jason pacheco

close to a year since this blog's been updated?!?!

2009-09-03T20:42:00.003-04:00

really?!?! shame shame shame. i knew this blog's been quiet for a while. but only now do i realize that it has been that much of a time.

well, let's leave it at this for now. the realization. next few days hopefully some action. and actual writing entries again. there's tons of news useless and useful worth sharing.

ttyl. or whatever acronym jargons the interneters use.

wtf?!? it's really been that long?!?

what goes up high comes down hard

2008-09-16T22:20:00.008-04:00

brooklyn hospital

as soon as my plane from london landed at jfk, a great sense of excitement and energy filled the body. i had again witnessed a different world for 4 and a half days. i was a changed man. a man on a mission. not to mention a man with the remnants of some british accent which lasted for 2 days. screwed up the brain that trip. i was acting like a man possessed, feeling as though there were no second of life to waste. once i got home, gave the people i stayed with in london the message that i had gotten back safely. then with utter disregard to jetlag, hopped on the bike, off to get my 4 rolls of holiday film processed. to make things even much better, checking my email gives me the great news that my green card application has been approved. gives myself an added extra high (not that the alcohol and cigar fumes weren't enough to make me float in cloud 9).

the morning after the return was no different. i was up early. quick shower. then without the usual second thoughts, hopped on my bike. it was as though the decision was made by itself. i was biking to work. in the office, i was a madman sharing my adventures. did not spare even the most inappropriate ones, and with a funny accent at that. like the fact that i shit in the niarchos home, one of the most expensive homes in london, twice. in the span of 10 minutes. by afternoon, i was at the gym trying to get the blood flowing back. the next morning, i was at the medical center, giving blood to get some medical tests done as part of my green card application. by afternoon, i was back on the wine in the office. back from the trip, i was on auto-pilot. running from one inspiration to the next. one instance to prove (to myself) that ive changed to the next. one errand to the next. one good thing to another.

the lights from ground zero

and then i got sick. between the jetlag, lack of sleep, blood i had to give for medical tests and that last cuban in the balcony, my body had shut down. i still did go to work though, but one afternoon, wednesday the 10th, my body had had enough. no big collapse though so no worries. i just thought i had to go home and rest. well actually, still on madman mode, i decided to head straight to the brooklyn hospital to get myself 2 vaccines (that i needed for my greencard application). which served the double purpose as well of getting myself checked (the very very first time ive really seen a doctor in my 6 years here). as though i werent in a bad enough state, they took more blood for testing, and apparently getting vaccinated leaves you all the more aching. but i rested myself that night. took my tylenol every 4 hours.

by the next morning, september 11th, i was at least up to 80% again. by nighttime i fluctuated from getting chills to feeling better (coz of tylenol). which was good coz i had met up with 2 filipino friends for dinner and desserts. by dinner's end, whether because of the company of familiar faces or those 2 lights that shone in the sky (as a reminder of that fateful day 7 years again), i felt so much alive again.

i no longer run like a possessed person. the illness definitely forced me to slow down and get settled back in. BUT thankfully, what the temporary setback did not take away is the will to push myself further. saturday, i booked myself the flight to san francisco where i'll be spending a week and new year's eve in. sunday, i got back to my capoeira classes and realized ive gotten a bit better at it. monday, though i had to stay late in the office, pushed myself to not miss my spinning class, sweat buckets and pedal through already sore legs. and today, biked back to brooklyn hospital, to get the results from my blood test. all my kidney, liver, cholesterol levels are in healthy form. but it turns out, i did have some viral infection last week. the doctor was supposed to give me some antibiotics but since im a-OK already, decided that there isn't any use for it.

all is well then. at least, for now. coz we all know things will even be better.

to london, back and beyond

2008-09-14T15:45:00.010-04:00

me before the trip to london

here we go again, another long spell of blog absence. but before i spiral down into useless apologies, look to thy right. yup, that's me. "was me" to be more accurate i guess. at JFK airport 3 thursdays ago waiting for my flight to london. a "before picture" so to speak. if you're the impatient type, as i know you are coz we all are, scroll down and you'll find the "after" picture. the face is still a bit long (but probably coz of the alcohol and cigar traces in the body) but i must say the frame of mind in that picture is 10 times better. 10 million times better, to be more accurate.

niarchos house

now that you pretty much know the end, i guess it's but fitting to get to trip that was. flew out of jfk thursday night via air india. as usual i was trying to push for exit row seats. didnt get it but within 5 minutes of boarding, managed to score myself bulkhead seats via a switch-a-roo with another pair (note to self: row 27;s the magic row). quite the blessing you might think. well, not really. by stroke of luck (the bad type), i happened to be seated next to some love at first sight moment. not really moment coz it lasted all 7+ hours of the flight.

tower bridge

the 2 love birds decided to drink the flight away on gin and tonics and life stories and cheesy lines. the chick just broke up with her boyfriend ladidadida. the dude is a brit based in nyc blablabla. she used to have a brit boyfriend lalalala. as much as it was some budding romance (or some lavatory pitstop) waiting to happen, it sure was a nightmare trying to sleep. (another note to self: the time you depart NYC is the time you arrive in london—except switch AM-PM).

cool brick lane art

got to london heathrow airport friday morning local time. bit of a line, er queue, through immigrations but as usual i zipped out of there once i was done (oh the joys of not checking luggage and not dealing with those crazy carousels and the constant thoughts of "have they lost my luggage?"). once at the gate i was trying to look for someone i may not recognize—a distant relative based there who was picking me up. i got it on first try. it wasnt hard spotting someone as brown as i was in a crowd, i guess.

phone booths

ate paz drove with the ease of someone on her 5th driving lesson. she did have the funniest stories though and spoke as fast as the car swerved through lanes, so i was comfortably entertained. the very first thing i did notice about london was the weather. of course ive heard of how its grey and bit depressing but i didnt know it was gonna be that claustrophobic. it wasnt raining or what but it felt like the clouds were caving in. either that or i just had a terrible flight experience.

chinatown london style

our very first stop was the house she's been house-sitting for the past 15 years (chelsea stadium really was the first stop but that was more of a diversion). a house owned by the niarchos, greek shipping magnate who at one point was 7th richest in the world or so. though the house sits on the most expensive street in london, no one really lives there (save for some original warhols valued in the millions). although at the time i was there, stavros (ex to paris hilton) was manning the house coz he was doing some work-study thing for 3 months in london.

sightseeing w/ relatives

had a nice brunch at the house which reduced the revolutions in my spinning head by a few counts. once settled in, my niece (who's older than i am) and her son, drove me around town to hit some of the touristy spots. kensington palace, royal albert hall, hyde park, tower bridge, tower of london. it was really a bit of a blur but i do remember that talking to calvin (the kid) had quickly given me a bit of a bri-ish accent, albeit a fake but good enough one.

dinner met el en coen

by nighttime it was time to meet with coen, dutch friend now based in london for the past 2+ months, who i was couch-crashing with. more like sleeping bag-crashing actually. as usual, it didnt feel like we'd been apart for long. well, not really coz he was just here in nyc back in may (and i in amsterdam in march). for dinner we met up with elvira (another dutch friend) up in camden town at a tapas place. was great to be with my 2 closest dutch friends in the world (of course its not like i have 10 million of them). the food was lekker and the company was gezellig. (ayos, nagpasiklab na naman ang bata sa kanyang pananalita).

guard on duty

the first day was capped with a few drinks and a few cigars and lasted til the wee hours of the morning. a successful first day i must say. and the next 3 days no different. the weather got better in most of the days and not too too bad on the days that it didnt. which was great coz coen and i spent a lot of time walking around. hitting some of the must-sees and different areas. tate modern, british museum, hyde park, brick lane, royal air force museum, etc. to stay energized, we kept ourselves caffeinated and nourished. and very much imbibed. and of course, all cigar-ed up.

punks @ bricklane

we also had a chance to have brunch with sherlyn a filipino friend who's recently moved there from manila for a 3-year assignment with shell (thanks for the treat, she). we also had a chance to spend a night out with my cousin (and his sons-in-laws) who took us out to a pub in northern london—pool and all, double jacks and coke and pints and all, and needing to carry our drinks out to continue the drinking at home. he was even gracious enough to introduce us to one of his friends who works at stringfellows.

one of many pints

ask any brit, and apparently they'd know who peter stringfellow is. don't ask me coz i aint no brit but i can say that ive shaken the hand of his brother paul, who manages the bar at their club. venue of the last night in london's i dont remember how many rounds of jack and cokes (on the house) and some entertainment on the side as well. what was planned to be only a few hours worth of night out ended up to be a 3AMer or somewhere around that time. all i remember was the bouncer opening the door to the cabs calling us goveners and eventually making our way home. where another round of whiskey was in order. and a cigar as well (half a cigar to be accurate coz we had to cut the last one in half).

lost & hungover

the last morning needless to say was greeted with a terrible headache. much-welcomed though coz it was a great distraction from all the saying goodbye which i hate. 830am. coen had to head to work and i had to find my way back to the first stop of the trip: the niarchos home. where i were to meet paz and rusty who'd drive me to the airport. what was normally a 20minute walk ended up an hour. i must say it was the funniest thing walking in london without sleep and with a bit of a hangover. looking 5 times to the right and left on each intersection. not knowing where to go even with a map in hand. unforgettable.

me after the trip, back in nyc

i did eventually make my way to the house. had breakfast (not too much coz the system was shutting down from all the ingested crap). ate paz and kuya rusty drove me to the airport. loaded up on water and vitamins while waiting for my flight. god with his funny sense of humour gave me 2 doctors as flight rowmates (just in case i passed out i guess). plane landed smoothly. and i hopped out of the gate and exited with my usual new york quickstep except with an added extra kick of excitement. yup, that face on this photo looks not much different from the one up top. that's probably the head spinning from the flight and all the alcohol and cigar fumes. but what that picture will never be able to say is how grateful i was having a break from my everyday and being able to expose myself to yet another world and way of life and in the process learn more about myself and my own world. (and that means a lot especially for one who grew up sheltered in a gated house protected from the rest of the world by an armed security guard and 5 too many dogs)

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travelog london page

inpsired by the whole trip, the first project i had jumped on was my long untouched personal travel site. check it out by clicking the image on the left. updated it quite a bit. uploaded london pics and a pdf too. was a great exercise coz ive promised to sustain the travelling in the coming years coz here's the great news. checking my email back from the trip i get the news that my green card application has been approved. just waiting for my status to change but what that means is that this punk is here to stay in new york for quite a bit. well, with the frequent interruptions of travelling Elsewhere every now and then. coz without those dips into different worlds, i certainly will grow insane. or worse, not grow at all.

chikumbuso

2008-04-13T23:43:00.003-04:00

chikumbuso community, ngombe, zambia

chikumbuso is a project that started january 05 in the zambian township of ngombe. it began with one widow and her seven orphan children and over the past 3 years it has grown to include 30 widows and over 300 school children. the program aims to combat the effects of HIV/aids by building a community for those who have been orphaned by the disease.

bag weaving

chikumbuso is the newest project ive gotten myself involved with. though i wish im actually there in zambia, for now, my involvement is creating an identity for the organization (pro bono). aside from building and maintaining a school in the township, the group has setup a program where the grandmothers create these bags from plastic bags. the goal is to try and have the bags sold through some stores/designers here in the city. my role would be designing the promotional and information materials for them. kinda cool actually. in a way, its a neat design exercise and obviously its a great way of "giving back" to humanity in a 10000 miles away sense.

classroom

chikumbuso means “remembering forever what others have done for you". in a way, it's kinda cool how projects like this pop up out of nowhere (an officemate of mine approached me and asked whether i was interested). it was an easy yes of course, as it's definitely a nice way of expanding ones world without really needing to leave ones world. and particularly a good way of "remembering forever..." in generally-self-centric nyc.

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champagne

in an "others remembering what ive done for them" moment, i got a nice surprise present from the photographer i had worked with a month plus back. she sent over a nice bottle of veuve clicquot champagne. and right now it sits happily next to the bottle of south african wine on my office desk, both waiting for a good reason to be celebrated with.

free arts day

got to volunteer yesterday for free arts. spent the whole morning and early afternoon buddied up with isaiah (a 7-year old african american kid) working on art projects. at first, he was reluctant to spend the day at the event but eventually he warmed up and enjoyed making a robot out of scraps of this and that. we ended up playing checkers as well on this board he made out of box carton and bottle caps. cool stuff.

tax time

apart from my capoeira class, today was spent mostly with numbers as i worked on my taxes. its probably that one time during the year when i actually am able to use my secret math skills. managed to finish my federal and state tax forms and looking forward to the refund ill be getting. although realistically speaking, ive probably spent that amount already. oh well.

a happy birthday indeed

2008-04-06T23:54:00.002-04:00

birthday greetings from holland

it was a great birthday celebration last wednesday. was woken up with a call from my dad and mom and with a chat with them to kickoff the day, i knew it was going to be a good day. got greetings in all forms–long distance calls, instant messages, text messages, facebook wall messages, emails, and even a t-shirt message. in the office, got treated to breakfast, lunch, coffees, and cake and champagne. and at night, after a much-needed spinning class, had a nice simple dinner, some drinks and a cigar to celebrate.

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recording VO for a video at the studio

it was a good birthday indeed. and what helped perhaps is that in the usual quick self-scan of where-have-you-been, where-are-you-now and where-are-you-heading, i feel happy and content somehow. work is going well. im happy how involved ive gotten to become with the agency. and also, im definitely learning a whole lot more. it helps i guess that im given the freedom to do the fun stuff—running photo shoots, choosing talent, going on video editing, audio recording, and the occasional presenting to client.

sung's play at a lower east side theater

it helps a whole lot too that i enjoy the company of the people i work with. a week or two back, a group of saw a play written by our executive creative director. i enjoyed it obviously and its great to know that people at work have lives (creative or otherwise) outside of the confines of the office. we had dinner after the show and by the time the eating and drinking was done, it was raining out, and usual crazy me was biking back home with no lights and helmet on and with a bit of a buzz. got home safe though obviously and i deeply enjoyed the wet downhill of the williamsburg bridge.

first saturday workshop of the season at the ADC

outside of work, ive gotten myself involved again with the saturday workshops at the art directors club. i guess its still sort of related with what i do as an art director but in a way its a great way of satisfying the human need of giving back somehow. on the first week, we had around 30+ juniors from in and around the city. stephen kroninger, a MoMA-featured illustrator and a great artist, led the workshop. i run an advertising workshop 2nd week of may and im looking forward to it. i might need to mix things up though since ive done the same sh*t more or less the past 2 seasons.

soundfix: music store in b-burg

when im not satisfying my jesuit brain-washed need for giving back, i usually find myself exploring. of course, its not every day that i get to hike up machu picchu, pet lion cubs in jo'burg or bike the canals of amsterdamn, and so im usually left exploring this little brooklyn neighborhood of mine called williamsburg. thankfully, big corporate america hasnt much touched this lovely place so there's still a lot of cozy cafes and stores with character. a recent find is sound fix, this music store on bedford ave, where i was able to buy an album by the headlights whose new release included a track called "on april 2" which ultimately convinced my usual cheap@ss ways to let go and give way to an impulse buy.

check out this capoeira video

when im not exploring the outside world, im usually left exploring the limits of myself. the most recent adventure is the sunday afternoon capoeira classes ive gotten myself into. im an absolute begginer in the brazilian martial art/dance and i must admit that though im sore all over after the classes, its a great new hobby that id be glad to get good at. there's a whole lot more to learn and im glad this is one of those times ive overcome the usual stubbornness that comes with trying out something new (and the "stage fright" that comes with being in the center of attention). check out the capoeira vid, for an idea of what it is.

"my decision" by cb, up-and-coming dutch painter

on the what's ahead end, i'm definitely looking forward to the end of the month coz the annual free arts auction is happening. not only am i going to be official photographer of the event (being able to capture all the celebrity pics without being shy or apologetic about it), but also i had managed to get coen to donate one of his paintings to the auction so it will be included as one of the pieces up for the event. lucky b@stard. how come he gets his work hanged on the same walls as yoko ono's and chuck close'?!? the dutchman will be flying over though by way of london so that should be good, considering that his birthday falls on the same day as the auction. should be a hell of a celebration. gotta get my liver ready for all the boozing and my lungs healthy for all the cigars.

nyc + amsterdam + jo'burg + nyc

2008-03-23T23:06:00.005-04:00

amsterdam: view from new library

the blog entry i'd started back in johannesburg airport got cut short. its now easter sunday and im back here now in new york. got back wednesday. jumped on the cab and headed straight to the office. the cabbie was great. our conversation jumped from new york in the 80s, paying rent to wine pairings (and how he and his girlfriend might have had a little bit too much to drink the night before). coming back to the office felt great too—everyone was glad (and surprised) to see me back and everyone wanted to hear stories and see pictures of the intercontinental trip.

adcenter execs at schiphol

with all the welcome, im somehow readjusted back to new york life. but before i get completely sucked in the now, i want to make sure that i am able to recall and appreciate moments of the great trip to holland and south africa before it fully fades into the past.

visiting the netherlands was great. in a way, it felt a whole lot like coming home. of course it helps that its my third time there and that more importantly coen, his family and friends are all familiar people ive grown comfortable having around. there's just something about the country i guess—its openness, its great value to coziness (gezelligheid) and human interaction (all traits that are a bit lacking in predominantly go-go-go-take-take-take US).

ilcone cigar nightcap

the days spent in the lowlands consisted mostly of walking or biking around, and hitting a few places here and there. throughout the day were appropriate stops for meals, cappuccinos and biertjes. lots of it. and at night after dinner, the trek to cozy bars or clubs, where drinks are the perfect complement to conversations and company. and once back home, grilled cheese sandwiches, cigar and whiskey or martini to cap the long productive day.

peace palace, the hague

when coen had to go to work, toos (coen's mom, pronounced "toes") and fre (rhymes with "pray", coen's bro's girlfriend) took turns in taking me around. fre took me out to breakfast where the pancake was super lekker and to de pijp where there was a street market going on. id tried a healthy serving of herring which at that time was a great idea coz i enjoyed the taste and texture but at night proved a not as good choice as my stomach revolted quite a bit.

cappuccino in cozy filmmuseum

toos (my asian upbringing is finally used to calling elders just by their first names) took me to the hague where i got to see the parliament, the queens house, and the UN peace palace. and that night we headed to utrecht to meet the rest of the family for dinner to celebrate her birthday. it was great. i had enjoyed that meal a lot. very nice and cozy feeling as everyone took turns sharing stories and jokes, and giving presents. even i, who's usually mum at dinner tables, was up for the speaking up. it was a great honor being able to sit in some other family's dinner and yet feel very much a part of it. i was really tempted to take my camera out and capture the moment but somehow it felt almost intrusive. so instead i took mental snapshots to remind myself of the importance of celebrating life and people.

as usual, it was too quick a trip when it was time to go. and as my flight took off from schiphol airport, i did the usual 12-second flashback of the great moments of days' past. trying not to smile too much and trying to force back a tear or two.

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african woman

if holland was coming home, south africa was definitely the journey to the unknown. the second to the last continent for me to hit and quite the adventure and exploration i had wanted. i stayed with richard, a friend from back in high school in manila. he's been based in johannesburg the past 2 years on a work assignment for ernst&young and who, with the notoriety joburg has for crime, thankfully lives in the great part of the city.

african dancing

dove straight into action the first day and joined a tour that included a cultural village and a lion park. it was great seeing an overview of the different tribes that formed south africa. it helped as well that the tour guide is himself a zulu so he gave great insight to lifestyle in their provinces. it was easy to get immersed into the culture so i was game in trying their beer (which looked a whole lot like spit and tasted like some science experiment), doing some african dance, and sampling the great game-filled cuisine.

lion cubs

the lion park was great as well. saw some zebras, hyenas and of course lions but the highlight for me was petting the lion cubs. of course i was a bit scared as sh*t, especially when one of them tried to bite my leg. thankfully, it stopped its evil plans and i was able to pet the hungry little creature. and i managed to squeeze in one decent picture where i dont look as petrified as i was in the 100 other photos i had.

video of me on zipride

during the weekend, rich and i drove up to the northwest province to sun city—a golfer's/gambler's/thrill seeker's paradise. we had lunch in the palace hotel's grounds, which was quite the setting. the food and wine was great. after lunch, we headed to the top of one of the mountains where we were scheduled to do the world's longest and fastest zip line ride. at 280 meters high, 2km long and with topspeeds of 160kph, that ride has got to be one of the craziest things i'll ever do in this lifetime and one which i'd be glad to do again if given the opportunity.

rhino in pilanesburg

the rain came saturday night and it never ceased. we spent the night in a nearby hotel where we had a very filling dinner. was scheduled to do an elephant ride safari sunday morning but that got cancelled. instead, rich and i just drove around the pilanesberg safari in search of whatever animals we could. in the expansive rain-swept land, we spotted some giraffes, wildebeests, impalas, many types of deer and a black rhino (one of south africa's big 5). the animals were a bit few and far between in the rain but it was good to see them. once we were back in jo'burg, we went straight to monte-casino, a tuscan-inspired hotel casino that was yet another huge complex. there we had another great meal complete with bottle of wine.

soweto

monday consisted of visiting 2 places that play a very important part in south african history and society. pretoria is the seat of government. there i was able to visit some monuments and museums. soweto (short for south western township) is a black township ten miles from joburg that played a key role during apartheid times in south africa. and though it presently has its own share of rich, middle-class and poor, the majority are still poor.

soweto grandma

in soweto, we visited a house, perhaps 2.5x6 meters where the grandma gave us a bit of overview of their house. that space was the kitchen, the living and sleeping quarters. and though it sounds tempting to view the situation with pity, it was more inspiring than anything. she spoke of the south african belief and philosophy of ubuntu—humanity's oneness and human beings' interconnectedness with one another. that her neighbor can knock on her door if she needs sugar and that she will give her sugar if she has it. and that in her own time of need, she can do the same. ubuntu is "humanity to others". it is "i am what i am because of who we all are."

african mom&child

tuesday was spent mostly in the apartheid museum. that place was moving. considering that the abolition of apartheid is very recent history, it was great to be able to learn more of the events and people surrounding it. and though those times were very cruel times (eg. black people roaming outside townships at night was reason enough to shoot them), it certainly produced some inspiring heroes—biko, archbishop tutu, mandela, etc.

sun city palace

tuesday night was my flight back to new york. south africa proved to be a great adventure and learning experience. i was able to do some safari, visit some townships and villages, enjoy some great meals and wine, learn a whole lot about history, witness first-hand the expansive divide between the haves and have nots (electrical fences dividing them included), and most importantly experience the great south african hospitality and friendliness (without getting myself robbed, mugged or killed in the process).

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mandela explains ubuntu

it sure was a great trip to the netherlands and south africa. holland is a third home of sorts. south africa was a whole other world (but oddly familiar as it is as focked up and/or as rich and great as the philippines, depending on which side of the social fence you're on). and though its time to dive back in to the bit of dog-eat-dog run-run-run, me-myspace-and-ipod nyc lifestyle, it sure is comforting to know that i now have 2 guiding philosophies to keep me grounded—the dutch philosophy of gezelligheid, giving priority to that cozy feeling that comes from a sheltering environment and empathetic company. and the south african spirit of ubuntu, the ethic and humanist philosophy summarized as humanity towards others.

nyc + amsterdam + jo'burg

2008-03-18T16:07:00.003-04:00

amsterdamn at night

am actually here now stuck in johannesburg airport waiting for my 4-hour delayed flight back to nyc. its been another crazy holiday. covering 2 continents in 2 weeks (well 3 continents if you count nyc). amsterdam was great. in a way, the netherlands has somewhat become a third home of sorts where i know for sure that each time that i come visit, i know ill be meeting a whole lot of familiar faces and feeling the great ease and comforts of being at home.

mark, coen and myself

needless to say, if amsterdam is home, it involves the sh*t that one often needs to deal with in saying goodbye to the place and people. it sure was a great trip. if the average of 10+ biertjes, 3+ cappucinnos, and one cigar per day is an indication of the amount of time and joy shared, then i guess it indeed was a very fruitful coming home. there's just something about being in a foreign land and yet feeling very quite at home. of course it helps that coen, good dutch friend of 5 years is there. and that somehow ive managed to feel quite comfortable as well with his family.

fock, boarding call. i gots to leave this place. more pics and stories in a bitje. this fella needs to fly out of here and make my way home to nyc. doei!!!!

Doei!!!

2008-03-07T21:06:00.005-05:00

on the way to jfk

here now at jfk airport waiting for my flight to amsterdam. How I managed to find myself here from the last entry ages ago is one giant leap. I'd kept postponing the blogging I guess as each good moment of living seemed to flow seamlessly from one to another. But enough of this poetic crap.

Here i am now off to a trip to Amsterdam and a trip to south africa after. And though its my third time in germany actually. Er Netherlands I mean, I must say I'm looking forward to it. The dose of friendliness and coziness is always welcomed. My first time in Africa. And once I cover that continent I only got antarctica left to conquer. A possibiity ive looked into for December but that's far from now.

Right now things are going great. Started the year with coming back from Manila and have jumped from one good thing to another. Which makes perfect sense as ive decided to make this year a real leap year--where I get things done and make things done with little or none of the ifs and buts that come with it.

