What's up, Duck?

In the middle of the concrete jungle that is the Makati Central Business District, in Legaspi Village between Gamboa and Legaspi Streets to be exact, lies a most welcome little oasis of trees, plants, sculptures, water, koi fish and yes, even ducks!

Patty and Gabi decided to accompany me last Tuesday morning to Makati for my weekly visit to Zenith Optimedia. The plan was for them to kill some time in Greenbelt and then later join me for lunch. But Gabi fell asleep during the 45-minute trip from my Tomas Morato office and so Patty decided to drop me off first and carry the snoring Gabi to the park across the ZO office instead where he could continue his sleep under the shade of the big trees.

Gabi soon woke up and thought he was in Forest Club in Laguna!

Now called Sycip Park after the SGV founder, the park is the work of landscape designer Ponce Veridiano and features installations of renowned sculptor Impy Pilapil.


Gabi's favorite was the giant turtle stone sculpture.

SOS! It's time to get rid of Filipino Time!

Patty and I watched the Swing Out Sister concert last night with Ton and Mylene Mapa. The concert itself was great and a lot of fun.

What I couldn't take was the long wait we were made to endure for the show to start!

Patty and I decided to go to Cubao early. So that we could get good parking and have more than enough time to have a leisurely dinner.

So we left the house at 6:45 pm and got to Araneta Center at five to seven. Unfortunately, the Gateway parking facility was already full. And so after spending more than 10 minutes and probably a couple of liters of gasoline, we finally ended up in the open parking lot across Farmer's Market.

It was already 7:15. Too late to walk all the way to Gateway to have dinner. Besides, Patty is five months pregnant and had not been feeling too well the past few days. Getting her seated comfortably was now my priority. The leisurely dinner could wait until after the concert.

So off we went to the Dome. We got burgers, hotdogs and popcorn and settled down in our seats at 7:45.

And then the long wait began.

I've been to enough concerts and weddings to know that when the ticket or the invite says 8, what they really mean is 9. Filipino Time is what it's called, as if it was something we should be proud of.

And to make things worse, the ticket said that the show would start on time.

And so we waited. At 8 the stadium was still empty. At 8:45 the obligatory OPM front act finally began.

Poor girl. She was jeered endlessly by a now restless and probably hungry crowd.

At 9:15, after about six songs, her agony finally ended, to the cheers of the thousands in Araneta.

Then the TVCs began running on the giant screen. One after the other. Of the sponsors of the concert. On and on. For close to 15 minutes. Like the commercial breaks in a Pacquiao fight.

By the time SOS finally came out, it was already 9:45. Two hours after we arrived.

Unbelievable.

This Thursday Patty and I will be back in Araneta for the Duran Duran concert. What time do you think we should go?

Volks Populi

Gabi and I chanced upon a swarm of Beetles along the Quezon Memorial Circle last Sunday morning. We had just come from the Ateneo Football School and were headed towards Trinoma to buy Gabi's soccer gear.

Turned out that we were accidental witnesses to the Volkswagen Club of the Philippines' new attempt at a Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Volkswagen vehicles.

There were Volkswagens of all kinds. Not just Beetles but also Kombis, Karmann Ghias and Jettas.
VWs have been a part of my childhood. We had a Kombi when we were in grade school and it was our school bus to and from Maria Montessori Cooperative School. My Dad also had a Beetle and I remember that An, Wawel and I used to ride in the small "third row" package compartment.

Wawel is still enamored with VWs. He has a late 60's Beetle, a red Jetta and a Caravel van.

I am not sure if the attempt was successful. Newspaper reports say that about 800 cars participated! Visit the club's site vwcp.org in the next few days for updates.