Dear Ping Medina

Dude,

We need to talk, man to robot.

You have to stop. See, I'm just a typical robot. And when I say "typical robot," it means that I'm an attractive, cool, and (insert a remarkable characteristic) robot. And why am I here on Earth? To find myself a girl. All the girls that I met before like YOU. Adore YOU. And the guys want to be as cool as YOU. The longer you continue to be Ping Medina, the harder it is to get me a girl.

For my own sanity, I made a list of ways in which you can stop being Ping Medina.

1. Stop being so attractive. Look at you. You're like Gael Garcia Bernal. You're really, really, good-looking. You can pull-off a bad haircut, plain shirt, jeans, and dirty 5-year-old Chuck Taylors. And why is that a problem? I've been spent the entire week mimicking your style and signature poker face, but I look like a beaten up Optimus Prime. Sheeesh!

2. Stop being a great actor. You are the Prince of Philippine Independent Movies. You played a guitarist, the brother of a gay kid, and portrayed 20 different roles in all 20 films for Imahenasyon. Dude, you're like a crazy awesome actor. And you have Pen Medina's "acting blood" running through your veins. You do movies because you like to tell great stories and explore emotions. Asiong Salonga? Damn, even I want to see it!

3. Stop being a multifaceted person. You're an actor, musician, and a businessman. I went to PenPen last night. I ordered a Smoked Cheese Dynamita. It was the best creation on this planet. 

In conclusion, just stop it. Stop being Ping Medina. I'm thankful that you exist, really. But I need my sanity back.

Your long lost brutha,

Gerard

P.S. This is the main photo that didn't make it. Ping, no matter what you do, you still look cool!

P.P.S. I'm just an insecure robot. DON'T CHANGE.

En Route: Bangkok, Thailand

Gerard couldn't wait to go with Nimu's friends, Bevs and Eric, to Bangkok last October! He, like Eric, has never been to Thailand. Bevs told Gerard of what to expect from Thailand. "The city is hot like Manila. And the food is spicy!" 

Gerard, Eric and Bevs at the airport.

Goodbye, Manila. Sawatdee Khrab, Bangkok!

Gerard knew what Bevs meant when she said the word "hot." But spicy? He has never heard of such a word.

"What is spicy?" he asked Bevs. 

"Well, spicy means it's hot on the tongue." she answered.

"Hot. Spicy." Gerard said it again. He was confused. Hot hurts the skin. And if spicy and hot are the same, does that mean spicy can hurt the tongue, too? 

"You'll taste the word soon," Bevs told him.

Bevs wanted Gerard to have a true Thai gastronomic experience so she ordered popular Thai dishes during the trip. 

Gerard went along for the ride with Bevs and Eric.

Their first stop was a quaint restaurant in one of Bangkok's big malls. Bevs told Gerard that Thais really love herbs and spices, and even fish sauce! Gerard had a whiff of the spices infront of him. "Mmmm..."

Eric ordered Korean beef noodle soup and Bevs ordered spicy seafood noodle soup to share with Gerard. As soon as he had a taste of the red broth, Gerard felt a burning sensation on his metal tongue and screamed, "Oil! Oil, please!" And Bevs also screamed, "Water! Water, please!" But nonetheless, it was the yummiest spicy seafood noodle soup they ever tasted!

Next stop was Feuang Nara restaurant. Bevs and Eric loved this restaurant so much! They ordered breaded pork which came with a spicy dip and Glory Morning vegetables (which is probably Thai's local version of Kangkong) in oyster sauce. Gerard was very happy with this meal and it wasn't that spicy, too!

Along the way, Gerard made a few friends, too! Meet Captain Quack and the seven duckies! They were inviting him for a bubble bath as it was a really hot day. But Gerard didn't want to miss the next gastronomic adventures of Bevs and Eric so he politely declined. 

For dessert, Bevs and Eric ordered sago and cantaloupe served with shaved ice, mixed with coconut milk. "Thais love coconut milk just as much as Filipinos," Bevs mentioned to Gerard. What's nice about the dessert was that it was served in a Margarita glass. Three small scoops of cantaloupe sat on top of the shaved ice and underneath it were the gummy sago.

On their last day, Bevs and Eric wanted to make it special for Gerard so they ordered the famous Tom Yum soup. The Tom Yum is a potent combination of herbs and spices mixed with mushrooms and prawns. They also ordered a plate of stir-fried rice noodles with vegetables and chicken. Gerard was couldn't get over how yummy the Tom Yum soup was. "It's really Tom Yummy!" he said.

The three capped of the trip with a traditional Thai dessert:

sticky rice with coconut milk and mangoes! 

"What a food trip!" Gerard said as he thanked Bevs and Eric.

En Route: Baler, Aurora

"What is surfing again?" Gerard asked NiMu while packing his things in his metal backpack. "The word "surf," as far as  I know, is when you visit the world wide web. Why go all the way to Baler just to check out websites?"

"You'll see when we get to Baler," NiMu quickly answered, looking so busy preparing her own stuff. "Don't forget your sunblock, okay?" Gerard rolled his eyes as he got up and looked for a bottle of sunblock.

It was a Friday night. Gerard, together with NiMu and her boyfriend, Jake, and their two other friends, are going to the Surf and Music Festival 2011 in Baler, Aurora, for the long weekend. "3 days of surfing?! Crazy, crazy people," Gerard said to himself. 

They hopped in the bus and took their seats. Gerard made sure he sat beside the window. NiMu told him to sleep because it will be a looooooooooooong ride. "Besides, you will need plenty of energy for tomorrow's surfing lessons," NiMu said.

Gerard didn't realize that he slept for almost 9 hours straight until NiMu woke him up. Gerard couldn't believe his eyes what he saw outside the bus window, "BEACH!!!!!!!" he shouted.

This is the beach of Sabang, Baler. Fine sand, waves, amazing scenery… This is the LIFE! 

Gerard: So that's why you said to bring sunblock!!

NiMu: DUH!

Gerard: Okaaaaay, okaaaay, sorry! So, what's our game plan?

NiMu: SURF!!!

Gerard's metal jaw dropped when saw some guys standing on a board in the middle of the sea. "Ooooh, so that's surfing. It's like skateboarding, but on water." he said. Nimu gave a FREE SURFING stub to Gerard. 

A lot of people go to Baler to enjoy the beach and surf. Gerard made new surfer friends!

Gerard couldn't wait to surf. Local surfers told him to choose a surfboard. Gerard chose the yellow surfboard with skull logo. He wanted to be a bad-ass surfer.

SURFING 101:

Arvin is Gerard's surfing instructor. Arvin is a local in Baler and he's a very good surfer. He even won surfing competitions.

Before the actual surfing, Arvin enumerated the parts of the surfboard, how to paddle, how to stand on a surfboard, and safety measures when surfing. Gerard was listening intently to Arvin's lessons and instructions. He even helped Arvin put some wax onto the board.

Arvin: Tara na sa dagat!

Gerard: *gulp* Um…okay!

*SPLASH*

*PADDLE*

*WAVE*

*STAND*

*SWIIIIIIISH*

*SPLAAAASH*

At first, Gerard failed to stood on the surfboard because of the strong waves and his knees were shaking. After a few attempts, he finally did it! Gerard robo-surfed! His surfing experience went on for about 40 minutes until Gerard and Arvin got out of the ocean.

Gerard cant really explain the feeling. He was stoked! After his surfing experience, Gerard now wants to be the first robot surfer instructor and show off his washboard abs! He wants to go back to Baler soon!

Gerard left a mark...

Special thanks to Travel Factor.

En route: South Korea

Seoul is an amazing city. I went there a few months ago for a press junket and I've fallen in love with the city ever since. I had the chance to visit Seoul once again last week, and I made sure Gerard joined me in my trip.

This was Gerard's first "real" trip. The whole 'departure-arrival-airplane-baggage' thing was new to him... and the mere thought of metal detectors in airports made his legs tremble. So I reserved a comfortable seat for Gerard...inside my bag. I was so excited to show him the randomness of Seoul.

Nimu lent me her instax camera for souvenir shots but she ran out of film. I took 3 instax photos with Nimu's camera and, since I haven't been converted to analog photography just yet, the rest were from my ever reliable digicam.

____ 하나 ____

____ 1 ____

This was at Cafe Hoho Myoll, such a wonderful charming coffee place at Hongdae. Gerard loved this arty Korean area because there were a lot of young people and it has an independent vibe. It reminded him of Cubao X but only in a bigger aspect. He loved Cafe Hoho Myoll so much and he can't wait to go back.

The cafe was decorated with random items and Gerard really submerged himself in all that adorable cuteness. It was quite overwhelming, really. 

More cuteness...

He ordered a warm banana crumble muffin and a mocha-flavored coffee...so tasty good! *burp*

The coffee and drinks were made inside the cutest VW bus inside the cafe. Before leaving, Gerard felt all touristy so he wanted a souvenir inside the VW bus "kitchen"... really, really cute!!!

____ 둘 ____

____ 2 ____

Gerard was able to experience all that spicy goodness at a Korean restaurant in Myeong-dong! Free-flowing kimchi was served. And he loved how he was able to cook his own food...

This meal was a mix of chicken, cabbage, mushroom and rice cake with that traditional spicy sauce Koreans just slather on almost any kind of food.

____ 셋 ____

____ 3 ____

Ahh, the Locks of Love at Namsan Tower. Gerard felt all romantic. Lovers come here to "lock" their love with a padlock on a fence--symbolizing the promise to stay together forever. Gerard has yet to find the love of his life but the thought of bringing someone here made him all giddy. The place is high up a mountain and you could almost see all of Seoul. Pretty scary if you're afraid of heights!

____ 넷 ____

____ 4 ____

Gerard also went to Changdeokgung Palace. He didn't take the private tour though because it was too expensive but he just went around by himself, maveling over its majesty.

He thought it would be nice to come here during the winter when all is cold and white. 

 Not knowing its history, he walked around the palace imagining stories of a Korean princess with a secret lover, a warrior perhaps, and together they hide in these walls, discreetly professing their love for each other.

____ 다섯 ____

____ 5 ____

This is Yeoksam area, a station away Gangnam, where Gerard would go home to after doing all the touristy stuff. Very metropolitan. But still quite charming because streets are lined with trees. 

Chew, drink, stroll, talk, and laugh. That's what Gerard and I did during our 5-day trip in Seoul, and it was the happiest days of our lives.