• Tips on how to take pictures of clouds • Lorin and Venice in mom Ruffa’s footsteps

One reason why I love us Filipinos is our sense of humor, no wonder we have been listed among the happiest people in the world. Perhaps we are also the most resilient, able to bounce back from the tests of nature.

And how quick we are in making light of even the most embarrassing incident, especially if celebrities are involved. Case in point: The Melissa Mendez Incident.

I presume that you have heard of Melissa’s headline-hogging encounter with Rey Pamaran (a model-contractor, according to Jojo Gabinete) on a Cebu Pacific flight to Pagadian City. It was a he-said/she-said case, left to the public to make conclusions. Did Rey really threaten to hit Melissa with his bag? Who’s to blame ultimately, the cumulus clouds that Melissa said she wanted to photograph that’s why she took the window-with-leg-room seat that Rey paid for?

As of the other day, Melissa has posted an apology on her Facebook for causing that airborne incident that prompted the captain to return to Manila barely an hour before the plane landed in Pagadian and for slapping Rey who, she claimed, accused her of having bad breath. And likewise to her fellow passengers who were greatly inconvenienced.

Did Melissa (who was off-loaded) issue that apology in reaction to Rey’s plan to file slander charges (being readied by his lawyers) against her? Whatever. Funfare sources said that Rey was not appeased by Melissa’s Facebook apology and what he wanted is an apology on national television where he felt Melissa has “maligned” him.

Anyway, back to the Pinoy sense of humor.

Funfare received a lot of jokes spawned by the incident. Some samples:

• Melissa protested because the bag Rey reportedly threatened to slap her with was “local.” Did she prefer a Hermes or Louis Vuitton or Prada?
• After the incident, Melissa is now singing Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now…you know, I look at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow. It’s cloud illusions I recall, I really don’t know clouds at all…
• If ever Viva Films did a remake of Mahawi Man ang Ulap, Melissa should be cast in one of the major roles. Which one kaya?

Seriously now, my friend who works in an airline company (not Cebupac) offers the following tips to avoid causing any untoward incidents while flying:

Stay put in your assigned seat…and keep your seatbelt fastened at all times even if there’s no turbulence.

Be kind and nice to your co-passengers. Smile at them. It’s good for your facial muscles.

If you want to take better pictures of the clouds, go out of your house or go to the tallest building in Metro Manila. But first, confirm with the Weather Bureau  that there will be beautiful clouds in the sky that day.

(Incidentally, Funfare called the Cebu Pacific PR for comment on the incident, and whether or not the airline is planning to take any legal action against Melissa. No reply.)

***

Last Saturday, the second Love Collection was showcased at the Century City Mall in Makati City, again featuring the spring and summer designs of Rajo Laurel and Ruffa Gutierrez’s daughters Lorin and Venice. It was a follow-up to the successful show in 2012. According to reports, items on the show were sold out. Said Ruffa, “Baka wala nang ma-i-display sa Monday (March 23),” the day the sale was to start (at the following: House of Laurel at Barangay Poblacion, Makati City; and RAJO! Boutique at Rockwell Power Plant Mall, also in Makati City).

Among the celebrity children who paraded as model were Elli (daughter of Andi Eigenmann), Noah (son of Precious Lara Quigaman and Marco Alcaraz), Joel Cruz’s twins Prince and Princess, Baby Zion (son of Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati), and Lorin and Venice themselves.

Lorin, 11, is in Grade 7 at the British School of Manila; and Venice, 10, in Grade 5 in the same school.

Like their mom, the two girls have been fashion-conscious since they were small.

“I became fashion-conscious at a young age, too,” Ruffa told Funfare. “When I was 10, I already had my own style and would try to get straight A’s in school so I could make lambing to my parents to take me shopping.”mailto:[email protected]

Ruffa enrolled Lorin at the School of Fashion & The Arts and Venice at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines for short courses.

“They enjoyed it!” said Ruffa. “These days, I notice that they love playing dress-up.”

Commented Rajo, “It’s always a lot of fun working with these fashion-savvy sisters. They know exactly what they want and how to execute them.”

Well, may pinagmanahan, eh!

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected].)

Rajo Laurel with Lorin and Venice, the fashion-conscious daughters of Ruffa Gutierrez, in colorful sartorial display