Blog challenge 2: Dream roles.

Opa called me early this afternoon, asking me to head over to GMA for this Christmas special that Sir Dennis was doing, but of course, certain circumstances wouldn't permit me to leave the house.

It's just one of the many frustrations I have right now. I miss the real work. I miss actually doing something with such passion. I'm sick of always living vicariously through others.

The drama brat has been quite the dreamer.

What a pathetic excuse for a segue, hahaha.

As part of my blog challenges, Carmella had asked me to blog about my dream role in a play. But for the life of me, I honestly never had a particular or ideal dream role. As a kid, I dreamed about performing typical ingenue roles. Common female roles like Eponine and Cosette of Les Miserables or Kim of Miss Saigon were popular dream roles that girls would love to have, but eventually I pretty much got sick of listening to "On My Own" and "Sun and Moon" reali quick, or even "As Long As He Needs Me" by Oliver's Nancy. I guess I can say that common (and yes, sometimes) romantic female lead roles don't excite me as much as before.

If I were to have a dream role, I'd love to be some unexpected quirky character. Or maybe even a villain. Something like crazy Miss Hannigan of Annie, or one of the crazy actors in Noises Off. Hahaha, I just couldn't help mentioning that play.

I remember during the first rehearsal day of Pragres for CSB's Crossroads Theater Festival (I  got casted as Marina by default), we did an icebreaker game which consisted of sharing what kind of role we would want to play sometime. I told the kids that I wanted to be a wicked witch. Haha, maybe something like the White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It would be interesting to delve into the mind of Jadis to see how she chose to be sinister and evil even after leaving Charn and how she seized Narnia.

Betty had told me that period plays suit me after she had seen me in a thesis production of Tartuffe as Elmire. I have to admit, I liked that character. In a period where mostly men have power, Elmire had shown that she's no pushover and how she can also be in control of a situation. Girl power during the Baroque period. Corny and cliche na kaya ang mga damsels in distress, ahehe.

In fairness, it's pretty fun doing a period piece. Exploring the world of the play to find out how the people moved and spoke is pretty fun, like learning a new dance or language.

I guess I Have to say that I still don't have a specific dream role. But I do believe that weird character quirks appeal to me the most.

So what about you, what would you suggest I could play? Or even better, how about telling me about your own dream role(s)?

Geographically close friends.

Lara had posted in her most recent Flashback Friday blog a chat snippet; she was telling her best friend that she saw an episode of The Simpsons where a girl asked Bart why Milhouse was his friend, and his reply was "Hmmm... I don't know really. Mostly geographical reasons."

Interesting. Lara's best friend was her college friend that lived closest to her house. Heck, my best friends also live in the south, but it doesn't really matter anyway, because we've been best friends since we were in 5th grade.

Anyway, that Simpsons quote reminded me of a chat conversation last night with a close friend. I had asked when we will be hanging out again. He responded with, "Kung kelan magkalapit na ang bahay natin, haha."

So being my usual blunt self with him, I said, "So convenience ang mas madali sa iyo?"

"Yep."

I knew that friend has always been like that. I just wanted him to say it so he can think about it for a while, hahaha. I have to admit, we did become pretty close when he lived pretty close to where I live. But even after that, our closeness never shifted... until the next crowd anyway, hahaha.


Friendship isn't always based on geography, though it really is a convenient factor. But heck, I love all my friends and I would go anywhere just to be with them. I know a bunch of people in the northern metro who can attest to that, hahaha.

Christine and Cristina.

Was texting Cris yesterday, and we made plans to meet up this afternoon. She had said that she wanted to go to someplace new to her here in the south, "not the usual mall. Some sort of coffee/deli shop where we can just chill." So of course I suggested Peaberry Cafe.

Apparently Cris was taking advantage of her last free days before she starts working again, so aside from being the family errand girl, she treks over to the south pretty often. So this afternoon, I got to introduce her to my own patch of southern turf.

I haven't seen Cris in ages. I think the last time I saw her was when I got her to watch Virgin Labfest when I was working for Las Mentiras de Gloria last year. And even then, we never got to talk because I was busy working while she was watching the show with her (then) boyfriend. I think the last time we actually hung out together was... oh my gosh, I think I forgot. Either Jessica's birthday party when we snuck out to go to the playground, or in the Glorietta area, when we "played dress-up" in all the clothing stores.

