Sigh...

.:Today’s LSS:.

Can you get any more shameless? Win or not, the shilling machine behind this man knows no bounds. And sadly, this song is soooo LSS-inducing.

I don’t have lyrics, though.

You know the song I’m talking about.

“Para Sa Iyo Ang Laban Na Ito”, by Manny Pacquiao.

Yeesh.

.:The Long Delay:.

I think it should be obvious that with my laptop out of commission, and GMA milking my last week of work for what it’s worth, that my blogging would definitely take a hit.

Irregardless, I still found the time to squeeze in a quick entry, so I won’t disappoint, as far as that goes. I’ll lay off the photo-heavy posts I had lately, but expect a few more from me in the near future… heh.

In any case, it was a fairly okay weekend. Nothing overtly exciting, as the tournament last Sunday consisted of a mere thirteen people. The lone female player in the tournament, Ann, curled her hair, though. Lol. I’m sure you’ve seen her picture already.

Anyways, aside from that, Saturday was mostly spent at home, so meh. Friday was a bit interesting, if only for the lunch date Gyn and I had (I don’t remember where we went, but it was not where we usually had lunch. Was it at PBCom or something?), then the appointment I had with Jamie Bautista, who interviewed me for the job I’ve been meaning to go for.

As far as that went, I believe it went well. Given what they expected of me, I don’t see any hitches there, and I think I can deliver on it. At least, I won’t be writing scripts in the middle of the night the way I was doing last Sunday for GMA, which ought to be the last script I’m writing for them for the foreseeable future.

All in all, fairly okay weekend. I just wish the asthma would stop acting up, because as is, I’ll be taking a bit of a pay cut and be half-unemployed for a month or so, what with my season with GMA ending.

.:Somebody Teach Me Audio Editing, Stat…:.

I would want to learn how to do audio editing. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be so hard because as is, I haven’t taken the time out to learn Adobe Photoshop yet, so I actually am bad at that…

Anyways, it’s for a little sideline I have for my uncle. Hopefully, someone could hear this cry for help. Heh. I’d highly appreciate it, for sure.

.:Darn…:.

I’m soooo tired… I really need sleep. But well, I might want to move schedules as well, as I don’t think I can keep up with a 2-6 AM schedule. This will especially be true if I don’t get back in ADMU by next schoolyear.

Also, I bought a bugged version of Madden NFL 06. Not only is the game turning itself off in Franchise Mode all the time, I have no freaking idea how to play football. I guess I screwed myself over, eh? Oh, well.

Rey Mysterio won the Royal Rumble. Cool. Cena won back the belt. Not cool. Edge vs. Foley for the title might actually be one hellacious match, and they threw it away. Mark Henry should stay out of the main event scene from now on as well. Eww.

Wehehehehe...

No LSS for today...

.:Taken For Repairs:.

My laptop is currently being repaired... sigh. It's a bit annoying, but at least, it's not costing me a cent.

.:Random Thoughts:.

I miss Pomelo... but I'll see her soon enough, so nothing to be alarmed about, really... heh.

I'm just really rambling, because I have quite a few things to write about, but I tend to have forgotten them... sigh. It's okay, I guess. All in due time.

.:A Wise Person Once Said...:.

... that the best way to react to someone who mistreats you is to repay them with kindness. Saturate them in it.

It sure beats fuming all day long, and getting your britches up in a bunch for no good reason at all.

That being said, that's precisely what I intend to do with the very same person who gave me that sage advice from this point. Whether or not that will be appreciated is no longer my concern.

.:Ragging On Captain America:.

For a role model who fights the good fight against drugs, he seems to be conveniently ignoring that his powers were also drug-induced. But that's not the only thing wrong with Cap. In the tradition of my recent spate of posts, where I let the pictures do the talking, observe...

This also works as a rag on Rob Liefeld, but whadda heck. Got milk?

You command Cap to WHAT?!? Worst. Sound effect. Ever.

Now we know what Michael Jackson does in his spare time.

"It's like iron... man!!!"

"Just the right size for me. Mmmm... nice..."

Heh...

.:Today's LSS:.

For Pomelo.

Whatever We Imagine
by James Ingram

Don't be afraid
I can meet you half way
We cant always know
Where the road ends up
But with some luck
I know we can go
Where-ever we imagine

Why should we wait
Later on maybe too late
Cause where can we run
When you see there's half a chance
That we might really become
Whatever we imagine

And I imagine you and me
Just taking shots at what we see
And if we falter
Take away the dust
And just outlast them all

You ought to see
All your heroes in me
But if we get wise
We can break the walls we make
And you can see in my eyes
Whatever we imagine

And I imagine you and me
Just taking shots at what we see
So let the walls go down
And we can try it again
Cause nobody can stop us now

Dont be afraid
Cause I'll meet you half way
You're not far behind
If we climb this hill
I know there's still a chance we can find
Whatever we imagine in our life

We can make it there baby
Ohhh, Whatever we imagine
Dont you see baby
It's all in our minds
I'll meet you halfway
Whatever we imagine (faded)

.:Interesting Pictures:.

Was this a parody from Star Wars or something?

And... darn. Worst. Logo. Ever.

.:Me And My Partner Are Now Talking About Wrestling:.

So Gia's slowly rediscovering the fun wrestling can actually be, and truth be told, that's a good thing.

But apparently, she's a Cena mark.

Oy vey.

.:Saturdate Recollections:.

Once again, our plans for ice skating were thwarted. Pomelo and I have outsmarted ourselves, simply by eating too much in Sbarro's before going to the skating rink.

So instead, we decided to watch a movie we wouldn't bother paying attention to.

Except the movie was great. And we paid attention to it.

The film was Little Manhattan, and I'll definitely get to reviewing it when I find the time. No more excuses this time. I will definitely get a review going, most likely sometime this weekend.

Wish I could say the same about my paper for Philosophy, though.

But I digress.

Anyways, it was an excellent date with Pomelo. I was in the middle of a long winning streak in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 before she showed up, so it was all good. Nonetheless, I then gave her a small gift, which was a Gecko stuffed toy from Gibi, but then, she sadly can't take it home, so I guess I have to work out that slight kink first. Ah, well.

We had a great time, really. And I think both of us are learning more and more how to make the other feel important. I really appreciate the effort Gyn has been making to make this relationship work. We both want to make this work. Real bad.

I found it very touching as well, when she told me this after our date, via SMS, in reference to Mick Foley...

Hmm... aside from being "real" brave and strong, you're 100x hotter and sexier and cuter and (Well, for me.) more macho than your idol! =P hehe. Take care.

::blushes::

Foley Is God!!!

I know I had an awesome Saturdate with Pomelo, and I even watched a way cool movie with her (Little Manhattan.), but I have to get some few things out of the way first. But rest assured I'll post about Saturdate soon.

.:Blame It On The Weatherman:.

I can't believe Ernie Baron just passed away. It definitely came as a shock to me, more so when I discovered that he was already 65.

Rest in peace, Ernie Baron. The knowledge you have imparted upon us will forever give us great power.

.:Saturdate Aftermath:.

Gyn and I agreed to end our date early so I can mark out and hang around Megamall to see Mick Foley make an appearance at the ground floor. We said our goodbyes, and Gyn just chuckled at how huge a mark I was, just standing around there, waiting for the man to show up. I was outside the enclosed area, so I wasn't expecting to be able to get an autograph or anything, but I brought my WWF Hardcore Title Belt card, just in case.

