Freezing in transit.

It's four in the morning at Changi Airport, Singapore and I am waiting for my connecting flight to Los Angeles. I got semi-booted out by an Indian couple from occupying the seats I was unsuccessfully napping on at the Skyplex area. A quick survey revealed that I wasn't the only one sprawled unglamourously on a seat or two. I just had to look like the "nice" one, I guess.

My green, velvet hoodie isn't keeping me warm at all. I am thinking of passing by the Nike shop to get myself another jacket when they finally open. Except for the Duty Free outlets and food stalls, that's all that's available at this time of day.

Still, I can't complain. It's better than getting stuck at the NAIA for at least four hours. Not fun at all.

Sleepless in Singapore, Changi Airport, 4:05 AM

Maybe in an alternate universe. Maybe.

Those who know me would know why we found this past issue of FHM Singapore extremely amusing. Hehe.

A pondersome month and a few musings on independence.

An odd month deserves a lot of thought.

It’s been a financially challenging year for me, one that has brought in luck to get some personal dreams going and at the same time, opportunities that, when taken haphazardly, can be one of the worst mistakes you’ll ever commit.

The latter part of the year saw me almost making the jump to another advertising agency, one that has made built a reputation for creative awards. Another ahensiya approached me, hoping that my multi-discipline background and “fresh” perspective can help develop their strategic planning group.

My attempt to look for more freelance writing and photography jobs led me to a possible career in publishing – as associate publisher for the top magazine in the country. I had to bring my ego back to earth. Pursuing it would mean making me the most powerful female in my male-dominated planet (You want behind-the-scenes, before Photoshop photos, you say?).

I decided to stay where I am.

It’s been a year of honouring commitments and learning what real responsibility meant. I realised that real independence wasn’t just about doing whatever you wanted. If you’ve rid yourself of having to run to your folks every time you don’t have money to pay for rent or to pull you out of some dumb jam because you weren’t sober enough from a night of partying, then let’s talk.

To more than 10 years of (bus) friendship.

Our carpool began some 11 eleven years ago when I was just a college frosh. Having lived in the South (where water is limited and you have to pay for toll to get there), it was difficult to find people who went to the same school, much less, drove all the way to Katipunan to study.

Miko's settling in Chicago broke our trio with Nur. Now that he's back for a quick holiday visit (sans the ring, tsk, tsk), we decided to get everyone together for dinner. The last time he was here, Fort Bonifacio was still under development.

I was a bit embarrassed to have suggested for us to dine at Guava, a new restaurant at the 1st level of the Serendra Complex at the Fort Bonifacio. A friend mentioned that their concept was interesting - guava was the inspiration for most of the dishes served.

The service was horrible and the food was so-so. We ordered spiced itik (duck), binagoongan (pork stewed in shrimp paste), Pininoy foie gras (fake foie gras! shame! shame!), monggonisa (monggo soup with two pieces of longganisa, a kind of sausage), and the pritchon from the bar, 3 measly pieces for P185. Sigh. I'll go to Sentro any day. If this was their take on modern Pinoy cuisine, I am severely disappointed.


Not so hot about Guava. Buti na lang you're pretty.


Doing the touristy bit.


Waiting for the food. Waiting...


Yihee moment. Haha.


M&M.


Reminiscing.


She's scarier if you put a fork in her other hand.

Bad food and service aside, Serendra was a good location for a long-overdue reunion of sorts. We weren't quite able to get everyone to come (including an ex-boyfriend), but the people who mattered were there to toast guava juice.

Bong, brownies and booze.

If your boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives knew what goes on here, you'd be horrified too. Hehe. More photos to be uploaded on Flickr. Soon. And oh, what happens in Alabang, stays in Alabang. :-)


An early start with beer.


You've got to have style.


Promoted to DJ status.


L to R-ing with Angel, Elly, Gretchen & Frank


Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!


Pouring Cuervo like wine.


Guess who's still sober?


Jump in if you want to wake up.


Does this count as lessie action?


Mamamo endorsing a different bottle.


The Tolits Fans Club


Japs was responsible for hunting down the "dry" folk. Ayan tuloy.

Other photo credits: Alnair | Ledh

Get some Glo in your soul. The Los Politico shirts from Collision Theory.

Got the SoulGlo shirt for my buddy boy. I would have gotten one for myself except that they come in big boy sizes. When are the girlie tees coming, AJ?

Reach him at +63 917-8403938 | ajd [at] collision-theory.com


Soul sistah! Here, she's cool.


Erapenstein, grrrr.

Also available at Pablo Gallery. Store schedule: Wednesdays to Saturdays, 4-9PM, Marikina Shoe Expo, Cubao.

The Honest Corner.

It's always been there, outside the Starbucks store we frequent. I've often wondered why there was no manong (street hawker) to receive payment or man the little kiosk.

I discovered why a few days ago. I made sure I had my camera with me, just in case it disappears.




*If you can't read what's written, the copy on the curled part of the paper says "honesty lang pls." (just pay for what you take)

Bravado, is it?

I just sent out my resume to TBWA|London.

All because of this.

Bahala na si Batman.

Slogans, schmogans. The obsession with personalised advertising messages.

It's 830 in the evening and I'm still at work, responding to a regional enquiry on whether "my" should be appended to the brand name and to its slogan. A quick review of previous and existing communications materials did indeed show how my and your are haphazardly used to make things seem, well, more personal. Ugh. Like that would really help.

I found a blog article on what seems to be a trend in personalising advertising messages. Read it here. I also stumbled across another interesting entry from a blog on "names, brands, writing, and the quirks of the English Language" by Nancy Friedman. Her list of "generator" sites (which she also got from another blog) is just too funny. Especially this one on brand names.

The cure to a long-weekend hangover is candy.

It's only Monday, and we're all tired. Whilst the long weekend was meant to recharge us, I think it made people a bit lethargic instead.

Thank goodness for the toe-curling, sugary goodness of yema (egg yolk-based sweets).


Pretty, sugary treats!


No work desk should be without it.

That wasn't so bad. A visit to the SM Mall of Asia (finally!)

After much orchestration, we finally trooped over to the SM Mall of Asia one early Friday just to see what the hype was all about. Said to be the third largest mall in the world (and the largest in Asia), MOA had its filled-to-the-rafters moment when it first opened. Every curious Juan from all corners of the metropolis, including the neighbouring provinces seem to want to see what this concrete giant had to offer.

"Lahat ng tao andiyan. You get your tsinelas crowd and your Greenbelt-going mall denizen all in one roof," said one client. (Expect to see a mix of people from all walks of life.)

"Ingat sa mga Pasay panks," said one friend, who apparently disliked the threat to his security.


Huge. Photo from www.yugatech.com


The steel globe fronting the mall. Photo from www.yugatech.com

Built on 148 acres of reclaimed land, the mall has around 4.3 million square feet of floor space. And that's a lot of space to accommodate people, which was the primary reason why we were a bit hesitant to check it out. With Christmas around the corner, our patience for mall crowds runs thin.

But surprise, surprise. It was a breeze to park inside the mall's indoor parking area (we were there by 10AM). I just wish they gave out plastic parking tickets instead of paper, because, one, it's easy to lose a small piece of paper (it looked like a receipt), and second, it's not very friendly to the environment.

A quick brunch at Jatujak, an authentic Thai restaurant found on the second level of the mall, immediately scored the mall brownie points with us.


Jatujak. Thai Food. Thai Ice Coffee.


Grilled squid, good for two.


You can't not have tom yam kung.


Going, going, gone!

I was expecting a claustrophobic SM Megamall experience, after all, they're owned by the same developer. The indoor perimeter consists of open spaces which eventually leads into the air-conditioned part of the mall. I like how you get a waft of the sea air when you're just walking outside. Having it by the bay is pretty cool, actually.


Haha! So Pinoy.


Guess which planner has a hang over?

A quick respite at Starbucks (there seems to be two of them in there) and we were off exploring again.

Other stores you can find here that's not anywhere else include the just-opened Marionnaud, Philosophy Men (yes, those are pekpek shorts for men, okay?), and a fantastic steak house called Highlands Steakhouse. The Motorola concept store is there as well. I'm just glad they finally have most of the phone models available for tinkering. Can we not have the plastic ones anymore? I don't think it helps. Really. My respondent said so.

MOA also has the country's first IMAX theatre, and an Olympic-sized skating rink that's ready for ice hockey action. We were thinking of getting some people together for a scrimmage soon. Maybe after we learn how to ice skate first.

Some tips to those who haven't been to MOA. Come early, especially if you're bringing a car. By the time we left at around two in the afternoon, there were only a few slots left in the indoor parking area. There's a lot of walking involved, so do wear comfortable shoes. It's not the size of Chatuchak, so get over those horror stories about it being soooo big. The toilets are still clean, but it's not Rockwell, so bring tissues. Right, Gino? Hehe.

We weren't able to exhaustively comb the mall, so we're all set to go for another round at Henry Sy's new commercial project. Especially while the hoopla of it being so crowded hasn't died down yet.

Procrastinating like a college student. Ah, the good old days!

Today, I crammed two 2,000-word articles, both due by midnight. I wasn't too thrilled with my assignment for the month, except for the "notable sites to visit in 2007." I felt that the writing's been compromised for my "male audience." The magazine I'm writing for is another incarnate of the many male-targeted publications that's been hitting the newsstands as of late. According to my boss, the goal is to be "better than FHM." Alrighty, then. Maybe I should just use a nom de plume so I don't feel too bad.

It was a lovely wedding. Best wishes to Arvin and Erika.

They finally tied the knot. It's nice to see a couple this happy with each other.

Thanks for keeping the booze flowing. I love the thoughtful pasta bundling. Yummy cupcakes from Sonja. Fantastic wedding planning by The 3rd Party.

Cheers!


*Grin* (Arvin looks like he just won a pitch.)

I don't think the confetti is environment-friendly.


You either come in pastel...


or grays. We can do a spread with these clothes.



L to R-ing outside the church.


And L to R-ing outside the pavilion.


Isn't it a little too early to be practicing with the bouquet?


Et tu, Crisela?


I don't know about this one...


The women of Ogilvy.


Pogi talaga ng boys namin.


And a bit of lesbo action going.


Isa pa.


Other photo credits go to Mae and Cindy. Thanks, guys.

Death on a street.

A man just died right outside our building. Apparently, he had a heart attack while ferrying a passenger in his cab. It took more than thirty minutes for someone to offer medical assistance. From our office window, we could see a small crowd gathered around his unconscious body, a man desperately administering CPR on him. I sure hope they were doing it because they wanted to save his life and not done for show.

I watched with my forehead pressed against the glass. I had to walk away, because I felt an emotional outburst coming.

"Ang drama talaga ng streeet natin" an officemate quipped. The site of many rallys and demonstrations, it now has a sad fatality to add to its growing list of credentials.


Helpless from above.

Rock ng Republika.

Except for the inclusion of Manila's 5 Loveliest Foundation, the event seems promising enough. Troop over to The Loft, Rockwell for a mid-long weekend fashion-music gig on December 2. Show starts at 7pm.

Things worth waiting for. A post script to the top 10 ten list.

Yes, romps at 3AM count.

The other suggestion was a bit patronising.

So, no. :-)

Things worth waiting for. A top 10 list.

I am a terribly, terribly impatient person. Instant gratification is fun, but never quite fulfilling. So what can a terribly, terribly impatient person who's not quite into instant gratifcation do?

Wait. And mull over a list she thought of in the shower.

1. Polaroid photos. I love how the images take a while to appear. It's like, magic, you know?
2. Peppermint Mocha, Starbucks. I'll be happy if you bring it at least twice a year. Please?
3. Love. The voice in my head said this list would need some cheese. I'd rather not be in a relationship than find myself in a bad one.
4. Radiohead's new album.
5. The right "browning" on a muffin. Baking is something I'm not good at. And I only like eating the top parts of muffins. This is a big deal.
6. Year-ender reports and compilations of "best of" things.
7. Pressed coffee. A morning ritual I will be looking forward to when I move to my new place.
8. A trip you've saved up for. Anticipation is part of the fun.
9. Staying up to watch the sun rise on the beach.
10. 16 oz. steak grilled at Handlebar, Polaris St.

The new iPod Shuffle. I don't need you but you're really pretty.

I just saw the iPod Shuffle ad ("Clip") on Creativity's AdCritic site. Great work from TBWA/Chiat/Day. Plus prolonged product exposure would make any client proud.


"Who's going to sing?" A trippy song from The Prototypes

Subscription is needed to view it on AdCritic. See it for free here.

Para sa 'yo, ang blog post na 'to.

I'm not a big fan of boxing. To me, it's akin to cockfighting and letting dogs maul each other while people cruelly bet on the victor. But I'm willing to forgive today's match over national pride. A KO by the third round. Really awesome stuff.

News coverage of the fight gave varied response from people from different backgrounds, but all meant one thing: Filipinos were proud of Manny Pacquiao. Now if we could only hear the same thing said about our politicos.


Nike supports the Pacman. (Agency: Ogilvy & Mather)