a dose from the Corteses

a yuletide message

And so another year passes; a very full year with lots of ups and very few downs. A year of blessings and laughter. A year of love and life.

Angelo, one year and five months old now, is growing up to be a mischievous and healthy little boy, bringing so much joy and a few headaches into our lives. Mommy Day and Abuelita regale us with stories on the little boy’s antics every single day. Mama Rosan and Papa Marno dote on him and play surrogate “yayas” when they come over on Sundays. Daddy Tony makes time to visit his first grandchild and has lots of fun playing with Angelo.

We have been busy this past month preparing for our company’s annual Christmas party themed “Christmas in Paris.” Being part of the committee, we had to plan the layout and design of the area as well as do the decorating ourselves, which definitely took a lot of work. Toni almost single-handedly recreated the Eiffel Tower out of Styrofoam, with the help of Mama Rosan and her AutoCAD plotter. Thanks to Papa Marno and his 6-wheeler truck, we were able to transport all our decorations and materials to our party venue.

Allison was promoted to the Training Department last August and she has been handling back-to-back training classes, which she doesn’t mind doing at all. Toni will hopefully be graduating in March of 2008 and will start working for an Architectural firm within next year.

Our Christmas Wish is this… that we find time to sit back and thank the Lord for the blessings that we have received this year, and be optimistic for more blessings that 2008 will bring.

reason to believe

Despite the circumstances, through the ups and downs that we went through this year - here's hoping that this merry month of December will be a good finale for the Corteses for the year two thousand and seven.
It's the first week on the last month of the year, and we still have a long way to go. For the parties that we need to attend, as well as the parties that we need to organize and decorate for, this will be a long December, but definitely in high hopes not to be a cold month.

my new 'do

my mom had always wanted my head shaved as soon as i turned a year old. on the other hand, my dad wanted to let my hair grow long like his. this has been a long, drawn-out battle between my parents, and i just watched in the sidelines. until one day...

yup, you guessed right, my mom won the battle. my hair was shaved off on november 4, 2007, right after hearing mass. we went to ayala, and stopped by salon de rose for my 1st ever haircut. dad had his hair cut as well, although not quite as short as mine.

i like my new hair. it took a little getting used to, but i took it all in stride. dad says this will be my first and last haircut in a loooooooooong time, but knowing my mom... she will have the final say, methinks.

final dose:
view more cute pictures in my site

where the heart is

In the hopes of getting at least a decent vacation, I let my body rest for most of the two-hour commute but my mind was left in the city. As we were in the town where ampao (rice crispies) is the delicacy, rain poured really hard and continued until we arrived at the location.
Rockwalled Resort is situated in the municipality of Dalaguete, a southern rural town of Cebu. Save for the view of the serene clear waters of Tañon Strait, I would not recommend the resort for those who want to enjoy the beach and the sand. Nestled on a cliff, one needs to go down for about 70 steps to enjoy a dip in the pebbly waters. If not for the games, karaoke and beer, I would have locked myself in a room to sleep until we return home.

Nothing beats a loving life partner, enjoying a night of great music in the company of good friends over a case of Red Horse. The three-night event showcased the very best guitarists of Cebu. A proud Cebuano can indeed boast of the booming Cebu music scene. In between the guitar riffs and the beer drinks, I won an event calendar when I correctly enumerated three guitarists who joined the event.
As the night progressed and the dosage of beer got to me, I(unfortunatley) ended up forgetting to bring the calendar home. You may call it winning or losing, but for the two guitarists we personally know, Jaan Quijano and Raul "Gaw" Luche, a salute to the great skill and commendable talent you both have. I hoped to be a good bassist, but I had to let go of that dream when I let go of my bass guitar.

some time off

By mid to the end of October, wifey and I were busy with the preparations for the company's customer service week. She was assigned to take care of the program while I had my hands full with the floor decorations as well as creating the horror booth that we named Bahay ni Lola. Despite all these, we had a blast attending Halloween parties left and right, plus some drinking sessions to boot.

With regard to news about the little boy, we had him attend our company's Halloween party, where he dressed up as a rock star. We had his hair styled to a Mohawk which complimented his shiny black trench coat very well. Thanks to wifey's sister, Audrey, for little boy's entire "look."
While we were occupied with office stuff, we made sure that little boy would attend parties and be occupied as well. He enjoyed three consecutive children's birthday bashes toward the end of October. And just last week, we had little boy's hair shaved off. Unfortunately, we weren't able to bring our camera when we went to Salon de Rose, so we were not able to document his first haircut.

on this given sunday

Rather than naming names based on speculations, simple decency demands that we pay sincere sympathy and condolence to the families and friends of the victims, and say a solemn prayer for the innocent lives that were shattered.

