I have, by default, a strange kind of fondness with people born under the sign of Cancer. They are motherly, nurturing, and loving. But can also be overly sensitive, highly emotional and dramatic. But I know how to deal with that. In fact, I love that about them.
I grew up in a home where there were two of them, and everyday, I would find myself learning something new about their psyche. There was drama at any given time, and most of the time it drove me nuts.
Today, the three of us are living in different parts of the world (the fourth of us is in heaven), but that's not enough reason for their flare for drama to wane. It no longer drives me nuts. It makes me smile and say, "I wouldn't want it any other way." Funny as it may be, that is the kind of love that transcends time and miles and miles of distance and gives me comfort and joy at any given time I may want it, or need it.
And these two---
are love, personified.
Happy Birthday to the most beautiful Cancers on the face of the earth!
Dear readers, please help spread the word! The more, the many-er. ;-)
---- Today can't be manic. The week ahead is gonna be very, very hectic, and I need to pace myself so that I may be able to sustain this whole stretch, and still live to see my next day off, which, hopefully, will happen before April starts.
Tuesday & Thursday, Saturday & Sunday-- Auditions: Oliver!, for HK Singers (will be performed in June 2010 at the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre)
Audition dates:
Childrens Workshop - Saturday 23rd January and Sunday 24th January - (3 sessions each day at 3:15pm, 4:15pm, and 5:15pm)
Adults Audition - Tuesday 26th January and Thursday 28th of January - 7:00pm - 10pm
Visit our website for more information about roles, dates, and to sign up!
Thursday, Friday & Saturday-- Auditions: Six Characters In Search Of An Author
A Play By Luigi Pirandello (Adapted by Rupert Goold and Ben Power in 2008)
Directed by: Ahmed El-Alfy
Produced by: The Italian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) - HK
Auditions Venue: TBA
Audition Dates:
Thursday, January 28th (7:00- 10pm) Friday, January 29th (7:00-10pm) Callbacks - Saturday, Jan 30th (6:00 - 10pm)
Performance dates: June 22 - 26, 2010
Performance Venue: McAulay Studio Theatre - Hong Kong Arts Center
For more information, and copies of the audition pieces/Character Description, please don't hesitate to contact Alfy at (+852-9197-5028) or send an email to ahmed.elalfy@gmail.com, Subject "Six Characters Auditions".
Friday & Saturday-- Auditions: Sir Topham Hatt
Thomas and Friends is a timeless television series that follows the adventures of Thomas, a cheeky little Tank Engine, and his engine friends.
Be a part of a much beloved adventure by playing Sir Topham Hatt in various live events throughout Asia. HIT ENTERTAINMENT HONG KONG are holding auditions for Sir Topham Hatt – The Fat Controller, for various live events throughout Asia, with both singing and non-singing artists required.
Looking for English speaking Caucasian males. Singing Artists need to prepare one Music Theatre piece plus another of their choice.(Please provide sheet music in the correct key.) Non-Singing artists need to show strong character skills and acting ability. All Artists will be asked to read a small section of dialogue provided at the audition.
Auditions will be held at the KATTERWALL Rehearsal Studio, Room 806 Arion Commercial Centre, 2-12 Queen’s Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong on the 30th & 31st of January 2010 (Sat & Sun. All artists are required to pre-register to obtain an allocated audition time. Successful candidates may be required for further auditioning from 2pm – 5pm.Please send details including CV with previous performance experience and recent photo to auditions@xsystem.com.au
For enquiries, please contact James Gannaban at 97725792 or email James.Gannaban@xsystem.com.au
Saturday--- Party: The DS 7th Anniversary Party
Oh yes DS Magazine has reached the wonderful age of 7 years old and with all the efforts of all involved we thought we should throw a party to celebrate in style and what better place than the newly opened KOLOURS on Arbuthnot road in Central. So come and join in the fun and games with a nod to the King of Queers of 2009 – Adam Lambert – as Sony music have kindly sponsored our event with plenty of giveaways! Plus some great prizes for the best ‘glam rock’ costume, lots more prizes, show and surprises during the evening.
Plus special guests La Chiquitta, Fabiola Asustadiza and DJ Angus Wong.
* Free entrance and one complimentary drink with glam rock outfit, make up or in drag. The best outfit wins $1000 cash + $1000 drink coupon from Kolours. Many more prizes.
---- It does look (and feel) overwhelming. Thank God for a person called, Mai, who happened to be my brother, my Monday started bright and happy. On my Facebook page, he wrote:
Things I miss doin with you: 1. Pigging out 2. Singing na lagi mo ako kino-coach 3. Arguing 4. You opening up to me 5. Mga 1-liner mong statements after a long litany of my emotions 6. Pag palit mo ng password sa pc pag nauubos ko yung isp bonanza mo 7. Pagsama mo sa akin with you whom I adore so much 8. Pagiging makalat mo. Dedma sa clutter 9. Pag kinokontra mo pagkain ko ng kanin 10. Dedma ka lang pag nahuhuli mo akong may booking 11. Pag di mo kinakausap for a month kapag kumukupit ako pera sa wallet mo 12. Pag n-neutralize mo sa amin ni mama 13. Pag a-assert mo magluto whenever I feel like cooking something 14. Pag away mo kay jonas 15. You smoking inside the house. 16. Pag nakikita ko yung kadiri mong diet na fresh egg whites atop youe steamed rice 17. Your ex na super love ko, ni rems, and tutit 18. Your performances with BP and souvenir programs 19. Pagtulog mo na parang never ka ng gigising. 20. Pagkwento mo sa friends mo na masama ugali ko.
An sms-exchange minutes before (and during) "Rakrakan", a musical event in the Middle East featuring famous and up-and-coming homegrown Filipino bands, and which is also considered the biggest annual Filipino event in the area. Like in the past 3 years, this year's Rakrakan was spearheaded by my younger brother, Mai.
"Malapit na mag start ung show. Kinakabahan ako kuya." (The show's about to start. I'm feeling nervous.)
-Mai La Sahara 04/12/2009 18:32
"Ha?!?! Bat ka kakabahan, e hindi naman ikaw ang magpe-perform! Wag ka ngang feeling!" (Huh?!?! Why are you nervous, you're not the one performing anyway. It's not always about you.)
-Rye 04/12/2009 19:45
"Ticket sales aren't good pero ok naman. May kinita naman kami. BUt I'm so happy. Everyone's having a good time. ANg sabi ng boss ko, bihasang-bihasa na ako. Kaya ko na daw mag-isa. :-) I love you mama and kuya!" (Ticket sales aren't good but that's ok. We broke even somehow. But I'm so happy. Everyone's having a good time. My boss said I'm getting very good at this. He thinks I can now do it on my own. :-) I love you mama and kuya!) -Mai La Sahara 05/12/2009 00:46
"You know what else you're getting good at? Making us even prouder of you than we already are. Congratulations! Love you too. P.s. If your boss really thinks you can now that self-sufficient, tell him to take a leap of faith and open The Filipino Channel in Hong Kong and send you here. Miss you!"
* a timely repost, originally published on May 23 07. I love you, Mai! And I am so proud of you. So proud, you can't even begin to imagine.
The way my brother, Mai, has matured over the past 6 months truly amazes me. He CHOSE to leave his not-affluent-but-already-comfortable life in Manila hoping to find means to make our mom's life even more comfortable. But he didn't find what he was looking for at once. He went through extreme poverty and danger. There were times when I didn't know which to ask God to bless him with first: a job, or enough strength so that he may not be defeated by self-pity.
If the past six months was a test of his faith and determination, he deserves an exemption from the next tests Life has to offer. If it was his own way to prove us wrong when we didn't want him to go and we thought he might come back home a big failure with an enormous load of debts on our shoulders, we humbly but delightfully admit now that we were wrong.
I remember when we were kids, all Mai really wished for was to have little metal nuggets attached to his teeth. He found it posh and cute. Our family dentist thought he was too young to have those. In high school, he discovered they were called "braces" and he just wanted them even more. But that time, our family wasn't doing well financially anymore and we couldn't afford it.
Now, he has them. And they came from his hard-earned (super hard-earned, I must say) first paycheck that was 5 months in the making. 5 months, god-knows-how-many buckets of tears, never-ending prayers, and tremendous amounts of faith, hope, determination, courage and strength. I saw the picture that he posted on Friendster (which can be found on the right) that he captioned "John Robert Powers smile". I'm still thinking of a cuter, wittier caption I could suggest to him to replace that with. I'm sure Remi would suggest "Smile of Success". And she'd be proud that Mai was able to afford his braces without bugging her for a cent. He deserves that reward more than he thinks. And thank heavens for his braces, he has finally him lose some weight.
______ Yes, you will be fine. You always have been.
I didn't forget. I didn't try to forget; nor did I try to make my friends forget.
