i had a slightly busy day today. a few hours after arriving from san francisco, my friends and i trooped to magic mountain for the fil-am funfest event that featured jasmine trias in a "concert" (quotes mine).
we got in around 4ish in the afternoon and we just strolled around and tried some rides. the line for deja vu and extreme were just scandalous. two hours. no way i'd waste my two hours for a two-minute something ride.
so we got in the greek theatre-like auditorium where a couple of upcoming fil-am singers were doing their groove thang.
after what seemed like eternity, jasmine came onstage. she sang around 6 songs and jammed with the audience. she even did the ocho ocho. twice. she loved the audience so much she (almost) did everything they asked her to do. she acknowledged her "street team" and her loyal fans (and she had a lot of 'em). she signed autographs after the show. since we had nothing else to do, we sorta lined up to have out autographed pics. hehehe.
i credit her for treating her fans well. i hope she's not doing this just so the fans would go out on july 12 to buy her cd at best buy. oh well. she sang songs from this album and based on what i heard, i think it's gonna be a good album. i hope. her 'sexy boy' is kinda r and b, and sounded a bit like ashanti. her pipes were okay, no more of those raspy and tired vocals i used to hear from her during the competition. she also danced! she shook her booty!
her performance during this show was -- dare i say it? -- very good. in fact, even better (way better!) than her "performance" during her first solo concert here in los angeles last year. i hope she keeps it up. go girl!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
return to magic mountain
Saturday, June 04, 2005
ako ay pilipino
my co-workers and i (with another co-worker who was based in northern cali) checked in at the marriott courtyard in san bruno last thursday. there were two people at the front desk and one of us was talking with one of them.
then, i asked our co-worker who was based up there something in tagalog. the lady, her name tag says wilhelmina, looked up and said, "pilipino?"
we smiled, and said, "opo."
no offense done, no offense taken.
then she digs further. "akala ko kasi samoan..."
okay fine. samoan it is.
we smiled. and she goes, "uy, bawal ang mag pa party sa room ha? baka mapaalis kayo."
and we were like. wtf!
"hindi naman sa sinasabi ko na mag pa party kayo, pero bawal kasi ang mag party sa mga rooms eh. papaalisin talaga kayo."
we were a group of late-20s to late-30s and we did not look like your typical party-goers and we were surprised why she had to say that.
Friday, June 03, 2005
appoggiatura
that is the final word in this year's speeling bee competition covered live by the dork network espn (really now!). i am a big fan of spelling bee competitions and i was surprised to find out a couple of years ago that espn indeed covers the national spelling bee contest.
this is the reason why i bought the spellbound dvd, a nicely-done documentary that followed the lives of former contestants who were competing in the 1999 spelling bee championship. the film was nominated for best documentary in the 2003 oscar's.
anyway, an indian-american kid eight-grader won this year's contest. he won $30,000 in cash, scholarship and books. not bad.
there's a reason why i am into spelling bee stuff. ahem. when i was a kid, i used to join similar competitions and i always represented my school in the district, then in the zonals, then in the division, then in the regionals. i never made it to the nationals though. sayang.
i am a bitter loser and in one of those hotly-contested competitions, i felt so bad losing because i missed a very, very simple word. "the word," the pronunciation-defective host said, "is (and this is how she pronounced the word) va-yas. va-yas."
one f-in word and i missed being sent to the regionals that year.
i wrote. v-i-a-s. va-yas.
i dunno why some of my fellow competitors got it. she clearly mispronounced the word. but then, how could i protest when some participants got it right?
oh well. the word? it was bias. b-i-a-s. bias.
*Leaning note; grace note; note of embellishment usually one step above (sometimes, though seldom, it is one step below) the main note. Before an even or unaltered note, the appoggiatura generally receives its face value, that is one-half the value of the note that follows; before a dotted note it receives more than its face value, that is to say that it should be given two-thirds of the value of the following note. If the note is of the same pitch as the principal note of the appoggiatura, the grace note receives the entire value of its principal note, but is carried to the next note with strong portamento.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
off to san francisco
i'm flying to san francisco this afternoon for a much needed vacation something work-related.
it's been more than a year since i visited the city by the bay and i am kinda excited. babaw!
better
nothing feels better than having two fighting close friends reconcile.
for months now, two of my friends have become sworn enemies that no amount of intervention could save their relationship. finally, this week, they decided to bury the hatchet (not on each other's backs).
at least, all's well so far. thank you guys, for looking beyond the pain you've caused each other while you were enemies not friends.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
flavors of the philippines, part deux
LOS ANGELES — Consul General Marciano Paynor, Jr. and Deputy Consul Hellen Barber officially opened “Flavors of the Philippines, Part 2,” a gastronomic feast of Filipino cuisine at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Los Angeles with a simple ribbon-cutting ceremonies Wednesday.
“Flavors of the Philippines’ is yet another tribute to the sumptuous flavors that are distinctively Filipino,” ConGen Paynor said, adding, “We are doing this as a follow up to the highly successful ‘Flavors of the Philippines’ last year.”
The hotel’s Azalea Restaurant was adorned once more with posters of top Philippine tourist destinations to entice hotel guests and visitors to try the best that top Filipino chefs have to offer.
This year, the consulate tied up with Mama Sita’s (and Lola Sita’s) brand, the famous company that makes distinctively Filipino sauces and mixes. The partnership with Mama Sita’s was made possible with a big help from Chef Cecilia de Castro, a well-known chef respected in the professional food community and considered as California's foremost exponent of Philippine cuisine.
The partnership developed a special menu to highlight the finest tropical culinary traditions of the Philippines.
Because of the very good turn-out last year, this year’s ‘Flavors of the Philippines’ will be ongoing for the whole month of June. This means that food-lovers will have an eclectic mix of Filipino favorites — from soup and salad to dessert — on the restaurant’s buffet table for a month-long celebration of Filipino cuisine.
‘Soup of the Day’ varies depending on the day of your visit to The Azalea. On Monday, it’s ‘Sinigang na Salmon at Sugpo’ (Salmon and Prawns in Mama Sita’s Tamarind Sour Soup); Tuesday has ‘Sinigang na Bayabas (Prawns in Mama Sita’s Guava Soup) while Wednesday offers ‘Tinolang Manok’ (Chicken in Ginger Soup). They have ‘Ginisang Munggo’ (Sauteed Mung Bean Soup) on Thursday and New England Clam Chowder every Friday.
Mix the soup with the home-made cold salads; from Ensaladang Suha (a refreshing combination of sweet grapefruit and radish with mustard and Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar), to Mango and Cucumber Salad to to Ensaladang Talong (roasted eggplant with Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar and olive oil).
There’s also Ensaladang Gulay (garden salad served with a choice of dressing), Ensaladang Bagnet (crunchy pork crackling with tomato and anchovy sauce) and Fresh Tomato, Salted Duck Eggs & Onions.
For the hot entrées, the restaurant’s chefs led by David Botelho, New Otani’s Executive Chef, prepared delectable viands.
There’s a huge selection of grilled Lola Sita’s Meats (chicken, pork (tocino), beef tapa and longganisa); Maya-Maya Manilena (pan-fried red snapper with lemon butter and topped with fried bananas and Manok sa Gata (braised local chicken with lemon grass, garlic and coconut cream).
There’s also ‘Adobong Spareribs’ (crispy spareribs with soy and vinegar), and ‘Kalderetang Baka’ (beef stewed in red wine and tomato) and people with varied interests will surely find a dish that they would surely love.
What’s a Filipino meal without the delectable dessert? Here, you can make your own Halo Halo, a mélange of sweetened fruits. For cakes, there are a couple to choose from: mango cake and coconut cake.
Come hungry to The Azalea and enjoy the ‘Flavors of the Philippines.’
(‘Flavors of the Philippines’ will be at the center stage of Azalea Restaurant at the New Otani Hotel during lunch hours from June 1 to 30, 2004. Lunch buffet is $12.95 per person (children from 4 to 10 years old pay $7.50). The New Otani Hotel and Garden is located at 120 S. Los Angeles St. in downtown Los Angeles.)
Monday, May 30, 2005
thank you girl
A year later China hosted Miss World, its first international beauty contest.
"Though they started slowly, they implemented this because they wanted more people to learn about China," said the current Miss China, 21 year old Siyuan Tao.
A host of promotionally-driven pageants have subsequently been held, including Miss Ugly, Miss Plastic Surgery -- even beauty pageants for the elderly.
This was from an article I found on Yahoo!News today while i was doing my browsing. Nothing much happened today, except the fact that I have finished my laundry. All of them. I'm happy now.
Miss Ugly? Miss Plastic Surgery? What has this world turned into?
