The Sweet Life

just got home from a very exciting event--- taping for The Sweet Life, the talk show hosted by Ms. Lucy Torres & Ms. Wilma Doesnt.

long story... last saturday (26th), Ayah was asked by a talent scout she knew if she was available for guesting. we were together for the whole day with her mom & tita gie so when we went to their place for a stop-over, her lola was informing us that ayah was being asked to guest in PBB. huwaaaatt??? i jokingly told her "go! ako manager mo. kailangan natin ng extra income!" but to clear things up, we called the phone number left by the caller and clarified that it was not a guesting for PBB but to the show of Ms. Lucy Torres-Gomez on QTV. and that the taping will be this Monday (a while ago, actually). so ayah & her mom talked with the talent scout while i took tita gie to her appointment in SM, then i hurried back to the place of the talent scout since i was excited to know what's in the offing for ayah. when i got there, ayah's mom introduced me to the talent scout and, woot! woot! she (the talent scout) said she can also use me in the guest list. "huh?! ok." LOL.

so after telling us the "script", i was like... sige. bahala na si batman. i took the half day off earlier so i can prepare for the taping while ayah took the whole day off from work since if she did report for work, she'll never make it to the taping. hindi na siya papayagan ng mga alipores ni ginoong SY. :P

this is going to be a unique experience, i told myself. i've been to TV studios and some TV shows in my college years as a Mass Comm student to fulfill some requirements but TV guesting on national TV..? nah. it's going to be my first time. and since i am not watching shows from QTV, i didn't have any idea how the show goes. i only know the set-up in talk shows but that's it. the talent scout informed us that it's going to be a long exposure for both of us because we will be on the set for the whole duration of the interview. wow. i mean, wow! i was used to the set-up that extras who get a thousand-peso talent fee are only captured once by a panning video camera and that's it. but no. this is going to be not one of those "extra extra" TV stint. and if it was my first time to do TV guesting, ayah is way behind me on this. she was more used to ramp modeling and speaking on talk shows makes her knees shake big time! lol. so ok. i have to "carry" her on this. it's more about her, anyway right? it's supposed to be focussed on her and i'm only acting in a supporting role?! while being briefed on the script, i later on find out i was wrong. the "life" of the interview will be relying on my ability to deliver the answers to the hosts questions. a script ayah & i became hesitant to portray but nonetheless carried on since it was crunch time! ok, lights... camera... action!

...the interview became soooo much better than i expected. feedback from the staff who assisted us were positive, comments from ayah's mom were good, even the guest celebrities we were with on the set congratulated us for a first time job well done. we were told that (our) episode will be aired on the 12th of February... so there goes bahala na si batman. :P



i'd like to thank the kapuso (QTV) staff who warmly accommodated us during the entire taping. and the hosts, Ms. Lucy Torres-Gomez & Ms. Wilma Doesnt for being warm to their guests, Mr. Jeffrey Santos whom i have talked with at the backstage--- he was very supportive and he & his wifes story is very inspiring. lastly, i was able to meet my long lost college pal, Mark French, in QTV set. he works in QTV in the production side and it was a delight to have met him after more than a decade. he was my co-assistant director in our short film project in college--- When The Music Is Over. surprises!

banning condom ads and educating the youth

last week, a news story not-so-generally-interesting caught the attention of our company--- banning of the Frenzy Condom TV Ad. this motion was suggested by the Family Media Advocacy Foundation:

"Nakakatuwa marahil ang commercial ng dalawang teenager na bumibili ng flavored condom sa isang drug store.
Pero para sa ilang magulang at konserbatibo, kabastusan ito sa telebisyon.
Dahil dito, nais nang ipatanggal ng grupong Family Media Advocacy Foundation ang lahat ng mga advertisement tungkol sa condom at pills sa radyo at telebisyon."
(full story here.)

It actually concerns our principal, DKT Philippines but unfortunately at the time the issue went out, DKT Philippines personnel were on a conference in Thailand and no one will be able to answer the concern for their side until they come back to office on January 23, Wednesday. Unexpectedly that day, January 22, i have answered an office phone call from GMA reporter Julius Segovia. He was inquiring on who can be interviewed regarding the issue but i politely informed him that it should be our principal who must tackle the issue. and that they were on a conference outside the country and will be able to answer only upon their return to Manila. with this situation ABS CBN sensationally gave its news readers the impression that DKT is escaping the responsibility of airing their side against the topic:

"Sinubukang kunan ng ABS-CBN News ng panayam ang DKT na siyang nagbebenta ng Frenzy at Trust at sinabi nilang sa Miyerkules na lang daw sila magpapainterbyu. (link given above)"

call it unbiased journalism. (pun intended.)

The next day, the CBCP was encouraging the senate & congress to pass a bill on banning the use of artificial contraceptives, and even IDS-Free Philippines, Inc., Human Life International (HLI), and Family Media Advocacy Foundation (FAMAF) president Butch Canoy earlier complained to the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas that the TV ad of DKT was irresponsible. (full story here.)

My personal take on the issue, while the Philippines is culturally conservative, it's high time that we educate the people, especially the young ones, about responsible sexual intercourse. sex education must not be restrained from informing the young students of how the sperm cell and the egg cell meet and create a new life, but it must extend to the responsibilities that the sexual intercourse bring. i often complained and believe that overpopulation is one of the major reasons of poverty in the country. too many mouths to feed, too limited basic needs: food, home, shelter, and we can add employment in the list. we maintain morality by condemning abortion but for as long as the means of contraception doesn't induce or suggest it, let the government find ways to help its people practice effective family planning. condom doesn't abort babies. as for the morality issue, here comes the role of the family and the church to educate the young ones according to their beliefs. we can not dictate anyone on what to do with their lives. it's always the individuals choice. what the family and church can do is to suggest to them the pros and present the cons of things then encourage them according to their moral beliefs. but that's it. even how big time a parent rants he/she can only do so much for their kids. thats why education is very important at a young age. and removing these TV Ads will not help reduce teenage pregnancy, irresponsible sex, and might even contribute to the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases in the country for the lack of information, guidance and choice among the people, especially the young ones.

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EDIT: This entry has been submitted to The Filipino Voices - Philippine Issues Writing Project

first day of independence

just woke up. i took mom and dad to the airport last night for their Toronto flight, was with ayah and ate belen. today, i'm scheduled to go to Pampanga with ayah and for the whole day we're going to get some things done for our day. i'm pretty sure we're gonna go places and this is going to be a tiring day. but then, its one of those rare times that ayah and i are together so it should be a very fine day. :)

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the other day i was walking to the tricycle terminal on my way to work and saw this happening. i paused for a moment and was looking for the MMDA officer who mans the corner street. then i saw him running from the nearest logistics company office with a pail of water. the action i caught in my N6233 is just a priceless public service displayed by this officer:

this day

while i know that i have a lot of things to do and accomplish in the office today, it was rather a surprise for me not seeing the bosses around. so the pressure of doing my tasks was lessen and we were able to enjoy the day with music surrounding the corners of the office. ridiculous as it may sound but our GM is irritated with him hearing music playing during office hours. most of our office visitors have noticed this and labeled our work place as 'boring.' well, sanayan lang yan and besides, i still play music even when GM is around. i keep it low though, just enough for me and the nearby tables to hear it. yep, i brought a portable radio in the office and placed it below my work area. anyway, i was able to portray my role as an office messenger today when i picked up the Premiere desk calendars (oh no, not again!) from our principal, DKT Philippines for distribution to our partners. we also have a few allocation for the office personnel but im not very enthusiastic in giving them out since i don't find them very appealing. but still, for those who are interested to have one, make a quick request now while supplies are still available.

while in the office, i occasionally entertain the thought of my parents departure on Saturday. since 2002, it has been their dream to migrate where my sister and her family began to live a new life that same year. after almost six years, it has now been realized. and the independence i have been longing since childhood is also coming into reality. thing is, i feel better having them around. having an immediate family beside you, anytime, is still one of the best experience a person can ever be proud of. now, saying that you will only realize the value of someone if the person is already gone is now making sense to me. mom will be missed more. we have been together for years since i returned from Mississauga. i was with her during her heartaches, sickness, happy times, birthdays. we've argued a lot on a whole lot of things. we've spent dinners together, watched movies together, consoled each other. i provided her wants, she provided my needs. her stubbornness will always be remembered as well as her good heart. she's my source of joy when i'm in a bad mood. she's my shock absorber when everything seems not all right. she wakes me up when she knows i need to wake up early, she prepares the food i wanted to eat, she irritates my ears with her never-ending sermons. haayy... c'est la vie. well, they'll be coming back after six months and its the only consolation i can expect for this time of their nearing departure. i know i will get used to this set-up but for now, allow me to express it out.

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dad gave me a nice surprise.

i am still hibernating from the things that are being turned over to me. they don't spell anything to me but R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y. thank God i was early trained for this. now, it's time for application. and moral support, of course. ;)

week start

i'd like to make this week start nice and smooth... my mom & dads last week in Manila, a busy week ahead @ work, steady schedules in church, and weekend appointment with ayah and some people. i have to start my year this week. yep, i feel i'm still snoozing from last years thoughts and still looking forward to starting my new year. now this is the week to make it happen. all things planned and supposedly in the line of to-be-accomplished must be realized starting this week. and these things spell a word: B-U-S-Y. i wouldn't know how much i'm gonna spend doing these stuffs but most likely, it will eat up most of my time. last week when my dad was turning over things to me, i got really stunned. i have to attend to and take care of a whole lot of things, assets and liabilities alike. it's all on me now. i shouldn't forget this, shouldn't forget that, coordinate with this, ask that... ok!

so while i'm attending to all these, i also need to attend to my personal things. i'm a step to changing job, in the process of arranging the requirements, and of course the regular chores and tasks to be done. i also plan to get in "a better shape" which i neglected the past year. probably its the only thing in my new years resolution (if i may call it such).

i'm looking forward to the 3rd quarter of this year when the real "breather" will come: families going back home and spend time together. then everything after will be the next chapter.

one of the few saturdays

this has been a rewarding saturday for me as ayah and i got to spend the whole day together--- one of the very rare times since she was employed in an operations nature of work. she wasn't actually feeling well since last night so she skipped work (yey!) and spent the day with me. and so we had this used-to-be-oh-so-fun saturday date right after attending a general assembly of the youth officers in church in the morning. i was very hungry when the assembly was done so i asked ayah if we can eat nearby our place since my stomach is already growling for food. but then again, i didn't want the idea of getting off our vehicle just to take our lunch then transfer to another place to just spend time together. we targeted a new place to spend the day together: mall (LOL). we first planned to go to Trinoma then talked about going to Gateway instead, and finally ended up entering the basement parking of Robinsons Galleria. hehe.. and because its only now that we've been together on a saturday, we decided to take our lunch at a new place: McDonalds! (double LOL).


[this photo was taken at McDonalds-Tomas Morato last January 5, 2008, courtesy of good blogger friend, ederic eder.]

After taking our hearty lunch, we strolled the department store, visited the bank, rounded the east wing of the mall, entered Watsons, and of course we didn't forget to visit (and spent most of our time at) Figaro. we were supposed to watch a movie but through the course of our conversation while at the said coffee shop, we agreed to spend the rest of the afternoon to a more productive endeavor. so we drove back home to our humble town, brought her parents a couple order of goto at tokwa't baboy, then proceeded to our place to do some editing and finalize the draft of an important document. in the middle of this task, my PC hung and restarted, then wouldn't reboot normally. in short, we weren't able to do what we have to do so we just went to mama estela's place and ate. i also asked chad to assist me in reformatting my PC but after a few activities @ church, it was already late for Chad to still come over our place so i just borrowed her disc and just try to fix things on my own. i took mom with me in taking ayah home and i gave mom a nice, warm chicken noodles treat before going home and facing this PC for the reformatting. after a few pushes on the configuration of CMOS (i really didn't know what i was exactly doing), my PC restarted and alas! it's functioning well again!
(phone ringing)
... ok it was my sister on the landline. nice to hear her voice again with my younger nephew on the background craving and crying for milk.

its almost Sunday. tomorrow after a day of performing church duties, ayah and i will give her dad a birthday treat in some decent restaurant. family bonding again. it's also an opportunity to be with mom for her last few days in Manila... home alone... soon.

to the left, to the left...

as i write this post, i'm looking at the calendar on my left to recall the days (and noteworthy things) that have passed by quick. yep, it's the 8th 9th day of the month and don't look now but the first month of the year is almost halfway already.

