tymeless

This past week has kept me occupied, and I'm glad for that. I'm grateful for the things that have been happening, for friends both old and new, and all the things that I'm learning every day.

First, some quotable quotes.

In Peaberry Cafe with Erik...
Me: (on what to order) Handa na ba ako for something cold?
Erik: ...like my heart.

Ano buh.

Anyway, after work and a short nap yesterday, I went to CCP early, because I knew that if I stayed in Makati, I might do some unnecessary spending on food and whatnot in the malls. So I was off to CCP so I don't have to see so much that I have to spend on. At first, I decided to stay in the LT lobby and possibly catch a few minutes of sleep there, but once I settled down on the carpet, I found the place really hot. So I left and decided to check out if the air conditioner at the Silangan Hall was on, so I could possibly stay there for a while. Once I reached the 4th floor, I heard voices (well, just one voice, really) coming from Silangan. When I walked over to take a peak, it was Carlos Celdran, conducting his Living La Vida Imelda CCP tour. It was also hot in the venue, and everyone was fanning themselves with whatever they had with them. I ended up staying and listening, even though I wasn't really part of the tour. I even separated myself and just sat on the steps leading to the hall.

One of the ladies in the back of the group then turned to look behind her, and when I saw who she was, I was surprised to see that it was my former Playshop classmate Jolina! I haven't seen her in years, and it was great to see her again. We quietly said hi to each other before we both turned our attention back to Carlos.

When they changed venues, I decided to head downstairs to get some water in the buffeteria. Then I noticed Allie standing outside the artists entrance, so I decided to say hi and have a bit of small talk.

Allie: Mukhang ako lang sa batch natin ang nakapag Main Theater, hahaha.

Haha, I love that. It's pretty sad to know that not a lot of people in our chosen course decided to pursue theater in the long run. I guess practicality is more than just an option for them.

And this conversation was related to my next one, when I ran into Jolina and her husband in the LT lobby while they were taking a break before their tour group had to head over to PICC for the next leg of the tour. We were catching up on each other's news, and of course she had asked why I was there in CCP.

Jolina: Parang ikaw lang sa class natin ang tumuloy talaga sa theater.

It was partly true, though Lawyn is also in the industry, thanks to my crazy influences. I guess to most, theater is really more like a hobby than a career.

I can't wait for this coming season. TP's Noli Me Tangere The Musical already made a press release today, announcing the cast.

I realize that I still think too much. I guess it's the Sagittarian in me. But then again, it's also still just me. Sometimes I just let things and thoughts flow from my mind, to my fingers, to a piece of notebook paper, or to a notepad file on my phone, or to this blog. But sometimes I also just start thinking, and thinking even more, then I edit. Like I told my friend, sometimes I don't trust myself in writing what I think and feel right away. I'm afraid I might get too tactless no matter how cryptic I try to be. Heck, I've already lessened the frequent posts in my private blog because I remembered how shocked I was when I found myself angrily typing when a thought was still fresh in my mind. And to think I usually use my blogs and journals to de-stress.

Though sometimes, I enjoy just being candid when I write. That's what made most of my writing style, really.

And once again, that card reading rings true more and more each day.

RPT recital is drawing near. Next week. Oh my. More thoughts on that on another post, maybe tomorrow. For now, I just noticed how the days really fly.

tymeless

While we were talking, you said certain things that made me think. Which of them rings true? Which ones were the jokes? And could they be half-truths? Haha, I'm just being cynical.

I missed you. Like I said, tagal na tayong di nagkukwentuhan. So there were updates, serious talks, even some gossip, and joking around, even though the time was pretty limited.

Thanks for the time today. Looking forward to the next time I see you and hang out with you, as you had promised. See you real soon. And your treat next time, hahaha! =)

tymeless

I know I haven't blogged in ages, plus I still have pending blog entries, but I can't wait for next weekend, so I just have to post this.

It's my first time to attend the annual Cebu Blog Camp this year, and became aware of this through Hendri, who had attended last year's blog camp.

Of course, I just had to attend. One of the primary reasons could be... well, I've been blogging for as long as I can remember. I started blogging way back in 2001 (yes, 10 years ago!), and I guess it's pretty apt to attend after 10 years of blogging. I'm pretty much an old-school blogger, as I love writing long entries without even bothering to create tags of any sort, and despite the fact that there are already convenient ways of microblogging, I still settle for old-school entry-writing, no matter how short some entries could be.

