Biglagenic

Biglagenic (n) - Something that looks really nice when you look at it initially. Maganda lang sa biglang tingin.

I was quite surprised that Melvin didn't know that term. Growing up, i've seen the "genic" list grow and grow. From the traditional telegenic and photogenic, to the more unforgiving talikodgenic, and my favorite, Shash's jeepnigenic. ("Nung nakita ko siya sa jeep, mukhang guwapo siya...")

For the 2nd time this week, i'm wearing a Biglagenic shirt. The first one was last Sunday when I wore this shirt which was chocolate brown with a faux inner shirt and faux foldable sleeves. I was wearing it for a few hours, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, it hit me that the shirt wasn't as nice looking as I thought. Today, i'm wearing an dark blue, v-neck Abercrombie and Fitch shirt. And despite A&F being a venerated brand, there's a feeling of "this is so wrong" each time I see myself in the mirror wearing this shirt.

Looks like i've been buying a number of Biglagenic shirts recently. Blame it on my penchant of not fitting things. Since i'm in a rush most of the time, or some outlets in HK don't let you try on their shirts, I often rely on my imagination and spatial intelligence to buy shirts. The spatial intelligence part is easy. Most of the shirts I buy fit me quite well. But admittedly, there are shirts that look better on a hanger than a person.

Biglagenic is a problem faced by impulsive shoppers such as myself. Often we don't think about our purchases and rely on instinct. Even if a person's instinct is 96% correct, you still have that 4% error to face. Meaning, for every 96 shirts I have, 4 would be duds.

And out of those 4, I have to wear one of them today.

Ugh...

GOT IT!

Por fin!

I was able to get a flight home.

Booking and buying flights on line is more fun than I expected!

Wheeeeeee!

Covered

A pleasant surprise came in the mailbox today. It was a letter from my friend in Manila, and it included a copy of Regine Velasquez's new CD "Covers 2." I remember having the copy of her first "Covers" CD and found most of the songs nice. Particularly, her version of "Ikaw ang lahat sa akin" was so heartfelt and haunting. Plus, it was in Melvin's iPod so I heard it a couple of times last weekend.

This CD doesn't look as vibrant and colorful as the first one. But it did have a lot of interesting songs. Surprisingly, not one was Filipino, unlike its predecessor. Her choice of songs from this album ranged from 60s icons The Beatles, 70s rocker girl Debbie Harry of Blondie, the magnificent ABBA and disco diva Donna Summer, 80s icons Hall and Oates, Prince and Sheena Easton, and 90s angst poster child Alanis Morrisette. It was interesting to hear how she would lend her vocal expertise with such a range.



After listening to the album once, which is my normal ritual, I began picking out favorite songs that i'd load on my iTunes. Hands down, my favorite in this album is her rendition of "Kiss is on my list." Her voice while singing "So Much in Love" is also fantastic, but the rapping part was a tad bit too distracting. "Come Together" was quite a risk because I love the original version from the Fab Four, but yes, she pulled it off quite well, and i'm loving her version as well.

But the most wonderful surprise among the lot is her rendition of Olivia Newton-John's iconic "Xanadu". This song brings so much memories: from childhood stories back in our house in Morato, to those impromptu broadway numbers by Xtine and Shash in Adformatix. Then there's that scene from the movie where rollerskating girls wearing gold hot pants are rushing out of a billboard. It's practically "Spinning Around" meets "Lucky."

Xanadu is such a happy, magical song. And it leaves an effervescent, happy feeling each time you listen to it. It's pretty much like Perkaset, only in music form. It's good that she remade this song, so the newer generation can appreciate something from the 70s-80s. Regine did an excellent job singing this song, but i'd say ONJ's version is in a class of its own.



OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN:
A place where nobody dared to go
The love that we came to know
They call it Xanadu

And now
Open your eyes and see
What we have made is real
We are in Xanadu

A million lights are dancing
And there you are
A shooting star
An everlasting world
And you're here with me
Eternally

Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu

Xanadu, your neon lights will shine
For you, Xanadu

The love
The echoes of long ago
You needed the world to know
They are in Xanadu

The dream
That came through a million years
That lived on through all the tears
It came to Xanadu

A million lights are dancing
And there you are
A shooting star
An everlasting world
And you're here with me
Eternally

Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu

Now that I'm here
Now that you're near in Xanadu
Now that I'm here
Now that you're near in Xanadu
Xanadu...

