About heavenliner

a twisted little soul... people see me to be so delicious they sometimes want to eat me...

A Moving Novel

Posted on January 3, 2009 by heavenliner

More than 5 years ago, Erwin Miranda (an officemate during my hotelier days) gave me a book as a Christmas present. It is entitled By The River Piedra, I Sat Down & Wept written by Paulo Coelho. This is the final book I read in 2008.

It was only in the last remaining days of 2008 that I had the audacity to read the book for I was hesitant to read it simply because of the title and its cover. The title is so sad while the book’s cover design is so depressingly gloomy. It made me decide that I would only read it if I am extremely happy so as to at least neutralize my feelings and overflowing endorphins or I am extremely miserable so as to realize that mine is not that shtity after all and others are actually suffering worse than I am. I know that more than 5 years was too long and it was such a trivial and superficial reason but I won’t reveal in which state or feeling I was prior to reading the book.

But upon reaching the middle of the already-sepia-colored-pages of the manuscript I fathomed that there really is nothing to be anxious about the story. It has nothing to do with despair, melancholy or hopelessness. My brain’s frontal lobe down to my medulla oblongata was actually digesting a beautiful literary masterpiece that discusses many of life’s big questions. It made me blameworthy why only now did I read it and had the precious book just gather dusts in my book shelve in all the years that passed.

What I like most about the story are the little tales and vignettes as told by Pilar and the main male character whose name was never mentioned – the story about the Other; the story of Bernadette and the apparitions; the story of Teresa of Avila; the story about the feminine face of God; the story about the presents given to each other by a boy and girl who were engaged and insanely in love; and, the story about a city that can be moved but not a well. These little stories within the story provoked reflections and meaningful messages to me as mortal being. The messages were so profound I would sometimes think that a lightheaded and mischievous person like me don’t deserve to have read such a literary masterpiece.

Ang lalim pero hanep! Oo, sa babaw kong ‘to, malalim na sa ‘kin ‘yon.

Little First Events of 2009

Posted on January 1, 2009 by heavenliner

Four hours after I have washed my face, brushed my teeth and changed into sleeping attire, I knew that I already slept after a stupendous 2009 New Year’s Eve celebration. However, I thought I was brought back in time when I kept hearing a loud noise similar to blasting whistle bomb, detonating fire crackers, exploding super lolo, plapla and bawang. Was I just dreaming or was I back in time to the New Year’s Eve celebration? With all my strength I unbolted the locks of my eyelids to find my sister SNORING! That’s when I returned to consciousness and remembered that I slept inside my sister’s room in Pasay.

Unable to go back to sleep due to rigorous diaphragm and pulmonary calisthenics of my sleeping sister, the first thing I did for this year was to say a silent prayer thanking God for a wonderful year that passed and asking for a peaceful yet breathtaking year ahead.

After saying a prayer, I took my mobile phone to check on what time it was – 6:37 a.m. Letting loose the childish in me I searched my phone’s feature for a sound recorder to chronicle the sound of my sister’s snore. After a couple of minutes my sister was awaken by my movements and let her hear what I just recorded. But she seems disinterested and went back to her sleep. She was so nonchalant about it – “deadma” in other words. I was reminded by the cool female characters in the movies who also snore – KC Concepcion in “For the First Time” and Claudine Barreto in “Milan”. O ‘di ba ka level ng bruha?!

I stood up to check on my e-mail messages and went down the dining area joined by Nengkoy to have our first breakfast this year.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for everything and sorry for my lapses for the past year. I hope and pray that 2009 would be a year of full positivity – like the way my sister Jocel took my sound recording – and prosperity for all of us.

Hapi Nyu Yir!

Strange Christmas Wish

Posted on December 19, 2008 by heavenliner

Every year at least 2 weeks before Christmas day, I would ‘text’ my younger sister (Jocel) to send me a list of names of all my nephews and nieces. I would usually ask her for the list for me to have a reference when I go shopping for presents that they would open during the Christmas Eve. Every year, I am blown away with the long list of names that my sister would send me!

Never did a Christmas season pass that I fail to give a Christmas present to all these monster pamangkins. This year, apart from my usual wish for peace of mind and healthy being, my other Christmas wish is for these monsters to visit me at “Golden Acres” or “Home for the Aged” when I grow old and turn grey.

Hoy! Bisitahin nyo ko dun. Kung hinde, pandidilatan ko kayo!

