Life is Full of Pain

What? An emo post by Andrew??

Noooooooo!

No really, my life is full of pain because my neck and back hurt like hell!!

Since my trip to Singapore I stopped going to the gym. It was only two days ago when I came back and look what happens. Last night I couldn't even enjoy my dinner because of the pain. :( So I got a massage at a nearby spa, which helped a teeny bit. I wanna go back and get another one! Ok, addict.

No, I ain't going emo on my 6-7 readers. Well, things are quite dandy except for this stupid pain on my back. Nothing to emo about then. :) Lol.

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BTW, there's a Davao Hotel you might want to stay at while you're in town. Check it out :)

What in the World is Ginanggang??

Ginanggang is grilled banana on a skewer brushed with butter or margarine then sprinkled with sugar. It's pure heaven, and it costs a measly three pesos (~7 US cents)!



Sorry for the ugly pictures, I used my camera phone.

Techno-Stressed I Am

So far this week I have not stepped into a cafe to "wifi". My cousin Ria can attest to that. Why? Because I'm techno-stressed as my friend Aileen lovingly calls it.

From now on I promise myself not to wifi more than three times a week. It's not only taking a toll on my body, but also on my wallet. It ain't cheap ya know! For now I am relaxing even though my work tasks are piling up. I plan on getting another massage tomorrow and see if I can get any work done in the evening. Next week, when I *hopefully* get my mojo back, I'm gonna finish up all pending work so I don't have to worry about them while I'm in Manila for iBlog4. I've made tons of plans already with Aileen, Ria and Migs and hopefully other bloggers can join us too.

If you're techno-stressed like me it helps to blog about inane stuff like photography. Ok don't get me wrong but I love photography, but I consider it only a hobby of mine. I love to blog about my pictures as you can see and it makes me forget things that stress me out. If you do like taking pictures try making a photoblog because all you have to do is post the pics, say a few stuffsss and voila... you are know a photoblogger. Hehehe. Alright it's getting late gotta get some rest.

On The Cover of Model Magazine

Yes! And it's made possible by MagMyPic.com! :D

Gucci Gang in Singapore

My Gucci Gang pic. 'Nuff said. Hehehe.

Barack Obama Should Get A Grip

Can you honestly say he would be in his position now if he weren't black? No, I don't think so. One glaring facet of this campaign that lot of Americans are turning a blind eye on is that on one corner, we have this amazing, experienced lady seeking to become the first woman President and on the other, a young, idealistic man who would become the first Black President. What's not to love? So why is that when we make comments that begin with "if she were a man" or "if he was white", people go ballistic?! Clearly a wave of change is about to happen (as Obama asserts quite so often), and there is no turning back from it. If both of them were white men, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be half as excited watching CNN as I am now.

I'm completely with Geraldine Ferraro when she said that the Obama camp had gone overboard by calling her racist JUST because she's on Clinton's finance team. He's really turning out to be big headed brat who doesn't hesitate to twist any truth to his advantage. Ferraro was merely pointing out the obvious. Obama's black, and the people love it. I would even go as far as saying that Oprah Winfrey went out on a limb for him because he is black. Would she do it if he was Caucasian? Not in a million years! Sure, he's qualified and all, but being qualified alone will not make Ms. Winfrey fall for anyone like she did for Obama.

My message to Obama is: Embrace your blackness. People are rooting for you because you are black and you represent change. I actually like you. Don't blow it!

Singing in the Drain

Last week, I started taking voice lessons at Dom's Notespell studio, which he says he a acquired through some bizarre hostile takeover. OK, why the hell am I taking voice lessons? It's one of those things I've thought about doing but never had the guts to until now. When I heard weeks ago from Dom himself that he owned a music studio, that was my cue!

