HERE, THERE and EVERYWHERE

Now you can talk to me about Buffy (well, except for Season 4). I finally got to see the series finale. Starting this week, my Thursday nights will never be the same again.

In between the calls to cancel my credit and ATM cards, typing of affidavit of loss, nagging from my mom to immediately do all of the above, horrendous traffic, and a paella that gave my boy allergies, there were some redeeming moments to my birthday:

Following a video-instructed yoga
Texts from a long-lost friend
Browsing through a vintage flea market
Buying myself a pet plant
Receiving a gift that I finally liked from my boy's mom

I'm juggling between happy or sad. Last night I saw Reg for the first time since he got back. I dragged him to the spa then straight to an expensive dinner. In between the spa and the restaurant, I somehow lost my wallet. It was 2 hours to midnight when I finally accepted that my cash, credit cards, ATM, discount cards and license were really gone. Happy Birthday to me.

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I lost around P3,000. Three thousand pesos is also the price for a ticket to watch Chad & Jeremy at the Hard Rock Cafe. Even though I never considered paying such a freaking amount for a concert, somehow I feel that God was just reiterating the point. Magpa-aliw nalang sa Aliw Theater.

Chad and Jeremy are still alive and they're coming to town!!! I can't help it. While other people get excited over Blue, I can't wait to see this British pop duo. Never mind if they both have gray hair or if going to their concert means grooving with someone's grandma or grandpa. Just to hear a real 60s act live, and not sung by RJ, more than makes up for that. I can't wait.

(Sorry, baby, you're obviously coming with me.)

My current obsessions:

Blush
Yoga
Baby Blues by Kirkman and Scott (No, I'm not there yet. Just trying to relate.)
The Dead Zone TV series
Kingdom Hospital

Badminton's not exactly an obsession, just something to do to keep from getting bored. At least in a week I'll be out of this rut.

After reading about the infamous trial that convicted Lindy Chamberlain for murdering her baby, I finally get Oz's band name -- Dingoes Ate My Baby.
 
"The whole thing began on the evening of August 17, 1980, while Lindy and Michael Chamberlain and their three children were camped at Ayers Rock, a massive rock formation in the central Australian outback. Lindy began shouting that a dingo had carried off her youngest child, nine-week-old Azaria. Other campers also saw a dingo near the Chamberlain tent. Aborigine trackers found signs that a large dingo had carried a heavy object away from the campsite. There were bloodstains in and on the tent, and several tattered items of the child's clothing were discovered later some distance from the camp. But the body was never found.

An initial coroner's inquest exonerated the Chamberlains and held that the baby had been carried off by a dingo. But police and prosecutors were skeptical that the animal was capable of such a thing, even though there had been dingo attacks at Ayers Rock not long before Azaria's disappearance. They consulted experts and collected enough new evidence that a second inquest was held, this one finding that the child had been murdered. After a widely publicized trial the parents were convicted and the mother spent several years in jail.

Many Australians were outraged. A grassroots campaign to clear the Chamberlains' name began, with a number of scientists and other interested parties devoting a substantial amount of time to examining the prosecution's evidence and undermining its conclusions. In 1987 an official inquiry agreed that the case hadn't been adequately proven. The convictions were quashed and the Chamberlains eventually received $1.3 million compensation.

In the end dingoes weren't officially blamed for Azaria's presumed death--the cause was held to be unknown. But the trial seems to have established that a dingo consuming a baby is at least physically possible."
 
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Last Friday, my mom gave me my salary as an employee of our family corporation, in what capacity I have no idea.  My fate has been sealed.
 
Now I don't know whether I should pursue the job openings I found in the classifieds yesterday.

Mas magaling si Ramona Diaz kaysa kay Michael Moore.

While I was out of town, my boy was apparently the subject of discussion between my grandmother and uncle.  For some reason, my ama thought that Reg was a doctor.  So my cousin straightened it all out:
 
"Hindi sya doctor.  Dad nya lawyer.  Mom nya lawyer (Eh...?).  Sya cartoonist." 
 
Poor baby.  Animator sounds so much better.

Have you ever had a friend who got away?  When it comes to friendships, I'm a sensitive soul.
 
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Just finished compiling an album of old photos -- a gift for my angkong on his 92nd birthday.

That's my late grandmother on the left with a relative.  Yes, I'm a Chinese Igorot.

Coolness.

I'm no fashionista but when I was in the States, Reg and I had fun trying to predict which fashion trends would make it to the Philippines. It's a sad fact but I noticed after my first trip to the US that our fashion simply follows theirs. Well maybe that's just how fashion works. But it was this same principle that I based our issues on back when we had Flair.

I haven't picked up copies of the Cosmo mags (sorry Mega) I've missed since I've gotten back so I don't know which ones have arrived but here goes...

Vintage cartoon or graphic tees:
Not if it's an import. At $20 they're too expensive. Only if local designers start making their own versions. Uh, Batibot?

Mini cheerleader skirts:
Ok, I already saw some 40ish woman wearing this (imagine the legs) even before I left so I'm sure the kids would pick this up. Hey, it's hot and it's short, it'll be hot.

Knitted or crocheted ponchos:
I can imagine this all over the tiangge. Issa Litton was already wearing this a year ago. A good sign.

Slipper thongs:
Tsinelas? Easy.

Chinese beaded mules:
Uck, I hope not.

10 states, 22 rolls of film and 23 rolls of slides later...I'm back.

A recap of my best moments:

Sleeping in a closet

Shopping at the Pasadena flea market
Hiking in Sedona
Strolling in La Jolla
Gay watching in Provincetown

Staying at The Carlton Arms in NY

Living in a real cabin in Virginia

Rafting the Shenandoah River
Drunk people watching at Bourbon St.
Bum watching everywhere
Biking across the Golden Gate Bridge

And some of the worst:

Being asked for an ID when I order a cocktail
Getting sunburned at a graduation
Getting static electrocuted in casinos whenever I hold hands
Staying at the Carlton Arms in NY
Being marked as the "bad guy" (hay, basta)
Being grilled by my aunts as soon as Reg left

Of course, nothing beats travelling with my baby and spending time with old friends.

Punyeta, mukha na ba akong puta?! This old white guy just tried to pick me up in Robinson's Place Malate. He stood alongside me on the escalator even though there was no one in front or back and said "Hi". And he even had the gall to make me feel guilty when I ignored him. "Can't you even say hi?" A sensitive DOM. Go figure.

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And I just found out that the box of Max Brenner chocolates that I thought won its way to my mom's heart was being consumed by the maids. Bwisit.

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It's ironic how the recent Mega event I attended was populated by ex-employees. We hate the company but we're loyal to it.

Bruises on my knees, blisters on my hands, soreness on my fingers. After four sets of 5 consecutive climbs. This time the blisters killed me more than the soreness did.

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I climbed alongside this 4-year old girl -- the youngest kid I've ever seen on the wall. Like I said, any kid can climb a wall.

Lesson #2: Three sets of 5 consecutive climbs in an hour. Not bad. Even though I was told not to exert my muscles (no high steps) and to take it slow (rest as much as possible during the climb -- yes, it's possible). I really think I have better endurance. But I also have more bruises.

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There's a company in the States that organizes your home. I'm not talking about housekeeping but real "hauling your junk and fixing your stuff" work. In the US, an organizer is actually an occupation.

Makes me recall the major organizing I did to the pit I was thrown in at the last company I worked for. I had to fix the area just so I could call the place a cubicle. And I did that on my 3rd day of work.

Now I think I'll just hire out my services.

When you have nothing better to do, you watch the Lifestyle Network.

