Try BenMore and you'll ask for more

When BenMore and I met

Midweek. Meet with buddies. Delicious food. Cool place.

What else can you ask for if you're looking for a night to unwind and take a breather from your toxic work load.  Then, you'll have some guy named Borgy Manotoc asking you to try his favorite drink, BenMore Four Casks.

BenMore is a more premium drink that believes that details matter. Expert blenders have specifically chosen more of the finest malt and grain whiskies up to 21.

These batches have been matured in 4 different oak casks to give an even smoother Scotch Whisky experience. It is made in Scotland and it is bottled by Diageo.

The iconic stag - to represent heritage and authenticity. It connotes masculinity, superiority and leadership. Consumers drinking BenMore will be perceived as smart, stylish, presentable and tough. They know what they want and are a go-getter; but they’re also friendly and open-minded, exactly like Borgy who is the Brand Ambassador for BenMore.

It was a privilege to be one of the few bloggers to be invited to the product launch last August 17 at Ronac Art Center in Greenhills, San Juan. We were informed that  there are five ways to drink BenMore:

1.)    Straight or on the rocks
2.)    With water
3.)    With iced tea
4.)    With cola
5.)    With soda/ tonic

There I am dwarfed by Borgy Manotoc in the middle with fellow bloggers and the very accommodating Jane (outermost left) of Benmore who checks our table from time to time.

I tried a couple of options and the experience were both delightful that I recommend it to everyone who wants to try something refreshing but at the same time still capture the taste of what a true Scotch Whisky is all about.

It’s more affordable compared to other brands of whiskies. SRP is Php335, and prices may vary depending on location. It is now available nationwide.

Guys, please do watch out for the brand's official website benmorescotchwhisky.com. It will be up some time next month. Right now it’s still under construction but when it's up, the site promises to be one online hub that will offer a lot of great information and surprises. Please don't tell me I did not warn you: When you try BenMore, you'll ask for more!

Flipgeeks: What you should have been informed

Whenever a newly acquainted foreigner would ask me how would I describe us Filipinos in general. I often give them the generic reply, “Filipinos are unique people.”

Sometimes, I get a scanner-like look from head to toe from them before they react, “Yes, I definitely agree.”

Well, they should.  Where on Earth can they find people who can finish a plate of steak (rare, medium or well done and P99 pesos lang), using only a fork and molars?  Pinoy houses have life-size fork and spoon as wall displays, a Last Supper repro painting as a must-have in dining rooms, and at least one tabo in the bathroom for it to be call a home.

Philippines is also the home to the world’s largest pair of shoes, the smallest man who can fit a shoe box, and arguably the best boxer who ever lived (who incidentally is also the most versatile of them all ‘coz he cansing, act, host and read a speech that confuses everyone including himself and still gets a loud round of applause).

You might think I know too much but I beg to disagree.  I would like to believe that I am just well aware and informed of things I should know to be able to adapt in the fast-changing world.  I am a flipgeek.

My workstation. The two fellows encircled were just improvised to
look like geeks like their owner.

I read someone referring geeks as bright individuals tuned inward, poorly socialized who felt so little kinship with his own planet that he routinely traveled to the ones invented by his favorite author.  I don’t know if this can be applied to Filipino geeks or flipgeeks because, as I mentioned a while ago, we are so unique that we go beyond conformity.  We are very friendly and can blend well with other skin colors and alien tongues in any direction.

I grew up associated with a small group of individuals who would often meet in libraries.  Others think that all we do is all about encyclopedias and Atlases.  What they don’t know is that we also talk about Triple H, The Simpsons, Marvel and DC and even sometimes our school crushes.  Inside the “Silence Zone” we also get to be reprimanded with a long sssssshhhhhh! from the school librarian which we thought was cool--- we too can violate rules! We also cut classes. Oh yes we do! I think it was during the opening of a Science center in a mall and the other one was for a local Comic Con.

I learned to read with the help of a Pinoy-made Funny Komiks, improved my math skills with Big Bird, Bert and Ernie and discovered what true love means at the age of 12 because Erika’s boy toy in Daimos is my namesake.  These things I learned as a child, being a flipgeek, are the stuff that made me an able and responsible worker, son, father and husband that I am today.  And hell yeah! I think that is the essence of being a flipgeek.

