Rest in peace, Clarence...

I received really terrible news yesterday morning.

Work friend Engel DM'd me via Twitter that our colleague Clarence was robbed and stabbed to death by by two guys in his own home Saturday night.

I was walking to Greenbelt when I read Engel's message.

After reading his message, I felt my knees wobble and my heartbeat go faster.

It can't be.

Clarence was one of the few people I know from Engel's department (their unit is the other team occupying the floor where my department is). He's always smiling. He's a very nice guy. He's funny.

Whenever we'd see each other along the hallway, we'd always say hi to each other and even stop for some small talk. There was a never moment that he didn't have a ready smile on his face.

So the news of his passing, and in such an inhumane way, was just really hard to believe.

You see something similar in tabloids every day, but this was too close to home.

And I'm sorry but I'm angry at how some of the tabloids wrote the news.

In particular, two tabloid articles had the following titles - "Bading kinatay ng 2 kelot" and "Bading na bisor inatado ng 2 boytoy"

Whattashet?!

And I'm sorry but after reading the different news articles, I can't help but wonder why none of Clarence's neighbors bothered to come to his aid or at the very least, call the police.

All the news articles mentioned that the neighbors were already hearing some noise and commotion coming from Clarence's unit, but no one came.

Dahil ayaw daw nilang makialam. Writing this now, I can't help but get angry.

It wasn't until a neighbor saw blood creeping out of Clarence's unit very early morning that the incident was reported.

I can't help but wonder if Clarence could've survived, if a neighbor bothered to come check on him.

The incident happened late Saturday night. Based on the news reports, Clarence was stabbed not with knives, but with ballpen, fork and ladle. The thought of him bleeding to death, feeling the pain, and maybe even conscious as the world around him turned dark, is just too much.

If there is anything positive about the whole situation, it's that Clarence was smart enough to hide his phone and that he was able to take pictures of the two guys he was with. Good job on that, Clarence.

That should already help the authorities.

Rest in peace, Clarence.

The news here.

THE Victor Platon's Comeback and Simulparty - MNL...

The night-out last Friday was epic!

After a stressful week for the usual suspects, we were all just looking forward to a really fantab Friday (more like Saturday) gimik night!

What made this particular weekend gimik much more awesome was the simulparty in Singapore. Hehe!

Yep, good friend Richie organized the Singapore nightout.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry,one of the happy things I did while I was in Singapore was introducing my becks friends from different groups to each other.

That way, the becks family in SG keeps on growing.

I was really ecstatic when I received a text from Richie regarding the Neil Road Educational Tour. Haha! I loved it! Leave it to Richie to come up with a creative invite. Haha!

The SG cast even had an additional invitee - Chris. Haha! I told Chris about the planned nightout. I gave his number to Richie. I gave Richie's number to him. And that was it.

SG represent - Richie, Mon, Cyp, Jon,Sarge, and Chris. Uhm, not sure why Ian didn't go.

And Manila represent - Me, I-van, Arthur, Edsel, Adrian, JC, Luis, Jofer, Cholo, and comeback queer Ms. Victor Platon. Haha!

It was an awesome night! We started with drinks at BluFrog and from there we moved to our happy happy joy joy place that is O Bar. Haha!

I loved it that Richie gave us a call around 2AM to tell us what was happening in Singapore! Super, super fun!

And I'm glad I brought Hanschen with me because I have pics and videos of the very memorable night! Too bad some photos and videos will never be available to the public. Haha!

As with previous night-outs, we ended the looong night with bfast at Banchetto!

All Friday nights should be like that one!

The next one would be like that again! That's because Cyp and Jon are coming over to Manila for the Chinese New Year!

We're going to paint the town pink! Haha!

THE Victor Platon's Comeback and Simulparty - MNL...

The night-out last Friday was epic!

After a stressful week for the usual suspects, we were all just looking forward to a really fantab Friday (more like Saturday) gimik night!

What made this particular weekend gimik much more awesome was the simulparty in Singapore. Hehe!

Yep, good friend Richie organized the Singapore nightout.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry,one of the happy things I did while I was in Singapore was introducing my becks friends from different groups to each other.

That way, the becks family in SG keeps on growing.

I was really ecstatic when I received a text from Richie regarding the Neil Road Educational Tour. Haha! I loved it! Leave it to Richie to come up with a creative invite. Haha!