So after some contests, the announcer mentions that Mick Foley was on his way, and that the media partners of the WWE Tour were: Magic, RT, K-Lite, JAM, and WAVE. I stopped right there. WAVE? Don't I work for that station? So aside from Tita Harvey, ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::, I could try my luck at finagling tickets from WAVE... heh. And GMA wanted me to quit this job? Hades, no!

But I digress. A few more minutes, and Mick Foley arrives, to a hail of "Foley, Foley" chants. It was surreal, I swear to Gawd. If swooned at the Backstreet Boys, I just completely marked out for the Hardcore Legend. Mick Foley was one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, owing to his amazing feuds with my absolute favorite wrestler, the Undertaker. Plus, there was just this amazing appeal to Foley's personality that made him seem like someone anyone can connect with. Having been able to read his biography didn't hurt, either.

The place was packed, and they were chanting like mad. Mick then just addressed the people briefly, and went for the cheap pop by saying how glad he was to be "Right here, in Manila!"

He then promoted the WWE RAW Tour for next month, and then gave a quick rundown of the card, including a rare actual match for him, as he tags up with The Big Show to take on Carlito and HHH, which should prove to be interesting. He joked that the people were happy to see Mr. Socko, but even happier that he didn't take Al Snow with him.

Afterwards, it was time for autographs. Sadly, they were prioritizing the ones with Pizza Hut cards for buying 700 pesos or more from Pizza Hut, and the people with RAW posters. I had neither, but stayed outside the area just in case, behind a few guys holding Foley's biography.

Lo and behold, Mick then signaled to have the people carrying his biography to go in, and then later, the announcer mentioned that anyone with WWE merchandise can go in. Initially, the guards didn't want to let me in, but some pushing at the back of the line inadvertently pushed me in, and with nobody to stop me, I walked up to Mick Foley's table and handed him the Hardcore Belt card, which he signed. He probably didn't even see me, but it didn't matter. He made my day, and not even the lady who initially didn't want to let me through because the card didn't look like WWE merchandise at all couldn't do jack about it.

But little did I know that Sunday held an even bigger surprise for me...

.:Sunday Surprise:.

The night before, I texted my boss, sir Gary, if I could ask for tickets to the WWE RAW Tour. Instead of a yes or no, he instead asked me to help Gia conduct an interview on Sunday morning.

It amazes me how many of the guys who have hosted/interviewed Mick Foley don't even give a flying damn who the man is. I'd like to think I was the one guy who treated him differently, because I was one huge wrestling mark who really knew what he was talking about.

So I sat there with Gia around 8:50 or so in the morning, expecting Mick at around 10:00 or so. He showed up pretty late, around 11:30, but I personally didn't care. I was too happy to actually just sit there, face to face with him, and even shake his hand. Anthony Suntay, who has a show in our station, was also waiting to interview him.

The interview wasn't particularly earth-shattering. I was starstruck, so I didn't ask anything that was never asked of him before, and neither did I dare try and see if he had anything to say about Ric Flair. I don't think he'd want to break kayfabe in an interview. Gia talked about the official stuff, and it was a bit surprising to know that he's been doing charity work, and has even helped fund the schooling of a few kids here in the Philippines.

When asked about his favorite gimmick among the infamous "Three Faces Of Foley", he said that Mankind was his favorite.

When asked about which wrestler he'd want to wrestle against for the first time, he mentioned both Edge and Kurt Angle, and suggested it'd be a triple threat at Wrestlemania to unify the titles. Pretty clever answer.

After the interview, I asked to pose for pictures with him, and one of the pics had him holding the Undisputed Title, which I brought along with me. He held one half of that belt... heh. And he signed my WWF Heavyweight Title card, as well as my Al Snow, Guest Ring Announcer Card. That last one made him chuckle.

He told me he'd remember me and my big grin if he saw me in Araneta, though, and I decided to call his bluff on it by going to his Glorietta appearance.

His Glorietta appearance seemed to be even more jampacked, and it appears to have been the 5th or 6th giant pizza that was brought in to mark the occasion. Wow. Pizza Hut was really working double time for those pizzas.

Anyways, the interesting note is that for his cheap pop, he decided to ask about the boxing match that happened during the day, and of course, "Manny, Manny" chants started. They were practically as loud as the "Foley, Foley" chants.

I was with Peppy there, and we were amused at how many people were going "Woo!" at his every statement. Doesn't Ric Flair have a patent on that or something? :P

The late Eddie Guererro also got a nice "Eddie" chant, but most notorious of all the very audible chants was the "Cena Sucks" chant that erupted when someone answered that Cena was his favorite wrestler. Looks like there were a lot of smarks in the area.

This time, though, when the autograph session happened, a lot of people missed out on getting an autograph. A friend of mine even had Mankind cards, and I was meaning to have him sign the Three Faces Of Foley card. Oh, well. Peppy didn't get there, either. Monix did, though, and it was amusing to see her reaction when she found out that I actually interviewed Mr. Foley earlier that day.

I got quite a reaction from the people as well when I raised up the Undisputed Belt in Glorietta... heck, Mick Foley himself acknowledged me, as did his entourage. Looks like they remembered me... Aww, shucks.

Whooooooo!!!

WAVE is actually WWE's Media Partner For The RAW Tour

... Ergo, we have to interview Mick Foley today.

What a boring, uneventful day. (/sarcasm)

I'll be on TV tonight, 8-9 PM, at Channel 11, for Day Off. Yay.

And I got MICK FOLEY'S AUTOGRAPH!!!

Oh, Boy.

.:Trying Out Some New Icons...:.

Which ones do you think are nice?







.:Stop!!!:.



.:Wrestling Gone Wrong:.

I don't think I even need a caption...

.:Posting Next Week:.

But for now, some crazy picture I found from the Super Dictionary...

You just gotta love this.

Get the poor boy some pants!!!

And The End Is Near

.:So Long And Thanks For All The Fish:.

It's been a wonderful time, having Sacha back here in town for close to a month. Sadly, while I was there at the airport to see her come back, I wouldn't be there at the airport to see her off, as I have editing later for GMA.

Last Tuesday, Pomelo and I took the time out to drop by the Chua residence and just take the time out to hang out for a few minutes before Gyn had to go home. Nonetheless, we had a few very nice moments, and I'm glad that Gyn was there. Peppy, Mario, and Dom were already there, and Gyn was terrified of Lucas and Patch, which was a bit amusing.

Anyways, a memorable line while Peppy and I were talking was when he asked me about the wound that I got and I attributed it to Gyn... heh. I know there was a very noteworthy segment to our discussion all the same, but it currently slips my mind. Ah, well. I'll get to it when I remember it, I hope.

Gurrkk... it's actually gnawing at me right now. I know I said something uber-bloggable here, but instead, I can't seem to remember what it was.

So we were there, and we had dinner. It was Mario's birthday, so we celebrated it as well, and what was interesting was that Sacha cooked "veggie" sinigang, Dom baked a cake, and Mario had chicken adobo. All in all, a very eventful dinner, and then we had a photo session to cap off the night for the JGL. Most of the girls glammed up a bit and wore skirts, for that matter.

I then took an overnight at the Chua residence, although I hardly got any sleep at all, considering how col the air conditioning was. I'm really not used to that kind of cold, and I nearly froze my ears off. Looks like somebody shouldn't be going to Germany anytime soon... heh.

The next day, the guestlist was fairly shorter, but Clair, Dom, and myself all spent time at Sacha's before she finally goes back to Canada. We spent dinner over bashing the writer of Kathy's article who kept on pushing his agenda that photography was a "man-dominated" industry, and seemed to insinuate that Kathy only "thinks" that this world is "genderless", and whatnot. I then mentioned to Clair...

Marcelle: If we're going to be sexist about this, he's envious. He has a "girly" job as a journalist, while Kathy has the "manly" photographer job.

Everyone seemed to see it that way, too. But it was all good. Lucas' photo was so prominent in the paper, though, which kind of fooled you into believing the interview was about him, as he had a camera across his neck, too. Heh.

I accidentally called Clair "Ching" over dinner, though. I chalked it up to the fact that it was her family name... heh.

Tito John was then asking me what I'd do for him if he got me a ticket to the WWE show...

... give my right arm? Bah Gawd, for ringside tickets, I'd do anything short of a lap dance! :P

We left the Chua residence at around nine in the evening. Hopefully, Sach has a good flight back to Canada, and I also hope she won't get too homesick again when she's there.

We'll all miss you, Sach. Do take care of yourself, and I personally hope you'll be happy with what you do once you get back there.

.:Sometimes:.

Sometimes, I just want to spend an eternity in your arms, and be held by you, feeling so warm and special.

Sometimes, I just want to be there for you amid all the troubles and cares that bother you, in the hopes that I could be someone you would turn to in moments of weakness.

Sometimes, I want to fight your battles for you. If only to strike the fear of God into the heart of whomever would be foolish enough to insult you and make you feel any less of yourself as those people who have hurt you have done so.

It's been hard talking to friends about the problems that plague us in our relationship simply because the problems are all so vague, yet all so real. Neither of us can quite categorically put our finger on the problems, although we know majority of it can be chalked up to the fact that your parents can't quite approve of us if they knew.

I know it scares you and makes you feel guilty. I can't help but feel bad when you feel that way. I can't help but feel bad, knowing there's nothing I could do to alleviate the situation.

We strive on in this relationship, a wonderful relationship, against all odds. No matter how difficult it seems, despite all the sacrifices the both of us have to make, we stay on because we truly love each other. I don't think I can have it any other way. You are special and you mean the world to me, Gyn. You have no idea how much I long to be with you forever. You have no idea how painful it is for us to be apart all this time despite not having a thousand miles going between us.

Sometimes, I just wish we could spend all the time in the world together. A quiet moment for you and I, unperturbed by the cares and worries of daily life, letting all that melt away as the only thing that matters is that you and I are together.

Sometimes, I wish that you could smile more. That you'd stop worrying about what other people would think, what your parents would think, and just realize that this relationship has been worth fighting for.

Sometimes, I wish sometimes could last forever.

Because I love you so much. Not sometimes, but for always.

.:It Is Done:.

I fully understand you Marcelle, but what I need is a full time Segment Producer. I hope you understand me too. It's been nice working with you, you are a good writer, so let's just finish your last episode. Thanks Marcelle, for all your contributions. :)

- Albert Sumaya
Executive Producer, Day Off

You know what? The smiley face doesn't make the situation any simpler.

I guess that's that for me already, as far as working for Day Off is concerned. I have made up my mind that inasmuch as I like working for GMA, I cannot commit to them to the point that I'd give up WAVE 89.1. The workload at GMA has not only been too much to bear, but the compensation certainly has not made up for it, either.

As I said a long while ago, I would find this job perfect if only this thing called "post-production" never existed in my job description, but it does, and I had to grin and bear it for as long as I did. It's been a good run, but I simply cannot leave WAVE for this job, because it just wouldn't pay enough to support me. I was more than willing to find a balance between the two, but GMA instead wanted me to do an additional episode per month, which was going to be murder for me for sure. 18-hour shifts in work are not uncommon in GMA, and that fact unsettles me.

So I guess that's it. In two weeks, I'll be doing my last episode for GMA, and then I can finally move on to only God knows where at this point. I think I didn't burn any bridges in my tenure here, although I had a slight spat with a co-worker the other day because I seemed confrontative to him over the phone when I really wasn't being so.

Let's see where we go from here. After all that has been said and done, I could only hope that things turn out to be better from me from here on. It's been a blast, but my health has taken too much of a hit from this run already.

Wheee!!!

.:Starstruck:.

So there I was in Comic Book Resources, and we were talking about whether or not Dan Slott's Thing was worth grabbing (He writes a comic book called "Thing", guys! Get your minds out of the gutters!!!), and next thing I knew...

... gasp.

Kurt Busiek AND Gail Simone, two amazing comic book writers, actually responded to my posts in the forum, albeit my post wasn't particularly earth-shaking or significant, but it sure stopped me, regardless.

.:Tournament!!!:.

Had another decent top four appearance. I guess Death Long really does wonders for me... heh.

Hurrhhh...

.:What?!?:.

You heard that right. I was the unwitting participant of this year's Philippine Linux Users Group induction (Bzzt. Bzzt.). Needless to say, Sacha and Clair have used this as further evidence of my alleged geekhood.

I say nay to that. :P

Will post in detail once the time presents itself for me to do that.

In the meantime, savor a few facts about the great Chuck Norris...



.:Allegation. Trial. Verdict. Sentence.:.

That, in a nutshell, is how something should be carried out if someone is perceived to have done something wrong.

However, somebody has decided to ditch the "trial" segment and went straight from alleging that I have been out to hurt her to outright decreeing that I did, and thus should never speak to her again.

I call bullshit on that.

Friday The 13th...

.:It's Friday The Thirteenth...:.

I'll post after the day is over, just to play it safe. Heh.

Hmmmm...

.:Today's LSS:.

It just fits me in so many ways... really, it's been a while.

It's Been A While
by Staind

And it's been awhile
Since I could hold my head up high
And it's been awhile
Since I first saw you
And it's been awhile
Since I could stand on my own two feet again
And it's been awhile
Since I could call you

And everything I can't remember
As f****d up as it all may seem
The consequences that I've rendered
I've stretched myself beyond my means

And it's been awhile
Since I can say that I wasn't addicted
And it's been awhile
Since I can say I love myself as well
And it's been awhile
Since I've gone and f****d things up just like I always do
And it's been awhile
But all that s**t seems to disappear when I'm with you

And everything I can't remember
As f****d up as it all may seem
The consequences that I've rendered
I've gone and f****d things up again

Why must I feel this way?
Just make this go away
Just one more peaceful day!

And it's been awhile
Since I could look at myself straight
And it's been awhile
Since I said I'm sorry
And it's been awhile
Since I've seen the way the candles light your face
And it's been awhile
But I can still remember just the way you taste

And everything I can't remember
As f****d up as it all may seem to be I know it's me
I cannot blame this on my father
He did the best he could for me

And it's been awhile
Since I could hold my head up high
And it's been awhile
Since I said I'm sorry

.:An Ultimatum:.

An ultimatum has been handed down from GMA-7 to me the other day.

Unless I work something out, I will have to drop WAVE or GMA. They don't like the fact that I am not present during mastering because I'm doing my boardwork.

However, I made it fairly clear from the interview that yes, my priority is WAVE. Furthermore, it was never made clear that post-production would be so long that it would actually take a full 22 hours to finish, and naturally eat my time on radio if I decided to comply with such an order.

Just great...

.:Bus Rides With Pomelo = Heaven:.

Seriously, that's all we did. I just wanted to see her, so I waited for her after work, then just rode a bus with her.

Quality time rules all.

Damn, I love that girl.

.:On Werewolves And Sinigang:.

