2.28.2005

MENTAL BLOGS

The biggest challenge to keeping up a blog is basically always thinking of having something to say.
Of course there are other things to consider. Are your entries interesting enough? Will the topics you choose offend anyone? Is there anyone actually reading this swill?

I choose to assume that some people do bounce by my blog and read about my mundane existence, however boring it might get. As the months have dragged on, though I feel that more and more people are less and less interested with the aspects of my life.

Myself included. I sit back and look with awe at other bloggers who seem to lead such interesting lives. One such blog that has captured my fancy is that of Bunny. I came across it when I was checking out my friend Charo's blog (which I won't bother to link since she doesn't seem to write in it anymore. Must be busy with the wedding preps). I read Bunny's blog and watched as she rode the highest highs and lowest lows on her way to reconnecting with her family and finding love. She had quite a story to tell indeed.

Does this mean that my story has come down from its climax? I wish this blog thing came earlier in my life when I fought my way back to Ateneo. When I fell in love for the first time. When I was in advertising and was weaving magic with my words. When my Grandma died and my parents separated. When I became a DJ for Magic.

All those interesting tales. All those stories left to memory.

Nowadays, all I seem to write about are DVDs and ...

Get the picture? How hard can it be to blog? Especially when it's all downhill from here!

Posted by Jay at 3:53 PM | | Comments

2.23.2005

EL GIMIKERO

It's finally happened. Over the past few years, my brother and I have settled into familiar roles. Me as the homebody who would rather sit around with friends and watch some DVDs and he as the man-out-on-the-town, in a bar or movie house somewhere.

Yesterday, he told me that I go out more than he does nowadays. Let's see, there was last Friday (curse you Miko Sales!), there was last night, there's tonight, then tomorrow night...

Well, you get the picture. I'm still trying to get used to it myself. It's a good thing that there are fewer workdays in the second half of February, otherwise I'd be broke long before payday. But it's worth it. Last Friday was with the J-boys and they're always a hoot to go out with. Last night was with Solvie and her best friend Ces (who's visiting from the states - pictures to follow, promise). Tonights with my college barkada and our get-togethers are getting too few and far-in-between. Tomorrow night is the J-boys again. I could skip that but face the wrath of R-Jay who expects everyone to show.

And I always aim to please.

At least there's a long weekend to look forward to. Let's not forget the significance of the Holiday on Friday. If that didn't happen, I doubt that any of us will have been able to blog today. Cheers to freedom!

Posted by Jay at 9:45 AM | | Comments

2.21.2005

WINNING WEEKEND

This was one of the busiest weekends I've had in a while, and none of my activities involved work! It started out Firday night as I met up with the J-boys for dinner and drinks to welcome back Bob from Jakarta. Bob is actually a convenient excuse to get together. We're going out again on Wednesday to send him off this time.

Afterwards, despite the pleas of our class clown/sex maniac to go to a club on Roxas Boulevard, I retreated to the Big Sky bar near E.Rodriguez (NU 107 calls it the coolest hang-out place on earth) with two other J-boys, Miko and Dino. Mind you, I had consumed quite a few drinks beforehand so I wasn't really planning to drink anymore.

Till the shot glass. Miko and Dino are apparently regulars to Big Sky and know the owner pretty well. They then told her to give me her special drink. This shot glass was set down in front of me, and being a good boy, I succumbed to peer pressure and downed it in one big gulp.

It was like my chest was set on fire. I felt it burn then spread and I had to catch my breath. As it started to take effect, my two "friends" smilingly told Candy the owner to show me what I had just drunk.

Out came a flask with a clear liquid. And a cobra inside it. I remember the ride home. I remember trying to have a smoke in front of my house. I remember cursing Miko and Dino under my breath. I'm definitely going back there. If only just to victimize somebody else with that cobra drink.

The next day, I woke up really late, slept again and woke up in time for my aunt's birthday party that night. We had this Magic Mic set up and the singing went on until 5:30 the next morning.

The next day, we headed out to Ateneo to watch the UAAP football finals between ADMU and UST. It was decided with a penalty shootout with Ateneo winning the crown and the fans spilling out onto the field. It was madness and it was emotional. I'm not a football fan myself but it was amazing to have been there.

