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First of all, after Ondoy's visit, how is everybody?

I've been feeling helpless during this entire week. As much as I want to do something and help, certain circumstances at home won't permit me to leave the house. Though I heard this afternoon that our neighbor and his family is packing a lot of stuff to donate, so I might cross the street tomorrow and help out in any way. It's also a good opportunity to talk to my former kindergarten teacher (yes, you got that right) who's a friend of their family.

So anyway, I haven't been blogging any randomness that I've been dying to post because of a certain suppressed feeling. All those posts on Facebook and Multiply were all about helping the people who fell victim to the flood. People were posting alerts and possible ways of volunteering and donating and helping out the flood victims on their statuses, and sometimes even telling people to stop posting unnecessary things so as not to flood the news feed. Minsan nga, may mga nakikitang pa akong mga status diyan na OA na, sesermonan pa ang mga taong nagpo-post ng kung anu-ano dahil wala raw silang magawa imbis na tumulong. Ang masasabi ko lang about that... let's not be so harsh, people. Sabi nga ni Betty, it doesn't make them less caring, unconcerned, or that they are not doing anything about what's happening. Who knows, maybe they've already given their fair share already dahil hindi na nila nilalagay ang mga ginawa nilang tulong sa Facebook. Anyway, I'm not saying na ang preachy masyado ng mga nagpo-post sa Facebook. It really does help a lot, pero wag niyo naman sermonan yung mga iba for posting whatever. There is the Hide button naman eh. Dun naman sa mga nagpo-post ng kung anu-ano, please be considerate na rin and don't publish too many unnecessary quiz results and etcetera, at kailangan din ng iba ang networks nila sa Facebook for certain purposes. Kaya rin ako medyo suppressed at minsan nagi-guilty ako na mag-post ng personal randomness, because baka isipin nila na walang akong kibo sa mga pangyayari. Alam niyo na gusto ko rin tumulong. Naiinggit pa nga ako sa mga nakikita kong nagpo-post ng mga photos of all those people helping out, walang keme or whatever.

Alala ko tuloy yung mga napapaskil na photos of donations by certain candidates for presidency, na tatatakan pa ang mga donations nila ng pangalan nila. Uhm, hindi na po yan masyadong papansinin ng mga tao, and doing so will not win them any more votes. The people that will be receiving these will be immensely and equally grateful no matter kung sino ang nagbigay nun.

Anyway.

Wow, I didn't mean to write a paragraph that long. I just meant to say that I felt suppressed about writing a personal blog amidst all the posts about Ondoy. Now that I sounded that out, "random" blog entry to follow.

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My notebook has been filled with random stuff since last week, and I haven't posted any of them on my blog yet.

I love it when I see old friends that I haven't seen in years. When I was about to board a jeep from Taft Wednesday of last week, there was this one guy who hopped on the jeep right before I did. Once aboard the jeep, I managed to glance at the guy, and to my surprise, it was Rain! Hahaha, we were both so surprised to see each other already, and apparently, we were both on our way to Makati. We were pretty thrilled to be reunited again, even for a short time, so we gabbed the whole way while we were on the jeep and on the bus (not even minding how crowded the bus was and we had to stand) to Makati until I had to get off at RCBC.

While I was watching Spring Awakening's DTR that afternoon, I found a familiar face in the lobby when I went out during intermission. It was Dein, an old friend from Zobel productions as well as a fellow Trumpets Playshopper from years ago. As it turned out, he was to be an emergency usher for the shows, because his office was just right upstairs.

Another Playshopper I got in contact with was Ronelli. While I was online on Facebook sometime last week, she messaged me from out of the blue asking where I lived. That was when I found out that she's opening a coffee shop in my village! I can't wait to check it out.

Then of course, I had already blogged about meeting with Tin last week after the Spring Awakening DTR. Being with her that evening is one of the best times I've really laughed, even though we were hanging out for just a few short hours.

A couple of days after Ondoy's rage, when I stepped out into our garage to find Terie basking in this patch of sunlight on the floor, I saw a familiar pick-up truck parked outside our neighbor's house. It was the Forty's Party Supplies truck, picking up the party stuff that Tita Baby had rented out of her rescheduled birthday party (which was supposed to be last Saturday until the typhoon came). I saw a familiar-looking girl overseeing the egress. It was Isabel, one of the first friends I had in CSB. I haven't seen her since our 2nd term in school, and to think that we hung out together practically every day during our first term. It was great to see her again. She was actually surprised to find out that I lived across the street from their most recent client, even though we've told each other several times before how close our houses are from each other.

