The Dismantling of a Building is Making Me Sad

There is one old building here in Manila that is being dismantled and pulled into pieces.  I am quite affected by this demolition simply because this structure has been part of my young college years.  Being just across our campus, I have always tagged this marvel as the extension of our college grounds. 

Me and my collegemates then has considered its spacious airconditioned lobby as our place of solace, our relaxation spot and our undisturbed hideaway.  We truly adore the clean and spotless toilets which were way better, fresher and tidier than the lavatories in our campus.  During cram periods, instead of going to the library, a quiet corner within the building has been our retreat to focus on reviewing prior to an intense exam.

iconic piece of architecture (photo not mine)

hey! that’s our usual spot!

The building’s large cafeteria was our go-to dining hall every time our school’s canteen serves super oily, flavorless and unsavory dishes. The only thing that we seem to have failed to do was to hold the actual class inside that building!

The long airconditioned hallway of the ground floor from the main entrance leading to its side door has been me and my classmates’ short-cut route when we want to go to the nearby mall.  My college mates may not know this but I personally admire the huge old trees outdoor that surrounds the building and I gape and ogle towards the gorgeous art pieces (sculptures & mural paintings) that lies and hanged around the main lobby.

the facade of the main entrance… (photo not mine)

miss those quiet spots

This building has been so part of my college life.  Me and my classmates even celebrated a milestone with this building because its marvelous auditorium was in fact the venue of our baccalaureate mass and graduation rites when we finished our college degree in the old Manila Doctors College. 

And lately have I only known that the stunning auditorium was renowned for its excellent acoustics.  I never knew that this auditorium was done by the same engineers who did the Sydney Opera House.  If I only knew then, I should have instead sung an enchanting song when I was tasked to deliver the graduation speech during our college graduation rites.

with those acoustics, i should have sung a song!

philamlife building u.n. ave.

With all these memories and recollections, the ongoing ripping into pieces of the iconic and magnificent Philam Life building along United Nations Avenue in Manila is truly making me sad.

Eurovision’s Woman On The Stick Stunned Me

Despite not being European and is 100% Asian, this is my 3^rd (not consecutive) year to be hooked by Eurovision.  First was being so engrossed and excited for the performance by Dani Im in 2016 and having to fall in love with the romantic winning song 2 years ago from Portugal. 

This year was of a totally different reason.  I was so entranced and captivated by the performance and staging of the song entry from Australia.  Here’s why and let the video speaks for itself!

The staging I guess has never been done in the past Eurovision contests.  And it takes lungs and a diaphragm of steel to sing precise high operatic notes while standing, swinging and swaying on a 6 meter pole.  That woman slayed it!

Zero Gravity performed by Kate Miller-Heicke genuinely feels what people would consider a total enjoyment which for me is another Eurovision appeal.  Too sad this entry did not win (maybe because Europe is not ready and has not accepted yet that a Eurovision show will be held outside Europe) but Australia’s 2019 entry has definitely blown me away!  She kicks ass up there on the pole!

stunning!

zero gravity!

 

Parang gusto ko i-perporm yan sa susunod na Krismas Parti!

Dear Evan Hansen: My New Musical Favorite

I don’t remember how I got to know Dear Evan Hansen, the musical.  Maybe it is because I so love songs from various musicals and I adore Broadway musicals that is why my algorithm just simply popped Dear Evan Hansen on my internet searches in the past.

And since I live half-way around the world away from New York City, I just have to satisfy myself from listening to the beautiful soundtrack of this musical and watch snippets on YouTube of Ben Platt singing the musical’s songs on American TV shows.

where majority of the letters were written…

stole a shot at the end of the show

the cast…

One of my workmates can attest that I am a fan of this musical because when he (Chef Juan Carlos Lima) travelled New York for a short holiday 2 years ago, I actually asked him to buy me a souvenir shirt of Dear Evan Hansen. Chef Juan Carlos when I was showing him the photo of the Dear Evan Hansen shirt looked so puzzled and so funny because he does not have any idea on what I was talking about.

But now that I am in New York, I promised myself that no matter what, I will have to watch this award-winning musical.  And I did not fail myself because last Wednesday I got to actually see it at the Music Box Theatre!

