tymeless

I'm back from Cebu. The weekend really flew by. Yup, cliche, but time really does fly when you're having fun. And I had a blast.

So early on Friday morning, we all headed to breakfast in the hotel. The cast sat at one table and threw lines, while I sat with Bart, Dingdong, Acey and John at the table next to them. Went downstairs to meet up with Hendri in the lobby and took a couple of cabs to CICC. Did a bit more of setting up, putting props backstage in their respective places, testing the lights, the sounds and the projector, and by the time the actors had their costumes, makeup and lapels on, we only had time for adjustments instead of an actual dress tech rehearsal. So our first show ended up being our DTR, hahaha.

Despite the hecklers in the young audience, the show went pretty well. There was a teeny bit of technical issues during that first show, but that was because we didn't get to have a DTR in the first place. Discussed about it during company call after the show, and Bart even shared certain experiences when we talked about the hecklers. But of course, you can't really avoid people like that.

Anyway, the next 2 shows also went pretty well, and I actually loved the 2nd show the best. It was the most receptive audience, who reacted at all the right moments. They would squeal and get all giddy about the crush issues, and Kicker's charm was a hit among everyone.

There was lechon during lunch, but we didn't really have that much time to relish it because the next show would start in about half an hour. Anyway, all in all, the day was a blast. The only downside of it all was that Bianca's phone got stolen during our second show.

When all 3 shows were finished, I had to face my least favorite part of any production--the strike. Hahaha, It wasn't that hard for this prod, really. We only had to put all the props away in boxes, and the costumes in one bin to be laundered. After everything was put away, we all headed back to the hotel to clean up and take showers before dinner.

We all had dinner at east,west, Hendri's restaurant in IT Park. I was starving, so I ordered a full order of the porkchops, plus the highly-recommended mango-strawberry slushie. Oh yum. Nothing but great filling food after a long day's work. And yes, by the time I had finished my food, it was still pretty early in the evening and we were all still having fun talking and joking around, so Ikey and I ended up ordering lots more to munch on (and a bit of alcohol for me), as Nar, Nicco, Jill and Bianca were still waiting for their own orders.

We were supposed to go to the spa later that evening after dinner, but because they couldn't accommodate all of us that late, we decided to just go the next day. After dropping by Krispy Kreme and briefly checking out the tiangge stalls, we headed back to the hotel to rest.

Woke up way early on Sunday morning, as Hendri was taking some of us to Oslob to see the whale sharks. Unfortunately, not all of us were going. Jill, Bianca, Bart and John had to fly back to Manila that very morning, and Dingdong just wanted to sleep in because he had a lot of work waiting for him once we fly back home. So it was only Nicco, Nar, Acey, Ikey and me that went with Hendri at 4 in the morning. Thank goodness I woke up just in time, because by the time I had gotten out of the shower, Hendri called our room and told me to come down to the lobby already. It was a 3-hour drive from Cebu City, and most of us spent it sleeping, while Ikey kept Hendri company while driving. Woke up when the pickup made a really hard turn, and when I opened my eyes, there it was--the water where we will get to see the butandings.

I'm not really a swimmer, so I'm not a big fan of the water, even if it's saltwater that will help me float. But of course, I still wanted to see the whale sharks, so I just had to go. Anyway, there we were, and after getting flippers and goggles for some, plus our life vests, we headed to our boat. Within a few minutes, we were out in the water, and caught glimpses of the fins of a whale shark swimming around us. Everyone dove in except for me, as Nicco and I decided to share his pair of goggles. When it was my turn, I just wanted to take a dip in the water, just for the experience, hahaha. I let the boys have their fun. I felt something tough my foot while I was in the water, and Nicco had said that the whale shark actually passed underneath me. Huwaw.

Nicco was starting to feel sick due to motion sickness, so we headed back to the shore. Once he emerged from the bathroom, we piled back in the pickup, with the boys in the back so they can dry off while I kept Hendri company inside (as I managed to change discreetly while they were still chatting). Had breakfast in a nearby carinderia, then it was time for another long drive back to the city. We had a little stopover in Carcar so Hendri can buy something that Jill had requested.

