Category Archives: musings

art & design, filmmaking, food trip, laundry therapy, movies, musings

i was once a filmmaker

before all these pd work on tv commercials, before regal films and centerstage, revolver and abracadabra, before doing design for brillante mendoza and jerrold tarog and chito rono and tikoy aguiluz, before getting the urian and a ycc, before graduating and all the bills, i was once a filmmaker. i wouldnt go as far as say i was great, but i was a friggin filmmaker.

and i got reminded of that by eating my instant pancit canton.

and watching the trailer of amorres perros.

in high school and college i got interested in a lot of movies. i read about some highly-praised films that i would never get my hands on. being in the province with no access to obscure movies and art house films, plus technology would not be pirate friendly for another 10 years, i was cinema-starved.

in 2000 i transferred to the college of fine arts and met kindred spirits who were also hungry for good movies. we fed on films by fincher, lynch, inarritu, mike de leon, lav diaz, tornatorre and of course on lucky me pancit canton and red horse beer. after a few years, pirated dvds and players started popping up in quiapo and it was the motherload. we continued feeding on more world cinema along with our unsatiated appetite for pancit canton and moud halal’s roasted chicken and kabsa rice.

back then we dreamed of films, ate films, breathed films. ive been lucky to have shot, produced and directed a few short films. we were living the dream, quite frankly.

before i graduated, my choices of meals were cheap or cheaper. when i started working (with then PD dante mendoza), i could afford to watch more movies on the wide screen and eat in a variety of restaurants. more when i started to do my own PD work in tv commercials and films. now it was a choice of whether we’d eat japanese, italian, pinoy or whatnot, no matter the price.

today i stayed home and waited for the rain. by the time the roofs started their staccato beat, i got hungry and cooked a batch of pancit canton. who’d have thought this bowl got me reminiscing and find enlightenment?

before all these pd work on tv commercials, before regal films and centerstage, revolver and abracadabra, before doing design for brillante mendoza and jerrold tarog and chito rono and tikoy aguiluz, before getting the urian and a ycc, before graduating and all the bills, i was once a filmmaker. i wouldnt go as far as say i was great, but i was a friggin filmmaker.

and i got reminded of that by eating my instant pancit canton.  and now maybe it’s time to go back and make my own films.

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laundry therapy, musings

laundry therapy in session

doing the laundry now. ive always said that laundry to me is therapeutic. water, the sound of the machine, the order you go through your whites and coloreds, the cleansing process. like my pastor reading the books of psalms as a mantra, i go through my dirty linen seeking enlightenment and clean sheets at the end process.

i later learned im almost out of soap. that means ill have to limit my wash load today to 3-4 batches only. that covers my whites, my blacks and greys for shoot, jeans and underwear. im currently liking a grey scheme for my wardrobe. black is staple, but grey is my new blue.

carlo is making stewed roasted pork in vinegar and garlic (read: lechon paksiw). as hungry as i am, the smell of paksiw with my laundry is not good. i wouldnt want my v-necks smelling of leftover fiesta fare.  i should stop until the cooking is done.  enlightenment would have to wait.

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musings

saturdays 100210

it’s been a very slow, quiet saturday. i opened my eyes and it was still raining this morning. perfect bed weather, i said to myself. and to fully appreciate this bed weather, i went right back to sleep. lovely

woke up again hours later. the sun was out but the day remained cool. pogi tried rousing me up and seeking a hug. i stayed in bed for another few hours before dragging myself downstairs because i was thinking i had to eat already. it was already 2pm. carlo is now reheating leftover from last night’s meal we shared with gian.

my sister forwarded the sound clip to amelie’s waltz from the film’s soundtrack. listening to the piano strains elicited images of parisian streets, wallpaper and garden gnomes, perfectly framing my day’s mood. falling autumn leaves would have sealed the deal but there are no trees in sight.

carlo’s finished reheating the food. will eat now. pogi is at my feet chewing on a piece of rawhide we got him yesterday. life is grand. cheers to you all and hope you have a great weekend 🙂

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musings

tweeting

ive been tweeting more now than ive been fezbooking or blogging. i am certain facebook has eaten up a hefty amount of time i could have used for real life like cleaning the house, taking care of pogi or doing more creative stuff, like watching more glee (and singing along, there you go). i took the conscious route to cut down my fezbook time and instead resorted to tweeting.

short, sweet, and concise, tweets are perfect for adiks on the run and hardcore people with ADHD. theyre easier to read and follow, plus they push people to be witty and measured with their shoutouts. so i monitor my threads there more than fb.

i only check facebook now when people tag me. besides, ive put most everbody on hide or have unfriended some to declutter my feed haha and on twitter, i get to stalk some personalities like steve martin, cheyenne jackson, josh groban, jim carrey, ramon bautista and yes, charice. hahaha

if you feel like it, follow me on twitter.com/benpadero 🙂 cheerio!

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musings

step 3 to peaceful inner self

Step 3 to peaceful inner self: stop spending for stuff you dont really need. we have to attain independence from material excesses.

just because something is on sale doesnt mean you have to buy it. even if it’s 50% off. jessica zafra doesnt consider something a sale unless it’s 80% off. but dont get me wrong. im guilty of breaking step 3 every so often. and with heinous purchases at that. once i was at landmark shopping for props. came across that gorgeous optimus prime figurine and couldnt let go. goodbye 3K hello transformers.

i installed this app on my iphone that helps me keep track of every cash out i do in a month. bills, monthly payments, taxi fare, groceries, eating out and all, including charges on my credit card or debits on my atm. im surprised to learn how much i spend in a month, it’s crazy! so from last month, im trying to bring down the total of my expenses and see where this goes. just today i paid my bills and my month’s budget is consumed by almost 50% already. and it’s just the 2nd week of sept. i say good luck!

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