hangover

Jaime Alberto is the new kid at JM's block. He'll be baptized on the 21st at the Green Meadows church. Reception is at the estate in Corinthian.

S. GURL: Sino ba sa atin?

ME: Sabihin mo sa kanya ikaw na lang.

S. GURL: O nga. Ako na lang. Di ka mabait sa mga inaanak mo eh.

And that's how she became the godmother.

* * *

JM: Andyan si Ces. Lika! Magpakita ka muna.

Before I could react, JM had led the way. One thing I noticed was a weird grin.

Ces is JM's younger sis who had a big crush on me. Back in sophomore high, she used to call me up at home. Too friendly. Too caring. One day, she pulled out a John Stamos poster from Tiger Beat, pinned it on the class bulletin board and attached a note. My name was on it and an arrow pointed at the poster.

Our last phone convo wasn't cool.

CES: What's the date tomorrow?

ME: Dunno. Why?

CES: Bukas birthday ko.

ME: Okay. And?

CES: There. Aren't you going to greet me?

ME: But your birthday's tomorrow.

CES: You don't want to be the first to greet me?

ME: Bukas na lang. So why did you call?

CES: Wala! Yabang mo! Ba-bye na nga!

The next day, I bumped into her. I smiled without saying a word. That prompted her to blow up her frustration, "Putang ina!"

I turned around and saw her really mad. She threw her hanky at me and then ran away. She cried, according to her friends. I didn't see it.

Di mo kasi binati eh.

It's her birthday and you know that! She called you up yesterday.

Ikaw naman kase eh. Sana binati mo na lang.

It's been long years since seeing her again. And she's all different, which is good. She's got 3 boys, was once married (became a young widow) and now manages a bank owned by the family.

She doesn't look like a mom at all.

CES: Hey! How are you?

ME: I'm okay.

CES: So what do you do? Still in school? Graduate ka na ba?

Did she just say school?

Alright.

7-11 has more convenience. It's like the hangover made by the time between now and that day she cussed me was making us awkward. All in a grown up way.

* * *

ME: Still in Corinthian?
S. GURL: Oo.
ME: Anong handa?
S. GURL: Di ko alam.
ME: Maraming bisita? An's family is already one barangay.
S. GURL: Siguro.
ME: Eh... si Ces?
S. GURL: Uuuy!
ME: Ano ka ba!

She gloated.

ME: What?
S. GURL: What ka dyan!

* * *

kids should know that...

Tiger Beat is an American teen magazine. Founded in 1965 by Charles "Chuck" Laufer and his bother, Ira, Tiger Beat has dedicated itself to teen idol gossip, movies, music and fashion. Known for its covers with 'cut and paste' collaged photos of the latest teen idols on them. Its publisher, The Laufer Co., also founded and published the teen magazines FaVE (now defunct) and Right On! (now owned by another publisher). Tiger Beat's main target has always been girls ranging from the age of 9 to 19, but because of the high volume of 'Disney Stars', is usually bought by elementary age girls. (wikipedia)

Full Moon Chronicles 3

Today, out of my whining, I was so gastronomically creative I ended up making a sandwich.

I name it the 2 Cheese-Chicken Sandwich. The spread has shredded chicken thigh, a slice of Philadelphia cream cheese, minced button mushroom stalks, white onion, chopped pickles, drops of extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper and mayo. The sandwich is perfect with crispy iceberg lettuce, topped with Australian cheddar cheese on rye bread.

Really yummy. My special gurl says she can sell the 2 Cheese-Chicken Sandwich at 50 a pop.
Anyway, my whining was all over including my SMS.

It's pretax season, that's why.

Last Friday, Tin and my special gurl boxed out my plan to whine the weekend away. So, I threw out the whining and hurried to pick up Tin.

Things were typically fine until both of them transformed into Drama Queens (DQs). On our way to the Lami Restaurant in Luneta, Tin said that her heart's literally hurting because she and P (her man) were in a "la lang" LQ.

ME: Literally? Pwede ba yon?

S. GURL: Oo naman, no.

TIN: Eh, masakit nga. Kumikirot konti.

ME: Sus. DQ!

TIN: DQ?

ME: Drama queen. Kayong dalawa, DQ.

First sip of my coffee at Starbucks Intramuros, Tin proposed to talk about business.