Introduced Cris to Ronelli the moment we stepped inside Peaberry. After we ordered, got a table outside because Cris wanted to stay away from artificial air before she starts working again. Updates here and there, lots of stories. I didn't really know how to update her on everyone, as I hardly see most of them anymore, but the updates on some people are just too funny or crazy. By the way, Cris, that was interesting trivia about exes, hehe.

My memory of how Cris and I first became friends was pretty fuzzy. I think it started when we got grouped together for a class project, which was that we had to produce a short play. She was our director, and I was one of the actors. Eventually when my thesis came around and I needed a deputy stage manager, she was the one I asked to help. And I was super grateful to have her as my right-hand man. Even after those days, we still remained pretty good friends, and even got together for another thesis, Drei and Nicco's crazy film that was conceptualized from small talk over Starbucks.

With Cris during the Kopihaus # 8 shoot.

Cris is still an awesome friend with a quirky personal sense of style. Hahaha, I remember we used to call her Alex Mack back in college because she dressed like Larisa Oleynik in the series. When I saw her in her casual dress today, she reminded me of Claire Danes in My So-Called Life, hahaha. I love your entire outfit, Cris! Especially those boots. Too bad I didn't get to take a photo.

By the way, I had finally satiated my cheeseburger craving this week. Thanks again, Peaberry! I really have to try the pastas next time.

"It's high school" revelations.

Last night, Aris held a cookout at his house to celebrate his return from Senegal plus an excuse for a belated celebration with us. Because my dad had to work at the church all night while I had to stay at home to keep my mom company (as she never outgrew the scary feeling of staying home alone), I only got to catch up by midnight when my dad got home.

So half an hour before midnight, the moment my dad got home, Aris and Iam arrived at my house a few minutes later to pick me up. Found Seph, Josh and Raffy at Aris' house, and while Iam decided to catch up on a few zzz's, I took her place at the table with the rest of the guys. I never got to the actual "cookout" part of the night, but at least I got to pick on the leftovers. Plus I also managed to finally open that bottle of Merry's Irish cream from Rosa. And I must say, I loved Raffy's barako coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream.

Iam had said that by the time she and Aris had left to pick me up, the rest had been ranting about the Twilight movies, especially this new one. Hahaha, all throughout the wee hours of the morning, even as our conversation shifted from topic to topic, we still somehow ended up going back to that topic because of how idealistic and crazy-fanatic people can get over the whole vampire trend. Crazy conversations over beer and Irish cream included Twilight's "sparkling" vampires, the "stealth assassin," the "gay friend," the useless 40-kilometer workout, the ala-School-for-Scoundrels teacher, the text language issue, among others.

Who needs the high school reunion plus those unnecessary "reunion planning sessions" when you can just get together like this? One favorite topic were those very interesting revelations that were only opened up to some or most of us at least 10 years after they had happened, hahaha. Diane's boys, Avril's boys, and even the uneventful Olive competition. Pre-prom date vows, prom dates, rejections and merely funny heartaches. But hey, as we kept saying the entire morning, "That's high school." It was amusing enough that how some had mentioned their own point of view on what was happening. It could get even more interesting if more of the people involved could be there as well, hahahaha!

Now that's a thought. That could make a really awesome December get-together.

Blog challenge 1: Jologs.

Quoting from Chris Martinez' Last Order sa Penguin: "What makes a jologette jologette? Physically? Bordering on the kakatulungin. Kaunting-kaunti na lang, kakatulungin na. And generally, ang mga jolog girls pangit ang skin. Parang loob ng Bar None. 'Yung cross section nu'n--ganu'n ang skin nila. At mahilig sa pink na lipstick. Pansinin n'yo mamaya diyan sa labas. Pink ang lipstick na kutis Bar None at pwede mo nang papasukin sa kitchen."

Wala lang, pinapahaba ko lang yung entry, hehe.

Teena had asked me to blog about my jologs side. I honestly have no idea what part of me can be considered jologs. Though I sure hope I can relate some certain experiences to that.

Let's see. Being a one-time groupie, I used to follow a local band practically everywhere. I went early to bar gigs so I didn't have to pay for cover charge and just order one drink for the entire night. Never mind that I sometimes came straight from school with a bag, so I can just dress up before I go to the venues. And of course, we do make time to go to all those mall shows, because, hey, that's the cheapest gig you can attend, because it's for free.

But I don't know if I really do consider that jologs. I recall a few girls who followed in our footsteps who were way worse than we were. Imagine one girl even offering to carry the artists' clothes and bags for them before and after the gigs. Oh well.

