flipped & twisted: May 2005

Monday, May 30, 2005

thank you girl

A year later China hosted Miss World, its first international beauty contest.

"Though they started slowly, they implemented this because they wanted more people to learn about China," said the current Miss China, 21 year old Siyuan Tao.

A host of promotionally-driven pageants have subsequently been held, including Miss Ugly, Miss Plastic Surgery -- even beauty pageants for the elderly.

This was from an article I found on Yahoo!News today while i was doing my browsing. Nothing much happened today, except the fact that I have finished my laundry. All of them. I'm happy now.

Miss Ugly? Miss Plastic Surgery? What has this world turned into?

Anyway, the pageant (I meant Miss Universe) is set to air in the west coast at 9:00 pm (that would be in an hour) but I already know the results, thanks to some of my friends from the east coast who always, always do this to me. Whether it is AI or Miss U (not that I care), they always get to know the results first.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

there goes my new ipod

there's a ~~big~~ huge reason why i should never, ever go to a casino.

in my more than six years of visiting different casinos all over [from vegas to reno to nawlins] the u.s., never have i left a single casino with a smile plastered on my face. this weekend was no exception.

a good friend of mine floated the idea of a quick drive to vegas, since it was the long weekend anyway. okay, it's not that hard to convince me.

we picked up something from his work in walnut. somewhere, we decided to just go to pechanga. then, i suggested casino morongo, since i read somewhere that they just finished their multi-million dollar renovation. and it's less than 20 miles away from palm springs. so that's where we went.

we arrived around six. i psyched myself that at most, i was willing to part with one benjamin franklin (a hundred bucks), no more, no less. shortly after seven piyem, the benjamin that has been lingering in my wallet for four weeks now, was gone. sigh.

so i went to the atm machine. this casino has (i think) more than a hundred atm machines strategically located all over the casino floor. how convenient. and despite the prohibitive cost that each machine charges for every transaction ($4 per transaction, aside from the charges that your own bank will deduct from your account, for ~~not being loyal~~ using other atm machines), there was a long line of people withdrawing money from these machines. i was one of them.

i withdrew a hundred bucks. the receipt reflected that i got 104. whew. the price of a tall white chocolate latte at coffee bean. mahal. but what can i do? i wanted to win. (who didn't).

by 8 piyem, i was down to zero one more time. oh no. i was losing one hundred bucks per hour. god forbid if we stayed for six hours. i was, of course, not gonna let that happen.

for the second, and last time, i braved the line to the atm machines. i withdrew another hundred bucks. win or lose, this is it. i know my limit. hehehe. i think.

i did not play the slots. i did not play pai gow. i stuck with the good old black jack. obviously, not a good idea. we went back to hell-ey hundreds of dollars poorer. i've been wanting to upgrade my ipod and get the newer ones, but i guess that would have to wait now. as the budget that i was supposed to use for this project has been donated to casino morongo.

Friday, May 27, 2005

holiday mode

it's friday and people are already in holiday mode. monday's memorial day, so people are already preparing for the long weekend ahead. see what an extra day makes. it's like a weekend plus one but people don't seem to see it as such.

i think i'm just gonna stay home for the long weekend. two years ago, my friends and i drove to san francisco and reno, nevada. last year, we went to arizona -- visited grand canyon, phoenix, sedona, scottsdale, and all other cities in between, including palm springs.

i need to have a project. like fix my room. or something. i can catch up on my readings. or my dvd viewing. or i can finally watch lost.

happy memorial day weekend everyone!

Thursday, May 26, 2005

one-two punch

that's what i felt last night, after watching the mind-numbing season finale of alias.

i screamed at my tv set as soon as the 'bad robot' thingie appeared. which just means that i'll have tow ait until the fall to find out what happened.

the one-two punch? syd and vaughn were on their way to santa barbara and they were talking about the possibility of just eloping. yada yada yada. nice music in the background. lots of 'i love yous' being exhanged.

in the spirit of truthfulness, vaughn says, "for starters, my name is not michael vaughn." wtf. then syd's reaction shot. then boom. a car/truck hits them. bad robot. omg.

my head literally ached and i kept on thinking everything michael vaugh said and did in the past four seasons and i'm at a loss. if he is not michael vaughn, then who is he? arrrgh. only true-blooded couch potatoes would have the same problem. can't wait till the fall.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

what happened tom?

because i was too sleepy last monday night, i was not able to watch tom cruise's guesting on oprah. so i taped it.

