. yeah, it's like you are transported to a comedy bar when you hear our Holy Mass here. well, if it's Fr. Mier (not so sure with his name) is in the pulpit. details? well, he just had this Q&A portion lang naman with real prizes (VCDs) for the winners. and he has this knack of giving one-liners that keep his audience laughing out loud. i swear, i heard fellow churchgoers clap their hands when we all stood up for the next game, este, part of the mass. i wish he'd officiate the mass this Sunday.

---

so busy these days. tomorrow, Editorial party. but before that we have to shop for prizes, and malls are crowded and streets are gone. i love shopping to the max, but i have to do it. so good luck sa mokuyog. hehe

the day after tomorrow, party for the kids. im soo excited about it. almost done with shopping for their toys and candies. one more visit to the grocery store nalang siguro for additional chocolates and lollipops. i just wish i had enough toys here 'cause as of tonight the list is still growing, although i bought some extras in case. next problem to face is packing. again good luck to me and my friends, who would like to share the joy. i just wish they knew such thing too. tabang!

and thank you. done with my sorry, now it's the thank you moment. well, thank you. bow!

sorry na pow

this is hard, i swear. pero sige nalang, in the name of Christmas i.am.doing.it. *smile*

this year isn't that good for me, well, in terms of relationships and the like. broke up with a few friends, snapped out here and there, and killed some along the way. now, i'd like to center this post on, err, my bosses that i had run-ins sometime not so long ago (see 2 entries around May this year). firstly, to my GM. i swear, i had bouts of fever, figuratively though, during those times when i knew i hit him hard (judging from people's reax) by those two postings, which miraculously got to his desk (thanks to those well-meaning people. don't worry, i know your cruel intention and it bviously paid well. no sarcasm intended). my friends know the last thing i would do is to hurt someone's feelings, but i unintentionally did just that to him, the person (of all people) i looked up to and admired big time bec of his down-to-earth attitude. i was really crazy to have said there how i hated him (no please, i dont want to mention how it happened) when all i was supposed to say was, i totally disagreed with what he allowed to happen (things he had full control of had he made the right decision). you don't actually hate the sinner but the sin (just a borrowed line sir). i know i should not have meddled with their decision, pero i did and i don't regret it in any way. i just feel sorry for the people i have hurt in my trying to help a friend. so sorry na, it's Christmas - a season of love and forgiving. and i, here, have forgotten all that has to be forgotten. and to my eic, well, all that has been said and done. and yeah, peace to you, too. i swear, i don't hold grudge, i just don't forget things sooo damn easily. but never will i hate. never! siguro, i stop talking to you people, pero it doesn't mean i hate you. i just stop talking, and that's all. even to my former close friend/workmate who once accused me of a lot of things, i have never actually hated her for doing that. i just stop talking, 'cause there's no reason for me to hang around with people who do not like me. kung ayaw mo, 'wag mo! i live by that cliche.

anyway, that friend metioned in my May posts is now happy with her new career outside the country. it's a blessing, really. and i'm happy that she found a new life there. i just wish it'd stay that way.

i may have missed something, but the main thing is i am saying my sorry. i think that settles it. thank you, and you can now print this post and pass it around. *whew*

a bottle of beer please. :D

The Winner

All smiles. TF Editorial pips, the grand champion of the Christmas presentation held last Saturday at Parklane International Hotel. Naks! mura'g apil! tig ra diay to. tig-pakpak ug tig-patukar sa music. hehe

terrorizing under the rain

and what did i get? rain-soaked pants and dirty feet. i was wearing flip flops that Saturday morning when i came to the firing range. i love flip flops, and guns too (i was using 9mm). hahaha! but was it all worth it!!!

this is sugar-free no more

INQ7's headline today: Arroyo: Stop Con-ass now
whew! so what happens now? ha!

Our reps, well, majority of them, are forcing to convene a constituent assembly minus the Senate so they could go ahead changing the Constitution. The Senate, for its part, is set to petition this move--that would mean postponing next year's elections, thereby extending the terms of the elected officials by six months, or up to November. I don't know if I should be glad of Arroyo's intervention (well, this is her idea in the first place, and it's obvious it's not gaining that much support from most sectors). I want the Constitution changed, but I want it done systematically and with utmost care. I don't fully understand this change of government they are suggesting, yet I'm open for it. On the one hand, though, I still want the midterm elections in May to push through. But whatever I want, please, let us be all kind to our nation. This is our very own Constitution we are talking about. We will all be dead if we mess it up.

So the ASEAN Summit has been postponed. Rescheduled in January 2 siguro. Most definitely before the Sinulog. Another major preparation to make. Ghad, how I wanted it to be over and done with. Pero si Seniang kasi eh, wrong timing! OR is it really bec of the typhoon? But then again, safety (and security) must come first. As of this writing, Seniang is spotted tearing up Boracay Island and Romblon after leaving one dead in Leyte. Grrr, umalis ka pa!!!

But the most important thing is, tuloy ang Pasko no matter what. Yo! I need lots of cash for the children's party. Last year they were more than 100 kids, and we are expecting 20 more this year. Will I be sad?? Nopez, I will work hard. Now, donations plssss.

not really angry

Yesterday's TF's Nation page headline reads: "Miriam out of the race for SC chief"

I was like, why? She was the best bet for the position. Well, the rest, as they say, are traditional justices, etc. etc...Boooring...

My bet is really a fayter! She said these very words before the Senate during her 30-minute privilege speech, well, as quoted by TF and I requote: "I am not angry, Mr. President. I am irate! I am furious! I am foaming at the mouth. I am hitting the roof! I am homicidal. I am suicidal! I am ballistic!"

But she was okay afterwards and even managed to say, she was not interested in being named as chief justice "if I am going to be surrounded by idiots."

And, she ended her speech by moving to scrap the judiciary fund.

BWAHAHAHA! I just love this woman!

sweating out

sweating out these days is soo easy, thanks to the mild El Niño. you just stay in the house minus the aircon or the fan and you all melt like a big chunk of ice being hurled into the Sahara. but that's a bad way to let lose toxins from your body.

here's my way ;)

play badminton! but you have to have a badminton racket first. not like this friend of mine, who has become like me--BIG--for the last couple of months and decided, finally, to burn some fats by playing badminton, and she had no rackets! this sports, according to her, is the best exercise in the whole world. k payn!

so we bought a pair of rackets (as i decided to join her game) and some shuttlecocks, of course, a month ago. and played when we want to. yeah, lazy asses! but this evening, we played more than two hours in the street. i think i lose some calories from that game, and gained them back and more when we took our break and gulped a bottle of coke each, and another one when i got home. well, we just love our coca-cola bodies. coke litro woi! ha ha!

Britney and Paris

Britney: "Paris is my idol."

Vatski: "Utang buot!"

TF Foundation's adopt-an-angel project

no please, dili kanang duha kay tawo mana, that's me and workmate joeberth. Right before us is, of course, the Christmas tree nga namungingi og angels. Each angel is sold for P50 and is named before the adoptive parent, and is then hanged in this tree. Lovely! The money will be used to buy gifts and toys and food for the street kids. So sali namo mga batang-isip :) For those nga nipalit na, palit japun mo we have enough space pa eh :)

Thank you, thank you!

this sunday, the streets will be deserted

whitney's getting a divorce. reese is joining. and britney too. and while they're at it, Gringo did not see the authorities coming. tsk! so what will happen to pacman this sunday? wanna bet? im for erik morales. para malahi!

my Chirstmas wishlist

1. headphones (the bigger the better)
2. a gray jacket (Giordano lang gud)
3. a Kelly Clarkson CD (orig if pwede)
4. a sling bag/belt bag (kana uso ron, dunno how it's called eh)
5. a blue bonnet (im planning to rob a bank puhon)
6. a DVD/VCD copy of Great Expectations and/Mulan
7. a whole body massage gift certificate (hair spa is also accepted)
8. a throw pillow--pikachu or winnie \ako himuon unlan :)
9. Harry Potter books or VCDs/DVDs (im starting to have my own collection basin ganahan mo mojoin)
10. puto bongbong/bombong? ay basta, kana sikat sa Manila, that they put in a bamboo thing...murag lami na sya.
11. a huge back pack (that can accomodate me--i want to travel around the world next year)
12. a DVD player with monitor (barato ra na sa mga Taiwanese store)
13. a blue belt
14. a pair of Oakley shades
15. a tennis/badminton racket (tennis preferred)
16. a guitar
17. a home theater
18. Artwork shirts (blue/white)
19. a pair of white sneakers
20. Jay Hernandez (or Joshua Jackson)

i really wish!!!

a testimonial

i understand, practice makes perfect. but i also understand that nobody is perfect, so why practice? and that brings me to this post, an excerpt of the testi that i grabbed from someone's friendster account.

