Of Overtimes and Palpitations...

I have a knack for torturing myself, just a pinch close to saying I'm a masochist. I always wanted to raise the bar on my capabilities to raise the standards, not in comparison with someone else, but in contrast to the routine. I will do things beyond my strengths and capacities not for the point of straining my physique but to flex my spirit.

Minsan nakakapagod din, kasi puro effort, tapos mawawalan pa ng inspiration, or lets say, reason para bumangon. Parang yung commercial ng kape. May dahilan para bumangon, para magtrabaho, para mabuhay. May saysay, may patutunguhan. Eh wala na nga, the reasons all but whispers in thin air. Bwiset na nakaraan kasi yan, tinrauma ako masyado.

Anu nga ba itong pinagdadadrama ko? Maalala ko lang, makailang weekends na ang pinasok ko sa trabaho. Puro overtime. Nagkataon pa ang may mga aktibidad ako sa weekends na hindi pwedeng ikansela. Lalo na ang pagdiriwang ng banal na Eukaristiya. Mamiss ko n lahat huwag lang ang misa. Para kay Lord yan eh. Kailangan din natin ng gabay at pagpapala.

O edi ganun na nga. Pasok pasok din kahit hindi dapat pumasok. Minsan wlang tulog pero sige pa rin. Basta kumita ng doble. Basta malaki ang sweldo. Kahit magkandamatay na sa puyat at pagod, ayos lang. Basta't may mapatunayan sa sarili. Sakripisyo pa rin. Kung hindi cobra, extra joss o kape na ang dumdaloy sa ugat ko, at kung makailang beses nang kinakabog ang dibdib ko dahil sa kakasakripiso o kakagawa ng paraan. Pero ayos lang...

Buhay pa naman eh.

He's There... The Phantom of the Opera

Marina Bay Sands at night

Finally!

A ticket for a flight to Singapore was booked for this historical musical play.  I may not have watched this in its showing in Manila, but then I was blessed to grab this once in a lifetime chance. Salamat sa Diyos mapapanood ko na rin siya ng live! At take note, sa Marina Bay Sands pa!

I can't hide the excitement and the thought that I will watch the play in full detail. The stage, the production, the actors and actresses, and more importantly, the immortal music from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Never has a musical play got me hooked and absorbed so much like The Phantom of the Opera.

Erik, Christine and Raoul, see you soon!

I'll be honest, I first watched POTO on its 25th anniversary in its disc version. It was nothing short of a spare at the moment view, but alas, I was hypnotized. It was a masterpiece, a perfection of a production from start to finish. With the main cast Ramin Karimloo (damn handsome and powerful voice) as Erik the Phantom, Sierra Boggess (angelic face and oh so sweet and uplifting heavenly voice) as the ballerina turned soprano turned damsel in distress Christine, and Hadley Fraser (damn handsome too and charismatic tone) as the childhood sweetheart turned knight in, well, shining voice Raoul, they made each movement blossom. Ow, and we have Carlotta, Piangi, Madam Giry, Monsieurs Fermin and  Andre, they made the spectacle seemed never to end until the last note is sung and curtains fell.

Since I watched it, I wanted more, I researched on the history of the musical. From the book of Gaston Leroux, to the performances of Sarah Brightman and John Owen-Jones, the even the pieces from the musical. I even have the album from the 25th anniversary bought from iTunes. It is an addiction, one may say. But then, the climax I guess of this search is to see the musical itself. At last...

"Angel of Music, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory... Sing once again with me, a strange duet. My power over you, grows stronger yet... Say you share with me one love, one lifetime, let me lead you from your solitude..."

Scorching Hot!!

Its been really hot in the Metro these days. Imagine 35 degrees sa hapon? Climate change is indeed taking its toll. And this app will tell you what is feels like in this temperature. Great.

Feels like... what?!

Istarbax Wedding Meeting

Kape-kape rin pag may time...

On a table full of Starbucks venti cups, thanks to Rui, we discussed Erik's wedding repertoire. It is a special event for the Emanon, for the couple are close friends of ours. We have a lot of plans, a lot of ideas, but of course we cannot make the wedding a production number or a concert. Added to the fact that the celebrant is no other that Rev. Fr. Nilo Mangussad of the EDSA Shrine, the law of liturgical music should be followed religiously. It was a privilege for the groom himself to choose one of my compositions on the repertoire. I happen to have crossed path with a song taken from my favorite bible verse, written by David Haas.

"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast... Love never fails..."

I'll get myself busy then to recreate this masterpiece. God guide me.

I Was Fooled, But Still Was Amazed

It was a Friday afternoon, right after my shift I have to go straight to Santuario de San Antonio parish in Forbes Park, Makati. The Emanon Male Chorus was assigned to sing for a necrological service for a journalist. I have to take a bath in the office (for the very first time) and take a cab going to the church. The church is famous for its surroundings, where the elites live. Indeed, its very normal to see cars (expensive ones, that is...).

Anyhow, this just a few of the churches in Manila with airconditioning systems, kaya its a good place to beat the summer heat. I arrive there shortly after 12 noon, and it was a suprising sight. Andaming nakabarong sa labas ng simbahan. Yes, I know its a famous person, but is he that famous to bring a number of dignitaries to the church? Interesting...

His Excellency Giving the Award

Little did I realized the mass is for The Philippine Star columnist Billy Esposo. The church slowly got filled with family members, friends and mourners. That was cool, one can see that Billy is good person by the number of mourners and people attending the last rites before his burial, but then what surprised me is that the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Noynoy Aquino, was the guest of honor. Then I realized, I'm singing for a friend of the President. Whoa.

The mass went like the usual, no big deal, but then came the messages from the families and friends. It flashed back memories of 2001, when my mom passed away. People trying to make their peace with the beloved, the memories that brought the day he has to pass away. The pains and joys of a life well spent.

The Speech

Then His Excellency came to give his speech, the finale. It was the longest but I guess one can really tell the man is extemporaneous and really fluent, from the flow of thoughts to the word stresses. I was blown away. I keep on telling my choir mates "San niya kinukuha yung sinasabi nya?". And my mates would laugh at me saying he has a projector-like thing on the stand where he read his scripts. Still amazing know he spoke close to twenty minutes without stops (save for him drinking water to clear his throat). Nevertheless, its not everyday you see most powerful man in the country giving speeches while not on TV. Hahaha

At shempre, hindi makakalimutan ang pictures sa harap ng altar, ryt?

Pusong Bato

Tulad mo na may Pusong Bato...

Nung ika'y ibigin ko
Mundo ko'y biglang nagbago 
Akala ko ika'y langit 
Yun pala'y sakit ng ulo 
Sabi mo noon sakin 
Kailan may di magbabago 
Naniwala naman sayo 
Ba't ngayo'y iniwan mo 

Chorus: 
Di mo alam dahil sa yo 
Ako'y di makakain 
Di rin makatulog 
Buhat ng iyong lokohin 
Kung ako'y muling iibig 
Sana'y di maging katulad mo 
Tulad mo na may pusong bato 

Kahit san ka man ngayon 
Dinggin mo itong awitin 
Baka sakaling ika'y magising 
Ang matigas mong damdamin 

Back to Chorus

(Dati tinatawanan ko pa tong kantang to kasi nababaduyan ako, sasapul pala sa kalagayan ko...)

The Dream Gadgets

Whoo! It was years since I wrote a blog, or I have published a blog. A good friend inspired me to write again. Refreshing indeed.

Since I had a job, I got so engrossed with getting gadgets and stuff. From mobile phones, to pc's and pads. Ewan ko ba, earning money gave me power to make my dream gadgets a reality. Pero shempre, bago ako bumili ng mga gusto kong gadgets, tingin-tingin din sa internet. Hindi pwedeng bara-bara kang bibili tapos paglipas ng oras eh pagsasawaan lang. Shempre kelangan pangmatagalan ba. Worth it ipunin.

Just a week ago, I came to put a dream into a reality. After months of grief (ninakaw kasi sa apartment ko yung laptop na binigay ni ate huhuhu), research and hardwork, (three months worth of overtime and incentives), I bought and assembled Theo, my new pc (O diba may name si loko). Many ask why I chose a pc instead of a laptop at hindi biro ang ginawa kong research for this setup. I had to choose a pc kasi mas maganda ang stats, way better than a laptop kasi customized talaga, apart from the fact na hindi nabubuhat si Theo agad-agad. Hahaha. Here's Theo's stats:

Processor: Intel Core i5-3750 3.4 GHz
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-M
RAM: 4GB Kingston DDR3
Video Card: Nvidia GT630-2GD3 2GBmem
HD: 1TB Western Digital SATA 3.0
Power Supply: Thermal Take Litepower 500W
Optic Drive: Liteon IHAS-124 24X
Chassis: Aerocool X-One Advance (My personal favorite, I fell in love with the looks or perhaps with the name hahaha)
Monitor: Samsung 18.5 LED
Keyboard: Logitech K270 wireless
Mouse: Logitech m185 wireless
Headset: A4tech HS-100 gaming headset
OS: Windows 7 starter (which I have to upgrade to Win 7 Home premium in a few months)
Nagdagdag din ako ng fan sa loob ng chassis so that's the one giving the blue color.

As I write this blog, I'm enjoying the music through my iTunes on Theo. Nakakatuwa, dream machine talaga siya. Theo is a great addition to iBoone (iPhone 4 courtesy by ate hahaha) and EngrBPG761 (iPad 3). My gadgets are just great. May isa na lang akong hinihintay, aircon. Kainit naman kasi eh hahahaha.