Press and Pounce

The past few hours, i've been learning that this is the way to book for flights on-line.

Been trying to get a flight home via CX, and wanted to avoid coursing it through our travel agent. So i've been logged on to the Cathay Pacific site for the past 8 hours trying and trying and trying to get the schedule i want.

The funny thing about booking flights on-line is that it changes every 10 minutes. The $1650 flight now can be $1900 in 30 minutes, and it can go back to $1650 after another 15 minutes. So, the whole process is fast becoming part trial and error and part game of chance. Mid-afternoon, all flights were supposed to be full and my only option was to fly business class. But 5 minutes after, flights opened again, so I started to press and pounce again.

I never thought booking a flight could be this exciting.

Further proof that everything is Made in China

Even my laundry is Made in China.

Yes. My dirty and distressed clothes have traveled all the way to China to be laundered.

I have 4 pairs of jeans that need an extreme amount of TLC. They CAN'T be dry cleaned and CAN'T be tumble dried! This wouldn't be a problem if I were in Manila. After all, I have Joann and Flor who lovingly launders my precious jeans so they look all spankingly clean in no time. But in Hong Kong, I only have Angel Laundry Cleaning Service - the laundromat below my flat.

At times, I feel the name is a misnomer. They're no Angels, because they've wrecked a couple of my clothes! They ruined a couple of white shirts and my favorite white towel by mixing in that red throw pillow case with my precious whiteys! This despite my continued instruction not to. Grrr... but I digress.

Since I have no idea how to handwash, the only option I have is to have it laundered via washing machine, then hung dry. I asked Angel Laundry if they could do that, but no deal. If they wash it, they tumble dry it. As simple as that.

My second option was to go to Gigi's place and use her laundromat. But alas, she's in Manila.

Then the thought of Shenzhen came like a bright light bulb on a gloomy day. I've been planning to visit Melvin again for quite sometime, and he told me that the weather was warm and sunny - perfect washing machine weather. So this morning, I packed my bags, my 4 precious jeans, and went off to China!

I woke up at 5:30am so I could catch the early train and avoid the plethora of Hongkies crossing over to Shenzhen on weekends. Thankfully, that strategy worked. Part of the plan was to sleep on the train, but that went down the drain when, just as I was drifting off to la la land, a booming voice woke me up...

WHERE IS HUNG HOM! WHERE IS HUNG HOM!

A 200-pound african woman was standing in front of me, and talking to me as if I were:

A. Hard of hearing
B. the Patron of the Desperately Lost
C. 20 feet away
D. A non-English Speaker

I think it was a combination of B and D. Anyway, I calmly instructed her which station to alight, and she smiled and gave a appreciative pat on my shoulders. Man! Her arms are as strong as her voice. My right arm is still reeling from her pat/punch 18 hours ago.

Anyway, when she went down, the prospect of sleeping was gone since her booming voice was embedded in my mind. So the whole 30 minute journey to Shenzhen was spent listening to S Club 7!

Don't stop, never give up
Hold your head high and reach the top
Show the whole world what you have got
Bring it all back to you!

Arrived in China before 7:30, met up with Melvin, had awesome grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast (Melvin's toaster is a miracle worker! Unlike mine...), then he had to work. So while I was alone in his flat, I went on a washing machine frenzy, and slept in between.

In less than 90 minutes, my jeans were all hanging to dry! And there I was, a happy, happy man.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Mix-C and there was a shocking revelation:

SPRINGFIELD IS CLOSED!

That was the other reason for my China trip. Biboy loved the SPF shirt I gave him last Christmas, and he asked me to get him more. Hong Kong doesn't carry Springfield, but Shenzhen does. Better yet, Shenzhen did, until now. Our theory is that SPF was too cool for the mainlanders. And believe me, that place is a fashion disaster waiting to happen.

Oh well, i'm going home this weekend. I'm sure to find Springfield in Manila since they've got about 3 or 4 stores there.

Later on, after checking out all the shops, we decided to go to the Shenzhen version of Divisoria. It was a let down. I'll take Market! Market! or Tutuban or Chatuchak anytime.

By 5pm, Melvin and I decided to go to that place which again further proves that everything the world can offer can be made in China. And that place is called:

Shenzhen's Windows of the World!

But I have to write about that a bit later. I'm beat!

It's a start...

