"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.

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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.