'Tis the Season of Theme Parties

Hippie Holiday: 70s Flower Power
We've always had theme parties in the office so it's a given for people to take it seriously. Every year, there are cash prizes and guessing games. For this year's 70's party, I came as Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. I thought I could pull off the look without having to make an effort in putting the costume together so I wore stuff that I already had in my closet. Another thing, very few are familiar with Stevie Nicks so I actually had the option to come as I please. Hehe.

But in fairness to me, I did have a peg of the Stevie look:

Me (didn't do the floral hair arrangement lest I look drag and decided against the knitted beanie because I'm not in Europe):

Our Chairman and CEO channeling Michael Jackson in his pre-surgery days.

Spotted: Freddie Aguilar partying w/ his high profile barkada -
Blondie, Jimi Hendrix, Telly Savalas, Yoko Ono, Stevie Nicks,
Michelle Philips and Janis Joplin - at a famous Makati joint.

Kings of Neon
For our barkada party, I came up with the NEON theme for two reasons: First, I want a really colorful Facebook album now that I'm posting photos again; and second, because I wanna use the title Kings of Neon (a derivative of my favorite pop rock band Kings of Leon).  And what a fun theme it was! I didn't think my friends would take it seriously but when we started giving false promises of cash prizes, they fell for it! I think everyone knew the prize was a bluff but the penalty for not being in costume (P 500) was for real. Haha.
    

So aside from Christmas lights, we used glow sticks and laser stage lighting to set the mood, and my glowing, flashing, lighted shot glasses (I had three of them but went home with none - silly friends took them home with Patron residue. did.not.wash.).

Party Lights that dance to the beat of the music.

Neonnntastic glowing glass filled with anything we could get our hands on (Patron, Bacardi... name it!)

Hmmm so if it were an event (and actually, it was - in terms of the scale of preparation), what are the specs? 14 people. Hahaha! All the effort for 14 friggin' people. That's what you call Labor of Love Love Love. And just plain, pointless craziness :)

Spotted: Barracudas getting sloshed in neon drag. Somewhere in Pasig.

How serious was it, really? One of us had his shirt customized for this 'event.' :)

The Bikers of the Apocalypse

The four of them were holding a steady 105 mph, as if they were confident that the show could not start before they got there. It couldn't. They had all the time in the world, such as it was.

Just behind them came four other riders: Big Ted, Greaser, Pigbog, and Skuzz.

They were elated. They were real Hell's Angels now, and they rode the silence.

Around them, they knew, was the roar of the thunderstorm, the thunder of traffic, the whipping of the wind and the rain. But in the wake of the Horsemen there was silence, pure and dead. Certainly dead.

It was broken by Pigbog, shouting to Big Ted.

"What you going to be, then?" he asked, hoarsely.
"What?"

"I said, what you --"

"I heard what you said. It's not what you said. Everyone heard what you said. What did you mean, that's what I want to know?"
Pigbog wished he paid more attention to the Book of Revelation. If he'd known he was going to be in it, he'd have read it more carefully. "What I mean is, they're the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, right?"

"Bikers," said Greaser.

"Right. Four Bikers of the Apocalypse. War, Famine, Death, and -- and the other one. P'lution."

"Yeah? So?"

"So they said it was all right if we cam with them, right?"

"So?"

"So we're the other Four Horse--, um, Bikers of the Apocalypse. So which ones are we?"

There was a pause. The lights of passing cars shot past them in the opposite lane, lightning after-imaged the clouds, and the silence was close to absolute.

"Can I be War as well?" asked Big Ted.

"Course you can't be war. How can you be War? She's War. You've got to be something else."

Big Ted screwed up his face with the effort of thought. "G.B.H." he said, eventually. "I'm Grievous Bodily Harm. That's me. There. Wott're you going to be?"

"Can I be Rubbish?" asked Skuzz. "Or Embarrassing Personal Problems?"*


Hahahahaha! Just gotta love Neil Gaiman! But it makes sense, right? We have Famine, War, Pollution, Death, Grievous Bodily Harm and of course, Embarrassing Personal Problems. Hahahahahaha!
Finally found time to read a book in between downloading stuff, tweeting and blogging.

*Excerpt from Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Too school for cool.

How sad that some people are just so not 'game' for fun. Channeling Zenaida Seva: Tandaan, ang square ay hindi well-rounded at ang pikon ay laging talo.

:)

Tell Me Why

Soon it will be like working with an entirely new (or recent) breed (again) and I'm becoming one of the tandercats already. I kinda welcome it (just like hitting the refresh button) but I also feel like I'm the student who never graduates from college and passes through all the batches.

And this post is bitin.

