V-Day with people who love what I also love...

VDay was spent with individuals who taught me everything I know about volunteerism now.

Early this year, friend Marian sent an invite via Facebook to Pahinungod volunteers for a get-together at Dr. Menchit Padilla's house. I didn't reply to the message because I knew how erratic my schedule could be sometimes, but I followed the thread of the message. Several Pahinungods replied saying they were going to attend the get-together. That made the simple event something to look forward to since most of the people who said they were attending are people I haven't seen for a long time.

Fast forward to yesterday, the day of the get-together. I met up with Marian at Robinson's Galleria. I got her text that we would all meet up first at Galleria before heading to Dr. Padilla's house. Kamusta naman?! 11AM. It was just me and her. 1130AM. It still was just me and her. Hahaha! Many of those who said yes backed out. While the others already decided to go straight to Dr. Padilla's house.

A little waiting at Dr. Padilla's wonderful home and the cast was complete. I wasn't surprised with the attendees. They were the usual suspects. Hehe! Except for Andy who I haven't seen for a long time, everyone present were people I just saw at Marian's birthday. Hehe! It's always fun to see the group though because a good story exchange always happens. (and because when I’m with Pahinungod people, I am always reminded of how I love volunteering, and how I fell in love with volunteering years ago.)

Yesterday afternoon, the topic was mostly about the recent dramarama episodes of PGH. Obviously, I'm not familiar with what's happening at my former workplace but the stories I managed to hear are "good" enough to be made into a TV series. It'll beat any even the best eps of Grey's Anatomy. Hahaha!

Other than the PGH drama, we spent a good time catching up, talking about former Pahinungod volunteers. It was also nice to see Dr. Padilla outside of the office setting. Yesterday, she was more like Nigella Lawson and not Dr. Bailey. We rarely see that.

Dr. Padilla is one of the country's pioneers in genetics. Did you know that there are only seven (!!!) geneticists in the country??? One of them is Dr. Padilla. And she has done so much in that field.

A lot of Pahinungods look up to her and see her as an inspiration. She's just always full of contagious energy and ideas. Working for her is toxic. You don't know toxic until you've worked for CDP. But it's the good kind of toxic. Seriously, I can’t remember any conversation with CDP where I didn’t leave inspired and bursting with enthusiasm.

It was a good get-together on the day of hearts and love. I didn't have a date, but I did have a nice get-together with people I love because we all share the same love for one thing we really love – volunteering.

Lunch thing at the Cookbook Kitchen...

Who said I didn’t have a date on VDay?!

I was SO looking forward to Hearts Day I decided to have it a day earlier! And I had my date at Cookbook Kitchen, a secret out-of-the-way food place in Mandaluyong.

Just kidding, just kidding about the date part. My straight guy friend Dennis would bop me in the head if he read this. Haha!

But we did have lunch at Cookbook Kitchen. After our short visit to the land of textiles and fabrics that is Kamuning (still for my assignment), Dennis and I decided to have lunch before parting ways. He suggested Cookbook Kitchen because one of his clients brought him there before and he liked it.

The restau is located in a residential community. If not for the signage and for the colorful façade, I wouldn’t know it was a restaurant.

Anyway, we walked to the entrance and when we opened the door, all I could say was, “Okay! Kamusta naman ang V-Day?!”

I couldn’t help but laugh because the place was really prepped for V-Day. The tables were nicely setup with red table covers. There were roses in vases on top of the tables. Near the counter was a huge heart wall accent. I dunno if the food servers are always dressed like that, but yesterday, they looked like they belong to the set of a Sam Milby-Toni Gonzaga movie. And my favorite was my paper placemat had a heart cutout on the upper right corner. Awww! Hehehe!

We got our table and ordered quickly because I was really hungry. Got the Chef’s Salad and Aglio Olio. Dennis got grilled chicken dish. The service was fast. I was still checking out the interiors of the place when our food server was already bringing the salad.

The food was good. Even you had to pay about 300 – 400 pesos/head, it was worth it. Each dish came in generous servings, so Dennis and I got to share the salad. I got to taste the grilled chicken he ordered, and he got some of my pasta as well. We didn’t have dessert anymore because he had to rush to another appointment, while I was off to a haircut appointment. Hehe! But Cookbook Kitchen has an interesting dessert lineup.

Must definitely go back to try the desserts (and the other dishes on the menu). But I hope the next time I got there, it would already be for a real date date. Hahaha!

Cookbook Kitchen is located at Socorro Fernandez St near Shaw Blvd. If you’re not familiar with the area, it’ll be difficult to find the place. I didn’t even know the name of the street is that.

Here’s how to get to Cookbook Kitchen. Got this from OurAwesomePlanet.com:

If you are coming from Shaw from the Edsa end, you have to turn right on Torres St along Shaw Blvd before reaching 9 de Febrero. Turn left in Araullo treat and left again immediately in the Socorro Fernandez st. If you are coming from Greenhills, It is a lot easier since you just need to pass P. Guevarra st. in Wilson towards Shaw Blvd along the Luna Mencias st. Turn left to Socorro Fernandez st and you will not miss it.

Cookbook Kitchen
8 Socorro Fernandez St., corner Luna Mencias St. (near Shaw Blvd),
Mandaluyong City
Tel. +632 724 3595
Mobile: +63 916-2765257

Farewell, beloved bad boy of British fashion...

RIP Alexander Mcqueen. Alexander Mcqueen found dead. Farewell Alexander Mcqueen.

These were a few of the Twitter posts that greeted when I did a last visit to Twitter before I slept.

It was shocking. It seemed so untrue.

It can't be. Mcqueen was still young and had so much to offer the world.

But it is true. When I finally found the time this morning to read up on what happened, that's where I read that Alexander Mcqueen was found dead in his own home. There are news reports of suicide.

So hard to believe. And such a tragedy, both for his family and the industry.

His designs were nothing of the ordinary. That shipwreck dress Debra Messing wore to the 2002 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards - Mcqueen. The lobster claw shoes Lady Gaga wore in her Bad Romance video - Mcqueen. His designs are definitely not for the faint of heart. The same is true for his shows. More than his clothes, I like the guy for staging really theatrical shows. There was one season where he put on a ring of fire on his runway. There was another season where he asked the models to dance. One of my favorites was the season where he ended the show with a hologram of the gorgeous Kate Moss.

I know I don't know know the guy, and I don't own any of his pieces (I can't afford them. Hehe!), but the death of Mcqueen is saddening (and really shocking) for anyone who loves the world of fashion (whether as a spectator or as a member of that world).

Gawd, si Mcqueen pa lang iyan. Paano na kaya kung si Lagerfeld, Galliano or Mrs. Prada?! I shudder at the thought of these fashion masters not being around.

Gilas boys visit the Tower...

A visitor dropped by my cubicle last Friday, and I wasn't there to welcome him.

You probably don't know the guy. Unless you're a UAAP fan or a SMART Gilas fan. Haha! Anyway, that guy is Dylan Ababou. Along with the rest of the SMART Gilas team, they paid a visit to the Tower last Friday.

The boys just won a tournament abroad and one of the reasons they dropped by the Tower was to present the trophy to our main man MVP. The other reason they were there was so that employees would get to know them more. We've already met the TNT Tropang Texters last year. It's the turn of the SMART Gilas team now.

Unfortunately, I missed the event. I was in UP Diliman for a training. Damn! But best friend Tey was super thoughtful to take photos of Dylan. Hahaha! I had a big smile on my face during the training when I got an MMS from Tey that showed Dylan in my cubicle. Woohooo! As for the other photo above where he says he wishes I were there, he obviously doesn’t know that that photo is for a guy. Wahahaha!

Oh, but Dylan is just a distraction. I’m still Team Yousif (Haha! May ganito talaga?!) … even if he's no longer with TNT. Hahaha!

Anyway, looking at the photos from the event, it seemed that everyone else was screaming for Chris Tiu (that’s why there’s a photo of him above). I dunno if it's because they genuinely like the guy or if it's because he's the one who's the most visible among all the players. Hehe! He seems like a good guy though, pero they can have him. Hehe!

Congrats SMART Gilas! Tuloy ang pagpapaktiang gilas!

Condura Run 2010 was superrrr...

My first run for 2010 happened yesterday, and boy was it super!!!

I signed up for the 10K run of the Condura Run 2010 Run for the Dolphins and yesterday was the big day.

This is my third 10K, and I think that with constant practice I could do a 15K soon and a half-marathon by the end of the year. Yeeehaaa!

Anyway, the Condura Run was definitely a success! There were thousands of runners and being at the Fort at 5AM on a Sunday was more than enough to make me be grateful to be alive. Just being there along with thousands of fit, healthy and zestful individuals made me want to really keep this (most of the time) healthy lifestyle. Hehehe!

It was a really good run. The organizers really prepared for it. There were all these gimmicks to make the runners psyched and excited for the run. The race route animation before the gun time was impressive. The Bounce girls dancing to BEP's I've Gotta Feeling got everyone raring to go. There were a lot of water stations. There were marching bands and cheerers that helped push runners to really finish the race. Boards with inspiring running quotes were found along the race route. Marshalls were present everywhere. The route was well-planned out. Even with the race kit distribution a couple of days ago, I have to applaud the organizers for the orderly and efficient conduct of the claiming of the race kits.

It was my first time to run on the Buendia flyover so that was definitely a high point. It just sucks that I don't have a photo running there. I did bring a camera the whole time so I have photos of other runners. Hahaha! It was good that I was wearing my short Adidas shorts so the camera didn't swing while it was in my pocket and I was running. The camera slowed me down because I was taking photos for this entry. Hehehe!

As with other runs, what made Condura really good was being there with friends. My thinspiration Ryse and Arlyn were there (and I am always grateful to them because they let me dump my stuff in their car during runs). Maver did a 5K! Woohooo! Her Haligi did the 10K and finding out that he's now doing a sub-60 for the 10K makes me want to do better. Bfast buddy Grace did her first 10K! Woohooo! I thought she didn't push through with the run because we couldn't find her. So I was really happy when she saw me along the Buendia flyover on our way to the finish line. Her husband and gym mate Elgin was also there. He's also another inspiration to run faster because the guy is good with his run time.

Other people I saw were Benj, a friend from Couchsurfing, and Ivan, a friend from my ICON days. It was SO good seeing Ivan and we promised to run together in the next run. The Condura Run was special for him because it was his first 21K. WOW! Congrats, Ivan! I hope to do that too soon. I didn't see Twitter buddies - @Misterhubs, @jamiedavinci and @john_stan - but I knew they were there. (We congratulated each other on Twitter. Haha!) Next time, I hope @outednarnian, @iandmac and @MkSurf8 would be there too.

The other highlight of run was the big breakfast afterwards. Our colleague Rhyz went with us, and we all had a really good breakfast. Camwhores that we are, we had several photos proudly showing off our finisher's medal. Wooohooo!

My time was around 1:18. If it weren't for the times I stopped to take photos and had I lessened my walks, I'm quite sure I would have a better running time. Hahaha! I'm expecting the run time results that will be published will be different. There were several runners by the time I reached the finish line so it took awhile before I was able to get the bar code on my bib tagged. But I checked the race clock and I saw 1:17:50. I'm happy with the time because I did a 1:16 in my last run. The next goals are to do a sub-60 for a 10K and to have my first 15K. Woohoooo!

Rent returns onstage...

When I found out that Rent will be staged again this month, I already made sure that I won't commit the same mistake of missing it.

Atlantis staged the fantab musical twice and twice I missed it! Bop Angelo! If I missed it again the third time, I would certainly bang my head in the wall already. Haha! So months before Rent in Manila was scheduled to open, I already told my theater/musical buddy Grace that we have to watch it. Thankfully she agreed. And thanks to the Internet, I was able to get in touch with a showbuyer and reserve good seats for me and Grace.

I was really excited to see the musical onstage. I have an original DVD of the movie. I have an original DVD of Rent on Broadway (thank you to the people who made this) and every time I watch the movie and the Broadway DVDs, I can't help but feel a tugging in my heart.

Among the many songs of the show, the two closest to my heart are I'll Cover You and Without You. Both songs were a really significant part of a previous chapter of my life, the one where I was in a (almost) four-year relationship. I'll Cover You was our song. Back then when ring tones aren't as super as they are today, X composed I'll Cover You on his Nokia 8250 (I think) and sent it to me. That was my ringtone for the longest time on my Cybersilver Nokia 6210. Hahaha! And when the good thing ended, Without You was the song that really made me realize it was over.

I don't know if I've written about this. I'm sure I have, but I'll write it again since we're talking about Rent. It was the Holy Week break. I was having my vacation in Tagaytay at the home of Sean and Romil (a couple). I was with Richie and Suki (a couple) and Jayce and I forget his name (also a couple). I don't remember how I agreed to be surrounded by couples when I just got dumped a month earlier. The thing was I didn't believe that I was dumped. I was still hopeful.

We decided to watch Rent after lunch. Everything was okay. I got through I'll Cover You. But when Rosario Dawson started with Without You, that was when I really started to crumble. All the emotions - the denial, the anger, the hurt, the love - were unleashed and I started crying. And we're not talking simple crying, I bawled. The movie ended and I was still crying so hard. It took awhile before I was able to compose myself again and explain myself to my companions (although they knew everything that happened). That was the only time I wept after the split.

And that's the reason why those two songs mean a lot to me, or I should now say "meant a lot to me."

Going back to the Rent performance yesterday, it was good. There were a few glitches (with the microphone, as usual) but any Renthead would forgive such small mistakes. Haha!

I love the guy who played Mark. He's good. He's really good. Acting, singing. He was perfect for the role. I would ask him out if he played for the team. Hahaha! I also liked the girls who played Maureen and Joanne's mother. They both were very powerful singers. Galing! Gian Magdangal was good in the singing parts of Roger. For the acting, he could still portray Roger much better. I dunno if this is his first time to do a musical, but the guy has potential. Joanne and Mimi played their parts well. Angel was good with the dancing. I thought he had a difficult time with Today 4 You. It was a hard number to do though, I can only imagine.

Overall, it is a production worth watching. Would I watch the show again? I would definitely. Except that I think there are no more tickets available. Last week I helped my friend Faith look for tickets and we had difficulty finding playdates that still had tickets. And if there were tickets, they're the chaka seats in the house. Haha!

Big congratulations to 9 Works Theatrical for the success of Rent! Jonathan Larson wouldn't be turning over in his grave, that's for sure. And we’ve all been reminded once more of one very important thing…

No day but today.

Coming out again...

Friday night was quite exciting.

I did something I thought I won't be doing anymore. Haha! When I was about to do it, I could feel my heart beating so fast. I was really nervous. If it weren't for the car A/C, my shirt would have probably drenched in sweat.. Haha! But I managed to do that which I sought out to do that night, so that's all that matters.

Friday night, while my friend D was driving along Katipunan, I came out to him.

I don't know why I did it. I just knew I had to.

D and I go way, way back. I met him when I was in Grade 6 (I think). He was already in high school. My other friends sorta "feared" him. They thought he was a snob or that he was intimidating. He was. He still is. I guess I just wasn't one of the guys who got "afraid" of him. (He's probably going to read this, and I can already imagine the sarcasm going on inside his head about me not being afraid of him. Haha!) He was the one who introduced me to Filipiniana books back then. If you're reading this D, I got into serious trouble with my parents back then because of one book I bought after you let me read some pages on your copy. Haha!

We've been hanging out lately, which I actually enjoy. It helps that his office is near my office. It also helps that we somehow like the same things - travel, Greenbelt, consumerism. Wahaha!

Anyway, it just occurred to me that if I'm going to keep on hanging out with this guy, he has to know. I'm done living that double life. If I had the guts to tell a person I've known for 5 minutes the truth about me, I think it's only fair that a person I've known for almost two decades now should know the truth about his friend.

After telling D the "truth," he just said he was cool with it. A few minutes later, he told me he already knew. I wanted to clobber him, but he'd probably drive us off the road and that would be the end of us… literally. Hahaha! He told me he stumbled upon my blog, and that's how he found out. Jeez! He could've just told me he already knew, while I was struggling to get the words "I'm coming out" out of my mouth. That would've made things easier. Haha!

Though I have to say I wasn't too worried about his approval, or anyone's approval when it comes to this matter. I'm certainly done worrying about how the other person is going to take my coming out. I've lost friends who couldn't accept that part of me, including one guy who I thought could be a friend for life, so I've come to accept that people do come and go. It sucks. But it's part of life. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself. And I certainly wouldn't apologize for finding out that I am who I am.

When I got home, I texted D to thank him for not freaking out (yet?) about the whole admission. He was polite enough to reply back and say that I need not worry about anything.

Let's see if he'll still say the same thing after he finds out about the four-year relationship that ended a couple of years ago and other things. Hehehe!

BBall night at the Araneta...

Where I was last night.

Watched the TNT vs Ginebra Kings at the Araneta together with Tey and Faith. The last time I watched a game, we were all yelling and really on our feet cheering for TNT. It was the championship game, and the Tropang Texters won.

Last night, it was just game 3 of the Best of 5 between the two teams. TNT had won two games already. Tonight they could have sealed their spot for the finals. But they didn't.

Intal (or was it Tubid) did a three-point at the last quarter which gave the Gins the lead. Ritualo and Alapag tried to do the same, but the game last night just wasn't for the Tropang Texters.

Still it was a good game to watch. We were on the edge of our seats again.

No Yousif Aljamal though. Found out that he transferred to another team. Huhu!

Old couples' romance is certainly not bad romance... hehehe

This afternoon, I was able to talk for a few minutes to a couple whose love for each other has withstood World War II, Martial Law, EDSA revolution, an earthquake, the eruption of Mayon, and many other things.

It was inspiring, I have to say.

I had to cover an “Amazing Race” kind of gimik for work, and the leg that was assigned to me involved the racers visiting the home of select senior citizens in Makati to bring them fruit baskets and a serenade.

When we knocked on one of the houses in Pio del Pilar, a tiny old lady opened the door with a smile on her face. She sure has seen better days, but she still carried a very positive disposition.

