My Blog

That’s the title of the Russell Crowe film that me and M, my girlfriend recently caught during its last few days. It wasn’t much of a movie worth talking about but the title might as well also sum up what 2006 meant to me. In many ways, it was a typical year for Year of the Dragon types like myself. In true Dragon fashion, I’ve had my share of ups and downs and as in previous years, it was quite a rollercoaster ride again. The story of my life.

But 2006 was also better than the previous ones in many ways. I think I’ve reached the age when nothing is supposed to surprise me anymore but even I was pleasantly surprised to spend a good number of my weekends either out of town or out of the country. I never travelled as much as I had in 2006. For the very first time, I visited provinces like Bohol, Laoag, Vigan and even the relativelty nearby Batangas City. I also saw Mandaue, that little known city beside the better known part of Cebu in a totally different light. Hell, I even became a guest instructor at Ocean Adventure in Subic for a day, teaching sea lions, false killer whales (don’t ask why they’re called as such) and dolphins tricks that they already knew to begin with.

Four times last year, I found myself again in Singapore, even won a few bucks and a few shopped items on the side while unexpectedly representing the country with two other lifestyle journalists in an amazing race type of game during The Great Singapore Sale. Despite the humid weather, I’ve come to love this place for its virtually non-existent traffic, and its orderly laid-back ambiance. There are still people who call this the most boring place in the planet but for at least two to three days, that’s just fine for someone like me who wants to occasionally escape from all the work-related stress that I’m subjected to for the rest of the year.

I also found myself in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for the very first time in 2006. Its charm is not quite the same as Singapore but if nothing else, the unique chocolate factories (Beryl’s for one, really rocks!) made me look forward to coming back here soon.

My work at the bank remained pretty stagnant in 2006 but that’s okay since 2007 is the year I’ll reach my 20th year of service (my, how time flies when you’re uh, swamped with a lot of work hehehe) which means I’m up for retirement, believe it or not. Hopefully, a nice early retirement package will be in the offing for retirables like me this year. If I’m lucky, a promotion might even give me a reason to stay a litlle longer although I’m no longer holding my breath for that.

As for my writing rakets, I’d say 2006 was a banner year for me as well. I’ve never been so busy in my entire writing career and I’m not even doing this full-time. I found myself writing articles on just about every liifestyle-related topic that was thrown my way. I’m even back to writing about music (mostly bands) again and in the process instantly updated my musical literacy just like that.

But the best thing that ever happened to me in years or as far as I can remember also happened in 2006. This was the year I found M, the love of my life who turned out to be a part of my past. Funny thing is, I only got to meet her for the very first time last and in the most unusual of circumstances. M has changed my life in ways that I simply can’t detail enough here. Of all the blessings that I was fortunate enough to receive last year, she is hands down the most precious and the one that I’ll continue to cherish in the years to come.

The bad news is that I’m afraid I’m going to lose her again in a few months. Sadly, our struggling economy continues to force many of us to be apart from the very people who means the world to us. My particular situation with M is no different. I do hope our impending separation is only termporary and as much as the possibility of never seeing her again is already beginning to take its toll on me, I do hope that I can somehow find a way for us to be together again.

All told, I remain hopeful (although partly skeptical given my rollercoaster kind of existence) that 2007 will even be a better year for me. More ups than downs, please.

Somebody once asked me how I would sum up my life in as few words as possible. I can’t really think of any other answer but dodging bullets. That’s the story of my life and that’s the feeling I get after beating one deadline after another. Of course, I don’t always dodge these bullets all the time but one thing I’ve learned over the years is the art of buying time and keeping people at bay. Buying time is when I either find a way to somehow extend my deadline or talk my way out of a tight fix, at least for the time being. There are really no hard or fast rules for this. It’s either you’re pretty good at this or you’re just darn lucky.

