Off to Bora!!!

See you, guys, in 4 days! Can't wait to see my family in Bora ;oP

Last Day of Training

Yay! Am finally done with my training. I can concentrate on other matters like: what to get for my kris kringle baby and what to ask for from my kris kringle mommy/daddy.

Withdrew my salary today. The exchange rate was at 54 Pesos to a Dollar. Bummer!!!

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Remember the last time I talked about this movie? My damn water pipe broke for no apparent reason. I hope nuthin' like that would happen today.

After my dinner at Luk Yuen last night, I thought of finally watching "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". I heard about this movie when I was in Singapore a few months ago. The poster stated that there's an actual recording of demonic voices in the film. Pretty interesting, eh? Anyhoo, I was prepared to be scared out of my wits so even if I was alone, I thought I could watch this film to its end.

If you're expecting a horror film from start to finish, well, you may be disappointed. The movie has a handful of courtroom drama. Every now and then, I get impatient as to when they will show the actual exorcism and play the infamous voices.

The girl who played Emily Rose looks like a young Teri Hatcher. A great contortionist, I must say. I was expecting gore & levitation a la the original "Exorcist" but none of that happened. Yep, you can eat your popcorn while watching this film. They didn't even show how she died. Bummer!

If you're a "24" fan, you'd find a familiar face in one of the courtroom scenes.

Did I get scared? Yep, a few times. I couldn't stand looking at the gruesome photo of Emily Rose. If you wanna see the real girl where the story was based on, click here.

While blogging this entry, I got afraid of looking at my digital clock, wishing that 3 am witching hour would pass quickly. I slept with the lights on ;oP

Shawie's Mansion Part Deux

Woke up at 1 pm. Had a pork adobo brunch first. Afterwards, Shawie gave me a tour of the mansion.

They have this nice cozy bar filled with stuff you'd normally see in sports bar: beer bottles, glasses, and a deer head. Then we went upstairs and checked out the mountain view from the porch. 'twas pretty windy and I love it! Peaceful and refreshing. No pollution at all.

After taking our baths, we sang a few more songs. We requested Shawie to sing "All By Myself". Sorry Shawie, but I still think that Table's version is the funniest ever!

Shawie's nephew also showed us a robot that gave us the coolest moves. The robot knows how to dance sideways, turn 180 degrees, and pick up an item. Pretty fun to watch it.

Before leaving, we had our pictures taken.

Fellowship in More Ways than One

Today, I've got two "fellowships" to attend to. One is SOLV fellowship and the other one is a birthday party in Lipa, Batangas.

Before 3 pm, I got a text message from one of my SOLV brothers, Algie. He was planning to get some stuff at Don Bosco and asked me if I wanted to go to Richville Hotel (in Shaw Boulevard) with him and other brothers as well. I thought it was thoughtful of him. I had my shower and prepared my stuff.

At 3:30, I went to Don Bosco to wait for my brothers. I got another message informing me that they'd be late. To pass the time, I went to the chapel and prayed. After some minoots, Earl arrived. He told me that Algie and Rogel were already upstairs getting some musical instruments.

We left Makati and proceeded to our meeting place. On our way there, we talked about songs from the tv series, "Smallville". It seems we share the same favorite songs from the soundtrack: "Time after Time" by Eva Cassidy (the same artist who gave the best rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" for me) and Gary Jules' "Mad World".

Our talk shifted to food and suddenly got hungry. Found Jollibee in Pioneer. Isco also met us there. While waiting for Earl & Rogel (who offered to buy us food; Sweet!), I checked out Algie's Powerbook (similar to Arlyn's). Played puzzle & pacman in it.

Around 5:30, we reached Richville Hotel... an hour-and-a-half late from our meeting time. We rented a big function room for the night. Ramil was already sweating it out with Joel. Matthew, along with his wife, was also there. Swing music was playing. Y'see, Ramil offered to teach us ballroom dancing (swing, cha-cha, and boogie). We need to learn this because in December, we will have a dance party to commemorate SOLV's anniversary.

I must say, Swing is one of the hardest dance to master. I'm not new to dancing. I love dancing. But memorizing the steps plus thinking about your partner is very challenging for me. I need to practice a lot!!! Thanks to Earl and Algie who became my very patient partners. Whew!

