Tips When Playing Host to Visiting Family and Friends

Over the holidays, I played host to family and friends who flew in from all over.  My relatives just recently flew back home to Toronto and Los Angeles, but I also helped out some friends with their own balikbayan challenges.

My mom chatting it up with one of the friendly merchants at the Salcedo Weekend Market in Makati.

This situation isn’t new to me.  Plus given the fact that I now stay in Makati– conveniently near the airport, a few minutes away from some of the best malls in the city, and pretty much everything you need just a stone’s throw away– my new place makes for an ideal spot for incoming relatives (and friends) to crash whenever they’re in town.

When playing host to family and friends from faraway lands, it’s usually the case to take them around and check out what Makati, the rest of Metro Manila, (or even the rest of The Philippines, for travel-happy relatives) has to offer.

So expect yourself to put on your best tourist guide hat while your folks are in town.

Things to Consider:

1.  Agenda. What sort of activities are your visiting family/friends into?  Do they want to check out new spots?  Get to know the real, urban, gritty side of Manila?  Here to do business?  Visit old favorites?  Immerse themselves in some history?  Go right ahead and ask them what they want to do.  No point bringing them to a place like Divisoria, when all they want is to hit up some beaches.

There are lots of great spots to visit just outside Metro Manila if you have the time. A shot of the path leading to our cottage at Nurture Spa in Tagaytay, about an hour and a half drive from Makati City.

2.  Time. How much time do you have?  Depending on the itinerary, you might have a day, a week, or maybe several months.  Map out your recommended activities around a particular location: if you’re going to Intramuros, you might want to swing by Binondo, then head on over to The Cultural Center of The Philippines, before finally feasting on seafood along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City.

3.  Budget. Sometimes you’ll be paying, other times they’ll be paying.  Part of the fun is knowing how to stretch their vacation money somehow, and remember, part of the fun for your balikbayan family and friends is the fact that their cash goes a relatively longer way here in the Philippines.

You got all kinds of food in the Philippines. Here's my friend Gerry and his kids taking their sweet time at the lovely Spiral buffet at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

4.  Food. The Philippines has an awesome assortment of food– all kinds of world cuisine can be found here, and then you have all kinds of great stuff in markets and supermarkets everywhere.  Are there allergies you need to be aware of?  Cultural or religious limitations, or maybe even just personal preferences perhaps?  Keep all those in mind when thinking about which restaurant to visit, or what you’ll be cooking for your next meal.

5.  Safety and Security. You can never be too careful, really.  Brief your guests well on what they could/should/couldn’t/shouldn’t do while in the Philippines.  Acquaint them with your neighborhood, equip them with their own mobile phones, and provide them with numbers to contact in the event of an emergency.  Furnish notes or index cards for them to carry around if they have to, and teach them to get home (to your place, or to the hotel) just in case.

Bumped into my friend Tessa, who flew all the way from Atlanta to chill in the Philippines for the Holidays. Taken at the Salcedo Weekend Market, Jan 2011.

Bear these in mind, and you can make your balikbayan family and friends enjoy their visit so much more.   Organized well enough, you don’t get too stressed, plus you get the distinction of being an awesome host.  Heck, if you think you’re really good at these things, putting up your own travel agency/tour operation might actually be a good business venture for the future!

Cheers, everyone!

My 2010 Halloween Horror Movie Playlist

Hello everyone.  How was Halloween for you all this year?

Here in the Philippines, in addition to Halloween (on Oct 31), we also have All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2– so as everyone troops to the cemeteries to light a candle and remember the dearly departed, the city stops to a standstill, at least until everybody comes back from the provinces in time for work.

Consider it a personal tradition, but for Halloween, I’ve lined up for myself a bunch of movies to watch (as I have been doing since 2007).  Here’s a quick review of the ten films I’ve put together this year– some good and some bad, but all of em just plain fun to watch.

Theatrical release poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

My 2010 Halloween Horror Movie Playlist:

1. The Human Centipede (2009)
2. Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
3. Martyrs (2008)
4. 30 Days Of Night: Dark Days (2010)
5. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
6. Thirst (2009)
7. Salem’s Lot (2004)
8. Hostel 2 (2007)
9. Antichrist (2009)
10. Three Extremes  (2004)

The Human Centipede (2009)

Are you ready for The Human Centipede?

