July 5th, 2009
CCP "regular"... and more Blood Sports.
POSTED AT 02:12 PM
"Taga-CCP ka diba? O sa Tanghalang Pilipino?" Tito Danny had asked me during our last rehearsal reading of La Cancion del Olvido.
"Ay, hindi po. Lagi lang akong nandun," was my simple reply.
Sometimes I still regret that I passed up the chance to work as SM in Virgin Labfest for the 3rd year in a row. But I guess it's sort of all for the best,
due to my given circumstances (mostly because my mom is afraid of being
alone in the house, especially at night). I sometimes felt that twinge
of envy when I visit CCP and see all the artists and stage managers
scrurrying about, while I have to sit through it all (well, at least
there's a consolation, hahaha). Plus I didn't get to see all the
festivities. I only got to watch one set of plays, which was, of course
Set C: Blood Sports.
I
went back to CCP last Friday afternoon to watch the very same set
again. Of course, I didn't want to take advantage of the fact that I
was a CCP/TP/Labfest regular,
so of course I purchased a ticket, hahaha. I didn't even tell Tad that
I was watching again. Hahaha, I was the very first person in line upon
open house, so I could guarantee that I got the bleacher seat that I
had preferred.
I was so glad I did watch again, because I noticed new nuances from Mailes in Kitchen Medea.
That was one of the best things about watching live theater. You'll
never watch the same thing twice, because in time, the actors tend to
learn something new about their character as well as about the play
that they could use for the next performance. And Mailes had confirmed
this during the "Talk Back" session after all 3 plays. It was quite
disturbing really, that due to the husband leaving his wife for another
woman, the wife ended up losing her children as well because of how the
situation drove her crazy.
I had previously blogged that I felt that there were some forgotten lines when I first watched Asawa/Kabit last week. This time, I finally found out that they had forgotten
really huge chunks of lines. There were actually not just one (which I
saw last week), but 5 "rounds" of the asawa and kabit verbally and
physically battling it out. The students who were watching the show
were already counting how many times that "boxing bell" rang as the
verbal arguments evolved into different catfights ala-Ally McBeal.
During one point, there was one kid who asked, "Sino nga ba ang asawa,
at sino diyan yung kabit?" Kind of makes you think that it could also
be the other way around as well, as you kept listening to the witty
dialogue, hahaha. Makikita mo talaga kung paano ang relasyon ng bawat
babae dun sa lalaki. I was quite amused by the students because they
were becoming more receptive as they got more hooked into watching the
plays, because they were more occupied with fiddling with their phones
and things during the first play. Respeto naman diyan, please. Nagbayad
man kayo o hindi, huwag niyo naman sayangin ang pagpunta ninyo sa
teatro. Nakakainsulto sa mga artistang nakatayo sa entablado eh. Ayan
tuloy, na-karma yung mga ibang katabi ko dahil nahulog ang mga bag nila
sa ilalim ng bleachers.
With the students' bags safely lodged in the darkness underneath our seats, they were more focused in watching Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan.
Even though Tad had complained after the show that the platforms were
unsteady (because they weren't securely in place) and were distracting
him, he and Riki still pulled off a great performance as the 2 lead
characters. Dito ko mas nakita yung pagka-ipokrito ni Jess bilang
kandidato for mayor. The way he moved around the set was apparent that
he was gingerly touching things despite the fact that he was trying to
hide the hesitance of actually touching it. And talagang ang baboy
talaga ng character ni Boy Pogi, pero ganun lang naman talaga siya eh.
At least hindi siya plastic, maski malinis ang itsura ni Jess. The way
Boy Pogi put out his cigarette with his tongue made the audience react
loudly, and even more when he took Jess' eye out with the fishing hook,
spurting blood all over the stage floor (and some on the Writers' Bloc
people on the 1st row?).
During the "Talk Back" session after
all 3 plays, people were too shy to ask questions, so Rody Vera went
ahead and asked the playwrights and directors about how they were
inspired to write and direct those plays. Then Lao suddenly spoke up
and asked about Doc Resureccion's
look of the squatter's area, if it was exaggerated or whatever, because
of the uber-madumi feel of the play. Maybe it was intentional to show
how dirty politics can be, no matter how much kang magmalinis?
