Birthday at Redeemer's Home

I must be getting really old because I've reached an age where I'm not very fond of big parties and noisy crowds anymore. So for the past 2 years I've been spending my birthdays with kids from Redeemer's Home. Redeemer's Home provides shelter and care for abandoned kids and infants. I've been visiting the kids since college and unfortunately some of the kids then are still there.

David is turning 12 and Patrick is 8. I talked to Kuya Bernard, the one in-charge of the place and the person whom the kids call "daddy", and found out that not very many people are looking to adopt kids who are as old as David as Patrick. I guess would-be parents want to avoid the complication of the kid knowing that he's adopted. There are also infants in Redeemer's and they get adopted more quickly.

Here's David.He's gotten so big!

Patrick!

If people only knew what great kids Patrick, David and the rest are. Haaay. I also like visiting Redeemer's because they're not as popular as other institutions like C.R.I.B.S in Marikina, thus they get less volunteers to play and bond the kids. And so I try to visit them as often as I can and I especially reserve my birthdays for them. They remind me of the kind of person I truly want to be.

Together with Ana, her boyfriend Leo and my other friend Jaypee we brought the kids Chicken Joy and Spaghetti from Jollibee. Ana brought books and we did a lot of running around, laughing and reading.

We didn't eat much before going to Redeemer's so you can just imagine our hunger at watching the kids enjoy spaghetti and chicken. I love pastas but I especially love Jollibee's.

The kids really know how to strike a pose. That my girl, Victoria!

And Patrick again. I don't mean to play favorites but I do feel a special affection for Patrick. For one he looks like Calvin! Second, he reminds me of me. Quiet and stubborn.

Here are some more shots of the kids!

That's Jonathan, I think.

Here's Jaypee with Jacob! Thank you Jaypee for finding time in your busy schedule to meet the kids.

Here are the kids reading some picture books Ana bought them. But man, that Virgilio Almario book was, uhm, weird. So we didn't have time to read the books beforehand, we had to read them first time with the kids. So we had no idea what was coming. There was this story: Once there was a god who fell in love with a mortal. So he went to her and stalked her in her dreams. Then they really got together and got married. But the mortal woman's sister were jealous of her for marrying a god. So she started to despise him. To save their relationship the god and the mortal left for heaven. The way to heaven is dangerous for mortals and true enough while crossing a rainbow bridge, the women fell to a pit of fire. And she died. And the god never loved anyone ever again. The end.

Imagine my face when we got to the ending.

Here's Ana mocking me.

Ana practicing her mom skills.

And here's Leo practicing his daddy skills!

I wouldn't have spent my birthday any other way.

If I had the money, I would adopt any of these kids, especially David and Patrick since they're the oldest of the bunch and have the least chances of getting adopted. But Kuya Bernard tells me that adoption procedures in the Philippines are more complicated than that. You go to DSWD, give them the kind of kid you're looking for and they choose for you. They choose from any institution any kid that matches your description of what you're looking for. Which means, if I do decide to adopt, I'm not gonna be able to choose David and Patrick. I get why the system's like that. Just sucks. Someday.

If you wish to help the kids of Redeemer's Home please text me at 09209267759!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds

It's 3 am and I can't sleep. I can't get Inglorious Basterds and every bloody detail of it out of my head. It should be enough to say that Inglorious Basterds is glorious in almost every way. But there's so much more that needs to be said about this Quentin Tarantino flick.

The film is a dark comic fantasy (and so it begins "Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France" and like a fairy tale, it is told in chapters.) about a gestapo unit of the Allied forces, led by Lt. Aldo Rein (Brad Pitt) terrorizing and killing the Nazis, including its very leader, Adolf Hitler.

This film will grab you by the balls and make you squirm and fidget in your seat from the first scene to the last.

Tarantino is an expert at creating atmosphere, especially tensed, suspenseful sequences that make you feel as though you were walking through an empty street and the air suddenly changes around you and you know you're being watched but you don't see anyone else, and you fear for your life, then you run. It felt exactly like that in the theater tonight, except that we couldn't run, we were stuck in our seats.

