#Comfort and style in Subic

[beingjellybeans]

#TitaAdventures Unleashed: Fun things to do in Subic

Picture this: A gathering of fabulous Titas from all over the country, armed with their signature oversized totes and killer style, converging upon the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. It’s a celebration of a dear friend’s birthday, and the stage is set for a weekend of adventure, delectable feasts, and unforgettable memories. Join me – your friendly Tita Jellybeans – as I recount my escapades outside…

[kennyrobots]

my OKC profile Q&A (circa 2020).

looking through my old OKC profile edits (because i went down a rabbit hole) (i’m also unsure of how i got there, but such is the nature of rabbit holes), and i came across an old Q&A that i actually put onto my actual factual profile at one point. i thought it’d be a kinda-cute and somewhat-funny way to express my personality on the thing, instead of the boring ol’ “lists of shit i like, i hope you find something in there that we have in common so that we can both get off of this hellsite”. (as you would expect, i was quite alone in that opinion.) (enjoy. or don’t.) "I don't know what I think - I haven't written it down yet." I've loved this phrase ever since I first heard it - I will swear up and down that I stole this from Ambrose Bierce, but Google insists that I made it up. Didn't know that was possible in this day and age, but here we are. Here we ALL are. //////////////////////////////////// Self-summaries are passé. Let's do a Q&A instead.

Q: Where are you from? A: Philippines, originally. U.S. Naval Hospital Subic Bay, to be exact. Virginia, from 1999, up until 2016.

Q: So what are you, then? A: My daddy Mississippi, my momma Mabayuan - you mix that Negro with that Pinoy, got this Flushing bama.

Q: What do you do for a living? A: *looks at sidebar where job is listed* Hmm. ...You know the guy that goes "Ow!" on the Black Box song "Everybody, Everybody"? That's me. Please stream that song - I need my 37¢ check by the end of the month.

Q: Any siblings? A: I have a younger sister in the Army. Almost had a twin brother, but I defeated him in a high-stakes game of craps while we were both in the womb, and he had to stay behind. (He was quite salty about that, but them's the breaks, Kevin.)

Q: Are you actually 6'2"? A: You got me - I'm actually 5'9", but I really believe in myself for those last five inches. Those low-hanging tree branches randomly smacking me in the head must be figments of my imagination.

Q: Why'd you move to New York? A: Three reasons. 1) Go! Go! Curry. Worth the visit. 2) I read MFA vs. NYC once, and made the wrong choice in retrospect. 3) Chasing a woman. Also the wrong choice in retrospect, but I wouldn't be here otherwise, so that might've turned out to be a blessing in disguise, if I find someone special out here on these (digital) streets.

Q: How was your 2019? A: Good and bad. Got out of my comfort zone (especially during the back half of the year, when I started taking dating more seriously), met some people I liked, learned a lot about myself. All that was good. On the other hand, 2019 was also the same year that I learned that "Deutschlandfunk" has nothing to do with German funk music. Still kinda devastated about that.

Q: What are your biggest goals in life? A: Meet a sweet and funny woman. Get married to her, have exactly 2.94 kids. Publish a book at some point. Figure out where to settle down, buy a house there, start filling it with late-stage capitalist garbage. Mow the lawn on a regular basis, in order to keep the Homeowner's Association off my ass. Buy more records. Wear a honeybee outfit for a whole day, while singing Unknown Mortal Orchestra's "Hunnybee" to myself. Finally clean out the garage, after the third time that my wife asks. Travel to Buenos Aires, to see if Smithsonian Magazine was correct. Convince my wife that no, honey - I didn't fall asleep during our daughter's ballet recital. I only put my head back and closed my eyes in deep appreciation for the sublime art I saw onstage. Y'know - the usual.

Q: Karaoke song of choice? A: I grew up on 90s/00s R&B, so virtually all songs from those eras are in play. Gun to my head, I'd probably choose Zhané's "Request Line" for 2020, mostly because I want to figure out how to harmonize with myself. Unless I'm drunk - then I'm just going to slur and stammer and yell my way through "Hard In Da Paint" until I pass out, or am stopped by force.

Q: Why do you have cornrows? A: A part of the bet that I made with my almost-twin Kevin, actually - the loser had to remain in the womb, while the winner had to get cornrows at the age of 35, no matter how much (or little) hair he had on his head. And since I am an honorable man, here we are. In a very real sense, both of us lost.

Q: Are you for real? A: At the risk of putting Descartes before the horse, I think so. A few years ago, I did struggle with the concept of reality, but trying - and failing - to walk through a wall "because it's not really there" quickly changes your opinion on that.

Q: ... A: I mean, I'm actually a bot. *beep* *boop* Feed me your memes.

Q: Your profile sucks. A: Not a question, but I'll allow it. *clears throat* Dear Sir or Madam: You may be correct.

Q: Why consider you, then? A: In a moment of...let's go with "curiosity", I changed my search settings and looked at my competition. If nothing else, I appear to have a level of self-awareness that a majority of other fellas here on OKC lack, so there's that. (Seriously - I read through some of these profiles, and I wanted to melt onto the floor and die, because I know that they're being completely serious. You ladies are absolute SAINTS for slogging through alla that.)

Q: Aren't you concerned that you'll have nothing to talk about during a date, if you put a lot of it on here? A: So I've been in the process of what I call "exploring the contents of my mind", and I've found that I have A LOT to say, even if the majority of it is essentially nonsensical. The day that I run out of stuff to comment on is the day that you should walk out on me during a date. I would fully support that, even as my heart breaks in real-time, Ralph Wiggum-style.

Q: Fine. Aren't you concerned that you're giving away too much up front? A: All joking aside, I actually really do believe in honesty, transparency and authenticity, especially with my partner. One of the things that I want to do is always be able to tell you the truth, or at least, my version of the truth. That's how we develop trust. I don't want anything I think to be off-limits to you, because if I start keeping small stuff from you, it's only a matter of time before I start keeping LARGER stuff from you, y'know? Besides - if we're going to be together, I want you to know all about me, because I want to know all about you. And yes - that means knowing what you think. It's important to me. So, I reciprocate, and apparently I'm doing it first, completely unprompted. It's only right.

Q: You write a lot. A: I do that sometimes, yes.

Q: What's the deal with the whole Ambrose Bierce thing? A: I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I'm not an Instagram comedy account, after all.

Q: But what if he didn't write it, and you actually DID come up with that quote? A: ...Possible, but unlikely. I'm honestly not smart enough to come up with something that clever.

Q: It's actually not as clever as you think. A: Yeah, that happens sometimes.

Q: Any parting comment? A: I wish everyone would've told me how hot I would run all the time as an adult. Seriously - all this extraneous body heat is nonsense. Balls are sweaty at the worst possible times.

Q: Good god. A: ...I mean, in the words of one of the great philosophers of our time, "I don't care what the people say - I'm gonna love you anyway." Timeless. (y’all - i am SO happy that i’m finally able to format this thing in the way i’d always intended.)

[junkieofalltrades]

On an electrifying week in February 1981, Pope John Paul II went on an 8-city pilgrimage in the Philippines. It was in fact his second visit to the country, having been here before in 1978 as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow. During his 1981 visit, Philippine Airlines allocated three aircraft for JP2 - a 727-200, a YS-11, and a DC-10. A BAC 1-11 was commissioned for then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos and the media. All aircraft wore 'VIVA IL PAPA!' titles and the Papal coat of arms. RP-C1415 took JP2 from Subic AFB, located technically in Morong, Bataan, to Loakan Airport in Baguio City. The pontiff visited a Vietnamese refugee camp in Morong before heading to Baguio. In command of the YS-11 was Capt Jim Sydiongco. On all of JP2's flights with PAL, he was accompanied by PAL President Roman Cruz and senior PAL executives. No other airline have done it for the Pope, not even Alitalia. But before RP-C1415 went on to fly a would-be saint, she began her life with Brazil's Cruzeiro in 1967. The following year, she was transferred to Filipinas Orient Airways. She eventually landed with Philippine Airlines in 1974 following the implementation of a One-Airline Policy by the Marcos administration. She served PAL until 1981. The last years of her life were spent flying feeder flights in rural United States, namely with Pinehurst Airlines and Simmons Airlines. She was mothballed in 1988. The 1981 Papal visit cemented the reputation of Philippine Airlines as a formidable VVIP carrier, capable of safely flying the world's most important persons in style and comfort that even the VVIPs didn't expect. Philippine Airlines NAMC YS-11-125 RP-C1415 Official Papal Aircraft, 1981 Gemini 200 1:200 @flypal @mabuhaymagazine #philippineairlines #PAL #NAMC #YS11 #gemini200 #geminijets #popejohnpaulii #saintjohnpaulii #FILDAC #filipinodiecastaircraftcollectors #aviation #avgeek #diecast #hobby