Kababata by Kritiko featuring Kyla

Last November 10, I saw the finals of Himig Handog on ASAP on TV. While this contest featured a lot of good music, there was one song that stood out for me: Kababata by Kritiko featuring Kyla (Kritiko wrote the song and also performs the rap parts). The live performance was so powerful that Ogie Alcasid and another judge - I think it was Erik Santos - gave Kritiko and Kyla a standing ovation after. I was so blown away by it that I immediately wanted to see it again. Here it is:


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

I couldn't immediately find this performance on youtube (it was uploaded the next day) but my search online brought me to the live performance with Angeline Quinto during the pre-finals. Kyla was unable to sing so Angeline subbed for her. What I loved about this was that the song was performed fully, as opposed to the shortened version during the finals. This allowed me to understand and appreciate it a lot more than I already did. I was clearly not the only one moved by it, as judge Yeng Constantino was in tears (you can see her reaction at the 4:55 to 5:02 mark of this next vid). Check out the pre-finals performance here:


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

This song for me is truly amazing. It is so well-written, with the lyrics projecting such vivid imagery that you feel emotionally invested in the story. The first half of the song is more nostalgic and wistful, about two people who were 'magkababata' or who grew up together. The singer shares a longing for that time when life was simpler and they were still together and how, at that time, they had dreams and plans. However, the second half is a lot more intense and painful: he returns to meet the girl as promised, but as it turns out, he only sees her ghost because she was raped and murdered. You don't hear songs with stories like this everyday.

My great interest in this song brought me to this video of Kritiko explaining how he came up with the story. Apparently, he had finished recording the song when he saw rape victims on the news. He then got inspired to revise the song he finished to change the ending. Here is the video of Kritiko talking about his inspiration for the song.


video uploaded by LionhearTV

Kababata ended up only in third place in Himig Handog and I immediately felt that it was robbed. This song was so revolutionary, so powerful, so well-written, and so well-performed that I strongly believed it should have won first place. As it turns out, I'm not the only one who thinks so. If you scroll through the comments in these videos I shared, you will see so many people saying they felt this should have won and that they were so moved and even brought to tears by it. I also feel that Kritiko should have won the One Music Philippines Favorite Interpreter Choice Award. While Sam Mangubat was indeed very expressive and moving in his rendition of Wala Kang Alam, I just felt Kritiko was better. You could really feel Kritiko's pain, grief, guilt, and anger as he took you on a truly emotional journey. (That said, maybe this award was given based on the recorded version and not the live performance.) The repeated line "Bakit nila sa yo 'to nagawa?!" (why did they do this to you? or how could they have done this to you?) gives me goosebumps each time. I've watched many times and I am still moved. Here's the offivial music video.


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

There were a lot of great songs released all over the world this year but this may actually be my favorite. I truly wish Kritiko greater success and that he continues to write great songs.

A Couple of Weddings

The 'Ber months are usually the time of year when many people decide to get married. Over the last couple of months, I attended a couple of weddings, on opposite sides of Metro Manila.

I first attending the wedding of my good friend and ex-colleague, AJ and her now-husband Elmer. Her wedding was held in Palazzo Verde, previously Fernbrook Gardens, in Las Pinas. I hadn't met her husband, Elmer, prior to that event so it was really nice seeing the man with whom AJ will spend the rest of her life. It was also a reunion of sorts because dozens of my ex-colleagues were there, many of whom I hadn't seen in a while.

