Last Saturday, I went to Quiapo in search of Hawleys. A Hawley if you must know is a designed
pants made by Wrangler which is the
only pair of pants that brings me comfort. A Hawley has a detachable sleeve
that in an instant will turn your pants into a pair of shorts and vice versa.
The idea of the pants is to mix style and comfort and for a fat guy like me…
that’s bliss.
A few months ago, I bought two
pairs of Hawleys but the tailor altered my pants wrong. That’s why I wanted to
return to that place to search for more Hawleys. I went to Trinoma and SM North to
find for Hawleys and while they are easy to find, they are worth around 1700 to
1800 pesos.
Now a pair of pants usually is
in that price range but when I bought my gear in Isetann Quiapo, it was just for a mere 650 pesos. Stores in Quiapo
are clearance shops. While the quality of the product may be iffy, it is
original.
When I returned to Isetann, the
Hawleys have long been gone. However, there are still a bunch of other Wrangler
and other garments in Isetann that could suit you. When I went to SM Carriedo (or SM Quiapo) which is just adjacent to Isetann, I saw a pair of
non-detachable Hawleys worth 650 pesos. I hate that it’s partly what I wanted
but it’s still cool nonetheless. I also got a bunch of pants that mixes style
and relief.
But hey, I’ll just have to
remind you that Quiapo isn’t for the germophobes and the sosis because you’ll
be checking out places with water puddle, garbage, dust, and a lot of sweaty
people. While Quiapo has cleaned up its act as the years went, crime won’t rest
at a sight of a shiny and shimmering idiot unnecessarily parading his or her riches.
There are also ways to go to Quiapo and one of the worst things people could do
is by going with a vehicle. Besides the crime hazards, the streets are pretty
narrow because of the vendors and the people. In the times we went to Quiapo we
parked our car in Walter Mart Munoz
and took a LRT to Carriedo. Another way is to park it somewhere in the U-Belt
area or better yet, commute directly to Quiapo from your house.
Finally you need to know what
exactly you’ll get in Quiapo. Garments are safe except for shoes. Sometimes
your pants will have stains or punctures. They sell crappy toys. Actually, they
sell bogus jerseys that scream fraud even from afar.
A clean comfort room is out of
the question.
But as mentioned, you also go
to Quiapo because of the great things it can also give you. Quiapo is a haven
for amateur photographers and for wedding stuffs. There are a lot of authentic
food trips also along the place where you can sink your teeth into. After
buying discounted products, you can also get your devotion in Quiapo Church.
Gone are the days where the vicinity of the place has pirated DVDs and porn but
Quiapo can offer something that you could use.
Hell, maybe you can check out the
place if you need to hunt for something.
After a little less than forty
years of working, my parents are now officially unemployed. Their retirement ceremony
was held on June 1 – in front of the people they have befriended, nurtured, and
reprimanded. It just sucked that they had to retire on the lowest of terms –
especially since the National Broadcasting… oops People’s Television Network
wasn’t as grand as it was then.
My father worked as
writer/producer on PTV/NBN’s news department while my mom worked as news
director. Let’s just say that whenever people maltreat PTV, it sucks because I
knew they worked hard to keep me and my sister awesome. Being in the
broadcasting industry – particularly news is mind-numbing because it is always
live. I remember as a kid checking out for my parents in the wee hours of
Christmas and New Year’s Eve because while a lot of the citizens are preparing
their feasts, my parents are just about to leave their office (although most of
the time, their evening newscasts are taped).
The arrival of my sister’s kid
has made my mom love retirement although my father will find a way to return to
news writing. I envy his line of work because during the heyday of PTV/NBN
Sports, he would always travel to different land to help cover the Olympics,
the Asian Games, the SEA Games, or whenever a president travels to distant land
and meet up with other Heads of State.
Writing and broadcasting runs
in my family. They wanted me to become a news reporter. I did appear on-cam
while I was in IBC-13 but I rather create stories than write news.
In some ways having a blog and
helping out in writing sports stories in other websites help pay homage to the
gift my parents gave me.
I started blogging when
it was still cool. I am now helping out in other
websites like NBA Philippines and Hoops Basketball but my goal this year is help boost my Sydrified site. Sure, Google
Adsense has banned me a bunch of times but I think I can find a way to double
my money. Blogging is a difficult way to work but it is also a great way to
showcase my talent.
There’s a part of me who is
willing to work the long hours just to write about sports but then I am coping
with that craving with the help of blogging. For every comment, suggestion, and
detraction my tens of fans give me, the more satisfied I am.
I think my parents want me to
outdo them – the same way I want my kids to outshine me on whatever profession
they want to pursue. I want to do more. I have to because this is what they
have been asking me all my life. Just like my parents, I am willing to teach
them the ways I was brought upon by my parents and hopefully they will be at
least a fifty percent improvement of what I have become.
Or more.
Please be more.
I congratulate my parents for
surviving the stress, the long hours, the stupid upper management, and the
Christmas raffles they won throughout the years.
Now you can follow all the
Korean dramas you are willing to invest time on.
This is a non-profit online site which aims to make my name mainstream. Initially a stress buster, I decided to make blogging my home turf to write the stuffs that I care about.
Hey, maybe you can give me benefactors that will stress my mind for an affordable price.
Sports and entertainment is the site’s main theme. Here are basically the sites I look at: Facebook, Twitter, Pinoy Exchange, NBA, PBA, Rotten Tomatoes, You Tube, Funny or Die, Tunay Na Lalake, TJR Wrestling, Lords of Pain, Wikipedia, WWE, Yahoo, Hoops Basketball, ESPN NBA Fantasy Basketball, Professional Heckler, Yahoo NBA Fantasy Basketball, and Interaktv. Here are basically the books and periodicals I read: Arnold Arre books, Beerkada, Pugad Baboy, RJ Ledesma books, FHM Philippines, Robert Greene books, and other Filipiniana writers. And finally here are the playlists I often check out: Pinoy rock, foreign alternative rock, or any song that makes me go giddy (note: I hate 80’s electronica).
Now you know where I get my infos and what interests me so if you’re trying to force feed some random crap on me, you better hope I enjoy it.
Congrats to my cousin Ralph Lumbres who just graduated from the University of the Philippines! He's the guy holding a camera where my mother is the subject.
In
some ways I participated in the whole Holy Week devotion. I like to do this once
in a while because sometimes, I want to get back with my faith and at the same
time spend time with my parents.
Anyway,
I went to the Easter Vigil mass with my parents, sister, and friends. At the
time of the singing of the Lord’s Prayer, this male kid held my hand. I got
shocked when he held my hand because I don’t know the kid, an aisle separate
our seats, and we’re both guys.
But
then it hit me – we aren’t doing this anyway? I remember as a kid, holding the
hand of the person sitting next to you during the Lord’s Prayer was a sign of
love and respect for the glory of God. It also symbolizes unity. I learned this
on my Christian Living class. I also attended catechisms growing up. Back when
I read The Bible, I tried to understand the teachings as much as possible… even
if I’d rather check out the adventures in the Pentateuch, the books of the
prophets, and the books of the kings.
Now
religion takes a backseat to technology, travel, and temptations.
Funny
how kids know this because grownups think it’s uncool, unmanly, or unsanitary
to hold hands.
Oh
yeah… I remember… it was during the outbreak of SARS when the holding of hands
during the Lord’s Prayer and the usage of hands during the Holy Communion were
dimmed discretionary.
I
am not going to say that what we have now is bad.
I
just wish we return to the good old days when Black Saturday is not the time to
launch new films in malls, networks wars ceasefire, and fast food joints are
promoting their Lenten treats to tell their customers to not eat their meat
meals.
I
am not the most decent of men.
Most
of the time I fail to put my words into actions.
I’ll
be damned though if I can’t teach the kids near me the importance to be
God-fearing.
Bago
ako umalis ng ABC-5, ako ay naging image model (naks) ng isa sa kanilang mga
shows. Tapos nagkaroon ako ng billboard sa may South Superhighway, Isa akong
surgeon na ginagamit ang stethoscope para bumirit.
Syet
ang gwapo ko.
Antagal
din ng billboard na yon. Siguro dalawang buwan rin yun. Nang tumawid na ako sa
GMA, inaasar pa rin ako ng mga luma at bagong officemates ko. Bukod sa
billboard, may mga tarp ding nakakalat sa underpass ng Cubao at pati sa flyover
ng Ortigas. While hindi naging successful ang Philippine Idol (unlike in the US, gasgas na
gasgas na sa atin ang mga singing contests), at least nagkaroon ako ng
contribution to Metro Manila landscape.
Actually,
nakatulong din ito noong panahon na single pa ako.
Hi.
Ako si Syd.
(labas
ang cellphone)
By
the way… ito ang billboard ko.
Syet.
Move
over Red Sternberg, Dale Villar, Stefano Mori, and Earl Ignacio!
Ito ang isa sa mga awesome
office pranks na ginawa ni Manuel Edralin. Una kumuha ng isang numbskull na tatayo sa likod ng MAC niya. Tapos kumuha ng isang picture na ito-todo zoom in. Konting Photoshop lang ang presto!
I was really going to show it
to her pero hindi kasi siya mahilig mag-online.
Ginagamit lang ni Cindy ang internet for ugh… research
and information.
I should be pissed that I got a
taste of my own medicine (I remember a few years back when I record YM
conversations) but seeing the well-wishers (maraming salamat, mga peeps), I
have to thank Meg for sharing my
blog.
Dapat manonood kami ng sine
pero walang maganda e… not unless may isang taong lumapit sa akin na nagsasabing
sulit ang pelikula ni The Rock. Umalis
kami ng Trinoma at dumiretso sa Starbucks Strata. While browsing a
wedding magazine, I freed out the contents of my handy digicam so I can film
this.
I was just at SM Megamall the
other day to check out their wedding expo.
The first thing I said to
myself as I entered the lair filled with matrimonial assortments was “holy crap”.
So wedding planning isn’t just
cheapening up to save 150 thousand pesos and letting nature take its place.
I entered a lair where a person
spending 50 thousand pesos isn’t that ludicrous. I saw emphatic femmes and
their equally-concerned men browsing caterers, photographers, jewelers,
musicians, and reception.
The girls were giggling in glee
while the men were just interested on getting out of the place.
One thing’s for sure – our
battle plan now is to seek help because after three weddings, a baptism, and
godfathering someone in the sacrament of reconciliation, I’m going to make sure
that I get the right reinforcements to survive this situation.
Before
you check out the clip, let me tell you the backstory.
Noong
nagpunta kami ni Cindy sa Pansol to celebrate my birthday, sinabi
ko sa kanya na from March 4 to December
31, 2011, may itatanong ako sa kanya and pagdating ng araw na yon, all she
needs to do is say yes.
Last December 2011, I found out that I will
be an uncle and my sister and her boyfriend need to get married ASAP. My parents were busy planning for the
wedding and it wasn’t my moment to mess up. Nang nagiging okay na ang
preparations, kinausap ko ang nanay ko kung meron siyang kakilalang alahera. Ang
sabi ni ermats meron daw kakilala si Ate
Angie. Nang pinasok ako ng parents ko sa Channel 4 almost a decade ago, nakakasama ko si Ate Angie sa mga
kopihan at inuman. In fact, there was a time that I crashed at her place
because I was too wasted to go home.
So
nagpasama ako sa nanay ko papuntang Ongpin.
This
was around December 28.
It was
my way to include my mother sa aking mission to find Cindy an engagement ring.
I remember when I was five, hinaluglog namin ang Quezon City and Manila just to find Mr. Yum. Kung natatandaan niyo yung Jolly Train (isa siyang Jollibee
toy ng mga around late 80’s), si Mr. Yum na lang ang kulang and she was nice
enough to waste time, money, and effort on my luho.
There’s
another awesome thing about my mom. She has this extreme gift to sway people.
Nang tatlong beses na bumagsak ako sa Medicard
exam sa GMA because 140/90 ang blood
pressure ko, I called her in and chinika niya yung doctor. All of a sudden, the
doctor concluded that I am suffering from white
goat syndrome – or yung sobrang neryos resulting to high blood pressure.
When the doctor okayed me, nagpa-BP ulit ako. My BP was 120/80.
Astig...
Anyway
sa isang jewelry store sa Ongpin, it was like playing good cop and bad cop.
Ma’am okay po yan.
Sus baka peke yan!
Ma!
Hindi po ma’am totoong may
karat po yan.
Sus baka naman niloloko niyo
kami!
MA!
Medyo
nakakahiya at first but the end justifies the means and I won’t say the actual
price but let’s just say I kinda had a forty percent discount.
Plus
binulungan ako ng alahera na nakakatuwa daw nanay ko.
I
agree.
Pagkatapos
naming maghiwalay ni ermats kasi she has to go to her work, biglang nag-sink in
ang lahat. Syet, I have a timebomb! Ang tawag ko sa engagement ring ko ay
timebomb because when I show this to Cindy, I want her to explode with
emotions... pero yung mga emosyon na pabor sa akin.
Ang
unang tao kong sinabihan ay si Geist
nang nagyayaya siyang makipag-inuman via text. He’s kinda like the pro
wrestling manager I never had. And then of course alam na ni Ate Angie and nong
nagkita kami I hugged the holy hell out of her. And there’s Ate Jinky, my sweet and caring yet evil
mentor, who nang sinabi ko ang plano ko nang umalis na kami sa bahay niya was
like a deer in front of the truck in shock, went teary-eyed but kept her
emotions checked kasi I told her that it was a secret, and threatened me that
if I make her my ninang, she will beat me senseless.
Ahihihi.
Then
came December 30.
Gusto
ng parents ni Cindy na sumama ako sa kanila na umatend ng fiesta sa Talisay, Batangas. I brought my
timebomb with me just in case. Sinabi sa akin ni Cindy na a week before niya
akong sagutin, nagpaalam muna siya sa parents niya.
I
wanted to return the favor.
Throughout
that day, naghahanap ako ng tiempo.
I
scored that chance when Cindy, her brother, her sister, and her sister-in-law
went to Talisay Lake to fish. This opened up an opportunity for me to state my
case. Nilabas ko ang case ng “timebomb” pero hindi ko pinakita ang singsing. I
believe the talk went well.
January
1, 2011.
Kausap
ko si Cindy sa phone ng kinagabihan nang may sinabi siya. Hindi ito yung mga
exact words pero more or less ganito ang nangyari sa conversation.
Na-boldyak ka.
Ha?
Bistado ka na.
Ha?
Kanina tinanong ako ni Daddy
kung nagsabi ka na raw. Ang sabi ko “ano”? Ang sabi niya kung nag-propose ka na
raw ba? Ang sabi ko “hindi pa”. Tapos biglang nagkwento na lang siya nang mga
pinagusapan niyo sa Batangas...
Hoy Cindy! Hindi ko alam yan!
Saan mo naman nakuha ang kwento na yan!?
So sinasabi mong sinungaling
ang Daddy ko?
Ngeesh.
Sa
kasal nina “those-beautiful-lawyers-that-cannot-be-named”,
nanghingi ako ng advice sa mga kaibigan ko. Ang sabi ni Evilbrain sa akin ay to make the proposal formal. I then asked for Athan, Vlad, Marc, and Manuel for
insights. I then lobbied to Cindy for an overnight trip to some place awesome where
we can watch the stars as I slip the ring on her finger to no avail.
But
then I remembered something.
I have
a gift.
I like
to feed on a bad situation and alter it to my advantage.
So
while sinasabi sa akin ni Cindy na magpunta na lang kami sa Balai Indang sa Cavite kasama ang
sister niya, I had other ideas.
Dadalhin
ko siya sa La Mesa Dam Eco Park. And
then take her to other hotspots sa buong Metro Manila in a way to clean out all
the good destinations in Metro Manila so we can concentrate on planning trips
away from the metro.
You
know what? Sa mga pinalano ko, La Mesa Dam lang ang natuloy.
And
that trip led to this.
Yes, I know La Mesa Dam is crap compared to a weekend getaway pero I think I have a lifetime to make amends. If you
think this clip is cool (or not), wait ‘til you read the 17-page love letter I gave her na
naka-print sa isang matigas na cardboard paper where I chronicled our ligawan
stages.
Ito
pala ang mga excerpts ng love letter:
Ito
ay isang kwento na pwedeng mapamana sa iyong mga anak.
Correction.
Sa
ATING mga anak.
Naks.
Ito
ay kwento ng isang nilalang na nagkaroon ng kwenta ang buhay. Ito ay sa
kadahilanan ng isang machong babaeng na sobra kung mag-exercise na siyang nagbago
ng diwa niya.
Patay
na patay din pala ito sa kanya.
Para
sa mga nakikibasa, intindihin niyo na lang ako. Ang kausap ko talaga dito ay si
Cindy hindi naman talaga ito para sa inyo kaya hinay-hinay na lang sa mga
comments.
Kung
kayo ang target audience ko, wala kayong ganito kasi hindi kayo ganun
ka-importante sa akin.
Before 2012 started, I was at Kamias, Quezon City partying with my Coffee Club peeps. These are the guys that taught me most of the things I know about the environment I am in at the moment. Back in 2002, I was just a mere sperm of a writer. Yeah... I said that. But hey, look at me now. Sure, no thanks to the
current administration, a lot of my friends are suffering from late paychecks,
zero benefits, and a lot of work-related stress but hey... hopefully the next
administration will give importance to the government employees... in ALL
government agencies.
Anyway, this is our annual get
together where people of different occupations gossip, report,
unleash insults, and harbour awesomeness.
