Buhay Pandemia: A Comma, Not A Period.

“The end of the year is usually a period, another sentence starts. But for this year, I feel the holidys were just a comma in the paragraph of my life. The quicker I  continue where I left off, the better I feel.” My tweet earlier.

But I will still indulge in some 2021 navel-gazing.  Work was good, despite the pandemic. I felt I was on top of my game. I guess the Boss agreed to, as he gave me a promotion. 

Personal projects accomplished. The series Daddy Love shoot was Jan 4 and 5 last year. First ep launched in heyPogi around end of Feb (my birthday). Then the edited YouTube cuts followed. I was happy just to break even, as this was just a story I wanted told. I am ecstatic that the series did better than expected. Even ending with Rex Lantano getting a Best Actor nomination. Wow.

I finally have our ancestral land in Cavinti, Laguna transferred in my name. This was a promise I made to my father before he passed. I was blessed to have met good people who helped me in the process. 

We finally had our first harvest of rice from Fierro Farm in Cabangan in November. And it was good tasty rice! 

The new condo along Roxas Blvd. was turned over in February 2021. I finally finished renovation and furnishings last week. So satisfied with how it turned out. 

Physically, I peaked around June last year. It was a home-gym body that I was proud of, proud enough to have it captured on photos professionally. LOL. Then downhill since then. I had to stop lifting weights mid-November as my rotator cuff injury worsened. I tried being plant-based for 7 months. But my blood chem results did not show any difference. So I am back to enjoying meat. Just in time for the holidays.  

I also stopped my daily weigh-ins. I know I will be in for a shock (and disappointment) once I resume by Monday. Ugh. 

Two new cars for the year. One is a company-issue. The other is my personal car. I got to replace Simply Red (my Mx5) with an equally fun, quirky vehicle, Mini C (Mini Cooper S). And I am enjoying driving again. 

But going back to my original thought… a lot of projects are ongoing, year in and year out. Hence, there are no periods, just other punctuation marks. 

The Cabangan resort is opening up to guests. With a few more enhancements, I should be ready for full AirBnB listing. 

And speaking of opening up, I opened up to some team mates about being gay. It happened when they visited the resort. They so appreciated my candor and trust. And I felt so good being able to tell them about my truth.

I am eager to get back to where I left off: work, my personal projects, even working out and keeping fit.  And all the challenges that 2022 has in store for me, bring these on!

Buhay Pandemya: “The Chosen” Seasons 1 and 2

Photo lifted from Brian Jennings Blog. 

I finished watching Season 2 of this crowd-funded series. And yup, I did my part by ‘paying forward’ as well. LOL

I have to say that I am impressed with this “creative” take of the life of Jesus. Emphasis on “creative” - the director/producer uses much creative licenses to dramatize and humanize. And it is focused more on the humans around Jesus, the humans he chose to be his apostles, followers, etc. Parang Humans around Jesus LOL 

I believe the series started production in 2019 thereabouts. They have produced 2 seasons with a goal of producing 7 seasons and reaching a billion people around the world. (They are at +300M views.) I found about it from my Ate as she excitedly shared this to the family. 

I love the series! As a Catholic watching this series produced by an Evangelical Christian (Dallas Jenkins), I can only say - congratulations for pulling this off! I actually believe that only a non-Catholic could actually pull this off (and I say this with much affection for the Roman Catholic church). His creative licenses would have needed approvals all the way up to the Vatican (Nihil Obstat). And judging by the way he wove the stories, I think the Church might find some ‘objectionable’! But he wanted this to be inclusive, and authentic. He consulted with many sources, including Catholic priests, Greek orthodox, Jewish rabbi, etc. In the end, he has succeeded in creating a story that is both inspiring and enjoyable.

At many parts, I was actually moved to shedding some tears. Some stories resonated deeply: Peter’s conversion, the disabled ‘thief’ living in the fringes. I enjoyed the ‘extremist’ plot line of Simon the Zealot. (That was something I didn’t know!) I also found myself amused that Dallas incorporated some storylines that have always intrigued me. (Jesus and John the Baptist calling each other cousins). And hurrah for racial inclusivity, people of color being cast! (I could swear there were Asians there, too.)  There is also something so contemporary about the dialogues (which might raise some eyebrows). But on deeper analysis, concerns of two thousand years ago may not have been very different from today.

I like the choice of Jonathan Roumie as Jesus. His eyes convey compassion and authority.  His demeanor is relatable (very ‘human) yet stately. Again, a refreshing take on the Jesus as story character.

It’s not perfect. Some episodes do drag out as the stories of the  ‘humans’ have to be fleshed out (pun intended). That Roman Praetor Quintus seemed a tad like a caricature of an evil, scheming villain. Some familiar New Testament events that were linked together seemed ‘incredulous’. 

But these are minor bleeps. The series deserves support (yes, monetary as well) and promotion. I hope to see this series completed and its loft ambitions reached!

