what a way to end the year

It's going to be a happy new year... not.

I'm sorry, I'm feeling a little off as of the moment. It's kind of hard to explain. I've been holed up in my room the whole day today. Things suddenly went downhill.

I found out from Carms that Nicco got into a car accident last night. Scary. He fell asleep on the road. But thank God he was alright. It was truly a miracle that there wasn't a scratch despite what happened.

Then... tonight. Whatever. I still feel regretful that I had taken things for granted. I don't know what will happen when the new year begins.

I will not think.

I was supposed to blog about what I've been up to these past few days. Oh, forget it.

post-Christmas

Christmas here at home becomes more and more uneventful every year. This year, specially, because the house felt emptier without my brother around. He had arrived on Christmas Eve last year, and this time, he'll be arriving on New Year's Eve. Aside from going to mass and the food that we all kept coming back to in the kitchen and the dining area, Christmas had felt like a regular day.

We never really celebrate much anymore in our family. Be it Christmas or birthdays or whatever. I guess that's why I didn't exactly look forward to the holidays. I actually spent Christmas day in my room, in front of the PC or the TV.

So I was truly grateful that Mikki had texted me that day, saying that we really should plan a get together. I had said that I was free the day after Christmas, so texting ensued. Just simple dinner plans, and I actually looked forward to seeing all our friends again even though I didn't exactly feel that close to them anymore because I had suddenly kept myself aloof since I stopped attending Playshop.

Because we only had plans for the evening, I had decided to watch Zsazsa Zaturnnah before meeting up with the people. Found out that ATC wasn't showing it, so I had no choice but to go to the more crowded Festival Mall. Hahaha, while I was in line to buy some food before the show, I saw Mavic and Josh lining up for that Judy Ann and Ryan Agoncillo movie (I had forgotten what all the K's stand for, hahaha). And when I had already settled into a seat inside the cinema, Iam had texted and called to say that she and Ge were also in Festival to watch Ligalig.

Iam was right. Zsazsa Zaturnnah was indeed like all those typical Pinoy superhero films. I wasn't exactly wow-ed by the flick, but it sure was still funny, though the pacing can be a bit slow that it sort of ruins the comedic timing. Oh well. Plus they added some new characters. And oh my goodness, those musical numbers. I know some were adapted from the musical, but some of them really reminded me of those 80s movies where they really have these song numbers all throughout the show. I guess those parts were really more meant for a stage play than a movie, ahehehe. And the worst, I'll have to say, was Pops' accent, arg... That British accent was awful, and it wasn't even constant, santa banana.

I can't wait to watch the musical next month, ahahaha. When I had asked Jerald if the movie was ok when he had seen it yesterday with Tuxqs and the rest, I knew what to expect from the film.

After the movie, I had decided to walk to Westgate from Festival Mall instead of taking a jeep because it was easier for me. Plus I don't have to shell out that extra 7 pesos. Jamie arrived at Brothers Burger a few minutes after I did, and Mikki appeared a moments after that. Then Karl and Tycel arrived, and when we decided not to wait for anyone else, it was time to eat, hahaha.

It was my first time to actually hang out with Tycel, excluding that time when I slept over at Teena's and I got to go out to lunch with them the day after. So anyway, talk talk here and there, and nobody else arrived, so we moved to Cafe Breton. That was where Mae, Anna and Kris (in that order) finally arrived.

I have to say, one of the reasons I wanted to go out with them tonight was to see if I was any different from them from before. I used to be quiet, "parang walang script (in Arnie's words, hahaha), whenever I was with them. I just laughed along as a spectator. I never shared any kwento, except when asked. And when Mae had asked how I was, I told her to ask me specific questions instead, because I wouldn't know what to tell and how to begin if I start saying anything.

What was funny was that I was unconsciously observing people's accents and speech patterns as I listened to their stories. Gahd, I don't think I ever spoke this certain way with them, but sometime this year, I was labeled "conyo" and "burgis" so I started thinking again. Ahahaha.

Then hel-lo, I mentally smacked myself in the head and told myself that I was there with my friends to have fun, to get together, to find out what they've been up to since I last saw them. It was amusing to hear what everyone had to say. Karl's DJ stint. Anna's share of stories of being UP. Mae and her bashing (hyukhyukhyuk). Remembering old memories and sharing some others. Etcetera. And me? Ahahaha, I don't even remember if I shared anything. Well, except for the news of Avenue Q.

I think I've been away from them for quite a long time that I didn't feel as comfortable. Well, I wasn't really uncomfortable, but I guess, well, there's something different. Oh well. But yet, it's still great to see all of them again.

And to my surprise, we all called it a night at half past midnight. Hahaha. Oh well (again). Back to real life. So I guess this is my cue to post this entry online and log off. G'night world.

of company lunch, road trips and hanging out til morning

Last Thursday, Ate Sally, Kuya Boni, Lai and I had lunch with Bobby, Mrs. Garcia, Chari, Manman, Bettina, Ms Bernice and Pepe at the poolside of the Shang Grand. We had pancit and a cake delivered, and I ordered lots of barbecue from the carpark in the next block that serves yummy barbecue.

Hahaha, Pepe was everyone's favorite, specially mine. That kid was adorable. Wahahaha, of course, when he mistook my name for "Pogi," that's what Bobby started calling me. Nyak.

We had to leave in a rush afterwards because Kuya Boni and I had to pick up some ensaymada orders and deliver some of them as well as a couple of proposal letters. Off to the Mary Grace stall in Glorietta to pick up boxes of esaymada, brownies and food for the gods, which included some personal orders by Ate Sally and me, because we couldn't resist the brownies and food for the gods.

We delivered a couple of boxes to Phil Star and the Carlos Romulo auditorium, and we didn't manage to make other deliveries that day because there was just too much.

Met up with Misch, Nikki and Remus at SM Mall of Asia after work. I was hoping for a night of just chilling and talking, because I was really pretty tired. But no, they wanted to go shopping. Of course, being the person that I am, I didn't refuse and went along with them.

Yesterday was hectic. Kuya Boni and I began our day at 9am sharp. Picked up bread pudding and mango tort cakes, then we were off. My oh my, it felt like we went around the entire Metro Manila in just a day. Well, maybe just me. We got as far north as Commonwealth, then there was a delivery in Pasig, the Fort, Kamias, and even as close as the next village in Makati. Then there was my solo delivery in Alabang when we were done with everything else.

I was tired, but I didn't want to crash and go straight home. I wanted to unwind instead, so where did I end up going? Intramuros for Walk Back In Time. Wahahaha. I felt like a groupie, but no, I totally deny it. Was half an hour late for the 2nd show, but no real loss anyway. Settled next to Max, who was doing his photo-docu as usual. After the show, I went to Chie to say hi and did a bit of small talk. Hung around the venue even during company call, just bugging some of the people until I settled in one of the corners.

After company call, I found myself with Jerald and some of the AC people, on the way to Providence Tower, hahaha. There was me, Jerald, Anna, Tara, Joel, Marj, Jen, Sugus (sp?), and met up with Arnie, Amihan, and Abner at Prov. Every room was already occupied, and after a while, we decided to go to this place nearby (I forgot what it was called) to talk and eat and have a few drinks. Anna had to leave after a few minutes, darn, but Nar managed to catch up with us. Arnie's line for me the entire night was "Hogi, wala kang script?" because I hardly talked. Hello, for the people who barely know me, I'm more of a listener unless I really want to let something out. Oh well, never mind. The part I enjoyed that night was just the opportunity to get to know these new people. I hardly spoke more than two words to some of them except for hellos before that night. I didn't care whether I kept hearing that "script" line from Arnie, ahahaha.

