Haircut.

I've been growing my hair out for almost exactly a year, and I usually don't cut my hair until I'm more excited than anxious about getting a new cut. So I ended up having really long hair... until today.

*Taken last Thursday during Kapeng Malamig rehearsals.

After morning mass, I went to Peach Grooming Pad right across Starmall Las Pinas. I initially planned to schedule an appointment at Bench Fix in Taft near school last Thursday, but it was the same day as our Kapeng Malamig pictorial, so if ever I didn't like my haircut, it would be immortalized in the play's souvenir program. Anyway, going to Peach was the best decision, because the artistic director knew me ever since I was 6 years old, when he was still just a mere hairdresser in one of the former salons back then. He always knew how to cut and style my hair. Heck, he was also the one who managed to curl my hair perfectly on 3 separate occasions. When I told him how short I wanted, he knew exactly what to do without making me look like a turtle with my long neck and almost non-existent chin. Almost a short layered bob did the trick. No more bangs, hehehe.

This afternoon, 4-5 inches were cut.

Hahaha, no wonder I always was a brat when I was a kid, always insisting that only Odessa can touch my hair. Maybe next time I'll get him to curl my hair again, hehehe.

Two musicals.

So I attended my first rehearsal of Kapeng Malamig last Saturday afternoon. It was great to see Gino again, my workshop superfriend, hahaha. Went to the venue with Lara, as Jojo wasn't able to attend that day.

Holy kamote, after a brief warm-up, sinalang na kami agad for choreography. My golly, I haven't been in a musical in ages, nor danced as much. I'm not really much of a dancer, and I'm not very enthusiastic if I know that there's something I can't do. Thank goodness Jerome's choreography was easy enough. Maybe it was because I got used to Roeder's dance exercises, hahaha. I remembered how to turn by recalling what he taught us, and I giggled as Gino did a jazz walk. Okay, one dance number down pat.

After a break, we finally got introduced to the production manager. Talked to her regarding the usual matters, plus background of the theatre group and additional stuff. By the time we were done talking, the rest of the cast had already begun to choreograph another production number. The first time they rehearsed it, I was waiting for my turn to talk to the PM (one-on-one), and Geli, the stage manager, put me among the ensemble again. My face was completely blank, but I managed to follow the steps as easily, thanks to a couple of cast members who would pull my hand and whisper as to what to do, yay. So anyway, Tiffy, our director, had decided to re-block and redo the choreography. Hahaha, it looked as if it were choreography for a boyband's dance number, hahaha. But in fairness, I actually enjoyed dancing the whole day.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I had expected my thighs and arms to be really sore because I wasn't used to dancing that much. Sure enough, I was sore, but just a little.

Off to RCBC after mass for Peachy's thesis. Songs For A New World had to run a DTR at around 2pm, and because I will be working at the front of house, I needed to watch the DTR so I could see the entire show. Peachy briefed me on the distribution of the remaining tickets, as well as the pending payments, plus the selling of the souvenir program. Because of the weird price, we realized that we didn't have enough smaller bills for change, so Sundee and I went to the parking area to break some change. Managed to break a couple of large bills at their office, yay.

The DTR began past 4pm, so I settled in my seat a couple of minutes before the run started. The ushers trickled in one by one during the show, except for Jhelo and Bulinggit, who had arrived before the DTR. Yay for Mimay, who was to be my right-hand man at the FOH. It was tough to find ushers for that day, especially because the Blue Rep gang was paying to watch this event. By the time Joms had arrived, I was only one usher short because Elai never arrived. Oh well, balcony's pretty easy to handle anyway, plus Joms had told me that he had perfect attendance during Avenue Q's farewell run.

By the time people started arriving, the front of house was crazy. People came up to us by the dozen to claim their tickets and to pay for them. For a while, I never got to follow Peachy's ticketing chart. Oh well. But it was great to see a whole lot of people, most of them being familiar faces. Even friends that I haven't seen in ages appeared! I just love the turnout.

I was so glad when the show finally started. Mimay and I bummed around the lobby with the rest of the ushers, like I used to do during Atlantis shows. Camwhoring and talking galore, plus hogging Taste Temptations' yummy cookies and pastries, hahaha.

