Andy and her pink bike!

Andy and her pink bike!, originally uploaded by cutejoos.

Here is my god daughter Andrea and the pink bike I got her for Christmas 2006!

Click!

Check out the new digs of Click! The Pines newest post production house.

Suvarnabhumi Airport - bangkok

Suvarnabhumi Airport - bangkok, originally uploaded by cutejoos.

This beautiful monument greets visitors at the departure lounge at Bangkoks newest airport.

Sit back and relax

12/01/2006, originally uploaded by cutejoos.

Finally was able to enjoy a relaxing night out after my stint as MobiQ has come to an end (?). It's been awhile since I've enjoyed a good Mojito

Arrival of Krispy Kreme

This is the moment all of Pines has been waiting for, the arrival of these little beauties to our shores.

N93 Review

Tried my hand at doing a video review of my N93, my voice sounds way too nasal because I had a cold :)

The big 5 0 0 0!

The big 5 0 0 0!, originally uploaded by cutejoos.

Thanks to everyone for supporting my WATDAHEK blog for the past 2 years. I have finally hit 5000 visitors so a big thank you to all my loyal fans!!!!

Food Fiesta 2006

Home cooking

Our All Saints Day Food Fiesta courtesy of my Grandma. Hope all the cousins who watch this are jealous!!!!To the rest of the world, here is a short description of each dish. Turbo Honey Chicken - the chicken meat was marinated in a mixture containing honey and cooked on a turbo broiler, Pancit Canton aka Stri fry noodles - is the usual concocotion you can find in most chinese restaurants only my grandmas is better _ NO MSG!!!, Kiampung - is a special rice dish of people from the Hokkien province of China which is glutinous rice cooked with broth, meats, beans and mushrooms, Lengua in cream of mushroom sauce - is the new invention for the year, Lengua or tongue, pigs tongue was used here is cleaned and boiled then sliced before adding the mushroom sauce. Chopsuey - stir fry vegetables, Hot and Sour Soup - needs no explanation, Peanut Balls w/ Black Sesame and peanut soup - this special dessert was made by ME with the supervision of the master, GRANDMA of course and normally contains just peanuts, but our version has the added twist of black sesame and the special peanut soup which is raw peanuts boiled in water till it gets really soft then sweetened with some sugar.

Viva Mexicali

Our food fiesta continues with some yummy scrummy Mexican fare!!!

Movies, Munchies & Lady Liberty

Things me and Xtiane did while at the mall

Food Frenzy at UCC2

I re-edited this video to fix the audio issue, so this is just a re-posting

Caffeine Overload!!!

Have I finally reached level 10 on the pathetically pathetic level of humanoids with this clip of my lunch???

Anchovies & Olives2

sad saturday with me and xtiane having pizza

Ladies Night at UCC

It seems that this whole month has been a non-stop food fest ever since my trip to Sg. To continue the tradition here is another food-fest with the cutejoos production team.

CUTEJOOS productions

CUTEJOOS productions, originally uploaded by cutejoos.

After doing 2 mobifilms together, we finally took our official portrait together on a recent brainstorming session at UCC cafe.

Anchovies & Olives

me & xtiane were in the mood for some pizza since dinner food was a bit blah!

Bitter Cherry & Watdaheks lunch parade

Went for my yearly spine adjustment at the chiropractors afterwhich I passed by Food Mag to get my check and have lunch with friend cherryberry!

Yummy Bun

The yummy lunch me and Soon had before watching the movie "Little Miss Sunshine", my first ever movie watched in Sg.

SUSHI at SAKAE!!!

It's been awhile since me and the girls had a night out! It was nice to catch up on each others lives after sooo long.

N93 arrives via FEDEX

I got the shock of my life when the Fedex man stopped at the store bringing with him this big package and looking for moi!!! I was thinking to myself, DC sis didn't say she was sending me anything? It's not my birthday! I think I would've remembered if I ordered something from Amazon?! So I quickly scanned the package to see who sent it, when I saw DCI, I couldn't believe it!!! Would they actually send my N93???

N90 underwater

Experimenting with different ways to get the N90 to shoot underwater

Casting call by CLiCK

Jackie's cast was bombarded with lots of wacky & funny messages courtesy of the Click crew. Despite being incapacitated for the next 6 weeks, she was still the perfect hostess during our lunch meeting at her place.

MFM 2006

Has it already been a year since I first saw the Tv ad on Discovery Channel which, as dramatic as it may sound, changed my life forever? Time really has flown and attending the Philippine leg of the semi-finalist workshop made me realize that in another few months a new MFM winner will be announced. It was really great meet up with the folks at Discovery again and I also got a chance to meet people from Nokia. Acclaimed Philippine director Jeffrey Jeturian was also there and we actually "bonded" for most of the afternoon as we were waiting for the semi-finalist to complete their mobifilm. I had only planned to stay till after lunch but in the end I ended up staying till the event ended. Congratulations to Joel Cardenas and Rey de Guzman who made it to the finals.

Presenting Christopher William Mancino

Congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law Will for the birth of their first baby, born last Aug.1, 2006. The baby came in at a hefty 9.1 lbs.

Last but definitely NOT the LEAST!

I had been getting these weird left side headaches for more than a week already and kind of figured that my teeth were due for some checking, I don't know if this only happens to me but when I have these "tylenol can't cure headaches" it can only mean 2 things, I need to check my eyes or my teeth. It finally dawned on me that I still had one wisdom tooth left and had a suspicion that this might be the cause of my suffering. After doing some x-rays, my doctor determined that my 3rd molar was ready to go. Since my previous surgeries with my doctor went very well, I was not at all worried that this would be the same quick and easy procedure as before. Boy was I wrong, apparently my 3rd molar was decidedley larger than normal, plus the bone surrounding the impacted tooth was quite thick. So there I was suffering for more than 1 1/2 hours on the "operating chair", the doctor must've used every possible instrument of torture on me, I could hear drilling, sawing, sucking, it was just awful. I was so relieved when it was over.

Lily

Here is Lily the daughter of my cousin Val, it's been awhile since she posted this pic on her site but it's always been my favorite.

Grub Club: Lemuria

The Grub Club had another gastronomic adventure at this newly opened restaurant/wine cellar in San Juan called Lemuria. Funny to note is that the chef at this place is the wife of the chef at Bykes Cafe, the place where the Grub Club had our last get together. The restaurant is owned by a German couple whose main line of business is selling German & Austrian wines. It has only been a week since they opened their doors to the public so I was not surprised to note that our group of 18 were the only guests for the evening. All the dishes we ordered were beautifully prepared, although my Mushroom with Gruyere soup was a tad bit salty, I loved my appetizer of Smoked Cheese ravioli and my main course of Herb crusted Prawns with Pasta Negra was very good except for the sauce on the pasta which was a bit too fishy for my taste (I think it was called Uni cream). The desserts were all scrumptuous, we practically ordered one of each on the menu and passed around the plates for everyone to try. The only downside of this place is the price, our meal was definitely not cheap.

Mark and Marc and Makeover

America's Next Top Model?
Bee-yatch look


Having to attend two events in one day was certainly tiring for little ol' me. It was the wedding of my good friend Marc at 630pm and the innauguration of the new dental clinic of my favorite dentist also named Mark. I decided that I was going to do my hair at noon so that I wouldn't look too crazy for the wedding (being that I had a small part during the mass, what happened there is another story). After I was done at the salon I rushed to the clinic just in time for the ribbon cutting, luckily I met up with Marl at the clinic who was game enough to join me on this bright idea I had of having a Make-up counter Makeover. We both had a blast at the Bobbie Brown counter where the very accomodating Darren was there to give us both a "new" look. Since I was attending a wedding, my make-up was done in warm tones, while Marl on the other hand opted for the smokey eye which we were both dying to try out. I even used my cellphone to video the step by step way of achieving this awesome look.

Snack Attack

It was finally time to have a snack in my new/old room, think of it like an innaugural meal. It's been awhile since we had Shakey's thin crust pizza and their signature MOJO's. Me and Miss X chowed down like pigs to the Garlic and Cheese Pizza with extra beef, mushrooms & garlic and the small order of MOJO's with garlic dip.

Room with a View

Here's my new and improved room, as my cousin commented it is now fit for human habitation. It took me almost an entire month to clear out all the 20 years worth of S*** from my room, there were days when I wanted to cry from being so frustrated at all the junk I had accumulated. But the end result was certainly worth all those back breaking days.

Independence Dive

Taking advantage of the Independence day weekend, Amy organized a diving trip to Anilao. It's been almost 3 months since my last dive so I was pretty excited to go on this trip. The resort was really packed with fellow divers, so it was a good thing that we got their by 630am. We did 2 dives, one at Mainit and the next one at Bahura, both considered to be high current dives.

Crab Night

Tifanny and Grace treated us to another special Crab night to celebrate their birthdays. It's been awhile since I last saw them, so it was really great that we got a chance to chat up on all the latest happenings. I ended up being so stuffed, I must have eaten my equivalent of 2 whole crab.

Spaghetti al Tonno

Here is my attempt to recreate my favorite pasta dish from Figaro. I've been eating this same dish for so long I figured I should more or less know how to make it.
My recipe calls for a 3 cans of Solid Tuna in oil, 1 bottle of prepared pesto sauce, a handful each of pitted green and black olives (sliced), about 2 tbsp. of capers (rinsed), 1 head of garlic (minced), a handful of button mushrooms (sliced) and olive oil for sauteeing. Saute garlic in hot olive oil till lightly browned, add the rest of ingredients one by one and saute until thoroughly mixed, make sure not to overdo the mixing which may cause tuna to be too mashed up, it's best to see a little bit of tuna chunks. Add enough of your favorite pasta and toss till covered. Top with lots of grated parmesan and Serve. Bon Appetito

Cha-cha the Dog

Here's the newest addition to our familia, Cha-cha the Dog. This caramel colored sweetie comes from the breed Lokalus Askalus aka a Mutt.