After the show, I went straight to buffeteria to meet Tad, and that's where I found out from Isab that there will be a Fragments vignette (un-announced site-specific performances scattered throughout CCP in between Labfest plays) in that very venue that will begin in a few minutes. So I stayed
put while Tad went off to the dressing room. Suddenly the big red "X"
(that marks the spot for Fragments)
was put in place by the door, and the actress dressed as one of the
staff of Barbara's emerged from the kitchen, delivering this monologue
about how the food served can be "altered" to sell again if it wasn't
bought and consumed that day, hahaha.
I finally got to catch one of those Fragements shows, so thank goodness that I decided to watch again last Friday afternoon.
I
just found out that Rich, my former Trumpets Playshop student, watched
the same show on the same day, hahaha. Too bad I didn't get to see her.
Too many people na rin naman that day, so, oh well.
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Nikki
had her day off again yesterday, so because we never get sick of CCP,
we met up there after my class. We were supposed to hang out at
Starbucks in Harbour Square, but because it was too crowded (who the
heck were all those people in yellow anyway? Most of them didn't even
order and were just sitting there), we stayed at the buffeteria for a
while. After we had finished a light snack (a plate of baked macaroni
was light for me that day, hahaha), we decided to go back to Starbucks
to see if there were already vacant seats. So annoying, the big yellow
group was still there, but a middle-aged man was kind enough to offer
us a couple of couches because he and his friend were on their way out.
Nix
is the type of girl that you can pig out with because she doesn't seem
to get fat, hahaha. She even told me recent stories of her PAL
experience, which involved buying and eating local stuff of every
province that she goes to. Huwaw, a kilo of tuna sashimi for only P300?
I can't wait for her next GenSan trip, hahaha!
When the sun had
set, we decided to have dinner at good ol' McDonalds, and more talk
ensued, including her return to theater when she finally finds the time
next year. Haha, she wants to take musical theater workshops again,
because she still iffy about taking the beginning acting workshop.
Whichever you choose, I can't wait to see you up on that stage again,
Nix!
All that talking made me think of trying out something new,
which I've only told a handful of people, because it's quite a drastic
career change. I still don't see myself enjoying a desk job, anyway.
We'll see.
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July 2nd, 2009
A Spelling Bee comeback.
POSTED AT 12:04 AM
I got a text from Lawyn yesterday, asking if I could find 4 guest spellers for today's DTR of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I immediately managed to recruit 4 willing victims--RJ, Dingdong, Rayna and Lara (in that order, hahaha). After this morning's class, I immediately went straight to RCBC. Got to
chill inside the theater for a while until I noticed that they were
doing sound checks. Oh my, where were my recruits? Even RJ, who had
promised to come very early, had arrived minutes before the rehearsal
began, hahaha. Kaloka. Ganun pala ang ibig sabihin
ng before the 2pm rehearsal. As in right before talaga. As it turned
out, Lara had quite a tough time getting to the venue due to the
commute, so Lawyn had to make a contingency plan that involved me as
one of the back-up spellers. So I ended up joining the bee along with RJ,
Rayna and Dingdong. Gave them a John Moschitta version of the briefing
before we went inside the house. Lara arrived a few minutes later, so
she ended up just watching the show. So I ended up being a returning contestant, but because of the pressure
that I was a "very good speller" according to Ms. Peretti, I was
immediately eliminated, hahaha! It was fun watching the show again,
though, and I'm glad my recruits enjoyed the show as well. Thanks
again, Atlantis!
Lara, Dingdong, RJ and Rayna. (My breast friend, my stepson, my syotang bakla, and my fellow early bird.)
For you, yes, YOU reading this blog. If you haven't seen Atlantis Productions' 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,
it will run for a limited engagement from July 3 to 12, 2009 at the
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati, so please come and
watch! Call 892-7078 for tickets. After the show, Lara, Dingdong and I hung out at Kopi Roti to just talk
and chill. Yay, thanks for the treat, Dingdong! Hahaha, the "dashing
divas" are reunited once again. I love it when the three of us hang out
together. No matter how serious, mundane or random our topics of
conversation are, witty banter is always expected, be it intentional or
not (the latter usually applies to Lara, hahaha).
