MALIGAYANG PASKO!!!!
Here is a song which I personally feel capture how I feel about Christmas in the Philippines!
Merry Christmas to you all, where ever you are, whether or not you celebrate Christmas too!

Tuloy Na Tuloy Pa Rin Ang Pasko
Christmas Song


O bakit kaya tuwing pasko ay
Dumarating na
Ang bawa’t isa’y para bang
Namomroblema
Hindi mo alam ang regalong ibibigay
Ngayong kay hirap na nitong ating buhay

Meron pa kayang caroling at noche buena
Kung tayo naman ay kapos at wala nang pera
Nakakahiya kung muling pagtaguan mo
Ang ‘yong mga inaanak sa araw ng pasko.

[refrain]
Ngunit kahit na anong mangyari
Ang pag-ibig sana’y maghari
Sapat nang si hesus ang kasama mo
Tuloy na tuloy parin ang pasko

Mabuti pa nga ang pasko noong isang taon
Sa ating hapag mayroong keso de bola’t hamon
Baka sa gipit, happy new year mapo-postpone
At ang hamon ay mauuwi sa bagoong

[refrain]
Ngunit kahit na anong mangyari
Ang pag-ibig sana’y maghari
Sapat nang si hesus ang kasama mo
Tuloy na tuloy parin ang pasko

(instrumental)

[refrain]
Ngunit kahit na anong mangyari
Ang pag-ibig sana’y maghari
Sapat nang si hesus ang kasama mo
Tuloy na tuloy parin ang pasko

[coda]
Tuloy na tuloy pa rin (tuloy na tuloy pa rin)
Tuloy na tuloy pa rin (tuloy na tuloy pa rin)
Tuloy na tuloy pa rin ang pasko
Tuloy na tuloy pa rin ang pasko

Sa kapimilya mo tuloy ang pasko.....

EXHAUSTED BUT STILL GOING...
Yep. Lots of work came in today. And I don't think I will be getting any sleep as Christmas eve comes by. Still, lots of work means the business is growing, so that makes me very happy! The voice files are pouring in, and the other work remains to be finished. Stop hating blessings.... stop hating blessings...

TAKE A RIDE ON THE SHORTBUS!
(unless you're a prude!)
Took a breather and decided to watch Shortbus, the latest film by John Cameron Mitchell, who gave us the 2001 cult musical hit, Hedwig and the Angry Itch! With him is Sook Yin-Lee (of CBC's Definitely Not The Opera) who plays a relationship therapist who is harbouring her own secret: she’s never had an orgasm. When a gay couple in distress go to her for therapeutic sessions, they tell her about Shortbus, a sex salon where there are no inhibitions, no rules and anything goes.

Lee is scared at first, but decides to tag along. And that’s where many of the adventures begin for Lee (who describes herself as bisexual in her off-screen life).

With a very honest viewpoint to sex, romance, relationships and the search for intimacy and self-pleasure, Shortbus reminds us that sometimes, one has to just learn to let oneself receive the truths one has tried to forget. The film helped ease a lot of the pressures and stresses of the work (although I must admit added its own kind of pressures... gah... where is my Panda bear! You have to see this sweetie! I can't wait to get you to watch it!) and made me wonder again when I'll finish writing the revision to that script I owe Ma-an.

Definitely worth a watch!
But trust me on this: if you're the kind of person who found Eyes Wide Shut too much or Brokeback Mountain too gay, you are definitely not going to see the merits of this film.

Anyway, that's all for now. Back to work.
Wah.

so tired...
Been a long day. And its not over for me. After numerous small nuclear explosions, a new batch of work comes in and i have yet to gather any decent night's worth of rest. i am way behind in some stories too, so will try to at least break some stress away by sharing some stories here.

First of, let me state how proud I am of my parents and of Batch '64 of De La Salle Lipa High School who have been helping over 30 kids get a chance to go through high school as scholars. Whereas you have horrible rich people staging minor fashion fests and awards to bring 5 kids to school, here, my parents and my dad's classmates from way back are helping a larger number of kids gain education and a chance at reaching their dreams. I was absolutely moved to see how much these kids were so grateful at the opportunity they have been given and how much their parents were happy that their children could go to a school which normally was beyond their financial reach.


Part of what they discussed which struck me was the concern of who will continue what their batch has started considering many of them are already entering their "senior status". I got home that day and ended up having a dream where I found myself being given the task of continuing the legacy and I woke up crying. I can only hope I can if such a day comes.

Panda bear Isha and I also ate at Seaside, near Mall of Asia. Like the fabled Dampa, you go shopping at a wet market then have everything freshly cooked! Food was absolutely delicious. Prices were a tad high, but would be far more manageable if you were a group. Saw an old classmate too and said hi.

Isha and I met up with Seth and Elaine to go shopping and grab some dinner at Greenhills. Oh boy, shopping can really get mischievously time consuming! My sweetie had so much stuff she wanted to check out! Good thing we weren't in any rush! I wanted a pair of interesting eyeglasses but the price was too much for vanity.

We also attended Ian's annual Christmas party. Sam brought Cranium and we had a blast playing it. Tom, Carlo, Aldwin and his girlfriend (sorry, I forgot your name!) joined the fun. Met some new faces. Found others not too social, but then again, maybe our geek levels showed.

Ate a lot. Laughed a lot. My panda bear got sick and thankfully recovered in a few days. But definitely going to watch how much we eat next time.


Lastly, I am desperate to get some sleep.
But sadly, work needs me awake.
Happy Holidays to the rest of you!
Enjoy it. Heck, you got all the time in the world to do so.
Some of us will just try to when we get the chance!

GREAT NEWS TO GET LOST IN!
Taken from Channel Surfing

Sorry I've been so coy about these rumors, but I always like to wait until the contracts have been signed and the "first trimester" has been survived until I talk about stuff.

But yes, inexplicably, I've been hired as an Executive Story Editor by the fantastic television show LOST. As I'm neither an executive nor an editor, this is really just a fancy Hollywood way of saying that I've joined the writing staff.

I can't talk about much more than that, so I implore you to please stop asking me what the island is, who the Others are, how Matthew Fox smells, etc. Still, I will say that I'm insanely honored to join such an amazing group of writers (some of their new scripts I've been lucky enough to read are destined to become the best episodes of the series), and I'm very grateful to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for having so much faith in me.

And no, I'm absolutely not leaving comics. There are a lot of Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina fans at the show, so everyone has been great about leaving me just enough time to work on those books, and even some new ones, including an upcoming four-issue stint on that Runaways guy Joss Whedon's "eighth season" of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER over at Dark Horse. Stay tuned for news on the all-important creator-owned front, as well.

I've learned more about the creative process in two weeks inside the Lost writers' room than I did in four (very rewarding) years at NYU's film school, so hopefully, this new challenge will push me to become a stronger writer and help my work to evolve.

Mostly, I just don't want to screw up a show that I love.

posted by Brian K. Vaughan

This is absolutely incredible news! I have always loved ESCAPIST, RUNAWAYS and Y- THE LAST MAN. And to have that writer do LOST, I can only see greater things coming for my favorite series!

NO "LET's ROLL OUT"
But damn it looks good. I just hope it doesn't go the way GODZILLA did.
Cause it has touches that makes it look like it will. Egad.

Transformers movie trailer here.

MORE UPDATES...

MY SWEETIE HAD A BAD STOMACH
Sad but true but my sweetie had a bad fight with her tummy very recently the morning after attending a small Christmas get together. Thankfully, she is much much better now and I can't wait to have a chance to see her this Friday!

I AM SO TIRED
Yep, working at home sounds really great for people who hate going to work all day, until you really learn that working at home means your wake up to find yourself ALREADY in the Office. Been getting bummed out and burned out handling the family business. Its growing and all that, but I really find myself at times frustratedly wishing I could take a break from it and do something else instead.

Not that I don't have a butt-load of deadlines, projects and the like waiting for me!

I just sometimes wish I had more time to do what I want. And I mean what I really want.

10 MONTHS AND STILL GOING STRONG!
Who would have thought I would ever find someone who gets me the way you do, who can make me laugh and catch me off-guard, who can share my pain and joys of success and yet still stand out as an individual and share your own joys and pains (both literally and not!).

Ten months, baby.
Never thought I'd be seen as worth it. Never thought I'd have someone like you.

I love you, Patricia Raine Mallare Pimentel.

Here's to ten months today, and a lifetime tomorrow.

My PANDA BEAR got me a copy of the really wonderfully honest and thought-provoking book, POSTSECRET, which many are familiar with based on Frank Warren's website of the same name.

The book is a beautiful eye-opener. And it really gives one a greater feeling of being part of a world that isn't quite as perfect as it claims to be.

It is the imperfections, after all, that remind us we are unique. And it is the uniqueness we all share that makes us more similar than we think!

THANK YOU SWEETIE!!!

SECOND TIME IS A CHARM...
Would anyone believe it? My computer actually died on me a SECOND TIME. While in the process of reinstalling everything from Windows to Office to Adobe to DOTA, the computer suddenly regurgitated that I was missing a particular .dll file and before you know it, "Cannot run Windows. Please reinstall missing file."

So there, had to go over the whole thing again. Reformatted the drives, and reinstalled Windows again. The selection of drives changes AGAIN, which now has c: as my utlities folder, d: as my root and system while e: serves as my workplace and file storage. Weird man. Very weird.

But I guess I shouldn't complain. Now, I have the perfect opportunity to organize some stuff as well as the happy knowledge that I Have backed up a HUGE portion of th stuff I have accumulated, worked on, collected and received over the years.

BEEN WORKING OUT TOO...
So many things have been working out in my life lately, I've barely had the time to grab my camera and take pictures of it! Isha and I are still going strong, nearing our tenth month together in a few days. With her work at ABS 5 Sports and my work in the family transcription business, we try to make sure we get some private time when we can. Among the many indulgences we have (four cheese pizza, amici, ice cream, oysters) we've found a new one to make more frequent: massages and spa. Just getting pampered and having someone knead away all the stress really makes the night end so well.

Another aspect of my life which has been working out is me literally now working out in the gym. After months of wanting to get back into shape (gawd, I used to have abdominals... all six of them! And I used to have nicely chiseled arms somewhat) I am finally doing so. I enrolled at this gym in BF and pretty much try to make time to go there every other day.

Finally, met up with a director again.
Have to find some free time during saturdays to pay him a visit! Here's to having a full length feature! I really hope this pushes through!

And the student film I acted in, Siyudad, which was a thesis project by two Lasallians, is done and they got a very good score for it! So sad I missed the actual screening. I can't wait to get my own copy of the film.

Some updates on the garapata:

PSST
Didn't make it. Failed to finish the 50,000 word cut-off required from Nanowrimo. But damn, I am going to finish this novel! I love how the story is forming! And it does set the groundwork for my next online comic.

COMPUTER WOES
By the way, my computer recently crashed. Stupid net hiccup. Just backed-up all I could backup and now in the slow process of reinstalling everything. Sadly, some (like DOTA and Hamachi) are more frustrating than others. Thankfully, I have friends like Seth and Awie and Eman to help me out.

BEEN WORKING OUT
I still relish ice cream and chocolates, but in the aim to be owners of better arms, a bigger chest and perhaps a stomach to drip ice cream on (uh, no, don't ask why I have all these imagery in mind) I have been going to the gym. So far, I am a pathetic softie, but I think I am slowly getting better and stronger. I doubt I will hit the physique of people like Zeki or Dave anytime soon, heck, I don't think I'd even come close to what I dream to have soon enough, but hey, I feel healthier working out so there!

STUPID MTV SUMMIT
Attended the HIV MTV Summit last Monday with my sweetie and was asked to leave my leather belt behind. Some sort of stupid security thing which they SHOULD HAVE POSTED in the tickets and posters. I just knew it was the last I would see of my belt. It was, sadly, a gift from my Mom. And a branded belt at that.

More frustratingly, the security guys there who collected the belts threw them all on the ground and told us, "Hanapin ninyo na lang diyan! Basta, maghanap kayo!" like we were some animals. When I complained to him that they should help us. Or at least should have formulated a means to easily look at each belt, the bastard replied, "Eh tanga ka naman pala, hindi ko naman sinturon yan eh. Hanapin mo ang sinturon mo!"

God knows I was tempted to use the belts nearby to strange him. And I should have.

Kung hindi lang Pasko...

FUNNY PROJECTS
Also working on some unexpected projects. For one, I am handling a anti-lice product flier which is strange considering my net nickname. This is so much like asking a Jew to come up with cool pro-Nazi slogans.

Still on the script. Typing typing typing.

Might work on some websites too. But that all depends on the contact. I want to work on the full length feature film! I hope it does push through soon enough.