>Because I love my friends. :)

The NU107 Rock Awards 2002 is almost here!

I think the NU voting booths have already started popping up in the malls, so go ahead and practice your right to vote for your music favorites.

There's also a website where you can nominate and vote for your favorites online. Check out the list of eligible candidates, jot your choices down and vote away.

***
I have 3 favorites in the Best Music Video category:

1. Down by the Pin-Up Girls.
- A stylish video directed by Quark Henares, shot by Chris Costello, edited by Special Thanks herself Ms. Lia Martinez (Halos graphics ka na rin, mare! :), and styled by Mich Dulce (Who just got the Fila job. Congrats, Mich! :). The babes in the video are Angel Aquino, Mylene Dizon, Angela Velez, Clara Balaguer and Mariel Deeney. Where was the band? Doing really funny cameos here and there. Oh, and it was shot in Joey's BYC pad. Kewl.
*The orders are to vote for this music video. So go, go! Please vote for Down! :)

2. The Weather Report by Cynthia Alexander.
- The video was done by Probe Productions, Inc. with the editing and graphics magic of Pancho Esguerra, the creative ideas of the 5&Up producers and the charming 5&Up kids who acted in it. The cutest was the little kid in a barong who just kept on saying "the weather report" over and over. And man, Cynthia Alexander rocks!

3. Explosive by Monsterbot.
- Really funny video directed by Quark Henares and shot by the creative and bloody Furball Productions people (I'll remember you forever! Eck! Blood!). It's an infomercial with cute-in-a-tie Diego Mapa selling Explosive pills that blow you up. Hehe. Basta, funny. And I had a lot of fun being an extra in the audience with Chris, Cam, JV, Lavin, Pat, Jay, and other too many to mention people! Oh, and my favorite scene was when Ramon gave the pills to the Lola. Haha!

Well, those are also the only videos I know because I haven't been watching much TV. I would've included River Maya's Umaaraw, Umuulan, but then i didn't really like the video. It was interesting, but for some reason it just wasn't my type. I think I got irritated with Rico's blonde hair and weird shades. Hmmm. But Rivermaya's still cool mehn! Yeah! (Talk about trying to save myself.)

For Best New Artist, it's either Boldstar or Monsterbot for me. Hay, choices, choices.

Oh, and I think I want Jazz Nicholas of Boldstar to win Vocalist of the Year.

*I still can't believe that Mondo is Mon Castro. Where in Europe is Germany? Hay, where the hell have I been? It's a sign. Must. Bum. More.

We're watching the Catholic Mass Media Awards on Channel 13 right now. We want to see ourselves win on TV. Hehe! Vanity!

Forgive us. Our show has won so many times in the past, but this is the first time that the sports category was opened again in years and my officemates and I have never experienced winning an award. It's way cool. Will post about that next time. :)

>Sometimes, one just can't help but take these darn love tests.

The love test - animal test from the Scenester and the IT Girl. Weird. You choose animals and the results will tell you about your view on love and relationships. Hmmm. I guess mine are ok.

1. You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. 2. In the process of courtship, the approach that would make you feel irresistable is creative, never let you feel bored. 3. The impression you would like to give to your lover is loyal, faithful, never change. 4. You don't like it when your partner is emotional and/or too moody; and you don't know how to please him/her. 5. The kind of relationship you would like to build with your partner is that both of you can talk about everything and anything, no secret is kept. 6. You care about the society and morality, you won't do anything wrong after marriage. 7. You think of marriage as a precious thing. Once you get married, you'll treasure it and your partner very much. 8. At this moment, you think of love as a committment for both parties.

This tragic one's from Meg.


What Sort of Romantic Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

And this one's from the flea.


What Sign of Affection Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

sigh.

***
>Good thing Meg's got some non-love tests as well.


A different quiz, what strange type of person are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I once had a huge fight with someone because he said that I was too much of a dreamer. Oh well. At least I have dreams, unlike other people.

Yellows are the most fun-loving, free-spirited, energetic, and childlike personalities in the aura spectrum. Yellows are wonderful, sensitive, optimistic beings, whose life purpose is to bring joy to people, to have fun, and to help heal the planet.

What Is Your True Aura Colour?
brought to you by Quizilla

Cool! A man who could see auras also told me that I was a yellow! I feel better now. :)

>This is my dream story.

I’m presently working on a story that is very close to my heart, and I’m definitely not going to be lax about this one.

The story will be about the history and the current status of artistic gymnastics in the Philippines.

Right now, there are only 3 gymnasts representing in the RP Team. But this Saturday, after 3 years of nothing, 3 years since my old friend and former #1 gymnast Tammy dela Cruz retired from the sport, there will be an RP Team National Ranking in the Rizal Memorial Gymnasium. Finally!

Tammy dela Cruz (Now Mrs. Tammy de Guzman.) retired back in 1999 when she broke her foot. She got married, had 2 kids, and is now back in the team where she believes is her rightful place. At first, she was asked to return to gymnastics to represent the country in the Pacific Alliance 2002 in Canada. At 23, she bagged an all-around score that surpassed the 2 younger gymnasts in the team. She pressed on to compete in the Asian Games 2002 in Busan, Korea, but that almost didn’t happen because the PSC argued that she still had no ranking. So fine! Rank her, right? But they hadn’t had a ranking since she left, and they kept on pushing the ranking back, until they decided to schedule it in October AFTER the Asian Games. Pretty stupid, huh?