A disturbing Dutch horror film by Tom Six.  You got this German doctor who kidnaps tourists and surgically joins them– ready for this? –mouth to anus– thus creating the aforementioned human centipede.

You’re probably asking yourself: is it even humanly possible?  Director Tom Six says it is, having an actual surgeon assist him with the whole concept.  Of course, the film has its own naysayers.  Just don’t take it too seriously– just watch and enjoy the ride.

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

The DVD came out just in time for Halloween.  I didn’t get a chance to see the re-imagining of the film that made Freddie Krueger a haunted household name when it came out in cinemas earlier this year.

I saw the originals when I was a kid, and I gotta tell you– Nightmare on Elm Street absolutely terrified me (at least the first few movies in the franchise did).  I guess it’s a tougher crowd now, as this one hardly scared me at all.  I don’t know– partially you already know what’s going to happen, and partially horror films have to suprise you with something new altogether.

Regardless, it’s fun to watch Jackie Earle Haley (as the iconic Freddie), Clancy Brown and Thomas Dekker in this one.

Martyrs (2008)

Theatrical poster for the French horror film, Martyrs.

OK, so you have a secret organization whose entire raison d’etre is to find out more about the afterlife through the euphoric visions of martyrs.  Martyrs is a French horror film that pushes the envelope– I’ve seen some pretty violent movies, but this, I suppose takes the cake.

It’s got brutal slayings, a mysterious creature– fairly standard horror movie fare– but it also has torture and well, I don’t know about you, but the scenes were enough to make me wince.  Not for the faint-hearted at all.

30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)

I picked this up because I thoroughly enjoyed the 2007 film with its gritty, gory horde-of-vampires-lays-waste-to-a-sleepy-Alaskan-town storyline.

This one, however, didn’t quite grab my attention so well.  Sure, vampire hunters make for a good plot device, but the concept was somehow poorly-executed in this film.  Then again, this movie might be alright for some people, but it sure isn’t something I’d cue up on my player anytime again soon.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Had to watch this one, thanks to the most recent episode of Glee (which paid homage to said film).  It makes for a great change of pace as it’s not really a horror film, but more of a comedy/musical, definitely groundbreaking for its time, and still very fun to watch (and sing along to, if you’re familiar with the songs).

Features a very young Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon, by the way.  So you might want to check that out.

Thirst (2009)

All you need to know about Thirst: it’s a Korean movie, it’s a vampire love story, and it won The Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.  Not bad, eh?

The version I got is the Korean original with English subtitles.  Admittedly, I originally thought this was just cashing in on all the hype from Twilight (of which I am not a fan), but I gotta tell you, I was wrong.  This is a different take altogether, and made for good Halloween viewing for me.

Salem’s Lot (2004)

I’ve read the Stephen King masterpiece, and watched its disappointing 1979 made-for-TV movie.  I thought this 2004 TV miniseries was actually fairly faithful to the source material– at least until the ending, which again, left a bad taste in my mouth.
Still makes for good vampire entertainment, and has that classic Danny-Glick-scratching-at-your-window scene that left me almost soiling my shorts.

A scene from the TV adaptation of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot"

Special thanks, by the way, to Chilling Scenes of Dreadful Villainy for the Danny Glick pic.

Hostel 2 (2007)

The first Hostel (by Eli Roth) was a delight.  This movie picks up where the first one leaves off.  Hostel 2, however, sort of falls short for me, and although it does have its moments, I think it might have overstretched the original concept a little too far.

It’s got enough gross-out stuff to make it into my Halloween playlist for the year, but it’s safe to say that I probably won’t be watching Hostel 2 again after this.

Antichrist (2009)

Theatrical Poster for Antichrist (2009)

OK I might be missing something here, but I feel like the title didn’t seem to set up the movie well enough for me.  Still, this Cannes Film Festival-acclaimed project by Lars Von Trier is beautifully made, and focuses on a couple’s attempt to deal with the unfortunate and untimely death of their only son.

Simple enough, you think?  Well, it’s got some surreal imagery, and sex, and everything builds up for the movie’s final act– if the scenes near the end of the film won’t make you wince, I honest to God wouldn’t know what will.

Three Extremes (2004)

Three horror stories in one film, featuring the works of Fruit Chan (of Hong Kong), Park Chan-Wook (of South Korea) and Takashi Miike (of Japan).  A generous enough serving of Asian horror perfect for the long Halloween weekend.

What I didn’t know is that it’s a sequel (of sorts) to an earlier 2002 film which also features three stories from three acclaimed Asian directors.  So it seems I have to get a copy of that one to check it out.

Theatrical release poster for "Three... Extremes"

In my collection, but haven’t watched yet:

• Shutter (2004)
• Let The Right One In (2008)
• Suspiria (1977)
• Dead Snow (2009)
• A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
• Rec II (2009)
• Deadgirl (2008)
• The Fourth Kind (2009)
• The Last House on the Left (1972)
• Wrong Turn 2 (2007)

There are definitely a lot more good horror movies out there that I haven’t included in this list.  I’m always on the lookout for good scares to add to my collection.  Have you watched any good horror movies lately?

Unless otherwise indicated, all images taken from Wikipedia.

What did you watch this Halloween?

Cheers, everyone!

Hanging Out With The Amazing Race Asia 4 Contestants

I’ve been an Amazing Race/Amazing Race Asia fan for as long as I can remember, so you could just imagine how stoked I was to find an invite to meet the members of the two Philippine teams at the National Sports Bar in Greenbelt 3.

And yeah, this was going to be a promising evening, I thought to myself. First of all, I’m a huge fan of Team Jess & Lani– they’re cute, sassy and so much fun to watch on TV. And then, you also have Richard & Richard– quite possibly the strongest team in this season’s competition. It’s not everyday you get to meet some of your favorite TV personalities, so off I headed to Greenbelt 3.

From The Amazing Race Asia Season 4: Richard Hardin, Lani Pillinger and Richard Herrera, hanging out with me and fellow bloggers at National Sports Grill in Greenbelt 2.

Now, as of this writing, we’re 5 episodes into the 4th season of The Amazing Race (6, including the latest one), with 6 or 7 teams to go, including the teams of Jess & Lani, and Richard & Richard– and both our Philippine teams are performing rather well so far. It’s always good fun to catch it every week, and cheer your favorite teams along.

So as it turns out, the event was this viewing party with fellow bloggers, together with friends of the contestants (hey, it was their night after all) and the good people of AXN, and of course a meet-and-greet with Lani, Richard and Richard.

Lani Pillinger of Team Jess & Lani, mingling with the bloggers, sharing stories and all cool having her pic taken with everyone.

True enough, I walked into National Sports Grill (at the 3rd Level of Greenbelt 3, if you didn’t know), and the place was packed to the rafters.  Bloggers were already there, munching on bar chow with those nice beer towers at arm’s length, conveniently placed on every table.

Fellow blogger Dani staking her claim: one of National Sports Grill's ice-cold beer towers

Last week’s episode of The Amazing Race Asia was playing, shown off a screen in the center of the room, and going around pushing drinks, chatting with the bloggers, and essentially keeping the party going were Richard Hardin and Richard Herrera (TARA4 fans affectionately know them as “Richard & Richard”), and (representing my favorite team of the season) Lani Pillinger, half of Team “Jess & Lani”.

Lani Pillinger (of TARA4's Team Jess & Lani) was so adorable! Here she is, striking a pose with a starstruck Renzie.

Now, all you Jess & Lani fans were probably wondering: where was Jess this whole time, leaving Lani to fly solo for the night?  Lani said Jess went back home to Australia for a short while, but will definitely be back in time for their appearances in the coming weeks.

Naturally, we were all curious to know exactly what went down on The Amazing Race Asia itself.  You all might remember both Richards getting their heads shaved at some point in episode 4 (or was it 3?)– Richard Hardin had about a month-old growth of hair going on, though he said his hair probably grew faster than that, as a month hasn’t gone by yet since the team’s head-shaving incident at the Fast Forward.

