Knights of the Altar

It has been his lifelong dream to be one of the Knights of the Altar (KoA). Andres tried to be a part of it last year but was turned down due to his grade level and being a non-communicant. After his First Communion, he planned and plotted, prayed day and night, to become one. His dream came into fruition when he was chosen to be a KoA member in Grade 3 and had his investiture last September 5, 2010 at the Big Chapel of Don Bosco Technical College in Mandaluyong City.

Rev. Fr. Dranz Nolasco, SDB, DBTC Grade School Pastoral Affairs Head, said that 97% of Salesian Priests and Brothers in the Philippines started as a KoA in their early years. Uh-oh.

Quoting Aga

While Im still at it, that is, in Philippine showbusiness mode, I came across an article while reading those free tabloids in the train about the former matinee idol and award winning actor Aga Muhlach.

AGA Muhlach explains why he said no to the noontime show slot once held by Willie Revillame. “It has been offered to me. I don’t think I can handle that. I can wake up early, but to do it every day would be too draining. It’s like your entire life would revolve around that show. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice my time for my wife and kids.

Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 28, 2010

Very admirable trait from a famous actor.

I Heart Robin-Mariel

Last Saturday, while inside a hotel room looking after Paco, I saw a snippet of entertainment news showing Robin Padilla stating his love for Mariel Rodriguez. It gave me that light feeling of becoming a fan for their love team. No shit. I am officially a Robin – Mariel tandem fan (after surfing the net to check out their history like former wowowee clips and that fateful Robin statement). Robin gave her a ring and she showed it and wore it on public television.

So I patiently waited for Sunday for all the showbiz shit to air on tv and excited to check the latest and complete story behind my favorite love team. So there was Boy Abunda on late afternoon with KC and Charlene and that Robin-Mariel interview. So Mariel interviewed Robin why he gave her a ring (a stupid question, but it somehow fitted in the whole context of their love team, or is it for real?) Then Paco started speaking in tongues. First slowly and quietly then becoming louder until it reached fever pitch with matching jerky body language as I carry him, just in time when the essentials of the interview was unraveling and Robin coyly saying that he loves Mariel in public. Fucking all I understood, or saw before the scene closed was Mariel crying beautifully while Robin hands her a tissue, or a napkin, or a toilet paper. Shit.

God

Andres was left alone in the house for a good twenty minutes while Thelma went out for some errands and I picked up Ponso and Paco at their grandparents’ house. We all arrived together seeing Andres sitting in front of the television, all alone. 4-year old Ponso asked him, “Manong, sino kasama mo, si God?” (Manong, who are you with, God?)

Coast to coast

A typhoon hit Manila in the late evening that caused a midweek holiday due to widespread blackout that we maximized to the hilt.

We hit the metro coast to coast checking out the huge waves at the Manila Bay walking beside the seawall and enjoyed the sea water drenching our clothes. The strong wind blowing from the open seas cleared out our lungs and gave us that refreshing beach-y feeling in the middle of Metro Manila. There were amateur photographers waiting for Andres and Ponso’s reactions to the waves for that perfect shot making me smile. We ate junk food while in the area.

From the seawalls, we went to Silahis Arts Gallery in Intramuros. It is a curio shop of sort with books and paintings and sculptures and shit. It is one of our favorite stores in Intramuros because it is like a museum. There are huge Maranao drums, reprints of old Manila pictures, a painting of HR Ocampo worth P250,000, and collector item books for 35 pesos per piece. Outside the shop is the Ilustrado Restaurant with its wide garden where Andres, Ponso, and Paco ran and explored its nooks and crannies.

We then went to Robinsons’ Otis for our grocery while the boys rode arcade rides then a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant before heading home. There was still no electric power when we arrived so we again hopped in the car and headed to UP for another outdoor trip. Andres and Ponso ran around the UP Oval with their Tita Hana while Thelma and I with the sleeping Paco searched for a BBQ stall published in the newspaper as a must taste in UP. Yes, we found it with a long line of people from all walks of life trying that must taste meat and innards on a stick.

We bought two of each kind and it did not meet our expectation. I guess it’s just a UP thing. I’ve heard of people romanticizing even the fish and squid balls inside the UP Campus proclaiming to high heavens that it is the best shit in the world, or maybe, it’s just a UP thing.

Then we checked out Ayala Technohub along Commonwealth Avenue. It looked Techno alright with big techno looking light balls encircling the techno fountain and with lights, different colored lights exploding. Even the typical Kebab tasted techno. We enjoyed it just the same as every new experience should always be appreciated.

After that Technohub experience, we went home in techno-less fashion with darkness still enveloping our neighborhood. Andres said that the stars are clearer without the electric lamp posts.

June 30, 2010

June 30, 2010. Inauguration Day of Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III as the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines. It was a good holiday with all of us going to the wet market to buy good sirloin beef for a beefsteak lunch then to Jollibee for some junk food bingeing in the morning. A couple of hot chocolate splatter, running around the restaurant, some normal stuff for Paco, Andres, and Ponso to dirty up themselves. We even planned to ride the train to Divisoria but the 9:51 am trip was cancelled as it was a holiday. So we just proceeded to a community supermarket to hang out and check out books and the arcade and the grocery and shit.

We were home just in time to watch Kris Aquino’s brother take his oath and it was 11:35 when Ponso decided to take a dump that took him some 10 minutes before calling out for a wash out. It was 11:50 and I was wiping Ponso’s sorry ass as Noynoy Aquino raised his right hand pledging his commitment to serve the Filipino people. The oath was finished in a flash as Ponso’s poop flushed down the toilet.

Was it merely a coincidence or a portent of things to come?

Video Star Andres

Andres with his fellow Junior Museum Guides of the Jorge Vargas Museum in a promotional video for the Junior Museum Guide Workshop.