Ikon has Money

Okay, I admit that the title was a really, really bad pun. But it got your attention, didn't it?

Posted two entries in my GMA PInoy TV column, one on the ASEAN Ikon semi-finals and one on my favorite topic in the world - no, not the Backstreet Boys - money! I think being Chinese means that I'm genetically programmed to worry about the stuff. If only I could follow the old Chinese way of being rich, which is count every penny. Yes folks, being kuripot has a purpose!

Here are excerpts:

Last July 28, I got the chance to watch the ASEAN Ikon Music Awards semi-finals at Le Pavillion in Pasay. Ikon is an ASEAN (duh!)- wide competition that will pit each country's best performers against each other. There are two categories – the soloist and the band division, with no distinction between genres. During the finals, one solo artist and one band will be chosen to represent the Philippines in the final competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

and

Today is the end of an old month, tomorrow is the beginning of a new one. Take this opportunity to to make a fresh start in an aspect of your life. Not your whole life, that'll drive you crazy. Pick just one aspect and work hard on it for the next two months until it becomes a habit (They say it takes 28 days of continuous repetition to make something a habit).

Read more at www.gmapinoytv.com/karma .

RIP Ron Miller

Got this from popbitch.com:

RIP Ron Miller. He wrote the lyrics to Charlene's "I've Never Been To Me," among other classics.

That song freaked me out as a child. It still does. Classic!

Mowdel Akesh, Kuno

Luis and I were at the Summit Studios yesterday for a pictorial for Preview. Naks! Feeling mowdel ang lola! Well, not really because we didn't know what to do in front of the camera. Birthday ng lolo mo kahapon so the Preview & HG peeps had cake for him. Isha's idea pero si Yvonne bumili. What a sweet bunch! It was a sinful, saturated chocolate thing called Dementia from Luscious bakeshop and it really does live up to its name. One bite and you'll want to die. It's that good.

I Have Great Skin!

We were made up by Gela of L'Oreal, who complimented me on my skin. She said my skin was nice and smooth and really easy to apply makeup on. Now this is a really, really big thing for me because I'm really insecure about my skin. A billion blotchy, pimple-filled years can do that to you. After years of slathering on creams and make-up, my beauty regimen is now at its simplest. So it's cool and sort of ironic that I would be praised for my skin now -- and by a make-up artist no less! When she asked if I was using anything, I said, well, all I do is wash my face with Cetaphil and moisturize with Estebel moisturizer.

Estebel is a French brand that uses all natural ingredients and can only be bought through dealers. Buti na lang dealer ako! Hehe. So I gave her my card and hopefully, she trys the stuff. For anyone out there who wants to try the stuff as well, let me know. There's a whole skin care range with your name on it! :D

PGS Represent

Kenenth Yu of The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories invited me to talk to high schoolers about critical reading. So yesterday, I took a half day off and spoke in front of the Literati Club in Immaculate Conception Academy.

It was really wonderful to see so many kids interested in reading, and proud of it. When I was in high school, reading for fun automatically classified you as a nerd or a geek.

KYu's posted about it in the PGS blog, I think it's at www.philippinegenrestories.blogspot.com , where there are icky candid pics of me. *cringe*

All in all, it was a good talk, with the students responding well and not throwing tomatoes. Yay!

My First Brochure

Bruce has me doing the company's marketing materials now. The first thing I did was a brochure. And since the office has no appropriate software and I know nothing about doing layout, I did the whole thing on (drum roll, please) Microsoft Word!

It doesn't look bad, considering. Bruce seemed to like it. He wants meto do the web page next. Eek!

Thanks to Luis for feedback. I also owe Bernie a drink for not laughing when I showed it to her.

Burn, Baby, Burn!

The new issue of Burn Magazine is out, with Christina Aguilera and Maroon Five on the covers. I'm not sure what's in it, but since it's Burn, I'll bet it rocks (no pun intended)! All I know is that my Gary Barlow interview is in it. *sigh* I've said this before but I'll say it again: I completely know how those women in Music and Lyrics felt. *faints*

San Juan Motto

I love San Juan. Ever since I was a child, I've dreamed of living here. So you can guess how happy I was that our little town is now a city.

Being a city, aside from getting all the cool perks of budget and zoning and whatnot, there is also the responsibility to market ourself as a metropolis opf growth and opportunity. With this in mine, I have taken it upon myself to come up with a slogan for San Juan, one that incorporates its significance in the country's independence (many battles between the Filipinos and their Spanish oppressors were fought here) and its colorful traditions, like the Feast of San Juan, where people drench each other with water. And so, with this in mind, I've come up with the slogan: "San Juan: Getting folks wet since 1896."

I think it works, don't you? *ducks*

A Story and an Article

My article on Pilita Corrales is in the July issue of Filipinas Magazine, so if any of you are in California, be sure to pick up a copy. This was one of the best interviews I've conducted (yes, right up there with Gary B!). Miss Corrales was intelligent and articluate and professional. She has an aura of old showbiz, one that's regal and commanding and just leaves you awestruck. In other words, she's very very different from the persona she projects on TV. I could just listen to her talk all day -- she's led an exciting life, complete with, among other things, fame, fortune, a street and a shipwreck. More importantly, she takes pride in her craft -- she's constantly updating her shows, constantly researching on ideas that her fans will love. This is something the new generation of script-fed celebs lack.

Meanwhile, a short story of mine called "Boss, Ex" is being featured in the maiden issue of Rogue. I haven't seen the magazine yet but I hear that the whole thing is a delight for the senses, as in it's been laid out lovingly, with no thought for space constraint at all. *faints* "Boss, Ex" plays on the local practice of DVD vendors selling X-rated videos, and of the universal phenomenon of wedding jitters (ok, not really universal. Apparently, all my unmarried friends can't wait to get married -- which makes me wonder if I'm on the wrong planet). I've never had anyone ask me if I wanted to buy X-rated DVDs yet so I guess they only ask guys (I wonder why?). Anyhoo, I hope you guys pick up the mag, if not for my story, then for the sensory delight it offers.

In other news, the "Y" key on my keyboard is broken, so I have to thump the ke extra hard to get it to come out. This has resulted in me sending people strange and sometimes embarrasing messages, like the time I sent an editor a message that had "stud" instead of "study." Eep!

I Love Leah

M friend Leah dropped by the office today bearing coffee. What a great surprise! Nothing like an impromptu chat with a friend to brighten up your day. Thanks, Leah, ou certainl made mine! :)

How the Dead Remember

Last night, I dreamt that I met, after a long time, a grade school classmate of mine who had shot herself in high school. I was reall excited, since, even though we had grown apart as we had grown older, we had been good friends in our early grade school years and I always thought fondly of her. In my dream, I somehow knew she had been dead, but it felt as if she had been overseas instead.

The part that weirded me out was, when we were reintroduced, she had completely forgotten about me! I spent a lot of time tring to make her remember who I was, that we had lived near each other, that she had me over once for her birthday party. Finally, she conceded that she vaguel remembered me, and when I asked her why she had forgotten, she said, "Because you aren't as interesting now as you were before."

That remark stung me. How could I be boring? Especially now that people can finally have decent conversations with me without being treated to occasional walls of silence, or monologues about how Leonardo is my favorite turtle (okay, I didn;t reall do that. I wasn't *that* crazy).

I spent the whole day thinking about it, and the conclusion that I have come to is this: I may be more socially savvy now, but at the cost of the uniqueness (read: craziness) that marked me as a child. I've learned to tame myself in order not to be left out, and in the process, murdered a part of me that, as socially inept as it was, was still a part of me, and is also a part of me that other people, dead, and maybe living, miss.

No More than Meets the Eye

I saw the Transformers movie last week, and boy, what I would give to be a male viewer who grew up watching the cartoon. It was like a wet dream for 80's babies! You have:

a. A high school kid who:

b. Has a car that can turn into a robot,

c. Was on the same team as a gorgeous scientist who looks like Rebecca Romjin (and who actually finds time to put on makeup!),

d. Gets the jock's girlfriend, who looks like a mix of Jordan (Katie Price) and Jennifer Connelly (another icon from the mind of an 80's boy) and who -- get this -- can fix cars;

e. And saves the world.

I think I heard the toilet flush.

One Night Story

I couldn't sleep last night so I ended up writing a whole story from scratch. It's been a while since I wrote anything, and I don't think I've ever accopmplished a piece in one sitting before! Thet's not the only strange thing about this story. It's not horror (gasp!) and I'm in it. It's set last year and basically, the premise is that I get a phone call from my dead father. I've always wanted to do a piece that touches on that subject, and I guess this is it. I've never adhered to the "write what you know" adage (how else could I write about death? I've never died... I think) but I broke that rule for this one.

I don't know what I'm doing being awake at night on a work day writing stories that don't scare people.

And yes, I still miss my father.

I Was Made to Hit in America

It's Pasig day so we don't have work in the office. Of course, I have taken the opportunity to catch up with the stuff that I have to do at home. What a difference a day makes! I've trancsribed an interview, finished typing up a story, and (my favorite part) watched four episodes of Beck, an anime about a band (Taira-kun!). :) I'm still ill, though, and have more work to do (and episodes to watch). Here's hoping I can finish them all today.

Yes, my title has no relation to my entry, except that it's the Beck opening theme's terribly bad grammatical yet catch chorus. Yeah!