Things are definitely happening at work. Ive been given more freedom and responsibility and I enjoy the opportunity to drive the agency work and culture. Of course it helps that the pay enjoyed its own leap at the start of the year. That leap has certainly helped sustain the bit of gungho attitude in spending. Got myself this iPhone which stlll takes a bit of getting used to. Got the wii as well where ive spent long hours overcoming king koopa and gravity defying galaxies to save princess.

Thankfully ive managed to balance the useless hours on the wii with some productive sports and fitness. Been doing spinning on mondays and wednesdays. Racquetball on tuesdays. The occassional ommmming on Sundays. And the one I'm most proud of, semi competitive indoor soccer with the office team on Fridays.

This sitting and waiting is very not for me. All this sitting and waiting is getting boring. I guess hearing these 2 Dutch punks behind me talk has gotten me all the more excited and in the right frame of mind to head to amsterdam. Of course the weathers crappy too so I might as well be in holland now. Alright enough these boring airport hallways are waiting to be explored. For now I leave you with doei as the dutchies would say. I'll see ya all later. Not sure where and when but for now this punkje's got some living flying and leaping to do.

nueva nueva york

2007-10-07T23:45:00.000-04:00

dinner and drinks at asia de cuba

what?!?!? its now october 7th? which only means its been a month now since ive been back from that trip to peru. wow, i guess i sure have been slacking with this bloggin thing. needless to say the readjustment back here has gone quite smoothly and quite eventful (hence the disregard for bloggin). the trip had somehow lit a fire somewhere coz the way ive been viewing and living the city sure has been with a bit more gusto. bueno, lets get this entry going.

party hearties

celebrating stacy's bday

there's certainly been quite a bit more socializing and parties since the return. some of us from work got treated to dinner and drinks by the production house we always use. they brought us to asia de cuba at the morgan's hotel, to enjoy the tons of asian/cuban dishes and glasses of wine and cocktails.

hookah bar

have been going out quite a bit more as well with officemates. one night saw us celebrating a colleagues' birthday at a moroccan place in the lower east side which ended up at a bar nearby, and then to a hookah bar. all the food, smoking and liquor messed up the throat and system a bit so the long midnight walk home over the williamsburg bridge was certainly quite a treat.

ateneans in NYC

another night saw me going out with some other filipinos, mostly from the university in manila. though im one who usually shies away from the usual chinatown mentality of "stickin with yer own" parties, it was quite good seeing everyone again for a change. and of course being able to speak and use the native language was quite ayos as well. bwakanangtaglish, ang sagwa ng tunog! ha...

workity-work

pitch ad

on the day that i got back from peru, i actually went to work in the afternoon. sounds crazy obviously but it was more of a personal choice coz we were in the middle of a pitch then and i obviously wanted some piece of the action. was happy to see that of the 3 concepts we were showing, one of them was mine (and the great part of it was that it had barely changed from how i presented it before the trip). feels good knowin that my creative contribution's valued in the agency. (here's a secret: just might be moving up again this coming january but shhhh).

driven from work

good news too was that a week and a half back, i was part of the judging committee at the global awards of the new york festivals. it was a great opportunity to see the work of other agencies and also of other countries. unfortunately, i realize there's tons of crap out there but thank god some good inspired stuff as well. it was quite a nice pat on the back as well being in the midst of other judges who were several years and titles ahead of me.

hey that's me

next up on the "work meets fun" series is me running the advertising workshop next saturday at the art directors club. apparently i did quite a "good job" the past seasons (their words, not mine), so ive been reinvited again to run it. planning to run the same slide and 99cents store show with a few modifications here and there to hopefully make it even better. either way, it should be fun.

on with the exploring & learning

chili pepper fiesta

peru and machu picchu, where its but natural for me to be in a constant state of awe, may be miles away. but thankfully, the sense of wonder and adventure has somewhat stayed. of course it takes a bit more effort here where i've lived for the past 5+ years but it sure is possible. a sunday bike ride to the brooklyn botanical garden brought me to a chili fiesta. the food could have been better but the live performances and documentary i saw were great treats.

helvetica film

movies have also been a great way of being taken to a different world. as usual, my focus has been mostly on the foreign or documentary type. since ive been back, ive seen: helvetica, eastern promises, my kid could paint that, cama adentro, and 2 days in paris. of course, i have yet to overcome the bad habit of mine of taking 5 minute naps in the middle of movies, but even without those 5 minutes i must say all those films are quite good.

a good read

and though im probably one of the world's slowest and most impatient readers, ive managed to finish karim rashid's book, design your self. so ok, it's not really a tough read with all the quick bulletpoints and large type, it's a good resource nevertheless. right now, am in the middle of the power of now. it's a tougher read what with all the new-agey stuff but at least it somehow reminds me of all the philosophy and theology i took back in college. you gotta be kiddin me. oh and ya, ive managed to turn myself into a vegetarian for the month of october. does that make me officially crazy? i figure with all the church's chicken crap ive been stuffing myself after peru, i gotta eat clean at some point and october happened to conveniently start on a monday (although of course, pizza and ice cream are still part of what i eat—thankfully though, im averaging 2.5 bike-to-work days a week and im also doing 2 spinning classes a week).

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chocolate truffles

one of the more memorable treats over the past month were these truffles from a nearby pastry shop—2 of them to be exact. it's not that they were particurly great great chocolate truffles, really. it was just that the storekeeper gave them to me for free after a nice quick chat. it was a nice little treat to be reminded that peru sure has no monopoly of good people and small memorable experiences here and there. somehow, the truffles reminded me of how new york is new again.

the last day in peru

2007-09-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

plaza mayor in lima

the last day in peru was nice and quiet—just as i had wanted it to be. there were no crazy climbing up mountains. no rushing to join some city tour. no haggling with locals to save that nuevo sol. instead it was easy-going with much time to slow down and observe and immerse myself in the culture for one last full day. some last-minute packing up in the early morning. a light breakfast at the cuzco hotel, sipping my last cup of coca tea. and by 820, my van was waiting for me. a 30 minute chitchat with the driver (in my broken spanish of course) on whether they get a lot of filipino visitors and i was at the airport. while checking in, i bump into a fellow traveller who i met in one of the city tours—an aussie on his way to lima as well to spend a night there and then make his way to london for 5 days.

fellow travellers in aguas calientes

an hour or so of waiting and i was boarded, seated next to a family from venezuela. the daughter tried talking to me, only to realize that i didnt get a thing she'd said. the mom came to the rescue and translated for us. while the son seated a row behind us, tried his best at english, "do lou yike... do you lyike... do you like chicken?" laughter all over as we waited to deplane. felicidades, we'd greeted each other as we made our way out of the lima airport gate.

up at saqsaywaman

i had left my luggage at the airport locker and i took a taxi to the main city center. i was expecting a rough ride with the taxi driver trying to con me into some ridiculous price (as they generally do to tourists in nyc) but i was wrong. the fare was fixed and i got to where i needed to be. i was dropped off at plaza mayor, where some schoolchildren seemed to be on a fieldtrip. it was such a great scene. tons of pigeons all over with tons of students trying to either feed them or chase them away. i sat and watched for a bit. stayed on in the plaza mayor for a bit, killing time and content at just sitting around as the locals do. when i had had my fill, i headed to a nearby park where another group of schoolchildren were running around while some of them enjoyed their packed lunch of rice and chicken stored in tupperware containers. it was great to just observe and be immersed in the everyday culture. sure, its great to do all the city tours and the climbs up machu picchu but somehow there's an even greater charm in being so close to how people really live.

driver at lima

watching those kids eat their packed chicken and rice with no pretense, i was reminded of how great the past week had been with tons of opportunities to meet other people. i had certainly come accross several fellow travellers from different parts of the world and never was there a moment when i had felt as though i was travelling on my own. and i had definitely experienced quite a local hospitality where i was not made to feel as though i were some visitor. despite my very basic spanish, i was able to engage some locals in conversation and it was great overcoming language barriers to gain better understanding of the local culture. some of the most memorable ones were the ones with the drivers where our chat went from the where are you from, to current events, to my opinion of their country and people (with my often reply, las gentes del peru son muy amable. the people here are really friendly). memorable as well were the conversations with the local sellers where id manage to progress from getting a better bargain to knowing where they studied and whether they worked everyday to watch the store.

at a store in cuzco

but perhaps, the most memorable encounter was when the bartender who worked at my hotel offered to take me out to some bars and clubs on my last night. we had met up with one of his other friends, miguel, who works as a cook at a nearby restaurant. it was great being able to see the night life from the eyes of a local. but at the same time it was a bit depressing coz i had witnessed first hand the everyday local workman's life—the holding off on buying drinks til happy hour because the tourist prices are just unaffordable for locals, the jumping from one bar to another to see where the good prices for drinks are, the spotting of some hookers and chicas who are out to get a good time from them out-of-towners. and though it felt uncomfortable experiencing the real local's view, i guess it was what i had really travelled for—to immerse myself in a different yet somehow familiar world (as i was reminded of the great economic divide back home in the philippines). nevertheless, it felt great experiencing hospitality similar to that of filpinos as well, as ernesto and miguel had offered to walk me back to my hotel at 2 in the AM just to make sure i dont get mugged or fooled around with by some locals who'd notice im really not from there.

fried guinea pig

i had about an hour more to go in lima's main center before needing to head back to the airport. and there was one thing left to do—have dinner. a meal i had been saving for a special occasion. i had learned at the start of the trip that the locals ate guinea pig, however they save such a dish for special occasions as birthdays or the new year. i wasnt going to eat such a meal just because but at the end of the trip, i felt i had earned it. i was leaving peru a new man—with a whole new world of experiences, quite a bit of lessons learned, and a human spirit somewhat reenergized. the cuy frito was quite tasty actually. it was a cross between duck and goat and a little bit of pigeon. it was really good. quite a filling meal, enough to fuel a long flight back to new york. and quite a satisfying one, perfect for capping off a great week's worth of adventure in an entirely different yet somehow similar world. muy rico. muy bien.

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peru journal

3 and a half days back now here in new york. its great to be back with fresh perspective. i realize that there's so many things i can really live without. and several that i can afford to have more of. i got back 1030 AM on thursday. and from the airport, i went home to take a quick shower and lunch. after which, i headed straight to the office where of course everyone was saying what a crazy fool i was for coming to work. i couldnt help it though, i got tons of stories and photos to share. and a box of truffles with pisco to share (which elicited quite a range of replies actually). its great to be back. up next, manila in december for christmas. but before that i hear the flying dutchman will be back in town for a week in november. dat is prima!!!

and i thought machu picchu was it

2007-09-04T22:33:00.001-04:00

huayna picchu calling

started this year with a theme of "mystery and mastery" (in case youve forgotten and as if it matters, here a link). though i do admit that not each and every day of 07 has been a conscious effort at keeping with such a lofty yet highly general theme, i must say that today reminds me exactly why i had made that theme.

steep climb up huayna picchu

i did the machu picchu tour yesterday and i thought that was it. the key to mystery and mastery. for what is more mysterious and a sign of mastery than walking around an incan city that has been lost ages ago yet found. well, i was wrong. if you look at that pic of machu picchu up top, youll see that mountain up top the ruins. now, that´s mystery. and it goes by the name of huayna picchu or young mountain in english. and so today i decided to take on that mystery. got up at 430 in the am, an ungodly hour for someone on holiday. lined up for the first bus that heads up to machu picchu and headed straight to the huayna picchu entrance once i got in the ruins. there were several others who were taking a hike up but once you were in there, it was all you.

señor de lima leading the way

it was crazy. going up those steep rock steps, my heart was racing. in fact, i had never felt my heartbeat as real as i did climbing up those steps. i would stop and rest for a bit just to make sure i had enough oxygen. and i stayed close to another hiker, a limeño, in the off chance that i slipped and went tumbling down those rocks (apparently, you think silly crazy things when you're in high altitude and have a slight fear of heights). the view as i climbed was breathtaking though. i dont think i have ever been as close to clouds (well of course ive been on tons of planes but thats a stupid being close to clouds).

the tunnel

in my head, i kept asking are we there yet. are we there yet for my legs were starting to burn and my gastank not knowing how long more it could hold. and there it was (well were not at the peak quite yet) -- a bloody tunnel. are you jokin?! no one ever said i had to crawl through a bloody tunnel. but i did, after a deep breath of course (somehow new york has made me quite claustrophobic you see). it was fun. after doing that i knew everything else was going to be a piece of cake. well, not really. coz there were quite a few more steep steps after that tunnel. and so the hike and journey went on.

last push up to the top

and then there it was, i could finally see the top. i had squeezed through 2 big rocks and saw a ladder. but at the foot of that ladder was this insy winsy hole where a mouse had peaked through. you have gotta be kiddin me!? is this some bloody episode of fear factor. i waited til the mouse hid and climbed up the wooden ladder. and there i was. at the peak. and at the peak was no clear viewing deck. instead a bunch of boulders where you had to hold on to and move around in. okay perhaps i exaggerate a bit but being amidst those huge rocks up at least 2 and a half km above, everything felt huge.

finally, the peak!!!

at the same time though. everything felt small. i had overcome such a mystery. i had overcome the thought of just heading back. i had just proven myself wrong. up there, it felt again as though i were a master of myself. a mini-master i guess, for up there being blessed with such a magnificent view of nature and human achievement (machu picchu that is), it felt great to be part of such wonder.

macchu picchu from up high

i stayed up there for a bit. enjoyed the view and the company of other hikers who had made it to the top. when i felt i had enough, i headed back down. which wasnt as easy as i had thought, really coz going down is funny on the knees, especially on uneven rocks. nevertheless, i made it down. grabbed myself a well deserved jamon con queso sandwich and a glass of inka cola to drink.

up top with fellow hikers

when i felt i had had my fill, i went back to the ruins. picked a quiet spot, as far away from the throngs of tourists. and there i was sitting infront of these huge mountains. im not sure if youve ever watched mountains before. well, there's nothing to see really coz they're perfectly still. but then just watching them, you start hearing things. you hear the wind. you hear the humming bird. you hear the train from down below. you hear the murmers of incoming tourists in various languages. you feel a certain peace. you hear your inner self, if there ever is such a thing.

flash of inspiration

me, i like drawing, or at least as a kid i did. not that i do it quite a lot, really. but there i found myself drawing what was infront of me. its not the most realistic drawing ever but i felt me drawing. sure, i had asked myself what the feck i was doing sitting there and scribbling looking like a lunatic. but then, i saw these 2 dutchies doing the same from not afar just sitting and somehow meditating. i was no crazy kid after all. and it was ok to submit to the peace that was.

at the peak of huayna picchu

i had reached the peak of huayna picchu. the first real mountain i had hiked up really. mystery and mastery. im sure those 2 words are really just my way of bullshitting my way into a theme for the year, really. but i guess, coming from an experience that´s the hardest yet most exhilirating ive had in a long while, its safe to say that it does make perfect sense after all.

on to mastering more mysteries. vaminos!

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but for now, i gots to rush. some local club or bar is calling me. sweeeet!

WOW-chu picchu

2007-09-03T18:49:00.001-04:00

view on train ride

i´m currently at an internet store where dial-up is the rule of the land and i left my camera cable back in cuzco, hence my own pics will have to wait for tomorrow but since the stories cant wait, here it goes)i dont remember how it felt comin out of my mom´s stomach, but however it was, it must´ve been close to how it was when i first saw machu picchu this morning minus the blood and gore of course. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! fockin crazy travelling 3 hours and a half by train from cuzco, then some 20 minutes on a bus high up on a mountain and then seeing such a magnicent manmade creation in the middle of an equally magnificent god-made creation. (pardon the language, i couldnt help myself).

Machu Picchu

(it´s just as it is in the pictures, posters and postcards, except greater. especially that i was paying attention to the tour guide this time, and so i heard all the history, effort and thinking and close attention to nature and details that went into building such a city. the hike up the long stretches are still quite a physical task because of the high altitude. but each step sure is worth the vista you get. i even did one of the trails that led to an inca bridge. now, that was crazy and i must admit scared the h--- out of me a bit coz there were no railings and one misstep and there you go tumbling down quite a steep rocky ravine. nevertheless, i made it alive and it was worth the doubled up heart rate.

busride up the mountain

part of the machu picchu experience was the train ride from cuzco. 3 and a half hours and you pass through mountains, valleys, rivers, towns and jungles. my personal favorites were how they managed to make the trains go up mountains via a zigzag manner, seeing some andes mountains, and the fact that they even serve breakfast a la airplane style. sweeeeet!!! i even ended up sitting right next to a local tour guide who was quite willing to answer my questions about the route. it was great to get her perspective on how much things have changed over the past 30 years and also several tips and lesser known places to see in peru.

gate at machu picchu

im currently at a town called aguas calientes. this is actually the gateway to machu picchu. im staying the night here. my room faces a river that rumbles and its peaceful noise is only disrupted by the high-pitched sound of a bird chirping. this is great. even greater is the fact that aside from making the trip to machu picchu (old mountain in english), there´s nothing really much to do here. which is great coz its a great reminder of the simplicity of life, needing to slow down and appreciate nature and somehow let time pass by (although of course i couldnt resist the temptation of a dial-up internet store). this is great. i couldnt ask for anything more.

hotel view

well, actually i could ask for more. now, i wish i had booked earlier and had gotten a spot to do the inka trail. but of course i didnt. which is why im making the promise to come back to this country sometime soon. i do have to practice a bit more spanish though and get fit a little bit more to deal with this altitude. mark yer calendars coz im marking mine. peru sometime in the future. not too too future though coz i gotta admit machu picchu and peru is not quite for the old and out of shape if youd like to reap its full benefits.

tres llamas in a row

NOW, my time is almost up here at this internet station so i gotta wrap up. tomorrow i hike up the mountain called huayna picchu (young mountain). if you look at that photo, its that mountain right behind the ruins. its gonna be great! tough and quite steep im sure, but great! i cant wait. i need to go to bed early today though so i wake up early enough to save a spot in the hike. so, mis amigos, buenas noches. esta gringo necesito some sleep.. crap, i need some more spanish lessons.

bueno, esta es jason pacheco (someone who smokes a lotta pot in mexican spanish) now signing off. hasta mañana!

un dia en valle de sagrado

2007-09-02T20:47:00.000-04:00

feeding the llamas

hola again from cuzco at what is currently 8.20 in the PM local time. today was yet another great one--somehow surpassing again yesterday. most of today was spent in the sacred valley, about an hour plus drive off of cuzco center. first stop was at a llama, vicuna, and alpaca farm where we got a chance to feed em animals. it was great. well, part of the trip was figuring out which animal is which but i dont think ive mastered that part yet. but it was great feeding the animals (although later in the day, for lunch, i did get my first taste of alpaca in some cream sauce. muy delicioso actually but a bit strange obviously).

boy weaving a bag

part of that first stop was seeing how the locals wove alpaca wool into bags, blankets all sorts of other things. we were also able to see how they colored the wool through different natural dyes. also there was one of this trip´s highlights so far—chatting with one of the kids in my broken spanish. with my infantile spanish i was able to find out that for him to finish that small bag it would take a month´s worth of labor. holy crap! at that moment, it felt quite aweful having been haggling with all the stores for that dollar or 2 savings. nevertheless it was great to chat with him and who i would assume is his mom, asking where they lived and all that really basic spanish I-II stuff. it was quite a nice feeling being able to communicate and connect despite my very very basic spanish.

guitar man at a store in pisaq

next stop was the pisaq market, one of the places i had been looking forward to. not so much for the shopping but for seeing the locals somehow in action. although obviously that didnt stop me from buying a second alpaca sweater (which i ended up bargaining for and managing to negotiate a 5 dollar drop). the market did not disappoint. it was great, brimming with colors, people, stalls, veggies, and a whole lot more. managed to take a couple of good snaps. was also able to take a taste of the local empanada, cooked in a real wood burning oven, where i also saw a cooked cuy or guinea pig, the local delicacy which they save for important occasions like birthdays and big holidays. which im hoping to try before i leave. tuesday maybe when i celebrate my return from machu pichu.

chieftains infront of pisaq church

another photo op was a whole slew of chieftains posed infront of the pisaq church where apparently on sundays they gather to celebrate a quechuan mass. it was great seeing all the produce being sold as well coz all this time ive been wondering why all the food here has tasted oh so fresh. well, i guess they grow all their crops locally. or at least most of it.

ollantaytambo ruins from afar

the next stop was the town of ollantaytambo where we saw the local ruins. i wasnt really paying much attention to the guide (desculpe) coz i was much in awe of the scenery. that and i guess the fact that i was somehow busy catching my breath. these hikes in real high altitude are something. during the times that i had listened though, it was amazing to realize how advanced the inca and pre-inca civilizations were. crazy how they managed to bring all those tons of granite stones from quarries and build such magnificent even earthquake-proof sites.

up in the temple of the sun

this trip has been great and the crazy part is i know its about to get better. tomorrow, quite early tomorrow, i take the train to machu picchu--one of zi 7 wonders of the modern world. im sure ill get wowed again as sure as ill probably be gasping for oxygen. i cant wait... even crazier is that the bartender here in the hotel, senor ernesto, has offered to take me out on tuesday to the local bars here in cuzco to chill em cusquenas out and to get a local perspective on the local night scene here. that would be a great way to celebrate the last night of exploring and meeting people here in peru. que fantastico! but for now, this amigo´s got to catch some z´s porque mi tren leaves at alas 6 por la manana. que horror! ha... buenas tardes.

buenas noches from cuzco

2007-09-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

church next to cathedral

hello from this side of the ecuator where it´s currently winter and where whowouldvethunk this hotel where im staying has an actual woodburning fireplace. sawwweeeeet! armed with tons of bits of stories and my chocolate caliente to drown the cusqueña cervezas i had, on with today´s blog. will be jumping from one story or note though, so hopefully this one makes sense somehow. it´s actually day 2 here in cuzco. its currently winter here but its really crazy weather coz you can experience 2 seasons in a day. it turns from tshirt and shorts weather to a sweater and coat one throughout the day. mustve something to do with the fact that the city is actually at least 3000km above sea level. which altitude i must admit has my system a bit messed up.

mother and llama

i have never felt as winded going up a flight of stairs (well granted its probably a hundred of them to hike up some ruins and to my hotel). but thankfully, the locally-recommended coca leaves have been really helpful in acclimating (it´s real connection with coke i have yet to establish and obviously i hope i dont test positive for anything that wouldnt be nice). nevertheless, im quite glad i didnt sign up for the 4-day inka hike on this trip coz i wouldve been messed up. next time though. i shall return for that. so far so great. i must say cuzco is a great quaint city. in my opinion, cuzco is to lima as maastricht is to amsterdam, as toledo is to madrid. very nice chill atmosphere. cobbled streets, a great sense of history, and nice lively city squares.

an inca ruin here in cuzco

ive met tons of interesting people so far. from the fellow travellers from all over the world whom ive met in the tours, to the local sellers whom ive haggled quite a bit with, to the bartender here in the hotel and the driver who brought me to the airport in lima. its amazing to realize once again that there´s tons of people in this world. of course, new york is great for realizing the world´s diversity as well but somehow its always more fun meeting people on the road. my spanish is getting better and better. i can now barter at markets quite fluently (although i think i got that skill from my mom). i can order from restaurants and ask for the check quite confidently. and my favorite, i can now carry small conversations with locals, getting some stories from them and sharing a bit of my own (granted its mostly where i come from, what i do, my family, etc...). funniest show of spanish was when i was buying a shirt for my mom. esta es muy pequena porque mi madre es gorda. (this shirt is too small. my mom is a bit fat... sorry ma, i havent yet gotten to the subtleties of the spanish language. besides, i have to get the right size right?)

the hike up to my hotel

we did the cuzco city tour today. it´s great for seeing the places that are unwalkable. we hit their main cathedral, a few ruins and a few sites. personally though, i prefer being on foot and discovering the city that way. i go on another tour tomorrow which should be good coz we hit on older part of town and the sacred valley, another important ruin. its great being able to know the bits of info on the inca civilization. amazing to realize the fact that we and the present are really just a thread in a whole piece of fabric. ok, maybe that´s just the altitude getting to my head and making me think such philosophical crap. at any rate, this trip has been great. hopefully, i get to hit africa soon to cover all the continents (not counting antartica of course). i hear a dutch friend´s parents are building a house there. hopefully i get an invite soon (hint, hint). oh ya, i met some dutchies this morning. they´re from up north holland and funny how the very beetje dutch that i know comes in handy in these rare occasions. que prima! er, was that just some form of españutch. hope all is well. all is well in this side of the ecuator. buenas noches to all. hasta pronto.

me encanta lima

2007-08-30T14:04:00.001-04:00

the friendly ladies at artisan market

only a few hours of walkin around here in peru, lima to be exact , and im already lovin it. just the adventure i wanted/needed... funniest parts so f ar are the trips to the stores and cafes. whenever the personnel would start talkin to me in spanish i give them a fish out of the water look. and a mi espanol is mal.. and they start laughing their brains out wondering why this spanish lookin kid no habla espanol.. of course i end up laughing my brains out at the thought that im just the anomaly that i am.

so far so great. its the different world that i had expected. but not too too different yet coz im still in the city centre so far. its great that i took that spanish class over the summer of else i wouldve been too too lost. and wouldnt even find funny the little spanish that i know... i finally know how to ask how much things are this time though so the lessons have proven to be great so far. also, apparently cafe con leche is cafe cortado. or maybe thats just how the receipt shows it.... really friendly people. although coming from someone who lives in new york that might not be that much. but anyways, just thought id keep all posted of how things are going.

wish you were all here. then again, maybe not. it wouldnt be the exploration and getting lost if all the comforts of home were here. adios. hasta luego.

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man and dog

during the afternoon, i was able to join a tour of lima. it was great. the group i had joined in was quite the diverse bunch--several from all parts of canada, a couple from the UK, an ecuadorean, an argentinian, some from the US, a malaysian, and an aussie. during the time of introductions, it was a bit funny coz i didnt know whether to say that im from the philippines but currently living in new york or to say that im living in new york but originally from the philippines. i went with the first but i think i shouldve gone with the second--what with the general global perception and opinion of the US.

boy infront of building

the group was great. a great reminder of how big this world is and how important it is to meet other people from different parts, even just for an afternoon tour, to get at least a better understanding of other people´s perspectives. even greater was the chance to be toured around the downtown area or old lima as they call it. tons and tons of photos to be taken were all over. mental notes of observations here and there. it was being immersed in a whole new different world. just as i had hoped it to be. it was learning about the world first hand.

church in lima

a few tidbits of observations and information, useless perhaps, but i remembered nonetheless. huaca stands for holy place. aug 30th is the feast day of sta. rosa--first saint of lima and who apparently has a close tie to the phillies too. they got tons of security and police all over town. sign of security or not? there´s 28M peruvians and 9 of those live in lima. quite a gap between rich and poor. lima feels a whole lot like madrid, except somehow i feel more comfortable here. it looks a bit like the philippines too except tons cleaner. oh and it never rains in lima. but they have quite a bit of earthquakes.

town center store

at night, i ended up eating at the restaurant in front of the hotel as recommended by the receptionist. the pollo brasa was great. but the pisco sour was even greater. pisco is a traditional peruvian drink and damn that drink was potent. or maybe its just the bit of jetlag. but excuses aside, pisco sour is definitely a must. it´s august 31st now. early morning here. need to finish this up coz i get picked up in about an hour to get brought to the airport. i fly to cuzco. i cant believe this trip gets even better as im sure it will. que bueno. buenos dias to all. hasta luego.

adventure hopping

2007-08-20T23:23:00.000-04:00

thursday, august 9th. the sadness that comes with the end of another phase as i had said adios, muchos gracias to my spanish professor was cut abrupt by the thought that a friend of mine from the philippines was visiting and couch-crashing for the weekend. even before i could verify that muy triste was the proper way to describe the end of the spanish classes which i had terribly enjoyed, i was faced by the reality of an incredibly messy apartment and the need to clean up big time.

balcony, check

cut to saturday morning, hours before bun (who's visiting from the philippines by way of philly) arrives. clothes all over the place. dust gathered all over. quick trip to the 99cents store to get some cleaning supplies. stack clothes away. scrub and sanitize the bathroom. sweep, vacuum and polish the floors. fix bed. wash dishes. put away dead leaves from garden. put fresh set of sheets on bed. by afternoon, the apartment was miraculously visitor-ready. and i was off to pick up bun from the train station.

bun w/ local hipster

bun was here for a total of 5 days. or was that four? for the majority of those days, we were with mhir, another filipino who's fresh from the boat to study here in fordham for the next 2 years. we jumped from one store, cafe, bar, park, street fair, concert to another. i took them mostly to the favorite neighborhood spots that showed a lot of local character and not so much the canned empire states, times squares and statues of liberty. i did take them to central park though coz everyone loves central park.

funny church sign

it was great having some filipino blood around as i must admit i dont get to use my tagalog that often anymore. good to be reminded of some filipino values as well (and equally great to be reminded how lucky i am not needing to deal with annoying pinoy traits such as chronic tardiness on a daily basis). fresh eyes. that's what it is. or perhaps, familiar eyes. temporarily seeing the city with a set of familiar eyes once again — a great break from viewing and living the city with the swagger of someone who's been seeing and living the city for the past 5 plus years.

pupusas @ red hook

the need for adventure carried over the past weekend as i was pushed into some exploration. equipped with my bike, a map and a strange need to get myself lost, i found myself in red hook, brooklyn in the midst of soccer fields where stalls of latin american food were put up. a sampling of foods from peru, mexico, dominican republic were all over. my personal picks: the pupusas filled with queso and chicharon, the corn smothered with queso, mayo and picante. and to balance all the saltiness and spice, an ice cold glass of horchata. i was brought to a whole different world. and with it a sense of familiarity and pride as i had thrown in my gracias and si in my conversations with the vendors. mi profesora en español would be muy alegre.

shades of holland

after having my fill of food and latin culture, i was off to the waterside, in an area that reminded me so much of south holland. cobbled streets, steel gates and brick buildings. fantastische! erg mooi! it was as though i had been transported back in time when this city was still known as new amsterdam. it was as though i had crossed the lake again and made my way to the netherlands for a taste of the culture and history.

red hook factory

and right across the river, were dilapidated factories. very photogenic in their ugliness. a forgotten industrial area waiting to be exploited. quite the reminder of how much change is an integral part of this city. but at the same time, a reminder of how much preservation is just as important.

ahh, brooklyn bridge

a missed turn on the way back home had led me to the foot of brooklyn bridge. for some reason, the only bridge in the city i had not biked over. i had crossed the manhattan, the billyburg, the queensborough, the GWB before and there it was, the city's most famous, most photographed one, right infront of me. ahh, brooklyn bridge. setting to 10 million movies, postcards and posters. and apparently home to 10 million tourists as well who cant tell a bike lane from a pedestrian lane. as i had pedalled my way over, it was great to be immersed in the feeling of getting sucked in the sights and living in the moment but at the same time id realized how important it is to be engrossed not too too much coz otherwise you'll get run over by @holes like me. and that would be a sad ending to an otherwise awesome adventure and life.

travel journal's set for my peru adventure

mark twain, who at 18 once worked as a printer at a city called new york, once said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” im not sure in what context he had said this gem of a quote. i do know however that twenty years from now biking over the brooklyn bridge aint one of the things ill be whining about. i might however get disappointed with the fact that i didnt know how to say "heads up" in italian as i had maneuvered my way around that tourist over the bridge. but who cares, ill be off to peru soon anyway, where ill have my own chance at being run over by a lama. parada! parada! oh right, lamas dont speak spanish.

i want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

2007-08-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

harlem valley ride

july 29th, sunday. 5 in the AM. bright and early. well it wasnt that bright yet actually but there i was with some 20 others on 103rd street and amsterdam ave, equipped with our bikes, waiting to be loaded on a bus. by around 5:50 we were all aboard, headed to bike new york's harlem valley ride. along the route, my biggest fear was not so much not finishing the ride ahead coz i had been training and 2 weeks earlier i had covered the same long distance. instead, the main hope was finishing the ride accident-free (i had been having a quite upset stomach the past days and an that sort of accident was the last thing i had wanted to happen). i had popped some pills though so my mind (more like stomach actually) was a bit quieted already and i had was able to enjoy the thick fog that had covered most of the scenery on the way to the starting area.

movin along

by around 8:30 the bus had arrived. our bikes were unloaded. a few registration procedures with the rest of the other cyclists. a half a bagel, loads of energy drinks, and a preemptive potty stop and i was good to go. not being the best person at following maps and directions, i had buddied up with some 3 other participants tackling the 75 mile route. by 8:50, we were on our way.

cows along the road

some 3 miles into the ride, 2 of us in the group had developed a quicker pace than the other 2. and by the first stop, we had decided to tackle the distance ahead by ourselves. the route was absolutely beautiful. i had almost thought i was biking through holland and belgium with all the farms and fields and lakes. up til the first stop, the route was mostly flat. but after that, the flatlands had turned into rolling hills. but the fresh air and captivating scenery kept the thoughts of burning thighs and tired legs at bay.

a breather

we had biked through new york, connecticut. we were finally in massachusetts. and then there it was. mt. washington. one loooooooooong steeeeeeep climb. a climb i could not have prepared for with my trips through the steep short hills of prospect park. that mountain was one GIGANTIC challenge. the legs were burning and it felt as though that no matter how much i had pedalled, i was merely moving a centimeter at a time. the temptation to just walk the bike grew stronger as i had gone past some who did so. instead in my head an inner voice had pushed me forward. thoughts of "just do[ing] it" and digging deeper made me realize that it was really more mental than physical.

a medal for 120km over 3 states

with visions of a nike/adidas endorsement in my head, i had reached the top with just one stop for a quick drink and bite off my energy bar. and the downhill was an exhilirating one—a true test to my brake pads. i was riding some 55+kph downhill through winding roads filled with gravel and sand. my heart was racing, a rush of adrenaline unlike any other (which was quite deserved coz i later on found out that there was another cyclist who on his way down those roads got hit by a car).

a few rolling hills past that downhill, we had reached new york once again. we had made it to the final stages. ahead of us, a time trial and another downhill that runs all the way to the finish line. the time trial was 1.2 miles uphill stretch with an average grade of 7%. im obviously no pro in what grades meant but boy was that climb one of the hardest things ive ever done. i had never breathed as heavily and i had never known that my own sweat actually tasted that salty. the body was close to absolute exhaustion but the mind had prevailed once again. and the reward, a medal. sweetness! the greater reward of course, the thought of having once again tested and pushed one's own limits. and in crossing the finish line, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment coupled with an excitement in knowing that there's actually an even greater expanse of unchartered territory to be discovered. both within and without.

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NYC commuter nightmare

aug 8. today was an absolute commuters' nightmare. a terrible storm had struck the city the night before and had flooded all the subway stations. by the morning, all the trains weren't running. all the buses and cabs were packed. thankfully, i had my bike. while the rest of the officemates had stories of 5-hour commutes, i made it in the usual amount of time. was quite drenched in sweat though when i arrived but i brought an extra change of clothing. thank god for bicycles! (although, i must admit it still isnt the safest way to get around manhattan as i had witnessed a bike accident the other night. nothing really major thankfully but bloody annoying car driver tried to pull a hit and run.)

amo mi independencia (i heart my independence)

2007-07-28T20:46:00.000-04:00

4th of july fireworks

the 4th of july fireworks have long disappeared from the manhattan skyline but somehow the sense and feeling of personal independence is still at an all-time high. (is that a cheesy intro or what!? jeez, what was in that white castle mozzarela sticks junk that i just ate?! i guess, simply put, what i really mean to say is) the past weeks have been filled with a great sense of freedom.

mile 41 of 78

july 8th saw me joining the annual tour de cure — a bike ride through manhattan and new jersey that seeks to raise funds for the american diabetes association. in practically a day, i had managed to raise the minimum $150 to join the ride (thanks to loving friends and family held at gunpoint) and so by as early as 7am i was in battery park, the designated starting area. we were off by 730 making our way all the way up north over the george washington bridge into jersey—which proved to be quite a hilly ride. the downhills were a great blast but the uphill climbs were short of torture what with that 90+ degree weather. inspite of feeling lost in those long stretches of highways not knowing where to turn, i had managed to find my way back to the starting point thanks to this other cyclist (who really looks the part unlike me) who seemed to know where he was going. by the time the whole ride was done, i had managed to bike 78 miles (that's 125km for you in the more logical metric system). the sense of self pride was at an all-time high. i had pushed myself as i hadnt for a while—gaining a sense of freedom from one's own limits. i didn't need to walk my bike up the hills. and i didnt need to get picked up by the tour vans to be ferried back to the starting area, thank god.

mc carren pool party

this summer here in new york has been great for going to all sorts of events. with such a variety of things to do and see comes the sense of freedom to do whatever you wish (and usually at no cost). ive been to the neighborhood pool party where every sunday this summer they have some indie bands from all over the country playing. great way of basking in the neighborhood hipsterdom while enjoying an ice cold brooklyn lager under the burning sun.

bbq in prospect park

another new great summer discovery is prospect park. its a nice 30 minute bike ride from the apartment and a perfect place to be bike-training in the weekend. also perfect for a weekend barbecue as they have designated areas scattered all over. first saturday of july saw me with 4 other officemates practically eating $130 worth of food (well we did have tons of leftovers) which proved to be a blessing in disguise coz it was the day before my bike tour.

brooklyn philharmonic

another prospect park treat is their summer long lineup of free concerts and movies. i got to see the brooklyn philharmonic orchestra. it was a nice $3 suggested donation treat. nice chill atmosphere, classical yet accessible music, and a nice clear sky as backdrop. they have more shows coming up and hopefully i get to see a few more.

hablo un poco español therefore estudio español

lastly, and perhaps the biggest sense of freedom booster, my spanish classes have been a great source of joy. somehow, there's something really gratifying about struggling with yet discovering new territory. who would have thought that looking at elementary level pictograms to learn words all over again would be such fun. slowly but surely, my spanish is improving. well at least, id be comfortable enough to be ordering food for my trip to peru. and enough to be talking about the weather. and obviously, enough to post a blog entry with a title in spanish. muy bien!

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my next big bike ride happens tomorrow. might be tougher though. aside from covering new york, connecticut and washington, i've been nursing a bad stomach the past 2 days. we'll see how it goes. hopefully those rest stop porta-potties are well-stocked. or else, it's uhoh with a capital U for me.

ahh, this is the (work) life

2007-07-03T11:27:00.000-04:00

mario batali's del posto

3rd of july. ahhh, this is the life. not quite the 4th of july holiday yet but here i am enjoying a nice al fresco breakfast at the fave neighborhood fabiane's cafe—reaping the benefits of a pre-holiday holiday from the office. my cup of tea could've been sweeter though if the token raise i got yesterday was instead a little bit more substantial (but i i guess its true that i just got that promotional raise 6 months ago so i can't be all that greedy, really). but how can you beat this scene: me typing away nice and chill over breakfast while the rest of the world rushes to work (actually there's really not a lot of them but for consolation let's pretend there's tons of them).

temple bar

the past 2 weeks at work have been great. was completing some TV projects so i was in and out of production and post-production houses. it was good learning hands-on the different processes involved in making a commercial happen—the shooting, editing, color correcting, recording, audio mixing, and even wardrobe picking (although that was the least interesting for me). though it proved to be bit hectic sometimes, there were real treats mixed in. the lunch at mario batali's del posto (the best-cooked salmon i have ever had), all the free lunches (mostly sushi, mmm yummy uni), the wine and cheese, martinis at temple bar, and the best treat of all, a 10-minute back rub at one of the editing houses (wow, now that was an unexpected treat).

thursday night karaoke with officemates

aside from all the free treats, a big advantage of being sent out to production is meeting all the other people in the industry (note to self though: try to remember people's names and faces a little bit better so you dont get embarrassed again like those 2-3 oh ya we've met before moments). also, a huge plus is being able to spend more time with some agency bosses (although this time, it was mostly me and the producer sent out to call the shots). its great knowing a little bit more of everyone (though the stories were a bit on the unfortunate side with people's relatives dealing with cancer, or the possibility of it). i must admit i work with some good people in the agency (definitely nice enough to counterbalance a measly raise and good enough to go 2.5hr karaoke-ing with on a thursday night).

hard at work (booking my peru flight, shhhh!)

i could get use to this i work to live attitude. im pretty much good to go as long as i'm able to eat, sleep, and drink. and ok, travel and see the world a bit too. and get to use my new SLR lens in the process (another note to self: don't spend a raise before knowing for sure how much it's going to be). speaking of travel, all my flights, hotels, and tours are all booked now. so lima, cuzco, and machu picchu it is for end of august. i even start my spanish lessons tonight at nyu to get myself ready for at least getting my food orders in spanish right this time. but for now, the city calls me.

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jalen bowling

spent the past weekend in delaware for jalen's 7th birthday bowling party. my bowling sucked but at least i broke a 100. and i did manage to teach my nephews how to ride their bikes without trainers (well, at least one of them). and i managed to re-establish myself as the let's have a farting contest uncle (not one of my proudest claims to fame obviously). enough! i need to go for a run or a swim now. all that weekend birthday cake is making me feel sluggish.

around the city, to the land down under and back

2007-06-24T21:25:00.000-04:00

LOTR tour, NZ

it's the first official weekend of the summer. how i managed to not log in an entry since the last one agess ago must be a guinness book of world record for something (ok, so i should be more diligent with these entries). needless to say, there's been tons of goings-on since the last posting (ie expect a looong but hopefully worthwhile read). over that span of ages, i'd managed to turn 28. a forgettable celebration really. my crazy let's push my limits birthday midnight bike ride in the cold resulted to a week plus worth's battle with the flu. that's obviously no good. what's good though is that once the flu was gone, i was good to go — jumping around the city, reaching as far as new zealand and australia, and making my way back to the city ready for more adventures.

my new specialized set of wheels

around the city
instead of trashing my bike for causing temporary misery, i got propelled to buying a new one (thanks to a little office year-end bonus—although ive used that excuse for several other purchases). so i now have 2 bicycles to get myself into more crazy rides. ive taken my roadie to work, prospect park, central park, mccarren park and coney island. still getting used to how fast and efficient it is compared to my old mountain bike but thankfully no falls yet (well, at least no bad ones—hilarious was that slow motion one on the way to coney island coz i forgot to clip off my bike shoes from the pedals in one of the stops.)

liv tyler

over the period of blog absence, i also had my annual hobnobbing with the stars and models at the free arts benefit auction. as usual, i was official photographer. there were sightings of liv tyler, liev shrieber, and a number of possible celebrities who i dont know but all i know is they must be coz the real photographers were snapping away at them. unfortunately backing out of the event at the last moment was scarlett johansson. oh well. nevertheless, it's good to know that i can still get myself into the celebrity scene at least once a year (not that it amounts to much really).

il cone in town

biggest celebrity, however, visiting the city for the first 10 days of may was none other than the world famous dutch actor, coen beusmans. ok, drop celebrity, world-famous, and actor. yup, the great dutch friend il cone was in town. as expected, it was great having him around. a heightened sense of living was again present — or maybe that's just the added caffeine and alcohol in the bloodstream with all the starbucks, cafes and bar-hopping. we managed to hit the favorite spots like cafe esperanto and the starbucks at washington square. and discovered a few new others — took him to the billyburg personal favorite, fabiane's cafe and to the greenpoint is this a movie set neighborhood diner where we met grampa lou and mama b.

bike tour what?

as usual, some funny stories again — like leaving the carnegie hall orchestra concert midway coz we were almost falling asleep or the wimping out of the 5 boro bike tour (in hindsight it wasnt that bad deciding to make the u-turn at central park coz it was really ridiculous how much you had to wait to actually bike). having the dutchman once again was a reminder of the importance of living and chillin (but dont get me wrong, he does whine quite a bit too and could be an a$$ every now and then — must be the culture, ha...). obviously, it stank quite a bit for a day or two when he left to go back to the lowlands but no worries the dutchman just might make a return soon to be based again in this side of the world for a year or two.

family invades new zealand & australia

to the land down under
two weeks after the dutchman's departure, it was my turn to leave the city to make my way to the other side of the world and south the equator for a 2-week family reunion/holiday to new zealand and australia. it being a family trip, we were a huge group (as in we needed to rent out buses to transport us around huge). we stayed in hotels in new zealand and at relatives' in sydney, then hotels again in gold coast. in NZ, i got to see the capital, wellington — home of peter jackson. yes, we did do the lord of the rings tour (among other touristy things). me not being much of an avid LOTR fan, preferred the nature aspect of the tour (the karori park my favorite). wellington is quite a compact, clean and green city. its great how they have this huge botanical garden where you can spend hours of just hiking around. too bad i could only afford 3 days in new zealand as im sure there's more to see of the country. they do walk and drive on the wrong side of the street so im sure i couldve used the extra days too to getting used to looking to the right first when crossing streets.

sydney aquarium

in australia, we saw quite a bit of sydney and its surrounding areas and gold coast (australia's florida). we went to a lot of museums, tours, theme parks, cruises and a whole lot more. we saw quite a bit of animals—sharks, whales (where the bumpy boat ride turned into a puke-a-thon), koalas, kangaroos (we actually fed them in one of the zoos and on that same day had them for dinner), giraffes, parrots, dingos. my personal favorite though were the aussies — quite the friendly human species. as much as its all fun seeing all the sights, it was even better being able to experience the culture (or maybe im just happy to see non-long faces when walking about).

jenolan caves

during the australia leg, personal favorite was all the nature part of it. i guess that's what new york city does to you—makes you so sick of concrete you start acting like some grampa wanting to see just green, green and more green. trip to jenolan caves was cool. while everyone else was doing the cave tours and preparing for the barbie (barbecue in aussie speak; they call breakfast brekie), i decided to treat myself to a hike in one of the trails/hills. it was great communing with nature at first but then i started getting scared when i saw all these animal poop around. of course, first thing that came to mind was that i didnt know what animal pooped those poop and i was all alone in those trails so i started heading back. hilarious.

journal winners

there's obviously tons more stories to share but i'll stick with those for now. another travel book is in the works where ill be able to cover more ground without too much jumping from one thing or another. an ingenious idea i had for this trip (well, at least i think it was smart) was handing out these small notebooks to all my nephews and nieces where they can log their trip highlights. lots of cool stuff from those notebooks (especially that i made into a best journal contest so they had added incentive to actually use the journals). will definitely incorporate those journal pages in the upcoming book. needless to say, it was another great trip. a nice glimpse into another corner of the world. lots of small things here and there about the people, the culture, and the countries. and of course, it was great being able to spend time with the family again. too bad my dad and one of my sisters werent able to make it. maybe in the next trip. there's a whole world out there to explore.

5k run in central park

back in the big apple
two weeks back in the city now and thankfully the days have been packed with good stuff so there wasnt much time to spend getting depressed over another family trip being over. first week in the office, everyone was welcoming me back and looking for photos. i was also back in the thick of things with a TV project on my plate—going to the shoot, to the editing house, and getting treated to a nice mario batali lunch (the best salmon dish ive ever had, at del posto).

machu picchu here i come

last thursday saw me joining a 5k run in central park with officemates. i actually finished in good time (or at least in good enough time for my standards). im still a bit sore though from the run (or maybe its because of yesterday's 21 mile bike ride) but its all good as the main focus since ive been back is getting myself in shape and soreness is definitely a good sign that things are happening. aside from the running, ive been swimming, biking and hitting the gym quite a bit. i still enjoy the occasional chunky chocolate cookie though but in general ive been eating quite clean. what's with all these health and fitness focus? well here's the deal. ill be hitting the trails and high altitudes of macchu pichu in september and i sure dont want to ruin an experience of a lifetime coz i didnt come prepared. aside from the physical preparation, ive also enrolled myself to a spanish class at nyu starting july 3rd. that should be muy bien.

well, that's it for now. hope everyone's days are filled with all sorts of adventures. will keep everyone posted on how things are in this side of the world. or whichever side of the world i will be at.

hibernation off

2007-03-29T22:37:00.000-04:00

the farmer's market is back!

the springtime switch has been turned on. while the winter coats haven't fully gone into storage, everyone's winter blues are slowly but surely being shaken off the system.

the favorite union square farmer's market is back in circulation. rows of stalls selling own-grown veggies and fruits, small plots of herbs and plants, everything organic this and that—and my 2 must stops—the wheatgrass stand where i get my shot of all that catfood health goodness and the goat cheese tent where i always extend my palm for those free samples. oh the joys of free stuff.

midnight walk over b'burg bridge after drinks

the let's do this attitude has likewise been reawakened somehow. last week saw me refusing to succumb to the office overtime blues as i headed home at 10:30ish, tempted to just spend the rest of the night with some TV, chicken wings and cookies. instead i put my shorts on (ignored the "what the f* is this kid doin walkin' in shorts in this weather?" glances) and made my way to the neighborhood track to run a few rounds. the 3 or 4 late night joggers slowly dwindled down until it was just me and my ipod blasting sounds in a language i do not know (it was greek i think, but whatever it was, its foreignness somehow propelled my legs to run more rounds than i thought i would.) a slight drizzle and my imagination thinking crazy thoughts of jogger-stabbers made the late night run all the more exciting. and by the end of it, i was overcome by a great sense of aliveness and accomplishment (although my legs did end up being sore the next 2 days).

dinner and drinks at life cafe

spring is likewise bringing out the social animal in everyone. after staying the quickest 5 minutes at a filipino gathering at a filipino resto friday night, i was off to cafe havana enjoying food with some chinese officemates and their friends from LA (obviously, something about sticking with your own people and your own food and your own comfort zones didnt feel quite like making the most of what this city has to offer, hence the shotgun kumusta-babay.) ended up to be a great night, we headed to a nearby bar with a backyard garden enjoying nice gin and tonics and conversation. and capped by a walk home over the williamsburg bridge soaking in the midnight skyline, and sweating whatever alcohol left in my bloodstream. what's great about spring is that as cafes, bars and restaurants set up their outdoor seating, the people somehow bring out their energies and openness to socialize with other people.

tom hart cartooning workshop at the ADC

it was also the second art directors club workshop last saturday. turns out the artist leading the day, tom hart, is metro's cartoonist. this coming saturday, a certain jason pacheco leads an advertising workshop. im still ironing out a few details on my presentation but it should be fun. always good being able to mentor fresh young minds somehow (im not worthy, im not worthy but we'll try our best). time to rock and roll. speaking of rock and roll, im seeing a latin band on saturday night. not exactly the same genre obviously but should be good to enjoy some nice salsa music at havana central (and a great way to celebrate tomorrow's payday and quite possibly, at least rumor has it, the day when we get our bonuses in the office. suuuuwwweeeeet!).

tulip plantlings at the streetfair

what's there not to like about spring? oh i do know one. apparently, as much as the season brings people's energies out of hibernation, it likewise smokes the mice out of their holes. well at least that one annoying mouse that kept me up for one or two nights. well, the traps and baits have been set in the apartment and somehow the past nights have been quite clear again. nighty night, mickey. unfortunately, there's room for only one living creature in the apartment. although, i do have to make space first 10 days of may coz the flying dutchman's coming over to couch crash. the adcenter execs meet again (after a successful hongkong and philippine tour last november). greatness! but wait!!! (spoken in that infomercial announcer voice) the fun doesnt end there coz end of may, yours truly is off to new zealand and then australia to meet with the whole family (well, except for my dad that is, who's apparently decided to guard the fort back in san juan.) nevertheless, always great being reunited with family and friends who are good enough to pass for family so i can't wait.

