because the best things in life are Libre!

To cap the party season we had Libre's "toned down"/"subdued" party on Thursday!

To summarize: Beer, giant pizza, truncated Christmas songs (Free app kasi! Hanggang fifth day of Christmas lang haha!), Ang Siko ni ZsaZsa, a makeshift photobooth, limpak-limpak na PASABOG (mahaha) and of course -- endless videoke! I got home around 5 a.m. -- feeling nineteen! (cue Tegan and Sara here)

ANYWAY: A few photos to illustrate the night, if you please. (Thanks to Almi and Mau for the photos!)

(Under cut)

party (fuel) rock: make your own (editorial) party

Editorial peeps pitched in to hold a simple Christmas party in the office on Tuesday night -- simple but thoroughly fantastic, btw, even if I didn't win anything at the raffle-slash-Sendong fund raiser.
As always, the best part about any Editorial party: Old and new friends, TOGETHER! So fantastic to see some "alumni" in the house!

Also: Back due to insistent public demand: Party Fuel cocktails.

(Photos under cut! Thanks to Almi for letting me gak some of hers!)

december so far

So much to be thankful for these past few days: Girlfriend introduced to me to the wonder that is Katsu House's superduper delicious teriyaki makis and they. are. AWESOME. Shoutout to Laura and her fantastic cooking/discovery skills! You should all go and try some for yourself! Check out Katsu House's Facebook! (Don't walk -- run!)

Part of my December-long Birthday Celeb! I love you love! This was awesome and supernom!

Sunday was Annual meet up with the Ates Day a.k.a. M & V's joint birthday celeb! Here be a photo of us inside Abe's in Serendra. A hearty lunch laced with laughter -- thank you as always!

This group around one table -- always a riot!

Abe's Knockout Knuckles. I can still feel you in my system oh gad.

Abe's lechon. Omygad pampabata talaga ang menu nung Linggo. XD

Speaking of the holidays -- the Department has released the Official Christmas Greeting ID for 2011! Seasons Greetings from all of us! (LOL me official greeting? Mamaya may video na yan. Jaraaan!)

Happy Holidays! Lab, Schatz, Maryi, Ana, Me, Almi, Ma'am, Lawrence.

Real life note: I guess I'm totally pushing through with graduate studies this coming January at DLSU. Here's hoping my studying/social skills aren't entirely outmoded yet. Haha. (I've been [over]thinking this -- it's been years since I've been That New Girl, and I'm sort of out of practice.)

Dork note: I am in the middle of a Major Online Revamp Project or something or other. Will probably launch around my birthday (My 27th! Can you believe it!). Stick around for details. Heh. Kala mo naman iPhone 4S ang ila-launch ko (HUHU IPHONE 4S.)

Miscellaneous and potentially cryptic: "We would make the strangest of friends."

That's it. Big day tomorrow and I'm just kind of jittery and all over the place. Wish me luck!

sabado nights!

This year's block party was yet another videoke party! We dougie'd, we super bass'd, we party rock'd and even tried to get the other rooms to conga line with us! Hahaha! The photos would probably do it no justice, so here are a couple of photos I nicked from these Facebook albums. Maraming salamat for letting me gak!

(Photos under cuuuut!)

last friday night

The Inquirer turned 26 yesterday! Aaaaand as has been the tradition for seven straight years now, we usher in the December party season with the Grand Anniversary Party!

But before that, here be the Inquirer's Page One and the readership survey we wrote for the issue. :)

We're Number One!

And before we proceed to illustrations of last Friday night (heh), a summary: We ate, we laughed, we cheered (Editorial won! Nice one guys!), we danced like we were in a workout class, and more importantly: we drank.

ONTO THE FESTIVITIES.

(cut for photos!)

the little team that could

Here be Monday night's Quill crew:
L-R: Sir Chito, Me, SPR, Ruth, Margie, Ta Nitz, Ms Miner, Bianca, Ate Ellen.
This photo taken from Ms Margie's Facebook post. Thank you!

Let me start by saying that this time last year, we were literally on our knees, packing boxes to be shipped to some 20 other venues outside Metro Manila in preparation for the 25 simultaneous sessions last Dec. 4.

Of course, last year, while dutifully checking lists and counting notebooks and cutting packaging tape and printing labels, we weren't even thinking about the Quill awards -- what we just wanted to do was, of course, just send out the 60 boxes to the 20 venues and just get this thing off the ground.

