My Bestfriend's Wedding

It’s been almost ten years ago when it all started. Through the Days with the Lord I met this nice young woman who was always smiling and laughing at my jokes. Our friendship started through marathon phone calls and eventually I got to know his then suitor and eventual boyfriend who also became a good friend of mine. What made our friendship better was my inclusion to their barkada. By the time they were Juniors at the UST College of Fine Arts I was like their big brother who provided the laughs and happy moments to their barkada. For me it was like having a new barkada all together but this time everything dwelled on clean fun. Meeting and going out with young friends was something new that broke the monotony of the pressures of selling Toyota Vehicles then. Denise together with Louise, Joy, Xavier, Paul, Gelo, AK and a bunch of their other friends brightened my weekends and more importantly added another perspective to my life. Denise and I shared lots of fun times, many happy moments and countless stories that strengthened our friendship. I would frequent their house and also enjoy being with her equally fun loving sisters Joline & Tamille. The fun in their compound never really stops since her cousins Angelica & Chesca who are also Dazers frequently join us and as they say the more the merrier. The experience was like being a college student again. Tito Tom and Tita Jing suddenly had another son since I was practically at their house every time there is a get together. It was also at that time that they became happy that they did not have a son when they saw me eat. When I moved to work at STI suddenly we had less time together. The fact is I devoted almost 80% of my time to my work and was less visible to ALL my friends. Occasionally we would see each other just to update on what’s going on in our lives. Last night I scolded her, “Why did you get married ahead of me?” Well I believe she is ready and I know that she is in good hands with her husband Justinn. By January Engineer Justinn will be going to New Zealand to lay down the foundations of their family. Like what Denise said, I hope that by her 28^th birthday she will be able to follow there so that they can start their family rightaway. To my best friend and her husband – Best Wishes and Good luck and I hope the Lord will continue to bless both of you.

Coming home for the Ateneo Homecoming

The Ateneo de Manila High School was a place were young minds were developed and nurtured into what it is now. The opening song of Dulaang SIbol’s “Sinta” puts it in a better perspective “Ating sariwain ang panahon ng puso nati’y wala pang galos, pangarap nati’y wala pang gapos..Alalahanin, Gunitain!” It was the battlecry of all the Jubilarians this year.

The Ateneo Alumni Homecoming that was held at the Ateneo HS Covered Courts was indeed a homecoming for me. I was so overwhelmed by the number of friends coming from different batches that I saw last night. The High School class of 1982, this year’s hosts, had a lot of happy and sad memories written on my mind. 1982 was the High School batch of my big brother and most of the Jubilarians were his classmates. Let me just give a rundown of the people I remembered from this batch:
Onnie Martin, Iggy Sison, Mike Gayoso ,Dennis Ancheta, Dennis Pantig, Jojo Mapa, Alvin de Vera, Mon Santana