After some minoots, we switched to Cha-Cha. Now that was easy. Afterwards, it's Boogie time. I enjoyed dancing to this.

At 8:30, we decided to have dinner. It's my first time to dine at Tiendesitas. It reminds me of Market! Market! I saw a horse-drawn carriage too. Cool! Since we're a big group, it was hard to find tables. We had to connect 3 tables to accomodate all 18 of us. I had to leave soon so I bought myself the first appetizing food I saw--barbecue and isaw.

I & Ramil announced our Christmas party which will be held at the SOLV office on December 12th. I also asked my brothers, Rogel, Earl, & Algie, for directions going to Lipa. It's my first time to travel alone to Batangas and I had no idea how to get there.

At 10:30, I left my SOLV brothers and proceeded to the bus station in Buendia. The conductor told me that the bus leaves at 12:30. Otay, it's almost 11 and I've got an hour-and-a-half to kill. Thanks to my iPod for keeping me company. I also had to excuse myself twice to go to the nearest restroom. Damn you, beer, for doing this to me.

At around midnight, the bus left Buendia. Yipee! I was told that it will take an hour-and-a-half to get to Lipa. I kept myself from dozing off. I don't wanna miss my bus stop. Paid 106 for my fare. I instructed the bus conductor to drop me off at the city hall.

Past 1 am, I reached the city hall. Called Shawie to inform her that I reached the city hall. She told me to take a tricycle ride to city park and "somebody" in red will meet me. I suddenly thought Arlyn's going to pick me up. I remember her surprise in Singapore. I thought this would be another one of her surprises. Turned out that the person in red was one of Shawie's friends. He told me to follow him to her house.

Finally, I reached Shawie's house. It's a two-storey brick mansion! Shawie paid for my ride since I didn't have a small bill. Ogz and Shell were already singing at the living room. Ogz brought his MagicSing. Sweet! Shawie reheated my dinner: afritada, pancit, and cheese sticks. Yummy!

After my second dinner, we sang our hearts out. As usual, Shawie's singing kept us in stitches the whole night... er, early morning.

Congratulations, Arman!

At around 3:30 pm today, we had our monthly all-hands meeting. Mimi presided over the meeting since we still don't have a managing director. It was one of the funniest & relaxed all-hands we've ever had. She introduced the new guys, including our not-so-new Development Manager, Maidette. We noticed that our new officemates were all guys and pretty tall. The teasing began. People thought it was Beng's sole "decision" to hire these guys. She's all red in the face ;oP

Then Mimi announced the employee of the quarter. When she was announcing the criteria one at a time, people were voicing out who they thought would win this award. Rene's name came out a couple of times. When she stated "ultimate performer", I heard my name from my colleagues. Well, I knew beforehand who won the award so I shook my head ;oP When Mimi announced it was Arman who bagged it, his expression was priceless! It took him awhile to compose himself. He couldn't speak at all. He was even shaking. He thanked everyone and considered it a blessing to be working at Enterworks.

Afterwards, we had our monthly gathering at the pantry to celebrate the November birthday celebrators. Joyish & Table bought us some cakes, plus we had spaghetti, pancit, barbecue, pichi-pichi, and ice cream. It was a feast!!!

Joy's Party @ IO KTV

It's been awhile since I last attended a dinner videoke party. So when Joy invited me to her party, I was super excited. First, the food in IO is great. My favorite there is the chicken lollipop. Second, I could never say 'no' to a night of singing! ;oP

We reached IO KTV at Jupiter street around 8 pm. The party was composed of Joyish (the celebrator), Frankito, Mama Butch, Ogz, Shell, Table, Dencio, Nikks, Dots, Rene, Alwyn, and OJ. Later on, Chay dropped by with Don. She brought some cake too. Sweet!

During the first few minoots of the party, Dencio was being pesky. We wondered what drugs he just took ;oP He sang "The Reason" again but didn't finish it. Nikks gave us a wonderful version of "Till They Take My Heart Away" (her favorite). I forgot about my first song. It was hard to choose songs because we're more concerned with our hungry tummies. Dots performed an MYMP number. OJ sang "Sa Kanya" with Shell.

