Drama King (At In-UPDATE pa talaga)

Not that he deserves a post, but I then I deserve to rant. So i'll keep it short. I've seen him shed crocodile tears no less than three times on TV. And he still hasn't stopped. And I also can't remember how many times he's been embroiled in controversies -- from domestic abuse to mass abuse. What boggles me is why he does he still have a show? Or more to the point, why isn't he jailed yet?

Give us a break ALREADY.


Joey De Leon's latest statement:
"Nagre-react siya agad. Parang siya lang ang mandaraya sa buong mundo. Huwag mong akuin dahil marami pang mandaraya. E, siya agad, parang ‘Ako ‘yan! Ako ‘yang mandaraya na ‘yan!' Huwag ganun, ang yabang, e. Bawasan mo ‘yan, pare."

Hahaha. Natawa ako dun. So now,is it GMA et. al's turn to cry crocodile tears on TV?

The Lost Generation

I got an email today that started with this: "Ito ang mga huling taon ng dekada '80 at ang mga unang taon ng dekada '90. Ito ang panahong uso pa ang makiuso. Kung ginagaya mo ang style ng mga artista, hindi ka tatawaging jologs. Ito ang
panahong tapos na ang martial law, pero malayo pa ang new millennium. Hindi pa high-tech pero di naman old fashioned. Saktong-sakto lang! Ito ang panahon natin. Pero pano mo malalaman kung kabilang ka sa henerasyong ito? Narito ang listahan na makapagpapatunay if you're one of us. R U?"

What follows is a list of personalities, TV shows, bands, events that shaped our golden years of youth (if you were born in the late 70s). And because I am turning 29 in a few days I feel a bit nostalgic and old AND swak na swak talaga yung iba so I'm reproducing some of them below with my own comments. Enjoy, I'm sure alam nyo rin lahat to.


Paborito mong panoorin ang Shaider, Bio-man,Maskman, Mask Rider Black, Machine Man at kung ano-anong TV sitcom ng Japan na isinalin sa Tagalog. - My sisters and I luvvvved Shaider and Bioman. In fact, I was Pink 5 - Julia was Red 1, Ten-ten was Yellow 4 and Marissa was Green 2. Our younger brother JC had to be given the Blue 3 role just to complete our group. One summer, I took a vacation with my Mom and when I came back my sister Julia tells me "Alam mo nung wala ka sabi ni Ate Marissa sya daw si Pink 5." A confrontation ensued. Haha.

Alam mo ang jingle ng Nano-Nano. - Yeah. "Sweet, sour and salty nano nano nano nano..."

Naglaro ka ng Shake-Shake Shampoo, Monkey-Monkey-Annabelle, prikidam 123, Langit-Lupa-Impyerno, Syato, Luksong-Tinik, Luksong-Baka, 10-20 at kung ano-ano pang larong nakakapagod. - Idagdag pa natin yung Melting Candle, Marco Polo, I love you Teddy Bear Teddy Bear...

Dalawa lang ang todong sumikat na wrestler, si Hulk Hogan at si Ultimate Warrior. Naniwala ka rin na namatay si Ultimate Warrior nang buhatin niya si Andre d' Giant dahil pumutok ang mga ugat niya sa muscle. - We were so into watching wrestling before. And to this day that old urban tale about Ultimate Warrior bursting his vein is still true in my mind. Who knows what really happened? :)

Hindi ka gaanong mahilig sa That's Entertainmentat pinapanood mo lang ito tuwing Sabado kung saan nagpapagandahan ng production numbers ang Monday hanggang Friday group. (at badtrip ka sa Wednesday group dahil pinakabaduy lagi ang performance nila!) - That's Entertainment forever! Jennifer-Romnick ako and hated Sheryll Cruz just like everyone. Can you name other loveteams? :)

Napaligaya ka ng maraming pinoy bands tulad ng Yano, Rivermaya, Grin Department, Tropical Depression, The Teeth, The Youth, After Image, Orient Pearl, The Dawn, Alamid, Wolfgang, at ang sikat na sikat na Eraserheads. - It was definitely the era of Pinoy Rock. Lagi ako nasa 70's Bistro noon every Friday pag may gig ang Grupong Pendong or The Jerks. I met so many underground rock legends I wasn't even aware of their significance until one by one we lost them to the struggle (death, insanity, poverty - the very song things they sang about). Some of them are still around though and haven't given up the fight. Those were the days...

