Sing-Along Wednesday: My Heart's Thanksgiving



Dear Lord,
We experienced nature's wrath once more as typhoon Pedring unleashed heavy rains and strong winds across Luzon yesterday. I'm thankful to You for keeping me and my family safe throughout the day. However, the sight of despair and fear were all over the place. Rivers overflowed, several trees uprooted, flooded streets that eventually penetrated several houses, roofs flew all over the place, billboards collapsed, children and elders cried out of deep fear, several families squeezed themselves in small evacuation centers without enough supply of food and medicines, thousands of passengers got stranded because of the bad weather, and several places suffered from power outrage as strong winds toppled many electric posts. It was really tragic my Lord, five people even died because of this catastrophe.

Lord, please give strength to the victims of typhoon Pedring. May they find peace in their hearts and courage to face another day. Lord, guide them on what they should do next. Times are hard for us Filipinos and the tragedy even made it harder for most of us. Guide us to the right path and keep us away from harm especially that two typhoon will possibly enter the country in the coming days. Spare their properties especially their lives. Protect them from harm and danger. This I ask in Your most holy name.Amen.

.  

What's goin on?

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE WAY KIDS THINK AND ACT THESE DAYS?!? Nakakaloka sila ng bonggang-bongga!

Early pregnancies becomes a normal news. Minors being members of a big syndicate is not surprising anymore. Bukas kotse gang ang rugby boys are so last week. Juvenile delinquents are common knowledge, if not gaining acceptance in the country. Minors as sex slaves remains rampant.

But

A 13-year-old boy who shot his 16-year-old lover in the head before committing suicide is TRAGIC.

A grade four student who strangled a classmate to death is ALARMING.

A 15-year-old boy raping a mother is DISTURBING.

Seriously, am I still in the Philippines?These kinds of news simply devastate every vein, tissue, muscle, and cell in my body. How could these kids do those things to themselves and to others? Have they gone mad?What they were thinking?!Why?!?

Arggggh, I just can't get over with these depressing news happening one after the other! Do these things really happen in real life?WHY?HOW?! Whatever happened to these kabataans who are pag-asa ng bayan? Crap, I'm simply disturbed.

Now I don't know who's dysfunctional----society or their family?

Gaaaah!I hope that  I would no longer hear of depressing news such as these in the coming days. I'd rather hear  reports uncovering the past administration's graft and corrupt practices, another oil price hike, Binay's high trust ratings, transport strike, the debates on RH bill and Anti-Planking Act of 2011, Smart GIilas, MVP's possible acquisition of PAL, Shamcey Supsup, Manny Pacquiao, and even P-Noy's lovelife that is of national interest. But not these depressing reports on how these kids ended their promising lives too soon. It's really heartbreaking.

I wish Madame Senator Miriam Santiago would open her big, loud, and tactless mouth. Then I know that I'll feel better.

Sing Along Wednesday: Empire State of Mind

This morning, I already picked the song that I will put for my Sing Along Wednesday kaartehan/pauso thingy. But since the popular US TV hit series Glee Season 3 will have its premiere today I decided to make a little tribute to one of the few series that I religiously follow. Anyway, here's my pick for the night: 

                            

Gets mo?

Just imagine Philippine politics without Madame Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Dull.Boring.Not exciting at all. No matter how many people tagged her as tililing or crazy or may sayad, it's undeniable that what she says will always have an impact to our society. Who wouldn't forget her infamous line, I lied to her "tv brawl" with Mommy Dionesia and of course her recent comment on Shamcey Supsup's achievement in Ms. Universe 2011. No other senator or political figure has been at par with her intellect and sharp tongue. Not even former PGMA. How about the Dutertes of Davao? Hmmmm....

Anyway, here's a very unique speech she delivered during a forum on RH bill which was picked up by the media for obvious reasons. For a respected, veteran, and feisty senator like her to deliver these pick-up lines so naturally is really crazy...in a good way.Madame Sen. Santiago is really unpredictable. Taob ang corny na banat ni P-Noy regarding his Coke-like lovelife.

                              

Sing Along Wednesday: Arms

I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart
But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
You put your arms around me and I'm home

How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved
I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth
And I've never opened up
I've never truly loved 'Till you put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go


I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

You put your arms around me and I'm home 

Shamcey Supsup FTW!

