Changes

I love Mara. Just as I love this bunch of people who ridiculously call themselves Brilliant Bums (I always find the group name rather disturbing, but when you're part of the group you just have to get used to it and even learn to love saying it.)

This post was supposedly a reply to a comment she made regarding the blog post below this. A part of it she said:

"what i find saddest about the distance is that i don't get to see the little changes in you and how they happen. but even though you're always slightly different than the jello i know when we meet... i still see the old jello." (Retained in its original form).

Sounds like a lola who just came from the States who saw her apo for the first time after decades of blurred memories. Then she continued:

"and that makes me happy."

That's the part when I get to start thinking. What is this little changes she's talking about?  I'm not quite sure. Is it a way of saying that I was better before than I am now? (Kidding.)

Sure, many things have changed. Hair color. Choice of clothing. And I don't get to wear rubber slippers as I often did way back in college, among many other things. (Let's keep the change in mindset to save my face.)

Yes Mar, I've changed. We've changed. And sometimes the change comes very surprising. But ultimately, what makes it interesting is that when we share ourselves--as we did in the past and as we do it now--we share it without wearing a mask, without pretense.

And that's why, I think, you said you still see the "old" Jello that makes you happy.

To Siberia

I'll adopt April Rama's concept. Tomorrow will be the first anniversary of my 23rd birthday. Don't ask why I start with 23, I just learned about that concept. And don't ask what's with tomorrow, because apparently, the world will still turn unless a comet strikes this civilization dead.

And unless my fortune allows me to purchase a yacht by tomorrow, then I'm obliged to throw a champagne party.

That's all. I repeat my statement I made a year ago: I'll be in exile. This time, no one will find me.

That's all.

Too much information

It's not that I hate computers. Machines, generally just don't work well with me. I consider myself more of a crafty than a techy person. But as they say, if you can't be googled (yeah, it's a verb now) you don't exist.

So yesterday, I had a problem uploading a Michael Jackson video from youtube.com. Thanks to Denver who was chatting in Facebook, who I obliged to give me a step-by-step instructions to get that MJ video on my blog. And I successfully did. Imagine dealing with html language? It was a horror!

Anyway, talking about Facebook, and Twitter, and there is another one Charles (a Loft DJ-cum-events-organizer) told me about (I'll ask him again this Saturday), they're quite scary if not a cause of concern because they give way too much information. From people's breakfast, to their romantic sagas, to whatever things imaginable. It's scary how people tend broadcast themselves too much with little concern for self-preservation. Me not excluded.

But sigh! Isn't it inherent in every human soul to solicit a confirmation of its existence?

Michael Jackson

If one claims that he belongs to the later part of human civilization, then he is not exempted from Michael Jackson and Madonna. But the latter is still living and is still fighting for her youth, so I'll dedicate this blog post to the former. Honestly, I'm not really a fan. I don't fancy his moonwalk. And don't even start talking about his nose or the absence thereof. But you see, he's one of those whose music just pierces your soul (well some of his songs did). I like Ben, Heal the World, but my favorite is this:

Lunch at Marco Polo

This will just be a quick post, before I head on to Loft tonight to talk about their upcoming whatnots. As if the world really cares what I'm doing. But yeah, whatever, got to keep this blogging fire well firing!

A days back, I got a weird invitation from Marco Polo Plaza Cebu for their Champagne Series. Weird in the sense that I haven't got any invitations from that hotel for ages, perhaps since the last communication staff left. Back to the Champagne Series, it isn't about Champagne. (Although we drank Champagne during the media gathering lunch.) It's about bringing world class talents to perform in Marco Polo. Like reviving the days when talents like Varga and Borja was celebrated in that same place.

Anyway, we had great lunch. Jude Bacalso, who always fanned spirited conversations provided the entertainment. Here's the menu:

Sampling of Prosciutto & Mango

Beef Carpaccio and Tuna Tartar

Seafood Bisque with Chicken and Basil Quenelles

Pesto Seared Prawns and Melon with Sambucca Yoghurt and Arugula

Teriyaki Seared Salmon Fillet with Wasabi Aoili, O'Brien Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and Mango Chutney

Chocolate Trilogy

Friandise 

and Tea

Fancy lunch eh!?