Apart from being able to celebrate with AJ on her special day and being able to catch up with several friends, another highlight was the special game that was conducted right before the reception. The host said that we would play a variation of "name that tune" game: music would be played and the first person who went up to the host, correctly guessed the title of the song, and danced to it, would enable his or her table to go to the buffet table first. Our table was a bit far so I was initially uncertain that I would get to compete for a spot. I somehow managed to do that on the third song - I managed to guess Gentleman by Psy and I naturally tried to dance the proper choreography of the song LOL. Because of this, our table ended up being third to get food, which was great because we were quite hungry by then. :)

The second wedding was of my cousin Twinkle who got married to Mike, whom she had been dating for a while already. The wedding was held at the Santuario de San Jose Parish in Greenhills and the reception was at Oasis Manila in Quezon City. Instructions were given to the guests not to take photos since it would obstruct the photographers from taking great shots but I did manage to take a photo of Twinkle as she entered the church because I was close to the back and wasn't near the aisle where the photographers were.

I'm happy that my grandmother was able to join us despite her difficulty in moving (she got injured earlier this year). Thankfully, we were the first table to get called to the buffet table so we were also the first to have our photo taken with the couple. This was one of the weddings where I didn't stay until the end of the program because my grandmother was tired so we had to bring her home shortly after dinner. Still, I'm happy that we got to join Twinkle on her special day.

I have a couple more weddings to attend in December and I'm looking forward to both of them.

Game Nights Galore

One of my interesting accomplishments recently has been reducing the number of games I own that I hadn't played yet. I had quite a few game nights over the last few months and I had a chance to play three games and one expansion I own that I hadn't played yet.

Khan of Khans

Khan of Khans

This was the first - and so far, only - game that I got via Kickstarter. (I can't say I backed it because by the time I supported it, it was already fully funded.) This is a quick, simple, and fun party game. The goal is to have the most cows at the end of the game. You draw cards that can give you cows or allow you to take cows from other players or lose your own cows. Each player also gets to choose one of many tribes, all of which have different powers that impact game play. Finally, there is that option of putting your cows in corrals, but you only have limited corrals and you don't want to do it too early lest you run out of corrals. I really enjoy this game and as party games go, this is one of the best ones. I like it better than Exploding Kittens because all players get to play until the very end (unlike Exploding Kittens where players are knocked out one by one).

Oceanos

Oceanos

This is another quick and easy game. The objective is to score the most points through deep sea exploration. The way to score points is by collecting different underwater creatures and treasure and by upgrading your submarine. The game play is relatively simple and you can finish a game in about 30 minutes. This game is ideal for newbies and casual gamers or those who like cute artwork.

Potion Explosion and the Fifth Ingredient Expansion

I had played Potion Explosion in the past but I hadn't played the game that I bought. I hadn't previously played the Fifth Ingredient expansion though. I got it thinking that it would add a fifth player to the game but it turns out that it just adds another marble - a wild card - to the equation. I like the additional elements from the expansion. After playing this game again, I realized that it does rely on luck - I won our second game because I kept getting lucky explosions, allowing me to complete a lot potions - but I did realize that I really like this game despite the potential for slight imbalances due to luck.

Of course, there were a lot more games that I got to play. It seems that detective games are quite popular now, as I got to play three games with this theme - P.I., Sherlock Holmes, and Detective. Sherlock Holmes and Detective are quite similar, and while they are interesting to play because of the dynamics, this isn't exactly my favorite type of game. I actually liked the simpler P.I. a lot more because this game is kind of like a more sophisticated and edgy Clue.

Other new games I got to try include: Pastiche which is kinda like Fresco in that you are trying to mix paints to allow you to complete paintings, Dice Forge which has some really awesome artwork and has a cool dice modifying mechanic, Clank in Space which is a variant of Clank!, Five Tribes which my friend calls super sungka because of how you move tokens around the board, Robinson Crusoe which is a coop game, and Lowlands which kind of has a worker placement and deck building mechanic.

Lowlands

I do have a couple of game nights in December so I'm looking forward to possibly playing one or more of my unplayed games.

Dangerous Drain Declogger

I had a drain declogger mishap recently. While washing dishes one night, I realized my kitchen sink was badly clogged. In the past, I used Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger but when I went to the supermarket, I couldn't find it. I decided to go to True Value to see if they had drain decloggers there. They didn't have Mr. Muscle but I saw one that seemed to be okay. I decided to get it and I immediately used it once I got home.