I have to say, Peachy and Janina's thesis was a big success. I could hear the huge burst of applause and loud cheers through the double doors after every song number, and the audience crowded the entire lobby for almost an hour, congratulating people, mingling, taking photos ops, etcetera. Now this was a really great idea for a thesis. What a turnout!

Congratulations to Peachy, Janina, Robbie, Carla, Caisa, Anna, Harold, Felix and everyone who was involved in Songs For A New World! Can't wait for the rerun of this one!

Tough.

Ang sakit isipin na hindi ka susuportahan ng mga mahal mo sa ginagawa mo. OK, so fine, hindi naman sa wala silang tiwala sa iyo. So maybe they want what's best for you. Pero parang ganun din ang pakiramdam eh. Alam ko naman ang priorities ko. Tapos ganito ang mangyayari. Halos pareho lang ang mga ginagawa natin at walang humpay ang pagsusuporta ko sa iyo sa kahit ano. Pero dahil pinili ko ito amidst all that's already happening sa buhay ko, wala akong makukuhang suporta sa iyo.

Bakit kailangan pang pagpilian? Ang sakit talaga.

Immediatly looking for another outlet.

Last Thursday evening, I went with Peachy and Janina for their rehearsal of Songs For A New World. Haha, I've always wanted to check out their rehearsals, but clashing schedules and the venue was a problem.

After class, we headed off to 9 Works. Crazy cab driver. Anyway, they were starting rehearsals late because Felix will be arriving about an hour late, so a bunch of us first went to Hotshots to grab some dinner. After chowing down, it was time for the run through to start.

I love the songs in Songs For A New World. I have last-song-syndromes of almost half the songs. Anyway, while I was sitting there as they began the second act, I sent a text message to the Tartuffe gang. I said I missed being in a musical. Paging Dingdong and that new musical that he's writing, hahaha. And what about Xanadu with John and Edz? Hahahaha!

Anyway, because of that thought, another outlet might begin. Haha, Jojo, Lara and I just looked like we dropped by last night, when we were actually supposed to audition. And it's amazing how small the world gets every day.

Curtains: Tartuffe.

We are now "un-Tartuffeefied." Crazy days of rehearsal and "non-rehearsal" are over. Things were always crazy, and I have to admit that it's quite a relief for it to end. The cast and crew were such great company, and it was a delight spending time (and killing time as well) with them.

It was Tara who told me about this thesis production while we were at one Labfest rehearsal venue. She said that a bunch of them were already casted, but can't commit anymore because they will be involved in The Golden Child. So she gave me a bit of info and I managed to schedule an audition (which lasted for about 5 minutes).

Anyway, yesterday's call time was at 8 in the morning. By the time I arrived, there were only a handful of people. Sigh. Call time seemed useless to some people even on the day of the show. After an hour still, not everyone was there in the theater. Put the camwhoring on hold and began dressing up, especially because lacing up those corsets required the help of another person. My costume had consisted of 4 pieces of clothing, 2 of which needed lacing up from the back. My goodness, because of the corset, my waistline was reduced a few inches, so my skirt felt like it was falling off. Thanks to Allie, we managed to fix it, and keep my petticoat and corset from coming out from my skirt and top. I slipped into them before I had my hair curled. Holy kamote, once again, because of my straight hair, it was uber-tough to curl, but thanks to Kaye, the outcome was pretty good. Yung makeup lang ang hindi ko makayanan. It was the same level as my makeup in Beauty and The Beast 4 years ago, hahaha. But I guess it was pretty close to the makeup they really had during the Baroque period. Holy kamote, from call time until whenever, Jojo was on the thesis group's nerves, as everything wasn't complete. Costumes, backstage assignments, food... oh, so many to mention. In fairness, I love how Lara's costume as Dorine turned out.

We never had a run-through before our 1pm show. We only did a paper tech, then rehearsed the curtain call. Oh well. That's what we get for people not coming in on time, even for once.

1pm show. Because of the non-run through, I realized that the only way to reach stage left was behind those darn bars, if the fireplace wasn't in place. I felt sleepy, and I only became pretty alert during the 3rd act with John and Dingdong. A bunch of forgotten lines here and there, but we barrelled through. But all in all, we did manage to pull off a good show. Wait a minute, was that Sir Tim Dacanay I saw sitting in the front row? Thanks po for watching!

Break time. Found out that our food wouldn't be arriving until half an hour before our evening show, so we had to fend for ourselves. Still in makeup and some of us sporting one piece of costume, we headed upstairs to the cafeteria for food. A bit of rest, then I slipped back into my top (I was wearing only my corset under my jacket the whole time) so I can have my hair curled again, this time by Pangga. Still couldn't get over the makeup when I had it retouched, so I went behind the door to fix it, getting Lara to check it for a second opinion, hahaha.

6pm show. I felt much better with this one, but even with that, I still ended up forgetting the same lines I had forgotten during the first show, hahaha. And because I got more comfortable with my fan, I got a little too attached and found a way to bring it with me until the final act, and Lara even made good use of it, hahaha.

Betty and Opa watched the show! Thanks ladies! Hope you enjoyed, despite your notes, ahehehe. Dinner at Tapa King with the two after the show. Chikahan galore. Man, I missed these girls. Too bad Mimay couldn't make it. There must be a next time, hehe.

Joined a bunch of the cast at Providence for videoke and drinks. Found Jojo, Edz, Lara, Dingdong, Grace, John and Darwin already there, armed with beer and tokens. Hala na, audition na rin ito para sa musical that Dingdong's writing. Jay, his girlfriend and a couple of their other friends dropped by for a while, but after a duet, they all left. Then the rest of the night was full of camwhoring, incriminting photos (HAHAHA), Xanadu, and crazy toasts.

Shoutouts and those darn toasts to follow in a separate blog. Hehehe. Time to grab some photos from everyone's Multiply albums. Congratulations to all those "tartuffified"!

Getting ready to be "Tartuffified" for the last time.

Okay, so I spent the long weekend rehearsing for Tartuffe, because tomorrow is already showtime. It's been a really crazy week, what with a lot of things seeming to me as if they were done at the last minute. I never saw a rehearsal where everyone was present, except the day of our pictorial. Sana pala araw-araw may pictorial para lahat present. Oh well.

Got to see some of the costumes during last Saturday's "non-rehearsal." Yes, I call it that because the time we were supposed to be using as rehearsal was spent for setup. So we mostly just hung around at the black box theater, eating, talking, goofing around and camwhoring. I love love love my skirt! I wish I could keep it, hahaha. Thesis ladies, can I? Oh please oh please oh please! So anyway, I only got to try out the skirt with the petticoat, as they had said that the top was not yet finished. Oh well. So I tried it on, and went to the stage. Yikes, big time adjustment with the full skirt and the loveseat. Then Jojo added a hand prop for Elmire at the last minute. Uh-oh, that wasn't rehearsed, dearie. Big no-no. But even though I said that, I couldn't really turn diva, could I? Go with the hand prop and get used to it right away. Oh well.

Hahaha, I found out that day that Jay also happened to be Tito Jaime's nephew! So that was the uncle that he mentioned who had this huge collection of theater videos. Yes, Tito Jaime, I guess it does run in the family.

Got to watch The Golden Child that evening with Rosa. My golly banana, I loved every minute of it. The cast was outstanding! And I love how they made the set. I hope I could still get to watch the Filipino version.

My mom didn't warn me before Sunday that we were to have anti-pneumonia shots at church that very morning. So my upper left arm was pretty sore the entire day. Well, better than feeling feverish. My arm sort of felt totally useless and just hung there, because if I make a slight movement... ouch.

Last 2 rehearsals of Tartuffe were held at Makati Cinema Square, where Barbie lives. Met up with Lara at Greenbelt and decided to walk all the way to MCS. But by the time we reached Pasay Road, we ended up taking a jeep instead, hahaha. Found Dingdong and Jay at Chowking, and we all walked together to Barbie's unit. Rehearsals were on the second floor, the huge open area near the pool, and we managed to run the entire play despite my useless arm.

Call time for today was supposed to be at 9am, but at around past 1 in the morning, we get text messages saying that our rehearsal was moved to 1pm. Arg... I had planned out my entire afternoon around rehearsals, and they can't just reschedule like that on a whim. Oh well. Met up with Dingdong at Starbucks PeopleSupport so we can walk to the venue together. Haha, it felt like a long walk when we did so from MCS to PeopleSupport with Lara the night before, but these were the kind of walks I enjoy because of the time to talk with each other.