Deeply saddened by the tragedy, on this given sunday --- we offer our prayers.

final dose:
therefore will we not fear.
though the earth be moved.
He is our hope and strength

old drawings, new aches

final dose:
architecture is not a business, not a career, but a crusade and a consecration to a joy that justifies the existence of the earth. - Henry Cameron.

less than a hundred

There is a growing number of environmental advocacies and a growing population of environmentalists. Everyday, we are reminded about environmental awareness, to be eco-friendly and are even encouraged to do our share in helping resolve or minimize these environmental issues.

I don't intend to join any environmental groups, although I do support the same cause as Jack Johnson through his music. I believe one can always find different ways to help.

In architecture for example, there is what we call adaptive re-use which is described as the conversion of a facility or part of a facility to a use significantly different from that for which it was originally designed while still keeping some of the historic value; like for example -converting a railroad station into a shopping mall or a post office into a rail station. Adaptive re-use in architecture is more or less like recycling.

Topics like these sometimes tend to sound uninteresting so let's go straight to the point so it won't bore you.

Let me share my own way of helping...

I created a downlight luminaire which costs less than a hundred pesos and is made from recycled materials. A Luminaire is a complete lighting unit, consisting of one or more electric lamps with all of the necessary parts and wiring. (Pronunciation: lü-m&-'ner)

the materials:

handle cap = P 8.98
socket outlet = P 8.00
#18 flat wire = P39.75
5w round bulb = P14.50

TOTAL = P71.23


other materials:

empty plastic bottle
2ply tissue paper
adhesive (elmer's glue)
latex paint




here's the procedure:

• Connect the wires needed for the light holder as well as for the power plug, make sure you know how to connect electrical wires properly.
  
• Cut the plastic bottle into half or into the desired size you want, this will act as the lamp shade.
  
• Make a hole as big as the light holder on the bottom of the plastic bottle.
  
• Cut holes in the plastic bottle in any order you want it to be.
  
• Paint the plastic bottle with latex paint (enamel paint doesn't work with plastic).
  
• Make paper mache out of tissue paper using a ratio of 1 scoop of glue to 3 scoops of water.
  
• Cover holes with the paper mache, make sure paper mache is applied in the interior side of the bottle. Leave to dry.
  
• Connect light holder and plastic bottle lamp shade together.
  

i think therefore i am

This is Rene Descartes' famous line, which I have encountered over and over, in many different languages and in many different words. This is also reiterated in "The Law of Attraction" which is THE (greatest) SECRET the world has ever known.

As long as you think (of whatever the hell you want to think), you are. You are what you think, and what you think is you. So if you think about abundance and prosperity... YOU ARE ABUNDANT AND PROSPEROUS. Sounds too simple to be logical, huh?

Well, The Secret says that the Universe works by one law, and that is the Law of Attraction. Like attracts like, and having positive thoughts will pull positive things towards you. This law is working, whether you know about it or not. Now that you do, realize how powerful you actually are.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. the blow-by-blow

The six of us, Monica-Justin, Maica-Stephen, Alli-Toni, all went to Tabuelan over the weekend for a much-needed time-out from the city... and we had such a blast! It was the next best thing to the perfect getaway. The perfect getaway would have been the exact same thing, minus the expenses.

Saturday
8:00am - met up at Chowabungga, I.T. Park, breakfast
9:30am - boarded a van in the North Bus Terminal, for Tabuelan
11:30am - van dropped us off right at our front gate, in Tabuelan
12:00nn - the drinking started, while rice was cooking
12:30pm - lunchtime!!!
1:30pm - 4:00pm - swimming, sun-bathing, drinking, picture-taking
4:00pm - 6:30pm - grilling, frying, cooking rice
6:30pm - dinnertime!!!


*** after dinner, i slept. i couldn't help it, i was totally dead to the world. i did wake up at 1:00am though... toni was gnashing his teeth beside me, in his sleep of course. i didn't quite sleep as well afterwards. i couldn't make him stop that awful noise inside his mouth.

Sunday
7:00am - cooking breakfast
7:30am - eating breakfast!!!
8:00am - swimming, sun-bathing, drinking, picture-taking
11:00am - cooking lunch
11:30am - eating lunch!!!

12:30pm - packing up, preparing to go, shelling out money for the expenses

2:30pm - the van finally picked us up... methinks the driver was watching the Pacquiao-Barrera fight, that's why he picked us up two hours late!

4:30pm - van dropped us off right at our front gate, in Cebu this time


*** we stopped by Liloan to buy kinilaw and fish, and we ate this at home, Toni's and my home. they all wanted to see Angelo, especially Stephen, this being his first time to see the little boy.

final dose:
It was such a fun weekend.
If only we could do this more often... like... once a month?

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You


So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your jobs a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,
or even your year but..

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

You're still in bed at ten and work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast so far... things are goin' great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
Oh but she didn't tell you when the world has brought
You down to your knees that...

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with
Make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst I'm best with you, yeah

It's like you're always stuck in second gear
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,
or even your year...

