extremely late blog post #10: special delivery

march 7, 2009

we started the search by attending a car show at the world trade center and then at the fort. soon, it was followed by getting a student’s license and learning how to drive. then after a few inquiries here and there… one saturday morning, we finally got what we’ve set out to get since late last year.






with almost no experience driving (heck, i only took 4 hours out of my 7-hour driving course), we immediately took our ride for a spin by inviting friends for a surprise meet-up at paseo de sta rosa. a couple of our friends showed up and had an inkling that we had some news to tell. soon enough, we showed them our new ford focus and then we went straight to tagaytay (actually, papunta na kami dun when we were looking for the mitsubishi showroom (andun yung friends namin eh)… but that’s another story. ). after dinner, korean stuff shopping and fruit market picking, we went down tagaytay – this time with francis driving.





our focus have logged a few thousand kilometers since then and we’re more than satisfied with our purchase. funny cause we seem to have started a trend here at the office as new cars have been popping up since we had ours.

extremely late blog post #9: usapang dslr mini-photoshoot

february 22, 2009

the usapang dslr forum finally had it’s first photoshoot when our us-based friend (and forum member), rex, flew in last february for a short vacation. we were all prepped-up for an out-of-town shoot in tagaytay but things didn’t go as planned as rex suddenly had other commitments to attend to. still hoping for a photoshoot, we decided to lounge at francis’ house in laguna bel-air.

it was a pretty slow afternoon and we all just settled around the dining table… chatting and doing various stuff.





soon, we decided to play a game i brought, true colours. it was a fun, fun game with neriz eventually coming out as the winner.





by nightfall, rex finally arrived… armed with his d90 – jacked up with an sb-900. we started shooting immediately – shooting any subject we could lay our eyes unto.









here’s a few photos by rex documenting the photoshoot.






sam, kathleen’s eldest, was into this photoshoot thingy and was endlessly posing. mukhang may pinagmanahan.




with the photographers and our models (hehe) all tired, we ended the day by introducing rex to the famous 3-ingredient razon’s halo-halo. yum!



until the next photoshoot, guys. kelan naman kaya yun?

extremely late blog post #8: a touching renewal of vows

february 15, 2009

we’ve attended plenty of weddings before but a renewal of vows, this was a first. last february, rene and lalaine celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows in front of family, friends and rescued streetchildren.

adding more meaning to an already meaningful event, the couple decided to forego a grand ceremony but instead decided to share their love (and the love of their guests) with the children of tuloy sa don bosco foundation – a foundation built to rescue children off the streets. knowing ma’am lalaine, this act was expected as she has always been known to have a caring and loving heart.



the church was lovely. you wouldn’t have thought that this was resting along the busy streets of zapote road in alabang.

the ceremony was solemn and touching… all nestled inside the beautiful church inside the tuloy sa don bosco foundation. with the kids taking part in the ceremony – acting as sakristans and choir members – 25 years of love was even more magnified.











the ceremony was then followed by a short program prepared by the tuloy sa don bosco kids. what started out as an entertaining presentation of martial arts and sports…





…ended up with a moving rendition of josh groban’s you raise me up – which moved the hearts of everyone.




afterwards, instead of the usual cocktails to kill time while waiting for the start of the reception, we were ushered to a room telling the story of tuloy sa don bosco foundation. an avp was even showed showcasing what the foundation has done for streetchildren. then, at the middle of the room, a tree was situated and hanging on its branches were the wishes of the kids of the foundation.




during the reception, ma’am lalaine’s subordinates reciprocated her love for them back to her by taking the helm of the program. a song number by the logistics boys and a narration of the couple’s love story during their dance were only a few of the things they prepared for her. emotions then overflowed as the couple took the mic to say a few words.

ma’am lalaine enjoying the soulful voice of the boys.




the couple started to get teary-eyed as their kids say their well-wishes to their parents.


the unique “first dance”… with their love story being narrated. touching.






it was an inspiring sequence of events. we were touched… we’re sure all the other guests were, as well.

congratulations.