so right after i finished my first post of the year, i hurriedly fixed myself and prepared for our new year tradition of going home to my dads home town in Minalin, Pampanga. Ayah's family came with us (minus her brother jayson) to our province and it was the first time that they met my dads family. fun fun fun... great first day of the year... families together! so we did the usual stuff: eat, rest, eat... but to break the ice, we're fortunate enough (or so i thought) to have witnessed this years Aguman Sanduk. Some floats that paraded from the different barrios:











and 3 more new years remembrance:


the family :)


three generations: from left to right - me, my dad, my grandpa


ayah and i posing for a shot while i'm on the wheel @ NLEX. yes, kids... don't try that at home. it's dangerous! :P

well, so much for the one day breather. the succeeding days spelled W-O-R-K. people in the office were busy preparing for their (sales team) strat planning which was scheduled from weekend to tuesday (jan. 5 to 8) in Baguio City! that left me and the accounting people (three of them) in the office for two working days, Monday & Tuesday. Tomorrow Later will be an anticipated busy day as GM should want to start his business early, especially that we are having an additional of two principals as new partners. and guess what? i'm still all alone in the customer service / sales support department! i don't know and don't even feel if the management is including its support team to his business expansion. *shrug* and it still owes me 4 days of vacation leave which were not given to me the past year due to the urgency of consolidating (and coordinating) our final "numbers" for our main principal.

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on another note, i can't understand how childish the two giant philippine tv networks can become by fighting over an issue not even worth quarreling about: TV Ratings. the other insists that it's all about integrity but still, it rooted from the the very important issue (pun intended): TV RATINGS. now, wherever you look: television or politics, you just can't be proud of them. tsk, tsk...

looking back, looking forward

365 days over and today is the first day of another 366-leap-year-days (advanced happy birthday to my cousin, Angelica who will be celebrating her birthday on the 29th of February this year, 2008).

Looking back,

january 2007 highlights the "conversation" between ayah's mom & i. things were cleared up, and eventually everything went well.

february 2007 marked my mom & dads date to Tagaytay City, one of the rare times they're together, just the two of them. while i was busy with my job, ayah and i never fail to take time to be together on weekends and attend to matters pertaining to our wedding. and yes, this month i publicly announced (thru this blog) that we're tying the knot, God-willing, in 2008.

March 2007 started the "election-fever" in Manila. some candidates who ran for public office revalidated that Philippine Politics has become a big circus show.

April 2007 i was starting to get stressed out in my job. It was on this month that i argued with the customer service of our company courier service, plus, it was also on this month that i was given a dialogue with our GM regarding command responsibility. i also took a sick leave during this month coz i was nearly food-poisoned from the tuna belly served in Something Fishy and was vomiting almost all day.
upside is, this month marked the long weekend which became a much-needed breather for me: off to Pines City with mom, ate belen, jayson & of course, ayah.

May 2007 most favorable month for me in 2007... a few "first" things for me: going to Taal Volcanos crater with ayah, jetski, horse back riding.

June 2007 marks an important event, a step forward to the next big event: parents meet. this month also had ayah & i witnessing the classical sunset view at the baywalk in Roxas Boulevard, with our newly-purchased KODAK EASYSHARE C533.

July 2007 showcased one of the many happy dates ayah & i shared together--- meal at Tita Lynn's (in Tiendesitas) & a visit to its nearby kiddie establishment: Fun Ranch. This month also marked the decision of ayah to move to another career, away from my work place. :(

August 2007 saw me and ayah saying our prayers at the Central Temple for "the future".

September 2007 was when ayah bid her goodbye to us in our workplace and her first company and saying hello to her new world as a career woman. wake me up when september ends. this month also revealed one professional local artist singing a boo-boo rendition of our very own Philippine National Anthem. (wow, sorry for his fans but i never knew either that this is gonna make my year2007 highlights. i guess it's a big deal for me after all)

October 2007 marked the frequent visit to Loyola Memorial Park when a couple (and another one followed on the first day of the succeeding month) of church mates passed away. also, on this month i was able to claim my most-wanted Figaro tumbler. a good friend blogger also gave a nice breather, giving me a lunch treat at their resto in Tagaytay. another highlight for this month, my work partner Tin-tin left for Dubai. bawal nang magkasakit.

