Chopsticks 101 @BIG MAO

I don't how to use chopsticks . I have tried. Futile.

Today I and few of my workmates - Maimai, Aisha, Joseph and Roni - went for dinner at Big Mao at the Terraces. We were gonna watch movies. People were still crammed waiting for the day's last show of Eclipse and all seats have been taken when we arrived around 9pm. We planned to buy tickets for Knight and Day but changed our minds last minute and headed to dinner anyway.

Big Mao serves great food. We ordered a whole lot of food plus bottomless iced tea. I have a hard time memorizing food names so I have forgotten what they're called after we ate. We weren't able to eat everything.







Then we had fun with the chopsticks.We had challenged ourselves at first to eat using chopsticks but when the food were served, our hands were already spoons-and-forks ready. We were too hungry we forgot the chopsticks altogether. Then we did chopsticks 101 when we were so full another spoon of pansit would have made me vomit. Maimai was so funny with the chopsticks and they were all laughing at me on my attempt to pick a slimy mushroom using the sticks. I can't believe I could use so much of my energy picking up a lil slimy mushroom!

Panget almost paid the whole bill...hahaha...Thanks nget! And then a few photos after, we headed for a smoke. Everyone knew we needed a cig.







From that dinner onwards, we planned to eat at a restaurant no matter how expensive once a month. A splurge on food once in a while isn't a bad idea, we all thought. So Big Mao is number one. Let's see what's next!!! Can't wait!

UP DHARMA DOWN @ Ayala

On my way to the office, I got the chance to see Up Dharma Down live at the Active Zone inside Ayala.

The band is forward and you don't really get to hear any other band having the same sound. It was a bit intimate having the crowd very close to the stage. Aroud 300 people watched the band perform alongside a little less known but equally talented band Sleepwalk Circus.

The bands performed some of their hits to the crowd's delight.

The event was sponsored by PUMA and was dubbed Archive Uncovered.





I enjoyed the whole forty minutes only to be distracted by college students acting like preps. Yesm you have your SLRs and you are sitting at the front. You don't have to f*ck with it the whole time the bands were singing. Someone's singing, pay attention! You're all behaving like prep schoolers!

MEET YOUR NEW SPIDERMAN

A virtual unknown will be donning the Spiderman suit on the next Spidey installment come 2012 (too far ye think?).

Andrew Garfield, 26, is a British-AMerican actor was seen in small roles in movies like 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus' and headlined a little-unknown UK crime-drama 'Boy A'. This sounds like another Rob Patz in-the-making.


Hot hollywood actors auditioned for the role to replace Tobey Maguire but Andrew nabbed the spot for the 4th installment. The movie will be released in 3d.

Excited.

FINALLY MY NEW PHONE!!!

I had said on a previous post that I was getting a Blackberry Curve. Turned out it's gonna take ages if I will wait for Globe to get the next batch of Blackberries. The unit was a sellout for post-paid subscribers which meant I have to wait on queue until it's available. I know i gotta do something. Excitement and waiting don't blend well to me.

Well, yesterday I finally got my phone. Not a Blackberry but the Iphone 3GS with 32GB memory storage. I called Globe and changed my unit and got in two days. I could never be happier with my new phone but it also meant I have to tighten up my belt.



I am yet to discover the features but have used it's WiFi feature at Ayala. What else for - facebooking!! I don't have any contacts yet and don't even know my number. As of the moment, I'm waiting for my Globe number to be activated. I have downloaded some songs and yet to download more. The first photos taken on my phone were of my puppy, Angus. She was adorable on the pics I shall be posting soon!!!!

The next few weeks, I shall receive my first bill. For the next few days, I will be eating dog food.

FOR SALE: X-Rayted Calendar

Would you buy an X-rayted calendar?

A cheeky calendar from a Japanese X-ray company was designed to promote it's products. Models pose in nude with only stilettoes on and were captured in X-ray.