So let's see. Jologs.

Oh yeah, I remember back during my first year in Atlantis, Ate Sally, Richelle, Kuya Boni and I would always try to escape and leave the office early just so we can catch the latest Sam Milby movie in Glorietta, hahaha! I think we did it 2 or 3 times, just so we can watch it at a decent time. Hey, you have to admit, when Sam Milby was a new fresh face in Pinoy Big Brother, he was cute... until maumay ka na lang sa itsura niya because of too much exposure.

And yes, we go to Pinoy Big Brother. During our free time, Ate Sally and I would always go online to check out regular updates of the first season of PBB, plus the first celebrity season. Effort pa kami to read all updates in the website, and sometimes sisilip pa kami sa forums para makarinig ng chismis. And laging naka-schedule ang evenings namin so we can watch the show every night.

Hahaha, now I know why Teena requested this. She has her own jologs side as well because of Pinoy Big Brother. Heck, whenever we would be chatting online, she would even tell me what she's seeing on TV, ahahaha. Di naman ako maka-relate.

Now let's which dare topic I'll tackle next.

(The return of) Dare you to dare me.

I had mentioned a few entries before that I wanted to go back to how I used to blog. So as an exercise, I decided to bring back the "dare" post I made about a year and a half ago. For those of you who had seen it before, you may remember that I never got to follow through with all the blog challenges that some people had posted. So I'd like to bring it back. Here we go.

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

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, political leanings, thoughts on TV, favorite type of underwear, stories I'm working on, travel, etc. Repost in your own journal so that we can all learn more about each other.

Go!

Thoughts on the Rent cast.

So the Rent cast has finally been announced. I posted 9 Works Theatrical's link to the video on Facebook, with the perfunctory "Congrats!" Yet, my Facebook status reads, "Hmmm... A bit doubtful, but interesting. Let's just hope it works." Complete with a smiley face.

Yes, this is a filtered post. Because as much as I want to speak up about this, I'd prefer to just air this out to a few select people. Kaya sa atin-atin lang ito, okay?

I have to say, I've been getting little hints here and there from Peachy before the cast announcement, and I managed to find out a couple of the cast members beforehand. She dropped hints, but most of the time, I didn't really want to know who they were before it was announced to the public. So Peachy had just said that the rest of the cast were "exciting" daw. She built it up so much, so I guess it's my bad as well that I expected more. So yeah, I was a little disappointed when the announcement appeared. But at the back of my head, a lot of thoughts on the casting starting to form.

It's not naman na wala akong doubts or tiwala sa casting ni Robbie, it's just that there are so many weird things I could think of about how the 9WT production was cast.

First of all, I was told that it was an open call before the word got out. Cattle call daw because they said that they really have no idea who to cast in any particular role. A little over 300 people came to the auditions, and yung iba ay nag-effort pa lumipad galing probinsya para dito. Of course, who wouldn't be excited at the fact that Rent has returned to Manila? So syempre, excited din ang mga tao sa 9WT because of the really good turnout. Marami talagang undiscovered Pinoy talent out there. They did say so themselves. Tuwang-tuwa sila because there are so many really talented people who came and sang in front of the panel.

So how come they came up with a cast composed of them?

Hindi naman sa sinasabi ko na hindi sila magaling. Oo, magagaling ang mga napili nila Rob, we all know that. We've seen all of these people perform, and yes, they are talented. Yes, they may have the X-factor. Pero parang sila-sila na lang ulit eh. These are just my two cents, but it came out to me as if parang takot silang mag-risk to cast new-found talents who are equally good and maybe even better. Parang playing safe na lang lagi with the people they already know. Wag naman sana tayo mag-recycle ng mga actors tulad ng mga ibang directors diyan.

Then we see Fred Lo casted as Mark, and Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Maureen. I have to admit, I love Carla. She's really beautiful and talented, and I love watching her perform. But casting them as exes? May maniniwala bang naging mag-boyfriend silang dalawa? OK, sure, we could say that it could be possible. Pwede naman gawin na yung age-gap ang isa sa mga reasons kung bakit sila naghiwalay, diba? So sana maipakita yun sa audience. Fred Lo looks too young for Carla and vice versa. If they really wanted Fred as Mark, maybe they could've cast Maureen na bagay sa kanya, or kung si Carla talaga ang gusto nila, someone that looks close to Carla's age.