Buhay Pandemya: DL continues

I just finished writing the first draft of Book 2 of Daddy Love. It just feels so satisfying to commit to a task and see it through. The reception to the Web Series just overwhelms me. I still can’t believe that the crazy idea would resonate (and pay for itself). I had to make sure the story continues.

I took it another route. I decided to write it myself, as a short novel (ok, even I am cringing at that label. Di ko dasarv. Let’s call it a long story.) There were other themes I wanted to wove into it. So I challenged myself to just write and write. 

It was, at times, so cathartic for me. I found myself angry, ashamed, burdened as I banged away on the keyboard. That in itself is already a reward. Putting into words some of those experiences. Giving voice to some thoughts I have locked away.  

And I chose to write in Filipino, despite having poor command of the language. Somehow, I felt that the story unravels better in Filipino. 

I printed it. Call me old-fashioned. I even used scratch A4 paper. Finally found use for all that paper lying around. Hahaha. And I will reread it and write my notes. 

Will it be produced? I honestly have not made up my mind. I still need to muster the resources and the will power to that all of that again. And I have so many mistakes from that first series that I would have to learn from. 

For now I relish the feeling of completing something. Cheers!

Buhay Pandemya: Going Mental

After a year and a half of this pandemic, and intermittent lockdowns, I have come to realize the impact on my mental health. During lockdowns, I become extremely horny, as in crazy horny. As I am forced to stay put for weeks on end, my libido goes on overdrive. I consume porn (though just like a drug, tolerance increases. It takes much more to turn me on.) And I end up buying sex toys online. 

I’ve always been curious about them. But with the lockdown and the convenience of online shopping (Nasa Lazada yarn!) I am suddenly adding to cart. I won’t go into the details. The reality is that some of those toys still fail to satisfy.

But I did find something that finally agrees with me. LOL. Hands free cup. With varying frequencies. LOL. So I am trying to control myself from getting addicted. LOL (Just like Charlotte and her “Rabbit” in an ep of SATC). Kinda pricey though. But I’d have to say it’s worth it. Sorry. No unboxing video. HAHAHA. 

Buhay Pandemya: Unfinished Business.

MECQ extended till Sep 7. That’s a Tuesday. It is quite odd that they would choose to end middle of the week. They usually end, or start, these lockdowns on weekends. Methinks it has something to do with Ghost Month, as it ends when new moon appears… yup, Sep 7. LOL 

The OC in me is using this long weekend to finally finish Bionic Woman Season 1. I bought the boxed set DVD abroad about 5 or 6 years ago. Bionic Woman, as was Charlie’s Angels, was special to me. The beks in school idolized her. She was strong. She was invincible. She was flat-chested. Lol. That was, I believe, part of the reason I idolized her. She was not in the Miss America mold (as her contemporary Lynda Carter was). I bought the Season 1 DVD to bring back memories. And realized what a chore it was to watch. The story line, the production, the writing. Ugh. But I had to finish it being the OC that I am. I actually feel … guilty for not finishing what I started!

But the satisfaction of finishing … such joy! LOL

I have started very few series that I didn’t finish, guilt-free. One was “The Walking Dead.” I just stopped after the horrifying, particularly gory episode of Steven Yuen’s character’s head being clubbed. I couldn’t take that kind of gore. The other is that BL series last year, My Day. They had to resort to that disgusting scene where the resto servers were ‘compromising’ the food. I’m being gentle here. That just grossed me out.

I have started to watch two old sitcoms: The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Absolutely Fabulous. But I am not able to sustain interest. Yet, I am actually feeling guilty for thinking of not finishing it! LOL. That is why I am very, VERY choosy about which series to watch. I get all these recomms, including koreanovelas. I check out the number of seasons, and episode length. Damn those K-novelas 1hr 20minutes long! 18 to 20 episodes! Ugh.

 I hope that I would be able to feel less guilty about not finishing what I start. Yeah. Rrrright.

Buhay Pandemya: Prayer Life

Since last year, my workouts started with warmups on a stationary recumbent bike. That bike was my dad’s, given by my sister a decade ago. And it is still working and operational. I pray the rosary as I bike. And consistent with my “even wear and tear” mantra, I cycle all my rosaries featured below.

I have also been praying the rosary in Filipino more often as this takes longer. I work up a good sweat. I burn about 100 to 140 calories, depending on speed, effort, etc. But since I don’t workout on Sundays, I join the family (mom, Ate and Bro-in-law) for rosary after Sunday lunch.

Also since lockdown, I have started to pray the Angelus every 6am and 6pm. I don’t remember how I got started. But I do remember sometimes waiting for the church bells (yup, I can hear them from my place) especially in the evening. So it turns out that the Angelus really started out as evening recitation of three Hail Mary’s as the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary. Interesting.

So possibly, I am one of those who have become more ‘prayerful’ during the pandemic. Perhaps it gives me consolation and hope. And I need that during these times.