It was Cook or Die night for Sacha last night, and the agenda was Sinigang. Much as I wanted to help out, I had to accomplish a lot of work, so I had to finish typing up some stuff for GMA, particularly the CG list that they were asking for.

Ranulf gave me a nice surprise, by the way: a gigantic mushroom. Much appreciated. That was definitely something that I really, really liked. And now that I know that it came from Italliani's, I can go and grab myself one of those when I find myself there again.

So we then had dinner, and the Sinigang was definitely great. It was even impressive that Sacha actually had a small amount of genuine Sinigang for us to sample, and not just the type you get from the Sinigang Powder Mix. She really used tamarinds. Definitely a great meal, and the first time I've appreciated Sinigang na Baboy again after so many years. Really good effort by Sach, though the lack of readily available tamarinds in Canada means this is one meal she can't take there without the powder.

After the sumptuous dinner, Kathy then asked which of us knew how to play Werewolf, and it turns out the game didn't need much explaining to pull off. Essentially, there'd be a werewolf or two, and the werewolf/ves would pick a victim on each day, and then a seer would try to guess who the werewolf/ves is/are. Then, people will lynch someone via vote, and only upon lynching do we actually find out whether or not the one lynched was actually a werewolf or not.

Pretty cool game, to say the least.

.:Kiss Me Anywhere?:.

I recall the TGI Friday's party I hosted last December, and how at one point, the singer, Moccha, got someone up on stage to sing with her, and then afterwards, told him that for being a nice guy, he can kiss her anywhere.

Isn't that just courting disaster? I mean, sure, the guy was decent and just kissed her on the cheek, but what if she got a prick? What if this guy took advantage of an "offer" like that?

Essentially, I'm just wondering if they always do this, or if performers who say that someone can kiss them "anywhere" only makes such an offer if they feel confident enough that it won't cause any trouble, whatsoever.

Just a thought.

A Suman Post!!!

.:Today's LSS:.

It's catchy. Who would've thunk they were singing about each other?

One On One
by Hall and Oates

I'm tired of playing on the team
It seems I don't get time out anymore
What a change if we set the pace face to face
No one even trying to score
Oh oh I can feel the magic of your touch
And when you move in close a little bit means so much
Ooh yeah, you've got to understand baby
Time out is what I'm here for

One on one I wanna play that game tonight
One on one I know I wanna play that
One on one I wanna play that game tonight
One on one so slow

You can't tell me you don't miss me girl
I think I might know you too well
Wonder what you'd say if you knew that I was coming tonight
Want to? I want you can't you tell

One on one I wanna play that game tonight
One on one I know I wanna play that
One on one I wanna play that game tonight
One on one so slow
That's all you need to know now

'Cause if it's really right there's nothing else
One on one I want to play that game tonight...

.:It's Official: Stephanie McMahon-Levesque is expecting!!!:.

And it looks like the kid really is his father's son...

You are looking at next year's Wrestlemania main event! Bank on it!

And in other news, after Edge's recent win of the World Title on New Year's Revolution, the subsequent "sex scene" between him and Lita ended up giving the latter more exposure than she bargained for... be glad this is cable and not network TV.

.:Conspiracy Theory, A Suman Allegorical Dialogue:.

You're a liar. And a hypocrite.

So what got your goat again this time? I thought the whole "fat" issue was water under the bridge now.

If you don't know, then I won't tell you.

That isn't much help to me now, is it?

See? You're a liar, and you're stupid! You don't even know what lies you've been peddling...

It's your fault. I just realized that the suman you offered me was a brand that shared my mother's maiden name. You really intended to insult me with it!

Eh? Do I even know what your mother's maiden name is?

What do I care? You're out to get me! Anything to hurt me! You're such a liar!

...

See? You're quiet now! Because you're guilty! You know you tried to hurt me again!

...

I thought you'd let sleeping dogs lie, but nooooo...

Whining bitches aren't sleeping dogs.

How dare you! How dare you! You intended to insult me by giving me that suman! Neither was it entirely non-fat. It was just low calorie! You liar! You wanted to make me fat!!!

Now, that, I didn't know. So if I offer you non-fat suman, you're up in arms over it, but if I offer you suman that isn't entirely non-fat, you think I want to make you fat? So it's damned if I do, damned if I don't?

Just get out. Get out of my life.

Oh. That pathetic excuse for a life? The one built around paranoia and thoughts of getting back at me? Lemme give you a bit of trivia. Unlike you, my world doesn't revolve around you anymore. Not everything I do involving you is some kind of veiled attack in your direction. Hell, you're so vain, you probably think this is about you again!

Of course it's about me! It's always been about me!

::chomp, chomp:: I rest my case. Here. Have some non-fat suman.

Aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

At The Buzzer...

.:Jac, This One's For You...:.

I chose against hotlinking the entries, aside from the top three.

Now, for your perusal, the 15 entries for Jac's "Dress Up Pilya" Contest, ranked from 15 to 1! Watch me do a pathetic impression of Simon Cowell. I know most of these people so I wouldn't even dare throw the patented Simon insults lest I incur their wrath. (Maybe next time, when I've asked them permission in advance to level comments like "Your artwork makes me long for the days I was puking at Rob Liefeld's work on Captain America.") =P

15: Cyberpunk, by Greyweed - Nice attempt, but it just didn't grab me as something Pilya would wear at all.

14: Chiaroscuro, by Sean - Plus points for the way cool title. I liked the title. The drawing was rather nice. Black is beautiful, and it shows in this attempt. I found it playing a bit too safe, though. Not something Pilya would do now, neh? :P

13: Gimikera, by Greyweed - This is something I could imagine Pilya wearing, but the execution of the other entries meant I had to place it just a bit lower... I like the Yuppie look, though.

12: Santa's Naughty Helper, by Dominique - It was pretty okay, but then, it was inevitable someone would come up with a Santa outfit. Kudos on beating everyone else to it first, though.

11: Lady In Red, by Sean - I like this one. Definitely something I can imagine Pilya wearing.

10: Evergreen, by Delurianne - The Christmas themes from Delurianne are way cool. She has three great entries, and it's a shame I have to rank everything because it'd seem that placing Evergreen at Top 10 means it wasn't good. It really is.

09: Threadbare, by Delurianne - This is even better than Evergreen, in that it captures Pilya's character quite a lot more, in my opinion.

08: Sister S&M, by Robert Wong - This kinda overemphasizes Pilya's character now, doesn't it? Works for me. =P

07: Hot Blue Dress, by Charlieman - I'm a fan of the color blue. And it's got nothing to do with being Atenean. Nothing at all.

06: Beads & Cocktails, by Delurianne - Now, we're talking. Delurianne's best entry, hands down. Wish I could meet the other artists whom I don't personally know. They seem to be really cool people.

05: Bluefunk, by Dang - Dang's work is really good. Of course, I'd imagine Taray wearing this more than Pilya, though. But that little number would look good on anyone with the figure to carry it.

04: HOTTER Blue, by Charlieman - Man, that number Pilya is wearing would look just perfect, given two conditions:

* That it's Taray wearing it.
* That it's lying on my bedroom floor. =P

Oh, goodness. Did I just say that?

And now, the top three:

3: Invisible Cloak, by Inez Ponce De Leon - I just ranked it highly not because of the art (Unless you call working with purely an eraser "art".), but because it was just plain witty. It's like the Emperor's new clothes! But of course, that won't quite be good enough for the runaway win. However, we have a tightly contested battle for the top spot...

