Happy Mondays

Gel's brother, Ralph, bought this from Cubao X. Funny title and funny face to match, ftw.

National Geographic magazine from 1958.

Check out Gel's worried face.

True friends. Battling the rain and thunderstorms for Gel.

Jimmy Abad - my favorite amongst the readers.

Gel has been, for the past months, organizing the comeback of Happy Mondays -- a poetry reading night -- with Kissa.  The said poetry night’s re-launch was last Monday, Aug 6. Despite news of foul weather, Nicole and I decided to go out on a limb to support Gel’s effort to, forgive the cliché, keep the fire alive.

I remember the violent winds and the terrifying amount and rate of tears from the open skies outside the small space of Tomato Kick. I remember the look on Gel and Kissa’s faces as they alternatingly look at the crowd then at their phones and watches. 7 pm and there were only 3 readers. But I also remember a packed bar, keeping tears at bay as I take in poem after poem. I remember feeling surprisingly inspired, not frustrated or jealous, like always. I remember wanting to pee so bad but not allowing myself to stand and miss a line or two, or an entire poem. TMI I know, but I'm trying to make a point here. The 95^th installment of Happy Mondays is a big success and I couldn’t be happier to see how passionate people can be about poetry. It lasted until the wee hours of the morning. In fact, I remember coming home to Gel’s house at almost 3 am after hearing a score of poems about activism, rain, love, captcha, and whatnot. (I also remember Gel really drunk on vodka sprite, but that’s a different story.) 

In the end, the point is that there really is nothing like enjoying poetry. With a bottle of beer. And, in the company of good friends. 

P.S. Got stranded at Gel’s house until Thursday morning. Smashing Pumpkins concert got cancelled. What do I care, I didn’t even buy a ticket. 

The rest of the stranded story here on Nicole’s blog.

identikit x paranoid city (july 24)

Sandy Buladaco and Joe de Jesus of identikit 

identikit

it doesn't look like it here, but Paranoid City frontman Dax Balmeo really reminds me of Patrick Fugit

since Alex Naidus' pogi shoes, I seem to have developed a penchant for men's feet/shoes

Manny and Ayin after Identikit's set

sweaty fan girls (minus Jear and Jennie)

Having promised Manny (Ayin’s boyfriend) that we’ll watch his gig one time, we dropped by SaGuijo to catch Identikit last Tuesday. Completely inconsiderate of his machismo tendencies, and manly fears, we went as stereotypical groupies, or in today’s jargon – fan girls. Well not really, there were no banners, screaming while weeping or panty-throwing involved. Just us taking a gazillion photos in a span of what, 30 mins?

Although their sound seems to have changed from Peach, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them live. It was priceless, watching Manny “the drummer” in action and Ayin “the annoying girlfriend” completely in her element and looking prettier than ever. These two are an unlikely match, but they’re incredibly synced, it’s kind of scary!

After Identikit, we hung around for Paranoid City, who both Ayin and Manny couldn’t stop gushing about.  AND WHY THE HELL NOT, THEY’RE AMAZING. And this isn’t because the frontman resembled Patrick Fugit in so many ways, but I was kind of shaken, in a very good way, tapping my foot, resisting dancing, completely smitten. This is really a band to watch out for.

Before we left, Manny gave me a Paranoid City and Dropouts CDs. Yay for my first going away presents. 

try to stay awake and remember my name

How exactly do boys look like when they start growing up? Hilarious, if you ask me. It’s like a silly game of pretend wherein I watch 8-year old boys in suits and ties as they act as if in corporate pursuits.

