revenge of the killer tomatoes 13

ah, i’ve been living high and large over the past few months and too distracted by the many new adventures to attend to my blog.  deepest apologies to my audience of 3. 

two weeks ago i struggled to read an epic reboot of the D.C. Comics universe.  i dropped it after a chapter, then listened to The Doctrine explain why, in the history of epic reboots, the D.C. version utterly failed. 

so one moment i cared only for the X-Men’s slick art work and the cinematic production’s brilliant decision to cast Hugh Jackman. the next moment i assimilated everything there was to know about X-Men to date, why the writer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer did so well with the epic series, how the parallel universes co-existed and collided, why The Doctrine kept his spiffy comic books individually wrapped in their original covers and sealed in a special box.  this is not a lesson in comic books and graphic novels.  it is called Marriage.

anyway, i decided to do a reboot of my own.  God knows i’ve been doing that over the past few months.  in the second quarter of 2009, The Doctrine and I succeeded in taking a week-long vacation, mostly in breathtaking Bohol (more on that later).  i tried yoga.  i picked up my badminton racquet again.  i rediscovered our village park in new running shoes.  i’ve been reading more and more books outside my comfort zone (does the D.C. book count??).

so yes, i’m back. see you around.

howdy, volunteers! :-) 

first of all, i apologize for the test-site feel of this blog.  it IS still a test site.  many thanks to kuya (older brother) for setting up my return to cyberspace.  i can’t fully explain the blog title at the moment.  i thought about the most memorable films i saw in my childhood and came up with the cult classic “attack of the killer tomatoes”.  it spoofed the many creatures-gone-stark-mad movies that made a killing at the box office in the 80’s, like “jaws”.  it was followed by “revenge of the killer tomatoes”.  more on that later…

so a big THANK YOU again to all of you who’ve volunteered to join our visit to Asilo de San Vicente de Paul orphanage in manila this sunday, january 20. 

here are the details:

• time - pls. be there by 9:30 a.m. so we can finish the mural by noontime.
• place - Asilo at 1148 U.N. Avenue, Paco Manila, opposite the Pius Catholic Center.   i’ll post a map later today.  if you get lost, call me at my mobile or call the orphanage at: (02) 523-3829;523-1460; 523-5264
  • commuting - take the LRT1 (old line) to Manila and get off at UN Avenue station. you can walk but it’s better to hail a pedicab. just say you’re going to Asilo.  pedicab fare is 20 pesos.
  • driving - i’ll post detailed instructions later, but if you’re familiar with UN Avenue, just look for the Pius Catholic Center across Asilo. parking is available inside the compound.
• what to wear, bring - be in comfortable work clothes that you can give up if they get splattered with paint.  we’ll take care of all brushes, paint and other materials.
• food - lunch will be served to volunteers in the Asilo compound.  pastries will be given to the kids.
• gifts, donations - no need to bring gifts to the kids or donations to Asilo, but of course those would be greatly appreciated!  let me know if you’re pledging or donating to our Mural Pot.
• who’s coming? - half of the group would be colleagues from work, the other half are either my relatives or close friends.  so far there are 17 to 20 people coming.   
• any special abilities required? -   no, unless picking up a paintbrush is an extraordinary talent.  we have a lead artist/muralist who will design our collective art work.   just be there and have a good time!

 any questions?  email or call me.  thanks and see you there! /mari