Keys Me

Is this another William Hung in the making? All I know about this girl is that she's one of the up and coming young stars (most probably a sexy starlet) of GMA 7, a local television network... tsk tsk.

I'm not sure if I sing better than her but I'm sure that I have better memory!

If it's any consolation, a lot of people now know her because of her new version of Keys Me!

Manila 2006: The Korean Invasion!!!

The increasing number of Koreans in the Philippines is something that I can’t help but notice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it’s a cultural phenomenon, even.

For starters, the Korean wave which hit Asia and the US has really hit Manila, big time. They practically took over TV soaps which were showed during prime time. Not that I blame the people for preferring Korean soaps to the local soaps. Korean soaps are more viewer-oriented, in the sense that, no matter how good the ratings are, the writers and the producers of the soap will not prolong the storyline just to have viewer monopoly. If a good Korean drama has ended, the producers will just have to try to produce another drama that is just as good , if not better than the current drama. Philippine TV networks are the opposite, if a drama has a good rating, the writers will prolong the story until the people get tired of it and everything doesn’t make sense anymore. This mentality is probably one of the major reasons why Philippine drama script writing didn’t mature and produce award winning soaps.

Koreans are also everywhere. From being a minority, they became the majority in a lot of places that I frequent, in just a span of a few months. Their presence is so eminent that the number of Japanese tourists coming to the Philippines has really dwindled in the past 2 years. Apparently, Japanese tourists really despise Koreans. The local tourism industry will really suffer because of that.

Local tour operators/tour guides prefer the Japanese to Koreans for a number of reasons. First, the Japanese are more generous than the Koreans. A lot of Koreans coming to Manila are even more stingy than the locals. You have to fight them tooth and nail just so that you could earn a little money. Second, Japanese are really nice and friendly while Koreans don’t care. Apart from being stingy, they treat people who are different as inferior. A lot of scuba diving operators in the provinces now stop accepting Koreans in their sites. Koreans, they say, destroy the coral reefs, are very rude and really hard to get along with. This is quite surprising since Filipinos are known for their hospitality, and I’m not saying this just because I’m a Filipino.

Most of these Koreans come to the Philippines to study English. It’s also not surprising that a few Koreans come to the Philippines to escape from the law. Hey, this is the Philippines and anything goes here. Some Koreans come here to do business. Same as me, they probably believe that there are more business opportunities in poor countries.

In a few more years, I’m predicting that the presence of Koreans in the Philippines will be much more felt and I won’t be shocked if they will soon make up at least 5% of the ethnic minorities in the Philippines. The Philippines is truly a melting pot of cultures.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Alnair for bagging the bronze during the recent Cannes Festival! The poster was something that he did for The Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of Manila’s leading newspapers.



















Alnair in one of his artistic poses(I don't know how he pulled off that face)















His winning piece! (The power of digital editing)

I Hate Needles

I hate needles! Getting a shot is not that painful but I somehow have this weird phobia of facing the syringe.

Three years ago, I got this really strange fever for 4 days. My mom was scared that it might be dengue/H-fever or some of those fevers which can cause death if not diagnosed right away. To confirm her suspicions, we went to to the doctor to have blood samples taken and tested. Since I wanted to overcome my fear of the needle, I made it a point to watch every single step that the medical technician- from the preparation of the syringe to the insertion of the needle into my skin, took. Unluckily, the technician was not that experienced, she wasn't able to draw blood and was wriggling the darned needle inside my skin.

At that point, I was feeling nauseous already and before I knew it... I passed out. When I woke up, my skin felt cold and clammy and I was also perspiring heavily. After that, the fever went away! The fever was also scared of the needle. Hehe!

My mom was supposed to give me my flu shot last night. She prefers to buy the medicine herself and inject us with it because doctors here overcharge their patients and we don't know if the medicine was really handled properly. She was a registered nurse before she entered into business, by the way. Being the chicken that I am, I told her that I will get the shot if I feel better already. I just came home from Sydney and I feel that my resistance is not that good (yeah right). It's just an excuse. I've gotta have some psychological preparation before getting that shot.

