Pizza time!

We celebrated today with pizza and Pepsi. Congratulations Boys for being the best team for May and June! Keep up the good work.

4 boxes of pizza for 8 people! Lupet!

Jerome won Top Gun Agent for the month. Galing!

Hinahabol na ng mga agente ko ang waistline ko!

What's in a name?

Saw this post from Bee's blogsite. I tried it out for myself and got this...

The website is (http://www.lovepm.com/zodiac/namesays/m.shtml)

Kinda creepy though, coz it hit close to home.

Chuck

I just finished watching the complete season of Chuck, compliments of Jay who gave me a copy.

Reviews for this TV show have been mixed. Most forums that I've visited either really liked it or found it too formulaic.

When I saw the pilot episode on AXN, I thought it was just ok. Nothing jumped out as interesting. It was funny, yeah, i'll give it that. Thanks to great editing, the fight scenes were action packed, albeit lacked a little energy on the part of the actors. The plot was kinda generic, a computer nerd that involuntarily got involved in government spy activities and found himself falling in love with his protector, a blonde CIA spy while dodging bullets and saving the world from terrorists. Good thing, the plot thickens as we move towards the last few episodes of the season.

What kept me watching? The comedy. It was really funny and the characters grew on me. I especially loved the brother-sister bond that Chuck had with his sister, Ellie. It was a family type of relationship that we rarely see in TV shows lately. Much of this season focused on character development, showing us how Chuck manages to stay alive, keep his secret spy life from his sister while battling his emotions for Sarah.

In the end, I can say that I love this show. Zach Levi is so charming in a dorky kind of way and I can't wait to see what happens to Chuck in Season 2.

Tarp

The new tarps are up. June Dream Team of the month.

Material Girl

It's been a week since my last blog... wow, ano ito, confession?

I was browsing through my friends' blogsites and I saw Coach Anne's website. She had posted pictures of her cute pink laptop and Hello Kitty gadgets. I was inspired to post pictures of my own gadgets as well.


I never thought I'd be obsessed with "Gadgetry". I remember back in high school, the only gadget I had on was a beeper (ok, fine, it was college, I'm THAT old!) and the occasional walkman. Anyhoo, I was always interested in movies, music, tv, books and going out of town, go to the beach or go diving. Gadgets were for techy nerds and geeks, they were alien to me.

Somehow, by some weird twist of karma, I found myself working with one of the giant companies in electronics and gradually became engrossed with gadgets. I bought magazines, watched features on tv and browsed in the internet looking for the latest models. Even though they burn holes in my wallet and dented my credit card, I was hooked.

Here are some of the gadgets currently keeping my Material World interesting.

Among the first and oldest gadgets I own would be my cellphone. Let's face it, everyone has one and most people would say that they feel "naked" without it.


Now this model, the SE k700i is definitely a keeper. I've been tempted to upgrade several times. She (yeah she, not it) has a lot of features that I didn't know I needed in a phone, plus some more that I didn't know she had. I'm learning something new about her everyday. Just recently, I discovered how to use her as a remote control for my laptop using her bluetooth features. She's tempermental too! Whenever I talk about getting a new phone, she starts acting up and suddenly the joystick will stop working! I swear, she has an attitude!


This Dell Inspiron 1525 was a gift from my Auntie Cora from Houston. Mommy brought it home with her when she went to the US for a vacation this summer. It's running on Windows Vista Home Basic powered by Intel Celeron CPU 550 @ 2.00 GHz, 2GB Memory, 200 GB HDD storage, Wlan and instant AV mode. The only letdown was the Optical drive, built with only a combo CD/DVD-Rom drive, not an RW one.





It has a blue rubberized coating on the lid which is perfect because it won't slip out of my hands when I'm lugging it around the house. That's right, only in the house. I'm not brave enough to carry this baby out into the real world yet.

What I love most about it is its silver titanium bezel, it's dust-free, easy to clean and the keypad letters are very clear. It's a mahtee purtee gift! Thinks tita!




