"Wow, parang kailan lang, (*insert activity here*) tayo."

Yeah.

If you find the chance to spend time with someone you haven't been with for quite some time, you'd find yourself saying that, reminiscing all the stuff you did before.

Take Wednesday night. I was hanging out with a friend, and we were just talking about things from before, asking how the other people are, and what we've been up to, and even picking up bits of gossip along the way.

I'm getting old, hahaha. I enjoy the simple pleasure of just staying somewhere and talking, rather than partying the night away. Oh yeah, my apologies to Lucia for not going to her debut party. Couldn't go all the way to Antipolo kasi, but I'm sure your debut was a blast.

Anyway, yesterday, to make up for the little time Maika and I spent together last Wednesday afternoon, we met up again in Glorietta. Hahaha, after waiting to eat at Sbarro for 2 days, we finally managed to nab a table that day. Spent quite some time walking around, and ended up at the Greenbelt 3 cinemas, just sitting at the tables and talking the hours away. And she still couldn't get over that kissing scene in The Wedding Date for some reason, hahaha.

Oh yeah, she also gave me a stuffed pig. Holy kamote, why a pig? Hahahahahaha!

Ayan, "cuz," because of your complaining that we didn't have enough time before, nagkasawaan tayo sa isa't isa. Hahahaha.

Robi celebrated his birthday last night at the Cellar Bar, in Century Park Sheraton Hotel. My goodness, it's been years since I last set foot in that place. I could still remember the escalators where Paulo, Jinggay, Fred, Drea, Joanne and I were hanging out, with Pau and Jinggay (ahehehehe) were "walking up" the escalator that was leading downstairs, because they were still listening to the rest of us talk.

Anyway, back to the story.

Teena picked me up at Greenbelt 1 and off we went to the place. We found Robi and a few other people hanging out outside the Cellar, and we joined them before entering the place a few moments later. My goodness, as Teena had said, the venue had lived up to its name. The Cellar was freezing! Thank goodness for KTV alcoves, a whole bunch of us got to eat in France, wahahahahaha!

Because I haven't been going to any of the Akafellas gigs these past few months (sorry, boys), it was my first time to actually hang out with Jhett. Hahahaha, listening to his funny stuff and sitting next to Champagne was such an ab workout. Jhett's jokes were hilarious enough already, and Champagne's laughter was contagious.

I enjoyed listening to this group that performed. I think they're called Industriya (at least that's what I heard amidst the noise, hehehe). I love the voice of the girl in black. Maybe I'll check out one of their gigs one day. I heard they play at Waterning Hole at Shangri-La Mall, so maybe I could listen to them play in the next couple of months (that is, if they're still booked there until then). Robi was funny when he was asked to sing. He almost immediately grabbed the microphone and sang "The Way You Look Tonight" (still one of my favorite songs). Then after another Industriya's set, the Akafellas sang 3 songs, including a sneak preview of their newest, by Karl.

Teena, Ate Tere and I had to leave after their short set. People were still coming in then, but I really had to play Cinderella (like Teena) because I have work the following day.

I have my eye on this new phone, so I asked my brother for a loan that I can pay back after a while. Darn, no go from him. I want that phone. I need a loan, hahahaha. Rawr.

I had my Saturday mapped out at least 3 times, and a lot of plans had been cancelled.

So I decided to spend the afternoon after work at Peachy's rehearsals of Avenue Q Highlights. Met up with her at Greenhills, and met her friend Tricia (who will be one of the people lending her voice to Kate Monster), and had lunch before their other classmate, Eena, picked us up to go to the rehearsal venue.

Their rehearsal that day was held at their classmate Jay-Ar's house. Hahaha, I think I surprised Kevin when I stepped inside. Said hi to Meynard, and then I got to see the rest of their class, either hanging around with the big guy at the dining table, or holed up in the other room in front of the TV.

