It was Dan's birthday last saturday :) The Santoses and Arboledas headed off to MOA since we made reservations for dinner at Via Mare. The restaurant was at a row which had a view of Manila Bay. The buffet was set up there (a lot of other restos had the same arrangements) and we were front and center of the show :) It was China vs. France (or Germany?) Anyway, it was awesome. It rained hard for about 30 minutes but the fireworks went off as planned. People were cheering and clapping all throughout the show and we were all awed by the spectacle. We were all kids again, even if it was just for two hours :)
Jason Mraz's CD will be out on May 13, 2008 (FINALLY!). You can pre-order at Amazon for just $9.99. The first single off this CD is I'm Yours. I first heard this song a couple of years back, I think this was a B-Side to one of his singles. Was it for 50 First Dates? That's what I remember but correct me if I'm wrong.
Here's the track listing for the new CD:
1. Make it Mine 2. I'm Yours 3. Lucky featuring Colbie Caillat 4. Butterfly 5. Live High 6. Love for a Child 7. Details In Fabric w/James Morrison 8. Coyotes 9. Only Human 10. The Dynamo of Volition 11. If It Kills Me 12. A Beautiful Mess
And because I'm a fangirl I searched for the live versions of these songs on Youtube. Ganda nila :D Can't wait for this CD to come out! Sana rin sabayan na nya ng tour diba Maan, Cha, Jo??
Sya na lang kaya paglihian ko? ahaha!
A montage of all the fan versions of I'm Yours was featured in Jason's website (which is now revamped, punta kayo, he will welcome you personally, well his voice will). May tiga-Philippines!
I remember me, Maan, Jo and Cha screaming "I'm Yours! I'm Yours! I'm Yours!" during Jason Mraz's second concert here. Si Maan sinabi, di yun request ng song ha, declaration yun, "Jason, I'm Yours!"
and finally a TV ultrasound (only sounds weird! hehe)
It's confirmed! Dan and I are 8 weeks pregnant!! It all sank in when we finally saw the baby's heartbeat moving so fast when I had the ultrasound. I was looking at Dan throughout the process and he was really weepy which then made me weepy. The feeling was just unbelievable. My estimated delivery date is on 6 December 2008. I share this due date with one good friend, Anna Angeles-Patajo of BlueLawbyAnna. Bles believes that our pregnancies are a conspiracy but it is fun to share what I'm going through with Anna. Lately nausea has reared its ugly head but when I get hungry, I AM HUNGRY! My feet have also gotten a little bit wider and so I have been on the lookout for comfortable flats. I'm wearing my superstar ballerina's to death but it's the most comfortable shoes I own now. My fat jeans have become my regular jeans now too.
I am dutifully taking my folic acid and calcium supplements and have been eating my fair share of fruits. Saturdays have now been delegated as doctor days having spent 3 of the past 4 saturdays in our OB's office.
Since Dan and I announced the good news to my family, I got this from EJ:
and the "bible" of pregnancy books from Ela:
I'm up to the third month na hehe :D
It's going to be an exciting ride for sure. Dan and I feel that it's a boy but we are both praying for a happy and healthy baby. I can't believe we're already parents!!
Eto pala yung dialogue when I told my Dad the good news:
one of the projects i did for our wedding was the table numbers. under each table number i printed lyrics to some of dan's favorite songs and some quotes from my favorite poets. it was a fun project since i was able to crack open my old poetry books and collections which have been collecting dust in my room.
one of the poems i used was by e.e.cummings. i only have one book by him, a collection of his more popular poems and illustrations. i bought it when i was still in UP. i wanted to buy more but i resorted to just borrowing books from the UP Main Lib as most of my student allowance then went to buying roast beef and chips sandwiches at green house (or milo and spaghetti at CASAA) or watching movies at SM North! if i wasn't reading e.e.cummings, i was devouring rainer maria rilke. e.e.cummings (the e.e. stands for edward estlin) also experimented with how words are positioned. if one read his poems, one may think he forgot to set the margins in his typewriter as his words are either spread out all over the page or are typedthisclose. but that is part of the experience . his words are literally alive, jumping all over the page, inviting the reader to jump with the caterpillar or to go lazily down a flight of stairs.
here's one favorite. enjoy!
i carry your heart with me
e.e. cummings (1894-1962)
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,mysweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the rot and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
04.19.08 Santuario De San Antonio Captain's Bar, Mandarin Oriental *~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I never thought this day would come! After all the complications, sicknesses and assorted dramas that paved their path to coupledom, Steff and KG finally said their I Do's last saturday. It was a beautiful wedding and a very intimate reception. The guestlist was just below 120 and we all had a blast! Steff was absolutely radiant and was glowing that night and KG was just the happiest :)
The couple are off to India on Monday (Steff forgot to book their tickets for their Sunday flight! haha!) for their weeklong nuptial celebrations in Chennai.
To Steff and KG, Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal! Live well, laugh often and Love Always! Mwah!
Ang saya!!! ang dami kong nakitang artista hahaha!!
to anyone who's still thinking about getting a photobooth....kumuha na kayo :D the memories and laughs are timeless (dan and i still get a kick out of looking at our own fotoloco guestbook)
I got tagged by Jo! I'll be answering my tags one by one :D I'm going to start with this fun one first :D
Here are the instructions of the tag:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle or random play.
3. Look at the first question/number below. Press play.
4. Type the title of the song that's playing.
5. When you go to the next question/number, press the "next" button to go to the next song and type the title of the song that's playing, and so on and so forth....
6. DON'T LIE! (and dont press "next" to get another song if you don't like the song corresponding to the question/number below!) That's not cool!
7. When you're finished, tag some other people to do it :)
My mp3 folders in my work pc are ridiculously disorganized. I only have 2 playlists in my media player, playlist 2007 and playlist 2008. Playlist 2007 contains all of my mp3s and playlist 2008 is my playlist 2007 plus more new songs. I still have some mp3 folders stashed somewhere but I have yet to upload them to my player. My media player puts the estimated time of Playlist 2008 at 34 hours, 41 minutes and 57 seconds.
1.OPENING CREDITS> New Age by Tori Amos --- promptly dozed off :p (Tori! Be happy naman please???)
2. WAKING UP>Superhero - Jane's Addicton -- from the Entourage Soundtrack (yung opening theme ng show) -- i love the guitars on this, dave navarro rocks at syempre yung ending "YEAH!! OH YEAAAH!!!"
3. FIRST DAY Of SCHOOL>Champagne Supernova -- Matt Pond PA (from the OC 4 Soundrack)-- "where were you while we were getting high???" (lutang ako sa UP! haha) I think Matt Pond PA's version is better (they're a quartet), mas contemplative, made me listen to the song more. Nakaka distract yung whiny singing ng Gallagher brothers :p
4. FALLING IN LOVE>Iio - Is it Love (naaaks galing naman!! di ko to dinaya hehehe. this is from hed kandi's back to love compilation) "I never knew a love, A love that could be sweeter, No matter what my mind says, Your music gives me fever"
5. FIGHT SONG> Last Goodbye - Atomic Kitten (hahaha sorry may best of atomic kitten ako hehehe!! at memorize ko to!!)..."If you had another night to give, I would have another night to live, But you're never gonna see me cry the last goodbye..."
6. BREAKING UP>Feels Like Heaven - Fiction Factory ('80s!!) ---- eeerm sige, if you're breaking up with a total jackass maybe breaking up would really feel like heaven :P
7. PROM>Biyaheng Impiyerno - Siakol ahahahaha!!!!! ("Mama para dyan lang sa tabi, Dyan lang sa tabi ngunit bakit di ko masabi, Bakit di ko masabi na ako ay bababa,Ako ay bababa pag bumaba na ang aking tama") --- prom ng mga adik!!!! pare, are you drugs???
8. LIFE>Wednesday - Tori Amos ("Nothing here to fear, I'm just sitting around, being foolish when there is work to be done")... song of my life!!!!
9. MENTAL BREAKDOWN>Scarecrow - Beck("Walking to the other side, With the devil trying to take my mind And my soul's just a silhouette, On the ashes of a cigarette....") wala, mas bagay dito yung Prom song ko hahaha
10. DRIVING>Terence Trent D'Arby - Wishing Well -- "Wish me love a wishing well, To kiss and tell"...asan na sya??
11. FLASHBACK> Liz Phair - Sometimes a Dream (Is What Makes You A Slave) --- from Liz Phairs's demo tapes (yep cassette tapes), yeaaars before she took all those singing lessons and repackaged herself as a hotter sheryl crow hehehe (Bubblegum, bubblegum in a dish, How many pieces do you wish?, My mother told me to pick the very best one, And you are it)
12. GETTING BACK TOGETHER>Step Back in Time - Kylie Minogue --- nothing says i wanna try it again than "I wanna funk, I wanna f-f-u f-u-n-k"
13. WEDDING SONG >Motion City soundtrack - My Favorite Accident --- actually a break up song hehehe pero going by the title, aren't a lot of weddings born out of happy accidents? hehehe (pun not intended)
14. BIRTH Of CHILD> -- Come into My World - Kylie Minogue -- hahaha bongga pwede to sa anak namin ni dan!!! dapat i-play to after ng binyag (Instead of Welcome to the Christian World, Come to my Christian World! hahaha!) tapos lahat ng pagongs would be dressed up as fairy godmothers pa talaga (Kawawang Wally :D)
15. FINAL BATTLE>Dropping Bombs on the White House -- The Style Council (yes the same dudes who did My Ever Changing Moods, pero this one's an instrumental), pag nangyari yan...it's the final battle for all of us!!!
16. DEATH SCENE>The Tide is High (I Get the Feeling) - Atomic Kitten -- "The tide is high but I'm holding on, I'm not the kind of girl who gives up just like that, oh noooo!" (ayaw sumuko hahaha, pang death scene talaga)
17. FUNERAL SONG>Parang - Arnell Ignacio (Metropop 2003 Song Festival CD) -"paano na lang buhay ko pag walang nagmamahal, parang kriminal na sinentensya!"....ahahaha yung style pa nya pang '40s vaudeville pa, tama pang funeral nga :P
18. END CREDITS>The Dawn - Beyond the Bend ---niiiiiiiiiceeee. Jet Pangan's voice is so distinct!
Your turn guys...I am tagging, Ana Bautista, Ela Tan, Ben Fincale, Gracie Angeles, Candy Chu and Steph Lau
Our gift for O is the Fotoloco Photobooth for her reception :) Everyone chipped in so that O would get the booth which really is a fun addition to any event. We turned over the collection by presenting O and Seanu with a big check a few days before their wedding :P We made an event of the afternoon by posing for group pics. I think we have yet to choose one for printing though :P Hoy mamili na tayo!
P.S. We also turned the day into a Threadless day! All of us wore our favorite Threadless shirt and had a group pic taken :) I have yet to send this to threadless.com though hehe
03.29.08 Shrine of Jesus The Orchidarium *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Osang's marriage to Seanu registered high on everyone's scale including PAG-ASA's which recorded it as one of the hottest days in Philippine history =D The bride wore a resplendent lace gown and was absolutely radiant! The gown had a removable hem and bolero which turned O's gown into a cute cocktail dress for their reception. It was very weather appropriate to say the least :D Seanu was dapper in his suit and we never saw him sweat!! Cool cat :D
O's colors were yellow,brown and silver, the overall theme was vintage. The colors were vibrant and perfect for summer :D Everyone enjoyed the day but it was bittersweet for all of us knowing that O will be moving to Singapore in a few months to be with Seanu :( We're all happy just the same to see Osang and Seanu so happy together. We knew the union was for forever when they both danced Flo-rida's Low in front of O's lola! With matching ass shaking and booty slapping pa! hahaha!
These detail pics are actually for the w@wies. I joined the forum last year and suffice to say, 70% of our suppliers were booked because of this forum. It's an unwritten tradition that a w@wie (w@w stands for weddings at work) after finally being married would submit ratings for the couple's suppliers. It's essentially a feedback form that rates how suppliers did during that w@wies' wedding, the caveat being that the experience is of course purely relative and what may be ok to one bride may be unacceptable to another :)
(break muna from uploading all those wedding photos...di pa yun tapos! haha!)
I'm not going to say or post anything else about that $70,000 blog which has not been said or expressed by everyone and their lola. I will however post this article by Gibbs Cadiz of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (http://gibbscadiz.multiply.com). His article, which is an observation on how everyone (and their lola) reacted to the blog, absolutely hits the proverbial nail on the head.
All together now: SCHA.DEN.FREU.DE!
“The hottest blog in the Net [today has been] variously described by Netizens as 'addicting,' 'engrossing' and 'revolutionary.' (Huh?)... Naming (big pop society) names and tagging them as cocaine users, freeloaders and wild clubbers, it makes Gossip Girl look like a Disney musical.
“The cyber sensation, which logged over 40,000 hits in its first four days, chronicles alleged shenanigans of local sosi peeps... The Third-World socialites are being accused of every crime and misdemeanor in the book--from grand larceny to substance abuse, from widely flaunted infidelities to poor personal hygiene. Makes show biz vixens look like vestal virgins.”
-- “Naming names: Online 'telenovela' indicts RP 'high' society”
Avenue Q defined schadenfreude as “Happiness at the misfortune of others.”
Dictionaries notwithstanding, I think a crucial element is lacking in that definition. There is nothing special about happiness at the misfortune of the sick, the poor, the weak and the helpless. That's just being mean and cruel.
But happiness at the misfortunes of the high and mighty, those that lord it over us in terms of wealth, influence, looks, exposure--now that's schadenfreude. Applied to this class of people, the German word just gleams with gloating, evil laftir, comeuppance.
Well, well, well, as Mcvie would say (kopita in between fingers a la Celia Rodriguez). Now that my own newspaper has picked it up: The hottest open secret in town these days is the mass schadenfreude being generated by this blog, which has replaced the late and much-lamented Soozyhopper as the source of all things vile and dirty about our so-called high-society set.
I plead prudence in not naming who these people are, because most of them are working as “columnists” in another paper. The charges, though, are pretty shocking: fraud, embezzlement, infidelity, incest, drug abuse, criminal cover-up--not to mention the more egregious sin that these pampered, privileged folks can commit: crassness, of the sort they'd consider most jologs in the rest of us.
The swarm of anonymous comments in the blog has pretty much gotten out of hand, with everyone dumping his or her vitriol on these society mainstays. Do they deserve it? The character assassinations, no. However, that's the price, I suppose, for consciously and actively hogging the spotlight. Especially in a country like ours, where the spotlight needs to shine on more urgent matters.
You preen like a sham potentate before a country so poor it has to send millions of its citizens to work in other lands, expect to be jeered out of town, whether out of envy or plain outrage at your insensitivity. The parvenus, arrivistes and nouveau riche of this country--they do deserve to be knocked down a perch or two, not only for their arrogance but also for their supreme bad taste.
No use entertaining illusions, though, that this new-found revulsion among many towards the excesses of our supposed Gilded Crowd will last. Like all controversies, this will prove to be a hiccup, a blip, a momentary jolt of excitement in our humdrum lives.
A country that allows the likes of Imelda Marcos to waltz away from her crimes--in fact, lionizes her presence and drools over her jewelry--is a country that deserves its Gucci Gang. Perfumed lowlifes know they can get away with most anything here; they may be alleged cokeheads and scammers, but they're good History students. They know us too well.
The vicious schadenfreude on display in that blog is the spasm of the helpless. Deep down, those anonymous hecklers know that nothing will change. High Society will continue to both dazzle and repulse, and the masa will continue to watch Wowowee.
But for now, with a crack in the fortress allowing us a peek at the sordid lives and soiled linens of the royal class, dirt will be lobbed, invective will fly and all that pent-up resentment will rule.
What's schadenfreude again? It's “Happiness at the misfortune of others.”
Or, as one commenter (anonymous, of course) harrumphed: “It makes me realize that though I'm not as rich as these people, I AM SO MUCH A BETTER PERSON THAN ALL OF THEM. I may not be able to buy a Gucci Bag, go to Philips Exeter Academy or go to Friday's for lunch everyday but I know how to live life in the most possible real sense.”
when dan and i booked santuario de san jose, we set out to look for reception areas nearby so that our guests wouldn't have to travel far (knowing how traffic can be terrible in ortigas on the weekends). we purposefully avoided hotels, knowing how stuffy hotel receptions can be. hotel food has always been a hit or miss with us as well. so one of the first places dan and i went to was the wack-wack golf and country club. however, wwgc only had 2 accredited caterers, which meant that we were stuck with their caterers both of whom were pricey (VS&F and the Plaza). so dan and i went around, even going to bramante (renaissance towers) which depressed us because that condo building is in a serious state of disrepair! we imagined our guests going up the flight of stairs (the elevators then were broken) and seeing the torn-off ceiling boards and water stained walls leading to the pool area, with plants that were barely alive :(. haay! i told dan that maybe we should check out crowne, it was a fairly new hotel and if it still didn't work out, we could always go to the nearby galleria to console ourselves with some cinnabon :)
when we went up to crowne, there was a reception being set-up and we saw the ballroom! it was the right size to accommodate our targeted numer of guests (220 max then, which went up to 300, then 320 on the wedding day itself!). it didn't have any dark wood, it had a foyer for cocktails, it was modern and new. dan liked it right away!
so, we went to cinnabon, did a cost-benefit analysis of renting a pavillion at wwgc and ballroom a at crowne and they both came out the same! the benefit of booking a hotel reception too is that there are a lot of inclusions like the cake, bridal car, rooms, etc. plus, annav, one of my maid of honors who used to work in the food industry assured us that the food would be wonderful. friends who attended events at crowne also told us that they really loved the food there. if there was one non-negotiable for our reception, it would be the food.we wanted our guests to enjoy the food, sayang naman ang bayad if the food would just be bland and unexciting.
crowne and our AE, sanna lopez met our expectations. but, it really really helps to have a coordinator to set things straight, especially during the day of the wedding. first, dindi found out that the tables were being set up for 10 people well in fact, we arranged it for 12. dindi got on top of it and so was able to fix this right away. second, we were supposed to have a confetti shower for our first dance as part of crowne's wedding package. it was a new inclusion and we found out about it a week before our wedding. we opted for the shower but on the day itself, susanna apparently forgot to inform the supplier. the supplier was still in wack-wack when dan and i were about to make our grand entrance (our first dance was after our grand entrance). but que cera cera, it was not part of the plan anyway. dindi made do with her large poppers na lang for our grand entrance hehe. thank god for dndc :)
we kept our program short. we hired missy ferrer-litao to emcee to keep the pace of the program. we originally thought of having friends host the program but we wanted them to enjoy our reception as guests. we had two AVPs, one by shierdan and one by mimi + karl. we didn't have other AVPs anymore. honestly, i thought that having two was already being self-indulgent :P speeches were given by our best man (with an interpretative dance), our maid of honor, my dad, dan's parents and my tito lito (representing the limbagas). we said our thank yous after mimi and karl's AVP was shown and it was party time right after :D
we left at 1 a.m. and bid our goodbyes to dan's manresa friends who were still finishing up a bottle of chivas regal :P we were really tired at the end of the day but we were in bliss. after one year of preps and worrying, we were finally married!
may your weekend be what you planned it to be 
if i wasn't reading e.e.cummings, i was devouring rainer maria rilke. e.e.cummings (the e.e. stands for edward estlin) also experimented with how words are positioned. if one read his poems, one may think he forgot to set the margins in his typewriter as his words are either spread out all over the page or are typedthisclose. but that is part of the experience . his words are literally alive, jumping all over the page, inviting the reader to jump with the caterpillar or to go lazily down a flight of stairs.
