Me, Myself and Frances Irene

                                             Finally, the PEMDAS rule is applied

Two days after the equation ad of Enfa appeared the equation is finally corrected applying the PEMDAS rule. Thank God! Although I feel it's a day too late for Enfa or the agency to claim it was planned out that way. It is a great concept and a creative way to "make palusot" though for a mistake made. At the end of the day, it's just us advertisers and marketers who really are into the details of these stuff. And we are just a small group of people among the millions of consumers here in the Philippines. The majority of the population have more pressing problems and issues to address. But while I'm at it, indulge me. Let me "make hirit" na

It was the NIDO child who corrected the ENFA dad. Yellow kasi ang ginamit na color ng crayon. HAHAHAHAHA!

Enough said

                                                                   Correct

                                              But this one is definitely wrong.
                                                    The answer should be 5.

I'm not a math wiz. In fact I'm the last person to ask when it comes to math. But one of the few things I'll never forget in math is the MY DEAR AUNT SALLY (MDAS) rule. When faced with a complicated equation with multiple mathematical processes involved, you have to start with the ones in parenthesis/exponents or simply called multiplication (MY) first, then division (DEAR) after which is addition (AUNT) and subtraction (SALLY).

Stated, the equation is:                                                

9+5x2-(7x2)=14

To check, the step by step process should be:            

9+5x2-(7x2)=N
9+5(2)-(7x2)=N
9+5(2)-14=N
9+ 10-14=N
19-14=N                                                                                     
5=N

My gosh! May natutunan pala ako sa math

Cool!

Tanke Tankeko & company (sorry I don't remember all the partners' names) is opening a new resto along Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong,  beside Pan de Pugon and Mr. Poon, this September. 1521. Their chef studied in Switzerland and Italy. His name-- RJ Ungco.

to whom it may concern

i dont usually rant but ive been hearing reports about people questioning
why we played saguijo after the concert.

first things first. when marlboro pulled out and cancelled the show a week
ago, the band was free of all obligation to play the show. if it was about
the money we could have just walked away fully paid no explanations to the
press or anybody. free from the contract. the band decided to play
nevertheless. the tickets and the prices was for the new promoters to buy
out the production from philip morris to put it simply. contrary to what
some people think it takes money to stage a concert. stage, lights, and
video screens don't magically grow out of the ground. that's what the ticket
prices were for. the band was not in the negotiation meetings between the
the two promoters and we did not want to be in the meetings.

personally i said just call me cos i'm ready to rock. no extra pay no contract
negotiations. as far as the eheads was concerned were out of the contract.

but here's what you dont understand. playing music is what we do. we play
when we're happy, play when we're sad, play when we're angry, play when
we're sick, play til we die.

painters paint, writers write, my skateboarding friends skate or die, when u
ask nba superstars what they do in their spare time. they play basketball.us
musicians, we play. thats what we do. getting paid is a bonus. i will not
apologize for that. when we don't get paid we still play.

we played saguijo because we wanted to, we needed to. our hearts andsouls
dictated it. we could just go home and sleep. we did not talk about it.
there was no invites there was no plan. we did not get paid. we borrowed
equipment.

yes ely knew about it. buddy told him the next day. yes pupil was in saguijo
too.

yes marcus buddy and i have lost a parent. we know how it feels.

ive been playing music for more than 30 years. professionally since1993.there
have been a few times when it was me who was unable to continue the set due
to illness. albeit it was a lesser scale and (thankfully) never reported. it
was nonetheless life threatening. ive had a run in with losing my voice,
food poisoning, diarrhea (embarrasing) and a few more i do not care to
mention that involved blood and bones. i had to drop out of the set from the
eheads, cambio and sandwich. thankfully there was always someone there to
finish the set for me. and i am thankful that they were there. i did not
feel bad. ive also saved a few shows from other bands when
happens. we dont
plan this and we dont complain but we still play.

my bmx friends ride with broken bones.

if we finished the eheads show that night you would STILL have found us in
guijo playing after.

yes i visited ely in the hospital yesterday. i hope he recovers soon. we
have a show to finish.

music is life
ill only stop playing when i die.

raym<s>

If you can't join them, beat them!

First, Syd and I went shopping, shopping, shopping. Shopping for fake Guccis.

