The Idols are in (Mo)Town

American Idol's nod to Motown last week was awesome. I've always been a big fan of Motown, and still count "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" and "I heard it through the Grapevine" as two of my ultimate favorite songs. So to borrow Tim Gunn's phrase, hearing the Idol girls sing some of these songs "knocked my socks off."



I love that it ended with "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" and Lil Rounds was the perfect girl to cap it off. She's totally Motown! I just hoped they gave Megan more airtime. Despite her bad reviews last week, I think she's going to go places.

Maybe not Motown, but still, she's going places.

Something worth Q-ing for

So it's true! There is an Alexander McQueen capsule collection at Target.



I've heard about this a few months ago, but when I checked the Target website, particularly the GO International section, the McQ line was never there. First it was Thakoon, and then it was a generic design line. Even when I checked yesterday, nothing was there.

As it turns out, the McQ line isn't listed under GO International but had it's own subsection. Which isn't surprising because someone like Alexander McQueen deserves nothing less.

Time to browse.

What did they do to the bottle?

Since my supply of Black Raspberry Vanilla is running low, I decided to check out the website of Bath and Body works. I noticed something new, and it's not something new that I'm thrilled to see.



They changed their bottles! In my opinion, it's not a change for the better. The previous bottle was better - simple, no-nonsense, easy-to-handle and easy on the eye. This new one looks a bit too frou-frou for my taste. And the silver cap? Wazzatallabout?

Fine, so they changed the bottle. But please, don't tinker around with the scent.

Interesting new product

Swung by the mall today and I spotted this:



Hmmm... maybe it's a new product and the only reason why I don't know about it is the fact that I'm not a girl. Harhar. But hey, just by looking at the product name, I can already think of an appropriate headline for it:

"For lips so shiny, you won't even need a mirror."

Girls will surely dig that.

Pretty in Pink

There was one good reason why we were all rosy yesterday.



We have another baby girl in the group! A few months after the arrival of Audrey Elise, we now welcome little Rebecca Abigail - Mona's daughter. And true to form, D' Frendz had a baby welcome party and shower at Mona's garden. (The site of all future baby showers - according to yesterday's vote.)

The great thing about an occasion like this is the fact that it's so carefree and casual. Getting together with these friends - be it for a birthday, a wedding, a casual dinner, or just a lazy Sunday afternoon - is just like a family gathering. We sit around the table, talk no end, share food and free-flowing conversation -- the way a perfect meal should be.

But for Becca, the presents were more interesting than our conversation. (Although she did try to contribute to our conversation with her happy babbling.) Since she's a pretty baby, we chose to gave her pretty things in the pretty color pink. Here's Grace showing off a shirt that Bonique got, but Becca was more interested in the bag.



Just like I was uber interested in this bag - Maricar and Gary's gift to Mona and Becca.



During Audrey's baby shower, there was a wealth of nail cutters. This is a nice way of saying that everyone simply bought the same thing by mistake. For Becca's shower, the "nail cutter" was the "hooded towel." No less than 3 people got the same thing: Grace, Tintin and myself. Good thing you can never have too many pink hooded towels. Harhar.



Welcome to the family, Rebecca Abigail. We're all tickled pink to have you around.

Life imitating art

In the film "Love Actually", Liam Neeson's wife passes away and has to cope with the loss while trying to raise his young son. I found this to be one of the sadder parts of the film.

What's sadder than this is the fact that it now happened in real life. Liam's wife, Natasha Richardson, passed away due to a skiing accident. She leaves behind Liam and their two sons, aged 12 and 13.



She was a wonderful actress and I've seen a lot of her films. My favorites were "A Handmaid's Tale," "Blowdry," "The Parent Trap," and "Maid in Manhattan."

Natasha Richardson left at the prime of her life, and that's the precise reason why I'm sure that she'll sorely be missed.

And today's winning question is...

...from a salesclerk in a mall. BACKGROUNDER: While I was inside a store, I overheard two women talking. One was a salesclerk since she was in a uniform, and the second girl was wearing casual clothes. My hunch is the second girl was a former employee of the store because the salesclerk asked her:

SALESCLERK: O ano, nakuha mo na ba ang separated pay mo?

