Watching shows. Not quite a marathon this time.

I was supposed to blog last night, but for some reason, I couldn't access Multiply.

Anyway, I managed to find time to catch some plays this past week, just so I can have a semblance of a life after my last ushering stint, ahahaha. I also got to sit in at the AC's company class and make-up class, facilitated by Riki and Lao respectively. I had a lot of fun just sitting and observing during the make-up class. After both classes, Rayna, Martha and I ran-through our scene for script analysis class before we all went out to eat. Found Gino at Mang Inasal (as he had went ahead of all of us), before most of us headed to Harrison Plaza to get our fix of goto.

We finished tackling J.M. Synge's Riders to the Sea on Friday, complete with our assigned scenes. We're finally moving on to a new script tomorrow. Anyway, Nicco had gotten me tickets to that night's show of American Hwangap (English version), so I killed time with Gino and Dan at Icebergs before we watched the show. Haha, I also invited Nicco to hang with us prior to his call time, and he shared his experiences as a one-time TP Actors Company scholar the the 2 new scholars.

I loved Mio's detailed set. And the ensemble cast was pretty good. It was actually amusing to watch Nicco in another character that was pretty close to his personality, right down to when he threw that game console on the floor. But I have to agree with some that it was too American, with hardly any Korean flavor, except for some indications using costume and food. But I still enjoyed it all the same. So congrats once again, baby bro!

On Saturday, while I was catching up on my sleep in the office lounge, I got a text from Betty that she has an extra ticket to their show in UP, Information for Foreigners, that night. I immediately said yes, and thank goodness I had time to kill in the afternoon, as I was also meeting Nikki that day. We meet up at Powerbooks and had lunch at Pepper Lunch, then went around the malls, just window-shopping until I had to catch the northbound MRT.

Betty had told me to come an hour before the show begins because tickets were first come, first serve, plus they had to turn away some people because the place was already pretty full. I actually had no idea where the new CAL building, but I was told that it was behind the FC. And to think that there's also a show going on in the FC that Tad and Kat were involved in. So while I was finally walking towards the right direction of the building, I found Tad standing outside the FC, smoking, so I went over to him for a while to say hi before I went on ahead to the CAL building. While I was getting my ticket, Lee and Helen had arrived at almost the same time, so we got to kill time together before the show started. Drove a short distance to get fishballs and isaw (yum!), then immediately went back to see that there was already a huge crowd assembled.

Betty had advised us to join Uleb's group, because apparently, this show was going to be all over the building, like an interactive tour, and so Lee, Helen and I looked for the line that Uleb was talking to. Information for Foreigners tackled some heavy material, about the several desaparecidos that their families have been looking for even until today. My goodness, we were told to wear comfortable shoes and bring fans, and be ready to run when needed. Hahaha. Props to the cast and crew for this show. Each tour group was led from one room to another, showing real scenarios of those who had disappeared since the time of Martial Law. Though Lee, Helen and I got pretty turned off by the certain heckler during the first scene of the second act, it was still a darn good show.

Had a late dinner with Lee, Helen, Betty, Opa and Uleb (who had to leave after a few minutes) at McDo in Katipunan after the show, and we discussed certain aspects of it before we called it a night. Rode a cab with Betty and despite the fact that I was losing my voice since the day before, I still made an effort to share little tidbits with her.

On Monday, Kat managed to provide one compli ticket for me to Alimuom/Walang Maliw, the twinbill that she and Tad were in at the FC. The week before, I was actually planning to watch both UP shows in one day, but after watching both, I was glad I didn't because each show, despite the fact that they had similar topics, was far to heavy that I couldn't handle watching both on the same day.

Two long lines had already formed outside the THY, and it took me a while to figure out that one line was for ticket holders, and the other was for waiting people in hopes of getting tickets should there be any left. As a guest, I was immediately led inside the theater upon open house, without going through the long line. I managed to find a seat up front with Arvin, so I don't have to deal with backless bleacher seat and bobbing heads in front of me.

Alimuom is a monologue with that as a soldier/reformist that comes returns to a certain safe house where he used to torture people that they had abducted. Intense. Each person that the soldier mentioned gave a clear vision of his method of torture. Ack. Walang Maliw, on the other hand, shows the opposite side, with Kat as one of the abducted, while her parents celebrate her birthday 5 years after her disappearance. I never got to catch this play when it was performed at the Virgin Labfest, and I'm glad to have caught it then. It was quite a touching performance. I was fighting back tears during the last parts, and couldn't hold it back when I spotted a lot of other people in the audience also crying.

My goodness, despite the fact that I'm nursing a cough and losing my voice even right on until now, I'm glad to have caught those shows. I sure hope I still get to catch Shock Value and the Filipino version of American Hwangap later this week.

Shopping and window-shopping.

I spent my first work-free Monday with Rayna yesterday, as we really were planning to go out somewhere, but she went ahead last Saturday without me (ahahaha). Anyway, she wanted to go to Kryolan to buy makeup, as she used up most of her supply during the run of Banaag at Sikat.