Kilala mo ang Smokey Mountain, (first and second generation). - Hindi pa maarte si Geneva nun (Anak ng Pasig). Pero mas gusto ko si Chedi!

for little girls, hindi ka "in" pag wla kang pencil case na marameng pindutan at marameng lalagyan ng lapis at kung ano ano pa... > - I absolutely loved my gigantic pencil case with all those features. Maybe it accounted for half the weight of my St. Scholastica bag, but who cares?

Wala ka sa "fashion" pag ala kang pop swatch (ur own personal wall clock at your wrist) - I never got one but I envied my bus mates who did.

Kabisado mo ang 3:00 prayer dahil napapanood mo ito tuwing hapon, at kabisado mo din pati ung "we have just as one nation started the beautiful 3:00 habit...we hope that this becomes a daily habit with you..." - And I can still distinctly hear the voice over in my head.

I loved the late 80's and the rest of the 90's. It was the age of discovery and originality - new things were happening all the time. And yet life felt simpler then, somehow (come to think of it, life was simpler then). Maybe I'm just getting old and seeing things repeat themselves - from ideas to fashion to music - thus, the general feeling of the triteness of it all. Perhaps this was how our parents felt when we were living our time?

Vietnam Idol!

Thursday afternoon, my friend C IMs me that she scored two tickets to Vietnam Idol and if I wanted to go that night. I figured it would be an experience to talk (and blog) about and well, C's company is always great. R, fresh from her vindication about our Mekong Delta trip also pointed out something about being negative without trying it first. So off to Vietnam Idol it was that night, di bale na that it was in District 10, a good 45 minutes away from home.

There were 8 contestants left and they all sang in Vietnamese (they say sometimes English songs are sung, but not on that night). They also showed videos of the "idols" when they were having their photo shoots. I have to say, their poses are really quite funny (with matching swiveling turns and electric fan to achieve the windblown look). I didn't think we'd be able to judge if a person's vpice was good if they sang in a different language, but we were able to. It was quite evident who sang well and who just had the "idol look". Besides, we also took our cue from the audience: when they laughed we laughed, when they clapped we clapped, you get the point.



The verdict? We liked two singers; one's voice was jazzy and deep and the other one just stood out because she had personality and showmanship - and she looked like Elizabeth Ramsey (no kidding!). I'm personally rooting for the Ina ni Jaya lookalike. I really hope she makes it. Ching and I agreed that if she makes it, Vietnam would be on their way to a change. Out with the fair skinned look, in with the exotic beauty! Out with tradition, in with innovation! Perhaps we were pinning our hopes too much on Vietnam Idol to change society. Haha.

The judges looked so dedma, and whether they praised or okrayed the candidate their faces looked the same. Oh well, at least I could say that when I was in Vietnam I got to see Vietnam Idol. It was great bonding with Ching too after she lost her mom. Great to know she has not lost her spirit and resilience. And I learned one thing from her when she was talking about her "almost lowest low" - when we encounter bothersome events in our daily lives (like traffic, annoying officemates, slow internet connection etc.) you can just simply shrug and say, "Well, there are worst things in life!" Great attitude from a great friend.

The Truth About Cats

“People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life”. - Anonymous

What about those people who are scared of cats, they will come back as what? - Me


I've always been scared of cats. And because I was scared of them, I managed to run into them all the time.

When I was about seven years old I got my first scare when a black cat ran after me outside our house. I managed to get to a "higher" place, a lababo - where in my obvious panic and total loss of control - I fooled myself into thinking that a cat can't reach me there. When actually a cat can CLIMB AS HIGH AS A TREE IF SHE WANTED TO. A staring contest then ensued between the cat and I, while I shouted for my lola to come save me. My lola being the forever busy one running the house dismissed my hysterics as just another drama that could wait.

Looking back, I think the cat ran after me because I ran first and she was being a typical playful kitten. And I was being an un-typical little girl who should be loving any kind of animal at that age - mouse or cat alike. After that I would have less dramatic encounters with cats but that one goes into the books as my ultimate childhood trauma if there ever was one.