I also got to chat with Giselle, another Playshopper from the same batch as Dein and Ronelli, a couple of days ago. We were amused at how the world keeps getting smaller when we realized we had a couple more common friends. We also talked workshops, and assessed how our ventures outside Trumpets Playshop were (mine was good, hers didn't fare as well).

I sure do hope the weather will get better soon. I'm meeting another friend this weekend that I haven't seen in ages.

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I still have a bunch of pending scribbles in my notebook, and it's about time I'd put them here. Warning, this is another entry chock full of randomness.


Gestures. There were at least a couple of occasions that Betty had noticed how she, Opa and I, and some people in general would move while in conversation. She noted that there are some people who gesture more than others. Haha, I'm one of those people who can't seem to sit still while talking. I sometimes need to move my hands, arms, and even my head around to elaborate what I'm talking about. A couple of times, Betty even dared me not to even lift a finger while we were talking. I couldn't, hahaha.


Judging by the way I move and talk some of the time, some people still can't believe that I can still get really (and I mean really) shy. It's like that time when I went to Centro to join the bloggers conference of Spring Awakening. Sure, I was being myself, wacking out with Lara and Dingdong, and sometimes bugging Lawyn and Ate Lani, but when the pseudo press conference began and the cast looked on at the group, waiting for questions, I looked at the other bloggers, or scribbled something incoherent in my notebook, or just looked at the mirrors. When the informal open forum ended and bloggers began individual interviews, I held back and waited for a day or two, hahaha.


I once commented on one of the status messages of Mads, a Make Believer, and I was amused that she still called me "Teach," even though I wasn't really a teacher of any of their workshops. Though I sure do hope I get to return to Make Believe next year. But maybe just as an assistant teacher for the pre-teens. I still don't know how to handle the younger kids.


I saw this just last night on Carlo's Facebook status: Every artist was first an amateur. Aba, pa-deep si Carlo. But I liked it. So true.

This is it for now. Off to visit the Atlantis gang, hehe.

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I paid Atlantis a little visit last Tuesday afternoon. I had left Taft a little before lunch, and by the time I had hopped off the bus and was already walking to the office, I had forgotten that my phone was still on silent mode. So I never got to read Claire's message when I had knocked on the door and stepped in while Bobby and Chari were in the middle of a meeting. Eep, sorry, hahaha.

Surprise surprise, I had perfect timing, as they had ordered lunch from a sponsor. Yummy cajun chicken and fajita wraps all in this one huge platter that we couldn't finish... and there were already 8 of us in the office, hahaha. So a bunch of us ended up finishing it before we left the office at closing time.

There were a lot of funny moments inside the office. One of the most hilarious was the revelation of Claire's crush... by her own reactions when someone talks about the actor or even at the mere mention of his name, hahaha! Bobby naman was still as kulit as ever that even as he teased Claire, he still managed to tease me regarding an old flame and even suggested a double date. Huwat? Ano baaa. Then when they were checking out blockbuyers' seat plans, Lawyn even got me to anonymously text Miguel to just check how much tickets he still has to sell. Textmates na raw kami, according to Bobby. Ahahaha.

Yep, Atlantis is filled with crazy people, but I still love them anyway. I'm gonna drop by Spring Awakening again one of these days and just hang out at the front-of-house. I miss doing that.

Speaking of Spring Awakening, I have yet to watch it again. But of course, I can't really say when because Nicco had already warned me not to let him know when I'll be watching. So in case Nicco's still browsing through this blog (I know you do, hahaha), I'd rather not say. We did get into this interesting conversation about Moritz yesterday. I guess I'm already mentioning a few stuff I have in my head because I haven't blogged about them yet. He's dying to hear a review, but he's sort of "not allowed" to read any of them, hahaha. You can't really avoid both good and bad reviews, as long as you don't take them too personally. I remember Bong always skimming through reviews of his shows, then laughing it off. Kasi naman diba, pag may bad review tungkol sa show mo o tungkol sa performance mo mismo, dapat mo naman tanggapin na iba-iba ang gusto at pananaw ng mga tao. At kung collective man ang reaction, the best thing to do is to learn from it na lang.

Anyway. Spring Awakening had radio guestings in a bunch of radio stations this week. Last Tuesday, Jett and Nicco were at NU at 6pm, but I didn't get to catch it. I think Claire did, as she was fumbling with the radio before we had to leave the office. There was another 15-minute guesting this afternoon at 2pm at Mellow 94.7. Nicco was there again, along with Miguel (who even plugged his own shows) and Kelly (who gave away her character's story and ending).

I came across one of Rayna's Facebook statuses where she was sort of complaining about something, "the fear of growing old and not making the most of your gifts and your life." To which Sir Dennis responded with this: "try to think of it as an actress doing research for roles you still will play, whether they have been written or not."