When I opened the cap, I noticed that there was a secondary cap to prevent the liquid from spilling. That in itself should have triggered a warning flag and I think it did because I made sure that I wouldn't touch any of the liquid with my bare hands. That said, even if I was already being cautious, I think that secondary cap very briefly and lightly touched the back of my middle finger as I set it aside. I actually didn't think that it touched me but I realized that it must have grazed my finger because as soon as I put that secondary cap down, my finger started to hurt badly. I then noticed that there was a slight frothing on it. I immediately placed my finger under running water and kept it there for a while. A couple of days later, my finger still looked pretty nasty:

It wasn't just my injured finger that got me concerned. As soon as I poured half of the contents of the bottle into my drain - as per instructions - smoke started to come out, as if something was burning. My Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger never generated this kind of chemical reaction. While the instructions indicated that you need to wait for about 5 minutes before letting water run into the sink, I was so concerned about the smoke that I turned on the tap maybe just a minute or less after pouring the liquid into the sink.

I reckon my drain declogger must have been a pretty potent sulfuric acid solution. I still have half a bottle at home but I don't want to use it again. Unfortunately, I don't know how to dispose of it properly; I surely don't want anyone else to come into contact with it. I think I will ask my chemist or scientist friends what I can do. If my drain does end up getting clogged again, I am surely staying away from this particular drain declogger.

A Little Night of Music

It all started with a social media post I wrote about going to a videoke place that had songs from The Greatest Showman. From there, I discovered that two of my friends - Marie and Ginia - were also friends. We decided that we should all go to a videoke place together. Then, more recently, a friend of mine told me that Rockstar, the videoke place in SM Aura, did feature some The Greatest Showman sings. Finally, I caught up with Marie and with Ginia on separate occasions recently. I told Ginia that we should push through with our plans. We finally agreed on a schedule that worked for all three of us.  As we got closer to our karaoke date, Ginia messaged us saying that a friend of hers who also happened to a friend of Marie's, was inviting her to a gig in Craft. We decided that we could spend about three hours at Rockstar before heading over to Craft.

This was the first time in almost two years that I visited a videoke place. Naturally, we sang songs from The Greatest Showman, including Rewrite the Stars, This is me, and Never Enough. However, I also tried a few other songs that I realized I want to include in my karaoke repertoire, such as Photograph and Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Stiches by Shawn Mendes. I also tried 7 Years by Lukas Graham. If you don't know this song very well, the phrasing and timing will be a bit challenging so I will make it a point to study this song so I can sing it more properly next time. Quite possibly the highlight of the evening were the two Miss Saigon duets that we performed. Marie and I sang The Last Night of the World and Ginia and I sang Sun and Moon. This was the first time that I sang Miss Saigon songs in a videoke bar and while I need to study the male part in The Last Night of the World, I thought we did a pretty decent job on both songs. Since we were in the Coldplay room, Marie said that I should sing at least one Coldplay song so I decided to go with Viva La Vida.

We had initially planned to stay there until 10pm only but we were so into it that we decided to extend one more hour. By 11pm, we headed over to Craft where Trinidad Band was playing. Ginia and Marie's friend was a sessionist who was subbing for one of the musicians that night. I hadn't heard of Trinidad Band before but the moment I heard them play, I was blown away. They had excellent musicianship and they played very well together. What's more, you could see from the way they played that music was in their veins.

I have to give special mention to their vocalist JJ Lacson. We only caught the last set but he rattled off some obscenely difficult songs such as Skid Row's I'll Remember You and Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses. Marie, Ginia, and I just kept looking at each other in sheer amazement. We called it a night at around 2AM and agreed that we should have more of these music nights.