It was pretty sunny that very afternoon, so we ended up rehearsing in the shady area leading to the pool. This was the only rehearsal that I felt much better with the play. Well, we should be, as the show is already tomorrow. Haha, John and I are finally a team. I know how to use my last-minute prop. And I could actually get around Jay's mixed-up lines, hahaha!

OK, fine, to those who are interested... in other words, who have nothing better to do, hahaha, please come and watch Tartuffe, August 19th (Tuesday) at 1pm and 6pm at the Black Box Theater, 6th floor, SDA building, College of Saint Benilde.

Tickets are at P150 each.

Tartuffe is a thesis production by Production Design majors: Camille Mercado, Rianna Gatus, Nina Garcia, Rachelle "Pangga" Go, and Renzelle "Barbie" Tinoy.
Direction by Jojo Flores and Joey Remetio.
Lighting Design by Zard Eguia.

CAST:
John Baliza as Tartuffe
Jay Arguelles as Orgon
Grace Sevilla as Madame Pernelle
Hogi Cadlum as Elmire
Lara Tarranco as Dorine
Dingdong Novenario as Damis
D Weber as Cleante
Keren Ozamiz as Mariane
Darwin Alvoir as Valere
Vaughn Calimag as Monsieur Loyal
Louie Lam as The Officer

Anyway, time to get some sleep. Early call time tomorrow. Break a leg to everyone involved in Tartuffe!

My thesis revisted.

There it was in my hands. Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, circa July 2004. After 4 years, I got to see it again.

During my afternoon break today, I went to the library and decided to watch a video, any video, that I could get my hands on. I was supposed to just browse through the selection that they have within reach, until I suddenly decided to ask for an old video from way back in 2004. After a couple of minutes of waiting, the assistant handed me the video. Yep, my thesis production, along with Rain, Anthony, Kathy and Precious. Hahahaha.

CAST:
Joseph: Henry Ayeras, Altair Alonso, Ryan Flores (all alternating for Simeon and Asher)
Narrator: Jemille Maog, Robert Uy (Potiphar's Wife alternate), Alys Serdenia
Jacob: Dennis Maturan
Reuben: Zernan Agbon
Levi / Butler: Rogelio "Junjun" Bonales, Jr.
Napthali: Nicco Manalo
Isaachar / Pharaoh: Rian Nolasco
Dan / Ishmaelite: Orville Chua
Zebulon: Miko Pelino
Gad: Rain Antonio
Judah: Drei Fonseca
Benjamin: Dale Amon
Wives: Nikki dela Cruz, Michelle Ramos, Laarni Zaragosa, Lavinia Mendoza (Potiphar's Wife alternate), Rochelle Flores, Daryll Mamaril, Charmelle Granada

I immediately popped the tape into the nearest VHS player and "kicked back, relaxed and enjoyed the movie." (Wahahaha.) I had several stuff going on in my head as I watched the entire video. Hala, after 4 years, notes ba ito? Hahaha! I now apologize in advance for this lengthy entry as I write everything down.