Its an Experience!  Only the stone-hearted will not be moved by this musical.

where it’s running…

Dear Evan Hansen though profoundly contemporary will definitely struck everyone’s inner chord.  Everyone can actually relate to the story and there seem to be like an Evan Hansen in all of us!  And I agree to the popular reviews in past that it will instantly pierce the viewers’ heart and will burrow it through to their consciousness.  I for one was crying.  As in like C.R.Y.I.N.G!  I was like having waterfalls on my freaking face! And I was not the only one who was crying because I can actually see and hear people in the audience sniveling, sobbing and clearing their snot!

May you be a young or an old person, a parent, a person with or without a parent, a student, a worker, a friend, a person with insecurities (which everybody got), a person who feels being like an outsider (who hasn’t?), Dear Evan Hansen definitely is one of the most relatable musicals I have ever seen! Even on the first song, you will already be so hooked because it is way too relatable!  It is as if the musical knows us so much and was written about each and every one of us.

I thought I already saw my favorite musical when I was here in New York four years ago.  Well, I guess that has changed.  And I think it would take a very beautiful masterpiece of a musical to topple Dear Evan Hansen as my favorite.  Dear Evan Hansen is clearly an EXPERIENCE!

my playbill… love it!

#youwillbefound

I only have one wish now that I have seen Dear Evan Hansen.  And that is someday, this great musical arrive the shores of Manila because like what the musical says…‘no one deserves to be forgotten’.  And when it arrives in Manila, I will be one of the first persons to watch it again.

Ang galing! Peyborit!

Boyzone Now at 2018

Me and my younger sister Joie last night saw the Manila leg of the Irish pop band Boyzone world tour and farewell concert.  And since the songs they performed were so familiar to my ears, the general feeling after seeing the whole show was like catching up with an old bunch of friends who visited me and my sister after a very long time. 

i admit, i love their songs…

I had the ultimate fun watching Ronan, Shane, Mikey and Keith perform!  The show was no longer about their youth, no longer about their looks and no longer about the winking of their eyes to the screaming audience.  The concert was more about their music, it was more about their friendship and it was more about their appreciation towards their fans and the audience in this side of the planet.  And the feel-good vibe kind of interaction with the audience was very delightful.  It was more of a grown-up affair.

Since this now-mature boyband amassed numerous hit songs (unlike bands with only one or two recognizable songs throughout their repertoire), a Boyzone concert will always be sulit (translation: a good deal and worth every penny) that the audience paid for.  I and my sister were actually singing along all throughout the show!

Boyzone may no longer be a boy-band that get their fans’ hormones intensely soaring but since their music will always be part of my past, this Irish pop group seem to have transformed into some bunch of good old friends who has been gone for quite some time. 

dahil early bird, photo op muna!

At dahil piling ko prends ko sila, gusto ko na silang utangan.

Olay Broadway Lovers/Haters Test

Here’s some silly theory! 

To test if you’re a fan and love Broadway musicals, you would be able to finish watching and listening to this non-sense of a product face-cleanser commercial. 

But if you just stopped and suddenly scrolled down or continue with web surfing while in the middle of this Olay commercial, it only signifies that watching at least 1 Broadway musical will never be or has never been in your bucket list.

I bet you watched the whole thing! I’ve seen the commercial and finished it 3 times.  And I can’t wait to wash my face!

Kaloka! Nan-sens pero tinapos ko tri tayms!

Khaoniao Mamuang: Best Thai Dessert

I can no longer count the number of times that I have posted in this blog that my favorite course in an entire meal would be the dessert.  The confectionery course has always been my main course!

When I was in Bangkok with my mom and sisters, we of course got to try Thai dishes.  I have always revered how uniquely sensual and remarkably palatable Thai dishes are.  But still, it is a simple dessert among all the striking Thai dishes that really makes my modest and artless taste buds happy.

I love Khaoniao Mamuang.  Don’t be fooled by how the words were spelled and how should it be read.  The best Thai dessert for me is simply known as Mango Sticky Rice!

I adore this dessert for it is uncomplicated, simple and straightforward!  No lavish implements are needed for its presentation; no rare, pricey and uncommon ingredient is need; no knotty and confusing procedures are required for its preparation; and, no intricate and confusing way of eating and enjoying it.  Yet the taste is so heavenly! 

mango sticky rice in the past are simply sold by street vendors of bangkok, but now it is conveniently available in groceries and supermarkets…

a night in bangkok…

It was my fifth time in Bangkok about a week ago.  I may have failed to revisit some the beautiful and spectacular tourist spots of the city, but I never failed to eat, savor and enjoy the divine and blissful Khaoniao Mamuang!

Uulit ulitin talaga…

For Forever by Ben Platt

The songs and music of Dear Evan Hansen (the musical) is giving me reasons to want to fly and spend another beautiful adventure in the city of New York.  And while I try to find a window on y very busy schedules on the possibility of flying to NYC, I let myself be satisfied on playing and replaying the musical’s soundtracks in my Spotify account.

And when I saw this performance in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, it further my wanting to fly to NYC.  This I guess is the best performance that this song can possibly be sang!  From the faultless singing to infectious involuntary facial twitches and from the impeccable lyrics to the seamless exhibited raw emotion, his rendition in this video can simply be spelled as P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I will really be upset in case Ben Platt, nominated for Best Actor in a Musical, will not be awarded the Tony this year!

Kaiyak… Perpek!

A Walk at The Castro

Stupid as it may sound, but my preconceived idea of the gay mecca in America is that the streets are filled with pink elephants, happy unicorns, colorful fairies, gentle dragons and sparkling angels.  All of these were erased when I got to walk the streets of Castro District in San Francisco.

smile….

rainbow land!

rainbow!

The Castro is considered San Francisco’s (if not USA’s) gay-friendly epicenter.  It actually has glitzy bars and restaurants, flamboyant shops and of course a historical theater.  You would know that you have entered this area when lampposts are donned with rainbow flags and zebra lanes are in rainbow colors.

But what I had was a quiet walk in the Castro.  I was nevertheless left to realize that the area is a thriving marketplace for all things gay.  While I grasp on the sidewalk historical plaques/markers representing past LGBT icons, it was not difficult to recognize that the area is catered to people who identify with the LGBT culture. Actually, passing through a coffee shop seated outside were two young men kissing.  And wall murals and posters abound in the area about gay rights and human rights.

at the steve harvey plaza, milk!

love wins…

The streets may have been calm and quiet on the time of my visit, but I can truly feel the lingering colorful gay spirit in the atmosphere and the unabashed zest for life of The Castro.

Lab wins…

Wicked (the musical) In Manila: A Wickedly High-End Run

This will most probably be one of the last write-ups of Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz musical as it ends its latest run here in Manila.  Me, my sisters and Nengkoy (of course) had the awesome opportunity to catch and watch the last performance night here in Manila.

We were of course bedazzled and captivated by the sheer magnificence if the costumes, the colors and the music of Wicked.  But I will not write anything about the musical for there has been millions of it in the web.  Instead, let me deliberate on the venue and the people on the night we watched the show here in Manila.

Unlike my sisters and Nengkoy, it was my first time seeing a musical show in Solaire Theatre.  I have seen a couple of shows in Broadway, New York but never was I been so stunned and dumbfounded by the high-endedness (is that a word?) of Solaire.  The theater was so modish and dashing there were moments when I doubted being in poverty-stricken Manila.  While waiting for the ushers to allow us inside the actual theater, the well-lighted foyer area was played with chic jazz music.  I never noticed or heard stylish jazz or muzak being played at the measly lobby and waiting areas of New York theaters. In some New York shows, we the audience actually have to queue at the cold and dusty side street.

nengkoy & my wicked sister with her high-end bag! bag lang nya ang high-end sa amin nung gabing yon. hahaha!

pictures muna

me & my sister… defying gravity…

And what further dumbfounded me were the rest of the audience.  Everyone was well-dressed for the night.  Well-dressed, I mean well-dressed.  Gentlemen were in their crisp long sleeve shirts with matching coat and necktie while the ladies were dressed to the nines.  Some ladies were even donning in elegant gown and seem to have been to some pricey beauty saloon prior to the show just to watch Wicked, The Musical.

I was actually so shocked, wearing just a polo shirt and my old dungarees, I could not control my utterances about the theater and the people.  I told my sisters that I have seen a couple of Broadway shows in New York but the atmosphere was never this chic, high-end and elegant.

Buti na lang di ako nag-tsinelas.  Taray… Walang ganyan sa Nyu York!

Sneak Peak at Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour

Bow down bitches!!! Her Madgesty is coming soon!!!  Here are two teasers of Madonna’s upcoming Rebel Heart World Tour.

Are those pole-dancing nuns?

It’s still seven months to go before Madonna performs here in Manila, yet this early, I am already freakin’ excited.  I still can’t believe that I already got myself a ticket!

Ay kent weyt!