Though we donnu much each other
for only we came to know here, I still be thank full,
Sooner or later in the days to come, we can know
better, better yet we can meet “finally we cross the
bridge when we get there “. Once again thank you
for counting me take care and have your days be
wonderful, beautiful as it can be. Pursuit your perfection,
stand out above the rest and best among the best.
Can’t say more about for now but one thing that
I can be sure off your such a person believing
in yourself succeeding life challenges and building
your wisdom out of it
Life is our classroom for perfecting our souls the
forks in the road help us choose our own goals.
There's no right or wrong in the direction we
choose, God gave us free will; we don't win or lose.
We can very right or left or go forward or back Take
which way feels right, for no learning shall lack.
And when this life ends, we'll look back and decide
if we yearn more perfection, or stay on the Other
Side Each immortal soul is given the choice to
come back to a life to express a new voice, but
remember, each day, if life seems not to give a
choice of circumstance; It's through those lessons
we must live sometimes worth it to leave it to
chance. They're all for perfecting, though
sometimes bring pain, but gets better with time, for
it's more wisdom we gain.

paranormal, are you in or out?

Paranormal (para/beyond+ normal) is defined as a catch-all category of popular thought, designed to mix together all that is strange or weird, whether fairly or unfairly, related or unrelated.

Ghosts, witches, Extrasensory Perception (ESP), haunting, life after death, doppelganger (a ghostly double of a living person that haunts its living counterpart), reincarnation, monsters, Electronics Voice Phenomena, and so many things that cannot be explained by science. Whether or not they are true, only those with "physic abilities" or those who claim to have been acquainted with the paranormal realm can vouch for their existence.

Cebu is highly-urbanized but would you believe there are reportedly a number (if not a lot) of paranormal sightings happening within this island of about three million people?

Ederts Cojuangco, founder of the newly-launched Cebu Paranormal Society (CPS), said that they've been invited to some haunted houses here, mostly built before the second World War, and witnessed paranormal activities. He cited an incident in an Urgello house, where according to its present occupants a series of unexplained events had disturbed them. Cojuangco said they later on found out that somewhere near the old house buried was an aborted fetus. The group talked to this unrested spirit as one of the process of "healing" the place from such unexplained phenomenon. CPS, he explained, was founded to help people in trouble with paranormal beings and the like.

One of the CPS' advisers is Rene Espinosa, a former ABS-CBN's Nginig paranormal investigator. Espinosa said that paranormal here in the country has not been given that much importance yet, despite the country's love for fairy tales and folklores. It has been set aside like it's a dirty laundry. However, CPS, he added, would hopefully change that image as the supernatural world really exists and people have only to open their eyes to see the world beyond.

Psychic, as defined, is a medium or channeler, one through whom the dead or the other inhabitants of the spirit world are supposed to speak.

Espinosa, who claims himself as one, told TF that indeed they can see and talk to ghosts. It does not need a "third eye" (it's not even the right term as people in his field would rather use "sixth sense" in place of this one) to see paranormal things like they do. Although he explained it requires a great amount of dedication and an equal amount of belief that there are other unseen forces other than the humans, to be one of them. The group, by the way, is open for those, with psychic abilities and those who is willing to learn the trade, and membership is for free. But having the supernatural skills already is a plus, he said.

CPS currently has 12 members, with not much of "gadgets" needed in its quest to help people bothered by weird incidents have a "peaceful coexistence" with whoever is/are spawning them. It is all about the ability to do it, said Espinosa, while explaining that simple materials like a kinetic bell and salt (yeah, the ordinary salt) are enough to "heal" the haunted houses or the supernaturally disturbed person.

So ghosts are coexisting with the living? Espinosa, who was famous for a while with his stint in Nginig wherein they foraged spooky places in the different parts of the country (including those struck by calamities that left several people dead…), explained that it is very possible that a house inhabited by normal people is also used as a dwelling by spirits. And spirits like humans have also different characteristics. Espinosa recalled a case that involved an old man, who had been dead since but refused to leave his house because he was attached to his daughter. The old man reportedly harassed the new occupants everytime he felt disturbed. It is just a matter of talking to them, explaining to them, and the problem would be solved, Espinosa said. And that was what they did to the man, talked to him and put him in a small tightly-closed jar. Then there was peace in the house, the young psychic stated.

And if they co-exist with the humans, do they see each other too? "Apparitions in the morning is very rare, it most likely happens in the evening when the people are resting," Espinosa replied, while adding that ghosts can also make themselves appear like normal people. But, they are not without head or zombie-like as depicted in films, Espinosa added.

Juren Sumalinog, also of CPS, said they are encouraging those people who have the capacity to see "dead people" and ghosts, to help them understand this gift and nurture it if they want to.

The group uses a digital camera to record a haunting, for example. A haunting, by the way, is a kind of "recording" of a past event on an environment, such as a house, building or any ancient place. These recordings play back, over and over in a kind of loop that is always the same, like it was video recorded. It is said that the presence of certain people can trigger these recordings to play back. It is not known, though, how these recordings are made, but they are often associated with a traumatic or strongly emotional event. Cameras, unlike the human eye, can reportedly capture hauntings that are in most cases associated by ghost-like figures.

A spirit or a ghost (or apparition) is the energy, soul or personality of a person who has died and has somehow gotten stuck between this plane of existence and the next. Most psychics believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Or if they do they are just attached to the earthly life that they don't want to move on to, they say, the other world. That explains, according to Espinosa, why they co-exist with the normal beings.

In this computer age, paranormal has become a popular topic in the discussions in the world wide web. However, questions such as whether there are actually paranormal occurrences will always be asked as paranormal events are not in accordance with scientific laws. Even Christianity has not accepted this "belief" as what it usually thought as paranormal is the power of God to do beyond the ordinary things. As for the skeptics, this myriad of paranormal and fringe science claims may either be absurd or crazy.

Being interested in the "out of the ordinary" phenomena is legitimate, in fact, there's no law prohibiting anyone to be involved in these things. But if by any chance you hear a door banging and you don't see anyone doing it, might as well ask this question: "Yo! spirit, you there?" Who knows you get a reply. VATSKI

i don't know why cemeteries fascinate me, especially this one

Sunken Cemetery, Camiguin Island

This large cross marks a cemetery buried along with an entire town by an eruption of Mt. Vulcan Daan in 1871. This is where I wanna go soon.

all saints' day nagvideoke!

filipinos are so fond of singing. buti nalang pinoy sad ko di kayo ta sawayon og magkanta-kanta bisan wa sa tuno. exactly my idea of spending the entire morning of this holiday, before we go to the cemetery and burn some expensive candles there. our neighbor is playing bizrock, giunhan kos mga carajo, so i put my 100+ songs of various artists cd into the player, and im now singing along with 98 degrees. i am not shooing away the spirits, i just want some relaxing day. hay layp!

