Unwell

I didn’t wake up with lots of energy today. It’s not that I wasn’t productive. As a matter of fact I was able to finish writing all my articles, and had sent my section in the paper to our artist for the layout task. Aside from this, I was able to please a client with an advertorial which I wrote to accompany their half page ad. But something is really wrong today. It might be the fact that I left my daughter feverish this morning. Or maybe it’s my dog’s broken leg that’s worrying me.

This morning, I had an upset stomach but I don’t know what caused it. I was munching on some cookies while writing an article when my stomach suddenly grumbled so I had to rush to the toilet and get rid of unwanted elements in my system.

After my toilet break, nothing much changed. I still felt the same and Matchbox 20’s “Unwell” played nonstop in my head. I thought I was only worried of the fact that I have exceeded the amount of tardiness an employee is allowed to accumulate in a month. See, I’ve been coming late (very late) to work since Monday. But then again, I’m not yet a candidate for suspension so I guess that couldn’t be counted as reason for feeling gloomy today.

I’m supposed to be happy for the record because this morning at work, all mothers such as myself received a flower from our marketing department. It’s their way of expressing how they regard us. I got a pink daisy. But you know what, just like me, my flower didn’t look so happy. What’s to be so thrilled about when you’ve done nothing but lie on somebody’s desk the entire day? She had her head bent with petals almost closing into a bud. I feel sorry that she had to be plucked from wherever she was originally just to be given to people like me.

On the other hand, I might not be the reason of my flower’s sadness. Maybe she’s just bored listening to me pound on my computer keyboard.

I guess today was simply designed to be boring.

Fuseboxx induced

I have long given up on the night life since becoming a mother. Truth is, I would always excitedly head home after work to be with my baby, and kiss my Sweetie before he leaves for work since he’s on the graveyard shift.

On April 18, 2008, however, I had to change my routine after Ed Mijares of Ballyhoo Records invited me to the anniversary of Fuseboxx, the unquestionably brilliant band that churns out progressive rock music. I’m not really a rock aficionado but I don’t abhor it. I just happen to be the kind who digs more into jazz ditties, the likes of Lou Pardini, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Lee Ritenour, Sergio Mendez, and Sadao Watanabe among others . But after hearing a Pink Floyd number from a former officemate, I found myself drawn into a surreal beautiful sound, which, I later realized was categorized as Progressive Rock.

What do I know about progressive rock? Nothing of course except that it has the elements of jazz and rock interestingly intertwined and addictive.

So, me and my friends at work headed to 6UG last Friday to rock to the music of Fuseboxx. While waiting for the main feature, two other bands called Eternal Love and Pulp Reason performed interesting numbers with catchy instrumentation. I particularly liked the violin part of Pulp Reason and the style of Eternal Love’s lead guitarist in handling his guitar. It’s as though his left hand was just floating on the fret, it’s fascinating how he can play that well without exerting so much effort.

Unfortunately, I failed to ask the two bands if they have an album out in the market. I kept procrastinating since Fuseboxx hasn’t performed yet anyway.

Finally, when it was Fuseboxx performing on 6UG’s platform, I couldn’t get my eyes off them. It’s like being hypnotized by their music but in a wonderful way. I especially liked how each number was heavily driven by Abby and Eric’s keyboards. At one point, Abby mentioned about being questioned by some people of their faith. So, they dished out a song that’ll prove they are no anti-Christ. It was a great piece with intelligent lyrics.

Fuseboxx’s energy rubbed off on everybody present in the room that even after having left 6UG, I could still hear their instruments playing loudly in my ears. I guess I had an overdose of Fuseboxx, which I truly enjoyed.

Educating preggy actress

I’m very disturbed. So disturbed with what people are saying about a young actress who’s currently pregnant with her first child and yet constantly goes out on dates. This girl, according to sources, enjoys gimmicks and events despite her condition. She’s not married yet so there’s no husband to control her social life nor does she has a steady boyfriend (well, this is what she tells the world).

I learned recently from a very reliable source that what the actress has been telling newspapers and showbiz talk shows about her platonic relationship with a handsome radio jock is untrue. The actress insists she’s just friends with the jock, but those in the know say there’s more to their relationship. The actress, according to our mole, frequents the work premises of the guy even if she has no business to be there. Maybe she has an album to promote, I thought to myself.

