my portraits... 1967 - 2010

circa 1994 pictures

mica and daddy... 1994
she was probably 4 months old at the time










the marginals circa 1994
working on the second phase of the insecurities album

casie villarosa / vocals & guitars
nelius pepito / guitars
elmer diaz / bass
tony robles / keyboard
noli cuachon / drums





okay, i'm not sure what the hell these are...

I like Sundays...

It's quiet... and there aren't much problems to worry about except for a few minor inconveniences like my secretary losing three reimbursable receipts worth about Php3k and the MFC Bar waitress who is as lazy as an over-fed pet. (damn!)

But otherwise, things are cool. I got to work out alone, play with my new toy (Sony Alpha 230), drink and mingle with my staff at the MFC Bar and eat at my favorite Korean restaurant with my driver, my best friend and my chief security officer.

Tomorrow, I'd be cleaning the house and fixing the toaster that broke last week... then I'd hate Mondays...

solitary gym time...





sunday night drinks @ the MFC Bar



a very nice night cap dinner @ Hwang So restaurant



some alone time with the piano and my son in the house

a not so simple story...

Last Friday, I cleared my schedule for Saturday to attend my god daughter's graduation. The graduation has been "cancelled" supposedly as the original schedule was the 17th. Her schedule seemed erratic and it merited the attention of her cousins and my daughter so they decided to investigate the matter and lo and behold, the suspicions were confirmed...

My daughter and my niece came to me one morning to report that they have gone to the school and apparently, my god daughter did not even finish her first semester and has led all of us to believe that she was in school over the last four years.

Background...

At the age of five, my god daughter was orphaned by my cousin together with her two brothers. My cousin died in my arms on our way to the hospital after a lethal attack of asthma leaving behind three children and a wife. From there, the family became fragmented with my cousin's wife opting to stay in the province and two of the children staying in the ancestral house with my Aunt.

Last Saturday...

As promised, my schedule was clear because I was hoping against hope that my daughter and my niece would be wrong and that all would end well. I was roused by my daughter that morning saying that my Aunt already knows and that there was already a confession... My Aunt found it hard to breathe obviously shaken by the revelation...

To cut to the chase, the decision was to send her to the province back to her mother's family.

It is saddening to think that I will not see my god daughter anymore on a regular basis. She is close to my daughter and she always hangs around my place. I consider her trustworthy specially in terms of money matters and watching over my kids. But I still can't figure out how she could have pulled this stunt and manage to get away with it for the longest time without anyone taking notice.

What worries me most is that she will be living in another environment and I would not know how to predict the fate she might end up with. I can only hope for the best...

One thing is clear...

Without the guidance of parents, children are more prone to enter into predicaments the repercussion of which might not be so good. My parents left when I was 26-27 yo respectively one after the other but that would have been enough time for them to inculcate good (or bad) values to their only son. If my cousin were alive, then none of this would happen, I'm quite sure. But then again, there are no guarantees in life.

I only hope that one day... she would realize that what she did was wrong and hopefully she would correct her life and move on...

no pain, no gain...

Ever since we've decided that we'd be putting up a crude gym for the employees, my lighting director has been prodding me to work out with them but I always end up making excuses about my schedule. Of course, the guys where consistent in dropping by my office almost everyday and asking if I was ready to work out.

Finally, I ran out of excuses and gave in. There actually is no reason that I shouldn't work out with them. Hell, I'm way out of shape these days... besides, it wouldn't even be inconvenient for me. I have work out clothes in the office since I can remember (in case I needed to), a shower room, plus I can take advantage of facilities that I used to pay for including free instruction.

But I must say, that it all hurts... physically. I have been in constant pain since Wednesday when I started. My body begs for mercy, taking a bath is a major painful chore, taking on and off my clothes feels like my muscles (and fats) are all twisted up from the insides...

Last Friday, as I walked down the stairs, they were all in smiles knowing that after the leg workout that day, going down would be agonizing... but guess what? Today is my rest day after four consecutive days in the gym. After I post this, I'd go there alone... and workout.




... so some duties will have to be performed in the gym as well, like awarding an employee his five year cash incentive and certificate




this is one serious guy... Gerald Prinsipe


clockwise from top left; Gerald, Ian, myself and Gil testing my alpha230's shutter speed


Ian getting some assistance from John and Gerald


Gil's schedule is screwed up since he took me on as a student




my secretary using an equipment to relax...


the pain... the pain...


they said the pain would only last a week... i sure as hell hope so

photography by dahlia league. gil montano, eugene baroña and casie villarosa

alamat's new photo set

the guys are now in Mindoro slated to perform tonight. Last night, they passed by the studio for a brief photo shoot and these are the resulting pictures...