Well said, Sir Dennis.

I was reading The Actor's Checklist again yesterday and came across these interesting quotes...

"As an actor, you enter the field out of this intense desire to make a contribution, to do something very fine in the art world, to use your pain, anguish, and life experience to lighten the load or make someone else's perceptions keener. You want the human race to advance out of your sacrifice of yourself because at least 50 percent of what you relive onstage is very painful. Even in comedy it's somewhat painful to intensely remember things that are already gone."
- Joe Warfield, actor

"There is still that mystery of an actor who can repeat every detail because of his work and his life. The best actors try the most things in rehearsal. They are never satisfied, always looking for more adjustments and retaining them, and therefore in performance they achieve the greatest heights."
- Gilled Gleizes, French director

"Creating a character is like building a house. You have to accumulate the material with which to build it."
- Charles Jehlinger, founder of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts

"Every composer knows the anguish and despair occasioned by forgetting ideas which one has not had the time to write down."
- Victor Hugo

I just had to laugh at that last one. I can totally relate, because there are always occasions that I come across a thought or something I've seen or heard, and I never got to jot it down. I sometimes forget my little notebook, or my pen ran out of ink, or I left my pens in a different bag that I left at home. Though thank goodness I can store short notes in my phone in case certain randomness come to mind.

I can vaguely remember this "actor's nightmare" that I had a few nights ago which involved me rehearsing in this theater with a bunch of actors (whose faces I can't recall anymore) plus Miss Tess, who was also directing this weird event. Labo. All I can remember now is that I have to sing this song that also had some lines in between the verses, and I had no idea what the lyrics were, and I ended up doing improv with the lines. Then I found myself in this backstage area which looked like a combination of the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium and GSIS theater. I was sorting out the RF mics and was helping out a couple of the performers (one of them suddenly happened to be Opa) with their costumes. Then I woke up when I had to leave backstage to go onstage. Weird dream.

Anyway, there are a lot of auditions coming up. Hope you interested people are prepping up for 9 Works Theatrical's Rent, plus Atlantis Productions' Legally Blonde and Xanadu. Break a leg, you guys!

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Went to RCBC to watch Spring Awakening again last night (technically Friday) as I had only seen its final DTR before it's first preview show. This time, as per Hilary's suggestion, we purchased the onstage seats.

Arrived at RCBC way too early yesterday just so I can hang around and chat with whoever was there. Hung out with Mae and Dein in the lobby, just sitting on the stairs leading to the loge area. A little later, Teena and Enzo sat with us as well. When Lawyn finally arrived after a meeting with Bobby, Chari and Ms Liza, I tagged along with them while they had dinner at Kitaro, as I was still waiting for Tin and Hilary to arrive. On the way there, we ran into Ting. Surprise, she was watching the show as well along with Camille and Lye.

Hehe, ang bait ko naman masyado by the time we went back to the lobby. I immediately went straight to the spot where the onstage audience members were supposed to line up. First in line, naks, hehehe. Plus we had easy access to the teeny cupcake samples that were also in the lobby. Yummy. Anyway, while the onstage ticket holders were in line in the lobby, Charo briefed everyone on basic rules, then she handed out little plastic bags for our cellphones, which we were to surrender to her. Yes, for those sitting onstage, you have to surrender your cellphones to the usher-in-charge, and it has to be switched off.

We were finally ushered into the theater around 5-10 minutes before the show, and thank goodness we were at the front of the line for stage left, because I already had my eye on the 2nd row seats that were more downstage, so we get a better view. So now you know why the onstage seats are cheaper, it has a really limited view, plus the sounds are different. Obviously, from where we're sitting, mas malakas ang band than the actors themselves.

I have to say, it was a good thing that there were TV screens both on downstage left and right, so we also get to see close-ups of the actors during the song numbers. It was alright if there was only one actor singing, or even two, as they swivel it back and forth between the singers. But because there was only one camera view, it got really annoying when it was the entire cast singing, so the camera kept panning and tilting all over the place just so it can capture all the actors singing. Sana na lang they just zoomed out a little so everyone can be seen.

Considering that Spring Awakening is considered a rock opera, it did have a concert feel, complete with moving lights and with the band upstage directly behind the set. It's amusing to find the cast suddenly pulling out microphones concealed in their pockets, and even from cleverly hidden pockets on the set pieces (which are mostly just wooden benches and a table). The talented cast was such a delight to watch as they executed the sharp choreography while at the same time singing without letting their voices waver.

