Oh my, I we an uber-long update, so good luck to those who will be reading this.


Thursday, June 29

The day before, I had already prepared all the things that was to be brought to Cebu for Doubt. Basically they were just props, newly dry-cleaned costumes and production supplies. The truck was 3 hours late, and everyone still had no clue as to what Ate Sally and I had planned for the next day.


Friday, June 30

Ate Sal and I took most of the afternoon off and headed for the airport. We were on our way to Cebu as well, hahaha! And the only one there who knew we were coming was Tita Loret, who had even helped us find a place to stay.

The flight was delayed for about half an hour, but I wasn't really thinking much of that. Holy kamote, the last time I was on a plane was when I was 10 years old. Anyway, because of the delay, we only had a little over an hour to get to the place we were staying at, check-in, drop off our stuff, walk to Ayala Center, and make our presence known. The quaint little pension house Tita Loret had found for us was just 5 minutes away from Ayala Center, so it was easy to walk from there. Hehe, while we were walking, I had messaged Hendri, hinting as to where I was, and as it turned out, Tita Loret had already told him that we were there. He met with us at the lobby of Onstage, then took us inside the theater.

Wahahaha, I can't seem to forget everyone's reactions when they saw us. Chari's eyes bugged out as Abi laughed at her suspicions. Chie tried to pull my hair out as Chari punched my shoulder at the same time. Anyway, after that, we got seats in front of Miss Bernice's sister and settled down to watch the show.

Oh my, technical problems once again. Cherie's mic was out! So what happened? They stopped the show. Hendri announced a 10-minute intermission while Chie ran backstage to figure things out. Oh my, because of the delay, the show took longer than I had expected. They even began the play again from Act 1, Scene 2. Ack.

After the show, we then showed our presence to the actors. Hahaha, even their reactions were funny. When Cherie said my name out loud when I was hanging around the stage, I could hear Nic's voice from backstage saying, "Hogi?? Hogi's here??" Wahehehe.

We joined Hendri, the cast and crew for a late dinner at Kenya Cafe Lounge. Man, I was starving by the time I got there. Thanks for dinner, Hendri! Anyway, we still decided to hang out after that, so Chie, Bata, Ate Sally and I got some drinks at some convenience store, then headed for Hendri's house to drink and talk.


Saturday, July 1

Ate Sally and I went straight to Ayala Center when we woke up the next morning. Had breakfast there, then shopped around and bought some local goodies. Dried mangoes galore! Wheeee! We only went back to the pension house long enough to stash our stuf and rest a while, then went back to Ayala to meet Hendri and the rest of the cast for lunch at East,West. Thanks again, Hendri! I just love that mango and crabstick salad. Yum! After lunch, we went back to Onstage and caught the first part of the show before bidding our goodbyes to everyone.


Sunday, July 2

Met up with Nikki and Remus at Shang for another mall tour of The Blend. Hahaha, hung around with the Bystanders before the show, then Nix and I got seats up front behind where Robi and Essy were sitting. Hahaha, once the Bystanders started coming onstage, I let out a loud "HUWAW!" that I haven't done in ages. Robi suddenly burst out laughing once he heard it. Ahehehe, that signature whoop hasn't been let out for quite a while.


Monday, July 3

Out of boredom, I managed to get Michelle, Jonna and Nicco to watch Superman with me after work. Hahaha. I found Michelle while I was still hanging around Powerbooks, then I met up with Jonna afterwards. She wasn't really planning to watch with us, but she went along anyway, hehehe. Nicco, on the other hand, even offered to pay for half our tickets, naks. Thanks!


Tuesday, July 4

I got out of the office early to go to CCP and return the telephone that we had borrowed for Doubt. Handed it over to Marian at the TP office (where I had also ran into Miss Tess), then headed over to Starbucks to hang out. Nicco joined me for a while after his class, then left to meet Russell and a few other friends in Taft while I waited for Tin. Hehehe, when Tin arrived, she was still decked out in her uniform. We stayed there a little longer until Nicco messaged me, asking where we were. So Tin and I went to Taft to meet with him, then we went to House Blend for dinner. Oh my, you should've seen our faces when we suddenly saw that Gem was outside. All four of us had our mouths agape at the same time in a... theatrical sort of way, hahahaha! Russell joined us then, and Mish also appeared for a while then left with a friend.