Being a mother myself, I’m worried about the condition of the child that’s developing in the actress’s body. Somebody must tell her that her activities and lifestyle now will greatly affect the child’s features, emotion, mind, and health someday.

In table conversations, some people say that the actress needs an outlet to recover quickly from her painful breakup with the father of her child. Is that why she goes dating the handsome radio jock? On the other hand, a male officemate who’s married and a father of a cute little girl tells me that a pregnant woman’s sexual urges are far greater than the one who’s not pregnant. I wanted to think of this as true but I didn’t experience it.

Having unpredictable moods I could understand. I’m lucky that my husband swallowed his pride and had the patience of Job in those nine months I was carrying our daughter in my womb.

I know that married women like myself are luckier than preggy actress because we have husbands who would take care of us no matter what. But not having a partner or a husband does not justify the actress’s actions. I bet she has a mother, aunts, cousins, and other relatives whom she can run to any time, right?

Books on pregnancy are everywhere or if she has an Internet connection at home, she could surf articles related to pregnancy. This way, she’ll know how to take care of the tiny angel growing inside her body and whose life she is solely responsible for.

I’m not being close-minded. I just know that this actress is capable of straightening her act if she wills it. I have friends who got pregnant out of wedlock, just like the actress, but they coped through a healthy lifestyle.

Beautiful vintage

A visit to the Adarna Food & Culture, a three month old restaurant situated along Kalayaan Ave., Quezon City, opened my eyes to the splendid beauty of vintage objects. At the entrance of this resto cum museum, I noticed two antique Singer sewing machines. My grandmother used to have one of these manual machines where she would sew the dresses and camisoles she designed for me.

Walking further into the alfresco area, I noticed arranged in one nook a tarnished Snowman ice crasher, wooden plow, wooden coconut scraper, a pair of boat paddles, and a gigantic wooden mortar and pestle which, I think, was used for rice in the olden times.

Moving through the premises, a wooden shelf close to the ceiling caught my attention as it teems with a number of old soft drink bottles like Cheers, Coco Vim, San Miguel, and Coke. According to Adarna’s Chef Giney, bottles that do not have symbols or ridges engraved at the bottom are from the 50’s era.

Adarna has two function rooms that unquestionably bear interesting themes. I entered the room which bore a movie theme so I basically enjoyed a trip down moviedom’s 50s and 60s era. Plastered on its walls are framed posters of Dolphy’s classic films, black and white photos of Sampaguita Pictures and LVN stars like Susan Roces, Rosemarie Sonora, Vilma Santos, Amalia Fuentes, and a lot others whose names I can’t recall.

Of all the beautiful objects at Adarna, I particularly liked the cut out ads from magazines and newspapers that have surpassed generations, administrations and calamities. Secured in either wooden or copper frames, these advertisements depict the evolution of the advertising world. From simple tag lines and images, advertisements have become rich in colors, elaborate designs and intelligent copies.

According to the ads that hung on the walls of Adarna, before Pepsi’s famous slogan, “The Choice of the new generation,” it used to banner “Everyone, everywhere drinks Pepsi-Cola!” Then, before there was “Always Coca-Cola,” Coke used to claim “It’s Nice To Get Together” and “Nothing is so Refreshing.”

Other notable antique print ads on the Adarna walls are that of Lifebuoy and Camay soaps.

Facebook addiction

I’ve never been this addicted to a website. But since my friend Avi invited me to Facebook, I feel as though I’m having a second childhood. I’m always too thrilled to check out my account. Truth of the matter is, I was able to get my work done in a short span of time yesterday. You know why? So I could log in to my Facebook to face all the challenges, quizzes and games that await me.

In no time at all, I found myself inviting all the people in my contact list to join Facebook, too. All of them! There are certain games that require you to invite friends before you can see the result of your efforts that’s why I was left with no choice but to bombard their inbox with invitations. Of course, coated with an enticing message so they won’t say no to me.

I just checked my Facebook account a few minutes ago and guess what, from being a vampire I turned myself into a slayer. See, the games get exciting every time!

