WOODY : Birthday Concert Boy

I have known Woody years ago when I was still staying along the Morato area. His group was still known as W2 (composed of just him as the singer and a guitarist known as Wally). I promised to take pictures of them for their portfolio when they were starting out as an acoustic duo.

When I was the events coordinator for Gloria Jean's Coffees Shopwise, Araneta Center, I invited them to be one of the acoustic groups who will entice customers to go in, have coffee and jam with them. They were called W2i (with the inclusion of a new member doing k-hon or percussions). They had a manager then who is also a friend of mine. I still remember jamming with them with my platinum single "I'LL BE" by Edwin McCain, as I am fond saying.

Now, his band is called WOODY, after his namesake. Finally I was able to fulfill my promise and took pictures of the band. They were able to get more gigs all over the metro.

Today as he celebrates his birthday with a live concert tonight at Atchies Bar, El Pueblo, Ortigas Center entitled "TIME OF MY LIFE" with Mau Marcelo (The First Philippine Idol) as his special guest, I'm glad to be a part of his success even by just being their official band photographer.

To my dear friend - HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

Truly grateful

There will always be times when we become down and sad and a lot of times when we become jubilant and happy. We all have our own reasons for having such emotions and we should always be thankful no matter what the outcome will be.

Today, I'm very grateful to receive the good news which I've been wanting to hear for such a long time since the time my boss and I talked about it. She finally had the time to fulfill her promise and it was given to me around 2pm - a brand new ACER Laptop.

Of course with it comes the contract of having to stay with the company for at least a year more (which I don't really mind), be more productive as ever (stressful yet fulfilling) and to be able to pay for it in a year's time (completely deductable from my salary).

Eventhough I still have to wait for her brother to install most of the necessary programs I will be needing to do my work efficiently, I'm glad that I will eventually be able to do my supplemental photography work and come up with a better output in time.

Now, what I need next is an external drive that will be able to store a lot of my photography files. Anyone who would like to be a sponsor for it?

Looking back

A photographer friend sent me an email recently about his blog celebrating its one year of online existence. As I was checking his blogsite, it dawned on me that with all the things that had happened in my life, why didn't I find the time to use mine to record my thoughts on things, the people I met, the family (biological and online) i'm blessed with, my passions (photography, writing, sketching, going to new places and trying new things, etc.) and all the events I have gone to.

Checking the date of my first entry and realizing the date September 25, 2006 reminded me of the reason why I started to write in a blogsite -that is to keep myself sane for whatever is happening in my life then. During that time, I don't want to share with friends or anyone for that matter whatever I was feeling about my so-called "love"relationship.


After two entries, I became preoccupied with much more pressing issues that I need to attend to. It lead to a lot of things :

1. Being booted out by the start-up call center company I was working with because of management politics from the sister construction company who was shocked to know our salary ranges compared to their own


2. Had my new DSLR camera (Nikon D80) from the back wages I had in lieu of that booting out incident


3. My former call center boss dying after a number of months that I was forced to resign which I was shocked to know given that I missed his phone calls to me the week before and the conspiracy theory that silently goes with it


4. The pending break-up of my so-called "love" relationship which led me to sleep in the sofa for a month before finally being able to move out of the rent-to-own condo unit we were supposed to be sharing and after the forced arrangement given to me (post-dated checks payable in 1 year to pay for only half of the downpayment I handed down for the unit coming from my pulled-out time deposit savings)


5. Knowing the truth that my so-called partner left me for another even before the break-up ever happened and the said new partner going inside the unit when I wasn't around


6. Having to experience for the first time - living and sharing an apartment with some housemates that I only met online and going back to a somewhat familiar environment that I now call home


7. Having my real family and my very best friend to count on to after the traumatic break-up incident


8. Having a new leash on my life with a new set of real friends that I can call my 2nd family, a group that I can really be my own self


9. Having a fulfilling new job which is really an apt and dream job for me as I am given the chance to express my creativity


10. Having someone whom I know cares and loves me inspite of our work priorities and the so-called "no commitments" policy

Having enumerated the ten defining moments that happened in my life (after my two entries of 2006 until the recent 2008 blog), I guess it is but fitting to thank God once again for making me a stronger person, blessing me with what I have right now and for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences to others for whatever good these will bring.

Alone at the Movies

Aside from doing photography, watching movies is next to my list of life's passion. It is there where I get transported to wherever the movie takes me and where I get my inspirations for my work (day job) and some for my digi-art (which i'm still planning to do).

Some people may gawk at the idea of watching a movie alone in a cinema but for me I completely like the idea.

Watching a movie alone has its perks :
1. Less stressful if you're the kind who wants to repeat the movie 2 to 3 times to savor its contents;
2. Nobody to disturb you when you really want to concentrate on the details of the film and when you want to linger on reading the end credits;
3. You don't have to worry that the other person doesn't like what you are watching;
4. No worries of rushing to watch another movie that you like right after the other movie you were watching is finished;
5. You don't have to share any of your cinema food and drinks to anyone;
6. You can watch other people strutting their way almost always around the cinema without anyone saying to you that it's not right;

I can rant and enumerate other reasons of why watching a movie alone in a cinema works but I guess you don't have to take my word for it. We all have our reasons. what may work for me won't work for another.

