Hirit of the day

I finally got to listen to the CD of Filipino podcasts that Microwarehouse gave away during the Philippine podcast launch at Red Box Karaoke a few days ago, and my favorite still has to go to the podcasts of director Freddie Santos.

In one episode, Freddie "answers" a phone call from someone who claims everyone tells him he's good-looking enough to be a movie star.

Freddie's answer: "Dude, just because a mirror has not cracked whenever you look at it does not mean you are good looking. It just means we make better mirrors!"

Bwahahahahahaha!!!

You can listen to and/or download his full podcast (as well as those of others like Jessica Zafra, RJ Ledesma, and, yes, Eddie Ilarde) here.

Long live the Kong!

As a child, I grew up watching the following movies on video over and over again:

Disney's Bambi (although it was more for Thumper than Bambi),
Orca: The Killer Whale (starring Richard Harris),
Flash Gordon (with a very cute Timothy Dalton)
and King Kong (the second remake, starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange).

King Kong's sentimental value should explain why I'm rooting for Peter Jackson's version of the film to rule the box office this December, instead of Chronicles of Narnia. It's a great story (misunderstood creature, the folly of human ignorance, etc.), and I'm sure the special effects will be even greater this time around. I saw the latest trailer last night, and there's this scene where Kong is perched on top of the Empire State Building and he actually jumps to swat an airplane, and lands right back on the building's steeple! Yeah, go Kong!

I haven't been this excited about a film since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Nobody bug me on the weekend of December 14th, okay?

Christmas countdown

I can't believe it'll be December by this Thursday!

And I haven't even started on my shopping yet.

Actually, I haven't even made my list.

Or even a draft of a list!

I'm feeling so lazy this year. Or maybe that's just today. *YAWN*

Can this week be any s-l-o-w-e-r...?

This must be the trade-off for the upcoming three-day weekend.

***
In other news...

Eric left this morning for an out-of-town business trip, so for the next few days:

1) I'll have the whole bed to myself;
2) I can turn up our aircon's thermostat to as high as I want;
3) I won't have to deal with someone poking me in morning, telling me "Get up, you're going to be late."

On the down side:

1) I won't have someone to rub my feet at the end of the day
2) No one to talk to about how my day went
3) No one to poke me in the morning and tell me "Get up, you're going to be late."

Prayer problem

We're attending the wedding of one of Eric's friends this Sunday, and this morning, the bride texted me to ask if I could do the opening prayer at their reception. Of course I had to say yes; you don't say "no" to anything a bride asks of you 5 days before her wedding.

Now articles, speeches, friendster testimonials...these I can do.

But a prayer? Hmm..

I think prayers that are to be read in public are more difficult to do because you can't use just any words. And you can't crack jokes either. Plus the message has to be solemn, meaningful, and respectful. And it has to be short.

Eric thinks it's hilarious. When I told him what the bride asked of me, the first thing he said was, "Ha, eh hindi ka naman nagdadasal." He was teasing, of course, but that statement sums up how difficult he knows this is for me.

I'm such a bad Catholic, I know.

My affair with Richard

Okay, I'll admit it. I met someone on our honeymoon. His name is Richard, and everyday since I came back, I can't seem to let go of him. I can't concentrate on work because all I can think about is leaving the office as early as possible so I could be with him. At night, I can't wait to hold him and take him to bed with me. Even on weekends, I spend all my free time with him. It's sick, I know.

Especially since I'm referring to Richard North Patterson (RNP), the author.

My very first RNP book was "Protect and Defend," which I bought at one of the bookstores of the Sydney International Airport before our flight home (because Qantas' in-flight entertainment sucks). I hadn't even heard of Richard before this, but compared to all the other novels I browsed at that store that time, his was the only one whose premise seemed interesting.

By the first chapter, I was hooked. By the second, Eric couldn't even talk to me without having to poke me on the shoulder to get my attention. The next thing I knew, I was home, and I had a new favorite author.



