So I started at the Atlantis office on Friday, April first. Ate Sally was the only one there when I arrived in the morning, and she briefed me on what I was supposed to do. Hahaha, so my place in the office is right in front of the phones, just beside Ate Sally's PC. And right in front of me on the wall is the corkboard full of publicity and company photos of past productions. I saw myself in a couple of them, heeheehee.

Hahaha, one highlight of the day was when we got some full body photos of a couple of cast members. Ate Sally was showing it to everyone. Nakaka-insecure naman yung waistline ng isa na yun, grrr.

It was a pretty OK first day. I guess we won't be too busy this month, as opposed to next month, when we start rehearsals and have to work on Saturdays as well.

Got to watch Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous by my lonesome yesterday (Saturday). Hahaha, yes, I'm a loser. But I actually looked forward to it because I haven't seen a movie alone in years. I used to do it every Saturday when I was in high school while waiting for Rosa to finish her piano lessons. It was OK, but the 10-month transition of Gracie Hart in the beginning was a tad abrupt for me. Oh well. And the "Rollin'" song, hahaha. When I heard it, an image of Sir Jethro dancing to it in the CSB theater suddenly popped in my head, ahehehe.

I also got to see Be Cool in the evening with Drei and Nicco. It was OK. That's it. No comment. Lotsa cameo roles, I'll you that, but that's it.

Oh yeah, I saw a display advertising The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It showed a wardrobe and Lucy at the lamp post. OOOoooh, can't wait!

My golly, I'm getting addicted to Seussical. Every time I hear the voice of the Sour Kangaroo, I remember Bito, hahaha. If I were to bring a musical here in the country, this would be the musical that would rival Wicked and Avenue Q for my choice. Ahehehe.

I'm getting sleepy. Even though I have to wake up early in the morning, I still don't get to sleep before 2am. Thank goodness it's a Sunday. My favorite day to sleep in, wheee.

Lunch break. Ahehehe, so I decided to spend my free time online. The connection is too slow in the office so I opted to go to an Internet cafe.

Before I forget...

!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEXI !!!


Hahaha, I'm still not used to being in one place for hours. Especially sitting in one place for hours. I look forward to errands out of the office, even though it's just in the next block. At least I get exercise, hahaha.

I met up with Mish and Jhoi yesterday evening and we spent the time playing at Timezone. Hmm... ahehehe, it's a good place to unwind. Maybe I'll go there and play from time to time before going home.

Break's almost over. Time to head back. I still have to fax a letter and burn CDs.

Still alive over here. And I survived my first week of work. Hahahaha. The phone calls we get from people inquiring about the show are all the same. Most people ask when KC Concepcion will be performing. So for all of you interested in watching Disney's Beauty and The Beast this June at the Meralco Theater, no, no one will know for sure when KC or Karel will be playing Belle until a couple of hours before the show starts.

Hehehe, some people can be so persistent.

Before I started work, I never woke up before 11 am at the earliest. Heck, I wake up just in time for lunch. But since April 1st, I'm back to waking up when the sun rises, and eating 3 meals a day. I've also resorted to bringing my lunch to save money. Then when we call it a day by 5 in the afternoon, I walk around Greenbelt, read a book in Powerbooks Live, or visit friends in the Taft area. Nothing much really.

Oh yeah, Drei celebrated his birthday last Thursday night with Nicco, Miko, Mish and me at Friday's in Robinson's Place. Stuffed ourselves silly, then back to the condo to just hang out.

This weekend, I did nothing but enjoy the free time at home, sleeping in.

Holy kamote, while I was typing that, I was chatting with Teena...

Teena: i cant believe that i have to follow some sort of schedule na...
Teena: tapos na yung loooooooooooooooooooooong weekends ko (where everyday is a weekend)
Me: hahahaha, yeah
Me: these days, it's back to looking forward to weekends

Hahahahaha.

Ooooh, I got this box of red (hibiscus) iced tea from my aunt yesterday. I tried it this morning, and it tastes just like Tokyo Tokyo's red iced tea. Yum. Maybe I'll bring some tomorrow.

I just noticed something from the set of Joey.

The blue magic slate that used to hang in Joey and Chandler's New York apartment in Friends is now hanging in Joey's new LA apartment in Joey. Heeheehee.

Oliver posted this in PinoyExchange.


Actor’s Actors Inc. to stage ‘Once On This Island’

It is the timeless story of love and myth, gods and mortals. Its elemental simplicity and delightful music has won it tons of awards and countless performances throughout the world.