When the bill was paid, we were back at Prov. They were all dying for a big dose of videoke, so we waited for someone to vacate one of the rooms. We ended up waiting for this one guy who was alone, and was in one room that could fit all of us. I mean, hello, there were ones that were good for solo people, but he just had to choose a bigger room. Hahahaha.

Then it was videoke time. My golly, I can't believe Nar's voice managed to make it until 5 in the morning! After every other song, Je kept choosing these R&B songs for him to sing. Hilarious, idol ni Arnie si Je, and idol ni Je si Nar.

In the end, the ones who stayed until 5 were Nar, Amihan, Abner, Arnie, Jerald and me. Everyone was already darn tired, so we all finally called it a night (?). Jerald, on the other hand, was still hungry, which was a sure sign that he had too much to drink. He was craving for Jollibee, so we took a jeep along Taft to look for a Jollibee that was open 24 hours. When we finally found one, we ended up going to the place next to it that served good, cheap food, hahaha. Oh well, the craving was gone.

I got home at around 7 in the morning, and because I was sleeping all day, I'm pretty wide awake right now, rawr.

Atlantis Productions' lineup for 2007, and others

Our print ad was in the Entertainment section of The Philippine Star today (page E-2). And I'm so excited to plug this already...

Atlantis Productions, which recently staged the hit production of DOUBT starring Cherie Gil, gets ready for it's most exciting season yet in 2007 with the hit Tony Award winning Broadway musical AVENUE Q and Filipino-American novelist and playwright Jessica Hagedorn's acclaimed play DOGEATERS.

Life may suck on AVENUE Q, but for a bright-eyed college graduate called Princeton, this is his new neighborhood. A tiny bank balance and a variety of weird and wonderful friends and neighbors lead Princeton on a hilarious journey of self-discovery. Performed by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets(!), AVENUE Q was the winner of the 2004 TONY AWARD for BEST NEW MUSICAL, BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE! It has become known as "the musical for the iPod generation" and continues to run on Broadway and in London's West End to SRO crowds. AVENUE Q runs in August/September 2007.



DOGEATERS is a tragi-comic look at the Philippines during the reign of Marcos, and the conflicts experienced by Asian immigrants caught between cultures. Brought to life through a diversity of characters including a soft-porn movie star, a Jesuit priest, a Filipino-American Californian, a hustler and deejay, a movie usherette and Imelda Marcos herself, the world of DOGEATERS is beautiful, lush, and always volatile -- a wondrous bundle of contradictions where mundane reality, the supernatural, the spiritual and the carnal collide and coexist. DOGEATERS premiered at New York's Public Theatre in 2001 and New York Times Critic Bruce Weber wrote, "In DOGEATERS the journey is as titillating as a great vacation that leads you willingly into danger. The play carves a clear narrative line out of a dense literary pastiche -- a real accomplishment by Ms. Hagedorn." DOGEATERS runs in November/December.

Atlantis Productions' creative head Bobby Garcia says, "We are so excited to announce SEASON 2007. We've worked hard at securing the rights to these two fantastic shows and can't wait to present them to Filipino audiences."

AVENUE Q and DOGEATERS will both premiere at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC in Makati. For show buying and sponsorship inquiries contact Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.

There.

And check out my newest fashion accessory...


Teeheehee...

Met up with Maika in Megamall after work. She was with her sister MJ and friend AC (sp?) when I found them, and we went around the mall searching for this certain thing that MJ was looking for. Perfume oil or something? Ahahaha, I forgot. They were all looking kinda tired because they've been walking around since 3 in the afternoon, but Maika and I still managed to talk and talk while walking and jostling the pre-Christmas crowd. They had to leave after about an hour and a half, but I couldn't resist a photo op with Maix before I left, hahaha.


Ahehehe, of course, I just had to proudly show my button.

When they left, I walked to Podium and hung out in Starbucks while waiting for my cousin to get off work at Banana Leaf. I had bought a new book that day, Last Order sa Penguin, so it kept me company while I waited. Of course, like what happened while I was reading Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I read a couple of particular lines. Thank goodness I chose to sit on the second floor, because that section of the coffee shop was practically deserted.

I'm out for now. Maybe I'll finish reading tonight.

birthday weekend

First of all...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSA!!!

Hahaha, I really didn't want to crop Iam's hand from the photo.

Oh, and thank you so much to all those who had greeted me on my birthday, through text messages, emails, Friendster, Y!M, etc.

To celebrate, my parents and I had a small family lunch at home with Ate Maui. Most birthdays in the family were spent just like that, and Ate Maui was almost always present, yay. My birthday wasn't an exception.

Rode with Ate Maui to Greenbelt in the afternoon, with a few stops to pick up a couple of her high school friends along the way. Their clique was having a get-together dinner that night, and I was meeting Peachy and Tin as well. Our initial plan was to watch The Sound of Music at Onstage, but because tickets got sold out, we had decided to still meet up and use our ticket money to pig out on food instead, hahaha!

After dinner at Yellow Cab, off we went to Greenbelt 3, where the Philippine Madrigal Singers were performing. My oh my, they still leave me in awe every time they sing. And then there were fireworks! Wheee! Happy birthday to me! Hahahahaha! We killed a bit of time in Timezone, then we walked to Greenbelt 1 after a while.

We ended up hanging out in the lobby with Sundee while the show was going on. Wahehehe. When the show was over, we went inside the theater as if we had seen the play, hahaha! My golly, and without fail, these two clones I was with just had to push me to ask Tita Menchu and Cherie for a a photo op. Nyahahaha.

Yesterday was the rare day that I'm "older" than Rosa, hehehe. Rosa, Iam, Aris and I had planned to watch The Necklace at SM Southmall because they wanted to meet Jerald. I ended up going to Southmall way earlier because there was nothing to do at home. Power failure the whole day, rawr.

The cinema where the show took place was smaller than the one when I had watched the play in SM Centerpoint, but we got first dibs on the front row, hahaha. Way to close to the stage, but that's where we were ushered to as guests. Per usual, the audience was composed of public high school students who considered Johnson as their eye candy. They kept tittering and screaming and stuff every time there's some intimate moment between him and Meliza. Like Rosa had said, they had turned the play "showbiz-y."

New stuff came up. Like Juliene's adlibs ("FINE!" Hahahaha!) to some people's looks. To quote, nagmukhang Rocky Horror sila, joke! Hehehe. Someone had changed his look at least 3 times, and one of them wore a wig. But hello, the geek was too stereotyped. This is a period piece, man.

After the show, I introduced Jerald to Rosa, Iam and Aris, then Iam had to leave for mass while Je left for a while to fix his stuff. Then Rosa, Aris, Je and I went to Wendy's to eat.

While at Wendy's...



Who do you think is the one that's really talking to someone on the phone?
Me? Jerald? Both of us? Neither?

you learn something new every day

In our office this afternoon, GA happened to drop by to give some material for our upcoming shows. Ate Sally had asked if he knew some puppet makers, and gave a bit of interesting info.

Remember Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing of the local kids' show Batibot? I had just found out that those puppets were made by the very same ones who made the Muppets of Sesame Street (the Jim Henson Creature shop, I suppose, GA?). Oh yes, Pong and Kiko weren't born here. Once Batibot had ended, these two puppets were returned to the US.

Now, where do I find puppet makers?

another book

I remembered that this was on Tricia's wishlist...

 

"Scooby" dear, you were the first thing that came to mind when I got this, ahahahaha...

quick visit to CCP

Hello, carpal tunnel syndrome, hahaha. I've been typing a script since yesterday afternoon, and so far I'm almost done with Act 1.

I went to CCP after work this afternoon. I was tasked to deliver a script to Miss Irma, but because I was told that the AC's acting class was during office hours, I decided to meet up with Anna the day before the scheduled class so she can give it to her. So that's what I did.

