Flattery will get me singing...or vice versa

This Sunday morning I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary. In my head I knew that I just had to go to the usual 9am mass and sing, then go home afterward.

After the mass was done, Ate Edith pulled me aside and told me that someone wanted me to sing for her daughter's wedding.

It came as a complete surprise. I was really, really flattered, but a little embarrassed at the same time because I had no idea if I was good enough to sing for anybody's wedding day.

So we talked it over and I was supposed to sing Gary Valenciano's "How Did You Know" at the Mary the Queen Parish in Greenhills sometime in November. The mother, Lorna Cruz, sent me the song via Bluetooth so I could practice it.

I didn't know I had developed such a reputation just by singing at mass. Here I was, disillusioned with my job, trying to start out an unknown quantity as a wannabe automotive journalist, and yet I had overlooked one of the talents I was truly highly regarded for.

Color me thankful I guess.

"She's seizing!!!"

Just this morning, right after the mass, birthday girl Karen from our choir collapsed and shuddered in the first real-life epileptic seizure I have ever seen. She had hit her head on the cold marble floor of the church.

I was shocked. Being the closest to her when the seizure happened, I tried to help but did not know what I was supposed to do. Apparently, according to onlookers, pressing on the web of flesh between her thumb and forefinger was "first aid" in that sort of situation, for her to recognize the sensation of pain. Indeed, when we helped her sit up on the pew a few minutes later, she didn't seem to feel the pain of the lump on her head that marked her fall.

We had just greeted her a belated happy birthday and introduced her to our new choir members when it happened, and it came as such a shock to us all. With Denz and I helping her up into Ate Rose's waiting vehicle, I silently prayed that she would get better soon.

Falling in love again...with choral music

I've just come home from church after a three-hour rehearsal for the upcoming fiesta mass on Sunday. This was a joint one with the other choirs in the village, notably the Missa Populi choir with their keyboards, electric guitars and drums.

Master tenor Andy was on hand to give direction to the huge assembled ensemble. We numbered more than seventy people from four different choirs. But all of us on hand just melded to serve up a filling, uplifting performance worthy of shaking the heavens, thanks to Andy's expert guidance.

The Missa Populi was Andy's pet project after he recovered from his stroke. He was inviting us to come attend the 7:00 pm mass in addition to our regular 9:00 am mass. By the looks of things, it was amazing how the band and the singers worked so well together. The drums in particular were great. The little boy behind the sticks made sure he never overpowered the solemnity of the vocals.

Me? I was hungry, sweaty and tired from work but all that seemed to just melt away...because I sang my heart out. I haven't felt like this in a long time.

I may have just rekindled my love affair with liturgical music.

I am envious!

This year's Accenture Christmas Party was held over at the new SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia. I didn't really enjoy myself though. Chalk up another social gathering served with subpar food.

No matter. I really had no intention of staying there for long. My raison d'etre there was to watch how my friends at the Accenture Chorale made use of their painstaking rehearsals for a performance two months in the making. I wanted to witness what I missed due to work.

I was definitely not disappointed. They sang a stellar ensemble, from Bukas Palad's "Gumising" to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to the unmistakable "Carol of the Bells," their voices joined in a harmonious blend as they finished with "Joy to the World" and the Filipino classic "Kumukuti-kutitap." Boy, was I jealous.

Even with our dear trainer Budz Castillo's gracious departure (you are much missed, sir!), the Chorale proved its mettle and dedication in the most spectacular way.

I vow to join the next performance. Lito tells me the Chorale has an eventful year ahead.

Wanted: enthusiasm from fellow choir members

Lately it's become rather disheartening and disappointing to stay on as a member of our church choir. The level of commitment and enthusiasm is a far cry from what I see in the Accenture Chorale...heck, even from just the Cybergate Choir. I daresay we don't even sound as good as we should be. To top it all off, we just essentially celebrated the departure of yet another member.

It's rare that I wax religious in my posts, or even my thoughts, but I will keep on singing as much as I can. It's a good way of serving the Lord. I'm afraid to say how long I will keep singing in my own church is still up in the air, however. Without opportunities to learn something new, or encouragement from other members, it has become truly tempting to ply my trade somewhere else.

Chalk up one more recent disappointment in a year that's been full of them, I reckon.

The "My Accenture" party photos

Not much of an update today, except for my uploaded photos of the recently concluded "My Accenture" party I was talking about in previous posts.