Shamcey Supsup's victory, I'm sure, really made majority of Filipinos especially the ateys extremely proud of her. Many may have raised their eyebrows on how she answered the question but I think that her answer comes from the heart. I mean, she can easily come up with answers that would please the judges but she dealt with it based on her beliefs, on her principles and that's what made it more sincere and true...at least for me ;p Being third runner-up is not that bad after-all. A win is a win but as others say, give the credit to where it is due. Let's just leave it at that. Unless madame Sen. Miriam Santiago will readily question and defend Supsup's standing in the recent Ms. Universe pageant. Lol. Sen. Miriam, no matter how crazy she is, really made Philippine politics colorful! I mean no matter how people see her as crazy, people still listen whenever she opens her mouth. I hope she won't retire pa haha

Anyway, here's an interesting video that I found. Laff trip!

Zo Gay Zaturday with Ze Eaztern Babiez

Met with the NACS- Rizal/Marikina aka NACS-East Chapter babies yesterday for a movie date at the so-called mall to-be: Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall.Pak! ;p

We were supposed to meet between 12 and 1pm. I was there before 12 since I went straight to Sta. Lu after my second appointment with my ob. However, since the gang was led by the ultimate late Beth Marcelo they arrived at 1:40pm!Wahaha I admit that I lost my patience since I was not supposed to go there because I'm in a  terrible mood. I'm actually preparing to make my grand walk-out that afternoon as 1:30pm nears but 2 minutes before that, Beth texted me that they're already inside the mall. I was fuming mad and irritated at the sight of them while they kept on laughing. They even had this theory that my failure to reply to their texts immediately is a sign that maybe I fainted already since I've been on hunger strike since Friday night. Anyway, I was surprised to see Bulacan girl Kay and newbie Dorsell who is a new NACS-East Chapter baby since she represents the municipality of Tanay. The Antipolo boys duo is not complete though. The original back-out king Rei told me that back-out prince Eddie went home and even told me while we're having lunch of their plans to sabotage the La Union trip haha! I really miss my NACS family especially the Eastern babies!

With Beth (photo in left) and Antipolo boys Eddie (left) and Rei (right) during last year's MAMD party. Also in the pic is the ultimate NACS "dear" Luis.

We watched Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Syokot si Remington. The movie was simply brilliant! Gay movies are widely accepted nowadays and celebrated because of its quality. Think movies with gay themes like Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Soliven, Markova, and well even Love of Siam. I mean, these gay movies do not really exploit gays but rather the brains behind these gay movies aim to raise public awareness that these gay people should not be hated or loathed or discriminated.

The invasion of gay zombies...in cinemas;p

Back to the movie. I love how the movie covered all genres: comedy, drama, suspense/thriller, sci-fi /fantasy, and romance.Complete package, huh? Not all gay movies are like that- it's either romantic comedy, comedy, or drama for them but this movie made the impossible possible! Mart Escudero' portrayal of a gay, at least for me, is convincing. Kissing scenes between two men in Filipino movies are acceptable nowadays but that kissing scene of Escudero and Kerby Zamora was really cute and hilarious that I can't contain my laughter. By the way, Zamora's acting was also good, maybe his experience with indie films (I heard he made some indie movies before but I'm not really sure) developed his acting skills further. Lauren Young's acting was so-so but the girl is still a fresh leg so definitely she'll improve overtime...hopefully. Nevertheless, she's pretty on the big screen. Of the veteran actors who took part in the movie---Eugene Domingo, Odette Khan, Janice de Belen, Daniel Fernando, and even former starlet Leandro Baldemor--- I loved Roderick Paulate and John Regala's elegant acting. Simple yet superb.

Over-all, I love the movie's treatment because it's soooo  refreshing to watch. The creative minds behind this movie really raised the bar in coming up with movies of the same theme in the future. Definitely (and hopefully), future film producers and scriptwriters who intend to do a bolder gay movie should look back at this movie, point out its weakness, and from that weakness develop a more creative story. Whew!That's quite a challenge since this movie has its own craziness and twists to boast of. For one, although the ending of the movie is quite predictable I somehow didn't see the "big switch" coming because of a previous scene wherein an extra character was supposed to assume the place of Remington (Escudero). The "big switch" is really the most touching part of the movie for me. And the use of gay lingo in this movie, which gave us headaches and tummy aches in a good way,  is also unique. Talking about uniqueness at its best, the movie was smart enough to translate these becky words for an ordinary straight human being to have a glimpse and understanding of the very colorful gay lingo. Kalurkey much! Too bad that the very high tech cinema where we watched sucks big time since the translations were at the "bedrock" of the screen so we can't really understand the gay lingo that much.Boooooo! The movie is really award!

