hello from cebu

Just a quick cam-whoring posting from Cebu.


Got a room all to myself, with two queen sized beds no less. It's my first time to be spending some nights in a hotel alone. Wish you were here...


Just look at those tired eyes. I only slept for about three hours last night and upon arrival here in Cebu, my boss and I sped off to the fitting sessions and thereafter, for some gastronomical adventures. The models were blah both face- and catwalk-wise, since they are still attending modeling school. Fashion show is tomorrow night, followed by an after-show dinner at Fusion. We might hit the town after that for some drinks since my boss would be celebrating her birthday.

Have a great Friday night!

flying away

My apologies, again, for the slump in post after that (to quote R*YAN) "cryptic" one, since I have been very, very busy this last week.

I got myself a one-way ticket to Oslo, had my passport stamped with a Schengen Visa, resigned from work in a jiffy, and bid my farewells to family and friends. Tomorrow I am flying away to Norway.

Not so fast. Hahahaha!

I have piqued both your interest and curiosity. I have received both your well wishes and jubilations. And I am loving each and everyone of you for that. However, I am not leaving my homeland just yet. But it's been granted and I have until September 29th to enter Norway.

Still, I am flying away tomorrow, after a week of toxic workload. To Cebu, that's where, the "Queen City of the South" located in the island group of Visayas. It is the country's oldest capital and this was where the great circumnavigator Ferdinand Magellan first set foot in the Philippines (naming the country after then King Felipe) and eventually got killed by local chieftain Lapu-Lapu.

Anyway, our store over there was tapped by FTV (yes, Fashion TV) who recently opened an office in the Philippines - in Cebu no less - to stage a fashion show for the students of the FTV Fashion School. So my boss and I would be attending the fitting sessions tomorrow and the show on Saturday night. It's my first time to go to Cebu and with accommodations, airfare, and per diem paid for by my company, I couldn't ask for more. Except maybe a trip to London and Copenhagen, which my boss would take in like what - within the next four months? I'm so jealous!

Will be back Sunday evening and thankfully, it's a national holiday on May 1st so I still have time to rest for one full day. Until then, have a fuzz-free weekend!

P.S.
In "In Transit" tradition, feast on this eye candy while I'm away. Meet Borgy Manotoc. May he take you to your own private heaven.

quo vadis?

This could very well be the day that will change my life forever...

dazed and confused (not!) in hong kong; boy, i'm in love!

So I spent four fun-filled days in Hong Kong, and when I say fun, think shopping, sightseeing, shopping, Disneyland and shopping. Hong Kong was never that cold in my previous visits so it was a refreshing respite, despite the occasional drizzle and the grey sky.

Tile mosaic art in one of Harbour City's washrooms.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting shopping and dining tips from Hong Kong-based Dazed and Confused. You would be just as amazed with his shopping savvy and food culture insights. He led me to stores I never would have entered. He texted which specific stores were carrying discounted items. He was like a virtual GPS system, showing me the way to this and that area, complete with MTR stations to disembark from and exits to take. He must have scoured the entire of Hong Kong - in search for more jeans to add on to his already extensive collection - and have built an internal travel book, which he was more than willing to share pages of, along the way. Thanks very much, Lester! Just when I thought I had the most of Hong Kong covered in my past trips there, you surprised me with something new, unique, and memorable.

I wanted to post some photos from my trip but that would have to wait until I get my Powerbook back, since I downloaded all my photos there whilst in HK. You see, I accidentally dropped it the night I arrived home from the airport, in an effort to save a darn new jacket from sliding down my shoulder. Stupid me! Thanks to the laptop sleeve, it only suffered a nasty dent in the top lefthand corner and parts of the lower aluminum casing adjacent to that "impact" corner popped out. I guess you could imagine my shock. You would be shocked too. Thankfully, it was running normally when I used it this afternoon; just had to park it at Cooltoyz for some repair and further testing. Thanks very much, Cooltoyz!

Thanks to a new friend, I am in love... with a song that's slowly climbing up the 25 Most Played list in my iPod - Gavin de Graw's Follow Through. Parts of the lyrics below:

Oh, this is the start of something good
Don't you agree?
I haven't felt like this in so many moons
You know what I mean?
And we can build through this destruction
As we are standing on our feet

So, since you want to be with me
You'll have to follow through
With every word you say
And I, all I really want is you
You to stick around
I'll see you everyday
But you have to follow through
You have to follow through

Boy, I'm in love!

away

I will be away for four days, hoping to take a relaxing respite and have some great shopping in Hong Kong.

I'm making up for the absence of posts in the next few days with these two eye candies. Both are image models for local clothing retailer Folded and Hung. I must admit I can't help but think of naughty, big things whenever I read this brand name. With these photos, wouldn't you?

Out with the old - Cedric Sanchez
In with the new - Polo Ravales
Polo takes over the role of Cedric as the male endorser of Folded and Hung. And before you strike the former out as the tamer of the two, wait until you see his billboard material - soon, when I snap a photo of it!

Have a great week! Until then...

04/07 x 03

Nope, that's not some mathematical equation I posted for you guys to break pencil leads over and solve (though I know you'd hardly break a sweat bead).

Yesterday, April 7th, marked the birthday of three people I know:

1. the patriarch and chairman of the Rustan's Group of Companies, no personal relationship whatsoever.
2. my college bud and one of my bestfriends, Cres.
3. my most recent ex.

Yup, I did the unthinkable.

Exactly two years after the split (I remember us breaking up on his frickin' birthday, too. The breakup was painful and ugly. Isn't April the 7th just lovely?), I sent him a birthday SMS, something which I didn't do same day of last year. It was a sincere greeting. I wished him the best in this life. Then a few minutes after, I got a text. "Who are you?" Turns out it's his mom's number that I got, which I thought was his new number, which I found out in some uncanny way months after the split. Or is it really his mom's number that I got? Could it be him?

In any case, I got my message across and told the receiver it's me. His mom said she'll forward my message to him and she thanked me. Despite... Or doesn't she remember me at all? I remembered her hating me so much.

It was painful. It was ugly.

tee off

One of the perks of working for my company is the occassional sale of our just-off-season merchandise at incredibly marked down prices! Believe me when I say incredibly marked down prices.

For the past two days, FUCK FCUK tops, bottoms, jackets, shoes and bags were sold at 10% (20 at the most) of, not off, the regular retail price. It's crazy! Most of the items on sale were ill-fitting (I'm not an XS-shirt guy, nor a 36-waistline bloke) though. I got lucky on the last day; was able to buy a pair of bootcut jeans, a medium longsleeved paisley (I love paisley!) shirt, and two size-L tees. I don't know if I'd actually use the t-shirts because they're a tad loose for my taste. I think it's a travesty for a gay man to be wearing a loose lousy shirt. Anyway, I can always gift it to someone. Hahaha!

Other brands that have held special employees sale events are Ermenegildo Zegna (a pair of shoes for P2,000-P4,000 = USD40 - USD80; holy!), Dolce & Gabbana underwear, BCBG and Jimmy Choo shoes, and a slew of imported men's and women's RTW, as well as equally stylish private labels. Not to mention the sale events of our cosmetics division - think Mac, Chanel, Clarins, Bobbi Brown, Escada, Michael Kors, Aramis and a whole lot more.

Anyway, I've been hearing so much about the Team Manila shirts, what with their cool graphic designs, local humor, and patriotic thrusts, and boy oh boy, they actually look great. Some housemates in the recently concluded Big Brother Celebrity Edition even wore Team Manila shirts inside the house. Here are some t-shirt graphic prints off their March 2006 designs.


Clockwise from top left: stylized saranggola or kite, a favorite summer pasttime for kids; halo-halo, a term for a local shaved ice dessert, which translates to "mix-mix", loosely rendered in the shirt by a mish-mash of Jose Rizal's mug, the international dialing code for the Philippines, and local words for "vacation", "slippers" and "special"; stylized trumpo or toy top in English; national heroes Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, and Emilio Aguinaldo in aviator shades; Neu-Manila, I don't know how to explain it, but this is the design I like best; and "Seven Thousand Island Remix", as the Philippines has 7,107 islands - high tide.

They produce totes, too!


They have the feel of A Bathing Ape, and they definitely have better designs than those FUCK FCUK shirts I got.

Gotta raid their store soon! If you'd like to place an order and wear a piece.feel.taste of Manila, they consider international shipping, I think. Visit Team Manila now!

the confessions tour

Madonna will be dancing and singing across the stages of the world this spring and summer, it was announced today. The "Confessions Tour" with concerts across major US cities, Canada, Europe and Japan will begin in Los Angeles on May 21st. "Confessions" tour dates were officially confirmed by Madonna's managers Angela Becker and Guy Oseary, along with Arthur Fogel, President of The Next Adventure (a Live Nation Company), the tour's worldwide promoter.


Tour stops in North America for the "Confessions Tour" will include arenas in Chicago, Boston, San Jose, Phoenix, Fresno, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Miami, Montreal and New York. Overseas appearances will take place in arenas, stadiums and outdoor venues in Paris, France; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Cardiff, Wales; Rome, Italy; Dusseldorf and Hannover Germany; Horsens, Denmark; Osaka and Tokyo Japan.

* * * * *Hmmm... Let me see. Osaka or Tokyo is nearer but I might get the boot from their embassy again. I don't know if I'd be in Europe come August thru September for the London-Rome-Dusseldorf-Hannover-Horsens-Paris-Amsterdam leg. *crosses fingers* With the online ticket buying across the concert cities gone live, I just don't know if I'd still be able to snag tickets by the time I get confirmation for a possible trip to Europe. What to do? What to do?

Gah!

sleepless in manila

It's 5:10 in the morning and I have been up for 20 hours running.

I tucked myself in bed around 2 am, as usual, but found my mind lingering to thoughts of things at work: how I am delayed in the promo I was supposed to roll out last April Fool's, another promo is set to roll-out in mid-April, a children's fashion show at a local hotel a day after I arrive from Hong Kong, a month-long shoes and bags fair this May. Restless, I rolled and tumbled in bed, until I peeled myself off it and got my Powerbook whirring again.

I am officially beginning to hate my job.