Tagaytay weekend with Pahinungod gang...

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good.

Friday night was spent hanging out with the usual suspects from the office. We went to our own version of the “Ally McBeal” bar near the office. OT (for Odd Table) along Valero is the other “office” for us and several other colleagues from work. Haha!

What made this nightout quite special was the fact that Tey joined us already. It’s sort of her comeback and I couldn’t be more happier that she was somewhat ready to hang out again with her “boys.” Hahaha!

I was supposed to meet Winston and Errol after OT. That didn’t push through because I was a bit tired already, and they weren’t really up for Malate as well. The night ended pretty late though. I think I got home around 1 or 2AM.

Saturday afternoon. I found myself boarding a bus bound for Tagaytay. It was my first time to take a bus to Tagaytay, and the trip was quite good. I slept through most of it. Having worked for a volunteer organization for the first three years of my career life has made me a pro in sleeping almost anywhere. As soon as I found my seat, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. Hahaha!

I didn’t even notice whether the traffic was horrible considering that it was a long weekend. I left Manila around 3:30PM and I reached Tagaytay by 7PM.

It was the post-birthday celebration of Pahinungod friend Joi, and a bunch of us Pahinungods headed to her home in Tagaytay to party. It’s always nice to see friends from Pahinungod. They remind me of that thing which I really love, and hope to someday do again. Joi is also a really good friend who I always enjoying hanging out with. I remember when I went to Singapore last year, tambay time with her and another Pahinungod friend Jean was one of the best things that made the trip really memorable and enjoyable.

I was hoping to see my friend Sean who also lived in Tagaytay, but something was wrong with the network in Tagaytay. I kept calling both numbers but I couldn’t get through. Oh well. Sayang.

Anyway, we spent the entire night just talking and drinking and doing karaoke and drinking. Haha! The following morning, we took a short road trip to Sonya’s Garden for some photo op, then to Mushroom Burger for lunch. Afterwards, it was time to head back to Manila.

Surprisingly, the trip back was much faster. It took only about two hours. Quick, huh?

When I got home, I just hit the bed to get some proper sleep because I was planning to head out again that night. Wahaha!

Time to see Jani again...

I don't really believe in fortune telling, regardless of the methods. (Although I found it extremely fascinating that there are over thirty methods to do fortune telling!)

In my entire life, I've only done it thrice (officially). And I do it just for fun. I know I

The first one was with this guy who my Mom and a Tita go to for meditation sessions. I had the tarot card reading back in 2006 when things weren't going really well in general. The guy said some things about my career, or lack of it. A couple of weeks (months?) and certain things happened and they were exactly what he said.

The other time I had my "fortune" told was with my friend Noreen. She "discovered" that she had the gift and I was sort of her guinea pigs. Haha!

The most recent one was with Jani, the friend of a colleague. This was a couple of months ago. Jani has a reputation for being really good at his craft, so on a Saturday night just before the GIG Run, I went with my colleagues to see him.

He said a lot of good things, but my favorite was on that particular aspect of my life which has been quite boring for the past three years already. Haha!

Here's the gist of what Jani said. Two people will make an appearance, and my connection to the two would both be somewhat romantic. Both will be around my age. The difference is who loves who more? I'm going to be into Guy A but it'll be short lived, and I'm going to have a hard time moving on. Guy B will enter the picture, and although he's nice and all, I'll be too hung up on Guy A to give Guy B what he deserves.

After he told me this, I just put the thought at the back of my mind. I was told to just be observant of how things will go with my life.

Months have passed and some recent turn of events are making me think that what the cards revealed several months ago have finally materialized. Haha!

Hold your horses though. No need to get that excited.

I'm still single. That's for sure.

While certain parts of what Jani read didn't fully take place (falling hard, for one), I think that the reading in general have already happened. I'm impressed, Jani. You're good.

Uhm, now, I'm a bit excited (curious) to find out what's next. I refuse to believe that Guy A and Guy B are already "it." Surely, there's got to be something else. Otherwise, it only means one thing. I'm screwed in that department. Haha!

So, I think it's time to see Jani again just to see whether the stars have realigned. Trip trip lang. Hehe!