It also serves as an avenue for book and movie reviews. So far, I’ve reviewed two books and one movie. I’m a huge Anne Rice fan so I opted to review her book “Lasher” but before that, I was inspired to write something about Mitch Albom’s “The Five People You Meet In Heaven.” Last weekend, I got engrossed in the 1999 Al Pacino flick, “The Insider” so I thought of sharing a few things about the movie.

Of nappy and raindrops

This morning, I woke up to a dark sky. I tried to assess the weather to see if it plans on staying this way for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t want to wear something for the cold weather only to find myself sweating in buckets when the angry rays of the sun start to appear during midday.

As I looked out the window, my daughter called me in her soft and low key voice. I propped her up on my knee and told her the sky is crying. She pretended to cry and let out an infectious laughter. I laughed, too, and held her closer.

Looking at the time, I figured the traffic would be very heavy since it’s a Monday. I wouldn’t want to come in late at work so I hurriedly put down my little Sonnet and told her I have to change her nappy and clothes. She refused with a sharp “Nah,” matched with a pout. I realized she was enjoying the moment and didn’t want me to break it just yet. I followed the direction of her eyes, and figured she was looking at the rain drops on the leaves of a tree which stood outside our window.

I told her softly that I’m going to let her drink from my glass if she lets me change her nappy but she whispered back, “Nah.” I told her I’ll let her eat from my spoon but she only remained quiet.

Finally, I told her to have a good look at the sky so my baby stared up. I explained to her that the sky is lonely that’s why it’s crying nonstop. When Sonnet’s curious eyes looked straight at me, I continued that the sky is lonely because she won’t change her diaper. And this could trigger skin irritation in her diaper area.

Of course, I knew this explanation won’t work. I just wanted to get her attention. You see, Sonnet likes it when I talk. So I told her in my casual tone that the sky has decided to cry all day, which means there’s no way she could swim in the inflatable swimming pool which her uncle brought home last weekend.

Sonnet swiftly got off the bed and… I’ve managed to arrive early at work;)

Fussing over percs (or perks?)

I grew up to my father’s musical instruments since he used to perform professionally with a band before he jumped into advertising. He had a guitar, harmonica, a set of bongo drums, drumsticks, cymbals, to mention a few. When I started school, I learned that these instruments have their respective families.

My music teacher discussed the three general categories of musical instruments namely wind, strings and percussions. Nowadays, it seems instruments that fall under the string family have become more famous than those in the two others.

Why? Because a lot of band members can identify the string instrument that they are using. For instance, you’re interviewing a band and you ask the names of its members. They would automatically say, this is blah blah on guitar, blah blah on bass, blah blah on violin, blah blah on cello, and so on. Isn’t it a blessing to reporters and music writers to bump into a band whose members have a clear grasp of their instruments?

I haven’t had the opportunity to interview a mainstream band that prominently applies a wind instrument into its music but I’m looking forward to interviewing one in the near future because I’m a big fan of wind instruments. I like saxophone in particular, it gives that jazzy mood. The flute and clarinet, on the other hand, bring back memories of my childhood. As a child, I used to listen to a cassette of Aesop’s Fables and I remember vividly that the background music came from a clarinet.

Now, on percussion… I noticed that bands nowadays overuse this word or it could be an excuse to cover up their ignorance of the function and names of instruments in this category. This was evident during an interview with a band who recently came out with an album. Before digging into their album, I asked the leader to introduce everybody and he says…this is ___ on lead guitar, ___on bass, ___ on drums, ___ on percs…

Percs? Perks? What percs? He was pertaining to a guy who had a conga in front of him. Why can’t the band leader just say the name of the instrument? What made matters worse is the sad fact that the band leader claims to be an artist. He says he is a serious artist in his craft, which is music, but he didn’t highlight the conga’s sound. I didn’t see the artist.

Perhaps, majority of bands know the importance of snare drums and cymbals already. As for those who have plans of experimenting with other percussion instruments, they have to first and foremost know the name of their instrument.

Music writers are not geniuses that’s why they conduct interviews to gather information. Heaven sent bands who can educate as well as entertain.

