This. Is. Jeanne.

Kris, Adam, America, your awesomeness knows No Boundaries

2009-05-25T16:11:00.001-07:00

[I'll warn you in advance: this is, like, thesis-length. I took 5 days to complete it. It makes my last Idol piece look like a minuscule pull-quote. This is my final article for the season, and this is the season I have been the most invested in, ever, so I thought I'd lay it all out. ...In 4,400 words.]

Five years, now. Five years of loving and hating this cheesy show, and each year I get more beat down, more resigned to the fact that this shit never ends well for me, and the season finales are invariably disappointing.

Season 3: Didn't care about either of these hamsters, but Fantasia > Diana. Diana blows.
Season 4: Rallied behind Bo, the season finale was awesome up until the last ten minutes when the edgy, innovative, superior contestant lost to fucking FarmBot. Spent the rest of the day upset, bitched about it on my blog. (Years later, I ended up liking Carrie, forgetting Bo, and hating Constantine.)
Season 5: Hated Taylor more than Katharine, but I thought it would be fun to have this schmuck beat out the pretty "package artist," just to fuck with producers. Midway through the finale it turned into the Prince show, Prince won, and we all went home happy. Taylor who?
Season 6: Conflicted, but mostly apathetic. No one compares to my papaya Sanjaya!
Season 7: Meh. I wasn't around for this.

I never could pick a winner, so over the years I'd gotten used to preparing myself for disappointments. Every year, the melody of "Maybe this time, I'll wiiiin" would fade a little more. But then...

Season 8: I have five favorites, two slightly more than the others...what? They're in the Final 2? So there's no way I can lose with this scenario? How the hell did that happen?

This...is American Idol!

[Dun-un, dun-un, dun-un...]

I) My journey on Idol (set in slow-motion with fancy transitions and shit, as Carrie sings "Home Sweet Home")

Adam has the impressive voice, but Kris has the beautiful voice.

This is how I'll choose to explain why, in what is ostensibly a singing competition, I voted for the shy baritone with a thin, reedy warble and a tendency to botch the last falsetto note on almost every song he did, instead of voting for the larger-than-life countertenor with the biggest range in Idol history since Chris Daughtry, utter technical perfection and the best glory notes you'll ever hear. See, American Idol is not just a singing competition, it's a search for the next chart-topper, and I want to vote for the guy whose album I intend to buy.

Here's the thing, for me for you, sweetie: Adam genuinely is the best contestant this show has had in years. He breathed new life into a limping franchise, he made every week exciting, and he absolutely deserved to win. But the best isn't always my favorite, and wasn't in this case.

If I put this into a food analogy, Adam is like curry. Some people can't get enough of it, some people like it mild or in moderation (i.e. fans who liked Adam for more subdued performances like "Mad World" or "Tracks of My Tears"), and it burns the roof off of some people's mouths, leaving them numb. Kris is creme brulee. Some think it's bland, dull, "vanilla," others love it for its subtleties and texture and richness and nuances. The judges and producers and media are clearly curry people, and I won't hold that against them. People like me and you and Jamie Foxx? We can appreciate curry, because curry is fantastic, but for me, for you, for me, there's nothing as exquisite as a well-crafted creme brulee.

It wasn't always this way. There was a big, weird journey that led me to this creme brulee-loving point.

Embarrassingly enough, that journey began with me (playing right into producers' hands by) thinking that I liked the widower with a slight Robert Downey, Jr. resemblance. That oil rig guy, too. And that Indian-American college preppy with the unfortunate Wal-Mart fashion. He had a silky voice, and hotness potential.

Then this supreme, mega-glittery gayzilla burst onto the scene all of a sudden in the semifinals, all melisma and an unearthly range and so much gayness that it made my heart smile. And I was like, I love this guy, OMG. There are no other contestants on this show.

Advancing with Captain Awesomepants and his kickass guyliner from the same group: some red-haired chick who sang the hell out of a song that really should no longer be sung on this show, ever, and...who? Dude, I thought it was gonna be Jesse Langseth, that chick was cool. So it's some Other Guy we've never heard of before, who sang a corny Michael Jackson song. Why are people all verklempt over this dude's hotness? He's marginally okay-looking and kind of short. Whatever.

Weeks pass, Anoop has a beautiful voice but an unfortunate habit of picking shitty songs, Dead Wife Danny is karaoke and I'm bored, Michael Sarver and Megan Joy suck and need to go home, like, yesterday, there's this guy Matt Giraud who did a cool, kind of sexy version of MJ's "Human Nature," Allison is the first chick rocker I take a liking to, and Captain Awesomepants gets more awesomepants every week. He blew me away with "Tracks of My Tears," and his "Mad World" left me chilled, stunned, motionless, holy shit. Best AI performance. Ever. This is not American Idol, this is The Adam Lambert Show.

But then there's Other Guy, who keeps getting better every week without me really noticing until he bitchslaps me in the face with his wonderfulness in Country Week ("To Make You Feel My Love"). Jamie Foxx was right on the money about this kid: "He's gonna blow you away, and you won't even know it."

I looked Other Guy up online. Two fabulous surprises: 1) he's a Jamie Cullum fan, niiice, 2) he's a fantastic songwriter. I have this tendency to sugarcoat my feelings towards my favorite contestants' pre-Idol albums, insisting they were great when I secretly thought they blew. I almost fooled myself into thinking I enjoyed the senseless cacophony that was Constantine's old band. God. I couldn't even pretend to like Adam Lambert's originals, all tuneless, annoying electro-pop crap. But with Kris Allen, no forced enthusiasm at all -- Brand New Shoes is my favorite pre-Idol album ever, by a country mile.

On the show, Kris never failed to deliver. Each performance was better than the last. After watching his "She Works Hard for the Money" with my jaw open the whole time, I knew I loved this guy in a Duncan Sheik, I'll-buy-ALL-your-albums-goddamn kind of way. I loved everything he did. Even his much-maligned "All She Wants to Do is Dance" was something I found danceable, catchy, and way better than the original. I thought his "Come Together" was completely underrated, as was Kris in general, thanks judges.

Meanwhile, Adam stagnated after "Mad World," relying on ancient rock cliches like "Satisfaction," "Born to Be Wild" and "Cryin'." I think it was his failure to show how he could be current that ended up being his eventual downfall (he should have listened when Randy compared him to My Chemical Romance, and picked more contemporary songs -- I vote Queens of the Stone Age or Panic! at the Disco). Not that I don't still love Adam, but at some point Kris's upward trajectory surpassed Adam's plateau. Essentially, I'm "came for the Adam, stayed for the Kris" about this season.

Being a Kris fan meant I was screwed. America may love an underdog, but American Idol doesn't. Think back to all the previous winners: Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia, Carrie, Taylor, Jordin, David. Think back to how enthusiastically the judges praised them, whether or not they deserved it. Think back to how much airtime they received. None of them were underdogs in their respective seasons.

The producers always get the winner they want, and this year, they wanted Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert. They wanted a cynical, borderline offensive storyline of Saint vs. Sinner, light vs. dark, Christian widower vs. agnostic Jew fag. Except in this case, the "Saint" they had cast was a self-aggrandizing douchenozzle who wouldn't ever fucking shut up, and their "Sinner" was a perfectly nice guy.

Who was Kris Allen in this storyline? Kris was the Other Guy, natch.

It's tough rooting for the Other Guy, because Other Guys never, ever win on this show. Experience taught me to prepare for what was inevitable. Starting from the Top 10, my cycle of emotions went like this:

Wednesday: Wow, Kris rocked it tonight!
Fuck you, judges.
*votes 300 times while Lisa Loeb's "Underdog" plays from laptop speakers*
Oh no, he's last on DialIdol! Online reviewers predict he's going home! Come on, just one more week pleasepleaseplease...
Thursday: I refuse to look at spoilers because I do not want early heartbreak. I've been burned before.
*hangs out at mall/pool, experiences intense my-heart-is-in-my-mouth thumpa-thumpa feeling whenever thinking of AI results*
OMG HE'S SAFE?!? REALLY?
Next Wednesday: *reading spoilers* He's slated to perform early again? Adam's going last, again? Fuck you, producers.
Lather, rinse, repeat.

(At some point, there was a tenth step that went "Fuck you, Danny Gokey, you giant pile of jackass.")

You'd think that since Kris was safe every week, the intensity of my panic would fade. It didn't, only worsened. With every elimination, Kris's chances of being the next to leave shot higher. If I had a nickel for every time someone predicted that Kris was going home, I'd...have a fuck lot of nickels.

I was getting good at my little Sally Hawkins finding-optimism-in-pessimism game. Every week brought a brand new rationale:

If Kris goes out 4th, it's okay, because 3rd placers don't get to do the press tour, anyway. He can have a comfortable if not stellar career with an indie label, a la Elliott Yamin, or maybe even get signed to a major label like Jason Castro.
If Kris goes out 3rd, it's okay, because at least he got the hometown visit.
If Kris goes out 2nd, it's okay, because HOLY SHIT KRADAM F2.

I especially thought Kris was a goner after Rock Week, for reasons I'll expound on later. Throughout the results show, I kept telling myself "You are NOT going to cry this time, this is just a TV show and it does not deserve such massive emotional investment." Then Kris was announced safe (did you see his shock!face? He thought he was going home too), and I went full-on Tom Cruise, squeeing and jumping up and down in the living room until my legs hurt.

Emotional investment, indeed.

When the impossible dream of a Kris/Adam Final 2 came true, I did a good enough job convincing myself that I wanted Adam to win, so that when Kris lost I would be totally zen with the outcome. My soundbite: If Kris won, he'd get tarred and feathered by the media for being The Guy Who Beat Adam Lambert, so he's better off as a runner-up with a solid, if not stellar, career.

I genuinely thought that Kris outperformed Adam on the final performance night. I made good on my word to vote for Kris; I was cool with him not winning, but I didn't want him to lose by an embarrassing landslide. I kept playing the "I can live with second" song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee that night. Because I can live with second. It's okay.

Julie's Brain, Idol finale results show:

The Kradam bromance is the sweetest thing ever! I wish the fans would learn a thing or two from them about acceptance.
*Adam rocks the house with KISS* OMG, amazing. Adam will be a very deserving winner. I really want Adam to win, even if his fans are fucking obnoxious.
I can live with secooooooooooond...
And now, the moment we all knew was coming since the first week of the finals...
OMG WAIT WHAT

Insaaane. This is the season I pulled out all the stops so I'd be mentally prepared to accept my favorite not winning, and then he...wins?

My fear of media backlash dampened what should have been a moment of celebration. If I was hopping and squealing every week he was safe, then hell, I should have been bouncing off the walls this time, right? Instead, I was sitting there with my jaw open, speechless. Silently freaking out about what was about to happen. (Mom tried to ruin the moment by insisting the wrong guy won, but I don't care, Ma, Danny Gokey still blows. My Kris >>>> Your Danny. You deserve to have your ringtone set to "Scream On." Hey, I have a new idea for a prank...)

But I'm happier this way. Instead of letting all the euphoria out in one moment and then having it diminish as it usually does, my joy at Kris's unlikely but well-deserved victory gets bigger and better with every day that passes. It's been days, now, and I'm still in a "pinch me" phase. I still smile when I think about the concept of "Your new American Idol, Kris Allen." Every day brings more proof that this really is happening: Kris's pretty, pretty iTunes profile page; "No Boundaries" is currently the #1 most downloaded song; he has more songs on the Top 50 chart than Adam, suck it haters; polls on various sites showing that people really do believe that America got it right.

Sure, there are tons of bitter Adam fans, and there's a fair amount of media backlash that the judges' and critics' darling lost. And it does hurt me to read it. Why would people hate on a puppydog? It sucks when bad things happen to good people.

Nevertheless, my fears are subsiding, because the fact is that there were two people in this final 2: the guy Simon wanted to win, and the guy America wanted to win. Kris is on the correct side of this equation -- who's going to be buying the debut albums? Simon Cowell, or America?

I'm already excited about Season 9, because Kris's face will actually be there in the opening credits alongside Idol greats like Kelly, Carrie and Cook. I can't wait.

II) Kris Allen's journey on Idol (set in slow-motion with fancy transitions and shit, to Kris's own it-grows-on-you rendition of "No Boundaries")

Argue all you want about how "No Boundaries" is a piece of unmitigated schlock, a testament to Kara DioGuardi's lameness, but there is no song more fitting to describe Kris's Idol journey. He had some huge-ass mountains to climb. He made it through the pain, weathered the hurricane. There are no boundariiiiiiiies.

Not only is he the unlikeliest Idol in all eight seasons, but he's also the Idol who's earned it the most. He received absolutely no help from the producers or judges. Allow me to list the mountains and hurricanes:

Screentime. 11 of the 13 finalists were featured in extended promotional video packages during the audition and Hollywood rounds. The two that got barely any screentime? Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen.
A sing-off. Kris was put through an unaired sing-off against Kenny Hoffpauer, an equally cute singer-songwriter type. Proof that the producers didn't want Kris as anything other than eye-candy cannon fodder.
Producer favoritism. Kris was the reason they had a Top 13 this year instead of a Top 12. He was extremely lucky to get through on a likable if underwhelming rendition of "Man in the Mirror," because that night, producer favorite Matt Giraud tanked. If Matt had delivered on the potential he showed in Hollywood Week and gotten through, I'm 100% positive they wouldn't have asked Kris to come back for the Wild Card round.
Performance order. Media darling Adam Lambert got to close the show (also known in the Idolsphere as the "pimp spot") 5 times, 3 of those in a row. Kris only got the pimp spot twice -- one of those was because he won a coin toss and got to choose. Most of the time, they put him in the early half of the show, usually at #2, which is why TWoPpers call it the Kris Allen Memorial Spot.
Rock Week. The producers were considerably crueler to other contestants (Allison, Anoop) than Kris, but only because they didn't initially see him as a threat. Kris didn't have a big voice or a fiery personality, so they figured they'd leave him alone and America would get bored with him eventually. When it was down to the Top 4 and Kris was inexplicably still there, the producers realized that it was time for some heavy-duty sabotage. He gets paired with that bastard-coated bastard with bastard filling, Danny Gokey, who screws up the lyrics to their "Renegade" duet and Simon still insists he outsang Kris, then Kris has to perform a solo right after, then the judges slam his hip, playful, creative rendition of "Come Together." Miraculously, Kris survived. The producers' mistake? Thinking the audience was stupid enough to buy the kid-glove treatment of Danny Gokey's "Scream On." Instead of tricking people into giving up on Kris's chances, they riled up his already paranoid fanbase, and other viewers who realized what utter bullshit it was that Danny gets a goddamned A for effort while Kris gets positively steamrolled for a superior performance. Nope, they weren't havin' it. The following night featured Kris's amusing shock!face when he was declared safe.
Top 3 Night. Naturally, he's slated in #2, the Kris Allen Memorial Spot. Simon praises Danny's mediocre "You Are So Beautiful" as a "vocal masterclass," fucking begs people to vote for Adam after the atrocity that was "One," and gives Kris's game-changing "Heartless" the most backhanded compliment ever: he couldn't praise it without first implying Kris had no chance of winning. Which leads me to:
Simon Cowell, the most manipulative SOB on the judges' panel. After being humiliatingly burned last year for mistakenly calling the finale a knockout in Archuleta's favor, he was very cunning about the way he handled this year's finale. He didn't want to rile up Kris's fanbase again by slamming him outright, since they tried that in previous weeks to no effect ("wet," "like eating ice for lunch"), so he undercut Kris in a more subtle way: damning him with faint praise. Adam got "You are truly a superstar." Kris got the condescending pat-on-the-head that was "You deserve to be standing on this stage tonight." Hasn't he deserved to be there the whole season, you fucking tool? That remark was essentially a "Thanks for playing, now go home" consolation prize.

So congratulations, Kris. You did the impossible, you obliterated the concept of a Chosen One on this show. They tried to break you, Jason Castro style, but the difference is this: Jason allowed himself to be defeated. You didn't. You kept on fighting, and came back with the majestic eff you that was "Heartless."

You deserve this, not just because of the things you overcame, but the things you accomplished: In a show that favors big voices, you made the most out of your limited range, making up for it with your musicality, inventiveness, and emotional connection. Other contestants demanded the viewer's attention with flash, pizazz, and glory notes, while you drew people in with your simplicity and quiet confidence. They had fancy lighting and glamorous outfits, all you had were jeans, a t-shirt (sometimes those unfortunate plaid polos you like so much) and your guitar. You took pleasantly dull numbers like "Remember the Time" and "How Sweet It Is" and infused them with your funky, fresh style. You turned overdone Donna Summer and Bill Withers tracks into something refreshing and current. In a Movies Night full of cheese and two Bryan Adams songs (ugh), you picked a beautiful, obscure indie number, "Falling Slowly," and made a moment out of it. You pwned Kanye with his own song, and he couldn't even hate you because you're just that awesome. You were saddled with that piece of shit single "No Boundaries," and you made it not just listenable ,but emotional and infectious, to a point where I'm not even embarrassed anymore to admit that I love it. I love that stupid, trite, Idol coronation song. Do you see what you have done here?

You didn't pander. Not to the Christians, even though you were a worship leader who did missionary work overseas; you insisted, awesomely, that religion shouldn't matter in a music competition. Not to the fag-haters; you sported black nail polish on your thumb as a show of solidarity for your gay friend and co-finalist, and spoke out for acceptance on his behalf (man, I wish you and Adam could do GLAAD PSAs together). Not to the many, many people who thought you were a hot piece of ass; you were not Ace Young or Constantine or Haley Scarnato or Katharine McPhee, who would milk it for all its worth, wearing suggestive outfits and eyefucking the camera until it begged them to stop. You didn't hide the fact that you were married, to a blonde as adorable and wee as you are. You refused to be the hot guy who could sing, you were the musician who happened to be attractive. No, you didn't pander, you didn't want votes for any reason other than your music.

And I was one of those people, who liked you for your music, even though I'm aware that you're both cute and extremely nice. I've been watching this godforsaken show for five years, and there is only one person whom I can honestly say, without batting an eyelash, "I liked everything he did." I'm buying all of your albums, even though you didn't have to win for me to do that. Not only are you my favorite Idol contestant of all time, but I now consider you one of my favorite musicians, up there with Duncan Sheik, Radiohead, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Matthew Good. You're on that list, now.

III) America's journey after Idol (set in slow-motion with fancy transitions and shit, to the Glee cast's catchy version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'")

You'd think that rooting for the underdog would take me to new levels of pessimism as a form of self-preservation, but this season of American Idol has actually brought out the optimist in me. In closing, I shall end this mind-numbingly long dissertation with my take on why American Idol's 8th season ended with everybody winning:

At first, I thought we were all fucked. Kris would be the target of tons of backlash, and we were robbed of the glorious idea of the First Openly Gay Idol. But the truth is that this is a reality show, not a culture war, not a Presidential election. It's as selfish and wrong of me to want Adam to win because he's gay, as it is for other people to want him to lose because he's gay. It shouldn't matter.

And thankfully, it didn't. This wasn't a victory of red-state over blue-state, just a victory of one musician over an equally talented one. There are a lot of conservatives who overlooked Adam Lambert's homosexuality because they love his music; conversely, I am a liberal, leftist atheist who overlooked Kris's religion because I love his music. The show and these two finalists brought people together with music, and that's a beautiful thing.

So screw the technicalities -- America still has its gay Idol. It's a victory in itself that Adam actually made it this far on the show, and was embraced by the producers as their Chosen One. That's never happened before with any gay contestant, especially not when Nigel Lythgoe was at the helm, so it's a huge step forward.

More importantly, America has completely fallen in love with the guy. I don't think finishing as a runner-up will hurt Adam's career at all; in fact, it's a good thing, because it takes off a lot of the pressure that the media and producer hype placed upon him to go quadruple platinum or bust. Adam's Claymates-esque fanbase, comprised of both conservatives and liberals, will stick around to propel his career. Hopefully, Adam's success throughout the show and beyond it will open the doors for more LGBT contestants to be featured on Idol, with the producers' blessing. It'd be a real victory for everybody.

As for the backlash headed Kris's way, I mean it when I say I'm not worried anymore. Years ago, there was another Idol contestant just like Kris: a cute, humble, soft-spoken Southerner who was always consistent but was damned by critics for being boring and "vanilla," who persisted and continued to improve in confidence and stage presence every week, who gave a strong duet in the finale with a popular country artist but was overshadowed by a co-finalist who got to perform with a legendary rock band, who faced a ton of backlash both online and with TV critics for defeating that flashier, edgier, more exciting frontrunner and media darling for the Idol crown, who silenced detractors by proving to be more marketable than the opponent (an old-school rock throwback), who went on to sell millions of records, and is now one of Idol's biggest success stories. That contestant's name? Carrie Underwood.

Overall, this was a fantastic season despite the monkey crap the producers and Simon flung our way. Kris Allen's victory broke barriers for non-Chosen Ones and cannon fodder, proving that just because the producers didn't like you at first doesn't mean you can't ever win. Adam Lambert's success and Chosen One status converted the "theatrical" critique from pejorative to complimentary, and broke barriers for future LGBT hopefuls and theater artists on American Idol.

No boundaries, indeed.

Here's to the best season of American Idol, ever

2009-05-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again when Julie (then known as J.C.) stuffs her blog with countless rants and raves about the latest season of American Idol. Remember my blind hatred for Kellie motherfucking Pickler? Remember how I cried when Constantine was voted off? Remember my fury at Carrie's victory over Bo? Remember my threat of throwing a bulky Skechers shoe at the TV if Taylor won? I was a crazy kid.

Here I go again, though I'll limit it to just this one TL; DR-worthy post, and maybe a reaction piece after the season finale is over.

I skipped Idolmania last year, because once that firecracker Danny Noriega was voted off, there was no one left that held my interest. In fact, my enjoyment of the show overall had waned as years passed by, probably because I was the kind of viewer who stopped watching once her favorite was voted off. And I had unfortunate taste in favorites. I never really liked a Chosen One except in Season 5, and he didn't even win.

Season 3: Jon Peter Lewis, the "pen salesman"
Season 4: Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice (I can't believe I ever thought they were hot. Ugh. Ironic that I now prefer Carrie to either of those guys.)
Season 5: Chris Daughtry (still one of the best voices on the show, ever, but it was the same old shit every week and I was frankly getting bored)
Season 6: SANJAYA, Jordin Sparks (to a mild extent, but as I did with Daughtry, I lost interest as time wore on)
Season 7: Danny Noriega

(I have an affinity for rocker types, so it's regrettable that the one time I chose not to watch Idol, the rocker won.)

Considering that downward trajectory, I was surprised at how much I grew to love the show this year. If you're savvy to the backstage goings-on at Idol, you might attribute my satisfaction to evil producer Nigel Lythgoe's departure, and to that I say, only minimally. The producer shenanigans are still disgusting, but at least there's markedly less homophobia in the show this year. Hell, the guy this show has practically crowned winner since week 3 of the finals is a fabulously, gloriously out-and-proud theater queen, and that's a beautiful thing. I know it's cheesy of me to feel this way over a reality show, but I get happy Obama feelings when I think about Adam Lambert's rise to superstardom.

Other than that, I haven't been pleased with how the show itself has been handled this year. Producer manipulation was in full force. The semifinals, particularly Wild Card round, were a sham. Producer favorites like Megan Joy and Jasmine Murray were put through to the finals over far more talented semifinalists like Jesse Langseth and Ricky Braddy. The judges' save was another tool the producers now had at their disposal; essentially a way of discarding America's decision, and it was wasted on a guy who never had a chance of winning -- regardless of how talented Matt Giraud was, he overstayed his welcome. Simon later admitted they only used it on him because they didn't want to have to waste it on Anoop Desai next week. Assholes.

Which leads me to the judging panel, the one thing I hated most about this season. I liked new judge Kara DioGuardi at first, by mere virtue of being smarter and more coherent than vocabulary-deficient Randy and loopy Paula, but Kara's charm wore off quickly. She grew more irritating on a weekly basis: that stupid "package artist" meme, which essentially implied that it's not enough to be a great vocalist, you have to be pretty, too (e.g. Megan, Jasmine); her inability to count; her weird crush on Matt Giraud; her OTT, almost orgasmic reactions to Adam Lambert ("Rock GOD! Yes! Yes! YES!"); and the final straw for me was her immature behavior during Final 3 week -- insulting Simon's accent and undermining Kris Allen with useless commentary, as though he was supposed to read her mind and rearrange "Apologize" for it to work. I'll talk more about that later.

Anyway, I want Kara gone by next season, and she can take the other three judges with her. Randy's as useless and repetitive as ever. Paula's favoritism towards Adam and Danny is mildly funny at best and vomit-inducing at worst. And Simon, the one guy on the panel whose opinions I used to respect, is clearly bored with his job like any clock-watcher in an office setting, and as a result is little more than a producer shill, phoning it in most days and playing mind games with America (who, sadly, falls prey to it). He's that bored.

Yep, the judges almost ruined it all for me. Scott Macintyre is a sweet guy, but he was never a good enough singer to be in the company of the other 12 finalists. Still, he got the kid-gloves treatment, hardly ever receiving any genuine criticism of his voice because isn't it inspiring to have a blind guy make it this far on the show? Danny Gokey is a competent singer, but how come equally talented finalists like Anoop or Lil got slammed some days for being karaoke, when Danny's been doing karaoke every single fucking week and we never, ever hear about that? It's always, "You give us hope" or "See you in the finals!" I'll tell you why -- they don't have the heart to slam the grieving widower. Kris Allen gets called out for a bum note on "Apologize" (what bum note? Seriously?) but Danny brutally ass-rapes the ending of "Dream On" and gets an "A for effort" from the judges. WHAT THE. Allison Iraheta delivered fantastic performances week after week, but somehow Simon managed to make it all about how she has no personality (are you kidding me), or how she dresses kind of funny, or doesn't think she can win. It's disgusting, it really is. And the cherry on top of this asshat sundae is their weekly bootlicking of Adam Lambert. Now, this one I could almost understand, because Adam genuinely is brilliant and unlike anything this show's ever seen before, but even on his weaker performances, like "One" for example, it's still all about how he's the BEST EVAH. All this shit is verbatim: "You dare to dance in the path of greatness," "this is the Olympics and you're Michael Phelps," "one of the best we've ever had." Simon practically begged America to vote for this guy. And yeah, it's kind of hilarious that Simon has a gigantic man-crush on this glittery unicorn prince, but still, favoritism much?

Vitriol towards the idiots in charge aside, I still genuinely believe this is the best season ever, for one major reason: the contestants. Randy's not off the mark when he says this is the most talented bunch they've ever had. They all can "saaang," yo. Usually, I only like one or two finalists and couldn't care less about the rest of them, but this year brought me five favorites:

Piano man Matt Giraud, who regrettably let his nerves affect his performances most of the time, but provided a lot of the best studio recordings of the season ("Human Nature," "You Found Me," "Part Time Lover").
Anoop Desai of the silky smooth voice, impressive vocabulary -- gotta give props to a guy who uses the word "impetus" on national television -- and "sexy nerd" persona. He's living proof that smart = hot.
Allison Iraheta, the first female rocker I actually felt was authentic (Gina Glocksen was a total poser, and Carly Smithson was a little too calculated for my taste). I love her gritty voice and larger-than-life personality, which makes it all the more infuriating that Simon could never see it.
Subtly inventive, gorgeously understated Kris Allen. Idol typically favors big-voiced contestants, but this is the post-David Cook era, where it's just as much about artistry as it is about vocals, and this kid has got artistry in spades. Kara's prattled on about "package artists" over the course of the season, but out of everyone, Kris is the real package artist: lovely voice, sweet personality, ability to play multiple instruments, fantastic songwriting skills, and yes, he's very pretty. And he looks like the nicest guy you could ever meet. He's sunshine and puppies.
And of course, America's sweetheart Adam Lambert, who can take any genre and make it his filthy bitch. Mid-performance he'll make you question everything you thought you knew about sex and sexuality, and then afterward he'll just smile innocently and be all "aww, shucks" on you.

It's a stellar roster this year, and that leads me to one last thing that truly makes me grateful for all of this: America. America put 'em here, and America's been getting it right all season, with nary a shock boot (other than Alexis Grace) throughout. Sure, Danny and Lil Rounds lasted way longer than they deserved to, but I got Anoop, Matt, Allison, Kris and Adam, so I won't complain too much.

So thank you, America, because we're now down to the Final 2, and you chose the best Final 2 I could ever ask for: Kris Allen versus Adam Lambert. The puppy vs. the glamazon, Artist (understated) vs. Artist (glittery), musician vs. showman. My two favorite finalists of all eight seasons of American Idol. Plus, they're totally BFFs and it's the sweetest thing. I mean, who'd have thought that the wholesome apple-pie worship leader from Arkansas would be such good friends with the gayest L.A. party monster you know? It's so fucking cute. Someone should write a sitcom about this shit.

Y'all can take your crass, cynical, stereotypical red-state vs. blue-state "culture war" and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Kris and Adam. Adam and Kris. Decisions, decisions. It's tough, because I love them equally. TWoP's Jacob Clifton words it better than I can:

I've been saying it's the best season ever since auditions, and you didn't believe me. Can you possibly join me now? Because check out your Top Two: KRIS and ADAM, which is the equivalent of winning two new cars in a raffle you forgot you entered. One of them goes really fast, changes from one just-invented color to another, gets its satellite radio from an unknown star, and takes you to wonderful, frightening lands of the future. The other has automatic transmission, sleek lines and touchable faux-leather interior, and always smells like heaven. And the biggest dilemma you face in your life is: which car am I going to drive today? That's a lot like having no problems at all.

I want Adam to win, for reasons that I admit are as much political as they are appreciative. Adam's otherworldly and mind-blowing and all, but I can't resist the idea of the first openly gay American Idol winner, it appeals to that huge chunk of my heart that makes me all protective of certain subsets of society. Adam Lambert is a new reason I get irritated with people, especially in the Philippines where people hardly think twice about what is and isn't offensive to the LGBT community. I fucking HATE fag jokes. Don't tell fag jokes when I'm in the room or I will get activist-y all over your ass. No "eww, he's gay," no "oh wow, he actually looks masculine there," no referring to him as a "she" because a gay man is still a man. Even my parents know better than to start that shit in front of me. If you have cracked a fag joke in front of me and I have not subjected you to a lengthy sermon, you can bet I was probably gritting my teeth in repressed anger. But I digress.

Adam deserves to win, regardless of his sexual orientation, or gross favoritism on the part of the judges. He's had the best track record overall, he can sing like whoa, he's hot and he has international appeal. He's a star. He doesn't have to win, I think he'll be fine either way, but holy god I really want this for him.

I, however, will be voting for Kris out of solidarity (yes, I can vote, and yes, I'll tell you how if you ask me to), because when it comes right down to it, he's my personal favorite. I only have a handful of Adam tracks on my iPod, but I have the full Kris Allen collection. I find his voice more listenable, his style of music more appealing. Sure, it's heartwarming that this kid comes out of nowhere, originally cast by AI producers as cannon fodder, always slated to perform early in the show when Adam gets to perform last every week, is described by Simon as "not [being] a good enough singer to compete with Adam," unfairly ragged on by the judges when he doesn't rearrange songs despite the fact that Danny Gokey gets a free pass on being karaoke every week, and despite all of these attempts to thwart his AI run, he's still here. He defied all expectations and made it to the Top 2. That's great. It's fun to root for the underdog. But I'm voting for him because this is the guy that took two songs I hate, Kanye's "Heartless" and Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money," and turned them into lovely, listenable performances. The guy who did "Falling Slowly" while everyone else resorted to trite, overdone cliches like effing Bryan Adams. The guy I didn't notice at first, because I was caught up in Adam's sparkle and Anoop's wit, but forced me to pay attention because he kept getting better and better every week.

Yep, that's what I want. I will vote for Kris, I want Adam to win, I want both of them to get record deals and be managed competently. I will definitely buy Kris's album, I'd have to think about Adam's, but if I like what I hear, I'd be happy to fork over some cash for one. I want the Idols Tour to be a success, and I want their friendship to stay strong, because it's so cool that they get along that well. It gives me hope for the rest of America, that there are people like that who exist.

What I am certain of at this point, though, is that we are just three days away from what will be my favorite finale ever. I am certain that on Thursday, at 10am, we will have a new American Idol, and I'll be jumping and squeeing in the living room because he will be my favorite American Idol ever, and the runner-up will be my favorite runner-up ever.

Make me proud, boys.

This is exactly why I don't own a Twitter

2009-03-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

Because my day looks like this, and I would annoy the shit out of you people.

(Have tentatively titled my faux-Twitter Diary of an Unemployed College-Age Malcontent.)

[03/24/2009]

8:32 am
Wake up because trying to adjust circadian rhythm to get used to daylight again. Fail miserably in 2 minutes.

9:57 am
Wake up for real. Late again. Aw shit.

10:30 am
Playing Harvest Moon.

12:25 pm
Playing Harvest Moon.

2:47 pm
Playing Harvest Moon.

4:50 pm
Playing Harvest Moon. I hate Winter in this game. So tedious.

5:13 pm
Cracked.com is the shiznit.

5:29 pm
Man, North Korea is fucked up.

6:44 pm
Fried my own potato chips and made adobo sour cream dip to go with it. Rock and roll.

7:04 pm
Still researching North Korea out of morbid curiosity.

8:08 pm
Discovery just aired a whole show about insane torture devices (Machines of Malice). Man, humanity is fucked up.

8:39 pm
Decided to write blog post about how incompatible my life is with owning a Twitter account.

8:42 pm
Tweet tweet LOL

9:00 pm
Still researching North Korea out of morbid curiosity.

9:17 pm
Who would win in a catfight between Chuck Norris and Kim Jong-Il?

Homophobia

2009-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

[J.C.'s note: I am the girl who gets mistaken for a lesbian because I join Pride Marches and speak out against homophobia. Then, when I say I'm straight, homophobes tell me to butt out because "it's none of my business." I keep fighting anyway. Thought this poem was beautiful, and decided to repost it.]