Second, it would be a good opportunity to travel and meet new people. My goodness, I'm finally going to Cebu, hahaha!

Next, the topics to be discussed are pretty interesting and useful. There will be talks on photography (shoutout to my DSLR camera sponsor for this trip, hahaha), travel and social media marketing. I think I saw a few other topics in the program as well, so it makes me even more excited. The lectures would be such great help to spruce things up in my blog.

Fourth, the event sounds really promising. My curiosity made me so persistent to go. Who knows, after the blog camp's over, I turn this into an annual trip.

One final reason is... Hmmm... what else? Well, it's nice to do something random and something that's not part of your routine every once in a while. And this is it for me right now. I'm traveling to Cebu alone just for the sole reason of being part of this event.

Oh, by the way, I'll be staying an extra day in Cebu, just in case anyone's there who's willing to adopt me and take me around the place, hahaha. I did hear that we'll might go island-hopping, so I sure hope that pushes through.

The Cebu blog Camp is an event organized annually by the Cebu Bloggers of the Blog and Soul Movement which is the educating leg of the Philippine Blog Awards Inc. which has been running for already four years. This is the largest gathering of bloggers in Cebu.

THE CEBU BLOG CAMP 2011

is co-presented by

Bronze Sponsors

Geiser Maclang Marketing Communications, Inc.

Media and Institution Partners

Official Online Print Media

Official Photo-Social Media Partner

DONOR

Academy for International Culinary Arts

tymeless

This is something I was planning to post on my Facebook wall as a shoutout to certain friends, but I believe it's more worthy of a cryptic blog post.

To the troubled friend, you know you're loved by all of us, so there's always someone when you're tired. I love you.
To the reproachful secret friend, you're confusing me because of changing minds by the day. But thanks for certain moments, and I miss you.
To the friend-in-law, I'm still wary of you ever since you stuck your nose in other people's business. I don't know if I could tell you anything or even trust you again.
To the mutual friend, I still get suspicious, but I apologize that I think those things of you. You know I still care.
To all my other friends, I miss you. How're you guys doing?

Yes, I still have pending blog posts, but I'll blog again soon!

tymeless

Yes, this post is overdue. This is actually a sort of reflection paper that Sir Dennis had requested that we give him after the workshop. I decided that this is worthy of a blog entry.

I had said to my fellow workshoppers at the beginning of the workshop that despite the fact that I’ve taken countless acting workshops, I’m fully convinced that it’s still not yet time for me to shine as an actor, so I keep reverting back to my usual safe backstage work.

Intimidation and inhibitions are my biggest obstacles when it comes to performing. Even though we were comforted with the fact that there are no right or wrong answers during the workshop(s) (especially considering that this is a rehearsal and performance techniques class), there’s always this big part of me that keeps holding back, afraid of making the wrong acting choices.

Then I always end up regretting that I did hold back. And I just wind up feeling frustrated that I didn’t get much out of the workshop, and primarily it’s all my fault.

Dive in. Don’t overthink. These are two of the several phrases that I keep hearing throughout this year’s workshop. I then realized what made me keep coming back to these classes—the hunger to learn the craft even more, the opportunity to make a character your own, the chance to explore different things, be it safe or unsafe, the magical and thought-provoking process of analyzing a script and getting those “aaahhh” epiphanic moments, and the feeling of accomplishment when recital came around.

The workshop class this summer was no exception. As a matter of fact, I felt more fulfilled this year.

I was glad to have Sir Dennis back to teach Rehearsal and Performance Techniques class this summer, as I have been sitting-in at TP Actors Company’s Script Analysis class the entire season. I felt as if I was left hanging when the season ended and we didn’t finish discussing the last play for the class, so I decided to join the RPT class once again. I told myself to stop holding back, as I always do at the beginning of every workshop. The problem with me was that I don’t seem to follow through all that much.

Having taken this class before, I already had an idea about some of the things discussed in the class. But I also knew that every class was still very different, and new things that were never discussed in the previous classes always come up.

Bit by bit, I told myself to learn and unlearn once again, and I should shed off my inhibitions. Go for the kill as I was told the year before.

