30. Thirty Things I Love About You!

O R G U L L O
M U N D O

March 29, 2006 -- And we are back, damas y caballeros! It's been over a month since we last said hellos, very fittingly in fact with a bittersweet feature on La Tortura. Well, with this special 30th issue of Orgullo Mundo, it will be all about love, el amor, amore, l'amour, liebe, влюбленность, 爱, pag-ibig... whatever you want to call it. Now sit back, relax and read along as we tell you all about the...

30 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU

The brand-new Ian. After his service in Iraq, we heard he has been posted in North Carolina. And we're glad for him because he already got his wish. No more hitchin' a ride. No more walkin' in the clouds. No more commuting in the bus of love. He just got amped with his 2006 Honda Civic! Stateside babes need not ask for more: he's got a brand-new car, US military service record (in Iraq at that), religious family, knowledge of many European languages including great interest in Latin, and unique dancing abilities that will shame Code Red's. Can we talk now, Ian?

Armis. We love the energy, we love the lovers' quarrels, we love your Vicky Vios, we love--¿cómo se dice?... we love to love you, bey-bi.

Mel's passion. She's in New York and blessed to get work now in a Permanent Mission to the United Nations, dealing with African countries. She's currently working on her Spanish, French and learning Portugese at the same time. And she's also been busy pursuing her dream to be an educator. We love you, Mel. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY. :-)

UP Diliman and Círculo Hispánico. We owe a lot to these two institutions. A lot of happy, bittersweet and intruiguing memories. Daily food trips. Slippers and shorts in class. Musical and dance numbers. Friendships and relationships. Medals and scholastic recognition. The best of all: Subsidized tuition fee. And for a select few (who shall remain anonymous): Parental kickback every semester.

The "A" Smile. Don't say cheese. Say "A". Perfect smile everytime. (Thank you, Helen, for the precious education.)

Toothpaste. The genius is, after messing up your hands with bagoong or fish sauce or soy sauce or vinegar in your kamayan session at home or wherever, use toothpaste to wash the smell off your hands. Hey, if it works in your mouth, it should work with your hands.

Diday's smile. Talking about mouths, don't Diday's dentals remind you of Shakira's? There's something about them that's so exotic and endearing which we love so much. Her smile is so infectious you'd wish the tooth fairy was real.

Shakira. This belly-shakin' lady inspired our theme song. No, actually she wrote and sang our theme song, Whenever, Wherever. She did not do it for us originally, but we still feel her. We're one of the first groups in this country to listen to and promote Shaki's music, starting with our cultural masterpiece-theater presentation of Ojos Asi in UST's European Week. And now, she's crossed over to pop superstardom without losing her roots (figuratively and literally, because you just know she wasn't born blond with that dye job.) Want to listen to her latest hit, Hips Don't Lie, with Wyclef Jean of The Fugees? Click here.

All that glitters. Silverware, multiple piercings, red wine, porn-inspired text jokes... we just love this young lady manager from Baguio. (Hinding-hindi ka namin aa-Yawan, Ma'am Mye.)

Henz's Sinigang. First step, open your YM, then click Henz's ID (she's usually logged in within European business hours, which roughly translate to 3pm-12mn Manila Time) and you will see her favorite dish on her avatar. Er, we mean, favorite companion... hehehe.

Don loves unlimitxt. And don't you also? That's why he changed his number to 0915-852-4755. However, there's this new rumor going around that Globe's network could not handle the load for unlimited texting and might pull it out. Hmmm, they should do something about that if they wish to please their unlimitxters, especially those who've just switched from other networks, right?

Marita's acting skills. A lot of people in the audience reacted when she she uttered "You don't have to be here because you're just the son of a fishball vendor" during our award-winning STS group presentation (award-winning as in, perfect score from the teacher). But it was all an act, and she deserved a Golden Globe for that. Why just a Golden Globe? Well, the Oscar goes to her amazing, very reserved performance in our commercial for "Glove Handyphone", co-starring Bingo as the Dad and Rhoda as the prodigal daughter.

NGC, as in Niña's Geographic Channel. She leaves almost every couple of months to some lush destination. Just a few weeks ago she had another trip to some exotic location (we just forgot where it was). She might as well pursue a career with National Geographic. Kidding. But we all know Nins' heart is in joining a non-governmental organization so she could help whoever's in need. And meeting different people in her many trips is turning out to be quite a training for her. (Nins, we checked out the "secret shops" in Cubao but they are only open on certain days and at night only.)

WOW Philippines. Karina's also doing her bit, albeit in these islands only. Love your own backyard, then you'll be able to love yourself. A bit of a stretch, but true.