All I could think of that time was: "I wonder why they separated..."

Brit-Brit's new hit

It's great to see Britney back in her element. Catchy beats, great choreography, sultriness and a bit of cheekiness. I also like the "twist" of the song - the title spelling out obscenity is so clever. I'm sure there's a "statement" hidden somewhere in the song and video.

Very addicting...

For the past 2 weeks or so, I find myself passing through Shopwise Araneta for these cherry gumballs. The awesome thing about them is the fact that there's a chewy cherry candy center inside the cherry ball gum. And for a cherry fanatic like me, this is da cherry bomb!

No wonder I'm addicted to it.

Yes sir, Yes sir...

Three bags full of finds!



The bag includes six pairs of jeans and two pairs of shoes. And it cost less than P2000 in total. In fact, after the cashier rang up my purchase, she had to do a double take before exclaiming: "Sir, ang dami-dami niyong binili tapos ang mura-mura ng babayaran nyo!" (Then again, it might be a practiced spiel to make people feel good about their purchases. Hahaha.)

Ah yes. I just adore the 3-day sales at Robinsons Malls! I have since early 2000s, and I still do.

A joy to watch

If Carrie Underwood was the reason why I was locked in to AI season 4, here's the reason why I'm always catching season 8.



Megan Joy Corkrey is wonderful. She's got that bubbly personality and a voice that's great but not too theatrical or dramatic. Plus, Megan has that quirk whenever she performs. I thought the "corkscrew move" she does is cute, but she shouldn't do it again and again with every performance. It's a move that gets tired easily.



Since there are still 11 finalists for this season's AI, who knows how Megan will fare against vocal powerhouses like Lil Rounds and sentimental favorite Scott MacIntyre. But if she makes it to the top 2, and becomes this season's idol, then I'd definitely be overjoyed.

There's something about Nina

Each time I watch my Project Runway 5 DVD, I try to figure out who Nina Garcia reminds me of. There's something familiar about her face, the way she talks, and her demeanor.



This afternoon, I had a breakthrough. She reminds me of two people - a former colleague, and a former client. Incidentally, both Nina and my former client are from Colombia, so that's probably where most of the similarities stem from.

Extraordinary...

Despite a number of people saying otherwise, I'm constantly amazed at the innate kindness of Filipinos. Today, I saw that kindness once again at an unexpected place - inside a jeepney.

The jeepney I rode stopped at the EDSA-Aurora intersection to gather passengers. While waiting, the driver saw one of the barkers talking to a pair of weary looking travelers. It looked like they were asking for directions, and the barker pointed them to the direction of E. Rodriguez.

After the conversation, the jeepney driver asked the barker what the fuss was all about. The barker said that the pair needed to get to Araneta Avenue from EDSA and they asked for directions on how to get there on foot. The driver immediately asked why the pair was walking since their destination was quite far. To this, the barker replied that they only had enough money for their bus ride back to the province and didn't have jeepney money.

As the pair was walking off, the driver called them and asked them to board the jeep. They refused and said that it was ok since they couldn't pay the fare. The driver told them not to worry about it and he'd let them ride for free.

Since I was sitting beside the driver, I could sense his sincerity and genuine worry. At that moment, I wanted to pat him on the back, but that would be too weird. Harhar.

But it didn't stop there.

The driver started asking the pair where exactly they were going so he could drop them off in the right place. They said that they're going to the bus station to go back to the province.

Apparently, they were supposed to get a job in Manila. But they arrived later than the agreed on date, so when they got here, the job was filled up. They spent the last week trying to find work and using up the money they brought. And now, since they only had enough for the bus fare, they decided to head home.

Suddenly, the jeepney driver took P50 from his fare box and gave it to the pair. He said that they should buy something to eat. They initially refused because the driver already gave them a free ride, but the driver insisted. They eventually accepted it, and thanked him profusely.

At that point, I reached my destination and had to alight the jeepney. And as I was walking to my destination, I couldn't help but admire that man who gave a bit of his own earnings to help strangers in need. And it's this type of man who gives me renewed faith in the Filipino and the Philippines.

The great thing about this experience is the fact that it's another one of the many acts of kindess I've seen the past few months - mostly involving "ordinary" people. But just as I wrote in a campaign I did for a company a few years back, sometimes the most extraordinary things are done by the most ordinary people.

Goldi-grrrr!

As much as I love the Marble Slice at Goldilocks, I'm so not loving their cheesy store greeting.

Recently, they've been prefixing every greeting with the word "Goldi." Methinks this is the marketing department's way of hammering the point that you're in Goldilocks.

So when you enter the store, the guard will cheerfully say: "Goldi-good day, Sir!" After getting my marble slice and heading to the counter, the cashier greets me: "Goldi-good evening, Sir!" After the transaction, she hands me my cake, my change, and before I could leave, she shouts: "Have a Goldi-good time, Sir!"

With so much Goldi-goodness in less than 10 minutes, the only thing I could mutter after leaving the store was: Goldi-good riddance!

First dibs

This dress was listed as a "new arrival" and was just uploaded on their website this morning.



Guess who got it a week before at one of my haunts?

I live for shopping moments like these...

Do something new

Since I ventured into the professional world rather young, I've already worn a number of hats the past decade or so. Aside from the hats of Creative Director and Professor, I've also worn the hats of an event planner, cake designer, cook, baker, counselor, travel writer, travel planner, "surprised" host, personal shopper, bargain hunter, commercial talent, McDonald's crew, graphic designer - and the list goes on.

Numerous as it may seem, it barely scratches the surface of what I really want to do. As a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer (but was too lazy to fill up the LAE application, thus never reaching law school.) Another childhood dream was to become an archeologist (but it ain't as fun since I'm not living in Egypt.) Being a flight attendant was also a dream of mine (but to say that Dad wasn't too enthusiastic about it is an understatement.)

In one of our dinner conversations with D' Frendz, the topic turned to what we still want to experience or get out of life. My reply was simple: "I want to experience having a different job everyday for one year." The Philippines has a wide range of jobs that it would be easy to fill 365 days (366 in case of a leap year) with different jobs.

It can be an everyday job like a sales clerk at a store or a teller at a bank, a job that's very manual like a farmer or a farm hand in some mango plantation in Zambales. It can be an exciting one like a dive instructor (though I have no diving experience whatsoever - Lu-Ann, HELP!) or a boring one like a gift wrapper at a department store. (This I can do with ease.)

Of course, the first question my friends asked was: "Why?" My reply is that life is too short to be stuck in one place. Life is all about adventure and adventure is all about doing something new as often as possible. This sense of wonder, amazement and craving for new things is what makes life worth living and worthwhile.

Since the semester is about to wrap up, I find myself having to park my Professor hat on the rack for a few months. Actually, this is what inspired me to write this piece. Because as I finish the last sentence, I ask myself: "What can I do next?"

Let the hat hunting begin.

Something to chew on...

I'm SO having a Dubble Bubble moment. The past few days, I find myself passing through Shopwise in Cubao just to go to those gumball machines. In relation to that, I've been hoarding P5.00 coins because that's what it takes for me to get the gum.

Some people actually look at me in a peculiar way whenever I pass by the gumball machines. They must be wondering what a grown man is doing hanging around and putting in P5.00 coin after P5.00 coin in the machine.

But if only they knew the magic that Dubble Bubble creates, they'll probably be right behind me waiting for their turn.

Hair suit

Last Saturday, my High School classmate (who I haven't seen in decades) saw me and immediately commented on my hair. She said:

"Ang ganda ng pagka-highlight ng hair mo. Bagay na bagay sa 'yo."

That would've been a nice comment, IF I had highlights. Unfortunately, I don't, I didn't, and I don't think I ever will. So my curt reply was:

"Actually, white hair 'yan. Hindi highlights."

After grabbing my hair and swishing it all around as if it weren't attached to my head, her final comment was:

"Ang galing mo naman. Nag-mukhang cool yung uban dahil sa'yo."