dao-ed and all kung fu-ey

I heard it was a great movie, but i never got the chance to see it...until my 7-year old nephew Gelo and my 6-yr old niece Chay pounced on my bed Sunday morning with a DVD copy of Kung Fu Panda. We had breakfast in bed while watching all the action--I had to cover their mouths to keep them from spilling what's gonna happen next.

I must be quite depressed the past weeks, or maybe I really am just as weird as my friends say, but this movie just enlightened me.haha. And suddenly, I wanted to make things right.

Some unforgettable lines...

Mr. Ping (sharing the secret ingredient to his Secret Ingredient Soup): The secret ingredient is ... nothing!
Po: Huh?
Mr. Ping: You heard me. Nothing! There is no secret ingredient.
Po: Wait, wait ... it's just plain old noodle soup? You don't add some kind of special sauce or something?
Mr. Ping: Don't have to. To make something special you just have to believe it's special.
Po: There is no secret ingredient ...

Master Shifu: Master, I have bad news.
Master Oogway: Calm down Shifu, there is just news. There's no bad or good.

Townspeople to the Dragon Warrior: How can we repay you? Dragon Warrior: There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.

And my favorite part of the movie...

Master Oogway (when Master Shifu says the villain Tai Lung has returned): That is bad news, if you do not believe that the Dragon Warrior can stop him.
Master Shifu: Panda ?! Master that panda is not the Dragon Warrior, he wasn't even meant to be here ! It was an accident !
Master Oogway: There are no accidents.
Master Shifu: Ahhh, yes I know, you'd said that already, twice.
Master Oogway: Well, that was no accident either.
Master Shifu: Thrice.
Master Oogway: My dear friend, that panda will never fulfill his destiny nor you yours, until you let go of the illusion of control.
Master Shifu: Illusion ?
Master Oogway: Yes, look at this tree Shifu. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, or make it bear fruits before it's time.
Master Shifu: But there are things we can control. I can control when the fruits will fall. And I can control where to plant the seed. That is no illusion Master.
Master Oogway: Ahhh yes, but no matter what you do, that seed it will grow into a peach tree, you may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung !
Master Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide it, to nurture it, to believe in it.
Master Shifu: But how ! How !? I need your help Master!
Master Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me Shifu, promise me you will believe.

And so I'm now too Dao-ed for my own good. I'm letting go of the illusion of control and I'll just believe, because there is no secret ingredient...you just have to believe something is special. Skadoosh!

JOB OPENING IN THE OFFICE OF SENATE MAJORITY LEADER KIKO PANGILINAN

ok.so i said this blog is personal, no work-related stuff. but for my own personal benefit i need a junior writer who'll share with me the joys of writing fiesta messages and speeches. haha. so...i'm reposting this here. bear with me.

Good day! The Office of Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan is urgently looking for a new Political Communications Officer, preferably a fresh graduate of a communications course. We are looking for someone who's ready to learn from others; a team player who is personable & articulate in Filipino (other dialects preferred :D ) Must be passionate about the development of our country and can write & defend his or her views.

Please send your resumes to ina.claravall@gmail.com and to colorbars7@gmail.com before August 24, 2008. Thanks. Do feel free to forward to your networks.

i'm loving...

A trip to the supermarket with Ditas (my so-called stepmom/officemate/shrink/driver/lunch date) got me acquainted with two really cheap but really great products. I'm loving...

1. Olay Daily Purifying Body Wash with Sea Salts and Microbeads. Really fresh, not-so-strong, not-your-usual-sweet scent. The beads are there but they're not harsh at all, AND you feel moisturized but not in a Dove-sticky-moisturized kind of way. Had to text Bade, who's with P&G just to rave.

2. L'oreal Elseve Nutri-gloss serum. Since having my hair colored and straightened again last June, no amount of hot oil treatment made my hair shine. This product did the trick. And sooo cheap too. I've been computing the money I'm saving from not going to the salon. :)

My Happy Ending

I fidgeted in my seat as I sipped into my cup of cappuccino. I'm not a coffee drinker, but what the heck. If coffee really triggered the nerves, I wouldn't have known the difference. My anxiety was slaughtering my cool so bad.

My eyes scanned the coffee shop. Thank god for Mocha Blends on a Sunday night. I honestly didn't know how things could turn out, and with only a few tables filled and no one familiar in sight, I should be safe from embarrassment regardless of how this meeting would end.

I checked my e-mail from my phone to kill some time, and a few minutes later, I spotted him outside the coffee shop. I squinted to see him dial a number on his phone. Right on cue, my phone rang as he caught a glimpse of me from where I was sitting. He walked into Mocha Blends as I tried to remember what I was there for.

I just need to know what happened, so I can forgive and forget.

Then that familiar stride. That familiar look. That familiar, timid face. Almost five months of not seeing each other, of hurt and confusion, and there he was right in front of me.

My question on my way to Mocha Blends: will it end up being a slap or a hug when I first see him? Either of the two scared me. When he entered, it was obvious he was calculating his move himself. After I looked at him for a moment, I motioned a quick hug, but he swept me in his arms into the tightest,longest embrace. He was trembling.

His back was on everybody else, so I had the honor of seeing the surprised expression on every customer's face. Public display of affection irks the Filipino psyche no end.

"I missed you," he whispered.

The sudden surge of emotion was replaced by awkwardness as we seated ourselves.

"So," he said.

"So," I answered back.

"How have you been?" he asked.

Now I've played this scene on my mind over and over before and I had a ready answer for his question. But he was faster.

"No forget that. I know I've caused you enough trouble, and I'm here to apologize for everything that happened," he said.

And as if to mock us, our song suddenly played on the background. I pretended to ignore the unexpected score, but recognition registered on his face as he continued.

"I know I said I wanted another chance over the phone, but thinking about the hurt I caused you, I don't know if I even deserve to ask that from you," he said.

I tried to lose the melody playing and his image in a brown shirt--my favorite color--and remembered the struggle to be okay on my own for five whole months. I remembered working so late everyday so I'd be too tired to think when I get home. I recalled making answers for myself to lessen the confusion. And I reminded myself just how plain painful it was to smile when I felt like crying each time.

"What happened?" I asked squarely.

As if to add up to the events unfolding, I spotted a van pulling over the parking lot. It was a very familiar van. Soon enough, my suspicion was justified: My officemates, four or five of them, got off the car. Now these people were the ones who suggested the venue for this meeting, and seeing them line up like little spies pretending they didn’t know me…I just couldn’t believe how slow I was.

I shook my head to shake off the silly image outside my window. Good thing his back’s on them. He didn’t seem to realize my little distraction.

“I tried to come home like I promised, but I wanted to surprise you that’s why I said I wasn’t. I booked for two airlines, whichever opens up. But then we started fighting, and you stopped taking my calls. I just got fed up, and I was letting things settle first. I thought it was just another one of our fights, but that we’d still get back together. But the days just turned to months. I did try to call you but you didn’t pick up. So I tried to move on, because I was mad too for us breaking up for no reason. But I can’t move on without you,” he said.

We looked at each other for a very long time, and I suddenly forgot all the hurt and all the doubts I harbored since we separated. I was thinking, whatever happens I was ready to start fresh and contented. I had no bad feelings anymore, and I felt lighter than I ever did in the recent past.

Nobody wanted to move. Clearly, everything has been said already, but neither wanted to start goodbye.

“No. Wait. Listen,” he said like he always did before. “Could we start over? Could you give me another chance? For the last time.”

Now I was trembling.

“If I don’t get back together with you, it’s gonna hurt. But if I do get back together with you, it’s gonna hurt too,” I said, more to myself than to him. And at this point, I just lost control already, I started to cry.

Then out of the blue, and I vividly remember how fast it happened, he reached for my side of the table to grasp my hand. He held it achingly that the strong feeling—of hurt? Yearning? Love?—was transported from him to me and back.

“I’m not even gonna promise you anything. But the past five months, I did nothing but think of what I could’ve done to make things right. And I know now, and it’s gonna be different, if only you’ll give me that chance,” he said looking at me straight in the eye.

So that’s my happy ending. But as they say, endings are beginnings too, and we really are starting another hard road. Being apart is not my concept of happily ever after, but as we always tell each other: “It’s part of the package.” I’m just grateful I’m taking this chance with the only guy who has ever captured my heart. :)

Girlfriends, Men and Dogs

I caught up with my college best friend, who shall now grace this blog as Bade (since she is quite a spectacular person and any untoward revelation made herein might cause nuisance to her perfection--if you know her true identity then you also know her well enough to keep your mouth shut) at Greenbelt 3 today. She was escaping the vestiges of the supertyphoon that left her city with no electricity for many days now.

Last time I saw her was sometime in February when we went to the UP Fair. The vixen lost some weight and was fabulous as ever. Trust her and I to not lay eyes on each other for months and feel like we're still living at the annex wing of Kalayaan Dormitory.

It's funny how we kept our friendship for six years when our personalities are poles apart. She's cool, calm, collected. I'm the perennial worrier. She doesn't give a hoot about what other people think; I was born a crowd-pleaser . She eats exotic food...when we were in Bangkok, she willingly ate whatever food was on her plate without asking what composed her meal. I can only take chicken, pork, beef, definitely no vegetables and fish, but I do love shrimp and crabs. We do agree on one thing though, but it is much too exclusive to reveal here...we were, for once, whispering when we concurred on this observation a few hours ago.

Our source of fascination varies from politics(today it was the death of Rep. Beltran) ,history (we conferred on the Boleyn sisters), international relations (the ASEAN)...but mostly the more important topics that would grace our discussions would be the choice of tissue paper("Bakit ganito brand nito...'Tisyu'?!!?Wahahahaha"), food("Bakit wala nang cream sauce itong meal na to?....Ay teka, nasa ilalim pala ng kanin!" or

"I specifically said lose the onions, this is onion, it's not cabbage, it tastes like onion too.") and of course, men and failed relationships ("If you think about it, mas okay na yung married before kasi may annulment naman...mahirap yung may anak kasi yun lumalaki, nakikita mo, di mo naman pwedeng patayin yung anak di ba?!?").

Speaking of men...I was also in Greenbelt last night and found this book, Everything I Know about Men, I Learned from my Dog by Clare Staples, with a foreword by Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell. I didn't get to buy it, so when I told Bade about thi s find, we traversed the narrow path to Powerbooks and searched again.

Found it, bought it, loved it. Now that's an irony, because I'm not especially fond of the male specie at this point, and neither am I fond of man's so-called best friend. Anyone who claims to know me must know my uncanny fear of the canine. Big or small, I turn cold and jump at the sight of a dog nearby.

In any case, the book is a joy to read. It's the kind you finish in an hour or less. Each page contains one paragraph of truth--on the left side about men, and about dogs on the right. I was only on page two and I was amused already.

So what sort of insight does the book share? "Don't date a slob. No matter how good a man's heart is, or what a great guy he seems, if he looks a mess, most likely he is a mess. A man who takes pride in his appearance has self-worth and that is a great quality." Partnered by " Make sure your dog is groomed regularly. Their appearance is very important and they look to you to keep them at their best."

Or "Handsome men are never a great bet. Often they have learned to rely on their looks and as a result have not had to develop a personality or sense of humor--two far more important qualities." With, "Don't choose a dog for his looks alone. Remember that looks are only surface deep--loyalty, devotion, an eagerness to please and unconditional love truly are the most wonderful things you can ever experience than the color of his eyes or the softness of his coat."

This author's one smart former model.

Juddah Overload!

I don't know why this merits a blog entry, but coincidence is just so bewildering I can't help it.

A few weeks ago, I was bitching over some questionnaire a group of students sent to the office. The answers to their queries were a click of a button away on Google, and I couldn't take it that I was missing my Saturday because of them. I called Georg to vent but couldn't get hold of her. A few minutes later, she returned my call.

"Georg, listen to these questions I have to answer..."

"Sorry I couldn't answer a while ago, I was shooting the TAYO feature with Juddha Paolo," she answered. She was talking about the documentary for the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations, an award the office gives out.

"Juddha Paolo the gwapo guy?" I asked. (To those who don't know which gwapo guy this Juddha Paolo is, he was the hotta hotta Coca-cola boy. If you still can't remember him, you're on your own.)

"Haha, yeah," Georg answered. I could hear her repeating to somebody everything I said, and next thing you know, she had Juddha Paolo on the line.

"Hi," said Mr. Hotta Hotta to me.

"Hi," I replied, "So you're hosting the TAYO Special this year?"

"Yup, but don't judge me so much when you see it," he joked.

"I won't, I promise," Pa-cute. Haha...

A few weeks later, I was at the Power Plant Mall with Lizel and Ares to get Vina a birthday gift. When we accomplished our mission, we walked our way out of the mall to the taxi stand. There was no line when we got there, but a young man and a lady in her fifties joined us later.

Lizel suddenly stopped what she was saying to whisper, "Juddha Paolo behind us."

"Who's Juddha Paolo?" Ares asked audibly, and Lizel and I had to stifle our chuckles.

When I told Lizel about the short conversation I had with Juddha Paolo over the phone courtesy of Georg, she joked "You should've introduced yourself!"

And then last night, I was having dinner with Team Kiko alumni at Italiannis in Bonifacio High Street. A pretty girl with jet black hair and an arm covered with tattoo walked out of the restaurant. Her gothic style caught our attention, and as we wondered how it must've hurt to get all those designs on her limb, we noticed she had an escort: Juddha Paolo.

So what's the point? I don't have a point. I told you!

it's a conspiracy!

ina and how, on the way to the senate lounge to meet ditas, get into the elevator. senate president manny villar gets in with his entourage.

a group of female senate employees on the right corner of the lift: happy valentine's day sir!

sp villar: happy valentine's day rin.

(suddenly turns to his left, looks straight into ina's eyes for a long time)

sp villar: happy nga ba talaga ang valentine's?
(howie snickers behind ina. ina gives him a kick on the foot)

ina: no other way to explain it...it's a conspiracy!