last night, because i was wide awake at 2:00 a.m., i popped the tape and watched what most of the people on the blogosphere have been talking about. i am a big tom cruise fan (and that is an understatement) but his appearance on oprah was scary. borderline crazy.

i dunno what he was on (jimmy kimmel suggested last night it was steroids) during the guesting but holy mother of god, stay away from it, mr. cruise. you're gonna lose all your fans if you keep on doing this. not good.

and also, what's with the hollywood media not believing about tom's love for katie holmes? the boston globe came out with a story, 'Sure, They're in Love...With Publicity.' ouch. even calcutta's the telegraph has something to say about this new romance.

mahal ka o mahal mo?

from out of nowhere, my friend blurted this question to me. we just finished our coffee (i didn't like the way it was prepared today. it was way too strong for me. hence, i am still wide awake at 2:00 am) and we were just walking when the question was verbalized.

not wanting to overanalyze, i told my friend that it has been awhile since that question was asked. or it has been awhile since someone asked my take on a similar question.

'mahal ko,' i quipped.

it was not the response that he expected. this is the part where it gets tricky. do you answer based on what your friend wants to hear or based on what you really feel deep down inside? sometimes, rules must be bent in order to make a friend feel better. this time, i did not feel the need so i went for what i felt deep down inside.

upon closer analysis, why is it not possible that 'mahal mo' can be equal to 'mahal ka?' well, it is possible but it does not happen everyday.

'lahat kasi ng mahal ko, hindi ako mahal. eh di dun na lang ako sa mahal ako,' replied my friend quickly. i had no idea if my friend was trying to convince me or if he was trying to convince himself.

for a moment, i was quite stumped. how many people in this world feel that? there was a point in the not-so-distant past that i felt the exact same way.

is it selfish to just go for that someone who loves you, and hope (against hope, maybe?) that you will learn to love that someone back?

is it stupid to go for that someone you love, and hope (against hope as well?) that that someone will learn to love you back?

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

nine years

just like that. may 23, 2005 passed by like any other day. any other ordinary day. just like that.

i used to dread the date especially since the break-up a couple of years ago. i always wished that the day would move faster, so everyone could move on to may 24. not yesterday.

thought about the former significant other and where we could have gone if things did not happen as they did. for what? i absolutely have no idea but this day of the year somehow brings that out from me.

may 23, 1996 seems very distant now, from where i see things. everything just seems to be memories from a distant past. memories that always seem to resurface every freaking year. on this freaking date.

Monday, May 23, 2005

hot, hot. hot

the weather has been unbearably hot the past few days. no wonder people (including myself) have been getting sick. my coughs and colds have not left me (i thought i was already okay last friday). damn.

and yes, i am still in my 'hide and seek' fever. i dunno for how long. officially, the song is now on top of my itunes' 25 most played, dislodging the killers' 'mr. brightside' which has occupied the position for about 8 weeks now. third on the list is green day's 'boulevard of broken dreams'. number 4 is ben jelen's 'come on' and fifth is south border's 'wherever you are.' hide and seek's rise to the top of my list is phenomenal. love, love, love imogen heap.

desperate housewives' season finale last night was 'just alright' in my book. not 'that good' or 'that awesome'. 'just alright'. i wish they somehow shared a few more snippets about mrs. betty applewhite, the new desperate housewife. rex van de kamp is dead. wrong move. they could have killed of gabby's husband first, then tom, or susan's ex-hubby. i officially hate the pharmacist now. i hope he's gonna get his comeuppance as early as next season's premiere.

since i was just home most of the time, i watched some of my dvds that have been sitting there. i loved 'maria full of grace' so much. it was a very good movie. the lead actress, catalina sandino moreno is rumored to be dating jake gyllenhaal now. oh well.

Friday, May 20, 2005

ice queen

michelle kwan acknowledges the guests who attended the opening of the east west ice palace in artesia

michelle, with east west bank president and ceo dominic ng and artesia mayor larry nelson

michelle receives flowers from two children

i swear that's michelle!

the ice queen tries hockey

what's wrong with this picture? 04 in a series

[monterey park, california]

hide and seek

that's the title of the song that the genius people behind the oc's production team used in key scenes during the show's season finale which was aired a few hours ago. i taped it since i had an event to cover. [i've been playing it non-stop on my itunes. sigh.]

as soon as i got back, i watched it. watching it brought me back to last year's season finale, where seth just took off, and left newport beach. it was a sad episode. very sad one. color me impressed. the dialogues between the characters were awesome, and the acting was great as well. the ending was very good, and the way imogen heap's song 'hide and seek' was used just rocked.