Bad idea. I put my mug down and told her no. She ignored me. I told her to go ahead with the topic for as long as she let me tune out and enjoy my essence. So she did with a slight complaint. My special gurl talked about marketing. When it was time to cover creatives, Tin brought me back to the table.

With a small amount of enthusiasm, I said, "We're geniuses."

The plan is to venture into indie films. I agreed to do the script. Tin will direct.

The producer is still out there.

And then, Tin set a deadline for the screenplay. Wednesday.

Right.

Yesterday she asked my special gurl if we could attend the marketing meeting for her art school project somewhere in Katipunan.

My special gurl consulted and left the decision to me. I texted Tin and told her yes if only Bogart will be allowed to come along. She replied I was whining again.

TIN: You're coming?

ME: Yea yea.

TIN: Goody.

ME: About what pala?

TIN: Marketing nga of the art workshops. I'll ask (beep) and (special gurl) if they could contact schools, companies, etc.

ME: Oh props lang ako.

TIN: Because you're always spacing out when we talk business. I ought to bring a ball or a toy truck to entertain you whenever we talk about money.

ME: Crossword puzzle.

TIN: Uh-huh.

There's not much work to be done in my company this season. Gain nowadays is courtesy of the PR mats for candidates running in this year's election. Just yesterday, a new job order was sent through fax.

I guess without the elections, I'd say the industry I'm in is slowly dying. Blame it on the economy.

So what chills these days? Daily work outs.

This morning Jayson, the trainer, increased the weights for the pullover, a chest exercise. Likewise, he increased by ten the plates for the inclined barbell bench press. I've also learned to love the cross-trainer, preferring it over the treadmill.

Working out. It's a great stress-buster.

* * *

ME: Akyat kaya tayo sa Baguio?

TIN: Puta! You're feeling this fucking heat too?

ME: Yea. It's gettin' that infamous. Gonna try to twist some arms. If am able to borrow a house up there, food na lang prob. Tapos, sama kita sa trunk.

TIN: Yipee!

* * *

kids should know that...

The independent film scene's development in the 1990s and 2000s has been stimulated by a range of factors, including the development of affordable high-definition digital video cameras that can rival 35 mm film quality and easy-to-use computer editing software and the increasing visibility of independent film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival. The first independent film released on HD DVD was One Six Right on November 1, 2006. (wikipedia)

bogey's new ears

Yesterday, Bogart went to see his vet in Better Living. Aside from the regular shots, he had his sutures removed.

It was an accident waiting to happen, I guess. No one warned us on the consequences of leaving two loved pets on their own in the backyard, considering their sizes are absolutely opposite.

Last week, Rufus (the large one) played tag with Bogart. Siguro nanggigil. It cost Bogey's left ear, torn and bleeding.

The ear was torn in the middle that it required surgery, especially when the cartilage was affected. So, very late in the evening, we had to rush Bogey to the clinic for emergency treatment.

Doc Eddie applied cosmetic surgery. In short (no pun intended), Bogey had his ears trimmed. Now he looks like a mini pit(bull) rather than a mini pin.

Rufus, on his own, has kept his mouth at a distance from Bogey's head. It's the big guy's way of showing how sorry he is (and proving that everything's not a Dog Eat Dog world?). The only thing Rufus still has to learn, though, when it comes to playing with Bogey, is to avoid stepping on the lil guy's feet.

Like Rufus, Bogey is a pro when riding cars. He's a backseat regular. Most of the time, he just takes a nap.

He also has a sweet heart so he could snuggle to his ninang, Tin.

Sunday, on our way to the Blue Wave, Tin and my special gurl sat in the backseat with Bogey.

TIN: Hi, Bogart! (Pauses) Parang nag-iba mukha niya.

S. GURL: Ginupitan ng tenga.

TIN: Ha? Bakit?

S. GURL: Nakagat ni Rufus.

Bogey stared at Tin, moved over to stay beside Tin.

TIN: Eeeww! Wag mo kong dikitan. Yoko makita yang mga tali.

S. GURL: (Laughs) Gusto ka niya, o.

TIN: (Sweetly, to Bogey) Yucky ka eh.

The animal behavior is nothing sexual, I assure you. During the operation, Bogey was also castrated.

* * *

kids should know that...

The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress. There is now a medically-approved class of "therapy animals," mostly dogs, who are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. (wikipedia)