I probably belong to the second category. During a brief weekend sojourn to Kuala Lumpur, our group visited a Chinese temple there where lifelike figures of animals in the Chinese horoscope lay within its premises. It was there that I found out that the main characteristic of those born in the Year of the Dragon is, yes, "Lucky." The bad news is that luck isn’t consistent as a Feng Shui expert told me in a previous trip to Singapore. Maybe it has something to do with the whirling shape of the dragon but according to Feng Shui, life is pretty much a roller coaster ride for us dragons. Every good thing is followed by something that is not so good, as if there’s a trade-off for every blessing that comes our way.

This year has been a very good year for me so far. Which is why a part of me is worried about next year. With luck (no pun intended), I hope my concerns are just bullets that I can still manage to dodge. Later.

It’s the one Friendster status that just about everyone wants to put beside their name and age. Being merely “Single” does doesn’t quite cut it while “It’s complicated” is a little more complicated to explain to those curioius enough to ask about it.

But I don’t know. The truth is, everyone is in some kind of relationship one way or another. We’re all in a relationship not only with that one special person that matters to us more than anybody else but also with members of our family, our friends, our employers and co-workers and just about anyone we encounter on a regular basis.

So what the hell was Friendster thinking? Come to think of it, maybe the term “in a relationship” does make sense. I mean, “engaged” sounds too much like a foregone conclusion while “committed” has an awful mentally ill vibe to it. But why really dwell too much about this? It’s just semantics, right? Personally, I’m just happy to be “in a relatonship” right now. I’m sure everyone else who are feels the same way, too. Later.

Back in the 80’s, there was a new wave rock group called The Babys fronted by a guy named John Waite who would later find success as a solo artist and as the frontman of another band called Bad English later in the decade.

The Babys never had a huge hit but they did have several minor hits played only on a couple of stations back then. One of those hits was a nice rock ballad called "Back On My Feet Again." The song meant a lot to me then as it means a lot to me now. As contrived and as cheesy as it sounds, the lyrics pretty much tell the story of my life, up until now.

Yes, it feels so good to have somebody on your side.

I was so lonely until I met you
Told myself I’d get by without love
Drownin’ my sorrows
Avoiding tomorrows
Kind of felt that I just had enough
You light up my face with your jokes and your smiles
And the way that you came here tonight
Don’t know what you got
But I’m sure glad I found you
Could be wrong but it sure feels right
And here I am
I’m back on my feet again
Here I am
I’m back on my feet again
Surprised at myself
for the way that I feel
So happy that you’re
here with me
Some women I’ve known
They’ve left me with nothing
But I guess that was just meant to be
And here I am
I’m back on my feet again
Here I am
I’m back on my feet again
I was down for the count
I was down
I was beat
I was cryin’
I was cornered and hurt
I was hidin’ my face
Sittin’ there cryin’
I was so lonely until I met you
Told myself I’d get by without love
Drownin’ my sorrows
Avoiding tomorrows
Kind of felt that I just had enough
And here I am
I’m back on my feet again
Here I am
I’m back on my feet again.
Yes here I am
I’m back on my feet again
Here I am
I’m back on my feet again

It only seems to happen here in this part of the planet. Riding a cab is almost always quite an adventure for me and maybe for just about everyone. You get the usual Q & A types–those cab drivers (probably every other one) who are notorious for asking you where you are headed before even deciding you’re worthy of being picked up.

You get the usual negotiator types–those who explicitly ask for "tips" or "dagdag" on top of what the (usually already rigged) taxi meter says. When this happens, I only agree on one condition–that these guys take the service road instead of the expressway so what I’m supposed to pay for the toll gate, I’ll just give to him. See, I live in Parañaque and I usually take the South Superhighway route on my way home.

And then there are those who let their horny hormones get the best of them–the types who almost always prefer female (usually pretty) passengers over guys like me. I always hate it when I lose out to a girl when it comes to hailing a cab and I’m not being sexist here. The way I see it, my money is just as good for cab fare as her money so what gives? A friend recently told me it has something to do with me not having boobs and a vagina that women can actually use as leverage in case they don’t have enough cab fare. Of course, my friend was only kidding but then maybe the clever bastard has a point. Who knows how much of that joke has some truth to it? I mean, what else can I possibly give the cab driver if I fell short of his "metro?"

