Status: Half-asleep.
Music: Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks
Taken at the UP Cinema Yule Ball 2006 held last December 16, somewhere in Mandaluyong. Of course, that pretty Chinese lady with me was my date that night, Maw. She was also my date at last year’s Christmas Ball. Click here to view our photo at the Ball one year ago.
Status: Happy.
Music: All I Want for Christmas is You - Olivia Olson
Because I don’t think I would be able to go online on the 25th, let me greet you now. HAPPY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!
Er… Uhmm… my Jewish friends not included, of course. Hehe. To all my Jewish friends, good afternoon! 
Off to Batangas now. I’ll be celebrating Christmas (or Yoshmas, again for my Jewish friends) there. Also, my work requires me to stay in Batangas until February 13, cos the English camp I’m heading will be in Matabungkay. So, I guess I’ll just see you all on Valentine’s Day next year. Seriously.
Bye, everyone. And Merry Christmas. 
Status: Drunk.
Music: It Ends Tonight - The All American Rejects
I know counting down the top performers is a little too early for my yearender but what the hell? December is about to end so here goes my first entry for my 2006 Entertainment Yearend Charts. But first, a disclaimer. You have to understand that the chart below is based on my own taste and my own assessment of the international music from January 2006. So, no matter how much you dislike my chart, and no matter how many times you rant, nothing will be changed. After all, it’s MY list. If you disagree, then I suggest you create your own chart and post it here on my comments page, hehe. A’right?
Before we start, let’s have a recap of the Top 10 International Performers of 2005.
10. Craig David
9. James Blunt
8. The Pussycat Dolls
7. Keane
6. Gwen Stefani
5. Tori Amos
4. The Black Eyed Peas
3. Kelly Clarkson
2. Green Day
1. Mariah Carey
And here’s my list for this year.
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10. CARRIE UNDERWOOD — Goin’ Kelly Clarkson, eh? Not yet. She will still have to bag a couple of Grammy’s to be like Ms. Independent. But surely, Carrie Underwood is making a name, not as another American Idol, but an American Idol who entered the business to stay. It’s amazing how she was able to popularise materials like Jesus, Take the Wheel and Don’t Forget to Remember Me. And Before He Cheats is just sooo fun, I smiled secretly the first time I heard it. I’m a huge fan of country music but my love for it kinda had a hiatus but I’m starting to like it again the way Shania Twain and Leann Rimes made me like it years ago. Go for Grammy, Carrie! (She’s nominated: Best New Artist.)
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9. KEANE — Wait for my list of the Most Promising Young/New Bands, and you’ll see that Keane is actually one of the top 3 (oops, spoiler). But yes, that’s how I love Keane. It’s not because they almost sound like U2 and you know that U2 is my all-time favourite band. But because they are great, Keane that is. Got a copy of their album Under the Iron Sea? If not, then stop reading this entry now, go to the nearest record store, and grab one. Is It Any Wonder and Crystal Ball are truly wonders. They rock, baby, so good. And they all look good. Haha.
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8. PARIS HILTON — Admit it. Every time you hear Stars Are Blind, you find yourself singing with her. Admit it. You love the song Nothing in This World because you love its beat, and it comes with a very, whatyacallit, cool video. Admit it. You’re starting to like her. Okay, okay, you may not agree to the previous sentence, but at least admit this, she has nice songs and they fit her. She may not be the best singer out there (definitely not), but don’t you just like her for being THE topic of conversation whenever you and your friends meet? Admit that.
7. BEYONCE — Disappointing. This was my first reaction when Beyonce released Deja Vu. Crazy In Love is just much much much much better than that. And Dangerously In Love is much much much much better than this not-so-impressive new album of hers. But it would be unfair to Beyonce to compare her with herself, right? After all, the album is pretty good. Again, not as good as her first solo album, but yes, it’s good. When I first heard Ring The Alarm, I said, “Oh, that sounds a little nicer than Deja Vu.” But it still was not enough for me. The hopes of including Beyonce to this chart were flying away when Irreplaceable was released and damn, that saved it! That was it! And see? Irreplaceable is now at the #1 spot of Billboard, earning Beyonce the 7th top spot of this chart. Deja Vu? Nah. She was #1 three years ago. Now, she’s #7.
