friday, 2008.08.15: pre-finals day preparation

after work, joy, rissa and i went shopping in glorietta for last minute stuff we needed for the league-end party. pia and i spent the night at joy and connie's new condo. we stayed up till 2am watching episodes of how i met your mother on pia's laptop.

saturday, 2008.08.16: monsoon league finals day

the day of firsts...

the first time i wore soccer shorts...

eww... it really just isn't me but since it's part of the uniform, i'll be wearing it from now on. :(

the first time it rained so hard mid-day that most of the games were cancelled...

except for the top 4 seeds which we were part of. we played SP01 first and... 

the first time Chowking TODA beat SP01...

which lead to...

the first time Chowking TODA played in the finals FINALS!!!

Askalz and Chowking TODA team pic

post-game huddle. i've always wondered what was said here.

wacky Chowking TODA group pic

i am so proud of my team!!! we've come so far from where we all started. summer league was the first league we played in pool A. after a few months under wendell's tutelage, we made it to the finals of the monsoon league. who knows what more we can accomplish if we keep our eyes on a common goal?! i don't think any of us will be complaining much in our future trainings. ;)

personally, i have to start setting my own goals with ultimate. for me in sports, it's always been... the spirit/mind is willing but the body is weak. i think it's about time my body caught up with my spirit. i'm just not sure how to start a training program for myself to improve my running form and endurance. any suggestions?

the first time i wore makeup to a league end party...

oookay... so i couldn't think of another title to put here. :P but it's true, my makeup was a huge success... to the ladies! =)) nina was telling me she was turning lesbian just looking at me and ria kept saying i looked so sultry. hahaha! BUT my crush still wasn't paying attention to me. grrr... it's kinda depressing at this stage. :'(

thanks for doing my makeup joy!!! now, all i have to do is learn to do my own makeup so that i can look "mature" and "my age" at future parties. OR joy can keep doing my makeup nalang. =))

sunday, 2008.08.17: zoe's first birthday party / road trip to subic / overnight @ barracks

after spending 2 hours lounging in joy/connie's condo, i finally found my way home in time to wrap zoe's gift and show up to her first birthday party. babies are just so cute, i really wish i had one already. seems like fate has a different plan for me in the meantime.

i was able to sleep on the road to subic. sorry nalang sa driver. hahaha! when we got to the barracks, we drank for a while and finally turned in at 3am.

monday, 2008.08.18: anvaya cove beach resort

yup, there's mike and me with my laptop on the beach. it's a sad, sad day when you have to bring work with you while you're on vacation but oh well, that's life. i was able to squeeze in a few minutes in the pool so it was all good! :D

in spite of how much i joke about how dark i am, i really do love my color.

tuesday, 2008.08.19: suprise party for wendell / toda victory party

we suprised our ultimate coach wendell with the pretense of jogging. yeah right, as if any one of us wanted to jog after all the stuff we've done in the weekend! anyway, he believed us and showed up at marielle's house ready to jog where we suprised him with food and alcohol instead. hahaha!

wednesday, 2008.08.20

today, i'm going home and sleeping early. or maybe i'll go home then read a book and sleep at my usual time. or i could also go home and watch one of my sister's dvds then sleep at my usual time. either way, i'm leaving the office as soon as i post this entry. :D

Sorry I haven't been updating again, so I'm going to do a short post. I've been busy as well, you know, days out, visiting, at short notice so I don't get to tell you.

2,000 views!

Yes, there has been OVER 2,000 views!!! Hopefully this party will be better as the last party was a total disaster.

-------------------------------------------------

Where?: Antarctic, Coffee Shop

Time?: 2:30am PST-3:00am PST

Date?: 22nd August 2008 (This Friday)

-------------------------------------------------

The Penguin Games will be starting the day I have 2,000 views party. Remember to be there!

Keep on waddling!

Cosy

For more info check the second flyer zeen

IMC member Prof. Al is a college professor of Miriam College. He must be a magician in his previous life, for he plays the part whenever opportunity presents itself.

