When I was a kid, I couldn't complete even one side of the Rubik's cube. I haven't touched one ever since.

All that changed 2 nights ago, when I couldn't sleep. I was scouring my kid's toybox looking for custom fodder when I found his cube (probably a birthday party give away). A few twists and voila! I finally completed one side - and this wasn't an ordinary cube... it's the picture type rubik puzzle. Since I can't figure out a way to complete all sides in one go. I took a pic everytime I complete an image. Woot - one day I'll find a way to complete all sides.

Ever since he saw the KungFu Panda Happy Meal toys on a HongKong toy magazine I bought last May,my son was highly anticipating its release on local McDo outlets. On the day of its release, we were on a Happy Meal streak. We completed all 8 toys in just 2 days! I friggin' swear I won't eat another bite of burger McDo - at least until August.



But he didn't stop there. He really loves the KungFu Panda toy display at McDo and asked if he could have it. Surprisingly, pumayag yung branch manager - but he would have to wait until the last day of the promo before he could get it. So after school, my son would religiously stop by McDo and oogle at the display just to remind them that this wonderful diorama will be in his possession one day. Lately he also has a craving for McDo pancakes - yun ang kinakain niya madalas after school.



July came and the promo ended. Until now, I'm still in shock that we own this display piece. Whenever I drop by McDo - I felt that the display was small. Now that we have it, it's actually big. Awesome indeed.

I've been working nonstop for the past couple of weeks. And after yesterday's news (Tuesday, July 1). I just have to commemorate this event with an action figure haul!


I've ignored this wonderful boxset since it came out. Just recently the stocks are starting to trickle down, so I've searched high and low for it. Ubos na siya sa Makati area and some specialty shops are selling it with marked up prices.


And as I was walking Megamall yesterday. I saw this at the Toy Department (not Toy Kingdom, ubos na dun). It's the G.I. Joe Boxset with retooled crotches! This came out before but the crotch areas of the figures are not properly done, so some of the figures can't sit well. Yehey! Now I got a reward for all the hard work and super overtime Saturday and Sundays.


I feel like a kid again! I have very fond memories of GI Joe (which I will divulge in future blogs), so this was a real treat for me. Here's some of the figures with the AWE Striker vehicle traversing the terrains of my bed. Ang saya!

When Lorie found out she was pregnant, she had a hunch that this year, my grandmother will pass away. Her grandfather died when she was still carrying Rohan in her womb. I guess souls really do get recycled. I wish my grandma hadn't died this year, so she can see (or touch, because her eyesight is weak) her fourth great grandkid.


But at age 90. She has lived her life to the fullest. She saw her 2 sons blossom into men and live successful lives. She saw her grandchildren grow into adults, and even felt the touch of her great grandkids. Most people die early, but she has the privilege to live her life to the very end. I envy her for that. I wish she could live until age 100+


It was my sister who witnessed her passage from this life to the next. It wasn't hard and painful. She did not suffer from any disease. Although her condition has slowly been deteriorating for the last 6 months. I think about May 15, 2008 as the day she forgot to breathe. My sis texted me, that night, we had to work overtime. I did not shed a tear, nor did I have a breakdown, like most people do when they hear someone close to them passed away. I think my exact words are: "shit, patay na lola ko".

The thing I'll remember most about her is her sweetness and white hair. Before Lorie and I were married, we visited her at their house in Manila. That time, my parents were not to keen about me and Lorie's relationship, and it was Lola Miling who said "everything will be fine as long as you love each other".

She was right.

She'll be buried tomorrow May 20, 2008 at Loyola Memorial in Marikina.
Her interment is on Our Lady of Peace Memorial Chapels (Chapel D) in Antipolo (near the church). Today is the last day (May 19, 2008).

Last Aug. 18, 2007 (Saturday). Direk Avid Liongoren and I bumped into each other in the toy launch of Marvel Toy's Legendary Comic Book Heroes held at Toy Palace sa Farmer's Cubao. The mini event was packed with prizes and contests:

• Customize-your-own action figure (pero walang sumali)
• Unleash the Pitt Contest (dami sumali dito, walang umalis hangga't di nakuha yung toy.
• On the Spot make your superhero contest (more details on this later)
• Legendary Comic Book Heroes Trivia contest (dami rin sumali dito)
• Free Fudgee Bar and Mineral Water during the break

Yes normal folks, this is geekfest at it's finest.

Avid and I weren't supposed to join the on the spot drawing contest. But decided to join just for the fun of it and to kill time (tagal kasi ng interval between raffles). We were armed with an illustration board and a #2 Mongol Pencil. I drew a character called TonTon Kariton, a tribute to Iron Man (yung peborit kong Marvel Comics character) and Calvin and Hobbes. After someone won the raffle for the "Unleash the Pitt contest", nagsi-uwian na yung mga tao. Avid and I left without even waiting for the judging of the art contest. Kawawa kasi yung iba ang tagal magdrawing. We just finished our entries in less than an hour (naks yabang).

Life went on, until my officemate Erwin Trivino texted me that I won the art contest. And the good folks at Toy Palace sent me tons of text to claim my price. And claim it I did. The bounty: Legendary Comic Book Heroes 2 Pack: Conan and Wraarl (worth P899.75)! Ang saya! Ang sarap pala ng feeling ng manalo! Mas masarap pa kesa manalo ng pitch, or manalo ng CMMA Award! Kasi effort mo lang ito at hindi ng marami. I won art contests before, but this one was sweet (toy kasi ang premyo. Babaw ko talaga, lalo na pagdating sa toys.