Here are my top 5 scenes of the movie:

5.  Reminiscing childhood memories atop the tree                                           

With malice or not?photo credit here

4. The "surprise" visitor

You've got a visitor...under your sheets! photo credit here

3. Getting acquainted with the "creatures" of the other world

Magpakita ka samen! photo credit here

2. Bongga ka RemingGAYton!

You are the dancing gay, young and sweet.. credit here

1. Stairs to heaven

Talo-talo na! Photo credit here

 After the movie, we explored the mall to-be by dropping to an UKAY-UKAY shop! Yes, there's an UKAY-UKAY shop inside the mall!Award! One cinema was converted to an ukay-ukay haven and it's really a heaven for us ukay-ukay supporters haha. By the way, my appreciation for ukay-ukay was influenced by my former NACS-Morning Girls chapter. I really enjoyed our UK escapades before haha! Because of budget constraints, I only bought this decent top for P150 which, other UK veterans will still find expensive.

Welcome addition to my office wardrobe yey!

After exploring the UKAY world, we accompanied Dorsell at the Planet Toys. Everytime I go inside a toy store, the child in me gets all hyped up. Well, I think that applies to all of us. Those toys from our childhood past still really have magic over us. It's as if Barbie still whispers in my ear, come let's play. 

Worlds of Fun was the last stop for us NACS-East Chapter babies (Me, Beth, and Rei). We enjoyed the bump car and caterpillar (rides) haha That's how babaw our kaligayan is. We also had our shooting practice and as a result, we collected 30 tickets. We had our dinner and chit-chat at Jollibee until we all agreed to call it a day.

Zweeet Zaturday indeed. Tomorrow will be the start of another work week. Sigh. Long weekend, anyone?;p

The Fish and the Archer

This reposted status of a former college blockmate really made me laugh:

NEVER believe in 3 people : Sagittarius, Aries, Pisces. They are the most selfish and mean.
NEVER lose 3 people : Taurus, Cancer, Capricorn. They are the most sincere and true lovers.
NEVER leave 3 people : Virgo, Libra, Scorpio. They can keep secrets, friendship , and they can see your tears.
NEVER reject 3 people : Leo, Gemini, Aquarius .They are true, honest friends. What's your sign? COPY AND PASTE IT IN YOUR PROFILE NOW !♥

Being a Piscesean that I am, I beg to disagree that my "specie" is not worthy of anyone's trust because we are tagged as mean and selfish. Duh! I'm one of the best persons you'll ever meet in this lifetime char!Hahaha. Okay, I know that this is something that should not be taken seriously but I just can't help but laugh that  SAGITTARIANS should not be trusted also along with ARIES (my bestfriend's zodiac is Aries!) Hahaha PISCES and SAGITTARIUS? Well,maybe that explains why the Sagittarian is selfish and the Pisces is mean....to thyself. Pak! ^_^   

Let me indulge myself with this "fascinating discovery" of mine between the fish and the archer by sharing this article. Disclaimer: I am not really a fan of horoscope. But sometimes, when I come across  an article such as this one made me believe that the the stars write my destiny and that maybe the fish and the archer are meant together. Huh?Labo ba? ^_^  Ilusyonada!Hahaha

Bull's eye: the fish was hit by the arrow bleh;p Photo credit here

Sagittarius Pisces Compatibility

 Sagittarius as well as a Pisces has quite a vivid imagination and both of them need to have a dream for which to live their life. Most of their dreams are beyond the comprehension of other people and this is where they come to each other's rescue-I'm not really aware of this one. Our dreams are ordinary if not too shallow haha. Generosity is imbedded in their soul and meanness and restrictions are something they can easily live without. A Sagittarian and a Piscean are totally romantic and an idealist at heart. However, both of them have too many differences too, which make the compatibility of their love relationship difficult. O, yun naman pala e!

Pisces is quite passive, while Sagittarius is full of restless energy. He needs to be active all the time, to release his excessive vigor. The relaxed pace of the former may irritate him quite a lot. Pisces is very sensitive and the forthrightness and brutal speech of a Sagittarius may hurt him deeply, though the harm is never intentional.Every word is SOOOO TRUE! Their zodiac match is quite confusing, being quite compatible some times and totally incompatible at other times. The latter's need for freedom and independence may make the former, who tends to be attached, quite insecure. Bull's eye!

The Fish also tends top be wavering and indecisive, another quality which may exasperate the Archer. The latter is also incapable of the softness and tact that is so much required while dealing with the former. Wahaha, genius! This is my reality. Their conversations will always be full of scintillating subjects and they will hardly find it difficult to agree on the same opinion. If they make a little effort, this relationship can work. A Pisces can teach sensitivity and subtleness to a Sagittarius and learn from him, how to manage on his own. KALOKOHAN TO HAHA!

