The Reason I Would Rather Not Be in a Long Distance Relationship

Okay, I admit. I, too, am affected (to say the least) reading Piper's last entry. I'm posting my responses to the many questions she posed. I advise you to wear your hard hats before reading on because rocks and stones might come pouring down hard from the heavens.

QUESTION # 1: CAN LOVE REALLY EXIST BETWEEN TWO UNEQUALS?
- The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" This, of course refers to faith but the principle has many applications, including romantic (purely secular) relationships between two unequals.

QUESTION # 2: WHEN YOU'RE TIRED, DO YOU JUST REST?
- Uhm, yeah.

QUESTION # 3: IS THIS CONDITIONAL LOVE? Magpakatotoo tayo, mahirap ang UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. May ganun ba talaga?
- Meron naman. Kay God.

QUESTION # 4: WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T EXERT EFFORT AND TELLS YOU "EH WALA AKONG MAGAWA," DO YOU BELIEVE HIM?
- I'm a "just do it" and a "try and try until you succeed" kind of person, so no, I won't believe him.

QUESTION # 5: WHEN THAT SOMEONE TELLS YOU "intindihin mo naman ako" WHEN YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE DRAINED YOURSELF TO UNDERSTAND HIM, SHOULD YOU ANSWER HIM BACK AND SAY: "eh patayin mo na lang kaya ako!"
- Why not?

QUESTION # 6: WHEN YOU SHARE A SUN LINE TO AVOID HEARING THE LINE "wala akong load eh" BUT YOU STILL HEAR THE LINE "eh walang signal eh", O ANO KA, ANO MASASABI MO DUN? HA? HA? HAHAHAHA! NATATAWA NA KO SA MGA ORAS NA TO. Hahahahaha!
- Ako rin, natatawa na. Mwahahahaha! Try and try until you succeed. I never stop until I've exhausted all my options.

QUESTION # 7: WHEN YOU'RE UP THERE AND HE'S DOWN BELOW, GIVEN...TUTULUNGAN MO SIYA. ANG TANONG, HANGGANG SAAN?
- That's a question of choice. Depends how much I choose to love him.

QUESTION # 8: WHEN ALL HE SAYS IS HE MISSES YOU AND HE LOVES YOU FOREVER, DO YOU JUST HAVE FAITH IN HIM? YUN LANG HA. YUN LANG ANG PINANGHAHAWAKAN MO. HAHA. WALA NGANG EFFORT DIBA?
- Action speaks louder than words. Yun lang.

QUESTION # 9: (eto medyo digging up the past ha, again, wala akong paki) WHEN HE THINKS THAT SAYING I LOVE YOU TO HIS EX GIRLFRIEND IS OKAY TAPOS ANG DAHILAN AY "friend ko sha eh" SHYET. MAY TATALO DUN? CGE NGA? YES, I TOO WAS STUPID TO GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE. HAHAHAHA.
- I have only this to say: You can dig up as much of the past as you want, but me? I'd rather not. Hahaha!

QUESTION # 10: AT ETO KA, ETO KA. WHEN FACED WITH TWO CHOICES...A CHOICE BETWEEN PLANNING YOUR FUTURE, REUNITING WITH YOUR HONEY AFTER MORE THAN A MONTH, SCOUTING FOR POSSIBILITIES, EXPLORING A NEW WORLD, SETTING UP GAMEPLANS FOR YOUR CAREER, WITH FUN TRIPS AND HAPPY SUNSHINY DAYS vs. A GIG AT ICM WHICH HE ALREADY SAID NO TO, KAYA LANG SAYANG DAW KASI FASHION SHOW NG MOSSIMO, DEADMA NA KUNG MASAYANG ANG PLANE TICKET NA AKO ANG NAGBAYAD AT NAKABOOK NA THREE WEEKS AGO ....AT ANO ANG PINILI? GO FIGURE. eto naman ang choice niyo: maniniwala ka bang mahal ka niya talaga at iintindihin mo? o sasalampak ka sa upuan mo, magsisindi ng yosi, titingin sa kawalan at tatanungin ang sarili, "san ko nga ulit nakilala ito?, may problema ba ko nung mga panahong yun?"
- Hahahaha! I choose the latter - sit and smoke and try to remember how I even got into it.