It might not be the Lion or the Spike, but it's definitely an encouraging start.

The print campaign we made for our 360 toothbrush was named finalist in the recently concluded Asian AdFest in Thailand. This entry was a long shot, and we actually entered it at the last minute. So it came as a surprise when we were told it made it as a finalist. A vote more, and we would have gotten bronze.

Alas, there were a lot of politics involved in the judging, supposedly. So we have to make do with a finalist certificate for now.



Who knows, we might get more than this from D&AD and The One Show.

Mac-kulit!

My iBook has been acting up lately. And it's getting to be way, way irritating.

I was wrapping up writing a long, long email, and just as the words "regards" were being typed, it crashed! OH THE PAIN! The thing with letters, specially personal ones, is that you can't write them the same way twice. HARRRUMPH!

Then it takes ages for it to restart. And sometimes the hard disk doesn't even mount. Grrr! Maybe it's because there's too much data loaded on my computer, and this is its only way of retaliating.

I'm normally a non-violent person. But if this Mac does that a couple more times, i'm going to throw it around the room, pour kerosene on it, and set it on fire!

Stanley Stories 3: Putting the Pep in Pepperoni's

Ahhh... Pepperoni's. Hands down, they've got the best pizza in Hong Kong. I remember my first Pepperoni's experience in 2001. Alone in my hotel room, can't decide what to eat, walking outside the hotel, picked up a leaflet lying on the floor, turned out to be Pepperoni's, had pizza delivered, and the rest was history.

Since then, I've made it a point to order Pepperoni's at least once on every trip. Their pizza reminds me of the old 3M Pizzas that we'd order as kids. Their crust is both thick and crunchy. This combination is quite tricky because most of the thick crust pizzas have this bread-y tasting crust, while the thin crust ones may be crunchy, but they usually have less toppings because the width can only support so much weight.



Pepperoni's crust is thick enough to carry loads of cheese and a multitude of toppings, but it's crunchy enough to give out that sumptuous "crrunchhh" sound everytime you bite into it. The cheese they use has this cheddar-y, mozzarella-y taste of my childhood, and the tomato sauce has just a hint of sweetness to it. My favorite flavors are the vegetarian and the chicken pesto. Since Melvin isn't vegetarian, I opted to order the chicken pesto for him to enjoy.



Another dish I regularly order is this geeky sounding dish called Chickery-chick starter plate. This is an all-Chicken appetizer dish with all things fowl. Wings, tenders, popcorns, and a side of potato wedges.



Heck, why can't they just call it a Chicken Starter Plate. It's bad enough that the server had a difficult time saying "Chicken", now he had to contend with saying "Chickery-Chick". It does remind me of a birthday song they played during birthday parties at McDonald's back then when I was still working there as a crew. It was a song that ended with the line: "Chickery Chick is me!"



Bad names aside, I love this dish. Again, while I'd order the seafood basket whenever I come here alone, i'm with a meat eater. This is a very suitable substiture. Served with Heinz on the side, this dish alone is enough to make me rub my tummy in delight.

But then again, i'm not eating alone today. So the best thing to do was order two of my faves at the same time. Judging by how Melvin devoured everything, and enjoyed doing it.



I'd say he was very happy with Pepperoni's, and i'm sure he'll be coming back and joining me for more Pepperoni's in the near future.

Stanley Stories 2: Shopping with a star!

Most tourists go to Stanley because of the very famous Stanley Market. It's pretty much like Mong Kok, only less crowded, and some of the prices are quite higher. Here, you'll find a selection of outlet shops, stalls selling curios from all over Asia, (I swore it was a hand-carved Kalabaw and seashell covered Manok that I saw back there...), and interesting jewelry made of jade and silver.

Stanley is also THE place to go to if you want to buy artwork. For some strange reason, a lot of the good art stores selling paintings both original and copied, can be found in Stanley. Some are rip offs from Van Gogh and Haring, while some are traditional chinese paintings done in a modern way. In this store where I'm sitting, the guy had this series of Eskimo kids which I really, really liked. I didn't buy it, though, since it doesn't really fit in my flat here, nor our house in Manila.



They also have a lot of cashmere and pashminas in Stanley. One can easily be drawn to the colors and textures of these scarves, and I couldn't help but snap a shot of this candy colored selection. It's good that the owner of this shop isn't as strict and finicky as the others. I think i'll make a wallpaper out of this photo.



