Great eight

It's August already? That was fast! The 8th month just crept in while we weren't looking.

Next thing we know, it's September already.

What did I miss?

When I asked them to pass their assignment, one person told me:

"Sir, isusulat po ba sa paper yung assignment?"

Gosh! Did they start passing assignments via mental telepathy when I wasn't looking?

Celebrity flight

On my flight back to MNL from HKG, I was sitting beside this guy with a "rock star" vibe. And behind him, there were other 2 rock star looking guys as well.

As the flight progressed, they were talking about musics, concerts and sets, just like rock stars.

And after I've digested everything, I realized that they were rock stars! I was sitting beside Jared Leto, and behind me, the other group members of Thirty Seconds to Mars!

Closed encounters

I've been out of HKG for less than 3 months, and I come back to find out that 2 of my favorite stores have closed.

First up, Seibu in Pacific Place. I was planning to check out some stuff after having lunch at Triple O's, but alas, the store has closed down. (Thankfully, Triple O's is still open.)



Next up, HMV in Central. I was planning to get magazines there after my H&M run, but alas, the store has closed down, too.



It's so sad how my old haunts are starting to close down one by one.

What women want... not...

During my short trip to HKG, I caught something very peculiar. It was a Chinese film with Andy Lau ang Gong Li, and as the film progressed, I noticed that the plot and scenes were very familiar.

Very, very, very familiar.

And it turned out I was watching the Chinese remake of the classic Helen Hunt - Mel Gibson flick, "What Women Want."



I like "What Women Want" because it captures the advertising business quite accurately. Unlike other films which show the ad biz as very flippant and weird, the characters and the advertising agency here was relatable. And that's the reason why I use it as a film reference for my advertising classes.

And after watching the Chinese version, all I can say is it definitely does not live up to the original.

And the 27 club takes another member

Although a lot of people were expecting it to happen, the news about Amy Winehouse's passing is still a bit of a shock.

The music world will surely miss her hoarse and soulful voice, her bad attitude, and of course, that unmistakable beehive hair that only Amy can rock.



Now that Amy's up there with Jimi, Janis, Kurt and a host of many others, I'm sure it's going to be a big concert in that rock hall up in the sky.

High school memories

Last Saturday, some of my high school classmates met up for a reunion. I wasn't able to join since I was in Cebu. But Thea gave me an update as to what happened, and she said that Jeng, our classmate from Australia, was there to grace the occasion.

One of the conversation pieces was another classmate, Catherine. She was one of the "crushes ng bayan" way back in High School, thanks to her chinita features, long hair, and her penchant for singing.

And one of the songs she'd love to sing - even during school programs - was Stacy Lattisaw's "Can't stop thinking about you."



Whenever I hear this song, I can still imagine Catherine on top of our makeshift stage, performing this song.

It's one of the memories that make high school such a memorable time.

Where's the Buzz

Based on Bhong's suggestion, we decided to make a bee line to The Buzz Cafe at Island City Mall. She said it's the best place to live the organic lifestyle in Bohol.



And she was right. Everything in the restaurant feels so light and fresh. From the super great lemongrass juice that we ordered, right down to the organic brown rice that they served with our meal, and of course, the malunggay and spicy ginger ice cream that we enjoyed for dessert.

It was definitely the buzz we needed.

Back in Bohol

After about 5 years, I found myself back in Bohol for a bit of Island living. And there's no better place to feel the Island vibe within the city that Bohol Tropics Resort.



What's nice about this place is it's set against a vast ocean of blue green water. It's the view that would greet us in the balcony in the morning, as well as when we eat breakfast.

The thing is, there's no access to the beach for swimming. So, when we want to swim, we have to use the pool. It's a nice pool, although it's heavily chlorinated. Plus, they have a day swimming pool and a night swimming pool, so it's easy to take a dip the whole day long.

And that's what I'll do now.

See you in Cebu

While in Cebu, we were able to do 2 things that we couldn't do in Manila.

We were able to see these 2 movies!





Actually, we attempted to watch Transformers 3. We had 2 attempts before giving up on it completely. The queues were just super long! But in Cebu, the lines weren't only shorter, they were faster as well. And since we watched it at SM City Cebu, it felt like we were just in Megamall while watching it.

I wonder if we'll end up watching something in Bohol, too.

Eat like a local

On our first 2 days in Cebu, we decided to eat like locals and made sure to eat at places that we won't find in Manila. So, even if I'm craving for McDonald's and Jollibee, it had to give way to some undeniably Cebuano eats:

1. Burger Joint



This small stall looks like a popular destination among the locals because it was packed at an odd hour on a Saturday. It's very much like Brother's Burger, albeit a lot cheaper.

2. Sunburst Chicken



This is a "must visit" whenever in Cebu, and I'm not surprised why. The chicken is super crispy outside and really moist and tender inside. Chickenjoy and Chicken McDo pale in comparison. The french fries (which tastes like Kamote, actually) is a nice touch and is a good counterpoint to the flavor.

3. Neo neo grill



It's like Sutukil without going all the way to Mactan Island. It's the first time I tasted Kinilaw na Talong, and it was so, so, SO GOOD!