I am the boy who never finished high school, because I got called a fag everyday

I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.

I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.

I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.

We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.

I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.

I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.

I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.

I am the man who fears that I will never be able to be myself, to be free of this secret because I won’t risk loosing my family and friends.

We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.

I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.

I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.

I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.

I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.

I am the woman who died when the EMTs stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.

I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didnt have to always deal with society hating me.

I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don’t believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.

I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most, love.

I am the person ashamed to tell my own friends I'm a lesbian, because they constantly make fun of them.

I am the boy tied to a fence, beaten to a bloody pulp and left to die because two straight men wanted to “teach me a lesson”

—IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS WRONG … REPOST THIS ON YOUR BLOG

Who needs a microphone when you're Cherie Gil?

2008-10-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Or Maria Callas, for that matter.

I left the theater so amazed that I considered titling this article "CHERIE GIL IS SO FRICKING COOL." Heh. I don't think I'll ever tire of being too excitable for anything. I'll either love something obsessively (Altar Boyz, Rowena Vilar, Felix Rivera) or hate it with a passion (Mulan, Jr., and one Dogeaters actor that I'm not going to name), but I'm proud to say that I've never felt lukewarm about any show I've seen. My fire burns on strong after seeing, on invitation from Fairy Godmother Lorna Lopez, a dress rehearsal of Terence McNally's Tony award-winning play Master Class, starring the divine Ms. Gil. And I didn't hate it, obviously.

The amount of love a fan has for an artist, in my humbly fangirlish opinion, boils down to two things: talent and personality. (Looks if you're shallow, but I think that would make it different from "love," at that point.) Both are required, certainly, but you could mix them in varying proportions and come out with a different brand of appeal. You've got the Spring Awakening cast, so loved by their fans, who gush about how sweet Jonathan Groff is at stagedoor, et cetera. Then on the other hand, there's Patti LuPone, and when you see a show starring Patti LuPone, you're not really thinking about what she'll be like at stagedoor, you're there to watch Patti fucking LuPone.

Copious amounts of one could cover up a glaring lack of the other. John Gallagher Jr. could hit a flat in the most important part of "Don't Do Sadness," or maybe Matt Doyle might forget a line, but you don't care and you'll still come back to the Eugene O'Neill for the sixteenth time next Saturday because my GOD they're such nice semi-famous people! Patti LuPone could be the biggest asshole you ever met, and you'd still love her because she is LuPWNAGE, baby. (Don't quote me, though, I heard she's actually a nice person offstage. Main point being that it wouldn't matter either way.)

Cherie Gil is a case for the latter, like you haven't guessed that already. After what was supposed to be an hour-long Starbucks chat with an old office friend stretched into a five-hour session, I was already freaking out on the taxi ride to the RCBC Plaza. What I love about theater is that it waits for no one, it's admirably disciplined and has never heard of "Filipino time." Theater willingly waits for Cherie Gil, though.

I showed up at 4:30pm, on the dot, worriedly tapping my Mary Janes as the elevator ascended to the fourth floor. The barely-occupied Carlos P. Romulo auditorium was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Director Michael Williams, champion of theater in the south metro, is seated front and center, overseeing the image transitions projected onto the wood panels, and giving (or withholding) his approval for various cast members' outfits.

A crew member comes out. "She'll be ready by 5:30."

"What?"

"Even the make-up artist says so. We are starting at 5:30." She retreats.

The guests' consensus to this turn of events?

"That is so Maria Callas of her!" one giggled.

Indeed. And a few minutes after 5:30, she walks onstage, tall and majestic, every click of her high heels resonating against the theater walls. Once you're watching her, you forget that you waited more than an hour to see this.

By the intermission, I squealed, "This is totally worth it!"

Knowing as little about Philippine cinema as I do, I didn't really know what to expect when I found out that the Philippine cinema icon Cherie Gil was starring. The name only registered to me as "Ooh, famous person." So I sing her praises now, and this is exclusively based on her performance, not her name. Theater fans tend to be skeptical when a performer of a different medium attempts to transition into theater. It's usually less than successful, like how pop star Christian Bautista's limitations were highlighted in the recent production of West Side Story, but Ms. Gil more than proved she could rock the stage when she essayed the role of stern Sister Aloysius in Atlantis Productions' 2006 production of Doubt; to quote Gibbs Cadiz, "Gil’s deliciously rococo acting in local movies (Valentina, anyone, opposite a hapless Anjanette Abayari in “Darna: Ang Pagbabalik?”) prepares no one for the extraordinarily subtle work she delivers in Doubt."

The role of La Divina herself, Maria Callas, the larger than life Greek-American opera legend, is more along the lines of what Ms. Gil usually plays in Philippine movies. However, it still requires the same great amount of subtlety and depth as that of Sr. Aloysius. Ms. Gil has big shoes to fill, as this role was originated by the legendary Zoe Caldwell (and, coincidentally, later played by the also legendary Patti LuPone). But, and I've already mentioned like five times now, Ms. Gil knocked it out of the ballpark.

[L-R: So much legendary-ness that I can't even see straight. Patti LuPone (1996) and Cherie Gil (2008) as Maria Callas.]

With her onstage, one tends to forget that there are other people in this play, too, but they do well with what they are given. Two sopranos and one tenor are the students in the master class: Florence Aguilar as Sophie de Palma, Deeda Barreto as Sharon Graham, and Jack Salud as Anthony Candolino, all accompanied by Ceejay Javier as Manny on the piano. None are as strong as the play's star acting-wise, but more than make up for that in vocal ability. Zobel folk will be amused to find that George Schulze was hilarious as the stage hand, although Michael Williams will be playing the role in the five-show run.

And I must remember that this is supposed to be a review of the Master Class rehearsals, not a love letter to Cherie Gil, awesome though she may be. Her performance alone makes it more than worth the price of admission, but the material itself enhances that five-fold. It's wisdom flavored with humor, served with a wry, biting delivery by the maestra Maria Callas. She doesn't hold back, and she won't let you leave the stage until you've got every note and emotion perfect. Harsh as it may be at times, this only stems from the sort of dedication displayed by somebody who truly loves his or her craft without abandon. Brief flashes of Callas' illustrious life and career trickle through the lessons, though this is still, first and foremost, about the art.

Going into writing this article, I knew that Master Class was going to be a hard sell. My peers and I are more inclined to go for easy, palatable, modern fare like Avenue Q or West Side Story, and the poster and synopsis wouldn't really sway the average 18-year-old to see it. So what's the pitch, then? It may not feature cute leading men or LSS-ready ditties, but it is sharp, witty and most of all, enlightening. I walked in not knowing or liking opera in the least, and I left the theater with a newfound respect for it. Anyone from 9 to 90 can appreciate art, and this is art, performed, discussed, dissected, for the people lucky enough to witness it.

Also: Dudes, it's Cherie Gil. Frickin' go already.

MASTER CLASS will run at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, Makati on October 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Directed by Michael Williams.

It's cheese AND magic (I want some Action, bebeh)

2008-10-13T18:12:00.001-07:00

I'm more of a Passing Strange kind of person, but I'm not above enjoying the occasional treacle-fest. Two weeks of workplace drama (ay shet, I have my own Officer Krupke) can really wear one down, and where else could I turn to but my favorite form of escapism, the theater?

West Side Story is, to me, the kind of musical that you don't really watch for the story (that's where Passing Strange comes in), or even the music (Spring Awakening, right there), but for the people in it. Blasphemy, I know, but "Tonight" or "Maria" does nothing for me, and I fell asleep thrice on my VCD copy of the 1968 movie version with Natalie Wood, before finally giving up on Disc 3. I still haven't finished the movie.

It's like Mulan, Jr., in that sense -- the material was crap-tastic, but having Cris Villonco, Felix Rivera AND Chevy Mercado in it, reading like my own personal Dream Casting line-up, totally saved it for me. Had the cast list of Mulan been any different that day, I probably would've walked out halfway through, despite the impressive set and special effects. Same goes for WSS: without Joanna Ampil and Rowena Vilar in the same line-up, I'd have enjoyed it much less than I did.

Warning, shameless pluggage ahead: If Red Concepcion hadn't mentioned that he was going to be in this thing, it's likely I wouldn't have seen the show. I'd already written it off as another vehicle for two big-name stars, Christian Bautista and Karylle, and I felt I would rather devote my money to something less popular with the masses. But Red's such a kick-ass actor that I'll watch him in anything, even a ginormous cheese spectacle like West Side Story. Hell, he could play Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: the Musical and I'd still see it (carry mo naman yung blond hair eh, haha!). So, thank God for Songs for a New World serendipity. And after reading on Gibbs Cadiz' blog that the final show featured Joanna and Rowena, I rushed to TicketWorld and snagged the last front row seat available (yeah, I'm still soured on buying tickets for large groups, so I saw this one on my own).

Obviously, Red didn't disappoint as that crazy bitch A-Rab; he possessed the gleeful insanity of a mad dog when he talked, and the precision and grace of a true artist when he danced. And the great thing is that unlike Mulan, this show didn't rely on the strength of just a handful of performers amidst the large cast. In WSS, the entire cast was well-rounded and pitch-perfect.

Gian Magdangal as Riff is my personal Aaron Eckhart for this show. By Aaron Eckhart I mean, his Two-Face was my favorite thing about The Dark Knight, even though everybody else was paying attention to Heath Ledger (deservedly enough). He's got the strong presence to play a gang leader, and the pipes for the songs, and it always impresses me greatly when an actor can do a good accent, like he does.

For my money, there wasn't a single weak link in the ensemble cast, though as you can tell from the blog title, I grew a bit of a crush on the rail-thin, feisty Action from the Jets gang. "Who is this Anthony Tarrosa Ong, and where can I get one?" :)

You'd think everybody in the audience just won the lottery the way they reacted after the voice-over announcement: "This evening, the role of Maria will be performed by Joanna Ampil...the role of Anita will be performed by Rowena Vilar..." But let me tell you, the batshit insane cheering was not an overreaction. Joanna was lovely and flawless as one would expect; Rowena was FRIGGIN' SPECTACULAR and stole every scene she was in. No seriously. You can not take your eyes off her, executing those tricky dance moves with ease, in stiletto heels. She'll break your heart singing about "A Boy Like That." You'll be chilled to the bone, feeling every scratch and tear and push in her scene with the Jets. Ms. Vilar is a triple threat if I ever saw one. They need to manufacture more of these Rowena Vilar things and place them in every single nation across the globe. She'll be Elphaba, and Glinda, and Nessarose. She'll be Mimi, Maureen and Angel. She'll be Cassie and Natalie and every other person in A Chorus Line. She's the entire fucking chorus line. Holy crap this girl rocks.

Now, onto the star of the show: Hot pala si Christian Bautista? Who knew?

It's ironic that the most famous cast member ends up being the most underrated. Not that he was the best performer by any means, but I'd hate to be Christian Bautista after reading the reviews. I don't think anyone's really given him proper due for what he actually does for the show. This show was openly a vehicle for the star, but I think he ended up being the vehicle for the show. It was visible from the moment I walked into the lobby. The Swatch adverts, guest contributors (Lea Salonga, Dingdong Dantes, et al) on the program, posters left and right at any mall you go to, probably wouldn't be there if Christian Bautista was not the star of this show. I'm suppose I'm more pragmatic than the average theatergoer when it comes to things like this. Whatever puts asses in the seats, I always say. Christian Bautista is the MTV's Search for the Next Elle Woods of Philippine theater -- not everyone is going to like it, but commercially, it's heaven-sent.

In terms of actual talent, perhaps he's improved greatly over the run of the show, but I didn't see him as the low-light that every review claims he is. Then again, I walked in expecting a lot less from him than anybody else. Sure, I'd agree that he was too much "puppydog-eyed loverboy" and not nearly enough "American ganster" for the role of Tony, but he sings well, dances well and is a lot prettier than I expected him to be. If he had the comic timing to pull it off, I think he'd actually be a great Fiyero in Wicked.

There, that's about every cast member in the program, but I'd like to talk about one unseen star: "Felix Rivera, vocal coach." SQUEE! Look, his voice knocks it out of the ballpark every time, so he's a beyond perfect vocal coach, but seeing his goofy grin on the insert made me start playing my favorite intermission game, "How much better would this production have been had Felix Rivera starred in it?" Why was Felix not in the cast, damn it?!? He'd be an edgier, more nuanced Tony (who can sing better), Riff with more sex appeal, an Action who looks like he could actually beat somebody up (have you seen those biceps, ohmygolly).

Clearly, I was not impressed with the original WSS storyline, but the brilliant, well-crafted sets and superb acting kept me on the edge of my seat, and in fact, made me want to give the VCD another try. Disc 4 FTW! By the end of the show, I was telling myself, "Do NOT fucking cry, okay, you are so not pulling another Tuesdays with Morrie in the front row!"

So bravo, Stages Productions, Inc, you've won me over as the go-to company for big-budget musicals. West Side Story was more than worth the ticket price, and I went to work an hour later humming "Something's Coming" with a big grin on my face. Can you do Wicked next year? The Meralco theater would be perfect! I'm starting my "Kidnap Cris Villonco from Hong Kong Disneyland so she can play Elphaba" campaign right now!

(...And Rowena Vilar too, of course.)

Dancing to the Ends of the Imagination

2008-07-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

[Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu: La Bossa Fataka de Rameau]

For some reason, my friend and fellow writer Walter thought it would be amusing to send out a clueless teenager to watch a French dance troupe at the CCP. I agreed to it, even volunteering to research on dance show reviews so that I could know the terminology and form a better article.

"Don't read dance reviews," he insisted. "That's going to be the point of the article. It's by a person who has no idea about dance whatsoever."

...Okay then.

It could've gone two ways: I'd not understand a thing and hate it as a result, or I could be easily mesmerized by everything I see. I'm happy to report that it was the latter.

My aunt, cousin and I braved the atrocious weather and about ten wrong turns before arriving at the CCP Main Theater 20 minutes late. The bitchy usherette, Abie (she angered me enough that I stole a glance at her nametag before leaving), certainly didn't make things any easier for us. She wasted a lot of our time just standing around and making sour faces before actually helping us get our tickets. I know, shame on us for being late to the show, but still: we're three more asses in those damn seats, Abie. Act accordingly.

Despite that, my ire subsided once we crossed the threshold into the theater, our senses immediately assaulted by a blast of color, motion and music.

In La Bossa Fataka de Rameau, an 8-man dance troupe including a breakdancer, ballerina and an Afro-Carribean dancer, utilized fancy footwork to blur the line between reality and fantasy, aided by a large white screen onto which a video of psychedelic imagery was projected. The visuals included a swimming tiger, humans morphing into animals, and an elephant walking a tightrope. Leading the adventure was a charmingly dopey, elfin boy-girl narrator, who not only mirrored but amplified the audience's marvel and fascination at these dancers. One memorable instance was when she recited spoken-word poetry about dance through her endearing, thick French accent while a ballerina fluttered across the stage.

At only one hour long, the show was over before I even knew it, but it ended to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from a very enthusiastic crowd.

The beauty of a Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu show is beyond comprehension, and I'm happy to love it without being able to analyze it completely. I regret that they had only one show here in the Philippines, but in a way, I'm glad, too. This show is like the mysterious, beautifully quirky girl with blue tights and a flower in her hair that you see in the crowded NYC subway. You've only seen her for a few minutes and yet you're still convinced she's the girl of your dreams. You're dying to see her again by some stroke of luck, but even if you know you won't, at least you have the ten-minute subway ride to remember her by.

La Bossa Fataka de Rameau was more than a dance show. It was a crazy visual headtrip, and a very pretty one at that.

You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Fangirling)

2008-06-15T19:40:00.001-07:00

June 14 was a FABULOUS day. (Advanced haberdei Jammoe!!!!!!)

[naughtier version available to my Multiply and LJ networks :P]

7:00 am
Wake up with a veritable migraine. Ignore it because there's just too much shit going on today that I can't miss just because of a little brain-throbbing.

9:00 am
After a few costume changes, am ready to head out for the day. Have parents drive me to the bus station on their way to the BFRV house.

11:10 am
Arrive almost on time at Chili's, although naunahan ako ni Anne. :P I order the Chicken Crispers like I always do, and am completely amused by the white gravy. "Dude! It tastes exactly like normal gravy. But it's, like, white!" We have lunch (in gigantic servings, thanks Chili's) with Kathleen, Christine, Tina and Ate Walter, who entertains us with his insider thoughts on Pinoy theater. Loved the whole "if theater companies were bands" analogy. "Folkie NGO woo-hoo band" and "weirdo Russian band" hahahaha.

1:35 pm
Still at Chili's. Realize that oh shit we should've been at the RCBC Plaza like thirty minutes ago. Finish calculating our KKB divisions (so we can take advantage of the 20% discount, thanks Chili's), skeedaddle on out of there to catch a taxi.

1:42 pm
Make it to the RCBC Plaza with enough time to spare. I mention once we're in the elevator that I once shared the same elevator with Tim Yap on my way to see Dogeaters (Jon Santos' Donna Summer number FTW). This leads to a confession from both Walter and myself that we regularly read the trash-tastic online gossip rag, ChikaTime.

1:45 pm
Upon reaching the 4th floor, introduce Walter to the remainder of our Front Row Girls barkada, Tom, who has brought her friend Pia with her. Walter and Tom hit it off instantly because they both have a thing for Reb Atadero. Pia and I click because EEEE FELIX.

1:50 pm
Peruse the memorabilia. No more "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today" shirt? Boo! Instead settle on a program for Jam's birthday. Kacheapan ang ate niyo -- pero in fairness, pinag-effortan ko yan! It's the thought that counts! Wait until after the show, at the 4:41 log.

2:00 pm
I love that Philippine professional theater shows always start exactly on time. We're all in the front row, arranged according to our personal preferences in terms of theater crushes: Tom and Walter in Team Reb, myself and Pia in Team Felix, Tina and Anne in Team Reuben, and Kathleen and Christine in Team "Come on, you guys, they're all great!"

2:07 pm
Due to guzzling glass after glass of Coke Light (it was refillable, thanks Chili's), I realize that I really, really need to pee. But demett the show's already started.

2:15 pm
Realize that while sitting front row at Altar Boyz was great, Avenue Q is an entirely different banana since the stage at the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium is much, much higher up. Still, it's great to have a different perspective.

2:31 pm
Fuck different perspectives. I'm sitting by the left side, and 50% of the time, their faces are hidden behind their puppets. Me to seatmates: "I hate that they're all right-handed."

2:43 pm
After "The Internet for Porn," I can tell that all the aforementioned front row Theater Crush Teams have now officially defected to Team Joel.

3:00 pm
Still have to pee. Grabe magkaka-UTI ako sa show na 'to.

3:48 pm
"The Money Song" number.

Felix (as Princeton): "All we got was a used ticket to Altar Boyz."
Front Row Girls: "SQUEE!"

Keep in mind that most of the girls watching Avenue Q in the front row with me were the same ones I watched Altar Boyz with, in the front row as well. Cutely ironic. I think this was their favorite line in the show. =))))

3:55 pm
Nicky's "I think I know your type," followed by Rod's "My cup runneth over!" are my favorites.

4:00 pm
The show ends to very enthusiastic applause from a sold-out auditorium. I'd mentioned earlier to Walter that the most disheartening thing about being a theater lover in the Philippines is when a fantastic show plays to an undeservedly small, unenthused crowd, which is more likely to happen than not seeing as theater has such a small fanbase around these parts. Luckily, Avenue Q got all the love it deserved.

4:01 pm
Wave at cast members Joel and Frenchie during the curtain call; feel awesome when they wave back. Hee, I'll always be a fangirl.

4:09 pm
Exchange a whole bunch of "HOMAYGAD THAT WAS AWESOME"s with the girls. They love it. I'm relieved.

4:15 pm
I still have to pee.

4:20 pm
I'd warned the gang earlier on that it might be more difficult to stagedoor at Avenue Q as compared to Altar Boyz since there was going to be a much bigger crowd here, and as it turns out, I was right: there was a long-ass queue of people wanting to get their pictures taken with the cast. I choose to stay behind, though, because I needed to get my program signed for Jam. While waiting, Tom goes on paparazzi-mode and takes pictures and videos of Felix and Joel, and makes comments about the hotness of Joel Trinidad.

4:41 pm
Finally able to get a hold of the cast, starting with Joel. Super nice as always. I explain that Jam was the one who helped me get my program signed back when we watched Avenue Q on my 18th birthday, so this time, for her 18th, I was trying to return the favor.

4:42 pm
After this, I tell Joel that "I have this friend who totally loves you," and vanish into the crowd for a moment to retrieve said friend. Tom is uncharacteristically shy in this moment (remember, this is the same person who glomped PJ Valerio and Chevy Mercado at first sight), so I literally have to drag her over to Joel. She gets her picture with him and I'm like, "She wants to hug you, too," and Tom's like, *GLOMP*. Tom Cheeseburger, you are my hero.

4:45 pm
My fellow Front Row Girls are like, "Uy, Felix is free, now's your chance" and I freeze up like I always do. They're not as pushy as Zobel people (hahaha), but I remember that I need the program signed, so with a surge of newfound manliness, I go over to Felix without anybody dragging me this time. He's such a sweetheart eeeee! And so very pretty.

4:49 pm
Run after Frenchie Dy before she reaches the elevator. Looove her! She pwned that stage as Christmas Eve, like, everything she said drove the crowd nuts! She's also very sweet, and she did remember me from the dress rehearsal haha.

4:55 pm
End up with a program that has variations of "Happy 18th birthday, Jam" scribbled all over from most of the members of Avenue Q. Thank personal fairy godmother Lorna Lopez for the awesome time, and get my parting gifts.

5:10 pm
Go back to Greenbelt with Anne and Tina, exchange goodbyes and promises to reunite for Mulan Jr., Hairspray and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Mmmmmusic meme (again)

2008-06-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

...Total ripoff of your title. I'm uncreative, sorry.

Rules:
1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List (and upload, if you feel like it) 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post that to your journal with these instructions.

Was assigned the letter M by "Jiano invokes vengeance on faulty velcro" (hmm, what's that aboot, anyway?). It's been long established that nobody gives a shit about my relatively esoteric (at least, in this country) taste in music, but allow me to bore you with my music nerdness, and then you can pretend you actually understood what I just said so I can give you a letter:

1. "My Iron Lung" - Radiohead

We're too young to fall asleep
Too cynical to speak
We are losing it, can't you tell?
We scratch our eternal itch
A twentieth century bitch
And we are grateful for our iron lung

What's a music list from me without a Radiohead tune, right?

The song, along with Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box," that made me a diehard fan of 90's alt and grunge for life. Which is funny when you think about it, since the opening guitar riffs sound remarkably similar. Penned by enigmatic Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke as an outlet for his frustration at having to play "Creep" all the damn time, and that feeling of both hating something and being dependent on it is something I completely relate to. I first heard this through Patrice Pike's inspiring, soul-shattering rendition on Rock Star: Supernova, and my life has never been the same since then.

2. "The Mirror-Blue Night" - Original Broadway Cast, Spring Awakening

But there’s nowhere to hide from these bones, from my mind
It’s broken inside – I’m a man and a child
I’m at home with a ghost, who got left in the cold
Who knocks at my peace, with no keys to my soul

The most magical moment in Spring Awakening, which, really, is magical all throughout. Melchior, with his schoolmates echoing him from four corners, reflects on his desire for the ingenue Wendla. Definitely my favorite track, since it clocks in at #4 on my Top 25 Most Played on iTunes. I liked this so much that not only did I memorize the lyrics, but the choreography as well.

3. "Miss Murder" - AFI

What's the hook, the twist within this verbose mystery?
I would gladly bet my life upon it, that the ghost you love
Your ray of light, will fizzle out without hope

My love for Guitar Hero knows no bounds. I fared better on another M song, Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas," scoring 100% on sightread, first time I played it (OMG GO ME). That and "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam, of course, because me not rocking a grunge song is absolutely unheard of. However, "Miss Murder" is just so catchy and so much fucking fun to play that I could spend hours whittling away at it until I get it all right. The vocals are unforgettable, of course, but you can't help paying more attention to everything else -- the danceable opening bass line, the dee-dee-dee guitar riff on the first verse, and the gorgeous cacophony that is the chorus, when it all goes nucking futs. I can't help air-guitaring whenever this plays on my iPod, no matter how dumb I look.

4. "M'Aidez" - Sneaker Pimps

May days, throwaways, some things here have got to stay
A string of pearls, the strangest girl, happy with the western world
Painless Chinese burns, ties me down with daisy chains
Diamonds on her tongue and pleasure cuts and teasing

My first encounter with the Sneaker Pimps came through "Loretta Young Silks" playing over a montage of my uber-crush Randy Harrison in post-breakup depression on Queer as Folk. I only knew them through that one song, but God, was it fantastic. Then one day, I'm killing time at Tower Records when I see the album Bloodsport for P150. Best thing I bought all year.

5. "My Unfortunate Erection" - Jose Llana, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

My unfortunate protuberance, seems to have its own exuberance
Anyone for M & M’s? Delicious and appropriate
Anyone for Chewy Goobers? Inexpensive
Anyone for buying the shit that I’m selling?
Because my stiffy has ruined my spelling!

I went on a Broadway binge one day and downloaded the entire cast recording of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This track's obviously my favorite. I'll unashamedly belt "All because of my unfortu-naaate, ere-heeection! Oh, Goooood!" at neighbor-annoying volume when I'm home alone, and sometimes, more quietly, "I don't blame my brain but I do blame my peniiiis" while walking around the mall, despite the weird glances I get from strangers. The good news? You get to listen to it (and LSS) too!

Huwag Mo Nang Itanong: A review of the Zsazsa Zaturnnah comic book/film juggernaut from the faggiest girl you know

2008-06-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

[Decided to write this review in anticipation of the much-awaited sequel to the comic book.]

It comes as a surprise to no one that Zsazsa Zaturnnah's unparalleled success is thanks in large part to the Filipino gay community (affectionately known as the Federasyon, hee-hee). Syempre, san ka pa, it boasts of a sweet, relatable gay hero(ine) in beauty salon proprietor Ada, a papalicious leading man in hottie-next-door Dodong -- to quote Didi, "Buong-buo ang bawat noodles!", a fabulous, bitchy diva to the max in Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux, elaborate costumes to diiiie for, and, well, everything about this comic book is rambunctiously, flamboyantly, lovably gay. You will never see so much color on a black-and-white page as you will in Zsazsa Zaturnnah.

However, despite my possibly being the gayest person on your Multiply list, to the point na sinasabihan pa ako ng mga Ghey Frens ko na "Ambading moh talaga, sis!", I do wholeheartedly, pinky-swearingly believe that Ang Kagila-Gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah (2003) is an excellent read, not just for the Federasyon but for anyone.

To the untrained eye, the graphic novel looks like a blatant Darna rip-off with a hint of Will & Grace mixed in. Trust me, it's not. First of all, Zaturnnah is way hotter, and more importantly, the plot is packed with more wit, sass and humor than any episode of Will & Grace could ever hope to achieve. Yes, even the one with Cher in it.

Zaturnnah mastermind Carlos Vergara's biting sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek view on pop culture jump off the page (Zaturnnah: "Ito ang kinatatakutan ko, Didi. Nag-iipon sila ng lakas...sa pamamagitan ng isang special production number!"), and his prowess as a graphic artist makes every page a joy to look at. I'd call this the Enchanted of Pinoy graphic novels, in that it hilariously pokes fun at the clichéd elements of comic book stories, while at the same time maintaining its own vibrant, original plot. This parody is not without a heart. I first read my copy in the ATC lounge, and I'll admit I had to stop reading halfway through because I didn't want to get caught crying in public. While watching the Zaturnnah DVD in the confines of my own bedroom, though, the waterworks were definitely running. Oo na, sensitive ang lola niyo!

The fruits of this graphic novel's success included a big screen and a musical theater adaptation, with the latter almost universally considered superior to the former. I wasn't able to catch Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Ze Musikal, though, for I was an oblivious youth then, completely unaware of the whole Pinoy Theater thing. As for Ze Moveeh, I regret to say that most of the criticisms hit the nail on the head. It didn't do the comic book any justice. I actually thought it was well-cast, with the bombastic Zsa Zsa Padilla, fieeerce Pops Fernandez, and cuter-than-cute Rustom Padilla, but the execution fell flat on its ass. The film took the plot too seriously, stripping away all of the elements that made the comic book such a fun read. Still, it's enjoyable if only for its stars and its campiness, and it's a great addition to the entire Zaturnnah legacy.

Zsazsa Zaturnnah Sa Kalakhang Maynila, the sequel everyone's been waiting for since reading the last panel of the original back in 2003, is now Under Construction, with weekly previews available on author Carlos Vergara's blog. If you still don't have a copy on the original in your possession, then shame on you! The lovely, 143-page "Collected Edition" is available for about P250 at a Power Books or National Bookstore near you, so repennnnt now! You'll laugh, cry, queen out, and find yourself as hungry for the sequel as the rest of us currently are.

That warm, fuzzy feeling

2008-06-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

Ha, get it? Because it's "Spread the fuzz," and...oh, never mind.

Avenue Q will always hold a special place in my heart, since it is the source of a great deal of memories for me: it served as my Micmac-recommended form of escapism back in September '07, when I was going through some tough times in my personal life; it started my freakazoid infatuation-slash-obsession with somebody everyone knows at this point, heh-heh; it was my very first "real" theater show (meaning, something other than high school productions), kick-starting my torrid love affair with Pinoy-staged musicals; and of course, it was one of my favorite parts of turning 18. So, despite the fact that April 2008 onwards has been one ginormous financial enema for me, with all of the shopping and Makati gimiks -- thanks a lot, Altar Boyz -- I didn't think twice about reserving front row seats for myself and my friends.

On June 2, I was one of the lucky five people who got an inside look at the rehearsal process, as well as an interview and performances from the current Avenue Q cast, all thanks to, again, the magnificent Lorna Lopez, whom I've dubbed my personal fairy godmother. Yes, I have a rolodex of glowing adjectives to describe her in future blog posts. The benevolent Lorna Lopez. The omnipotent Lorna Lopez. Hee.

I, on the other hand, am the ubiquitous Julie, where "ubiquitous" is a euphemism for "stalkerish." I showed up early at the rehearsal venue in Kalayaan since I was worried that I might, as usual for a navigational retard like me, get lost along the way, so I was better off heading there ahead of schedule. Of course, who's the first person I see there but the Golden Boy himself? I was like, God damn it. Lorna had pointed out the dichotomy between my real life persona, who is poised and "sophisticated" daw (nakanams!), and my online persona, who is a neurotic, excitable fangirl. And it's true, the voice in my head is very screamo hyperactive as compared to my "oh, hello there" facade, as demonstrated here, when he walked into the room:

Julie: *nervous grin*
Felix Rivera, bemused: "Hello."
Julie: *small wave*
Julie's inner monologue: Oh my shet what?! He's only seen me at the lobby in like every Altar Boyz show and then at the Avenue Q stagedoor, both times, and then there was that whole Pancake House thing, ang stalker ko tuloy tignan noooo! Julie, you gigantic loser! Run and hide! Frick!

The self-hatred, it burns.

I spent the next half-hour talking shop with the effervescent (woot!) Lorna and Dr. Fred of St. Luke's, and since we were all theater lovers, I never ran out of things to talk about. I showed Dr. Fred my cellphone pics with the Altar Boyz (Reuben: "Whoa, sabog" Ako: *picture ulit* Reuben: "Sabog pa rin eh!" Ako: "Pwede na yaaan"). We were then ushered into the studio at around noon.

The cast performed the Avenue Q theme song, "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?", "The More You Ruv Someone" and "If You Were Gay" (a song I've enthusiastically belted to my brother countless times). I'm grinning the whole time, of course, and restraining myself from lip-synching because I don't think very highly of audience members who lip-synch during theater performances. Even though I'm so totally guilty. :P The vivacious (adjective number five, ding-ding-ding!) Lorna led off the Q and A portion, and I got to see the established camaraderie among the cast members firsthand. The Avenue Q cast was more subdued than the rambunctious Altar Boyz were at the presscon, but then again, it's not a fair comparison because they were, you know, Boyz. With a Z. It's always nice, though, when a cast gels together as well as the Avenue Q gang did, rather than getting all Grey's Anatomy on each other. Watching them made me LSS Chevy Mercado's version of that song about "God's great...family."

We got to mingle after the program over Krispy Kremes, although apparently there's some forbidden love affair going on with Felix Rivera and Krispy Kreme donuts. I asked Joel Trinidad later why everyone was like "No, Felix, you can't have them, go sit in the corner" and it turns out that he gets really, crazily wired after one Krispy Kreme. (Which I would love to have seen.) Probably like what happened to non-coffee-drinking me when I forced myself to down a Praline Mocha at Starbucks as an attempt to keep myself awake through the shift. On an empty stomach. I was jumping around and getting hand tremors and doubling over in pain and yelling "Naiihi akoooooooh!" continually without ever making any attempt to go to the bathroom. I have a coffee-stained purple shirt as a souvenir.

This time, I'm bringing a bottle of Lipovitan to work, because I'm really stupid that way.

At this rate, it'll be magic mushrooms at the end of the month.

But I digress. Anyway, I've finally figured out my approach to the schmoozing portion of press conferences: I tend to pick just one person I'm comfortable with, and then stick with him/her. I always get stutter-y in roundtable discussions (unless everyone else is shy, at which point I turn into Ally McBeal with my incessant babbling), but I don't freak out as much with one-on-ones. At the Constantine Maroulis and Stonefree presscons, I stuck by my co-writer Ivy; Theater Talk, I was with Walter and Shari the whole time -- after I'd finally gotten over the wallflower-texting-in-the-corner phase; at the Altar Boyz presscon, chatted with the very chattable and sabogaloids Reuben. Did I mention that he gave me advice about my Theater Dreamboy once? "Ganito lang sabihin mo: 'Pa-feel naman ng pecs mo.'" =)))))

I mean, it's not a very journalist-y habit, but screw it. I'm a teenager with a blog, not a Reuters correspondent.

