Status: Harried.
Music: The Game of Love | Santana feat Michelle Branch

Hahaaay. Euro 2008 Final. Germany lost to Spain 0-1.

I feel too harried and melancholic. Germany is really my favourite team. I’m in love with them as a group. And again, they came so close to grabbing that trophy but aaaargh, the Spanish team were just so damn skilled this year. For what it’s worth, they really deserve it. They played better than the Germans this tournament. They were never defeated. They definitely were the best team. (And mind you, all of them are under 30 yo.) Besides, it was just about time that Spain win something. Since I was born, I’d never seen Spain win anything. It’s been 44 years.

Maybe Ken was right. Maybe Germany just had to lose this time so they could have more drive and passion to win World Cup 2010. Maybe that’s it. (Wag nang kumontra. I’m trying to console myself here. Haha)

The truth is, I should be half-celebrating. Spain is my second fave national team after all. My top 2 teams at the final. Heck, my grandma was Spanish. What am I ranting about?

Anyway, I was browsing through BBC’s Euro 2008 photos and this picture just lightened my mood a bit.

I wonder if he got any. Tsk, tsk… Straight people! Haha.

images courtesy of bbc.co.uk and MSN Sport

I hate it when my friends talk about Bioman. Why? Because I can’t relate. I can’t remember even a single moment I watched Bioman. I don’t know what their powers were and what they could do. I don’t know its theme song, either. I remember Shaider, Ultraman, Koseidon, He-Man, She-Ra, Conan the Barbarian, Maskman, and Power Rangers. But Bioman? Nah. Na-uh. Nadah. Not really.

Funny because my earliest childhood memory was when I was 3 years old. (I’m 22; born 1986.) I remember a lot. As in A LOT. There is a myriad of vivid childhood images that I always play in my head. Sadly, none of those images are Bioman’s. Maybe because I didn’t watch it at all. You see, I’ve always been choosy. Haha.

Another kiddie TV classic that I just can’t remember watching? Batibot. Seriously. I don’t have any emotional connection to the show, Pong Pagong, Kuya Bodjie or Ate whoever-she-was. Every time I try to rummage through my thoughts and search for a bit of any Batibot-related memory, what I always find is ATBP (Awit, Titik, Bilang na Pambata) — Trisha, Rex, Carlo, Tito Miguel (Piolo Pascual), and that ridiculous Kapitan Bilang. No Batibot.

You might be thinking that I missed a great deal of my childhood and how great a loser I was when I was a kid for not watching these programs. But I think I had a childhood that many would envy. It’s just that TV wasn’t really that fun for me that time. Fun was outdoors. You see, I was a country boy. Haha. Lumaki ako sa lalawigan ng magigiting (Batangas). Less than a kilometer north of our house are woods and hills; south, a vast field and the beach. TV wasn’t that fun. Fun were the following:

• flying/running kites
• wandering around and playing hide-and-seek in the forest
• climbing trees
• stealing fruits from some farmer’s orchard
• shooting birds with a slingshot (I was cruel as a kid)
• hunting spiders for fights on stick
• catching fireflies and grasshoppers
• catching salagubang (June beetle), cutting its legs one by one, and letting it fly while tied to my wrist

Those were my definition of fun even after I was introduced to Sarah, Cedie, Remi, Julio, Julia, Mary, Romeo, another Remi, Tom, Huck, Cinderella, and the rest of them losers. And then, the magnificent world of violent anime. Haha. Starting with Sailormoon. (Er, okay, violent gay anime. Haha.) Zenki, B’t X and Thunder Jet soon followed. And then, the wacky Mojacko and Doraemon.

And oh, I remember being addicted to Superbook and Flying House. Thanks to my Catholic upbringing.

And yeah, right now I just miss my childhood.

…

“Ang hirap kasi sa inyong mga Amerikano, ang hilig n’yong makialam. Ang hilig n’yong makisawsaw. Sa Iraq, sa Vietnam, sa Pilipinas…. Eh kung hindi ba naman kayo pumunta dito nung Panahon ng mga Kastila, eh malamang hindi kami nadamay sa World War II.”
— Toni Gonzaga’s character, “You Are the One”

Something I did not expect from a Toni Gonzaga - Sam Milby romantic comedy. Haha. But it was the highlight of the movie for me.

Speaking of Sam Milby, I don’t usually like him. But have you seen his latest Bench Blackout billboards? The hot ones, yes?

Damn you, Sam. Damn you, really. Haha. You almost got me there. Hehe.

