Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo

Christmas in the Philippines heralds the start of the Metro Manila Film Festival, and like the filmfest in the past expect some good local movies to watch with family and friends. I watched the first film that catched my fancy last night with Lai.

Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo is a film that stars real life sweethearts Ryan Agoncillo (Jed) and Judy Ann (Angie) Santos focuses on the struggles, adjustments and problems encountered by newly married couple.

The plot is pretty simple, two young working people met through a common friend, hit it off instantly and fell madly in love with each other. Then four months into the relationship Jed is being forced by his parents to migrate to the States and the couple finds themselves debating on the merits of their current relationship. On the eve of Jet's departure he suddenly proposed to Angie and she accepted.

The first conflict they have to conquer is how to please both families in the wedding preparation. Jed is from a rich family and his mom wants to invite all their family friends because after all it's the wedding of her only child. Angie is from the province of Cabanatuan, her mom is a barangay kagawad and makes longganisa on the side while is dad is a policeman facing graft and corruption charges. Her parents are separated and his dad is now living with a former prostitute. Two worlds apart and with both parties making demands the couple ended up fighting but managed to get back together and get married without their parents.

Then comes the adjustments couples undergo which we have seen countless times but I have to give props to the cast and the writer for coming up with witty lines that had me laughing hard. Angie then became pregnant and a whole slew of problems pours in...insecurities, sex and womanizing. But in the end like any other feel good love story, love conquers all and the couple reunites and starts over again.

Gina Pareno who appeared as Angie's mom was magnificent all through out the movie. Her one liners are now being infused in everyday filipino dialogues. I was glad she won the best supporting actress trophy or I would have protested along with countless others rooting for her.

Judy Ann Santos also gave a good performance as Angie, I was seeing my sister in her when she talks and talks and talks non-stop.

If you haven't seen the movie yet I suggest you do so. I already seen it twice and I plan to buy the vcd when it comes out.

Another Christmas Gone By

Before anything I would like to thank everyone who make time to check for my updates. Your comments inspires me to continue blogging. I wish everyone a Happy Holidays!

Our family had a pretty simple "Noche Buena" or christmas dinner eaten after the midnight mass since we only have one guest, my cousin Marc who I haven't seen for more than three years. In between eating and exchanging stories our fingers were busy sending and receiving christmas sms greetings from family and friends. Gifts were also exchanged and opened, then with nothing else to do we sat in front of the tv and watched "Duelist" a historical action movie until three in the morning. It was only then that we said our goodnight only to be rudely awakened early in the morning by our neighbor playing "Boom Tarat Tarat" by Willie Revillame on full volume over and over again. I seriously wanna shout out to keep that thing down but since it's christmas after all I resigned and just got up to clean the house before we are invaded by our godchilds for their customary christmas greeting before you give them their gifts.

Breakfast were just heated left-overs from last nights dinner because we had to prepare kare-kare, rellenong bangus and buko salad for dessert. One of my mom's sister-in-law came over so we had another round of storytelling. We capped our christmas day with the family going to mass early in the evening.

I Saw Kwon Sangwoo From Afar

Korean actor Kwon Sangwoo better known as Cholo to a lot of Filipinos came for a short visit last Sunday to promote Face Shop.

We was scheduled to have a fan meeting last Monday at the Mall of Asia in the afternoon and the the Activity Center of Glorietta early in the evening. Since I was not really a fan I did not take a leave from work to stalk him but I do have some photos taken by Charity using my camera for my mom who likes him in the drama Stairway to Heaven.

a shot of the crowd who came to see him at the MOA

KSW being interviewed by Sam Oh

But I did manage to have a glimpse of him when I met Flor at Glorietta to get some gifts. I was surprised that he allowed himself to be kissed and hugged by fans who were lucky enough to win in the raffle. By the way it's not really the norm to kiss and hug korean actors, they just shake hands with their fans unlike here in our country. Now I do wish that if and when my fave k-stars comes over they will also allow us to give them a hug and a kiss.

A Voltes Christmas Party

Last weekend was blocked in my calendar for the christmas party of "Voltes" so Charity and I rushed to do some shopping friday night to buy the ingredients for Cha's baked macaroni and my chicken macaroni salad (yes it's a macaroni festival), had dinner then rushed home to start prepping the ingredients. A few hours after, I took a shower and promised to wake up early because the girls will fetch me before lunch. Maybe I was too tired from all the walking I did that week combined to with my body clock used to waking up late during weekends that I ended up over sleeping. I was in panic mode, skipped breakfast and immediately started cooking the pasta and the chicken while preparing the other ingredients. I was so concentrated on what I was doing that I forgot that I promised to cook some fish for lunch...thank God for canned goods. I did finish everything, had a quick shower just before Cha, Lai and Ditchi fetched me.

