unsubcultured baguio edition #4 DAY TRIPPER

Sunday morning around town through my Digital Harinezumi eyes...


This is where I used to go to church as a kid. Now that I don't believe in child-molesting priests anymore, I just take pictures of churches.

Random tree.

Old woman selling herbs, plants and other shit.

There are jeepneys...

and there are jeepneys...

But have you seen a PINK jeep before?

Food trip for Wabbits.

Still had the urge to go shoe-kay ukay shopping.

These natives are mad...

and are on the warpath...

That's because those damn lowlanders...

have ruined their once lovely city.

More city scenes...


Man made boats on a man made lake on a lovely nature made day.

Yeah, Burnham Park looks good in pics. You should see the reality of it.

unsubcultured baguio edition #3: DESTINY

After dropping my mom off at home, I was bored. So I decided to go on a solo trip to town, Session Road in particular. I had dinner at 456, a hole in the wall resto that served Chinese-Pinoy food, then walked around for a few minutes...

First thing that caught my eye was this cool street stall selling handpainted shirts and other "native" accessories. I even mistook a girl who was with a white guy for a saleslady. After this, it was time to check out the few remaining "SHOEKAY-UKAY" stores. At this one store, a shoe caught my eye...

Wow! Doc Martens! I haven't seen this brand in Manila for a long-long time and there it was... just sitting there, waiting to be scored/had/whatever. It was even "Made in England." Better still, it was in my size. So after haggling, I got to score the shoe at 800php [from 1.2k]. So what if I didn't volunteer to drive my mom to Baguio? Then I wouldn't cop a pair of Docs. So what if they are used? It was destiny. I guess I'm exaggerating this a little but that's what it is.

Even bought a second pair... Doc Martens. Suede. Loafers. Black. How can you go wrong with that? All I have to do is have it cleaned and they're good to go. Destiny indeed haha.

Celebrated my purchases by having one beer as a nightcap in some cafe called Gecko. Then I went home before 10pm. Good boy? Naah... I just didn't have friends in this city.

unsubcultured baguio edition #2: HOME?

Why the question mark? You'll find the answer in the next few sentences.

We used to own a Pinoy restaurant in Baguio. Its name was Jade. Isn't that ironic? A Pinoy food place that had a Chinese name. Sometimes Chinese tourists dropped by thinking we served their country's chow. We were a hit back then. Everyone loved our kare-kare, crispy pata, chicken barbecue, chicharon joji, etc. Anyway, that was our main business and it was the reason I was able to study in "the arreneow." But due to bad decisions and mismanagement, specially after the killer 1990 quake, our family biz had seen better days. We rented it out to other business people with my mom still living on the second floor. And because different people have been renting our place, it really doesn't feel like HOME anymore.

During this trip, I've seen for the first time what our place has turned into by our latest renter... a DINER.

Bahala na si Batman umasenso tong lugar na ito...

Spidey spins his web in his new home.

I really don't get the concept, man.

Was the food any good? I didn't have the heart to taste it.

unsubcultured baguio edition #1: THE TRIP UP

Had to drive my ermeng [that's mom to you] back to Baguio for the weekend. See it with my Digital Harinezumi eyes...












And yes... I took the shots while driving. So you have to appreciate this for its "difficulty level" hehehe.

kicks sub cult

VANS FOR "MATURE" PEOPLE

facebook + nba sub cult

A COMPILATION OF MY FRIEND'S STATUS MESSAGES AFTER DALLAS COMES FROM BEHIND TO STEAL A WIN FROM THE ARROGANT MIAMI HEAT AND TIES THE SERIES AT 1-1

"YES!!! Dallas "Lolos" Win!"

"katense ang game!!! 1-1"

"Bwahahaha! Heat does a Bulls! Chokes after leading 15 with 6mins. to go at their homecourt."

"Broken tendon and all, that left handed layup was oh so sweet! what a come back by Dirk and the Mavs!!"

"Dallas is my new Celtics!!!"

"Nakaw"

"The comeback kids! riDIRKulous!"

"Hi Sherwin! -Dirk"

"That was awesome basket ball!!"

"Men, that was one of the best comeback in NBA Finals! Down 15 with 6 mins left against 3 of the best players in the world! I'm no Mavs fan, but really want to see Kidd retire with a ring. Watta game!!!!!!!"

[and mine...]
"dear miami, 48 minutes ang isang basketball game... hindi 42"

just found out i can use my nokia charger to charge my samsung phone... It's like interracial sex!!!

A-hole Bali Indo airport officers detain innocent Filipino girl on suspicion she's a drug trafficker... don't stereotype you idiots!

[Got this from a blogger friend who also got it from somewhere else. Just because some Filipino women have been caught drug trafficking in China, they think all Filipino travelers are of the same cloth. It's stupid stereotyping... it's like generalizing that ALL INDONESIAN SECURITY AND POLICE OFFICERS ARE STUPID AND CORRUPT. Then again, I might be right haha...]

My Traumatic Experience as an Alleged DRUG TRAFFICKER in Bali Indonesia By Chyng Reyes

For first time readers..

My name is Chyng Reyes. I graduated with a degree of Electronics and Communications Engineering in a state university in Intramuros. I work in a BPO company in MoA complex as part of Systems Development team. Im a blogger who frequently travels. And Im an individual who has never taken prohibited drugs.

mga BINTANG-ero kayo!

My friend Dyanie and I planned an SG-Bali trip for our birthdays. We took Airphil's Manila-SG flight last May 26, 2011.

Dyanie was held in the Immigration simply because she cant present her company ID. She was suspected na mag-paiwan sa SG to work, and never return to Pinas. This experience alone was heart pounding- though it's only a matter of being approved and being declined to fly to SG. So what more if it's a matter of life and death...

Last May 28, we flew from SG to Bali via Airasia.
Airasia's airbus was full of different nationalities. But Dyanie and I were the only Filipinos on board. We landed in Denpasar airport at almost 11:40pm. We lined up in the Xray machines for our luggage to be scanned.

The moment the officer saw my passport - he carried my luggage. He asked me "is this yours?" I said yes. What could be wrong with my luggage.. The officer scanned our hands too. We don't have any idea what's that for so we asked him. He answered "secret".

After he scanned our hands with that stick, he looked at me and said "come and follow me." He looked to Dyan and said "you also."

omg. what's wrong?!
So in front of all passengers of Airasia that night (na malalaki ang katawan, at yung iba may tattoo, at sila pa yung mukhang harmful kesa samin), kami pa ni Dyan ang mukhang may drugs! We followed the officer because we dont have a choice. We obeyed him, as if we already did something wrong. All other passengers were staring at us..

syet.. anong meron sa bag ko. at anong marks ang nakita nya sa kamay namin? kinabahan ako. this isnt just the usual immigration thing. this is something serious!
We entered the holding room. There were 3 officers inside. 2 males and a lady officer. "Meet my Filipina friend. She was caught hiding packs of heroins in her luggage" said the officer. Sabay turo sa picture frames sa wall nila. It seemed like a gallery of drug traffickers from all over the world. He reminded me that DEATH is the PENALTY of those drug traffickers.

Paksyet. It's matter of life and death in the hands of these Indonesian Police Officers..

They offered something to drink but we refused.
Yoko nga, baka dahil jan sa drinks na yan magkaron pa ng drugs substance sa katawan namin..
"Do you know her?" asked the officer as he was pointing to the girl in the picture frame. - I answered no.
"Did you take drugs?" - Of course not!
"Did you have drugs hidden in your body?" - What?! Never!

nagpanting yung tenga ko. galit na galit ako. at the same time nalungkot. bakit ganun, tagged na ang pinoys as drug traffickers dahil sa kasalanan ng iilan..
"Let's check your bag".
The officer searched my things thoroughly. I was just looking at him. He checked every compartment of my luggage too.

Ang lakas ng kaba ng dibdib ko. I knew he could frame me up. At wala na kong laban if that happens. Nasa teritoryo nila kami.Ansama sama ng loob ko. Dahil lang Pinoy kami, instant suspect na agad kami.
After he messed with all my things and found nothing, I asked the officer what could be wrong and why was he checking us. He just answered "because the 2 of you are beautiful girls."

putangina mo, nakikipag-cooperate kami sa inyo. naabala at napahiya na kami kanina pa. kaya sana sumagot ka ng maayos kung may tinatanong kami.

For the 3rd time, we went outside the holding room to scan my luggage. I was really very nervous (and irritated). I could imagine him almost saying that he found something in my bag. Remember, he was holding my bag all the time. I never had the chance to touch it again..

you dont trust us. and we dont trust you either. the feeling is mutual. ang advantage lang, nasa Indonesia tayo. at kayo ang may authority.

Now they looked to Dyan. The lady officer asked her if she was hiding drugs in her belly. Of course she answered no. The other officer ordered a body check on her.

as narrated by Dyan:
Gusto ko man magsabi ng ayoko ng body check, wala akong nagawa. Bansa nila yan. So sunod lang ako sa gusto nila. Pumasok kami sa Body Check Room. Inikot ko yung mata ko to check if there are surveillance cameras. Tapos ni-lock ko yung pinto. Tinanong ko si lady officer kung bakit namin to ginagawa. May 3 pinay daw na nahulihan ng drugs sa loob ng tyan nila. Sympre di ko alam kung totoo nga yun. Pinahubad nya ko ng damit. As in HUBAD lahat. The only body part na hinawakan nya ay ang tyan ko. Pero nakaka-harassed pa din. Wala naman siyang nakitang kakaiba.

no offense pero meron ba silang extensive training na by just touching a body part malalaman na kung may drugs dun? ang hirap maniwala. they cant even speak straight english to start with. mayabang lang sila. pero wala silang masyadong alam.
Now back in the holding room, and I was with the other 2 male officers. They started bragging that they captured all of the drug traffickers in the picture frame. Im still not sure what will happen next as they never told us anything.

What now!? gusto nyo lang may mapatunayan kayo at may madagdag kayong picture jan sa wall nyo?!
Im so proud of Dyan. She went back in the room and still didnt breakdown. I knew I will start crying too if I see her terrified.
pero sa totoong buhay daw, sobrang takot na nya na masesetup kami.
Dyan said I dont look scared at all too. I just look very irritated.
pero sa totoo lang, nafi-feel kong anytime sasabihin ng officers na may nakita sila sa bag namin.. at di na kami makakauwi ng Pinas. =(

After 1.5 hours, they finally let us go. Wala silang nakita. They thanked us for being cooperative pero di ko pinansin yung hand shake offer nila. Galit na galit ako. Pero alam ko bawal ako magsalita. Hindi rin sila nagsorry sa abala na ginawa nila. Para san pa, wala na kaming gana na pumasok ng Bali. Sirang sira yung bakasyon namin dahil sa ganitong pagwelcome nila sa Pinoy.
Sabagay their sorry wont be enough. Kulang yan sa kahihiyan, sobrang takot, trauma, at paranoia na inabot namin dahil sa kanila. Ang sama sama ng loob ko. Putangina nyo!


We met the hotel driver who's been waiting for us since 11:40PM. We finally went out of the airport at 1:30AM. I thanked the driver for waiting for us. He wasn't surprised that we were the last to go out. Sabi nya, kapag Pinoy chinecheck daw muna.

Ah ganun..
Dahil lang may mga Pinoy na drug trafficker, lahat ng Pinoy drug traffickers na agad?!

Sa sobrang takot ni Dyanie, she cried to sleep that night. Tulala. Di nagsasalita.
Sa sobrang galit ko, di ako nakatulog. I started vomiting. Hinika din ako sa sama ng loob.
Wala pa kaming 2 oras sa Bali pero gustong gusto na namin umuwi ng Pinas. Sirang sira ang bakasyon namin.

Putangina nyo! Naging praning na kami everytime may police kaming makikita. Or everytime dadaan kaming xray, paulit ulit muna naming pinapagpag ang bawat damit namin - oras oras - just to check na walang naisingit na drugs sa gamit namin. We're so traumatized that we wont be planning to go out of the country anytime soon.

DEATH for DRUG TRAFFICKERS
and it wont matter if the DRUGS found is really yours
ako na ang praning

We swore not to go back to Indonesia again. We already suffered a lot. We regret the day we entered this country.
And if you are planning to go to Bali too, well good luck. The next suspect could be you.
..yes you may share this post.

"posts" on my wall..

• Painting by my er-meng/mom
• Solo pic of me
• Fisheye pics I took
• Arrreneow threepeat championship souvenir
• Paintings by Montalut
• Vans mini poster I bought at my officemate's garage sale
• Caricature of me done by Resty, my artist officemate [he gave it to me in exchange for a book --- On the Road by Jack Kerouac]
  
• Sports Illustrated cover of me when I was still playing for the NBA team, the New York Knicks [actually, in the early days of Mac, my officemate just put my face on the body of John Starks, printed it, and I freakin framed it. Well, at least I fooled one person... my young nephew who really thought I played for the Knicks hahaha]

unsubcultured is not opinionated... but i have views on random stuff...

My view of Dungon street from Sandy and Ida's crib


My view of Makati from Sandy and Ida's crib


My view of the post [or was it pre?] Chedeng sunset from the office window


My view of an accident between 3 cars @Paseo cor. Buendia, last weekend



My zoom in and zoom out views of Diego, Sandy & Ida's koolkat

shaq tweets his retirement. NO ONE CARES!!!

wars. earthquakes. fishkill. justin bieber. volcano eruptions. tyrannical, powertripping clients. uncreative people who just want safe/formula shit...

...these are the signs that tell you...

hollywood sub cult

strange shit... but this is what they call HANGOVER 2 in some countries...

and I'm back to 16 followers. kewl.

nba sub cult

The NBA finals... it's one of the USA's greatest shows. So who so you expect to sing the national anthem? An AI graduate? An RNB superstar? A country-western star? a latino singing star like Gloria Estefan? NOPE. You get MICHAEL freaking MACDONALD bwahahahahaha. Yup 80s pop/rock/folk singer Michael Mcdonald. That soooo came from left field, I never expected that. It's like a dunk from Jason Kidd or three pointer from way back court by Erick Dampier. It was soooo old school, and funny.

Anyway, I Facebooked status messaged this:
"National anthem ng usa sa nba finals kinanta ni... MICHAEL McDONALD! Bagong bago yun ah!"

And my friend answered back with some interesting trivia:
"...hahaha tama. :D favorite siya ni pat reily, siya din kumanta nung 2006 sa miami...riley even said to derek anderson "that's my boy", referring to mcdonald after singing their anthem. :D"

got the scare of my blog life...

When i entered my blog, got a message that it was to be discontinued or something like that. I panicked a bit. Good thing i just logged out and all they wanted me to do was change my p word. So now, everything, including my blood pressure is back to normal. Unsubcultured lives on haha.