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6. RIHANNA — S.O.S. please, someone help me! It’s not healthy to listen to Rihanna all night long. Pon De Replay is her very first single but SOS is her first song that got my attention. This Caribbean beauty did not stop at capturing me. I just found myself singing “I don’t wanna be… a murderer” one day without knowing what that song was or who sang it. I already memorised the song by heart before I even knew what its title is. Later, I got answers through TRL. It’s been a nice year for Rihanna especially after winning that Europe Music Award for Best R&B Act. And before I forget, she is HOT!
5. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS — A comeback is not a comeback without a hit, and Red Hot Chili Peppers came back with a BANG. Enough said. I love them.
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4. THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS — It’s funny how a man only thinks about how hot they all look, when they actually have talent. Yeah, it may only be Nicole Scherzinger singing, but at least, the five other members give justice to it by offering incredible dancework. And whoa, I’m going straight again. Haha. But seriously, they opened the year with Beep which is a massive hit especially here in the Philippines, and I’m just amazed by the song and how they used the censoring sound *beep* to create an awesome beat. Sweet. And then came Buttons. Fantastic. From #8 last year to #4 this year…. Hmmm… Go Pussies! *cough, cough*, I mean, DOLLS!
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3. CHRISTINA AGUILERA — I can smell another Grammy for this lady, but she must fear to lose it to Nelly Furtado or Justin Timberlake. But no worries, Aguilera fans. Grammy or no-grammy next year, it doesn’t matter, her latest album Back to Basics is a treasure in itself. At first I doubt whether she would be able to pull something like that off, and whether she would be able to market it properly, but behold, it debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200 charts. That’s a first in her career. Besides, Ain’t No Other Man is a great, great record. It didn’t hit the top of the chart but if it proved something, that would be: Aguilera can sing anything with grace and poise. And just when you’re getting tired of her 30’s act, P. Diddy released his collaboration with her and it has just entered the upper half of the Billboard Hot 100. Still Dirrty? Yes, and still powerful.
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2. NELLY FURTADO — From being like a bird to being powerless, Nelly Furtado returned with Timbaland, and ho, ho, ho, she’s now promiscuous. Nice, nice, nice. I loved the song. And can somebody tell me how long it was on top of the Billboard Hot 100? Damn, I lost count! Maneater followed that song, which did pretty well. And now, another song in the top10. She’s changed and it’s a survival strategy knowing how much a failure her previous album was. Yep, her second album, Folklore, was not a hit. But she managed to survive the fall and come back with a new package, new sound, complete with a Queer Eye for the Weird Girl make-over. Finally, the word “beautiful” suits her and not just her music. Haha. But somehow, I miss the old Furtado. Thanks to her collaboration with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, she sounded her old self. I guess not all good things come to an end.
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1. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE — He’s bringing Sexy Back? Hell yeah! In fact, he already did. His sophomore solo effort’s carrier single stayed at #1 for a very long time, only to be beaten by another Timberlake record, My Love. Ain’t that sexy? Best Pop Performance by a Male Artist Award for the next Grammy’s is sure his. I will even bet my boss’s pinkie. Haha. But seriously, Sexy Back is his biggest hit so far. Looking at Timberlake now makes me wonder whatever happened to the other boy band guys who TRIED to pursue a solo career? I guess it’s just Justin now. Just Justin. Hmmm. Sexy. Go ahead be gone with it.
The Runners-Up: Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Fray, The All-American Rejects, Snow Patrol, Kanye West, Fergie, and Stacie Orrico.
*I just googled the pics. I’ll mention the URI’s of the sites I got these pics from later. I have to look for ‘em again. Hehe.
Status: Huh?
