because i'm useless...

* Section 1: YOU YOU YOU! *
+ Known as: mic
+ Lives in: QC
+ Birthday: 17 November 1981
+ School: Asia Pacific Film Institute
+ Religion: Roman Catholic
+ Shoe size: 7 1/2
+ Hair color: dark brown
+ Eye color: dark Brown
+ hair Style: semi long

* Section 2 - Have you ever... *
+ Cheated on someone? nope
+ Been Cheated on? herm... sadly, yes.
+ Fallen off the bed?: haha... yes...
+ Broken someones heart?: sadly, yes.
+ Had your heart broken?: sadly, yes
+ Had a dream come true?: oh yes.
+ Done something you regret? haha always.
+ Cheated on a test? a quiz... yes. :P

* Section 3 - Currently *
+ Wearing? my house dress (a.k.a daster. hehe)
+ Listening to? : flowers by new radicals
+ Located?: library
+ Chatting with? no one
+ Watching? nothing
+ Should REALLY be doing? : pre-prod for Thelma! wahahahaha

* Section 4 - Do you... *
+ Brush your teeth?: uh... yeah
+ Have any piercings?: on my ears
+ Drive?: hahahaha... not yet
+ Drink?: sometimes
+ Smoke?: sometimes

* Section 5 - The last person you... *
+ Hugged?: mike
+ Kissed?: dad
+ IMed?: acky
+ Talked on the phone: raphael
+ Yelled at?: paulo (i wasn't mad, tho :P)

* Section 6 - Personal *
+ What do you want to be when you finish college?: a filmmaker
+ What has been the best day of your life?: oh wow... uhm... when my nephews came home from the states last year
+ What comes first in your life?: mi familia
+ Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend/crush?: yes
+ What do you usually think about before you go to bed?: 'Good night, God. Thank you for today, for tomorrow, and for the days to come. Love you. Please wake me up early tom. Tenks.'
+ Did you lose someone you really loved?: sadly, yes
+ How many times have you fallen in love?: a few times... :)
+ Love your family?: definitely
+ Love your friends?: oo naman

* Section 7 - Favorite *
+ Movie: (current favorite) cinderellaman
+ Song: (current favorite) everlasting love by jamie cullum
+ Store: sweet factory... yeahemeeee....
+ Sport: table tennis
+ Ice Cream Flavor: strawberry
+ Fruit: pomelo, watermelon, melon
+ Candy: chocolate covered gummy bears
+ Day of the Week: friday
+ Time: 8:00 PM
+ Color: yelo, horeynch

* Section 8 - Do you *
+ Like to give hugs? yes!
+ Like to give kisses? yes!
+ Like to walk in the rain? yes!
+ Prefer black or blue pens?: black fine point ones
+ Like to travel?: yep!
+ Sleep on your side, stomach or back? : stomach
+ Have a goldfish?: we have enormous ones
+ Ever have the falling dream?: haha... too many times
+ Have stuffed animals?: erhm... no.

* Section 9 - What do you think about... *
+ Smoking: *sigh*
+ Eating disorders: tsk tsk... thank god i'm over that...
+ Summer: Girls. by LFO. hehe.
+ Tattoos: i seriously want one. but i don't want to end up having a gross, wrinkly blot on my skin when i'm 70... so 'wag nalang.
+ Piercings: meant for the ears. anywhere else is just *ARAY-PUCH* for me.

* Section 10 - This or that *
+ Pierced nose or tongue? crap... did i not make my last point clear??
+ Single or taken?: taken
+ Sugar or salt?: salt
+ Silver or gold?: silver
+ Chocolate or flowers?: flowers
+ Color or Black-and-white photos? black and white
+ M&Ms or Skittles? skittles
+ Stay up late or sleep in?: stay up late
+ Hot or cold?: cold
+ Mustard or ketchup?: ketchup
+ Spring or Fall?: fall
+ Happy or sad? : happy!
+ Wonder or amazement? wonder

why oh why...