But if there's one thing I always buy at Stanley each time I visit, it's the Chinese engraved seal. This is the requisite and favorite pasalubong item because it's both useful and very local.



What you do is choose a chop design from the myriad of colors and shapes being offered. If you're into Chinese Horoscopes, you can select one from the 12 animals available. Then there are the buddhas, the double happiness symbols, the feng shui marks, and so on and so forth.



The next step is to have the name carved or engraved on the chop. There are two ways to do it. The faster and cheaper way is to have it carved. The result is a red chop with a white inscription of the name and character, or as we call in in advertising parlance, you get a "reverse" chop.



The other way is to have it engraved. That means the whole block will be carved out, and only your name and the chinese characters will be left on the marble stone. Thus, when you use it, you'll have a red imprint on the paper you use. This looks neater and nicer, although it costs twice as much, and takes 3 days to make. So if you're in a hurry, the carved option would be the best way to go.



Incidentally, there's a funny story behind my current purchase of a Chinese chop. The lady who's taking my order turned out to be Filipina. She took our orders, suggested designs and even sketched the characters for us. While all these things were happening, I couldn't help but notice her looking at me in a very peculiar way. It was part "Hmmm... don't I know you from somewhere" and part "You must be new around these parts." After Melvin and I paid for our purchases and were walking out the door, she stopped me and asked:

"Excuse me. Artista ka, diba?"



I just replied with a smile.

Stanley Stories 1: Stanley on a Sunday

Whenever the frenetic pace of Hong Kong starts wearing me down, you'll often find me boarding a bus heading off to Stanley. After a soothing 30-minute ride through a mountain, past Ocean Park, and a couple of interesting buildings and rich people's houses, the bus stops at Stanley Plaza and here starts my little physical and mental vacation.

Stanley, in the old days, was one of the major ports in Hong Kong. People traded here, fishermen lived here, and business changed hands most often in this area. Now, with most of the businesses being based in Hong Kong Island, and the shipping ports moved to Kwai Chung, Stanley has been transformed into a tourist destination where people can experience life as it was a century ago.

The Tin Hau temple is one of the two structures from the 1900s that still stands up to now. She was the goddess of safe sea voyages, and it is said that through her intercession, many lives were saved from the storms and the occasional "Perfect Storm" sized waves. Through the years, the temple has been rebuilt and refurbished, and now, it looks like this.



Even if fishing ships no longer dock at Stanley, the Tin Hau temple still plays a major role in the area. Now, people who have personal wishes go here to ask for her intercession.



All people need to do is light at least 3 Joss sticks, or incense sticks, stand in front of the goddess and make a wish before putting the sticks in front of her. But when you get there, you'll see that people put more than 3 sticks, some even putting more than 20. I guess they feel that the more sticks you put in, the better the chances of your wish coming true. (Sounds like one of those: the more entries you send, the more chances of winning kinda schtick.)



Outside the temple is an open ampitheater where I love to sit down and watch something that has always held my fascination - kids! Since most of the maids and yayas are on their day off on Sundays, parents usually bring their kids to Stanley because the air is fresh, there's a lot of room to romp around, and there are a lot of other kids to play with.



There are a lot of kid friendly stores in Stanley, my favorite being a store called "Kiss my Kids." It sells everything from Barney VCDs to bubble makers. Needless to say, the bubble makers are the best sellers. Even in Manila, all you need is a kid with a bubble machine and everyone gravitates towards him. I think this is what's happening to this kid in the picture.



Futher down is Stanley Beach, which, compared to our beaches in Manila, is more of a sandbox. It's got cream colored sand with a lot of rocks, which makes it quite difficult to maneuver. But since they don't have anything like our Boracay, people still flock to Stanley Beach to get their feet wet, and have their photos taken. And in this particular instance, I was asked by a couple to play photographer to them. Which I obliged to, happily.



While the beach is the spot people love being photographed in, personally, i prefer scaling the rocks and having my photos taken there. An abundance of giant boulders along the shoreline makes it a magnet for people who just want to sit down, chill out, or, feel pensive.



Melvin prefers to feel pensive. I call this his "I remember yesterday" shot.



This is Melvin's first time in Stanley, and he's loving it! Like me, he took so many photos, from structures, to food, to paintings. But mostly, he takes photos of a crazy person who loves posing with rocks. And that of course, is me.



