I will try and make this as objective as possible

THANKSGIVING CONCERT, January 28
On My Own (redux)
This Fathomless Love
+ backup on some songs

On My Own was an unexpected hit last night. It completely overshadowed the second song, which wasn't really my intention, but yeah...it kind of sort of really did. XD My mom told me that she didn't dare exhale when I was singing the song because she was afraid she wouldn't hear me (oh parents); the officemates that she invited over kept on saying daw that it was good in between the song but she couldn't comment because of said refusal to exhale. XD There were four rounds of applauses, three of which were during the song and the last when it finally ended.

Unbelievable. And to think that I first practiced the song the day before the concert. Just. Unbelievable.

But of all the kudos I got for the song, this was the one that totally blew me away: an usher for the event came to me and said that she told her kids that if ever they learned how to sing, they'd want them to sing like me (WHAT?!), plus she and her kids look forward to Sundays that they see I'm the worship leader (WHAT?!) and she particularly loves the way I sing Hosanna (WHAT?!). I think I looked absolutely dumbfounded when she was telling me these things. I remember saying (and stuttering) thank you and that it's good that her kids look forward to Sunday worship etc etc, but...well, you get the point.

The video recording of the song was surprisingly bearable (and here I become hard on myself). I just wish I had pronounced some of the words clearer. But given that I was only able to practice that song this Thursday and pull off a reaction like that was very satisfying. XD

The reality of it however, was that people remembered that song and not the one that came after (which was, the song that I had to practice for two months XD). Mama said the second song was anti-climactic. XD I tried doing it differently during my first few practices, which yielded to horrible results. I had no choice to stick to the way it was sung.

So there you have it! Moratorium muna sa mga raket, please.

Oh, and tomorrow I have to sing the second song on all four services. I will be dedzzzzzzzzzzz.

The big reveal

I submitted my application for graduate studies to DLSU today. The exam is next Saturday morning. I don't know if I should review for the exam or not. XD But the more pressing question is if I have time to review for the exam on Saturday. *facepalm* I'll probably just read up some marketing stuff over the Internet, I guess...

I'm particularly pleased with my application documents, since the two recommendations I got were from my boss and from an assistant vice chancellor - both former bigwigs of DLSU. What I'm not happy about was giving them my first copy of my transcript of records, which came along with my diploma. It kind of has a sentimental value to me, but I had no choice but to give it to them because requesting a copy from the Registrar will take time, plus there is a race for slots available for the MA program.

So now that's done, all I have to do now is to dress up and psyche myself up for the concert tonight. Egads, pag may tiyaga...good luck. XD

Midweek

Hey hey hey.

The responsorial psalm is done, hence one raket down and one more to go for this week, which is the...

THANKSGIVING CONCERT, January 28 God I really want this to be over
On My Own (redux)
This Fathomless Love
+ backup on some songs

I have not finished the testimony that comes after On My Own. It was due to be submitted yesterday and until now I haven't finalized it. To be honest, I don't really like talking to the people I'm singing to, because I'm too concentrated on the singing part (read: perfectionist) that if I do anything else, my focus will be derailed (read: perfectionist, it has to be mentioned twice).

Oh, and I haven't practiced the On My Own redux. That will happen tomorrow. *facepalm*

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Had a follow-up facial yesterday. Both face and pocket were hurt badly. I seriously cannot wait for payday, which is this week (today or tomorrow, I suppose). My total spend is close to Php5K already, which I took from my New Mobile Phone Fund. *tears* I still have to come back next week. My meds I have to take until the week after next. The light at the end of the tunnel still cannot be seen.

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Cecile is busted. The shutter button broke. I don't know how it happened, but right now I have a point-and-shoot with a shutter button missing. That camera is nearing five years old already, and it's been used (I take pictures of pretty much everything). I hope I can have it fixed...I haven't heard of cameras with shutter buttons falling off like mine though.

I can't afford to buy a point-and-shoot now. *tears*

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Today is Teachers' Day, and the feast day of the Founder. We got archery demonstrations, massages and spas, yoga and kettle exercises, movie marathons, and free-flowing espresso. Good stuff. Too bad I'm not a teacher; but I'm happy with my espresso. XD

Tomorrow I'll be in Manila. =D =D =D =D =D That alone is enough to put a smile on my face.

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Two interesting reads about blogging: this is scary, and downright dirty. It makes you question the integrity of blogging and bloggers altogether. Like, how can you be so sure that this person who blogs about restaurants is doing it with no ulterior motive (i.e. money)? Or, how can you be sure that an anime blogger who posted a bad review on this series was sincere? And on this note I remember the climax of Ratatouille...

Blogging, after all, is an excellent way of advertising with the rise of the Internet and along with it, various social networking platforms. I just hope that the heart and soul of blogging will not be lost in the midst of this.

This is an espresso list, but still relevant. Though DW only has a small slice of the blogging pie, so I'm not really sure if the "extra moolah" part will be relevant for me.

Cut up

That was the most painful facial EVER. God the derma people pierced, pushed and incised and I cried, bled and squirmed on the bed. When I looked at the tissue paper they used on me it had my blood all over it. It was not a pretty sight. So am I.

I have to go back and get another procedure. On top of that I've got new meds. These are not on the budget. But God has his ways, and I have saved up some money that I think will allow me to be in the green for the month. That, I'm thankful for.

I just hope my face returns to normal soon.

Young. Husband.

