pilot episode

“birthdays only serve to remind us of our mortality.chos”-status posted last10pm, jun 19

Had lunch. Played scrabble. Won, courtesy of the 7 tiled word in one shot. Browsed thru websites all through out the shift. Got paid for doing exactly this.
5am. Logged out. Took M to the bus stop, reminded her that we need to meet at 2pm in Cubao Mrt station.
530am-already tossing and turning in bed. Then slept.
1251pm, realized that the alarm that I turned off earlier at 1230pm was to signal that I have to prepare for the Cubao expo, expedition with M.
230pm, arrived in Cubao. Waited for M. and waited. Decided to go to FARMER’S BOOKSALE. Got Lingua fresco (latino anthology) and Prozac Nation. Debated wether to nuy only the first or get the two. Browsed thru more books. Saw Best Erotica of 2008. Scanned the authors, most were females. Skimmed the entries, straight fiction. Gave it a second chance, saw that an article was written by a man. Bondage. Oosh. Scanned some more, another one about a callboy.
315pm, I decided to keep Latino fiction and the erotica. I let the Prozac nation go to the hands of fate, if its there when I come, then its mine.
318pm, texted M that she will buy me a grammar book coz I have to endure the stares of old gay men ( I was wearing a black and white stripped tank top and a DSLR on my neck) which is of course due to her being late.
330pm she texted that she is in Mall already.
340pm, saw her waiting.
Told her that she will buy that darn book. She reluctantly agreed.
340pm-6pm posed, took pictures. Admired the antiques and quirky stuff for sale and on display. Took some more pictures while evading the LGA or two la Guardia of the complex who forbidded us to take pictures unless we have permission. Met friendly shopkeepers and owners who allowed us to take pictures inside their stores (they of course thought that we were dilettante of bloggers, exposure is exposure they reckoned). Got our fill, our quota of smiles, back shots rule of the thirds placings. The reason for our being there. It was a blast.
610pm- headed to Trinoma to buy underwear for that Uncut Underwear Show in Araneta. Managed to spend 1200 for undies plus her umbrella. Got the ticket. Headed to NBS for Strunk’s and EB White Style book. Bought it, was happy since it was her gift. Yes, a gift no matter what the circumstances, and she was smiling when I saw her saw me holding the red packaged book.
7pm, A texted that she is already in MRT. Ignored the text. Took M around trinoma because even though she lives in QC she seldom visits the mall.
8pm, we parted ways.
810pm-took the mrt, texted A that im on my way.
840pm, in Rob Gale third floor, saw Queeny and JR ( CEGP friends), she was surprised to see me. Felt the same way, said hi. And she told me, we are all supposed to meet up. Queeny called B. they had a long talk. So off we go. Queeny, RJ and two of queeny’s high school mates.
845pm, met A, B, and C (three of my closest college pub friends). C was holding a paper bag from PRP in it was a shirt. A green shirt with graffiti. Looks non descript and relax fit.
9pm-after the introductions and niceties we all can’t decide where to eat. Someone suggested KFC ( nah, I won’t eat there), TOSH came up. So TOSH it is. Told my friends that since people change, so I gotta change from my sando to the Birthday Shirt. Went to the bathroom. It fitted well. I like it.
910pm, ordered food. Exchange of pleasantries.Me, A and C all noticed that B was thinner than we last saw him. Way thinner than he was back in college.
He said that earlier that day he was diagnosed of hyperthyroidism, extremely rapid heart rATE and profuse sweating being the two symptoms that prompted him to seek diagnosis.
A,C and me joked that its AIDS. A second later I told the rest of the gang that B has got HIV. So B and I went on talking about a mutual acquaintance (acquaintance was from the same school where we graduated and was an officemate of mine) who died last month. Of AIDS. Or so the chismis said. Told B that I saw Acquiantance like 3 months back that he wasn’t the slim and pretty faced gay that we knew. He said that he saw the pic and FB, acquaintance was really thin. He’s got all these rashes and skin asthma like thingy on his face whe I saw him, I added.
We were non chalant. Heck, acquaintance was dead. I then said that another gay officemate died that same month, some said due to AIDS other sources said due to Cocaine Addiction, with gay officemate having the perpetually red nose and sniffy runny nose. Official version was Pneumonia. B went on about all these deaths, he said that a friend of a close friend who was supposed to the the Board for medicine died this month. Guy was a Muslim. Another FB friend of his also died, this FB friend was a ‘model’ of his school. Also a gwapo guy.
B said that in 4 months he has 4 people that he knew who died of AIDS.
Then we went to discuss other topics. Mostly it was about updates and of course prodding me to treat them since in a few days I’ll have my 26th birthday.
930pm-krista arrived (a close friend of Queeny), B and I met her before. Krista with fair skin, aquiline nose and pretty face, JR said she looks a bit like Krista R, thus the name.