Anyway, the pageant (I meant Miss Universe) is set to air in the west coast at 9:00 pm (that would be in an hour) but I already know the results, thanks to some of my friends from the east coast who always, always do this to me. Whether it is AI or Miss U (not that I care), they always get to know the results first.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
there goes my new ipod
there's a big huge reason why i should never, ever go to a casino.
in my more than six years of visiting different casinos all over [from vegas to reno to nawlins] the u.s., never have i left a single casino with a smile plastered on my face. this weekend was no exception.
a good friend of mine floated the idea of a quick drive to vegas, since it was the long weekend anyway. okay, it's not that hard to convince me.
we picked up something from his work in walnut. somewhere, we decided to just go to pechanga. then, i suggested casino morongo, since i read somewhere that they just finished their multi-million dollar renovation. and it's less than 20 miles away from palm springs. so that's where we went.
we arrived around six. i psyched myself that at most, i was willing to part with one benjamin franklin (a hundred bucks), no more, no less. shortly after seven piyem, the benjamin that has been lingering in my wallet for four weeks now, was gone. sigh.
so i went to the atm machine. this casino has (i think) more than a hundred atm machines strategically located all over the casino floor. how convenient. and despite the prohibitive cost that each machine charges for every transaction ($4 per transaction, aside from the charges that your own bank will deduct from your account, for not being loyal using other atm machines), there was a long line of people withdrawing money from these machines. i was one of them.
i withdrew a hundred bucks. the receipt reflected that i got 104. whew. the price of a tall white chocolate latte at coffee bean. mahal. but what can i do? i wanted to win. (who didn't).
by 8 piyem, i was down to zero one more time. oh no. i was losing one hundred bucks per hour. god forbid if we stayed for six hours. i was, of course, not gonna let that happen.
for the second, and last time, i braved the line to the atm machines. i withdrew another hundred bucks. win or lose, this is it. i know my limit. hehehe. i think.
i did not play the slots. i did not play pai gow. i stuck with the good old black jack. obviously, not a good idea. we went back to hell-ey hundreds of dollars poorer. i've been wanting to upgrade my ipod and get the newer ones, but i guess that would have to wait now. as the budget that i was supposed to use for this project has been donated to casino morongo.
Friday, May 27, 2005
holiday mode
it's friday and people are already in holiday mode. monday's memorial day, so people are already preparing for the long weekend ahead. see what an extra day makes. it's like a weekend plus one but people don't seem to see it as such.
i think i'm just gonna stay home for the long weekend. two years ago, my friends and i drove to san francisco and reno, nevada. last year, we went to arizona -- visited grand canyon, phoenix, sedona, scottsdale, and all other cities in between, including palm springs.
i need to have a project. like fix my room. or something. i can catch up on my readings. or my dvd viewing. or i can finally watch lost.
happy memorial day weekend everyone!
Thursday, May 26, 2005
one-two punch
that's what i felt last night, after watching the mind-numbing season finale of alias.
i screamed at my tv set as soon as the 'bad robot' thingie appeared. which just means that i'll have tow ait until the fall to find out what happened.
the one-two punch? syd and vaughn were on their way to santa barbara and they were talking about the possibility of just eloping. yada yada yada. nice music in the background. lots of 'i love yous' being exhanged.
in the spirit of truthfulness, vaughn says, "for starters, my name is not michael vaughn." wtf. then syd's reaction shot. then boom. a car/truck hits them. bad robot. omg.
my head literally ached and i kept on thinking everything michael vaugh said and did in the past four seasons and i'm at a loss. if he is not michael vaughn, then who is he? arrrgh. only true-blooded couch potatoes would have the same problem. can't wait till the fall.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
what happened tom?
because i was too sleepy last monday night, i was not able to watch tom cruise's guesting on oprah. so i taped it.
last night, because i was wide awake at 2:00 a.m., i popped the tape and watched what most of the people on the blogosphere have been talking about. i am a big tom cruise fan (and that is an understatement) but his appearance on oprah was scary. borderline crazy.
i dunno what he was on (jimmy kimmel suggested last night it was steroids) during the guesting but holy mother of god, stay away from it, mr. cruise. you're gonna lose all your fans if you keep on doing this. not good.
and also, what's with the hollywood media not believing about tom's love for katie holmes? the boston globe came out with a story, 'Sure, They're in Love...With Publicity.' ouch. even calcutta's the telegraph has something to say about this new romance.
mahal ka o mahal mo?
from out of nowhere, my friend blurted this question to me. we just finished our coffee (i didn't like the way it was prepared today. it was way too strong for me. hence, i am still wide awake at 2:00 am) and we were just walking when the question was verbalized.
not wanting to overanalyze, i told my friend that it has been awhile since that question was asked. or it has been awhile since someone asked my take on a similar question.
'mahal ko,' i quipped.
it was not the response that he expected. this is the part where it gets tricky. do you answer based on what your friend wants to hear or based on what you really feel deep down inside? sometimes, rules must be bent in order to make a friend feel better. this time, i did not feel the need so i went for what i felt deep down inside.
upon closer analysis, why is it not possible that 'mahal mo' can be equal to 'mahal ka?' well, it is possible but it does not happen everyday.
'lahat kasi ng mahal ko, hindi ako mahal. eh di dun na lang ako sa mahal ako,' replied my friend quickly. i had no idea if my friend was trying to convince me or if he was trying to convince himself.
for a moment, i was quite stumped. how many people in this world feel that? there was a point in the not-so-distant past that i felt the exact same way.
is it selfish to just go for that someone who loves you, and hope (against hope, maybe?) that you will learn to love that someone back?
is it stupid to go for that someone you love, and hope (against hope as well?) that that someone will learn to love you back?
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
nine years
just like that. may 23, 2005 passed by like any other day. any other ordinary day. just like that.
i used to dread the date especially since the break-up a couple of years ago. i always wished that the day would move faster, so everyone could move on to may 24. not yesterday.
thought about the former significant other and where we could have gone if things did not happen as they did. for what? i absolutely have no idea but this day of the year somehow brings that out from me.
may 23, 1996 seems very distant now, from where i see things. everything just seems to be memories from a distant past. memories that always seem to resurface every freaking year. on this freaking date.
Monday, May 23, 2005
hot, hot. hot
the weather has been unbearably hot the past few days. no wonder people (including myself) have been getting sick. my coughs and colds have not left me (i thought i was already okay last friday). damn.
and yes, i am still in my 'hide and seek' fever. i dunno for how long. officially, the song is now on top of my itunes' 25 most played, dislodging the killers' 'mr. brightside' which has occupied the position for about 8 weeks now. third on the list is green day's 'boulevard of broken dreams'. number 4 is ben jelen's 'come on' and fifth is south border's 'wherever you are.' hide and seek's rise to the top of my list is phenomenal. love, love, love imogen heap.
desperate housewives' season finale last night was 'just alright' in my book. not 'that good' or 'that awesome'. 'just alright'. i wish they somehow shared a few more snippets about mrs. betty applewhite, the new desperate housewife. rex van de kamp is dead. wrong move. they could have killed of gabby's husband first, then tom, or susan's ex-hubby. i officially hate the pharmacist now. i hope he's gonna get his comeuppance as early as next season's premiere.
since i was just home most of the time, i watched some of my dvds that have been sitting there. i loved 'maria full of grace' so much. it was a very good movie. the lead actress, catalina sandino moreno is rumored to be dating jake gyllenhaal now. oh well.