The first food served was the beef salpicao (Joyish's favorite). It was so tender and I love the garlic sauce. Too bad there wasn't any rice to complement the mouthwatering dish. The chix lollipop arrived later with pizza. We requested Joy to order rice because we're all famished.

These are the songs I remembered singing last night: South Border's "Wherever You Are" (a super favorite; sang it with Frankito), "With You I'm Born Again" (with Ogz), "Cry" (with Joyish), "Very Special Love" (with Ogz), "Whenever You Call" (with Ogz), "I'm Your Angel" (again with Frankito), and "I'm Your Baby Tonight". Speaking of Franco, he got the crooner tag for singing mostly Josh Groban & Ariel Rivera's songs. Is this guy in love or what?!

The sound system wasn't that good. There were times when we couldn't hear the accompaniment. In "Bohemian Rhapsody", we almost finished it a capella. And worse, we got "Active Desktop Recovery" error message a few times.

Food is abundant though. We had gyoza (a must), beef salpicao, chicken lollipop, pizza, chips & dips, and crispy pata! Yummy indeed!

t'was a very fun night. We finished around 1 in the morning. A pretty decent time... to think, we normally finish around 4 ;oP

Hapi Berdey, Table!

Special request: One more round of "All By Myself"? Special thanks to Alistair for this photo.

Look, Ma, No Water!

I'm currently canvassing for the best automatic washing machine that would fit my Christmas budget. Y'see, I've been losing nice clothes from our condo laundry services. I must have lost at least, 3 cool shirts and that's not goooood at all. Someone must have taken a liking to my clothes. Bummer!

Anyhoo, this invention arrived at an opportune time. Imagine cleaning your clothes with only negative ions, compressed air, and deodorants! No more expensive detergents and conditioners. You can even save on your water bills! I wonder when this would become available ;oP

Congratulations to the students/investors, Wendy Chua and Gabriel Tan! You can find out more after the jump.

Wanna Walk on Water?

Better yet, wanna battle it out with your friends? Check this out! Looks pretty fun, eh? Unless, of course, you're claustrophobic ;oP

Teevee Marathon

While cooking my din-dins last night, I caught up with my teevee viewing. I enjoy watching the US shows because they are well-written. I'm not a fan of our local fantaseryes nor "Pinoy Big Brother". With the latter, I personally think the people behind it are only after the money of poor Filipinos.

Anyhoo, here are my comments on these four shows' latest episodes:

1) Alias - I like Sydney's light moment with her dad. I miss Jennifer Garner's action scenes though. Oh well, I just have to wait for 'em next year.

2) Desperate Housewives - I miss Lynette's twins so I was really happy to see them back again.

3) Smallville - Cried a bucket at the scene of Clark with his mom.

4) Lost - Oh man! I'm truly amazed at how the writers of this show could come up with their stories. Finally we now know how the "others" survived the first 40++ days in the mysterious island. This show keeps getting better and better-er ;oP

Supastah in the Makin'

Yesterday, I told you about the latest game that eats up my time. I spoke briefly about its other component, the StarMaker. In this application, you can create your actors and import them in "The Movies". So far, I've created a couple. Let me know if the actor looks like me ;oP By the way, the screenshots below are: me from my first comedy movie and the reviews from the film critics!

The Movies - PC Game

I am such a BIG movie fan. When Noel told me about this game where I could be a director and make my own movies, I quickly checked it out.

After installation, I created my own actor (unfortunately he doesn't look quite like me yet but am working on it). Yep, you can customize your actor... the shape of the head, the eye color, nose, and even the facial hair. Sweet!

Then, I went into the tutorial mode. It's fun to move things around. It reminds me so much of SIMS. In this game though, you need to assign who the director and actors will be in your movie. Plus, you need to hire crew that will handle the cameras and build your stage set. Aside from that, you need to make sure that everyone's happy (meaning, you need to provide a snack bar and toilets, of course, and make the environment pretty).

You can watch how your actors rehearse (had difficulty in this part but I got the hang of it... with Table on my side). And the best part is, you can watch the final movie!!! Yep, you can now share movies with your friends and tell 'em that you made it. Pretty cool, eh? But wait, the fun doesn't stop there. You can even get reviews from film critics! Sweet!!!

My first movie is entitled, "The Baggage Boy". It's a comedy. I can show it to you ONLY after buying your ticket ;oP

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!