Sagittarius Man and Pisces Woman
It is not very easy for a Sagittarius man and a Pisces woman to carry on their relationship comfortably for too long. Some basic differences, if not settled in time, can lead to disastrous results, even though the chemistry between the two is great. IKR! She lives in a dreamy world of her own, where only a few others exist. He, on the other, lives in the real world, interacts with real people and loves to be noticed and admired. His flirtatious nature and lack of commitment will make her insecure and her too-much attachment will make him feel bounded. BRAVO!BRAVA!

I can't believe that I actually fell for this article haha! Well at least my stress is relieved ;p No more horoscopes next time promise!

Happy Weekend!:)

Sing Along Wednesday: Insensitive

Starting today, I'll be posting a video of any song that pops in my head, or the most played in my playlist, or just any random song that I heard and then I'll share it here every Wednesday. Arti much?haha IKR. I think this will be fun :)

First Pick: Jann Arden's Insensitiv

Sing with me!

How do you cool your lips After a summer’s kiss How do you rid the sweat After the body bliss How do you turn your eyes From the romantic glare How do you block the sound Of a voice you’d know anywhere Oh, I really should have known By the time you drove me home By the vagueness in your eyes Your casual good-byes By the chill in your embrace The expression on your face That told me Maybe You might have some advice to give On how to be Insensitive Insensitive Insensitive How do you numb your skin After the warmest touch How do you slow your blood After the body rush How do you free your soul After you’ve found a friend How do you teach your heart It’s a crime to fall in love again Oh, you probably won’t remember me It’s probably ancient history I’m one of the chosen few Who went ahead and fell for you I’m out of hope, I’m out of touch I fell too fast, I feel too much I thought that you might have Some advice to give on how to be Insensitive I really should have known By the time you drove me home By the vagueness in your eyes Your casual good-byes By the chill in your embrace The expression on your face That told me Maybe You might have some advice to give On how to be Insensitive Insensitive Insensitive

Go Philippines!

With almost nine days left before the Ms. Universe 2011 Grand Coronation in Brazil, Filipinos are encouraged to vote for Shamcey Supsup. For the first time, I did vote for her online haha. Who knows, she might win the internet poll and might advance to the top 15 and who knows, maybe from there she will also make a repeat of what Venus achieved last year or even better right? 

Anyway, I found a clip of Shamcey's web interview. Admit it or not, people's expectations on her is quite high because:

1. her predecessor was 2010 Ms. Universe 4th Runner-Up Venus Raj

2. she graduated Magna Cum Laude from UP Diliman 

3. she was the topnotcher in the architecture board exam

The expectations of her bringing home the crown is higher because of reasons 2 and 3. I mean, being compared with Venus' achievement in the pageant a year ago was already something big but because she's supposedly smarter than her predecessor because of her academic records, Filipinos expect her to use her wit and intellect in the pageant. Well, let's just hope and pray that she will be blessed. I mean, there were UPD graduates who joined the pageant like Nina Ricci Alagao and Zoraida Andam who is now a lawyer but then they failed to bring home the crown although they did fight a good battle out there. Let's just hope for the best that lady luck will also be on her side because it does not guarantee that good looks and intellect will make you win the crown. You have to admit that at some point, you need luck to be noticed by the judges that you have what it takes to be the next Ms. Universe  2011. Yes, talk about x-factor. Okay enough of the talk, here's Shamcey's web interview:

I like how she answered the questions spontaneously. Plus her answers made sense don't you just agree? Her smartness is actually evident on how she answered the first question although she chose not to go too technical or nerdy in explaining why she thinks there is life on other planets. She has a point right? There is a possibility that life exists in other dimensions or galaxies. I also love how she answered the advantage of women over men. The giveaway answer to that question is women's ability to bear a child but she gave a very unique answer- woman's intuition is always right (okay maybe 98% percent true). 

And here's Venus' web interview from last year. She's also spontaneous with her answers but it's not as smart as Shamcey's. Or maybe it's because of the questions given that time. Anyway, I just loved the interview questions last year especially when the candidates where asked to imitate the sounds of lion, cow, starting engine, and robot. Nevertheless, Venus really made the Filipinos proud of her achievement despite the major major criticisms on her.

Her imitation of a cow's sound is too weird though haha! 

Anyway, good luck to Shamcey Supsup.

Last Friday Night.

I'm not a fan of movies shown in 3D cinemas because I find wearing the glasses so uncomfortable. Add to that, I also felt dizzy all throughout the movie which I experienced when I had my first taste of 3D courtesy of Toy Story 3. I thought it was just normal for first timers to feel dizzy and all but when I had my second 3D experience, I still feel uneasy and that made me decide to just go for movies shown in regular cinemas (which is also cheaper by the way).