According to Jac, this entry wins an invisible shirt! Fair enough. =P

2: Chourange, by Chou - Now, I really, really like this number. It'd look good on anyone's bedroom floor. Lol. But seriously, the art on this one is just sweet, and it fits Pilya's character, in that she could be overtly blatant about being sexy, or she could just be that "sweet outside, NAUGHTY inside" kind of character every now and then, and this dress highlights the latter. Definitely a great effort, and would be the top spot, ASSUMING the number one entry doesn't qualify anymore...

What rhymes with Orange? Chourange! =P

And the best entry...

1. Winter Pine, by Gem So - Whoah. I'm stunned. This outfit has everything you can expect from Pilya, and fits right in with the season theme. I'm definitely impressed, and hope that this still qualifies despite being late. When they said "last, but not the least", they must've had this little number in mind. It's trendy, sassy, sexy, and just plain brilliantly conceptualized AND executed. This one gets my vote for the best entry in the contest by a hemline, but what a gorgeous hemline!

Season's Heatings!

And there you have it. Any comments, violent reactions, protests of Pilya contest bribery scandals leveled in my direction, you know where to reach me. ;)

Until Wednesday! I think I can actually cough up a Suman post this coming Wednesday... now that's cool.

Weekend Recap

.:Today's LSS:.

Doesn't the song tell you everything you need to know? :P

Crazy In Love
by Beyonce, feat. Jay-Z

Yes! so crazy right now
Most incredibly
It's your girl b
It's your boy young
History in the makin
[part 2]

I look and stare so deep in your eyes
I touch on you more and more every time
When you leave i'm beggin you not to go
Call your name two, three times in a row
Such a funny thing for me to try to explain
How i'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame
Yeah, cause i know i don't understand
Just how your love can do what no on else can

Chorus:
Got me lookin so crazy right now
Your love's got me lookin so crazy right now
(your love)
Got me lookin so crazy right now your touch's
Got me lookin so crazy right now
(your touch)
Got me hoping you page me right now your kiss's
Got me hoping you save me right now
Lookin so crazy your love's got me lookin
Got me lookin so crazy your love

When i talk to my friends so quietly
"who he think he is?" look at what you've done to me
Tennis shoes don't even need to buy a new dress
You ain't there, ain't nobody else to impress
It's the way that you know what i thought i knew
It's the beat that my heart skips when i'm with you
Yeah, but i still don't understand
Just how your love can do what no one else can

(Chorus)

I'm warmed up now
Let's go

Young hova
Ya'll know when the flow is loco
Young b and the r-o-c uh oh
O-G, big homie
The one and only
Stick boney but the pockets are fat like tony

Soprano the roc handle
Like van Exel
I shake phonies man, you can't get next to
A genuine article, i do not sing tho
I sling though , if anything i bling yo

Star like ringo
War like a green berret
You're crazy bring your whole set
Jay-z in the range
Crazy and deranged
They can't figure him out
They're like ãhey is he insane?ä

Yes sir i'm cut from a different cloth
My texture is the best fur, im chinchilla

I've been ill of the chain smokers
How you think i go the name hova
I've been reala'
The game's over

Fall back young ever since
I made you change over to platinum
The game's been a wrap
One

Got me looking so crazy, my baby
I'm not myself lately
I'm foolish, i don't do this
I've been playing myself
Baby i don't care
Cuz your love got the best of me
And baby you're making a fool of me
You got me sprung and i don't care who sees
Cuz baby you got me so crazy

(Repeat Chorus Until Fade)

.:A Quick Apology:.

My apologies to Jac for not being able to judge the Pilya contest on time. Work has swamped me completely. I can't wait for the season to end.

I'm really, really sorry.

.:Quick Meetings:.

So I stayed around at Glorietta for a while to see some of my Magic friends in the area, as well as to meet Maia, whom I haven't seen since May, I believe. Since Pomelo was in the area, I decided to ask her to go all the same.

So Gyn got there soon enough. We were just having small talk, while I convinced her to stay on and wait for Maia. We even bought shawarma while waiting, and then we ended up having to go to Landmark so we can intercept Mai, knowing the amazing human traffic going on in the path between Landmark and Glorietta.

We ran into Maia, and we just had an interesting exchange of stories. It's been ages, so I was extremely glad to have met up with her, even though we've mainly been exchanging gripes for the most part. Nonetheless, it turned out well, so we're hoping we find the time to meet up again.

Afterwards, when it was just me and Pomelo, we just shared a magical quiet moment inside the boss. There we were, just standing up at the bus, and just looking at each other, and the silence between us was enough.

.:Shall We Dance?:.

After I managed to get off the bus on the way and said my goodbyes to Pomelo, I then headed off to the Chua residence, as Sacha invited all of us to what promises to be an interesting time, as the agenda was ballroom dancing.

Now, I'd be a liar if I said I'm a good dancer. Dance Maniax doesn't really count, since even the best dancers could be miserable at the game simply because it takes memorization, more than anything else. I get a lot of flak for “lacking rhythm”, though truth be told, I've never really tried hard enough when it comes to dancing.

So I got there, and the guest list consisted of myself, Dominique, Ranulf, Kendra, and Yaiba. Mark and Diane weren't going to show up until much later, as was Charo and Sean. The first dance on the agenda was Swing, and I was absolutely miserable at it. Heck, the only one having any luck whatsoever right there was Sacha and Kendra, but not their respective partners. So instead, we turned to Tango, and everyone got the hang of that better.

Ranulf wasn't too keen on being my de facto practice partner, though, so we had to alternate between Dom as Sacha's partner, as Kendra had her hands full with Yaiba already. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun as we learned a few tango steps, and it was definitely a new experience. Now, if only I could convince Pomelo to go ballroom dancing with me... amazingly enough, she's not exactly fond of dancing at all, which definitely comes as a surprise...

Truth be told, I learned quite a lot on that day. I really can get the hang of Tango if I practiced just a bit more... at least, I wouldn't embarrass myself anymore... lol.

.:We Heart Katamari:.

A part of me wishes that my laptop can double as a monitor to play a PS2, but it seems that's not going to happen. In any case, after we were done dancing, we then took the time out to go and play We Heart Katamari on Mark's PS2, and it was definitely fun. I can't wait for the game to show up on the PS2 sometime this month or next month. Heh.

We were definitely laughing our heads off with the game. The cutscenes required a lot of illegal substances for them to come up with, in my humble opinion. Heh.

.:It's Her Birthday!!!:.

I slept over at the Chua residence that Friday night, but then we went to Diane's condo the following morning to just see how it is there. All things considered, it's definitely a really nice place, and it was fun just exchanging stories with them there.

Soon enough, I then took a cab to get to Shang-rila, as Pomelo and I had a date on her 21st birthday. I met her, and there she was, looking as beautiful as ever. She was looking as smoking hot and as gorgeous as ever, but perhaps even more so because she was exuding that aura that comes with her knowledge that it's her day, no question about it.

So we got there, and had lunch first at House Of Minis. What I found amusing with that was the fact that last time we ate there, Gyn wasn't able to finish her food. That being said, she finished her food this time... heh.

So we then considered what to do next. As she was wearing a skirt, and since she's not exactly the epitome of gracefulness (But I still love her to pieces, anyway. =P), we opted not to go for ice skating and instead watch a movie. Now, among all the movies from the Filmfest, we were choosing between “Mulawin” and “Ako Legal Wife”, since we wanted to go for something we knew, and something we didn't have to compete with everybody else for, unlike “Enteng Kabisote” or “Exodus”.

