Duty Free

I was nervously waiting at the lobby of the Fiesta Mall Duty Free in Pasay City.  For the life of me, I could not remember why I was there at the first place and why I was feeling this nervous. Out of the blue, a familiar face, appeared from inside the lobby. It was Anne. That was real fucking surreal as Anne used to work for me at the Match factory. She was waving for me to come inside the shops and out of the cold.  My feet were like on auto-cruise as I approached Anne.  She gave me a short kiss on the lips and uttered…”you’re late”….

What the fuck am I late for?….. I asked Anne

Have you forgotten your date with MeAnn?  she fires back.

Huh? I was at a loss for words. Last time I checked, I was pretty much married with two children and now I have a date with this MeAnn girl.

I asked Anne about the details of my supposed “date” with this MeAnne who I obviously don’t know.

In one breath, Anne told me that I reserved two months ago for an on-line date with MeAnne and I was already paid. Wow! I exclaimed …I am into on-line dating now? Is Anne now an on-line pimp?

….and, as if on cue, a foxy hot-chick enters the lobby of the Duty Free!

Oh my Lord!! Oh my sweet Jesus!!I know this MeAnne character. She works in our Match Factory! She bangs only the hot guys!! Was that the reason that I had to make it like a business deal? What the fuck man??!!!

MeAnne waives to both Anne and I as she continues to walk toward us. The tits are bouncing and the hips are swaying.  Now I now why I am feeling nervous. Without a bit of warming, MeAnee takes a full kiss on my lips, parting them ever so softly, and allowing our tongues to touch.

MeAnne takes my hand, and wraps it around her waist. She asks …”are you ready?”

I don’t remember what my answer was. I just remember walking with her, my arms never letting go of her waist.

We must have walked a block or so when I heard a male voice shouting….”brother…stop..brother!!!!

Oh my God!!! I look around and I recognize both the voice and the face. It’s my good friend Aries!! I asked MeAnne what the hell Aries was shouting at us for. She told me she was supposed to date Aries but he couldn’t put up the payment so I got the slot with her today.Oh this is turning out to be a fucking nut day! 

Aries catches up with us and takes a snap-shot with his phone-camera. “What the fuck man? What the hell was that for?” …I asked.  

Aries quips back….”Well If I can’t have her, I might as well share her with the rest of the world in my Facebook Account….with YOU IN IT!!!!!   Oooppss. That really turned up the alarm bells for me.

“You better delete that bro”….i said in an angry tone… Aries darts off and runs opposite where MeAnne and I stood.

Again, for the life of me, I don’t fucking know why I had to kiss MeAnne on the cheeks and say…”I got to get that picture deleted, Honey”…..

Aries could sure run. I was chasing him for at least eight city blocks. We were jumping on cars ,boxes, and slipping on the street occasionally. His lungs must have finally given way as he dropped on all fours and was hungrily sucking on air. 

“Fuck You, Asshole!!!… that chick-freak in bed should be mine!!!! Aries shouts with all of his remaining strength.

I took a deep breath as I was also winded out and said…..“Bro…all you needed to say was “Please”.

I wake up and realize I better just head out for the park and jog. I slept for twelve hours straight last Friday night.  

Shooting Gallery

I just finished watching a post-apocalyptic film entitled “ZOMBIELAND”.  The apocalypse was triggered after a man ate a contaminated cheeseburger which in turn made him into a walking dead-person or a zombie.  Of course, the infection spread exponentially that in no time at all, there were more “walking-dead” people than the actual living people.  There were a lot of blood and guts spilling all over the place that it felt you were watching a giant shooting gallery where the zombies gets their heads blown off by different gun calibers.  When the heroes run out of bullets, they use everything that they can put their hands on and whack the heads of the zombies.  Talk about being up close and personal!   Nothing beats an old fashioned head-bashing!

Dito sa pabrika ng posporo, dahan-dahan na ring kumalat ang “birus ng kaingayan” dala ng isang kontaminadong zombading.  Oo, zombading ang tawag ko sa mga maingaya o magulo dito sa pabrika. Kahit anong baril ang iputok mo sa mga ulo ng mga taga-sunod ng reynang zombading, hindi sila maubos-ubos. Mayroon at mayroong makakagat at magpapatuloy ng kaingayan. Isa lang ang solusyon, tamaan ng dalawang beses sa ulo ang reynang-zombading(double-tap) para tumigil ang pag kalat ng birus.  Hay….wish ko lang na may Remington Shotgun ako para rak-en-roll  hanggang umaga!.