All in all, panalo ang weekend (The weekend was a winner). Of course, I had to end it like a loser and watch the Starstruck finals last night. Oh what the hell, I enjoyed it. So there!!! Haha!

Posted by Jay at 9:14 AM | | Comments

2.18.2005

RIGHT SIDE

I woke up this morning from the best sleep I've had in weeks. No tossing. No turning. Just shut my eyes and woke up with a faint trickle of sunlight on the walls of my room and my head clearer and more rested than it's been in a long time. Had a pretty vivid dream too.

You see, in a few weeks, my friend Mic is tying the knot and the ceremony will be in Bicol. Of course, two words come to mind: Road Trip! For weeks now, my friends and I have been loosely planning our trip and my brother (and his friend) also want to tag along. Last night, I dreamt that I had assembled the strangest group to go on this road trip to the wedding. I was there and so were my brother Karl and my barakda Danny. But then things went weird. People from my past started to join in on the trip and all these people hardly or don't even know the one who was getting married. There was Solvie, a friend of mine since freshman year; Jim and Tini, my classmates from 4J - the latter of which is still reviled by Solvie to this day); Kage Gozun, a funky girl-on-the-town who I fleetingly spent weekends with as "groupies" for the band Release at the Watering Hole many years ago; and my former officemate Manu Sandejas, copywriter and the current Mr. Agot Isidro. In the middle of my dream, I actually asked myself, "Why are all these people going to the wedding?" In the dream, we had a shortage of cars and we were just walking around this mall that I knew I had visited many times before in my dreams. (Any dream-interpreters out there, I'd be glad to know the significance of this dream).

So anyway, I'm gonna close out the week with this entry. To those going out tonight, be careful. There's a rumor going around that they will bomb the malls tonight. I think the safest places to be would be Makati Square and Greenhills due to their large Muslim populations.

I was actually thinking, "What if the Muslim insurgents win and take over?" I think I'll be okay. When they knock on our door, I will let them in and they will see my DVDs and they will actually thank me for the support I gave them.

INXS: I saw it on E! last night! Debbie, I mean, Deborah Gibson has posed for Playboy!!! Electric youth!

Posted by Jay at 9:11 AM | | Comments

2.17.2005

VIEW FROM THE 4th FLOOR

Before the dawn of the blog, I was considering doing a weekly reflection piece that I would e-mail to my friends, similar to my friend Nines' Spoonful of Sugar. When I first thought about it, I thought about naming it "View from the 17th floor" as I was on the 17th floor of Rufino towers. Once I got the title nailed down, I set out to write. I got as far as three sentences then shelved the entire thing.

When I moved downstairs to Creatives, I thought that being among that type of people would prove to be the kick in the butt my juices needed to flow. My journal was reborn, but this time it was on the 16th floor. I managed to eke out one entry, narrating my unfortunate experience during EDSA tres. After that, my view went askew and my journal went back into hibernation.

When I moved to McCann (Harisson) and we transferred to LKG tower, I thought that staying on the 35th floor would help me increase my world view and I would finally get a glimpse of something to write about.

No such luck. Finally, this thing called blog happened. And I find myself on the fourth floor of this nondescript building in the quietest corner of Legaspi village. I look back on this blog and I am actually amazed that I've been able to fill more than 50 entries. Of course, a lot of them were nonsensical or whimsical at best. Much like this entry. Writing about writing.

But, in my view, this has been quite cathartic to me. I get to see what's important in my life. I get to process my thoughts about important things and issues. I get to share all these with you who read this. Thank you for putting up with my incessant ramblings.

  • INXS: I'd like to ask for prayers for my dad. He apparently tore a ligament near his back and he needs to have surgery right away, otherwise, one wrong move and he could end up paralyzed.
  • INXS 2: On a lighter note, I spent the night watching American Idol (Go Constantine!) and then checking out the DVDs I got from my contact. I bought about 15 last night and it was one of the greatest hauls I ever had. I got:
    • History of the World Part I by Mel Brooks
    • Spaceballs by Mel Brooks again.
    • Accidental Hero
    • Karate Kid
    • He Got Game
    • Mickey Blue Eyes
    • Waterboy
    • Can't Hardly Wait
    • Happy Gilmore
    • Wild Things Unrated Version
    • Sunset park
    • Death Becomes Her
    • Babe
    • It Could Happen to You
    • And FORGET PARIS!!!
Life is good. It smells like shit sometimes, but life is good.

