HERE is the thing: Last Thursday would probably rank high up there as one of the craziest and most tiring days of my life.
It featured three hotels, a mall, a coffee shop and some luck along the way in finding taxis that would take me from Point A to Point B.
Having no breakfast, I traversed the Metro Manila traffic with the aid of Waze. I reached my first destination, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, just in the nick of time. I had a meeting at the hotel’s 24th floor. It was my first time there.
It was a surreal experience. It was a place that gives a sense of exclusivity—something only for those who are rich and famous, which I was neither, in the first place.
Middle of the morning and it was still easy getting a taxi. And you know this will not be complete with me not talking about the driver. Well, this one claimed that he used to work in a financing company for seven years. Today, as a taxi driver, he is earning P1,200 daily net. He said it used to be P2,000, until GrabTaxi and Uber started operating. Again, people, do the math.
The second stop was Cyberscape Alpha in the Ortigas Central Business District for brunch with a couple of Australian baristas, which was quickly followed by a latte-art showdown at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall. I swear that was the one day in my life where I had so much coffee. I am more of a milk person, by the way.
Then I had to walk all the way to Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg Center Manila to briefly attend a forum. I realized that I have not been to Shangri-La Plaza Mall for a long time, when I had to take the outside, and presumably longer, walk. But then again, I also sensed that little has changed when I entered SM Megamall and find that it is still too cramped.
Oh, and it is definitely summer. Walking midafternoon on the road felt like my skin was burning. And we have yet to hit April and May. Wait until temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius.
Oakwood is one hotel that still feels a bit strange to me for some reason. Maybe more visits there in the future would warm me up to the place. It is one of the favorite venues, though, of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities.
After Oakwood, it was another long walk to this little secret coffee shop that is about to blow all Metro Manila coffee lovers away. Just a little patience and you will all get to taste a different brew. Maybe, just maybe, they will also introduce the vegemite sandwich.
Then it was off to Dusit Thani Manila, where I was invited by Q2 HR Solutions Executive Vice President Sarah McLeod to an evening with United Kingdom television personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.
Being someone who watches practically no television shows outside of the news channels and the old CSI Las Vegas series, I had to ask myself and jug my memory for several days on who this person was.
The invitation had it, that it was being staged by the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, and that this person, whomever he maybe, did Changing Rooms and The Apartment. I assumed they were reality shows.
Lazy enough not to check Google then, I asked a friend who was a television junkie if she knew who this person was and all I got was a blank stare. And he was supposed to be famous? Oh well.
Arriving at the event, tired and totally stressed out already, I said my hello to Sarah, and then looked onto the stage, where a video clip of this person was, being played. Well, it was funny enough and the room was laughing.
Then the lights went on and someone, who was barely four feet away from me, started walking to the stage area. That was when I went—“Oh my God, it is the heavyweight version of Dave Grohl.”
That was me in sort of like this Beavis & Butthead video clip when they were watching an early Michael Bolton video—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvW4Gy35t8o.
I move from the left to the right side of the stage and, yes, he is a dead ringer for Dave Grohl. Although, at some point during his talk, he claimed to be a mirror image of David Beckham. Uhm. Well. Uh. OK, I will give him a pass for that because he was charming and witty.
Going back a bit to Dave Grohl and those who do not know him, which would probably be only those in caves somewhere in Timbuktu. Well, he started as the drummer for this little-known band named Nirvana which is now in the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. He then started his own band, Foo Fighters. They are really good. He is really good. Dave is a classy person and one damn good front man.
Oh, and just like in the video, which I presumed you just watched, Mr. Bolton is correct when he said: “Normal is not something people are not until you really get to know them. Everybody is crazy.”
Well, crazy is probably another adjective I can use to describe Llewelyn-Bowen. I can say that he can even fit perfectly with members of Spinal Tap. And, just for the record, I meant that in a good way.
I mean onstage, he claimed to be rapidly approaching middle age and, at the same time, saying he was overweight. Llewelyn-Bowen also said that, at one point, he was one of the most recognized persons in the UK with practically no income.
Ok, so when writing this column, I had to, I mean I really had to Google him. He was such a personality.
From what I can find, he was born in Kensington. But a look at the IMDB page on famous people who were born there, his name was not on the list. There were Joss Ackland, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Virginia Woolf, but no Llewelyn-Bowen. How could they possibly miss him?
But Kensington must be a really good place to live, because, at one point or another, it was the home address for people like Freddie Mercury, Jimmy Page, the Glimmer Twins (if you can name who they are, I will treat you to a McDonald’s lunch), Sir Bob Geldof and even Robbie Williams.
Lately, he set up business in China and is doing a reality show there titled Cracking China. He also apparently started a lingerie line there. That is one dream job for any full-blooded male out there. Is there a chance I can attend one of the photo shoots? Kidding.
But seriously, though, Llewelyn-Bowen makes a lot of sense. He gives sound advice. Onstage, he said business is not a science, but rather something to be enjoyed, while making the most from the experience.
He said business is about making the most of an opportunity, being flexible, and having that creative streak. It is about personality.
Llewelyn-Bowen then told me on the side that to succeed in whatever endeavors we set to do, it is important that we do not follow someone else’s path. We have to be eccentric. He claims it is what makes Brits successful.
Last, he told me that you have to believe in yourself, stop measuring yourself against other people and enjoy what you have.
Outside of China, Llewelyn-Bowen has a presence in Malaysia and Singapore. He got introduced to the country by Sarah’s company SparQ, which promotes the Philippines as a viable investment and offshoring destination.
From what I have heard, Llewelyn-Bowen will start operations in the country before this year’s Christmas season starts. And if we are lucky enough, he might even do a reality show here in the Philippines.
Looking forward to seeing you again soon, sir. You have my respect.
For comments, suggestions, and reactions, I can be reached atraalzona@yahoo.com.