Llorens-Bersabe and other surnames summer reunion

i apologize if i forgot the other "surnames" (Although you could look it up in one of those blue shirts that dominates the collection of pictures below), i shall be updating this thread for more of the pictures during Black Saturday's family outing/reunion. Come to think of it i have to email some of these pics to a certain uncle/cousin/relative who will complile all the images from the event.

i am never good with names. Imagine the horror during the reunion! 4th, 5th and 6th cousins? Looking forward to next year's edition since it is our side of the family who will be hosting the event (Sana ma ako shoot by that time, assuming nasa same trabaho pa ako.)

Damsel(s) in Davao

And Cebu actually. Before the end of March, Ms. Sharon Yu, previously a courtside reporter for UAAP's De La Salle Green Archers, officially became one of the show's host and immediately upon learning was asked to fly to Cebu last week to join us in this leg for the usual interviews and spiels to be used in the show.

Anyway, it's very satisfying to see a host who works really hard and maybe to a fault, blue collar jobs that is not expected of her but is very appreciated by the team. She's not only a host but doubles up as one of the producers most times because of her knack of finding the stories and bringing out the best in her interviewees (either off or on cam). i guess her naturally bubbly and friendly ways are two of her rather interesting traits; strong suits that will fit well with the "reality" aspect of the Clear Men Future League show to air this July.

Here are a few pictures from the Cebu and Davao legs. Among them, Sharon, the damsel i am talking about plus some members of the team who are either damsels in their own special way(Myles, producer/writer), a semi-damsel (Rain, CD) or people on the lookout for damsels in town (Gelo, EP; Cameramen/Technical Team: Ruel, Jecky, Arnold, Rey and Efren) And of course, some images from the CFL event itself.

Sharon welcoming the Cebu participants.Fast fact: Sharon is actually a very, very good piano player. So much so that we can agree that indeed life is unfair (Brains, beauty and now this?)And some images from the BTV/CFL team:

After the experience in Cebu (see citation post) the first pic had to be taken. Next few images are posted at random, as you might notice there are very few shots that prove to be "scenic", after all, we (i) are here for business and not really for pleasure. Oh well.

Yeah, it's this fucking gig is (very) tiring, but heck sometimes you just find the motivation to do it. And it's not Sharon Yu's smile (although that is a factor), it's called doing a job that you really love (even if you despise people, or their attitude, that heads that job) and spending time with real honest people, new and old.

Demise in Davao

Naka-type na ko saro paragraph in English. Inda ta dinelete ko. Pagal garo. Kaya nadesisyunan na Bikol na lang ang sakong isusurat. Tano pagal? Well, dahil sa Clear Men Future League (They could have done better with a commercialized name. Basta nababaduyan ako. After all may saying: "The customer is always right" pero the client "is god." and to a point, ineffable. So yan, bawal magreklamo sa mga bagay bagay na arog kayan. Case in point;

1) Namove ang actual airing kang show and thus ang days of shoot of the Manila Finals dahil kay Chris Tiu. The deal is gusto kang klaradong shampoo na panglalake na ang Atenista (de Manila, habo ko ma-associate sa mga tao na taga duman especially su mga hambogon arog kang saro sa mga semi-boss ko these days) ang maghost sa show, and kapag sinabi na kang cliente, you have to move heaven and earth and yan ang ginibo ninda including moving the tourney to later dates...

2) Kung isay ang gusto ninda iyo talaga dapat masunod. Thing is, nagdesisiyun sinda na si Sharon Yu (wll post pics soon, mapaaram muna ko saiya) ang babaeng hosts. Good thing ta iyo talaga yan ang boto ko kang poon pa lang. Over the likes of a Krissy Tiu and others na sa hiling ko masasakitan magadjust sa (relatively new) kind of sports reality show digdi sa 'pinas. So anyway, si Ms. Yu ngani ang nakua and ok man sya from most perspectives dahil a) very versatile sya, dikit na instruction kang producers/directors/CLIENTE eh natrtry na nya agad and in most cases naa-achieve man ata ang gusto kang gabos.