Posted by Jay at 9:28 AM | | Comments

2.16.2005

DVDid it Again

Stopped by MCS yesterday to get my fix. I got:
  1. Laurel Canyon - Apparently a wickedly funny movie. I got it for Kate Beckinsale's lesbian kiss.
  2. May - The trailer of this film made it look scary (plus there was a lesbian kiss too).
  3. Cool Runnings - No lesbian kiss. Just a feel-good Disney movie I remember watching with my freshman barkada back in college.
  4. Dickie Roberts, Former Chil Star - David Spade is always good for a laugh. I love the
    "We are the World" type song in the end performed by former child stars like the Brady kids and Gary Coleman.
  5. Maria Full of Grace - The lead actress here was nominated for an Oscar. Have to check out her performance.
And this week, I'm getting about 15 hard-to-find films from my contact. They're more pricey but these are must-haves for any film collection like Mel Brooks' History of the World and Spaceballs and Billy Crystal in Forget Paris.

My friend Ryan was asking me what worth my collection would have when the DVD goes the way of the betamax and the laserdisc. My answer simply was this: For the first time, high quality films are both affordable and accessible. Being a film buff, it's the perfect opportunity to get great copies of films without spending as much. I'm sure the DVD will go the way of the dinosaurs but in that case, I just have to build my collection all over again.

The joy is in the journey!

Posted by Jay at 1:32 PM | | Comments

2.11.2005

FOR WANT OF A SONG

It's awards season. We had the Golden Globes and the SAG awards and we have the Oscars, the BAFTA, the Emmys and the Grammies to look forward to. Me? One of my biggest fantasies is to hear my name called and I'll run up on stage to get an award and give an acceptance speech.

It will happen. Oh yes, it will happen. One day.

Of course, I'm no actor. I couldn't speak a decent dialogue in Filipino if my life depended on it. And seeing that I'm never going to get on TV and be a sports broadcaster like I always wanted (fat guys just don't look credible delivering sports news - how did you do it Butch Maniego? How?), I think my hope lies in my music.

My problem is that I can't read a note. So, when I write a song, I can write down the lyrics but the melody is stuck in my head with no way for me to jot them down ever. I have a songwriting buddy who's managed to lay down arrangements for two of my songs already but he lives all the way in Faranaque while I live in QC.

Anyway, seeing that Valentines is approaching, here's one of the songs I actually wrote. Hope it helps you in celebrating the season.

CRAZY by Jay Tan
Are we at your door already?
I have lost all track of time
I was busy staring in your eyes
Just like you gazed into mine
I can't even tell my hand from yours
Or the moonlight from the stars
I can't even tell night from day
Or the seconds from the hours.

Cause I'm crazy
Head over heels, falling for you
Oooh, I'm crazy
I'm dancing, dizzy, don't know what to do.
And I hope maybe this time, I will get to call you mine
Cause I'm crazy and I'm so in love with you.

Is there a cold breeze blowing?
Is it raining? I don't care
As long as I'm with you
It's like I'm floating in mid-air
My head feels like it's in the clouds
Though my feet still touch the floor.
I can't even tell up from down
But I'm still begging for more.

Cause I'm crazy
Head over heels, falling for you
Oooh, I'm crazy
I'm dancing, dizzy, don't know what to do.
And I hope maybe this time, I will get to call you mine
Cause I'm crazy and I'm so in love with you.

Here's to love everyone!

Posted by Jay at 9:34 AM | | Comments

2.10.2005

CHANGE IN THE WEATHER

It's been getting cooler again the past few days. Nice breeze, some showers here and there. This is my favorite type of weather. The kind where you wanna just curl up in bed and sleep. Of course this leads to you fighting with yourself whether you're going to work today or not.

Back in college, if given a choice to just stay home on Thursdays, I would. I really hated Thursdays, probably because of Calculus (20 units of it over two years). Of course, as time went by, it wasn't just Calculus. It became one of my superstitions, like my belief that growing my hair long gave me bad luck (which explained my semi-kalbo look in those days).

But, as with anything else, the only thing constant is change. I grow my hair longer nowadays and I actually look forward to Thursdays.

