Yoboseyo, Seoul!

I miss this blog!

I know I should have written about my Korea trip sooner but work has been taking up most of my time lately. I would have wanted to write a more detailed entry but my mind’s just too “drained” from work. Nothing’s coming out of it anymore if you allow me to exaggerate. (Am I even making sense?) Which is not to say that the trip was forgettable because it was definitely not! In fact, even if I was multi-tasking during the whole shoot (I was the location manager, co-producer, assistant director, and writer all in one), I actually had fun. Direk also didn’t throw any tantrums, which made it easier for all of us. Thanks to the very cold weather I guess, because I think it literally and figuratively cooled us down.

Before I embarrass myself with more awkward sentence structure and wrong word usage, let me proceed to tell you about my trip to Korea. Heh.

SATURDAY
Ritchie (our associate producer) and I arrived ahead of everyone. It was a disaster in the making. If we hadn’t called our Korean coordinator that day, he wouldn’t have known that the shoot would push through. I also thought that everything had been planned out already but only found out when we arrived that we still don’t have a hotel to stay in. But, I don’t know, I wasn’t nervous because I savored more the feeling of being in Korea for the first time. It was really very cold when we went out of the airport. There’s “smoke” coming out of our mouths every time we talk. So I talked and talked because it was so “cinematic”. Heh! While waiting for the bus that would bring us to Seoul, we chanced upon some camera crew following a certain celebrity. Honestly, I didn’t know who she was but since she seemed famous, I requested to have my picture taken with her. Later on, I found out she’s Gail Kim, a very famous Korean-American WWE wrestler and she’s having her homecoming to Korea.


SUNDAY
Chang and Lee, our Korean coordinators, toured us around Korea looking for possible locations to shoot. We went to a lot places including the historic Olympic Park. Chang and Lee, hot-blooded males that they are, kept asking me how to say some “sex” terms in Filipino and I gamely taught them! Heh! I think I became a “pervert” in their eyes because they only invited me (not Ritchie) to come with them and do some hanky panky with local prostitutes. LOL! :) I politely declined, of course.


MONDAY
Ms. Nancy, our production designer and I, met my high school classmate Seong Yeon and her boyfriend Seo Koh. I felt like I was in “Lost in Translation” when the taxi driver couldn’t understand the directions we gave. Let’s just say he brought us to Seoul National Hospital when we clearly told him to bring us to Seoul Finance Center. LOL! :) Seong Yeon and Seo Koh were so accommodating and nice. They gave me gloves and lent me a winter jacket to keep myself warm. They also treated us to a Mongolian restaurant and let us “experienced” their subway system.

By nighttime we fetched Direk and our stars in the airport and from there, work officially began.

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
It was all work, work and work but honestly, I didn’t think we were working at all! It was that fun! Also enjoyed joking around with Henry, Hero’s brother. Just some childish stuff like talking behind the backs of our non-English speaking Korean companions. Bad, I know! :)



P.S. Mali ang dubbing ng Lovers in Paris na “Adja!” which supposedly means “Let’s Go!” Dapat “Kaja!”. Hindi ko alam ang tamang spelling basta ganun ang pronunciation dapat. :)

Pop 5 of 2004

Pop 5 Songs of 2004
5. Come Clean – Hilary Duff
4. She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5
3. Balisong - Rivermaya
2. I’m Shakin’ - Rooney
1. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys


Pop 5 Music Videos of 2004
5. Sinta - Sugarfree
4. Make It Slow - Ciudad
3. Love Profusion - Madonna
2. You Don’t Know My Name – Alicia Keys
1. Astro - Radioactive Sago Project


Pop 5 Movies of 2004
5. 50 First Dates
4. Collateral
3. The Bourne Supremacy
2. School of Rock
1. Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2

Adja! Or That Expression They Say in Lovers in Paris!

Okay, Paul and everyone, the first exciting development in my life (well, at least for me) is that later this afternoon, I'm going to Korea! :D Yep, my second (or is it fourth since we went to three countries the first time?) trip abroad! (This is what I love about showbiz really!:D) Although thinking about it now, I don't think it will be that exciting at all. I found out two nights ago only that I'm leaving today which means I'm so unpreprepared. I also found out that it's freezing cold in Seoul and I don't like winter! Not that I already experienced one (heh!) but I'm just the summer kind of guy. These are just petty reasons of course. Really, I think that it will be unexciting because it's WORK (argh, work!) and I still have to write there what we're going to shoot. Argh! (Yes, what a way to start 2005! Being pessimistic kaagad! Hahaha :D) Please pray that I'll survive the guerilla shoot in Korea, peeps! I'm scared! (How did you know, I needed someone like you in my life... Get it?! Hehehe :D)

I hope I can meet my Korean high school clasmmate Seong Yeon there. Now, that's exciting. :)

P.S. Shout out to Chegay and Michiko for giving me advice re: winter stuff! Argh, winter! Brrrr....