November 2007 gave some pleasant memories for the year, ayah went with us in Pampanga and we were able to visit the big house where one tv series holds its taping. also on this month, my mom & her sisters had this very rare reunion and i i was with them together with a cousin... chilled-out at the Riverbanks (Marikina). then, i have finally met (after 2 decades) my good ol' grade school pal, Roger Abe Manuel P.Sarmiento (hehe.. i know his full name by heart) when he visited Manila and we had a nice chat starting off at Shakeys Katips and ending up at his place in Mother Ignacia... somewhere near ABS CBN. he now lives an almost priestly life. :P
on this month also we have closed the deal with Jomark Photography and was able to visit (and took some photo shots) the prenuptial place in Mexico

December 2007 World Aids Day, Family Planning & Sex Education awareness. :D
Lyn came and left as my work partner, still struggling at the many office work tasks. good things only came on a few december days... got myself a new pair of expensive shoes, got myself a new trendy jacket (thanks to ayah!), humiliated myself by dancing Wannabe during our office party and Grease Lightning during our locales year-end gathering.

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as i've said, 2007 has been generally good for me. this year i have enriched my online network by meeting a good number of bloggers, online and in person. not that i have gone cold with my long-time friends blogs after having a LOYALTY CHECK but i feel that bloggers today have evolved and gave a different "face" to blogging. as much as i would like this year-ender post to be very touching, i'd limit myself to giving a shout out to my new (2007 additional) blogger friends (refer to sidebar for their respective links): earl, jay, totomai, alvin, atty. sandarino, chip, dexter, fye, gari, geo, gibbs, jecoup, jenn, jojo, joe, kath, lalon, liz, micketymoc, neil, noy-pi, pj, coy, ron, benj, ederic, john mark, and shari. among the mentioned-list, i have met a few in person, some of them eventually turned out to be good friends. meeting on line is a good thing but knowing them in person should be better. :)

*eherm* magpa-kopi bun EB naman yung isang kuya dyan... 2008 na eh. :P

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speaking of 2008... this should be a promising year for me--- my life, my family, my family-to-be. i'd like to take things one day at a time while maintaining a steady focus on the things anticipated. while my mom & dad will be migrating and leaving for Canada this year, they'll be back soon with my whole family on the 3rd quarter of this year. it should be a grand reunion and i miss them all, specially my one and only sister whom i have seen last in july 2004. for now, i have a lot of things to attend to, and i am hoping that my work will cooperate with my plans for this year.

"1 There is a time for everything.
There's a time for everything that is done on earth.

2 There is a time to be born.
And there's a time to die.
There is a time to plant.
And there's a time to pull up what is planted.

3 There is a time to kill.
And there's a time to heal.
There is a time to tear down.
And there's a time to build up.

4 There is a time to cry.
And there's a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad.
And there's a time to dance.

5 There is a time to scatter stones.
And there's a time to gather them.
There is a time to hug.
And there's a time not to hug.

6 There is a time to search.
And there's a time to stop searching.
There is a time to keep.
And there's a time to throw away.

7 There is a time to tear.
And there's a time to mend.
There is a time to be silent.
And there's a time to speak.

8 There is a time to love.
And there's a time to hate.
There is a time for war.
And there's a time for peace.

9 What does the worker get for his hard work?

10 I've seen the heavy load God has put on men.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also given men a sense of what he's been doing down through the ages. But they can't completely figure out what he's done from the beginning to the end.

12 They should be happy and do good while they live. I know there's nothing better for them to do than that.

13 Everyone should eat and drink. People should be satisfied with all of their hard work. That is God's gift to them.

14 I know that everything God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it. And nothing can be taken from it. God does that so men will have respect for him.

15 Everything that now exists has already been.
And what is coming has existed before.
God will judge those who treat others badly.

16 Here's something else I saw on earth.
Where people should be treated right,
they are treated wrong.
Where people should be treated fairly,
they are treated unfairly.

17 I said to myself,
"God will judge
godly and sinful people alike.
He has a time for every act.
He has a time for everything that is done."

18 I also thought, "God puts human beings to the test. Then they can see they are just like animals.

19 What happens to animals happens to people too. Death waits for people and animals alike. People die, just as animals do. All of them have the same breath. People don't have any advantage over animals. Nothing has any meaning.

20 "People and animals go to the same place. All of them come from dust. And all of them return to dust. 21 Who can know whether the spirit of a man goes up? Who can tell whether the spirit of an animal goes down into the earth?"

22 So man should enjoy his work. That's what God made him for. I saw that there's nothing better for him to do than that. After all, who can show him what will happen after he is gone?" (ECCLESIASTES 3, NIRV)