3) Actually, mga pagpili pa man lang kang hosts ang makokomentohan ko ta iyo pa man lang ang konkreto. While may mga ideas and suggestions hale sa taas eh dae pa man naeexecute (post prod) ang actual episodes kaya dangogon and balgahon na lang ang ideas and suggestions ninda na sa hiling mi (ko, sa writing kang script/spiels) harayo naman sa katotohanan (with slight patama sa "reality" aspect kang show)

Yan pa man lang ang dikit na obserbasyon sa klaradong project na ini.

Iba pang random rants:

1) PutanginangDavaonimaskisaenmayNOSMOKINGsign. Dikit lang masasabi ko digdi, kung sakali may budget na ko pang Philippine Tour saro ni sa siyudad na dae ko isasali sa itenerary. Lintek.

2) Ok man maski pagal basta nachachallenge ka sa ginigibo mo. Sure, nagiisip na ako mag-quit and stuff because not of the circumstances but with people who make those circumstances err very hard to tolerate. Pero at the same time may mga tao man na gusto mo makaiba sa circumstances na yan maski gano kasakit ta mararahay man sindang tao and gusto ko man talaga ini challenge na ini.

Pagal. Pagalon talaga. As usual, let's cross the bridge when we get there. Pag dae talaga suno eh di suloon.

Aga na naman. Alas dose singkwenta-y-sais. Salamat sa Diyos medyo amay yan sa standard ko pero at least.Maturog na ako sa laog kang 4-star room sa 4-star bed kang 4-star hotel digdi sa Davao. Luzon, Visayas o Mindanao. Tsk. Naiisip ko man giraray ang habo ko mga isipon. Tsk.

Ordinance #1361 (Cebu Citation)

So much for Fight Club tendencies and breaking rules then not caring about the consequences. Cebu just owned me earlier today. You could say, it couldn't have started better than this.

Team BTV is currently in Cebu to shoot the first of the five regional finals for the Clear Future League. And if it's any indication, i believe this will be an interesting next seven days (other half will be spent in Davao.) because of what transpired near the Magellan's Cross this morning.

There i was, cool under the seething heat with a Marlboro Lights in hand when i threw the butt to the ground. Out of the blue, a manang in uniform appeared holding a pen and paper, which at that time felt like a double-barrelled shot gun pointed at my head. Fast forward (it was actually very slow) to five minutes later she was asking my name as she pointed to the paper with his pen and showed me a receipt of sorts that was screaming "citation" and whatnots.

Apparently i violated a city ordinance for littering and that i needed to pay 500 pesos at the treasurer's office a couple of blocks away from where the cigarette butt was found. In between sincere apologies and ardent sorries, i (proabably) convinced her that the first-time offender in me would not ever, ever do it again.

And really, i was.

First time in Cebu City and i was almost doomed (Hey, it's just 500 pesos but the embarassment was priceless).What awaits in Davao is really not something i am looking forward to right now. Give or take a few humor and ironies that come with it.

First Crack at a New Career!

(No) thanks to the retrenchment rumors (although it's more than that but definitely not less) i found myself handling new duties for the rest of the year. Hmmm, let's make it simple: adjust to the times (and the job) or adjust to a jobless (and a lot of times, timeless) life. Let's just say most of us were willing to cooperate. After all, when the powers-that-be says "win-or-go-home", you give it your best shot.

And best shot is what i promise to dole out the rest of the days. You don't make the shots you don't make... That said, here's the first attempt (well, there were a few others which might be considered .gif avatar-quality or might pass as a nice video tag for that personal ringtone) at video editing stardom.

Ok maybe not yet and maybe not ever as people below will tell you. But anyway, here's the video (i actually made a youtube account to flaunt my new-found craft and so i could link it here) and below it are the people who made this new, tough venture as easy as possible (always a tough task for a-ma-teurs) and quite honestly, could be as fun as writing (Don't worry love, you are still my first and only true one.)

The video:



Real big thank you to the following who from hereon out will i be forever grateful to even if i don't ever/even improve on this (As i said, tough task but hey i am really trying here)

Ron del Mundo/Christopher Dineros - Editors of BTV/Solar Sports and previously with Sports Desk, House of Hoops, One U, Olympics and a lot of other "short" forms. Oo na, oo na madami "pitik" yang ginawa ko pero di nyo pa natuturo kung pano pagtrim at iba pang mga dapat matutunan sa basic editing. Sabi nga ni Ron, "we all have to start somewhere" (or something like that) so yun ala-una na ngayon matutulog kahit may laro bukas para i have "started somewhere" na. At sabi nga ni Pipoy, "magsulat ka na lang" (or something like that, most likely something really with that inference), i still will respect his suggestion but as mentioned, i have to learn this stuff so my writing will now have a new "kabit", so to speak. Ulit, maraming salamat at sana di kayo magsawa na turuan ang tangang tulad ko.

Che - For lending the laptop (a lot of times) and for helping me out in actually installing the Adobe Premiere program, among other things. And yes, lamang na ako sa surat and eventually sa editing. (Very arguable on one count or the other)

Enteng - For the goddamn criticism of my first ever editing attempt months back--- he sort of called it a glorified power point presentation. Heck, i thought it was too. But hey, someone has got to start somewhere. Sunod digdi, Chris Webber highlights na assuming makakua ka Chris Webber highlights.

Greenday - For the scoring i used on the video above from one of my own personal favorite group. This Espionage single kept bugging me really and how i wanted it to be used in any of the plugs in any of the sports channels. Now that i am a so-called writer-slash-producer maybe i can use that as a musical background somewhere...

Jason Williams - and his fans. The clips i used were actually "stolen" from some (free) downloaded videos over the past couple of years.

And finally, for this new job. i learned a few terms called episodics, generic, omni and many others (Believe me, i never knew such terms existed in our prod group's "longest" form days.

It's a long road ahead, but i have just to take it.

An Antsy Proposition

Ants are the little unappreciated creatures which do their job no matter what. In short, they are the queen ant’s bitch and you can do nothing about it.

Some ants fast facts (thank you, Google) which may or may not contain subliminal messages with what we are trying to describe here:

There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world. One of which is called the IPOLO-ANT, found exclusively in a mountainous region somewhere in Rizal, Philippines.

Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies. We are optimistic and hopeful about the “can live for many years” part but quite questions the queen ant’s decision to “have a million babies” It’s not yet a million but as of this time the baby ants have been named. Because ants are rather, errr, antsy I’d be posting only the initials of the babies’ names: S.S., B., S.A., C.O and half brother C.S., and the newborn, S.F.

An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. Sometimes they carry loads of minidv’s and betacam tapes. Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet. But don’t let that tiny, tiny mouth fool you. When it bites, it’s sure to itch! Remember the fly against the carabao story? That’s a different one but you get the gist. They don’t have ears but they listen. Oh yes, they do.

When ants fight, it is usually to the death! Ha! Sometimes some of them just write blogs to fight to the death. Coward-ish, but it could save one ants life.

When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce. They call it retrenchment in an ant colony lingo. So, yeah queen ant’s bitch all the way even if you disagree with ‘em.

And the point in all these? Study everything first before making THAT decision because really, it can bite you in the ass. And eventually, it’ll itch. And no i am not talking to the moon.

Poker (Stars) Realizations

Addiction to poker is not the problem it is the solution. Somewhere along the way--- going all in or folding at the right (or wrong) time makes you realize a lot of things about the game and the people playing it. You could say the same thing about life. Heck, that life is a game cliche? That never grows old really. Just be willing to play it.

Put your chips all-in. Forget your stack, forget the pot odds and forget the tendecies of your opponents. Most of the time, letting go of everything could mean the biggest rake in your life.

+++

Bluffing. Pretension. You meet a lot of people who act this way in this lifetime. You really can't blame them. Several times, it's their natural action to impress. To impress to others the fact that they have something when in fact, they have none. What you don't know won't hurt you? That's a big bull shit. Big lie. Big bluff.