Cheers to my wonderful dad!!! Thank you for the Sunday meals and for taking care of us! I pray for your good health and more love ;oP

Knottydon Beef in Oyster Sauce

I promised an officemate that I'll publish this recipe. This originated from my viewing of the 80's show, "Wok with Yan". I made a few changes as years went by. A very easy one to cook!

Preparation time: 30 minoots
1/4 kilo tenderloin beef (thinly-sliced strips)
8 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 big onion (sliced)
1 medium ginger (thinly-sliced strips)
chili peppers
snow peas
4 medium red bell peppers
oyster sauce
cornstarch
sugar
salt & pepper

Cooking time: 30 minoots or less
Before slicing the veggies, you can put some salt, pepper, and cornstarch on the beef. Put 'em aside.

Saute garlic, onions, and the ginger. Throw in the beef. Add the chili peppers. Stir fry for about 30 minoots. Let the juice of the ginger sink in.

Add the sauce (a mixture of cornstarch, water, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, & pepper). Simmer for about 10 minoots.

Lastly, add the snow peas & bell peppers. Simmer for 3 to 5 minoots. Enjoy this wonderful dish!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is one of my favorites in the HP series. Can't wait to watch the movie tonight!!! Will let you know later how it goes ;oP

Some hours later, I'm back from the movies. Thanks to Table for getting us good seats. I heard that tickets are selling pretty well. The Waltermart beside our condo has all three of its 4 theatres showing Harry Potter.

I was telling my friends that I couldn't remember the full story much. I've read the book years back but the only thing that was clear to me was the competition. The first few minoots was like watching a horror film. I thought, "Am I in a HP movie?" The three main characters have grown through the years. They don't look like kids no mo'. When I saw Lord Voltermort resurrected, I thought, "Hmm... why is this actor looks strangely pretty?" Learned later on that Ralph Fiennes was the actor under the prosthetics.

As for my favorites scenes, I was at the edge of my seat when Harry was being chased by a dragon. Emma Watson's character, Hermione, was B-E-A-utiful in that Yule Ball scene. I wanna have those cute mini-dragons for Christmas! Watching Harry swimming was like watching an '80s show, "Man from Atlantis". I give props to the director, Mike Newell, for presenting us with a movie that highlights not only the special EFX but also the uber cool vistas where all the magic was taking place.

One last comment: If Voltermort is soooo powerful, why can't he fix his own nose?

Gracias for Kleenex!

After mass a coupla nights ago, I felt sumpthin's wrong with me. It could be the lack of airconditioning system at Don Bosco church (when I sweat, I reeaaallly sweat), plus the late nights, plus I might have gone close to somebody who's also sick, plus I went to a fully-airconditioned grocery store after mass. Boom! I got the sniffles now.

A few months back, I bought this box of Kleenex facial tissues. There were a lotta versions to choose from, like jasmine or sumpthin, and I chose the eucalyptus one. I'm really glad I did. It's kinda neat-o when I use it. The smell of eucalyptus is very friendly to my clogged nose. I give props to the guys at Kleenex for this wonderful invention. Every household should get one. Now I know why koalas love 'em... the eucalyptus can be very addicting ;oP

Happy Birthday, Pasaway!

To a very dear friend, a very happy birthday!!! Thanks sa pagsama sa akin sa Singapore, sa pag-pulbo ng itlog...este likod ko, sa pagtahimik mo nung nasa eroplano tayo, sa pagiging makulit pag marami ka nang naiinom na weng-weng (your paborito), sa pag-ubos ng capri ni Bess (bayad ka ba na run?), at sa kasayahang dinudulot mo everytime na pinapatangos mo ilong mo, sinasabit mo yung glasses mo sa hair mo (kasi sabi mo gumaganda ka pag ganun, kahit na magbuhol-buhol sa hair mo, ayos lang!), sa mga Pasaway-isms mo like "it's just a buckle!" and the ever famous line, "I'm a model back home!", at higit sa lahat, sa ibang level na boses mo ;oP In fairness, ang galing mo at di ka nawala sa Thailand. Saan ang next gimmick?

Official Superman Returns Website

It's finally here. Check out the video journal section & the pikchoors and grab one super cool wallpaper now!

Here we have Lois. I really like Kate Bosworth in last year's "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!".