It's the day before the weekend. It's like that instance when a car gets over a steep hill. I've gone from hating them to actually looking forward to them. Weird.

INXS: I'm amending the list I made of the teams I wanted to see if ever they made an all-star edition of the Amazing Race. I'm going to remove Jon and Al (the clowns from season 4) and replace them with Kris and Jon, the nicest, sweetest team to ever appear on the race. I was thinking of adding Jonathan and Victoria, but I'm not that masochistic. I don't think I could sit through another episode with those two in it.

three weeks till AR7. Let's go Amber & Rob!!!

Posted by Jay at 3:21 PM | | Comments

2.09.2005

AMAZING (DISG)RACE

When in doubt (or for lack of things to write), talk about the Amazing Race.

I spent the entire morning going about my usual way. Check email, check blogs (for an extremely detailed discourse on Comic book movies, may I direct you to the 4J blog. Then in between getting my work done, I checked on the update thread of the Amazing Race finale. Warning. Spoiler ahead:

It seemed exciting as usual but in the end, the racist, prissy models Freddy and Kendra walked away with a million dollars. A lot of the internet chatters were calling this the worst ending ever. Worse than Flo and Zach's win (I disagree though, I was rooting for Flo and Zach. I hated the Chip and Reichen season. There weren't that many interesting or likable teams there). Kris and Jon (my picks) finished second on account of a train getting in their way. At least, AR7 is just three weeks away so we don't have to have this sour taste in our mouths for so long.

Kendra...blech. She was pretty...pretty horrible. Ah well, here's looking forward to Rob and Amber on the next race.

INXS: Picked up quite a few DVDs on my latest jaunt to MCS this past Monday. Despite the scare and spectre of Edu coming in and arresting me and my suki, I picked up the following:
  • Animal House (John Belushi's frat flick from years back)
  • I Heart Huckabees
  • Race the Sun
  • IQ
And the coup de grace?

Kung Fu Hustle baby!!! Woohoo!!!

Posted by Jay at 1:02 PM | | Comments

2.07.2005

MUNDANE MONDAY

It's been quite an uneventful past few weeks. I suddenly feel so uninteresting.

Caught a part of the SAG awards yesterday. I can't wait till they show "Desperate Housewives" and "Arrested Development" here. I think they'll be showing the latter on ETC.

Caught Iron Chef last Friday. I didn't think I'd have missed it as much.

Looking forward to the Amazing Race finale on Wednesday.

Looking forward to daddy-to-be R-Jay's birthday bash on Friday.

Will be returning my awards consideration DVDs later. Will wait for the real releases of Spanglish, Finding Neverland, The Aviator, Closer and In Good Company.

I am seriously recommending the movie "Garden State". I finally saw it over the weekend and I was extremely impressed and entertained by its offbeat humor. Besides, Natalie Portman is in it.

Extremely peeved off with how Ginebra is losing the finals in the PBA.

That's it for now!

Posted by Jay at 5:43 PM | | Comments

2.03.2005

POSITIVELY CYNICAL

While riding to work with my brother and a jeepney decides to stop in the middle of the street to pick up a solitary passenger.

My brother: "Mga Pinoy talaga! La na yatang pag-asa!"

While eating lunch with my co-workers and we were discussing the VAT.

My officemate: "Makaka-bangon pa ba ang bansa?"

While enroute to Tini Navarro's birthday dinner and this squatter kid runs to the middle of the street, makes like he wants to get run over then skulks away to the shadows.

Jay sees him on his side of the car ad flicks a cigarette that hits the wall near the kid's face and almost scatters embers onto it.

I was once told that I am a positive person. I still believe that I am. It's just that this heavy feeling can't seem to leave me. It's like there's this dark cloud hovering above me whenever I see any signs of the poor. Like the kids who sit on the steps as you make you way down from the MRT. Like the Cripple who knocks on your car window and begs for cash.

Interesting story, there's this beggar on Araneta Ave. who walks with his knees pointed inward and he pulls it off very convincingly. My brother apparently saw him walking on Del Monte looking to grab a jeepney and he was walking pretty fine.

Jay wrings the poor beanie baby in front of him in frustration.

Posted by Jay at 4:18 PM | | Comments