I felt like Julia Roberts' character in the movie with the same title.
JL, my best friend and twin sister, since we were born on the exact same day (1st June 1983), got married exactly a month ago, 28th August 2007. It doesn't matter who she married, or why. Fact is, she's married and I'm devastated.
I know I got married first, and I know she felt the loss, and I know she realized that things would have to change between us. I realized that too, when I got married. But when SHE got married, I knew that things would never be the same. It's double jeopardy, and I just lost.
Julia Roberts didn't want Michael, her guy best friend, to marry another girl. She wanted him to marry her. Now I don't want to marry JL of course, since we're both female and are therefore unable to procreate, but I don't want her to marry. Period.Selfish of me, huh? I'm not proud of it, but that wedding was something like a funeral, our friendship's funeral. I was made to go to the front and say something to the newlyweds... and I cried from start to finish of my very short speech. My heart was breaking. I could barely breathe, and tears were streaming down my face, ruining my carefully applied make-up.
My speech: "If anything goes wrong, I'll always be here, you come to me, okay J?" or something similar.
No, I don't want their marriage to fail.No, I'm not trying to steal her away from him.
No, I don't want her to be miserable at the expense of my happiness.
I'm worried. I'm worried that growing up and having our own families will mean us not being a family anymore. No, I'm not worried, I'm terrified!
I'm terrified that she won't need me anymore.
posted by A.Cortes on 5:07 PM
under
friends
When I can't keep my train of thought on a single topic, this is what happens!
oh let me blame it on the weather, bad weather -- you have been really erratic lately.
After religiously taking his medicines and vitamins, finally little boy is back to his old self.
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.
After watching all this together, I couldn't help but notice that there seems to be something interesting with the number three.
So here's a little rundown of my observations.
In the show Dora the Explorer, which encourages viewers to interact and answer (not bad at all for a kiddie show), in one episode for example -- Dora asks a question about where Swiper is hiding. So she points to the first location, which obviously isn't where the little fox is hiding, points to the next location, which is also an incorrect answer, and lastly points to a third location, which for some dubious reason shows Swiper's recognizable face and tail. Other episodes of the show basically have the same concept and still has the answer on the third option. The third clue you'll find in the show Blue's Clues is also the missing link for all the clues and the most important one. Elmo of Sesame Street always counts to three before he starts to sing or dance. If it's always that way, what will kids think?
Now those are just three examples for you.
Ever imagined why trios are almost always famous? - the three stooges, the three musketeers, even the gwapings.
Players using the number three on their jerseys are also undeniably very skillful - Dwayne Wade and Allen Iverson, to name a few.
Then there are also trilogies - lord of the rings, the godfather and indiana jones.
Well, point being -- little boy recovered after three days just like Jesus rising from the dead on the third day.
Alright, three days of not being able to post any dose from us... here's our latest update, from us - from the family of three.
final dose:
why weren't humans created on the third day?
why don't cats have three lives instead of nine?
posted by A.Cortes on 4:36 AM
under
family,
kidstuff,
zai angelo
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 my only hope is that he'll be well enough when I get home.
final dose:
i'll get back on that britney spear's custody case when i'm more focused
on second thought, that would already be an old news, so why bother...
posted by A.Cortes on 3:41 AM
under
family,
zai angelo
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.
read more of the article when you click this link.
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.
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.
Francis M, sure has made an impact in the things he does best — he just may not be too self-promoting. He has styled the world with Pinoy Pride, given a voice to Philippine music, and while not many may know of his achievements, most Filipinos know at least one of his lyrics.
final dose:
my friend who also loves KIKO will surely envy this
to he, the effortless, gie, palit imo.... bleeh =)
posted by A.Cortes on 1:23 AM
under
artistry
We don't know if it is innate in everyone to be amazingly observant or it could be that unknowingly, people have the natural ability to quickly notice errors and mistakes.
It is a laughing matter -- a mispelled word, the wrong pronounciation, a hilarious picture, sights, signs and bloopers. A certain website chronicles all of these -- www.himantayon.com
HIMANTAYON: A True Story. Chronicles the limits of our humanity -- in pure, unadulterated Cebuano. We don't mean to eavesdrop, but some people are just too darned loud. Bato-bato sa langit, ang maigo, ayaw'g ka-panic!
Himantayon, is a bisaya word which we can't seem to find the english term for. To save time from browsing the web for the translation of the word, let us quote one of the definitions stated on himantayon's website.