As for female taxi passengers, a word of advice for my Friendsters of the opposite sex. Try not to argue too much with a cab driver, at least not to the point of agitating the fella. It doesn’t matter whether the argument is about directions or about the fare. You may have your way by the time you reach your destination but the cab driver can still have the last say on the matter and I’ve seen it happen on not a few occasions.

A couple of seconds after getting off the cab, most drivers will likely yell something within hearing distance of nearby bystanders. You know what he’ll say?

"PANGIT!"

Ladies, you’ve been duly warned.   

If nothing else, the rainy season is the time when most people can wear long-sleeves clothing again, be it shirts, jackets, coats and sweaters. I didn’t realize it until recently but being a member of media in my case actually meant never having the desire to buy anything that remotely close to what would pass for rainwear. And as I scrounge to my stuff for what to wear on a particular rainy day, I discovered that I still have more than my share of favorites.

On top of my list right now is an HBO In Concert denim jacket that I usually wear with either dark jeans or corduroy khakis. There’s the blue and white HP BMW Williams nylon jacket that matches well with just about everything. I also have a cream-colored Esprit jacket that my brother got for me from an ukay-ukay store in Bangbang and a red windbreaker from Apple Computer that I got as a souvenir from the now defunct Apple Philippines office. I also have the gray-colored variety of that Apple windbreaker but seldom wear simply because the fabric makes me sweat easily.

I also recently discovered a black colored AC/DC sweater that I got as a Christmas gift from Warner Music Philippines many years back and I still haven’t found the time to wear the cardigan sweater that I’m wearing on the photo I’m using for this blog simply because I can’t recall where I last put it.

One thing I can’t figure out is what umbrella to use to match with all these rain gear as one, I’ve never been an umbrella person and two, I don’t think there are enough umbrellas in the house to mix and match to begin with. Yes, I keep losing them all the time.

It’s deep Tagalog (or is it?) for something that also means masinop or never let anything to waste or something like that. I was in the market for a new pair of pants (maybe I still am) when two good things happened to me this week. I got a new pair of Docker pants as a gift (actually will get another pair of “gift jeans” next week) and a little house cleaning yielded some old pants that caught my attention. Several shades of khaki chinos (Lee, Dickies and yes, Dockers) plus a Wrangler corduroy that still fit. But they do have some holes and could use a few repairs here and there. I figured that since tattered look is in vogue then maybe a little zigzag stitches over the holes here and there can make these pants worth wearing again. As my mother would always say, a little “arimunan” can go a long way. Later.

Just got back from the Ilocos region where I became part of some sort of history as one of the passengers of Cebu Pacific’s maiden flight to Laoag.

Maiden voyages do have a somewhat scary Titanic feel to them but thankfully we arrived safe in sound in both Laoag and in our return trip to Manila. In a media fam tour sponsored by yes, Cebu Pacific, our group of mostly lifestyle journalists of Laoag, Vigan and other neighboring towns. Ilocos is largely a sleepy and peaceful province but I don’t think there’s any part of the country that has succeeded in preserving our 19th century Spanish heritage, with the possible exception of Cebu, perhaps.

The old churches, the pottery-making process (old Demi Moore jokes, aside), the tasty Bagnets, empanadas and longganisas and oh, yes, the Malacañang Ti Amianan (or Malacañang of the North) and other Marcos memoirs are just a few reasons why people come here. Ferdinand Marcos is very much revered and he is referred to everything from our tour guides to signs as simply President, not a former one.

In the museum just beside where his remains remain preserved (the belief is that the late president’s corpse is actually underneath the supposedly wax figure that was actually on display) in cold storage, his biography states that he was ousted by virtue of a military coup d’ etat. No mention of people power or anything similar to that. To be fair, the old man has done more for the Ilocanos than any other president this country has ever had so it is understandable why most of them don’t really care what he was to the rest of the country or the world for that matter.

