Home in a Month

For the first time in two years, I will be going home to Manila. Mark my words, this trip will be something else. The feeling of Christmas and the prolonged celebration of the holidays have always been the most charming of characteristics of Philippine culture. Last year's accident caused my first ever holiday season alone, and I intend to make that up with only great reunions and memories.

Getting a December vacation from work may be one of my most treasured blessings. Simply put, as much as possible, I would like to spend good quality time in Manila every year with family and friends, and this year is no exception.

Next month, however, may be extra special, and there may be more stories to tell come January. It's almost fitting that the recent Tokyo episode has spilled over into a pleasantly surprising continuing chapter in my life, and I expect that Manila may be the next chapter.

I was told 2007 would be a great year personally, and so far, there has been no disappointment.

Me and Kevin James

Last week, I decided to fly out to Japan for a few days and then fly to Vegas to attend a christening (a friend wanted me to be a godfather of her second born). I arrived in Vegas on a Friday afternoon. Upon my arrival, I was compelled to treat myself to something good, most especially after the great yet somewhat stressful events that had took place in the preceding days in Tokyo.

It really was just a choice between clubbing, watching one of the several Cirque du Soleil shows, watching a musical, or losing my money to a stupid slot machine (or blackjack table if I wanted to look professional). Instead, I found myself buying tickets to a Ray Romano/Kevin James stand-up comedy show at the Mirage. Oh boy, it was great. Everybody Loves Raymond is by far my favorite sitcom of all time. I love the fact that both TBS and CW in New York play hours of reruns everyday (along with Family Guy, and now The Office). In fact, I'm one of the few believers that the ensemble in Raymond really deserved the group Emmy, beating out Friends on its second to final season. Ray was great, and you could see that most of his jokes were still "family-related" stuff (I know it sounds prudish, but his dry humor is just ridiculous). I had a blast to say the least. The show also included Kevin James, who was also pretty damn funny. I was not a fan of his show The King of Queens (although I thought Leah Remini was pretty gorgeous), but I always thought he was a funny guy, especially in the movies Hitch and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (I think that's the title).

Probably 5 hours later, after drinking and gambling with some friends, I was walking back to my hotel, and lo and behold, I bumped into Kevin James on the street. With my inebriation-driven confidence, I of course stopped him and had a short conversation with the guy. He's a really nice guy!

Starstruck yet again.

Pivotal Moments

There really are great reasons as to why I have not given much attention to "Confessions of a Sensitive Man" in a long time. I knew 2007 was going to be a special year although I was slightly misled to believe through astrology and fortune cookies that everything would occur during the beginning of the year and throughout the summer. Yes, much has happened, including a short-term relationship that ended early early on (yes, for those of you who have emailed and asked, the "girlfriend" mentioned in previous posts is no longer in a relationship with me, and it has been that way for awhile). Yet shockingly, as I waited for 2008 to appear as a reminder that 2007 was just another year of earning money and having a relationship, the most amazing and unrelated phases of transformation occurred during these late months of the year. What makes it even more spectacular is that in hindsight, it appears that the entire 2007 was somewhat of an ontological change, and it is far from over entering the final few weeks of the year.

Having said that, I do not believe now is the right time to get into the details, most especially since the stories running this episode in my life are far from being complete. Accordingly, I will leave this post with some random yet related thoughts that have been the basis for this irregular and exciting sequence of events.

Do you agree that perhaps one of the most difficult things to do in life is to genuinely come to terms with happiness? We joke about the workaday world and how "work sucks" and you wish you were doing one thing over another. How frightening is it to actually do something out of the comfort zone and choose happiness?

Another thing. What is the craziest thing you have ever done? Was it crazy because it was so worth it, but the average reasonable person could never really do it? Was it exhilirating to do it? Was it a true moment in your life?

Final thing. Do not underestimate friendship. You don't know what it has in store for you later down the road.

Last week, I traveled halfway across the world for a few days and on a whim to provoke some of these questions, and I came back realizing that life was new yet again, and I am loving it. My friends said this is the craziest thing I have ever done, yet they supported me all the way. I figured that after all, as so aptly sung by Seal, "we're never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy."

Friend on Law & Order SVU Follow-up

I received an interesting reminder on my phone today. As you might have read in an earlier post, a friend will be appearing on a Law & Order SVU episode tonight at 10 PM ET. Make sure to catch the prologue before the opening credits. I believe she gets killed then...or she finds the body...or something.