Nothing extraordinary is happening onscreen, nothing apparent atleast, yet you can feel the characters' tension, you can hear their heart beat, you can hear yours. In the first chapter, Col. Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz) pays a farmer and his 3 daughters a visit. Hans is cordial to a fault, he chats with the farmer, drinks the farmer's cow's milk, smokes a pipe. He asks several questions. This goes on for quite some time. We want to believe that Hans is kind and friendly, but we know better. We see the eyes of the daughters darting nervously towards each other. The silence is palpable. We can taste their fear. In fact, even before we realize it, it has become ours. We know that something is up. And it goes on some more, Landa drinks his milk, the farmer answers questions and it is torturous, it's like waiting for an unseen storm. In the next few minutes, a family has been massacred.

And the massacre is a scene from the Sound of Music compared to what follows - scalps are removed, testicles are shot, necks are broken, blood is everywhere. This is after all a movie about the Nazis and one made by the creator of Kill Bill. In one scene we see hundreds of Germans watching a film about a Nazi war hero killing hundreds of Jews and Allied soldiers. The Germans laugh, applaud and some even cry. Soon, the German-filled theater is burning to the ground. The Nazis burn to death, some of them are shot and the audience, including me, is laughing, applauding and I wouldn't be surprised if someone shed a tear or two. Here, the human capacity for violence is both glorified and questioned.

The film, albeit a fantasy of sorts, is insightful in the portrayal of Nazis. Murderers, this is what most of us in this generation know about the Nazis. In the film we see that like the very Jews they have killed, like the Americans and the English, and like us, the Nazis were also human, which makes them all the more fascinating.

The actors give pretty decent performances. Brad Pitt seems to be having fun playing the dedicated, Nazi-hunter with the Southern accent. But no one can argue that this is Christopher Waltz's movie. Here, he delivers a character who is charming, elegant, cunning and frightening. He lures us with his gaze, with his laughter, with his kind words, with his wit and his brilliance. Then he jumps a woman and strangles her to death. Every time Landa steps into the screen, my palms become clammy and a scream wants to come out of me and I want to hide under the seat.

Overall, Inglourious is exciting, funny and smart. It asks us a lot of questions without being overzealous.

I give this movie an A.

Go watch it now!

Movie Review: 69 1/2:The Making of the Most Artistic Filipino Pornographic Film Ever Made

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Come Again Camiguin

The last time I visited Camiguin a couple of years back, I got so sun burned I looked like this:

As much as I'm a fan of white sand beaches, I'm not really a Boracay person. I go to the beach to be one with the sea, to reflect, to dig deeper inside myself, to write poetry, to relax and to find peace (and i say all this with a bit of self-mockery. I'm not exactly the zen -est person around. I really can't do all these things around so many people partying, smoking and drinking. And a Starbucks several feet doesn't exactly make the place very conducive for self evaluation and reflection. hehe.

If you ask me, I'm more of a Camiguin person. I've been to Camiguin 6 times and I never tire of that small, charming, island community.

To go to Camiguin, one takes a 2 hour bus ride from CDO and a 1 hour boat ride. This is our group waiting for the bus.

After the 2 hour bus ride we had to take a boat, which took another hour.

Finally we got to Camiguin! We headed straight for the sandbar/white island, to get to which we had to take another boat ride. This is me and Aya. Yes I wore polo on a beach trip. Walang pakialamanan.

White island is basically just a strip of shite sand, no trees, no structures, no nothing but you, the sand, the sun and the sea!

Okay, so maybe there's a tree stump.

Here are my friends jumping for joy!!!

Here's ate reins, harassing me. Joke lang. Peace!

And because not a lot of people go to Camiguin, unlike more popular beaches, the waters are clean and clear.

The island and the surrounding waters are so beautiful, you really can't take bad pictures of them.

And here are my requisite emo shots!

But soon we had to leave. If it was up to me I'd stayed all day in the white island. Although there are rumors that come high tide and the whole island disappears! We then went to Vjandep, the original creators of the delicious Pastel , bread filled with yummy yema! I can just imagine the soft bread and the warm yema inside that melts in your mouth!mmmm....Anyways , so apparently they also serve lunch.

I ordered pancit, but it wasn't very good so I wasn't able to finish it.

We also oredered breaded squid, which was so,so.

We also visited the Sunken Cemetery, although we didn't get to dive and explore the rich sea-life underneath. We just used the place as a backdrop for another one of our photoshoots.

We ended the day with a bath at the hot springs. Don't go in too quickly or you'll burn your balls off. It gets cooler once your body is able to adjust to the temperature.

I'll see you again Camiguin. Come again to Camiguin. Hehe

Camiguin offers a lot of adventures for everyone from the relaxing dip at the hot springs for those who want to rest their body's to the more exciting scuba diving for your regular rough-it guy. And the best part is, you don't have to spend a fortune for one of the most enjoyable vacation ever!!

Camiguin is a must see.

Mio fights cancer

A few years ago, several months before college graduation, we found out that one of our blockmates, Jasmine was pregnant. Secretly some of us were afraid and saddened for her. She hadn't even graduated, how will she get by? How will she take care of the kid by herself? How will she ever manage all the challenges of a single mom at such an early age.

But soon after, Mio was born and everything else seemed of no consequence. Mio was such a sweet bundle of joy who made everyone around him smile, we knew everything would be alright with him and Jas. 

But life and its Creator have quite the sense of humor. They throw you the most unexpected challenges at the most unexpected time. Just when you thought that everything's fine and dandy, something goes horribly, horribly wrong. A few months back, we found out that Mio had cancer. I share Jasmine's disbelief:

"That’s how I understood it but to be honest, I don’t get it; I don’t get it how my bouncing baby boy born with healthy bones, ten toes, ten fingers and grew up with twenty healthy teeth can have cancer; I don’t get it how my son who irks at paint or crayon stains on his hands, asks for alcohol after he pees or holds money, chose to be a vegetarian, hates softdrinks and candy (which I’ve been trying to shove down his throat, believe me) and takes his time with chocolates and ice cream would be so ill; I don’t get it how a child born and raised by hundreds of my friends, schoolmates and family—loved even by strangers, would have this disease."

I don't get it either. But at this point, what has happened is not for us to question. You look at Mio and he seems to understand this better than most of us. He is his old self, cheerful and a kid in every way. Somehow he knows everything has its reasons and that everything will be alright. 

It is not for us to know, or even understand why what happened to Mio, happened. What matters now is what we can do to help Mio. 

And I guess I'm not the only one who has fallen head over heels in love with Mio. Soon after news of the cancer came out, help in so many forms from friends and strangers came in such abundance and with such speed that it was all simply overwhelming. 

Some of Jasmine's friends organized a star studded fundraising concert for Mio a few weeks ago. Jas has been interviewed in several magazines and TV shows about Mio's story and what people can do to help a 5 year old kid with cancer.  Mio will also have a fundraising art exhibit where his prominent artists expand on Mio's cute artworks. The exhibit will open on Wednesday at the Eastwood Mall Gallery.

Pino, a restaurant in UP teacher's village, also offered to have Mio Mondays. When you order a 5 course meal on a Mio Monday, proceeds go to the kid's medication. 

Tonight our college block decided to have our Christmas gathering at Pino. And let me tell you, the food was excellent, a festival of flavors and textures. These were what we had. (Do forgive me for the low quality pictures. I only had my cellphone camera.)

Pumpkin & Carrot Soup with Bleu Cheese Croutons

Tofu Shiitake Teriyaki Salad with Pork Cracklings
Pork & Shrimp Lemongrass Skewer
Cream Dory on Wilted Spinach served with White Chocolate Sauce
or Red Wine Braised Beef with Cream Cabbage on Saffron Risotto. I had 

the beef.Tempura Oreos with Raspberry Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

For drinks, you have a choice of red wine or iced tea. It's a great way to celebrate the Christmas season, you get to experience the most wonderful dishes at the same time help Mio.

