What A Weekend

SATURDAY

After lunch I was supposed to go to Ipe’s to have a haircut in time for the TA party in the evening. By 12:45pm I was still in White Plains area, traffic was horrendous, and I could see hours and hours of idling. OA kung OA! So after a quick call to Ipe, I had my haircut rescheduled to Sunday instead. Then I turned around and stopped at Gateway Mall in Cubao.

Window-shopped a bit, well, there aren’t enough shops opened yet really. So it’s really more windows than shopping at Gateway—for now. In Odyssey I bought my nephew a DVD of the second Bionicle movie (he’s nuts about anything Lego.) Then I went to Taco Bell for merienda. I tried their soft taco with chicken filling. Hmmm. Nothing great; in fact, it was a let-down. Maybe I should just try their regular tacos.

Went home and prepared for the TA party in which I’ll be the DJ. For years (especially in the 90s) whenever there’s a TA party they always ask me to provide the music. So I have an idea what songs the kids of TA dance to. But it has been several years since I last DJ-ed, and I’ve not been in touch with the current members, so I’m slightly worried. I brought out my maleta and started stuffing it with CDs both recent and old. I also brought along 5 other CD containers. Must-have tunes in a TA party include: Pizzicato 5’s “Sweet Soul Revue”, Los Del Rio’s “Macarena”, Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumpin’”, any fast Spice Girls, Britney Spears, and Destiny’s Child/Beyonce tune. After that, I’m gonna wing it. Oh gosh, the stress!

So I head for the party venue, which is in Steven’s house in Dapitan Street, QC. That’s three blocks away from Sto. Domingo. When I got to Dapitan St., I saw a shocking sight—a long queue of people snaking around the block and occupying one half of the street! These were the people lining up to bid Da King farewell. Grabe, na-stress ako bigla nung nakita ko yun! What if they turn unruly and storm the gates of Steven’s house? And where will I park Orlando? Before whenever we partied at Steven’s we’d park outside—the streets are fairly safe. But with a mob outside the gates, who knows what damage the poor can do to poor Orly?

I tentatively parked just outside the gate, and went to ring the bell. When I looked back at Orly, I saw two women sneaking behind the car, between it and the wall. Praning bigla ang lola; I approached them. Turned out they were just looking for a place to pee! I just asked them nicely, “Puwede ho, wag lang po sa kotse ko.” “Ay hindi po!” they assured me.

Then the gate opened; Steven welcomed me and said, “Hey, just park inside!” So without waiting for the two women to finish peeing, I started the engine. I could see them hurrying up and pulling up their panties. Luckily they stood up just as I backed up the car. I heard one of them go, “Ay salamat nakaraos din!”

Inside the walled front lawn of Steven’s lot, we were all getting stressed out with the crowd outside. As guests trickled in one by one, we were thankful they got through. Then we noticed two 40-something Chinese guys peering into our party set-up. Teka, hindi ko sila kilala, ha. At first I thought maybe they were Steven’s relatives. Or maybe they’re really old alumni whom I’ve never met before. I saw Steven approach them; after a short exchange, the two guys smiled and left. Turned out they were going to FPJ’s wake and mistook Steven’s driveway as a safe parking area!

Party time: despite my being rusty as a DJ, I managed to pull it off with only 4 or 5 flubs and miscues. Looking at the pictures people took that night, the party was a success. People went wild, got drunk, danced lasciviously, and flirted the nearest moving object. I of course missed all of that; the only consolation I have is that without my music people won’t have an excuse to go wild.

God is a DJ, and that night I was a god. *(more TARUGO pics in The McView Point)

Sometime during the thick of the party I received two text messages, one from Phillip, and the other from an officemate. Both were asking if I was in Bed that night. Part of me wished I was; part of me was just enjoying the DJ-ing. Times like these, I wish I had a clone!

SUNDAY

By 3:30am I was playing house music at the party, the kind of music you hear in Bed (“Shiny Disco Balls,” “Satisfaction,” and the like.)

By 5:15am only three people were still standing and swaying to the music; two were seated, drinking the last few remaining bottles of beer. I decided to play Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That got the five singing along out loud.

By 5:45am I was packing my CDs into the suitcase and putting them in Orlando. The last song I played was a mega-mix of Michael Jackson’s songs—it was 10 minutes long, enough time for me to pack up my CDs.

By 6:00am I was pulling out of Steven’s driveway. The street outside was still full of people waiting in line to see FPJ. My god, what a circus.

Got home at 7:30am and couldn’t get to sleep until 9am. 2 hrs later I was awake again, and ready to drive to Calamba. It seems most people also partied hard the night before because traffic was quite light. In fact I encountered no traffic until I reached Calamba!

Finally met Ipe’s hubby, Eddie. They said Eddie is the twin sister of Nelz; actually I didn’t quite agree when I first met him. But then he hitched a ride with me going back to Manila; in the car we talked and talked. That’s when I realized he talked like Nelz; same inflection, same cadence, the way he paused and phrased his sentences. No wonder it was easy for people to think they’re twins; if they had the same hairstyle too, the similarities will be uncanny.

By evening I was feeling frisky, so I dropped by the bath house for a quickie. Afterwards I dropped by Megamall and got me a new toy, with a little help from Leigh. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Nik!


MONDAY

I decided to take Nik for a spin during out division Christmas party on the rooftop of Stone House Inn along E. Rodriguez Monday night. In total fairness, I like him! He’s a lot more compact than the late Ollie (boo-hoo-hoo!) and has many same features as Ollie. Nik has less megapixels than Ollie, but hey, I don’t think I really need all that pixels. Here are some pics from Niks. (Naks!)


Now you see her…
…now you don’t!


Wheee! Great night shots!