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before i go, one last anecdote. so i was doing my laundry sunday (coz i figured i needed to start my spring cleaning somehow). sitting at the bench in the laundromat waiting for my clothes to get dried, a big blind black man steps in with his walking stick in search of his own laundry. he's accompanied by his big tough guy typical italian brooklynese buddy teasing him to go search for his clothes on his own. so the blind man starts walking towards the driers (actually he rams straight into me asking if he was walking towards the right way). eventually he finds his clothes and his buddy helps him out. on their way out, an older neighborhood grandpa-ish person stops them. hey i gotta ask ya a question. how do you do it? my daughter's just turned blind. she's had diabetes since 10 and when she turned 33, the eyesight just finally gave way... she wouldnt leave the house now. i tell her she should but she wouldn't. she refuses to.

the big black man replies, it's hard. i know, it's hard. i lost mine when i was 35 coz of a pituitary tumor. but you just gotta keep livin. you gotta keep livin. keep doin the things you used to do. its hard. but you just gotta keep livin.

and on perfect cue as though to stop my goosebumps from bursting, his italian buddy goes, let's go. and one more time you fuckin hit my foot with that fuckin walking stick of yours, im gonna break it into 10 million fuckin pieces.

after a few minutes of being stunned by the poignancy of what just happened, my clothes were dry. and i was back to living my life. hibernation off. living every moment on.

happy get over it day

2007-03-20T23:45:00.000-04:00

mark your calendars

march 9th is national get over it day. so ok, i gotta admit, especially with st paddy's already over last saturday and spring officially comes in 15 minutes, this blog entry's just about 10 centuries too late. sucks obviously. but in that case, consider this an advanced greeting and an early reminder to mark your calendars for next year. in short, get over it.

i dont know why this holiday hasnt got as much attention as valentine's or halloween yet. i mean, im sure that as much as it's human to love and all that cotton candy stuff, it's just as human to be getting over this and that. and if we could spend a whole day threatening strangers and their aunts with tricks if they don't give us treats, surely we'd be getting more candies if we scared people by the threat of getting over them.

hey, that's my name being mentioned!

so ok, ok. so getting over isnt the easiest thing in the world. take for example this bloody stranger i encountered one bright sunny morning in this lovely city. i was walking up the stairs from the subway. i got people infront of me and people going down. out of the blue, i hear this lady behind me, saying "move it. you're too slow." not one to give way to utterly ridiculous behaviour, i was quick to retort, "jeez, what an a$$hole." and made sure it was extra crisp and loud obviously coz i wasnt going to let her ipod get in the way of the truth.

and so we finally get out of the station, only to realize that she's a bloody slow-paced walker anyway. what a bleep. showing my true passive-aggressive filipino blood i walk past her, slow down a bit, and tell her, "you know what, you got people infront and people going down, [so what would you expect?]" and this is the highlight of the whole story. her defense, "i could just call the cops on you." you have got to be kiddin me. that's the funniest joke of a person ive ever met. so ok, perhaps not as funny as another person i know. but i dont wanna put that person on the spot, lest i really do get the cops on me.

so ive seen this brilliant lady once after that incident. why wouldnt i. she does work in my building after all and her high heels and green leprechaun jacket's kinda hard to miss—and apparently we do share the same penchant for coming to work on the 10AM side. so if i want a more zenful daily commute, i guess i do have to get over it, huh?

free arts day fun

fair enough, change topic, then. time to celebrate the actual triumph of getting over. getting over an annoying cold sore, a cold that wouldnt seem to go away, and a less than optimal immune system. a few real hectic days at work. cold winds and a few snowstorms that just wouldnt go away. daylight savings time that's 3 weeks early. and yup, even leprechauns in heels.

apparently the best way to getting over a real tiring long day at work, is to exert yourself even more. common reaction is to head straight home. utter no-no. you'll just end up pigging yourself out with chips and cookies and feeling all the more lethargic. spinning and exercise works for me. tried it this one day when i was feeling a bit extra exhausted, and it actually recharged the batteries in an almost strange sort of way coz i was exhausted but somehow all the sweating took all the toxic thoughts and energies away. plus, the cookies after gave a nice well-derved suggarrrushh feeling instead of a food coma guilt-crap feeling.

speaking of cookies, apparently, getting over the bad leprechauns and elements in this world arent really that difficult coz there are some really kind-hearted people out there. take for example this new dunkin donuts sales lady who has this good bad habit of sneaking in an extra muffin and cookie or two in my bag whenever id be ordering just one. granted, she might be fishing for extra tips but only once did i give her the extra tip when aside from giving me my bag, she gave another whole bag stuffed with muffins and cookies. and that was infront of the manager (ok, he was at the back of the kitchen when that happened and perhaps it explains her short-lived dunkin donuts career coz i no longer see her during her usual shift. oh well, there goes the one that sustained my sugar craving.)

art directors club workshop #1

and apparently, the best way of getting over the bad leprechauns is by doing good. (so this is the part where i start to sound like im tooting my own horn which is a bit unavoidable coz this is after all, my blog) past 2 saturdays we're spent doing some fun-filled volunteer work. first was with free arts day, where i got to buddy up with a kid named paul doing transportation-themed arts and crafts projects. hadnt done a free arts day for the longest time, so it was a much welcomed experience. too bad, paul was spent and couldnt keep his eyes open after downing those 10 slices of pizza. oh the joys and evils of free food.

second saturday, last saturday that is, was spent at the art directors club for the first session of this season's career workshops. attendance was a bit slimmer than usual coz the snowstorm left some snowed in. nevertheless, it was a great workshop run by diana laguardia, creative director who specializes in magazine design. it was great being able to mentor some of the high school students again and also get a feel of where they at. coz i gonna be runnin an advertising workshop in 2 weeks yo and i aint got no clue yet as to what whack presentation im doin. wait a minute, do they even use the word whack?

wow, i can read!

to overcome my disdain for reading books with a lot of words, id finally finished reading absurdistan—my 4th book with a lot of words for this year. quite the accomplishment coz there was no single picture in that book. well, it wouldve been too graphic anyway, what with all that talk about khuis and pizda. real funny read. flip-side with reading all these fictional books though is that somehow my life has taken quite a fictional comic adventure character.

did i tell you the story about this leprechaun who i met once upon a lovely early morning?

what, it's march already?

2007-03-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

satchmo's cafe of old

here now at satchmo's, the cafe around the corner which id used to consider somewhat of a living room extension but for one reason or another havent been to for at least well, hmmm, past 6 months maybe. here i am, armed with my laptop hoping to get some inspiration and sit-down time to finally revisit my blog, which seems as though i havent updated for as long an amount of time.

500 pieces of weekend fun

theyve done quite a bit of rearranging here—the old couch has been replaced by a futon facing the outside store window, the old acrilyic paintings are now framed figure drawings perhaps products of their figure drawing nights here, some new coffee machines and faces in the kitchen. biggest notable change however is that wireless internet connection's no longer free and is now a buck a half-hour (which means im typing this offline, obviously). good part though is that the laid-back, almost hippie, hipster neighborhood atmosphere still remains. plus, the satchmo's poster id given ages ago, still hangs prominently right next to a photo of satchmo the dog.

so where was i? right, updating my blog. a lot of this and that's happened since the last post. a trip to delaware to watch my nephew perform in their school play (although finishing that 500-piece puzzle with the kids seemed more like the highlight of the trip really). my first salsa lessons and salsa night up at the 92ndY. a first buddhist meditation class at the jivamukti center in union square as well (ok, now that may be bit too new age-y but i gotta admit it was worth the time). finishing bich nguyen's stealing buddha's dinner—an award-winning memoir of a vietnamese girl growing up in white man's grand rapids, michigan. now, just started absurdistan—this time the hilarious story of Misha Borisovich Vainberg, a grossly overweight man, whose the son of the 1,238th-richest man in russia. id seen das leben der anderen as well, the best foreign film winner at the past oscars. seeing all the nominated live action shorts was quite a treat too.

my dancing/running shoes

valentine's day saw me getting my heart health checked as part of an office benefit/program. all my LDL-HDL-and-total cholesterol are in healthy levels. my blood pressure was an incredibly high 150 over 60 though (although the anxiety of having a hush-hush interview the next day at another agency was probably largely to blame on that one). overall, my health seems to be in a good and still improving state. between the spinning and yoga classes, swimming, biking, running and occasional lifting, ive maintained an average of 5-6 days of exercise a week. and so far this year, ive lost 10 lbs but i have to admit probably half of that's due to the week's worth of torturous bout with food poisoning and diarrhea. ok, too much info. next topic.

1 of 10K bizcards ill never use

things are going smoothly work-wise as well. i just got my fresh pack of business cards to reflect my new title, which is a shame to mother nature obviously coz the only times i use those really are to join ipod or free lunch raffles. i also just got invited to run this year's advertising workshop at the art directors club saturday career workshop. and i got to have a nice drink and chat with gavin simpson, ogilvy manila's executive creative director, who's really an expat from malaysia and who was here briefly in the city to judge at the ADC's awards. that chat (ok it was an interview) with the other interested agency went well too. nice good opportunity although there's something about where i am now with my boss trusting me with his login and password information so i can approve timesheets while he's in miami (he lets us read his match.com profile too) or my colleagues being able to tease me after having read my mom's postcard which starts with "dear son, my love love son" (why o why ma insists on sending those things aaah, shucks to the office and not to the apartment i still dont understand. much appreciated though.)

another ADC workshop soon

winter's slowly but surely losing its grip. yesterday was very pleasant; today's a little bit back to cold. 3 more weeks and it's officially spring. i need to do some major spring cleaning. i did say the same thing about winter though but hopefully this time i'll really get to de-cluttering all that mess. oh crap, and ive broken that no cookie for this year promise too. oh well, at least that bout with the tummy ache introduced me to the many benefits and joys of eating probiotic-rich yogurt and blueberries.

speaking of blueberries, that chocolate chip cookie on the counter is calling my name. must give in. must give in. until the next things-are-a-changin-but-somehow-still-the-same entry, then. opportunity calls.

around the world in one city

2007-02-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

the past week or so has been an excursion to different places throughout the world. a little taste here and there of places quite familiar and of those really quite alien. oh the joys of being in new york — self-proclaimed center of the world and perhaps best ever melting pot in this little universe of ours.

yummy thai food

first stop: the office favorite thai resto, highline. for an area as pricey as the meatpacking district, they have quite a good selection of lunch specials. personal favorite of mine is their salmon in peanut curry sauce with scallop dumplings as appetizer. yumyum, especially with some watered down thai iced tea. side stop: saigon grill, perfect option for ordering in when it's freezing out such as nowadays. the vietnamese penchant for soups works really well for fighting off the frostbite. tried the pho bo (oxtail soup) recently but i think i should stick with the usual lo sa go (curry chix soup) next time.

ukranian food

next stop: ukraine. an east village diner called veselka. passed off on the pierogis, got almost tempted to get the bigos (a very filling cabbage and meat dish). instead settled with a very satisfying kielbasa sandwich with salad and beets on the side. perhaps a tad less healthy than the nice rich hummus foul ( its tahini, hummus with fava beans and an egg & pronounced close to "full" from what i learned) at the west village run israeli-run hole in the wall, the hummus place.

spanish flamenco

aside from the friendly ukranian servers at veselka, ive garnered myself an almost "hey it's me again" regular status with the polish servers at my favorite neighborhood brazilian/french cafe & pastries place, fabiane's. so far, ive been quite good in fending off all their uber tempting desserts (ok, i got myself the raspberry chocolate mousse to celebrate my bro-in-law's birthday). it's a great place for hanging out with the billyburg hipsters—you never feel rushed out as you normally would in some faux cafes.

aside from the good food here and there, managed to enjoy some nice sangria and great flamenco at xunta, a spanish tapas bar in the east village. really nice lively atmosphere. great passionate guitar and dancing. and i guess it helped too that friends i was with were not much sangria-drinkers so i had more than half a pitcher to myself. muy fenomenal!

quick lesson on lebanon

added bonus was that a friend brought her lebanese classmate with her. and i was given a quick overview of lebanese culture and economy, although i must admit i still probably wouldnt be able to pinpoint where that country is. part of the cultural lesson was the how hard we party and we like to enjoy life unlike our neighboring countries culture so that was good to know too, especially coming from the preconceived notion that all of lebanon is pretty much war-torn where living life is close to impossible.

superbowl sunday

the past sunday of course was all about the biggest sporting event in america, superbowl XLI (unless i got that wrong and its really the world series). i did join the office pool but didnt win any of the pot. i did watch part of the coverage but mainly to watch the ads, which i must say weren't as good as they usually are. werent as edgy and entertaining as expected save for the snickers ad which is laugh your brains out as it is polarizing.

must-see japanese film

last but not the least, the past days included the japanese clint eastwood film, letters from iwo jima. more than an historical war-film, its really more of a glimpse into what makes us human. most poignant part for me was when one of the japanese officers confronts all that he's been taught about the savage american enemies while a letter from an american mother to her dying soldier son is read. at that point, while holding back the goosebumps, somehow, i felt once again grateful for the opportunity to be in such a diverse city where through exposure and living with other peoples' foods, drinks, dances, stories, smiles and company, i am able to expand my world and brought to the depths and shallowness of our differences with other people.

tomorrow night, a little re-rooting with a filipino food dinner with some friends i havent seen since november last year. saturday night, some salsa with officemates and its back to world exploration. cant wait.

on learning a lesson or two (maybe, even three)

2007-01-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

the past week's been filled with a lot of learning. it almost felt as though i was back to school. oh wait, i was back to school. wednesday night saw my first flash class at pratt institute. it's a bit funny obviously being back in a classroom/lab setting and sitting for 2 hours straight trying to absorb as humanly possible. was a good class actually. the 2 hours was engaging enough and of course it helps that the teacher works for VH1 and somehow exudes a best week ever aura to him.

it's mainly a programming language class that will hopefully bring out my inner nerd as i come up with more flash-y web applications. so far so good. the course seems to have exactly what i was looking for and i cant wait to learn the neat tricks for doing this and that in the coming weeks.

aside from adding a few computer words to my vocabulary, ive also been learning quite a few spanish phrases. a moment of office boredom 2 weeks back led me to a cool podcast on learning the language and ive been hooked since. great way of actually doing something during commutes aside from getting pissed at people having their bags sit when there's 10 million people who are looking for a seat. muy fatal! ok so that might be the wrong phrase for that one (more like coño perhaps). but at least now i can do the basic hola! mi llamo jason pacheco y soy de filipinas. who knows i just might find myself back in spain soon and i wouldnt wanna make a complete fool of myself again while trying to order food. muy bien. check out the site. they do have italian and german too. not that you'd ever want to learn german really.

aside from the web-based learning, ive also been picking up really useful info from a book ive been reading — the lazy person's guide to investing. just 3/4 into the book and ive learned quite a bit about no load index funds and expense ratios and the different ways of outsmarting wall street by keeping everything simple. simple enough to live a worry-free life leading to retirement, being able to do all that's really important along the way (and none of that worrying about one's retirement nest egg crap). im still a little bit torn though if it's FFNOX or FSMKX for me. maybe i'll find out at the end of the book. can't wait.

to balance out all the mental work, ive also enrolled myself in a spinning class at NYU. our first class was actually this afternoon. spinning is basically your indoor cycling except in a classroom setting. quite a high-intensity form of exercise and my legs were burning as we simulated some steep hills during the whole hour. was sweating my brains out but the loud music and the instructor's constant reminders of digging in and pushing yourself proved great encouragement. you'd definitely get some WTF moments and be really tempted to slow down or stop but somehow you'd manage to dig in and get that will to push your limits. coz after all, though you're your worst enemy, you are your best ally as well. (wait, did that just sound a bit too split personality? am i hearing voices?)

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it's amazing how many opportunities there are for learning. sure, there's the usual classroom school setting. but there are also tons of online resources out there such as podcasts (and of course wikipedia). and there are also the ever-reliable books (plus points if they're really easy reading). and perhaps, the best resource of all, other people—the more different they are, the better. with the tons of resources for expanding one's knowledge, it's almost a shame to be not picking up anything new. sure i can spend hours on my reality tv (which unfortunately, i do) but that doesnt really enrich me much. garbage in, garbage out. the only way we can share quality thoughts, ideas and lives, is if we first feed ourselves with things of quality.

unfortunately, something with growing older makes us less receptive to learning. instead of greeting things new with our natural born curiosity, somehow our brains, as we age, develops ten million excuses why we can't learn this or can't do that. when that happens just remember 2 words — dig in.

oh and, push yourself. fair enough, that's 4.

random bits of this and that

2007-01-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

chocolate fountain

so ok, my brain's a bit too lazy to come up with a coherent idea to this entry. so i guess, i'll just ramble on 'til i find one.

i attended another (post)holiday party last wednesday. our agency played host to our main clients in a little get-together with cocktails & buffet dinner all the way in philly. i must admit the food wasn't all that good but there were 2 main saving graces—the ultra-decandent chocolate fountain (crap, i ate my first and hopefully last cookie of 2007, an oreo dripping in melted chocolate yumminess) and the 2-hour plus bus trip back to new york (where like a high school field trip, the drinks were going around like crazy and people sleeping were photographed like dozing off were a mortal sin).

i attended another party saturday night. this time, a filipino friend's birthday celebration at hell's kitchen. bit funny obviously coz somehow ive missed a couple too many get-togethers past months with that group of friends, so i was welcomed back as though i were some lost sheep. good to be back from AWOL status and im sure ill be showing face a little bit more often.

great book on creativity

i managed to finish reading my first book of the year, fulfilling my a-book-a-month-for-07 january obligations. ernie schenk's the houdini solution was a good read. it's main thesis is that thinking out of the box may not necessarily be the real measure of creativity—working within one's parameters is. think macgyver, think houdini, think back to all the fun original creations you made with that box of lego you got for christmas. loads of insight.

ive actually started reading my second book for the year, the lazy person's guide to investing. obviously, this grampa is looking forward to early retirement so i can travel my brains out. well, actually the truth is that i just opened a brokerage account last week and i must admit save for a few classes back in nyu, im practically clueless when in comes to all that personal finance fun stuff. three chapters in and looks like i can have a portfolio that'd beat the average wall street genius.

spinning classes, anyone?

aside from striving for a healthy mind, the drive for a healthy body is looking good as well so far. been taking good care of myself — swam some 80 laps yesterday, did bikram yoga saturday, and saw myself biking in the snow for the first time today, even. freezing my hands out and drying my lips up dont feel that good though so im enrolling myself to a spinning class at NYU, which starts this sunday. my flash animation class in pratt starts on wednesday as well. although that isnt really a health thing. but something to look forward to nonetheless.

so right, where is all this randomness going to. well, here's a shot—i know the new year is already 22 days old but thankfully, there seems to be a happy new year vibe to each day so far. and i guess the trick is to keep things fresh, keep things exciting. keep things random. instead of turning left, make a right. when you think you've ran enough of your brains out, run another minute. instead of eating the usual fast food crap, cook your own meal. instead of the usual point A to point B routine, why not make a stop somewhere in between. try something new. learn something new. each day. each day?!? well, a day's too precious to put to waste anyway, so why not?

happy new day, everyone. now, get off this blog entry and do something that's actually fun.

a history lesson or two

2007-01-21T23:20:00.000-05:00

martin luther king, jr

monday the 15th was martin luther king day. knowing nothing much more than mlk jr being an african-american civil rights and peace activist known for his "i have a dream" speech, id realized i knew very little about such an important figure in human history. a bit ashamed of my ignorance, part of the past week was spent on a bit of learning more. not so much about mlk per se, but a little more of others' past. through a medium i find entertaining, movies.

must-see documentary

god grew tired of us is a documentary that covers the journey of sudanese boys who were orphaned by a tragic civil war and who, among 25,000 others seeking refuge from famine, diseease and rebel attacks, travelled barefoot accross the sub-saharan desert to eventually find their way to the UN’s refugee camp in kakuka, kenya. a journey's end for some, it was only the beginning for john, daniel and panther, who along with 3,800 other young survivors, were selected by the international rescue committee to re-settle in the US. the film covers the 3 resilient young men in a complex and confusing western world. illuminating all that has been gained and much that has been lost in the continuing immigrant experience of coming to america.

the movie provided a great context for all the depressing images out there of struggling african children. usually just seen in magazines and news bits, the profiles of the lost boys gave a much clearer face to what’s going on out there. the film also showed great inspiration as the re-settlers adjusted to their new homes, while maintaining true to their roots, and keeping that drive to be reunited with their families and yearning to help rebuild sudan. a must-see film that opened my eyes to the reality in africa and a reminder of sorts of the continuing journey of living elsewhere.

gripping documentary

the second film, another documentary is on an even heavier side of things. verdict on auschwitz covers the first auschwitz trial held in frankfurt, germany from 1963 to 1965. the story told mostly through voice recordings of survivors from the actual trial provided for a compelling reality no hollywood movie can ever match.

the complete film is a series of 3 one-hour segments and for one who's got one of the shortest attention spans, i was glued to the film. and it was a very moving/chilling 3 hours, seeing the depths to which humanity can sink. most memorable moment in the film for me was the ending of the 2nd segment. one of the defendants and one of the prosecutors were going back and forth arguing. one of the SS officers insists that even though he was a high ranking official in the camp, he knew nothing of the people being killed. a survivor takes to the stand. his words as i remember, "i find it impossible that [name of officer] knew nothing of it. even i who was there for just an hour already sensed the killings that happened. in one of the walls, in blood, i saw the writing, "[name], lived til 16." and i saw that kid, and he told me that if i ever i got out alive, to please tell her mother that to the last moment he was thinking of her... i never saw that kid again. and neither his mother." the man breaks down. wow. wow.

dystopic glimpse of the future

the last film, children of men, is not about the past. this time it takes us to 2027—a bleak yet realistic perspective of the near future. every woman on earth has become infertile. with the loss of their ability to have children, the world has also lost hope. clive owen plays theo, a briton attempting to make a life in the hellish world. his estranged wife (julianne moore) convinces him to help transport a young woman to safety. when theo learns that the woman is pregnant, their journey takes on a significance—and a danger—he never imagined. a disturbing glimpse of a highly possible future but a great reminder of what's at the core of our humanity. another great must-see film.

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for most of us, it's easy to get sucked into the daily-ness of each of our personal everydays. there are no civil wars to contend with, no reality of concentration camps to face—not much need to struggle for our rights or fight for our own lives, not much "excitement" to jolt our everyday existence. with relatively uneventful lives, it's easy to get lost in our own personal realities, forgetting our bond to history and the rest of humanity. for this reason, it was great to be reminded of what's happened in the past and to see an all too possible glimpse of the future. sure, there have been a fair share of atrocities. but in there, a considerable amount of stories of survival and heroism too. and in looking back and looking forward, we are reminded of the responsibility that's tied in the choices we make. for in the end, not only are we authors of our personal histories, we too contribute to humanity's collective history.

success begets success

2007-01-15T01:08:00.000-05:00

hey look, i got a promotion

first thing thursday morning, creative director comes over to my desk, giving me a nice pat on the back and bringing the great news of my promotion. sweet—the year-and-a-half senior art director is now art supervisor. the usual official announcement to the agency isnt out yet but news travels so ive gotten some "so i heard.... well deserved" congratulations from some people, and even got treated to a chinatown dinner by one of the writers i usually work with. which is weird coz isnt it the one with the raise usually the one treating? but free dinner to celebrate a bit of success, im in.

jazz band @ holiday party

success was likewise the theme of the agency (post) holiday party on friday. all the talk about how targets were met and surpassed. and how this year will be even better (especially that we did get named 2006 global ad agency of the year by adage and campaigns). but more importantly, the night was all about celebration—nonstop dancing to 80s and hiphop music, live jazz, open bar & best of all, a new fave drink to rival the usual sapphire & tonic (jack & tonics on the house).

travel a thousand miles away to manila. saturday—a friend runs his first ever 10k. unsure days before whether he'd manage to finish, i just got an instant message that he did. great to hear another personal goal met. now, he's talking about joining 5 other 10k's this year and even betterring his time.

another success story

travel another thousand miles away. this time to holland, saturday as well—coen, good (but crazy) dutch friend, up to his crazy plans again. this time taunting the impossible and hoping to bike all 260 kilometers from amsterdam to his hometown down south in maastricht in one day. i have yet to get word on whether he did manage to accomplish it. but somehow, finishing or not doesnt really matter. the will to push oneself was the real story. the need for a bit of a jolt of life and (im sure) managing to get it with a killer of a ride.

it's great being surrounded by people driven to succeed. somehow, you draw a certain level of inspiration. a push to excel. a second wind of sorts when things seem to feel a bit of a challenge. sure, their goals and capabilities may be different from yours but instead of envy, a sense of being propelled by their success to pursue your own.

art supervisor goal accomplished. and so, up next for me — back to school for a class at pratt institute in 2 weeks to be better with web design, a spinning class at NYU to train for the 5boro bike tour in may and a possible half-marathon in november, new zealand and australia in june. but first things first, much-needed rest tonight. oh and ya, hopefully finish cleaning up the room sometime soon.