Back to the hotel so we can wash off the saltwater. Apparently Dingdong had slept off the entire morning, so I had to call him so he can open the door for me, hahaha. There was still an hour to spare before we were to be picked up by Hendri, so Dingdong and I had time to get our free "breakfast"/brunch in the lobby (which was packed and was waiting for us so we can still eat it), and we even managed to catch a few minutes of sleep before checking out.

Hendri then picked us up right on time, and we finally headed to Body and Sole for our complimentary full-body massages and foot spas, because the spa was a sponsor. When we got there, we still had to wait for half an hour so they can accommodate us, so we walked to the nearby Robinson's Place mall to kill time.

I was so relieved that we got to have those foot spas, and super glad to get a full-body massage. Lugging my huge laptop to and from rehearsal wasn't a joke, so thank goodness those annoying knots are gone. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep during the massage, hahaha.

We went to the Ayala Center to meet up with Hendri. Nicco and Acey immediately went to Timezone to play, while Ikey, Dingdong, Nar and I settled in Starbucks to wait for Hendri. Once he arrived, we all headed to Sunburst for early dinner. Oh my gosh, their chicken skin is so yummy and sinful. Anyway, after dinner, we walked around the mall to digest our food, before we decided to chill at Hendri's house for a while before we had to check in at the airport.

Once we reached Hendri's place, I almost immediately called dibs on the bed in the bedroom where Hendri let his guests sleep in. The rest of the guys immediately settled as well, while Hendri did a little show and tell with all the stuff, and some of us ended up poring over some of things that we wanted to borrow books, piano scores and CDs, and we even got some freebies (caps for the guys, and a T-shirt for me).

Finally, airport time. I was so glad that our flight was somewhat on time this time, considering it was the last flight of the day, and it was raining in Manila.

All in all, I had such a blast during this entire trip, plus it was my first provincial show tour. I'm so glad to work with awesome people that I love. Will be flying to Dumaguete for our 2nd leg of Children's Letters to God this Thursday. I can't wait!

tymeless

Art Republik, a new TV show that features Filipino artists, debuts February 28 on Knowledge Channel at 8:40 p.m. Art Republik is a 30-minute program on Philippine arts and culture, profiling 51 artists from various art fields and two art collectors or a total of 53 guests for its first season. The first season of Art Republik carries 13 episodes anchored on themes, which are based on cultural traits.

The cultural traits used as episode themes include close family relations with a focus on siblings' relationships, respect,Bayanihan, adaptability, hard work, responsibility, strong sense of community, commitment, courage, quality, sentimentality, excellence, and perseverance. 

For the first episode, Art Republik features two families involved in the fields of independent film and the visual arts: the Lee Brothers and the Dalena sisters. Roxlee is the hero of underground cinema; Romeo Lee commonly known as Lee is a University of the Philippines-Diliman icon and visual artist/performer.

Sari Lluch Dalena is a multi-awarded filmmaker who recently bagged the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 2011 Cinema One Originals Film Festival for Ka Oryang. Aba Lluch Dalena is a visual artist, an art teacher and the lead vocals of Rockbato. Kiri Lluch Dalena traverses the fields of visual arts and film.

“We created the show to provide an alternative program to the usual entertainment and political fare on television. TV is a powerful medium to inform and engage people. We hope that Art Republik could  contribute in increasing the awareness on Philippine art to a wider public by presenting its creators, the Filipino artists, whose work reflect our culture,” Betty Uy-Regala, producer of Art Republik, said.

The other members who complete the show's team are co-producer Evie dela Cruz, director JL Burgos, Imelda Morales, Opaline Santos, Ria Torrente, Kathrina Reston, Tom Estrera III,  Allan Alcantara, Erwin dela Cruz, Rene Bayking, and Joel Laserna. Alma dela Pena, Mavie de Ocampo, Kristine C. Tabada, and Phillyn Lorenzo were part of the pilot episode production.

The show is produced through the Asian Christian Arts Association, Inc., a non-governmental organization, and partially funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the policy-making body and grants-giving government agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture.

Felipe de Leon, Jr., chairman of the NCCA, said, “The Philippine government recognizes the role of culture in the development of the economy and national unity. This is embodied in our Constitution (Article XIV) and the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP).”

