finally, after three days and a lot of distractions in between, i was able to finish reading dan brown's angels & demons. yes, all 569 pages.
i intended to finish reading it a few days after i finished reading the da vinci code. well, i tried, but i just couldn't. i think i was a bit worried that if i do read both books back-to-back, i'd end up killing more than half of my brain cells from exhaustion. i did not want that to happen.
anyway, thanks to my colds, i was at home over the weekend., well, mostly. (this is where the distractions come in). in between, i was able to accompany my friend to faraway Gardena to pick up his rebate check (unfortunately, the person we were supposed to meet was not there). then we went to Jollibee in Carson (he had 3-pc chicken joy, i had the spaghetti and the buko langka pie. yum. while we were eating, something happened to his braces. off we went to the city of Montebello to see his dentist and fix whatever was wrong with his braces. after that, we went to costco in Los Feliz and i bought some stuff i'd be bringing home soon. then, we went home.
a couple of my friends arrived, and another one brought tons of food from a birthday party. we intended to eat out but he brought tons of food. we went out for coffee instead.
got home around 10 pm and i resumed my reading. my only distraction yesterday was when another friend of mine and i went to hollywood and highland to do some shopping. got myself a pair of jeans for nine ninety nine. not bad. we then went to westwood because he was craving noodle planet's thai spaghetti. i first brought him there with another friend after our office christmas party last year. he seemed to love the thai spaghetti. anyway, i ordered their grilled pork chop (my other favorite their is the garlic spare ribs).
got home before 9 pm. watched tv (must-see tv sunday): desperate housewives and nip/tuck. resumed my reading.
monday. went to work. read, read, read. got home, my friend bought dinner for me. i only had around 30 pages remaining. went bowling with joshua and pierre (yet another distraction). i couldn't probably beat them. damn hustlers.
got home. finished my reading stuff. i am happy. dan brown is agenius.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
angels & demons
Friday, January 21, 2005
warm and cold
i went to the bank today and the lady who checks the line to see if everyone has properly filled up the right form approached me. she noticed the tissue i had on hand and my red, red nose, and she asked, in an incredulous tone, "you have a cold?" and pretended to stay away from me. it seems that she could not believe how i could get a cold virus when the weather is oh-so-warm.
that was the same question that has been bugging me. it would have been fine if i caught the cold virus during the nasty rainy days a couple of weeks ago. but no. i caught my cold during the time when the last drop of rain fell almost a week ago. well, i could blame the hot days and the cold nights.
i've been a sneezing bandit at work (excuse me!). i pity my co-workers. they'd probably have colds by tomorrow.
colds, coughs
i am under the weather. i didn't go to work today because when i woke up, i had difficulty breathing. turns out my colds got worse. i dunno why. hate it.
so what did i do today? nothing much. i slept and i fixed some of my stuff. i cleaned my room, somehow. emailed some of my friends. watched tv. what else? i saw the o.c. and the premiere of the apprentice. gee, time really flies so fast. we're on the third apprentice, sixth amazing race, fourth american idol and nth survivor. well, about survivor, i couldn't even care less. i stopped watching after...well, i don't remember. maybe 3 seasons ago. that was when i gave my loyalty back to friends. not that they were asking for it.
what is the best remedy for a stuffy nose? i wish i knew. so i can sleep well tonight.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
oklahoma blues
last night was the opening night of oklahoma at the pantages theater in hollywood. watched it witha couple of friends. what can i say? it was good, but it was not able to sustain my attention from start to finish. somewhere in the middle of the musical, my mind began to wander. and wander it did.
the second act was better. well, i think the problem was that it had too much talk and less of the musical part. there's a reason why i do not like straight plays that much (pun intended). anyway, it's gonna run for two weeks here in LA, and off to the next city.
for that, i missed the season premiere of american idol (which i taped) and amazing race (which my friend taped). got home around past eleven and caught up with my soaps, plus the 2 hours of AI. time check: 3:00 am. no wonder i was so sleepy this afternoon. oh well.
got to run. i have an event at the philippine consulate.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
10 worst snack foods
i came across this article on the msn site that caught my attention: the 10 worst snack foods, it says.
i opted to quick browse it and i noticed that out of the 10 worst snack foods this nutritionist mentioned, i regularly consume around 5 of the 10, plus the runner-up. ouch.
oh well, here's the list...in order.
1. french fries
2. donuts
3. chips (potato or corn)
4. soda
5. cupcakes and snack cakes
6. candy bars
7. pork rinds
8. fat-free cookies
9. crackers
10. pretzels
runner-up: " Those creamy, carmelly, coconutty coffee mocha-latte-frappe drinks that are taking over the universe. I love my Starbucks too, but 20 ounces of caffeine, sugar, whipped cream and milk taken once or twice a day does not a lean waistline make!"
time to rethink my options.
fickle
no, that's not the thing that you put in your salad, or deli sandwich. not funny? yeah. and so is the weather, which has been very fickle these days. what a segue.
a few days ago, it was raining cats and dogs (and kittens and puppies). yesterday, mercury shot up to mid-80s and it was hot, hot, hot. it was one of my co-worker's birthday and we went out to have buffet lunch in eagle rock (pinoy town). the food was okay, i had 4 pieces of tuyo and a couple of the really red hotdogs with my fried rice. and oh yeah, i took a small portion of the sardinas, too. what else did i have? a little of dinuguan, a little of pinakbet and a slice of daing na bangus. for dessert, i had a slice of leche flan. yum.
we then had coffee at my favorite coffee place near my place. coffee bean, of course. i haven't been there in a while (maybe a week) and i think i missed a lot. one of our favorite baristas, a reserve at the marine corps has been sent to iraq and they gave him a farewell party of sorts there last week. there was a message board there where people left messages for him. well, i just hope that he makes it back here in one piece and i hope that the war in iraq would soon be over.
for dinner, a couple of my friends picked me up and we trooped to thai town, to our favorite hole-n-the-wall resto called sanamluang. i had morning glory over crispy pork belly. i dunno why thai people call it morning glory, but we pinoys fondly call it kangkong. on pilipinas, game ka na ba last night, they said kangkong's english name was swamp cabbage. oh well.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
about last night
i have a few more additions from last night's gimmick with my friends. here goes:
we were having dinner at the wood ranch grill at the grove and we were talking about weight and carbs and stuff.
friend a: yun ang reason ko kung bakit hindi potatoes ang sides ko kundi corn.
me: paano yung bread mo? eh andaming butter non? baka naman gusto mo nang mag pa upgrade sa double xl.
friend: hindi no. kaya nga low-carbs na, para ma degrade.
(degrade is now the opposite of upgrade)
and after a few minutes, my friend's phone rang. he answered it. it was one of his friends asking if he could join them in watching a movie at 12:20 am at the promenade. since we carpooled, my friend asked.
friend: okay, i can join. but who will drop off... drop me off...uhmmm who will bring me home?
later that night, we went to a bar and met up with a couple of friends. talking with this guy named seth, who is from salt lake city, our conversation veered towards the mormons.
me: so, ur from salt like. are you a mormon?
seth, new-found friend: no, but i can be one, if you want me to.
friend a: hey, did you see this movie about mormons?
seth: yeah, what is it called again?
me: uhmm, it has 'latter' in the title.
friend b: (proud na proud) yeah, latter day saints.
(the movie's title was latter days)
Saturday, January 15, 2005
more humor
friend: uy, you know what? a friend of mine just gave birth.
me: really? that's cool. how is she?
friend: ayun, may down syndrome.
me: what?
friend: oo, lagi siyang down. laging depressed. iyak nga ng iyak eh.
(finding a new meaning to the term down syndrome)
yet another friend was on the fone once...
friend: yeah, well, that's what's going on right now
(a new caller calls my friend, and he was going to ask the other person on the line to hold)
friend: uhmm, there's another call...can i hold you?
(realizing that what he said was not, well, right...)
friend: i meant, can i put you on hold?
and there's this friend of mine, who just arrived in the us of a from dear philippines. friend a wanted friend b to do the booking for the hotel they were supposed to be staying when they visit another city.
friend a: just make the reservations for us. call the hotel directly at 1-800-HOLIDAY
friend b: ahm, ok.
(after a few seconds...)
friend b dials the phone. 1-8-0-0-0...pauses for a while, and in a perfectly modulated voice, says "Holiday?"
there's more to come. i have a bunch of really out of this world and unique friends and i hope they forgive me for this.
everyday humor
i was talking with a friend of mine last week and it hit me, i should start listing down my friends' (or people around me, for that matter) boo-boos and compile it to build a book. here's a sample:
friend: hey momar, alam mo bang tapos na ang initiation ni (name withheld). grabe bugbog na bugbog siya.
me: talaga? okay lang ba siya?
friend: oo, pero grabe talaga yung mga hataw sa kanya, lalo na sa hita.
me: black and blue ba siya?
friend: tange, hindi black and blue. violet!
sometimes, humor is lost when translation is involved, so i'm just gonna leave it like that for now. there's another one:
friend: uy, may bago na akong boyfriend.
me: that's good news. kumusta naman?
friend: okay siya. he's thai.
me: wow, so madalas kayo ngayong kumain sa mga thai restaurants?
friend: ha? bakit?
me: kasi nga di ba sabi mo thai siya?
friend: oo, THAI-wanese.
may pahabol pa...
friend: thai din ba ang food nila?
challenges
i dunnow hat's been happening but i have been getting tirivial challenges lately that have been testing my patience and my belief in world order. my friends tease me that i am an obsessive compulsive freak, or well, i can be. that holds true to my iTunes collection in my Ipod which i have been slowly building up for almost two years now. piece of trivia: i just got my iMac fully paid last month.
anyway, i got yet another surprising development this morning when i clicked my iTunes icon and it was asking me to register once more, the same thing it asked me when i first use this damned thing. by then, i already knew that all my playlists are gone. it's been ages since i updated my iPod, so i wouldn't know when this happened. this is the thing, i own one of those first-generation iPods and its capacity is only 10 gigs. the mp3s i have have reached way more than 10 gigs so there is absolutely no way they can fit in my iPod.
there's not one freaking song in my iPod now and that is making me mad.