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EDIT: 7:45 in the AM now. just got the email from coen that he did it. the 260 km turned out to be 285km. and he covered all of that in 11 hours. wow, i think im hopping on the bike now. ummm, maybe not. time to get more sleep. congratulations, flying, er biking, dutchman.

getting into a good rhythm

2007-01-08T23:08:00.000-05:00

did an hour's worth of swimming laps tonight and it's amazing how much having a good rhythm could do. not having swam laps for quite a while, i was really ready to call it quits during the first 10 minutes but i guess i just got into it and managed to surprise myself with going the distance. i realize it's usually overcoming the initial it's too cold and i'm running out of breath thoughts that are the hardest but once you get into it, apparently you just get going.

newton's first law of motion at work, i guess. an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. much like this morning i guess. i had to wake up a little extra early to meet with my dentist for some project of ours before coming to work. waking myself up was quite a task obviously especially with the pitter-patter of the rain. but after a few snooze buttons, i eventually mustered the energy to get up.

and boy was it a good morning. headed my way up to central park south to my dentist's office. nope, not for another tooth implant thankfully. instead, i presented some designs i worked on over the weekend which he needed (sorry cant say what it's for coz i signed one of those confidentiality crap). and sweeet, he was quite happy with the work, and picked the one we're going ahead with with very minimal changes. and 10 times sweeter, he approved my proposed budget (granted he did say "yikes!" when i said the figure). after the meeting, a sense of fulfillment filled the air. (and it helped too that id get some change to fill the wallet as well.) and somehow, the positive energy and sense of invincibility carried through the day at work—got some concepts approved and managed to get another freelance project in the works—and lasted even after. at least up til the moment id realized how wrinkled my hands were from swimming. ok, even after that, cooking myself a nice grilled herb chicken with veggies dinner.

thankfully, a body in motion tends to stay in motion. unfortunately, a body at rest tends to remain at rest. so note to self: make sure to wake up each morning having a reason to get up coz once you get going, there's no stopping.

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speaking of no stopping, travel plans for the year are getting set. end of may, flying to new zealand to spend a few days there with the whole family and then we're off to sydney and the gold coast til june 10th. now, i just need to figure out where to get the money to pay for these trips. ooh, maybe i do a euro '07 trip in august too. and spend christmas in manila. sounds good to me.

double m meets double d

2007-01-04T23:34:00.001-05:00

game night

so astrology says this is the year of the 2 Ms, that of mastery and mystery—the perfect time for mastering oneself and the world while being greeting by the mysteries of ones limitations and that of ones environment. as though caught in wonderful world of sesame street, apparently this year too is brought to us by the double d's. no, not those double d's, silly. instead, according to ll cool j's personal trainer in this morning's today show, if you want anything accomplished, it's all about discipline and determination.

ok, so i might be starting to sound like some reader's digest for the soul but so far so good. this year seems to be shaping up to be the great one it ought to be. things are off to a great start. case in point, got invited by an officemate to her flat for monopoly night with 2 other colleagues. great unexpected fun obviously. dusting off the old board. ordering in. chillin out. a good sense of belongingness and ease in someone else's turf. great way of somehow expanding one's social sphere. could be the start of a monthly game night ritual.

alright, so monopoly might be too high school an example. so i got off the train station from game night. walk in to the corner pizza place. just about to get myself a nice slice. but my slightly el presidente cerveza-influenced brain was overcome by the thought, "jason, don't forget the 2Ds." and so i mustered up the self-control to master my unnecessary craving. and instead headed straight home with no cheese triangle in my hand. quickly dumped my bag, put on my running shoes and some gym shorts. and powered by my ipod tunes, found myself walking to the neighborhood track.

you gotta be kiddin me. going for a jog in the middle of a late winter night in ones shorts. ok, so its not freezing freezing really thanks to global warming but still there was a sense of pushing limits as i ran on the track all by myself. save the couple who were biking around and one-two crazy others who had the same idea of going for some exercise in such a strange hour.

and so i said to myself, ok, i'll run till 11. and so i ran nonstop, huffing tired like a dog but feeling alive as ever. somehow i guess in surprising oneself, one gets a great sense of aliveness. but anyway, my watch decided to play a trick on me, as though wanting to taunt and push me further. 10:59. ok one more round and after this round its probably 11. round done. still not 11. one round more. and another. and another. and it was only after some rounds more id realized my watch had stopped. coming to the conclusion that somehow we set these limits to ourselves only to find out that we actually might not be pushing enough—that we could actually do more than what we thought possible—limits to how far how and long we can run (or bike). limits to who we can hang out with. limits to what we can accomplish. and sometimes, thankfully, we suprise ourselves and find out that these boundaries and safety harnesses are merely superficial. but of course, the only way to know this is by testing those limits.

now here comes the cheesy hallmark conclusion to make up for that missed slice‚ a quote written on an index card i found while cleaning up my old files. one by alex noble, "Risk is essential. There is not growth of inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable. Once you find out what you do best, why not try something else?"

yeah, why not? here's why not. 1:24 in the am now. this camper's getting sleepy from that running. tomorrow's another great day for figuring out why not.

a masterful year ahead

2007-01-02T23:27:00.000-05:00

though i do not necessarily subscribe to numerology, it does however provide encouraging wisdom about the coming year. 2007 apparently embodies the number 9, which through some numeromagic, symbolism or whatever it's called, sets the stage for mastery. great news obviously; for that means the year shall be a time of mastering—of harnessing one's capabilities to excel in life.

self-mastery and mastery of the world
if such is the case, then this year shall be a perfect time for pursuing one's physical, mental, spiritual, professional, social and personal goals. lucky then is the friend who's planning on biking some 10 hours without a map to find his way south to his hometown. fortunate too are some friends who are flying from manila to new york, from amsterdam to belgium, from new york to toronto to pursue further studies or career paths in foreign territory. great for me as well, i guess, for i do have my own laundry list of personal development wishes id want to be able to check off this year.

the other side of the coin
there is however a flipside to mastery. its own yang, so to speak—mystery. as one excels in mastering himself and the world, he realizes the mystery of his limits. as one pushes his physical bounderies, he faces the reality of the work that needs to be done. as one immerses herself in a new world, she is met by the Difference of being in some place new. with mastery comes the mystery and discomfort of being in new territory. with new knowledge, a certain mystery of not knowing enough and a drive to know more. in the process of moving from one success to another, we are greeted by the mystery of our work-in-progress nature.

a happy new year to all
my wish for all then is a year immersed in the exciting tug-of-war between mastery and mystery. that in the process of being "masters of our fates" and "captains of our souls", we become captive to the opportunities of our limitations, the joy of others, and the invisible hand of god. did i just say the three letter word?! on that note, before i grow queasy, all the best in 2007!

christmas in delaware

2006-12-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

joy of opening presents (especially if they're toys)

it's actually around 4 hours til the new year celebration goes full blast here in new york. but before all that craziness and joy hits, wanted to wish everyone a week-late merry christmas. or a happy whatever celebration it is that fits you. my christmas '06 was celebrated with family in delaware. last i celebrated christmas there was in '02 (my first ever christmas here in the states and a white one at that) so it was good to experience the holidays there again—family, staying in, overflowing food & desserts and all. ok, the sugar was bit much.

christmas clogs from coen van amsterdam

whereas santa's presents in manila were opened when the clock hit 12 midnight, in delaware, santa's presents were opened christmas morning. my nephews got lotsa star wars and legos. i got a spanking new just what i wanted sonicare e9500 for a brighter healthier smile in the coming years. well, the pricey doctor-recommended toothbrush was my sisters' present actually and not st nick's. i must've been a good boy. or maybe it's coz i went to christmas mass. even got a sweater, designer hand-me-down pants, snacks, a journal, and holiday cards too. and taking advantage of the tax-free and why-not-its-christmas shopping, i gifted myself some clothes and things for the apartment. and once i got back home here in new york. was greeted by a present in the mailbox—a pair of signature (read signed) wooden clogs from amsterdam—not that id ever wear them coz they're the wrong size and i only wear adidas now. nevertheless, it was a pleasant christmas '06 experience. a quieter, less hectic one (than in manila) but real great in that way.

xmas present of sorts: a new travel site for all

got back here in the city friday night and most of the weekend's been about getting a headstart on '07's plans. been getting into the rhythm of much-needed exercise, cleaning up and de-cluttering the apartment—even fixed the toilet that won't flush with my own hands, and laying in the ground work for a brand new personal site that's all about chronicling the travels here, there and everywhere. consider it a christmas slash new year's present to all. a work-in-progress at that but one that is in givable (forgivable?) condition. so, a one week delayed merry christmas or whatever it is you celebrate to all. will save the new year's greetings for tomorrow. when it is officially the new year here in new york.

that annual fuzzy holiday feeling

2006-12-22T22:47:00.000-05:00

team lunch at chelsea brewery

'tis that season again, i guess—when people seem to be all of a sudden extra nice and jolly. it must be the abundance of home-made cookies and chocolates, driving everyone's serotonin levels to empire state highs. office team lunches with a strong sense of belonging. well, that could be blamed on the beer and gin and tonics too. holiday cards, bags of self-made cookies, box of chocolates that all of a sudden pop up at my office desk, leaving me with a tinge of guilt 'coz i havent gotten anyone anything. the agency backpack which is ten times better than last year's present of coffee mugs with 2 packets of godiva hot chocolate. i wonder where those mugs are now.

a few drinks later

and even the everyday new yorkers seem to be all in in this let's shed our long faces and trade them in for a smile. the corner deli man letting me get a way with being a quarter short. the post office teller across the street giving me a free stickers and a lesson on how much stamps to put on my air mail letters. my dentist finally giving me my one side tooth back and a nice little design project which will allow me to get back even just a portion of this year's dental expenses.

for a city known for being in-your-face, it sure is a great treat seeing everyone seem to warm up. it doesn't come as a big surprise though coz after all, the big apple was recently named the world's most polite city. i guess it sure 'tis the season to splurge on being nice to others and of course, oneself. if new york can do it, im sure everyone else too. or maybe not.

a more permanent home, for now

2006-12-18T22:22:00.000-05:00

home for now, billyburg brooklyn

first things first. look up. check out the web address. yes, this site no longer is housed in blogspot.com. a little work and planning over the weekend and there you go. my own web domain, finally. a little bit early though coz a more permanent web address was meant to be one of the projects for next year. but it was not an idea worth putting on hold so just did it. there you go, one less resolution for '07.

home during my first years in nyc

aside from setting up the site over the weekend, was able to hit the good ol neighborhood cafe to enjoy some looking ahead and back over a nice cup of mocha. going through old stored photos, funny to see the past places id considered home—the room in manila. which of course, still is home whenever id go back to the philippines. the small room in queens which meant home for my first 2 years here in new york. and now, here i am in a rented williamsburg studio, living on my own. taking care of my own mess, paying for my own utilities and all that fun stuff.

home in manila

looking at the different places ive considered home, i realize ive been here in new york for almost 4 years and a half. jesus, you gotta be kiddin me. more than the amount of time, what's more amazing perhaps is the amount and diversity of people ive encountered. who wouldve thought id actually establish good friendships with some dutchies here in the city. (well it was new amsterdam, after all, i guess.) co-workers who constantly suprise me at how nice people they really are (already got 2 holiday cards when i was really expecting none). a dentist and boss's boss who've given me some freelance projects (sweeet). some other filipinos, mostly from my old manila university, whom id meet on occasion whenever that craving for homestyle food comes. and the faces and personalities go on.

needless to say, well, actually probably the first time im saying it, it might take a while before i leave this city. seems like a very reasonable place to live in for now. a perfect place and homebase to be moving around from. with that in mind, good news or bad news, i finally decided to get the process of getting a green card started last week. and it should be a year-ish to get that done. that doesnt count out living in europe for sometime soon though. in fact, it just might make it easier. but for now, and perhaps for a little while, this is it. home sweet f*ckin home. so feel free to come visit. you can all sleep in the balcony.

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in other good news, i guess it's a step closer to being official. im being promoted to art supervisor in january. my boss finally told me. after finishing a video with him last friday, he told me, "you might, actually you will, hear some good news in january." of course, i already knew what he was referring to. sweeeeet. maybe i can get that toilet with flushing problems fixed now.

and the world keeps spinning

2006-12-14T14:55:00.000-05:00

palawan with the family & coen

lazy sunday afternoon. here now sipping a nice cup of mocha at the favorite neighborhood cafe—trying once again to get myself grounded to life here in new york. funny how last i was here was round 3 months ago, doing this readjustment ritual after a trip to spain and holland. now, the outside tables are gone and christmas decor abounds as jacket-clad hipsters get their caffeine fix in this wintry weather. and i in turn get my own dose of wake-me-up as i try to get reacquainted here from an almost dreamlike 3-week trip to the philippines and hong kong with good friend coen from amsterdam.

let's try this again. thursday afternoon now. here now sipping an after-lunch cup of joe in the office—trying to finally finish this entry and perhaps put a nice bit of closure on that 3 week holiday back home. been a week and a half back actually but i must admit that between the jetlag and sudden titanic drop in temperature, it's been quite disorienting. for 3 weeks, it was great roaming the roads again with the flying dutchman and being with friends and family in the philippines once more. and so, with the return here to independence, it's taken some bit of readjusting.

indeed, quite a different world back there. and a different world back here. it's a little bit odd walking in the freezing cold all of a sudden when just yesterday i was sweating in my t-shirt. seeing all the concrete grey and brick brown buildings when yesterday i was immersed in clear blue seas, green forests and white sand. getting places by subway and foot when driving in traffic or being driven in traffic through jeeps, buses and tricycles were the only options back then. coming home to an absolutely quiet apartment when yesterday coming home meant the gate opened by the security guard and the greeting of 7 barking house dogs and eventually the voices of nephews and neices. cooking my own meals and the occasional dinner out with a friend or two when those 3 weeks were filled with shared meals with the family and friends (and almost all included rice). here, greeted back by officemates happy that ive come back. there, greeted by family and friends happy too that id come back.

it was a great adventure and coming home. having coen (whose first time it was in asia) on the trip meant an extra added incentive of covering as many places. and so we hit the busy streets of hong kong, the many malls of manila, the manmade falls of escudero, the picturesque views of tagaytay, the chocolate hills of bohol, the corals and fishes of palawan. heck, we even walked through a depressed area in san juan and greeted by everyone with their best kodak smiles. unfortunately, there's no replay button that allows one to relive each and every moment. there are however thousands snapshots that somehow capture each and every moment. perhaps sparking a million sidestories (do i hear another book coming? an adcenter execs joint project maybe. what do you think il cone?).

sundown in palawan

with the 13 hour difference, the sun sets in manila as the sun starts rising here in new york. it's a bit hard to imagine that it's actually the same sun shining on the 2 places i consider home. perhaps a bit of reminder that home is really not that far away. because home is where you already are. if that makes any sense at all, that is.

thanks hong kong. thanks manila. thanks philippines. we shall meet again soon. well, maybe i'll skip the hong kong part next time. hopefully the flying dutchman comes along for the ride again. any good sleeping on the plane tips anyone? unfortunately long flights and our dutch friend dont make for a great combo.

next stop: hong kong (then manila)

2006-11-09T23:56:00.000-05:00

briefcase check. passport check. business documents check. financial statements check. i guess im all set for the annual ad center's executive meeting in hong kong.

ok enough of this crap. there is no annual ad center convention. but considering the fact that the il cone has gone through the lengths of creating the actual trip invite, it's safe to assume its gonna be one helluva trip. especially that i hear that a famous dutch actor is joining in on the trip. i fly out tomorrow night and end up in hong kong sunday morning. chill em chinese and street markets out and head to manila tuesday night. aside from manila, tagaytay, bohol, escudero are already sure in the docket so that should be good. and of course by popular dutch demand, the bars shall be taken by storm.

now, says that to avoid a bad jetlag, one must have a good night's sleep the night before. let's see if that works.

houston, we got another winner

2006-11-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

ed, the lone officemate who was able to attend the art show in chicago last thursday, was back in the office today. full of photos and stories. bad news: i missed some really good shitfaced partying and drinking. good news: i avoided a weekend of incapacitation. and even better news: my book, viva españa won first for the exact same category last year's spreek je filipijns won in. good job. great timing especially that i get a 50 dollar giftcheck to go with it, just in time for the big trip this friday. and also, perfect coincidence coz my headhunter all of a sudden sent me an email in the afternoon, checkin in on how im doin. great to have some improvement/accomplishment to show obviously. or even the thought that i still have some creative bone left here somewhere.

winning again in that art show feels great obviously and what makes the news sweeter is that somehow it feels as though everything's building up to the great big trip to hong kong and manila. especially now that ive been coordinating with my sister in manila on what's on the agenda and even on the breakfast menu. sounds good to me. can't wait obviously. looks like a great trip in the making. and of course, most probably, another award-winning travel book in the works. or not.

viva españa but next stop, asia

2006-11-05T23:36:00.000-05:00

download a pdf of my new book (1.8MB)

long time, no blog. part hibernation to get myself rested for the biggest trip of the year (and loading up on what seems to be an overdose of movies). part creation to get my spain book done. and finished it is. and it was actually shown at an art show in chicago right last thursday. too bad though was that i couldn't be there but no worries—most important part is that the book is done and im rather happy with how it ended up being. i still do plan to add a few spreads but for now, the book is in a finished state, enough for sending over to that art show. tomorrow, i find out if it won any awards as last year's book did.

viva españa is a nice little part 2 to last year's spreek je filipijns. the hope is of course to have a little souvenir book of all the trips im taking from now on. meaning, expect nagtatagalog ka ba before the year is done coz yup, i'll be in hongkong then manila by this time next week. a nice 3-week holiday with none other than the flying dutchman, il cone.

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the hibernation mode has led to an overflow of movies, both rented and in theaters. thankfully, all good ones, in each of its own right. part of it i guess is that i do try to pick the films i actually see.

first off, jesus camp—"a documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next billy graham." bit freaky movie, actually. one of those that takes you to an entirely different yet real world. bit of a caricature but not really coz the people in it are just as exagerrated as they are in real life. interesting to see though the lengths with which they'd take their faith to. watching it is like laughing at a train wreck in progress. bit sick obviously.

the departed—"two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover within the massachusetts state police and the irish mafia, but violence and bloodshed boil when discoveries are made, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities." a scorsese classic. one that id like to watch again eventhough at times the movie couldve been quicker. reminds me of boondock saints.

the boys of baraka—"An engrossing account of a year spent at a Kenyan boarding school by 11- and 12-year-old boys from a crime-ridden Baltimore neighborhood." one of those films that documents the lives and transforation of at-risk kids. i couldnt help but compare it to "born into brothels" although i liked that one better. nevertheless, was good to see a part of baltimore which i didnt really get to see for that daytrip there a few weeks back.

united 93—"A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot." i had no intentions of watching this film really. but good thing i did. really gripping moving tale of an otherwise hideous day in history. a definite must-see. but probably not the best one to see when ones preparing for a long flight out.

catch a fire—"A drama about terrorism in Apartheid-era South Africa, revolving around a policeman (Tim Robbins) and a young man (Luke) who carries out solo attacks against the regime." was a good film to see especially for one who doesnt really know much about that part of history. though the movie gets a bit didactic, it is nonetheless a good watch. nice little eye opener to the atrocities created by too much emphasis on human differences.

borat—"Kazakhstani TV talking head Borat (Cohen) is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world. With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson." one of the funniest movies ive ever seen. pushes the limits of comedy. not for the conservative obviously but not really coz the jewish grandma seated right next to me in the theater was laughing her brains out too. great movie and great inspiration for what might be the theme of this upcoming trip to manila. the thrilla from manila brings his friend, the famous dutch actor cohen van aramislaan to scout for the location of his next big film, safe haven. sounds like a good plan. some people are going to get punked.

dutch actor on location in belgium

anyway, enough of these movie reviews. time for some real action. actually, time to sleep. me gots to gets some rest. big trip in just 5 days. hong kong and manila. and bohol and batangas here i come. (he il cone, if ya reading this, make sure to bring your brilliant acting skills for our trip. james bond suit optional. its gonna be fun. oh and make sure to practice your chinese too coz otherwise we're the ones punked in hong kong. ha...)

next stop: home for now

2006-10-22T10:00:00.000-04:00

white marsh, baltimore

wednesday | 19:30 — aboard this amtrak that left baltimore almost 2 hours ago. headed for new york now. home, finally. no travelling for around a week and a half for me. and i just might pass on that next trip out to an art show in chicago to save myself for the big trip to manila and hong kong and november.

around this time last night i was stuck in a minivan making its way through terrible beltway traffic—finding our way from bethesda, maryland to baltimore. once we reached our hotel, we had been notified that some of us we're being moved to another hotel some 8 miles away due to the rain causing a mess in some of the rooms. 10,000 free marriot reward points and free lodging for the night after, i found myself in a residence inn in a town called white marsh. between the 2 hours of being in a van where baseball and american football was the main topic of conversation and being in a town that felt like the middle of suburbandom, the sense of being in foreign territory was high. bit awkward feeling obviously but there was a sense of broadening one's horizons that came with it. the residence inn was no drake hotel and the chicken marsala delivery dinner no morton's filet mignon, but the depressing/stupid quality of the night was short-lived coz i was fast asleep.

private chef prepared lunch

it was another early morning today. way too early actually. was in the lobby by 6:32 and by 7, at the research facility. by 7:30 it was back to business. nice little fruit, eggs, bacon and toast breakfast to start up the system. and by 10, facility's private chef was telling us the menu for lunch. it was decided that we'd have the steak & lobster option. sweet. steak was good but i didnt bother with the lobster for fear of turning into some puffed up allergic mess. drawback about the place though was that the internet was on and off. being able to check my mail every 5 minutes was definitely cut down. and so was the occasional instant messenger here and there.

around a half an hour more and im finally in penn station. travelling business class of course. bit weird feeling again coz here i am in a car packed with business people in their 40s. dressed up in their suits while here i am just a kid in a golf shirt in his 20s. same awkward proud feeling i guess during those moments when id be infront of clients or colleagues, speaking and listened to as though my ideas really mattered. or even the thought of being promoted to art supervisor in january with only 2.5 years with the company. or the what-if goal of buying an apartment next year.

must get myself into some trouble, i guess. or at least do something silly. this sense of being all set, though great, feels somewhat wrong. but i guess i'll have time for all that action & adventure once i hit manila in around a month. for now, i guess it's time to live this life here in this home away from home.

next stop: new york penn station. a black town car awaits to drive me home. there better be not much traffic. im treating myself to a nice cup of italian ice at the neighborhood corner.

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sunday | 10:00 — turned out the black town car wasnt there at penn station. apparently the mets game at shea had all the cars delayed. hopped on a cab instead. and instead of ice cream, got a slice of pizza at the corner. great to be back in the office thursday. none of the heightened propriety of having clients around—supervisor burping out loud in the middle of a meeting, creative director letting everyone listen to an original song of his, "dinner and a blowjob"— there's no place like home. a real slowed down weekend so far to recharge the batteries. home-cooked meals, sleeping in, and movie night. off to union square now for some action.

next stop DC

2006-10-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

wilmington train schedule

all aboard on this acela express headed to the nation's capital, passing through baltimore. travelling business class of course. not that that means anything coz there's no economy on this train. on company's expense, thankfully. here i am fortunately seated in the quiet car, where cellphones and loud talking are prohibited. none of that annoying polish old man seated right next to me on the chinatown bus to delaware who was on his cellphone the whole trip. and even worse, in a language i knew not a word. instead across me a grandma quietly knitting, occasionally dropping her needle. but that i dont mind, really. coz here i am stealthily typing while listening to some middle eastern trance-like music.

it was a great impromptu trip to delaware for the weekend. my mom was finally leaving back home so i decided id come over to my sister's to send her off. fighting off a cold and sore throat, and hopefully not passing on the germs to my nephews. none of the usual crying that accompanies airport goodbyes yesterday. a bit of confusion while checking in rendered my mom anxious more than anything. and an emergency siren sounding off as my mom went through the security gates. drowning out any quiet moment for sadness and thought. in a way, it was a good uneventful farewell. besides. ill see her again and the rest of the family in manila in less than a month. that should be nice. a good 2 weeks and a half with family and the added bonus of having the flying dutchman coen around, and it being his first time in asia. so it's sure to be fun.

halloween decor in delaware

but first things first. next stop washington DC—the second leg of our market research. i kinda like it much better being on a train like this instead of kilometers above, needing to deal with all that circulated air and nauseating rough weather. down here you actually see the changing terrain. and the rows of trees starting to turn. and the occasional lakes with several sailboats. reminds me of the intercity train rides in the netherlands actually. or the peaceful run around the delaware neighborhood this morning—where all was still except for the occasional neighbor's dog or SUV and several flocks of migrating geese.

fall has arrived, i guess. nice little reminders here and there of the dynamic nature of life. especially for one who grew up in only rainy and sunny seasons, having 4 distinct seasons is something that's appreciated. all this recent travelling as well has been great reminder of the greater world there is. granted i really cant wait to be sleeping back in my own bed for at least a whole week—and granted the several annoying instances of needing to deal with other state's depressing stupidity—it's been a great ride so far.

alright, here we are now in baltimore for a brief station stop. will stop typing now. starting to develop a headache which id rather not have, really. will try to keep tabs on all the adventures while travelling. next stop, washington DC.