I knew it was going to be a fun day but never did I imagine that we'll have something to laugh about immediately upon our arrival. See, I never took notice of the bellboy who was assisting us until Charity signalled for me to take charge of the tip. Holy Molly, he's got the looks of a korean movie star with a killer smile to boot! We had a laughing fit after he left because apparently I was the only one not aware of him. My companions were already stealing glances the whole time we were at the car park and at the elevator.

took some self portraits while waiting for the others to arrive

The rest of the gang came soon after ~ Pau bought our fave puto and kutchinta from Malolos, Bulacan while Janice andTita Susan surprised us with her potato salad. Lou who made a grand entrace and Flor came in later in the evening. We did our usual exchange of stories while watching clips of Rain and Daniel Henney's guesting in Heroine 6 (korean gameshow).

What's a christmas party without singing and dancing especially for us music loving friends. There was no need to force anyone of us to sing, just cue in the music and we'll start performing never mind if the people from the condo accross our's can see what we're doing. I never knew just how beautiful Pau and Lai's singing voices were until they did a duet on a couple of christmas songs. Indeed I was too mesmerised I forgot to record their songs on my mobile phone. Our baby, Lou did not want to be left behind and sang "Christmas In Our Hearts" then we all shake our booties as we sang "Last Christmas". Soon enough all that exercise made us hungry so we ate our dinner with gusto. Then it was back to watching dvd's and exchanging stories while drinking some wine. Gifts were also exchanged (thanks Janice, Pau and Cha) as we watch the finale of "Pinoy Dream Academy". We all slept late good thing Tita Susan woke up early to cook our breakfast.

It's time for some production number to add spice to our evening.

I'm really blessed that I have friends who find joy in simple things, after all Christmas is not about how expensive the gifts we receive but just the time spent together to assure one another that you are special and loved.

Dining With Friends and A Star Sighting

Yesterday was another hectic shopping for christmas day so I just had a small bowl of soup then rushed to the supermarket of a large mall and ordered 6 boxes of grapes and got two more gift baskets for clients. Ordering those items only took me a couple of minutes but arranging for the delivery was another story. It took them forever to process my transaction and after what seemed like eternity to me, I was advised that they will load it immediately and get the goods in 30 minutes...shoot just a few minutes left to do some urgent personal shopping for my sister and my daughter.

So bought the first shirt I saw that looked good enough for my nephew and an exchange gift for my own daughter then hurried back to the office so I can prepare a gate pass for the delivery. One hour passed, then another and soon it was closing time but still no sign of the delivery. I was getting agitated because I'm meeting Cha, Lai and Pau for dinner. My stomach was already making noise from hunger so you can't imagine how happy I was to see the delivery men when they finally arrived .

We originally planned to eat at Han Pao, a chinese restaurant along Shaw Boulevard a good 30 minutes drive from my office but traffic was heavy and we are all hungry so we made a detour to our fave korean restaurant instead. It's been a while since I ate at Minsok, Cha ordered sangyupsal, kimchi chiggae and ojingeo buchimgae (squid pancake)... that's already a lot for 4 people but I had a craving for their yukkaejang kuk (a spicy beef stew) so I ordered one. It was one of the best meals I had in a while, the stew was hot and spicy just the way I love it. And in between we were busy exchanging stories about how our day was, what's the latest from Rizza in Korea and the latest clips we managed to watch on our fave korean stars. Then in came a group of korean businessman with a lady all dressed to the nines. She reminded me of korean singer/actress Uhm Jung Hwa but I knew she's in korea busy promoting her album and her movie with Danniel Henney so I scratched the idea. After they were seated, six bodyguards came in so I thought she might be a wife of a prominent businessman or a diplomat. It was only when we are leaving did we learn that she was indeed an actress in Korea named Hong Jin Hee. But we can't recall reading about her or watching any of her works so we let her be and went on our way. It would have been a different ballgame if one of our fave stars walked in.

Christmas Is Here #3 Brisbane, Australia

My christmas blog will not be complete without sharing the photos taken by my fave aunt & uncle in Brisbane.

Here's their house all decked out for the holidays.

Which reminds me that my own humble home is without any christmas decorations...must add to my checklist of things to do these week-end.

Hectic Week

It's been a while since I've made an entry and check my blogroll ~ been doing a lot of christmas shopping. Nope nothing for me, my family and friends but for the office or to be more specific for our clients.

Such a long list with so little time to prepare and with the malls crowded with people doing their own last minute shopping it's no surprise that I'm tired and cranky by the end of the day. I can't wait for Saturday so I can have some R & R before I start another round of last minute visits to bazaars, malls and supermarket not to forget the endless hours in front of the stove cooking "ube halaya" a dessert most requested by my family and friends.

Yaaah!!! Christmas is really here...

A Quiz To Pass Your Time

Things You've Done
Copy, bold the things you’ve done and post. Here are mine:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse of the moon.
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life