Happy Thoughts

Just thought I'd share with you my mantra for this season: HAPPY THOUGHTS!

Woohoo Paige! Woohoo Piper!

Your Corner of Earth

Missing Bohol

Never got to post the pictures of this trip either. Luckily I was able to upload a lot of my pictures to Picasa before my laptop gave in (again).

Here are the pictures of my Bohol trip last year. Love the place. Miss it terribly.

First Light (Recorded)

This song was written for our dearest Prue, who is now in hiatus. I think this is going to be the first time for him to hear it. Forgive the off-key singing. I recorded this at home in the wee hours of the morning. Prue, I hope you like it.



Here I lie on the sand
Hazy blue skies above
Morning’s soon to dawn
And will bring my love home

I stand on the promise
That one day you will come
Oh, angel of my life, alight
With the morning sun

Now I know I will never be alone
And they will know that our love will be that strong
Because with every waking dawn
Your warm embrace will come along
Because the sunrise brings my angel home

You’re as real as my thoughts
And feel as warm as the sun
When your wings take flight
With the coming of the light

I stand on the promise
That one day you will come
Oh, angel of my life, alight
With the morning sun

Now I know I will never be alone
And they will know that our love will be that strong
Because with every waking dawn
Your warm embrace will come along
Because the sunrise brings my angel home

And now reality sets in
Your presence slowly growing thin
So I live through the day, and head out again at night
So I could wait for first light

Now I know I will never be alone
And they will know that our love will be that strong
Because with every waking dawn
Your warm embrace will come along
Because the sunrise brings my angel home

- written January 24th for Prue, words and music by Kokum

Memories of Bohol

It's been more than a year, and I am more than excited to go back to Bohol - Piper's most favorite place in the whole world. We were there in May 2006 for a project we did together.

We had fun, but because we had limited time, we were not able to see much of the place.

With the whole crew: Stickies in Bohol!

Before that, in January 2005, I went to the northern part of Bohol to do a story on seahorses, but I didn't get to go around either.

In October of this year, Piper was there with Prue for the kick-off charity of The Happy Sun campaign.

I would have gone if my schedule had permitted it. She and Prue got to spend some leisure time around the island and I am just green with envy.

They even got to reconnect with the Charmed Ones' long lost sister, Phoebe.

This month, I finally get to go back to Bohol (November 29 to December 2). I'm going with Single Fish, who is just as excited to explore (ravage?) Bohol. I hope to finally see and experience its more popular offers - the hills, the fauna, the river cruise, the people, Brownbuds, and Phoebe. This time I am not leaving anything out. Of course, first on the agenda is to get in the water with the fishies and the dolphins.

Bohol, you better be ready, because you and I have a date!

(Photos from Piper and Prue's Bohol trip courtesy of Piper and Prue.)

Postscript: If you've noticed, I've been backtracking a bit lately. Recently, I've been able to get my hands on a lot of old pictures so indulge me a bit as I look back into my wonderful past. Later, will post pictures from my Pangasinan vacation with my brother and sister. Plus, Single Fish is sending me more pictures of the Boracay wedding we attended.

Tug or Tog... (Don't Ask Me How)

Okay, since I'm a sport and I love my friends, I will let this one pass. I have been tagged... or is it togged... or tugged? Whatda...! Whatever...

Here's 30 things you probably didn't know about me.

1. I'm allergic to dust and my nose itches like crazy when I get attacks.

2. I exercise so I could eat! I love food. Hahahaha.

3. I'm a sex addict. (Wait, you probably knew that already. Hahaha!)

4. I once got my head stuck between railings. It took about 4 to 5 kids to pull me out.


5. I (used to) sleep with my dog.

6. I'm a math wizard. Got 7th place in the Individual category and 4th place in the Group category in the 1991 Philippine Math Olympiad (PMO) - National Level.

7. I'm a lucid dreamer.

8. I'm acidic. My skin reacts negatively to metal.

9. I love porn.

10. I secretly dream of having kids of my own. I guess that makes me a closet heterosexual.

11. I'm a pack rat. (You should see my room.)

12. I once passed out from ingesting too much gin too soon. Hit my head on a table as I fell to the floor. (Of course, I don't remember any of it.)

