Home Away from Home

I was assigned to go to San Diego for work last week, and we were set up in a swanky hotel called the Westgate. And because we are in the business of producing conferences, my colleagues and I were able to feast on the hotel's fantastic lunches in an outdoor terrace. One lunch menu, for example, consisted of Greek Salad, NY Strip Steak, and Apple Strudel. The food was not only delicious, but it was also great to have been waited on like that after working hard for a conference.The hotel was absolutely gorgeous. I'm not one to compliment, but I had never said the word "lovely" so many times in a day before! Downtown San Diego on its own is a fantastic place with perfect whether, but once you step into the Westgate, you feel like you are in the French Renaissance, and you feel like any minute, you'll meet the Three Musketeers or something.

After a long day of talking with delegates and speakers, my colleauges, Joanna and Jonathan, and I decided to have dinner. We ate at a tex-mex restaurant at the far end of the Gaslamp Quarter (I've forgotten the name). The food was pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary, really.What caught Joanna's attention after dinner, though, was a newly-opened ice cream store called Chocolat. Their display of goodies and treats was outstanding! We were having a hard time choosing which flavor we wanted for our scoop! I was particularly torn between their Rhum Chocolat and Hazelnut Chocolat. It's a great thing that Jonathan noticed how the servers were allowing people to get two flavors for one scoop, so I got half Rhum and half Hazelnut!

Click the picture above for their menu in pdf format. Come on! You know you want to!

Tuesday was the last full day I was going to be there, so after the conference, I was able to tour the Gaslamp Quarter a little more. It's a quaint shopping and dining area, probably a quarter of the size of Midtown Manhattan, and is walking distance from the Westgate. For a New Yorker, going through every Avenue and Street is a very easy feat. And I did in fact want to go through everything, but when I took a look at the map before I headed out, I realized that the only real activity existed along 5th Avenue.

So up and down 5th Ave I went, where I saw a vintage car dealership called Bevery Hills Cars -something I know the Cortes men would have loved to have seen, a Ghirardelli chocolate shop, and a few other interesting stores - some as common as Starbucks, while some local like a pajamas store called Bubbles Botique.

All in all, going up and down this 5th Avenue is quite different from its NY counterpart. Here, the pace is much slower, people are more laid-back, and the weather is in no way oppressive. If San Diego's 5th Avenue were any longer, and my pockets were deeper, I wouldn't mind strolling up and down and buying little trinkets in every cute shop I'd pass by.

I even spotted a Philippine Library and Museum, which I attempted to go into, only to find out that it was closed. Unfortunately. So with Manila on the brain now, I ended up going into the souvenir shop next door, where I bought shirts and caps for my sister, Dad and Lolo (Grandfather) back home.
At this part of my short trek, I had reached pretty much the end of 5th Avenue, so I decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back, though, I decided to check out Westfield Horton Plaza, which is a mall that looks very similar to some shopping complexes in Manila - Alabang Town Center, Eastwood City, and The Fort (short for Fort Bonifacio Global City). The funniest thing, too, was that while walking around Horton Plaza, there were at least 3 Filipino families that I came across who were speaking to each other in Filipino. It was at this point that I knew I was quite fond of San Diego for its similarities to my hometown, but I was also starting to feel very homesick...

Homesick... which home, though?

Back-to-Back Edition

This entry's a two-for-one because you really can't talk about one person without talking about the other. This entry, I speak of my Brother-in-law and his girlfriend and my good friend, Rissa.

Noel and Rissa at MA Humanities Graduation

I've mentioned how Noel is an animator, but I haven't told you about his being a musician, or how I met him for that matter. Like his brother, we were in one class together (Theology with Fr. Bernal), and he hung out at Le Chuck's a lot as well. We were also both part of a small school organization called CODA (Cultural Organization for the Devlopment of the Arts), where he was a guitarist, and I was a singer. We ended up in the same band somehow, so I got to rehearse and perform with him a few times. Later on, he found out I had a crush on his brother, so he gave me a little chat about making sure I don't break his brother's heart and stuff. Awwww.

That's Noel for you- if he likes you, he will always look out for you, as he did his brother that day. He's also a great brother - I asked him and a few other friends to perform "Love of My Life" by Carlos Santana and Dave Matthews for our Engagement Party, and he rehearsed until the very last minute to get his guitar solo just right. (This performance was a surprise for Javi, so Javs was wondering why the heck Noel kept playing the guitar when he should have been getting ready for the party!)

The original version of Love of My Life

His girlfriend, Rissa, is another sweet and thoughtful person. They are indeed a perfect match. I had the priviledge of getting to know her better when I went back to school to get my Master's Degree. As it turned out, she and I were going to be in the same classes for the next two years! The first few classes I went to, I felt a little akward because I was older than most of them (Reese is 2 years younger than me), but she made me feel so welcome by introducing me to all her friends as her "sister-in-law," and always saving me a seat in class (I'd always come in late because I'd rush to get to class from work). As our friendship grew, we ended up just calling each other "sis" ;) It was only fitting because she and I had a lot of the same interests - mostly literature, and Corteses!

When Javi left for the US, and I stayed behind, Rissa and Noel were there to keep me company, to give me advice, and to offer me solace for the times that I missed Javi so much. I truly felt like we were already one family because of the love and care they showed me, and there is nothing Javi or I wouldn't do to reciprocate that love and thoughtfulness toward them. ;)

-Sis/Ate

PS. I'll try to post some of Noel's artwork if I can get them from him and he lets me post them here.

Segue to my next post

I often take a look at the Philippine Daily Inquirer to read news from the Philippines, and I came across an interesting article about a Filipino animator at Pixar. It is particularly interesting to me because my brother in law, Noel, is an animator at a studio in Manila. His work is phenomenal, and a lot of people see his potential to become a great animator for a much bigger studio oversees. But before I get into too much detail about him and his girlfriend, Rissa, here is the article:

Happy reading!

A Pinoy at Pixar

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:08:00 08/19/2008

LOS ANGELES, California—Chris Chua, 29-year-old Filipino-American animator at Pixar Animation Studios, makes things look easy.

When we interviewed him at Pixar’s sprawling Emeryville office, Chris casually rattled off things about his career. Unintentionally, he made his rise in the animation world sound simple—which, of course, was not.

“I went to California Institute of the Arts in Valencia for college, joined DreamWorks, transferred to Pixar and then got assigned to do my first Pixar movie, which is ‘Wall-E,’ ” he said.

He added, “I always look forward to coming to work because the people I work with here are just so passionate about everything.” And so is Chris.

“It’s great working here,” he stressed. “Everyday, no matter how tired I am, I always look forward to coming to work.”

Loving it

“Work” for Chris means doing what he loves, donning casual clothes everyday, or riding a bike, scooter or rollerblades around the office. In his “free time,” he may take some “enrichment” courses at Pixar University.

“Wall-E,” the latest film from Academy Award-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”), is about the last robot left on earth to clean up the trash that mankind has left behind. It is a very timely and relevant movie about the environment.

Chris, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2-D Animation from Cal Arts, explained the look of “Wall-E,” which is unlike other Pixar movies: It is monochromatic at times and has almost no dialogue in some scenes—an animator’s dream, or nightmare.

“Some animations are bleak and have a doomsday feel to them,” Chris said. “For ‘Wall-E,’ I think there are moments when it is very colorful and entertaining. For me, it is totally a dream project because, as an animator, you are taught that pantomime comes first. All the great scenes happen when you turn off the volume and you know exactly what is going on even without sound coming from the characters’ mouths. The visuals take center stage. We do not have to deal with voices. Just the fact that these emotions can come from this little robot with simple eyes is fulfilling—you can do so much with so little.”

Chris, who got married last year, joined the Pixar team last November as a fix animator for “Wall-E.” He takes shots from the films that have already been animated and polishes them up for final use.

He explained his job further: “Mainly, I assist the animator. For example, you have an animator who has Wall-E going left and right on the screen, but he wants him to go a little slower. So he would come to me and ask me to make Wall-E slow down. I already have the main scene going on in front of me. I just need to adjust it. Sometimes it is very easy, like they will say, ‘Okay, add one blink here.’ Other times, it is more involved and they will completely change everything. I will have to do those changes as well. Then I get them approved by my supervisor. If it’s a bigger change, then the director has to see it since it’s his movie.”

The animator, born in Manila to a Chinese father and a half-Filipino mother, moved to the US at age 10. He said he’s the only artist in the family. Dad William is a banker while mom Juliet was a secretary.

It was during high school that Chris discovered his love for drawing. “I loved to draw and enjoyed watching cartoons and movies,” he recalled. “My teacher told me that I could do this for a living. She said that there is a school in Southern California called the California Institute for the Arts. I think it was right before high school ended when I saw ‘Toy Story.’ That changed everything for me. That was when I set my goal of becoming an animator. Once I had seen more Pixar films, I got more convinced.”

Asked if it was hard for him as a Filipino-Chinese to break into Hollywood, Chris replied, “In this profession, especially animation, it’s not so much about race. There is no real race barrier. It is just about how much work you put in.”

Previous work

Prior to joining Pixar, Chris worked as an animator at DreamWorks Animation on various projects, including “Sinbad,” “Shark Tale” and “Flushed Away.” In the Bay Area, he had a short stint at LucasArts working on the video game project, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.”

“Wall-E” is his first Pixar movie.

He recently got promoted as animator on Pixar’s latest film, “UP” which will be directed by Pete Docter (“Monsters Inc.”) and is due out next May. He and wife Joy recently moved from Emeryville to North Berkeley where they just bought a house.

Asked how it was working with director Andrew Stanton, Chris said, “Andrew knows what he wants. He may feel things out a couple of times as he will see it and say, ‘That’s not what I want, let us do this.’ But a lot of times, he has a good eye for filmmaking and detail. With him, a movie almost feels like a live-action film just with the way the camera moves.”

As for the Pixar culture, Chris exclaims, “It’s great!” He added, “The movies they make here are ‘director-driven’ as opposed to ‘public-driven.’ In the same way that I am more passionate when something comes from the heart. You feel like when it comes from the director’s soul, you feel like it comes across. That, more than anything else, is what makes Pixar great.” Nepales

Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved.

Meet Patti

All right, so it's been a while (again) since I've made an entry. But I'm back to continue my "I Love My Friends!" series. I realize, though, that I'd have an awful lot of friends to feature if I were to make sure to not leave anyone out, so I've decided to make each testimonial a little bit shorter than the one I made for Javi.

So let me introduce you to my best friend, Patti. Who, by the way, was told to pose like so by a group of friends. She is not in the least bit the type to walk around her one hand on her hip, and that's what is so great about her - she is very down-to-earth and straightforward. You have to respect her for her candor because one thing she absolutely hates is BS.

But back in our Freshman year of high school, the one thing she hated was ME.

Patti and I were classmates then, and we didn't get off to a great start. We ended up being partners for the Swing (yes, the dance) for Freshman PE class, and we hated each other so much that we kept tugging on each others' arms. Oh boy. Those were the days.

Eventually, we got over ourselves and started talking about things we actually had in common - like our fascination with The Cutting Edge (Moira Kelley and DB Sweeney), writing, listening to music, and a certain boyband that never quite made it to the US market ;) But in our defense, they were quite popular in England! Honest!

College passed, and we began working together at the Ayala Museum. This is where I saw how amazing Patti was at doing her job. I mean, I was her classmate and seatmate even for two years, so I knew she was efficient and well-organized, but seeing her actually at work made me so proud of her... and so honored to be her best friend. She certainly puts all her heart and soul in a project if she feels it is actually worth her time. As a person, that is how she handles herself - she commands respect from the people around her, but is also very eager to please you if she knows you are worthy of her respect.

