Somehow, Someday, Somewhere

Finally caught the West Side fever with Franz, Roney, Mhor and Ate Rochelle.

We first met up at Galleria. Took a cab going to Meralco chater. Err... theater, I mean. Wehe. As usual, Ortigas Avenue was a total jam of vehicles. Good thing we still arrived on time. Since we've bought the tickets a month earlier, I think we were able to snag some pretty good seats. Hehe. Here's our view of the stage from where we were seated:

West Side Story is a tragic love story based on the Shakespearean classic "Romeo and Juliet". It's about two lovers, Tony and Maria, who stood at the opposite sides of a simmering conflict between the Jets (American gang) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican gang). They fell in love with each other from the moment they first met. But as their love grew deeper, so did the tension between the two rival gangs. And as most tragic love stories go, theirs ended in Tony's death.

	The role of Tony was portrayed by Christian Bautista. While I really enjoyed seeing him perform in person, with his powerful singing and not to mention his gorgeous face, there's this tiny voice inside of me saying that he didn't quite fit the bill. I dunno. Perhaps 'twas the acting or the dancing that kinda put me off. And I think he was a bit stiff on stage. Oh well. I crush him still! Ahihi. ^_^
	Lucky for us, Joanna Ampil played Maria. Though I've read that Karylle's performance was surprisingly good, I still had my fingers crossed for Joanna. You know, to get a taste of broadway. Mei ganun?! Hehe. As expected, her portrayal of Maria was effortless. I really liked her Latino accent. "Por favor, Anita! Make the neck lower!" Hehehe.
	Now I understand why everyone's raving about the actress who played Anita - Rowena Vilar. Her singing, her dancing, her acting - everything was just astounding! A triple threat, indeed! No wonder she was well-applauded at curtain call. Angaling! Hope she gets to do more projects here in Manila! Ahihi.

After the play, we headed to Galleria. Since tomorrow is Franz's birthday (Happy birthday!!!), he treated us to dinner at Chef d' Angelo. Our stomachs were happily loaded with Chicken al Pesto, Seafood Medley, fish and chips, chicken, and pizza. Hmm! Yum-yum!

After dinner, Franz and I pushed through with our plan to go to Serendra. Since our feet were already tired from all the walking, we went to All Flip-Flops and bought ourselves a new pair of Havaianas! Ahihi. It took us a long while to decide on which to purchase. What I really wanted was the Bobbi Brown edition but unfortunately, it wasn't on the racks. My next pick was the Logo Filete but the available sizes were either too big or too small for us. We ended up buying the Camuflada in black and in blue. ^_^

We then went to Conti's for dessert. As usual, the place was packed that we had to wait to be seated. When we were placing our order, the waiter told us that they're out of Mango Bravo cakes. Huwaaat?! Huhu. Told him that we'd have Choco Walnut Torte instead. Again, he told us that 'twas no longer available. Huwaat?! Huhu. He suggested we try the Bananalicious pie. As Roney would have said it, "Sure, sure, sure!" Hehe. Failed to take its picture before sinking our forks into it. So here goes a "tempting" shot of it. Or what's left of it, at least. Haha.

I better wipe the drool off my keyboard now. Jaa!

Behind Fish Eyes II

Fujicolor YKL 100.

Etch-'Em-Eye


Painting with Lights


Rusty Street Sign


Little Giants


Tektite Towers

Oktoberfest Siento Bente

I am not a big beer drinker. But if the occasion calls for it, then I'll probably down a bottle and ask for another. But still, beer is something that I'd rather stay away from. So the Oktoberfest kick-off party, which boasts of a night raining with ice cold beer, didn't really give me that much of a buzz. Not until I heard that Third Eye Blind would be performing! Hehe.

I knew nothing about the ticket prices. According to Ren, admission would only cost 120 pesos. No shit? That's 3EB on a shoestring! I told Franz about it and he called the San Miguel office for details. He then learned that the Php120 ticket only gives access to the longest bar section. If I want to watch 3EB, there would be a special viewing section for 1,500 pesos. Nyaha. I wasn't up for something that would cost me a leg so we both decided to pass it up. He told me that perhaps they wouldn't sing as much songs and that it wouldn't be worth the price. Right! Haha.