* Opening: Rian looked funny as he adjusted his pants strap while facing upstage.
* Taray, sabay-sabay talaga ang pag-ikot ng ensemble towards the audience at the beginning of the first chorus. I love the applause. I swear, I had goosebumps.
* Altair, with his arms akimbo, seemed to look as if nag-effort talaga siya magpalaki ng katawan.
* As everyone swayed, the girls swayed to every beat while the guys did so every other beat.
* Funny ni Mimay as she indicated "the Bible."
* Who or what was Sir Dennis (Jacob) gesturing at? He did so for almost every few steps as he crossed the stage.
* Parang frat ang mga brothers as they greeted each other with handshakes.
* Panalo ang pirouette ni Ezer (Reuben) as he introduced himself.
* Drei's Jamaican accent as Judah was sort of a spoiler.
* Rain (Gad) naman, hesitated whether he was going to sit down or stay standing. Ayan, nahiya at tumayo na lang.
* I still can't get over Ryan's cape as Simeon. Dude, that's a tad too much.
* Sir Dennis still gestured too much that he reminded me of The Sopranos.
* Brothers all knifed behind (Henry) Joseph, hahaha.
* Lakas ng boses ni Nicco, considering he's not the only one with a lapel mic. In fairness, their singing sounded really good. Syempre, si Sir Jed ba naman ang vocal coach and MD namin, hehe.
* Rian's costume as Isaachar, with his mischevous expression, made the character look somewhat like Abu, hahaha.
* Joseph: "shif?" (sheaf)
* Arg, Ryan's upstaging with his hands. Malaki na nga siya eh.
* Drei and Nicco, as Judah and Napthali respectively, have shining shimmering (splendid? ahaha) costumes and are both downstage center pa. Ow, my eyes.
* Ryan, laging nakikipag-agawan with Rain sa coat ni Joseph.
* Villy as Ishmaelite: "Shore!" (Sure!)
* Agawan pa rin ever sa coat si Ryan and Rain. And I remember Rain always insisting that he has the coat.
* Mental block: "(And I don't speak)... Egyptian very well."
* Brothers' cries drown out wives' singing in the chorus of "One More Angel."
* Shining shimmering Rian and Nicco, specially with that follow spot.
* Naks, mukhang close talaga si Reuben and Benjamin.
* Rain is Rain, not Gad, as he clapped to begin the dance part of "One More Angel."
* Who's the wife in the gold skirt dancing with Nicco? Arni? Haha, her butt almost nudged him after she had lifted her skirt.
* During the interlude, everyone went upstage, leaving most of the center pretty empty.
* Rain's gesture: "Let's go again!"
* Tagal ng wait after "One More Angel."
* Mental block: " ... worked much harder..."
* Mental block: "Potiphar... (was cool and)... so fine..."
* Ang lambot ng katawan ni Robert as Potiphar's wife.
* Si Nikki, pa-sexy ever, hahaha.
* "Letting out a mighty roar..." Galit ka, Mimay?
* Joseph: "the weendows... and shut out the light..."
* Natulala ako kay Henry as Joseph in "Close Every Door."
* Those votive candles aren't really that effective.
* Mimay seemed to keep shifting her weight.
* Drei as Baker: Kick-kick gesture... "Shucks, nauna siya magpa-consult."
* Go go go Joseph! Favorite namin ni Nix!
* Ang payat ni Misch!
* Kembot kung kembot si Nikki at Misch, hahaha.
* Dale has too many patterns on his clothes.
* Nicco, where are you going? Haha, excited mag-turn. Sige, tawa pa.
* Ayan, nahawa si Villy.
* Si Dale din! Gitnang-gitna pa, hahaha!
* Is it me, or did Ryan sort of shove Junjun away?
* Unahan talaga ang guys sa apron for the ending of "Go Go Go Joseph."
* Ang ganda ng Sphinx! Especially with the lights! Gandagandaganda!
* Mukhang magpapa-picture sila Mimay and Robert, haha.
* Mimay's funny indication: "Get down on your knees."
* Ang kulit ni Robert as he and Mimay surveyed the Egypt scene, touching the girls' skirts and shoes.
* Rian as Pharaoh: "Maaahn..." (man) "Caaahn..." (can)
* Even if it's not noticable in the video, I can still tell that Misch is the only one whose shoes aren't white.
* Pero si Misch lang ang audible among the girls. Well, duh, she could be the only one with a lapel yata. I forgot how Kathy did the mic traffic.
* Deadma ever and guards, pero panalo si Earl sa "Hey!"
* Funny talaga ni Robert, Matapos siya sumbungan ni Pharaoh about Joseph, makisali pa rin siya sa fan girls in "Stone the Crows."
* Ryan's beret in "Canaan Days" still strangely looked like mine that I lost exactly after the show. And what's with the shades? Ginagaya niya si Sir Manolet when he did a cameo in our opening show.
* Altair's pants as Asher looked a little too tight.
* Kulit ng improvised tango ni Nicco and Dale (though they've done this once before backstage, I think). And nice color combination too (blue and orange).
* Nauna pa sila sa music sa sobrang anticipation, hahaha. Excited lagi.
* Kakulitan na ng mga ibang brothers ang sumunod. Rian's successful attempt to lift Dale, then Miko and Junjun's fake cartwheels.
* Nung nagsolo naman si Junjun, tinaboy niya si Drei, hahaha.
* Ang clueless talaga ni Rain when Drei gestured to him, right on until the dip.
* Ang kintab talaga ni Nicco sa footlights, argh.
* But Nicco, when you forced Ryan to bend back down in "Grovel, Grovel," did you do that on purpose? Good job, hahaha.
* "Is it him?" "NO!" HAHAHAHA!
* Joseph: "Guards, seize him, lockED him in a cell!"
* Brothers: "Show him some mercy..." I like.
* Reuben's disappearance resulted in 5 boys on stage right, and only 3 boys on stage left during "Benjamin Calypso."
* Drei as Judah: "SandAH!" (Sand)
* Benjamin looks a little TOO helpless.
* Better 2nd "Show him some mercy..."
* I forgot about that gold chariot!
* Aba, may close-up ang sphinx.
* Ah, and finally, the infamous blackout, ahehehehe.

