monologue

July 31, 2007

i've been through a lot these past few days.

but i'm recovering…well…hopefully.

one of these signs of recovery is when i start transcribing films i watched.

here's a sample.

in the epic-movie 300, queen gorgo appears before the council to persuade them to send a reinforcement to the first 300 men sent to battle under the leadership of king leonidas. here's her monologue.

"councilmen, i stand before you not only as your queen. i come to you as a mother. i come to you as a wife. i come to you as a spartan woman. i come to you with great humility. i'm not here to represent leonidas. his actions speak louder than my words ever could. i am here for all those voices, which cannot be heard–mothers, daughters, fathers, sons–300 families that bleed for our rights and for the very principle upon which this country is built upon. we are at war, gentlemen. we must send the entire spartan army to aid our king and for the preservation not just ourselves but our children. send the army for the preservation of liberty. send it for justice. send it for law and order. send it for reason. but most importantly, send our army for hope–hope for the king that his men are not wasted in the pages of history; that their courage bond us together; that we are made stronger by his actions; and that our choices today reflect their bravery."

and what's the next step? to memorize!

*sparkles!

thanks for remembering

July 20, 2007

few hours ago, which technically is yesterday, i added another figure to that ever-ticking age.

i just want to thank those people who went out of their busy sked to send their greetings. (hmmm… i hope i could remember these thougthtful people…)

in no particular order…

 
• My Kuyas — Kuya Aries and Kuya Edgie
• Yanan and Yatat
• Lola
• Tita
• Loi
• Jenchelle 
• Hilton Sisters
• Mommy Jo
• Kathy
• Liz
• Ooma
• Ermenguard aka "ACE" 
• Krista
• Lalay
• Mimisicle
• Inang Berna
• Jemie Q-tie (my MORNING STAR)
• Russel, ehem, Sir Russel
• Magsy boilet
• Alfie
• Em-em
• Benson (fresh from Canada)
• Ate Leah (thanks to friendster!)
• Shiela
• Sim Pack
• Tanya
• Leo (hehehe…was kidding kanina!)
• Nikki Bau
• Dahkem, prof. pala!
• Mana
• Ate Beth
• Apols
• Jem-a Cruz-Araneta
• Tita Cecille
• Arjan
• Amethys
• GP
• Ate Carmela
• Gary Mart
• Kristoffer (who i failed to greet on her bday! sorry, sexy! we had an event that time, kasi…barchamps)
• Her Royal Marketing Highness, Miss Jenny T. (hail, jenny T!!!…ahhah! parang rapper!)
• Kuya Cris
• Tita Cecille (Hilton's)
• Ate Joanne
• Tinskee
• Andrelou
• Jomer (hmmm…beautiful message it was…)
• The gorgeous, Tita Irene
• Ute
• Marien
• Cindy (thanks for the WISH KO LANG letter…ahahha! one day, i'm sure, it'll come true! magugulat ka na lang!)
• Atoy
• Bianca
• Judith…the holy grail
• Tijou
• Nico

To all of you, and to those who i've failed to mention in this list, thank you so much for REMEMBERING…

*sparkles! boom-boom!

nostalgic nobenta

July 16, 2007

last night, i was burning lamps to study various indoor games for an upcoming event.

as i was intently reading each mechanics, i stumbled upon a group of figures–1-9-9-0.

i literally stopped reading; stared at it for about 5 seconds; and thought of what these numbers represent. they conjure something unexplainable. i had to cease my study and think of the bygone years before the millennium.