While I was still on a bus to Taft, I got a text from Anna that Miss Irma was at the TP office, so I decided to go straight there, just in case she was still there by the time I arrived. When I reached the building, I ran into Minette, and she said that Miss Irma was upstairs. Yay, I made it.

After handing the script to Miss Irma, I had planned to stick around in Harbour Square, maybe sit in Starbucks to take a breather. I found the AC people at Teriyaki Boy, and I got to chat with Anna for a while. Hahaha, I wasn't surprised by one of her "kamustahan" questions. Typical. We were still talking when Tad went outside for a smoke, and he joined our chat. I already knew him since last year, having watched him in plays, but I didn't know if he knew of me, even though we have a bunch of common friends. So of course, I had to introduce myself. Then...

Tad: Ah... Ikaw yung... *turns to Anna in a low voice* Pwede bang sabihin?
Anna: Oo no.
Me: Ano yun?
Tad: Yung "love interest" ni Jerald.

Anak ng pating, talagang "love interest" ang tawag eh. Yun na lang ba ang reputation ko? Ahehehe.

More chat, mostly about upcoming plans about AC, both of them telling me to audition next year (ahehehe, I hope I can), and other shows. Then the rest of AC (Tara, Jen, Joel, and Marj with Randy) appeared, and they had to return to CCP, so I crossed the street with them so I can grab a jeep back to Taft.

Now I started thinking again. Would I want to audition for AC next year? Then again, there's an upcoming project in Atlantis that I'm getting pretty excited about. Rawr...

an attempt to write differently

Sanay ako ng nakikinig lang, tanggap lang ng tanggap ng sinasabi ng tao. Di ako mahilig magsalita masyado.

Bakit kung kailan ako natutong magsalita, parang pader lang ang kausap ko?

Karma lang siguro ito. Di ko kasi napagmasdan ang ginagawa para sa akin nung simula.

Bagong drama lang. Parang dama ko kasi na baka malungkot ang kaarawan ko. Joke lang.

OK, I'll stop. Hahaha, I'm not used to writing in Filipino.

furry book

What's that furry thing sitting on my desk?

Hehehe...

*no title*

I hardly eat chocolate, but I found it to be my "happy food" last Monday night. Then to my dismay, I also found that my throat felt scratchy by Tuesday morning and never went away. Now it had eveolved into a cough and cold yesterday evening.

Met up with Rain after work on Thursday. I haven't seen that guy in ages. Oh my, when was the last time? It was... I think it was the night we went to Greenbelt 2 with Mish and Nicco and met Carms for the first time. Oh my, it's been ages! Went to Food Choices and exchanged news about each other, and gossiped (wahahahaha...) about our other friends. Then we walked around while he waited with me for Jerald to arrive before he had to leave.

Je and I went to see Borat. I was so intrigued by that movie that I just had to see it. Man, that flick was so hilarious. I was laughing all throughout the film. Well, except maybe when Borat was at that church. I think that was a little too much.

After the movie, we were off to Starbucks 6750 to hang out. It was either there or Gloria Jeans. I went for Starbucks because I wanted their green tea. I could already feel my voice going, and I love it that they sometimes gave their honey for free. Hahaha, while I was still in line at the counter, Jerald whispered that he liked the duds on this guy in pink somewhere in the line behind us. I turned around to look discreetly, and to my surprise, the guy with the guy clad in the pink shirt was AJ. Great to see you again, Age!

Settled on a couple of couches upstairs, just talking. One thing I realized about myself while we were there was that I finally learned how to speak up. I used to just sit and wait for another person to bring up topics I wanted to talk about, and usually, I end up just sitting there and let the other person talk. I'm usually a listener and a spectator, even if there's only just the two of us. But I found myself talking, and actually exerted effort even though I knew that my voice was going. Darn you, Jerald, for making fun of it, hahaha.

So now, I have that same voice that I had during most of the summer. Complete with the cough and slight cold. Arg...

Tin's debut party

Last Saturday, I met up with Peachy and Betty at Starbucks Taft because we wanted to meet with Tin to check out her debut party's venue and go over the program as well.

Tin was running a bit late, and by the time she and her niece Ica had arrived, they were kinda sabog, ahahaha. Anyway, after they took a breather, we all walked to Asiawealth to look at the function room on the 5th floor. The glass doors were locked, so we all sat on the floor in front of the venue and went over the program.

Oh yeah, Peachy's duwende jokes suddenly popped in my head and I started laughing out loud just now, hahaha.

Anyway, when we were done with the program and was just talking, one of the admin guys saw us and asked if we had seen the venue already. As it turned out, the venue's side door was unlocked for us the whole time, hahaha!

We then decided we were done, so we left the place. Ended up having dinner at McDonald's. Peach wanted to try the McRice Burger, and Betty and I were feeling daring enough to try it with her. None of us even got to finish the entire burger, hahaha. It was OK, but well, it wouldn't be something I'd really order on a normal day.

The next day, Sunday, was Tin's debut! Peach and I met up once again at Starbucks early in the afternoon. We had decided to meet there so we can go together to Asiawealth to get ready for the party.

We had to wait for Tin for a while, but when everything was ready and settled, we went up to her aunt's unit and started getting ready. Hahaha, I think Peachy brought a lot more stuff that the one who was doing Tin's hair and makeup. Thanks for sponsoring, Peach! Til the next occasion, hahaha!

I'm too lazy to blog about the whole party thing, because my mind's sort of a mess right now. Let's just list the highlights of the party...

• Last minute changes in the program while we all got ready (Tin and Peach, you know what I'm talking about, hehe)
  
• Tin's "BakereTin" look (Kristeta Kubetaaa...)
  
• Peachy being mistaken for Tin's Tita Gina by another aunt.
  
• Starting the program without dinner yet.
  
• Calling on Fiancee and Carmi upon their arrivals.
  
• Jhack's surprise birthday greeting by Lea for Tin!
  
• A surprise addition in the 18 roses (nyahahaha, na-shock daw si Tin pero poised pa rin).
  
• Miss Tess' arrival straight from the airport.
  
• The Balangaw Ensemble's impromptu performace.
  
• Tin's thank you speech. Hahaha, her crying thing was still kinda theatrical because it looked like she was keeping herself from crying and laughing but also doing both at the same time.

If you want to check out photos, you can see them here.

My mind's still a mess. I'm still sorting things out, and you're no help at all. Arg...

random thoughts that I didn't get to write last night

Let's face it. I'm just afraid of getting hurt.

I thought that by having this arrangement, I could prevent myself from getting hurt.

Now I'm just frustrated, paranoid, and in the words of The King and I's King of Siam, "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera..."

Are you losing interest? Are you getting tired of all this? Or me, even? Did I speak too soon when I applauded at your effort?

I have so many questions left unanswered...all because of you.

It's like I'm playing this familiar game. I thought I knew how to play it to win, and when I thought I'm about to win, the tables suddenly turn and my opponent has caught up with me.

Or like that snakes and ladders board game that we used to play. I almost get to that last square when I suddenly land on a different one with a snake head. Or the board suddenly falls to the floor and we lose our places. We lost track and we don't know where we stand.

That's it. I don't know where I stand in this whole thing.

Right, as if you can read this thing.

auditions again

Auditions for The King & I again today. Hahaha, it's been a while since I last attended an audition. Though the last time, it was mostly for dancers. This time, it was a closed audition for select people.

Huwaw, first audition, and I found myself in awe. Mr. Ago, you were amazing. I now consider myself your fan. And of course, I can never forget Calvin, who never fails to not study his audition piece, hahaha! A former local King had also arrived to audition, coolness. It was the first time I had ever seen this actor in person. Not much of a difference, really, hahaha. People always claim that an actor looks different in person, ahehe. A Philippine Idol finalist was there as well, tripping on the last step of the stairs as he made his entrance. Deadma ka dyan, ang bilis tuloy dumating ng karma, hahaha!