the church where caleb's funeral mass was held was the same church [wayfarer's chapel in rancho palos verdes] where my friend keena got married. it's a small, beautiful and picturesque (all glass) chapel overlooking the pacific ocean. one more trivia: the guy from garden grove, yes, the druggie is a pinoy. he's one of the basco brothers. he was the one with a gun.

emotional. heart-tugging. sad. see you in the fall, the oc.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

share-a-load

for years now, i have been given this task by my friends (different sets) as their sounding board. they tell me their problems, their secrets, their heartaches.

i'm okay with the set-up, but sometimes, the sounding board needs a sounding board too. you know where this is going huh? right. without naming names, i am sharing some of my friends' issues in life. i don't necessarily give out advice, sometimes they just want me to listen. [and take notes. hah!]

i had a long talk with a friend last night on the phone. he said he had good news and bad news to share. i asked for the bad news first. his mom's on a coma, after about a year of being diagnosed with cancer. sigh. i could feel the sadness and submission in his voice. 'tanggap ko na,' he told me. [translation: i've accepted it.] the good news? he was gonna meet one of his icons, greg louganis, at an event today.

one of my good friends had his brand new sports car vandalized. eggs were thrown at the car and deep scratches (and a huge dent) were found on the driver's side. this car is less than three weeks old.

one of my friends is planning to break-up with his significant other. i know at least three friends who have been - or tried to be, or still are - in an affair with someone married/deeply committed. one just plunged into a relationship with someone almost twice his age.

these stuff make each day pretty unique for me. sorry, no names. ever.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

carrie vs bo in next week's finale?

as an ai dork, that is my bold prediction. hehehe. it has been, even way before simon and his gang praised them left and right. i think vonzell is leaving tonight because (sue me, sue me!) i think there's no way that the ai title will be bagged by a black person for the third consecutive year. i am a fan of vonzell's too, but i think it would be better for all of us if bo or carrie won.

no country singer has won the competition. no rocker has won the competition. no white guy has won the competition. 2 ot of 3 says it's bo. how scientific.

i missed watching amazing race last night. it's like i had a tar (short for the amazing race) withdrawal syndrome. i loved watching ai and tar back to back every tuesdays. anyway, alias is on tonight. for two freaking hours. woohoo. 24 will have it's season finale next monday (another 2-hour thing). oc's finale will be this thursday, the same with the apprentice. sigh.

it's gonna be a long summer (of re-runs and crappy filler shows!).

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

thank you, blockbuster

while at blockbuster last weekend, i decided to sign-up for their unlimited monthly rental promo. it cost me $14.99 plus tax. for that amount, i could bring home two videos at a time. i can return them anytime i want and get another two to bring home. the first time i rented, i checked my receipt: each video cost $4.49 to rent. way too expensive. just three rentals and i'm good.

so every day since saturday, i've been renting two videos at a time and i have been able to somehow catch up with my viewing. if i like a movie, i finish it, and i even watch the bonus sections. if i don't, then i don't. heh. i can't force myself to watch something that i feel i dont like from the start. i have a-d-d. sometimes. and o-c-d too. just like chad michael murray. hah.

among the nice ones i've watched since the weekend: ocean's twelve (i liked it, except for the 'julia roberts' sub-plot.) and iron ladies (a thai movie that's really funny. i heard it's true-to-life. go thailand!). the rest? i'll try to remember.

up close and personal with michelle kwan

michelle kwan, five-time world champion and the most decorated female figure skater in u.s. history opened her own ice skating rink in the city of artesia, about a 45-minute drive from los angeles. it is called the 'east west ice arena,' after east west bank, whose spokesperson is, yes, michelle kwan.

i am not really an avid fan of figure skating (sure!) but i was quite awed to see michelle in person. as a treat to everyone who attended the event, michelle performed a routine [i think this is the same routine she performed in russia for this year's world championships where she placed 4th!] using josh groban's 'you raise me up.'

the performance was goosebump-inducing, as it was my first time ever to watch a figure skater perform live. i saw sasha cohen a couple of weeks ago but this was not match. well, sasha did not actually skate so i am quite biased.

after her performance, luc robitaille joined her in the rink and performed warm-up hockey. luc's a professional hockey player and quite a celeb in the los angeles sports scene. i first saw him in person four christmas seasons ago when he and keanu reeves lit the christmas tree at the 7th and fig [an establishment in downtown la].

on a more personal level... i have not been feeling well since this morning. my nose is stuffy and i have difficulty breathing. i am blaming the freaking weather for this . the weekend was suoer warm and when i woke up this morning, it was freezing cold. i hate getting sick.