Anyway, when they started rehearsal, I went with Meynard to the top floor along with the people needed for the scene they were going to rehearse first. So they blocked the "If You Were Gay" scene. Hahaha, Kevin had shown me the Rod puppet earlier, and now they were trying to manipulate them. Holy kamote, they really look like Bert and Ernie, Rod and Nicky, only Rod wasn't wearing glasses yet. But they were so amusing! When Meynard was getting the puppets to focus, he asked to have Rod look at me. My golly, when the puppet did look at me, it looked so creepy! Hahaha! They look amusing when they're in motion, but creepy when they stare, hehehe.

Oh yeah, each puppet is always manipulated by two people at the same time. So it took a lot of sync, coordination and teamwork, but they managed to handle it. Hehehe.

Then they rehearsed "Mix Tape." Kate Monster looked adorable! Well, not really, because with her head shape, she appeared to have no chin, but it was still cute anyway.

Hehehe, the "It Sucks To Be Me" number that they blocked last was just OK. Hahaha, Peachy as Gary Coleman, and she gave him a little femininity the first time around. And the girl playing Christmas Eve sounded just like the recording, hahaha. She was pretty funny. The guy playing Brian needs a lot of motivation, though. Hopefully he'll loosen up more.

After their rehearsal and company call, most of them holed up again in the room with the TV. And let me just share. I saw a whole new side of Peachy that night. Just that. I've always known her as this spunky, bubbly girl. Peach, lalaki lang yan, hahaha. Love yah, sweetie. Just be like Brian... It sucks, but we're still smiling, right?

Thanks to Meynard's Rep class. I enjoyed spending the day watching you guys. It was nice meeting you, though I wasn't properly introduced to half of you, hahaha. It was nice of Meynard to acknowledge my presence as a mere spectator during the company call, though, ahehehe. Can't wait to watch your show.

This summer heat is so unbearable. Even when I'm just standing in line at the terminal during the morning, it's still pretty hot.

Take today. I was in line at the terminal outside my village, and found myself making a fan out of this piece of paper I found in my bag. When we boarded the shuttle, the aircon was broken, so we had to transfer to a new one while we were still along Alabang-Zapote Road.

Then I had to run an errand in the afternoon. I had to go to the rehearsal venue to pick up some checks from our production manager. Since I was already going there, I decided to deliver the extra vocal scores Sir Lambert had requested, so he doesn't have to pick it up the next day. It only takes one jeepney ride from Greenbelt, and about a 5-minute walk to get to the venue, but in this heat, it was insane to go out walking. Plus when I boarded the jeep, I had to sit on the side where the sun was shining, because the rest of the passengers had filled up the shady side. And to my dismay, the traffic was awful. Waaaah...

The cast was doing music rehearsals and costume fittings at the same time when I got there. My golly, I smiled gratefully when I immediately felt the cool air inside. Miss Liza said that I could hang out for a while there after my business with her was done. It was really tempting, because I really didn't want to go back outside in the scorching heat. But of course, I knew I couldn't stay. Ate Sally wasn't feeling well since the day before, so I had to go back right away.

To my relief, the jeepney I got on the way back had an airconditioner. Hahaha, it was my first time to ride one of those jeeps, and I was uber-glad to know that those jeeps existed, hahaha.

I miss those cool, crisp days when I could still get away with wearing a jacket outdoors.

Just got home.

While sitting in the office during the afternoon, happy that I'm in an airconditioned room instead of roasting in the heat outside, I got a text from Krystal.

"Watchoo doing tonight?"

I really had no plans after work. Maybe just read a few chapters in the next "Gossip Girl" book in Powerbooks Live then go home and sleep. When I asked her what was up, she said that there was the preview/rehearsal of Once On This Island. Wheee! Surely I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass. I invited Nikki, Drei and Nicco to join me, but only Drei managed to make it, so we decided to meet up at RCBC.

When I reached the theater lobby, it was packed with people. Lotsa familiar faces, but because I was kinda tired, I sort of became anti-social and stood to one side while most of the people were saying hello to each other. Stood around with Krys and Ian when they got there, and we also found Bea as well. She was talking to an old blockmate, then the two of the suddenly disappeared. I think they snuck inside already, while the rest of the crowd was still outside waiting for the doors to open.

