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I decided to walk all the way to the music studio from my house late this afternoon. Haha, my mom had actually noticed that I was gaining weight, so it must be really bad that I really need more exercise. So anyway. Of course, this means having to walk along 2 of our village's main streets that have the worst traffic because of all the schools along those streets. Wearing my new glasses, I realized that it was pretty dangerous walking along the side of the street where the vehicles go in the same direction. My glasses had pretty thick sides that blinded half my peripheral vision. So for 15 minutes, I had to dodge kids running the opposite direction, plus several motorcycles trying to overtake all the bigger vehicles. Wah. Note to self, wear contacts or old pair of glasses the next time I walk to the studio.

Like I had talked about with Betty yesterday, it's always learning and unlearning. Dami pa rin talaga akong sakit. But one thing I didn't expect was that I'd actually eat a piece of candy (chocolate, no less) while we did solfege. Hahaha. In fairness, it actually worked.

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Mimay had posted a note on Facebook, part of which had her reminiscing December of 2005. As our comments piled up, we started looking back at 2005 and even as far as 2004, back when we had met.

My goodness, another walk down memory lane. And it all began with a simple quip, ahaha. Mimay had said na ang sama ko pa raw back in 2004. Not that I was rude to them. I was always acting ever so formal as the play's stage manager and co-producer. I guess it was part of what I had called "professional detachment." They even called me "conyo" and probably even "burgis" because I almost always spoke to them in English. But it cannot be helped. Hahaha, I even had a trademark "Heya!" at the beginning of every text message I sent to them.

Eventually I had forgotten all that crap about detachment as the play had progressed. When the play closed, I realized that I had fallen in love with each of the cast. I had looked forward to every evening rehearsal and got so used to it that I had those withdrawal symptoms that I had expected. I got daily missed calls and "San kayo?" messages from Nicco. I started feeling at home in Drei and Miko's condo. Mimay still made an effort to visit us all the way from QC after disappearing for a while (typical Mims, hahaha). Nikki, Mish and I became inseparable (even now with Nix, and before Misch left for the US). Rain and I became more than just mere acquaintances, classmates and thesis mates. A re-staging was even produced and everyone was more than willing to help.

Hogi: shet, nakakamiss yung mga araw na yun ah
Mimay: yeah
Mimay: ccp made everything happen for me
Mimay: i mean, had i not met arvin nong workshop, hindi ako makakajoseph
Mimay: hindi rin ako magnonoli
Mimay: hindi rin ako magwoworkshop ng tatlong taon
Hogi: hahaha
Hogi: buti na lang ccp ang pinuntahan mo
Mimay: parang si TIN
Hogi: dahil diyan, dun din ako nakapunta
Mimay: yeah, kasi gusto kong maexperience ung ccp e
Mimay: sinearch ko lang online, tas nakita ko tanghalang pilipino
Mimay: kakatuwa
Hogi: naks
Mimay: kakatuwa
Mimay: noh?
Hogi: oo, sobra

Mimay: kasi kung di ako pumunta ccp, di ko kayo makikilala
Hogi: korek
Mimay: di rin namin kayo makukwentuhan kung gano kasaya sa ccp
Mimay: hahahaha
Hogi: di nabuo ang thesis ko ng mga kengkoy na tao
Mimay: yeah

Had I not met some of the people in this crowd, I wouldn't have found out about Tanghalang Pilipino's workshops. That triggered another memory. In 2005, Mimay took another workshop in TP, and eventually got casted in Noli Me Tangere. (*insert stabbing guilt here because I never got to watch it*)

The following year, Nicco and I ended up taking TP's acting workshop with Mimay, Betty, Tin, and the rest. Nicco got accepted as a scholar for TP Actors Company. Betty and I had our crazy share of "Batman and Robin" stories. Sadly, it was the same year Tin lost her mom. Yet, more adventures began. My love affair for acting resumed.

To quote Mimay, "the best years of my life." Couldn't have said it better myself. Grabe, Mimay, malayo ang post mo sa entry na ito, but napa-reminisce ako, hahaha. Senti mode.

I wonder how everyone else is. Ikaw, kamusta ka na?