extremely late blog post #7: a pampered valentine’s

february 14, 2009.

selle and i frequently go out on dates. usually we just dine out, watch a movie and walk around the mall. but valentine’s (and other sentimental dates) is different… should be different. the date must deviate from the usual… it must be extra special (not that the others dates are not special… because they all are. ). so when these sentimental dates are nearing, i think hard and plan ahead on how to celebrate the day with my lovely wife.

flashback to december 26 – jc and angel’s wedding. before the start of the reception, we had a quick chat with our favorite caterer – the uber-friendly (and always stylish) kaye. during our chat she mentioned… and invited us to her valentine’s thanksgiving dinner that she was planning. we excitedly agreed. who wouldn’t be? it’s a k by cunanan event! then, amidst our excitement, kaye turned to me and kiddingly said, “pero dapat may gift ka sa kanya(selle) ha. libre na dinner nyo eh.” sure thing, kaye.

valentine’s day arrived and i started off our date by giving selle my valentine’s gift…



rest and relaxation through the pampering of a spa… that’s the gift i came up with.

the ambiance… the facilities… and, most importantly, the services were top-notch – justifying the spa 6750’s reputation of being one of the best in the metro.




fully relaxed, we proceeded to the blue leaf for our dinner.

and guess who greeted us at the reception table? no other than kaye herself. onting chika and then she ushered us into the dining area – giving us specific instructions, “you can stay as long as you want.”

and the dining area was made up like it was real wedding reception. nakakatuwa. at lalong nakakatuwa dahil so many of kaye’s former clients came. it was kaye’s thanksgiving dinner for her former clients but i guess our presence was our way of thanking her as well.

soon we were joined by jc and angel and we spent the rest of the night enjoying kaye’s food and each other’s company.

extremely late blog post #6: johnjay and dred homecoming

february 7, 2009.

resignation is a given when it comes to work – and samsung have had its share. we’ve seen colleagues come-and-go – venturing to greener pastures that await them elsewhere. to some that means moving to another company. to some that means building their own business. while to others that means flying to another country… and for ex-samsung pips, that’s either going to singapore or dubai. johnjay ang mildred opted for the bright lights of singapore.

johnjay and mildred were long-time colleagues of selle. they’ve worked together for about eight years – starting from their ojt in korea to their differing supervisory roles in their department. they are now raking big bucks in singapore and last february they came back home and initiated a mini-reunion of sorts.

armed with our d40, i took the liberty of “documenting” that cozy saturday afternoon in pansol.




to start, i took photos of non-human subjects to warm myself up.



here are the guys having some serious boys talk… whatever that means.



pansol is widely considered as the videoke capital of the philippines and my wife wowed everyone with her vocal prowess.
meanwhile, habang busy ang mga asawa sa chikahan, the hubbies pulled up chairs and marked the videoke area as their territory.




when the guys got tired with their boys talk… they played pool. heck, even i played too.



the kids (and the kids at heart) stayed in the pool.



like in any reunion, there were a lot of catching up and exchanging of stories.




…at syempre there were plenty of picture-taking sessions.




yes, colleagues come-and-go… but it’s nice that once in a while, they do come back and everybody does find time to spend time with one another once again.

extremely late blog post #5: the wedding of aries and mylene

january 24, 2009

last year, i could vividly remember two things about mylene, one of my constant office chatmates. first, even though she was loveless then, she would insist that i would take pictures of her wedding. being one of my photography “fans” she insisted that it was non-negotiable… later on i realized that she just wanted to be featured in our blog.

secondly, during her birthday celebration, she was being teased – binibiro tungkol kay aries. back then i didn’t know there was something romantic going on between them… yun pala meron.

fast forward to january of this year. it was aries and mylene’s wedding… and sure enough i was there taking pictures.

selle and i came in late (the long commute was to blame. ) but not too late as we arrived just in time for the processional.





aries and mylene’s wedding was a family affair – a union between two close-knit clans. it seemed like every member of the family was so into the wedding (from the preps to the actual wedding itself)… a sure sign of acceptance of aries and mylene by their respective families.