Yesterday, he dropped me an email containing photos that documented his latest gig for the children of Varsity Hills.

Here's his account of that show:

It all started in July, when I ran into a group of students belonging to the Junior People Management of the Philippines, a student organization geared towards excellent performance of the human resources department. 

I was just passing by their hang-out area when they buttonholed me. They said they were looking for me, because they wanted to treat the children of Varsity Hills (the poorer side of town) to a magic show. I asked them when they wanted the show to be, and they said it would be in one month.

Could my services be pro bono? they asked. I said why not?

So one month passed. On the night before the show, I organized my stuff and act as well as I could. First, I wrote down my routines.  Then I listed down the materials I would need in the show---from lighter fluid to candies. I made a conscious effort not to forget the background music. The CD was my tool at the moment, as I did not have an iPod yet.

The following day, a student fetched me at my home and delivered me to the performing site (after the show, they also brought me back home).  It was a Catholic chapel.  When I arrived, the children, who came with their parents, became excited.  But I could not start the show right away, because I still have to fix my performing space and set-up my props.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="252" caption="The obligatory setup of magic stuff before the show opens."][/caption]

I asked for a 15-minute lead-time, while the children ate their snacks.

Then the show began.  I started with a flash-paper display followed by a throw streamer. Then the classical water and newspaper segueing to silk-to-cane.  I encountered a problem with the silk-to-cane when I reached for it in my pocket.  Not only did I struggle to find it but also it got stuck for two to three seconds on its way out. After a while, though,I was able to free it and snap it open for a visually pleasing magical effect.  The audience, which by this time had swelled and packed the house up to the rafters, rewarded me with a thunderous applause.  My struggle with the silk-to-cane paid-off, as I spent enormous time practicing the new prop the previous night. 

The fast-paced routine slowed down a bit by the time I got to perform the colored silk attached to a rope.  After that, I performed the Running Mickey Mouse (a variant of Run Rabbit Run trick-Leodini), which the children enjoyed.

The interaction with the crowd gave me an excellent opportunity to build rapport with my audience and put magic in a favorable light.  Still, I think I have to learn more about interacting with the audience.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="252" caption="A lovely grown-up getting a taste of Prof. Al's magic."][/caption]

More magic routines followed. I closed my show with a production of "White Rabbit" candies using a dove pan.  I created tension when I asked the children if they wanted me to produce a rabbit. They enthusiastically shouted, "Yes".  I built a fire inside the dove pan, let it burn for a while, then put it out with the pan's lid.  I then announced mysteriously, "Now the rabbit". Voila! With flair, I opened the lid of the pan to reveal the White Rabbit candies. I scooped them out and threw them to the crowd. Everyone laughed, for indeed we had rabbits, rabbits, rabbits everywhere, and they were all "white" just as I promised.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="The audience goes wild when Prof. Al magically regurgitates tissue paper. "][/caption]

The students and the people in the community were profuse with their thanks.  Magic made their day.  I'm sure the children will cherish the memories of their magical experience. These will stay with them long after the other activities of that event have long passed into oblivion.

Prof. Al celebrates with his entourage a successful show with a trip to McDonald's.

Thanks, Prof. Al, for sharing your story with us. You just accomplished Inner Magic Club's self-imposed mission, namely, to spread the love and appreciation of magic.

Stay magical,

Leodini

www.leodini.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

okay and secondly :lol: umm Chewy has discovered a new cheat!here it is!
http://mohd222.wordpress.com/

1.log into clubpenguin 
2.take off all of your clothes (member)
3.put on a whistle
4.then put on a bell or a paddle ball
5. wave and see what happens!

(OKAY I CAN'T DO PICTURES BECAUSE IT ISN'T WORKING WITH THIS)
(just try the cheat)

----------------------------------------
and thirdly and way more important than all the above

(click it for a bigger picture)
(thanks funcoolcp for the awesome invite at http://funcoolcp.wordpress.com/ )

That's all

and oh gardenax's site got suspended so visit
 http://xgardena.wordpress.com/ his temporary site

and bubba1960 said he quit 123kde site because of me and what I have to say to that is
stop hating on my site and get over it!