Eraserheads

Posted on December 11, 2008 by heavenliner

Kuya Wreigh was the one responsible how I first learned about the Eraserheads. I remember him bringing the band’s first album ultraelectromagneticpop in cassette format borrowed from his college classmate. These were the days when CD was not yet invented or still considered rare and high-tech.

When Kuya played it in our massive cassette player (with built-in 3-inch tv) I initially didn’t liked it. It was like noisy dudes playing their hearts out in a recording studio. However, after a couple of times listening to it, the songs in the album was like enchanting chameleon in which the beat naturally grew in me. Their lyrics were very contemporary which a typical youth like me uses during those times. Also, the message they convey smacks right into my generation’s psyche.

I was unaware that I so loved the Eraserheads that I was able to buy each of the cassette they released in the market. More than 10 years later, here comes Kuki and Matet giving me (as a birthday present) a CD audio copy of Eraserhead’s reunion concert held a couple of months ago. By the way, the eventful concert was cut short hen the lead singer Ely Buendia suffered from a mild heart ailment/condition due to fatigue.

When I played and listened to the reunion concert, I unexpectedly realized that I missed a very big event, an affair that signified my being youth. I knew I let pass a momentous event when I heard people in the audience stridently singing along while the bands were playing. It made me envy.

I was literally teary eyed when the song “With A Smile” was played. This song was revived by a lot of singers but the band’s original version was very special. Hook line and sinker Ely’s timbre and tone truly fits the genuine sentiment of the song. The emotion for each of the line he utters and every tremble in his throat indisputably exhibits what the song conveys. What added to the lump in my throat was hearing the audience emotionally singing along. It was such a goose bumper!

Eraserheads definitely added some spice in my youth. Now, I promised myself that in the event they will redo their cut-short concert I will make myself present in the affair. No matter what it takes!

Salamat sa mga Pamburang Ulo! Yu rak!

Macau Adventure

Posted on December 9, 2008 by heavenliner

It was an amazing weekend! I never thought that my trip and weekend vacation to Macau would be very enjoyable. Macau is a place that a lot of people have yet to discover. The air was surprisingly clean, there was literally no traffic, the people are okay and the infrastructures were great.

Prior to leaving for Macau a lot of people relayed that why should I and my usual tour-mates (Karen & Denton) go there when there are only few places to go to. Well, our Macau adventure proved them wrong.

First hour was already an adventure by trying to look for a restaurant that would fill our empty stomachs. Not all restos in Macau have English-translated menu. Nevertheless, we ended up in a rickety restaurant with somewhat cleanliness problem and non-English speaking servers yet the food they served were superb. We enjoyed it so much we decided to dine back after 2 days of touring around the metro, 2 nights of casino playing and before retreating back to our hotel. Too bad I don’t know the name of the restaurant. It’s written in Chinese characters!

It was in Macau that I ate a fried pigeon for the first time – authentic bird-flu-free kalapating mababa ang lipad. Poor pigeon, even the head with its beak was served munched to the delight by Denton. A true Lutong Macau experience!

All nighs we spent in Macau were in various casino-hotels trying to compare one from the other. Macau adventure would not be complete without playing the casinos. We played every single night that we were there – Ponte 16, Hotel Lisboa, The Sands, The Venetian casinos. We also entered Wynn Hotel & Casino and Casino Jai-Alai but did not played there. The most majestic from my own point of view was the Venetian followed closely by Wynn. The place truly lived up to its name being the Las Vegas of Asia.

I personally loved the Macau Wine and Grand Prix Museums. These tourist spots we learned were being manned by Filipinos. A close second was the Senado Square with lots of shops and tourists trying to find the best bargain. I also enjoyed the fabulous St. Paul Ruins and the amazing Mount Fortress.

One let down though. Chinese people have not over come the habit of “dahak” and yucky spitting. Never did the day passed that we did not hear the local men – with all their might – trying to disgorge their sticky phlegm out from the deepest pit of their nasal cavity so as to spew it out even in the public.

Pinoys will never get lost in Macau. There is always a Pinoy somewhere – inside the resto, the boutique, the plaza, the bus, the hotel, the street, the casino, the restroom. We’re everywhere!

