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In the stories we write, he probably won 19t make the cut as a hero. Not that he isn 19t handsome. He is. The first time I met him, (he was my boss, in my very first job), half the staff (13/26) of the work-place was in love with him. He is a superb dancer, a great actor and owns the sexiest ass of everyone I know. But he is also way too sweet to become a hero 13 he is, in our stories, the perfect best friend to the heroine. The one who offers the shoulder to cry on, the one who drives her around, the same one the hero feels jealous about.

 

He arrived from South Africa where he now works in a US Army facility last Tuesday. From the airport he called me and said that he will see me Wednesday for lunch and then he wanted to go to the spa. We would have met but his flight was delayed so he hasn 19t taken a bath for two days, etc. Sure, I said. But can it be in the afternoon because I was finishing a manuscript? He said yes.

 

Yesterday, after I gave up on writing senseless scenes, I texted him. 18Will just take quick bath. See you! 19

 

He called, 1cHey, can you go to mother 19s place instead? 19 Everyone calls his mom, mother.

 

18Shits, Raul, 19 I said. 18How do I go there again? 19 I 19ve been there only a thousand times but I still can 19t remember.

 

He sighed. He would have picked me up in SM near our place but he only have a few days in the Philippines so he has non-stop social activities and guests. 18Take cab, 1d he said.

 

18Malamang. But 13 1c

 

18Oh yeah, maliligaw ka. Okay you take a cab, punta ka ng Espana tapos right before the riles, turn right. 19

 

18Sige, 1d I answered unconvinced. I really have the lousiest sense of direction.

 

Shortly after, I texted him again to say that I was in cab. After ten minutes, he called me again. 18Where are you? 19

 

18Uhm, Quezon Avenue. 1d

 

18Where exactly in Q. Ave? Can you see Sto. Domingo? 19

 

18Ano ka ba, Raul? Don 19t panic. QA EDSA pa lang. Sobra ka naman alam ko namang pumuntang Espana. 19

 

18Ok. Sige. Nagpapa-praning lang ako kasi baka maligaw ka pa. 19

 

18Okay lang ako. Riles, right? 19

 

18Oo pero Q, kapag naliligaw ka naman, tatawag ka di ba? 19

 

18Siyempre. 19

 

Thirty minutes after I was on his street so I texted again. 18I am in your street na. I think. 19

 

When the cab passed by his house, he is already outside. He paid for the cab and gave me the biggest, tightest hug.

 

18Ganda mo today, 19 sabi niya. 18I like your outfit. 19

 

18My official spa attire. Kasi naman sabi mo sa spa tayo magkikita. 19

 

18Eh, kasi masarap niluto ni mother. Dapat matikman mo muna. 19

 

When I entered, I hugged and beso everyone and he took me to the dining room where table is set already.

 

18When I called yesterday, naglalaba ka raw? Naglalaba ka na? 19 he asked with a seriously worried look on his face. 18What happened sa yaya. 19

 

18Cost cutting. Naisip ko kasi naka-leave ako so baka naman kaya ko ng walang maid. Pero undies lang naman. Pinapa-laundry ko iyong iba. 19

 

18Paano si Pao? 19

 

18I wake up really early. 19

 

He frowned.

 

18Seryoso. As in Tini-test ko ang sarili ko kung hanggang kailang ako tatagal. Two months na. I think, 3 days na lang gigive-up na ako. 19

 

I laughed. He didn 19t. Nakunot ang noo niya. Parang troubled talaga. 18So naghuhugas ka ng plato? 19 he said as if he can 19t imagine me washing dishes.

 

18Oo naman. 19 And then I told him how even Pao is learning. Sometimes, I would just leave him food and he heats it up in the microwave.

 

18Hindi ko kaya. Alam mo, pabalikin mo na lang si Ate. 19

 

I had to convince him a long time that really, I am doing fine. While I ate, he just sat there to watch me and asked me to make him kuwento the series I was writing. He laughed at all the appropriate times. He asked all the right question and then he told me how he cried when he read the last MS I sent him through email and that he passed it to a couple of female Filipino friends who also cried and that they discussed the story through YM even when they were working.