Moving on

Two nights in a row I've been out with Jumar and his friends. The other one was whining about his beau the other night over bottles of beers. I told him he has so much of a feminine psyche that only made things a little complicated. You know me, I'm no bullshit when I'm drunk as most drunk people do (I know of some who turn into fugly drama queens with alcohol, which I sometime take). 

Last night, we hanged-out again. This time, he's calling yet another guy just right after telling me that he and his ex-beau officially called it off. They lasted two weeks. I think.

Today they're dating. And that's what I call moving on. 

That's all.

I'm back!

As I said in my Cbox, I'm back after years in blogging Siberia. I think I like my new blog template. It matches my hair color. So I'm sticking with it for as long as I can. Mara and Michelle has long been pleading people to resume blogging. As you very well know, I stopped blogging for a while because I messed up with my layout and it looked terrible. It looked oh so third world and I don't think redundancy is a cool idea. 

So I think I'll give you some updates about my life.

Work. What can say? Although I'd like stay at home reading a good book, listening to Mozart or Rachmaninoff while eating Food for the Gods (this very special cake baked in heaven and served in that restaurant in Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa) and sipping English tea, I can't because I don't even have money to have my laundry done. We just had our twice in a year marketing conference the the Hilton, which was three days of non-stop eating. I gained one pound that I instantly lost after I rejoined the famished real world. So that was fun. Pictures to be posted later.

School. After careful considerations of either to transfer to Silliman or to stop for a while, I'm now a second year law student. Sigh. 

Hair. I should write a longer post for this. Just last week I was invited to visit a newly opened salon in Strand Tower near Paseo in Mabolo, Cebu City (of course, but I'll have to put the city assuming that this blog is global). The owners, siblings Sheila Apawan Marylou Suson, were ultra nice that they did my hair, my nails, and my feet for free. Ruel Torres, the stylist, colored my hair first in deep merlot and then applied maraschino-cherry red highlights. That made me happy. And so I went out of the salon with the feeling that I'm wearing a halo. Everybody like it. But not the guard in the law and business school building. He said there is a standing school policy disallowing "neon" colored hair. I want to scream to him that "THIS IS NOT NEON IDIOT! THIS IS DEEP MERLOT WITH MARASCHINO-CHERRY RED HIGHLIGHTS! SAY THAT AGAIN! IDIOT!" But what can I do? He has a gun. The following day, I talked to the school officers and they told me to tone it down, which I did. But I still have my hair in red. More about this later.

Life? My skin is drying up for the lack of sleep. Since last week, I've been going home by 4:00 in the morning due to excessive drinking. I know, this is bad. But all famous people have a problem with alcohol. Not that I'm famous. 

That's all for now.

Bear with me

I'm experimenting. So don't panic if this blog acts a little weird. 

Twitter

I'm studying Twitter. I received several annoying emails before about this, and being technology-challenged as always, they failed to get my attention. But when Time magazine released its issue on 100 most influential people of the world this year and the creators of Twitter were included and the fact that Aston Kutcher wrote the article about them and Twitter (being a Twitter addict as he is), my views changed. I should study Twitter. I should get Twitter. And now, I'm twitting!

Equestrian dream

I've always wanted to do horseback riding. Really. It's a wish akin to that of me becoming a world figure. I remember staring at my cousin's picture of him at a horse's back.

Last June 2, 2009 some members of the Cebu media and local wedding planners were invited by the Unchuan family, owner of Cebu White Sands resort in Maribago, in their approximately forty-hectare farm, the Molave Wood Farm and Stables in Barili. We were treated to a feast prepared by no less than the charming Marissa Unchuan, a reputed figure in Cebu's culinary scene, set beside the farm's natural spring. We were joined by Paquito Unchuan ang Anya, their daughter. 

Aside from the breathtaking sight of almost a thousand mango trees, ostriches, sheep and fowls among other animals, what really caught my attention were the gorgeous Thorough Bred race horses. Their stance was amazing. They suggest power and beauty.

Of course, I did not let the day pass without hopping on to one. And she was Lady Starbucks in all her regal brown beauty. Horseback riding at last. It's like I did that in the past, like royals reviewing their troops, despite feeling a little fidgety after doing it again centuries later.

Hopefully, this will be the start of this blog's rejuvenation. I'm still working on the improvements.

Signing-on soon

The reason why I didn't have this blog updated since ante-deluvian age is that I find the layout disastrous, save for the fact that I don't have anything of value for humanity to write about. But there is something about blogging that allows my soul to breathe. There is something about making the world know of my daily struggles, joys and aspirations that seems therapeutic. Aside from that, it feels oh so good to know that I am read despite the fact that this blog is the Internet's version of Payatas.

Because of that, I shall either improve this blog's forsaken layout or transfer to another blog site for a fresh start. My problem with Blogger is its very limited template. I want to customize it a little bit more, but my computer skill is depressing. Perhaps I'll start by asking people around. Whatever is convenient. At this point, I need to study my options (as if this such a crucial decision to make). 

That's all for now.

I passed!

And so, Bantayan it was! I think I'd rather post a photo-essay something to do it justice. But the thing is, God is so good that when I checked my grades the day after Easter, I passed all my subjects! My Crim II grade just made it to the edge, so is my Oblig. But it's still a feat considering my reputation as an alcoholic, my countless absences and perhaps I am the only person in San Carlos Law without books whatsoever. Haha. That's all. This summer is amazing!

Summer yet again

Second semester just ended. At last! Now, I can really smell summer. I remember the scent of dry grass and the sight of bald acacias in Silliman. But this summer, let the fun be in Bantayan. I can't wait!

Thin

I hate it when people remark that I'm getting thinner. Heck! When was the last time you saw me gained weight? I know I'm skinny. I'm thin. I'm underweight. Whatever. But please, your body don't look good either!

Thirty seconds (or more) french kiss

I'm supposed to post another topic, but this is too juicy to put on hold.

Aiken, the consummate Brilliant Bum artist (from painting, fashion design, dance, music...the list goes on) will be on-stage tonight at the Woodward little theatre in Silliman University to render a 30-second (or more) french kiss for the play "Esprit de Corps" from the writer (I'm too lazy to google the name) of "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros." Aiken said that its a one-act play with only two performers, meaning, with the guy he will "do" it with. Its a gay-story, for sure, about military comrades.

But OMG, 30-seconds! French kiss! The audience of course was in a delightful state of shock. How I wish I'm in Dumaguete back again.

Lola

Last Saturday, I went to the island paradise of Bohol, not to frolic along its beaches in cream shorts but to visit my ailing paternal grandmother who might be living the last of her days. She's 93, almost a centenarian.

Of her age, her memory is perfectly sharp. If not because of the accident that broke her bone somewhere, she could just be fine. Now, she's on bed. She finds it difficult to speak. 

But one thing is sure though. She was so happy to see me. Haha. I mean, she really called up my name and cried after seeing me--after three years. Apparently, I'm still the apple of her eyes. Haha. And I love her. 

We have a nurse!

Oh yes, before its too late. Every Brilliant Bum's heart swells with pride upon hearing the news that Lovely, Mutley, Gale (this girl has a lot of names) is now registered nurse! Congratulations deary!

Best dress

I disagree with Michiko. I still think that Penelope Cruz wore the best dress during the 81st Oscars. It's a Balmain vintage ball gown. I love the delicateness of the fabrics and the subdued richness of the cream-colored embroidery. So dreamy. Sigh.

Money, money, money

Just as I turned the television this morning, the screen flashed: 

NEVER SPEND YOUR MONEY BEFORE YOU HAVE EARNED IT. -Thomas Jefferson

It was like a splash of cold water. And for someone who has no financial education, it took me sometime to ponder on its wisdom. My life is always dictated by two very important dates. Fifteen and thirty. Those are the days of the month that I truly live. In between those, I'm dead!

Loft's penthouse

I'm not really a fan of Loft in Asiatown I.T. Park in Lahug. But last night was interesting.

After having some frenzied conversation over some bottles of beer at East, West in the The Walk (still in I.T. Park), Jaycee, Pau Rich, Michelle and me decided to go to the Loft. (Tina and Ren-Ren went earlier and Albert, Jaycee's beau had to report for work) I have to accompany Michiko to her apartment first because the belle apparently didn't know the Saturday night rule: Never go out with slippers on (even if its made entirely of malleable gold) not unless your mother sent you out to buy salt at the next door neighbor's sari-sari store. 

So Jaycee and Paulie went ahead. After Michiko and I braved the long walk, we went inside Loft's poorly ventilated interiors with its incredulously load sound system. No Jaycee and Paulie was in sight, until they "descended" after I texted them. The "guys" already had some fun at the Loft's penthouse. I never knew it existed. And I like the place. 

The comfortable couches are all on the sides, the interior is very industrial, and people just love to stay and gyrate on the big (I mean not so big) dance floor. The crowd is okay. There's a bunch of foreigners. And with the help of efficient ventilation (party goers are dragons in case they might have forgotten) the place could be better.

Verna is back!

Just finished my exams for the pre-finals. I think I did fine with Obligations and Contracts and Constitutional Law. Criminal Law? Omg batman! Heaven rescue me! 

Mommy Verns just sent a message. She's back in Cebu now after hibernating in Leyte to let the wounds of her recent surgery heal. For those of you who may not know, about a month a ago, Bergie was hospitalized to remove her inflamed appendix. It was rather a blessing in disguise as the doctors also found some cysts resting somewhere in her ovaries. I think she lost one of her ovaries and I told her that its good for her because she'll only have her period every other month. She can do more philandering. Haha.

As you see, of all the Brilliant Bums, Verna has this close connection with knives, surgeons and hospitals. Better learn to hate them mommy.

Apparently, the lady is well now. See you soon mommy. 

Agus

Guess who I found in the blogosphere? Yes, its Agus, the Indonesian journalist.

Summer

Haha. I like it when Mich prods me to write. Promise, this I will refrain from posting gibberish and bitter posts. Oh well, I think you'll just have to live with the "gibberish" part.

It's summer people! Summer! And I couldn't wait for the Brilliant Bums' reunion in Bantayan (after we realized that Boracay is way too expensive--we're such a practical bunch you know). I think I have dye my hair once again--either glorious copper or red (I prefer the latter. Kris and James watch out!). I'm also planning to get a cream colored short shorts (with a big fold on the helm) which I think will good with a cheese-cloth collared-shirt and brown leather sandals--so beach perfect.

I'm also planning to paint, cook, and just do anything good this summer. Haha. Hand me my sunblock please! 

Lost

Michiko is right. I (and we for that matter) seriously have lost my energy to blog. But god knows how I tried but failed, many times, to stare at my computer screen waiting for the proverbial sweats of blood to trickle down from my head. Is it because nothing in my mundane existence warrants a blog post for the wold to know? Or is it just because my brain is too dry to let our a bloody sweat?

News? We'll, I'm trying to "go back" to school. My latest exam results are depressing. Really, they alarm me. Work? I'm not at my best for a year now. I'm stagnant. I'm not growing. Not a single facet of my life is progressing. Im lost again.

New look

Not because it's the start of the year, but I decided to change my blog template for a practical purpose. Before, I find it aesthetically pleasing to keep my body font to the minimum...to the dis-ease of my friends who are not blessed with a 20-20 vision, especially when Michelle, my Michiko, alarmed me that she needed the aid of a magnifying glass to read my previous post. In fact, I must say that this forsaken blog owes its existence to Michiko and to my friends who are rather obliged to read my otherwise gibberish thoughts. 

But people, I tell you, I am not happy with my new template. I just think that the sans serif fonts are cold virtually bereft of the grace of the serifs. But I must make use of it. After all "substance" (if there is such a thing in this blog while my vanity tells me that there is) is supreme over pointless aesthetics. 

Point is, this blog needs resuscitation.

Magnet of love

How the wooden image of a child survived and remained unscathed after a fire that reduced four hundred huts to ashes five centuries ago remains a mystery attributed only to the divine.

Every devotee knows if not familiar of the miraculous story on how the Spanish soldier Juan Camus found the image of the Christ Child in a wooden box among native idols in one of the burnt houses on April 28, 1565. The image has a very Caucasian feature that resembles images made in Flanders (an area occupying most of modern-day Belgium) during that period. It was in fact the very image that Portuguese explorer (supported by the Spanish Crown) Ferdinand Magellan gave Hara Amihan (christened Juana) after her baptism to Christianity together with her husband Rajah Humabon (christened Carlos) together with 800 of their subjects.

The song to Sto. Niño, celebrates how the Christ Child chose to stay in this soil, gave the native people a name, and brought them in the light of the Gospel. In fact the song likens the Sto. Niño to a magnetic stone that attracts an outpouring of love and devotion.

Every January, Cebu (also given the title La Villa del Santissimo Nombre de Jesus or the City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus) swells with people—locals and transients alike—to witness age-old rituals that symbolize devotion to the Holy Child as well as a manifestation and reminder of the precepts of the Catholic faith.

The feast of the Sto. Niño does no stop at the mardi gras on the third Sunday of January. Colorful church rituals and traditions are observed before and after the feast and Sun.Star Plus & Special rediscovers them.

Novena

Devotees to the Sto. Niño hear, without a miss, attend the nine-day mass in His honor.

“A novena is a common tradition of the church. It is believed continuous and fervent prayers to God can win his favor,” said Fr. Rudy Bugna, OSA, rector of the Basilica de Sto. Niño.

Devotees complete the novena to fulfill a “panaad” (promise) and to appeal before the Sto. Niño their supplications and their wishes. “What is important is not more on the getting your wishes fulfilled but the act of worshipping God,” Fr. Bugna said.

Fluvial procession
While the tradition of the fluvial procession to in honor of the Sto. Niño has ancient roots, it is only in the 1980s that it was institutionalized by the Basilica, said Fr. Bugna.

The person responsible for its institutionalization is Fr. Ambrosio Galindez, OSA, former rector. It reenacts the historic reception of the King and Queen of Cebu of the image of the Sto. Niño now played by the hermano and hermana mayor.

Before that, the image of the Sto. Niño accompanied by his mother the Lady of Guadalupe is transported to the parish of St. Joseph in Mandaue for the ceremonial visit to the foster-father, St. Joseph after the Misa de Translacion at the Basilica. The images stay overnight in the national shrine of St. Joseph and then transported to the Ouano Wharf in Mandaue for the fluvial procession on the morning of the vesperas.

The Sto. Niño is transported by a “galleon” accompanied by a flotilla.

Helicopters hover the Mactan Channel releasing confetti and petals to the fleet below. On the other end, at Cebu’s pier devotees await the arrival of the Sto. Niño lighting candles, firing fireworks, and freeing balloons to the air. At the sight of the sight of the fleet, Sun.Star once reported, ships’ horns and sirens as well as drum-beats fill the air.

Procession

Observed during the afternoon of the vesperas, the image of the Sto. Niño passes through the streets of Cebu carried by a magnificent carroza that is bedecked with flowers. The streets swell with people who follow the procession and bring with them their own images of the Sto. Niño while murmuring prayers.

“The procession is a penitential rite. You are supposed to join with the walk and not just become a mere spectator,” said Fr. Bugna.

The first procession for the Sto. Niño happened when Legazpi ordered that the image be enthroned on the first church to be built. In a report by Vincent Sandoval in 2001 published in Sun.Star, on the occasion of the enthronement, a solemn foot then fluvial procession took place capped by a Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Andres de Urdaneta.

This year, the foot procession follows a five-kilometer route, said Fr. Bugna.The rosary, said in different local and foreign languages, is recited by devotees who await the arrival of the image to the Basilica. At certain intervals, the gozos is solemnly sung and together they wave their hands in supplication with the line “Kanamo malo-oy ka unta nga Kanimo nangilaba.”

After that, a High Mass is said attended by countless faithful. As the final benediction is given, the familiar beating of the drums fills the Basilica and the faithful are asked to perform and offer the traditional or religious Sinulog.“After completing the penitential walk, the faithful now has a reason to celebrate by dancing to the Sto. Niño and everybody can dance!” Fr. Bugna said.Truly, each dance step is offered in earnest prayer for the devotee, family and community.

Hubo

Hubo, or the changing of vestments of the Sto. Niño is done a week after the feast.During the ritual done within a mass, a replica of the Sto. Niño, the Sto. Niño de Perigrino (or the pilgrim image housed in the Basilica’s museum), is undressed, bathed with water, and then donned with new vestments.First the crown, the orb and the scepter are removed, then the cape, then the tunic and inner vestments.

-

For each vestment removed, an appropriate prayer is intoned.Thousands of devotees flock to the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica to attend the mass and witness the ritual bringing with them containers for the water used to bath the image with. Devotees believe that the water has mystical powers to cure ailments.“During the Hubo, the Sto. Niño reminds us to let go of our bad habits and abandon our sins,” said Fr. Bugna.Fr. Bugna warns the faithful to look at the meaning of these rituals and reflect on these.

“Like the Sto. Niño, we should not focus on the image but on the faith and devotion to God.”Moreover, Fr. Bugna said that the Sto. Niño didn’t just remain a little child. “He grew up to become Jesus Christ who stood firm for his convictions, who stood firm for the truth.” In the Sto. Niño, Christ presents himself as meek, venerable, and dependent to the will of the Father. Perhaps it is this venerability that attracts devotees to gaze upon those little eyes.

-

Indeed, the Sto. Niño is a magnet of love.

*Pictures taken from Sun.Star Cebu archives

Bonne Annee!

It's 2009. Meaning, I need to sort out my life. Think big. And amass a lot of money. More posts to come to redeem my insufficiency last December. 

Anzani

There's this newly opened, outrageously exquisite restaurant, Anzani, and champagne bar Bellini operated by chef Marco Anzani and his wife restaurateur Kate Dychangco-Anzani. The sleek interiors of Anzani, its fabulous wine cellar, and the breathtaking panoramic view of Bellini Bar is just amazing. So good, it deserves my pose! Haha. (I'm a camwhore, don't expect me to write about food. But the pizza was amazing too.)

Photography: Allan Defensor

MacBook, Sitti and Richard Poon

While someone takes pride about making me feel bad about myself, I couldn't help but drown myself with blessings and bask under the glorious rays of my luck! November 2008 has been great.

Ladies and gentlemen, who can be luckier than me when I won a brand new MacBook? Oh yes, my grin defied normal muscle reflex when Jude Bacalso called my name as the winner of the top raffle price during PLDT MyDSL’s media launch of their newest campaign for Cebu featuring Nikki Taylor held in Vudu Prive. (Okay, that’s what you call run-off sentence. Haha! Point is I won.) They still have to ship my baby and I can’t wait to touch it with my dainty hands! It wasn't really supposed to be mine, but the supposed to be MacBook winner went earlier than the rest. Ergo, it pays to party.

When I received the invitation with the picture of the MacBook, I told myself it was destined to be mine. I told Girlie. I told Logane. And they were just as shocked after they learned the news. There can be no doubt, the power of positive thinking really works! I even have to skip classes just to claim my luck!

You see Ronald, everyone now in our row has our own laptop! Haha! I no longer need to bring a typewriter inside the classroom.

Next luck, an interview with Sitti, the Bossa queen, and a duet with Richard Poon!

Sitti was fabulous. Sweet. Charming. I don’t know, but I think Bossa was created to wait for her birth. It’s just like nobody’s voice, even the Bossa of yesteryears that I’ve heard, could compliment to that music genre more than Sitti’s voice does. And when she dances, it’s like her body is singing too!

And Richard Poon. I liked him the first time I saw him in television. But TV exposure didn’t do him justice.

The voice? Unlike sometimes boring standard singers, Richard teases you, tempts you, sometimes even shocks you! The guy has more than inborn talent (which he got from his soprano mother), he has superb ears and keen musicality.

The news? During his final song, he approached our row and directed the microphone to me. So, I sung with him!

Before that, my officemates jokingly asked me to go to stage while he was doing sound-check to sing with him. My quick response was: I will only sing with him if he will go down the stage and ask me to sing.

And today, I got free facials! Haha! Be careful what you wish for because you’ll ultimately get it! And I’m glad I did.

Balamban

Tell me, how do these pictures make you feel?As my limited eyesight can only see the facade of Cebu's mountains, I didn't realized how scenic and beautiful those ranges are until yesterday when we cross-cut the tall lands from the city to Balamban on the other side to attend Southern Industrial Gases Phils., Inc.'s ground breaking ceremony for their billion-peso-worth air separation unit (ASU). Promise guys, there's more to Mountain View and I just discovered a perfect spot to drink a barrel of beer while beholding the sight of city sans the air pollution. I'm bad at describing things. Let's just go there.

Photography: Arni Aclao