"Let's sneak inside," Krys said. So we went to the other entrance and sauntered in, hehehe. Got seats in the back row of the orchestra.

Repeated quote from Lana: "Good seats!"
HAHAHAHA!

It really was a dream cast, with Tita Menchu, Bito, Jett, Cathy, Mike, May Bayot, Jeffrey Hidalgo, Michael Williams, and Bodjie Pascua (yes, the very same Kuya Bodjie from Batibot) filling the stage. Plus that new girl... was that Raki Vega? Hahaha, I have no idea. But she's great, I have to say.

Getting sleepy. I'll post more later.

I got to meet up with Lexi after work today. We went to Cafe Breton and talked, updating each other, stuff like that. I miss that girl. Lexi, even though you say you gained weight, maGANGda ka pa rin, hehehe.

I was on my way to the shuttle terminal from inside Glorietta this evening when I passed by this book sale. Of course, I couldn't resist. Sometimes I wander inside book sales to check for used copies of "The Baby-Sitters Club" and "Sweet Valley Twins." My mom gave away my entire collection of those series to my cousins in Zambales, waaaah... I miss them. So anyway, I had this urge to browse and managed to dig up 3 "Sweet Valley Twins" books. Imagine, it used to cost Php54 (which was a lot already 2 decades ago), and now it's a mere Php35.

Was surprised to get a text from Chiquita today. He's lost and gained different phone numbers in the past couple of years and I have trouble keeping track of them. I wonder how he keeps track of crazed fans who text him. And I wonder how many messages he gets from them in a day. The word "stalker" comes to mind right now, hahaha, because of an old friend who updated me on some happenings. Anyway, he was asking about showdates of Once On This Island. Hahaha, I plugged that show plus Beauty and the Beast (of course) to him.

I'm out for now. Early start tomorrow. Bobby's arriving from Hongkong.

It's our production manager's birthday today. Happy birthday, Liza!

Anyway, for her birthday, Bobby asked to order this mango tart cake from Cuerva's in San Lorenzo Village. I was tasked to place that order and pick it up. Hahaha, when I saw the cake, I wanted to eat it! So to restrain myself, I asked the lady there to give me a price listing so I can order some for other occasions.

After Ate Sally and I left the office at noon, I had lunch at Greenbelt by my lonesome, then decided to check out Beauty and The Beast rehearsals. Apparently it was KC's first day to rehearse with the cast, I think. Or not. But I do know it's Bobby's first day, because Chari filled in (assistant director, duh).

I liked what Bobby said while he was talking to the cast before they started rehearsing. As an actor, you should "be sincere, and you should wear your hearts on your sleeve."

Then he was looking at the macquette of the show. "There's going to be a screen there, right? (points upstage) I think we should just play the movie!"
HAHAHAHAHA!

Per usual, Joel bashing in rehearsal. I liked that "George" game though. And "I'm going to the beach." HAHAHAHA! Joel was put in last and got lost when it was his turn. He went to Baguio alone!

Had dinner with some of the Hogi Hall this evening. Mike's back in Manila, so he bought us dinner at Gerry's Grill. There was Mike, Rosa, Aris, Seph, PJ, Gonx, and me. MMMmmm! Sisig! Hahaha. Sitting next to Mike, both of us got kinda loud for Rosa to bear, ahehehe. But man, I missed that guy. And he knows Avenue Q!

Getting sleepy, rawr. Good luck to all those auditioning for Footloose tomorrow!

Hey all!

Hahaha, I miss having my fingers fly all over the keyboard. My computer is conking out on me, so I have to resort to an internet cafe right now.

Yesterday, because the school we contacted for OJTs for the show were insisting on fees for the interns, I decided to contact people from CSB again. The last time I did, I contacted Miss Cindy, but she had certain requirements that we never had for past OJTs. This time I took the proposal to Sir Jethro, who will be in charge of the students enrolled in OJT this coming term, and he called me up at the office. Yay, he and Miss Bernice got to talk, and I sure hope they'll come to an agreement. I miss having CSB prod and tech kids in Atlantis.