And, of course, the latest Man of Steel, Mr. Brandon Routh!



Can't wait to see the flying scenes and other special EFX.

Dungeon Siege II Character: Resurrected

Whatever you do, NEVER uninstall DSII if you still plan to see your character again. This happened last week when my friend (Noel) and I uninstalled our game. Y'see, we applied the patch 2.2 as advised by one of our gamer friends, OJ. But when we tried the multiplayer mode, we couldn't see one another. Thus, the uninstall decision. We needed to go back to the original version.

We made sure that we didn't remove the saved character before the uninstall. But lo and behold, when we started the game, it couldn't see our old character. I tried all the possible steps to correct this problem. But we surrendered to the fact that our old character is gooooone! Bummer!

And so, my mission for the weekend was to resurrect my old character. Now it's back! Yay!

All By Myself

Last night was poker night once again. The group composed of Dennis, Chel, Tabel, Ogz, and I, had a special guest, our good friend, Sandy. She brought us some chips & soda. Sweet! She informed us that she's been playing poker with her Ateneo buddies ;oP

Had some Quick Stomach dinner first before game time. Game 1: it was Dennis who hoarded the chips. I was the first one out again. Bummer! Game 2: Dennis, again, was the winner. Game 3: it was freakin' Dennis once more. WTF!

The only thing that made me feel better after losing was the MagicSing that Ogz brought with him. I couldn't care less if I lost. There's always a next game for me. Teehee.

Around 3, we started the singing showdown. Tabel opened up the show with Heart's "Alone". Ogz was next with "Part-Time Lover". I chose the song "Nasan" by Nyoy Volante. Dennis sang "Just Once". If I remember it right, I got the highest score in this round.

Second round was OPM hits. Tabel sang "Awit ng Kabataan", Ogz sang Jay-R's "Bakit Pa Ba?", I did "Ngayon at Kailanman", and Dennis tried singing "NoyPi". He got the lowest score of the night. Tabel won in this round.

Third round was a challenge. We had to sing sumpthin from a random choice. Tabel sang "Sugar", Ogz did "One Hello", I sang "Rainbow" (I flunked in the bridge part), and Dennis sang sumpthin. Ogz won this time.

In the final round, Tabel picked a song for us to interpret... Celine Dion's challenging version of "All By Myself". I recorded everyone's performance. With Tabel's version, I thought I'd die laughing. Like I said, I know now what to watch whenever I feel down. Ogz gave a safe performance. He got 95 (the champion). I got 92 for messing up with the belting part. And Dennis', well, never mind. Seems his luck ran out after 3 rounds of poker.

A is for Adorable

Got this from Chris Pirillo website. Thanks so much for these cute puppies (and a kitty)!

Christmas Look & Feel

I updated my blog header just for the Christmas season. If you're looking for the Reflections concert review, just click on the image of Regine on your right. Hmmm... I will also create a Christmas Wish List soon ;oP

Nobody Likes to Lose!

When I got "evicted" (just because Pinoy Big Brother is so famous nowadays) first from last night's poker game, I felt really bad. I don't like losing to any game... even in poker. When my friends advised me to be the dealer, I thought, "whaaaaaaaat?!!!!" I swallowed my pride and agreed to be the dealer till 7:30. Teehee...

Of course, I wouldn't wanna spend the night sulking. I went home early and proceeded to Waltermart to do my grocery. Since I wanna feel better, I looked for crabs ;oP I also plan to cook lumpiang shanghai one of these days so I gathered the ingredients. Not sure if I got 'em all though.

While waiting for the crabs to get cooked, I watched "Lost". If you haven't seen it yet, do a fast scroll ;oP It's good to see the history of bitchy Shannen this time and see Boone again. But after the redemption and all, why kill her now?!!! Hearing the whispers of the "others" was scary. Can't wait to see when the two groups merge in the next episode.

Continued playing "Dungeon Siege II". In a freaky turn of events, I lost my 40++ level character. Thanks, Noel (=oP). I'm now back to the Azunite desert, collecting stuff. I think it's pretty otay to start from scratch. Found so many new and interesting stuff in this second round. I love the terrace of the falls area!

