Friday High

#104: Hitler's Night Out

Last night, I went out with my group of High School friends (no, they are not kids who are still in high school. Friends from High School is what I meant). People always find it easier to come together when you ambush them with a text message stating the time and the place of the get-together and the easy question of " Are you in or are you out?" When you take pains to ask everyone when they're free, you end up wanting to munch on Advil. You can never get 8 people or so to say the same day or time. (Unless you enjoy tabulating and computing permutations. Yick.)

So I allowed myself to dictate it. People's Palace, 7:30p.m. "Special Friends are welcome." (Of course I didn't have a "Special Friend" to bring along but I wanted to meet my friends' "Special Friends" so that our little sitcom world can expand.) Silly Mano sends me a message asking if he can bring Special Puto instead. I wanted to kick him. Special Buko Pie would've been better.

To make sure no one arrives an hour late (which I seem to have gotten notorious for. Come on, I'm sorry. I sometimes forget that I am not a workhorse.), I threw in this scheme wherein the last one who arrives pays for the drink of the first one who gets there. (I told them about that policy 2 meters away from the parking entrance. I know it's not really fair but who said life is? Hah. Really, I was so proud of getting there at exactly 7:26pm.) I was already thinking about the most complicated fruit shake known to man when I receive this message saying, "Great! I was just shopping around the area. Let me saunter there and get us a table." Ugh.

The mix for the night was pretty cool. Two single unattached girls (moi and our brainiac from high school), an attached girl-friend beside this guy who courted her back then (too late to rekindle the past but they still look good together in pictures), our gay friend, an engaged couple and this guy-friend of ours who decided to try on the "Dirty-Old-Man-image" for the night by coming in with a girl on each arm.

The food was good. You have to try People's Palace. (Ok, don't let me over-sell it.) Get their Chicken with Cashews, Morning Glory with Pork Crisps, Thai Jasmine Rice, Okra Juice and their lovely lovely Panacotta! Call for reservations since it's so packed that people have to dine in two waves. The interiors are also very nice - modern with clean lines and high ceilings. Color is used sparingly but there's a hint of purple here and there for dramatic effect. (Too bad we were forced to dine al fresco because our group was too large and we didn't have reservations.) Check out their outdoor lounge chairs. Beautiful. (I see problems with functionality especially with the tables being very narrow and being very far from certain sections of the "sofas" but hey, form can refuse to follow function every now and then, right?)

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf will always be the favorite wind down spot. Silly Mano ordered turtle pie (which he ate guiltily but surprisingly very quickly), Contented Cow Fritz (our happily attached girl-friend) snuck in a Haagen Dazs bar from next door, and I, the party-planner/ambusher/dictator, settled into the homey couch with a nice frothy cup of Chai Tea Latte. That's what you call a "high."

Single-Minded

#103: Simple-Minded Single

And my mind curled and whirled at the question he threw at me. A short answer will do no justice to the subject but that was all that the moment required. The words tumbled out of my lips slowly, then in a gush. Very much like my teeth in the dream I had last night wherein they all fell - one by one at first, then the rest all at once with one sweep of my tongue. Each tooth ravaged by an acidic past once thought to be sweet. Irreplaceable but not worth saving.

My perspectives on relationships are quite complex. Explaining them could be exasperating not just for the listener but sometimes, even for me. Especially so when I only have a couple of minutes to expound. I can gloss over my errors and skip the parts with missteps but they are critical in putting my convictions in context. And so I lay them all down and hope that as I spill, I drain all the confusion out. Choice chalky bits I spit and let go of in exchange for a shiny coin under my pillow the following morn.

I've learned and I continue to learn.
And as I continue to wait, I will continue to answer in the most complicated way simple questions like why I've kissed dating goodbye, why I refuse to be unequally-yoked with people who do not share my faith, and ultimately, why I want for myself nothing but God's best.

Dreamer's Dream

#102: Come True

Today is a really good day. And a good day deserves a really good song. I remember this one from the musical, "Joseph the Dreamer" which I got to watch more than 10 years ago.

"He Opens a Window"

When doubt and disappointment
Hide the morning sun
When all my dreams have ended
All my songs are sung
His Spirit soars within me
Every doubt is gone
I see a new horizon
And sing a brand new song

For in His perfect timing
Up ahead the light is shining
And I know the dawn will be arriving
Very soon

When God closes the door
He opens a window
He opens a window so I can see
He's working it out-
The very best for me
He opens a window just for me

When every road I travel
Leads back to where I've been
When fears about tomorrow
Settle deep within
He gives me new direction
And takes the fear away
He opens up the future
And brings a brand new day
New day

For in His perfect timing
Up ahead the light is shining
And I know the dawn will be arriving
Very soon

When God closes the door
He opens a window
He opens a window so I can see
He's working it out-
The very best for me
He opens a window just for me

