Imagine you and #AlDub

For someone who has a full-time day job, my excitement for the weekends starts as early as Monday morning while trying to convince myself to rise up for work.

My Saturday lunchtime is booked all year round in front of the boob tube to watch my favorite noontime show ever since I learned how to open the TV. It’s been a lifelong routine which I think I will never get tired of doing. I am a proud laking Eat Bulaga happily married to someone who also grew up breathing the TVJ humor.

That’s why when Kalye Serye was born last year, we are one with the millions of dabarkads who followed the story through replays via YouTube and live broadcast on Saturdays when we don’t have work.

We love every member of EB especially the phenomenal love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza that captured the hearts of every loving and sentimental Pinoys of all ages in and out of the country. That’s why this Saturday, after watching Eat Bulaga, my wife and I will have a movie date with our favorite pair.

The movie Imagine You and Me, shot in Italy, is a romantic film directed by Mike Tuviera that will be shown on July 13, 2016, three days before AlDub's 1st anniversary on July 16, under APT Entertainment, GMA Films, and M–Zet TV Production, Inc.

The movie also features Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Irma Adlawan, Yayo Aguila, William Martinez, Luis Alandy, Elijah Alejo, Cacai Bautista, Jerald Napoles and Cai Cortezas.

Last July 10, I was one of bloggers invited to the blogcon held at Relish, Tomas Morato, Quezon City as part of the promotion of the film.

For those who want to catch the happenings during the blogcon, watch this full coverage from Orange Magazine TV:

Who wants a Christmas Date with Yaya Dub?

Had an opportunity to sit beside the VIC (Very Important Comedian) and Ms. Ai-Ai Delas Alas during the blogger's conference for the movie My Bebe Love. If only Yaya Dub was there, things might have been dub-ble the fun.

If there is one woman, aside from my wife, who I want to spend Christmas with this year, it’s definitely Maine Mendoza, Yaya Dub, Meng or whatever term endearment every Kalye Serye loving guy want to call her.

Who is not mesmerized by Maine? Even people from the “other side of the fence” were not spared of this amazing she. How can you not? You see her every TV commercial break, along main roads, on your Facebook feed and even in the eyes of your mother-in-law who seems to be in good vibes since June this year.

Now, I am supposed to be very excited about the latest Star Wars installment since I dream of being a Sith Lord when I was young. But I have to postpone my crave for Hans Solo, Chewbacca and R2-D2 ‘till January next year because my movie budget this December will be for Yaya Dub’s first movie. Well, my family already booked a hotel room on the 24th so we will be first in line when the mall opens. Btw, our hotel is in front of the mall so as early as breakfast time, so we can already plan the best way we can maneuver our way to the entrance.

Now going back to the movie of our beloved Meng, she will be paired to that guy who will always make us question if life is fair every time we see him--- Alden Richards. Imagine this: the undisputed Philippine box-office king of comedy Vic Sotto and box-office queen Ai-Ai delas Alas will join forces with the newest record-breaking, phenomenal loveteam Aldub in one groundbreaking movie during the holiday season.

Now that makes this movie more appropriate to have the sub-title “The Force Awakens.”

I am not Nostradamus but “My Bebe Love: Kilig Pa More!” is going to make a killing at the box-office and set higher heights in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) History.

Now, who wants to date Yaya Dub this Christmas? Count me in.

Where to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens during the Metro Manila Film Festival

The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has been a part of the Christmas celebration of many Filipinos. It is one of those sure things to happen every holiday season just like the parol, Christmas tree, bibingka and puto bungbong, and your ninong and ninang temporarily relocating homes.

After all, MMFF has been in existence for 41 years. Even older than your very much-married “feeling hunk” officemate who still preys helpless OJTs and new hires.

Anyways, for the curious souls, here are the eight (8) official MMFF entries (from 21 nominees) this year in no particular order (although obviously, I will mention last the one my family will watch):

Beauty and the Bestie – Vice Ganda and Coco Martin teams up with #JaDine and try to kick this action comedy to box-office success

All You Need is Pag-ibig – Kris Aquino and son Bimby brings this family/ romantic comedy with the help of Derek Ramsay’s abs.

Buy Now, Die Later – Alex Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro tries to resurrect their respective careers with this horror, suspense, thriller (terrifying redundancy with the use of words).

