First Quarter Stillness

The first three months of 2012 have been really insane. A combo of emotions, hardcore events, and too much sleeping was at work. Even my blogging's been put to hiatus and so accounts of my awesome experiences and travels were just stuck here in my head, waiting for the memory chopper to pick 'em up and drop 'em off into the black hole. Two things though that were constant were the following: a) I did most stuff on impulse, and b) I met MORE new friends. 

My body clock has also become granny- ish lately! Just to give you an idea, I was the perpetually ultimate and crazy nocturnal that one can ever meet! Ever since I settled into my new place though, there's never been a time that I slept for less than eight hours. Total relaxation is sweet! I admit however that this is against my principle of not sleeping so as not to miss out on things because of that "Life's too short" cliche. Haha, so dumb. Now, I would work out and tire myself off so that I could get myself glued to the bed instantly. And I will not wake up no matter how strong the forces of nature have been trying to bug my buzzing. I wouldn't mind even if you go frolicking on my bedside.

I felt that I've done so many things and actually went to some places for the past three months, but I don't want to get into a blow by blow account of all those. Honestly, I lost track of the news because pretty much merrymaking with la vida lately has been so fab. I will just put together all those experiences, places, concepts, and issues that went on from January to March of this year with my li'l cent on the opposite:

a) Kony 2012 video: Filipino slacktivism. I can't believe that a lot have fallen for this. 

b) My February weekend in the Philippines: AWESOME! Family, friends, wakeboarding, food, stairs accident, and alcohol! 

c) Azkals: Wake up! Geez.

d) The Hunger Games film: Josh Hutcherson's exactly how I imagined Peeta to look like. I read the book twice on 2011. As always, the book's always better than the flick. But--- 'ever read or seen Battle Royale?

e) Pinterest: Now getting my ass worked up for the interior of my soon- to- be crib, formal make- up school preps, food porn, and some ramblings.

f) My version of "Look At Me Now": And I bang in the east and I bang in the west... My recorded rap video's still stored in my hard drive. "Do you really wanna know what's next?" LOL.

g) Thought Catalog: I. Am. So. Into. It. I'm wired to be weird.

h) TRX Suspension Training: Are you saying that the body is evil and so it must be punished? I hate how difficult this is!

i) Bintan, Indonesia: Bin- tin (Bintan is Nakakabitin!)

j) Gotye - KMN, FML moments FTW.

k) Wicked: Defying gravity!?

l)  Singapore club scene: I felt so old that the mornings after the hard nights on the dance floor had me going grumpy the following day.


m) Magnum Ice Cream hype: Just because the elite circle in the Philippines are promoting this doesn't make you one of them when you eat Magnum. You're being Punk'd! Stop making duck faces in photos while you're about to take a bite. Get a Pinipig stick instead!

n) Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss: Such an amazingly stirring work.


So the first three months were blah and so- so but I'd still consider them to be kinda cool. It's like experiencing total chill out before summer time. 


I am capping this off with The Burning Man's delivery of Oh, The Places You'll Go. Feel the amazement as I did (and tears were gushing from my eyes for every line of the poem)! By the way, the Burning Man peeps are HOT. Add- on:

Shake It Out, Woman!

Draaat! I only came to notice this song two weeks ago when it was played in the last few scenes of the 17th episode of How I Met Your Mother Season 7. 


SPOILER Alert: So Robin moved out of Ted's apartment. Big changes for the friends, eh? Of course, one cannot live in the same premises with the person who broke his heart. 


Here's my February earworm, Shake It Out by the amazing Flo:


"And I am done with my graceless heart. So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart."

Right? Such an amazing and moving song about life, direction, and freedom. This is now on default. I've always loved Flo whose music's been a part of my "winning- the- dog- days" saga.


UPDATE AS OF 15 MARCH 2012: Katharine MacPhee's character, Karen Cartwright of the new TV broadway musical show (and currently my addiction) SMASH, performed this song in a bar mitzvah gig during its 6th episode. It was sooo good! 

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

CNY 2012 is rainy here in Singapore. Nonetheless, this wouldn't keep me from going out to enjoy the festivities and greeting everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! It's the freaking YEAR OF THE DRAGON!

A HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE DRAGON KATOL! Tira lang ng tira, my friends! Carpe Annum!

It's More Fun If You're Not A Prick

No, I really wasn't planning to post something today, until I saw this article by Mon Tulfo which pushed me to pursue the posting. 


I know that it's more fun in the Philippines, but for the heck of it, I hope that these "guests" coming over don't act ridiculously towards denizens and abuse all the FUN over there. 