Yesterday the Younghusbands were in school. I kid you not bbz, I'm talking about Phil and James Younghusband of Azkals fame. I swear, you're never really prepared for epic visits like this.

I have basically spammed Tumblr with the pictures I took of the Younghusbands, plus a bonus pic that I'll leave for all of you to interpret its content.

That is all. Oh, and how I wish the weather was like this all year long.

First I direct you to this awesomeness. Boyz II Men did a freaking cover of First freaking Love. I freaked out. (As if that's not obvious enough.)

What I'm really about is that they really translated the song, and sprinkled a heavy dose of Boyz II Men mojo on it. It sounds the same, yet you know it's different (especially doing the piano part that transitions chorus to second verse into just their voices, that was beautiful!).

I hope they'll release this as a single for an album/compilation/whatever.

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My laundry was returned yesterday. I found a missing sock, which was probably caught up with some of the other clothes that I sent to the laundromat. They didn't iron anything, even those I asked to be ironed. So last night, I was ironing for a good hour on a 5"-wide 14"-long ironing table. My clothes didn't turn out so bad. I am proud. XD

Probinsiya = 1, JC = 1.

And just like that, it's Monday

Just when I thought it was going to be just like any manic Monday, the following things happened:

- It rained (and now it's sunny, but let's talk about the rain first). When I got to Sta. Rosa and saw that the ground was wet, it was...well...the least of my expectations. I brought an umbrella but it was buried in way too much junk stuff in my bag, so taking that out in a cramp tricycle would be impossible. So I used my grocery bag as a shield and walked in the rain.

- When I finally settled my stuff in the dorm, I started my walk to school. The rain had stopped by this time. I had to go down the stairs that led to the outdoor basketball court. Now, the steps of the stairs had a lot of ants, like the big-ass, tree-living type of ant (I forget what we call that kind in Filipino). I thought that it wouldn't do much difference it I stepped on them, so I did. But lo an behold, when I looked down, my boots and pants were swarming with ants. I tried swatting them with my badminton racket (which hurt, by the way), but they weren't fazed. I tried jumping up and down but that didn't do any good either. I tried running in place but they were still there. So, I panicked. Long story short, I got all the ants out of my blouse, pants, boots and socks (yeah had to freaking undress) after much whimpering and screaming.

- And now, I don't know what to do here.

So for 2011, Probinsiya = 1, JC = 0.

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When it rains here, you don't hear the sound of rain pounding on pavement. The sound of rainfall here is serene, almost as if it's not raining at all, and when you do hear the rain it's when it's raining buckets already.

The problem of that is, I don't really know how hard the rain is already unless I hear it. Of course, when it's morning all I need to do is come out of my dreary four-walled office, but at night it's much, much harder.

Baby it's cold outside

The Blaine-Kurt duet of this song was awesome, but that's not the reason why I'm posting this.

It really is freaking cold outside.

Last night, I was trying to find inspiration for an article that's being requested of me for a newsletter when this freakishly cold wind blew hard. It's the kind of wind that howled in the night, that mastered all the salagubang and the tipaklong; the kind that would make the hundreds of trees surrounding me bend and sway; the type of wind that would force me to wear jogging pants and a sweater to bed, and crumple myself in order to feel warm. It blew hard, and it blew long.

It was so cold last night that when I played badminton, I didn't sweat. It was so cold last night that what I heated up in the electric stove went cold in a matter of minutes. It was so cold last night that...well...you get the point.

Bundok

YES, IF IT'S NOT OBVIOUS ENOUGH, I'M BACK IN LAGUNA.
All caps for emphasis, I'm not really mad about it...

The two-week vacation breezed away as I expected it. Too long is too short, at the end of the day.

I'm trying to assimilate myself once again in the corporate world. So far it's been going swell, except for the aircon not cooperating and finding out that the battery of the DSLR has been drained just when I was about to take a panorama. Battery problem has been remedied, aircon cooperating...for now.


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I find this ridiculous, not because I'm not partial to the local music industry. Local acts aren't accessible, full stop. They're not as heavily promoted as J-pop is in Japan and K-pop in Korea. If you give me a pop quiz right now to name five Pinoy rappers I will fail! Also, the current trend of artists rehashing old classics instead of creating new songs isn't something that sparks my interest. More often than not, the remakes are horrible. Hence, why bother paying attention to most local acts that aren't "artists" that continue to reinvent themselves? I'd rather watch Bruno Mars live in MOA and pay, rather than seeing Christian Bautista for free singing songs that are not his and have been sung long before I was born. It's a shame, really. We've got great talent in this country, but it seems that it's only those in the rock/alternative genre that keep reinventing themselves.


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I failed at finishing Genji Monogatari last year. Since it's too heavy to be brought back to Laguna, I decided to leave it at home and read it during weekends. I seem to get to finish more reading when done during the weekend (case in point: Good Omens, Fragile Things). The book I brought with me here is Smoke and Mirrors.

I hope to get some writing done and published here. I've done some writing (can I get a hallelujah here), but I have to edit and write more and stuff...I'm hoping it will come. It has to come. It better come. /desperate


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I don't have a desk calendar. I'm waiting for any of the 16 schools to give me one. Sanrio seems to have evaporated from Glorietta for some reason. I was supposed to get another Hello Kitty calendar from them.


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Been listening to Bruno Mars this morning. He's a mad genius. XD I think I wanna marry him in a Las Vegas-type wedding, then divorce him the next day after we consummate our marriage. Bwahahahahahahahahaha.