If you’re into “Ïndi” or “Independently” produced films, get your copy of “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank.” Definitely not your run of the mill film. It’s so refreshing because you would not see the “genetic finger print” of  HollyWood in this movie.  This movie is so innovative in theme and structure.  It tackles the complexity of  making an independent film. There is so much wit and undertones in the film that it leaves me in amazement as to how the writer and director must have painstakingly put their collaborative talents together.  Movie making with zero commercial value in mind is a financial death-sentence. But then again, I think the Filipino audience has just have had enough of the commercially produced films that they are now opening their minds to Independently produced movies.

Sinasalamin ng pag-gawa ng “indi movie” ang tunay na buhay.  Hindi laging masaya ang buhay. Mayron ding mga pag-subok, iba-iba lamang ang antas. Nasa desisyon na ni Juan Dela Cruz kung pipiliin niya na lumaban o mag paka lugmok sa hirap.  Ganito kami sa pabrika ng posporo. May mga epal na zombading. Hindi naman pede putukan ng Remington Shotgun. Kaya kami na ang gumagawa ng paraan para malibang ang aming mga sarili at hindi magpatalo sa lamang-lupa.      

Can’t wait for the next Zombie or Indi films to come out.  The life of a pirate is certainly hard, but life is just a matter of choices and I already made mine. 

‘BER na Naman

How quickly time flies.  It feels just like yesterday when we were all busy implementing Y2011 plans. Look at us now. Again, the “BER” month is ushered with the month of September and in no time at all, Christmas will be upon us.

The month of September is very special in a political, spiritual, and personal way.

September 21 in the year 1972 is marked as a dark day in the political calendar of my beloved Pilipinas. This is the sad day when former strongman, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, declared Republic Act 1081 putting the entire Philippines under Martial Law. The Bill of Rights is suspended along with Writ of Habeas Corpus, effectively giving the former president of the country a free hand to suppress the collective will of the people.  I grew up under the Martial Law regime.  I remember clearly how we used avoid the “midnight till dawn” curfew or risk being apprehended by the former Philippine Constabulary and be hauled to Camp Crame.  Martial Law was eventually lifted, nine years later, on January 17, 1981. The human-cost of the Marcos Dictatorship according to the activist’s rights group: 3,257 extra-judicial killings; 35,000 torture victims; 70,000 incarcerations; and 120,000 arbitrary arrests and detentions.

September 08 is the date when the Roman Catholic Church observes the world-wide celebration of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   My beloved, Pilipinas, being the only Catholic country in Asia, never fails to commemorate this blessed day with the celebration of the Holy Mass.  I attended the Sept 08 mass not to ask for blessings but to seek guidance for my troubled soul.  I know if I course my please through the Blessed Mother, I would eventually be given a chance to get the healing of his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Of course, who will forget the darkest day of September 11.  Ten years ago, in the Year 2001, the United States of America was hit by multiple terrorist attacks.  Four commuter planes where hi-jacked by Alqueda Terrorists and crashed the doomed planes in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Almost 2,000 people lost their lives. This is comparable to the December 07, 1941 attack in Pearl Harbor where 2,402 people (composed of sailors, airmen and civilians) died in the infamous raid of the Japanese Imperial Air Force which plunged the United States into the Second World War.

But the most important date for this ‘Ber month is the 5^th of September.  This is the date when Alexandra, my first born, was successfully delivered into the world.  She was a tiny little creature at four pounds and eleven ounces. She was so frail that we had to keep her incubated with other new born’s in the hospital’s nursery for six days.  Today, at sixteen tears of age, Alexandra is a Senior High School student raring to conquer the world as she is preparing for college.  I find it harder to “hang” with Alexandra as she is so busy even during weekends. She is bursting with so much energy that I have to tell her to take it slowly. But then, I remember that this is her life and I just have to guide her, not dictate what to do.  She is beautiful like her mother but got her “street-smarts” from me.  Am sure we will celebrate more of her birthdays, whether we are together or apart.

True North

I was thrust into a world of hurt in March 1999 when the management of the Match Factory  asked me to head a rag-tag team of expendables into delivering the impossible.  They asked me to produce an output that has never been reached in its twenty-two years of operations.  They want it delivered in a silver platter, complete with bells and whistles…. in the next six months.  I had nothing more to lose at that point, so I said to myselfy, “why the fuck not “,  so I agreed to take the challenge.

