Stay safe!!!

I was in Trinoma last night at around 7 pm. I was supposed to meet Rey in front of Cyma at the top floor so I took the escalators near the entrance facing the restaurant area. The escalators were inside the mall but this set of elevators was located in a very quiet location - it faced a wall and was away from the view of the shoppers and the guards.

When I got there, 3 men were just getting off the escalator. When they were near me, one of them suddenly said that they needed to go back to the 4th floor. He immediately went back to the escalator. I slowed down to allow the 2 others to go ahead of me but they stopped to chat. I went ahead. Suddenly, I felt that something was wrong, so I looked around. I noticed that aside from the 3 men, there was nobody else in that section of Trinoma. All of us were on the escalator with their "leader" 4 steps ahead of me, and the 2 guys who were then 2 steps down. I felt so uneasy that I ran past their leader without no logical reason (wala nang isip-isip, kunwari na lang may hinahabol akong guwapo). When I reached the top and looked back, I noticed that they did not complete their escalator ride (so I guess hindi sila nabulag sa aking kagandahan). For some reason (maybe I'm really just paranoid every Christmas/tuition/election season,) I felt that I just escaped an attack. I was relieved but I was still shaken that instead of turning left towards Cyma, I mistakenly turned right and took the longer route (nakita ko tuloy and Siomal by Hussein's. Doon kami kumain. Masarap pero para na rin kaming na-hold up sa mahal ng binayad namin.)

Nothing really happened to me. The 3 guys may just have been friends who were hanging out at Trinoma and had no intentions of robbing people. It may have just been coincidence that no one else was using the escalators. But I'd rather be paranoid and look silly/crazy than be robbed or hurt (mahirap kumita ng pera!!!).

So, I will take what happened as a reason to share with you what motherlily always told me: (a) when in public places, always be aware of your surroundings; and (b) don't ignore your gut feel, it may be your guardian angel (or in my case, fatherlily!) warning you of dangers.

More tips can be found at:

How to avoid an attack - http://www.ehow.com/how_2213835_avoid-an-attack.html
How to avoid purse snatching - http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Purse-Snatching and http://www.ehow.com/how_1889_avoid-purse-snatchers.html

Stay safe!

Feeling Tech-y

B has a new toy - a black MSI Wind! It's nice and cute and it serves its purpose as a portable book reader and dvd player. The 6-cell battery really powers the Wind for at least 5 hours. The only complaint we had was that it couldn't connect to our Netgear wireless router at home while it didn't have any problems connecting to the wifi in Coffeebean and Tea Leaf, Kozui and the Complink branches in SM North Edsa and SM Megamall. I knew that our router was working fine as my Dell-ing masira office laptop could connect to it without any fuss.

I've checked out the manuals, googled it, browsed through countless of forums, inquired with the tech people of Complink, and still didn't get the solution. But after getting a talking fuschia rubber-covered heart-shaped mouse, I got inspired to be creative and experimented with the router settings myself. Nope, I'm not a tech-y person (M, Deng and Janina can attest to the number of times that they got an email from me asking for help on Excel, our internal website and even Powerpoint), but I'm a brave fool. And this brave fool finally found the settings that allowed the MSI Wind to connect to our router. Woohoo! (For those who want to know, I just changed the channel to 01 and set the mode to B and G. Whatever that means.)

And speaking of my talking fuschia rubber-covered heart-shaped mouse, I also have a purple extension cord! Don't they look perfect with my laptop bag?

Hay, wala na talagang maniniwalang abogado ako. And I haven't even mentioned that my mouse says "I love you" when you click the scroll button (even I have to shiver at that.)

25 random things about me

Yup - got tagged in Facebook several times. I meant to complete this 2 weeks ago but never got to start drafting until I got stuck in traffic along C-5 on my way to work this morning.

1. i seldom drink coffee but i make brewed coffee everyday.

2. brewing coffee is the only kitchen-related task that i do for B.


3. i don't go to the kitchen to make coffee. our coffee maker is in our bedroom, beside the electric kettle. I use the hotwater from the kettle for my tea.

4. i love loose-leaf teas.