Fortunately, it turns out that I'm related to my voice instructor. All throughout my first session, Mam Vicky kept on saying that I looked familiar. Did she see me on TV? Did she watch my newest blockbuster movie? Did she catch me in my latest commercial? AH. Neither. Wake up silly. Finally she asked me who my dad was. I said, Dion dela Serna. She went berserk. "Tito Dion's your dad?!" "Ah yeah." "Tita Baby's your mom?!" "Yup. So, you know them?" "We're cousins!!" "No wait, what?" Apparently, her mom is my lola's first cousin. That makes her technically my aunt, but we're the same age, so I avoid calling her tita (she kinda hinted that she'd kill me if I called her that).

Getting back to the subject, I have no grand plans of entering showbiz any time soon or sing in front of an audience (big or small). Hell no. I just wanna learn how to sing and hit all the right notes. Mam Vicky says I sing decently. On our next session, she wants me to learn how to sing an OPM song, which I don't normally listen to. I guess I'm gonna give Ogie Alcasid a test run. Bakit ngayon ka lang? Bakit ngayon ka lang dumating sa buhay ko? Ooh, snap. Just shoot me.

Zakoya Japanese Restaurant Review

Last December 19, 2007 (yeah that's a looong time ago) I had a wonderful time eating dinner at the Zakoya Japanese Restaurant with fellow bloggers Oliver, Maria, Winston, Dominic, Eric, Dennis and Ria (formal ba?). Apparently, the place is crowded with Japanese people (what's the politically correct way to say that) because Zakoya is as real as it gets when it comes to authentic Japanese cuisine. Anyone who knows me can attest that I love Japanese food. That's why when Blogie said that we were going to eat at Zakoya for our Food Trip, I was pumped!

The owners of the restaurant treated us to an eat-all-you-can buffet meal. I particularly enjoyed the Maki and Sushi bar, since there was a lot of items to choose from. Right beside it was the Yakitori grill and the Tempura. Whoa, I couldn't get enough of the tempura either! The nice thing is Zakoya keeps their buffet tables constantly filled with food. They definitely weren't skimping on us!



If you're in Davao City craving for real Japanese food, be sure to check out Zakoya! It's located at Door #3 DavCon (Davao Convention Center) Autoville, along Torres Street.

Top Problogger, Me?

Got a nice surprise a few days ago when Michael of Basapa.com included me in his list of Top Pinoy Probloggers of 2007. My thoughts? Hmm, I'm not a problogger. I earn pennies from blogging. But it's things like these that make you feel good about yourself. Being among the likes of Abe, Janette, Jayvee, Noemi, Anton, Rico and Sasha is reason enough.

My site, Ratified.org, also ranks Filipino bloggers. As I write this Leyte blogger Sustines Laplana is ranked first. While Michael ranks his list according to blog juice, I rank mine using PageRank, Feedburner and Technorati stats. Which gives me an idea... I might do a wrap-up post for Ratified.org before the year ends.

Oh yeah, I was about to make an excuse for not posting for a long time. But it's gonna be lame so I just cut to the chase. Hehehe.

My Dad Doesn't Get It

I just had the most annoying conversation with my dad. See, we rarely talk to each other because I'm here in Davao and he lives in Manila. Now, we're having this big family reunion in December and he wants me to design a souvenir program for the affair. Problem is, I simply do not have time to do it. Apparently, he still looks at me as his bum-son who spends the whole day playing games on the computer. It sucks because I never spent the whole day playing computer games. Sure, I bummed around a bit, but that was a long, long time ago. He found it so hard to believe that I have an honest-to-goodness career going on. I worked so hard to get to where I am today. It's depressing that he can't see that. He even asked me how much I'm making. I gave him a scaled-down figure, but he didn't look convinced. As if he didn't hear a thing, he said he'll pay me a measly P5000 to do the souvenir program. I turned him down, not because of the ridiculously low pay, but because I have responsibilities left and right that I cannot abandon. The discussion ended abruptly when my brother stood up and motioned that we were leaving. Next time we talk, I'm pretty sure he'll still be the same condescending father all over again.

Workout Progress Report

It's been about 4 months since I started hitting the gym again and I'm happy to report that I am seeing some progress. Not that you'd care though. Haha.