Kopi Roti with the Divas. Here's to Harmony's upcoming reading!
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June 28th, 2009
With Nikki and Nicco.
POSTED AT 02:34 PM
"Ikaw nga talaga ang kausap ko." "Talagang tumatanda na tayo. Pareho pa rin ang usapan, pero..." Nikki and I always try to get together as much as we can, even though
it's hard lately because of her crazy flight schedules. Thank goodness
she was free so we could watch Breakups and Breakdowns together last night. We both had seen the excerpts at the National
Theater Festival together, so we wanted to see it together as well. Haha, we were half-expecting Nicco to be there as well, because he saw
the excerpts with us 5 years ago. Yep, he managed to catch the first
act, but had to leave during intermission. After the show,
Nikki and I decided to grab some dinner before heading home, and we
decided to look for Nicco just to say goodbye. He ended up joining us
at Rai-Rai Ken, even though he already had dinner at Jollibee. Hahaha,
I just loved how Nikki got Nicco's bag as assurance that he would come
join us, because we both knew Nicco that well. Man, the last
time I was together with these two at the same time was Halloween of
2007. Nix and I had decided to have dinner in Greenbelt, and we invited
Nicco as well, who had just got out of Dogeaters rehearsals. Mostly chikahan about Nikki's work, my crazy updates, and of course, the 3 of us delved into the mind of Nicco.
The 3 of us at Cafe Bola, Greenbelt 3.
So there, the three of us were back together, sitting in a booth at
Rai-Rai Ken. And those quotes I had written at the beginning of this
entry turned up. Because of how long we haven't hung out together, more
chika galore. Sometimes we delved into some familiar topics, and we
were so amused at how they evolved over the course of time.
With the sister and baby brother I never wanted, hahahaha! Masaya rin ako at nagkita-kita muli tayo sa mata. Labyu both!
These two are rare gems in my friendship treasure chest. Iba talaga ang saya pag kasama kayo. Isa pang hirit...
 My shoes and Nicco's.Post-Dogeaters shoes, hahahaha!
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Breakups and Breakdowns.
POSTED AT 01:58 PM
I had seen excerpts of Joel's Breakups and Breakdowns back in 2004 during the National Theater Festival in CCP. So I was really excited to find out that it was part of Virgin Labfest 5's staged readings. It was finally a full play! Well, so it's just a staged reading, but the play is finally complete, hahaha! Even though the show started at 6pm, I had arrived at CCP by 4:30.
Hahaha, I wanted to get there early, maybe hang around and run into
some friends who aren't watching the matinee show in Batute. After a
quick bite at the buffeteria, I ended up hanging out in the prop room
(conveniently adjacent to the Conference Room) with Jo-Ann, Fats and
Kuya Jun. Ahehehe, pare-pareho lang na naglalabas ng angst. The cast of
Breakups and Breakdowns (Joel,
Caisa, Emy, Reuben and Teenee) plus Rony the music man, started
trickling in, so Fats, as DSM, had to scurry around to oversee things.
I tagged along inside the Conference Room, sometimes listening to the
cast rehearse their songs, sometimes just chatting with Fats. Joel and an usher about reserving seats for Joel's parents... Joel: (gesturing to seats in the 3rd row) Eto, pa-reserve ito para sa parents ko. Usher: Yes, sir. Pero sir, ipapamigay po yung seats na yan sa mga late pag hindi po sila darating after ng chimes. Joel: OK, sure naman na darating sila eh. Usher: Sure po? Joel: Oo, sure yan. Magulang ko yan eh. Pag hindi sila darating, magda-drugs ako. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Was the first to fall in line to take a ticket, even though Jo-Ann had
allowed me to hang inside the Conference Room prior to the show.