13. When I'm out drinking, I cannot keep myself from wiping the table dry.


14. I've been blonde, brunette, red-haired, bald, permed. I've had short hair and long hair. I've sported a mohawk, and many other hairstyles in my youth.

15. I love laing, dried squid, and binagoongang baboy. (Mmm... just thinking about it makes me hungry.)

16. I'm a great cook. I experiment in the kitchen. My latest creation: corned beef in pesto sauce.

17. I have never been out of the country (though not for long).

18. I was once a beauty titlist: Ms. Talent and First Runner Up in the Ms. Gay Asian Land 2004.

19. Whether or not I care to admit it, I am a size queen. (Blush blush.)

20. I hate it when lovers turn jealous over nothing.

21. I can make the most unpopular decision and not have a care in the world what people think.

22. I once dated Paige. Hihihi.

23. I'm usually an aggressive pursuer. I say what I mean and mean what I say. I give. And I take.

24. I shoplifted as a 'tweener.

25. I'm arachnophobic and mildly claustrophobic.

26. I shave my pubes on occasion.

27. I never thought of myself as a writer, until poetry came into my life some time in the late 90s. I have not stopped writing since.

28. I showed my butt to an audience of about 1,000 in a play - many times throughout its run.

29. I do not eat okra.

30. I secretly loathe myself for being fat, though you will never hear me say it out loud. (I think I just did. Hahaha!)

Prue, your turn!

The Happy Sun in Bohol - and Bacolod!

This is way belated, but the Happy Sun successfully shone its rays the first time on the shores of Bohol, where a group of 69 kids experienced a day of fun, fun, fun! Read about it here .

Incidentally, the Happy Sun is shining next on the City of Smiles - Bacolod! I'm reposting my friend, Piper's post.

All this to happen in February. Want to help? Call me.

Read all about it at the Happy Sun blog.

Eva Marie Bernadette

To one of the bestest persons in the world - Eva Marie Bernadette C. Borromeo -

Happy birthday! Blessings, blessings, and more blessings to you, Piper!

(Read about the instant party we gave her.)

Got Tagged!

Got tagged by the Charmed Ones so I'm posting a screen shot of my desktop and doing a bit of elaborating.


As you will see, my desktop is quite organized, but this is only because the tagging caught me at a time when I wasn't too busy. The picture would have been very different if it was taken a month back.

The picture is that of the Singapore cityscape taken by my friend, Piper, during a visit to another friend, Kutilpa. Posted it on my desktop to keep me reminded of where I am going.

Took me a while to put this picture up. Had to figure out first how to capture a screen shot without actually using a camera. Haha. But I found out eventually.

Quite easy actually. Just hit the Print Screen (PrtSc) key on the keyboard and you instantly save a picture of your screen on the clipboard. Paste on any graphics program (like Paint or Photoshop), save, and voila! You have your screen shot. This, of course, works for Windows. Works differently with Mac, I think.

Okay, now I need to pass this on. I'm tagging Tina, Cam, Single Fish, Tintin, and Kutilpa. Let's see how your desktops look like.

Nine Days Later

It has been nine days since my last post and this blog needs updating.

On Singapore: Nothing official yet. But faith tells me everything will fall into place soon. I have spent the last nine days working on getting my pictures taken and acquiring videos of my previous hosting jobs. All this for a possible hosting and event management stint abroad. I'm not sure if I am the type they're looking for but will not miss the chance to find out. And then there is the magazine job I am waiting to fill. In the meantime, I keep exploring, keep sending, and keep asking.

On work: Today I came from a long and tough shoot for the new program we are working on. We had our first on-ground event and went on to shoot the OBB. Met with my hosts for the first time and had a blast working with the staff. Four days ago, I went back to work after my 3-week leave. It was a drag to do the same things over again. This reaffirmed my decision to seek other opportunities. Last Friday, I wrote and signed my resignation letter and gave it to my assistant for processing. Took a big leap with that and I can't wait to land.

On friends: Last night, I went to the birthday party of a very good friend, then went on to see other friends at a bar before going to the OBB shoot this morning. I have been going out a lot in the last couple of months. I have met so many new friends and have reconnected with old ones I have not seen or been with for a long time. In a way, I have seen the world expand. I have seen it contract as well, discovering some of the oddest connections between old friends and new friends, realizing how small the world really is.