New Day

I'm sitting in the local airport waiting for my plane to arrive so I figured I’d just write a blog entry to kill time. Grabe, the vacation was really fun. It was a needed break after one year of non-stop working. Not that I was completely rested during the whole break. I had to finish a script the first few days of my vacation. Sucker, I know, but I couldn't ask for anything more. I miss my family so badly and I miss the laid-back lifestyle of my small hometown so being back home was more than enough.

Sidetrack chika: I got here the eve before Christmas and saw Nancy Castiliogne on the same plane with me. I wasn't really surprised that she'll hide away in my hometown for the vacation. After all, we're home to one of the country's best resorts. My prying eyes couldn't help but noticed who's she with though. Haha, stop me! She was cuddling with a certain guy who I thought was just her PA at first. My bad! You get the picture?! :D It's just that after Lucky Manzano and Paolo Contis... my eyes couldn't believe what I saw. Nancy just gave us, average-looking folks, HOPE to find a prized catch. Hahahahaha :D I am sooo superficial. Later I found out that she's actually dating the OWNER of the famous beach resort who's also the son of an 80's singer and an infamous congressman. Hope went pfft.

Back to my vacation entry (heh!), surely, the break was short but I did learn a lot while I was here. It made my eyes open again to some life facts that I shouldn't forget. First, it made me aware again of my roots and being aware of where I came from makes me more humble and more accepting of the fact that I came from a poor background and no matter what I achieved or who I'm friends with now, that fact wouldn't ever changed. (Don't ever be delusional, Teddy boy!) It also made me realize that God has really blessed me much and I should stop complaining if ever I couldn't have some petty material stuff. Coming home also made me aware of the poverty and illiteracy that have always existed in my hometown and had me hoping that I could also be of help to alleviate these problems. Not by looking down of course (as most always do) but by understanding and really caring for these peeps. The face of poverty couldn't any be any more specific than my 10-year old Muslim cousin (well, he's Catholic now) who has to stay with my family after his father (my uncle) died 2 years ago. My cousin's mother had to give my cousin and his siblings to different relatives for them to survive and I just felt the impact of how difficult it was for my cousin when he suddenly cried the eve of New Year. It's been two years since he last saw his family and I really felt sorry for him.

Okay, I'm going to segue to another topic (writer, my ass! :D) by looking back at my New Year's resolution last year. I think I've achieved most of them so I don't think there's any harm in making another list of resolution for 2005.

1. SAVE MONEY. Okay, I wasn't able to do this for the first six months. After all, what is to save when my income in mainstream moviemaking wasn't even enough to pay for my bills? But I did save some during the last half of the year. Just enough to buy myself the notebook I'm using now and for me to move to a more comfy abode with my friends. Still, I will continue to make this a resolution for 2005 especially now that my TV show might be ending soon ("might" is the operative word since last I heard, we're extended one season more). Showbiz is also unstable. Heh!

2. JOG REGULARLY. Ugh. It was only during the last month that I was able to jog on a regular basis. It's all about the shoes! My old running shoes got torn and I didn't have money to buy a new one. And when I already had the money, I didn't have time naman. But I promise, I will jog regularly this time. I'm envious of my friend Marlon who's so fit right now just by jogging in the UP Oval daily. I still want a good bod. (I actually thought of going to the gym but it's just too expensive for me and I'm scared of those gym "sex" stories. Hahaha!:D)

3. STOP SMOKING. Hey, resolution achieved! Didn't puff a stick last year. Although I still want to experience "juts", I will continue my non-smoking habit. (Okay, okay, I was able to smoke pero this year na, 2005, during my rowdy yet hellava fun reunion with my elementary schoolmates! :D)

4. DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL. Resolution achieved too! :) I really don't like alcohol so this one's easy for me. Besides, I'm also not the barhopping kind, so... (Okay, okay, I drank one beer during Star Cinema's Christmas Party but only because I got thirsty from dancing and I already used my H20 stub. I also drank too much, I believe, during the same elementary reunion, but again, that was already in 2005. I am so petty, noh?! :D )

5. READ MORE. Boo me. Since I haven't got much time to read books, I ended up giving those 99-peso books I bought in National as Christmas gifts to my friends. Hahaha :D But this will continue to be a new year's resolution. This will also help me improve my limited English vocabulary and elementary grammar skills.

6. STOP THAT INSECURITY CRAP! I AM insecurity crap! This will not be a new year's resolution anymore.

Additional resolution for 2005...

7. GET A LOVELIFE. Hahahahaha! I hope to prioritize this over work this year. For chrissake, I'm already 25. I should be in a relationship already! (Okay, this is embracing the norm but... hahahaha :D I'm embarassing!)

8. BE MORE SPIRITUAL. I want to be closer with my personal savior Jesus Christ. I'm serious!:)

9. Finally, DO SOMETHING FOR THE COMMUNITY. I still don't know what, I still don't know how but I really wanna be of help. I don't know. Basta, I want to make a difference! Vote for me in the Bayaning Pilipino Awards 2006, joke! :D

Whew! The plane is about to leave. I'm nervous.

Just A Quick Note

Alright, I just saw the recap of The Amazing Race 6 and Adam and Rebecca's so gonna win. Argh, I can't believe I'm this geeky. I'm inside a net cafe of the nearby city. Had to come here because I had to re-sked my flight back to Manila. They texted me that there'll be work on January 3. Anyway, will post a longer entry when I'm back to civilization. :)

Happy New 2005, people! :)

Wednesday

Had to juggle between two Christmas Parties. Stayed longer in Star Cinema's Christmas Party. Finally there was dancing (Sorry, I was too immersed trying to dance that I wasn't able to take pictures of me dancing. Hahaha! :D) Juggled between the Creative Department and Production Department's tables (Ah! The perks of being a multi-tasker! I even got two meal stubs and free hams). Save for the dancing part, it was a "loser" night for me. Didn't win in the Jell-O Eating Contest. Didn't win in the raffle. Huhuhu. :( Went to ABS-CBN's Talk and Variety Christmas Party after where again, I didn't win in the raffle. I also "hated" Monjam for not wanting to be my cameraman so I can have pictures with the artistas. (Boo Monjam! :D) Saw Phoemela Barranda, Kitchie Nadal, Lucky Manzano, Sheryn Regis, Bianca Gonzales, among others. Actually, I can't blame Monjam. Maybe he was embarrassed that I was in a starstruck mode. After all, all the guests there were mingling with the artistas like they're really close friends while I was acting like a crazed fanatic. Loser!!!! Hahahahaha :) But it's okay. At least I saw my crush. Hehe :)


CATHY AND I. I was her apprentice in Till There Was You. She was the First Assistant Director and I was the trainee.


I AND JR. Direk Lauren babies. Hahahaha :D I was Direk's AD in All My Life. JR's Direk's AD in SCQ Reload.


ADOLF, CARMI, CHINO, GUIA AND I. The Creative Department won the Best Production number that night doing a Volta dance number. Chino wore a "tangga" for that. Guia won the Crush ng Bayan Award.


DIVING FOR THE JELL-O


JELL-OOOSERRRR!!!!! :D

Will leave for home (ooohhh yesss!) tomorrow so I’m temporarily saying goodbye. Will be back next year for my Pop 10 Songs, Music Videos and Movies of 2004. I’m now refusing to call it “my Top 10…” The word “top” connotes authority kasi eh hindi naman ako authority sa mga ganon. Just check out my archives for my choices last year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Tuesday

Twas a "winner" night for me. Found myself having fun in the Star Cinema Creative Department Christmas Party. Had second thoughts joining the party actually. After all, I resigned as Creative Assistant July of 2002 still and my last project with Star Cinema's Creative Department as a talent was still last year's My First Romance. I also am not that familiar with the new Creative peeps. But Ms Tammy coerced me to go and I'm glad she did coz I really had a blast meeting new friends and winning the games. Hehehe :) First, our team composed of Direk Olive, Emman, Pink Tianak, Ms Maya and I won the "charades". Pitted against the newbies, we easily guessed the titles of obscure Star Cinema movies. The most fun part really was the "Creative Idol Season 2" singing contest. The game's simple. All the guests (like 20 of us) had to sing a song from the pop videoke machine and whoever gets the highest score wins. Pink Tianak who was the second to sing (She sang Alanis' "You Oughta Know") definitely raised the bar early when she got a perfect score of 100. Next came Miss Maya who also got a perfect score by singing the classic Misty. Then I got a perfect score too (ahem, ahem) belting out U2's "Stuck in A Moment". (I love it when I'm "paos". I think I sing very well when I'm "paos." Heh!) Finally, Adolf of Gil Portes movies' fame, got a perfect score singing Maroon 5's "This Love". Then came the tiebreaker round wherein all of us "perfect scorers" (hehehe) had to sing the same song. Just apt for the occasion, we were all asked to sing "The Christmas Song." Miss Maya sang first and she did very well scoring a 98. I sang next and I was suuuperb getting a score of 98. (I love my subtle bragging!) Unfortunately for Pink Tianak, she only got a score of 97 (Sorry boo! Hehe :D) And unfortunately for Ms Maya and I, Adolf got a 99 (Boo us! :D Hehe :D).


PINK TIANAK AND I. Nikki McKibbin and Clay Aiken. Go figure! :D


PINK TIANAK, MONJAM AND I. Go Pink and Monjam loveteam!!!! :D


MONJAM, I AND JP ABELLERA. Enough said. :D


Oh love...look at you now... you got yourself stuck in a moment...


CREATIVE IDOL FINAL FOUR. Clay Aiken is more popular than Ruuuben, aight?! Haha! :D


CREATIVE PEEPS

Monday

Monday, went out with my college blockmates this time in I.O. KTV, The Loop. We were a small block in college (only 15 in our batch). Unfortunately, most of them weren't free that night but it's all more than fine. After all, it means I can save money. Hehe :) Videoke is also always fun. Memorable songs we sang were Beyonce's Crazy in Love (haha!) and that "turn around" song. I forgot the title. :)

Here are some pics:


THE SOAP OPERA WRITERS. Haha! The three of us all wrote for soaps. I for Pangako sa 'Yo and SCQ Reload. Waterfowl for Kaytagal Kang Hinitay and It Might Be You. Arah for Kaytagal Kang Hinintay and Mangarap Ka. Yep, we all sang the theme songs of our soaps that night.


BITTERSWEET, YEBIN AND I belting out, uhm, I forgot actually but since Yebin's holding the mic, I'm sure it's a Regine Velasquez song. :)


AKO, hindi patatalo as always. :)


WATERFOWL singing FRIEND OF MINE. She dedicates it to...wag na lang. :D


WATERFOWL AND GEN. In my dreams, they're lesbo lovers. Haha! :D


YEBIN AND I. No! No bad dreams. Haha! :D


I AND BITTERSWEET. The Love Below and The Love Fool. Haha :D


GROUP PIC, GROUP PIC! Maraming salamat pipol! :D

Sunday

Sunday, went out with my "bisaya" friends in Eastwood. It was also a mini-reunion of sorts since it's been ages since I last saw them. I just treated them in Something Fishy (resto's budget-friendly, I swear) and talked and talked till the wee hours in the morning. T'was fun reminiscing stuff. :)

Meet the bisdaks!


PAJO, YOLANDA, LAWRENCE
Pajo, Yolanda, and Lawrence were my high school classmates. They also live in the same condo in Mandaluyong. Pajo works in a call center. He used to look like R.R. Herrera when we were in high school. Lawrence is now a med student in St. Lukes. He's an American citizen. Yolanda works in HSBC. Yolanda and I went to UP together. Yolanda and Lawrence are married to each other. (And I don't understand why I have to tell you all of these. Heh.:D)


MARLON, GENEE, ALISON, AND BONITA
Save for Alison, the three are my friends from Kalayaan Dorm back in 1996. They're all from Cebu. Unfortunately, most of my Cebuano friends are already based there. (Miss them all! We had a blast during our freshman year). Marlon was my roommate for 2 years back in the old boarding house. He's now studying law. Genee was the blockmate of Yolanda so I became her friend also. She just came from China that day. Bonita was also my dormmate in Kalayaan. She's still trying to finish her masteral degree in Psychology. Alison, I just met that night. :)


CHEGAY, ZEN AND HONEY
Chegay was my high school classmate. She's now a licensed Chemical Engineer and also a regular reader of this blog. Hehe.:) Zen is Honey's roommate. She's the only "Tagalog" that night. She's a film buff like me. Honey is my childhood friend. We also went to UP together. She's now taking up her masteral degree in Geology.


BUDAT, JANETTE, LEVY, RANDY AND FRANCO
They're all my high school classmates. Budat works under Gokongwei of Galleria. Jannette was a very close friend in high school. (Chegay, Janette and I already lived in dormitories back then. Since we shared the same experience, I guess that's the reason why we became close.) Janette is now a CPA working for Ford. Levy is Janette's friend. Randy is the "bonggacious" one (in his own words, haha!). He's a CPA for Procter and Gamble. Franco was our Dawson Leery in high school. Most of our memorable HS happenings are stored in video form because of him. He's now a med student in St. Lukes.

Love ko silang lahat! :)

Today

Today is my birthday,
Yehey…yehey…