I'm surprised to find myself regularly checking out what's on at channel 30 whenever I turn on the TV. Aside from the movie and kiddie channels, I used to just surf through Studio 23, AXN, Star World, and the National Geographic. Being a frustrated interior decorator, I like to watch Area, where guest designers transform personal spaces into stylish yet functional areas.

And I can really relate to Clean House, where this team of decorator, organizer, and yard sale guy will help you let go of your junk by selling it in a garage sale and using that money to clean and refurbish your house. Sort of what I do to my room everytime I'm in need of therapy. Unfortunately garage sales aren't the norm here so my junk usually just goes to charity. Then I buy more junk.

The show is so real because you see how people become complacent with how they live just because they cannot bear to part with the stuff they have, even when they don't even use half of it. At times, the team has to convince the owners to get rid of the junk. I can totally relate. I can't remember the number of times I had to sneak throwing stuff for fear that my dad would just get it back from the trash (oh yes, he's done this lots of times). But I know that even though I love to clean, I'm also a victim of harboring junk. The only difference is, my junk's organized.

Then there's The Look For Less and Glow for the kikay in me. And of course, there's Love Chain(where they dissect a star's love life) and It's Good To Be (celebrity)(where they announce a star's income and matching lifestyle) to satisfy my showbiz curiosity.

Of course when there's nothing good on, there's always Oprah.

Kaya pala di ako tumataba. My fats have been going straight to my eyes. It sounds ridiculous but it's true. My eye doctor told me I have Arcus Juvenilis. He says it's nothing to be alarmed about but if I don't change my diet, I'll be a likely candidate for high blood pressure. May naririnig akong tabang pumupunta sa braso, sa bilbil o sa hita. Pero sa mata?!?

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Just came from my first wall climbing session. Compared with my first two uninstructed climbs which left me feeling exhilirated, this one just left me feeling drained. I couldn't even write legibly after that 2-hour session. Heck, I didn't even have the strength to close our van door!

No, I'm not killing myself to get the fat out of my eyes. I just think that there's no point in climbing regularly when you can't even do it properly. I mean, any kid can climb a wall (as evidenced by the bunch of kids going at it when I arrived, complete with the yayas and picnic table). But staying on the wall for a long time is another matter.

I always felt that going at a difficult wall on the first attempt is not really an achievement since your body's not yet warmed up. You won't always have that initial burst of strength under normal circumstances. I lost count but after my 9th or 10th attempt, I couldn't even climb straight to the top anymore without resting. And that was on the easy routes.

I did 4 climbs in 2 hours my first time and 6 the second time around but for 3 hours. It's a test of endurance to climb more for the same number of hours. The number I did this time isn't even worth bragging about. Some 10-year old kid actually did 20 while I was there.

I'm already drained, I'm sure tomorrow I'll feel worse.

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Was that RJ Jacinto I heard singing this to the tune of ABBA's Fernando?:

"Ang garapal ni Angara
ginagamit ka
Fernando."

My dad said I don't know how to use a tube of ointment because I didn't squeeze it from the bottom. May pinagmanahan pala ang pagka-OC ko.

Last night I dreamt that my mom's childhood house in Baguio burned down. I was staring at this spark that was floating in the air and ignited a nearby electrical post. It ran the line until it burst into flames inside the sala. We tried dousing it but eventually just ran out of the house.

Dreams used to fascinate me. One of my worst nightmares was of my two living grandparents dying in two separate dreams in the same night. I woke up scared right after witnessing my ama being blown apart by a speeding train. After saying a silent prayer, I slept again only to watch my angkong die a silent death while sitting in a chair.

That was years ago. And since my angkong's now past 90 and my ama's in the best of health even though she's in her 80s, I've come to believe that those dreams meant that they'd both have a long life. Which is all well considering my brother also dreamt I was hanged by a lynch mob.