Friday, January 14, 2005
victoria gardens
my countdown continues. fifth day without cable. how am i surviving so far? let's just say that the customer service people at adelphia already know me on a first name basis.
my co-worker and i went on a road trip yesterday afternoon to rancho cucamonga to attend the opening of her a restaurant (her client) and for me to write about it. the trip was kinda long, we got stuck in traffic, even if we were on the car pool lane already. the place is about 50 miles from downtown los angeles.
it was kinda late (we were about to exit already) when i noticed that the mapquest printout i had did not reflect the actual place that we were going to but the center of the city (in this case, rancho cucamonga). anyway, to make a really long drive (story) short, it took us almost two and a half hours to finally reach our destination.
it turns out that the restaurant is inside victoria gardens, a $200 million project encompassing more than 150 acres. the place is huge, but it was very, very pretty. specially for a shopaholic like me. the mere size of the outdoor shopping center mesmerized me, and i liked the wide open spaces as well. it's like the grove, only 20 times bigger. that's how huge it is.
anyway, the reason why mapquest did not recognize the street was because of the fact that the "streets" were "streets" within victoria gardens. and they were "made" only a few months ago, so online maps probably do not have their updated copies yet.
anyway, i had my fill of sushi and sashimi (thank you kabuki!) and the asparagus wrapped in beef, and the dynamite, and the eel roll, and the soft shell crab roll, and the calamari-stuffed eggplant. this was worth the long trip. but then again, we need not drive that far next time since there's one in hollywood, another one in burbank and one in pasadena too.
i dunno when i will be back to victoria garden again, but i do hope it would be anytime soon, so i can walk along its pretty streets and shop in its cool stores. oh well, that is if i have enough money to spare. good luck.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
star-struck
am still pissed at adelphia (see previous entries). it's the third day and it's very frustrating.
anyway, i got a call this morning from this lady network executive (overseas from the philippines) asking me if i was going to cover the presscon of manny pacquiao today. i said yes. she then asked a 'huge favor,' that is if i could cover the presscon for their news show. i said yes.
one of our drivers brought me to the beverly hills hotel around 12:30 (the event was to start at 12 noon). when i got to the rodeo ballroom, bob arum, one of the organizers was already in the middle of his speech. everyone was there, including manny pacquiao, his opponent erik morales and their respective coaches and teams.
i looked around to see if the cameraman was already there. to my surprise, i didn't see him.
since today is a press day, i opted to leave early and i decided not to linger anymore. on my way to the restroom, i saw maria shriver talking on her cell. i was struck, i must've stared at her for about a minute. she caught my gaze and she smiled and said, 'hi!'. and all i could muster was a faint 'hello!'.
on my way to the lobby, i bumped into kate beckinsale. she looked so simple sans make-up, wearing only sweat pants and a hooded sweater. she's pretty, that's all i can say.
hate, hate, hate
question: what is a couch potato's worst nightmare?
answer: blackout can be accepted but since that does not usually happen, i can give the next best answer. nothing on tv. by nothing, i mean absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
that, ladies and gentlemen, has been causing me stress the past two days. due to the torrential rains, my cable company (paging adelphia!) has not been able to provide me with its services which i have pre-paid for the month only last saturday. i know hate is such a strong word and i seldom use it (i swear) but i am using it now. i hate adelphia.
my cable channels are gone. my premium channel (the filipino channel(tfc) hah!) is gone. for crying out loud, even my local channels are gone.
i've missed a hell lot of my fave tv shows and i have no idea ho adelphia is gonna pay me for all these stressing out. i know, i know, it's trivial, and probably not worth it for some people but then again, i am not just some people. i am a couch potato. by the way, i offer my apologies to everyone who is undergoing through much more difficulties in life. i am so sorry.
however, this is my blog so i have every right to rant.
because of steve and keena's wedding last sunday, i was not able to watch desperate housewives and nip/tuck, my regular sunday evening fare. and the season premiere of 24. thank god for the vcr, i was able to tape all three shows. i have yet to meet tivo. i heard he's a darling.
the upside of not having anything to watch the past two days? i was able to catch up.
in fact, i just finished watching the 2-hour sunday premiere of 24. good lord, it was very good. as in the previous 3 seasons, i swear i am hooked. the downside? not being able to watch the next two hours during monday's premiere. which sucks. big time. i hate it when i miss 24 episodes. i've been a big, big fan since the show started with only a handful of people actually watching it.
i have been calling my cable company incessantly for the past 48 hours or so. i think, one time, i even came to a point where i actually pleaded to the customer service to please do something about it. they told me to call again tomorrow. and i promise, i will be calling. again, and again. until they restore their service. so i can move on with my life once more.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
yes, sunshine!
good morning sunshine!
for the first time in about a week, the sun shone brightly this morning. as i was typing this around lunch time, sun was still there. it's good to see the sun again. i am not a rain person, i think i've said that before. there's something about the rain that depresses me. rainy days make me really blue. i dunno if it's just me. that's why i was kinda happy when i woke up this morning with slivers of the the sun passing through my room's windows.
i am kinda pissed that my cable's not working. i've called adelphia more than a dozen times already and they can't seem to find the root cause of my problem. maybe it's because of the rain? i tape some shows during the afternoon (yes, soap opera!) so my roomie and i can watch it when we get home. my roomie called me up last night while iw as having dinner with a couple of friends. he goes, "hello? i have bad news" and i went, "hindi nag-tape?"
it's funny how people close to me already know that i get pissed by small stuff like this. he then says, "sorry if i disturbed your dinner. i just wanted you to be prepared". hah.
the cable guy will be doing the rounds this weekend, according to the customer service person i talked to on the phone. weekend. it's just tuesday. which means i won't be having my tv fix for a few more days.
sunday night on tv was just hectic. i had to tape from my room and from the vcr in the living room. in my room, i taped desperate housewives and nip/tuck while the sala vcr taped the season premiere of 24. i've seen desperate housewives and i am going to watch nip/tuck and 24 this weekend. i missed the second night of premiere (another 2 hours) of 24 last night because of the cable problems. it's tuesday night: amazing race. last week, gus and hera got eliminated.
Monday, January 10, 2005
monsoon wedding
first off, keena, one of my friends, got married last sunday, which was probably the rainiest day in los angeles history.
one of our friends, freddie, flew in from the bay area to attend the festivities. we were joined by a good friend of mine, richard, who i take my hat off, for braving the nasty weather and the torrential rains that memorable afternoon.
the church was at the wayfarer's chapel in faraway rancho palos verdes. the scene was just absolutely breath-taking. imagine a small chapel, nestled on top of a hill, overlooking the pacific ocean. it was beautiful. the chapel in itself was a gem of a beauty. the walls and the roof were all made of glass and the trees outside made it look all the more artsy and pretty. i could just imagine how keena wanted the perfect scene to be, with the beautiful sunset capping the wedding ceremony.
because of the rains, the picture-perfect scenery was somehow, well, i can't find the perfect word. it wasn't destroyed or something but it was not what was originally conceived of.
on our way to the church (which was roughly 70 miles from where i live), we passed through puddles of water along the freeway and some parts of the streets in san pedro. it reminded me of the strong typhoons back home, and the floods that used to torment commuters in metro manila. it was a long drive, made even longer by the uncertainty of the fickle weather. by the time west 25th st. in san pedro became rancho palos verdes drive south, we encountered yet another stumbling block. the road was closed. with the street being all slippery, i could just surmise that there was an accident somewhere.
we were all unfamiliar with the place and it took us a lot of effort to finally find the church. let's just say that from my place to the church took us more than two hours. anyway, it was all worth it. the wedding was at 4:00 pm and by the time we got there at 4:30, i saw steve, the groom. he told us that we have not missed a thing since it has not started yet. after about an hour, the beautiful bride made her entrance.
the entire ceremony was simple and sweet. the couple looked really happy and so in love withe ach other. to keena and steve, congratulations and best wishes! your wedding was indeed unforgettable.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
the deep end
finally, i saw the deep end on dvd. it has been raining so hard the past few days and i have not been going out. my roomie was inviting me for a nightout tonight but i just couldn't drag my ass off the couch. woohoo.
saw a couple of mtv shows. caught up with the real world philadelphia...the one about landon's drinking problem. oh well. later in the evening (as in right now), the battle of the sexes 2 is on. it's down to the final six members each. i don't care who wins, as long as it's not coral or tina. i hate loudmouths. can't these people get a life? (in the same wavelength...can't i get a life?) hah!
a good friend of mine's getting married in a couple of days. best wishes keena! i hope it won't rain THAT hard this sunday. i am keeping my fingers crossed.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
'alias' is back!
as soon as the new year set in, all i could think about was my favorite show's 2-hour premiere in its new time slot. yehey, alias is back!
the first 20 minutes of the premiere totally rocked for me. jennifer garner was just fantastic. michael vartan was back to his brooding, non-smiling ways. the rest of the cast was very good as well. i am gushing. i am looking forward to having more good episodes.
this sunday (and monday), my other favorite show, 24 is going to have a two-night premiere. this concept totally baffles me. how can something have a two-night premiere? the first night IS the premiere. but the second night? how can it still be a premiere when it has in fact, premiered the night before? oh well. i hope it's gonna be good. i am keeping my fingers crossed.
of course by now, people already know that i am a couch potato. that i love my tv. it's mid-season and my two fave shows have just premiered. wait, american idol will premiere in two weeks. hmmm. looking forward to that too.
i hope that there's another pinoy (or more, possibly) who's gonna make it to the Final 32. well, on second thought, i think jasmine trias (and okay, camile velasco) are enough. Next year na lang uli.