Now this iHome station was a dream come true! It too was a gift, this time from my cousin, Ate Boots. She gave this for Christmas when she and Auntie Lillian visited Manila last December. I hand-picked this particular model from apple.com. I've had the green Ipod Nano since October last year, but I couldn't enjoy my music the way I wanted to... LOUD! This iHome docking station is an all-in-one alarm clock, remote control, player and battery charger. And yes, it can get very LOUD!


Speaking of loud, don't take this little cutie for granted. This egg speaker can cause some serious ear problems when turned up to max! I bought this from Jaypee last month for a few hundred pesos. Don't you just love how cute it is! It comes in black, blue, red and white. It has an internal battery that charges when you plug it via USB to a computer or charger. If opens up to extend it's speakers for more volume. Since the iHome station is too big to bring to the beach or to the park, this little number is perfect!










This external harddrive was my latest purchase. It's a Western Digital Passport with 160 GB storage space and contains mostly my collection of music and movie files. Surprisingly though, it does not contain porn... yeah I know, ako pa! Hehe!








All these pictures were taken with my dependable Canon Ixus 75 digital camera. I have the silver model as shown here. Ever since my Sony Cybershot T5 camera conked out on me last year, I've been looking for a replacement camera that was just as stylish, sharp and feature-packed as the T5 without a price tag that would sting.

At first, I felt guilty for buying a non-Sony camera, but those feelings soon faded after I got to play with this beauty. It had features that gave me confidence to experiment with images the way a professional photographer would.

Was it really a coincidence that Macky bought the exact same model in the US? I never spoke about it to her until I saw her camera last month. Galing! Was it ESP? Maybe it was more of the fact that poeple buy Canon, it's always the better choice.

Not too shabby, don't you think?

And just like her royal highness, PopQueen Madonna, I am a Material Girl, living in a Material World!

Mama Mia!

Saw this movie with my sisters last weekend. Ate Irene's treat. It was great fun kasi kaming tatlo lang ang tao sa buong cinema. Don't ask where, basta.

I laughed so hard and the movie was so fun. Pierce Brosnan was soooo handsome, just don't look at him when he's singing. He looks constipated. His voice didn't sound good either. But, whatdahey, he's still so hot!

Merryl Streep was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know she could sing, dance or even jump that high! She surprised me the most when she sang "The Winner Takes It All" on top of the cliff, so full of emotions, so much energy! I didn't know Collin Firth had such a cool, breezy voice, I wish he sang more songs in the movie.

The setting was beautiful, Greece was so magnificent. The cliffs, the rocks, the blue sea, the sparkling sunset shots, the golden tanned bodies of the dancers... haaay! Happiness ang lola mo!

What I liked best about the movie was the music. All the words, the melody and songs were (SWAK) perfect for each scene! I was singing throughout most of the movie, to Tek's annoyance. Hehe!

If anyone is looking for a feel-good, romantic and fun movie to watch this weekend, try this out, non-Abba fans will still get their money's worth. For those looking for a good plot, fine acting, quality musical voice and thrills... keep looking.

More reviews from http://www.imdb.com/

Plot:

The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA.

20 year old Sophie (Seyfried) is preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky (Cooper) at her mother's hotel on an island in Greece. She seemingly has it all; a carefree life, loving boyfriend and happy friends but one thing has been missing all her life; a father.Her only wish now is to be given away by her dad at her wedding. By reading her mother's diary she discovers that she has three possible fathers. Sophie then secretly invites all three men in a desperate bid to discover which of them is her father before the wedding bells start to chime!But not all goes to plan, old loves are re-kindled, new loves are formed and Sophie risks everything to discover the true identity of her father.

Featuring the songs of ABBA and based on the worlds number one musical comedy which has people dancing in the aisles every night, this movie is sure to be the hit of Summer 2008!

Trivia:
According to Variety the play's original producer and writer, "were broke when they first tried to put the show together and were even snubbed by the Swedish pop group whose music formed the basis for the show. They are now two of the wealthiest women in England."

