The Comfort Rooms

If you love early 2000's hiphop music, please enjoy this Jay-Z beat!

Daniel Coakley represented the Philippines at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He competed in the men's 50m freestyle and clocked 22.69 seconds. His time is the 2nd fastest among Asians and with his young age, he definitely deserves at least a silver in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. I did a mini-interview with him probably a month back. Here are the excerpts:

The Comfort Rooms: Hey Coakley!
Daniel Coakley: Hey man!
TCR: Better 50m time?
DC: Nope not yet. I haven't swam meters in awhile
TCR: I'm not even an athlete, so i don't know what kind of lives you guys have
DC: A hard life that surely pays off in the future...
TCR: That should be really cool huh?
DC: After the hard training? Yep it is pretty cool. What have you been up to?
TCR: Hmmm, going through with studies i guess
DC: That's good. gotta deal with those.
TCR: Oh yeah. Are you in college now?
DC: Yeah. im attending IRSC (Indian River State)
TCR: But, you're quite a shoo-in for a 50m at the Asian Games in 2010. I mean, a 50m medal...
DC: Well i hope that medal will be gold cuz that's what I am going for...
TCR: That is really cool, will you be competing in more event come 2009?
DC: I'm not sure yet
TCR: It's up to Mark Joseph (Phil. swimming coach) huh?
DC: yes
TCR: so, are you really Teofilo Yldefonso's grandson?
DC: I am the relative of his
TCR: People ask my blog a lot about that question
DC: I'm not really concerned about it. I look at him as inspiration to all athletes to succeed in their goal, that is, to medal in the Olympics
TCR: first filipino huh?
DC: yes
TCR: You're training at Bolles, do they train you "less" compared to the Americans? Because you don't carry their colors? I was just thinking about Natalie Coughlin (the Fil-Am gold medalist who opted to represent America than the Philippines)...
DC: Nope. The coaches there are dedicated to their swimmers. No matter what race you are they will do everything in their power to make you the best.
TCR: That's really nice! Do you sometimes get tired to talk about your Olympic experience?
DC: Sometimes.
TCR: I figured that out. Sorry about that!
DC: Nah you're fine!

Pretend that you're reading the opinion pages of a broadsheet.
Right now, I feel like writing something but just couldn't think of the perfect topic to write about.

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Yesterday morning, I checked on some stuff that is deep buried inside my closet. I saw this messenger bag that I used years before. It had mold in it and it looked quite yucky. It was time for me to wash away the mold my bag had accumulated. I felt pretty bad because it was bought in America, using my own money!

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So much for the Chinese milk scare, the TV had published days ago that the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs are recalling Nestle milk products. If Nestle was supposed to be the covergirl of utmost quality and yet their products have been recalled for possible melamine content, what more can we do? Enrich Australia more and buy Cowhead and Bonlac more?

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A friend and I planned to throw a party at our house last saturday night and decided to take charge of the food. Since it would be mostly guys who were attending, we thought of hotdog sandwiches to feed our guests. We planned to have around 20-30 people to attend. We never mentioned that it would be a potluck event and asked a nice helper to cook the hotdogs that we bought (all 10 kilos of TJ Hotdogs!!!). It could have been a great evening hadn't some guests brought in some more food! Someone brought pancit and the other brought Krispy Kremes to feed 20 hungry boys! The result? We were only been able to cook 4 kilos of hotdogs and since yesterday night and earlier this breakfast, my family and our yaya's trying to consume all hotdogs! Too bad, my co-planner decided not to bring home even a kilo of jumbo hotdogs or two. Good thing, my folks are planning to host (yet again!) another get-together tonight for a friend who will be leaving us tomorrow morning. I guess my hotdogs will finally be all consumed!

GreenPinoy is a humor blog from the Philippines which draws a lot of visits and comments daily. The blog and author (of the same name) usually posts funny pictures and occasional funny videos like the one I have above.
Since he has quite a following, he has since formed his own forum, own group, and own YouTube channel (didn't know if the channel or the blog came in first). And because of that, he's pretty much a cult leader in the Pinoy humor blogosphere (appeals and violent protests are welcome on my comments box).
This video was taken in Baguio with the Greenies, members of his cult, lol. Enjoy the retarded video.

