June 2012 Musings: Everything big & small



The big screen.

Showbiz is not my beat. But when friends from the TV would ring and invite to grace the presscon of some show their network is launching, I go. These shows will get the exposure, they’ve already sent the PRs to the paper. What else is there to tell?

This was when I came up with the “It comes in 3s” interview, a “rapid fire” Q&A, focusing more on aspects fans may not know of their idols. Like they say, what pops first to mind is the truth, so don’t give them time to think. 





And like they say, the first is always the best and the most memorable. True. I was lucky to have KC Concepcion as my very first subject (http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/2012/05/it-comes-in-3s-kc-concepcion.html). She’s very charming, quick, witty, intelligent and most of all, fun!

It went downhill with You Tube sensation Charice Pempengco (http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/2012/06/it-comes-in-threes-charice-pempengco.html). After her handler cut the short list of Q&A shorter, there was nothing really fun to ask the little girl with a big singing voice. Turning the interview blander, she reviewed the questions and thought of the answers before the actual interview started. Kiss spontaneity good-bye!

So was with Coco Martin. I wanted to get to know more of this guy than what the smile the girls, women and gay men swoon over. I was warned this guy takes everything seriously. Oh boy, I didn’t expect him to be TOO serious. Or should I say TOO careful that he mulls (too much) over his replies making it TOO scripted and yes, TOO showbiz.

Lifting the atmosphere back to high mode was our local hopeful to the Miss Universe pageant with the crown eluding her, MJ Lastimosa. Having no handler this time, I was able to ask the questions on the long list (just in case a handler might edit it) which she gamely replied to – in a very relaxed Miss Universe fashion. Check out her new business venture En Forma Spa and Slimming Cneter at Grand Men Seng Hotel along Magallanes Street. 


One more big move for Davao.

Davao is a model city when it comes to creating regulations. The No Smoking rule was trendsetting and today we are banning the use of plastic bags. Fabulous! It’s a big step to save the environment and maybe rid the city of flooding, too.

One guy questioned the move and asked why not teach everyone the proper use and disposal of plastics. I say, he should go out and see how thousands would really care to learn when they’re busier finding means to live on a day to day basis. The same people who dump their garbage on the waterways and complain the loudest when disaster strikes because of their own doing. Best to take plastic off their hands- period.


Small acts, big impact. 




Trust Home Depot partnered with Davao’s pasrty queen, Chef Booboo Maramba, and is offering free cooking lessons to busy moms and backing enthusiasts. The chef shares her quick and healthy recipes – Low fat Banana Yogurt Loaf, Davao Fruit Salad and more -- in a series of demonstrations until July 13th and for the past three sessions, the activity area of THD is packed! Six more sessions to go…..


One BIG hug to the Universe! 




I studied the great structures of the world while I was in college and I have been blessed to see some of them – the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and just recently, the Angkor Wat, the largest Khmer temple complex in the world. It exceeded my expectations and I am grateful to the Universe for making this bucket list entry a reality. My story coming soon in http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/


Small favor denied. Zext Air your service suck BIG, BIG time!

After days in the temple-filled Siem Reap, I took the red-eye flight back to Manila. What do you know, the flight was on schedule! So I made my way to the Zest Airway terminal to ask if they can accommodate me on the 4AM flight instead of the 11:30AM flight I originally booked myself in (just in case the flight back from Siem Reap is delayed and I won’t be able to catch the earliest flight back to Davao). 




I asked for the supervisor/duty manager but he/she refused to go down from the office/viewing deck to talk to me. So my request was relayed via the hired check-in counter attendant. The template answers were: 1. “Sir, if this is the case, you might be waitlisted” (me: I don’t mind). He then asks the for the Davao load – 45 passengers only, then tells me this-- 2. Sir, I am sorry but we cannot accommodate you because your booking is at 11:30AM. (me: huh?); 3. Sir, you have to buy another ticket for the 4AM flight. Ticket price: P 5,500. I decided to wait.

Again, I requested for an early check-in. Reply: Sorry sir, the Davao counter opens at 9:30AM. Another reply from a Zest lady: Sir, this is because the next shift is at 9AM. So it’s more of the concern of the hired employees rather than the passenger’s comfort. Chaka.

Finally checked in. Tired. Really tired. Almost time… then, “Davao flight is delayed to 12:30PM”. Bad. Even worse, the Zest Facebook page status posted this -- “we are happy to inform you that ALL flights are on schedule.”

Come 12:15PM, another announcement “flight delayed, new ETD is 1:15PM”. I stood up and asked for the Duty Manager. He said he’ll do everything he can. I told him about my request earlier in the day and now the flight is delayed, and what can he do or say? Sorry? Again?

I did not do a Claudine B. act. Zest Air doesn’t give zest but suck it out of all its passengers.


BIGGEST present. 




Thank God for friends like Marco Polo Hotel and its PR lady, Meg Sta. Ines. After a grueling time of staying awake for more than 36 hours, the Jet Lag Therapy at the Lazauli Spa was just what I needed. Not into the second minute of the session, I was totally in relax mode and entered slumberland with a smile. After three hours of pampering, massage and a facial, I was rejuvenated.

For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/ and http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/