Now, Patti is a Communications Specialist at Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as a freelance consultant, where she has completed jobs such as the PR campaign for the Peninsula Manila (yes, right before it got smashed into by a military personnel carrier) and has gone to India for a client project. Her job and projects have the fantastic perks of schmoozing with the uppercrust of Manila and traveling to fantastic cities, and I believe she truly deserves it. Patti is creative and hardworking, but is most importantly a wonderful friend!

P, here's to you and to more travels around the world! May one of your projects lead you in the direction of New York City!

Kk

Jo Koy Part 2

Here's another one about his mom :D Hilarious!

Meet Pinoy Comedian Jo Koy

While I'm working on my next "I Love My Friends!" feature, here's a great Filipino comedian named Jo Koy for your entertainment. He is so hilarious when he talks about his mom. (My Mom and Aunts should get a kick out of this!)

And Holly, you should enjoy the 2nd half of this video ;) Enjoy, folks!

I love my friends!

Wow - it has been two weeks since my last entry! My Aunt and Uncle were here for a visit last July 16th, and then last weekend was the housewarming! Unfortunately, Javi and I were enjoying our guests' company so much that we had completely forgotten to bring out the camera! It probably would have been an akward photo session though ;) I often have to remind myself that I am not with my high school mates, who have learned the art of spotting a camera and jumping to the front of the group for the best exposure possible. Well, then again, my friend from high school, Cara, was there last Saturday.

The housewarming was ok, I guess. I suppose our guests would have to be the ones to say how it went because I was pretty much busy making sure that everyone was picked up from the lobby and that the food would not burn to a crisp. ;) But I did love the little presents we got - candles, gorgeous plates, and a cute Mexican handicraft for the kitchen.

I also definitely enjoyed the company! Although most of the couples had never met each other before, I want to mention that they were the ideal group of friends to have warmed up our new home. So for those of you who came, THANK YOU! And please feel free to let us know when you're downstairs at the lobby again! You are all welcome, anytime! ;)

So speaking of friends, old and new, I have decided what to do for my following blog entries! With their permission, I will feature each of my favorite friends on this blog in order to let the world (ie, the few who know that this site exists!) know what wonderful friends I have.

I want to acknowledge how terrific they are because they have all influenced people's lives in positive ways, and I would like to share how they have done so in this blog.

To start off, here's a picture of my group of friends back in high school:

Top, L-R: Jon, John, Rob / Bottom, L-R: Marie, Patti, Eloisa, me, Kim, Ryan

This was taken at my house, during Kim's birthday party. Awww... Kim looked so young and angelic then!

So my first feature is someone who I can say is my best friend for life. Yup, you guessed it - my husband, Javi. (Don't worry, Patti, you're coming up next!)

Javs and I met in college, where we both used to hang out at this restaurant called LeChuck's in between classes. We were introduced by common friends, and became really good friends right away as well. He was the funniest, sweetest guy in the group - always on the verge of cracking a joke, but also always asking to see if you are ok. (I'm not exaggerating here - we watched Star Wars, and he would ask me every 10 minutes if I was ok).

So that's Javi for you - a real sweetheart. He has been there for so many of his friends, always being the one to listen or give advice, or the one to cheer you up with one of his corny jokes or silly antics. He gained my best friend's approval the very first minute they met when he immediately offered her a about baseball-sized mass of oreo filling, wrapped in foil (the LeChuck's owner gave him the filling because she was only using the actual cookies for her cheesecake).

Javi is also a great intellectual (he just refuses to admit it). He can talk at least one hour with a person he has never met before about politics, history, business, or even interesting trivia he found out about while watching the Discovery Channel. Javi has a great mind and is a great friend, with a big heart. His compassion for those who are less fortunate than him put me to shame, and this is one of the many things I love about him... he has taught me to be more thoughtful and giving. He reminds me that in a world where a lot of people are selfish and individualistic, one can still be noble and kindhearted. He has shown me how to avoid judging people based on their appearance. He has taught me (as well as many others) how patience, compassion, kindness, and even humor, can be our own way of making this world a little better. ;-)