Surprises, surprises!

When someone does something unexpectedly nice for you, it can really make your day. For example, when I was taping in Plantation Bay in Cebu, Agot Isidro and her husband Manu Sandejas left me a really pretty necklace. Agot wrote in her note that she was sure I wouldn’t have time for any souvenir shopping, so they got me a necklace to remind me of my Game KNB stint in Cebu. It was so sweet of them considering the thank you should have come from me because they were the ones who had to go out of their way to guest on my game show.

Yesterday, I taped for the very first time for the sitcom Whattamen. When I got to my dressing room, there were two beautifully wrapped packages waiting for me. One was a birthday gift for Josh. The other was a Paul Smith package for me. More than the generous gifts, it was the "Thank you" card I truly treasured. It came from my "friendship," Ai Ai de las Alas.

In her card she thanked me for all the support I extended to her promotion for her hit movie Tanging Ina. She thanked me further for speaking up on her behalf when certain sectors were questioning the reported box-office results of her film. As I write this column on Wednesday night, June 11, 2003, I checked with Star Cinema bosses and I was told that nationwide Ai Ai’s movie has already grossed more than P112 million.

I saw the movie last Friday night, June 6 at Glorietta 4 together with my best friend Zsa Zsa Padilla and three of our friends. We caught the last screening, which was at 11:30 p.m. The theater was nearly 90 percent full. For a near midnight screening, in upper class Glorietta on the 10th day of showing, this is phenomenal! A huge box office hit is something that is truly unforgettable for an actor or an actress. I saw for myself how my good friend Robin Padilla had goose pimples when his movie Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw with Regine Velasquez had such a long line for the midnight screening also at Glorietta 4 more than three years ago. From my personal experience, I shed so many tears of joy when Pido Dida opened in September of 1990, when The Vizconde Massacre topped the Manila Film Festival in June of 1993, and when Mano Po crossed the P100-million mark during the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Success like Ai Ai’s Ang Tanging Ina is a career milestone. I’m genuinely proud of what she has achieved and there isn’t a more deserving person in the world. I love you, friendship! Up or down, kakampi mo ko!

The reason I enjoy hosting so much is because I still remain the ultimate movie fan. Last week while taping Game KNB, there was a knock on my dressing room door. To my surprise, wheeling in a pink gift-wrapped microwave oven was none other than the megastar Sharon Cuneta. This was the show’s way of thanking me for having guested in her show which was taped at her home in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. For a bona fide "Sharonian" like me, having my thank you personally delivered was an ultimate thrill!

Gifts, regardless of their monetary value, are always appreciated. Why? Because they’re a symbol that you’re special in someone’s life.

If you see me smiling from ear to ear, that’s because my teeth are sparkly white because Tito Ricky Lo went through the trouble of bringing me home special Crest Whitening toothpaste from Los Angeles!