Where Are The Asians?

The Miss U oh-nine coverage.

Your kasuys--- a curious observer, Rye, and a pageant enthusiast, Dan-- with pageant expert & co-author of globalbeauties.com, Jamesy, and their beloved HK Beckies gather at 8am for a morning of pinoy breakfast, lotsa chika & laughter, and 84 women vying for the coveted title of Miss Universe 2009.

They share their thoughts about the ladies' dresses, hair and make-up,
and Jamesy lets us in on some juicy background on the finalists
and what happens in the Top 15 selection process.

Revived Ep 16 The Grand Ligwakan*
http://tdrs.mypodcast.com

*We are terribly sorry for the delay. This episode was supposed to come out right after the live telecast of Miss U. But it wasn't until now, Saturday almost, that mypodcast got its act together and allowed us to upload. Anyway, here it is. Sigh!

Almost There

Almost There.

Almost where? Listen up to find out.

The rowdy guest co-host from the first season, Chris, joins Dan & Rye as they look forward to their immediate future.

With a live phone patch from Dubai, and greetings to London.

Revived Ep 15, "Almost There", Out Now!
The Dan & Rye Show Revived!

What A Difference A Night Makes

As I walked home from the bus stop last night, I called T like I always do. He was a little frustrated that his internet wasn't working. I was the last to use his computer so I thought, maybe, I broke his Mac. When I got home, I realized that it was neither his connection or his computer that was acting up. Facebook was down. So was Yahoo. So was Hotmail.

That was last night. 10:30ish pm. Fast forward to this morning... 10ish.

I refused to take off my eye mask because I knew deep in my heart it wasn't waking time for me yet. But my body and mind refused to cooperate. There was no way they'd let me go back to sleep. So I got up, checked my phone and found out it wasn't even 10am yet.

I headed to the kitchen to get my morning water (since I stopped smoking, I have learned to make a habit of having water the first thing to go into my system everyday), and then to my computer shortly after to feed my restaurant staff, water my flowers, and socialize. That's Restaurant City, Farmtown and Sorority Life, in case you're a little confused.

And then I filed the bank statements that have been lying on my work desk for about two months already. Over the course, I have found some documents that need to be filled up. I looked into my filing cabinet to search for some numbers, which I didn't find, so I decided calling Fidelity. I ended up accomplishing not one task, not two, but three, out of that 5-minute phone call. I then called AIA and completed a task which wasn't even on my list.

I fixed myself some lunch, brewed coffee, had some of Josh's double Graham chocolate ref cake, and went on with my tasks.

Sorted the laundry, cleared up my work desk, revised the Chiquitta blog, re-fed my staff, harvested, planted, socialized even more, chatted with T, replied to business emails.

Now, I'm finishing this entry, and it's only 2:50pm. (I actually would have finished this 10 minutes ago had Chris not called. But he did and I had to take it, since he seldom calls now and he's soon leaving HK. Sume-senti. Pagbigyan.)

It's amazing how much one can accomplish when he turns in early to wake up just a wee bit earlier than usual. More importantly, it's amazing what difference a night without Facebook makes.

Finalist

via sms

R (at the Channel [V] Lady Gaga party at FINDS): T, I made it to the Top 12! :-)
T (at home): U r number 1 to me.
R: Aww! Remind me that again when you see me later.

thanks, Fabiola, for the photo

2 hours later, at T's. R, dressed as Lady Gaga wakes up T

T: Waaaaaah! You scared me. You look like a clown!

Certain.

"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."
--Robert Kincaid, "The Bridges Of Madison County"

I've been hearing chimes going off over the last thirty minutes. Like wind chimes. They sound off every 2 minutes.

I am not hallucinating. I am not crazy. I am not imagining things. The windows of my room are closed, my computer desk is the way it has been over the last 2 months, except for the vacuuming that Ate Cora did underneath it. The application windows I have open are Firefox, Safari & Skype. On Firefox, my tabs are Restaurant City, Farmtown, my blogger account, and The McVie Show Season 8. On Safari, I have Sorority Life, Multiply, Standard Chartered HK and BPI Online. Chatting with T on Skype.

Where the hell is that sound coming from? It is driving me crazy!

Death In The Middle

Somewhere in that little nook that has become our rendezvous, in that oh-so-familiar little bar in the middle of Hollywood Road, called Volume, in the middle of the week close to midnight, I was in the middle of a friendly conversation, amidst men intoxicated by free vodka, talking on the top of their lungs, so that their voices could drown the blaring music coming overhead, when, with a sense of urgency, he came up to me and said, "I have something to tell you."