Some Good Things Never Last (di lang akoa! hehe)



Em-em and Third (about two years ago), mga anak sa akong miga (my children)

i think, my brain is dead

or it has been that for a long time, i just did not know it. for the past 2 hours i was trying to write an article on paranormal occurrences but my dumb brain just would not cooperate. it's really dead! the article is due anytime today. great!

in fairness to my minute brain, im not that good in this particular topic. oh well, when did i become good on things? say, grammar, huh! spelling, never mind (if i were a score in this test, id be 10! 10 out of 100!!!) my job, oh ask my boss. if only i could use my bilbil to think, id probably have released a book by now.

anyway, im only rambling at this wee hour in the morning when im supposed to be resting my ass. it's as if im drunk, but im not. i just feel stupid for not coming up with an article, and for just being soo uncreative. so not like me.

by the way, i had my hair cut. new hairstyle is the same but a lot shorter that the one i used to sport. so there, ive said that and im out!

froggy night documented

there must be a thousand or so frogs hiding in the bushes just outside our house as their sounds are sooo deafening i cant sleep. this bushy area has already been trimmed, i was even wondering one time where did these frogs (and the snakes) go. and when it rained just a few days after the trimming, their presence were made known again by their "kokaks!!". they actually never left, and i love it!

anyway, this is, i think, one of the best documentaries ive ever seen:



Into the Arms of Strangers

It's a moving tale of 10,000 Jewish children/refugees who were shipped to England to be saved from Hitler's tyranny. The kids, now old (of course), themselves told their respective stories of how the events had changed their lives...

hilot

bisag kinsa, bisag asa, basta hilot nay hisgutan plastada jud dayun ko. mura'g adik na ko'g hilot (aka massage) halos kada adlaw magpahilot ko kay sakit man pirmi ako pako-pako. cge gud lupad-lupad. hehehe! right now, nanimaho kong aciete de manzanilla kay i just visited the manghihilot who is also a tempura/fish ball vendor didto sa poblacion. yeah, hes a guy pero kevs luyo ra bitaw and he looks nice man sad. now, im feelin good and greasy.
--

prior to my visit to the manghihilot, i went to my friend's house and saw before i reached the gate her 3-year-old boy. and he looked lonely, i learned later on he was sick. he never talked to anyone except me and only i until i brought up the topic about frogs, which are everywhere in our place (very noisy during the nights especially after the heavy rains). he was curious for a while and became silent again. so i brought him to the tempura station outside the subdivision, and there he ate a stick of tempura, and asked again for another one when we arrived back at their house, which is quite far from the tempura station. to make the long story short, we had to call for the tempura vendor (a new one this time coz the first one had already left) for this kid, and guess how many tempuras he consumed, countless! but hes sick so forgiven lang sa.

i also learned during my stay in this friend's house that her eldest, who just turned 5, has already broken up with her boyfriend Lander. hmmm...this boy is the same one who proposed to her last September. i failed to mention that here, but heres the story. last september, i went to this friend's other house (where she just abandoned two weeks ago) together with two of our friends. then her girl em-em approached me while we were eating and said: "ate magpakasal na biya ko." and all three of us were like "HOOWAAT?!!" i could not forget the shock of my other friend (the other one did not hear the news coz she was on the other end of the room). i wasnt that suprised coz ive already heard of her boyfriends in the past so if one has a bf it is just right that marriage comes after it.
then she told us about her boyfriend/classmate Lander who approached her while they were inside their classroom (k1) and spoke this line: "em, magpakasal na ta?" cutie!
the mom said this boy also told her he wanted to marry her daughter. hmmm...kamao! so i asked em-em if she accepted the proposal and she said: "yes! coz hes cute man pangag lang." toink! and the mom was like: "ang2x naman sad og bunalan na nako." she was really angry. haha!
however, yesterday when i asked em-em about her impending marriage she told me she broke up with her man, er, boy. and when i asked why, she just shrugged and said Lander had never talked to her for the past days. basin naay lain...haha! macrazy kooo...i still can remember when she was 6-month-old and would crawl in my bed while i watched mtv. now, it looks like she'll be getting married way ahead of me. waaaaah..

today i buried my old and precious email addy and spent the entire day crying in El Salvador

Yes, thats right. im over with it, or im tryin to. yesterday, i asked a number of people (and some voluntered to help) on how i could reactivate my yahoo email address. not that i have been so crazy about it. it's just that, it has been somehow a part of my work and other things relavant to it. there was not a single day that i did not open it even if only jokaroo humors (and lately mails from my yahoo group--name withheld--i subscribed in) would greet me. that address had even more spams than real mails as i had it during the time when there was still no spam control, and when that pesticide of a thing came i was already used to deleting more than 100 spam mails a week. and besides i dont know how to block this type of mails. an IT grad/friend told me one of those mails might have caused the deactivatation of my account. i swear, i would never know coz Yahoo never notified me prior to the bullshit deactivation. it just happened. i know im not a computer genius, never since. yeah, i can always make another one, i just did, by the way. vatski54 (at)yahoo (dot) com, save that please, and send me something so i could start saving your addresses again. that and the loss of all my treasures have really pissed me off. i dont really know how to describe the feeling. but it's like losing something you dont know youve already lost, and you can never figure out for the life of the lifeless why it has been taken to you or at least see that "brighter side" of the sad story. this is just an electronic address, i know that. but it's my treasure trove of sort. i have saved all my stories there, and pictures and books and very old mails. but no more bullshit this time, it's useless. so i burried the past, and along with it are your addresses...busa pag-email namo nako woi kay haron back to normal na atong life.

"it's like i can't breathe" (kelly's) akong drama for the past three days. glad, our editor (for the metro page) suggested we go somewhere so we could plan for the improvement of our page. he said it just before the week ended and with text messages, a few calls, and a number of emails (my 2-month-old vatsi(at)gmail (dot)com addy was very handy during these times) all five of us who see each other very rarely had all agreed to the idea.

El Salvador, Danao

Over two hours away from Talisay City, several kilometers from Cebu City, and two inches of accumulated dust in mostly at the back of your right ear if you sit on the right side of the vehicle and open all doors to see the sight on the your way there, is the El Salvador. It's a resort that the facade reminds me of City Sports Club. And just like the latter, it also has swimming pools, and not like the latter it has a white sand beach complete with jet skis that i never got to ride because i was not in my swimming attire and besides i could not afford. it's really expensive! there were food of course. and we ate and talked. they talked about their families, problems included, while i continued with my task: devouring all the mangosteen in the table. well, from time to time i also offered some advices on their respective domestic woes and in fairness, they listened even if i look a woe personified. but hey, i can be a good advisor sometimes. just dont look at me when i talk. and to give them time to themselves, i excused myself when i saw a vacant lounge chair down the beach. and there i stayed and enjoyed watching a young lady talking to her old foreigner, who i never heard say a thing. so i shifted my attention to a cute baby walking around with her equally cute bikinis. everytime she passed by my territory she would stop and watch me. must be because of my big shades or she might have seen the little ants slowling gaining control of my refuge. i did not see the ants at first, but i already felt some stings. when i looked on my left, there! thousands of them queuing at the coconut tree, an inch's gap from my arm. run! the kid was gone, and i was back at our cottage. back to eating, and giving untested advices. believe it or not, they were all taken. so my stay was not all about food and cowardice versus microscopic enemies, there was some good to it, i just could not figure it out yet. but they sure were happy with my company they wanted to have a part two of that retreat next sunday. of course with me, and guess where we are doing it? at the casino!! hahaha! slot machines for 2 pesos, i want to try. and if i should try gambling, i should only bring 20 pesos as im planning to save up P50,000 for the next 6 months (for a business venture that sounds like a joke when discussed by one joker and one believer. hahaha!). i dont know how to do it. first, im not good at saving up. second, i have nothing to save. and, i cant rob a bank! but, i can keep a promise. pero try lang. P50K!?!?! slot machines, they say, can win you that much. hmmm...

so anyway, i lost my antique addy, got a relaxing day in El Salvador, and would like to win some instant cash for a joke business. who knows, people listen to me talk too, and jokes are half-meant. but the important thing is, i need to sleep now. gnyt!

bullshit!!!!