I wasn’t able to talk to: Jocot de Dios,

Okay let me refresh my memory this time, let me just put the names of friends I got to chat with last night.
HS 1983 – Gerry Sison, Sio Marquez, Choco Protomartir, Teody Alcantara, Cesar Santana
HS 1984 – Glenn Pantig, Ronald Ventura, Joey Berenguer, Nilo Mapa
HS 1985 – Crippy Baizas, Cyril Soriano, Rookie Garcia, Sato Ridad, Franz Bonoan, Anton Bengzon, Eric Roa, Rick Olivares,
GS 1982, HS 1986 – Randy Sevilla, Tonito Sun, Quito Quema, Dennis Manalo, Saint Mendoza, Henry Abes, Chuck Baizas, Gene Tamesis, Lito German, Reggie Nolido, Joel Aguada, Dino Lising, Jay Santos, Alex Panlilio, AA Aguirre, Bob Aquino, Benjie Custodio, Leo Laraya, Bebop Sanchez, Jing Cosca, Ed Battala, Chito Bello
GS 1983, HS 1987 and my batch!
Phoo-Phoo Francisco, Rufi Parpan, Nikos Ong, JC Mercado,Eric Capinpin, Eric Bello, JJ Barcelona, Chichos Bautista, AA Legarda, Natus Rodriguez, Heaven Torres, Teng Vitug 4D- Miguel Aguiluz, Lloyd Anastacio, Jong Castaneda, Dong Feliciano Jojo Habana, Buzzie Ona, Naresh Ramnani, Jay Amatong, Red Atendido, Bong Berbano, Neil Bernardo, Deo Deomano, Peter Macam, Mike Montero, Olsen Racela, John Tanjangco, Dino Tanjuatco, AA Aquino, Dennis Aquino, Marvin Tiburcio, Tanch Tanchoco
Other people I got to talk to or said Hi
The Lady Eagles - Che, Kariz, Treena, Kathy,Anne, Mariana, Jessa,Hila, Ronagie, & Sarah
The Blue Eagles – Jai, Rabah, Ken, Yuri, Eric, Eman, Mike B.
Mommy Michi Mother Goose, Jackie Marquez, Chot Reyes, Joey Gomez, Dave Dualan,
Hope I didn’t miss out on anybody I got to talk to.
The Homecoming provided a venue to revisit so many friendships that was started in the very halls of the Ateneo. So many memories filled my mind that I got to sleep at 3am. Next year will be the start of something special for my batch for we will celebrate the 25th year of Grade School 1983. Being at the homecoming and renewing ties with friends from the Ateneo community made me say “Ang Sarap Maging Atenista.”

THE DWTL 41ST ANNIVERSARY MASS: A Nostalgic moment

Eight years ago, Jojo Ayson called me up to help out in organizing the first Days with the Lord Anniversary mass that will have all Days communities participate. That time I was tasked to handle the music crew and assemble a choir to sing for the mass. If there was a highlight in a Dazer’s life, to me that was my crowning glory. That time, the choir I assembled were most probably the best singers and musicians from the five Days communities I was very active then:

The Choir: Cholo Mallillin (Ateneo), Happy Lacson & Chinkie Uy (St. Scho & DLSU) Katrina Mangahas (SSC), Jhing Lazaro (SSC), Angela Gomez (SSC), Paul de Guzman (PSBA), Frankie Paqcuing (PSBA), Allan Urbiztondo (PSBA), Ogie Mariano (UP Mla.), Chenee De Leon (DLSU). The musicians:Guitars- Gerry Sison (Ateneo), JR Hernandez (DLSU),Marlon Beluso (PSBA), FLUTE- Jed Pantig & Phillip Annoñuevo (Ateneo) , Marvin Monterfrio (UP Manila) Violin-Jem de Chavez (UP Manila)

Last night was a reunion of sorts as the St. Scho Days with the Lord hosted the anniversary mass. A lot has changed in St. Scho, their basketball court which was the court that produced many WNCAA titles is now a building called Kuni Hall. My good buddy Jed Pantig has taken over the lead in making the music crew of the St. Scho days better than it was. It is always a beauty to see young dazers sit together and practice to be able to sing as one in a choir. I still played the guitar but was quite rusty because of the years of inactivity in staffing for the DWTL. My fingers ached most of the time which was a result of the fact that I rarely play the guitar in the past five years and if I do so it was only during the DWTL weekends. Joining us were my long time singing partner Happy Lacson and the angelic voice of Grace Darvin-Camacho. I believe Happy created a legend in the SSC and DLSU DWTL during her many years of service, but it was Grace that she looked up to and admired in the years when she was a new dazer. It was such a beauty to let the present crop of Dazers hear her very angelic and ethereal voice which is the same all through the years. Unfortunately, she sang the song “TOGETHER” with me! My voice was quite hoarse and had a hard time remembering the chords. Well nobody’s perfect.