The only dream I fear is of a tooth coming loose for this means death. I've always been superstitious so when I did dream of my tooth coming off one time, I didn't speak to anyone when I woke up until I found a living thing to bite. This was supposed to transfer the omen to the thing bit. It took some time but I finally found a plant in our house. I didn't relish biting a stray cat. No one died soon after that so the mojo must have worked.

My brother also dreamt his tooth coming loose one time. I was in Camiguin at that time so he texted me to be careful. Being ever superstitious, I took his warning seriously. It was only months after that incident that he realized that a prodigal uncle died after he had that dream.

Now I wonder what fire means.

A friend has been bugging me to wall climb since last summer. I wasn't really that up to it. I'm the type who'd try something once just for the heck of it and twice if I actually enjoyed it. I've tried wall climbing way back in college and totally sucked at it. Which was pathetic, considering I was an active mountaineer.

But I suddenly found the urge to give wall climbing another shot after watching it done in a movie. Funny how a bit scene in a movie can totally change one's mind.

So I tried it again. It's ironic how I'm better at it now considering the fact that I haven't climbed a mountain for years. And it sure feels good to know that I'm better at it than my brother. That said, I will definitely try it again.

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I will resolve to:

1) Go to the gym twice a week.
2) Do crunches everyday.
3) Wall climb more often.

But only until May.

No matter how many times I tell myself to wake up earlier the following day, I still clock in more than 8 hours of sleep daily. Which is what I did again on the day of the Oscars. I woke up at noon, ate lunch, and checked my friends' blogs. Only when I got to Mel's blog did I realize that I was missing the Oscars. And I even tacked the date on my bulletin board.

So here I am again after watching a replay of the first half of the Oscars. There were no Tom Hanks (read: actors full of themselves) this year, only speech-hoggers. Jack Black and Will Ferrell really nailed it with their hilarious song and dance number. I still can't help but feel sorry for the guy who didn't get a chance to speak because his partner simply talked too much. I'm sure those two won't work on a project again.

And did you notice how many times people said the word "amazing"? It's amazing.

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We discovered the maids watching TV in my brother's room yesterday. It's getting to be irritating considering that they were already caught sitting on my bed watching TV in the middle of the afternoon the last time. Plus the fact that there's a TV in the sala for their disposal.

What's even more irritating this time around is that they left the TV in the sala on while they were watching in my brother's room.

For my brother, it's a security issue. For me, it's more about privacy. It's just disconcerting to think about what they could do when they spend so much time in your room. They could be lying on your bed, rifling through your stuff, heck, even trying on your clothes. You just never know.

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Nakalimutan ko na magkaroon ng kapatid. Matagal nang nawala ang aking kuya at sa kanyang pagbalik, bumalik: kalokohan, kaaway, kakampi, kasama, kaagaw. Kapatid.

I passed up another chance to revive my career in photography. But the worse part is, I was too chicken to make the decision myself whether I wanted to take the project or not. A friend had to do it for me.

It's just so hard to get back on track after years of not shooting with my lights. Even when I was a freelance photographer for 3 years before I resigned myself to a desk job. Even when I still did shoots from time to time in between my normal day job.

Everytime I'd be given a second shot at it, I have to mask my insecurities with queries as to whether I'm the right man for the job. Kailangan pang streamer? Pang 11R lang gamit ko eh. Kailan ng background? Wala akong studio eh. Kailangan sa digital? SLR lang gamit ko eh.

Sometimes I console myself into thinking that it's ok for photography to just be a hobby. I did my stint trying to making money off it and that was a learning experience. But I know I'm meant for other things. But if that's the case, why am I angsting and considering these projects as lost opportunities? And what the hell do I do with my lights?!

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I heard from a photographer friend that medium format cameras are becoming obsolete because of digital. And I almost bought one years ago thinking that I can probably accept more projects if I had one. Good thing I didn't or I'd have those aside from my lights to deal with.

I hope slides won't be replaced anytime soon 'coz my slide scanner hasn't been with me for a year.

Technology can be tiring.