Monday, January 03, 2005
feliz anonuevo
it's the freaking new year. i feel old. sigh.
spent the new year weekend in las vegas with a couple of my good friends. yes, i was a frikkin' third wheel. the countdown was fun. the city government spent millions of dollars for the fireworks and laser show since 2005 is the city's centennial. tons of people...drunk people. i had one huge drink (imagine a football-sized container, filled up to the rim) i bought from the coyote ugly bar in new york, new york. it set me back $18. not bad. one drink would normally cost around 10 bucks, this one was definitely more than two drinks. which was why i got tipsy. i am funny when i get tipsy. hehehe. funny because i do things i do not normally do. let's just say i was a bit way too friendly to strangers.
the $18 drink @ coyote ugly
the travel back to LA went way too long. we left around past one and we arrived in hell-ey after eight. to make matters worse, our rental card had no cd player. that sucked.
anyway, i am looking forward to the new year. i hope that it's gonna be good, if not better than 2004 for me. over all, 2004 was not a good year, especially the tsunami/earthquake twin tragedies that happened a day after christmas.
new year countdown in las vegas
a couple of my friends and i braved the rainstorm on the last day of 2004 to troop to the sin city and celebrate there the end of the year and welcome 2005 with a bang.
we were supposed to leave around 9:00 am to avoid the mad rush to vegas but we ended up leaving around lunch-time. traffic was bad, not because of the horde of cars but because the hard rains prevented motorists from driving beyond the legal speed limit. by the time we reached victorville, the sun started showing. hah. thank you mother nature.
las vegas boulevard (aka the strip) was already teeming with pedestrians by the time we got there. the last time i was here during new year's eve was during the millennium and the year after that. next to new york, i think new year in vegas is the next best thing. we checked in our hotel and had our power naps. it was going to be a long night.
aside from welcoming 2005, las vegas also welcomed the new year with a big bang since 2005 is also the city's hundredth year. knowing the fact that the city spent more than $50 million in fireworks alone, it made me think about how far this amount could go if it were donated to the tsunami/earthquake victims in southeast asia. i know it would probably never happen but i really wondered.
back inside the casinos, drinks were overflowing, people were everywhere and gamblers were having a good time. i observed an asian couple, probably tourists, who were betting $1,000 a hand on black jack. and they had two tall piles of $1,000. they did not even seem to mind if they lost five, six, seven times in a row. sigh.
i lost 20 bucks when i played the slot machine. i felt bad. that's 20 bucks down the drain. oh well.
Friday, December 31, 2004
picanha in burbank
it's pierre's birthday today. we didn't plan on celebrating it at picanha restaurant in burbank but we ended up there anyway.
picanha is a brazilian churrascaria (traditional brazilian barbeque). i first ate there a couple of years ago when i had a one-on-one interview with philippine senator ping lacson. i heard that it was his favorite restaurant so he wanted the interview to be done there.
the food was awesome. it's an all-you-can-eat meat fest so carnivores out there, this is the place for you. slabs of meat are placed on giant skewers and are slow-cooked, or slow-broiled. the waiters...i think they are called gauchos...bring the barbecue to the table and slice portions of the meat for you, piping hot from the open fire grill located near the entrance of the restaurant. it's dizzying to even remember all the types of meat that was served: from filet mignon to top sirloin, from pork loin to ribs to sausages, from lamb to chicken wrapped in bacon. it was indeed a hearty and really filling dinner.
come to picanha. come to picanha hungry. really hungry.
Monday, December 27, 2004
christmas in phuket
i was channel-surfing (as usual) the morning after christmas and i came across a breaking news thing on cnn. i looked harder and i was shocked to see the graphic video taken by tourists in phuket. the island resort was virtually erased from the map and there was destruction everywhere.
suddenly, i remembered a good friend of mine. i got a text from him the day earlier, greeting me a 'merry christmas.' i couldn't have been dreaming because he prefaced his text message with 'greetings from phuket!'
i ran up to my room to get my cell phone to check if my friend abe, was indeed in phuket with his wife rita and daughter, gari. i almost froze when i clicked my message icon and i had to read his message over and over again. i felt so helpless, all i was able to do was to muster a short prayer that they were spared from this tragedy.
i texted my friend to ask him if they were okay. i also texted our other friends to ask if they have heard from abe at all. i did not hear a word from them the entire day so i was growing pretty restless.
the next day, i was awakened by a text message from this friend of mine. i heaved a sigh of relief when he said that they just arrived in hong kong (where they are based) and that they did survive the tsunami and the earthquake. thank god that he spared my friend and his family. i feel sorry for the hundreds of thousands of families affected. at this point, all we can do is pray.
Friday, December 24, 2004
scrooge's christmas
i have always been fascinated by scrooge, and the way he sees christmas.
oh well, it's christmas once more. i've been attending parties left and right lately, joining exhange gifts and gift grabs. so far, i've gotten a great-looking rice-cooker, a black, knitted sweater, a foot spa and some other stuff. needless to say, i recycled the foot spa. i thought i wanted to have it but then u realized i can be so paranoid sometimes. paranoid. i have this vision of myself, enjoying my foot spa and that something in it goes awry, causing the wires to malfunction, thereby, uhmmm, electrocuting me. not a good sight. the fact that the foot spa needs to be connected to an outlet before it can run + the fact that water is needed by the spa as well = this feeling that electricity + water should not be used in the same sentence...gee, it gives me the creeps.
i've bought and given my gifts to people close to me. i've received my gifts as well. for those who remembered, thank you very much.
maligayang pasko!
Monday, November 22, 2004
cold, cold, cold
yes, cold. the weather has been really cold, especially the past weekend.
friday. i covered the 'flavors of the philippines: a food festival' at the new otani hotel after my press work. it wasn't a festival for me. well, the concept was that they had 14 companies who were bringing their products to the u.s. and that's what they put on the buffet table. well, if it was a philippine food festival, then shouldn't they serve the best of philippine cuisine?
i mean, what would the other people (other races, other guests) think about pinoy cuisine when what they eat during an event called 'flavors fof the philippines: a food festival' is lumpiang sariwa, barbecue pork, pancit, longganisa (!!!) and others. no offense meant againts those dishes (i love them) but my point is, they are not pang-festival. but then again, they are the products of the traders who joined this food mission to the u.s. what gives then? i dunno. my beef? this is a philippine food festival. i probably expected more than just the longganisa on a stick.
saturday was jasmine trias' concert. well. what can i say. my lead sentence: guess who brought the house down? jasmine trias? not! bad, bad momar.
anyway, jay-r brought the frikkin' house down. he's a very good performer -- singer, dancer heck, he even breakdanced. brokedanced? well.
attended the 'exclusive' after-party at the palatial residence of the raquels in hancock park. there, i met the performers -- jasmine, jay-r, paolo santos and nyoy volante. i had my picture taken with them. so much for not being star-struck.
Friday, November 19, 2004
couch patatas
thursday's still must-see tv night for me. although i am not talking about joey. the oc, it is. sigh. i feel sad for seth (not for marisa)...the last scene hit me, specially when seth told marisa about where they were a year ago, and who would have thought that they would be, on that day, newport's two loneliest people. i like the chemistry between ryan and this new character lindsay. in tagalog, it's what they call "may kilig factor" something that i no longer see in marisa and ryan. oh well.
donald trump defied convention once more last night when he fired two of the contestants: my favorite maria and the project manager wes. the two groups needed to come up with in-store catalogues for levi's. ivana's group won, because of her brilliant idea about the wheel. it's a bummer, she wasn't recognized for her effort. to make it worse, the woman who did not even understand ivana's concept was praised in front of donald trump by the president of levi's no less. that sucks.
i stopped watching survivor this season. i watch it when there's no other show that i like on the tube. now, there's the oc, and joey. yeah, i'd rather watch joey than survivor. and yeah, the finale of tbs' the mansion was last night too. am i a sucker for reality tv shows or what? well, i don't watch all of them, just a few of them; namely the apprentice, the amazing race, manhunt on bravo, (hahaha! my bet's gonna take it all) and what else, the mansion, real world philly, real world vs road rules, the battle of the sexes.
i couldn't sleep early last night so i was flipping channels, between emeril and oprah and mtv's new show: date my mom. it was hilarious. i don't like like it, but i find it hilarious; not funny funny but funny hilarious, especially the mom who showed the date how her daughter cackles like a chicken. well, the searcher chose that mom. well, in order for the searcher to date the daughter, he should date the mother first and based on the searcher's impressions on the mothers, he decides which daughter he's gonna be dating. well.
it's almost 2 pm. haven't had breakfast yet. all i have in my tummy is the white chocolate latte from coffee bean. that's all. i am hungry but no one's budging yet. tons of work to do. i'm halfway done, i am just waiting for jojo's story which he said he was gonna email before 1:00 pm when i called him around 10:00 am this morning.
i have a coverage tonight at the otani hotel in little tokyo. i am not quite sure what it is but i think it would be similar to the food expos i have covered before. we'll see...
Thursday, November 18, 2004
on feng shui and magnifico (and a bit of bridget jones)
i was able to watch two beautiful filipino movies early this week. sunday night on tfc was this movie called 'magnifico.' i've heard so much about this movie from articles and reviews posted all over the web. in fact, this movie has been doing the filmfest circuit in the past couple of years. anyway, i watched it with my roomie and we ended up a bit emotional after watching it. it's kind of heart-tugging and the kid's acting (i think his name is jiro manio) is well, magnificent.
the next day, i got a dvd copy of feng shui from a friend. i watched it with a couple of friends and boy did i get really scared. this is something new. the movie is actually very good. the copy is very clear, the colors very vivid. the cinematography is fantastic and the actors were great. yes, including kris aquino. surprise, surprise. the story was very believable, it's kind of cultural, specially the filipino's belief in suwerte and malas. i'm so happy to see familiar names in the film's closing credits. the movie was edited by vito cajili, my good friend third's close friend. he was a batch younger in college. then there's the movie's writer roy iglesias. roy is one of my "older" classmates when i took graduate courses at ateneo's comm. dept. years ago.
by the way, last sunday, i watched bridget jones: the edge of reason at arclight. i think i spent way too much. hah. the ticket was $14! on a sunday afternoon! well, i was bored out of my wits at home so i decided to go to arclight and watching bridget jones seemed like a good idea. well, let's just say that i enjoyed the first one better.
missing posts and jasmine trias
what happened to my previous posts? mukhang nawala. well, obviously. i'm going to start all over again. naaliw kasi ako sa mga blogs na nabasa ko, at the same time, na-inspire din.
it's thursday today. load's kinda light, i finished writing an advertorial for a real estate broker who is based in west hollywood. i did the interview earlier in the afternoon and wrote the draft after the interview.
i DLd the pics i took during the presscon of jasmine trias last tuesday night at the philippine consulate. she was grilled during the interview but she emerged unscathed. on her "numerous" flats in her araneta coliseum, the poor girl replied, "i don't think i had that many flats. i might have had ne or two, but not that many. so i had a couple of flat notes, what do you want me to do? apologize?"
she's having her concert here in LA this saturday at the grand olympic. i have a couple of tickets so i think i'm gonna watch. i owe it to her. hahaha. i hope she does well. besides, i am looking forward to hear the music of paolo santos, nyoy volante and jay-r.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
filipino authors in long beach - asian journal article
Filipino Authors Gather in Long Beach
Fil-Am Contributions to American Literature Discussed
By Momar G. Visaya
LONG BEACH - It was a fitting finale to a month-long celebration of history and heritage.