Manila Mourn

#101: How Ms. Stardust Mourns

I'm not just mourning the loss of my camera. (Although thinking about it makes me want to wail and moan like Chewbacca getting chained by the neck.) I'm mourning the state of this country. Today is our President's State of the Nation Address or what we call "S.O.N.A." But instead of listening to it on TV, I went to the sauna to sweat the toxins out of my body. (If only sweating the toxins out of this country was as easy.) I want no more of her lies. I couldn't bring myself to listen to one who has lied not once, but at least twice, to the people she's supposed to serve. I'm not one to say that she should step down and be replaced by character X or character Y. I honestly can't think of anyone who could lead this country out of this mess. I just couldn't swallow the complete lack of honor in her bones, both in word and in deed. I couldn't shake the thought of her husband (or her husband's brother... or whoever Jose Pidal really is) getting fat on bribes that further facilitate the shameless stealing from the plates of Filipinos. And I won't even talk about the accusations against the President's son and husband on illegal gambling. I'll choke. On tears. I'll just block them all off and think about something less painful than the state of our country. Ah yes. I'll just think about my missing camera. While getting a facial and a massage.

Unbreak my Heart

#100: Crying Over My Canon

I'm heartbroken.
I lost my camera.
Yes, the Canon Ixus 40 I bought just 4 months ago...
I left it at Circles, Makati Shangri-La...
And no one has turned it in.



Canon IXUS 40
Apr 22 to Jul 22, 2005
A good companion and friend.
Rest in Peace.

(...while I toss and turn in my bed for many nights thinking about how I lost you... then blindly hoping that somehow you'll find a way to come back.)

Hot and Cold

#99: Ashes to Ashes

Something's brewing.
Or burning.



Scene from the South Superhighway this evening around 7:00p.m. as I was driving through. The fire was gorging on the shanties along the road... on all that families with nothing had. These families are lucky to live on $2.00 a day. Now they're probably wishing they had died. Bottom of the heap. Heap of ashes.

Germs Special

#98: Master Showman

So, what have you got for me, Mr. Man?
What tricks do you have up your sleeve?
What rabbits will you pull from your hat?
I see you brought your wing-tipped shoes
For tonight's dancing,
Your prancing about
As you make such a magical display
Of the absence of your depth,
And shine the spotlight
On the fakery scrawled on your mask.
Pity the ignorant who fall prey to your wiles
While I pity you for holding on
To your self-concocted fallacy.
Take a bow and cherish your applause
While the veil of smoke and gold dust still lingers;
For when the curtain closes,
You return to being just a fool's fool.

Bye Bye Bart

#97: From Someone Who'll Miss Being 'Te



The goodbye begins. I went to the salon yesterday to make sure I have decent hair for the family portrait on Saturday. I had been asking my whole family for years to agree to a formal photo shoot but for years they just ignored me. Now, we're all set. We should all be set. From the time the flashbulbs go off, we'll have around 10 days left till my brother leaves for California. I keep on hearing The O.C.'s soundtrack in my head every time the thought crosses my mind. California... California... here he comes....

He talks about getting furnishings from Ikea, taking The Bart to school... but I only hear distant sounds. Like the chatter of strangers in foreign restaurants. Or white noise. He's an adult already but I still see a little boy. Whom I named Coy. COY!!! Where are the car keys???? Coy, please work on this design. Please? COY! Phone!

He calls me 'Te. Short for "Ate." It has always pleased me that he was trained to call me "Ate" or 'older sister' because otherwise, we wouldn't remember who was born first. 'TE! Where are the car keys???? Te, wait for me! 'TE! Phone!

So I continue to listen to everything that's familiar yet all at once foreign. Beside me yet so faraway. His voice drifts into my ear like a dream; then dissolves into mumbles. Just like the sound of the Bart as it disappears down one of the streets in Frisco.

Hack This

#96: Wretched Over Retching

Acute bronchitis. That's what she said I had. And since that's not just the doctor speaking, that's Asian Hospital speaking, I believe her...err, I mean, it... or them. (I was assured that Acute Bronchitis is just their cute medical term for inflammed bronchial tube. Ah. As cute as my hacking cough, I see.) So I obediently headed off to Mercury Drug to buy the drugs that are meant to make me well, but were in fact killing me with their prices. At around 70% gross margins, I was more than ready to retch.

Anyway, she/it/they promised that I would start feeling the improvement tomorrow so by the time I wake up, I expect to either be all good and shiny and ready to work, or to have to take sick leave again. Hmm. I see we have a win-win situation here.

And so, with such a happy prospect, I waltz to the store across the pharmacy and buy myself a...BOOK. Grin. (Yes, money for medicine hurts. But money for books... well, they don't even count, remember?)