“A himantayon (taken from the Cebuano root word “mamantay / bantay”, meaning “to mind, to be aware”) is someone who is always on the look out for what others do or say, and is always mindful of the events in his or her sorroundings. Reasons for this “increased awareness” may vary from gossip-gathering to playful mockery and even in some cases, social vigilance.”
We check the website as often as we check our blogsite, and every visit never fails to bring laughter.
Is it in you to be Himantayon??
Our submitted entries proudly prove we are.
Visit the site and give yourself some good laughs today, you might even get to share your own himantayon experience.
final dose:
credits to our friends HIMAN and TAYON for creating this site
and the creative Yan2x, for the site's design.
posted by A.Cortes on 4:25 AM
under
friends
He hurriedly hailed a jeepney as soon as he got out of the mall. He didn't want to be late for the second half of his shift. It was about fifteen minutes to four in the afternoon and he had thought hours earlier of being absent the whole day but couldn't sacrifice missing a day's worth of earnings.
It was good to hear Sunday mass with the family, a sumptuous lunch, shopping at a duty free store and strolling in the mall. He thinks, it'll be just four hours at the office and I can be back home with my family around eight thirty in the evening.
Since it was a weekend, the jeepney he was riding only had five passengers including himself. Across him was a young man probably in his early thirties, professional-looking in a well ironed light gray polo, blue denim jeans and shiny black leather shoes. The man had with him bundles of rolled papers, which he knew for certain were architectural drawings and blueprints. The man reached for his cellphone and answered in a courteous tone. "hello sir, yes I have with me the building plans plus the paperwork, I'm on my way now... okay, let's meet at the coffee shop."
After the call, the man paid the jeepney fare to the driver with a look of excitement on his face.
Surprisingly, they both disembarked at the same location.
He lighted up a cigarette before proceeding to his office; on the other hand, the man met up with a person inside a coffee shop.
The man might get a good fee for his work today, he had this thought in his mind. What could that project be? he wondered. Is the man a licensed architect? he questioned.
As much as he didn't want to get on the elevator and be at his workstation to start again on a routinary, no brainer work of answering dumb American customers about internet connection problems. He didn't have any other choice but to comply.
While sending text messages to his wife, he contemplated about something. With a blank stare at his monitor, he wished he had a job like that of the other man. He made a strong promise to himself though -- that after he can finish all of the needed requirements, he will bravely take the board exam as he can't wait to work on what he loves to do... his great passion for architecture.
final dose:
no further explanation needed
posted by A.Cortes on 4:16 AM
under
alli toni,
architecture
I feel super sexy today but I won't explain why until the later part of this blog.
Let me congratulate myself first for accomplishing a handful of projects. It was a busy week but quite worthwhile indeed. Although I was a bit late on the scheduled deadline, I'm proud to have finished my lighting fixture plan for a two-storey residential building, complete with all the needed details. Mr. Bojos also appreciated the outcome of my freehand lettering design, which he will use for his lecture class next week. Yesterday was my rest day and approximately one-fourth of the day was spent playing with the little boy -- some quality time that won't be considered unproductive. After my eyes got tired reading my daily and a few chapters from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, I found myself in front of the computer reading tutorials for adobe photoshop. I always told myself to finish reading the ebook, but with more than a thousand pages, I haven't found the time to do so. While reading, I also had photoshop open -- switching from reading to doing hands-on samples.
I concentrated on making the header for our blogsite. But with not enough knowledge about the software, the finished product you see on top of this page was created using coreldraw instead. Still, I am happy with the outcome, no matter how simple it is -- it's the joyful smiles in the pictures that I'm proud to show off. After making the header, I was also able to create a comic strip for the little boy. You might want to read and have a laugh, just click here to enjoy.
Yehey for me!!! for all the aforementioned accomplishments.
When I have a busy schedule, I tend to forget all of the other minor things that need to be done. Like how I promised to bring my Barong to the steam laundry and my weekly chore of tidying up the closet. Although these are forgivable, one "essential" thing that I totally forgot to do was to wash my undies.
Yes, you read that right. I learned how to wash my undies since the day I married my lovely wifey, I even washed little boy's diapers. (read: lampin) To be honest, I only have about two dozen all-white underwear. In one washing, I usually have about a dozen, sometimes almost twenty. But yesterday, when I thought that I still have a supply to last for three days, I took all the used undies and dumped them in the wash basin with water and soap, not knowing that it was all of my undies. So I mentioned the sad predicament I was in to wifey and sheepishly whispered that I wasn't wearing anything underneath my shorts . Since the undies needed to be soaked for a day, I totally ran out of something to cover and hold my thing, and boxers won't do for me if I'm going to work, they're just not comfortable.