Several Filipino authors gathered together on Saturday, October 30, 2004 at the Oceanview Gallery of the Long Beach Museum of Art to celebrate the declaration of the month of October as Filipino-American History Month and to read for book aficionados and swap stories about each other. Facilitated by the Philippine Expressions Bookshop, the event is part of the bookseller's outreach program.
Eight established and emerging Filipino and Filipino-American authors (and one from Germany) comprised the panel and each one of them took turns reading poetry, essay or stories from their books.
After the book-reading, a question-and-answer portion followed, with Linda Nietes, the facilitator who started the ball rolling when she asked the authors how it felt to write for a community that is not necessarily seen as a "reading public" and if it is discouraging for them to realize it.
Playwright, director and producer Reme-Antonio Grefalda replied, "You cannot persuade someone to buy a book when he or she does not know anything about the author so as writers here, we have a responsibility to the audience and the community to let them know about us."
Palanca award-winner and former University of the Philippines professor Luisa A. Igloria agreed. Igloria flew all the way from Norfolk, Virginia where she is on the faculty of the Creative Writing Program at the Old Dominion University. "Book readings such as this is one way where we can tell our audience about our books, and for our community to find out who the Filipino-American authors are," she said.
Grefalda, Igloria and Carlene (Kalifa) Sobrino Bonnivier are all from the East Coast; Oscar Penaranda and Barbara Pulmano Reyes are from Northern California; Blanca Datuin Nolledo is from Portland, Oregon; Edna Weisser flew from Germany and Noel Alumit is the only author in this group who is from Los Angeles.
Novelist Noel Alumit commented, "Before we become a book-reading community, we must first become a book-buying one," echoing Igloria's earlier suggestion that instead of giving other gifts this holiday season, the audience should give books by Filipino authors instead.
"I challenge everyone in this room," Alumit said, "to give a book by a Filipino author as a gift this Christmas instead of the usual gifts like DVDs."
Recognizing that this is a small step towards having a book-reading or a book-buying public, Nietes suggested to the audience to go to their local libraries and ask for Filipino-authored books. "They have a budget for that," she said, "and if they cannot find a single book by a Filipino author, then they are not doing enough. Bring this afternoon's program. The authors' books and novels are there."
An audience member, Lucila Dypiangco said that we "should light a candle instead of cursing the darkness." Dypiangco shared the story of how she, as a teacher of the Los Angeles Unified School District, was able to help propagate Filipino authors in her own little way. She said that when they were asked to give their inputs for a literature book to be used by the students, she suggested the name of poet Oscar Penaranda. As a poet and storyteller, Penaranda chose poetry to tell his stories, most notably of
Penaranda, who was one of the eight authors at the event, read a poem "Dear Mamang" earlier in the program. Dypiangco wanted that poem to be included in the list of required readings. For some reason, the poem did not make it, but one of Penaranda's other poems did, and it was placed right beside that of an Emily Dickinson's poem. "Now, at least, one of Mr. Penaranda's poems that celebrated the existence of Filipinos in America is something that is read by all of our students," Dypiangco added.
Grefalda also dismissed the notion of "writing for the mainstream." "Every book that comes out is a rehearsal of the next book. There is an audience out there. Let us not write for the mainstream, let us write because we want to. Let us stop butting our heads to be in the mainstream," she said.
Edna Weisser, an essayist based in Germany, has some of her works included in three anthologies, including the "Trans Euro Express: Filipinas in Europe," the first ever Filipino-European anthology. She read one of her essays, How to Cook Bagoong in Germany, a witty look about this Filipino condiment made from shrimp or small fish that has been salted, cured and fermented for several weeks. On her biggest challenge as a writer, she quipped, "I write in English, in a country which does not even speak it."
Poet and performance artist Barbara Pulmano Reyes read a poem called "Recipe" from her book "Gravities of Center". Born in Manila and raised in Fremont, California, Reyes was apologetic to the audience, "It frightens me when I am with a group of women who looks just like my mom. I am apologizing in advance for some of the vulgar words used in my poem."
Fictionist, playwright and essayist Wilfrido Nolledo, who passed away this year, was ably represented by his widow Blanca Datuin Nolledo and daughter Melissa Nolledo-Christoffels. The event also marked the posthumous launching of his book "Cadena de Amor and Other Stories," a collection of stories that had won prizes in the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Literary Competition.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
back in chicago
less than three weeks after i visited the fair city of chicago, i'm back. it's work-related again and i'm with my boss.
it's the asian american advertising federation conference. stayed at the nice, luxuriously modern and chic swissotel, where lake michigan and chicago river meet.
did some touristy stuff i never did during my past 7 or 8 travels here. took the cruise and sailed along the lake and the river. also took the architectural tour of chicago. the city is really nice.
i wish i could say the same for its people.
file this under bitter. hahaha.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
cold
i flew to chicago earlier this week to cover the national federation of filipino americans' 6th empowerment conference. i've been regularly covering this group's events, the last national one was in las vegas a couple of years ago. in two year, it'd be honolulu. that is something to look forward to.
the organizers built an amazing array of speakers and special guests, among them man of the hour, gen. antonio taguba. he's a filipino guy born in hawaii and rose from the military ranks to become a general. he led the investigations in abu ghraib, where they exposed the abuses by american soldiers. he's the event's keynote speaker.
during the press con, i was surprised to see a person i would rather have not seen at all. it's been years and the woulds are still pretty fresh.
i decided to play cold, just like the weather.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
tuesday
i wish i could regularly write on this blog. wishful thinking. oh well. last weekend was great. it was sharon and melvin's wedding. thirteen years as a couple. they became bf/gf when they were still in high school. sigh. romantic, huh? 13 years! 13 frikkin' years. a friend's dad passed away. my heartfelt condolences jojo. regine and ogie's concert on saturday night. watched only half of it because of sharon's wedding. saw a lot of people i haven't seen in ages. had two friends visit us from up north. went clubbing friday night, after a long, long, time. i hate it when i oversleep. i do. it gives me this terrible headache and it doesn't make me sleep even if i badly want to already. this morning i was able to sleep around 4:00 am. beat that.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
untitled
it's been awhile. nine days. a lot has happened the past nine days. most recent ones: went to vegas over the weekend to attend/cover the international franchising association convention at mgm grand. stayed at the excalibur on night one. watched zumanity. stayed at the paris on night two. what else? went back monday night. it's wednesday afternoon and i am waiting for my dummy...
Monday, March 01, 2004
ides of march
i didn't even notice. it's monday, the first day of the week, the first day of the month.
it's the day after the lord of the rings swept 11 of 11 academy awards. amazing. for the first time, i was 4 on 4 on the acting categories. part of me wanted johnny depp to win but sean penn was the better actor this time. he should have won for dead man walking, and again for i am sam. anyway.
i'm rambling again. incoherent thoughts.
my friends and i watched the passion of the christ last friday night. screenings have been sold out since it opened last ash wednesday. it's a very, very, very good movie. not for the faint-hearted though. i was sobbing in some of the scenes.
i wanted to bawl. the graphic scenes were indeed, very graphic but i think they were very essential to the movie. it was as if mel gibson wanted to get a message across, and he did, very effectively.
i dunno if the movie affected my being religious. maybe. given the chance, i'd watch it again.
saturday. i just stayed at home. just like any other weekend. watched bowling for columbine on showtime in the morning. cried again. what's with me and movies lately? my tear ducts are drying up. maybe, that's what i needed. a good cry. everyone needs it, i guess. as much as we need a good laugh.
i had a weird dream. it involves a wedding, a limousine and people falling off that limousine while it was moving. i know one person who fell off. i was just looking at it while the killer limousine just spewed people as it sped off. sigh.
i dunno what that means.
sunday. oscar day. went to costco to pick up photos. these were from 3 disposable cameras from more than a year ago. i didn't want to have them developed since the memories from those photos were, well, devastating. to my heart, at least. i mustered enough guts last week to have them developed. and yesterday, i mustered enough guts, too, to pick them up.
i reacted in a way that would have bothered me if i were me a few years ago. did that make sense? anyway, i thought i'd react in a much more dramatic way but i did not. did i want to react in a much more dramatic way? maybe.
i opened the packaging slowly and looked at every single picture. the setting then was cold, it was the height of winter. snow was all over the place. we were bundled up in layers of clothing. there was one picture that caught me, and i gave it a long, hard look. it was cold, and i was feeling it.
funny how we create things in our minds, or re-create things as they happened. photos preserve memories. as i looked at the photos, it seems that i was transported back in time, to a place thousands of miles away. no matter how good we are at stamping a certain moment in our brains, hoping that they would stay there forever, we can only do as much.
i looked at the photos one last time before i went to sleep, and wished that somehow, some other thing happened.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
ramblings on a cold tuesday afternoon
i have no idea if another storm is coming, it has been raining hard lately. i don't like the rain. it dampens my spirits. last weekend, it was just rain, rain, rain.
i just finished eating my lunch. i've been eating thai food since saturday night. strangely though, i've been ordering the same stuff: garlic and pepper beef, from three different restaurants. could garlic and pepper beef be my comfort food? could be.
i'm waiting for my dummy, i dunno what time they will give it to me.