Friday, May 20, 2005
ice queen
michelle kwan acknowledges the guests who attended the opening of the east west ice palace in artesia
michelle, with east west bank president and ceo dominic ng and artesia mayor larry nelson
michelle receives flowers from two children
i swear that's michelle!
the ice queen tries hockey
hide and seek
that's the title of the song that the genius people behind the oc's production team used in key scenes during the show's season finale which was aired a few hours ago. i taped it since i had an event to cover. [i've been playing it non-stop on my itunes. sigh.]
as soon as i got back, i watched it. watching it brought me back to last year's season finale, where seth just took off, and left newport beach. it was a sad episode. very sad one. color me impressed. the dialogues between the characters were awesome, and the acting was great as well. the ending was very good, and the way imogen heap's song 'hide and seek' was used just rocked.
the church where caleb's funeral mass was held was the same church [wayfarer's chapel in rancho palos verdes] where my friend keena got married. it's a small, beautiful and picturesque (all glass) chapel overlooking the pacific ocean. one more trivia: the guy from garden grove, yes, the druggie is a pinoy. he's one of the basco brothers. he was the one with a gun.
emotional. heart-tugging. sad. see you in the fall, the oc.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
share-a-load
for years now, i have been given this task by my friends (different sets) as their sounding board. they tell me their problems, their secrets, their heartaches.
i'm okay with the set-up, but sometimes, the sounding board needs a sounding board too. you know where this is going huh? right. without naming names, i am sharing some of my friends' issues in life. i don't necessarily give out advice, sometimes they just want me to listen. [and take notes. hah!]
i had a long talk with a friend last night on the phone. he said he had good news and bad news to share. i asked for the bad news first. his mom's on a coma, after about a year of being diagnosed with cancer. sigh. i could feel the sadness and submission in his voice. 'tanggap ko na,' he told me. [translation: i've accepted it.] the good news? he was gonna meet one of his icons, greg louganis, at an event today.
one of my good friends had his brand new sports car vandalized. eggs were thrown at the car and deep scratches (and a huge dent) were found on the driver's side. this car is less than three weeks old.
one of my friends is planning to break-up with his significant other. i know at least three friends who have been - or tried to be, or still are - in an affair with someone married/deeply committed. one just plunged into a relationship with someone almost twice his age.
these stuff make each day pretty unique for me. sorry, no names. ever.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
carrie vs bo in next week's finale?
as an ai dork, that is my bold prediction. hehehe. it has been, even way before simon and his gang praised them left and right. i think vonzell is leaving tonight because (sue me, sue me!) i think there's no way that the ai title will be bagged by a black person for the third consecutive year. i am a fan of vonzell's too, but i think it would be better for all of us if bo or carrie won.
no country singer has won the competition. no rocker has won the competition. no white guy has won the competition. 2 ot of 3 says it's bo. how scientific.
i missed watching amazing race last night. it's like i had a tar (short for the amazing race) withdrawal syndrome. i loved watching ai and tar back to back every tuesdays. anyway, alias is on tonight. for two freaking hours. woohoo. 24 will have it's season finale next monday (another 2-hour thing). oc's finale will be this thursday, the same with the apprentice. sigh.
it's gonna be a long summer (of re-runs and crappy filler shows!).
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
thank you, blockbuster
while at blockbuster last weekend, i decided to sign-up for their unlimited monthly rental promo. it cost me $14.99 plus tax. for that amount, i could bring home two videos at a time. i can return them anytime i want and get another two to bring home. the first time i rented, i checked my receipt: each video cost $4.49 to rent. way too expensive. just three rentals and i'm good.
so every day since saturday, i've been renting two videos at a time and i have been able to somehow catch up with my viewing. if i like a movie, i finish it, and i even watch the bonus sections. if i don't, then i don't. heh. i can't force myself to watch something that i feel i dont like from the start. i have a-d-d. sometimes. and o-c-d too. just like chad michael murray. hah.
among the nice ones i've watched since the weekend: ocean's twelve (i liked it, except for the 'julia roberts' sub-plot.) and iron ladies (a thai movie that's really funny. i heard it's true-to-life. go thailand!). the rest? i'll try to remember.
up close and personal with michelle kwan
michelle kwan, five-time world champion and the most decorated female figure skater in u.s. history opened her own ice skating rink in the city of artesia, about a 45-minute drive from los angeles. it is called the 'east west ice arena,' after east west bank, whose spokesperson is, yes, michelle kwan.
i am not really an avid fan of figure skating (sure!) but i was quite awed to see michelle in person. as a treat to everyone who attended the event, michelle performed a routine [i think this is the same routine she performed in russia for this year's world championships where she placed 4th!] using josh groban's 'you raise me up.'
the performance was goosebump-inducing, as it was my first time ever to watch a figure skater perform live. i saw sasha cohen a couple of weeks ago but this was not match. well, sasha did not actually skate so i am quite biased.
after her performance, luc robitaille joined her in the rink and performed warm-up hockey. luc's a professional hockey player and quite a celeb in the los angeles sports scene. i first saw him in person four christmas seasons ago when he and keanu reeves lit the christmas tree at the 7th and fig [an establishment in downtown la].
on a more personal level... i have not been feeling well since this morning. my nose is stuffy and i have difficulty breathing. i am blaming the freaking weather for this . the weekend was suoer warm and when i woke up this morning, it was freezing cold. i hate getting sick.
[i'll post the pics soon.]
Saturday, May 14, 2005
food trip
mimi's cafe
2925 los feliz blvd., los angeles
&&
a couple of my friends picked me up earlier for lunch. quite tired with filipino food (in los angeles! who knew?), we wanted to try something different. we went to mimi's mimis cafe in los feliz, about a mile and a half away from where i live.
i wanted to get the chicken teriyaki bowl but i changed my mind when i saw that they were serving beef liver. grilled beef liver with grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms and crisp bacon [$9.79]. the order came with steamed rice (not in the mood for potatoes) and some vegetables (the works). i chose their soup of the day (cajun chicken gumbo) over their salads. their bread basket was delicious.
my friends ordered pasta: fettuccine with asiago cream and penne with chicken feta and pine nuts. nice names. apparently both did not taste good. of the fettuccine, my friend said it was lacking something, but he can't somehow place it. the penne? my friend who had it said that it was like eating 'sun-dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes with a hint of penne'. indeed, there were tomatoes all over his plate.
my beef liver was okay. it was a bit dry though. it had two big slices of grilled liver. i finished only one.
coming back? probably not in a few months.
food trip
max's of manila restaurant
313 w. broadway, glendale, ca
&&&&
after work, my friends and i met up at max's in glendale. yes, the house that friend chicken built. we were looking forward to a sumptuous dinner.
okay, so we had the house specialty (whole fried chicken), beef steak, lechon kawali and chicken sisig. i tasted everything except for the fried chicken. my ex-roomie, malou [happy birthday malunggay!] celebrated her nth birthday today so she brought home-friend chicken wings and thighs. crispy and yummy. i felt that i already had my day's quota for chicken,
anyway, the chicken sisig was good. it was the first time i had it. it's not your usual sisig, and it's definitely not your usual chicken dish. nice. the beefsteak, or bistek, was a bit creamy. or at least its sauce was kinda creamy. what's the english word for malapot? that would be it. i preferred my bistek's sauce with just toyo and a hint of lemon, dayap or calamansi. the lechon kawali was good. everything was crunchy.
for dessert, we had buko pandan and i am telling you, this restaurant serves the best buko pandan anywhere. my trip to max's is not complete without me partaking of this delicious concoction. yum.
coming back? yes, probably in a couple of weeks. there was a time when we were here almost weekly. it's soul food, baby.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
missing
aside from the title being one of my favorite ebtg songs, it is also quite appropriate for me to use it today.
actually, this part deux of the 'locked out, part deux' entry. it would be weird if i wrote 'locked out, part deux, part deux,' right?
okay. so i had breakfast this morning at mickey d's. [i never eat breakfast. except the time when my home and my dear mom would prepare the best breakfasts in the world.] anyways, my roomie called around 7ish this morning, yes, while i was having breakfast. he was asking why i was calling him so late last night. so i told him that i got locked out.
i finally got home. i so wanted to sleep a couple of hours more but i needed to find out who got booted from ai last night. so i popped in the tape i asked roomie to tape. i had to go through a lot of gray stuff on the video (yeah, the same cable problems are back. i hate adelphia!). it always loses connection every tuesday and wednesday, right when we are watching amazing race and/or ai. of course i got bummed that fedorov was booted out and that carrie/vonzell were safe. it seemed jasmine's advice to vonzell [cry ophelia vonzelia!] so she can make it to the 'final three' worked. hah. my friends are mean.
then it hit me! when i realized that i did not have my house keys with me last night, i knew for sure that i left it on top of the coffee table. before i dragged my ass to my bedroom, i checked out the coffee table, removed everything on it, put it upside/down. my freaking keys are missing. how could i lose my house keys? how stupid can i get to lose them?
i called in sick. i was feeling bad.
locked out, part deux
the title says it all. [insert sad face]
it's the second time that happened to me within a four-week period (i think). the funny and strange thing (i dunno what else to call it. curse? maybe) is that the first time it happened to me, i attended east west players' annual gala-dinner at the universal city hilton. guess where i came from before i got home? coincidentally, from yet another east west players event: the world premiere of 'imelda: a new musical', which by the way rocked.
and you know what else is funny? the last time i got locked out, my roomie was watching the last full show of 'sin city' and his cell was on mute. naturally. this time. he was home early but he slept early and he put his cell on silent. sigh. how can you argue with a cell phone on silent? after about an hour of trying to call/texting/trying to call the landline [and a slew of other combinations], i finally gave up.
i swore to high heavens that i am never gonna forget my house keys. ever. again.