The supposedly raunchy photos are one of the weirdest things I heard in a long time? I dunno, but it doesn't appeal to me. Is this what they supposed to call artistic photography?





P.S. : Mommy Che, a colleague, summed what this craziness is all about. In her own words, "Bisan unsa ka kagwapa, didto ra gihapon ka padung sa kalabera". Nice one mommy!

The ANGEL is Back

Angel Locsin was hailed as Philippines sexiest this year by FHM Philippines ahead of Cristine Reyes and Marian Rivera.

Watchathink?

NOW SHOWING: ECLIPSE

I am no Twilight fan. Really. I have watched the two installments but not really crazy about the Edward Cullen story. I prefer Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice back in the 90's. The Twilight series is a bit too teeny-bopper for me. But yes, I have to admit I enjoyed watching Twilight and New Moon.

I have friends, more than all my fingers can count, who are crazy over the Twilight saga. I couldn't even believe my sister, on her thirties, is also going gaga over Edward Cullen.

To all the Twilight die-hard fans, the long wait is over. Eclipse has arrived at the local theatres!



Eclipse had started showing at the Ayala Mall a few hours ago - at 12 midnight. I heard it was sold out weeks before! Regular showing starts today and I'm contemplating watching it over the weekend with colleagues. Yay!!!

Just a thought, can a wolf become a vampire-wolf after this (see foto below).....?

Some Sam

Over the weekend, I lazied up in bed watching two big movies I missed to watch. It's lame, I know. Almost anyone I asked have watched the movies and the DVDs have been gathering dust already in a corner. I spent the whole Sunday dawn watching Clash of the Titans and Avatar and learned that both of them starred the same actor, Sam Worthington!



Avatar was a feast for the eyes. It must have been amazing to watch it on 3D.

Watching Sam Worthington for 5 straight hours flashed back scenes from Into the Wild. Tell me if Emile Hirsch doesn't have the slightest resemblance with Sam.


Sam Worthington


Emile Hirsch

REPAIR? ANYONE?

Are we talking about the same appliances here?

WIPROITES on an AMAZING RACE

June 20. Wiproites sacrificed their Sunday to participate in the first ever account-wide Amazing Race. I was appointed as one of the marshals together with the QA team. More than thirty teams joined the fun-filled race that had them searching for clues on each stop and racing on to the next. The race brought the contenders to the Family Park in Talamban, the Abellana Sports Complex where members of the the teams had to swim across the Olympic-size pool and back and then sprint back to Ayala Business Park where the race commenced. The five-member teams raced thru the city streets begging jeepney drivers for free rides. The final challenge required eating dried lizards. Though not everyone hurdled on to the next challenge, the adrenaline at the start of the race was enough to keep the whole event alive. Let's all hope a bigger and a more challenging Amazing Race will be planned for next year!!


Kudos to Peachy and her bf, ALbert Uy for the really neat fotos!







And the winners were...***drum roll***

2nd runner up: TEAM JAKE GORDON GO (aka JUSTIN BIEBER)



1st runner up: TEAM RTA



The Champs: TEAM JEYSON SALANDRON



Til next year Wiproites!!

Going the Extra Mile

Come on Miley, this is too much. Not really a good role model for Hannah Montana kiddo fans huh? At least she shaved. LOL :)


photo from perezhilton.com

The Good Things

There are a lot of things we feel we lack. For so many reasons, we miss to count the many blessings we have. A little instropection might help us realize that what we have is more than what we need. Truth is, I think I have more than what I need to survive. It is the insatiable want that makes us shallow. Though it feels good to have the good things in life, it feels better to count the ones that matter more. And it isn't the material things that I'm talking about.

Today, I am celebrating two milestones in my so-called little career. I have just been confirmed as a full-fledged Process Trainer which means I will have an increase in salary (YEY!). I am also the happiest trainer today, having seen my first set of trainees ever to graduate from the 5-week process training I am handling. It has been fun. At times, my patience was tested to the last straw but I was able to keep my cool. I know pretty much that I am patient and considerate, which I think are not bad traits of a trainer. I do not consider such as a weakness. In fact, i consider them my strengths. And maybe it was for those reasons I have bonded with my trainees well. I have the best class in th world, well maybe the rowdiest one too, but I couldn't have asked for more.

During the short graduation rites we had, I knew that were gonna perform a sing-and-dance number for the audience who attended ( they were gonna sing BABY by Justin Bieber. haha!). Though they retreated back to their shells the time I asked them to show off, they instead read from a small piece of paper a little tribute to me where they expressed the ten things they like and hate about me. The list included how they like/hate my curly hair to the smoking breaks where i continued to rattle on about the topic we discussed in training. It was hilarious. More than the friendships I made, it felt good because I felt loved.



P.S. My trainees also bought me a shirt from the Adidas shop in Ayala which I thought was a bit too much knowing that every penny counts these days. Thanks for the nice tee guys!

I'm Getting a Blackberry!!!

I am excited to receive my first Blackberry phone. I am not a techy person when it comes to phones and I am not someone you wanna talk with about the newest mobile in town. In fact, I dont use my phone much at all. I rarely text even and my mom would rattle about how i don't get in touch with them for weeks which sometimes makes her wonder if im already a rotting corpse in some room in Cebu City.


I keep a Samsung phone right now. One that has no camera, no memory to save music, no games to keep me occupied- the cheapest you can find at the mall. I dont need something more than the basic texting and calling and i probably wont be using a phone other than that.

But I learned recently that I could get a plan from Globe under my company's corporate account where I could get a Blackberry for a phone. I got the 99-peso plan and get a blackberry. I will be paying for the monthly amortization of the phone way cheaper if I go inside a Globe store and get a personal plan. The idea sounded neat though I will be locked-in for a 2-year contract which means I should keep my job for the next two years or else I'd end up fried with debt. With my confirmation as a trainer this month, i will be getting my mobile allowance so it wouldnt hurt much my budget. I admit i am pretty careless and history shows I have lost a couple of phones - not really fancy phones but phones nonetheless. Friends tell me I should get my phone tied on my neck all time which is a not something I can be proud of really.

Can't wait for the blackberry. I should be texting more otherwise I will be keeping a white elephant in my drawer.

Hot Sunday, Good and Bad Customer Service and a Frap

Long hot Sunday.

Alih, a fellow trainer, was recently promoted as a GL which is nothing short of a reason to celebrate. She had intended to celebrate her achievement at Casa Verde but had to make quick change of plans due to the long queue of hungry mall rats. JV, another trainer, also had a very bad experience at Casa Verde yesterday which made Alih decide to jump over to the resto next door - Bistro Ecila. Restaurants oughta give good customer service to 'customer service people'. The food was great at Bistro Ecila - I love pork chop! There were eight of us - Alih,JV, Aisha, Jix, Miah, JV's bf, Dexter and me- and with a few good laughs over sumptuous food, the dinner completed my day.

After Bistro, we went to Bo's Coffee to chill and cool off. Today was the hottest day ever that we needed coffee to keep our body temp at normal levels. Everyone agreed. I had frap. One of the good-looking baristas caught Jeremiah the Tank's eyes that confidence took over the good side of him and asked the guy for the seat that was an inch away from where he was standing. Asking for the sake of being noticed - so patagad. The guy obliged with a smile and even more so when Miah's name was called from the counter under the pseudonym Anne Curtis. That quite caused a commotion.

It was a nice dinner ALih! Congrats!

mobile

(an ode to my cheap nokia phone)

moving.
we move tirelessly
crisscrossing miles
that get us no
farther than our
first step.
like connecting dots
like drawing constellations
our destinations form
random shapes
from our arbitrary thoughts.
we move and stop and stare
then move again.
picking up memories
and saving them in
our hard drives
like we collect numbers
of people we keep
in our mobile phones.
in losing them,
the puzzle
we so patiently built
crumbles.