ABS-CBN aired a re-run of "Maala-ala Mo Kaya" which featured Regine as a special child named Abby. No matter how many times I see this episode, it always tugs at my heart. A freakin' good performance, Ms. Velasquez.

Globe Rewards

Got a call from a Globe representative today. According to him, my N90 is ready for delivery. I told him I already have one. Teehee. He wondered how I could claim my 11K rewards from the company. Told him I have no idea. Anyhoo, he offered me to use the reward as a discount that would be spread out for 24 months. That means, I get to have 458++ discount each month beginning December or January next year. Sweet!

I Want This!!!

Been scouting for the best iPod nano sleeve. So far, this is my favorite. I especially like the one with the devil's tail. Sweet! Visit their site at http://www.thepodstar.com or just click on the image.

Happy Endings

I asked my friend, Noel, who starred in this movie. He didn't know. Oh well, I just copied it today and watched it. Advice: Just watch the first 40 seconds and you'd be glued to your teevee set.

The movie stars Lisa Kudrow (sporting brown hair this time), Steve Coogan, Maggie Gyllenhaal (they featured her singing prowess here), Tom Arnold (I wonder how he held his straight face throughout the film), Bobby Cannavale ("Shall We Dance"), and Jesse Bradford ("Swimfan").

Ever since "Magnolia" and "Crash", I've been a fan of interwoven stories. This movie didn't disappoint me. I like the acting of Kudrow here. Watch out for her intense scene with Nicky (Jesse's character). The title card effect plus the witty comments were cute. Hearing the soothing voice of Jude (Maggie's character) was enuff for me to enjoy it. Might have to check out the soundtrack for this. If you love Maggie's performance here, check out "Secretary".

My Dreads Repair

It's been a long time since I last had my dreads repair. After hearing mass, I proceeded to Glorietta. Ogz sent me a message that he and Boyette were having dinner. I was scheduled for my dreads maintenance so I took a raincheck.

Romy of Black Strawberry started working on my dreads around 7. We finished around 9. Had dinner at Yoshinoya. Noticed that they offer a new menu. My favorite combo is now included in their big platter meals. The chix teriyaki has shrunk (tsk! tsk! tsk!).

Reflections - A Concert Review

Regine has held her December concerts at OnStage for the past few years. This year, she staged it at the Aliw Theatre. It's my first time to see her perform here. Left my pad around 7:30 in the evening. Had my dinner already (a tinola leftover). The cab driver didn't know where Aliw Theatre is located so I just instructed him to find CCP. After asking a guard, we found the location. Even saw Mang Gerry, Reg's father, walking around.

First thing I noticed in the venue was the comfy seats. I'm used to sitting on those white monoblock chairs during her concert. But this time, it's like you're really in a moviehouse. Sweet! There was a red drape covering the stage. The place was 65% full at this point (8:15 pm). While waiting for the concert to start, they showed the GMA Kapuso theme.

Around 9, the concert started with an announcement of Chona Velasquez' presence. It's a little girl named Hannah singing "Fame" (Thanks to Amy for informing me that Hannah is a daughter of Cacai). Then Kim Flores appeared singing the same song. After her number, it's Regine who came out wearing a nice beaded white gown (as expected, with a not-too-plunging neckline). The stage was filled with Regine's gowns being auctioned. The band was wearing white. On the left side of the stage, Raul Mitra's piano was situated.

"Rhythm's Gonna Get You" (she pronounced it as "Rhythm's Gonna Get Ya") was her second song. Then she greeted her audience. She explained the concept of the show. She even informed them about the ongoing auction.

Her next number was Angela Bofill's "Break It to Me Gently". Followed by a Sheena Easton medley of "For Your Eyes Only", "I Wouldn't Beg for Water", and capped by "Almost Over You". I think she's the only singer around who sounds like Ms. Easton.

She was 5 when she first joined a singing contest. She placed third. The song she sang then was "Buhat" which her father taught her word for word. She felt good when the audience clapped after her performance. 'twas then that she realized she wanted to perform.

A Sharon Cuneta medley was next. I thought she's gonna render Cuneta's more famous songs like "Pangarap na Bituin" and "Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas". In fact, Regine sang her early songs like "Mr. DJ", "Dear Heart", "P.S. I Love You", and "Kahapon Lamang".