speaking of families… their respective samsung “families” were present as well – despite their wedding falling on a working saturday. i guess we passed the test of friendship…






like most southern tagalog weddings, aries and mylene’s wedding reception had that festive atmosphere in it. undoubtedly wanting to join in the celebration, relatives and friends came in throves – so much so that we had to split up (us samsung guests, i mean… not selle and i. ) just to get seats. it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we got seated up front where we had a clear view of the newlywed couple.






congratulations, aries and mylene… and congratulations on your upcoming baby too. (ayan ha… na-feature ka na sa blog namin. )

extremely late blog post #4: w@w videofest

january 30, 2009.

i love watching movies. since i’m into video editing, i love watching wedding videos too. so when w@w announced their opening event for their 10th year anniversary celebration, the w@w videofest, i was excited. imagine five videographers, each making their own mini-documentary/avp to be shown at the power plant cinema – that’s like cinematic nirvana.

meanwhile, bob nicolas asked if i could write the script for the voice over of the avp. ano ba to? hindi naman ako writer. but then again, i’m a w@wie and since bob is not, he needed someone who has inside information regarding the w@w website. so i agreed and typed away, not knowing what concept bob had in mind. basta sabi lang nya, i-discuss lang daw yung sections ng w@w website. so after an hour or so of typing and thinking, i finished the script. i even read it and timed how long it was. 5+ minutes. uh-oh. napahaba ata yung nagawa ko. less than 5 minutes lang daw sabi ni bob eh kasi maglalagay pa sya ng interviews. but i decided to send the whole script nonetheless and told bob just to cut the script if necessary.

then less than two weeks before the videofest, bob told us that our interviews will finally push through (early on he already told us he’ll interview us but we just couldn’t get our skeds right). d pa nga lang alam kung kelan exactly. basta tuloy. january 26, bob decided to have our interview the following day. january 27, tuloy na tuloy na. ready na sina vena and neriz (or should i say kinakabahan? ). excited na kami kung san namin papakainin sina bob after the shoot. then biglang kinelangan pumunta ni bob sa power plant kasi kelangan daw i-test yung kanilang avp’s. *sigh* downer. akala pa man din namin eh big screen debut na namin. pero ok lang. it wasn’t bob’s fault anyway. bob wouldn’t have time to insert interviews anymore though. an avp without interviews? what was this mad genius cooking? (btw, jason magbanua also contacted us for an interview. apparently, he was in need of a male w@wie. unfortunately, the shoot was on a monday in makati and it was impossible for me to make it. benz even joked that we were so in-demand. but in the end though we ended up in none of the avp’s. )

the day before the videofest, we learned from vena and neriz that we wouldn’t have a ride to go to the videofest. downer na naman. so either we’re gonna commute from laguna all the way to rockwell during friday night rush hour traffic or not go at all. btw, it was a red carpet event so if commuting alone was difficult enough… commuting in formal attire was even worse. so the night before the event, even if i really, really wanted to go (i was the scriptwriter and it meant something to me)… i decided not to because i knew the commute would be too tasking for selle.

the following day, i woke up and still felt that desire to go. then it hit me. why not rent a van? oh, yeah… why not? yes, it’s gonna cost us but at least we’ll be able to go. we’ll be able to support our friend bob and hear my words inside a cinema. so rented a van we did. it was so last minute that immediately after 5 o’clock, we went home to change to our red carpet attires – vena and neriz included.

we arrived exactly at 8:30 pm, just in time for the by-invitation-only showing. we immediately saw bob and let and said our hello’s and how are you’s. then we learned from them that the event was delayed due to technical problems. no problem. that gave us some time to munch. gutom na kami eh at d pa kami nag-di-dinner.



after a quick bite, we entered the theater and it was packed already. we settled on our seats somewhere in front (sayang at katabi na sana namin si jason magbanua ) and waited excitedly. while waiting, we looked around the theater and saw literally the who’s who of the wedding industry all dressed up. after a couple of picture-taking sessions… the event started.