It seemed that Joaqui as Melchior made quite an effort to speak his lines with a distinct speech pattern that I hear from my friend when speaking in German. Unfortunately, he was the only one doing so, so it sort of sounded out of place, even though the play was set in 1891 Germany. I have had a few brief discussions with Nicco about Moritz, and I knew that most people think that his character was sort of queer, but I noticed that if you didn't box yourself in with that idea, you'll find that he was only very very repressed, haha. Other than that, without bias, Nicco gave quite an awesome performance. And this is a guy who used to claim that he was a bass, yet he pulled off all those songs as a tenor. Kelly pulled off a convincing innocent Wendla, with her wide bright eyes and sheltered outlook, but her speaking voice was a little too shaky for me, even with her given circumstances throughout the play. I have to say that Bea's Ilse was my favorite among the girls. You can see a lot going on in her eyes, especially during that scene between Ilse and Moritz. During the song "Left Behind," she was the one that was pretty difficult to watch, and Jett as well in that same scene as Moritz's dad. Hahaha, nakakahawa sila. Nar and JC were quite the comic relief in their "Word of Your Body" reprise, and I can hear half the audience react (and squeal and squirm) to their scene together. Thank goodness Nar's vocal prowess wasn't put to waste in this production, as I could clearly hear his voice above the rest despite the acoustics in our seating area.

Congrats again to the Spring Awakening cast and crew!

After the show, the theater lobby was super crowded. It took a while to for us to claim our surrendered cellphones, but as we did, Hilary's quick hands managed to snatch a couple of those bigger cupcakes for Tin and me, hahaha.

Yay, Hilary and Nicco finally meet officially! Super funny talaga. After introductions, Hil bluntly said, "This is an awkward moment..." Hahahaha! Oh the crushes.

Hilary, Tin and I immediately left afterward, as Hil's brother Erik and their friend Iya have been waiting at Starbucks across the street ever since the movie they've been watching had ended up a couple of hours earlier. Hung around with them, chika galore, until we all decided to call it a night.

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Went to Hobbes and Landes at High Street this afternoon for a meeting with Carmella and her fiance Jay about their upcoming wedding. For some reason, their wedding reception needs a stage manager, and Carms decided to hire me for the job. Ever since she contacted me, I was so curious as to what I was supposed to do at the reception. I finally found out this afternoon.

When I arrived at Hobbes, I easily found Carms at the cafe inside, along with Jay and their friend Grae, with Grae's friend in tow (I forgot his name, sorry!). I finally got to meet Jay, after all the online chats with Carms, hahaha. So anyway, as Carms had promised, I was given a plastic envelope containing the schedule of the wedding and reception, a notebook and a pen. Hehehe, organized daw. After briefly looking at the schedule, I was finally told of the wedding theme. It was so original and it's really personalized to suit the couple. They were spurting out their ideas for the program, and I couldn't help but feel excited myself just because of the really cool concept.

What I love about Carms is that even though we haven't seen each other in ages, nothing had changed (well, except for some obvious stuff, hahaha). She's the type of friend that you know you can easily wack out with, yung tipong masarap kasama lagi. And it's so funny that I'm such a bad liar with her, even with the most trivial things, like lunch, hahahaha!

So anyway, meeting galore. We talked about the program, and how Carms and Jay wanted so-and-so, plus how the AVPs would be like, while I was stuffing my face with a bratwurst sandwich, hahaha. When they started ordering yoghurt, I noticed Grae playing with the Jenga blocks. So sure enough, when we were done talking about the wedding, it was time to play Jenga! Hahaha, we looked really silly as the Jenga tower rose as the game progressed, because we were all laughing ourselves silly every time the structure wobbled at the slightest touch. Hay, nakaka-stress ang game na ito, hahaha! Carms and I kept reacting the same way, hoping that the tower would finally topple over before it would reach our turns again. And Jay kept the camera ready in case the blocks would finally fall at each turn. Ayan, karma, when the tower got to its highest point, it fell over when he was placing the last block on the very top, hahaha! As of now, I think Carms wants to buy the game, and I want my own set too, hahaha.

Dropped by RCBC after saying goodbye to our happy group, and went straight to the theater lobby to return a number tag to Charo that Tin thought she had lost in her bag the night before (she later found it in her back pocket, ahehe). I also went to visit Nicco and Nar backstage to give them my little belated break-a-leg gifts. Hahaha, once my two prime purposes for stopping by were done, I just hung around the lobby until the show had to begin.

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There are some occasions when some friends call me a "grammar geek," and sometimes even a "word nerd." Most probably because English and reading have always been my favorite subjects ever since the first grade. I love to read, devoured book after book each week, and had to keep renewing my library cards because I kept filling it up. There was even a phase in high school when I wrote poetry and even fictional summer stories (inspired by Iam's own fictional summer story idea). Org friends found out how I write in my online journals and almost all of them suddenly got me to write their yearbook writeups for them.

Even with that, I'm still not confident with my writing. I mean, yeah, I just write the way I speak in my head, and I tend to be OC with my grammar, but I still don't think I write all that well.

So now I'm tasked to write about a couple of friends, and I guess I'm just having writer's block.

Heck, even though this is my personal online journal, I sometimes get conscious about who reads my entries, even though among my friends. And to think that posting entries on an online public journal is already a risk in itself in opening up your personal life to the rest of the world. Anyway, when I found Nicco reading my last entry about Spring Awakening, I cringed and just sort of told him that I ran out of things to say after all the times we've talked about the show, hahaha.

Speaking of Nicco, it's amusing how he found a fan in one of my friends. I was chatting with her yesterday after she had seen the show this past weekend and started raving about the little guy who played Moritz.

OK, back to that magazine article assignment, hahaha.

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"Will I lose my dignity...?"

Hahaha, that line from Rent's "Will I?" was possibly running in the minds of the auditionees this past weekend. A huge variety of people in different states of nervousness, anxiety, excitement and calm came and went at Philippine Opera Company for 9Works Theatrical's auditions for Rent.

Auditions began on Friday, at exactly 10 in the morning. We came in early to set up the front desk, the waiting area and the audition venue. I was stationed at the front desk, so I was the very first person the auditionees encounter upon entering the gate. That first day, Kyla and Eric were already there even before we had set everything up.

Randomness: Kyla was sitting at the outside waiting area, and then she asked me, "Aren't you auditioning for this also? I thought you also perform... I read it somewhere in your blog." And I just laughed it off and said something about this wasn't really for me.

Anyway, it was awesome to see different people signing up to audition for this musical. The people were so diverse. True, there were some people who signed up and audition "just because this is Rent," but there are still a lot of real undiscovered talent out there that really deserves a second look.

I held the fort at the front desk by my lonesome all morning, while Ging (OJT-ing with Bek) joined me after lunch, and it was amusing to watch and greet all the people come in. Some calmly or nervously walked up from the street, while the others came rushing in as if they ran the whole way. May mga nakita pa kami ni Ging na parang mala-action star ang entrance, like that guy who literally hopped out of the cab he was riding even when it hasn't stopped yet. Kulang na lang gumulong siya papunta ng front desk para complete ang eksena, hahaha. The guy who came in after he did was running and panting and panicking as he rushed to our table, apologizing for coming in 2 minutes late.

After the auditions, I even had time to drop by RCBC to say hello to the front-of-house and to hand something over to Nicco. Hahaha, kamusta naman si Claire na parang nagbabantay nung papunta ako sa dressing room.

On Saturday morning, I had to meet Tin at the MRT station so we can go to POC together. Hahaha, she ended up half an hour late at the MRT because she had to baby-sit a neighbor's kid for a few minutes. I didn't mind being late at POC, really, but I sort of hate waiting at some odd place like the MRT platform, haha. 8 trains had already come and gone by the time Tin had arrived, ahahaha! Oh well, never mind that Tin was late, I was just grateful that I have company at the front desk, plus it's back-up because I had to leave early to catch the matinee of Flores Para Los Muertos at CCP. Haha, we didn't even have breakfast yet when we reached POC, so we looked at Peach and Rob's Jollibee takeout in envy for a couple of minutes, then ran to the phone to have a couple of Sausage McMuffins delivered. When Nar arrived before his audition, he mooched some orange juice from Tin and a couple of bites from my McMuffin and kulitan galore before and after he auditioned.

Anyway, Saturday was also Peachy's day to audition. She was so funny, as she doesn't have a second song prepared, and all 3 of us were just sitting there at the table, trying to think of whatever she could sing. We were randomly suggesting songs, and Peach was randomly listening to different songs and switching to another after listening to it for a few minutes. We even joked na baka maging jukebox si Peach by the time she faced the panel.

I arrived at around 12:30 pm on Sunday because I had to hear mass with my mom in the morning. Haha, when I got off the MRT station in Magallanes and was walking briskly towards the entrance of San Lorenzo Village, I spotted a dirty ice cream cart and couldn't resist buying a cone. Yay, dessert muna to tide me over before the long lunch break, hahaha. This time, Teena was manning the front desk by her lonesome. We still ended up nibbling on wheat crackers that she brought because lunch was still quite a long way away.

We had a huge break that day from 2 in the afternoon until 6 in the evening because Rob and Peach were watching the matinee show of Spring Awakening. So when they had left, a whole bunch of us (Jon-Jon, Santi, Anna, Teena, Bek, Sundee, Carlos and me) headed over to Andok's for lunch. Yummy liempo and "cream of sinigang," ahahaha. Panalo pa rin talaga yung pang-commercial na first bite ni Jon-Jon of his siomai, ahehehe. After lunch, Anna, Santi and Jon-Jon had to hear mass, so the rest of us went back to POC to hang out and sleep. Teena, Carlos, Bek and I ended up lying on the bare floor of the audition room, which was fine for us, until Sundee came in with his heavy feet, making the floor bounce. Then I sort of fell asleep again... until I felt the floor vibrate with Carlos' snoring, ahahaha. So I headed back outside to sit on the couch.

More auditionees came and went, then I had to leave for home shortly after Lao and Riki's auditions. Hay naku, they seemed to be in a rush to leave because Lao had left his cap on the bench. I had to bring it with me for safekeeping. Hmmm... it's a pretty nice cap. I wonder if I could keep it? Hahahaha! As if I'm really a cap person.

Anyway, thanks to all who auditioned for Rent! I can't wait for all the exciting things to come!

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Text exchange a few days ago with a friend about a common friend that we have:
Hogi: Nako, si _____, ayaw na nya maalala yung panahon na yun, hahaha.
Friend: Actually, si ____ din. Hahaha.
Hogi: Haha, maraming ngang ganun sa kanila. Ang funny pa, kung sino pa sa kanila yung ganun, sila pa yung mga hindi talaga directly involved sa nangyari back then.

Honestly, I didn't get it. Kung sino pa ang hindi involved sa situation, sila pa yung mga tumalikod dun sa past na yun at ayaw nang maalala. Yung tipong pag tinanong kung paano kami magkakilala, ayaw aminin dahil parang lumalabas na nakakahiya. Mga friends, hindi dapat ikahiya ang mga yan, dahil it doesn't make you less of a person. It's part of what made you who you are today, so bakit mo kakalimutan, diba? Bakit ba kayo masyadong nagpapaapekto nung time na yun? OK, sige, I understand that you were sympathizing with the ones directly involved, but wag naman masyadong magpaapekto.

It's weird how I just pondered over those friends of mine who were in that circle. I still love them to bits, we still talk and even try to make the effort to stay in touch, but I just don't get why they do this.

Wala lang, bigla lang ako napaisip nung magkatext kami ng isang friend na yan.

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Betty posted a note on Facebook with that title. This was what she wrote:

I don't say I love you and I miss you enough. Wala lang, I just miss you guys terribly. Lalo ka na Mimay! Mebbe got something to do with watching Nicco rock it out in Spring Awakening this afternoon. Seeing Tin accidentally in Bonifacio High Street nung gabi while waiting for the young cinema festival chuchu.

I remember Carme's Christmas text message that year saying something like what I am paraphrasing: One of the most memorable moments of my life was that summer.

Hay, naiiyak ako.

Then she posted a photo of a book cover of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Our workshop recital back during that summer with the experiences that we can never seem to top. And since then, I've always put that summer experience on a very high pedestal.

It made me miss all the same people too.

With Betty as my constant textmate, chatmate and "boyfriend," my mom from the quaint town of Luntiang Parang has been always there since our Batman and Robin days. We've even shared crazy dreams with Opa and Mimay, we've conquered our "nemesis" and managed to pull one heck of an awesome and memorable show for Mimay's final class before she graduated. She never fails to drop me a line almost every day, even though they're random texts about her lovelife, or projects, or even rants just so she can let out some steam.

I miss my alter-ego Mimay more and more. It still hasn't quite sunk in that she's out there in California for good, and to think that on random days, we could just meet up at Burger King in Glorietta and hang out until the wee hours in Gloria Jeans. It's so funny how I always try to match her hype about everything we do. I love how she has so much energy for the both of us.

Of course, how could I not forget my then-hubby Nicco, who's now a "rockstar" in his own right? HAHAHA. When I saw him in Spring Awakening as Moritz, I knew the spark he had back during the good ol' days was back because he had claimed that he lost it. Don't get me wrong, he never lost the passion, but I knew he had found that happiness he was looking for, which was why I was (as he had said) "jumping for joy" during the curtain call. He's still one of the most awesome people I know, and I'm darn proud of this guy, and he still remains to be my baby brother despite the many crazy disagreements and tampuhans that we had over the past years.

The last time I actually saw Carmela was over a year ago when Mimay and I were shooting Mimay's thesis film, and I had decided on a whim to sleep over at her house because it was really late, and then in the morning, I had left while Carmie was still asleep (but hey, I sent a text message, didn't I? Hahaha). She claimed that she wasn't the type to really delve into theater, but she had a lot of spunk and knew she could do it as well as the next person can. When we reconnected over a week ago, we ended up reminiscing about that amazing summer that brought us all together.