Music: It Ends Tonight - The All American Rejects
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ADDICTS-TURNED-MODELS -TURNED-MILLIONAIRES
After 10 seasons, finally, my favourite team wins The Amazing Race. Since the very first season of TAR, the team that I pick as my fave always loses. I know this post is a little late, but what the hell. Congrats Tyler Denk and James Branaman! Go Team Addict! *cough* Team Ex-Addict! You deserve it! (As if they’re gonna read this. Haha.) And oh James, uhm, I love you. Haha.
And because they won’t be a part of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars, I’m rooting for the Beauty Queens this time. Competitiveness to the next level, blondes! Go Dustin and Kandice! Break the stereotype!
~ *** ~
DREAMERS-TURNED-SCHOLARS-TURNED-SINGERS
Also, congratulations to Yeng Constantino for being Pinoy Dream Academy’s first Grand Star Dreamer. She’s been my favourite from the very start of the competiion. She and Jay-R Siaboc. So when only the two of them were left standing, I was happy. Heads or tails, I’d be content. Good luck, Yeng and Jay-R. Hope you last.
~ *** ~
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TEEN STARS-TURNED-ACTORS
And now that The Amazing Race 10 and Pinoy Dream Academy are over, there’s only one TV addiction left for me and that’s Maging Sino Ka Man. I’ve never been this crazy over a local drama series since Kaytagal Kang Hinintay and Pangako Sa ‘Yo. Nice story. Perfect casting. Wonderful script. Excellent direction. Good job, ABS-CBN! I just hope it rates better. It’s performance as far as the figures are concerned are not that impressive. But who cares about numbers, right? Especially when you get real quality entertainment.
We all know that Bea and John Lloyd are really good actors, so it shouldn’t come to you as a surprise. But Anne Curtis is a real shocker here. I mean, I’ve seen her evolve from doing sexy-but-stupid roles before to Hiram’s Stephanie. I thought, that was all she could give. But Anne’s acting in this soap opera is a standout. Wow. She’s soo good I’ve cried several times in front of the television. She’s bound to be one of the most important actresses of her generation (of course, along with Bea Alonzo, Maja Salvador, and Angelica Panganiban).
Not to mention they’re all BEAUTIFUL in that series.
Status: Annoyed and starved.
Music: Shut up - Black Eyed Peas
Next to the people who just can’t shut their freakin’ mouth up while watching a movie in a theatre and the people who just keep on feeding you spoilers the day before your favourite TV show’s final episode’s broadcast, the people you are with in an internet cafe, those who are playing PC games who just keep on SHOUTING curse words at each other and at the game, are the most annoying people in the world.
Why do they have to shout for heaven’s sakes? One, they’re sitting beside each other! Second, no matter how loud they curse the computer, it won’t react! They just look stupid. How could they be so insensitive to people like me, who has been focusing on editing HTML stuff for this website?
And what is taking my DSL subscriber so long to install an internet connection at my place?
I’m outta here… before I could even shout and tell them to shut up. Assholes.
Status: Starving still.
Music: Lumapit Ka - Nina
Stop being a tease. Stop being flirty. That’s so mean of you.
Besides, I might buy it when it would turn out you’re not selling anything.
Status: Starving.
Music: This Gift - 98 Degrees
Haay, finally.
In early 2003, I set up my very first blog. It was Tripod-hosted. Whew. I can barely remember how it looked. All I know now is that it was sooo blue and it looked like an ABS-CBN fan site. Haha. That’s because most of my entries then were TV and movie reviews.
More than a year later, I signed up for a Blogdrive account. Two months ago, after I decided to get a free account from Wordpress, I bought the domain name yoshke.com from Yahoo! I thought I would be satisfied but there are a lot of things (i.e. Java scripts) that are not allowed in Wordpress so I signed up for a hosting service courtesy of hostingph.com. Still, I didn’t know how to install the wordpress software properly so I was stuck like buying a car when I had no idea what a car is, much less how to drive.
Less than an hour after I asked Michael Hancock to set up this blog for me, he sent me an e-mail telling me that he had successfully built this site. Thanks Michael! Again, you’re an angel. Yihee!
And also, thanks to Pixel-Inc and RG2 Graphics. I had a tough time translating the default words to English (the original language is Spanish) but it’s OK, hehe. Love it.