[i'll post the pics soon.]

Saturday, May 14, 2005

food trip

mimi's cafe
2925 los feliz blvd., los angeles
&&

a couple of my friends picked me up earlier for lunch. quite tired with filipino food (in los angeles! who knew?), we wanted to try something different. we went to ~~mimi's~~ mimis cafe in los feliz, about a mile and a half away from where i live.

i wanted to get the chicken teriyaki bowl but i changed my mind when i saw that they were serving beef liver. grilled beef liver with grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms and crisp bacon [$9.79]. the order came with steamed rice (not in the mood for potatoes) and some vegetables (the works). i chose their soup of the day (cajun chicken gumbo) over their salads. their bread basket was delicious.

my friends ordered pasta: fettuccine with asiago cream and penne with chicken feta and pine nuts. nice names. apparently both did not taste good. of the fettuccine, my friend said it was lacking something, but he can't somehow place it. the penne? my friend who had it said that it was like eating 'sun-dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes with a hint of penne'. indeed, there were tomatoes all over his plate.

my beef liver was okay. it was a bit dry though. it had two big slices of grilled liver. i finished only one.

coming back? probably not in a few months.

food trip

max's of manila restaurant
313 w. broadway, glendale, ca
&&&&

after work, my friends and i met up at max's in glendale. yes, the house that friend chicken built. we were looking forward to a sumptuous dinner.

okay, so we had the house specialty (whole fried chicken), beef steak, lechon kawali and chicken sisig. i tasted everything except for the fried chicken. my ex-roomie, malou [happy birthday malunggay!] celebrated her nth birthday today so she brought home-friend chicken wings and thighs. crispy and yummy. i felt that i already had my day's quota for chicken,

anyway, the chicken sisig was good. it was the first time i had it. it's not your usual sisig, and it's definitely not your usual chicken dish. nice. the beefsteak, or bistek, was a bit creamy. or at least its sauce was kinda creamy. what's the english word for malapot? that would be it. i preferred my bistek's sauce with just toyo and a hint of lemon, dayap or calamansi. the lechon kawali was good. everything was crunchy.

for dessert, we had buko pandan and i am telling you, this restaurant serves the best buko pandan anywhere. my trip to max's is not complete without me partaking of this delicious concoction. yum.

coming back? yes, probably in a couple of weeks. there was a time when we were here almost weekly. it's soul food, baby.

Thursday, May 12, 2005

missing

aside from the title being one of my favorite ebtg songs, it is also quite appropriate for me to use it today.

actually, this part deux of the 'locked out, part deux' entry. it would be weird if i wrote 'locked out, part deux, part deux,' right?

okay. so i had breakfast this morning at mickey d's. [i never eat breakfast. except the time when my home and my dear mom would prepare the best breakfasts in the world.] anyways, my roomie called around 7ish this morning, yes, while i was having breakfast. he was asking why i was calling him so late last night. so i told him that i got locked out.

i finally got home. i so wanted to sleep a couple of hours more but i needed to find out who got booted from ai last night. so i popped in the tape i asked roomie to tape. i had to go through a lot of gray stuff on the video (yeah, the same cable problems are back. i hate adelphia!). it always loses connection every tuesday and wednesday, right when we are watching amazing race and/or ai. of course i got bummed that fedorov was booted out and that carrie/vonzell were safe. it seemed jasmine's advice to vonzell [cry ~~ophelia~~ vonzelia!] so she can make it to the 'final three' worked. hah. my friends are mean.

then it hit me! when i realized that i did not have my house keys with me last night, i knew for sure that i left it on top of the coffee table. before i dragged my ass to my bedroom, i checked out the coffee table, removed everything on it, put it upside/down. my freaking keys are missing. how could i lose my house keys? how stupid can i get to lose them?

i called in sick. i was feeling bad.

locked out, part deux

the title says it all. [insert sad face]

it's the second time that happened to me within a four-week period (i think). the funny and strange thing (i dunno what else to call it. curse? maybe) is that the first time it happened to me, i attended east west players' annual gala-dinner at the universal city hilton. guess where i came from before i got home? coincidentally, from yet another east west players event: the world premiere of 'imelda: a new musical', which by the way rocked.

and you know what else is funny? the last time i got locked out, my roomie was watching the last full show of 'sin city' and his cell was on mute. naturally. this time. he was home early but he slept early and he put his cell on silent. sigh. how can you argue with a cell phone on silent? after about an hour of trying to call/texting/trying to call the landline [and a slew of other combinations], i finally gave up.

