I am not much of an avid fan of big celebrities locally and abroad. But whenever I had the chance, well, I try to get a souvenir of whoever that personality is, if possible with me in it! In short, pichur pichur! But of course, I don’t always get souvenirs of all the celebrities I meet. In the same way, not all chances I get eventually to meet some have resulted to souvenir shots. I do have preferences too. And those I am sharing in this post are actually some of the people I aspired to meet  in my lifetime. In short, sometimes a busy person like me, can also become bakya, a bit jologs, or a mere follower of some of the world’s renowned people in the biz. But before I present you what I have collected so far, just a note: all the pics I have uploaded are genuinely taken and not photoshopped. But I won’t take it against you if you think otherwise. Besides,  I’m quite good at making two pics look like it was taken as one. Hahahah!

Now… On with the pictures!

Sari Yap is one of those people I've longed to meet before. She's the former Ed-in-chief, now president of Mega Publishing. She's also a devout Opus Dei, and single. This was taken during the 2003 AdCon in Baguio.

Had this pic taken during the Ad Con in Baguio in 2003. Sir Gabby was very accommodating and approachable in fernez! Plus, you seldom meet someone who heads one of the biggest TV companies in the country. That's why it was a privilege to have met him then. Daba?!?

Lucrecia Kasilag is the former artistic director and president of Cultural Center of the Philippines. She used to hear mass at the Adamson church where I serve. The country lost a great champion of the arts when she passed away in 2008. But I guess I'm just lucky to have met her and even see her every Sunday at church. Glad to have personally known you, Tita King.

One of my favorite priests, Fr. Jerry Orbos is the sibling of former Executive Sec. Oscar Orbos. When he heard mass at Adamson, I surely did not pass the opportunity to take this souvenir shot with him. Galing nga he was still in full vestments.

This was for a Samsung shoot in 2003 which I art directed. I was not starstruck but she was definitely nice and fun to work with. Imagine, Phoem was going gaga over moi! hahaha!

Really, am a huge fan of Jim Brickman! Meeting the guy in one of his radio guestings was really awesome! Am glad to have this pic taken (1997 i think) at KCFM during that time. After 2 weeks, we even watched his mini concert at Shangri-La, front seats pa! Hehe talagang idol ko 'to!

This was taken 1998 pa. This was in a event at PanPacific Manila where Gary V was formally announced as the UNICEF Ambassador in the Philippines. Being part of UNICEF then, I was proud to have met him.

Of course, Kara is one of my favorite idols in this lifetime. Apart from her being intelligent and all, am just proud to be her Dad, and will always support her in everything she does. No wonder am lucky to be there for her.

Of course, Kaye has become my obsession since college. As in sobrang taas ng hanga ko sa kanya. Di naman ako stalker noh, talagang love ko sya ever since. This was our first shot being a couple way back 2004. Ang sweet nya sa kin diba? Kaya sobrang love ko 'to!

This is my twin bro Jon. He's really one of those people who I was so proud to be with and share the good & bad times with since we started working. Sayang lang he left us early in life. But am happy where he is now. And he'll always be my idol for all time. The pic was taken early January 1999 in Paco Park while waiting for our singing gig in a wedding. It was our last pic taken together. A week after, he passed away.

Actually there are many others that I have not taken pictures with yet. But hoping to add more in my list soon. My next targets? Who knows? But definitely those next will be worth showing off to everyone who is also a fan at heart!

O ano pichur pichur tayo!

 

I already read the one that my wife Kaye made on her Facebook account and reposted here at her blogsite. So as a challenge, I’ll try to come up with my own. I’ll see if I can come up with one similar to hers. Here goes…

1. I used to cook back home in Manila, as in not just heating water or boiling an egg. But not too major though ‘cuz most of the cooking I did were sautee-based dishes. And the only major dish I cooked with flying colors was my favorite… TINOLA! Now, I couldn’t even remember how to prepare it. Good thing Kaye is such an amazing chef for me and the kids.

2. Who’s not to love kissing all the time? Especially with the kids and of course, with Kaye, it’s one of the best ways I do express my love for them. So i don’t think I would give that up for a million bucks! (teka million bucks? hmmm… heheh just kidding!) btw, did you knowing that kissing helps you lose weight? They say each well-placed (and received) lip lock burns an average of 9 calories. With three kisses a day, every day, that amounts to burning 9,855 calories a year — totaling about 3 pounds of weight loss.

3. I’m not usually a cry-baby. I think the last time I did cry was when Jemy was being inserted with an IV when he was confined for high fever. It’s really different when a loved one is involved. Other things I get to cry about secretly are on movies, especially if it involves something about Dads. Hehehe

4. I thought of also pursuing Medicine right after I graduated from MassComm. I kinda envied my siblings who were both in the medical field — Ate Ayette as an ER doctor, and my late bro Jon as an Occupational Therapist. *sound of a stuck turntable* Wait a minute! MassComm? Medicine? No correlation! (Bakit ba gusto ko e! hahahah!)

5. I use to oil paint back then. Had a stint with National Museum before with their summer art workshop which helped me honed my skills. My last year as an advanced student won me a Gold Medal for the Intramuros waterfalls painting I made. Ironically, that painting was sold to my HS teacher for P500 only. Come to think of it, I still have a pending painting job at home. Just have to find time for it.

6. I am not usually confrontational with situations. But if needed be, especially for my family and those of my loved ones, watch out YOU! You don’t like me when am angry… (sans the green color hehehe!)

7. I have been a copywriter for more than 7 years now. I guess the challenge and the fun of coming up with something witty and creative for whatever product or service there is need to copywrite is something I have enjoyed all these years. Maybe I’ll expound more like into… PR? Hmmm… why not?

8. I used to work with UNICEF, first with Greeting Cards and then into the Private Sector Fund Raising Dept. Such a privilege to be there. Hope I could go back and work there again in the future.

9. I enjoy drinking coffee, usually in the afternoon. That keeps me awake actually. But also, when I drink coffee at that time, that means office dismissal is just an hour way. Yeah!!!

10. The best thing that came also from marrying my Kaye is that I now have a new and permanent duet partner especially with songs that requires one. Hope you can hear her sing beautifully with me. We do make such harmonious music together.

11. I used to have a crush on a couple of celebrities when I was growing up. As in not just crush ha? HD pa if you wanna put it. Locally it was Angelu de Leon (this was pre-Joko days) and foreign, it was Drew Barrymore in her Firestarter and Babes in Toyland movies.

11. I was once a member of the CCP Children’s Choir, which was under the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) Foundation. We had couple of concerts at various venues like the CCP, Folk Arts Theatre, PICC and even abroad. Though we couldn’t join the trips abroad because we couldn’t afford the fares during that time.

12. Before I ended up in UP Diliman, I used to study in UP Los Banos as a Chem Eng’g student. I stayed at Men’s Dorm for half the year. The 2nd sem was uwian. Tiring? Nah! It was just a 2-hour trip one-way from Home to UPLB and vice-versa. Besides traffic then was very easy, compared these days.

13. I graduated from Manila Science High School with no honors compared to my siblings. But I was happy still since I finished high school having a good average (don’t know exactly but I know it’s 90+) and the pride of finishing in such recognized special science school.

14. I used to participate in competitive swimming in my hey days. Yup as in the whole shebang — crawl (freestyle), backstroke, breaststroke (my forte) and butterfly. Been in the loop for more than 10 years since Grade 4. Me and my late bro Jon almost made it to the National Team but we opted not to because of our studies.

15. I was turned down by Kaye a couple of times during and after college. But the funny thing, I still couldn’t get rid of her in my thoughts. Parang there’s always something left to be done. And then, after 9 years in the making, finally I had my chance and eventually we became a couple. Afterwards, I made a promise to myself of never ever letting her go forever!

16. I think I’m a good actor. I don’t know if this is true but in my college years, I used to be the “most sought” talent for a TV production in MassComm among other batches (I was still in Theater major in 1993 before I eventually shifted to MassComm).

17. I once came out in a TV series entitled Pira-pirasong Pangarap when I was 8 years old. My mom, who used to play a nun in Flordeluna starring Janice de Belen and was once a member of PETA (the theater group ha!), got the stint for me. I had that first chance to stardom but my acting then was consciously bad (I often look at the camera during takes. ngek!) So that was the end of my budding acting career. Sayang…!

18. I used to collect a couple of stuff back then. From stamps, bracelets, rings, even sugar sachets (which I still collect until now). The only thing I never collected were girls. Hehehe di tlaga! That’s bad. Wait! Does a number of crushes count as collecting girls din? Sana hindi.

19. I’ve seen 3 oblation runs in 3 different UP campuses — Los Banos, Manila and Diliman. Wanted to see sana the one in Baguio, but I don’t know to commute going there back then.

20. I used to be a mallrat prior to finally marrying Kaye. I guess I have a knack to window-shop all the time, or simply walk the corridors of Glorietta or Greenbelt for no reason. Maybe it was a way for me to relax myself after a long day’s work. Sayang I love doing this before with my late bro at the newly renovated Robinsons Manila circa 1998.

21. I was in a rush when finally I had my first front seat view of my son Jemy being taken out from Kaye’s womb. It was so unexplainable to witness such a fine child being born and was later tended by nurses. There were actually slight tears but I guess the excitement stop it from flowing. Ironically, I never had my digicam then so I have to make use of Kaye’s Nokia 6300 for the coverage. Suprisingly, the recording was superb. What’s more weird, though, was that Kaye was very conscious and awake and even had our first pic together with the pogi boy. Good thing the nurse took the pic well, not showing the red-colored bag that was outside Kaye’s abdomen (aka Kaye’s uterus! ngek!)

22. I am truly lucky because Kaye and I share the same faith. And because of that, our bond as husband and wife is always strengthened by the Lord every passing day. No wonder waking up with her everyday is such a blessing!

23. Upon learning about Kara and met her when she was still 5 years old, I’ve been telling my friends before that she was my daughter, or been wanting to be her dad. I even used the pics of Kara which Kaye sent me vial email as my screensaver in my computer. So when I got to finally marry Kaye, I realized not just one dream but two — to be Kaye’s forever and to be Kara’s dad! Sarap ng feeling!

24. I used to compose songs. These were mostly love songs, typically of a Martin/Gary V. type of genre. Sad, inspiring and even with depth. I don’t know how it started I just kept on writing and composing the music for them. I even had one song (composed in just 2 hours) arranged which I sang during my bro’s interment. To date I have around 9 -10 songs. And am still hoping to finish 4 more. I won’t reveal the latest 4 until am done with it. Stay tune!

25. Lastly, same as Kaye’s, I always wish of seeing my brother Jon again, even just for a short while. Maybe he could even meet my wonderful family. I just miss him a lot, not because our closeness was very short-lived, but because being his twin, I long for the part of me that was lost 10 years ago. If God would permit that, then maybe I could tell him “thanks for everything” and embrace him for one last time, just to let him know how much I love him dearly.

So that’s my version! If in case I couldn’t get to write another blog before the year ends, just want to say Happy New Year to everyone and may you be continuously blessed with God’s infinite riches as I have been everyday!

And Be, it’s been a wonderful year! Looking forward for more years with you and the kids! Love you so much!

‘Til then! Ciao!