Now, “Once On This Island” gets a stunning cast of local stars to lend their voices to a near-classic tale of romance and adventure.

Actor’s Actors Inc. (AAI), the company that staged the musical “The Last Five Years,” together with Silang Productions, has assembled a dream cast that is sure to make the music soar to the heavens.

Heading the A-list cast are Bituin Escalante who plays the goddess of the earth, Asaka; Michael Williams plays the god of rain, Agwe; Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo plays the goddess of love, Ezrulie; and Jett Pangan plays the pivotal god of death, Papa Ge.

Also lending their star wattage to the cast are May Bayot, who stunned everyone in last year’s “Himala,” Jeffrey Hidalgo, Michael de Mesa, Radha, and Bodjie Pascua. Making her theater debut is Raki Vega who won the national search for ABS CBN’s “Born Diva,” and is currently cutting her debut album with Star Records.

“Once On This Island” tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl from a fishing village who dares to ask the gods for love with a rich stranger. Her wish is granted but each of the gods exacts a price for fulfilling her dream. It is a tale of romance and triumph, tears and laughter, conflict and redemption.

The creative team is composed of some of the most respected names in the industry starting with director Bart Guingona, who is known for his intelligent approach as well as his impeccable directorial vision; choreographer Denisa Reyes, former artistic director of Ballet Philippines; set designer Gino Gonzales, who has designed sets and costumes as diverse as the Bench Understatement Fashion Show to Ryan Cayabyab’s ‘Spoliarium;’ lights designer John Batalla, who has designed from Regine Velasquez’s concerts and TV shows to Anton Juan’s “Oedipus Rex,” and Rony Fortich, who is soon leaving for Disneyland Hong Kong, is musical director.

‘Once On This Island’ will run from May 13 to May 29 (Thurs., Fri., Sat. at 8 p.m./ Sun. at 3 p.m.) at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, in Makati. Tickets are now available at Ticketworld at tel. no. 891-9999, AAI at tel. no. 536-5844 or Silang Productions at 751-7647

Because I have a lot of friends who I constantly lose contact with (due to graduations, job opportunities, moving, change of interest or basically just having busy lives), I cherish the moments that I get to see them again after a long time.

Yesterday, I got to see a lot of friends that I haven't seen in over a year.

I had plans to meet with Peachy somewhere in the Greenbelt/Glorietta after I get out of work and she gets out of Rep class. And because I found out that Anj is taking her OJT nearby at the New World Renaissance Hotel, we decided to meet up with her as well. Hahaha, I had this huge craving for Starbucks' coffee jelly, so I wanted to go to a Starbucks where there wasn't much people, and wait for them there. I checked out the Starbucks at Greenbelt 1 and 3, but it was packed. When I got to Glorietta, I didn't have to go to the cinemas because I know the Starbucks upstairs at the cinemas would be overflowing with people, so I decided to go to 6750. Grrr... crowded as well. I remembered there was a small Starbucks branch inside Rustans, so I went there. Yay, perfect. Not too crowded.

Hahaha, it was so funny how only a few people actually know about the Starbucks in there, because both Anj and Peach didn't know it was there. Heck, I only found about it a few months ago. But anyway, it was so great to see Anj again, even if she had to go home after a while. It's been more than a year since I last saw her.

After walking around a bit around the mall, Peachy and I walked to Mandarin Hotel. Nyoy and the Mannos were playing at Captain's Bar and we literally dropped by for a visit. Holy kamote, it's been a year since I last saw them. Said hi before they started their set, and then Peach and I hung around the hotel because she was waiting for Tita Helen so she can say hi to her as well. Hahahaha, while I was looking through her phone, I realized that she and Nikki still know each other! Small world.

After a while, we found out that Tita Helen was already inside Captain's Bar so we decided to wait for her outside the entrance of the venue. When the guy there noticed we were just standing around, he let us in without paying for the ticket, ahahaha. And to think it was already the encore. Anyway, after the gig, hi and hello to the rest we didn't say hi to, and then Peachy had to go. But because Memey told me to wait until they finish fixing up, I waited for them in the lobby. When they all emerged, he offered that I ride with him back to the south, so I went with him. But then he and Nyoy and Nina had to stop by a debut party at Manila Penninsula, so I went with them.

