Sex Mex

He's shorter than my usual taste---wayyyy shorter, but I can't figure out why I always found him hot. His eyes are amazing. I would call his face slightly feminine, but the set of his jaws robs off the softness of his features and makes it undoubtedly a man.

One of the reasons why Latin America is hot!

Latin America Libre!

REASONS WHY I HAVE TO SEE LATIN AMERICA:

Football
Street Tango
Tequila
Machu Pichu

Evita Peron
Cuban Cigar
The Beach of Ipanema
The Brasilian Carnaval

East meets West in Paris

Trivia:

When you visit Paris, where do you usually go to see a lot of tourists taking a zillion pictures?

1.) Eiffel Tower
2.) Seine River
3.) The Louvre
4.) Notre Dame
5.) Arc de Triompe

Now, where do you go in Paris to see a lot of Asian tourists?

Answer: The LV Flagship situated on the Champs-Elysées at the corner of the chic Avenue George V--a five-minute stroll from the Arc de Triomphe.

I was walking pass this enormous mega store and I saw a whole bunch of Asians, mostly Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, clicking away and posing infront of the LV store. I was so astounded, I decided to take a few pictures myself.

The Asians were shopping LV items with such ferocity and singlemindedness, that LV implemented a policy that a person can only purchase a minimum amount of items in a day(worth a couple of thousand euros probably). I was approached by a Chinese woman and on another occassion, by a Japanese man to ask for a "favor." If it was possible, "could you please buy this LV wallet that I can't buy today because I have already reached the quota for one person."

Hello? Can't you wait till tomorrow? LV didn't land on a spaceship in the heart of Paris with a shitload of on-sale items only to return to its mother planet the next day, so there's no need to get everything you want in one day. Seriously, what's with Asians and their LV obssession? Bi goes to most of his functions looking like a walking advertisement for LV. If LV sold underwear, I bet Bi would be the first to flash them in his concerts.

All this drama

You got to hand it to this 3rd world country; even though I've lived here all my life, there are still moments when I get jerked off my relative complacency.

The Philippine has one of the worst drivers and predestrians in the world. We simply do not care about anyone or anything. Drivers don't sweat about the traffic rules, they ignore traffic signs, and bribing the traffic police to get out of a violation is a norm. The pedestrians cross everywhere, at anytime, and they would even flash you an angry face if you honk on them for illegal crossing (like running across the middle of the highway). So yeah, my foreign friends are constantly repeating their uniform mantra that, "I can never drive in the Philippines" whenever I drive them around the city.

I was driving this afternoon and was quite in a rush. I was passing through the serivce road which meant the north and south lanes are single lanes. I was going north, and the lane going south was congested. Now, this litttle tricycle on the south lane was vainly trying to cut in line, and it was taking up 1/2 of the entire lane going north (aka, blocking my lane). I had to make a full stop and wait for the pesky tricycle to cut in the line, but I gave the driver a dirty look for blocking my way. Instead of being embarrassed, or atleast pretending not to see me, the arrogant driver had the fuckn gal to cuss at me. He looked through my driver's window and started shouting and cussing at me because I gave him a look he deserved for blatantly cutting in at traffic and in the process, blocking the opposite lane.

How does that make sense? You're wrong, you get reprimanded, and you have the audacity to act like you are the abused one? Heck, I only gave the ugly man a hard stare, and he starts cussing? Did I hurt his macho pride? He couldn't stomach a woman making him look like the fool that he is?

That's the problem with all these inane local soap operas where the poor are always portrayed as abused and yet heroic, and since the Philippine masses adore these trash tv shows, the poor often identify themselves as victims of anyone with money. The arrogant tricycle driver must be thinking, "Fuck you little girl in your airconditioned car and acting like an annoyed Princess...Eat my dust since you hardly know how it feels like to get dirty on the road everyday...(add more dramatic soap opera dialogue here)."

Just another day, just another drama in the land ruled by a midget pretending to be president, of macho mama's boys who think that sperminating the missus and contributing to the street children population is simply being a good Catholic, and where there exists a bunch of socialites calling themselves "The Gucci Group," even if fake Guccis are everywhere and sold at a dime a dozen.

J'aime Paris

5 minutes from my hotel, Jardin de Luxembourg
Sorbonne (just a 10minute walk from my hotel)



I'm been gabbering on and on about girly-men, pseudo-conservative women, and Bi's imaginary sex life, that I neglected the reason why I'm writing a blog...to talk about travelling. My mind made a long excursion to the androgynous side of the galaxy, but now it's time to get back to business.

So, I just finished my first exam for my French class. It was easy, but I should have been more relaxed and I would've gotten a higher score. Anyway, I'd do better next time.

Why am I taking French when the Timeasia magazine nearest you is telling you to learn Mandarin because it is the business language of the future. http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060626/story.html

Well, I've only been to China once, and I was very young at that time to enjoy the trip, but I have been to France at just the right age and I love it there. I've been to Paris 2x and to Nice once, and I know that I will always return to France until I can no longer travel. I love the language and I love the gorgeous French people. Fortunately, inspite of the general belief that the Parisians are a snotty lot, I only had one bad experience with an asshole who smelled as bad as his manners, it didn't really matter if I never saw him again.

Anyway, back to my favorite city in the world.

The night before I left Florence for Rome, en route to my flight to Paris, I was nursing a slight fever. I'm kindda sickly, although it irks me to admit it, and it gets in the way of my travelling. I usually travel alone, so it's an inconvenience if your body doesn't cooperate with what your mind wants.

The train ride to Roma was fast and scary. The crazy driver was going faster than the morning trips and we were going to arrive in Roma on schedule even though we left Santa Maria Novella station 30 minutes late. When I arrived in Roma, it was midnight, and my flight to Paris was at 6am. I had 4 hours to kill before the bus to the airport will pick me up at the station and I needed a place to stay. Roma is one of the creepiest cities I've even seen at night, and there were lots of shady looking characters just outside the Main terminal who looked like they would make mincemeat out of your just to get a hand on a fake Rolex. I managed to find a tourist assistant who brought me to a nearby hotel where I waited out the night. By 4am, I was out, walking to the bus stop to ride the bus going to Ciampino airport. Let me tell you, that 5 minute walk through the dirty backstreet of Roma was the most heartpounding, and scariest moments of my life.

The flight to Paris was an hour and 30 minutes. It was uneventful except for the squealing kids 2 rows behind me. They were bawling their brains out almost the entire flight and I was suprised no one accidentally laced their milk with sleeping pills. Those kids gave me a splitting headache.

We touched down at Beauvais airport, a small airport (airstrip?) an hour away from Paris. When I saw unending fields of green, few houses, and some cows, I thought, did I ride the wrong plane? It seemed I was landing in a farm field. To get to Paris, we had to ride a bus that would drive us from the French countryside to the City of Lights.

The trip to Paris and my hotel

My hotel (Hotel St. Germain) was located at the Left Bank of Paris, in the Quartier Latin, Luxumbourg, St. Germain des Pres area. The bus will drop us off at La Defense station, and it was up to me how to get to my hotel. I had no intention of riding an expensive cab where the driver thinks he could take me to an impromptu city tour of Paris and swindle me some extra euros. I took the yellow Metro lane that would go all the way to Line 1, but I would get out from Chatelet station, and then transfer to the blue line going to Orly airport. I would alight from Luxumbourg station and walk 2 blocks to my hotel. No problem.

Well, there was a slight problem. My suitcase, although only half filled, was taking too much space and it was difficult to fit it through the revolving bars of the metro entrances and exits. Fortunately, I was the recipient of lovely French hospitality and on one occasion when the credits of my metro card ran out, the lady infront of me used her card to swipe me in--I didn't need to pay for more credits!!! Another time, I was heaving my not-really-heavy baggage over the baggage deposit, when a young man (very cute!) told me in english, "Let me do that for you." Cute and kind! WOW! Unfortunately, he was with his girlfriend! Dommage!

So I arrived at my hotel, sleepy, tired, and hungry, but still in good spirit. Like most budget hotels in Paris, it was cute, clean, and small, but I was in a very nice district so I had no complaints. Funny thing though, when I was inside my hotel room and switched on the TV to watch CNN while I was unpacking my stuff, I saw that there were ongoing riots in Paris where the marginalized urban youths were ransacking and causing chaos in the suburbs of the city.

Eh?

Scary. I just hoped CNN was on it's usual form of sensationalized reporting, and that I would soon find out that Paris is not really in a state of anarchy.

oh well, welcome to Paris!!! Bienvenue vers Paris !

Lots of peeps peepin', but no one's speaking

I wonder when will I get a reader from Russia? I'm not really expecting it, but I'm still hopeful. Mother Russia and I shared a lot of fun times as well as crap. How can I forget her?


Ruskis, where are you? Gdyeh Ruskis?

24 years ago, nine months after Mr. and Mrs. Jung did the whoopee!

It's time to partay!!!!!!!!!!!


ITS HIS BIRTHDAY AND HE'LL DO WHAT HE WANTS TO....

HaVE a BlaST on your 24th summer Ji HOON! Just remember to be safe...use a condom and assign a designated driver!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm out...moving on....

Gackt from Japan

I'm sick of this ongoing debate about should Bi or shouldn't he go gender bender (aka androgynous).

If only he never claimed that his music is hiphop and R&B, I wouldn't be horrified of the possibility of him going androgynous. The two don't mix. The two styles do not mesh together. If you're hiphop, you go all the way, you don't wishywash and say, "well the Asians want something softer, so I gotta be a little more flowery."Here's a short history of old school hiphop:

The "Definition" of Hip-Hop and RapPart 1: The Status Quo
http://www.jam2dis.com/j2dhiphophistory1.htm

Believe it or not, rap has been around for over 23 years. In fact the first ever rap tune to be pressed on vinyl was "Rapper's Delight", by the Sugarhill Gang in the late 70s. Since then rap has evolved from a fad to a street party. Rap music is an element of a larger culture that encompasses rap, baggy clothing, break-dancing, graffiti, vocabulary and a general lifestyle. This popular culture is generally referred to as hip-hop. Rap made its way to our shores in the early 1980s, as early as 1983. DJ Blaze, one of the best known hip-hop DJs in South Africa, first got into it in 1983 when a movie called Beat Street was showing in his neighbourhood. "I began DJing in 1990," he states. "I liked the scratching and the mixing you know, the sound that DJs made when they were playing."

Hip hop is the culture from which rap emerged. Initially it consisted of four main elements; graffiti art, break dancing, dj (cuttin' and scratching) and emceeing (rapping). Hip hop is a lifestyle with its own language, style of dress, music and mind set that is continuously evolving. Nowadays because break dancing and graffiti aren't as prominent the words 'rap' and 'hip hop' have been used interchangeably. However it should be noted that all aspects of hip hop culture still exists. They've just evolved onto new levels.

Point blank, hip hop was a direct response to the watered down, Europeanized, disco music that permeated the airwaves.. FYI around the same time hip hop was birthed, House music was evolving among the brothers in Chicago, GoGo music was emerging among the brothers in Washington DC and Black folks in California were getting deep into the funk. If you ask me, it was all a repsonse to disco.

In the early days of hip hop, there were break dance crews who went around challenging each other. Many of these participants were former gang members who found a new activity.

Sources: daveyd.com

Hiphop began as rap in the tough streets of New York city. It was a way for the majority of the marginalized black youth to express themselves creatively, to have their voices heard, and to have music in their lives even if they cannot afford to pay for a night in a disco. It had a rough and tough beginning--in other words, the power and passion of hiphop lies on expressing from your gut. It is metaphorical blood coming out of your movements, your voice, and your art(thus the grafittis).

So...tell me, how the hell can Bi legitimize his claim on being a hiphop artist if he looks and dresses like the androgynous guy above? Does he think he can blast all those lyrics, and hit the dance floor looking like a half-girl? Hiphop is street, so when did street start wearing mascara and foundation and had the time to tiss and spraynet their hair?

Fake shows. It always does.

Excuse me, do you wear foundation?

Junki
Kangta and his Vanness

THIS ARTICLE CREEPED ME OUT...

http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2006/6/23/tvnradio/14602132&sec=tvnradio
Tv & Radio > News & Features

Friday June 23, 2006
Girly guise
By FOONG WOEI WAN
FROM Taiwanese model-actor Joe Cheng to South Korean actor Lee Joon Ki, star of the hit movie King And The Clown, androgynous celebrities are having their day in the sun. Sure, Asian showbusiness has never been short of beautiful boys (or bishonen, as they are known in Japan).
In the 1980s and the 1990s, the late Hong Kong actor-singer Leslie Cheung was a dazzling exemplar of the male diva, with all the splendid beauty and sexual ambiguity it implied.
He famously went ultra-feminine in the 1993 Cannes-winning drama Farewell My Concubine, starring as a female impersonator in the title role.
But he was just one man, not yet a movement. And traditionally macho types such as Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung Chiu Wai were still the norm from which Cheung deviated.
You could say the tide began to turn in the late 1990s, thanks to Takuya Kimura.
The preening Japanese pretty boy with trademark long locks starred in serials like Long Vacation (1996) and swiftly found a following in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Without him, there would be no F4, the floppy-topped pop phenomenon from Taiwan who forced the bishonen floodgates wide open. Their 2001 TV show, Meteor Garden, is based on a Japanese manga, Hana Yori Dango (Boys Before Flowers).
And F4 – Jerry Yen, Vic Chou, Ken Chu and Vanness Wu – looked like they had stepped straight out of the manga universe populated by breathless girls and babelicious guys.
The rest is history: The serial shot the four unknowns to superstardom across East Asia in 2001. The show also travelled to South-East Asia in 2002 and with it, F4’s hairdos. A year later in the Philippines, one teenager reportedly killed another over – get this – whose hair was more like Chou’s.
Certainly, F4 cleared the way for a new genre, the ouxiangju or idol drama, and heralded a whole new generation of poutingly pretty boys – flippable, floppy hair is optional – to star in such serials.
Roy Chiu, Dylan Kuo and Mike Ho (who goes by a girly nickname, Xiaomei, meaning Little Beauty) are just a few of Taiwan’s rising stars since F4.

By 2002, female fans were more than ready for a romantic leading man like South Korean Bae Yong Joon. With his fair complexion and gentle, sweet smile, surely the 33-year-old is the sensitive beautiful boy all grown up.
Okay, he did peel off his specs and shirt to show off his pecs and abs in a 2004 coffee-table book. But the bulk of his female fans like him with his shirt and delicate smile on.
And what they want, they will get.
Because girl power is not just about women being in the limelight on their own terms – think Li Yuchun, the tomboyish girl wonder from China. It is also about men bending over backwards, or even gender-bending, to suit the tastes of female pop culture consumers.
When the ideal man these days is a metrosexual (read: more likely to star in a skincare ad), androgynous heartthrobs like Lee Joon Ki are not much of a departure from the norm.
They may in fact be the future.

Lee Joon Ki
GIRLS want him. Guys want to look like him, reportedly going under the knife to get his soft facial features.
The 24-year-old shot to stardom in South Korea playing an effeminate clown and the apple of a despot’s eye in last year’s King And The Clown, the most-watched movie in Korean history.
He is also big in China. Hundreds of fans were waiting to welcome him at the Shanghai airport two months ago, never mind that his film has not been shown on the mainland.
Chinese fans, who have seen him in the 2005 TV serial My Girl, are already comparing him to Leslie Cheung, the Hong Kong star who was just as at ease with his girly side.
Time will tell if his fame will last as long as Cheung’s.

Joe Cheng
THE 24-year-old has been Taiwan’s “It” Boy (or Girly Boy) after making a daring acting debut in the 2003 idol drama The Rose.
With shoulder-length hair, slender build and a sashaying gait, he played Kui, a sulking youth infatuated with both his half-brother (Jerry Huang) and half-sister (Ella Chen of the girl group S.H.E).
With fame, there came tabloid talk that Cheng is gay and that he is niang (Mandarin for girly).
He has laughed it all off, however.
And the model-actor – who, like supermodel-host Chiling Lin, is managed by agency Catwalk – is no one-hit wonder.
His drama, It Started With A Kiss, was so popular in Taiwan last year, a sequel has been planned.

Kangta & Vanness
ARE Chinese American singer Vanness Wu, 27, and his South Korean counterpart Kangta, 26, going Brokeback?
Wu found fame with the group F4 and Kangta, with H.O.T. Both had little luck as solo acts, however. But they have attracted more buzz since regrouping as the androgynous pop pair, Kangta & Vanness.
At the Golden Melody Awards this month, female fans shrieked as Wu and Kangta showcased their slinky moves on the red carpet and on stage, like two pretty peas in a pod. – The Straits Times Singapore / Asia News Network

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
No.

I'm sorry, it's a simple as that. My cavewoman gene is crying out an indignant NO. I want a man who looks like a man. All things being equal, you don't find guys saying they would choose a woman with a body of a triathlete (no hips, tightly muscled, small breasts) and with a slightly masculine face over say, someone who looks like Jessica Alba. Try finding one, and all I can say is goodluck.

So, whats up with this androgynous, girly-guy movement some women are crazy about? Why would I want a man who might look like a celebrity actess, a girl friend of mine, my sister, my aunt, or my mom? And why is this so prevalent here in Asia? Frankly, I don't know.

People might point out that Beckham is the West's icon of the androgynous look, but I have to argue that Beckham revolutionized "metrosexual," and he would never in a million years be mistaken for a girly guy, or even gay. He's just undoubtedly a man who looks rich and stylish. He's one of the world's top athlete in the world's most popular sport to begin with! If that's not masculine enough, then I don't know what is.

Now lets go back to the article, and this east asian phenomenon of "androgynous men." WHY? I ask why is this happening? Lets start with Leslie Cheung. I don't know him and just how popular he was because this was before my time, but I've seen the films of Chow Yun fat and Bruce Lee, and I was in love with them since I was a little girl. At the first cursory examination, a woman will have the impression that: They were strong, they were well-built, they hardly smiled, and yet they were so attractive.

Evolution and science explain the rules of attraction: from livescience, MSNBC.com

Face it

The structure of a person's face also gives insight to fertility.
Estrogen caps bone growth in a woman's
lower face and chin, making them relatively small and short,
as well as the brow, allowing for her eyes to appear prominent, said evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill of the University of New Mexico.
Men's faces are shaped by testosterone, which helps develop a larger lower face and jaw and a prominent brow.
Men and women possessing these traits are seen as attractive, Thornhill said, because they advertise reproductive health.
Thornhill also points to the booming nip-'n'-tuck business — which is very much about improving a person's symmetry — as evidence that people find the quality attractive.
Another recent study revealed that symmetrical dancers are seen as more attractive. And research reported last month found women both smell and look more attractive to men at certain times of the month.

Even in the animal kingdom, the dominant male or the alpha male is usually the biggest and the fastest, and women flock to them. Why do you think the Lion king has an entire harem? It is no different with humans. First impression is important, and if you look like a man that can be beaten to a pulp, the first thought is that you are not an attractive candidate as a partner and physical protector against another male. Of course, the cliche is "not judge a book by it's cover..." but in the real world, you go to a bookstore, and you only become interested to leaf through a book if the cover is catchy.

This is the mystery of Lee Junki. He shot to fame in Korea and China because he played a clown who looked so much like a woman, he was often pimped as a prostitute to rich lords, and even made a king fall in love with him. He played the feminine clown so convincingly, even I wanted to protect him....protect him, but not take him as a lover, never as a lover. So why did he become his country's hearthrob after portraying an ultra-feminine role and looking like one of Korea's candidate for Ms. Universe? The answer escapes me.

Kangta and Vanness: They look like they overdosed on estrogen. With small chins, delicate jaws, and fair complexions, they look like their sweat smells like vanilla. I'm sorry, when I watch them, I have visions of prison showers...you get what I mean.

Then again, maybe I should not even try to understand this phenomenon. This is happening in Taiwan, China, Japan, and Korea--countries tthat long produced and embraced girly looking celebrities. I am culturally and psychologically coming from a different place.

Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes. I just thought that certain physical features are universally accepted as attractive even if tastes vary from culture to culture.

Someone needs a tranquilizer

Our house is behind a neighbor who has teenage kids. With hormones bouncing off the wall, habitually burning their parents' money, and thinking getting smashed is hot, teenagers are real beasts. My neighnor's college kid would bang on his drums every night between 19.00-21.00 and would invite his noisy friends to his parents' house most weekends. He probably wants to show off his mad drum set and how spacious his house is compared to his friends that's why they pollute the air almost every weekend.

I remember 2 occassions when I was in a party that got so noisy the neighbors called the security guards.

One was in Singapore where my colleagues/housemates gave a farewell party to me (aka, an excuse to drown on Johnny Walker) before I flew back to Manila. One of my friend had a shouting match with our neighbor through the phone, while another got so pissed ass drank, he slipped, fell on the floor, and promptly fell asleep without realizing he twisted his ankle. It was the size of a baseball the next day.

Another one was a welcome party in Moscow. New trainees from Brasil and England arrived and the girls recieved a Russian welcome--lots of vodka, beer, and music. I woke up the next day dehydrated and quickly searched for water in the refrigerator. Turned out, there was no ref because the food was left in a cabinetoutside by the covered terrace where the Russian weather was cold enough to seep through the wooden panels and chill the food. No need for a ref.
Suffice to say, the neighbors weren't very happy with the 15 noisy people in that flat.

These days, dinner, wine, and conversation are enough nocturnal stimuli for me.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the purest of them all?

Im not sure I want to visit Korea anymore, atleast not any time soon. When I was deep into the Hallyu entertainment craze (movies and Bi), I was determined to go to Korea. I even ignored the niggling voice in my head that was mocking me...it kept saying, "you hypocrite! you know you always dreamed of visiting Japan since you were in short pants, and now you want to visit Korea before Japan? Faker!"

After befriending and travelling with Korean girls in Europe, their stories about their traditions and cultural beliefs slowly planted doubts in my head about being able to appreciate their way of life. I respect our differences and marvel in our distinction, but some of the stories they shared were still unnerving for me.

Examples:

1. Men-Women relationships: Arranged marriage, dating services, and asset evaluation are normal and even expected. Maybe this is more applicable to wealthy or atleast, economically well-off Koreans, but these practices are still relevant today. My Korean friend said that because the people are so busy and so competitive to get ahead of the career rat race, romance has to fit in perfectly to their hectic schedule as well. Parents can do the match making, but its also popular to enroll yourself in a dating service where your "qualifications and requirements" are matched with potential partners and the company sets up the monthly dates for you in advance. This way, you can schedule dating, courtship, relationship, and possibly, marriage.

2. What men want: Pure women. Heck, the word itself is inducing stomach spasms inside me. Even in this modern age, men still want to be the first...first love, first kiss, first make-out partner, first shag. They've learned to adjust--we needed years to teach them but they managed--and yet, archaic beliefs remain. In Asia, this is even more a problem. In Korea, its kindda twisted how this concept of purity works.
The woman has to look pure: fair skinned, elegantly dressed and well covered (watch the K-movies and the women have a signature style), soft spoken, demure, and even act cute. She has to be protected and cared for by the macho, military-trained Korean male. My friend said even if you have a healthy sex life, you should not look it. You should not be proud of your sexuality. I mean, look, SHG was vacationing with her ex-LBH around the world and I can't see them playing korean cards in their hotel suite, so she obviously had a nice time with LBH. But until today, she continues to present herself as a conservative and polite Korean woman who's crap on kissing scenes because she would rather stop breathing and close her lips throughout the scene because she's conservative.
Lee Hyori is an exeption because, according to my friend, "She is not talented, but she's very beautiful without needing surgery and acts natural" (meaning she doesn't shrink like a violet just because her tight belly is exposed).
All right then.

But even if you look the perfect picture of purity, if you don't have the ideal family and educational background, your market value is not high either. This is the reason why women like Song Hye gyo, but Korean men are crazy over Kim Tae hee. KTH hails from a good community called Ulsan in Seoul, she graduated from a top high school and graduated from Korea's top university(even if she's active in showbiz) as well. She appears to also have a close family and would often visit her brother in his movie shoots.

Song Hye gyo on the other hand has divorced parents and didn't finish high school.

Guess who's gonna be the one reaping thousands of marriage proposals?

I personally don't like either of them, but I'm guilty of preferring KTH over SHG because she seems to have the brains behind the stereotype "pure" face. SHG is the better actress, but in terms of personal income through endorsements, it's a close call because KTH is very marketable because she's considered the complete package.

Amongst all Korean actresses, SONG HYE GYO irritates the crap out of me.

She says she's sick of all her roles because they're all the same: She's a damsel in distress and always cries her brains out because she either dies, or someone dies on her.
So what does she do in her debut movie role after a billion years as tv actress? She cries and she dies.
Nice. Smart.

Look girl, next time, don't even dream about ranting again about crappy roles because I might stuff your mouth with a fistfull of kimchi.

Hello Moscow part 2

We are family...I have all my sisters with me!
A Brasilian, me, a Brit, and a Russian, out and about in Moscow.


GUM Department Store - elegant turn-of-the century shopping mall, combining elements of Russian medieval ecclesiastical architecture and an elegant steel framework and glass roof, and today filled with elegant boutiques and designer stores aimed at Moscow's nouveau riches.

Ok, the first time I went inside GUM, I felt I should be carrying a dozen magic plastics and a couple of hundred euros so I would fit in. Damn the place smelled of new money--lots of it! Viva capitalism in the former heart of Communism!

Lenin's tomb
St. Basil's Cathedral- built in the 16th century on Red Square by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in the besieged city of Kazan, its mass of brightly painted onion domes and turrets is now one of Moscow's best-known landmarks. -Moscow-taxi.com
The Kremlin...
knock, knock..."Are you in, President Putin?"

State Historical Musuem built in the 1870s and inagurated by Tsar Alexander III

Hello Moscow!!!

Welcome to the Red Square!
Sonia Rykiel...yup, Moscow is pretty ritzy and wealthy!
my hotel


Sept 23, 2005
Room 517, Hotel Pekin
1/5 Bolshaya Sadovaya ul., Moscow, 103001
20:30

Im writing a day late. Anyway, I arrived here in Moscow 3 days ago, on a Tuesday. It seems time flew so fast and I am already checking out of the hotel tomorrow. I haven’t even had a real rest ever since I arrived here.

