No Need to Argue by The Cranberries

I got a cassette tape of "No Need to Argue" by The Cranberries back in the mid-90s and it immediately became one of my favorite albums. Until now, it still is. While this second album of The Cranberries features a couple of their most popular songs such as Zombie and Ode to My Family, I actually love it even more for the songs that weren't released. One of which is Daffodil Lament, which was chosen by fans as their best non-single song. Listen to it here.

While I do agree that Daffodil Lament is brilliant, my favorite is actually the title track No Need to Argue, which is the last song on the album. Actually, this is my all-time favorite song of The Cranberries. You need to bump up the volume or listen to it with earphones or headphones on since it is a bit of a quiet song but it is that softness that makes it haunting and impactful.


video uploaded by ukmachinehead

If you get the chance, listen to the entire No Need to Argue album as it really is special. I am posting this now as my own personal (and very late) tribute to Dolores O'Riordon, the lead vocalist of The Cranberries, who passed away on January 15 this year. RIP, Dolores.

Siglo Suites at The Gramercy

The original plan was for my friends and I to have wine night at home. I had a few bottles of wine that I got over Christmas and I really wanted to enjoy them but I didn't want to drink them by myself LOL. We initially agreed on a venue and a date that I recommended but after all the arrangements were made, I realized I had another commitment. Yes, on the same night that I recommended. We ended up changing the plan and we instead decided to stay overnight at a three-bedroom suite in Siglo Suites at The Gramercy.

view of the living area and a bit of the dining area from upstairs

I wrote previously that it took 1 1/2 hours for me to get checked in. Obviously I was in a foul mood the moment I got into the room. Thankfully, it was really nice and I think that helped improve my mental state. The 3BR suite is a loft with one bedroom on the bottom floor and 2 bedrooms upstairs. Each bedroom has a queen-sized bed. The suite has three bathrooms (the two rooms upstairs have direct bathroom access), a laundry room, and a good-sized kitchen with a big refrigerator. There are also seven small balcony areas.

view of the city at night from one of the seven balconies

As I also mentioned previously, there is direct access from The Gramercy to Century City Mall on the 2nd floor. We decided to have dinner at Le Petit Souffle because I told my friends that I really wanted to have dessert there. I ended up having a double souffle evening. For my main course, I ordered the Japanese Beef Curry Souffle. It looked really appetizing and it did taste good but I think I prefer Japanese curry with rice than in a souffle.

Japanese Beef Curry Souffle at Le Petit Souffle

For dessert, I was tempted to try a different souffle from the one I had before but I decided to still order the Valrhona Guanaja Souffle again. Thankfully, it was still as amazingly good as I remembered it.

Valrhona Guanaja Souffle

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying wine and playing games. This was the first time I recall having a Barolo, which I bought from a friend of mine who had lots of good wines at home but had to dispose of them because she was moving to another country. I knew that the Barolo is reputed to be one of Italy's best wines so despite it being on the expensive side, I decided to get one bottle for myself. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype and I enjoyed it. On the gaming side, we started out with Splendor in the afternoon. In the evening, we played Exploding Kittens with the Imploding Kittens expansion and Codenames Philippine Edition before going a bit more high tech and playing Jackbox.

Funny thing: I got stressed out checking in then again when checking out. I was told upon check-out that there was a missing hair dryer. They said there was supposed to be one hair dryer per bathroom but upon checking, one bathroom was supposedly missing a dryer. Obviously, none of us took anything. Thankfully, someone took a video of the entire place, including all the rooms, and the shot of one of the bathrooms showed that there was no hair dryer there. I showed this to the reception and they finally checked me out. Whew.

Given the not-so-great experience I had during check-in and check-out, I guess the question is, would I stay here again? I think I would. I just need to make sure I sort out where to park because as I mentioned in a previous post, there are no cheap parking options when checking into Siglo Suites. I guess the positive side of having a challenging check-in was that I got free parking at the basement as compensation. :)

21 out of 27

After my major board game buying spree last year, I now have a total of 27 main board games. I also have 7 expansions for 5 of my games (2 expansions for Istanbul, 2 expansions for King of Tokyo, and one each for Potion Explosion, Scythe, and Splendor). As soon as I got to 27, I promised myself not to purchase new games until I've played all of the games I currently have (or okay, play at least 90% of the games I have). I just did a count and I realized that I have now played 21 of my 27 base games, which puts me at 75%. That's quite good, considering that most of these were purchased only last year. The percentage is not too good when it comes to my expansions though; I have so far only played 2 of the 7.

