The Year that Was

It is a new year (2009) for all of us, and another milestone (40th year) for me as I just celebrated my birthday two days ago.

2008 was a happy, but stressful year. With my husband, Joey by my side, almost every single day is a happy day for me, really!

In May, we had Norman, Joey's oldest brother, and his family over. This meant eating and shopping. This also called for a trip up north to the Grand Canyon where there was still some leftover snow.

Joey participated in his second full marathon, and this was the Rock 'n Roll marathon in San Diego in June (yes, summer time). He had a lot of fun running, the nerd; while I had a lot of fun shopping.

I had gallbladder surgery in October, which was sort of a happy event -- Joey swears that I held up a finger (not the middle one), and uttered, "Party on!" as I was being wheeled into surgery. Clearly, the anaesthesia had quickly taken effect. Now, is that happiness or what?! Hehehe.

For Joey's 40th birthday in November, I gifted him with a yellow Labrador Retriever puppy. It was pure joy, and I sometimes couldn't believe that we actually owned a dog again.

Ahhh, happiness.

As for sadness and stress, some people I am close to experienced deaths in their families, and that is enough to make me shed tears for their loss. When they hurt, I hurt, too. My brother-in-law lost his mother after a very long battle with cancer. A sister-in-law (Joey's sister-in-law) lost her father after a quick illness. Cielo Kaw, my veterinarian in Manila who I am close to, lost her young husband after a year's battle with cancer. Sigh.

That was the sadness part.

What stressed me out the most in 2008? Having a drug addict for a friend. I tried so hard to be supportive of this friend who turned out to be a drug addict (seven years and running ...). I encouraged DA-friend to lean on me for strength and straightening up. I drove DA-friend to the hospital to seek help. I attended an "Addicts Anonymous" meeting with DA-friend, which was something I only saw in movies where people say "I am Marife (name), and I'm an addict." (it actually happens in real life! Yes, I am so ignorant and naive, even at my age). I would cheer on DA-friend for every clean month. Turns out, it was only one month of cleanliness, and not the four months I celebrated with DA-friend. It's hard to be made a fool of.

I was very stressed by DA-friend's addiction, as there were unpredictable personality changes that made situations and the environment more volatile. Throughout the seven years of addiction, DA-friend was evicted from rented homes, and fired from jobs. I'm sure friendships were also broken/lost, along the way. Sadly, while DA-friend knows better, it is much more convenient to blame everyone else for one's own weaknesses and misery, and use these as an excuse to "use" again. I can only do so much. And I can only be lied to, so much. I am still a supportive friend, but it gets tiring. You know what I mean.

And so, with the new year, we can expect more laughter and tears, more happiness and sadness. Out with the bad, in with the good. May my 40th year be very interesting!

National Pride

Today is the 232nd birthday of the United States of America.

I truly admire Americans for their national pride. They proudly display the flag outside their homes, outside office buildings, and even on their vehicles. They stand in attention when the national anthem is sung, hands on hearts. They give wild, thunderous applause and cheers at the end of the national anthem.

I wish Filipinos were as proud of their flag, of their nation. Nobody displays the flag. Nobody sings to the national anthem, hands on hearts. If, at all, people continue walking and talking as if the national anthem is not being played. Oh, don't get me wrong -- I've seen some Americans do the same, but it's more of a an exception than the rule.

Maybe, I misunderstand this, but I find it truly odd when Filipinos living in the US celebrate Philippine independence (June 12). Hello, you're living in the US, yet you celebrate Philippine independence from the US? Philippine independence from the very country where you are a guest? Philippine independence from the very country that has taken you in as one of their own? Duh??? Hindi ba nakakahiya 'yun? At the very least, that is inappropriate. There is always a proper time (and place) for everything, but this is not one of them.

Two years from now, I may be taking my US citizenship exams. By then, I hope that I will be worthy of my host country's offer of naturalized citizenship. I cannot turn my back on my roots, though, the country where I spent 36-1/2 years of my life. I would love to be an individual with dual US-Filipino citizenship -- you truly get the best of both worlds.

The End of an Era
The Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Media Department is no more.