Barely after three months of almost going on twenty-four hours operations,  six days a week, eighty-percent of my expendable team has already resigned. I then hired a work-force of contractual workers as FTE (Full Time Equivalents) to plug the production gap.  But things were about to get worse as the production target was again raised to a new level.

In an emergency meeting called on a Sunday, I met for the first time, the Executive Vice President of the Match Factory – Edwin.  He was larger than life.  He formed a “task force” that was composed not only of production people like my self but also our team enablers (resource people who support production).  It was the first time I attended a task-force meeting that was attended by Human Resources, Accounting and Administration, Risk Management, Sales, Collections, and Operations. 

His vision and mission was clear. All of the task force members would give the required assistance to the production people to hit the required target by year-end.  I distinctively remember Edwin telling all of us that he will “shoot “anyone who is a fence-sitter in this endeavor so we better all shape up or ship out now.

The next three months, Edwin was breathing down on our collective necks pushing us to perform beyond expectation.  There was no “pat in the back”  for hitting targets. He told us that we were just doing our job and that is the minimum expectation.  He was so tough and demanding that even the other heads of the Task-Force eventually resigned before the end of year. 

I had to suck it in and hack it.  I was just starting a family and I can’t just ship out because the situation was tough. In hindsight, that period in 1999 would be one of the most defining moments in my work-life.  Like a knife treated in a crucible, I learned the value of hard-work and “management-on-your- feet” .  If you can’t adapt to the changing world, step out of the firing line. You are bound to get shot.  

Sixteen years later, Edwin is still a tough sonofabitch.  He has mellowed down a bit, probably due to the countless battles he has waged in the corporate arena. He now has a kinder demeanor . He now waits at least fifteen minutes before he speaks his mind out. You should have seen him a decade ago. You couldn’t get two words into  a conversation because Edwin is firing- off his brilliant mind. By the time you have recovered from his first barrage of words, Edwin is again on the firing line, and right back at you.

Perhaps we have cut our teeth early on that I have somehow earned the trust and respect of Edwin.  Today, he doesn’t let his secretary ask me to submit reports. He calls me on the phone and I update him briefly with what’s going on at the production line.  I like that. It has a touch of warmth that humanizes the work-environment. 

Now, more than I ever, I realize that being tough doesn’t mean you don’t care about your people. Being tough on your people prepares them for bigger responsibilities and makes their character stronger in time of adversity.

I wonder how the newbies would work with Edwin when he is nominated as the President of the Match Factory. They better have lungs of steel and a stone-cold stomach if they want to work with El Presidente.

Tsalap Tsalap

Perhaps next to “sexy-time”, eating is the next most pleasurable experience that anyone can indulge in.Similar to variations of style when it comes to “sexy-time”, you also have to try a variety of dishes to fully appreciate eating.The results of your experimentation with eating is no different from “sexy-time”. Sometimes you would love it, but sometimes you’d simply say “yeuchh” and move on.

I am a Chinese food-lover. Perhaps it’s the lineage in me, or perhaps it’s the addiction to MSG. Whatever it is, I love it deep fried, and comes with tons of flavors. If you’re craving for the taste of high-end Chinese style cooking but scrimping on the budget, then try HapChan’s Restaurant. My standard combo consist of YangChow fried rice, dumplings, steamed lapu-lapu and fried bean curd.  I recommend their branch at the Rockwell Business Center in Pasig. The joint is new, pristine, and has a relaxing ambience because of the landscaped gardens that a customer can see from their glass walls. I have been a fan of the Hapchan outlets. I specially hold dear the old Hapchan Restaurant at the Rotonda Plaza, Tagaytay City. It had an alfresco dining area that over-looked the Taal lake. It’s a fucking shame that this branch was relocated to its new address across the Olivarez Mall in Tagaytay City where the view is nothing but a bus terminal.