 

Then he told me how he met Christian Slater (true, the Christian Slater!) when he visited the camp and how Christian found him really really nice and accommodating that he gave him his shirt and a pair of rubber shoes as souvenir.

 

I told him, 18Did you ask him to sign the shirt? 19

 

18No. 19

 

18Sayang. We could have sold the shirt on E-bay. 19

 

He laughed his booming laughter. 18Sama mo. Bigay 18yun sa akin, eh. 19

 

18Sinabi mo ba kay Christian na kinukumusta ko siya? 19 I joked.

 

18Oo naman. 19

 

He smiled, showing the to-die-for dimples. 18Sabi niya, okay naman daw siya. Hi, din daw. 19

 

Nothing I say will be too silly for him.

 

After dessert, Pam arrived and we went to the spa together.

 

18This is my treat, 19 he said and paid for the one hour massage Seriously. And then we went separate rooms. After over an hour, I got a text.

 

18I am in Starbucks right outside. Tip money is with me. 19

 

18I gave tip na. May pambayad naman ako ng tip, 19 I said. Nagmamaganda pa.

 

Kaloka, right?

 

Okay, so he also paid for dinner and then he wanted to buy a shirt so we went with him to the mall. In the store, I saw this really nice bag and I tried it kasi sobrang  bagay sa outfit.

 

He said, 18Get it na. I will buy it for you. 19

 

18Uy, huwag na. 19 I quickly put the bag back on the rack and didn 19t touch anything again. Still, he bought some stuff for Pao, because I can 19t say no to his gift to his inaanak.

 

18Oo nga pala. I am going to Davao but I will be here Sunday. Alam ko na, bibili na ako ng mga ingredients tapos pupunta ako sa bahay mo tapos magluluto ako para masaya. What do you think? 19

 

What do I think?

 

I think I am just so blessed to have a friend who seems to think I am a princess and who thus, treats me like a princess, listens to my whining and who cooks the meanest pasta dishes ever.

 

And no, this is not fiction. I have a friend like this one. And then I have another one -  the sosyalera gay friend ( read: g5 tambayan, real Gucci bag, belly dancing to keep in shape) who was texting me all the time I was in the spa.

 

Message went like this: What are you doing Friday? Let 19s go with Ces to Tagaytay. Will treat you to a good restaurant there and then to a body massage.

 

Bakit ba lahat ng kaibigan ko gusto kong ipa-masahe?

 

My post paid line got disconnected and so I am using prepaid. When I couldn 19t answer right away he thought wala akong load. He sent me 100p credit so I can text back.

 

This was the same friend who, one time, called me to ask how I was. I said, 18heto depressed. 19

 

18Bakit ka depressed? 19

 

18Kasi isa lang ang TV sa bahay. Tapos Pao is watching. Wala akong TV 19. I was not depressed actually. Nagpapaka-brat lang.

 

18Email ka ng letter sa akin. 19

 

18Ha? Bakit? 19

 

18Hingi ka ng TV. 19

 

18What? 19

 

18Papa-approve ko kay Mayor. Para di ka na depressed. 19 (Note: di ako sumulat ha. ano kaya 18yon?)

 

I don 19t have a boyfriend right now. I don 19t even have a pending hero or hero-like material. But oh boy, I tell you, I have all the requisite friends to live the perfect heroine 19s life.

 

Hindi ko lang kayang hindi ito ikuwento so bear with me. Yesterday, I posted an old working MS and I said I would only finish it kapag nakarating na ako sa Zamboanga (naroon kasi ang Dapitan where J. Rizal was exiled). Anyway, nasabi ko na rin na lagi kong napapanaginipan si Rizal bago ako mag-birthday. That's the real reason why Edith and I schedule the trip in Feb.

