Avril's Panic! At the Dome

I realized I haven't posted an entry about the concerts of Avril Lavigne and Panic At The Disco. I think it's necessary to post about them because:

1. Avril Lavigne deserves to stay in my brain for as long as possible
2. I think my short-term memory is not functioning well and I have to produce an entry about them or else the moment would fly from my hippocampus
3. Panic At The Disco's second album disappointed me; the first one was waaaay better
4. My wallet was almost sucked dry by my expenses - those that I could probably live without
5. September has ended and I haven't written about it
6. I think my short-term memory is not that good anymore. Wait, have I mentioned this already? I'm not sure, though...
7. And the seventh thing is that, I just have to.

Avril Lalalavigne's concert here in Manila happened last September 3 (I know it's been a long time already). Manila's in the Philippines in case you're not really good in geometry. Or is it geology?

Avril's concert was somewhat on time - just 30 minutes late - which is unusual because concerts do not really follow the time set (only movies do). Usually they are an hour or longer. Anyway, there was the pink skull backdrop (her famous logo) and a black backdrop with a huge letter "A" for the 2nd half of the concert. It was really a solo concert, no opening act (Alicia Keys and PATD had opening acts). Song/break intervals were done with her back-up singers/dancers doing street dance, and her band playing remixed melodies of her songs. If I did my math right, she played 15 and a half songs. The half song was Runaway because she played the drums and she can't finish the whole song. Her dancers were with their usual selves, their ADHD-like personality which is good for a concert because you want energy! Hmm, she did a one-hand cartwheel while singing (amazing!), in her acoustic song where she sat on a tall chair, she was scartching her legs (okay), and had different jackets (when her backdrops changed her jacket changed as well). Maybe she thought she's performing in Malaysia. This is the Philippines, and well, anything goes here. You can perform with swimwear on and people won't mind much. She does her own 2nd voice (her back-up singers are completely useless), and she played with a hot pink piano. Paris Hilton would be ashamed. It's really hot pink! One thing is that Avril went down the stage and made hand contact with the fans. My friend told me she doesn't usually do that. Since Araneta Coliseum was pretty much full, and the tickets were not really cheap, it's a good thing she did that considering her cold attitude with the fans when she last came here with Simple Plan (that was like 5 years ago). Avril is not really tall, so when she jumped down the stage to have a fan-artist quality time, she had difficulty going back up. She did what you would usually do when you're in a swimming pool and you're trying to go out of the pool with no help whatsoever from anything/anyone. Cool. Amazing. I love Avril.

Panic At the Disco performed here in the Philippines last August 14 (and you think Avril's concert was ages ago?!). I'm not really a big fan of Panic at the Disco, but since I kicked myself hard (imagine that) for missing Beyonce's concert (it's BEYONCE for Christssake), I promised in front of my stuff (things in our room) to watch concerts because you'll never know if you can watch them perform live again. So, I decided to watch them and was actually sold by a friend who suggested that Panic is pretty neat. Crowned King opened for them, and my eyes were fixed in the trombone the whole time. Anyway, the concert was disappointing, playing a few songs with no encore (they must've pretended to have, but they didn't). The highlight here is that the 4 of us who watched the concert didn't seat in our proper place. We were supposed to sit a few rows behind (the price range is still the same ok?), but then when the show started things aren't as orderly as you would want it. My heart was pounding the whole time because I don't know when the security guard would come and check our tickets. That's it. Nothing more except Ryan Ross' hats.


MORAL: Money can't buy everything. Money's meant to be spent (Wow, print this!). So, spend it.

Funeraria Water

We've all probably been inside a funeral house, in a wake, in a burial. Here in the Philippines, in a wake, there are tons of food. Some serve snacks while others serve buffet. In the snacks department, pastries from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks are sure-hits as well as tetra paks of juices and coffee. If there were water available, it would be from a dispenser brought by the family of the deceased. However, my dad went home and was excited to give me a bottle from a wake he attended. I know it's not polite to bring home stuff from a wake, but this bottled water was just too much for him to not bring home.

I know it's clean, but I have second (up to a hundred) thoughts of drinking it.


MORAL: When giving bottled water, please just indicate the name of the manufacturing company instead or just have your funeral home's name printed somewhere else. But if it's free, I won't dare complain.

Aluminum Glass Mall

You know that new mall near the Marikina River? The mall with glass one-way-mirror-type windows. It opened last September 5, 2008. Why would I remember it? Well, that Friday (Sept. 5), my dad picked me up from school and we went to Antipolo to get rent dues. Along Marcos Highway, it was urban death at its finest. I was so hungry by then I ate all of the crackers and biscuits we have in the van. To keep a possibly long story short, there were too many people and the traffic was similar to a scene in the movie War of the Worlds.

The mall is okay/nice, parking is good, their aircon is arthritis-unfriendly cold (though I think the rainy weather has something to do with it), neat view from the glass windows, but the mall is pretty small in my standards. My legs didn't even hurt a bit from walking.

So my mom decided to visit the mall and do our monthly grocery there (we live in San Juan and going to Marikina just to shop is something). I had my Green Minded Blue Blooded ESS (Environmental Science Society) shirt on and while I was checking out the food kiosks near the Supermarket with my gradeschool cousin, a 50-ish man (deduced using my judgemental side, which is pretty much always kept in the bag) signalled me to stop. I was shocked and was prepared to do a jumping out-in kick (I'm not a violent person). Then he pointed at my shirt and asked me, "Where did you get your shirt?" He's not a security guard which would make my answer, "I bought it," but based on his attire - he was sporting a shiny Ateneo jacket - he's an alumnus. So I replied, "Oh. It's an org shirt from school." Then he continued, "Ah. College?" I nodded with a "Yup," and he smiled with a thumbs-up gesture. WTHeck. I really think he was about to say something about the bonfire celebration yesterday good thing my cousin pointed at the menu board in the food stall so the supposedly-little-chat was cut.

The disturbing part is not being stopped by random people in the supermarket or in the mall, but when people ask me where I study and when I say Ateneo de Manila University, they follow-up with, "College?"

Just for the record, Ateneo (de Manila) is an all-boys school in the grade school and high school department, and co-ed in the college level. This leaves me with 2 really freaky points:
1.) Do I look like a man/boy/lad/member of the male species/whatever (I don't wear a pixie-cut or a boy's cut and I don't wear loose clothing)?!?!?!? I produce estrogen, not testosterone.
2.) Do I look like a kid regardless of sex (e.g. : I was thought to be a grade 6 student at one point, and high school at most times. And I'm of average height, but if I look young, I would take that as a compliment. Nyahaha.)?!?!?!

I just asked my brother, and he said I don't look like a boy/man. I know there are other Ateneo branches all throughout the country but I am in NCR when these queries happened.
Note: He didn't just say that because we're siblings. He really means it.


MORAL: We're all family in one way or another. I'm a young adult female. Don't you even dare.

Stupid Saturday

Forget Super Sunday, March Madness, Terrific Tuesday, or Freaky Friday.

If there are times some entries in a blog are really dull and boring, this is got to be IT. When I type some (if not most) of my entries, I do think about them. However, this is the exception to any rule, the thorn among the roses, the mole in the clear skin, and all. This entry is made out of sheer need to exercise my fingers and relieve stress from my joints. Quality points minus 19. (What the heck are quality points? Honey, I don't really know. I just made it up as I type this shizzle.) I haven't even proofread this baloney.

Rode a cab going to school, then Ateneo's gate 2 was clogged up with bazillion cars and I have to pass through there. It was close to impossible, so I had no choice but enter gate 3, then when I knew I'll be inevitably late, I just came to the JEep (Junior Engagement Program) Integration. Attended it in Leong Hall, sat behind Grucia (from the Filipino play before) and when the integration ended, walked back and forth from MVP building to A-Shop. Really. Back. And. Forth. Ateneo won the senior men's basketball championship for the 71st UAAP Season last September 25 in case you didn't know or were living under the rock for some time. Championship shirts were ridiculously expensive (and plain) and those buying them were high school students and noisy alumni.

I have nothing against alumni. They're really scary and powerful. And scary. Have I mentioned scary and noisy and powerful?

Then went to the cafeteria and met with the CROs and then tadah! Lace was there. Lace the exchange student in Singapore was there. She just stayed for a week in the Philippines and is going back to Singapore to eat more noodles and attend classes.

My internet was busted a while ago. I just hooked on the wireless internet from our neighbor yesterday. When I checked out a while ago, they already had a WPA set up. Maybe they realized I was eating their bandwidth. Well, in case they haven't noticed, their internet is as slow as the growth rate of midgets. (What?!)

Then went to Reema's advanced birthday party. Ate, drank, and sang. They kept on asking me what time I would be arriving. Turns out they were waiting for the camera girl. Gaah. I took a lot of pictures of them/us, and they're all expecting me to upload the photos. HELLO. I am really lazy when it comes to uploading pictures (yeah and you say it's as easy as 1...2. Yep, no more 3. That's how easy it is!). I need motivation to upload them.

I can't reach the deadline of the CS150 presentation and I haven't scanned our diagrams. Death. Is. In. The. Ateneo.


MORAL: You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape reality. If only Enrique Iglesias would sing Escape for me.

Western Woman Conference

Actually, I only became a WNBA fan during/after the Olympics. I didn't know Alicia Keys helps support WNBA and a video presentation with her performing and of players' special moments will be shown in the start of ABC/ESPN2 televised matches. How did I know? I watch the WNBA, d'oh. Haha, no, really, I saw (for the first time) the commercial about it and when I searched about it, I found this on Alicia Keys' site and found out it's been there for some time already:

"Alicia Keys and the WNBA | May 19, 2008
Starting today on ABC, Alicia Keys will open every ABC/ESPN2 televised WNBA game with a special performance of "Superwoman!""

This makes me love Alicia Keys more! Though I am not surprised that her song "Superwoman" is the theme song of the WNBA and she does help in the promotion of the league because well, Alicia Keys' songs (some if not most) are pro-woman. That's why I love the lady (even more).

The Alicia Keys song "Superwoman" is also the theme for the 2008 WNBA season. This video is from the opening game (May 17th) and features footage of all the teams and several players, including Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Lauren Jackson, Deanna Nolan, Katie Smith, Becky Hammon, Alana Beard, Sheryl Swoopes, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Seimone Augustus, and Janel McCarville. --> I just ripped the whole paragraph from the note of the one who posted the video.

On other notes, when asked about what she thinks of the other (Candace Parker) dunkin' diva's 2 dunks in a single game (don't compare it to the NBA), Becky Hammon told a lot about how it helps the league, the Sparks, and women's basketball and, "So Candace, throw it down as many times as you can do it, baby." She looks so pretty but she talks like uhmm, like a siga. Haha. She also helped the San Antonio Silver Stars wipe the Sacramento Monarchs.

(The photo shows Seattle Super Storm's Sue Bird #10 and San Antonio Silver Stars' Becky Hammon in #25.)

There are infinite "Hammonite" posts on Why I Love Becky threads all around forums (no, I don't join forums) and if I'll ever post one it would be related to her controversal decision to play for the Russian national team (she just became a Russian citizen early this year, but she's really American) when she wasn't accepted in the US team. They were bashing her for joining one of the opposing teams, but you can't blame her. The heads of the Olympic team maybe thought otherwise of getting her, and since America as they say is a "free country," she has every right to do join other teams (Russia welcomed her into their team anyway, and even though Becky still speaks English and they're having difficulty relaying the tactics with her, she played for them). Oh, WNBA players also play for other leagues around the world after the WNBA season. There are Korean, Russian, and mostly European leagues for women.

Uh, Lisa Leslie (the other dunkin' donut) was named the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. I just wanted to type that.

I just realized (considering I have just followed the WNBA after the Olympics) how strong the line-up of the Seattle Storm is. They have Sue Bird (I really love her hair. If there's one person whom I'll do a trade-or-do-anything-for-her-hair, it's gotta be Sue Bird's.), Lauren Jackson (I like her even though she looks so scary and she creeps me out when she wears eyeliner), Swin Cash, Yolanda Griffith, and Sheryl Swoopes. I am a Sparks fan, but then, the Storm is the only other team (San Antonio Silver Stars is okay with Becky Hammon and Ruth Riley, but the Storm just have more impact on me. Haha.) that can make me watch WNBA.

Oh, the Sparks eliminated the Storm. I guess Lauren Jackson can just take her revenge next season, while Sue Bird can continue brushing her hair in the post-season. I hope Jackson can play in the post-season.

The Connecticut Sun was defeated by the New York Liberty! Noooooooo! I was rooting for Lindsay Whalen's team, but whenever I watch the team I support, they kinda have the tendency to lose. Not good for the Sparks.

In the Western Conference, Sparks vs Silver Stars. Why do they have to beat the crap out of each other?! Why can't they just meet in the WNBA finals? I don't really care much about the Eastern Conference (Detroit Shock vs New York Liberty). Gaaah.

MORAL: Women's basketball ain't flashy as the men's. So, never compare what men and women can do in sports. There's just too much testosterone in men's basketball (NBA). Try watching EuroLeagues, they're closer to the WNBA. Hahaha.

Open US 2008

So my Sharapovanovic theory still holds. In the last Grand Slam of the year, Shriekapova didn't join because of her still-lingering injury. Ana's still participating. However, I don't expect her to really progress far in the women's draw because well, Shriek is not in the tournament.

Why does my annoying theory still haunts me around? How far did Ivanovic last in the tournament? It's not surprising that Ana lost in the 2nd round. I knew she couldn't bear to continue living in the hotel rooms of the USA (New York) while Shrieksterva (I personally don't know where these names come from) was everywhere. She probably can't handle all the pressure of thinking about her.

Anyway, Serena Williams won the US Open. Her sister, Venus Williams, won the Wimbledon earlier this year. I knew it from the start that Serena will win over Venus Williams. Why? Serena probably told her older sister, "C'mon. You already got your 5th Wimbledon plate. We are sisters. If you have a Grand Slam this year, I must have one as well. Add to that, you already have an Olympic gold medal for the singles, plus 2 gold medals for the doubles, which I share with you. Also, if I win all the way, which I'd probably would because I am a Williams, too, I would be number 1 again. But if you do win it, you're not going to be number 1. You could be number 1, after I become number 1 again. It's still because we are sisters. We shouldn't be even discussing this right now."

And Venus couldn't do anything so she accepted her fate. If you watched the match, you'd be supporting my nonsense dialogue above, too. It was a Venus match all the way then Serena just produces a miracle to come back.

Don't forget that US Open this year (2008) is equal to Jelena Jankovic. Serena won it, but after the finals awarding ceremony, Jelena Jankovic is officially a legend-slash-entertainer. She did a lot of comments, her speech was very much detailed (she even thanked her driver for bustling the roads of New York), and I'll repeat, her comments were humorous.

And oh, Roger beat the crap out of Novak to get to the finals of the US Open, while Andy (Murray, not Roddick) burned Rafa. So Federer-Murray in the finals, and it was a lopsided match. Roger won clean and green. 13 Slams. In your face.


MORAL: Never write someone off. The beauty of sports is that there is no assurance that one will surely win over the other. There are days - there are really days - when you expect someone else to win, but s/he doesn't. Boohoo.

My Dog Did His Fart

This scene is in the same part in my brain where I keep my thoughts about aliens, UFOs, unicorns, vampires, Valkyries, Roger Federer, Marat Safin, and all the divine, mythical, and most beautiful creatures you could ever imagine. (Marat Safin is a very, very beautiful creature. Roger Federer is a divine creature because he doesn't grimace when he hits a tennis ball.)

September 12, 2008 || 11:44pm


I was painting the foam black for our play next week. As usual, I always call our dog whenever I stay at the garage or pass by his (but I think he is a ‘she’) kennel. Then afterwards, I was fixing the painted foam already when I called our dog again. The Japanese Spitz looked at me and we were staring at each other’s eyes like we were searching for the Holy Grail as if it can be found inside each other’s skull. Then for a while, I heard the sound of water dripping on a thick plastic. Our dog’s kennel is covered on one side by a thick plastic because we cannot afford a wet, shivering dog possibly getting pneumonia every time there’s a rain.

My eyes were surveying the area in search of the source of the mysterious water that fell on the plastic. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything. From afar, my yaya called for our dog and teased him (or her), “Oh Butchoi, tumatae ka noh. Di ka gumagalaw diyan sa dilim.”

Then it hit me like how Alex Rodriguez would strike a homerun. Our dog just farted. That was the first time I heard a dog fart. And he did it while staring at me.


MORAL: Tell me how am I supposed to breathe without air?

Attack of the FLiPs

What makes you tick?
What makes you run?
What makes you scream and shout, run amok, throw elbows to people you meet, and cuss all the way (oh, you do all of these at the same time)?
What can make you forget you're not wearing anything and all of a sudden you do cartwheels and splits in front of a lot of people?

I have an answer to all of the questions above.
No.
It's not terror profs.
Not low grades. Though they can do heavy damage on me.
It's not a secret anymore.
It is flying cockroaches.
Or what I call, FLiPs ----> FLying iPis.

Dang.
I don't like them when they're just prancing around.
I loathe them when they fly.

Just a while ago, I was talking to a friend in our garage when I saw a cockroach strolling (what a great choice of word) on our gate.
I told him I would run if it will fly (since it was raining and the water is somewhat splashing on it).
We didn't have to wait for a long time to prove it.
I suddenly had a dose of my running prowess.
I ran.
Like crazy.
While cussing a little.
He told me he thought I was just joking about it.

Jokes are really half-meant true.
FLiPs are really annoying.

Why do they even have wings?!


MORAL: Don't use household insecticide to dispatch the species of cockroaches (I'm supposed to type the scientific name of the cockroach but I'm really too lazy to search for it). I read that tsinelas (slippers) are still the best weapon to dislodge them from this precious planet. However, I wouldn't dare use (my) slippers to even touch them. I'll just walk really fast and ask someone else to do the dirty deed (killing animals/insects is considered as a dirty deed for me). Amen.

WNBA / WTA Touchdown!

I haven't posted some clips for a while. These kinds of foreign commercials are the ones I love to watch. Of course I'm just lying that I love to watch them. I'd rather watch Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, and Pushing Daisies than watch commercials - foreign or local. I just happened to stumble upon them on the WTA site. I don't go to YouTube and go video surfing. I just go there if I'm looking for something like a brawl in the WNBA or some music videos. Amen!



Meet the sporting siblings, from two different leagues.



It's obvious the dog is the clear favorite (at least in the commercial). I would love to take a picture of her, too - the dog. You know from the start this is about the dog, right? The dog's name is Dolce. Here in Manila, Dolce is a bar along Tomas Morato/Timog. It's not really a "dance bar" but somewhat like.... I don't know. I don't usually go to places like those - full of smoke, alcohol, flashing lights (beware epileptics! This is worse than GameBoy consoles!), and all.

Here's from Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. I don't think it's an effective commercial but since she's the promising (and rising) tennis star in her country, it doesn't matter if she just stands there with her phone and earphones all day (and even night) long. People would watch it and might even want to buy the phone she's endorsing.



And here's the brawl from the WNBA. I can't help but watch it and post it. This is from the match between Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks last July 22, 2008 with only 4.2 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. It was pretty obvious that the Sparks wins the game but Plenette Pierson and Candace Parker extended the show for a really long time. I love the drama and the intensity of fights and brawls. It makes sports very entertaining though it leaves sportsmanship out of the context.



But if you think that one was just elementary, THIS is the one!




MORAL: Don't watch too much YouTube. And oh, be careful doing rebounds for your team. You might wake up in a stretcher or somewhere else.