Oh my, this got a little too long, didn't it?

Man, I missed this crowd. Mimay, when's the reunion you were planning?

Feeling inferior.

I hate it when I have to be blamed for something I didn't do. It irks me to no end when people avoid their own responsibilities. Que annoying. Oh well.

What I said yesterday sounded pretty pathetic now. At 26, I still feel like I'm such a loser due to certain arrangements for particular situations. Plus I get no acknowledgement whatsoever for the things I've already accomplished. So yeah, I admit, I am quite the pasaway, but have I always been the screwup?

I look at my friends and other people and see how far they've gone. They're happy and content. It always makes me feel... inferior... inadequate. Sometimes I get so paranoid to the point that they talk about me, because I've reached nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. So maybe I've already done a few good things in life, but it feels like nothing compared to what these other people have done. Oh well.

OK, quiet time's over. Lunch time begins now.

Sunday with Betty.

Yesterday, Betty and I had planned to watch The Golden Child, in hopes that we can manage to squeeze in. That, and I wanted to get rid of the monotony of these past couple of weeks. Classes have been pretty mechanical, and rehearsals... well, you guys already know my sentiments there. Heck, during one "non-rehearsal" the week before, Lara, Dingdong and I headed to Starbucks and talked the night away, discussing how we would go about the play. Well, to cool our heads, we ended talking about anything under the sun. Funny moment was when we found Jay outside, and when we all turned to wave at him as he was about to enter with his girlfriend, he suddenly boomeranged and followed his girlfriend away from Starbucks.

Anyway, found out through Paolo that yesterday's matinee show was a pre-sold show, but I still went to CCP to check out the Cinderella crowd. I was supposed to buy a souvenir program then, but Kiwi said that they were already out of programs that week. Oh well, maybe next week when I really watch The Golden Child, hahaha.

Headed to Jollibee for lunch after checking out a couple of the current exhibits in the CCP galleries, and as I waited impatiently for my Nacho Overload to arrive, I listened to Betty's latest... "dot, dot, dot," hahahaha! Eventually, we impulsively decided to watch a movie instead. Hopped in a cab and went to Robinson's Place Manila, and I suggested we watch Mamma Mia!. We had joked the day before that it was our "mother-daughter day," so the film's title was pretty apt. Plus, it's a musical consisting of my favorite songs that I used to sing along with those old cassette tape players, ahehehe. Bought tickets first, then went window shopping, until we finally settled into just hanging out at Cheesecake Melliza (yum!) right across the cinema, and talked about her new brainchild, which is... all still in her head, ahehehe.

Hahaha, I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I noticed that the lyrics to every song was subtitled during the entire movie. My mom would love this, hahaha. But it annoyed me that the girl behind me was singing almost every song out loud. Oh well, to each his own. I only realized after the movie that the girl playing Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) was also the ditzy Karen in Mean Girls, hahaha. And Pierce Brosnan's singing... well, he's alright. He's hot, yeah, but I didn't really enjoy watching him as a musical type, ahehehe. Oh well. But I love the entire Greek villa. I'd love to stay in a place like that. And of course, Meryl Streep is always spectacular. I love her as Donna. Hehehe, as soon as the movie was over, Betty suddenly had last song syndromes. Heck, almost everyone did. I heard at least a couple of girls singing and humming the songs when I was in the ladies room.

All in all, had a blast hanging out with Betty again. Good luck on your next project!

For sale: iPod Touch

Hey all! This is for immediate sale.
Slightly used iPod Touch 8GB for PhP9,000.
Still with box, manual, USB cable and one-year warranty.

If interested, please PM me. Thanks! =)

Simple meme from Bunny.

Got this meme from Bunny. To quote her, "I've been on LJ so long and done my very best to keep up with everyone's lives. But sometimes I think I might have overlooked a few things."

So it's about time you guys shared some stuff about you...

