Broken Social Scene at the Mosaic Music Festival

Why I didn't have my camera with me is a mistake I'd rather forget. But BSS@MMF is a blast!

Aia de Leon (Imago) helped open the show with 7/4 (Shoreline). Dancing in her bright-coloured leotards, it was hard to miss her energetic presence onstage. Predictably, they sang Lover's Pit and Fire Eye'd Boy. Not that I'm complaining. With no Feist in the line up that night, Swimmers wasn't sung. Boo.

A few friends came over to Singapore and it was nice having a slice of Manila for a few days. We feasted on bbq chicken wings, grilled sting ray, char kway teow, and all the Kickapoo Joy Juice one can drink. With the frequent influx of visitors to Casa Borromeo, we hardly feel out of touch with the goings-on back home. We still get copies of friends' latest albums, bottles of Cheez Whiz (yummy processed cheese that we can't seem to find in Singapore!), and other MSG-laden goodies a few times each year.

I love how events like these just compel people to travel just to experience it. Can't wait for the next big gig and I wonder who else will be coming to Singapore this year. Radiohead? DCFC?

Surreal in Manila

After moving to Singapore, travelling has been reduced to a minimum (no more MNL-SIN-JKT lagare). Most of the meetings now happen here, which suits me fine (I'm terribly enjoying cocooning at home with the hubby, Xbox360, PS3 and Wii in tow).

When I was told that we had to be in Manila for a few days, I was both excited and slightly thrown off at the thought of taking a work-related trip in reverse. It meant seeing family, friends, ex-colleagues, and perhaps sneaking in a much-needed visit to the salon vs. exploring a new city with pasalubong in tow.

I felt lightheaded as we wove our way through rush hour traffic towards the Makati CBD. Whether it was the early flight we had to take or simply being home for a few days left me disoriented. The jams I cursed each day are suddenly an alien experience.

Moving between our client's office and the temporary HQ that is my old agency, I didn't even have to make myself remember where things were. But the rhythm that my body remembered felt distant and temporary - it's like being there but not really. You don't have the luxury of having a beer run at 6pm, an indulgent lunch at Apt 1B, or sharing a hearty dinner with the folks after work. Weekends are not spent lazily browsing at Fully Booked or enjoying a plateful of pasta at Cibo.

And for the first time, it hit me.

I don't come home to Manila anymore.

Once you go black (sheep), you can't go back.

I am thrilled.

In a few days I am off to start a new job at an agency that I never thought I'd be working in. And it's not because I didn't want to.

The agency had a tough reputation for strategic planning. It leaves you intimidated and unnerved. And I was feeling unnerved and intimidated. Even the office gives off a similar vibe. The receiving area has a few white tables and chairs scattered about, and a lush, red "tunnel" leads you to the work area. No lobby or receptionist here. Unless you've got your contact's number, you will feel lost and a wee bit unwelcome (then again, maybe that's the intent).

It's another leap I'm taking that I'll gladly take the plunge for. My comfort zone needs mucking up, and this one guarantees just that.

Pico.

We just adopted my cousin's mum-in-law's four month old puppy. J, who is visiting Singapore with his wife knew how much of a sucker I was for mutts. The puppy had no where to go - he'll be either put up for adoption at SPCA or sent off to Indonesia with the wife's brother, who travels quite a lot for work.

It was a long drive from our place to the East Coast. I remember bringing along a towel, still uncertain whether we were going to go home with him that night. But the moment we saw him, we knew that he belonged with us.

We went home feeling good that night. G and I hardly spoke, just smiling and peeking into the towel we ended us using after all. The warm bundle sat on my lap, curiously sniffing me. He seemed at ease.

The house will be a little more messy, tinged doggy smells and some chewed up shoes. And perhaps 10x happier.

The view from the balcony

We love this bit about our place.

An extended room where peace settles in at night.

Pseudo candle-lit dinner dates.

Saturday brunch with adobo flakes and feta cheese.

Wet laundry hung out to dry.

And early morning secret meets.

big, red office.

It's been about three weeks since I started work and I am slowly trying to get used to the non-noise in the office. I was telling a few of the guys back in Manila how I found it a bit odd to have the same agency, albeit in different locations could feel so unlike each other.