In college, my friend Donna had two cats named Oreo and Grey. Her cats lounged in her bedroom in the same way that we lounged in her bedroom feeling quite clever and rebellious that we cut classes. All my other friends found her cats cute; I didn't. I was scared out of my wits and found it totally unfair that the cats were ruining my free day. I almost went back to school if the cats weren't shooed away. My life would have been so much easier if only I saw those cats as a cute black ball and a cute grey ball, wouldn't it? But of course I didn't. I saw myself looking into the eyes (literally) of an old enemy and it wasn't funny.

Back home, I would ask my little cousin Leslie to go with me outside the dirty kitchen to see if the coast was clear. Cats might be there (lounging as usual) and I need her to shoo them away so I can pass. And as much as she feels important being asked to handle that task for her ate who was a good 20 years older than she was, she is also consumed with laughter as she shouts, "Scareddy-cat!". (And yes, she also watches too much Cartoon Network which explains her language).

Stephen King's novel that was also adapted into a movie called Sleepwalkers bothered me so much, not because of the incestuous mother-son relationship and the fact that they were monsters, but because of the scene where the house is draped with all kinds of cats. Dead cats. The tagline of the movie was "They feast on your fear - and it's dinner time". It's a lame tagline, but I have to say, the movie feasted on my fear and it was bedtime. And my bedtime was ruined. For days.

The other day I was about to take the lift in the apartment where we lived and suddenly I heard a cat meowing from somewhere and it sounded really close by. So I started looking around the place. I didn't dare look at the open hole above my head because the cat might be there peering with her, well, catty eyes. I didn't see the cat anywhere but I am sure I didn't imagine it meowing. Maybe it was a ghost cat.

Cats didn't just exist in my physical world but in my subconcious world too. I've had regular cat dreams for as long as I can remember until about a year ago when they came a bit less and then stopped completely. In my typical cat dream, they would pounce at me or run after me in attack mode. I would wake up believing the cat is there standing on my chest ready to scratch my face. It was a similar dream everytime.

Thus, a few years back when I read Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" it was very significant for me when he described Tereza's cat dreams where she is attacked by them. It was implied that these were manifestations of her fears about Tomas' infidelities (In Czech, the word "cat" is slang for a pretty woman). If I were to delve into it and relate it to my life at that point in time, it made psense what my cat dreams meant. It just summed up all my fears - not necessarily relating to infidelity - but just the general feeling of being in a state of instability and conflict in life and relationships.

Which brings me to my cat dream the other night - the first after a long time. Perhaps it was triggered by the ghost cat episode, I don't know. Anyway in this dream I see bunch of different cats of shapes and colors and as is my typical reaction, I felt scared.

There was something different about this dream though, because if before, the cats were in front of me on attack mode, these cats were on my side and a safe distance away. I just watch them (still ready to run if they show any signs of attacking) when suddenly a small white cat comes and I hear myself saying, "Ito, cute". Cute? Was that really me talking?! And then in my dream, I didn't feel scared anymore. I don't know how the dream ended - maybe that was the ending until it shifted into something totally unrelated like most dreams go.

I find the dream amusing. In fact, I'm really pretty happy and psyched about that dream. Like it was an accomplishment of some sort, a growing up and shedding of old habits, looking at life with humor rather than drama, being more relaxed rather than responding with fear - you know, all that jazz. I also know I'll never have any scary cat dreams anymore. Don't ask me how, I just do.

The truth about cats is that they can be cunning and threatening, yes (to others cats can only be only endearing - to each his own). But how you respond to them is the more important thing. You may continue being stressed when an old fear creeps in; you can run and see it catching up with you OR you can choose to free yourself from the fear and move on. As with every trauma, there has to be a point of getting over, of redemption (and of wanting that redemption). Perhaps the key is also stumbling at that freedom at the right time in your life when things have fallen into place. When you are ready and a little bit oblivious to how things have gone for the better in your life. If it happens that way, it can only come as a pleasant surprise.

That's my truth about cats. What's yours?

Happy

Happy times the past 24 months.. and few hours...

When we first met it felt magical. It's still magical today (kinks and all). Here's to wishing we will always remember how it felt then and how it feels now. :)

Remembering

"Harsh nights and candlelights wood fires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul
Treasuring, remembering the promise of spring
Pussywillows cat-tails soft winds and roses"
-Pussywillow Cattails, Gordon Lightfoot



March 19, 1950 - August 2, 2003

Much has been said (and sung). I just want to remember fondly.