As I'm writing this blog, let me tell you that I am wearing wifey's sexy panties. It feels different. It's silky and doesn't have the usual cotton feel.
And that's basically why I feel super sexy today. It's a weekend and I hate it that I'm at work while wifey and little boy are visiting Svetlana in Lahug. But I feel better every time I move my butt, knowing that I feel something different -- something which is better left to your own imagination.
Frankly, you need to be man enough to write something like this. I just can't let this experience pass, I know this is supposed to be a private matter, except that it's way too sexy not to be shared.
final dose:
the above picture is my present for wifey during her birthday
picture is not the one mentioned in the blog.
posted by A.Cortes on 4:06 AM
under
alli toni,
family
it's 4 in the afternoon, she calls out my name ---
Angelooooo.....come here and let's play now!!!
she lives just across our house, i see her every morning looking so fresh.
such a cute three year old girl with chinky eyes and a fair complexion.
Sofia and I met one sunny afternoon as I was holding my mom's hand, strolling in the streets of our village. This girl ran up to me and peered into my face, saying "Hi little boy. I'm Sofia. What's your name?" Unable to talk, I looked up at her curiously and pursed my lips. My dad taught me to greet every girl with a kiss, and I was about to comply when another lady came. It was Sofia's mom, come to take Sofia home. What started out as a friendly getting-to-know-your-neighbor chat has now been an afternoon routine.
She gave me a real good alphabet book as a birthday present, which I constantly read. She also gave me her video CD of Elmo and Sesame Street, which I enjoy watching, singing and dancing to.
My weekday afternoons are usually spent at Sofia's house playing, eating cookies and drinking fresh milk for snacks. We also love strolling together around the village, sometimes she comes over to our place to play and watch television.
Every time my parents ask me how my day was.. I always find myself answering -- "I was at Sofia's house again, playing..."
Oh, Sofia... she's like an older sister to me. Ever since my cousins were not able to visit me anymore, she has been my constant playmate. I thank her for teaching me things and sharing her toys and kid stuff...
final dose:
a different story about sofia when you click here enjoy some photographs when you click this link
posted by A.Cortes on 7:23 AM
under
kidstuff,
zai angelo
 |
The Most Honourable Toni Cortes, the Ovine of Yockenthwait Walden |
The husband has the AB blood type.
People of this blood type are supposed to be natural leaders, great organizers, diplomatic, rational and imaginative. (key word: supposed ~hehehehehehe~)
|
Most Noble and Honourable Alli Cortes, the Somnolent of Chignall Smeally |
The Wifey has the O blood type.
People of this blood type are powerful leaders, goal-oriented, enthusiastic, optimistic and good at business.
|
His Noble Excellency Zai Cortes, the Philomath of Hoptonshire by Leer
|
The little boy has the A blood type.
People of this blood type are perfectionists, orderly, detail-oriented, industrious, idealistic, soft-spoken and careful.
final dose:
the O blood type is the universal donor.
the AB blood type is the universal receiver.
the A blood type is the product of the husband and the wifey.
One lazy afternoon at work, Toni faces his computer with a blank look on his face. This is boredom in its entirety, he thinks. He clicks on his chat box and sends a message to Alli, "hi ASL."
Alli, a floor above Toni, is quite busy in her office, reading a thick book on witches and warlocks.
Her computer makes a pinging noise and she glances up irritatingly. Who dares disturb my concentration??? she fumes silently while clicking on Toni's message. "ASL???" Alli indignantly bellows. She furiously types back "ASL is sooooooo yesterday, Toni. What do you want???"
"ASL=Alli So Lovely" Toni replies, leaning back in his chair with a besotted look on his face. Typical of Alli to reply scathingly. I know her so well, Toni grins.
Alli abandons her book for a lost cause. Toni seems to want to exchange 'sweet nothings' today... he's definitely bored out of his mind. "TSR=Toni Super-Robo" she messages back.
Laughing, Toni types "There's no TSR in chat. I'm CTC=Cutie Toni Cortes."
Alli signs out of chat.
With nothing else to do, and with no one to bug, Toni blog-hops and fortunately bumps into a link. His computer hangs, he is forced to restart it. Finally, after about an hour of changing PCs and logging into the site, he finally has something to show for all his effort!!!