Her face was one that said, “I’ve lived a good life… not necessarily blessed materially, but I have a husband, I’ve raised a family, I’ve grandkids now. I’m thankful.”

After explaining to her why a bunch of strangers are knocking on their lovely home, she let us in. We looked for her husband (he was the one the racers were assigned to serenade) and he was there at the living room.

He was a couple of years older than his wife. He was seated, and probably had difficulty moving, but he still was full of life. It wasn’t difficult to tell.

After the racers gave the fruit basket and sang a song for them, I was left with the couple. The racers had to run to the next leg.

This was where I got to know a little about Mr. Salvador (aka Tatay Badong) and Ms. Bartolometa (aka Nanay Miang).

After getting their reaction from what just happened, I asked them other things to get to know them a bit better.

I don’t know when the last time they had a visitor who’s not family, because after I asked my first question the couple just started telling me their story.

Tatay Badong, during his younger days, was a crane operator. And then when the Americans arrived to liberate us, he was there to see everything. (When was the last time you talked to someone who saw World War II happen???) He has worked various jobs to raise his family.

Meanwhile, Nanay Miang was a stay at home mom. But she did have her social activities. She played the organ for Mass at the local parish.

It was really amusing seeing the dynamics of the couple. He answered the questions, while she sat by his side and gave additional answers. He was warm (but still carried the “I’m the man of the house” air), while she was gracious and charming like every woman from that era long gone (at least, that’s how I imagine most women from the days of my Lola were. Hehe!)


After thanking them for their time and for accepting us into their home, Nanay Miang walked me to the gate. She apologized for not even offering me a drink. Filipino hospitality talaga. I told her it was perfectly okay, and I was just really thankful that they had us.

As I made my way back to the office, I had to wonder what happened after I left. She probably went back in and continued watching the television with Tatay Badong. Later in the evening, she’d probably remind him to take his meds. And he’d reply in a slightly annoyed tone that he already drank his meds. She won’t take offense because she already knows that that’s really him. And because she knows that he hasn’t taken the meds yet and that he would later apologize to her because she was correct. True enough, he still sees the unopened packet of pills and the glass of water by the table. He laughs and sheepishly tells her, “Ooops, the meds are still there.” They later retire together, as they have done for the past half-century, thankful for the day that just ended and hoping that tomorrow will be another day of being together.

Haaayyy… how to have something like that

This cheesy post is brought to you by the month of February. Wahaha!

Bye January... Hello February (?!)...

Whoa! What just happened to January?

It surely went by so fast. Hahaha!

The month was quite busy, but I'm glad that the first work week of the year didn't turn out to be quite toxic. I hope it stays like that the entire year. Wahaha!

What made January busy were the sea vessel sinking in Batangas, the eruption of Mt. Mayon, and preparations for Dinagyang. We did a turnover of a Materials Recovery Facility to a Gawad Kalinga village in Iloilo.

Then we had to mount an exhibit for the terracotta youth artists of the same GK village in time for Dinagyang. That was really the stressful part because I was doing coordinating things from Manila. It was difficult because I tend to be a control freak when it comes to these things, but at the same time, it was good exercise for me on having faith in people and believing that things happen for a reason.

Things turned out well. The kids had a good sale. And they did get good exposure. That's all that matters to me. Jessica Zafra passed by the exhibit and bought items. She even mentioned the kids in her blog. There were lessons to be learned, and I'm definitely keeping those in mind.

As for the relationship/dating department (of course, I had to mention this since it is the first day of the month of hearts), there's really no significant development. Hahaha!

I had my cards read and I was told that I'm still being prepared for the relationship or whatever. (Hello! I think single for four years is more than enough preparation already! Haha!) And so is the other person.

When the end of January was nearing, a friend was already teasing me, "Hey, January's almost over. Get pressured already." And I replied to him, "Excuse me. It's that person (not referring to anyone in particular) who should be pressured." And we both laughed about it.

The reason behind this exchange was my forecast that I'm going to get coupled by January. Hahaha! I was trying to apply the whole "The Secret" approach on the relationship thing. It did after all work for my MacBook and other more, more important things like my career. But I guess I need to do more work in the R&D department. Hahaha!

Well, I hope that I will at least have a date on the 14th! I remember I had one of the best dates ever around this time last year. Will write about this separately. Hahaha!

I was kidding with friend E, "Hey, you know, you, me, Winston and Errol should all go hit B on the 13th! It's a Saturday and definitely gimik night. Who knows?! When the clock strikes 12, we may no longer be single anymore... or at least for that stupid Hearts Day, we won't be single." Wahahaha! Kidding.

Alright, that's it. Random post lang.