Happy working weekend...

It was a working weekend for me.

Saturday and Sunday were spent at the old Department of Foreign Affairs building. The company set up a free calling station for relatives of overseas Filipino workers in Libya. I had to go there to cover the activitiy.

Sunday morning had a little more extra work, but I was more than happy to go and cover the event especially after seeing the "guests" at the event. Haha!

I woke up at 3:45AM on Sunday. By 4:30AM, I was already out of the house and in a cab headed to Ortigas.

As part of the 25th anniversary of the Edsa revolution, the company and its sister companies sponsored the EDSA Run.

My manager asked me to cover the event since she knew I am (somewhat) into running. I was game for it because I haven't attended another run since the Greentenial Run. Ugh! Going to the Edsa Run would help motivate me get back on the road.

By 5AM, I was at the venue and I looked for my ever-reliable photographer John. While telling John the shotlist I had in my head, I heard that the Azkals was going to be part of the event.

I thought it was a joke, but come 5:15 the boys arrived and took their place among the running crowd.

Jeez, they must be pretty tired. The just came from Baguio for a training. (Haha! Feeling alam ang schedule?)

At 5:30, the 10K runners started with the race. A few minutes later, it was the turn of the 5K runners.

The runners have started arriving a little after 6AM.

I waited for the Azkals and when I saw them from afar, I asked John to take their photos already. I loved the photo of the group running. It really showed fun, solidarity and camaraderie.

The other highlight of the event was getting to have my photo with GMA talents Dingdong Dantes and Drew Arellano.

I wasn't sure if I could get my photo with them, but when the post-run program ended I saw them exit through a makeshift backstage. I asked John if he could go with me. Good thing he was game and good thing he knew Dingdong and Drew. Hehe! I was ready to show the security my somewhat all powerful ID but I didn't need to.

I just had to utter the magic words. Hehehe!

Good event, good event! :)

What's your excuse...

I'm not sure if this was part of any campaign, but it's a super nice info material.

What's your excuse?

A test I was more than happy to fail...

Okay, just in case you choose not to finish the blog post, at least, you have the information that you might need:

What: FREE HIV Test using Rapid Test Kit

Who: Everyone is welcome for testing particularly those who believe that they have been exposed to HIV, underage/minor must secure parental consent according to R.A. 8504 or must comply with the requirements of the law for testing.

When: July 22, 2008 and onwards until supply lasts

Total Targets: 15,000 Clients based on the 15,000 HIV Test KITS available

Where: Social Hygiene Clinic - Manila Health Department, 2nd Floor of 208 Quiricada Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila (green building across the main gate of San Lazaro Hospital, between LRT Bambang and LRT Tayuman Station)

GROUP TESTING: Group Testing is possible by making arrangements with Ms. Malou Tan for venue and date. However, venue should be within the City of Manila.

Contact Details: For inquiries, call 711-6942 and look for Dra. Diana Mendoza or Ms. Malou Tan, Monday to Friday only from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

(NOTE: reading of results take 10 minutes after actual blood sample extraction, procedure is the same as blood sugar monitoring for Diabetic clients)

=========

Because of some impending plans, I finally mustered all my courage and decided to have myself tested for HIV.

It's my first time ever to take the test.

I know, I know. It's really stupid not to get tested regularly.

I should have had the balls to take it long before. Instead, I had to wait for about a decade, before going through with it.

Part of me was not that scared of the results because I'm a major loser when it comes to that department. (And I guess I just made myself a bigger loser by writing that I'm a loser in that department. Haha!)

Blame it on my issues about not wanting the act to be more than just a temporary thing. Basta, it's meant for another blog post. Hehe!

Anyway, so because of the impending plans and for my own peace of mind, I decided to be late for work last Tuesday and head over to the Social Hygiene Clinic Manila near the Department of Health.

After reading some blog posts of HIV/AIDS awareness advocates, I learned that the test was free and that it would only take about 10 - 15 minutes to get the results. Awesome! The Social Hygiene Clinic was also near my house so I definitely did not have an excuse not to go.

Tuesday morning, I woke up around 6AM but took my time preparing for the day. The clinic was a short ride away. I knew I can leave at 7:45AM and I would be there just in time for the opening.

I left at 7:30 though because I wanted to be first to arrive at the clinic. I wanted to get it over with asap because of a 10AM meeting I had to attend. Hehe!

The clinic wasn't that difficult to find. The exact address is 208 Quiricada St. It's the green building right across San Lazaro Hospital.

The Social Hygiene Clinic is at the second floor. When I got there, the hallway was deserted. I was greeted by a Kuya. I smiled at him and told him I was there for the test. He had to clarify which test. Stupid me. I forget that there's an entire range of STDs out there. I told him HIV.