We ate, talk, and got Krista to give me her business card coz she told us that she worked for a major telco company in the country. Told her that I will email my resume. Pacman arrived, (kristaq’s BF) pacman knows multiple dialect from his work as CFC the SFC resource person. Had a great time chatting him up. He inquired why I have dslr, told him that it’s a bisyo of mine. Joked that I need models for my portfolio, would love to do a pre nuptial shot of them. Krista lit up, she said ‘go, go’ while pacman was just ok. Krista noticed this, I’m the only one excited. Pacman quipped its because I want it to be real. Was quite taken aback by this. Then Krista said, its because you haven’t proposed yet. I thought that the lovebirds will have a proposal right there and then.
Then off they go
1030, more piture takings. Then we all decided to head to yoohoo.
C bid his goodbye since his compound closes at 12, same goes for queeny’s two higschool mates.
So the 5 of us, A,B,Queeny , RJ and me all headed to yoohoo.
1045pm ordered a bucket of red horse. Took pictureof us, in various poses , camera mode and pretense. A shot with the pine tree is set in Singapore’s Clark Quay (per B in clark key) another shot with the ortigas skyline was of Thailand. Heck, it was Asian tour without changing planes.
Ordered more beers. Talked about Queeny’s flight tomorrow back home. C and A said that she needs to take vitamins, iron and folate so that the baby won’t be bobo. C teased her if she already knew who the POP was, if it was the fairly recent gwapo ex or the now strange ex. She said it’s the ugly strange ex.
She then said that she will inform us when her due date is. C said that he will book ticket already for the baptism. We all settled for he 3rd or last month of may as the Binyag date.
100am, JR mentioned snubbing his dog for 2 months coz this dog killed her pups. Then i said that its immoral for dog owners to own and care for a dog knowing that pet grooming costs a lot when a lot of street kids are starving. C agreed with me, with a bit of disagreement he said that it’s a preference.
Jr then said that if you are 40yr old and above and your still poor its already ur fault. At this statement the state U educated A,C , Queeny and me all turned to look at RJ a product of catholic School upbring fr prep to Masters.
C challenged him to prove his point. So we all got to hacienda luisita massacre and brutality. At this time all of us are getting agitated.
I said that Noynoy should be answerable for whatever it is that happened in his own backyard being the highest official in the land.
JR countered that as a president he can only do so much. He said that he agrees that Noynoy has got of explaining to do but we sould let the judiciary decide to do its thing. The three bodies being independent of each other. C then countered how could you expect objectivity when these are all midnight appointees of Arroyo, that unless they resign the 3 legislative, judiciary and executive will never be independent and objective.
Jr countered that we gotta give him a chance, and that we shoudnt liken noynoy to Gma. We all agreed but it still doesn’t sit well with us. What I failed to say was since noynoy was the president his got the means to do what is right. Disregarding the lawyerly technicalities he sould be able to impelement carp and explain why the massacre happened.
215pm, I saw c staggering as he climb up the stairs. Told A about it, a then asked C why. C said its cramps, sometimes he can’t walk when this is happening. Felt awfully bad for C, the garigadi or the perpetually giglish gay guy.
230pm we also decided to get the chit. JR went to the men’s room, C by then was having a major cramp attack. He told A that he wants to go home now , someone forked over 500 and I gave 200 for our share (I think that is less than what we all consume, but the heck) hailed a cab. Told manong to take C to Bagong ilog.
235pm, C was dizzy. Wants to puke. Told manong to pull over, C managed to puke after A gave way. After this C was already whimpering “habo maghilang” which means I don’t wan’t to get sick. Then came the tears. Felt really bad for him. Then I begn to shed tears myself. Then finally we are home. A told me to alight the cab to assist C, by this time C was crying uncontrollably. So I hugged him, the only means of comfort that I can give and in the way the I haven’t hugged anyone before.
We took him inside his rented room, took off the shoes. The socks. The bangle and watch. All these time he was crying about not wanting to be sick. A could only tell him, no one wanted to be sick, but since he’s got it,, we gotta deal with it, in a calm and soothing voice. A could really be soothing when she wants too. So I rubbed his back, while A was trying to remove C’s scrub suit. To no avail. C said that he will sleep like this. He told us to go home that he can manage it. A said we will once we remove his top scrub suit, to no avail. A’s relative are already texting and looking for her. So final attempt to remove the shirt and we failed.
A decided to put C’s freshly laundered sando inside his shirt. C at this time was pacified, and quiet. So we left. We did not turn off the lights nor, closed the door. Headed out.
A said that the diagnosis was just given this morning. I know. This night is really sad. Agreed with her.
No one should be left alone to deal with that kind off situation.