1990 - i was in kinder two. after school, my nanay would pick me up and we would always go straight to our simple home; not unless she had some errands (pay electric bills, drop by the house of our late lola mama, etc.). upon reaching our home, she would help me as i change to house clothes. then, we'd eat our lunch meal. no one was in the house during these time. my lola was a land broker, she was always out of the house most of the day. my two brothers were still in school. and my tatay was working. after brushing my teeth, that's the signal for our afternoon sleep. we would always go to sleep together. and i just love the feeling of security everytime i slept beside her. with her by my side, i knew nothing wrong would happen.  before going to sleep, she'd tell me stories (not the fairytale type, much better). in return, i'd tell her of the things that happened to me in school. she'd always remind me of how important education is. after our storytelling, while holding my pidodo (i'll explain this next time), she'd caress my back, i'd hug her. it was a somniferous moment.

basically, that's how our day revolved when i was a child. and most likely, that's the reason why i'm so attached with my nanay. those simple "bonding sessions" were so important to me, up until now.

if there's one thing i hate about afternoon sleeping, it's the trikes passing by our street. the sound of the motors are so frightening. my nanay knew about this without me telling it to her. she had a solution–to place her hand on my chest. if she had to leave me, she'd replace her hand with a pillow for me to have an unndisturbed sleep.

haaay….those were the days…

after reminiscing it, i received a text message:

"kabilang ka ba sa huling taon ng dekada otsenta at mga unang taon ng dekada nobenta?

• kilala mo ba sina shaider, bioman, at mask rider black? of course! isama mo pa si Machine Man at si Boknoy!
• alam mo ba ang jingle ng "nano-nano?" yes, yes! pero di ko man lang natikman yan!
• naglaro ka ng "10-20?" korek! plus chinese garter, jackstone, patintero, at iba pang pinoy games with the following: mon-mon, ate beth-beth, ate tonette, ate weng, ton-ton, and sumunod na lang sila judimer, ate leslie, kuya aries, ate marie, ate angie, at iba pa! haay…up to sawa sa gabi!
• nagsayaw ka ng macarena at boombastic? isama pa ang xtasi-xtano at always, running man, at iba pa!
• alam mo ang ibig sabihin ng "time first?" yes! ginagamit ito kung malapit ka na mataya ng taya. pandaya kumbaga. pero, if you want a more valid reason, it's used kung hinihika ka na or di ka na makahinga! or kung tinatawag ka na ng nanay mo para kumain. ginagamit ito sa mga laro tulad ng "monkey, monkey, anabelle," "langi't lupa," at iba pa.
• alam mo na importante ang period, at NO ERASE!? meron pa yang kasamang SAVED!
• nilalagyan mo ng pritos ring ang bawat daliri mo? aha! tapos, isa-isahing kakainin. naalala mo rin ba ang chikadees? yung may mga libreng laruan? palagi ako nito nagpapabili! eh, ang plastic balloon?
• meron kang pencil case na madaming pindutan? yep! kulay light green pa nga yung akin. grade four ako nung binilhan ako ng lola ko. linalaro namin ng seatmate ko ito. lalo na kung magtatapon ng maliliit ng basura. parang cannon ang dating. ipapatong namin ang maliit na papel, then, pipindutin. lilipad ngayon ang papel kung saan at kung kanino!
• kilala mo sila princess sarah, cedie, at remy? oo! gusto ko nga maging kaklase sila. sila becky, lavinia, lotty, ermenguard, miss minchin, at ms. amy! at ang nakakatakot na CONDE. pero, sa princess sarah ako talaga tumutok at sa peter pan!

nakakamiss no? oo no! haay…we're getting older!

*sparkles!

xoxo: candy

July 8, 2007

july 6 was THE EVENING!

my fave pocket pal-DIVA, Christina Aguilera, had her first-ever concert in Manila!

it was also my first time to attend a major concert by a major foreign artist.

i was there alongside my closest buddies–the Hilton Sisters, Atoy, Miguel, Jem, and Andrelou.

I couldn't hide my excitement that i arrived at the Hilton's hours before the concert.

Undoubtedly, Christina still has one of the most powerful vocals the known-world has ever heard! Each of her song has shown her vocal prowess, her superhuman vocal range, and her maturity as an artist.