…

And oh, by the way, despite being very sick lately, I’m actually in a very festive mood. Germany is through to the semi-finals of Euro 2008 after beating Portugal in the quarterfinal match. Honestly, I had been expecting a Germany-Netherlands showdown in the final until the Dutch were murdered by the Russians yesterday.

Anyway, I really hope the Germans would meet the Spaniards instead of the Italians. After all, Spain is my second favourite national team. (And David Villa, my second fave player. Miroslav Klose, you know you’re my #1 guy.)

Robin, you had better prepare my P1000 because Germany is sooo gonna win this whole Euro thing. I can smell it. Thanks for betting, haha. And Jon, don’t worry, as promised, if my team wins, I’ll treat you and some of our former officemates to a little booze party. Promise.

Oh Lord, I don’t wanna cry again…. Maybe not. Hey, it’s not THE World Cup.

Weise zu gehen Deutschland!!!
image courtesy of istockphoto.com and coleenpbb of pinoyexchange.com
and thanks to babel fish haha

Except, of course, when it’s so crowded and you feel like you’re having an orgy. Just that it’s the kind of orgy you don’t like.

Not that I like orgies.

Of course, I don’t like orgies.

Eeew. The thought.

Anyway, I can still remember this one time in November last year that I was aboard the MRT. This was before they discovered the wonders of prerecorded announcements with pesky Chowking ads. Approaching San Juan Station, the train had just left Cubao. It was a very quiet but rather packed 7am ride. And then the MRT operator broke the silence.

H’wag po tayong sumandal sa mga pinto. Dumiretso lang po tayo sa gitna. Manatili lang po tayong nakahawak sa mga mandurukot…

Anu daw?!? Haha. Everyone was trying their best not to laugh. But they couldn’t. All I could mutter was “Manong, gumising ka! Gumising ka!”

I overheard a woman sport a cheerful mockery. “Nasan daw ang mandurukot? Hawakan daw natin at baka makatakas.”

When I told Jon about this, he shared his very own MRT ride-turned-Wow Mali episode. Again, starring our friendly neighborhood MRT operator.

Ayala Station, Ayala Station…

…ay lagpas na pala… Buendia Station, Buendia Station….

Ain’t the MRT fun?

image courtesy of Benny Yap of Flickr

Status: Ill.
Music: Look After You | The Fray

Surprise, surprise. I’m terribly sick again. Guess what? Tonsilitis. Again. My fifth this year. Damn it. But I’m currently at a net station in Trinoma, waiting for the next screening of Get Smart. And I’m watching alone. Sick and alone. Loser. Haha.

Anyway, last week, a friend sent me a hilarious text message that really made me laugh my ass out. It was the hardest I laughed in months, it made my tonsils hurt. The joke was a compilation of lines that Miss Universe contestants enthusiastically and confidently utter when they introduce themselves. Later that night, I saw Kim Chiu use some of them on My Girl. Here they are:

• Gutom ako, gutom kayo, gutom tayong lahat… HUNGARY!
• Malay mo, malay n’ya, malay nating lahat… MALAYSIA!
• Baha doon, baha dito, baha sa buong mundo… BAHAMAS!
• One way, two way, there’s no other way… NORWAY!
• Olah viola kaserola tinola saranggola arinola ni lola… VENEZUELA!
• Hindi sakin, hindi sa’yo, kanino sya? KENYA!
• Boom! Kaboom! Kablam! AFGHANISTAN!

The Kenya and Afghanistan parts really gave me a delightful stomachache. That same night, inspired and challenged by the text message, I tried to come up with similar introductions using other countries. I sent these to a couple of friends. Here are some of them. (Warning: Some of these are based on prejudice.)

• Pak you, pak me, pak everyone… PAKISTAN!
• May sibuyas at bawang. Ano na lang ang kulang? CHILE!
• Not duck, not chicken. Definitely… TURKEY!
• Hindi tuldok, hindi kudlit. Walang iba kundi… KUWAIT!
• Para kay nanay, para kay tatay, para walang away… PARAGUAY!
• Binulgar mo, binulgar nya, magkabulgaran na… BULGARIA!
• Tama man kami o mali, tama pa rin palagi… CZECH REPUBLIC!
• Kami, laging mali… MALI!
• Ana Roces, Romnick Sarmienta, Jeffrey Santos… LAOS!
• Gaano man kalinaw mata mo, hindi mo mahahanap ang bansa ko… TUVALU!
• *ROOOAR!* MADAGASCAR!
• Holdap ‘to! Lahat kayo, hostage ko… SOMALIA!
• Pagkabilang kong tatlo, sasabog na ako… IRAQ!

Yun lang. Come on. Add some more.
image courtesy of cartoonstock.com

I spent weeks trying to figure out the password to an email account that I had set up two years ago. It was an account especially created for all work-related top-secret files that my colleagues and I kept back then. I was the only one who knew the password. And none of my neurons could remember it. The only thing I was sure of: my password is usually the name of someone I love — Nicole Kidman, Francois Truffaut, Christian Bale, Miroslav Klose…

A password-resetting email was sent to my secondary email address. The problem was, it was already inactive. So I was forced to answer a security question:

What is your pet’s name?

Silly me. I never had a pet. Ever. Damn. I don’t know why I chose this security question in the first place. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

For many nights, I tried to come up with pet names that I might have possibly used as my password. None worked. It was only minutes ago when, out of utter frustration, I typed in “YOSHKE.”

Bingo. It opened. So much for being a UP graduate, cum laude.

I immediately rummaged through my mailbox and found the file I was looking for. Downloaded it. Opened it. But to my surprise, another “Enter password” bullshit popped up. Not again, I thought.

And then, you crossed my mind. Just like that. You crossed my mind. Reluctantly, I typed in something — your name. My fingers spelled it correctly. Yep, the file opened.

Good thing I thought of you first.

Right now, my fingers are still stammering your name. They used to shout it out loud. Two years ago.

I’ve had many passwords after you.

.

.

Now I wish I hadn’t remembered the second password.

There have been notable transformations for a single role in the past decades. Who would forget Robert DeNiro’s stint when he inflated his body for his role in Raging Bull? Vincent D’Onofrio even set a Guiness World Record for the most weight gained for a single film role for his mind-blowing presence in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

Contemporary actors, however, will not be left behind. In fact, in recent years, we have seen celebrities shed off their glamorous skin and almost magically transform to give life to some of cinema’s most unforgettable characters. Here is a list of the top 9 most amazing celebrity transformations that rocked Hollywood in the past 10 years.

9. Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain (2003)

Although starring opposite the ravishing Nicole Kidman will surely make anyone look “unpretty,” Renee Zellweger surely has the spotlight all on her in Cold Mountain. Fortunately for Renee, she has a more interesting role to play — a boyish country girl who never runs out of spirit and humor. After losing an Oscar (also to Nicole) the year before, she came back with a vengeance, winning her much-deserved, first Oscar for this role. She mastered every twist and turn of a farmer’s daughter, who is full of spunk and energy that you wouldn’t think she was that jazz-singing murderess in the hit musical Chicago. Transformation is not really a stranger to Renee as we have seen her gain lots of baby fats like a sack of french fries for her portrayal of Bridget Jones.

8. Edward Norton, American History X (1998)

As if his good looks aren’t impressive enough, Edward Norton takes everyone’s breath away with his intense acting skills. He surely showcased this in American History X, where he played a white supremacist. One of the scariest transformations to date, Edward gained more than 30 pounds before filming. As he ate a lot, he made sure the gym was his second home for his desired toned look. Like many other transformations, this schoolboy-looking wonder was able to transcend the physical by owning the character. This performance earned him his second Oscar nomination.

7. Nicole Kidman, The Hours (2002)

Many people think that it was all in the nose. The truth is, Nicole Kidman’s highly depressing performance is more than that. The nose just added to the character that Nicole had already created for The Hours. Yes, Nicole had to say goodbye to her doctor-that’s-what-I-want nose and wore a scarily large nose plus additional makeup to look like the famed writer Virginia Woolf. But even without it, she would still have won that Oscar. Her performance is beyond the physical. She perfected the accent, gestures and the overall character of an incestuous, insane genius. The result is a performance as beautiful as she is.

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Status: Reaching.
Music: Entwined - Jason Reeves

REEVED UP
I am currently addicted to Jason Reeves and his music. Thanks to Berg. I especially liked “Reaching” and “Someone Somewhere.” Cool mixture of folk, acoustic and alternative. He’s absolutely awesome. And don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself and listen well.

SOMEBODY BUY ME THIS ALBUM!!! Come on. Give me a copy of this and I’ll love you forever!

…

ALMOST ROMANTIC
As the hot doctor advised me, I’ve been on 1000 mg of pure vitamin C per day for more than a month now because my body’s relationship with infections and diseases is almost romantic. The funny thing is, I still catch a cold every now and then. (Told ya, it’s almost romantic.) Damn. Sometimes I feel like infections and my body are ganging up on me. (Yeah, like in college, haha.)

…

QUITTING NICOTINE
Since my last tonsilitis, I haven’t touched a cigarette. Er, maybe once. Aright, fine, twice. Twice. Believe me, only twice. Hey, that’s good enough! It’s been two months and I have smoked only two sticks. Er, maybe more.

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