"Day Off" Productivity Day 2: Hello Old Friend, Welcome Back to Theater

- February 7, 2012, Tuesday.

- As my long weekend comes to a close, I thought it'd be nice to make it productive and fun. My friend Renee asked if we could meet up today, so I asked her to come with me to Tutuban to do some errands with me. Renee was excited since we'd be able to window shop, and of course, we'd get ot catch up again after ages of not seeing each other.

- We met each other at CKSC at 1pm, and walked straight to Tutuban to develop the pictures my dad asked me to. We walked around and around Tutuban to look at random things, until it was time for me to get my photos.

- On our way to have our afternoon meal, I took Renee to a short detour at the Seng Guan Temple. I wanted to show her the big Buddhas hidden in the middle of Manila. I think Renee was mesmerized when she saw the big bronze/golden Buddhas, as well as the big background where the other buddhas as apsaras (fairies) seemed to come out from the wall.

- We later had a meal in Eat Fresh. Since it wasn't exactly a place where people can stay long and hang out -as in Starbucks- we went back to our alma mater to hang out at the music room. In the music room, we coincidentally saw Renee's classmate Katrina.

- Renee and I went inside a room and was startled to see my friend Mary Grace, sitting in the dark and waiting for time to pass by. Grace invited us into the room, and the three of us played around with the piano until the dismissal bell rang.

- The bulk of my late afternoon was trying my very best to make the singers sing. Volume has been their primary problem, let alone tone and rhythm, until I had a "letting go/ being free" workshop. It did wonders, apart from the clapping-rhythm workshop I gave them. As for the musicians, I didn't have a prob with them.

- Renee was kind enough to "tutor" one of the young singers, reminiscing the days when I tormented Renee and the other singers during our Ramayana days. Renee has grown as an artist, and is now currently fit to be a mentor as well. I, on the other hand, had to go to the other room to fit the costumes of some of my Ramayana actors. I was glad that they seemed comfortable with the costumes.

- I went back to the singers not long after, just around the time Renee had to leave. I had a few more rounds with the singers, and dismissed them a bit earlier, as a reward for making me hear their nice and potential-loaded voices.

- I went to see the Masquerade bit, and waited until RC, a member, finished with the dance. He asked me to train him for his role. Weird enough, most of those who ask for my tutelage are usually the ones who excel the most. I had some pronunciation and volume drills wtih him, and RC was the first person to immediately reciprocate the weird non-English sounds I've been giving as challenges to other people whom I've given the workshop to. He was able to mimic the Arabic, Portuguese, and some Greek accents perfectly. Needless to say, I gave him a few pointers while listening to him enact his part as Harold Zidler, and I was done with him in a jiffy.

- Rehearsals ended around 7pm tonight, and I still felt like I wanted to have more rehearsals, if possible. If only there was a reasonable-income-generating way to teach performing for a living for the rest of forever. Sigh. And oh well, work again tomorrow.

"Day Off" Productivity Day 1: Costume Fitting, Rehearsals, Quick Dinner, Surprise Guest

- February 6, 2012, Monday.

- I was quite happy to have two days off from work, today and tomorrow, because of two Ateneo school holidays. It was weird getting up later than usual on a Monday, and I was able to get my much needed rest. Still, today's vacation was still meant for productivity.

- Earlier this afternoon, I went to Tutuban and 168 to hunt for props and costumes for the Ramayana excerpt. I was able to find nice bargains, and was able to go back to my alma mater earlier than expected. I rested my legs at the music room, played the piano a bit, and waited until the dismissal bell rang.

- The acting practice was cancelled today in lieu of the photoshoot, but I still grabbed hold of the musicians and singers for a practice session today. The musicians have improved a whole lot, while the singers needed a lot more work; they have improved too, nevertheless.

- I let the Ramayana-excerpt cast feel how their costumes looked like, and they looked a lot like the original Ramayana cast I had way back in 2006-2007. Ah, memories. :) :) :) :)

- We finished the photoshoot/rehearsals around 6:30, and I dashed off to the nearby Ersao, where two of my high school friends decided to have dinner. In between my "hi"s and "hello"s to many of the passers-by whom I knew, a pleasant surprise passed by the window I was facing at - my friend Cristina.

- I quickly urged Cristina to come in and hang out with Bless, Jess, and me, and since we were about to finish dinner anyway, hanging out won't take long. It was getting a bit late, and I knew Tina would be a bit tired from work.

- We all went home at 8pm, with the big full moon in the night sky. Apparently, today was the Chinese "yuan xiao jie," where people eat round peanut balls, symbolizing unity and the roundness of the spring full moon.

Tribal Talks on a Senti-Sunday

- February 5, 2012, Sunday.

- I decided to have a brief meet-up with Audrey since afternoon, since we wanted to hang out, and I wanted to introduce her to The Tea Life - a milk-tea place in Ongpin I like so much.

- I met Audrey at around 4, bought our milk tea and ice cream, and headed to McDonald's just so I could use my Chinese-new-year-discount coupons. The lady who was next to me in the counter asked me about my coupons, and wanted her own set of coupons. I couldn't blame her since some of the coupons provided really big discounts.

- During the remainder of the afternoon, we talked about Filipino ethnic tribes for one of Audrey's current artsy projects. That just made me more interested in Filipino ethnic groups.

- While talking about a lot of things, I noticed that McDonald's kept on playing sentimental songs, and a few pop songs, from the early 2000s, or late 1999 (eh. M2M, Destiny's Child.) I took interest in the music since I knew most of the songs that they were playing; I was lip-syncing to the songs nonstop.

- We both went home just as the sky grew a bit dark. I had a quiet walk home, while all the colors and costumes of the tribes being stuck in my head.

From Hyperness, To Starvation, To Abdominal Bloating

- February 4, 2012, Saturday.

I. Rehearsals

- I was able to recharge myself from a good night's sleep last night, and woke up 5 minutes earlier before my alarm went off. I quickly prepared myself for my piano lesson, and was ready to meet the musicians right after.

- The morning rehearsal with the musicians was very fruitful, since I was already able to fit all parts of the mini-orchestra together. They all sounded nice, and I told my musicians to be very proud of themselves. As a reward, I gave them a rather generous "break" in between our morning session, and I also let them off earlier.

- I had lunch with some of the other members who went earlier, went back to school, and waited until the afternoon session commenced. This time, actors, dancers, and everyone else were there. Most of my musicians were not able to go to the afternoon session, so I dealt with the singers, and the actors.

- I had too much fun with rehearsals, so much so that I played around with some of the other performers, even doing a rather interpretative dance of the theater version of Lion King's "Circle of Life." Haha. It was hard doing all those moves while trying to not make myself dirty, and carrying a semi-heavy necklace on my neck (that suits my batik polo.)

- We ended rehearsals at quarter to five, with me bagging along the club fund collected for the day, so I can buy the Ramayana-excerpt costumes on Monday. Thank you Ateneo for giving us a long long weekend.



II. Buffet 101

- I quickly walked to my friend Dorenett's house after rehearsals, feet still sore and tired from all that Lion-King-ing, and craziness whatnot. I quickly rang the bell, was let in, and sat for a while to soothe my ham-fat legs.

- Our friend Monica rang the bell not long after, and enthusiastically ushered us to her car. The three of us were on our way to the newly-opened Buffet 101, right beside SM Mall of Asia. Since it was my first time there, I was excited to try out all the food there. It is always hard to please me when it comes to buffet restaurants, since my expectations and standards always go up a notch higher.

- Overall, Buffet 101 was above average. The dishes were not too special, although I want to commend the Japanese section for making their sushi/maki distinct from each other, despite the notion of Japanese food being bland. I also took interest in the desserts such as the creatively-flavored panna cotta placed in shot glasses. The drinks were also inclusive of the payment, which I think is also a plus for me. (Each person cost around 1050php.)

- As the three of us were trying to spend time catching up and having a "special bonding session," we noticed most people who crowded the place were familiar faces. It was inevitable to say "hi," or to smile at someone we knew - that doesn't include the other people we didn't know, but knew that they came from our alma mater (faculty, administrative staff, alumni, current students, etc.)

- Monica was finally able to give me the batik that I asked her to bring for me from her recent trip to Indonesia (thank you for not letting me pay, but I shall make it up to you somehow. Haha.) That's the main reason why I reserved my batik polo for today. I loved the batik she bought, and I'm currently experimenting on ways to drape/wrap/tie the cloth that would suit me.

- We left Buffet 101 at around 9:30, and walked a bit to help the food go down. We were able to catch some of the weekend fireworks by MOA that lit up the sky, just before a few drops of rain fell. We found Monica's car, and we were all driven home by Monica's chauffeur. The traffic was a bit heavy tonight, and the hour-long trip home gave us more time to talk.

- Today's whole-day affair was definitely tiring, but very productive, enjoyable, and nonstop fun.

Ending the Week// Starting the Weekend with a Chaotic Bam: Rehearsals Yet Again

- February 3, 2012, Friday.

- After a chaotic afternoon at work today, I was able to de-stress myself from rehearsals. Errr, it's not so much of a de-stressing session, since directing and all the hullabaloo can really be quite tiring. Nevertheless, it's what I do, and what I like to do.

- I arrived an hour earlier than usual because I leave work an hour earlier on Fridays. Since I've been having a rather nice week, I thought of "rewarding" myself by riding a trike from the LRT station to my alma mater. I usually walk, and arrive extremely sweaty.

- Rehearsals were just like the usual today, although some teachers from the English department were there to critique and comment. Although some things need to be polished, the comments were generally good. Thank God.

- Rehearsals ended around 7:30, since I had to give additional crash-course workshops to some actors who needed them. It was a lot fun, and a good way to shrug off some of that stress. The workshops worked, which made me happier. As for tomorrow, as always, will be rehearsals. HAHA.

And My Gut Does It Again: Brought My Cam To Everywhere I Went Today

- February 2, 2012, Thursday.

- Today wasn't too special like yesterday, although bringing my camera was a blessing. Again, aside from my (almost) daily rehearsals with the theater group, I was able to take a few shots of me with my attire today. I told my friend Clarisse that I finally wore the t-shirt she gave me from Thailand, and that I wore the shirt with other interesting things that made me into a modern-Thai-hippie. Thanks to the invention of the "timer" function, I was able to take nice photos of me, by myself.

- The main bulk of the album comes from today's initial dry run during rehearsal. Since I came from work, I was able to miss a big chunk of the rehearsal, although I had to train a handful of actors after the dry run.

- Today was also one of the rare moments when I went home at 8pm, because of rehearsals; I usually go home around 7, or at most, 7:30. Oh, the perks of living near school (err, my alma matter.)

- Tomorrow is a Friday. Time to rejoice - I hope. :D:D:D:D

Oh-So-Many-Things: When Your Gut Tells You To Bring Your Camera - BRING IT!!

- February 1, 2012, Wednesday.

- I didn't know why I felt like bringing my camera today, knowing that I wasn't going anywhere aside from work and after-work-theater, and there wasn't any special occasion today. I still decided to bring my camera, even if I had more things to bring today - such as my scarf and some accessories to adorn myself - since I felt like I wanted to document today's theater rehearsal.

- I wore my Tibetan shirt today, complimented by my Indian scarf, Singaporean-Chinese turtle necklace, and my yellow Buddha-bead-like necklace. I wanted to somehow match the artifact (replica) display in the conference room my office would be in today for our planning session.

- My day started out pretty bad because of my ID mishap - nearly lost it, had to go around school retracing my steps, but luckily retrieved my ID, found and kept safely by the Ateneo Gate 1 security guard. Despite this, I noticed a tarpaulin of the yearly "Jumpstart Study Abroad Fair" by one of the organizations of Ateneo (ASEC, I believe.) The fair happened to take place today, and I was excited to visit the booths, mingle with the people from different countries, embassies, and institutions, and of course, get some freebies as well.

- I visited the fair later this morning, during our planning-session break. I was surprised to see new countries that participated in the fair, most especially India. I was informed that no one was manning the Indian booth, because the embassy "lacked man power." I felt a bit sad that I wasn't able to talk to someone about studying in India (an opportunity to maybe make myself noticed,) but I still got all the brochures and magazines. All of them were interesting reads.

- Countries such as Malaysia (the most number of participants,) France, Germany, Chile (unmanned too,) Czech Republic, Taiwan (they were surprised that I knew Mandarin,) were present. Other participants included the Erasmus Mundus foundation, British Council, and others. Still, the number was still fewer than the first time I encountered the fair in 2009.

- Now, fast-forward to this afternoon, after my rejoice of being allowed to go earlier than my usual time-off. I went straight to my alma mater, where everyone was surprised by my early arrival. I had a nice time hanging out and directing some of the actors, and indeed I took some very interesting - albeit a bit disturbing - shots. The best part of the afternoon was when the current club president, Cleo, had to substitute a guy's role - the lover of our member Abi's role.

- I've been having a terrific week lately; everyday felt like a Friday, and I hope this continues until the end of the week, and the extended weekend on Monday and Tuesday due to Ateneo's school holiday. I could have brought my camera yesterday as well, since I also liked what I wore yesterday, but today's surprising and bizarre events made the day extremely camera-worthy.