Then, we had so much fun vandalizing them. The result, our Gucci Gang bags.

Next, Gucci Gang shirts. Abangan!

Don't be surprised when you see them around town.

Want one? ;)

It started with a blog which spread like birdflu, picked up by entertainment writers of some broadsheets, then featured in the early evening news. Next, a phone patch interview on a high rating FM station during drivetime. Will the internatonal media be far behind? 

I went on a road trip to Ilocos Norte with my family the holy week of 1989. My dad was still with the Philippine Tourism Authority. We stayed at the Paoay Sports Complex and visited various churches and beaches everyday. But what I loved most was Pugudpud, Saud in particular. It wasn’t a touristy place yet because Pagudpud at that time still had remnants of NPAs. It was Good Friday when we were there. There was just one nice resort which was owned by the town mayor. I remember being so entranced with Saud’s virginal comeliness that I didn’t notice how far I had gone or how long I had been away from my family while walking its coastline. They were in a state of near panic while I was falling in love with Saud’s serenity. That was the last time I was there until this week.

Last December, my brother Alex told us about the Pagudpud which is even farther than Saud. He talked and raved about Kapuluan Vista resort located at Barangay Balaoi in Pagudpud. So Judy (my sister) and I started to plan for our holy week trip as early as January and we decided it would be a trip north for us sibs. We checked out Kapuluan Vista resort’s website and found it very enticing. But as early as January, Kapuluan was already fully booked from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday. So it was Monday to Wednesday of holy week for us. Unfortunately, my other brother Mikal and his family backed out at the last minute because his kids got the chicken pox.

Kapuluan Vista didn’t let us down. It’s as beautiful as its pictures on their website.  Its Asian contemporary design goes very well with its landscape--- the hills at the back and the beach in front. The rooms are done simply and elegantly with the convenience of an air conditioner.  The food is good but because it is prepared from scratch, you need to wait 30 minutes before it is served.

Kapuluan’s beachfront though is rugged and best for surfing which is exactly what Mike and Alma wanted. Mike and Alma are a young Fil-Am couple from Hawaii who decided to build their dream resort in Ilocos, that is Kapuluan. Their charm and genuineness adds to Kapuluan’s  attractiveness. For those who aren’t into surfing, the Blue lagoon, a calm, white sand stretch is just a few minutes walk along the same coastline. There are a few resorts fronting the Blue lagoon but none impressed me.

My sons, Mackie and Santi took surfing lessons. Santi enjoyed and excelled in it so much that we now have to plan for a next trip to a “surfing” beach. Tito Alex is going to be proud of him!

I, on the other hand, explored the long and unpaved road that led me to a deserted beach strewn with rocks, shells, and weather-beaten tree trunks and branches. It was a site to behold. There I communed with nature, just me, the sound of the waves crashing, the wind howling, and an occasional bird squawking. It was two hours of alone-ness without the lonliness.  Only bliss.

Nothing but the truth.

That is what I keep on telling my children-- to always tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Because, no matter what happens, however much of a cliche it may be, the truth is what sets us free. But no half-truths, no embellishments, no spins. Just the plain, simple truth. We also have to be ready to face the consequences, no matter how tough they are. And at the end of the day, if we tell the truth, we will be forgiven for having had the courage to own up to the wrongdoings we may have done and the hurts we may caused others.

That's why I admire Jun Lozada. He is more credible than any of the people the government has pitted against him. I honestly wouldn't want to be in his place, just thinking about my children. But I would have done the same thing he did. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

In this light, I offer this space to his thank you note I received via SMS.

FROM JUN LOZADA:

Kindly extend my warmest regards to all for putting value to what I did. I have given everything that I could, including the security and comfort of my family. I am still under continued harassment and threats from government agents. Just to learn that people are moved to act and similarly reject the corruption of our Nation & Spirit, certainly lightens up my burden. How you will act will determine the value you will accord my action, if after all that is said and done, you will simply say "kawawa naman sila" and do nothing, then you haven't given it much value. But if you act to reject this system of State-sponsored corruption that condemns our people to live under inhumane conditions of economic poverty which drives them to commit sin, then you have given enough value to my action.

Thanks to all of you for sharing our family's suffering.