Arn @ the Dept of Foreign Affairs

I had my passport renewed for my botched onshore assignment. I’m not a big fan of government agencies as they all have the same long boring lines, poorly implemented system, manual processes and hundreds and hundreds of people.

Here are some random thoughts while at the DFA:

- As always, there are fixers everywhere! There’s an amazing booth outside the DFA that will “inspect” your photo and will come up with something that makes it unacceptable (and therefore you have to take your picture there).

- The instructions for renewing your passport is posted outside: “Proceed to the DFA basketball court and fall in line”. Basketball court? So you have to shoot some free throws to get your passport renewed? Make 1 out of 5 and get it 2 weeks later? Make 5 out of 5 and you’ll get it tomorrow? Make a shot from half court and you get a green card? Weird.

- The dude at the “data inspection” counter amazed me. He got my papers, typed something on the computer, stamped it then signed it… all without looking at my documents and without looking at the screen while talking to the girl at the other counter (who was doing the same thing). Wow!

- The passport claim area shows us the type of system these guys have. We have a window for all last names ending with “A”, another for “B”, for “C”, “D”, “E” “F” and “G” were in one window, well, you get the idea. “M” had its own window. “W” “X” “Y” and “Z” were all in the last window. Based on that, we all know how this was supposed to work right?

… and my passport came out of the “C” window. Genius.

- Here’s the funniest thing that happened that morning – all the people there had the same claim forms since we were all there just for one reason… (and that’s why they called it the “passport claiming area”)… Anyways, all the people fell in line and submitted our claim forms then we wait for our name to be called in an area 10 feet away from the counters. One annoyed employee picked up one of the forms, raised it up and asked sternly “Kanino ito?”

People were quiet. I was chuckling.

“KANINO ITO? DI KO MABASA YUNG SULAT.”

Look dude, if you can’t read it from 5 inches from your face, how can we at 10 feet? People started laughing. The poor dude was embarrassed.

Well, I got my passport now. Next stop…

Secret :)

On Weird Habits

I was blog hopping and I stumbled into Liza’s site again. I know I’ve already read this particular entry of hers before but I only realized now that I was tagged.

The topic?

8 Weird things about yourself…

So it’s a weirdo telling everyone else weird things about himself… where do I start?

Here’s how to play: The rules are, “once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog post with (8) weird things/habits about yourself”. At the end you need to choose the 8 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says Tag You’re It.” in their comments and tell them to read your blog…

1. Sound Effects
… which led me to think about applying at RX 93.1 with Gene. It didn’t push through though. I still do the old Donald Duck voice to quiet down crying babies. Sadly, I couldn’t do one of my favorites anymore ever since I reached 20 – the crying dog wail. I used to do that when cars would pass by hee hee.

2. OC and locking cars
It’s my daily routine – I park my car in the morning. I hop out then walk towards the lifts. 20 steps away, I run back to the car and check if I locked it. I walk towards the lifts again then I forget if I did lock it or not.

Sometimes while I’m at my desk the thought still lingers… “did I really lock my car?”

3. Lists and Post Its
I always have a to do list, a to buy list, a to do for now list, a to buy just for this particular trip list, a to do now or never list and I even use sublists like say, a to do list for the weekend which will have a list inside it just for Saturday afternoon. Once I start working on the things on my list, anything not on it will have to wait which is why my mom would always sneak in her chores into my list. Nice one mom…

I have post its everywhere. Most of these are quick thoughts and random “to do’s”. My last post it pad actually I used up all in writing verses and quotes and guitar chords all of which I stuck behind my guitar. For some of you, you know which quote I'm talking about...

4. Switch Shooter
…when playing basketball. I shoot free throws with my left hand. I shoot three point shots with my right. I shoot left handed on the right side of the court and I shoot right handed on the left side of the court. Go figure. I guess that makes me harder to defend?

5. LSS
When I get hit by LSS it’s always a bad case. It doesn’t matter if the song is old and new, sung by a guy or a girl, ballad or rock, pop or novelty. For some reason, the unusual songs are the ones that catch on really fast (eg. Quit Playing Games with My Heart and Don’t Touch my Birdie)

6. Microscopic Handwriting.
I measured it, it’s 1mm for lower case letters and 1.5 for upper case. It’s handy when I have just a small amount of material with so many things to write and it’s impossible to be copied from during exams. I would just leave my paper on top my desk and still no one could copy off it. The downside is that it takes me forever to write a sentence. This is why I never really write down my thoughts since my brain gives them out faster than I write them (which leads to a lot of lost thoughts). I have to type them :-/

7. MSN status
Ok ok. I admit I kinda got the idea from Gezelle but I really do love using the MSN status feature for letting out what I feel. Sometimes I write out the exact line of a song that just made me think (not necessarily it applies to me). Oftentimes it leads to controversy and a lot of questions. It’s amazing how other people really do notice these messages (eg. Mahar, Berns, Jaye and Ria). One thing I observed? The people who notice my status messages are the same people who let it all out through MSN statuses as well. Takes one to know one I guess.

8. No Sense at All
Typical Arn – does a lot of things that just doesn’t make sense. I sing songs even though a different song is being played on the radio. I would pick up an item in a shop then browse on another item that’s on the display. I make up my own nickname for all my friends (eg. Mags is now Maggie, Ester is now Liggy, Fritzie is Fritty, etc etc…). I wear my watch on my right hand and I remove it when I’m in the office and set it beside my keyboard. I eat a double whopper and fries with diet coke… etc etc etc... absolutely no sense at all.

Told ya I’m weird…

I’m tagging hmmm…
Mags, Fritzie, Gwenny, Ria, Geena, June, Pamie and Knoll

You’re it!!! =D

I'm a Talent!

I'm a Talent!

You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life.

Talent: 56%
Lifer: 44%
Mandarin: 41%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

I got this from Gwenny's blog. =D

Hail to the Pacman

He KO'd Morales a few months ago and he just toyed with Larios in his last bout last weekend. He's a symbol of hope for Filipinos that through hard work you can achieve anything.

This is why I'm not surprised he's in all the ads around the country. He has given so much to this country that I think he should be given more than just endorsement deals, a movie and an album.

Why not...

make him our national hero!



and while we're at it, why not put his face on one of our bills?



yup! Give credit where credit is due!

Of Chicago Parks and Statues

Lots and lots of parks… one of the things I really like about Chicago. There are more parks in Chicago than there are Ministops in Makati and these are parks where you can actually hang out and do stuff in. We also have parks here but they aren’t as nice the ones there. Besides, if I wanted to go to a place where I can read a book, draw or write something or just bum around, I’d probably go to the nearest Starbucks...

… or I can go to work.

My favorite parks in Chicago would include Wicker (hay…), Millenium (skating!), Grant (big open space) and Lincoln (lotsa squirrels).

Some things I found weird though about the parks, particularly the statues in it:

1. Lincoln in Grant Park

Walk into Grant park and you would see Buckingham fountain which used to be the biggest fountain in the world. Walk around and you would see a statue of… Abe Lincoln? What’s Lincoln doing in Grant park? Why not call this Lincoln park instead? Dunno, doesn’t make any sense really.

2. Grant in Lincoln Park

Take bus #22 along Clark and go down at Lincoln Park Zoo. It’s a nice clean place and best thing about is… it’s free! It’s also the place where I found the most squirrels (and you know I love them little critters). The pond at the middle, the ducks and geese, there’s a camel and oh wait… there’s a statue of Grant. Now what’s HE doing here?!?

Lincoln in Grant park. Grant in Lincoln park. It still doesn’t make any sense. In fact, what the heck where they thinking?!? How did they name these places?!?

Flashback to the early 1900’s:
Person 1: The Chicago Parks committee meeting is now in session. Now what do we name that place where Grant’s statue is?
Person 2: Lincoln park!
Person 1: Wow! That’s smart! But what do we name that place where Lincoln’s status is if we’re gonna call this other place Lincoln park already?
Person 2: Uh… Grant park?
Person 1: Wow! I NEVER thought of that!

Yeah yeah let’s laugh at them but years later they built the Sears Tower, reversed the flow of the Chicago river and drafted Michael Jordan.

At least we know whose statue to find when we go to Rizal Park :P

3. Grant’s Shoes

Here’s a theory: Maybe the statues were originally placed where they should supposed to be. If that was the case, how did they “switch” them? Maybe Lincoln and Grant walked… hahahahah

Or did they?

Here’s a pic of Grant’s statue. See his shoes? Those are grass and straw caught in his shoe. Wow! Could it be possible that this statue actually walked all the way there? You know what this means? You’re already riding a horse… then you decide to walk all the way instead?!?

4. Unusual Lincoln statue

Statues of people either in their finest moment or in a made up majestic pose. Did you see Michael Jordan’s statue at the United Center? Did you see the Christopher Columbus statue shrine? How about Lincoln… I wonder which pose he should have?

