Should I dare to be fit and right?

Far from it, I'm sure. After all, once I quit my college's track and field team, the once fit physique I had became a distant memory. From a sprightly 110 to 120 lbs., I ballooned to my current 200 lbs. - or possibly even more - so yeah, fit and right I definitely am not.

So, what contributed to my weight gain? A really unhealthy diet that constituted mostly of fried food, junk food, lots of rice and pasta and definitely lots and lots and LOTS of Coke for one. Lack of exercise also made me gain weight, with the only physical effort I exerted most nights coming from lifting a bottle of beer off of the table to my paperwork-parched lips. 

Nowadays, when I look at my old pictures, I can't help but wish I was still that fit and lean. For one thing, shopping for clothes was much easier then since I could fit into a pair of jeans with a 27-inch waistline while a large-sized shirt would easily fit me. Now, clothes hunting has become troublesome since jeans with a 38-inch waistline is not too common in stores while a XXL or even a XXXL shirt has become a necessity since it fits me well as opposed to a large-sized shirt which would only make me feel and look like a giant hamonadong longganisa.

God knows I've tried losing weight lots of times but most often than not, I stopped after just a few tries because it was either too troublesome or I just was too lazy to do it. I mean, c'mon, sitting in front of the computer and web surfing or playing games or lounging in front of the TV while watching DVDs were more interesting, hassle-free alternatives after all, even more so if you had a bag of chips and a bottle of soda to accompany you.

A workout that would burn 400 calories in four minutes?!? WTF?!?

Still, I missed the old fit and healthy Patrick Everett Tadeo so when the opportunity came to join Del Monte's Fit N' Right bloggers event last Friday, October 23, I couldn't pass it up, especially when their invitation had a teaser that said PBA conditioning coach Jim Saret's Fast Intense Training (FIT) workout could burn "400 calories in four minutes" which would continue to burn more "even when you're done with the workout." That pretty much sold it right there for me.

Now, I won't go into the minute details of the bloggers event, like how good the food was (it was okay, really, but not something I'd write about) or who were the bloggers I knew that attended the event (not that many since I only attend bloggers events that appeal). I will however delve into what Coach Jim shared with the bloggers.

If the invitation's teaser sold the bloggers event to me, Coach Jim's lecture on fitness and the benefits of his FIT workout practically reeled me in hook, line and sinker. From his very informative lecture to the look of the volunteers' faces as they took part in Coach Jim's live on-stage FIT workout demo, I became a believer in his workout. And I'm sure, once everyone hears of how good and effective his workout his, Coach Jim will be the L. Ron Hubbard of fitness, with his FIT workout as the fitness world's Dianetics. Okay, I jest as he's more Tony Robbins than Scientology's equivalent of Jesus and St. Peter combined.


Coach Jim's four-minute FIT workout for beginners is easy to do with the workout being spread into four one-minute intervals with easy-to-do exercises like being in a prone position but only on the tips of your toes and on your elbows, followed by squats, push-up and lunges. What did pique my interest though was Coach Jim's intense workout he gave to his friend Jam as it looked both intense and tiring especially when, as part of the demo, even after Jam wrapped up the workout for some minutes already, he was still burning calories. Too bad though that the bloggers kit Del Monte gave away to everyone didn't have that specific workout. Del Monte's Facebook page, however, assured me that they'll be putting Coach Jim's workout routine with Jam up soon so I'll be eagerly waiting for it.

Burning fat while juicing up naturally

Being that the bloggers event was sponsored by Del Monte Fit N' Right (FNR), it was expected that there would be tons of FNR-branded items on display, from the tabled adorned with FNR bottles to the event's beverage on hand courtesy of FNR.

Honestly, prior to attending the bloggers event, I had no experience whatsoever with L-carnitine-containing products. As I mentioned earlier, it's nothing but Coke, or sometimes Pepsi, for me. So, after I downed three 330 mL bottles of Del Monte FNR, I thought it wasn't anything special; 'just a fancy way of promoting pineapple juice' was how I dismissed it.


The next morning, however, served as a wake-up call for L-carnitine's positive effect as I found myself making more trips to the toilet to 'unload'. According to my wife who's an occasional L-carnitine user of another brand of beverage, that was how one way the "quaternary ammonium compound biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine" (Thank you, Wikipedia) worked.

According to Del Monte, "if L-Carnitine levels are increased, the body’s ability to oxidize fat is optimized. With supplementary L-Carnitine, proper diet and regular exercise, one can achieve ideal body weight and ensure a healthy life."

Del Monte also said that "Fit ‘N Right also contains Vitamin B1, B6 and B12 that helps speed up metabolism, resulting in faster weight loss. Vitamins B1, B6 and B12 are energy boosters and increases endurance by facilitating the conversion of carbohydrates, protein and fat into energy that is needed by the body in performing physical functions. It also contains natural fruit juice that provides the body with 100 percent of its regular daily allowance."


And so, armed with Coach Jim's workout and the fat-burning properties of Del Monte's FNR, I just might find myself losing weight in time for my birthday next year. But first, I've got a marathon to attend to.

Me? Run a marathon? Am I INSANE?!?

I may just be since the last time I ran a marathon was during my college's traditional four-kilometer feast day marathon back in 1995. After that, the only time I would run was everytime I crossed the street to get to the other side to hail a jeepney.

Truth is, I'm slightly bemused how running has become today what badminton was a year ago - everyone seems to be doing it. Because honestly, the only reason I joined my college's varsity track and field team was not for the love of the sport. Far from it actually as I hate sweating unless it's because I'm having sex. You see, the only reason I joined the team was because I wanted to skip out on my college's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) training. Shallow reason, I know, but hey, I was able to skip Sunday morning ROTC training and Physical Education (PE) classes because of it.

So, when my name was one of the ten drawn by Del Monte that would be able to join the first Del Monte Dare to be Fit ‘N Right Fun Run at the SM Mall of Asia on November 22, I thought 'what the hey, I might as well since I'll be getting a free singlet, race bib, FNR products and a raffle coupon for the chance to win a Lenovo laptop.' And so sign up I did right after I stepped out of the event. To be fair to myself though, I only signed up for the 3-kilometer race since I think that, with my current condition, that's going to be a challenge already.

So, if you feel like running for a good cause to help the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, sign up for either the 3K, 5K or 10K marathons with just a P300 registration fee. The registration period will be from October 21 to November 16 at either CEMG's office in Unit 3A Vernida I Bldg., Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City; Dare to be Fit ‘n Right booths in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig and in selected SM Hypermarkets like the Mall of Asia, Sucat, Pasig, and North EDSA; as well as any Fitness First branches on November 16, 2009. Official race call time is at 4 a.m. in front of the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall with the official run kicking of at 6 a.m.

The first, second, and third place runners from each division stands to win P10,000, P5,000 and P3,000 in cash prices respectively, coupled with more prizes including one month's free membership at Fitness First. All registered runners will also automatically qualify for the raffle, where they can win a Lenovo laptop.


I hope to see you there though you can possibly count on me being dead last in the 3K race.

Many thanks to Az for sharing his photos of the event.

My 'heavily edited' Fast & Furious Review...

I don't often agree with how my managing editor edits my works, but what else can I do? More often than not, my work gets butchered down to make it more 'web-friendly' by keeping things short and sweet.

That's bullshit, I say.

If a reader finds your work interesting, they'll still read it irregardless of its length. I know I do.

And so, just in case you're interested to read my full, unsanitized review, here it is.

*****

Whoever said that movie sequels aren’t as good the original hasn’t seen Fast & Furious, the latest installment to The Fast & The Furious movie franchise.

Fast & Furious is an interquel that’s set between 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift so it picks up right after Brian O’ Connor (Paul Walker) gets back into the good graces of the FBI after catching a South American drug lord while Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) is still on the run from the authorities - both local and foreign - while he’s still at it with Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), this time hijacking fuel tanks in the Dominican Republic. But with the authorities getting hot on his trail, Dom decides it’s better if he leaves Letty for her own good since, in his own words, “it’s me they want.”

