Livin high and takin it easy

First of all, I arrived late. It was a Friday afternoon and as in all Friday afternoons, traffic was busier than at any day of the week. I hailed a taxi and after seeing how bad the traffic was at Katipunan Avenue, asked the cab driver to take a longer route via Anonas, through Sikatuna and U.P. Villages and upon emerging at C.P. Garcia saw that traffic was bumper to bumper there, ended up taking University Avenue to get to the campus. I thought, if I had endured the traffic in Katipunan Avenue, I probably would have arrived sooner – but then I thought, and this was like some sort of inspired thought mind you, “Some days you make a wrong decision and you just have to live with it.”  No sense in being angry at myself or at anything else for that matter. An inspired thought that would echo itself all throughout the day or night… or perhaps even days or weeks or months to come.

At any other day I would be cursing myself and saying FML too, but I realized negative thoughts and feelings like that do not do much good.

Anyway, I ended up taking a seat somewhere near what was considered another backstage in the in-the-round blocking that Mara chose and realized that it was the worst possible seat to take – proven true by the photos I took.

These three were the best shots I managed to take. Yes, just three. No offense to anyone.. but myself perhaps. Some of them have the faces of the actors over-exposed and I couldn’t do anything about them, post-processing wise. Hohum.

Anna and Dan

Zaf Masahud as Dan

Olive Nieto as Anna

Anyway, I’m wondering right now if I ever get to post that blog about friendship that I came up with after that fateful Friday? Maybe not. It was not such a nice one.

All I remember from that day was that I stood around like a wallflower for maybe an hour. Then, not by choice, I took a jeep to Katipunan Avenue, hoping to hail a cab that would take me to Eastwood. When I got there, I found myself just one among the very many trying to do the same. (Hail a cab that is, though I’m sure not all of them were trying to get to Eastwood.) I walked from Starbucks to Bo’s – where at that point I finally accepted that hailing a cab would have to wait and got into the coffee shop to sit out almost two hours – just waiting for traffic to improve.

Suffice it to say that some friendships are not worth all the effort. Perhaps those are not real friendships at all.

Eric dela Cruz, Olive Nieto, Katte Sabate and Zaf Masahud

I am a big fan of Closer (the film since it’s the only one I have seen) but it’s based on a play. Mara Marasigan chose to do Closer for her finals in Directing II, taught by Dr. Alexander Cortez, this semester. Since it has my friends acting in it, I am heading over there to watch it and show support. Hope you guys have a good time and break a leg!

CLOSER
Playwright: Patrick Marber
Direction: Mara Marasigan

Cast:
Eric Dela Cruz (Acting II finals under Dexter Santos)
Olive Nieto (Acting II finals under Dexter Santos)
Katte Sabate
Zaf Masahud

Photo lifted from Nieto’s Multiply site. Click here for more.

Hey guys, I wish you also had a poster!

October  16, 3 & 7 pm
Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan (THY), Faculty Center, UP Diliman

ADMISSION IS FREE!

Wow, I remember this album. I got it for my 14th birthday. It was on cassette tape. A friend from Ateneo de Naga gave it to me. Was it the day or the day before or the day after, I have quite forgotten (sorry! hahaha!), my birthday and he and and another friend of his came over to my house in Pili with this gift. That was really sweet. I actually have this big smile on my face while I’m writing this.

And this was my song for Ryan, back in 2000. Cheesy!!!! Hahahaha. This was the song used for the AVP of the pre-nup photos taken by Gel Motilla for our October 2006 wedding.

Forgiven Not Forgotten (1995) Track Listing

1. “Erin Shore” [traditional intro, instrumental] – 0:27
2. “Forgiven Not Forgotten” – 4:15
3. “Heaven Knows” – 4:18
4. “Along With the Girls” [instrumental] – 0:49
5. “Someday” (The Corrs, Foster) – 3:51
6. “Runaway” – 4:24
7. “The Right Time” – 4:07
8. “The Minstrel Boy” [instrumental] – 2:12
9. “Toss the Feathers” [instrumental] – 2:50
10. “Love to Love You” – 4:08
11. “Secret Life” – 4:31
12. “Carraroe Jig” [instrumental] – 0:52
13. “Closer” – 4:05
14. “Leave Me Alone” – 3:40
15. “Erin Shore” [instrumental] – 4:14

I have Forgiven not Forgotten (1995), Talk on Corners (1997), In Blue (2000) and The Corrs Unplugged (1999). After In Blue, I became increasingly disgusted with their music and have not purchased any of their succeeding albums. Ryan got me the unplugged cd for Valentine’s Day (I think? hahahaha!) and it was one of my favorite albums to listen to while I was in El Nido. I and my friend and co-teacher Eric, would sit outside the house and he would play “Everybody Hurts” on his guitar for me.

I suppose this is another of those trips down memory lane. Excuse me for not forgetting.

One of Nick’s influences on me, which I get when I go over to their house to hang out and while away time, or to get adopted for a day or a night or, as it used to be when Ryan was out of the country and before I had the dog or even the baby, for a week.

This song was also on the soundtrack of the film Closer with Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Clive Owen. A film I absolutely love. I think I probably watched that movie five times. (Or maybe I should make it six times in a little bit…) Perhaps one of the reasons, aside from having Natalie Portman in it, is because it is based on a play. I kept thinking while watching the film, this could have been a wonderful play.. this looks so much like a play… etc. etc.. and when I looked it up, and so it was. Plays are just so fun!

Damien Rice’s albums O and 9 were probably playing on loop on my play list the entire year of 2007 and half of 2008. The Blower’s Daughter has been playing in my head again because I was in some form of conversation with a friend a few nights back and the phrase, “And so it is…” kept playing in my head.

I have to admit that I am a huge fan of Irish bands/musicians and Irish music (and perhaps even British). Haha. That dates back to high school with The Corrs’s first album, Forgiven not Forgotten, still my favorite The Corrs album to this day.

“The Blowers Daughter”

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can’t take my eyes off of you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes off of you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes…

And so it is
Just like you said it should be
We’ll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is
The colder water
The blower’s daughter
The pupil in denial

I can’t take my eyes off of you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes off of you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes off you
I can’t take my eyes…

Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?

I can’t take my mind off of you
I can’t take my mind off you
I can’t take my mind off of you
I can’t take my mind off you
I can’t take my mind off you
I can’t take my mind…
My mind…my mind…
‘Til I find somebody new

To see what Wikipedia has on Damien Rice, click here.

“9 Crimes”
(feat. Lisa Hannigan)

Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It’s the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It’s the wrong time
For somebody new
It’s a small crime
And I’ve got no excuse

Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright?
If u don’t shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright
With you?

Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It’s the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It’s the wrong time
She’s pulling me through
It’s a small crime
And I’ve got no excuse

Is that alright?
I give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright?
If you dont shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
I give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?

Is that alright?
I give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright?
If you don’t shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
If I give my gun away when it’s loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?

Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?

No…

I actually first saw this video at Nick’s place. I love, love, love this video. I remember that the first thing I did when I used to come over at Nick’s, after asking for brewed coffee of course, was to play this video and which was almost always followed by playing Jewel’s live acoustic video of Who Will Save Your Soul.. and sometimes followed by Maria Mena’s songs, if not Jeff Buckley. Hahaha.

Click to visit Damien Rice’s official website.

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