She thanked the Kapuso network for giving her the chance to help future artists through her show, "Pinoy Pop Superstar". She introduced her guest, Jonalyn Viray, who sang "Close to Where You Are". Then Regine appeared with a similar looking yellow gown that Viray was wearing. Only Reg's was more elaborate looking. They did a medley of Regine's songs: "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw", "You are My Song", "You've Made Me Stronger", and "Dadalhin". In some parts, I couldn't hear Viray's voice.

I also noticed during performance breaks that Reg drank her tea (I just assumed it's a tea; could be water too).

Reg started her spiel with the story about the era of boy bands. According to her, there's one group that shocked the world with their music. It's an introduction to a medley of Spice Girls' songs: "2 Become 1", "Say You'll Be There", "Wannabe", and "Who Do You Think You Are". It's fun to hear Reg "rap". She enjoyed this number obviously.

From one medley to another, it's Kuh Ledesma this time with her songs like "Dito Ba" and "Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon". She sang two more songs but their titles are unknown to me.

Anita Baker's "Just Because" was next. It's nice to hear this again from our Songbird.

Of course, the night won't be complete without a Mariah Carey medley. She started off with the first stanza & chorus of "Butterfly", followed by "Never Too Far" and "My All", and ended by the birit parts of "Butterfly".

She wondered how it would be like for her, 20 years from now. It's Ai-Ai de las Alas' cue to appear on stage wearing a maroon gown, complete with a baby china look. She rocked the house with her funny antics. She kept on repeating "do you like it?". That elicited laughter from the audience. She sang "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing". In the belting parts, it's Reg's voice that came out and Ai-Ai just lipsynched it. She even threw the mic at one point. That was hilarious. The audience gave her a standing ovation!

Reg appeared wearing a purple gown. Their spiels covered from Reg being a virgin even after 25 years (Ai-Ai's character commented that her vagina is now only a scar) to an accidental peek of Ai-Ai's nips the previous night. It was Reg who saw the nipple so Ai-Ai wore a bra tonight. That brought the house down. Reg was in tears from laughing. Ai-Ai attacked Faith Cuneta too. She told Reg that Faith must be envious because Reg is still a queen and a virgin even after 25 years from now =oP

Next number required a big butterfly wings to be brought down from the top part of the stage. According to the ladies, they haven't done anything like this before so they're both excited.

Ai-Ai positioned herself on a small platform (in front of the wings, ala R2K) and Reg stationed herself beside the piano. Ai-Ai sang "On the Wings of Love" with the high notes brought down (like someone was messing up with the pitch control; pretty funny). She commented that her talent fee isn't enuff to pay for her insurance just in case an accident happens. Teehee...

Regine sang her own version while Ai-Ai was pulled upward towards the back of the theatre. After this performance, Ai Ai thanked God for bringing her safe to the back.

Looking at the back portion, I noticed now that some of the rows were vacant. Hmmm... I guess the concert venue was 80-85% full. Ain't bad.

Debarge's "Rhythm of the Night" was next. She's backed up by the Hotlegs dancers.

Reg interpreted Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", "Run To You", and "I Have Nothing". I think this is one of the highlights of the show. Whenever you hear Reg belts these songs out, you'd be truly amazed too by her lung power.

"Papa, Can You Hear Me" was her tribute to Barbra Streisand. I thought she'd sing another Streisand song but she opted to thank her band and sponsors.

"Reflections" (Christina Aguilera's version) was her finale. While she was singing this, white feathers rained. She belted this song out. A must-hear alright!

Lastly, she thanked her sister, Cacai, for compiling all her songs for the concert. The "Forever Blue" singer also had a hand in the stage design.

She then thanked everyone and left the stage. Some people started to leave. Her encore was a repeat from "Queens of Pop" concert last February. She sang "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Telephone", "Gloria", and "Thank You For the Music" while posing for the people who took her pictures. Celebrity sightings include Joyce Bernal, Boy Abunda, Sandara Parks, and Don Balan =oP.

Back to Fable

After our poker game early this morning, I came back to finish "Dungeon Siege II". Valdis, the villain in the game, was pretty damn hard to kill. Am glad that was all over. I have started with the next level too. After playin for a few hours, I decided to put it on the back burner. Tried mounting "Fable" instead.