Wait. Is there anything wrong with my title? if there is, tell me right away.
Life is so complicated, it cannot be put into a single-word definition. The fact is, life is so complex, it would usually take a good 30 seconds before one could find a meaningful definition to it. For me, life is...(30 seconds begin) a part of what God has in store for us. Life does not and will not end in death. The totality of it all (pre-birth, life, death, and beyond) is what He has prepared for us.
What we do here would greatly affect what will happen to us in the future. It is crucial, yeah. But I think it should also be fun and savored. If life is but a 10 inch part of a 10-foot tape measure, then I must say that life is very short.

So why put too much stress about it?

Work, school, relationships, career options, family, personal crises and other factors may and had created havocs on ourselves, but if you would look at life as a very short part of something so expansive, shouldn't life's problems be handled in handy?

One of my friends is right. Life should be about No Stress.

---maybe my reply to a blogger friend who got pretty offended to what I had to say about his situation.

One of the most stupid things that I have recently heard from the news was this new scandal that is currently rocking China's exports. Its not about toys that contain lead or candies that contain other toxic substances. This time, it is their milk that has been put on hot seat. Their milk products was found to contain melamine, a substance (i don't what-the-heck was it made of! Chemistry was my worst high school subject!) that was used in making countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, housewares and flame retardants. Melamine is also used to make fertilizers. This melamine substance creates the illusion that the milk has, in caps lock and bold, A HIGHER PROTEIN CONTENT.
Which is more important? Higher savings or better health? I can't absolutely find any logic to why the Chinese would deceive their citizens, neighboring countries and children about it? This is a business tactic that has gone mad!

You must know who Chris Crocker is, right? The bitchiest gay guy in the internet. The die-hard Britney Spears fan who skyrocketed to fame after his bitch fit about people who were too mean to his idol. Since that infamous YouTube video, his popularity has just been incredible and haters have skyrocketed as well. In defense to himself, he made this video for his detractors. Pretty scary and freaky as well!

Life might have been quite a bore that's why I was thinking about vacations and snow a lot lately. I mean, aside from the regular weekend happenings, there's really nothing much to talk about the past few months. Hopefully, I can finish schooling by March and I'm hoping that this will be my last semester. Gawd, after 8 years...
This boredom made me reminisce about past travels that I did. Like how I got literally sick after being stuck in a Chinese tea house because they were all very noisy. Or how an American friend and I were so ignorant when we found ourselves onboard a talking elevator here in southeast asia. And tons of other funny experiences in and out of the country.
Let me single out my ten favorite Filipino cities (in random order)...

Dumaguete City -although the city does not really have an impressive cityscape, it is the charm of this place that made me really love it.
Cebu City -it's everyday summer here! Don't you think so? Go to Ayala Center and find Koreans and Japanese dressed in summer gear.
Tagaytay City -although it does not entirely look like your typical city but I like its relaxed and homey atmosphere.
Angeles City -is this the most progressive Filipino city lacking the presence of a body of water?
Antipolo City -my hometown. So near Manila yet maintains its rustic feel.
Davao City -it is so nice to drive down there. Everything is so cheap as well!
General Santos City -three things that I love about this place, Del Monte pineapples, tunas, and Ilonggo dialect.

Makati City -the skyline is impressive. It can rival any other world city. Dense and progressive. Nice skyline!
Marikina City -its clean, organized, and progressive. It's the reason why I love the Fernando's.
Quezon City -I grew up in Quezon City so that's a wonderful reason to love this city.

The very first time I rode a rollercoaster was way back in 1992 (maybe) when I was a little kid and Star City was still the number one theme park in the Philippines. We had a toy shop there so it would be easy for me to go there and try the coaster. Since then, my love for rollercoasters have never ceased. From Enchanted Kingdom, even to Las Vegas' infamous Stratosphere X Scream, rollercoasters are the ultimate to a natural high!I never pictured myself inside a rollercoaster so I really don't know my rollercoaster face. I don't scream in a rollercoaster, I would let out an agghhh, but that was it.

Here, I collected a couple of rollercoaster faces and maybe after you are through going through the pictures, describe to me what your rollercoaster face is.

I don't know.