After lunch (which I had to help set because I was the one who knew everyone's orders), it was time for female auditions. I'm biased about Cathy, of course. And there were a couple more whose voices I liked, specially the beach girl. When Ms. Matilde from The Necklace had arrived, I couldn't help but say that I've seen that play, hahaha! It was like telling Mr. Ago that I saw his, but not his performance, ahehe. Ms. Matilde's hubby appeared after a while, and suddenly, he was talked into trying out as well. Then of course, we had to wait for the last girl to arrive. When she did, I was surprised to find out that she had just turned 16 yesterday. Too young. But my golly, she had the voice of an angel. I sure hope she keeps going.

Hahaha, I just realized that I didn't mention any auditionee's names except for Calvin and Cathy. Oh well.

Oh yeah, this production of The King and I is an Asian tour, and I don't think Manila is included, for those who are planning to ask (because a bunch had already asked me, ahahaha). Too bad.

the weekend went by

Saturday, November 25

I had a couple of tentative plans for the day. One was to watch a production of Rent in San Beda Alabang. Prof Arvin, Remus and Jam are all in it as Mark, Benny and Collins respectively. But then, I didn't have anyone to go with. Then there's the Francis Papica Foundation's benefit concert at the Aliw Theater. Miss Liza had complimentary tickets handy, but Mimay had offered as well.

I ended up going to the latter.

I first met up with Tin at Starbucks Harbour Square late that afternoon. She wanted to give out her debut party's invitations, so that's where we met up. Waited for Betty and Gem to finish watching Bakeretta, then they joined us. Michelle had also arrived, so random chitchats, such as how Bakeretta was during the matinee (hahaha, Carms, may personal harana ka pa pala!) and how Betty and I finally had respect (well, just a little, HAHAHA) for Ian upon seeing him in Hamlet.

Then Tin wondered how to get some of the invites to some of the people from TP, so we suggested we go to the buffeteria to hand the invites of Nicco, Bong and Cris. We ended up eating there as well, hahaha.

After killing a bit of time, we all had to go our separate ways. Tin had to go to a dinner out with her cousins, Betty and Gem had to go to Intramuros to check out A Walk Back In Time, and Michelle and I had to meet Mimay at the Aliw Theater lobby to get our tickets for the concert.

Michelle and I found Mimay at a table in the lobby with Kit and Dohna. Got our tickets (thank you, Mims!) then waited for Jonna before we headed inside.

Arg, the concert started an hour late. I was already texting Betty, saying that I should've gone with them instead to Intramuros, ahahaha. But hey, it was a freebie anyway, so I can't complain. But why oh why did it have to start so late just because they wanted to fill up the theater?

The concert? Well, it was so-so. I wasn't really wow-ed by it. But I had tons of laughs as I listened to the crowd scream at Erik Santos, Jay-R, Piolo Pascual and Pops Fernandez. I was almost off my seat just laughing as they all surged forward just to take a good photo of the artists, and hopefully even get to touch them. Wahahahaha. I suddenly remembered Peachy when she forgot to press the button of her camera because of that one smile, HAHAHA!

Sunday, November 26

My dad and I went to Cavite City early in the morning to attend MM's christening. My brother was one of the godfathers, but because he's in the US, I had to stand in.

To my surprise, when we got to the church, Ate Ching was there! I had no idea she was in Manila! I just had to hug her real hard to keep myself from doing my trademark scandalous "OH MY GOD!" inside the church. It was so great to see her again.

So there, after a quick ceremony, MM was finally christened Matthew Mesia. Hahaha, we all just had to comment that the photo ops took longer than the actual baptism. We all started laughing when MM woke up. He slept through the entire thing, even part of the photo ops, then he woke up when it was time to have his photos taken with the grandparents. But that kid is so adorable. You have to be on your toes the whole time just to make him smile, hehehe.

For photos, you can check it out here.

Food! We all went straight to the restaurant and I was starving. Never mind that Dad and I stopped over at McDonald's before going to the church, hahaha. It was great to be with Ate Ching again, so we had to catch up on each other's news as we ate. Too bad Ate Shang and Kuya Butch didn't make it, aw.

King and I auditions again tomorrow. This is gonna be interesting.

rawr.

Don't you know how frustrating it is to be with you? It seems that you hardly show any effort at all. If you want this to go somewhere, you've gotta help me make things happen.

OK, so that was what I was thinking yesterday.

I like you, okay? I'm not afraid to say it.

It's just that there are so many things that keep everything from happening. This isn't going anywhere as of now. You don't show me any reassurance of anything, so I'm not confident enough to move forward. You used to make certain efforts to show me how you feel, but right now, there's nothing.

Ayoko ng dinededma ako, especially when I want to voice something out, no matter how simple I phrase it. I guess buti na lang na di talaga ako umaasa na may mangyari.

Oh my, ang drama ko. Stop it, Hogi. This isn't like you.

haven't done a meme in ages

Got this from AJ...

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want, either good or bad. I promise not to come after you with a sharpened pencil either way.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your LJ/blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.

Comment away!

a return trip to UP

I feel sick. I had a feeling last night that I was going to come down with something today.

First of all, I just hate it when someone makes plans with me, then no contact whatsoever before the day comes, and finally falls through at the last minute. It's annoying. I was already irritated the night before upon finding out.

Anyway.

Betty and I went to UP Diliman after work to watch Dulaang UP's production of Hamlet. Heard it was only a preview show then, so it was a freebie. Hahaha, I even found Ranina sitting by her lonesome when we got into Palma Hall's Guerrero theater, so we got to take the seats next to her. Mimay found us before the show began, so she took the extra seat next to us.

Hahaha, it was my first time to actually watch Ian in a play. I mean, so yeah, he was our acting teacher, but we never really saw much of what he can do just by teaching us in class. Heck, we sort of lost all respect for him right after that one videoke night , hahahaha! But as Horatio, he looked, well, different. I finally saw him as an actor, not just as that guy in our workshop, ahehehe.

Anyway, after the show, Mimay, Betty, JP, Leo, Ayn, Paolo and I went to A Veneto for a late dinner. By then, I was starving, cranky, and sort of irritated because I knew that I was about to come down with something. Even more when we had all gone our separate ways after dinner. I was already nursing a slight cold by the time I was on a bus home. Waaah.

So today, I was feeling pretty bad, but I still managed to go to work. By the time the afternoon rolled around, I was kinda feeling worse. Went straight to the shuttle terminal as soon as I got out and had a throbbing headache during the entire ride home. Arg. I managed to take a little nap, so now I'm sort of feeling a little better. Darn cold's still here though.

Time to go back to bed.

hm.

Can I just say that I made the right decision not to go forward right away? If I had decided otherwise, who knows how things might have turned out right now.

Earlier this afternoon, I was already thinking of doing something to shake things up a little. Or maybe I'm just going a little crazy.

There are a lot of things going on in this little head of mine, that I can't seem to put everything into words.

It's frustrating. This whole thing really is.

Let's just see how things turn out starting tomorrow and we'll go from there.

Bakeretta

Last night, I went to watch Bakeretta at CCP's Studio Theater with Rosa, Iam, Aris, Ge and Cris. Thanks to Ledi, we got gift checks to the show, cutting our ticket prices in half.

Was the first one to arrive at CCP, and found Bong hanging out alone outside the entrance, so we engaged in small talk while I waited for the others to arrive. Talked about upcoming shows, the dream of staging a local production of Wicked, our comparison of 2 theater companies' workshops (nyahaha), and even High School Musical.