5 videographers. 5 avp’s. here’s a few notes:

• the forrest gump parody was hilarious. everyone was giggling while it was being shown.
• it seemed like the suppliers were born to be interviewed. so much personality and so many great sound bites.
• anj’s (w@wie) story was a real tear-jerker. props for her courage in telling her story to the world.
• w@w is a true success story. knowing how it all started and how big – and influential – it is today… incredible.

but what struck us the most was bob’s video. this is not because i wrote the script for it (anyone can do that). nor was it because we’re former clients (and now friends). it’s simply because we felt his was the most unique of them all. like i commented on a w@w news blog entry, the visuals were stunning and the symbolism was deep yet spot-on. it was a work of art… and it was about a website. yes, a website. sabi ko nga kay bob when he was making the avp, “parang ang hirap ata ng napunta sa iyong topic.” and it truly was a difficult topic to discuss. but bob manage to do it… artistically at that. now only a true genius can do that.



and the kicker was… i saw my name on the BIG SCREEN. i didn’t expect that. nagulat talaga ako. me, being an engineer, never even dreamt of seeing my name on the big screen… and i just did. mababaw sya pero nakakatuwa pa din.

the event ended and we congratulated bob immediately. we were proud of him and his work and we made sure he knew that.

we ate dinner (finally) at dencio’s afterwards. bob and let (and joey) dropped by just to say thanks. bait nila, no?





another time spent with close friends and admired friends. we went home really, really late but it was all worth it.

extremely late blog post #3: an eight hour wedding

january 2, 2009.

maileen is a friend of mine way back in college. with her fascination for tori amos and indigo girls songs, musically we clicked. heck, we would sometimes even go to gigs together. she was the eclectic one in the barkada. a talker and a poet. she was a rich kid and, consequently, was occasionally my driver. after graduation, she stayed in the country for a while but she felt her calling was in the states so she migrated there. communication would be in the form of emails since then and it occured by season – there was the season of silence and then there’s the season of rapid replies. then one day last year, she emailed asking about weddings. my friend’s getting married! and it was the season of rapid replies once again.

initially, maileen wanted a boracay wedding but logistics would’ve been too much for an overseas bride like her. so she switched to a san agustin/intramuros wedding which was appropriate for her desired filipiniana theme – a perfect way for her husband-to-be and in-laws-to-be to get to know the filipino culture. this was their day and she wanted it special.

from time to time, maileen would email me asking questions and suggestions about different aspects of her wedding. to her, i was “the wedding expert” – our wedding preps email blog was to blame for this reputation. somewhat pressured, i would give my best answers… hoping they were all right.


i guess my answers were right.

like in all wedding preps, time flew quickly and before we knew it, it was wedding day already. the ceremony was scheduled at 2 pm. we arrived five minutes before 2 and i was leisurely putting on my barong on the san agustin parking area when i noticed that the huge church doors were closing. nah, it can’t be. maileen can’t be taking her bridal walk this early. it ain’t even 2 pm yet. but curiously, i took a closer look and was surprised that she was just about to take her march. hurriedly, i called selle and grab our camera and rushed towards san agustin. unfortunately, before i was able to get my camera ready, she started her march towards the church already. i tried snapping off a few shots but since i haven’t done any test shots yet, the settings were all off and i ended up with a bunch of blurred shots.

afterwards, i tried my best to make up for it the rest of the wedding day. again, low-light conditions were a challenge but i tackled it better this time around (but it was still tough though).


along with the wedding program, fans were also given away. how thoughtful…













after the ceremony, we went across the street to barbara’s for cocktails. here we got to enjoy great food and got to chat with college friends. it is also here where we came up with the idea of packaging our “gifts” using souvenir items located on a shop just downstairs. geniuses.


the newlyweds on their way to barbara’s. checkout one of the threelogy boys in the background taking a quick yosi break.


this combo escorted the guests from san agustin all the way to barbara’s where they played ambient music.


after their post-ceremony pictorial sessions, the newlyweds dropped by barbara’s and joined in the chit-chats of their guests.