Holy kamote, while I was hanging around at the debut while Nyoy was singing, a girl approached me. Me-an was also at the debut party! Hahaha, what a small world. And she also mentioned that Anna was also there earlier but had to leave early. Aw. So Me-an and I spent the time talking and catching up on each others' news until she had to go.

Then there was another 18th birthday party they had to go to after that. It was in the girl's house/apartment, and once again, it was a small, small world. When they mentioned the girl's name (Ariane/Arianne), it sounded so familiar to me. I realized that I knew the girl from Peachy's blog! So when I saw their group, I saw familiar faces, all from photos that Peachy had posted in her online journals. It was so funny when I saw Camille when we were all in the elevator. She looked so much like Nina that I once did a double take when I first met her at ABS-CBN. I did another double take when I saw her, and then when she heard my name, that's when we realized that we knew each other. Hahahaha.

The funniest thing that happened during the party was when we were sitting at the table, and there was this bowl filled with crackers sprinkled with spicy powder. First Nyoy suddenly grabbed Memey and stuffed his mouth with the crackers. Then he challenged him to eat as many of the crackers as they can without drinking anything. Holy kamote, it was hilarious. There they were, talking to Arianne's dad, and eating the crackers the whole time, trying not to touch their cups of water.

"Pare, quit ka na."
"Pare, uminom ka na."
"Amoyin na lang natin yung tubig."

Then when Nyoy sort of choked a bit, Memey even offered his cup of water, but he didn't dare drink it. Of course, being the boys that they are, no one wanted to quit. They were already sweating, but they didn't dare let the other guy win, hahahahaha! Until Memey carefully checked that Nyoy was in deep conversation with Arianne's dad about music production. He slowly took his cup and took a sip, but Nyoy caught him, hehehe. So they finally called it quits and drank.

Rode home with Memey, and had a talk the whole ride home. Let me just say, Memey is a lot like Nicco in more ways than one. Nicco, if you're reading this, you two have to get together one time and talk, hahaha.

Anyway, gotta go for now. Lunch time. Hahaha, weird, before April started, I used to wake up just in time for lunch. Now, my body clock got used to waking up in time for breakfast, ahehehe.

Yesterday, the people at the photocopying place near our office probably thought I was crazy fanatic of Beauty and the Beast, hahaha. I kept popping in every once in a while to have newspaper clippings about the show or of KC and Karel, and have everything reproduced twice.

Fanatic... Hahahaha, I used to be so allergic to the word. Remember, Jillie?

Commercial lang. I'm chatting right now with Bro. Ceci! It's been ages since I last saw him online.

One of my tasks yesterday was to deliver music scores to the music department of St Scholastica. Actually, I wasn't supposed to be the one to do it, but since Kuya Boni had to do other errands, and I said that it's easy for me to get there and back, I got to do it. Rawr, by the time I reached the school, I was told by the guard that all offices and summer classes were closed due to the jeepney strike. Thank goodness the information office was secretly open so I was allowed to leave it there.

As it turned out, Nicco was in the area as well, and because he told me that he had his hair cut again, I told him that I wasn't leaving the area until I saw his new 'do. Hahaha, I couldn't help but burst out laughing when I first saw him. He looked younger already when he first had his hair cut, and even more now.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Teena and Joy yesterday after work. It's was the first time I got to really spend time with Joy, and I had a blast. Hahahaha, I will never forget the search for dresses thr three of us did. First we were looking at shoes, and ended up finding this cute pink polka-dotted sandal that reminded us of Minnie Mouse. And on the shelf above it was this hot pink boot that screamed Penelope Pitstop, hahaha! So we went around the Landmark department store looking at dresses and kept matching it with the boot.

"Yeah, this would look good on you, Hogi."
"Wait, why is it always for me?"
"Why not?"
"Oh yeah..."
"And then wear it with the boots!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Taking a quick break at the internet cafe again. I'd better relish these free days of going out even for a few minutes during lunch break, ahehehe. By next month, I won't be able to stand up from my chair because of everything that will be going on.

The cast came in yesterday to have themselves measured for costumes. Because the guy from the shoe sponsor wasn't able to come on time, I was tasked to trace the actors' feet onto paper for their customized shoes for the show. Facing all those feet all day, hahaha, crazy.

Aw, I'm kinda disappointed that I won't be able to Maika's debut today. Uber-busy days at the office, what more during the weeks to come. I sure hope she's having fun though.

Gotta go for now. Lunch break's over.