Surprisingly, hearing me say the word out loud didn't scare me. In fact, I even felt powerful over it. It's probably my own way of dealing with the stress and anxiety that came with taking the test.

The Kuya gave me a form that I had to fill out. Just basic information. Afterwards, I was asked to wait by the bench. That was when another yuppie arrived. The Kuya asked him what he needed and the guy said he's there for a follow up checkup. Sorry, I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

I didn't get more information though because I was called into the consultation room. Inside, I was welcomed by a very nice lady, Dr. Diana Mendoza. Google her and you would find nothing but good words about her. She really is nice.

She checked my knowledge about the disease and about the test. I told her why I wanted to take the test. She asked me basic questions, which made me more uneasy rather than the results of the test.

"When was the last time?"

Pause. Long pause. Pause. I had to tell her the truth that I can't really remember. Ouch! Haha! Basta I'm sure it was late last year. Hehe!

After asking me to sign some forms, Dr.Mendoza instructed me to go to the first floor to have my blood extracted.

I proceeded to Rm.106 where I was greeted by another polite lady. I sat down on a chair near the desk and waited for her as she put on a pair of latex gloves and prepared the items she will need.

My blood sample was extracted in less than 2 minutes. A simple prick on my ring finger and a few drops were taken. I thanked her and went back upstairs to the clinic to wait for the results.

There were more people arriving. I sat cooly and patiently waited.

Was I nervous? Yes, I was.Though I've been safe, who really knew? It's easy to be at risk.

After attending to some people, the Kuya walked up to me and said that he'll get my results.

A few minutes later, he was walking towards my direction but went straight inside the clinic. I was sligtly tempted to ask for the piece of paper already so I could just get it over and done with.

Kuya asked me to go inside the clinic. The folded piece of paper was there on the top of table. I was so tempted to get it already, but I chose to be a good boy and patiently waited for Dr. Mendoza.

When she returned, she handed me the folded piece of paper. I was nervous. I was tense. The information on that piece of paper could drastically change my life. I dunno if I was prepared for it.

I took one deep breath and opened the piece of paper. The checkmark was placed beside non-reactive. Wooohoo! Awesome!

I let out a huge sigh of relief and thanked Dr. Mendoza over and over again. All she could say was she was also thankful that the result was good.

She reminded me of the ABCDE and other safety precautions. And the best thing she told me was, "I wish you would already find your partner, and that you'd be faithful, and that your partner be faithful to you as well." I thought that was really nice.

She also asked me to spread the word about the FREE rapid result testing available at the Social HygieneClinic. This is why I'm writing about the test. I was more convinced after taking the test of the importance of getting tested.

We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to our partners or future partners.

Everything is confidential. The SHC staff are super helpful. And it just takes a couple of minutes.

So gora na! :)

Art in the Park + ZsaZsa Ze Muzikal...

Saturday afternoon turned out to be quite artsy. Hehe!

First, it was the Art in the Park at the Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village. Thanks to artist AJ Omandac who tweeted about the event a week ago. I always want to go to this event, but I keep on missing the date.

This is the third time I think that I got to go to annual event. What's nice about the event is the whole feeling of a "treasure hunt." Haha!

Art in the Park is the proof that art is not only for those with deep pockets. Pieces sold at the event are proced below P20,000.

And if one is really persistent and determined in "hunting" for a prized piece, there is almost always a treasure to be found.

Previously, I've seen pieces by Wire Tuazon, Andres Barrioquinto, to name a few. I'm kicking myself for not getting them.

I didn't have time to go through all the pieces offered by the galleries that joined the event, but I'm sure there were really good finds.

Usually, I would spend half a day at the event because I want to go through the catalogs of the galleries with pieces that caught my eye.

However, this time, I only got to stay for an hour because I had to run to CCP to meet Carlo for ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal.

Originally, the plan was for us to watch the Joy Luck Club at OnStage in Greenbelt.

I was already at Greenbelt wandering around when Carlo texted to ask if I wanted to watch ZsaZsa instead, since he had free tickets.

He didn't haev to ask me twice. Hehe! From Makati, I ran off to Manila.

Carlo and I met at Harbour Square to grab dinner at Army + Navy. Love the food here!

From there, we went to CCP to catch the show. I did something bad. I know cameras are not allowed inside CCP, but I kept my camera in another pocket of my bag so I can get photos with the cast after the show. Eeeep!

The show, as expected, was fantab. Lots and lots of laugh out loud moments! The guy who played Dodong that night was Prince Stefan. I thought he was good! Carlo thought he focused more on his singing rather than his acting.

Aside from Dodong, the other cute guy at the play was Cheeno Macaraig. He was part of the ensemble. Super adorable! Haha!