O basta! Hindi lutong makaw sa Macau…

Pinoy Nickelodeon 2008

Posted on December 2, 2008 by heavenliner

It is not Famas, Urian, MTV Awards nor the Oscars that I have watched an awards night live for the first time. Ironically at my age, it is the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Philippines held last November 29 at Aliw Theater.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the show. But shame to those who won but did not showed up to receive their award, it’s the kids who voted for you for crying out loud! I believe this award is such a big deal considering that it’s the people of the world’s future who has selected the winner. Thus, those who have been nominated should take the effort to be present during the awarding ceremony even if he or she is in the deepest pit of hell.

However, there seem to be some awards which were obviously rigged like the Favorite TV Show won by Marimar beating the more kid-popular Going Bulilit. It will not be a Filipino awards night anyway without this controversy. Evidently, Going Bulilit when announced as a nominee the kids went crazy with ear-splitting screams but when Marimar was announced as the winner the kids went pretentiously hysterical and hysterically pretentious.

I was happy that Chris Tiu won Favorite Athlete beating Manny Pacquiao and Efren “Bata” Reyes. When Chris appeared on the stage to receive his orange blimp award in front of the screaming-gone-crazy kids, it dawned in me that this may signify the creation of a new and/or future religion called “Iglesia ni Chris Tiu”.

By the way, I was with Nengkoy, my sisters and a couple of pamangkins. Let me bet my skinny pwet (butt), Nengkoy at 71 years, 8 months and 26 days old is the oldest person ever to have watched a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards live!

Ang sarap maging bata. Yahuuu!

Pedro Zamora, PWA (A World AIDS Day Special)

Posted on December 1, 2008 by heavenliner

pedro zamora

December 1 is World AIDS Day. One person with AIDS that made a tremendous mark on me was Pedro Zamora. He is one of the casts of MTV’s The Real World San Francisco shown in 1994. This was before all more popular reality shows were created like Big Brother, Survivor, Fear Factor, America’s Next Top Model, Biggest Looser, etc. The movie Reality Bites which starred Winona Ryder was actually based on this ’90s TV show.

I remember one weekend in 1994 when MTV cable channel made a marathon feature of the said show. All episodes were shown without commercial. It took me at least 6 hours to be glued in front of the television to watch the interesting blow by blow events that happened.

One interesting character was Pedro Zamora, a PWA (person with AIDS) who lived with 6 other strangers in one house in San Francisco to try to develop an interesting housemate relationship in front of the camera – a breakthrough social experiment and controversial TV show without-script-concept back then. Being a PWA, Pedro was able to reach more people with his message and touched more people with his life than anyone could have imagined.

I’d never personally seen the face of AIDS and hopefully never will. I’d never known it in such a personal way until I watched Pedro. I felt like he was walking me through the disease, the way a close friend might take your hand for a stroll. It gave me a totally different level of awareness than anything I might have ever experience as a person regarding the disease.

Pedro being a typical youth in the ’90s taught so much about what it’s like to live with the disease. He taught how to stand up for what he believed and was not afraid of what others might think.

He did not die in the show but according to news, he passed away in November 11, 1994 hours after the last episode was aired. He did a great job about HIV/AIDS awareness and was so inpiring among the youth that even former US President Bill Clinton named a street after him in Miami Florida called “Pedro Zamora Way”.

Ako kaya? May mag pangalan kaya ng eskinita sa ngalan ko? Why not? Peklat.

Thanks!

Posted on November 25, 2008 by heavenliner

: gift from kuki and matet

It’s official! I am now 38 years old. I know that the secret on being 38 is to reach 37.

As early as 2 weeks before my birthday I have been receiving text messages, simple notes and e-mail message greetings from lovely people. If you sent me a message, feel free to find your name below…

