The Machete factor

i used to like super white tisoy pretty boys (and caucasians) with very feminine features. my psychoanalysis of this was that since i grew up in an all-female household, i found distinctlymasculine guys too scary to be attractive.

those days are over.

the jun-junification of my taste in men started with marlon. ("jun-jun" etymology care of j.) my boyfriend, with his wonderful mocha skin, truly threw the days of the skinny white boy out the window.

that said, meet the newest, cutest jun-jun on the block.

m a r k y c i e l o hails from mt. province, which makes him, yes, proud to be an ig0r0t. (his mom is from butuan or dagupan, i forget which.) he reminds me of rufio from hook (played by dante basco, a pinoy) and can easily be pictured playing crown prince chulalungkorn in the king and i.

he dances well, which is an advantage in local showbiz, although being a provincial contestant, his tagalog is not all that good. but there's time.i watched the auditions of the talent search he's a finalist of, and what immediately caught my eye was his willingness to look like a complete and utter idiot. that was a welcome break from the typical pa-guapo mode of the other male contestants.

when we shot him, though, what really caught my eye was his (fledgling) six-pack. haha! that, and a certain machete (as in gardo versoza) factor. the guys in the office call him mumbaki.

and yes, bata pa siya. i am now officially a chester.

return primetime tv to the jun-juns! vote for my favorite jun-jun and catapult him to stardom!

jun-jun for one, jun-jun for all!

Guys from the office

he's from this department,

he's from this department,

and he's from this department (newly transferred from this one).

i gotta remember these pics when it's three in the morning and i get calls about work. i just hate it though that they're so goddamn flawless. anyway, let's see if you can guess which of them is currently my biggest gma crushie.

Revisiting India

i can hardly believe that i'm actually going to be in india this sunday.

the last time i went to india was . i celebrated my seventh birthday there. the visit was basically a flurry of relatives' houses and dusty streets. my one and only first cousin, muniya, was just a baby. my dadu (grandfather) was still alive, and i spent most of my time with my mom and my sister, still very wary of unfamiliar things. i barely bought anything, except a miniature plaster figurine of lakshmi, which i begged my mom to buy for me from a street vendor. i turned up my nose at the food, particularly dal, which was served with every meal.

things are so different now. calcutta is gone, and kolkata stands in its place. muniya is seventeen and getting ready for medical school, and i know i'm just going to be so shocked when i see her. dadu passed away several years ago, and i worry that my dima (grandmother) is no longer the stalwart that she once was. i'll be traveling alone, at least until marlon arrives next tuesday. until then i don't know who i'll be spending time with. i'm guessing muniya, but i'm also guessing she has school. (i wonder if i'll get to meet the indian girls i used to play with.) i am soooo dying to hit the markets.

and i can't wait for honest-to-goodness indian food, whether it be home fare or the three-day feast laid out for shivaani's wedding -- yes, dal and all. they'll have to roll me home.

the fact that it's winter (14 degrees to 25 degrees celsius) isn't sinking in, either. how cold can it possibly be? india is still a tropical country, right?

Sweet nothings, then and now

then: typical friday phone conversation, around 11pm

currystrumpet: it's cold
the boyf: come here
currystrumpet: i miss you
the boyf: i miss you too
currystrumpet: take me shopping
the boyf: okay my love, let me shower you with gifts
currystrumpet: yay! i love you
the boyf: i love you more, you gorgeous sexy bombshell you

(blah blah blah... you get the drift)

now: typical friday late-night phone conversation, around 11pm

client: may papa-revise po kami sa script, kailangang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: um, hindi na po tayo aabot sa midnight cut-off ng post prod.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: wala na pong graphics yan, wala na ring VO.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: ok, video and music lang ha?
client: wala bang graphics?
currystrumpet: hanggang 6pm lang tumatanggap ang graphics, 11pm na po.
client: wala bang graphics?
currystrumpet: wala na pong gagawa, may party kasi sila.
client: wala bang graphics?
currystrumpet: wala. i suggest use the old plug na lang, may graphics and VO yun.
client: hindi pwede.
currystrumpet: ok. kayo bahala.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: wala na nga pong gagawa.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: damaged po yung binigay nyong tape.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow.
currystrumpet: ginagawan ko na ng paraan, pero mukhang hindi po talaga tayo aabot sa midnight cut-off ng post prod.
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow
client: e kailangan ngang mag-air tomorrow