(But really, my choice moment, and I will never tire of retelling this: I found myself sitting in an Inquirer truck at 4 in the morning outside the domestic airport, waiting for a man I knew only by name, whose family was boarding a flight to Batanes. As we all know, that flight eventually got canceled -- I woke to a 9 am phone call telling me that, and I spent most of that day looking for another guy to take those boxes to Batanes, because, hey, it's From Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. Batanes was not an option, it was a requirement.)

It's been roughly a year since we pulled that off, with the help of hundreds of Inquirer employee-volunteers, partner organizations and of course the Inquirer bureaus. In last year's Post-Mortem, I wrote:

That said -- I wasn't kidding when I said many hands have kept us afloat -- what I've seen in the past few months while organizing this thing is something I'd never forget. I guess it's true what they say -- Build it and they will come.


They all did. And as they say, the rest is history.

At the time, I knew I was in the middle of something huge, and last Monday, when the team bagged an Award of Excellence at the Philippine Quill Awards, and was eventually named Overall Winner for Division 1 -- there are a few things that could rival the utter joy of that moment. More than the trophies and the photos and being on stage and all that -- it's the fact that the team was there to celebrate together that really got to me.

2011 Philippine Quill
OVERALL WINNER
Division 1 - Communication Management
25 Simultaneous Inquirer Read-Along:
Telling the Story to Empower,
To Inspire from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi
Philippine Daily Inquirer

You know how they say that you're the sum of the people you spend the most time with? Well, how about this: Since 2007, I have been spending a ridiculous amount of time with the most creative and hardworking group that I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and as with all things that end up to be surprisingly amazing, it all started with a small idea.

(Rest under cut, with Photos!)

midweek round-up, 11.09

Undas 2011. Requisite "Hi mom" photo. Hi mom.

This better be a quick one because I am up to here in plans: In the tradition of Outdoing Ourselves with Every Outing, the ever creative Read-Along team is putting up a two-day marathon of reading events (this, from last year's oh, let's do 25 of them nationwide AT THE SAME TIME.) by the end of the month, so until then I'll be, let's say, a bit all over the place. I can't wait for December. Seriously.

Just a rundown of things -- spent Undas 2011 with the family, watched the pseudo-MGB Halloween special (pseudo because it's not MGB, just something that Kabayan happened to host, hehe, but in all a good effort, that) then reported for work on Nov 1st, because it was a Tuesday.

On Nov. 1, my Research brethren and I did a bit of a Halloween photo shoot: (The rest under cut, for your own good hehe)

a wedding!

Lilie's last words outside the church: Ngayon pa lang nagsisink-in. Kagabi lang, single pa ako.This girl is ALWAYS a laugh.

 

Lilie and Budi got married this morning! Ran a bit late and nearly bumped into Lilie just outside the door but arrived just in time to sub for Andrea, who was subbing for Elaine, who was supposedly the Mass commentator but unfortunately got the wrong Christ the King Church that morning. Haha! Ako na ang late na, may role pala dapat. Haha! Anything for you, kids! Pasensya na at hindi ko masyadong kabisado ang misa, kung saan-saang point tuloy ako naluhod (kung kelan dapat nakatayo ako at sumasagot kay Father, haha! Kaaliw.)

ANYWAY -- Much thanks to Jo and Francis for letting me hitch a ride from the Fort this morning! I'm excited to see the pics Francis took; from the few I've previewed, I am confident that they're all going to be awesome (and I'm grabbing all of them once they're uploaded! Whee!)

a welcome

Yellow cab! I missed you! :) Also in this photo -- me with THREE JACKETS ON. What is Antarctica.

L-R: Birthday celebrant Ana, Marielle, Almi, Lawrence. (We missed you in this photo shoot, Schatzi!)

On Monday, we welcomed the latest addition to the Research section family -- apparently, just in time for her birthday! Ana treated us to pizza, chicken wings, pasta and coke on Thursday. Thanks Ana! *burp* Here's to the pounds ahead! (Hehe, kidding. Half.)

the midweek round-up, 9.28

Double celeb for Wy and Auntie

Wy turned fifteen on Monday while Auntie turned twenty on the 27th (haha) so we decided to make Sunday extra-special with a buffet lunch at Matsuri on Morato. Andrea has edited and labeled all the food photos over at her LJ post here -- needless to say, for a Japanese food junkie like me, THIS PLACE WAS HEAVENLY. A bit pricey at P595 per head, but man, you don't even have to stand to get to a buffet table, you just ask the waiter for bottomless refills of everything. That said, I'd totally do it again.

Afterwards, we met up with Andrea's former officemates at Cubao! They were awesome and we ate at Bellini's and I took their group photos, etc :) Awesome mini-reunion, thanks for letting me tag-along love!