I don't really watch the show but I will not miss this one. I'm starstruck yet again.

One Year Anniversary

It's been exactly a year since my almost fatal car accident. One year ago, at around this time, I was lying in the Emergency Room of a Westchester hospital, not knowing the extent of my head injuries.

Since then, life has continued. Very soon, I will be visiting the police officers, firemen/women, and EMTs that helped me out of my car and try my best to express my gratitude for giving me 2007.

Disappointing Event in Westchester

I have never used this blog as a means to criticize people, mainly because the blog has always been a medium for catharsis or self-expression, but also because criticism isn't much of a healthy thing to do unless it is productive. Mindful of that, I will try not to make this particular post an exception to the way I've been treating this blog thus far.

So close to the place that I now call home do I find something in the news that has placed me in a state of disappointment. Of course, it has nothing really to do with the fact that it took place a few minutes away from where I live; it has everything to do with what had transpired.

Marion Jones, former US Olympic medal winner (3 golds out of 5 total during the Sydney 2000 Olympics) and American sports hero has pleaded guilty in a federal courthouse (nearby) for the use of steroids during competition, including, but perhaps not limited to, the Olympics.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/jones.doping/index.html

So while baseball fans have spent the past few years debating about whether Barry Bonds deserves the home run record, and on a more important level, respect, such fans likely only constitute a minute percentage of the people who watch the Olympics. On an even more important level - not to put down baseball (I'm watching the playoffs as I write this) - the Olympics is the one event other than the World Cup that catalyzes patriotism and gives sports fans and non-fans alike a sense of belonging on a far-reaching global level. In some instances, this pride is contagious between competitors; fans of one country are at times inspired by the amazing feats of a rival's athlete to the extent that they cannot help but cheer even in the face of defeat. Indeed, pride is so strong, defeat ends up not being the worst thing that can happen in the Olympics.

Perhaps precisely because of strong pride, cheating might be the worst thing that could happen.

Well, it's happened.

Although short of admiration, I commend Jones for coming forward with the truth. It is quite unfortunate that someone who was considered somewhat of an American sports icon had to disappoint her country for victories that were witnessed by many around the world.

My Most Cosmic Fateful Day of the Year

Who would've thought. I'm in shock.

I called up a pizzeria to order lunch, and as I punched in the area code on my phone, I accidentally dialed "1-911" and then hung up immediately after realizing my mistake. A minute later, the office receptionist gets a call from the police inquiring about the call. I told the receptionist there was a misdial.

10 minutes later, a cop comes into our office and asks for my last name just to put it on the record and confirm that there was no actual emergency. As he was talking to me, I asked him if he knew the name of a cop from his county who pulled me out of my car after my near-death accident last October.

He said it was him. He asked me if I was the guy who ended up in the reservoir off Route 22 and said he had pictures of the accident confirming that I drove a Jeep. Up to this day, they're puzzled as to why I wasn't killed judging from the pictures. I was speechless; I shook his hand and told him I couldn't thank him enough.

What makes this even more shocking is the fact that I was planning (and still planning) to visit all the people who helped me on my first year anniversary of the accident, which is just a few weeks away.

Such a cosmic world we live in.

Old Friend and Faith Hill

I recently discovered that a middle school friend of mine is Faith Hill's hairstylist. My friend's stories are pretty amazing. Judging from recent posts on this blog, I should probably change the title to "Confessions of a Starstruck Man."

Just a random thought on the same general topic: I saw Mick Foley (the wrestler) and Madeline Albright on the street once (no, they were not together; I saw them on separate occasions...but I'd pay to see a conversation between the two).

"God" Responds to Lawsuit Against Him

Maybe some you have heard of the story involving a Nebraska state senator's attempt to sue God for "making terroristic threats" and causing destruction etc. Well, as much as it may be amusing, a recent turn of events makes the story even more amusing. Apparently, God filed a response to the lawsuit arguing that, among other things, the court has no jurisdiction over Him. While there was no address on the response, St. Michael is said to be listed as a witness in the filing.

Here's the story (the court clerk, the recipient of the court documents, has a funny quote):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_fe_st/odd_suing_god;_ylt=AmOHjQN6QK2Ic3e2WRtIJgOek3QF

A Most Special Evening

As an individual who was always starstruck, I wondered how it would be -- how I would be -- to meet a favorite actor, Hollywood crush or favorite band. Last Saturday, I had an opportunity to answer that question with the most incredible first-hand experience in my life - meeting the Brand New Heavies. It was so much better than I expected. I still have not yet returned to earth. The shock has been intense, although it has numbed me to the extent that I'm acting bizarrely normal. Let's get to the story.