Syempre, mabait ako eh, hehehe. Anyway, I decided on taking 2nd row
seats instead of sitting in the first row, because I don't want to
strain myself looking up the whole time, even though the platforms were
only a foot high. Yay, Nikki had arrived a few minutes after open
house, and she settled in the seat beside me. It wasn't long until the
seats started filling up with familiar faces. They were mostly friends
of the cast, people I've worked with and became friends (though mostly
just acquaintances) with as well. They totally outnumbered the usual Labfest crowd for this show, ahehehe. Breakups and Breakdowns intertwined the stories of four individuals and their love/dating
lives. Of first dates, serial dating, exes, awkward moments, getting
back together or staying friends, and "perfection." Once I listened to
the music, I can't really explain, but it's as if you really know that
Rony was the one who wrote those songs even if you didn't know it
beforehand. And the script was filled with witty repartee, that you
can't really help but laugh out loud. Even the music was cleverly
written. I love this play that I can't wait for it to really be staged.
Congratulations to Joel, Rony, Caisa, Emy, Reubs and Teenee! I had earlier mentioned that the audience was composed of mostly "non-Labfest goers." Hahaha, the crowd was totally different compared to most of the
other shows I had seen in that very venue. Yesterday evening, people
were greeting everyone they knew. Loudly. Going everywhere where they
found friends. If this was a show by another company, sure, people
would still be pretty social, but in a different way. Not naman
subdued. Just different. I don't know how to explain it. Basta iba
talaga. Maski yung ingay iba eh. Iba yung "chaos," and the performers
were different, malamang. That evening, they were mingling with the
audience before the show and during intermission. Pag ibang performers
ito, most likely they'd be quietly waiting backstage. I'm not saying it's a bad thing or a good thing. Just different. It's just a weird observation. Hahahaha.
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Watching Virgin Labfest 5's Set C: Blood Sports.
POSTED AT 01:05 PM
Because I'm not working as an SM for this year's Virgin Labfest 5, I won't have that "perfect attendance" that I had during the past 2 Labfests, hahaha. But of course, I didn't want to miss Set C: Blood Sports (Trilohiyang Dinuguan), for Tad's play. Tuxqs had casted him and Riki as the 2 leads for Miss Lallie's play, Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan.
Considering this is the Tuxqs-Lallie tandem for the 3rd year in the
row, I was excited to catch it. Neither Tad nor Tuxqs had given me any
inkling about the play aside from the synopsis that was posted in the Labfest schedule. Caught the 3pm (opening) show last Thursday. First play was Kitchen Medea,
a monologue by Kiyokazu Yamamoto, which was directed by Yoshi
Tashihisa. Mailes played Medea in the one-woman show. Basically it was
about a woman whose husband left her for another woman. In time, her
loneliness developed into mild insanity, and she ended up sacrificing
her children for the tragic downfall of the other woman. I was
sitting at stage left with Russell during the first play, and I got
tired of the view, so I moved to the middle, right in the very first
row with Tony, for Asawa/Kabit,
written and directed by George. The supposed awkward and frustrating
situation of a wife and a mistress meeting for the first time was given
a witty treatment. As they compared each other to see which one is
better off with the husband, some verbal and even physical catfights
ensued. I had actually expected more than one physical catfight, and
Tony had confirmed this as he had seen a rehearsal of the play before.
What I had noticed was that some of the dialogue kept going around in
circles, combined with slight awkward dead air. Did they forget some of
their lines? During the 15 minute intermission after the
second play, I noticed the extreme set change which included putting
one of the platforms on top of the other. Because of this, Tony and I
had decided to transfer to seats 3 rows back so as to save our necks
from straining to look up during the whole duration of the third play.
Yep, the one I was waiting for, Doc Resureccion.