Art Republik will be aired on Knowledge Channel every Tuesday at 8:40 p.m. with replays on Thursday at 8:40 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Knowledge Channel is channel 42 on Sky Cable. Art Republik is on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/artrepublik).

--ooOoo--

For more information on Art Republik, please contact Betty Uy-Regala at 0906-2604175 or email betty_uyregala@yahoo.com.

Scheduled Airing of Art Republik on Knowledge Channel

February 28, 2012: Sari, Aba and Kiri Lluch Dalena and Rox and Romeo Lee share their family experiences in Episode 1's Siblings in Art. The Dalena sisters and the Lee brothers are in the fields of visual arts and film. Replays on March 1 and March 3.

March 6, 2012: Poets Michael Coroza, Nerisa Guevara, Kooky Tuason, and Fliptop rapper Batas speak of respect in the worlds of Balagtasan, poetry slam, and Fliptop battles in Episode 2's Spoken Word. Replays on March 8 and March 10.

March 13, 2012: Actors Irma Adlawan, Soliman Cruz, Gabe Mercado and dance artist Myra Beltran present how performers give of themselves on stage and off in Episode 3's Performing Bayanihan. Replays on March 15 and March 17.

March 20, 2012: Architects and musicians jam on adaptability with Francisco Mañosa, Lolita Carbon, Ana Mangalino-Ling and Cooky Chua on Episode 4's Space and Sound. Replays on March 22 and March 24.

March 27, 2012: lawyer/playwright Nicolas Pichay, medical doctor/musician Moel Diaz, teacher/actor Anna Deroca, and advertising executive/musician Isa Garcia share how they balance their multiple roles in Episode 5's Artists by Night. Replays on March 29 and March 31.

April 3, 2012: Responsibility is exemplified by directors who lead creative and art projects such as Sid Maderazo for TV commercials, Marie Jamora for MTV, Claro Ramirez and Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez for art exhibitions in Episode 6's Directors' Cut. Replays on April 5 and April 7.

April 10, 2012: Theater artist Joel Saracho of Taumbayan, filmmaker Avic Ilagan of Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace, musicians Marben Moreno of Hades Bar and Andre Umali of Headstock Bar build a stronger and closer community with their spaces in Episode 7's Tambayan. Replays on April 12 and April 14.

April 17, 2012: Episode 8's On Women shows the high level of commitment of visual artists Brenda Fajardo and Karen Ocampo Flores, and literary writers Malou Jacob and Aida Santos to their craft and advocacies. Replays on April 19 and April 21.

April 24, 2012: Female tattoo artists Gel Cabrera and Minnehaha Calleja, street artist Whooop, and comic book creator Budjette Tan discuss courage in the urban art episode, Episode 9's Skin, Street and Comics. Replays on April 26 and April 28.   

May 1, 2012: Episode 10's The Old and New focuses on quality work as filmmaker John Torres, visual artist At Maculangan, media artist Tad Ermitaño, and dance artist Rhosam Prudenciado, Jr. compare the traditional form with the new. Replays on May 3 and May 5.

May 8, 2012: Visual artists Mark Justiniani and Alfredo Esquillo, Jr., art collector Robert Bjorn Santos, and gallery owner Albert Avellana show the upside and the downside of sentimentality in Episode 11's The Collector. Replays on May 10 and May 12.

May 15, 2012: Filmmakers from different genres and generations, National Artist for Cinema Eddie Romero, Ditsi Carolino-Garcia, Antoinette Jadaone, and Pepe Diokno define their brand of excellence in Episode 12's And the Winner is... Replays on May 17 and May 19.

May 22, 2012: Ildefonso P. Santos, National Artist for Landscape Architecture; Virgilio S. Almario, National Artist for Literature; Abdulmari Asia Imao, National Artist for the Visual Arts and; the late Salvador Bernal, National Artist for Theater Design narrate how they persevered in the beginning of their art journey until they were conferred the highest recognition for the arts in Episode 13's The National Artists Special. Replays on May 24 and May 26.

tymeless

Typing this while sitting alone in the hotel room here in Cebu. Yep, after 2 weeks of rehearsals, Children's Letters to God will be shown tomorrow at the CICC. I can't believe that 2 weeks flew by so quickly. I love the cast and crew, and everyone's so fun to work with.