Mad over Mojito

Discovered this new drink on my trip to Hongkong, new friend Cole mentioned Lime, Mint & Rum so I was sold, I really had to try it by then. I really liked this drink but Cole had said it wasn't the best he's tried, so now I'm on the prowl for the best Mojito around.

Open Studio Event HK

That's me during the Open Studio Event at Cyberport in Hongkong. It was my first time to give a speech/presentation, so I pretty nervous. All went well thank goodness. I actually looked quite slim in my pics. . . nice hair too!!! hahaha!

Night at Bykes

It was a night of total glutony as the Grub Club went on another one of it's gastronomic field trips, this time to a place called Bykes. This had to be one of the bigger gatherings of the G.C. because of the excellent primer that Mrs. Darcy gave us a few weeks back when she posted pics of the dinner they had here. We were truly not disappointed with the amazing selection the chef carefully prepared specially for our party. We had 3 big appetizers (hungarian sausage, sauteed pork belly & tuna tartare), a beautifully presented salad with shrimps on the side, 4 main courses (braised lamb shanks, shrimp curry, steamed fish, and bbq pork)and this super yummy Asian fried rice. It was just crazy, and definitely satisfied the carnivore in me.

Suman lessons

Elsa who has been in my grandmothers employ for a number of years took time out to share her mom's special recipe for Suman (sticky rice cooked in coconut milk), before leaving to be full time wife and soon to be new mom. Making Suman is not as easy as it looks, it took around 4 to 5 hours of squeezing, cooking, stirring and not mention individually wrapping each and everyone of these little babies. I made Elsa a special montage of pics taken during that day as a little souvenir of her time with us.

Katre with friends

It was supposed to have been my birthday treat to my "metro group" of friends. But after much cajoling with Jack, who had conveniently forgotten to treat us during his birthday last November, he ended up footing the bill for our lovely dinner at Katre. This Meditteranean fusion place has been one of my favorite restaurants in the city & it is where I can indulge in my all time favorite pasta dish, the ever simple but yummy Aglio Oglio spaghetti, the chef never fails me when I say I want extra garlic. But honestly speaking no matter what I order at this place, everything is really good.

Watch and be Welcomed!

My friend RJ recently entered the field of producing with the new home & lifestyle show called "Welcome Home". Hosted by the very cute Robin da Roza, every episode showcases one distinct home, with in depth interviews with the home owners regrading personal style, decorating tips and the like. You can catch this 30 minute program on Studio 23 every Sunday at 11:30 AM

BACK TO BLOGGING

It's been over a month since I last posted on my blog. Sorry to my loyal "fans" who have missed reading about my adventures. For some reason I have been mentally exhausted since January, which I attribute to the events of the last quarter of 2005. But now finally I'm now energized and ready to BLOG with a vengeance. Hope you guys stick around!!!

My friend Mel

belated happy birthday mocmoc!
Originally uploaded by chocolate monster mel.

My friend chocolate monster Mel, the baking queen, has just added food photography & styling to her list of accomplishemnts. Please check out some of her yummy pics.

My Thai

Here is the article that appeared in Thailands second largest newspaper regarding the First Time Mobile Film Makers Award. Fellow winner Ndol sent me a digital copy to add to my collection of newspaper clippings.

GOOGLE me!!!

A Feast for the senses

My photographer pal Arnel had convinced me that it was advantageous to my video career to take some footage of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. The last time I attempted this was around 5 years ago, so I pretty much knew what I was in for. We decided to head towards Echague street to see if any of my store owner friends would be willing to let us go up and shoot from their building, we were fortunate that Josie from Mostwell was very accomodating and let us up into their 3rd floor balcony. In the end though, me & Arnel had to climb down from the balcony onto the roof of the 2nd floor since lots of electrical wires were blocking our view. The footage I shot was awesome, the entire street was literally covered with a sea of people, it was total pandemonium as soon as the procession started.

First Dive of the Year

Me & Tim got the day=off to take Wes on a diving trip to Anilao. We drove to batangas right after work on Friday but didn't arrive there till 11:30pm because of heavy traffic. This was the first time I dove on a Saturday and was surprised to see Aquaventure with so few guests, it was as if we had the whole resort all to ourselves. Our first dive was at Mainit, and it would be the deepest depth Wes had ever gone 90 ft. we were able to see 1 black tip shark & 2 schools of barracuda. The 2nd dive was at Kirby's rock which features this massive wall, water visibility was excellent so it really showed off the colorful plants & corals on the wall, there were a lot of moray eels & huge lion fishes. It was 2 very different dives, one was more action packed with stronger current & the other was an easier dive but was visually more appealing.