Category: fun

the awesome post-birthday weekend

Some people I know celebrate their birthdays for a week, even a whole month. I just eat a lot at home on the day, and then it’s business as usual.

This weekend, though, felt like an extra helping of blessings for my new year.

Friday, the completely unexpected GeekFight win

I’ve heard of GeekFight, and I have friends who have joined GeekFight, but I have doubts about my geek trivia skills. I know some things, but just basic info, certainly not the esoteric ones that get asked in hardcore trivia shows like this.

J found out that the Committee GeekFight for Nov. 9 is themed “Power of Myth” – Philippine myths, Greco-Roman and Norse myths, religions ancient and current – and he seemed to have great faith in my knowledge, which of course made me more nervous. I almost backed out the night before, thinking of the hassle of driving to Quantum Cafe and finding parking on a Friday night and losing. 

Well, I’m glad we went because we won.

The Modron Squadron!

We won! On our first game! It’s hilarious how our attitude changed from “It’s okay we’ll just wing it let’s just drink beer and have fun” to “MOTHERFUCKER WE HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THIS SHIT COVER THE FUCKING WHITEBOARD”.

In the D&D universe, “Modrons resemble geometric shapes with humanoid limbs and represent a living, physical manifestation of law without regard to good or evil.” (Wiki)

Twelve teams fought in “Power of Myth”.

A highlight from the event:

Q: How is the monster from Cloverfield classified by the DOD?

Someone answers: Isa syang class-S na halimaw.

Crowd: “TAPUSIN! TAPUSIN! TAPUSIN!”

Needless to say, I had a fun Friday night.

*

Before the game, we tried Quantum Cafe’s food. These are really good:

Full Shroom, pizza on whole wheat (PhP 190)
Kare-kareng gulay! (PhP 220)
The kare-kare comes with sinantolan instead of the usual bagoong, but it’s a fun alternative.

I’d like to return to Quantum Cafe just to try the other dishes.

Saturday, Bwakaw, UP date

We weren’t able to catch the Cinemalaya and commercial run of Jun Lana’s Bwakaw, the Philippines’ entry for the Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars, so I was overjoyed to find that the UP Film Institute was going to screen it for a week. We caught the Saturday 1 pm screening.

Bwakaw features a heartbreaking performance by Eddie Garcia as the aging homosexual, Rene. It is a beautiful, sweet, affecting story told with grace and control. It has the elements that can very easily allow it to lapse into a cloying melodrama – a dying dog, a lonely old man – but it never does. Instead it finds brightness in a sad life, and inserts humor in the most absurd situations. (How incredibly funny is it to see Gardo Verzosa constantly fanning himself?) And something must be said about the amazing cinematography: J said the film is so immersive that he half-expected to find himself in San Pablo after stepping out of the Film Institute. I agree. The people I saw the film with had this look in their eyes after the show, like they had just been clobbered over the head. Maybe they were expecting the same thing, the San Pablo of Bwakaw: wind-swept trees, unpaved roads, an old man with a dog in his arms riding a tricycle home.

I loved the final image of the film: Rene walking up a path and disappearing into the trees. We are not told where he is going, but at least now we are sure he is going somewhere.

Am I glad I got the chance to see this film on the big screen.

*

After lunch at Chocolate Kiss, we headed to the Christmas bazaar. I got these beauties:

Bracelet (PhP 70), ring (PhP 100), peacock-cock-cock earrings (PhP 100)

While in UP, J kept hiding his cell phone screen from me while texting. I wondered about that. He usually even lets me read his texts.

We got to their house, and found out why:

Surprise!

J was with me in Bulacan, and noticed the conspicuous absence of cake during my birthday. So he asked the family to buy me a cake, and more besides.

My thanks to J, J’s ma, his Tita Jo, and the rest of the family for the surprise dinner party!

Sunday, something new for my nails

I regularly have nail polish applied to my toenails, but not to my nails, because I’m a klutz and I chip them easily, sometimes even as soon as I step out of the salon.

So I tried UV soak-off gel nail polish, which the advertisements (and my friendly neighborhood salon) promise will last for two weeks. Mani-pedi using UV gel nail polish is more expensive than using acrylic nail polish. Mine cost PhP 550 at B&W Beauty Salon.

It’s more expensive in the bigger salons, I’m sure. (Some salons, I heard, offer the service for PhP 500 just for the manicure.) That’s a con, but the pros are 1) the polish will last longer, and 2) it dries instantly. No need to ask someone else to open your can of soda after meeting with your manikurista.

I didn’t take pictures of the procedure, but the UV machine looks like this:

Read more here: http://gojackiego.com/2011/12/say-hello-to-gel-nail-polish/

I can’t make this a regular thing because of the cost. Maybe I’ll have gel nails for special occasions? (Once a year?)

My nails! So shiny!

I am loving, loving, loving my 26th year so far.

That’s true.

puerto del sol

Bolinao, Pangasinan for Maundy Thursday! We went to Puerto del Sol Beach Resort, which seemed to be located on the very edge of the Earth. To quote Almi, we were on the road for 15 hours, and at the beach for six. Crazy! It’d be nice to go on an overnight trip and avail their promo.

On the way to Bolinao.

Despite the long ride, the poor service at the resort’s restaurant, and the fact that our driver didn’t seem to have a sense of direction, the trip was worth it.

Just look at that.

Continue reading puerto del sol

oh! i forgot to tell you something

Remember the Pretty Little Liars-inspired video that my Inquirer office mates shot as my despedida gift? There’s a recap! TOTALLY.

Love. It. Head on to the link!

party! raffle prizes! salted eggs!

I still don’t know where the eggs came from.

eggs good for probably a year
eggs good for probably a year

Sir Chito (Libre Ed in Chief, party host): Maaari bang unahin na nating i-raffle ‘yung mga itlog na maalat? Para silang masamang panaginip. [Later] Wala nang itlog na maalat!

Inquirer Crowd: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *dancing and revelry*

Much good that did for me, I still came home empty-handed. Oo, kahit itlog na maalat di ko pa napanalunan.

But at least I got this, a shot that had to be taken since Kate and Ruthie were all glammed up:

ohyeahohyeah
ohyeahohyeah

More pictures at my Multiply, including the make-up session with Armin. :)

(First photo from Irene’s cam. [Or Fran’s]. Thanks! I was so overwhelmed by the eggs I failed to take a picture of them.)

research: we real cool.

So cool we had our Christmas party at noon yesterday with no parlor games whatsoever. We’re still in the process of attaining the EPA party’s level of coolness (they had an Adverb Charade – try acting out “uneasily”, or, better yet, “surreptitiously”, or better better yet, “felicitously”), which in my humble opinion is just off the charts.

party! um. party?
party! um. party?

I left the party with a box of chocolates, two kilos of rice (don’t ask), and a bottle of peppermint shower gel courtesy of Ate Cy (she also took the above photo). I’ll upload my own pictures at my Multiply page. :D (EDIT: Uploaded!)

* * *

Try typing Faceboook.com on your browser. (Grabe na lang ang mga discoveries ni Lawrence.) Don’t forget the extra ‘o’. Very, very clever. :)

Even in his free time Lawrence is productive. No, no complaint there, or sarcasm. One time when my hands were free and everyone else was busy churning out write-ups, I sent out Fucklings. (That sentence was poorly/perversely constructed.) (Hey, two more words for the Adverb Charade!)

* * *

Merry Xmas, all. :)

subtext

Smart people talk about ideas, and so on and so forth.

* * *

[1:44 PM] <lawrence> you will love the lyrics of DECODE – yung OST ng Twilight
[1:44 PM] How did we get here When I used to know you so well But how did we get here I think I know The truth is hiding in your eyes and its hanging on your tongue Just boiling in my blood but you think that I cant see What kind of man that you are, if you’re a man at all Well I will figure this one out on my own
[1:46 PM] <lawrence> yan ang kanta ng mga gf na may naamoy sa bf nila
[1:46 PM] <eliza> HAHAHAHAH gusto ko yan
[1:47 PM] <eliza> What kind of man that you are, if you’re a man at all
[1:47 PM] <lawrence> at si ate, sabi,”I will figure this one out on my own.” yon. investigation.
[1:47 PM] <lawrence> ahahahhahaha
[1:47 PM] <eliza> bakla ka talaga lawrence

* * *

[11:54 AM] <eliza> ‘Dream Match calls for KO win’
Manny: I’ll give my best
By Francis T.J. Ochoa, Assistant Sports Editor
LAS VEGAS—FIVE YEARS AFTER THEY FIRST CAUGHT A SIGNIFIcant glimpse of each other, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya found themselves in the center of a whirlwind, caught in a moment none of them ever dreamed would happen.
[11:54 AM] <eliza> ang Tagalog pocketbooks/telenovela/historical romance lang
[11:55 AM] <kate> ay nako si cois lumalabas ang reading list.

* * *

[2:14 PM] <schatz> sabi ni roach re pacquiao
[2:14 PM] <schatz> “He’s so tight,” Roach said. “I’ve never seen a fighter who is so experienced so tight before a fight.”

* * *

Later: Lawrence is writing a profile on Pacquiao –
[6:35 PM] <eliza> at nandyan ka pa pala
[6:35 PM] <lawrence> waaaaah
[6:36 PM] <lawrence> tapusin ko ang pacquiao na ito
[6:36 PM] <eliza> lagay mo nga he’s tight. pampahaba din yun.
[6:36 PM] <eliza> WOW that sounded wrong
[6:36 PM] <lawrence> waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
[6:36 PM] <lawrence> mommmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

* * *

Other times we talk about politics. The US financial crisis. Whether Nate and Jenny should end up together. Heavy stuff.

for more blood sucking

So Twilight is practically everywhere, isn’t it. My sister even let me read a text message that’s been going around lately. Something about discarding the knight in shining armor for the vampire with the Volvo. Something like that. If you’ve become the subject of forwarded text messages, you’ve made it. Big time. Like Inday.

This popped up on Yahoo:

LOS ANGELES – The vampire romance “Twilight” drained the box office in its opening weekend, taking in $70.6 million.

Catherine Hardwicke’s film also enjoyed the biggest opening ever for a female director, blowing away the previous standard of $41.1 million set by Mimi Leder ‘s ” Deep Impact ” in 1998.

I’ve been making fun of these crazy teenage girls, but then I realized: I’ve been crazy about Harry Potter just a few years back. I’ve read all the books and I’m sure I’m going to see the last two films, no matter how bad they turn out to be. I suppose I’ve been made fun of by those standing outside.

And I realized I didn’t care, really. So yeah, I’ll still make fun of these crazy teenage girls.

Let’s follow The Soup‘s lead, shall we: