pent-up blabber

A decade’s absence from the world of blogging and I’ve been flooded with all sorts of worthwhile offline lessons and experiences. Too much perhaps to flow into one cohesive entry but fair enough, will try. If I do sound like Tom Cruise insanely blabbing nonsense, consider yourself forewarned. Did I just use “Tom Cruise”, “insanely”, “blabbing”, “nonsense” in one sentence? Could I be any more redundant?

siblings and pamangkins at disney

Things Missed (aka a subhead to try to put some order to this blabbing)
My siblings from Manila were here towards the end of May. We were able to spend a fair amount of time together. For a huge family like ours of 7 siblings, having 6 of us together again was quite a pleasurable experience. With the times and adventures spent together, I’ve learned that sometimes you only realize the things you’ve been missing once you experience them. Shared meals. Joint bargain hunting. Going places together. Kwentuhan. Kantyawan. Laughing through mishaps (the costly peking duck order, the Oakley’s roller coaster demise, Jalen’s choking on a cheesecake, oops, that wasn’t really a laughable experience so next item). Living in the same house again. Pigging out. More pigging out. And again, more shopping. Sama-samang pasyal dito, pasyal doon. Deciding to eat kahit ano, kahit saan. And wanting to do kahit ano, kahit saan. Gosh, how many Filipinos does it take to make a decision? Kahit ilan. Hindi ko alam. Malay ko. Ok lang. Ummm, Medyo. Baka. Baka hindi. Siguro. Malamang. Oo (kahit hindi naman talaga gustong isagot). Jeezus, no wonder the Philippines is in such a mess, coz it always takes ages to get definite decisions and answers from us. I loooove Katie Holmes. I know everything, you don’t. Go away, aliens! Uhoh, another Cruisism attack.

Pardon the cultural commentary detour. Now, where was I?

It was a great experience being able to go to Florida with family. It was good having them here in New York. And it was good spending a few days in Delaware with them too. I wouldn’t have realized how much I missed having everyone around, had they not been here for the few weeks. I wonder when the next time of being together would be.

Life comes as it comes (again an attempt at putting a little bit of order to my scatterbrain thoughts)
As much as it was great having family over, it was temporary. People come and people go. What you gonna do? Life comes as it comes. Especially living in a city such as New York, known for its fleeting moments, what you gonna do? Sure, you spare a few moments of remembering (and maybe shedding a few no-I-must-not-cry tears too) but after that, what do you do?

Lots, actually.

mickey rourke, eva mendez, et al

(Ok, here’s the laundry list part for lack of patience in putting some order to them.) Volunteer for a benefit art auction. See Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendez (and not Carmen Elektra as I had thought), Karolina Kurkova (some supermodel) and other beautiful people. Join a 5K walk alongside Dikembe Mutombo to help raise funds to fight hunger. Watch a few improv shows. Watch Spamalot, a great B’way musical. Watch tons of great movies—Imelda, Liberace of Baghdad, Videoletters (first 3, great human rights-themed movies), Me and You and Everyone We Know (must-see big cannes-winner), Batman Begins (I do watch non-art house -indie ones occasionally, especially great ones like this), Kung Fu Hustle (Couching Tiger gone Pulp Fiction), Lila Says (French film), Talent Given Us (brilliant film), and Bridge of San Luis Rey (saved the worst for last).

Finish reading A Whole New Mind (the one book you’d wish to read before everyone else does). Try finishing Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (a real page-turner except I read too slow). Have friends over in the apartment for a barbecue (after finally doing one’s stinking laundry, dishes and a real major cleanup). Spend 2 days in Delaware with family. On the way home, ride a Chinatown bus packed with the noisiest Chinese in the world (Think being stuck in a Chinese flick with no subtitles with busted speakers for 2 hours). Fart and hope that these women beside me won’t notice (I should really do this less often).

Bike to Coney Island for 4th of July. Witness Kobayashi down 49 hotdogs in 12 minutes and bag the World Hotdog Eating champion title for the nth time now. Enjoy the sun a little too much for my skin’s own good. Enjoy one’s tan for a week but now suffer the icky and itchy moulting stage. Leche, ang kati. Watch the 4th of July fireworks from the roofdeck. Bowl with officemates. Enjoy free kayaking in the Hudson River (oops, I haven’t done that yet). Enjoy the random company of celebrities, strangers and nutcases. Meet new Filipino and non-Filipino acquaintances. Enjoy quality alone time. Be really knowledgeable with Philippine current events but feel really sick and sad and frustrated about the whole recurring mess (My guess is GMA won’t make it ‘til her next SONA where she lays out the transition to new form of government. Kudos to the CBCP and their non-stand stand—I hope your butts don't ache too much from your fencesitting. Good luck!). Be amazed with the fact that Manila is actually second cheapest city when it comes to cost of living (Tokyo is most expensive at number 1, New York 13th)—“cheap” city yet consider the standard of living. Hay Pilipinas. Get really pissed with stupid customer service people and can-you-fuckin-keep-right pedestrians (not to mention folks who seem to have glued their cellphones to their hands and ears). Enjoy one’s job and officemates’ company a little more (although of course the Excellent + rating I got from my annual review and the fact that summer Fridays have kicked in helps a lot). Experience my first-ever bachelor party with office folks. Naughty, naughty, naughty. Ok, next section, please. Oh, so that’s what a l@p d@nce is. Ang kulit sabi na ngang next section eh.

(Fair enough!) Having things to look forward to
In a city like New York where life seems to move nonstop, it’s important to have something to grip on, lest one loses one’s sanity. In my case, it’s having things to look forward to—whether they be regular rituals or one-time deals. It’s the Monday and Wednesday lunchtime walk to the Farmer’s market to enjoy a sinful pack of fresh baked cookies or the 1000 calorie slice of really fudgy brownie. It's Average Joe and Who wants to be a Hilton? on Tuesdays (Uhoh, an admission of reality loserdom). It’s the daily (ok, almost daily) dose of much-needed physical activity. It’s the day I finally lose the extra 100 pounds. It's joining the NYC marathon (bullshit!). It’s the newest really interesting art or indie film (plus points if it’s a documentary). It's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

il cone, crazy dutchbuddy whom i'll visit soon

It’s the monthly call to closest friends in Manila. It’s the Christmas trip to the Philippines and seeing everyone there again (if I hopefully get a big fat raise and if the country does not implode within the next few weeks, that is). It’s keeping in touch through regular emails with zi crazy Dutchman, Il Cone. It’s the big trip to Holland, Number One Happiest Place in the World according to Time, in August—10-day party-hearty marathon with those jolly drunkards (been slowly raising my alcohol tolerability again and more importantly, lowering my “sensitivity” level coz the sharp humour and honesty of those giant assholes are like nothing in the world. Uhoh, this joke better not get to them, lest my visa not get approved. Oh and I better get ready to explain/defend the current state of the Philippines, those folks really know their world politics).

Teka, natatae na ako. Tama na muna 'to.

Oh before I sign off, I do have one last thing I really do look forward to. Blog updates. Til next time, then.