Well, they eventually decided to allow her to compete in Busan, partly because the country was low on athletes.

But I don’t think that’s true. This country is filled with potential athletes training everyday to make the cut in some varsity team in a good college, or at least to get into a good club team where college scouts will see them and pirate them to join their university teams.

Training for the national team is a different story, though, but that shouldn’t stop athletes from reaching their dreams.

Vincent, the RP Football Team’s manager, once told me that there’re so many potential players out there who may be even better than the present RP players, but they see no future in being national or professional athletes. Well this is what the PSC has to change, and I’ve high hopes for the present PSC Commissioner Eric Buhain. He was an athlete once and he knows the dirt that went on in the PSC during his time. He knows how hard it was to look beyond all the politics and to go for what you’ve always wanted: To bring glory to the country and to prove to the world that the Filipino was a world class athlete.

I want to tell a bit of the history of that dirt. Why Bea Lucero wasn’t sent to the Olympics. Why Cathy Ocampo wasn’t sent to the Olympics. Hell, no one even remembers who Cathy Ocampo is anymore and its sad! Now she’s over in Singapore training their gymnasts, along with Alex Tolentino, a fabulous male gymnast whom we fondly called White Monkey. Then there’s Gabe de Leon who’s coachin in the Acrovision Sports Center in Central Oregon. Everyone’s being pirated! Doesn’t that say something about how things are run here?

I want to tell about the promising gymnasts who were never really given the chance to fulfill such promises. Or even when they did, even when they won medals and medals over at the Asian Games and the Pacific Alliance, they were never given enough recognition.

I’m going over to the National Ranking this Saturday and I’m going to look for the old gymnasts who would be willing to tell their tales. And I’m going to talk to the new gymnasts and ask them why they want to join this sport, even when you’re practically breathing heat and dust in that gym.

I want people to know what the sport has been thorough in this country and that it’s ready to get back on track and kick some ass. I want people to know that these Filipinos kill themselves everyday to stay in shape so that they may reach dreams larger than their little bodies. I want people to know that this sport has survived on the hearts of these athletes and they’re going to be given the recognition and the exposure and the larger than life chance that they deserve, darn it!

***
>And this is my dream.
To win a championship medal/plaque/trophy in a sport myself. :)

Pol's got beautiful pictures!

Welcome to Stanford!

Check them out! :)

***
>I’m trying. Sorry.
Well, I smoked a few sticks over the weekend, but at least I cut down to good low. I don’t think I can just quit, but I can certainly work my way there by cutting down. Oh God, who am I kidding? With a job like mine? It’s almost impossible!

I think I’ll be a social smoker, or I’ll smoke when I have a reason to, or when I’m drinking. Argh, this is hard. But I’ll get there.

I was joking with my Mom last Saturday. We were both smoking in the lanai and she said, “I thought you were quitting.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s hard. I think I’ll be a social smoker,” said I.

“Well then why are you smoking?”

“Coz I’m socializing with you.” Sabay smile. :)

I will quit. In time. Soon.

***
>Darn terrorists.
My sisters won tickets to the Oasis Concert, but I guess they’re going to have to hold on to them for a long while. This is an official press release from Midas Promotions, the concert promoter for Oasis Live in Manila:

The one-night live performance of British rock band Oasis on Oct. 23 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City has been cancelled due to security concerns expressed by the artists' management following the spate of terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia and the Philippines. News on the decision to postpone the much-awaited rock concert was received by the local concert organizers late Thursday (Oct. 17), one day after the bombing incident in Zamboanga City in Southern Mindanao which killed 6 people and wounded 143 and in Bali, last Oct. 12 which resulted in the death of hundreds of foreign tourists. The decision was reached following an advisory from Ben Winchester, the British artists' agent, after his consultation with the performers who are now in Australia and their manager, who is in Los Angeles. The advisory on the cancellation was communicated to the concert's major sponsors, Globe Handyphone's GenTXT, and to MYX, Sony Music and Pinoycentral and the Araneta Coliseum. For its part, the local organizers assured local fans of Oasis that they are exerting every effort to negotiate with the band's agent and management for a new schedule for the performance, subject to the situation in the Philippines and in the Asian region and the availability of the rock group. Ticket holders are advised to hold on to their tickets until further advice from the organizers. The complete statement of Oasis' agent on the concert's cancellation follows: "Due to recent terrorist attacks in both Bali and the Philippines, Oasis has regretfully decided not to play its show in Manila on Wednesday, 23rd October. A spokesman for the band said it did not wish to perform a show under the extreme security precautions that would now have to be taken in order to guarantee crowd and band safety. Oasis was looking forward to playing to its Filipino fans for the first time, and hopes to be able to have another opportunity to do so around its next album release or sooner."

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are still on. Let’s just hope nothing else happens before December 8. Tickets are now available at SM.