(tonton kariton photo courtesy of Avid)

Ever since I filed a one month vacation leave last May - June 2007, I haven't seen morning motivation# 1.

Here's a lame celfone picture pic of morning motivation# 1



How lame could it get? A friggin' picture of the back of her head.
Ok, tagalog language in the third person perspective story coming up... sorry for my international fans (naks, as if.)

"Si morning motivation# 1 or Miss Imperial (hango sa dating gusali na kinatatayuan ng Shopwise Antipolo) ang babaeng muling nagpatibok ng puso ni Reinard. Hindi kilala ni Reinard ang babaeng ito, ngunit kilala niya lang ito sa kanyang pagmumukha. Dati ay madalas silang nagkakasabay sa sakayan ng FX patungong Ayala tuwing 8:30 hanggang 9:15 ng umaga. Kilig na kilig si Reinard tuwing nagkakasabay sila, lalo na pag nagtatabi sila sa upuan. Sa PBCOM Ayala siya bumababa, pero kung hihinto ang shuttle sa Tower One Ayala, dun siya bababa para sumakay pa ng jeep (Washington ata sinasakyan niya o 'di kaya'y Zapote). Ilang beses na rin silang nagkakangitian ni Reinard tuwing sabay nilang sinasabi: "Sa PBCOM lang po!"

May kasintahan si Morning Motivation# 1 (nakita na ni Reinard sa pilahan ng valley golf terminal sa Ayala). Si Reinard naman ay may asawa (hindi lang niya alam kung alam ito ni morning motivation). So talagang hindi puwede, may sabit na pala ang gagong si Reinard. Isa lang ang pinagtataka ni Reinard, bakit kaya hindi sumasakay si Morning Motivation ng diretsong Antipolo pauwi? Laging bumababa si Morning Motivation#1 sa Valley Golf. Madalas din silang magkita sa Shopwise Antipolo tuwing nag-go-grocery. Mahilig mag-grocery si Reinard ng nag-iisa, therapy ito para sa kanya.

Isang araw ay pinayagang mag-leave si Reinard ng isang buwan. Nung pagkabalik niya sa kanyang mahabang bakasyon ay 'di na sila muling nagkasabay ni morning motivation# 1. Kamakailan lang ay nag-iisang nakasakay si Reinard sa service ni Donald Sibaca (isa sa mga driver ng shuttle sa Antipolo). Siyempre nagkuwentuhan sila tungkol sa trabaho ni Reinard, at nabanggit ng binata (naks) na advertising ang linya ng kanyang trabaho. Biglang naalala ni Donald ang isa pang babaeng pasahero na ang linya rin ng trabaho ay sa advertising, at madalas din daw kaming magkasabay. Nabanggit din ni Donald na hindi na niya naisasakay ang babaeng ito. Pagkakaalam niya ay nagdadalangtao na daw ang babaeng kinukuwento niya.

Si Morning Motivation# 1 na kaya ang babaeng iyon? Nag-asawa na pala siya? Siya ba talaga ang babaeng tinutukoy ni Donald? Hay. Napahanap tuloy si Reinard sa listahan ng mga bloggers na taga-antipolo. Marami siyang natuklasang nagba-blog na taga-antipolo. May mga kakilala pa nga siya na dati'y mga school mates niya noong hayskul pa lang siya. At maraming magagandang antipolo girls na nagba-blog, sayang lang at hindi ito updated.

Miss na kita Morning Motivation# 1.
(oo alam ito ng misis ko)
siyempre pag may #1, may number 2 motivation din, pero yun... ibang kuwento na.

Once again, my wife (Lorie) has proven who's the big boss in our house. It's her, she's got guts, balls, tenacity, rage, courage. If we go toe to toe, chances are she'll wipe my ass on the floor.

May 4, 2007 started like any other day in the Santos Household. We usually wake up around 7:30 in the morning. Lorie's routine is usually to go to the dirty kitchen to heat some water and cook food. That is, until a rat surprised her. As expected, she did her calm panic attitude. She grabbed her trusty floor mop (a weapon she used before when she killed one of their kind) and told me to shut the door and remove all obstacles (like Rohan's bike, water buckets) in the Kitchen. She asked me to help her get rid of the rats, but dude, rats are one of my weaknesses, I go GAY when a rat runs along the path I'm about to cross. Lorie told me to buy some "sticky rat trap", you know, those flypaper thingies, the damn rats are too fast, a trap will slow them up a bit. Shopwise, was still closed at that time, so I had to rush to EastMart (a local grocery near our market). The darn thing is, the only sticky traps Eastmart has are 4x5 inches. That'll do, I guess. I bought a couple. When I got home, the deed is done, Lorie has killed not just one, but two big rats. Judging from the crime scene, I think they entered through the kitchen ceiling.

When I asked her how she killed the two, she just told me that they both kept running around the kitchen and when they bumped each other in the corner, they started fighting. That's the moment she needed to strike the fatal blow. By the way, that slipper in the pic is about 9 inches long. Imagine how big those boogers are.

These are the moments when I realize why I married her. While I am all about planning and imagining. Lorie is all about action. She invested some of our money in a car aircon business (which is doing ok), and celfone loading business. While I keep thinking about morning jogging to shape up, she actually did some jogging for 3 consecutive mornings but find it boring so she quit. I'm afraid of rats and frogs. She's afraid of cockroaches. Yin and Yang. We fill each other's weaknesses.

I love you hon, advanced happy mother's day. :)