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This morning, Kuya Toto, Ate Maui and I headed to PETA to meet with Carlon, as he was to be the choreographer for their first dance as husband and wife. Ate Maui wanted a little twist to it, and Tad had recommended Carlon, so we had set to meet this morning. We arrived pretty early, so we got to watch the opening number of Karaoke Dreams being filmed in the theater for video viewing purposes. As Carlon wasn't included in the next scene, the four of us started talking outside the theater. Discussed the details of how Ate Maui wants the dance to be, plus the songs she wants to use, and other concerns. She was supposed to mull about something, but my eyebrows suddenly shot straight up when Kuya instantly said a quick reply. Hmmm... I wonder how this will turn out. Anyway. Hahaha, Carlon had quipped that I was the couple's PA, as I was trying to help out a little in everything they do.

Hahaha, being the couple's only bridesmaid in the country, I'm always with Kuya Toto and Ate Maui almost half the time when they're doing certain errands as preparation for their wedding. Parang personal assistant na rin and younger sister to Ate Maui, as her sisters Tintin and Trixie won't be arriving from Canada until next week.

Anyway, after PETA, we headed to Greenhills for lunch and hopefully shop for the baskets they were looking for. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a place to park, so we decided to head on over to Festival Mall to have lunch because that was our next stop anyway. Lunch at Superbowl, then off to Santi's Deli to assemble the perfect Christmas giveaway basket for their wedding sponsors. Wheee, lots of wine to choose from. But of course, we still had to stick to the motif, as Ate Maui still wanted everything in blue. She finally assembled a basket that had wine with a blue label, brie cheese, a couple of chocolate bars, crackers and pate... all with blue packaging. Hahaha.

After a coffee break, we went to Purple Closet in Westgate next to meet with Ann. Ate Maui still needed to have her veil made, plus the secondary veil for the ceremony, the traditional garter (in midnight blue to stick with the theme), and another white dress for the dance. I like Ann better than Michelle of Trends, where our dresses are still a work-in-progress due to her sloppy decision-making (and excuse-making). This one knows what she's talking about, and easily sketched the kind of dress Ate Maui wanted.

Speaking of Trends, we were supposed to have another gown fitting yesterday. But Michelle had to reschedule it to Tuesday, waaah. I sure hope it will be in the morning.

Anyway, so because of all that (and that was just today), I sure hope I can tag along to their pre-nup photo shoot in Tagaytay later this week. That would be really fun to watch. Paninindigan ko ang pagiging PA ko, hehehe. And of course, I always can't resist the call of Tagaytay's cold climate, hahaha.

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Haha, I really wanted to watch the pictorials, so Kuya and Ate Maui let me tag along to Tagaytay. They decided they needed a personal assistant anyway, hahaha. I'm pretty cheap as they come when it comes to family; all they need to provide is the food and I'm happy, hahaha.

It was also the same day for the trial hair and makeup with Gela Laurel, so we first had to go to the House of Laurel in the morning. First met Lee (was that his name?), the hairdresser, who was immediately briefed on how Ate Maui wants her hair to look like. Gela arrived a few minutes after we did, and all 3 of them talked about hair coloring for the wedding to make the hairstyle's details stand out. By the time Ate Maui had sat in the makeup chair in front of Gela, my brother got bored and was typing away on the laptop (thank goodness they have free wi-fi access). I, on the other hand, was amazed at how quick and Gela made it look. I wish I had talent like hers. Heck, I don't even know how to put makeup on myself. Thank goodness she and Lee will be there for us next Tuesday. She even produced a small retouch kit for Ate Maui for the pictorials.

Off to Tagaytay. To our dismay, it started drizzling, so we were praying that it would blow over by the time we arrived in Tagaytay. It was a pretty long drive, and we were starving by the time we had arrived, so we had a quick lunch at Pancake House before we had to meet with Angelbar, the photographers, at Nurture Spa, where the pictorial will be. We arrived at Nurture Spa a few minutes past one, and had a bit of time to settle in the room right after we had checked in. Too bad Ate Maui's curls had become flat, so she had to fix it in a more casual way before Angelbar's crew (Erwin and Bea) and knocked on our door.

It was still raining! Well, not really that hard, but it still is raining, hahaha. So the grass was so wet that even I slipped a couple of times (without falling, thank goodness) off the paths' stepping stones during the entire photo shoot, which took about 4 hours, and 3 changes of clothes for the couple. We were so glad that the rain had finally stopped, but unfortunately the sun was already beginning to set by then.

