MEDIUM RARE Imelda Romualdez Marcos, who is fond of saying “I have two presidents” and wears a pin showing a miniportrait of the two presidents, Ferdinand E. Marcos and Ferdinand R. Marcos, played hostess to celebrate the birthday of her loyal and longtime friend, Maurice Lim, last...
MEDIUM RARE Your face is your fate; in other words, your fortune. That’s what the old folks used to say. It would seem that indeed, beauties are born, not made, but that kind of thinking is so old-fashioned, given that no one dares to call anyone ugly in the age of inclusivity, good manners...
MEDIUM RARE TV news was mostly — and cheerfully — centered on celebrating the entry of the Year of the Serpent last Wednesday the 29th. Just as well, for it was a dry news day — a legal holiday — smack in the middle of the week. Who’s complaining? The air was festive enough in...
MEDIUM RARE She scoffed at self-styled feng shui “experts” who used the mysticism of mirrors as part of their tools to explain the universe. She regularly advised friends and clients, “Get out of the house. Do I have to push you out the door and tell you fortune awaits outdoors, not in?”...
MEDIUM RARE I’ve seen the future, and it is rich. In BGC, Bonifacio Global City. On second thought, it doesn’t have to be the future; it’s happening now. I was standing at the lobby of one of the buildings there, waiting to be picked up by my date, when I noticed that there were no...
MEDIUM RARE Feng (wind) shui (water) – psychology in sync with nature, or just plain superstition? It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer or not, but for those who do believe, feng shui is a charming way to connect the triad of Heaven above, Earth below, and Man in the middle. It’s not a...
MEDIUM RARE This, said the salesgirl, “is our bestseller, Christmas or after Christmas.” She was showing me a small squat bottle containing a green liquid – green as an apple – without letting me smell its contents. The price tag was P320, the brand is Aficionado, a fragrance for men,...
MEDIUM RARE It’s a new year 11 days from now – going by the Chinese lunar calendar. Following the Gregorian calendar, the date would be Jan. 29, start of the Year of the Serpent, a sign of luxury more than of betrayal that Westerners fear. As Serpent is a wood sign, green is the color of...
MEDIUM RARE Long ago, long “before the Covid pandemic,” when I lived in Malate to be near the office, we had the habit of dining “after the concert at CCP.” Our trio was composed of Josie Darang (who has since become the late Josie Darang), Pablo Tariman, and myself. The fare was a full...
MEDIUM RARE Maybe it wasn’t the party of the century, but who needs a century when you’re only 79 years old? Bon vivant Benjie Yap, who “collects everything” from antique jars to contemporary jewelry, celebrated his birthday amid 50 shades of blue and an army of friends, including fellow...
MEDIUM RARE Is it possible, said my fellow traveler, to walk through Hong Kong without bumping into another Filipino? Neither of us has the statistics for a yes or no, but experience would say, “Not very likely.” More likely, they’d be standing with you in your elevator in the hotel, or...
MEDIUM RARE My calendar tells me there are 365 days in 2025, with February allotted its 28 days. No, there will be no Feb. 29 this year. According to conventional wisdom, 30 of those 365 days are national holidays, not counting those to be declared on the spot, as it were, by governors or mayors...