Click here to check them out. Enjoy!

Of hoarse voices, anonymity and mole removal

Today marks the formal introduction of the two-month-old Accenture Chorale Group to the general public, via the "My Accenture" party at the PICC Forum. We've been rehearsing over the weekends and holidays for this day and our five-song lineup.

While we were a little irked at how the other celebrities kept pushing our performance time back, when we finally did perform, we didn't disappoint and our "hello" was greeted by appreciative applause. That, despite the many errors I committed and my voice running hoarse. We sang "Ode to Joy," "Ewan," "With A Little Help From My Friends" and our piece de resistance, "Seasons of Love."

Sugarfree totally rocks. They rocked out at center stage this afternoon to the whole crowd's delight, and this is the first time I got to watch them live. I couldn't resist taking snapshots and video. After their performance I even saw frontman Ebe Dancel watching the proceedings, hiding in relative anonymity after taking a leak. I wanted to meet the man and shake his hand, but due to our moving performance time I decided not to. Shame.

Today also marks my first public appearance after having my biggest mole removed...the live one on the right corner of my mouth. Because of the transparent adhesive covering to prevent infection, and the bleeding from the wound that just won't turn into a scab, people looked at me with the general expression of shock and the question of "what happened to you?" I don't think the wound's going to scab anytime soon because of the location, too---it's ridiculously hard to keep dry and still because I need to eat, drink, talk and sing.

That thick, big mole has become something of an identifying mark for me, a "signature" if you will. I had it removed for convenience and avoiding it from turning malignant, but that came at a rather hefty price that means I haven't had anything left to save. Sheesh.

First of summer

First of summer

It’s sure gotten hot all of a sudden. After a couple of weeks of unusual February chill, the summer rushed into our open windows and cars parked outdoors with its stinging heat. The air conditioning of our old Honda struggled to cool the smoldering interior despite being turned up to near-maximum settings.

My grandma and Tita Vik got a two-month-old pug puppy to succeed their big Rottweiler Zero as their house pet. They hadn’t thought of a name yet, but over my grandma’s birthday lunch a while ago, they thought of naming the fawn-colored little guy “Cosme.” What started out as a joke soon turned into reality.

Because of Cosme’s vulnerable little body, they came over our house today to pick up one of our dog cages we used when Chico and Cooper were still small. They were able to see our furry little friends up close and personal and at least had a laugh or two. After they left for home, I had a long-overdue haircut myself as my head of hair’s already too thick for the coming season.

The aftermath of my Valentine’s Day stunt wasn’t as desirable as I had hoped. Increasingly I found myself getting impatient and forgetting the whole rationale behind it, and I guess I started to act strangely. I may even have pressured Jona into talking with me, even if I didn’t mean to. She told me she’d have something to tell me by tomorrow, and to be honest I felt the same sinking sensation of dread all throughout last night.

I’m trying to push this all away by distracting myself. Funnily enough, I found one such distraction this morning, when I decided to check tire pressures and inflate all our spare tires to 36 psi for storage. Odd, but it was effective. Nothing like a little manual labor to get my mind refreshed.

Session three of the Choral Singing Workshop went very well. We now know how to sing the timeless love ballad “Ewan” in four voices. It’s a shame it was Warlito “Potpot” Yalung’s last time teaching us though, as his group, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, had a Visayas-Mindanao tour and someone else would be teaching us next week. He did tell us that the "Madz" were accepting auditions now…but I don’t have illusions of being able to make it there just yet.

On a side note, Aileen told me about her little plan to take us to Puerto Galera on the weekend of March 10. Right now we’re just working out the dates and other details. We already brought it up a month ago, and it’d be fun to get drunk without anyone knowing who I am except my friends. That might just be the place to break my alcohol cherry. I can’t wait. I hope it does push through on the 10th.

Since it’s the onset of summer I think this song is most appropriate for the occasion.