Later that night, Franz told me that he would just pay for the tickets. Asked him what's with the unlikely offer, which instantly gave him a bone to pick. Oops, my bad. When we were finally settled, we went to San Miguel's head office to buy the tickets. We were instructed to go from one guard post to another and finally, to the building's receiving area. When we asked one of the personnel about the tickets, he said that selling is only done during office hours. Franz returned the following day and finally got hold of the gold tickets! Yey! Thank you Furanzu! Ahihi.



Before throwing ourselves into the chaos that is the Oktoberfest, we first had dinner at Bangus. We're still muching on sisig when I received a text message from JP. He told me that they could already hear Rivermaya playing from our office. NooOoo! We had the remaining food wrapped then we quickly headed to the entrance, which was heavily packed with all kinds of people trying to get in. Thought there would be a separate entrance for VIP ticket holders but unfortunately, there was none. Found ourselves stuck in the middle of a mob wearing keffiyehs/yashmaghs/shemaghs/Abner-Mercado-look-scarves (Whatever you wanna call it. Hehe.) until a bouncer caught sight of our shimmering tickets and plucked us out of it. Started walking the stretch of Julia Vargas, jostling our way through a beer-swilling crowd. We were already halfway there when a fireworks display lit the sky. Didn't even stop to watch the burst of colors with hopes that we would still be able to catch the band. When we reached the special viewing section, Rivermaya was no longer on stage. Huhu. Oh well. At least we got there unscathed and what a really blessed relief it was to be surrounded with a less agitated crowd. Hehe.

Derek Ramsay and DJ Monica hosted the show. Funny how the ladies kept on shouting "Hubad! Hubad!" everytime Derek appeared. Haha. Sadly, his buff body and chiseled abs remained under his shirt. Too bad. Wehe.



A few minutes later, The Bloomfields took the stage and brought the audience back to the old times with "More Today Than Yesterday", "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", just to name a few. Sappy much? Ahihi. Enjoyed watching Louie Poco bounce crazily around the stage like he was high on magic mushrooms. Hehe. Well, he isn't called "The Live Wire" for nothing. \m/(-_-)\m/



The Out of Body Special performed next. Honestly, I've already forgotten the name of the band. I had to Google about Nino Avenido just to find something that would ring a bell. The audience wasn't all that enthusiastic about their performance but 'twas really REALLY rude of some people to boo them off the stage. These artists have worked hard on their music and they deserve to play their slot! While browsing through the search results, I came across this article from TIME, which mentioned The OBS as one of the 5 Asian Acts to Watch in 2008. Nice! And after hearing "Soundcheck" and "Give It" for a couple of times, I now think they're really worth listening to. You might not like them at first, but then the band kinda grows on you. Well, at least that's what happened to me. Ahihi.



At around 12am, Third Eye Blind finally stepped into the spotlight! Woohoo! I'm sooo glad coz they sang all my favorite songs and I caught most of it on video! There's "Graduate", "Jumper", "Never Let You Go", "Motorcycle Drive By", "Deep Inside of You"... Stephan Jenkins said that they've just finished recording their 4th album before flying to Manila and asked if they could sing some new songs. Who were we to say no to that?! Hehe.



Franz needed to go home already so I told him that if their next song isn't "Semi-Charmed Life", then we're out of there. So when they sang another unfamiliar song, we got on our feet and left. We were only a few steps away from the VIP section when they started singing "How's It Going To Be"! I really wanted to go back but Franz was in a bit of a hurry. And then they sang "Semi-Charmed Life" right after! Waaah! Sakto! Nyaha.

We then went to the Marquee section for the 6 bottles of limited edition Oktoberfest beers included in our tickets. Ren, Errol and Pansay told me that they would buy the bottles at a hundred pesos each. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to bring the bottles out of the tent. Sayang. That's 600 pesos worth of beer *poof* gone! Oh well. Cheers to being sober! Haha. ^_^

"When I say out loud, I wanna get out of this
I wonder, is there anything I'm gonna miss?"
---How's It Going To Be, Third Eye Blind

Blue Huskies

The announcement of the sportsfest schedule came as a surprise for all of us. The Admin used to announce it a month before the event but now we had barely a week to prepare. And they even included a cheering competition! Haha. Kamusta naman. Our nights right after work were spent in meetings and cheering practices. We wanted to squeeze in some time to practice shooting hoops but time wasn't on our side. Huhu.



