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| Where’s Chiz? Can you help me find him? (Photo by Ding) |
Last week I asked to be excused from work. I’m proud to say I told the truth and none of that “I’m sick” excuse, which is a dangerous excuse by the way. There’s always a chance you’ll slip and use an illness as an excuse twice, and of course, there’s Facebook, where pictures just have a way of getting around, especially bikini pictures.
Not that I was going to the beach in a bikini. The ample layer of organic insulation (a.k.a. fat) that has mysteriously accumulated around my torso will have made that a frightful sight. I took a leave from work because my blogger pal, Irene, arranged for the CDO Bloggers to meet Senator Chiz Escudero, an event more to my liking than a beach party actually.
We were reminded of course, to think of intelligent questions. To conserve the energy needed to generate intelligence, I simply typed “intelligent questions” on Google. First on its search results was a site in which the first intelligent question listed was, “You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?”
I doubt if that would have impressed Escudero, so I simply recalled the usual saying Filipinos subscribe to when intelligence and perseverance fail, “Bahala na (The heck with it).”
Fortunately (or unfortunately) we weren’t given the chance to astound him with our mental acuity, or the lack thereof. We were told he’d be unable to keep his engagement with us due to a more pressing meeting in Davao but that we’d be allowed to at least see him in person if we hurried.
What followed was a handful of bloggers attempting to set the record for fastest bath in the rush to prepare to meet him. I’d hazard to say that some of us might have even considered the splashing of cologne as a quick bath.
In my case, all attempts to smell nice and look presentable were in vain. I had to tear through three locations to make it in time to see him. By the time he was within reach, I was coated with a thin film of sweat and lightly sprinkled with dust, a battered blogger ready for frying.
My fellow bloggers and I kept a little distance, perhaps afraid he’d smell us, but there was nothing polite about it. We stared at him (timidly of course) and if eyes could chew, he’d have been digested.
He smiled, said sorry for the cancelled meeting and promised to return for us.
Charming.
Someone coughed up the courage to say “picture” and in the blink of an eye, we smothered him. In all the eagerness, we didn’t even notice we nearly pushed him out of the picture as he craned his neck from behind. It was almost a photo opportunity with Escudero without Escudero and the final group shot was aptly captioned, “Where’s Chiz? Can you help me find him?”
We were treated to lunch with his staff, but after, there was no sense surmising on what he would have said about the divorce bill, election 2013, the territorial dispute with China, the selection of the new chief justice, K to 12 education and world peace. So we got ourselves drunk with coffee and shot a clip of two of our bloggers using the iTraylet instead.
Yes, this post is all drivel, totally lacking in depth and is veering towards nonsense but I had to write about the experience. After all, it was the highlight of my week, meeting a famous person who was the reason I finally got to park my normally overworked brain for a day and got some physical exercise for a change .
The next time Escudero drops by Cagayan de Oro, my brain will be back on duty and he better be ready for the full force of my intelligent questions.
Thanks to you I now know the Filipino words for "The heck with it." I just found you on Humorblogs and I think your blog is great. You're a gifted writer with a sharp sense of humor. I hope you'll visit me at Chubby Chatterbox where I write about humor, art and travel. I think we might have much in common. If you do come for a visit and like what you see, I hope you'll take a moment to press the Join button, and I'll return the favor. Take care, and I look forward to enjoying more of your posts.
Chubby Chatterbox
I really like your post even if it's originally intended to be an entry sharing your insights on what would've been an intelligent discourse with Chiz.. ^^ Anyway, I think I've seen him in Diamond Hotel once. I'm not sure though if it's just a look-alike or Chiz Escudero himself.. 😀
It can be quite intimidating to chat with any public figure. Once you get over the fear of this, you'll be amazed on how down-to-earth and how easy they are to talk with….at least the ones that I've been fortunate to share a few words with, that is.
He looks approachable 😀 Having been away from the homeland makes me an ignorant citizen hihi, I don't really know the guy, but I recognize Ruby in the photo, lol!
This man looks good but personally I dont find him nice, I really dont like him 😀
his father is my husband's mentor and good friend 🙂 They are really nice people, his nephew from his cousin is my youngest son friend and buddy buddy for three years now 🙂
Organic insulation. I loved the whole post — you can really write! — but you had me that.
I always knew I'd get old. I just didn't know I'd care so much.
Thanks for a clever, witty post.
Chiz really connects well with younger crowd and interacts also through social networking mediums and he's really a good alternative for a presidential candidate in the future.
He seems really smart, not just "programmed" smart. I'd love to sit down and chat with him.
Chiz Escudero really wanted to have a good connection with the young crowd like what Franc said and we all know that this is also an scheme for his political agendas. 😉
I remembered the time when he went to our school to give some kind of inspirational speech. That was way back 2006, I think. Too bad I had classes back then. :<
Hahahaha! Onga, parang si Chiz yung sumingit sa photo :))
Hahaha i love the 'organic insulation' and idea of googling for 'intelligent question' – honestly, i think i would just devour given the chance to meet him… no intelligent discussion please…. hahaha
Googling "intelligent question" does show that "You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?" – hidden in a forum.
Looked like you guys had a great time!
I voted for him before and will vote him again and again. I always admire Chiz Escudero. Not just intelligent but has a good heart too.
Wow you guys have managed to chat with Chiz, sadly he have yet to prove himself.
such lucky guys you are!! nice videos as well! and great post!
Filipinos always have a way to make the most of the situation. Picture picture did it! Lol!
You are lucky to have met Chiz and the picture is a good remembrance.