Whoa, Struan and Tangs is online! (Has it been for a long time now?) We haven't eaten at the place in a while because from the time we'd frequent it, which was during the first half of 2000, it suddenly metamorphosed from a pleasantly quiet teahouse to a be-seen kind of place for partygoers having their nightcaps (yeah right).
Anyway, so Arnold and I decided to forego our usual apple cider + cinammon roll to visit our old haunt. The crowd has thinned out a bit, presumably because of the opening of other outlets in the city. They still serve our favorite melts - in - your - mouth flourless chocolate cake, along with some new items on the menu. I always order either the Nordic salad or any of the sandwiches and dimsum, and Arnold loves the bangers, sheperd's pie and irish stew. They don't serve cherry creme tea anymore but we didn't leave disappointed.
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Whoops, sorry if my first entry made you hungry! This one will probably do the exact opposite. My poor brother got food-poisoned. He said he may have gotten it from coleslaw in Pizza Hut. I have a weak stomach and suffered the same fate more than once in the past two years -- once at Maan Yaan in Glorietta, and another time in Jollibee, also in Glorietta. I know I should've filed complaints but I was still with BBDO at the time and was thankful for the week-long breaks I was given from work.
Lesson: Be careful about eating in fast food joints in the evenings. The food could be stale by then.

Saturday, July 21, 2001 Ô 10:52 a.m.
Bauzon dot who?

It was another lazy, stay-at-home-day for me and Arnold because believe it or not, both our cars are banned from roads on Thursdays. (For those going '...huh?', traffic in Manila is so bad that the government had to implement a coding system that bans certain plate numbers per day). In between talking to each other on the phone, we always spend days like this working on our respective projects, watching TV, and, in my case, trawling for MP3s. Check out these gems I downloaded today.
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I caught half of the latest Gorillaz video on MCM so I decided to pay their site a visit. Okay, they've rebuilt it and it's now...pink?! How funny! (Have you tried accessing Murdoc's Winnebago from the cd? It's such a laugh trip). And they're consistent because during live performances they still don't assume their true identities -- they would play behind a screen where their animated selves are projected, never mind that every fan knows who they are. Damon Albarn ( 2-D) & Miho Hatori ( Noodle) are the significant ones for me because I've liked them circa Modern Life is Rubbish and Viva! La Woman, respectively.
Friday, July 20, 2001 Ô 12:56 a.m.

What a time for the Philippine peso to take a plunge. Guess I have to take a forced break from mail-ordering for a while *groan* -- unless... yoohoo, anyone from ( this record company) reading this? NOW would be a good time to pay me, yes? (:
As much as I enjoy being self-employed, the one thing I really hate is following up on payment due me -- especially when the job has been done because they can now afford to take their sweet time. So far I've been lax, but Arnold, the freelance expert himself, keeps urging me to be more aggressive. Now don't let this discourage you, freelancer-wannabes. It's really the only disadvantage in the set-up.
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I've been eating buttered toast every morning the past few months, not because there's nothing else, but because I always wake up late and it's the easiest thing to prepare. So this morning, I was about to reach for the tub of butter when *gasp*, there it was: a jar of Nutella staring me in the face. Childhood memories washed over me as I slathered on spoonful after spoonful of the high-fat spread on - no, not toast - an apple. Mmmm!
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(Obviously I had nothing else to write about)
Thursday, July 19, 2001 Ô 10:28 a.m.

My poor, overworked computer broke down this weekend, putting 90% of my ongoing projects on hold. (C»st la vie for us web-based artists). It sure didn't help that I had to wait 'til Monday to get it fixed because I refuse to have anyone but my supplier do surgery on it. I take such good care of my computers that I never had to bring any of them in for repair, until now.
So anyway, we brought it to the shop yesterday, with Arnold giving me moral and physical support , as always. Yeah, he knows how much I value my comp (...and *sigh* how much I invested in it). Turns out there was just a minor system problem so it was fixed in a couple of hours. As a treat, and since we were at the shop already, I had the RAM upgraded to 256mb -- how about that? (:
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Hey Calvin, happy 20th birthday. You'll be getting this in the mail soon. Love, Cyn and Arnold

Tuesday, July 17, 2001 Ô 12:18 p.m.