The venue was at the clubhouse of BF Homes in Quezon City. JP, Roney and I slept over at Jjaye's place. It's cute how their house has a lot of Mickey stuff. My favorite was this telephone! Waaah! Like JP said, "Pwede bang mag-bakasyon sa bahay nyo?" Hehe.



Though we were already near the venue, we still arrived late. Sorry, my bad! Never thought the HR would arrive early this time. Assuming! Hehe. Nweiz, the first game was the tug-o-war where we ranked third.



After that was the cheering competition. I've no pictures of our team doing our thing, though. Weren't our efforts worth a camera shot? Hehe. Nweiz, here are the other teams:



I think all the presentations were good. The green team was led by a cheerdancer. The red team did a fun routine with their managers. And the black team, with an exotic dancer on their side?! One split and we're all dead meat. Hehe. ^_^v

For two(?) consecutive years, the blue team had been bagging the first place in dodgeball. And we weren't born to break that streak. Naks. Nerwin was our MVP for this event. Everytime the ball leaves his hands, someone is sure to get nailed! SustaPowerShot! Hehe.

While the men's basketball took place, we went to the pool area for the relay. Funny how Raf switched lanes during his swim and how he had this lost and confused look on his face when he emerged from the water. Hehe. After the game, Raf had a leg cramp and Ren came to the rescue. Ang sweet! Ahihi. ;)



Then came the women's basketball. We first played against the red team. It was a fun game. Especially because we won. Hehe.



At around 5pm, Ma'am Grace approached us and asked if we were willing to wait for the men's basketball game to end or if we prefer to reschedule our final game or to simply implement a point system to determine the winners. Since Roney had already left and Kim was suffering a dropped finger injury, we were already a bit short of players. And having heard a lot about the black team's varsity members, the least we could have is a complete lineup.

We told them that we prefer to reschedule the game. But unfortunately, the black team was not in favor of it. They said that their schedules may not be in line with ours. Of course, it won't be! Coz they go home at 4:30 while we do overtime work. But we could make adjustments. They started saying things like "Kelan ba talaga yung sportsfest?", "Ngayon na para tapos na!", "Kaya naman pala ayaw maglaro..." Amp! Ang aangas. So Jjaye and I decided to push through with our final game. We had Kim's finger taped to a twig. Actually, it's double purpose. One, to support her injured finger. And two,

Me: "Kapag inangasan ka, sundutin mo sa mata!!!"

Wehehe. As expected, they were really good! Long range shooting, quick moves, aggressive defense... Whew! We were panting like dogs by the end of the first half while they all seemed so relaxed on their side of the court. Nyaha. I wonder though, are basketball players allowed to do a split while dribbling a ball? Coz really, that could cause injury to the players.

Kathy: "Kringle! Sorry ha! Natalisod kita!"
Me: "Oo nga e!"

Well, I really don't mind tripping over. That's part of the game. But I do mind it when people who caused you to trip over would act nonchalantly and not even bother to say they're sorry. And with Kathy's case, she even had the guts to say, "Aba malay ko jan!" Ugh. The fez!!! Haha. Oh well. Good thing I didn't change into shorts. Kundi... Hehe.

Needless to say, we lost the game. Big time. Oh well. What's important is that we didn't go down without a fight so kudos to us! Hehe. ^_^



More pictures!!!

Four Years Worth

"Wow. I can't believe I'm actually doing this..."

Those were my first words on this blog. Now, I can't believe I'm actually on my 4th year! Haha. Yep, I'm once again celebrating my blog's anniversary! Yippee! ^_^

For the past 4 years, I've been using this No.897 template so I thought that a blog makeover would be a fitting gift for my blog. I scoured the internet for free templates until I found one that suited my taste.



Pretty nice, eh? Most of my pictures though are in GIF and the transparent pixels I blend against the template's background color so the dropshadows looked unaesthetic against the notepad.



But hell, I can live with that little niggle! Then why am I still using my old template?



Wah! Turns out that I've included lines in all my blog posts from May 2007 down to my very first post that'll set the font color to white! What a stupid, stupid mistake! Where's my CSS?! Sigh. Since I still don't have the luxury of time to go over and edit my archives, I reverted to my good ol' template. For now. Hopefully. Hehe. Nweiz...

Last year, I've picked out my top three favorite entries for "just because" reasons. Now here's a list of entries that got my laugh on:

1. More On Being A Moron (May 2005)
2. Brain Drain (June 2005)
3. Jacko Wacko (June 2005)
4. Kill Bill-Bill (June 2006)
5. Vertical Thrill (May 2007)

Happy 4th birthday, my dear blog! Make a wish! ^_^

Behind Fish Eyes

My first attempt at Lomography didn't come out as bad as I thought it would. I was basically risking all my shots, hoping that it would turn out well. Out of 12 exposures, 6 were developed. Not bad, right? Half was a collection of black grainy mess while the other half came out of the dark room with things that you would actually recognize. I'm just pepping myself up. Hehehe.

Pendong peace!


But only God can make a tree...


Kontra asim: Si-Mi-Co.


S-Tryk a Pose


Mukha mo! Mukha mo Ren!

Battery Not Included

Though I was feeling a bit under the weather, Franz and I still went to Rockwell for some Lomo loving. Hehe. I already had my mind set for this buy so delaying it for another day wasn't a welcome thought.

We took a bus to Guadalupe. From there, we hailed a cab to take us to Powerplant mall. When we reached the mall, we went straight to Team Manila. I was happy to see all these cute and colorful cameras on display. The Holga, ActionSampler, Pop9, and of course the camera that I came for, the Fisheye 2! Hehe. After shelling out a total of Php3850 for this lovely toy, we went to Kodak for my first roll of film. Actually, I'm still not familiar with the types and speeds of film and which to use under certain lighting conditions. To begin with, I bought the Kodak Gold 100 ISO. Hope my first roll wouldn't go into waste. Hehe.

Lifehouse: Who We Are

I was supposed to have my braces adjusted but laziness took hold of me, as it always does, so I just stayed in bed till noon. Hehe. Met up with Roxie and Chris at Gateway at around 5:30. Dinner at Taco Bell where we ordered a meal composed of cinammon twists, potato bites and beef burrito. I wasn't able to finish my burrito, though. Beans is a big no-no for me. Yak. Nweiz, after dinner, we headed to Araneta Coliseum. It was my first time at the Big Dome. Hmm, so that's how it looks like inside. Hehe.

At around 8:30pm, Lifehouse finally rocked the stage! Sooooo love most of the songs that they sang! Woohoo!!!

"I'm losing myself just to find a place in your mind, in your mind... Changing myself just to stand alone in your eyes, in your eyes... Pull me in, take me out, make me over!!!"

"When the world keeps spinning around... My world's upside down and I wouldn't change a thing!!!"

"I'm falling even more in love with you... Letting go of all I've held onto... I'm standing here until you make me move... I'm hanging by a moment here with you!!!"

"After all this time... I never thought we'd be here, never thought we'd be here... When my love for you was blind!!!"

"Coz it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose... And it's you and me and all other people and I dunno why, I can't keep my eyes off of you!!!"

"I'm feeling alive all over again... As deep as the sky under my skin... Like being in love, she says for the first time!!!"

"I'm falling apart... I'm barely breathing with a broken heart that's still beating... In the pain, there is healing... In your name, I find meaning... So I'm holding on!!!"

So sad they didn't sing "Sick Cycle Carousel" and "Breathing". :(

Nweiz, I received a text message from Kathy saying that they are already at the Patron section courtesy of her cousin. Wah, inggit! Huhu. Roxie and I were silently wishing that she would invite us to join them there. Too bad she only got 3 tickets. So the other ticket went to Jjaye. Huhu. Oh well. We may be seated at the Upperbox A section but we still had a pretty good view of the band naman. And good thing the couple in front of us were seated the whole time so we didn't have to be on our feet just to get a good view of Jason Wade. Ahihi.

After the concert, we met up with Kathy, Nerwin, and Jjaye. We wanted to invite them for a cup of ice cream at DQ but the place was packed! They eventually headed home while Chris, Roxie and I headed to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a teaspoon of kwento. Hehe.