Today, I have yet to outgrow some stuff that in a few years time, my toddler would also find interesting.  I still collect anything Darth Vader, Charles Barkley and Dragon Ball Z.  My iPad is filled with my favorite anime and cartoon videos and photos.  My e-book collection is composed mostly of pdf version of Marvel and DC comics.  I find joy in browsing some to take a breather from a toxic day at work.  It’s nice to feel like I am a kid again from time to time.

My Charles Barkley collection which started since high school.
Early stage of being a sports geek.

The child in me also led me to discover a cool world for geeks like me where manga, collectibles, comics and tech stuff knows no age. Enter all to this sector in cyberspace called FLIPGEEKS.

The site aims to be the number one online resource for Pinoy and provide news, information and updates on everything pop culture.  And boy, I tell you, it’s like I was a boy in a carnival here with so much stuff to read and events to look forward to.

Personally, I like their take on latest games, books, movies and TV shows but of course, the specialty of the house are comic books--- as in lots of them.  I’ve never been this happy flipgeek before.  I just found home.  Now don’t tell me you were not informed!

I am just thankful I have an understanding wife who even accompany
me in events like the recent Comic Con in SM Megamall.

The Suplado Experience (TSE)

Suplado!

This statement was posted on my Facebook wall by a classmate from college whom I last saw in person a decade ago.  I did not delete his post but instead placed a comment asking him why. 

After several minutes, I got a response saying that I snubbed him big time when he greeted me near the entrance of a mall the night before.  I apologized and explained my side.  I was on a rush to get home since the next day I have a flight to Cebu for a company event.  And for crying out loud! How would I recognize HIM in a dress.  I thought he or she was one of those “marketing specialists” asking people if they have credit cards that will be the key to great fortune which eventually will just end up as a monthly charge for an insurance policy for the unwilling “client.”

And besides, my last memory of him was us in a tight hug of goodbye during the last day of our Chemistry class--- which made me realized now what his hand squeezing my buttocks then means.  That pervert!

Actually, it’s not the first time that I was branded as a snub.  Some of my neighbors, especially those who just lived in our placed recently, might have such impression on me.  I can’t remember how many videoke and drinking sessions I have declined just because I am not into these past times. But the more “real” reason behind this suplado attitude is that my wife won’t let me sleep beside her when she smells the scent of liquor coming out from my mouth.  Under de saya? No, naman.  I want to believe that I am just understanding.

I am suplado. Something I hate to admit but my actions does prove that I am one.  It’s just that I am not the type who will start a conversation.  I will respond   if you’ll ask me a question and if I find that there is sense in conversing with you, I can be your best friend.

I can also be suplado even to those people I am interested to talk to because I am not good in initiating talk with a stranger.  I am still stuck with an embarrassing moment when I tried to impress someone I just met during a community work.  I found out that this pretty volunteer was interested in organizing a basketball competition for members of a youth organization and was soliciting funds to buy sports equipment. 

I have a couple of basketball in our house and so I excitedly approached her and offered my help, “I have balls but I left them at home!”

Suddenly, I heard a group of other volunteers laughing that made me realized that I just said something not right. How I wish I just stayed in suplado mode and avoided humiliation.  How I wish there was something or someone to guide me then on how to be firm suplado, proud of it and succeed.

Sayang! I only found recently about the existence of a man who claims he is funny and suplado and his book called Suplado Tips (Pa-English English ka pa, Sipain kita dyan eh!).  His surname already sounds like he’s a snub combined with a first name that means meadow that is stony, ikaw na the best ka, Stanley Chi!

Stanley started showing the world his brand of comedy via the comic strip Chopsticks for the Sunday edition of Manila Bulletin. He is also a stand up comic and a TV host for the comedy show Front Act. Libraries were never the same again when he became a certified book author.