And without bias, Tuxqs and Miss Lallie didn't fail to astound me once
again. The play was about 2 cousins running against each other for
mayor. One was a doctor who claimed he wanted to change his former
hometown, while the other was a local to ruin his cousin's chances to
win the election. At first, you wouldn't know who to believe, the
decent-looking doctor who claims he means well, or the filthy-looking
one who lives off odd jobs and strives to be a janitor. Riki and Tad
gave quite riveting performances (ahem, still no bias here, alright?)
as Doc Resureccion and Boy Pogi, respectively, plus equally awesome
supporting performances by Angeli, Tita Peewee and Crispin Pineda as
Elsa, Mang & Pang. Congrats, y'all! Hahaha, the magic of the
fishing hook and wire into Riki's eye was instantly revealed to me by
Tad after the show. Last opening day of all Labfest shows today, even though today's set showcases Virgin Labfest 4: Revisited. Congratulations to all the sets' artists!
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June 24th, 2009
Visiting Brother Ceci for the last time.
POSTED AT 09:22 PM
Went
with Iam to LSGH for Brother Ceci's wake this afternoon. Rosa was
supposed to go with us, but unfortunately she couldn't get off work
today. Iam and I decided to meet up at Robinson's Galleria because it's pretty
close to LSGH. Because I was already in the mall, I decided to go to
Saizen to buy more shrink plastic. Hahaha, it's still a sinful place to
spend your money, so I just focused on the shrink plastic. I was
surprised to see other kinds of packs aside from the various ones I
bought before. Now they had the plain white plastic, plus sheets bigger
than the A4 size. Iam found me in the stationery section where the shrink plastic was found, and she was pretty amused by the store that we decided to browse and window
shop for a while so she could check out the other goodies. After paying
for my purchases, we suddenly had this craving for Japanese food, so we
ended up in Teriyaki Boy. Lara happened to be running errands in the same mall during that time,
so she joined us for lunch. Yay, one of my best friends meet my "breast
friend," hahaha. Parted ways with Lara after lunch, and Iam and I hopped on a jeep to
LSGH. Hahaha, we got off and entered at the wrong gate because I missed
seeing the gate I used to enter before. It didn't matter anyway, as the
guard immediately pointed us to the chapel. It occurred to Iam and me that ever since we knew Brother Ceci, we have
never seen him don the black or the white habit whenever we saw him in
person, haha. Every time we see him--during our recollection, at the
Campus Ministry in 6th grade, and even during and after college--he was always in civilian attire. It was always a casual event whenever we got to see each other. I met Brother Ceci in 5th grade, as he was the facilitator during our
recollection that year. Rosa, Iam and I were just getting pretty close
during that time, because I remember once writing in my diary (hahaha)
that day that I didn't have much friends
in the class because most of my messages during the activities came
from Rosa and Iam. Yes, I was a very shy and reserved kid back then.
Brother Ceci had seen our trio grow
from the very beginning. In 6th grade, he was Zobel's Campus Minister,
so our trio got hung out in the Campus Ministry with him during every
other recess and lunch periods. He even let us read and borrow his huge
book on sign language, plus doodle on his blackboard in the office. I
remember that he sometimes called me "Apple," which was my nickname at
home, and I didn't mind if he was the only one that called me that. When I was tranferring to CSB for my 2nd year of college, Brother Ceci
was one of the first people I told, because I knew he taught the deaf
students there. Unfortunately, I never got to see him around, except this one
time when my YFC sister Me-anne invited me to attend the noon mass in
the school chapel with her. I noticed this familiar man sitting with
the deaf people. I knew it was him, and I immediately ran over to give
him a hug as soon as the mass was over. The next time I saw Brother Ceci was when he was back in Zobel. It was on the night that I saw Godspell, and he was one of the people sitting in the lobby table. He had asked me, "When will I get to see YOU onstage?" And my only reply was, "Soon." And it never happened. The very last time I saw him was the day of PJ and Joy's wedding, January 23rd of
this year. Because the wedding was in Alabang, a bunch of us wondered
if we could visit Zobel as well. I immediately texted Brother Ceci, as
our trio had been planning to meet with him there for months, but we
never got to follow through. It was the perfect opportunity. We spent
quite a while sitting with him in the school's theater lobby as he
shared stories about the students and alumni, who had come to Brother
Ceci in need of a listening ear. He
talked about the kids in Zobel that he saw grow up, on the outside as
well as inside. He reminded me of my own "human diary" moments with my
friends. In my blog entry for that day, I wrote: Hahaha, Iam and I quipped that hopefully next time we see him, we have
our own story we can tell him that he can share with the kids who are
dying to listen to him. We never got to tell him our stories. He never got to see me while I was doing what I loved the most. I'll miss you, Brother Ceci. My next theater endeavor
will be a tribute to you. I'm so glad that Iam had insisted on going to
Zobel last January so we could hang out and talk to you.