Never mind the “sitting Lincoln” statue. This here is the “fabulous Lincoln” version.

Weird isn’t it?

Now where did I see that pose before... lemme see... hmmm...

oh right...

Of Carnival Games and Prizes

I loooooove carnival games.

Probably since it’s one of the happy childhood memories I have. I remember dad bringing me to places like Payanig sa Pasig and Star City to exclusively play games like these. I would end up bringing home a bag of stuffed toys that my folks would give out to other people.

I also love that crane thingie machine. Those who have been with me at Gurnee and Kenosha (namely Ria, Che, Lianne, Rico and Allan) would know. That one started with my fascination with the “UFO Catcher” game which is commonly found in arcades here in Manila. The US version uses the 3 fingered claw which took me a while to get the hang of.

I love these games and I wouldn’t mind spending on them. Honestly I hate it when I couldn’t win a game I know I can win (and have won before). Take those basketball free throws at 6 flags. Back home, my free throw % stat (before I got hurt) was 92%. I know hey, even after 6 months of rust I still could make one right? wrong. I couldn’t get one there. Rats! Same story at Universal studios which is now a mid range jumper… not really my specialty but hey, they ran that play for me when I moved to shooting guard.

The most important carnival game in my life? It was in this fair in Pomona, California. The game was simple enough. Throw a wiffle ball off a board and into a basket. I tried that in 6 flags and it was impossible… well… until I studied it in Pomona. The trick was simple. Throw it with reverse spin, at the right target with the right speed and it falls all the time (as in all the time) into the basket.

How much was the game? 2 bucks for a ball. 5 bucks for three. Get one into the basket and get the big prize. Get two and get the bigger prize. Sounds easy?

I got one with the first five balls I threw. Too easy. But I’m greedy… I wanted the bigger prize. I dunno… for some reason I choked as I was missing badly. It was until I reached my spending threshold when I had to give it up.

After getting the 1st ball in, I spent 40 bucks getting the 2nd one and failed. Damn ball.

I ended up with the big prize which was…

I gave it to my cousin. No way I was going home with it (since it was as big as my suitcase!). I still wanted to get the bigger prize, maybe in the future… maybe if it comes up again. I really wouldn’t mind spending 40 bucks more for getting just one of 24 balls into a basketball in a game I know how to win in.

This game set my records for “most money spent in”, “biggest prize”, “biggest crowd drawn”, “biggest cheering squad”, and ironically, “worst choke performances all time”.

The bigger prize?

An Xbox.

The Flight Home

Probably the one single day in the US that I regretted that I had a good night sleep. You see, I never sleep the night before that 17 year flight (yea, it really feels that long) from RP to US and back and I always sleep through the whole thing except when the "Chicken or fish" lady comes by.

The flight home was pretty dull. My plane seat was in the waaaaaaaaaay back and beside me was this skinny girl who slept through the whole flight with her mouth open. She looked like an extra from some horror movie.

In flight movie? Hmmm… I think there was one. I think it was the one with Amanda Bynes with her being “the man”. I think there was a screen somewhere. Here’s the view from my seat:

See my point? The worst part was when he placed his pillow behind his head. Sheesh…

So how did I amuse myself?

Sudoku books. It was no fun solving these alone though L I breezed through the whole “easy” section of the book but I stopped when I messed up one. Dang.

My iPod. I loaded mine with videos… only to find out these were all deleted probably when I synched it before leaving. Oh well.

My bathroom reader book of useless trivia. Hey, finally a use for this book! The entries are short enough to give you frequent eye breaks but long enough to keep you interested.

Since I couldn’t watch the movie from where I was sitting, it was a good thing that the one beside ms zombie-i-sleep-with-my-mouth-open had a portable DVD player. The problem was, he was watching some Japanese action flick. Can’t relate. :-/

Nothing really interesting happened until I arrived at NAIA. The luggage carousel was one of the things that made me realize I was already in the Philippines (well, that and the big “welcome to the Philippines sign”). The carousel was loaded with those big ol’ boxes with 6 sides labeled and heavily taped (the whole thing was big block of duct tape) and I was able to use my boxing out skills I learned during my basketball days.

Outside, the air was warm, the exhaust fumes were overwhelming, people were rude and the traffic was ridiculous. On my way home, I can’t help but notice that Manny Pacquiao is in almost all billboards. Wow! The last straw: Pacquiao the movie (starring Jericho Rosales).