Of course, this isn’t exactly how it played out last weekend when I saw the boys I haven’t seen for 7 months for Barry’s birthday; at least not to the very last detail. For example, everyone was dressed down, even Mac and Clark who are normally gussied up. Really, it’d seem as if nothing’s changed – all the funny banters and inside jokes seem to have remained the same. Looking closely, the abundance of alcohol seems to be the only thing that’s new. With Barry working for San Miguel Corp., it’s no wonder that his own party would have a keg or two and all kinds of San Miguel products in tow. But once everyone’s settled down, and drank enough cups of beer, and ate enough chicken skin, I noticed the conversation turning more and more mature. There’s talk of company policies, and which mogul has bought shares of which company, or what article is in which sunday newspaper. Seriously? These are the boys I watched run in shorts playing benteuno around the batibot, or walk awkwardly across the room on students night to ask someone to dance or place silly red cards (ala F4) on my locker and tease me endlessly for putting “joking” on my talent section in the yearbook. These are boys who named their cars “red riding hood,” “snow white” and “black swan.” Now, they’re all grown up. One’s an architect. Another’s already planning on settling down with le girlfriend in Korea. And one of these boys will be a father soon, too. So amidst the things that haven’t changed (like their cars’ names, and the usual nonsense such as securing Patrick’s child’s college education if he decides to name the baby Megatron if it's a boy or Megatrona if it’s a girl), is a change I welcome with open hands (and a sides of laughter and disbelief): maturity. 

Change is good. This, I tell myself everyday when the thought of it scares the shit out of me. Then again, maybe change isn’t as good as we package it to be. Maybe it’s having people to change with that makes the difference.

Boracay 2012 (Day 2)

Breakfast

To make up for Jear’s failed birthday salubong, and my being a granny the night before, I woke up early the next day to take her out for a birthday breakfast. One of my favorite restaurants in Boracay is Tibraz. The dishes are somewhat similar to Café Breton (even the plates are the same), and it has a beach and homey feel to it that I absolutely love. Here, we had a hefty breakfast perfect for the long day ahead.

On our way there, she got a call from her nieces who were absolutely adorable. They were asking her where she was so they could send her a cake. I wonder whether it’s possible to have a cake LBC-ed to Boracay. And if it would still be edible.

Happy Hour, lunch and more happy hours

We hung out at Two Seasons afterwards. I was quite used to hanging out at a cabana, with kuya Chris (our favorite waiter) bring us our usual – margarita, even before we ask for the menu. But as with the entire island, Two Seasons was jampacked. We were actually lucky enough to get a table at their restaurant, where we watched the cabanas like predators to a prey, wondering whether their occupants will eventually move their asses somewhere else. If there’s any consolation, it’s that their margarita is still the best I’ve had so far! And this isn’t an unfounded claim, as I did try margarita almost everywhere in Boracay. After lunch, Nicole, Badet and I sneaked out of Two Seasons supposedly only to take a quick shower. We ended up staying at the hotel ‘til dinner time. I think it must've pissed off Ken and the others as we left them there.

Dinner

Dinner was amazing. And why wouldn’t it be, we had it at Zuzuni. I can't express just how much we love it. Just imagine, our last trip to Boracay was a foodventure of some sorts. Gel, Steph and I decided to try as many restaurants as we can by not repeating a restaurant (except for Two Season's where we spend happy hoursss). BUT, we couldn’t help but eat at Zuzuni thrice. It’s that good! And not only this, but this is also where our search for the best Choco Sin began. Their chocolate sin is as heavenly as all bad things should be. 

guess we were too hungry to take pictures of the food :/

please explain.

Gel's birthday salubong

As it is Gel's birthday salubong, there is no other place to celebrate but Paraw. I hope she doesn't get to read this - she (sort of) dated the dj there. We were supposed to attend the white party before going to Paraw but ended up going straight to Paraw instead, which explains why we're all color coordinated in the pictures below.  It's Gel's 24th birthday. Nicole and I call it her marrying age, but I guess she isn't quite done with partying yet. Aside from the pictures below, the rest are crazy (those involving Clariza, most of all) and a bit embarrassing. Nic had too much to drink, but recovered almost immediately. Weng-weng's a traitor, after all. Twas a fun night, nonetheless.
Although again, I went home earlier than the rest.

Gen's homecoming and a night at Opus

A good friend, Geni, came home last week from San Francisco. The last time I saw her was the day before she left for Maryland; we had lunch with Shiela and Nicole at Greenbelt. It was sometime between August and November of 2010. 