After the show, I thought of asking for a photo with him but I got too shy. I didn't get to have a photo with Prince Stefan as well. I did, however, get to have a photo with the other lead characters and Rocky Salumbides, one of the three Dodongs. Hehe!

From CCP, Carlo and I headed to Robinson's Manila to get coffee and dessert at Cafe Breton.

Nice, nice Saturday night.

Animating Chanel...

While waiting for Transformers 3, heto muna.

This is just too cute!!! Haha!

Birthday video project for SG friend Rejoy...

It was the birthday of good friend from Singapore Rej a couple of weeks ago.

Days before her birthday, JoAnn told me about the surprise birthday party they are planning for her and asked for my help.

I was more than happy to help with the project, especially since Rej, JoAnn and Kym have been more than helpful to me in another project I'm working on.

The request was for a video from Derek Ramsay. Challenging. I asked two friends from ABS-CBN if they could help me out but both said they don't have the powers.

Thankfully, Derek is the newest endorser for a brand of the company and he had an event in Dumaguete, which my VisMin counterpart was covering. I texted NN about the project, and I'm really happy she agreed to do it. Winnurr! :)

Aside from the video of Derek, I also took video clips of the PA girls greeting Rej.

Thanks to Stefan (the new iMovie is just wonderful, just wonderful!), I was able to make the video above!

Yeey!

Happy birthday, Rej!!!

The cards are saying the same thing...

I'm not really a believer of tarot cards or anything that has to do with fortune telling.

I do it because it's fun. And when I do it, I only want to hear the good things. Hehehe!

I've only gone to two persons for tarot card reading. One was with my Mom who knows this guy who reads cards. The other one is with my work colleague Nova's friend Jani.

I've had my card reads by Jani a number of times and I can say that he's very "reliable."

Uhm, there's a third person who read my cards, good friend Noreen. But I'm not sure if it counts because she was just practicing her "gift" on me. Hehehe!

Last Friday, work colleague MJane and I found ourselves on the way to Gateway to meet up with Jani. Last time we met up with him was a year ago, around this same time. We planned to meet him after that, but we never got to do so anymore.

MJane has been asking me to get in touch with Jani for quite some time now, but it was only last week that we found the time to contact him.

Friday after work turned out to be a perfect time to meet up with him. It's the start of the Year of the Rabbit. Friday, according to Jani, is one of the best days to have one's cards read. And I just got some really good news, and I wanted to check if the cards would show that.

Guess what? It did. The cards were very, very good. In general, it's going to be a very, very good year for me. That's also what is said about Sheep people this Year of the Rabbit. All the cards that I drew showed very good vibes in all aspects - career, family, health. Uhm, relationships, yeah, but it's not really a priority (or so I claim).

In a way, I'm also glad that I did the reading because I learned some very good reminders and what to steer clear of. Haha!

Uhm, the general advice is to just enjoy and be happy because everything is generally just fine! I should stop being too much of a worry wart. I should stop being too hard on myself. I should adjust my level of expectations.

And just stop so I can smell the roses around me. Haha!

Uhm, I spent about an hour chatting with Jani to have my cards read. Nagsara ng ang CBTL sa cinema area sa sorbing tagal naming. Haha!

Jani already packed his cards when I realized I forgot to ask one very important question. Haha! I was so focused on the good news that I got that I forgot to ask about someone. Haha!

We transferred to the other CBTL just outside Araneta Coliseum. Jani was very nice to accommodate my request to ask that one question. Haha!

Uhm, my takeaway from that question. Yes, the person has feelings for me as well. But it's not worth pursuing because what I'm feeling is not really the four-letter L word. Haha!

I needed to know that, and somehow it helped me in my resolve to really ignore whatever this is and just forget the entire thing. Hahaha!

After the reading, MJane and I bid Jani goodbye. We headed to the nearby Cubao X for a very late dinner, and a round of SML.

Bugbugan Saturday…

Decided to go the boxing gym this morning.

I haven't gone to the gym this entire week, and I kind of feel guilty for not doing so. Haha!

Since I stayed home last night, I had enough energy to wake up early, do my usual Saturday morning chore before heading to the boxing gym for a session of may thai.

I asked Twitter buddy Marlon if he was going to be there. He said he was going to do boxing. I decided to go the same time as he was going, so that he can guide me with the warmup.

Similar to the first session, muay thai is such a killer. I have to learn how to breathe properly. Otherwise, I'm going to die inside the ring. Oo na. Exag na. Haha! But seriously, three minutes inside the ring is no joke.

I'm really starting to like may thai. I just wish I was as disciplined in practicing it as I am with my spinning and running.

Three hours at the gym. It was such a good work out. My body is sore. I have blisters on my foot.

But it's all good.