Hahaha, I just love those spur-of-the-moment encounters.


Wednesday, July 5

Found Bei, Arumi, Jed and Uda after work in Glorietta. They were shopping for stuff for their projects, and watching them reminded me a lot of me back when I was in my first year in UST, hahaha. After they have found what they wanted, we all went to Taft together and headed for Jed's condo. After dinner with them, I bid my goodbyes. Hahaha, they were all sleeping over at Jed's to finish all their projects.


Thursday, July 6

It's been a while since I last hung out with Drei, so we met up at Glorietta after work. Hahaha, he cut his hair, and he actually lost weight. The usual, we were just sitting at Starbucks, just talking about anything under the sun before I headed for home and heded for work.


Friday, July 7

Tin and I had agreed to meet up at CCP after I got out of the office. She and Carmi were planning to go there fr subscriptions, so I joined them. When I arrived, they were still at the TP office with Betty, but I found Nicco, Anna, and Tara, a fellow member of AC. Tin, Carmi and Betty joined us soon after, but Betty had to leave for home after a while because she was feeling sick. Aw. Michelle also managed to join us, then we all went to Tokyo Tokyo for dinner.

After we had had our fill, we went back to CCP because the AC members had to sign some contracts, and Michelle and I wanted to wtch the opening of the Virgin Labfest 2. Carmi and Tin went back with us, but they didn't watch though. Aw.

The opening featured 3 plays that are part of the Labfest: Maganda Pa Ang Daigdig (featuring GA! Hahahaha!), Pragres (this one's so funny), and The Return of Flor (I enjoyed watching Mailes that I want to watch it again).

After the show, we all hung around the lobby. I was watching all the people mingle, when suddenly there was this guy who approached me from the group that Nicco was mingling with. He touched my arm and said hello, and once again, I had this huge blank look on my face, trying to recall where I met him. He reminded that we were in this film that Mimay had casted. Oh my, it was Ge, the guy who played Rick, my character's love interest in Maria Milagros Barbarsa, hahaha! So that was the Gerald that Nicco kept mentioning. As it turned out, he was also in The Palanca in My Mind along with the rest of the Actors' Company.

I got to mingle with Nicco, Wenah, Bong, Mayen and Gerald at the LT lobby for a while until it was high time for me to go home. I was itching for the next day to come so I can come back and watch again.


Saturday, July 8

I had to come to the office in the morning because Ate Sally and I had to fix some papers for the upcoming The King and I auditions for Broadway Asia. I was so bored by mid-afternoon but I managed to get Nikki to go with me to CCP and watch the Labfest, hahaha.

Met up at Starbucks where I had to do her write-up, then we went to CCP to get tickets. It was still early, so we hung around the LT lobby to kill time before the show.

The featured plays that night were Pragres, The First Snow of November, and Ang Unang Aswang. That last one was quite the standout for me, I'll tell you that. Hahaha, all throughout the evening, I found that Cris, Mailes and a couple of others keep transferring from one row of front row seats to another. Field trip daw, hahaha. And during the 2nd intermission, I heard someone call my name from the balcony. Hahaha, it was Anna, along with Tara and Gerald. Then I found Nicco had joined Wenah and Bong at stage right. Coolness, they managed to catch up after their rehearsal.

After the show, I wasn't in the mood to go home yet so I joined Nicco, Anna, Tara and Jen (yes, another one from AC) at Mocha Blends. Hmm... I like their fredoccinos, yum.


Holy kamote, this is one long entry already. Another one coming up next week, hahaha.


Oh my, am I smitten? That's news to me. We'll see.

Get ready for your weekly Hogi update, hahaha. But never fear, this won't be as long as you think.


Thursday, July 13

Day one of The King and I dance auditions. Ate Sally and I went to the office an hour early to get everything ready, then we went to Steps Dance Studio at around 9 to help set things up along with Dobi. We also finally got to meet Susi, the choreogapher, along with her husband Eric.

Few people than expected had signed up and auditioned that day. But I guess it was because of the darn rain.