Brand Positioning

Now that I'm beginning to be more active in Facebook and starting to post photo albums again (inspired by The Social Network movie), I realized that I need to do some wholesome activities from time to time because all the albums I've posted for 2010 (thus far) have the same theme.

And those are just the ones with documentation. I shall soon make an album out of a lazy afternoon at Alabang Town Center.

In today's episode of Bizarre Jobs...

I saw these for the first time at a marathon event last weekend. Of course, I'm not among the runners. Instead of committing to race and climb for the environment, I used my "I'm one of the organizers" hat to excuse myself from participating in the activity. I'd like to think I've done my part in helping put this together in my own little way. I helped make a difference without getting jabar and panting for dear life. 25 flights of stairs? Are you kidding me?! There are things that you can do which I can't do and vise versa. Haha. If I get the determination to be fit enough for a vertical marathon, I'm sure I can do it but why bother if it means giving up the finer things in life? hehe (what a twisted health philosophy)

So what to do when the event is underway and the only thing left to do is wait for the runners to finish their... uhm... running? People-watching. Always a favorite past time.

And here's what I saw. Innovative Pinoys have found a way to come up with more cost-effective blimps. Makes sense. This will work for people who love to people-watch or oggle anyway.

Got me wondering how much these guys make by alternately standing or walking around with a branded balloon strapped on their backs. An innovative twist of making something out of doing nothing. Since these things contain gas, it should be light, right?

I'm sure it's difficult to a certain extent but it's really funny to observe. What if he needs to go to the restroom, does he leave the balloon outside and then wear it again or just wear the balloon inside the toilet? He does his thing standing up facing a urinal anyway. So it's okay. 

I assume he's not allowed to walk with his other balloon-carrier friends because the idea is to spread out. It would also look bad if the walking blimp man texted, smoked or ate popcorn while doing this... so what can he do with his free hands? Ah, pick his nose.

And if it gets really windy? Wahahahahaah! My colleagues and I were so amused, we probably spent like half an hour staring at them by the curb where the runners are supposed to pass when they're done, imagining all these scenarios.

Like, really, what goes through their minds? After a few hours of doing this I'm sure they're bored as hell. So yes, don't expect them to be walking around with a smile on their faces. They are not mascots. I think the red blimp man got excited in one instance where a group of girls asked to take a photo with him... until they asked him to kneel and hide behind them so only the balloon is included in the photo.

Landslide

There are songs that you love to sing over and over, and there are those that you love to listen to over and over because it touches your soul. Just because.

I imagine myself alone on the beach, staring out to sea. There's not a lot of people in this area. Shades and earphones on, I'm watching the waves crash onto the fine white sand. It's 3 p.m. and I have a beer bottle in hand. And then Landslide by Fleetwood Mac plays from the iPod.

Suddenly, I have the perfect music to feed on this pensive mood.

There's anxiety in knowing that nothing is certain, except change. For some of us, we're still wondering what's the next phase that we'll have to go through in life and how far will life take us. At times we also think about the worst that could happen to us -- and we know that the things that we've gone through at this point aren't the worst yet because we're out here, alive.

If we're in a good place now, are we afraid of change? Perhaps -- because we'll never know if it's for better or worse until it happens. And if the time comes when something big happens or a major step needs to be taken which will change our lives (for better or worse), would we be able to cope?

And what if we refuse change? Will we live our lives wondering what might have been or what we could have been missing out on all along?

"Time gets bolder, children get older, I'm getting older, too."

There's just something about nature and music (and alcohol) that makes me stop and think and take life a little more seriously.

But in lieu of the beach, I'm lying on my back in the wee hours of the morning, staring into darkness while listening to my playlist and waiting for sleep to come.

How ready are we, really, to take life as it happens?

(Hmmmm okay. I think my brain still holds some residue from our philo classes back in college; a fragment of that neverending quest for the purpose of life.)

Just listen to the song and close your eyes.

That, at this time, some people still don't know BASIC PowerPoint makes me want to cry.

It's more accpetable for an empty nester but if you're right out of a reputable college or something... Seriously, naiiyak ako!!! But I will help you, I just wish you gave me more time. Haha. Fine. I love you.

Don't assume that I can read your mind because I can't, you fool.

Yun lang. Good vibes! Thanks!

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Minsan

Pag feel na feel mong maganda ka, gumaganda ka nga talaga. Aura ang tawag don. Nadadala ng self-confidence. Pero lumevel up ka based lang dun sa dati mong itsura. Kumbaga, mas maganda ka kaysa sa itsura mo dati. Hindi ibig sabihin na maganda ka talaga, dahil feeling mo lang yon.

Pero malamang masgaganda ka pa kung mabait ka rin. Dahil kung mabait ka, pagbibigyan ko na yang pagfe-feeling mo. Suportahan pa kita.

Gets mo ko, 'teh?