Beverly Hills

The best cupcakes are in Beverly Hills

What can I say about Beverly Hills? Rodeo drive specifically....it's damn rich. It's First World rich, like uber rich!
Plus, they've got the best cupcakes I ever tasted in my life...plus, it's so good, Hollywood celebs actually go there...which means you might bump into one...and I did.
I was in line with Queen Latifah. Not bad, even though I didn't recognize her until Randy (my friend's husband) told me.




That's Queen Latifah on your right with the track suit

Me and my girls

I have been in Los Angeles since Nov. 2o, and I've taken some really nice pictures here California. It's certainly different from the east coast, and the weather is really nice.
I'm still not completely sold to Cali though, inspite of the fabulous weather and the beaches, specially after seeing downtown L.A. Dirty and Drab, I'm sorry to say. Really, it's a sad looking downtown area.

Anyway, my girl Ruth, and her friend Kathy went out yesterday to Manhattan Beach, around 30 miles from Glendale, where I'm staying right now, and the weather was absolutely amazing!

Shaken or stirred? This Bond doesn't give a damn

Press and fans say that he's the sexiest and most rugged Bond after Sean Connery.

I have no idea about Connery's James Bond, but they're right about Daniel Craig's being sexy and rugged. Craig owns this James Bond--all muscled, blond, blue-eyed, craggy faced inch of him. Bond never seemed so hot, being so cold.

Watch it. Watch it. Watch it.

You'd be hard pressed not to applaud when he delivers his iconic line at the end of the movie.

Strange behaviors

One of more bizzare things I have to adjust to now that I'm here in the States are the random individuals who will just shout, sing, chatter, and talk to you out of nowhere. Riding the public transportation is always an interesting experience if you want to live like the locals, and you get to see how the average citizens interact.

Here in the States, I think I get to observe the behaviors that are far removed from my expereince back home or in any other country I have visited(Except Russia). There are random men would just introduce themselves to you on the street, black women arguing loudly in the steets, you have people singing in a bus, you have a man who shush other passengers for talking in loud voices and "breaking his concentration," after which he proceeds to jabber loudly about absoultely random things. Don't be suprised if a gay guy with red lipstick taps you on the shoulder in Walgreens and asks for money for his HIV treatment. I was on the way to the bank the other day when a guy sat right infront of me and greeted me in Tagalog. He then proceeds to tell me about living in the Philippines and then asked for my email address. Hookay.

But inspite of these behaviors that I am not used to, I am happy to note that I haven't felt any fear of violence from any individual. In Russia where people seem stoic and expressionless, I experienced my first ever random physical assault. Attacked out of nowhere, or having a glazed man sitting beside you in a bus talking about music then jumping to his least favorite politicians? I'd tolerate the strange loud man whose biggest bother is his voice penetrating your iPod listening, over the quiet one who'd jump on you in broad daylight any day.

S.A.D.

That's Seasonal Affective Disorder.

It's cold like nobody's business right now. Honestly, how do Northeners do it? How do they survive the cold, dreary autumn and winter? I mean, I have no problem with the cold (ok, maybe a little), but the lack of sunlight--when 3pm feels like 6pm, or any time of the day for that matter feels like dusk--that I can't take. While the leaves are falling and trees look like dark skeletons, the human mind and body must slowly be wilting like the trees. Hey, we're all living things that need nourishment from the sun, so what happens when there is no sun for 4-5 months in a row? I can't comprehend it. It's a wonder the Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians aren't depressed. It's no wonder that the Russians seem so frosty-- who wouldn't with their kind of harsh climate!

My tropics mind and body are absolutely thirsty for sun exposure. I'm not talking about cancer level sun bathing; just your normal everyday sunlight .

I took pictures of Lincoln Park at 4:30pm, but I am not typing from my laptop, so I can't upload the photos yet. For those back in the Philippines or just anyone from the Southern Hemisphere, just be glad for your free dose of happy pill when the sun's rays fall on you and don't hide from it like some scared Japanese geisha. I'd do anything for some sunlight right now.