*Photos courtesy of Iam and Raffy.
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June 23rd, 2009
Trio date.
POSTED AT 12:13 PM
It's been months since Rosa, Iam and
I had a night out, just the 3 of us, and last Saturday was the perfect
time. Rosa has quite a whole bunch of stories to tell, especially for
Iam, who had just returned from working in Australia during the summer. After class, I headed straight to CCP so it's easier for Rosa and Iam
to pick me up from there. I had to wait quite a while because Iam was
looking for a henna tattoo place after she had met up with Rosa in
South Mall. Ended up hanging around the LT lobby with a whole bunch of Virgin Labfest actors. Hahaha, after all the randomness, we ended up finding watching
video scandals on Jerald's phone, plus this hilarious video in Eric's
laptop. Right after that, a rehearsal for Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White began right there in the LT lobby. I got to watch the entire run, but I didn't get to absorb much of the story, as I was texting a whole bunch of people half the time.
Rosa, Iam and I ended up having a slow dinner at Max's along Roxas
Boulevard. And really slow. We started talking immediately after we had
ordered and we had stayed there for about 3 hours, hahaha. After
finally paying the bill (oops, I still forgot to ask about that
Canadian hand gesture), we continued our bonding moments over coffee at
Starbucks Harbour Square. Hahaha, that's where I learned the term
"serial monogamist." Interesting. And we even went online using Rosa's
laptop and laughed at all those Asian poses at this site that Iam had
mentioned.
We've been together for about 17 years now, and I just love love love my best friends.
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June 19th, 2009
The quest for earring wire, and doing what you love.
POSTED AT 05:41 PM
I
had to go to South Mall this afternoon to buy a Father's Day gift for
my dad from Mom and me, and figured it's a perfect opportunity to check
The Bead Shop. I was told that I could buy earring wire there if ever I
don't want to trek all the way to Divisoria. First stop was The Bead Shop kiosk. I asked the lone guy there if they
really do sell earring wire, but unfortunately, they ran out of stocks
that day, even though they really do sell them. Darn. So I headed for
the department store for Dad's gift. I was hunched over my phone for a few moments while walking when I
heard somebody call my name. It was Jen, a friend I had met through DLSZ's production of Oliver when I was in 7th grade and she was in 6th. My goodness, it's been ages
since I last saw her, and we managed to catch up on each others news in
the middle of the department store. After quite a while of chit chat,
we parted ways and I finally found Dad's gift. I had sent text messages to a couple of friends asking if there was a Bead Shop in Festival Mall (the next nearest mall), and I was waiting for a reply so I decided to walk around South Mall for a while. I ended up in the back part of the mall, and I found this small store called Pink Box that sold accessories and personalized charms. Hmmm... I saw a display of earrings, so I decided to check it out. I asked them if they also sold earring wire, and yes, they do sell those! Yay! It was P10 for a pair, so I guess that was alright. They only had 2 pairs
of the silver, so I got both plus some gold pairs. I took out my shrink
plastic earring designs (2 kinds of Greek theater masks) and asked if
the wire links would fit. Hahaha, the girl I talked to actually offered to assemble it with no extra charge, and even let me have a bunch of extra wire hoop links for free as well. I was so grateful that I bought a bunch of hairbands, hair-ties and clips from their store (well, I needed those anyway, hahaha).

My goodness, I really must buy more shrink plastic. I think those
earrings and some pendants would make great gifts to give and sell.
Hahaha, if it weren't for Reggie, I wouldn't have discovered this crazy
addiction, hahahaha!