And please, Pinays deserve to be treated with respect.

To be oppressed in another country is sick, but to be treated like crap in your own land is just offensively atrocious.

ON TARGET:

The Ugly American

By Ramon Tulfo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:56 am | Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

A Korean-American who holds a top position at the US Embassy shouted invectives at a young Filipino woman whom he nearly bumped with his car last Friday.

Dean I. Chang, the American Embassy’s second secretary, cursed Princess Cordova, 22, after he got out of his Toyota Forerunner car with a Korean-looking woman, apparently his wife.

“You’re a bitch, you’re a bitch!,” Chang was heard shouting at the shocked Cordova who was crossing the driveway of a Korean restaurant on Jupiter Street, Barangay Bel-Air, Makati City.

Chang and his wife were apparently in such a hurry to get into Kaya Restaurant and nearly ran over Cordova, who was also entering the same restaurant with a female friend.

When Cordova told her uncle, Dindo Danao, an advertising executive, about the incident outside with Chang, Danao told her to go to Chang’s table to apologize.

Danao, who was waiting for Cordova inside the restaurant, told his niece she was probably at fault and that’s why the man was angry.

Even if she knew she was not, Cordova nevertheless obeyed Danao and went to Chang to apologize.

She got another mouthful from a man who’s supposed to act like a gentleman since he’s a diplomat.

“Next time I’ll run you over if you get in my way,” Chang shouted at Cordova.

When Danao protested the shabby treatment his niece got from the Korean-American, Chang reportedly challenged him to a fight.

“You wanna square off with me?” Chang said. Danao called the police.

Chang was arrogant with responding policemen. He wouldn’t show his ID, but gave his name and his position at the US Embassy.

Chang’s identity was confirmed when the head of the responding team, Insp. Rico Ramos, checked with the US Embassy through the numbers Chang gave him.

Ramos told Danao they couldn’t hold Chang as he has diplomatic immunity.

Danao called this columnist who asked to talk to Ramos.

I said that Ramos could hold Chang for a while until members of the media came.

Ramos said he couldn’t do that, but didn’t prevent Danao from barricading Chang’s car.

Chang refused to talk to the media and went back to the restaurant with another US Embassy official who came after he phoned for help.

While Chang, his wife and the other American diplomat talked inside the restaurant, I took down the plate and windshield sticker of Chang’s car.

I surmise that based on his car stickers, Chang is a US serviceman.

One sticker reads: Dept of Defense, B6B 3C3, West Point, New York.

Another sticker says: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, 20-6-12, No. 0806947.

He has a temporary plate: 097 Diplomatic.

*  *  *

This is probably the first time a ranking US diplomat quarreled with a Filipino outside the embassy grounds, and a young woman at that.

At the risk of generalizing, in Korea, home of Chang’s forebears, most men have a very low regard for women.

A joke goes that during the Korean War, an American soldier at a checkpoint noticed a man walking some distance behind his wife.

When the American GI asked the Korean man why he walked far behind his wife, the Korean said: “She step on land mine, me safe.”

*  *  *

Chang is not alone.

The US ambassador, Harry Thomas, is so different from his predecessor, Kristie Kenney. He once said that foreign tourists came to Manila for sex.

These “diplomats” remind us of that 1960s movie “The Ugly American,” based on a novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer about Americans  in Southeast Asia.

I’m not referring to their looks, but their character.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/125295/the-ugly-american

Well, Mr. Chang, hindi nakaka- immune ang diplomatic immunity mo. 

Pwede kang ipatumba anytime. Alam mo bang unpredictable kami pag napupuno?

You just don't know what you're in for. So hey there guests, NEWSFLASH: make sure that you know your limits when you wanna have FUN in the Philippines.

#ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines: AMININ NIYO!

Mabuhay! Isang maligaya at masaganang bagong taon! So kumusta naman ang mga atay natin diyan?! Qualified for donation pa ba? Yung mga daliri ba'y kumpleto pa? Okay: finger and liver check muna, guys! 


Anyhoo, dahil bagong taon na nga ay nagsi- sulputan din ang mga bagong trip at pakulo. Pero eto, astig ang DOT sa inilunsad na proyekto para sa turismo ng Pilipinas ngayong pagpasok ng 2012. Well eckchually, nagtaka ako kaninang umaga kasi excited ang mga nasa Twitter at ang ibang taga- media naman eh nainip sa pag- uunveil ng programang ito. At itechiwa pala yon! Ang bagong slogan at website ng gobyerno para i- promote ang Pilipinas. 