After standing around for a while watching Aiza Seguerra get interviewed, I sat down on the floor next to Joel Trinidad, who was Our Collective Favorite from last December's run -- although Kalalz also has an unbridled love of Frenchie Dy! -- and admitted that I was doing the whole nod-and-smile-even-though-I-have-no-idea-what-they're-talking-about schtick, an art I perfected in Math class. Joel, of course, was just as cool, nice and funny as I'd expected. He coaxed me into a Krispy Kreme even though I'd already brushed my teeth and wasn't really that hungry, because it took me that long to realize that I'd never tried a Krispy Kreme before (the local one, anyway), so I was like what the hell, why not, I'll have just the one. (...And Julie was hooked for life. Damn you, Joel Trinidad.) Then we talked about scriptwriting, Repertory's Mulan Jr., the call center industry, all sorts of writer-y things, How I Met Your Mother, and the astonishing talent of Red Concepcion. Hahahahaha, hi Red! :P

I found Joel to be the most approachable because I remember him as being the nicest guy in the cast when we stagedoored on my birthday. See, it's a huge thing for theater fans when the actor is super nice to you at stage door, which explains why Spring Awakening's Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr. are as beloved as they are -- they're not just like, "Oh, hi, thanks for watching, sure, I'll sign your program," but they strike up conversations with all of the fans, and they even remember your name when you come back. Talented as they are, Jonathan B. Wright and Lea Michele aren't as popular for that very reason (he's not too chatty, she often skips stagedoor altogether). It helps the actors in the long run, too, because establishing an emotional investment would make the fan more eager to support the actor. Of course you'd want them to do well, they were nice to you! I'm always enthusiastic about singing Red and Reuben's praises to people, and dragging all barkadas along to see Altar Boyz, because, in addition to actually deserving that acclaim based on their talent alone, they were just the coolest guys at the OnStage lobby. You'd never feel, like, "Oh, maybe I'm being massively annoying already, I should probably go" when you're talking to them. And would you believe I was dorky enough to yell "HOMAYGAD CRIS VILLONCO ADDED ME TO MULTIPLY!" to my co-workers at three in the morning? Hee. Essentially, being ma-PR is definitely an asset, not just for actors, but for anyone.

In that vein: Joel Trinidad is really awesome and talented and witty, you guys! Watch Avenue Q! Woot!

Since I spent the rest of the hour chatting with Joel and savoring the Krispy Kreme donut, I didn't get to talk with the other cast members, so I won't be able to tell you much about them other than that, judging from the interview and performances, they're incredibly talented and sweet. Knowing me, the first question on friends' minds would be "Soooo, how'd it go with Papa Felix, hmm?" And, you know, I did walk into the building with a whole "I'm so not a stalker!" speech prepared, but I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm always going to be a blushing, tongue-tied schoolgirl around this Mega-Talented and Gwapo Actor, and I'm perfectly okay with that. :) I mean, I've never been coherent around anyone I ever had a thing for, anyway, why start now? I'll admire from afar. I'm the nerdy, gawky George O'Malley to his generally oblivious, slightly uncomfortable Meredith Grey. Haha. :P

Took the elevator down with Lorna and Fred, leaving the studio with a link to Joel's Multiply (he's a hilarious writer, check out his blog!), a bright grin, and a mental note to hunt down all Krispy Kreme branches.

I also left with the knowledge that I was completely screwed, since I had a shift later on that night. I wasn't approved for a vacation leave because HSBC doesn't care as much about Avenue Q as I do *sigh*, so I would probably be falling asleep at the desk again. But that's okay, I have my little bottle of Lipovitan!

...Or would a Krispy Kreme donut be more effective?

Guess who's back?!

2008-05-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

Avenue Q is back!

Jeff Whitty, Jeff Marx and Bobby Lopez's musical-cum-puppet-show features the everyday lives of puppets living in a lower-income neighborhood of New York. Avenue Q is, by my estimation, the most successful Philippine-staged production in recent memory, with three month-long runs to date. It's certainly my favorite one. :D June marks their third and final run before they take the show to Singapore.

I've seen this show (and loved it to pieces) in its previous two runs: first was in August with Micmac, and second was in December with Micmac and eight other awesome people for my birthday (best birthday ever!). I already have my ticket booked, along with ten friends, for this one (front row, baby!), June 14's 2pm showing to be specific. I'd suggest you do the same! Don't miss out on this excellent musical before it leaves you for Singapore, book your tickets today! Call Ticketworld at 891-9999 or visit their website for tickets. Alternately, you can book tickets with Lorna Lopez. Shows are from June 14 to 22.

It's gonna be legen --- wait for it -- DARY! [/How I Met Your Mother]

My Idol thoughts, let me show you them

2008-05-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

Since everybody and their grandmother has flooded my Multiply page with their thoughts on the David Cook victory (random samplings: "WOOHOO COOKIE!" ; "Archuleta pa rin!" ; "Cook is such a Daughtry wannabe!" ; "He's so hot."), I figured I'd join in the fray, despite my not having watched American Idol since the Top 10. Finale not included; it was pretty awesome.

Without further ado:

...I STILL WANTED DANNY NORIEGA TO WIN, ASSHOLES.

iPod meme

2008-05-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Your iPod's name: Joolz. (Yes, I am conceited. No surprises there.)
How many songs total: 2,228
How many hours or days of music: 6.1 days.
Most recently played: "Weapon" - Matthew Good
Most played: "Loneliest Person I Know" - Splender (178 plays), "Sexed Up" - Robbie Williams (156 plays), and "Human" - The Pretenders (150 plays)
Most recently added: "Miss Murder" - AFI. Discovered it through Guitar Hero III.

Sort by song title:
First Song: "About a Girl" - Nirvana
Last Song: "7 Years" - South Border

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: "The First Goodbye" - Original Broadway Cast, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (0:23). Broadway tracks aside, "Passive Manipulation" - The White Stripes (0:35). And not counting interludes, ditties, or American Idol performances, "Bret, You Got It Goin' On" - Flight of the Conchords (1:41).
Longest Song: "Nichiren" - Duncan Sheik (14:50), although that comes with the bonus track at the end. The shortest singular song would be "Marquee Moon" - Television (10:40).

Sort by album:
First album: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number by Aaliyah. But that's only one track. Kung full album, All We Know is Falling by Paramore, which I ripped from my brother's library. (He's the emo one! I swear!)
Last album: 98 Degrees and Rising by 98 Degrees.

First song that comes up on Shuffle: "1979" - Smashing Pumpkins

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death - 1 ("Death on Two Legs," a Queen cover by Rooney)
Life - 31 (Most played: "A Design for Life" - Manic Street Preachers)
Love - 136 (Most played: "Taken In" - Mike and the Mechanics. It was on an compilation album called Best Love 100.)
Hate - 8 (Most played: "Yeah, Whatever" - Splender)
You - 350 (Most played: "Clean" - Incubus, from the Make Yourself album)
Sex - 8 (Most played: next to Robbie Williams' "Sexed Up," which is in my Top 3 Most Played, "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was on Blood Sugar Sex Magik.)

Lesson of the day (and I learned this the hard way)

2008-05-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

No matter what you do in life, never, ever wear Happy Bunny boxers with low-rise jeans. I hate low-rise jeans in general since I have a longer torso than the average girl, but my normal Bossini ones were in the laundry and I thought that the long shirt I just bought would be enough to cover everything up.

Unfortunately, people could see little green cartoon bunnies peeking out of my jeans every time I sat down.

Oh well, at least they were cute bunnies.

Do Not Enter This Auditorium: Elitism and other misconceptions about Philippine theater

2008-04-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is one of those seryoso blog posts that I have to write sober -- haven't written one of these in a while. It was inspired by this little snippet in an online conversation I had with a fellow theater buddy, while I was urging her to bring her family along to catch my current cause celebre, Repertory Philippines' Altar Boyz:

"No, that's not their kind of thing. As my dad said recently, 'the only thing I know about theatre is that it's for the rich and the intellectuals.'"

I insisted that Altar Boyz, with its unpretentious humor and broad appeal, could be the one thing to change her father's mind. Meanwhile, in the back of my head, that quote sparked an epiphany in me: Is that what has been holding people back from appreciating theater all this time? That people think theater is an exclusive little club for the country's ilustrados and koniotic children like me and my friends? (And I'll maintain that "konyo" is an unfair label to describe me, because I'm really not, but I've been hit with it so many times that I've stopped trying to defend myself. Hurts to hear it nga, pero nakakapagod rin.)

That was a strange and rather unfounded argument to make, considering that the last time I checked, the good folks at TicketWorld didn't grill potential buyers on their IQ level, pop culture knowledge or personal income before selling them tickets to next Saturday's showing of Hamlet. And ticket prices? Come on, it's P170 to catch a flick at Greenbelt 3. It wouldn't cost too much more to get a seat at a Repertory Philippines show, and I'm sure other, equally well-staged productions (such as those by Dulaang UP or Blue Repertory) sell for even less than that. It's better value for money, too -- what you'll get for P250 at a theater production is much, much more than what you'll get for P170 to see bloody Snakes on a Plane. ...Okay, unfair comparison, but even with any other movie title, it still holds.

Then, while penning down all my rebuttals to the "theatre is only for the elite" theory, I realized that I myself am not fit to argue against it. Not because I'm part of that aforementioned elite class (look, I'm a Radiohead-worshipping, Ramones-shirt-wearing alterna-chick who happens to like Broadway), but because I may have bought into that theory myself.

I've been downright militant in my efforts to get more people into theater ever since attending the Theater Talk seminar with prolific playwright Floy Quintos last year. It was hugely moving, and I wish I could get to see Floy again to thank him for being such an inspiration. If he could only see me now. I've applied the same fervor in insisting to anyone who will listen that they catch Altar Boyz before it closes, not only because I think the show is great, but because, along with Avenue Q, I think it's the perfect catalyst to spark people's interest in seeing local productions. I don't just ask them to watch Altar Boyz, you see. I ask them to watch it, and then afterwards I nag them to bring their friends and family to see it, and to buy Rep season tickets for next year (great seats at low prices, kamon mamon!).

But then I have to ask myself, why only those two shows? Would I have invited any of my un-theater-y friends to watch Dogeaters? Honest answer: No. I worry that it might have bored them and scared them away from checking out other productions. I shamefully admit that there is some condescension in that decision.

[while exiting the OnStage theater after Altar Boyz]
Me: One publication said that the guy we just saw? He's the future of Philippine theater!
Friend: (laughing) There is no future of Philippine theater. It's dead.
Me: Then what have I been supporting all this time? We just came from Altar Boyz, and it's doing pretty good.
Friend: That's not Philippine theater. That's American theater in Philippine shores.

I failed you, Floy Quintos. The only things I've bothered watching this year were all Pinoy restagings of Western plays and musicals, despite your urging us to catch Pinoy-written plays and musicals. My excuses, if anyone would ask, were that Skin Deep was too far away, I didn't know about Orosman at Zafira or EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson until it was too late. 66.67% of these excuses are lies (I really, really didn't know about EJ). Skin Deep was in the PETA Theater, where I went before to attend the Floy Quintos talk. I just wasn't motivated enough to go back to see this play. The Orosman at Zafira organizers even added me to their Multiply circle -- no idea how they found me -- months before they opened. I just didn't go because I have a hard time understanding things that are in full Tagalog, and I was too lazy to even try. And I truly regret not trying, because I heard that OZ was spectacular. I also wouldn't have checked out Dogeaters if I didn't get the tickets for free.

The bottom line is, I only wanted to put more asses in the seats, even if that meant taking the easy route by inviting people to more mainstream shows like Altar Boyz. I'll justify my decision, though, by saying that theater is an acquired taste. I'm not part of the theater elite, I'm just a theater fangirl geekazoid who started with Wicked and graduated to The Last Five Years. Hell, if someone gave me the chance to see Sunday in the Park with George or The Light in the Piazza, I'd totally go, even if I don't think I'm smart enough to see either show.

My point? We all have to start somewhere, and I think Altar Boyz is a great place to start. It's fun, catchy, uplifting, it has no specific target demographic, and it's an excellent way to spend your Saturday afternoon. I wouldn't introduce someone to Richard Linklater films by starting with Waking Life, I'd start with Before Sunrise and then Dazed and Confused and then eventually Waking Life or A Scanner Darkly after that.

You know what else? At least I'm trying. I may not be everything that Floy Quintos wanted us blogger attendees to be, but I got a good amount of people to see this wonderful Repertory Philippines musical, week after week, and they all liked it so much that they promised me they'd come back the following week with their own groups of friends. And hopefully those friends will come back with their own groups of friends, and so on. I contributed! It may not be huge, but I contributed! If I can't be an Advocate of Philippine Theater, I can at least be an Advocate of Philippine English Language Musical Theater. I put asses in those seats, just like I told myself I would. That's my personal offering to the Shrine of Floy, and I hope he'd be proud of me anyway. I'll try harder next time, I promise.

A person does not have to be cultured or wealthy or intellectual to enjoy theater, in the same way that you don't have to be Japanese to like sushi. Theater can be masa if more people were just motivated enough to give it a shot. That's the key word, "motivation," and that's what I am: a super-makulit cheerleader for the cause.

I'm not even getting paid for this. ;)

In closing, I only have this to say: fucking watch Altar Boyz before it closes, you mofos! It's on its last weekend! Reserve tickets with Rep at 887-0710 or at TicketWorld. And then after that, we can check out more shows. If by some miracle Orosman at Zafira comes back, I'm dragging ALL your sorry asses with me to UP. And if Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah has another run? Not even a tornado could stop me.

20 Deep Questions

2008-04-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Love this survey (nakaw from Pielle). Feel free to steal!

20 "Deep" Questions That Could Really Tell You Something. [Not simple questions like "How Old Are You?"]

1. Is it difficult for you to look into someone's eyes when you are talking to them?
When I'm speaking in front of a crowd, I find myself unable to look anyone in the eye sincerely; I just kind of glaze over. When it's one-on-one, it's pretty telling about how I feel about the person. I have no problem looking strangers (provided they're not too hideous) or friends in the eye, but when I'm with someone I have very intense feelings for, be it love or hate, it's a near impossible feat.

2. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You get enough time to make ONE phone call. Who would you call?
Wow, tough one. Maybe my brother, so that makes him the messenger.

3. You have to choose between your significant other and your best friend, who do you choose?
I'd imagine they were the same person? Otherwise it's sex versus loyalty and companionship, and that's not too hard a decision to make.

4.You are at the doctor's office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live..
(A) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die?
Everyone. I wouldn't be shy about it, and besides, people are nicer to you when they know you're dying. :))))

(B) What do you do with your remaining days?
You know how chipmunks stuff their cheeks full of nuts so they can carry as many as they possibly can? It's kind of like that. I'd go berserk and spend lots of money and maybe try ecstasy or something wild.

5. You can have one of the following two things: trust or love?
I can't have one without the other, and I refuse to compromise. Sorry. It's not love if you can't even trust them. I think trust can exist independent of love, though.

6. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?
I'm a pragmatist, sorry. Walk on, forget I saw it.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Times Square.

8. Think of the last person who you really knew that died. You have the chance to give them 1 hour of life back, but you have to give one year of your life. Is it okay for you?
In a heartbeat.

9. Are you the kind of person that you would want to have as a friend?
I love myself so much that it's almost scary. All the boys I've ever liked have been some extension of my personality, almost like a mirror-image of myself. If I were a guy, I'd totally go for me. XD (Conceited ba?)

10. Does love = sex?
Of course not. Now come over here, bebeh.

11. One of your best friend dies, what would you do?
Get angry. Punch walls. Scream obscenities. And then pretend everything's okay.

12. When was the last time you told someone HONESTLY how you felt?
My last blog post. =))))

13. What would be harder for you, to tell someone you love them or that you hate them?
When you tell someone you hate them, it's usually triggered by the amount of vitriol in your system, to the point that you can't control it anymore. So it's not even a choice for me. Telling someone you love them takes a lot of guts, which I unfortunately don't have.

14. What do you think would be the last thing for you to give up on?
Myself.

15. Excluding romantic love, when was the last time you told someone you love them?
I can't even remember. It was that long ago.

16. If you had to go back in time and change one thing, what would you do?
I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. :P Honestly, though, it was something that caused me a shitload of humiliation that lingers to this day.

17. Imagine. It is a dark night, you are alone, it is raining outside, you hear a noise. What do you do?
Try to go to sleep anyway.

18. Would you give a stranger CPR if they were dying?
Sure. I have a hero complex. =)))

19. Are you old-fashioned?
The antithesis of it, actually. I'm this side of liberal.

20. Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a heartbreak or to never have love?
The latter. Love is overrated. It's just hormones and chemicals and compatibility.

...I told you, I'm a pragmatist. :P

Deconstructing "magic math" emails

2008-04-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

We've all gotten them at some point or another. These emails promise to figure out some magic secret number you have in mind, and after a really long process of "subtract this" and "multiply this," bam! Magic number. And you're like "Howdee do dat?"

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these emails are just really long, streched out algebraic equations. Still, I was bored today and I decided to indulge my nerd side a little bit. Pagbigyan niyo na, Nerd Me doesn't come out very often because she's usually overshadowed by Bumbling Idiot Me.

Let's take, for example, an email that I got from my dad last week:

1. Pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold).

3. Add 5.

4. Multiply it by 50.

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758. If you haven't, add 1757.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

7. You should have a three-digit number.

The first digit of this was your original number. (i.e., How many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)

The next two numbers are ...

YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS

OMG MAGIC. Aaaanyway, all it takes is a little patience, and you'll be able to work out the algebra behind it. In about ten minutes, I came up with this:

Equation:

assume that you have already had your birthday this year (if not, change 1758 to 1757)
x is the number of times you'd like to go out to eat
y is the year you were born

50(2x + 5) + 1758 - y = 100x + 2008 - y

The left side is the step-by-step equation as written in the instructions. The right side is what the outcome should look like -- the number (which is multiplied by 100 since it's in the hundreds place) plus your age. For example, I picked 5 and I'm 18, so 100(5) + (2008 - 1989) = 518.

Now, let's simplify!

50(2x + 5) + 1758 - y = 100x + 2008 - y
100x + 250 + 1758 - y = 100x + 2008 - y
100x + 2008 - y = 100x + 2008 - y

There, now identical on both sides.

It is true that this particular one only works for 2008, but all you need to do is add 1 for every succeeding year, and the formula would still work. It's just year-specific, is all.

You can even use algebra to figure out the secrets behind some card tricks. So, the next time you get one of this emails, you don't have to be like "Howdee do dat?" Just say, "Nyeh." :P

Jesus thought it was awesome (and so did I)

2008-04-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Originally supposed to be entitled "Jesus wants to hump this musical (and so do I)," but, hmm. Too blasphemous?

I don't even know where to begin with this. Altar Boyz was awesomecakes slathered in awesomesauce, deep fried in awesome and topped with awesomecream. With a side of awesome.

I was already giddy as the lights dimmed and the stage was covered in smoke. Nostalgia hit, with the opening number "We are the Altar Boyz" bringing me back to my Grade 2 days when I was a rabid NSYNC fangirl -- JC was my favorite, he was the best singer and songwriter -- the kind crazy enough to go online to engage in word wars with Backstreet Boys fangirls (you bitches). Good times.

The format of Altar Boyz makes it a concert (more specifically, the final leg of their Raise the Praise tour) with a story behind it that is unraveled bit by bit in between songs. It's a comedy and parody, and as someone who is easily amused and highly excitable, I loved it from start to finish. There was never a moment where I wasn't grinning. Even the significantly less excitable Castro was laughing quite often.

Bright spots among the musical numbers include "Rhythm in Me," for the Mark solo that just about killed me, "The Calling," which perfectly embodies the schmoopiness of some early 2000's boyband hits, and "Something About You," which is pure lyrical genius:

So I hope you’ll understand my love
When I sing you this refrain
I believe in God, and so I must abstain

More than the songs and plot, though, what truly makes this musical work are the Boyz themselves. I could not have imagined a better cast for this show:

There's more to band leader Matthew than good looks and charisma, and PJ Valerio captures it perfectly. He's sweet when addressing the audience, but then there's a Tracy Flick brand of cold ambition that registers on his face when he gets down to the dance numbers; a true Justin Timberlake if I ever saw one. PJ was born for this role, I tell you.
Red Concepcion was the obvious crowd favorite, but with good reason -- he absolutely sparkles in this role. In less talented hands, the "sensitive" Mark would be little more than a walking punchline, and a harsh stereotype to boot. But with Red, Mark was pretty much the star of the show, stealing every scene he was in. One memorable instance was the "Something About You" number: Matthew turns up the charm as he serenades a lucky lady, but all eyes are on Mark and the downright dreeeamy way he gazes at Matthew. After the show, AJ and I were discussing Red, and we both agreed, "That boy is gonna go far."
I now totally get why they were saying that Reuben Uy is Luke. Those hirits, man! He definitely got some of the best lines. We laughed our hardest at Luke and the hilariously sabog way Reuben delivered those lines, and we will never look at "exhaustion" the same way again. "So, like, I went to this bar with my co-workers last night and we got totally exhausted." "No, I don't know why the word 'n00b' is scribbled in Magic Marker on my ass. I must have been really exhausted last night."
Reb Atadero was a delightful surprise as Juan, the Fez of the Altar Boyz. In person, he's all Mr. Nice Guy, a sweet, unassuming boy-next-door type, so the unbridled energy and fantastic comic timing he brought to the role was unexpected, but very much welcomed. Reb is extremely comitted to the role, and I can't wait to see how he does in future projects. Repertory Philippines, this one's a keeper! (A godsend, if you will. :P)
It could be a challenge to play "Abraham-he's-Jewish," since, as the heart of the Altar Boyz, he's the guy most prominently featured in the serious moments in the show, making it difficult to compete for laughs and audience attention with more comedic characters like Mark and Juan in a show that is a comedy more than anything. Still, Chevy Mercado rose to the occasion, creating an Abe that was likeable and sympathetic without being too schmaltzy or Hallmark-y. Chevy also gets the "Best Overall Performance" award from both Castro and me. From our seats in the front row, we could see that while everybody else was perspiring from the challenging dance moves, he didn't even break a sweat! His mad singing and dancing skillz make him so papable that even the usually impervious Castro was won over: "If I were a girl, I'd hit on him."

At the end of the musical, I left the theater completely thrilled that Altar Boyz had more than exceeded my already high expectations. My only regret was not getting to congratulate the five of them (and okay, I wanted my program signed XD) by squealing "That was awesomeee" in my Zach Braff voice. But anyway, you all knocked it out of the ballpark, boys, so congratulations and I'll see you next week. :) And the week after that. And the...

[More detailed version on my Multiply, including a recap of the rest of my day, but you have to be in my network to read. :P]

The other kind of dumb

2008-04-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

Since I figured that my being mute for a day would be an interesting topic to write about, I carried around a notebook and pen with me the whole day. This was partly because I needed a pen and paper to communicate with people, and partly to write about my experiences during Mute Day. Ironically enough, I ended up being absent the entire week since the cough only worsened (you'll understand the irony once you read the last line).

April 2, 2008

3:30 am
Rousing breakfast of Lucky Me chicken noodle soup, because they said that hot soup would help my throat, and I couldn't be arsed to cook any real soup. Oi, masarap kaya yung Lucky Me!

3:35 am
Develop solution to temporary inability to sing while listening to Dreamsounds 2 (which is impossible not to sing along with): lip-synch! Do spirited rendition of "Without You" by Charlie Wilson, complete with emoting and grandiose gesturing. I should be in one of those air bands! I'd be a hardcore air vocalist!

5:40 am
Decide to go the Paul Dano route and use a pen and paper after realizing that I can't mime "the drugs don't work" (LOL, The Verve LSS) to my dad.

7:15 am
Thankfully, my self-imposed muteness hasn't eliminated my option to communicate with people via YM. I love you, internet.

7:58 am
Receive "get well soon" message from co-worker Bing. Am touched.

8:32 am
I can still use hand signals to call my brother a loser.

10:20 am
Am the object of weird glances from people on the sidewalk because I converse with my brother entirely in pantomime. Quickly get used to it and continue attempting to hand-gesture "What time does your class end?"

11:15 am
Finally reach HSBC. Erika greets me as I walk to the nearest computer, asking why I'm here at this hour. Do my umpteenth miming of the day for "My voice" (point to throat) "is shot" (raise hands to chest level and rotate back and forth in an I-don't-know gesture) "so I can't really talk right now" (sad face).

12:45 pm
Walk to ATC. Transfer funds from my HSBC payroll account to my BPI debit card. Thankfully, the process doesn't involve any talking.

1:30 pm
Walk to Gold's Gym. I doubt physical exercise will affect my voice, so I'm not too worried.

3:10 pm
Talk for the first time in the day, but only because it was a phone call and I was too lazy to text.

3:35 pm
Eating at ATC food court with Jason. We have an entire conversation where he talks while I write on a sheet of yellow pad paper. Starts with me scribbling down, "So, how was school?" And so on. I start thinking, I could make an indie film out of this. Julie Can't Talk or something like that.

4:20 pm
Am finally able to talk since I've completed 24 hours. Yay.

6:30 pm
I want to go to work, but my mother says I should stay home because my voice sounds like shit. Father agrees. Fueled by determination, I go to my room and start practicing my spiels. "How can I help you with your Best Buy account today, Mr. Smith?" Realize that I really do sound like shit.

7:40 pm
Think about calling my boss to tell him I can't go to work because everybody thinks my voice is complete ass today. Change my mind because he's probably still asleep. Damn graveyard shift, it's so confusing. Decide to call him at around 11 instead.

10:10 pm
Fall asleep. Damn it.

April 3, 2008

12:30 am
Wake up. Realize that my shift had started (12mn) and I hadn't contacted my boss yet. I text him, hoping that this isn't counted as NCNS (no call, no show -- essentially AWOL). Go out to the kitchen and am relieved to find that my father finally bought my meds and they are sitting on the table. Take medication, surf a little on the net, go back to sleep.

4:00 am
My voice sounds a little better when I wake up this time. More internetting, then breakfast.

8:15 am
Once everyone's out of the house, I start up my brother's PC. To celebrate the victory of finally getting my voice back, I rock out to Aerosmith's "Jaded" and sound pretty cool. I feel good about today. :)

In which she actually commits to shutting up

2008-04-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

I knew something was wrong when I was on the elliptical at Gold's and the coughing only got worse. Things were inexorably bad when I started vomiting a little bit in the bathroom stall. I was like, "No way am I taking any calls today."

It had gotten to the point where it even hurt to cough, because my throat felt so bruised. What started out as a leftover cough-and-colds thing from The German Measles Episode got progressively worse over the weeks, even though I had been taking the prescribed cough syrup.

At work, I advised one of my bosses that I was in no shape to be taking calls because I couldn't even get through two sentences without coughing. "Hello, this is Julie, thank you for ca -- HACK HACK HACK, err sorry!"

Went to the doctor at Healthway ATC after my shift to see what was wrong, and if he could prescribe something to get rid of it. It turned out to be acute laryngitis, and I need a bunch of pills, a throat spray, and -- here's the interesting part -- "1 day voice rest."

I'd never actually had to take "voice rest" before, but Dr. Dudemeister recommended that I spend one entire day without talking. At all.

LOL, challenge.

It's gonna be really weird; I mean, obviously I'm staying at home tonight because Mr. Boss said that I'm useless at the office without my voice. But, like, what do you think I like to do while I'm bumming around at home? How else would I piss off the neighbors? And now, I can't sing! I can't even whisper!

So, I figured it might be something interesting to write about: What will this silly girl (who is admittedly in love with the sound of her own voice) do when she's forced to spend the whole day without using her voice? Abangan!

Maybe I'll be like Dwayne from Little Miss Sunshine, all angsty and reliant on his little notepad to convey his feelings to the world (Dwayne, in angry scrawl: "This sucks!"). Or...Maggie Simpson. Or the king from Once Upon a Mattress.

Jesus wants you to watch this musical (and so do I)

2008-03-29T01:11:00.000-07:00

The gracious Lorna Lopez invited me to the press conference of Altar Boyz, the one production (I'll skip the lengthy synopsis and just tell you the short version -- it's about a Christian boy band) that convinced me to buy season tickets for this season of Repertory Philippines. I'd been nagging every theater geek I know, like, "EEEE LET'S WATCH ALTAR BOYZ" since I first heard it was coming to Manila. So when I got Lorna's email I was like "EEEE ALTAR BOYZ PRESSCON!" Haha. I'm so excitable.

EEEE NEXT PARAGRAPH! Sige na nga, I'll stop. Anyway, the press conference took place in MyCinema in Greenbelt 3, and it was catered by Bubba Gump, which I unabashedly took advantage of because OMG Bubba Gump. I laaav it. I didn't have to go through the "Waaah, I don't know anybodeeeh" wallflower wangsting process anymore because I was with my theater buddy Kathleen, and everyone else there was very friendly. I was first greeted by Rep veteran Joy Virata (which I proceeded to brag about to my dad when I got home), then I chatted a bit with some of the guests, including AJ of BaklaAko.com, who once again looked fieeerce, like, if only all men dressed like that! The world would be so much hipper. The room quieted down when Gibbs Cadiz arrived, because he will always be the number one VIP in these things, I mean, even I get starstruck whenever I see him. Haha, go Gibbs! :D Not too long after that, the Altar Boyz themselves arrived, in full make-up and outfits, with a couple of them still smarting from getting their eyebrows threaded earlier in the day, to which I replied, "You get used to it. Eventually."

Sweet-faced TV actor PJ Valerio is Matthew, the Timberlake-esque leader of the Altar Boyz (PJ, cutely: "He's sort of, um, the leader?"), and he totally looks like my Spring Awakening crush, Matt Doyle, even sings like him a little bit, yiiiih! Charming, well-spoken Red Concepcion, previously Rosencrantz in Hamlet, plays Mark, the "sensitive" one -- read: the Carson Kressley, or, as the event host sighed in frustration, "Can we just say 'gay?'". Seriously, full-on fierceness in a pink shirt, tight jeans and bleached blonde hair, a la Jai Rodriguez in Zanna, Don't!, and y'all know that musical was alllllll about dem gay peoplez. Reuben "Ryu" Uy, who I got to talk to the most, is alternately kalog and siga and weirdo and sweet, and he plays Luke, the "bad boy" of the Altar Boyz (I know, right?). The Boyz claim that there isn't much of a difference between Ryu and Luke, and I kind of saw their point as I got to talk more with them, hee-hee. Not that it's a bad thing! Then there's Reb Atadero, who, when I asked about how similiar he is to his character, Juan (as in, "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Juan," which will never ever not be funny) replied, "I guess I'm kind of a loverboy." Cutely corny pick-up lines and all. Hehe. But hey, corny boys are totally charming kaya! And rounding out God's Fab Five is the witty, infectiously hyper Chevy Mercado as Abraham, who is not just "Abraham," but "Abraham -- he's Jewish!"

While chatting with the Boyz after their performance ("We are the Altar Boyz," "The Calling"), I candidly expressed that I was kind of sad to find out that Felix Rivera wasn't going to be one of the stars (remember what I said last time? "I can't wait for Altar Boyz in April! If Felix Rivera is not one of the leads, I swear I will cry.") because I thought he would be so perfect for this musical, and then they were like "Okay, we're leaving, she doesn't want us here!" sabay getting this close to walking out, which is why the previous paragraph is peppered with shining compliments for the Boyz. Now you know. Haha. But no, really, you're all very awesome! Promise! =D

You'd think that I would have been reduced to an unintelligible pile of squee in the presence of such cute guys (there ha, I said you were cute!), but PJ, Red, Reuben, Reb and Chevy were all so friendly that all the guests, myself included, felt comfortable talking to them. I realized then that Jammoe (you should have been there!) was right when she told me that theater actors were surprisingly sweet and humble. Conniving bastards. :)

Kathleen and I had to leave early because she had to meet with her thesis coach, but we both had a great time. Once we left MyCinema, I turned to her and squealed, "Wasn't this AWESOME?" although to avoid sounding too lame-o, I left out the And we got freebies, yaaay -- they're my favorite part of press conferences! that continued in my head.

Needless to say, I'm even more psyched for Altar Boyz than I was before, and trust me, these Boyz are going to wow you. I remember hearing Chevy say, "I could get used to this!" while they were having their pictures taken. And all I can say to that is: you'd better. :D

I'll be watching the dress rehearsal on April 3 since Lorna was kind enough to invite me -- thank you, you rock! -- and I'm thinking that the follow-up title for the review would be, "Jesus Approves of This Musical." (Although if things don't go as I'm expecting they will, that title might just be "Jesus Says 'Never Mind.'")

Altar Boyz plays at the Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1 from April 4 to 27, 2008. Shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:30pm. Tickets are at Php550, Php350, and Php 250. For tickets, reservations, and information call the Rep office at 8870710 or Ticketworld at 891999. You may also log on to the Repertory Philippines website or the Ticketworld website. Tickets are also available at the REP office located at 2316 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City and at the gate before every performance.

Snapshots flickering in the 3D iMAX of my mind

2008-03-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I haven't updated in ages, and I apologize for that. ~~Since I'm not feeling coherent enough to write in my usual looong paragraphs and pretentious ruminations~~ (ah screw it, despite the bullet points, I ended up writing looong paragraphs anyway), allow me to humbly present My Life in Bullet Points:

Sweet Jesus, money's been pouring out my nose lately. Ever since getting a job I've been spending a whole lot...shoes, more shoes, some cute tops, DVDs, CDs, magazines, movies, food, treated my family to a bloody expensive dinner at Mr. Rockefeller today...need to curb my expenditure, like, seriously.
I finally found a Taco Bell dish that I actually like: it's some tater tots thing with cheese and cream on top, and it's fucking tasty. Too bad it's P40 for a cupful that's like this small.
Been working out every morning from Mondays to Fridays at Gold's Gym, and I feel better than ever! I can leg press 105 lbs. now, which is up a good 45 lbs. from two weeks ago. I know too much muscle is unattractive, but I want some big, powerful thighs, man. Like Elliot from Scrubs!
Can't say the same about my eating habits. :( In the spirit of pakikisama I went out with some co-workers to have breakfast at Aplaya, and it was this big buffet of taaaasty-looking food at P100 only. I unfortunately had to break my pesco-vegetarianism to partake of it, but it was pretty worth it.
Speaking of good food that's really cheap, you all seriously have to check out Tides, which is this nice little bar on Aguirre St. in BF Paranaque. Huge-ass platter of nachos, P85 lang. Chicken tenders at P55. Quesadillas at P55. Amazing, y'all. I'm so going back!
Good food that isn't so cheap? My family and I had the dinner buffet at Paseo Uno in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which tragically was on the same day when I had the breakfast buffet. So I'm like twice my size now. I would've said no, but it was seafood night, and I can't ever say no to seafood. Glad I didn't, though, because DAMN it was goooood.
Back to where I was before I went on that "Waaah, calories!" tangent: ever since I started going to Gold's, I've decided that I need an iPod. The elliptical is super boring when you hear the same techno music every morning. My N70 Music Edition would have sufficed, but I lost my earphones and I can't be arsed to find them. Now, I just need to decide on which one to get: the convenient, cute iPod Nano (it comes in pink, yay!), the trendy iPod Touch, or the dependable iPod video? I'm leaning towards that last one, just because of the ginormous capacity (160GB = awesome). I can't get anything below 15GB, because that's about how much music I have on my laptop right now, and this number only gets bigger every month. All suggestions are welcome.
And now on the gadgets tangent, I also need a new laptop. My current laptop and I are having relationship problems (I'm talking slam-my-fists-repeatedly-on-the-keyboard kind of hatred, here). It overheats and dies out at random moments, and it's basically falling apart. An iBook is the popular choice, apparently, but I'm completely drawn to the Sony Vaio. It comes in pink! (Why yes, I am massively shallow. Thank you for asking.)
I'm so glad I got Repertory Philippines season tickets. I get to watch in the front row at every show! Mini-recaps of what I've seen:

Tuesdays with Morrie was fantastic. Wala pang 15 minutes and I was already in tears; it's that good, thanks in large part to stars Jose Mari Avellana and Bart Guingona. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to bring tissues to this show.
The critically-acclaimed Hamlet was a snooze-fest for me, I'm sad to report. Maybe I caught a bad show? Although it was a nice surprise to find that Felix Rivera was in the cast, adorable as always and quite the scene-stealer. Cris Villonco was also a stand-out performer. Girl is amazing, y'all.
Just came back from watching Romance in D, which utterly charmed me. The first part was a little meandering, but the later parts were laugh-out-loud funny, and all four leads (Audie Gemora, Ana Abad-Santos Bitong, Chinggoy Alonso, Pinky Marquez) were extremely likable in their roles. I found it a little awkward when Bitong and Gemora's characters started making out, though -- I've always felt a little discomfort on the actors' part when it comes to kissing scenes in Repertory Philippines shows. They seemed hesitant to even let their lips touch. It was almost like that other time when Felix Rivera and Cris Villonco had to kiss in Fiddler on the Roof -- I could actually see like three centimeters of space between their faces as they pretended to kiss. Upon consulting with fellow theater geek Jam on this, she explained that Rep is a pretty conservative company, so they try to scale back on those scenes.
I can't wait for Altar Boyz in April! If Felix Rivera is not one of the leads, I swear I will cry.

Did I tell you about this really bad day I had this week? In the morning, right after work, I headed to Shaw Blvd. in Pasig to take the TOEFL test for my New York University application. It was fairly easy, but I was so wiped out from the graveyard shift that I zoned out a few times, and I'm sure it cost me some points. By the end of it, I was slumped over, asleep on my desk. I didn't know my way around Pasig, so I just took my father's advice to ride the jeep to EDSA Central and then take the MRT. I did, but since I have shitty navigational skills, I totally missed my drop-off point and somehow wound up in Pureza instead. It didn't help that the jeep was blaring, at full fucking blast, remixes that butchered classic songs that I really liked, such as Queen, Nirvana, and Radiohead. I was probably distracted by it because I had to hold my hands to my ears the whole time, all, "Make it stoooop!" So there I was in the middle of some seedy street in Sta. Mesa, sticky, sleepy, hungry and cranky, and feeling like I wanted to cry. And there was no signal, too. I eventually made it home by taking the Pureza LRT2 to Gil Puyat LRT1, and then taking a bus to my place. To cap off my astoundingly crappy day, I came home to find out that my favorite little fairy Danny Noriega was voted off American Idol this week. Ah, crap. I love that kid so, so hard. I feel like Ramiele. DANNEEEEEH!

Headbangin' Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T08:23:00.000-08:00

Since everyone on my LJ page has been refreshingly frank about having less-than-stellar Christmases this year, I will be too. (You have to understand, I'm exceptionally talented at sugarcoating things, and I could have -- and would have, otherwise -- made this look like the Best! Christmas! Ever!) I wasn't feeling the Christmas in my heart this year, and I'm totally blaming the weather. It was so...plain. I missed the Christmas chill that had me giggling and feeling fuzzy inside. We even went to Tagaytay the next day just for the cold air. It was cold enough, but it was a Tagaytay kind of cold, not a Christmas kind of cold.

(Ang arte ng lola niyo! XD)

Weather aside, this Christmas was better than I'd pictured it. It was certainly the most musical Christmas I'd ever had. At 8pm, I was jamming with Jason, me on vocals, him on electric guitar (he has a Stratocaster now, no idea when that happened), and testing out which songs I could use for my Spring Awakening audition tape if I ever planned to go through with it. The chorus of "Find the Real" by Alter Bridge sounds amazing on acoustic, but the verse kinda falls flat. I think I'll go with "DOA" by the Foo Fighters. It's great for showing off range, and it sounds good on acoustic.

If that wasn't enough rocking out for one day, we spent the hours following midnight doing Magic Sing. My cousins (Michael and David, both BS Nursing students) came over, so I decided to sing this time. It amused me to find Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" on the song list, and I tried it out. Memorized that song from top to bottom, so I think I did pretty well. =D

They gave my brother Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's as a Christmas present, so we played that (and some FIFA soccer game) until 6 in the morning. I am TOTALLY ADDICTED TO IT. I generally hate 80's rock, and I still think it's the gayest musical decade ever, but the game has given me a new appreciation for it. I can't stop singing the uber-cheesy "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. =)) It was the heeeeat of the moment! It reminds me of Seth Rogen's line in The 40-Year-Old Virgin:

"You framed an Asia poster? How hard did the people at the frame store laugh when you brought this in?"

LULZ.

Aside from that Asia song, my favorite Guitar Hero songs to play are "(Bang Your Head) Metal Health" by Quiet Riot, "Shakin'" by Eddie Money, "Radar Love" by White Lion (I got a 100% on this one!), "Synchronicity II" by The Police (this too!), and "The Warrior" by Scandal. My favorite character is Pandora. She strikes me as an amalgamation of two personalities, Jeff Hardy (or as I like to call him, MY BOYFRIEND) and Prince. Trust me, that's a very good thing to be. =)))) I am so in love with this game. Mege, mag Askalz' Guitar Hero marathon tayo! Like the good ol' days! =))

People had been posting their Christmas lists, as they do every year. I didn't bother with posting mine, because it would have looked like this:

My Christmas List:
1. Money

And let me tell you, I got what I wanted. ;) I actually get the same things every year, in this order:

Things I usually get for Christmas:
1. Money
2. Bags
3. Clothes

I can't decide whether my relatives are uncreative, or know me extremely well. Haha.

Seriously, I have more bags than I know what to do with. A lot of them are from LeSportsac, though, and they're adorable.

A trip to Greenbelt is in order, probably tomorrow, so I can blow all my Christmas money on Gap items, WWE autobiographies and Skechers shoes. Oh, and my brother agreed to go to the spa with me, so we'll get foot treatments together. Yes, I am actively trying to convert him into becoming a spa addict like me. Mwahahaha! >:D

Fantasies come true!

2007-12-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

They really, really do. :)

(For porn!)

Soooo, Friday. Showed up at ATC around noon. It's an annual ritual for me to go to The Spa on my birthday, so I did, and they didn't disappoint. It really is my favorite spa. ♥

Then I went to Jesi Mendez to get a hot oil hair treatment and have my make-up done by this older gay hairdresser who was a little bratty, but hella talented. Disasters in the past (i.e. make-up so thick and tacky that it made me look like JonBenet Ramsey) had made me wary of getting my make-up done by effeminate male hairdressers, but Bratty Gay Man has restored my faith in them. Hehe! Like, when I said "light make-up lang," he actually followed directions. Haha. I loved the look, with the white and green eyeshadow and light pink lipstick. I'd totally go back for other events.

My brown halter dress made me uncomfortable about my arms and back, so I spent the next hour looking for a suitable bolero. The silver Oleg Cassini one I'd fallen in love with was no longer there (it's the bolero that got away! *sniffle*), so I just got a simple black one from Folded & Hung. Went to buy road trip food at Makati Supermarket, and shopping in a dress and boots made me feel mildly overdressed, but whatever. On my way to Omakase to have dinner with the gang, I ran into Miggy, Sam, Soph and Kat at the Activity Center, so we just went there together.

Everyone was so dressed up, aylabit. We met up with the others and had dinner at this quaint little Japanese restaurant called Omakase, where we taught Miggy how to eat sushi. :)) I had uni sashimi, which everyone else thought was weird (it is hahaha). Spent dinner talking about that notorious CL test. Winner! Ang ingay natin, pramis. Obnoxious table of ten. :P

Then...ROOOOAD TRIP! Ang auti niyooooo. The seven at the back were making Sir Cloyd jokes (hahaha) while Jam, Miggy and I were in our own little Broadway world near the front of the van. We played the Spring Awakening OBCR and made plans to send in our audition tapes. We'd be willing to play any role we get on the show, but I would kill to see Megeh as Georg ("and this time, bring out the left hand!") and Jam as Wendla, of course! Though if you don't want to do the simulated sex scene, you'd make for an adorable Thea. :) I want to play Ilse, mainly because I'm kind of an Ilse right now -- not in school, a free spirit wandering around and making new friends in my own Priapia, The Artists' Colony.

At the RCBC Plaza, all ten of us filed into the elevator and then they started jumping at the same time, causing the rest of us to freak out in fear of our lives. We filmed some promotional stuff for Lorna Lopez's company which is going to appear on YouTube. *whines* I don't wanna be on YouTuuuube! I don't like how I look in videos. TT____TT

Avenue Q was just as AH-MAYYYY-ZING as I remembered it. Everyone was fantastic: Felix Rivera was adorable and winsome and bouncy, Aiza Seguerra and Frenchie Dy were hilarious, Rachel Alejandro was brilliant, and Joel Trinidad was FOR POOOORN. Trekkie FTW. It's so hard to pick a favorite! (Though my choice for Hottest Cast Member is obvious. :P)

The crowd was roaring at "The Internet is for Porn," and we were like *ahem, ahem* to each other during "There's a Fine, Fine Line" (haha hi Kat Monster! XD).

And shempre, quotable quotes = stat message love the following morning!

Remember how Micmac and I got to meet the cast members after the show? Well, we totally stage-doored again tonight! LULZ starfuckers.

"We're such groupies!"

All ten of us waited by the stage door, and we got our pictures with all the cast members. I also got another picture with myself and Felix XD I swear, I was totally chickening out again, but instead of just Micmac pushing me, there were now nine of y'allz egging me on! I'm pretty sure I was blushing the whole time =)) But everyone was really sweet, they greeted me happy birthday and signed my program. Thanks for helping me out, Jam! And now you have a pen that's been touched by all the members of Avenue Q!

I treated the gang to Starbucks (so that I could get another ten stickers, LOL @ ulterior motives), and then we went on the ROOOOAD TRIP! back home. When we dropped off Kat, Micmac jumped out of the van and told us all that the sky was so amazing to look at right then, so we all stood in the middle of the road, looking up at the stars. "Right now, we look like a scene out of an indie film." Loved it. ♥

Looking through Jam's album of people's grad pics made me feel a little sad about not getting to experience that whole thing, grad pic exchanges, prom night, grad ball, and an actual graduation ceremony, since I skipped fourth year and all. Everything comes with a price, I suppose. Still, I'm glad I get to live vicariously through you guys. :)

We got lost more than once on the way home, though luckily not too far off-track. As it turns out, the driver, Jonas, isn't used to driving people within the city, because he usually takes care of transporting American expats and soldiers between provinces. Nag-bonding kami on the way home, ahahaha =)) He married his high school sweetheart, awww. They've been together since they were 15, and now in their late twenties they still love each other, which I think is really great. BTW, Micmac, the trance music CD you were asking about was a gift to him from his friend, who's a DJ at Eastwood. :D

And then I went home, and I was smiling the whole time. Man, do I feel special. ♥

Jam, Miggy, Micmac, Sam, Vicky, Sophie, Franmama, Kalalz and Kat, thank you all so much for making this my best birthday ever. Y'all made me feel like Elle Woods in the "Omigod You Guys" number, all happy and wide-eyed and "love is like forever, this is no time to economize!"

Omigod you guys, I love you all! *glomp*

ETA: Avenue Q is still running until December 23, so order your tickets now!

ETA 2: Peechurs at Micmac's Multiply!

Broadway picks!

2007-12-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded my favorite songs from a number of musicals to hopefully give you all a taste of the awesomeness that is Broadway. They're on my Multiply, so all you have to do is add me as a contact and download away!

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Avenue Q
Bare: A Pop Opera
A Chorus Line
The Last Five Years
Spring Awakening
The Wedding Singer
Wicked
Zanna, Don't!

Sticky dreams ahoy: A review of Spring Awakening

2007-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

A million thanks to Jam for burning me a copy of Spring Awakening! My laptop's probably going to conk out soon from the constant replay of the DVD, but it's so worth it. I love the show, and you're right, they really should stage it here. I don't know a lot about Philippine theater actors, but I think my theater crush Felix Rivera would make a brilliant Moritz or Ernst!

In keeping with what I like to call The Floy Quintos Mission, I've decided to review every play and musical I watch, starting with this one. (Stay tuned for Dogeaters, Fiddler on the Roof, and Avenue Q!) Reading brilliant reviews from the New York Post and the New York Times has temporarily hampered my full-length-review-writing mojo, though, so I will cut my review into short, snappy (and snippy?) pieces.

Overview (more here): Based on a controversial 1891 play by Frank Wedekind about teenage sexuality, Spring Awakening came to life off-Broadway in May 2006 and was subsequently moved to the Great White Way in a matter of months. It won eight Tony Awards in 2007, including Best Musical and Best Performance for a Featured Actor in a Musical for John Gallagher, Jr.

The pitch: Another publication described it as "The History Boys discover sex," which is close, although I would beg to differ -- the History Boys already knew about sex (and I love Dakin for coming on to that sexy, bookish Mr. Irwin). I'd say Spring Awakening was more similar to Dead Poets Society, but with more emphasis on sexuality.

Warnings: It's a racy show. Partial nudity. Underage sex. Masturbation, tee-hee. Possible rape, though that depends on the viewer, implied incest and child abuse. Suicide. Abortion. One brief scene on sadomasochism, or just morbid curiosity -- again, it's left to your judgment.

Favorite characters: Moritz Stiefel (John Gallagher, Jr.), sweetie, you had me at "Oh God, give me consumption and take these sticky dreams away from me!" Rarely can a character be both charmingly inept and tragic (and, okay, emo) at the same time, but you pulled it off. Hanschen Rilow (Jonathan B. Wright), you fucking rule. You sick, twisted, creepy, unfairly hot bastard. I doubt you could ever charm the pants off of anyone, but you sure know how to seduce them. Marry me, and let's make dysfunctional, misanthropic babies together!

And a special mention to: Ernst Robel (Gideon Glick), the "sweet young lad who's easily seduced [by Hanschen, of course]." Eeee! I wanna hug him, an' squeeze him, an' call him George!

This side of "meh": Melchior Gabor (Jonathan Groff) is just a little too perfect and Gary Stu-ish for my tastes (the smartest, the sexiest, and the most altruistic? Bitch, please), but he makes up for it by showing his equally perfect ass. Oh, Groff. Rowrr.

Logic go boom: When Wendla Bergmann (Lea Michele) pleaded with Melchior to beat her so she would know what it feels like, it was startling, but also (surprisingly) believable. In addition, it provided an opening for a genuine character flaw -- thank God -- for Melchior. As great a scene as it was, though, it still didn't stop me from going, "Fuck the what? Is that S and M?"

I laughed my ass off (while watching you jerk off): Hanschen whacking it to the fantasy of murdering Desdemona ("Darling, why, why do you press your knees together, even on the brink of eternity?") while being surrounded by young girls dancing and bursting into a bubbly chorus is the most hilariously fucked up scene I've ever had the joy of witnessing. "My Junk," indeed.

Most touching scene: The conversation between Moritz and Ilse (Lauren Pritchard) towards the end of the play takes the cake. I love that it's glaringly obvious how lonely they both are, without either of them even having to say it out loud, or let out so much as a sigh. When Ilse left, and Moritz cried "For the love of God, all I had to do was say yes," I swore I heard my heart break.

Screw the Tonys, man, you totally win at life: Jonathan B. Wright is a fucking god for managing to keep a straight face throughout all those side-splitting scenes. He makes Hanschen so beautifully vacuous that if they ever make another film adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel, I'd totally kick some asses to get him cast in it.

Duncan Sheik owns my soul: When I heard that the most excellent Mr. Sheik wrote the score, I expected something truly fantastic, and he did not disappoint. As I've said before, I've never come across a Duncan Sheik song I didn't like, and I've never come across a Spring Awakening song I didn't like, either. My favorite songs include "All That's Known," "Touch Me," "The Mirror-Blue Night," and "The Bitch of Living" (below).

Verdict: Despite a treacly ending ("The Song of Purple Summer"), Spring Awakening truly does deserve to be called "the best new musical in a generation" (John Heilpern, The New York Observer). It's the perfect marriage of century-old theater and modern rock sensibilities, which is why I'm starting a petition to get The White Stripes to help me write a musical about orange, human-eating bunnies on a quest to find a giant Xeroxed cotton ball. It'll be the best thing that could ever happen to Broadway! Now, who's with me?

I flove Halloween

2007-11-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

My favorite kind of day is the day that seems to end too soon, the day that I wish would have lasted longer. Today, Halloween 2007, is one of those days.

Of course, not all fantastic days start that way. I awoke at 5 a.m. to the rapping at my bedroom door. I don't normally wake up this early (not anymore, boo-yah!), but I did today because of a one-character typographical error in the following text message exchange, which took place the day before. I'd asked Micmac about his Halloween plans (hang out at Kat's house), he asked me about mine (shopping), and he was like, "sama ka na lang kaya samin?" After getting Kat's consent, we went over the details:

Me: "Anong oras siya?"

Micmac: "6am onwards dude haha"

Me: "Huwaat? Ang aga naman!"

Micmac: "Haha, it's ONWARDS, meaning walang limit, although ewan. Di naman party eh, bonding. =))"

I thought it was kind of weird for a get-together to start at six in the morning (come on, you guys don't wake up that early, do you?), so I figured it wouldn't hurt to show up a couple of hours late.

The following morning, I arrived at Alabang Town Center at about 8 am. Ayala Alabang Village has strict security, so I needed confirmation from a resident via phone that I was a visitor; the problem was, I didn't have Kat's phone number. I strolled down Madrigal Avenue as I waited for Micmac's reply. By the time I reached Gloria Maris, I decided to call him.

"Okay, so I've been walking around ATC for the last half-hour or so," I ramble a little frantically. "Can you send me Kat's number?"

"I did! ...Wait, bat ang aga mo?"

"Uh, sabi mo '6 am,' diba?"

"HA?! Sabi ko 6 pm!"

Toink. "'Di ka ba nagtaka nung sinabi ko 'Ang aga naman?"

"Akala ko ineexpect mo na magsa-start yung party ng 10pm or something!"

Hee-hee. All it took was one mistyped letter. I assured him it was no big deal, since I planned to go to the mall, anyway. Malling's become part of my routine, so I knew exactly how to spend 10 hours at the mall without ever feeling bored.

I started at Starbucks, where I tried their chocolate espresso brownie while catching up on my reading. Thank God I'd thought to bring along my copy of "Cosmopolitan" by Toby Cecchini! It's research for my NaNoWriMo novel, which is set in an Irish pub in Greenwich Village, NYC. I also whipped out my notebook, which I carry around with me since I've recently developed the habit of jotting down all my expenses. Yeah, I'm such a dork. :P

When the clock struck 10, I headed to David's Salon, where I had my eyebrows threaded for the first time. I often have my eyebrows done at the salon, but it had always been shaving up until this point. The threading wasn't as painful as I'd expected (well, I was expecting a "NOOO! KELLY CLARKSON!" kind of scene out of The 40-Year-Old Virgin), although I teared up a whole lot, probably because of being under a bright light. After the threading, I had my nails painted iridescent white. Love them! They seem clear when you look at them from one angle, but from another they're electric blue!

At the supermarket, there was a Rolling Stone back issue with Pink Floyd on the cover, so I bought it (I am the reason why bookstores run out of RS back issues! :P). Then I went to Powerbooks to by the Zsazsa Zaturnnah comic book by Carlos Vergara. It was sold out at that branch, but the nice lady at the customer service area offered to reserve it for me at the Festival Mall branch. Since I had a lot of time to kill, I decided to walk from ATC to Festival and back to pick up the book, and while at Festival I also bought the Zsazsa Zaturnnah DVD. There were cushy sofa-beds in front of a strip of clothing stores on the ATC 2nd level, so I lounged there and read through the whole book, and I must say: totally worth it! Guys, bilhin niyo 'to, it's only P240 for a really nice-quality paperback. It was hilariously cheesy but it retained its charm, and I love the role-reversal where the male love interest is objectified (oh noes, Dodong, evil zombies are tearing off your clothes!). Tsaka ampocha, muntik na akong maiyak sa ending. Really! I had to skim over the words so I wouldn't start sobbing in front of dozens of strangers. Waah, ambading ko talaga. XD

I also received my first ever paycheck today (okay, it was just wired to my bank account), so I spent most of the day humming NSYNC's "Just Got Paid." Hehe kulit. Then I went clothes shopping at Mango and Rustan's, where I found this gorgeous Oleg Cassini silver spaghetti strap top and matching bolero! Since I was feeling particularly faaat that day, I took their biggest size, and holy pakshet, mukhang sako. Their next size was 6 dress sizes smaller. This is where my problems with tops comes in: it's loose at the waist, but tight at the bust. I could button it up, sure, but I looked like Bruce Banner seconds away from tearing up his shirt.

The saleslady was waiting outside the dressing room. "Kasya po, ma'am?"

"Um, masikip sa bust," I replied, handing her back the clothes on a hanger. She notices that the spaghetti-strap top is facing the wrong way. I, of course, did not know then that it was the wrong way.

"Ma'am, sa likod po yung buttons."

"Ahehe." Ay, tae. =))

They had a size for me that fit perfectly, but it was in black. I liked the black well enough, but it just didn't feel as special as the silver one. Hehe, ang arte ng lola niyo! :P Luckily, though, the nice saleslady (for some weird reason, the salespeople I'd come across were being particularly nice to me today!) offered to contact the other branches to see if they had the silver set in my size, and she would call me if/when they did. Yay!

...And that's how I made 10 hours fly by. I'm a bloody genius at anti-boredom. :)

Micmac and his mom were nice enough to pick me up and take me to Kat's house so I wouldn't have to go through all the fuss at the village gate. I will never, ever stop being amused by the routine I go through whenever I meet up with Zobel classmates, which usually involves screaming "OH MY GAAAAHD!" and then slow-motion running into a big bear hug. Ahh, it's funny and awesome every time. It happened in varying degrees with different people:

Scene # 1

Sophie: "OHMIGOD JEANNE!"

Me: "SOOOOWF!"

*glomp*

Scene # 2

A guest arrives in the living room. I turn around and see Kalals.

Me and Kalals, unison: "AAAAAAH!"

Scene # 3

I'm in the backyard with Miggy, Kat and Kevin. Enter Jam.

Jam: "JEANNE!"

Me: "JAAAAM!"

*glomp*

And then we babble at full speed about a ton of things, just like the Legally Blonde girls. XD

We played that old South Park game, Chef's Love Shack, and Micmac pwnd me and I pwnd Miggy (sort of -- I pussed out during the game play rounds). Bonding kami ni Miggy over dinner outside, then he introduced me to Herald, a guy who actually loves studying (jealous!). I was telling him about Pisay, and how I missed being able to go on gimiks every week, and he was like, "I think I would have liked that, because I'd honestly rather spend my free time studying, and I really like science." Ah, Herald, I wish I were you. Herald also dressed up as Jimi Hendrix for Halloween last year, which earns him bonus points in my book. =))

After some hemming and hawing on what horror flick to watch, the group decided on Poltergeist, despite the insistence of some of us that we do a How I Met Your Mother marathon instead. Slutty Pumpkin! Hee. Miggy and I didn't like scary movies (if you'll remember how I spent last year's Halloween, watching The Grudge 2 with Kat and Micmac, I had my eyes shut and my hands over my ears throughout half of the movie), so we abducted the plate of M & M's and other chocolates and went to the backyard to sit in the grass and go stargazing -- well, there weren't a lot of stars out, so we called it "cloud-gazing." On the plate, there was this weird tinfoil-wrapped eyeball chocolate thing that had caramel inside. Miggy said it was good pero tunaw, and it would taste better after being refrigerated for a while, so I pocketed one with the intention of refrigerating it when I got home. Thirty minutes later, I reach into the pocket of my hoodie to get my cellphone, and:

"Ugh, guess what just melted all over my phone!"

"Yung chocolate?"

"Hehe. Yeah."

"Told you."

We talked about our lives, and how we both kind of missed that special feeling you get when you find someone you're fond of. Aww. :P Kevin, whom I'd only met that evening, joined us in the backyard a little later, complaining that Poltergeist looked like a crappy movie. We talked about our ambitions: Miggy wants to be a novelist, I want to be a columnist, and Kevin wants to serve in the Marines because he was outraged by all the senseless murders committed in the name of Allah. Really brave of you, dude. Kat joined us a little later and we talked about politics, religion, and all the things that you wouldn't ideally discuss with strangers. I don't even talk about that with my friends, really, so it was kind of cool to get to discuss it openly this once, especially since we all basically shared the same point of view.

We also took a moment to look at the firefly by the trees, which was a pretty nice moment.

I tried lying down in the grass, but thirty seconds into it, I was like, "Miggy, the longer I lie here, the more I think about the number of times the dog must have taken a crap right in this spot." XD

We, including other attendees, all made plans to watch Into the Woods, Cinderella and Avenue Q together (it's not Art or Shock Value yet, Floy Quintos, but I'm working on it!), and then I had to leave earlier than I wanted to because my parents didn't want me staying out so late. Boo parents. :(

Halloween 2007 was fantastic. Some people like their parties with lots of booze and dancing, but for me, there's nothing better than bonding with friends under the stars and making the time fly by. I left with a grin on my face, new numbers added to my phonebook...and yes, a sticky, chocolate-covered cellphone.

Theater Talk, Atbp. with Floy Quintos

2007-10-29T01:32:00.001-07:00

The gist was this: 20 bloggers got to attend a seminar on theater appreciation with renowned playwright and director Floy Quintos, provided we blog about the experience afterward. Given the agenda, I thought this was pretty brilliant.

While I have little experience in performing arts, I've always wanted to learn more about it (or as tone-deaf Kristine of A Chorus Line put it, "What I lack in pitch, I sure make up in power!"), so I decided to go for it. I signed up using my Multiply journal, which is admittedly written more for my personal circle of friends than for the Pinoy blogosphere. Why then is the Theater Talk recap appearing here rather than there? Simple: Theater Talk was the much-needed defibrillator shock that brought this blog back to life, because I think the plea for the Philippine theater cause needs to reach a wider audience. In other words, I'm back, bitches!

The experience was really intimidating, since this was the first time I'd attended an event where I didn't know anybody at all -- not even online. For the first fifteen minutes, as we waited for the staff to finish setting up the seminar room, I did my usual wallflower routine of sitting on a bench and texting. (Yeah, I'm not as snarky in person as I am online.) I kinda wished I'd brought Micmac along, so he could give me the kick in the pants I needed to start talking to people, like that time he dragged my reluctant, chicken ass to get my picture taken with uber-cutie Felix Rivera. =))

Me to Micmac (text message): "Dude, I'm nervous! 'Di ako marunong mag-mingle!"

Micmac: "You look at the person next to you, make a stupid joke, laugh, then introduce yourself. O diba, 'di na strangers :P"

I meandered about the lobby and then went back upstairs to get over my minor case of xenophobia and just introduce myself to these people. I'm not the kind of person who enjoys telling strangers stupid jokes, so I just went straight to "Hi." Yay, new friends. =D I'd known of Shari before through Sir Martin; I was, of course, familiar with AJ through his site (I met Bakla of BaklaAko! And he was fierce!); and being around a guy as friendly (dare I say fabulous?) as Walter could make any shrinking violet feel a little less nervous about themselves. :D We actually got to talk to Floy Quintos himself beforehand, and I explained the six (or less) degrees of separation I had with him: my English Journalism class watched his play, Shock Value, but I didn't get to as I was violently ill that day. I think I still have my unused ticket here somewhere.

For the session, we were asked to remove our shoes, and I realized I picked the wrong day to wear boots. For a more relaxed and interactive session, we would be sitting on mats on the floor, and I realized I picked the wrong day to wear a skirt. ...Yes, I am an idiot. Sartorially and otherwise.

Another noteworthy thing about this session was that we girls were vastly outnumbered by a ton of out-and-proud gay men, which made my inner fag hag jump for joy. Hee-hee. You have to understand, the severe lack of out boys in Batch '08 has made me a little frustrated. I want someone to be the Justin to my Daphne, damn it! [/Queer as Folk reference] Or for a reference closer to home, the Ada to my Didi! I'm really just a gay boy in a straight girl's body, I swear!

At 17, I was the youngest person there, which led to my being branded "the highschooler" and "the virgin." I actually didn't mind. It's a nice change from always being the oldest damn person in the classroom. Anyway, I introduced myself as "Jules," a contraction of "Julie," which in turn is a new nickname I contrived from my name, Jeanne Louise (just transpose the U and L), because I've decided that the nickname "J.C." is both banal and gender-ambiguous, and like "Jeanne," people still manage to misspell it ("Jaycee?" Come on!). I have a plethora of nicknames (Jules/Julie/JC/Jeanne/Jan/Janjalani/JAAAAN!), so just take your pick.

For the getting-to-know-you activity, I was paired with 23-year-old Med Tech major James, and at this point I was already sort of over the "I'm a newbie" nerves. It was really fun talking to you, James! I must say, I was overwhelmed by all the pink on your blog (me: "Did I get the wrong address?"). In case you're still wondering whether or not people can "smell your gayness," let me just say, I didn't. The sporty shirt threw me off! Although in retrospect, I probably should have taken notice when you said you felt old at 23. Hee-hee.

Loved Floy Quintos. Actual topic aside, I admired how engaging he was with the whole room, and I made a few mental notes from this for the next time I speak in public. See, while I can nail the diction and projection just fine in class, I always feel like there's a glass wall separating me from the audience. When Floy talked, he really made a connection with each of us, interacting with us as a room full of individuals rather than a mere sea of faces. If all my teachers could discuss their lessons like this, I'd enjoy school a lot more than I do.

This was, of course, a seminar on theater appreciation, so Floy -- I have a feeling he wouldn't appreciate being called "Mr. Quintos," considering that he's touchy enough at the mention of his age, LOL -- made a compelling case for Pinoy theater. For the vast amount of effort put into each production, theater reaps little rewards in comparison to other industries such as film and television. Theater also has limited appeal for many reasons, including: "The tickets are too expensive," "I'd rather watch a movie," and "Eww, theater? That's so gaaay." As someone who shelled out P1,250 (and an extra P750 for Micmac XD) of my own money to watch Avenue Q, I've got to say it was worth every cent. Even if you hated it, Floy. Hee. Theater provides an entirely different experience; as Floy said, it creates an "alternative world" that, when well-executed, completely reels you in.

Among my peers, I often feel alone in my appreciation for performing arts (excluding Micmac, Jam, Miggy, Sam, etc., you lovely, oh-so-sophisticated beeatches :D), and it would be great if more people could see and love theater for the beautiful, bastard daughter of the arts that it is. On Floy's behalf, I'm asking you readers to please, see a play sometime. If you find one that's really good, it'll leave you hanging on the edge of your seat with goosebumps on your forearms. It's the greatest mindfuck that money could buy.

There was a raffle after the seminar, and yay me, I won 2 tickets to Dogeaters! I admittedly tend to glaze over at historical plays, but since Floy told me na bagay daw sakin 'to (naks, recommendation!), I'm really looking forward to it. Shempre I've invited my theater buddy Micmac to be my plus one as a "thank you" for helping me through my wallflower-ness and scoring me a picture with Felix Rivera. Oyess. (Speaking of the lovely Felix, I'm totally catching Fiddler on the Roof to see him again! Haha stalker!) It's at the RCBC Plaza ulit, so you'll know which streets to cross this time! XD

I wish I could have stayed longer and mingled at the kainan after the seminar, but unlike most of them, my parents were driving me home, so I couldn't keep them waiting. Heh, I feel nerdy. :P

My biggest thanks to Gibbs Cadiz, Migs and Karla for this great event!

Things I learned today:

Philippine theatre is terribly underappreciated, and even in this realm, we take a backseat to the Western world.
Never wear boots to a performing arts seminar unless you're absolutely sure that you won't be required to take them off.
In that vein, never wear a skirt if they're going to make you sit on the floor.
Gay people are awesome. Wait, I already knew that. :)

I walked into the PETA Theatre an inexperienced but curious Broadway fan, and I walked out with a heightened appreciation for Philippine theater. And I'm suddenly itching to get my hands on a copy of Zsazsa Zaturnnah.

Mindless fun and housewifery

2007-10-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yay, a full length story-of-my-life update!

I've got to say, I'm absolutely in love with my current living arrangement. It's basically this: I make up my own hours, and then I just do whatever the hell I feel like doing. It. Is. Awesome. My parents are worried that I'm experiencing brain drain from all the fun, no-thinking-required activity, but if anyone loves reveling in their own idiocy, it's me.

(For the un-updated on my life, here's the summary: I took an equivalency test last July and I am now officially a high school graduate. I have the rest of the year free to do anything I want to, until college next year. Think of it as a year-long sembreak.)

This is also a perfect living arrangement for me because I'm the type of person who never gets bored. I'll always find something interesting to do. So what have I been doing with my endless free time?

Listened to the A Chorus Line soundtrack ad nauseam, singing along shamelessly when I am home alone. I'm talking dance-on-the-bed, hairbrush-as-a-microphone sing-alongs here. Like in the movies! I've listened over and over so much that I memorize most of it verbatim, as I have with the Rent and Wicked soundtracks. "I dug right down to the bottom of my soul to see how an ice cream felt, yes I dug right down to the bottom of my soul, and I tried...to meeeelt!"
During our Powerbooks shopping spree, my mom bought a huge book of cookie recipes. Since I'm the only one here who can bake worth a damn (what? It's true!), I've taken it upon myself to make sure the house is always stocked with a different type of cookie every week. Last couple of weeks: peanut butter cookies and classic chocolate chip cookies. Next week: Snickerdoodles and chocolate kourabiedes.
Shopped a lot. I've turned into a complete mall rat, although JC's Excellent Adventure will come to a temporary halt for now considering the Glorietta bombing. Did you know that I actually planned to go there that day? We were running out of Japanese mayo, so I planned a trip to Little Tokyo in Makati to restock (because I LUUURVE Japanese mayo). I decided to stay in instead because I had to finish a writing job -- see # 8.
Tried about every single spa in the area. I'm addicted. I love getting my feet pampered. I'd say that The Spa is the best experience, but it's costly. Let's Face It gives the best value for money. It's fairly cheap, but the service is competent.
Watched a lot of DVDs. I just ran through all three seasons of Arrested Development in a week-long marathon, and I am so in love with it (my favorite episode is S2E4, "Good Grief"). The soap opera music that plays every time Oscar hints that he's Buster's father? Hilarious!
Read a lot of books, but I still have a long way to go. I have a shelf full of unread books. I just finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky a couple of weeks ago. Verdict? Favorite Book Ever (alongside Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov). I've actually taken to using Final Draft (scriptwriting software) to write a screenplay adaptation. This book was made for the big screen. I can totally see Michael Angarano as Charlie and Zooey Deschanel as Sam.
Speaking of writing, I have been writing a lot lately. I've been churning out tons of fan fiction (no, you can't see it! *embarrassed*), as well as an entire television script (the pitch is Rent meets Cheers meets Grey's Anatomy), with six follow-up episodes, and I just joined NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, where you basically have to write an entire novel in a month. Yeah, it feels like a kamikaze mission, but go me!
I've decided to put my writing skills to use by taking on a part-time job. I write IT-related articles for an online company, and once I finish all of them -- mind you, a lot -- I'll be paid $1,200 for the job (that's about $120 every week). Yay, shopping money! The best part is that I can work from wherever I want to, and I make up my own hours.
I just attended a theater seminar with renowned playwright Floy Quintos, which was AWESOME, and I promise I will blog about it in the coming week!

If I could describe my lifestyle in one sentence, I'd say it was a cross between unemployed slacker and housewife, what with all the baking and shopping and trips to the spa. I've also started watching soap operas -- eek! Only one, though, an American series called As the World Turns. But can you blame me? I'm all for Holden/Lily, and Luke/Noah is THE CUTEST THING EVER. I mean, seriously:

How can you not love that? Squee!

Mom insists that I take up a class to avoid the radioactive decay in my brain, so it's a toss-up between Spanish and driving. (I'm almost 18 and I still don't know how to drive!) I, of course, will delay the enrollment for as long as I friggin' can.

By the way, leaving a note:

To all the awesome people I just met at Theater Talk with Floy Quintos: I've decided to revive my old blog, This. Is. Jeanne. precisely for the purpose of discussing Theater Talk because Blogger is less exclusive than Multiply (and I had more readers there than I do here, I think). Watch for the recap of Theater Talk in a couple of days! Nice meeting all of you! Floy Quintos is love! (Although I must disagree, Avenue Q was awesome!) - Jules/Julie/Jeanne/JC/what have you, I have a lot of nicknames. XD

P.S. I was the one in the red blazer, black skirt and boots. The one who looks like a teenager but dresses like she's 40. =)) I don't usually dress like that, I swear!

Moved.

2007-06-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Because three blogs is too many, I am now posting exclusively on two blogs:

1. My Friends-Only LiveJournal
2. My open-to-everybody (with a few select contacts-only posts) Multiply.

See ya!

If you were wondering what the fuck Music One is doing...

2007-05-17T04:37:00.000-07:00

..and where your other favorite music store went, I found the answer while dining at Dulcinea and leafing through an issue of Rolling Stone.

I actually read this several months ago, but I figured it was already common knowledge; however, every time I brought it up with friends, they honestly had no idea. And since I couldn't find it in RS's archives, I typed it up for you!

Tower Records Shuts Its Doors
Chain is liquidated after declaring bankruptcy

After forty-six years in business, Tower Records will close by the end of the year. The eighty-nine-store chain, which owed its creditors $200 million and filed for bankruptcy on August 21st, was sold at auction to the liquidation company Great American Group on October 6th for $134.3 million. Great American outbid Trans World Entertainment -- which owns the FYE and Coconuts chains and had pledged to keep some Tower outlets open -- by just $500,000. After six weeks of liquidation sales, Great American will lay off the company's 3,000 or so employees in twenty states and shut the stores' doors forever. "It's a sad day," says Tom Corson, executive vice president and general manager of Arista/J Records. "Without Tower, it's one less location where a fan can feel comfortable finding new music."

Tower had been struggling since 2000, when CD sales started drying up. Internet stores such as iTunes and Amazon also took their toll, as have file-sharing sites and competition from big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which use discounted CDs as "loss leaders" to get consumers into stores.

Tower for stealing cassettes."It's the end of an era," says Slash, who got arrested as a teenager at the Sunset Strip "When Use Your Illusion came out, they had a special opening for it at midnight. I watched people lining up through the security window in the back office where they busted me for stealing."

The first Tower opened in Sacramento in 1960, after founder Russ Solomon spent almost 20 years selling records from the back of his father's drugstore. Solomon emphasized having a deeper catalog than his competitors -- and when his third store opened in San Francisco in 1968, it wasn't uncommon to see Steve Miller, Carlos Santana and the Jefferson Airplane scouring the racks for obscure Delta blues. Tower's most famous location opened on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip in 1970, and it became a rock and roll landmark. "Everybody came into Sunset," says Solomon, 81. "A lot of musicians worked in our stores. It was a decent job -- didn't pay a hell of a lot, but you got to live around music."

By the 1990's, the company had expanded to 200 worldwide stores and $1 billion in sales, but in 2004 the chain declared bankruptcy for the first time -- as it would one more time before being sold. Among the customers saddened by Tower's closure is Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who began shopping at the Sunset Tower in the early Seventies and still spends $100 to $200 a month there (including, recently, the Beatles' White Album). "It's stocked, and has many diversified records," he says. "It's a cool place to be -- friendly people and a good vibe."

So here's an online "Fuck you!" to Great American for failing to realize the importance of Tower Records as an institution. 'Cause it's always about money, isn't it?

I checked out the Tower Records article on Wikipedia, and hey look! There's hope:

On-line merchant Caiman, Inc. has recently disclosed that it plans not only to re-launch the website but they also plan to re-launch the stores themselves - opening stores in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco within the next 9 months. They have even hired former buyer Kevin Hawkins to assist with the re-opening.

Say what you will about the joys of illegal downloading, but nothing beats owning an original record.

A moment

2007-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Then I wondered to myself, "Since when have I become such a music snob?"

Given my humble beginnings of having discovered rock music through a reality show (Rock Star: INXS, to be specific), I don't really have that right. But it's like, with every rare rock CD that I acquire, I feel more rock snobbish, in a Jack-Black-in-High-Fidelity kind of way. Case in point: I was talking to someone last week about how Incubus is so gasgas and emo music is fucking shit (I admitted to liking Panic! at the Disco though hahaha). He agreed, and laughed at my inexplicable fondness for Panic. Basically, if a lot of people start liking a band, turn-off na sakin yun, and stuff like that. I made the mistake of whining about how much I hate corporate rock to a guy who liked Nickelback and Creed, luckily he was cool about it. He doesn't like Nirvana, either, so we're even.

But it didn't really hit me until I stopped by Music One, planning to pick up a Daughtry album. 'Cause I love Chris Daughtry and everything. So I had the CD in my hand, and I'm walking around checking out the other albums, when I realize that they're playing Daughtry in the store. And the moment my brain processes the sound, the thought hits me like a brick:

"Oh, SHIT! Corporate rock!"

I drop the CD in the nearest shelf and practically run out the store. Sorry, Chris, I love you, and I enjoy the occasional Nickelback single, but I hate corporate rock in general. Hate it. With a passion. It's the elevator music of rock and roll. It's a rock enema. You might as well be Britney Spears. You made me run out of the record store, it's that kind of music!

"I figured out of all the Idols, Daughtry would be the one I'd pay money to listen to his rock album. But this isn't "rock." This is some unholy crap the radio stations call "Hot Adult Contemporary" and some polyester leisure suit-wearing demon-spawn producer excreted and recorded as an album. I'm still upset. I mean, sure, I bought the other albums, but only as a joke. This is personal." - Professor Chan

So I went home and comforted myself with Bjork and Radiohead. Maybe in an age when I'm not as repulsed by corporate rock, I'll pick up the damn album. This is probably just a phase.

CDs, chocolates, boy bands, and a mullet

2007-04-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

- Who knew online shopping could be so much fun? Thanks to eBay and the PhilMusic forums, I am now in possession of some rare CDs that you'll never find in the shitty, incompetent music stores littered around Metro Manila: "Pablo Honey," "The Bends" and "OK Computer" by Radiohead, "Foo Fighters" and "One by One" by Foo Fighters, "Clumsy" by Our Lady Peace and "Musicology" by Prince. Yay for summer soundtripping!
- Speaking of soundtripping, I was in full boyband-reminiscence mode this week! 98 Degrees YM-singalong with Micmac and BBMak talk with Ellie!
- Saw TMNT with my brother at Gateway last week and loved it!
- I want to watch Wild Hogs. (And Happy Hearts, too, but don't tell anyone :P Rustom Padilla is faaaabulous!)
- I tried Taco Bell. I will never eat at Taco Bell again. (Well, maybe for the free refills.) I bit into one end of a burrito, only to realize na the other end was open pala! Me to bro: "Shit, it took a dump all over my tray!"
- The N70 Music Edition is simply amazing, and I recommend it to all you music lovers out there! It's convenient, easy-to-use, and damn sexy!
- Last week, I got bored, so I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut my own hair. I have crazy-ass bangs now! Long enough to half-cover my eyes.
- Mom saw my self-made 'do and called it a mullet (!!!)
- I. Have. A. !@%^$#ing. Mullet. 0____o
- Nothing is quite as crazy as the moment you realize you've given yourself a mullet.
- If it really is a mullet (!!!), it's a cute, punk-rock one! :D (Even though "cute mullet" sounds like an oxymoron.)
- I'm considering getting my hair trimmed down to a boy cut for the summer. Like Michelle Clunie. (She's dating Gale Harold? OMG lucky!!! Gale is insanely hot!)
- Mom's back from Belgium, and as usual, she's got tons of Belgian chocolates!
- I am about to overdose on Belgian chocolates and Radiohead, and I am loooving it 8-}

Murphy's Law just kicked my ass

2007-04-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will."

I made no objection when I was assigned to be the video editor for III - Potassium's Filipino movie. I found movie-making to be an amusing hobby, and I'd spent last year's lazy summer hours putting together yet another tribute to Constantine Maroulis. It was a job that wasn't really a job. Besides, while acting is always fun, I wasn't looking forward to playing somebody's mother yet again. I was so excited about editing the movie that I had a little gray filler chock-full of ideas, from what songs would play where (obviously, they were all alternative, post-grunge, or trip-hop tracks), to an elaborate opening sequence -- illustrated storyboards included! -- that, unfortunately, never panned out.

Of course, when taking the job, little did I know how much of a pain in the ass it would be. I sat down in front of the computer, ready to begin work, when this appears: "Windows Movie Maker cannot play this file. The required codec is missing."

This marked the beginning of the most tiring hunt in my life. Finding a way to make the movie files compatible would prove to be harder than making the movie itself. I don't blame the person whose camera was used for the incompatible files, I just chalked it all up to unfortunate circumstance. Very, very unfortunate circumstance. Damned if the movie didn't suck all the life force out of me: I spent days commuting between Las Pinas and Quezon City, I bought a card reader, I saw PC technicians in various malls, I even had the laptop reformatted, just for those files. One day before the deadline, we finally got them to work. Of course, the joy of finally solving the Mystery of the Missing Codec was washed away by the feeling of "Oh FUCK, I'm dead!"

Thankfully, though, our wonderfully lenient Filipino teacher extended the deadline. That would prove to be no help, however, when a classmate's mom called, pressuring me to finish it ASAP. My dad wanted to call her back and tell her off about how much I'd dedicated to this goddamned movie, but I told him not to. Again, I don't blame anyone (promise! :D), but the worst part of being editor is that everyone's clearance form becomes your responsibility, and every technical screw-up is automatically your fault.

"Don't worry," I assured inquiring classmates through text that dreadful Wednesday, "I'll have it done and submitted by tomorrow morning." I was certain that I could finish this 20-minute movie in a good five hours or so, no problemo. I set my laptop in front of me on the couch and started working around 6:30 p.m., with the TV tuned in to American Idol (which, might I add, is so boring that it isn't even worth my annual evaluation, so let me just say that everyone bores me except for Jordin and Sanjaya -- and I really only like Sanjaya because he's cute and sweet).

I expected to finish working by midnight, but the clock struck twelve and I wasn't even halfway done. I kept working, long enough to watch the sun rise. Yes, folks, it was 6:30 a.m., I'd worked for 12 hours straight, not a wink of sleep, and guess what? I STILL WASN'T FUCKING DONE! By 7 a.m., I passed out in front of the laptop, and woke up 30 minutes later, in near-tears at how totally screwed I was. I told Dad I couldn't ride with him to school because I had a long way to go. Yet another tack in my self-imposed coffin: not riding to school meant a tiring 2-hour trip on public utility vehicles. Yeee-hah. And as the cherry topping on this big pile of horse shit, I wasn't cleared yet (this was the last day of clearance), and there happened to be one major bitch of a substitute teacher who was dead-set on making things hell for me. Thursday was certainly shaping up to be the worst day of my life.

The clock read 10 a.m., and still, no movie. See, subtitling was the real killer here. I might have been able to finish it in 5 hours like I thought I would, if only I didn't subtitle all the damn scenes. I decided to take my laptop to school and work on the film while trying to finish having my clearance form signed. I had a snowball's chance in hell of making it all work out on only 30 minutes' worth of sleep. This Sword-of-Damocles feeling of "I am so fucked" had me riding to school literally feeling like my heart had a brick lodged in it.

Halfway there, meaning an hour away from home, I realized that I had forgotten to bring my clearance form with me. And at school, there was the added bonus of discovering that I also left my laptop charger behind!

Murphy's Law was in full force.

I felt like I had just been buttfucked by life. Thoughts of taking a month-long emo sabbatical in which I'd hole up in my room and drown myself in black eyeliner and Panic! At the Disco filled my weary head. I was tired, cranky, sleepy, stressed out. Had my hair turned gray that day, I wouldn't have been surprised.

Things turned out for the better, though. I was once again saved by Ma'am Rodriguez's leniency. She agreed to sign clearances if I made a note saying I'd pass the movie by 3 p.m. the next day. I was also informed by the good people at the Registrar's office that I could still work on my clearance form on Friday, so I spent my last minutes at school with Beila, Deo, and Ellie, watching bits of the unfinished film. (Ang galing pala umarte ni Jon! :o) I went home early, stopping by Glorietta to peruse the stores. I found "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris on sale at National Bookstore, so -- awesome! It's a nice little ice pack after the beatdown I took.

And that, kiddies, is how my day went from "OMG I'm fucked" to "Hey, that wasn't so bad." I actually went home pretty happy. (I will, however, have gone home the following day in tears. Just goes to show that you never know what's gonna happen next.) It was back to work once I stepped through the front door, but this time, I felt good about it.

Later that night, I found out:

"Shit, may kulang na scene!"

Hee.

2007-03-05T04:27:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday, the last day of February. Low point of my day? Falling flat on my ass at lunchtime and disproving the theory that extra padding helps. No, it does not. It's Saturday and my butt still hurts. But the high point of my day was -- aside from Potassium scoring the highest in Math class, heh-heh -- everything that happened once I stepped into familiar territory: DLSZ's Angelo King Theater.

...Well, almost everything. Anyway, what was I doing in a school theater on Wednesday night? I was there as moral support, since Jam was the star(!!!) of the annual school play, Once on This Island. And Mege had a dance solo, LOL =D

I arrived just as the play started, and Micmac was sitting in the middle of the row. I couldn't get to him since this jerk wouldn't let me pass through, just because he was too lazy to stand up. (On the offhand chance that you might be reading: FUCK YOU!)

Alright, confession time: Vicky, remember when you cried as Anna Oposa sang? I thought it was kinda silly back then. (Hehe peace!) Five years later I am now eating crow, because the minute Jam started singing, I, the most bato, stoic girl in the HAC, was all teary-eyed! Waaah :P But could you blame me? I didn't know Jam could sing, and boy, did she ever! The plot was pure suckage (sorry, it was a lame re-do of The Little Mermaid), but Jam definitely carried it.

An hour into the play, I finally got the balls to just butt through in front of Asshole Who Wouldn't Stand Up, and at last nakasama ko na si Micmac =)) He saw me totally turn on the waterworks during that scene where Ti Moune leaves her parents. We both looked on in awe as Jam did that kick-ass dance solo, and at the end of the play we ignored rules and sneaked backstage like the pasaways that we are (at least I am, anyway). Bwahaha >:) I got to tell her "Jam, you made me cryyyy!" right before tearing up again, and then I went to congratulate Miggy too :)

[Me + Micmac (top), Me + Jam (bottom)...I'd post our pic Mege but we look like two people who just saw the videotape from The Ring LOL]

After a laglagan session with Micmac (bwahaha), I arrived home at about 11p.m., guaranteed to wake up to a huge headache the next day. But I didn't care. As I told them, "This was worth missing homework for!"

To cap off my night, I got to watch the American Idol replay, too, so yay :D

American Idol 6

2007-02-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

I'm going to keep things short and sweet. Here's what I think of the AI roster:

More on that as things progress.

Credit Rickey.

Sir Javert says...

2007-02-21T02:33:00.000-08:00

[Through text....since it's a public announcement anyway, I'm gonna put it here.]

"I want 2 break my silence aftr all that has happend. I did NOT campaign 4Chiara NOR 4Llenel b4 d electxn. I congratulatd Llenel & consoled Chiara aftr. But what I cud not stand is, ther wer som peopl who campaignd NOT 2 vote Chiara. Put n perspectiv, Batch'08 has ACHIEVED a lot this yr, & Chiara workd hard for it as Batch Pres. It's just not fair that peopl fail 2 see d over-all pictur. Let's be objectiv about true accomplishments & what's truly gud 4d batch!"

Hmmm.

All Night Long [The JS Prom]

2007-02-18T04:03:00.000-08:00

Prom Tip: Wearing five-inch-heel peep-toe stilettos is like putting your toes through a meat grinder.

This I learned the hard way. At the end of the night (roughly 1:30 a.m.), I was walking in tiny steps because of all the pain and my only thought was "OMFG MY &*!#$@%ING FEET!"

I should probably tell you the whole story. It started with a decision:

a) Mermaid-cut maroon silk corset-top tube gown with black lace fishtail and bolero; or
b) Aquamarine corset-top tube gown with flowing A-line skirt and shawl.

Apparently, I was more indecisive than I realized. The part that sucked about it was that they both had corsets, so I couldn't dress up alone. Here's the thing, Gown A was hard to walk in -- I could barely move my legs above the knee -- but it cost P8,500, so no fucking way could I NOT wear it, maroon is totally my color, my make-up, nails, and mask were made to fit this gown, and people were already looking forward to seeing it. Gown B was a lot easier to move around in (i.e. perfect for dancing), but the color soooo didn't suit me, and this was my Mom's gown to my Tita's wedding last Saturday.

Stupid me. We'd just returned home after getting my hair, nails and makeup done at Jesi Mendez, and I saw Mom's gown on the clothes rack. Out of curiosity, I go, "Hey, what if I try that on?" And Mom's like "Yeah, my dress is better than yours." (AARGH.) And when I try it on, I'm like...

"It does look good. Damn it!"

So now I can't decide. A or B? First I pick the maroon one, but then Mom guilt-trips me into wearing the aquamarine one, so I change. Once I get to Shangri-La EDSA, however, I head straight for the restroom (after getting lost a couple million times) and change back into the maroon one. There, after switching twice, I finally made a decision.

Prom started well, save for the lame dinner, but hey, there were Hershey's Kisses all over the table! Routine screams of "Love your gooown!" or something along those lines, pictures, pictures, pictures, "fix your corset we can see your cleavage," and cotillion. Cute dancing, hated the music. Within 15 minutes of walking in my Nine Wests they start to HURT LIKE HELL. So even though it's weird, I take them off. Once my feet feel better, I put them on again. This process will repeat about 7 times the whole night.

The highlight of my night was obviously...dancing! Since I couldn't dance in my maroon dress, I head to the restroom with Dea to change into the aquamarine one. I had no idea what to do with my shawl, I use it to turn my tube dress into a halter top! Yay, cute!

Prom Tip #2: When you're on the dance floor, don’t be afraid to look like a total retard. Shamelessness is inversely proportionate to the amount of fun you'll have dancing. Self-consciousness is a killer in these situations. Just let go!

We get back, and people start dancing. I guess I've changed a bit since my La Salle days. Four years ago at the Grad Ball, it took major convincing for me to get on the dance floor, and even then I barely danced at all. This time, I shook what my momma gave me! (Aagh, lame expression.) And let me tell you, it was hella fun.

Prom Tip #3: Dancing barefoot is better than dancing with meat-grinder shoes.

The Bloomfields get the people gravitating towards the dance floor, and I head over there barefoot and dance my ass off. Don't knock it, it was fun! Beila danced *gasp*! Ang landi sumayaw ni GMA, ohoho! Oh, and they played "Colorblind" by Counting Crows, which I suggested for the prom playlist, so yay!

Picture-taking is no fun at all when you're dancing. Okay, it kind of is, but it's like, you're getting your freak on and someone's like, "Uy picture!" and you're like "Hey, I still wanna dance!" You end up waiting (Ilang-ilang pic), waiting (date pic), and waiting (barkada pics of Barcie and Albert and Maan M. -- aww, 'di ko na naabutan) and wanting to go back and dance. Solution? Dance while waiting! Haha =P Sir Segs interrupted me slow-dancing with Edineille and Albert at the same time while waiting in line. And then I slow-danced with Giselle and GMA, whose idea of slow-dancing is making giling-giling, hence the "landi" label.

Prom ended waaay too soon! I wanted to dance until 4 a.m. (thanks for instilling that in me, Zobel peeps!), kaya super bitin. Oh well. We should have proms every week! Or dancing parties where you just...dance. And take pictures with hot drummers, Beila. Haha!

So, return to end point. I did leave with thoughts of "OMFG MY &*!#$@%ING FEET," but I was also happy with the way things turned out. Despite not going on an inuman session, staying overnight or even sneaking off to Starbucks like I would have wanted, I had the best prom ever, and I hope next year, I'll have the best prom ever too.

Next year, though, I am staying far, far away from five-inch heels.

"Ang kakapal ng mukha ninyo!"

2007-02-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

Sir Joma:

I am sorry that you have to deal with III - Potassium as an extra load with little to no compensation. Though I cannot do anything to help you, I hope you know that some of us do appreciate what you are doing for us. I may not be the smartest tool in the shed by a long shot, but I do learn from your Chem lectures. And a lot of us gave you high ratings in the teacher evaluation.

On behalf of most of us, thank you for your efforts, Sir.

Things to remember when blogging

2007-02-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

On more than one occasion, I'd gotten comments on my old tagboard (you know, before it conked out) asking me for tips on blogging. After visiting numerous blogs that irritate me for one reason or another, I've finally come up with my top nine Things to Remember When Blogging! (Hey, better late than never.)

[Before I get going, I want to give a shout-out to Sir Martin and his entry on writing good blog posts -- thanks for reminding me to get my lazy butt around to double-clicking this ancient Word document and copy-pasting it onto my Blogger. Cheers!]

Here we go:

1. Never ever ever ever EVER put background music. Anybody with a computer and speakers most probably has their favorite songs already playing, and my God, if your blog music, no matter how awesome it may be, disrupts the song your reader is already listening to, you'd better pray that your content is worth it. Otherwise, chances are your readers will be clicking the little "X" button faster than you'd like them to.

2. Go fucking easy on the fucking expletives, fucktards. Cuss words do not make you sound cool, and when used in excess they just get annoying. Use only when necessary, i.e. when you're really, REALLY ANGRY. And even when you're really angry, you don't have to swear. By the way, putting asterisks on your swear words (ex. "that f***ing b*tch!") doesn't make them any less offensive.

3. Avoid highfalutin words. It doesn't matter whether or not you're a walking dictionary, blogs are not for showing off your vocabulary prowess. (Unless your readers are all Proust scholars or Jeopardy champs.) Besides, people like to read things they can actually understand. Save 'em big ol' words for your term paper, buddy.

4. Contrary to what you might be thinking, you don't have to put EVERYTHING on your blog. In other words, you don't have to let everybody know that you just ate a sandwich or took a dump. Choose your topics wisely.

5. D0n't p0sT lyK d1s. Ugh. It's irritating.

6. Don't post...like this...either. Why would you want readers to think you have some sort of mental disorder?

7. Be aware of your audience. Remember, posting your thoughts online, especially on hosts like Blogger, makes them open to EVERYBODY on the internet. If you want to write more personal posts, I suggest you get a LiveJournal so that you can choose who gets to read them.

8. Readable always trumps pretty. Forget flashy, bright-colored blogs with too-tiny fonts. Your blog can be pretty, by all means make it so, but make sure that your readers don't have to squint to read your posts. Simple isn't always bad. (And yes, I'm still on the hunt for a neater-looking blog layout.)

9. Blogs should be an accurate window to your personality. Don't worry if your blog comes off as too emo, or narcissistic, or shallow, or dorky. It's who you are, and you should embrace that.

For the record

2007-02-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Tyra Banks is not fat.

Cut her some fucking slack, okay? And I'm not saying this because I'm fat and all, but I hate how people think that if you're not Keira fucking Knightley in size (and I'm telling you she is fugly), you're fatfatfat, a fat fucking walrus. I don't hate skinny people (I happen to think Marcia Cross and Nicole Kidman are beautiful), but please. Tyra is a gorgeous woman, and 161 lbs. at 5'10 is NOT FAT GODDAMNIT.

Oscar fever

2007-01-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

There's only one thing I have to say about the Oscars, and that is...

Pleasepleaseplease let Little Miss Sunshine win Best Picture!

And all of youse, watch Little Miss Sunshine! It's one of the best movies you'll ever see.

Liner notes

2007-01-20T04:59:00.000-08:00

Ah, this week sucked, but I still have much to be thankful (and more to be apologetic or angry) for. So, dedications to the people of my week...

1. If my Php3,000 was stolen rather then lost, then to the person who robbed me: FUCK YOU YOU SHITFACED WORTHLESS FUCK I HOPE YOU FRY IN HELL I was supposed to buy Via Venetto shoes and a Bill Maher book with that you fucking dickweed

2. Deo: Thank you for burning the CD! Ganda pala ng "Morning View" yeyyy :D Brandon Boyd has a sexy body and a sexy voice. shet I love "Just a Phase"! Nice nice nice song. And thank you for the "ringside tickets" story, made me laugh my ass off :D and sorry I wasn't able to "save" you, my badminton skills suck :(

3. Ada: Thank you for the tsismis wahahaha =)) Pero promise, I didn't tell anyone! Whee. And thank you for printing the Pinoy :D

4. Dean: Thank you for giving me two passing Math quizzes! Yey. "Bat ganun answer mo?" "Wala lang, feel ko lang." Hehe now that's what I call Math induction!

5. JK: Thank you for giving me two passing Math homeworks! Magic Math skills oyess :P

6. Desa: Thank you for the Spice Girls nostalgia! Takin' is too easy but that's the way it is :D

7. Beila: Thank you for the Jimi Hendrix sing-along! I'd feel like a major weirdo if I sang "Foxey Lady" all by myself. :)) and thanks for the last part of the badminton game :D hehe "doubles" daw

8. Dea: Thank you for the conversation and the advice :)

9. Zim: Thank you for putting down your bag and making me laugh. Hehe you evil ex-virgin :P

10. Chanchan: Thank you for the company and you're welcome for the squid :D

Bonus. Sir Alfer: Damn you for calling us all non-virgins! That's a violation of the Ninth Commandment! "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor!"

Bonus # 2. Sir Chris: Thank you for not showing up! FREE PERIODS ROCK \m/

...So, yeah. Thanks everybody. Except for the fucker who possibly stole my money. And Sir Alfer, you dirty old man you :P

Rock and roll ain't noise pollution

2007-01-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

Man, I wish Sir Luy was still here. I hear he's the bassist for Juana now, so good for him, but I miss him. He was the coolest teacher a kid could ever meet: his cubicle was wallpapered with Velvet Revolver artwork, he made schoolwork too much fun to even be considered schoolwork, he had the widest knowledge of rock and roll of anybody I knew, and even though he came to class smelling of cigarettes, you always excused him for it because he had a decent cover-up joke ("It's my new perfume! It's called El Groucho!"). I remember him reading a book entitled "Hammer of the Gods" while his class was working once. He was impressed by the mere fact that I knew it was a Led Zeppelin biography, even though that was only because I remembered Jack Black awesomely lip-synching to "The Immigrant Song" in School of Rock.

If anything, I just wish he was my art teacher now instead of back then, when I was going through my New Age and Broadway phases. The most I knew about rock and roll was a couple of AC/DC songs. I may call myself eclectic, but my musical favorites come in phases: first it was the Mariah Carey phase, then the boy band phase, the Sugar Ray phase, the Boyz II Men phase, the Alicia Keys phase, and then the New Age phase, the Broadway phase, the grunge/light altern phase, and now, the rock and roll phase. I knew zilch about Velvet Revolver, except that my brother kept on playing one of their songs to the point of me wanting to point a shotgun at the fucking speakers. Now, I worship Scott Weiland and "Come On, Come In" is practically my life anthem. I would've talked to him about who he thought was better, Sammy Hagar or David Lee Roth; what his favorite kind of rock was (Prog? Glam? Grunge? Altern?), though I suspect it's heavy metal; the legacy of Kurt Cobain, Patron Saint of Gen X-ers everywhere; and things like that. Because he's one of the very few I know who's that into classic rock and roll. These days, you go around asking what "classic" is, and seven times out of ten, the answer you'll get is High School Musical.

Before you start thinking that this is an effing eulogy, it's not. Okay, it sort of is, but not for Sir Luy, vecause he's alive and rocking. If you read between the lines, you'll get that I'm talking about the (likely?) death of rock and roll. Late last year, rock lost one of its biggest radio stations when Howard Stern moved to Sirius. Others have closed down, switched to hip-hop, or reported a decrease in listeners over the years. Music's undisputedly iconic magazine, Rolling Stone, is now 75% politics and movie stars, and 25% actual music. In contrast to decades ago when it was a complete honor to make the cover of Rolling Stone, now you've got Christina Applegate, Borat and Jessica Simpson smiling at you from the newsstands.

It's a decade-old question: Is rock dead? You can almost feel the rocker die-hards wading through the Kubler-Ross five stages of grief: denial (an Arquette-esque "ROCK ISN'T DEAAAD!"), anger ("What is WRONG with you people? Hip-hop fucking sucks!"), bargaining ("Well, there are some decent newbie bands..."), depression ("Man, it'll never be that good again"), and...acceptance? Maybe. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl summed it up nicely -- and rather naughtily -- when asked by Spin magazine if rock is dead:

"Yes, but I believe in necrophilia."

I could go on a ten-page tirade on how rock isn't dead yet (or as Grohl suggests, dead but still doable), how U2 keeps hauling ass on the Grammies year after year, but in fewer words, this is my point: rock is undoubtedly fading. So I pitch to all you rock lovers out there, please get your friends into the scene. Force them to borrow your Led Zeppelin or AC/DC records, whatever. Rock newbies, ask your cool uncle about the heyday of Iron Maiden or Metallica. If you'll ask grunge-holic me, the best album to start with is Nirvana's Nevermind, Stone Temple Pilots' Core, or for a more updated sound, Foo Fighters' In Your Honor. Just try it. Feel it. Rock isn't bad.

Man, why didn't I choose THIS as my term paper topic? Oh well, next year if ever.

Memorandum

2007-01-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

Regardless or not of whether anyone from the Science Scholar staff reads this, I would like to express how dismayed I am at the recently released issue.

I was made to write a review of the book "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger as part of a double-feature to be printed alongside a review of the movie. Unlike with Candy magazine, I have to pay for my own copy of this book, so I spent P300 something and a lot of time reading the book and writing a decent review. (For what it's worth, I hated the book.) Truly a labor of love (okay, maybe hate, but it was a lot of effort).

Once the issue was out, I flipped through the pages hoping to see it there, and guess what? It wasn't. My half-baked article on the Ramayana was there, though, which I'm sure I'll get a lot of flak for since I didn't write about all the sections (and I have reasons for that, but I feel no need to say anything other than I didn't get to watch all the Ramayana plays, since I had classes to attend).

So, people of the Science Scholar, I would just like say that you wasted my time, effort, and money, and for what I don't know. You didn't like it? Not enough space on the paper? Whatever. I won't boycott or do anything as drastic, and I certainly don't demand that you publish it whenever, but just so you know, I was upset for a little while.

That's all.

2006-12-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

Boy, this vacation is WAY too short!

Things I've done the past week:
1. Watched the entire season of the 2003 revival of The Twilight Zone
2. Bought The Office (UK version) on DVD
3. Bought OK Go's "Oh No" (it's a steal! CD + VCD DualDisc for the price of one!)
4. Created inventory list for all my music albums on Microsoft Excel, in alphabetical order by artist, and with columns for: Artist/Band, Title, Genre, and whether or not I uploaded it to iTunes
5. In the process of making the inventory list, realized that I need another CD rack
6. Also created inventory lists for my Rolling Stone magazines, Harlequin Mills-Boon romance novels, fiction books, coffee table books, and autobiographies
7. Grew my nails long for the first time in my life
8. Had them painted
9. Watched the American remake of L'Ultimo Bacio (The Last Kiss), liked it only because it stars Zach Braff (well, Rachel Bilson was kinda good too)
10. Developed a crush on Dave Grohl (yes, that's him in my "rock on" avatar), fed this crush by watching YouTube videos and visiting FooArchive.net, and realized that I want ALL the Foo Fighters albums

In short, I did NOTHING on my To-Do list. By the way, I spent most of my time on that last one. =P

Hella fun for me, no doubt, but I feel like the montage in The 40-Year-Old Virgin after Steve Carrell yells "I have a very fulfilling life!" to Paul Rudd.* Consider me the Queen of Anti-Productivity.

*For those who haven't seen the movie (and you damn well should), what Carrell means by "fulfilling" is: being home alone, repainting his action figures, playing a Tony Hawk videogame, singing karaoke all by his lonesome...you get the gist.

Christmas To-Do List

2006-12-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

Reading all your blog posts makes me feel like I'm the only one who isn't bored with the vacation yet. =P

Things to accomplish before vacation ends.
~~1. Watch all five seasons of Scrubs.~~
2. Read all Rolling Stone magazines (9 issues) and Pulp magazines (3 issues) I bought.
3. Start a music/movie/TV/book review blog on Blogspot.
4. Write at least 5 new reviews in addition to Borat, The White Stripes' "Get Behind Me Satan", "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger, and "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
5. Review my most recently purchased albums: Prince's "3121," Panic! At The Disco's "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," The Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way," The Raconteurs' "Broken Boy Soldiers," Foo Fighters' "In Your Honor," OK Go's "Oh No"
6. Watch the second season of Desperate Housewives.
7. Finally finish Annie Hall, Brokeback Mountain and Capote
8. Find albums of Stone Temple Pilots, Tenacious D and Fiona Apple SOMEWHERE in the damn country (because Music One doesn't have them)
9. Watch at least three cornball romantic comedy DVDs here (I'm thinking Cake, The Lake House, and John Tucker Must Die)
10. Watch the last two seasons of Six Feet Under.
11. Listen to all the songs on the Greatest Hits albums my uncle lent me: Paula Abdul, Seal, and David Bowie.
12. Watch Adaptation and Proof.
13. Finish my Christmas shopping.
14. Go on at least three dinner dates.
15. Brush up on my French (so that I'm less dependent on FreeTranslation.com, hahaha).
~~16. Brush up on my rock and roll terminology, i.e. discover the definitions of prog rock and glam rock and heavy metal and hair metal and emocore and grunge and post grunge and so on.~~ (Thank God for Wikipedia. =P)
17. Having discovered the term for the genre I'm into right now (post-grunge), listen to music from lesser-known bands of the genre, like Cake, Better Than Ezra, and Tonic.
18. Watch all the seasons of CSI: NY.
19. Try wall-climbing. (Hahaha!)
20. Make a New Year's resolution that I'm actually going to stick to. :P

All efforts to help me will be much appreciated! =D (For instance, if you happen to know where I can get STP/Tenacious D/Fiona Apple CDs other than Amazon, that'd be great).

Testriffic!

2006-12-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I was taken by how much better the Testriffic graphics are compared to the crappy HTML Blogthings produces, but I took this test (got it from ) and really agreed with the result I got.

If there's anyone who influenced this kind of personality in me, it's definitely Bill Maher.

I know the sun's still shining when I close my eyes

2006-12-17T23:17:00.000-08:00

[Backdated diary entry: December 13, 2006]

Today is my birthday. I had today pictured perfectly in my mind: wake up bright and early at 6am, try out the Freeman foot scrub that I bought yesterday on Sarah's recommendation (Iced Teaberry and Mint!) and the accompanying facial scrub, take a bath but not touch the hair since I just had it hot oiled the day prior and it still smells awesome, throw on the dress I also bought yesterday at People Are People, get my birthday money and head on out the door by 8am so I can get to Shangri-La EDSA by 10am to meet the Ilang-ilang peeps. Today was the day! I was finally free to meet up with Ilang for the first time in a long time, since I had other events during the previous Ilang gimiks. I actually had one planned today (drop by Zobel, sit in class and make libre Yellow Cab) but this time, I decided to move it. I would show up at the Ilang gimik and make libre Super Bowl, because damn it, today was the day.

The night of December 12, I set my Hello Kitty alarm clock to 6am. Everything was going to be just peachy.

Of course, things never turn out the way I plan them to.

December 13, I wake up groggily after a night of watching more Scrubs episodes. And online greetings! And participating in an insult contest with Jimpo, which I won. Suck it, beeyotch! >:)

"God, what time is it?" I wonder. A glimpse at the alarm clock shows that it is officially...8am. I was supposed to be out the front door by 8am. "Shit!"

I end up teeter-tottering on whether or not I would still go to this thing, provided I'd be 2 hours late at best, while watching more Scrubs with my mom. Charge my cellphone, skim through the numerous Happy Birthday texts pouring in, but not without a big smile.

Mom asked me if I wanted to just hang out with her at Alabang Town Center and get a foot spa and pedicure at The Spa. Now here was a dilemma. Although I barely get to go malling with friends on such a tight schedule, I spend much less time bonding with Mom.

"Maybe."

I thought about it while trying out the Freeman foot scrub, and Sarah, you are totally right, it does make your feet 3 shades lighter! Blah blah blah, and by 11 I'm in my dress and my favorite stilettos. I know I would be late again, but whatever, right? After all, these gimiks don't come every day. Perhaps another day, Mom.

As Mom handed me the money for making libre and the gift money for my birthday and told me to take care, there was a split-second where I caught the slight dejection in her eyes. She attempted a half-smile, but I knew better. That moment, I knew what the right choice was.

"I'll just go with you, Mom."

We watched a few more episodes of Season 5 before leaving for a super-relaxing foot spa and pedicure. Damn, I love The Spa. It smells like peppermint everywhere and you can see the trees gently moving to the wind outside. And now my toenails are all glittery and I love it!

Afterwards, we met up with my brother at Rustan's and went to Music One where I used a little bit of my birthday money to buy the Raconteurs album I'd been pining for.

We had dinner in my grandma's house where I complained to my Tito Tito (yeah, he's my tito and his name is Tito) about the unavailability of classic albums in Tower Records/Music One. I mean, seriously, they've got tons of obscure artists but no Stone Temple Pilots? No Fiona Apple? Nirvana (except for a recently released greatest hits album)? Prince (save for "3121," which I already have)? For god's sake.

I went home with my gifts, my new Raconteurs CD, and some CDs I borrowed from Tito Tito: Seal, David Bowie, and...Paula Abdul. Yep. I ended the day by going online to more birthday greetings and then finally finished season five of Scrubs a little after 12.

Today was a good day. I still have the money for making libre, so I'll most probably spend it on you guys next year. :D

Music geeks

2006-12-09T02:16:00.000-08:00

Kwento to follow, but first, a picture!

I know, I know, I have no eyebrows, but forget about that. (I overplucked them.) Look at our shirts! They've got old rock bands on them!

I luv Potassium. ♥ ♥ ♥

Typhoon? What typhoon?

2006-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

"I'm bigger and badder than Milenyo, so charge your cellphones, iPods and laptops, stock your fridges and prepare for a ride because I'm gonna uproot the trees, rip billboards apart, and wipe the country clean! It's gonna be armageddon, baby...PSYCHE!"

Good one, Reming! But thanks for the suspension, I've been freed of my Bio and EngJourn long tests, even for a little while.

Forgive the glibness, I just found it funny to read everyone blogging on how they're charging everything and not taking any chances this time around. Reming came and went...or did it? And nothing happened. FYI, I spent half the time with my cellphone out of battery. Yeah, I was too lazy to charge anything. As long as my brother has his guitar, we'll be fine.

As I've told a number of people, the thing I hate the most about SM Mall of Asia is that for such a ginormous mall, it sure is FUCKING CROWDED. Good Lord. We went there anyway and fell in love with Tokyo Cafe ♥ Then we headed to Fully Booked and I finally got that PostSecret book I always wanted. PostSecret is a great site; I'll do a feature on it sometime over Christmas break.

On a final note, YAY POTASSIUM. :) Go Desdes!

I wish I could write more but time won't permit. Exams to study for, you know.

I've been a bad, bad girl

2006-11-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

Ever get that feeling where you know you've played way too much Mortal Kombat: Armaggedon and there's an assload of homework waiting to all be done in just one day?

Yeah. Now there's my Bloody Fatality.

What I could have done but didn't, what I shouldn't have done but did, and what I'm glad I did (all in one day)

2006-11-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Friday was..uh...revealing? I don't know what to call it, but I liked it. You know those one-on-one conversations where you talk about whatever comes to mind? I had a lot of those today. Bonding moments :) I never get enough of those!

I found out that Jarelle is now going through the same phase that I was a week ago. Like, you can't really react to anything. You wonder if you're depressed but you know you're not, but still, you have the feeling that something's...missing. And you're not quite sure what that something is.

We wondered if it was PMS, but we were both not the kind of girls who experience PMS. (My brother has PMS more than I do.) The mystery remains unsolved, so we spent the rest of the time in front of the STR unit (Ellie, traumaaaa!!!) talking about our respective lives. Would it be wrong to say that I'm moderately jealous of you? Haha. And DIBA HOT SI ANO? Oh yesss =)

Something happened, which I'm really too embarrassed to talk about, but it gave me a very, very strong sense of "Oh shit, I shouldn't have done that." Dear God, I wish I hadn't. I never will again! I feel so guilty. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Of course, I just couldn't help myself. Me to people: "Waiting makes you crazy!"

Ma'am Paccarangan is liking me less and less. I feel bad about that too. And jeez Ellie, thank you very much for instilling in me a fear of the "monster!" I didn't think much about it until CS when I was crimping the cable and I felt someone's chin touch my shoulder.

NGYAAAAH!!!

I have a song for you, Ellie and people who fear the moon/"buwan" (the dark moon):

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore..."

Although a more appropriate lyric dor people like us would be:

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Paskorus practice helped me recover just a little bit. And when I say "recover," I mean from the traumatic event that happened at the STR unit that I still feel so guilty about. (Though I wish you'd understand that I didn't enjoy spending my ENTIRE lunch period in line, thankyouverymuch. Still, I'm sorry!) Rhey didn't help though. Darn bully. Regarding the monster -- Paskorus practice just made things worse.

[Paskorus is an annual tradition in Pisay where each section competes against the others in a choir competition. This year, we all had to sing "What Child is This?"]

Potassium originally did not plan to join since we had some issues and whatnot, but at the very last minute, Sir Alfer pressured Ada and company to join and they dragged all the rest of us down with them. (Magnesium: "Na-uto niya rin kayo?") We had one day (ONE DAY!) to practice, and at the most inopportune time for me, too, since my recent bout of colds had ravaged my throat and left my voice sounding "freeeeaky," as Ada would say. I have a soprano voice, but my "freaky colds voice" made me defect to the alto voice range for a while, until I realized that there were few sopranos singing, so I went back. Throughout our whole "major general practice" I was coughing like crazy, and gradually getting paos.

"What child is this -- cough, cough -- who laid to rest on Mary's lap -- cough cough -- is sleeping..."

Natawa rin ako dahil sa boses ni ano. He's a walking sablay. While singing I was making "See what I mean?" faces at our conductor, Angel. And she made "Heh-heh yeah I know" faces back. Bwahaha. Then I made "RARR MONSTER" faces at Ellie.

While taking a break we took shots at wrecking Crystle's happy childhood. >:D She had this book, "King Midas" or something, and the characters were drawn as "bears" (or so she said). Deo said they look like rats.

"But why don't they have any ears? Bears have ears!" I said. "Oh I know! It's a seal!"

I got a collective "ngeeeeh" mixed with laughter in response. Yah whatever dudes, Ada thought it was a duck. =P I'm sure it's a badger, but never mind.

That day, I realized that most of the things I talk to my friends about are variations on "Tell me about the people in your life." I hardly ever talk to people about music since my taste in music is simultaneously eclectic and unrelatable. Unless you read my Friendster profile from top to bottom, or unless you mentioned liking one of these artists and I said "Me too!", I'm sure very few know that I like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Billy Joel, The White Stripes or Prince. I'm also sure that few know I like every genre of music except for reggae and new wave. (Ugh.) So I decided to try out this novel topic.

I started with JK. "Mahilig ka ba sa music?" Hehehe. Hey, I didn't even know whether he liked music or not. As it turns out, he's into emo bands (HAHAHA) like Fall Out Boy and Taking Back Sunday.

It's so amusing to tease people about being emo, because everyone I've told that to vehemently denies it. Telling people that they're emo is like telling them they have herpes. =))

Reactions I've gotten:
Jimpo: Yuck noooo!
JK: Hindi ah!
Deo: No way!
[censored]: Shhh don't tell anyone!

(Anyway, JK pahiram ng Fall Out Boy ha =D)

Then I talked to Angel about music. Haha, ABBA =P And Yellowcard! I didn't have the heart to pull the emo card on her, so I was like "Ah okay!" then I finally revealed that I don't really like High School Musical. It was cute, but it's no Wicked or Rent...not even Hairspray! A few days before we were reminiscing about cheesy late '90s bands too, like Aqua, Vengaboys and the Spice Girls. Man, those were the days! I'm only 16 but I'm getting nostalgic.

Paskorus itself was okay. We weren't spectacular, pero wala naming sablay (except for...you know). Paul told us all to smile, so I was smiling while we sang -- actually, it was more like half-laughing because of the voice of you-know-who. He was screaming the lyrics eh! But when I looked left and right I was like, "Why am I the only one who's smiling?" Haha. Awkward moment. =P

My day ended with a kwentuhan with Gippo, who is the best guy for kwentuhan sessions since andami niyang alam na chika! We didn't exchange tsismis today though. Instead, he told me about his situation. Sheesh, I feel like my timing sucks in everything. x___x I should have gotten sick and gone studious next week! (I spent my free time at the library making up for missed assignments.) Maybe I'm that kind of person, but I couldn't help but think, "What if I was there? Could I have done something?"

And I don't really know. I feel like I could have. Or useless as it might have been, I at least would have stood up for them, that much is certain.

What I wouldn't give to turn back time. Though if I did, I'd do Friday exactly the same. (Except for "the thing that happened," because I feel so bad about that. I'm SO sorry!)

You think I ENJOY this?

2006-11-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, ^^^ was not really an instigated comment, but it begs to be asked.

As some of you may know, I was absent Monday and Tuesday this week. As a significantly larger number of you may know, I am starting to gain a reputation as a frequent absentee. Some may have even gotten...suspicious. Does it bother me? To some extent, yes. Because for all the rumors and whatnot, trust me, I'd quite rather be at school. It's not fun staying in bed worrying about what you're missing. I've asked my parents time and again to buy me multivitamins so that I wouldn't be so sickly. As Clusivol ads would say, "Bawal magkasakit!"

Still, I often wake up feeling physically bad. Most of the time I try to ignore it and still go to school in order to lower my number of absences. As a result of this, my condition usually worsens over the day, prompting either a clinic visit or, at one time, spending most of the Math period with my head against the table as my body temperature continued to rise. (Yeeesh, that was painful!)

When I was younger, I was healthy as a horse. The worst illness I'd contracted then was colds and the occasional fever. Since transferring to Pisay, however, I've developed the tendency to catch a really bad medical condition at least once a year.

First year: High fever and bronchitis

Second year: Positional vertigo, fever, and influenza

This year: Hepatitis, fever, migraines

In addition to what's listed above, the illnesses I got this week are: fever, colds, and a mild case of food poisoning. (We think it might be something I ate at the Hyatt over the weekend.) I wanted desperately to brave through it so I could go to school, but I nearly fainted at the breakfast table and decided to go back to bed.

Let me repeat: THIS WASN'T FUN. Okay, surfing for YouTube clips of my beloved Daniel Vosovic is kinda fun, but staying glued to the bed with my laptop and not being able to do much else isn't fun at all.

So, could the illnesses have been caused by stress? I suppose my 4-hours-of-sleep-a-night habit contributed to my weakened immune system, although I don't understand how stress could cause an inflamed liver.

Frankly, people, I don't have the heart to play hooky. Sometimes I think it would be easier, but really, it's not worth it.

Until then, I'm hoping my little bottle of Clusivol will help me through this.

The one-liner and the YM snippet.

2006-11-15T04:19:00.000-08:00

I have a one-liner that summarizes my general mood for the past months, and it goes like this:

If there was a gimik and party equivalent for the mood "sexually frustrated," that's EXACTLY how I feel.

I'm itching to get out. And I know I've scratched now and again with a few movies and coffee trips, but I want a big BIG gimik. People, I'm dying over heeeere!

Meh. Next: my heartfelt apologies go out to Sowf, who was the unfortunate wrong-place-wrong-time person to witness my explosion of the affection I feel for a certain beloved gayboy. We were talking about a possible gimik when suddenly...

J.C.: hey Daniel Vosovic is just so cute isn't he? haha singit :P
Sophie: yeah he's my favorite =))
J.C.: grabe when i saw him i was like "SHIT ANG CUTE!" =))
J.C.: hehe Jai Rodriguez has a crush on him, just like me ;))
Sophie: omg cute couple =)
J.C.: haha sayang Daniel has a boyfriend na eh i'm crazy jealooooous
Sophie: ganon?! sayang
J.C.: yeah ohwell at least he's happy. and so freaking cute AAAAGH 8-}

My bad =P But HE'S SOOOO CUTE NOH?

Say Bye-bye, Kids: The Death of Halloween

2006-11-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

"Halloween is dead," Kat/Keena said over dinner with me and Micmac at the ATC Foodcourt on the night of Halloween.

Even for kids enjoying their sembreaks right now (we students of Pisay are unfortunately not among them), Halloween is indeed dead, and with it went the simple joys of childhood.

We live in an age where kids have XBoxes instead of jumpropes, Gameboys instead of board games. No kid 5 years or older really bothers to play with the neighbors' kids on the street anymore. I hate to sound like an old fart, but it's a sad realization, since my own simple childhood was quite a happy one, even without all the gadgets and gizmos available today. I enjoyed having little tea parties with the neighbors and playing patintero. Okay, yeah, we sometimes went to Kuya Bobby's house to play Mortal Kombat, but those visits were few and far between.

I hadn't learned of bad words until I was in the fourth grade, and in those days people would gasp if you ever said any of those. These days, I hear of Junior Prep students in my old school flipping people the bird and screaming obscenities. It almost broke my heart to hear that my 7-year-old cousin screams words like "Bitch!" and "Asshole!" in school.

Halloween, of all the holidays and events, was the lynchpin, the very essence of childhood. As a kid, I always looked forward to dressing up as a sorceress or an angel and going house to house in Ayala Alabang Village with friends to get candy. Every house seemed to have people outside with giant vats of candy to give away; the really rich ones gave away KitKat or Barbie Dolls. No kidding!

Eventually, and I never even thought that this would happen, the Halloween spirit started to fade away. While trick-or-treating with friends in the sixth grade, we noticed that only about two houses per block were giving away candy, as opposed to previous years where every house had candy to give away. I remember thinking at the time, "Does this mean Halloween is dying out?"

This year, the President announced that October 31 is not a holiday. Sign of the times, I thought. Nobody cares about Halloween anymore. It served as the final nail in the coffin of the blissful childhood we once experienced yesteryear.

Sure, children in costumes still go around for candy. While flipping through a back issue of Pulp magazine and having lunch at Hot Shots, I saw little ghouls and fairies trotting around Glorietta's stores for free candy. This still doesn't disprove my point. Kids today are just doing it for the free candy, before they go back home and devote their time to the latest video game. Years ago, we children enjoyed so much more than that.

It saddens me to think that the children of this generation will never get to experience the simple joys of a childhood unfettered with profanities, violence, internet, and frivolous things. Don't get me wrong, technology is great. However, it has robbed today's young ones of their innocence, and no number of iPods, XBoxes, PlayStations, or GameBoys will ever bring that back.

Playlist

2006-10-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a screenshot of the Top 25 Most Played list on my iTunes. I posted something similar a few days ago on my Friends-only LJ, and I felt like sharing it here as well. It's slightly different -- the list usually changes a song or two every two weeks.

Again, I'd be interested in seeing your lists too, people! =D

MY FOOT, MY F&#!ING FOOT!

2006-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

If there's one picture that sums up my whole week, it's this:

LOL, really. I just stepped out for a moment and it followed me. I walked, and it walked too. I started running and hell, it did too! It was weirdest from Beila's perspective. Ayon sa kanyang kinwento: She sat in the room, Desa and Deo were by the PC, working on their STR (Science and Technology Research -- that's a specialized subject in Pisay) report, everything was quiet. Suddenly, behind the glass doors you could see big ol' me, all "WAAAAH OMG" and running away scared from a cute little puppy.

Our little goose chase went back and forth, since Deo's currently-nameless dog was fixated on my feet. When we reached the kitchen...

"Beila kinakagat niya paa ko!"

It sank its tiny teeth into my sock-clad right foot, and I went into panic mode. I couldn't kick it away, but I didn't want anything biting my foot. Luckily, it didn't hurt much since its teeth were so small, but dogs scare me shitless. Beila was there, taking a picture/video or laughing at it/me or something, I can't remember what exactly because OMGZ I WAS SO SCARED.

Still, I love that adorable little doggy and I want one exactly like it! Besides, haha mas malas pa rin si Desa ("Hindi na virgin kamay moooo!").

But waaaait a minute -- you might be wondering what the hell we were all doing in Deo's house with Deo's doggy. This week was presentation week for Filipino class, where we'd recite poetry and then sing Tagalog versions of English songs, and we were practicing our songs, "Part of Your World" and "Hakuna Matata," there.

Me: "How does that beat go again...?"

(Desa, I cropped this picture *wink wink*)

It was my first time actually playing a K-hon, but since I have a drummer-guitarist for a brother, these things tend to rub off on me just a little. I had fun! JK and Jon totally PWND that instrument, though. In Wayne and Garth's words, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

JK on bongos, Jon on K-hon. And Deo is the laughing dude at the very right.

Ang galing ng band nila! Proness! (Go Rach!)

Medyo badtrip ako na I didn't get to see the III-Rubidium peeps perform (jeez, your [insert subject here] teacher sure is a tool). With the ladies all ♥ ♥ ♥ about Paolo Racadio and the things I hear they're doing sa "organ ni Lara" (tee-hee-hee Ryan), I was amped to watch their show!

Generally, that was the only disappointment that day. Otherwise, it was all good towards the end: the perfunctory (but fun) class pics, the good music and funny poetry, and boy-watching (note that it's "boy," not "boys") with Beila. LOL hawt-ness!

(Credit Desa's Multiply for all pics!)

A Monday I actually enjoyed

2006-10-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday night was spent mega-cramming requirements and staying up 'till about 3 or 4 am and waking up at 5. Needless to say, I felt like SHITake mushrooms the next morning. I looked in the mirror and hell looked right back at me, eyes all glassy and yellow with sleep deprivation.

Mildly late for the flag ceremony, I warily trudged into the PSHS campus like a stoned teenager sneaking in past curfew through the back door. Today will not be a good day, I thought, bracing myself for the worst.

We didn't do much in Filipino class (definitely a good thing). Come English, Potassium managed to successfully talk Sir into postponing the presentation dates! Yay!

Ellie handed out brown envelopes to some of us, myself included. I stared at mine for a moment, wondering if this was, perhaps, a big evil letter for my parents saying that I'm failing a good number of subjects. I gingerly pulled back the tape sealing it.

Imagine my surprise when I saw what was inside: Palanca letters! I actually got letters even if I wasn't able to attend the retreat (my parents wouldn't allow me to because of my Math grades)! They were like sunbeams pouring through the dark clouds of my day. I was all =D while reading them.

Letters from friends, letters from people I didn't expect would write me letters...they all gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart, aww ^___^ They made me want to do Ren and Stimpy's Happy Happy Joy Joy dance!

The day only got better after that. Even during Chem! It would've been majorly depressing, but watching the boys shoot each other with water nozzles made me laugh my ass off! At ang ganda ng hair ni Beila wahahaha =))

I can't pinpoint a single best part of my day, but one of my favorites was when I had a good chat with Kim Abog and Gippo. And Jimpo, for some parts. And I guess Trex too (Gippo: "Wag ka na, Pan!" -- LOL!). Ang DAMING alam ni Gippo! Para siyang Oracle ng Pisay. Or Cupid, hehe! And Kim, don't worry. It's not the end of the world :)

Inubos nila yung Nerds ko, pero okay lang. I really only buy Nerds because they can be shared. Oh, and Jimpo wants to know why Nerds are called Nerds. Guesses, anyone?

God, I wish all my days were like this. *sigh* :D

OMFG FUNNEH

2006-10-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Good golly Miss Molly, I want to wear THAT for Halloween! 8-}

He set his make-up gun to "Drag Queen!" and went for it!

2006-09-24T02:44:00.000-07:00

My cellphone went off loud and clear to remind me that there was a very important event scheduled for that Saturday.

Green sleeveless? Check. Lace and cotton black bohemian skirt? Check. I rolled on some stockings and pulled on the boots Mom bought me from Belgium before heading out. With a denim jacket on, I kind of looked like a Rent castmember. Fittingly enough, too, because as far as going all-out on appearance, I had "No day but today!"

I went to the Going Straight salon to -- ironically -- have my hair curled and get my make-up done for the Xposed fashion show. Sophie had said that it was "a casual event," but I used Xposed as an excuse to try out a look for the prom. My idea of hitting two birds with one stone, heh-heh =)

I told the stylist that I just needed a light, casual look for a party. Pounds of purple eyeshadow and a LOT of dark lipstick later, he made me look like a cross between JonBenet Ramsey and Kris Aquino. Huh, casual indeed. >:( I kept insisting on lighter lipstick, but their lightest shade was...deep red. Arrrgh. I gave him a tip anyway because I felt bad for barking at him like a drill sergeant and frowning at the mirror the whole time. In all fairness, it was kind of pretty and would have been good for the prom, but this was sooo not party make-up. It wasn't the first time that had happened, either -- I had my make-up done there for the Constantine Maroulis press conference, and while cute enough, I couldn't help thinking I was somewhere between looking like a racoon and a Vegas hooker.

So, readers, here's the thing about Going Straight -- they're great (GREAT!) with hair, but the make-up is objectionable. David's Salon sucks at both. I had my hair rebonded there once, and it barely lasted a week. Piandre does good hair styling, but I haven't tried having my make-up done there yet. Jesi Mendez, of all the salons I've been to, is the best at both hair and make-up.

But I digress. Back to my Saturday night! I stepped out of the car and immediately exchanged hugs and screams of "HIIIII!" with Cath and company, all looking prettylicious.

Inside the party venue, guess who I saw first?

"ROIIIIIIII! OH MY GAAAAHD!"

Yes, I saw my alien brother accompanied by a guy in a black polo whom I presumed was a new student. When I was done screaming my hellos, I saw New Student laugh, and realized that he looked familiar...

"AYYYYYY ISKO!!! YOU LOOK LIKE A BEATLE!"

I saw Martin Oben, who is, like, ten million times taller now. And Micmac and Miggy (who vanished not too long after, aww T___T) and Judd and Aie and Sophie and everyone else! You're all so pretty na! Micmac, you're such a slut (and I mean that in a good way)!

Roi and I went outside to catch up on old times at the park. Grabe, Roi, you know NOTHING!

Me: Sino ka-close mo ngayon?
Roi: Uh, ewan.
Me: Kamusta grades mo?
Roi: *shrug*
Me (laughing): Wala ka talagang alam, no?
Roi (tawa rin): Wala eh!
Me: Ilang taon ka na?
Roi: Ewan!
Me: Ano apelyido mo?
Roi: Ah...Dalisay!
Me: Wow! O, anong kulay ng buhok mo?
Roi (looks upward): Uh...hindi ko makita eh.

Nakakaiyak ka =((

Leanne Castillo was one of the hosts, at grabe, pati si Leanne gumanda! The fashion show itself was great, everyone's tall and gorgeous, and I was particularly amused by this 4th year guy who made super pa-cute poses =)) They used a remix of the Six Feet Under theme song for the show, which I found cute.

We danced -- yeah, this is how we do it! -- watched people dance (Micmac is an animal 0___o), and mingled. Micmac was talking to a couple of guys I didn't know, so he introduced me to them. One looked vaguely familiar, but I was pretty sure he was a new student. And imagine my surprise...

Micmac: This is Em-em--
Me: Holy shit, you're EM-EM?

Em-em! He looks so different! Okay, so everyone does, but dude, di ko talaga ma-recognize until Micmac told me.

The party ended all too soon, but it was a great way to spend a Saturday night. My voice was hoarse from all the screaming, and I woke up the next day with my shitty-looking make-up still on, but I was happy to scratch the party itch. We should have this more often.

Potassium =)

2006-09-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

In one of my rarer moments, I actually showed up on time at the GBF Training Center in Pasig last Sunday. The rest of my class showed up a good forty minutes later. This is exactly why I choose to show up late for things, I thought. Because in the Philippines, "late" equates to "on time." Nevertheless, I was happy to see everyone else. Once everyone settled down in the white, pristine, almost clinical seminar room, our Homeroom Integration Activity could start.

The activity's goal was to bring the class closer together, and according to the letter handed out to us a week before, "100% class attendance" was required for it to be a success. I looked around. Out of 29 students, 16 (myself included) showed up. So much for that.

Kev's dad, Mr. Go, stood in front of the white board and prompted us on the facility, and the whole time I was thinking about how much it reminded me of those mysterious DHARMA Initiative instructional video tapes on Lost. You know the ones. "Namaste, and good luck."

We started by sharing summarized versions of our life stories. They made us draw a line graph of our highs and lows in life, and then explain it. As I soon found out, Neil and I have a lot in common.

Me: Noong grade 4, mababa yung graph kasi lonely ako.
Neil: Ay, ako rin!
(class laughs)
Me: Tapos noong grade 5, mataas siya kasi happy ako!
Neil: Grade 5? Ako rin!
(class laughs)
Me: At tumangkad ako!
(class laughs)
Neil: AKO RIN!

Parallelism is funny. =) And in Chemistry class just earlier, I relayed my tale to Deo since he was one of the non-attendees.

Me: So I said, my graph was low when I was in fourth grade because I was lonely back then.
Deo: Ay, ako rin!

Hahaha shet =)

We shared secrets about ourselves, but since I generally don't have any, I decided to reveal that I am a spoiled brat and a laitera. In case y'all don't already know. It was one of the more serious parts of the day, bringing some of our classmates to tears. Afterwards, Brother Javy told us to express our feelings for others without saying anything. I hugged Crystle, Neil, James, Honey, and some other people...and I high-fived Beila. Heh-heh-heh >:D Hi Beila!

Sheets of paper were paper-clipped to our backs and people would write things about us on it. I was really happy with what I saw on my paper, especially Kev's beautiful drawing (note the sarcasm).

Lunch was fun. We made chismis as per usual. Now, there's something you should know at this point: Potassium is highly reactive when exposed to a camera. Take one out, and you'll have boys jumping around, making macho poses, and crowding around Crystle, and girls readying their prettiest smiles.

Other notable moments:

*Laglagan with Beila (Sorrreeeeeh! Secret natin yan ha!)
*"Aww" moment with Crystle
*Speed dating (pinag-agawan ako nina Neil at Desa! haha levelings)
*Desa and the chicken =))
*Migs and the Balikbayan box which I still don't understand
*and many more

Wala lang. Sana magkaganito tayo ulit! I ♥ you, my fellow Potas!

It's a nice day when you wake up in Disneyland.

2006-09-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I wake up in my own bed at such ungodly hours and wish to go back to sleep, yet I never do.

I wish I had something interesting to write about, but for now, I'll just have to make do with a day-by-day recap of my week, starting from Monday.

[Monday]
I hate Mondays. I arrived at school late once again, and for that Ma'am Rodriguez, my Filipino teacher, made me do this poetry-writing exercise where you have to make a coherent sentence using words supplied by other people. She asked one row of students what object represented them, and they answered: pool, tubig, pitaka, araw, larawan. Of course, I was all harrowed from rushing up the stairway and down the hall, but I came up with a sentence about five seconds in.

"Ang larawan ko sa pitaka ay nahulog sa tubig sa pool sa ilalim ng araw."

LOL sabog. But it makes sense, so "evs," dudes. I later found out na kinuwento niya yun sa ibang section. Hahaha.

The mere idea of writing in Tagalog used to scare the holy shit out of me, but Filipino is more fun than I thought.

[Tuesday]
I was nearly done with the Diagnostic Poem assignment for Filipino; however, I had trouble finding something good to fill in the blank for "Ang buhay ay parang _______."

Come Physics class, I was still stumped, so I looked around for inspiration. Lo and behold, inspiration smacked me in the face. Pisay! Ergo:

"Ang buhay ay parang Pisay. Magtiis ka na lang hanggang matapos."

Of course, I wasn't serious about it. My personal belief is that life is one big party, but that's way too cliched to use for the Filipino assignment. I affixed a "=P" smiley at the end of my statement to let Ma'am know that I was kidding.

[Wednesday]
Today was weird.

During English Journalism class, there was this guy (I'll leave out the names this time) who punched me in the arm, so I bitchslapped him right across the face. He hit me again, so I bitchslapped him again. His head then jerked sideways in reaction to my hand and *BAM!* collided with the head of the girl standing next to him. And he was like "MWAHAHAHAHA!" and I was like 0____0 and she was like >___<.

Lesson of the story? Guys shouldn't hit girls.

I was dead tired by Computer Science, so I dozed off while Ma'am Pacs was teaching. Oopsies. My sleepiness during ComSci festered into a state of being stoned sans the drugs come Biology class. I found myself giggling at inane things, and -- obviously -- not paying attention to the teacher. Sorry, Ma'am! That's not to say I didn't try, though.

Me, looking at a diagram of a plant stalk cross-section: "Ooh, it's...yellow."

I spent the rest of the period people-watching with Deo. Yes, we chose to watch other people take down notes as Ma'am Duallo-David discussed the xylem and phloem. Boredom makes you think weird things. We'd focused on Angel as she took down notes...

(Angel is writing)
Me: Pro-ness!
Deo: Wow.
Me: She's like a....machine.
(Angel stops, jerks her ballpen backwards, and continues writing.)
Me: *gasp* 0___0
Deo: Whoaaaa...ang angas!

Hehe, ang sabog namin.

Since Math period was cancelled today, I spent the time at the gazebo with Beila, Desa, Deo, Gen and JK while unsuccessfully trying to comprehend Deo's Physics notes. It's not that the notes were unintelligible or anything, it's just that my brain is decomposing at a rate faster than Britney Spears' first marriage. We coerced JK into buying stuff for us, tapos nang-OP sakin si Desa while JK was away. (See, Desa, Beila, Gen, and Deo were all from II-Rosal while I was from II-Ilang-ilang.)

Desa (to everyone else): Oi! Naalala nyo nung second year...*evil smile*
All except me: *laughing at me*
Me: Waaaaaa...where's Jakeyyyyyy? T___T

:(( Buuuully!

Oh, also: Ma'am Rodriguez made a compilation of her favorite diagnostic poems from her students and handed out copies to all her students. To my surprise, I saw my life analogy there.

And I was like, "OMG, ano? Joke lang yun!"

I hope nobody thinks I'm a pessimist or anything! I just happened to be devoid of other ideas!

[Thursday]
Lukas Rossi wins Rock Star: Supernova! Congratulations, and kudos to the Rossi Possi!

I may not be too into his voice, but I like his personality. He's cool! Besides, I said that I liked all of them, and I'd still buy the Supernova album no matter who wins, and I'm sticking to what I said!

Nothing too eventful in school today, except for the "adventure" that the Adelfa peeps told me about (ngyarharhar ambully nyo), the Math contest (ang sabog ko sa hurdle x___x), and EngJourn class, when we all got to see a photoshopped Brokeback Mountain movie poster featuring two EngJourn guys. Needless to say, they weren't too happy about it.

Guy 1: Now that's what you call excessive free time.
Guy 2: That's sick, that's really sick!
Me: Chill, they make gay Photoshop creations of other dudes all the time.
Guy 2: Like?
Me: Uh, guys like Castro and Jimpo...
Guy 2: Jimpo is gay, he doesn't count!
Me: Oo nga no. >___<

[Friday]
Talked to a bunch of people about this one girl who is...aaargh. Asa pa siya kay ano. >:( And then I talked about this other guy who's really KSP. He makes me want to kick him in the face and tell him to stop being such a pussy and pull his shit together.

Our retreat is going to take place at Angels' Hills! Yaaaaay, I can order mango pie again! *must stop eating dinner everyday until the retreat!* Please write me a Palanca letter!

The Project Runway meeting we were supposed to have after school never took place. Instead, nag-bonding na lang kami as we talked about the prom. Parang lahat ng in-demand, gustong mag-stag! Aaargh X___X People are weird.

-=End of Weird Week.=-

(Really) Good Friday

2006-08-27T06:01:00.002-07:00

Everyone's panicking. My make-up's practically melting and I'm having trouble with my costume. Less than an hour to go before the start of the show, and we hadn't practiced with full costumes, lights and sounds yet because we're busy with the make-up and lapels. Then it's too late, because people from various sections and levels start showing up to watch us.

And I am nervous like fuck. Me to Deo: "I have to pee!!!"

It's showtime. Which includes: someone forgetting his lapel, another forgetting his lines, the sounds conking out for some weird reason.

Nevertheless, WE WERE AWESOME-TACULAR BABY!

Let me explain from scene one. This week, all the sections (including mine, III - Potassium) presented their chamber theatre adaptations of the Indian epic Ramayana. My class was scheduled for Friday. I portrayed the evil queen because evil comes so naturally to me (diba Arienne? LOL!).

After my scene, I left the stage laughing my butt off at the mayhem and headed to the back of the auditorium where I got to watch the rest of our play while handling the lights. My verdict? Is obvious. I swelled with pride as I watched the audience cheer like crazy when Jules emerged in his deer costume, as the fellas kicked some major ass in the fight scenes, as Angel delivered the last scene so touchingly, as Chanchan waltzed out, every bit the Fire Goddess -- proud na proud yang tatay mong si Alfer! Hahaha =))

The end was the highlight of my day! I was so nervous because I thought we'd get deductions for the technical difficulties. We quieted as we listened to Sir Alfer's comments, which can be summed up in his last statement:

"I have lots of comments, but they're all positive."

And we got 100 out of 100! *rock fists* Even though they didn't need it because they were so great themselves, we "avenged" Sodium wahaha =)) Thanks for the support, you guys!

I'm sure I've said this a million times before, but I'm incredibly proud of Potassium. The play was a product of good things: a cast so hawt that the promotional posters got stolen (hahaha), hours and hours of practice, and a super-dedicated director. While everyone was great, we totally owe this to Direk Honey because she went through some major hell for this presentation. Thanks so much! =)

In my fuchsia Indian top and evil queen make-up, I headed to the grandstand where I had free KFC for lunch thanks to Dea (Happy Birthday!!!!) and served as a "waitress" to the rest of Adelfa (bagay sa outfit!). Even though I skipped ComSci for it, you're worth it Dea wahaha! Alabshoo!

The rest of my day didn't go too well. I messed up my Math long test again (it's really making me depressed) and in the last hours of the day...I...said something really stupid in a game of Truth or Dare. Angel, Deo and Honey, DON'T SAY A DAMN THING! Huhuhu -___-' It...just...slipped...out...gaaaaah. Me so stoopid.

Of course, I was still smiling on the ride home. And why shouldn't I? Potassium rocked the house! In addition, I had, after an entire year of bored crushlessness, developed a crush. Ahahaha!

In Alabang Town Center, I met up with some Zobel peeps. Quite a delightful surprise! Shame I had to leave because it was Mom's birthday, but she cancelled the dinner and I got to relive old times with the guys and gals I miss so much =,) Jammoe and Micmac also gave me some really good advice about my guy problem -- man, the wisdom of Zobel! And Kalalz, sorry 'di ako nakareply ulit kanina! Would you believe nawalan nanaman ako ng load? Haha, you're a curse upon my cellphone mehn!

Simply put, today was a very, very good day, despite my Math booboo. I'd totally go through it again (only if I did, I'd make it a point to never initiate that stupid little Truth or Dare game. FELLAS, WALANG LALABAS!).

A better way to spend Wednesday and Thursday nights

2006-08-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

Take American Idol, and then remove all the things I hate about it. End result? Rock Star: Supernova.

First off, I hate Idol contestants like Kevin Covais and Scott Savol. On Rock Star, everyone's cool. Even jackasses are cool. Even Zayra Alvarez is...tolerable. I really don't know how they do it, but on this show, it's amusing when someone's being an asshole. Performance night definitely compensates, because 90% of the performances are good or awesome, compared to 30% of Idol performances (and that's usually because Daughtry is performing). Every week, I feel bad that someone has to go. I certainly wouldn't mind if Supernova up and decided to have ten lead singers instead (granted Zayra isn't one of them).

Secondly -- the judges, the judges, the judges! Those guys are the best. Jason Newsted (Metallica) is so awesomely multifaceted, Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) is hilarious and Gilby Clarke (Guns N' Roses) is the perfect foil to Tommyhawk's antics. No reptitive comments here, dawg. They have never ever described someone's performance as "pitchy." And there's irony in the fact that they're rock stars but they don't act as inebriated as Paula Abdul. Not that I'd mind if they were smashed, though.

Then there's the issue of the elimination process. Instead of cutting the contestant with the lowest votes, the bottom three of Rock Star have to perform, then Supernova will decide who to cut. It's way better because you can't complain. There's an explanation for everything, unlike on Idol where they just leave you hanging.

Best of all, this show has introduced me to some really fantastic music. Through Rock Star I discovered Live, a band I didn't think I would like until "I Alone" and "The Dolphin's Cry" came along. (If any of you know other great Live songs, let me know!) Other awesome discoveries? Stone Temple Pilots, Radiohead, K's Choice, Jefferson Airplane, the list goes on.

My only regret is not being able to catch Rock Star: INXS, because my brother said that all the performers were amazing, but at least I have a DVD of the highlights. Call it pluggage, call it silly fanaticism, but if you guys haven't seen this great show yet, I urge you to start watching ASAP! If you're thinking of checking out some performances on YouTube, I recommend "About A Girl" (Nirvana) and "High Road Easy" (Sass Jordan) by Dana Andrews, "Plush" (Stone Temple Pilots) and "The Dolphin's Cry" (Live) by Magni Asgeirsson, "Losing My Religion" (R.E.M.) by Ryan Star and "White Rabbit" (Jefferson Airplane) by Phil Ritchie featuring Jason Newsted, if only to catch Jason act so adorably after the performance -- yeah, "adorable rock star" is an oxymoron but you have to see it to believe it.

Oh, and my predictions for the Top 5? Here, in no particular order:
1. Magni Asgeirsson
2. Dilana Robichaux
3. Lukas Rossi
4. Storm Large
5. Toby Rand

[Rock Star: Supernova is aired every Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m. on Star World.]

It's God's way of saying...uhh...

2006-08-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

The first thought that popped up in my head on Saturday morning upon waking up was, "OWWW FUCK."

It felt like someone had just sliced open my stomach and then sutured it without any anesthesia. The pain was practically immobilizing. I lay there helpless for about thirty minutes, browsing through new text messages, and finally got up and turned on the PC to get started on my requirements.

Leaving for the bathroom, I had a strong urge to vomit from all the pain, but I couldn't make myself do it. Perhaps eating would ease the stomach ache? No, I couldn't make myself eat either. As minutes passed, I could feel my body temperature rising. Great. The world's worst stomach ache and a fever?

I was gone from the PC for a while because I had to lie down before I passed out. When I came back, I saw a YM from Castro and chatted for a while before the nausea overtook me. So I typed...

J.C. Cruz: oh god i feel sick

And then I ran to the bathroom and puked my guts out. Upon returning to the PC...

J. Carlo Castro (8/5/2006 11:01:01 AM): what'd you do?
J.C. Cruz (8/5/2006 11:03:06 AM): sorry i just vomited
J. Carlo Castro (8/5/2006 11:03:14 AM): eww. i didn't need to know that

I'm sure neither do all of you, but this HURTS LIKE FUCK. The timing is horrible, too -- I planned to study the whole day today. Instead, I got horribly ill and wound up spending my day in bed, being a pain in the ass to everyone else in the house because of all my whining and groaning. Everytime I had to walk, I'd be like, "auuuuugh owwwww!" On my bed, I was a writhing mess that whined "guuuuuuh aaaaagh" every so often.

Proof that horoscopes aren't true: I checked out my Saturday horoscope, and it said "Thanks to the stars, you lighten up -- in fact, you feel so light that you're practically flying!"

Oh, the irony.

I know my frequent absences from school have become an issue, but Jesus, if you guys only knew what this felt like. Trust me, I truly madly crazily want to go to school today. Problem is, if I did, I'd be dead by Chemistry.

So what's with the title, you ask? I've been stumped this whole day trying to find a reason why God would let this happen to me. I'm a staunch believer in that God lets things happen for a reason, but today I really can't find any. Hopefully though, He'll let me get better tomorrow so I can study.

Of course, just because I'm sick doesn't mean I can't laugh. I checked out Gino dela Paz's blog and saw this:

"Brangelina's baby will have a tough time in school. Shiloh Pitt, after a little creative wordplay, is Piloh Shitt."

HAHAHA =))

Apply directly to the forehead!

2006-08-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

If I were to describe the current state of affairs in The Life of J.C. in one word, it would be "messy." Of course, I've always been messy. I'm like Cristina Yang, only I'm a hell of a lot dumber.

J.C. Rants in Numeric Sequence:

1. The rain has the shittiest timing ever. It's gone when I want it there, and then it shows up RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL, just to piss me off.

2. I can't seem to shake off my cramming mechanism. Ergo, my grades aren't looking anywhere near what I want them to be.

3. Okay, not really a rant here, but I have a confession to make: I lied. (I'm sorry, Sir Nat!) In our Math quiz, there was a bonus item where you take the name of your crush and turn it into a typhoon name. For example, if your crush's name is Mary Jane, you can write, "Bagyong Marijuana." Or something like that. Anyway, I've been crushless (Eric Dane doesn't count =P) and bored for over a year now, so I decided to write the name of some random guy in my batch with a name easy to convert. I was really desperate for bonus points---if you've seen my Math grades, you know how badly I need bonus points.

As it turns out, Sir Nat took those names and used them as our codenames for when he posted our Math grades for the public to see (and laugh at). So Pisay peeps, if you figure out which one is mine, just remember na hindi ko crush yan. (Gusto ko lang asarin si Maan M. wahahaha).

[ETA] 4. I lost my wallet. ;___; That's the ultimate testament to my dim-wittedness and early-onset Alzheimer's, although it's not really an aberration because I've lost three cellphones and countless wallets before. *sigh*

Even worse news? Forgetfulness seems to be contagious, because Deo, JK, Rhey and some other people have lost their wallets this week too. (Lucky Deo found his though. Damn youuu!) Either that, or someone's going around stealing people's shit. In that case, STOP STEALING STUFF YOU SYPHILITIC DRUID. I want my wallet baaaaack! I know I sound shallow, but right now I feel like I lost a part of me.

If you guys have seen a black compartment-zipper-thingy with some Bic ballpens (2 blue, 1 red, 1 black) and a Marithe Francois Girbaud wallet containing P1300 and an assload of barkada pictures inside, pleasepleaseplease give it back before I get an aneurysm. If you do, name your reward--I can treat you to lunch or do your English/Chemistry/STR homework for you or whatever (but believe me, asking me to do your Math homework is a death wish). If you don't, I'll make sure to haunt you in the afterlife and pull down your pants in public when you're not looking. And then I'll turn Hindu and pray that you get reincarnated as a septic tank. And then I'll steal your wallet...no I won't because stealing is bad.

5. My brain has a short half-life! I can practically feel myself getting dumber and dumber as time goes by. I have an inconveniencingly short attention span, and, as I mentioned before, the memory span of a goldfish. Every day, I forget something. And during lectures, when I understand a lesson the way I used to do back in first year (i.e. without having to ask someone else to explain it to me), I'd be all, "OH MY GOD! I actually understood a lesson? Wow!"

Tragic, I know. Like, I've never had any alcohol because I believed people when they said that alcohol kills brain cells, but now I'm coming close to thinking that I might as well drink because my brain cells are dying on their own anyway. Yeah, that's how stupid I'm becoming.

(Don't worry though, I'm not going anywhere near alcohol.)

My friend Miggy has the B-E-S-T LJ icons ever, so Mege-phloque, I hope you don't mind if I borrow a couple for this post. People, this is how I feel right now:

And this is how my brain cells act inside my head:

(Hahaha dalawa na lang yung brain cells na natira sa utak ko)

I wish there was a roll-on stick you could apply directly to the forehead to make you smarter. Which brings me to my next topic: the Head On commercial, also known as the most annoying commercial in the universe. (Okay, lame and contrived segue, but you gotta admit it's creative. LOL.) Click here to view the commercial.

Now, I would have hated that commercial, but click here for the perfect remedy--the greatest commercial parody I have ever seen. (It's funnier if you watch it while you're stoned...of course, I wouldn't know that >=D)

If you can go through watching those videos and not have the sentence "Apply directly to the forehead" play in your mind through the next twenty-four hours, I swear, you're superhuman.

The Good That's Yet to Come

2006-07-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen the second season of Grey's Anatomy yet, here's a certain someone you can look forward to...

...Yeah, Chris O'Donnell's in the second season too and he's cute as a button, but he doesn't hold a candle to this guy. Neither does Patrick Dempsey, dreamy as he is =P

Eric Dane, tu eres muy caliente!

I did a bit of research on him and found out that he plays Multiple Man in X-Men 3...

WHOA! Not just Eric Dane, but LOTS and LOTS of Eric Dane? OH GOOD LORD. I must watch X-Men 3!

It's the End of the World (As We Know It)

2006-07-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

I believe that I am one of the most efficient time-wasters (haha, oxymoron) in the country. Summers and Christmases are never too long in The World of J.C., and I'll always find something new (and useless) to do. Today, I'm rocking out to some Pink Floyd, and later I'll go watch the DVD's we have here of Grey's Anatomy (McSteamy = HOLY SMOKES!!!!). Of course, I hate that nagging feeling I get when I opt to do more trivial things instead of studying or doing homework. Man, consciences suck.

(Just kidding, conscience, I love you!)

What I really hate is that I'm seemingly hard-wired to be a slacker, even though I know studying is more important. In the immortal words of Gavin DeGraw, "I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately."

I've been trying to be a responsible student lately, but I am a natural, lazy-ass slacker. I don't want to be!

[Guys, spoiler ahead! Skip this part if you don't want me to ruin the Grey's Anatomy Season 2 ending for you.]

Now, you might have noticed that I've been writing a lot about English Journalism lately. It's not that I'm all passionate about it or anything, or that all my other subjects are boring, or that I hate Sir Chris (he's actually pretty cool), it's just that...hmm...it's number one on the list of Things That Make Me Go "AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!"

Like this week. We submitted three topic proposals for a news feature, and since I was running out of ideas, I decided to put in that controversial issue among the higher-ups of Pisay that took place last year. And crapola of crapolas, Sir Chris assigns me to cover that one. Like my other proposal, "new teachers," was too banal. (Well, it is, but still.)

So I have to interview the key figures involved, and that downright scares the shit out of me! You all know I take cheapshots whenever I can, but there's no way to go around this one!

I totally feel like Meredith Grey in part two of that "Code Black" Superbowl Sunday episode of Grey's Anatomy, where she has her hand in the guy's cut-open gut, and she's handling an explosive that could detonate at any moment. One wrong move, and BOOM.

I could pull a Christina Ricci and skeedaddle on out of there, but I never back down from a challenge (I was the Dare Queen of La Salle's HAC---I never turned down a single dare!). Yeah, I know I could turn into pink mist if I say something wrong, regardless, I'm gonna do this, damn it, by hook or by crook!

And in this scenario, Sir Chris is my Dylan Young (the bomb technician). FYI, Sir, in the episode, the bomb actually explodes in Dylan's hands (Meredith lives!), so...MWAHAHAHAHA!

[Minor update] The final episode of the RJ Chronicles

2006-07-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Taeng EngJourn na yan. The moment I decide I like R.J. is the moment Sir Chris (AYAN ALAM KO PANGALAN MO) remembers that my name is J.C.! Stupid purple-watch-wearing poopoo-head. >:-(

Okay, enough. It did kind of irk me at first that a dude can't remember two freaking letters, but y'all know that I don't take the EngJourn R.J./J.C. shit seriously, right? Good. (Although I STILL detest the course syllabus and would rather shift to SSIP.)

It's oddly empowering, though, to hear your own English Journalism teacher say this: "Wikipedia isn't entirely reliable because it's a...self-whatever-thingy."

Yeaboi!!!

-o-

LOL, natatawa pa rin ako sa sinabi ni Sir Martin: "Uh, I think we forced him open."

XD

Just call me RJ.

2006-07-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

So Mr. EngJourn Teacher still can't remember my name.

"What was it again? TJ, EJ, CJ, RJ...I know it had a J in it..."

AARGH WTFLOWERS. I'm with Castro on this one: "How can he not remember 2 letters?"

(Then again, perhaps he's having a hard time pronouncing it. HAHAHAHAHA.)

Brandon (a.k.a. Gian) and I thought that RJ was a good enough substitute...and oddly enough, Mr. EngJourn Teacher remembers RJ. So in EngJourn, y'all can call me RJ, even though I have yet to find out what it stands for. No problemo, dudes! But Sir, if I happen to call you Professor Dickweed by mistake, don't take it personally. =P

-o-

Interesting things happen when I talk to Castro on YM. Online exchanges are confusing at times because you have to detect the purpose of a statement without knowing the tone of voice used. This can lead to various problems. Take our discussion of Guns 'n' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine," for example.

[Note that the songs "Enter Sandman" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" both drive me off the wall (thanks to my rock-worshipping brother). ]

J.C.: my brother reinforced my hate for screechy metal
Castro: you hate metal?
J.C.: if I hear Enter fucking Sandman one more time...

So, here.

Castro: sweet child makes me want to scream every time i hear it
J.C.: SAME HERE, MAN! i feel the same way about Sweet Child as i do about Enter Sandman
Castro: oh. i feel the other way :))
J.C.: ah LOL =)) different kind of scream :D
Castro: scream as in air-guitar, dancing all around, jumping on my bed, screaming the lyrics
J.C.: my bro keeps playing the shit out of it, so I'm like "FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" in the same way that Steve Carrell did when he got his chest waxed.

Double meanings can be a lot of fun, though.

J.C.: what do you think romance is?
Castro: something perfect. like pure ecstacy
J.C.: hehe :)) good luck on that, then
Castro: i think pure ecstacy is available only in california :))

Shet, dude, don't tempt me. XD

Say my name, bitch!

2006-07-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

LMAO sorry, I'm on American Pie-mode today. For the innocent: the post title is a quote from Michelle of "one time, at band camp" fame. XD

Aaaany-gay (haha, a homage to Scotty Kangaroojus), while Mr. EngJourn Teacher isn't as scary as I thought he was, I still don't like EngJourn. Friggin' boring shit, I think I'd rather be a dentist. Did I mention that we are now all scarred with bad, bad mental images of Brandon running around the field naked? Ay, caramba! And Mr. EngJourn Teacher still doesn't know my name, so Sir, until you do, I'm gonna keep referring to you as Mr. EngJourn Teacher. If it progresses, I might resort to calling you Sir Poopoo-face, so watch it, bucko! =P

Regarding the whole flat-world commotion: I'm proud that we Zobelians know how to make fun of ourselves =)) Been nice talking to you, Eri! :)

Also, check out my horoscope for today: A troublesome problem shows up in your life today, but it's not yours. You're the arbiter for a friend, and like some of the judges on TV, you give out real, hard truth when asked. It's tough, but you're fair.

LOL, interesting!

On another note: Being old is depressing. Imagine, I'm all of 16 years, and I'm worrying about being old! See, I don't know how to drive, I'm the oldest girl in our batch (always have been), and I have wisdom teeth. WISDOM TEETH! At 16!!! Holy smokes.

A Wikipedia consultation later, I found that two of my wisdom teeth have distoangular impaction, meaning they're angled towards the back of the mouth, and distoangular impaction is the rarest form of impaction. (Yay, circus freak! XP) The other two have vertical impaction, meaning that they haven't fully erupted from the gumline.

Worse news? Wikipedia says, "Typically distoangular and vertical impactions are the most difficult types of wisdom teeth to extract."

ZOMG son of a...AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!

I am reaching Dane Cook "people-at-the-DMV" levels of upset! Mama said extraction would hurt, but now it's going to hurt worse because my teeth grew in weird angles. As if it wasn't bad enough that I have a hard time eating because of them.

Hmph, "wisdom teeth" my patootie. They should call them "hurt-like-a-motherfucker teeth." >:-(

Today was a funny day.

2006-07-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

My Mondays always start out horribly. Last week, I had a freaky nightmare where my classmate shot another classmate and I woke up with the sweats and a mild fever (sorry Beila LOL XD). A Monday before that, I hella crammed the night before and woke up feeling shitty, plus I left late.

Simply put, I hate Mondays, and I am in total agreement with whoever said that "Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your week." But as the post title reads, today was a funny day. See, the strange thing is, my Mondays start out crappy and turn awesome later on.

First: Today, Nicoli had an eating race, but it was with Rhey this time. I think it was tied. Not sure, but it was still pretty hilarious!

I had my usual fun at the library with good ol' Rhey, Sudoku-loving JBL (proness!), and DiPol Moment, even though I never got to finish my Chemistry homework. Lahat tayo nagmo-moment...ZOMG, I love that word! =))

Commotion abounds in the flat world, and while I am in no mood to elaborate, I will say that La Salle and Pisay are both great and WE'RE NOT FREAKING ROBOTS, and they don't think we are, so chill. *sings* "Leeeeeet there be peace on Earrrrrth....."

And due to all of this commotion, I talked to an old friend I haven't talked to in over a year. Let me tell you, I really meant what I said when I said that you've changed for the better. Keep it up -- happy is good, see? :)

After school, I went home, went online and tried to empathize with both parties. Not sure where it's headed, but hopefully all will be calm. Then I got a Biology lesson from Dr. J. Carlo Castro himself (I'm never sleeping or eating again, Doc!), which was pretty cool. I always learn something new from our conversations, LOL!

I YM'ed Sir Martin, too, and came to the obvious conclusion that *sings again* "What the world needs now, is love, sweet love...It's the only thing that there's just too little of..."

Great, this is a musical blog post now. Forgive the insanity, I'm kind of high, the Doc knows why.

Funny Mondays.

Sixth-grade superheroes!

2006-07-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

TEFON was never really about artistic ability (for me, anyway--I wasn't very good). De La Salle Zobel's version of Maritess and the Superfriends was all about humor, camaraderie, and of course, love (aww). Under the guiding hand of Lady Galang (and later, Lady Samgi!), we were out and about, saving the world when the teachers weren't looking!

While I would love to start a webcomic with you guys, time will not permit me to, so I hope this sad little pencil-and-paper sketch is enough to convey my gratitude to you guys for giving my fictitious alter-ego superhero the most fun she has ever had. Hey, it's the thought that counts!

(Click for full-size version)

Who ever thought that five grade-schoolers could fight crime, obtain magical powers, marry Josh Hartnett (haha VICKY), be invaded by Ovalz (ahem NORMAN), rescue me from a near-fatal bullet wound and drowning in a huge mug of beer, and save the world, all during class?

In retrospect, weren't we quite like The Breakfast Club? Jeanne the Rebel, Vicky the Princess, Arvin the Jock, MicMac the Weirdo (WEEHEEHEE bagay!), and Miggy the Nerd (haha sorry, siya na lang natira sayo eh =P).

Frankly, I don't remember what our superpowers were, but I know that our strongest power of all is the power of love (hehe corneeeh). To quote Simple Minds (the band who sang The Breakfast Club's theme song), "don't you forget about me." And to quote my friend Reg, "I love you guys!"

It's Krypton for the anal-retentive.

2006-06-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

I had a particularly good day today. Man, I forgot how great it is to just let loose and laugh. For once in my life I can rest assured that God's on my side, and I feel paranoia-free and fantastic!

Nicoli challenged me to a race of sorts today. For lunch, I had a lime-flavored Koolee and five pieces of my favorite chicken nuggets, and he had a piece of pork chop, about three cups of rice, and a big jug of water. The race? Paunahang makaubos ng pagkain. I was like, "No, I was kidding!" but he was totally serious about it...so I beat him. :) That was some funny shit right there, though. Koolee nearly came out through my nose because I was laughing so hard XD Nicoli sure is a funny thing!

It reminded me of that time when Ian, Jape, Kathy and I had a race to see who could finish our Koolee the fastest -- most of us got brain freeze LOL!

-o-

Natawa talaga ako dito...Kim was telling me about one of her classmates in III-Mg (that's III-Magnesium, folks) who mistook the chemical symbol for something else.

Tao 1: Ano section mo?
Tao 2: Mg.
Tao 1: Ano ibig sabihin ng Mg?
Tao 2: Manganese.

ZOMG LOL!

I'm totally going to use that if someone ever asks me about the chemical symbol of my section, K (Potassium).

Person: Ano section mo?
JC: K.
Person: Ano ibig sabihin ng K?
JC: Kalcium.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA bobo.

-o-

LOL Eda, lookie what my bro had to say about him (pinakita ko Friendster pic nya):

"He looks like a beaten-up Django Bustamante with a salad bowl for a forehead."

SHET PANALO! =))

-o-

And lastly: I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to dig up one of my favorite YM conversations, involving me and two ex-Atenean guys. Funny in bits, sad in others (we were all so hung up on our crushes back then, my God!), but this, I think, was the best part ever -- one of them talks about the other's seventh grade faux pas:

I asked [him] grade seven, "are you heterosexual?"

And he said, "of course not! im not gay!" hahahahahahaha!

Good times, good times. :)

She's a Killer Queen

2006-06-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

We Opalloidz (JK, Weeecoli, Dosdos, and yours truly) have established ourselves as back-of-the-classroom slackers. Of course, I look weird in EngJourn class because there's literally no one in front of me (nag Physics pa kasi kayo eh!).

Speaking of EngJourn, I wanna switch electives *sniffle*. I'm not having any fuuun --- these past meetings have just been Araling Panlipunan revisited. I mean, fuck it, I went and joined this elective so that I can avoid this Filipino and AP crap, and it's come back to bite me in the ass. Tomas Pinpin? Plaridel?? La Re-bulshet-acimiento (whatever the hell it was called)??? Holy Elterible, I don't give a flying rat's ass! Unsurprisingly, I got a near-failing grade in my first EngJourn quiz. I wish I'd applied for Advanced Chemistry or Problem-solving Physics instead. :'-(

It's been two weeks, but the Potassium jokes haven't gotten stale yet. Just earlier I proudly proclaimed to Sir Chris, "I'm J.C., and I'm a Pota!"

0____o

In other news: I hate Physics 2. There's an assignment every effing day, and I lost my protractor. Those vectors can go fuck themselves.

We've got our first JS Prom this year! Ma'am Duallo-David is dangling bait in front of us -- everyone who has a date gets plus points.

By the way, I know someone who wants to ask Jakey (JK) to the prom wahaha =))

Lonely heart nanaman 'tong si Roioioioi, o. But I'm so proud that you're mature about it. My little boy is all grown up (and learning the guitar)! *sniffle*

And...hoy, Future Ex-Boyfriend Micmac! Pwede ba outsiders sa prom nyo? It's party-crashing time, bebeh! Kung pwede ka sa prom namin, no single girl is off-limits, you not-so-accomplished-but-enthusastic flirt =)

P -- for party!
A -- for all night long!
R -- for reefer!
T -- for "turn me on!"
Y -- for............why not?

Haha =))

Day One (Masaya magpakabobo!)

2006-06-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I was late in blogging this, I'd already made a similar entry in my friends-only LJ.

Sooo...first day? Okay! There's not really a lot to write about, but I'm feeling a lot happier than I did a few months ago. Potassium would take some time to really gel, but doesn't every section? At least we're fun right off the bat, even with our lame and overdone Pota jokes. I'm relentless -- mga anak kami ng Pota! (Does that make Ma'am Bawagan our Mother Pota?)

By the way, Kimmy, don't mind her na -- she doesn't mean a thing. I feel sorry for her. At least we don't care about it anymore, diba? =)

English Journalism is apparently not as easy as I hoped it would be. Sir EngJourn Teacher, if you were deliberately trying to scare the crap out of all of us...you did a fantastic job. But really, I'm sure he's much nicer in person. Just scary as hell in class.

Our other teachers are okay. I was hoping we'd get Sir Villavert for Chemistry, but now, I'm happy we have Sir Felix "Darna!" Generalao -- the perfect mix of fun and smart! *happily does Chem HWs a week in advance*

We have Sir Alfie (I'll call you Alfie, it's my favorite Bacharach song) for English. I still can't get over the Evil Queenishness of him strutting around the classroom with his fan, and how Morticia-like his eerily pale and bony frame is. Uh, Sir, there's this thing called "sunlight." Maybe you should check it out sometime. =P

Natawa kami sa signature nya -- at first glance, it reads "ASS."

Me to Kim: Hahaha! Your homeroom adviser is an ASS!

...Sorry, I couldn't resist. -____-'

I actually thought he was a girl at first (Juniors Re-Orientation)...we were seated meters away, and I had to squint to see who Potassium's English teacher would be. Then I thought, "That anorexic chick dresses like a dude." When I was writing down the teachers' names in my notebook, I didn't catch his, so I asked Hannah, who said it was Alfred. "Her name is Alfred? Now, that's messed up."

Anyway. What's up with "Masaya magpakabobo," you ask? Well, it's true! I discovered it while talking to Arienne. Basically, the gist is to let yourself go and learn to make light of your imperfections. Long, long ago, I used to be an intellectual snob, and in effect, perenially miserable. Now, I'm a happy idiot! I love Densa! I won't let anything below 2.5 ruin my day!

Now, I'm not saying I will giddily slack off on all responsibilities, because then I'd be digging my own grave in PSHS. My point is, I've learned to embrace the fact that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed -- and I'm still smiling.

Like they say, "Ignorance is bliss!" =)

Flowers and a Red Crayon

2006-06-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ever get that feeling where your heart literally starts hurting, like it's about to explode? The kind of pain you feel right before you start to cry?