Allan's Discovery Channel. In the last several months, Allan's discovered to use HTML and WYSIWYG editors, the toothpaste-in-your-hand trick, the benefits and the disadvantages of Explorer and Firefox, the joys of reliving 80's pop rock and R&B, some effective ways of online advertising, the extreme craziness of Mad TV, the pros and cons of hair relaxing and rebonding on virgin hair, how to get mall store managers to offer you VIP discount cards for your (well-timed) visits and (well-spaced) purchases, and so, so, so much more. Oh, it helps also if you have paid holidays like he's had in the last three weeks. Yeow!

Smart Wi-fi. Nins and Allan have it. Anyone else in the club? "Double your speed, double your fun." Gosh, let's hope Smart Communications pays us for that witty tagline.

Rhoda, the Dancing Queen. Rhoda danced all the way to our hearts and tummy with that mouth-watering chicken adobo (Allan can't forget it because he isn't very fond of adobo but he looooved that one). She also entertained us by being flipped on the dancefloor on all directions by...

Bingo, the Dancing King. In other words, the one who flipped Rhoda on all directions. We also loved his flipping Henz during our musical-cum-debate extravaganza in our legendary STS class (we're such a talented bunch!) to the tune of Britney's remake of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, which was the song we related to "Science & Technology Innovations in Today's Society", which was our chosen topic (we're such a poetic bunch!).

Shake it, Eky. While we're on the subject of dancing, don't we all recall Eky's choreography and musical numbers? Isn't there a way that we can have a Círculo Hispánico Alum Party with a Latin fiesta theme?

Package deals. Anthony and Cleopatra. Beavis and Butthead. Tina Turner and Ike Turner. Rustom and Carmina. Paris and Nicole. Nancy Calimlim and Marc Falcon. Ahh... Love those package deals.

Mel Fresno Designs. You might not have seen her a lot hangin' out with us especially before we graduated, but it was only because she's so focused on her new path in interior design. Will there be a grand party in her family's rancho when she graduates? Hmmm... just call our name and we'll be there....

Nikki's graduation speech. Can't believe it's been two years already since our graduation? You'd better believe it. We just loved her valedictory speech. Wouldn't it be nice if we can go back to experience the simple life in college once again? Although, we're sure you don't want to re-live the unbearable heat during our College of Arts Commencement Exercises 2004 at the scorching Hardin ng mga Diwata.

Jiji's perseverance. We love her spirit and how she wanted to pursue a Master's Degree in Spanish, even if she doesn't get enough sleep because of work. Keep inspiring all of us, Jiji. :-)

Rona, legally and clinically A-bomb! She's always been beautiful and fit, and even became a beauty queen with her hectic schedule. Invite us, too, on your grad party, Nurse Rona! With us, you'll always have a ready PEP Squad cheering you on. (see the pictures again of her victory here!)

Jewel in the Palace. Actually, it's Jewel in Washington, D.C., as that's where the World Bank is based. We heard she already has a place of her own there and even did some shopping a few months back for things for her new home. We're dying to see some photos of your new palace, Jewel. :-)

Dimple's work ethic. We are fans of Dimple's values. Some of us worked with her for Voicelog (and you remember how some little be-yotch of a co-worker made Dimple cry but Dimple simply came out on top), and we knew she also did a little stint at the Venezuelan Embassy (where she experienced a bit of difficulty with some stone-cold co-workers but she held her UP pride high), and some of us are currently working with her in Thomson Financial (where you've seen her grow to be a fine, young adult that she is today). She loves her job and she showed us that love don't cost a thing (sic).

Irene's inner diva. Did you know that "Irene" meant "peace"? We love her quest for inner peace and that she's a great supporter of our little online magazine. Well, we didn't want to disappoint anyone of you who reads our online magazine so here we have our milestone 30th issue!

Blossom's adventures. Our lady adventure-seeker Blossom is going to whitesand beach of Bora. And we believe her next stop would be in Spain? B., don't forget about the pasalubong, wherever you are. We will love any tiny remembrance from your endeavors. :-)

Swimming. We loved night swimming as a group. In fact, there's a little mermaid, or mer-man, in all of us. Can someone arrange another reunion-cum-swimming for the hopefuls? Summer's the perfect time to indulge our love for night swimming! (Heck, even All Saints who disbanded on bad terms five years ago are doing a reunion album this year.)

Everything about Orgullo. From the original Spanish newsletter Orgullo: La Revista Semanal del Círculo Hispánico in 2003, to the E-group Orgullo News Online in 2004-2005, and to the present monthly online magazine this 2006, Orgullo Mundo is here to stay.

Contigo en la distancia.

That's all the time we have for this issue of Orgullo Mundo. Until then... Estamos contigo en la distancia.

Coming Soon: Doc-doc-doc-doc-doctor Beat.