Prada's "Fairy" Guy was in Manila...

So the James Jean signing happened last Saturday and it was great.

I asked my youngest brother Andre' to tag along, and he was kind enough to put up with me for an entire day. Haha! We left the house around 9AM. Initially, I wasn't too happy with the weather. It was drizzling, and I thought making the trip to faraway Bonifacio High Street was going to be a hassle.

Thankfully, the skies cleared and the sun came out by the time we reached South Super. We dropped by the office to get my books and the books Roy left to be signed. From Tower, we headed to Fully Booked. I got excited once again upon seeing the huge billboard of "Hare."

When we reached FB, there were already a number of people waiting. And it was only 11AM. Registration was at 12NN. I let Andre wander around the bookstore first and I headed to the health section and got some books on yoga.

I really like Fully Booked, primarily because of the diverse range of book titles. It just sucks that they don't have a section for LGBT titles. If I had the money, I would put up a small bookstore a la A Different Light and bring here the works of Noel Alumit, Michael Thomas Ford, Timothy James Beck, Alex Sanchez and other really good LGBT writers. Mr. Daez, you have a market here, so please, please have an LGBT section. Powerbooks used to carry several titles. So did NBS. I dunno what happened. I'm quite sure I'm not the only buyer of the titles.

Anyway, 15 minutes before 12 NN, Andre' and I met up again at the ground floor. People were starting to line up and we already got in line. The guys before us were the grandkids of the late Pres. Cory Aquino, I think. They were sporting the Ninoy kind of eyeglasses.

I looked around and I'm probably the only person there who went because of Prada. I could hear the people talking about James Jean's work for Fable, among others. No one mentioned Prada. Haha! I was afraid to mention it because I might get the look from the die-hard JJ fans. But hey, his work for Prada is legit and I'm sure it had a significant impact on his career as an artist.

I also noticed that there were a lot of CDGs. No, not Comme des Garcons. I mean cute dorky type of guys. Haha! There's something about the eyeglasses and slightly unpolished look that I found really cute. Hahaha!

There was one guy who looked a lot like this DJ I have a crush on, but I wasn't able to talk to him because someone with purer intentions called his attention ahead of me. Haha! Add to that the fact that I was with my youngest brother.

Moving on, Andre' and I got numbers 13 and 14. We headed out of Fully Booked after reg and walked to Market Market. With almost six hours to kill, we decided to catch 2012. The movie ran for almost three hours so that took care of half of the wait time. The other three hours we spent for lunch and hanging out at Starbucks, where we prepped the books for signing.

I also asked Andre' to play with the camera so he can be familiar with it. Obviously, the other reason why I dragged him to the signing was so that he can take photos of my "Fans Kita" moment. Haha! The entire thing was also a good opportunity to hang out with my youngest brother. We rarely see each other because of my work and because of his school.

Hay, my feelings for Market Market are the same as my feelings for Trinoma. I hate it. I hate it because it's really crowded and the lighting is just terrible and I don't like the cinemas and I hate the fact that I had to go out of the cinema to go to the restroom and I can keep going on. Haha! But I don't want to write about that now.

The movie ended fifteen minutes past five. Even before the end credits rolled, I already asked Andre’ that we already go and head back to FB. There was already a small crowd gathering at the ground floor. Excitement and anticipation were in the air. I like it.

The signing was supposed to start at six, but James met his fans around 6:30. I think he was giving interviews upstairs. I kept my cool the whole time. One of my biggest pet peeves is anything late, but for the guy who did the design for Prada’s Spring/Summer ’08 collection, I tried very hard to keep my cool. I just smiled and checked out the crowd. There were more CDGs that night. Woohoo!

When James finally arrived, he went straight to his seat and the signing started. I dunno if that was really the plan, but it would have been great to hear him say a few words.

Anyway, I felt nervous as my turn to meet him neared. When it was finally my number, I went up to him and said hi. I stood by his side and watched him sign books, while Andre' took photos. Good job, lil bro. Afterwards, I said thanks and then I gave him small souvenirs from Team Manila - a keychain and a coin purse.

