Mango Margs, Miley and Ma$e

Yesterday was Friday; my day off. I woke up feeling detoxified from the previous night's infrared sauna/deep tissue massage. Pool time in the afternoon; there are these Brazilians-at least I think they're Brazilian-who lounge by the pool next to me everyday. Very very skinny good looking foreigners who splash each other all afternoon. Super bizarre. One of them kind of resembles Dr. Troy from Nip/Tuck which is my dream BUT his florescent speedo and trampstamp have persuaded me otherwise...

Last night Aileen (Tanya's aunt) and I had dinner/movie plans w/potential dancing. Her driver picked me up and took me to the Tan house (where Tanya and her family live, baller status). On the way there a Filipino radio station was bumping D'Angelo "Lady"-I started to feel at home in Asia finally.

Aileen took me out to dinner at (shockingly) Chili's. Yes, that Chili's. I had never been to one before last night. Aileen said she wanted to go there b/c she was in the mood for a salad? Whatevs they had bottomless margs and basketball was playing. After loading up on carbs and the best/first MANGO MARGARITA I have ever had in my life we hit the movie theater for coughmileycyrusmoviecough. Ok, yes I might have seen 'The Last Song' last night. It's exactly what you think it is; a really really shitty version of the notebook. It followed the same equation to a T; 2 attractive young kids, from different economical backgrounds, rain scene, beach scene, fight scene etc. The only difference was Miley's snaggle tooth and Ryan Gosling is way way better looking than whatshisface.

Post Miley we went to a nightclub called Encore, which is actually super close to my apt in the Fort. We were on "the list" and had a table. Jesus, I had no idea this trip would be so VIP-I don't own enough heels to support this lifestyle. Once we got stamped and searched-Aileen said we had a choice between their 2 dance-floors; Trance or Hiphop. Pshhhhh-Are you kidding me? Easiest decision of my life.

The DJ was a joke but he played some cuts; Mo Money Mo Problems, Pop Champagne, Rude Boy etc. It was a crazy mix of clubbers from the Philippines, Middle East and America. I found out there is no drinking age therefore no age minimum at nightclubs (easy Purcell)...So that is something to get used to. I denied all dance invites for the night and focused on my vodkaredbull and not slipping on spilled champagne. It had been months since I had gone out dancing (at the Goodfoot), Stella's tryna get her groove back; one dance floor at a time.

My birthday is a week from TODAY.

Today I'm stopping by the studio to meet the new instructors in training and tell them not to play any black eyed peas in class and then going shopping at Greenbelt for the afternoon..followed by a potentially fun evening out with a client from Ohio at the Ayala museum.

Doc Hayden, why are you blowing up my celly?

The Philippines has a new President; Noy Noy Aquino of the Liberal party. The election was on Monday; by everything I heard Noy Noy had this thing in locked since the beginning. He is the son of a former heroic female president Corazon Aquino. The only dirt I can find on this guy is that "Aquino is an enthusiast of shooting and billiards. He is also an audiophile and enjoys listening to mellow, bossa nova, and OPM (Original Pinoy Music)" OH and his girlfriend is 29 years old. 20 years his junior. Here's a quick video of Noy Noy http://www.france24.com/en/20100510-philippines-election-senator-benigno-aquino-presidency-noynoy-estrada-cory

Tanya and her whole family are flying to LA for her sister's graduation from USC on Thursday; they will be gone for 2 weeks. Yes, they are missing my 24th birthday. Tanya, Aileen, Pao and Gerald took me out for dinner last night after my back to backs at the Fort to a restaurant called Felix in Greenhills (right next to the Ayala Museum). I had the Pesto linguine (Ala Ton) and the Tuscany salad (mozzarella). But you know I tried everything else on the table.... Big moment in my life; I ATE MY VERY FIRST OYSTER LAST NIGHT. It was pretty good. I thought about Eleanor the whole time. I also sampled the raw spicy tuna which was drenched in wasabi and dried Mushroom chips. For dessert my favorite; frozen yogurt (with Kiwi and Mangos). On the way home Tanya's 18 yr old sister and I bonded in the back seat over reality TV and how much we love Keeping up with the Kardashians (but she really hates Khloe). Tanya and I placed bets on the upcoming Lakers/Suns series. I am literally lost at who to root for here.

