Saturday, August 2, 2003


My sphere is Knight (Know Loyalty and Respect), and my class is Champion (Self-Righteous and Confident).

I am an Avatar.

A rare breed. A person sure enough of their self-righteousness that they can take it upon themselves to act as an avatar -- an extension -- of that which they believe in. Though you might act as a delegate of someone or something else, there is no question that your faith and strength are powerful enough to instill in millions of people the deepest respect for you.






Yesterday I attended the second leg of Kontrabanda in the Don Bosco - Mandaluyong Gym. It was almost sweltering hot and by my third hour there, I badly wanted another bath. That's the problem when you attend a free gig; everyone has easy access and so the venue becomes terribly crowded.

The first band, the high school, Don Bosco-based band Braincloud, was a fair opening for the show. I understand that they are somewhat new, but having won the recent battle of the bands competition that school sorta assured them the front act slot for the gig. They play decent punk music and then a smattering of other sub-genres.

Moonstar 88 came up next and the whole gym began singing with each song Acel and her cohorts play. From "Sulat" to "Torete" and even others that I'm not really familiar with, everyone sang like anthems, sans the right hand to the chest.

Bamboo, the group, played rocking music with Bamboo, the person, at the helm, doing each song with his voice swinging from the agression of "Sunog" and the emotive melody of "Awit ng Kabataan." I was realy suprised that Bamboo is composed of Kapatid members; there's Bamboo's former Rivermaya bandmate Nathan Azarcon, Mylene Dizon's boytoy Ira, although I'm pretty unsure about the drummer because I couldn't him from behind the drum set.

Then Chico Sci walked up stage with the crowd screaming like hell at the sight of them. And we suddenly found ourselves singing along "Amen," "Takatak" and "Break Glass." And then something absurd happened when the band was playing "Paris" - their most successful song, having won Song of the Year from NU107, and staying in that station's chart for more than a year. The guitarist gave the vocalist his guitar and grabbed the mike. The bassist then went midstage and began dancing a shy version of breakdance with his bass guitar dangling off his shoulder.
With this, folks, I laughed my head off. Weird reaction to a weird scene, fits!


I am SO grateful that there are a lot of die-hard Chico Sci fans from Antipolo, because since the show ended 10:45, I was afraid I'd be waiting inside a half-filled jeepney for hours. By the time I got to JRU and crossed the street to the jeepney terminal, the jeepney was lacking only one passenger. OH JOY!




Chewist...You, biatch! That was the reason why I didn't even tell you in the first place, aside from the fact that you wouldn't have the slightest clue as to who the F they are.

Apol...love ur blog! "Mini Pillow" ahahahaha Sorry, that's not the Jessica Zafra site, it used to be, though. That was her domain, guess she forgot to pay for it and somebody bought it, o well, I'll remove the link.




Wednesday, July 30, 2003


This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I was hoping I'd get on my birthday...okay, ONE of the many things I wanted for my birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't get it.
It was because of two things:
1) Nobody knew I wanted to get it and
2) up until now, it's still not available in the country, althought it is a Filipino band, it's actually an EP intended for the US market.
But at least I have their full-length debut, local release...

cover art by Marvel Comics artict/Marty McFly's frontman, Leinil Yu



Last year I got into a part-timne job as a tour guide. We handled the kids everytime there was a field trip within Rizal (our area), giving orientations about the different iteneraries planned for the day. Tiring ang monotonous most of the time. I left during the last quarter of 2002, got employment over at a call center, like most of my friends from The Flame (Cherry, Teza, etc). I have since been busted.
So now, in the middle of unemployment and my bummness (quite undistinguishable, folks!).
Four months ago, the tour company (the Rizal branch, anyway), called me up to ask me if I wanted to be an Account Executive, they saw my performance and how I have great PR skills (kasi madali kong nauuto ang mga bata, pati na rin mga teachers at mga parents, hehehe) so they figured I'd be great as an AE. I was happy...for a while.
For one, the term Account Executive is a very nice word, it has a very distinguished sound to it. But then, when I inquired further, they said that the opening for AE was for the Cavite/Bulacan area.
So I said NO.

A couple of months more, just three weeks ago, they called me up again. Apparently, the new tour season is about to begin and most of their tour guides have decided to leave the company, I declined. But agreed to train the new recruites.
So everyday I wake up earlier than usual (yep, earlier than 1:00 pm) to face the new people.
But as I was giving them some pointers and telling a few stories about my experiences in touring, I realized that I really had fun.

So I decided to be a tour guide again (I'm not really up to doing the Accn't Executive bit).

Monday, July 28, 2003


Whenever I hear that commercial from McDonald's -the one with empty nest syndrome for a theme- a lot of things go into my head.

  • I start wondering.

    1. That commercial is taking up so long air time, how much exactly did that cost?
    2. How much is Noel Cabangon getting for the usage of his song?
      Especially because it used up the entire chorus.
    3. How many on-cam people did it take to complete the commercial?
      The storyline spans from during the 50s, until the kids have grown up leaving the nest, and each era a different set of people play the part of family.
    4. How come ine end scene, where the family has this family reunion over at, of all place, McDonald's, only two of the children came?


  • I get annoyed.

    "Kanlungan," the song used, has always been one of my most favrite songs, causing me to shed a few discreet tears, because of different things...

    1. It's the theme song during my stint at the Flame, during the time most of my colleagues were graduating one by one, leaving us, the younger staffers, behind.
    2. Somebody sang this to me the day I got basted back in high school. And it sorta became a very deep song for me because
    3. The words to the song, themselves, are so beautifully played on with wit and every word captures the essence of the interplay of both chance and time in our lives.

    The bottomline is, I can SO relate to the song. And the beauty of the entire thing WAS that because Noel Cabangon is a folk musician, rarely going the pop direction, very few people know that song. I would be the only person who knew it within a three-kilometer pole. And hearing it being abused on TV, especially since McDonald's has sponsored a lot of programs.
    And that is advertisement for you, play on your emotions with the sole purpose of catching your attention, with hopes of you identifying the song with that product/establishment that everytime you feel like reminiscing, your subconsciousness would be telling you about purchasing a Big Mac next time you pass by a branch, or even get you kid/s a Happy Meal, hopinh that it would tighten the gap between you and your children.
    SIGH!


  • I get VERY sentimental.
    The empty nest syndrome, for me is a very scary subject, I am the youngest in a brood of six, and with my parent being senior citizens, I just can't help but to pity them.
    Now I understand a fraction of human life: have a family, raise your children well, and wait until they start growing up and leave the house, leaving you alone with your significant other and tons of "what ifs," "if onlys" and���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������