Crazy poses means me pretending to be thrown onto rocks once i've been washed ashore.



Sometimes, I even go down, way, way down to reach the smaller rocks by the shore, I think it's a more photogenic area.



And it lets me do my favorite pose, which is this:


All these crazy poses, watching kids, and photographing temples make my Sundays more refreshing. This is my 3 hour respite from the craziness that is Hong Kong. For 3 hours, I forget that i'm here and pretend i'm in Sitges in Spain or some small town like Volendam in the Netherlands. And that feeling recharges me and readies me for the crazy week ahead.

Seven and counting...

For the past 7 years, i've been spending Holy Week out of the country. I'm beginning to miss how the country can get both rowdy and quiet at the same time.

Can you tell me how to get...

I'm part of the Sesame Street generation. The generation of kids who grew up with Mr. Hooper, Maria, Luis, David, Susan, Gordon, Bob, Linda, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Snuffleupagus and Oscar the Grouch. We grew up speaking English and learned words in Spanish. We know why "Witches who wash their wigs on windy, winter wednesdays are wacky!" And we all wanted to buy: "a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter."

Imagine my utter joy when I passed by the Bossini flagship store at the corner of my house and saw these:



SESAME STREET T-SHIRTS!

Yup, my favorite characters from Sesame Street are now ready to wear! This is most probably an answer to the Disney shirt line that Giordano launched in celebration of HK Disneyland. But no matter what their reasons are for coming up with this, i'm nonetheless thrilled that they're now available.

Faster than you can sing: "It's a lovely eleven morning, i heard eleven worms yawning...", I found myself inside the store and poring throught the racks for designs that are both wacky and wearable. I ended up buying two shirts: The Ernie and Bert shirt that's up there, and the Elmo shirt shown below.



I felt like a giddy kid while bringing these shirts to the cashier, and the person manning the register looked at me in an odd way. I can't blame him because these shirts are supposed to be for kids, but here's a 5'9" tall, 30-ish dude clutching two Sesame Street shirts like they were the most precious things on earth. (By the way, I think they are.)

There were more than 20 designs available but I settled for these 2 first. They were the most "adult" looking shirts, and the colors were neutral enough to go with everything that's in my jean closet right now. I was tempted to buy the cookie monster and oscar the grouch shirts, but the green and blue colors were too garish for my taste. And there was a lovely super Grover shirt, but it was in shocking yellow.

Two out of 20 ain't bad. In fact, it's an accomplishment for a confessed shopaholic like myself. Who knows, I might sneak back in after a few days and get that "The Count" shirt, or the one that features the whole cast. But today, i'm perfectly content with these 2 shirts. And my state of perfect contentment can be best summarized by Elmo's expression on this shirt I purchased.

I miss the Holy Weeks of old...

It's the beginning of the Holy Week in Manila, and it's just another working day here in Hong Kong. Holy Week has changed so much the past decade. During the 80s and 90s, those 5 days leading to Easter Sunday were really considered sacred days. Most people would be in Visita Iglesias, or just home relaxing and reflecting. A lot would go up to Baguio to cool off, but still engage in the Holy Week festivities. Now, Holy Week is the best excuse to go to Boracay and party.

I miss the Holy Weeks of yore when all the stores were closed, there was nothing on TV except "Jesus of Nazareth", "INRI" and the "Lovingly Yours, Helen Holy Week specials." Although it was definitely boring, it gave a lot of solemnity to the event. Back then, when Lolo and Lola were still alive, we weren't even allowed to run around and play during Good Friday and Black Saturday because we should be in mourning. Plus, we weren't allowed to bathe after 3pm on Good Friday as well.

So what did kids like me do back then? I remember we'd just hang outside the neighborhood with our friends: The dela Merceds, the Garays, the Reyeses, the Famorcans, and all other adopted "Gandia kids." Most of the time we'd talk and eat, then by 6pm we'd go with our respective families to mass. It was so relaxing back then: no cinemas, no malls, no supermarkets, no sari-sari stores. Thus, people were forced to sacrifice, forced to reflect, forced to just relish the silence that Holy Week brings.

But now, everyone's open even on Good Friday: Malls, restaurants, 7-11s, Mini-stops. And up to a certain extent, I'm sure call centers are open since the west doesn't honor the Holy Week as much as we do. With the advent of cable TV, you can still have your HBO and Nickelodeon even during the holiest of days. And of course, the beaches are supposedly Sodom and Gommorrah around this time. I say "supposedly" because i've never experienced it first hand. They're just stories passed down to me by friends.