i should write a note for myself to remember this.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
yay!
last night was a great night for tv. amazing race season 7 wrapped up, and i am so glad that fame-whores rob and amber did not win. i developed this aversion to this couple way back in their survivor days, escalated during the all-star survivor and maxed out during the start of this season's amazing race. bottomline, i'm glad that uchenna and joyce won.
and on ai4, who would have thought that anthony would be able to outsing carrie. damn, that was good. i mentioned in earlier posts that i am happy about this season's final four, and that i am already prepared to accept the fact that a-fed could be leaving the show tonight. well, guess what? after their performances last night, i think it's either vonzell or carrie who's gonna get the boot. i wish.
i won't be able to watch the elimination show tonight because i will be watching the premiere of 'imelda: the musical' at the east west players in little tokyo. liza del mundo, the pinay nurse in last season's ER leads the cast as the former first lady. also, i'm gonna miss jennifer garner's [heard she's preggers] directorial debut on alias tonight. sigh. things that i miss because of my job. hah! not that i am complaining.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Friday, May 06, 2005
'i want my old figure back'
sharon cuneta promoted her series of concerts in the us of a with a well-attended presscon at the radisson westside yesterday. she was accompanied by her hubby, sen. kiko pangilinan who looked younger in person. the presscon was free-wheeling and sharon got to talk about her weight issues.
"i've lost 14 pounds so far. 500 more to go."
"i want my old figure back."
she was very spontaneous and eloquent. she seemed sincere as well. i hope that her concert at the shrine auditorium this june 11 will be successful. (its head to head against the return of the champions, another filipino concert, this time at the grand olympic auditorium. then there's the philippine consulate-sponsored 'independence day ball'. i wish i could trilocate. hah!)
Thursday, May 05, 2005
corey, corey, corey
there goes one hour of my life that i'm not gonna be able to get back.
but first, the good news. thank god scott savol is out of the competition. he should have been out weeks ago, yes, before constantine, nadia and anwar. i wonder why he stayed this long in the competition. maybe, votefortheworst.com really affected the results.
the smoking gun exposé on scott did not even seem to have an effect on him. (strange, i was trying to link the vote for the 'worst' website and i could not go through. hmmm.)
the final four looks okay to me. i don't really mind who wins it because i like all four remaining contestants. but if i were to rank them, it would be bo, vonzell, anthony and carrie. but i think anthony will be gone next week. final two? bo and carrie. and the rocker's gonna bring home the bacon.
now to the investigative report that abc news presented last night on primetime live.
i think there's a grain of truth in what corey clarke is claiming (i.e., that paula abdul coached her, bought him clothes, gave him a cell phone...down to the allegation that they had sex) but the way it was presented felt as if it was a one-hour plug on corey's upcoming cd and book deal. aaack.
(abc brought in former contestants of AI 2 including jordan segundo, who, for crying out loud, did not even say a word. what a waste of time.)
i pity paula. i pity corey clarke. i pity his parents. i pity his friends. i pity myself for watching this piece of crap.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
food trip
The Original Thai BBQ Restaurant
18818 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana
&&&&
had a sumptuous lunch at thai bbq [one of the many] in tarzana [along ventura blvd]. the deep-fried catfish was very delicious, crispy in the outside and a bit tender in the inside. i would have asked for fish sauce and lemon [patis at kalamansi] but the accompanying sweet and tangy orange-y sauce was perfect. yum yum. i used to order the deep-fried pompano before but after i've tasted their catfish, it will take me a while before i order pompano again.
on the side, i ordered a classic dish that i usually order when i am in a thai restaurant. sometimes i call it my comfort food. what's missing? a sunny side up and you have 'tapsilog' thai-style. thai bbq offers one of the tastiest garlic and pepper beef dishes in town. [sanamluang in hollywood is one of the other restos that have really yummy garlic/pepper dishes].
[deep-fried whole catfish at thai bbq in tarzana]
[garlic and pepper beef, also at thai bbq in tarzana]
Monday, May 02, 2005
asian pacific american heritage month
this morning, i covered the launching of the 'asian pacific american heritage month' at the chinese-american museum in downtown. mayor hahn was there, with some of this year's honorees.
among the awardees are two fil-am ladies -- maria quiban and liz masakayan.
because i am one lazy bastard, here's my actual report. [too lazy to blog]
Saturday, April 30, 2005
katedral
[this is a part of the series of photos i took at the cathedral of our lady of the angels. taken at the cathedral's conference center.]
[part of the altar, near the area where the choir is placed]
[view from the altar. this is probably how cardinal roger mahony sees the crowds everytime he celebrates mass here. we can only surmise.]
[Installed at the end of the south ambulatory of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is the 17th Century, gilded, black walnut, Spanish Baroque retablo, the Spanish word for "retabl." A retablo is a shelf raised above the back of an altar to support ornaments, pictures, and statues from sacred history.]
[san lorenzo ruiz, second from left. third drape from the back. right side.]
Friday, April 29, 2005
wag na wag mong sasabihin
i was blog-hopping, as usual, when i came across this blog that totally killed one of my favorite songs, as the title implies.
it's by this girl named kitchie nadal. i like her music, and her simplicity.
you know you're famous when michael v already starts writing (and doing) spoofs about your songs. and in here, michael v did one funny job with 'wag na wag'.
hilarious!
rotfl*
it's been a long while since i came out of a movie theater with a huge smile on my lips. it's also been a long while since i laughed so hard while watching a movie to a point where i almost cried. i've heard a lot of good things about this movie but i did not think of those good things while i was watching it. i did not want my experience to be clouded by what i have heard so far.
bottomline: stephen chow is a master. kung fu hustle is the bomb!
[*geek-speak for rolling on the floor laughing]
[photo courtesy of sony]
Thursday, April 28, 2005
queen of asia
i am excited to see 'queen of asia' tomorrow at the vc filmfest [the los angeles asian pacific film festival]. this film is directed by a friend of mine [lito torres, a veteran of the vc filmfest] and it stars yet another friend, someone we fondly call 'ate vi' because her favorite actress is nora aunor. hah. she'll probably kill me for this.
[lito with 'queen of asia' star, vi]
lito told me that he as almost ten years worth of footage. this is the story: ate vi has been joining beauty pageants from all over the state for the past ten years. unfortunately, she's always the bridesmaid, never the bride. as in she always lands the 'first runner-up' award. this film will try to decipher and find the reasons why this keeps on happening.
there are other pinoy-written and -directed films in the mix and i am going to check 'em out this weekend.
trivial stuff
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
what's your deepest, darket secret?
i was doing my usual blog-hopping today when i came across this very interesting blog called PostSecret. the premise is very simple, readers are invited to send in and contirubute their secret.
Each secret can be a regret, hope, experience, unseen kindness, belief, fear, betrayal, desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.
i spent fifteen minutes going through all the postcards that have been sent, this one's one of my favorites.
in this day and age, there are still people who want the easy way. i am not passing judgment against the person who sent this one. it's just an observation that i think, maybe people think that because they're white, they get a free pass on anything they want to do.or maybe they could get away with something because of their skin color. or they get a 'special privilege' because of it.
as a friend of mine once said, filipinos outside the philippines will always be second-class citizens in their chosen countries. indeed, we can only feel like first-class citizens in our home countries. but why do thousands of people dream of leaving the philippines every single day? is it their dream to be second-class citizens somewhere else?
maybe. maybe not.
Monday, April 25, 2005
what's wrong with this picture?
[taken near the corner of vermont and sunset]
i came across this restaurant last weekend and i just had to stop.
who doesn't want a 'fresh cook'? i know, i do. i am a fan of anything 'fresh.'
googlism : momar
momar is equally smitten
momar is a manufacturer of products and services for industries which use chemical dust control
momar is the company
momar is a physics and math double
momar is a nonconducting
momar is the one that brought all of us the racing videos from each tour stop throughout the tour
momar is one of my friends and he is sooo smart
momar is often seen around on the french competitions
momar is rated at 175 kdu's
momar is our wealthy algerian benefactor
momar is to determine the space and time distribution of volcanic and tectonic
momar is similarly focused on the importance of quality
momar is teh winnar
momar is for example
momar is 47 jaar oud
momar is an apprentice; his opponent is a journeyman
momar is working away from home
momar is to determine
momar is in abydos and underneath the mound of sand and rocks
momar is a holiday must
momar is useful as
momar is wary of the film
if you want to try googlism, click here.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
festival of books
and it has come to pass.
the annual los angeles times festival of books took place at the sprawling ucla campus last weekend. as usual, i was there, being the voracious reader that i am. it's my third year of going to the festival and it is very much different every single year.