Homesick

The last time I went home was back in Feb during the Tet holidays in Vietnam which allowed us a break from work. Two weeks was too short to relish all the things I missed in Manila, and I can't wait to come home in December for Christmas. Fingers crossed, I'll try for a month-long vacation! In the meantime, below is a random list of what I miss back home:


1. Speaking in Tagalog ... and understanding what people talk about around you. Back here, it still feels weird sometimes to be hearing "noises" unfamiliar to your ears. So everytime I bump into a Pinoy on the bus or wherever, I can't help but smile. We pinoys also relish the act of talking in Tagalog without the others understanding us. Gumaganti lang for the times that they talk in Tieng Viet during meetings without caring to translate to us poor foreigners what the hell just went on. :P

2. My family! Especially my little cousin Leslie, who I am happy to hear is still her old feisty and naughty self. I miss the little brat. One of these days I'll write a blog entry about her.

3. Just when I am inches away from turning 30, I'd have to say that I miss Parental supervision. Or should I say, grandparental supervision. Our fridge has junk food, we don't eat breakfast, wake up really late on the weekends, can watch TV all we want, go home anytime we want, our sink has a pile of dirty plates... Yeah, I never thought I'd say it but I miss *some* grandparental supervision. Back home, if I did all those things, my Lolo would be on my case. For sure.

4. Friends. The ones who really know you and perhaps grew up with you. I've met some really nice people here too, but it's just not the same. My sisters are my friends too and I sorely miss them!

5. The malls. I wasn't really a mall rat, but when you go to a place with no real malls, you tend to miss it. Mall of Asia, Gateway, Trinoma (which I haven't been to), Town, even the megamalls cramped with people.

4. Oh, the Food. I think I have had just about had my share of pho, spring rolls and wraps. I need heavy duty pinoy stuff.

5. Movies that come on time. Case in point: they still haven't shown Transformers here when the rest of the world has moved on already to The Simpsons movie. How sad is that? May I also add that I miss nice cinemas, and not ones that look like you're in Ever Gotesco or YP.

6. Bars that close after 12. Seriously!

7. Good music. Good pinoy music, live acts, updated songs on the radio. Ang uso na kanta dito ay "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" ( you ought to know by now how much i love you...) It's not even funny anymore.

8. Manang, how we miss you. We have help that comes to clean 3x a week. But on the days that she doesnt come, the house is a mess.

9. Driving a car. Sure, the bikes are cute to look at but since you don't know how to ride it (and you don't really relish the thought of doing so), you are stuck with 3 options: walking (tiring), cabbing (expensive), or riding the xe om (ruins your hair and can be scary if you end up with a crazy driver).

10. How things don't work in the Philippines but you miss it - politics is dirty, the government is laughable, the peace and order situation is not exactly peaceful and orderly, brownouts, water scarcity (at least in BF where i live), less pay more work... You grew up with it, you are both frustrated and entertained with it. In the end everytime you see something remotely or ditectly related to the Philippines, you feel a surge of pride. You still have faith that it will be better, eventually, and even if it doesn't we will get by anyway.

11. And on that note, I also miss Pinoy showbiz: Ruffa, Gretchen, Kris, Piolo... all that hullaballo Could anything be more colorful than pinoy showbiz?


In fact, can anything be more colorful than the Philippines? In a way only pinoys can get - I seriously doubt it.

Scenes On A Sunday

The Art Gallery in Dong Khoi Street



Sitting on the steps of the Opera House



Chilling



Opera View building across the street





I love Sundays. The only glitch is that it comes before (manic) Monday, otherwise it would be my favorite day. :)

Roadtrip

July, the 27th 10ish pm. The plan was hatched to go to Vung Tau for a day trip on Saturday morning for some sun, sea, and sand to tour our friend, Uly who was visiting us in Saigon for two weeks.