So last Saturday, I drove to Atlantic City. After an awesome italian dinner at Specchio in the Borgata with a friend, we decided to kill some time on the casino floor and throw out money before picking up our "special guest tickets" at the box office, which was on the same floor of the Borgata's famous casino floor. After losing some cash to ridiculous casino games, I headed to the Box Office about 30 minutes before the show started. I approached the lady at the Box Office, and she said the tickets weren't available yet. I was getting really nervous, so I decided to call the Brand New Heavies tour manager. I asked him about the tickets, and then he said something, which sent my world tumbling down: "Sorry buddy, we made a mistake. We're out of tickets and they won't give us any for you or any other contest winner, but I'll see what we can do to help you."

I wanted to fade into darkness.

Until....

The tour manager appears behind the desk of the Box Office and starts talking to the people working for the Borgata. A few minutes later, I still don't have tickets, just the backstage passes for after the show...or so I thought. Apparently, the tour manager negotiated with the Borgata people to have me and my friend backstage DURING the concert.

10 minutes later, I'm on stage-right, 10 feet away from Andrew's bass amplifier. I watched the entire concert from the side of the stage -- and no one bothered me and my friend in that little private space. I sang every song word for word and at one point had N'Dea Davenport point at me as she turned around while singing. It was crazy. Flippin' crazy. The Heavies played a lot of old hits off their Brother Sister album and a lot of their new hits off the Get Used to It album. It was just incredible.

Fast-forward. After the concert, I expected to meet them for a few minutes, get my free t-shirt, tell N'Dea I love her and Jan that I wish I had his brain, and then split. Instead, I'm in their dressing room for 2 hours with some of their friends, and their manager mixing drinks. It was an intimate party (last night of their US tour) with a lot of conversation and alcohol. At one point, Simon Bartholomew (guitar god), told me to take some nasty brandy shots with him (check out my pics to see the before, during and after shots). N'Dea was just a sweetheart. I picked Jan's (Keys, Drums, songwriter/leader) brain too. I realized later on that on my web pages (e.g. friendster), I've had his name come up a lot under the "people i want to meet" question. Well, it's done. Andrew (Bass) was a riot. I made connections with the backup singer and the session keyboardist, and most importantly, exchanged information with the band members and their tour manager. Let's just say that it's possible that this isn't the last time that I get to spend some time (no pun intended) with them.

There are just too many details to this most special evening, and no blog entry or novel can truly encompass and express what I've experienced. Incredible. That's all I have to say.

Shakira in UCLA

So Shakira thought it was a good idea to study ancient civilization in UCLA. Some lucky starstruck dude who signed up for the random elective is going to have a chance to see the hip-shaker in the flesh. Cheers to you buddy.

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=275674&GT1=7702

Tomorrow Night

...is the night. I get to meet the Brand New Heavies, a band I've been following since 1991. It somewhat reminds me of that feeling of excitement and anticipation before the Jamiroquai concert back in October 2005 (I may have blogged about this back then but am not sure at this point - blogged about it because it was also a date), and by the end of tomorrow evening, I can truly say that I've watched two of my favorite bands ever.

I AM MEETING THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES AND MACY GRAY!

Nothing ambiguous about the headline! My childhood dream is coming true (no pun intended -- name of one of their older tracks).

I won two tickets to their concert, two t-shirts, AND backstage passes after the concert baby!!!!! The best part is, I get to bring a friend and choose a city -- and it won't be New York! I think I'm going to choose the Atlantic City concert. Sweet sweet!!

The Brand New Heavies. Along with Jamiroquai, they have been (at least for me) the pioneers of the acid jazz movement in the 90's. I've been listening to them since I was a teen. This is ridiculous. I'm going crazy!!!!!

The Unexplainable Jason Bourne Trilogy

I cannot explain to you why I believe the Bourne Trilogy is one of the finest made suspense action series of movies that I have ever watched. I can, however, explain to you why truth and reconciliation committees worked for South Africa but would not work in certain South American countries, the policies behind allowing certain exceptions to hearsay when attempting to admit evidence in trial, or why 4 over 5 chords work better than straight up transitional 5s in not just contemporary and jazz, but R&B and even rock music (nerd statements under slight inebriation).