Oh yeah, Nikki texted me early yesterday afternoon, saying that she and Remus were in Makati and want to meet up with me. So we agreed to meet at Starbucks 6750 after I get out of the office. Hahaha, I finally got to meet Remus, a.k.a. Bantay of Pepe en Pilar. First it was kinda awkward, but because Nikki and I were pretty hyper about seeing each other after over a month, all three of us loosened up. Ey, guys, I'm uber happy for you both! Remus, idol pa rin kita! I gotta listen to you guys again!

Hay nako, I got annoyed with this one caller this afternoon, hahaha. She called to ask if we know when KC's showdates are, but when I gave her my usual answer, she then replied with "That's unfair." Unfair? What are you doing then? It's also unfair to Karel that most people want to see KC instead of her. Why won't you give her a chance? And there are lots of other people in the cast to watch out for. She's not the whole show, you know.

"Be careful."

3 people have told me this already.
Yes po, I am careful. "Busy-busihan," remember?

In other news, I got an interesting email yesterday. Pretty lengthy, but very interesting.

Hahaha, I missed blogging, and now that I'm here in front of a computer, I don't know what to write. Darn mental block.

Teena and I met up yesterday evening to catch Saturday Night Fever Live by Stages at the Greenbelt Park. So after dinner at Jollibee, we walked to Greenbelt 3.

The show was amusing right from the start. The costumes, the music, and the dancing! Hahaha. Reuben, Red, CJ, Gian, and Annaliza were all in it, with Bea and Kristine working backstage. Coolness.

Some of the cast of Beauty and the Beast were there too. Kyla and Chari were the first ones to arrive, followed by the rest (Joel, Lorenz, Robbie, and KC).

Wahahaha, when the cast of Saturday Night Fever was doing the finale, half of them went offstage to try to get people onstage to dance with them. Reubs and Red easily found me (heck, sitting on the first row at stage left wasn't a good idea) and tried to pull me onstage. Red was literally dragging me off my chair! Ahehehe, I didn't want to embarass myself, so I stayed in my chair. Even CJ found me and tried to entice me onstage, ahahaha. Que amusing.

Getting hungry. I'm out for now.

Met up with Peachy yesterday at Greenhills so I can pay and pick up the tickets to her showcase. Hehehe, can't wait for Saturday!

Hahaha, while we were just walking around or sitting at McDo or Kenny Rogers, Peach told me about her orientation in CSB. Hahaha, I couldn't help but laugh at her first encounter with someone. The fraud, wahahahahaha! What was that again, Peachy? "Oh yeah, I think I've seen you before." HAHAHAHA, yeah, right.

Anyway, I'm just at one of many internet cafes, and I gotta log out. Ciao all.

Hehehe, weird title. More on that later.

Ever since this week started, I've been thinking how different things have been for me since summer started.

Over these past cpuple of months, I've learned to talk to people, mostly over the phone. As outgoing as I am with people, I still get uneasy with having to deal with strangers. During my first week at the office, I kept stalling whenever I was asked to call certain people or to talk to prospective sponsors. I was also afraid of saying the wrong thing to people who would call to ask questions about the show.

Hahaha, now I can easily answer the phone (even both at the same time) repeatedly and suppress any laughter when something funny comes up. There was never a day when we never crack up laughing before or after a phone call, and we still manage to keep a straight face and a steady voice.

As for the very persistent callers, yeah, I keep my cool, but sometimes I couldn't help but make snide comments upon hanging up, hahaha, most probably because Ate Sally would ask what the phone call was about.

But because my patience has been tested with the persistence of other people, I've also learned to be a little more mataray. Just the other day, I almost lost my patience and was ready to snap at a couple of friends just because of a minor delay.

I've also learned to use my instincts more. Hahaha, I used to be such a slow person. I think too much before moving. Commuting to places to do a certain errand made me think faster, easily learning where to go and easiest, fastest or cheapest modes of transportation (because I don't have a car and I don't even drive).