Side note; looking through my Filipino Nokia cellphone the other day (which I was aware was previously used by Darcy when she was the foreign trainer here) I found a bunch of pictures of random people I didn't know....continue skimming....until I found some Filipino porn?!? What? No. Seriously. I did. 3 videos in fact. I didn't know what to do; Do I delete them so Tanya doesn't think their mine, do I leave them so that when she returns the phone to whoever it belongs to they have their videos back in their possession un-tampered with? WHAT A PICKLE. So I just brought it up at dinner. Aileen immediately had tons of questions, is he Filipino? Where is it filmed? When was it taken? She wanted to see it and before I knew it they were passing it around the dinner table in between bites of spicy tuna, trying to figure out who the perp was. Turns out, there was a huge celeb sex scandal between a Filipino actress and actor that got sent all over the internet in 2009 without ethertheir consent. Hayden Kho, he is famous for playing a plastic surgeon on some Filipino soap opera. Here's the Doc himself;



Other than THAT I am planning out my future excursions. Intramouros, Rizal Park, Batagus? I just want some beach.

Ayala Museum, Makati City

Today was a good day. I made it to the Ayala Museum! 425 pesos granted me admission to 4 floors of Filipino artwork and beyond. There are few things I enjoy more in life than Museums, Libraries and Airports. Seriously.

On the 4th floor was the 'Crossroads of Civilizations'; lots of traditional Filipino textiles, Chinese exports and an obscene amount of gold. "Gold of our Ancestors" showed over 1,000 pieces of gold that existed before the 16th century. Lots of earrings, bangles and diadems. The intricacy of the gold pieces was fascinating but I couldn't help but skim through the thousands of plates and bowls.

(Really really old bling)

I fell in love on the 3rd floor with a man named Fernando Zobel (formally he is known as Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo). Born in Manila in 1924 but his citizenship was Spanish and went to Harvard. His work is a collection of sketches, paintings but my obsession began with his photography. Zobel was known for his spontaneous generosity. He died in Rome 2 years before I was born. But he is my new best friend. Here is a link to some of his photos; http://www.fernandozobel.com/artist_photography.htm

(Untitled, Madrid-Fernando Zobel)

(Maiden by a Fruit Stand-Zobel 1952)

By the time I left the 3rd floor I was on such a museum high (can't describe this, hopefully you know this feeling). When I got the 2nd floor the mood shifted. The 2nd floor hosted a 60-piece set of dioramas chronicling Filipino history. The dioramas are so impressively moving, I was surprised how much this kind of medium could capture the essence of some of the most intense times the world has seen. As I made it to the 30th diorama shit was getting heavy. Executions, wars, KKK-the list goes on. I absolutely HAVE to come back and get those god forsaken headphones so I can listen to the stories behind the stillness.

(Diorama, execution up close)

Once I made it down to the ground floor I felt like I had run a marathon and rewarded myself with a little down time in the bamboo garden outside. a very very hot bamboo garden. My tour was over and I was thinking I should probs text Bong to tell him to bring the car around (what? really?) but instead I wandered around the garden a little bit more and found a random outdoor-air chapel. I cautiously walked towards it not knowing if anyone could enter/are chapels free? I am so not religious. I walked in and found one of the only quiet places amongst this raging city of 11million people. It was kind of amazing. I sat down and watch busy Filipinos come in, kneel, pray and leave. Some were staked out or fanning themselves on god's time but it was silent. I had not heard silence since Portland, it was almost beautiful. I stayed for a few minutes appreciating this out of context place of worship after staring at so many picture of violent battle.

(Inside Greenbelt Chapel much more crowded than today)

After laying low this afternoon I went out to dinner with a client who is from Manila but went to UW. Her name is China and she likes hip-hop. She invited me to dinner at Chelsea near the Fort studio with some friends of hers. They are fun and tried convincing me to come dance with them at some club called LAX but I don't dance on the first date in foreign countries. PLUS I don't have any heels to bump and grind in anyways so next time ladies, next time...

Rio Rio!!!

OMG forgot to tell you; when I left the studio tonight, guess who I saw outside NIKE?

RIO DE LA CRUZ! RIO DE LA CRUZ!