Love Is A Battlefield

As a little girl, I imagined myself as a damsel in distress trapped in an ivory tower, waiting for my very own knight to arrive. A knight who may be clad in a not-so-shining armour, but could still blind me as he passes by in a sunny day. I had my own dragons to slay and my own battles to fight. I believed in things like soulmates, and fate, and magic, and happily ever afters. Well apparently, I've read too much fairy tales as a kid. Hehe. I was young and naïve in so many ways. Until love started to hurt.

I rappeled my way down the tower and found myself standing in the middle of a battlefield. I built a surrounding wall and came up with every possible reason to prevent another person from breaking in and breaking me. I was constantly asked when will I give myself another chance in love and it's a question that I struggled to answer. Coz honestly, I was asking the same thing myself.

Me: "I'll cross the bridge when I get there..."
Boss Tuts: "nde ka naman nag ko-cross eh, lumalakad ka pabalik tapos naghahanap ka ng ibang daan patawid"
Boss Tuts: "natatakot ka yata tumawid"
Boss Tuts: "siguro minsan maalog yung bridge"
Boss Tuts: "o kaya parang madilim yung kabila ng bridge"
Boss Tuts: "o kaya matinik yung daanan ng bridge"

Very well said. Hehe.

True, I've always kept my emotions in check coz I was afraid of making the same mistakes again. I no longer wanted to subject myself to unnecessary pain and get my heart broken in the end. I no longer wanted to cry myself to sleep when things get bad. I've kept my feelings on a leash without realizing that my feelings were keeping me on a leash too.

As Jessica Zafra would put it, the term is "fall in love". Not glide, not gallop, not slide, not leap. Fall. And when you fall, you get hurt. So I guess that's pretty natural. And just when I thought I'd never be able to love anyone in a big way ever again...

Love is a battlefield. And I'm ready to get myself some scars.

Kalahati

First time I heard this painfully beautiful poem was when it was used in one of the entries in Cinemalomo 2007. The video though had a heavily edited version of the poem, so I was really thrilled when I came across its complete version here!

~oOo~

Kalahati.
Isang salitang kahit ang kahulugan ay bawas.
Hindi sapat.
Kulang-kulang.

Kalahati.
Isang salitang kahit ang kabuuan ay hindi hahantong
sa isang kumpletong rebolusyon ng gulong ng isang lumang bisikleta.
Isa siyang salitang sawi at minsa’y wala naman talagang laman.

Ako?
Matatawag akong taong kalahati.
Oo, merong ganong klase ng tao sa mundo.
Mga taong lumalakad sa ibabaw ng lupa na may sira,
naluluma at wala nang pag-asang mabuo.

Kalahating katawan.
Kalahating isip.
Kalahating kaluluwa.

Minsan sa paglalakad mo, may makakasalubong kang taong bawas.
Tumingin ka nga sa mga mata na wala roon?
Damhin mo nga ang pulso na wala namang tibok?
Subukan mo ngang ibalik ang ngiting minsa’y nagsayaw
sa hangganan ng kanyang mga labi?

Kapag bumalik na siya.
Ang nawawalang kalahati ng lahat
na pinanghahawakan kong banal at may buhay at may saysay.
Doon at doon lang ako mabubuong muli.

Sa mga mata niyang sumisingkit pag siya ay natatawa.
Sa mga paa niyang may mga payat na daliri at makukulay na kuko.
Sa paggising na nakadantay ang ulo niya
at nakapalibot ang mahabang buhok sa aking balikat at kamay.
Sa amoy ng pinakahilig niyang pagkain
na sumasabay sa saliw ng kanyang ngumunguyang bibig.
Sa halimuyak ng unan ko matapos ng isang gabing puno ng sabik.
Sa tanging lungkot na nakabalot sa kanya kahit pareho kaming masaya.

Dati kaming masaya.
Dati kaming masaya.

Kalahati.
Ang lahat ng bagay ay nahahati sa dalawa.
Masama at mabuti.
Itim at puti.
Tama at mali.
Saya at lungkot.

Kalahati.
Dalawa ang taong naninirahan sa aking kaluluwa.
Parehong nagpupumiglas at tila walang kapagurang
nakikipagpaligsahan sa isat isa.