For some reason, I wanted to get a good role this time, as opposed to previous shows and recitals. So whatever character was given to me for each scene assigned we were tasked to do, I tried my best to do what was given to us. I was always on my toes, and sometimes I still get this feeling that my performance for the day was mediocre. But it wasn’t the usual mediocre feeling of frustration. It was a mediocre feeling of wanting to do more. I do believe that’s quite a good change for me, so I guess I did grow up, acting-wise.

So I guess I was one of the most surprised in the class when I found out that Sir Dennis gave me the role of Gwendolen in our recital of Ang Halaga ng Pagiging Masigasig (his own translation of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest), the role that I was secretly vying for, even though I wouldn’t really admit it out loud. But well, of course, I was thrilled. Sir Dennis did say that he casted us according to who he really sees fit for the role, so I was mighty flattered, though bowled over, by his decision, as he had entrusted this particular role to me.

It was quite a challenge during the next few days, as we had only 3 days before the recital. It was quite an effort to develop our characters (despite our research), to flesh them out, and somewhat memorize all those lines during the meagre amount of time we had left to rehearse.

My frustration from my first RPT workshop was brought about by my being locked into the script. So with that in mind, I got to learn, unlearn and re-learn. And just dive in. Sir Dennis kept reminding us that it’s not all about memorizing the script. As long as we had done all the research and have our objectives in check, we will be saying our lines accordingly. And I realized that he was right. During parts of the play where I had graphed it intensively with my objectives, I had no problem with my lines. But when it came to certain parts when I didn’t do so much work, I struggled with the scenes and started groping for what I had to say next.

It was sink or swim during the day of the recital. We all struggled during the run-through, and I struggled with some of my objectives, and even my vocal projection (oh, how I easily forget the basics sometimes). But after the notes that we were given afterwards, I somewhat relaxed during the break when we were told to forget about the script for a while as we prepped up for the actual performance.

Being a flurry of nerves, anxiety and excitement, I just decided to focus my energy on my excitement to use for the show. I guess that was a good choice because once I jumped in, I actually enjoyed my time onstage, and felt really good about my performance. Even though I still barrelled through some parts (well, a whole group of us), especially during the third act, I still had a great time and felt more accomplished compared to my previous workshops.

During the final company call after the recital, I was still anxious about our facilitators’ feedback on each of us. Despite certain obvious things that I still have to learn and unlearn, it felt great when Sir Dennis had told me that I really should act more. And I trusted his opinion regarding this. I actually missed acting when I’m doing other work, and I felt this amazing high during our recital.

Over a late dinner after everything, Rayna had told me that during the recital, my objectives were clear, but I just don’t really follow through completely. In other words, I didn’t commit despite the fact that my objectives were obvious. I did take that to heart because I do know that was true, even in the general sense. If I did commit to everything I was doing onstage, I would’ve done a much better performance. If I did commit in my passion in acting, I would’ve been acting onstage a long time ago. And I really should take that to heart.

I do believe that I grew more during this summer’s workshop, and it’s just a matter of focus, commitment, and the willingness and courage in myself to just dive in and stop all the overthinking. Plus the encouragement from my fellow workshoppers helped so much as well along the way. And I’m grateful for both Sir Dennis and Rayna for letting me realize all these things and more this year. Here’s to hoping for more acting opportunities.

tymeless

I had first heard of the Cebu Blog Camp from Hendri, who had attended last year's blog camp. I got pretty curious about it, and part of me wanted to go, because, hey, I've been blogging for 10 years already. And, this is also a good excuse to visit Cebu. Heck, the last time I was there was when I flew in with Ate Sally to surprise the Doubt cast and crew, and we only spent quite a short time so I didn't really get to enjoy much of the place.

It took me quite a while to decide whether I really should go to the blog camp or not, because of course, I also have to think of my own budget for this trip. Thank goodness my referral incentive at work arrived, even though it was a little bit late. Once I got the incentive fee, I was off. I sent my registration and started checking airfare (though the rates got higher because the event date was pretty close).

I arrived at Cebu on Friday evening. Checked in at this guest house that mostly catered to backpackers, and it was pretty close to the venue of the blog camp.

I'm an early bird by nature, so even though it took me a while to have breakfast at a nearby fast food place in the opposite direction, ask around about how to get to Sacred Heart Center (despite my lack of knowledge of the dialect), the people behind the event were still setting up by the time I reached the venue.