My plan now is that each month, I should play at least one of my unplayed games or expansions. Last month, it was Valeria Card Kingdoms. This month, it is Tokaido. I have actually played Tokaido many times before but I hadn't played the game that I bought. That is, until the game night we had at Denise's house. We played it at the end of the evening so that we could wind down with an easy game that doesn't require a lot of thinking (I find Tokaido to be enjoyable and even relaxing to play). There were seven of us at Denise's place that night and we got to play quite a few games, including Istanbul with my Letters and Seals expansion (this allowed me to go up to 2 out of 7 in my expansions list). I also got to play Azul for the first time. Most of the evening was spent explaining the rules of, and playing, Terraforming Mars and Scythe. Scythe is really one of my favorite games right now, and the fact that I have never won in all the games I've played means that I really like it for its game play and not for my success in playing it. :)

Istanbul with the Letters and Seals expansion (photo courtesy of my friend Jovan)

Pretty much the same group played Scythe the week before, during the game night at Cla's place. The target that night was to play either games we had that we hadn't played yet or that games we wanted to play that we hadn't played yet. JM bought his Scythe months ago and hadn't played it yet so it was the priority game that night. Because the rules are a bit complex, it took a while for people to get the hang of it. By the time they did, the game was ending so we decided to play it again the following week at Denise's to maximize the learning and so people could enjoy it a bit more. Cla also suggested that we play Concordia, which I had played before with Jovan and Myna but we played it incorrectly so Jovan wanted to play it again. I also got to play a couple of quick two-player games. One of them was Onitama which is like chess and the other was Patchwork. As aesthetically pleasing as the Patchwork game is, I actually like Onitama a lot more.

The cool thing about this last month was that I also got to play Clue for the first time since may high school days. (Technically, it was my first time to play Clue because the game I played as a teenager was Cluedo although the only difference is that apparently the game is called Clue in North America while it is called Cluedo in the rest of the world). For some reason, I had actually been thinking about getting a copy of this game recently because I wanted to play it again. When my ex-teammates and I had our reunion, some of the folks suggested that we bring games. I brought Splendor and Monopoly Deal and my friend Case brought Sushi Go Party and Clue. Talk about a very interesting coincidence. We naturally ended up playing Clue first and I actually won both games that we played. I gotta say, I still really enjoy this game.

My first win: Mrs. Peacock in the Conservatory with a Candlestick

I also finally got to play Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game. I had been really interested to play this game for a while now since I keep hearing about it from friends. The cool thing about this game is that it has a cooperative game element to it in that all players need to defeat the Mastermind and the rest of the villains and this can only be done by working together. However, at the end of the game, there will still be a winner based on who amassed the most points. We played the X-Men expansion and we fought against the Dark Phoenix and we unfortunately lost. I now really want to play Legendary again, and hopefully beat the Mastermind.

Hopefully, when I write about my board gaming in March, I will already be at 22 out of 27. :)

February hodgepodge

One of the most interesting (and stressful) experiences I had this month was emceeing a company-wide event. I used to get asked to host a lot of weddings of my friends and also some company events but prior to my Christmas party emceeing stint last December, I can't really recall the last time that I acted as an event host. I am guessing someone from HR saw me during that Christmas party and thought I did a good enough job that they felt I would make a good host. My involvement was aligned with my leadership team so I couldn't really say no. :) The tough thing about this assignment was that our president is an exceptional public speaker and I was told that he has very exacting standards. That I was told this shortly before my emceeing stint didn't make it easier. :) It also didn't help that I only got the script two days before the event, and even then there were still a lot of changes being made.

In the end, I thought I did an okay job. I started out extremely nervous and my boss noticed that my hand was actually shaking during the opening spiel. I stuttered a couple of times. I also forgot to read the credentials of one of our speakers because our president asked my to add something to his introduction and because I had to do a sudden ad lib, I was so distracted that I accidentally skipped an entire paragraph in my script. It was also quite stressful because throughout the day, we had to keep making adjustments to the program. For instance, the conversation during some of the Q&A segments were so dynamic that they had to be extended, which meant a last minute change in the program. Of course, each time we had to make adjustments, we had to ad lib, which also meant that I had to stay mentally sharp throughout the day. And given that there was a theme in our event, I had to come up with ways to tie everything together and make sure that everything I said was still in line with the overall messaging that the event organizers wanted to deliver. I do think that I did pretty well in my segues. After the event, a lot of people were congratulating me and my co-host after for a job they felt was very well done, but in my honest opinion, I thought I did just okay (or maybe above average at most).

What made this event even more stressful was the fact that I had very little sleep leading into it and it ran for almost 11 hours. We started shortly after 8am and finished at almost 7pm. It also didn't help that I had a very bad shaving mishap on that morning. Because I was in a rush that morning, I accidentally shaved off my mole under my lip. In fact, it wouldn't stop bleeding for about 3 hours. Thankfully, it stopped shortly before I went on stage. (Yes, I know, this is pretty disgusting LOL.) Despite me shaving off my mole, you can still see it now. Or part of it. I guess I only accidentally took out the outer layer.

On to more positive things. I finally got to finish reading City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte. I started reading it several months ago but I stopped once I started my new job. With board gaming dominating most of my free time, I didn't get around to finishing it until the long Chinese New Year weekend when I decided to spend the afternoon at a cafe so I could enjoy some good coffee while finishing my book. I still have about seven books that I haven't read yet, so the question now is which one I read next.

I also had quite a few reunions with some really good friends. The first one was with the first team that I managed. I'm quite happy that despite the fact that these people reported to me for a few years, we ended up developing pretty good bonds with each other that until now, we still organize get-togethers. In fact, I got to spend time with Jhen for the first time since she got married in 5 years. I also got to see Dennis again and the last time I saw him was almost 7 years ago. This evening also involved playing quite a few games, which I will write more about later.

I also spent a night in Siglo Suites at The Gramercy with my local travel buddies (I will write more about this evening in a separate post). This was my first time staying here and I do believe that of all the rooms I've booked, this is arguably the best-looking one. There is also direct access from Gramercy to Century City Mall. The downside of this stay though was that I had to wait for 1 1/2 hours to be checked in. They did offer me to stay in another room until my proper room was prepared but I declined it because they said my room would be ready in 30 minutes. The problem was that after 30 minutes, I was told it would take another 30 minutes. And after that, it took another half an hour to finally get things sorted out. They did offer my free parking to compensate for my very long wait time. Note that if you book a room in Siglo Suites at The Gramercy, there is no free parking. Parking at the basement is dependent on availability and even then, it will cost P40 for the first couple of hours and P10 for every succeeding hour PLUS a fixed P200 fee. Overnight parking in Century City Mall is even worse; you have to pay P500 PLUS the hourly rate.

View from Siglo Suites at The Gramercy

I also attended the baptism of the son of my friend and ex-teammate Magnus. The church ceremony was held at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in UP. It was quite nostalgic being in UP again for the first time in years. The guests then proceeded to Dencio's in Capitol Hills. Several of my ex-teammates were there and it was great catching up with them.

Finally, I had dinner with Gary and Winnie in XO46 at Estancia Mall. I hadn't seen them both in years so I am very happy that I finally got to spend an evening with them. To make the evening even better, Anna was in town. Mitch was also unable to join us in XO46 but she invited us to have coffee and dessert at her place because her sister Myra (whom I haven't seen in ages as well) was in town and she and her family had dinner at Mitch's place. It was too bad we met up on a weeknight because people had to retire relatively early but it was really great catching up with everyone.

Elha sings Chandelier in Little Big Shots

I first saw Elha Nympha perform Sia's Chandelier on the US version of Little Big Shots hosted by Steve Harvey. I was completely blown away by her performance (as was Steve Harvey and pretty much everyone else who saw it). I'm guessing her video reached France too and the people there must have been equally impressed because Elha was asked to guest on the French version of Little Big Shots too. Watch her performance on that show:


video uploaded by Little Big Stars FR

She's a few months shy of turning 14 years old and yet her control, composure, and power are absolutely stunning. She has backed up her win the second season of The Voice Kids Philippines with consistently amazing performances over the last two years. I wish Elha continues to develop her incredible talent and that she reaps even greater success in the future.

Kim Fajardo finds her long-lost uncle

This is such an amazing story. A post about a man named Alfred wanting to go home to Batangas went viral on social media. It was noticed by the family of Kim Fajardo, the setter of the National Team and F2 Logistics and the ex-setter of the DLSU Lady Spikers. She then posted this on twitter:

My tito has been missing for more than 3 decades now. This morning, our family saw this on Facebook. Tama name and province niya and kamukha niya relatives ko. Hoping he's my tito. Please help us look for him. Umikot na kami ng Commonwealth earlier pero wala. Thank you so much. pic.twitter.com/Ooh8rYWzpQ

— Kim Fajardo (@kimfajardo9) February 5, 2018

After more than three decades, could her family have found their long-lost relative? The next day, she then tweeted this:

We finally found him this afternoon. Confirmed, he’s Tito Fredie. Kasama na namin siya ngayon after 32 years. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng tulong, especially to Anna, who posted on Facebook. Thank you for all the prayers!

— Kim Fajardo (@kimfajardo9) February 6, 2018

I can't imagine what the parents of Alfred must have felt after losing him and after 32 years, I'm guessing they never thought they would ever find him again. This reunion with Tito Fredie must have been tremendously powerful and bittersweet. While social media has its cons, it's great to witness the amazing miracles that can happen when it is used positively to help make a difference.