Which leads us to the errand I was tasked to do today, picking up wigs from our wig sponsor, somewhere along Emerald Avenue in Ortigas. I had no idea how to get there, so I asked Teena for directions. She did so, and asked what I was to do there. When I told her, she offered a ride to the place. Thanks, Teena! That way I don't have to waste time getting lost, hahaha.

Teena dropped me off at the building, and off I went. I couldn't help but notice that the sky was dark and it was drizzling. And to think that all I had with me was my cellphone and wallet. Anyway, up to the 14th floor. 10 wigs in their boxes were put in this huge shopping bag that I could barely grip together in one hand. The girl at the receptionist's desk even asked if I needed any help bringing it to the ground floor, but I said I could manage. When I reached the lobby, to my dismay, the rain was pouring in buckets. Oh well, don't worry, Hogi. Just wait 15 minutes and it'll let up. So 15 minutes later, it was only drizzling again, and I hopped into a jeepney headed for Robinson's Galleria. And when I got there, the weather instantly changed. It was sunny again! Nyak. Boarded a bus to Makati, then took a jeep to the street of the rehearsal venue. I was tired and sweaty by the time I was walking down the street.

I got a huge surprise when I walked inside the rehearsal hall. Lea was sitting at the director's table with Bobby! And there I was, sweaty and totally out of it, with my ponytail all in tangles. And she was the first one who noticed me and said hi! Holy kamote, hahahaha! So I nonchalantly walked over to the production manager and set down that darn shopping bag of wigs. I never even thought of fixing up before walking in the rehearsal hall. All I was thinking was that I should deliver the wigs to the building and get back to the office right away so Ate Sally can leave early to go to her doctor.

Lesson, expect the unexpected people to drop by when dropping by yourself, hahahahaha!

I'm out for now. I'm getting uber hungry.

Please watch this! Peachy's in it!



Poster design by Rich Tuason.

Everyone and everything deserves a second look. It's like what Harriet said in the movie Harriet the Spy.

I totally agree. There are lots of people who judge others as if they already know what type of person someone is even though they've only seen a small fraction of who that person is. Be it how the person talks, moves or behaves, he or she is always judges and commented on, mostly behind his or her back.

It's funny how people begin to get along. Sometimes, when I meet someone that I've already seen before, I already have that certain first impression. Then afterwards... "I thought you were mataray when I first saw you." "Ang kulit nya, grabe, Pwede ba? I can't deal with someone who's like that." "There something about his/her [face] that annoys me, I don't know why."

Then you become more than acquaintances. And realize that you actually get along. Amusing, isn't it?

Then there are the few that are the opposite. You think you know that person real well, and then... nothing. That person you once considered a friend is actually someone that isn't. A stranger? Someone who you once trusted so much then lost your trust in?

For as long as I can remember ever since I started bloggin, I keep saying how clingy I can be about friends. Anyone who becomes my friend stays a friend. And those who I lose touch with, I regret losing, even though no one is at fault. As for those who don't even acknowledge that my friendship still stands just because of some situations, it just really stings. No matter how much effort you exert, these people are just downright stubborn.

I've encountered these different people over the past couple of years or so. Those who I've shared a tight bond with are still there. No matter how long we haven't talked in a while, we're still as good friends as before. Others that I've lost touch with and have changed, I still accept them, yeah. Sometimes I make an attempt to regain that closeness we once had. Sometimes it returns, sometimes it doesn't. We just happened to drift apart. Oh well. As for the rest who just went "poof" for some reason... I don't know. I just hope we're still friends.

One factor that affects all of us is time. I've recently hung out with a bunch of friends that I once spent a lot of time with. But upon returning, there's a teeny bit of me who wants to say, "I think I don't know you anymore."

Que drama.

Sitting in the office right now by my lonesome. Was pretty busy earlier this afternoon, and because it’s a little slow right now, I thought I’d make use of this time to blog. Just type and then quickly log in to post this entry.