i feel kinda sleepy again. i slept around past three this morning because i read the sunday paper. yes, the sunday paper. i watched will and grace and the apprentice (i taped them thursday, and i haven't found time to watch them, until last night).
my boss called me up last night to give me the go-signal to book my airfare and hotel for the international franchising association expo in las vegas from march 6 to 9.
couch kamote
have i told you that i am a slave to my tv set? yes, i am. and i am admitting it. it's 2:30 am and i just finished watching american idol 3 (the results show) and the o.c. (thank god for the vcr) and i am not yet sleepy. could it be the caffeine i had from my humongous mug at 4 pm? or the tall glass of diet pepsi twist a couple of minutes ago?
where was i? oh, about my addiction. (i am distracted by britney's toxic video currently playing on mtv). the rain hasn't stopped pouring since this afternoon. looks like we're in for a storm. which is the perfect segue to where we ate for dinner: typhoon. it's a chic, classy restaurant in santa monica. it's by the airport, you won't miss it. they serve pan-asian food. i counted at least five filipino items on the menu: filipino fried squid (calamari), pollo adobo (chicken adobo for the uninformed...they had to use pollo, i wonder why), filipino bar-b-que, pancit guisado and pancit molo.
for appetizers, we ordered crickets. no typos there. c-r-i-c-k-e-t-s. as in the flying ones. they were fried though, and served with potato strings. i grew up in the philippines and not once did i try eating those. but then, this time, i had to do it. for adventure's sake. it wasn't bad. wasn't bad at all. it was crispy. i actually kind of liked it. whoa.
we also had frog's legs. yum. i've eaten frogs when iw as small. my mom used to cook them in different ways. deep fried and crispy, adobo (better if the frog had eggs) or cooked like chicken. i forgot how it's called but it has bittermelon and tomatoes and clear soup. my mom makes the best frog dishes. i used to look forward to the rainy days so our friendly tindera would have frogs the next day. and we would buy them by the stick. anyway, not good for the squeamish.
i was ok to eat the crickets. i wasn't prepared to eat manchurian ants and white worms. maybe next time. for a while there, while we were eating crickets, i thought i was transported to the set of fear factor.
we also had pollo adobo, kalbi (i can make an entire entry about kalbi and how much i have been craving for this for weeks now), garlic fried rice and pancit guisado. the adobo was good (mom's adobo still better, though) and the kalbi was very, very good. better than some of those sold by korean restos themselves. could it be the marinade? the pancit...let's just say that i've had better pancit before. the garlic fried rice was yummy.
for dessert, we had garlic creme brulee and this malaysian dessert similar to the filipino turon. only difference? a sprinkling of powdery sugar and chocolate syrup. for drinks, i ordered vodka and cranberry juice. i got it. that's probably why i am still up.
i got home past ten and my roomies and a couple of friends were at home watching captain barbell (part of the set of videos we rented yesterday). i was curious about the whole movie so i sat and watched. it was okay. predictable. the movie was done around past 12. time for my soaps. (this can also be another entry). then i went up to my room around 1:00.
i watched ai3, the results show, even if i already knew that latoya and amy were in. i also watched the o.c. just an observation: luke and mrs. cooper hooking up is just wrong. does this happen in real life? a few months ago, luke was banging mrs. cooper's daughter and now he's banging her. what the hell. anywa. i get affected.
it's almost 3 am.
[epilogue: i tried to 'publish' this entry but my computer doesn't seem to want to. so i sent everything thru my ym. some stuff were missing but i was able to reconstruct it somehow. what the hell is wrong with my computer? why can't i send emails from it? and why can't i publish my blog from home? sigh.]
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
reconnecting
i just finished chatting with two of my closest friends from the past. one is in virginia and the other one is in sydney right now. technology can really be an amazing thing. it's 5:30 pm here, 8:30 pm in virginia and 12:30 pm (wednesday) in sydney. we chatted for about an hour and reminisced on the good old days.
we've been friends for almost ten years now. actually, we're celebrating the tenth year anniversary of our friendship this year. thanks to abs-cbn, our paths crossed and we became really good friends. these are the women who might as well be the sisters i never had. god, i miss them.
half an hour before six. i need my dummy for the las vegas edition. otherwise, i'd finish everything tomorrow. i want to go home, and rest, watch tv.
i forgot to share: last friday, my friends and i went to arclight in hollywood to watch crying ladies, the best picture in last year's manila film festival. it was good, it was funny. laugh out loud funny. but i guess, the mere fact that it won the best picture award made me expect something more -- not monumental, not epic. just something more. sure it is different. and sharon cuneta is not in her usual sweet role. anyway, i had a good time watching it. it's the first tagalog film i've seen on the big screen in years. (after american adobo, the debut, flipside and munting tinig).
Monday, February 23, 2004
monday blues
it's monday again. i love mondays, that's because i am not usually busy on mondays. i was literally dragging my body to the bathroom, so i can take a bath and prepare to go to work. i couldn't seem to do that. i couldn't seem to summon the strength to get up and go to work. i linger a bit, for a little while. until i dozed off again. i woke up a few minutes before 12:00 noon.
i'm at work now and it's past five. i've had a huge mug of coffee. done with a big meeting. i had an ensaymada imported from the philippines for lunch.
i came across a blogdrive site because i was following a trail. i forgot which trail i was following. i'm actually bothered by that. i easily forget. but i forget those stuff that maybe helpful to me in the future. i don't easily forget some stuff that are forgettable.
now, i'm here. i'm actually doing my first ever blog. i've always wanted to do this, i just didn't have enough time or guts to make one. now that i've started, i hope i could at least do regular entries. i hope.
i'm going home in a few. i might do another entry later. that is if i don't get consumed by my tv set.
Monday, December 15, 2003
slain fil-am soldier - asian journal article
Slain Fil-Am Soldier Laid to Rest
By Momar G. Visaya
APPLE VALLEY - Lanny and Remy Davis clasped their hands and held each other during the final moments of their only son's funeral Saturday, December 13. Flanked by their daughter Lisa, the couple stared at their fallen son's silver casket as it was lowered down. It was a long moment of silence, broken only by intermittent sobs coming from family, friends and relatives who were mourning the untimely and senseless death of Richard Thomas Ong Davis.
Davis was a 25-year-old Filipino-American who served in the military and engaged in some of the worst battles in Operation Iraqi Freedom earlier this year. He fought through 25 days of continuous combat in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable.
More than a hundred relatives and friends gathered at the Sunset Hills Memorial Park to say their final farewell to the slain soldier. Sixteen soldiers from his unit, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, including his Commanding Officer, Capt. David Taylor, flew in from Georgia to pay their last respects to their comrade. They carried his flag-draped casket and fired a 21-gun salute.
"I really had a hard time accepting the news," Davis' mother Remy, a former medic at a military hospital in Washington, D.C. told the Asian Journal, while recalling those days when they first found out that Richard was missing. It was a lot harder when they were informed that police have found his decomposing body.
Spc. Richard Davis survived the war in Iraq. He did not die in combat. What he did not survive was a fellow soldier's attack on him moments after they were thrown out of a club.
Authorities say Davis was stabbed to death in Georgia by fellow soldier Alberto Martinez days after their mid-July return to the United States from Iraq. Three other soldiers - two from Texas, one from Florida - are accused of concealing Davis' death.
Investigators say the group, while celebrating their homecoming, went to a topless bar but were kicked out after Davis supposedly insulted one of the dancers. The soldiers began fighting, and Martinez allegedly pulled out a knife he used to kill Davis.
Army investigators found Davis' beaten, stabbed and charred body in a wooded area on Nov. 7.
In an earlier interview with the Associated Press, Lanny Davis, Richard's father said, "I want him remembered as a war hero, not as someone killed as part of some bar fight. He should be remembered as a hero because he earned it."
Richard did not call his parents when he made it to his home. "He wanted to surprise us,"Remy said, while telling stories on how Richard would just knock on their door and surprise everyone that he's already home.
'A Dreamer, A Creator'
News reports have said that in Missouri, he was tormented and taunted in high school because of his mixed-race appearance - his father is white, his mother Filipino. Richard Davis by most accounts found acceptance in the military.
He "was a dreamer, a creator," Army Sgt. Matthew Delisle said in eulogizing the man he served with in Iraq. "He was a man who saw things differently from the rest of us."
Case in point: During the U.S.-led march to Baghdad, Delisle said, Davis concocted an elaborate stove system to cook everything from foods to coffee. He gave away his last cigarette to a fellow soldier he thought would enjoy it more.
He often spoke of his father, a retired military policeman. To Delisle, Richard Davis was the good son and soldier, the kind of guy "who covered you on the left and on the right." And when the bullets flew and tensions flared, Delisle said, Davis had a knack for levity.
"In times of stress, he was the one you could always count on," Delisle said on a day his dead friend was awarded a commendation medal that an Army lieutenant gently placed on the closed casket.
No Bad Blood?
The alleged soldier-on-soldier slaying has put the Army on the defensive. Davis' family accuses Fort Benning of writing him off as AWOL and failing to investigate his disappearance until the fall.
And some question the investigators' conclusion that the killing was simply the result of a brawl gone bad, wondering if traumas from the battlefield led to bloodshed at home.
''All of the evidence says there was no bad blood'' between the soldiers, said Mark Shelnutt, a defense attorney for Pfc. Douglas Woodcoff, one of the accused men. ''They've all been to Iraq, they want to have a few drinks. ... You can't help but wonder. If this had happened a week before they deployed, would the result have been the same?''
Davis returned from the Middle East on July 12 from his second deployment since May 2002. His unit - 1st Battalion, 15 Infantry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division - had spent most of the past 14 months in the region training, fighting and waiting to go home.
Davis never called his parents to tell them he was back. He had no wife or girlfriend in Columbus. So he piled in a car with four other soldiers from his company for a night out to celebrate.
They headed to the Platinum Club, a topless bar about seven miles from Fort Benning, where mirrored walls reflect women dancing around a rickety poll wearing only G-strings, high heels and various tattoos.
The soldiers had a few drinks. They got kicked out of the bar.
