Ooppss, My Kid is Growing Up!

Seeing my eldest daughter, Kyllie, preparing herself for her near graduation in grade school on March, made me think that I started to really aged. I’ve observed a lot of changes on her for the last couple of years. She can now wear her moms dress. Her feet is exactly the same as her moms size 6. She just want to stay in the house rather than go with us. Before, she asked P 10.00 to buy candies and chocolates, now she asks money for her cellphone load. But the biggest reason of my realization is when she asked her mommy to buy “modess w/ wings”.

I can’t help but remember all the stuff she did as a young kid. Blessed with dancing skills, she always perform in fiesta in our place. She dance impromptu in her school. But her biggest or shall we say, the highlight of her showbiz (?) career happened when she was 5 up to 7 yrs. old.

She had a lot of VTR tests before landing her first project, the Clusivol commercial. The said commercial also produces a space in newspaper and a billboard in MRT station. 3 paychecks in one project, not bad! Next came a starring role in Jollibee, TeenOlympics, toys included in Kiddie Meals. She was chosen among 100 hopefuls for the role. A separate audition was held for the role of her mother wherein the main requisite is to look similar to my daughter. Super Ferry project was a better one since the shoot will be done on board the ship going to Cebu. At the same time, the contract is much better than the first two.

Breaking in commercial stints, she now auditioned in Little Miss. Philippines in Eat Bulaga. I personally went with her in Broadway Centrum and what a nervous feeling I experienced! Talent is not a problem, my concern is the question and answer which she did quite well. She won the daily round but was not that lucky in the monthly finals.

A modelling opportunity knocked on her which we quickly grabbed. Touring SM malls, they modelled Disney Princess stuffs, from dress to toys. A great experience since all the kids that were part of the show where known commercial models.

She also joined the EVER Kiddie Star and made the final cut. She eventually lost in the final selection where the winner is the relative of.... never mind.

She was also engaged in some print ads, appeared in the sitcom Quizon Ave. and played as one of the students of Sharon Cuneta in the movie “Caregiver”.

Such a colourful childhood life for my first daughter, any kid would wish to have. At the moment, she seems to lose the appetite for lights and cameras. I just want her to focus more on her study and give emphasize on personal growth.

I knew that she already passes that stage but on a sad note, I realized that I started to get old. But in a very fruitful way, so to speak.

Batch 1992-'93 Revisited

Last week, I bumped with my former high school mates while buying some groceries. We exchanged pleasantries and I’m happy to know that they are now successful in the different fields they chose. During the quick conversation, we recall some of our memorable moments in our alma mater, Elisa Esguerra High School, and we share the same reaction, all smiles written in our faces. Today let me accompany you to a trip down memory lane and proudly introduce to you my beloved alma mater.

Elisa Esguerra High School resides at the long stretch of Gen. Luna Street at Hulong Duhat, Malabon. It is under the direct supervision of Arellano University in Legarda Manila. E.E.H.S. was actually not your ideal school. It has about 50 classrooms “only” scattered in 3 floors. If my memory serves me right, we only have 3 comfort rooms, one each floor, situated in different areas. A small canteen, a single practical arts room, a ground that fits two basketball courts along with the number of classrooms I’ve mentioned earlier comprised our entire campus. This is probably half of our sister school Jose Rizal High School also in Malabon.

J.R.H.S was actually closer to my house. But most of my friends handpicked E.E.H.S. that persuaded me to go along with their choice. During my freshman year, which was in 1990, I’m lucky to be included in section 1 together with my grade school mates. I can described myself back then as a tamed sheep in a lion’s den. We rarely go out of our class room, except during recess, and we normally went straight to our houses. But things made a drastic change the following year. As a sophomore we are now more accustomed to the in’s and out’s of the surroundings. We also have our first taste of girls, literally and figuratively. But my fondness with these creatures was cut short when my mother died. But life must continue and I moved on with my junior year with a broken leg, so to speak. It was a fruitful year where we started to carve our own name. But nothing is more memorable than our senior year where younger students looked up to us. I became a member of CAT’s model platoon which bagged the 1st placed trophy in marching competition held in Legarda Main. For second straight year, we participated in basketball intramurals though produced negative results. It was also the year where we learned how to smoke but certainly not drugs. Several fistfights also marred our 4th year but mostly because of my very quiet and peace loving friend, Roque. I considered our batch lucky because we experienced successive Foundation days and JS proms which are not usual according to our predecessors. But the culmination of all this is our graduation which epitomize our happiest and loneliest moment of our high school days. The reality of seeing each other go our own separate ways is looming. But all good things must end. We just have to move on and curved our own destiny.

Every time I passed by in front of the now defunct E.E.H.S, which incidentally was closed four years after our graduation, I can’t help but reminisce all the good and the not so pleasant things that happened in that abandoned building. My classmates, my terror teacher Ms. Padilla, Arellano Hymn, cutting classes, passion for Beatles, horror booth, basketball and volleyball tournaments, the late Mr. Villas, CAT officers, 2x3 haircuts, NCEE exam etc. all of them became part of that important stage of my life.

Some of my friends were now in other countries, working or settling for good. Some became engineers, managers, professionals, have their own business etc. But there are also some who were not as lucky as the others. Some of them are living without permanent job, separated with their husband or wife, raising bunch of kids etc. But despite all of this, every one of us share a common denominator, that once in our lives, we walked in the cemented floor of Elisa Esguerra High School, our beloved Alma Mater.

Noon at Ngayon, bow!

Haayyy, ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Parang kailan lang wala kong ginawa kundi maglaro, maglaro at maglaro. Ang oras di mo namamalayan na nauubos. Noon pag magbebirthday, tuwang-tuwa ka. Pero sa paglipas ng panahon, kada birthday mo feeling mo tumatanda ka. Dumadami wrinkles, pumuputi ang buhok, sumasakit ang gulugod at worst nauubos ang buhok. Aray! Kapag ganito ka na, sarap ng sariwain ang iyong kabataan. Minsan sa iyong pag-iisa, subukan mong gunitain ito at malamang na matawa ka. Hayaan mong tulungan kita at gabayan sa paggunita sa nakaraan.

Noon... hihiram ka ng betamax tape para makapanood ng pelikula.
Ngayon... kinabukasan yung pelikula, nasa Quiapo na.

Noon... inabot ko ang chickenjoy na P 25.00 lang.
Ngayon...yung bente singko pesos mo, sakay ka LRT ng two way, kulang.

Noon.... hirap magpakabit ng telepono.
Ngayon... kahit pre-paid meron nito kahit saang kanto.

Noon... kapag summer, sa Baguio masarap tumambay.
Ngayon... lahat nandun sa Boracay.

Noon... pag sinabi ng magulang mo na uwi, uuwi ka na.
Ngayon... pag sinabi ng magulang mo na uwi, malamang mapaos ang boses ng nanay mo sa tigas ng ulo mo.

Noon... nasubukan kong manood ng double picture sa sinehan, minsan triple picture pa.
Ngayon... pagkatapos ng pelikula, palalabasin ka na.

Noon...pag may game & watch ka, sikat ka.
Ngayon... kahit naka gameboy ka pa, laos ka. Dapat mag PSP na.

Noon...kapag magkikita kayo ng gf o bf mo sa ganitong oras at lugar, dapat dun ka lang.
Ngayon... dahil sa cellphone, kahit bigla mo ikansel ang date nyo, ok lang.

Noon... ganda ng porma kapag islander o beachwalk ang tsinelas.
Ngayon...ipon ka ng isang libo para makabili ng havainas.

Noon...pag showbiz balita, nag-iisa lang ang Inday Badiday.
Ngayon... magsasawa ka sa pagmumukha nila mula kay Boy Abunda hanggang kay Tetay.

Noon... si Superman ang hero ko.
Ngayon... si Totoy Bato.

Noon... piko, taguan, base to base at patintero lang solve ka na.
Ngayon... 5 oras ka na sa computer shop, nagrereklamo ka pa.

Noon... ang magsyota nagmimit sa simbahan.
Ngayon... sa motel na nagkikitaan.

Noon... para makapagsuot ng hikaw, nagpapabutas ng tenga.
Ngayon... anng mga !*#@, di pa nakuntento sa isa!

Noon... Lolit Solis, Gabby Concepcion, Ruffa Gutierrez, Gretchen Barreto, Filmfest Scandal.
Ngayon... Ethel Booba, Criselda Volks, Katrina Halili, Sex Scandal.

Noon...kabataan daw ang pag-asa ng bayan.
Ngayon... sagot sa kahirapan, lotto ang kailangan.


Noon... pag nagbabasa ka ng ganito, corny.
Ngayon...sasabihin mo sa gumawa nito, galing mo, grabe!

A Day In The Life

Saturday, March 7, 2009, was a very busy day for me. Waking up at around 7:00 a.m. is just like an ordinary office day. But no. Today, is more of a combination of hard labor, expenses, grieve, patience, excitement & fatigue. I've started the long day delivering my airconditioning unit to the service center. Right after, i went to Banawe to buy two sets of brake pads for my Toyota Revo. Along the way, I had to buy 20 pieces of water galons for our purified water station. Aircon service was pegged at around P1, 200.00 , brake pads costs P 700.00 and water galons are worth P 2,600.00. P 4,500.00 for the first half of the day? Hope nothing follows. I need to replace the pads quickly co'z I need to catch the Eat Bulaga Tribute for Francis M at 12 noon. The show lasted for 3 hours with some of his close friends and colleagues sharing their unforgettable moments with "The Master Rapper".

There are some touching scenes like when Gary Valenciano shared his video of his concert circa 1990 titled "Major Impact", where he and Francis M performed on the same stage to the delight of the screaming fans at Philsports Arena, formerly known as Ultra. Gloc 9 was in tears singing "Lando", his most famous song where "Kiko" sang with him.

The finale where Tito, Vic & Joey performed their version of "Kaleidescope World". At around 4:30 p.m., My Family & I decided to go to Mall of Asia for some breather. There, I have to be patient circling around the mall with my wife & 3 kids. To lessen my load, I let my 2 kids play at the ice skating rink for an hour. After the fireworks display at the back side of the mall, we then proceeded to our dinner.

It took us just 30 minutes to finished our food since we're trying to catched the Eraserheads' "The Final Set" concert at the MOA grounds, beside IMAX theater. No, we don't have any tickets or pass to watch it inside the venue, rather, we stayed outside and just had a glimpse of the E-Heads performance at the four screens located at the top of the stage and another big screen at the right side of it. We do have a great time watching the concert and eating some snacks on top of the hood of our "owner type jeep". It was passed 11:00 p.m., that time the E-Heads were playing "Pare Ko", when we decided to pack up and go back home.

It was indeed a tiring but enjoyable day not only for me but for my entire family as well. A moment you can't exchange for money, though you need some for this.