OK, kids, grab your Nimbus 2000s and prepare to fly! Arnold-baby bought me the Harry Potter Quidditch Card Game, and now we're absolutely hooked. It works pretty simple: play it exactly the way Harry does -- score goals with Quaffles, avoid Bludgers and catch the Golden Snitch before your opponent does. You can even play dirty and summon 'spells' to work against your opponent anytime, hah! It's a great way to spend quality time with someone.
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Announcement: triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13) is a two-man show by UP Fine Arts graduates Eric Zamuco and Chitz Ramirez. It will open 13 days after this month's Friday the 13th, opening on the 13th hour of July 26, 2001 at West Gallery, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City. It will run till August 7.
Saturday, July 14, 2001

I managed to convince Arnold to sit with me through a Pete and Pete episode (He liked it! Mission accomplished *grin*). The Adventures of Pete & Pete chronicles the more often than not surreal adventures of two brothers named Pete, their family, friends, and the town they live in. It's actually an old series, filmed in the early 90's, but was cancelled on its third season. If you live in Manila you can catch it on weekdays on Nick at 2PM and 10PM. Aside from the fact that the show is fun and (actually) well-written and directed, cameos by semi-famous people are something to watch out for. Guest stars have included Steve Buscemi, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Stipe, Debbie Harry, Juliana Hatfield, Adam West, Iggy Pop, and one of my favorite bands (who have since disbanded) Luscious Jackson. And most of them took on 'ordinary' roles, like Iggy Pop played a father to Nona, one of the regulars.
The videos are extremely hard to find. I signed up for the notify list at Videoflicks three years ago and until now, there's no confirmation of availability. Rats. (And I can't tape them because my lousy vcr's tuner is busted.)
So whatever became of the kids, post-Pete and Pete? No one seems to still be around except for 'young Pete' Danny Tamberelli (much bigger now) who I see in All That and Figure it Out.
Friday, July 13, 2001

I rented Very Bad Things early this week so I could avail of the Rent 2 Get 1 free promo at our friendly neigborhood video store. Well...it was a very bad movie. For those who haven't seen it (and I strongly suggest that you don't), the movie begins with a group of happy-go-lucky guys accidentally killing a prostitute at a bachelor party . As the story progresses, they kill more innocent people and even turn on each other to keep the deep dark secret intact. I managed to finish it because I wanted to see how it would end. Maybe I would have been able to appreciate it more if it wasn't a dark comedy. If you've seen A Simple Plan, you know what I mean. Now that was really heavy too but at least you feel for the characters.
To flush out the bitter aftertaste, Arnold suggested I watch Little Rascals again. Yep, hehe, that did the trick.
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Final Fantasy is showing in Metro Manila theatres today! Anime is surprisingly BIG now hereabouts. To think Filipinos have actually been exposed to Japanese cartoons ever since my generation was in grade one, until they were taken off the air during the Marcos regime. The otaku (fan) community has since rebuilt itself, with fans aging from 6 to around 35 years old and even older.
Last Saturday there was an AXN Anime Cosplay event in Megamall (cosplay is the term for the hobby in Japan where fans dress up and portray their favorite characters). Our friend Marco was one of the judges and he told us that there were so many contestants (more than 150 showed up, yup, in full costume) that they had to turn some away. The big turnout couldn't have only been due to the trip to Hongkong prize, but because Blue Submarine 6 animator Mahiro Maeda was present to choose the final winner and to sign posters. Anyway, according to Marco, some costumes were really elaborate: a fully-armored knight, a sorceress in a glowing black gown, an actual EVA01 unit, and many other creative executions. (Too bad we didn't see them for ourselves.) In the end, the overall winner was a guy portraying Saito Hajime from Samurai X. He gets to compete in the Regional division.
Arnold and I aren't exactly huge fans but we do watch anime, mostly psycho-thrillers like Akira and Perfect Blue. We're nowhere as passionate as these guys, though (:
Wednesday, July 11, 2001

Ack! Don't fall for this stupid joke. For those who haven't heard, there's supposedly a Jap in Manhattan who markets 'Bonsai Kittens', young kitties that are injected with chemicals to keep their bones soft so they would eventually grow into the shape of the bottles they're stuffed into. Not wanting to risk forwarding incorrect info (check out the Urban Legends site and see how much junk mail there is floating around!), I searched for the Animal Protection Institute's stand on it since I was sure they would have heard about it already, and here it is:API has been deluged with messages from people concerned about the Bonsai Kitten website. It is a joke. The images were created with the aid of computer graphics by graduate students at MIT... The website is protected by the U.S. Constitution, under the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech, no matter how stupid or disgusting it may be. However, the FBI is currently investigating the website for possible violation of federal statutes.
Tuesday, July 10, 2001