Yes, we wanted to watch a movie so we couldn't watch a movie. Lol.

In any case, we picked “Ako Legal Wife”, and we found the movie extremely hilarious. Still, I enjoyed Gyn's company far more than I enjoyed the movie, which is saying something, because I kinda liked the movie...

Happy, happy, happy birthday to my darling Pomelo. I love you so much, and I hope you'd have more birthdays to come. Mwah! I love you!!!

.:A Life-Saver:.

Amid all the cheesy music I was playing, and all the rather amusing tricks I've been throwing in Sacha's direction, particularly when she fixed my keyboard by blowing at it and so forth, (Clair's head hurt with that one. I'll spare you the same by leaving to your imagination what that was about), amid all the reminders about Dom's voice recognition blunder, amid all the corny puns, particularly the one about omelette...

... Let me thank Sach for helping me out while I was in a bind and letting me finish my script. The help was invaluable.

Unfortunately, I now have to finish another script, and this time, I need to get transcripts. Ack.

Career Considerations And Then Some

.:Today's LSS:.

You And I Both
by Jason Mraz

Was it you who spoke the words that things would happen but not to me
Oh things are gonna happen naturally
Oh taking your advice I'm looking on the bright side
And balancing the whole thing
But often times those words get tangled up in lines
And the bright lights turn to night
Until the dawn it brings
Another day to sing about the magic that was you and me

Cause you and I both loved
What you and I spoke of
And others just read of
Others only read of the love, the love that I love.

See I'm all about them words
Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words
Hundreds of pages, pages, pages forwards
More words then I had ever heard and I feel so alive

You and I, you and I
Not so little you and I anymore
And with this silence brings a moral story
More importantly evolving is the glory of a boy

Cause you and I both loved
What you and I spoke of
And others just dream of
And if you could see me now
Well I'm almost finally out of
I'm finally out of
Finally deedeedeedee
Well I'm almost finally, finally
Well I'm free, oh, I'm free

And it's okay if you have go away
Oh just remember the telephone works both ways
And if I never ever hear them ring
If nothing else I'll think the bells inside
Have finally found you someone else and that's okay
Cause I'll remember everything you sang

Cause you and I both loved what you and I spoke of
and others just read of and if you could see now
well I'm almost finally out of.
I'm finally out of, finally, deedeeededede
well I'm almost finally, finally, finally out of words.

.:Happy Eight Months To Us!!!:.

Amishu, Pomelo!!! ::blushes::

.:Intellectual Elitist:.

If there's one thing that surfaced from my long conversation with Elbert, it's the fact that I'm a blatant intellectual elitist.

Simply put, I don't think I could easily get along with a person who has no stories to share. It's not that I expect a certain level of intelligence, but I seem to implicitly expect a certain level of articulateness from a person I'm dealing with, and meeting that level would be the best way for me to get somewhere with that person. At that point, I may even begin talking down to the person, in a vain attempt to reach a level of conversation that is not as simple as it seems.

I guess that frightens me, in some ways. In the past so many months, I've been having problems with that, as I seem to have some trouble breaking through her shell. I don't know if she's just finding it hard to open up to me, or if she just really is that way. If she's the former, well and good. But if she's the latter, then the fact that I seem to have a low tolerance level for people who are just that way may prove to be a problem.

I really don't know. I don't expect the two of us to be able to discuss the ramifications of Kantian thinking on one's morality, but I'd like to think that asking “How was your day?” will not always yield nothing more than “Okay lang.”

Oh, well...

.:Career Considerations:.

I still want to teach, even if I'd inevitably make my parents feel very disappointed because of what I intend to do in the near future...

But you see, when I met up with Elbert the other day, while yes, we had a lot of serious talks about relationships and mindless conversations that covered everything else under the sun, and mundane conversations about comics, we turned to conversations about career paths.

Elbert seems to want to pull a Dominique and just spend at least half a year taking a sabbatical from corporate work in Manila, probably to stay outside of Luzon. That's all good, truth be told. But then, that'd mean he'd have to resign from Nautilus and do work for that company mostly pro bono so as to maintain his enthusiasm for the comic book industry by doing what he wants with no pressure because it's no longer his official job.

And looking at it, I do want his job.

I've said it time and again that while I do love my work in GMA/QTV, I absolutely can't stand the post-production. There's something about sitting like an idiot for hours while the editor does most of the work with you just observing him to make sure everything falls into place that puts me off. Add to that the fact that I've seen this footage myself live most likely, and you'd understand how sick I can get of the footage by the time it's mastered, and by the time it finally goes on the air. If I were the editor, maybe I'd be okay, but I'm not the editor. Now that I think about it, Hades, maybe if I learned how to edit, and as I'd make more money as one, I could do my own segments instead of having to conform to my editor's schedule... hmmm...

But I digress. While my skills in soliciting sponsors can be rather untested (I do have the tendency to talk down to certain people, as I discovered above...), this is the only job imaginable that allows me WAVE and my masters. I still want to finish my masters, and I don't see that happening for as long as I'm with GMA. Finishing my masters will allow me to teach Philosophy, and thus send me back to my two simple dreams: teaching and being in radio. Nautilus Comics is not only going to potentially help me along in that direction, it becomes particularly integral to me in the sense that in doing what I so far think I'm supposed to be doing there would mean that my skillsets in each job would turn out to be tangent to one another.

It's a convergence that is less obvious than GMA and WAVE, but one that causes less friction and, well, less illness. The uber-long stretches that happen at GMA when I'm sitting at editing or mastering won't happen at Nautlilus, and even if it would in a sense, that's because I'd be handling an event. Gee, I never once complained about the Day Off segment when we're shooting, right? That's pretty much similar, so I guess no issues there.

It's not a foregone conclusion that I'd land the Nautilus gig, but I have to want it if I intend to get it. And right now, I can see that there are compelling reasons to want it, and seemingly equally compelling reasons to prefer GMA, especially if I wanted to be eventually rich. It's an option I have to weigh not because I'm sure I'll land it, but because it's an option that definitely is worthy of consideration.

One might ask, “Why not drop WAVE instead?” Well, I wouldn't do that simply because dropping WAVE still provides me with no time whatsoever to do Nautilus anyways. I'd just take a huge cut in my monthly liquid finances, and doing that is crazy. All I did was throw away money instead of trade one opportunity for another.

It's not that I'm money-hungry, per se. But I sure as Hades don't want to be hungry period. Working on a GMA-powered paycheck alone is liable to do that because you don't expect to make it big in GMA overnight. Neither does everybody make it big in GMA, either. Therefore, there's no reason for me to drop WAVE, from a practical standpoint. Sure, the time I work for WAVE is horrible, but the actual working hours (16 a week.) aren't. And I've been with WAVE for almost two years already. That should count for something. As much as I'm not a fan of my current standing in WAVE, it's not so bad at all.

Here's a pros and cons list that I compiled on the two jobs, though. Lets assume for a moment that I really had to choose between Nautilus and GMA already, for argument's sake.

GMA-7:

Pros:

+ Will yield long term security. You are connected to the number one TV network in the country, after all.
+ If I play politics well, getting ahead might not be too hard. My mom's very good friends with Mike Enriquez.
+ Sticking it out with GMA will yield not only financial security, it may lead me to finally work on-cam instead of behind the cam, essentially eliminating my sole gripe about GMA: post-production. The moment I don't do post-prod by being an on-cam talent is the day that I will find nothing to complain about with GMA, and thus hold onto the job, more likely than not.
+ The clout of being on GMA knows no bounds. Trust me.
+ The small window of opportunity to actually move to DWLS instead of WAVE so that I can truly bring together my TV and radio work.