Our flight (well, for Bart, Dingdong, Acey, Ikey, Nar, John and me, as Jill and Nicco went ahead, and Bianca has yet to arrive early tomorrow morning) to Cebu this afternoon was supposed to be at 3:30pm, but like most afternoon flights, it got delayed for an hour. Ended up just hanging around the airport terminal, eating and joking around, and even learned how to play Monopoly Deal because Ikey brought his deck of cards. When we boarded the plane at around 3:30, we thought things were going as scheduled. Apparently, we still had to wait until 4:30, and our plane took off at around 5pm because there was already a queue of planes that have yet to take off.

By the time we arrived in Cebu, it was early evening already, so we headed straight to CICC (Cebu International Convention Center, where our show will be) from the airport. We did a quick run of all the blocking for John (our lighting designer), talked a bit about the technicals, then left right away to have dinner. Ended up across the street at Dimsum Break in Parkmall. Oh dimsum, yummm. And to think that I already had Chinese food with the cast a couple of evenings ago. After dinner, we had 20 minutes to go around before we had to head over to the hotel. Ended up chit-chatting with Ikey as the rest had paired up and headed their own ways.

It was quite the joyride during the trip to the hotel, as we had all dumped our bags inside the pick-up we were riding, and (with the exception of Hendri and Bart), we all sat in the back. Crazy, but super fun and hilarious.

So now, I'm here in the hotel room, glad that the wifi signal's pretty good inside the rooms, because we were initially told that the wifi signal's better in the lobby. Anyway, it's high time to hit the sack, as we have a run-through early in the morning.

To anyone reading this who's in Cebu, Children's Letters to God will be showing at the CICC tomorrow at 10:30am, 1pm, and 3:30pm. Hope to see you there!

tymeless

My voice is finally back! And I'm not coughing like crazy anymore, but I'm still taking the prescribed medication that the EENT gave me last week. I was in a crazy, unproductive rut when I'm at home, so even though I was "sentenced" to vocal rest, I was still excited to go back to work in CCP, even if it meant that I had to use my voice.

On the first day of my week's worth of vocal rest, I got a text from Anna, asking me if I wanted to be an assistant stage manager for some production, as her boyfriend Acey's already one of the 2 ASMs. I asked what show it was, and for the schedule, and as it turned out, it was Hendri's production of Children's Letters to God! I've been hearing about this since December, and they're doing a few shows in Cebu and Dumaguete. I said I wanted to, but I needed to know about the entire schedule. After my text exchange with Anna, I found Hendri online on Facebook, and he talked it out with me. Considering it was a good project with great timing on my part, I accepted the job. Plus it has the perks of working with people I love and/or wanted to work with, plus I get to travel to Cebu again!

Hendri had told me to contact Dingdong, who's the stage manager for this production. I was told that I could pick up the script from him at Onstage during Next Fall's closing weekend. I ended up going there yesterday, it's closing show. I wasn't really planning on watching the play; I just wanted to pick up the script, then head over to CCP to meet up with Carlo and Micah, as Carlo's in Manila this weekend to watch Eyeball and Mamma Mia. I ended up staying because Dingdong said that he'll give me the script during intermission, hahaha.

Next Fall was pretty good. It tackled a gay couple's issues about their differences, most especially in religion. They were witty, they were sincere, they made me laugh and even cry at the end. It even highlighted a play that I did as a workshop recital (Thornton Wilder's Our Town), so I felt nostalgic as well. Overall, I was so glad I got to watch it during their closing show, so super thanks to Dingdong for that.

After the show, I headed over to CCP to meet up with Carlo, Micah and hopefully even EmJ. Eyeball's Set A had been over for about an hour when I arrived, but I found Jelson at the Little Theater lobby. As I was still waiting for Carlo and company, Jelson invited me to join him and some others (Pam, Erick, Tad, Riki and Lao) at Jollibee for dinner. I went along with him, even though I had already eaten during the cab ride from Makati to CCP. So I ended up sitting there with them, then we started walking to Starbucks. On our way to Starbucks, we even stopped at one of the tiangge stalls and looked at some toys, when some little kid took Jelson's hand, thinking he was holding his dad's hand. Hahaha, it amused us for a bit until the poor kid got shocked when he realized that Jelson wasn't his dad.

After settling at a table in Starbucks, Micah appeared, and I got a text from Carlo at the same time. I joined the siblings instead at a different table after getting our drinks, and EmJ had appeared as well to say hi for a bit. Chatted for a while until they decided to head over to the Main Theater, so I bid my goodbyes to the TP crowd. Riki had even asked if I was watching Mamma Mia with them, and I simply quipped that I might hang around in case there would be a freebie.

Said hello to Tin (who was working the entire floor selling souvenir programs and CDs) in the Main Theater lobby, and we talked and joked around until we heard the 5-minute chimes go off. When the crowd had dispersed, I hung around a bit by the merchandise booth with Tin, Noeme, Chewy and the others there.

While they were on break, Sir Ernie had appeared, and asked who wanted to watch. Of course, I had to smile and said that I'd want to. He rummaged through his bag and gave me an orchestra ticket! Super thank you, Sir Ernie! It was on row V (second to the last row), and I had missed a couple of song numbers, but I didn't care. I was about to watch Mamma Mia! The usher then informed me that I would be seated in the nearest available seat, and I can transfer to my own seat by intermission, but I didn't mind. Heck, of course I didn't mind, because the ushers led me farther down... to the 4th row of the orchestra! Woohoo! I got to see the show way up close! I was all smiles the entire time. And when intermission rolled around, I left the theater for a while, and when no one still hadn't claimed that seat, I stayed instead of going far back to my actual seat, hahaha!

Watching the show, I remembered why I fell in love with musical theater. The songs, the dancing, the heart and passion of the actors as they performed. And because I grew up singing to ABBA's songs as a kid (imagine a 6-year-old me singing to "Chiquitita" and "Fernando" at least once a day whenever my parents played it on the stereo), I enjoyed all of the songs. I wanted to sing and dance along with all of them. Everyone in the cast, from the leads to the chorus, were A-mazing. I loved their energy. I'm so grateful that I got to watch it, and super up close!

I love how things always turn up pretty well after a lousy rut. And I'm truly grateful for things like that.

Here's a random thought while I was watching the show last night. I remember a time when I was pretty happy and content with my life. Never mind that I didn't have a significant other, and I wasn't bothered by the fact that I didn't have a boyfriend, not even dating anyone. I was perfectly content with the way things were going then. I want to go back to that disposition. I can't wait. I know this is blind optimism, but I don't care. Unconventional happiness, good vibes are still good vibes.

tymeless

I was supposed to be back working in the office yesterday. That didn't really happen.

I was already set to go to work, unfortunately, I couldn't sleep the night before. I don't know whether it was in the tea I drank the day before or the cheesecake, but I couldn't sleep. I ended up just surfing the net before I had to get ready for work. I just decided to catch up on my sleep after my shift, and maybe catch at least a half hour of sleep in the lounge once I get to the office.

Unfortunately, I was still coughing like crazy when I tried to sleep in the lounge. No sleep at all. Ended up having breakfast with Tin and catching up, then it was time to clock in. It was crazy. One hour of calls, and I was still coughing after every one of them, causing me to pause after every call I had, costing me so much idle time. I was caught pausing before saying anything during my actual calls, as I was being monitored almost the whole time (because I didn't come in to work for quite a long while). I ended up going to the clinic, and I was advised by the doctor to just go home and not work that day, and consult an EENT doctor.

I was told to go to the place where we had our first physical checkup, because the doctor in the clinic had said that there was no EENT available in Patient First that morning. I decided to take a risk and check out Patient First. If there's no EENT, I'll either just wait until the afternoon, maybe doze off in the lounge for a while, or ask for a schedule of doctors, before I head on over to Makati Med.

Fortunately, I found out in Patient First that an EENT was coming in by mid-morning. So I just sat there in the waiting area until the doctor arrived.