Welcome back, Arn!

It’s Nastier the Second Time

Mum was asleep in her room. The door opened and the light from the outside room woke her up. Then entered this person whose silhouette placed a huge question mark on top of her head.

You could see it coming.

“Quack.”

Mom was screaming. So was dad… like a little school girl.

Yup!

I pulled off another surprise trip home. =) Glad to be back!

Five Corporate Lessons

Corporate Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: - If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position toprevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: - If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager arewalking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: - Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: - "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: - To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able toget to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: - Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Of Lovers and Friends

Lovers fight... and so do friends. But lovers kiss and make-up. Friends make-up only. But when lovers didn't make up, usually they just cool it off and find hard to be the same again. When friends didn't make up, it's the most different feeling in the world so they make-up eventually.

Lovers get jealous... and so do friends. But lovers get jealous because they demand commitment. Friends get jealous because they demand attention. But when lovers get jealous, they really look serious. When friends get jealous, they look funny. Lovers give each other gifts. And so do friends. But when lovers do this, it's but natural. When friends give each other gifts, it's sooooo sweet.

Lovers make each other happy... and so do friends. They hang out, call one another, talk, yell, encourage when the other is down, sing, dance, eat together. They share secrets, dreams, take care of each other. But lovers expect these from one another. Friends expect these from others too but get from each other instead.

Lovers can be complicated... and so do friends. But lovers usually try hard to adjust with one another. Friends just stay as what they are and don't give a damn whether they are nuts, or freaks, or stupids. Cause friends are not turned-off; they only laugh.

Lovers freak-out when you forgot birthdays... and so do friends. But lovers wouldn't forgive until they forget. Friends wouldn't forgive until an hour after when they receive a li'l bar of chocolate with a cheap card.

Lovers really love each other... and so do friends. But lovers either get married or break up. Friends either stay friends or be lovers or nothing at all.

WaterColours

I’m bad at painting and drawing as I am with cooking. I still remember my high school days when Nego would draw his notes instead of writing them. It made studying for The Iliad a lot lot lot easier.

I tried drawing and… well…I drew a cow that looked like a house… go figure.

Here’s my first stab at watercolor painting:



I asked my officemates what they thought this was. Their answers?

Nikki: wine and cheese.
Jenn: wine fruits and cheese.
Che: dog.

Wine and cheese that looks like a dog. Move over Mr. Cow-house! This is my new masterpiece!

Weather Discussions

So now I understand why the weather is always an interesting topic here. Ask that question everyday and you'll get different answers. Ask that question from different towns and you also get different answers. I noticed that answers ALWAYS come in this format:

“How’s the weather?”

ANSWER:
It’s . . nah, it doesn’t have to be true :P>. .

Care to try?

“It’s cold. When I stepped out the train, I was covered in snow in 10 seconds flat. It wasn’t as bad as 3 years ago when snow was up until cars’ door handles. I heard though that it was worse in Minnesota. I wish it would be warmer.”

See? :P

Thoughts while walking downtown

My usual trip to the library was a little interesting today. There was a lot of people downtown, mostly Latinos who participated in the "A Day Without Immigrants" rally at Grant Park.

My first thought was "wow, it looks a lot like Makati at 5:30pm on a Friday.". Until I noticed some things:

• Sure it caused traffic, but the cars were still moving. Slow. But moving nonetheless.
• The crowd was disciplined. They lined up for the subways and waited for pedestrian signals. No one complained. They just followed.
• No street vendors.
• On my way back from the library, there were only a few people left walking in the streets… which were still clean.

Hmmm… now it just looked a little like Makati… until I started observing the obvious things like the Sears Tower which is no PBCom, McDonald's restaurants with no Jollibees nearby (unheard of!!!), the temperature, the wind… hey I can go on all day…

Nah… not even close.

Oh by the way, I got me (finally) a library card! Wheee…

Interesting Sunday

5:36 am – Still awake from last night’s party. Drunk? Nah… Was working a little and chattin’ with Jaye. Was out like a light a few minutes later. zzz

7:00 am – something was beeping… my tired eyes saw a digital image of “7:00”… not sure what it was but it went flying across the room a few seconds later… back to sleep… zzz

Sometime between 8:00 am and 8:30 am
Tummy: *growl*
Brain: “later na… natutulog pa si Arn e.”
Tummy: *growl* *growl*
Brain: “shut up!”
Bladder: *growl*
Brain: “Get up get up get up!”