''It's in the evidence that Richard Davis said an inappropriate remark to one of the employees of the club, a dancer," said Lt. Steve Cox, head of major crimes for the Columbus Police Department.
Davis's fellow soldiers later told police getting bounced from the bar made them angry. They started brawling in the parking lot. They left, but kept trading punches in the back of the car.
The soldiers drove about three miles from the club before Pfc. Alberto Martinez pulled his car over by the woods next to Cooper Creek Park.
Two of the men, Pvt. Jacob Burgoyne and Pfc. Mario Navarrete, got out and continued to fight Davis with their fists. They told police that Woodcoff, the fifth soldier, watched without joining the brawl.
Davis' Last Moments
Then Martinez pulled a knife, stabbing Davis several times, Burgoyne and Navarrete told investigators.
The four soldiers left Davis' dead body, drove to a convenience store and bought lighter fluid. They came back, doused the bloodied corpse and tried to burn it. They left the body concealed in the woods.
The account of the deadly brawl came from Burgoyne, Navarrete and Woodcoff in interviews with police following their arrest Nov. 8, the day after Davis' body was found.
Cox said police don't believe the soldiers' combat experiences were a factor in the killing. ''There are murders committed every day and most murders are committed by people who know you,'' Cox said. ''We see best friends killing each other all the time - civilians, military, all walks of life.''
Davis' father doesn't buy that argument. He's not sure why his son was slain, but insists it wasn't a simple, perhaps drunken, argument.
'You don't go out and stab a guy and set his body on fire after you beat him half to death because you got kicked out of a bar,'' Lanny Davis said. ''You don't go out and kill your buddies. There was something else that happened.''
Lanny Davis didn't find out his son had come back until a soldier from Fort Benning called him in Missouri ask if his son had come home. The father replied he thought his son was still at the Baghdad airport.
Murder Indictments Sought
Lanny Davis traveled to Fort Benning a month later to ask about his son. The Army had listed him as AWOL, absent without leave, though he'd left his toothbrush and new clothes bought at the post exchange in his barracks.
Fort Benning didn't investigate Davis' disappearance until the fall, after Lanny Davis sought help from his congressman, Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Missouri.
'The unit conducted an investigation and apparently they turned up some soldiers who implicated the four,'' said Fort Benning spokesman Rich McDowell, who said the questioning took place ''shortly before the body was found.''
Col. Steven Salazar, brigade commander for the 3rd Infantry at Fort Benning, has said Thursday the Army ''followed all procedures necessary ... and even took additional measures'' to find out what happened to Davis. After discovering his death, the Army reinstated Davis for his family to be able to receive his death benefits.
But the slain soldier's father remains angry.
''I've been screaming ever since that lieutenant colonel came and told me they found my son's skeletal remains,'' Lanny Davis said. ''We don't even have the chance to see my son's face ever again.''
Investigators still aren't sure exactly what day Davis was killed, though they know it was within three days of his return. It may have been less than 24 hours after he got back, Cox said.
Burgoyne of Middleburg, Fla., Navarrete of San Juan, Texas, and Woodcoff of San Antonio, Texas - all 24 - last week had their charges reduced by a judge from murder to concealing a death, a felony. District Attorney Gray Conger said he may still seek murder indictments for all four soldiers, but declined to comment further.
Davis attended schools in Kansas, Missouri, and California. After high school, he joined the US Army training in 1998 at Fort Sill, OK for basic training and field artillery. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas shortly thereafter.
The young soldier continued serving his country when he was sent to war-torn Bosnia. He decided to leave the army after September 11, 2001 but rejoined three months later. He was sent to Kuwait for Operation Desert Spring in 2002 to prepare for the war in Iraq.
Born in Germany to parents who both served in the military, Richard Davis was a dedicated man in uniform. On the day of his funeral, his parents gave him one final salute. (with AP wire reports)
Friday, November 28, 2003
indebted but happy
it's the day after thanksgiving and i'm at work. hah! not doing the usual black friday stuff.
i'm deep in debt but i am happy. i have a new iMac! yey! now i can edit stuff. probably go to press at home?
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
california recall elections - balitang america
Candidates in California's recall election continued to court voters, in the two weeks before the reinstated October 7th recall election date, and with all legal challenges swept aside.
In Los Angeles, Filipinos believe that the federal court’s decision to reinstate the recall election is right because there is no need to further prolong the uncertainty. A number of Fil-Am voters are not afraid of being disenfranchised due to punch card voting machines, which research points to being error-prone.
Los Angeles County is one of six counties with this voting machinery, which prompted the litigation. The others are the counties of Mendocino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara and Solano. These counties represent about 40 percent of the state's registered voters.
In the 2nd debate of the election, held in early September, 3 of the frontrunner replacement
candidates answered questions on issues affecting California’s minorities, including Filipino Americans.
Armed with graphs and tables, Green Party candidate Peter Camejo explained to Balitang America why California’s state budget is in the doldrums, when it should be enjoying a surplus instead.
[CAMEJO: This is at the most that could possibly be needed to maintain a balanced budget. In the history of California, a 6% compounded, this is the general fund money; this is how much money came into the state of California.//CUT HERE.]
Camejo also proposed reversing the cutbacks in services and education along with calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, who, according to him, have not been paying as much taxes as they should have been.
[CAMEJO: …this is the poorest 20% in our state. They pay the highest tax rate, 11.3. The wealthiest 1% pay the lowest tax rate, 7.2.//CUT HERE]
Gabriel Lerner, one of the event’s media panelists and the State and National news editor of La Opinion, the country’s largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, felt that there was not enough time for each and every candidate to fully expound on their answers.
[INSERT LERNER INT HERE]
Jay "Stone" Shih, anchor of China Crosstalk over KTSF says....
[INSERT JAY SHIH'S INTV]
For Balitang America, Momar G. Visaya in Los Angeles.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2003
father tanilong story - balitang america
Filipino Priest Pleads Not Guilty on Molestation Charges
A FILIPINO American priest assigned to the Parroquia De Nuestra Senora De
Guadalupe in Santa Ana, California pled not guilty during his arraignment
at the North Orange County Court last August 12.
71-year-old Father Gerardo Tanilong was arrested last July for allegedly
molesting a 15-year-old girl.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Fr. Tanilong will next appear
in court on September 19th for pre-trial and October 1st for the
preliminary hearing.
Fr. Tanilong was interviewed on July 14th at the Anaheim Police Department.
He was arrested at the conclusion of the interview for charges of child
molestation.
Fr. Tanilong was booked at the Anaheim Police Department and later
transferred to the Orange County Jail. The priest posted $50,000 bail the
next day and moved in with relatives.
The Philippine-born priest was ordained in 1962. He moved to Orange County
in 1986 and has served in various parishes. He has served at Our Lady of
Guadalupe, a largely Spanish-speaking congregation in Santa Ana, since
1999.
Reporting for Balitang America, this is Momar G. Visaya in Los Angeles.
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Thursday, August 14, 2003
lionizing trillanes?
weeks ago, some military men took over glorietta and mounted a siege. they were led by an officer named antonio trillanes.
a lot has been said about the uprising. my 2 cents' worth? they should not have done it. they should not have made a fool of themselves. oakwood? what were they even thinking?
my favorite writer jessica zafra wrote something about the putsch. i agree completely.
TWISTED
By JESSICA ZAFRA
On one hand, it's touching to see that ideals still count for something in this cynical world, and that soldiers will risk their careers and maybe their lives to denounce corruption and deceit.
On the other hand, their methods are unpardonable, their grip on reality is tenuous, and they do not have the guts to finish what they started. In standing up for their principles, they only managed to squish our economy.
Thanks to these drama queens in fatigues, no one will ever take Pinoys seriously again. I'd like to shake their hands and then kick them in the head. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!? Were you even thinking?
Here are some things the aspiring plotter should bear in mind.
1. Just because we took to the streets to overthrow governments twice before doesn't mean we'll automatically do it again, even if you are cute.
2. If your group has actually met with the President and been in the headlines for two weeks, you cannot convince people that you have no other way to air your grievances.
3. A coup d'état is "the violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group." A press
conference is a meeting called for the purpose of making a statement to the media. It is not necessary to occupy a building to get reporters to show up. Sometimes a phone call and drinks will suffice.
4. Do not contradict yourselves by announcing, "This is not a coup," then declaring that you are prepared to die fighting. Press conferences do not usually have a body count.
5. If you cannot string three words together without faltering, you should probably get someone else to be the spokesman.
6. When choosing a reason to overthrow a government, make sure it is significant, compelling and fairly recent. Yes, it' s terrible that the military sells bullets to rebels (as alleged), but in the light of the other stuff we've heard and are ready to believe, it's piddling. Also, Fr. Cirilo Nacorda in Lamitan, Basilan, made those same accusations over a year ago.
7. Rumors of the impending declaration of martial law are not likely to freak out people who not only survived 14 years of it but also hear such rumors on a weekly basis.
8. Lining up and doing snappy quarter-turns before the cameras reminds people of beauty contests, and should probably be avoided during a military rebellion.
9. When you take over a hotel or a full-service apartment building, you' re supposed to take hostages, not send them away, especially if these include ambassadors of other countries.
10. Send your parents out of town so you are spared the agony and embarrassment of seeing them on TV, beseeching you to give up.
11. Of course it' s all right for guys to cry in public; we like sensitive males. However, we would
prefer that you cry after you've actually done something. Otherwise you just look like a wuss.
12. Don't say "microcosm." Just don't.
13. If you want the citizens to rally to your cause, do not alienate their affections by barring access to the mall.
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Sunday, July 06, 2003
on the friendster train
nasa friendster na ako!
my friends have been bugging me to join this new site called friendster and today, i did.
i'm looking forward to reconnecting with old friends i have not seen in ages and to make new ones in the process.
why did i not think of this? hehehe.
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Thursday, May 22, 2003
epiphanies
woke up quite early today. this is another attempt at having/maintaining a journal - something that i've been doing on and off since i was in grade school.
so what's up? i've been having some epiphanies lately but i don't think it is the right time to discuss them. :D
clay aiken lost to ruben studdard at the season finale of american idil last night. damn. we had a bet/pool in the office. i was the only one in the clay train, against four who thought that ruben was the man. oh well. there goes lunch for 4 people. bad gambler!
got an email today from an x friend. j greeted x a happy birthday. he thanked josaw and sent the reply to all of us. wala lang. still hate him. sagad to the bones.
looking forward to the long weekend. i hope it will be a blast. reno, here we come.
i have stuff to do. can't find the time to do them.
Monday, January 27, 2003
ping lacson report - balitang america
> BALITANG AMERICA - PHONE PATCH REPORT
> MOMAR VISAYA - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
>
> STORY: Lacson in US to Appeal Court Order
>
> Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson stated in an interview last week that he
> is going to appeal a California court's prior ruling that had declared him
> in default of the cases filed by handcuffs supplier Blanquita Pelaez.
>
> The case, filed against Lacson before the Superior Court of California in
> Alameda County stemmed from the balance nonpayment of some 41,000 handcuffs
> ordered in 1996 by the Philippine National Police from US-based Smith and
> Wesson Company. Pelaez was the exclusive supplier. Lacson was then the
> chief of the Philippine Police.
>
> On Jan. 10th, Judge Julie Conger ordered Lacson to pay more than 3 million
> dollars in damages to Pelaez after Lacson failed, despite several
> summonses, to answer a civil suit Pelaez had filed. He now has until March
> 5th of this year to file an appeal. On that day, he is scheduled to appear
> in court to present proof of his US assets to the plaintiff and her
> lawyers. This will enable Pelaez to get the 3 million dollars that Lacson
> has not paid yet.
>
> Lacson said during the interview that revisions in the business contract
> with Pelaez made the PNP responsible for paying Philippine customs and
> duties. These were supposed to be paid by the supplier instead. he
> therefore considered the deal grossly disadvantageous to the Philippine
> government
>
> A potential presidential candidate in the 2004 elections, Sen. Lacson also
> clarified during the interview hat there is "no formal declaration" yet
> from the opposition that he will be the party¹s official standard-bearer in
> the 2004 presidential elections.
>
> While he announced as early as November last year that he will seek the
> presidency, Lacson, in the interview was a bit coy, saying that he does not
> want to sound presumptuous and that the ultimate decision to run in 2004
> rests with his political party. He added that there are talks but nothing
> is official yet.
(Full Disclosure: The preceding report was what I filed for The Filipino Channel's Balitang America when they requested me to be one of their correspondents in California. A week earlier, I had the opportunity to interview Sen. Ping Lacson exclusively for the Asian Journal. It was held at Picanha, a Brazilian restaurant in Burbank, CA. Lacson was with his lawyer Siegfred Fortun.)
Friday, July 20, 2001
To Hell and Back
my saga continues. the negotiations fell through and as my title goes, i’ve been to hell and back.
let’s just say i’ve never met a guy so vicious, so mean, so bad. and i mean bad. he could put the meanest, baddest movie contravida out of business. hell, for a while in that short meeting, i thought i was in hell, face to face with THE one, the evil one.
his booming voice still haunts me up to now. his piercing eyes still slice through my heart. his words, god, his words, still swell up my eyes when i remember them. golly, what i have done to deserve this guy’s anger?
when some of my officemates asked me how the meeting went through, i gave them one curt reply, “I wish you won’t ever have to go through my experience in your lifetime.” heck, i won’t even wish it to happen to the person i dislike the most.
he was so menacing and threatening at the same time. i managed to record the meeting, but what i did was illegal so if ever we file a case against him for extortion, my little tape won’t even be admissible in court. he let go of such words like “i can shut down your business tomorrow,” or “i have more money than all of you combined.”
god, i wanted to get up of my seat and strangle him till kingdom come. even animals don’t deserve to be treated that way.
we did not consult our lawyers first because we thought that the meeting was a negotiation. it was in no way a negotiation. the guy did not even give us the chance to talk. it was like he put on a show, and the three of us—me and my publishers—were there to watch him perform. it was even my boss’ birthday, for crying out loud.
in the afternoon, we headed to the headquarters of the law firm that my office hired. it is in the beverly hills/century city area. the firm’s name is mcdermott, will and emery, and apparently, they are one of the biggest law firms in the world.
their offices on the 38th floor of the century park plaza was overlooking los angeles. we were ushered in to a conference room with a conference table so long it could accommodate around 30 people on each side. and that was just a small conference room. a senior counsel met us and because a signed a confidentiality contract, i won’t even be able to divulge what transpired in our meeting. di ba naman? let’s just put it this way: this guy cannot harass us anymore with his phone calls. “don’t talk to me, talk to my lawyer!”
i feel better now. but it ain’t over yet. laban kung laban. if this would eventually lead to the court, then so be it.
someone once told me, that a libel case filed against an editor/writer would mean that he or she is made. if going through my experiences since last monday would mean that i’d be made, i think i’d rather be NOT made.
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
My 15 Minutes of Fame
Just got back from a couple of bowling games with some friends, followed by a late dinner at our favorite Thai resto in Hollywood.
I have also just finished watching and rewinding and rewinding and rewinding (you get the idea) a tape of last night’s 11 o’clock news on CBS. That’s where my ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ story (more like 3 minutes, so i still have 12 reserved somewhere in time) comes in.
At 5:00 pm kaninang hapon, i got a frantic call from CBS News. [CBS is one of the top 3 broadcasting cosporations here in the US. The other two are NBC and ABC.] The guy on the other line told me that they are doing a story for the 11 pm news and they need a resource person. Say again, sir? They need daw someone to interview for the Abu Sayyaf story that they are doing. They have searched and asked people and I was recommended daw. Ah-huh, yeah right!
I asked them if they think I’d be ‘credible’ enough to talk about the Abu Sayyaf and they said, “We’ll see when we get there...” with matching laugh, it looks like they were bent on going to my office to get the interview even if I don’t permit them to. Sabi ko, I’ll ask permission first from my publishers if it is alright with them. “I’ll call you in a couple of minutes,” sabi ko.
My publishers agreed, so I called them back. One ring. “CBS News.” Sabi ko, “Yes, I’d like to speak with John please.” “Momar! So what time are we coming over?”
I know how hard that person’s job is (he’s probably a PA or an Associate Producer) so hindi na ako nagpatumpik-tumpik. “You can come here anytime.” “We’ll be there in forty five minutes.”
In less than 45 minutes, the cameraman arrived. This was already around 7:00 pm. Chuck, the cameraman told me, “Hey Momar. The reporter will be here in a few minutes. He’s coming from the studio, he just did the 6 o’oclock news. His name is Jonathan Elias.”
Freeze frame. I have been watching this guy for the longest time. His reports are incisive, he is good in what he does and well, he looks good. Hahaha. He has won Emmy awards for his newscasts and reports, he even has a George Peabody award. The only word I could muster then, “Uhm, okay.”
So he set up, took establishing shots and sitners (situationers, yung casual shots baga). By 7:30 pm, Jonathan Elias arrived. Face to face with that face I always see on TV, I immediately got tense, I got flustered. After a short exchange of hello’s and how are you’s, he asked me backgrounders. Then they made me stand in front of the cam, gave me a lapel mike and the cameras started rolling.
After what seemed like an eternity, (office-mates would later tell me that the interview took almost 20 minutes) the interview was over. Off-cam, he continued asking me questions about the Philippines and about Abu Sayyaf.
His on-cam questions were well thought of, well analyzed and he shot them like I was in a firing range. Some of the questions were easy to answer but I got stumped by a couple. He asked me the amount, in US dollars, that the Philippine tourism industry is getting from tourists who are from the United States.
Obviously, I didn’t know the answer. Not even a ballpark figure. I answered the question vaguely, trying to evade a possible follow-up. “I don’t have the figures, but it’s huge.” Then I said, I was so unsure but I said this confidently, “Next to the Europeans, the Americans are the most frequesnt visitors of the Philippines.” I may have interchanged the facts, and I have no way of knowing at that exact time if what I said was factual.
The next question that stumped me. “What is the Philippine government doing to make sure that this won’t happen again.” Uh-oh. Goddamnit, I am not the Philippine government. I had no idea. This happened last year and it has happened again. What assurance do we have that this won’t happen again? Lord of the rings, I was grasping for an answer. Not for the righta nswer but for any possible answer. Dead air, for about 5 seconds. Maybe he thought I didn’tget his question. I beat around the bush, you know blah-blah-blah yada-yada-yada, until I, myself got tired of beating around the bush. I told him that the government is intensifying its efforts to make sure that this does not happen again. Goddamn.
After the interview, time check: 8:30, we proceeded to the bowling lanes. I called my flat-mate so she can program my VCR. I had no plans of telling my relatives but then my cousin called me up, I had no choice but to tell him to wait for the 11 pm news on CBS.
11:10, i got three text messages. My cousin left a voice mail. An office-mate called. They saw me on TV. They fucking saw me on TV. 11:30, my boss called me up, asking me if I saw the news. I told her that I was still out bowling and she told me that it came out good. Those were the lead stories of the newscast last night (it was a twin bill because the other one was an interview with the neighbors of the American that the Abu Sayyaf beheaded) and I was in there for a good three to four minutes of it.
I almost had a turkey (three strikes in a row) after I found out about it. It was well close to a turkey because I hit two strikes and a nine. I could’t get the fucking last pin to drop. My weakness.
We had dinner around 12:20 and got finished around 1:00 am. Three games of bowling can be tiring.
In my room, at 1:15 am. I opened my TV and there was David Duchovny on the Craig Kilborn Show. I watched it for almost ten minutes. My flat-mate got impatient. “Aren’t you watching the tape?” she asked me. “I told her that I was watching David Duchovny first.” “David can wait, watch yourself first,” she told me.
I rewound (rewinded? hahaha) the tape. Hit stop, and hit play. Sumobra. Forward. Then the news. “Tonight on CBS News... A California man is said to be beheaded by terrorists in the Philippines, who exactly are the members of the ABu Sayyaf and what do they want?”
After around four minutes of backgrounders, my face appeared. “Oh God, I look so big.” I almost forgot, the camera adds 10 pounds. I looked like i was 160. Hell, I am lying. I have a friend who is 140 and it’s just mathematically impossible for me to be 150 if I compare my frame with his. Hahaha.
After watching myself for about 15 times, I decided to write this.
Monday, January 01, 2001
Monday, December 18, 2000
'Traffic' Premiere
It’s Monday morning and I have 15 mails. Hahaha.
Life’s cheap thrills.
My weekend report: It was fun as in capital F-U-N.
Friday night. World premiere of Traffic at the AMPAS Theater (Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, the Oscar body) in Beverly Hills. I was invited by a friend of mine. Andun na kami by 6:00 pm. He stayed at the photographer’s line and I was whisked inside to stay at the print line.
It was everything that I imagined a Hollywood premiere is made of, and more. By 6:30, dumadating na yung mga tao. I was with 4 other print people, writing for W, In Style, US and Entertainment Weekly. Golly, nanliit ako.
We were given “tip sheets” (like who’s expected to attend). Then the stars started arriving, Since I am a couch potato, it was heaven for me. I didn’t exactly know their names but I knew their characters’ names. The stars of That 70’s Show came in first. They attended to show support to Topher Grace who is in the film. Then yung mga taga-Roswell. Then my jaw dropped, Antonio Sabato, Jr. came in with a pretty date. Tapos, si Winona Ryder. Gosh, she’s so cute. Reclusive siya, she wasn’t “friendly” at all sa press. She told her publicist that she didn’t want to do interviews, wala naman kasi daw siya sa movie. Fine. I remember her vividly with her “doily” outfit sa Reality Bites.
Minnie Driver. Andie McDowell. Highlander guy. Steven Sodebergh, the film’s director, who also directed Erin Brockovich, Out of Sight and sex, lies and videotape. Jerry O Connell. Salma Hayek. Tom Sizemore. Michael Rapaport. Colin Farrell.
Then the cast started coming in. Dennis Quaid, Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle. Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones. My golly, I was so amazed. Cheap thrill.
Tapos, screening na. Medyo mahaba yung film – 2 hrs 15 minutes – and after that, akala ko tapos na. Pagbaba naming from the theater, hayun may after-party sa lobby mismo ng AMPAS. Then yung friend ng friend ko approached me, and asked me if I wanted to interview the stars. I pinched myself, sabi ko sa sarili ko, “me? Interview the stars?” so I said yes. Akala ko sa supporting cast lang. Hinila ako. First interviewee of the night – Michael Douglas. Wow.
I wasn’t prepared. I was “allowed” to asked 2 to 3 questions lang, kasi ang dami dami ngang tao.
Momar: Mr. Douglas, Hi! Congratulations, that was a great performance. How was the role different from your role in Wonder Boys?
[Stupid question, but what can I do? Wala akong prepared question. I wasn’t prepared.]
Michael Douglas: Ahmmmm (as if looking for a nice way to tell me: Go away, I am not here to promote Wonder Boys.]
[Bawi ako bigla…]
Momar: I mean, how is this role special from the past roles you have portrayed?
Michael Douglas: Oh. Blah blah blah. Yada yada yada Di ko pa nata transcribe yung tape and I wasn’t giving attention to what he was saying. I was just maintaining eye contact with him.
Yun, natapos si Michael Douglas. Then hinila ako sa supporting cast – Benicio Del Toro (this guy is so good in the movie, he practically stole the film from Michael), Don Cheadle (he was the second most applauded after the screening), mga up and comers (the young members of the cast)…and ta-da! Catherine Zeta-Jones.
I was so transfixed. She looked so pretty. My golly. Her face is so cute. And she was wearing this red top na halos puro strings lang yung nasa likod. I was staying at first by her side and deadma siya if people can see (and ogle) at the side of her left boobie. She’s so pretty. Nakatatak sa utak ko yung scene niya sa Entrapment where she slithers like a snake. Ang sexy niya.
I got home around 12:30 in the morning. Di ako nakatulog agad. I couldn’t believe what just happened happened. My only regret was that I didn’t have my camera with me. Okay lang because my friend told me that “unauthorized” photographers could easily be taken out. Nakakahiya, di ba? I also controlled myself from asking for the stars’ autographs, and I succeeded.
Star-struck, that’s me.
Thursday, December 07, 2000
moving out
it’s thursday morning here and i am very sleepy. i just had a three-hour sleep last night. finally, naka move out na ako from my cousin’s place. freedom. ang sarap ng feeling because now I am finally on my own.
mixed emotions din because i have gorwn to love the kids. the younger one, barely five years old, asked me on the day i was packing. “why are you leaving us kuya mark?” she doesn’ call me tito, kuya na lang daw. and she can’t say momar, kaya mark na lang.
then she remembered her friends, neighbors namin dati. “are you coming back? are you going to visit us? because ernie and jenny (names ng friends niya) left and they promised to return but they have not returned yet.”
yun. medyo na sad lang ng konti.
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Tuesday, November 28, 2000
thanksgiving holidays
people here are already greeting each other happy holidays, and i don’t mean the yuletide season coming in three weeks. thanksgiving is a big deal here. thanksgiving parties, thanksgiving lunches, thanksgiving dinners, you get the idea. but for me, it is way too over-rated.
dapat long week-end ako, pero dahil nasa diyaryo biz ako, hindi puwede. thanksgiving was thursday, so automatic na yun, walang pasok. but we had to work on friday.
anyway, eto ang mga kaganapan ko the past three days, blow by blow—
thursday—thanksgiving mismo. lunch to death— turkey, ham and all those stuff, parang noche buena, only, we partook the food during lunch time. nabato ako sa bahay so i went to the cineplex. watched two movies—unbreakable, saka 102 dalmatians—okay lang. may surprise ending sa dulo ng unbreakable.
friday—work to death, then sa gabi, my friends and i went out and painted the town read. as in. had three rounds of drinks—apple martini, cherry margarita, miller lite—at pagdating pa sa bahay nung isang friend, nag share pa kami (five of us) ng isang malaking bote ng bailey’s. not a good idea. hahaha. while i didn’t get drunk, i almost puked my intestines out. no hang-overs. we slept around 3 am, set the alarm for 6:30 -- because we had to leave by 7:30 to go shopping. by 5 am, i had a nasty dream, i was relieving myself inside this bathroom when i noticed puke all over (not the puke that you know, lol, which makes me puke, too. hahaha) so parang na-induce. i went to the bathroom, and pagtapat ko pa lang sa sink, boom! yun na, suka to death.
anyway, obviously, hindi kami nagising ng 6:30, so nakaalis kami sa bahay, mga 9:30 na. we planned this trip a week before pa. our destination was 10 miles east of palm springs where there is an outlet mall with more than 120 stores. super sale talaga at pagdating ng gabi, medyo pagod na pagod na talaga ang katawang lupa ko kalalakad.
sunday—birthday ng pamangkin ko. we went to church, then had lunch at a chinese resto in chinatown (saan pa?) after that, drive to my other cousin’s house because two of my titas visited, one from toronto, and one from tucson, arizona. as usual, i dodged the same old question— “Wala ka pang planong mag-asawa?” with such finesse and mastery. Deadma, sabay smile. hahaha.
at ngayong lunes, andito na ako sa work, back aches and all. i had the itch to write kaya heto, nagsusulat.
Thursday, November 09, 2000
cliffhanger
i was up until about 4 am this morning—redundant ba? -- wating for the final results of the us elections yesterday. wala. it has been a roller-coaster ride. i don’t even know why the hell i am so much fixated with american politics. so much so that this fixation miserably fails in comparison with my cousins’ (well at least some of them).
i don’t like george dubya. i hate him even. no particular reason. hahaha. call me biased. had i been a us citizen already, i’d be a full-blooded democrat. god, i hate republicans and everything (okay, hasty generalization there. NOT everything) they believe in.
florida is too close to call. geez, this is so historic. the americans elect their president thru the electoral college. salamat sa mga founding fathers nila. this makes the popular vote moot and academic. as one broadcaster said, it’s like the appendix. it’s there but you don’t need it.
florida’s governor is dubya’s brother. i just hope that they’re not stopping at everything to deliver florida to bush.
boo-boos galore. media networks here committed booboos. twice. first they predicted that florida went to gore, and a couple of hours later, they recanted their claim and put florida in the too close column. florida carries 25 electoral votes. as it stands, gore leads, 260 to bush’ 246. the magic number to win the presidency is 270. whoever wins florida wins it. there’s one more state—oregon, with 7 votes—that hasn’t finished counting.
for almost an hour last night, i was crest-fallen, down-trodden even. when the networks declared george walker bush as the 43rd president of the united states. it was so heart-breaking. again, i have no idea why i was this affected. i called my a friend of mine and we discussed. he’s also a gore fanatic and we were both feeling so down. that was the networks’ -- abc, cbs, nbc, i think even cnn—major booboo. turns out that the counting in florida isn’t over yet.
when gore saw on tv that bush has been declared as the president-elect, he called dubya to congratulate him. on his way to speak to his supporters, he was advised that florida was too close to call. he called up dubya again and withdrew his congratulations, and the concession.
and that’s where it all stands now. florida has laws that make recounts automatic if there is ½ of 1% separating the candidates. oh well. at least, there is still glimmer of hope for a gore presidency. in the meantime, new york elected hillary clinton as their senator. okay lang. i find rick lazio so snotty and cocky. and of course, he’s a republican, so good for him. hahaha.
that ladies and gentlemen, is what’s happening here.
Monday, September 11, 2000
Bleeding...for Sampras
its 535 pm here, sunday and i have nothing to do. hahaha. i already had my two hour afternoon nap, right after the finals of the us open. gosh, i feel so bad for pete sampras. he lost. :(
but the russian guy -- marat safin -- is really good. he's only 20 years old pero halos lahat ng serves ni pete, naibalik niya. hay naku. i really, really feel
bad. mas worse pa siguro ang nararamdaman ko than bridgette something, yung girlfriend niya or his familia. hahaha. i'm such a fanatic.
8 pm mamaya is the emmys awards. man, i am really a couch potato. tv junkie, big time. specially at mag-i-start na uli ang mga seasons. goodbye summer
na,officially.
Type rest of the post here