The man behind the ‘Old Photograph’

A while ago I’ve been searching for Sadao Watanabe’s song, “Old Photograph,” on the Internet but my efforts turned futile. Four years ago, I experienced the same thing while shopping for a jazz album for my father. I asked a crew at a Tower Records outlet if he can assist me in looking for Sadao Watanabe’s album which contains the song but he ’s not familiar with the musician so I gave up. I got Lou Pardini’s CD instead for my papa.

It was Summer ‘95 when I first heard “Old Photograph” over 105.1 Crossover, and I remember rushing to the phone to ask the DJ the name of the artist who performed it. He said Sadao Watanabe. I found out later that Sadao was the saxophonist but there was someone else who offered his voice for this number.

I thought of the man who sang “Old Photograph” as a rare talent. His voice is like no other. Okay, he may sound a bit like Stevie Wonder but there’s something else in him. His song and voice would always come to mind whatever it is I might be doing in a given time or day.

This afternoon, while working on an article, I found myself humming to the tune of “Old Photograph” and like always, I wondered how such a beautiful song can be nonexistent to the rest of the world? It seems it’s only I who appreciates it while the rest of the world are into thumping and noisier stuff.

Then I thought, maybe I should look up Sadao Watanabe’s website or even Youtube, there might be major improvement. I even asked the assistance of music buffs in the office.

Finally, out of the brilliance of our copywriter Avi, I found the man behind the mysterious voice! His name’s Warren Wiebie. I immediately went to check his official site only to discover that he passed away on October 25, 1998 at the age of 45. According to his info sheet, his mentor was David Foster and he had worked with the great people of musicdom during his lifetime such as Burt Bacharach, Tamia Washington and James Ingram, among others.

I guess I won’t be listening to any new song from Warren Wiebe, not in this lifetime. I’m left with no choice but to collect all his works and treasure them ’til my hair turns gray.

Unforgettable

Last weekend I saw the 2007 flick, “Beowolf,” on DVD. Initially, I was not impressed because I’m not a big fan of movies which apply CGI or computer-generated imagery. I can only appreciate this type of visual on video games but never in movies.

Moving on, I saw Anthony Hopkins and Robin Wright Penn so I decided to continue with this viewing session even though I’m not watching the real actors. But I didn’t focus on the early scenes of the movie. So what if the monster barges into the binging and drinking session of King Hrothgar to rip bodies and hurl human limbs. Sheeesh, I saw this before.

It was only upon seeing the main character, Beowolf, that I turned serious. When he said, “If we die it will be for glory, not gold,” I realized I have to see what this hero’s going to do with the monster, Grendel.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep. Surprisingly, I woke up with the line “If we die it will be for glory, not gold” echoing in my head so when night crept in, I opted to watch the movie again. This time, I made it a point to finish it.

It wasn’t bad, after all.

As I remember waking up with Beowolf’s dialogue in my head, I came up with a list of other movie lines that have had the same effect on me as that of Beowolf.

* “I made a promise and I kept it. Most people would have done the same.” (from “It Could Happen To You”)

* “I want some more” (from “Interview with the Vampire”)

* “If I know I am remembered that way, I can face anything, anything. You’re my immortality.” (from “Sweet November”)

* “I might run away without your permission and you might hate me forever, and I know that scares the shit out of you because I’m the only real thing that you have.” (from “Reality Bites”)

* “I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny? (from “Goodfellas”)

* “Lost love is still love, Eddie. It just takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t hold their hand, you can’t tousle their hair, but when those senses weaken another one comes to life…Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You hold it, you dance with it. Life has to end, Eddie… Love doesn’t – (from “The Five People You Meet In Heaven”)

* “I’ll wait for you. However long it takes. I’ll wait for you forever. – (from “Legends of the Fall”)

* “Death ends a life, not a relationship.” (from “Tuesdays with Morrie”)

* “My foot is telling me that I’ve been hurt by a shoe salesman.” (from “Only You”)

* Charlize Theron: You know, he asked me to marry him.

Jason Isaac: He’s not the first…

Charlize: No, but it was the first time I wanted to say “Yes”

- from “Sweet November”

* “Men… Can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em.” (from “St. Elmo’s Fire”)

* “You have to promise you won’t fall in love with me.” (from “A Walk to Remember”)

* “I’m smart and poor.” (from “Love Story”)

* “Love does not end just because you stop seeing each other.” (from “The End of the Affair”)

Why tables turn

I noticed a swift turn of tables when I started writing for Pinoy Gazette, a Filipino newspaper that has been circulating in Japan for 11 years now.