When I started, I weighed 68 kilos or 149 pounds. That's slightly overweight for someone of my height. My body mass index was at 24 and my waist was 34 inches.

Now, I'm down to 63 kilos or 138 pounds. That now makes me slightly underweight. What gives? But anyway, my BMI's improved to 18 and my waist is now 31 inches. My BMI is still not within the "Fit" range. But it shouldn't be too difficult coz to be "fit" my BMI has to be 17, which is only a point away.

I still find it hard to diet. But I've managed to cut down my intake of rice by half. I consume only a cup of rice per day, a half for lunch and a half for dinner. I reward myself in the weekends with a hefty meal at a favorite restaurant. I don't know why but lately I'm always craving for pizza, particularly the Manager's Choice pizza at Shakey's.

I find it sad that now at my age I can't eat all the foods that I want and I actually have to work out to speed up my metabolism and lose weight. Oh well. Anyway, here's something that'll make you laugh. Upon enrollment this girl who evaluated me wrote some funny stuff on my card:



Too bad it's kinda blurry. But notice that she checked Female under Sex. Beside Goal she wrote: Loss Weight, Tunning. Could help but snicker every time I start my workout

Where Ya From? The Di-Prom!!

So I came from a quick trip to Manila recently and all I can say is I'm a certified promdi!! Hehehe. Although I spent a mere 3 days there, it was fantastic because I got to meet up with many of my friends. On my first day, I went to Glorietta mall in Makati to eat a late lunch at Friday's with Miss Google Earth Aileen Apolo. I also met Jay of TitikPilipino.com. I had to apologize to the both of them because I haven't taken a shower for more than a day. I smelled like crap. Hehehe.

Next, I met up with the DotaStrategy.com crew, this time clean and showered and dressed in fresh clothing. We munched on delicious Italian food at the Sicilian Express, located in front of the Metro Walk in Ortigas. It was extra special because it was the first time the mod team were complete! I promised them we'd do another round come December.



(L-R Alvin aka quickbrownfox, Ronie aka nidoking, Marx aka yukino_silvermaine, Andrew aka drew and RJ aka orochi)

We did a little road trip from Ortigas to UP Diliman and Philcoa to play Dota. I had a lot of fun!!

As if that weren't enough, I headed to my friend K's house for a small barkada reunion. Besides K (yes, that's her only name), my other lawyer-friends Paolo, Vanessa and Eric (K's hubby) were there. I wonder why I didn't become a lawyer. I am quite good at lying. Anyway, Eric offered me some wonderful salmon sashimi that I gobbled up in less than a minute. Having no sleep at all since my flight, I was already groggy when suddenly it rained pretty hard. I had to wait 3 hours before I can leave. My friends were chatting about legal mumbo-jumbo while I lay on a chair half asleep. Oh my, what a way to start a vacation in Manila!!



Next day, Saturday, it was my cute nieces' birthday party at the Grand Terrace in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. That was the main reason I came to Manila since my father paid for my ticket and I was dying to see my nieces. I didn't realize how spoiled they were until I saw the place. It probably cost my father a good 25,000 pesos to rent the place just for the party. Back when I was 3, the best birthday party I can get would be a small spaghetti and coca-cola affair in our backyard. Still, I'm quite happy for my nieces especially the older one named Mavis. She said after the party: I'm sooo happy! That in itself was worth the price. On a side note, that shirt I'm wearing is the same shirt I wore the night before because I was required to wear something white! Gross!!

To be continued :)

Adonis Needing Delights and Rapturous, Erotic Worship

Yeah, who doesn't need rapturous, erotic worship?

Hehe. Kidding. Actually, you too can have your Sexy Name Decoded. It's genius. You enter your name and gender, then it churns out an acronym you find only in sleazy romantic novels. Give it a try! If you wanna gross yourselves out, try your parents' names! Ewwww.

My dad Dion:

Dreamboat Imparting Orgasms and Necking

My mom Baby:

Babe Adeptly Bestowing Yeses

Again, EWWW!