Soon after that, Dom gets the word from his sister, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), that Letty was killed in America, making him take the risk of crossing the border to find out who was responsible. Using his rage and his bulging biceps, Dom finds out that Letty was working as a drug courier for Arturo Braga, a drug lord who uses street racers to smuggle heroin across the US-Mexican border. Eventually, Dom bumps into O’ Connor who, as an FBI agent, is also on the trail of Braga as they both try to secure a spot on Braga’s smuggling ring by going through a street race with other racers through Braga’s right-hand man, Ramon Campos. In the process, Dom also finds out that Letty was killed by a member of Braga’s smuggling ring, someone who drives a nitromethane-boosted ’72 Ford Grand Torino, and that she went back to America and worked undercover with O’ Connor after striking a deal that, if they caught Braga, Dom’s name would be cleared of all charges against him.

The tagline ‘New Model, Original Parts’ fits the movie to a tee since it’s a brand new movie with the original cast that started the ball rolling on the franchise. That’s what also makes the movie very watchable because, if you’re familiar with the franchise, it’s akin to watching old friends coming together again. There’s the familiarity with each other that makes it worth watching since each character’s background story has been fleshed out in the previous installments; there’s no more of the getting-to-know-you feeling. 

As for the cars, Fast & Furious is more about American Muscle than Japanese Tech since, compared to the other movies in the franchise, this installment has more American muscle cars. Besides Dom’s resurrected Dodge Charger from the first movie, there’s also his Chevy Chevelle (which appears in Tokyo Drift, I think), the aforementioned Grand Torino, and the Buick Grand National GNX in the movie’s opening scene. Still, as a nod to the rice racers that the first movie was all about, among the many Japanese cars in the movie, what stands out are Nissan’s legendary R34 Skyline GT-R and a current-model Subaru Impreza WRX STI that gets totaled in the end, both of which served as O’Connor’s rides in the movie. And of course, not to be forgotten too, are European sports cars like a souped-up BMW M5, a Ford RS200 (that went head-to-head with a Toyota Corolla AE86!) and a Porsche Turbo.

Although the old characters were good to see being back to their old selves, the new ones were a hit-and-miss affair. John Ortiz’ Ramon Campos was close to John Ortiz’ Jose Yero in Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, so that could either be a good thing or a bad thing to say based on Ortiz’ acting talent. Yes, he can definitely play a Latin American drug ring's top honcho, but the sad fact that he played two characters in two different movies so similarly says little about his range. Gal Gadot’s Gisele Harabo is one hot tamale as she tried to seduce Dom time and time again. And yes, she’s damn pretty and damn sexy but that’s all there is to her. She was just eye candy in a film full of eye candies, both mechanical and biological. And honestly, I think Michelle Rodriguez has more sex appeal than her.  But that doesn't mean I won't tap that ass if it presented itself to me because I definitely would.

Sung Kang’s Han also provided a good lead into …Tokyo Drift, saying how he’s thinking of going back to Tokyo after Dom decided to break up their Dominican Republic gang, thereby setting up how he became who he was in …Tokyo Drift. If only Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce from …2 Furious also made a brief appearance in this installment, everything would’ve come full circle perfectly.

All in all, if you’re a true gearhead, the sheer number of cars present in the movie would satisfy you. And if you loved the other movies in the franchise, you’ll definitely love this one since it offers more of everything really. But if you’re coming into the theater blind with no idea what the other movies were all about, prepare to be disappointed since the experience is almost like watching a movie that’s already half-finished since you’ve pretty much missed the lead-in that set up this particular movie.

So for this Underachiever of a car nut, Fast & Furious is one fast and furious achievement.

Dirty Harry is back,...

...in a way, in Clint Eastwood's newest film, Gran Torino.