another round of photo sessions for maileen and nick.

after more than an hour, the celebration ain’t over yet as we proceeded to the reception venue – the metropolitan museum.



yes, a wedding reception inside museum. not only did it give the guests something to do to spend the time while waiting, it also introduced the foreign guests to philippine culture. ang galing.


the bishop’s and the salazar’s through the years



like any typical filipino, the only times we’ve been into a museum in our country were during class field trips. after seeing this museum, i think we should visit them more often.
btw, this was filipiniana wedding but it was only a couple days before that i realized that we should be in filipiniana attire (duh. ). so my barong had to be unearthed from our cabinet and selle had to get filipiniana accessories. her pearl necklace and her handbag were all bought just for this occasion.



the venue was unique… the program was unique also. none of the usual wedding reception programs and ceremonies. no emcees were needed too. from time to time, someone will give a speech about and for maileen and nick. the speeches were entertaining and captivating. the speeches were so good that it felt like it was a game of can-you-top-this. bravo.




in-between the speeches food was served, guest get to talk and maileen and nick mingled with the guests also. how cool is that?



my fellow “photographers” lala and migoy. they’re way better than me…



conversations varied throughout the reception. some were serious… while others were not so serious.


anna talking with arguably the richest guy in our pisay batch, lemlem of mimi and karl.



eight hours of wedding celebration and we stayed – and ENJOYED – every minute of it (or at least almost because we left a bit early). hats off to you maileen and nick, this was one unique wedding.

extremely late blog post #2: new year in lucena

january 1, 2009.

every year during the Christmas season, we go home to lucena to relax and unwind. for this year, instead of going home during Christmas, we decided to go home for the new year… and it was a family reunion of sorts as my sister (along with john and miggy) went home also at the same time as we did. if only my brother (and geri and toni, of course) was there too and we would’ve been complete.

like always, i spent a considerable time walking around our house snapping off pictures. sayang lang kasi it was raining most of the time we were there so we didn’t get to walk around the village to take more pictures. here’s some of the photos i got during our short stint at our house in lucena.


you know it’s new year if there’s a bunch of fruits on the kitchen table… 13 fruits all-in-all.



images from the living room. we got the vases from our former colleague, radz.



images from one of the bedrooms. since we migrated to the city, our house has turned into a boarding house with eight rooms for rent.


papa used to place this proudly on his office table. i would want to have one of these someday…


yup, that’s a real deer.


i have a similar version of this shot before… but i seem to never grow tired of clothespins.




some shots around the garden.



huge black dog making “ligaw” to our dog.




we gave miggy a lego set for Christmas and he immediately assembled it.



more pictures of miggy and his toys.


family pictures.


plenty of food to welcome the new year.

all-in-all it was an enjoyable and refreshing stay at lucena… like always. with our impending car purchase (ang tagal naman! ), we’ll most probably visit more often.

extremely late blog post #1: parties galore

[we were extremely busy during the month of january which explains the blog inactivity. we're starting to get some room to roam so finally we can get into all our blog backlogs. there's a lot of them. ]

the economic crunch is upon us but you wouldn’t notice it with the bunch of parties we had during the Christmas break. well, most of them were selle’s though so it seems like avon’s not affected by the crisis.

we won’t bore you much with words and just let the photos tell the stories.

december 12
avon Christmas party

unlike samsung, avon had a company-wide Christmas party. it was all about musical numbers of popular movies. the groups were really serious and competitive. the props and costumes were obvious labors of love. checkout the mission impossible high-wire stunt act at the end of the photo series. fun, fun night.










december 15
fruzz birthday party

the cake was ready. the confetti was ready. it was our gm’s birthday and the whole department went to his house to celebrate.







december 19
avon scp Christmas party

back at fruzz’s house, team scp had it’s departmental Christmas party… my wife’s third or fourth Christmas party for the week.











december 22
samsung equipment group Christmas party

same menu. same games. there’s still the annual raffle and a twist was added to the awards. for our Christmas party with our new manager, we went up to taaleña restaurant in tagaytay for a change.