Bong: Makaka-relate ka dito sa Bakeretta. Taga-theatre ka eh.

I had an inkling of what he meant when he said it, having read an email I got from TP's current artistic director via a Yahoo!group, as well as Mia's reaction upon watching the show the night before.

I just didn't expect that it would be that close.

Bakeretta follows the story of a small theater group, attempting to restage a play while struggling with their own personal dramas. I assure you, this is not a ghost story at all. The show let us check out their crazy rehearsals: with a director juggling a personal past and present relationships with two people from his creative team, as well as coping with the fact that he's been diagnosed with cancer; a diva actress who has a knack for tardiness but can't be fired because of sponsorship; an actor's hopes of being brought to Hong Kong Disneyland; another actor's struggle to fit into his costume, because there's not enough budget for a new one that would fit him perfectly.

You can see in director Ago's eyes how much passion he has for the production and the entire company. I saw his excitement as he casted his play. Throughout the play, I've seen several situations that were all too familiar. I even sighted an "everyday is a foundation day" moment, hahaha.

Bong was right.

Anyone who's been in theatre could perfectly relate to the show. My sides ached from laughing as the show progressed, and I felt tears in my eyes near the end of the play. I tell you guys, you have got to watch this play while it's still running. It really hits you right on the spot.

the world gets smaller

Ahaha, more about the title later.

This evening, I met up with Nikki in Glorietta after work so we can go to Intramuros to watch Walk Back In Time together with Remus. When we got a message from Remus that he was running late, we decided to meet him at the venue instead, so we took off in a cab.

We had no idea where the venue exactly is, because the last time I've been inside Intramuros was 3 years ago. Hahaha, that was back when Anna and I first got together during those crazy Ritmo Enkwentro days. Thank goodness we got good directions from the first manong guard that we saw (yes, one of the ones that don those guardia sibil uniforms).

When Nikki and I had reached the venue, the show had already started. No seats, most of the people were standing, except for the people in front that had managed to grab those few Monobloc chairs and some were even sitting on the floor. Oh well, so we just stood around and watched, constantly talking in between, ahahaha. I wasn't really paying attention because Nix and I kept talking the whole time.

After the show, we went outside and walked around. Found out that David was in the cast, so I went over and said hi, as well as to Anna, Tara and Shing. Jerald found us as we were mingling, and even introduced Gary to us. Hahaha, I kept wondering that if we went with him back to Via Mare, we'd get free halo-halo as well.

Remus finally arrived after a while, then Jerald had to go back inside and change. Yay, we found a bench we could sit on. Then I think someone had spotted this girl wearing a really short black thing. I believe Je and Gary had mentioned the girl's name as she had passed by earlier, King or Kim or something. Apparently she was one of the models in the show. I didn't really pay much attention to the name, or even the girl's face. I just noticed what she was wearing.

Nikki, Remus and I just stayed on the bench while the show began outside the venue. When the show was about to move inside, we quickly got to our feet and went in. Sat on the cement floor next to Max, so we finally had a good view of the whole thing. OK, everything was already pre-recorded, so the cast just had to lip-synch the dialogue. And my golly, I have to say, napagod ako para sa cast. But I've got to admire them for pouring all their energy, even though they already had one show just 20 minutes prior to that last one.

Hahaha, when the show was about to end, I remembered that the cast had went downstage to dance in a conga line. Then when they went downstage a second time, they started pulling people from the crowd. I kept as small as possible and hid behind Max, but someone had already grabbed him. Nyahahay, that's when Arni had spotted me and suddenly he grabbed my wrists and tried to pull me to my feet. I resisted at first, but oh well, I gave up and went with him, as they all danced their way out the venue. Wahahahaha.

Oh yeah, let's get back to this entry's title. So after the show, Nikki, Remus and I were standing outside, just listening to Pido and his band, then finally the cast emerges from the venue. Then I found that the girl in that small black outfit was standing in front of me, and said my entire name. Suddenly it dawned on me as to who she was. It was AQ/King! Oh my goodness, a batchmate that I knew way back in grade school, and she's that model that I saw earlier?!? Hahaha, of course, I was so surprised that I think I had alarmed the people nearby with my scandalous "OH MY GOD!" What a small world! After all these years, I find her there. Que amusing.

Anyway, so there.

Oh, by the way, has any of you read Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn? The one that's written into a play? I spent part of this week re-typing the script and it was quite an interesting read. What do you guys think about it?

Time to get some sleep. G'night, world.

keeping in touch

Have you ever noticed that most people nowadays make little or no effort anymore to keep in touch?

(Wait lang ha, before anyone reacts, wala naman akong pinapatamaan dito. I've been thinking about this all day, and I've just waited to go online to write this down. Bow.)

So anyway, there. Most people, when they just want their presence felt, it's usually just a forward quote via text messaging. That's it. Sure, it's the thought that counts, but have you ever really thought of how much it would mean to a person if they get a more personal message from you?

I enjoy that personal text to say hi, an email from a friend that I haven't heard in ages, stuff like that. I try to do the same, but do the people I try to contact even appreciate the effort?

I even had a quite a bit of the drama a couple of nights back with a close friend about not getting to talk to them much anymore, up to the point of always brooding. I swear, nakakapagod na magtampo. But after our Y!M conversation, I finally felt much better. Thanks. You get it, but how come some people out there seem numb to everything? Sabi nga ng isa nating kaibigan, parang galit yung isang tao sa kanya. Parang ganun ang lumalabas eh.

Woah, deja vu, I think I wrote an entry about this... in the form of a rant, hahaha.

Barbie at the CMMA

Hahaha, funny title.

Anyway, so Maria Milagros Barbarosa was a finalist in the student film category of the Catholic Mass Media Awards. To my surprise last week, Irene had invited me to go with her and Sheena to the event. It began at 4 in the afternoon, so I just had to catch up because I get out at 5 o'clock.

While I was still in the office getting ready (with a last-minute request from Liza in between), I suddenly got a text from Sheena, saying that the finalist from UST won the the category that MMB was in. She told me that I could still go and catch up with them, and I don't have to dress up. Oh well, I was already in my dress, but I changed anyway, because heck, I don't want to be that girl in the red gown hailing a taxi, hahahaha!

By the time I arrived at RCBC's Carlos Romulo Auditorium, the lobby was packed with people, all dressed up. I suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb in my jeans and black shirt. But hey, I could pass for the stage crew, hahaha. I finally found Irene at the far side of the lobby, and we all stood around talking with Leo, Deanne and Tonet. As it turned out, no one made it in time except for Deanne, ahahaha.

Irene then mentioned that Lea was at the event. Oooh. A few moments after that, we did find Lea leaving the auditorium with her mom. Irene wanted me to introduce her, so I said hello. Lea then asked who I was with, so that's when I introduced Irene, and briefly mentioned that her film that I was part of was a finalist. Hahaha, starstruck si Irene because Lea shook her hand! Great to see you again, Lea! Sorry I had to stop you when you were in a rush.

We then hung around outside the open door nearest the one leading backstage, just listening to the whole banana. We couldn't find Sheena yet, but she turned up after a few minutes of our stay by the door. After a while, we got tired of standing there, so it was back to the lobby for us. Sheena finally convinced me to change back into my dress for photo ops, so I did. Hahaha, I was kinda shy to begin with, because that was the same red dress that I wore as Barbie in the film. I wanted to wear it as a gag, but I guess I felt silly by then, but just for a while. Hahaha, when Kuya Manny of RCBC saw me, he was surprised that I was there, and dressed up.

Anyway, it was camwhoring time! Hahaha, we took advantage of Deanne's camera (Deanne! Pakopya ng pics!) and I didn't even mind that I was lugging a big bag that totally mismatched my dress, hehehe.