From her innocent genie in a bottle days to come on over dance fiesta to old hollywood glam in candyman, one can see how this artist has successfully transformed herself one image after the other.

To call it a crazy night is an understatement. It was one hell of a GREAT SHOW!!! Although there was a microphone error in the beginning, it was forgotten when she started hitting the high notes. The production was out-of-this-world! I particularly like the one when she entered attached to a well-lit russian roulette! It was so mesmerizing that i failed to remember the song in that particular number. In that same production number though, she was supposed to have dancers suspended in the air, just like what she did in her Shanghai (China) concert. It didn't happen in her Manila concert. But it was okay. Its removal didn't make it anything less of a great production.

It seemed that the forces of nature were pleased with her performance. Just seconds before she hit the last, last note of the night, and before the confetti storm was released, clouds let go its July mist. Like an orchestrated effects, it drizzled just in time for the confetti storm.

It was one of those moments when being wet didn't matter.

(Unfortunately, we failed to bring a camera to document every minute of it).

After the concert, we headed to TGIF-Bonifacio High Street. I was with the Hilton Sisters, Jem and Miguel, and Atoy. Andrelou had to leave for her work.

What made that night unforgettable was the fact that i was able to fulfill yet another dream–to bring my friends from two different worlds under one roof. Well, based from their respective testimonials, they ALL had a blast that night.

Looking at them, i couldn't help but to feel great knowing that I have the best of both worlds.

*sparkles!

the stars who wore the stripes

July 2, 2007

 undeniably, the 2nd Annual STARS IN STRIPES: Celebrities Serve for a Cause was a success! This year's beneficiary is Concordia Children's Services

thanks to these STARS who've made that event stellar in its own right.

derek ramsay, who, in spite of his broken knee, attended the event because in his own words, "i just wanna see the kids."

rico robles, who we met in a restaurant somewhere in ortigas. it was a gamble to approach him and to invite him knowing that we're perfect strangers, but it was a gamble worth all the chips. he hosted the event. hmmm…very bibo!

aliya parcs, always the helpful star that she is. everyone agrees she did a fantastic job.

sheree (viva hot babe), apparently, she had fears waiting on diners. but she definitely did a superb job! even on high heels, she waited on each table with no qualms at all.

gian magdangal, another alumnus of Stars in Stripes Year 1, was one of those who said yes even before we finalized the date.

wacky valdes, last year's host, this time doing the dirty works. another man with a huge heart. (chismax: he's courting ni**i g*l) shhh…

eri neeman, the mtv vj finalist and wazzup-wazzup tadjock, whom i invited thru mobile the day before the event. after less than a minute, he replied, "i'd love to, benedict. what do i do?" he's the earliest to arrive among the bunch. and the on-the-spot, VO, thanks for saving my voice!

miguel naranjilla, my best friend and Pinoy Pop Superstar's (Year 3) official Texters' Choice who also made it to top 4, first refused to serve because he was there support us as a paying customer; but he couldn't say "no" to mommy jo, ahahaha!

reymond sajor, the country's representative to the World Championships of the Performing Arts (in Hollywood, USA), offered a wonderful performance with his rendition of Disney's hit song, "Go The Distance." Amazing voice! goodluck, buddy!

and…

angelica panganiban, thanks girl for gracing the event!  

other stars who confirmed but failed to arrive

drew arellano (had a minor car accident on the way to our event)… my prayers…

aiza seguerra (was still in Baguio that time because of a conflict in sked)…we understand…apology accepted.

we hope to see you next year, though!

 

to all the star volunteers, TGIF's servers, diners, friends, relatives, and families, THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this event possible and memorable!

To our event's generous partners, AMWAY PHILIPPINES, MADE FOR YOU, CROWNE PRINTING, MILK JOY CORPORATION, FLOWER FARM, INC., and CITIBANK, thank you for the TRUST.

see you next year as we marked our THIRD YEAR in another STARS IN STRIPES: Celebrities Serve for a Cause!

*star sparkles!