Oh well.

Then there's Carla herself. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko kay Carla. Yes, she's an amazing thespian. I adore her onstage and off. Pero matagal ko nang naririnig na gusto raw talaga niya makasama sa cast ng Rent. I also heard that she wants to be assistant director plus dance captain. So parang feeling ko (feeling ko lang ha) na napilitan si Robbie to cast his own cousin to save him from the pressure? *shrug*

And while we're on to that, I can't help to not overlook Peach and Anna as well. Girlfriend ng direk si Peach, asawa ng executive producer si Anna, and both men were on the panel. May narinig pa nga ako dati while I was having lunch with some of these people nung panahon pa ng Christmas Carol that Robbie used to cast people "out of awa." Dahil anak siya ni ganito, dahil friend kita, ganun. But I don't know. Yes, again, these ladies have beautiful voices, pero bagay kaya sa Rent? Hindi naman sa nawalan din ako sa tiwala sa kanila, but there could still be a lot of girls there who could surpass their talent. Parang lumabas sakin tuloy na formality lang yung open call.

Ewan, it all boils down to "sila-sila rin lang ulit." I was expecting a little more diversity, I guess. Santi had said during 9WT's very first press conference that one of their missions was to provide more avenues to showcase these actors' talents. So yeah, maybe they did. But aren't we forgetting one of the other missions? He also said that another mission was to come up with good shows to showcase what Filipino talent is all about. Kung ganon, sana they did come up with the best cast. If this is the best cast they could find, sana this will be an awesome show that could possibly be incomparable to the previous Rent stagings.

So I'm just really hoping that they pull off a really good show. Marami nang nagiging issues lately about Broadway shows here in Manila.

Trio Sunday at ATC.

Went to ATC yesterday afternoon to meet up with Rosa and Iam. I didn't mind that it was a Sunday, because considering it was also the day of the Paquiao-Cotto match, there wouldn't be a lot of people milling about. Haha, there wasn't any traffic at all, so the jeepney ride took only 10 minutes. When I arrived at ATC, I noticed that Gerry's and Italianni's had blocked their glass windows for the boxing match, having sold tickets for the live telecast.

Rosa arrived while I was hanging out in Powerbooks, and because Iam wouldn't be around until after the boxing match's delayed telecast, we headed to White Hat to try out their frozen yogurt. Stayed there and talked until we noticed that a lot of people were already outside, which meant that the match was over. After a little errand at the hardware store, we did a little window shopping and ended up munching on chicken skin at the food court while we waited for Iam.

Window-shopped a little when Iam arrived, then we went to CANS because they were going to have pedicures. Went with them as well, even though I have my nails done at home. Sat between them and talked and giggled along with them as their feet were as ticklish as mine.

After pedicures, we stopped over at the supermarket so Rosa can pick up some cranberry juice, then we headed to good old Mount McDo to eat. Funny conversation jumped from the Paquiao match, to being a boksingero's mom for instant fame (hahaha), to the discovery of an apo and an older sister, to marriage. It's fun getting together like this again, just the three of us.

After a little more walking (with a side trip to Salsa jeans), I bid them goodbye because they were attending the 7 o'clock mass at St. Jerome (I heard mass before I went to ATC). I ended up briefly meeting with Lara near the cinemas, as she was there to catch a movie and have dinner with her siblings. Finally met her Barbie-ish older sister and older brother that she fondly talks about. After chatting over Plato wraps, I finally headed on home.

I just love hanging out with my happy thirds, plus spur-of-the-moment meet-ups with other good friends.


Pahabol: While everyone is watching 2012 at the cinemas, I once chanced upon an old 80's movie on the MGM channel a few days ago called 2010 naman. Hahaha.

Walking.

I realized today that I really need more exercise, so I did a little bit of walking when I had to go on a little errand this afternoon.

I had to pay our broadband internet bill at the 7-Eleven outside our village, so when I had set off walking along our street to look for a tricycle, I suddenly decided to walk the entire way out the village. Thank goodness I chose to leave the house at around 4 in the afternoon, when it was cooler. While I was walking along the street parallel to ours, I noticed the cracks on the road and remembered how old those cracks were. I remembered how bewildered yet fascinated I was of those cracks when I used to walk along that road when I was kid. As I walked further, I realized that I hardly walk around the area at the fringes of our little subdivision in our village, and I had to admit, the sights are actually pretty when you walk on by instead of riding by in a car or tricycle.

