March NUDI Night- Marine Life Portraits

A few months ago, some diving friends of mine set up a group called NUDI, which stands for Network of Underwater Digital Imagers. Nudi is also short for nudibranch, a kind of sea slug which is a favorite subject of underwater photographers. The main regular activity of the group is NUDI night, a photo competition held every month. There's a theme per month, and for March, it was Marine Life Portraits. Basically this meant a photo of an animal which shows its face and highlights its expression. This was my entry, a blenny peeking out of a coral. I chose it because the fish looks like it's smiling. It won fourth place in the compact category.

Waiting for the supermoon at Punta Fuego

I'm in Punta Fuego in Batangas for a planning session for work. Despite the long traveling time, I do like coming here. We arrived early this morning, around 5am, because we left Quezon City around 2am. When we got here, we saw this big fat moon when we registered at the reception area. It was a moonset, although it really looked more like a sunset. The moon looked particularly big because of March 19's supermoon, when the moon will be at its closest to the earth in 18 years.


Since we arrived here so late (or early), we started our session after lunch. After our afternoon workshop, we had our buffet dinner outdoors. The view from the dining area is very pretty, as you have a view of the sunset over the sea. There were a lot of visitors in Punta Fuego who also enjoyed the view with us, a lot of them foreigners. If they came from colder climes, Punta Fuego probably seemed like paradise.



Tonight the moon was even fuller, as it is the actual supermoon. It was a even more of a pleasure to dine outside because you had front row seats to the moon's splendor.

I always enjoy going to Punta Fuego, whether for business or for pleasure. I wish that I could afford to get a house here someday.

This blog is settling down!

I've been importing and exporting this blog and I'm getting tired of all the moving, so (for now?) I'm going to stick to this address. This will continue to be my personal blog, to be updated when possible, and I will continue writing little things that I've heard about, that happened to me, that struck me as funny, or whatever else that strikes me to be worthy of putting pen to paper (or more accurately, fingers to keyboard).

One thing I hate about being Filipino...

is the way people feel free to comment on your weight gain/loss (in my case, ALWAYS gain), and then look at you strangely when you show any sign that you were offended by what you were told. I'm so tired of people saying "ganyan talaga ang kultura ng Pinoy" (that's part of Filipino culture), and making that an excuse for their rudeness. So many people don't see how rude it is, and label you as onion-skinned or what not when you point this out.

Last Friday, I was at my parents' house for a visit before they left for an extended trip. My mom's manicurista was there, and she hadn't seen me in a few years. Expectedly, she said, "Tumaba ka!" (You gained weight!), then when my mother told her I didn't like being told that, she changed gears and said (as SOOOOOOOO many Filipinos do), "Bagay naman sa 'yo eh!" (It suits you!) GRRRRRRRR!!! I'm really so sick of hearing this. Again... and again... and again. I can never get used to it, (I certainly don't intend to!) and I continue to think it very ill-mannered, offensive and objectionable. My weight is my own business, and nobody else's. Keep those comments to yourself.

(And to those who think this behavior is acceptable, please don't tell me it's my fault for gaining weight. You wouldn't want me pointing out your faults and saying they suit you just fine, would you?)

Harry Potter vs. Twilight

I discovered rather recently and belatedly that fantasy is my favorite genre, both for books and for movies. I think it's because it's more possible for me to have some suspension of disbelief when dealing with outright fantasy than I can with sappy love stories.

Today, I came across a quote (care of a facebook status update by my friend Jan) that's been attributed to one of my favorite authors, Stephen King. I think it's hilarious.

"Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity… Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend." -Stephen King

"I Survived", finalist in NY Festivals for the category Best Docudrama

I was at the birthday dinner of my friend Yeng when I got a call from Cheryl from the station's news department. She asked me if it was true that "I Survived" was a finalist for the 2011 New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards. She wanted to feature the story in our late night newscast. I hadn't heard the news, and I was no longer at the office, so I couldn't confirm what she'd heard.

After an hour or so, I got a text from our host, Ces, telling me that our show did make it to the finals for the category "Best Docudrama". I was ecstatic from the news. Although our show had already been cancelled (we aired our final episode Dec. 8), it is still getting recognized.

I immediately called some of the people who worked for the show to share the great news. We were all so happy, and proud of the show as well. Our show got one out of only eight nominations for our entire network, and we were the only show produced by the Current Affairs Department that got a nod. I am so very proud of our team.

The awards night will be held in Las Vegas, on April 12th. Up for grabs are bronze, silver, and gold awards. Of course I am keeping my fingers crossed that we win any of them, but reaching the finals is exhilarating enough for me.