Where I want to be...

Checked out the American Idol Compilation CD at Odyssey, but the song Carrie sang there is "Independence Day" rather than her grand finale song. If they featured that, I'd be willing to spend P585 on it. But since it wasn't, i'll just wait for her single to come out on the 14th of June.

Meanwhile, here are the lyrics to the song:

Inside Your Heaven
Carrie Underwood - American Idol 2005

I've been down
now I'm blessed
I've felt a revelation coming round

I guess it's right
It's so amazing
Everytime I see you I'm alive

You're all I've got
You lift me up
The sun and the moonlight
All my dreams are in your eyes

Refrain:

I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
When the storm blows your way
I wanna be the earth that holds you
Every bit of air you're breathing in
A soothing wind
I wanna be inside your heaven

When minutes turn
to days and years
If mountains fall
I'll still be here
Holding you until the day I die

I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
When the storm blows your way
I wanna be inside your heaven
Every bit of air you're breathing in
A soothing wind
I wanna be inside your heaven

Coffee and Society

Considering that our country is warm 80% of the year, it's amazing how popular coffee has become in the Philippines. The sight of people sipping hot lattes under the sweltering Manila heat is somewhat of a disjoint. But it's here, and it's real.

There are about 3 to 4 coffee shops in every mall; from the established multinationals like Starbucks and San Francisco Coffee, to local upstarts like Baang Coffee or Tsoknut Cafe, to fastfood chains trying to jump into the bandwagon like McCafe.

Yes, coffee has arrived.

But the most glaring example of how much the brew has been embedded in our culture and consciousness happened last Saturday. I was walking along Araneta Center when a scrawny little kid came up to me and said:

"Kuya, pahingi po ng pera pang-kape..."

Carrie-Ok!

Today's obsession: Watching Carrie's final performance.

I've been nailed to my screen, watching and watching and watching and watching Carrie's rendition of "Inside your Heaven" which is her first single that will come out on June 14. (Yes, I've been paying attention to Ryan Seacrest.

Her performance is just heart tugging. Loved it when her voice was breaking as she tried to hold back her tears. It was so sincere, so raw, so lovely... Just watching it is enough to move me to tears.

I think that song will move up to my "songs that make me teary eyed" list soon.

Congratulations, Carrie!

Madness!

There are two places you should see and/or avoid during a sale: Kamiseta and Janilyn. I passed by Ayala Center this lunch, and found out that they're having their midnight sale. As expected, those two shops are packed to the rafters.

While eating my favorite chicken nugget/fries combo at McDonald's, I created a story behind the madness that happens in these stores:

Episode I: Attack of the Shoppers

Fashion Holocaust! Style is about to come to an end!

Clothes as we know them are about to be annihilated from the face of the planet. Three days before the prophecized end, people are in a state of panic. Blinded by the thought of being a fashion victim the rest of their lives, they rush to the nearest centers of style and grab whatever they see. They eye two stores: Kamiseta and Janilyn.

Knowing that this is their last chance at perusing nice clothes and shoes, they mob the store and mindlessly yank clothes and shoes from their racks. Relentlessly, they fight tooth and nail to get that last bohemian skirt, sequinned tunic and knitted top. Unmindful of injury or cost, they snatch the remaining ballet flats, espadrille wedges and charrol pumps.

What's left is a store that appears to have been looted by hundreds of thousands of mad shoppers. Hangers are scattered on the floor, a few, remaining pieces of tops and skirts and strewn on the racks, and a couple of shoppers scout the area like vultures hoping to get the scraps left by the more voracious ones. This vicious cycle continues until 9pm. At this time, they are driven out by armed salesladies.

The stores close, and droves of disappointed shoppers leave. But tomorrow, they will be back.

IT'S CARRIE! WOOOHOOOO!

Underwood the Underdog prevails!