I really have to remember to get a second pair of frames for my glasses, because the pair I'm wearing has thick sides that block my peripheral vision. I've had these since last year, when I used to walk to David's studio for voice lessons. I forgot how dangerous walking along the main road was until this afternoon, and I really must have those new glasses made.

Jhack had posted on her Tumblr about the cast of Glee guesting on Tyra, and I had almost forgotten that it was to be aired on ETC this evening. Thank goodness I was just vegging out in front of the TV after dinner. I was channel-surfing and randomly stopped at ETC, when Tyra was just starting. I was intrigued at Tyra's entrance with the western high school cafeteria clique dilemma, so I stayed put to watch. They talked about the typical high school cliques and how the so-called popular kids would judge the others and vice versa, and even got a bunch of "outcasts" to speak up along with the popular kids. Haha, I remember how I felt like such an outcast in class during some time in high school, so I resorted to joining a whole bunch of extra-curricular activities, such as track and field varsity, the youth corps, the student council's programs and planning committee, and of course, theater.

Seeing the Glee cast made me miss my training. Dave's been pretty busy with teaching at the school so we haven't gone back to regular training. Maybe I'll walk over to the studio for a visit one of these days.

Trying to return to the old blogging ways.

I was looking at my old blog entries from at least a year or two ago, and I realized that I missed blogging like that. I just blogged away, regardless of who was reading it. Un-edited and candid, and never conscious about what I wrote because heck, I didn't really need to put a disclaimer to say that it's my blog and it's just my personal take on things. I hope I could blog like that again. Oh well. So let's go with the flow, shall we?

One of the things I love about Tad is that he's not afraid to be frank but still have the tact. He knows when to say the right thing, and manages to get my head out of the ozone. He knows exactly what I needed to hear, and not just the things I want to hear. I'm so grateful to have him as my voice of reason when I get too tactless and stubborn in certain situations.

I was chatting with Jenny last night about a previous blog entry. Hmmm. This is what I love about talking about certain issues with different friends. You find different takes on those situations, and sometimes they tell you if you could handle them differently. Yes, Jenny, I'm too nice, hahaha.

Just for kicks, sometime this week, Nicco had posted Pasencia on Facebook, which was an old video from the old days, back when I started hanging out with them post-thesis, when they shot film project after film project for class. When we all saw it, comments poured as we cracked up and asked for more of the old films. So today, Drei posted Garahe, the film project that Miko wrote for them that was inspired by the movie Fight Club. I remember tagging along with them during their location shoots at Camille's house and Rian's house, until I ended up doing a silly cameo. Oh my gosh, those were the days. Food trips on isaw and tapsilog, and late night shoots while our parents were texting us to come home already, plus the late night commute with Nicco and Drei, with at least one of them suddenly falling asleep on my shoulder during the trip home.

Speaking of watching videos, so I finally got back my DVD of Our Town from Nicco. I got to watch it again last night, even though I knew I'd cringe and lower the volume at the sight of myself and my own voice. Yes, I'm that critical of myself, hahaha. Even though it was a beginning acting workshop recital, I never seem to cut myself some slack, ahehe. Anyway, while I was watching, I have to admit, for a basic acting class, we actually did pretty well. I was always laughing half the time I was watching, seeing all those nuances that everyone did again, and how we barreled through and gave it all that we've got so far, hahaha.

Thank goodness for finding this laptop's adapter and fixing it up. My computer's on the blink again, but at least I still have something to use.

Those sort-of-random days.

I had planned to go to CCP yesterday to get my router back from Tad as well get my Microsoft Office CD from Betty, but I ended up just meeting Betty for lunch because Tad and the rest of the Actors Company had to go to Assumption.

Lunch talk with Betty, from the annoying weird texts I got, to Chekov reading (aba, pa-deep, haha), to other Betty-tales, which led us to slipping inside the relatively quiet prayer room. Aba, confessional ba ito? Ahehehe. Well, at least hanging out together that early afternoon, even for a brief time, brightened both our spirits a little.

I had told Claire that I was planning to visit Atlantis that very same day, so it was off to Makati next. She had mentioned that Nicco was also going there, so I told him to drop off my Our Town DVD (which he has for the past year and a half already) so I can just pick it up at the office. Apparently, he was going there to pick up his custom-made Spring Awakening jacket, but because the delivery guy was super late, he was still in San Juan and I had to wait for him to arrive. Hehe, ended up checking out photos in Ate Sally's laptop from their Hong Kong trip. Kuya Boni and I even laughed out loud when we noticed a magazine that was sent to Atlantis that day. My name was still the addressee, hahahaha!