TARA4's Lani, Richard and Richard keep the party going with a fun Q&A and awesome AXN/The Amazing Race Asia giveaways.

Try as we might to pry it out of them, none of the contestants could tell us who won The Amazing Race 4. As you all probably know, all contestants are bound by contract, preventing them from spilling the beans on the results (when did they get eliminated, or if they themselves already won the race), at least not until after the rest of the episodes go public.

What they did tell us was how much fun the entire experience was, and as we were all watching the live telecast of Episode 6 on AXN, we’d all get the occasional live commentary from the contestants as the rest of us cheered them on.

Noelle of kikayrunner.com scores herself a cool AXN premium item!

I personally think it was awesome that our country’s representatives to The Amazing Race Asia 4 were all generally pleasant. Yes, they’ve become celebrities virtually overnight, thanks to The Amazing Race Asia, but they were all essentially regular folks like you and me. All hanging out at National Sports Grill, having a good time with beers and friends. Plus, they made everyone feel so welcome– hopping from table to table, answering questions, having their pics taken.

It’s like our favorite TARA4 teams just got even more likeable. In fact, I’m adding them up on Facebook right after I finish this post. Then I’m catching the replay of this week’s episode on AXN to watch it all over again.

For everything you need to know about The Amazing Race Asia, check out the official site here.  Even better, go check out the page of Richard & Richard, and the page of Jess & Lani for bios, pics, updates and videos.  Pretty useful particularly so if you want to land a slot on upcoming seasons of The Amazing Race Asia– you could learn a thing or two from these guys.

Jess and Lani of The Amazing Race Asia Season 4

Richard & Richard of The Amazing Race Season 4

The Amazing Race Asia is now on its 4th Season, and you can catch a brand new episode every Thursday night on AXN.

Which Amazing Race Asia Season 4 team are you rooting for?

Say Goodbye to NU107, part 1 of 2

Yes, you read that correctly.  NU107, the Home of New Rock, that shining bastion of modern rock on Manila FM radio, is signing off for good on November 7, 2010.

Quite a shock, right?  I thought they’d last forever too, considering I remember listening to NU107 as far back as high school (in the late ’80′s).  Ah the awesome days of new wave.  Got a collection of new wave songs thanks to stations like XB102, BM105, 99.5RT, and hellz yeah, NU107.

Some of my fondest memories of high school includes those afternoons I hunkered down by our old cassette deck, ready to record those hard-to-find new wave songs on tape.  You couldn’t find most of those songs at the local record bars– The Sound’s “Total Recall”, “State of Art” by Friends Again, or “When Lightning Strikes” by Positive Noise.  At least the OPM gem “Golden Boy” by Ethnic Faces was included in a locally available compilation.

NU107 was one of the two stations I regularly listen to back in the day.  The other one was was 99.5RT (of which I had the privilege to work for from ’94 to ’96).  And even when I was boarding for RT, I still get to listen to NU– I’d dig those songs that NU would play that RT wouldn’t (though I’d noticed we had copies of those same songs anyway).  Off the top of my head, there was “I Got a Girl” by Tripping Daisy, Soul Asylum’s “Misery” and Cake’s “Rock & Roll Lifestyle”.

I got so nostalgic, I cued up a couple hundred songs on my player– songs which remind me so much of NU107, of me and my friends singing along to all those awesome rock & new wave songs, of me and my guitar strumming along, and even those memorable station promos they had.  Remember the promos for Zach and Joey in the morning sung to the tune of “Jesus Christ Superstar”?  Classic.

I swear that was Ron T.’s voice on that Malayan Insurance commercial that aired on TV just as I was wrapping up this blog post.  I’d recognize his voice anywhere.

Another post on NU107 coming up later on.  In the meantime, check out these insightful posts from our other radio friends elsewhere on the web:

• “Of Rock Music and Queen Bees”, by Claire Miranda, former station manager of NU107.
• “Biting The Bullet”, by Pinky Aseron, faculty member of the University of the Philippines, and former station manager of CityLite 88.3.
• Joyce Burton-Titular has a couple of posts on her blog, Adventures of a Beauty Queen: check them out here, and here.