Cons:

- Financial security is secondary to being alive. It doesn't matter if you make 50K-150K a month if you're dead already. GMA has been preventing me from so much as recovering lately, because every time I have to take a leave from WAVE, I can't do the same with GMA because I have this shooting or editing or mastering to do.
- Sticking it out with GMA does not guarantee I will be in a setup where I will no longer need to do post-production. Research work does not involve post-prod (Most of the time.), but that line of work doesn't appeal to me. By the way, I'm also horrible at politics.
- Even if I could find myself on camera in a matter of time, it is not very unlikely to assume that the process takes more than just a year. Two years is actually a fairly brazen estimate to climb the ranks of no longer needing to do post-production.
- A promotion could mean I'd become an executive producer. Being an on-cam talent is not necessarily a promotion. Ergo, doing well in my job could mean that not only am I in charge of the whole production process of the show, I would have to be present in post-production as well, no questions asked. That's not what I want to happen.
- I will never finish my Masters for as long as I'm working with GMA. Next schoolyear is my third year out of five for me to wrap it up. Failure to do so would mean I'd have to do it again from scratch. No freaking way.

Nautilus:

Pros:

+ Will give me competitive pay for what I currently get from GMA. Not a bad tradeoff, since I'll be working way less hours than I would be with GMA.
+ Flexi-time allows me to still pursue my masters, and perhaps even be a teaching assistant! And at worst, my health should be better in a setup like that.
+ I'd work around people I'm familiar with, and have a new line of work that is rather interesting, if only for the fact that it's akin to the work I used to do for Ranulf in Slycesoft. I'd be working for a (sort of) pioneering company again, which, if you think about it, is relatively low-risk/high-reward in that if it succeeds, then amazing things would follow, and if it fails, it's not a monumental catastrophe. At least not for me.
+ Allows me to build a new network, as that's what my job description requires me to do. That new network includes working for a Cojuangco, which means the company's relatively stable in a fairly volatile cottage industry.
+ If it allows me to finish my M.A., then it indirectly gives me some long-term security because it allows me to establish my teaching career.

Cons:

- Will most likely never be able to provide me with the kind of long-term financial security that only GMA can. You don't expect to ever sign 1M annual contracts with a comic book company, which is not a knock on them at all. You don't expect that of 90% of all other companies, anyways.
- Will definitely not generate the kind of automatic buzz and clout working for GMA does. Which is why I considered dropping WAVE instead of GMA for a while...
- The job description requires me to acquire as of yet untested skills such as sponsor solicitation. There is no guarantee I'd do well with that, considering how that's one of the things that turned me away from being a researcher for GMA, although the paperwork is the bigger thing that scared me off from that position.
- Might burn my bridges with GMA if I leave so soon. Which is sad, because the best but still feasible thing to happen to me would be me working for RGMA and teaching, as RGMA allows me to have my foot in the door with being a TV talent without having to deal with post-production in the meantime, all without sacrificing my teaching career. I might actually not go through with Nautilus if it means that I'm screwed from ever setting foot in GMA again. It's that big a factor.
- Quite frankly, until I get a feel for the job (Which I should before I finalize whether or not I'd leave GMA.), then I really can't see where working for Nautilus falls into the greater scheme of things. I've seen that for WAVE, for GMA, and for teaching. But so far, not for Nautilus, and not for Slycesoft, as it didn't last long enough for me to find out, in the first place.

So there you have it. The factors I'm considering about this potential change of work. While I do love GMA, I just don't think it's worth getting myself killed over, and dropping WAVE to save my life is out of the question, simply because I've already established quite a bit with WAVE, and it won't open up new opportunities for me, either.

What do you jabronis think? Where do I go from here?

New Year's Recap, January 2

.:New Year's Recap, 02 January, 2006:.

So we spent the whole first night of January either watching a romantic Chinese flick, or having serious conversations. Sacha was talking about some things she had to get off her chest, and it felt a bit unsettling to see her emotional like that. I noticed she seemed particularly pensive on New Year's Eve, but I didn't find the right timing to ask her about it, so I guess the pow-wow session made for a good occasion, although everyone else was there to help as well. They also pretty much helped me clear the air as to where I wanted to go with my relationship with Gyn, all things considered.

The next day, we were supposed to go to Diane's condo, as we wanted to see it and all. One thing came up after the other, and instead, we had to scrap that plan, as we all took a bus for Clair to go to work and for Ron and I to accompany Sacha as she went shopping for clothes, though I also decided to go shopping for a good pair of leather shoes myself. I settled on a nice pair of suede leather, and then went back to them and saw Sacha shop up a storm. Not that she bought so many things, mind you, but she browsed quite a lot, and along the way, I found nice presents I could give to Gyn. Hopefully, I really can get her something really nice for her birthday, as it's coming up on Saturday already, and I'm pushing quite heavily for a Saturdate.

So after Landmark, we headed to Glorietta 2 so Sach can look for earrings. Here, I found a nice ring watch to give to Gyn, as the fact that it was a watch would mean my giving her a ring wouldn't call her parent's attention too much. Heh. I then sprung a late Christmas gift for Sacha as I got the earrings for her once she made the selections. I think I should also look into one more small gesture of gratitude, but not to her, this time... lemme check what they like... hmmm... flowers again?

Soon enough, we decided to take a cab since it was drizzling a bit, and I got off at Smart Tower. I said goodbye to them, and now, it was time for a lunch date...

Lunch Date:

Pomelo and I wanted to have lunch, if only to celebrate the New Year belatedly. I was hoping to eat someplace new with her, except that was unlikely to happen because the rain meant we had to go back to Tang City. Maybe I'll try those sizzling dishes instead next time. Oh, well.

Talking to one another during lunch kind of makes the flow of conversation surprisingly easier, which definitely helps us get to know each other in subtle ways. What makes the conversation even more interesting is how we took the time out to really know where we stand with each other, and pretty much renewed our commitment to each other. The ring watch was kind of symbolic as well, as I refused to put it on her hand until she said “I do” to the impromptu vows that came with the ring...

I'm a hopeless romantic, I know. But I suppose it's not too hard to realize that fact. After all has been said and done, I just wanted Gyn to realize how much I really love her, and how much she truly means to me in my life.

Funny how just one lunch date can convey all that and more. I guess that's why I'm so glad that I took the time out to be with her that day, if only for an hour...

New Year's Recap, December 31

.:New Year’s Recap, 01 January, 2006, Sunday:.

So I woke up a bit earlier than I hoped to, partly because of my body clock, partly because breakfast beckoned me. What I thoroughly appreciated about the usual breakfast at the Chua residence was that you can almost be sure that it was going to be a balanced meal. And yeah, this was no exception.

Sacha and I were talking, and we figured it would be cool to go to Clair’s house for the evening. But Clair had something else in mind, so instead, she was going to go to the Chua residence in the evening. Sacha then decided that we contact as many people as we could from the JGL to go there, so we contacted them all.

After a while, it was off to an interesting lunch at Italianni’s, and while nothing particularly stood out throughout the whole deal, I think I heard the story about the fire for the fourth time there. Fairly amusing, if you think about it.

So we finished lunch, and then the agenda shifted to going to Sacha’s godfather’s wake. I felt a bit like a fish out of the water when I tagged along with them, considering how I wasn’t related to the faithful departed at all, but I soldiered on. There were a few people there though who were extremely affable to me despite having met me for only the first time, and it kind of helped me not feel completely out of place at the wake.