The jacket delivery guy finally arrived after at least 2 hours, so Claire had to sort everything out because the sizes sort of got mixed up. When she finally sorted part of the groups of jackets, Nicco and Kelly finally arrived. Hahaha, syempre it took a while for Nicco to find the jacket that fit him, because the size order got a little confused.

One observation, it's so funny to see Nicco actually speaking straight English to everyone, and being so OC with the jacket that will fit him. So unlike that Nicco I knew from years before, back when I was the one who was talking to him in straight English and being so OC with everything in sight. Pseudo-siblings have switched certain traits, hahaha. And to think that he used to tease me because of my "burgis/conyo" accent. Hey, I only adapt certain accents depending on the people I'm talking to, which also applied to him. I bit my tongue and decided to not to tease him in front of everyone... and told him so when we found each other online last night, hahahaha!

I was planning to wait for Tad to get out of Assumption, but then he and Riki happened to have a recording with their voice teacher in Cubao that very evening, so I found myself walking to SM Makati because Teena had mentioned in her Facebook about Gonuts Ice Cream, which was reminiscent of good old Coney Island Ice Cream, so I immediately ignored the strawberry (my favorite flavor of any ice cream) and went ahead and bought a scoop of bubble gum, which was my all-time favorite Coney Island flavor. And it has bubble gum bits, yay! Hahaha, I just had to ask to put it in a cup so I can save the bubble gum bits for last.

Man, that bubble gum ice cream made me feel like a kid again. But now that that craving's gone, I'm now craving for one of Peaberry's cheeseburgers again. I wonder who'll be my next victim that I can drag along with me to the cafe, hehehe.

We're selling RENT tickets!

Courtesy of Peachy's spamming, hahaha.

Celebrate the 'season of love' with RENT! =)
Running in February 2010!

February 27, 3:30PM at the RCBC Theater, Makati City

RESERVE TICKETS NOW WHILE THEY'RE STILL AVAILABLE! =)

Call or text PEACHY at 0906.331.5961

Measure your life in love! <3

So please make us happy and buy tickets. =) See you in February!

Text language and weird spellings.

Text message yesterday from some stranger: Eow poh kamuzta na poe u? Kaen nah poe u ng deener ahh. c",)

So I politely asked: Sorry, who's this please?

The reply: Wow galeng poh u mhag izpell ng wordz ahh. Parah poe niu pinapah mookah zakin nah ang julogz coe. Haha!

Annoyed, and somewhat thinking this was someone's idea of a weird joke, I asked: No, really, who's this please?

The reply was: Nasl poe?

I stopped replying. Ano ba yan.

First thing I thought, what the heck is this person doing? Is this some way to find a textmate? Ang cheap mo ha. And please, what is it with that weird text language? I mean, I'd understand if you shorten words so you can save the space and put everything in one text message. But those weirdly-spelled words with the unnecessary extra letters? It's as annoying as those Q's and X's that people use to substitute other letters that still seem fine on their own.

At aba, before it was just "ASL." Ngayon "NASL" na? Takot na ba ang mga may gusto ng textmate sa anonymity? Baka takot sa mga "hologram" (as Tad and Chrome would call them).

It's so sad how some people's spelling just worsens with the use of text language. Sure, you can shorten words when you send text messages, but there are still some people who still use text language for emails, chat, and other stuff where there really isn't any valid reason to shorten certain words. People won't take you seriously if you keep doing that.

Oh well, just my two cents. And if ever that anonymous texter really was a practical joker sent out just to annoy me, may araw ka rin.

Still learning, and reviving an old laptop.

My last Facebook status had read: "... is amused at the fact that no matter how long you've known the people you love, you still learn something new about them. It makes your friendships and relationships more interesting and exciting day by day."

So true. Even though you think you know a person inside and out, no matter how close you already are, you still discover something new about them, like a new quirk, a new hobby or talent, or just something that they've been keeping for quite a long time. Or it just tells us that we still grow and learn something about ourselves and others every day. That's what also makes me love my friends and loved ones even more.