… ok, so bladders probably don’t growl but you get the idea…

9:00 am – another beeping sound, it was my mobile this time. Oh yea, I have to be on standby for work. I grabbed the support phone and… zzz

11:13 am – Woke up again… tried to get out of bed, no luck… tried to roll over, no luck… glanced at the phone, no calls… zzz

12:15 pm – Finally got up. Boiled water for my pasta lunch. Did some more work. Che called and wanted to borrow my rice cooker… and rice na rin hehhe. It’s a cold rainy day. Maybe that’s why my bed was like a black hole again.

12:45 pm – (@ Che’s). was in my hearts pajamas and Stephen Jackson jersey. Didn’t even bother brushing my hair. Went back to my unit to finish up work (workaholic)

2:00 pm – went up to Che’s again for lunch. STILL didn’t bother brushing my hair. Watched some celeb shows. Lianne went home since she had work to do. Gwen also left a few minutes later. Me? I fell asleep sa couch. Zzz…

3:15 pm – went back home. dozing off every few minutes. I was channel surfing when the BoSox game popped up. Bosox down 3 in the 9th. Lowell homers, Pena homer, Nixon walks, Snow hit by pitch, Youkilis strikes out, Loretta grounds out and game… dang. Bitin.

4:00 pm – I was finally awake. Wanted to go to University of Chicago but it was raining. :( I was waiting for the southbound #10 bus but… after just a few minutes I bailed. My patience is short when I’m standing in the rain. Decided to walk south. U of C can wait...

4:05 pm – one block away. I was now in front of the Chicago theater and ABC news room. Chicago theater was headlining Late Night with Conan O’Brien. I tried heckling the news anchors to no avail...

4:30 pm – Shopping at Old Navy. Nothing interesting on sale. Ended up buying some shirts anyway hehehehe.

5:10 pm – I was rattling the closed doors of the public library. Oh, it’s closed already. :( What to do in State… hmmm… Jewel? Nah… went home instead.

5:40 pm – zzzzzzzzz

6:30 pm –
Tummy: *growl*
Brain: “Patience my pet…”

7:30 pm - @ Portillo’s with Tessa and Edison. Had a giant charbroiled burger with bacon and cheese and fries swimming in even more cheese. My drink? Ironically, it’s a diet coke.

8:30 pm - @ Oakwood at Edison’s. Just hanging out playing games. Tess was playing Kingdom Hearts 2 which looked like a really cool role playing game. I suddenly missed my PS2 back home.

10:30 pm - @ Oakwood at Jaye’s. I sent her the pics from last night. She was screaming because of the Sadako picture of Amy. I wonder how she would react if she saw the vid… :-/

11:30 pm - @ walking at Clark. No more rain :D Dropped by 7-11 for a slurpee nightcap. Mmmmmm!

11:45 pm – Spurs at Kings. Kings up big time over the Spurs. Wooohoooo!!!

12:30 am – Laundry. Wheeee… :-/

1:00 am – Iron clothes. Wheeee… :-/ I left ¼ of the load as advised by Jaye. We answered some blog quizzes instead, one of which I posted before this entry. Interesting results… :P

2:30 am – zzz (finally) :P

Wow, when you do write about what kind of day you had, it just makes it even better :)

I am a warrior soul

You Are a Warrior Soul

You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating. You don't give up. You're committed and brave. Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle. Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog. You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods. You also value honesty and fairness a great deal. You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding. You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

(Thanks Jaye! :D)

Weird Weather

Last Sunday morning it was hot - too hot to wear a jacket. Early afternoon, it was so windy that there was a mini sandstorm at the North avenue beach. Late afternoon it was getting chilly.

…and this morning there's ice everywhere.

Labo no?

Taking Back Sunday

Apr 12
Ria: "u want to watch taking back sunday on sunday? hahaha sorry short notice :D"

Oo naman ako before even asking what the heck is she talking about. Turns out Taking Back Sunday is this alternative band probably only known in the alternative circles (or I guess I'm just that ignorant). Tickets are only avaible at stubhub so if we were going, we had to purchase the tickets ASAP. Since it's an alternative band, Rico had a no-brainer decision. Lianne had to check who the heck are they but ended up going with us as well. Too bad the others couldn't make it. We were still missing a fifth member since only 5 or 3 tickets can be bought at 12 bucks each. After hours and hours of asking others, the tickets were bought and we ended up buying the 4 ticket set at 17 bucks each. 5 bucks down the drain :(

That Sunday was Easter Sunday. We went over to Tito Roger's first for lunch then went back downtown a few hours before the start of the concert. It was pouring that afternoon, probably the most rain I've seen during my stay here in Chi-Town. Since I still have the "I'd rather get wet in my jacket than carry an umbrella around" attitude, I was soaked. Actually, we were all soaked :P. We looked like a boy band music video (where dudes in muscle shirts gets soaked for some unexplainable reason - eg. washing a car, sudden rain, spilled drink etc...). Good thing the rain stopped when we reached the venue.