We met up at GMA-Kamuning MRT, and took a jeep from there. We honestly had no idea how to get to Kryolan except for vague directions and ideas, but after getting off at Tomas Morato and walking a bit, we finally found Il Terrazzo, where Kryolan was. Ooh, I love their stuff. Pricey, but yes, it really is a very good investment if you're a theater actor. It took a while for Rayna to decide between two similar shades of foundation, but I had fun looking through their stuff, even though I'm quite a novice.

After getting her purchase, we walked around Il Terrazzo, just checking out the other shops, and even went inside Rustan's because Rayna wanted something to drink. We ended up buying nothing, ahahaha. We decided to just go home early because she wanted to study and finish cleaning up her room. But then we wanted to grab something to eat, so we decided to grab a quick bite at Chowking. It started raining when we were there, so we ended up sitting around and talking for a while, while waiting for the rain to let up a little. Then we walked back to Edsa and took the MRT back to Ayala.

We didn't go home just yet once we reached Ayala, ahahaha. We walked to Landmark because Rayna had accidentally left her hand sanitizer at Chowking, so we went there so she could buy a new one. Of course, we didn't just go there and just buy that. We still ended up looking around, sniffing perfumes and Rayna finally got a new scent as well.

While walking around in Glorietta prior to reaching Landmark, we realized that we rarely hung out together outside the vicinity of CCP. This was only the second time, considering we were friends for 2 years already. And our first time to hang out was still pretty recent, when we watched Inception with Opa. Rayna, we really just go out more together, hahaha. I had a blast yesterday.

It was so funny after Rayna and I had parted ways. I was walking in the direction of SM, when I passed by Human and saw this pretty dress that was similar to the "sweet looking" blouse I saw at Tomato with Rayna earlier. I impulsively went inside and searched for it among the racks, but it wasn't anywhere. Thank goodness a saleslady approached me and told me that they have dresses that just arrived, and there they were in the back. One trip to the fitting room and one of the pretty dresses was finally mine. Yes, Rayna, like I said, I shouldn't be left shopping alone, hahaha.

Curtains: Xanadu (for now).

Xanadu had finally closed last Sunday night, so I'm glad to have weekends to myself again.

I remember that Saturday was pretty crazy for me because I could feel my body crashing the whole day. I was practically ready to just lie on the floor in between shows because of hunger and lack of sleep, despite the fact that I did eat lunch prior to the matinee show. Then during the evening show, I volunteered to be doorman because of a migraine that started bugging me. By the time I was on my way home, I could feel a slight fever. But thank goodness it was only for the night, as I immediately downed some medicine and got some rest.

The closing night show was super fun. We made sure the house was packed and the people really did have a blast. We distributed glow sticks once again to everyone in the orchestra, so it was a big party once again by the time the cast started singing "Xanadu." It was great seeing a great crowd filled with friends. Rayna, Jay, Riki and Lao even made it, plus Nicco, Je, Nar (plus 2 friends) managed to make it to the onstage seats in time.

Rode with Nicco to the venue of the cast party, and after dropping off Je and Nar and company in Greenbelt, we parked near Shang Grand and decided to wait for Bea and Gabs because Nicco was too shy to go to the party, ahahaha. We ended up just sitting in the car just talking, until he got a text that he had to leave and take care of something, so I ended up going up alone, ahahaha. I just managed to grab food and dessert and chitchat before I finally decided to go home and get some more sleep.

I need to go away.

Last week, I was asked if I could move one of my shifts to a different day to make way for the schedules of the incoming wave. I ended up changing one of my days so I could just work four days in a row, instead of working on alternating days. At least if I need some time off, I can spend three whole days of it.

I remembered some time ago that Faye was looking for any part-time job, so I referred her to us. I had no idea when they started training until I managed to chat with her a few days ago. Eventually we ran into each other in the ladies room the other day, just when her wave was about to start their exam and mock calls. Ooh, exciting. Hahaha, I remember that during our mock calls, we were so intimidated by Nadine and Chuva, and actually thought they were so mataray.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Faye on the floor.

Plus I'm looking forward to always having 3 straight days to myself. I once thought, maybe one time I could just leave, go out of town on my own for 3 days just so I can have real time off from everything else. It's not good always being stuck in a proverbial wasteland and thinking too much about things, and I need to get away from it.

In terms of thinking too much, I can annoy the hell out of me sometimes. Like that one moment online that weirded me out too much to the point of paranoia. Was I being talked about that time? What about me was being talked about? Argh...

I've got to shake some things off. I want to go somewhere. Any suggestions? I don't want to splurge just yet, though, so I'm thinking of a cheap trip. Hahahaha.

Update: Meeting baby Evan.

I remember getting a text from Carms before that she was planning to give birth to baby Evan Reese on Jay's birthday, which was this past Monday. I was so excited about this, and really wanted to visit on that actual day, but considering it was double celebration for them, I decided not to yet so they can just celebrate with family.