I say 'in a way' because, although Dirty Harry, arguably Clint Eastwood's most memorable character on film ever, isn't the character he plays in the film, his hard-nosed, tough-as-nails attitude certainly makes its presence felt - and more, even - in his role as Walt Kowalski, the anti-hero in Gran Torino.

Walt Kowalski is a Korean War veteran and a retired assembly line worker for Ford. He views his sons and their families as a disappointment, and with his wife's recent passing, he just spends his day either drinking beer on the front porch of his house or taking meticulous care of his most prized possession, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino that's in immaculately good condition, like it just stepped off of the assembly line.

Walt Kowalski makes no apologies for being what he is; a straightforward, no-holds-barred kind of man who's never afraid to say what's on his mind, political correctness be damned. But when his new next-door neighbors, a family of Hmong people, move in, his once-quiet life changes dramatically.

First, the steady arrival of fellow Hmong well-wishers welcoming the new family to their home irritates him. But when someone breaks into his garage, trying to steal his precious Gran Torino as part of a Hmong gang's initiation, only to find out later that it was Thao (Bee Vang), the teenage son of his new next-door neighbors, Walt seethes in anger, as he angrily tells the family to keep Thao off of his property. After a few days, the gang, led by Thao's older cousin, Spider (Doua Moua), comes back and tries to drag off Thao from his home while his family tries to stop them from succeeding in their plans. But seeing how the ensuing struggle for Thao spilled onto his lawn, in the process uprooting some of the plants and breaking the ceramic gnomes that stand guard in his garden, Walt storms out of his house with his loaded M1 Garand rifle, a souvenir from his Korean War days, pointing it at the gangbangers while telling them all to get off of his lawn.

But once the heavily-Hmong populated neighborhood hears how Walt acted like a hero to save Thao, they show their gratitude by leaving his doorsteps and front porch littered with traditional Hmong gifts and offerings.  

But Walt's cold, hard heart takes a turn for the better after he saves Sue (Ahney Her), the older teenage daughter of his neighbor, from being harrassed by a local gang of black teenagers.  As they drive back to their own neighborhood, Walt and Sue, as well as her entire family, get to know each other a little better, to the point that Walt even takes Thao under his proverbial wing; first, as part of Thao's punishment from his family for trying to steal Walt's Gran Torino, but later on, as a friend and mentor of sorts as Walt teaches Thao what it is to be a man.  

Walt then realizes that the world around him, as well as he himself, is changing.  His neighborhood is now mostly populated by the Hmong people, the nurse in his doctor's clinic is a Middle Eastern woman while his previous doctor has now retired and has been replaced by an Asian woman.  And after he gets the results of his medical exam, he calls one of his sons and tries to talk to him awkwardly, only to be rebuffed by the son telling Walt that he's busy but he'll talk to him during the weekend.

Soon after, the Hmong gang retaliates against Thao, first by accosting him and burning his face with a cigarette, and then by shooting up Thao's house a few days later, wounding him in the neck.  But the final straw is when Sue comes back, beaten black and blue and raped.  Walt's once-quiet life then goes into a headspin that, as a viewer, you know would only end in a hail of bullets and a volley of gunfire.

Once more, I was lucky enough to get invited to Warner Bros. press screening of Gran Torino.  And since I grew up watching Clint Eastwood movies, thanks to my Dad who's been a loyal fan of his since Eastwood's spaghetti western days as the Man with No Name, and since this just may be his last movie as an actor, there simply was no way I was going to miss out on watching this one.

Much like his recent movies, Gran Torino follows the same pacing for each and every one of them; slow to pick up yet still captivating to watch, with the pace quickly picking up speed in the last hour of the film before coming to an abrupt stop at the end.  Now, I won't spoil the ending for you but I will say this; if you know how Million Dollar Baby ended, Gran Torino ends pretty much the same - with a twist that touches your heart yet leaves you depressed.