Three resturants down, and more to go!

Domesticated

After 6 years, I'm finally going on a domestic trip! Initially, I didn't know how to go about it since I've forgotten the workings of domestic travel - like which documents to bring, and such.

Good thing they only needed my SSS ID, and I was off to Cebu. My first trip back to the Queen City, also after 6 years!

See you, Cebu.

Knit wit

High fashion + fast fashion collaborations are on a roll. Aside from Karl Lagerfeld and Macy's, there's also something new to look forward to this fall.

The Missoni and Target collaboration.



Missoni's colorful patterns made of knits have always caught my eye. And seeing it in so many (inexpensive) things is simply a treat.

Gosh, it's going to be a shopaholic September.

May I see, Macy's?

Macy's Impulse brand is really upping their ante.

After the Matthew Williamson that came out this April, they've recruited another fashion legend to design a capsule collection. And who is this person?

No one else but Lola Karl!



I can't wait to see what he'll come up with.

Notting compares

While cleaning up my shelf, I found a copy of "Notting Hill." It's been more than 10 years since this film was shown, and I've seen it dozens of time. The thing is, it never gets old!

I had to watch it again, and I still got the same warm fuzzies as I did the first time I watched it. Everything about this movie is perfection: the script, the characters, the music, and, of course, Julia Roberts!



Incidentally, "Notting Hill" is also Bonique's favorite movie. And it's Bonique's birthday today!

So, Bonique, this one's for you.

Izadorable

I've always liked Iza Calzado, from the moment I saw her about a decade ago during a niece's 18th birthday party. Back then, Iza was a student in UST and Melanie's classmate. She was still on the heavy side back then and wore a long, maroon gown.

I remember her as this very gracious girl who always smiled. She was very polite and enjoyed the party as it progressed.

A few years after, she became an actress, model and cover girl. And her latest cover for Preview Magazine is just jaw-droppingly "whoa!"



Each time I see her on screen, it's refreshing to know that she's still that same gracious and adorable girl that I met many years back. It's good to know that some people don't change even after being in the industry for many years.

Chicken-all-you-can't

For Bennet's despedida dinner last night, we decided to hie off to Max's for the "Chicken-all-you-can." Bennet is a big fan of "eat-all-you-can" places, starting from the time we had that soup-and-salad-all-you-can at Craving's.



Not surprisingly, the place was packed to the rafters. I got there at around 7:45pm and I was the 7th in the waiting list. Thankfully, there were only 4 of us, so we were able to get a table fast.

Much as the quartered, deep fried chicken whetted my appetite, I decided to sit the "chicken-all-you-can" out and left Madz and Bennet to have their fill of poultry. I can't eat more than 2, so, economically, it wouldn't be viable.

But both Bennet and Madz enjoyed it, judging by the heap of bones on the center plate.

They should have this promo at lunch. If that happens, I'll be first in line.

Turn up the Bass

After a short hiatus in contracting foreign celebrity endorsers (the last being Mandy Moore), Penshoppe is back with a vengeance.



Ed Westwick's (aka Chuck Bass') face is now plastered all over the Metro. Actually, I see him more as "Chuck Bass" because he has that trademark sneer plastered on his face in all the materials.

I don't think it wouldn't have harmed him to smile a bit.

Bar none

I've recently rediscovered the joys of Fudgee bar!



The Vanilla variant reminds me of my all-time favorite Hostess Twinkies. A few years ago, Big Bob's had a product that was so close to Twinkies. But they discontinued it after a few years and I've forgotten about it.

Thanks to Fudgee bar, my interest in Twinkies has been re-awakened. And if Twinkies isn't available, this is a very good alternative.

Go, Britney, Go!

"I wanna go" is one of my favorite tracks on Britney's Femme Fatale album. And after seeing the MTV, my favorite-factor has gone up by 1000x.



The parody, the acting, the pop culture references - they're wicked! This is the way to go.

Explosive!

In my Journalism class today, I talked about how to gather data using different sources. They were sent off with 20 questions, some of which are from a time when a lot of them weren't born yet.

One of my questions was:

"Charlie, Robby and Ricky were members of what group?"

And of course, we know the answer is...



Not surprisingly, most of them didn't know who they were and what this group was. One group even answered that they were a group of security guards in school! So I went on a small discussion of this group of pre-teens who stormed the world with their falsetto voices and their shouts of: It's an explosion!



One student knew who they were, though, saying that she remembers her Mom talking about the group when she was still little.

Ah yes, the generation gap widens.

Taking a gamble

When "Monte Carlo" was conceptualized, it was initially starring Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and - I think - Jennifer Aniston. It would've been a casting coup that would bring in a lot of Oscar acting power and rom-com expertise into the film.

But eventually, Julia dropped out from the project, followed by Nicole.

So instead of looking for two equally brilliant actresses to fill in their shoes, they took a gamble and changed their entire strategy. And now, we have this:



It's now a teen flick with a heavy rom-com and life-realizations.

Strangely, I still want to watch it even if Julia isn't there anymore.