(See cover of Runner's magazine below aka, my (Filipino) baby's daddy!) Jessica you know what I'm talking about!

I didn't have the balls to say anything, I just stared and pretended to look lost :)

(This is Rio, I know I know)

Gas, break, dip

I feel like I am over overdue on shedding some light on the world of transportation in the Philippines. This place is nuts. There are few similarities to driving in America and driving here in Manila.

To name a few;
-There are no stop lights (ok, there are maybe 3 but no one obeys them)
-There are no stop signs
-There are no crosswalks ("you just have to run for it"-every time)
-There are no seat belts (in the backseat, pssh no big deal right?)
-There are no designated lanes
-There are no street names

I have 2 personal drivers here who take me to and from the Alabang studio; Bong and Rally. Neither of them speak very much English. Mainly we get by on the following 3 words; "Alabang?" "Apartment?" and "Traffic". Bong normally turns on some cuts for me though. There's a local radio station that plays all the club/dance hall hits which I can get down to in the backseat. Rally just smiles and honks a lot. They both have their strong points.

Rally took me to the local post office today which is no where near where I live to pick up my books that Powells shipped to me, finally. What can I say about the Taguig post office? First of all, it's on a street with no name that is filled with unemployed locals. If you're not selling mangos, rice or hand-made brooms your sitting on the street people watching (in the shade) attempting to avoid being run over by a jeepney/3-wheeler. There are no americans in a 15 mile radius. The post office is lined with half-asleep Filipino men who I am pretty sure work there but just don't have anything to do, so they bake in the heat and watch people go by. As soon as I walked up a man ushered me into the back room w/o saying anything where there were packages piled up to the ceiling (that wasn't finished, I could see through it). There was a desk and a chair and a calculator that he went on punching for a good solid 3 minutes until he announced I was to pay him 1,329 pesos to claim my books. Are you fucking kidding me? That's $30. I already paid $100 to buy/ship them to this miniature post-office. This is where the corrupt Filipino politics comes in. I don't speak the language, therefore I cannot argue, only roll my eyes and cough up all of my cash.

Yeah, I got my books but hot damn.

Side note; JEEPNEYS. I don't think there is anything I am more fascinated by here than Jeepneys. Leftover from WWII, the US military left/sold a bunch of jeeps that Filipinos transformed into public trans units that cart approx 15 passengers. Jeepneys are personally decorated (just like taxicabs) on the inside AND the outside. It is the owner's pride and joy. I have made it my official pastime here to Jeepney-watch instead of people-watch. I am fascinated by what the driver chooses to paint on the outside as it represents their beliefs (political and/or religious). Most common figure painted on Jeepneys in Manila is Guadalupe.

(Jeepneys, errywhere)

Apparently I taught a Filipino celeb last night at my class in the Fort. Gretchen Barretto. Tiny, botox and bling. Apparently she's dropped some albums and hosts a game show? Somehow I missed the bodyguards standing outside the studio...

(Gretchen Barretto, Filipino celeb)

Alright ya'll after teaching my 12th class tonight I am ready for a Red Horse and some Tucker Max. Oh, a client who went to UW invited me to a tattoo convention at the Mall of Asia tomorrow night....Do I go?

"Chanel Ma'aaaaam"

Manic Monday, for sure.

After taking Joie's (packed) 10:30 class at the Fort this morning I went with Tanya and Eileen on a lunch/shopping date at Greenbelt. All they told me is that it was indoors and cash only-other than that I had no idea where/what I was getting myself into.

First we ate Filipino at Casa Reyes. BOMB. I ordered the Chicken Adobo which came with (green) Mango and rice. But wherever we go I am politely forced to try everything on the table, I love this. So I also tried Java rice, Gsing Gsing (new personal fave; green beans cooked in Coconut milk with pork) and the legendary Daing na bangus (traditional Filipino fish that is served with garlic rice and a fried egg). Ok, so I stayed true to my "Not saying no to anything on this trip rule" but dude the Dain na bangus fish tasted like I was chewing a warm piece of the Ocean floor. Seriously I almost had tears in my eyes from the salt water I was pressing into my taste buds. Of course I had finished my bottled water already so I tried washing it down with more rice. Yikes. Check that off the list, it's never making a 2nd appearance.

(Daing na bangus)

Post ocean floor fish we went onto shopping. Basc. it was was rows and rows and rows of faux LV, Prada, Gucci, any other name brand you can think Marissa Cooper would flaunt for a couple thousand pesos (cheap). It was chaotic, boiling hot, overwhelming and rapidly all whizzing by me. Since my blonde hair makes me a walking target for consumerism here all I heard for the next hour was a combination of Filipino women cooing "Hi ma'am" "Chanel, ma'am" "Bags, ma'am" "You buy, ma'am". There was a lot of pressure to buy whatever you were looking at even if I slowed to down to 5mph. Woof. Before I knew it I was bargaining with some woman for an LV tote that I didn't even desperately want but still convinced myself I needed if I could get to P1000. No go, she stayed at 1, 600 so I walked. Also men kept whispering next to me "DVD, ma'am" and holding out lists of the new hits they had to sell. Tempting but I kept walking.

(Kind of wish I copped this now)

Ok, so I did buy some knock-off gold Chanel studs for way cheap and a hand-made fan to use the next time I'm tryna buy a Prada bag. Things I will be going back for; TORI BERCH tote/jellies, fresh water pearls, fake Nike dunks.

As the finale of the afternoon Eileen treated me to the most famous Filipino dessert Halo-Halo. It's a random assortment of shaved ice and milk, beans and fruits, and served cold in a tall glass. Without having known that it was like ice cream with pieces of jello/banana in it with an occasional kidney bean in the mix. Halo halo translated from Tagalog means Mix Mix, so once you do it's actually one of the BEST things I've ever tasted. The ice cream that was on top was called Ube (tarot root, it was purple). After fessing up about being really into it Eileen and Tanya insisted I buy some to take home with me. I agreed an walked about with a half gallon of Ube ice cream, literally. Whoops.

(Halo Halo, I'm Jessie, so very nice to meet you)

After this fun-filled afternoon I needed an mean power nap but had to teach back to back's in Alabang (where the AC is broken). So now ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a glass of wine and an episode of the OC. Thank you and goodnight.

Enomatic?

After not being able to watch the last Blazers game of the 2009-2010 season I threw a pity party at the pool (there's something about listening to your Mom cheer for the Blazers over Skype that makes you miss Portland too much) At the pool while desperately trying to finish my book, a Filipino creeper w/braces got in the grill, (Is this lounge chair taken? turned into How much did your Visa cost? and What's Pilates?) Ugh. Over you! Threw my Roy jersey back on and ended my pool party.

CAV/Ironman2; Tanya and her BF and sister picked me up for dinner at a place called Cav, it's a wine shop/restaurant which her father owns. After being introduced to approx 18 people (mainly family) we had a 3 course dinner which was far from casual. Argula salads, garlic shrimp (gapas?), yellow fin tuna, sole fish....ending with some amazing desserts I will do a terrible job of describing. One was this rich chocolate mousse cake paired with yogurt/fruit while the other was this apple pie that looked like the thinnest pizza I've ever seen paired with Cinnamon ice cream. Holy SHIT. To die for.

The entertainment of the meal was Tanya's little brother Shaun. He just turned 12 this week and is quite a character. He's in that stage where anything besides Mac n Cheese is gross but he'll try it and make a face, then go back to playing his PS2 at the table. He was cracking me up.

My favorite moment of the evening came when I was introduced to their Enomatic Wine Machine, is it just me or is this thing heavenly. A self-serve wine case that allows you to taste/select/pour your glass of wine and bring it to your table. I went against the pairing rules of white fish and got a red Merlot from Italy, duh! I liked it so much I spent 700pesos on a bottle of 2007 Chianti called Ruffino.

(Enomatic Wine Machine, I need one of these)

Post CAV we went to see Ironman2 at Rockwell theaters. On the drive there we passed through the Red Light District which must have been near Burgos St (after doing some reading). Little kids tapped on our windows trying to sell us flowers for the Flores festival which I think lasts through May. Drums, transvestites, barefoot kids;everyone was out celebrating. It was insane. How come the Philippines get to release box office hits a week before the US? Not sure, but apparently has to do w/some piracy concern. Works for me! RDJ was delicious.

Still waiting on my camera cord from America, once I get it I will post the picture I took with Ironman before the movie. It's pretty classic.