I can never leave Tin out in this entry. It was great seeing her when we both watched Spring Awakening along with Hil, and she's still the same upbeat young lady (who can still talk super fast) that we saw grow up. And it was still a blast hanging out with her at the Rent auditions even though I had to leave way too early (despite her complaints of my being "corny" or "boring" just because I had to leave my post to support my boyfriend at his play, hahaha). I've seen my offstage baby sister go through a lot of emotional stuff that first year we were friends, but I knew she could always manage to pick herself up and go off even stronger than before.

I wish I could catch up with the rest of the BA gang.

In Our Town, the Stage Manager had said that "We all know that something is eternal... There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being." I hope what's eternal between these amazing people I was with was the bond we had formed that summer. That bond that Ian and Miss Tess had noticed when we were all strutting our stuff.

In the play, Emily had asked, "Does anyone ever realize life while they live it... every, every minute?" I don't think we always do. That's why we really should cherish those precious minutes, those times when we wish that time would just stop so we can just look and appreciate certain things even more.

I love you guys and I still miss you like crazy. At ang ganda pa rin ng moonlight.

tymeless

Went to Carms and Jay's wedding pictorial at Jay's house this afternoon until evening. Nope, don't think that these are the pre-nup photos, but they're just a little extra with the people involved in the wedding. And even before today, I knew I would have a blast. And I was right.

The pictorial was supposed to be scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, but because some people couldn't make it, they had to stagger the schedules so each one can make it on a specific day. So I was one of the people who were rescheduled to a day earlier, which is today.

Jay's house was all the way up north, but somewhat familiar due to (very) occasional visits to the area. Thanks to Opa's specific (and Nicco's super vague) directions, I suddenly realized that I sort of already knew my way around. Thank goodness Carms got Jay to pick me up at the gas station outside their village, as the tricycle fare inside the village was pretty pricey.

Went straight to this recreation room (as I called it) where Carms and Kath were fully armed with tons of make-up. I breathed a sigh of relief when Carms had said that she and Kath will be doing our make-up, as I know I'd make a mess of it if I do it on my own. While Carms was putting foundation on, she even offered her and Kath's make-up services when it's my turn to get married, hahaha! She and Kath were quite the pros, and once Kath was done with me, I told them, "You're hired!" Hahahaha!

Aside from me with the bride and groom, 3 other people were in the pictorial--Yas, Ila and Alex. All 3 of them will be hosting the wedding reception, while I'll be handling the more technical stuff. Because I was the first one in the make-up chair, I ended up watching Kath work on Ila and Yas. Man, I envy girls like these who are make-up pros. Well, like Kath had said, she easily learned it because of constant make-up application in the theater. Please teach me, hahaha!

Watching Ila and Yas, I easily realized why Carms had picked them to host the reception. They're very conversational, easy-going and charming. Alex, Jay's friend and 3rd choice as host, on the other hand, is quite the goofy clown. Ang kuliiit! His upbeat personality complimented the 2 girls', so all 3 of them make quite a perfect team.

Pictorial time! After a set of photos of the couple with some of Jay's family members, I was then prompted that it was my turn next. When I headed to the adjoining bathroom to change, I found the door locked. Hmmm... maybe it was left locked by accident, so Carms let me go through the other door in Jay's room. Eep, also locked. After knocking a few times, we realized that there was no one inside, so it was locked from both doors by accident... and they can't seem to find the key! So while I dressed behind the bar table, they tried to search for the key but ended up in vain, until one of Jay's helpers decided to climb through the window to open the doors from the inside. Hahaha, success!

So anyway, I had to have solo photos taken, and I honestly had no idea how to pose, hahaha! I think I just stood there like a tree stump for a while until Jay had set that metal stool in front of me. I still had no idea what I looked like, but I just tried to go with it. I must've looked awkward in some of those photos, but Tito Ernie said that it came out pretty good (awww, thanks). I didn't want to see it yet, though, ahehe. I think I'll just wait until, say, February, hahaha!

After my photos with the couple, it was the hosts' turn. I only got to watch Ila's solos, because I had to change into a 2nd outfit, but she was a natural in front of the camera. I heard that when all 3 hosts were doing the group photos, they looked like they were starring in a sitcom, hahaha! Well, just watching the 3 of them together did look like a sitcom, ahehehe.

There was one more set of photos, the group cocktail attire. Haha, at first, we were instructed to wear "Sunday dresses," but for the life of me, I have no proper Sunday dress in my meager wardrobe. Thank goodness that Carms almost immediately changed the attire to cocktail dresses, hahaha. Even while we were shooting that set, we still cracked up because of Alex the walking sitcom.