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

Monica is PHOEBE BUFFET

Justin is ROSS GELLAR

Alli is MONICA GELLAR-BING

Toni is CHANDLER BING

Maica is RACHEL GREEN

Stephen is JOEY TRIBIANNI

building a foundation

The architect is not free, but the artist is... The architect works with his head, but the artist with his heart. In architecture as in all other operative arts, the end must direct the operation. The end is to build well.

when september ends

what better way to end the ninth month of the year than an overnight stay at the beach.

all beer lovers out there,
join us in welcoming the month we oh so love.

My Best Friend's Wedding

number 3 on the third day

When I can't keep my train of thought on a single topic, this is what happens!

Playful. Mischievous. Energetic. A Rascal. Lively and Spirited.

Here are jolly pictures of him, on the morning he finally made a full recovery.

It was almost three agonizing days -- suffering with fever, cough and colds. Good thing his condition never got any worse. On that very same day, I gave little boy a much needed quality playtime capped with a television treat. From browsing through cartoons to watching Dora the explorer, Spongebob, Blue's clues, videos of Bible Stories, Elmo and everything that falls under kiddie shows.

enough to worry about

How can I be so busy trying to come up with a blog regarding the freaking news I read about Britney Spears' custody case. My mind can't compose, my fingers key in more text in my cellphone rather than type on the computer's keyboard.

I've been checking little boy's condition every now and then through text messages and phonecalls. I feel so guilty going to work and leaving little boy at home with his awful dry cough that sounds like the dog's bark of my Uncle Boy's great dane. No I'm not kidding of how my son's coughing sounds like -- I pity him everytime he coughs because I know for sure that he is having a hard time. But what the heck, a father has to work and got to do what he needs to do.


Wifey is on a teambuilding trip in Moalboal together with her co-trainers and supervisors and won't be back until early Sunday afternoon. She also felt guilty going on the trip. Before she left early this morning, we let little boy take his medicine as well as vitamins.

Dry cough plus colds and a temperature of thirty eight degrees celcius gave us enough to worry about. As absentee parents for the day, we prayed and crossed our fingers that our son would be alright and would recover pretty soon.

This is not the first time that we were worried about our kid, any parent probably will feel the same way. The weather has been erratic, and the never ending news about dengue has always feared us. God forbid.

When situations like these arises. I have always told myslef to have enough COMPOSURE, and a lot of STRENGTH to endure, plus a handful of GRACE to face the adversity.

Well the good news I received from Mommy Day's text message is:

Ton, nag ki-at na si angelo, pero amo gihapon gisige kuhaan og temp. ni palit ko addtnl tambal sa ubo og sip-on. at least ni kaon na cya cereal og ni inom milk. temp nya is 37.3 na lng.

and i call him kiko

An excerpt from the article of Pepe Diokno of the Philippine Inquirer:

Save the rapper, save the world. Kids who wanted to change Earth once dreamed of becoming president. Today, our presidents are kids—physically, here, mentally, across the Pacific. So now, kids who want to change the world dream of becoming other things—like rappers, for example.

Francis M grew up, in his words, seeing violence and democracy being stifled. He was in Grade Two when Martial Law started—he would read newspapers, and see how little freedom was around him.“There’s anger right there,” he says, after I ask him what his early rap was about. “Back in the day, when hip hop was young, rap was used to voice out the sentiment of the disenfranchised … I didn’t grow up in a comfortable environment. I took the jeep. I took tricycles. I had my fair share of the street life. I’m a martial law baby—that’s disenfranchised right there.”

Fortunately, he took his anger and wrote an anthem for a Philippine utopia. “Every color, every hue, is represented by me and you,” he sang to 90’s trademark electric guitars and drums, inspiring thousands of Filipino GenX-ers.

Okay you can call me a fanatic, but I can't deny that he has been my idol since the release of his YO! album. I have memorized and performed the song mga kababayan when I was in 3rd grade, love his cold summer nights hit, kaleidoscope world, girl be mine, and a lot more to mention. I bought some of his albums - rap is francis m., meron akong ano, freeman 1&2, the oddventures of mr. cool and the best of francism. Watched his gigs when he performed in Cebu - at harley's entertainment, zero below, ayala cebu and mtv shows. Not only is he a good songwriter and rapper, he is also a very good host, a great photographer, a director of short films and music videos and an icon in the music industry.

On top of having a great weekend with my family -- bought wifey a new pair of shoes and bought some clothes for the little boy -- I can't be happier and more proud to finally own an FMCC shirt. I asked my friend Steve to buy me an FMCC shirt when he went to Manila to watch the Switchfoot concert, but due to his busy schedule, he wasn't able to buy the shirt I have been wanting to have. Since it was a payday last friday, I decided to finally get one from a dealer here in Cebu.

Three stars and a sun - FrancisM Clothing Company

I'm sooo loving it!!!! the design is sooo cool and the material is extraordinary comfortable. It ain't a cheap shirt and it's not mainstream. That's why I'm proud to be one of the few Cebuanos to own one. I bought the shirt just in time for the launch of the 3 stars and a sun embroidered polo shirts for men and women last September 15, held at X print Trinoma in Manila.