High school's musicals

Last night, my dreams were on "musical" mode as there were songs involved. Not just any ordinary song, but songs that I used to sing in high school, when I was still part of our choir. (Or "glee club" as people call them nowadays.)

The first song was "One Tin Soldier." It's a song about treating people fairly and not stealing or killing - especially over material things. A very adult subject delivered in a very child-like way. This is also a very "catholic school" song to sing.



The second song I dreamt of was "Corner of the Sky". This song has "musical" written all over it. Heck, it was written for "Pippin."



I think this dream is my subconscious' way of missing my musical past. Harhar.

Hindi malimot

"Moulin Rouge" is one of my favorite films. It's such a conceptually solid and executionally decadent piece of film. Everything just fell into place perfectly, from the story, to the costume, to the songs. The film was so spectacular, I was hoping that it would win the Oscar that year.

Among the many memorable scenes in "Moulin Rouge", this is one of the ones that I'll never tire watching. This was the opening night of the play, and the ensemble sang "Hindi Sad Diamonds."



Everything is going right in this scene. Elaborate costumes - check. Breathtaking stage - check. Beautiful choreography - check. Excellent music - check. Nicole - bonus!

It's this combination that makes it simply unforgettable.

Soup-er cheap thrill

I'm a big - make that HUGE - fan of sopas. There's something about it that reminds me of childhood. Memories like going to Unimart with the family, and Lola Dita would buy Royco Chicken Sopas and serve it at home. Or how Uncle Rolly would prepare Royco Chicken Alphabet Noodle Soup and spell our names on the plate. Fun times, indeed.

That's why Sopas is one of my all time favorites, especially the one with elbow macaroni and milk.

I've always been on a "quest" to find good Sopas. Jollibee has one, but it's too thick and it feels like sipping gravy. My friend told me that they have good ones at the "Jollijeep", but when I tried it, it had more bones than macaroni. Then, today, I wandered off to the food court at The Enterprise Center and got this:



It's really, really good Sopas from Lola's Kitchen.

It doesn't look like much, but believe me, it's DA BOMB! The soup is very milky, and you can actually taste the fresh milk they used on it. The vegetables are very crunchy. And there's a whole egg in it! Best part is, it's got no meat, which is a big plus for me.

And this baby costs P39! It's way cheap considering I'm willing to pay much, much more for a good bowl of Sopas.

Ah yes, cheap thrills make life so much more flavorful.

Ferosh-shoes

Trust Isuma to always have fun, funky and ferocious shoes on its shelves. I dropped by today and found these 2 beauties for my sisters.



First is a black cut out bootie. It's got very nice detailing and the heel grounds the look.



Second is a gray, jute heeled shoe with an open back. It looks so chic from all sides.



These shoes will definitely look good with boyfriend jeans or shorts. And since both my sisters have lots of those, I'm sure these booties will add much needed fierceness to their look.

Marc Jacobs and Mee

A few hours after arriving in HKG, I've already ticked off a number of things off my checklist:

1. Deliver pastries to Aaron and Monna

2. Say hello to our former student's Mom

3. Go to my favorite Prawn Mee place at Landale Street and order my usual Seafood Prawn Noodle soup


(So much goodness in just one bowl!)

4. Buy a couple of Marc Jacobs shirts at my favorite haunt




(The print on this one is so cute!)

It's amazing how you can do so many things in a matter of hours. That's the big plus of HKG - it's so compact, it's easy to do a lot of things at once.

Next stop, look for Mark's Crocs.

Doesn't quite bring home the bacon

After going ballistic over Marty's, I thought I'd have the same reaction to Baconette Strips - Oishi's next foray into "vegetarian friendly snacking."

I tried a bag when Mark and I went to Subic more than a month ago, and it didn't quite do it for me. After trying one again tonight, I therefore conclude that it's not as awesome as Marty's.

In fact, the snack isn't very original. Jack and Jill already came up with Bacon strips a few years ago. Unfortunately, it didn't fly.

Let's hope that the same thing won't happen to Baconette. Or else that little piggy will cry wee-wee-wee all the way home.

Wild about it

Out of curiousity, I picked a pack of Wild Berry Tootsie Pops during our Duty Free soujourn last weekend just for the heck of it. Now that I've tasted it, I realize that I should've gottem more. Much, much, much more!

It's phenomenal! And the Wild Cherry Berry pop is divine!

I hope they have it here in Manila. I'm gonna buy some more!

Gene pool

Last Sunday, the family was able to go on a quick weekend getaway to Subic. Biboy flew in last Friday, and since we haven't seen him in almost 2 years, we thought that this was a perfect time to catch up and bond.