I guess it's true that as time changes, priorities of people change. When life was simpler, the Holy Week was equally simpler. Now, with so much distractions, Holy Week is the best excuse to indulge in those distractions. And being the old fogey that I am, the former is my personal preference. Yup, as my Mom said, if you start missing "the old days" it's the surest sign that you're getting old. And I guess I am.

Finding Friendsters

When the concept of "Friendster" was first introduced to me in 2004, I was very, VERY reluctant to jump into the bandwagon. Making and collecting "Friends" over the net was an odd concept, especially when 80% of those people you collect are folks you don't know or you probably won't meet.

Then a good friend of mine found an ingenious way to make me sign up. She left the Philippines to move to another country, and Friendster was the best way for us to keep in touch. So, I found myself having an account sometime late 2004.

In my "profile", I said that I wanted to find long lost friends, particularly "high school chums" because it's been decades since my last visit to LSQC, and I'm only in contact with at least 5 of my batchmates. It really didn't work that well because I was only able to connect with one Lourdesian friend through friendster, and he was someone I saw regularly. So technically, he doesn't count.

Then I opened my account today.

Catherine, one of my classmates in the 3rd and 4th years, found me through the site. I was so excited! Last time I saw her was in 1989, so it's been 15 long years since we last even saw each other's picture. So this is really something worth getting giddy about. Giddily excited if you will. So, I sent her this long-ish message asking about our classmates, where they are, who she's still in contact with, yadda, yadda. There isn't any reply yet, but i'm anxiously waiting for word on our classmates. Or better yet, i'm hoping that through her, my other classmates will find my friendster site, add me, and the section will be complete again.

It might turn out to be just an on-line reunion. But an on-line reunion is much better than no reunion at all.

The butterfly turns into a bird

It's been almost a year since my friend from Singapore got me this CD from Mariah Carey. That time, I was so enamoured by "It's like that" and this answered my R&B fix for more than 3 months. Admittedly, I've never gone beyond track 3 because the first 3 songs are the ones that enjoy the most airplay.

But last week, my colleague Vince asked me whether i've heard of Mariah's new song "Fly like a bird." I replied to the negative and said that i've only heard 3 of the 14 songs in her CD. He suggested that I listen to it because it's such an uplifting and inspirational song. Apparently, he fell in love with the ditty after watching the diva perform the song during the Grammy's, complete with a gospel choir.

Got home. Popped the CD. Skipped to track 14, and listened. Like Vince, I fell in love with the song instantly. He's right, it's a song about faith, and how we should call on Him whenever problems become too heavy for us to bear alone. And like Mariah usually does, she sings this with much passion, and the requisite high pitched shrieks that resembles a robin's mating call.

In a span of a day, I must've listened to this song more than 30 times. And i'm certain it's going to be the LSS that'll play in my head in the next week or so.



FLY LIKE A BIRD
Mariah Carey

Somehow I know that
There's a place up above
With no more hurt and struggling
Free of all atrocities and suffering
Because I feel the unconditional love
From one who cares enough for me
To erase all my burdens
And let me be free to

[chorus]
Fly like a bird
Take to the sky
I need you now Lord
Carry me high
Don't let the world break me tonight
I need the strength of you by my side
Sometimes this life can be so cold
I pray you'll come and carry me home

Can we recover
Will the world ever be
A place of peace and harmony
With no war and with no brutality
If we loved each other
We would find victory
But in this harsh reality
Sometimes I'm so despondant
That I feel the need to

[chorus]
Fly like a bird
Take to the sky
I need You now Lord
Carry me high
Don't let the world break me tonight
I need the strength of You by my side
Sometimes this life can be so cold
I pray You'll come and carry me home

Keep your head to the sky
With God's love you'll survive

Fly like a bird
Take to the sky
I need you now Lord
Carry me high
Don't let the world break me tonight
I need the strength of You by my side

Sometimes this life can be so cold
I pray You'll come and carry me home
Carry me higher, higher, higher
Carry me higher, higher, higher
Carry me home
Higher Jesus
Carry me higher Lord

Working Weekend

It's Sunday. I'm at the office. It's been a while since I worked over the weekend since it's very, very, very rarely done here in HK. Though when i was in Manila and handling the Globe account, it would be commonplace to see me at the office on weekends.