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

More often that not, when I help someone WITHOUT asking anything in return, they think I owe them something for helping them out. They even have the guts to make me wait and tell me, ok, you can help me now. This applies to many people close to me. If it hits you, too bad.

One person whom I'm trying to convince to blog thought the same thing .. that s/he was doing me a favor by starting a blog. My, my, whatever happened to gratitude? Has it died a sudden death? I attend an event and is asked to take photographs. So I take pictures, but the ones who asked tell me to stop and do it later. What?? Sadly, this happens to me. I'm Mr. Dependable, Mr. Driver, Mr. CD Burner, Mr. Photographer, Mr. Fix-it-all -- all in one. And yet, on my birthdays, I get nothing from these vermins that I've helped. Not even one lousy gift. They'd rather spend it on their cellphone credits. But like I said, I don't expect anything in return. But any little token of appreciation would be great you know!! One cousin of mine calls me his/her favorite cousin only when s/he needs something from me. Sorry, again, if this gets to you, I hope you choke on what you're eating right now!

Fortunately, it's my friends who assure me there's hope in the world. Too bad though that many of them aren't here. But I do know they appreciate me for what I am, and for me, that's a thought good enough to get me through the day.

Bwiiii-Zit

There's a freakin' giant zit sittin on my right cheek. Actually, it started as something small and slightly painful. That's until I began touching and squeezing it in my attempts to get rid of the pus. Naturally, it got irritated and infected. It's grown 3X its original size. I suddenly remember all those stories about people who die just from squeezing their pimples. I'm restraining myself from doing so! But I'm vain! Ahhhh!

Abs-olutely Difficult

For the past few days I've become very serious about my diet and workout regimen. Basically, I'm trying to get rid of my belly and yes, get one of those elusive 6-pack abs. My friends and cousins are telling me that I didn't need to workout since I'm very slender-looking. Well, yeah, with my clothes on! But don't get me wrong, you won't see me posing naked in a porn magazine anytime soon. It's just that I'm not getting any younger and the thought of inheriting my dad's basketball-belly freaks me out! (Love you dad) My dad was thinner than me at my age, so my future doesn't look too good.

My ab routine takes longer than everything else during my workout. I do 150 declined crunches, 150 ball crunches, 150 more for obliques on the same ball, 100 reclined leg raises and 100 side cable bends. It's pure torture, I'm telling you. But I'm going to ask my trainer to include a couple more to really push me to the limit. So far, I'm seeing some progress. My cargo shorts fit me better and I do notice that my tummy's becoming leaner. All my boxer shorts are also looser. But for me to make my abs popout I have to get rid of all the fat around my waist. Yikes.

For my diet, I've been binging on a combination of pasta and tuna. I'm cutting down on my rice intake drastically. For the pasta I only eat a little of that since that is still carbohydrates just like rice. I try to avoid beef and pork altogether. If my mom serves chicken I only eat the breast part, which I'm learning to enjoy. I'm a big fish eater, so I can live with my cans of Century Tuna if I run out of options.

I usually like to hit the gym with my gym buddies, Christine and Gil. Either one of them will do, as long as I have someone to talk to when I'm bored. But when I'm alone, I just go about my business and do the deed as fast as I can. One old guy is harassing my friend Christine by saying hi's and hello's at her whenever he can. He better not do anything crazy or else ... well, he's bigger than me so let's cross the bridge when we get there lol :) I heard that he's a lawyer too but that doesn't scare me. I usually don't pay attention to anyone I don't know but there's a couple of chubby girls who seem to have a peculiar interest in me. Lol. Unfortunately, my groupies don't stop there and I'd rather not talk about the rest of them. *goosebumps* As for me, like I said, I have the attention span of a dumbbell so anyone who's attractive should slap me in the face for me to notice them.

When I do get those abs I'll take some pictures and post them here, God forbid. :D

Hitting the Courts Again

Ahhh. Yesterday I finally got to play my favorite sport again, Badminton! It's been more than 2 months I think since I last played. Good thing I bumped into my friend Tom while I was working out. I was actually resting from my ab exercises that time. The workout area is at the second floor and as I looked down at the courts, I saw him! So I came down to chat. He invited me to join his group.

My performance was so-so. Well, blame my two-month hiatus. I also have this problem of getting tired easily, albeit only initially. I get all my energy back after a few minutes of rest and I'm like the Energizer bunny all throughout. I'm still a bit rusty on my smashes. I think I charge at the shuttlecock too late or too low. I dunno. Most of my attempts do not end up going over the net. I think I have to analyze the situation to know when a smash is or isn't a good decision. Today I'm hitting the gym with a friend of mine. I'm trying to achieve my lifelong goal of having abs. Meh.

What Sells More? Salable or Bestseller?

There's a new byword in sales pitching: SALABLE.

I've been hearing this aplenty here in Davao City. When I ask for recommendations from baristas, waiters, salesladies, managers or chefs, they say, "Sir, this is salable po". From what I know, the word simply means "it can be sold" or "available for purchase", not necessarily selling like hotcakes.

Whatever happened to BESTSELLER? Has that become an obsolete word? I cringe when I think of bookstores labeling books as salable.

On a side note, I also find it off-putting when someone says "For a while" when I'm asked to wait on the phone. Who invents these phrases??

Meme Again?

Ria tagged me.

What makes your blog unique?

Are we talking about this blog? Well, it's unique because it's Andrew dela Serna's one and only personal blog. No one else can say that, unless we have the same name.

When did you start blogging?

I started about 3 years ago, albeit on and off. This blog is only 3 weeks old.

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?

I hope to be able to rant all I want and practice my blogging skills.

What are your feelings on the “blog popularity” issue?

Who doesn't want to be popular? I think everyone who says they don't care about it are lying to themselves. Although it shouldn't be the primary reason to blog, popularity is the ultimate measure of your blog's success. What good is your blog if nobody reads it, right?

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

My favorite childhood memory was when I peed my pants in class when I was in second grade. Imagine the looks on my classmates sitting beside me. I also peed while waiting in line at Universal Studios, so say my brothers.

Are you a spiritual person?

No. But I believe in what Jesus said about doing unto others as you would have them do to you. I can be confrontational sometimes, so if someone smacks me in the face maybe it's what I deserve.

Do your moral values affect the way that you blog, and if yes, how?

I haven't been paying attention if they do. But I guess when it comes to political issues, a few moral values come to play. I've stopped blogging about politics already, thank goodness!

8 Secrets!

Aileen tagged for this meme wherein I have to reveal 8 secrets about me. Hmm, this shouldn't be that difficult.

First, here are the rules:

- Each player must post these rules first.
- Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
- At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Ok, now brace yourselves!!

1. I'm vain. Actually, I was vainer when I was in college. But now with all the crazy things that keep me busy, I don't have the luxury to be, which makes me not vain anymore! Hahaha. But I still like taking pictures of myself sometimes, or staring at the mirror. Oh, and I dry my hair with a fan. I just don't like leaving the house with a sponge on my head.

2. I take 5 different multivitamins: GNC for Men, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Saw Palmetto, MSM and B-Complex.

3. I'm a hypochondriac (proof in #2). When I feel something slightly wrong with my body, I feel like I'm gonna die. Worse, I'm afraid of taking medications.

4. I use a for-kids toothbrush, with a Mickey Mouse design at that! Adult toothbrushes freak me out. I imagine steel brushes grinding in my mouth.

5. I am the family PC technician. I have about 20 cousins living in the same village as I am. If something goes wrong with their computers, I am at their beck and call.

6. I love sneakers and rubber shoes. I bought a new pair a few days ago. Leather shoes aren't my thing.

7. I love playing practical jokes! I also like making up stories and asking obvious questions to dupe people.

8. Call me a modern-day Peter Pan. I just don't grow up!

I can only think of a few people who'll do this: Kim, Ria, Jehz and Winston.