So yeah, I’m still alive. I’m just not online as often as before because my computer’s still busted, and I still have to go to Internet cafes just to check my email. So what have I been up to lately? Nothing much, except for a few highlights. Heck, I just came from Gloria Jeans Coffee at The Fort to deliver 30 iced mochas to the rehearsal.

Saturday, May 28

The day of Ave. Q Highlights, Peachy’s Rep workshop showcase. Their call time wasn’t until 9 in the morning, so I met up with her and Tricia at McDo near Greenbelt 1 for breakfast before I had to go to work. Walked with them until Onstage where the rest of their friends were setting up at the lobby then off I went to the office.

After work, I headed back to Onstage. When I was entering the theater, Meynard’s angry voice filled the house. Yikes. So I slowly crept inside. He passed by me with a brief but calm hello before I settled in one of the seats in the 2nd row.

I got to watch them run through "The Money Song". They were just doing stage adjustment then, and I just sat through until they were done adjusting and fixing the curtain call. They were given a pretty long lunch break before they do their first and only dress-tech, so I hung around in the girls’ dressing room with Peachy and Tricia. I wasn’t really properly introduced to most of the people in the cast (heck, I know only a handful, not counting Kevin) when I attended one of their rehearsals, so I got to meet them then. Most of them looked at me and said hi before they knew who I was. Hahaha, Peachy said that they probably thought that I was either their age or I used to be in one of the classes. Trixie (one of the Christmas Eves) was pretty funny. Peachy and I were laughing at something and then there was this abrupt moment of silence when Trixie passed by. When I looked over my shoulder, she was leaning over me to buss my cheek but had forgotten my name, and I had this question mark on my face because I didn’t know whether to say hello or not. Hahahaha...

Anyway, at around 3:30 or so, Meynard started calling everyone through his mic so the lapels can be distributed. Huwaw, 22 mics. No hassles in mic traffic for them, rawr. Then everyone changed into their costumes for the DTR as I settled in one of the orchestra seats to watch.

Hahaha, I was surprised to see extra characters in the play. There was a Kermit the Frog and a Grover puppet (renamed Hermit the Toad and Rover, respectively), a huge Audrey II costume and 2 little Audrey II puppets, a huge purple bear with a muzzle and chain, and even Pinocchio made an appearance near the end.

They began the DTR twice, because there was a lot of feedback during the first couple of scenes. They had to fix the amps and sound of the band, and also did a mic check, which they should have done before they started the DTR.

After the DTR, company call as usual and a prayer, then everyone went to the dressing rooms to get ready. I was still sitting there in the audience, and when Meynard was talking to the ushers, he looked at me and said, "Hogi, can you help us usher?" I obliged, because I already did it last year.

The little problem about ushering this year was that (no offense to him), Meynard wasn’t as organized as Jeremy was. Last year, Jeremy was co-teacher to Meynard’s class and he got to label each of the reserved seats to each sponsor. This year, Meynard just got the Rep people to put gold sashes on the orchestra center seats for the kids’ parents, and told me where the seats reserved for sponsors were. So I had to guard those seats and check if people’s tickets were labeled for those rows. Apparently there was a mix-up in the seating, because a group (some kid’s family) had declared that they should follow the seats that matched with the tickets, and wanted this whole row of people to move. But that other group was happy with their seats and didn’t want to move anymore. So that left the first group complaining to Meynard, who was trying to mix and match seats for them. Suddenly he said that he’s still thinking of where to place them, and then just went to the tech booth. I had to deal with the family until they finally settled to sit in separate seats. Happy with that, I went to sit in my own row that I reserved, along with Mish, Patti, Drei, Nikki and Remus.

Hehehe, I kept myself from singing or even humming the song numbers when the theme song began. The introduction and spiels with the Hermit and Rover puppets made up for the scenes in between the song numbers, so they claimed it was the "watered-down version of the musical," with cuss words "bleeped out" by sound effects.