so mike and i had a super dinner at brother's burger last night. everything was perfect... from the strawberry milkshake... to the chili fries... to my big brothers burger with wasabi mayo and cheese (yummmm)... when suddenly, the most unappetizing acoustic rendition of Beauty and Madness began to play in the background. *grumble*

now before i go on, i want to make clear that this is not an entry of absolutes, but of relative taste and opinion... particularly mine (and mike's). to those who know and actually like the aforementioned rendition, go on and love it. you are not less of a person this way, and like anyone else, are entitled to have your own taste in music. okay?

okay.

i have nothing against renditions. it isn't even that pinoy artists these days cannot write their own songs, as how some think. you see, when i performed with afaw and jologz (mwah! i miss you two!) not long ago, our playlist would consist of 99% remakes of pop songs. this was mainly because we were there to entertain an audience who favored such music more than anything. and being the hired, professional performers that we were (are), we gave what our paying customers and bar owners demanded... "gig faves" or songs we now hear on the Nina Live! and MYMP Versions albums (hmmm...).

having said that, i understand why albums that contain cover songs through and through are produced. i accept and even appreciate beautiful renditions for what they are. what i do not enjoy, however, to the point of near-death frustation, is the lack of respect and humility of some artists who think they can sing just any song they wish to sing... like this Beauty and Madness rendition that almost made me throw my delicious big brothers burger at the nearest speaker. i felt like wrecking the cd player of the establishment out of pure aversion. mike, who is a diehard Fralippolippi lover, was worse. he wanted to leave the restaurant immeadiately just to look for the artist who did the rendition and beat him to death. hehe.

SERIOUSLY... if you cannot do justice to it, WHY BOTHER RUINING one of the most beautiful songs ever created in the history of new wave music? why bother ruining ANY beautiful song for that matter? augh. there is no doubt that these artists can sing. they are VERY good singers, in fact. what i don't understand is why some of them refuse to accept that some songs just don't suit their vocal range or timbre. it frustrates me when i think about the number of artists who commit this mistake of trying to sing everything. and it upsets me more when i think about the PRODUCERS who are responsible for the outcome of such recordings. for it is one thing to give in to the demand of an audience, but it is a totally different matter to disgrace such timeless pieces like Beauty and Madness. it is so selfish and just soooooooo wrong. grrr.

simon cowell of american idol kept saying that a true performer is judged, not by the magnitude and complex-ability of one's voice, but by one's choice of songs that bring out the beauty of his voice. i hate the guy sometimes, but i can't help agree with him on this one. this point is exactly why i hate the artist i heard last night, and why i admire the likes of kitchie and barbie... who usually sing their originals, but (when the need arises) make it a point to choose cover songs they know they'll do justice to. these are the artists and performers that, i feel, are worth respecting. these are the musicians who create and re-create music, not to make money or acquire fame, but to reveal their love and reverence for music. so much humility in their songs... so much heart and soul. totally inspiring.

sigh.

i only wish that recording artists today, who are undeniably talented, discover that the secret to winning the hearts of their audiences is to dig deep within themselves and know exactly what it is they have to offer to the world. after all, we can only give what we have, and what we have, we must hone to perfection. i believe that THAT is the mark of a true artist.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The End by The Beatles

HOLY COW!

got this from my favorite billy boy.
check it out.
it's sooooooooooo cool, i wanna die. :P

i'm home alone.

and i just ate this huge bag of (contraband) knick-knacks that my nephew left in our kitchen earlier today. hehe. (thanks raf.) i haven't indulged in anything chocolate-y in weeks. i tried going on a low carb, absolutely-no-sweets diet... which kinduv worked for a while. too bad my adamant cravings kicked in today. i couldn't resist the chocolate rum cake that kuya and tess brought for lunch. yuuuhuuuuuuum. oh well. one cheat day wouldn't hurt.

anyway.

it's been a while since i pried on other people's lives. hehe. i've forgotten how much fun it is to have no life, and to just sit in front of your computer to blog-hop, friendster, and multiply the night away... and have cheesy boyband songs play in the background. hahaha. talk about sick, guilty pleasure.

no, seriously... while some people think its lame reading blogs or user profiles and stuff, i think they're a great way of being in touch with long-lost friends. just today, i got this personal message from a grade school friend of mine, who is apparently married already with kids and living in switzerland. i couldn't believe it. it was crazy-great and surreal to have heard from her. just goes to show that the whole friends-networking "craze" isn't really just a craze after all. i mean, it ACTUALLY works. can't help but think how much these friendster/multiply/blog people are making, if anything at all. noh?

so as i was blog-hopping... i came across this at hogi's and decided to give it a go. it's quite interesting. made me reflect on how i've lived my life and how i see myself living it later on...


then and what's to come

20 Years Ago (1985)...
i was three and half years old. i was still the youngest in the family, and i imagine ate erika hating me for this... hehe. i was a small, skinny, ugly, shy little kid who couldn't live without her little stinky dried-up-saliva-smelling pillow. i would cry every time they washed it clean. haha. gross. most of my days were spent at home with lola paz or mom or my yaya while all my siblings were in school. i think this was the time i started having imaginary friends. yebbah.

15 Years Ago (1990)...
i was in grade 3. good gosh. this was when i started hating math. and spanish. my math teacher was the epitome of a pressure cooker. i hated her and her damn multiplication table, which i never mastered because... argh... i dunno why i never mastered it. i hated math.
my spanish teacher naman was this terror of a woman. she'd make some of my classmates eat chalk, or she'd throw a live stapler at us every time we made a mistake at pronounciation. it was crazy.
ooh... grade 3. i was a master at the monkey bars at this time. haha. i knew how to twist and turn and walk over the bars with ease. it was quite impressive at that age, mind you. i was also one of the sought-after patintero players in my batch. i was really small, but i was fast and ran like a cayote. heehee.

10 Years Ago (1995)...
first year high school. it was cool to wear the "big girl's uniform." sure, it was still screaming GOLDILOCKS, but it fit and felt better than the grade school uniform. i started getting serious with my academics at this point. i did well in all my subjects, even in math. haha. was also part of the volleyball varsity and the music ministry. yeaaah... was a nerd in high school. didn't care so much about boys. don't know why.
oh. and there was EMC (Eileen, Mic, Cherry). was friends with these two lovely girls and we formed a trio singing group to perform for linggo ng wika back in grade 6. in high school, we kinduv became in demand. we'd get invited to sing for these variety shows and events where we sang songs like Nandito Ako of Lea, Kailan of Smokey Mountain (wahaha), and I Wanna Dance with Somebody of Whitney Houston (double-wahahaha). lumabas ang star complex ni micster! haha. gosh. it was so... haha... so... it was so long ago... :P

5 Years Ago (2000)...
awww 2000. college in ateneo. this was probably my best year there. i became part of the blue rep and ACMG family. i met the all original fiddler's green... my favorite bunch in the world. i fell in love (eeeh. gross). i was in the dean's list (the one and only time. haha). i learned to drink, smoke, and party EVERY day and night. haha. i experienced COLLEGE in 2000. it was great!

3 Years Ago (2002)...
ah yes... the beginning of my 3-year-karma period. i was a busy, busy girl who enjoyed the stage. fiddler's green was becoming quite famous. we had gigs left and right, it was wild. was also really active in blue rep - there was Company Call, which was SO MUCH FUN, and Into the Woods. i loved playing Cinderella, but i swear... i cannot talk to imaginary birds for crap. ugh.
despite of all the action, or maybe BECAUSE of all the action, i committed a bunch of mistakes... and caused my parents a lot of headaches. heehee. wild, wild year, is all i can say.

Last Year (2004)...
two words: solitary confinement. sigh. was depressed and obscenely overweight. it was the first time i hated anyone that i loved outside my family. THAT was quite monumental. i've never had to deal with trust issues the way i did. it was an emotionally low year. but then the the Tos came home. that was also quite monumental and timely. having raf and matt here at home helped me in ways i cannot even express. and of course... that trip to the states with dad proved to be the best breather ever. i love my daddy.

i realized last year how lucky i really am. :)

Today (Sept. 25)...
my cheat day. bow. heehee. ateneo lost against la salle. kuya paulo cried. i felt bad for the blue eagles, but i think i was snickering inside. herm. I UPDATED MY BLOG!!! HOORAAAAH!

Tomorrow...
ah hah... good thought. "tomorrow... tomorrow... i love you, tomorrow... you're always a day away..." wow. those lyrics seem stupid when you type 'em up. hmmm. TOMORROW. i will work on Thelma. God help me please with Thelma...

Next Year...
i hope to be living the wise words of Confucius who once said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." yeah beybeh. let's work it!

got cheese?

this was when ms. 80% met #58...


january 2005.

direk abaya forms the class into smaller groups for production and he and i end up in one group. we gather for our first meeting and...

him: where'd you study?
me: ateneo... why?
he glares.
him: i meant high school...
me: oh. that's so strange. noone ever asks me that anymore. uhm... poveda. why?
him: nothing...
me: hmm. okaaay...

he glares at me again... like i said something wrong. i smirk and shift (most of) my attention to another groupmate who is discussing potential group names.


one week later.
it is like any normal evening -- michelle and manay are cleaning in the kitchen, my nephews are screaming the night away, their parents are crying for rest, gab is chatting with her genrev friends downstairs, ate er is watching jay leno on ETC, mom is cramming on some paper, and dad is typing yet another press release. i'm in bed, pondering on the wonders of film school and approaching dreamland, when i receive an unusual text from him.
you still up?
i stared at the message in shock. wow, i thought. this guy must be in desperate need to text ME of all people...
and so i replied... yeah. you okay? what's up?
minutes pass. nothing. i decide to sleep... it was probably a missent message...

or not.
i wake up the next day to an apology text message from him. no signal daw kagabi. apparently, he's in boracay with his family and he's bored to death. this guy is too weird to be bored in boracay. but it's all good. it's fun texting with someone new. besides, it's not like anything's gonna happen... he's younger than me (yeah... i have this thing with having things with younger guys).

one week later.
our group (pustiso productions) is meeting in the classroom. he is finally back from boracay. out of nowhere, the one and only robi joseph interrupts...

robi: OH MY GOD! MIKE ALARILLA! TIM!!! it's mike alarilla!
tim: uh... yeah, robi...
me: you know him?
robi: he's my batchmate kaya in southridge! DUDE!!! ikaw pala yun! si alarilla! diba they do that roll call...? in alphabetical order? i always wondered who "ALARILLA" was... ikaw pala yun! shiyet! small world!

we all laugh... but all i could think about was, he's NOT younger than me?

me: you are SO not 19 kaya... how old are you ba talaga?
him: *big smile* 21?
me: but i thought you were batchmates with robi...? he's 24...
him: *big smile*
me: *smile* you're such a liar...

*can you smell the cheese bubbling? hahaha!*


one week later.
i'm sitting in front of my computer, cramming for our screenwriting homework, when my phone rings. APFI MIKE blinks from the LCD. i wonder...

me: hello?
him: hi!
me: wassap?
him: hi! are you done with your homework?
me: almost. i'm finishing it now... why?
him: i can't think of anything to write!
me: hello?
mike: hello?
me: you're choppy... hina ng signal dito... are you home ba? landline nalang...
him: uh... okay... uh...
me: i'll call... what's your number?
him: huh? uh... you?
me: yeah... game... what's your number?
him: (his number)

i dial... ring... ring....

me: hello, may i please speak with mike?
him: mic!
me: o what's up?
him: homework! i can't think of anything!
me: o nga eh... hirap talaga mag-isip. have you started at least?
him: uh.... no. wala talaga eh...
me: ano ka ba... you have to start somewhere.
him: what's yours about?
me: (laughs) from past experience... its stupid...
him: wow. share...

...and i did. we put the phone down 3 hours later (i was late for class for the first time. hehehe).

life has never been the same... *big smile*

silly, silly comeback

achoochoochoooooooooooooooooooo...
*mic bats lashes*

i swear by the life of dudut that i will post a sensible update tomorrow.


good night world...