I bought the sequel to "Protect and Defend," which was "Balance of Power," last week and I'm almost done with it. Today, when I saw that Fully Booked in Power Plant was on sale, I went and bought 2 more RNP books. That should tide me over for the next few weeks or so. I'm addicted, I tell you.

Not only are his books great legal drama (which I have always loved), they talk about real issues (abortion, gun control, the death penalty) that not only make you think, they make you learn. While some knowledge of US law is necessary to better understand the plot (the Wikepedia Encyclopedia is now the default URL on my computer), the significance of the issues are no less diminished.

My only beef, of course, is that sooner or later, this affair WILL have to end. Because as in the case of all my other affairs(i.e. JK Rowling, Paulo Coelho, Sophie Kinsella), there will come a time when I will have gone through all of RNP's published works and there will be nothing left to read. Once that happens, there'll be nothing more for me to do but wait until he publishes his next one, whenever that might be. I hate it when that happens.

Unless...of course...I start a new affair with another author right after I'm through with him. Hmm...

Any suggestions who?

Bluish-green with envy

My parents left this morning for a three-day vacation at Lagen Island in El Nido, Palawan.

Yes, Lagen Island, which was one of the stopovers for the 5th season of The Amazing Race.

If I wasn't married, I'd probably be there with them right now.

I don't care if they're going with about 17 other friends (translation: 17 fellow senior citizens) and I would probably be the only one under 30 years old there. Because it's Lagen Island!




Oh well. At least it's not Amanpulo.

No, I'm not

I still say it was the buko pandan and roast beef.

Eric insists it was the oysters.

But one thing we're both 100% sure of—I am NOT pregnant.

I'm in the middle of cruising the red tide, so to speak, so to have a "bun baking in my oven" would be a scientific improbability.

But thanks for all of you who said they would keep their fingers crossed for me and who wished me congratulations.

I was amused, but touched.

When it happens, I'll be sure to post it here with a clear, unequivocal headline.

Oh, and I'm already feeling fine today.

Holy yummy popcorn!

I always make it a point to patronize the businesses that I personally feature in our mag because (1) it's about putting my (pocket) money where my mouth is and (2) the businessmen we feature are really inspiring in the sense that they chose to invest their hard-earned money here in the Philippines when everyone else has given up on this country and would rather go abroad.

One product I will definitely not have any qualms supporting is Holy Kettle Corn popcorn, whose owner I interviewed yesterday. For one thing, he was so nice and charming that for that one-and-a-half hour, I promptly forgot how bad I was (physically) feeling. And for another, his popcorn was just soooooo good that queasy stomach or not, I helped myself to quite a few munches from the samples he gave when I went back to the office. The popcorn is sweet without being icky, and not too salty that you have to find yourself chugging water every few minutes. He has branches in Alabang Town Center, ABS-CBN, Market! Market! (to name a few) and two in Cebu. He says he'll be opening a booth in Robinsons Galleria by next month and I can't wait!

Ssh, don't tell my mom

Or Eric's mom, for that matter.

But I feel awful today, and I mean that literally.

In fact, if I didn't have an interview appointment today with a guy who's very hard to pin down, I would've just stayed at home.

Last night, I threw up almost everything that I had for lunch yesterday, and even this morning, I still feel nauseous.

I blame the buko pandan that we had for dessert yesterday. Eric says it could also be the oysters we had for dinner last Sunday, because his stomach has also been queasy since then.

I wish today would end early.

Boredom busters busted

Our seminar on "Covers That Sell" yesterday wasn't as boring as I expected feared, but it still dragged on way too long for comfort, not to mention didn't contain any interactive activities whatsoever. So by the time we finished, I got a stiff neck and a pounding headache.

Before I went to that seminar, I actually thought of a few things I could do to pass the time. Because unlike some people whose seminars come with Internet-ready laptops or computers to let them chat or surf the Web, we were stuck with nothing but pens and paper, presumably so we could take down notes.