After an hour and a half of being glued to our TV sets at the office...
After enduring so many commercials and plugs about Star World's shows...
After numerous side comments on who should win and who will win...
After Simon Cowell said: "Thank you America for listening to me..."
After the suspense...

Yes, Carrie Underwood is the new American Idol!



Bo Bice is good. Bo Bice is great! But i've always had a soft spot for underdogs. That's why Carrie got my sentimental vote. Heck, if I were in the US, i'd call and vote for her. (Just like I did for Reuben Studdard when he went up against Clay Aiken.)

She's got that Trisha Yearwood/Leanne Rimes thing going on, and her voice is so polished. That's why I love her!

Congratulations Carrie. Now i'm singing her first single in my head...

"I, want to be the one to hold you..."

Strange Songs that make me teary-eyed

1. Anima Christi - This song was playing in the background during the last retreat I attended back in 1998. The activity that time was writing a letter to the person who meant the most to us, and in my case it was Mom. Since that episode, I get misty eyed each time I hear this song. Problem is, they play it most of the time during the 4:30 pm mass at Edsa Shrine. Ergo, I have to struggle and fight off tears each time I hear mass.

2. Biyahe Tayo - Yes, it's the Wow Philippines! theme song. During my last trip to HK, they played this song's MTV on-board the plane. After hearing it, there was a great sense of longing in my heart and I suddenly missed my country so much. Then I felt tears welling in my eyes, so the immediate reaction was to yank off the earphones lest people see a grown man crying in a plane. (Strange thing was, I was only gone for 4 days...)

3. Lucky - How in heaven's name can a Britney Spears syrupy pop ditty make a guy teary eyed? I have no idea, but my heart wrenches each time this song is played. Maybe it's the underlying story that no matter how perfect your life seems, there will always be something missing. Or that the concept of true happiness is something that no one will ever achieve. Or accomplishments really mean nothing in the bigger scheme of things. Nope, I haven't figured it out yet. But that doesn't stop the feeling from pervading.

Master and Padawan

On my way to the office, I passed by my Dad in the living room and gave him the customary morning kiss. He takes a look at me and says:

"Great look. I really taught you well."

Funny thing is that I was just reminiscing about Dad's first make over job yesterday.

Jean Therapy

Growing up, I had a disdain for jeans since they were heavy, stiff, and it'd be hard to move around wearing them. (The comparison was with shorts, of course.) Though I had a stash of pretty cool, bell bottomed ones (including the infamous niknik and bang-bang varieties), my first choice would be to wear my trusty shorts.

During my high school era, we were introduced to the concept of "Casual Fridays" and students would really look forward to this day when they're allowed to wear jeans with whatever funky top they'd find -- and during that era, the choice was a Top 40 shirt with either Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet emblazoned in front. But despite the fact that everyone was wearing jeans, I eschewed from the norm and still wore my cozy slacks. This was paired with penny loafers from Spain, and a checkered polo over a printed Top 40 shirt. (THAT bandwagon, i wholeheartedly jumped on.)

This fashion statement automatically branded me as a "nerd."

"Nerdhood" continued when I reached college. Since UP never had uniforms, it was "Casual Everydays" from thereonin. While this would have been a perfect opportunity to beef up the jean arsenal by running to the nearest Levi's store and buying all the 501s you can afford, I opted to go to our family sastre and had more slacks made. So my first 3 years in college saw me wearing slacks day in and day out and day in and day out.

What made this jeanophobia quite odd is the fact that my parents and siblings were all into jeans. I'd look at our old family photos and see everyone wearing their funkiest pairs of ultra-flared pants. Mom would have photos during her "Azenith Briones" stage, pairing slinky jeans with high-heeled shoes, a strappy top and a head band. Dad had so many jeans in his cabinet. My brothers and sisters would all have their favorite denims ready for any gimmick.

And I would have 2 pairs, relegated to the farthest corner of my closet. Never seeing the light of day.

It was during my senior year in college when Dad took matters into his own hands. He began enlightening me about the joys of wearing Levi's and how cool i'd look if only I tried wearing them regularly. To further prove his point, he lent me his jeans, shirt and shoes, making me the first beneficiary of the "Daddy Makeover Project."

After looking at myself in the mirror, I thought to myself: "Not bad..."

This didn't make me a convert, though. When I got my first job -- a creative one at that -- I still preferred chinos over jeans. Making me look more like an AE and not a Copywriter. There would be jeans once or twice a month, but nothing that regular. This carried on for the next 7 or 8 years more.

Now, more than 3 decades after hating jeans, I opened my closet and discovered that I have more than 80 pairs already, it might even run up to a hundred in a year or so if I don't stop browsing for and buying some more. It must have been all that pent-up jean emotion, but jeans are now as essential as breathing and eating. I'm now at home with jeans, and it has welcomed me with open arms (or legs) like the prodigal son.

Looking back, it was definitely worth the wait.

(Originally, i just wanted to write about a great pair of Bench jeans I got for my sister, and now this... Oh well, i'll just write about THAT later.)

Boy, does she have her acronyms wrong...

On my way home to Manila from HK, I was seated beside these two chipper ladies at the airport. From their conversations, (I don't know whether they were just talking too loud or i'm eavesdropping on them), these are the things I've gathered about them:

1. It's their first time to come home to the Philippines in 3 years.
2. They work as domestic helpers
3. Woman A left her daughter when she was 2 months old. During her first visit, she was already 4, and now she's turning 7. That's one of the reasons why she's visiting Manila, to celebrate her 7th birthday. (How sweet!)
4. Woman B paid HK$300 for excess baggage. (She's going to make SOOOOOOOOOO many people happy with all that pasalubong!)

But the highlight of their conversation was this:

Woman A: Naku, baka huli na naman yang flight ng PAL...
Woman B: Sinabi mo pa. Diba kaya nga tinawag na PAL, Plane Always Delayed...

Then I almost fell from my seat.

Erratum: Wella sounds like Wowie!

Obviously, this thing has been bugging me since I started working again.

Wella, as it turns out, sounds like Wowie! She's my college classmate, and as Prichy never fails to remind us, my first love team mate. Now, we're co-professors at St. Scholastica's. I love teaching in that school, aside from the fact that the kids there are intelligent, most of the faculty members are former classmates. It feels like a reunion every Saturday.

So why does Wowie sound like Wella? They've got that similar drawl in their voices, compounded by a little bit of colegiala-ish sing-songy delivery. It's actually very refreshing to hear. But there's a thin line between that and Kris Aquino. And I hope both girls won't cross that.

Wella sounds like Rache!

After trying to figure it our for more than 2 weeks, i've got it!

My new officemate Wella sounds like my friend Rache.

I suddenly miss her...

Mother's Day

Had lunch with Mother, one of my few and very good friends from the industry. It's always a joy getting together with her since every moment is a riot. What I love about her is that she's brutally frank. She tells things as they are, and for a Filipino, that's very refreshing.

We're also both very much into jeans, that's why we get along very, very well. This lunch time, we planned to go to Singapore come June so we can check out their annual sale. The great thing about buying your clothes abroad is the fact that you won't have that "OMG we're wearing the same shirt/jeans/any other article of clothing" moment. I've had my share of that, and while it's amusing at times, the novelty wears off easily. It would be very interesting to see what clothes we'll buy.

It's just mid-May and i'm already looking forward to our June soujourn.

Primera Exponer

This is it. Again.

I've been trying to come up with a blog ever since Arnie introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging some 2 years back. Getting started is easy, but sustaining it is the hard part. Heck, if I was able to sustain a very complex relationship, I think maintaining a blog wouldn't be that much of punishment.

Que es Destraido? (What is Destraido?)

It's a word my friends and I learned when we were in Mexico. It literally means "distressed" but contextually, it means "confused."

Yes, my life has been one big confusion. And I wouldn't have it any other way.