+++

Milking the cow. To be a successful poker player, you should have the skill to maximize any potential winning hand. That's a double-edged sword right there. Go for the kill when you have the chance because at any point during the turn or the river the other player might eventually get that killer hand. When you have the chance to one-up anyone in life? You do it right there in then. Underestimating anyone (or any situation) might have serious repercussions. Including being drowned by the river.

+++

Paranoia pays off. Eventually. Take this instance: You hit a trio on the flop but the turn and river showed a possible straight. Do you take a chance? Are you open to possibility that you will bet everything to gain nothing? Is the juice worth the squeeze? Is the juice worth the squeeze. . .

Random Rant: Denied and denial

DENIED. Disconnected for 48 hours from the internet i joked with friends over the weekend that i am getting a fever out of it. Specifically being disconnected with my fantasy leagues. Lo and behold, i missed on a Jason Terry signing in one league--- which i am not whining much about because so far i am holding on to the number one spot (1200 entry fee, damn i can almost taste it but you never know what will happen). So yeah, i feel very uncomfortable being away from the internet.

+++

DENIAL. There's a Guava resto at Serendra where we went to last Saturday to celebrate Che's birthday. The food wasn't bad at all (Specifically their so-called Monggonissa, low uric acid as told by their menu) but the mosquitos did bother us a lot over the course of the dinner--- Ka Abogado, bente lang ang monggo sigurado iwas dengue pa. But i thought it was a nice "celebration" and all. Metrowalk's Menu saved the night a couple of hours later because of the price of their San Mig Light bucket--- almost half the price compared with Metrowalk's Aruba. So yeah, avoid places like Aruba and Guava, it's good to try them once in a while but still, it's not worth it if it's not worth it. (Unless of course, you're one of them Serendra people who pretty much don't care what in their wallet)

+++

DENIED. Jason Williams was not allowed to return to the NBA this season. Needing 30 unanimous votes from the NBA governors, JWill got 26 nods as 6 other teams denied his request. All good, all good. i just hope six NBA governors die tonight because of their decision. Sure, i can wait 'til next year but he could have had played this year! Die! Die! Die!

+++

DENIAL. i was finishing some work-related stuff earlier this evening and got me thinking that i am actually doing it for a new team now. Quick specifics: Local Production Sports got the boot and in the process our team, let's call it Sports Desk, got reshuffled to various channels and i was assigned to BTV). It's a blue, blue feeling. i can't really explain it. i am still motivated, i still want this job. But but... It's simply sad.

Random Rant #8094

Always, always i am at awe at people who know how to play the piano. So much so, i'd trade both my hands just so i can learn how to play and master that craft. Sure, i know that Rivermaya's 20 Million (That's in the first album) starts with C-Em

+++

Been reading up on a lot of random things (Well, not random interests anyway) over the net including a poker forum (www.pokerforums.org) where i discovered i have still lots and lots of lessons to learn in this sport (Yes, it's a sport and you can't argue with me.)

Just the other weekend i lost 600. The total buy-in was P800, i did win P600 for placing 3rd in the first tournament then lost badly in the second set... Lesson learned: Stop playing if you can't stop drinking (tequila.)--- but heck, an all-in tastes much like the margarita, you don't really care what happens next.

+++

What's worse than bad news? Seven days of anticipation and seven days of waiting for that bad news.

+++

The (bad) news consequence is this: a 10-part 500 word post over the next couple of days or the silent bliss of not writing at all. Honestly, i am prepared for anything.

+++

The news is in. Changes are coming. As with changes... It stabs you in the back, though you expect the pain... And i am not even looking at this one negatively. It's the not good, not bad kind of things.

+++

So there, another waiting. Another level of paranoia waiting.

+++

A couple of hours later... and roughly half-a-pack of Marlboro Lights...