If you thought that driving from Ortigas to Makati,during Friday’s, on the lunch hour is crazy,then you haven’t met my friend Mohan. Yep, this guy whose family hails from India, drives like a bat out from hell. He can negotiate traffic in Edsa like he was the MMDA Chairman.  He doesn’t care about abusing the yellow lanes designated for buses. For as long as there is a slot to maneuver, he will take it. Never mind that he drives in a V-6 SUV that will make your stomach feel watery because he constantly hits the brakes and curses at the other drivers. The important thing is that he brings you fast to “Soms Thai Restaurant” near Bel-Air Village in Makati. This Thai restaurant has a Spartan-feel to it because it’s simply an apartment converted to a not-so-fancy dining place. If you like your food hot, then you’ve come to the right place. The menu is pretty much like your average Pinoy restaurant only there’s an abuse on chili, pepper, curry, and coconut milk. I have tried their house specialty - The “Tomi Soup”(like our sinigang na hipon, only it comes with a ton of crushed red-pepper and coconut milk) it doesn’t tickle my fancy.  Their spring-rolls are similar to what we normally eat as “lumpiang shanghai”. I also got to taste their chili-ground pork and it’s just ho-hum. Really nothing spectacular but really spicy.  I believe the winner at this joint is their chicken-curry. Hands down, this one is fantastic.  Their “Thai Rice” is actually only made of sticky-rice with lots of chopped pepper, again nothing spectacular. I tried the Thai Version of “iced-tea” . I honestly didn’t like it. I don’t know if my drinking glass had liquid detergent on it when they poured the iced-tea but that’s how the consistency of the brew felt on my  mouth. I really would prefer not to go back there.

Whenever I’m accompanied by people who prefer to walk going to and from the lunch place, then St Francis Food Court is the place to be. The food-court at the fourth-level of St Francis Square is un-equaled in space, choices and price.  The price of food here is a steal. There are a lot of “deals” where you can gain on rice and the main-course.  There is even a Japanese joint which serves cream-dory fish,mixed vegetables, noodles, and rice for only sixty-bucks!!. I shit you not. Try and walk to St Francis Square, the food is great, the prices are reasonable, the elbow-room is sufficient and there’s no queuing for tables. Then there’s the added treat of visiting your friendly DVD and Cell Phone pirates at the ground floor of the mall before you go back to the office.

If you talk about eating the best  combo of noodles and fried Rice, then Savory’s Chicken is the right prescription for your carbo overload. Yep, the uncanny pair of Savory’s Pancit canton and House Fried Rice is a working-mans meal. I don’t pay attention to the staple chicken that they serve here. It’s honestly quite bland for my taste. Their Lumpiang Shanghai rolls go very well with the carb-combo as it adds protein to balance the meal. Eat here when you’re not dieting. Eat here when it’s “cheat day”.  It’s guaranteed to make you so full, you’d think of skipping dinner.

When you have the time and the mullah, bring your date or your family to Gourmet Cafe. Located along the Aguinaldo Hi-way in Silang, Cavite, this restaurant may cost you an arm and a leg but the dining experience is worth it.There is a salad-buffet if you are health conscious.  There is a wide choice of pasta and pizza if you dig carbo without rice. The fish and chips is a good substitute for meat. Here, there is no queuing. Here the atmosphere is relaxed. Here you can commune with nature and eat while the resident pianist plays lazily on the baby-grand. Gosh, if only KaryPot would visit this place, am sure they would go crazy capturing on digital-images this majestic place. But most importantly, the good food and serene atmosphere of this place wouldprobably trigger KaryPot to re-examine their friendship if it can play out to something more than that. 

I first heard of “Aysee” from my analyst, Raf Durendez, when the Match Factory was still located in Bgy Kuli-Kuli, Makati in Y2002. When the office moved to Ortigas in Y2005, one of the first eating places I “googled” in the internet was this place.  This place is known for their Sizzling Sisig (a dish made from the pork’s cheeks) served on Hot Plates.  Oh my. Thank God for small blessings. Their Sisig would rival those prepared by much known chains such as “Dencio’s” or “Jerry Grill”. Aysee is also known for their hot-soup known as “Papaitan”.  It’s basically a broth of goat’s meat mixed with tamarind and lemon.  It will make your sleepy eyes go bang! I personally enjoy their side dishes like crispy “calamares”, “tokwa’t-baboy”, and mixed “ensalada”. Their main branch is right across the “ULTRA”. One should be careful when he eats here  at the ULTRA location. The vinyl tiles are slippery with the ever presence of oil on the floor.  I have seen people slip on the floor during two sad occasions.  It could also use some renovation.  Unfortunately, I have heard some clients compare the place to a “banyo” because of the cramped and hot condition of the place. Fuck them. The food here is hot,great tasting and served fast. If you’re the discriminating type and it’s a lazy Friday lunch, then go to Aysee’s at Tiendesita’s.  The food has the same great taste but the space is much more  accommodating.  When you leave Aysee, you will have a smile on your face,trust me. After all, they give you a bag of free Chocolates- Flat Tops, after you’ve paid your bill.

All that food talk sure made me hungry. Just like “sexy-time”, a lot of talk can make you horny. So go ahead,indulge, life is too short to hold back. As for me, I think I’ll indulge in some “fake-chow” for now.