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.