The highlight of our trip to Vigan was a visit to Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson’s house where he has an amazing mini-zoo that included several ostriches, peacocks, gazelles (I think), monkeys and oh, yeah, lots of tigers. Chavit wasn’t around but his sister, a councilor, was there to entertain us.

More of this on my upcoming article about it for Manila Bulletin. Stay tuned.    

I have to admit that this is turning out to be a banner year for me in terms of travel opportunities. So far, I’ve been to San Fernando, Pampanga, Batangas City, Subic, Cebu City, Mandaue City and Singapore (twice already) and it’s only June. The experiences that I had in these places was to say the least, exhilarating. It’s nice to be gone for awhile but in the end, there’s still no place like home. The downside of going on a trip is trying to get pasalubong for your loved ones but once you see their appreciative smiles, I guess every peso spent is well worth it. Tell you more later.

Sounds good, huh? I have to admit it also sounded a little strange to me considering that I never actually won anything huge in my life to merit representing the country in any kind of competition or occasion.  Well, there were a few raffle prizes here and there but I don’t think any of that actually counts.

So there I was in the Lion City last week, along with two other fellow lifestyle journalists namely fellow Bulletin columnist and Metro writer Jane Kingsu and the Philippine Star’s Luis Carlo San Juan, playing the high stakes game of our lives–all for the love of God, for the love of country and oh, yes, for the love of money.

You know life is good when you’ve just been invited to participate and be your nation’s flag carrier in the Great Singapore Sale Challenge. The object of the game is fairly simple: a team is given a MasterCard prepaid card worth S$1,000 and shop at four designated malls in a span of three shopping hours. The team must buy at least one item from each designated category (i.e. men’s wear, ladies wear, children’s wear, toys, electronics or IT, jewelry, household items) and can only buy a maximum of 10 pieces for the same item. The team with the biggest savings after the game wins the top prize of S$10,000 in cash. Other big savers can also settle for the 2nd or 3rd prizes of S$6,000 and S$3,000 respectively. Oh, and did I mention that all participating teams get to keep all their S$1,000 purchases? Well, I did say life is good, right?

To spice up the game, the teams must redeem a FIFA World Cup Challenge coupon upon reaching a purchase of US$300 then after finishing all four designated malls (Wisma Atria, Centrepoint, Plaza Singapura and Millenia Walk) must go to either Chinatown or Little India (in our case, it was Chinatown) and buy an ethnic costume for one team member to wear. They must also pick-up a recipe of a popular local dish in Singapore which in our case turned out to be the Chili Crab. A S$50 transportation allowance is given to each team to use as they see fit–whether we take the bus, cab or MRT is of no consequence to the judges as long as we get back in time or else, we’ll be disqualified.

After a nerve-wracking three hours of running, shopping and in the case of some teams, some haggling and cajoling in between purchases, it was the Australian team which emerged on top with a total savings of over S$2,800 and beat 16 other teams from 12 countries including as far back as Dubai and Germany aside from the usual Asian participants. One of two Malaysian teams took second place honors with a total savings of over S$2,500. Given their close proximity and familiarity with Singapore, I thought the Malaysians would be a top contender for this contest and I was right.

And third place? With a total savings of over S$2,200, the prize actually went to tadah! the "official Philippine representatives." How about that, huh? The Philippine team (not the same players, er, shoppers) actually won this event last year and we thought we really had a good shot of repeating the feat as our savings was much higher than the S$1,700 that they had. But I guess at least two other teams came prepared for us. What can I say? We lost to the better team or in this case, the better shoppers.

I can’t help but still feel good about the whole thing, though. Considering that I myself came to Singapore with only P4,500 of pocket money and went back home with so much more, I have to admit that this has got to be the best media trip I have had the good fortune of being a part with.  Me and my fellow writers get to shop for stuff we actually like, then we get to be rewarded with even more shopping ammunition. The best part is of course, we get to represent our country for doing this. Official Philippine Representative. It does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? What more can I ask for? Well, can I do this again soon?