Suddenly, I felt like blogging felt like dragging again.

I didn't know I already had 250 posts all-in-all.

Did a couple of things to improve on my Google PageRank.

Had a spat with a person whose car I scratched.

Realized that I got a couple of online haters.

I don't know.

I might end posting a poem here, I don't know.

You skip this and continue on with whatever it is more important to do.

The boisterous crowd chanting has got to be one of the primary reasons why I love sports. The rush brought about by people screaming and shouting certainly gives me a natural high. Here are samples of it from Australia, the Philippines, and Brazil.


Australia's Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! after a World Cup win


Philippines' Pinoy Ako after winning a baseball gold


I don't know what these Brazilians are singing, but its cool!

Certainly, my favorite MTV VMA performance. It featured P. Diddy when he was still known as Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, 112 and Sting, the original singer of the song (taken from Every Breath You Take).

I just thought this song and the video itself would eventually be included among the pop music classics.

Enjoy the song and the video!

Filipinos have this penchant for making their own version of various hits. Not just simple covers of hits, they go the extra mile, change the entire lyrics to make it their own song! Here are a few samples...

case number one:

Hubagang Ate Oi(you wouldn't even wanna know what's that in Tagalog or English)


Family Affair by Mary J. Blige

case number two:

Kaluguran Daka


Sometimes When We Touch by Dan Hill (and some woman)

case number three:

Picha Pie by Parokya Ni Edgar


I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

All these pictures come from Greenpinoy, a humor blog also coming here from Manila. I just thought of posting these pictures just to give my blog an aesthetic lift.

All hail, the Philippines' Next Top Model....

She wants to become a FREELUNCH model....

Desperate Housewives, fag Pinoy version....

Kardahsian sisters gone partying and jumping...

Hope you enjoyed the video.

Have you seen your school logo? Chances are, you might have not, or maybe you did. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of schools that are spread (more like splattered) all across the metro. Some are exclusive all-girl schools, others large public universities, and others situated in between numerous other universities in one overtly-crowded city district.
Some schools here in the metro entails students to wear uniforms, others don't. Others ask for very expensive tuition and fees and others ask for an amount not greater than the price of a pair of brazilian flip-flops.
The title itself explains the primary motive of this post, that is, I will be sharing my insights about different colleges and universities in the metro. I may not be able to give a comment on each school that I have put in here, but I will instead comment on schools which I deem will be credible enough to be believable.

University of the Philippines (UP)
- according to them, there are only two schools in the country, THEM and others. If you study in UP, then it means only one thing, YOU ARE AMONG THE COUNTRY'S SMARTEST. It is both a fact and an opinion. But hey, at least I passed their exam.
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU)
- the only school wherein I never passed their entrance exam. I believe Ateneans get more respect than their La Sallian counterparts. It is just my opinion.
De La Salle University (DLSU)
- at least it is more commuter-friendly compared to Ateneo! However, I beg to disagree regarding the "dumb" jokes that this school gets because two of my cousins who graduated there are smart. Dumb La Salle jokes are a thing of the past.
College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)
- dumbest of the dumb jokes about them have luckily, been stopped. There are too many Koreans in that school!
University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Far Eastern University (FEU)
- both schools come from the same category. People from all walks of life study there. With UST of course, coming in on top.
St. Paul's Quezon City (SPC-QC)
- they're everywhere, haven't you noticed it! And I believe, they have the most lesbian couples that I saw in my entire life.
Miriam College (MC) and Assumption College (AC)
- If Miriam still had guys invited over to study college, I would have studied and graduated there! Assumption, I really don't know much, except for the fact that every girl who studied in Assumption during grade school and high school have studied in a different school for college and a friend of mine from a coed attended Assumption for college.
University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P)
- what can I say? Students here are rich?

