happy new year too ...

Manila, PH -- Just before the new year 2008

welcome to your late twenties

Manila, PH -- hello everyone. it's christmas day & i'm trying to recover from the past weekend's late nights. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting old. i just need to pop some multivitamins.
i literally want to count my blessings so here goes another thank-you list for what i got on my birthday:

1. a pocket calendar
2. rolls of film for my analog soul
3. home-baked apple pie, shared with pepper

lovely ladies

4. 'american psycho' by bret easton ellis (because i "will love the violence")
5. a portuguese phrase book
6. liquor

jan working it

7. cash from the 'rents
8. a nightshirt copy of my old highschool uniform (go st. scho)

dj newbie

9. ivy & bloc party cds from sparklemind (waiting for that other gift...)

10. a graphic tee that says 'i love the '80s' (from my entrepreneur brother -
he just forgot to charge me)

satisfied partygoers

11. a chocolate birthday cake
12. a nice italian dinner courtesy of our favorite bahia native, marcos
13. getting to DJ with jan for a little bit (daft punk, kala & mark farina!)
14. a staple remover (this one i'll always remember)

dj f (or how to actually spin while looking the part)

and so another birthday has come and gone. as that youngblood writer wrote before, a lot of beautiful, absurd & difficult things have come my way. i'm past the quarterlife crisis (paging john mayer) but it seems like i'm just starting.

this year sure has been one big rollercoaster ride... i hope i have enough energy for next year's theme park surprises.

merry christmas, everyone!

* lomos by pepper

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!

La-la land, Pseudobackpackers' world --

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR DEAR PSEUDOBACKPACKERS JOY AND RISA !

Please share with us how you spent your special day!

I miss you all. Hey, Joy, Jan and Justine (the 3 J's), haven't heard from you in a while. Please update us about your life in your corner of the world.

Guess what

Harbor City, CA -- Ok, ok.. I know I’ve been missing in action for the past few months. Yes, it’s true, I had been studying, fixing my papers after passing the exams (thank God ), learning how to make home-cooked meals but most of all I’ve been busy taking care of myself for this tiny human being inside me=)


While I’m not sure if I’ll be able to have the month long South America adventure with the rest of the pseudobackpackers, I’ll be happy to entertain you in case you’ll have a stop over here in L.A. I guess I’ll have a driver’s license by that time.

So Ditas, here’s the entry you’ve been waiting for. As what you said, it’s time for the world to know. =)

pseudobackpacker guide to vietbodia (vietnam & cambodia)

Siem reap/Pnom Penh/Saigon, VIETBODIA --Here's a rough guide on pseudobackpacking in Vietbodia :

VIETBODIA'S BEST
BEST FOOD: Little India located at Bar St.(if you're American)/Pub St.(if you're European), Siem Reap
What to get: Paratha, babaganoush, spicy dips, mango lassi
Food place in the middle of the market in Saigon, Vietnam
What to get: Pho, Pho, Pho...ever! The best pho! I highly recommend the vegetarian pho!



BEST PLACE TO GET DRINKS, DANCE AND CHERVA WITH HAWKS (some with white tube socks): Angkor What?!?
What to get: Hmmmm..what did we drink there? Too drunk to remember, but it was good.



BEST PICK UP LINE: "Are any of you guys German? Can you translate that for me?" with accompanying hand movements, hair flipping, playing with the headband, girly laughing with neck extension -- from who else but the cherva master, Justine

BEST WORK-OUT PLACE: Beng Melea, Siem Reap : Indiana Jones-style climbing and exploring with (of course) the occasional posing for the cam


BEST TRANSPORTATION: Tuk-tuks with Mr. Sothy! (just don't let them rip you off..)


BEST HAIR: Art of Hair in Saigon! I LOVE IT! The longest and most comfortable shampoo (with facial), free fruits, free drinks, free foot massage, free pedicure/manicure, free internet and the cheapest price! Joy almost had a breakdown.


BEST PHOTO-OP: Angkor Wat, Siem Reap or Foyer of Tony's Apartment, Saigon, Vietnam



BEST SHOPPING PLACE: Street market in Saigon, Vietnam - cheap North Face stuff (backpacks!), nice blouses, bags, coffee

BEST DRINK: Wintermelon tea for me, Sweet Soya drink for Risa and Joy, and Vietnamese coffee in cute silver miniature French presses (or are they Vietnamese presses?)