During the first part of the consultation, the doctor was taking out some stuff from his bag, and I noticed this apparatus nearest to me on the table, and attached to a tube was this sort of appendage with a light. I had no idea what it was for, but I found out real soon. After the initial consultation, and checking the back of my tongue, the doctor wanted to check my throat to see what was wrong, why my voice was still hoarse and why I still had this darn cough. He sprayed some lidocaine on my tongue, causing it to numb, then stuck that long apparatus with the light thing down my throat and asked me to say the letter E. It felt pretty weird having a numb tongue and having that thing down my throat. Ew.

So anyway, I was given more medication, and one more week of vocal rest. Darn it, I won't be earning anything again in the office for another week. Oh no. And I have 2 shows this weekend. Hopefully I'll rest well while I'm not working, and minimal talking during the shows.

But so far, after a day of medication, I feel much better. Can't wait until this one week sentence is over.

tymeless

I had opted to just stay home during my 3-day period of vocal rest. Any attempt to go out would tempt me to speak, so I chose to be a bum.

I was already bored out of my mind yesterday afternoon, when I remembered this dream I had a couple of nights ago, of my re-reading some of my old children's storybooks. I even remembered the story ("The Old Lady's Bedroom") that I was reading because of its distinct imagery.

Then I realized, I missed those pretty stories. I have huge imagination when it came to those stories that I've read before.

So on a whim, I went to our little library that housed our old collection of various encyclopedias (yes, we were nerds as kids), and picked out a few books from the Collier's Junior Classics. Hardbound books in different bright colors, each settling on a particular theme (kids' poetry, fantasy stories, stories based on holidays, mythology, American classic tales, etc.)

Favorites among the ones I read again yesterday were:

Magic In The Air

• The Old Lady's Bedroom

In Your Own Backyard

• A Friend in Need
• The Yellow Shop
• The Hundred Dresses
• The Girl in Pink

Harvest of Holidays

• The Valentine Box
• The Country Bunny and The Little Gold Shoes
• The Blue-Nosed Witch
• The Water Nixie
• The Library Lady
• Rufus M
• Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve

It was so great to visit these stories again. As a kid, every time I read them, part of me can somehow relate to one of the characters. Like Princess Irene in "The Old Lady's Bedroom" because of her curiosity towards little things and finding out what was behind strange doors. Or the girl in "The Valentine Box" because she was quite a wallflower. Plus the there's also the thrill the girls have about every trip to the library in "The Library Lady" because, believe it or not, I love going to the library (and was even in the Library Club for a year back in grade school).

I also loved the different illustrations for every story. Some of the stories had been illustrated with ink and pen, but my favorites were the watercolored ones (especially in "The Hundred Dresses" and in "Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve"). Man, I suddenly miss painting in watercolor. I really should try getting back to that when I have free time.

It's such a delight to read these books again. I missed reading, and I love how it feels just curled up with a good book. Too many technology in the way these days.

In other news, I finally got a massage this afternoon. My mom had called in the lady who used to come in for home services, and Carmen did quite well on my once swollen foot before that it's high time to try out her full body massage. Besides, I know I have huge knots on my shoulders after lugging my huge laptop to rehearsals for over a week. And damn, the massage felt good. The huge knot on my left shoulder was pretty tough and painful, but Carmen worked wonders. It was totally worth it.

So this is my last day of vocal rest. I was actually thinking about taking a volunteer shift at the office tomorrow morning, but I don't want to push it just yet. Maybe I'll give my voice another day to rest. And yes, I guess that means I won't be auditioning for Cinemalaya tomorrow. But hey, it's the weekend, anyway.

tymeless

After 2 weeks of not going to my morning part-time job to focus on our Eyeball set, I went back to work last Tuesday, only to find myself losing my voice by the hour as I barreled through my calls. I had a migraine last Saturday until Sunday, and also caught a cold and cough from someone (I think it was one of our actors) in the process. By the time my Tuesday morning shift had ended, I had a full-blown cough and only half of what remained of my voice.

I rested my voice by the time I got home in the afternoon (though I mingled a bit in the CCP Main Theater lobby before the first Mamma Mia! show began), and hoped that my voice would be better by the next morning.

Wednesday morning, I discovered that my voice was worse, so before even starting my shift, I headed to the clinic, and the doctor gave me a clinic pass and some prescription medicine, and ordered me to 3 days of strict vocal rest. My goodness, looks like I won't be earning any money this month.

