El Rey(jr) visita los castillos!

Have you ever been to a real castle? Here are two short stories about my trips to two equally magical castles...

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland

It was beginning to get dark, the shadows were getting longer and the air getting colder. We rushed to the castle at the Disneyland Theme Park in California and arrived with ample time to take photos and tour inside the famous castle.

"Opened on July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles.." ref.

Singing with Sarah Geronimo (plus tips on how to use a microphone)

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I'm not much of a celeb crazy dude, so despite having been around numerous celebrities during my UPCC days, especially during awards nights, I have only a few photos, and most of them are at least 5 years old. Haha!

When Sarah Geronimo was still a kid

Here's my first celebrity photo for you: with current toast of the town, Popstar Princess Sarah Geronimo.
June 2004, taken after the mini concert we did with the Record Breaker singer, with Mark Bautista and Erik Santos, then newly crowned singing champs of singing contests on different networks, plus a special guest number by then macho singer Vina Morales, at SM North EDSA - long before The Block was built. Lol.

Sarah would be around 16 or 17 years old at this time. I was 22. Hehehe. Here's the photo...

How JaypeeOnline celebrates Thanksgiving

...he gives away US$1,500 worth of prizes on his "Thanksgiving Giveaway" Contest!

Thanksgiving Turkey

Yes, you read it right, 2009 PBA Winner for Best Technology Blog JaypeeOnline is giving away a ton (yep, I weighed it myself) of prizes in celebration of Thanksgiving. It's his way of "expressing my gratitude for all the blessings I’ve received this year including the recent achievements and success of JaypeeOnline."

Read about the Prizes and How to Join this contest after the jump...

"Song of Joseph”, a wonderful pre-Christmas musical

I'm inviting you all to see this play, a perfect pre-Christmas show for the whole family.

Oblates of St. Joseph –Philippine Province 

with Music Theater Foundation, Philippines

presents

"Song of Joseph” 

A musical on the life, love, and death of St. Joseph

Playdates: November 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2009 at 7PM
Location: Meralco Theater, Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City, PhilippinesAdmission:
Orchestra P 2,000.00
Loge P 1 ,000.00
Balcony P 500.00

For ticket inquiries please call: ( 02 ) 7252044 / 09175047694 / 09177583710

Lunch Break

My laptop clock reads 12:36 PM.

I am sitting with my shoulders hunched again - need to schedule that massage - typing without a purpose, directionless. My eyes strained, the room is dim with a light green tinge. I didn't turn the lights on, it's easier to relax in the dark, with only the erratic humming of the airconditioning and the mayas playing outside my window.

I am eating a Snickers bar, with each bite the sweetness filled my mouth and scratched my throat. I take another bite and chewed on the left side of my mouth. Why not the right, I have no idea. My tongue is the master of such involuntary motions. The nuts filled the crevices of my molars and I had to dig at them with my fingernails. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day.

I am sleepy. The bed looks inviting albeit in disorder, I did not fold the comforter and fluff the pillows like a good boy, and yet the bed still looks beautiful enough to sink in and drift swiftly into dreamland.

My laptop clock now reads 12:51 PM.

Time to go.

It's a personal blog after all

Hello my dear readers (hehe). I was giving myself a head ache trying to think of a topic for a new post when I realized i don't need one. Lol. It's a personal blog after all -

My Past Life

So, I'm still in Batangas and do not have a scanner here nor the photos from my past life that I would love to share with you. Yes, my past life - the more exciting one - or rather, the more blog worthy one?

I had the life of a celebrity (lol, not really), or a super hero (is there a difference?) - finishing schoolwork then making a dash and a costume change in a phone booth (or a taxi cab) to make it to the next concert. Voila!
 

While still with the UPCC, I sang "Sana Ngayong Pasko" solo for Mel and Jay's Christmas Special (long before it became Mel and Joey!), I shared the stage with the late Fernando Poe, Jr. when he received his Lifetime Achievement Award at the FAMAS (I have a newspaper clipping to prove it too), shared a song with premier Classical mezzo-soprano Janet Sabas-Aracama and the uber Ms. Nanette Inventor on a concert finale number, I've recorded back-up tracks for a couple of local artists plus one international Pinoy broadway artist, and have sung in numerous company events and high profile weddings. And I was still in the University then!

Oh, and I haven't mentioned the 3 International tours I joined...

Woof Winners: Writers Offering Our Finest Contest for October 16

It was a four way tie for the winners of this week's WOOF contest and I am honored to be one of them. It is my first time to participate and I appreciate the warm welcome. Thank you WOOF and thanks to those who voted for me!


WOOF Contest – Top Picks


Non-Fiction
Reyjr – “Trauma in Ondoy's Wake”
- A recounting of our story during the devastation of typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana).

Poetry
Zorlone – “Curious Encounters” 
- This poem was made in response to the theme "Curiosity Killed the Cat" at the artist's challenge at the inferno.

Dragon Blogger – “Filthy Thoughts” 
- Poem about having unsavory thoughts.

Fiction / Flash Fiction
Zorlone – “Water on the Glass Window” 
- Elmot took the train home one rainy evening and found out what had prevented him to move on.


Brought to you by PlotDog Press with
the Serial Suspense Screenplay "Intervention"

Singapore Night Safari Adventure

I'm a Singapore Tourist Lah Series

Our first night in Singapore was spent walking around in the jungle, dark, tired and sweaty, but all those creatures at the Singapore Night Safari kept us interested and excited - we actually stayed until they needed to close. Lol!

Preparing for a Night Safari

We arrived at the Changi Airport in Singapore late in the morning on a Saturday. Our plan was set - have lunch, go home to drop off our bags, go to Orchard Road to change some money, visit the Raffles Hotel for some original Singapore Sling, then off to the Singapore Night Safari!

Homework: English to Batangueño translations

Translating from English to Tagalog to Batangueno. Wow. I'm such an expert. Not! Why not give it a go yourself?

Kids, do your own Homework

Humor me, I say.

Laiya Beach, Batangas

Several weeks ago, I found a comment on my CBox from Jasmin, a student from Davao, and she was asking if I could translate some English sentences into Batangueno for her. She obviously did not read my profile page. Heh heh heh.

Friends, I am not Batangueno (although at this rate, I may very well become one lol). No offense to my kabareks - I think Batanguenos are a great people. Very strong and solid, a brave and assertive bunch. I love kapeng Barako, but I'm still looking for a genuine local place around here where I can buy some - recommend a place to me!

In the interest of nationalism, I prefer to refer to Batangueños as "Filipinos in Batangas" and say "Batangueño" to mean the dialect they speak around here. And for the record, I have, not once, heard anyone here say "Ala-eh!"

Turning Bloggers into Published Writers

I am pleased to share with you that the collection of Inspirational Thoughts and Stories of Bloggers from All Over the World has now been published and is available online. I have one story as part of this collection - so now I can add "published writer" to my Profile page. woot!

The lady behind this “creative work of love” as she puts it, is JenaIsle, a professor from Pampanga, Philippines. In an interview with American writer Holly Jahangiri, Jena speaks of her "frustrations of unpublished work" and then the "joy of being published" and wanting to share this experience with other bloggers and writers.

And now this here is the result - an inspirational book born of an inspirational story.

If you would like to own a copy of this book, you can place your orders here.

ps I can't wait to get my own! 

Postmortem Review for Typhoon Ondoy Flood Rescue and Relief Operations

It's been almost a week since I posted our traumatic Typhoon Ondoy experience, and was at a loss about how to move forward with my blog. Now I know how - this will be my last Typhoon Ondoy post.

When I began writing down my recounting of the events that transpired during Typhoon Ondoy's devastation, one of the Philippines' worst tropical storms, I had only one thing on my mind - I had to release this fear and frustration over everything that I experienced. I did not expect my posts about Typhoon Ondoy to be one of the most read articles on this blog. To everyone who visited, Thank you, and I do hope the compilation of Typhoon Ondoy stories here did help you also to begin your healing.

I have one more thing in mind though. After every big operation or project, an analysis or review is done at the end to assess where improvements can be made. We call this a postmortem review or an after action review (AAR).  I am sure the government will have one about Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Here are some of my contributions...

The RCS for Typhoon Ondoy victims in GK Village

For all Filipinos who have opened their homes and wallets to help our kababayans pick up and start again after the devastation of Ondoy, THANK YOU. Let the rebuilding continue.

For the benefit of Typhoon Ondoy victims in the Gawad Kalinga Village in Sitio Pajo, Brgy. Baesa in Quezon City, ALL85 presents Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, together with the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS) in "ALL85 GOES GK!", Nationbuilders 25 years after.

The concert, originally scheduled on Oct 3, was moved to Oct 17 because of the devastation of back to back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. The show must go on - and it does on Saturday, October 17, 8pm at the Music Museum, Greenhills...

Trauma in Ondoy's wake

The sunburn on my nose and forehead has begun to peel. No, I did not go to the beach. Who would go in this weather?

 

Saturday Surprise: Flash Flood

We had so many things planned for that weekend: maybe a barbecue lunch, dinner out to a fancy resto, a movie, some errands perhaps, or a relaxing massage - but our weekend activities was decided for us instead by Ondoy.

I wanted to sleep-in that Saturday morning (I drove home from Batangas the night before) but was woken up early by my worried girlfriend Liz: her sister Belle lives in Pasig too, and the flood in their area is rising fast. My dad and I had a quick coffee and tried to make our way to Belle's house. One of my Uncles volunteered to drive my Lolo's Tamaraw FX for us - we needed a high enough vehicle. The traffic was horrible. When we finally reached Ortigas Extension via East Bank Road, the FX could no longer move forward because there was already about a meter deep water. Even on foot, the water was already too deep to traverse. We saw one vehicle being pushed across - it was the only one that tried.