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horchata @ mi rancho

21:50 now. just got back from dinner. turns out we're not stationed in DC DC. am actually here now at a residence inn in bethesda, maryland, some 40 minute cab ride from union station, DC. a colleague's boyfriend's sister and her boyfriend took us to this excellent tex-mex place in silver springs called mi rancho. great food and great company as well. nice couple actually. very unassuming. which is probably how everyone is outside of new york anyway. nice little surprise spending some time with locals who know their way around. had really good horchata, some quesadillas, and beef fajita. just what i was looking for. especially that first thing i did here at the hotel was hit the fitness room to get some of the blood running again.

still too early for bed now. just might go walk around a bit. that would be good. oh and my mom's back in manila now safe and sound from her layover in amsterdam. well, that's good too.

caught in a whirlwind of travelling

2006-10-14T19:16:00.000-04:00

finally some respite. of all places, on a chinatown bus. on the road once again. this time to delaware for half the weekend to see my mom off back to the airport. no rest for the road-weary, i guess. for the past few weeks, been caught in a whirlwind of travelling—

this time last week i was in dallas, spending the weekend with my sister there and my mom who's visiting. aside from spending time with family, highlights were seeing the jfk museum, eating at some brazilian churrascaria (meat place), spending a day at the texas state fair and an unflattering souvenir cold sore from a full day's sun exposure. dallas was interesting to see. lots of big open spaces that gives you a bit of middle nowhere feel, the drawl in their speak, and a huge percentage of people on the heavy side what with all that meat.

very early monday morning, was off to the next stop, chicago. from o'hare airport, headed directly to the hotel for a quick check in. not only was i at the famed drake hotel where oprah's guests are usually holed up, i also found out that i got a free upgrade to my room. from the hotel, i headed to the market research facility for work. it was a business trip after all. the clients were there and 2 other officemates. we spent a whole afternoon behind a one-way mirror, observing people's reactions to next year's ad campaign. snacks, sandwiches and sushi were overflowing. and once we were done for the day's work, we finally headed back to the hotel. where holy effin crap i finally got to see the room i was spending the night in. sweet—all that unnecessary luxury all for me to not use.

after being struck with awe at the hugeness of each of our rooms, my officemates and i reconvened at the lobby to walk through the winds to a nearby sports bar for some beer and barfood. called it a night after 2 rounds coz we were up early the next day. woke up a bit earlier than everyone to get some needed exercise at the hotel fitness room. quick shower, checkout and cab ride after, we were back behind the mirror for a half day's worth of work. by noon we were done, and managed to book ourselves earlier flights at midway airport to avoid the long wait and delays caused by impending bad weather. downtown chicago was nice to see. although there wasnt enough exploring, i must say it's quite similar to new york (minus the attitude). i loved the fact that the cops there were on segues—how very un-midwestlike. heck, even that beats the NYPD being on those stinky made-for-tourists horses. also, it was good spending time with the clents—especially that i seem to get along with them, i guess all the more am i now indispensible.

we arrived in detroit late tuesday night. at the airport, hopped on our rental van. made our way to southfield, driving through depressing rows and rows of denny's, mc donald's, white castle, big boy, and all that crap. after getting lost several times, we eventually found our way to the hotel. as expected, nowhere close to the drake—a marriot. after 15 minutes of checking in and refreshening up, we were back to the lobby off to morton's—some pricey nearby steakhouse. oh the joys of being on business trips. considering that i hate shrimps and crabs, the seafood appetizers were great. the filet mignon i had was just the right huge size and the perfect tenderness to it. the bottles of cabernet went well with the dinner as well. and it certainly loosened up the atmosphere a bit. although it's always a tricky thin line, laughing at and laughing with the clients. over dinner, was decided that we were changing flights again to try to get out of the city sooner.

wednesday morning, was up way too early again to check out and head to the research facility there. spent a full day behind the mirror, by then, our brains and interest weren't as sharp as before, especially with the news in the afternoon that a plane had hit an upper east side apartment in new york, setting it to flames. and myself, feeling a bit under the weather at that point, with my dallas cold sore and chicago sore throat. by around 6, we were at the airport heading our separate ways. i hopping on a northwest flight to laguardia. irritable as i already was, got into a bit of an argument with one of the obese TSA personnel at how much a waste it is having me throw away my toothpaste when ive been already through 4 airports prior without them having any fuss with it. anyway, to add to the fudged up situation, flights were delayed because of the bad weather. and couple the bad weather with the fact that it wasnt the biggest plane ever that i was on, i was one impatient passenger. PLUS, i was seated across this annoying old japanese guy who kept coughing without covering his mouth. after an hour of circling round laguardia because of air traffic, we finally landed. finally, home sweet new york home. and at the baggage claim area, a driver holding a sign with my name on it. eventually leading me to my ride back home, a black S500 benz. sweet.

thursday & friday i was back in the office. somehow it felt great just sitting at my desk and running from one meeting to another instead of an airport to another. only thing that kept my enjoyment in the office though were my cold sore and sore throat. was hoping to spend this whole weekend nice and chill at home to recover a bit. but instead, here i am saturday night, back on the road again. sore throat is almost sore no more. cold sore isnt that much of an eyesore as well. just a bothersome runny nose now but i can live through that.

needless to say, the roadtrip continues. instead of heading back to new york, i actually hop on the the train to head further south to washington DC on monday. after that, to baltimore tuesday night. wednesday night, im back to new york. i can't wait. well, actually i might actually fly back to chicago november 2nd for an art show but i just might take a pass on that, especially that the big hong kong–manila trip happens the week after that.

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an hour or so more and im finally at the bus station. headache with this typing is already killin me. but before i logout, some bit of good career news. returned into the office with a voicemail from some other agency's HR. they got an opening which might be right for me. also, i got invited by the art director's club again to run the advertising workshop but unfortunately couldnt coz ill be out by then. best news though is that i finally heard from the grapevine that im getting a promotion in january. nice. ok, enough.

things are a-flyin'

2006-09-21T23:29:00.000-04:00

shots anyone?

birthday cards were flying all over the office last tuesday. finally, the party of all parties—celebrating at least 10 birthdays in the team that had just passed (and one even going as far back as january, oops). jokes were flying all over the place as the cards caricatured each celebrant. jim was all of a sudden david bowie. frankie ending up as a tattoo on pamela lee's thigh. steve having a his own rap CD with complete lyrics, doc abrahams having a full article on a made up national inquirer issue, julian his own sweater catalog with photos of everyone posing in his tattered sweater. bottles of stella, guinness, corona, and heineken went around the room, adding to the fun atmosphere. and with the party on a bit of a limited budget, i had ended up donating the bottle of bombay which id been keeping at my desk. dixie cups of bombay sapphire went around the room. and the shots were flying. my throat was burning but the laughing, shouting went louder and louder. we were asked to shush a couple of times coz it was still office hours after all. nevertheless, it was great fun. very much well worth the donated bottle and all the effort that'd gone to all the hallmark sweatshop cardmaking. in a way, making me realize that we really all are after all suckers for a little bit of appreciation. and some alcohol to go with it, doesnt hurt too.

gin lane bar

after the office merrymaking, some of us continued the party at nearby gin lane to celebrate earle's upcoming weekend marriage. really beautiful bar/lounge. bit of hoity toity but not really coz i was there in my sneakers and jeans. nice chill cozy atmosphere. martinis (some shaken not stirred), wine and beer were going around the room again. and funny conversations and jokes were flying with them. after a few rounds there, we were hungry as horses and headed to nearby pita grill. continuing the fun with a bit of a menu fight, hopefully not scaring our server too much. we got our well earned tasty grub, did a bit of a survey at the end of the meal on whether roaches or rats scare us more, and after that, calling it a night. me realizing once again how lucky i am with the type of atmosphere and people i have to go work in and with. or maybe that was just the alcohol in my blood.

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the drake hotel chicago

speaking of flying. my upcoming domestic flights are finally confirmed. october 7th i head to dallas. 9th i find myself in chicago. spend the night there at the uber-sweeet hilton drake hotel and make my way to detroit the next day to spend 2 nights there. and eventually find my way back to the big apple on the morning of the 12th. only to hit baltimore and washington dc the week after. nice. nothing like a bit of travelling to get my mind off the big holiday to hong kong and the philippines in november.

sweater n' sweatshop monday

2006-09-18T23:14:00.000-04:00

outside the office of one of the creative directors hangs a tattered old brown sweater with the sleeves cut off. on his door scotch-taped is a printout of an image of mr roger. next to it some 14 images of sweaters—all vying to be voted as the friendly neighborhood CD's next sweater for the next decades to come. the creatives are up to no good once again. creating a nice friendly atmosphere to kick off the week ahead. and anyone seeing that christmas sweater and those photoshopped images will definitely die laughing—a great way to start the workweek. not that there's much work getting done with all the side pranks and projects that are keeping everyone busy.

and as for me, my hallmark card sweatshop duties are almost done. managed to finish two over the afternoon—one for an ultra-belated birthday and another for a bachelor party with an officemate's head photoshopped over the hefner's. tomorrow, some afternoon partying is on the calendar. we celebrate all the belated birthdays with a li'l office party where all the cards ive been sweating on finally get given to their rightful owners. after that, we head straight to gin lane for an after-party party and some fine boozing. sweeet. hopefully it won't break the bank though coz otherwise ill be punked for that november trip to the philippines. but no worries. i'll make sure to drink moderately but party heartily.

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enjoyed some laps of swimming after work. great feeling obviously coz its just you, your mind and the water. (and the occasional annoying person who insists on swimming on your lane. feck.) great way to get the heartrate up obviously without breaking a sweat. (hmm, i wonder if not being able to sweat's the reason why the urge to pee is high when swimming. oops. too much information... but then, i wonder what happens if one goes swimming after a night of drinking. that must be a double whammy then.)

saturday parties

2006-09-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

iskulbluekul performs at bandastiks '06

it's finally done. all the months of preparation finally came into play last night with bandastiks '06—a concert/party i had helped organized and somehow ended up having the title of creative director with since i did most of the design work. it was very well attended (at least 600 were there). the bands played well. personal favorite was a saxophone solo by one of the ateneans now based in austrailia. the atmosphere was lively; people seemed to enjoy themselves. food was fine. drinks even better, especially that i had access to the scotch. it was an ok night. but eventhough the night could have been better with a few things here and there, the main goal of raising funds for several philippine charities was well met (seems like it).

german festival at central park

before going to that party, i was in central park with colleagues for a german festival. they had a huge tent set up with german music, food and drinks all over the place. while the atmosphere was really fun (loved the german drinking songs and dancing), it was a bit of a shame that there werent enough beer stations set up so the lines were impossibly long. long enough that mr impatient with lines me opted for diet coke instead coz no one was there to buy that obviously. still lotsa fun though seeing everyone with pitchers of beers in their hands, and jumping like jolly beans on the dancefloor. chill.

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roller dancers in central park

weather was great here in the city over the weekend. was fun seeing the roller dancers in central park yesterday in between the two parties. and was great do a leisurely bike to the city as well today to rid myself of a bit of a hangover. am pretty much all set for another good week ahead. maybe. now that the concert planning is off my plate, i can focus a bit more on the 1 million office birthday cards i have to make and the november trip to the islands. bohol, check. and apparently now, banaue, sagada, batad, tagaytay, check, check, check. cant wait.

4 triple loads less & 1 big trip more

2006-09-12T23:45:00.000-04:00

loads of fresh-smelling laundry

ok, so doing laundry isnt one of my strongest skills. and washing the dishes a close second to the last. but impossible as it may seem, my laundry's all cleaned up as of saturday. all nice and fresh and folded. well at least, the lights, that is. the darks are here somewhere scattered all over the place. that said, it came as a big pleasant surprise that the friendly neighborhood laundromat man even knew me.

mabel hard @ work

there's obviously an apparent invisible forcefield on things that have to be done. well at least by choice somehow. which perhaps explains why friday was an ultimate riot in the office as we we're fooling around coz some of the bosses were not around. peak season for birthday card making, so we were up to our crazy antics. even getting mabel the office dog in it, dressed up in one of the creative director's tattered sweater. needless to say, jobs were put on hold for at least an hour. chill.

chilling in washington square park

the weekend was supposed to be all work and no play for me coz aside from the piles of laundry and dishes, i had a side design project i had to finish. yeah right, as if that was going to happen. instead the weekend turned into more like a li'l work and more play one. spent time chilling in washington square park where everyone seemed to have the same idea, enjoying the last few days of great t-shirt summer weather. getting the necessary recharging of batteries. which apparently worked coz that job i was supposed to finish, is actually done now and in the printer's hands where it's supposed to be.

bohol beach club here i come

thankfully though, that originally pro bono design job just might end up earning me some cash. which is a great bonus obviously coz over the weekend i had booked a little side vacation to bohol for the november trip to manila. which is not that good an idea maybe coz now my mind all the more bacame no longer here. its now further off snorkeling, seeing the tarsiers, basking in the chocolate hills and white sand. taking a break from all the things that have to be done. neglecting all the world's useless worries and anxieties. ok, not really. but we're getting there. getting there.

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reminders of that day of terror & hope

yesterday was filled with reminders of that tragic day 5 years ago. the chilling reading of names in the morning. the memorable image of flowers outside that fire station on 13th street. the moving documentary of the children who lost parents that day. the towering lights from ground zero. as i was on the roofdeck, reflecting a bit and gazing at those lights that reached the heavens, somehow id realized how much ive come to learn to love this city. and how its been a great playground for living life and discovering what the world has to offer. up there, the lights that lit the whole sky were as clear as the things that really matter most. and apparently doing laundry and whining weren't part of them.

i heart travel

2006-09-05T23:51:00.000-04:00

guess the country

an overturned chinatown bus leaving 30+ injured was featured in the evening news tonight. good thing no one was severely injured. and good thing the accident didnt happen to the chinatown bus i rode yesterday, especially that i was seated right next to the driver making me the number one candidate to be shooting out the windshield if some freakish accident had happened. which wasnt that impossible considering the driver was on the phone the whole time and apparently hoping to beat the world record for fastest chinatown bus to have crossed the new jersey turnpike. accompanying risks and all, i must admit i still heart travel.

tennis in delaware

the labor day weekend was spent in delaware with family. aside from all the food glorious food and the tennis and jogging to counterbalance all the feasting, one of the highlights was a trip to a nearby farmers' market. if in new york, the union square market would be logically frequented by the health-conscious, apparently out there in delaware, it was quite the opposite. a bit of a shock obviously seeing all those shoppers who could barely even walk to their cars. stuffing their carts with loads of meat and produce and of course the sweets. huffing around in their white tennis shoes and 80s jeans. was though i was in the middle of a supersize me scene. welcome to america!

WOW philippines!

i actually get to see more of the US of A in the next few weeks. have several business trips lined up and ill be able to hit chicago, michigan, baltimore & DC. sweet! also possibly a weekend holiday in dallas with my mom and sister. BUT the biggest upcoming trip of all. the adcenter execs ilcone + jointman hit hongkong & manila in november. all the flights have been booked but specific details are still under wraps. suffice it to say, its going to be one fundamtastic holiday. tricky part though is how i tell the office ill be taking the 3 weeks off considering i just came from a eurotrip. oh well!

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peace, love & lotsa-guinness

no worries with getting the days off though coz its a quite chill office, really. for if even the executive creative director buys everyone a round of drinks to kick off a thursday night of pissing, what's 3 weeks to ask? of course, that was quite a going-away party last thursday. people were all over the place. funny pictures all over. and nothing like pints of guiness on an empty stomach.

oh my guinness!

one officemate was quite hammered, so brockie and i were somehow the designated make-sure-she-gets-home-safe sober samaritans. not sure about the sober part though coz something about all of a sudden craving for a mcdonald's sundae in the middle of the night didnt seem quite right. bullsh*t aside, everyone got home safe and there were no reported calling in sick the next day.

back to work

2006-08-30T23:44:00.000-04:00

greeting card art # 173

im back to my hallmark sweatshop duties again in the office. today, i finished 2 of the 1000 birthday cards i need to make. we'd been missing birthdays almost all of the past month so we've decided to surprise everyone with one grand party next week instead. oh shit, did i just spoil it by posting it here? but anyways, it's good to have small fun projects like these to break the flow of regular concepting work every 5 minutes or so. especially of late that it seems id rather be working on a new personal book, really. and even moreso that my slr is now fixed and good to be used and abused again. but there's always time for everything so no worries.

the illusionist

finishing early enough at work, i had the pleasure of being invited to an impromptu movie plan by my copywriter partner. i had hoped to go running actually but considering i had left my shorts at home, movie night it was. and it ended up a good choice. the illusionist did not disappoint. not that i thought it would, considering its producer came up with crash & sideways. it was a good entertaining film.

tomorrow should be another interesting day in the office. have 2 afternoon meetings where i need to present some ideas for upcoming campaigns. not that im done doing them of course. but first things first. i do have a rush card id like to finish for an officemate who's leaving to go to NYU for a master's degree in music. we'll see how that goes. but i dont see how it can go wrong. the going away party at brass monkey is already set. een biertje alstublieft. uno cerveza por favor. let me get a hoegaarden please.

movin' along

2006-08-28T23:37:00.004-04:00

the village's cafe reggio

been a week back now from vacation. and things had picked up in the city for the weekend. friday was the second to the last summer friday so i was out of the office as soon as it hit 1—off to the NYU area to get a little revisiting going. hit the favorite cafe esperanto for lunch, got some exercise at the coles sports center, did some scanning in the NYU library, visited the friendly village photostore processor to get some images enlarged, and walked around the neighborhood to eventually land at the union square farmers' market. got myself a nice loaf of fresh whole wheat bread and a slice of good mild cheese—and enjoyed a spanish tapas dinner once i got home, complete with olives, oil, vinegar, and of course the vino. sweet.

saturday barbecue in wanaque, nj

saturday was spent all the way in wanaque new jersey for a colleague's barbecue. brockie (the office brit) was kind enough to pick us up and shuttle us all the hour and a half out there. the food and drinks were great. steak, chicken, potato salad, rice and beans. my personal favorite though were the chorizo and sangria. it was after all a venezuelan household. some dominican cigars were for guest's enjoyment as well. nice. also present were salsa music for people up for dancing, a trampoline for those up for bouncing and tiki torches for those who might be interested in almost getting their jackets torched (that would be me, oops). once back in the city, brockie, his irish friend allen and i grabbed a few more pints at puck fair. bloody wicked. cheers.

williamsburg surf bar

sunday got me waking up thinking i were back in amsterdam. for one, it was a good sleeping in for me. and the whole day saw almost nonstop rain. did a bit of cleaning up the house and once done, did some biking in the rain to get the spirit of the lowlands going. eventually brought myself indoors again to the bikram studio. kinda funny once i got there coz they were wondering what ever happened to me after going everyday for a month, all of a sudden disappearing for more than 2 weeks. felt good being missed somehow. and felt even better surviving the 90 minutes of sweet torture. once done with my fill of physical and mental exercise, headed to the nearby surf bar for a nice warm cup of chowder to counter the grey weather. nice tiki bar atmosphere with surfboards on the ceiling and sand all over the floor. and a projected surfing video. sweet. not quite filled with mere soup for dinner, cooked myself a nice catfish dinner, and enjoyed a glass of riesling to go with it. chill.

monday now and so far a good start to the week. still succesful somehow in keeping some european spirit going with a more relaxed pace, the cups of cappucino, glasses of wine and biertjes, and a good dose of socializing. all this while the feckin new york edge likewise still in place. thats good to know.

welcome back, now get movin'

2006-08-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

4 days back now in the land of the big apple. and while there was no "you're punked!" welcome in JFK airport as there was at schiphol (only the usual grouchy TSA officer here telling you which line to get your @$$ on), slowly but surely i'm getting myself acclimated to life here in the city. and much better. as though with some back-from-holiday magic, i find myself with renewed energy and excitement. and somehow sticking to the promise of keeping some positive amsterdam feeling going on.

plane taking off in barajas

the officemates have been very welcoming the past days—asking for stories and some even wondering what i was doing back so soon from vacation. with newfound energy, all of a sudden the quiet filipino finds himself telling stories even to a room full of colleagues. must be the smoking that did the trick (only the finest cigars of course). heck, i even used the office paging system yesterday for probably just the second time in 2 years (which foti dodey was quick to point out having heard a new voice off of the speakers out of nowhere). now, feeling free-er to speak up. i could somehow hold my own in f-bomb-filled meetings. not that id say fock this fock that, but at least a carefree attitude enough to tell my supervisor ill be gone for another 3 weeks' vacation in november as early as now. chill.

lomo pic of bullfighting in madrid

creativity's at an all-time high once again. ok, well at least, the urge to create is. been reviewing the photos i took from the holiday and seems like i will be able to come up with another book this year. the switching to my never-reliable lomo camera from my now-getting-repaired digital cam is somehow proving to be a happy accident. the photos just seem to tell a better story and the prints have a certain nostalgic filmic feel to them that captures the trip better.

il cohen chilling with an ijs tea in vondelpark

while its good that the new york pace is slowly kicking back in, i must admit that i do miss the amsterdam friends, atmosphere and madrid environment a lot. but so far, so good. i biked to the office tuesday. ive had my cappucino cups in the morning, biertje with lunch, wine with own-cooked dinner, and the reliable email correspondences from zi lowlands. and it helps as well i guess that the recharged batteries allows me to get into a so much more social and action mode. lunch with officemates this noon at a venezuelan resto (getting to use a bit of my spanish again), a saturday barbecue in new jersey, and even chitchatting with the cashier lady at the grocery store over the clams i had bought from them. you gotta be kiddin me.

i overheard a man raving about new york on his cellphone as i was on my way home tonight. "new york is smokin' (or was it shakin' he said)! it has this energy... it's really ethnically-diverse. i even met this egyptian puerto rican who models. first time ive never seen such a thing. i even have a photo.. new york is smokin'. it just has this 3rd dimension that LA doesn't have." i was almost tempted to tell him to tone it down a bit and to shut the f*ck up just to welcome him even more to the best city in the world. but i chose not to. instead i headed home with my head held high as though feeling proud and happy to be in what i consider to be home. for now.

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hey mj, el and cohen: muchas gracias and dankje wel again for a very memorable trip. and il cone, nagtatagalog ka ba? coz if not, get ready, coz you might get punked in manila. ha...

schiphol thoughts (year 2)

2006-08-20T17:55:00.000-04:00

sunday | 9:50AM
august 20 2006
schiphol airport, amsterdam

"20 minutes 'til boarding."

it's that same gripping feeling that comes with leaving once again. similar to right around this time last year in this airport. shorter trip this time and somehow i wish i could've stayed a few days more. although im not that sure it'd fix this "goddamn that was too quick" feeling.

it's been a great eurotrip '06. the 5 days in spain were an adventure in unknown territory. and the days spent here as though a coming home. never really grew up here of course. heck, first time i encountered a dutch person, i thought they were from denmark or something. but a few dutch connections made in new york and here i am feeling quite at home—at home in the midst of friends.

this year there was no crazy hectic jumping from one part of the country to another. all the action was in amsterdam. cappucino in cafes and in the park, rounds of biertjes in different bars and lounges, breakfast treats from friends, spanish, turkish and indonesian dinner over lively conversation, south american movie with dutch subtitles in one of the outdoor squares, amsterdammers, bootjes and classical music in one of the canals, before-sleep whiskey and cigars over bullshit and serious talk in the balcony.

gezellig. its a dutch thing i guess. a general penchance for coziness, it's closest translation. or, if you're going for a bit more colloquial—chill, nice, sweet, i guess. or more philosophical, perhaps, human. this trip here has been another great reminder of gezellig, what it is to be human. how we're really social beings meant to interact with others. and how barriers of color, language, background are just superficial really. we were not made to whine, nor worry, nor even hurry. chill, relax. grab a coffee. enjoy the company of friends and make new ones. laugh, joke around, pull practical jokes. talk to strangers. say please and thanks. enjoy a few rounds of biertjes. piss on the sidewalk and if the politie start coming, hope that you can talk your way out of the 40euro fine. or pretend you dont understand a thing they're saying and just tell them to chill. that works too.

boarding time.

that's it for now, amsterdam. we'll meet again next time. might take a while though. coz sydney it is next year. for now, dank u wel. i'll try to bring as much of this gezelligheid to new york. groetjes. doei!