On Being Romantic:

This’d probably sound weird because I’m talking about Sacha’s parents for a good couple of paragraphs, but it’s an amusing story, so bear with me.

After the mass and a few more moments at the wake, Tito John had this out-there idea to just go and play billiards. Turns out that everyone except him had no idea how to play the game, particularly the basic physics of how to hit the ball so it would go this way or that way, such that it would hit this or that ball in that direction, and so forth.

On the way there, we were recalling Tita Harvey’s offhand comment that “Chinese” and “romantic” was an oxymoron, and I, being particularly biased for Chinese people, said that wasn’t the case.

And on the way to the billiard hall in Powerplant, I thought I had the perfect argument, as they were holding hands while walking, which I pointed out to Sacha. Sacha pointed out that it was actually Tita Harvey who was clinging to Tito John’s hand. Tita Harvey overhears the conversation, then points out that her “beloved spouse” walks so fast she needs to hold on to keep pace.

Touche.

But anyways, I digress. While playing billiards, Tito John enjoined us to observe other players, which we did. I noticed two Korean girls who were doing better than any of us at our table, save for Tito John. Of course, there were other players to observe, but then, why bother? Heh.

So out of a bit of frustration over the fact that nobody was playing too well at all, Tito John gave all of us pointers of how to hit the ball. It was a fairly engaging tutorial, to say the least, and what stood out with it was how Tito John was trying to make the easiest of shots possible for Tita Harvey. He would distract us all by calling our attention to a bird that flew by (Yes… inside Rockwell. Lol.), and Sacha and I would go and be “distracted” on cue, and when we look back, the ball Tita Harvey is supposed to hit magically rolls near a corner pocket.

Even the set boys were applauding Tita Harvey’s 1337 billiard skillz, especially since they knew she was footing the bill. Tito John admonished the other players on the nearby table to not distract the “future mom world pool champion” while she’s taking a shot, and the slightest bit of noise was enough reason to believe that she deserved another shot, or that using the force to push the ball that her cue ball didn’t hit into the corner pocket while happily distracting us as another bird flies past the billiard hall in Powerplant.

Either that was very romantic, or Tito John just wanted to finish the game real fast by letting Tita Harvey knock all the balls into the pockets… heh.

Merry Confusion:

We watched “Love On The Rocks” for fun that night. That was myself, Ron, Clair, and Sacha. Diane and Mark went home immediately, but not after witnessing me glomp Ron when he arrived rather late as Diane was already out of sorts because she was so sleepy already…

In any case, we had lots of fun watching “Love On The Rocks”, a Chinese film. This was despite one simple fact.

We had NO subtitles to help us out.

So we made up our own lines, and gay references and metal braces for shoes just overflowed from there.

I’ll continue the story when I find time to write again. :)

New Year's Recap, December 31

I'll do the recap of New Year on a day-by-day basis, as I'm pressed for time. Let's start with Saturday.

.:Today's LSS:.

No explanation needed.

Gin Pomelo
by Radioactive Sago Project

Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo

Chorus:
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
(Louder) Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo!!!

Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo

(Repeat Chorus)

Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo
Gin Pomelo, Gin Pomelo

(Repeat Chorus until fade.)

.:The New Year Recap, December 31, Saturday:.

So I was supposed to spend my New Year's at Clair's place because my family was going to Boracay, and I wouldn't be able to stay with them there since I have work starting Tuesday.

That being said, I took my dear time going to Clair's. In fact, I was about to go to her house at around six or so in the evening, particularly because I had a lot on my mind at the time. Lots of things have been going on, and I really didn't know how to piece them all together too well. I was a bit tired, but after a short go online, I then went out of Starmall and was about to go to the MRT, when...

... I got an SMS from Sacha, asking me to help do a good deed by going to their place and helping out with "Norma's Soup Kitchen".

I had no idea what that was about, but I went ahead and regretfully informed Clair I won't be able to see Panda and her (In that order. :P Just kidding.), and she understood, telling me that it's my best friend who's calling and I'm not really on my way ON MY WAY just yet. I'm not even on the MRT yet. Heh. So yeah, though I had a minor concern as to why I didn't want to go to Sacha's place, Sacha told me that concern wasn't going to be the case on that night.

So I got there, and I discovered that I was really going to help out do a good deed. You see, the night before, there was actually a fire that broke out near the Chua residence, and a combination of stuff like the wind changing direction, the decision of the Chuas not to go out of town, and even a Jun-Jun Binay who wanted to learn Digital Photography barely saved the house from getting burned. Nobody was harmed except for an aircon fan that got melted due to the heat and a glass window in Sacha's room that Tito John shattered to get into the house as none of them had a key to the house since people assumed someone would always be inside the house.

The story to that alone was actually hilarious. Tito John carefully cleaned away the glass shards with his swiss knife after shattering the window because he had no intentions of getting himself cut over them upon making his entrance. Took him a good half hour or so to get in, as he took his time and even rearranged the photos on Sacha's dresser to get in without knocking any of them down or stepping on them. Only then did he open the door.

So yeah, we gave out food, and it was Arroz Caldo. Now, normally, people don't like Arroz Caldo because it's so "common", but Ate Norma, the cook, just made the dish so well, people who tried it out came back for not seconds, but thirds. While this was going on, plans were made to take some food as well to the Barangay Basketball Court, where most of the affected families were staying for the moment. Tito John oddly suggested giving out cash prizes to the kids there, but of course, everyone else objected. We got there, distributed oranges, apples, and even ice cream, and it was fairly interesting. People who were trying to pull one over us because we only gave food to kids stood out a bit. Some of them said they were getting it for their "son", then came back and said they were getting one for their "brother", and expected someone like me to miss such a discrepancy. Heh. If they were getting for their kids, shouldn't their kids just have showed up?

We had interesting stories to watch, as a practical microcosom of life opened up to us. They seemed appreciative that the people helping them didn't seem to be politicians at all, as we never bothered to announce who we were. There were puppies in one corner of the court as well, and they were awfully cute. Lots of things were going on, and it was a moment to just shut up and take it all in.

After that, we went back to the house, and Kathy was there with her surfer friends. That was a bit of a surprise, but no matter. Sacha was helping me out by talking about the WWE coming to the Philippines in the Araneta Colliseum, as I really want to watch them in the worst way possible. Hopefully, I can still scrounge up some tickets. But yeah, we had dinner, and then went online for the most part. While Tita Harvey was sharing her thoughts about the fire, her phone rang, and she answered it with...

Tita Harvey: Yes, beloved spouse?

Sach and I looked at each other and smiled. Tita Harvey then commented that despite the seemingly romantic title, Tito John was actually anything but romantic, as she mentioned that the idea of a "romantic Chinese" film like "Love On The Rocks" was quite the oxymoron. That really made me laugh my head off. But more on the whole "Chinese men are not romantic" story later... the story for that picks up on January 1 itself.

We spent the New Year countdown at the rooftop, watching the fireworks, although we weren't too impressed, since we came from watching the Pyrolympics, which blows anything we saw out of the water quite handily. Nonetheless, it was all good, and we had a great New Year celebration.

It was a first for me to be celebrating it without my family, but friends like Sacha are practically family to me already.

And I definitely owe Kathy, Tita Harvey, and Tito John just as much thanks for being such gracious hosts to me for the New Year festivities. I definitely appreciate it. :)