Category Archives: musings

laundry therapy

blumentritt cafe

from hereon, silofen cafe will be known as blumentritt cafe. so it is written, so it shall be done.

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ive always wanted to open a cafe. ive always wanted some open space cafe that invites free souls and spirited travelers from all walks of life. artists who want to hang their lives on canvasses up on my walls. musicians who wish to fill the room with their souls. filmmakers who paint their images on my screens.

when my sister tina and cousin maylin decide to venture into the food business and opened may’s dos in 2000 (an extension to my mom and maylin’s mom’s original eatery, may’s best foods, which has been open since the 80s), i was thrilled with the potential of the place. we painted the walls red and during summers i brought the tv from home and played movies in the afternoons to cultivate a culture.

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my cousin tonio and ace also enjoyed their run of the parent’s resto mandex bar (named after my tito jun otherwise called mandex). in the morning it caters to the lunch crowd, evenings are for the night owls.

i always thought if i were based in cdo, i would have used the may’s location in the evenings for the cafe. but im not based in cdo so this never went anywhere.

my friend from fine arts jetro opened his doors to strangers early this year with his cafe-resto van gogh is bipolar, which we all know became a huge hit. carlo and i were one of the first few diners and we were equally excited with jetro’s venture. we even inquired on renting out the 2nd floor space in his building for our cafe/office/bodega/living quarters. i knew we weren’t ready for it yet so i said, let’s not rush it, let’s pray about it and maybe next year we can plot out a more feasible plan for the cafe+design studio we wanted.

during my second trip to van gogh is bipolar, i realize now, jetro’s mix of organic tea always pushes me to self-evaluate my dreams and goals. and we always go back to the cafe idea.

carlo and i created this mock cafe, silofen, to satisfy our desire for the cafe. we put up our menu online in the hopes that the universe will soon listen. and i think it did.

right now carlo and i got to discuss the cafe again. we eventually decided to name it blumentritt (after the original street name where may’s best foods and mandex bar are located in cagayan de oro) but this will be in manila. cafe+design studio+gallery+tea house+screening room+etc. wohoo! crazy combination but we believe it will attract our market.

im writing this down because we need to put it out in the universe. i truly believe God listens to prayers written in blogs. and if this isnt a prayer and a wish, i dont know what is. see you at the opening of blumentritt cafe!

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musings

diet worked!

last july (source) i posted my most recent weigh-in results. this was it:

weight 142 lbs (not bad, i guess)
body mass index 22.9
fat index 23.7% (desirable range is 17-23%. that means im borderline overweight)
fat mass 33.6lbs (desirable range is 22.2 to 32.4lbs)

the results indicated my target body fat should only be 20% of my total weight, i should ideally be 135lb heavy (based on my weight and age) with a fat mass of 27lb. that means i have to lose 6.6lbs to achieve my ideal weight. tootsie, how hard is it to lose 6lbs? ghad.

today (nov2) i did a weigh in at the mercury drugstore in katipunan and these results came out:

weight 133 lbs (omg. 9lbs difference?)
body mass index 21.5 kg/m
fat index 17% (desirable range is 17-23%)
fat mass 22.7lbs (desirable range is 22.2 to 32.4lbs)

this means in the last 4 months, more so in the last 2 months i lost 9lbs! 9lbs! i really didnt think it was possible! 😉 i was at my heaviest in may of this year, i could have clocked in at 145lbs im sure.  i sure am thrilled!  now im only 3 lbs to my ideal weight! wohoo!  😉 the braces were a big factor in the weight loss but it only made me realize how effective cutting down on certain kinds of food for the sake of eating healthy really is.  if i exercised i would actually lose my tummy and build some muscles but im quite thrilled with the outcome of just the diet. my (imposed) healthier diet (no rice, less sodium, less sugar–no softdrinks, no iced tea,– more fish, more yoghurt, more oatmeal, less fatty food, no bread worked!

– me in my october size with mercedes cabral hehehe

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filmmaking, laundry therapy

#tweetyour16yearoldself

“please watch all kubrick, lynch, finch, fincher, ridley scott movies so you dont have to catch up when you’re 32 #tweetyour16yearoldself”

a trend on twitter ran last week about tweeting your 16 year old self. the tweets ranged from warnings on your current flame (@jiritajackson Stop waiting for your first kiss because your boyfriend is gayer than springtime) to what the lotto winning numbers are today (@ejpadero GrandLotto 6/55 winning combination for the 2010-Nov-3 draw is 43-20-05-37-13-06).

most of my tweets are telling my old self to continue dreaming because they will all come true. at least, most of them. i was in 3rd year high school when i was 16. i remember dreaming of directing films then. but in 1993 the internet was in its infancy and our computers ran on windows 3.1 with green crt monitors. my access to art films and world cinema was zero. i would read up on some films that never saw the light of day in mindanao. it would actually take me 5 years or more before i could get my hands on these. there were film festivals hosted by embassies but i they were in far-off makati. it was only in the advent of piracy (vcds, late 90s) and quiapo dvds (2000) that i fully satisfied my thirst for non-hollywood fare. it was really educational and inspiring.

but i realized i also did not watch everything that i could actually get my hands on to, like kubrick’s barry lyndon or dr. strangelove, the 90s indie hit sex, lies and videotape, twin peaks or eraserhead and so on. should have watched them when i actually had time to do so.

so to my 16 year old self, when you do get hold/have access to all these cinematic gems, please watch all of them. all films by stanley kubrick, ridley scott, martin scorsese, david lynch, david fincher, david lean, jean luc-goddard, francois truffaut, giussepe tornatore, asian masters akira kurosawa, wong kar-wai, hayao miyazaki, mike de leon, lino brocka, ishmael bernal, manuel conde, eddie romero, etc.

be inspired by their works. learn from them, feed on them, then find your own self.

and believe me when i tell you you will meet and direct ricky davao and susan africa in college, work with cesar hernando, tikoy aguiluz and this new director, brillante mendoza. doors will open for you and as long as you stay true to yourself, things will get better.