5. tea is supposed to help digestion and keep weight down. i've been drinking tea for 2 decades but i just keep on gaining weight specially around my stomach.

6. which is why people always think i'm pregnant.

7. i don't mind when people think i'm pregnant, i'm quite used to it.

8. and i hope they don't mind if i use their misconception to my advantage - i get good bargains (people seem to think that they will get lucky if they sell stuff to a preggie), i don't have to run when flying on budget airlines, and i didn't have to climb the stairs of arc de triomphe (B and i got to take the elevator!)

9. i have never been pregnant and i don't think i'll ever be. we're child-free by choice. (this is a nicer way of saying that i have no plans of losing sleep over a 3-month old tyrant.)

10. but i don't mind helping B take care of his 17-year old daughter, G. (she doesn't give me sleepless nights and i don't have to wash her when she poops!)

11. i first met G when she was 2. B and I were a couple for 10 years before we got married (it took him that long to convince me that he wouldn't wear my underwear.)

12. we were gimmick buddies for a year and a half before we got together. we've been married for 4 years (thankfully, even if i gained so much weight since the wedding, he still wouldn't fit in my underwear.)

13. we've been living with B's mom for all those 4 years. i don't mind living with my mother-in-law. She runs the house like a hotel (we have room service every breakfast!) and cooks really delicious food.

14. i love good food and it shows - it goes straight to my stomach and never leaves it.

15. B's my eating buddy. we often try out new restos and for the past 5 years, we give each other a point for each good resto that we recommend. the score's at 64-63, in B's favor. i don't mind losing to him on this for as long as he's fatter than me.

16. the last point I received was for Cely's carinderia in Angeles City, Pampanga. for P385, B and I had really good bulalo, the best chicken barbecue that B has ever tasted, the best sisig I've ever tasted, rice and 7-up. the food we ordered was good for 4 people but we finished everything anyway.

17. we were in Pampanga to check out the hot air balloon festival but we ended spending most of our time eating, sleeping and biking. that's how we are when we travel - we make detailed plans but we don't mind setting aside our plans if we feel like doing something else. (actually, what really happened was that we were horrified when we saw the number of people trying to enter the site!)

18. i just learned how to ride a bike last December using a bike that Marian gave me (thanks, Marian!). I've been riding a bike at least twice a week since then. I'm now using Gen's (pronounced as "Jen") bike (thanks, Ojai and Gen!) I love the feel of the wind on my face when I'm biking, it reminds me of distant places with flowers, rivers and fresh air.

19. i love going to distant places with flowers, rivers and fresh air. forget the flowers, rivers and fresh air - i love going to distant places.

20. i seldom shop when i travel. i'm happy to just keep on looking at the pictures that i took. pero di ako nagwagi sa New York - if satan used outlet shops to tempt people to sin, i'd definitely go to hell.

21. i love pictures! we had 3 photographers at our wedding and i didn't regret getting all of them. i bought an entry level dslr (olympus e-500) a couple of years ago so that i could have good pictures when i travel, only to realize that if i was taking the picture, i wouldn't be on it.

22. i think that i take good pictures (hey, my entry just won first place at the Olyclub's monthly contest!) but i'll never be a brilliant photographer. i just don't have the patience to carry all the necessary gears and wait for the perfect moment.

23. photography is just like my other skills/talents - i'm a jill of all trades but master of none. i sing (sang with the Ateneo Glee Club in college), play the piano and the violin (achieved level 4 as certified by the British School of Music), write, act (i studied Creative Writing in high school but graduated as a Theater Arts major), dance, organize events, eat a whole spring chicken with 2 plates of rice, fall on a bike when I wasn't moving in the first place, get drunk on fruit juice, and hide my jewelry so well that i couldn't find them again.

24. the only skill i am really good at is sleeping - i can sleep anytime, anywhere! B thinks I'm narcoleptic.

25. i think that my chow, Porkchop, is narcoleptic, but still find her adorable even if she's asleep most of the day. i treat her like a baby except when she gets on my nerves in which case i kick her out of the house and let her sleep at the garage.