The following day right after I arrived, I had to go to bank Intensa in kitaj gorod to pay for my visa processing fee. I had to navigate the Moscow metro for the first time. It was no joke since I had the worst stomach problem that day when I woke up. It was so bad I had to stay in bed until 12pm and take two tablets of Diatabs. I was so dehydrated. Anyway, I seem to have a natural talent in navigating metro systems in any country in the world and even the elaborate and tomb-like network of the Moscow subway was a quick study for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still carry my metro map with me all the time, but with everything stops listed together and not grouped into a specific metro station, and everything written in Cyrillic alphabet, it would be a challenge to any newcomer, much more, a foreigner who doesn’t speak Russian, not to get lost in the Moscow metro .

The metro network is interesting because it reminds me of an apartment of tombs with different levels. One subway line is built under another, and since there are around 11 lines, this means that the metro has to be dug so deep underground to create a network of 11 subway lines on top of one another. I have to admit, the first time I went down the Mayakovskaya metro station near my hotel, I had a few minutes of panic, feeling as if I was being buried alive. I was staring at the faces of the people and was fascinated that they looked so normal when they all just emerged from a tunnel so deep, it felt like being in a subterranean city. The Washington DC metro is the closest thing I can liken to the Moscow Metro in terms of how deep it goes. Anyway, I am now the queen of worldwide metro systems. I don’t think I ever really got lost in any metro system that I’ve ever been in. I’ve ridden Bangkok, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Novosibirsk(oh my gosh, they only have 2 lines anyway) in the past 5 years, and now I have conquered Moscow. What could be more complicated than that?

Seeing the Red Square and Kremlin for the first time

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. There have been a lot of really bad days since I arrived here in Russia, but yesterday could even be classified as worse than the day I was assaulted by a bunch of hooligans in the Novosibirsk Richnoi Vakzal metro.

Yesterday I applied for my Italian tourist visa. First of all, the lady at the counter could not speak English and she was obviously resentful of me for putting the inadequacy into light. Initially, she already wanted to deny me the chance to apply. Because of the language barrier, it seemed that I was going home straight from Russia, but after someone who spoke English was called, I was back to eligibility again. But even this woman who spoke English was very sarcastic and mean, obviously going into a power trip. I couldn’t even get mad at them because one of my most important documents did not have the signature of my sister. My sister, it seems, got too used of the European slacker lifestyle that even her invitation to me was half done. I came as prepared as I could be, but it seemed I was still not prepared enough. So I was at the embassy at 9am, I left running at 10 and made calls to Italy and to Novosibirsk to send the rest of the documents here in Moscow. By 1pm, without eating lunch, I had almost everything ready except for a glitch in the document emailed by LBL Siberia. By 14.00 I was back at the embassy with all the documents. This time, they wanted me to Xerox copy all the documents before they could finally process them. So I run out of the embassy again, and searched for a copying center. I found one 10 minutes from the embassy and paid my last 100 roubles in my wallet for the Xerox service. By this time, I was running on empty since I’ve been awake since 7.30am and I haven’t eaten lunch or stopped running since I arrived at the embassy at 9am. When the woman finally accepted my documents, she tells me that I am applying for student’s visa. I couldn’t understand what made her think so when I already explained that my sister is the student and I wanted to visit her in Italy before flying back to Manila. Since my application paper says “Tourist Visa,” I didn’t argue with her anymore since she couldn’t understand my English and I don’t speak Russian. I leave the proper processing to the one who reads the document. Anyway, she seemed to want to have nothing to do with me as soon as possible, so we finished our business finally at 15.00. I have to say, by this time I was hungry, tired and thirsty. I also did not even have enough money for a metro fare. Thankfully, there was a bank beside the embassy and I was able to withdraw 200roubles, enough for food and a metro fare back home.

Since it was early, I decided to go the Red Square instead of straight to the hotel. I had lunch at the Kremlin.

Let me tell you about the Kremlin and Red Square.

The first time I saw both, I was speechless and felt goosebumps on my arms. I mean, I only saw these structures on TV or books or magazines, and I always associated these buildings to the former Soviet Union, a communist country that democratic countries like the Philippines would only look from afar with both fascination and anxiety. And now I was in the middle of the Red Square. It felt so surreal, like I was the first Filipino to ever come here. I know I am not, but I was thousands of miles from home, in a country so alien, in a culture so different, in a language so guttural, and I was alone. I had only myself to really rely on since I arrived here in Russia. And I was in the heart of the former Soviet Union—the standing symbol of her power before the fall. Nothing can ever duplicate the feeling. I didn’t have my digital camera yesterday and I was able to just walk around, savoring the sights and smell and the feeling of being in the Red Square and the Kremlin for the first time.

When I got home, the nightmare continued. I realized I left my Xerox copy of the documents somewhere. I am quite sure I left it in the embassy when I went to the first floor and sat on the benches for a few minutes to rest after such a taxing day. I know I took my documents to check, but I probably forgot to put them back because I was out of my sane mind by that time.

It began the most awful day of my stay here in Moscow. How can I ever be at peace knowing somewhere out there, my personal documents is in the hands of some Russian, in a country known for its mob business, and in the center of the mob business no less!

Not your typical fan

Gawd, get him away from his stylist. Japanese men can be stylish, not necessarily looking like they channeled the shoulder-padded 80's. So why the heck does Bi look like an oriental michael jackson during the days when mj was still black?

I hate Bi's fan meets. I have such intense dislike for them.
Ok, maybe his Korean fan meetings are tolerable, but the ones in Japan just suck.

Fan's Account: Birthday Party cum Fan-Meeting

Pt 3by 雨在故我在@ Biwithrain// jinlees@soompi

Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

I was in Japan tooYesterday's meeting was just fantastic...everybody got a momento with Jihoon's signature (although the signature was printed on, of course)I'll try to add in what I can remember. I can't remember some too clearly...please forgive me if there's any errors.

Q&A PortionThere was a qustion "Why do you think you're so popular in Asia?"

Jihoon actually said "Eyes", and the camera did a close-up on his eyes (Faint)

He also said "honto ni oishii desu" (Very delicious/ yummy)Super cute...

Asked if he has some spare time, how would he like to spend it?

He answered1. Spend it with his family

2. Go camping with his fans....at a hot spring... (yeah right, and Jennifer Aniston doesn't have big nose! i bet you'd ditch the fans for the hottest girl in the springs... and you shouldn't feel ashamed to admit it.)

OMG...everybody at the stadium said they wanted to go very much...camping at the hot springJust imagine that scenario...oh nosebleed...

[ ]The other portion of questions...more like requests I guess

1. Jihoon to wink at the camera. I was almost killed instantly at the stadium...Jihoon was wearing his little white cap.

He did his signature action and said "aishiteru" (I love you) with a wink

After he was done, he covered his face shyly...super cute...