The whole thing was rather quick. One of my favorite moments though was when I asked him to sign the "Hare" print on Kindling with the message, "I'm so PRADA you." Jaime Daez said chuckled and said, "That's funny." In my head, I'm like, "At least, I made Jaime Daez laugh." Haha!

I stayed a bit and then watched the other James Jean fans. The crowd went wild every time the girls asked for a hug and a kiss on the cheek from James. He really is some kind of a celebrity, huh. There were also those who gave him a blank page and he just drew on it. He's fast, man. He can sketch something in less than five minutes. He is so good his doodle can even be considered art. Haha!

I wanted to stay a bit but I had to leave after getting a phone call from a former colleague. The birthday of her daughter was that night. I thought it was scheduled Sunday night, and had she not called, I would be looking stupid at Bubba Gump on a Sunday night looking for the dinner party for Phoenix.

It was still a good James Jean event. Thank you, Fully Booked, for bringing James to Manila. I may not have gotten anything from the Mrs. Prada’s Spring/Summer ‘08 collection, but getting to meet the guy behind all the fantastic whimsical artwork behind the collection is a much better experience. Woohoo!!!

Happy 1st birthday, Phoenix...

I'm really starting to be forgetful. I dunno if 30 has got anything to do with it.

For one, I'm starting to be really bad with names. I meet someone. After a couple of days, we meet again. And I don't remember the person’s name. It's really bad, especially for work. Ugh!

Anyway, yesterday while I was still on a high watching James Jean do his thing at Fully Booked BHS, I get a call from colleague Weng. She goes, "Where are you?" I tell her where I was and what I was doing. And she goes, "Why aren't you here at GB3? Phoenix's birthday is tonight."

I go, "Ampf! That's tonight! I thought it was tomorrow. Shoot, shoot, shoot!" So I hurriedly leave FB and James Jean and rushed to GB3. Thankfully, it was easy to get a cab that night. And thankfully, GB3 was near. Andre and I were at Bubba Gump in about 15 minutes.

Former colleagues Cathy and Lenly were there too. Birthday girl Phoenix looked ultra cute in her dress. She was oblivious to all the celebration for her first birthday, but everyone had such a good time. Weng prepared the program and games that night. When you’re a CorpComm/HR person and you’re married to an ad agency person, you don’t need to get a party planner anymore, unless you're super toxic. Haha!

It was a beautiful celebration. I enjoyed the food. I think I enjoyed it too much that I had two Marta's cupcakes. Eeeep! Bad UP Boy! Haha!

I carried Phoenix for a good 20 to 30 minutes and I felt like I lifted weights. My forearms and what appears to be biceps were tired and sore. Haha! How’s this for a realization? Babies are a good substitute for free weights, ah. Hehehe! I think my Mom wouldn’t be too happy if I started talking babies. Hehe!

Moving on, Saturday turned out to be really good – hanging out with Andre’, Phoenix’s birthday, and James Jean!!! Woohoo! Couldn’t be more happier.

Happy birthday, my dear Phoenix.

We brought home three Asian CSR awards... Yey!

Work colleagues and I spent Friday night at the Crowne Plaza in Ortigas. It was the awards night of the Asian CSR Forum and we were one of the winners.

It was truly a special evening. It was the first time that the company got an award from this award-giving body. And we brought home not one, not two but three citations. Yey!

Our Kabalikat sa Edukasyon (Your Partner in Education) program was the winner in the Education category, while the Alternative Power for Cell Sites was a runner-up in the Environmental Excellence category. The top prize went to Tetra Pak in Pakistan which had a really impressive program. Oh well, maybe next time. Haha! I'm particularly happy for this award because I wrote the entry for this category. Haha!

Uhm, I'm not that big of a fan of awards ceremonies. Personally, I'd rather stay in the background and let the people behind the project shine under the limelight. But I guess being in the department where I am requires being up there on the stage every so often. Hehe!

Awarding ceremonies can sometimes be tedious because it takes so long before you go up the stage. Now, I have an idea how attendees of the Oscars or the Emmys feel.

But what is enjoyable is that these award nights are a way of saying that one has done his job quite well. I tend to be insecure at times, and awards like the one we got give me a boost of confidence and an assurance that I'm doing something correct.