What's even more wonderful about all these is that the overwhelming efforts of so many people have reached not just Mio but also other children who are suffering from cancer.  Mio's fight against cancer has now become everyone's fight.

Some of the funds that the Mio Warriors have been able to raise also went to Mio's chemo friends, fellow children who also have cancer. Better still, with all the help that Mio is getting, the advocacy of helping children with cancer in general has grown a hundred times stronger. 

If not Mio, then there are many more kids out there with cancer who need your help, not just financially, but also emotionally and mentally. Kythe, for example offers volunteering opportunities where you can spend time to play with and be a friend to a kid with cancer. You can also help by spreading the word, that we need not be helpless against cancer, that we do have the power to help. 

We can help Mio and thousands of children with cancer only if we choose to.

To learn more about Mio's fight against cancer and how you can help, you can visit www.miofightscancer.com

Movie Review: The Proposal

As romantic comedies go, The Proposal  has all the required elements. A girl and a boy who dislike each other so much , they're bound to fall in love. 

Margaret(Sandra Bullock) is the uptight, toughie editor that everyone hates. We know this because she rarely smiles, fires people at will and has her staff scrambling out of her way when she walks the floor. Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is the hardworking wimpy assistant to Bullock's Margaret. We know this because he doesn't go on vacations and will cancel grandma's 90th party for work.  Obviously, these two are about to fall in love. Well, not after all the ridiculous and funny sequence of events they'd have to go through so that they'd realize they really do like each other after all.

Margaret, a Canadian, risks losing her job to a man she just fired when her company finds out that she's an illegal migrant. And so she ends up having a fake engagement with Andrew who was there at the right place, at the right time. Then they have to fly to Sitka, Alaska to meet Andrew's lovely, lovable family. And there she falls in love with the overwhelmingly doting family and Andrew, ofcourse. 

This all sounds tired and trite on paper. Heck, it sounds a bit like another Bullock movie: While you were sleeping. But it's the little accents and details - an eagle swooping in to eat a puppy, a 90 year old grandma dancing and chanting in the forest - and the actors' performances that give this movie enough leg, and heart, to stand strong.

Sandra Bullock has always been very charming in her movies. She stutters when she's nervous, she has little cute quirks, she can be elegant and clumsy at the same time and undoubtedly, she's very beautiful. And together with Ryan Reynolds, she charms us off our feet, making us sit through and even enjoy a predictable romantic comedy movie.  

I give this movie a B.

Movie Review: Bride Wars

War of the Brides

In Bride Wars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway plays childhood best friends Liv and Emma whose lifelong dream is to be the perfect June bride, with the perfect husbands, wearing the perfect Vera Wang gown at The Plaza. 

Hudson and Hathaway bring their characters deftly to life. Liv is competitive and aggressive and squeezes a proposal out of her groom to be when she learns that Emma is engaged. Emma is passive to the point of letting people take advantage of her generosity. But oddly enough their friendship remains strong and beautiful. That is, until the hotel books their wedding on the same date and the bride wars ensue. 

The film contains  a few funny sequences spread here and there: Emma turning orange and Liv getting blue hair the week before their wedding and a dance off involving a male stripper. Fortunately -maybe unfortunately since they are very funny - the film does not linger on these sequences. Instead the focus is continually brought back to where it all started - Liv and Emma's friendship.At the heart of the story, of all the plotting and sometimes ridiculous sabotaging,  is a friendship that's even more beautiful than most marriages. The writers know that this is the film's core and they never truly lose sight of this foundation.

Although it must be said that it requires a suspension of disbelief, quite a lot actually to believe that both brides-to-be can afford such extravagances such as a Vera Wang dress, beautiful flowers, the most expensive venue in town, a 7-tier cake etc. Also, it's a bit insulting to women that these two have been waiting for nothing but the wedding of the century all their lives. there must be something more than this.

The ending is unexpected and could have gone the other way around - cheesy and melodramatic. Like Liv and Emma who discover something deeper than the perfect wedding, so do we find a gem of a movie beneath the chic flick packaging of girly gowns and shoes. So kudos to the film's writers for taking risks with a surprising and justified ending that is not so heart warming and not vomit inducing.

The movie's loopholes are saved by the solid performances given by Hathaway and Hudson.

I give this movie a C+.

Row, row, row your boat...(White water rafting in Cagayan de Oro)

This year alone I've been to Cagayan de Oro (the CDO as my friends from there like to call it. As in the OC) 3 times. I think I've been to the CDO more than I've been able to go home to Tarlac this year. It's probably going to take more than one entry to talk about the many wonderful things that the CDO has to offer. So I won't. Instead I'll go through it in bits and pieces.

One of the great things about the CDO is that it has all the conveniences that a modern city has to offer - malls, malls and malls - while offering the best eco-adventures for your mountain-climbing, tree-hugging, deep-sea diving friends.

Several years ago I got to try CDO's famous white water rafting at the Cagayan de Oro river. We went on the basic white water rafting course which is basically you riding on a small raft and floating effortlessly through several rapids. 

Last month I got to try the advanced rafting with some friends. And being the lazy sort of person that I am, I got worried when we got picked up by our contacts from Red Rafts and I saw the yellow paddles. Man, we might actually have to, uhm, work and exert some effort.

The folks from Red Rafts were great, they were friendly and chatted with us every now and then on the way to the river which made us feel more at ease. 6 people including one guide from 

Red Rafts, fit 1 raft. Another raft would be ahead of us to take pictures and to check the direction we should take.

We began with a little orientation. We were taught how to row and paddle, what to do in case we fall off the raft, what to do when we reach the rapids. My biceps were so unprepared for this.

So here I am, doing my best "I'm a rower, I'm a man ,I can do this", look.

The advance rafting course has more than 15 rapids. And every conquered rapid is a call for celebration! In front is PJ, furiously rowing amidst our rejoicing. 

Each rapid is different. Some are extremely bumpy because of huge rocks, some allow you to stand on the raft, which we did, while others make you feel like a woodpecker has landed on your skull.
Ofcourse, after a couple of hours, even the dangerous rapids and the tiresome rowing can get boring. Thus our guides make us do the craziest things. Like rowing back to the rapids. Which means going against enormous rocks and the river's natural flow, the purpose of which is to topple the raft so we'd fall off  our asses and enjoy the risk of dying a dangerous death. yay! 

We tried it once but we all stayed on the raft. We tried it twice, thrice and still nothing. So finally, in frustration, one our guides decided to push as off the rock. He's right behind the raft.We were shouting "Manong we can see you behind that raft!" and then all we heard was the sound of rushing water as I almost drown. I kid about the drowning part.

And what do you know. He succeeds. We fall off. And this is me, holding on to dear life. 

We also stopped in one the taller rocks and jumped off its peak. Ofcourse. And because I'm more afraid of heights than the water, it took me some time and Ate Ces's hands before I finally decided to jump. This is not me in the picture, by the way. I'm embarrassed to show you mine because you'd see the extreme fear in my face.

All in all it was a good ride. For 1200 php per person which includes a filling lunch of grilled fish, squid and shrimps, you get 4 hours of rafting through exciting rapids, bustling forests, woodland creatures and labanderas . Add 200 php per person for pictures and videos. This I thought was extravagant at first. But the pictures were beautifully shot and captured all the heart stopping parts of the trip. There was no way we could have taken those shots ourselves in between screaming for our lives and rowing to save our butts. 

Oh yeah, we have to do a high five with our paddles after every rapid. If you're into that kind of Go Team activity then I suggest you take the first flight to the CDO and start pumping those biceps!