For those who didn’t get to watch, each puppet and character was performed by at least 2 people. I say "at least" because Kate Monster was performed by around 5 or 6 girls. Peachy was one of the Gary Colemans, alternating with Cherise. Hahaha, Peach had this trademark "Superman-slash-Peter-Pan" pose as Gary. Trixie looked so much like Krissy even when she was made up as the Japanese Christmas Eve. She was cute, though; one of my favorites. Listening to Tricia as Kate was like listening to the recording. Even the guy playing Brian, except for his enunciation, and his movements were so restrained. The "If You Were Gay" number had improved compared to the last time I saw it. The end of "Mix Tape" had this cute moment between Kate and Princeton, hahaha! And that Trekkie Monster was a hoot. He was so makulit that he became cute, specially in "The Internet Is For Porn." And I just loved Eena and Eina’s rendition of "Special," though Eina’s high parts in the encore sort of lost its volume. My golly, Kevin’s rendition of "Fantasies Come True" was hilarious, because he had to dance with the purple bear with the muzzle. And in "The Money Song," I was happy enough to slip something in Cherise’s hat (she was the easiest target) when the ensemble suddenly broke the 4th wall (only Hermit and Rover were doing so during the entire show) and actually went to the audience to ask for money. But don’t worry, the money isn’t for them; It’s for the Chosen Children in Cavite. And the resolution between Rod and Nicky was hilarious, because the boyfriend Nicky found for Rod turned out to be the Rover puppet. And I couldn’t help it, I was already singing along with the cast during "For Now."

Congrats to Ave. Q Highlights! You guys pulled it off well!


Sunday, May 29

Watched Once On This Island again with Krystal, Karen and Iko. The Sunday matinee was supposed to be the closing show, but then I found out that they were extending until the evening. Oh well. Anyway, while we waited for the long line to inch forward, we hung out in front of the entrance. Rony passed by us and then had a picture taken with us. Hahaha, he was trying to take pictures of everything in sight because he was leaving for Hong Kong real soon. A little chit-chat with us then he excused himself, taking a picture of himself with two girls in line. Then when he returned to us...

Rony: Actually I don’t know them; I just wanted a picture taken with them.

Hahaha! Nah, he knew those girls from a class before. I just wanted to write that down because it was so funny how he said it.

Our seats were on the 2nd row of the loge section, which was pretty good, except for the darn bar that was sort of blocking our view. Well, not really, just part of the apron. Other than that, it was fine.

Once again, Raki was Ti Moune, and Bito was Asaka. And I still couldn’t stop giggling every time Jeffrey Hidalgo crossed the stage in "Waiting For Life." And as for "Forever Yours," his voice was still too pop. Rawr. May Bayot was pretty funny, though. As Mama Euralie, she was compassionate. But in "Mama Will Provide," she had this very funny smile that made me want to roll on the floor laughing. Another was Mike as the stern guard at the gate. When Tita Menchu as Erzulie approached him, his expression turned from stern to this geeky smile as he let Ti moune enter. Hahahaha! My golly, speaking of Tita Menchu, no matter what you put her in, she still looks beautiful. Bito, as usual, was amazing. "Mama Will Provide" was good, but her mic went out earlier than it was supposed to be. Grrr… And I don’t know why, but I actually had tears in my eyes when Ti Moune and Daniel saw each other when he and Andrea were finally wed.

Anyway, I had no regrets that I didn’t get to watch Kristian Lei and Radha perform as Ti Moune and Asaka. After the curtain call, Bart Guingona got them to sing an encore, which was a song that was taken out from the musical. I forgot what the title was. "Come Down From The Tree," I think. Where was it supposed to be again?

After the show, all four of us went backstage to the dressing rooms. Hahaha, Pio was at the backstage entrance when we went through, and what’s new, he messed up my hair, like he always does when he sees me. Said hi to Bito backstage. Man, she was great. And without fail, she called me Carmichael. Yes, as in Hoagie Carmichael, her favorite musician. When Jett greeted me, she said, "That’s Carmichael." Nyak, hahaha. And she almost introduced me as that to Radha. I’ve worked with the latter once in an Akafellas concert, but I doubt she’d remember that.

Here’s some more news about the show. Even though Once On This Island closed last night, there will be a rerun in August!

!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEACHY !!!