The SG cast even had an additional invitee - Chris. Haha! I told Chris about the planned nightout. I gave his number to Richie. I gave Richie's number to him. And that was it.

SG represent - Richie, Mon, Cyp, Jon,Sarge, and Chris. Uhm, not sure why Ian didn't go.

And Manila represent - Me, I-van, Arthur, Edsel, Adrian, JC, Luis, Jofer, Cholo, and comeback queer Ms. Victor Platon. Haha!

It was an awesome night! We started with drinks at BluFrog and from there we moved to our happy happy joy joy place that is O Bar. Haha!

I loved it that Richie gave us a call around 2AM to tell us what was happening in Singapore! Super, super fun!

And I'm glad I brought Hanschen with me because I have pics and videos of the very memorable night! Too bad some photos and videos will never be available to the public. Haha!

As with previous night-outs, we ended the looong night with bfast at Banchetto!

All Friday nights should be like that one!

The next one would be like that again! That's because Cyp and Jon are coming over to Manila for the Chinese New Year!

We're going to paint the town pink! Haha!

Channeling Chanel...

Leave it to Pinoys to create something out of things that would usually be thrown away already.

I attended the kickoff event of the 25th anniversary of the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines last week, and I saw these nice pieces on display at the entrance to the venue.

Uhm, these are made by beneficiaries of the Foundaiton I think.

It looks nice, right?

When you look at it closely, you'd see that the silver things are actually the tabs from soda cans.

I didn't get to read which community makes these items, but I was really impressed with the craftsmanship of the pieces.

The one beside the Coke bottle actually looks like a 2.55, right? Chain na lang ang kulang. Hehe!

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Galing talaga ng Pinoy!

LV's first Asian face – Godfrey Gao

Just because I'm lazy to write about something more personal. Hehe!

LV's Menswear ad campaign features Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor Godfrey Gao.

He's the first Asian face to land an ad campaign for the luxury brand.

Gao is seen on the print ad with the latest Damier Graphite "Elvis" bag from the Spring/Sumer 2011 collection.

Hmm, it's not difficult to see why LV and several others fashion brands (Chanel did a show in Shanghai) are putting an "Asian" feel to their marketing strategy.

China is obviously a market waiting to be conquered. Hehe!

Hmm, I wonder if we would begin seeing more Asian models on ad campaigns of major fashion houses soon.

On a side note, is it just me or does Filipino model Ram Sagad look a bit like Godfrey Gao? Hehe!

5K at the Greentenial Run...

Greentenial Run this morning.

Though this is just my first run for the year, I can already say that it is definitely one of the best runs for 2011 because of the company I was with.

My usual running friends from work were there - Moneigh (3K) with hubby Anthony (15K) and Engel (10K). Super, super, super good friend Tey was also there to show some love and support. She brought newphews Ken and Mich as well. The latter joined us in the 5K. Twitter friend Marl was there who did 15K. Last but definitely not the least, Nico who did his first 5K and his first organized run. Because he agreed to sign up for the 5K, I told him I would run with him.

Anyway, prior to the race, I slept at Tey's place so that we could go together to the Fort. We waited for Engel to arrive, and left Salcedo a couple of minutes before five. We met up with Nico and friends JV and Roan at the BHS parking lot.

The 5K group was scheduled to stary at 5:50. Uhm, I didn't get to check what time we actually started. Haha!

I was a bit worried that it was going to be a wet run. Saturday afternoon, it was raining. Ugh! I wasn't sure if we would see the sun today. The clouds have been nothing but dull and gray during late afternoons these past few days.

Thankfully, we were blessed with good weather during the run. It would've been awesome to feel the sun during the run, but I'm grateful already that there wasn't a drop of rain throughout the race.

It was still a good run, I have to say. I liked the race route. I thought it would be the usual 5K route which passes along IS, the British School and S&R. I didn't have the time to study the race route, so I was surprised when I saw that it took us to the Buendia flyover. Haha!

If I were to be asked what one of my favorite things about races is, it's when I get suddenly greeted by sunlight. Uhm, it's when I'm running along a particular segment of the race route without any view of the sun, and after making a turn, you suddenly feel the rays of the sun kissing your face. There's just something spiritual about it. Uhm, I won't explain further. Walang basagan ng trip. Basta iyon iyon. Haha!

Uhm, I think there was good attendance despite it not being one of the well-funded corporate runs. Hehe!