i swore to high heavens that i am never gonna forget my house keys. ever. again.

i should write a note for myself to remember this.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

yay!

last night was a great night for tv. amazing race season 7 wrapped up, and i am so glad that fame-whores rob and amber did not win. i developed this aversion to this couple way back in their survivor days, escalated during the all-star survivor and maxed out during the start of this season's amazing race. bottomline, i'm glad that uchenna and joyce won.

and on ai4, who would have thought that anthony would be able to outsing carrie. damn, that was good. i mentioned in earlier posts that i am happy about this season's final four, and that i am already prepared to accept the fact that a-fed could be leaving the show tonight. well, guess what? after their performances last night, i think it's either vonzell or carrie who's gonna get the boot. i wish.

i won't be able to watch the elimination show tonight because i will be watching the premiere of 'imelda: the musical' at the east west players in little tokyo. liza del mundo, the pinay nurse in last season's ER leads the cast as the former first lady. also, i'm gonna miss jennifer garner's [heard she's preggers] directorial debut on alias tonight. sigh. things that i miss because of my job. hah! not that i am complaining.

Monday, May 09, 2005

what's wrong with this picture? 03

[photo courtesy of mabuhaybeauties.com. eagle eyes please!]

Friday, May 06, 2005

'i want my old figure back'

sharon cuneta promoted her series of concerts in the us of a with a well-attended presscon at the radisson westside yesterday. she was accompanied by her hubby, sen. kiko pangilinan who looked younger in person. the presscon was free-wheeling and sharon got to talk about her weight issues.

"i've lost 14 pounds so far. 500 more to go."

"i want my old figure back."

she was very spontaneous and eloquent. she seemed sincere as well. i hope that her concert at the shrine auditorium this june 11 will be successful. (its head to head against the return of the champions, another filipino concert, this time at the grand olympic auditorium. then there's the philippine consulate-sponsored 'independence day ball'. i wish i could trilocate. hah!)

Thursday, May 05, 2005

corey, corey, corey

there goes one hour of my life that i'm not gonna be able to get back.

but first, the good news. thank god scott savol is out of the competition. he should have been out weeks ago, yes, before constantine, nadia and anwar. i wonder why he stayed this long in the competition. maybe, votefortheworst.com really affected the results.

the smoking gun exposé on scott did not even seem to have an effect on him. (strange, i was trying to link the vote for the 'worst' website and i could not go through. hmmm.)

the final four looks okay to me. i don't really mind who wins it because i like all four remaining contestants. but if i were to rank them, it would be bo, vonzell, anthony and carrie. but i think anthony will be gone next week. final two? bo and carrie. and the rocker's gonna bring home the bacon.

now to the investigative report that abc news presented last night on primetime live.

i think there's a grain of truth in what corey clarke is claiming (i.e., that paula abdul coached her, bought him clothes, gave him a cell phone...down to the allegation that they had sex) but the way it was presented felt as if it was a one-hour plug on corey's upcoming cd and book deal. aaack.

(abc brought in former contestants of AI 2 including jordan segundo, who, for crying out loud, did not even say a word. what a waste of time.)

i pity paula. i pity corey clarke. i pity his parents. i pity his friends. i pity myself for watching this piece of crap.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

food trip

The Original Thai BBQ Restaurant
18818 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana
&&&&

had a sumptuous lunch at thai bbq [one of the many] in tarzana [along ventura blvd]. the deep-fried catfish was very delicious, crispy in the outside and a bit tender in the inside. i would have asked for fish sauce and lemon [patis at kalamansi] but the accompanying sweet and tangy orange-y sauce was perfect. yum yum. i used to order the deep-fried pompano before but after i've tasted their catfish, it will take me a while before i order pompano again.

on the side, i ordered a classic dish that i usually order when i am in a thai restaurant. sometimes i call it my comfort food. what's missing? a sunny side up and you have 'tapsilog' thai-style. thai bbq offers one of the tastiest garlic and pepper beef dishes in town. [sanamluang in hollywood is one of the other restos that have really yummy garlic/pepper dishes].

[deep-fried whole catfish at thai bbq in tarzana]

[garlic and pepper beef, also at thai bbq in tarzana]

Monday, May 02, 2005

asian pacific american heritage month

this morning, i covered the launching of the 'asian pacific american heritage month' at the chinese-american museum in downtown. mayor hahn was there, with some of this year's honorees.

among the awardees are two fil-am ladies -- maria quiban and liz masakayan.

because i am one lazy bastard, here's my actual report. [too lazy to blog]

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