Hahaha, ever since I took that job in Atlantis, I've been answering the phone in this demure voice that misleads the caller into thinking that I'm a "normal" person. Little do they know about the crazy little girl that I really am, ahehehe.

We were bombarded with tons of phone calls since this morning that Ate Sally and I kept twisting up the cords of both phones. Most of the calls we got were about ticket prices, show dates, and of course, the question we despised most of all ("At which shows will KC be performing in?" ). Rawr, hehehe.

Some snippets of my crazy phone moments...

Overseas Caller (OC): So kelan magpe-perform si... yung anak ni Sharon Cuneta?
Me: Ay, di po malalaman kung kelan po sila magpe-perform.
OC: Meron bang matatawagan para malaman yun?
Me: Wala po, kasi on the show date itself na mismo malalaman who will perform as Belle.
OC: Ah, OK. Kasi naman, babayad kami ng P1500 para manood. Eh kung manonood ka, diba syempre yung sikat na yung papanoorin mo, diba?
--> At this point, all I could do was laugh, but what I really wanted to say was "HELLO??!? If you're going to watch, shouldn't you appreciate the other actors as well as the other aspects of the show, not just because there's a celebrity in the cast??" Ahehehe, but of course, I had to be polite.


After this entire barrage of nonstop phone calls during the late morning, the phone that Ate Sally was using to connect to the Internet rang, hence disconnecting her. Chuckling at her frustrated sighs, I answered the phone...

Me: Atlantis, good morning.
Someone: Hello... Hogi??
Me: Who's on the line?
Someone: It's Bobby.
Me: Ay! Hello!
--> Whoops, hahahaha. I just had to laugh, once again. And I was kinda surprised that he already knew my voice over the phone, specially that he was calling from Hongkong.


Of course, then there's the usual, unavoidable excuse that people say when they want to see KC as Belle...

Caller: Aling show ba magpe-perform si KC?
Me: (*thinking "Will this never end?!?"*) Ah, hindi po malalaman po yan until the actual show date itself po.
Caller: Ah... Kasi gusto ng (*insert relative here*) na si KC yung mapapanood eh.

...or...

Caller: Ah... Kasi manggagaling yung mga (*insert relatives here*) galing (*probinsya/abroad*), so sayang naman yung hindi si KC yung mapapanood.

Rawr, que annoying. And as if it wasn't enough...

Caller: Diba may schedule na dapat to know which shows sila magpe-perform?
Me: Wala po. People will only know on the actual show date because it will be posted 2 hours prior to the show.
Caller: Ganon? Kasi dati merong ganun, nung "Little Mermaid" ba yun?
--> No, there wasn't!


And then there was the last one in the afternoon. I was eating crackers and the phone rang. It was a woman asking about the show in this monotone...

Monotone Caller: Kelan-yung-show-magkano-ticket...

Just hearing that made me laugh and choke on the small bit of cracker in my mouth that I had to ask the lady to hold, not just once, but twice, hahahaha!

Just when you think that a day can be oh-so-long, stuff like this happens to perk you up, hehehe.

I usually unwind around the Glorietta and Greenbelt area after work, sometimes spending hours reading a book in Powerbooks Live, or hanging out with a friend whom I find out is also in the area.

I had to no real plans yesterday afternoon when Maika suddenly sent me a message during lunch that she was going with her dad to Makati. Hehehe, she ended up waiting impatiently for me to get out of the office to pick her up at Burgundy Tower (because her 'rents wouldn't let her go off alone) and we set off for Glorietta.

Ahehehe, we couldn't figure out where to eat when we arrived. At first Maika wanted Sbarro (mmm... stuffed pizza), but when we got there, there was already a long line and we couldn't find any seats. We passed by Yellow cab, and then she couldn't resist, so she dragged me there, insisting that she buys the pizza. Thanks Maix! Hahaha, it seems that every time we share a pizza, Maika and I always end up getting the one with lots of cheese, yum.

We both ended up talking about familiar common topics, like her debut that I missed... and wait, did she just post "love life" in her blog? Heeheehee... I never recalled her mentioning any other guy then except for a couple of our "mutual friends", heeheehee...

We got to walk around until Gift Gate, and that's when her mom called to pick her up. Oh well, maybe next time we can spend more time going around making fools of ourselves. Hahaha.

Oops, phone call. Hahaha, it's Nikki. I'll update this more later. But I'll leave with this parting note. The song "Eto Na Naman" is speaking to me, ahahaha. Paging Tita Sherbs.