I stopped playin' this game 'cause I got stuck at a particular quest. I asked for advice from colleagues at work how to deal with it. Thanks to Nicko & Mark, I was able to pass through that dilemma. Yay!

Balan's Tinola

There's sumpthin about the cooking of tinola with the Balan family. I remember when I was a little knottydon, dad cooked the best tinola. Normally on Sunday, we have like 2 to 3 dishes. It's like a feast!

Years passed and kuya surpassed that with his own version. There's one gimmick in Zambales when the tinola that he cooked got stolen. Yep. Ain't kidding. It was sooooo freakin good that the other people in the resort took it. Curse 'em!

Whenever I miss dad or kuya's cooking, I practice cooking. So far, my favorites are adobo, giniling, ampalaya con carne, and of course, tinola. Sometimes Waltermart doesn't have sili leaves so that's a big bummer. I love the aroma and flavor of sili leaves in my tinola. I think the key in this dish is to saute the chicken on ginger. Lotsa ginger. I even crushed them to get its flavor. Mmmmmm...

A Night of Firsts

It's Thursday night. A long weekend is comin up so it's pretty nice to just relax after a day's work. The Unbea-Tabel, Cuadro Ogz (you'll find out why pretty soon), Shell (needs to have a nickname soon), Joe (this one too), and I played poker (with beer & chips, of course!).

For our first game, Ogz emerged the winner. Tabel was second. I placed third. This is a memorable game for Ogz because he first got a cuadro ocho. I told 'em that nuthin would beat my cuadro Alas (remember last Friday?). Then he got another cuadro... cuadro 4. Wow!!! But wait! His luck didn't stop there. There's one time when he was down to his last chip--50 bucks. He won several games that it reached to 400 bucks. What a freaking success story that was!

'twas still early so we played a second game... minus Joe. This time, I was the winner. That's a first for me ;oP Brought home some 11K. Wish that was real!

Exhibition time. Tabel, Ogz, and I played with 3,500 wortha chips. I got lucky this time. Got all the chips from the two. Now I wish that was an official game ;oP

Water Everywhere

Needless to say, water is freakin important. Ever since my water pipe broke during Halloween night, I've been calling security whenever I wanna use it. Guess the guards know now my bathroom schedule =oP

Today, I had to wait for hours for maintenance to arrive. Had to take an emergency leave too. Bought a replacement tube at Waltermart. Cost me like 200++ bucks. I don't wanna experience this again. Whew!

Was feeling extra energetic today. I cleaned up my airconditioner vent and industrial fan.

Oh, on my way to Waltermart earlier, I noticed that there's water leak on the road. Thought that was funny. And then, there's a sign on our elevator wall that there would be a water interruption from 9 tonight till 5 am tomorrow. Now, THAT's funny!!!

Fright Night

It's Halloween time once again. I'm jumpin on the bandwagon of writers presenting their own list of scary movies. There were many sleepless nights because of these horror films (in no particular order):

1. Jaws - I saw this when I was just a little knottydon. The big screen + the big fish = pure terror. I kept askin my mom if the fish could get out of the screen. Traumatic!!!

2. Blair Witch Project - Of course, I knew that the whole thing was pure acting. But when I saw "Michael" standing on the corner, that gave me goosebumps all over. Man, I couldn't get out of my car without looking to my left and right.

3. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" MTV - who could ever forget the zombies coming out of their tombs and attacking the pre-white era version of the King of Pop?

4. Three Men and a Baby - thanks to an episode of Martin Nievera's now defunct show, "Mad". They presented the scene where a "dead" kid appeared on the window of Ted Danson's apartment. When I first saw that, it gave me the worst goosebumps ever! Some years later, I found out that it's just a standee (a cut-out). Read more here.

5. Exorcist - I dunno about you but I believe in evil possessions. When I visited Georgetown, Washington DC, a few years ago, my friend informed me that they filmed the movie in one of the houses there. I told him to leave the area immediately. The theme song is very eerie to me. There's an upcoming film about another possession, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". It's based on a true story, I heard. Now as of this writing, while checking out the website of Emily Rose, sumpthin freaky happened. My bathroom water pipe just broke for no apparent reason (and to think I was watching "Dark Water" awhile ago!). Called Security to stop the water flow. I almost panicked. Call it coincidence or what but I'm not continuing my research on her story.