Month: September 2008

Jodythinks

Pick a side, any side.

Jody Alarva3 Comments

there was light

I often find myself on the fence. Especially when it comes to my friends. The present is no different. Sadly, what was once a tightly knit group has now formed two separate groups, and i find myself trying to split myself in half hanging out with both of them.

It’s no issue really, people with different interests form different circles. These two circles intermingle sometimes but generally exist apart. Sometimes I wish i lived in a world with only concentric circles.

Naive as I am I’ve tried to be part of both. Both groups i like equally, and both groups having different interests I can both relate to.

Now I just find myself running from one side to the other trying to find a way to understand why I’m killing myself doing it.

But the answer is simple.

I love my friends. That’s it.

This isn’t complaining, this is just a longing for a utopia where people can all get along.

I try to pick a side, but I find myself missing the snarkiness of one group or the silliness of the other.

I hope I won’t find myself someday not belonging to any group.

Till then I’ll be running.

food · Jodythinks

Sunday is Family day

Jody Alarva2 Comments

artscream

So we haven’t seen our cousins from my mother’s side in a really long time. Since we’re all now basically in Manila and we can go to the mall again (long story, just that we were told by the mom’s side of the family to not go to the mall for a while) we decided to meet and eat and catch up.

Where did we go? Robinson’s Place Ermita of course. Why of course? Well, it’s where we’ve always gone when we do see each other here in Manila. Even if it is a hecka long way from home, it’s a food haven that hasn’t changed since my mom worked in Pagcor when I was a kid. And for food, I’ll always travel.

First stop: Bon Vivant. It’s a rice in a box stall that’s been there for as long as i can remember. They have the most unique and just comforting flavors (Like my favorite: Ooh La La, a shrimp pesto, bacon mix) that have made people come back for years. And since it’s the only branch (believe me, people have tried to ask the Chinese owner for franchise rights, they’ve all been denied) it’s an inexpensive treat that I always make sure I get when I go to Ermita.

Then off to Wham. Don’t tell Ate Kaye (she doesn’t know we already ate, since she was late [hey that rhymes!]) but we ate fries, chicken littles (their chicken nuggets that are oh so good) and onion rings with our rice. Photo-opped, laughed at absurd rumors (that we found out later in the day was true) and ate our way through our first sit down meal.

Ajisen was third on our list. After walking in circles for 15 minutes and not knowing what to make Ate Kaye eat, we sat down at Ajisen, this Japanese place at the corner of the 3rd(?) floor at Midtown. Ordered sushi (to be fair we already ate) and ice cream. Gulped down the food then looked for more dessert.

And dessert we did find. Art’s cream gallery at the ground floor of Midtown was a place I’ve already read about online. Fiorgelato providing it’s ice cream (ok, gelato) we had the One for All which consisted of 12 scoops of ice cream in a single huge martini glass. The flavors all melted together, which was sometimes fun(mint and chocolate chip), sometimes strange (lychee and hazelnut). It was gone in 10 minutes.

Don’t think the day’s over. After Tita Tess picked us up, we went to S&R for apparently a sale and saw the longest line ever. We were tired so we just decided to eat dinner there. For people who have been eating every hour and a half, we managed to eat half a dozen burgers, a pizza, more cups of clam chowder than i could count, a salad (with bacon and cheese, i suspect it’s not as healthy as it’s parading to be), churros, and those chicken bread things that were so good.

It’s a wonder our clothes still fit.

Next time we’re going North! 🙂

Jodythinks

The simple things.

Jody Alarva4 Comments

jager

I guess with all i’ve done lately, I haven’t felt like me in a while.

I don’t really party but I want to now. I find myself listening to party music and doing the shimmy shimmy shake at home, and the head bob at my station at work.

I find myself checking out people’s outfits in public and asking them where they got that random shirt, or shiny shoes.

I wear makeup sometimes now (eyeliner) when I feel like it (or when I try to distract from a blemish caused by not sleeping).

I haven’t read a new book in ages.

Food trips are a thing of the past.

 

So last Saturday I went back to my roots and just spent it laid back and food tripping. Things i learned that night:

  • Gerry’s (at least the one in front of ABS fer sure) has no corkage fee. Huzzah)
  • You can buy those little liquor bottles that they have in hotel rooms for 150 each at a liquor store in Timog circle
  • There are no ice cream parlors in the Tomas Morato/Timog area to Katipunan that are open at 3am on a weekend.
  • Bri-iw, a small hole in the wall bar in Kamuning used to be a gay bar.
  • Petron Treats in Katipunan stocks only Nestle and Haagen Dazs ice  cream in its freezers.
  • Drinking is supposedly strictly prohibited there.

It was a nice night. Just hanging out, laughing my head off. No hangover, no Sunday hell.

I missed this.

(But i wanna dance)

Jodythinks

My final UAAP weekend

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final game

And it was a UAAP saturated weekend. After a few days of trying to find tickets online and whatnot, got tickets the old fashioned way, Joannaman got in line on the day of the last game of UP and UST, which was also an ADMU vs DLSU game day so it was hell trying to get tickets the days before. I really didn’t know we were gonna get tickets for that day’s game. If i did I would’ve worn a different shirt (I was in navy. I am not an ADMU poser i just didn’t think when i got up to dress that day. Joannaman is the fan not me. She regularly goes to games. She keeps track of scores. She actually knows more players on my alma mater’s team than me.