2.Jihoon to do a most handsome or weirdest facial expression

So this kid...faced the camera and did a face which he explained as his expression when he is shocked. After he did it, he felt embarrassed and said sorry to everybody

3. Do a dance for everybody. Did a small portion of Break Down at the front of the stage(like a wind-up doll)

The birthday celebration portion...everybody sang the happy bithday song and did the wave for Jihoon

After the wave, Jihoon said, "Everybody can dance better than me"...what a cute kid(fuck, stop pretending to be kawaii! You are not kawaii--you used to live and breathe hiphop, damnit!)

A staff member pushed out a cake that is in the shape of a cloud

Jihoon looked very excited...he seemed like he really wanted to eat the cake

After blowing out the candle, he appeared to have seriously made his birthday wish

After that, he used his finger to dip and ate the cake...really looked very happy

He kept eating the strawberry that was used on the cake to form letters

Told everybody to "Hold on" (Because he wanted to eat)And pretended to feed everybody by dipping into the cake with his finger [Rayndrop: I don't mind eating off his finger...]

The host asked if he like eating sweet stuff...he said yes, very much And he asked if he liked crepes...he said he really really really liked them (talked like a little kid...so cute)Then we viewed the taped made by his Japanese fans for himThere was a kid dancing "It's Raining" crazily...and Jihoon laughed so much he couldn't stop

The composer of "Free Way" and AI also left a message for him

During his after-thought speech, he thanked the Asian fans...Such as China (there were some places in between...I forgot...was it Hong Kong?) Taiwan, Indonesia...When I heard Taiwan, I really wanted to scream...but I was alone(Not that I think he has a special liking for Taiwan, it's just that hearing my country being mentioned when I'm overseas...it touches me a little)

Asked about Jihoon's dreams, he said there are two...One is to begin his Asia Concert Tour this yearAnother is his development in the US (I personally feel that this is really means a lot to him) After that, he read his letter to fans...At first I thought I'll cry But when he began reading...Japanese is really a tough languageThe camera shifted to his letter...it was all written in hangeul...everybody started laughingBut he was really serious about reading the letterI'm sorry I can't really remember the content, but he did look very adorable trying to read the letter.

I can only remember the last part"Just like everybody has become a source of strength for him, he would like to be a source of strength for everybody too. Will continue to strive to become a Rain who will not disappoint everyone"(you're not perfect Bi. the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will stop pressuring yourself with unrealistic expectaions. You can go as far as you want, but you can never be perfect and not dissapoint people. You will, and that's all right.)

First of all, Jihoon is an entertainer, not a clown. He is not a wind-up doll that jumps when you clap, a tamagochi that says, "feed me" when a signal is triggered, or a paid jester in The King and the Clown.

I hate fan meets because I still see Bi performing on demand by hungry fans who want pieces of him that goes beyond the boundaries of his job. He is an entertainer who entertains through his music and movies, and we are recipients of his works. We buy the entertainment, but we do not pay for his personal life and personal time.

I feel that fan meets are moments that are taken away from his family and friends. Sure, in Asia, I think fan-idol dynamics are different from the West where the fans get their voyeuristic fixes from pappararizzis. I suppose its still better to conduct an official fan meet and dish out parts of your personal life than having to be tracked like a hunted animal so that people can gobble up parts of your private life.

I personally think that interviews should be enough. Signing autographs when he's out and about are enough. Annual fan meets are just lame. I only enjoyed his Korean fan meet because Bi was at his most natural and he was in home territory. When I see Bi enjoying and being comfortable, then atleast I don't feel he's being forced to do something beyond the call of duty. But the Budokan fan meet felt fake.

I hope Bi doesn't sink too much into faking a happy face just to impress the fans and the media wherein he won't be able to distinguish what his true feelings are as opposed to manufactured ones.

Damnit, you wanna go to America Bi? Start thinking about the American market. This freakn cute-sy act just turns my stomach.

The Ruskis are coming to town

The Ruskis are coming to town!

The Russian Cultural Festival, which will be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines from June 14 to June 18, is the brainchildof Valentina Nebogatov in her capacity as the energetic First VicePresident of the Philippines-Russian Friendship Society.

The Society was established to promote cooperation in all fields between the Philippines and Russia, and particularly to promote closer cultural relations and friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Russia.The Federal Agency for Culture of the Russian Federation on behalf ofthe Russian Government is the main partner of the festival on theRussian side.

Stars from the famed Bolshoi Theater Ballet, together withdistinguished Russian conductor Felix Korobov and Moscow pianist DenisMatsuev who won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, will befeatured in the festival. Matsuev has become a fast-rising star on the international concert stage after his triumphant victory at the 11thInternational Tchaikovsky Competition, appearing in hundreds ofrecitals at prestigious concert halls throughout the world.

Wow, this certainly brings back memories of my stay in St. Petersburg. It took mega-planning and coordination, but I managed to arrange for a 9-day stay in Piter with free accommodations because I established very good contacts in the city months before arriving.

I managed to see the famed Russian Ballet. It was my goal to watch ballet while I was in Russia even though I am not a fan of ballet.

How do I describe the cultural environment in Russia? Different. Colorful. Exciting. Alive.

So very different from the Philippines where culture = high brow, or a socialite activity. We can't even attest this mentality from being a poor country whose immediate concern is definitely not the arts. Russia is not rich, and most of the rest of the country is still neglected, but the arts and literature is very much alive. Red is the color of Mother Russia because the blood throbs vigourously within her land.

Anyway, back to ballet. I watched Swan lake, and I paid 60pesos or 30rubles for the nose bleed section. Fortunately, even if I was high up the opera theater, the view was still superb, and worth so much more than the cheap price I paid.

The performance and the costume were equally breathtaking. I never expected to be so moved by ballet, but during curtain call, I had to give the entire production a standing ovation. It was magnificent, and one of the best experience I had in Piter. The foreigners I met during my stay in Russia would tell me they had a love-hate relationship with Russia, and I would agree. Even with all the difficulties I experienced in Russia, there were moments of intense wonder, and the wealth of their arts, culture, and literature are reasons why one can't help but be in awe of such a schizophrenic giant of a country and her people.

When shall you be truly free?

It is with heavy heart and burdened spirit that I reflect on today's celebration of the Philippines' independence day. On this day where we rejoice on our freedom, I find my country is anything but free.

On this day where we celebrate the freedom from bondage of more than 300 years of Spanish oppression, we Filipinos find ourselves still chained by the corrupt power of our own countrymen, the few who hold the wealth and power in this land.

On this day where we celebrate the courage of the brave men from our history who have fought for our freedom, we Filipinos find ourselves careless, jaded, tired, or merely afraid to speak out and take action against the atrocities subjected to the few who are still brave enough to speak the truth.

Can you smell the scent of freedom, Islas las Filipinas?