She waited two years to come home, so imagine our disappointment when we found out that she'll only be staying for two weeks. It’s a packed two weeks for Gen, and so far, I’ve only seen her twice. The first one is when we all went out for coffee and a quick catch-up (mostly gossip). And, last weekend, we went to Opus for a night out. Something I'd be quick to pass up if only I didn't miss Gen so much. I hate parties. If I wanted a drink, I’d drink at home where I could sneak into my room and away from friends once I start getting dizzy. But hey, I missed Gen, and this has always been her world, so I said what the hell, what’s one night.

AND WHAT A NIGHT IT WAS. I can't relate everything in detail without the help of pictures. But, I'm pretty sure I remember everything.  Although, this conversation I had with Matt seemed eeh, drunk:

The next time I’ll see Gen would be late this year or early next year. She and Ces promised to take a long drive to Milton to see me. ‘til then, I’ll miss her some more. There aren’t a lot of people who can drag my lazy ass to some bar and actually have me shake them. In my defense, they were playing 90s alternative!

The 3Ds after PFW S/S DF/V&T (writing in codes makes me feel smart)

Disclaimer: (1) This is going to be an overload of visual story-telling and endless proofs of vanity. Puke til you can't anymore. (2) Don't mind my gaping, gawking, stupid faces - I am either pa-cute or really really hungry. (3) This be one of the rare moments that I will let the pictures speak for themselves (Oh wait, I did that last time, didn't I?). Well, there's really  nothing to say except that the night was a night of infinite chismis, food and laughter. Short of epic, but fun nonetheless.

Below are what happened after the Design Fusion, Vision & Trends fashion show. Let's begin!

DINNER at UNCLE CHEFFY'S

Dinner was wonderful. Well, I'm rarely disappointed. Especially when steak, potatoes, pizza and pasta are what's for dinner. Those are my staple favorites. The boiled potatoes were amazing. After dinner, I had the leftovers packed and had potatoes the next day, and they're still amazing. POTATO APPRECIATION, PEOPLE.

The Food: Ken ordered the pasta, and I couldn't remember the names. One reminded me of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan. We also had Cheese pizza and a platter of medium rare steak. <3 <3 <3

The Lovers. Straight out of a scene from Lady and the Tramp (minus the sharing of spaghetti tsk tsk). 

Troii and Gel: The Teaser and The Victim - on truce while waiting for the food. 

The Sophisticated and the Patay-gutom. (Don't let Steph's pictures fool you. The woman is far form poised haha) Now, I don't know why I keep making pa-cute faces that are really more stupid than they are cute. Haha

DESSERT at BAR DOLCI
AKA gelato panciteria cafe. #insidejoke 

Chocolate duo: I had Ferrero, Troii had dark chocolate.

First two pictures: Gel, Troii and I exchanging our cups of gelato. I spy (with my not-so-little-eye) a spoon of pistachio!
Last two pictures: With Steph, Ken, Gel and Troii. I don't know whether we're trying to do a whacky shot or we're simply being our whacky selves. 

Bar Dolci was the visual equivalent of the word adorbs. Of course compared to other cafes wherein you're likely to see macarons and/or gelato, this is a far second (my goodness - the cuteness of Cafe Ti-Amo), but in it's own way - it's kinda cute. Well, come to think of it, it's not really that cute. But the wide variety of flavors of both gelato and macarons were overwhelming. It isn't your typical pink and frilly cafes, it's sort of a neon orange, with bright markers written on the glass and walls. It's a hip kinda cute, if cute has categories.

Gel and I bought ferrero, salted caramel, chocolate chip and blueberry cheesecake macarons for breakfast. Which we had with tea and leftover potatoes. Ah, the life. :/

DRINKS at RUE BOURBON 

After dessert, Gel, Vince, Ica, Elaine, Tiny and I went straight to Rue for a few drinks. By a few drinks, I really only mean one round. I had my usual - frozen margarita and a pinch more than the necessary salt. Again, I cannot remember what everyone else drank, although I'm pretty sure Gel had mojito. It was a chill hour and a half. I had a great employment conversation with Elaine and Ica. Pretending to be adults is pretty fun, eh?

I stole the following photos from Ica's FB. My cam died and went to Lumix heaven come drinking time, so I've no pictures of Rue.

(1) With Vince (Clariza's bestfriend). (2) Gel, me, Ica and Elaine. (3) Elaine, with her sister, Tiny.