I remember writing for a mainstream broadsheet has made me feel like somebody from the royal family because whenever I want to interview a showbiz figure, his manager or publicist is always willing and able to arrange a schedule for me on the spot. If I badly need the interview, the manager would give me the number of her artist so I could secure the interview that instant. No sweat.

My entry to Pinoy Gazette changed everything though. Folks in PR offices, artist handlers and the corporate communications department of TV networks have become difficult to deal with. Their constant line would be, “‘Yong top 3 po kasi ang priority.” There were many occasions when I wanted to blurt, “Keep your top 3! FYI, I’m writing for an international paper. Damn you!,” but preferred to keep these words stored in my head for my own good.

My heyday with one of the top broadsheets in the country is now over and I had to gather stories and arrange interviews the hard way for Pinoy Gazette. It was difficult at first because I was so used to having an editor who provides me with all the contact numbers of people I would need to get my job done. She was very influential, after all.

After a couple of months, I found myself back on track! What’s more, I realized I’m working for a company that carries a noble cause for our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Truth is, it recently held a job fair alongside the grand launch of Access TV’s GMA Life TV (sister company of Q-11). You see, apart from being a publishing company, IPS is also the broadcast carrier of GMA-7 in Japan.

Below is a writeup on the said event which came out last Sunday in the Philippine Star.

Cherry Blossoms
CONVERSATIONS with Ricky Lo
Sunday, March 30, 2008

NAGOYA, Japan — Philippine Airlines’ PR 431touched down on Good Friday in this compact Japanese city at dusk after a four-hour-plus flight from Manila. Our group — with Kamandag stars Richard Gutierrez and Jewel Mische with their handlers, POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) director Nini Lanto and Aster Amoyo representing the IPS (International Placement Service) — was shuttled from a virtual oven to the freezer. Manila was sweltering hot while Nagoya was freezing cold.

After checking in at the Princess Garden Hotel, we had a hearty dinner (cholesterol-free, burp!) at a nearby restaurant, shoes off, and then we retired to our respective rooms for a dreamless sleep, waking up to a bright spring morning in a city with very clean streets (look, sir, no potholes!), very polite people (and honest, too; you leave your valuables at a restaurant and find them intact after several hours…and no cellphone-snatchers), and trees lining almost every lane. Paradise!

We were here for a joint event: The first ever job fair sponsored by the IPS, which is headed by the soft-spoken Koji Miyashita (who has homes in both Japan and the Philippines where IPS also maintains an office managed by Ms. Amoyo), and the launch of the second channel of the GMA Life TV which began airing shows (including, blush, The Ricky Lo Exclusives) of its sister channel Q-11 last month. (GMA 7’s Pinoy TV, the international channel, has been airing shows for a few years now.) The provider of both GMA channels is the Access TV of IPS which has expanded its services beyond job placement, and now including publishing (Pinoy Gazette and Access TV magazines, etc.), systematic overseas call centers and running a caregiver academy. The work force of IPS is 90 percent Filipino.

The job fair was kicked off at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 22, with POEA director Nini Lanto giving an inspirational talk. The venue, accessible by foot two turns away from the hotel, was packed full with Filipinos wearing contented smiles, some of them carrying Japino babies along with application forms as they hop from one booth to another, put up by the 70 participating companies.

And then came the GMA Life TV launch as finale. Glued in their off-hours to GMA (and now Q-11) shows, thanks to Access TV, the OFWs as well as the Pinoy migrants are familiar with GMA/Q-11 stars. When Richard and Jewel appeared onstage, the whole place erupted into wild cheers. Jewel sang first; Richard then joined her in a duet. Part of the agenda was a Q&A portion, with GMA/Q-11 goodies (T-shirts, bags, etc.) given away as prizes for those who answered correctly.

For almost two hours, our homesick kababayan had a grand time posing for photographs with the two stars and getting their autographs.

That same night, after a quick supper at Denny’s, our group took the bullet train for the two-hour trip (very smooth!) to Tokyo. We arrived at past 10 and retired to our assigned rooms at the Hotel Fontaine in the Shinbasi area.