My favourite things

I got tagged yet again by Karl, a fellow blogger. It’s an interesting meme, though.

Here’s how it works:

Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. Must be places or name, nothing made up. You can’t use your own name for boy/girl’s name question. If you can’t answer, skip to next one.

My answers will be based on my real name (Michael), not my blog name (The Zen Bitch). Here goes:

1. Famous Singer: MADONNA (who else?)

2. Four Letter Word: MAKE (as in make love, not war)

3. Street: MARCOS (where I grew up) and MATALINO (lots of good memories on this street)

4. Colour: MAUVE & MAGENTA (feeling girl) and MIDNIGHT BLUE (feeling wala lang)

5. Gifts/Present: MY OWN POEMS or DRAWINGS (should be kept, just in case I become a famous writer or painter in the future, or after I die)

6. Vehicle: MAGLEV (Magnetic Levitation) TRAINS (oh, laban ka? an answer from an obvious Discovery Channel fan)

7. Things in Souvenir Shop: MAPS (including city guides–first thing I get when I’m in a new place)

8. Boy Name: MANUEL (my father’s name)

9. Girl Name: MADELINE (my only-God-knows-how-to-be-conceived daughter’s name)

10. Movie title: MURDER! and/or MARNIE (I love Alfred Hitchcock’s films)

11. Drink: MOJITO (although the simple Vodka Tonic is a favorite)

12. Occupation: MAGICIAN

13. Celebrity: MADONNA pa rin!

14. Magazine: MEN’S HEALTH (bading mode) and MACWORLD (geek mode)

15. City: MILAN (fashion capital man o hindi, quever! as long as it’s in Italy, go ako!)

16. Sports: is MANHANDLING a recognized sport?

17. Fruit: MANGO (what else? although MELON comes close as well)

18. Reason for Being Late to work: MELANCHOLIA

19. Something you throw away: MONEY (sa lalaki–char!)  and MALIGNERS (in Tagalog, mga maligno!)

20. Something you shout: MERDE!!! (in reference to item 15–hehehe!) or MAGANDA AKO!!!

So there. Now, in keeping with tradition, I am hereby passing this meme to Mandaya, Kiks, Johnnypanic, and Nina!

Enjoy!  

Superstar

Well, not quite yet, dear reader.

I had just been nominated in the Pinoy Blog Superstar for the month of December 2007 by Empress Maruja, a fellow blogger whose own blog is quite impressive. Her posts will make you laugh and feel so alive, as opposed to the generally pensive tone of yours truly.

I am quite happy, and honored, to receive a nomination. Just as I said in my previous post, one of the things that I love about being on-line is the sense of community I get from people who might be different from me but nevertheless shares a common bond with me. The gift of (written) gab, the passion to communicate, and the fervor to share a part of one’s life to the world. I am content just to be in the presence of the 9 other nominees who are magnificent bloggers in their own right as well.

But then again, who am I kidding? I would be much happier if I won! Ahahahaha! (laughter a la Elvira Manahan)

At the risk of sounding as if I am shamelessly promoting myself (I actually am), I would like to ask you dear reader, to vote for me. Just click this link to Empress Maruja’s blog and follow her simple instructions to vote for me. You have until January 18 to do so.

And to you, I will forever be, indebted. 

Family affair

Today I woke up at around 7AM, then decided I needed more sleep so I went back to bed and got up finally at 10AM. I did all my morning ablutions while still in a daze, I think. Yesterday was the last of the 4 parties my friends and I organized and held for the holiday season. Last night, when the last of the guests left me alone in my house, I felt as if all the shopping, cooking, eating, drinking, and partying seem to  have caught up with me. After a hot shower, I nodded off to sleep right away.

Four parties. Yeah. Were we crazy to do so much in so short a time? Maybe. It just so happened that this year, most of my friends didn’t get out Cambodia for the holidays. Christmas is not really a holiday here; even the New Year celebrations pale in comparison to what we have in the Philippines. When my partner experienced the holiday season in Manila, he was pleasantly astonished, confessing he hadn’t had the same experience even in Bangkok.

To chronicle what we put ourselves through these past weeks, let me give you, dear reader, a run-down of what happened:

January 1, Tuesday: New Year’s day lunch. Venue: my house. Menu: Pata Tim, Baked Fish, Pancit Bihon, Beef Kaldereta, Kutchinta, Cherry Pie, Blitz Torte, Ice Cream, Soda & Vodka. In attendance: me, Ted & Hav, Gaye, Lou, Daden, Joy, Wowie, Jojo V, Yvonne, May & Glenn, and Ethan. Activities: ate lunch, played Uno in the afternoon, ate dinner then played mahjong until 10PM. And we completely forgot to take any photo!

December 28, Friday: Wowie’s impromptu birthday soiree. Venue: my house. Menu: Pancit Miki, Puto, Crispy Pata, Barbecue, Steamed Veggies & Kapi Dip, Cold Cuts, Soda & Vodka. In attendance: Wowie, me, Ted, Daden & Dyed, Yobs, Joy, Jojo V, Lala, Martin, Tita Brenda, and Jojo P. Activities: supposed to be an after dinner event but people ate dinner anyway (because there was lots of food), played Uno, watched Madonna’s The Girlie Show concert, and drank tumblers of Vodka Tonic to our hearts’ (and livers’) content.

December 25, Tuesday: Christmas day lunch. Venue: Ted’s house. Menu: Pork Menudo, Fried Chicken, Khmer Beef Stew, Siomai, Tuna Carbonara, Buko Salad, Lemon Bundt Cake, Chocolate Cake, Soda & Vodka. In attendance. Ted & Hav, me, Eng, Romyr, Gaye, Lou, Wowie, Jojo V, Daden, Yobz, Anna & Adrian, May & Ethan, Mother C, Luz & Rolly, RJ & Clark, Mike & Grace, and Matthew. Activities: ate lunch, delayed drinking because of the kids, played Uno & mahjong while drinking tumblers of Vodka Tonic. I should also mention that on Christmas eve, Jojo and I went to Mz Joy’s house for Noche Buena, where I tasted for the first time this flaming drink called B-52.

December 16, Sunday: Christmas Party. Venue: Square Magazine’s office. Menu: Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Beef Morcon, Pancit Palabok, Baked Macaroni, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pinatubo Cake, Chiffon Cake, Soda, Vodka and Beer. In attendance: Nill, me, Ted & Hav, Wowie, Jojo V, Gaye, Lou, Davy, Yvonne, May, Ethan, Mother C, Luz & Rolly, RJ & Clark, Mike & Grace, Matthew, Eng, Romyr, and Daden. Activities: ate dinner, exchanged gifts (I gave 3 glass candelabras; I got 4 pretty glass tumblers), played Uno then drank like fishes. That’s me pictured above, grinning like a demented birthday celebrant.

So there. It would seem that I, along with my friends, spent the last 3 weeks either stuffed to the gills with food or drunk with alcohol. There’s some truth in that, but in between eating and drinking we were also strengthening the ties of friendship that bind us, helping each other through bad patches (and bad friends and bad friendships), and being a family for those of us who are far from our biological families. Isn’t this what the holidays are all about?