Last month, Pam (another friend) told me that his Kuya Allan is getting married next year in Zamboanga. Sabi ko, sige sabay sabay na kaya tayong pumunta. Makiki-attend na rin kami ng wedding (yes, I practically invited myself). Kailan daw ang wedding? Sabi ni Pam, February pero di ko sure ang date. Sabi ko sa kanya, hay naku matatawa nalang talaga ako kapag malapit sa birthday ko ang kasal na iyan.

Nakalimutan ko na about it. Pero apparently, this morning, Pam left a message for his Kuya Allan asking when the wedding will be. Tapos she left for a client call.

 

About 15 minutes ago, she got a response from Kuya A. Walang ibang nakasulat sa message kung hindi:

02/20/10.

Hindi ko talaga kinaya. That is exactly the date of my birthday.

Hihinga lang ako ng malalim.

 

 

Sandali lang muna ang tungkol sa pagiging writer. Tungkol sa

pagiging nanay muna 26

 

As a mother, I would like to think I am pretty liberal. For one, I don 19t impose on my child what I want him to be when he grows up. May mga naiisip ako na sana pero hindi ko masyadong ipinipilit. Hinahayaan ko siyang mag-explore.

 

12 na si Pawee ko. Ayaw na nga niyang patawag na Pawee sa labas ng bahay. Ang totoo niyang pangalan ay Carl Geoffrey Paolo 13 sa kanya galing ang pen name kong Carla Giopaolo. 1cI am a man 1d na sabi niya. 1cPaolo na ang itawag sa akin ha. 1d

 

Bilang may claim na siya sa pagiging man, nag-iisip na rin talaga ako minsan. So ano nga kayang gusto niyang maging?

 

May mga hinala ako:

 

Hinala Number 1: Writer (yes, no.1 13 biased ako)

Bakit ko naisip?

Noong 7 or 8 years old pa lang siya, nasulat na niya ang kanyang first short story. Nung 9 siya,natapos niya ang kaniyang novelette, entitled: The Warrior Man, may illustration pa bawat start ng chapter kahit sinulat lang sa writing notebook. Noong 10 siya, na-bore siya sa office ko kaya gumawa siya ng one-act play.

Di pa nagpaawat,matapos sulatin, naghanap ng artistic staff ng play niya. At nagmaganda pa, kinausap ang mga  tao sa Theater Center na napili niya. Eto ang line-up niya:

Director- Soxie Topacio. Sabi ko noong una si Tito Phil na lang (Tito Phil is the director of Maynila) pero ayaw niya. Si Mother Soxie daw gusto niya. Nakasalubong niya si Mother, tinanong niya kung puwede. Siyempre pumayag si Mother.

Musical Director/Composer 13 Noel Cabangon. Um-oo na rin sa kaniya si Tito Noel pero binasa ko script niya, para namang hindi musical. Susulatan pa yata ng libretto. Oh well, bilang nagcompose na siya ng kantang Ang itik ay Naglalangoy baka naman kaya niya na rin.

 

Hinala Number 2: Actor

Meron na siyang filmography at saka videography (tama ba tawag dun?) Anyway, eto ang kanyang portfolio:

 

As Young John Pete in the MTV of Late Isabel 19s Favorite Things

As Tony in Puting Ilaw Directed By Aissa Penafiel for the UPFI

As Alon in One Up Directed by Jeminah Ferrer for the UPFI

As Little Boy (I forgot his name) in the Unilab I-comply infomercial

 

(May nakakita sa kanyang agent at lahat na lang yata ng VTR na pang-edad niya, pinapapunta kami pero hindi namin pinupuntahan dahil busy ang nanay niya na ayaw naman talaga siyang ipasok sa showbiz.)

Hinala Number 3: Singer

 

He has recorded three songs in the Childen 19s Theater Program Audio CD 13 Pag-Ibig Tulad ng Batis (Chorus), Kaya Mo, Kaya Ko (Duet) and Ako ay Isang Babae, Ako ay Isang lalaki (duet)

 

He has recorded for Gary Granada for the jingle of the Gawad Pook Awards

 

Hinala Number 4: Critique

He watches all PETA plays XX times. He takes notes of mistakes and reports it to the director.