Get-togethers

My college friend Maileen was in Manila to attend her grandmother's birthday and she did have a small window during which to meet up. Lala, Mitch, Anna and I were able to have brunch with her at Single Origin in Rockwell. That wasn't my only brunch in Rockwell. Another friend, Alvin, was also in Manila shortly after that and also happened to be free on a Saturday morning. He requested to meet up in Rockwell so Joyce, Elaine, and I joined him for brunch at Refinery.
I also got to spend quality time with my high school/college friends on two occasions. The first was in Shangri-la Mall. Mitch, Ferg, Joyce, Anna and I had dinner in Spatzle before moving to Planet Grapes for coffee, dessert, and wine. Then, more recently, we all visited Iona and JP at their new place in QC. I decided to bring the Sinful Chocolate Cake from A La Creme in Katipunan. I had seen this cake at a party before but didn't get to try. It is very good and very rich, which meant that most of us could only eat a small portion of it.

Sinful Chocolate Cake from A La Creme in Katipunan

I also got to hang out with a lot of my ex-colleagues. I joined my ex-teammates Migs, Diann, Jeoff, and Case and her daugher Kara for an afternoon and evening of food and gaming at Grid X Griddle Gastrolounge and Gaming. We played Ticket to Ride and a few rounds of Azul. It was during this time that I achieved my highest scored in Azul - 112! I could have ended the game but I saw that my friends weren't intending to end the game just yet so I avoided ending the game just to help increase my score further (it worked).

My highest Azul score ever - 112!

The managers from my previous group got together for dinner and drinks at Early Night? in BGC. It was here that we agreed on a schedule for our Christmas get-together. At around the same time, my circle of friends from my previous company met up a couple of times. First, I joined Raffa, Joh, Alvin, and Doray for dinner at Locavore. Many people were unavailable that night so we decided to meet up again, this time for lunch in XO46 in Estancia Mall when Pau arrived in Manila. Raffa, Joh, Me-Ann and I were able to join Pau for lunch. Joh and Raffa also brought their kids and Pau brought one of his three children.

I also had dinner with my friends from our Corporate Social Responsibility org. I suggested that we have dinner in Buca di Beppo in BGC. Doms, Zaza, Katco, Eric, Lou and I were all able to make it and it was great because I hadn't seen Katco, Eric, and Lou in a while. We moved to Gelatofix for dessert and coffee after where we enjoyed a lot of gelato. I also decided to try their gelato sushi. This was a really unique dessert but while it was good, I think I prefer normal gelato.

gelato sushi at Gelatofix

Finally, I'm really happy that in the last few months, I was able to meet up with some people I hadn't seen in ages. First: the Yaminoys. While I've met up with a few of them every now and then over the years, this was the first time in maybe a decade that we had a group of 8 people all together for dinner. Eliza, Meg, Marie, Beck, Yam, Lea, Belle, and I enjoyed a night of great food and great conversation and catching up in Cyma in Greenbelt. Second: my college reunion. The alumni association of my college organized a reunion of sorts and my batch decided to get a table. While I do get to see my batchmates on a regular basis, I rarely get to catch up with college friends from other batches. That is, until that night. There were a few dozen of us there and it turned out to be a wonderful reunion, made even more special by the good food and the wine. I also got to see a few of my college teachers. Cool!

Inflight Movies during my South America Trip

I guess this post is still related to my South America trip. I got to watch thirteen movies I hadn't seen before, most of which I got to view while on the intercontinental flights from Manila to Lima and back. Here's a list of all the movies I watched and some quick thoughts on each:

Ready Player One
This was my favorite of all the movies I saw. I was initially hesitant to watch it because many people said that there was a ton of 80s video game references with which I wouldn't be able to relate since I don't play video games. As it turns out, it wasn't a deal-breaker. This movie has a great story, incredible action, and fantastic effects and CGI. I liked it so much that I watched it a couple of times on the plane and I have since gotten the DVD (and watched it again a few more times).