To Sushi or not to Sushi?

I can't believe this! Now I don't know if I'm still gonna eat sushi!

(Got this from an email and verified it with real doctors)
This is a true case of a japanese man from Gifu Prefecture who complained incessantly about a persistent headache. Mr. Shota Fujiwara loves his sashimi and sushi very much to the extent of trying to get them as "alive and fresh" as can be for his insatiable appetite.

He developed a severe headache for the past 3 years and has put it off as migraine and stress from work. It was only when he started losing his psychomotor skills that he sought medical help. A brain scan and x-ray revealed little, however. But upon closer inspection by a specialist on his scalp,the doctor noticed small movements beneath his skin. It was then that the doctor did a local anaesthetic to his scalp and discovered the cause... there were tiny worms crawling out of his scalp. A major surgery was thus immediately called for and the extent of the infestation was horrific.

See the attached pictures to the scene that one thought only a movie could produce. Remember, tapeworms and roundworms and their eggs which abounds in all fishes fresh or saltwater can only be killed by through cooking and/or freezing the fish to between 4 degC - 0 degC. The eggs of these parasites can only be killed if it is cooked or frozen to the said temperatures for a week or more. Think twice about that raw dish next time...or you might get a headache.

Back from the Sydney Trip

I just returned from my business trip to Sydney. My sister and her boyfriend tagged along so it wasn’t really lonely in the hotel room.

I was able to finish my work early so we headed to the zoo during my free day.















The koalas were really adorable. Most of them were asleep since they are nocturnals.















We also witnessed some hardcore action from the kangaroos.

Even though we had lots of fun in Sydney, I'm really glad to be back home. I prefer the Philippines' warm tropical climate over Sydney's cold winter. Besides, I miss my own bed.

The Mind is A Precious Thing to Waste

Manila is one of the most dangerous to drive in/cross the street. Here you can find the most reckless of drivers and most careless of pedestrians. Problem here is that a lot of people have a problem following rules. Unless you are color blind, I don’t see any problem driving when the light is green and stopping when it turns red. The same for pedestrians, the pedestrian lane with its zebra stripes are hard to miss. Risking your life because of sheer laziness is just plain stupidity.

Two months ago, an accountant was run over by a public bus. According to the bus driver, he didn’t even notice that he hit a person. He only went down to check the tires when the bus won’t budge. It was only then that he discovered that he ran over a man. I’m guessing that the accountant got down the passenger jeepney in the middle of the road at the same time the public bus passed by. The result, roadkill.














The Victim














The Culprit

I’m not defending the public buses because a lot of them are reckless and most of the driver are real @$$h0les. However, pedestrians who get on and off public utility vehicles just about anywhere are equally responsible for these types of accidents.

Tanya

Tanya, one of my closest friends is probably my oldest friend. We’ve known each other since we were 10 years old. Actually, I don’t really remember how we first met or how we became friends. The experience was perhaps really memorable for her since she remembered everything.

I first met Tanya in while I was in second grade. As a kid, I used to run around... a lot, which is why I could say that the clinic is my second home. One time, while I was playing with the monkey bars, I fell down and broke my elbow. Only a few kids, get broken bones from running around so, I attracted a lot of attention from my classmates, including Tanya. They were all fascinated by my white cast, which I didn’t allow anybody to write on.

We started talking to each other and getting close. One day, Tanya asked me to eat lunch with her. She was terribly disappointed when I told her that I don’t want to... (when I was younger, I guess that I preferred to spend my break time alone). Then she told me, "You really don’t know how to become a new best friend." She was probably expecting me to join her for lunch but unexpectedly, I said "ok" and then I left.

This story is really funny but I can’t remember it anymore. This must be a traumatic experience for Tanya since she remembers it till now. I wish that I could see her face when I left her. It must’ve been priceless.

