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.

Finally, after years of procrastinating...

I'm finally a dive instructor! I can't believe it. Well, actually, what I really can't believe is how emotionally draining the instructor exams turned out to be. It's one of those "you had to be there" experiences that you can't really imagine unless you went through it. It was totally nerve-wracking, and one reason why I don't want to spell out the details is that part of me wants to just forget the whole experience and instead just remember that I came out of it an instructor.

Well, I'm glad it's over, and now I can move on with the rest of my life. (It was kind of on hold while I focused on studying and preparing for the exam.)

The spirit of the chain letter

When I was a child, I would occasionally receive chain mail from my classmates, usually written on cheap stationery. We all have received these, in one form or another, over the years. Email made it easier in the 90s, and recently, we receive these over text messages as well.

They bear the same message. "Pass this on, and something good will happen to you." The more dire ones say that something bad will happen to you if you don't pass on the letter/text message/email.

I got a text the other week from a friend, and I found it highly amusing. This is what the text said, verbatim.

"Sory ha, needed lng kc! Pass ds to 25 prsn: JESUS I LOVE YOU! F u ignor ds n nka-unli ka, u wl sufer 4 8 yrs. So jz do 8! after 5dys 30 mrcles wl come 2u!"

Translated, it basically says "I'm sorry to be sending this, I just needed the help. Pass this to 25 persons: JESUS I LOVE YOU! If you ignore this, and you are on an unlimited text plan, you will suffer for eight years. So just do it! After five days, 30 miracles will come to you!"

Now, I don't intend to belittle my friend's desire to have 30 miracles happen in five days. I don't know what she needed the miracles for, but I'm sure it was important to her. What I found funny was that apparently, you will be punished for having access to unlimited texting and not using it for chain text messaging.

Remind me to downgrade my cellphone plan.

Another lucky thresher sighting in Malapascua, Cebu

A few weeks ago, my friends and I again went to look for thresher sharks in Malapascua in Cebu. We were unlucky for the first four dives in Monad shoal. No threshers, no mantas. Only then did I truly realize how lucky we were last year, when we saw either mantas or threshers in almost all our dives in Monad.

I was glad to find out though that we still had some luck left, because we were blessed by a close encounter with a thresher on our last dive.