I'm guessing it's the bigness (300+ staff!) and maybe culture, but really, there's still no place like home. :-)

The stuff I miss at the 15th & 9th floors, and the whole Salcedo block:

• 9am breakkie with Pepper (adobo flakes, garlic rice and malasadong itlog)
• brainstorm/yosi breaks with the Creatives
• Apartment 1B
• squeezing Gabi's udders
• scavenging for snacks in the afternoon
• our pantry lady
• cheap beers
• napping at Tina's office after spending stressful all-nighters
  
• a triple, grande caramel macchiato from Ryan, my favourite Starbucks barista
• chika at various parts of the day
• watching the yayas walk the dogs around the park on my way home
  

Now if I could only replicate at least half of what's on this list, I can say that the Manila-fication of Singaflor has begun.

Balcony scribblings, 8-something in the evening.

Aches in places I've forgotten

I've started training again.

It's been two years since I was last in a roda. Work got in the way of my going to class and often, I'm just too exhausted to even brave the traffic to get to it.

Moving to Singapore meant a chance at rekindling my interrupted love affair, sans the excuses (I'm keeping my fingers crossed). So train I did.

The morning after just left me stiff all over. But I felt good nonetheless. I needed that; the achy reminder of a relationship I begun and cut abruptly. A friend once asked how sore you can get from doing capoeira. Just enough that you can't even sit on the toilet to pee.

Check out the Association of Capoeira Argola, under the tutelage of Mestre Ousado. Classes at The Substation, Aremenian St. (weekends only)

the leap.

You never realise how big an impact a move could do until you find yourself feeling lost and disoriented even when things are pretty settled already.

I came to Singapore with a job waiting for me, a lovely place my husband thoughtfully fixed up, and friends I am fortunate to have met as a result of my frequent travel to the country.

The months leading up to the move was all a blur. I was still heavily involved in accounts that didn't seem to want to let go (bitaw na kasi, eh!), and I had no idea how I was going to manage organising the event in December.

But these things never wait, I guess. And you're forced to confront it, whether you're ready or not. It takes courage to say good-bye to friends and loved ones, and even more courage to embrace new ones.

Kitchen accident #1

My parents, especially my mother would freak out over an entry like this. As the perpetual klutz, I am hardly left to discover my inner Julia Childs in the kitchen, lest I end up grinding my fingers into sausage.

After getting married, I learnt that I am quite adept at whipping out hearty meals from recipes I remembered from memory. My husband has woefully complained about the quality of meals we have at home ("You're making me fat!" he would whine), and I would retaliate by offering to buy muesli for breakfast the next time we head out to the grocery.

Good meals notwithstanding, I am still quite the clumsy girl, who's slowly learning to use gloves to peel the yams (one scratching episode is more than enough, thank you), keeping an extra set of glasses (breaking two in a week is a tad too much), and wielding the knife well enough to avoid shaving off too many fingernails.



diyoskohpo, mashaket


what happens when you daydream while grating cheese

Shower-proofing my thumb, one Tuesday evening

on the third day...

...the Planner walks into a wall.


Ouch. Black-eyed P.

A post-script to a long evening

'What ifs' seem to be a recurring theme in my life. As much as I dislike indulging in thoughts that ultimately will result to nothing (kaya nga what if, eh), I can't seem to avoid triggers that send me off in that direction.

The sad thing about the 'what ifs' in my head is that they're all actually quite logical and plausible. It's usually just a matter of being at the wrong place/wrong time, with the wrong guy (haha).

But fate does smile on star-crossed misfits sometimes, and I found myself in a rather unusual situation where I was forced to look at a what if straight in the eye.

And then you suddenly just know that it's time to let go. It was, as you succinctly put it, how our story was going to end. It's nice to know that happy endings do exist even for what ifs. :-)

Buzzed thrice in one night (a series of Christmas parties)

It's been a long December and free drinks are always welcome respite. But hopping from one place to another around the Makati-Taguig area can be an absolute nightmare, one that I surprisingly braved that night.

So from the yummy lechon (roast suckling pig) at the Liquid Post party at Mile Long, to the all night drinking at Porcelain, a quick drive to "Ladies Night" at saGuijo and back to more drinking and lechon at Liquid Post more than made up for the madness of end 2007.

We finally did.

saGuijo café, dec. 12. photo by dan gil.

NU Rock Awards 2007

Screw the curfew. Hail Boni Day!

After the half-assed takeover at The Pen and the government's media overkill, I was looking forward to just having beers, watching a few bands, and catching up with old friends. I successfully did all.

20 years, and still counting!


Rep. RA "Mark" Rivera


Ely and the DJs.


