Election Fiesta

No wonder elections are held in May- it's a fiesta activity! Money flows, celebrities abound, there are parades everywhere, and all the politicians are flashing their best smiles. And yet these pictures still successfully depress a large number of Filipinos and make them go to other countries. Whoever you will vote for, please vote. Choose and vote wisely. Nothing will happen to our beloved country if we don't make changes now. And even though we're small, ordinary, working folk, we can still make a difference. Let's all help to make this country as great as it is destined to be. Let's not lose hope for ourselves and our country and countrymen.Picture it: the Philippines 10 years from now; everything is so much better for ourselves and our children and their children. It's because we did not hesitate and we did not lose hope to help our fellow Filipinos and our country. It may take longer, yes. But it will take so much longer if we don't start now. C'mon, let's do it.

Aysee's sisig

My officemates and I decided to go have lunch at Aysee's near the sports complex formerly-known as Ultra. This may have been our 5th time to eat there and we have always been satisfied and for some time after eating there, prone to heart attack, or since it was particularly hot that midday (reaching 40 degrees!), to heat stroke. But being the courageous IT practitioners that we are, we quickly went through our shared sisig, papaitan, crispy pork (which unfortunately was more tough than crispy), and calamares. Here are more pictures of the food we ate:Aysee's- it's like eating at your own house- well, if you're not living in Forbes Park, that is. The food is affordable and tasty. It's almost always crowded. And the help try to smile and appear that they're enjoying serving you.And here are my office-mates and I on our way back to the office, bloated and getting baked in the car- sisig-filled human empanadas.

Power napping

When it's been a long day or the end of it is far from sight or after a heavy lunch and the airconditioning is making your eyelids as heavy as your tummy, it's nice to have a chance for a quick and re-energizing power nap.

The Secret Six

Send in your fingermasked pictures to fingermask@jaybeecc.com

Click the title above or here to find out what your superhero name and powers are.

Clockwise from top-left:

Name: Red Flame
Secret Identity: SECRET! :)
Special Power: Invisible Tentacles
Transportation: Shamu the Elephant
Weapon: Quantum Rifle
Costume: Stainless Steel Leotard
Tragic Flaw: Fear of rodents
Favorite Food: Cheetos

Name: Ice Runner
Secret Identity: SECRET NGA!
Special Power: Bionic Blast
Transportation: Quantum Train
Weapon: Ion Blade
Costume: Spandex Robe
Tragic Flaw: Fear of falling
Favorite Food: Lasagna

Name: Demon Wolf
Secret Identity: SECRET DIN!
Special Power: Psychotronic Spear
Transportation: Shamu the Elephant
Weapon: Neutron Flare
Costume: Bronze Helmet
Tragic Flaw: Addicted to corn dogs
Favorite Food: Strawberries

Name: Golden Girl
Secret Identity: SECRET SABI EH!
Special Power: Psionic Breath
Transportation: Alien Skateboard
Weapon: Meson Flare
Costume: Dragonhide Robe
Tragic Flaw: Addicted to corn dogs
Favorite Food: Cheez Whiz

Name: Captain Person
Secret Identity: KULET AH!
Special Power: Psychotronic Stick
Transportation: Nuclear Minivan
Weapon: Electron Cutlass
Costume: Fireproof Underwear
Tragic Flaw: Clumsiness
Favorite Food: Sardines

Name: Red Runner
Secret Identity: ...
Special Power: Nuclear Gaze
Transportation: Electric Submarine
Weapon: Meson Cutlass
Costume: Spandex Sport Coat
Tragic Flaw: Addicted to love
Favorite Food: Sardines

Super team!

In a rare photo op, five members of the super team, Nominators, two members of the Night Owls, and one-third of the trio, the Super Lolos, gamely pose for papparazzi.

Front (L-R): Husband and wife tandem Chili boy and Spice girl; Conjoined-at-the-hip kids Roller Girl and Rocker Boy
Back (L-R): Weird Lad; Radar Girl, Treat Man, and Giggle Kid.

Maybe on a future post we'll get to see them using their powers...

Photo courtesy of Radar Girl.

PIzza Hut's Cheesy Pops

Hmm, it's quite heavier on the stomach now that the crust that's formed into finger-like "pops" protruding from the topped part of the pizza is stuffed with cheese. The cost is quite heavy on the pocket too. But I guess once in a while, it's a treat! However, getting a 'plain' cheese-stuffed crust pizza is about the same, a little cheaper, and handles easier than with the above variant when you've eaten off the cheese pops and you're left with the topped part. Also, I wonder if when you use your Palm Card and get a bottle of Pepsi, would you get a free Hawaiian Pizza that's Cheese-Popped too? No, I don't think so...

Just one

Aw. I knew it would get harder and harder to find new fingermaskers. Tsk. The world needs more new heroes now... especially since the elections is drawing near. Any sightings? Send your fingermasked pictures to fingermask@jaybeecc.com

Wakeboarding

It is such a rush! It's unbelievable! It's great to be gliding on the water like that! And those tricks like turning and catapulting yourself using the platforms scattered in the lagoon... It's hard to explain... You've got to experience it for yourself!

Maybe I'll find the balls to do that myself in the future.

Before and After the Sunset

Ah, sunset! Another day about to close... It's too cold in the room. The blanket is not thick enough. The resort charges too much for the food and drinks they serve. Still not too late to get a criticism in. But overall, the service was pretty good, considering the above gripes.

Jelly, Star, and the monster

So this is the not-to-be-feared type of jellyfish roaming the South China Sea. She has some whiteheads, as you can see. While chit-chatting on the balsa table, I recommended she visit my dermatologist in St. Luke's/Makati Med.

While this is an upturned starfish on our raft. She's trying to get a tan. (Good luck!)


And on our way back, a giant squid-snake-mutant monster attacked our little balsa. Good thing the t-shirt-as-headress-wearing Manong-balsa Boy_02 was there to save the day! Oh, did he give that monster a good choking and pulling!

Bamboo raft accident

And so we rented out a balsa to take us out to the open sea- 200 meters or so from the breakwater. But we had to walk a hundred meters to the balsa first. Yeah, what a deal, right?

With my mobile phone in tow, I took pictures left and right. Behind me is (she's a fingermasker) Spartan Girl who can attract jellyfish when she wears her flipflops on her hands.

There it is- the balsa we're going to go on! And jellyfish are starting to appear...

Don't be afraid! Remember Diana Ross singing If We Hold On Together...


A few meters away and I'll be onboard! I reach the end of the raft and I tuck my mobile phone in my shirt. I grab the raft and try to pull myself up and on. I raise my right leg and step on the raft's bamboo flooring and then CRACK!

The piece of bamboo I stepped on collapsed under my foot and my foot went through the hole and got scratched so much in several places, there was profuse bleeding. It was painful. But hey, bleeding wounds are naturally painful, right? Who's not smiling now? Is that a smirk? Trying not to faint from the sight of blood and embarass yourself more, huh?

Lago de Oro

I last went to Lago de Oro in 2004. As far as I can remember, there were no floating balsas before. Now, these locals charge three hundred bucks (thru the resort reception) to get you and fourteen of your outing-mates onto a balsa made of bamboo and with a small viewing room, seats and a table you may opt to eat on , then pull you out to sea, maybe two hundred meters out where it's still about chest deep, the waters are clear, and the sand below is clean.

Inland, the pool's water is warm and stays warm. It's large enough for anyone to even try to learn how to swim. I still can't keep my head above water and kick and paddle like a dog. If this resort was a movie I'd rate, I'd give it a 3 out of 5. Nice but nothing spectacular. Their only come on is having a wake-boarding facility at their man-made lagoon. That's for another post.

Southsuper stopover

On route to Calatagan, Batangas, our party's bus stopped over at this gasoline station along the highway where there were a handful of establishments you can buy food or breakfast from. The above picture is that of one of many trimmed small trees that line a wall that separates the gas station from a residential (?) area behind it. Nice place to put a trash can, isn't it? There may be something to it though... there may actually be an urge for people to throw stuff at or keep trash beside a structure that could be tall like a tree or lamp post and that could attract the attention of other people who are either required to clean up or who would be appalled at the trash that they would clean it up themselves. So putting a trash can there could help. Or it couldn't. Not everyone would come back to shoot a thrown candy wrapper that falls short of the can and on the tree's roots. Still a nice picture of a tree though. Nice clean wall. And the picture below is of a magnificent tree that is like a bonsai plant grown a hundred times bigger. If it has withstood the more recent storms and hurricanes, then I'm glad no one has thought of uprooting it yet to make way for another coffee shop.

Threesome

What a concept! What if every living person, when they walk out onto the street, does the fingermask? You'd see a lot of sweaty armpits! Hmm, will be going to Lago de Oro in Batangas later. Would I be lucky enough to get /slash/ not too shy to ask some locals or foreigners to do the fingermask? You'll find out as soon as I picture them in the pose as I'll be blogging straight from Batangas!

Mas nasasarapan, mas nilalakihan

Kahulugan ng Buhay
What life means or brings

Mas nasasarapan, mas nilalakihan
You say 'Wow!' when you see something you like. The more you like it, the bigger or wider your mouth gets. And especially with food, you just can't contain the excitement- to shove that wonderful piece of meat (or other form of sustenance) into your food processing entry point.

Mas
More

Nasasarapan
Feeling pleasure

Nilalakihan
To enlarge, make bigger

Aha! Ang laki ng leg part ko!
Aha! The leg part I got is big!

Ay, dapat linya ko 'yun!
Aw, that was supposed to be my line!

Masarap nga siguro...
It's probably really delicious...

New heroes

Send in your fingermasked pictures to fingermask@jaybeecc.com

I wasn't able to get manong taxi driver or Shakey's crewmember do the fingermask today but there's always hope of discovering new heroes tomorrow!