Thought for the Day

Never Under Estimate the Power of a Woman Empowered

Thought For the Day

On Asking what he thought about his friends date last night as his friend just came out from a heartbreaking relationship, my officemate said "Life is Beautiful Pare".

Not a Bling Bling Kinda Guy

Magkasunod na magkaibang gimik ang pinuntahan ko this week. Tuesday nilibre ko yung 2 close friends ko and a blind date sa Fat Michaels in Pasay(?) for our Christmas Dinner, tapos after non eh diretso sa Saguijo. Next day , niyaya ako ng friend ko sa embassy kasi birthday ng VJ na si Karylle tapos pinsan nya friend ni Karylle..in short uzi ako. Lets differentiate...

Fat Michael is a hole in the wall restaurant, nasa residential area sya near Evangelista and South Superhighway somewhere in pasay. Sa labas parang simplent bahay lang, sa loob no expensive decor but alot of variety put in, parang bohemian/gypsy style motif something out of the 70's. Ang staff ay yun rin may ari , so I would bet so is the cook. Medyo slang slang pa nga kung kausapin ka pag kukunin ang order mo , so parang nakakailang magpakuha ng magpakuha ng tubig..talagang mapapaorder ka ng drinks. Menu is on the wall and meron ilang printed.. the food is fusion dishes so meron mga mediteranean, french, american, italian and filipino dishes plus siguro ilang inimbento nila. In fairness masarap talaga sya..malasa. ang price is ..not cheap pero for the quality of food..its worth it.. yun lang wag mo assume na pagpunta mo don eh bundat ka after. After ng mga 2 hours na pagtambay , pagingay at pagasaran don kasama ni Cris and Myra , plus Irene who was my blind date for that night, lipat kami sa Saguijo.

Saguijo is another hole in the wall, nakatago sa Guijo St. San Antonio Village, again sa gitna ng isang residential area so malamang sorry nalang sa mga kapitbahay. Ang Saguijo eh Parang Mayricks sa Espana, isang Rock and Roll bar na ang crowd ay mga yuppies, artists, students and other bands . Madalas mga Indie bands nagpeperform dito, parang the old Club Dredd. This is my favorite bar, masarap rin ang pagkain, mga tao is ok naman at mababait, contrary to public belief na ang mga rock bars ay magugulo, nakatatoo at high ang lahat tapos lasing at nagwawala ang mga tao.. this is not. Sa taas meron parang boutique tsaka me art gallery tapos sa liit ng lugar at sa lakas ng sound, asahan mo pag tulog mo eh me humuhuni pa rin sa tenga mo. That night "Play4Serve" ang production, Sandwich and Imago was playing, 2 of my favorite bands. Ilang beses ko na napanood ang bands na to ..pero da best palagi pag inabutan mo silang nakainom na tapos sa Saguijo tutugtog kasi they let it all out.. Medyo nagmellow down na nga ang Imago mag perform compared nung una ko sila mapanood nung Summer, siguro sa dami ng gig. Nung turn ng Sandwich na.. syet they started out slow pero they ended Awesome. Lumalabas talaga ang pagkamusician nila... Medyo nakainom na ang band so angkukulit na.. sumasayaw sayaw na ang mga guitarist.. Si Mong ang Gitarista eh nag eexperiment na ng mga effects at distortion sa electric guitar . Then the kicker..Tinawag nila si Jun Lupito na nakatambay rin at nanonood lang, si Jun eh Guitarista ng Juan De La Cruz.. so kickass rocker na sya 70s pa lang, martial law pa lang.. in short.. ICON sya. Tinawag sya ni Raymond, tapos nakijam sya while sandwich sang Sunburn.. Astig, the best way to put it..100% simply Astig. Panay ang rifts nya ng mga 70s style kinda rock, parang carlos santana and all of this was impromptu, sinabi lang sa kanya ng banda.. Sir Basta "A"(chord) .. yun na.. Jam time na , tapos naka ilang solo sya..Yun talaga ang tunay na musician , kaya mag freestyle, mag impromptu..mag create on the fly. LAst song tinawag ni la Si Karl Roy , another old school rocker, pero medyo olats ang number nya kasi high ata.. pero masaya pa rin, si Ebe ang soloist ng sugarfree was infront nakikisigaw, kami nakaupo sa sahig sa tapat ng speaker katapat mismo ng banda. That was a good night. A Kickass Indie kinda night for P150 entrance with free 1 beer.

The next evening tinawagan ako ng friend ko , niyaya nya ako sa Embassy, cousin kasi nya si Ariana who I heard is lagi sa SOP sa tv, tapos invited to Karylle Marquez, the VJ, birthday party. Since once palang ako nakapunta sa embassy and gusto ko malaman paano magparty tong mga celebs don.. sige pumunta ako. Nagpupunta rin naman ako sa mga dance bars kasi favorite yon ng iba kong friends so ok lang naman sa akin, pero usually, friends ko na girls ang kasama ko pag sa bars. So punta ako don sa the Fort Strip , pumila sandali sa labas . Sa crowd pa lang iba na, sa Saguijo, shirt , maong at rubbershoes sa embassy sosyal.. naka designer outfit , iba naka coat, iba naka bandana pa yung pang R&B, siempre ang pinaka importante e ang expression mo ng sarili mo so kanya kanang personal style.. at ang pinakafavorite ko eh paikisian ng suot ang mga girls don. P450 ang entrance with 2 drinks, ok na rin kasi mahal don..sana pala kumain ako sa gourdos , gourmet food sa tabi non, an sosyal plato palang eh alam mo ng mamahalin, mabigat eh malamang japan yon indi taiwan. Kaso mahal don, P400 ata and higher isang meal. Anyway pagakyat ko , di ko malaman bat ba me pila sa labas eh konti naman tao, me mga disco lights tapos nakatayo halos lahat kasi konti upuan then chika chika and drinks. yung iba medyo sumasayaw sayaw na. So cool na rin walang pakialamanan..walang dance floor..kung gusto mo uminom inom ka..kung sasayaw ka na , eh di sayaw in place. Yun lang ang di ko naobserve ng husto, ano ang usua kwentuhan, sa Saguijo minsan me maririnig kang nagtatalo ng mga philisopical stuff yung bordering on weird na kagaya ng mga conspiracies or minsan naman mga music ekek like gigs, movies, or mga sino mas magaling na rocker. Dont wanna compare, kasi dapat marinig ko ang kwentuhan ng mga DJs at regulars don, kasi nga naman mga naririnig ko panay small talk lang or chismisan nun sa mga katabi ko sa embassy, pero syempre di naman kasi conjusive for talk sa embassy dahil disco . Nakapasok ako rin sa wakas sa VIP area ng Embassy..noon VIP area lang ng mga KTV Bar ang mga napapasok ko, same kida people outside are in the inside, not sure if wild parties happen there but it was terribly crowded , lotsa people smoking and just chatting, siguro konting sway sway for dancing pero its too crowded to do anything else. Syempre gusto ko rin pumpunta sa mga dance bars with friends na girls, pero nung time na yon barkada kong lalaki ang kasama ko at ala pa kasamang girls so medyo hmmmm... not my kinda thing, umuwi ako after an hour , had 2 beers which came with the entrance fee.

Siguro hindi lang ako more on the fabulous , place to be seen kinda guy, trip ko yung me napapanood o may ginagawa. So I guess, unless I go with some hot chicks for dancing , Ill stay with the Indie places. Mas at home ako.

Things you learn from a Jologs Mall

I had another looong day last saturday. My day started out at 8am and had a barrage of errands right until the evening which I spent celebrating a very dear friends birthday.

For lunch I went to my favorite mall, MCS (Makati Cinema Square) , It was once a premiere mall back in the 80's but is now converted to a tiangge type mall like the old virra mall. Its the haven for Piracy in Makati(rhyme yon ah). People from all walks of life, workers, diplomats, foreigners,actors I see in that mall to buy all sorts of stuff.

Anyway I'm blogging about this new "learning" I had , as usual my suki dvd seller opened late so I had to waste time walking around MCS looking around for new stuff. Walking around mcs gives you an idea of whats "in" in the underground economy. I sadly found out that my favorite tapa place, celestial cafe had closed down, then walking around I saw a group of blind guys offering massage for mallgoers.

It was P80 for a half body massage, 200 for whole body. They were situated under that stairs that lead to the bowling alley. They had 4 monobloc seats , and 3 blind guys to do the massage. I figured, why not try it, they supposedly have heightened sense of touch which in theory make them better masseuse. I asked one of the guys for a half body massage, he said sure, I should take a seat, he felt around for the chair which was placed on the other side of the area, so he maneuvered his way pass a metal pole, a customer being massaged then placed the seat near the railing. I was surprised how well he navigated. I sat down, he started with the massage, and my theory proved right , the massage was quite good. You see , a very important aspect of a good massage is knowing the correct pressure to apply as it differs per person, this guy knew what he was doing. The guys would kid around like the way barbers do, only difference, they were blind. Malakas sila magasaran rin, and inaalaska nila yung guide/cashier nila. Plus they even had a korean or maybe Japanese guy going there for a massage. I guess they were used to having foreigners as customers.

While they were talking , they chatted about how many customers they had for the day. My masseuse said he had 2, the guy beside us had 1, then the last guy said he hasn't had one. My masseuse said, "ay ganun akala ko nagpamasahe sa yo yung babae na kasama nitong customer nya" , pointing to the guy beside us. He said he heard the chair move and the lady sat down. What he didnt know was that the lady only sat down to rest and wait for her husband. He said "nakatayo ka lang pala dyan kala ko nagmamasahe ka, sana sayo ko nalang pinamasahe si sir" pointing to me. I was partly getting sleepy from the massage when it suddenly hit me, this little confusion they had was so simple, they were just in a 5x5 meter space, magkakatabi lang sila pero dahil di nga nila nakikita ang isat isa ,nagkalituhan. I figured, this wouldnt had happen of course with "normal" folks, but because of their handicap it did. They didnt make a fuss about it , they laughed it off and took it in stride. At first I thought , kawawa naman kasi umalis para kumain yung guide nila so hindi nadistribute ang customers, but for them it was just normal, a simple oops , maybe one of the things they had come to accept or used to happening . Then I realized that there are so many things we take for granted , the simple act of knowing what your friend is doing 2 meters away from you is something the guys was not able to do. After the massage I walked around trying to be doubly observant of the things happening around. I ended the massage with a relaxed feeling and a renewed appreciation of the different things I see and experience as the simple act of experiencing something with all senses is something the 3 guys could not do, But I bet whenever they experience something with the other 4 senses, there appreciation and sensitivity to it is much much more than most people..

I remember some friends of mine who would rather stay home than go out and experience/see new things, they should not miss the chance to do so ,as now from the 30min massage I had, I learned we should not take it for granted.

I also learned about how normalcy would always settle in people, like the 3 guys joking around , working and laughing as they work. I myself could not fathom how it would be like to lose my sight, but the 3 guys continued living and enjoying life without seeing. They found color in life while in darkness.

Effective Diet Technique!!!

Naisip ko na ang effective Diet Technique !!!



O Ano, napansin nyo ba na kailangan magpaliit ako ng tyan. Da best talaga pag me distraction.

Thought For the Day

Nawa'y Wag mauubusan ng Sinaing at Kanin ang Tindahang Ito. (Saw this Resto on my way to Taguig)