BEST SONG: "Cruisin'" - from our two superstars Justine and Risa; "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love For You" - Justine


I can't think of anything more. Girls, feel free to add to this list. I might have left off some important stuff.

I miss you girls! I miss pseudobackpacking! Angkor What?!???!!!

have crazy friends, will travel

Siem Reap, Cambodia -- where it all began. temple-hopping under the blistering summer sun while hatching the next adventure to go on. all together now: "angkor what?!"

our lovely tour guide ditas, complete with lovely khmer accent

... and the night jan completed our line-up.

get your passports and pseudobackpacks ready, chicas ;)

missing home

Neptune, NJ -- I'm on a roll...

A few nights ago, while I was desperately trying to iron my clothes, I was listening to Gary V ( I know, I know -- very CHIMAY moment) when suddenly "Pasko na sinta ko" started playing. I couldn't help it - I just bawled. It must be the combination of the cold weather, Gary V, the upcoming holidays, homesickness, and just the desperation with ironing. I called up Joy. She asked me what would make me happy at that moment. And my reply was a paper bag full of hot pandesal. That's it. What I would do to have a pandesal right now.... :(

it's been a while....

Neptune, NJ -- Joy and I are talking on the phone as I am writing this entry. It's been a while. We haven't written any entries lately because nothing much has happened.. well to me, I don't know with Joy. You have to ask her. Anyway, I promised to post highlights of my Chicago trip, so here it goes...(sorry for the delay).

CHICAGO HIGHLIGHTS
> The Lake - I stayed with Betsy who lives very close to the lake. I jogged around the lake every morning and it cleared my mind of worries and regrets, and my soul of pain and loneliness. And it didn't hurt that hot shirtless guys ran around the lake that time too! :)

> The City - I just miss the city life. I loved being able to use public transportation to get to places, I loved having to dress up to go out (even just for coffee), and I just loved seeing a lot of people walking, talking and what have you.

> The Shops - My eyes almost popped out when I went to Macy's! Tear welled up in the corners of my eyes as I surveyed all the wonderful make-up, clothes, shoes, bags, etc. It was so different from my weekly shopping sprees in Target or Walmart back in Neptune. (mind you: I still didn't have a car around this time making mall-shopping more difficult; there is actually a nearby mall that has Macy's and all the other wonderful shops)

> My friends - Chicago is my home here in the States. I consider my high school friends my family. I can just be me with them. I don't have to worry about being judged. They love me for who I am. Nikki and I had long conversations about our goals/lack of goals in life. Jennet and Mark showed me how to be stylishly married. "Dona" Icay and I planned our "Skinny Bitch" diet as we searched for a venue for her grand wedding. And Betsy became my mom for a week, scolding me for the wrong decisions I've done so far and advising me about life and love. I love them dearly. They're my pseudobackpackers for the mean time ...until our much-awaited reunion in Rio de Janeiro.

dismal reality?

Life, like time, doesn’t stop, even at airports.

Manila, PH -- a short break from all the exciting office paperwork (short being relative). just had to let you in on conrado de quiros' inquirer column today:

I flew back late last week, a bone-jangling trip because of a nine-hour layover in Bangkok. It was an outrageous arrangement made less so only by the fact that the fare was reasonable in an unreasonable peak season—Filipinos flew south, or east, like migratory birds on Christmas. I was glad when the first rays of the sun touched my skin in Bangkok, and was able to take off my coat after what had seemed like (coming from the United Kingdom) the Ice Age. Time has a way of expanding in the cold, and I’m not sure that that isn’t so physically as much as psychologically.

The sunshiny feeling however was dampened by a pall of cloud that fell on me upon seeing fellow Filipinos at the gate for the Thai Airways flight to Manila. It was like having a mirror put on your face telling you, to your eternal shock, how you looked. Or it was a photograph that carried the caption, “What has happened to us?”

No, I didn’t mind the cheap cologne and the huge balikbayan boxes and the shoving rush with which we comported ourselves—the impressions of that person who wrote about OFWs sometime ago and who earned their everlasting ire. I too was dismayed by that article, though more because of the grand illusions of the observer rather than the dismal realities of the observed. The idea of looking down on one’s own out of a sense of belonging to the upper side of the social divide and possessing superior (really just expensive) tastes is never pleasant. It’s also rubbing salt on wound, when you contemplate the depths of sacrifices the OFWs make, not least the longing for home in the cold and desolate places they’re in, just to keep their and their loved ones’ heads above water.

In any case those impressions were nowhere in evidence in the Bangkok waiting area. There was no cheap cologne wafting anywhere, not even in the plane itself later on; no huge balikbayan boxes, or at least I did not see them because we were past the check-in area, though most everyone seemed to have strained the limits of the allowable hand-carried luggage; and no mad rush to the door, only an eternity of waiting to endure—quite literally miles to go before you slept. There was, however, more than the usual share of noise.

Coming from a country that seems dedicated to talking in hushed tones, an impression deepened by the breath of winter, the sudden and precipitous rise in decibel levels could not escape notice.

That was so moreover since I was trying to catch some sleep and had sunk into a row of seats fully lying down face up, grateful for the luxury, my head cradled by the book I had been reading, and a group of compatriots nearby seemed determined to tell the story of their lives, emitting cackling laughter at almost regular intervals and making respite elusive. They looked more like NGO types than OFWs. I don’t know if they worked there or were coming home from a conference, I didn’t much care one way or the other in the state I was in. I fidgeted exaggeratedly to hint at the unwanted, indeed much-resented, intrusion. I should have known people who were oblivious to their surroundings to begin with were not likely to catch hints, subtle or broad. And alas, I was too tired and too, well, Asian (that’s another story and an interesting one) to be confrontational.

That also made me notice something else, which is that, unlike many other people in the airport, no one among our compatriots was reading. Even outside the gates at the duty free area, solitary Filipinos did not relieve the tedium, or passed the time, or seized the moment—however you regard time, as enemy or ally—reading. They did so—shopping. Window or otherwise, and such as one can shop with the meager amounts one has.

That was what dimmed the sunshiny feeling in me. I wondered where we would be down the road, maybe five, 10, years from now. Let me be clear: I do appreciate what OFWs and other Filipino migrants abroad are doing, heroically if completely unintentionally keeping our collective heads above water by sending millions of dollars of remittances back home. Heaven help us if something should happen to that. But you wonder also if the gap between us and our neighbors in terms of level of education or sense of aspiration or capacity for ambition, however you put it, isn’t widening over the years, as shown by the difference in attitudes and behavior patterns of various nationals in this airport. You wonder how long a people who exist more and more on survival mode, content to keep the status quo, can compete with other peoples who are determined to better themselves every day (not least by reading) the better to conquer the world. Life, like time, doesn’t stop, even at airports.

I remember what the late Raul Roco once told me, which was when he first went abroad during the early ’60s as a youth representative to a leadership conference. Then, he said, you would really be proud to be Filipino, the Filipino enjoying the reputation of being one of the most educated Asians, possibly next only to the Japanese. I felt the sting of pain and anger again at the thought of what corruption really meant—little helped by the knowledge that a bunch of benighted Filipino officials, who neither read nor wrote, who merely lied and stole, were even then winging their way to some of the most expensive places on earth using taxpayers’ money to give vent to their shopping instincts—which is depriving this country of money that could go to enabling most of us to read and write. The better to go out into the world with a desire other than to torment people who are trying to sleep.

You always long desperately to come home when you are abroad. The only thing is what you are coming home to.

makiling!

Manila, PH -- guess which pseudobackpacker has a lot of (online) time on her hands?


finally got to watch makiling (formerly makiling ensemble) live at mag:net cafe katipunan. excellent, excellent band. they do a mix of rock, blues, reggae and original stuff fusing ethnic & electric. ang galing. they're joining my list of gigs i need to catch again (pinikpikan, spy and urbandub included).

photo grabbed from www.mtvasia.com

lomolokal

Makati, PH -- presenting: team manila vs. lomomanila. the two recently collaborated to open the new team manila store/lomo embassy on jupiter street. it was an interesting night of oohing and ahhing over lomos (on the wall and on sale on the shelves), drinking (too much) stolichnaya and yodeling (thanks to lomo austria's pride, wolfgang). thanks to the team manila folk for the free street food (with matching team manila-clad vendors)!

friday was

the night jan went from digital..