Name/Alias:
Age:
Fandoms (if any):
Currently Reading:
Last Song You Fell In Love With:
Last Movie You Enjoyed:
All Time Favorite Movie:
Favorite Snack Food:
Favorite Drink:
Favorite Time Waster:
Fictional Character You'd totally make out with:
Interesting Hobby:
Guilty Pleasure:
Okay, you get to ask me any Question now:


Here are my answers, to be fair as well...

Name/Alias: Hogi (tymeless for 9 years already!)
Age: 26
Fandoms (if any): Hmmm... Not a lot... O_o
Currently Reading: The Actor's Checklist by Rosary O'Neill
Last Movie You Enjoyed: Iron Man. It's the last movie I saw, hahaha.
All Time Favorite Movie: Noises Off.
Favorite Snack Food: Different flavored French fries... Or anything that came from a potato.
Favorite Drink: water, coffee and green tea.
Favorite Time Waster: Writing random thoughts in the small notepad I keep with me. And reading all updates in Multiply and LJ, hahaha.
Fictional Character You'd totally make out with: Oh my, tricky question... Perhaps Dodge Anders from Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars.
Interesting Hobby: Crochet... Most people think it's for old maids. No one enjoys handicrafts as much anymore. I don't follow patterns; I make them up as I go along and forget to note them down just in case I want to do the same project again, hahaha.
Guilty Pleasure: Tambay for long hours.
Okay, you get to ask me any Question now:

Rant, rant, rant.

"Ang tapang mo."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's a good thing. Kasi pinasukan mo yan maski walang promise yan, and you chose to see it through hanggang matapos."
"Maybe I'm just stubborn, hahaha."

Yeah, maybe I am stubborn. He's just too nice to say it, hahaha!

So yeah, I came even though there wasn't any promise of a pretty good outcome. But the company of the people has been pretty great. Well, but it really disappoints me how the people in charge can be sort of inept. OK, don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect myself. And I've had my own fair share of screw-ups during my own thesis production, maybe even more, but this is a little too much sometimes, even for me. Heck, I'm not the only one who has noticed it. People have already started voicing it out.

The first thing I noticed was that the people who are actually doing the thesis don't even bother to show their faces at rehearsal, save for one. And even when they're there, they don't even bother to observe the rehearsal. When I was first introduced to the set designer, she was asked what the dimensions of the set was. She claimed she had forgotten. Uhm, this term is your thesis TWO, my dear, the part where you just execute the whole thing. You were supposed to know the dimensions of even just the venue during thesis ONE. I was appalled when we started rehearsing at the actual venue, and that was the only time they started considering where the acting area would be, how many people the venue will accommodate, and they only started measuring the stage dimensions right then and there. One question one actor had asked me was, "Did these guys even read the whole play?" I mean, yeah, their thesis is basically just the designs and execution of the play is just icing on the cake, but didn't they consider how the actors would move around the set that they had conceptualized? Once again, they didn't put that into consideration because they're hardly around. And their defense to that was "that was the design approved by the thesis adviser." Heck, do they still even meet with their adviser regarding certain changes that they need to discuss?

I didn't see any contracts for the actors, the creative team, etc. But we were guaranteed talent fee by word of mouth. That doesn't sound very promising, doesn't it? These guys could've easily altered the amount of our talent fee because of that, or we can just get away with backing out of rehearsals and the show. And the latter did happen just recently. One person had already backed out (just because he lost interest), and another who committed will only be able to attend rehearsal once a week. Ugh. The contracts then appeared just this previous Saturday, after at least a couple of talents had asked talent fee to be raised because it was pretty unfair for them to be rehearsing 6 days a week and get the same amount as those who attend less rehearsals.

Just for friendly small talk, I had also asked if they already have sponsors, knowing that it's pretty tough to get sponsors for a thesis production, unless you really have good connections. "Wala pa, naghihintay pa lang," was the reply I got. Oh. My. God. The show is only two weeks away and you're sitting ducks just waiting for them to come in. Please don't be like us who got buried in debts that we had to do a restaging to pay them off. And again, weren't you supposed to be doing that during the previous term?

Then there's the rehearsal process. Where have you ever seen a rehearsal where the director stands in for an actor? And some actors rehearsing with food in their mouths? Get serious, people.

Oh well, just wanted to get that off my chest. Break a leg, y'all.