Honestly, it was my idol Ramon Bautista, a TV and radio demigod, who convinced me to get a copy of the book via his moving testimonial, “Simula ng tinuruan ako ni Stanley Chi na maging suplado, nawala ang ubo ko!” (Perfect for someone like me who has asthma)

But seriously (heck, I never expected to use the word serious in this post), Suplado Tips is one gem of a humor book for those who wants to laugh ‘till they drop.  One can relate to the many tips since I would like to believe that there is a suplado side in each of every one of us.  For the non-suplados (tse! mga echoserang ayaw pang umamin), you’ll learn great advices like “Kung may nagsusungit sayo at sinabing mainit ulo niya dahil gutom siya, hiritan mo ng...'Hoy gutom din ako baka patulan kita'” (But this is not advisable to be used by understanding husbands like me to their wives, okay? Don’t tell me I did not warn you.)

The book also includes the 10 Suplado Commandments to remind grumpy people how to behave against people accordingly, the Suplado Meter to measure the level of angst in you and comic strips in case you loose interest in reading text entries.  

Because of the success of the book which is the fourth under his name, Stanley should start getting voice and dance lesson 'coz he might get a call anytime soon for a production number in ASAP Rocks over ABS-CBN.  Well, Stanley just joined the ranks of Iya Villania and Sam Milby as endorsers of UniSilver Time, with UniSilver Time releasing the Suplado Watch this August.   Hmm… what could be a nice background music for a Suplado interpretative dance? 

So, are you ready to be suplado, supladoer and the supladoest? Go to your suking (favorite) bookstore and grab a copy of the book in the surprisingly less than Php 100 lang price!

But wait, there’s more!  Stanley Chi is also a radiologist.  You can catch him over the Suplado Show, the internet radio on Dig Radio (formerly NU107).  Just log on to www.pinoytuner.com and get all the how to snub tips that you want.

Being A Nuffnang Blogger is the Hottest Thing since my first BLEEP experience

 

It happened just a month after I graduated from college.

I was sitting on a sofa along with two strangers when this pretty lady in white entered the room.  She sat on a chair in front of me and I saw her staring at me twice while scribbling something on her notebook.

I became conscious on how I look but pretended I was not affected by her stolen glimpses.  She called out my name so I approached her.  She handed me a paper and we accidentally touched each other’s hand. My bad! I was looking at her beautiful face when I reached out for the sheet.

Then she told me, “You’re hot.”

My quick reply was, “I know.”

The way she looked at me, it’s like she’s measuring me from head to toe.

She led me to a room and asked me to take off my shirt and wait.  I think I need not mention what happened next since I assume everyone knows what people do in “the room.”

Too bad, it was my first and last encounter with her. Our meeting ended when I handed her my stool and urine sample to complete my first-ever BLEEP (Blood, Lungs Evaluation and Employment Physical) Exam that afternoon. The ever torpe me never got to first base because I was not able to get even the cute nurse's first name.

I was really hot on the day before I started working for my first job in 1997.  I was sick with flu. Thank God for Paracetamol, my hotness was gone after a few hours.

Talking about being HOT, that’s what I became when I transformed into a Nuffnang blogger:

Happy. The joy of winning blogging contests is one thing I will forever be thankful to Nuffnang. The gadgets, cash, GCs and other cool prizes I won from their promos brought fun fun fun to my family.

Outgoing. Nuffnang introduced me to many friends through the different activities and events they organized for their members.  Just like on August 10, they’ll have a special screening of the movie Cowboys and Aliens at Gateway Cineplex 10.  

Tireless. One thing I learned as a Nuffnang blogger is to be open to new things. I became a blogger who will never get tired to discover new stuff and blog even about topics I am not really a fan of.  These challenges make me crave for more worlds to explore.

Now, I just made myself hungry and I feel like eating a few slices of pizza.  I want it delicious. I want it hot!  So, it’s definitely Pizza Hut!

Good news to pizza suckers like me, Pizza Hut now offers Hot on the Dot Pizza deliveries: 30 minutes AND hot (as indicated by the thermally activated sticker you place on the pizza box upon receiving your pizza) or your pizza is FREE!

Stop the hunger now na! Dial 911-11-11 if you want your pizzas Hot on the Dot!