Last night, Arnold and I attended the beautiful (and huge - 800 guests!) wedding ceremony of one of our college friends. It was the first time we ever used live-butterfly confetti and the effect was totally magical. Uh-huh, my baby and I are suckers for happy endings and fairy tale romances. (: Congratulations to Allan and Bia for taking a step in living out theirs.
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Oh, can I just share that we're just nuts about Vietnamese food lately? It's healthy and spicy and really yummy. Thank goodness for PhoHoa.
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I just started reading this semi-new series, Pakkins' Land by Gary & Rhoda Shipman. It's about this boy Paul who wanders off into old man Pakkin's land, befriends talking animals, then learns that he must help them find their lost leader, King Aryah. Fans of Narnia will enjoy this one because of the similarities in the plot (C.S. Lewis is supposedly one of Shipman's influences). You can buy the first TP here.
Monday, July 9, 2001


Arnold-baby and I were playing Garbage's Version 2.0 in the car yesterday and I recounted to him the time I saw them perform at the Roseland. I used to like going to concerts (a lot!) but I think I simply outgrew it. There was even a time when I would watch local bands at least 3x a week but nowadays I can't even bring myself to a club without dreading the fact that I'd be reeking of cigarette smoke afterwards.
I still get to see my band friends, but in much healthier conditions now.
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And speaking of friends in that biz, congratulations to Buddy and Earnest for being the brand new parents of a bouncing baby girl, Veda! She's Eraserbaby number...6, actually.
Saturday, July 7, 2001

Hey, I joined this easy-money making service -- you know, the type where you get paid to receive e-mails. I've always ignored these things but curiosity got the better of me. So...if you all wanna help me out here, pretty please click on this link.
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Hmmm, 'Rubber Gloves or Jimmy Choos' by Faith Bleasdale seems like an interesting read. It's about a group of graduates charting a path of self discovery and destruction through the suited and booted high and low life of London town. With hilarious consequences and a long hard stare in the face of reality, they all work it out in a finale as unexpected as life itself. Honestly, what caught my attention at first was the funky cover, and then the fact that the author's surname is the same as my British cousin-in-law's. Anyway, the book's first chapter is available for download at the official site.
Friday, July 6, 2001

Ahh, there's nothing like waking up late on a cool rainy stay-at-home day to bring back childhood memories.
While I was fixing myself a tuna sandwich earlier, I remembered the Peanuts strip where Linus got mad at Lucy for cutting his slice of bread in half . He said cutting it somehow takes away some of the tastiness, and that folding, on the other hand, keeps the bread in its original form thus retaining it's goodness. And it keeps more of the filling inside, too. Call me gullible but that strip stuck to me and I've been preparing my sandwiches that way ever since.
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Speaking of childhood memories, any of these names ring a bell?: Bumble, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, Dolly. Every kid that grew up in the early 80's would remember the cartoon that used to air every Christmas season, 'Rudolph and the Island of the Misfits.' (Remember? There's also one about Jack Frost.) So I found this site that sells collectible toys and figurines of them Misfits. Enjoy the trivia section. (:
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*sigh* I'm sooo tired of this site's layout already, don't be surprised if it suddenly transforms into a better-looking one within the next 30 days.
Thursday, July 5, 2001


Hey, see how you rate as a hip, cutting edge web designer by taking this quick test. I scored a whopping... 3 points. ho-kay. guess. I'm. not. cyberly. trendy. enough. for .them.*hurt*
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In direct contrast, I think this guy should give out design checklist quizzes on his site as well (...yes, I'll still flunk it).

Wednesday, July 4, 2001


Are you a poet and you don't know it? Or are you an aspiring songwriter looking for lyrical inspiration? Check out Freelance Lovers(TM) Magnetic Prose --fantastic plastic refrigerator poetry and art by Indi and Adam. That's not all: if you double-click the green bits, a story-snippet window pops up. Click on the hyperlink and a new story will pop up. Coolness! Such creativity, you guys.
So, I played with them magnets came up with this:
His deep set watery eyes of the shiniest glass
transparent, they speak. A lover's lips.
That memory circles her like a lullabye
spider webs cannot change what the heart sees.
Ugh, I know, it doesn't really mean anything but it sure sounds poetic, hehe.
Monday, July 2, 2001


How was your weekend? No, I haven't been lazy, was just very busy . Feeling under the weather too. Arnold jokingly says that my usually resistant antibodies went on strike because I've been stressing myself out on work again.
Anyway, we caught Kramer vs. Kramer on E! yesterday. Yeah it's depressing, but it's such a good movie. Hoffman and Streep are of course, still very much around but I wondered if the kid who played Billy ever grew up to be an actor too, so I did a google search and found this(...I could be mistaken now but I'm so tempted to ask if it's really him)
Monday, July 2, 2001

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