Scene from Loving You

ex-boyfriend na childhood friend: . . .ginagawa mo lang bang past time si laine?

current boyfriend: We both know she's way too special for that. Jepoy . . . you're the only one who's holding her back. Do the right thing.

ex-boyfriend na childhood friend: Sige, just so we're clear - you break her heart and i'll break her neck.

ano raw???

Act N@W - my Concordia and San Juan Adventure

Since I'm pretending to be good this Christmas season, I decided to join some of the members of Newlyweds@Work (N@W) extend some help to Concordia Children's Services.

Concordia is a small orphanage that takes care of 22 kids and supports the education of 34 other urban poor children. Marj wrote about them in an email and a lot of N@wies picked up her plea for help. A few emails later, volunteer N@wies were already organizing a party for the urban poor kids. Many others volunteered to send donations. I was one of them.

Initially, I just pledged a little money. It was the easiest thing to do. But after attending several Christmas parties, indulging myself in food and alcohol and tremendously enjoying the company of friends, I felt like doing something different. So, I volunteered to take pictures at the Concordia party.

When I mentioned my plans to some officemates, they too got excited and offered to donate goods. Thinking that more people would be interested in helping out the kids, I sent out an email to almost everyone in my address books. The response was overwhelming. I could hardly pack all the donations that I was able to gather in our car!

Apparently, there were also tons of generous Nawies that we just had too much donations for 1 beneficiary. The organizers then decided to donate the overflow to St. Martin de Porres Charity Hospital.

A week before the party, I sent out an invite to the members of the Olyclub and the GSM PhotoClub to help me take pictures. I was happy when Mot, Honey, Oli and Rodge volunteered to cover the party with me.

The night before the party, I charged my batteries and prepared my memory cards. I was so excited that I didn't have enough sleep. I fell asleep at 2 AM but by 7:30 AM, I was ready to leave. I passed by Mot on my way to Concordia. Traffic was a bit heavy because of the hundreds of people who were going home to their provinces for the Christmas holidays. We arrived at Concordia 30 minutes before the start of the party.

Concordia was nestled in between Ligaya Lodge and Gardenia Terrace Motel. The entrance was a gate right beside a huge banner advertising taxi rooms for P599. We wondered if the babies in the orphanage were products of the activities in these motels.

As soon as we got there, we unloaded the donations from my car and started preparations for the party. I helped set up the table for the prizes, which was useless as more donations arrived after I set it up so they ended up fixing everything again. There were just so many donations!

The program started promptly and I was impressed by the host, Ate Ayie. She chose games that were appropriate for the kids and she even made animals out of balloons. 3 crew members of Jollibee were there to help her out. They were all great with the kids!

But the star of the show was Dani - she read a story to the children. She was able to capture the attention of all the kids with her story that they almost looked hypnotized! When it was time for the Q&A after the story, everyone knew the answers (except for me, hehe). I was really so amazed by her talent in story-telling. Tinalo niya talaga si Kuya Bodjie at si Ate Sienna.

The children also got excited when Jollibee performed. Jollibee was just so charming that even the adults (photographers included) wanted to have a picture taken with him. After watching him and taking pictures of him for 30 minutes, I was half in love with him!

I so enjoyed the program that I didn't notice the heat, the dozens of children running around and screaming and the fact that we were having the party at a parking lot. I was also having so much fun with the other N@wies that I ended up posing for a lot of pictures with them. We even had a picture taken with Jollibee! It surprised me how we all gelled and had fun together even if it was my first time to see most of them. I was also amazed at how everything was efficiently organized.

After the program, a handful of us went to St. Martin to turn over the donations. The administrator was visibly touched and she promised to make sure that the donations would benefit the patients and the staff. She also requested the head nurse to give us a tour of the hospital. At one point, someone asked if we were actresses (apparently because only actresses went around hospitals to give out free stuff). We wanted to answer that we were actresses but we weren't famous because: (a) we were never launched; or (b) our soap operas were televised at 3 AM and got axed after 1 airing.

Even after giving out slippers to the kids in St. Martin, we realized that we still had 2 full boxes of slippers with us. Wanting to ensure that the slippers were donated to less-fortunate children, we thought of institutions that would have children who may appreciate having new slippers. We decided to make an impromptu visit to the municipal hospital of San Juan. Right outside the hospital were 2 street kids. One of them was running around with bare feet but he still refused the slippers we were giving him! We were so desperate to give him the slippers that we were almost begging him to receive it. Hindi kami nagwagi.

The people in the hospital were a different story, they were so grateful for the slippers and showered us with thanks. One of the kids confined in the hospital was the sibling of the kid playing in front of the hospital. We left a pair of slippers for him. Ha!

Unfortunately, there were only a handful of kids at the hospital so we still had several dozens of slippers with us. Since we were on a mission to hand out those slippers, we discussed our next step. We thought about standing in a busy corner and give out the slippers to the kids who knocked on car windows to beg. We decided against it, natakot kaming pagkaguluhan (naks, feeling artista!) After a few minutes, we decided to distribute it at the nearest depressed area.

And so, we trekked to the nearest barangay hall and found ourselves talking to the people of Brgy. Balongbato (in English, Rockwell!) We told them that we had slippers to give out and that we would appreciate it if they invited children between ages 2-8 to get their slippers from us. After 5 minutes, at least 100 kids were swarming the place. We all felt like we hit the jackpot! We had the kids fall in line and gave out the rest of the slippers. we ran out of slippers halfway through the line. Once again, I was amazed at the efficiency of the Nawies - they not only gave out the slippers, they were also able to give the right size to the kids. Ang galing!

We finished at around 2 PM - I was tired and thirsty, my legs felt heavy after standing for hours and walking around with my gear (I really have to start working on becoming physically fit!) but I actually got a little sad when our adventure ended and said goodbye to my fellow N@wies. It would take some time before I see them again in person.

As I journeyed back to real life, I browsed through the pictures on my camera and smiled. I was pretending to be good but the fun and adventure that I had with the N@wies and my photographer friends were all real. Their smiles were saved on my memory cards. I just hope that my smile was saved on theirs - lalo na yung picture ko with Jollibee!!!

More pictures are posted at: http://abieco.multiply.com/photos/album/50/Act_NW

Call for Applicants to Philippine High School for the Arts Scholarships

The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is currently accepting applicants to the 2009 Annual Nationwide Search for Young Arts Scholars (ANSYAS).

PHSA is a government run secondary school for artistically gifted and talented children and youth located in Mt. Makiling, Laguna. It implements a special secondary education curriculum oriented to the arts while offering the Basic Education subjects prescribed by the Department of Education (DepEd). The specialized curriculum of the PHSA is focused on the disciplines of Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theater, and the Visual Arts.

Applicants must be Filipino citizens with outstanding ability in any of the following disciplines—Music (instrument and voice), Dance (ballet and folk), Theater Arts, Visual Arts, and Creative Writing. Applicants must be graduating Grade VI or VII pupils for the school year 2008-2009; of above average intelligence, proficient in oral and written Filipino and English; without any debilitating illness; and willing to study in a residential high school.

Likewise, applicants must be determined to pursue a college degree in Architecture, Fine Arts, Music, Dance, Theater Arts, Journalism or any related courses upon graduation from the PHSA.

Successful applicants will receive free tuition, board and lodging, classes with master teachers, a monthly stipend plus the chance to represent the country and the school in international festivals, competitions and exchange programs. Application is also free.

Established in 1977, the PHSA has a distinguished roster of graduates that include singer Grace Nono (Theater), filmmaker Raymond Red (Visual Arts), painter and installation artist Gerry Leonardo (Visual Arts), stage and film actress Shamaine Buencamino (Theater), pianist Hiyas Hila (Music), stage and film actor Soliman Cruz (Theater), bass baritone Jonathan Zaens (Music), Biag Gaongen (Theater) and dancer Candice Adea (Ballet).

The PHSA boasts of an impressive faculty as well. PHSA teachers, according to PHSA Executive Director Fernando C. Josef, are among the best of the country’s artists, practitioners and educators. “PHSA is the only national arts institution that provides a four-year scholarship to exceptionally talented young Filipino artists. It offers these young artists a comprehensive and highly specialized training supported by excellent facilities and in the idyllic and beautiful setting of Mt. Makiling.”