[taken from the janss steps]
my personal highlight of this year? sasha cohen. hah!
[right before her autograph-signing session]
sasha appeared at the festival on target's children's stage to read from her, uhm 'book'. yes, people. sasha cohen is a book. and i have an autographed copy. which i hope to put on ebay anytime soon.
[yes, the girl can read. and apparently, she can write, too. she has a book!]
anyway, i got to chat for about two minutes with the figure skating sensation. i actually like her, if only for her spunk and her confidence and her bravery to do her stuff (never mind if she falls, at least she tried). she was the top figure skating champ in the u.s. last year, eclipsing michelle kwan.
i also saw jeff bridges with his mom, signing autographs. next.
i stopped by one of the booths to cuddle this carpet, rather dog. huge dog. i talked to its owner and she told me that the dog is 130 lbs. beat that.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
only in hong kong
while i was in hong kong last month, my friend and my cousins and my cousins' friends brought me to this cd store somewhere near tsim tsam tsuy [it sounded like that, i swear, but i am a hundred percent sure that theyd on't spell it that way]. it's not your regular cd store liek virgin or tower or hmv. it's your regular pirated cd store.
anyway, we had a blast when we saw a cd cover that was so funny we really cracke up laughing. i did not buy it [$20 hk] but my friend told me he returned to the store and bought it and filed this report in his blog.
Friday, April 22, 2005
2.89 inches
I was just browsing my daily dose of news when I came across this feature and it made me laugh out loud. Really, loud.
I wonder what Filipino guys have to say about this.
our lady of the angels
I covered the Greenlining Institute's Economic Development Summit at the Our Lady of the Angels Center yesterday. From where we were, I looked out the window and realized that my position was the best place to take a photo of the majestic Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral. It's just breath-taking.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
simple-minded dilettante
still raving about last wednesday's alias. it was awesome! the whole rambaldi issue is back and the appearance of 'another mister sloane' -- the title of the episode -- made it even more fun to watch.
i love this show. i love that it's back focusing on rambaldi artifacts once more.
also, this story destroyed my day. bennifer part deux. blech.
maybe i am just too attached, that's why i'd prefer michael vartan over affleck. for jennifer garner of course. hah. not!
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
lunch with steve case
Yesterday, during the lunch session at the Milken Institute global conference that I was attending, I sat beside this white guy. He looked kinda familiar, like I have seen him somewhere. I looked at his name tag. It said 'Steve Case.' Okay, rings a bell. Then below his name, 'The Case Foundation.'
That's what threw me off. The Case Foundation. So we talked, nonsense stuff actually. When I returned to my office, I googled Steve Case and I realized that I was just talking with the founder and former Chairman and CEO of America Online. Damn, damn, damn.
Anyway, I was convincing myself that it was alright that I did not know, because if I had known, I would have stuttered my way to shame-dom. The guy was probably thinking, 'This jerk does not who I am!'.
That was a great conversation over a great lunch, Mr. Case!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
locked out
i don't remember the exact words of murphy's law which says that [i think] 'if anything will go wrong, it will.'
this morning, i woke up early because i was attending a 3-day conference [milken institute's global conference] held at the hilton in beverly hills. the event has about 2400 registered participants and more than 300 panelists. it's really huge.
so i woke up, got everything and left for beverly hills. i always bring with me my black messenger bag where i place all of my knick-knacks. i placed my house keys in this bag, for the first time. i don't know why.
upon registration at the site, i was given a bag. another messenger bag. i did not like carrying two passenger bags. it just wasn't right. i went back to my office after a couple of sessions.
in the evening, i had another event: the 39th anniversary of east west players, this time at the universal city hilton. since i was going back to the milken conference tomorrow, i thought i'd leave my black messenger bag in the office and just bring my new bag with me. i transferred all of my stuff that i deemed important. yes, everything, except my keys.
after the event, a friend of mine picked me up. one of our friends was in the mood to cook and he invited us. we obliged. after 24 [my other favorite show], we left for home. so my friend dropped me off in front of my gate and sped away.
the moment i stepped out of the car, i knew i was in trouble.
the freaking key was in my black messenger bag, sitting on my desk at the office. time check: 11:00 pm. i called my roomie...once, twice, thrice, ten times. max. he was not answering. i'm doomed. it's quite impossible that he'd be asleep around this time. i called our common friends. maybe they knew their whereabouts. i was hoping that he would be out. that's a better option than him already sleeping, with his cell on silent mode.
it turns out that our friends did not know where my roomie was. exasperated, i called one of our friends who live like 12 blocks from us if i could crash in their place. i was getting hopeless. my contacts were on the verge of popping out, i was getting really cold and irritated.
i started walking. i was on the corner of melrose and vermont when my phone rang. my roomie. it turns out he just got home from watching sin city with a friend. that solved my problem.
lesson learned: always keep a spare set of keys somewhere.
Friday, April 15, 2005
desperate about alias
if it was not too obvious, the title of today's blog refers to my current tv addictions: alias (my fourth year of supporting jj abrams; after four years of felicity) and desperate housewives (my favorite this tv season).
by some twist of fate, abc decided to move alias to the wednesday timeslot last fall. and guess what show they put in its place? desperate housewives. i have not missed a single episode and i must say that its creator/writer march cherry is one hell of a genius. desperate housewives' storylines are imaginative and very colorful, its dialogue crisp and saucy, its characters complex and multi-layered.
of course, you might have heard about the infamous catfight among the characters during a recent vanity fair pictorial. i don't mind it. honestly, i don't even care. as long as they give me a good show week after week, i am happy.
one of my friends, also a fanatic of this show, asked me: 'if you were one of the desperate housewives, who would you be?' without batting an eyeslash, i quipped, 'a cross between bree van de camp (marcia cross' character) and susan mayer (teri hatcher's comeback vehicle).'
don't ask me why. hah.
p.s. i just finished taking the 'which housewife are you' test at the abc site (it was made as a 'unisex' test so even guys can take it) and my result was that i am likely to date or marry lynette (felicity huffman). i dunno what that tells me.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
the mystery of the finger
a few weeks ago, i blogged about a finger finding its way to a bowl of wendy's chili soup in northern cali. it turns out that the complainant has a history of filing lawsuits left and right. this lady claims that she was paid $30,000 by el pollo loco after her daughter got sick at one of the chain's las vegas restaurants.
however, the damage has been done, according to this ap article which says that sales have dropped in all wendy's outlets in northern california, forcing layoffs and reduced hours.
the mystery deepens.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
the case of the missing ipod
the good. my sleepless nights (an exaggeration) are finally over as i have found my lost ipod. it wasn't lost after all, just misplaced.
i spent my entire weekend fixing my itunes and all the freaking songs that were somehow deleted before. i dunno what happened but now i have fully reconstructed all my playlists. the bad? as i mentioned before, i have the second generation ipod, with a capacity of only 10 gigs. sigh. all my songs have gone way beyond 10 gigs and i need an ipod now that has a bigger capacity. 40 gig ipod? i'm dreaming.
anyway, i'm just glad that i found it. [side story: i was supposed to bring it to manila when i went home last feb. i placed it on the couch and i forgot about it. i was cleaning/fixing said couch last weekend when i saw this all-too familiar gray pouch stuck there somewhere. eureka!]
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
magic mountain rocks!
i am a sucker for thrill rides. that's one reason why i love going to six flags magic mountain.
some of my friends asked me if i wanted to go to magic mountain two weekends ago. how could i say no. i love magic mountain.
we arrived a little past eleven and the sun was beginning to scorch us. surprisingly, there wasn't too many people that day and we had a field day running to each and every ride. all in all, we were able to go to 8 rides, inluding this ride called xtreme:
normally, the long line would take us at least two hours before we could ride but this time, it tool us a sweet thirty minutes. it was our first ride and it totally rocked. last time i was here (a year ago), xtreme was my last ride, and this was around 9 in the evening. xtreme during daytime is entirely different, and way scarier.
the two hour line this time, was for deja vu which we wanted to ride. however, time was not on our side and my friends did not want to wait that long.
deja vu remains to be one of my favorite rides because it is just way exciting and exhilarating. maybe next time.
we passed by this thing:
and quickly decided that it is not for us. not good enough.
so we went here instead --
yes, the riddler's revenge. not one of my favorite rides, but then again.
oh well, i really had so much fun. i can't wait to go back.