16 year old self, this is you at 20+.  not 16, 20+

the list is long and the history wide, but believe me you’ll have more time watching these movies while in school. good luck, 16 year old self, and ill see you at the oscars 😉

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musings

wishlist oct 2010

ive been ranting on facebook of things i wanted and things i want to do at this time. i do believe in verbalizing and putting out into the universe things you want because just like what bevlee said, the universe listens. God listens and the universe reacts. dreams and wishes are prayers too. all you have to do is say it. and dreams do come true

i want to go back to europe and explore
i want to go back making short films
i want to enroll and study a few studio arts subjects like printmaking and take some theory classes
i want to visit relatives in the US
i want to go to new york
i want to design/produce furniture
i want to design/produce a clothing line, wala lang

i want a canon 5D MK2 or a 7D or a 550D
i want the new macbook air
i want an iPad (pushed to 2011) hehe
i want a 42″ 3D LED tv
i want a bluray player
i want to buy ALL the bluray discs on my amazon.com pending cart haha

i want to open that dream cafe of ours (silofen cafe or rizal&blumentritt)

i want a house in RER2
i want trees in the bukidnon property
i want a real farm

i want a designer suit
i want a new jacket
i want a new pair of jeans
i want doc martens
i want dsquared
i want topman
i want zara
i want springfield
i want 2(x)ist
i want fnh haha ftw

this list will grow longer. im happy to be alive

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art & design, food trip, interior design, musings

van gogh is cuckoo

had a very interesting night at van gogh is bipolar. FA classmate egan jimenez held a photo exhibit that opened today at the cafe.  took me a 2nd tagging of his invites on FB to haul my ass off and go (i dragged jhem manalang along with me).  i missed the company of egan and van gogh owner jetro, plus sir tats enriquez (missed cesar hernando by a half hour) and had a wonderful night of conversation over beer and tea.

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at the back wall are egan’s photos enlarged on plywood canvasses. i especially loved his amsterdam photo and the steps of the sistine chapel. jetro here decided to take off his shirt and wear the michelangelo’s david apron he got from italy.

listened to jetro’s stories in europe. his new motto in life is apparently hakuna matata. somewhere in scandinavia he met this old man with a thick white beard and long hair. he looked like a bum but jetro found out while talking to the guy that he was 1 of 3 remaining artists in sweden or something. And he plans to move in here in the philippines in november on fulfilling a life-long dream of retiring and dying here. and that he’s planning to buy an island and stay there. oh, and he has a pinay girlfriend.  i say, there’s no place like home.

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flags of countries from jetro recent euro trip hang outside the cafe.

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how is a tea party without tea pots?

jetro’s teas are grown from his own yard out in isabella. with the storm he tells me his trees have been uprooted. i asked, how was his family.  well, they have still have a roof, he says.

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we dined at next-door black soup cafe but finished here in the red wall boudoir. the piece of knit hanging above i loved.  later i find out it was from gilda cordero. much later jetro tells me it was chinchin gutierrez’s costume from the stage musical, luna (aswang romance).  so much cooler.

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jetro did not serve dinner that day but his cafe became a soup kitchen of sorts.  on the foreground is his chicken soup (lovely); in mid ground is his travel journal (which includes an unsent letter to oprah).

jetro confesses his trip eventually became spiritual. by the 3rd week in europe he unloads most of his stuff and sends it back to the pinas. along the way he’d leave behind some of his clothes, realizing he doesnt need so much material stuff. by the 3rd month in europe, he’s left with a shirt, his jeans, shoes and bag. he even gave away his cellphone. he’s slept on floors, in bus stations, dined with the rich and convened with the poor.  he tells me his life in manila is complicated, realizing people can live on less and be happy. and he realized he was afraid of so many things. he says, by learning to let go of all anxiety and fear, only then can we really live.

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this lace umbrella, used as a shade, was sourced from belgium in jetro’s recent euro tour.

a lot of us have wild dreams of being rich and traveling all over, experiencing what the whole world has to offer. he’s prodding me it’s time to resume pursuing mine. jetro declared to robert he was leaving for europe then. robert asked when, to which he replied soon. jetro surmises if he didnt leave now then he might never will. so off he went, just like that.

if only we could be as adventurous with fate and destiny, we will realize we were always meant to be where we only thought we’d go.

and just like that, i became more inclined to take that trip back to europe to live out a fantasy.  ever since carlo was invited to go to europe (for work) in february next year, i wanted to go back there too.  my first euro trip 5 years ago was only 5 days long. now i wanna stay for a month or two!  i want to go back shooting my short films and a bit of photography so im vying for a good DSLR (how about a canon 550D for now?).  my finances will need to brace itself but maybe i need to live off the edge a bit.  otherwise i wouldnt get to where i need to be.  you only live once.  no day but today.

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