So when she told me at 11:30 am that I had a ticket for that day’s game and that she went in line twice so I could get one, I hurriedly told my boss I had to go. Got into a cab, headed straight to Araneta. Watched UST and UP’s last non-bearing game. When i got into the coliseum, all i saw was a blur of green and blue, but no matter. A good fight for both sides, with UP leading at the start of the game. In the end UST won, but left the coliseum in tears. I actually felt bad for Jervy Cruz, who, being a huge guy and a monster on the court, was doubled over weeping. It being his last game as a UAAP player and all. So someone hug Mr. Cruz man-mountain for me when you see him, he looked like he needed it that day.

As the yellow and maroon left the court and the green and blue went in, you could almost feel the crowd waking up from a collective sleep. The tension crackled in the air. If you haven’t watched a UAAP game before, this is the game to watch. People bedecked in green or blue, no one daring to be in the wrong color at the wrong place unless he had a death wish. I definitely didn’t. I stayed quiet amidst the sea of blue around me. Although I have to admit I was leaning more toward the green than the blue (except for one dlsu player that i want to deck, he just gives me the jeebies). I usually watch these games on the tube, and there usually is a good fight between the rivals, but this game was way different. ADMU in the lead from the start, with DLSU almost handing them the victory, never even tying the game. I wonder what happened. The crowd in green was almost silent, slackjawed in surprise at the lackluster showing of their players. And they left quiet still. With the crowd in blue chanting ONE BIG FIGHT. And I’m sure in the heads of the gang in green, they promise a better fight next time.

Cheerdance was quite different. UP and UST were there en masse. A sea of yellow, although a lot less yellow than i’ve seen in previous years, greeted me as I went in. UP was there in force, almost doubling the UST crowd, definitely the biggest representation of a single school there. Joannaman and I were the wishy-washiest people there. Cheering the Go Uste! cheer and the Unibersidad ng Pilipinas cheers, cheering Go Lasalle, clapping at the ADMU routine. I chose to play safe and wore a yellow jacket, Joannaman went the maroon shorts route. And while the Patron section was mostly quiet, we were noisy enough for the rest of the people there.

Things to note:

  • I was a bit disappointed at the UST routine. No wow! part. And while I cannot for the life of me do any of those moves, I thought they could have gone a bit more exciting. (maybe next year?)
  • Loved the DLSU crowd for cheering along UST. a lot.
  • UP was basically amazing. even taking pictures and a bit distracted, I was awed.
  • ADMU had a fun routine, with a sprinkle of fabulous. (just the way I like it)
  • UE sure likes umbrellas. It’s like the second time I’ve seen them use those in the span of a few years.
  • I think people were looking for the fun factor in the FEU routine and were disappointed that there wasn’t one.
  • I think UST changed the tiger mascot uniform?
  • There was an NU fan who reminded us of esther, we watched him bounce around the bleachers all throughout the NU routine.
  • UP deserved to win.

And i, feeling a bit colehiyala for a moment, got a little jolt of kilig when I turned around, saw a college crush and smiled at him then proceeded to RUN AWAY. I am a dork. Hahaha.

And how was your weekend?

Jodythinks

What a weekend

Jody Alarva1 Comment

concert

Saturday was a blur. A blur, but a blast.

I was happy that the cupcake surprise for Sarah (Happy Birthday Sarah!) went well. The birthday candle went off ok, but it took a bit of coaxing for it to go the whole fireworks-y.

I, like a lot of people from my generation, headed to the Eraserheads reunion concert last Saturday night. I had no connections so I was at the Patron section. After a whirlwind day at work, headed off to Fort to the concert. We knew we weren’t gonna be standing in front since we were late. The gates opened at 3, we got there past 6pm, so we settled for getting a decent place to view the stage. I have to admit i counted down with the rest of the crowd with the 10 minute clock before their entrance. They picked the perfect song to open the concert, Alapaap. A crowd favorite and just enough noise to start things off right. The 16 odd songs they got to sing were bliss. I was, like a doof, singing along to every song. You could almost feel the electricity in the air, as everyone was feeling the sense of magic this band had to capture the soul of a generation. See I was too young to go to their concerts when they were together, so this may be my only Eraserheads concert. And when they announced that the concert had to be cut short coz Ely (Buendia, the vocalist) had to be rushed to the hospital, I was disappointed for sure, but also quite worried for Ely’s health.  So i said my prayer like everyone else and headed off into the night, not quite believing where I’ve been.

After which we went to Embassy for a work thing. Haha. It was really a work thing. Our big boss from the US invited the whole department to a night of general craziness, and since I was jonesing for a night out after my jilted Friday night, I went. Even if i was already tired from the workday and the concert. A lot of people from the office were there, enjoying the free flowing Jack and Coke and Vodka Sprites that never seemed to end. We danced our hearts out. We laughed off the stress of the day. We forgot our worries. With all that alcohol surging through our respective bloodstreams, who could blame us? It was a fun fun night.

And to think I almost missed it. 😛