Summer Escapade Part 1

After attending the birthday party of my soon-to-be godfather in Tanza, Cavite, I, together with my friends from the graduate school, decided to spend the night at Hardin ng Postema Resort.
A view from Baño de Oro! LOL, owners of this resort made jest of Banco de Oro (BDO), a local premier bank.


The place was really nice, except that when we checked in, there were a lot of people gathered around the pool. At first we thought, somebody threw a pool party! Since all of us were exhausted after 3 hours of commute, we concluded the night in the land of Nod.

From left-right: Angelo, Vanessa, Jaja, Dexter, and me.

When we woke up at 6am, we surveyed the resort. Nice spot, actually. We weren't able to do a run down of the place when we arrived because it was really crowded. But in the morning, the crowd left no trace.







Morning kiss. Ngak!

At 7am, the pool was inviting us to take a dip. No pictures taken at this point, our camera was not waterproof and nobody was willing to get out of the water and photograph others. *Sigh*

At lunchtime, we headed straight to SM Mall of Asia

Hardin ng Postema may just be one of the ordinary resorts in Cavite but the memories we shared there were extraordinary! Some friends who missed the happening at Postema demanded for an encore. Surely, it was not the place they missed the most but the fun of being with the group. I expect there'll be more gatherings to come as summer season sizzles in Manila.

Nostalgia

After a month, here I am again. A friend once told me that the reason why she didn't want to have another blog account was because of difficulty in updating two or more blogs. I didn't believe her at first since I had all the time to write at night during my shift...but recently, I resented not heeding her advice. Now I have to juggle my time writing for two blogs! *Sigh*

Anyway, I was checking my friendster account awhile back, all of a sudden I become nostalgic. I remember those days when I was still in school with my friends. Occasionally, some friends leave messages on my mailbox telling me their whereabouts. But most of the time, which is always the case, I have updates about them (particularly my college buddies) through social sites. Gosh, to remember them is to remember how fast time flies, I have more catching up to do. I miss them so badly. Where are they now? Without their permission, I posted their pictures here because they are WANTED...by me.



Rowena Alcantara-Apostol. Weng and I first met in an FX taxi bound from Ever Gotesco-De Castro to Cainta. We were complete strangers then. A week later, she was seating next to me in class! And that was the start of our beautiful friendship. Weng was known for her timidness, but not when she was with the group! Need I say more?! Btw, she's expecting her first child.



Joan Laforteza. Jo and I shared pleasant and unpleasant memories back in college. A year before our graduation, I created a big wall between us. I have misjudged her and said things that really hurt her feelings. I guess, there will really come a time in somebody's life that he will regret losing a friend because of careless words and actions. Although Jo remained to be a good friend, I recall that event with shame until now. I have learned my lesson the hard way. She now happily works at Sykes Asia Inc.



Melona Olaya-David. At first glance, Mih seems intimidating but actually she is quite the opposite. My sparing partner is friendly, thoughtful and fun-loving. Its been a long time since I've last seen her. From her blogs, I learned that she's busy as a training development officer at Sykes, a graduate school student in Ateneo, and a mom of two good-looking kids.



Sheryl Antonio. Sheng's house in Cainta was our secret haven. Right after class, we often go straight to her place to eat baked mac or lasagna, watch TV, do projects, even spend the night for naught. Some things never change for Sheng though. Even up to now, she's a big TV series fanatic--Ally McBeal, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, West Wing, The Practice [her list is endless]. Sheng and I annually meet (by sheer chance, not planned) to have dinner or coffee somewhere and chitchat the whole day, reminiscing the past and sharing updates on each other's life. She's now working in Makati but wishes to be in Hogwarts!



Janice Saguinsin. Even though she was living in the farthest part of the Philippine archipelago, Sheng and I were her frequent visitors. I remember the day Janice and I documented the Angono festival as a requirement in one of her subjects, people were throwing water like crazy and our clothes were so dripping wet. I had no choice but to borrow t-shirt and undies from her because we had a class afterwards. LOL. Three months ago, I bumped into her at the MRT Shaw station, she said she would meet Sheng that day.



Mary Ann Mercado. Mheann studied in AMA for a year and half. She used to say to me, "Sayang talaga, namiss ko na makasama ang mga intelegenteng tao!" Who could they be? Don't ask me, I'm biased! LOL. Their house in San Mateo became my second home. During school breaks, I spent most of my free nights chatting with her. I haven't visited her for a long time. She's happily married and has two kids now.



Joann Cua. This Chinese-beauty spent a year with us at AMA. She transferred to UP Diliman and finished her bachelor's degree there. Although we were from different schools, she would often call to make sure we were OK. Last time we met, we were supposed to spend the rest of the evening together but she had a date so Sheng, Wena, and I while the night away loitering in Sta. Lucia Grand Mall.



Belinda Gabriel. Like Joann, Belle left our group after studying in AMA for a year. She then pursued a nursing course in Antipolo. Currently, she's in Beverly Hills, California with her daughter, Arrabelle.

Maureen Abad. Mau is a strong-willed woman. She finished Bachelor of Law at the Arellano University. However, she doesn't keep any online journals or even social sites so I wonder where she is right now. Last time I had a chance to speak with her, she was staying in their house in Zambales.

I really miss the good old days. Now that we all have different lives, I can only hope that they are all doing well and someday soon, we will all meet again.

Mary Shelley Might Had Vicki Belo in Mind When She Penned "Frankenstein"

I've been away from the blogging circulation lately because my computer at home crashed. Good thing my beloved IT guy (Dexter Q) fixed it! Anyway, during the days I was having my blogging rest, Boy Abunda (King of Philippine Talk Show) and Dra. Vicki Belo (known for her dermatological services on high-profile members of Philippine showbiz, politics, elite and high-society) had a face-off at the showbiz arena. Well, my story might be too old but for the benefit of my foreign readers (whoa!) I'll give a gist.



On nationwide TV, Vicki Belo glibly said in an interview, “If you want to look like Boy Abunda go to Calayan and if you want to look like Dingdong Dantes and Piolo Pascual go to Belo”. Boy Abunda, who endorses Calayan (Belo's rival surgery and dermatology center), was really offended (who wouldn't?!). To which, Boy's reaction was, "Vicki if you are watching, you know that I did not do anything bad to you to deserve this insult...alam mo na kahit kailan, kahit kailan, hindi ako namuhunan sa gandang panlabas. Alam mo, namumuhunan ako sa lakas ng loob, sipag, tiyaga at dasal. At Vicki, wala akong ilusyong maganda ako, wala akong ilusyon. Pero wala rin sinumang may karapatang manlait sa aking pagkatao" (READ: [...] you know that I never invested in outer beauty. You know, I invested in courage, diligence, perseverance and prayer. And Vicki, I never had an illusion that I'm handsome, never. But nobody has the right to mock me.)



Boy really made sense when he uttered those lines. I didn't make this blog to defend him in anyway (obviously, he's influential enough to gather public sympathy) and my slant may be super mean but I'd like to have a say on Vicki's inhumane statement. Scorn redounds upon the haughty.

Being the forefront in plastic surgery business, Vicki has underwent quite a number of surgeries herself (e.g. breast augmentation, face lift, nose lift, to name a few) and she blindly believes her self-made facade a BEAUTY! Having written the novel in 1818, Mary Shelley might had envisioned the future and had Vicki Belo in mind when she penned "Frankenstein!" And may I add, that the difference between Madame Auring and her is the absence of moola to pay good surgeons!



Just to sidetrack, while I was in the office this morning, Pao, Essiebot, and I were making a so-called comparative analysis of the different faces of Vicki Belo, of which she was high-and-mighty. We noticed her mirror-perfect, slightly open-mouthed pose in all her photos. Oddly though, her claim-to-fame advertisement copy that goes "Willie (Revillame) makes you laugh, Belo makes you happy" look askance at her own happiness. She doesn't have the mere appearance of merriment or a good hearty laugh lest she'll get smile lines and fine wrinkles! Good thing for Boy, he could laugh his head off at Vicki's unfortunate stance because although it took hard-learned science to have her face done that way, she still has to put on thick make-up and rely on the magic of Photoshop to look and feel beautiful! (See photo below to believe!)


Considering ethics, VIcki hit Boy below the belt by stating the obvious. But I like Boy's statement (I hope it strikes Belo like a dagger aimed at the very center of her soul! LOL), “At mga kaibigan, hindi po tayo kasi kailangang maging kasing [gwapo] ni Dingdong para maging masaya at para maging mabuting tao" (READ: And friends, we don't need to be as handsome as Dingdong to be happy and be a better person.)

At 53, Vicki (the way she presents herself in public) has a shallow perception of happiness--physical beauty and material things bring joy to humans. How does she define happiness now after her May-December love affair has ended because of her boyfriend's involvement with a sexy actress who was younger and evidently, more beautiful than her? She can console herself with her millions...a just deserts for having such arrogance!

Anyway, at the end of each day, Boy (and in this case, the underdog) can prove to himself that he's happy for what he is. On top of that, Boy has somebody to come home to while "poor" Vicki just lost hers! Tsk, tsk, tsk!


Thus, if you want to have a face like Vicki, go to Belo!