Opinion column from The Philippine Daily Inquirer
As I See It : "GMA’s creative solutions to nation’s problems"
By Neal H. Cruz
Inquirer Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the June 12, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

WHEN THE VALUE OF THE PESO WAS APPRECIATING, Malacañang crowed: It was due to President Macapagal-Arroyo’s “sound economic policies.” Now that the peso value is dropping, Malacañang is so quiet, and government agencies have taken to long, convoluted, song-and-dance explanations conveniently called “global imbalance.”
If for nothing else, you have to credit the Arroyo administration for being creative in solving problems.

It miraculously reduced the unemployment rate not by creating more jobs but by changing the definition of “work.” Before, if you have no means of livelihood, you simply are jobless, out of work. Now, if you have given up looking for a job—because after so many months and years of trying, you still haven’t found one and have run out of money for transportation—you are not considered jobless.

GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) was also creative in solving the perennial lack of classrooms. With a wave of her sharp tongue, she miraculously ended the classroom shortage not by building more classrooms but by doubling the student population per classroom. So if the ideal ratio of 45 students to a classroom in public schools will mean a shortage of classrooms, then double it to 100 students to a classroom. And presto, we’ll have enough classrooms, said the President. If doubling the ratio still doesn’t do it, triple it to l50 to 1 by having three sessions per day!
So journalists are being assassinated like flies? Give them guns to protect themselves. Every man for himself.(yeah, here you don't get sued, you get gunned down)

I suppose GMA has similar simplistic solutions to our nation’s other problems. So the nation is being corrupted by the spread of illegal gambling like jueteng? Well then, legalize it. So the poor can no longer eat three square meals a day? Make them eat only once or twice a day. Many of them are doing that now—actually have been forced to do so—anyway. The population is growing too fast? Tell the military and police to kill them faster.

It’s the same with the exchange rate. After boasting that the increase in the peso value was due to GMA’s economic policies, the administration explained: Nothing wrong with GMA or her policies, “(the drop) was due to global imbalance.”

What does that mean? Never mind, you’re not supposed to understand that anyway. Just understand that it was not the fault of GMA or her policies. In the first place, she has no policies at all—except to lie, cheat, steal, bribe, suppress the truth, suppress dissent and kill anybody who threatens to unseat her from Malacañang. It is the fault of the whole world that it is “imbalanced.” It is the fault of other countries that they have stronger currencies than ours.

Locked Down

the most intense gaze in television

While Bi is busy running the hamster wheel, I was busy looking at another hot namja.

Introducing...Wentworth Miller!

I don't really go for white guys, but there are always exceptions like Brad Pitt and this smart sexy dude with a name from an English novel.

He's the lead star of the hit TV series, Prison Break and he is as brainy as he is easy on the eyes. Hard to believe? He's a Princeton grad and really articulate. Impossible?

Well, lots of women have grown cynical these days and they can't believe that a beautiful, brainy, talented, and now, a famous guy like Wentworth is still SINGLE and NOT GAY. Yeah, it seems you have to prove you're a greaseball so that you won't be suspected as gay nowadays. Since Wentworth doesn't stink with even the slightest smell of "loser" with his grammaticaly precise English and low-profile ways, as opposed to a strutting Hollywood male ho' that women have come to expect, Wentworth is now suspected to be gay.

We live in strange times.

Whatever. I still can't wait to watch Prison Break season 2.

Dude needs some shut eyes

What's wrong Bi? If your face got any longer, your chin would hit the floor.

Obviously, our Bibi is not a very happy dude right now. Might be because of the crazy schedule? Who'd be happy anyway if you were shooting in Pusan in the morning, flying to Vietnam at noon, rehearsing for a show in the afternoon, performing at night, and then flying back to Korea as soon as the show's over. All of these in less than 24 hours.

Nope, I don't think anyone would sing a happy tune with this schedule. Someone better get their priorities straight, or else the quality of the work will seriously slide.

Bi, get some R and R....and FAST!

If you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for your fans. We got used to seeing topnotch performance from you, and if your brain is fried and your body's limp, how do you suppose you could deliver that?

Seriously, give it a rest.

I didn't expect that!

I think bathrooms are one of the scariest things to prepare for when you travel. Different countries, different customs, different standards of living, and if you're a guest, you have to deal with it.

And I have.

I have dealt with some really hairy toilet episodes in my travels, but that's reserved for later. I'm thinking of sharing the amusing and interesting tales instead of the "it-never-happened" stuff.

So here are some anecdotes that flashed back to me for some strange reason:


KUALA LUMPUR

Ok, I went to LAKE GARDENS (TAMAN TASIK PERDANA) one weekend. I was assigned on a 2 month project in KL, and basically had nothing to do on weekends because there was no work. Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Perdana) is the greenbelt of KL, the city's most popular and scenic park, and a green sanctuary nestled deep in the city center with a host of attractions, many of them unique to the region.

One of the gardens within the 230 acre land is The Butterfly Park that houses some 6,000 butterflies of over 120 species. The park is an imitation of the butterfly's natural habitat. It includes more than 15,000 plants from 100 species that have been used to recreate a Malaysian rainforest atmosphere.

So, ok, enough of that. I was walking alone, and the place was amazing. The vegetation was colorful and beautiful and it was a sanctuary within the city. I saw a lot of butterflies which normally do not interest me, but because of their sheer number and diversity, I was impressed. As I walked over the bridges, through the stone pathways, and under the giant trees, I couldn't help but notice I was the only single person in the place. There were families enjoying the weekend together, but most of the visitors were couples! There were local couples, foreign couples, young couples, old couples, people on the verge of becoming a couple-- there were just too many couples! Holding hands, whispering, gazing into each others eyes, it wasn't a picnic for me. I don't have any problems of being single, but if you're the only single person in a place, it feels like crashing into a private party.

Which begs the question: "Are butteflies the newest aphrodisiacs?"

Masjid Negara (National Mosque): I arrived in Masjid Negara an hour early so I decided to come back a little later. The worshippers were still inside so I couldn't get in. Visitors can only go inside at designated times of a day, and they should wear the appropriate garments to cover any bare body part. It was the first time in my life I wore a burka that covered me from head to feet. I thought a hijab (long scarf that covers the head when modesty is required) was enough, but women visitors were given burkas at the door. It was so hot! I was sweating like a girl hiding her boyfriend in her room closet, and I couldn't help but lift the hem of my burka. I was wearing normal walking shorts, but I guess the site of bare skin inside the premises was still shocking even to other foreigners! The group of Japanese tourists were staring at me as though I grew 2 heads. I was almost afraid they'd start taking pictures or pose beside me with their V signs.



to be continued...

Manila commuters can ride anything!

The crazy Orchard Road shopping loafing crowd. Where the heck do they all live in spore-sized Singapore?