My golly, we spent the rest of the event just there at the lobby, taking pictures and just hanging around. I had forgotten how painful my shoes can get if I stand around for a long time, and I didn't realize that my feet were hurting until I heard Sheena complain about her own. We were getting hungry as well by the time the event was over, so we suggested dinner. After a last photo op by Irene's sister, off we went. Sheena, Leo, Tonet and I ended up at Mexicali. Haha, I missed their burritos. Irene had to go with her family and Deanne had to leave as well. Ahehe, I guess you're done being bitter by now, huh guys? Put it this way, we were so close to winning! Nyahahaha!

Nicco's birthday bash

So yesterday, we celebrated Nicco's 21st birthday. Prior to that, Carms, Miko and I have been coordinating with each other behind his back since September to help his mom plan his surprise birthday party, hahaha.

My golly, since then, I think I drove people crazy, bugging them, texting them about the whole banana. I guess you guys are finally glad to be rid of me, huh? Hahaha.

Anyway.

Betty, Mish and I met up in Greenbelt after work then off we went to Oasis, where the party was to be held. We were the first ones there, hahaha. We waited for everyone else to trickle in. I was kinda worried then about the turnout, because there were a bunch of people who messaged me that day, giving last-minute regrets, waaah. I really wanted a lot of people to come. Oh well.

Oh yeah, weeks before the party, Carms, Miko and I met up with Tita Analyn at their condo to talk about the whole thing. We decided on a simple debut-ish program, hahaha. 21 memories and 21 objects. Anyway, because a lot of people had messaged me that they'd be late, we played the whole thing by ear. Too bad the program didn't push through.

So there. Anyway (again).

Back to the party. People were finally arriving, mostly Nicco's relatives. People were still texting me, asking how to get to the venue. Hahaha, sometimes I'd hand the phone over to Merv because I have a really bad sense of direction. But at least they made it, hahaha.

When there was a fair number of people in the venue, I got a message from Carms, saying that Tita was already letting them go to the venue, so they were on their way. Haha, when they arrived, the band started playing "Happy Birthday" as they walked inside, with Kath and her date in tow. Ahehehe, was the birthday boy surprised? No comment, hahaha!

My favorite position in the venue? The chocolate fountain! Wahehehe. I can't remember how many times I've stood by it and pigged out. I think the photographer even found it funny to catch us there as we automatically smiled for the camera, hahaha!

So what did we have instead of the program? We got Nicco to sing with the band, hehe. He was so hilarious, asking everyone what he could sing, stuff like that, until he finally settled on "The Way You Look At Me." Nahaaaks. When he was done, he got Carms to join him onstage, and they sang "Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang." Woohoo! Go Carms! She was awarded a solo spot right after that, hehe.

People still keep popping in, and I was glad to see all the people. And even though it was late, they still managed to drop by. Heck, while there were groups of us were hanging around outside the venue, I finally got a text message from Anna, saying that she and Joel couldn't make it, but a whole bunch of people from TP would still be coming. That was followed by a text from Wenah, asking if there was any food left, because there were 11 of them. What a sight to see indeed. The TP people arrived all together, woohoo! They made it, and there was still enough food for them, hahaha!

I soon found myself at a table in the far corner with Mimay, Nikki and Arni, just watching Nicco's dad do what he does the best onstage with the band. Hahaha, hilarious! Then when we were back at the other side of the venue, I found Cris amidst the TP group gesturing me to come over. Nyahahay, he was standing with Jerald, and he just had to bring up our "It's complicated" YM conversation the night before right in front of him. *bonk* Hahahaha.

The rest of the night was spent just mingling with everyone. Rawr, because the venue was only until midnight, things were gradually being cut short. Hahaha, Nicco even suggested playing a little game when there was just one bunch of us left. We had already arranged the chairs in a circle, ready to play "Zip-Zap-Zoom" when his car arrived. Oh well, time for the birthday boy to go home, so we all bid our farewells to each other as well.

All in all, I had fun. Thanks for all those who came (hahaha, feeling party ko) and thank you for putting up me and my text messages, hahaha.

I'm actually still sleepy, rawr.

just a moment

Got home about an hour ago from Nicco's birthday party. But I'm still too lazy to update. Uploaded photos though.

Check out my Multiply album here.

birthday boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICCO!

"So pag ang 20 nadagdagan ng 1... 21! 21 na ko!"

Hehe, here's to you, baby bro. =)

dare to ask

"Ask me one question... Anything! No matter how crazy it is, I won't get mad, I won't tell anyone. And I promise to answer it. One time lang to, so ask wisely!"

I sent out that message a few days ago out of boredom, and a bunch of people replied. I got these crazy questions, from the most mundane to the most bizzare. I remember laughing out loud when I read the replies from Carms, Betty, Maje and Barry.

There was this one question that Iam fired at me that I thought she'd never ask. But I was so relieved she did. I've been keeping something for a couple of years, and I didn't know how to get around to telling her or Rosa about it. So there, I finally told her, then told Rosa after that (heck, of course both of them have to know), and ended up having a YM conversation talking mostly about that topic, ahahahaha.

I found it funny how I only managed to let out those big secrets in the most obscure situations. I'm one of the most secretive people I know.

Hehe, let's see what kind of questions people can come up with after this post.

un-Halloween

I don't really celebrate Halloween, so I took it as just an ordinary day. Never mind that every time I walk back and forth between my office and the next building, I see little girls dressed up as princesses, walking beside their moms or nannies that tote bags and plastic pumpkins, ahehe.

Nikki and I took the evening as an opportunity to go shopping for a birthday gift. At first, we couldn't decide what to get, but we finally settled on one. Hehe, we alternately window-shopped and looked for the birthday gift until we found it, and there was never a lull the whole time because Nikki always comes up with the craziest things to talk about, hahaha.

Jerald arrived when we were done with shopping and dinner. We sat around and talked until it was time for Nikki to go home, then Jerald and I went to the cinemas to watch The Prestige.

Damn, that movie was the type that made me sit still as the credits rolled, utter "Good movie," then keep talking about it right afterwards. I loved the twists right till the very end. My goodness, even until now, I keep racking my head thinking about all the twists and turns and stuff. Rawr.

Arg, I want to watch the movie again.

Zambales weekend

First, I just want to share what I found while re-reading Robert Fulghum's It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It earlier. The author was quoting Horace.

"Quid rides? Mutato nomine, de te fabuls narratur."

Translated, it reads: "Why do you laugh? Change the name, and the story is told of you."

I like that.

=========================

Early Saturday morning, my mom and I had left for Zambales along with her sister, Tita Sitang and my cousin Nemnem. We were to visit my maternal grandparents graves, clean the place up a bit, and beat the November 1st crowd. Plus it was my very first time to visit the place where my mom grew up.

I haven't seen Nemnem in ages, so when we were at the bus terminal, we were chatting up a storm, even though she hadn't had any sleep yet.

Man oh man, the last time I sat so long inside a vehicle was 4 years ago, and every couple of hours, I'd always have to flex my legs because my left knee always hurts if I sit too long.

By the time we got to Tita Medy and Tito Nick's place, I was starving, hahaha. And I finally got to see our cousin Jing again. My goodness, she was just this little kid with a bowl cut years ago when she had first visited us in Manila, and now she's a teenager with this long curly hair.

Anyway, after a really late lunch, we went to visit the cemetery to my granparents' graves, swept up the place, then we went to the market so Mom and Tita Sitang can shop for food for dinner. Then back to Tita Medy's house, sat and watched TV, talked, and basically just hung around. Hahaha, then during dinner Tito Nick challenged me with all these crazy questions. He thought he could outsmart me, but those were all old jokes, ahahaha.