The last time I was on vocal rest was last year, when I was juggling both my part-time job and 3 school events, plus an acting workshop in the evenings. I didn't really follow the 3-day vocal rest period, as I needed to speak up during the workshop class, plus I was the stage manager for an event that happened on the day I was sent home from work, so it took a long while to recover. This time I'm following the rule to a T. I was told by the doctor that the ideal time for vocal rest was for 7 days, but 3 days would be enough already.

It's only the second day today, and I'm already bored. I used my phone, notepads and gestures here at home (it's harder to communicate with my dog, though), and just a while ago, I got hungry and had a craving for McDonald's. Going outside the village would mean speaking to a tricycle driver and the cashier at McDo (though I once used my phone to tell them my order during last year's vocal rest). Thank goodness for online delivery.

I also had to decline an offer to watch Rivalry's press preview tonight. As much as I'd want to, once again, commuting would mean speaking, plus I know that when I'm with friends, I WILL end up speaking, even just for a bit. I'd rather not risk temptation.

By the way, I just had to add this. While I was in the CCP Main Theater lobby the other day, I ran into one of my former professors in lighting design. I came up to him and said hi. Thank goodness he somewhat remembered me, and he asked how I was, what I've been up to. Then he said that we should keep in touch in case he needed someone to work at his events as stage manager. Oh, thank you, Sir! And this was the guy who gave me one of my memorable OJTs in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which was a pretty good experience and my first time ever to use a headset, as he wanted each of us to really learn the ropes.

So now that I'm done sending out a few emails, now what am I gonna do?

And you, dear reader of this blog, how are you? I'd like to hear from you, so please leave comments and make this temporarily mute girl happy.

tymeless

I haven't blogged in two weeks! And the whole time I haven't been blogging, I've just been busy with rehearsals for our set (Set B: Isang Araw sa Karnabal and Maliw) for TP's Eyeball.

I took a couple of weeks leave from my part-time job to focus on the show. The work's not really all that heavy, but of course, I don't want to have to stress myself out just because I lack sleep. Thank goodness this prod isn't as crazy and hectic as my last one, and I love the people involved. I even got to watch Set A during their first weekend. And even better, I managed to do Zumba a few times before our rehearsals officially started, as I brought my laptop practically every day to rehearsals.

Anyway, when I watched Set A during their Saturday show, I have to admit that I liked Doc Resureccion when it was still staged in Batute. Back in Batute, you can actually feel and somewhat think that you can smell the stench of Boy Pogi's place. It didn't feel the same when they moved it to the Little Theater. Anyway, I still have to commend the performances of most of the actors in this particular set, especially the 2 leads of Doc. Tita Sherry (who also plays Mommy in Maliw) was also refreshing to watch as Mang. Pam was hilarious as the Babae in Oberpas, but I have yet to watch Minay (who alternates with Rayna) as the Tindera. I heard that she was awesome and pretty natural.

Our set opened this past Friday without a hitch. I was so glad about that. By Saturday night, while I was having dinner with Nikki after our evening show, I was beginning to feel a little off. By Sunday morning, I had a little migraine, but I didn't want it to spoil my day. Thank goodness we pulled an entire weekend of shows pretty well.

Sometime in the past week, during one evening rehearsal, my phone started ringing, and the number that registered was a landline. Considering I was still in rehearsal, I didn't answer the call. When I got home late that night, my mom said that someone from my office had called, telling me that I won tickets to Katy Perry's concert on Sunday (yesterday). Anyway, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really a fan of concerts, because I hate crowds and hearing crazy high-pitched-screaming girls. But heck, I haven't been to a concert in years, and Katy Perry seems like a big deal, so I decided to go for it, even though we had to strike all our stuff from the theater.

I gave Tin the 2nd ticket to the concert, and we just decided to meet up at MOA because she was coming all the way from Nuvali. Cellphone reception was crazy as I got closer to the concert venue. All my messages started to lag, so I had to rely on phone calls, until eventually, I couldn't reach people who were already inside the venue due to the crazy network connections. Thank goodness Tin had decided that we meet somewhere that wasn't too close to the venue, otherwise we wouldn't have seen each other. Grabbed dinner at Yoshinoya (because there was a super duper long wait list at Bon Chon) then just hung out at the fringes of the concert venue because we knew that the show will start about an hour late. After attempting to go inside the venue once then having our tickets stamped, we ended up just outside, just taking photos and videos of our craziness and even befriended an adorable 3-month-old Siberian Husky puppy named Kiara.