After the group photos, we wrapped up and it was time to eat. Hahaha, I think I filled up and cleaned my plate about 3 times. I'm such a pig. It's just because the ham was pretty yummy. Hahaha, I even did the "Filipino way" and left one piece for any other takers, but it still ended up on my plate. When I was finally done, I joined the rest (as I was sitting with Kath at the other table with Jay's niece, Anya) as they chatted away. Ahaha, I was so amused at how Kath was so surprised to find out that Tad's my boyfriend. Well, I guess it's because during the occasional times that I met her (during Nicco's surprise birthday bash was the first, I think), I was still dating Jerald. Wow, that was so 3 years ago. And man, I wish I had enough space here to blog all the Alex antics, but I can't. Every quip that came out of his mouth was punctuated with everyone's laughter. He even showed off a video of himself on the race tracks (he's a pro-racer) when I made a little quip about that upcoming billboard of his, wahahaha. I think I managed to digest everything I ate just by sitting there, laughing. I even joked at least once or twice that I have a feeling na kay Alex ako mangangarag during the program because of his crazy antics, hahaha. But even with that, I have a feeling that with these three hosts, I'm sure it's going to be a fun program.

Carms had mentioned (while I was getting my 3rd serving of food, ahehe) that she and Kath sometimes work at events, and even said that if I want to, I could give it a shot and join them. Not a bad idea. I haven't done those one-day events in ages. It would be fun to go back to that.

When we were finally done, Carms, Jay and Kath gave me a lift all the way back to the south. Super thanks, you guys! Road trip ito. Haha, probinsya ba? Kasi pati gas prices nahiritan natin eh, hahaha!

I had such an awesome time today. My one-on-one date with Carms is already a couple of years overdue, but being with her during these occasional days until the big day really makes up for it. But I sure hope that one-on-one date will happen sometime, whenever she's not too busy working on her wedding plans. Friends like these are quite the treasure.

tymeless

"Nakakapagod magtampo."

That's a line that I haven't used in over 2 years. And sad to say, that's what was running in my head the whole day. I hate it when you think things will be OK that day then it all just goes pffft. I always put off one day to spend the time just to be there, and I guess I was expecting that today will be like that. But I guess it wasn't so I wasted the entire day just brooding, right until the very last minute of the day.

And to make things worse, I think this damn computer monitor is ready to give up on me. It keeps flickering and changing colors and it annoys me like hell because it's hurting my eyes. I just want to slam my fist into it not just because of that but because I've been brooding. Anyone want to buy me a new monitor?

tymeless

Brief exchange from last Saturday...

Kath: May kamukha ka na artista... Sa ABS...
Me: (*shrugs*) Uhm, wala akong alam sa showbiz eh. Kakahiya, ahehe.
Kath: Mas nakakahiya naman pag masyadong marami kang alam, hahaha!

I admit, I used to be a groupie of some artist at some point in my life. I know at least a handful of people who can attest to that. I had some access to certain information, being friends with some of the "inner circle" and the artists themselves. But at least I know where to draw the line. There are some who don't. While I was chatting with Teena, she had even mentioned a particular "R" from our past. That person's still out there somewhere, and even though R had drifted away, that same person is still lurking in other people's interests to the extreme.

My advice to people who tend to go crazy with their fanaticism--please don't go overboard. I mean, it's alright to do research on people you admire, but there's a fine line between researching and stalking (to include other people that are connected to that object of obsession as well). It could start off as funny or amusing, but it could come out as annoying to some.

Just a thought. Not to point fingers, really, but just to state a point, because I'm really concerned about some people who could be involved.

tymeless

Chat session with a friend. Well, this is not to be taken too seriously, but part of it is really serious matter. We just took it lightly to ease things up. Hindi pa rin talaga maiwasan ang mga ganitong tao. Or worse, mga ganitong kaibigan.

Friend: o kumsta pala sya?
Friend: ako hindi na nya ko tintetext
Friend: nakuha na nya gusto nya eh!!
Friend: user si _____!
Friend: hahaha
Me: wahahahahahahaha
Me: i-text siya ngayon, dali
Friend: ayoko
Me: ay, tampo
Me: hahaha
Friend: wala syang kwenta
Friend: user sya
Friend: HAHHA
Me: eh parang hindi ka na nasanay kay _____
Me: magpaparamdam lang yan if may kailangan or if you sing [him/her] praises
Friend: ewan ko sa kanya
Friend: tse sya!
Friend: haha
Me: sabihin mo tampo ka, magtetext yan
Friend: hindi nga ako mgakatext . huhuh
Friend: sira ba ang globe?

Ahahaha, then we dropped the subject.

Well, some things never really change. So we have no choice but to move on and get used to it. But because we're still friends, we still love them no matter what.