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5:47PM | williamsburg, brooklyn, ny

here now at a chill neighborhood cafe. following the ilcone's instruction to get myself a large cappucino, on his tab. sweet. so far so good. had to bike myself out of the apartment obviously coz otherwise i would've probably whined myself out for missing amsterdam. friends are dining out in the terrace as the interracial couple next to my table reviews a map and amsterdam is mentioned as biking becomes the topic of their conversation. as for me, time to check out. i have a whole load of holiday photos to leaf through. nice. smells like another book is in the works.

bloody day in madrid

2006-08-16T05:13:00.000-04:00

was all set to follow the lonely planet´s walking tour when click click. my digital slr decided to flake on me. ERR ERR ERR flashed on the LCD. bloody hell. but it wasnt that bad. the photos i took over the first three days were still stored. it´s just that my camera´s punked. rushed back to the hostel to get my back-up camera instead. my not that reliably almost a toy camera lomo.

it was a great day and i nice walk around the city. it was quite nice walking around the beautiful quaint old cobbled streets brimming with character. it was a bit quiet coz most shops were closed because of a religious holiday but nevertheless you could sense the history and energy of the calles.

deciding to not go to the prado because im not one for waiting in long lines, i chanced upon a feria de libros along the street. book vendors were lined up and it was nice skimming through the books eventhough 99% of them i couldnt understand. didnt buy anything there but i ended up spending most of my alloted cash for the day buying souvenirs nearby. oh the joys of having 6 siblings.

after my shopping spree, i headed to the thyssen museum to see all sorts of big names in european art. picasso, pissarro, cezzane, degas, van gogh, miro, el greco, etc, etc. there were to much of them that it started to be a bit tiring. at least now, i can check off seeing works of great artists from my lifetime things to do.

the afternoon saw me awe-struck at the parque del buen retiro, the city´s main park. as i had walked by the main pond filled with people on rented boats, it was almost central park was all of a sudden a lame excuse for a city park. even the scorching heat was somewhat pleasurable as i lay on the grass next to sunbathing locals, or maybe tourists. prima. prima.

once i was done writing my postcards at the park, walked back home to grab a late afternoon lunch at a cerveceria at the plaza mayor. i was quite proud of myself as finally i was able to order food and ask for the check. note to self: bocadillo calameres is pronounced bocadiyo calamar, and cuenta cuesta is for asking for the check.

i headed to the plaza de las ventas to watch my first ever bull-fighting. it was an amazing colliseum. it was as though you´d expect some gladiators being put to the death. none of that happened though. but a total of 6 bulls did see their end. there were three toreros but one stood out. he had the cleanest kills as he was able to ram his sword straight into the 2 bulls he went against. and he was quite the showman as well as he swished his assistants away almost saying, i got this one, amigos. it was a bit odd of a sport or art as they consider it here i guess.

bueno, that´s it for an update for now. it´s son las once y medya now. and i still have a few hours here in the city to go around with before i fly to amsterdam. i can´t wait. hasta luego (although i still dont know how to pronounce that properly).

hola from españa

2006-08-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

the jointman has landed. well since saturday actually. and so far so great. its been the great adventure i had been hoping and more. lots of funny, bit uneasy (ie did that guy just get punched in the face?), awe-inspiring, and world-expanding moments. bit sucks that i cant upload any photos here in the computer at the hostel. but will do once i can. for now, just wanted to let everyone know that i got here safe and sound (even had 3 seats for myself to lie down on from the trip to new york and paris).

mj, friend from manila who´s based here in españa has been a great tour gide, host and translator (so i havent been that punked so far with my un poquito knowledge of the spanish language). ive seen a quite a bit in an afternoon of madrid, explored all of amazing is-this-a-set-or-are-we-on-location? toledo by foot and by tram and gotten a taste of "suburban" and very local feel ciudad real.

im spending the next 2 days on my own exploring the lively streets of madrid. tomorrow a walking tour, a museum visit, and bullfight is on the docket. and wednesday night i hit amsterdam. looking forward to seeing il cohen and el4ra again. can´t wait. for now, mi go to plaza mayor to comer. mi starving already. adios amigos.

adios for now

2006-08-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

out of office message

underwear check. camera check. toothpaste X. ok im all packed. and all set to go. done with whatever i have to wrap up here in the office. not that they gave me much work for the week anyway knowing im out for a week and that my mind was already on vacation. hopefully the lines at JFK wont be that long. ok they are. but hopefully my arriving there at least 6 hours in advance would be sufficient. spain and amsterdam here i come. of course it sucks that im on antibiotics because of an oral surgery last wednesday but as long as i have the go signal to eat drink and be merry all i want, im good to go. now, everyone enjoy their weekend. the jointman is out for vacation. doei!!!

fine living weekend in delaware

2006-08-08T23:23:00.000-04:00

private room @ domaine hudson

it was a good weekend spent in delaware—a celebration of sorts of the finer things in life. friday night was spent dining at domaine hudson, a wine bar personally picked by my nephews whose birthdays we were celebrating. my pinot grigio went really well with my salmon entree. but nothing was quite as satisfying as the stilton cheese plate i had after and the glass of vintage port to go with it. perfect complements to each other. moreover, quite matching with the fancy ambiance were the stories of travels round the world.

backyard pond and playground

saturday afternoon was spent having a water fight with my nephews in their backyard. super soakers were out. and while the kids duked it out, i occasionally lay comfortably on the shaded hammock. dinner was spent alfresco in the deck with quite a selection of food—steak, salmon, tilapia, pancit, asparagus, etc. good food enjoyed in really pleasurable weather.

sunday saw me driving myself to the neighborhood yoga studio (to balance out all the excess food and conveniences, or at least try to). of course, not having driven for over 6 months, it took me some 5 seconds to get the hang of maneuvering my brother in law's audi. once back, i decided to run around the neighborhood (to burn off some of the brownies, maybe). the heat only allowed me to run once around the hood. but the central air conditioning of the house cooled me back again in no time. the afternoon was spent mostly in the shopping mall at the apple store getting my nephew's ibook repaired.

by 6 at night i was back to reality. waiting at the station (or at the roadside to be accurate) for my chinatown bus to bring me back to new york was a complete 180. was laughing my brains out at how drastic a change it was. one second im riding an audi, next second im watching one of these old vans getting packed with the people whom the bus cant fit. it was like some illegal immigration border crossing scene. thankfully, having bought my ticket online, i was able to secure a seat on the bus. infront of this annoying college kid who was like on the phone like you know pretty much like the whole like trip. jesuchristo.

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this coming weekend a bigger adventure awaits. i hit the unfamiliar streets of madrid and toledo. and the weekend after, a much bigger one—some party hearty drinking the brains out like there's no such thing as liver disease, deep in the heart of amsterdam with none other than the flying dutchman himself, il cohen. i sense some action in the docket. i cant wait.

1000 degrees

2006-08-04T02:44:00.000-04:00

all-you-can-drink-@-still

oppressive heat has hit the city the past days. with temperatures reaching over a 100 degrees farenheit, man holes were exploding, black outs happening, and irritability levels rising.

last night saw me heading to still with officemates, a gramercy area bar apparently known for their wednesday all you can drink for 10 bucks special. an impromptu back-up plan after our first option of having belgian mussels failed upon finding out that the restaurant's airconditioner is just no match for the oppresive heat. of course, something about unlimited dehydrating alcohol on a 100-degree day shouldve been signal enough for trouble. but since retox has been the past days' goal since doing 31 straight days of detoxifying yoga, i was the willing participant to a night of drinking.

immediately, a small scene greeted us at the door. for some reason, the girls we were with decided they weren't drinking hence refused to pay the 10 bucks. but the bouncer insisted. of course, in my mind, i was "well why did we head here then if we weren't drinking in the first place." but the girls won that battle. the bouncer eventually let them in without coughing up the 10.

and so we were bit settled in our nice little corner. we had plates of half-price wings, poppers and mozarella sticks. and lined up next to the bar food goodness were glasses of (watered down) bud light (yuck) and gin & tonics and rum & cokes(now we're talking). and of course, yup, the girls did decide they were drinking. oh the joys of going out with girls asking for trouble. and true enough, from the mirror i saw the bouncer heading our way.

"give me 10 dollars for that," big joe pointed to the glass of bud my officemate had in her hand. "well, my friend paid for it. she didnt drink (of course she had a sip) and she was just here for 20 minutes (well she was there for just 20 minutes)." "you can't do that. 10 dollars." of course some cursin and some ugly words ensued. my officemate mostly stunned, especially when the big dude threatened to take the conversation out to the streets. another officemate of mine and i tried to play peacemaker. my hand was already reaching for my wallet but the other peacemaker beat me to it and handed the bouncer the 10 bucks that was rightfully his. few minutes later, he left us. my officemate still in a semistate of shock and anger, wanting him to get fired. we tried to calm her down telling her to just drink it up.

enjoyed a bit of quiet again. but the bouncer headed back our way. "YOU and YOU" he pointed to me and the guy who handed him the 10. he led us to the kitchen. nope, he didnt chop and grill is into filet mignon pieces. instead, he just wanted us to hear his side out and wanted to apologize for the unnecessary melee. of course, i thought he really didnt need to apologize anyway coz he was in the right to begin with. that brief conversation was over. he headed back to the door. and us in our little corner of overflowing wings and booze. everyone calmed down again eventually and enjoyed the drinks infront of us. and i drinked happily ever after. well, avoiding the bland beer at least and going for the good ones. trying not to get myself too dehydrated.

despite the fuming tempers here and there, i must say it was actually a good place. where else in this city can you enjoy all that food and booze for just 15 bucks. and where else in the city can you find a bouncer who doesnt beat the crap out of a girl and eventually throwing her in some dumpster or empty lot after that heated a conversation. i shall return.

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am on the bus right now actually typing away. on my way to delaware to spend the weekend cooling off at my sister's. we have family dinner tonight at some wine bar to celebrate my nephew's birthday. i expect no less than a fine civilized dining and wining experience.

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a recent reader's digest study ranks new york as the most courteous city in the world (amsterdam 20th, manila is 22nd). might be a big surprise for most, especially with the big head reputation. but apparently, the big apple has a big heart too. nice.

4 years and counting

2006-07-31T23:25:00.000-04:00

the highline restaurant & bar

i thought i would go somewhere far to celebrate my 4th year here in the US. instead i stayed in the city in what ended up as a fitting commemoration of the 4 years past.

july 21st, friday. 4 years to be exact since i started this US journey. an impromptu afternoon lunch out was shared with officemates at the highline restaurant. a reminder of sorts of this city's diversity. thai food in the middle of the meatpacking district with quite a multicultural company. mei, lisa, cindy, the chinese trio, julian (my boss) the italian new yorker, brockie the brit, eduardo the venezuelan, another officemate and her hungarian friend, and of course i the pinoy of the group. food was great and the conversations lively. only in new york i guess will i be seated next to my boss who's talking about wanting to get a russian bride while trying to get a date with the model-looking girl at the next table. ok maybe not just in new york, coz turns out he just might be in amsterdamn as well when i hit the lowlands in august. nice.

saturday night was spent at a friend's east river-side apartment for a makeshift barbecue party. what wouldve been an afternoon of grilling turned instead into an indoor dance revolution slash karaoke party. rather interesting group. all of whom id only met there. well, except for josh who invited me over of course. as i was singing and dancing along with the new acquaintances, was reminded of how that inborn pinoy sitting in the corner shyness just wont cut it. especially in a city where there's a whole world of different people to meet and learn from. well, if the timidity is just too strong, wine and hard cider could always fix that.

pretty girls make graves @ mccarren

sunday brunch was shared with a group of filipinos, mostly from the same university and class from manila. good food but the same old same old "oh its such a small world" crap talk had started to suffocate me so i biked back to the quirky hipster entirely different world of billyburg, otherwise known as my neighborhood. was another fun in the sun afternoon spent in mccarren park for the pool party. indie bands were again playing and the dodgeball games were heated and entertaining as ever.

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little miss sunshine: must must-see film

july 31st now, week plus over the 4th year anniversary. another nice eventful day. good day in the office—aside from it being payday, more and more am i getting involved in the "fun" assignments. without being overly busy of course coz i was able to catch a 5:40PM of what could arguably be the best must-watch film of the year so far, little miss sunshine. after laughing the brains out, i was off to get myself some mental and highly physical activity, a 90 minute kick-your-ass bikram session (aka wtf-are-you-doing-in-a-torture-chamber yoga). it was a special one coz it was the 31st straight session in the past 31 days. yup, that's right ive completed the 30-day challenge. and of course, that officially makes me a bit sick in the head for having done all that exertion in almost consistent heat wave temps here. great preparation though for the heat i'll face in less than 2 weeks. a vacation to sunny the real city that never sleeps, madrid. and the much-needed days of "retox" in amsterdamn after. sweet. the hits and learning and growing have not ceased so far. no signs of geriatrification or slowing down. the journey continues. carry on.

the power of images

2006-07-20T23:38:00.000-04:00

join the worldwide conversation

attended a reception yesterday at the art directors club. a new york launch of sorts for a project i had learned of few months back. a celebration of the power of imagery to create change. an endeavor rightfully called, "change me." an online platform where users can pick their favorite photo and express their thoughts on it. and for each contribution, gettyimages (the sponsor) donates $10 to the global fight against AIDS, tubercolosis and malaria.

it was a fairly interesting exhibit. i did wish however that they had featured more of the people's contributions. nevertheless, it was a good cause that at least made me come home immediately logging on to the site. where i must had easily spent an hour enthralled in the depth of insights and images from the world over. check it out if you have a few minutes to spare. even better, join the conversation by including your thoughts.

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the past days have been bombarded with images (both still and moving) from the world over. civilians caught in the middle of the current middle east fighting. a cruise ship tipping 30 degrees on its side injuring hundreds. indonesians coping with the wrath of the tsunami that hit them. fushbuck caught on candid mic and camera with his conversations with blair. and though these images may be of worlds so different and distant, they definitely put a more palpable face to the reality that is.

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got myself a spain travel guide over lunch. as usual, headed straight to the few select pages that are filled with full color images. must say i can't wait to be in the real setting of those seemingly history rich and beatiful scenes. 3 more weeks and there i'll be taking my own images of my own spain. obviously, cant wait even more to hit amsterdam again. especially now that the main objective and theme for the ad center business convention in the amsterdam HQ is set—drink thy brains out, but spare thy livers. sounds good to me. hopefully id be sober enough to take photos for a possible spreek je filipijns, part dos. or not.

tale of two weekend music fests

2006-07-17T23:18:00.000-04:00

coney island music fest

the past weekend saw 2 music festivals. in both occasions, the side sights and sounds stealing the show somehow.

saturday saw me biking all the way down to good old coney island to catch the village voice sponsored siren music festival. a minor misturn on the way to the beach left me taking a longer bumpier avenue which eventually ended up in the same destination thankfully. by the time i had gotten to the boardwalk, it had started to drizzle. which though bad news to those who started leaving, was a very much welcomed break for me. the concert area was a bit too packed for my liking so i had myself walking around the famed beach, and boardwalk instead, soaking in the lively brooklyn atmosphere.

by the music area, different stalls were set up. the tower records tent got me tempted into purchasing the new solo album of thom yorke, radiohead lead singer. not much of a radiohead fan but with that cover art and good album reviews (and the more than 50% off discount), i was quick on the draw with my wallet. and so far so good, the album has not disappointed.

yummy shortcake

$10.86 poorer, i walked around the fair grounds snapping away with my lomo toy camera which takes 8 different exposures in one single frame. great shots of the cyclone and people in varying degrees of queesy on the other stomach-spinning rides. in the middle of photo ops, i was able to stop at the different food stalls. yumyum chorizo soft tacos next to the freak show booth. and the greatest find in the boardwalk—a nice cool small bowl of strawberry shortcake. and the business owners were quite friendly as well, quick to recognize the handy dandy lomo camera i was using to capture the shortcake sweetness. quick click on their website eventually led me to discovering that they're actually part of wooster collective, a group dedicated to showcasing the wonders of street art.

after i had my fill of coney island treats, sights and sounds, walked back to my parked bike only to realize that my rear tire was flat (again). uhoh. no worries though coz instead i took the subway back home and an easy walk over the billyburg bridge. towards the sunset, yes. or maybe it was against it. i forget.

live indie music at mccarren pool

sunday afternoon was spent in mccarren pool, an old operational swimming pool which has been drained out and restored from its worn down dilapidated state. and which served as the afternoon venue for a neighborhood pool party which featured different bands from all over the area, as far as DC and philly. nice music and atmosphere. hordes of billyburg 20-something hipsters abound.

some serious side dodgeball matches

big scene stealer for me though were the dodgeball games by the side. as scorching as the sun were the heated yet tons of fun matches. team motherf*ckers probably went 14+ games straight undefeated. one of them (the dude in the center of the pic) was probably in his 40s or 50s already and was quite the dodgeball animal. he threw those balls as though they were rockets out to take your mom's head off. ok i exaggerate. funny scene though (well not really that funny) was when he got so dehydrated he was drooling all over asking for water from one of the hipster bystanders, whose only refreshment on hand was a glass of beer. nice.

nice great fun. although once again, it was not without any casualties. after snapping away on my lomo and finishing up all the shots, realized that the camera had actually wrecked the film. ergo, all those shots in coney island and those i took in mccarren were all in vain. oh well. nevertheless, it was another afternoon well spent outdoors. which leaves me wondering how some people could spend their whole weekends indoors locked up infront of the telly or computer. but who am i to say, not my loss anyway. besides it was probably a million degrees out there.

tres kapitales in tien dagens

2006-07-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

ok, i may have just messed up 2 languages there but nevertheless, the jointman is back in business. another step closer towards world domination. ok that's bullspit coz its more like world exploration. so here's the plan. it all starts out in the self-proclaimed capital of the world—new york city. john f kennedy airport.

from there we, er i, cross the atlantic and fly out to madrid, españa. unfortunately, it's a limited budget since the jointman still has to save up for the november flight to the philippines. hence no 5-star accomodation but instead a good enough hostel in the heart of huertas. while in madrid, enjoy the sites and culture and ultra-laid back lifestyle and night time party-heartying. take a few siestas and sangrias here and there. and hopefully meet up with a friend who's currently based not that far away. and from there carry on to the next stop.

schiphol airport, amsterdam, holland. considering how the august '05 trip was a huge success, this revisit was i guess just waiting to happen. soon enough, thankfully. hopefully los coenos won't be homeless by then so i have a couch to crash and not camping out next to a canal. all business in amsterdamn obviously. the ad center execs will be talking about future projects and the ever-growing company profits (as though there were any). unfortunately though, unlike last year, this year's visit to the lowlands will only be limited to 4 days. but 4 days or 10 days or 40 days, im sure it would be great seeing the dutchies once again.

now, all that needs to be done is book the flights, get my 2 by 2 by 3 taken, take care of gathering up all the travel requirements, visit the spanish embassy, and get my schengen visa approved and we're all set. ok still quite a handful to go. but considering it's still around 3 weeks to get things done, we're looking good. 3 capitals in 10 days. sounds good to me. maybe another book at the end of this trip. or even a next city to add to the to-live-in list, who knows.

argh matey

2006-07-12T22:33:00.000-04:00

was on another boat party with officemates last night. this time it was no cruise for the whole agency but instead a free pirates and ham themed party on a boat called the frying pan, which was decked on pier 63 on the hudson river. not as much boozing on my part though coz i had brought the bike (but left the lights) and was already dealing with an upset tummy.

nils and foti playing pirate songs

nevertheless, it was a fun time. it was quite an interesting boat. the lowest deck was all set up for music and partying and there was quite a good turnout from the office. well, of course it helped that 2 colleagues were playing at the event. they wrote some hilarious songs just for the ham-stravaganza pirate theme. covered all sorts of genre. my favorite of course was when they closed with their rap song, pirates what?.lots of fun. of course, the biggest joy coming from the comfort of knowing that the people you work with actually have talent and lives outside of the office. and by some unwritten law of transitivity, the assumption that somehow you do too. ok that maybe a stretch. but anyway, it was a fun tuesday night party. there's another one tomorrow—a colleague's He's Getting Married Let's Get Him Wasted Party. we'll see how it goes. one thing's for sure though. this pirate ain't bringing no bike tomorrow. argggghh.

the end to a world cup chapter

2006-07-10T23:21:00.000-04:00

french-dominated bar

where else in the world will you find a french dominated bar stand right across the street an italian one? both brimming with passionate fans dressed up in their war paint and country's colors. ready for the final battle to what has proved to be an exciting month-long showcase of talent and pride. such has been the world cup experience here in new york, so-called melting pot of the world.

italian bar across the street

while the rest of the US maintain that real football is the one played by padded men and a flattened ball, the city's rich and diverse population know a little better. and those whose roots are grounded in the 32 participating countries, they definitely can relate to the joy of each scored goal and the agony of each defeat. and even moreso, the power that football has in being more than just a sport. the power it has to connect people, unite countries and dictate a culture.

that power was visible in the big apple i guess. for a month, you can talk to any stranger dressed up in a country's jersey and you know you'd be able to connect on something. from the mexican delivery boy, to the cab driver from ghana, to the brazilian waiting in line for a drink in central park—it was almost magic. as though the unwritten new yorker rule of minding your own fecking business was suddenly suspended.

italians celebrate in the streets

the world cup had proved to be a great experience. discovering new bars in the neighborhood and garnering an almost regular status. watching the england games in pubs with brockie the brit and his mates and all the bloody booze and shouting and cursing. seeing holland bow out in the round of 16 in a bar full of dejected dutchies. enjoying the US-ghana match in the main office conference room and feeling quite proud on how even corporate america had stopped the wheels for 2 hours. sneaking to the secret television corner in the office only to find out every time that i wasn't the only one with that idea. heading to the nearby bar for extended lunches leaving the creative department almost bare. consoling cecilia as she witnessed her argentina get beaten by the host krauts in penalty kicks. and the list of rich experiences goes on and on. and on. and perhaps one last one, seeing the neighborhood streets filled up with cars packed with italians, making as much noise with their horns and waving their green, white and reds.

i'm not sure till when those italian flags will be out at the neighbors'. not sure till when as well, we'll be talking about zidane, rooney and those bloody portugese in the office. not sure too how long the jokes of giving people a red card at meetings and shouting gooooooooooooooooalll for excellent ideas will last. what i do know though is that the past month has definitely been a great enriching experience. and though others may dismiss football as just a sport, at least now i know better to think otherwise.

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look out for the 2010 world cup final: germany vs holland. team oranje beats the krauts, 3-2 on 2 goals scored by robben and 1 by van persie. poldi and schweinny score for germany. can't wait for that dream final. maybe i'll be in south africa and no longer some williamsburgh pub by then.

independence day

2006-07-06T22:41:00.000-04:00

4th of july fireworks

another 4th of july. another day of fireworks display. this year seen from the east river brooklyn side. another day of growing personal independence. paying the month's rent, walking the bike to the shop to get the flat fixed from an early morning exploration of the bumpy roads of greenpoint, putting some order into my savings the night before, figuring out where to get the most interest and all that grown-up crap, washing one's dishes finally, cleaning up after my own mess although those piles of laundry are wanting of attention. planning a possible august vacation to madrid. making my own decisions (although bringing beer to what turned out to be a buddhist friend's party was bit stupid), the freedom to make my own choices and make my own mistakes.

view of fireworks from brooklyn

as the macy's fireworks, missiles in north korea, and the shuttle discovery were all sent flying to the sky on the 4th of july, a certain personal pride was soaring too. few days prior saw me taking a trip back to the old apartment in queens. something about the cramp space (brought by the landlady's excessively eclectic design style) and the staying infront of the telly for more than 2 hours, just felt claustrophobic and overly 5 minutes ago. in no time, i was biking back to brooklyn in the rain with the speed of discovery (coz i didnt want to get hit by any lightning) and the carefree attitude of an f* you world korean missile. ok, maybe not. but something about the bike ride back home in the rain felt real good. good enough to send some independence day fireworks flying.

het grote appeltje

2006-07-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

going away present for el dutchie

another friend leaves the big apple to head back home to the lowlands—a testament yet again to the temporary nature of this side of the world. and as people come and go, comes the constant reminder of the dynamism of this so-called melting pot.

was great of course having elvira around. especially that the only reason for having known her is that her mom and good friend il cone's mom are streetmates back in maastricht. and a conversation between them goes through the complex simple process of things happening. and eventually into an exchange of emails discussing her and barbara's couch-crashing at my place on their first night in new york.

6 months hence and a wealth of experience richer—meeting the other thissens, sarah the dane, barbara from croatia, c the swiss and gaining a wider perspective of the world and other people. bit sad obviously bidding farewell but it's just the nature of the city i guess so no point whining. besides, at least when i swing by amsterdam, there's a few more people to visit. but for now, as i plan my own escape from the big apple, time to keep that dutch energy going somehow.