I wish I could post something that makes more sense right now, like the four Christmas parties I was in these past few days. But I’m really damn starving at this moment. And I’m still waiting for the pictures. Calling Icang and Kuya Gian. Hehe.
So there. Hope you like this new layout.
Status: Infuriated.
Music: Too Little Too Late - Jojo
It annoys me so much when the people you usually help suddenly accuse you of being the cause of all mishaps in the world.
Yesterday, despite being deprived of sleep and feeling a little sick, I decided to go to work because, although there’s not much to accomplish this week, I wanted to finish what I would be able to so I could just relax in the office for the rest of the week. Then came the time that I needed to print something out. Here’s the scenario: there’s only one printer in the office and it is directly connected to the secretary’s computer. There used to be a network that connects all the PCs to that printer but I don’t know what the fuck happened.
Here’s what happened: I appoached Mariah Carey (name changed to protect identity) and told her that I would be printing something out so I would have to use her computer for a few seconds. I was smiling, mind you. And then she blurted, “Bakit ba parati nyo na lang akong iniistorbo? Hindi mo ba nakikitang may ginagawa ako.” (It was a good thing she said that in Tagalog cos I can hardly stand her English.)
I was shocked, like seeing-Britney’s-pussy shocked. She’s crazy. First of all, the printer is connected to her PC and only to her PC. Second, what was she doing anyway? She was just chatting. Yes, chatting. She was just chatting with men from all over the world trying to find a boyfriend. What’s wrong with that, you ask? Well, get this. She’s married.
Being the warfreak that I am, I answered smilingly. This time, I was faking the smile. “Uhm, maybe because the printer is connected to your PC and not to anybody else’s.” But of course, here’s what I wanted to tell her, “Duh?”
“Ano ba kasing nangyari sa network printer sharing?”
“I don’t know. It is you and Celine Dion (again, name changed) who are here outside.” (Because two other colleagues and I have our own room, separating us from the rest of the employees, and our PCs are not connected to any network, so we really have to use the other computers when printing.)
“E ikaw ang nakasira nun e!”
“Huh? Me? Why me?”
“Di ba nasira yung connection nung may pinaayos sayo si Celine Dion sa computer nya? Di ba ginalaw-galaw mo yung PC niya kaya hindi na maka-connect ang PC niya sa printer na ‘to.”
That’s the point I lost my cool and released the magnificently angry gay me. “Excuse me! It was this network printer connection that she was asking me to fix! Meaning, if you still don’t get it, it was already broken before she even asked me to touch her PC. Nagpatulong sya saken kasi hindi sya makapagprint. I was trying to help, and it’s not like I volunteered. She asked me to help her.”
She was speechless. She must have realised I was really furious and that she was wrong. She then said, “Ikaw naman, nagalit kaagad. Para konting biro.”
NEKNEK MO, LECHE KA. Biro ka dyan. I was waiting for a “sorry,” but it never came.
“Sa susunod at may mangyare sa PC nyo, kahit maglupasay pa kayo sa sahig, hinding hindi ko na kayo tutulungan.” I walked out gracefully.
What made me really angry was the idea that whenever they experience problems with their PCs, they would always call me to fix it. And I would always try. But with the limited computer skills, I can only do so much. They call me when their PCs catch spywares, and to install something on their system, and to ask me the how-to’s. They always turn to me when it comes to technical stuff, and never have I heard a word of appreciation. As if it were really my job to help them with computer-related stuff.
Like, haller? The last time I checked there’s nothing about computer troubleshooting and maintenance in my job description.
And the last time I checked, I’m the Research and Development Head and she’s the secretary.
And oh, the last time I checked, I earn more than she does, more than she could imagine I do, I could even buy her a new husband (definitely an exaggeration), hehe.
Bitch.
Status: Losing someone I never had.
Music: *Over My Head - The Fray
Nawawalan na ako ng gana. Pakiramdam ko, nawawalan ka na rin ng gana. Hindi ko lang alam kung alin ang nauna.
Basta. Ayoko na.
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