Kuya and Ate Maui had a massage scheduled at 7pm, but because everyone was tired and hungry, including me (heck, I was a gofer and also took photos the whole time), so they rescheduled it for the next morning. Anyway, so the 3 of us had dinner at the in-house restaurant. Hehehe, the spa reservation, which also included 3 meals (dinner, breakfast and lunch), was only meant for the couple, so they put in extra orders for me. Ate Maui and I had both ordered chicken dishes, but to our disappointment, it hardly had any taste in it. We should've gotten one of the pasta dishes, which Kuya had.

Retired back to the room right after dinner, and after baths (thanks to the muddy grass and rain), we were all conked out on the beds. Love love love the super soft sheets and mattress. Even though I'd die of boredom because of no internet access and super quietness of the place, I love the comfy bed.

I woke up the next morning to my brother pummeling me with pillows, telling me to get a move on so we can have breakfast before their massage. Yum, blueberry pancakes with matching blueberry syrup. I should've asked if I could purchase a bottle of that yummy syrup, hahaha. It sure was in good competition with the maple syrup that Ate Maui had brought from Nova Scotia. Killed more time in the room, reading (for Ate Maui and me) and listening to podcasts (for Kuya) before the therapist picked up the couple for their massages.

While Kuya and Ate Maui had their 2-hour long massages, I spent the time straightening up the room, showering and catching a few winks on that wonderful bed, hahaha. When they arrived, we finally packed all their clothes, accessories, and loaded them into the car before we had lunch. Learning from our menu mistakes, all three of us ordered pasta, hahaha. And of course, humirit pa ako ng strawberry shake, which in turn, made Kuya say, "Aba, nilulubos mo talaga ito, ha." But of course, brother dear, hahaha. After making me walk back and forth several times the day before, dapat lang! Hehehe.

I conked out again in the car during the first half of the ride back home. Ahehe, I think I even caught myself snoring because my head was in an awkward position and gave me a difficult time to breathe. Yes, I snore when I can't breathe, but that hardly happens anymore. Right.

By the way, this was an interesting phrase I saw in the bathroom next to Nurture Spa's reception area.

"Silence is speech."

I like that. Reminded me of what Sir Dennis had said last summer, which was to not be afraid of the silence in a scene.

Anyway, photos to follow another time. They're mostly just outtakes of the pictorial anyway.

Off to watch METTA's Broadway 2 show tomorrow afternoon. Break a leg, Tad! =)

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Went to watch METTA's production of Broadway 2 yesterday with Betty, Opa and Lucien. I knew I had to go to Assumption early to save seats for all of us. I learned the hard way about those seats because when there's a show in METTA, supporters (families and friends and others) come early and reserve rows and rows for their company, hahaha. My golly, they opened house an hour before the show, so I quickly found a seat somewhere in the middle, just right in front of the VIP section (which was populated mostly by nuns). Betty, Opa and Lucien all managed to make it inside right before the entire show started.

Broadway 2 is a sort of musical revue, fusing songs from Flower Drum Song, South Pacific and The King and I, and worked a little plot into it. Oh, it was the usual putting-a-show-together kind of story, with Tad and Gie as janitors who would do anything just to be part of the show. Hahaha. They made quite the crazy tandem. Of course, Riki got the "gwapo role" (as Red had called it) as Emile in the South Pacific segment, while Chrome (being CHROME) got to bare his bod per usual as King Mongkut in The King and I. As a result of his character losing his voice, Gie as Edu manages to nab his role as his sidekick Lucky, played by Tad, cheers him on.

One issue I had with the whole thing was that there were too many people (kids) in the cast. Well, given that this is a school production, that was to be expected. And well, it did give a pretty nice effect to one of the South Pacific songs. But then, during the King and I part where Anna had to meet the children of the King, my gahd, it was quite a drag because all the kids had to come in one by one or by twos, and it took forever.

Curtain call was equally crazy. Because Ms. Ana had said, "Feel free to give flowers to the cast," before the show began, all the parents, friends and etcetera had filled the aisles with bouquets of flowers in their arms, waiting for their friend/daughter/sister to take their bows. As a result of that, you can hardly see anything when you're just sitting down. That whole thing ruined the whole curtain call, honestly.

But despite all that, it was still a good show. Congratulations to all! Congrats, lovey! =)

Dinner with Tad after the show. Hahaha, he gave me my birthday and Christmas presents already, hahaha! Thanks, love! I give you ginormous points for being very observant, hahaha. Mwah!