Weather forecasts for significant Cities:

Chicago: Ugh
Thursday 43° F 30° F 6° C -1° C
Friday 44° F 33° F 7° C 1° C
Saturday 43° F 31° F 6° C -1° C
Sunday 40° F 30° F 4° C -1° C
Monday 44° F 29° F 7° C -2° C

Novosibirsk Russia: Glad I'm not there anymore
Friday 32° F 21° F 0° C -6° C
Saturday 24° F 3° F -4° C -16° C
Sunday 15° F 6° F -9° C -14° C
Monday 19° F 10° F -7° C -12° C
Tuesday 19° F 6° F -7° C -14° C

Moscow Russia: Imperially cold

Friday 33° F 24° F 1° C -4° C
Saturday 33° F 26° F 1° C -3° C
Sunday 30° F 24° F -1° C -4° C
Monday 33° F 28° F 1° C -2° C
Tuesday 30° F 26° F -1° C -3° C

Florence Italy: Tolerable

Friday 68° F 57° F 20° C 14° C
Saturday 66° F 53° F 19° C 12° C
Sunday 62° F 46° F 17° C 8° C
Monday 60° F 50° F 16° C 10° C
Tuesday 60° F 53° F 16° C 12° C


Los Angeles: WOW!!!


Thursday 83° F 56° F 28° C 13° C
Friday 77° F 56° F 25° C 13° C
Saturday 78° F 56° F 26° C 13° C
Sunday 77° F 56° F 25° C 13° C
Monday 77° F 52° F 25° C 11° C

Manila: I'm not suprised


Friday 82° F 73° F 28° C 23° C
Saturday 84° F 73° F 29° C 23° C
Sunday 82° F 75° F 28° C 24° C
Monday 84° F 73° F 29° C 23° C
Tuesday 86° F 73° F 30° C 23° C

constant

He is the man I will adore till the day I die.

I loved him since I was sixteen...

I don't care if it sounds like cheesy crap, but everything he does IS magic.

Saturday date

Yesterday I went to work! Yay!

Ok, it wasn't exactly the I.T. consultancy or media communications that I did before, but I did get paid to dress up and look nice. Anyway, the office was snazzy.

Then off to dinner at the popular tapa place, Cafe Iberico, with Craig, Cindy, Jason, David, Anne, Lin Xiu and Audree...

In da club

Nov. 10

It was raining hard and windy to boot, but I braved the elements to go clubbing. I am a club girl. I like to go clubbing and having some drinks with friends and dancing till I drop.
I've clubbed in most places I've visited: Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Novosibirsk, Florence, Vienna, and regretfully missed a few: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, and Milan. And I only missed out on the clubbing because I had no one to club with....but if I did...

anyway...

So I went clubbing last Friday at Jet Vodka Lounge at 1551 N. Sheffield, not exactly an easy location to find. The club looked like an inside of a giant cylinder with white walls. It felt more Star Trek than Airforce One. The place wasn't huge, but the vodka was really good. Russia ruined my taste for vodka because once you've tasted authentic Russian vodka, the rest are just pretenders. Fortunately, the club lived up to its name because the vodka shot tasted like authentic Russian vodka; no smell, no burning sensation as you swallow, no strong after-taste; in short, it was smooth as silk. The music was good because it was hip hop and rap, but there was no obvious dance floor in the club, so we just had to dance where we were standing.

I joined AsianOne.org's events manager extraordinaire, Cindy Lam, and her friends from her other social network organization. We were all Asians from different origins and it was interesting to guess where everyone was from based on how we look.

The group was a bunch of professionals ranging from finance (lots of them!), healthcare, to manufacturing. You gotta hand it to the immigrant parents, they really hammered academic excellence to their kids and the fruits of their labor show. I won't run out of people to go to for tax or investment advice!

Here are pics of the night:

a fashion show of sorts

with a live perfomer
With Joyce

The one that got away

I just unintentionally blew off in a major way, a cute guy who was seating beside me here in a ice cream shop at Broadway. I feel guilty and majorly pissed at myself because the guy was young and cute!

Ok, in my defense, the elements just didn't work out. Here's why:

1.) I am in a gay area. Most cute guys here do not care about me because I do not have a penis. So no, the last thing I would expect is some cute straight guy to hit on me.

2.) His first line was to ask if I wanted to play scrabble with him. Hello! I didn't think I heard right the first time he asked. When he asked me again, I was utterly lost. Ok, so there are some game boards in this place where couples use while they gaze at each other over a cafe mocha. but heck, why would I want to play scrabble, just because the couples in this cafe are playing scrabble? That's too cheesy.