If I were close with my seatmate, I would've invited her to play Hangman or even Tic Tac Toe with me. But unfortunately, not only are we not that chummy, she's also my boss—not exacly plus promotion points if I invited her to slack off. Either way, the auditorium's layout is such that everyone is visible, and it would be quite OBVIOUS if I were doing anything but listening attentively. So scratch playing games on my cellphone, working on an article, or even napping.

Today, we have a seminar on "Brand Alignment," whatever that is, and I only hope it'll end earlier than it did yesterday.

On the bright side, the food they served was surprisingly good.

Picking on "Panday"

I want to give Filipino television a chance, I really do, but sometimes, it's just so hard to find reason to appreciate it.



Take ABS-CBN's remake of Panday for example. I've been watching it for two night now, and already I have a few bones to pick:

1) Kargador + heiress = greatest love of all?!
I really don't think so, but this is the premise of Tristan (Jericho Rosales) and Eden's (Heart Evangelista) affair. Tristan works at the docks for a living, Eden is the daughter of the owner of one of the shipping lines. It's a match-up next to impossible in real life, and I really think Pinoy films should stop capitalizing on this poor boy/rich girl (or vice versa) fantasy and give viewers something more realistic.

2) Last night's ridiculous storyline.
In last night's episode, Heart's fiancee (Mico Palanca) turns out to be a Muslim terrorist (?!!!?!) who uses his engagement party as a venue to assassinate a senator and a general (who are good friends of Heart's parents). Blah blah blah...But by the time Mico emerges from the bathroom with a ticking bomb strapped to his chest (?!!!?!), the guests have already been evacuated and the SWAT have arrived. And the SWAT solves the problem... BY SHOOTING HIM ON THE SHOULDER!!! AND THEN THEY LEAVE!!! WITH THE TIME BOMB STILL TICKING!!! Yeah, SWAT, way to go.

I really hope things get better, because despite these little annoying points, there ARE good points about the show:

1) Great casting.
Philip Salvador looked too bloated to play the original Panday, but he was able to carry the character well and looked pretty believable in the fight scenes. Victor Neri, one of our most talented but under-appreciated actors to date (who plays the villain, Lizardo), was also very effective.

2) Cool fight scenes.
So that scene with Panday facing hundreds of minions and defeating them all with nary a scratch raises eyebrows, but hey, that's why Panday is a legend. Besides, doesn't Jacky Chan do the same thing in his movies? Anyway, the sword fights are really well-choreographed and I liked the "green blood spurting" effect. Effective, but not gory.

3) Nice theme song.
I think it's by Sugarfree. Trust me, that's going to be the next "Pinoy Ka."

4) Nice location.
Wishful thinking, but hopefully, this show does for Ilocos Norte what Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand.

Thoughts on eating, singing, and shopping

Eric's Thai friend, Ply, is back in town for business. It's been our tradition to take him out to a different Filipino restaurant everytime he's here, and as we've already sampled Dencio's, Gerry's and Gilligan's Island, we decided to bring him to Kamayan in Megamall last night.

I hadn't been to any Kamayan branch in ages, so I was really shocked surprised at different it is now from how I used to remember.

Us Pinoy Gen-Xers know of Kamayan as a chi-chi place, the kind where you can hold family gatherings as well as proudly bring balikbayan or foreign guests so that they can experience the best Filipino food in an equally good ambience. Sunch, unfortunately, was not the case last night. The place was haphazardly crowded, it was dirty (there were huge and ugly stains on the seats' upholstery), the service sucked, and the food sucked even more. The restaurant also had a group of singers who went from table to table serenading guests. While they had pretty nice voices and played well, they just contributed to the noise and made it hard to talk to each other.

Maybe we should've just bought Ply to Jollibee.

***
Back to the restaurant singers... They would usually ask the guests in every table for "special requests." I found they had a pretty interesting repertoire, because they were able to sing old Spanish classics like Besame Mucho...to current hits like Orange & Lemon's Pinoy Ako. Which could also very well be called "Song of the Night" because that was what was requested by every other table! It was a treat to hear it played and sung for the first time (I really love the lyrics and for the life of me cannot understand why it would be the theme song of Pinoy Big Brother), and I found it funny when I heard it played the second time... but by the fourth and fifth time, it got to be annoying

Yes, now I have Last Song Syndrome and I can't get that damn song out of my head.