Friday, July 14

Day Two was much better. More dancers had signed up, including Santi, yay! Hahaha, finally, one of my recruits had decided to audition. While their batch was still in the studio, some of the people who auditioned from the day before had arrived and we watched the others through the studio door's glass window.

More dancing after lunch, including the ones that had auditioned during the morning. They had weeded everyone out, then told them to come back on Monday.

Met up with Mish during the evening. It was our sushi night, yay! Hahaha, we went to Teriyaki Boy and ordered a whole lot of food until we were more than stuffed. Then we burned what we ate at Timezone.


Saturday, July 15

Spent most of the day in my room, sleeping in, because I haven't done that in ages. By mid-afternoon, I left for CCP to meet with Tin and Julia at Starbucks Harbour Square. We decided to meet before heading for the Virgin Labfest so we can have time to talk. What was amusing was that even though no one else had planned it, Betty and Jonna (with Harold) had suddenly appeared at Starbucks. And Michelle was also there when we got to the theater, as well as Fiancee and Gem.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about the whole thing was our location. We were seated right next to extreme stage left, giving us a lousy view of some of the actors that were facing downstage. Anyway. The featured plays were Pag-Uwi, Pag Undas, Dragon's Breath and The Palanca In My Mind. Hahaha, I was intrigued by the first play ever since Nicco first brought it up (gee, why he mentioned it, I have no idea why, wahehehe). I really would've enjoyed it better if it weren't for the darn view I got of Chromewell and Carmella. Dragon's Breath was fine, and I could even hear Betty behind me chuckling because she could understand all the Chinese words uttered all throughout the play. And of course, there was The Palanca In My Mind, featuring Wenah, Bong, Nicco, Anna, Tara, Jen, Je and the rest of of TP. They were hilarious! They simulated this FX taxi all throughout the show, and it would shift to something from the mind of Dory (played by Wenah). I still can't forget that darn Miss Saigon parody with Bong in that ridiculous costume with the xylophone, and Nicco as a gay director that reminded me of Sir Jethro.

Oh yeah, something was bothering us the whole time we were there at CCP. Miss Tess was sort of brooding because we didn't get to watch her show last Sunday. Waaah...

After the show, we congratulated Nicco (Betty even gave him a fortune plant, hahaha) and the rest of the cast, then we headed for Harbour Square to eat at Pancake House. Pigged out and talked, with Nicco stopping by for a while before he left to meet the rest of the cast to go to Penguin.


Sunday, July 16

Back to CCP to catch the matinee of the last plays of the Labfest. Mimay and I hung around the LT lobby for a while, just sitting on the floor, and Ate Naomi even joined us as well until it was time to fall in line to go in. Found Fiancee and Betty near the entrance, and we all went inside the theater together. Hahaha, I firmly told them that I didn't want to sit at the area where we were the day before, so we opted for seats on a riser that directly faced the stage.

The first play, Payb-Siks, featured Arnold Reyes and Jake Macapagal. Ahahaha, I just have to say, I was uber grateful for the seats we chose. 'Nuff said, hehe. Though Jake's voice could use a little work. Then came Palabas/Exit, which was kinda draggy. Oh well. The best really came last. It was Hubad, featuring Nonie Buencamino and Irma Adlawan. They were funny, they were great! I loved their performance.

Once again, after the show, Mimay, Betty, Michelle and I were back at Pancake House, hehehe. We didn't stay long though, because everyone had other stuff to do. I, on the other hand, opted to stick around Starbucks in Taft to chat with Tin for a while before I headed home.


Monday, July 17

King and I callback auditions! Dancers were up first during the morning, in small groups, and everything went really fast. Even though the auditions flew quickly, we were still running late if we referred to the schedule. After a quick lunch, it was time for the actors callbacks, beginning with Calvin, John and Raymund, then the women. Oh my, just listening to May Bayot... huwaw. I loved how she sang Once on This Island's "Human Heart". Go Lady Thiang! Hahaha...

After work, Nicco and I met up at Makati Cinema Square because he had to buy tights and ballet shoes. During the whole time we were there, and as we walked back to Glorietta, he had quite a story to tell, hahahahaha. Though I wonder how this story will turn out. Paging Nicco... You lifted the "no blogging rule," right? Wahehehe...