3.) Lost in translation: I was so flustered, my thought process was slower. I was supposed to give him a gentle turn down that still had enough opening to whatever, but I said I was doing something (duh, I'm in front of a laptop). He said he should be doing something as well. And what do I say? Something smart, or sassy or seductive? No. I say, "Maybe you should try harder."

He left as soon as I went to the ladies restroom.

Damn.

This is why I love Borat...he isn't nice!

When is nice, too nice?

I swear, if another person smiles and greets me in a chirpy voice, I will yell or vomit. Ok, maybe I won't be psychotic or unhygenic, but I'm close to chipping my teeth with all the gritting. Really, I am very, very annoyed. It seems so artificial. Where is the true emotion?

I know Americans live in an almost surreal politically correct culture, which somehow stifles candidness and transparency in their daily social interactions, but I find myself silently screaming from all the pleasantry. Let's get politically incorrect even once ok?

1.) African-Americans are loud and huge. They talk to each other in amplified volumes, as if they were 20 feet apart, instead of two, and they overwhelm my space and air when I sit beside them in the bus. I was practically crushed by a black woman this afternoon while she chattered casually with another big black woman. It's true for a majority, and if they want to sit on me until I suffocate while they scream racial discrimination, then that's their right. I should be able to speak my mind, this is America after all-- land of the free. Or atleast it was before 9/11.

2.) Latinos are short. Gael Garcia Bernal is actually of average-height in Mexico because most Latinos I see here seem to be always hovering between 5 feet to 5 feet four inches.

3.) The Mexicans sure make lots of babies.

4.) The Jews seem to own most medium to big businesses.

5.) Asian men don't seem to find me attractive. I don't get the look from them that I would get from Black men and the white guys. Why art thou?

6.) America love Borat. And so do I.

How to beat the system

What do you do so you would not get sucked into the bipolar American heart-attack inducing fastfood culture/maniacal gym workout to burn off the greasy chips?

Stay true to the Asian diet. So what if we love our carbo-loading rice? It beats greasy burgers and fries in any scale.

It's simply cold

I have nothing much to say about these pictures. It's just that it was very cold when we went out, and you can see how bundled up we were. I'm not a fan of cold weather. I like autumn because the leaves are turning orange, but the cold weather that goes with the scenery is no picnic.

My war is not Iraq

from www.chfestival.org

America is truly the land of opportunities. It has so many opportunities that an average fast food patties flipper could earn more than a receptionists back home.

I am reminded of how much developed this country is when I attended one of the seminars conducted for the 17th Chicago Humanities Festival. The summary of the program follows:

War Through the Lens

Two of the world’s most acclaimed documentary photographers discuss the work and craft of capturing images of armed conflict. Steve McCurry, whose award-winning work has ranged from the battlefield to Buddhist shrines, is joined by Sara Terry, a reporter-turned-photographer whose work Aftermath documents stories and conditions of post-war Bosnians, and Ashley Gilbertson, whose work has taken him across the globe photographing war-torn areas and who is best known for his work documenting the infamous Battle of Fallujah in 2004. Moderated by Chicago Tribune photographer Nancy Stone.

It was a moving seminar because the topic is one that, as one of the panelists stated, "horrifies us and fascinates us." War is all that.

Americans are angry and upset with the war in Iraq. Every news show features the war in Iraq. So war is a timely topic that touches the core of most average Americans. It is no suprise that programs like these recieve a lot of funding, hundreds of thousands worth of funding. Journalist Sara Terry even created a foundation that will support journalists who go to places of war aftermaths.

I marvel at Ms. Terry's dedication to her profession and passion to tell the truth as she sees it. That being said, I also cannot help but feel a disconnection. The amount of money being poured into awareness campaigns here in the United States is enough to feed dozens of orphanages or create a viable water system to remote villages in the Philippines. Coming from a country where the most basic of human needs are not often met, I feel the need to tell these rich first world citizens to put their money on a more tangible cause.

But then again, these are subjective feelings of a person who comes from a totally different place. Who knows what my consciousness and reality would be if I was born and bred in a developed country like America?

Therefore my war is not Iraq. My country's war is existential but on a more basic plane. The war is the struggle to create a decent existence in the Philippines. The war in the Philippines is at its doorstep--poverty and endemic corruption. I wonder if there are enough grants from Western countries to eliminate that.