Saturday Shopperday

#95: My Kind of Saturday

Today is a good day. There are Lazy Saturdays, Errand Saturdays, Pampering/Maintenance Saturdays, and then, there are Shopping Saturdays. Today is a good Shopping Saturday.

I just wanted contacts because I was tired of pushing my glasses up my little nose during meetings. Thing is, they told me that while my eyesight worsened, it's not bad enough to merit contacts. You have to have 100/100 AT LEAST. (So, I was just being a drama queen about not being able to read streetsigns and plate numbers anymore? Heck, I thought I was AT LEAST 150/150.) After getting my lenses upgraded, I thought I was done for the day and would just happily coast along while Elna and Cathy did their shopping. Thing is, I'm not wired to just "coast along" blindly while good cheap stuff called out my name.

I ended up buying so much more than Cathy or Elna did but I'm happy to be so bargain-savvy.



Highlights:

> Two pairs of really cool shoes for the price of one. (Even less, I think.) One is a flat shoe (okay, relatively flat. It had 0.5" dopey heels which don't really count at all.) which had a gold rose, gold body plus pink and white accents. (I know it sounds horrible but believe me, it looks like one of those pairs you get at PrettyFit.) The other one is a casual shoe with a creamy beige ribbon and 4" heels. (Cathy begged me to please not wear them when I'm with her because she'd hate to peel me off from the floor if ever.) Both of them were the last pair. And they were my size. Ah, destiny.

> 5 tops for the price of one. (Really!) 3 of them would go well with my ruffly cream coat. 2 would go well with the accessories I bought.

> Yes, I bought accessories. The place was just overflowing with really cheap trinkets! I mean, next time a foreign girl-friend visits the Philippines, I'm taking her straight to Greenhills. One necklace, one pair of earrings and one ultra-cool bracelet. I had a Php100 discount on one, Php50 discount on another, and no discount and no question at all on the other. I got all three for the price of 1.5 earrings from Be Happy. Of course, I'd look like some alien if I wore all of them together but the theme binding them seemed to have been more on the native Filipino stuff you source from our beautiful seas. Lovely. Now all I need is a trip to the beach. A trip or three.

> I also got jeans for half the price of an already cheap one. (Man, it was a steal. I was probably grinning like a nut as I took the shopping bag from the cashier. And I had to quickly disappear after, lest they call me back and make me hand over an amount commensurate to my satisfaction.)

----------------------

We capped the shopping portion by plopping down on one of the booths of Mexicali. (I did it particularly well by slamming my spine on the wooden back of our seats. Yeesh.) Soft taco with grilled pork and a bowl of Sopa de Lima. Good stuff. I could've ended the day right there but the cushy seats of the new cinemas at the Promenade still beckoned. (And my spine just dragged me there.) The movie was Fantastic Four. It wasn't overly fantastic but at least it was a safe distance from the toilet level where you find X-Men and Batman Forever. It was actually acceptable.

What's more than acceptable however, is how this Saturday turned out. I can't wait to get to my room to try all the stuff out. Yes, all at the same time. Including the accessories that don't match.

Missing Brilliance

#94: Out Sick

I'm at home on sick leave. I should be resting and downing lots of vitamins but so far, I've only succeeded in taking a cat nap after getting home from this one critical meeting that I just had to attend, and downing large volumes of Coke Light.

I'm happy to be away from the office. Lately, the more I meet with our bottler, the better I feel. I was warned during my interviews that they were a difficult bunch to deal with. Heck, not as difficult as reasoning with people who insist on intellectualizing what would otherwise be purely practical matters. It shouldn't take Plato to explain why a consumer has to buy your product. You just have to appeal to your consumers with a relevant set of perceivable benefits and they'll know what to do with you.

It's probably because of unnecessarily complicating simple things that people in our office prematurely age in appearance. You look at most of the people there and fail to get a sense that they love what they're doing. It's more like they're working because they're getting paid huge truckloads of money and they need to get high ratings to get truckloads more. It's like watching worker ants. I don't know if that's a fair assessment. I probably just miss having someone to look up to at the workplace. None has been able to inspire me so far.

You see, it's been quite sometime since I've had a "that's right!" moment with a superior - having your viewpoint seriously considered then having something more brilliant thrown back at you that you can't help but just say, "hey, that's right!" Here, I've had a couple of arguments with my bosses. For some reason, they always win. And this is not because my arguments have no merit but maybe because I know that they're not open to perspectives other than their own. You can only argue for so long before you get tired and tell yourself that hey, at the end of the day, they occupy higher posts and they're paid more; I can only say my piece. Without a "that's right!" moment, I move on because we all have to move on at some point, right?

So here I am probably feeling more sick than I really am. Much more than rest and vitamins, I think I need to get inspired by true brilliance soon. Till then, I'll blog and get fevers.

To the bosses that I used to admire and now miss, I dedicate this post... and this sick leave.

Birth of a Diva

#93: Gucci Tries TypeDrawing