photos of my birthday last june 2007 in cagayan taken from megan’s camera. yey 😀
long play finds
toured my sister mamati and her husband papi to marikina shoe expo. after saying hi to poninski at black soup, we scoured the thrift shops and was excited to find a long play copy (plaka) of jesus christ superstar in heritage. unfortunately the p500 tag price was way too much and i snuck it back where i got it and cursed the place.
in the next shop i found another copy of the lp and immediately bought it for p150. although it was i believe the most expensive of the old plakas i got the past few months, it was worth it. except for a few scratches the guy selling it says it’s still playable. ive been trying to get a good deal for the jcs soundtrack and now i got it! it included pages of photographs and a lyric insert. pretty exciting! now i just have to get a turntable hehehe
few months back i got west side story also in marikina shoe expo for p75. before that i was ecstatic to find zefirelli’s romeo and juliet lp and got it for p25 at evangelista in makati. good thing i already got the cd of the thing and dont have to wait for the turntable to listen to it.
ive been buying lps to build a small collection of favorite albums. other lps already stocked up at home include alvin and the chipmunks christmas album, the rescuers (salvaged from my childhood), the grease soundtrack (typical) and all that jazz. im still hoping to get plakas evoking nostalgia, things that include englebert humperdink and the theme from mahogany (surreal trip). 2nd hand laserdiscs are sold at p50 a piece at evangelista but i couldnt find any of my favorite movies to keep. cheers!
in the meantime
im back in manela since july 8 scrounging for scraps to feed myself. currently working on a costume design project with carlo for the university of makati’s version of the siditious play, kahapon ngayon at bukas. also working out some design stuff with smart. and presently hoping and negotiating on working with top pinoy director on his latest horror film. details later para dili maudlot hahaha
self-portrait, june 2007
benjamin diaz padero at your service
me in black and white mode
lucas boy’s day off
lucas boy agreed to go with us papayong and mamayette to limketkai mall on the condition that he rides on those mechanical carousel and animals. so after i bought a few items for my bday dinner at the grocery we headed off to the rides and he had his field day. nalingaw ra pud ang uncle.
writings on the wall
took pictures of the gate at our old velez house. apparently the chalk and marker writings we laid claim on the gate when we were kids havnt faded yet. the top pic shows tina and ben in markers and ana in chalk graffiti. the bottom is cuzin tootsie’s claim to the gate as well.
doorbell ni mommy.
door ni mamati.
papayong engraves his name on the cement driveway.
benjaminpadero.com
yey my own personal domain is finally up! benjaminpadero.com is a gift from cuzin ej so thanks marami cuzin ! 😀 yey !
birthday pasta
celebrated my birthday here in mindanao. considering the family’s expenses after my dad’s operation i opted not to spend for a big dinner. staging a frugal peasant fest, i enlisted my cuzins and sisters to sponsor the food we’d be eating on the day.
cuzin maylin and her husband chef ibo sponsored and prepared 2 fabulous pasta dishes: seafood negra pasta and carbonara with saffron. wicked ang itsura, winner ang lasa ! i was particularly fascinated by the tomato-based squid ink pasta as we dont normally encounter such things ! haha mamati and husband papi brought lechon manok (as per request) and cases of ice-cold pepsi (ice-chilled, not on the rocks). ama, mother of papi, brought a roll of chiffon cake, and mamayette prepared her staple mixed fruit salad in lychee juice (also as per request).
despite the menu, i wanted to get sashimi and kinilaw but i forgot the wasabi in the icebox at katipunan, and the fresh tuba (fermented coconut wine) we got spilled all over the feroza carpet while in transit.
it is a normal thing for the RER paderos and the duranos to get together on special occasions. hell, even under normal circumstances we would eat together and dinners become quasi-parties! this bday was no exception. notified to come by though were my grandparents, godmother, who’s to leave for the US in 2days time, some aunts and cuzins. only tonio, ace, and niko were able to drop by.
nevertheless, my birthdays, whenever celebrated with 2 or more family members and loved ones, are always cherished and i will always look forward to them. pasta will always be on the menu, along with lechon manok, friendship, companionship, love and grace from God. thanks to all. i had a great time 😀 pictures to follow
udpate on dad: upon receiving his biopsy results done in cebu, he immediately had himself confined friday afternoon of june 22 for a saturday operation the next day. the procedure went without a hitch and by 3pm, june 23, dad was wheeled back to his room. recovery took a few days and by wednesday, june 27, dad drove us out of the hospital back to the house haha. i guess he wanted the operation to be done immediately so that he’d be home comfortable esp that my birthday was coming up. he’d rather be home than in the hospital.
my dad’s still not cancer-free but we’re expecting a decrease in prostate size soon and hopefully the cancer will be manageable for further administering. for now, that’s good news 😀 thank the Lord.
benjamin padero 