Based on the hit ABBA single of the same name. Mamma Mia! first opened in London on April, 6th, 1999 at the Prince Edward theater. It had its North American debut at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre on May 23rd, 2000. The original Toronto cast then moved on to Mamma Mia!'s pre-Broadway tour starting in San Francisco, moving on to Los Angeles, then Chicago. It was while the original Toronto cast was performing in Chicago that Louise Pitre (Donna) and Tina Maddigan (Sophie) were invited to play their same roles in the original Broadway cast, which opened on October 18th, 2001 at the Winter Garden Theater, the former home of Cats. It now has toured in over 140 cities across America. As of April 2007, Mamma Mia has open run productions in: New York, London, Las Vegas, Madrid, Moscow, Stuttgart, Fukuoka (opens May 19th 07) Gothenburg (opening May 9th 07) Essen, also has an US tour and an International tour traveling to cities all over the globe. Mamma Mia! has also played in Melbourne, Australia and Utrecht, The Netherlands, and in Copenhagen and Horsens, Denmark.

Phyllida Lloyd also directed the original ‘Mamma Mia!’ Broadway Play.

‘Mamma Mia!’ was the first film to be shot on the new 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios following a fire after Casino Royale (2006) wrapped. The new 59,000 sq ft stage was used for song and dance numbers that could not be filmed in the sun in Greece.

Benny Andersson, former ABBA member and co-composer of the songs, calls Meryl Streep "a miracle". Meryl Streep came to Stockholm to do her vocal for the song "The Winner Takes it All". She finished it in one take.

Meryl Streep first saw the musical in October 2001 with her daughter Louisa and her daughter's friends in Manhattan.

Bill Nighy was announced to star in this project but was replaced.

Both writers of the original ABBA music, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, can be seen in cameos playing instruments.

According to Meryl Streep, Julie Walters injured herself whilst filming the "Dancing Queen" musical sequence (by tripping over some rocks on a cobbled street), but "soldiered on".

Mandy Moore, Amanda Bynes, Rachel McAdams, and Emmy Rossum were all considered for the part of Sophie.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene above the 'old goat's house' in which Donna is singing Mamma Mia, the amount of dust/dirt on the knees of her dungarees changes between shots.

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Donna is repairing the shutter with a cordless drill, there is not a bit in chuck, so there's no way it could "repair" the shutter. The empty chuck is visible in subsequent scenes with the same drill.

Continuity: Early during the film there is a scene when a tremor is felt and the dolphin mosaic cracks. Later during the bachelorette party, everyone is dancing around the dolphin and the crack is missing. Sometime later during the film Donna attempts to repair the crack in the mosaic.

Continuity: During the dancing scene on the beach, there is what appears to be a decanter and an ice bucket on the bar. These objects change position when the camera angle has changed.

Continuity: During the "Does your Mother Know" dance scene at the beach bar, a dancer in the background is suddenly wearing sunglasses in one shot, they are gone on the next shot of her, and then she's wearing them again.

Sisig and Beer for Breakfast

Had breakfast with my former team, the Laughing Hyenas. It was pure coincidence that I wore red that day, coz they had an agreement to wear red for the day.

This was breakfast at Gerry's grill in Strata. We clogged our veins with pork sisig, fried chicken, adobo flakes and chicharon and beer to wash it all down.

Hay, I miss them.

Horoscope

HOROSCOPE FOR THE DAY:

"You can see what needs to be fixed in your life right now, and you are starting to come to the conclusion that things need to be radically changed if you are going to get to where you want to be -- but don't get scared, get empowered! You know you need to do it, and you know how to do it -- so do it! Sure, it might take more time than you thought, and it might cause some conflict in your life. But you will feel much happier once things are the way you want them to be."

That's it! Even the stars are conspiring to show me the way.

Coach Joel has left

I'm removing the rose colored glasses and facing reality today. Coach Joel has resigned and left Sony. It's definitely a sad time for me in the office. He was one of the coaches whom I can both have decent conversations and nonsense chitchat with. I'll definitely miss my seatmate, my classmate in Coach 101, my destiny buddy (we were always groupmates in all activities no matter how much they randomize the grouping process), my friend. He's one of the coolest and most fashionable people in Sony.

Good luck in China, Coach Joel. I'm so proud of you and I'm praying for your success there!

We'll all miss you! sniff!

Black Balloons

I wanted to have black balloons for my debut, but back then (90's) black balloons did not exist, at least not in Manila's party stores. I guess the obsession for black balloons never really went away.

These are photographs by Andrea Galvani. I've always been a frustrated photographer, but these images are inspiring me to learn more about the art.

"Baby's black balloon makes her fly, I almost fell into that hole in your life..."

--- John Reznik

Street River

"What the hell am I doing in Espanya today?"

I had to drive Mommy to PRC yesterday morning, during the downpour of Habagat. I litereally spent 2 hours along Quezon Avenue and Espana (how do you do the eNye letter?... alt+164....leche ayaw gumana!) trying to row, este, drive the van along UST. I could see the waves in the water when a bus passed by, hammering the side of the van.

Kids were swimming on the road and several URCHINS began to gather the around the cars. By urchins, I mean people who you thought were there to help out the stranded motorists, but in fact were cajoling them for money, offering to push the small cars through the water for P100. The nerve!


It's already 10:00am and I'll be late for work! If I had to spend another 30 mins there, I would have abandoned the van and swam all the way home. If I get stranded there, if the van conked out or if I were really late (which I hate), might as well get some evidence. So I took some pictures of the waves, the flood and the urchins on my phone camera as evidence.


I had to get out of there. Mommy said that the van could handle the flood, "Diesel ito, mataas tambucho!" whatever that means! After two Hail Marys and the fact that my bladder was bursting (had to pee so bad!), I mustered up the courage to step on the gas pedal, close my eyes and drive straight through the river street.
Mommy was right, the van chugged on forward and I made it through to PRC and Mendiola. I even managed to arrive in the office on time, dry and unscathed, and feeling rather invincible after that.

What an adventure!

Change Perspectives

"You are clearly a leading lady. But you're behaving like the best friend. You should be the leading lady in your own life"

--- Arthur Abbot (The Holiday, movie)

Avenue Q

Finally saw the farewell run of the Manila production of Avenue Q play last June 12 at RCBC Tower with Pattsoy. Thanks to Mader Berna for the tickets!

Grabe, I'm so into this right now. I'm singing the songs in my head even in my sleep and while doing laps in the pool.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Avenue Q.

"If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit, and everyone stop being so PC, maybe we could live in harmony"

--- Princeton, Kate, Gary Coleman, Brian and Christmas Eve

"I can't even get a taxi!"

--- Gary Coleman

"You look like David Hasselhoff!"

--- Nicky

"You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime."

--- Kate Monster

"The internet is for porn. The internet is for porn, Grab your dick and double click for porn, porn, porn!"

--- Trekkie Monster

"My purpose in life is a mystery. Gotta find my purpose. Gotta find me."

--- Princeton

"Don't stress, Relax! Let life roll off your backs. Except for death and paying taxes, Everything in life is only for now!"

--- Cast Members

"I know put my earmuffs on the cookie"

--- Nicky

"Schadenfeude. Happiness at the misfortune of others. That is German!"

--- Nicky and Gary Coleman

"It sucks to be me! I say it sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka sucka SUCK! It sucks to be me!"

--- Christmas Eve

Fabulous Costumes

Every year since 2003, the Mapayapa Village I choir holds the annual Christmas Costume Party. We needed an excuse to get glammed up and fancy since we weren't doing any christmas carols, weddings or other performances that year.

The first theme we had was "Oscar Night". Gowns and Formal suits were required, thus the beginning of the Familia Zaragoza pictorials. (I'll post the pics when I find some)

The following year, we went for Retro 80's theme. Ate Jinky, Mommy Tek and Kuya Raffy were the subject matter experts, with matching jewelry, posters of Menudo and authentic shoulder pads!

We went all out the following year with United Nations Christmas! People had to dress up in iconic/national costumes, create flags and prepare food from their countries. I was Miss KiKinang Thailand (all glittered up and shiny!) and won First Place!

We chose Movie Icons as theme for the following year. I remember only having 2 hours to prepare for this party. Inspired by one of my favorite nerdie TV shows, and the fact that I went crazy with my eyebrow shaver, I went as Spock. I won 3rd place! Live Long and Prosper!

Last Christmas, we chose Cartoons of the Past Theme. We garbed ourselves as Cartoon characters that are not shown on TV anymore. Obviously, since I couldn't get squeeze myself into a Cheetarah costume, I settled for Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Won 2nd place! Hah!
You can check our choir's multiply website for more pictures (http://mv1choir.multiply.com/).

Can't wait for this year's Christmas Party! Actually, we don't have any themes in mind yet. But if anyone out there has any suggestions, you're welcome to comment on this blog.


"Aren't we fabulous!"
-- Mitzi, Priscilla: Queen of the Dessert

B.I. - Blogger Influence

This is Coach Sheryl... one of the coolest people in Sony! She influenced me to create my own blog.

I never told her this, but back when I was in the night shift, her blog always makes me smile. Whenever I'm stressed with work and am stuck in front of my computer, I go to her blogspot (http://lifeofadominantbitch.blogspot.com/) and read her posts. Never fails to amuse me.

Yun lang, gaya gaya lang ako. Hehe!

Thanks Coach She! Wuv you!

I took this picture of her when we were having coffee in Starbucks. One of my numerous attempts at photography... one of my frustrations. I'll post more pictures next time and show more of my "postcardy photos".

Pretty in Pink

I swam at Ultra this morning. Chai dropped me off at 7:30am. SAKTO! Wala kaming tubig sa bahay so dun nalang ako naligo. Hehe! I've no excuse to back out now.

I did hydrobics, crawls and back strokes for 2 hours! It helps a little that I float like a ball.
Now I can't even lift my arm to comb my hair. Haay! I missed doing laps in the pool...
Pat on my back, my goal was to complete 5 laps... I did 8! Yipee! Actually, laglag na dila ko sa 5 laps, kaso Dayrit was late, so I did a few more to kill the time.

I wore my new pink suit today, the one that Macky brought from the US... size 52DDD (whale size). Can't wait to be back there tomorrow.

Because I am a Queen!

This is one of my 2 favorite songs in the world. I think it was written especially for me. I like to play around with the lyrics and change INDIA ARIE to SYLVIA MARIE... It fits so well!

"Video" by India Arie

{Verse 1}

Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don’t

Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won’t

Depend of how the wind blows I might even paint my toes

It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul

{Chorus}

I’m not the average girl from your video

And I ain’t built like a supermodel

But I learned to love myself unconditionally,

Because I am a queen

I not the average girl from your video

My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes

No matter what I’m wearing I will always be

India.Arie (Sylvia Marie)

{Verse 2}

When I look in the mirror and the only one there is me

Every freckle on my face is where it’s suppose to be

And I know my creator didn’t make no mistakes on me

My feet, my thighs, my Lips, my eyes, I’m loving what I see

{Verse 3}

Am I less of a lady if I don’t where panty hose?

My momma said a lady ain’t what she wears but what she knows…

But I’ve drawn the conclusion, it’s all an illusion

Confusion’s the name of the game

A misconception, a vast deception,

Something got to change

Now don’t be offended this is all my opinion

Ain’t nothing that I’m saying law

This is a true confession

Of a life learned lesson

I was sent here to share with y'all

So get in when you fit in

Go on and shine

Clear your mind

Now’s the time

Put your salt on the shelf

Go on and love yourself

‘Cause everything’s gonna be alright

{Out}

Keep your fancy drink, and your expensive minks

I don’t need that to have a good time

Keep your expensive cars and your caviar

All’s I need is my guitar

Keep your crystal and your pistol

I’d rather have a pretty piece of crystal

Don’t need you silicone, I prefer my own

What God gave me is just fine…

Scorpion Knights

The team to beat: SCORPION KNIGHTS!

Lemme introduce you to the Scorpion Knights. Pinaka-matigas na mga mukha sa buong Sony!

There's Tay, Jem, Elmer, Ge, Rod, Mar, Caz, Jules and Jovs.

Big Cat Poses

Went to Zoobic Safari last weekend with my lifelong BFFs, Macky and Jayneal. Jay's sister Lynne came along.
The keepers had us remove all jewelry and accessories which took longer than the actual photo shoot. GRRR!!!
This is juvenile tiger is one of more than 30 tigers they keep in Zoobic. YUP, it's still a baby, drinking milk from a bottle.

VIRGIN POST (the first time)

This is the first time I ever posted a blog. Kinda virginal experience really. Nervous but exciting!