 

One time when he was about 6 (basta panahon ng Harry Potter 2), I asked him 13 So Pao which one did you like more. Yung 1 o etong 2. Sabi niya sa akin. 13 Ma, I like the musical score of the first pero mas maganda ang production design nitong second (seriously, there is something wrong with this kid)

 

Okay yata ako kahit alin sa mga hinala ko. Tutal kahit ayoko siyang payagang mag-artista ng totohan ngayon, ang usapan naman pag tapos na siya ng college, eh. Hmm, baka puwede ring director.

 

Kagabi, pag-uwi ko sa bahay, nagsusulat siya ng script para sa presentation nila sa school. Sabi niya, 1cMa, paglaki ko 26

 

(Oh my God, finally malalaman ko na. Nagsusulat siya so malaki ang chance nung number 1 hinala ko.)

1dMa, alam mo, paglaki ko gusto kong maging professional wrestler. 1d

 

Promise, gusto kong mahimatay.

Nung tiningnan ko sinusulat niya, ang pangalan ng mga characters ay Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Undertaker at saka Edge.

Kainis.

I was really looking for some documents I need to write my annual MPR report but found this instead. It says in the doc information that I wrote it December 10, 3 something am. Anyway, this is meant to be poster here, I think because the title says, for LJ entry.

Dumaguete Break

On our way home from a late night meeting for a Karaoke Dream performance in the DFA auditorium, I finally figured that whenever I plan a vacation something invariably comes up to make sure it doesn’t happen. It was going to be a long weekend with Monday declared as a holiday. So without making arrangements for Pawee and without checking in with Jette (who had been inviting me forever to go there and anyway, I did warn her that if I indeed go, I didn’t want a planned agenda – I would prefer to sit and stare ), I picked up the phone and booked a flight to Dumaguete.

It took me about 20 minutes to get a confirmation. I needed to go back to Manila Sunday night because we promised Tito Bembol to watch Gerilya in CCP so I got the earliest Saturday flight to Dumaguete and latest Sunday flight to Manila.

After I put down the phone, Ian, who was sitting in front of the cab said, “Kailan ka pupunta sa Dumaguete?”

“Saturday,” I said.

“This Saturday?” He asked. It was already Monday night.

“Yup.” I said, dialling my sister’s number to ask if she could pick up Pawee from our house so he could stay in my parents house in San Pablo.

“Sama kaya ako?” Ian spoke again.

Pam who was sitting beside me and had other plans for the weekend said. “Syet, kakainis kaya kayo.”

And that was how all three of us ended in the 7am flight of Cebu Pacific to Dumaguete. ETA – 8:10am.

All three of us had just been to a tour of three productions which started in Nueva Ecija moved to Isabela and ended in Laoag (by land through Cagayan Valley and Aparri), anyone would think we will be so tired of traveling… but this wasn’t work related and we’re traveling by plane…

This is vacation!

What we did in Dumaguete?

•Went to Jette’s place to drop off our stuff and freshen up

•Walked along the boulevard (kinda like the Manila bay with cleaner water)

•Ate second breakfast (first one in the airport and we are really turning into hobbits)

•Got foot reflex massage. If any one of you guys reading this intend to go to Dumaguete. Do not, I repeat, do not forget to go to the park across the church to treat yourself to one of these. Cheap too. You pay only for the cost of a face towel, a small bottle of alcohol and “kahit magkano” tip to the reflexologist.
•Lunch with Dessa who introduced us to the concept of slow food (as opposed to fast food). It’s all the rave in Europe she said. Had one of the best seafood chowder I’ve ever tasted and vegetable kebab which makes me want to consider going vegetarian.

