It was a working holiday for me

Traffic, expenses and sleeplessness  stress. This is the downside of the holiday season. But on the other hand, this is the time of the year to meet up with friends and party big-time.

In my profession, I get invited to a lot of social functions and I am not bragging when I say that. It could be a pain  ask the lifestyle editors and writers of this paper. Attending a party is not very simple: You dress up, drive through the metropolis, which is a bigger penitence than flogging yourself during Holy Week, and load up on calories that you later have to expel or allow to accumulate in your body system.

Last December, I had to carefully manage my schedule because I had to go through the eight mainstream entries, plus five more in the indie category, as a member of the panel of judges in the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). And then there were the corporate shows, except that I gave my life to the filmfest since that is my commitment to the local film industry that I love.

I only managed to attend two major parties last month and had to totally skip the annual Christmas party of the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) that had retired me after an 11-year stint. But I was still invited just the same and I looked forward to seeing my former colleagues there, headed by CEB chair Christine Dayrit.

But don’t tell them this: My primary reason for including the CEB get-together in my calendar was because I was hankering for cinematographer Marissa Floirendo’s crispy bagnet that she brings to our yearly potluck.

On the day of the party, I only had oatmeal and nothing else  in anticipation of the hearty meal that I looked forward to at My Cinema in Greenbelt where the CEB party is always held.

But since it took me an hour and a half to traverse EDSA (after stewing in Greenhills for 45 minutes), CEB secretariat head Wilma Isleta advised me while I was already in EDSA-Boni that I won’t make it anymore since the party-goers had to leave at a certain time because another group was taking over My Cinema’s private screening room.

I proceeded instead to Rustan’s Makati to do Part II of my Christmas shopping (it’s like the never-ending Shake, Rattle & Roll series). I stayed in the department store till its 12 midnight closing time and proceeded on a very empty stomach to the birthday party of former Startalk co-host, Lorna Tolentino at 409 Shaw, a new and spacious events place beside the Hyundai building in Mandaluyong.

LT gave me a smirk since I was late to her party. But that’s the trouble when you are December born: Your party competes with several other events and, sniff, you only get one present for both birthday and Christmas. To make up for my tardiness, I pledged to close the event until every single plate had been washed in the kitchen.

LT’s party was actually a ball  and star-studded, led by no less than former President Joseph Estrada, wife Sen. Loi, Senator, son Jinggoy and his pretty wife, the former Precy Vitug and their very good-looking kids. Even in-law Beaver Lopez was in attendance. I can’t enumerate the names of all the guests, but I stayed mostly in the table of Malou Fagar, Isabel Rivas, Ronnie Quizon and LT’s original best friend, Telly Garcia. While LT didn’t make me wash the dishes, I was among the last guests to leave and I could have attended the misa de gallo, except that I was also going to be late for that.

The other major Christmas party I attended was the annual holiday celebration of Slimmers World International where the different branches prepare lavish production numbers and three winners are declared at the end of the contest.

Third place winner was the Slimmers World Greenhills branch. First runner-up was Slimmers World Megamall that had the best put-together number. It was Slimmers World Pasay Road, however, that brought home the grand prize. This group actually had the best dancers, who were all graceful and whose movements were synchronized.

Slimmers World International always mounts some of the most entertaining Christmas parties and this most recent one was capped by the performance of guest singer Jericho Rosales.

And so that was my Christmas 2010  it was basically work, work and a few parties. I’m looking forward to squeezing in a few more in the dying days of this festive season.