Monday, I was at work on my day-off to finish something we're cooking up for the Read-Along -- I'm actually thankful I finished bulk of the work plus approvals on that day because as it turns out Tuesday was Pedring day.

Woke to scary winds Tuesday morning, and Andrea was just about to go out to work when her boss texted her to stay home. Lucky. I went to work early to escape power outage in the condo, tried to finish up leftover work from Monday, monitored the news, etc. Andrea was at work with me (it's like a mom taking her kid to work / a kid taking her mom to school kind of deal) and I'm thankful to have someone to ride the scary trike with at 9 p.m. that evening.

Today, two back-to-back meetings and I'm kinda spent. Oh, also caught Glee season 3 episode 2 (meh, as usual) and The New Girl pilot episode (meh, it's as bad as Skins US! I'M SORRY ZOOEY!)

Oh, oh and this -- Read-Along with Remington Friday morning! Geek Fight Friday night! Here, have photos:

Whee with Mart Escudero

With 7 Nation Army at Geek Fight!

Anyway, interesting finds on the Internet these past few days:

- Thought Catalog: "Why is it when we lose lovers, we lose places?"
- Tumblr: Gotye's "Hearts a Mess"
- Poetry: Eliza's "Prayer" on Stone Telling 5 
- ... and Mashable says: No, you aren't quitting Facebook (and I kind of agree.)

the weekend round-up

Rare these days that I have ~a social life, so I take every opportunity to blog about it whenever I have one! Haha! :))

ANYWAY!

Friday night

Happy birthday, Ate Chona! Various photos with Maricar, Val and Drea -- same guys I went to Nagsasa with this summer! Every lakad is an adventure, charot! :))

First time to get to visit the famous Midnight Mercato at The Fort on the occasion of Ate Chona's birthday. It was a rainy night but we braved the puddles nevertheless. It was jampacked! I had fantastic steak with rice, and then we had cheese flautas, and then we had chicken skin and then we had smores cake and then we had BEER ICE CREAM. Which tasted weird, but hey, awesome idea is awesome, innit.

Saturday morning:

After the session, we talked about her experience as a young Muslim woman growing up in Australia during 9/11 and what being a "fully Muslim woman" means to her. Surprising and inspiring.

I usually shy away from late Friday night outings whenever I had a Read-Along session set that following morning, but thankfully I was able to wake early enough in time for that Saturday morning's session with Kylie Padilla.

(Oh, look. The paper ran the story today on Page One. Thanks, editors! -- on PDI: Read-along session marks Peace Month)

Session was with Service for Peace, a non-government org advocating peace through community development. The kids we had were from their Muslim community of peace in QC and their Christian community of peace in Mandaluyong. As with every session -- an eye-opener, this one. Thanks for coming over! :)

Saturday night
Just the same, I shy away from late Saturday night outings when I've been awake so early in the morning for the Read-Along (man, I'm getting old), BUT Arigatohato's EP launch at B-Side was too awesome to pass up! Got home at 4 in the morning! (Naks, at B-Side. Kala mo parang bente anyos lang. Haha!)

Went to the thing with Andrea, who knew Arigato, Hato singer Cat (When we were introduced I was a total dork, starstruck etc; I shook her hand and flailed at how awesome her set was. Haha.)

When I got there after work, Andrea was with Marie and Poxy, and then we bumped into Nayna and Mak at Wabisabi, and then into JC and Cass at the gig itself. Awesome night was awesome. A few notes:

• That Techy Romantics set! - *swoon* That girl sure knows how to move. Christ, I can't even.
• That Pedicab set! - *pants* -- Oh wow, that sure felt like a workout.
• That couch was an awesome idea -- if I were a smoker. I wouldn't have moved AT ALL but damn, the smoke got to choking level. Yo kids smoking is bad for you, etc. Charot, you'll quit on your own when you're 25 or something.
• Also -- got filmed by a group doing a documentary on Meiday! While having a round of beer with JC and Cass while Outerhope etc were playing above our heads. Talking (more like, yelling over the roaring music haha!) about web startups and geek fight and stuff.
• Had too many bottles of beer! San Miguel Apple is Cali Shandy with Alcohol, which is nice, if you're into that kind of thing.
• Got home at 4 a.m.! Naks, parang bente anyos lang.

Anyway -- PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!:

(Photos and Sunday, under cut)

the 9/11 post

The Inquirer's Sept. 11, 2011 front page

For the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 bombings, I condensed profiles from various sources (The New York Times mostly - link to their 9/11 interactive website here) for the twenty Filipinos who perished in the attacks. (On PDI: Roll of Remembrance: Bells toll for 20 Filipinos)

Spent Friday afternoon reading through every story -- some of them shouldn't have been there, some were in the middle of wedding plans, some found their love in New York, some had families in the Philippines waiting. All the stories were still heartbreaking even after all these years. (One of them was a former boss's sister. That was the most heartbreaking piece, IMO.)

*

Other interesting reads about 9/11:
- The 9/11 Commission's final report (More than 2,600 dead in the WTC alone)
- The Losses of 9/11 by the Numbers - NYTimes
- Via The New York Review of Books (@nybooks): Joan Didion’s “Fixed Opinions, or The Hinge of History”
- Wikileaks released text pager intercepts covering the 24 hours surrounding 9/11/2001. It's a massive read, but chilling just the same. I still get goose bumps reading things like, Please call home in between announcements of planes hitting the towers.

*

Here's a personal 9/11 flashback: At that moment, I was in my boarding house, preparing for the following day's class. I was a freshman in UP and I got the heads up from the weirdest person -- a boy I used to like in high school texted me to say I should turn on the TV to CNN because the Twin Towers in New York just got hit by planes.

That was the last time I heard from him. It felt odd, getting that text; I guess I really was That Girl from your High School Whom You Text About CNN. Haha.

Anyway, so I went to the boarding house's main living room and asked the landlady if we could watch TV, and then there it was. What a sight.

the midweek round-up: 9.07

A quick round-up of what has happened since last week:

- Lawrence created this poster, in which we invite you to "spot your newest fave teen stars" (zoom in for total effect of Things that Cannot be Unseen) -- http://t.co/FbF0st8 

- So I've been watching Kim Chiu do a bit of cross-dressing on My Binondo Girl. Quick summary/spoilers for the uninterested: So Kim's character dresses up to be a boy (a very pogi boy LOL -- I mean, see for yourself) so she would be recognized by her Chinese (Filipino-Chinese?) father, who has been aching for his first-born son Yuan (who is Kim's brother and who has already died). My question -- Is her character technically lesbian -- since she wants to be male for acceptance's sake? Or do you have to be a girl who is attracted to girls to be lesbian? My head hurts. Meanwhile, I saw the guy who plays Kim Chiu's dad at Rustan's in Power Plant. He is pogi. Hihi.

- This awesome link find via my friends on Twitter: http://t.co/6ubB1yN

(The rest under cut)

and at once, i knew

... i was not magnificent.


BON IVER "Holocene" from nabil elderkin on Vimeo

Damn, this Bon Iver video is beautiful.

the mid-month update

Just a few notes on this month -- halfway through August, and I just wanted to grab a few photos off Facebook and put them under cut. Heto na naman ang caption-based blog entry making haha.

that ill-advised thing: peste little liars

So for Eliza's going away present we gifted her with... her very own episode of Pretty Little Liars.

No, this post doesn't contain the entire 7-minute episode (which we shot in a day, in between requests and before the bosses came in -- oha) -- what it does contain is a scene-by-scene recap.

Oh man, we wish we're kidding you. Really.

Disclosures: All is fair in love and war. We did not mean to offend you, copyright holders. The program is yours. All you other guys here: THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. ONLY WITH VIDEO. NONE OF THE ASSERTIONS ARE TRUE! ASK HER YOURSELF! hahaha :)

We can't even--. Really.

(Cut for things that cannot be unseen. This serves as your warning.)

SONA 2011 highlights

In summary: President Aquino's second State of the Nation Address lasted for fifty-three minutes. By our tally, he was interrupted by applause forty-five times.

In his second State of the Nation Address, President Aquino...

(Oh man, this is a work post.)

life roundup, week ending 7.24

Well -- that was an action-packed week, both work-wise and social life-wise.

In summary: simultaneous reading sessions on National Children's Book Day on Tuesday, the end of so many eras, and an awesome Saturday sports day under cut.

the leaving litany

The night Eliza told me she was resigning, I called up a younger friend from an entirely different circle (actually, she's a circle on her own -- haha thanks Max) and asked her to get drunk with me. No further questions asked. I paid for her dinner; she paid for my second round of beer. I was home before midnight.

(Cut for rambling and drunk shit etc)

notes on the first scbwi-ccp conference

Found myself waking up early today for the first Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators - Cultural Center of the Philippines (SCBWI-CCP) Children's Book Conference at the CCP Silangan Hall. (Whew -- a mouthful, wasn't that. Well, now that we have that out of the way hehe --)

(Cut for shop talk, etc)