eternal summer

i'm having best time of my life.
so i am gallivanting around the metro with Kumag.
allweneedisnow.blogspot.com

thanks!

Price- 480php weekday lunch buffet / 580php-week end dinner buffet / 65php- unlimited drinks / 680 left over charge)

Serves mostly japanese/korean/chinese fare

Last June 18, 2011 we went to yakimix in greenbelt 3 for Kumag’s mom birthday (we were a party of 10). Checked out the place earlier in Munchpunch and their fanpage in Facebook, and people gave it a 5 star.

The price looks too affordable for what they are serving and the chandelier certainly gave it a hotel feel. An extra bang for the buck.

So kumag started cooking.

Yaki mix

Price- 480php weekday lunch buffet / 580php-week end dinner buffet / 65php- unlimited drinks / 680 left over charge)

Serves mostly japanese/korean/chinese fare

Last June 18, 2011 we went to yakimix in greenbelt 3 for Kumag’s mom birthday (we were a party of 10). Checked out the place earlier in Munchpunch and their fanpage in Facebook, and people gave it a 5 star.

The price looks too affordable for what they are serving and the chandelier certainly gave it a hotel feel. An extra bang for the buck. (insert picture of chandelier and their buffet table)

So kumag started cooking. (insert his cooking pic and the grilled chenes)

It’s a smokeless grill so definitely it was all fun without smelling like the grilling kitchen. Their meat and seafood for grill are fresh. And since you are the cook its up to you if you want it well done or what not.

Its fun cooking and raiding their buffet table. There are 10 of us on the table so it was kind of chaotic fun. Kumag and I haven’t really been able to take blog worthy pictures of the place and the food. He was busy entertaining, and I was mindlessly chowing down the food.

They are prompt when it comes to replenshing drinks. And no dish on the buffet table stays empty for a long time. The selection is expansive and good. They have a lot of maki and sushi to choose from. The meat section is brimming too. Same goes for the seafood.

The cooked dishes are excellent. The dessert honestly wasn’t at par with the rest of the food that they are serving. But hey you came here for the main course. We weren’t exactly complaining. Though a slice of cheesecake, fruit infusion and fondue won’t hurt (but will perhaps drive the price higher) . They don’t seem to have an in house pastry chef. The black forest is from red ribbon and the mango cake is from goldilocks.

The ice cream selection from selecta is a nice touch and more than makes up for the dessert section.

The service crew are pleasant, they are actually smiling. (insert their picture)

Since it’s a Saturday a lot people are celebrating their birthdays (either in advance or belatedly) and so we made a request for them to sing for Mami. (insert picture)

One thing that irks me a bit is their greeting each time that a large party comes in they will holler Gozaimasu! It feels like palengke, kumag doesn’t mind though he said it makes the place more festive. Oh well, whatever floats your boat. According to kumag, the rest room feels like it’s a break room for crews, hey we all deserve a break so its fine with me. Just let me pee in peace.

It was a fun night. Bill totalled to 7k (2 kids, and 2 senior citizens and the rest of us, adults) its worth it.

Verdict:

9 stars of 10

Because no place is perfect, everything needs improvement (waves at crowd of people, smiles at the cue of flashbulbs). But seriously, its because of the dessert (haha) we haven’t really been able to let the idea of having a hotel-like dessert selection go and the restroom issue.

We will definitely come back.

Yaki-mix vs dampa? I’ll go for the convenience , variety and taste of yaki mix (have had the food switching and padded bill in dampa once, but that’s for another topic) and for once I would like to chowdown seafood on a place that has hotel ambiance with-out the tag price. Kumag and I recommends Yaki-mix to couples and small groups. But if you’re a group of say 12 persons or more (and some of you are light eaters) you might be better off eating in dampa.

Must try:

The seafood (of course!). The meat section. Crepe suzzette. Danish pastry.

Slow down on:

maki ,sushi and fried rice (buffets are not for carbo loading, methinks)

what to avoid:

food? nothing really. Oh, there is that chocolate with rice pops (the one that looks like curly tops with spiral white chocolate)

Be here at around 5pm-530pm have your self listed by the guard. Door opens at 6pm. After 630pm its really queueing. Place closes at 11pm.For lunch it opens at 12pm, closes at 230pm.

So have fun! Gorge!

Pilot Episode

Dear kumag,

Some people adopt kids. Some get dogs. In our we case, we have the to do list. If we are not doing anything, we are looking for things to do. So shortly after that we would be doing something. And its not a dvd marathon – this is interesting but in nearly three years of being together we only manage to do this a few times. We don’t stand by the sidelines vicariously experiencing other people have fun. We are having a piece of the action.

The to do list of - taste this, buy that, have this, go to that, get out of this, be that. And so we have been running around the metro like the energizer bunnies that we are. We prided ourselves to have more mileage walking and commuting than anyone else. On a regular mall day, we go to four malls, but on a not so regular day that can go as high as eight malls. All in the pursuit of the perfect color, size and fit, not to mention the price. We explore restaurants, hole in the wall eats, hotel buffets and week end markets. Thus; the mileage.

We have always been opinionated. In our heads we are the authority. The to-go-to if other people would like to eat, buy this, buy that. With our consumeristic lifestyle we haven’t really been able to perfect spending wisely. More of check out reviews, go to the place follow the instinct. Third party sources hasn’t been always correct (per our experience), too kind or too critical. We often wish that there is that omniscient blog to sway us. To challenge us. To warn us.

After the bill and after the fact we sit down and dissect. Review. Discuss. What the eff was that expensive meal about. Why the buzz? What made it overrated? Or this place should be more popular. That place should lower their prices,make their servings bigger, and make their crews move faster. This place will be big next year or this will shutdown in a minimum of 3 months.

We have long joke that each place that we visited should get our stamp. To those few that made the cut, must get the kumag and afro red rbbon of excellence.

We have pranced across the metro and we only have pictures to show for it. Pictures speak for themselves and it needs us to weave the stories. Honestly, wallposts feels like posting it for show.

So we mark the giant corkboard with pushpins, strings, and our pictures plus the article. A blog. Its going to be comprehensive.

This is going to be our eco-friendly adventure book. No extra paper, no wasted ink. Just bytes of fun and likes.

Hope you like it.

emo

cried because of kuchi kuchi. i hope we are not yet over. please.

mid july

so i turned 26 last jun23.

i finally crossed the threshold of adulthood. age being one of the determinants for becoming a responsible individual. tax paying, whining citizen, with my own set of woes and issues.

it was with fanfare. a week before i had my inuman with friends and on my birthday MUMU gave me a cake that was a sheep on boiled icing. its cute. i still smile everytime i remember it.

then i went to bench uncut, with M and E. the abs cbn boys are hot. actually 95% of the models are. swear i saw them clearly with my foldable binocular.

the next day we had an unofficial team dinner in dampa. M and W ordered food good enough fro 12, and theres only the 6 of us.

prior to that MUMU and i shopped in topman i snagged a denim styled like ur run of the mill skinny slacks. BLUE. me like it. then MUMU and i got a couple shirt in philosophy.

it was a hit with the team.

so n0thing much. and this is just a draft.