Sunday, February 12, 2012

Self-confession

Five o'clock on a Sunday morning. Tired, sleepy, weary of work, little to look forward to and a lot to think about.

May bumabagabag sa isipan ko. Hindi ko alam kung cabin fever lang ba, or housemate syndrome, or wala lang akong ibang maisip bukod sa trabaho, or legitimate siya na concern.

Ayokong isipin na legitimate ang concern.

And yet, here I am blogging about it at this ungodly hour. At pinaglalaanan ko talaga ng panahon.

Wala ako sa huwisyo to be thinking of these things. I am not of sound mind nor body.

I think I may be going nuts. But then again, I've always been a self-professed head case naman diba?

I don't know how long I can keep this up...

I need a battle plan! Diba sabi natin we won't play these games anymore?

Ano ka ba. Day off lang ang solusyon dyan. Bukas, malamang, iba na. Liliwanag din ang lahat.

Find common ground. Have fun. Look on the bright side.

Alalahanin, hindi pangkaraniwan ang iyong pinagdaraanan. Maghunos-dili, huwag padalos-dalos.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

My Birthday Wish List

Usually when people ask me what I want for my birthday, I honestly answer "Nothing." This year, however, there are a few things on my secret wish list:

1. Flowers. After watching Valentine's Day (where Ashton Kutcher plays a florist) I suddenly wanted to buy myself a nice bouquet for my desk at work (as if my table isn't cluttered enough with all the colorful little toys strewn accross it). Gerberas are my favorite :)
2. An iPad 2. I've been wanting an iPad for a while now (if only for stress relief and to play my favorite Story series games), and while it's great that my dad recently bought himself an iPad 2 and has left the old iPad at home for me and my brother to fight over, it might be nice to have one that's really mine, that I can bring everywhere and really abuse :p
3. The rest of Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine series of hardbound books. Purchased the first in the series a couple of weeks ago, I used to have the first three but for some reason can't seem to find them anymore, it would be nice to have the complete set again.
4. A pictorial. Of myself :p this is my last birthday before I turn 30 next year, it might be nice to have something to remember my youth before it fades away :p
5. My early twenties body :p hindi ko man lang nasulit ang kapayatan ko noon!
6. A recording session to record demos of some of the songs I wrote years ago (na ni wala pa ngang chords o areglo, pano kaya yun)
7. If I were to celebrate at all, I would like for my brother to sing for me. Kung ayaw niya, kahit si Sam Concepcion nalang. Kaso baka maiyak ako :p
8. Matauhan siya. O kung hindi na talaga mangyayari yun, Lord sana matauhan na ako.
9. A new car, or Red refurbished
10. For my show to do well, ratings-wise and money-wise, for my kids to grow as actors/actresses with a love for their craft and a passion for excellence
11. To love and be loved.

Happy 29th to me in six sleeps :)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Hello, 2011

Obviously, this post is a tad late. Needless to say, I will not even bother to put punctuality on my list of New Year's resolutions. But what I will put are the following:

1. listen to at least one new album every week (and if time or bandwidth doesn't permit, at least one per month. and hopefully write a pseudoreview. and hopefully learn something new in the process and broaden my musical repertoire, and sophisticaten my musical palate.)
2. read at least one book a month
3. create being the possibility of love. for that i give up that i can't :p it is possible to not let your rackets get in the way of your possibilities!
4. learn something new everyday
5. teach something new everyday
6. take better care of my health. eyes, teeth, skin, cardio/diet, etc.
7. learn how to make my money grow and work for me. what that would look like is annual increments saved and that ceiling untouchable to grow a nice nest egg. open a mutual funds account.

today's learnings: PMS is not an excuse to be sensitive or bitchy, hormonal imbalances really do exist (!) but! it's not an excuse, because hormones can be conquered. :) yay

also, there is such great joy in being able to come home early, scratch my kitty on the head as she closes her eyes and purrs, and listen to my brother sing "heaven is a place on earth" while taking a shower, at the top of his lungs, off key and with full conviction. :)

Friday, October 29, 2010

Why Food Is Better

1. Food will never leave you. Except in the form of crap. But see, at least crap can be expelled from your system. True love cannot.
2. Food will make you fat (if you don't work out). True love will hurt at one time or another no matter how hard you try to work it out.
3. Food is readily available (for a price, oftentimes cheap). True love is rarer than gold or diamonds. and infinitely pricier.
4. Food can bring hypertension, stroke and heart attacks (at least in excessively fatty amounts). You might even die. But you probably would welcome death when faced with the agony of true love anyway. At least with food you'd die fat and happy.
5. Food will never make you cry (except for onions, but they don't mean to, and it's not the heavy on the hart kind of crying like you're soul's being wrenched out of your body, so it's ok).
6. You can always tell when you've had enough food, and you can stop having more. just stop stuffing your face or throw up or something. True love fools you into thinking you can keep taking a crapstorm from anyone. and live to tell about it. with pride.
7. food doesn't have to e special. oh crap, neither does true love.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

a stifled soul whimpers amidst election hullabaloo

times like these i wish i was well-versed in the language of music-making so that i could just up and play something cathartic.

something along the lines of mutemath or radiohead. with layers upon layers of instrumental tracks and hooks and breaks and loops and shifts.

something that washes over you and takes with it everything you want to let go and let be. something that emanates outward into the universe, and calls out strongly, desperately, powerfully for salvation.

vodka would be great right about now.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

You Gotta Let Me Know

...should I stay or should I go?

Friday, October 16, 2009

One of Those Senti Days

I don't know whether it's because I'm getting old, or the experience of starting a new chapter in my (work)life that is making me nostalgic these days.

Quite often I find myself looking back at the past, both recent and distant, and feeling that things generally look better in retrospect.

Not to say that the present state of affairs in my life aren't desirable. Nothing's really wrong with what's here and now, just...different? And yet... familiar, I suppose, in the sense that it's not totally foreign territory. I have, after all, been through similar incarnations of this stage. Perhaps the cyclical nature is what is prompting this inquiry.

I suppose it is human nature to wonder and imagine. Maybe my imagination is just a little more untamed than others. Either that or I keep letting it run away with me. But despite all the images that my mind conjures, I am comforted by deja vu, and pretty certain, at least up to this point, that this is where I ought to be.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

No to WeetBix, Yes to Conchords



In light of my recent admiration for Kiwi Zoe Bell, I decided to try yet another completely-from-New-Zealand product, called WeetBix. It appeared to be a healthy and affordable alternative to cereal, and since the packaging looked pretty promising, I purchased a box. I took one bite...and spat it back out. Maybe I should have bought some fruit to go with it.

But while WeetBix have failed to sustain my Kiwi-love, Flight of the Conchords renews it with a quick re-listening of Foux Da Fa Fa on imeem and a click towards their website at http://www.conchords.co.nz/, which is unassumingly funny and froufroufree. Check out the Foux Da Fa Fa video here: http://66.160.141.45/videos/bb/flight_of_the_conchords_foux_da_fa_fa.mov and find more video clips from their HBO show at http://www.hboasia.com/fotc.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Because of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof...



...I now have a girl crush on Zoe Bell, who plays herself in the movie. You gotta love a girl with amazing upper body strength. The car chase scene towards the end, with her hanging on to the hood of a speeding white 1970 Dodge Challenger for dear life, absolutely awesome.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

2012

Where will you be in 2012?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Sa Nalalapit na Pagtatapos ng The Wedding...

Marami akong napagninilay-nilayan habang inaantabayanan ang pinakahihintay na huling araw ng taping.

Natutunan ko na hindi porke umeere ka, magiging priority ka. Di ko alam kung palakasan lang ba ng boses o sikmura o padrino, pero kung anuman yun wala ata ako nun. Pero lahat ng bagay ay nagagawan ng paraan, kung matiyaga ka. At may mahabang mahabang mahabang pasensya. Mahabang mahaba.

Be nice to people even when you're having a hard time. People are more likely to want to help you if you're pleasant.

Totoo na hindi mo mapapasaya ang lahat ng tao sa lahat ng oras. Para maging masaya ka, dapat mong tukuyin kung ano ang mas pahahalagahan mo at kung kanino ka makikinig. Kung kaya mong mapasaya lahat, bongga ka. Kung hindi...well, I guess you can't have everything. 

Masaya magtrabaho pag magaan kasama ang lahat ng katrabaho mo. I love my colleagues. They are the best: count-on-able, supportive, hardworking and a joy to work with. I have been so blessed with all the people I have worked with on the show, mula 2007 pa hanggang ngayon...I have learned so much from them, and I am most grateful.

Matutong mag-relax. You can't always do something about everything. Learn to leave things be for the moment. And pray for the stars to align and the universe to hear your prayer. Change will come. It always does. At ang lahat ng bagay ay may katapusan. Look forward to that, if not anything else.

At the end of the day, you did your best, and that is all anyone can really ask of you. 

Life is short. Work hard. But party harder.

And on that note...off I go. :D

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Four Days to Go

I can hardly believe it. Totoo na ba ito? Eere na ba talaga kami? After a seemingly endless wait, our pilot airing date lies only four short days ahead. Nakakakilig. At nakakakaba.

We had our presscon today at Dolphy Theater. It was beautiful. Anne was the ultimate blushing bride, gorgeous in a Francis Libiran creation, as she walked down the aisle to meet her two good-looking grooms Zanjoe and Derek onstage, whilst a string quartet played "Can't Help Falling In Love" via DVC playback. The AVP played, they sang the theme song, we had a lengthy Q & A portion. Everyone got to eat (courtesy of Tamayo's Catering and Turk's Shawarma, not to mention Bettany cakes - their banana fruit cake is deeelish) and everyone got their SWAG (courtesy of Fernslim, Natasha, GSM Blue, Bench, and several others), photo ops and upsots. My feet hurt, as I've been in five inch-high platforms all day and we did a great deal of walking (even running!), but I daresay it was worth it.

After nearly two years, our labor of love, our baby, our show, is finally setting foot on the network program grid. The first two weeks are closed, all that's left to do is polish and dubout by the weekend, and we're set to watch our pilot together with quickened pulse and bated breath...and the hope that our audience comes to love the show and all it's charming characters as much as we do. 

I can hardly wait. :)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It's Been A While, And Yet...

It's been nearly a year now since my last blog entry.

I remember how frustrating it was to be working on pre-production for a show for over a year. I celebrated my second year anniversary of working on that same show last March.

It's gotten so I don't think I really care anymore. It's all very "so what?" and "now what?" for me, especially work and career-wise.

And so I entertain myself by listening to Fiona Apple on imeem.com. That woman has an amazing voice. The kind I wish I had. And there's something particularly soothing about listening to the pounded-out piano and deep, deep bass riffs with over-ear headphones (thank you Tabby for lending them to me, unbeknownst to you).

I didn't know that Pharell did a Criminal remix, very not bad to my ears. I love that song.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

2:12 p.m. on a Thursday

Ever since I was little, it was very clear to me how my life would go: do well in school, proceed to the next grade. Do well in grade school, proceed to high school. Make good in high school, get into a good college. Do well in college, land a great job and live happily ever after. Simple.

Two decades later. I did well in school, got into the only college that was ever really an option, serendipitously landed a job at the company of my dreams, and...now what? Apparently, not quite as cut and dried as I thought it would be.

What happens when the dream you thought you always wanted turns up to be not quite what you expected? Do you hold on to the idea of what you think it ought to be or give up on it, in the hopes of finding a new dream?

There probably aren't any right or wrong answers here. We each pave our own paths, take our steps, choose our choices. I suppose, ultimately, the fear of judgement, rejection or failure goes conveniently hand in hand with the lethargy of one that ignores persistent little nudges that edge you out of your comfort zone.

And so I remain, exactly where I am, as I am, tossed around by waves of events and dragged by a current of circumstances, all the while managing to keep my head above water, and the faintest sliver of hope afloat.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Neurotic Thursday

As I sat in my office cubicle, randomly surfing the net, I heard an acoustic version of "With You" being played nearby. I stood up to find the source of the music. A neighbor was playing a clip from youtube. I thought it was Sam Milby. Turned out to be an unknown Caucasian dude. Sounded pretty good.

***

I just got back from performance assessment with my boss. I must say I am quite relieved. And utterly grateful. And yet the neurotic in me refuses to let me celebrate too long. What of next year's appraisal? What happens when my show finally airs or we start taping and they figure out that I'm not all that after all? The voice in my head keeps insisting that I am not worthy. What a way to quash var-pay joy.

But at least, I'll get to pay off my credit card bill na! Or kahit half man lang. And my pending Globe bills (yeay I'll be able to get my old number back!). I'll buy an electric fan, pay my dad for what I charged to his Visa, maybe get a facial, manies and pedies, a full tank of gas, shopping, groceries... (as if magkakasya lahat! Nangangarap pa ko bumili ng condo at mag-invest sa mutual funds, at bumiyahe's magbakasyon, at paayos ang oto ko, at makapag-ipon. Sheesh.)

Hence the perpetual dilemma: how to survive the demands of the job without slacking and yet making full use of all available time and resources and possibly still finding alternate sources of income to augment current cash flow to maintain standards of living and concurrently have the luxury of a comfortable lifestyle.

What good does thinking do? Sometimes it feels like I just keep turning things around and around in my head and yet I keep seeing the same thing. I need an epiphany. Or a mirror. Or a surgeon. Or LSD.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

My Secret Identity

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman
























Wonder Woman
80%
Spider-Man
75%
Supergirl
65%
Iron Man
60%
Green Lantern
55%
The Flash
45%
Catwoman
45%
Hulk
40%
Robin
37%
Superman
35%
Batman
30%
You are a beautiful princess
with great strength of character.


Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Labor Day Morning

i was considering blogging about work concerns, since it is labor day and all, but it is 5:17 am and i am giving in to the tiredness borne from working straight from 2:30 pm til past one in the morning. for some reason even just a couple of hours past my required eight weigh extra heavily on my shoulders...literally. it sits, irremovable, between the blades of my back, in a spot that i am unable to reach to massage myself with equally weary hands.

but at least...i get labor day off! or rather, i can work from home, or wherever it is i choose to spend the holiday. hopefully all i'll need to do is make one call to follow up on my script. perhaps i shall do it while getting manies and pedies. or before i go for a dip in the pool. or on my way to the mall. or in the comfort of my very own room whilst i tidy up a bit. there's such comfort in the slow, irregular unraveling of a totally unplanned day.

but first, a good night's sleep.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Friday Night Once More

i'm done serving the eight obligatory hours to my television network master. i can now clock out and freely exit the guarded glass doors to enjoy a night out on the town with equally world-weary friends. and yet, like many other friday nights before, i find myself lingering in my office cubicle, compelled to make full use of the available internet and relative quiet in an otherwise busy, bustling environment.

***

last night i was listening to several enchanting tunes from a friend's playlist. it put me in the mood for intellectual sparring, the kind i've often enjoyed with a few close friends, covering every topic under the sun, from the serious, to the insane, and the seriously mundane, without fear of discrimination or rancor, with the passion and gusto of the young, the restless, and the fully self-expressed.

however, i walked to my car, and, having sat down in the driver's seat, i found myself instantly drained of all motivation. tonight, perhaps, shall be different. without the weight of work tomorrow looming over me, perhaps, tonight shall be different.

***

some time ago, i chanced upon an article in a broadsheet, about a wedding anniversary wherein the song of choice was "just the way you are" by billy joel. the lyrics were published in full, and it was the first time i had really read through them (as the song was popularized before my time. i know, it's not an excuse, but still...). i gained a new appreciation for the song, and what i thought it meant. i particularly like the last stanza, which goes "i don't want clever conversation/i never want to work that hard/i just want someone that i can talk to/i want you just the way you are". when i was younger, i took such great pride and joy in the lengthy conversations peppered with witty oneliners and scathing rebuttals (carried over from my high school days on the forensics a.k.a. debate team) that i often engaged in, not realizing how empty a lot of those words were, fueled merely by pomp, proving nothing. the song lyrics remind me that sometimes, less is more, simple doesn't mean typical and even a paper bag being blown by the wind can be poignant (given the proper scoring and cinematography, of course).

now, time for a symposium at my favorite haunt.

Friday, April 04, 2008

birthday wish list

my birthday's coming up, yeay! i must say i'm pretty content with everything i have, and how my life is going in general. of course, this isn't to say i'm not without wants (i am, after all, only human). and so, as i am petiksing on a friday night, waiting for my wingman to finish taping so that we can go off and watch my brother's gig, i'm putting together a list of wants:

1. falling in love body wash and lotion by philosophy (my supply is running out :p)
2. a mouse pad (for my desk at work, i've been making do with scratch paper, haha)
3. pantene hair fall control shampoo and silky smooth conditioner (wala akong oras pumunta sa grocery)
4. mascara
5. blush brush
6. eyebrow pencil sharpener
7. haircut at tony and jackey
8. a new bikini for the summer!
9. sanuks! a nice, comfy pair for taping
10. dresses, lovely summery ones
11. alice blue candles
12. gym membership
13. time to go to the gym hahaha
14. libreng lipo (for stubborn chubs)
15. bandmates! and gigs!
16. trip to boracay
17. new contact lenses (my disposable ones won't last forever)
18. contact lens solution
19. manies and pedies at the nail loft
20. a facial
21. a new car
22. a 2-bedroom condo
23. a trip abroad
24. wallet
25. wedges that won't kill my feet
26. new chucks (my white ones look kawawa na)
27. skater shoes
28. electric fan for my room
29. full length mirror for my room
30. my room to be magically cleaned and organized (!)
31. a nice big jansport backpack in not-easily dirtied colors
32. kumpletong set ng office supplies (heavy duty puncher and stapler, staple remover, sticky notes, file folders, correction fluid)
33. coffee stash for the office, with sugar, no cream
34. a laptop
35. my old sim back
36. a compilation of all the songs that used to be on our wake-up tape (by disney, circa early '90s?)

sarap mangarap diba. :)

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

holy tuesday

why is it that i enjoy putting things off until the last possible minute?

back in high school, i was referred to as the "cram queen", due to my knack for putting off any and all homework and reviewing for tests until the period before that subject. it worked back then, my short-term memory was pretty sharp, and i reasoned that i worked better under pressure which had me produce results that were passable within the least amount of time.

fast forward to today. i have come to realize that some things are better done leisurely over an extended period of time than hurriedly within brief moments of extreme kangaragan. this has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on my dilly-dallying today to read my script and pick up some tapes from the neighboring building - tasks that really wouldn't take very long to execute, but nonetheless the impending holidays have been bearing down on most people and everyone is either in petiks or vacation mood (if not already out of town enjoying well-deserved leaves..!)

***

i sang at stripped two weeks ago! it was my first gig ever and oodles more fun than i could ever have imagined. infinite thanks to everyone who came and showed their support, i really felt the love (munchee and migs, genie girl and chill, kael and louie, nino, kaberks, ate des and nognog, promdate, krista, kayelle, cheson, paul and the tabing ilog gang: penguin, beefy, daddy cox, walds and vin who were in complete attendance). salamat din to jp, eric and the route 196 people for allowing me to exercise my vocal chords, and of course ronnie for backing me up. :) see y'all again in october!

***

i just realized how different it is to write for oneself rather than to be writing with a particular audience in mind...always with a looking good, always wondering, worrying, if they'll find it interesting, what they might say, how they might react. whereas when you blog freely and type at will, wala lang, deadma. verbal diarrhea straight from your brain through your fingertips and virtually immoratlized on a blogpage.

and now it is time for beer. :)