Thanks, Lordy...

I'm excited over the next few weeks.

Got good word today, and I know that everything will go well from here on.

Yeeehhhaaa!

Thank you, Lordy, ah! You're the best talaga!

This is all I can say for now.

Please continue praying.

My first half-marathon for 2011...

And I missed it.

For good reason though. I had to be away over the weekend to take care of something. It was a bit difficult to decide to skip the half-marathon, but I really didn't have much of a choice. I'm hoping that choosing to skip the 21K would count for something, Lordy. Hehe! ;P

I did get to run though. Despite being away, despite having a very painful thing left ankle ("old age..." haha!), I chose to run. But I only got to do a 9K and my time was a PR... PR sa pagka-lousy. Haha! Blame it on the left ankle.

It was a good run though because I had a breathtaking view. Unfortunately, I didn't bring Hanschen with me, and I had no plans of doing a third round in that route because I was already hungry and I felt like chopping my left foot off already. Haha!

Will definitely go back to do more runs in that happy place. ;)

Shush please if you know where this is. Don't get me into trouble. Hahaha!

The nicest kids (were) in town...

What a memorable Friday (uhm, it was already a Saturday)!!!

Jonjon and Cyp are in town for vacay. Like true blue Singaporeans, the two decided to fly out of the Lion City during Chinese New Year to celebrate it elsewhere.

I must say that the two have adapted to the local culture quite fast, huh. Haha!

Of course, I was more than happy that the two decided to come over.

We've been planning the tugs tugs night as early as mid of January, and we've done nothing on Twitter but talk about how we're really looking forward to tugs tugs night! Hehe!

A week before their arrival, I received some good news. It required some changes in schedules. It was either I see the boys for just a short while or I choose a later sched for some "errands" so I can hang out with them for a longer time.

The choice was definitely easy. Choose a later schedule so I can spend more time with the two. ;)

It was a fantab get-together. Met up with Cyp, Jon and the usual suspects at Starbucks. We then headed to our happy place and spent the next few hours just being crazy. Haha!

The two flew back to Singapura this morning at a very ungodly 4AM flight. I got to see them again even for just a few minutes. Haha!

Take care, Cyp and Jon! Kitakits soon!

Foursquare for... (NSFW!)

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Stumbled upon this on a Twitter buddy's tweet. Hahaha!

LMAO watching the vidclip.

Been addicted to Foursquare lately. It's your fault @nicorhernandez, @jgver! Hahaha! ;)

Gong Xi Fa Cai...

Happy new year!!! :)

Those born under the Year of the Sheep are among the luckiest this year! Wooohooo!!!

Let the super, super good luck begin!

According to GotoHoroscope.com:

The 2011 year of the white Metal Rabbit will enable the Goat enjoy life and finally organize his happy family life, but his life during this period will not witness dizzying highs and downs fortunately. Systematic work and participation in other people's lives will be the main areas of activity where the Goat can exert its efforts. He will be awaited at charitable organizations and funds for helping people in need so as to demonstrate his compassion. The Goat can involve other people to these problems because he is so good at this. Probably, 2011 year of the White Metal Rabbit left so few prospects for career and business growth of the Goat because the main efforts of the representative of this sign should be directed to address urgent problems of personal life. Married Goat should seriously think about how to review relationships between spouses, talk, resolve all outstanding issues, and if necessary compromise for the sake of preserving peace. The single Goat in the coming year will experience a great and passionate love, which can lead to creation of a family, and if not, then will remain forever in his memory as one of the most exciting and vivid memories in life.

Carlo V's post-birthday get-together...

Except for the tragic news regarding a friend from work, the weekend that came was just perfect.

Friday night, we had the MNL and SG Simulparties. Julia Vargas and Neil Road gimiks. Sunday afternoon, we had the very, very intense badminton game. Gad, I wish all our badminton games were like that. Hehe! Saturday afternoon, I dropped by St. Luke's to visit my friend Noreen who had an aneurysm early January. The doctors have clipped the aneurysm and she seems like she is on the road to full recovery. I can't be thankful enough, Lordy. You're the best talaga.

And Saturday evening, I met up with very good friend Carlo V for his post-birthday get-together.

Dinner at Gloria Maris. Date with Jake Gyllenhaal via Love & Other Drugs. Tartufo at Bellini's in Cubao X. Hours and hours of good conversation. It was definitely a good Saturday night.

Happy birthday, Carlo! Love you, bro! ;P I am forever grateful I have you in my life.

Btw, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah the Musical based on Carlo's graphic novel will have its 7th run at the CCP Little Theater from Feb. 18 to Mar. 13.

Ticket prices are P950 (center), P850 (sides) and P650 (back).

I'm planning to watch on Feb. 26.