•Massage + Lunch = Sleepiness. We went home to watch “Kate and Leopold” and “Serendipity” and sleep. Simultaneously.
•Went back to a gift shop owned by Gifts (that’s her name) who also designs the one-of-a kind pieces that the shop sells.
•Jette tricked us into walking about two-kilometers by saying “Malapit na,” every five minutes to Hayahay, the famour resto-bar which reminded me of the bars in Boracay. Totally worth it. The Camiguin express was superb. And Pam pigged out on the chili crab (not as good as the one we had in the beachfront restaurants found in Sabang, Palawan, she said but still really good)


•After mix drinking beer, rum-coke and tequila, we got hungry again and went to the tempurahan in the boulevard (sidewalk stalls open only after 4 pm) and ate balut and tempura – kikiam actually.
•Slept long
•Breakfast of suman and chocolate and pancit in Teves Stall in the palengke. Dessa recommended it but the whole of Dumaguete seemed to be eating breakfast there when we got there. Finally got seats. This food place is also a MUST. Our bill was P 115.00 for 4 people. The vendor misunderstood our shocked look and thinking that we found it too expensive even recomputed our bill

•3-hour “Tunganga time” in Beach. More pictures. And lunch. A bit expensive but the view there was fantastic.
•
* Dessert in the famous Sans Rival where we got Sylvanas for pasalubong
• Airport again


The next two weeks before the Christmas break is going to be tough : IOM video shoot, DOLE 7th year anniversary and yes, we even agreed to organize the PETA Christmas party, submission of reports for all the above, the 6-end mancom eval and report and I still owe Tita maribel the Noli-Fili tour experience paper. But this trip has been the equivalent of a power nap on a real crazy day. I’m ready to work!

Incidentally, I saw in the smile magazine this feature about the three islands in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

Hmm………..

Just finished MPRO six months eval (and planning). Love this place we are in -


the perfect-place-for-"tunganga"-cabana is on the beachfront just a few steps away from the cottages






sunset view






and the people i have the good luck to be working with --

off to see the wizard (?)




sunrise in angkor wat (can't find a better reason to wake up early)



climbing angkor (lara croft meets golum)



taking a break among the ruins (where else?)



Happy herb pizza!




sailing where the three rivers meet - ton le sap, ton le basak and the great mekong river



somewhere in ayutthaya



or in cagayan de oro



(with pao..)



white island, camiguin!



boracay!!



and again!

1. contact lenses - threw away my last pair last night. they are still drying up to crispy plastics on top of my shoe rack as we speak. i'm wearing a pair of eyeglasses which were deformed for having been pressed between me and my bed two nights in a row. the glare (from the glasses)is giving me a headache.

2. sugar - first sugar-free day and my energy level is sub-zero

3. oil-free face - a friend says, "oiliness is next to poverty". i'm looking poorer and poorer by the minute.

4. graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (sigh)

5. plane tickets to thailand

taken after clam watching and snorkelling in camiguin.

he hurt his feet and i my knees. so we said we should make up a story and tell everyone that we were pursued by giant sea urchins and bumped into gigantic corals.

Son : Ma, puwede ba kong magtinda ng balut?
Me : huh?
Son : Balut, ma, puwede ba akong maglako
Me : Kasi,babe bawal magtrabaho ang bata, diba?
Son : E bakit yung ibang bata, nagtitinda ng gulay
Me : Hindi sila sumusunod sa law
Son : Please kahit every other day lang
Me : Okay sige pero kailangan mo munang kumuha ng permit sa DSWD.
Son : Saan iyon?
Me : Pasama ka sa Tito mo
Son : Ma?
Me : O
Son : Puwede bang humingi ng pang gas?
Me : Okay. Pero may bayad din kasi iyong pagkuha ng permit
Son : Ha?
Me : Yup
Son : Magkano?
Me : 3,000.00
Son : Ma, hindi na lang ako magtitinda ng balut

i am supposed to write a 6-month report for mancom at 10am. instead i've been procrastinating for the last two hours. i've tried downloading the 8th episode of Heroes (no success), opening my friendster (which i haven't seen for the last 3 months or so) and then finally, landing on this page (no idea what to write).


thus, begins my day...

my fifth day here in tokyo. it's so cold here. yesterday morning it was 3C. tomorrow, i am going back to the philippines. but today i'm going shopping!

i dropped my phone in the toilet bowl.