Another sight quite moving was seeing old hands Clifford Chua and Nicky Tesoro still serving the Days Community. Their commitment is really something that every Dazer should emulate. Funny thing though, It was just in the homily that I realized that the celebrant was Fr. James Gaa who is also a dazer from way back when I was also quite active in the dela Strada DWTL.

It was a night that was quite nostalgic after seeing so many friends from different communities, Ateneo, PSBA, DLSU, UST, UP and many others. But of course the most important thing that night was the renewal of commitment once again to Kuya Jess to live our fourth day the way he wants us to live it.

See you next year!!!! + Basta Kayo Mahal ko!

SHOWBIZ CENTRAL GUESTING

The last time I was in a studio for a taping was December 2000 when I was a guest for GMA 7. After that I remember turning down additional offers for short roles and concentrated with my work in STI. Last Nov 4, I was back at the Broadway Centrum for a live show. The last time I had a taping there was also in 2000 with a sitcom of Vic Sotto and with Rossana Roces. Yes I was back, but this time as team manager of the STI All-Star Dance team. A classic actor turned manager stuff that was also quite exciting. This time around you were looking for the best possible scenario for the gals that you represent. It was so nice to see the gals being picked up at STI College Cubao by a van going to Broadway, had lunch there and after that they rehearsed with the Showbiz central people on what dance steps to use for the prescribed music. The segment that they were to come out was the “Don’t Lie” segment of John Lapus in which they will come out and dance if the guest will tell a lie. I said “What???” But what if the guest will not tell a lie? Then we wasted our time and effort to be there? I asked who the guest was, they said its Wendell Ramos! AH okay I think we will be able to dance thrice! (I was implying that he will lie three times)Come 4:00 pm the show started and the gap that the girls were suppose to come out was at around 5:15 pm. The girls got nice reviews as their elegance thrilled the studio audience and their electrifying moves left a lot of people wanting Wendell to lie again. After that it was most gratifying of all, text messages from friends who watched that they saw them on tv. To the girls the most important thing they did was get a picture with the crush ng bayan Richard Guttierrez, that alone completed their day. In a way I was happy for them, the same thing I felt when I came out on tv 16 years ago. Oh my God it was that ancient, well I hope that I will accompany them to many more things like this.

The 2007 Lady Eagles - I believe

A TRIBUTE TO THE 2007

ATENEO LADY EAGLES

UAAP CHAMPIONS

Kiefer Ravena : King Eagle in the making

I can only watch in awe for I have never been impressed by a 13 year old in a UAAP Juniors game. I remember a decade ago reading on the papers the rivalry of BJ Manalo and Eric Yao then of Xavier in the SBP. Imagine these two scoring 40 points in an SBP game! If you are familiar with SBP rules, a team is obliged to play 5 different players in the first three quarters and then field his best players in the fourth- and they still managed to score 40. When I saw BJ play as a sophomore in 1997 I was filled with excitement since I said he was the second coming of Richie Ticzon. That was why when Eric Yao enrolled in the Ateneo I was so much excited on the prospect of two scoring machines, two former rivals in one team. Well you most probably know what happened to that story as they never got to play together and was never even considered by teams in the PBA. Then just years ago I heard of another great story, the Dumrique Brothers, JV and Charles leading their respective SBP and Pasarelle teams to the championship. I also heard of an up and coming LSGH player whose scoring and defensive stance made it hard for Ateneo to win the game outright. The boy was Kiefer Ravena, son of former PBA player, UE Warrior and now assistant coach Bong Ravena. I said, wow the Greenies are already waiting for their future star. But alas after that season, Kiefer transferred to the Ateneo and just recently made it to the UAAP Juniors line up. I don’t know about the guys who followed me but I never chanced upon a freshman cracking the Juniors line up.

The first time I saw him play was last Saturday during the first game of the Juniors finals between the Eaglets and the Junior Archers. As Simon Cowell would say “I’m impressed!” with the young Ravena. Like a ravenous Blue Eaglet he swooped down on the foe and stole the bole from Las salle’s Elorde and then scored on a lay up. He would also score on a triple, score on a drive off a pass and then stole the ball again off another La Salle guard to score another basket.

Unlike BJ, I just hope that by the time he will join the Blue Eagles together with JV and his brother. It is really a signal of better things to come for the Blue Eagles.

RANDOM THOUGHTS - What's in a name?

Random Thoughts- WHATS IN A NAME?
Random Throughts on the Blue Eagles



Ateneo vs. La Salle

1. 1. As I mentioned before, this is the first meeting between two very courteous basketball players, TY Tang and Eric Salamat


2. 2. When asked by a commentator what to call him Kirk said: “Hi I’m Jeffrey Kirk Long, but in games you can just call me Long for short!”

3. I once asked Chris Tiu,"When you are up against a Lone defender, do you call that a TIU on ONE"

4. An opposing player once asked Jobe if there is someting missing from his neck "Kasi sabi niya Jobe Neck-Ko-May-Kulang siya!"

5. I always wondered what “Monfort's Room” smell like?

6. Monfort is suited for the Ateneo because he is Eman for others.

7. Coach Leo Austria makes it a point to pick up his son after each practice because he said he always wants to bring home the Bacon.

8. What do you call Al-Husaini's sneakers? Rabah Shoes

9. When Walsham shook hands with Arao for a short while it was told that he shook the HAND-FORD BRIEFLY

10. Chris Tiu & Kirk Long schooled all DLSU guards on the fine points of the game. That tutorial is called Tiu-Long Dunong.

MHEL GEE’S TOP FIVE - The Finger

A month before my fourth birthday i got into a freak accident that until now is still a great topic to talk about, my finger got stuck on our giant door-the result is shown on the picture attached.All these years so many things come out whenever I am asked about it so here are a few that i can share.

MHELGEE’S TOP 5 Answers when asked “What Happened?”

1. I'm a Yakuza neophyte


2. I am Addicted to unlimited texting


3. I used it to clean my ears after a year


4. It got stuck when I was picking my nose


5. We had a hard exam, I was so nervous and the result was excessive nail biting
   

MHEL GEE’S TOP 5 Experiences as a kid
When I was a kid,

1. I was the only one who had a snub nose gun


2. I sang the nursery rhyme “Nine & a Half Indian Boys!”


3. When I play the Piano it is always entitled “Concierto Minus FA!”


4. I was asked what time it is, I signaled a peace sign and said “Quarter to Two!”


5. I was the only one who can add fractions with my fingers

MORE TO COME

The Mutya ng Pilipinas 2007 Experience

My good friend Ms. STI 2001 Jeanne Harn won last April this year's edition of the Ms. Philippines-Earth pageant. She invited me to come over and take pictures of her during that pageant, unfortunately I was in Thailand that time and wasnt able to go. I was so happy she won but sad I wasnt there to witness the event, much more take pictures.

Luckily Ms. STI 2006 Zerah Mayon another good friend of mine joined the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2007 pageant. They were 30 candidates in all and there were lots of beautiful and witty girls in their batch. STI has been a proud sponsor of this event the past three years as the provider of computers and tabulation systerm. We were in tandem with SGV one of the top auditing firms in the country. As head of the STI tabulating team I had the opportunity to see the scores as they were judged, but as a true professional I just let two of my boys handle that and concentrate more on helping out on the support team and at the same time document the event.

When the results came out I was like a stage father cheering for my friend. She made it to the top 15 and top 5. That alone was victory for us already.

During the final Q&A, Zerah's answer was just okay, not stunning and unfortunately there was quite a grammar slip. Well, i thought that her dream came to and end since all the other candidates answered well. I remember before the pageant I told her to just have fun and enjoy the pageant since she said she was quite nervous...unfortunately it got the better of her.

Then I realized & remembered what the organizers wanted in the final judging, 40% Beauty of Face, 40% Beauty of Figure and 20% Beauty of Intelligence! Well... there is still a slim chance I told myself. When the results were announced by the emcee Marc Nelson, It was like winning a UAAP championship again, my bet, my friend Zerah was crowned Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia Paicific International 2007. I was so happy I was there when it happened.

Two Ms. STI winners and two pageant wins in a year! The Lord has blessed us so much this year.

For more pictures please click this link: http://stievents.multiply.com/photos/album/18?mark_read=stievents:photos:18

Mutya ng Pilipinas 2007 Beauties Paraded

Its beauty pageant time once again and I am quite lucky that the past year our group has provided computers and tabulating systems to numerous pageants. Name it we tabulated it. There was Mutya ng Pilipinas, Mr. & Ms University (and international pageant), Maharlikang Pilipino (male only pageant), Ms. Philippines Amazing Beauty (gay pageant), Ms. Young International and Ms.Earth.

This year i think we will be looking at numerouse pageants again and the Mutya ng Pilipinas is just the start. Thirty lovely beauties were paraded at the Subic Bay Yacht CLub for this year's mutya. Feast your eyes on these lovely ladies. When the Mutya Candidates paraded in their swimsuits their total beauty was exposed. The one thing that made the evening exciting was that the girls were allowed to mingle with the guests. It was fun time to meet these beauties. That night I dreamed that I was with all of the beauties. Unfortunately, I came out as the winner! Nya nya nya.

MHEL GEE’S TOP FIVE

Five Random Facts about MHEL G.

• I am not dark – just deeply tanned
• I am not fat – coz i'm already obese
• I am not a snob – I just can't recall your name
• I never took drugs – minsan lang
• I don't drink, I dont smoke - that why my life is so miserable

Mhel Gee's Advise for 2010 Political Ads

• Dapat ang mag endorse kay Manny Villar ay si Efren "Bata" Reyes.
• I think to become a winner, Prosper Pichay should tie up with the Ms Earth winners para may pag-tataniman ang Pichay
• Binay wins again, dapat ang eksena ng political ad niya ay eksena sa bingo " sa letrang B and mayor ng makati - Mayor B9!"
• Mayor Alfredo Lim's slogan - To All Drug Lords and users, I am not A-Fred!
• Quezon City is known as the ICT capital of the Philippines - "QC is being run by 1 MB" (Mayor Belmonte)

RANDOM THOUGHTS

(This Blog was previously posted in my multiply site. Since I believe its what i normally have, i'll try to post more random thoughts when the time permits me.)

When I am busy and cannot focus on my job because of some random thoughts, I believe that the best thing to do is blog about it. Maybe after a while I’ll get “Blogging Rights” on the thoughts I have written down.
By doing that, I can move on and concentrate on my work. So here are some random thoughts that has been occupying a space of my mind.

Random Thoughts
After Manny Pacquiao won over Jorge Solis there were many speculations who Manny’s next opponent will be. Remember he knocked down Barrera, Marquez & Morales and almost every Mehicano around. Because of that ilalabas na ng mexico ang kanilang huling Alas para lumaban kay many- si Zorro!Abangan Pacquiao –Banderas sa Sept.
Watched the Movie Dream Girls and I was overwhelmed by the songs sung in the movie. I downloaded 12 songs of the movie, uploaded it to my iPod and listened to it day in and day out. The result was that even in my sleep I was thinking of Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson singing their hit songs. Kaya pala Dream Girls ang movie.
I’ve developed a problem with my sleeping. I sleep at 1AM and wake up at 5am. Sometimes being awaken by random thoughts like these. I made an appointment with my doctor to address this concern. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to the appointment kasi nakatulog ako eh.
I’ll be going to Bangkok two weeks from now. My friend who made the same trip got sick when he came back and advised me to take it easy with the Thai Food. That’s where he got his “Thai-phoid.”
A friend of mine once asked me a question, he said what is the difference of a Lasallian from a Lasallite? Well to finally end discussions here it is. A Lasallian is a person who studies in De Lasalle while a Lasallite studies in CSB. Why? Same school, same system …but lite!