Alli reluctantly signs back on because of Toni's email, "I have something for you... but I won't show you until you chat with me." Blackmail??? This better be good. And when she saw the Simpsonized pictures...
it was all good.
final dose:
toni badly wanted to watch the simpsons movie.
but for some reason or other, he wasn't able to.
so here's hoping the Corteses get Simpsonized.
posted by A.Cortes on 4:55 AM
under
artistry,
mushy
a
contrary to what many of my officemates think, I'm not that good with adobe photoshop.
Let me do autocad and coreldraw, as these are what I have already mastered. But I'm not like this lady friend I know, who already has great skills with photoshop. I'm learning and willing-- with all the online tutorials, ebooks and helpbooks -- I'm self-studying.
I wish to elevate my talent in the hopes of also attaining another skill, if you may call it that.
With all these hi-tech computer softwares, one can attain excellent works parallel to great painters, although they may be on a different medium.
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Now, I can imagine a copycat can be made with computer softwares like photoshop, illustrator or whatever other visual editing software is available on the market.
But I never thought it can be "done" with MS PAINT. Probably possible but not as detailed. If ever you've seen this video in youtube, you may opt not to continue, but for those who haven't yet, click play to feel the same amazement I felt.
final dose:
one laudable talent indeed
i'll try this one of these days
posted by A.Cortes on 4:56 AM
under
artistry
we got new sporty watches.
for her and for him by timex.
and we got them for free.
I just want to boast.
I want to brag because it's worth bragging about.
poster-making contest grand champion for two consecutive years.
Now, won't you be proud of that? Not to be rude, but other contestants just don't think out of the box, and it's not even a question of having artistic skills. It's how you want to present the artwork, it's how you portray the theme and of course the uniqueness of the art itself. I didn't have any hesitations in joining the contest because I knew I had what it takes to win. The first time I won something like this was back when I was still a freshman in high school. It was by accident though, as I never imagined my work to be included in the contest since it was just an art project, but it won the grand prize and bested even the work of the senior students.
Confidence works to my advantage, as I am now part of the creative committee of our company. We conceptualize concepts for company events and launchings. It's an added workload but I am not complaining as of yet since I love what I do and it's not the usual routinary work.
Last year, the prize was a gift checque worth P2,500 for pod5 (a high-end karaoke bar), which we still have not enjoyed due to conflicts in schedule.
This year my team also coveted P5,000 for our summer floor decoration, which stood out among all the others. Almost all of the decorations were about beaches, sea and sun -- again, it's all too common. We dared to be different -- summer camp and enjoy the great outdoors was our theme. The prize money was recently spent in our team dinner at Chika-an Cebu, a native filipino restaurant.
permit me to be blog with arrogance, this is just my way of being proud and happy.
final dose:
getting the prize was easy with the help of wifey and teammate justin.
wish i could show the pictures of the winning art piece
but sad to say, it's now for exclusive use of the company.
posted by A.Cortes on 1:26 AM
under
artistry
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" ~ so neil armstrong said...
Now he knows how to walk, next thing you know he'll bring his girlfriend home for dinner. Nah, this is just far too crazy a thought.
It is of great pleasure to see the little boy able to walk now. We were hoping he could walk before he turned a year old so he'll enjoy walking during his birthday party. But we later realized, that it is harder now to watch over him since he'll go walking around the room messing things up. Walking around the house -- to the kitchen, opening cupboards, cabinets and even the refrigerator door; to the living area -- moving figurines and pushing couches (yes he can move light couches). Little boy's ambition is to climb the stairs; he pulls electronic wires, and even tinkers with the television set and stereo.
Sometimes, we think -- so now he's walking, don't you just wish he could just stay put and be that little sleeping angel in his crib.
This is a stage that we need to go through, raising a kid ain't easy.
Motherhood is always the hardest profession and also add fatherhood to that.
It's his first steps, we are first time parents, we can't be happier seeing him gracefully (or not) walk on his own.
final dose:
picture taken @ archbishop's palace garden
a related video on little boy walking can be viewed when you click here and here
posted by A.Cortes on 2:12 AM
under
kidstuff,
zai angelo
JL, my best friend and twin sister, since we were born on the exact same day (1st June 1983), got married exactly a month ago, 28th August 2007. It doesn't matter who she married, or why. Fact is, she's married and I'm devastated.
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.
Oh, Sofia... she's like an older sister to me.
One lazy afternoon at work, Toni faces his computer with a blank look on his face. This is boredom in its entirety, he thinks. He clicks on his chat box and sends a message to Alli, "hi ASL."