+++

The news is: nobody gets the boot but why do i get the feeling that every single one in this team was kicked in the nut? Sure, there's relief... But you can't deny the feeling of pseudo-melancholy. Sure, we all can breathe a little easier now. But... But, this is like blowing up the Phoenix Suns at their run and gun, seven seconds or less prime... (The analogy begins and ends with being a fun effective squad, don't go to winning all the way because that's just not fair...)

+++

Fast fact: Sports Desk team is officially dead. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.

White Choco--- Coming (Back) Soon

Just about the breaking news i need. Now Jason Williams needs unanimous votes from the NBA Teams for his reinstatement and return to the league. Here's hoping that indeed happens this year. Wooooot!

Today's top story:

Williams wants to return to NBA
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 3 hours, 25 minutes ago

Jason Williams, the once-flashy veteran point guard, has filed a letter with the NBA to seek immediate reinstatement into the league, an internal NBA memo revealed on Thursday. If the NBA’s Board of Governors approves his petition, which was sent to the league’s 30 teams on Wednesday, Williams could become a productive free agent for contenders needing point guard depth. League executives immediately speculated that Williams could return to the Miami Heat, who he helped win the 2006 NBA championship, or the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Even so, the Los Angeles Clippers would have exclusive rights to Williams, but it’s doubtful in their losing and cost-cutting state they would want to do anything but negotiate a buyout with him. Williams signed with the Clippers last summer, but retired before the start of training camp.

After filing retirement papers in the preseason, he sent a letter to the league office on Feb. 6 and asked to be removed from the voluntary retirement list. Williams needs a unanimous vote of the Board of Governors to waive a one-year mandatory waiting period to return from the voluntary retired list. Teams have until Feb. 27 to cast a vote, the memo said. Williams played 10 years in the NBA, including stops in Sacramento, Memphis and Miami. He’s averaged 11. 4 points and 6.3 assists for his career.

Relax, it's just paranoia calling.

Or maybe not? Maybe it's as real as the double-meaning dagger looks i get every single day. i admit, it couldn't be as piercing as paranoia perceives it to be since i may be getting those same looks from Day One, meaning it could be empty stares.

+ + +

Or maybe it's plain bullshit. Good old bluff from the hands-that-control-ye. Then again, just before the weekend, news intensified that there are indeed people who got the ax. Bye bye to you people (i'd assume i know one or two) and hello (welcome back) to paranoia.

+ + +

Or maybe it's really, really true. Because today feels like the calm before the storm. The real question really is, where you'd be when the shitstorm hit the fan.

+ + +

How do you prepare for the inevitable? You can't. But paranoia can save you. Not from the predicament itself but from false hope and expectations. Selling yourself short (to yourself) can sometimes save yourself. That won't make sense until there's an opportunity to stab yourself in the back. (Yes, that IS probable)--- Believe me, it could feel like Resurrection.

+ + +

So here we are. Curiously, it's roughly at the four-year mark since the start of the stint with Solar. This kind of timing sends shivers up your spine.

+ + +

And so, you wait. When paranoia calls, is it a bad thing?

NU-PBA Draft

Breaking News! Discarding nepotism and politics, adjusting to the times, adapting a more aggressive innovative role, the PBA announced that they are expanding to a total of 12 teams next year! In light of this development, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny added that with the new era in Philippine basketball there should be necessary changes for the league. The commissioner-not-named-Sonny announced a free-for-all free agency and the richest draft in league history to follow. The order has been set (for lack of creativity, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny decide to do it alphabetically via team name) and the teams have retained (or hired) their coaches.

Additionally, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny also said that the tournament (quadruple-round robin) is a “one-time deal” only. Meaning that after the season, everything will go back to normal and players will go back to their original teams (Much to the chagrin of the crowd present in the proceedings) Finally, the commissioner-not-named-Sonny made a slight tweak regarding league rules: Article 4.8B Suspensions – Player/s can now be suspended and fined by the commissioner’s office if that player/s suffers an injury throughout the season. Meaning, either players play through pain or just stop the acting and pretending that they have injuries. Ergo, it’s now “win now, baby” (as heard from the commissioner himself) time for most of the ball clubs. With the first pick of the PBA Dream Draft…