Rest assured if at one time you will see me alone in the cinema, please don't hesitate to say hello in the nicest way possible and respect my space afterwards ... not unless you're interested to know me better then it's about time you invite me out.

And that will be another topic to discuss...

Father's Day Connection

Special occasions almost always never fail to bring the family together in one particular place and time or induce the feeling of getting connected with everyone.



This recent Father's day event is no exemption.



Rushing to get home before 2pm [which is the family's assigned call time to meet] and coming all the way from the mall [SM North Edsa] after eating lunch, i waited for a cab to take me all the way to Novaliches where I basically grew up. It's been like a month or so since I went home, save for a few phone calls or text messages to reconnect with my parents and siblings as well as with my grandmother and aunt who used to stay beside our house.



After two named cabs who unfortunately refused to bring me home, I finally got in the back of a white cab with red printed graphics on the side stating the cab's name. After stating where I'm headed and the driver asking for some additional tip, we finally went on my way home.



Along the way amidst the blazing hot afternoon sun, I got to get a glimpse of how the cab driver looks like when he told me that one of the subdivisions we will be passing along will be requiring us to pay an entry fee of a measly five pesos in which I obligingly said ok. He was wearing sunglasses with the usual white polo and khaki pants. His salt and pepper hair, cute dimples and the way he conversed with me piqued my interest.



As I viewed the rear view mirror, I saw him taking glances at me. I also chanced upon a broken mirror taped at the inner side of his flap shade - the one on top of the driver's head to cover the glare of the sun, directly showing the view of his bulging crotch. Every once in awhile his right hand touches his lap going to the crotch area to fix the bulge.

OMG !!! Could he be flirting with me?

When we are about to reach the entry way of the said subdivision, he turned his face towards me to ask for the amount. He smiled while touching my hand. He handed the money to the guard but was flabbergasted to know that the amount doubled. That's when he turned to me again as I changed the amount. By that time he was turning me on...

Anyway, as we traversed the road he tried his best to keep a conversation with me. From our conversation, I came to know that he stays along Tandang Sora in Quezon City with his family and has three kids, the eldest being in college. He asked me if im visiting someone and where I live. I told him that since it's Father's day, I'm visiting my dad to reconnect with my siblings in the process and I'm staying near where he picked me up. Once again he smiled knowingly.

I was actually enjoying my ride home considering the heat outside ... and inside...

Unfortunately / Fortunately (whichever way you see it), I arrived at the gate of our house as I was hoping to get to know more about him in a much more personal note. I said thank you and greeted him a Happy Father's day as I handed him the payment with more extra tip than he asked for. He was all smiles and very thankful for it.

I could have given more had it been more sensual though ... :-)

To all the Hot Dads out there ... Happy Father's Day !

8 Weeks (Walong Linggo) Short Film Review

As an indirect supporter of Indie (Independent) Films, having acted as a main character on one short and a character support for a full-length, I make it a point to watch most of what is currently available (according to my schedule, of course).

As part of the KATORSE SHORTS, a compilation of short films by a certain group at the Robinson's Galleria Indie Sine, the Anna Matutina film "Walong Linggo" or 8 weeks captured my fancy not because Jaymee Joaquin stars in it but merely because it merges poetry/prose, lovely music and the silent-film type of style reminiscent of the Charlie Chaplin segments I used to remember seeing.

Save for a few predictable moments, the film is quite good.

Though, if I personally will be given the creative freedom to do something about this film, I would have loved to make the font graphics (poetry/prose) move along the shots / frames itself... more like a fantasy-type of style to give it a much more fresher approach.

As an end note, I would like to have a copy of the music used. Calling Ms. Matutina (The Director)

Will it really happen?

I just watched the movie "The Happening", a film by M. Night Shyamalan starring Mark Wahlberg and somehow my anticipation for the movie run dry. For whatever its worth, given the premise about saving the environment and going green or eco-friendly, the film will take you into thinking about how you would react if it really happens in real life.

These are some of the questions that you may somehow ask yourself:

What will I do if that incident happens all around me?
Will I follow the lead of others in doing what is supposed to be done or just decide for myself?
Am I ready to face a disturbing incident like this and act accordingly?

Starting All Over Again

It has been a long time since I've started this blog. A lot of things already changed in my life and I hope those things made me a better person than I was before.

It has been said that when something ends in your life another chapter unravels and starts again..

So with this statement, I will try my best to document what I can with what's happening in my life so if ever there will be a need to go back ... the showstud chronicles will be an online testament to its veracity, unraveling what needs to be known ...

as the latest David Cook's song states - "This is the Time of My Life" ...