I was at my happiest best earlier this morning when I saw Roger Federer beat the whole world and claimed his 5th consecutive US Open title. It was a great way to prove that he still is the best player ever to have graced the court.
All-in-all, Flushing Meadows this year is to some point, one of the most memorable in recent memory.
Bright young stars have strutted their wares. And I believe Ernests Gulbis, Juan Martin del Potro and Mario Cilic showed the world that they will soon conquer the men's top 10. Men's finalist Andy Murray has finally been playing to the utmost of his potentials. Tommy Robredo has finally been showing some form that made him a top 10 staple 2 years ago. Stanislas Wawrinka too, has proven that he is more than just Federer's hitting partner. Former number one Andy Roddick has shown the world that he is still among the top guns, probably among the realistic top 5 male players.
Surprises in the tournament were delivered by Americans Sam Querrey, Riler DeHeart, Russian Igor Andreev and Luxembourg's Gilles Muller. And as for Rafa and Nole, they're still not really at par with the best player. A great season does not spell being handed over the best player ever tag.
Congratulations as well to Serena Williams. After Henin's departure, you are now the real number one female player. Ana Ivanovic was a big joke and it was just expected that she would lose early. Jelena Jankovic proved that she is the best Serbian female tennis player and Safina and Dementieva proved that they rightly belong inside the top 5.

If I predicted last year that Novak Djokovic would do well in the Australian Open 2008, well, mark my words again this time,ANDY MURRAY WILL BE IN THE FINALS OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2009 !

After a crazy Friday night street party courtesy of San Miguel boozers, allow me to write about two really far-apart things. First let me show you this picture I saw courtesy of Travel Cafe Philippines' menu.



That is the best plating of a Kare-Kare I have ever seen in my whole life. Kare-Kare is a peanut-based beef dish that is undeniably Filipino. I don't what Kare-Kare means but all I know is that you should partner it with Bagoong, the infamous Filipino shrimp paste.
I always had this belief that the way Filipino food is presented is directly related to the country's economic progress. Does the Filipino way of creating mountains out of rice servings spell sophistication from a successful career man?
Look at that Kare-Kare, that is a strong message that the Philippines is sick of forever being labelled as Asia's sick man.
And let's proceed to the next picture...



That is the list of islands in the country for sale. Most prices are within US$600k and US$2.5M. I don't know why I'm even mentioning this! Well, if you can afford to buy yourself your own island, please do so! I will be glad if you'll invite me over there for a nice weekend R&R.

Thanks!

This will just be a display of tennis players (of past and present) with the celebrity (local and Hollywood) look-alikes.


1.) American tennis player James Blake and singer Chris Daughtry


2.) American actor Chad Michael Murray and Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka


3.) Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic and actress Christina Ricci


4.) Sarah Jessica Parker and Russian tennis player Elena Dementieva

Call this an excuse for not being able to think of a wonderful idea for a new blog post, but I will be posting about a UAAP game I watched last week. It pitted two of my former schools, UST versus De La Salle. I studied AB Political Science in UST and BSBA Marketing Management at De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde. These are only two of the four schools I entered as a college student. The reason I got four schools is a whole new different story!
At the start of the basketball game (it was crucial for both schools since the winner will cement his position into the semifinals of the UAAP Basketball tournament), I really didn't know who should I root for since it will be unfair for the other school to root for the other one.
The basketball match was tight all throughout. Both La Salle and UST traded leads during the 40-minute war. However, I found myself cheering for UST and realized that I was irritated whenever JV Casio of De La Salle makes shots, preventing UST from leading further during the match. He was just so good that I hated him. Plus the fact that he was pretty small (he was the pointguard, lol) and was so brave in going inside the paint made me hate him more. I hated him the most when he and Jervy Cruz started to get into each other's nerves well into the final minutes of the match.
I felt bad for Jervy Cruz, the reigning 2-time MVP, because he literally carried UST over his shoulders well into the fourth uarter. But his efforts weren't enough to win UST a seat in the semifinals.
La Salle won by a mere point. Really bad.

People from Nyahururu, Kenya went ecstatic when a 10 inch hailstorm blasted through their country. Am just wondering, how would Pinoy camwhores react to such a situation? How many "snow" pictures would they upload on their already full Friendster albums?
Can you imagine Philippines in there?

A friend of mine sent me this mp file and I laughed at it the very first time I heard it. Listen to it as well, the entire conversation was done in Tagalog.

I'm sorry! I just can't get enough of the Eraserheads. The best Asian band, bar none.

The intro of the Eraserheads reunion concert with Alapaap (Heavens) as the first song out of the first set. It sent me chills and tears. Ahhh...