Randomness. I inherited a laptop from my brother 3 years ago, then it crashed and when I was about to have it fixed, we couldn't find the adapter because my mom had misplaced it along with a whole bunch of wires and cables. Never got around to buying a new adapter because I had resorted to using the PC again. Even though every file and raw photo in the laptop was very precious, I learned how to detach myself and have a clean slate again. The laptop stayed in my room, untouched, like a huge paperweight or bookend.

But surprise, while my mom was looking for a spare antenna this morning for one of our old radios, she finally found the bag that had the laptop's adapter inside, along with an extra mouse, a USB cable and two 3 1/2 floppy disks, hahaha. After 3 long years, my laptop was alive again. Of course, I had to check and reformat the darn thing and re-install some stuff this entire evening, but yay, at least I have a working laptop again. And to think that before I had to look for the adapter 3 years ago, I was about to pay someone to do all that stuff for me, when I could actually do it myself.

Those classic (board) games.

I caught an episode of My Boys on ETC this afternoon. The subplot was about this "decathlon" of board games that Brendan, Kenny, Mike and Andy play at Crowley's. They were playing these classic board games and other crazy games, such as Sorry!, Candy Land, and I think they were also playing Taboo during one scene.

The last time I played a board game was about 3-4 years ago. Someone left a Snakes-and-Ladders game in the office, and we would play a couple of rounds after lunch. Then there was also that time when Carms, Jay, Grae and I went crazy over Jenga when we met up once at Hobbes last month.

I miss board games and those simple game nights with friends. I want to play Clue, Uno, Monopoly, Taboo, Jenga, Pictionary and Twister again! To anyone who's stumped about what to give me for my birthday (not to be joined with Christmas, hahaha!), those classic (I mean the real thing) games are also on my wish list. Then let's have a game night!

When worlds collide.

I had mentioned in my previous post about worlds about how worlds collide, like when I took Tad to Peaberry Cafe last Sunday to meet Ronelli.

Ronelli had been a friend of mine from Trumpets Playshop Alabang's first musical theater class under Tita Menchu. It was the first acting/musical theater workshop I had ever taken. I was only comfortable in class because I had friends there. Other than that, I was quiet as a mouse. I had too many inhibitions that I was afraid that I might do all the exercises wrong. Part of the reason was that I knew all of us weren't in the same "skill level," as some of them had already done this before, even professionally. I was even careful about the way I moved and talked. But hey, I did make a lot of friends through that workshop. Good friends, though not as close, save for a couple of them. I even put Putting It Together (our showcase) and the class' bond on a high pedestal even after the few workshops after that. Sure, we bonded, but I felt as if there were still walls separating some of us because of certain differences. Just a feeling. It would sometimes seem as if there was something's wrong with the way that girl stared, or how that guy spoke.

Fast forward to several years later. I started from scratch and attended a beginning acting workshop under Tanghalang Pilipino. Again, I was sort of comfortable at first only because I had a couple of friends enrolled in the same class. During the first couple of days, I put up a wall because I was still used to the Playshop environment. But day by day, the wall came down. I realized that all of us were on the same playing field, just there want to learn, and just have a go at it. I was no longer afraid to try anything. My eagerness and enthusiasm removed my inhibitions. I stopped listening to people's accents because to them, I was the one with the weird accent (hahaha, Mimay and Nicco can attest to this, because they did this often). This was a class that had no pre-judgments over you, or wherever you came from, as long as you knew how to get along with different people, wear your heart on your sleeve, and give it all you've got. So we have the passion. We also had that crazy bond, the type that you can never get sick of each other. Our crazy glue? The girl with the amazing voice and upbeat personality who played my alter ego, and the guy with so much passion in his bones and loves his friends til the end.

Two workshops that were so different from each other. Both were similar outlets, yet showed different sides of me. In Playshop, I was one of the quiet, yet friendly ones. Too intimidated by the ones who have more experience than I did. In TP, I was more outgoing, yet still grounded. I had learned to wear my heart on my sleeve and learned the difference between theater as a passion and as a hobby.

When Ronelli, a former classmate from Trumpets Playshop, and Tad, my boyfriend from TP, met at Peaberry last Sunday, I had no idea if they had anything in common. Ronelli talked the way she always did, straight English with a slight accent. Tad was merely being himself and compromised, and didn't mind stumbling over the occasional English words. I was actually amused at the fact that it was the first time I heard Ronelli say anything in Filipino. When we started talking about coffee drinking, coffee routines, and the different kinds of coffee, the "language barrier" disappeared.