Monday, April 11, 2005
file under 'guilty pleasures'
last weekend was a 'dine-out' weekend for me and some of my friends. went to two restos i haven't been to in the past year or so. first up, the newly-opened cheesecake factory at the grove, my favorite mall. the waiting time, just like their old-town pasadena branch, was a bit over the top. it was already way past nine in the evening and the wait was still more than an hour. i overheard some people whow aited for about two and a half hours. are you kidding? two and a half hours? no freaking way. by the way, i had the pecan-crusted catfish. yum yum.
the next day, a friend of mine and i went to roscoe's chicken and waffle (corner of sunset and gower). we both had, well, chicken and waffles. the chicken was perfect, tender inside, crispy outside. the waffle was delicious as well.
we also went to my playground, amoeba and stayed there for more than two hours. i left the place at least forty bucks poorer. but happier.
Friday, April 08, 2005
michael and macaulay
I was at the Hollywood and Highland complex yesterday with a couple of friends when I came across Michael Jackson's star along the famed 'Hollywood Walk of Fame.' This morning, I checked my daily supply of news and found out that he was once more in there.
How could you, Michael!
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
arkansas in my mind
i'm still here in rogers, arkansas. the wal-mart media conference just finished a couple of hours ago. i'm staying at the embassy suites in this small town, the birthplace of wal-mart. it's literally in the middle of nowhere and i can't wait to go back to los angeles.
the view from my suite. hey i stayed at the embassy suites. hah!
i arrived here last monday with three others. another one of our colleagues flew in from san francisco. craig rented a van, a huge van for all of us. from the airport, [northwest arkansas, but my expedia says it's fayetteville: airport code is xna] it took us almost half an hour to get to our hotel. the road from the airport was a two-way asphalt road, and the funny thing is that we saw a cow cross the road. why did the cow cross the road? i have no idea. funny, especially for me because when i went home to the philippines last month, i never saw a freaking cow. not even when i went home to the province or when i went to baguio. no cows.
and here i am in fayetteville, arkansas and there's a cow.
apparently, lots and lots of cows. taken on my way back to the airport.
today, i saw more cows, because we went to tour a wal-mart distribution center. yes, i saw a herd (a pack?) of cows. hey, i am not complaining. i love cows. i love farms. it's just that i kinda miss l.a. and besides, there's a thunderstorm here right now and on every local television station, there's a 'thunderstorm warning' or a 'tornado warning' in effect.
sigh. i'm just ranting. i haven't been online since sunday night. no, saturday night! i actually meant friday. saturday was the pops-regine concert, and that deserves a different entry. sunday was magic mountain day with some friends. and on monday, i flew to arkansas.
ar-kan-sas. one more state visited, crossed off my list.
Friday, April 01, 2005
shabu shabu
nora aunor is in the headlines again. this time, however, is not about how she conquered cairo for her dramatic performance as flor contemplacion years ago. nor is she on the papers again for an upcoming concert somewhere in carson city.
she's in the news because of shabu. allegedly.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
what's wrong with this picture?
photo taken at the presentation of candidates of the miss asia usa pageant and their fashion show at the atrium hotel in rvine, california.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
'do you want a finger with that?'
my friends and i were having dinner last week when one of them blurted this story about a woman finding a [warning: stop reading if you are squeamish] finger in her chili soup. i thought it was one of those urban legends so i dismissed it.
yesterday, i did a yahoo search and found this. i wonder how wendy's restaurant will be able to get out of this mess.
early to bed, early to rise
i think i have found the reason why i uhmmm, have been ahhmmm, you know... kinda inactive in this department the past month or so. tmi, i know.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
queens...on fire!
the queens are here, in los angeles. how fitting.
i'm talking about pops fernandez and regine velasquez (and their guest erik santos) who are having a concert at the grand olympic this saturday. they had a presscon last night at the garden pavilion of the church of scientology along franklin avenue.
i got this one pic, among others:
All Set for Queens…on Fire
Concert Queen Pops Fernandez and Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez topbill the latest concert offering of Star Media, led by Ana Puno. Slated to happen this Saturday, April 2, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, ‘Queens…on Fire!’ has all the makings of a sure-fire blockbuster.
Star Media held a press conference and sponsors’ night held Monday at the Celebrity International in Hollywood. As expected, the media, sponsors and supporters all trekked to the event.
The audience was treated to a couple of numbers by acclaimed pianist Joselito Pascual who performed before Pops, Regine, and their special guest Erik Santos were introduced.
‘Queens…on Fire!’ is already 90% sold-out, according to Puno who is bringing the concert as a spring offering to the thousands of Filipino-American fans who continue supporting Filipino concert performers.
“We will have special numbers that will surely touch your hearts,” promised Pops, as she responded to a question on what the audience should expect this time.
Pops and Regine first performed together in a concert held in Pasadena way back in 1997.
“Ang tagal na pala nu’n. A lot of things have changed since then. Mas maganda kami ngayon,” Regine exclaimed.
The free-wheeling press conference also touched on negative write-ups, which, Regine says she has tried to avoid reading. “Nakakasama ng loob, nakaka disappoint if we read negative criticisms kaya mas mabuti na na hindi ko na lang basahin. I also help in the conceptualization and direction of my own shows kaya it hurts kapag negative ang lumalabas. Okay na yung alam ko na mas maraming tao ang nag-enjoy sa ginawa ko,” she said.
A product of a talent show way back in the 1980’s, Regine is very supportive of the talent shows that have been sprouting like mushroom back in the Philippines.
“I consider it as an opportunity for all this new artists. Nakikita kaagad ang mga galling at abilidad nila kasi napapanood sila lingo-linggo. I consider them very, very lucky since they have the support of their entire network. I see in these kids their drive to succeed. This is a good thing,” Regine added.
Erik Santos, 2003’s grand winner of ABS-CBN’s ‘Star in a Million’ could not agree more. “Ang laki ng naitulong sa akin ng ‘Star in a Million’ at ng ABS-CBN. I never thought that I’d be performing with Ms. Pops and Ms. Regine, two of the best talents in the Philippine music industry. I feel proud and lucky to be experiencing all these. We all know that it is very hard to penetrate showbusiness and it takes a lot of guts. Salamat sa mga talent shows at nabibigyan kaming mga baguhan ng opportunity. They certainly make the way easier,” he said.
“There are a lot of new singers in the Philippines now. Ang labanan ngayon, matira ang matibay, kasi ang dami na nila. A lot of these new singers have the potential to make it really big in the business,” quipped Pops.
Individually, these talented performers shine every time they do their thing onstage. They have their own captive audience, and loyal fans as a matter of fact. Bringing them together seemed like a daunting task. For Los Angeles fans, the long wait is over.
This Saturday, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles, catch ‘Queens…on Fire!’ and witness a rare event where the Concert Queen goes head-to-head against Asia’s Songbird. As their teaser ad said, ‘Will one outshine the other?’
There’s only one way to find out.
and david's blogging, too
yes, i call him david.
we're close. first-name basis close. of course, i am talking about david duchovny aka fox mulder. i accidentally discovered his blog a couple of days ago. his blog is a nice read. he's finishing a movie in seattle now, not as an actor but as a director. can't wait to see this film.
i started liking david (and gillian) the moment i saw the first-ever x-files episode circa 1994, or maybe 1995. i used to watch it with my then-roomie lumen and we used to scare each other while watching it.
needless to say, i got hooked. hooked bad.
Monday, March 28, 2005
random thoughts
tons of stuff. belated happy easter to everyone.
how was easter? 'twas alright. uneventful, as it is. except for the 'silent moments with self' parts. watched miss congeniality 2 last weekend. ho-hum. i sorta did not like it the same way i liked the first one. apparently, even most of the viewers thought so, too. it got beat bad by 'guess who' starring ashton and bernie mac. wow.
yesterday, i spent time with my girl-friends at the beach. spent some quality time with them while strolling along santa monica beach and the promenade. it was fun. had lunch at the noodle planet in westwood and got my favorites: grilled pork chop, thai spaghetti and garlic spareribs. yum.
i haven't unpacked yet. i dunno what that reveals about me. i dunno. i can't seem to gather enough courage to unpack all my stuff. btw, i have this friend who asked me to send some pearls to her sister in illinois. i think i lost the pearls, or i misplaced it somewhere. i just do not know where.
anyway, saturday was kinda cold so i used one of my fave jackets (the one i brought back to pinas. i thought it was still cold there. duh.) and when i dug into one of its pockets, i realized that it was where i kept the pearls. yahoo. now, if only i can drag my ass to the nearest post office.
there's one thing that bumming me for weeks now. my ipod's missing. or misplaced. hopefully, not lost. seriously, i do not know where it is and this has been causing me anguish. i miss my ipod. even if it's kinda old and rusty, i still love it. sigh. i wish i could find it someday.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
fortune (teller) cookie
my friend p asked me yesterday to accompany him to this fortune-teller whose ad he saw in some paper. :D i had nothing else to do (i forgot my american idol/amazing race combo was on) so i obliged. we had dinner first and killed time at the coffee bean on sunset and fairfax (my friend jojo and i once saw lenny krayzelburg here).
anyway, so we went to the fortune teller's house around 9 pm [one has to call in advance and get an appointment]. her place is in a good area near west hollywood. it's a stone's throw away from the fred segal store on melrose.
we both alighted the car but when we reached the front door, the fortune teller told us that she was only accepting one-on-one 'readings' and unless i wanted my fortune told, i had no business being there. so i stayed in the car.
after around 45 minutes, my friend emerged from the house. i thought he was done but he told me he needed to withdraw some money. okay, so off we went to the nearest b of a. so we parked near the atm [melrose and la brea] and after 30 seconds, a silver audi parked beside us. my friend was already by the atm and i was doing some stretches. the guy in the silver audi threw me a glance and smiled. hmmm, friendly. and he looked familiar. in a millisecond, i realized it was rob from manhunt. oh well.
so we went back to the fortune teller's house. after a few minutes, my friend returned. on our way home, my friend told me about how this lady knew stuff about him as if she knew him from wayback. he told me that she is good. color me impressed.
i have my own manghuhula stories.
a few years ago, my friends from abs and i travelled all the way to this town in laguna (or was it rizal?) to have our fortunes told to us by this "really good" manghuhula, according to people who know her. anyway, so we slept-over at my friend's house in angono, in order for us to be there early. anyway, to make the long story short, we were at the manghuhula's place before 8 am. it was quite early and we were among the first in line. the thing with this lady is that she has this stone submerged in water while she is doing her thing. if something goes wrong, the water becomes black. she asked us to write our birthdates (numbers only) on this piece of paper she provided.
i think i was the fifth or sixth person in line then. (and there was already a long line that was forming behind us) when it was my turn, she read my paper and started concentrating. apparently, she was having difficulties. she looked at my paper, then asked me, 'kailan ang birthay mo?' i replied 'august 2 po.' and then she fumed, 'eh bakit ganyan ang pagkakasulat mo? nagkamali tuloy ako!' she got her container, shook it, and exclaimed, 'ayan! itim na ang tubig. hindi na ako makakapanghula!' and walked away. i could feel the eyes of the rest the people behind me. if looks could kill, i would have died a thousand deaths then.
just how did i write my date? the way i still do, up to now. today's march 23, so i would be writing it 03/23. i wrote by b-day as 08/02 and apparently, those extra zeroes caused her not to be an effective manghuhula. oh well.
and yeah, there's this other manghuhula who gave me the creepiest hula ever. to think i did not even want to have my fortune told to me then. she was on a break from her manghuhula chores with my co-workers and when we got the chance to talk, out of nowhere, she just told me, 'alam ko kung paano ka mamamatay'. before i could muster enough courage to ask, 'wtf?' she said, 'dalawa lang yan. sa tulog o sa pamamagitan ng baril.'
without even wanting it, i found out how i was gonna die.
according to her, either in my sleep or a gunshot. or probably both? how morbid. that same afternoon, i applied for a membership to the 'gunless society'. i tried not to sleep, but i couldn't. hah.
bottomline: that hula about my death freaked me out. my point is, i did not want to know. of all the stuff i did not want to know, this is the top one. and how dare she play god, and tell me how i was gonna die.
my personal relationship with manghuhulas, and the way i look at them now totally changed after that experience.
but then, that's just me.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
spring forward
last sunday was the first day of spring.
so what, you may ask. wala lang. talo si pacquiao last weekend. so what uli? wala lang din. i guess i have nothing to rant about then. think again.
my extended busy weekend became a bit busier yesterday, monday. had a lunch meeting at the westin pasadena. the director of the u.s. small business administration was the speaker in this event. okay. in the evening, my boss brought me to this presentation at the sheraton in cerritos. they are selling presidio at the britanny bay in paranaque. studios for sale at $25,000! to be delivered by 2008. it was a long night, got home around past one. sigh.
no wonder i am sleepy.
so yeah, nothing to rant about today.
Monday, March 21, 2005
busy weekend
the weekend just passed and i didn't even seem to notice it.
yeah, i had to work last weekend. you see, i was on vacation for three weeks and i am trying to catch up with work.
well, on friday, some of my friends and i watched 'the ring two' starring naomi watts. it was okay, kinda scary. duh. i couldn't quite decide yet if this one is better than the first. it was jumpy. it was a screamfest and there was a lot of people watching the movie. a friend from sf is in town and he's staying at my place.
saturday: whole day seminar at the los angeles times. some of the speakers were great while others were ho-hum. there was a bunch of other journalists in the room, including ones from canada, brazil and other states outside cali. learned quite a lot.
saturday evening: richard/dex/ramir's birthday party. well, dinner. it was a casual dinner with more than twenty people in attendance. in my apartment. i am quite surprised miss tapia and her daughter did not come a-knocking. or door number 5. the party/dinner got finished before midnight and not a sight of the bitches. wow. some things might have changed. went out for some coffee in los feliz.
sunday: me and beauty pageants are like pan de sal and catsup. they must not be used in one sentence together. not today. i had to cover the fashion show and presentation of the 2005 miss asia usa delegates in irvine, roughly 50 miles from hell-ey. i got bored to tears. sorry but this certainly is not my cup of tea.
it had its moments. it has 6 miss philippineses; 2 miss indias; 2 miss iraqs...you get the drift. add a couple (no, make that three) of skanky performances from skanky wanna-bees. sigh.
i have two more coverages tomorrow.
and oh yeah, my friends and i saw simon cowell and his girlfriend dining the grove's la piazza restaurant, just across from the fountain. he looked the same, kinda smug, kinda unaffected.
but you can see right through that he wanted to be seen. he could have asked for a more 'private' place in the resto. but no, he chose the table where every single one of the passersby could see him.
gotta go catch some zzzzs.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Tami's Big Fat Indonesian Wedding
my co-worker tami got married last night. she's now mrs. stephen carney. they got married at the guadalupe wedding chapel in downtown los angeles, and the priest (officiating priest? he didn't look like a priest to me because he looked kinda young) butchered stephen's last name by saying "karne" instead of "kar-ni". of course, we had so much fun calling them mr. & mrs. karne. the humor's lost on them, though and it was only us, pinoys who had quite a laughing fit.
tami, tami, tami. we call her that at the office. that's her last name; well, actually her last name is utami but we call her tami instead. nobody has ever called her by her first name in the office. nobody dared. titik. yes, titik. that's tami's first name.
fast forward to the reception. dinner was served quite late so our stomachs were kinda grumbling from hunger. my co-workers and i decided to focus our attention on other stuff. and by other stuff, i meant the wedding singers.
let's just say that ivy, this cool gal who's now ms. valencia, brings out the evil in me. it was fun, doing that. in the spirit of fun, not in the spirit of being mean. it's not gonna see the blog-light though, because humor's gonna be lost in print. remind me to tell you the story when we see each other in person. it's way more hilarious. believe me.
sample?
indonesian wedding singer's spiel before breaking into a song:
"i am now going to sing an indonesian song. i hope you understand."
hope we understand? honey, even if we tried...
she was addressing a room-ful of people composed mostly of filipinos, then indonesians, then others. others, meaning black, white and hispanic, or a combination of the three.
there was a lot more moments, and some that involved mangled lyrics and mispronounced words that really made our day.
tami and stephen, our best wishes!
[the blushing bride invited us to visit them in alburqueque. say what? oh.]
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
sleep-deprived
for the past week, i've been feeling a bit sleep-deprived. i've been spending most of my days (and subsequently, nights) awake. wild awake. let's take the past three nights. on friday, i was able to sleep at 5 am; saturday night at 4 am; sunday night at 3 am and last night at 3 am. this is the reason why i have been waking up late, too. i haven't been drinking coffee (not that caffeine has effect on me) so i have been craving for a good cup lately.
anyway, what's up with me? i just booked my flight/hotel for this media conference in arkansas next month. which reminds me, i need to unpack.
i've been listening to the cds i bought and i've been enjoying mymp and nina's live album. nina's quite good, i actually like her rendition of piano in the dark. i like both versions of julia fordham's love moves (in mysterious ways). mush. i love mush.
my sleep-less nights have caused me to catch up with all my fave shows: The OC, nip/tuck, alias and 24. My friend shaui was kind enough to record alias and 24 (she loves both shows as well) and my vcr taped the oc and nip/tuck. My roomie taped all the American Idol episodes but I don't like this batch as much as i liked the previous ones. well, i don't like them that much. of the three people i wanted, one has quit (hello, mario vasquez). the other 2? the fedorov guy and the girl who looks like kelly clarkson. and yes, i remembered...make that 3, constantine.