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Everyone in my family had been waiting for the big day on the 23rd, that we all considered it one of the best Christmas gifts that we got. It was also a perfect opportunity to see some of our relatives that haven't seen in a while.

On the afternoon before the wedding, Mom, Kuya Toto and I checked in at the Bellevue Hotel, along with Ate Maui and her family, as we will be prepping up there early the next day. Dad, on the other hand, stayed at home to supervise other prep concerns with Tita Beng, specially because a bunch of our other relatives will be staying over there as well. But he did join us for dinner with the Ocampos at Poquito Mas at Westgate. Man, the sisig there was yummy. We immediately left after eating as our bride was getting pretty sleepy already.

Retired at our respective rooms after dinner. Kuya was supposed to be resting early as well, but he was still working on the AVP that they were planning to show at the reception. I think he fell asleep at around 2 in the morning. Unfortunately, all of us had to be up by 4am. But at least he finished the AVP, because Trixie came knocking at our door because one of the coordinators was already asking for it.

Walked to Ate Maui's suite, where a ton of people had already gathered. Jack and Ade (the coordinators) were there of course, as well as Gela's hair and makeup crew. Tintin and Trixie already got a head start, so they added me to the assembly line (hahaha). When I was asked how I wanted my hair to look like, I explained that I had a long neck with an undefined chin, so it's difficult to find the right updo for me. Plus the problem that my hair can barely hold a curl. It took at least 3 attempts to get the right hairstyle for me, but I have to say, this was the first time I actually liked how I looked with my hair up.

Returned to our room to change into my gown and found Kuya goofing around with Kuya Butch and Kuya Richie right before the Threelogy crew (the videographers) arrived. When I had returned to Ate Maui's suite to have her fix my obi belt, I came face to face with Trixie and realized that in some way, we did look alike, hahaha! So that's what their grandfather kept saying the night before.

After a little more prepping, Jack said that Mom and I can go ahead, as Kuya had already left for Fernbrook with his crazy best men. Immediately found Rosa and Aris by the time I had stepped out of the car, then we all walked to the chapel together. A few minutes later, I got a text from Tad, saying that because he couldn't get a cab to Fernbrook, Iam and Ge will be picking him up. Thanks, Iam and Ge!

I was sitting next to Tintin during the entire ceremony, and during all the marriage rites, Trixie and I held up our cameras and snapped away. Hahaha, even though my mom was in tears, I couldn't help giggling when she raised her handkerchief to wipe off her tears, because Dad raised his own handkerchief at the same time to wipe sweat off his forehead almost every time. Hehe, when it was time for the couple's first kiss as husband and wife, I was so glad that my photo didn't come out all blurry even though I was so giddy over them.

On to the reception. Boy, I was really starving that time, because I only got to eat half of an Egg McMuffin before I left the hotel. I was so glad that Jack decided to begin with tables nearer to the buffet (we were seated next to it, yay) for the pictorials with the bride and groom. Iam and Ge made quite the tag team, because after they had fallen in line, Ge went back to get more food, hahaha. I've been dieting for weeks for this event, so it's time for my appetite to catch up. Ugh, because of that, Tad took the most unflattering photo of me, hahaha! You can check it out in one of my Multiply albums.

My favorite part in the reception was the dance. Kuya and Ate Maui had hired Carlon to help them, and taught a simple waltz between Ate Maui and her dad, Tito Pete. People had expected the same waltz all throughout the dance between her and Kuya, but a few minutes into Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," we suddenly hear the sound of a scratching record, then the music changes to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," giving everyone quite the surprise as they danced the upbeat number, hahahaha! Even though they did rehearse it the night before, they still forgot some steps so they tried to improvise. I, on the other hand, rushed towards the carpet (not minding if I trip, ahehe) to cheer and take photos, ahehehe.

All in all, it was a great wedding. Super thanks to Jack Sy-Alba and Ade Sy Singson of About Events for keeping everything in order, Erwin and Bea of Angel Bar for the pre-nup photos, Dino Lara for the on-site wedding photos, Threelogy for the videography (with the super fast editing of the beautiful on-site AVP), Juan Carlo the Caterer for the yummy food, 15:58 for the flowers (my bouquet is hanging in my room for a week-long drying process), and Anne Chavez for Ate Maui's pretty dress for the reception. Naks, parang sponsors sa pag-plug ng mababait na suppliers, hehe.

So I do believe that the beautiful wedding my brother at sister-in-law had was Christmas enough for me. Post-Christmas na yung Noche Buena that we had at Tita Lyn's house, complete with second and third helpings, capping it with Tequila Rose and Bailey's with cherries and gossip and laughs galore, hehehe.

How did your Christmas go? =)

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Saturday was a day of a bunch of reunions, right on up to Sunday morning.

I first went with Ate Shang, Kuya Butch, Tita Beng, Tita Lyn and Tita Tess to Tito Ed's place, as he nor Tita Shirley didn't get to make it to my brother's wedding. To my disappointment, their house was such a sorry sight, even with some of their family still living with them plus a maid. By past 10 in the morning, Tito Ed was still in bed, almost skin and bones, and speaking incoherently. We really couldn't understand why, considering that he never had a stroke or anything that severe. Sure, he has diabetes, but soon we had found out that there wasn't much to eat there at their home, so Ate Shang offered to buy him some food aside from the whole bunch of food we had brought over from Tita Lyn's. Another problem of the household, it seemed, was that Tito Ed and Tita Shirley weren't very well taken care of. And hello, Kuya Emmon and his family live right upstairs.

It broke our hearts to find that these two were sort of abandoned and ignored. The house smelled funny, and Tito Ed hadn't even bathed. But the smile on his face when he saw all of us was precious. Too bad we couldn't stay for lunch, as we had to go to Tito Ely and Tita Zenia's, as well as to Tito Edel, Tita Beth, Tito Erning and Tita Angie. Lunch time at "Angielocks," as we called Tita Angie. Hahaha, she's known in the family for whipping up a lot of food whenever we're at their place.

After a hearty lunch, Kuya Richie brought out the drinks to the table and chairs on the lawn, and Ate Shang, Kuya Butch and I followed suit. Soon all four of us were swimming in vodka, and even when Kuya Bobot, Ate Vonic and Ate Ching (though both ladies had to leave right away) joined us, the drinks kept coming.

Kuya Butch and Ate Shang were already pretty wasted by the time we had to leave, which was when Tita Lyn was already kind of annoyed with them for delaying our time of departure.

Flew to ATC, where I was supposed to meet up with the Hogi Hall for our Tagaytay get-together, which is actually a triple-celebration for Rosa, Josh and Seph's birthdays. I was over an hour late because of the delayed departure from my uncles' place, rawr. Everyone had already gone ahead, and the only ones left waiting for me were Tad, Seph and Josh. Off to Tagaytay, with a stopover at McDo along the SLEX, because I was already starving, ahehehe.

Finally, we're in Tagaytay. The venue we got was the place next to the bed and breakfast we had stayed at before, and we had gotten two rooms and a huge terrace because our crowd was pretty big this time. There were so many drinks, chips, and a grill where we could cook the liempo and hotdogs, yay. Chika and drinks galore, and of course, there was the Bacardi 151 for a complete celebration, as Josh kept passing it out to everyone. Ahehehe, I guess he and Seph were so glad to finally get to drink with Tad, who's also a big fan of hard drinks. Photos galore as well, as I kept seeing flashes from different cameras the entire time. And yes, body shots! Woohoo! Plus Seph and Tad as dancers for Joy's bachelorette party, hahahaha!

Well, you wouldn't be surprised to find out who was the first man down and the last man standing. I had settled in one of the rooms with Rosa, Iam, Tad, PJ and Aris at around past 4 in the morning. A few minutes after we were all on the beds, next me, our party girl Rosa had quite the headache and just tried to sleep sitting up. Of course, Iam and I had to convince her to go to the bathroom to relieve herself. On my other side, Tad was also wasn't feeling that good. Yikes. Iam, who gets queasy when she just hears someone throw up, flew to her side of the room while I had to stay with these two, hahaha. She then dubbed me "the caregiver," AHAHAHAHA! Labo. I get queasy myself, but as long as I don't smell anything and don't breathe through my nose, I'd be fine.

My goodness, when I woke up a couple of hours later, I found out that Seph, Josh, Joy and Hofi were still up. Survivors, hahaha. We had to wake Rosa by around 8am, because she still had to go to work in the afternoon, so by the time she woke up, I left with her, Aris, Iam and Tad.

All in all, Tagaytay was a blast. Can't wait for the next one, where Ge and Aris will have a showdown, hahahaha!