i feel so bad, i want to kill!!! it is just so not fair. yesterday, i could not open my yahoo account (that liv_ffs@yahoo.com) and i was thinking it would be alright the next day as it already happened before and there was no damage done. and so just a few minutes ago, i tried again and there, i was notified that this address, the official one that i have been using since i was 2, HAS BEEN DEACTIVATED. Bullshitttt!!!! i did not deactivate if for hezbollah's sake. cripes!! i feel like i want to strangle someone. i dunno why it happened, i never gave anyone my password (never!). i did not delete it, why would i, it's my only connection to my relatives and some friends abroad. and now i lost it. damn it!!! i want it back, so if anyone of you down and up there can help me, please do so. pleasssssssssse...oh, im gonna cry now :( a very bad saturday morning. again, bullshit!!!

i am happy now, very!

sus! i wish i knew this back in college. haha!

um, korek!!

etcetera pa! hahaha




HAHAHAHAAHAH

WTC reviewed and fiesta ignored (updated)

WORLD TRADE CENTER (premiered here last night)

Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, and the papa Jay Hernandez

I was expecting to see a real action (and of course drama) while the authorities tried to evacuate the people from the twin tower. Sadly, these people just go on and about the place as if they don't know that a plane that hit the building they are in does not spell disaster yet. They just casually walk from all directions, while the police and the firefighters, all geared up, are on the other side of the picture not actually shooing these people out of the place that is already burning. And then boom! But too late to run now.

Sgt. John McLoughlin (Cage) and the rest of his five-member group are among those trapped in the building when it collapsed. They have not saved a single soul. It's like they came down to this place and be among the fatalities. Tsk tsk! Yeah, I understand it's about bravery and courage and service. But it would have been better if they included the other victims too. There were close to 3,000 people who died on this tragedy, and this film only shows us the three cops who are struggling for their survival (the other two just disappeared!). Jay dies here, sooo sad. But he is still cute even with that blood oozing from his mouth.

Anyway, don't be discouraged as this film still has drama in it. And some things you don't expect a big film, which is based on real events, will give a damn. My seatmate was so glad to see that part. Cheers to the faithful! Haha!

Some drama, some good. Worth going home very late.


---

FIESTA (Talisay City--my home)

I'm sitting in front of the pc right now hungry. Pista man unta and daghan food sa table but wa jud koy appetite, paet! Atimana Chamyto ra jud akong gilaklak ron, matay na'ng bitok nako ani. Ug dia pa, duty kuno ko ron, pista lagi. So at 1pm, i will be running to the next village to cover the Inasal Festival, a parade of lechon baboy that my beloved city is known for. Hot! And cold, I have here. But what can I do, trabahante lang ako. Sino'ng mapalad, sino ang tunay na baliw! Mao na ni resulta sa way kaon! But before I get there, let me tell you what's going on around my city of joy ;)

Down there in Poblacion, that's next to where i am, is the peryahan. That is where the bingo thing is. I love bingo, i played it with my friend twice this week even if we both did not know how it's actually played basta we just sat there and asked for a piece of chalk and gave some coins and voila nag-check-check na mi. Hehe! There's also this "color game," where you bet with at least a peso that can win you P16. It's not the win that's exciting, it's the ball (a soft rubber ball, no, not the basketball, basta easier to throw ra) that when it's thrown to the numbered holes people scream when it gets near to the number they are betting. I love to join the screaming too. Hehe! Never mind the loss, im not really good in gambling. The itsa-itsa. You only need several 25 cents and through them, one at a time kay magkatag jud, at those checkered board. When one hits inside a little square you get P1. Again, it's not the prize, it's the fun. Next to all these game booths are the "shooting ranges" with those little plastic soldiers, gone are the ducks i used to shoot when i was a little kid (i remember, when i was in Bogo town, 48 years ago and five years away from Talisay, I hit a match stick using that pellet gun. amazing! tsamba ra gud to!). This is not much fun anymore, but it's cheap. I think P2 will give you three shots. I'll check tonight when the crowd is not that suffocating.

On the other side of the peryahan is the horror train. Yeah, we have that there too. But i think it's stinky inside. I came to check on it last weekend and...hmmm...Okay, there's tonight. I just need some back up.

There are so many things going on in this place, there's some band competition at the sports complex and other events i am actually invited and never have the time to drop by coz im busy here. so i think i should move my ass now before it moves by itself. i will be right back for more news, definitely!

--

It rained during the night. Of all days!!! I pity the thousand of people (mostly youngsters) who went out to enjoy the fiesta. Before it rained, I was at the main thoroughfare too, with my friend. But we left when we saw that the crowd was just too thick for us to get through to wherever we wanted to go. So we just bought some few things: cool flip flops for P45 and some personal stuff. And just enjoyed the sights and the walk that was without a direction. And we went to another friend's house to sample her macaroni salad and breathe in as her place, contrary to the scenery outside, was so peaceful. She had no visitors actually. Haha! Well, it was her first fiesta in her new home so wala pa siya'y suki. After two bottles of coke and a crazy talk with this friend's 3-year-old boy about his fish that he fed with my coke, I went home to sleep. Then it rained. Tsk!

Music Meme and Scarlett's headphones

This is how it's done: Post your top 15 bands/artists, (1) the first song you heard of theirs, (2) the song that made you fall in
love, and (3) your current favorite. That is, if you want to do it.

(not in order)

1. Kelly Clarkson
A Moment Like This
Because of You
You Found Me/Thankful

2. Lisa Loeb
stay
stay
stay/I do

3.Spicegirls
Wannabe
Viva Forever
Goodbye

4.Michelle Branch
Everywhere
Game of Love
Are you Happy now?

5.NSync
I Drive Myself Crazy
God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time On You)
This I Promise You

6. Nina
Heaven
Jealous
Jealous

7.Britney Spears
Baby Hit Me One More Time
Sometimes
I Love Rock N Roll

8. Joe
No One Else Comes Close
No One Else Comes Close
No One Else Comes Close

9. Lea Salonga
A Whole New World
Journey
Reflections

10. Eraserheads
Magasin
Toyang
With A Smile

11. Janet Jackson
Again
Everytime
Everytime

12. 98 degrees
Invisible Man
Because of You
I do

13. Celine Dion
Beauty and the Beast
Falling into You
I’m Your Angel

14. Whitney Houston
I Will Always Love You
Heartbreak Hotel
When You Believe

15. Vertical Horizon
You’re a God
You’re a God
You’re a God

See, ive got bad taste. Now, it's time you show me yours too ;) I tag Wengkat, Clare and dude. Or YOU! Yeah, you!!!!

delirious

im down with a cold. aaargh! well, almost. im trying to fight it with neozep (non-drowsy) so i could still go to work. now, im working and trying to kill myself. i just wish i would not get feverish while im at it, although, i think, im immune to that. never had that since grade school. shet! oh shet! get out of my system damn virus!!! i dont like you!!!

for this weekend:

I went to the cinema to watch Scoop, and the rest were picked in Video City.



SCOOP

A student journalist (Scarlett Johansson) investigating a huge story that involves a rich man (Hugh Jackman), who is alleged (by a ghost) of serial killing. Yeah, it's a comedy. And a little bit of everything. Anyway, before she knows it our bida falls in love with her subject. She even sleeps with him just to get "something" from him that will help her establish her story. Darn, I was told (in college and by some credible journalists) that "no story is worth your life," not even your virginity (that's from me). But she's American and im a Talisaynon. i rest my case on that issue. So there, by falling in love with the papable rich guy she becomes his next victim. But you can't kill the bida right? Oh, never mind The Wicker Man, that was weak!! brr...

Anways, Woody Allen (also the director) has so many witty punchlines in this movie. That at least compensates for the not-so-good performances they have here.



FRIDA


After 48 years, I finally saw this movie. And no doubt it is amazing! Oh yeah, there are a number of sex scenes here but heck, they are even funny in a way. So many things discussed here: political activism (communism), artistry, and...infidelity? That should explain why the director put those sex scenes to tell that Frida's husband is unloyal to her. Anyway, the script is a masterpiece (if they used what is in the book, Hayden Herrera must be that good). And the performances are intense, except for the sex scenes which is just as well kay makahilak nya ta'g tansan. haha!



BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE

AnnaSofia Robb

It's about a 10-year-old girl who just moved with her dad to new place where there are only 4 kids: one is a five-year-old who always sucks her knuckle, another girl a bit older than our bida who always has her face pinched up like shes smelling something awful, and the twin brothers who are a wild pair. Not much to get along with little Opal. Then one day, while she is in the grocery she saves a homeless dog from a dog pound team. To make the long story short, she makes a friend with this dog she called Winn Dixie after the grocery's name. Really cute and touching, but not to the core.



DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS

Vampires. They sleep in coffins during the day, drink blood to quench their thirst when they wake up at night. That's what they do in this film. I had fun actually. Oh, I love vampires!! brrr...





SILENT HILL

Radha Mitchell

This is good. Not scary (except for the movie's site-that girl, shes really scary. try opening it at this hour: 11:53pm!!), but it makes you ponder too. Well, I was pondering, yeah! And I love abandoned places. Cant wait to go there, wherever that is.




PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen

I almost fell asleep last night when i watched its first half. yeah, boring. and this afternoon, i almost slept with it still on. yeah, boring. but i watched it anyway, i love movies right? brrr...

i am grieving

i am grieving for the man i barely knew
i felt tina's (Panganiban-Perez) pain when she reported in GMA 7's Flash Report the accident that killed him. she almost broke down.

a fellow cebuano, a fellow reporter
ghad, a young man

Dan Campilan
May you rest in peace

coming soon

THE GRUDGE 2

I remember (not quite though) in the first movie, Sarah Michelle Gellar's character was "stunned" when she saw that ghost...??? Was there some anti-stunning-power chant that healed here, that now she is back again? Nice try. Sequels are almost always overshadowed by their firsts. But anyhow, this is horror, this must be something else. If not, di wa tay mahimo kundi magyawyaw diri. brrr...



HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

One of the very few reasons (faith should come first pipz!) why everyone should hang on despite all the bagyos and wars and deaths. Yez, Harry and his friends are coming next year (filming ends anytime this month). HP 5 used to be my most favorite of all 5 books until the 6th came. Now, Im keeping my fingers crossed director David Yates will not mess up the fight scenes. Cant wait for next year.

Anyway, J.K. Rowling is almost done with HP book 7. No date of its publication yet, not even a title for this book. It may be out next year pud ngali. And hopefully, Rowling would not kill Harry here. Or it'd be the end of the world.

In one of her interviews, Rowling mentioned that she had written the last chapter of Book 7 in 1990 but had done some rewriting since then. And in another interview, she stated that and I quote: "One character got a reprieve but I have to say two die that I did not intend to die...A price has to be paid. We are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras, do they? They go for the main characters. . . well, I do." She did not specifically state, though, if one of the casualties (plural jud, yati!) would be Harry. It was already sad that she killed Dumbledore in book 6. There were even hopes (including here) that he'd resurrect in the final installment, but those were just hopes. She killed him anyway. Okay, Dumbledore's dead then, I just wish she'd not touch the three main characters (Harry, Hermione and Ron) this time or nah! kamatay jud ba!! Oh pleasssssssssse...

kape

i told myself no more coffee. last Friday, i started abstaining from it. palpitation and this not-so-good feeling when you are riding a public vehicle and some crazy-looking person sits beside you and all you think is "hold-upper!"...those were the turning point. hold-uppers can be killers, too, coz they are also crazed by coffee, (or a much more strong substance) perhaps. and there's this makurat nalang kag kalit bisag salida sa sine. not good, definitely. but did i succeed? no! i guess, the palpitation is from the bilbil that is bursting from my pants' waistline. and the hold-upper thought is all in the mind. thought nga e! :P

yeah, im back with it! coffee is like a nailcutter, something you can't take away from me.

a story from my window

she was probably in her mid 20s, i dont know as im not good in age estimates. she was carrying this little boy (barely 1 year old) and on her right was a walker. i first saw them before i took a bath. over 30 minutes later, i saw them again from my room's window. and they were on their way out of our place. the job she was in was really not easy. she was thin and short, by the way. and why she was carrying that thing (whe she could have left it somewhere), i would not know. i was several meters away from them (and i would never dare ask). anyway, it was just an ordinary sight: she walking her way to the subdivision with that kid of hers and, yeah, that walker that could not walk by itself. the strange thing was, she came back (actually out)with that stuff, again!
on the bend going to the main road (where the trisikads are waiting), the thing's weight might have taken its toll on her as i saw her put down the kid. well, moms do that all the time when their arms already feel numb. but this one mom did it while they were passing a small pool of rainwater. she was not normal, for sure.
so she made her way making through that dirty water leaving her kid (also splashing his way...) behind, while the walker was safely tucked in her right arm. the other side of the road was dry woman! and your kid!!!
i went on with my task tsking and trying to forget the scene. but i came back with it anyway. and the woman was gone (from my sight), while her boy was just meters away where she left him. he was walking back and forth (already meters away from the water), picking up something from the ground. he was quite far away from where i was, i could not hear if he was crying but he looked like he was enjoying his liberty. the mom was gone, and i blamed that walker! if she was not carrying that walker, she would have all her strength solely to her kid...but oh, she was not normal.

who would get the kid? the first person to come out from this place would surely get him, or at least do something for him. i was almost done, and i would be that first person, if ever. but before i came down, i saw that same woman scooping her child up, and brought it out of my sight. Phew!

lesson learned: walkers are not for moms.

cueshe + me = wala!

ambot unsay nasud sa utok ni Jay giatulihan man ko nga limpyo mana akong dunggan. dah, bsta naa si fafa ruben kevs. cge sad ingun, "closer li, closer." closer mo lang! bisan di paka moingun cho, mosikit jud ko, wa bya ni sa amo.

tan-awa ra gud na iyang smile, lami i-take out. tsk!

the devil wears prada and rides a trike to work

i never wanted to see this movie honestly (Anne Hathaway, fashion, not my cup of tea), but who can resist an invitation to watch it for free? definitely not this writer. and damn good movie it is. i would delay every trip to the cr just to not miss a single scene of this flick. no boring moment, really. entertaining, very. anne hathaway, i swear i forgot what she did in Brokeback Mountain. good gurl she is here. but of course, the devil is meryl streep. and shes a good pick for the role. plays it very well. fashionistas or not, this film (with all the things in it: clothes, stars, punchlines, brands--loads!, etc) is worth your money, the good samaritan's in my case, that is.

I'll give you the best if you take care of me. Here's how...

Flush me after using.

birthday speech

my birthday today. i thank all the people who remembered to greet me, thru text (mostly), hugs and chuchus. and multo especially. her day off today and she came all the way from Liloan, more than an hour away from Cebu City, just to feed me pizza, what else. my birthdays are no big deal, really. but of course, who would not be happy to find out how many people remember your supposedly big day. family will always be there, the first people to greet you even before the very day comes. then some friends who as early as 12 mn send you greetings thru sms. but as always, my personal tradition, i just keep my mouth shut, try to show no signs that im another year old (duh!), and let the day pass as if it's just one of my ordinary days. well, who am 1? im no big thing. im just an ordinary person, who happens to have a birthday too. i dont like birthdays actually. they suck. they suck you of your hard-earned cash. nah, as if manlibre ko. ahaha!

anyway, im glad there are those who have me in their minds (or in their phones' calendar, i dont care, at least they put me there ;). and to those who fail, well, napay next year. and it's just as well, way problema sa bangka. ahahaha!

still, i value those who remember me.

thanks a lot!

This is life, more or less.