My son plays RPG on playstation. He is not interested in the tiny "enemies", the ones his character meets while walking around and trying to find his next destination. All he looks forward to are what he calls the "boss" battles. Those are the ones that require bigger skills, higher HPs and MPs.

Anyway, the two of us just finished a boss battle last week.

Pawee was hospitalized. After several tests beginning from threee blood tests (which ruled out dengue), 2 kinds of urine tests (not UTI or any of its mutation) to a couple of X-rays which confirmed the doc's worst fear : pneumonia. First batch of antibiotics didn work, he was still having fever. We had to call in a pulmonologist who started him on tri-med : three kinds of antibiotics injected into his IV three times a day, each one costing a fortune and each one too thick for his delicate veins so that every two days or so, his IV had to be transferred to the other arm so they don't get too inflamed. He had to be nebulized every two hours for two days and every four hours for the next four days. He was given oxygen for two and half days because his respiration rate was too fast. The blood tests and skin tests and x-rays seemed to be done almost everyday. They were pricking his fingers and arms like they were pin cushions and exposing him to radiation to see if the meds were mending his his frail lungs.

It was like I was paying the hospital to torture my son.


It killed me to see Pawee who had always been active and healthy, lying on a hospital bed with all sorts of attachments. When he had fever, his eyes would be sleepy and glassy. When the nurses came in with his injections, they would be tearful and pleading and he would cy "Mama" and ask to be held while he bravely allowed them to take blood or inject fluids.

I knew we won the battle when his temperature held at 36.5 for 24 hours and the two doctors came in, their worried smiles replaced by genuine happiness and told us that we could go home.

Finally. We can say goodbye to Esrun (his favorite nurse), Mamang Nebulizer (the morning pulmo guy) and Nebulizer Man (the evening pulmo guy) and the nursing studens who check on him amost every hour and talked to him too much such that before we left, he already knew how to check pulse rates and Blood Pressure and read the thermometer.

While we were preparing to go home, he walked around the corridors like his doctor doing the rounds and then went to the nurses station and gave them orders, "Room 119 nebulize every two hours, Room 102 CBC and Room 110 give him ceftazidine and paracetamol." He also took the tag on his chart and changed the initials (which had been wrong for the last two weeks) from C.J. to C.G. and explained to the nurses there that his othe name is Geoffrey and not Jeffrey. Ah, my son is back. I knew then for sure he is gonna be okay.

Next level.

This song has been playing in my head for the last 3 days...


Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Moments so dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife

In - Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure
A Year In The Life?

How About Love?
How About Love?
How About Love?
Measure In Love

Seasons of Love.
Seasons of Love.

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Journeys To Plan

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure The Life
Of A Woman Or A Man?

In Truths That She Learned
Or In Times That He Cried
In Bridges He Burned
Or The Way That She Died

It's Time Now - To Sing Out
Though The Story Never Ends
Let's Celebrate
Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends

Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Measure In Love

Oh you got to remember the love,
You know that love is a gift from up above
Share love, give love, spread love
Measure, measure your life in love.

Seasons Of Love
Measure Your Life In Love

Had real late dinner last night with friends - all of us (Pam, Jette and Myself) went to all-girls catholic schools except Vernie who went to a Manila Public School.

At almost 12 midnight our conversation goes like this:


VERNIE : When Povedans pray they end it with St. Pedro Poveda, pray for us, di ba?

ME : Yup. Pam, what do you say nga?

PAM: Mother Marie Eugenie, pray for us

JETTE: In our school, it's St. Paul but when I was in Grade School, we say, Immaculate Heart of Mary.

ME: We say, Blessed of Magdalene of Canossa, pray for us and then later it became St. Magdalene of Canossa.

VERNIE : Kami we say, Lim and Atienza