Love Isn't by: Same Same

It took me quite some time to figure out the title and artist of this song. Usually I'm not into Boybands/teeny bopper songs, I prefer alternative music. But, somehow this song always gets stuck in my head.

Do you ever wake up in the morning alone?
And do you ever wish that there was some way you could stay at home?
With somebody who loves you and needs you
With somebody who helps to complete you
But I've made mistakes and I know for sure
I wont' forget to remember

Chorus:
Love isn't always as you see it
Love isn't always as you dream it should be
Love isnt' always gonna find you
But this is love
Cause you're all I'm thinking of

I wanna tell you I'm sorry I didn't mean that
I wanna say I love you
But will I hear those words come back
From somebody who loves me and needs me
From somebody who helps to complete me

But there's one concern that I must consider
Before I start to paint my picture

(repeat chorus)

I'm gonna take my chance
I'm gonna lay my heart out of the line (on the line this time)
I'm gonna love you endlessly
But I'll keep this in the back of my mind

Tom Yum Yum...

Even though it's really hot here, nothing can make me turn down a nice bowl of Tom Yum Goong!

People's Palace serves the best Tom Yum soup in town! Quite expensive but worth every penny.

Saturday Duty

I am "blessed" to have work on Saturdays. I seldom go to work on Saturdays so I file them as vacation leaves. I don’t see the point of going to the office when you don’t have anything to do anyway. First, the people I deal with are mostly foreign suppliers, they don’t have work on Saturdays. Second, the people in the office are mentally absent on Saturdays, it’s hard to talk business with them.

I am one of those people who do not agree that the amount of time spent in the office is directly proportional to how productive an employee is. In fact, I would say that if an employee spends too much time doing overtime work he/she may either be milking the company for extra cash (some people have overtime pay) or is inefficient in doing his/her work.

The head of our division once confronted me why I don’t go to work on Saturdays. In response, I brought up the following points:

1. I can’t do any office work on Saturdays because most of the people that I have to deal with don’t have work. I am willing to go to work on a Saturday if he needs me to do soemthing though.
2. Our Saturday duty is only for ½ day, and I’m getting only half of my salary for the day. Whereas, the gasoline expense remains constant. So, isn’t it even more costly to go to work on a Saturday? (makes sense doesn’t it?)

Actually even the bosses don’t do anything on Saturday. In fact, my other boss locks his door to take a nap in the office. He has converted his sofa into a makeshift bed.

Today, I went to the office because I have to finish some rush work. I am again reminded of how counterproductive Saturday duty is. Instead of resting, the employees are forced to come to work and pretend to work (quite a difficult task, I assure you) . They could’ve used the whole day recharging for the following work week.

Auntie Sylvia Dies

I received the news this morning. I can't say that I was shocked about it because I saw it coming. Neil's mom finally succumbed to cancer. Her battle with cancer lasted for almost 5 years. At first, it was breast cancer, they thought that she was over it - she was declared clean after countless chemotherapy sessions. However, the disease resurfaced again, this time, as liver cancer. Liver cancer sufferers have an almost 0% survival rate, since she lasted this long, I was kinda hoping that she will be one of the lucky ones who'll be able to escape it.

I didn't expect myself to be affected this much over her death because I didn't really know her. I guess that I was able to relate with her situation because my mom also single-handedly raised us. Neil's father died when he was just 14 years old, also from cancer, so his mom raised him and his sister all by herself.

Neil often talked about his mom. Maybe that's why I feel that I know her. He was always "mommy this, mommy that", so I felt her presence even though she's not physically around.

It's funny that Neil and I became good friends because our sisters were best friends turned mortal enemies. They haven't been speaking to each other for almost 10 years- talk about cat fights, huh?

Neil and his sister are all alone now. I guess that their lives will change drastically since his mom took care of everything. I really feel bad for him. I can't imagine a life without mom. I remember a line from Silent Hill "A child's mom is his God" and in some ways it's true, at least from my perspective. I don't want to imagine how Neil is feeling right now. He probably feels that his world is crashing down.