Last night was also extra special because our Pres. & CEO Polly Nazareno and our Chairman MVP attended the event. I've met MVP a couple of times, and yet, I still find myself somewhat starstruck by the man every time I see him. Haha! It's the fan in me I guess.

So when the event concluded an hour after what was written in the program, we stayed for a bit and waited for a chance to have a photo with our dear Chairman. Come on, it's not every day I get to do that. And it's not every day that I cross paths with him.

I wonder what it's like to be his personal assistant, or to be the personal assistant of other power CEOs like JAZA or my former DHO. I'm sure it's overly stressful, but I think it's one career I find interesting and might even consider someday. Hehe!

The "lesser evil" cupcake...

I was at High Street last Monday. Kaladkarin person that I am (let's give the word "drag" one more meaning, huh. Hehe!), I agreed to accompany my colleague Reena and her friend Carla.

We had a good and sinful dinner at Hap Chang. It felt like we were on a double date because Carla's boyfriend Joseph joined us, while Reena and I, uhm, well, we did some roleplaying to tease the couple we were with. Haha!

Walking back to High Street, we passed by Sonja's Cupcakes and I pulled Reena to go in. I was having second, third thoughts about whether I should give in. I managed to lessen the carb intake at Hap Chang, but that seemed to be useless since we found ourselves at a store that was sure to send us into sugar overload and coma. Hehehe!

So what I did to lessen the guilt was to get Reena to agree that we just share one cupcake. And then we also chose a "lesser evil" cupcake known as the Velvet Red Vixen. I say "lesser evil" because for every purchase of that flavor, P5 goes to Red Cross. Seriously. I kept that in mind to justify the indulgence. Hehe! And besides, I hardly go to BHS so I rarely, rarely get to treat myself to Sonja's sinful creations. Hehe!

Anyway, the cupcake was good. I particularly liked the cream cheese topping. The bottom part of the cupcake was slightly bitter though. I'm not sure if it's meant to taste that way, or if the baker forgot to turn off the oven on time. Hehe!

Still, it was a good treat and a nice "closure" to the wonderful dinner.

All set for James Jean next weekend...

I'm really looking forward to the James Jean signing this weekend. I dunno. I guess it's because I'm excited to see the person behind the fantastic Spring/Summer 08 collection of Prada. Haha!

Last Friday, after doing some research on the artist, I became more determined to get some of his commercially-produced works. I was sort of ashamed that I only knew about James Jean because of Prada. Haha! My friends Carlo and Wes are the ones who are quite familiar with Mr. Jean's work. I was even surprised to find out that both have books which have James' work. I shouldn't be actually. Carlo is a graphic artist/novelist after all, and Wes is a voracious reader. Hehe!

Anyway, so the hunt for the available James Jean titles happened Friday afternoon. Initially, I just thought of getting Xoxo because it was the most affordable. I told myself that since I just wanted something for James to sign, Xoxo was enough. But when I saw what Kindling had to offer, I just knew I had to get it. I can frame the pieces and hang them up in my three-bedroom unit. Hahaha! The paintings/artwork collection is starting to be a reality. The three-bedroom unit continues to be a dream.

I called Fully Booked GB5 to ask whether they had the two books. Kindling was sold out, only one copy of Xoxo left. Aha! I took it as a sign, and had the book reserved under my name. Next, I called Fully Booked High Street. They had some copies of Xoxo and several copies of Kindling. Yey! But then I was told that they weren't accepting reservations for it since many people wanted to get the book.

That sort of got me all the more excited to get the book. I wasn't too keen on going to High Street that night (I didn't want to give up Sweeney Todd), and at the same time, I was afraid that I might ran out of copies.

Hmm, what to do? What to do? I checked the list of Fully Booked stores and when I saw Sketchbooks GB3, I immediately gave them a call to ask about Kindling.

They had one more copy, but like FB BHS, no reservations. I asked to speak with the manager and in my most pa-charming and pa-awa tone, I said, "Sige na please. I promise to get it later. Please please." And that was it. Haha! I asked for the manager's name and thanked her very much.

So I'm now the proud owner of two James Jean. I haven't opened both books yet. Some may find this weird, but I need to have a "right moment" to open good stuff like this. Just like the September issue of US Vogue. I either wait for the weekend when I'm relaxed, just so I can enjoy the pages.

Hmm, I'll probably open the books this Friday, too. For now, the previews thanks to YouTube are more than enough. Haha!

Prada

James Jean is coming to Manila.

James who? The guy commissioned by Mrs. Prada to do her Fairy collection for Spring/Summer 08 collection.

Of course, his whimsical work for the revered fashion house is just one of the many feathers in his cap. He does comic book illustration and animation, as well. But it was because of his work for Prada that I learned about him .Hehe!

Anyway, click here to find out about James Jean's visit in Manila.

Prada's "Fairy" guy is coming to Manila...

James Jean is coming to Manila.

James who? The guy commissioned by Mrs. Prada to do her Fairy collection for Spring/Summer 08 collection.

Of course, his whimsical work for the revered fashion house is just one of the many feathers in his cap. He does comic book illustration and animation, as well. But it was because of his work for Prada that I learned about him .Hehe!

Anyway, click here to find out about James Jean's visit in Manila.

I want nobody but Choo...

After its successful collaboration with CdG, H&M now adds Jimmy Choo to its roster of guest designers.

The collection is set to hit select H&M stores this November 14. Since H&M is expecting Choo fans to storm H&M stores, shopping guidelines will be implemented. The first 160 shoppers will receive a bracelet band with specific time for shopping in a designated area. As expected, the bands are for the women's shoes, bags and accessories sections. (I can picture women fighting over the last pair of Choos. Hehehe!) And since the collection is limited, only one piece per item per person. That's nice. (Almost) Everyone gets a fair chance of bringing home the prized pieces. Hehe!

Shoppers of the men's collection and women's garments need not get a bracelet.

Astig! I have yet to experience a shopping frenzy like this happen here in Manila. It should be exciting. Hehe!

I've seen the pieces and naturally, the shoes and bags are gorgeous. (That sounded really gay, pare! Haha!) Sex is written all over the pieces. Specifically, S&M. C'mon. Leather, studs, stilettos! S&M big time! Not that I would know. Haha! I like one of the men's bags, and if I were to get some pieces, maybe the roundneck shirt, the leather jacket and the jeans. Hehe!

Last year, a blogger based in Sweden bought items for people from the H&M + Comme des Garcons collection. I was eyeing three long-sleeved shirts, but decided not to go with the purchase after seeing how much it would cost me. Hehehe!

I want nobody body but Choo...

Amici with the PA gang...

Friday night was spent with a bunch of colleagues from the department. Three of our counterparts from the VisMin area were in town for a meeting. When our work day came to end, we all agreed to take our VisMin friends to dinner.

Initially, the plan was to go to Som's in Rockwell Gillage. That plan was changed and we all ended up at Amici. It was fantastic, because I was craving for some good, really good, pasta that night. Hehehe!

So even if I had some snacks that afternoon, I still ended up partaking in the feast. Awww, I just love the vongole of Amici. Something so simple yet so yummy! And then I also tried the roasted chicken. For just P190, one already got four pieces of super yum chicken. That's just great. And then there was risotto, and sausages and pizza. Haha!

Of course, like all previous Amici trips, several scoops of gelato ended our dinner. Hahaha! The chocolate was just really sinful. So was the sansrival. If there's one thing that binds the Public Affairs group, it's the love for good food. Hahaha!

From Amici, the group split into two. Some felt like watching a movie so they headed to Stephie's house for Paranormal Activity. While the other group headed to Chili's GB for a round of drinks. Guess which group I joined. The movie watching group, of course. Hehehe!

Just kidding. I went with the Chili's group where we enjoyed two pitchers of frozen margarita. Oh yeah, baby! I went with that group too because our VisMin colleagues decided to do Chili's. I felt it was my turn to GRO for them since they are always so hospitable whenever it is I who go to Visayas or Mindanao for field work.

We called it a night around past 1AM. We just hung out at Chili's and talked about work, love lives (or the absence of it), previous relationships, and so on.

Really good Friday night.