Friday, March 11, 2005
things i'd (most likely) miss, part deux
6. crispy tilapia - my former co-workers at abs and i had a hard time looking for this restaurant called 'recipes' at eastwood city in libis. it's on the second floor, right by where coffee bean is. the interior looked so plain and simple, no paintings whatsoever adorned its walls. the place was recommended by a high school friend of mine and i am glad she mentioned this place because the food was just awesome. we ordered quite a lot but the crispy tilapia nearly stole the show. the gising gising was something, too. it's like bicol express expect that only baguio beans were used. makes me hungry just thinking about it.
7. sinigang na corned beef - there's this place at greenbelt 3 called 'sentro' and it is run by the same people behind chateau 1771 and the 'sinigang na corned beef' is considered as their house specialty. for P330 a pot, it seemed expensive, but then again, the taste of the dish would make you crave for more., and it will make you realize that the steep price is worth it.
8. crispy crablets from ilonggo grill and marina (market, market)
9. choc nut dirty ice cream from uva
10. via mare's bibingka
11. bottomless iced tea from mongkok shangri-la / pandan iced tea from t.i.b at the podium / dalandan lemonade from italianni's
12. watermelon shake at the shade (along katipunan avenue)
13. papaitan / daing na bangus / mango shake at n.e. resto located at the n.e. pacific mall in my hometown of cabanatuan city. more local delicacies at vicentico's,a lso in the same city.
14. zagu's creme brulee flavored sago drink
15. my favorite mango-lychee shake from this fruit shake stand in greenbelt. i've been frequenting this place since i discovered it in 1994.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
things i'd (most likely) miss
a friend of mine asked me this question a couple of days ago: what things will you miss? (i figured he was referring to my previous trip to manila) and it made me think. blog fodder, sure.
1. anything made with dalandan - my college friends and i dined in this place called bravo (adriatico cor nakpil in malate). it is an italian restaurant that serves mostly pizza and pasta. everything in their menu, from salads to the desserts was italian-inspired. i had a hearty laugh when i read on the 'drinks' part. dalandan slush. of course, i had to get that. even italianni's has it (dalandan lemonade). dalandan juice, dalandan shake, dalandan whatever, i tried them all. damn, i am having a dalandan craving right now, as i write this.
2. seattle's best coffee's white chocolate concoctions - for one hundred plus pesos a pop, these coffee drinks are quite a steal. and yes, nothing still beats a cup or mug or glass of good coffee mixed with a great group of friends discussing almost evrything under the sun. for this recent trip, i was able to go to sbc's (yes, they call seattle's best coffee 'sbc') greenbelt 3, tektite, eastwood city and baguio branches. the couches are very comfortable for those long talks with pals.
3. figaro's barako blend - i've been drinking coffee as far as i can remember and i have always liked my blends mild. well, this one's not mild at all, but i didn't mind it. it's bold without being too strong, and it does not leave any after-taste in the buds. branches i visited? shangri-la and baguio.
4. cafe by the ruins pan de sal - my friends and i had breakfast at cafe by the ruins, a baguio city icon in its own right, and we had fun sharing the piping hot pan de sal, with just plain butter (or strawberry jam). it was simply delicious. what i had -- longganisang hubad -- was just as good.
5. pandan chicken and bagoong fried rice - had a chance to eat the thai in a box branch located at the podium. last time i had this yummy combination was around six years ago. i wonder why not one of the thai restaurants in hollywood serve 'bagoong fried rice' and/or pandan chicken. is it distinctively filipino-thai? if i had a restaurant, these two would surely be in the menu.
that's my first five list. there's more.
jet lag
i woke up yesterday morning and i felt really sleepy. i thought i was already able to shake this jet lag off when i slept monday night and had my complete 8-hour fill. apparently not.
all in all, i must have been able to log in more than 12 hours of sleep yesterday. the remaining 12 hours were spent eating, daydreaming and watching the episodes of 24 and alias that i missed during my vacation. i'm still amazed and hooked, to say the least.
time really flies fast. it's already thursday. and i have not completely unpacked yet. maybe this weekend i'd find time to do it. maybe not. i'm still sleepy.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
back in circulation
yes, i am back. finally.
after a three-week break (god, that was awesome!), i am back in los angeles. i have so much to write about and i seriously do not know where to start. let's start from the end? why not.
my friend picked me up at the airport around 5:oo pm yesterday at the los angeles international airport. the person at the customs, after checking my passport and my papers said, "welcome home" and it struck me. am i home? i was just home. this is my home? then i thought, why can't i just have two homes. so there.
it was a long trip from manila. the wait at the incheon international airport in seoul, korea, seemed longer. their airport is very nice, very cool and impressive. i could only wish. i bought a couple of pasalubongs at the duty free -- white chocolate-covered strawberry, some white choco stuff (yes, i am a white chocolate sucker) and some 3-in-1 korean coffee mix. back at the duty free shop in manila, i got my roomie and my cigarette-smoking friends a carton of west ice yosi. i heard it's good.
i did not pay the P1,650 airport tax (i think) and i only paid P200 fee because apparently, i was exempted. so i had more than P1,000 to spare for more pasalubongs for my friends.
eng bee tin hopia (buko pandan) - P40.00
eng bee tin hopia (ube) 40.00
oven-baked polvoron (mango) 90.00
oven-baked polvoron (melon) 90.00
baked bbq peanuts 90.00
baked garlic peanuts 90.00
choc-nut (2 packs) 130.00
bottled water 45.00
chocolait 35.00
west ice yosi @ 13 dollars 702.00
oh well. i had two 70-pounder luggage filled with local stuff, canned goods, more local stuff and a good portion for my cousin's padala. damn, i am so sleepy.
i'll be back.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
friends, romans and countrymen --
where did that come from? i have no idea.
i'm on my second day of my vacation here in the philippines. i'll be updating this blog as soon as i can. right now, the most i can do is this: a simple greeting from the islands. hah!
i have something like a blow-by-blow account of what transpired from the moment i left my apartment to the point when the plane touched down at the ninoy aquino international airport.
everything that has happened from the apoint at the airport up to now has been a blur though. i think i have officially tried not sleeping for 36 hours straight. for a nurse, that was an achievement. i have a slight jetlag. i was so sleepy a few hours ago (i was flipping my channels between ASAP Mania and SOP Rules) especially around 2:00 pm. i counted the hours and realized that that is usually the time when i sleep (1:00 am). are my computations right? i am lost.
okay, this is all for now. to all my friends who are in manila, i hope to see all of you. [i also hope you got the email i sent about my fone not being friendly enough to me that i cannot use it here. i saved all contact numbers there because i knew that i would be able to use it. apparently not.]
ciao!
Thursday, February 10, 2005
pilipinas, game ka na ba?
siyam na oras na lamang at papaimbulog na sa himpapawid ang eroplanong sasakyan ko pauwi ng pilipinas. labinlimang minuto bago mag alas tres ng maaling araw at ang diwa ko ay gising na gising pa. hindi naman siguro ito dahil sa isang mataas na tasa ng kapeng ininom ko kaninang hapon. ang gulo gulo na ng utak ko. pakiramdam ko'y may makakalimutan ako. huwag naman sanang mahalaga yun.
pilipinas, handa ka na ba?
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
welcome to hollywood...not!
i should have blogged about this before but i did not find time, and the timing was just not right. anyway, here's my beef.
why the hell to these clowns from american idol say 'welcome to hollywood' to the blessed few when they know for a fact that they are not bringing them to hollywood? am i just being technical? am i just nit-picking? maybe.
the previous seasons, they held the 'hollywood' auditions in pasadena. yes, pasadena, not hollywood. this year, they decided to hold it at the orpheum theater in downtown los angeles (yes, the one near the former-skid-row-and-n0w-home-to-yuppies-who-live-in-lofts).
why don't they just say, 'welcome to los angeles!' what is wrong with that? maybe they are part of the movers behind the plan for 'hollywood' to secede from los angeles? technically, there is no city/town called hollywood, california. there's a west hollywood, but that's an entirely different story. and yes, there's north hollywood too, how could i forget. a block from where i live, there's this street sign that says 'East Hollywood Neighworhood Watch' which means that...well, i do not know what it means. maybe i had too much coffee this morning.
a split-second of airtime showed sharon galvez (or someone who looked kinda like her) making it to the next round of auditions. next tuesday, we will find out who makes it to the final 24 (12 guys and 12 girls). here's hoping she makes it.