ALASKA
PG – Dennis Miranda/ Cholo Villanueva
SG- James Yap/ Bon Bon Custodio/ Gherome Ejercito
SF – JC Intal/ Larry Rodriguez
PF - Ranidel de Ocampo/ Mike Hrabak
C – Mick Pennisi/ Rob Reyes

BURGER KING
PG – Jay Jay Helterbrand/ Marvin Cruz/ Egay Billones
SG – Junthy Valenzuela/Rodney Santos
SF – Tony de la Cruz/ Cesar Catli PF- Leo Najorda/ Allan Salangsang
C – Asi Taulava/Mark Isip/ Ervin Sotto

COCA COLA
PG - LA Tenorio/ Chris Pacana / Macky Escalona
SG - Don Don Hontiveros/ / Denver Lopez
SF – Kelly Williams/ Ronald Tubid/ Jason Misolas
PF – Jay-R Reyes/ Willy Wilson
C – Sonny Thoss / Yancy De Ocampo

HAPEE
PG -Olsen Racela/ Topex Robinson/ Ronjay Enrile
SG – Cyrus Baguio/ Jojo Duncil
SF – Gabe Norwood/ John Arigo/ Chito Jaime
PF – Arwind Santos/ John Ferriols
C – Dorian Pena/ Junjun Cabatu

HARBOUR
PG – Ryan Reyes/Jonas Villanueva/ Chico Lanete
SG– Mac Cardona/ Kelvin Dela Peña
SF – Gabby Espinas/ Sunday Salvacion
PF - Homer Se / Dennis Daa
C – Erik Menk / Adonis Sta Maria

PUREFOODS
PG – Alex Cabagnot/ Paolo Mendoza / Paolo Hubalde
SG – Willie Miller/ Jireh Ibañez/Magnum Membrere
SF – Nelbert Omolon/ Mark Macapagal
PF – Jay Washington/ Ricky Calimag
C– Carlos Sharma/ Rafi Reavis/ Mark Andaya

SAN MIGUEL
PG – PJ Simon/ Jeffrei Chan/ Celino Cruz
SG - Jeffrey Cariaso/ Chris Calaguio/ Jonathan Fernandez
SF – Jared Dillinger/ Larry Fonacier/ Melvin Mamaclay
PF - Mark Telan/ Norman Gonzales
C – Enrico Villanueva / Samigue Eman/ Lawrence Bonus

STA LUCIA
PG–Wynne Arboleda/ Roger Yap/ Christian Coronel
SG – Mark Caguioa/ Ronjay Buenafe
SF – Lordy Tugade/ Mark Borboran
PF – Harvey Carey/ Rich Alvarez C – Dennis Espino/ Kenneth Bono/ Paolo Bugia

TALK N TEXT
PG - Mike Cortez/ Ryan Araña/ Warren Ybañez
SG – Gary David/Ren Ren Ritualo/ RJ Rizada
SF – Danny Seigle/ Yousif Aljamal/ Richard Alonzo
PF – Nic Belasco/ Eddie Laure
C– Ali Peek/ Marlou Aquino/ Beau Belga

RAIN OR SHINE
PG – Jimmy Alapag/Paul Artadi/ Tyrone Tang
SG – Solomon Mercado/ Kelvin Gregorio/ Aaron Aban
SF – Mark Pingris/ Mike Holper
PF – Reynel Hugnatan/ Douglas Kramer
C – Kerby Raymundo/JR Quiñahan

RED BULL
PG –Jason Castro/ Donald Dulay/Froilan Baguion/Pong Escobal
SG – Joseph Yeo/ Rob Wainwright/ Aris Dimaunahan
SF - Niño Canaleta/ Wesley Gonzales
PF – Don Allado/ Jondan Salvador
C – Joe Devance/ Billy Mamaril / Alex Crisano

/Dream Rant

i am a sad story.

"Leaf by leaf, page by page. Throw this book away."

- Ben Folds Five in Smoke.

There is no rest for the wicked. Not even a soul to keep, and no more heart.