The happy-nomics of Halloween

To say that Halloween is my favorite time of the year is an understatement. Sometimes, I dress up as if every day were Halloween. So every Oct. 31, rest assured that my whole room is already decked out with costumes from A to Z; at least once a year, my walk-in closet becomes Camp Suki.

The thing that makes Halloween really exciting is that people really go out of their way to think of something grand, witty, and showstopping to make a statement. It sparks great conversation, which can lead to a great pickup line, if you have one. Of course, there will always be the “easy” ones — the fairies, the soldiers and the hat or mask wearers. But the full bottom line is my favorite F word — fun!

This year at Embassy, in our third annual Halloween Ball, it was heartwarming to see everyone in line wearing a costume. Manila wasn’t always like this, you know. Before, people were always hesitant to wear outrageous outfits.

Now, we asked our Embassy loyalists to come with as “Dynamic Duos” — to be with their partner in crime. So, I chose to come as Optimus Prime… er Optimus Yap, as my initial idea of being King of the Spartans was not going to work out because of my nonexistent six-pack. Mark David Cerezo, my new BFF costume maker, turned me into an eight-foot Transformer. All throughout the party, it was like I was a stiltwalker in a circus. Oh well, never mind — someone’s gotta do it. Speaking of “happy” in Happy Halloween, I was so glad to see  Ruffa Gutierrez and Claudine Trillo-Webb together with Pia Guanio that night. Not too long ago in the history of nocturnal Manila, these two had a huge fight at then hot spot Giraffe, but that’s all water under the bridge and these women believe that making friends is more important than otherwise.  How’s that for “Dynamic Duo?”

Since our theme was “Dynamic Duos” (in line with Embassy’s up-and-coming phase 2 opening this November — get ready for that!), I had to come with a partner; so, I had Mark make me another gigantic costume — this time Megatron, worn by my trusted aide, PA and driver Abet. So, to those who saw him guarding Embassy’s gates that night and were asking who that guy was, that’s my Abet.

Since we were exempted from winning the prizes for our own event, we decided to give the Best in Costume to the Scooby Doo group, composed of Richard Gomez, Francis Libiran, Anna Smith, and Camille Conlu. They won a three-day, two-night stay at The Tides Hotel Boracay, perfect for hot hipsters like them. Runners-up were Paolo Gonzalez, a box office hit as Borat, with partner Tara Tambunting as Pamela Anderson, and Puey Quinones, who came as Imelda Marcos with Srdjan Mendoza as his Ferdinand.

This Supreme spread features the costumed revelry that goes beyond thriller.