Lizz has been on a short break from gainful employment, so we found time to attend 6 events in the last 11 days, which has got to be some kind of record for us. I shall now attempt to squeeze all of them into one blog entry.
After a nice dinner, we were treated to a performance by a group of young dancers. And by young I mean really young, like 15 or 16 years old at the most, which would have been fine except for the fact that the four girls in the group were dressed like strippers. To make things worse, they did a sexy dance to the tune of a song with the line "touch me, touch me all night long" repeated about a hundred times. It made me feel like a dirty pedophile.
Then, in the middle of the high-energy dance number, one of the girls lost her balance and fell down. I laughed out loud.
Seriously though, despite their quirky taste in entertainment, the members of the Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology are good people. They're working hard to promote science education in this country, and they'll always have my support.
Event rating: 5 stars for unintentional hilarity
2. Randell Tiongson's personal finance seminar at the Promenade - June 27, 2009
When Philos told me about a free personal finance seminar, I was skeptical. I was half expecting a multilevel marketing recruitment session or a Kiyosaki cult evangelical meeting. But I went anyway, and I'm glad I did.
Randell Tiongson's talk was practical and pleasantly bullshit-free. Instead of trying to push a get-rich-quick scheme, he emphasized the importance of saving and budgeting. And, best of all, it wasn't boring--the dude was funny.
And the food was great too.
Event rating: 5 stars for sensible advice
3. Flippish launch party at Fiamma - July 2, 2009
Flippish is a new Filipino online video channel featuring broadcast-quality series. Their shows are better than almost everything on local TV, although of course that's not a high bar to clear.
The launch party was set at 8 PM. We foolishly got there at 8:30, forgetting that fashionable people often like to be fashionably late. We spent a long boring wait sipping alcohol. The program started at a little past 10, only to stall again after the two-man indie band introduced by the host had to spend 15 minutes fixing technical problems with their instruments. We left just as the program was getting back on track. I'm so not a party animal.
Event rating: 5 stars because booze doubles the number of stars
I was grumpy at having to wake up early for the event, but I cheered up the moment I walked into the tent and saw the fair-like atmosphere. Hot dogs, corn, barbecue, pizzas, Slurpees! I felt like a child again, at least until a comedian dressed as a giant hot dog went on the stage and fired off endless hot dog penis jokes.
The highlight of the event was of course the hot dog eating competition. The event organizers brought in Tom "Goose" Gilbert, a competitive eating superstar, and he didn't disappoint. He downed 10 hot dog sandwiches in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, easily more than twice as fast as any of his hapless opponents from the media.
I used to smirk when I heard people referring to competitive eating as a sport, but after witnessing the performance, I'm a believer. I can't wait for it to become an Olympic sport. I'm sure it would be more exciting than sports like curling and soccer. Lizz was so inspired by the performance that she's planning to start a career in competitive eating as Lightning Lizzy. If you want to join the fun, head over to the Big Bite Match website and join the hot dog-eating challenge.
Event rating: 5 stars for gluttonous fun
This was the first Cafe Scientifique hosted by kids--very nervous kids. A doctor/professor gave a short but informative lecture about viruses. Ironically, the doctor had a cold but still shared a microphone with the kids and shook hands with one of them, possibly passing on the virus. Quick, kids, wash your hands.
Virus is a hot topic right now thanks to the swine flu hysteria. I'll talk about that in my next blog entry.
Event rating: 5 stars for science
6. WiFi testing at SM Megamall - July 5, 2009
This WiFi testing event wasn't as good as the one at The Block for the following reasons:
1) There was annoying band playing onstage. Their music wasn't bad, but it was loud. I couldn't concentrate long enough to blog, so I didn't.
2) There weren't enough tables. I had to put my laptop on my lap! The outrage!
3) I didn't win anything this time despite the increased number of prizes. Ade won a Wow Magic Sing, but he didn't seem particular ecstatic. Well, I wouldn't be either if I had won it or any of the large number of caps and T-shirts.
On the bright side, they gave us free food. Lizz and I also found a little stall that sells confections, and we stuffed our faces with delightful salt water taffy. Of course, we got headaches.
Event rating: 5 stars for eating too much
Phew. Going through the event marathon was fun, but god, it was exhausting. I think I'll take it easy for a while.