I decided to visit the following day (Tuesday) instead. After attending a press conference of The Wedding Singer, I had to lug a big neon pink paper bag out of The Loft (which contained freebies from sponsors), and as I was walking to the mall, the paper bag totally ripped from the handle. I ended up going inside Power Plant Mall to buy not one, but two paper bags, because I also brought with me the baby bonnet that I crocheted for baby Evan. I wasn't a big fan of taking taxi cabs, but because I had no idea how to get from Rockwell to St. Luke's in Global City, I had no choice.

I easily found the room Carms was staying at, as I had already texted Jay the day before. There was Carms on the bed, Jay standing beside her, eating her food, plus some of Jay's family (Ate Alice and their mom were the ones I remember). I immediately gave the baby bonnet to Carms, who in turn showed it to everyone in the room. Ahehe, I suddenly became shy when Carms said that I made the bonnet myself, and then proceeded to offer me food, and once again telling everyone that when it comes to food, they don't have to bother asking me if I want to eat, because I will. Hahahaha! I love this couple.

Tita Anna arrived shortly after I did, and she even flipped through one of the laptops on the side table to show photos of the birth. Oh my, that baby is just too adorable for words. Unfortunately, Evan is in the ICU because he needs to take antibiotics, and has to stay an extra few days in the hospital. I sure hope he gets better soon.

Spent most of the time sitting next to the bed, and just chit-chatting, mostly with Carms and Jay. Man, I missed them a lot, and to think that the last time I saw them was when Opa and I went to Sarah's briefly.

I was also texting Tin, as I told her that I was visiting Carms that day, and she decided to drop by as well, because she was already in the area anyway. When Carms had to go downstairs for breast feeding, I went to the lobby to meet with Tin so we could go to the NICU together. We spent some time looking at the lone cute baby inside the nursery, with the proud parents there as well. Hahaha, Tin and I had awkward moments just sitting there in front of the window, because the sink is directly underneath the window, ahahaha.

After a while, Tin and I said goodbye to the new parents and went downstairs and had a light dinner at Mary Grace, then bought dessert at DQ for the 2 of us plus one for Denesse. We then walked to Every Nation (because we didn't want to wait for buses to come) and hung out with Denesse in her office until I had to go.

Too bad I didn't get to see Evan that closely. I can't wait for when he comes home with his parents, so I'll have one more excuse to visit Badjao. =)

Update: Brief reunion with Ed.

For some reason, despite all the time I spend online, I never always find the right time to blog. So here I am again, trying to update my blog after over a week.

One of my good friends in my clique, Ed, visited from Canada, like he always does every year. Of course, he always makes a point to see all of us during his short visits here. Unfortunately, when he met most of the clique on a Saturday night, I was busy at Xanadu that time, so we decided to meet in ATC on Thursday of last week. We had a late lunch at CPK, and took quite a long while just deciding what pizza and pasta to get. Rosa even stopped by for a while before she had to leave for the airport for her little time-off from work as well as a little rendezvous.

After eating, we suddenly decided to watch a movie, and ended up watching Despicable Me in 3D. Haha, totally cute movie. The 3D factor was just a plus. But yeah, to sum it all up, it was just what it was, which was cute.

We then decided to go to Dairy Queen for dessert after the movie, and just killed time around the mall before Ed had to meet his uncle for dinner.

The next following days were just a blur of a Xanadu weekend. One thing I remembered was that I was so sleepy during one ride home that I decided to close my eyes for a few minutes, and when I opened them again, I realized that I had totally missed my stop completely, so I had to take a jeep back. Argh.

Update after Xanadu's first week.

I haven't blogged since Xanadu opened, so I'm overdue for an update. Not much, really. 

So apparently I was still part of the roster of ushers, and I found out about it at the last minute, so I didn't get to go to the DTR last Wednesday. I started ushering duties along with most on Thursday, and it turned out that one of the extra tasks for ushers in the orchestra section was to distribute glow sticks to the people sitting in the first few rows of the orchestra.

It was actually easier during opening show the following night, because everyone in the orchestra got to have glow sticks. So when they people started waving their lights around, the theater looked like a party! Woohoo! Anyway, we wouldn't be distributing any more glow sticks anymore, due to budget (hey, that's a lot of glow sticks), so we'll be distributing the glow sticks again on closing night.

Script analysis class resumed last Friday after being postponed for a couple of weeks because half the AC were in Banaag at Sikat. Before the class started inside LT dressing room 105 (as there were rehearsals for American Hwangap in the Conference Room), most of us were racking our brains for the assignment Sir Dennis gave us last time. But we ended up discussing certain plays that were recently shown, plus Vox Populi, after we had watched it in class the last time there was a session. Anyway, it was the first time I attended the class with everyone all there, so I basically just clammed up and let them do all the talking. Intimidation because the members were there, ahahaha.

Just a thought. How long can I keep a secret between me and a friend, and even some that I've been keeping from said friend? Arg.

Hung out with Gino in Makati yesterday after work. As it turned out, he really does go there during free days to study because he claims that his house wasn't really conducive to studying, ahaha. So we ended up in Starbucks 6750, talking the hours away, sometimes letting him read his scripts while I poked around with some of them as well.

I wonder what this week will bring.