Clint Eastwood was great, ably portraying the role of an action hero who just happens to be a senior citizen.  As for the actors who played the lead Hmong teenagers, Thao and Sue, they did a pretty good job for a couple of acting rookies in their very first film role ever, particularly Sue's Ahney Her, not to mention that the chemistry among the three of them blended quite well.  The other supporting actors were just as good, particularly Brian Haley who, although known more for his comedic roles, was able to play the role as one of Walt's son with the same kind of character treatment he does in his funny movies; the supposedly indifferent character who's got a hidden agenda up his sleeves.  But as for the Hmong gangbangers Doua Moua hangs out with, fuhgeddaboudit.  They were just plain awful, especially the loud one whose head Clint Eastwood tapdanced on.

Gran Torino is definitely one of the top films of 2009, and that's saying a lot since we're just in the second month of the year.  After all, if a movie can make you root for an old crudmugeon as he tugs at your heartstrings gently, only to violently yank it at the end, particularly if it's done with Clint Eastwood's personally depressing touch, then it's certainly ranks right up there for me.

So for this Underachiever, Gran Torino is a stereotypical Clint Eastwood achievement. 

What's the buzz?

Well, a lot has been happening in my life since 2009 started.  First off, my Dad passed away - on New Year's Day, no less - after having been in a coma that was caused by a heart attack that struck him down on Christmas Day.  

Now that was a really crappy way to start a new year, and that's seriously an understatement since I've been missing my Dad ever since he migrated to the US to be with Tita Flor, my stepmom.  You see, when my Mom died in 2000, my Dad and I became really close; we shared a relationship that was just more than that between a father and his son; we became friends, but perhaps more importantly, we treated each others as adults.  I guess that was really the turning point in our relationship; that I was no longer a child in his eyes, but a man.  Of course, having Dana and Dylan refer to Robin Williams' Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum and a moustachioed and bespectacled Mr. Potato Head as 'Lolo Angel' makes me miss him even more since my kids - his grandchildren - would never know just how much a kind, loving and funny man their grandfather was.

On the job front, although I loved what I was doing for my clients, Personal Friday, and perhaps most importantly, the client that I served with exclusively for almost a year, Pandemic Labs, the company I was connected with - Open Access Marketing (OAM) - quickly lost its sheen to me.  The Google-like atmosphere I dreamt the company would have turned out to be just that - a dream - as the senior executive management were quick to wash their hands off of their disgruntled employees and left it to the local senior management to deal with them.  And to think that the one who facilitated my hiring and appraised my overall performance with the company that prompted them to regularize me as their very first Senior Writer didn't take the time to address my concerns or even just send a simple reply to any of my e-mails.  Well, to be fair with them, their open-door policy was great since you could approach any one of them to air your concerns - just don't expect them to act on it or even give you a simple reply.  To tell you the truth, talking to a concrete wall would've been better because at least you can hear your concerns being echoed back at you.

But what's even worse is OAM's local senior management.  With them, everything is black and white, and I mean EVERYTHING.  There are no greys to them, no middle ground; to them, it's either you did something wrong or not at all.  

You see, OAM has an attendance policy that asks their employees to call in at least 2 hours before the start of their shift if they can't report for work for that day, supposedly for staffing purposes, so that they'll have enough time to find someone to cover for your absence and some other illogical excuse, particularly in my case since I was their ONE AND ONLY Senior Writer at that time.  Well, in my particular case, I wasn't going to be absent, I was just going to be late, but still, I informed them 2 hours before my shift started that I was going to be late since Rachel, my wife, went out to fix something regarding her land's paperwork at the Manila City Hall.  Again, knowing that the red tape in government offices could significantly delay her progress and leave me to take care of our kids for much longer than necessary, I informed them of my dilemma.  My client had an assignment for me that needed my attention, so instead of calling in as absent for that day, I opted to still report for work, just so that I wouldn't leave my client hanging.  So, problem solved - or so I thought.

As it was, I thought incorrectly.  I came in 17 minutes late, but then, since I informed them ahead of time that I'll be late, thus following the company-set policy to the T, I thought that I was safe from any repercussion.  But lo and behold, the following day, I get served with a 5-day suspension notice, saying that I violated the company's policy of coming in late "for a total of 15 minutes or 3 times, whichever comes first."  I sent an e-mail to OAM's senior executive management asking for some reconsideration since I couldn't very well leave my kids alone at home just so I can make it to work on time but I didn't get a single reply from any one of them.  As for OAM's local senior management, they wouldn't even hear me out, saying that no concession could be made and that they're just following company policy.

Now, if I came in because it was of my own doing, like if it's because I got up late or I took my own sweet time to go to work, then I would've readily signed the suspension notice.  As it is, since I did tell them ahead of time that I'd be late, only to be figuratively slapped in the face by being served with that suspension, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.  The way I see it, I would've been better off calling in as absent for that day.  Since I'm hardly ever absent, that would've made me safe from their oh-so-strict, black-and-white policies.  Now that really demoralized me to the point that I started job hunting again, knowing that I'll be leaving behind a good paycheck and some good people I call as friends since my days in PeopleSupport.  After all, if I came in late again, and since OAM's local senior management are such sticklers to the black-and-white company policies, the next step - again according to the black-and-white company policy - was that I was going to be terminated.  So when a good job opportunity came knocking just as I was looking for a new one, I didn't hesitate.  I did the usual interviews, and thanks to my having worked with them on a freelance basis before, I got the position.  Of course, I told the company that was hiring me that I had to give my then-current employer my two-weeks' notice which they (the company that was hiring me) were cool with.  So the very next instance that I came in late, I came in armed with the two-weeks notice of my resignation.  And honestly, it felt good doing that; sort of like beating them to the gun and sticking it to them when they least expected it.

And so, with my resignation taking effect yesterday, that makes today my first day of being in-between jobs literally since I'm now effectively resigned from OAM while I still have to facilitate some paperwork needed by the company I'm moving to.  Like I said in the social media sites I'm a part of, leaving OAM is a bittersweet feeling.  It's sweet because I'm free from OAM's oppressive shackles of misguided authority yet I'm bitter because the company's executive management and local senior management teams' minds are too closed to what I'm doing for them, how my clients - their clients - only had good words to say about what I've done for them, and yet, as anal-retentive as they are to their black-and-white policies, they would rather suspend me and leave the clients hanging for 5 days rather than just look in the grey area - if there is one - in their precious company policies and look the other way instead.

And that's also another thing that got my goat in OAM -  they're rolling out and enforcing their new policies but yet they still have to inform OAM's employees what exactly are the new policies.  Essentially, what they're doing is putting up a new set of rules and yet they're leaving their employees blind because they, the employees, have no idea what rules are being followed now.  And that's no joke because I've asked some of the local senior management people and to their knowledge, the old policies are the ones still being used.  But when you ask OAM's administrative department, they'll give you a different answer, that it's the new, still-unknown-to-the-rank-and-file-employees policies that are being used - SERIOUSLY.  It's like OAM's is taking the whole "ignorance of the law is no excuse" precept to a whole new level.  And if you ask me, although I'm no legal expert, while that may be acceptable as a general law of the streets, in a corporate setting, that's just downright illegal, and I mean against-the-Labor-Code-somebody-better-get-in-touch-with-the-National-Labor-Relations-Commission illegal.

So, what's in store for me outside of OAM?  Well, I'll let you know once I start my first day at work with the company I'm moving to.  But let me just say this - it certainly feels like I've reached the 'Summit' of things as I help the company I'm moving to by contributing my experience in writing exclusively for the web to the new 'Digital' arena the company is eager to start on.  And with the way things are going, I'll certainly strive to reach the 'Top' of my field, bringing with me my experience along with all the things and other 'Gear' I've learned.

Oh, and after 5 years of not having gone inside a movie house since the last film I saw was the premiere showing of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King when Rachel was still pregnant with Dana, I finally saw a movie again courtesy of Azrael Coladilla's Pop Machine Media bloggers' group.  Catch my review of Jim Carrey's Yes Man here.

Stay tuned for more developments soon...