The following day, technically yesterday, my mom woke me up early so we could hear Mass with Tita Medy. Went to St. Michael's Parish in town, then after the Mass, my mom introduced me to a couple of her high school friends. Mom and I even had breakfast at Tita Mila's, who was also one of her close friends in high school. Man, those two were hilarious. They hadn't seen each other since they graduated high school, and I could finally see my mom's crazy side. While we were all seated at the breakfast table, she did admit that she didn't show much of that at home except when she's feeling really wacky.

What was frustrating during the entire visit was that everyone was mostly talking in their native dialect. I couldn't understand a word, unlike when my aunts from my dad's side speak Cuyuonin.

Anyway, after fixing our stuff back at Tita Medy's house, it was back to the cemetery. Cleaned the place up more, and one of the workers even came by and re-painted the writing on the headstones. AFter an hour, Mom and I had to go back to Tita Medy's and fly to the bus terminal to catch the 10am bus. Ahehehe, Mom kept saying that we'll be leaving at 10 in the morning so I made plans to catch AC's showcase that night in CCP. But alas, when we got to the terminal, the bus had just left, so we had to wait by a waiting shed for the next one that was to leave an hour later, rawr. But we even got to chat for a few moments with another one of Mom's old high school friends, Tita Gloria. Hehe, we were standing outside her house when the bus had pulled up.

Mom and I reached the terminal near UST with lotsa time to spare. Hailed a cab and she let me get off at CCP so she can head straight home. Met up with Tin at the LT lobby then we hung around outside the Conference Room until open house.

First play was The Maids, which featured Tad, Joel and Nicco. Ahahaha, they were great. And they were all donned in ladies' clothes. Oh my, Nicco, why oh why did you have to look so pretty? HAHAHAHA! Those girls, er, guys, rock!

Next up was Besame Muchos. There was Wenah, Marj, Chromewell and Randy. Hahaha, everytime Randy would rise up from behind that upright piano, everyone would chuckle and laugh. He looked so freaky that first time he rose. And oh my, there was a shirtless Chromewell in one scene.

Too sleepy to critique the two plays. Maybe tomorrow, er, later when I get back home from work. I gotta get some sleep.

noonienoo

In my previous post, I had mentioned getting close to a person of a certain status.

Let's just say that I heard quite interesting news a couple of days ago. A circulating rumor that was confirmed. I've known this from the beginning, and I sort of wish I didn't. So now it seems that one of the parties was pissed because of what happened. I was disappointed in the other party. I can't believe someone would stoop so low to do that.

Then I remember what AJ had said. "Good publicity or bad publicity... It's still publicity."

Oh well.

What a surprise. Because today was a holiday, I didn't really have any plans in particular yesterday after work. As it turned out, Jerald was in the area then because he and Lao went to this VTR, so we met up and hung around Glorietta during the evening until he had to go to QC for a friend's birthday party.

Then back to a boring day today. Noonienoo.

a concert

Yesterday was Day 1 for Lea's Tomorrow: A Concert for the Future. It's been ages since I last saw Lea live in a concert. My golly, that was about 4 years ago for her Broadway concert. Liza got us all good seats for that one, thank you!

It seemed that everyone was all excited to see "the Lea Salonga" perform again after giving birth to her baby daughter. Oddly enough, there wasn't enough excitement in my bones. OK, so you can kick me now. I guess I've just been kinda preoccupied with a lot of things that I wanted to get this week over with.

So I met up with Tin and Peachy in Taft as soon as I got out of the office. Found them at Red Ribbon and we stayed a little longer until Jhack arrived with our tickets. Then we took off for CCP. There were already a lot of people milling about in the lobby, and we checked out the table where the Sony BMG people were selling CDs. Nothing much to do, so we spent most of the time just wandering about, until we settled ourselves on the 3rd floor and sat around on the stairs. Igh, there was even this couple nearby that gave quite a huge show of PDI. Jeez, get a room, people.

Anyway, the concert. I love the set design. Pretty flys, very apt for kids. And I've forgotten how deep the stage can go, hahaha. Ass for the repertoire, nothing too extraordinary, but it was pretty good. The Madz were spectacular. Of course, the song "Tomorrow" wasn't left out. Hahaha, duh. The entire concert seemed... kinda short. Or maybe it just felt that way.

President GMA came to watch the show. Right after we had exited the theater, we had opted to take the stairs because the escalators were too crowded. Then one of the ushers said that the stairs were closed. Rawr, so we had to squeeze ourselves in with the rest of the crowd on the escalators that was meant for people to ride on one at a time. I hate crowds, most of you know that, and by the time we had merged with the people, I wanted to run over them just to get some air. Peach, Tin and Jhack, on the other hand, just wanted to find Lea to get their pictures taken with her. So anyway, as it turned out, the stairs were closed because that was where GMA would be passing along with the people from the concert. Jeez. Grand exits are so annoying.

We went backstage along with Tin S and Mimay S and found the AFLS group. Everyone was crowded around Lea, asking for her signature, having photos taken with her. Of course, Peachy, Tin and Jhack squeezed in while I sat on one of the few chairs I found. I was kinda sleepy and hungry by then, so I wasn't in the mood to mix with the crowd. Everyone was fussing over Lea, so I took the opportubity to nab Calvin so Peach and I can have a photo with him, hahaha.

Ahehehe, my companions were prodding me to get Lea to have pictures taken with them, but I couldn't seem to get close enough, and by the time I was about to tap her shoulder, she had to go. Nyak. But of course, knowing Peachy, she'd persist. That girl won't leave unless she gets what she wants. The AFLS people were still hanging around as well. Then suddenly Lea emerges from her dressing room after changing out of her dress. There we go again, the ones who hadn't had their picture taken surged forward. I suddenly felt Peachy's camera in my hand, and found myself face to face with Lea, who turned to me with a surprised look and said hi. That was my cue, and finally got to ask her to have a photo taken with the company I'm with. Peach jumped to her side, and Tin on the other. Then I suddenly found them multiplying. Everyone wanted to be in the photo, hahaha! Ay, que funny. So I after the photo, I asked to me next. I think I even uttered an apology because we were delaying her. Anyway, yay, thanks for the camera, Peach! Soon after, Lea really had to leave (I love your bag, by the way), so goodbye. After a photo with the AFLS people, we finally trooped downstairs.

Late dinner at Pancake House with Mimay, Tin, Edcel, Carmel, Betsy and Jeff. Everyone was talking about the concert. The songs, where they've heard this and that, all that schtuff. They practically had everything memorized. What caught my attention in the entire conversation was about how close they want to be with Lea. Mimay then said that I had known her personally because I've worked with her. But hey, that was it. I used to adore her as a fan, yeah, but I'm done with that. Now I just admire her as an artist. I think it was Jeff who had mentioned that he was perfectly content with where he is now, so as not to take away all the magic.

Hahaha, now I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when he said that. Getting too close really takes away all that magic. A bunch of us had tried to get too close to someone. It can get crazy. I don't want that anymore.

Oh yeah, in other news, I found out from Sheena and Irene that Maria Milagros Barbarosa is one of the 5 finalists in the student film category of the Catholic Mass Media Awards. Oh my oh my.

what ifs and MMB

Things were going crazy since I started spinning that emotional wheel of fortune. Then I felt a bit of contentment when this week had started, and then another thing comes up.

Funny how the words "what if" can open up a whole big thing.

Oh yeah, because Mimay brought it up, I guess I might as well do so, hahaha. I came across Irene's LiveJournal last night and found this...

 

Uhm, yeah, that's me. Maria Milagros Barbarosa. Sheena and Irene had entered the film in Cinemanila's short feature category. Yayks. People are gonna see me make a fool of myself. Good luck, ladies!

The Necklace

Just got home.

And I just re-read my last entry. My golly, was I that mad when I woke up this morning?