Cheers, everyone!

Renzie: One Year Later (Well, Almost…)

Hello blogosphere.

I’ve been away for a rather extended period of time. In fact, a quick look at the articles I’ve posted would reveal that my last entry was late last year– a little more than eight months ago.

I suppose I owe it to my readership to explain my prolonged absence.  Not that I have to, but it’s more of in keeping with the open-ness of this general blog environment here on “The Life and Times of The Renzie Man”.  After all, being an online documentation of my more recent comings and goings, it would only be appropriate to fill in the months-long gap in between posts.

1. I’ve been busy. That’s really the short of it.  How busy?  Well, for starters, I’ve been a lot more involved with a small events and marketing business I set up with a couple other friends.   It’s a teenie little project management venture that we can genuinely call our own, and personally, I don’t mind pouring every bit of time, energy and resource on it, as we all know that- in the end- the rewards are for all of us to reap.

My partners, Gelo and Janeth, stopping for a bite at the Bread Bag, Ortigas Home Depot. July 2010.

There are a couple of other projects and entrepreneurial endeavors besides, but nothing that occupies as much time as the aforementioned business.  There are even a couple of others lined up in the immediate future.

2. I’ve been making new connections. I suppose it can’t be helped.  Not only is it in the very nature of my work to be social (check it: marketing, events, business development, relationship management, new media, promotions– each and every one of them requiring a fairly high level of well, socialization), but from the standpoint of a business owner, a robust network of partners, allies, supporters, suppliers and clients all make for a promising future, with lots of opportunities for everyone involved.

Me, hanging out with JoJo, just before her show, at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza. March 2010.

I may have talked about taking off for the USA, but with what I’m doing now, it seems I may actually enjoy the best of both worlds. So here I am, back in Metro Manila, building up my personal network from scratch.

3. I finally figured what I want out of life, and- even better- how to go about getting it. How can you not appreciate this clarity of purpose?  What I do right now involves all the things I love: music, marketing and media.

I see a very bright future ahead, with enough hard work and with the right moves along the way.  I really don’t want much– just a comfortable enough lifestyle, a chance to enjoy mini-retirements every now and then, and a chance to keep doing what I’m doing now til when I grow old toothless and senile.

I finally get to do some traveling. I also get to top off a trip every now and then with the occasional awesome sandwich That's me in Bigby's Cagayan de Oro, July 2010.

4. My priorities have changed. The aforementioned clarity has given me vision– a newfound sense of direction, as well as a chance to lay out a grand strategy of sorts.  Which means I have a better idea of sorts on things that are more important to me, and things that aren’t.

Which is a good thing.  I feel old age starting to creep up on me, and I have to admit, I’m not as energetic as I used to be.  Priorities help me determine what needs working on at any given moment: what needs to be developed long-term, what needs to be addressed right away, and what can be completely ruled out as a distraction, and even ignored completely.

5. I’ve learned a lot. And I’ll keep on learning new stuff. I’ve learned not just from my own mistakes, but from the mistakes of others as well.   I learn from my interactions with my newfound friends and allies.

One of the more important things I’ve learned actually: always have an inquisitive mind. Keep asking questions, keep looking for answers. I suppose this part needs a post of its own. Which I should work on in a couple of days.

Oh well, I suppose I should get back to blogging. As soon as I finish this cup of fro-yo. Me enjoying some fro-yo over at Qoola in Greenbelt, Makati.

So where does blogging come in after all this? Well, for one thing, I can process all my thoughts online for free, instead of engaging the services of a psychiatrist. But seriously, after all that I’ve gone through these past several months, I’ve realized that writing (and blogging)serves as a very much-needed outlet to channel expression and creativity and even some stress release. I figured– why not hit the keyboard once more?

Which brings us to here and now. I realize I’ll have to do some housecleaning over the course of the next several days (or weeks- however long it takes, really). But one thing’s for sure, you’re going to be reading a lot more about me once again.

Catch you all again tomorrow, cats and kitties

Cheers, everyone!