Pub Quiz fiasco 101 and then some

My first quiz-out for 2010 started on a funny note. I met Pierre (who’s gonna be my kumpare soon he-he) on the Magallanes MRT station and his opening lines were “Pwede ka ba?” said in jest like some streetwise fag looking  to pick up in the dimly lit corners of Quezon Circle.  That was good for a laugh considering his build and all. It’s just “”Di bagay pare!”

If it was a real fag, I’d surely plant both my fists in his nose, although that’s the last thing I’d do if I meet an aggressive fag the size of Pierre who can also deliver a mean roundhouse kick. See, the only thing more dangerous than an aggressive fag is an aggressive fag who knows martial arts. Such creatures, boys and girls, are what we call “Barumbadings.”

I’m not homophobe by nature but there are lowlifes out there who’d resort to tactics subtle and otherwise just to relieve the devil’s itch in their loins. I should know. Heck, I’m not good-looking but I’ve had a few brushes with such monstrosities who obviously try to make a pass.  Such individuals give even the most respectable members if the third sex a bad name. Thankfully, not all gays are like that. In fact, I have friends from the LGBT group who won’t stoop down to such abysmal levels.

Anyways, we spent the next few minutes standing between the station’s stairs and elevator waiting for Richard. Whiling the time away, we found ourselves talking about how a child in-utero’s sex is determined. Pierre explained about how there are male and female sperm cells, and how each differ in terms of endurance and speed. The conversation was really getting animated and it was a good thing that Richard came huffing and puffing along (like a male sperm cell) because the ladies boarding the elevator are starting to give us weird looks.

When we asked how far our pub quiz venue is from EDSA, Richard said it’s too far too walk but too near for a ride. The lazybones in us made us choose the latter so we hailed a trike and got there in 100  milliseconds.

The place was decidedly dabbed in red and black hues. It was spacious, perhaps enough to accommodate 80-100 people at a time. It also has a balcony to allow smokers to exercise their lungs without air conditioning. The crowd was dominated by, well, yuppies, expats, half-breeds and a healthy smattering of PYTs or Pretty Young Things that had Atty. Alas and the rest of the boys switching to Meerkat mode.

Soon, Atty. Chito, Imelda, Bong and Dave arrive and before long it was decided that the group’s name will be THINKAHOLICS.

It was my first time to join the said quiz and as such, I learned the rules only when the game was well underway. A unique feature of the game was the double points and stealing power which you can only use twice for the entire game. The rest of the rules were kinda vague. There were no set number of questions for any given category. Each group huddled around a table or two were provided mini-whiteboards and markers to write down their answers. Answer boards are raised while the scores were tabulated.  We were all in agreement that such rules run the risk of making the game arbitrary and capricious.

As can be expected, the questions were quite informative but NOT geek-friendly or hardcore quizzer-friendly. We survived the category about vegetables but we ate dust after the shoes category was finished. Then came the category about rocks and the Beatlemania both of which were aced by our group. Three-quarters down the game, we were firmly in second place with 37 points while the leading group notched 38.

And then the unthinkable happened.

The next category was about 2010 movies – and their OPENING DATES. Double points were awarded if the teams can provide THE exact date. Now, we had movie enthusiasts in our fold and they can answer almost any question you throw in their direction about the old classics and such but OPENING DATES?!

To add insult to injury, they featured like 15 questions for this category, almost double the number for the previous categories. WTF!. That’s how something in the bag got away from us. And it doesn’t help that we saw some people hiding their iphones or whatnot under the tables — promptly pocketing them when someone looks their way — in blatant violation of the contest rules. I dunno if the owner just doesn’t know it or simply looks the other way because he knows these people personally. The fact that some of these folks can answer the most impossible questions including MOST if not all of the EXACT opening dates of movies like SHREK, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, TRON, etc, would make you question reality as it is.  uh, whatever.

But then again, in fairness to the owner of the bar, it’s his place and he runs the show. He does what he thinks is good for his business. Pub quizzing in itself is a risk. Too much hardcore trivia can drive away the young and beautiful boys and girls of Makati, even perhaps the smartest ones.We have to face the fact that hardcore quizzers and game show veterans like us are ALWAYS WELCOME TO JOIN BUT NOT WELCOME TO WIN the pub quizzes hereabouts.

I think it’s time someone puts up a bar that does REAL pub quizzes using REAL informative questions a la Jeopardy.  As for me I think it’s gonna take a long while before I swing by another pub quiz.

Our Balaclava

Chito is the Walrus

Imelda and her gracious L

Imelda with a gracious L

Richard getting soused on the Red Horse Drink off

Bong making a point

break time!

richard's bungisngis after the beer fail

Happy Teeth

white bored

crowd snapshot + richard dozing off

Thinkaholics anonymous

Thinkaholics

L-R: Imelda, Alas, Pierre, Bong, Dave, Richard, Me and Chito

YEY!!!

Kenny Bayless just stopped the fight and I’m a hundred fifty pesos poorer but it doesn’t matter. Every pinoy stands head and shoulders above the world today becaue one of them has shown them what the pinoy fighting heart can do!

Go Manny!

PAC da COTTO!

Who will win? It’s just a few more minutes before the game starts. Can’t wait for the results -and the spoilers texting in the results even before the first round has been beamed to us here in the Philippines.

Of course there’s pay per view in the cinemas but it would have been better if we had it in our homes real time via PPV…on second thought, maybe there’s something like that already I dunno.

I’m all for pacquiao…but I’ll be betting for cotto. Why? It’s a win-win situation whichever way I look at it. If Cotto wins, I’ll be crestfallen but I’ll have my measly prize as a consolation. If Pacquiao wins, i lose a hundred and fifty bucks but I’ll be happy for manny and the noypi nation.

Hang me for treason but I’ll play the devil’s advocate this time around.

This 1-inch blob…

Project Carreon-Biadora ver. 1.0

Project Carreon-Biadora ver. 1.0

…might not grow up to be the e brightest kid

…but he or she WILL grow up in OUR care.

…he or she might not be the cutest kid around

…but her Mom and I WILL always be around

…every tiny step of the way…

…and who knows, if  we get lucky…

…he or she just might grow up

…to be a future singer,

…or a future artist,

…or a future athlete,

…or a future dean’s lister,

…or a future scientist,

…or a future president of the Philippines,

…or a future astronaut for the flag,

…or a future nobel laureate for humanity…

…who knows,

…he or she just might be THE future.

…but I don’t care what he or she becomes.

…as long as I care about what he or she is right now:

…a 1-inch blob

…I’m eager to shower

…with hope and anticipation.

…All I care about

…is for this 1-inch blob

…to become

…the most beloved

…of all the other tiny blobs

…out there.

It’s funny if you think about it. The miracle of human conception and life has occurred several billions times throughout human history yet it doesn’t fail to inspire wonder and apprehension among simple minded people like me. In this drama, former sperm cells (including yours truly) wiggled in a netherworld of mucus for several agonizing minutes before stumbling upon a sexy-looking ovum bouncing about in a dark canal. Mr. Sperm gives chase, ditches tail then hooks up with Ms. Ovum before both start careening down the highway to life leading to baby homo sapiens just 9 months after.

Fascinating, right? It’s a journey that allows only the toughest to survive.

It’s so tough, in fact, that we only have 6 billion survivors at the moment ready to attest to the difficulty of such a gargantuan undertaking.

What’s so miraculous about that?

I guess some things can only be fully understood and appreciated when you become an active party to it, not just a detached spectator living the moment vicariously. Case in point: I never thought I’d be filled with endless thrill and wonder at the thought of having a child of my own.

Hard to believe, yes, but here I am, gushing like a madman yet again.

Long story short, I never thought I’d be a father.

In fact, there was a point in my life when I swore to myself never to marry, much less sire a child. I was so wrapped with my lofty thoughts and ideals that my world view slowly grew to become a many-headed monster that devoured things like love, religion, loyalty, faith, consistency, and the like. I was just too idealistic to function like a normal human being though I try hard to wear a mask of normalcy on a daily basis.

Add to that the fact that I just CAN’T stand kids. I hate the noise and chaos they pass off as play, their all-consuming need for attention and the darnedest silly questions that they ask day in and day out.

‘tis a good thing indeed that time works wonders in its own ways.

Now, I’ve learned to appreciate life…and its myriad miracles that we take for granted on a daily basis.

Miracles like our little 1-inch blob.

note: this piece first came to mind after I saw an image of my kid for the first time way back August 28, 2009. He/She was two months in utero back then.

Things that I’m doing right now

1. Drawing up a list of names for both sexes…my progeny is 12 weeks old in utero so I don’t know yet.

2. Having anxiety attacks – 3 years of married life wallowing in blissful irresponsibility is about to change soon. heck, am I up to the task?

3. Thinking if  I can out-father my father.  My pop for me is the best dad in the world. He’s not perfect but he’s a hardworking provider, mentor and motivator. Can I fill his big shoes? Time will tell.

4. Checking out baby stuff in the mall with my better half. She used to egg me to that corner where cribs and strollers and mobiles and hotdog pillows are and I used to say, “what for?” Now I can’t reason with her. Ha!

5. Getting my finances in order. I know it’s a daunting, if not a gargantuan task, coming at a time when the economic recession is hitting us the hardest. Time to quit whining and find a way that works.

6. Computing how old I would be when my kid reaches his/her milestones. Target date of birth is April 4, plus/minus two weeks. I’m still 31, going 32 that time. I’ll be 43 when he/she graduates from elementary, 47 when he/she graduates from highschool, 51 when he/she graduates from college. Don’t know if I’m still gonna be working for a call center at that time. Sounds kinda awkward. Would call centers still exist in that distant future? Wouldn’t everyone be communicating with their minds in psychic centers as technology has grown so advanced? Whatever. I’ll just be old when he/she meets the rest of the world. Hopefully , I have a wealth of experience and wisdom to share when that time comes.

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