Traveled and played with the team at the first Ulty tourney held in Malaysia at the UiTM university in Shah Alam, Selangor. All the local teams, save one, were mostly younger, beginner student teams that were easily crushed even by the laid-back Chuckies, who in turn were easily crushed by the elite team Freakshow. Our best (and most painful) loss was to the Flying Naans, the KL expat team, where they took us down by universal point on the end of Saturday. Still it was great fun and Chuckies stayed true to form by performing the best cheers again, hence, the Spirit Award for the tournament. VIPs awarded the winners (the uni sports director I think) and a cute yellow stuffed lion (apparently the official school mascot) along with a trophy accompanied the honors. Most favorite cheer of the weekend: "Harimam Kumbambiru" sung to the baseline of "Ice, Ice, Baby" for our host team, the UiTM Lions (apparently, "harimam kumbambiru" means "lion" in Malay, or samting like dat...).

Another Singaporean 'celeb' we were able to get close to was Fiona Xie, host of the local TV show "Coffee Talks and Hawker Woks" and a Mediacorp artiste (that's how they refer to entertainers here). She was a petite, friendly gal who resembled Pia Guanio. Anton and I ambushed her for an interview after she tried the uPilot at the launch event at the Ritz Carlton, after which she gamely posed for a picture with us.

...yet so far away. I got *this* close to Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (say, Soo Chi) a couple of nights ago when my agency handled the uPilot launch for OSIM at the Ritz Carlton Hotel (reputedly the only 6-star hotel in SEAsia). For the non-media savvy among you, Shu Qi starred alongside Jason Statham in the Hollywood film "The Transporter" (www.transportermovie.com) and was one of the 3 Chinese beauties in that ultra-cool Hong Kong martial arts film "So Close" with Karen Mok and Zhao Wei (loved that opening scene where she was hanging from the ceiling via her stiletto boot heel...). Beside her as she sits ensconced in the $8,000 massage chair is Ron Sim himself, founder, inventor and CEO of OSIM, and one of Singapore's proudest sons. I think this is the closest I've ever come to a Hollywood celebrity. Love the dress too!

Attended my first TVC production in Singapore last December, a couple of weeks before Christmas. It was by no means my first TV project but the first one I got to go to (my first ad was shot in Shanghai so my boss did not allow me to go...). Anyway, the ad was for OSIM (our bread and butter account) uPilot - "Designer Massage Chair" which launched a couple of nights ago (more on that later). We had the one-day shoot inside the MediaCorp studios, Singapore's one and only TV network (yes, this country is THAT small...). It was a pretty boring shoot as most of the stuff had to be done in post (massive CG work) but I did get to watch and meet, arguably the hottest talent I've had to date - Colin D. an American working as a model here in Sing. Tall dude. He was kneeling full on in this photo just so he could match my height. I know, I know, I look like a total 'mimay' here but please note that this was almost midnight when we wrapped up Colin's sequence and I could finally pester him for a photo op. And unlike him, am not paid to look good, in person or on cam. =P

'Nuff said...

Attended Russ and Lou's wedding, fondly dubbed as the 'Wedding of the Year' (at least as far as the Philippine advertising industry was concerned), in Tagaytay over the holidays. Was of course reunited with the gang from the 34th floor along with former colleagues, production people and clients I have had the privilege of working with over the years. The strictly formal yet pleasantly entertaining reception featured a roster of talents, all personal friends of the couple, such as Ony Carcamo, professional ventriloquist and my personal spritual mentor; the Aca-Fellas, a fantastic all-boys acapella vocal group; and bartending stuntment from TGI Friday's among others. This goofy shot shows the Harrison folks (both current and former) on the dancefloor during a rundown of what I assume were Papa Russ's fave 80's tunes. That kid between Merv and me is a young MJ in the making and I love how the camera caught everyone in their fabulously playful poses, which is what makes this such a memorable shot. Memorable moment. Memorable people. Memorable Christmas...=)

...was the theme of the Vietnam Hat Tourney/New Year's Eve Party last weekend in honor of Pluto's demotion as one of the 9 planets of our Solar System. And as with all tourney themes, was always open to interpretation. I was delighted to finally, finally break out my authentic Star Trek TNG combadge (a gift from a friend YEARS ago). It was all I needed. The black blazer and army green belt bag just added the right final touch and I used my new MotoRazor for a tricorder. If I'd had the resources, I'd have made them Vulcan ears too but was just too wiped from having played savage all weekend. I teamed up with the Fantastic Four of Saigon Ultimate, kababayans and HCM expats Jeigh, Ann and Lester, and Saigon Ulty hottie, Tino. True to form, I went around wishing everyone a New Year where I hope they all "live long and prosper!"...

Ok, it was actually closer to 5 in the afternoon when Barney and I landed at the airport in Saigon last Friday (couldn't even attempt to read the airport's name...). After clearing immigration (quite speedy for me as I carried an ASEAN nation passport), we discovered we were millionaires in Vietnam after changing a couple of hundred dollars for spending money for the weekend (S$1.00 = around VND10,000). Ting B.'s maid met us at the exit where she had contracted a cab driver to take us to the city. We first went off to District 1 where the tourney hotel was located, right in the heart of the backpacker central of HCM. Riding down the streets reminded me of Quiapo or even Cubao, except that hardly any signs were in English. Traffic was bad as mopeds couldn't even weave in and out among themselves (see pic below), but thought it was still nothing compared to the Christmas jams I had just experienced in Manila...

Spent my New Year weekend in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam playing in Saigon Ultimate's annual NY Hat. Pretty small, laid-back tournament, which was a nice change from the usually more competitive ones around the region. It was my first time to visit a country that was behind the Philippines in a lot of aspects, which made the experience all the more interesting. There are still a lot of areas in Metro Manila that resemble HCM as whole, such as the small streets, the shanties along the river and the pollution. But the most striking feature to me (and maybe to a lot of other visitors) was the abundance of motorbikes (locally called si-ob) everywhere. I think every resident of the city owned one as cars seem to still be an unattainable luxury. Merely crossing the street is a stunt for Fear Factor as it's a free-for-all zone for both bikers and pedestrians alike. I was a little unnerved in my first few hours walking around the city (yes, Singapore has spoiled me so much!) but soon my Metro Manila-jaywalking skills came back full force and I was able to weave in and out of the 2-wheeled herd with all limbs intact. This shot was taken from some 'carinderia' me and my friends ate at near the corner of Ngu Lao St., in District 1.

Neat meaning quaint and cozy. Nope, it's not the freakishly clean flat I've been bragging about as this was taken on the day I had to fly back to the 'pines and had no time to clean up. Also, my friend Isabel just moved in a few days before and was still sorting out where she wanted to put her stuff. Anyhoo, this is how my living room looks like these days as you enter the front door. The carpet was a steal from Ikea which I thought added warmth to the otherwise sterile couches my landlady had supplied me with. I've been told that my place is really nice as far as HDB flats go and more than once I can not believe just how lucky I was to get this place. It wasn't even on the market! How unbelievably lucky was I to have picked an agent with an obsessive-compulsive cousin looking for a single, female, professional tenant along my price range? The location, atmosphere and surrounding environment suit me, among other things. I swear this flat is a good luck charm to what has so far been a charmed, exciting, adventurous and blessed stay in Singapore so far. Swerte talaga. =)