Dr. Jing Perez and Muy Muy (ang doktorang cool at ang taba-ching-ching)
Berna Asunto (ang kulot kong casino-mate)
Matet Arranguez (ang sosyal ng Marketing)
Kuki Catindig (ang Reina Delas Flores)
Erwin Miranda (ang pare, bro at dude)
Betchay Teodoro and AR (ang mag-syotang seldom magkita)
Mimi Quibedo (ang maingay na reyna ng text-load)
Chef Onille Caballero (ang mommy ng bayan)
Karla Ann Sulit (ang hopeless romantic)
Chef Diony Oguing (ang maton ng Trinoma)
Frankie De Vera (ang piratang hearth-throb)
Gie Abainza (ang sexing matanda)
EBB (ang sexing mas matanda)
LCA (ang boss)
NMH (ang maingay)
Grasya Villadolid (ang totoong Survivor)
Eds Tenioso (ang gentle giant ng resto)
Tito Galvez (ang gentle giant ng hotel)
Baby Angeles (ang byahera sa madaling araw)
Karengkeng Teotico (ang wacky usual tourmate)
Joeselia Javier (ang diwata ng Qantas)
Ariel Ycong (ang hari ng kalsada)
Willie, Ate Gaying and Louie Clamor (ang pamilyang mayaman)
Vice Mayor Emie Calixto (ang susunod na mayor ng Pasay)
Jhun, Jojo amd Angel Abubo (ang simple pero rock na pamilya)
Ikang Langit (ang gimikerang pamangkin)
Lito Salamanca (ang yosi king)
Avi (ang Italyanang negra)
+63919***7102 (kung sino ka man, salamat)
+63915***8339 (kung sino ka din, salamat)
Edgar Ong (ang singkit na classmate)
Vlad (ang bata sa katawan ng hunk)
Benedict Casimiro (ang best apprentice ever)
Ayee Montano (ang kolokoy)
Suzette Cuerpo (ang empress under-the-sea)
Erick Angeles (ang reyna ng disyeto)
Chanky Tiangco (ang sweet devilish)
Rico Panghulan (ang kusinerong cool)
Jo Cerrera (ang prinsesa ng Graphics)
Honey Ballesil (ang madre sa hotel)
Dr. Beth Alo (ang full-time world traveler & part-time doctor)
Avic & Bokyo’s Angels (ang mga babae at kambal ni Kuya Bogis)

I would also like to thank all those who greeted me personally. You know who you are… You just don’t know how much it meant to me.

Salamat Lord!

A Morning View

Posted on November 20, 2008 by heavenliner

a view from my window

I never knew that rainbow still appear in polluted Metro Manila. Early morning today after a short rainfall, I looked out my window and saw a fast fading rainbow.

It put a smile on my face and made me hum to the tune of Kermit The Frog’s song “The Rainbow Connection” while having my shower. I presumed that this is a lovely sign from heaven for a beautiful day ahead.

While preparing my breakfast I wondered how come the Tagalog word for rainbow is “bahaghari”? Bahaghari when translated in English means king’s g-string. Imagine? That would be a very colorful yet sexy undies for a king.

Also, according to western belief there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Therefore in Tagalog if the king wears a colorful g-string, what then is at the end of it? It’s not a pot of gold definitely but two hanging balls! Hahaha!

O sha! O sha! Ang aga aga. Itlog at hotdog pa naman ang breakfast ko.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower – NOT!

Posted on November 17, 2008 by heavenliner

I was intrigued by the title that lured me to seek for it.

Every time I would have the chance to go to a mall, I would always drop by a bookstore to find “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. I also entered numerous book-sale shops to ask about the existence of this book. I even took the effort of calling all bookstores listed on the yellow pages to inquire its availability. When all attempts were made, I had no choice but to order for the shipment of a copy from USA via Powerbooks – pay a considerable amount (reservation fee included) and waited patiently for the notification that it was already available for pickup.

It took me months to finally got hold of this elusive book. Upon opening the package I was surprised that it was such a small thin paperback. It only took me two short nights to finish reading it.

I hate to say it but the story was a big disappointment. Though I do not consider myself to be one wallflower, I was not able to relate to the main character, Charlie. Or, I was too much of a wallflower during my adolescent days (like the age of Charlie in the story) that I know what it was to be one and I wonder why he was like what he was in the story. I believe everyone got at least a single gene of being a wallflower that would enable to correlate with the main character. Unfortunately, I did not!

It was not worth all the sweat, blood and spit of searching for it. I personally do not believe that the main character was a wallflower. A wallflower is somebody boring, unadventurous, geeky, introverted and with uptight moral fiber due to being shy and meek. However, Charlie an adolescent in his freshman year is somebody who is weird but not a wallflower. Charlie in the story had sexual experience, attended parties (and was even an exciting wild figure in one), did drugs and had cool Senior high school students as close friends – an unlikely characteristics of a wallflower. It is rare for a freshman – a wallflower at that – to have friends already in their senior year in high school.

The only good thing about the book was the title. Now I know why this book is no longer available in the market.

Parang gusto ko batukan yung sumulat.

Nengkoy

ruminations & travesties of the favorite yet naughty son of Nengkoy

Author Archives: heavenliner