Anyway, we walked all the way to the cinemas, and decided to watch United 93. To kill time before the flick, it was off to Timezone, as usual, hehehe. We even ran into Je and Lau with Eula while we were about to get tickets. My golly, the movie? It left me thinking, "What if???" What if the passengers had started thinking earlier about the bomb and how to get to the cockpit? Oh well.

My hands are getting tired. I'm out for now.

Before I start on that weekly update that Sybil has been anticipating, here are some randomness that's been swimming in my head these past few days...


"Happiness is two kinds of ice cream,
Knowing a secret..."

Hahaha, quoting from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown sort of sums up my mood right now.

Happiness is... being smitten. Hehehe... I'm too torpe to admit the rest.

=========================

Dreamboy and half crush.. Both terms made by Peachy. I have my own unrequited for both. Yet I call them "happiness", wahahaha. Both unattainable. It's hopeless, hahaha.

This is so not me.

Though Mimay once told me that she thought I was the most abnormal person because I never really showed any signs of being giddy over anyone. Wahehehe. Here's a first in a very long time.

=========================


OK, that's enough for now. Get ready, Sybs.


Thursday, July 20

Met up with Teena at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in the afternoon. I wanted to stick around the area to check out the Fab Five event going on that evening. Bei and Aris dropped by then went off on their own for a while. Teena then started to crave for pizza, so we went to Yellow Cab to eat. Joy managed to catch up with us as we kept on talking.

By the time we got to the Greenbelt 3 park to find Bei and Aris, the place was packed. I couldn't see anything except a sea of heads. Then when I introduced Joy to Bei...

Me: Siya yung lead sa pinanood natin, yung Merrily...
Bei: Sino dun?
Me: Yung lead na girl, si Mary.
Bei: Alin siya dun? Maraming lead eh.
Me: Diba 3 yung leads, 2 guys and 1 girl? Siya yung girl!
Bei: Ah... eh diba mahaba hair nun?
Me: Nagpagupit naman siya ng buhok!
*bonk*

When the Fab Five finally came onstage, it was impossible to see anything. Arg... So after they were all introduced to the crowd, we dispersed. Teena and Joy went back to Coffee Bean, and Bei, Aris and I went to Pho Hoa so they can have dinner. Hahaha, I ended up eating again, because I couldn't resist their chicken vegetable salad. I'm such a pig.


Friday, July 21

I wanted to watch Tulad ng Dati at CCP that evening for the Cinemalaya, but by the time I got to the box office, they were out of tickets for that film. Darn it. So while I waited for Tin, who I was meeting up with so we can buy tickets to the other films together, I went around the Little Theater lobby. I ran into Irene with a couple of her friends. Hahaha, one of the guys called me Barbie. They had shown Maria Milagros Barbarosa at 3:30 that afternoon, and I missed it, hahaha. Anyway, when Tin arrived, we ended up hogging the ticket booth, hehe. I bought tickets to 4 films I wanted to see that weekend, and Tin bought tickets for her and her classmates to the set of shorts on Sunday.

After purchasing tickets, we went to Tapa King (after a long deliberation of deciding where to eat). Mimay managed to join us before she had to go to the Batute Theater to watch Ars Poetica/Rite of Passage with Kit. I wanted to watch as well, but decided to watch it with Tin on its 2nd weekend (which won't happen as of now because she'll be busy with her theater guild's rehearsals).


Saturday, July 22

I decided to spend the day having a date with myself to enjoy the Cinemalaya festival. Arrived just in time for the 10 am screening of Saan Nagtatago Si Happiness at the Little Theater.

Oh my, the seat that I got was in the front row, dead center. Hahaha. Anyway, the film was sort of a musical, and the plot was okay, but I wasn't really floored by it. I was touched by the ending though, even if it was a little bitin.

I still had time to kill before the next film that I wanted to see, so I sat on the stairs that led up to the Main Theater, just people-watching. I even saw the two lead actors in the film, just mingling, but I was too lazy to stand and mingle with the people.

When I heard the open house call, I quickly slipped inside the Dream Theater, this time for Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros. Hahaha, I have to admit, I had never seen this film before.