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speaking of energy, watched the england-portugal quarterfinal in an irish pub in the city with officemate brockie the brit and his mates. most pints of stella id ever had for brunch. and most feckin bloody cursing ive ever done that early in the day as well. especially when rooney got sent off. and though england did not survive those diving portugese, i did however survive my wobbly bike ride back to brooklyn with the balance of a biking dutchman. ok, the twisted ankle on the walk to the bar for the brasil-france game was kinda stupid. but at least the zip through the billyburg bridge was slip-free safe.

booze cruise

2006-07-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

asian mafia in da house

oh the unnecessary joys of corporate america. 2 shuttle buses were reserved for a surprise agency party—most everyone expecting to be brought to the nearby chelsea piers for a booze cruise. we were wrong. sort of. we got the cruise part right but instead we were brought to the other side of the world, er manhattan. a well-stocked ship awaited us on the east river. once everyone was aboard, we were off to an afternoon ride around the city.

snapping & smoking away

great weather to be out in the sea. food all around. nice open bar. complete with a fine selection of cigars for those feeling extra-celebratory (or adventurous). lively conversations. most everyone in a light friendly mood, alcohol and nicotine partly to blame. no work all afternoon. only thing on the agenda is to temporarily live the life—drink the livers out, smoke the lungs out, and dance the brains out.

hey look its lady liberty

it was a well-spent wednesday. nice little way of rewarding everyone for their hard work. (actually, it was probably the company's way of making up for the fact that there wasnt any bonus this year but anyway...) it was a wickedly enjoyable experience. a reminder of the type of easygoing work culture that has kept me from actively pursuing and exploring the proverbial greener pastures out there.

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day after the cruise, i got my annual review from barb, my direct supervisor. got mostly excellent and outstanding marks. no fandamtabulous grade though coz it wasnt part of the scale. with the review, got a decent amount of merit-based raise. nice. and as icing to the cupcake, the promise of a promotion to art supervisor by january. salary and title talk aside though, it was great knowing how teammates had considered me an important part of the group who brings good ideas and a positive outlook to the table. sounds good to me. i'll give myself 2-3 pats on the back for that.

on the brighter side of things

2006-06-27T14:03:00.000-04:00

dutch bow out prematurely

sucks terribly of course that team oranje was undeservedly kicked off the world cup by the portugese in the most entertaining (ie action-packed slash messy) match so far. but, whaddyagonnado. no point whining over missed opportunities (although figo should really have been thrown out with that head butt, that goal post a centimeter higher and robben given a penalty kick with that flying kick to his chest but anyways...) despite team orange bowing out, life has been otherwise pretty bright.

5k run in central park

joined the corporate challenge last thursday in central park with around 10 officemates. was my first official 5k run and i must say i didnt do that bad. of course, i felt that i couldve had a better time but with the 17k people joining and scorching heat, it was tough being able to push. good experience though. and it was a lot of fun comparing times and joking around with the officemates.

the refugee all stars

friday was spent again in central park to watch the refugee all stars, a group from sierra leone, and a documentary about them and their music and how it's been able to become an outlet against the civil war. it was a good experience. especially for one who's probably not the most world-facts savvy person, it was good to catch a glimpse of yet another corner of the world. favorite part of the screening was when the group played a final song after the film showing. coz obviously after knowing a little bit more of their background and their lives, you do become a little bit more invested in their music.

aside from my millionth visit to the dentist for the year this morning (and the fact that holland is out of the world cup), things are actually going alright in this side of the world. even got text messages from officemates last sunday consoling me when holland lost. kinda funny obviously. but it's definitely a nice chill social atmosphere with the world cup around. heck, we were even having a status meeting this morning in the big conference room with the projector showing the brazil-ghana match. nice. let the fun times roll. tonight a concert (or 2). tomorrow a suprise agency-wide party. they're not saying what it is but my guess—a booze cruise. that would be nice. but for now, i need to find a way to watch that spain-france match in an hour. and find a way to get rooney, becks, and crew to beat the crap out of figo's team on saturday.

hup holland hup

2006-06-22T23:50:00.000-04:00

amsterdam house gets decked out for WC06

was all scheduled to have a 4pm office meeting. instead by 3, i was on a taxi heading down to the lower east side, off to a bar to meet with some dutchies and watch the NL-argentina match. oh the joys of having a south korean creative director who understands the value of the world cup (well, he had a doctor's appointment as well the morning korea beat togo so i guess it's perfectly fine me pulling a disappearing act).

got to the bar. there saw the match with elvira, chris (her twin bro visiting and who was here just back in march), and anna his friend. the match ended up in a goalless draw. it being a non-bearing match since both are already advanced to round 2, the teams played tactically—sitting out starters at risk of getting 2nd yellow cards. kinda boring game coz there wasn't a lot of push on both sides. very technical play. bit disappointing obviously save for the argentinian messi, aka the young maradona, who was a joy to watch (ie almost gave me a heart attack with his skillful play). was great nevertheless, a good enough result for holland to get a draw with who's likely to be this cup's champion (unless the homecourt krauts have something to say about it in the quarters).

to very much make up for an uneventful match, spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening with the dutchies. which is always a pleasure because of the energy and sense of ease they bring. we were able to walk around east village and the lower east side. make occasional stops at interesting shops. take a breather in tompkins park, and a drink at a bar just north of it. pitsop at el's apartment and a thai dinner in the area.

as usual, the conversations were very lively—complete with a lot of quick witted remarks and sound-effect laden stories. til now, im amazed at the general level of global awareness the dutchies have—anna's living in cambodia in august for 6 months as part of a UN program on sustainable energy, elvira who's already lived in spain is spending her last week of her 6 month exchange program here and will be heading back to the lowlands and chris finishing his studies on global warming. amazing as well is how easily it is the lowlanders are to get along with. who wouldve thunk a manila kid like me will be spending some chill bill time with a bunch of maastricht kids (that's in the southern part of NL, close to belgium). of course it helps i guess that ive been to that village and do know a few dutch idioms like op de kast and eet smakelijk. but there's just a certain level of connectedness, aliveness and dynamism i feel when im with the dutchies. where anything and everything goes. few drinks here and there optional.

hmmm, maybe i visit that side of the atlantic again next year. should be good to visit the great il cone and familie beusmans, and el4ra and the thissen siblings (too bad barbara's prolly going to be in bologna then but...). sounds like a plan. but first things first. hopefully clockwork orange finally shows up this weekend in their game against portugal (to possibly setup an exciting yet dangerous quarters match with england). coz if they dont. ill be walking like a loser headless chicken in my netherlands jacket. not that i dont look like a headless chicken without it anyway.

for now, enjoy some funny kick@ss nederlandse voetbal anthem. hup holland hup!

world cup junkie

2006-06-20T13:04:00.000-04:00

hup holland hup

ok, i admit. ive probably only missed around 2 of the 32 world cup matches so far. almost all of those, seen in pubs and bars (and that hidden tv corner in the office). next to germany, new york, perhaps is the best place to be watching the cup. sure, americans aren't that in tune with the biggest sport in the world but thankfully het grote appeltje, er the big apple, has its fair share of fans of the 32 qualifying countries. very nice atmosphere actually. i have not engaged in as much friendly conversation with strangers as much as i have since the footy fest started some 10 days ago. although that's partially coz i probably havent drunk as much beer as well. great opportunity for learning more about other countries as well. now, i can experience first hand how much a sport could actually affect a country's sense of pride, culture and identity. the cabdriver from ghana, the mexican delivery boys, the brasilian girls (nice), the passionate and loud italians, the mostly inebriated brits, over some fish and chips of course, the hopeful yet generally confused americans, red-laden south koreans, etc. everyone seems to live, breathe, sleep world cup. well, that's an exagerration obviously but nevertheless it's a great atmosphere and energy here with the world cup happening. and of course, it helps that clockwork orange has already advanced to round 2. and they face the rampaging argentines on wednesday which should be one of the cup's greatest matches. we'll see how it goes.

monday burlesque @ the galapagos

to avoid having a football for a head, the past week was also spent on enjoying other forms of entertainment and enrichment. monday night was spent with a couple of filipino friends for burlesque night at the galapagos art space in billyburg. more than erotic, the show was hilarious. lots of skin obviously but done in a tasteful very funny way. very offbeat. great choice for an impromptu night out.

wordplay: docu on crossword puzzles

tuesday night was spent enjoying some free entertainment as well. scored a pair of tickets for wordplay, a documentary on the world of crossword puzzle making and solving. quite funny seeing all the characters actually. interesting to see clinton, jon stewart, ken burns, all puzzle-enthusiasts, as well. but of course, they were included to bring some commercial appeal to the indie-released film. but the real star of the show are the quirky everyday puzzle enthusiasts. must-see entertainment.

macbeth in central park

wednesday night was yet another treat. elvira and siblings had a spare ticket for shakespeare in the park and i was of course up to it, knowing how good those central park plays are and how difficult getting a ticket is. macbeth did not disappoint. liev schreiber (known for scary movie and the manchurian candidate) and the rest of the cast did well. also, seeing the play in an open theater under the backdrop of stars, trees, and um flying airplanes was quite magical. and as always, was nice being surrounded by a group of dutchies (especially that the germany win that day was a good starting point for conversation).

live jazz music in central park

thursday night was all about getting a dose of rough and gritty reality tv. 2 hours of the ultimate fighter with matching spilt blood all over. friday night was more classy with free live contemporary jazz music in central park. very relaxed chill atmosphere again with the thissen siblings. capped off by 2 rounds of beer over lively conversation in elvira's apartment. not sure what it is but somehow it feels like the dutch are some of the easiest people to get along with in the world. heck i was drinking off the same bottle of corona with dutchies whom id only meant once prior.

saturday neighborhood italian fair

saturday night was spent walking around the neighborhood church/italian fair. they had a few rides and games. it was quite interesting snapping away at the different characters that had abound. was almost tempted to join one of the games to possibly win a stuffed toy ill never really need anyway. good thing the temptation to spend the money on refreshments instead won.

film of israel-palestine conflict

sunday was spent watching a rented dvd. promises, a very interesting oscar-nominated documentary that chronicles children's views on the conflict between israelis and palestinians. considering how clueless i am with that bit of history and general knowledge, the film proved to be very educational. and it was quite moving too. good thought-provoking film.

now, enough of this crap. must get my sleep. big day tomorrow. england faces sweden. germany faces ecuador. of course, england will win 3-0 on a rooney hat trick and ecuador will beat the crap out of the krauts. but we'll see. hopefully i get to sneak out again for a nice pint or two and enjoy the games at brass monkey.

'round the world in one saturday

2006-06-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

name that flag

woke up very early saturday, the 10th. quick change to a red shirt and a walk to the neighborhood pub where i was immediately taken to frankfurt, germany for world cup game 3. grabbed an ice cold pint of belgian hoegaarden. nothing like beer for breakfast. england star and world icon beckham bends a free kick to score off an own goal off the top of the head of the paraguayan team captain. england 1, paraguay nil. halftime. and i headed to the nearby white castle to grab some all-american junk fast food to complete my breakfast of champions. back to the pub. game ends with the score unchanged. though the neighborhood brits celebrate the win, they are a bit wary of the unconvincing win. i headed back home to pick up my bike. and went to the nearby russian barber. or is that barbress if it's a she? got myself a nice summertime army cut.

once that was done, headed to mccarren park where there was some puerto rican fair of sorts. some boricuan music filled the air as i grabbed myself lunch from one of the food stalls. calamari uno mas. with salsa, which i guess is their version of marinara sauce. once i finished my meal, i headed to the nearby footy field to catch a bit of the neighborhood mexican league. almost got hit by one of the players running after the ball. only casualty was my bike that got pinned down but no worries. sitting close to me on the ground was a polish father and daughter. with them 2 ecuadorian girls playing with the daughter. kinda funny seeing them get along actually especially after the ecuadorians beat the poles the day before 2-0. once i was tired of trying to translate their polish conversations to no avail, biked back home to catch the last few minutes of the sweden and trinidad match. T&T manage to draw with the swedes 0-0 and they celebrated as though they had won the world cup. was a great atmosphere to see.

took a quick nap after to recover a bit from the waking up early. a text message from a dutch friend wakes me up, keeping me posted on the human rights film fest movie plans we had. once the quick respite was over, i was on my bike again, heading to another bar nearby in the heart of williamsburg to enjoy the argentina and cote d' voire match. the ivory coast players dominated the first few minutes but the argentines proved stronger with a 2-1 win. once the day's final game was over, i rushed to the bikram yoga center for some much needed detoxifying to rid myself of the crap id been inducing. rupee, the tattoo-laden instructor of indian descent, was there with her usual friendly neighborhood yogi greeting. actually, she grew up in montreal, canada, really. had a good class. felt much energized after. energized enough to return the call of a filipino friend who happened to be in town and whom i have not met the past 4 years or so. once done leaving her a message, i grabbed myself some thai iced tea and a filling veggie green curry dinner. biked back home and grabbed a cappucino in the neighborhood italian cafe to cap off a nice day of exploring the world all in the confines of williamsburg, brooklyn.

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the flags: germany, belgium, england, paraguay, usa, russia, puerto rico, mexico, poland, ecuador, sweden, trinidad and tobago, netherlands, argentina, ivory coast, india, canada, philippines, thailand, italy, and the state of brooklyn.

footy + french friday

2006-06-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

footy_friday

long gone are foti fridays when john "foti" foti would come to work fully dressed up complete with a tie. for he's right, what's the point of going through all that trouble if your only gonna be at work for 15 minutes due to summer fridays. instead, to kick off the world cup, friday the 9th was declared footy friday. everyone came in their country's jerseys. well not everyone everyone and not everyone in their native country obviously. earle's not dutch and im no brasilian. nevertheless, it was a fun atmosphere. i brought my orange football in support of the dutchies. brockie was already telling everyone of the days he'll be taking off to see the brits play. cecilia was getting all set for her flight to hamburg to see the argentines play the ivory coast for the weekend. jim being teased for not having his italian jersey on and instead having his princeton, new jersey shirt on. nice.

art league award ceremony

once that bit of office morning fun was over, i headed up to the met for a board of education and art directors club award ceremony i was invited for. bit inspiring seeing all the high school students in all shapes, sizes and colors coming up the stage to receive their award. bit of a proud feeling as well, after the ceremony, hearing from the head of the school art league whom i met there that she's already heard a lot of good things about me. not bad to hear, always good to have education as a non-commercial back-up once i get kicked out of the colorful world of advertising. or not.

the met

once the award ceremony was done, got a chance to walk around the museum. something i have not done since the great il cone was still around and when i still had those tons of passes courtesy of the board of ed. well, the statues have not moved since. and the people-watching is still just as good as the art gazing. and the roof garden still offers a great view of the city. only thing that has changed perhaps was the dude who'd always be there coming up with a sketch of this one statue (or maybe pretending to) was nowhere in sight. well, maybe he's gone off to the guggenheim for his permanent home instead.

dinner at le refuge

once the dose of art and people watching was over, i headed to le refuge, some fancy nearby french cafe, where i was invited as a guest for the post-awards dinner. most of the 30 or so guests were grownups in the field of education—principals and heads of this and that. i sat at the "kids'" table. nice dinner actually complete with wine and lively conversations, mostly centering on the role of education and how terrible a global citizen the US is. well, it was a french restaurant after all. the food was good. the veal scallopini and wild mushrooms i had was exquisite and the profiterole with rich belgian chocolate just right. unless of course i was merely led to believe so having been refered to as misseiur. nice french cuisine. brought back memories of that dinner at chateau neercanne, the castle in maastricht, holland. well, except maybe that was 100 times better and more authentic. but anyway, no complains here for it was a nice group of people and the dinner was on them too. nice.

temporarily unavailable

2006-06-14T09:49:00.000-04:00

this blog is currently on hold. the jointman has been struck by a severe case of world cup fever and would probably not be able to post an entry anytime soon. if you need to catch him, first check brass monkey, then the secret tv corner in the office. if he's not there, check germany. your patience and understanding is very much appreciated. thanks a bunch. by the way, did you see the US get beaten by those czechs?

B

2006-06-08T00:04:00.000-04:00

more luncheonette photos

you'd almost swear you were right in the middle of a set. a years-old neighborhood diner oozing with character. behind the counter, an old greek couple takes your orders and cooks them to your liking. buck twenty-five for cheeseburgers—where else in this city can you find such a deal—home-made grease fix mixed in with lots of stories and personal attention. unbeatable bargain especially in a city where smiling and talking to strangers seem like absolute taboo.

mama B, or simply B to the greenpoint locals, apparently has incredible memory. i had only been there once or twice a month ago but when i decided to bike by for monday dinner, she remembers that id already been there. not bad for someone who's probably in her 60s, or even 70s. i give my order of cheeseburger with a side of her homefries. in the middle of cooking my meal, she greets the 2 others who walk in—somewhat knowing bits and pieces of their lives as she asks questions on how so and so are doing. asks me if i want onions on my burger. yes please, with a little mayo too. grandpa lou, B's husband and somewhat grumpy-on-the-outside assistant, talks to her in greek as he clears out the coffee canisters and takes out the trash. B tells me to to sit at the next barstool. the one i was on was bit wrecked and wobbly coz it was the kids' favorite seat for spinning around. food's ready. longest i have ever waited for a burger but time didnt seem to matter. i ask for a little extra mayo on the side. tatos with mayo, dutch-style. B gives her opinion on older women dating younger men. doesn't work, she says. only works if it's the other way around. the couple sitting next to me teases each other. the whole dining experience is a documentary film waiting to happen—a 35ish year old neighborhood diner run by a greek couple, a greasy spoon turned haven of sorts. i ask B how much the damage was. $3.25 for everything. i give her 4 with the change hers to keep. she insists on me getting the 75 cents back, though. and thanks me endlessly as though i had just enriched her life immensely.

maybe, i will get to that documentary on B and the luncheonette fountain one of these days.

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side project: concert in september

B is for other things as well. for one. it's for Bandastiks, a concert im helping organize. instead of dying of office boredom yesterday, i was able to whip out some marketing materials in time for the night's update meeting. B is for Bikram as well. hot yoga which is more like bootcamp really. reached my 10th class mark last monday. mustve lost a 100 lbs of sweat and toxins now since that first class. feels great surviving and thriving in each 90 minute 100 degree session. great mental exercise. lastly, B is for B.I.P. just got invited to be the guest at some awards ceremony and fancy french dinner on friday. should be good but wait, that's V, not B. crap, time to end this blog. bye.

tour de cure

2006-06-05T23:13:00.000-04:00

tourmates: earle & jen

the weather gods were very cooperative—making yesterday perfect for yet another bike tour. this one sponsored by the american diabetes association to raise funds to benefit the fight against diabetes. unlike last month's 30k-strong five boro bike tour, there was much less participants. much less but definitely much more cycling enthusiasts as most everyone came in their spandexes and race bikes. i came with my schwinn mountain, regular shorts and of course my brasil footie jacket (to make up for the lack of cycling shorts coolness).

i rode with earle the officemate, his fiance jen, and friend tom. we started off in morningside park on 114th street. headed our way up through the uppity-up apartments of the upper west side eventually making our way over the george washington bridge to end up in new jersey. in jersey, we drove through hills, and various towns. places which id only heard of before like bergen county, fort lee, engelwood, palisades—popped out one after the other as we pedalled our way through the route. very nice changes of scenery and definitely much more space and fresher air. the ride to the turning point was very nice—mostly downhill—felt as though i were flying or at least biking like some lance armstrong.

tom's post-ride swedish massage

the ride back up was torture though. thighs were cramping but the mind stayed focus so not once did i dismount the bike on the steep hill of death. sure i was pedalling like crazy on the lowest lowest gear but at least i made it up top without giving up. and once up that steep hill, the ride was back to all pleasure.

we made our way back over the GW bridge. and eventually back to morningside park. lots of freebie snacks, shirts and refreshments greeted us. a much-appreciated swedish massage was also there to welcome our tired legs and backs. a nice chill way to cap off a fun fundraising bike tour.

mission accomplished

aside from conquering the 50km route (was supposed to be a 100km one but they shortened the ride coz of road construction), i was also able to beat my fundraising target. thanks to family and friends and some anonymous souls, a grand total of $320 was raised. not bad for less than a week's worth of pestering for donations. hopefully i get to raise at least that much too for the jason's flying to the philippines for vacation cause. but in any case, im looking forward to the next big one—a 5k run in central park on june 21st. should be another helluvafun push.

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friday and saturday afternoons were spent with some filipino friends coz one was visiting from manila. much as i had a lot of fun, i just dont get it now, this annoying habit of tardiness. and much worse, changing plans 30 minutes prior just coz one didnt have the guts to say no in the first place. i guess im just not used to such laxity of commitment anymore. and wimpy behavior such as needing to get parental or other's clearance on each decision or not being open to trying things new. but anyway, it's kinda funny (yet quite effin frustrating) to see nevertheless.

oh my gash

2006-06-01T02:20:00.000-04:00

wowee, well-stocked fridge

the dream was vividly clear. my bedside lamp had fallen straight into my forehead. i wake up and realize it was not after all a dream. i feel my forehead and strangely enough there's a slit of dry blood on it. and so here i am now, fashionably sporting an inch square band aid on my head. which fortunately has proved to be a great ice breaker small talk conversation starter so far.

im actually here now at headroom studio, sound mixing and finishing the video project ive been happily tied up with the past week or so. pretty neat place actually. right north of madison park and being on the 19th floor, boasts of a great view of the chrysler. has the usual well-stocked fridge and candy jars. my stomach is a bit grumbling now though coz our lunch orders have not arrived and its almost 2.

headroom audio house

but i shouldnt be whining though coz here i am blogging away, amazed that im actually doing something that's enjoyable and quite a learning experience. even had my 15 seconds of fame, well sort of, coz i was in the recording booth dressed up in my gee (sp?), making those whoosh shwoosh ruffling ripping sounds we needed for the karate chops and roundhouse kicks shots. neat cool fun stuff. but none of those late night rockstar rapstar recording sessions obviously with overflowing drugs and booze.

ok, it's official. everyone's hungry. the producer is ravenous. the sound engineer's dying. im starving too but now everyone's involved in pestering the food people on where the bleep our grub is. bleep bleep bleep. can i get a laugh track please? thanks a bunch.

ok enough, im getting back to work. this video we're doing is getting better and better. it's getting there. time to record more of those whoosh shwoosh ruffles but ed the editor's doing it.

OK food's here. lateerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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close to 5 now. this place is insane. they have a "zen" room with matching wall fountain and massage chair. but still im pissed that the food was late. ok, i kid. definitely great gaining the experience. nice little reminder that there's a whole more world out there or even here to explore. but for now, im out. grabbing a drink for an officemate who's moving to florida. ok more like a non-alcoholic drink coz i do have that bike tour on sunday. and i dont want any more inanimate objects like bedside lamps to be attacking me soon in my sleep.

weekend in delaware and another weekend adventure

2006-05-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

delaware: home away from home away from home

sweet. 2 seats all for myself. a rare new-york bound chinatown bus occurrence, even moreso it's the last day of a 3-day weekend. a nice celebration of breathing space way to cap off a weekend spent in delaware with family.

it was a nice change of pace and environment once again. lots of space and greenery to replace the usually overcrowded big apple. not much color when it came to the people though. most of the delawareans came in pale (hoping to be tan) white. language was much tamer as well with the nephews around. the baddest f word around them was F-A-T. fuggedabout f*ck coz that's punishable by standing in the corner. of the toilet. with your unwashed hand tied to your nose. also, chillin' was done in the backyard instead of in bars and lounges — a nice afternoon garden water fight with the nephews complete with dolla store super soakers, a few buckets, the hose and healthy dose of silliness. a full deck barbecue instead of my lame excuse for a barbecue balcony barbecue. my grilled bacon-wrapped asparagus and cheese was an experiment went great. nice mix of crunchy and chewy, healthy and deadly. an overflowing amount of food as well at my aunt's and uncle's you swear youve seen their house in MTV cribs mansion. great food but really temptingly deadly—especially that moist frosting-rich chocolate cake. good thing though was that i was able to do my running still and even tried out a yoga class there to balance things a bit. and as usual, sticking to my nonconformist new yorker roots slash eco-friendly faux european sensibilities, i decided to walk the highways from the yoga class instead of waiting to get picked up by car. during the hour's worth of walking the highway, i held my head high as one-person driven cars and SUVs zipped by. such a sickening sight almost. although of course, not to be overly hypocritical, i did somehow enjoy eventually getting picked up by my brother-in-law on his top-down ferrari. nice.

new kicks for this weekend's bike adventure

once i got back in the apartment from the bus ride from delaware, dropped off my things and was off back to the city for a little shopping spree. got myself some polarized ray-bans coz all the harmful summer rays were beginning to destroy my eyes (plus of course oakley's apparently are disgustingly expensive). also, got myself a new great pair of adidas running shoes which i immediately took for a test jog at night in mccarren park. considering how much id spent on such a fine pair of shoes, i was easily convinced to take it for an even further ride this coming weekend. ive signed up for the tour de cure, a bike tour this sunday benefiting the fight against diabetes. should be a fun challenging ride—my first 100km ride. of course, i wish i had a real racing bike and not a mountain bike but im sure ill manage. with the rugged jersey and new york roads, ill be better off in those wheels anyway. and also with shoes named gigaride and screaming impossible is nothing, how can i not finish. well, we'll see. if all else fails, i can always ride the chinatown bus to delaware for some stress-free fun and space-rich reality. and home-cooked and chocolate-cake carbo-loading.