THE HALL PASS

Last April, I was lucky enough to get hold of a Bridgestone Anchor UC-9 touring bicycle. It was equipped with a decent, but rather worn out Shimano Sora 3400 3x9 groupset, mismatched Tektro cantilever brakes and 700c x 32 hybrid tires. With some tinkering done by the sages at John Wilkie, I was able to resurrect the bike and have it running decently. However, I had this nagging voice in my head telling me to bring the bike up another notch. Something in the area of… gravel. Say whaaa? Yep, a hybrid-touring/gravel bike, or something in that configuration. I had the basic foundations – a chromoly frame with a relaxed geometry, bosses for cantilever brake bosses, and tire clearance that can accommodate 35+mm tires. So maybe, just maybe this little experiment might work. Keep you guys posted.

Doing long rides is like meditating. For almost eight hours. On two wheels. While trying your best not to get hurt. After yesterday's long ride to Tagaytay, I've come to think that I may have strayed off course from my original plan of getting fit. Not that I'm beginning to hate triathlons but what started out as simply running with a side of gym workouts has now evolved to a series of swim-bike-run sessions. These sessions are a tad bit harder on my wallet than on myself.

Testing, testing... Soooo, am I ready to start doing this again?

Sometimes, I come up with the weirdest, strangest thoughts. Though, maybe it's kinda true (?). Case in point: I miss my barkada , but do they feel the same? I'm beginning to think that bridge-burning could happen, just so that "letting go" could happen. Tutal, kanya-kanyang buhay na 'yan. Nakakapanghinayang? You betcha.

I just can't wait to hear about the next fitness fad...

It's aliiiive!!!!

Saw the director who won in Cannes this morning on Unang Hirit. Congrats to him... yey Never really was a fan of indie films. Themes like sadness, sex, homosexuality, violence seems to be the ticket to worldwide accolades, well, most of the time. I'm pretty sure the people behind them spent a lot of time and (often, their own) money creating their movies. They really deserve all that praise for their hard work. No offense but, wala na po bang iba? I guess I'm just too shallow for these things.

Allow me to share a shallow yet very frustrating thing... I went to work in decent work clothes with the idea that I would get to do some real work like discussions with the staff, catching up on our projects and meeting some document requirements. I psyched myself up and prepared for what could be a real day IN the office. But alas and alack, Big Boss had something else in mind. I was tasked, no, ordered to take the car we're building out on test drives. Yup, test drives - more than one test drive which practically took up the rest of the day! Our mechanic and I would take the car out, test drive it, search for any kinks, repair it and test drive it again for 4 times. Sigh. What made it really bad was that I really wasn't wearing something comfortable. The sun was out and the A/C was non-existent. Not exactly a jeans, (new) T-shirt and leather shoes activity. Big Boss breathing down my neck did not help. I really hope we get everything sorted. Being some kinda Jack-of-all-trad...

Rashemfrashem......

Whew ~ I can’t believe my last blog post was on January! Marlie’s six and half months already and she’s been on a couple of trips with us already. First was in Subic and the other in La Luz, Batangas. Our baby’s beginning to love the great outdoors, especially the beach, just like her parents. She’s also getting to be a girl about town because we’ve been going to the malls and restaurants lately. Our project car might have hit a snag lately as Vic, our mechanic, has decided to pursue greener pastures. It’s sad seeing him go. From here on, we’ll have to rely on his assistant Joey and simultaneously search for a mechanic to help us continue with the project. Sigh~ Earlier this month, the Questor peeps decided to hook up down south. Yep, through the wonders of Y M and Facebook, we were able to actually plan an afternoon together. Though we missed Cecil, we were glad to have Patty (a friend of Cherry and Bambi), join our motley bunch. As alwa...

It's been about 9 months now but well worth it. My brother and I have been on the firing line most of the time but we're glad our foray into car restoration has been quite a learning experience. Our Italian beauty is already shaping up to be meraviglioso! Hopefully in a few more months, we'll be done. Vic, our mechanic jokes a lot about having the car finished by Valentine's Day, ergo the color Rosso Red, heheh... Believe me, doing all these bits of fettling plus doing my real job is absolutely draining. But nothing's better than being with my girls at the end of the day. Molto bella!

Happy Holidays to all our fans (and inmates...)

Nope, this isn't about our knack for making up the quirky signs. Rather, I found myself a bit irked one night while watching to the news. If memory serves me right, the story was about how we've practically rearranged and bastardized the standard descriptions for road signs. The feature showed flawed city, town and barangay street signs. They were recklessly designed, poorly researched and misuse of public resources. All that and the government agency tasked to do it right doesn't seem to care that they've somehow screwed up. The top boss at the LTO was first to admit (God bless his soul) that our road signs are flawed and are in dire need of an overhaul. He sounds like a straight-arrow, maybe there's hope? It has to come from him rightly so because it's his agency that releases our driver's licenses. Thinking about it, wasn't there a section in the driver's license exam that deals with familiarity with street signs? Other than that, didn't dr...

...but this is ridiculous!

My mom fondly recalls that when my siblings and I were little, while other moms had a hard time feeding their kids, she had the most difficult time keeping us from eating too much. While she was away, we would hang out the kitchen and try concocting our own little "gourmet" meals. Our kusinera that time, Ate Epion, could only sigh in relief that we didn't set fire to the kitchen. Fast forward to today. Yes, I still eat like there's no tomorrow, but thank goodness our kitchen hasn't burned down. I still like to cook and do so from time to time. Some recipes I got from watching Food Network shows while others from books and magazines. (Thanks Cherry for that FOOD Magazine special you gave me a couple of Christmases ago. Sulit na sulit na talaga siya!) Now, you might be thinking I'm doing something like Bobby Flay's Cumin-Crusted Chicken with Cotija and Mango-Garlic Sauce . It's a mouthful to say and frankly, sounds difficult to do. Best to take my cha...

Very short post. I hope my blog still works... Donna and I were very blessed with the birth of Marian Annelie Lacuna. Yep, we're parents now and never been prouder. She was born 30 September, 2008 at St. Lukes Medical Center, but I'll leave all of the details to Donna and her blog . *wink* Cuutieee! And now, for some laughs... Dr. Bob Y. Ramo

With work getting far more difficult, I would've placed an order for a couple of these right now. It would be absolutely perfect! A couple of articulated arms for picking up stuff like a crane and a bulldozer attachment for plowing through debris makes this Zaku Tank a boon to the heavy equipment trade. Anybody out there selling one?

No, I didn't get myself into trouble with the authorities. Back in the Q days, whenever RX's Monster Riot and TM's Friday Magic Madness would play The Alarm's "Rescue Me" and "Rain in the Summertime", my boss could be heard singing these with gusto. The only Alarm song I knew then was "Absolute Reality" and these other ditties became very catchy. Lo and behold this - With a little bit of online research, I found "The Best of The Alarm and Mike Peters". The album rocks, especially for someone who misses the "old days" of alternative rock. It's gritty, a bit passionate and a requisite for someone who just wants to let it all out. Donna can attest to the letting it all out bit. Maybe I'll check out the Wild Swans & New Order next...

Whew! I finally got my blog rolling again. The past few months have been a harsh lesson in being patient and time management. Had a couple of skirmishes here and there but now, the dust is beginning to settle a bit. I should seriously get my act together.