***
Have realized that it's no fun shopping with a tourist who's from Bangkok. Usually, when someone from a different country arrives, they're all so overwhelmed at how cheap (but of good quality) everything is here that shopping becomes a fun, whirlwind activity. But of course, it's a different case when you're talking to a Thai, because obviously, Bangkok has loads of better stuff. And the stuff we have here are cheaper over there.

So which begs the question.... when will get to go to Bangkok?!

Kids have the power

No Dexter or Johnny at yesterday's Cartoon Network presscon, but the event was still pretty interesting.

Quick background: Last August-September 2005, Cartoon Network commissioned AC Nielsen to conduct a survey of 1,000 kids (each with one parent present) ages 7-14 residing in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao. Of these, about 5% were from the AB income bracket, 30% from the C bracket, and 65% from the D bracket. 67% were non-cable subscribers, while 33% had cable at home.

Questions were aimed at finding more about Filipino children's lifestyles, behavior and opinions.

Some of the results were no-contests—like almost 9 out of 10 kids (85%) live in homes with mobile phones, and that TV remains the #1 leisure activity for kids (99% viewing on the average weekday).

Some of the more interesting findings though:

1) Pinoy kids are "Kapuso"!
When asked what TV channels (both local and cable) both children and parents watch, GMA7 leads the list, with 83% of respondents saying they prefer Kapuso over Kapamilya and cable.

Funnily, when the parents were aked what 3 channels they would let their children watch, they replied Cartoon Network, the Discovery channel, and the Disney channel.

BUT when the KIDS were asked what their 3 favorite channels were, they replied Cartoon Network, Disney, and Jack TV!!!! Calling the parents.... *LOL*

2) Michael Jordan STILL rules
When asked who their favorite sports stars were, Michael Jordan was still the #1 pick for boys AND girls (survey answers were also sub-divided by gender). Fyi, Allen Iverson came in second, and Shaquille O'Neal in 3rd. The first local player to make it on the list is in 4th place, Asi Taulava.

And the most interesting finding:

Filipino kids ages 7-14 are billionaires!
Filipino kids wield considerable spending power based on pocket money alone. Get this:

Survery results showed that 93% of kids 7-14 years old receive pocket money from their parents. The average weekly amount is P145.

Multiply P145 by 52 weeks and these kids "receive" P7,540 per year.

There are 2.34 million kids ages 7-14 living in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

Assuming 93% of them receive money...

You are talking about P16.4 billion pesos per year!!!! And this excludes gift money! And it's non-taxable!

Amazing, isn't it?

The truth about women drivers

I've been driving Eric's car to work for the past couple of days (I usually take the MRT), and while I enjoy getting to the office not smelling of EDSA, there's a different kind of stress involved when you're using your husband's car.

Because while I'm not exactly a kaskasero driver, let's just say my driving style is totally different from Eric's (and his family's, for that matter). They treat their cars like precious gems—one little nick (from accidentally backing onto a metal trash can, for example) is a very big deal; for my dad, it's more of a sigh of resignation and "what else is new?"

Don't get me wrong, my brothers and I are careful drivers. But we're the type who wouldn't think twice about muscling it out with buses, or squeezing into tight lanes if we're confident we can fit.

But with Eric's car, I drive it like a student driver on her first day. I don't go beyond 50kph, I don't dare fight with buses or jeeps and I certainly don't dare cut into other lanes. In fact, I always let the car ahead of me go first, even if he's a mile away. Defensive driving to the max.

I'm sure my new driving style, while safer and better, is earning me curses from fellow drivers on the road. And as I'm doing all the "classic moves" of a typical female driver (i.e. letting other cars cut in, unsure of whether to switch lanes), I can just hear all the other guys going, "@#!!, palibhasa babae yung magmamaneho!"