Damn! No cameras allowed at the House of Blues. Sorry guys, I know I promised posting more pics but I should be excused for this one. The place was packed. First up was:

Suicide City
They were a loud punk band with lots and lots of headbanging and jumping. Watching them on stage was like playing pinball. Rico told me the bassist looked like a chick. Dude, that WAS a chick. Overall, I liked the band. I'm not much of a critic anyway. The music was loud but it still sounded great. During the intermission, I got to talk to the bassist outside near the shops. ("hey" "hey" lang naman...). Next was,

Tokyo Rose
A light alternative band. I dunno, after watching Suicide City's performance, Tokyo Rose looked as boring as the aquarium channel. The lead singer looked a lot like April Boy. He was good though. The songs were nice too but they really should've played first. In addition to that, I couldn't understand a word they were saying other than "thanks guys" and "buy our CD's"... and to think they were a LIGHT alternative band. After two bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade (I ended up drinking Ria's), finally it was Taking Back Sunday on stage.

Taking Back Sunday
...was like a punk version of Green Day. I don't know any of their songs but the wild crowd together with the spiked lemonade put me in the mood for really really loud music. The lead singer kept swinging the microphone around his arms and around his neck and it was like watching one of two olympic events I couldn't really understand - that event where gymnasts swirl around a stick with some stringy material attached at the end. (By the way, the other event is Curling). Overall they're a great band and I wouldn't mind buying their CD. :)

The funniest thing that happened was probably during Suicide city's performance where while they were playing their usual head banging ultra upbeat songs and people started to do Crowd Surfing

Crowd Surfing (noun): This is usually done by either asking someone to give you a boost on the crowd or by putting your hands on the person in front of you and climbing up their back. You then spread your body out like you would after a dive and then surf to where you want by rolling your body.

So people are now being carried to the front of the stage... until it was one dude's turn, he was in the middle part of the crowd... then the song suddenly ends. Poor guy was dropped to the ground hee hee. Funny :P

Cool gig! It was waaay worth it!

Cooking with Arnold V

…just when I thought I got the hang of cooking…

Breaded Chicken

1. Roll chicken breast in egg.
2. Roll chicken breast in flour.
3. Roll chicken breast in bread crumbs.
4. The bread crumbs aren't sticking! Roll it in egg again.
5. Great. Now the flour and bread crumbs were washed off. Roll it in flour.
6. Roll it in… oh wait… the bread crumbs won't stick right?
7. Mix the egg with the flour and the bread crumbs. NOW roll the chicken breast in it. Genius…
8. Empty a bottle of cooking oil in a saucepan.
9. Once hot, drop the chicken in it.
10. It's cooking now… it's smelling good... uh oh… now it's smoking! The oil is too hot you idiot! Fish it out! Fish it out! mayday mayday!!



Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!

The Arnold cooking style - Burnt on the outside, raw in the inside :D

Lakeshore Drive Chronicles III

Young Arnold: I can’t paint. I can’t see art.
Master Zare: Never assume because a man has no eyes he cannot see. Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Arnold: Music from my iPod?
Master Zare: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Young Arnold: No
Master Zare: Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?
Young Arnold: (steps on grasshopper) oops! Slightly older (but still pretty) woman, how is it that you hear these things?
Master Zare: Foolish boy! Poor grasshopper! How is it that you do not?

… and so master asked young grasshopper to concentrate more…



PS: Play “Glory of Love” to complete the scene...

LakeShore Drive Chronicles II

Woke up one morning with a really bad hangover and a sore hamstring. Now what would Arnold do?

So off to Lakeshore drive again I went. That was the first time I was at Lakeshore on a clear and sunny weekend. This time I did lots and lots of warm ups… so much that it looked like I was shooting an exercise video.

I really looooove this place. Since I wasn’t in a hurry for our production support call in the evening this time, I finally was able to just sit down and watch the lake from the lighthouse. I also got to see more people in bad jogging outfits



Nice isn’t it?