I'm also not fond of watching suspense/thriller/horror movies. Yes, I haven't see The Ring or The Grudge but I knew that watching the first few installments of Shake, Rattle, and Roll franchise was part of my childhood. I always end up scaring myself to death to the point that I cannot sleep. I swear!Since then, I showed no interest to any movie of the said genre. I mean, the reason why I watch a movie is to be entertained and I find no entertainment in horror films. Yes, I am a chicken, no doubt haha!

Last Friday I met with my bestfriend Emma after work. The original plan was to hang-out with my hs buddies on a Saturday night but since some of them gave a dozen excuses for the nth time (which happens all the time), I texted her that we should push through with our plan. Supposedly, we'll have our dinner at Ayala Triangle but she suggested that we see a movie. And before I could answer sure, she already made a choice:  Final Destination. Great. Did I just mention I haven't seen any of its installment? Um...well, I think I did see the first Final Destination movie starring Devon Sawa but I only watched some scenes of it. Emma just laughed and told me that it'll be fun. And because we hardly see each other despite the close proximity of our houses, I decided to give it a shot since I can't remember the last time we had our girl bonding. We wasted no time and headed to Greenbelt to catch the 7:20pm screening. Funny that we almost got lost because we are not familiar with the area haha! I even joked her, sana nag Megamall na lang tayo since we can easily find our way there. I enjoyed the experience of getting lost with her though haha! Oh, the good old days...

Anyway, we finally reached Greenbelt 3 before 7pm. I'm already smiling secretly since we cannot find the screening time. Yes, lusot ako....asa! While looking at the screening time of the movies, I almost froze when I saw FINAL DESTINATION 5 in 3D! Pak! Emma just smiled and paid for our tickets, maybe she's guilty for dragging me to this movie that's why she decided to treat me haha.Seryoso in 3D? I kept repeating to her before we enter the cinema. Gusto kong ma-stress was her answer. She'll follow it with an evil laugh. I kept on complaining why do we have to do this to ourselves? I mean stressing ourselves with this kind of movie?Good thing we love each other :)) 

And so the movie started. It was so-so and I almost feel asleep until the protagonist Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto who motivated me to watch the movie's entirety) had his premonition on the bridge that collapsed which totally surprised and almost gave heart attacks to almost everyone inside the movie house. I swear, it's my first time to watch a movie with my hands all over my face. The way the characters died one by one is soooooooo heartbreaking, brutal, and...and...simply gross! First the gymnastics team practice scene which is really bothersome followed by the bloody trip to the spa scene and the confrontation in the factory (wait, is that a factory in the first place?haha!). Well, the death of Peter (Miles Fisher who looks like a younger Tom Cruise) is not that brutal as well as that of Sam's. But Sam's beau, Molly (Emma Bell) who survived in his premonition was not spared by death. I know her death was tragic because I covered my eyes haha. But the scene that really made my knees shake was that of Olivia's (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) death. 

Anyway, the death of boss Dennis (David Koechner) was something I did not expect to happen too soon since I'm still trying to recover from the scene in the factory. I kinda foresaw Nathan's end (Arlen Escarpeta) since the last scene is very obvious. Well, there goes the "you cannot cheat death" saying for the lucky eight survivors.

It was really crazy haha! My eyes were all teary all throughout the film and I gasped and laughed heavily just to shrug off these bothersome scenes. I kept on joking Ems, 3D pala gusto mo ha, pwes eto na since she's also been affected by the movie. She would reply to me, Ulitin naten! And we both just laughed. But seriously, it was the longest movie I've ever seen in my entire life. It's just whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! As I've said I'm not used to watching these kinds of movies and up until now I'm still bothered and paranoid haha!  

After the movie, Ems and I had our "intimate" dinner in McDo haha! I really miss our conversations before. It's funny that we never ran out of stories to tell, dreams to share, plans that we hope would materialize, and tiny bits of  frustrations here and there....and yeah, some reminiscing/exchange of stories concerning our favoRRRRRRRite people. I'm just happy that she's doing well now. After all it's been years already and I'm just proud how she finally accepted the consequences of her decision. It's always for the best and even if I don't agree with her decision before, she knows too well that I am supportive of her. Besides, she knows that the reason why I did not favor her decision before was because I don't want her to get hurt but of course, her reasons were more sound. It's always family comes first for her. And I love her for that even more. The conversation even went on while we're on our way home. I just feel so happy talking to her again. I have had issues with her before when we were in college and I know that she's making up for those times. I just wish that we'll do this catching up moments often. I really miss our boding time.