When people inside the venue started cheering, we went back inside. False alarm. Nothing was happening yet. We decided to just stay inside and entertain ourselves with the tweets that were being projected on the screen. Haha, we alternately read them out loud with feelings.

Then show began at around 10pm, and we had positioned ourselves near one of the big screens because we couldn't really get a good view of the entire stage, what with the taller (and more fanatic) kids and all. Unfortunately we ended up standing in front of 2 crazy girls who would relentlessly scream in our ears. Even though I glanced at them a couple of times, I overheard one of them say "Pakialam ba ng iba?" Oh dear, maswerte na lang siya na maganda ang mood ko that night, otherwise I would've pushed her back and under the scaffolding where the projector was. What was funny was that when she overheard Tin's Nikki Minaj joke, they laughed along and shared the joke as well. For that, my visions of retaliation lessened. Instead of discreetly pushing her back to the scaffolds, I silently let a deadly one out in her direction.

Anyway, Katy Perry herself was awesome, gorgeous and awesome! I love her performance, her costumes, and especially that quick change sequence. The boy-kissing felt kind of off, because the guy seemed to look so full of himself (no offense to anyone who knows him, it just looked that way to me).

The concert was only about an hour and a half long, but watching and hearing Katy Perry live was totally worth it. By the time we got out of the venue, it took a long while before we managed to contact people again. Tin finally managed to get hold of her cousins, while I ended up meeting with Erik and a couple of his friends.

Now I get a day of rest. Finally. Then back to work early tomorrow morning.

tymeless

I used to bite my nails as a kid. Not just bite, mind you. Sometimes I pick the skin on sides of the nails. Disgusting habit, I know, but some people say that nail biting was a sign of low self-esteem. I don't know. Well, true, I was quite the wallflower back then, and I didn't have much confidence in myself except when I'm with my close friends.

In 4th grade, my mom attempted to put nail polish on my fingernails to prevent me from biting them. It worked, yes, but of course, as a kid, you can't always have nail polish on, especially in school. So off they went, and the habit was back.

High school was a different story. When nail polishes in wild and vibrant colors came out and half my classmates wore them to school (some even applied them during classes), I envied their pretty nails as I looked down at my stubby ones. So I grew them out, swore to stop picking at them, got a manicure and learned how to apply nail polish myself. It worked. I figured I also grew out of my nail-biting phase for good.

I thought wrong. Back in 2005, during my first office job, I found myself picking at my nails again while idly staring at the phone, waiting for it to ring. And I kept the habit again, except for special occasions when I needed to have my nails done.

Just today, I gave myself a little manicure. Ever since our company Christmas party (when my nails were painted blood red), I've been enjoying how my nails look like, as I haven't been picking at them since then. I guess I'm darn proud of myself. No, not about the manicure, but the fact that I haven't been biting or picking at my nails again for quite some time. Now I need to brush up on my nail polish painting skills again. I remember how I used to apply nail polish like a pro that I would change colors every week.

In other news, my cousin David dropped by the house for a visit this afternoon. He came home briefly from Qatar to spend the holidays with family. One significant thing I noticed about him (aside from the fact that he got fatter, hahaha), was a silver band on his ring finger. As it turned out, he and Nits got married last Tuesday. Just a civil wedding at the city hall, as the church wedding that they're planning will be for next year. When he had said that, my dad suddenly mentioned that he and my mom actually had a civil wedding themselves before their own church wedding. I never knew anything about that. Funny timing, as their 36th wedding anniversary will be tomorrow.

Oh well, you still learn new things everyday about the people you thought you knew.

Anyway.

I'm still dwelling on what Carmie had said when we had met up in Greenhills. The thought that I could be the floor director for her dad's show. Well, someone's already working as the show's FD, but I can't help but wish and hope that an offer would be open once I had fulfilled my commitments with TP. Oh please, oh please.