THE GIFT (2nd Part)

After college came the most exciting part of my life-unemployment!

Fortunately I got accepted in a company that made me interact with a lot of people.

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the 1995 Toyota Tamaraw. This vehicle is so special that we call it the special Fx. It has power windows, power door knobs, power steering and when you ride it has power rangers!" After selling so many vehicles then for five years made me conclude that cars are different from hotcakes. For one hotcakes don’t have arrogant customers who buy them. Well being a vehicle sales man had a lot of fun but the fun begun when I transferred to STI.

It is in STI where I finally found my true love- my work. Yes many days and nights of careful planning of events and meeting people from different walks of life made me ponder on a lot of things. It was through these events that I finally found the meaning of my life and that is making people happy.

You know, I have always thought where this wit, humor and jest came from, well the answer is simple, it came from God. I am quite happy that all of you laughed at my stories because if not then I would’ve disappointed the Lord God for I have let him down for not fully utilizing the talents that he has given me. All my life since I was a kid, I have always been the dark person who added light to a lot of people. That is why I told myself that sharing laughter is a God given talent that I should be generous in sharing.

That is why my dear toastmasters, I encourage each and everyone of you to search within yourselves and think what is it that God has given you, what talents do you think is worth sharing with others. Well if you have not thought of any then there is a problem, but if you have thought one then be generous and share it with others. Because if you do that then there are two possibilities and that is you have lived your life to the fullest and not lived your life in vain.

My dear friends, guests, co toastmasters, please take my advice, I don't bring it home anyway.

Ladies & Gentlemen: I am Mhel Garrido and my speech is “The Handsome Elegant Garrido Is Fabulously Talented: THE GIFT”

THE GIFT

Welcome to my Blog spot. To start off I would like to share this Blog I previously wrote in my multiply site. This kinda summarizes a thing or two

about me. Enjoy reading

This speech was delivered last August as the first of ten speeches for the Toastmasters International Group STI Chapter. The objective of this speech is to introduce the person giving the speech to the group. Incidentally the speech was inspired by another Blog entry I posted in my multiply site)

When my parents married, times were so hard that they had to sacrifice a lot. For starters they had to let go of one of my three elder siblings. So what they did was kept my two sisters and drowned my elder brother. That was when my brother learned how to swim. Unfortunately for them after a few years I came along, and to make both ends meet they decided to sell me to a Cannibal. The cannibal then wanted a taste test first before buying me so he chomped off a bit of my finger. Then he said, "Hey this one tastes funny!"

My dear toastmasters that remark inspired me a lot that I wanted to live a life full of wit and humor. Wit and humor, I wanted to wit for more hue to come into my life. Fortunately it came not literally but in different parts of my life. I think I got my humor from my parents. My mother followed my uncle’s advice and took up Pharmacy when she was in college because she wanted to be a Farmer. Well, later on she became a dentist. My father wanted to be like her mother who taught History in our province, well later on he discovered that if he become a history teacher he won’t have much of a future. So he came to Manila and took on a job which many people call a mythical job – an honest lawyer.

Well I grew up in a neighborhood that loved to play outdoors, we would spend endless hours playing marbles, tops, Filipino favorites like “piko” “agawan base” and end up in the evening playing my all time favorite in which I am the world champion, the game of “Taguan.”

Then it was off to school. My friends always thought that I was intelligent, most probably because I spent a lot of time in school. Like all youngsters I had lots of dreams then, I was thinking of becoming a doctor but unfortunately I had thought I cannot endure all of that because I had no patience. I also toyed on the thought of following my dad’s footsteps and become a “liar.” Well things turned out differently when I started my college life.

Imagine, it took me just three years to finish first year college! After that time, my school took the liberty to help me graduate when finally my IQ surpassed my waist line.