Application forms and the list of requirements per art discipline may be downloaded from the PHSA website www.phsa.edu.ph. All documents and requirements must be sent directly to ANSYAS 2009, c/o Assistant Reynaldo O. Wong, PHSA, National Arts Center, Mt. Makiling, Los Baños 4030 Laguna.

For inquiries, please email phsa@laguna.net or call telefax (+6349)5365971 to 73 and 536-2862.

*re-posted from ClickTheCity.com

My Hairspray

After years of not watching plays, I finally got a good excuse to watch one - my officemates were selling tickets! (I wanted to watch Wicked in NY but by the time I had a good idea of what my free days were, the shows were already sold out.) I was just too happy that Marian, Mich and Dette were also interested in watching Hairspray.

The only version of Hairspray I watched was the original (1980's) version. I just came across it while cable-surfing one evening and was instantly entertained by Tracy's dancing - she looked so huge but she was light on her feet and she danced with so much energy. She was so positive and bouncy that I really wanted her to succeed. Up til now, I still couldn't believe that Ricki Lake played Tracy in that movie.

The Manila version was also entertaining.

Mabel Ching was an acceptable Tracy. She also gave a positive vibe, was bouncy and she was effective in playing a love-struck teenager. She could dance but there were steps that she couldn't pull off. There were times when she was graceful and energetic but they weren't enough to convince me that she was the best dancer on stage. She was mostly in tune but her long notes made me cringe a bit when she lost control over her vibrato and she had the tendency to over-act the little-girl voice making her sound like a 4-year old instead of a high school student.

In contrast, Dulce really gave Motormouth Maybell a powerful singing voice but she couldn't pull off the role of a black diva. She just looked like a contestant for a Tina Turner-dance alike contest. But at least she had her moments and really took command of the stage when she sang I Know Where I've Been, unlike Tim Espinosa who was such a disappointment as Link Larkin. His voice was too thin, his dancing was average and he was never able to convince me that he was a hunk that girls would swoon for. It didn't help that he looked so ordinary.

Nyoy Violante as Seaweed also looked ordinary (and I'm being generous when I say this as he really looks like a troll) but his singing and dancing were impressive. I expected him to sing well but I was surprised that he could dance so gracefully and execute complicated dance moves. His moonwalk was amazing. He wasn't able to convice me that he was black (I didn't see the groove), but he was pleasant to watch.

Another person who was pleasant to watch was Christine Allado who played the scheming Amber. She was utterly convincing as a racist bitch. She had a powerful voice and she was a charming dancer. If Amber weren't so scheming, I would have voted her as Ms. Hairspray.

I also liked the performances of Leo Rialp as Tracy's father, Wilbur, and Monica Reynoso as the nerdy Penny, but the show-stealers were Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as Velmo von Tussle and Michael de Mesa as Edna. Menchu and Michael were the obvious veterans - you could understand each word that they uttered and when it was their turn to shine, they dazzled me with their presence.

Menchu was amazing - I could really feel the venom in her voice when she sang, she was beautifully devious and she seemed to have complete control over her whole body, including her vocal chords. I really was convinced that she was a fame-hungry ex-beauty-queen who would use her body and connections to win. I found her performance of Ms. Baltimore Crabs more compelling than Dulce's I Know Where I've Been, because Menchu didn't only sing it powerfully, she also sang every line in character.

Michael was even more amazing. He didn't sing as well as Menchu but he really looked and acted like a doting mother to Tracy and a loving wife to Wilbur. I could almost forget that he was male. Of course, he wouldn't allow me to forget his masculinity when he deliberately switched to his deep male voice.

His acting alone was enough to keep me entertained the whole evening.

Hairspray was also a visual feast - the set was simple but the costumes were really beautiful - I've never seen so many colorful and beautifully patterned polka-dots in my entire life. All the dresses were so pretty that I wanted to wear them myself. I so covet the 2-toned raincoats that the girls were wearing in one scene!

Taken as a whole, the Manila version of Hairspray wasn't perfect but my experience was positive enough that I suppose I'll be watching plays regularly again.