a one-day break

pc and i are celebrating a half-year of togetherness in Corregidor with his friends. he has been introducing me to his friends lately. and i'm seeing other sides of pc come out. he really has such a diverse groups of friends. something i wouldn't have expected of him. its a pleasant surprise.



the last time i was on this island was when i took this Afam here for a day tour. i did the tour again. and the malinta light and sound show. and i am still moved by that show. i find it very well written and produced. i still feel a lump in my throat as the 'lupang hirang' plays in the end. the sense of patriotism still flows in my blood. which is why i never explored working abroad. i'm really happy here.


this trip is actually a photography excursion for pc and his friends. they are so into it. so we made sure we took the requisite photos of the sunset at battery grubs.


and we did the night time tour of the hospital ruins and the malinta tunnel at night. it was like ghost-hunting. and there was a sense of eerieness as the guide told us of the massacres and the deaths, etc. but all fun in the end.


when we stepped out of the tunnel, it was a clear starry sky! amazing! havent seen so many stars in a long time. i dont know if you could see this, though. it looks like just a photo of nothingness. hehe


we slept early because we had to wake up early for the sunrise photo session this morning. and early meant being up at 445am. i actually woke up even earlier because it was too darn cold and the blanket was really just a flimsy sheet. we made it on time. dawn at the area of the eternal flame (the perfect site for sunrise viewing) was just serene.







back at the hotel, i did a short 5k around the hotel area as pc and friends took their breakfast. trail running is so energizing. i headed out to the wharf in the early sunshine.



and there was this pleasant view...



it was a great one-day break. Corregidor is a great short-trip option for a weekend get-away. don't expect much from the hotel/inn and you will be just fine!

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a modern family (subtitle: i love annette bening)

the kids are all right. yes, they are. even if they are products of in vitro fertilization from some sperm donor. even if they born to a lesbian couple. even if that couple faces some tough relationship issues like parenting, like infidelity.

it's a good movie. yeah. a feel-good movie. a traditional movie wrapped in a very non-traditional packaging.

made me think of the many definitions of family. of what it means to be a parent, a father.

a small part of me is curious about how my offspring would look. how he or she might turn out. it's really vanity more than anything. yet it was enough for me to consider surrogacy.

but honestly, i don't have that nurturant gene, i suppose. i know friends who seem to have that. and one could see an earnest desire to raise a family. all i have is curiosity. and that's certainly not compelling enough to really pursue having kids.

and besides, i wouldn't want my kid to go through a possibly difficult childhood because of his/her parent's sexuality. it is a jungle out there, of bullies and righteous folk. just imagine what the kid will go through when people find out that the parent/s is/are gay.

so the movie presents a 'normal' face to this modern family. kids are well adjusted. they are straight. and they have their buddies and their teenage issues. all is well. the movie focuses on some other family issue that threatens to destabilize - getting acquainted, too well at some point, with the sperm donor/biological parent.

i'm cynical, thinking that being raised by gay parents could not lead to 'normal' childhood. but i could be very wrong. i know of a gay couple (homosexual) who are raising this beautiful daughter (now 8yo). and she is really beautiful. and they made sure she is always beautiful. and smart. she doesn't seem to have issues. and she just accepts her two dads. and she is popular in school, doing quite well.

another friend of mine has a lover who is raising a son as a single parent. and the kid, a boy this time, also looks happy and 'nurtured'. even as he is introduced to different 'titos" (the different boyfriends his father has had). well, he is 6yo now. and also seems to be doing fine.

'seems to be doing fine' notice the caution in my tone. i still fear that soon, in their young lives, the sexuality of their parents will become an issue, a concern. i hope to be proven wrong eventually.

and on another note.


annette bening. i feel she deserves an oscar, soon. she was great in 'american beauty'. classy in 'love affair'. i love the restrain i see so much in her acting. yet the emotions are as palpable, as real.

she's nominated for this film, yet again. but i think she still won't get that oscar. maybe next time, she won't be up against hillary swank or natalie portman.

cheap this way

i've been regularly going to Jollibee lately. as in almost every week. the staple is the barbeque chicken which i reckon to be less sinful (less oily?) than fried chicken. and this is because if the BPI cards promo tie-up of Jollibee and BPI (that ended Feb 7, 2011).


the consumer in me, the cheapskate, too, simply adores the promo. use your Credit or ATM card and avail of Jollibee freebies. P2,000 single purchase merits a jollibee 1-pc chicken meal. for P5,000, one gets two 1-pc chicken meal + yumburger. P10,000 entitles one to a 6-pc chicken bucket! i've always collected my transaction receipts anyway. and with so many Jollibee outlets anyway, redeeming is a cinch!

i was disappointed when it ended. but it was quickly replaced by a promo with Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and Taco Bell!



as a marketing person, i wouldnt think im exactly the demographic who would go for this promos. but then again, im a psychographic, rather than demographic segment. i'm a value shopper. and the promo represents true added value because of the ease of earning the reward and the convenience of redemption.

Free fast food that is easily accesible and available is compelling enough for me. i actually become conscious of the transaction value that i end up adding another item or two in my basket of goodies to reach the minimum.

for a while there, i have been on cash basis, thinking that it didnt matter much if i used my credit card or not. but the promo has made me think twice about using my cash, especially if there is no additional discount for cash transactions anyway. their database people must have seen the jump in my credit purchases.

they also adequately communicated the program (standees in the partner retailers, posters in their branches, launch print ads). and i was attracted ti find out more.

i find the program a good one. now how do i implement that for my products?