For some reason, I felt like an alien just sitting there by my lonesome. It seemed like everyone was in a group or at least with a friend, and most were chatting in the local dialect. Thank goodness that by the time the venue had filled up with people, I didn't look like a loser sitting alone at my table, hahaha. Anyway, it amazed me how many bloggers there are out there, in varying backgrounds, interests and ages.

After kicking things off with a meet and greet (complete with own shameless plugging of blogs), on to the topics discussed.

First up was Photography 101, by Paul Gotiong. He discussed pretty basic stuff, really. I realized it was mostly things that were covered in photography class back in school. It was amusing how the die-hard photographers in the camp were suddenly tinkering with their DSLRs while the speaker was talking.

Next was Travel 101 by Estan Cabigas. He talked with such conviction, and I loved what he said that "Travel broadens the mind and enriches the soul." And of course, I totally agree that "bloggers blog for themselves and not for an audience." This really applies to me because I always find blogging therapeutic, and it's one of the primary reasons why I blog. I'm not really conscious of readers. If you read my blog, I appreciate your dropping by. If you don't, I don't mind.

There was a topic on Google and blogging by Aileen Apolo (who, I believe, is Philippines' Google country consultant). She discussed some stuff, or "cool tools that add oomph to your blog." Now there's a thought. Why am I not using those tools? Hahaha. Maybe because I still blog the old school way?

One of my favorite topics came up next. Bloggers' Etiquette 101, by Janette Toral. I love her. She was perky, she was so nice, and her points made so much sense, so here's a link to her own site about bloggers' etiquette. It's what every blogger should know when it comes to attending events. I especially liked what she said during the open forum about not blogging something that could possibly be a bad review. It's all about contacting the person privately bout your feedback, should you prefer not to publish something you didn't like. Tact is something bloggers (well, any human, for that matter) should be conscious about.

Another favorite topic in the camp followed this. Food and Restaurant Review 101, by Chef Anton Gomez. He spoke with so much passion, and I can't help but quote him on what he mentioned at the beginning of his talk. "It's an irony that the more you know, the more you don't know." And I liked that he said that chefs are open to criticism, so you have to be honest, which matters a lot.

Coy Caballes, the social media manager of Globe Telecom, then discussed Social Media Marketing 101. He talked about having a social media "diet," which consisted of its own appetizer, drinks, main course and dessert. They all made sense, and despite the fact that I was scribbling away during his entire talk, I suddenly find out that his talk is posted online on his Tumblr site and you can check it out here.

The final talk of the day was Social Media Marketing Via Facebook, by certified internet marketing expert Ruben Licera, Jr. My goodness, I didn't realize how much you can do on Facebook other than all that trivial stuff. It's a pretty good means of adding more traffic to your own website or blog.

I have to admit, I was pretty focused on the talks the whole time, and I guess because of that, I came off as too quiet or serious. At least that's what a couple of them had told me the day after, hahaha. They said that I looked pretty serious, also looking so prim and proper in a dress, and taking notes the whole time. Hahaha! That's a new first impression that I got. I had never seen myself as the prim and proper type. I think I'm actually the opposite.

In between the talks, there were freebies given away during open forums, and even though I got a freebie (courtesy of AirPhil Express) as one of the early birds at the beginning of the day, I wanted to take a shot at one of the Q&As. Haha, I ended up getting a Mozilla Firefox T-shirt as a prize, and wound up getting another one during the raffle.

After the entire thing, all of us posed for a group photo (hmm... who has a copy of the whole group?), then some people started mingling before they decided to leave. I shyly went up to Janette and asked for a photo op with her, and was too shy to gush about how I liked her talk. I did the exact opposite when I came up to Chef Anton next. I found out during his talk that he was originally from Manila, and then the world suddenly got smaller. As it turned out, not only was he from Manila, he was also from the South! We're actually from the same high school, hahaha! We ended up talking quite a bit about how to go about doing blogging reviews, considering I sort of do the same when it came to theater events.

Speaking of blogging theater events, I was actually surprised that not a lot of Manila bloggers came to the event. I was sort of expecting at least one blogger from Joriben's circle of friends to be there, because they are the ones I always see at blogging events (or at least at the press conferences that we attend).

I have to say, I enjoyed every bit of the blog camp, though I did regret not mingling that much. But the day that followed totally made up for it, and I'll blog about that later today.

Photos of the blog camp can be found at this album, so do check it out.