I saw him at least 2 times this time he was here!

waddle on

~8uhi~

Cara Carriveau, NBC5 Street Team

It's a party!  Tickets are only $40 and include all of your cocktails plus an opportunity to win great prizes, such as Cubbies tickets.  And, you'll be helping out a deserving cause.  Need I say more?  Click on the picture for details.

Start your own blog.  I'm not your momma.

But, like her, I've been too busy for you.  I've been gallivanting around the town, getting up to shenanigans and working like a maniac while fending off amorous, booze sodden customers.  It's absolutely amazing that I've been able to do all of this and still have my pajamas look better than your average man's evening wear.  I probably deserve a medal of some kind.

As does Shalome.

Spending  two weeks with me has given the poor woman a nervous rash and her first gray hair.   This should serve as a stern warning to the other women who would dare climb the Oakley tree: I'm like bad acid.  She will most likely end her trip as a madman-lady. But before she does that, I'm hoping to civilize her.

This plan has met with some resistance.  As you can see . . .

While she now occasionally eats with utensils and her Yankee palate has expanded --ever so slightly- beyond the fast foods favored by her storied people, she remains overly amused by flashing lights and loud noises. It is true that I haven't seen her giggling at birds --an utterly charming habit-- in a few days but, when I took her to a rock n' roll show to test her composure, she just got drunk.

That is, of course, completely acceptable.  People tend to act in all sorts of ways at these shows.  They stomp their feet and flail their limbs about in a fashion that would --in a sane society-- land them in an asylum for the hysterical.  So why shouldn't she drink the juice of fermented fruit until it addles her senses?

Seems fairly normal to me.

She managed to get through a whole two sets of CATL and one from Bradley Boy without causing an incident. This in spite of some fellow thinking she was Fefe Dobson.  I had to google that person.  Fefe seems to be the brown Avril Lavinge.  And I don't see the resemblance.   Between any of them.

If I did, I would probably have to shoot Shalome.  I already want to shoot Avril.

Both CATL and Bradley Boy were quite good.  I have reviewed CATL before but Bradley Boy was new to me.  Aside from proving his excellent taste by complimenting my suit,  he proved his excellent origins by being from Orono.  I am also from there.  But I had the sense to leave Orono at age ten.  (I left Oshawa, much earlier than that -- after an incident involving my mother that resulted in my birth.)

He also plays a suitcase and writes songs about dogs.  They're good songs.  Much shorter than the four-thousand page epic poem I once composed about my cat's journey from the top of the stairs to the food bowl.  One of these days I'll get around to writing that down.  Probably.

A day later we attended a going-away party at The Rhino.   Not for Shalome.  It was for some guy I know.  He's moving to Brooklyn.  I can only assume he's doing this to pick up the accent.  Once he does that, he can be my sassy, street-wise sidekick.  I can have adventures while he makes comments.  It will be like an X-Rated Disney movie.

But Shalome was getting her act together, even wearing a tiara for the occasion.

While I think that tiaras are usually a good idea, some women she met in the washroom disagreed.  Unfortunately, they were stabbed and set alight before they could make their case.  In this instance, I cannot fault Shalome.  Sometimes people should be stabbed and set on fire.  Just not for complimenting me.

But no one was doing that on this particular evening.

I can't imagine why.

Although I would like to blame it on just getting off work and the amount of dry-cleaning I'm doing this week as I prepare for the fall, it certainly wouldn't explain the tiara on my hat.

I won't explain the tiara on my hat.  When you start paying my bills, I'll start explaining myself.

But there must be some truth in what my Nan always said in the brief moment between her wake-up brandy and her breakfast gin:  "All women are soul sucking harpies.  Especially your grand-dad!"

I love that woman.  I wish they would release her from prison.

I said, "I don't know."

He gave me the weird look of a five-year-old child who just heard the explanation to the kid's question, "Where do babies come from?"

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?"

"I never got around to counting the tricks I do in a show.  Sometimes a perform for 20 minutes, sometimes 30, 45 or one hour."

"You are to perform for 45 minutes today.  I have seen lots of magicians before. They showed several dozens of tricks.  How many tricks do you do, so you can have a 45-minute show?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Do you do 50 tricks?" he asked, his confusion growing by the minute.

"No, I don't think so."

"30?"

"Not nearly that many."

"20? 10?"

"More like 10 or11."

He went away murmuring. The look of incomprehension on his face seemed to tell me, "How is this guy going to entertain this many people at the mall with 11 tricks?"

For someone who had not seen me perform before, the size of the audience at that event seemed formidable.  There were several hundreds of people seated in front of the stage and hundreds more watching from the different floors of the mall.

The exchange I had with the MC amused me, as it triggered thoughts of how my shows (and my choice of material) have evolved over the years. Whereas before I dazzled my audience with a rapid-fire succession of tricks, today I entertain them with shows containing less number of tricks but better routined and strongly staged programs. I now lean more on quality instead of on quantity of material.

I can understand the MC's bewilderment. He had seen other magicians drown their audience's senses with a myriad of tricks. He probably couldn't imagine a magic show performed in a way other than smothering the audience with sheer number of tricks.

Comedy acts count laughs per minute, so he might have thought a magic act should similarly count tricks per minute.

In government, bean counters concern themselves with quantifying everything, even the unquantifiable.

Show them a Leonardo da Vinci, and they may look for the number of brush strokes in the painting but fail to see its beauty.

In the same manner, the booking agent of the mall show---she was there to watch me for the first time---did a bean counting act on me. She was aghast that I performed only for 40 minutes, even though the audience had a good time watching the show.  Even though I stopped human traffic in the mall and held them in front of the stage to watch the event and listen to the advertisers' commercial plugs.  Even though nobody stirred nor left their seats while my show was going on.

You see, I am not only reluctant to count tricks but also loath to go on and on after I have already accomplished my mission.  Which is to entertain the audience.

Last Friday, I had a corporate show for financial experts in the Philippines.  In the printed program which they distributed to the attendees, the event organizers allotted 45 minutes to my show.  Before I came on, one event staffer approached me and reminded me I was to perform for 45 minutes.

I said, "Okay, no problem."  I brought a one-and-half-hour show in my roll-on table.  I was confident I could do almost any length of show that evening.

In actual performance, however, when I had the audience laughing at my jokes, applauding my tricks and cheering my escape act, I closed the show after the sixth trick. I was on stage for only 30 minutes.

The organizers did not complain.  I think they had looked at the picture and did not bother to count the brush strokes.

I love these financial experts. They know things some MCs and booking agents don't.

Oh, by the way, even after complaining about my short program, the agent that booked me for the mall show re-booked me on the spot after my performance.

At least, even though she had the habit of counting brush strokes, she didn't forget to look at the picture painted by LEODINI da Vinci. She must have found it pleasing.

Stay magical,

Leodini

www.leodini.com

Friday, Part I

I went with Pedro to the Montana store to look for spray paint, but it was closed. We walked around Belgrano for a bit until we found black paint at a hardware store. After completing our mission, we took the bus to the Plaza Francia to hang out with circus people. If you ever want to find these circus hippies, just look for the triangle of palm trees connected by slacklines (sort of like tightropes). I went home after an hour of watching people run, stumble, and nearly fall across the lines.

Friday, Part II

Estelle, Sophia, and I went to a bar called InFamme for a birthday of someone we hadn't met before. Which I guess is pretty common because it's happened like 3 times so far. I sat next to a Columbian girl named Lyda and we talked about how Argentine men are much more sketchy than other Latin American men. One of them came up to her and said "I would leave it all for you" three minutes after making out with another girl.

Saturday, Part I

Read 100 pages of economics texts in Spanish.

Saturday, Part II

Sophia, Francisco, Estelle, and I went out to eat at a Tucumanian restaurant in Barrio Norte. Great empanadas, but a little too expensive. Afterwards, we went to a party at the apartment of a Brasilian man and chillaxed with a bunch of Columbians. Going to parties with lots of random people is like speed dating. You talk to a lot of people, and eventually find 1 or 2 you like, then spend the rest of the night talking to them. I met a guy named Octavio from Mexico. We talked about Mexican words ("Mande" instead of "como") and he and a Columbian had a swearing match. At one point, I realized that I hadn't been hit on the entire night. And then I realized that there wasn't a single Argentine in the room.

Sunday I

Pedro and I made stencils, then looked for a place in Recoleta to graffiti. Unfortunately, Recoleta is one of the richest areas in all of Argentina, so we couldn't find any dimly lit allies/ sketchy construction sites with lots of wood lying around. We went back to his house to eat toast and mate with honey (tastes so much better, who knew!). Sophia, Estelle, Gabrielle, and Francisco came over and we played music and had a Green Day sing along.

Sunday II

Great night, but I'm keeping it a secret. ;o

Moved to High Five and the party was still ill.

Click more for the rest of the pics...

Plus, on Friday the Penguin Games will start! Unfortunately, you have to work to get the items. That means there won't be any boxes filled with items this time. And also, I will be on vacation from August 19 - 24. So don't expect me to be posting.

That's all for now!

Waddle On!

Secondly, i've got an update for you :);

I know, i know... i have a lot of JoJo updates :P But, i'm a big fan and regularly visit sites to keep up to date on her work, so i regularly find myself critisizing some of her outfits.

I saw this bangle she wore recently to film a PSA video for Peanutsrocksrthevote.com and fell in love with it. It's designed and distributed by Jessica Kagan Cushman and quotes "Franky my dear, i don't give a damn". Rather ironic for JoJo to be wearing that as she's one of the most kind and caring celebs i know, but whatever... :D

I've got to admit, though, flexing it like the celebrities do doesn't come cheap- you'll have to pay a whopping $120 for it! You can buy it here.

Frueh Cabin at Lake Eau Claire

Winners of the "Cross Toss" Championship

• Rob Thorson
• Gary Frueh
  

Last weekend I was in Milwaukee, and the lack of congestion, lack of tourists, and ability to navigate to all my favorite places in less than 20 minutes (even via bus) make me really nostalgic for living in a city not quite as huge and busy as Chicago.

My bus leaving from Union Station at 5:30 p.m. Friday afternoon showed up around 6:30, due to a flat tire.  I was an hour late getting in, but the cab from the new Intermodal Station to LMF's was fast and cheap, and we immediately got set planning.  Headed to one of my favorite places in Milwaukee, the Wicked Hop, where we met up with lots of people and had some DELICIOUS nachos.  Ran into TR in the bathroom, of all places, and she hung out all night!

Saturday involved brunch at the Knick, a nap, dinner at IZUMI'S!!, then a trip to the DoubleTree to pick up TR and have a drink for old-time's sake, before heading over to the Social for dessert and more friends.  We ended up at the new bar, Fat Abbey, where they serve Kwak (only place I've ever seen it outside of Hopleaf)!

I took the 11 a.m. train back, getting into Chicago around 12:30, then headed out to the southside to see the DRP and hang by a pool.  Lots of people were around, including McAwesome (as previously mentioned), which was pretty sweet, since I haven't seen him in forevah.

Today I'm feeling blue to have the trip done, a little melancholy about Milwaukee, etc... I was on the Slog earlier, looking around, and got the inspiration to look at photos of Seattle (I'm really busy at work today, obvi).  Found this one, which is now the background on my computer.  Zeitgeist coffee, across the street from my work.  SIGH.  Makes me even sadder about my pitiful latte from Starbucks this morning.

What can i say about mickey's parties there always something to look forward to. These ones were no exeption. Thursday night was the black and white party.  I brought my two friends from manalapan there dana and mellisa and they had a good time which is always good :).. also not that i'm bragging but me and rachel kinda dominated at pong :) 5 in a row haha what else is new. other than mickey looking like he worked at tgifridays nothing really exiting happened that i can remember haha.. but it was an all around good time

The next night was the "when i grow up party" this was defiantly the better of the two :)  i dressed as the typical nerdy engineer :) but there were alot of good outfits.  we had the trophie wives ... the teachers.. both sexy and not sexy.. even hugh hefner showed up to the party.  And the best part of all was the great game of thumper that we all played :) whats the objective?? to get fucked up  haha :) the sleepover part was fun too with our usuall mornign recapping session.  mickey was a little bit snappy though but with all those people being loud in his house  is definatly a reason to be on edge.

Last night was pats final party.. not big at all just chilled drank a little and watched michael phelps win his 8th medel.. go usa! after pats i slepts at rachels dads and let me tell u playing with her dog when i was drug was really ammusing haha

that's all for now i may blog one more time before i leave then the next one will be about my mvoing into school :)

I had Friday off work because of a slight stomach upset. I was feeling a lot better by Saturday, which was good as Mr. Razzler and I were going to a friend's barbeque. It was good fun. I met my friend's boyfriend for the first time and found that I really liked him. We had a conversation which made me feel alive. We didn't really talk about very much, just bantering really. We compared our taste in music, and we listened to Muse. Loved it. I couldn't stay too late because I was singing at church the next morning. I told him this, which brought about a little conversation about faith. I didn't push it - that's not my style - but it was good.

I listened to Evanescence on the way home. I love that band. I don't find I can listen to them all the time because their music isn't exactly uplifting, but the lyrics sooooo expressed how I have been feeling for weeks. The evening, conversations, music and dancing all made me want to fight back.

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb
Without a soul
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

[Wake me up]
Wake me up inside
[I can't wake up]
Wake me up inside
[Save me]
Call my name and save me from the dark
[Wake me up]
Bid my blood to run
[I can't wake up]
Before I come undone
[Save me]
Save me from the nothing I've become

Then Sunday came along. I woke up and within minutes of getting out of bed I was struck down once again with excruciating stomach cramps. I knew there was no way I'd be able to make it to church in time to practice the songs before the service. Good thing I'd got the times wrong then, wasn't it? We were singing at the evening service, not the morning one. I played this song over and over again, and slowly my body relaxed. I made it to church. I wanted to go, even though my body felt like it had been wrung out a few times. I was so upset. My stomach had been so much better the last week or so, and I was just terrified of starting the whole cycle again.

I had gone from relaxed and fighting back to frightened and tense overnight. That's when I turned up to the evening service. I was singing, which was a bit of a strain as I felt worn out and bruised. The last time I had horrid stomach cramps my stomach muscles were strained and sore. This time it feels like I have actually bruised my ribcage. I mean, how is that even possible? The intestines and the ribs aren't related! Mr. Razzler said it is probably because when I am in that much pain my whole body tenses up. I guess the aches and pains that come afterwards are only natural.

But suffice it to say, my body and my mind felt like a wound up spring. And what did the pastor choose to preach about that night? Rest. Our inheritance. Consider this:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

1 Peter 1: 3-9 

This is what we look forward to. A room in our Father's house. An inheritance that never fades, spoils or perishes.

But we have part of this inheritance now. A deposit:

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1: 13-14

I'm getting to my point, I promise, in a roundabout kind of way. ;) I'm not going to say much about the Holy Spirit - that would make this a very long post! But the pastor said in his sermon that we can find rest, heavenly rest, now.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11: 28-30

This powerfully reminded me that I can look to Jesus for rest. I felt so tight. In that passage Jesus was talking to those who were burdened and weighed down by legalism. I must do this, I must do that. The consequences of legalism are guilt and frustration. I know about that. I don't follow the rules laid out by the Pharisees, but I do put my own rules upon myself. By comparing myself to others all the time I am just making myself feel guilty. I can never live up to their example. I'm not as good as her, I'm not as funny as him, I'm not pretty, I'm not insightful, I can't write, I haven't got a wonderful, fulfilling job... and on and on.

Conclusion: (See? I told you I'd get there eventually!) How do we find this rest? "Learn from me." That's my task. To learn from Jesus and figure out what this means.