....to analog

cherva with lomo biggie wolfgang

hamming it up for sparklemind

part of the lomo wall with my sampler shot. yay.

audio candy # 4: not walking on sunshine

so you're not feeling perky this week. let's douse the rest of the world with pseudo-emo.

1. silver lining rilo kiley * reese

and i'm not going back into rags or in the hole
and our bruises are coming
but we will never fold

and i was your silver lining
as the story goes
i was your silver lining but now i'm gold
hurray hurray i'm your silver lining
hurray hurray but now i'm gold.

2. baby britain/elliott smith * reese

Baby britain feels the best floating over a sea of vodka
Separated from the rest
Fights problems with bigger problems
Sees the ocean fall and rise
Counts the waves that somehow didn't hit her
Water pouring from her eyes
Alcoholic and very bitter

For someone half as smart you'd be a work of art
You put yourself apart
And i can't help until you start


3. you're gonna make me lonesome when you go/ben watt *justine

Situations have ended sad
Relationships have all been bad
Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud
But there's no way I can compare
All those scenes to this affair
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Yer gonna make me wonder what I'm doing
Stayin' far behind without you
Yer gonna make me wonder what I'm sayin'
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin to'.

I'll look for you in old Honolulu
San Francisco, Ashtabula,
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know.
But I'll see you in the sky above,
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Makati, PH -- I admit, I have been dying to use that phrase. The Church-the bride's home church since she turned Christian in gradeschool. The music- Clocks the strings version for the entourage, Runaway by the Corrs as the bridal march, Mr. Brightside at the reception and some trance track for the newly weds. There was overflowing food and sniffles, imported vino, hordes of well-wishers (and one odd-ball who deserved to be "cut off the air" according to Chit) and advice-givers. There was much to celebrate that day-the union of two people truly in love with each other, the affirmation that good things come to those who wait, the priceless smile of a woman who was living her dream, and the silent tears of a father who realised that he no longer was the only man in his little girl's life. Here's to Rochie and Coco, may you be a home to each other always. Saude!

Lomos of Chicago

Chicago, IL -- Hey, I miss you girls and boy :). I just got back from a one-week vacay in Chicago (I know, I know, I should try other states). But it's been lonely (and cathartic) the past month that I really needed close friends around me. And since you guys are a thousand miles away, I chose the nearest place where I can find "home".

I just want to share some lomos I took. I'll tell you more about the trip next time. Right now, I really have to study. Aaaaargh....

Btw, I hope someone writes about their trip to Sagada, since some of you vehemently refused to accompany me to that majestic (and magical hehe) place. I have some friends here who would like to see more pictures of the Philippines.

rock the rehas - updated

the erstwhile ehead

Muntinlupa, PH -- i went to jail. and the dawn was there! lomomanila covered rock ed's rock the rehas project two weekends ago at the maximum security prison. props to rock ed, it was an inspired idea to have really good bands give hundreds of inmates a day to rock out.

four documentaries about philippine jails were also premiered that night. you can check them out on oct. 18 (thursday) at saguijo. bands playing include radioactive sago project, mozzie, sound, chillitees, monsterbot, jeepney joyride and possibly juan pablo dream (yay)!

it's so fun gyud!

island life

as RT used to say: it's holy testicle tuesday!

Bohol, PH -- september was a great month for all things bisaya:

1) mag:net high street featured bisrockers faspitch and urbandub. faspitch: a pogi band that knows how to rock out. paging those screaming groupies!
and urbandub was a welcome visitor to manila. haven't seen them since the nu rock awards a few years back. first of summer and a new tattoo just made my dark, twisted night.

2) the self-declared long holiday on the island of bohol was a blast. was rushing stuff at work like crazy so i could hop on the next plane to tagbilaran. thanks to my gracious & lovely host dutchie, i had no room for pseudobackpacking at all (except for my backpack). first class all the way gyud.

alona beach

trip highlights:

• the beach! morning, noon and night.
  
• chocolate hills (and only because we got rained on when we reached the top)
• tarsiers by the road (the critters were literally perched on trees several feet from the roadside. i thought they'd be in the forest or at a zoo)
  
• poker conducted almost entirely in bisaya (i lost due to the language barrier. and my full house just didn't cut it)
• dolphin-watching near panglao island (nothing like seeing them in the big blue ocean)
• snorkeling at baricasag island's fish sanctuary (our guide: "may nemo doon sa baba! may nemo!")
• having the eskaya beach resort all to ourselves (sobrang sosi nakakaiyak. freebies make things 2x as fun.)
• food, glorious food. try to have a lazy lunch at bohol bee farm.

thanks for the care package, lim!

lazy saturday by the beach

lomographs to follow shortly...

bakit hinde? ( why not ?)