Parked car, this night sky
Makes city lights shine like diamonds
Our song plays on the radio

We’re living it up, make this night ours
We own the world, I wish this lasts forever
Alone with you tonight,
Further in you feels so right

Parked car, this night sky
Makes city lights shine like diamonds
Our song plays on the radio

We’re giving it up and just a little more
This heartfelt leap, I surrender
With arms raised, tonight
Arms raised…

We’re giving it up and just a little more
This heartfelt leap, I surrender
With arms raised, tonight

Anywhere, with you
Anywhere, with you
Anywhere, with you…

Drive me away
‘Cause the night just feels right
Take me away with you tonight
Anywhere, with you

Drive me away
‘Cause the night just feels right
Take me away with you tonight
Anywhere, with you

Parked car, this night sky
Parked car, this night sky
Makes city light shine like diamonds
Our song plays on…

- Urbandub, “First of Summer”

Birthday reality

Birthday reality

There are downsides to sharing your birthday with your parents' wedding anniversary, like having to share the celebration with them. Fortunately this year, that wasn't a problem. My relatives at least remembered that I was turning 24 today, and manifested it by bringing a "chocolate marjolais" cake dedicated to me along with a few little presents. The whole time I was under the impression that their visit to my house this afternoon was for my folks' wedding anniversary, so this was a nice gesture.

Unfortunately I didn't hang around very long as I already had other plans for my birthday. I chose to spend it with Denz, Jajah and Matthew at Glorietta while watching "Night at the Museum" and looking for cellphones at Goldcrest, and it was worth it. Ben Stiller's latest movie is a lot less irritating and predictable than most of his popular works, and we really admired how the writers and producers ran away with the concept of history becoming alive. It just so happened to be a funny film as well.

The trip to Goldcrest was a fruitful one for Denz as he found and bought the flash attachment for his Sony Ericsson cellphone. I also found out I could save quite a bit on the 5300 purchase by trading in my current 6600.

Alas, Jajah had to be home by 7 p.m. and so I drove them home. Along the way we teased Matthew about Tyff, recalled old "driving songs" and basically chatted away.

Thanks guys. I hope you had fun on my birthday, because I sure did.

Lucked out

Lucked out

By some stroke of good luck, Migs (the "other channel" I was referring to in my last post) has an extra HGUC Gaplant TR-5 'Hrairoo' lying around in his house. It was supposed to be his, but he told me he was too busy with work to work on it and so offered it to me instead of waiting for the next order-taking period. I took him up on the offer and I'm picking it up on Saturday.

===

Last night I ate out with Aileen, Matthew, Jajah and Leejay at Yellow Cab Bicutan and we were basically laughing our guts out and being noisy hooligans over pizza and pasta. I guess they sensed I was pensive in church. We were making such a spectacle that the Indian kids at the next table were laughing along with us, probably more to chubby Matthew's jolly jokes and stories.

Jajah and I are friends, but we've gotten pretty close over the last few weeks and I like how comfortable I've become with her, despite misunderstandings in the past. Rubbing elbows and putting heads on shoulders was nice. I haven't had any of that in a long while.

Aileen was gracious enough to keep me company online after our dinner, basically letting the insomnia talk over YM.

Thanks guys, for making me feel good about myself again. Let's all get drunk on February 9.

Making the most of a spoiled trip

Making the most of a spoiled trip

I went to Glorietta a while ago to try replacing a gift shirt for a bigger one. It was a shame because the shirt itself was very nice to look at—unfortunately I don’t have the body the shirt requires, fitting to my unflattering features way too eagerly.

To my chagrin, I couldn’t have the shirt replaced because I had already lost its barcode tag. A shame, really. Since I was already inside the mall, I tried looking for things I could do or buy.

The first thing I did was to comparison-shop for the Nokia 5300 phone I wanted. Nokia’s official shop quotes the price at PhP15,000, but other dealers sold it for as low as PhP11,500. Not bad. At that price I could already throw in the 2GB miniSD memory card and still be at least one grand short of the official figure. I tried out its almost-identical sister unit, the 5200, and found it a good fit. (On a side note, I was amazed to see my current phone, my mom’s hand-me-down Nokia 6600, was still selling for about PhP10,000 brand new.)

Next, I went to Rustan’s again, as I remembered I had their gift checks in my wallet. I didn’t see anything worth spending them on, however. Most of my stay there had me going around in circles, trying to see how U—now known as Debenhams—had changed massively since the last time I was there. Goodness, I didn’t recognize any of the shops at first.

I was about to turn tail and leave for home when I heard Jajah calling my name. Mutually amazed that we were alone, we ended up going together, doing her groceries, browsing for books and having a chat over chicken empanadas. We even ran into Me-Ann, an old acquaintance from my college days, while Ja was looking for books. Thanks for the company Ja!