Murder on the Orient Express
I love a good murder mystery. While it is near impossible to guess who did it in this film, I thought that the theme, the tone, the flow of this story, and even the cinematography were all a bit too somber. I'm guessing that was the intention of the creators of this film but it didn't quite appeal to me.

Rampage
This movie doesn't have much of a story and it does get a bit cliche but if you are a fan of giant mutated creatures battling each other (like me), then you will still find this quite enjoyable.

Geostorm
I thought this film would be like The Day After Tomorrow, with climate change-induced calamities causing global destruction. It was kind of like that and kind of not. In this movie, the human race was able to develop a satellite system that could control the weather across the globe. While this system is very useful in that it is able prevent the worst forms of natural disasters from causing massive damage, if the system goes haywire or falls under the control of the wrong people, the world could come to an end. Once again, I thought this movie was enjoyable enough.

Love, Simon
This might have been my second favorite among all the inflight movies I saw. It is about a closeted gay teenager who struggles with wanting to connect while not wanting to come out. This movie did a great job in showing why even today, many gay people still deal with a lot of adversity. It is a well-written, feel-good film that features a very talented cast, including Nick Robinson who did an amazing job in the title role.
 
Trolls
Trolls got a lot of really good buzz when it came out, specifically because of the pop music featured throughout the film. It was entertaining for the most part but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as most other people because I really disliked the lead character Poppy. It is her attitude and behavior that gets all the trolls in trouble so I am annoyed that her success in the end of the movie lends itself to the idea that her behavior and attitude were acceptable, if not necessary, and that she has nothing to be sorry about.

Final Recipe
This is possibly my third favorite film in this list. This is a South Korean-Thai film that features a cast from different Asian countries. It is honestly very cliche and predictable, with a few scenarios bordering on being unbelievable, but somehow I found it to be very moving and heartwarming, with a bittersweet end.

The 15:17 to Paris
The short description of this film made me interested in it but after about a quarter of the film had gone by, I found myself getting bored. I still wanted to see where it would go so I kept watching. Towards the end, I started to realize this may have been a true story so I looked it up when I got home and apparently, it was. What's even more amazing is that the three lead characters were played by themselves, meaning the three people who helped subdue a terrorist in real life played themselves in the movie. I think if I had known this before watching the film, I would have been more engaged.

Tower Heist
I was interested in this film when it came out but I never got around to watching it. The twist that comes early on, which shows the reason why the people decide to attempt this heist, is pretty interesting. This movie is not quite Ocean's Eleven but it is still fun.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
This film was nominated for Best Picture in 2014 so I had always been interested to see it. While I realize it is critically acclaimed, it seems I am not its target market as I didn't really like it. It is directed by Wes Anderson, who also directed The Royal Tenenbaums which I also didn't like. I guess Wes Anderson's style isn't quite what I am looking for when it comes to movies. (My friends who are huge fans of Wes will disown me if they read this LOL.)

The Adjustment Bureau
The premise of this movie is that there is some secret, supernatural organization that seems to control everyone's destiny and ensure that everything goes according to the grand plan. It's an interesting concept that sets the stage for some pretty exciting sequences.

Blade Runner 2049
I am not sure what it is about my current taste in movies but while this film was critically acclaimed, with some of my friends saying it was their favorite movie of 2017, I actually really didn't like it. I don't know if my lack of appreciation is because I didn't see the first Blade Runner that came out in 1982. I will say though that the cinematography in this film is absolutely stunning and its Oscar award for Best Cinematography is extremely well-deserved.

Klute
This was the film in which Jane Fonda won the first of her two Oscar Best Actress trophies. This suspense-thriller was released in 1971 and while the performances of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland carried the film and made audiences feel the intensity of the story and the scenes, it didn't give me an edge-of-my-seat feeling. Maybe that's because it was the last movie I watched before arriving in Manila and by then I was so tired. Still, it was a good film and is worth watching.