I am under the whatever tree. It is a night with the stars. A friend or two with me. Both feet rested on the opposite chair. Thinking. Talking once in a while (if need be). A fresh mug of coffee with vanilla cream in one hand, the other is empty. Yes, cellphone is prohibited. OK, one can send and read text messages but only for a minimum of 2 minutes, beyond that her phone must be confiscated (by ME). Definitely no calls allowed. Laughing? Yes, it's fine. I love it. But not that loud. Music is okay, but it must be from three houses away, and only Kelly Clarkson's songs must be played. Reading is encouraged. Newspapers only. And not too long, about 20 minutes. Food? Yeah, food is very much welcome. Pizza, fresh spag, hot bread with cheese or butter, and Coke. Food is a must, I must not forget. Talk, we can talk--about life, current events (not more than one-fourth of the talking time), people, anything. Or just be silent, and enjoy the night. Sleep? Well, later. This is a very important event that should not be missed. I can stay up until the wee hours of the morning, just doing that. Just doing that! Oh life, where art thou!

---

Again, I made myself a new blog.

hello kitty kitten

Haha! She's sooo adorable! Dionamae (Wengkat's baby), 2 months old. And last Sunday, she was christened "Mingming." Ahahaha!



As if we were there during the christening ceremony. We were on the upper ground floor attending the holy mass. Wa mi kibaw naa diay diri sa silong ang bunyag. Stang danghaga!

It's showtime for the Itchyworms

By VATSKI
The Freeman 09/16/2006

Mix sense of humor, musical inventiveness and aviator shades-and you get Itchyworms.

Asked how they got their name, Jugs (guitar and lead vox) said it was supposed to be "Itchybirds" but conservative school officials junked it because of its double meaning. "Itchyballs sana kaya lang di rin pwede," explained Jugs of how they got to be called "Itchyworms." Why not "Itchysnakes?" was a question fired by this writer during a chitchat with them while dining at Formo in Banilad Town Center. "Oo nga no?" was Jugs' answer, while laughing at the suggestion. He went on to explain that they could not possibly have such a name as they started it all while they were just students at Ateneo de Manila. But they were still able to defy the norms while in the midst of elite students, by choosing to be what they were (and still are): "Jologs!"

Backtracking. Year 1997, when they started performing in school. A few years later, in 2001, this rock band of four members released their first album "Little Monsters Under Your Bed," which earned them the Best New Artist award in the year's NU107 Rock Awards. However, it was only last year that they really made it big in the music mainstream following the release of their Noontime Show album. "Akin Ka Na Lang." This first single became such a hit that even until now it is still being played in most radio stations. And even before Pinoys got the hang of their first success, the group hit it again with "Beer," then "Kabataang Pinoy" (PBB's Teen Edition's theme song), "Buwan," "Antipara," "Happy House," among other songs. Since then, Itchyworms have been hopping from one television channel to another, rocking and rolling with every place they visit, and infecting young and old with their humor and craziness. In short, Itchyworms has become a household name.

The problem now is how to stay on top. But Jazz (drums and lead vox) has a solution to that already: "improve live show," as according to him that is what people come to see.

"Dati hindi kami naghuhubad, pero ngayon kelangan na talaga," the healthy Jugs joked, while adjusting his tie that was already choking him while the evening of eating progressed. At this juncture, Jugs, who seemed to have enjoyed the meal and even wished there was lechon baboy, admitted they were also being restricted from eating much. But heck, "puro pizza lang pinakain sa amin kanina," was his retort.

"In general, we try to do our best. From start to finish best effort talaga. Nakakahiya naman sa fans if we give them substandard songs," answered Chino (lead guitar/backing vocals) on the hanging question before Jugs broke the conversation with his humor.

The group admitted that they look up to the APO Hiking Society. They made a tribute to APO by way of doing a compilation of their songs, with various bands doing their own revivals as well, all put together in the album "Kami NAPO Muna: A tribute to the Apo Hiking Society." Few weeks ago, these bands including the Itchyworms, of course, did a musical performance for the APO.

Apart from the APO, the group's music influences could also be traced to The Beatles, one of their inspirations. Although each of them has his own music genre: reggae for Kelvin (bass/backing vox), indie for Chino, rock for Jazz, anything goes for Jugs, that when put together becomes a mixture of... "siguro rock, but we try to put on more pop." Ano ba talaga kuya? "Ah basta, I think, our fans like it naman," smiled Chino.

Their fans seem to love it. Even the group's fashion sense-short sleeves polo mismatched with a tie, paired with jeans, and complemented with a pair of Converse sneakers or "whatever is in the bag" footwear, which has become their trademark-has been socially accepted. This must also be the reason why Motorola got them to sing the product's jingle-"Hello Moto!"-and to endorse the brand's latest music mobile phone, the MotoROKR.

After the dinner, the party went to the Gaisano Countrymall for the unveiling of the MotoROKR. The event was followed by the Rock Mo'to Band Competition, of which the band and Updharmadown were the guest band performers.

There, Itchyworms rocked the concert stage with their catchy music and mesmerizing thousands of people gathered around with their humorous remarks and their ever-present aviator shades.

met Itchyworms last night

s'why im soo sleepy right now, can't think straight. i need rest. so why im working (and blogging) today, a sunday? coz i love torturing myself. self says i should kill my other self. not yet, i mean, not now while im still at work. after.

Yesterday

1:30pm --office, quick lunch with caecent
2:00 --Sto. Rosario Parish, attending a pre-jordan seminar.
i felt renewed!
3plus----back at the office, wrote two articles plus an entertainment column (bisdak)
5plus--- went out with Jen, got lost somewhere in Mango Ave lookin for Century Plaza. a year later, we found it.
6pm------snacks (Celest Int'l), it was not my intention jud. eat and run!
6plus-----Kartzone, book launch (Free Lane), did a quick interview with the author, we missed the real event e. was supposed to try carting but had to hop hop hop...
a little over 7pm--moving to Gaisano Countrymall, a two-kilo-book (that Free Lane copy given by the author) and some whatever bag in tow. muscle-toning time!
7plus-----GCM, inside Motorolla's Motovan looking at the display of cellphones and accessories. that Oakley shades with built-in (bluetooth) earpiece caught all my attention. but before i had the chance to put it in my bag, Itchyworms got in my way.
8pm------Formo, dinner with Moto pips, Itchyworms, Angela Calina (the event's host), etc. We were seated in front of the crazy Itchyworms members. A few minutes later, na-crazy napud mi ni Jen. Cool dudes!
9pm-----back at GCM, waiting for the concert to start.
10pm---concert kicked off, and so did my headache. but moto's official photog was really pretty, at least there was some reason to stay on. i fell in love with her. she's of chinese caliber, just couldn't help it. even asked my photog to take some shots of her. crazed by Itchyworms or from drinking punch and eating orange fruit's skin? or just plain craziness? dunno!
10plus--could no longer wait to see Updharmadown and Itchy perform, so I left. Good luck dude!
almost 12--logged off!

ug sa dihang...



The Itchyworms together with the itchyboys :P

talkin' about me, err, jessica alba

some tidbits about this girl ive read from a celeb mag, so here..

her girl-next-door looks, pouty lips, knockout bod, sweet disposition..even Playboy mag couldn't resit putting her on their cover, without her conset. Ever the modest type, she claims that she will never pose naked, nor do nude scenes. but she had this ahehe-line: "I thought it was my job to give all the boys their fist kiss."

mexican, dutch, french and American lineage. s'why you look really good and yum-yum!

"My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything--even if you have no clue what you're doing."

righty!

a! A!

bitaw!!!

Mother Teresa

"I have never been in a war before, but I have seen famine and death. I was asking (myself), `What do they feel when they do this?' I don't understand it. They are all children of God. Why do they do it? I don't understand."

Acceptance of Nobel Peace Prize, 1979 "I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

On giving love till it hurts * `He (Christ) died for you and for me and for that leper and for that man dying of hunger and that naked person lying in the street not only of Calcutta, but of Africa, and New York, and London, and Oslo - and insisted that we love one another as he loves each one of us. And we read that in the Gospel very dearly - love as I have loved you - as I love you - as the Father has loved me, I love you - and die harder the Father loved him, he gave him to us, and how much we love one another, we, too, must give each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to say: I love God, but I do not love my neighbour..

---

She died Sept 5, 1997, but she still lives. A few weeks go, I came across some articles about her, I read them, of course, and I felt like...you know how it feels when someone tells you you forget to put on your pustiso? I don't wear one, and no one has ever told me that. But a few weeks ago, it was like that. I mean...whoa!

I wanna go out too, like she did, and find my life's meaning.

She never fails to touch hearts. I never knew I still had one, until I knew her.

Oh Pluto

They buried Pluto yesterday, after some idiots killed it! And in memory of this special planet, I made this.

Headlines I gathered from the net.

Pluto is dead. (R.I.P.)

A group of local astronomers held a mock funeral for the recently demoted planet. (I was there.)

Pluto in purgatory. (I'll pray for you, don't worry.)

Bulldoze Pluto? (I don't think so!)

Pluto's gone from planetary club, not forgotten. (exactly!)

Say It Ain't So, Pluto. (that's the spirit!)

Pluto: down but maybe not out. (go! go! go!)

It's Neptune's time to shine with Pluto dwarfed. (or it'll be next!)

My point is naluoy ra jud ko. Ikaw bay tua sa kinatum-yan, kinagamyan, i-evict pa jud ka. Asa mang hustisya ana!

simpleng buhay na kay saya

Kubrador (a review)

o ha! nag-review sad ko ;)

Neways, this article was published in TF last Saturday (?), limot ko. Basta, if you have time, watch this movie. It's tagalog, but it's good.

--

"Kubrador" takes you to a rough (literally and figuratively saying) yet smooth-sailing journey of a life of a typical Filipino. The setting is very Filipino. The script is. And everything else about the film.

As Amelita/Amy, aptly played by veteran actress Gina Pareño, takes her daily rounds in her community as she collects (hence the title "Kubrador") bets of jueteng, she also takes us to our very own surroundings. Jueteng, for those who do not know of it yet, is an illegal numbers game played in most parts of the country. Apparently, this same game caused the early exit of Joseph "Erap" Estrada from his presidential seat.

Now, as Amy, already middle-aged with an evident sign of failing health, works her way through a maze of her neighborhood's dwellings, she meets different kinds of people: the gossip-mongers, the kids playing along the street, the men busy caressing their roosters, among many common sights seen only in poor communities. These are the same sights many of us have lived through, or for the fortunate ones have seen only in television or in movies.

And while we see Amy collects bets from her neighbors, she does not actually condone illegal gambling. Amy, just like most of us, only wants to earn, and earn that (illegal) way is all she can afford to do. She knows the consequences of her acts: getting caught by the authorities and be fined a lot more than what she earns in a month or even in a year. The same with most of us Pinoys, we always take the risks no matter what the consequences are. Not that we love challenges, there are just very few options (if none at all) in life, or we die of starvation. But then again, Amy always gets through with it all, unscathed and free. Call it lucky, I call it survival, though, the hard way. Well, that could be part of living the Filipino way, as according to Pareño, in an interview with the press before the premiere showing of the film, Filipinos are simple people, they make do with what little things they have, and they are virtually happy with it.

This flick is reality. That is despite of its "odd" cinematography that reminds you of The Blair Witch Project (no, this is not about witches. I'm talking of the motion sickness you get from watching it). But then again, Jeffry Jetturian (the director) does not let you move your eyes from the screen for too long. The film is even entertaining in its own way. Joel Jover, the script writer, did not make quotable quotes here, he just borrowed the lines we use everyday. Like in that scene when Amy is crying over the death of her neighbor's grandson (she remembers her own son, who she lost early on), and when she suddenly remembers the words "grief" and "death" (which apparently have number combinations: 13 and 47, respectively) she immediately takes her pen and paper and writes the number combination: 13 for "grief" and 47 for "death." That got the audience laughing. I mean, we easily forget that we are supposed to be grieving.

Amy, in her daily journey, also takes us to another reality: the "buayas" all over us. Jueteng lords giving payolas to the public officials and even to the church. Nothing's new, in fact, we have already learned to face that fact. Or have ignored it as we are very busy with our respective lives making both ends meet. But, let's leave politics (discussing it is not my job here), and focus on this critically-acclaimed movie, that actually earned the Cebuano audience's approval, as manifested by their standing ovation when the end credit rolled to end that premier showing last Monday night in SM Cinema 1.

Sad to say, the theater was only half-filled. There is no Judy Ann Santos nor any of the hot showbiz love teams in this movie, as "Kubrador" stars ONLY Gina Pareño, who represents the Filipinos.

I tell you, this film definitely hits home.

Oh!

Pluto Loses Status as a planet

My oh my...

This is How I Think, What Do You Think?

Last Sunday, while my friend was shopping for pants, etc (she badly needs a change of her entire wardrobe as she is getting really big. dah! patuyang man padako!) and while I was almost bored to death to this endless browsing of clothes and more clothes, I went to a rack of T-shirts. At my back was this friend, and I told her, without looking at her direction, if she saw a T-shirt with "I Think I'm a Boy" imprint. "What?!!" And I repeated my question, and she laughed. Without looking at her direction again, (cause I was sooo busy reading funny quotes imprinted on those shirts, I asked her if she thinks so...And *tsug!* she hit me with that pair of shorts she was holding. "You think so?" I asked again, and another "tsug!" Darn, I was only asking!

This friend would really not believe me. The next day, I went out with her again, and everytime my full attention would be focused on the rows of T-shirts she would then ask me if I was looking for that "I Think I'm a boy" imprint. You bet. But at least, this time there was no more brutality involved. I think, she's a boy, too. Wahahaha!

---

And later that day, I found out from this friend, that my ma thinks I was drunk for two consecutive nights. My ma actually asked this friend's ma if we went out together and drank beer or whatever during these nights. Of course, we did not! We never go out on weekdays. We don't have a night life, we simply don't have a life!

Well, it's just logical for my mother to think that way (HA!) cause for those nights I was vomiting big time. No joke. And let us give thanks to hyperacidity for that.

I can never tell her I had (have) that stupid hyperacidity, or she would kill me. Or there would be so many restrictions, like, no coke, no juice, no nothing. Aw, I'm never good at following house rules, well continue.. And everyone of them tantamounts to no life at all. And I've no life already, I just can't endure killing something that is already dead. That's multiple murder!

---

Anyway, to keep me on my toes, I watched "Kubrador" and was touched (bec it was for free-premier screening e, and it was really good). It's about a jueteng bet collector, aptly played by Gina Pareño. Review of this movie will be posted here after it shall have been published in TF.

---

And finally, I'm done with my delayed post, and my non-sense talk. Have a nice day, will you.

look who's tallking

They always talk, and when they do, I feel like kissing them :D

Em-em: Ma, why man bad mag-boyfriend?
Ma ni Em-em: Ha?!!!

(na-crazy intawn ang inahan, 4-years-old pa kaha ning iyang anak. NYAHAHA)

--

Third (my friend's 3-year old son) talking to our limping neighbor.

Third: What mana kuya? (he was referring to the walking stick this neighbor was using)

Kuya: Sungkod.

Third: Nganong nagsungkod man ka nga di man ka tiguwang???

Kuya: Kay sakit man ilakaw akong tiil.

Third: Why man sakit?

Kuya: Kay nayayay man.

Third: Why man ka nayayay?

Kuya: Nahug man sa barko.

Third: Gadanghag diay ka kuya?

Chorus: WAHAHAHAHA

---

Me: Third, naa ko'y ipailala nimo.

Third: Sexy teh?

Me: *shocked*

(and I showed him Apyang's picture from my phone)

Third: Ngee, bata pa man na!

Me: (no comment)

(BTW, Apyang is a 2-year-old niece of Phoebe, and she's got loads of amusing stories to tell, di pa lang siya kibaw mo-blog)

---

And for this weekened treat, I watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend.



Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson

It's funny! The bed scenes. The shark. Great! The bed scenes should not be missed. And, I suggest, you get hold of your pustisos :D

Thanks ya! ;)

weekend madness

Last weekend I watched movies AT HOME. That's the only thing I look forward to in a "rest day." Just don’t have the time in the cinemas, so busy leading a stressful life. I just so love this life, it’s not that expensive.



I picked Munich, a three-hour story of a 1972 kidnap and murder incident perpetuated by 11 Israelis. Based on real events, this movie by Steven Spielberg is very long. I can never make sense right now because I am just so tired and sleepy. That scene with the naked woman who bleeds to death is just so bloody.




Hostel is bloodier. Boobs galore jud ni. And it’s got more violence more than you can imagine. This film makes Hitler a toddler. But then again, there is always this reason that keeps you from pressing the stop button of your remote control, it’s Jay Hernandez. He is so damn yummy. He deserves a space here actually...



The cutie Jay






Dark Water

Jennifer Connelly

As usual I was expecting to get scared away, but was not. But the hell, the story is good. I love the little girl, she's soooo adorable :)






Ring Around The Rosie

Duh! Way ayo salidaa, kas kuryente!





Corpse Bride

Johnny Depp

It's cute. I love it :)

---

And oh, I'm feeling unfit today, hyperacidity struck again last night, got a tummy prob this morning, and I'm currently at work. Where is the love?!!!!

the mingming is finally here, and she speaks fluent french, lupig ko

Mao kini ang among bag-ong anak! :P anak bitaw ni ni wengkat, but ingun man siya unsay iya amo sad, di amo nasad ni si mingming. naa diay ni siya'y blog, see, anak lagi namo! go and visit her here btw, she's diona mae, 2 months, and according to the biological mom, she can sing baah baah black sheep. ako ni tudloan og "ang tigulang..." ug mga mugna ni Budoy.

on a night so divine, i could not rest

(from that one restless night. posted on a restless afternoon. here's the story. read it. it's informative. it's from me.)

It’s past 12 in the morning, there’s some sort of storm outside, and I am still wide awake! It’s not definitely because of the coffee I had this afternoon cause that was several hours ago, and the several bottles of water I took after it had no doubt killed its effects (as if it still affects me!). It must be the coke! I wasn’t supposed to have one tonight because I sill have this colds, and unlike some people (yep, there are really some)-- who are already immune to hyperacidity brought about by this softdrink—I can easily get hyperaciditized (if there’s ever such a term). The reason why I always have in my bag antacid tablets. And so because coke was so irresistible I got hyperaciditized. And I can’t sleep, I’m barely hanging on. Here I am, I’m into pieces…hehe…if you recognize, that’s Kelly Clarson’s Here I Am song lyrics.

Oh darn! Singing that song doesn’t even soothe me, the Omega pain killer/liniment had even lost its healing trick on me. I had wished moments ago when I applied it to my tummy, the otot would come out na. It did, but the pain is still here. More than three hours ago, sensing that hyperacidity was on its way, I took one of my two antacid tablets. I was still uneasy, so I took the other one just a few minutes ago. I’m praying (waaaah..) I’d be okay now ‘cause I badly need my sleep.

I tried closing my eyes, but the eyelids just kept fluttering no matter how much I tried to keep them shut, first by covering them with a hanky, and just shutting em with such force to the point of hurting my eyeballs! But it seems like they have a mind of their own that they don’t want to cover my tired eyes just yet. Is my system having a strike on me? Good luck!

Hyperacidity can be blamed to coke or to the skipping of meals (I don’t break fast, and take lunch at past 1), and the fluttering eyelids…? Stress, perhaps.

We just discussed stress recently. A few days ago Jasmin Uy, who had the luxury to visit her doctor, was told that dandruff can be linked to stress. That was a total surprise, really. I am also infected by it, and I blamed it to my shampoo-Ivory, which I just changed to head & shoulders (ha! Free promo) but for the past two weeks that I have been using it I still feel the itch in my scalp. Don’t worry, no toilet scenarios here.

Anyway, so stress can also cause dandruff. The itching on my scalp can be because I’m stressed. I’m always stressed out, so that could be it.

Very recently, too, Wengkat also shared stress-related information she got from the internet. That twitching under our eyes, she said, is also because of stress. I experience that too. Well, the three of us actually. OMG! The pain is still herrrre, gggrrrr…

So what else is associated with stress? Insomnia? Oh!

It’s past 4am-August 9, I’ve been in and out of my room, the storm is gone, and I’m still wide awake. It is such a wonderful morning, I want to start a ghost-hunting spree!

I need a gun!

Someone murdered Selena's song!!!

For the first time in over a month I woke up really late, past 11am. Waking up early in the morning (before 9) is such a major thing, but lately I've changed that habit (I refuse to say it's bad coz it's not) to accomodate other things, and to have plenty of waking hours (I used to average 10 hours of sleep in a day) to do so many things in life while I'm young (oh yeah, I'm lying). So, that unevitable change has to happen. For over a month now I am alive before the clock hits 9.

This morning, however, I woke up so late that it shocked me. It's probably because of the sinusitis drug that I took before going to bed. It's got in it anti-hestamine or some ingredient that makes the taker real drowsy. Or because I slept at past 2am. So it's fair enough that I was up past my new normal waking hour.

It would have been a normal day, a Saturday with no office to stop by for news hording (oh!) and so much more good reasons to celebrate such a sun shiny and FREE day, had Rachelle Ann Go not murdered Selena's Dreaming of You song. I heard the song from our neighbor's karaoke or whatever sound system they have there, and I paused (nanghimota pa ko ani) to the familiar voice singing Selena's original song. That was the first time I heard that other version of that "sacred" song, I don't know when it was first out in the airwaves (I''ve no more access to FM station these days except when I'm in a V-hire or taxi). And I was sad and mad altogether. Go did a bad job in this song, she was murdering it with her "screams." I've nothing against this singer, she's actually good, but if she can't do any better for the already very good version of Selena why bother reviving the song? For what?!

--

This is my new favorite movie



IMELDA

Ghad, how I love it. I was hynotized, spellbound, mesmerized, and entranced (all the same, but heck). I don't know if I'm a fan of Imelda. I'm fascinated with everything about her, her mysterious self, her insanity, her diamonds, and the way she talks. Well, if it's fanaticism, fine.

you found me not

I'm kind of fascinated with this song that everytime it's played in my ipod (of course, with my control) i kind of just sit there and be lost in space. It's the melody or the musical quality, that's sooo comforting because as you scroll down the lyrics and you know me, you will surely not believe I fall for it because someone has found me already. Well, here's that song, hasta ang singer (giapil na lang nako).

"You Found Me"

Is this a dream?
If it is
Please don't wake me from this high
I've become comfortably numb
Until you opened up my eyes
To what it's like
When everything's right
I can't believe

You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
You found me
You found me

So, here we are
That's pretty far
When you think of where we've been
No going back
I'm fading out
All that has faded me within
You're by my side
Now everything's fine
I can't believe

You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
You found me
You found me

And I was hiding
'Til you came along
And showed me where I belong
You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know?
How did you know?

You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
You found me

(You found me)
(When no one else was lookin')
You found me
(How did you know just where I would be?)
You broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
The good and the bad
And the things in between
You found me
You found me

sunday night fever

Sunday and I had the chance to grab these movies from Video City. Four of them actually, and all for "overnight." So I watched all three till early morning the next day. I had to return the other one or I would be penalized, again! I'm tired of paying unreasonable fees. WTF!

And, I also bought Imelda and The Perfect Man for P50 each. A very good buy. I feel so lucky that day. haha!



Jeremy Sisto

Rockwell Falls is a small town with only a population of 436, and that has been that for the last 100 years. Tradition has it that if the population exceeds to that number something tragic is coming to them. So they would kill anyone from their group if there would be new addition, like a visitor (in this story's case). And to keep the number "in tact" one from their group has to "honorably" sacrifice herself. Weird tradition, really. The film is good.



Walk the Line

Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix

I watched it at past 12am this morning, and the lack of sleep i got was worth it.




Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Selma Blair

It is a good movie. Only it is so predictable. The scenes in the ship where the lepers are are really good. Remind me of Titanic. hehe