Anyway.

Met up with Betty at SM Centerpoint this afternoon so we could watch The Necklace together. Jerald had put us on the guest list, so off we went. After a quick bite, we went up to the cinemas. Oh my, to our surprise, there was this uber-long line at the cinema where the show would be. Most of the audience was composed to students, oh my Lord, so there would be a whole lot of noise.

By the time the previous show had ended and its audience filed out, Betty and I immediately slipped in. Ahehehe, we were told by one of the women out front that we had to sign in somewhere as guests. But we didn't find the spot where we had to sign in, so we quickly took our seats at the third row.

I honestly have to admit that I didn't really know the story of The Necklace, but it was pretty entertaining. The first thing I noticed was the set. It looked like something from You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, hahaha. Everything was 2-dimensional and exaggerated, specially the props. Then the show finally started. Oh man, the speakers were lousy. Most of the ensemble numbers could be understood because they sounded muffled. But it was still a delight. Johnson was quite the audience's heartthrob, ahehehe. Melissa's singing and the way she moved her head reminded me of Lea Salonga. I believe she was in the German production of Miss Saigon before (wala lang, trivia lang, hehe). Though her movements were always jerky, it kinda annoyed me. I haven't seen Juliene perform since 2003, and was glad to see him onstage. I loved Kalila's character (and her costume designs, hehe), but her accent keeps changing. And of course, Ate Naomi, hahaha. I just had to describe her as cute when her character gave money to Matilde.

After the show, Betty, Jerald and I had dinner at Shakey's then Betty had to go home. Je and I, on the other hand, ended up at Dematisse in Malate. The place wasn't as comfy as Penguin, but since that place was closed, this one will have to do. It has couches on the first floor, and low tables with pillows on the second. Just hung around and talked while we watched TV on the first floor, then moved upstairs to the second floor when it opened and stayed there until I had to go home.

All in all, I guess it was a good day despite the drama. I'm not used to that. Peace, bro. And thank you, dear.

just want to set something straight

First of all, do I have to put a disclaimer in this blog saying that everything I put here is my opinion, my points of view, my personal preferences and whatnot?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this or putting down this entry because I'm mad or annoyed or whatever. I just want to let this out and make things clear.

One of my closest friends had just recently checked out my Tabulas blog and noticed something I had put down that might upset a significant other. Said friend had asked to change it because of what the significant other might think. He had even messaged me out of the blue just to say so. But this is my blog. I put that down because the group involved thought it was funny. And I enjoy capturing those funny moments in my blog. It was all in good fun. If I had put this in our shared blog, it would've been different and I would edited it at his request, no problem.

The funny thing in all this was that he had never made his presence felt to a whole bunch of us that some of them were a little tampo with him. And now he made his presence felt... but just to say that?

My dearest baby bro, I don't put anything here to intentionally hurt anyone. You know me well enough already as to what I think and what to put down here. This is just my outlet for things I enjoy and keep and share and whatever. Plus you haven't been around much lately so we never get the chance to talk anymore. You once apologized for that particular behavior when you come across new friends. I understand that. But not even a hello to any of us? It only takes a few seconds to type a "hi" in your phone. If I were a different person, I would think that you'd be completely ignoring us just to be with new people. Oh well. Forget about it. Peace na tayo. Love you, bro.

Peace din tayo, Carms, hehe.

emotional "wheel of fortune"?

Most people would say that they're on this "emotional roller coaster," because they have their ups and downs, and whatever.

I don't really see a roller coaster in sight. I believe what I have is the "emotional wheel of fortune." Spin the wheel, and that's my mood. Funny as it may sound, that's what I feel like. Crazy.

Today at the office, Ate Sally and I ended up answering this quiz she got in her email. Hahaha, we kept racking our brains the whole day. Hahaha.

Betty, Mimay, Peachy and I were planning to visit Tin in the hospital because she has dengue fever late this afternoon after I get off work. Then we found out that she'll be getting out of the hospital then and didn't want anyone to come visit her at home, so we cancelled our plans.

So instead, Mimay and I met up at SM Mall of Asia. After meeting her mom, brother and sister-in-law, we went around the mall, then settled down at Starbucks. Talked the evening away, a little update here, angst there, all that stuff. Hahaha, of course, she just couldn't resist opening up the topic of Jerald. Ano baaaaa... So there, Mimay, now you know the story, hahaha.

I want to write about something else. But maybe I'll save that for tomorrow. We'll see. I don't know whether to rant about this certain thing that irked me. But I guess you guys are tired of my rants.

just thinking

This world is still so full of crazies. I wonder when you guys will get over that phase.

I mean, honestly. It's normal to be protective, but with some people, it's almost like paranoia or just plain, downright crazy. Sorry to be mean, but that's how you people come out.

And I had thought you'd shed some light on this. Well, it was close to nothing, much you made it such a big deal, yet you never helped.

Totally petty. So ridiculous. Que annoying.

Oh well.

Anyway.

Check out it. I heard from Mikki yesterday that Zobel will be holding auditions for a school production of Once on This Island. And it's gonna be under Rep, coolness. Too bad I can't make it.

Why am I getting affected with this one particular thing? Oh yeah, there's that. Thanks for reminding me, Betty.

My mind's still a flurry of thoughts. Arg...

too lazy to rewrite

Arg... I wrote a long post elaborating on what I posted earlier this morning. One wrong press of a button... and the whole thing was GONE!

Rawr...

Anyway.

Darn it, I totally got thrown off guard by what you said last night. I didn't know how to respond to it, so I just kept quiet. I'm pretty content with how things are going right now, and I'm just not ready for anything else yet.

I miss talking to certain people. Again. I make an effort to drop a line, anything. Some do appreciate what I'm doing, some simply acknowledge it, and some don't even notice. Oh well.

Ups and downs are here again.

the weekend

Blogging early in the morning. I haven't done this in ages. I'm just actually testing if I can finally cross-post this entry in Multiply. If I can, this is gonna be my first post in my Multiply blog, yay. If not, well, I'll try again later.

I still feel uber-guilty about going to the Akafellas concert last SSaturday instead of going to Aris' birthday party. Rawr. Darn that Typoon Milenyo. If it weren't for that, plans wouldn't have been mixed up, and I would've seen my high school clique again.

Anyway, I met up with Nikki in Makati that evening. While she was still on the way via the MRT, I decided to go to SM and wait for her at Toy Kingdom. I found this guy playing the plug and play tick-tac-toe game with his girlfriend, and I was dying to try it, but they were hogging the entire game. So I went to the other Toy Kingdom which was right across it, and found the PS2 games. There was this game that was a lot like Guitar Freaks in Timezone, so I gave it a shot. Hahaha, I was a little dressed up, and there I was carrying this toy guitar, so I was feeling a little self-conscious when a bunch of guys came over to watch. Arg...

The concert was pretty great. There was a whole bunch of new songs that I've heard right then and there, and I loved their Boyz II Men medley. And they even have this girl group medley, with all of them donning different colored feather boas, hahaha! Gladys Guevarra was such a hilarious guest. She kept hitting on Karl!

Yesterday, I went to Podium to meet with Tito Sunny, Tita Sherbet and Jill, who were going to Nyoy's album launch. Hehehe, when they got there, we kept going around the mall, just window shopping, hardly going to the gig. Been there, been that. Honestly, I got tired of the whole gig thing. We dropped by the show briefly, said hello to familiar faces, then went to Yaku for dinner. Jerald finally managed to catch up after his audition, but I think he got kinda intimidated with the Ilacads, so we sat at the booth next to theirs. Hung around a little longer after they left, then we went to Metrowalk and just chilled out at Starbucks before we finally left.

OK, I'll cut this now because I'm off to the office. Ciao for now.