"Maybe," I told Eric last night, "All the women drivers that you complain about drive like that because they're using their husband's cars!"

Makes sense, don't you think?

Yes, I'm very superficial

So I'm still kinda bitter bummed that I didn't get to go to the HP-Intel press junket in Palawan last October, but that has now been eclipsed by my excitement over the presscon I'll be attending tomorrow for Cartoon Network! They've just concluded a national kids' survey here in the Philippines, and will be announcing the results tomorrow. Even better—lunch will be served!

The invitation specifically said that photo-op will be available, but since my mag doesn't have enough budget to bring a photographer along, I'll have to go above and beyond the call of duty and bring my own camera to take photos. Which is fine by me, because hopefully I get to have photos taken with Dexter! And Johnny!



Ooh, I wonder if they'll be raffling away Cartoon Network goodies?

Move over, "Friends"

"Mind Your Language" is the title of a hilarious British comedy series about the day in the life of a language teacher (Jeremy Brown) trying to teach English to a group of immigrants, which include French, Japanese, German, Chinese, Pakistani-Muslim, Greek, Spanish, etc. nationals. Naturally, there is a lot of miscommunication (not to mention mispronounciation), and some of the humor can be racist (like exaggerating the Chinese's penchant for pronouncing "r" as "l"), but it's really so funny that it would be hard to take offense.

I got to know about this show courtesy of Eric, who first came across it during his high school days in Singapore. He bought the DVD a few months back and now I'm torn between watching this and "Friends"!

Some notable quotable quotes from "Mind Your Language":

Ranjeet Singh: If at first, you are not succeeding, try try!
Jeremy Brown: [corrects Ranjeet] Again.
Ranjeet Singh: If at first, you are...

-----------------------------------------

Jeremy Brown: Today, we'll talk about vowels. Who can tell me what the vowel sounds are?
Ali Nadim: I know! A rumbling stomach!

-------------------------------------------

[calling out roll] Jeremy Brown: Giovanni?
[stands up] Giovanni Capello: Si, professore!
Jeremy Brown: No "professore"!
Giovanni Capello: No "professore"?
Jeremy Brown: No, from now on, you are to address me as "Sir".
Giovanni Capello: "Sir"? Now I understand!
[bows]
Giovanni Capello: You have gone to get "notted"!
[baffled]] Jeremy Brown: Come again?
Giovanni Capello: Si, you have gone to get "notted" by the Queen!

-------------------------------------

Trust me, it's funnier when you watch it!

First month-sary

Can you believe it's been a month since D-Day? I certainly don't... a part of me still feels like it was just yesterday. They say time flies when you're having fun, but I say time flew because we've really just been busy. Organizing our things and the rest of the house, cooking, cleaning. Yes, I am was being a typical housewife, and I have to tell you, it's really NOT as easy as I used to think.

A lot of people keep asking me how married life is, and honestly, I don't know what to tell them. Some days, it's fine; other days, I feel I made a huge mistake and that I would give ANYTHING to un-marry myself. Let me clarify that this feeling has nothing to do with Eric -- it's more of I miss my family, my old house, and even my old routine. I was telling Eric, "Before, our problems were just deciding what movie to watch or where to eat out. Now, our problems are what food to cook for lunch and making sure the refrigerator is well-stocked."

And I would imagine myself doing these same things FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS and that freaks me out. And I suddenly begin to think how uncomplicated my life as a single girl was, and how there were so many things I took for granted back then.

Eric says I'm just going through the adjustment period. And I've talked to a couple of married friends and they all said they experienced the same thing. They say the feeling amplifies once I have a baby, which was also why I have also decided to postpone having one for now. I really don't think I'm ready yet. In the meantime, I'll just have to take one day at a time.

It's also partly why I was so eager to come to work today. Because at least THIS is one aspect of my life that hasn't changed a bit (except now everybody is giving me sex advice!). Oh God, I'm finding comfort in work... what does that make me?!

Aussie humor

We saw this in front of a store of one of the towns we passed on our way to the Blue Mountains: