Loving My Sociable Self (Boracay Affairs, RR Herrera's Birthday Party, Defending the Caveman)

I don't think anyone will believe me when I say that on paper (MBTI) and in my heart, I am an introvert. Isn't it ironic that when I was doing my one month soul searching thing in Boracay, I actually got reacquainted with my old sociable self? Blame it on some unexpected turn of events...

The Last Time I Watched Brownman Revival Play

watching Dino Concepcion sing on stage still makes my heart skip a beat. ^_^

I was thinking of happy things to do when I realized I haven't organized my BMR photos yet nor blogged about the last time I saw Brownman Revival play. It was on Nov. 18, during their 16th anniversary. Wow! I can't believe I've kind of followed them since the first year they were just one of those Ateneo bands I first heard during orientation day in freshman year. Anyway, I wanna keep this post short since I still have a lot of photo organizing to do. I'd just like to share here my fave photos for that evening...

L-R: Princess, me, Dino & Ces

Post Parvati Date at Bubble Tea... Whut?

Last Sunday was one gastronomical day for me and my hubby. I think we woke up late, just in time to prepare for our afternoon delight at Parvati. It's this new concept store located at Trinoma Mall (Mindanao Lobby) filled with home baked goodies from various sources and home bakers. We sampled almost everything on the Parvati menu and even had some pasta, perfect for cleansing our uber sweet palate.

There were other food bloggers as well, tasting each bite of cake, pastries, truffles, custaroons, mochis and other godly and ambrosial goodies to their hearts' content. We have never seen anything like this. Parvati is a dream come true for both home bakers and dessert lovers.

Another Reggae Night with Brownman Revival

eBefore I head off to Baguio in a few hours, where I'll be with my fellow bloggers for the next two days, let me share here first another night that I spent with Dino... and Brownman Revival. (Haha... you thought... yeah... I wish! LOL!)

Brownman Revival and The 700 Club

Anyway, on Sept. 16, 2010, my favorite reggae band once again played at 70's Bistro. We were there early and we caught The 700 Club interviewing the band. I was like ... whut? Well, come to think of it, their songs do convey good values. Jah bless and Jah rules!


I must admit I thought I won't be able to make it. But because I was a bit sad the last time we saw them coz our friends weren't with us and there was this lady who danced with Dino on stage, I promised myself that I'd go see them, that I'd be early so I can get seats for my friends, and that I WOULD DANCE with DINO ON STAGE no matter what! Hehehe.

Me and My Friends

Me and My Girls... why do they look more wasted than me?

My boys (L-R): Brian, Peter and Dino

Merry Christmas girls! (L-R: me, Claire, Mau & Koryn)

Cheers! (L-R: Koryn, Mau, Brian, Tin, me)

It won't be my usual "pa-cute" antic where I'd go on stage, hug Dino and have my photos taken for a few seconds. This time, I will dance, if not a whole song, then at least from the chorus to the end of one reggae song. And that's what I did!

Suffice it to say that by the time I did this, I had already downed 2 bottles of Tanduay Ice and 2 glasses of Kamikazee. I ordered pizza but I didn't eat much. My head was spinning but I didn't care! I was having a great time! Hahaha!

Brownman Revival, Alcohol, Friends and UNO Open Bar

Sept. 2, 2010, exactly a week from today, right after attending the CashCashPinoy launch, Peter and I headed to 70's Bistro to watch Brownman Revival play. Unfortunately, that particularly week has been very hectic and rainy that some of our friends got sick. It's a good thing then that we just replenished our stocks of Vita Plus so I was able to bring a box to one of our dearest friends, Koryn, who works at ABS-CBN and lives a stressful career life.

So that night, it was just Peter and I who went and watched Brownman Revival. We came in late and there were a few tables and chairs left. I wasn't in a very happy and partying mood. I missed my girlfriends! Especially my photographer girlfriends! Who will take my picture with Dino now? LOL.

Eleven Years of Togetherness and Going Strong

The Mafia couple, taken at 70's Bistro

On Aug. 14, 1999, after 12 days of courtship, I said my sweet yes to one of my best guy friends, Peter. I figured, we already know a lot about each other so why make the courtship long?

Before him, my ex courted me for twelve long years, had a relationship with him for four years and everything just went down the drain ...after college.

Then Peter came into the picture. He was my first crush back in freshman year. But I never thought he liked me too, until the day I broke up with my then long time boyfriend. Since then, we vowed to always stay true to each other in a non-conformist, non-traditional kind of way. Few people really understand the dynamic of our relationship. But we don't care. As long as we understand each other, as long as we love each other the way we do, there will always be us, just us two.

Party Weekend with Brownman Revival and Gab

What can I say? The month of July really paved the way for my old party habits. It's a good thing then that Brownman Revival does not charge high fees for entrance, otherwise, I might just find myself broke for attending their gigs 4 times in July! ^_^ And this August, they will be playing every Thursday at 70's Bistro. I just hope and pray that I'd have the energy and budget to see them regularly. They're one of the things that keeps me sane and happy whenever I feel so burnt out from everything. So anyway, the last time I saw them with Peter, our gf Koryn, our bf Joaqui and our new party friends Tin and Mau, I did something really... nice. LOL! But I think I won't ever do it again. Not in that kind of setting anyway. Hahaha!

Here are some of my fave photos from that last gig...

with Dino Concepcion

Music, Movies, Friends and Alcohol Make the World Go Round

I had my weekend all planned out. I was supposed to work for at least 32 hours to compensate for those days I was offline due to my intermittent internet connection all throughout the week. But then my body was crying for rest and I wanted to spend some quality time with my husband too. So come Friday evening, we attended the 2nd Banana Gangbang Rock Festival held at Mooters Bar beside Ortigas Home Depot.

Six things made me so happy that evening:

One - Cecille and Dino (vocalist of Brownman Revival) were able to make it. If it weren't for them, I'd still probably enjoy the music that night (I loved Giniling Festival, Mike Test 123, Lose Your Beer Belly and Marco Palinar's solo guitar act), but it wouldn't be 100x more awesome! It's really great when I can spend fun times with good friends (and my crush of all time! LOL!). So guys, thanks for taking the time out from your busy schedule and being with me that night. It was great catching up and having tons of laughter with you guys! Labyah mare't pare!

L-R: Me,Ces, Dino
Yes, I was in such a hurry that evening, I grabbed a white bra to wear instead of a black one.

At the background L-R: Mel,Bim and Mikey; In front L-R: Ces, Dino, Me and Peter

Good times with good friends: Ces, Dino,me

Two - Peter's cousin, Gab (guitarist of Parokya ni Edgar), was able to make it! Karen was with him and it was just so good to see them again and catch up.

Weekend with Dino and Brownman Revival

Thanks to Brownman Revival, I realized that the old Jen is still alive... somewhere here inside of my being. I really thought I was over my groupie days. I thought I have become the kind of person who only thinks about work, biz, house chores and blogging all the time. Thank God for Dennis' (BMR's drummer) and Jotay's (BMR's manager) frequent invitations and text messages, I finally gave in and since that fateful weekend, I started watching Brownman Revival live once again! In short, I was revived! Hahaha!

Hearing them sing their songs brought back old memories. I miss the good old days when we used to frequent Xaymaca (the reggae hub in QC) and jeggaed with the reggae crowd despite the multitude of people who were always present, the suffocating smoke that filled the air and the drunken antics of people around. In fact, I was tripping down memory lane when I thought of uploading our 2006 and 2007 BMR photos on Facebook. I plan to upload 2005, 2008 and 2009 as well.

So, anyway, it was another fun reggae weekend for me, my hubby Peter, and my girlfriends Ninette and Koryn. Brownman Revival played at Ten02 bar in Timog, Quezon City. I promised myself not to get drunk and true enough, I only had 3 shots of vodka, not enough to get me up on stage and harass my favorite band. Mwehehehe. But I was a bit tipsy though... just enough to let me have my fun while I try to be there for my girlfriends in their moment of need. ^_^

I also decided to be a little more conservative with my getup. If you remember the weekend before this one, my boobs seemed to be popping out of my dress. So, I changed tactic and bought one of the clothes I was selling and wore this beautiful Venus chiffon dress I like. ^_^

Missing Dino and Brownman Revival

Peter and I attended Cherry's wedding at Shangri-la last Saturday. Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule with work and with my online clothes business, I forgot my SD card in my pc at home and therefore, our Nikon D40 had no use for us that night. I was devastated! We even had a little fight about it in the car. My logic? Of all nights that I was set to watch Brownman Revival after 100000 years of not seeing them, this would be the night that I would have no photos with them. Arrghh! Can I just die?

Kidding aside, it was such a blessing when our friend Ninette brought her camera with her. Yahoooooo!!!! It was manna from heaven! You see, when "important moments" in my life are not documented, it's as if they never happened at all. Twisted, yeah. But that's just me.

Nah, actually, it was okay. I was even telling myself "At least I'm no longer crushing over Dino". BUT, the moment I saw him from outside the TEN02 bar in Timog, my heart started beating so fast, my knees became so weak and I couldn't get out of the car coz I was hyperventilating! I was transported back to 2o06 once again! I need alcohol, fast!!!

So without further a do, let me just show you how much I missed Dino and Brownman Revival. And yes, after all these years, when I saw him sing on stage, he still has the same effect on me. Take note, I'm not usually like this under normal circumstances, like when Dino visited us at home last October. I am usually very well behaved. But desperate times call for desperate measure. Add alcohol to the equation and this is the Jen Adams you get...

Bolinao in Pangasinan - Reminiscing Old Times

It's been a long while since the first time we visited Bolinao, Pangasinan last June 11-12, 2006. I only remembered it when our *foreman, Kuya Angie, saw all our beach photos hanging around the house, and he started talking about his hometown, Bolinao. I said, "Hey Kuya, we've been there!" How great would it be if we try to visit the place again this year, after 4 long years. I bet the place is still the same.

*we are currently having my bathroom retiled and the front yard renovated by constructing fences, trellis and gate.

It turns out, Kuya Angie's ancestral home is right over there, fronting the white sandy beaches of Bolinao. And whenever we want to visit the place again, he said to just let him know. Wow! My mind started ticking. It was the month of June when we last went there. We were surprised by the sunny weather that weekend but the water was not that calm. Maybe, if we go this month, we'd see the more serene, calm, and beautiful facade of its turquoise blue waters. I'm getting excited! I want to go this weekend (March 20-21, 2010). But Kuya Angie insisted it would be better to go during their fiesta on March 27-28. We're just waiting for word from his aunt, but more or less, it's a date! ^_^

I actually bought new Speedo & Finis snorkeling gear complete with mask, snorkel, life vest and fins. For some reason, I am itching to snorkel. Originally, I was thinking of taking scuba diving lessons, but because of my fear underwater (my ear hurt and my heart rate was abnormal the last time we went fun diving in Anilao in 2006), plus Peter is not so excited about it (he's already an excellent skin diver to begin with and he gets claustrophobic and bored when surrounded by an immense body of water and when he's underwater for a long time), we decided to forego the activity and just use the money to renovate the house. The whole thing turned out more practical and at least the money didn't go to waste.

So anyway, going back to Bolinao, here are some of our unpublished photos from our last trip there. Peter and I went with Brownman Revival's vocalist, Dino Concepcion, my GF Joan, and our friend Paw. Looking at these photos makes me all the more excited to visit Bolinao once again!

Setting foot at Bolinao's white sandy beach a few hours after midnight...

While the others were sleeping, I was waitin g for the sun to rise...

Pundaquit Falls and Weekend Tales of a Wandering Soul

It started out as a story-telling of a funny cartoon I saw over the internet, which I told Peter one morning when he drove me off to work. This story is something which I can very much relate with coz it has a sensible message to it. So I shared it with Peter that fateful morning. It goes like this:

"There's this balut that was accidentally thrown with the rest of the penoys. As time passed by, he kept on wondering why he always feels different from his friends and peers to think that he looks exactly like everyone else.. He tried his best to fit in, to do what they do, play what they play, but there's always this uneasiness and restlessness inside of him that he can't place. He feels like he's destined to do other things. Things which are very much different from how his friends live their lives. Then one day, he began to crack... and he realized that all this time, he wasn't a chick after all. Duck pala siya. I feel the same way. Baby,balut yata ako..."

After a dramatic pause, waiting for Peter to say something profound, he burst into fits of laughter! He found my story soooo funny to think that I wasn't even making patawiwi (patawa). And he said: "Awwww baby, you're my patoling (duckling)." And I joined him in his laughter. Anyway, I'm sure you get the point of the balut-penoy story. And since then, Peter calls me his patoling, if only to make me laugh. And what do you know... while I was fixing my pictures for my next supposed blog post, I found a video of myself looking and acting like a duckling. This was taken during the Zambapalooza with Brownman Revival (BMR) last August 2006, when I jumped off the Pundaquit falls, followed by most of the other band members. It's been an hour since Jao (BMR's bass guitarist) swore he'd jump off the damned thing. I got impatient that I went up to the cliff myself to show him how easy it was. But I got scared when I reached the top coz the cliff had very rocky edges. But it was then or never. And when I finally jumped, the whole band, locals included, couldn't contain their excited glee! See and hear for yourself... 

Baguio Panagbenga Festival: MY 29th Birthday Celeb Part II

My birthday last year was a blast! I invited all my girlfriends and even my ex (who’s also a very good friend of ours) to come celebrate my 28th birthday with Brownman Revival at Hard Rock Cafe. Afterwards, Peter even organized a surprise birthday hoopla  for me back at our presidential suite at the Mandarin, complete with confetti, cake, drinks and even balloons and birthday hats!!! There were even rose petals scattered in the bedroom leading to the bathtub for some kinky, steamy sexcapades afterwards, hehehe.

(left-right): Ces, Jem, Pat, Irene, Koryn, Me, Ninette, Vina, Peachie

Our Men: Wally, Peter, Vicente and Gil 

Me and my baby while watching Brownman play at Hard Rock Cafe 

Peter’s surprise hoopla back at Mandarin Hotel 

Anyway, it’s not that I wanted to beat that this year (that was Peter’s best birthday present for me ever! Nothing can beat that!) but I just want something different, fun and out of town. I already celebrated my birthday with my family the previous weekend at Isla Verde and I really had a blast. Unfortunately, I ended up catching a fever afterwards (due to fatigue from all the trips and late nights, hehehe)  and now, I just want to celebrate  it with my friends and favorite band (again!). So I checked up Brownman Revival’s schedule and the moment I saw that they’ll be in Baguio for the Panagbenga Festival, I didn’t have second thoughts. I immediately texted all my friends hoping that they’d come with me and Peter as I fully celebrate my 29th year here on earth.  

Vina, Francis, Ninette, Anmarie, Vangie, Jem, Koryn and Mer confirmed. We will just be meeting up with Michelle and Joan in Baguio since they will be leaving a day earlier.  As soon as possible, I bought bus tickets for all of us. Departure was at 10:15 pm, Feb 23, Friday.  Unluckily, Vina and Francis didn’t make it on time and Jem just barely made it. Nevertheless, we were on the road by 10:20 pm and slept through the entire trip.

We reached Baguio at around 4:30 am. Ninette booked us  an apartment room to stay over until we check in at our hotel by 2pm. However, being the nomads that we are, Mer, Koryn, Jem, Peter and I started our tour that dawn while Ninette, Anmarie and Vangie decided to rest instead…

Feeling super cold so early in the morning…

 

At around 5:30 am, Session Road wasn’t that crowded yet. We headed to Pizza Volante to grab some breakfast, and had our tummies filled with coffee, eggs and pancakes.

Capones Adventure in Zambales

Despite the hurricane warning of CNN and PAGASA, we still pushed through with our plan. Like I said, "Let God's will be done!" Hehehe. For some reason, all of us were feeling very brave that dawn, without a care in the world. But of course, I still checked out the weather forecast on the internet when we got home. And it says that it's signal # 2 in Iba while it's signal # 1 for the rest of Zambales. We won't be reaching Iba. Our destination is only up to Pundaquit, San Antonio. So meaning, we'll only encounter signal # 1 of the storm. Very easy. Hahahaha!

 Peter is bald again and trying out the waters of Pundaquit.

So we all met up at 7-11 near Quezon Ave. MRT station. While waiting for Dino, us girls did some food shopping for our trip.When he got there, we also tried withdrawing some cash at a nearby ATM to no avail. Oh well!

 
Watching Dino surf for the first time...

By 5am, we were already on the road to pick up Ode at Meycauayan, Bulacan. Then off we headed to San Antonio, Zambales.

   
Night of drinking, dancing and singing... 

The Human Walrus and Sexy Nomad doing a 70's dance step...

   
more of our drunken state as Dino sings MY WAY...

We reached Megan's Resort at around 8am. Just as we predicted, there was no wind at all. The sky was overcast and to our disappointment, no waves for surfing too. On the other hand, it will be very easy to cross the sea and go to Capones and Camara Islands.  Boat rental is only P600 good for 5 persons and it will only take around 25 minutes to cross the sea. BUT, Ate Rose texted Peter urging us all NOT to venture seaward. She's very concerned that the typhoon might hit our area any time and we might be left stranded on an island. Point taken.

The other boat on the way to Capones  

After checking-in, we rested a bit. We got this room that already has 2 king-sized beds and hot & cold shower. It's priced at P2800 less 20%. The seven of us divided the cost and voila! It came out very cheap. Not bad! Not bad at all!

  

So near...yet so far...

On our first day, we explored the beach, tried the water, went to the estuary and in the afternoon, I was able to rent a surfboard from a local for P800 for 24-30 hours. Cool! The boys surfed until their bodies ached while us girls just watched by the beach.

Reaching Capones Island at last!!!