Manila, PH --
THINK NEW THOUGHTS. SHARE BIG DREAMS. DO BRAVE THINGS.

Another night of possibilities being created, new ideas and actions for nation building. Oh, and maybe have fun doing it, too. Bakit hinde? This event was held last night in Warehouse 135 where the usual scene is a little bit different, it's a place to dance or rock or both. Sure Radioactive Sago was there to provide some music, but it was a sober evening with inspiring talks by 7 ingenious pinoys (hmmm.. I noticed most of them were Ateneans). Pretty inspiring speeches by alternative educator Gang Badoy of Rock Ed Philippines, technologist Dr. Greg Tangonan, designer Brian Tenorio, dreamer- priest Fr. Ted Gonzales, S.J., enterpreneur Jay Bernardo, marketing maverick Dondi Gomez and Filmmaker Quark Henares.

I can hear my mind sparkling with new ideas and at the same time affirming some that I have started. Let's dig inside our hearts and minds what we can do for the Philippines. We all have those great ideas sometimes but we often stop ourselves with the question "Why?", now let's turn it around and ask ourselves "Why Not ?" Whether you are here at home or abroad, be part of making this country a better place to live in. Why Not, 'di ba ? Now say that with some flair, pseudobackpacker style! So, bakit hinde? :)

More info from their multiply account :
"Inspired by the TED talks (www.ted.com), wherein leading thinkers and doers share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences, we envision the Why Not? Forum to be the Filipino version, inspiring everyone to think new thoughts, share big dreams and do brave things. The WhyNot? Forum … Inspiring Filipino Ingenuity."

Just wait for the videos to be uploaded on their website !

BRASILIPINAS 2007

Manila, PH -- BRASILIPINAS 2007 MUSIC FESTIVAL
Mag:net Cafe, Bonifacio High Street
Sept 21 (Fri), 7:00pm onwards
Featuring Nyko Maca + Playground, Eileen Sison e Guarana, Aia & Zach of Imago, Aquarela, Brigada and The Company. Plus appearances by Escola Brasileira de Capoeira Philippines, Escola de Samba Manila, Futkal, & Planet Zips.

As much as I want to tell you about this night, I'll let Reese and Jan do the talking, otherwise Reese might not talk to me anymore ... LOL. ;) soooo .. please edit this entry as you please Reese.

more from The Luneta Rendezvous

Manila, PH -- Vintagey photo huh ? I just can't let this one go. She was like a hungry kid on a grade school excursion. I couldn't keep track of the street food she kept getting her hands on. First it was dirty ice cream, then she was munching on cheese curls, then we ate in a karinderya where she had a cup of noodles. Oh, saw her eating taho as well. She even borrowed money from me to give a couple of kids a free cup! At least she got a little fancy later in the day with ensaymada from Barbara's and dinner at SOMS. I swear, she was channeling a kid on the loose with money to spend on junk food. I guess you girls know her more than I do. Hehe.

When was the last time you went to Luneta ?

Manila, PH -- Yesterday! If you ask me and Reese. Now a certified lomographer with her wonderful Fisheye shots and after infecting the whole island of Bohol with lomo, she tagged along with the rest of lomomanila for a day in the park. Dubbed TLR, (The Luneta Rendezvous) this lomowalk was supposed to be a gathering of TLR users, TLR short for Twin Lens Reflex cameras, those box- like cameras you've probably seen in old movies. There's also one in a 500 peso bill! Go take a look!

You can also ask her the question "When was the last time you were in The Marikina Shoe Expo in Cubao ?" but that's another blog entry altogether. The weekend was like a trip back to memory lane and I was even playing 70's music in the car ( I know, i know! you weren't born yet!) We had a great time. However, the most memorable words I heard was "Parang gusto kong mag drugs!" which Reese delivered while we were listening to Black Sabbath.

Here's a nice photo of how to do lomography in style.
Reese still owes us those Fisheye photos from Bohol and should post it here. And before I forget, Jan needs to tells us about Sydney!