I asked him what it was.

And, with both pride and coyness, like a child showing his teacher his artwork, and with a misplaced accent, common to caucasians trying to speak my language, he said to me, "Mahal kita."

I felt, in the middle of my chest, a heart just died a thousand joyous deaths.

Forgive Me, KC, For I Will Sin

Forgive me that I will not be the kind of friend that you want me to be. I will not hold your hand and cry with you, if you ever do. I will not be scared at the uncertainty of the future. I will not stroke your fragile spirit and say, "I'm sorry to hear that." Because I am not.

I am happy. I am very happy to see that life is finally unfolding itself for you.

I will not lie and tell you everything will be ok. It sometimes gets difficult-- heart-breaking, even. But that's what makes it all worth it. Because at the end of every hardship, is one more ounce of self-respect that you earn for yourself. And I can't wait to see you rise above it all, the way I did with you by my side.

Welcome to the real world, KC! I am delighted to be facing life's battles with you. It's time to put those high heels back on.

Lutong Macau

I've never really enjoyed Macau until my last visit.

Perhaps because I have never really explored it as extensively. Or maybe because in my previous trips, I wasn't privileged enough to sleep at the Venetian. Or maybe simply because, this time I was with T. And being with him made all the difference.

Pre-departure.

At the elevator landing of the 14th floor,
just before we started the hunt for Rm. 14-003.
We weren't warned that the whole south wing of the Venetian
was as huge as Megamall Bldg. A.
(Guy, BTW, is one of Jason's best friends. It was
my first time to meet him but it felt like we've known
each other in our teens. Err... well, in his teenage and my toddler years.)


the main event.
Belle, you made me very proud of you again.

our first round of drinks.
Sparkling sangria for me, Rose sangria for T,
and ice-cold beer for Guy.
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the bitchest of them all?

She brought us carrot cake, inside scoop and lots of fun.

Pineapple barbecue with cinnamon sugar
for breakfast at Fogo Samba

AUMULU-ing at the Ven

T being such a good tourist.

the Macau landmark.
We didn't go any closer than this.
"What's the point?", I quipped.
"I was able to get it by zooming in anyway."

The most sumptuous lunch and
the most refreshing
noontime sangria (they use lemons instead of oranges)
at Fernando's

*Thanks, Miss Jamesy for lending my your Cybershot! Full album to be posted soon, with the official video documentation.

Two Women

This morning I found myself in tears. After giving in to them, I paused and asked myself the reason I was crying. I found two.

First, Corazon Aquino. The woman who paved the way for our generation to know the life of freemen. To live it, and enjoy it to its limits. She led the whole nation in its fight to bring back what it thought it had lost. She restored the dignity of millions of people. She passed away last night.

And then, there's Gloria Arroyo. By invoking solidarity among the Filipinos like her predecessor had done, she, too, ousted an unwanted political leader. Like her predecessor, she promised to restore and rebuild. Whether she failed or not, and if she did, the extent by which she did, I have no idea. I am the least interested in politics or in her. What I do know, is that she robbed my generation of artists the kind of dignity that Aquino fought to give us back.

This morning I found myself in tears. Out of sorrow and grief for the woman who, for years, stood as the matriarch who held my ailing country together; out of pain for my fellow Filipino artists who have been blatantly humiliated and betrayed by the very institution that was supposed to nurture them; and out of utter disgust for the Philippine government that, I am now convinced, is a company of greedy, power-hungry traitors who should have died instead of Cory.

I have never felt so strongly about politics ever before. Just now. So allow me to wallow in my tears some more.

For Art's Sake

These are two of my godchildren---

Charlize dreams of becoming a ballerina.

Dudi dreams of becoming a visual artist.


Please, God... End the travesty that the government is making out of the arts in the Philippines now, so that my godchildren may become happy, fulfilled artists when they grow up to realize their dreams. I love these kids dearly and I don't want them to suffer the tremendous humiliation and heartbreak that I, together with the rest of the Filipino Artists Community, am experiencing now. I don't want them to lose faith in the arts and be disillusioned the way a lot of my peers are, right now. I want them to become real "artists"-- those whose works are propelled by life and not by politics. I don't want them to be part of the dreadfully shameful system that they are starting to create.

Please, God. Please.