incessant rambling

last night i attended tonton's birthday. to be 21 and celebrating with friends is something fun. after the heavy meal i excused myself as i drove off to a funeral wake. arlene's mom passed away a couple of nights back and the weekend is the only chance that i'd be able to make a visit. a study in contrast, whereas tonton's celebration was rowdy and noisy, the wake was filled with a quiet hush as everyone huddled together to talk about memories and reacquainting themselves with old ties. the sonorous prayers drifted out of the chapel where the coffin laid. and just like every other filipino practice, food was being served. not that i have any appetite after tonton's grand bash. made me reflect on life and death in one night and the food that comfort us all.

erich is one of my bestest friends way back in college. and the laws of transmutation dictate that the wife should also be close to me. good thing that i am a BI for erich (that's better influence, duh). a quick coffee with my friend in seattles best in greenbelt three while i'm passing time till i have to go to the airport. i've grown wider, erich has grown thinner, ruby never seem to change and we now talk about work and stuff. erich looks like he doesn't have a care in the world but is constantly thinking of his collectibles amounting to mega millions and ruby is still working for a biggie bank. erich joked that our time together seem to get shorter with every visit. made me think about the rat race and the need to slow down a bit. unfortunately i am not shaider with the time space warp powers. darn. miss you guys!

getting together with old friends is always a bit uneasy. what if you realize that you've grown apart and have nothing much in common beside the fact that you were once together in some sort of activity or organization? roland, merci, jenna, me and floritz on the other hand, there are connections that are instantly renewed despite the distance and time spent apart. i miss my friends but at least i know that we still share the same things that made us click: food and laughter. roland, merci, floritz and jenna i just have to make sure that i don't wait another year for the next get together. :)

i hope that didn't mean you're an ugly ha g in korean. you see, i was looking for the right words to greet my friend kim young sil a happy birthday. together with some friends, we went to marco polo hotel where we were given a semi-private area near the buffet area - good thing that franco and tonette are good friends of hans hauri, the current general manager of marco polo. -picture from left, sitting: glenn, tonette, marie. standing from left: me, franco, yvette, nam soo, eduardo, sameer, ron in any case, dinner was like a united nations convention with a swiss-german, iranian-filipino, koreans and pinoys sharing an evening of laughter and good cheer. interestingly, the marco polo christmas tree is up and we didn't miss getting the chance to get our pics snapped. the firing squad. mr. park looked a bit funny he he he. great food, great company, great place. perfect birthday!

time and space are irrelevant to true friendships. friendships that seem to pick up from the last conversation in every meeting, never mind that the last meeting is separated by months (and even years) continents and timezones, and where the deepest of conversations can turn into the shallowest of ramblings. no holds barred. (click on read.more) kitty is my best friend. someone i consider as a dear sister, confidante, lakwatsa partner. someone i know that if i make a boo-boo she'd take it in stride because i am a friend. it took a lot of pleading to post her picture here given that she's a very very private individual. spanish sardines, greek mousaka, stunted japanese sashimis, snoopy, boots, broken hearts, bitter chocolate and exes, wedding disasters, racing cars, drama queens, stars and megastars - the list is long and the stories even richer. but like real best friends, they only make sense to those that has lived and shared these things, confident that private things remai...

the weekend market is something that has been done in different places: Chatuchak in Bangkok, Nandaemun in Seoul, Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur. weekend markets are insanely popular with the locals as well as tourists looking for THAT unique token you can't find in malls. Cast of Characters Mariano Garchitorena Cely V. Kalaw Italian Gentleman Miguel Ongpin with time to kill before my flight to Cebu, i met up with a friend to drop by the Legazpi Weekend Market in Makati. for the uninitiated, legazpi village is right smack in the middle of the makati central business district and is just a stroll from some of the more ah... affluent... side of the city. set in an empty weekend parking lot with mismatched tents providing respite from the sun, people milled around and almost always, holding a small plate with food tidbits. eating is the philippine's national sport, that and dodging cars when crossing the street. which brings me to a point. the weekend market felt like a retro snobbish af...

Today's Prayer: "O Lord, grant me good digestion, and something to digest." - Arab Prayer -thought- Lord, tutal humihingi na din, wag lang po gatas from China. Tenks.

"What you don't see with your eyes don't invent with your mouth." - Jewish Proverb -thought- Considering that Maning is the PR Director of one of the most luxurious hotels in the country, I wonder if he has to struggle with this thought every, single, day. ha ha ha.

Chanel was once asked where one should use perfume, and she answered: "Wherever one wants to be kissed ." -thought- dear boys and gels, wag lang po sa inyong mga private parts mag espray. mahapdi. mabango, pero mahapdi. parang " Burning Love " yan...