Haunted Mansion – Janella Salvador tries to OMG us with a cast of thousand newbies in this another horror, suspense, thriller (now It’s becoming creepier).

Honor Thy Father – John Lloyd Cruz gives everything (including his medicine kit full of Biogesic) in this (take a deep breath) action/ drama/ suspense/ thriller/ crime (breath out).

Walang Forever – Jennylyn Mercado and Jericho Rosales team up in this romantic comedy of two of the gorgeous faces in local showbiz today (I hope I did not sound bitter).

Nilalang – Maria Ozawa. Nuff said.

My Pabebe Love: #KiligPaMore – I’ll be lucky if I can get a decent seat any day during the first week showing of this first #AlDub feature. Might as well join the twitter party instead and watch on January.

Now if you feel not watching any of the films mentioned and you are about to start an online petition on for Malacañang to allow of J.J. Abram’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens to be shown during MMFF week, don’t exert any effort because I will tell you where to watch this much-awaited sci-fi giant in the Philippines this December.

Here’s a portion of the article “The Force awakens MMFF 2015” publish on The Philippine Star last November 8.  I would love to rewrite it but I got a call for a meeting now so I’ll just quote the “important” item.

“The seventh franchise of the Star Wars saga opens globally on Dec. 17 and closes on Dec. 24 in the Philippines as required by law. The MMFF opens on Dec. 25. Only new Filipino film productions are allowed to screen during its two-week run. Regular screenings resume after it ends on Jan. 7 such as The Force Awakens on Jan. 8.

With one major exemption. The Force Awakens continues screening in 3D and IMAX theaters as allowed by the MMFF rules. For about double the regular price of an MMFF ticket, it will continue to screen in IMAX Aura Premier, Cebu, Clark, Lanang Premier, Mall of Asia, Megamall, North EDSA and Southmall.”

So there you go. Now you know where to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens during the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Good Working Habits We Can Learn from AlDub

When was the last time you felt kilig?

You know that sudden feeling of an inexplicable joy one gets when something romantic or wonderful occurs. Remember the first time your high school crush smiled at you? Or how about the joy you get every time you receive a love letter? Can you still recall the sweetness of your first kiss or the moment you finally said “I love you” to your special someone? It feels good, right?

This could be one of the reasons why many Filipinos are hooked on what is now known as the AlDub fever. It’s hard to resist the highly #kiligpamore moments of the good-looking charmer Alden Richards and Yaya Dub, the role being played by YouTube sensation Maine Mendoza in the popular “Kalyeserye” segment of the noontime show “Eat Bulaga.” Many people consider watching the most popular Pinoy love team today as a way to escape stress even just for an hour every day because it offers good vibes, original and impromptu Pinoy humor and surprisingly, inspiring life lessons.

As a married man in his late 30s who is starting to experience memory gap from time to time, I am not ashamed to admit that I schedule my weekend activities only after Eat Bulaga and I was part of the AlDub fans who set the record-breaking 26 million tweets in one day that rocked the social media landscape. But if you think that this semi-scripted love story is all about pabebe and just for fun, I am sharing some good working habits that Filipinos from all walks of life can learn from ALDUB:

A-lways respect our elders. Alden and Yaya Dub could have written their love story the way they wanted it to if not only for Lola Nidora (played by comedian Wally Bayola) who believes that they are too young to fall in love with each other. In our respective offices, we sometimes disagree with the thinking and ideas of senior colleagues. We may think that their concepts and philosophies sound old school but we should never forget that they are the experienced ones who have seen the ups and downs of the company through the years. We should also continue the Pinoy good value of saying “po” and “opo” even to manong guard and ate from the canteen.

L-ess talk, more action. What’s magical about the AlDub tale is that you can feel their love for each other even though we have never heard them utter a single word. They communicate through dubbing or lip-syncing songs and exchange of love notes using pens and white boards. You might be familiar with this problem many offices still experience today: too much talking and not enough doing. This happens when people have already identified what is needed to be done but instead of initiating it, they would still spend time talking about it during endless meetings, write about it, and study and restudy it until things turn to worse.