This is really depressing...

Field Trip in Singapore

You can always count on Bene to take you on educational trips. I guess that being a natural nerd (look who's talking), it’s in his nature to enjoy going to historical places and explaining their histories.

Our last day in Singapore was spent sightseeing. Mine was, anyway. My best friend, Tanya, managed to escape from Bene’s clutches. Not that I didn’t enjoy the trip… I actually enjoyed the day very much. Surprisingly, I’m glad that I gave up shopping to tour the city.

Our first stop was Bugis junction. We walked from Bugis to the Divine. I don’t know what it’s supposed to be but there are supposed to be “angels” beside the wineracks at 7pm onwards. The angels go up and down to retrieve wine from the high placed racks. Unfortunately, picture taking wasn’t allowed inside, so we just took pictures outside.

(l-r) Tanya, me, Merce, Donna, Step and Bene

The Vietnamese embassy is also located in this building, by the way.

Then, we went to the National Library. Hehehe, having a nice library is a big motivation for kids to study… or maybe it’s just me, since I like books. Downside is, you can’t bring outside reading materials inside.

After going to the library, Tanya and I parted ways. She had to go shopping or else her sister will kill her. We all know that it’s not true, more like, she’ll kill herself , if she didn’t finish scouting the whole Orchard Road for good bargains.

We then, headed to Far East Square to grab something to eat. It was quite hot and we needed something to cool us down.

After having our cool treats, our next stop was Fullerton. It used to be a post office and was converted to a hotel. Nice hotel, it’s like being transported back to the 50’s. We lounged around the infinity pool, which was surprisingly small. Afterwards, we headed towards our next destination… The Westin! By this time, there were only 4 of us left to enjoy the view from Singapore’s highest peak.

(looks like legoland doesn't it?)

Happy hour just started and we’re all for bargains so, we spent quite a lot time drinking. The four of us had a vanilla smoothie (tasted like Robitussin/Biogesic syrup- which was fine by me), an autumn beauty (had a tinge of grapefruit), a couple of beers and a couple of iced margaritas- 1 strawberry and 1 mango. I wasn’t used to drinking in the middle of the day so, I felt quite silly doing that. The iced mango margarita was the pits so we played a game. If we were able to finish the margarita drink in just 2 gulps, Bene will buy us a drink called test tube babies. I was quite stupid actually, since I didn’t want to drink anymore, I shouldn’t have bothered to join the game. But, I love challenges and bargains so what the heck!

The test tube babies was not bad. I could tell that Merce was getting tipsy already because she became quiet. Donna, on the other hand, kept giggling.

It was growing quite dark already so we decided to head home. We passed by the church. At this angle, it looked eerie. Outside the church, there were a lot of Filipinos. The mass has just ended.

Before heading back to the hotel, we grabbed something to eat. We finished dinner around 10pm. Lots of things to talk about!

Kissy Saves the Day

I knew that there was more to small, lovable Chihuahuas than being constant companions and loyal friends. They are also there to… FINISH YOUR FOOD!

Tonight, our cook decided to experiment on our dessert so she came up with banana-avocado, which tasted disgusting and looked even more so. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I decided to sacrifice my stomach and try her out “new creation”.

Unfortunately, the stuff was extra disgusting. I didn’t even know that she mixed the avocado with bananas until I tasted it. So, I gave the rest of the stuff to Kissy… Surprisingly, Kissy loved the dessert. The night ended with Kissy happy, me happy and our cook happy.

I just don’t know if my sister would be happy tonight. I don’t know if the laxative effect of bananas and avocados will work on Kisses. If so, I wonder how much mess Kisses will leave in her room tonight… -^_^-

Interesting Ad from Singapore

----> what's this guy supposed to be doing? in fairness, he has a bright future, being a contortionist, in front of him.