Backstage photo ops.


Hilera, Best New Artist.


Red Horse Extra Strong Beer, the night's sponsor.


Raimund works the crowd.

Pitch in the time of Trillanes.

I've been meaning to write this entry but never really found the time to do so (what else is new?).  I was caught up in week-long pitch preparations and it's been one of the most grueling pitches I've been on because (1) I just came back from Singapore and had to catch up on the work; and (2) it was a major must-win one. The pressure was both regional and local in nature but whichever way you look at it, I was fortunate enough to have experienced some form of mentoring from P, our regional planning director, who's been stewarding brands for this account for five years. 

Pitch day didn't start out promising. The weather was terrible and we had a pretty good chance of getting rained (or flooded in). D, our group account director was already checking with the client if they would like to have the pitch over at the office (their office was located in an area that transforms itself into the Pasig River whenever it poured).

Ever the optimist, I felt good. Despite some last minute birthing pains and with only five hours of sleep had in two days, I was pretty wired (must have been the mugfuls of coffee I drank like water that entire week).  The presentation went well, clients were laughing with us and seemed to enjoy the whole thing. They loved the strategy, and the work was fun and straightforward. Of course, whilst all this was happening, unbeknownst to us, Sen. Trillanes and his band of renegade soldiers walked out of his hearing and marched on Ayala towards The Peninsula (talk about a PR nightmare!). The regional clients were billeted at The Pen and I'm not sure if they actually sat through the other agency's presentation that afternoon.

Sen. Trillanes had my sympathy during the Oakwood mutiny (never mind that I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday in 2003 as a result of their takeover) because he came across as a young, idealistic solider who was earnest to expose corruption in the government. He was elected to the Senate without the same political machinery as most running officials have, a sign that people were looking for new faces in government that they could trust. Unfortunately, it is an opportunity and privilege that he misused. Pucha naman, you could have made all the changes in the world as a senator, and you pulled off the same, cheap old trick? 

I went home that day dazed and satiated from the delicious, well-deserved lunch that our team leisurely enjoyed. I slept on the couch with the television on, unmindful of the updates about the revolt. When I woke up, the President has declared a curfew and the media covering the event were arrested. 

Naghihintay sa susunod na kabanata. Alas-nuwebe ng gabi, Maynila.

Sigh.

Miserable weekend. Sigh.

New Singaflor addy.

Great success! (as Borat would say.)

After two days of house-hunting, we finally got the place we wanted! Andy Quek, our agent from Orange Tee is great to work with. If you're looking to relocate to Singapore, do check them out.

Lurvely. Can't wait to move. Name plate at the entrance, Moonstone Residences.

How tough it is.

We have just found a place that we knew was going to be 'home' for the next two years. It felt right the moment we stepped in the room. G was elated, muttering I really like this, eto na yon (this is it!) over and over. I tried to hide my excitement, thinking that it might compromise our ability to haggle for a better deal.

It was really difficult not to get all animated about it. The place is really lovely. It had a nice light and airy feel to it, and it didn’t hurt that we were getting a three-bedroom flat for the price of a one-bedroom in the city. The kitchen is also cosy and intuitively laid out. We also had modern baths with a tub to boot.

But what really caught my eye was the balcony beside the living area. It overlooked the river and had an unobstructed view of the city. A, our agent said that our location was more “neighbourhood” – small mum and pop eateries, bike shops, and other businesses surrounded the area, which we immediately liked because it gave the place more personality and a peek into what normal Singapore life is like.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that all the background checks and other requirements get processed smoothly. It’s hard to fall in love with something only to realise that you can’t have it. Oh, the stress of it all! I hope we get it!

This is it! This week is going to be a trial run of how married life is going to be. I’m more excited than anxious. Things are finally falling into place.

sleepless in Manila, 2am.

Random top tens.

It's something I just like having in my head, and it tends to change along with my mood, and sometimes with what I'm eating, reading, or listening to. But the theme remains the same.

A top 10 list for today.

1. Slow mornings with pressed coffee
2. Exploring Kinokuniya whilst plugged to my iPod
3. Discovering new sites or blogs on design
4. Hubby smells. Post-shower. Early morning. Prepping for a night out.
5. Anti-amats food at 4am.
   
6. Walking on the beach whilst the sun is rising
7. Eating roadside in Thailand and Vietnam
8. Polaroids and Lomo.
9. Great advertising.
10. Getting hold of a new video game to get addicted to.