The getaway turned into one big slumber party with the kids staying up until 3am and the adults awake and cooking by the time it was 6am. In between, there was a lot of eating, playing, iPad-ing, and the favorite activity - swimming!

We were able to gather most of the best genes from the family and place them in a pool. I say "most" since some of us were conspicuously absent. My folks are in the US, Kuya Marv was shopping with Rose, Biboy went biking with Raymond, and I - well, I was the photographer.



It was a hectic weekend, but it was all good. There's nothing like a coalescence of the family's dominant genes.

Pops goes my world

One great thing about going to Subic is duty free shopping! A lot of my favorite food stuff from the US isn't readily available in Manila. But in Subic, it's easy to get them. Among them, my favorite lollipop - Tootsie Pops!



Eating Tootsie Pops brings me back to my childhood when my Lolo and Lola would come home from the US and this would be part of their pasalubongs. I love how the fruity and sour taste of the candy mixes with the rich, chocolate taste of the the Tootsie Roll. It was such a treat!

My favorite flavor has always been cherry, and thankfully, they had it at the Duty Free store. Plus, they had this Wild Berry combo, which I also bought.

Ah yes. Going back to my childhood is sweet!

Dangerous Crossings!

As if to add insult to injury, The Ramp at Crossings has also decided to put up their sale sign and join the plethora of fast fashion brands who are bannering the four letter word onto their store windows.

This week, Zara further marked down their prices (bad news), Mango replaced their 50% signs with 70% signs (more bad news), and now this! The excruciating part is that the two super chic dresses that caught my eye at United Pop are now at 20% off! You can almost translate that sign to "Buy me! BUY ME!"

Maybe I should stay away from Crossings first. Good thing our family will be in Subic this weekend. That should get shopping off my to-do list.

But wait a minute. There's duty free in Subic!

This bites!

It was bound to happen.

After the deluge of Vampire movies and Vampire themed TV series, someone actually came up with a Vampire spoof!



This looks like it's going to be a corn-fest, just like "Date Movie" and "Dance Movie." But hey, Vampires suck, so why shouldn't this movie.

I hope they show it in Manila!

Viva Espana!

And Spain wins the World Cup!!!

It's their first ever appearance in the finals, and they took it all the way and grabbed the championship!

This is solid proof that dedication and passion (and the presence of King Felipe and Queen Sofia) can turn an ordinary team into a team of champions!

Enhorabuena!

Here's to Honesty!

Ayala Cinemas are the best! Not only do they have the best seats and screens, they also have the most honest security personnel. Mark and I proved that today.

Here's to the Ayala Cinema security and management! More power and success to you guys!

Forever in the Philippines

From afar, the bright yellow Forever 21 shopping bag looks just like the ones you'll get in Singapore or the US.



But when you look at the details, that's when you'll know that it's quite different from what you're used to. It has unique touches that you'll find - as they say - only in the Philippines.

First, our bags are biodegradable. The Forever 21 franchise in the Philippines is owned by the SM group, and they're active stewards of the environment. Like their SM shopping bags, the Forever 21 plastic bag is earth friendly.



The second, and more interesting one, is an indication that this Forever 21 store is located in a Catholic country.



Yes, there's a bible passage hidden at the bottom of the bag. And methinks the supplier of the bag is a devout Catholic who would like to thank God for giving him this big business opportunity.

Of course, John 3:16 one of the most famous and often quoted verses in the bible. "For God so loved the world that, He gave us his only begotten Son, and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."

Considering the fact that tens of thousands of Filipinos shop at Forever 21, this is such a novel way of spreading God's word.

Looks like Lanvin

While perusing the racks at The Ramp in Glorietta, I chanced upon this little black number from Details. Even from afar, it succeeded in drawing me in. I think the big, black "SALE" sign helped, too.



When laid flat, it doesn't look like much. Good thing they had one on the mannequin. The dress, when worn, looks something like Tilda Swinton's Oscar dress. (The dress fondly known as "hefty bag.")



The material of the dress is stretch jersey, but with a shiny coating, making it look like the washed silk material that Tilda's dress was made of. What gave it added oomph is the gathered details on the neck of the dress. It lets the entire dress drape diagonally denoting dimension. (Aye! An alliteration!)



And because it was on the sale rack, the dress was also unbelievably cheap! Now that's the look of Lanvin, for much, much less.

Sweet!

Katy Perry's "California Girls" is our network song for CW4 this season, and the first time we heard it, we got hooked! The beat is infectious, Katy's voice is spot on, and the chorus sticks in your head and doesn't go away. Now, THAT'S a pop song.

But if you think the song is great, wait 'til you see the music video. It's mind blowingly AWESOME!



Talk about whimsical. The entire "Candy Land" concept fits Katy Perry's image: a bit sweet and a bit 40s burlesque. There were a lot of funny little touches throughout, like the "bad gummy bears" who gave her the finger, the candy cane snakes, the gingerbread man who got eaten, and of course, Katy's "weapons of mass destruction by icing." Then there are the "candy queens" being unwrapped one by one. It's so campy - it's cool!

It was so entertaining, I didn't notice that the video was inverted until the 2nd time I saw it. But whether it's inverted, upside down, right side up or even askew, I'll keep on watching this video. It's sweet!

Visual songs

There are certain songs that can transport you to another place just by listening to the lyrics. I call these "visual songs" because the words are so evocative, they go beyond words that you listen to and become pictures you see in your mind.

Among my favorite songs of this "genre" is a very old but multi-awarded song by Michel Legrand. It's entitled "Windmills of your mind" and it's such a beautifully written song with lyrics like: "Keys that jingle in your pocket. Words that jangle your head." It won both the Oscars and Globes in 1968, and was featured in the film "The Thomas Crown Affair."

It's a song that's been interpreted by so many artists, among them, Petula Clark. But I must say that my favorite rendition is the more modern one by Swing Out Sisters.



Listening to this song is like looking at a surrealist painting. It's full of intrigue and every second of it sends your mind into a tizzy. And that's how great visual songs should be.

Memories of Bicol

Among the Regalado clan, our family was the only one who planted its roots in Manila. Mom moved to Manila after marrying Dad, while the rest of her 9 siblings stayed on in Bicol, then 4 of them moved to the U.S. eventually.

Because of that, my memories of Bicol aren't as abundant as my other cousins who grew up and lived there. My memories of Bicol are the short summer vacations we'd spend there. We'd usually live in Lolo Iking's beach house in Bacacay, then spend a few days a week at Lolo Doring's house in Malinao. During summer, my sisters would join the Santacruzan and would usually get the top spots (Reina Elena and Reina Emperatriz), then we'd sometimes sneak out at night to go to the "baraylihan" at the Malinao plaza.

Eventhough I didn't see Lolo Doring and Lola Pining as often as I should have, I have so many fond memories of them. They were both politicians - being both Mayor and Vice-mayor for several terms. Both Lolo and Lola were very eloquent, principled, and very good with people - trademarks of politicians during the olden days, or the glory years. Whenever I'd drop by the Malinao Municipal Hall, I'd always marvel at Lolo and Lola's portraits as they hung on those hallowed halls.

Lolo Doring would have this habit of gargling his water before drinking it. Lola Pining would dress up in her proper church attire before crossing the street to hear mass. We would always have lunch and dinner together on that long table in the dining room. And we would always end up at the "palitada" after dinner to just talk and bond with our cousins.

Another memory of Bicol consists of the photos that were on the wall of Lolo and Lola's house in Malinao. Since they were both politicos, they had photos with Ferdinand and Imelda, photos when they were sworn in, photos of their projects, and of course, photos of their families. I found a couple of those photos on my sister's facebook account, posted by one of our cousins who was still in Bicol.

Here's a photo that I always found interesting. It was a photo of my Mom's family sometime in the 60s. It shows Lolo and Lola, Mom and her 9 siblings, and 8 of my cousins who were already born that time. It wasn't unusual in Bicol to have large families, and my Mom's family was large.



The other photo is something that I've seen for the first time. It's Lolo Doring with the late President Ramon Magsaysay. As it turns out, Lolo was a member of the Nacionalista Party. Makes me wonder if he would've voted for Villar if he were still alive today.



It's been a long time since I last went to Bicol, and there are times when I think that I should go there more often and get to know the place where my Mom was born and grew up. Get to know the place where my Lolo was Mayor and Lola was Vice-mayor, and when their terms ended, my Lola became Mayor and my Lolo became Vice-mayor. Get to know my cousins and catch up with them.

Yup, I think it's time to get to know Bicol a bit more.

Team Alice

Last night, Mark and I watched "Eclipse" at Gateway. Since it was a block screening, we were spared from the kilometric lines and jostling crowd that usually meets anyone who wants to watch the flick.

Inside, we were surrounded by "Twi-hards" who would swoon, sigh and clap at all of Edward, Bella and Jacob's antics. The biggest applause of approval came from Jacob's "Admit it, I'm hotter than you." line.

Yes, the film was cheesy, but I found it bearable to watch. Mainly because of Ashley Greene - aka Alice Cullen!



I like her character - headstrong, fun, frivolous, fashionable, eager beaver and of course, psychic. From the first movie until the 3rd, she's the sass and pizazz of the film. And when she kicked "newborn a**" in the forest, it was awesome! (So was the other Cullen kids - and parents, too.)

This film makes me wonder how Alice's character will evolve in the last book. So, bring it on, Breaking Dawn!