I have to constantly remind myself that I need to be kind to others and kinder to myself... Promise.

Watching the Kardashians is Educational!

The Kardashians

My desire to end daily boredom experience led me to watching and surprisingly enjoying those crappy reality shows on TV lately. The Kardashian series (Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami) have been my favorites so far for they showcase to the world the definition of dysfunctional family at its perfection. The family's surge to popularity began after Kim and her boyfriend's role playing in bed video quickly spread in the internet. The people clamored to see more. The Hollywood producers wanted to meet that demand and saw the big bucks opportunity in exploiting Kim and even bigger perhaps if they include the entire family. The Kardashians, being the socialite family that almost feeds and breathes on the limelight for their survival, could not just decline the offer, thus the inception of the reality show (and this is just my perspective).

There were 2 episodes that I particularly liked about the series when they tried to tackle and be sensitive about social issues.


On Viagra and similar pills that stimulate erection.
Kris, the mother Kardashian, meets her BFF for lunch. The BFF offered Kris a blanket of male enhancement pills given to her by a friend in a party. Kris, at first did not like the idea of using pills to improve sexual experience with her husband (Bruce), but eventually gave in after a good convincing job done by the friend. It's funny thinking that peer pressure still works at aged women noh? Anyways the mother Kardashian, curious about the true effects of the drug, secretly mixed a pill in the coffee of her husband one morning. The husband of course drank the coffee. The mother Kardashian started caressing her man while cleaning the pool. Eventually they end up locking themselves in the room to make out obviously. The hilariously part was when Kris got addicted to the renewed sexual encounters with Bruce, she would slip a pill in his coffee everyday. So one morning, Rob the only Kardashian son, is having a bad headache he asked his mom to make him a coffee. Being the good mother she thinks she is, she made two, one for her son and the other one mixed with the enhancement pill for her husband. Things got pretty messy when Rob drank the wrong coffee. You know what happened next right? He woke up with a boner. Poor guy because of his mom's stupidity he rushed himself to the hospital in humiliation.


On abortion. 
Kourtney while in Miami opening their second Dash store with her sister Khloe, found out that she is pregnant. Stunned about her condition and the fact that she recently ditched her boyfriend Scott, she thought of dropping the child. I was in awe while watching this episode as the message I am getting is that abortion just like murder is actually a viable option for pregnant single women who think it is the end of the world for them already. I thought it will be cool if a young lady can just walk in the hospital and ask the doctor to perform abortion, right? Anyways, I was quite disappointed when the episode ended with Kourtney getting back with her boyfriend for the sake of keeping the child.

Pound for Pound Mayor!

So the Mayor of Davao City, the daughter of the former Mayor Duterte who is now assuming the Vice Mayor seat, decided to show the world what girl power literally is all about - hitting a Sheriff in the face! I was eating hotdogs and eggs for lunch when I saw the news broke out on TV. I know that this is a serious matter but I just cannot help burst into laughter after realizing that the lady mayor has boxing skills. She jabbed the sheriff's face like a professional boxer. The issue has now reached national scale and is gaining different views from the people. I think the behavior and action displayed by the Mayor is no longer a question of whether it is right or wrong. Obviously it is wrong! It is undoubtedly not acceptable! It is unprofessional! It is against the law! But on the other hand I say that it is admirable! She earned my respect for exemplifying the true and simple meaning of government which is protecting the interest of the majority for the common good.

By the way madam Mayor, you might want to consider exploring a boxing career later on just in case the IBP decides to discredit you as lawyer and DILG kicks you out of the office... Good idea noh?

Here's the full story from ABS-CBS News.

Davao City mayor punches sheriff

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 07/01/2011 1:35 PM | Updated as of 07/01/2011 7:31 PM

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte holds Abe Andres, sheriff of Davao RTC branch

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) - Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte was caught on camera punching a sheriff of the Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 15 who was serving a demolition order on Friday.
Duterte said she had asked court sheriff Abe Andres to wait for 2 hours before serving a demolition order that would destroy shanties of 500 families in Barangay Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Suliman, Agdao.
She said Andres ignored the order, causing tension to break out in the area.
Footage taken by ABS-CBN Davao showed Duterte gesturing to Andres to come closer before punching him repeatedly in the face.
Two men were also seen holding on to Andres while Duterte held on to his collar and talked to him.
In an interview, Andres said Duterte's attack left him with contusions above his eye.
"Merong contusions kaunti sa ibabaw ng aking mata pero ok naman ho. May reseta," he told ABS-CBN News Channel.
The sheriff said he did not expect to be attacked by the mayor since he was only doing his job.
He added that a lawyer approached him at the hospital and said the mayor was offering her apology.
"Hindi ko alam kung galing yun sa kanya. Kung ano naman hindi naman namin sabihing ok na lang din pero yung sorry na yun kung hindi galing sa kanya wala akong magagawa," he said.
Andres said he will report the matter to his superiors as well as the Sheriffs Confederation of the Philippines before taking any action.
'I did not beat him up'
In a separate interview, Duterte said she asked Andres to wait for her to prevent a riot from happening.
"I was asking him for 2 hours because we were already preparing for the demolition yesterday. I sat down with the people  in the area and I asked our city housing to sit down with the owner of the property. Everything was supposed to go smooth sailing but what happened was I asked him to wait for me and give me 2 hours because I am still in the relief operations and he said he will not comply and proceed with the demolition. So when I arrived, the riot was starting already and one police was hurt already. Medyo mainit na talaga yung ulo ko, mam," she told ANC's On the Scene. 
Asked if her foul mood justified her beating up Andres, the mayor said: "I did not beat him up...I am prepared to stand by what I am saying, that  I am asking him for humanitarian reason to wait for me since we were already planning for this so that no riot will happen and the demolition will be executed peacefully."
The mayor said it was she who ordered that Andres be given medical treatment at the Southern Philippines Medical Center. She said Andres refused to be admitted and left the hospital.
"I was the one who sent him to the hospital. I think that's sorry enough. I also told the doctor to admit him to the hospital but he refused," she said.
She also denied sending an emissary to relay her apologies to Andres.
Duterte said that before the confrontation, she had called up Andres' superior and told him to delay the demolition. She said Andres's boss is her relative.
The mayor said she is prepared to face any investigation of the incident.
"They say they are going to file contempt charges. That is not a problem for me," she said.  With a report from Maymay Benedicto, DXAB Davao; ANC

Holiday Eggs!

I am having this for breakfast and maybe for lunch too assuming I cannot or will not finish everything...

 

This is Ruth's omelet recipe. She made me wonderful breakfasts everyday when she stayed at my place for vacation. I tried making this dish my own by adding fresh milk to make the texture of the eggs creamy. And the result???...Good flavors presented in distorted shapes. Oh I am not questioning my culinary abilities at all! I blame it on the pan!!! I hate you for being midget size! I will replace you with a bigger one!

Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!

So the gang (I am not mentioning you individually to save space here) went to the see the latest X-men series (X-Men First Class) on Monday. I did not go with them for I have seen it already on Sunday. This is like a self inflicted punishment for me. It would have been more fun going to the movies with these guys had I learn to restrain the desire (as dictated by my evil alter ego) to watch it ahead of them. I am deeply sorry guys. The evil in me took advantage of my weakness. This evil knew that I was craving for Chimara's sour cream and chives pop corn. I just cannot say no to these powder rich genetically altered puffed kernels. It was a psychosomatic thing. This evil twin apparently posses the same telapathic powers that Charles Xavier showcased in the movie. It planted the idea in my brain that watching it on Sunday is a now or never situation. It controlled me entirely. I was just too helpless...Darn that high level telepath. When the time comes (I'm crossing my fingers here) that mutation will be available in the market for ordinary human species like me to own, I will be the first in line to get a dosage of that injectable mutant transformation virus that will give me super psionic powers. And what better way to test my newly acquired mutant abilities, is to make you guys my guinea pigs. I have laid out a plan on reading and manipulating your thoughts. Please consider this as my way of making up to you.

Amie

"Iwasan lagi ang pagtatampo. Hindi ito nakakabuti sa puso. Peace tayo lagi diba?"

Reana

"Choose who you think is more appetizing for your palette. It has been proven many times na masarap ang bawal" Apir!

Roni

"Tol, hindi na uso ang Maria Clara sa panahon natin ngayon. Go and make the first move! Hindi masama ang lumandi minsan."

Rhiel

"Mag-ingat sa mga taong madalas makitulog sa unit mo lalo na yung may braces. Mabangis at makapal ang mukha nyan. Iwasang maging mabait lagi sa kanya."

Jerwin

"Set your spirit free. It is the only way to be...Sing with me...Do not be afraid to fall in love again." 

Ace

"Naubusan na ako ng idea. Hindi ko alam kung ano sasabihin ko sayo. Bye."

CBCP means Cuteness Bawal sa Commercial Please

Do you remember this Mc Donald's TV ad?

Oh yeah the "kill joys" did it again. Apparently, the people who claim to be the vanguard of our societies morality, find this advertisement distasteful for it could send a wrong message to its young viewers.Okay I get it, kids should not be used as characters in the portrayal of romantic relationships even if we think they are cute. I am just wondering though if CBCP is actually reviewing all the advertisements that are being shown on television. How about those whitening products that project lighter skin as a new measure of beauty like this one...

The video shows how the girl's lighter complexion helped her to easily catch the attention of her crush ( I suppose) unlike before where she remained unnoticed when her skin was still dark. If CBCP is indeed true to their commitment in the promotion of good values in television then this advertisement should have been banned as well. Why? For the same argument they used in pulling out Mc Donald's ad: "It could send the wrong message". For it tells the teenage girls that white is always beautiful instead of encouraging them to actually embrace their natural color and beauty (aside from the fact that it teaches them to make landi with the cute boys right???). But of course this is just my interpretation which is my main point... It's all about interpretation. If CBCP is only harping about the younger audience tendency to misinterpret the message that these advertisements convey, then they should promote responsible parenting instead. That parents should always guide their children while watching TV.

Before the World Ends...

So what would you do when they tell you that the world will end tomorrow?... Pig out at the newly opened buffet restaurant in town and ask your boss to pay for it...

I ate all of these...

(Seafood soup)

(Platter of Dimsum)

(Skewered Meat and Veggies)

(American Plate - roasted ribs, beef, lamb, and buttered veggies)

I ate all of those with these guys...

(My teammates - Shane, Hugh, Myself, Dong, and Mike)

And oh I also ate some of these...

I was already stuffed after all of those madness, so I decided to skip these...

Oh I am definitely coming back to this place...

Komiks ni Via (Volume I)

So Jerwin found a productive and artistic way of channeling his unexploited talent into literature... Messing up with people through Comics. Here's a sample of his exquisite work.

Pictures taken during Reana's Birthday celebration at Shin Dang Dong Korean restaurant.
Jerwin's Victim: RONI

Boys' videoke night out at Center Stage.
Jerwin's victims: ACE, RHIEL, and I

His future comics stories will be exclusively posted on this blog... So whose lives will be miserable after being terrorized in Jerwin's next comics issue? Let us all find out... Soon!

At tulad ng lagi kong sinasabi, lintik lang ang walang ganti... Kaya etong sayo... Tarrraaaannn! This what I call sweeeeet revenge... Bwahahahaha!

Part 2: I Saw, I Came, I Conquered Mt. Malamsimbo... Yeah!

We reached the shores of Puerto Galera at noon. We had a quick lunch at Mengie's resort. I had a modest meal composed of siopao and banana which I bought at Seven Eleven in Manila and hard boiled eggs courtesy of Amie. We were given about an hour to enjoy the picturesque white sand beach. It was a great opportunity for us to take more pictures. It was also at this time when I started asking Rhiel if we really wanted to continue with the climb. I was convincing him that we stay and just chill in the resort. My plan was for both of us to pull an award winning act either we got food poisoned or both of our right legs broke badly for some reason. But the idea was just plain stupidity. We would have been sorry and crying in regret by now for we missed an entirely amazing adventure.


Group prayer before the actual climb...

Some local handicrafts on display while at the foot of the mountain...

The steepest trail of the mountain greeted us with lush green surrounding...

The scorching heat of the almighty sun was unforgiving. We needed to stop a couple of times to rehydrate and allow ourselves to be enchanted by the beauty of everything around us...

 

 

Alex and I immediately assembled our kiddie tent upon reaching the camp site. When we finally finished setting up the tent we realized that it was too small for both of us to fit inside. However we were able to came up with a simple strategy to address our sleeping conditions. We agreed that I will take the inner half of the tent while Alex will be stay near the entrance with our backs facing each other and definitely no moving at all.

/

Flashing our tired and hungry faces while waiting for the gourmet dinner to be served. We had pesto pasta, chicken and pork adobo, oriental crab meat soup and some thai chicken mushroom thing courtesy of Alman. There were also lots of booze during the socials where it was time for each one of us to meet everybody. It was fun meeting crazy party people like Marvin, Jason, and Meng. I slept sober with my sanity still intact for I only had few shots of Vodka.

I woke up early the next morning with wet clothes (and I blame it on our crappy tent!). The rain was pouring really hard at night. I went to Jerwin's tent to get the camera and here's what I got...

More pictures taken before we headed back to Puerto Galera...

So what's my take on the entire experience?... Totally awesome!!! I will definitely do it again...