a musing: derivations of a non-conformist idealist

by Julius Christopher F. Fonte, 2010, pastel on canvas then scanned then digitally manipulated

by jaybeecc, 2010, pastel on canvas

Not too many nice shots from this roll. But there were 30 developed! So below are shots taken from my McKinley office assignment. And to see the rest of the pictures, head on over to my Multiply account. 003 002 001

The Piazza in flames

Huh? Whut? Wha?

Pretty lights

I’m afraid the economy is truly in a sad state for employers to offer masseurs just P30 a month!  =) Ok, class, tear this ad apart. One point per error in grammer or speeling. Get at least ten points to pass the course.
Timer starts now.  =)

Fingermask 166. I met him last year and ever since, we’d both be in our lovely group of friends occasionally (rather frequently) hanging out or dining out or watching movies or singing our lungs out at videoke. Fun guy to have around. Can be quite serious too when you need some words of wisdom. My fellow Tiger (born 1974) now based in the U.S., he’s the famous internet personality Migs, the Manila Gay Guy. Over there at the left-hand menu, you can click on his web site link.  Go on, click it. And contribute to world peace.  =) We miss you, Migs!

Fingermasks 160-165. It has been both a pain and a pleasure working on this project with these heroes. Ahwehwehwe. I hope we all learned something from each other. And I’ll see you again soon. Good luck to all of us. (There’s actually a seventh but he already has a fingermask picture from before.)

Ok, let’s see… there’s this new frozen yogurt place at Shangri-la mall at Edsa.  And wow, do they have lots of flavors! Of course I immediately tried the Peanut Butter flavor. Meh.  Next! Or back to Red Mango!  Then at Central- a drinking place in Makati, they have some interestingly-named appetizers. I didn’t order those. I just got some chops. And boy, were they big! Too? =) I didn’t really like the green-colored drinks though. It seemed like a few parts of everything alcoholic.   Wouldn’t the Best Friends uniform sober you up fast anyway? Whoever designed that uniform should be dragged to Hill!  McKinley Hill where Piazza is; where a nice glass dome ceiling is; and where there is a fountain you can shoot pictures in front of and make it appear that the water is shooting into your mouth. The previous sentence wasn’t really a complete sentence, was it? Moving on… I don’t think I have ever seen a “Sale” sign making use of a minus sign in front of the percentage amount before. It makes it look like it’s a negative sale. It would usually read “some percentage off” or “less something percent”. Anyway, those are some of what I’ve seen. Et tu?

A day before my birthday last year, I treated some of my closest friends at the office- the couples Ngo and Uy- to lunch.  I was new to McKinley Hill and its Piazza then so we just went with the most-expensive looking restaurant there.  I kid.  But it wouldn’t feel the same if it were a birthday lunch treat at KFC, would it? It would? Ok, fine, whatever.

Some nice, colorful tile designs on the tables and walls.  The one above’s the table and for the walls, well, look into the mirror…
See it? =) Now, for more of the table-top.  Nice shakers, huh?
And here’s what’s on top of everything.  Lends a lot to the atmosphere.  Feels like an old home (Not a home for the elderly!) serving classic dishes. So let’s move on to what we ate…
First up: what I drank- classic Mango shake.
Rice, please!
And more rice! With some toppings too!
Some poultry.
And Bulalo soup.
And uncovered. But the bones didn’t have the meat in the center. Is it still meat? Yeah, the one inside the bone. Marrow, yeah! Anyway, this batch didn’t have any. Sad!
It had lots of veggies and greenies though. And I luurve veggies and greenies, right? RIGHT?!?! Riiiight…
Fish and chips.
Lastly, (it was actually first to arrive at the table) fish scales!  Milk fish skin fried to a crisp.  A little too tasty or salty. And a little too tough. Verdict: harsh on the palate. And so that was one heavy lunch. So much food for 5 people. Total cost: under P500 per head. Oh and just before we left, since my friends kept on loudly announcing that it was my birthday, the staff brought me this:
Aw. Sweet! But how can five people share on a brownie? =) Kidding. Thanks! I still can’t eat here everyday because that would be financial suicide. But I appreciate the gesture and the friendly staff and being able to order from both menus of Old Vine and Kuse. And for accepting cards when the other establishments at the Piazza still haven’t got that settled yet then. So, all in all, nice enough experience. Filling. Just right for special occasions. Anniversaries. Dates when you’re trying to impress someone. Old vine, recommend. Not just THAT recommended.

Last November, I went to Eastwood with a bag of trade paperback collections of the Fables comic book to have favorite cover artist James Jean sign them.  I overheard that his previous book signing at the Fort the day before was so much more attended and the “super“-fans who had some more things for him to sign came back to this second signing event.  It was a thrill to see an internationally acclaimed artist; and after 6 people get their books signed, it’ll be my turn.  Eeee! =)

I went in line again because I could only have four books signed at a time.  I had him sign “Haller!” in one book ahwehwehwe and had him draw a cat in another.  Fun!  Check out his stuff at jamesjean.com and at processrecess.com

Ah, the miracle of life!  Quite quick for doggies - in just two months after mating, you can expect bundles of joy.  Well, it’s pretty stressful too as the puppies look so delicate and vulnerable.  So here’s the story…  It all began with seeing an advertisement for a chihuahua stud ahwehwehwe…  The day came when the two would meet and, er, mate.
Zara was pretty calm. Cody, the “stud”, appeared really frisky.  And assisted by the “shooter”, young Zara finally got laid.  The first time was a Wednesday.  Then Cody came back two days after for a repeat.
After a month, Zara started to show.  And on her 55th day, her tummy was already very big.  Last Saturday, we took her for an ultra sound and x-ray.  In the x-ray it was clear she was going to have at least four puppies.  In around 6 more days.
6 more days!?!  She already was not her usual playful self.  And she sat at an angle.  Or she would lie down flat on her tummy.  Like so.
Sometimes, when I have her on my lap turned over, you could see some of the puppies kicking and screaming “Let me out!”  That’s an exaggeration.  Yeah, you know.  But just one day after we turn her over to the vet, her water breaks and the doctor decides to do the c-section and “let the dogs out.”
Introducing from the upper left and going clockwise: Raisin, Blueberry, Kalahari, and Gobi.
Here they are 5 days old and trying to get to the best nipple.  Zara is so thin now but she’s eating a lot.  She feeds her pups then looks for food then sleeps with her pups and that’s the cycle all day and night.
Ssh, they’re sleeping.  Or are they?  The vet says they’ll open their eyes by the 25th…  I’ll have updates on the pups here in this blog so stay tuned!

By the way, I’m registering a Kennel name - Curious Kennel.

Update (1/24/2010) - The vet called to tell us that Gobi, the black and white runt died this morning.  She had a case of diarrhea and couldn’t breathe.  =(

Update (1/27/2010) - Carrie (Kalahari) has opened her eyes!

Update (1/28/2010) - Blueberry and Raisin have opened their eyes too!  I see you!  =)