What's the definition of " Burning Love "? It's when you reach for a tube of KY Jelly but pick up BENGAY instead. (click on read.more to find out who Maning is) Okay, to answer the obvious: Who is Maning? Short for Mariano Garchitorena. One of my bestest bestest friend who regularly sends anecdotes, thoughts and (mindless) ramblings over text. A certified bibliophile and the human equivalent of a chatroom, talking to him is like going through a socio-cultural discourse on humanity - powered by liters of coffee.

diametrically opposite personalities, backgrounds and interest make up for a very interesting conversation. in between sips of expensive kape in estarbecks the chatter revolved around the global meltdown caused by the crashing american dream. my mind wandered as i tried to keep track of the conversation except that distractions like gnats occupy the space between attention and boredom. -thought- do they say 50% off for a dress when they actually mean you only get to wear half of it? -thought- ...and these investment bankers are reselling these IOUs at ever increasing value except that when the original asset gets embargoed, everyone else down the chain have their investments locked... -thought- this kid probably thought that his daily intake of gluthatione is going to make him paris hilton. news flash, it ain't working. natives have a certain look that doesn't magically disappear with lightening pigmentation. duh, don't fancy those spots left on your face as freckles... wa ...

Leech is at it again. the post title is the same as that of another SPAM email from my frenemy . I seriously think she's missing a few marbles in the head. oh wait, there's nothing inside her head - my guess is that the liposuction shlurrrped more than just the fats on her titanic hips. and arms. and (add every other body part here). usually this immediately goes to my trash folder but like a moth drawn to a flame, i decided to have a look at the other recipients. i therefore conclude that she is not only lacking a few marbles but is afflicted with Alzheimer's. I can definitely count the number of people who wouldn't have her name in Santa's good gels and boys list, or the animal list, or the inanimate object list. when you've done so much "enhancements" (ehem) on yourself the biological classification becomes blurred. Frankenstein was not human. For the record, spam email should be ILLEGAL for anyone above the age of 60 and if you count Gabriella and...

that's the title of a cheesy email i got. apparently, it is designed to encourage people to keep on replying to each other to prove their friendship. didn't realize only friends have access to email. eneways, i'm obviously a victim of this scam as i sent a reply to MY friends. interestingly, i got the very same email from someone i DON'T consider a friend. perhaps yes, in another lifetime - back when i was a rock and she was a leech that spread her slimy ooze everywhere she goes. obviously, rocks can't shout invectives and insults. hello, rock ako. as the story goes, she has ceased to exist... as a friend, which makes it so interesting to get THAT particular email from her. an olive branch for peace? that's like so old testament . then again, that fits her perfectly: OLD. glutathione, malathione and formalin can't stop the migration of certain body parts to australia. in short, down under. correction: industrial strength, wire enhanced, radiation repelling +...

dearest Kitty*, i keep knocking my head over the fact that i totally didn't call or send you a message on your birthday amiga! darn. no excuses (well... i was out of town over the weekend due to the loooong weekend... but that's not an excuse hmmmm?) for this one. but anyways, better late than NEVER. so here goes.... Merry Christmas . err... that's a Happy Birthday dear amiga! okay. hopefully you'll forgive your sweet, thoughtful(?) amigo with this totally public greeting. Biggest of hugs! Cacho (click on read.more) PS did i forget to add that my phone ran out of batt? hmmmm? wink wink . that's not an excuse ha?! *you know who you are luv!

"may friendster ka?" - i really dread that question, people you barely know ask that as if a digital invitation resembling a tamaguchi relationship interests me. another add on to my list of on-line friends that resemble a list of guess-who is not something i am particularly happy with. some "friends" are like players in a connect-me-to-kevin-bacon game, everyone can be connected to kevin in seven degrees of separation. ha, i think they should replace him with john estrada. he's practically DONE everyone that you don't need to go far to find a wireless connection. getting back to friendster, my "friendster friends" have been very veeery friendly the past few days. usually, i get a message exactly a couple of days before, during and right after my birthday from "friendsters" who got a reminder about my birthday in their inbox. otherwise, there's not much "friendship" going on in there. not the past week though. notice after n...

i wrote sometime back that the most unexpected things give us the greatest pleasure. when lean introduced me to her friends on vacation from manila the first thought that crossed my mind is to remain prim and proper. it's just lunch and a few chit chat. that resolve didn't last long. not that the prim and proper twins got booted, more like we ended up "ho ho ho ho sorta belly laugh till your jaws ache" . add to that some lechon. okay, lots of lechon. and sweet corn. okay, a bit of cake added. drats, i admit we lugged down liters of lipton tea. let's just say that the conversation had a bit of everything in it. just like different facets of friendship that's tied together by one thing: the desire to sincerely enjoy each other's company. lean, malou, grace, babe, angel - birds of the same feather make a good feather duster. you absolutely know what i mean by that sweethearts!

they say meeting people is never coincidental, there is a reason for every encounter and your life is enriched or made a little bit sadder by each and every meeting. in this stage called earth, and the comedy called life i had the chance to meet characters that made this particualr chapter a happy one. some offer young exuberant innocence whereas some offer the laid back attitude of a person fulfilled. memories have a nasty habit of fading and names forgotten, this is my way of making sure this chapter never fades. cheers to everyone and as a dear friend of mine said, we never say goodbye - we say... until next time. the cast of characters starting from the upper left: enzo - i suspect he is taking uppers with his endless questions. he was the only one who was up early in the morning running around looking for me. inday - dare i say the real name? in this paradise she blossomed freely myka - if peter pan was a girl.. victor - dating boyfriend ni gina de venecia he he he. he's the b...