                      #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines


Siyempre, post naman agad ang lola mo sa Facebook!!!

Trending sa Twitter. Props to Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr.!

At ano pa nga ba ang sumunod kundi nangolekta ako ng mga tweets mula sa ilan sa aking mga sinusundan. Yung iba, nag- hashtag at pumasa naman sa taste ko. Tapos, pinagtagpi- tagpi ko na sila. EFFORT!

From author Neil Gaiman himself. Wow. 

May mga Pinoy na tila gumamit lamang ng sentido kumon, kinurot ang pinakamalikhaing bahagi ng utak, at bumanat ng comedy upang makaisip kung bakit nga ba masaya sa Las Islas Filipinas. Nostalgia galore ito! Keep them coming, people! After all, walang halong stir itong It's More Fun In The Philippines drama! Sana nga lang ay malikom ang target na 12 milyon na turista by 2016. Kaya i- ekis ang mga daliri, magkapit- kamay, at nawa'y hindi lang Bourne movies ang i- shoot sa Pinas. 


Paalala sa iba diyan, huwag munang magpaka- KJ at negatron! Bad vibes kayo eh. Aminin niyo na okay naman talaga sa atin lalo na ang mga fudamz, lugar, at iba pang interesting na bagay. Yung mga setbacks, yan pa nga ang mas nagpapa- fun eh! Kung tungkol naman sa ka- EPAL- an ng mga tao (when the word 'EPAL' is of frequent usage in the country), huwag kang mag- alala. Kahit saan meron niyan at wala kang kawala. May multo pa kamong kasama.


Ayaw mo pa rin pumayag? Hala, sige, magbalot- balot ka na at gumawa ka ng paraan para makalayas ng Pinas. Fly ka na papuntang Uranus. Basagan pala ng trip ha. 


TANONG: Eh bakit ako nasa Singapore? Mahabang kuwento. Read all about it here. Nosebleed factor. Naging isang matinding sagupaan sa utak ko ang #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines VS #ThePayIsMoreInSingapore na ito ilang buwan nang nakakaraan!


Basta, I'm proud to be Pinoy kasi nga naman, no matter what, #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines. SOLID.


To cap this off, here are some photo memes. Enjoy enjoy, chickenjoy!

Of course, hindi ako magpapatalo sa paggawa ng photo meme at meron din ako:

Jeanette and I at Star City

Me and Mai at Max's Restaurant

Madami pa yang photo meme ang susulpot... Give it an hour. Creative kasi ang mga Pinoy. Para sa'kin, orig ang ideya ng DOT dahil sa panahon ng pagkakalunsad dito. Own it and you're headed for more fun. 

A True 2011 Tale

DEAR TWENTY ELEVEN - You helluva year! Yes, 2011: so sick you've been that I loathed and loved you at the same time. You're but an epic era of my life but I got to admit that I did nail you pretty well. (Fist pump! Fist pump!)


You started off as if the end of days were near. I went astray for a few years and invested in something which eventually blew up in a snap during your eve. I lived your first two weeks starving myself like an idiot and doing those silly Lorna Tolentino moves on our wet wall (or sometimes by the old staircase). Crap, it's so gross. Still, 2011, you knew me head on and the greater things which you dared me to unleash. However, do you remember that  third week of your dark January? This was when you let me pull off a complete 180 in my life.


And the rest was freaking history. WOOORD!


I registered for the Condura Skyway Marathon which almost didn't materialize because of an ankle injury. But yeah, beer was in between that so- called "training". I was so determined to run in the Ayala- Skyway- Buendia- Fort route. That was something BIG for me. The rush felt like it was a start of so many forthcoming displays of courage and longer distances where I had to prove that such pain could exist but can still be controlled by staying positive and focused.

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

For that period, I had an illusion that I was semi- infallible. I repeat that it was just an illusion which I had to use to motivate myself. I know the Pope is, but definitely not a dork like me. Shake up, ambitious kid. If such somewhat delusion of grandeur would help, proceed but remember to take a grand halt. Don't let that stuff stay in your head forever.


Adding up another form of relief was doing a bit of firing. And hey 2011, you know that it felt sooooo good that I had to do it again. And again. And again.

QCPD Camp Karingal Firing Range, Quezon City

Back in my old company, I was part of a bunch of hardcore punk friends that were sent to Hong Kong for dinner and a talent contest. We danced and bagged the first place. High five. Those who managed to find the video in Youtube, congratulations- but you will never see me dancing to Elvis, Backstreet Boys and to that KPop song again in a really short Japanese plaid skirt. FINE. Yes you'd still see me doing such but in one condition- you gotta get me drunk, which you know would be far out difficult. Too difficult.

Hong Kong

I had to squeeze in some trips between my hectic schedule to stay attuned with the cosmos.

Cagbalete Island, Quezon

And I was also one- third of those hospitalized in Iloilo for eating a pile of oysters. That's literally so sick. And full of crap. Again, literally. Here's a shout out to my two other friends who suffered in the hospital along with me. Let's do it again! Hooray for the karma brought about by the OYSTERS!

Iloilo City

2011. You made me party WAY. TOO. HARD! A pair of shades was always inside my bag which was intended to beat the rising of the sun while rushing to reach home. In the morning.

Spicy Fingers, Greenbelt 3, Makati City

Cable Car, Makati City

Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong

M Cafe, Greenbelt 4, Makati City

Subic, Zambales

Palladium, New World Hotel, Makati City

Corregidor Island

Central Emilia, Makati City

Il Ponticello, Makati City

Los Baños, Laguna

Red Box, Greenbelt 3, Makati City

Then your month of July instantly came in as a big shock. At that point, I got an offer to head the whole operations group of a consulting firm in Singapore. But hey, everything was so happy at that time! I didn't want to leave Manila. I had my groove going already! I spent a lot of time with crazy and beloved friends. I came home to a great family that I cooked for more often than the last years. I embraced my wellness and being, ran at 5:00 AM during Sundays, and I grabbed a whole lot of other opportunities (raket because I'm a raketeer). I was so back in the scene! Returning to what I thought of as rehab- I mean, Singapore- will pave for some longing and letting go of the fun I've been experiencing. Dammit 2011, I had to tell you to cut it out because honestly, I hated that you put me on the brink of such a life- defining situation wherein I had to choose.


Still, I accepted the blessing that was offered and the fate of working once again as an OFW with only one thing in mind: God gave me another chance and this time, I have no more damn right to screw it up. I came way too far for things to be blown apart. I knew I wasn't meant to just settle, that I was challenged to make the quick move, that I had to fly... and so I did. 


Dear 2011, those days of yours got me high on events that gave me a kind of thirst that only God can quench. I knew I had to fine tune my faith. After a few weeks of attending a series of talks, I became a part of a Catholic community based here in Singapore which I've always dreamed of joining. I will never be a saint and yes I'm still that cranked up and eccentric dude who respects individual choices and differences, but you know, I'm a work in progress. I really don't have to be self righteous. I will never run out of humour and the energy to go out, but I know I'd have a deeper relationship with Someone who I glorify and believe to be granting me with a good deal of grace.

I ran my first race event in Singapore, too! Eventually, I found myself falling in love with the place again. 

Changi, Singapore

2011's the year when I'm often found inside movie houses, caught eating, hosting, reading (The Hunger Games), watching downloaded flicks and shows (I never missed any episode!), singing, dancing, tweeting, putting make up on others, going out, writing and blogging, staring at the sky while thinking of idiosyncrasies, and telling people to MEYNTEYN. Also, I've been caught relaxing frequently. I'm like everywhere. Look beneath your skin and I'm there! I'm that Jedi warrior on a lucid state.


You're right, 2011. You were full of unbelievable experiences and happenings that were so humbling. I realized though that I could do more. You're the year that gave me a chance to meet several NFF's (New Found Friends). One more day's left on the calendar yet I know there'd be more NFF's by tomorrow as I kick you off and join the countdown. You're also that year which made me reunite with my old folks! And you knew how sorry I am for not being able to devote myself to everyone dear to me because of time constraints, resources, overlapped bookings, and the distance issue - or simply because sometimes, I just love chilling alone.


We had an amazing love- hate relationship, 2011. You opened with a tough releasing of an unthinkable blindfold and ended up with clear visions of what I really want in life so far. Either way, thanks to you and to those people who love me truly! They spiced up your twelve months! Most importantly, I ATE SO MANY GOOD FOOD with you, 2011! 


Goodbye now, you epic year. I may never list or practice those nasty resolutions for that's going to be so mediocre... I'd still give the same advice over and over again to friends, but probably I'll just have to be creative in the delivery so it'd make sense to them that in every lemon thrown at their faces, they need to hold on to their strong hearts all the way. All I could swear to you, 2011, is that on the year of 2012, I'd stay on the game, attempt giving amazing vibes on the worlds of many, and yes, I'd do a lot more of those fist pumps in the air. (Not in the face. Happy now?) Alright. LET'S ROLL!




WINNING THOUGHT OF THE YEAR: 


"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still..."          - Exodus 14:14