Happy birthday, El

I found this while rummaging through junk in one of the closets. I don't know when i wrote it exactly but I'm guessing this was sometime in 1998 or 1999 at the height of my Cynthia Alexander fandom.

What is it about a song
A flick of the hand of a gracious dancer
That immediately links you at that moment, in that place
to friends who are not beside you?

I've been watching Cynthia's set at Bistro for nearly 6 months now and I mean religiously. You'd think by now I'd be inured to her charms, to her guileless artistry. and yet here I am, with tears in my eyes, metaphysically reaching out to all of you. El, a lone woman danced to one of Cynthia's songs and under the bright lights in that small space of the stage, I saw you. Every poetic kick of her leg, every flick of her graceful fingers reminded me of you, of the way you yourself would dance: with no care whether it's 'modern' or 'ethnic." And i mutter a small thanks to the forces of nature that sent you, all of you, to my life.

I'm so mooshy, no? It's quite fitting too that I unearthed this note a day after El's wonderful birthday bash. She treated us (there were about 17 of us) to Ace Water Spa in Banaue. After that kakaibang experience (water + spa experience = one hell of an enjoyable night), we retired to her place for some fortifying food: pasta (El), bacon-wrapped asparagus stalks and fruit gelatin (Dindo), chicken curry (Nana), decadent chocolate cake called Kamasutra (Raffy) and wine, wine, wine.

Veda especially had a great time at the waters even though she got cranky by 11 pm, way, way past her bedtime; she finally hit the sack at 1 am (I know, i know but it's the weekend naman.

So, here's to you, El. I said it before and I'll say it again, I thank the cosmos for bringing us together. You're one hell of a friend!

LOLcats

There’s this internet meme called LOLcats that has been making me laugh my ass silly. It’s such an internet thing that when I try to describe it in real life, I can’t really present it accurately or why i find it so amusing.

LOL Cats (sometimes referred to as “Kittah“) are Image Macros featuring cats, and boy are there a lot of them. In general, they anthropomorphize the cat in the photo, sometimes using purposely bad grammar (conjugation seems to be a real problem for the cats) or web-speak. - mental floss

The thing that really cracks me up are those that follow the "I am in your X, Y'ing your Z" variety (influenced by "I am in your base killing your d00ds" pronouncements during surprise attacks in gaming). Behold:





More here.

Another subspecies of LOL cats are what Anil Dash calls kitty pidgin. Instead of the "I am in your X" structure, the texts are written in an awkwardly ungrammatical way as exemplified by "I can has cheezburger."(via Table of Malcontent)



They are so cute, what can I say? I don't own a cat (the last time yata was when i was still a wee kid in Bontoc) but i just find them and pictures of them so cute. Tapos me accompanying funny text pa? Ay, I is a goner.

burp!

With all the parties being thrown left and right by good old friends and hanging out with the band during their gigs, it’s beginning to feel like Christmas in March. God help me and my efforts to become beach-able by April. ;-)

First there was last Friday where we stayed chatting and drinking and eating (Dindo just had to order appetizers at 2 am) until 3 am at Big Sky. The Dawn, Pedicab and Sugarfree played that night. Angela is in town (here from Paris for two weeks) and Hugo (from UK naman but likewise staying in Manila for 2 weeks).

Then I joined The Dawn the following Saturday night all the way to Paskuhan Village. It’s my first trip north since three years ago. Of course we had a veritable feast when we stopped at Select. Kunwari pa, healthy options ako: castanas and dried jackfruit pero nakikikain naman sa chips, cashew nuts at squid jerky ng iba. To top it all off, I just had to try the new flavors of kitkat – yum yung coconut éclair :)Syempre pa me konting kain pa din at the venue.

Sunday was rest day, thank God. Monday saw me at the start of my second week of yoga. That night however was vegetarian galore at Joseph’s despedida. He left 1 pm yesterday and it would be quite a while before we get to see him again unless we visit them in Oregon. But… damn you visa-monsters! If it weren’t for your paranoia, we’d have an easier time visiting friends in faraway places. at least isa na lang ang balakid: pag-iipon ng pera.

The following day it was Angela’s turn to throw a party for her birthday. Buti na lang there was swimming involved so I’m not so guilty about kind of eating I did. Damn. Those smelly cheese sure taste good. I know all that sodium is bad for my health but… This was a fun nite: tarot reading care of Aurae, Sherman preparing tarragon tea for Caring’s tummy, Caring depite her tummy preparing sundaes for everyone (magnolia vanilla ice cream + raspberry wine + jammed strawberries = delicious), the kiddies having fun with Wiki the Pawikan – a swag Auraeus got in one of those film festivals, Dindin cooking pasta, me washing the dishes. Ayayay ang saya.


Wednesday night, we had to visit Caring at the hospital. Poor girl. Even though Sherman was successful at making her comfortable and despite the stone massage she got last night, her bum stomach didn’t get well. Buddy and I joined El who promised her an efficacent oil rub. Later, the three of us had a mini dimsum feast at the Emperor in Wilson Street before heading home. Ang sarap ng hakaw nila. We’re definitely going back.

Then tonight, we’re supposed to have a dinner with Boni and his family. It is in honor of Aimee and family who are leaving in a couple of days din (nauna lang si Joseph) and the food over at their house is always a gastronomic delight. Friday lang yata ang walang kainan. And then by Saturday, all of us will troop over to Laiya, Batangas for our first-ever out-of-town gimmick. Imagine, we’ve been friends for over 16 years now and we’ve never had an out-of-town vacation. The tragedy! The tentative itinerary involves pit stops in Tagaytay and at the produce market of Batangas. Wanna bet we’ll be eating non-stop the whole weekend. Hay. Christmas , I tell you.

*picture taken at Caring's flat, Feb 2007 (Aimee, Din, Dindo, baby Miy'ka, El, Caring, Oman, Dandan)

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