On love: I formally met him 3 weeks ago at my favorite bar, but for the longest time he has intrigued me with his I-couldn't-care-less-about-you attitude. He was obviously well-known and well-loved at the bar. The hosts would acknowledge him everytime he arrived and I would see him going around talking to all the different groups of guests present. But he never came and talked to us. I would see him lugging around his digital SLR taking photographs of people and events, but he never took ours. He was always the big shot that knew everyone except us. Being the proud Leo that I am, I resolved then to just ignore and let him be and never make the first move. Three weeks ago, he finally came over and made small talk with us - well, not us really, just with my friend Single Fish. He was with one of his many posses, seated at the table behind us. I went to the wash room and came back to find them talking. I took my seat and waited for an opportune time to join in the conversation. One failed love, a failed date and a week later, the air was clear. We have been dating since and I am resolved to pursue this wherever this leads.

Prue, Piper, Paige: Thanks for always reminding and encouraging me to write. I will make as much time as I could for this, and for our projects together.

Betblog: Keep blogging. I always visit your site.

Kutilpa: I will copyfurnish you the letter I am sending Andrew. I will see you in Singapore soon.

Single Fish: I'm investing a lot of time on M right now. I know you understand. Let's go out soon. I will make time.

Spreading Some HAPPYness

I'm helping out in a friend's charity. We're spreading HAPPYness to some 70 kids at a daycare center in Bohol later this month. It isn't really part of the plan, but I thought that since I'm going anyways, I might as well bring with me some instructional and reading materials for the kids.

If you'd like to help by donating, please call me. 0918-9194911 / 0921-7714071 / 0917-2441221.

Click here to know more about the kids.

Before the Ritual

Piper and Prue.

Leo and Paige.

The Ritual of Truth and Remembrance

Get three charmed witches and a whitelighter together under a dark, pregnant sky and you have for yourself a most potent recipe for enlightenment.

Tonight the coven gathered in the middle of an almost deserted parking lot and gave birth to a most powerful ritual, one that transcended time and space and elevated the Charmed Ones to a higher level of self-discovery, self-understanding, and self-appreciation - the Ritual of Truth and Remembrance.

It was unplanned, and began with simple but probing questions casually thrown at each other by the four beings as they walked to their cars. When they got there, they could not immediately board their vehicles. A mysterious force kept them glued to where they stood. The spot had been chosen for them and they knew what they had been called that night to do.

The Charmed Ones and the whitelighter took their places. The fires were lit. And the ritual began. The four beings connected, and immediately, images from the past flashed before their eyes. Details of long-forgotten events came to fore. Insights that were never realized materialized all at once. Pieces of long-standing puzzles came together and formed clearer and more accurate pictures of the past. Light came forth and the riddles of each one's present were suddenly unlocked.

One found the key to chances and choice. Another found higher purpose. One found solace in being alone. And another found the light of self-awareness.

The witches and the whitelighter each threw in their personal share of honesty and openness into the cauldron of night, and brewed a potent potion of truth from remembrance. In minutes, the potion was reduced, and the rain fell and blessed it.

The four beings parted and took with them their fair portions of enlightenment. The night had given birth, and each was now more aware of himself and of others. Each was now more empowered by the fusion of collective energies. Each was now more bound to each other by their new ritual, the ritual that transcends time and space, the ritual that elevates to higher levels of self-awareness - the Ritual of Truth and Remembrance.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Okay, it's a Sunday. I have no urgent work and my friend Otep says my blog needs updating. (He cringes when he sees that picture of my swollen foot.) So here goes.

As for the foot, it has gotten so much better. I can at least give the appearance that I can walk straight without any pain. But it's unlikely I'd see any court action or get to hit the gym soon.



As for the weight-loss efforts, hmmm, well, what efforts? Since the accident, I have not made any to that end. I've been eating. My mom, who was visiting from Japan, was uber caring and attentive to my needs - thanks Mom! - whipping up the most delicious meals left and right. I gave up trying to avoid carbs or trying not to eat too much while she was here.

As for work, well, it's always there. I'm just glad I have none of that today. Later, the Ala-Coloma siblings are going out to watch a movie at Trinoma. Time for some bonding with the "kids."