One of my favorite activities when I travel is commuting by metro or underground (subway). Being part of the mass of humanity in a city gives you a feeling of being less "the foreginer"and being one of the locals.
I seem to have a knack in commuting by public transportation, most especially by metro, and I almost never get lost after studying the metro map of any country (even in Russia! Thank goodness I can read cyrillic alphabet). It has become a pride thing for me not to check on the
subway map after I've studied it before leaving a hotel or a friend's place.

So it's great that one my travel contributors sent an account of her trip to Singapore with a public transportation story. I will only include excerpts that I want to comment on, while you can read the rest in her blog link:

http://thoughtcradle.blog-city.com/traveling_via_singapores_public_transport_systems.htm

Traveling Singapore via its Public Transport Systems:

The most interesting ride was the SMRT (or train) though. The second time I rode it, my brother and I were alone, so even though we had instructions and all, we still had to somewhat play it by ear. I thought their MRT was similar to ours, so at the station I went straight to the counter guy, gave my cash and asked for two tickets to City Hall. What he did was exchange my $10 for two 5’s and told me to get the tickets at the ticket machine. I learned later that the guys at the counter were mainly there for information, or to fix of faulty ticket readings, etc. The ticket machine was pretty straightforward so we didn’t have any problems with that. That time, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign that said we were in City Hall already. Apart from the announcements and the signs at each station, they also had this screen in the train that made known the next stop, so again we were able to get off without a hitch. I read that our cards can be refunded, so I did just that. The next couple of times I was more self-assured so it afforded me to alternate between blanking out one station and observing the scene the next. Their trains seemed to be roomier and cooler, or maybe that was because there seemed to be fewer people too, even during rush hour. Somehow, this made commuting less harried. Like the crowd here, the commuters were a hodgepodge of personalities: trendy teenagers, students in uniform, business professionals, homemakers. There were a lot of Indians too. (In fact, they even had a Little India station.) I considered this fact for a bit and then remembered that had a population of 1 billion. I know too that has a population of more than a billion. So if the world’s population is more than 6 billion (as of October 1999), that means 1 out of every 6 people you meet are either of Chinese or Indian descent. I admit to straining my ears also for utterances of my native tongue, wondering where the Filipinos were. But then we were there, so I guess that meant that the 3rd most ubiquitous nationality was well represented.

People may have their individual take on Singapore, but what most can agree on is that efficiency can be the country's synonym.

Coming from chaotic Manila, the stark contrast of Singapore's transportation system from our own hodge podge of fuel consuming metal contraptions is so refreshing. I abhor commuting here in Manila, but when I'm abroad--aside from the fact I cannot afford to take cabs often-- I like hopping in the metro or a bus. I feel independent and street smart when I can zip around the city alone, relying on my wit, language skills, and rapport with the locals if things get a bit shady.
Anyway, the last time I was in Singapore, I stayed with a friend up North in the Woodlands area--where the vast unpopulated forest area made me wonder where the large Orchard Road shopping crowd found land to live in such a spore sized country-- I had no problems commuting. I could take a bus, or the 30 minute metro trip with no help from my friend. I pretty much like to be able to roam around a new place alone for a day or two before having anyone tag along, so it was a convenient arrangement.

One of the things I miss when I commute in Manila is observing with wonderment the diverse mix of a commuter crowd. In a country like Singapore that has a population composed of different racial ethnicities, languages and culture, the Philippines seem a tad boring. People speak the same language, unless of course they converse in a provincial dialect.

The only drawback from the Singapore transportation convenience comes more from a personal philosophy. Because things are too easy, you do not feel pushed or challenge; and somehow, I feel like I'm missing out on something. I guess I always equate a challenging experience to a nice story I can take back home to share to my family and friends--until the next time I travel.

Announcement!

OK PEOPLE, I NEED A FAVOR....

I need to ask for contributions from anyone who is interested to share about his/her travel adventures that is related to mine. This concept got me interested after reading a blog of a fabulously vulgar gay blogger who is positively in love with Russia, or atleast, with Moscow.

This made me contemplate my own experience in Russia. It was one of the most interesting, difficult, and amazing experience I've ever had, but it was far from glamorous. So, I'm interested to see comparisons, parallelism, and contrasts of experiences from people who've been to where I had.

So, if any of you have been to:

1.) Russia
2.) Bangkok, and Phuket
3.) Hong Kong
4.) Singapore
5.) Paris

Submit pix and an account of your experience to cvvillamar@yahoo.com

I haven't written about the other places I've been to, so just submit those listed above.

The cure for writer's block

Ok, circumstances are not ideal that Bi and I would meet...so the closest thing of us being side by side is posting any body part of mine beside his hot self. From now on, I will post pictures of both me and Bi sharing one space, even if it's only cyber.
Who knows, it may be room space in the future....mwahahahaha.

I might get bitch slapped for posting these pics...sorry gals, won't happen again! It's the hormones.

I've been procrastinating--since forever-- on writing about anything. I am going through a see-saw phase in my moods, so it was difficult for me to write. The annoying thing is that I've had so many things I want to put down on paper and just look at the ideas in black and white, but no strenght was emitted from my fingers to type them down.

So today I try.

The easiest subject to talk about, whom I feel passionate about without needing to unscrew my head and pick out my brain is Bi, my Jihoon.

So I wanna write about the person who makes me happy and hot and envious all at the same time:

Happy: Well, he's so inspiring. I get goosebumps thinking of all the successes he had. I mean, hell yeah, its been rehash so many times how amazing his achievements are, but I think people have come to a point where they take it forgrantted that Bi will always succeed or will always shine in whatever he does. He has reached the level where expectations are not just high, they are already benchmarked, and he cannot go even slightly lower. It's damn scary, but it seems to me, he is confident that he can achieve each milestone of his dreams.

Hot: Have you guys seen some pictures from his photobook? I like to call them a teaser, or an equivalent of a movie trailer because once you've seen some parts of it, you want to watch the entire thing. He's fucking hot, and he's one of the few asian men who are just so comfortable (as opposed to smug dickheads) in their skin (literaly!).
In Asia, we don't breed attitude because we are traditional and heirarchal and we respect the wisdom of age and experience. Bi is both respectful and differential to those who are enriched with experience because of their seniority, and yet he has the smoldering and undeniable confidence of one who knows he has something special and who has the persistence to see his goals to the end.
I've met a lot of arrogant assholes who think that by virtue of graduating from Ateneo, and growing fat behind the desk as company executives, they act as though they are kings of their mini-worlds. Smug little weiners should leave the Philippines and get an education in living alone abroad without their maids and mothers so that they will understand that an Ivy League diploma does not make a man's penis any bigger.

Envious:
barely 24 years old.
talented
rich
influential
famous
determined
healthy
sexy
tall

...and he's only just began.

How can I not?