I was running out of things to do after that, so I went to Starbucks to kill some time. When I realized I haven't had any lunch yet, I impulsively bought the last chicken clubhouse and quickly devoured it before heading home.


Sunday, July 23

Went to CCP a little earlier than usual to meet with Tin because she wanted to watch Batad, Sa Paang Palay with me. But rawr, our seats were on the opposite sides of the theater. Oh well.

Hahaha, this was the film that Cris was part of, and he was hilarious because of the way he moved about. It was still theatrical, a bit larger for the film, but totally Cris.

After that, it was back to the lobby. Tin was supposed to meet with her classmates in Taft, but because of the rain and the scarcity of orange jeeps, she decided to meet them there in CCP instead. So we sat at one place for a while as we waited for them.

Jonna had messaged us earlier that morning about watching the matinee of Ars Poetica/Rite of Passage that day. Tin and I couldn't decide right then and there. Then she left the deciding to me because I wasn't watching the shorts with them, so I had the time to think.

I was supposed to spend that time reading the book I brought with me, but I didn't even get to crack it open. I was exchanging messages with Peachy, Teena and Bei the whole time, hahaha. Thanks for keeping me company, ladies. An because of Peach, we've found a whole new meaning of "happiness."

By the time Tin and her classmates had emerged from the Little Theater, I had finally decided to watch Ars Poetica/Rite of Passage. But a moment after we had bought tickets, Tin received a message from her sister, saying that their mom had an emergency. So she had to refund her ticket and come home.

I found Daryl among the crowd so I got to sit with him, hehe. Anyway, my golly, in Ars Poetica, Cris still had a bit of Lucky (his character in Godot) in his character. His interpretation of the student also had a hint of sarcasm, and a bit of himself put into it. As for Rite of Passage, it was hilarious. It reminded me of Pragres, which was also directed by Sir Herbie.

During the intermission, I spotted Nicco move from the balcony to the front row with Chromewell, this guy who was also part of the Labest. Found them all over the lobby after the show, and once Cris had emerged from the theater along with Sheen (sp?), who was part of Rite of Passage, I was invited to tag along with them to Mall of Asia.

It was raining really hard when we left CCP, and the four of us crammed into one cab and dropped off Sheen somewhere in Binondo where she was shooting a film. Then we were off the MOA. Hahaha, we didn't know what to do by the time we got there, but the first thing we checked out were the movie schedules. We wanted to watch Lady in The Water so we decided to kill the time away by having dinner at Sbarro. Hahaha, Chrome even showed this trick wih a pair of bent nails that I can't figure out, and I was too busy figuring it out that I practically ignored the card trick he pulled on Cris.

By the time we left Sbarro, the movie had already started, so we decided to leave and move to Glorietta. Hahaha, mall-hopping! But when we got there and checked out the flicks, we still couldn't decide. We went to Timezone instead and tried this roller coaster simulator by pairs. Then we still couldn't decide, even after sitting around at Food Choices. Cris then decided to watch Pirates of The Carribean by himself, while Nicco, Chrome and I ended up going home.


Monday, July 24

Classes were suspended due to the typhoon, and by the time I got to the office, Ate Sally and I wanted to go home as well, hahaha. We were kinda bored out of our minds, but by 3 in the afternoon, Mrs. Garcia called and let us leave then.

Thank you, Mrs. Garcia! Hahaha, if she hadn't called to say that then, I wouldn't have had an afternoon like this. I was planning to watch a movie in G4, but when I had hopped on the escalator, I heard someone calling my name. To my surprise, it was Mika with Sybil! I didn't even know she was visiting from Canada! Great to see you, Sybs! We grabbed a bite to eat at Mexicali because she was craving for Mexican food, then we went around the mall so she can find the perfect pair of pants, hahaha.

After Mika and Sybil had left for home, I went up the to cinemas and went to see Lovewrecked all by my lonesome. Well, I don't really like Amanda Bynes as an actress, but I really just wanted to see a light flick.


So there, that's the weekly update, hahaha.

Hahaha, so here I am, ocassionally giddy over "happiness," even though I know nothing's going to happen, hahaha.