Angge's "The Red Crayon" (which you can find on her LJ) made me feel that pang, and Angge, I am so proud to have known such talented people like you and everyone from Zobel. It's a great story, if I haven't told you already. :)

So I've been reminiscing about the good old La Salle days lately, and reading about The Red Crayon made me realize that, well, La Salle is my red crayon. Green crayon, really. I loved that green crayon, and it brought a lot of joy to my otherwise colorless life.

I'm not saying that I don't like the black crayon. Actually, I view it as a ballpen -- entirely different, and not as fun as a crayon, but it opens the door to a lot of opportunities.

I may not have the green crayon anymore, but I'll always have that lovely, half-colored Winnie the Pooh picture in a golden frame in my heart. Youth is fleeting, but memories are forever. :)

-o-

Yeah, I know. If you didn't read the story, my post sounds like I wrote it while I was on crack. But really, it's special to me, as are the beautiful people of La Salle. In closing, I will place my lengthy Evergreen post here. It was originally written for my secret special LiveJournal for the people who are special to me (if I give you the link or add you as an LJ friend, you're special to me ^-^), but these people deserve a mention on all my blogs. Here goes the lengthy "Thank you" speech:

Lari, who is the Meredith Grey to my Cristina Yang, the James Wilson to my Dr. House, and the Seth Cohen to my Ryan Atwood (you were always the smart one), thanks for always being a positive and happy person. You're awesome and smart, and you bring light to every life you've touched. Live long and prosper!

Miggy, Mister Mathematics -- irresistibly fun and super smart! Every time that Will Smith video "Gettin' Jiggy with It" airs on MTV, I'll be thinking of us and our stupid little Jiggy dance. :)

Vicky, to me, you are definitely the ultimate, overachieving, super-friendly, musically gifted Supergirl. Keep kicking butt there at DLSZ!

"Who's that skinny kid who looks like Micmac? Oh my God, it's Micmac!" Hehehe. Future Ex-Boyfriend! It's amazing how you are everyone's shoulder to cry on. You are the future Dr. Phil, and the day you get your own talk show, I'll be the first person to line up for front row seats.

Kalalz, sorry for all the years I've picked on you, because for all you are, you never deserved to be my personal insult dartboard. I hope you know that I never really meant all those gay jokes :P I also hope that you get to read this because I really am sorry for being such a bully, and I think that at your best, you represent all the good things about being a Christian. *sniffle* :,-)

Roi, you're like the weird little alien brother I never had, and I mean that in a good way (if there is one). It's only with you that I can have the weirdest conversations and still make sense, and have four different text conversations all at the same time. You know I'd gladly sing your praises to your Dreamgirl (*wink wink*) until she finally says "yes," because beneath all your peculiarity, you're a great kid. PUTAHE NG INA MO! \m/

Notnot, even though I've been picking fights with you around 4th and 5th grade (remember when I gave you the finger and you told Ms. Naputo? OMG LOL!), I know you're a good guy and you're destined for great things! Remember: with great power comes great responsibility. Of course, that's not something you have to worry about because you're perfectly capable of both. ;)

The Askalz, who will always be my favorite dysfunctional family, thanks for all the good times.

And everybody else, because you all rock: Laurs, Marga, Cath, Pielle and Powie, all smart plus pretty, y'all rep-ruh-zent girl power!; Crazysexycool Angge, no music, no life!; Hsoj, the cool, hilarious, stoner dad that I never had -- I will look back on all the "high times" we've shared and just laugh and start to act high again; Ate Norms, the ultimate mastermind, the Vince McMahon of DLSZ, if you ever become the head of WWE Creative, or design some major-selling video game, I will sit back, laugh and say "I knew it!"; Iskosis, little guy with a big......heart -- haha!; Kat, the original bandana girl, you were always the cool and stylish trendsetter; Sexy Sophie, ever so fabulous and brilliant AND FORGIVING HAHAHAHA; Jero the German Janitor, and original inventor of my nickname, Janjalani; Jam, the Reese Witherspoon of high school: pretty, smart, talented, and gracious about everything thrown your way; Ever-humble Samgee, you are more than you think you are. Keep rockin'!; and Papa Joe Fabian, who opened up a can of whoop-ass on lazy ol' me and taught me the value of hard work -- next time I slack off, I'm going to remember you, and I will work hard to make you proud. I hope to become successful one day, so I can gather us all up and plan an event a la Mr. Holland's Opus, all misty eyes, sentimental background music and "We are your opus!" Or at least, I hope to visit you in ten years and tell you that you made a big difference in my life, because really, you did.

So whenever I feel like Pisay is like some mental military school, or something akin to Stu Hart's Dungeon (and trust me, I do sometimes), I will remember obnoxiously reading verses from Jessica Zafra's Chicken Pox for the Soul to Kalalo while everyone else was working on a Math seatwork, Jiggy-dancing with Miggy, paper chats, morning discussions of Final Fantasy and the WWE with Isko, the Charley's ET chant, sneaking into the CPA theater with you guys to watch live tapings of that game show hosted by Paolo Bediones, singing "Latino Heat" with Isko and "Sexy Boy" with Ate Norms -- and promptly fucking up the lyrics, watching Franma toss and catch Milo balls with perfect execution, the Young Observer gang and how we always picked on...you-know-who (she thinks we're total assclowns, but oh well), ATC gimiks every week, band sessions and making fun of that jackass band instructor, telebabad with Vicky and Sam A (4 hours straight!), the million trips to Enchanted Kingdom and riding the Enterprise for my first and only time, finding out Kat's crush in a dream ("That's so Jeanne!"), playing Pusoy Dos during Foundation Week, red shirts on Valentine's Day, the basketball boys' adding a little something special to our graduation day, and butchering that "Graduation Day" song with Kat ("Graduation day, and we're still as one, graduation day, blah blah blah blah BLAH!").

God. You people get to have fun and take it a day at a time while I'm hanging by a thread every waking moment, hoping I'm not gonna fail something today. You're all awesome, funny, smart and soaring through high school awesomely, the future's so bright you gotta wear shades, while I seem to be in over my head a lot of the time. But Meredith Grey said it best: "Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop."

I hope to still be able to see you all in ten years or so, and visit your weddings, and hear how fantastic you all have become, and cheer you on, and mooch off of your successes (just kidding about that last part). Westlife is gay, but I am (for)everGreen. :)

3121, paint the town purple!

2006-05-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

[Hey, wow. Check it out -- ever since the Top 12, I correctly predicted four people of the Final 5 (Mandisa was my only wrong guess. I did not predict Paris would make it that far.) See the "Ponies" bit on the side bar? I wrote that months ago!]

So here's what I love and hate about the finale:

I hate that they put the Idol finale on the 8am Just Shoot Me! timeslot. Pricks.

I love that the forever-awesome Prince was there (baby u own the stage!), and I love that he didn't have to share the stage with any contestant. No one can fucking touch this guy! All the other stars performing paled in comparison. Also, for a guy who's 2 years shy of 50, Prince is looking pretty darn good (not a day over 30!) -- and I hear he's just been voted in a PETA poll as the World's Sexiest Vegetarian. Wow!

I hate that Meatloaf was there, and I hate that he messed up Kat's performance. Well, they both sucked.

I love that Burt Bacharach was there, and I love that someone finally sang one of my favorite songs of all time, "Alfie," but I hate that that someone had to be Lisa Tucker (it should have been Kat).

I love that Clay Aiken was there, but I hate his new hair color.

I love that Chris Daughtry was there, but I hate that he had to share the stage with Live. Sorry, but the whole performance was just "meh" for me. I'd die of happiness if it were Aerosmith or Bon Jovi, though.

I hate that Kevin Covais was there. God. (Though I did laugh when he sang "What's New, Pussycat?")

I love the chemistry between Ace Young and Melissa McGhee. Sparks are flying! :)

I love that this year's winner is finally a white male, but I hate that he's someone who performs like a drunk dad at a wedding. I'm gonna pass the buck to TWoP's Jacob now:

"Taylor wins it. He certainly worked harder for it. I mean, all that spazzing out and hugging himself ticked me off, but it worked for a hell of a lot of people, so...well done. You giant pile of jackass. Once again, America gets the Idol it deserves. This year, American Idol does, too."

Bottom line? Prince blew everyone, EVERYONE out of the water, and in true Prince fashion: Turn up 30 seconds before the performance, kick the shit out of everyone, and then high-tail it out of there without so much as acknowledging Seacrest. Diva-licious. I loved it! In five and a half minutes, he turned American Idol 5 into The Prince Show. Taylor who?

When it's all said and Dunkleman

2006-05-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

"It's official: America is running out of talent." So says my beloved David Spade on his Thursday night program, Comedy Central's The Showbiz Show. Yep, a lackluster American Idol season that led up to a crappy finale (quoth Rickey: "Worst. Finale. Ever."). Remember what I said a few blog posts ago?

"If fuckin' Taylor wins, only a tornado or David Spade can stop me from kicking the TV screen."

Well, Mister Television, David Spade saved your electricity-powered life. Nothing like comic relief to cure a resentful Idol viewer.

(And for the record, I'm half-and-half about Kat and Taylor. I was rooting for Kat, but wouldn't it be fun to give the industry a big "In your face!" by not picking the prettier, more talented, pop-star-packaged one? Hee!)

To watch the clip that rescued my TV from having a bulky, pink Skechers shoe implanted [Dane Cook impersonation]in its FACE[/Dane Cook impersonation]: Click me, baby! (Thanks, damonc79!)

It's funny, seriously. The only people that hate David Spade are the people that can't stand it when he bashes their favorites. Come on, Spade is FUN-NEH! Hell, I wouldn't mind if he had ripped on Chris Daughtry. Chris would still be awesome to me, and Spade would still be funny to me. Win-win!

Some of the best Spade-isms from the clip:

On Taylor: "Come on, he's like Joe Cocker but older!"

On Kat: "I hope McPhee wins, just so I can see her jump up and down!"

On Elliott: "What's he gonna sing about, the wonders of not getting laid?"

"The final five are exactly like The Breakfast Club: There's the rebel [Chris], the princess [Kat], the nerd [Elliott], the weirdo [Paris]...and of course, the principal [Taylor]."

"The most popular contestants have been: white people that sound black [Scott Savol], young people that sound old [RJ Helton(?)], and straight guys that sound gay [Clay Aiken]."

Okay, I am seriously going to write letters to JackTV until they finally air The Showbiz Show with David Spade. "Hi JackTV, WHY THE FUCK IS SHOWBIZ SHOW NOT IN YOUR LINEUP YET? And don't give me any of that 'We don't have an available timeslot' crap, because piece-of-shit programs like Crank Yankers, Primetime Glick and Distraction UK are still showing! Pull them off and give me some SPAAAADE!!!"

For now, I'll just comfort myself with my daily Just Shoot Me! fix (8:00am on weekdays, 4:30am on Saturdays, Star World). I'll also be adding a Spade-ism of the Month feature to my sidebar, right below the Funny Quote of the Day.

So, uh, yeah. Seacrest, out.

HEIST!

2006-05-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

[Part 2 to follow...otherwise, it'd be a FUCKING LONG POST.]

The day started with me opening a sleepy eye to look at my Hello Kitty alarm clock. "9 a.m.? SHIT!"

I was supposed to wake up at 4:30 a.m. so I could watch my daily dose of Just Shoot Me! reruns on Star World, then get ready to watch the De La Salle Zobel summer workshop recital at the church, and leave early so I could get there on time, since it starts at 10 a.m.

So I get there twenty minutes late, get lost, and follow the music to find my way to the recital venue (a trip around and a staircase down), only to find that the door was locked. Naturally, my knee-jerk reaction would be to whip out my cellphone and text Miggy/Micmac/Kalalz, but luckily, someone opened the door. I spotted Kalalz and Jam waving and...yay. Also there: Miggy and Micmac with mustaches, and a way slimmer Kat (damn youuu! LOL kididing).

The recital was basically...well, let's just say it isn't the first time I've heard "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Highlight of the show: Sir Pol and Ms. Tin's duet of "We Could Be in Love." OMG I LOVE THAT SONG!!!! LSS LSS LSS. (Micmac: "Ang galing ni Sir Pol....mag-violin!") Of course, I love that old La Salle tradition of cheering obnoxiously for potential love teams :)

I spent post-recital time swapping hugs and "Heyyy!"s with everyone, and lunch at the mall's Food Court rehashing old memories --- Jesus, I'd totally forgotten about that time I stood up to Ms. Sabarre! Scaaary. I also found out that both La Salle and Pisay are holding their proms at Shangri-La, just one week apart. Cue to my evil plan with my Future Ex-Boyfriend (LOL!) Micmac:

Micmac: Tayo na lang mag-prom date!
Me: I know! We'll go to both proms! Two proms in a year!

HAHAHAHA.

And then came the movie conflict. Over the Hedge or The Da Vinci Code? Personally, I preferred Over the Hedge because I've recently developed a taste for movies that don't require a lot of thinking. 'Course, I'll always love American Beauty and all Richard Linklater films, but I think my brain is degenerating.

Back to story: there was no choice, apparently, because Over the Hedge was sold out (one theater? Just one theater? YOU FUCKING MORONS!!!). I was cool with The Da Vinci Code too, but only for three reasons. One is that next to Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Hanks is my favorite actor. Two, I've never read the book (too lazy). And three is finally getting to experience the thrill of sneaking into an R-18 theater. I know, I know, it should be easy-squeezy for me because I look over 18, but I was looking forward to some really big con where we would all fool the guards and sneak in. Mind you, none of my friends look as old as I do, with Kalalz being the probable exception.

Things get kinda iffy at this point because Miggy doesn't want to watch, and Kat does, and I don't know where to go, and we go in circles and to Powerbooks and then I end up watching anyway (huh?). Perhaps the greatest fun was in devising schemes to get past the R-18 rating:

Micmac (waiting in line): Sabihin natin na ikaw girlfriend ko!

Micmac (to female 4th year student): Ate, pahiram ng ID mo! Magkamukha naman tayo e.

Me (about to enter cinema with Sowf): Kung hindi ako papapasukin, Micmac, tatawagan kita. Sabihin mo na over 18 ako. *changes the name "Micmac" in cellphone address book to "Daddy"*

Sowf: Nandito parents ko -- sabihin na lang nila sa guard na over 18 tayong lahat!

Me (inside cinema, texting Micmac): Pumasok ka na, sabihin mo na andito na girlfriend mo sa loob!

And my favorite...

Micmac (inside Powerbooks, trying to find an alternative): Basahin na lang nating lahat yung Da Vinci Code dito!

So Kat, Cath, Powie, Sowf and I managed to get in. I was bummed that Micmac and Kalalz couldn't make it inside, and even more bummed that it was the last time I'd see them for the day. The movie itself was cool, but nothing entirely riveting. I later found out that Manila actually banned the showing of this movie, so...HA HA HA. :P Metro Manila rocks!

The end of our little get-together came not too long after the movie, and it was funny waving goodbye and watching them all go up the escalator, like an oddly touching ascension-to-a-Great-Somewhere-Up-There final scene, "I'll see you around someday" kind of thing. And as I walked away, I could hear the opening guitar chords to the Just Shoot Me! theme playing:

Life keeps bringing me back to you
Keeps bringing me home
It doesn't matter what I wanna do, 'cause it's got a mind of its own

Haha. Cute.

As a gimik, it was nothing out of the ordinary, just a typical get-together like old times. But that's what I love about it, too...especially getting to see everyone else once again. God, I missed you all! It was way too short (Lari, we have a lot of catching up to do!), but I left the mall on a happy note. Looking forward to seeing you in Grease, MIGGY. Muahahaha. >:)

I'd be lying if I said...

2006-05-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

...that I didn't see it coming.

After the results show, I was worried all right. "Oh shit, Chris is gonna go home, he's gonna go home!"

And yeah, he did. Apparently, my theories work: If you're popular and you sucked, you're staying. If you're a lower-tier contestant and you rocked the house, you're staying. If you're good but had a mediocre performance, you're gonna go home. (And for people like Bucky: if you normally suck and you did better one night...you're gonna go home.) But hey, at least now we all know he wears boxer briefs...and that Ryan Seacrest totally has the hots for him. (Did you see how he stared silently at Chris for a few seconds before breathing, "It's gonna be a HOT race to the finish"? Dead giveaway.)

So here comes the deluge of people crying "he's gonna sell tons of records, just wait and see," but I'm not so sure about that. Seriously, what's the track record for AI contestants? 48 finalists from seasons one through four, and who's found success? Kelly, Clay, Carrie. 3 out of 48. And Kelly took, what, three years before coming out with a decent album? (Hopefully, Bo will cut himself off from the evil producers and come out with some good, original music soon. Yeah, Bo could be the next Kelly Clarkson! No, not that way.) Clay's STILL dealing with gay rumors, and Carrie...I'm only counting Carrie because of that whole Skechers deal. Constantine's got a sitcom coming out in the fall, but we have yet to see whether or not it'll fly. Kim Caldwell and Matt Rogers (squee!) are hosting shows now, but I don't really count TV Guide as successful. J-Hud's in a movie, but again, who knows if it'll flop or score big? ETA: Jim Verraros does some modeling and plays a gay guy (duh) in an indie movie, which I don't count as mainstream success...but getting to make out with Ryan Carnes is success enough for me. :) Go Jimmy go!

I wanted Chris to win so that he could prove that AI isn't just some stupid little pop machine, but whoops, guess not. I'd definitely buy his CD, though. That's a given. CLIVE DAVIS DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM! I hear the cost of Fuel has risen quite recently. *wink wink*

I'll quote my personal hero, TWoP's Jacob Clifton on this one: "[Chris's] voice sounds very nice, very professional and practiced, and I don't understand why he's not already doing the music thing. How can AI possibly help him? Is he just lazy? It's a weird detour for someone so practiced and good. Don't let them do to you what they did to Bo, dude! Run!"

As for that show, I'm not watching anymore (I basically ordered my brother to call me whenever it was a Chris or Elliott performance, then I'd skip everyone else), but I'm rooting for Elliott now. Go little leprechaun! We wuuuv you :)

Or I can force myself to catch the McPheever...*deadpans* oh, yay. She's sooo much fun. -__-

Look, If fuckin' Taylor wins, only a tornado or David Spade will stop me from kicking the TV screen. Sorry, dude, but I tend to notice talent first and foremost when picking an AI favorite.

As for Chris, he's got the vocal chops to make it, I think. Yay, Chris! It was a boring season anyway. Hope you can take Fuel up on that offer now! Woohoo!

Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss him. Now Fuel had better hound him good or I'm gonna...

Con Te Patiro (finally)! Mink, anyone?

2006-04-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

After weeks and weeks of "blah" from America's supposed number one TV show, something interesting actually happens! (Please, Standards week was so overrated.)

1. Performance of the Night: My boy Elliott sounded awesome (which he does every week), and he wasn't boring (which he...fails to do every week)!

2. Rocker, heal thyself: After a dull performance of one of the Most Boring Songs in the Known Universe and a trip to the Bottom 3, Chris blows away the judges and millions of viewers with what Simon Cowell called a "sexy" performance -- even if it was with one of the Gayest Songs in the Known Universe (and Chris and the guitarists together onstage really looked like a...mariachi band). In the spirit of Bill Maher, here's my new rule: Bryan Adams songs should be banned from any and all future episodes of American Idol.

(IMO, the sexiest part of Chris's performance was during rehearsals when he sang lying down. I mean, I don't even find Chris sexy, but...wow. I can't thank David Foster enough for that hot visual.)

3. I don't wanna have to look very much further...I don't wanna have to hear that goddamned song again: Too much cleavage, too much staring into the camera (hon, only Constantine can pull that off), too much cabaret. Gee, Katharine is only, like, the bajillionth contestant to sing Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" on AI. Next time, Kat, stick to Streisand.

4. Ball and Chain: For the first time ever, Taylor didn't go all spastic on stage...and I actually liked it. Sure, he was out of tune in places, but at least he wasn't jerking himself around as per usual.

5. DaughPhee: Sorry, but this picture is way too cute not to post:

...Hee!

6. Separated at Birth?: I gotta say it -- Chris Daughtry reeeally looks like a cross between Vin Diesel and Dave Attell.

7. Revenge of the Sixth: Of course, the whole time I watched the performances I kept thinking about how Constantine got eliminated at this point in the show. I sensed another shocker elimination this year would happen. Pre-show, I feared that Chris would go home since he's my favorite this year. Post-show, I predicted that Kat would be sent home. Come results, it was a shocker all right -- but a GOOD shocker. She's been more tolerable these past few weeks, but...Kellie Pickler's gone! Damn, I thought this day would never come!

Whether or not your "dumb redneck" shtick was an act or not, your gaping lack of talent was just too much for me to bear ("Unchained Melody?" Puh-leaze!), so Kellie, in the words of my favorite smart-aleck pipsqueak David Spade on SNL's Total Bastard Airlines: "Buh-bye!"

Neither Lazarus nor Jamie Sullivan

2006-04-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

[more on the title in the next entry]

Sorry, I know I haven't updated in a bajillion years, but I haven't found the time to. Life's a nauseating whirlpool of drama---way too colorful for my taste. Never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss feeling bored.

My world in snippets:

- I'm in luurve with Adam Pascal! Viva la vie Boheme! Speaking of which, expect a review of the film version of RENT from yours truly soon.
- According to an online test I took regarding my political views, I am what is described as a Libertarian. One moment of confusion and a Wikipedia consultation later, I find myself in agreement with the result. The quiz graph shows that I have the same political views as Adam Sandler (I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing...). Hey, if y'all are taking the test too, please post your results :)
- Another test I took ("The 3-Variable Funny Test") says I have the same sense of humor as Conan O'Brien and Ashton Kutcher. I always thought I was more like Bill Maher or the guys at TWoP, but oh well.
- TV shows I'm loving right now: Project Runway (Jay McCarroll rocks!), Dr. Phil, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, My Name is Earl, Grey's Anatomy (Two words: Dr. McDreamy!)
- This year's American Idol is boring as shit. While everyone's good in one way or another, no one really stands out (except for Chris, and even he has his off-days). And the themes blow.
- I recently bought a back issue of Inside TV featuring the 50 hottest guys on TV, and I was inspired to make my own list. Coming soon to This. is. Jeanne. : J.C.'s Top 10 Hottest Guys in Entertainment!
- In two aspects of my life, I'm in a precarious position. More on that soon.
- God tests our faith sometimes, but I'm going to give my 110% into keeping my New Year's Resolutions.
- I regret not picking Programming for next year's Computer Science class. If I'd have only known that hexadecimal numbers, etc. were part of the Networking...*slaps self on forhead*
- This year's summer lessons: Spanish class, Math, and hopefully, continued Tango lessons. (Heh, asa!)
- It was so awesome to see my Zobel friends again! Looking forward to the gimik, Lari! And Askalz: if Smackdown's coming to Manila, y'all better start saving up now!

Idol update

2006-03-03T09:36:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, my review of WWE Raw Live in Manila is long overdue, but my head's overflowing with opinions on AI!

* It astounds me how a no-talent shit like Jasmine Trias can make it to the Final 3 while Sway couldn't even make it to the Top 16. So I came up with this theory: If you are good but not great, and your personality doesn't stand out, your days on Idol are numbered. Why? Because if you don't suck, not enough people will be desperate to keep you in (this is why Kevin Covais is still in the competition), and if you're not great, you won't be able to compel people to vote. Plus, if you have virtually no personality (at least on-screen), that will make you forgettable, which is the worst thing any Idol contestant could be.

* Thank heavens Brenna's gone! Even I couldn't stand her diva attitude any longer. If you don't have the talent to back up your words, then SHUT UP. My dad always says, "It ain't bragging if it's the truth." Unfortunately for you, Brenna, you're just a diva-wannabe with no recording contract.

* Kevin Covais is gross. "Sex symbol" is a title reserved for people who actually are hot. Quit it, Kev, your delusion is sooo not cute.

* Gedeon McKinney, it is never a good thing when your ego is bigger than your talent. The Idol stage isn't big enough for that head of yours.

* It's hard to root for The Girl Who Has Everything, but Ayla Brown is really beginning to grow on me.

* ROFLMAO at Will Makar's homophobia (in reaction to Ryan Seacrest untucking Will's shirt for him). Poor kid looked like he was about to get molested.

* I hope Kellie Pickler improves her singing soon. Actually, I wish she'd just get eliminated, but I think that's out of the question because she has that whole sob story and shit. She annoys the fuck out of me, but I predict she'll cute her way to the Top 12 and ride on all the sympathy votes that'll be pouring in.

* Although I had initially written her off as forgettable, Melissa McGhee has definitely improved this week.

* Elliott Yamin! Elliott Yamin! Powerhouse!!! Totally came out of left field (where was he during the Hollywood eliminations?), but that voice is like whoa! IMO, Elliott's the dark horse to win this.

* Paula Abdul is so full of shit. I have just about had it with that irritating laugh of hers and her penchant for favoring hot male contestants to win. (Well, I might have been guilty of lovin' me some Bo and Constantine, but to me, their talent is more important than their looks. I swear! ^___^') Not to mention her slurred, drunken speech, and those retarded comments she made on last night's results show. Paula, honey, save the pot and booze for after the show.

Here begins my campaign: Janeane Garofalo to replace Paula Abdul on American Idol! Woohoo! *__* Or Ellen. Or Sarah Silverman. Hell, even Jessica Simpson's okay by me! Anyone who's sober, damn it!

* Why do people hate Simon Cowell so much? He's the only judge whose opinion really matters! At least his vocabulary is not limited to words like "dawg" and "pitchy" (and more recently, "We got a hot one tonight!"), and he isn't an oversexed drunk hag (see above). American Idol is nothing without Simon Cowell. Then again, Simon Cowell is nothing without Ryan Seacrest ;-) [insert Brokeback Mountain joke here]

* To me, it seems like nearly everyone on AI5 is a clone of a past Idol contestant. See below:

Katharine McPhee = Carrie Underwood (because Simon likes her so much)
Kellie Pickler = Carrie Underwood (in the naive farm girl sense, but unlike Carrie, KELLIE CAN'T SING.)
Chris Daughtry = Bo Bice
Ace Young = Justin Guarini/Constantine Maroulis (sultry gaze included! His edge over Con, though, is that he's more sure of what he is--i.e. he accepts his boybandishness---and he doesn't try to act all grungy and rocker-ish.)
Lisa Tucker = Tamyra Gray
Paris Bennett = Fantasia Barrino
Brenna Gethers = Mikalah Gordon
Mandisa = Frenchie Davis
David Radford = John Stevens
Will Makar = Jon Peter Lewis
Patrick Hall = Clay Aiken (according to Simon. I beg to differ, at least Clay wasn't an asshole.)
Melissa McGhee = Jessica Sierra
Kevin Covais = random talentless shit from the auditions

* To be perfectly honest, if it weren't for Chris Daughtry, I wouldn't be watching. I hate to say this, but nearly everyone sounds the same. Mom said he should've joined Rockstar:INXS instead, and I agree. No worries, though, 'cause with a voice like that, Chris is sure to get signed by a major label in the near future!

That's all for now. Till next time, WOOHOO GO CHRIS!!!

Council Coolness

2006-02-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

February 17, 2006 was hands-down the BEST Candy Council of Cool meeting eh-verrrr!!!

[All Candy girls, I strongly suggest that you brush up your writing skills and apply for next year's COC!]

After the prerequisite discussion of people's positive and negative comments on the months issue, we talked about the next issue to work on, and so on...and then comes the fun part. My favorite part of every meeting.

Free CDs!!! (hehe, ambabaw ng kaligayahan ko.)

What was the count the last time I posted something on the COC? Ah, five albums.

In chronological order:
1. "Hibiscus" - Stonefree
2. "Beautiful Intentions" - Melanie C.
3. "Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen" - various artists
4. "Lite and Live @ Tapika" - various artists
5. "Get Behind Me Satan" - The White Stripes

This month, they gave me Bo Bice's album, "The Real Thing," minus the drawing-of-lots process---it was clear to everyone that I wouldn't settle for any other album (LOL!).

Actually, I was quite torn between Bo and Carrie (Carrie's "Some Hearts" was also on the table), which is funny because if you'll remember a post I had made a little under a year ago (May 25, 2005), I said this about Carrie:

"Country-lovin' or not, I still ain't buyin' her goddamn CD."

...And now I have my foot in my mouth. I've been listening to some of her latest songs, and to my own chagrin, I think she's great. I therefore admit after a year of denial that Carrie really did deserve to win the whole thing. (Besides, Constantine's a bigger celebrity than the rest of 'em. Hah!)

To add insult to injury, I've also got a Carrie Underwood calendar taped up on my bedroom wall (I got it free after buying a pair of flowery pink Skechers shoes). Damn it, I've turned into a Carrie Underwood fan. Life is so unpredictable.

Still, Bo won out (especially after I read the "Free poster inside" sticker on the album case). I gleefully accepted the Bo Bice album from Mimi Tiu like a dog being given a big, juicy piece of steak (you know, big grin, fangs showing and all), and I could hardly contain myself as I unfolded the album insert to see the poster.

A replay of my thoughts while unfolding:

J.C. (unfolds once to reveal 1/3): Hot...
J.C. (unfolds a second time to reveal 2/3): Hot-t-t...
J.C. (unfolds once to reveal 1/3 of the poster): WHOA, MERCY MERCY ME!!!

The poster is smokin' hot. BUY BO BICE'S ALBUM NOW.

Whew. And that's not even the best part of my day yet. The uber-climax came when Ate Mimi spread out a truckload of CDs (there had to be at least fifty) on the big table and told us to get whatever we wanted. I could've died right then and there. My picks include (but are not limited to) two Robbie Williams albums, The Chillout Project, The Offspring's "Greatest Hits" album, and an Oasis CD-plus-DVD set. I also got Brand New Heavies and a 105.1 compilation for my parents. And some CDs of artists I don't even know (for what it's worth, they do look interesting). I would've gotten more, but I didn't want to look too kapal-muks. Hehe. Just a little bit.

So now I'm back home, ten CDs richer, bringing the total number of free CDs received to fifteen. Fifteen free CDs! I'm in heaven.

Who cares if your happiness can be bought? It's certainly better than being someone who's difficult to please. Haha =P

Pick your pony!

2006-02-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

That's right, American Idol is up for a fifth season. I've been watching the shows on a regular basis, although I dobut that I'll invest as much of my emotions this time around (we all know how I crashed and burned with Constantine's untimely elimination). However, I've already got my AI picks and pans this early in the season. Wanna see? :)

[Note: I'm not commenting on all twenty-four because I found a lot of them forgettable. Whoopsies.]

Chris Daughtry

If you can rock-ify the BeeGees' "Emotions," you've made a believer out of me. And boy, did he rock it! I would gladly trade in my WWE Raw Live Tour tickets just to watch Chris sing "Emotions" once more. Add to that his whole "hardworking person, loving husband and good father" image and...okay, so maybe "Bo Bice version 2" might come to mind, but I think Chris is in a league of his own. Talent, likability and a big ol' heart...Chris has me won over from the get-go!

Bobby Bennett

His flamboyant personality, thick eyebrows, that face and the tiny hint of a mustache on it...gee, Bobby sure reminds me of one of my classmates in Ilang-ilang. Hehe.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure about Bobby's voice, but I definitely want him to stick around just because he's so amusing. :P

Ace Young

Ah, the token prettyboy. Can't say much about this guy, except that his name's got quite a ring to it, he sounds like Justin Timberlake when he sings, and he looks like...

Haha. [I LOVE YOU CONSTANTINE!!!]

Paris Bennett

Nooooo...one Fantasia Barrino is more than enough, honey. Paris is my mom's favorite, but so was Fantasia, and Fantasia didn't fare too well as far as album sales went.

Katharine McPhee

Simon's pick from the beginning. Talented, pretty, nice, and sort of bland (although she can be funny on occasion). As far as I'm concerned, Katharine is the Carrie Underwood of Season 5. I wasn't surprised that she made it this far, and I wouldn't be surprised if she won the whole thing.

...Hey, doesn't she look an awful lot like Brooke from One Tree Hill?

Hmm.

David Radford

John Stevens, version 2. And I never liked John Stevens. Well, at least David's a more talented and better-looking John Stevens.

Sway Penala

I have never been one to root for an Idol contestant because he or she was Filipino (I HATED Jasmine Trias, mind you), but I happen to have heard Sway sing before -- he was in a band called Kai, and I've had their song "Say You'll Stay" on instant repeat on my mp3 player for years now -- and he (UNLIKE JASMINE) is really good.

Brenna Gethers

She's abrasive, irritating, sort of a bitch, and oddly enough, I think she rocks! My brother Jason says she's the Mikalah Gordon of Season 5. Haha. You go, girl!

That's all for now, stay tuned for the next installment! J.C., out!

Undiagnosed Illness

2006-02-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

As of today, I have been absent from school for three and a half days. The school guidance counselor called last night to find out why, so before you all start jumping to conclusions, I'll post the reason here.

First of all: It's NOT psychological. It's a legitimate physical illness.

Secondly: I'm not exactly sure what it is. But it's the worst illness I've had this school year.

It started on Monday at Biology class (10am). I started having sharp stomach pains, so I decided to take the rest of the day off. It got progressively worse from then on. I started feeling extremely nauseous from even the slightest movement (yeah, I did vomit that afternoon). So I called Dad to ask him to pick me up, and I had to ask Mom to help me down the stairs. Bumpy roads triggered my nausea again, but thankfully I didn't hurl in the car.

I haven't fully recovered since Monday. We visited the ER just last night to find out what was wrong with me, and they ran a battery of tests, including a complete blood count (CBC). Results? All normal. Even if I have twice as many white blood cells as red blood cells. (Just sharing.)

So I'm back at home with some prescribed medication (which was FREAKING EXPENSIVE), a medical certificate that says I had "positional vertigo" plus an "acute migraine", and doctor's orders for bed rest.

It's a shame that I got sick at this part of the school year, right when I was beginnning to really enjoy going to school, but like I said before, shit happens. Speaking of which, I'm in deep shit when I get back, because in Philippine Science High School, if you miss one school day you're dead, but it gets worse and worse with every day that you're gone. *__*