Of course, I digress. I believe the Bourne Ultimatum was the best of the three and that Matt Damon has really made a name for himself through this fine piece of cinematic art.

Enjoy: http://www.thebourneultimatum.com/

Celebrate Good Times

I can't say that I have ever spent my birthday the way I did (and currently am doing) today. All I can say is that I had a nice dinner at home after a few hours at a random bar drinking Heineken and shots of Patron, and now I am munching on white fudge covered pretzels.

Tonight, I watch some baseball, read a book and will wish for the best (or the better) this coming year. Good times.

Legit

A few weeks ago, I was sworn in and took an oath to "uphold the Constitution of the United States." It was really awesome to say the least. Around 70 of us -- all dressed up in formal "lawyer" attire -- stood in front of 5 judges in the Supreme Court of New York, and took the oath that would formally make us members of the legal profession. Then we signed a cool scroll to confirm our membership. Good thing a buddy of mine from law school showed up so I didn't seem like too much of a loner lost in the crowd of lawyerly lawyers. Oh, and my parents were there too taking pictures like crazy.

So there you go. After 6 years (1 year of law school abroad, 1 year applying to law school in the US, 3 years of law school in Boston, and 1 year of waiting for the Bar results), I'm legit.

Old Friend on Law and Order

Last Saturday, I had an encounter with a long-lost friend from my past in another friend's birthday party. Apparently, she knew my other friends from the theater scene back home, and now they're all big time here in the United States in their own little way.

She and I met in college because we were both recruited to sing in this R&B group that managed to get a few significant gigs here and there. We basically performed old school R&B covers such as songs by the Braxtons and Groove Theory among other artists. It totally slipped my mind that she was in New York and was into acting as well.

So we caught up, and I realized quickly that she was still a zany firecracker of a woman. During the conversation, her ADD-ish self digressed to an invitation for me to watch TV in November. Apparently, she's coming out in an episode of Law and Order...more specifically, the opening scene where a witness finds a dead body. Apparently, she was the witness...and not the dead body.

How hot is that?

She also has a french surfer boyfriend who not only knows Philippine geography better than me, but has a tighter Filipino accent, can speak some tagalog, AND can sing Filipino tunes. What a shame for me.

I should start brushing up on my French and show him...Zut alors!!

A Moment

It was the first time in a very long time that I had a moment --a specific kind of moment-- and it felt really good, sort of like the daytime-in-the-office realization that it's Friday.

I don't want to say what it was, but I can tell you what it was not. It wasn't winning anything, or getting a compliment from someone; it wasn't an affirmation at work, or a nice email from a friend; it wasn't an episode of poetic justice or redemption or anything to do with anyone else gaining or losing anything; it wasn't about being noticed; it wasn't complicated. Rather, it was something simple, short, yet momentous.

It made me smile, and in a cosmic way, it made my day.

Good to Go

I received fantastic news this week.

My boss approved of my participation in the Queens County District Attorney Pro Bono program, so my dream of arguing in court is becoming more apparent and real. Just thinking about it feeds my competitive spirit and compassion for the community with meaning. Imagine, one day, I'm dealing with companies that have allegedly issued false and misleading statements to their investors, and the next, I'm in court handling a criminal case. This is how I believe a lawyer's career should be balanced.

Charity Golf Take One

Yesterday marked my first ever charity golf tournament as a professional working for a company that partially sponsored the event. Along with some other attorneys, we basically played 18 holes at a prestigious Golf Club for the benefit of a Hospice and Palliative Care Society (not sure if it's "Society" but you get the drift).

During the tournament, I

1. almost hit an old lady teeing off at another hole, and of course, she had no idea that the ball landed right next to her
2. was almost involved in yet another vehicular accident when one my colleagues decided to drive the golf cart through curves like a rally car (he laughed as I almost fell out the side and possibly into a stream of water)
3. was witness to the amusing idiosyncracies of a partner
4. had to listen to a Jamaican caddy who seemed to know a bit too much about the supply of pot in his native homeland
5. had only one successful drive off the tee, but only to have it rocket into a tree that essentially allowed the ball to roll back and away from the green.

Other than that, I had a few good shots. Unfortunately, I didn't win in anything in the raffle that proceeded the tournament, like tickets to Hairspray or a Heineken sports bag...but that's okay. There's always next time. Fun times.