MEniverse: Globe Puts ME in the Center

I have a love-hate relationship with my Globe Tattoo plug-it ever since I had it though I've yet to decide on what emotion weighs more. It was me during my most intimate moments online (and not the type that you are thinking right now, perv) - blogging, Facebooking, and trying to cram a report or two as time passes by. As such, it took me some time to conclude that my patience has run dry on waiting for that ray of light, that ever-elusive spike in my download speed every time I fire up Google Chrome. Once, twice, but rarely three times, I'd rejoice over a YouTube video fully loaded or an online radio station streamed. But, with so much of that, I knew how to game the system - or at least that's how it appeared to be.

I surfed during the wee hours of the night and during the early parts of the morning when my kbps, if not Mbps, are all shooting to the stars like crazy and my TweetDeck is silent. I squatted at the edge of my bed, never in the middle or near the wall, as my laptop seared indistinct red blotches into my thighs. I enjoyed the mild discomforts of bad posture and bad breath as I huffed and puffed to have my fix of the online world.

But, all that changed yesterday when that world came tumbling down all because my Globe Tattoo connection went kaput. It took me more than three hours of shifting my weight from one leg to the other, tumbling around every imaginable corner of my bed, and pacing back and forth my house just to get that increasingly evasive signal. And when I did, I quickly jumped on the chance to inform everyone else (simply because I am a narcissistic person hungry for attention like that) and what better way to do so than a post in Facebook which says:



Obviously, that little status of mine automatically got posted in Globe Tattoo's wall, as well as in Smart Communications, Inc.'s wall, which I'm guessing had the former's brand handler worried. Why wouldn't he/she be? Their wall is plastered with a barrage of complaints, if not insults (a lot written in jeje, mind you!) about their speed. But amidst the heavy downpour of piercing words, their "Chat Assist Representative" (that's what I gather from reading the wall) was generous enough to send me a PM:


...and immediately, I felt like the world revolved around me. Globe, a 57-billion peso strong company, was listening to me, talking with me, and bowing down to me. "In this YOUNIVERSE, mobile and internet are one and you are at its center". Indeed, their tagline was more than just lip service.

How did Globe Tattoo pull this off? Through people the likes of Faith.

Truth be told, I admire Faith to have to brave through all of the trash talk (a handful of those directed at her) being in the forefront (the pawn, if that were a more fitting term) of handling the brand in its social media efforts. And it's people like Faith that pull me, the consumer, back to the brand, despite messed-up signal and detrimental back posture, just because they know how to connect with me in my own language. And simply because Faith reminds me that behind the seemingly impenetrable force of a huge label, those oiling the machinery behind it are people...

...just like us.

Omigod, You Guys!

"Omigod! Omigod, you guys! Looks like Elle's gonna win the prize!" and definitely, she did! Who would have thought that a musical take on a movie about chirpy-voiced preppy sorority girls grating on about parties, fashion, and boys would turn out to be so interesting? I certainly didn't but, amidst all the pink, the musical was well worth the watch!

I've seen the movie a few years' back and I have to admit that it was, at the very least, pretty decent. I had to let someone drag me into watching the musical counterpart as I was so sure that it was just another ploy to milk the plot for what its worth. I daresay, I stand corrected. I had a blast watching this one! In more ways than one, Legally Blonde the Musical trumps Legally Blonde the Movie. And, why not? What the movie lacks in energy and in impact, the musical compensates for and more!

Indeed, the musical follows the movie's storyline closely but adds to the mix a fresh (and glittery) vibe which renders audiences at a loss on which came first and which ripped off from which: the movie or the musical? (The answer: the novel came first and both movie and musical are adaptations of the said work.) At the very least, you're still in for a number of surprises even if you've watched Reese Witherspoon ham it up with the camera.

At any rate, it was two parts jolly good fun and one part social critique: a play which starts with a most unstable chemistry of stereotypes between bumbling corn-haired rich girls and intellectually rigid law school only to be ground to dust - pink dust, no less - in the end.

Nikki Gil stars as Elle Woods, Nyoy Volante as Emmett Forrest, Guji Lorenzana as Warner Huntington III, Cris Villonco as Vivienne Kensington, Jinky Llamanzares as Paulette Bonafonte, Jett Pangan as Professor Callahan, Calvin Millado as Dewey/Kyle and and Geneva Cruz as Brooke Wyndham.

For more info, check out their Facebook page here. For schedules and ticket reservations, click here.

Photo Credits:
[.] Legally Blonde the Musical poster in the Female Network

Dear Six-Year Old Version of Myself: Moving Out

Dear Six-year-old version of myself (aka 6YOVM),

Today marks the first month the roommate and I transferred to a new place. For the most part, the entire experience was liberating! No landladies, no other roommates, no ADMU student-driven cars honking impatiently...

It took us a huge number of days (and an even more huge number of boxes) to pack four years' worth of stuff that we had to take with us.

Packing!

The task was pretty simple in theory. I'm pretty sure its menial and mindless on your end. What could be so hard in:

1. Take stuff
2. Stuff in box
3. Close box
4. Repeat

But, with all honestly, it felt daunting! All the worthless junk that made its way to my possession was staring at me in the face like some puppy-eyed kid your age - cute and tempting but not worth the trouble of taking home for the rest of your life. (No offense meant, 6YOVM!)

Finally, the word hoarding (and the TV series, Hoarders) made sense!

Some of the stuff I had to sift through

And, not to mention the added effort of dragging along those who are not even willing to move in with you. Sure, the books were amenable to change, being the more liberated that they are...

Packing them books!

But, the pigs! Oh, the pigs. There's just no getting over their constant bickering and whining. I even had to gather them together and come up with an impromptu pep talk of some sort just to convince them that the grass is greener on the other side.

Prepping my pigs for the transfer...

...then taking them out for a ride

...but it never dawned on me that pigs do not eat grass. But, I think the sight of the kitchen was all that made them say yes!

THE kitchen!!1!!!one!!1

I have everything to be thankful for in the move, especially now that I'm thrown out into the world with all the worldly responsibilities of an adult living in an adult world. (Yes, I love that word: world) All that I dreamt of as a kid rushing maturity and defying biology just to stay up a little longer after dinner has finally come true!

But, then again, along with that much awaited independence comes a whole new slew of concerns. For one, I don't do my own laundry just because my work does not permit much time for me to do so (slash, I'm too tamad to sacrifice my weekends to attend to it) I have to take it out to the laundry shop every so often lest I opt to go homeless chic (which, at current, is a fashion trend which seemingly has all the right intentions but all the wrong inclinations. Read more here and here).

And, laundry shop equals costs. And, it's not just laundry, anymore. This time:

1. Space equals cost.
2. Food equals costs.
3. Water equals costs.
4. Light equals costs.
   
5. Bear Grylls and Samantha Brown equals costs.
6. Even blogging equals costs!

And costs start to be issues when the resources (aka allowances) are finally choked. So yes, dear 6-year-old version of myself, responsibility, save for being a big word, is not all that exciting.

But, then again, I get to decide on matters that really matter in my life, those that would ultimately decide my fate. I get to take on roles that I never would have even considered doing 16 years ago. And I get to live life to its fullest well beyond the simplicity of patintero and tagu-taguan. Plus, I could have all the ice cream that I want without anyone breathing down my neck. You'll have your time soon enough.

For now, don't rush it. Because, when all has been said and done, most people of my age would kill to go back to yours.

Job Week: The Week After

Today, marks my weekversary (if there's such a term) in a company I've set my eyes to for so long a time. It's been a great first week, to be completely honest about it, and I've never felt more proud to be on track towards developing a career I've smoothly transitioned into. But, certainly, to tell you all about my job hunt story and how I ended up in my dream company would take up an awful lot of space. One entry would not really suffice. So, being the wiseass that I am, I'm spreading it to four entries (make that five, counting this one) for the following days. Why?

Because a long story is never too long once you know it's well worth the time.

Creative Block

We've all had our share of creative blocks and it's quite the hassle when you're on a strict timeline. Sad to say, I've had a rather major one last night which stretched out to around 3 pm this afternoon, that after giving up on the possibility of an all-nighter even if I went to bed at around 4 am. I was working on a mock campaign for a famous brand of flipflops (as you may gather from the post before this) on hours on end when I hit a creative block. But, I have to admit that my creative block turned out to be fortunate, at least for me and Emily who've had enjoyed a lot of my unblocking activities.

I came across this article (via Lifehacker) where several creatives have shared their ways of overcoming creative block and, after having had read through the whole thing, I couldn't believe that I share the same tactic as one of them.

Minutes after I hit a brain fart, I turned on my speakers full blast with pop screaming at my ears at no end. Lulled me to sleep for the better part of it so it wasn't really that much help. This morning, however, I wrestled with the laptop again to come up with the awesomest mock campaign ever. But, sleepy mornings always have their way so I stood up and mindlessly ambled towards the fridge. It was then when I caught myself preparing for yet another episode of experimental cooking.

Again, the first target was the box of strawberries that filled Emily's fridge. I just couldn't get my mind out of why she purchased such a huge stash but never have the time or energy to prepare them according to her liking? I'm off to the rescue then! So for breakfast, we had strawberry pancakes, thanks to the left-over pancake mix from last time's cookfest.

I went back to my laptop soon after but was still stumped. That meant cheesy marble potatoes! But, with all those in my belly, I knew there's no way I'm not doing dessert. Being the desperate person that I am, I hit the fridge once more only to find apples and, uhm, more strawberries. Oh, and beer! And what's an experimental cook going to do with those? Try to whip something out of all of those, of course!

And, whip something I did, though I have no idea what that something would look like, let alone be named like because Supercook was of no use to me that time. But, lo and behold, I managed to come up with a dish that delighted Emily for the most part (and filled her room with a pungent smell of Red Horse beer). Topping it off with vanilla ice cream buried in the inner crags of Emily's fridge, I was able to come up with ala mode! Whoever said that beer and ice cream does not go together must not have discovered this gem of a dish!

Who's saying I have creative block now? I think, for the most part, we never really do run out of creativity. We never exhaust our capacity to be creative. It's just that when we do try to focus it on only one thing for long periods of time, we level the task down to routine and, well, we all know what happens next. So, what do you do? Simple. Break the routine and you'll be back to doing awesome tasks in no time!

Speaking of awesome, I shall post photos and recipes of my newly-discovered dessert within the week so stay tuned!

Photo Credits:
[.] Buildingblock.eu

Cuckoo Cooking

What with all the basil leaves and the strawberries we had from a friend's produce-hoarding gig in Baguio, we decided to hold a simple cooking get-together of some sort so we'd be able to make sure that our stash don't go to waste. Having a little close to nothing to pool together, we settled for the easy way out and threw in a few of those that have been lying in our own cupboards and food containers maximizing their shelf lives but not too much as to go beyond it. I, for one, am a fan of experimental cooking so I had a blast trying to concoct stuff out of what was available, though I'm not pretty sure if most of what I came up with were as wild as other experimental cooks out there dare to do. But, at any rate, it was settled: pesto pasta with tuna, deep-fried oreos, strawberries, and strawberry-banana milkshake. (Click on each dish to view the recipe)

But, certainly, with two photographers and four camwhores in the pack, we're never too busy for vain shots. At 397 MB's worth of pictures clogging up my system with 70.45% (yes, I computed that, seriously!) of total photos dedicated for camwhoring, it turned out to be more of a photoshoot and less of a cookfest. Vanity rocks!

Emily, photographer extraordinaire, setting up the tripod

(Supposedly) washing the dishes

But, of course, no photoshoot is ever complete without the telenovela/emo pose. Hoho! Care to suggest a title for the picture below?

Pesto Wars

Today turned out to be simply yummy for me as I tried honing my experimental cooking skills in the kitchen the entire day today. What with half a kilo of fresh basil leaves, half a kilo of fresh marble potatoes, a huge head of fresh iceberg lettuce, and a bag of fresh strawberries (emphasis on fresh!) I had no choice but to make something out of them before it all spoils. Apparently, a friend of mine who went to Baguio had a blast buying fresh fruits and vegetables given the really cheap price tag attached to it. I'm not one to complain, though. It's fresh, healthy, and would allow me a more diverse menu for the week. Best of all, it's free! Provided, of course, that I drop by said friend's place and cook her up a meal or two of whatever I manage to whip up in my own kitchen. Fair deal, I say. Thanks, Emily!

Today's specials were: my version of a fresh garden pasta, marble potato salad, and strawberry milk. I bet this would have been better if I knew a bit of French and if I had one of these babies to snap photos with:


But, then again, words are all I have. For now. So, sit back and relax as I'll run you through with the menu.

---

Vegetarian Pasta
1 part onions, coarsely chopped
1 part basil leaves, finely chopped
1 part tomatoes, sliced to strips
2 parts iceberg lettuce, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
Penne

Pre-heat 2 tbsps. of olive oil. Add onions and sautee until almost caramelized.
Add tomatoes and wait until soft but not mushy.
Throw in iceberg lettuce, followed by penne and basil leaves.
Mix then serve immediately.

It is essential to note that the lettuce should still be crisp (not wilted and soggy) by the time you serve it. Not only does it add color to your pasta but it also helps maintain that fresh vibe you want to exude out of it. Plus, wilted lettuce leaves taste bitter and you would not want too much of that, would you? Also, as you might have noticed, I used a generous amount of onions as it contributes to both the sweetness and the bite of the meal, more than enough to scrimp on seasonings or eliminate it altogether. But, sure enough, no one's stopping you. Same goes for meat. Of course, if you want more meat into your pasta, you may actually add some, though you might want to rethink the name soon after. For my first attempt, I added diced crabsticks and it turned out real great!

---

Marble Potato Salad
1 part butter
1 part cornstarch
3 parts quickmelt (cheddar) cheese, shredded
4 parts milk
1 part onions, coarsely chopped
1 part basil leaves, finely chopped
Lots of marble potatoes, boiled then halved

Melt butter in pan then follow with cornstarch and milk. Mix thoroughly until cornstarch is melted and let simmer until liquid thickens.
Carefully add shredded quickmelt cheese and mix until dissolved.
Throw in onions, basil leaves, and marble potatoes. Lightly season with sugar, salt, and pepper.
Mix then serve immediately.

Following my roommate's advice, I usually mix pre-heated olive oil while I melt my butter as to prevent it from being burned. I served this to my roommate and my landlady and they were all praises! I have to say that I enjoyed it as well.

---

Strawberry Milk
2 parts milk
1 part strawberries, diced then crushed

Mix both ingredients then throw in microwave at High for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve.

This is my own take on the more popular sliced strawberries and cream medley. I wanted something warm today for a little pick-me-up drink so I figured it would do. It was not what I expected - it tasted like strawberry tea with milk - but I loved it, nonetheless!

---

I would have wanted to go for pesto pasta and a strawberry milkshake today but having no food processor or blender at my place, I knew I needed to be more creative. My roommate and my landlady being the judges of my work, I have to say that these would actually pass as food in my books! Yay!

Photo Credits:
[.] Cutting Basil by Michelle Meiklejohn
[.] Canon EOS 7D by The Digital Newsroom

Pink is the New Black

Rule has it that blogging about yesterday is as senseless as chopped liver and shampoo, and even more senseless as a failed attempt to make do with a simile that stupidly defies logic. But, what the heck.

I wore pink yesterday to appear intent in making a political statement of some sort about gender issues as one of my top priorities for choosing a presidential candidate this coming May 2010 national elections. Or, simply because I found a reason to do so just because I found my long lost pink baller ID after so many years and it just had to be worn even if the shirt that matches it had one hell of a hole just below my rib. After all, I was going wall climbing and zip lining that day and what I lack for athletic prowess, I could make up with a better fashion sense.

It didn't go well with my friend, though. Her initial reaction was, in all her voice's high-pitched wonder, "You are not wearing red!". And, indeed, she was right being the keen observer that she was. Talk about stating the obvious. But, of course, I knew what she meant. I was not wearing red - the color being my limited choice during the early years of our friendship. Or, if you're into quantifiable sentences, she sees me wearing red 99.9% of the time, with only three times that I wore a different color. Those were the days when I used to pick a primary color (and no, you'd have to Google the definition yourself) and stick with it for five weekdays straight.

That was after I had my rather long stint with baggy shirts and Jordan shoes. And before I arrived to fashion nirvana and looked like this:


Or at least that's how I perceive myself to look like even if I do, in fact, look like a fatter, fairer, more pink-loving version of the guy above. Oh, but I will have those abs and that tan. Give me 5 months (and ten years) to work on it.

---

I had a headstart with the tan at La Mesa Ecopark when I got invited by Lai and her Accenture buddies for their company outing. While those lovely liempo slabs and hotdogs got grilling, I (along with everyone else) were roasting under the blasted sun, baking in our own oils. It was terribly hot outside and the invasion of our space by lots of children (three busloads of them!) did not help either. But, all in all, the experience was great fun! The scenery was totally breathtaking, especialy for someone like me who has not seen those green things in a while here in the city. What do you call them again? Trees?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's feeling totally awed by the fact that trees actually exist in this part of the world - in a place two jeepneys, one FX, and one tricycle ride away from my place, no less! Oh, what do they look like? Wow, I do not know where to start! They have this huge cylindrical brown bodies... Ugh, what the heck. It looks just like what's in the poster below:

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After my rendezvous (yes, I just had to use that word) with nature, I retreated to my urban landscape to watch Let's Dooh It by the Ateneo College Glee Club with a friend who told me it was about love and health. Gullible that I am, I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Piecing one with another, I figured that the free food were gluten-free, high-fiber, protein-enriched meals. I was even half-expecting Juan Flavier to do a number on stage. Good thing he did not. And good thing that the concert was not about proper diet. I would not want to fuss about the dinner we were about to take after the concert: sizzling pepper steaks from, uhm, Sizzling Pepper Steak and white and chocolate fantasy and green tea cheesecake from Classic Cuisine.

And it was a friday. My soul is slowly broiled in the crockpot of hell. With potatoes.

Photo Credits:
[.] Lo'ihi: Hi-Fashion by spudcheyne