After Mich, Nico and I crossed the finish line, we looked for Tey, JV and Roan. As is customary, post-run photo ops were in order. I-vanchy, I couldn't help but remember all our crazy post-run photo ops last year. Haha! You have to run again.

Before parting ways, we all headed to MickeyD's at McKinley Hill for a well-deserved breakfast.

Good run, good run!

Up next, a half-marathon at Condura! Let's go!

Krazy Garlic night with the guys...

Last night, my running buddies and I were privileged to have dinner with the poster boy/model for CB - Sarge. Hehe!

The guy is also a running buddy.

Sorry, the CB posterboy/model is an inside joke. I was on my way to the gym one evening and when I passed through one of the underpasses along Ayala Ave., I had to stop when I saw the guy on the corporate ad for CB.

I thought, "Parang the guy looks familiar. Could it be Sarge? It can't be Sarge. It IS Sarge!"

I paused for a bit to read the corporate ad (impressive career accomplishments,Sarge!) before taking out my phone to get a photo of the corporate ad.

Sarge is based in Singapore for a couple of years now.

He's a really nice guy who loves to party and who knows how to give a good party. Haha! Last December, a whole bunch of running buddies flew to Singapore for the Standard Chartered Marathon. Sarge, who did the half-marathon, hosted an after-race/pre-gimik party at the Marina Bay Sands. O ha! San ka lulugar? Hehe!

Uhm, he's also one of the really, really lucky ones because he gets to come visit Manila every so often. Either because he has to meet clients here or because he got to buy cheap plane tickets.

Because of the frequency that he flies to Manila, I would tease him, "Ginagawa mong parang Cubao or Quiapo lang ang Pilipinas, ah!"

His present trip needed him to stay in the city for about a week so that gave him and us to meet up and have dinner.

Thanks to our Facebook group page, we were able to easily organize a dinner with Sarge.

Despite the heavy rain that suddenly poured last night, the dinner had a good number of attendees. Ponch and Josef were among the first to arrive. Our favorite gal pal Didi was there. Sarge was joined by Reg who came all the way from work in the south. JB showed up with the newest addition to the growing cast, Miguel. Hehe! Chase, despite not feeling well (hehe!), also joined the gang. Marl, unfortunately, had work. I dunno where Jamie and Ros were. The same goes for the other usual suspects.

We had dinner at Krazy Garlic in Greenbelt 5. Since we didn't have a reservation, we had to wait for about an hour (!!!) before getting a table. Note to self: dining out on Friday nights need a reservation. Hehe! I came from an event coverage, and I had dinner there so I just had beer.

It was a good dinner. I don't see the guys that often, so I'm really happy whenever we get the chance to get together. We spent a good couple of hours at the restau just talking about all sorts of things. Hehe!

We finished quite late, but it was really good. And it became one of Sarge's hosted get-together again because he took care of the bill.

Thanks, Sarge! I owe you a tugs tugs night! ;P

First run for 2011...

Another running year has started. *crossing my fingers*

The Greentennial Run this Sunday signals the first of I dunno how many runs this year. Hehehe!

I'm looking forward to doing the run, especially since my last organized run was more than a month ago at the Standard Chartered Run in Singapore.

Have to admit, I miss the huge crowd of fitness enthusiasts, the energy even before the sun is up, the feeling of running on the road.

Uhm, I signed up for the 5K category. I was originally planning to do the 15K with Marlon and Matt. But after successfully convincing (forcing?!) friend Nico to do the run, I told him I'll join him in the 5K category. It's his first time to join an organized run, and I'm excited for him. Haha! Wouldn't it be amusing if Nico would cross the finish line way ahead of me (which I'm sure is going to happen... LOL!)

It's also going to be a nice run because friends from work and Twitter are going to be there - Work colleague Moneigh and hubby Anthony, JB, Marlon, Matt. My best friend Tey will also be there to show some much-needed support. Hehe.

I hope it'll be a good organized run. There were some issues with the registration, and I'm hoping that it's not a sign of how the actual run will be. Hehe! (I got the race kit and the medium-sized singlet is waaaay too small. Eeep!)

Just how excited am I for another year of running? I already signed up for the half-marathon at the Condura Run this February. It's expensive though. P1,150 reg fee for the HM. I only paid P900 for my SG run. Hehe! Oh well, I'm sure though that Condura will be a good experience. It has to be.