Vung Tau - FYI - is the nearest getaway south of city (2 hours by road or 1 & 1/2 hours by ferry). The name Vung Tau came about because the geography in this area also forms a natural bay where many merchant ships would stop to seek shelter back in the day. In time, this area became known as Vung (puddle) Tau (ships). In the french colonization days, this area was named Cap Saint Jacques . I first went to this place - which I prefer to call by its french name - back in 2006 when I was alone and homesick in VN. My Vietnamese BFF, Thuy, invited me to this quaint place it being her hometown. I had a lovely time staying in their farm, where among other things, I witnessed a chicken being killed to be served as my meal, homemade beer, capped off by a raucous Vietnmese after-wedding party we crashed (this merits another blog entry). Since then I’ve been back one more time and have thoroughly enjoyed the picturesque place with the statue of Christ on top of a hill overlooking the coast (so very Rio de Janeiro - for it was copied there!).



Saturday, the 28th somewhere between 6am-6:30 am. Struggling to wake up and bargaining for a few more mins of shut-eye until the half hour struck and it was a mad scramble to get to the shower and pack our beach wardrobe and paraphernalia for the trip.
By 7-ish am we were in the bus station being told by the lady in the ticket counter that the 7.30 am bus had no more seats left. The next one to leave would be the 8am. We didnt want to wait that long so we quickly made a decision to take the ferry instead. Took a quick cab drive and encountered some minor confusion as he didn’t know what “ferry” meant; we quickly changed the term to “hydrofoil” + saigon river, and then we were on our way. By 7:30am we were boarding the ferry; by 7:31 I was feeling cold already under the very frigid airconditioning, and by 7.32 i was smelling the not so appealing smell of gasoline all over the place. When the ferry started to leave the dock, I started feeling drowsy. I wasn’t sure if it was biyahilo or just plain antok. I willed myself for the latter with much effort. The windows in the ferry were frosted (now why would they do that, right?) so there were no views to be seen. From my seat, I could see Uly outside near the rails animated in conversation with a girl oblivious to the pounding of the waves and the wind around them. Well, at least one of us was enjoying the trip. Lem was far, far away in dreamland, while I focused my attention on trying to sleep and willing the ferry to go faster.

We got to Cap St. Jacques by almost 10am in the midst of strong, cold winds and cloudy weather. But that was okay because foremost in our minds was to EAT something and we knew what CSJ was famous for - banh khot tom cha - a miniature fried rice pancake with shrimp dolloped atop eaten with leaves and spicy sauce.



Yummy! So yummy in fact that we didn’t notice the rain pouring heavily outside, until it was time to hit the beach and we realized the perfect plan of sun, sea and sand was nowhere in sight.

It pretty much rained and poured the WHOLE time we were there, so we ended up staying in this new mall called Imperial Palace, drinking coffee in Highlands Coffee (the way we do in the city), eating in the food court (the way we don’t do in the city) rather than checking out the abundant seafood restos in the place because the weather was so freakin’ bad it didn’t allow for adventure and exploration. We realized soon enough that it was no use sticking to our plan of staying the whole day in CSJ (which increasingly I felt like calling by its local name, Vung Tau), so we booked a 2pm bus and asked to be picked in the mall.

The trip back home was spent in a cramped, smelly bus which had so many pick-up points it felt like a few hours until we were finally on the highway and seeing nothing but trees and the road, and of course, the rain. It didn’t help that the lola seated on the front was having a bad case of car sickness, and was giving off sounds of a guttural nature that almost led me to grab my own plastic bag and unleash my frustrations too about life and all that. Haha. Traffic was bad and we were stuck in numerous bottlenecks. My two companions were occupied in their own worlds - Lem was sleeping and Uly was deep in conversation with his seatmate - do we see a pattern here?! For some time I was occupied with maneuvering Lem towards our side cause he kept encroaching on his seatmate’s territory (poor guy started dodging Lem’s head as it tried to aim for his shoulder to sleep on. Haha). After that, all I could do was look out the window longingly for some air. Unfortunately, even that ”respite” was ruined by a group of boys outside riding a van and focusing their attention on me by blowing kisses in my direction. I was in a bad mood by then so I did a very mature thing and stuck our my tongue then pulled the curtains together to block my view. Ang sungit.

We got home by 5pm and chilled the rest of the day. We didn’t have our weekend beach getaway, but I am sure a few months from now we will try again, albeit wishing for better weather, smoother traffic, and no weird boys blowing kisses in the wind.

Cap Saint Jacques we’ll be back!