When I was younger, I thought it was cool to work on a weekend. It felt I was so dedicated and passionate about my work that i'd do it even on weekends. But as a person gets older, he realizes that there is more to life than work. And that's what happened to me. As I grew older, I realized how much fun it is to hang out with my nephews and nieces on weekends. How great it is to have a long, leisurely lunch with my family. How nice it feels to join the hundreds of thousands of people cooling off and shopping at malls. And of course, how proper it is to use the weekend to enjoy the fruits of my five day labor.

My appearance today at work is more the exception rather than the rule. It's just that my internet connection at home is on the blink, and I have to send out this file at this very moment. Sitting here alone at the office makes me realize how much I missed working on weekends. But heck, I certainly don't miss it enough to do it every week.

Once in a while would actually suffice.

Clark's Can

This is precisely the reason why it's dangerous for me to go walking around LCX alone. What was supposed to be a random day of meandering turned out into another unnecessary shopping event.


Today, I walked away with 2 pairs of Clark's shoes. Buying these two babies didn't cause me too much guilt because all my leather shoes are back in Manila, and all I have here in Hong Kong are sneakers and track shoes. So this was actually a necessity rather than a whimsical purchase. (Yup, I can justify anything related to shopping.)


Clark's is an english brand of shoes which is a cross between Camper and Doc Marten's. The designs are much more experimental than Doc's, but they're more versatile than Campers. The fit, though, feels more like those wonderful espadrilles my aunt from Spain would send us when we were kids. Wearing these shoes feel like wearing nothing at all. They're both so roomy and soft. I bought a black one, because everyone needs a good pair of black shoes.


Then I opted to buy a brown one, because one can never have too many black and brown shoes. But instead of the dark, chocolate brown variety, this Mahogany colored pair caught me fancy more. The fact that I already have dark brown cowboy boots also led me to purchasing this softer, more versatile color. I also like the uni-strand shoelace which makes the pair look like a slip-on/sneaker hybrid.


What's distinct about Clark's shoes is they put folds in the oddest of places. For the 2 pairs I bought,it was right smack at the center of the shoe, which makes for an interesting detail. In some shoes, the fold and shoelaces are on either side. Those babies are interesting, too, but they weren't available at LCX. And it was a good thing, too. If not, I would have gone home with 4 pairs, rather than 2.

I've got new shoes! And that's another good reason to go back to work on Monday.

SO much in love!

Since yesterday was a holiday, it was a good time to drop by my favorite jean haunt in Sheung Wan to see if they have new stock on display, or on the racks. And there it was! I've been lusting over this pair of jeans (just like every other jean that catches my eye) since I found it at the revolve clothing website.



It's a vintage wash denim from Taverniti So, an L.A. based denim brand that boasts of jeans with flattering fits and interesting back pockets. The reason why I like it so much is the fact that it has something to offer from all angles.

From the front, one notices that the rise of the jeans is among the lowest in its class. I think the rise is just 10", and the fly is less than 3". Beer bellies should stay away because it will be most unflattering. But if you've got a manageable tummy - like me - this pair will serve you well. Plus, the pockets are set deep, which exposes more of the hips. This creates the illusion of lean-ness even if you aren't waif.

From the side, there's a white stitching detail from the pocket to the mid-thigh area. Again, it creates a lengthening effect.

From the back, the pockets are distressed and have been sewn back using thick, white thread. The pockets are slanted and positioned lower than the usual, and this is good news for people like me who have flat butts because it lifts it up and creates an illusion of a derriere. I also love the 3-belt loop detail, and the contrasting light denim patch located at the back pocket.

Needless to say, my hands were stuck to this pair after touching it. And it didn't take me more than a minute to decide that they must be mine, no matter the cost! A pair as flattering and detail laden as this Taverniti SO vintage wash jeans is, as the mastercard ad goes, PRICELESS!

And yes, i'm wearing them now as I type this entry.

Where is everyone?

I came in to work this morning, and, lo and behold, the main door was closed. And when I entered from the back door, the whole office was empty!

DANG! There's no work today!

Apparently, it's a holiday - Ching Ming Day! But since I wasn't at work yesterday, no one informed me of that. So here I am, alone at the office.

It's irritating, yes, but it's also a pleasant surprise. Much like when you go to school then they tell you: "no classes!"

Yipeee! No work today!