==================================================
Speaking of Reggie, I saw in her blog that she wrote an article for her
US-based cousin's own blog about the successful woman. I totally love
the article. Check it out through the link below. How I Quit My Job to Follow My Dream, by Reg Silva. It was another inspiring article, much like the "Sayang Siya" blog entry I posted about in my previous post. I also could relate to
this one, even though the difference was that Reggie was a fresh
college grad when she started to work for that big broadcasting
network, while I had simply put school on hold to work for one of the
country's leading theater companies. In the beginning, I was super
excited when I first started working, because the company was doing a
really popular Disney Broadway production. I learned the production
side of the theater real fast, even though I first did some odd stuff
here and there, plus answering these weird questions over the phone
(such as "What show dates will [*insert celebrity here*] perform in?"). I was having a blast while I was getting to know all these, plus
learning how to charm (Huwat? HAHAHAHA) marketing representatives so
their company can be our sponsor, then being one of the first to check
out all those sponsorships, hahaha. I also got to meet theater biggies
(even though I sometimes just smile at them in the lobby as I hand them
their complimentary tickets), both in the local scene and even abroad
(I can't believe I got to sit in a car next to a Broadway Asia producer
and a Phil-Am playwright). But of course, we were working 7 days a
week, and we went home really late during show days, then report back
to the office the following morning. After 3 years worth of productions, everything just felt mechanical. I
resigned from the company to be a full-time student again, and to
finally finish my college degree. I agree with what Reggie said,
"resigning felt like a breath of fresh air." People
noticed that I seemed different after that. Happier (pareho rin tayo,
Reg, hahaha), according to some. So I went back to school, and worked
freelance backstage, which was what I loved the most, but never had
enough time for before. OK, of course I still loved acting so I kept
going to workshops, and even tried my hand at thesis productions, which
I still participate in even until now. I found more room for my own
creativity, though I don't think I'm not yet going to cut it like what
Reggie did, hahaha. But I'll just keep doing what I love, and who knows
where I'll find myself.
 
"I took a leap of faith," Reggie had said. Tama nga naman siya.
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June 15th, 2009
"Sayang."
POSTED AT 11:01 PM
During my regular blog-hopping, I stumbled upon this entry from someone's blog that pondered on the phrase, "Sayang siya." We've heard these words
several times already, and even uttered those words about someone, and
sometimes, it's about us.
I can totally relate to this. I'm one
of those "sayang siya" cases myself, having stopped school just because
the opportunity of working in Atlantis was offered. Sayang daw because
I should've been a college graduate first, and that I could've gotten a
better, high-paying job soon after that. Most of the people who say I'm
sayang are from my family, which is not really a surprise. One aunt
even asked me, "Ano kaya kung mag-nursing ka na lang? Mas marami ka
pang kikitain pag nurse ka." But did she even try to ask if I wanted to
be a nurse? Pfft.
But I have to agree with Grace. To quote: "I hope that this phrase would be eradicated from the minds of people [I am trying to eradicate it from mine!]. For me, saying 'sayang siya' is
a way of looking down on other people, only it is masked with a dash of
sympathy. People are products of what and who they are, of their
choices, and of their experiences, so we have no right to say this,
either of other people or ourselves. And let us remember, and I do hope
we realize this, that people might actually be where they should and want to be. No life is a waste."
Even
though I'm back in school right now, where half the population is 10
years younger than I am, I still have no regrets about the past 5
years. I have learned a lot during those years, and most of those
lessons are things that I don't get to learn in school. Heck, yung mga
kahinaan ko sa school, and especially sa thesis, I learned in the
office and in the theater. Konti lang ang matututunan mo sa stage
management in school back then, and I was so grateful for the hands-on
experience I got in TP. I learned how to be more persuasive, and how to
talk to people in the workplace. I also learned how to find my way
around the metro. Syempre hindi naman pwede na may kotse palagi or
sasakay na lang lagi ng taxi. And sometimes I can't believe that I
actually learned how to run the office on my own during those times
that I have to be the only one in charge. I even learned how to finally
wear my heart on my sleeve, and it happened during and after workshops.
Plus I learned how to make certain decisions, plus a lot more lessons.
And all those helped make me grow more as a person. So I don't believe
na "sayang" ako in the long run.
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tymeless |
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