Sila ang inaalagaan kong sugat,
Ang kirot na lumalangoy sa bawat ugat at kalamnan
Ang pilay na humahampas sa bawat buto
Ang maga na dumadapo sa bawat pulgada ng balat.

Kalahati ay nalulunod sa ligaya, samantalang
Kalahati ay gumagapang patungo sa hinahanap-hanap nitong dilim.
At sa dilim?
Hindi kita nais dalhin doon.
Hindi ko kayang makita ang mga mata mong nalilito, nagtatanong.

Kahit na
Sa yong mga mata ipinakita ang sariling kong impyerno
Sa yong mga balikat idinantay ang buo kong kabulukan
Sa unan mo inihabilin ang mga pangakong walang laman

Hanggang sa muli.
Hanggang sa muli.
Aking kalahati.

The Morning Rush II

My entry for the topic "The Top Ten Signs That You’re Not So Smart" may not have made it on air but somehow found its way into Chico's blog! Ahihi. ^_^

1. No name - My parents and my sister once visited the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. After the visit, my mom went, "Nasaan na yung labing-lima pang chapels? Bakit isa lang yun? Akala ko ba 16 chapels?"



2. No name - We were dining in a plush restaurant in Vigan and when the waiter handed the take out order to our economist boss saying, "Here ma’am your one dozen vigan longanisa." Our boss asked, "Ilang piraso yan?"



3. No name - A friend was doing her 3-day diet. One of the requirements was to eat half a grapefruit. I told her, "Ha? Ang liit na nga ng ubas, hahatiin pa?"



4. BedBathed Mitch - One time, nag-rereklamo ang girlfriend ko dahil masakit ang ulo nya. Sabi ko, "Ganyan talaga, ang ulo parang tiyan, sumasakit kapag walang laman." Ang sagot niya, "Eh kumain naman ako ah..." Ayos.



5. Princess17 - My aunt and I were eating in I-hop restaurant in LA. As we ordered our food the waiter asked my aunt, "How would you like your eggs, ma’am?" My aunt replied, "Cooked, please."



6. Ian024 - Former officemate: "Ang pangit nung ‘Scary Movie’, hindi naman scary..."



7. XJ - My wife was having coffee with a friend and her boyfriend who is a programmer. My wife asked the guy what language he knows and he said, "Java" All of the sudden, the girl said, "Talaga? Sige nga, say something in Java!" After that... silence.



8. zero cool - Our company needed to send 3 employees to the US. Our boss asked us who has a visa. My officemate raised her hand... and brought out her credit card.



9. No name - Back in college, one of my friends mentioned the Ninja Turtles. Another friend blurted out, "Diba palaka yung mga Ninja Turtles?"



10. zero cool - My officemate said that her fave game is chess, just to look smart. So I asked her what is right beside the king and queen. She answered, "Eh di jack!"



11. Naky - Barker ng bus: "Ah Cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao, cubao!!!!" Pasahero: "Boss...Cubao?"



12. KissMyJudas - Me: "Sige nga, kung talagang fan ka ni Celine Dion, saang bansa siya galing?" Friend: "Canada!" Me: "Mali! Sa Quebec siya galing, noh!"



13. The Game - I actually witnessd this in a fastfood court. The lady asked the crew, "Meron kayong juice?" The crew replied, "Ay maam, ‘mountain juice’ na lang po..."



14. No name - Wife: "Gusto ko magpa-dagdag ng boobs!" Husband: "Bahala ka, pero ewan ko lang kung babagay sa ‘yo ang tatlong suso..."



15. Phoebechikay - One time, I tried to butt in my friends’ conversation. I heard one say, "Mae and I are going VEGAN." I blurted, "Ay, kelan kayo pupunta? Sama ako!" Akala ko kasi, VIGAN.



16. Eli Gonzales - When I was in grade 6, I thought "lesbian" was a nationality. One time, a friend saw a lesbian couple and said to me "look at those lesbians". I replied, "mukha naman silang pinoy..."



17. Louie - Friend: "Saan kayo pupunta?" Me: "Sa fort." Friend: "Alin, kung saan lumalafag yung airflane?"



18. The Real Curly - Yung friend ko pinabili ko ng "saging con yelo". Pagbalik niya, may dala siyang saging na dilaw.



19. Dad of Chickbiatch - My wife saw my son eating lunch and she asked, "O anak, kumain ka na ba?"



20. Skye - My friend once argued "Sabi sa Discovery Channel, ang babae na lion, eh tiger!" I told him that those were two different animals. The next day he conceded, "Tama ka, iba nga yung lion sa tiger. Ang babaeng lion pala...eh lioner."

The Afternoon Rush

At exactly the same time yesterday, while watching a lone man trying to survive in a desolate city, I received a text message from Roney telling me to go down at our 23rd floor office... FAST! Hehe. Demanding. Thought that maybe food was overflowing and that they needed more hungry mouths to clean up the plates. Hehe.

When JP and I got there, we saw a couple of promo persons from Globe, heard emcees talking and everyone seemed to be having fun. We felt a little too shy to gate-crash so we texted Roney to fetch us outside the office. Malandi kami. Ahihi. When we entered, I was utterly astounded and for a moment, at a loss! Chico and Delamar were there! Hahaha. Kinilig ulit ako. Ahihi.

Metal Mouth

I was on leave today to visit my dentist. Her clinic is somewhere in Manila and my appointment was at 9am. We arrived a little late - an hour or two late. Nyaha. Good thing she's friends with my mom or else I would've received a long lecture on how time is of the essence while she poke the insides of my mouth. Wehe.

Her clinic has a playful atmosphere. Toys were on display, colorful pinwheels spinning at the slightest breath of wind. There was also this 5 feet tall Bugs Bunny statue, showing off his buck teeth, standing proud with his ubiquitous carrot. Cool, eh? I think it would somehow keep the patients from thinking of her as an evil creature who wields instruments of oral torture. Well, it worked for me. Hehe.

Nweizh, after almosht two hoursh of dental work, with my back againsht the torture chair and my mouth wide open, I now have thoushandsh of peshosh worth of metal shnaking through my teeth. A metal mouth, I am! Nyaha.

(Contrary to what this post is suggesting, I am NOT having problems with my S's. Wala lang. I just wanted to make that clear. Hehe. ^_^)

Perfect Mistake

I am far from perfect. I could spend an entire day counting the many mistakes that I have done and the many sins that I have committed, both in knowledge and in ignorance. But for every wrong step that I took, I learned. More than I could have any other way.

I dunno why you decided to bring that shit up out of the blue. To think that you weren't in the slightest involved in that issue. You've probably just read it here or heard it through the grapevine, I dunno. But as much as I hate to admit it, that snide remark of yours sent me tumbling down back to my hell hole. It took me several disconcerting months to climb out and I was still shaking off the dust when you chose to attack me with your words. Nice job.

What do you want me to do? I've accepted all the blame that was mine to take. I've done everything I could to make amends. I've tried my best to set things right. Sure, I've had my faults. But how many times do you have to crucify me?

The Magic Is Here

Surveys have been done and redone; Several beach resorts were inquired on; A reservation was made, which was later cancelled at the last minute; Change of venue; Change of plans; Not a suggestion and not even a reaction - I really started losing the enthusiasm I began with. Ha!

But after all the fuss and muss, we finally came up with a final plan for our Milestone. We would no longer be hitting the beaches of Zambales but instead we're off to a place where iMaGiNaTiOn comes alive and where the MaGiC stays. Hehe. ^_^

If I'm not mistaken, we were supposed to meet up at 7am. Franz and I arrived at Tektite a little past 7 while the rest of the team arrived an hour later. While waiting for the others, we stayed at Seattle's Best for a quick breakfast and for these:

Supposedly, we were to ride with Boss Mon but he brought his family along. Good thing Jjaye brought her own wheels coz we sure didn't want to ruin their family bonding moments. And there's no way we would fit in anyway. Wehe.

We arrived at Enchanted Kingdom early. While waiting for Boss James and Boss Fojet to arrive, and while waiting for Boss Mon as he bought tickets for his family, and most of all, while waiting for the gates of this magical realm to open...

As we entered the park, my twenty-something self peeled off her calloused skin, threw all her worries in the air and became half her age. Haha.

Since 'twas almost lunch time, we decided to grab something to eat first. Had a hard time choosing which food to eat. Didn't have the appetite for a full meal so I just settled with a serving of bibingka, which I later regretted. It tasted nothing like the bibingka I know and love. Huhu. T_T

After lunch, we saw Eldar the Wizard and Princess Victoria, whom we jokingly called Enchanted and Kingdom. Nyehe. Wanted to have our pictures taken with them but people were flocking in droves to their sides. Boohoo. :(

We then wandered around the park like kids, not knowing which ride to try first. Since the infamous Space Shuttle is still not operational, we pinned ourselves into this equally gut-wrenching, pulse-pounding, heart-stopping and stomach-turning ride - the Roller Skater. Haha.

Then, we fell in line for some bumper car action at Dodgem. I remembered how much I hated bumper cars as a kid. The times when I couldn't get the hang of the steering and how I would end up stuck in a corner as my mean brother, as well as a bunch of other mean boys, crashed their cars into mine and how they cackled with villainous delight. I never thought of getting revenge at that time but as I watched other kids in line, the thought of it was too sweet to pass up. Hehe. So when our turn came, I frantically crashed my little yellow car into cars driven by these cute little brats head on! Bwahaha! ;)

Our next ride was Anchors Away. To save myself from possible bouts of nausea, I no longer sat at the far end of the boat. But as gravity tugged at my insides, I still felt my stomach lurch - albeit in a good way. Hehe. ^_^

We then checked out Spongebob Squarepants: The Ride at the Rialto Theater. I was excited to watch the Bikini Bottom hottie but I didn't really enjoy the movie. Riding the bubble bike made me feel more woozy than our previous rides. At the middle of the movie, I wanted out of the crash course in Krabby Patty making! And no, I don't want pickles on my burger. Haha.

Our next stop was one of my favorite rides, the Flying Fiesta. They say that people ride here to dry themselves up after getting wet at Rio Grande. We may not be in need of a spin dryer but I definitely enjoyed feeling the cool breeze in my face and just being up in the air inclined at a comfortably exciting angle, pretending to fly. Ahihi.

After trying one ride after another, everyone felt a bit thirsty and a bit tired. We all bought this 22 oz. EK tumbler that came with a raffle card for a chance to win a Sony PSP. 22 ounces downed in one sitting. We weren't that thirsty, were we? Hehe.

The moment we regained our balance and our energy, we watched Pirates 4D at the Discovery Theater. 'Twas waaay better than the Spongebob flick. I had some good laughs, a few surprises and most importantly, it didn't make me feel sick.

Bought the Exodus: ATV Ride + Kart Trak package for an additional Php400. We waited long for the previous group to get back before we could get our ATVs rolling. When we reached the course, I was a little disappointed. I expected a more rugged terrain with steeper climbs, bigger rocks and mud puddles. Drove around the course twice. I think we could've enjoyed it more if there was no tour guide because he did nothing but impede our need for speed. Boohoo.

Then, we headed for the kart race. Had a blast driving at speed. I wish I was a little taller though coz I found it difficult to press the accelerator. Haha. Nweiz, Jjaye won the race. I think she was a couple of laps ahead of us. Wow! One heck of a racer, eh? Hehe.

Had our dinner of assorted seafood, roasted pork, corn and carrots, and tasty mushrooms. There was this Smart Hot Summer Samahan event so we also saw a couple of celebrities in the resto. After getting some rest, we went to our next destination: the Arcade House. Spent a couple of hundreds shooting hoops until my arms hurt. Adik lang. Hehe. JP had hot hands playing UFO Catcher. He was able to catch two Care Bears! Woot-woo! ^_^

Our last stop was the Rio Grande Rapids. At first, I was seated beside Jjaye but Ate asked me to transfer beside Roney to balance the raft. Thank goodness! Coz had I stayed there, I'd be soaking wet by the time we got off! Hehe.

We then changed into dry clothes. Bought some food and drinks as we talked about heading off to Tagaytay. But I don't think everyone was ok with the idea so it simply went straight out the window. Killed time eating, talking, laughing and exercising until the sky spewed a dazzling array of colorful lights, which perfectly ended this magical day.