I mourn the dissolution of the Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Media department. It was no longer financially viable, what with the sky-high costs of research tools and Media software, lack of business, and yes, everyone's salaries. From a department of about 33-34 people (Media Traffic, included) in the early 90s, I saw this dwindle down to about 15-16 at the time of my resignation in 2005. As of last week, they were only 6.

I was stunned when I learned of the announcement a month ago. I grew up there, and served 12 of the best years of my life in that office. 12 years is 12 years, in good times and in bad.

There were countless Media parties, intrigues and factions, hours spent working overtime and overnight, food and gifts, magazines, some out of town trips, factbooks (binders) made dilapidated due to recycling, new business pitches won, accounts lost, rooms torn down and re-constructed, photocopying and fax machines upgrades, and life's major moments.

My colleagues from 1993 have come and gone -- moved on to other advertising agencies; moved on to the other side of the fence (TV networks); moved on to retirement; and one has even moved on to the great beyond. I will just have to comfort my mourning self with friendships built (and lost) and memories shared of those 12 years.

Durannies, Unite!

Omigod, Duran Duran was in town, and I was so excited to finally see them! Duran Duran is one of my two favorite bands, the other being U2 (see "SlumBook" blog entry).

My first chance to see Duran Duran was in, maybe, 1989 or 1990. Both Mike Francis and Duran Duran were performing in Manila a few weeks apart, and my Mom made me choose -- you can only go to one. My then-boyfriend and I liked "Let Me In" and "Friends", so, I chose Mike Francis. Well, come to think of it, it's a good thing that I picked Mike Francis over Duran Duran because I don't think Mike Francis is ever coming to the US since he's not even known here. But with Duran Duran, you'll have a couple of chances. Ha!

When I received an announcement from Live Nation (or was it Ticketmaster?) that Duran Duran was coming to town, my eyes opened wide -- you'd think I just saw a huge "Sale 75% Off!" sign. Hahaha. I was anxious that I made sure I bought good-seat tickets a couple of weeks early.

D(uran)-Day! My husband, Joey, grudgingly accompanied me to the concert. As we walked down the aisle of Dodge Theater to look for our seats, I said to Joey, "are these great seats or what?!". I was so pleased with myself that I had to practice restraint from jumping up and down in excitement. Sounds OA, but it's true -- I kid you not!

Front act was a cool up-and-coming band from London called Your Vegas (I wish they had more creativity in coming up with their band name). The lead singer sounded very much like Bono. Joey and I agreed that the band will go a long way -- they were very good! They received thunderous applause from the audience.

At last, Duran Duran!

Save for Simon LeBon's heavy mid-section, John Taylor's lolo look (gosh, he's only in his 40s and he already looked so old), Nick Rhodes' odd hair color (he didn't look like the same flirty Nick I used to know ... as if!), and the missing Andy Taylor, everything was still the same -- the music was unique, the songs were great, and the energy was electrifying! To his credit, Roger Taylor looked like he didn't age at all.

Buying tickets for those seats didn't actually work much to our advantage, except for a closer view of the performance. From start to end of the Duran Duran show, everybody was standing. My feet hurt from standing for 2 hours straight.

My favorite Duran Duran song is "Save a Prayer". Pardon the pun, but God knows what the reason is (I honestly don't). Maybe it sounds so solemn? Blame it on their cool MTV filmed in Sri Lanka! I also like "A View to a Kill" because it's so kick-ass (James Bond ... my ultimate world-class spy fantasy!), and "The Chauffeur", one of their less-popular songs with a risque video.

So how was Joey, you ask? I couldn't keep him from singing at the top of his voice and even making some (subtle) dance moves. He enjoyed himself immensely, singing along (and mind you, his lyrics were correct, this time), then saying to me, "It's my first time to hear that song!". He just wouldn't shut up (singing). At the end of the concert, I told him he was such a fake -- he absolutely loved the show and Duran Duran.

We had the "Decade" disc in our car CD player for the next two weeks.

Not Enough Memory

I had an endoscopy procedure this morning.

For the past two years, my digestion problem has been getting worse. It takes my stomach overnight to start digesting. Now, I can hardly eat anything oily, creamy, fatty, or what-have-you, without my tummy bloating. I sometimes look like I'm 5-7 months pregnant with my distended tummy. My tummy is like a rubber balloon -- you see it expand within just 10 minutes after eating. Of course, this poses a big problem with my pants and skirts.

Lately, when my stomach expands out of of control, I feel some pain travelling all the way up to my chest.

Last month, my gastroenterologist made me do this Hida Scan with CCK. Without getting too technical, the Hida Scan with CCK is a procedure where a radioactive dye or tracer is injected into your arm. The CCK is supposed to make the gallbladder contract. With this test, I was diagnosed as having a malfunctioning gallbladder. I have biliary dyskinesia. My gastroenterologist suggested removal of the gallbladder, but I said let's do the endoscopy, too, before we make any decisions.

We did the endoscopy this morning. I was put under conscious sedation, meaning, I was asleep but not with anaesthesia.

When I woke up, I said and did things that I don't even remember now. Joey said that I asked the doctor if I will lose weight after having my gallbladder removed (Doctor Mills said no), but I said I never asked that question! He also said I kept muttering "I'm so sleepy", like a hundred times, when I don't recall saying that. I was awake on our drive back home from the procedure, but I have no memory of that period.

Joey complained that, since I woke up from the procedure, I've been talking non-stop, like when I'm tipsy (the few times that I do drink). I don't remember that, either. I'm realizing that I enjoy this lack of memory -- it's weird, like talking in your sleep, but very amusing and intriguing!

Zoo Brew 2008
Joey and I went to the 2008 Phoenix Zoo Brew last Friday, April 11. It was festive and well-attended.

"Zoo Brew" is one of many Phoenix Zoo fundraising events. This year, proceeds go to the construction of a new night house for their Bornean orangutans. To attract the public, Zoo Brew offers sampling of food and beer, plus live entertainment. Performers last Friday were from Lost 80s Live, namely Dramarama (what?), When in Rome (of "The Promise"), Real Life ("Send Me an Angel", "Catch Me I'm Falling"), and A Flock of Seagulls. It was cool watching them up close! I was just a few feet away from them and took some not-too-good photos, though I have personal photos with the lead singers. Yeah, I am such a starstruck groupie!

Dahil naawa ako, bumili ako ng CD ng When in Rome. I said, okay lang, they're five different versions of "The Promise", plus two other songs. Turns out one of the songs, "Heaven Knows" was cut -- it had an abrupt ending (or no ending, for that matter). What the heck?! I didn't buy Real Life's CD anymore since I have their songs in our Real Life CD at home. And ... it looked awfully pirated, as it didn't even have copyright warnings or labels at the back. Ano ba 'yun? Talagang nakaka-awa naman sila. Heto na naman si Ms. Awa.

Prior to the performances, Joey, some of my colleagues, and I were at the private party of KPKX-FM (The Peak). As we were busy feasting on sushi and pulled pork, a man came up to us asking for a pen to borrow. Joey giggled, whispered to me, and said that with his hairdo, the man looked like he was from A Flock of Seagulls. And what do you know -- he was from A Flock of Seagulls!

When in Rome and Real Life are scheduled to perform in Manila this week, coming after Duran Duran.

Zoo Brew was a lot of fun. We were able to see some giraffes (giraves?) up close. I pitied the animals -- they must have been upset with all the noise and loud music. Joey and I left the event in good spirits -- he, after tasting different beers 5x; and I, after getting my taste of 80s music. Did I even do the beer thing? Beer stubs are wasted on me. What do you think?

Let's Play Moro-Moro
It's a very sad moment in Philippine history -- former President Joseph Ejercito "Estrada" was pardoned by President Gloria Arroyo.

There were only two moments in politics where I cried -- the announcement that former President Ferdinand Marcos won the 1986 elections (humagulgol talaga ako!), and now this one.

Unbelievable. Nobody has the balls to put Erap in jail. Conviction is one thing, but really putting a former powerful man in jail? In Philippine politics, there are no permanent friends nor enemies, only selfish interests.

Our politicians are all BS'ers. I am so angry! They can all eat their shit.