D-on’t rush things. Because of the latest Eat Bulaga hit, Filipinos now have a “universal” answer to just about anything that don’t happen the way they want it to. If it’s not today, be patient because you will realize your dream… “sa tamang panahon,” as what Lola Nidora always remind the two young lovers. At work, the quality of your output is compromised if you do not allot time in planning and preparation. Manage your time so your work will be more achievable.

U-ltimately, it’s all about love. While watching AlDub do their thing and exchange sweet nothings through split screens, we can’t help but notice that there is something beautiful happening right before our very eyes. We’re actually witnessing a real love blossoming inside our boob tubes. You can see the love in their eyes and smiles. For working people, I’m sure this is not the first time you have heard this words of wisdom from Confucius, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

B-e happy. Have you seen in the news how many households, food shops, transport terminals and other business establishments look like during mid-afternoon these days, especially during Saturdays? People are in groups and having fun, laughing and exchanging stories that they can relate with AlDub. Plus, it’s like we have the EDSA that we dream of comparable every time Manny Pacquiao has a match. Everything seems awesome when we are happy. Do you wake up every morning with a smile and zest raring to go to work? Be happy while at work and you’ll realize soon how easy things can be accomplished.

We can never tell when the AlDub fever will fade away. Things are just simply unpredictable now just like how this phenomenon started. But whether it stays for good or would last only for a few months, we can’t deny the fact that it gave us the kilig that we have never felt for a long time. For now, let’s savor the fun and keep on learning new lessons in life that we can practice in our daily activities, both at home and at the office.

This article was published in the September 20, 2015 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: http://business.inquirer.net/199460/good-working-habits-we-can-learn-from-aldub.

Symptoms of the highly-contagious AlDub fever

Nahawa ka na?

Hindi ng sore eyes o bulotong ha?

Nadale ka na ba?

Hindi ng dengue o tigdas ha?

Kalimutan na muna ang lagnat, ubo, sipon o trangkaso dahil kapag tinamaan ka ng #Aldub Fever e tiyak na mapapabangon ka sa kinahihigaan mo. I'm sure mahal mo na si Alden Richards at Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza). Sigurado ako lalo kang naging loyalista ng Eat Bulaga o di kaya naman ay nanawa na sa ibang Show.

Bakit ba bigla kang tinamaan at kinilig sa Alden at Yaya Dub? Wala kang sakit, don't worry. Mukhang epekto na yan ng Aldub fever. Check mo kung may sintomas ka na...

1. Lahat ng makita mong #Aldub fan pages at groups sa Facebook e member ka.

2. Kapag may nagtanong sa 'yo ng mga bagay-bagay kung kailan (ex. kailan ka magbabayad ng utang, kailan mo ililigpit ang mga kalat, kailan magi-improve ang sales ng kumpanya, etc),  ang isinasagot mo palagi, "Sa tamang panahon..."

3. Kapag may kausap ka at may nabanggit na salitang nagtatapos sa letter "A" or "O" palagi kang humihirit ng "asawa ni.... ?"

4. Araw-araw ka naggo-Google na ang key words ay "Aldub Updates"

5. Kapag napupuyat ka dahil inuulit ulit mo yung #kiligmoments ng #kalyeserye sa Youtube.

6. Hinsi na headline ang inabangan mo sa 24 Oras at Saksi. Balita na lang tungkol kina Alden at Maine hanap mo.

7. Kapag naiinis ka, boses Babalu ka na magsalita

8. Mas madalas mo pang mapanaginipan sila Alden at Yaya Dub kesa sa dyowa mo.

9. Yung pag lunch time, dun ka kakain sa karinderyang nakatutok sa channel 7. Tapos late lunch ka palagi.

10. Umabsent ka sa trabaho o school kasi kala mo magkikita na sila Alden at yaya ng araw na yun

11. May pabebe wave photos ka sa Instagram

12. Nag-uusap kayo harap-harapan pero lyrics ng kanta salitaan

13. Nag-skype kayong magsyota tas fan sign lang kayo mag-usap.

14. Bibili ka na ng couple shirt na may #YayaDub sa harap at #KiligPaMore sa likod

15. Walang tao sa kalsada n'yo pag naka-ere na ang Kalye Serye.

Noon sa gamot lang pwedeng maging addict ang mga tao. Ngayon sa fever pwede na... sa #AlDen fever nga lang. Huwag mahiyang umamin. Kahit mga taga-Dos nakatutok na din.