Defying Expectations

My foreign project employers flew in from Singapore. We had a business presentation with a client at Fort Bonifacio. Frodo was nice enough to drive us around.

Anyway, the Manila they had in mind was different. They were particularly surprised to see that Makati, Ortigas and Fort Bonifacio, well, let us just say they didn't expect to see the CBDs to be so First World. I made them walk through Greenbelt 1 to 5, the whole stretch of the Mall of Asia from the parking at one end to the Hypermarket at the other.

Frankly, I'm tired of explaining to foreigners that the Philippines isn't all about poverty. We have such a negative image abroad that we Filipinos are already immune to it. I just give them a smile when they tell me of some horror stories they have heard about the Philippines. And then when they find out that that is not always the case, they get surprised.

That's when they realize that we do have a significant middle-income market, that the poverty situation is sometimes blown out of proportion and sensationalized for media purposes and that not all Filipinos are poverty-stricken.

It's annoying but I've ceased to care, really.

Personal Triumph

I ran my third 15km race yesterday at the RUNew Asian Hospital event organized by coach Rio. I thought it was well organized, with lots of water (bottled water poured onto cups, not scooped out from some pail containing water brought from a fire truck), marshals and directional signs, kilometer markers, and open toilets (inside the Heritage park) midway through the race.

The route was a very challenging one: hilly and sloping. I think it was very perceptive of the organizer in doing away with the 10Km category, as this would only create a long queue at the finish line when fast 10km and slow 5km runners would arrive at the same time, or when fast 15km runners would converge with the slow 10km runners that plagued previous running races. Having only the 5km and 15km (as well as the kiddie 3Km) categories prevented that from happening.

Halfway through, an accident occurred on the other side of the road, in the opposite direction open to traffic. Several people figured in a motorcycle accident. A woman was grimacing in pain. I used the accident as an excuse to stop and catch my breath. The guy running beside me said the driver happened to be a pregnant woman.

I don't set out on establishing personal records because as you know, I'm not exactly a fast runner. So I settle for the really Oprahtic Personal Triumph goal. The time is embarrassing, I always end up in the bottom half among the running participants, ya know, the slow pokes.

As for next month's Condura half marathon passing through the Skyway, we'll see.

Madama Butterfly duet

One of the most beautiful duets in all opera, the soaring Act 1 love duet from Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Richard Troxell and Yin Huang perform as Pinkerton and Cio-Cio San in this timeless masterpiece.

Open Secret

I think that instead of ganging up on Word Bank officials, our politicians should work with the World Bank in re-investigating the allegations of rigging and collusion among contractors, rather than forcing and browbeating the multilateral agency to open up its investigation proceedings leading to the blacklisting of several Filipino corrupt contractors.

I mean really, rigging bidding contracts and collusion among the bidders and the DPWH is an open secret. The WB simply underscored what everybody else knows already.

There are economic costs to displeasing the World Bank. People, the agency finances development assistance projects in the country. We borrow from them. Instead of thanking them for exposing the all-too-familiar corruption in road projects, we are pointing an accusing finger at them for wounding our pride. What pride? That government agencies like the DPWH, several top government officials and oh my gad, the First Gentleman (again!) were out to make a fast buck from the transaction, right under the noses of the World Bank officials? That the Finance department and the Ombudsman knew of this report for several years already and just sat on it? The World Bank could easily postpone, cancel and withhold all future development assistance for the country.

Fashion Angst

Last year, it was supposed to be trendy for guys to be wearing shawls a la Abu Sayyaf. How that item associated with the notorious bandit group could make one fashionable is beyond me.

This year, you have the so-called 'statement' shirts. The latest Coke ad is popularizing it. It's OK, except that so many people are wearing it, it's practically baduy.

I stick with my Abercrombie & Fitch cargo shorts, plain shirt and rubber shoes. I know, it's plain, boring and stiff. But its comfy.

Soap

Last week, Frodo called me up from his mobile since he was in the neighborhood and said he wants to meet up for coffee.

He drove over to my house and we went to Starbucks for coffee. For some reason, our conservation strayed towards soaps. Not the tele-serye types. Soap. Like Safeguard.

I said I use Safeguard.

"I don't. I only use that to wash my...(censored). The whole family uses Ivory." He proudly claims.

The implication is that his skin is smoother than mine.

Bric-a-brac

Balladeers Rex Smith and Peter Cetera from the eighties are in the country to do a series of concerts. My gad, we are officially the has-been capital of the world. Singers who specialize in syrupy, schmaltzy music and who no longer have careers to speak of in the US still find a market in the Philippines.

Why is it that when singers are interviewed on TV, reporters always ask them to sing a line or two?

People keep on commenting that I have gotten fat. I now jog everyday in Marikina in preparation for the 15K this mid-Feb... and to shed off the unsightly pounds.

My left shoulder still bothers me. Jun and Jen advised me to get a massage, preferably from those offering "real" massages. I had one yesterday outside the Marikina Sports complex. You sit with your arms straddled over the monoblock chair. The masseur was a Manong who claimed he trained with TESDA.