As early as now, I'm already planning to end the year with the SG run again. Maybe that can be a tradition. ;P

Here's to another year of fitness! :)

Playmates wanted... hehe...

I-van asked me to post the message below, and because I'm a good friend, I'm doing as requested. Haha!

=== Looking for badminton playmates--Makati area on Wednesday nights. And Mandaluyong/Makati areas on Sat/Sunday afternoons. Any takers? ===

So it seems like badminton will be added to the list of fitness activities this year (or at least for now). Tugs tugs/running buddy I-van invited to play badminton last week, and kaldakarin that I am, I said yes. Haha! (Talk about giving the term "drag queen" a new meaning.)

We had our first game last week at the badminton court near in PRC. Edsel and Nico didn't get to go because of work. Victor was still in Oz. There was still good attendance though because Arthur and Luis joined us. I think the workout and all the sweating came from all the laugh trip rather than the actual games. Hehehe!

Sunday was more serious though. I-van invited to play, and naturally, I said yes. Everyone else was busy. I don't know if the fact that it was a Sunday and that we set the game at 2PM had anything to do with the non-attendance. Hehe!

I invited Marl, Alonzo, Josh, Kit, Adrian, Nico but they all had engagements. Luckily, I-van found another player - Andre - from a "place" one would not really expect to get badminton players. Hehe!

There was still the issue of the fourth player. Hmm, I-vanchy and I decided to just go ahead with the game. We were confident that we would find a fourth player when we get to the badminton courts. Haha! Friendly becks naman kami, eh.

So from Pioneer, we went all the way back to QC to meet Andre. We fetched the guy along Timog before heading to the courts across ABS-CBN.

The gods were smiling at us, because Andre's friends were there. The issue of the fourth player was immediately solved. We met Sonny, Niño and another guy whose name now escapes me. It really is a small world because Niño remembers me from UP Diliman. He was doing his undergrad. I was doing graduate school. Haha!

Not to mention that there were a number of cute guys, and a number of becks as well. Haha!

So we got to play for about two hours. Would have played longer, but I had to go to Makati. Still, I'm thankful that I-van and I decided to go ahead with our badminton plans even if initially, there's just the two of us.

Lesson learned. Persistence.

If interested to join, let's come on.

Uhm, took out Kenny Rankin's song ages ago...

Uhm, just before 2010 ended, I went out with a guy who's about ten years my junior. Haha!

Before you start hurling stones at me while shouting "Cougar! Cradle snatcher!" or whatever, let me just say that I really had no expectations whatsoever from the couple of times that we went out.

It's not because of the huge age gap. The age difference wasn't really that big of an issue for me because my own folks have a 15-year age gap and yet they managed (and are still managing) to co-exist peacefully. Haha!

And I'm at that point (most of the time) where I just want to put myself out there to meet people. Never mind the age. (This isn't to say that I've thrown away my bucket list. It's still very much present in my mind.) I'm just opening myself to meeting new people.

Anyway, going back to the guy, he was very much what an ideal date is - nice, smart, driven, conversant with almost everything, and confident (Admit it! It takes a lot of daring for a 22-year-old to go out with a 28 year old, fine a 31-year-old. Haha!).

Everything was going well until I one time tried to discreetly hold his arm while we were seated side by side. He pulled away and when I looked at him, he just moved his head from left to right to indicate that it wasn't okay.

Uhm, I wasn't hurt by it. I respect the guy.

I teased him, "You're not out, huh?" He replied, "I am. I just not into the whole PDA thing."

That's cool, I thought. No problem with me. That's when I realized that I keep on forgetting that not everyone is as, uhm, comfortable or at ease as I am when it comes to the whole beki thing. I went through that phase. It was my friendship with my becks barkada, the work with Icon, getting to talk to the older badings and kyombers that made me less caring of what other people thought about "us."

I realized that I just don't think I can go back to that way of life where I have to walk on eggshells when it comes to showing affection towards someone I like. I'm not even talking about liplock here. I don't think I'm ready for that. I'm just talking about the usual my arm over his shoulder or vice-versa, maybe a brush of the hands or a quick tight hug just before we part ways.

So I guess, lesson learned. I guess this is one more criteria that's kind of important to me when it comes to people I go out with.

I've removed Kenny Rankin's Hiding Inside Myself from my iPod a looong time ago. No plans of putting it back on the playlist any time soon. Just saying.