I have yet to invite Ronelli to a TP show. Hopefully when Flores Para Los Muertos does a rerun, I'll invite her to come. She did say that she hasn't seen a play in ages. And I have to check out Peaberry's acoustic nights. Maybe I could get Tad to sing during one of those nights, hehehe. And who knows, maybe Ronelli can overcome her "singing trauma" as well, even if I have to hold the microphone for her, hahaha.

"Sundate" at Peaberry Cafe.

During this morning's homily, I heard Father Gerry say that heaven can be found in simple contentment. He's right. I always find bits of heaven in simple joys--a sincere and comforting hug, a welcome visitor, spending time with a loved one, meeting old friends, pigging out to good food, and hanging out at a coffee shop.

I found all those in one lovely Sunday afternoon such as today.

Tad had been kind of busy with Madonna Brava and Flores Para Los Muertos that we haven't spent much quality time together, let alone drop by my house for a visit. He's been feeling kind of down and out lately that sometimes he could get pretty cranky, even though it was his birthday last Friday, so I persuaded him to come visit so he can let out some steam, chill and basically just hang out. I told him I wanted to check out Peaberry Cafe, this coffee shop that my friend Ronelli had just opened here at our village, and I thought that we could go there as my belated birthday treat for him.

I knew Ronelli from the first year Playshop opened an Alabang branch, as we were both in Tita Menchu's musical theater workshop. I haven't seen her in years, so this was a good excuse to see her. I've seen photos of Peaberry on Facebook, and the place looks pretty promising. It sort of reminded me of Central Perk from Friends, plus the "Kopihaus" from Kopihaus # 8 (Drei and Nicco's thesis).

Thankfully, Ronelli told me that Peaberry was open today even though it was a holiday, but when we got there, I actually thought that they were closed (even though the sign out front said that they were open) because there was hardly anyone there except for this middle-aged lady sitting in one of the couches, and one of the employees behind the counter. Oh well, they're open anyway, so Tad and I each ordered ice blended coffees, then sat at a table outside so he can smoke.

I got the ice blended black forest while Tad played it safe with a white chocolate mocha. Thankfully the black forest was sweet enough for my taste, because I don't like it when drinks get too sweet. Tad thought thought that the white chocolate mocha was pretty OK as well, though I knew he was looking for a certain taste. While we were sitting there, a group of girls arrived and also sat at a table outside. Finally, more customers, hahaha. I guess we just came at lazy hour during a holiday, which was why there wasn't anyone there. Anyway, when I saw the other group order a plate of mini tacos, I was dying to try those as well, but I stayed put. But a few minutes after Tad had finished his drink along with a couple of cigarettes, he wanted to order another drink, hahaha! We waited for a few more minutes then he stood up to order the mint java chip this time. I, on the other hand, was curious about their cheeseburgers, because the photos and comments on their Facebook page sounded so appealing.

No sooner after the cheeseburger (that came with a side order of French fries) arrived, a car pulled up right in front of the cafe. It was Ronelli and her husband Paul. Man, it was great to see Ronelli again! Haha, when she saw the cheeseburger (which was untouched because we were still on the fries), she affirmed that the cheeseburger was their best selling item on the menu. Once she stepped inside for a while, I let Tad have a go at the cheeseburger first before I did. And yep, it really was awesome. The burger patty was thick and juicy, and the entire thing was bursting with flavor. No wonder it's their best-seller. Yummy.

Ronelli sat with us for a while and talked and caught up on news as we finished off our food and drinks, so she got to know Tad a little more. Haha, Ronelli from my past world of theater and Tad from my current. I love it when worlds like these collide. Tad was a little tongue-tied because Ronelli spoke straight English most of the time, but they were in the same wavelength when we started talking about different kinds of coffee. Hmmm... maybe some time, after a few more visits, maybe Ronelli can teach me to do latte art, hehehe. Plus we could definitely hold a Playshop MT '99 reunion there.

We never got to hang out inside the cafe as we chose to sit in the smoking area, but I have to admit, the interior of the cafe is really gorgeous and had that cozy, homey feel. We'll surely come back and frequent this place, because it's got a lot of promise, from the coffee, the food (I have yet to try their pasta), the ambiance, and of course, the friendly owners.

Shamless plug... If you guys (especially the ones in the South) want to check it out, Peaberry Cafe can be found at 511 Capitoline Hills, BF Resort Village, Las Pinas City. They're open everyday from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm.