funny.

well, i was supposed to muse on lia's homecoming, but then, i found this pretty thing:

yes, it might be dilapidated and crazy, but it's my 2005-- journal. :) of course, i had to skim through it first. and my college life flashed before my very eyes. lol. now, let's see some notable dates:

• 09 september 2005, friday: i stated "ust singers free concert :(" and then i added with a different pen: "choral recess..."

apparently, this day was also the general assembly day for the science glee club [i had JUST gotten in then], and kuya fonzy brought me to their reception table to secure a form and register for auditions. i remember brushing with a pokerface ate bing and retorting that this alleged group did not even accept me for training the last time. and then i laughed. 

•  20 september 2005, tuesday: i stated "kuya vernie's text [on auds]"

hello, chills. so the schedule was on thursday, and my newly-sealed membership with the other group hung in the balance. :o

• 22 september 2005, thursday: i stated: "gc reh: sick- ape'. auds: AS :) [saw ate rina :)]. lalake! :|. sick day... :|"

i clearly remember this day. gc conductor was out sick, so the core group head naturally took over. i had just finished lab class then [at 7pm], and i was due in 2 places: at the 3rd floor reh room and at the conservatory building. about 3 minutes after i had put down my school stuff, i took my black envelope and a few other paraphernalia and had myself excused. library, i mentioned. i had to quickly drop by and get something done.

of course, that was a diversion. i went there, yes, but i didn't go in. and that was AFTER i did what i scheduled first-- drop by the music building and get my gut torn out of my system.

earlier that afternoon, i texted my brother and asked for a 'good luck,' of course, without telling him exactly what i was going to do. and then, his only reply was, "o, goodluck. :)" wow. i didn't understand why that made me even more freaked out. ANYHOO.

first things first, i had to notify kuya vernie that i was on my way. just so i won't stand outside like some lame lunatic waiting for the world to heed my call. and then, i was heard.

while walking, i was still double-thinking what i would do, so i kept on skimming my folder for the more serious pieces i could give a rendition of. both mind and heart racing, though, i willed my head to get a grip as i was nearing the room of doom. knowing i already failed once, i went, 'what the hell' and went on my way. i would rather sing something elementary and do it less painfully than majorly eff up with a more credible song. as soon as i got there, though, my heart failed me again until it was time to go in.

there they were, in a semicircle, staring silently and seemingly mocking my every being.

AH, THIS IS THE LIFE. :-\

though the conductor had a friendly tone [or at least i think he did at that time], i felt he was stern and wouldn't take crap from anybody. of course, given that i had done this twice before already [both 1st and 2nd screening], another 'what the hell' did the trick.

and so i sang.

of course, given that i was not feeling well and COMPLETELY nervous at that time, i didn't expect myself to favor well. but i wanted to, because i couldn't afford to get my ass kicked AGAIN in front of these people who i felt wanted to eat me alive. and so i did my 2 songs, vibrato-clad [don't be fooled, it was because my insides were literally SHAKING. lol.], and with a little more than slight discomfort, compliments of mr.colds.

[1] now that i have you. suuuuper transposed to a lower key, so my voice wouldn't give and i can do a fairly okay rendition from down below. lol. [2] i will. in this song, though transposed to a lower key as well, i found myself stumbling with the lyrics and the entire choir just burst into song. lol. extremely funny moment, it was like lindsay lohan and the plastics in jingle bell rock. HARHARHAR. and there you have it. one part down.

i don't exactly remember what came first, this or the interview, but both definitely happened. the same basics were asked, and one even remembered me from the previous year's audition [ate chich]. :) and so i was interviewed. and i guess it went well, because i know i'm not scared of interviews. it's the singing part i'm actually more anxious about. HAHA.

vocalization was crazy|beautiful, just because i was called a "man," and this meant at least something. sir had already felt he knew how high up i could go, so he went for my lower registers. he kept on saying "isa nalang" [one more] as we went further down to the lower notes, and at some point in the lowness of it all, one of the members retorted, "LALAKE!," and the choir laughed. and so, just after the vocalization and the rhythm exercises and semi-interviews here and there, sir said 'thank you' and they clapped.

i nervously smiled and quietly walked towards the exit. in the brink of all feelings, i opened the door and cried profusely upon seeing ate rina standing outside, waiting for me. it was a simultaneous cry-bearhug that i gave ate rins when i saw her, and i guess it seemed weird to her, but she still hugged back and said it was gonna be okay. just when i thought i'd just forget everything, then came the awkward moment: ron came out and said that i'll just be notified thru text if i pass. all tears aside, and crazy humiliating cz i was like a baby hugging ate rina, i said, 'uh, sure, thanks.' and then the rest was history.

well, ate rina stayed cz she recognized who the person auditioning was, and couldn't believe it. she was in UST for a rehearsal, and just happened to pass by the room and saw moi. lol. and so after a quick chat and getting a grip, she wished me luck as i hugged her goodbye and went on my way.

when i got back to the gc reh room, i was greeted by a knowing nod and stare from the core group head [because she was my friend and she knew i was given the signup sheet--she was with me then, after all.] and i was so guilty i tripled my energy for the rest of the reh. and then the day was done.

not having heard from Singers, i knew it was just one more experience down. so i eventually came clean to my friends from gc ang randomly got interrogated on the matter. i said it was nothing, cz i haven't heard from them anyway, so it was all good. then came tuesday.

• 04 october 2005, tuesday: i wrote: "good news! AS munstra! :)" -> robie, thanks! :) ; csgc pin... :(

i had been fondly called munstra by my gc friends because of the monstrous ability to keep it together singing though i was sick [which happened a lot of times, especially during the judgment day, when everyone basically vies for a spot in the choir. not to brag, but i had aced orals whilst sick. heehee.]. and so there was this little munstra friendship formed, and i was one of them.

i was previously introduced to a member of the UST Singers who had been a member of the science glee club. robie, as they call him, was a biology upperclassman who got delayed for a year because of the choir's european sojourn. and so i randomly smile at him and greet him whenever we'd bump into each other. this time, though, it was different.

when we saw each other by the elevator, i politely smiled and said 'hi' and he stopped me in my tracks. it basically went like this:

robie: [singsong] 'uy pinapapunta ka na ni sir sa reh.'

jai: [jokingly] 'sus, niloloko mo lang ako'

robie: 'sige, kung ayaw mo, eh di wag!' [laughs]

jai: 'hindi nga! [pauses] talaga?' [smiles]

robie: 'oo nga basta pumunta ka na dun!'

jai: 'ah... okay. thanks! :)'

and then i started jumping in the org room and speed-dialed my brother. i didn't care that everyone was looking at me [i was literally jumping in the entire duration of the call, HAHA] and i just squaled and jumped and talked. :) kuya instantly knew what was going on, and, puzzled, i asked how. he said it was the only thing i had been crazy about recently, so the ambush call was a giveaway. :)

it didn't help as well that it was during this day when karen gave me the gleeclub pin. it did not help at all. but decisions had to be made and it was, at the end of the day, my call. 

the next day was gc no reh day, so there goes my free pass. i immediately went to the music building for reh after my class [with slight delay, i didn't want to seem too eager. lol.], but ended up being early still. and then i had a taste of the first nomination night. :) i was beside ate ei in front and got the alto2 part assigned, so i just went with the flow. and i went home with a clear plastic envelope with a million scores. lol.

and, for nomination night, robie was beside me singing my parts in aquesta me guiaba. :)

and the rest of the days were history. :)

Charlie the Unicorn 2

this is keena's fault. so, now, i feel like i'm charlie because i'm such a grouch. LOL.


" It's the Choo Choo Shoe, Charlie, the Choo Choo Shoe! :)


enjoy :)

*travel wishlist*

ohkaaaaaay. 

this is extremely random, as i was initially researching for this piece i'm making for a writing job i'm applying for. but heyyy, the second my eyes fell on the word BOROBUDUR, man, i was a goner.

now, the point of my day was to gather as much travel destinations as i could in one sitting. i got myself routed to websites for UNESCO world heritage sites, varying tourist attractions, and some scandinavian-north american-north african-fijian-micronesian-french polynesian places i've been dying to visit since time immemorial *drool* and whatnot.

so, yes, in the blink of an eye, my mind went loca on all these places and culture and experiences and craziness. and i frikkin love it! :) too bad, though, my mom called me to her room for help with coloring her hair already. so, daydream paused... NOT.

so when i started laboring over my mom's hair, i gabbed on about finding this and that, blahblahblah. and mom was more than eager to join in. so our mutual love for mythology and egypt and pyramids and travel resurfaced, and we planned as we colored her hair. hahaha. 

"so pretty please, mister LOTTO person, will you make my mommy and daddy win the jackpot so our family can travel the world again? pleeeeeeease?" *batts eyelashes*

and because i plan to date myself today and rush to the poetry reading at the Instituto Cervantes, here are some places i had in mind for my travel wishlist:

Borobudur, Java, Indonesia

Prasat Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Mondriki, Fiji [Melanesia]

Bounty Island, Fiji [Melanesia]

Navala Village, Nausori Highlands, Fiji [Melanesia]

Chichen Itza Ruins, Mexico

1000 Warrior Columns, Chichen Itza, Mexico

Teotihuacan Pyramids of the Sun, Mexico

the Acropolis from Philopappos Hill, Athens, Greece

Parthenon, Athens, Greece

Erechtheum, Athens, Greece

St. Petersburg, Russia

Shaman Rock, Olkhon Island, Russia

Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia

Tuamotus Lagoon, French Polynesia

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Matira Beach, Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Kheops Pyramid, Egypt

Giza Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

apparently, it's easier to use these photos in their original size [or just a little less]. otherwise, it would take AGES for them to actually show up on screen. :)

and yes, i have a fascination for beaches and stone-built amazements. basta. :D one of these years, i shall go to these places. i swear, i will!!! :)

hiding

While roaming around mega yesterday, destressing, kuya started reciting a funny poem. Because even the intonation he used was pathetic, i was laughing like CRAZY. And then, I realized, the poor little kid he was imitating was me as a preschooler.

No wonder the poem was familiar. LOL.

So the memories came rushing back, when my entire family would recite this so I could practice for my declamation piece; how my parents used to teach me killer moves and gestures to prove my point [those moves were killer back then]; how I would forget the mirror part, so it naturally came out louder when I remembered it already cz I literally screamed it out; how we would practice in front of the ginormous mirror in my parents' dressing area [and how short I was back then. harhar], and then-- a blank. Damn, my memory's selective.

And so I had to find it. TA-DAHHH!!! :D

I'm hiding, I'm hiding
And no one knows where;
For all they can see are my
Toes and my hair

And I just heard my father
Say to my mother -
"But, darling, (s)he must be
Somewhere or other;

Have you looked in the inkwell?"
And Mother said, "Where?"
"In the INKWELL?" said Father. But
I was not there.

Then "Wait!" cried my mother —
"I think that I see
(Her)Him under the carpet."
But It was not me.

"Inside the mirror's
A pretty good place."
Said Father and looked, but saw
Only his face.

"We've hunted," sighed Mother,
"As hard as we could
And I am so afraid that we've
Lost (her)him for good."

Then I laughed out loud
And I wiggled my toes
And Father said —"Look, dear,
I wonder if those

Toes could be Benny's?
There are ten of them, see?"
And they WERE so surprised to find
Out it was me!

HIDING, From the book entitled "A Child's Anthology of Poetry," Dorothy Keeley Aldis

moving forward

something old, something new, something borrowed... something... colorful? :D

clearly, i have not been paying attention to the signs--of life, that is. everything has been aching to show me how much more forward i should be moving, but hey, i'm effing turtle-paced. so, to cut to the chase, i just say my entirety needs an overhaul.

for starters, i had an amazingly hectic day yesterday. after a string of sleepless nights, i finally drag myself to a job fair to get my behind started with something i really should be doing already.

that 5-hour slumber prior to bastardizing my sanity did me good okay, and i donned my inner Miranda Priestley while i slipped my heels on. of course, while in that mindset i expected a day with slightly open streets and a few people here and there. randomness epitomized.

i experienced exactly the opposite, to say the least. pandemonium was more like it. mosh pit much. everywhere was a frikkin sardine can! UGH.

so, because i am naturally charming (;p), i called kuya and got myself a ticket to exhibitor haven. life is gooood :)

so i became the filinvest recruitment person on the side, while i trudged my way to those booths filled with people. DOUBLE UGH. but because i had to do it, i did the dirty work. i passed by and smiled at everyone, got myself enlisted, disposed of my papers and the rest, as they say, is sheer craziness. then i was supposed to get the NBI thing over and done with, too, there, but this lovely sign greeted me:

GAAAAAAAAAA.

post-pandemonium was definitely a sweeter experience, because i got to try orchard road's hainanese chicken rice for an uberlate lunch fiesta de kuya :) of course, after trying one bite from my plate and finishing his teh tarik, he dropped dead and made music on the ample-sized booth we sat in.

i didn't care. i was enjoying the wifi. :D

and my quickly craving was set aside because we went towards the direction of dairy queen. aha! strawberry cheesecake blizzard. i'm not complaining. *biiig smile*

as soon as i tasted the mouthwatering goodness, i started taking photos. LOL. takes me back to the times of strawberry-hunting with joy, jemmy, and bryan. laughtrip much. this time, though, i got all the strawberries... and the cheesecake. :D

so i needed more documentation.

who can blame me? i was happy and sugar-shocked. :)

and right before we drove home, i had to be the in-car contortionist to get that itouch from the trunk. and kuya documented that, too. weeeeee. and then, of course, i dropped dead a few minutes after we got home. tired much. :))