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exasperated, frustrated

18 weeks i consulted the nutrition counselor. 18 weeks of tediously writing down my food intake. there was steady but slow progress towards my goals. on the 17th week, i was at 18.8% body fat. my lowest ever. with only one week to go, she was telling me to go for gold and achieve at least 17.9% body fat. i still had one more week. for three consecutive weeks, i had been dropping body fat percentages anyway. i was so motivated. Go for Gold!

i ran 25kms for the week. completed all my weight training. added more sets to my daily abs workout. there was NO way i would NOT achieve that. my schedule became hectic. so i decided that skipping some snacks would help the body fat burn. there were longer periods between meals. i cut calories drastically.

i was excited to get measured again. the last weigh-in.

the numbers numbed me. my body fat% went up to 19.8% again. though my weight remained the same, the fat composition adjusted upward and there was some loss of muscle.

i was livid. my nutritionist told me that she actually saw it coming when she received my journal for the week. she found my calorie intake so erratic. it was like i became too conscious of the calories. and my body adjusted by conserving fat.

the body is never a simple machine. it isn't just a calorie equation. the body takes in many other factors as it tries to adjust. skipping snacks, the long durations when i wasn't consuming any calories was one wrong move. with all the energy expenditure i was doing, my body just went into immediate conservation mode, thinking i might need my energy reserves soon.

so much effort. yet results are wanting. im tired. frustrated.

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The Fabulous Blogs the Fabcasters Listen to

The Fabcasters' Fifteen Favorite Fab Blogs of 2010
(in alphabetical order)

Blog Name (URL)
1. Back in the Closet (http://backinthecloset.blogspot.com)
2. Baklang Maton (http://baklangmaton.blogspot.com)
3. Chuvaness (http://chuvaness.com)
4. City Buoy (http://citybuoy.blogspot.com)
5. Discreet Manila (http://discreetmanilablog.blogspot.com)
6. Hot Men in the Philippines (http://rddantes.com)
7. I am Fickle Cattle (http://ficklecattle.blogspot.com)
8. Jessica Rules the Universe (http://www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com)
9. Lexuality (http://lexuality.com)
10. Mandaya Moore (http://mandayamoore-orlis.blogspot.com)
11. Misterhubs (http://misterhubs.blogspot.com)
12. The Bakla Review (http://thebaklareview.blogspot.com)
13. The Professional Heckler (http://professionalheckler.wordpress.com)
14. Tiggah's Life in Random (http://tiggahslife.com)
15. Tristan Tales (http://tristantales.com)

A Confession. I contributed LEAST to this LIST. I rarely get the free time to follow up on blogs. I even have difficulty reading my fellowfab's blogs! So I really have to hand it to the my fellowfabs for reading and appreciating all these blogs!

But of course, I participated in the chikahan pa rin! Nakikisingit! hehe

PART 1

Download this fabcast (right click and save)


PART 2

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Egg Nog Crave

the egg nog - cold december saturday mornings. tatay would whip up egg nog drinks for us. he'd beat egg whites stiff before mixing the yolk. then he'd pour that in a glass of warm condensed milk with water. he'd top it with a drop of vanilla concentrate. and i'd taste christmas.

last december, i happened to be in alabang and pc told me to drop by Bona Coffee shop. i saw they were promoting egg nog then but i needed my caffeine fix.

so i had this craving for egg nog stirred inside me.

i happened to be in alabang today. and i hurried over to Bona to finally satisfy that desire. i panicked when i saw that there was no promo poster anymore.

but sweet owner (cute tisoy type) was at the cashier as i looked for egg nog. as barista was about to say 'sorry', he nudged him and told him that yes, egg nog was stil available.

he whipped it up as i waited. and the scent of vanilla filled the air.

im in the car now, enjoying my egg nog, remembering days past, loving my tatay and thanking cute tisoy for indulging me.

Bona Coffee in Alabang. <3


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wisdom in little doses

ive been doing some catching up on movies i have missed, thanks to pc. memoirs of zhang zhiyi. check. the other boleyn whore (hey it was queen catherine's remark!). check. eat pray flirt. checking.

i found my eyes rolling as julia roberts' character encounters this italian chambermaid as she discusses taking a bath. and as she explains, some words of wisdom just come out of her mouth, prompted by julia's concern on scaffolding ceiling holding up. "the only thing permanent in life is family.". and there it was. a clue to how her life should untangle!

why is it that scriptwriters inject these aphorisms into the lips of these mainless characters? and these are blurted out during the most mundane moments? and it happens even in Pinoy movies!

if life was like that, ill have to be extra attentive to each and every encounter with ordinary folk! the solution to life's problems may just be with the next tindera or security guard!

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three hotels

i was in three different hotels in three consecutive days. from one nice suite to another. different levels of service. three different lobby designs.

but the same scene: the senior citizen caucasian and his filipina lady escort. sometimes the tourists come as buddies. and they have breakfast with their dates.

the lady escorts dress up similarly at breakfast. in sandos and pekpek shorts and flipflops. and their long hair up in a bun, not so tidy but i guess sexy to their dates.

i dont mean to eavesdrop. but i overhear the same english-speaking styles (or attempts).

and the same look of boredom. yeah. boredom. they dont actually engage their dates in conversation. sometimes they don't even look at each other. the lady escorts play with their food. and wish they were somewhere else.

and somehow, that makes me feel sad.