It's just that, with all my social activities over the last 3 months, and with the job-shift that will happen on the same week as my birthday, I couldn't muster enough energy, interest and resources to come up with something for my 28th birthday. And you know what they say, "A rockstar is only as good as his last party". If I can't top my weeklong 27th birthday festivities, I'd rather not do anything this year.
However, there are still personal tasks that need to be done. These are traditions that I have grown accustomed with over the years, and none of my birthdays is ever complete without them. They are, in no particular order, the following:
get hammered;
get laid;
be nice (at least once) to at least person I dislike;
sms Rems, Mai and any of my exes;
offer a minute of silence for Oca;
meditate;
reflect on where I was, where I am now and where I want & do not want to be;
and accept gifts (my wishlist this year is composed of, but not limited to--- "Oprah Winfrey: The 20th Anniversary DVD Collection"; books by David Sedaris; books by Haruki Murakami; orchestra seat tickets to October performances in HK of Nederlands Dans Theater l, Paul Taylor Dance Co., and Rodgers & Hammersteins' Cinderella starring Lea Salonga)
It normally takes me more than four days to accomplish all these. So if you're a friend or a drinking buddy who wants so badly to spend time with me on my birthday week and but can't because I need to complete my self-assigned birthday tasks, you can help speed up the process by sending a gift. That way, the last task on the list is finished quickly.
Moi as a debutante and a bartender on Day 7 of my 27th birthday week. Party at Volume, Music by DJ Stonedog, hair and make-up by Chris, party coordination and documentation by Dan, beauty courtesy of Rems & Oca
___________________________ "The Unbearable Lights Of Christmas" was originally published on December 19, 2007
I walked over to the other theater from ours at half past 6 tonight. Halfway through, the lights all over the park went dim and a male voice came booming from the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, Maestro Mickey!", he said. Or something to that effect. Then his announcement was quickly followed by the Putonghua translation.
It was time for the lighting of the castle. The music faded in and went up and Mickey sliced the air with his baton. Fireworks. They shot up and lit the black evening sky and sprinkled like gold, shining confettis way up in the air --- like pixie dust --- and disappeared quickly, one confetti after the other, as if they had been swallowed by the mysterious blackness of the sky.
The music segued to a full-orchestra arrangement of Carol of the Bells and went to an overpowering crescendo. The tower of the castle was briefly covered with bright lights. When its lights died, another part's lit. And it went on and on and the lights seemed to be dancing to the music. Catching every poignant note, and keeping silent in the rests of the music.
I remembered our family Christmases during my childhood. My cousins, who grew up in the middle of the ancestral rice fields from Nueva Ecija, would come to Manila every year to celebrate the holidays there. We'd bring them around Cubao. They'd be so mesmerized with the lights that hung in every building and every tree in Araneta Center, and we'd just spend hours walking and walking, stopping every 5 minutes to take pictures of almost anything and everything there was --- SM Cubao, Ali Mall, the giant Araneta Christmas tree, Fiesta Carnival, Araneta Coliseum, the street vendors, the food, the streets themselves... Then we'd wrap up our little holiday trip by buying fried dried squid and park ourselves in front of C.O.D. to watch their annual Christmas mannequin show.
Once, on our way home from Cubao, as we were all packed in my uncle's red Ford Fierra, one of my cousins exclaimed, "Ang ganda-ganda ng mga ilaw! (The lights are very beautiful!)".
Then my mom said, "Para ka na ring nasa Disneyland, no? (Almost feels likes your in Disneyland, doesn't it?)"
My dad, sitting in front, beside my uncle who was driving protested. "Hindi ah! Mas maganda ang Disneyland. Pag nagtatrabaho na yung mga anak ko, pupunta tayo dun! (Of course not. This doesn't compare to Disneyland. When the time comes that my sons are already working, we will all go there."
It must have been 20 years ago. I don't exactly know when this happened. But I do remember that episode so well until now because that night, I promised myself I will someday bring them to Disneyland. I kept quiet and didn't tell a soul about it, because I wasn't sure I could ever fulfill my promise.
As we grew older, Cubao somehow lost its charm to us. Eventually, our family reunions were moved to Baguio. Though those Christmas trips weren't the slightest bit less fun, none of them compared to our Christmases in Cubao. In August of 2002, dad passed away and our family reunions became more meaningful. It was the time of the year when mom would see her brothers and sisters and reconnect with them, alleviating her sadness and depression. But still, none of those compared to our Christmases in Cubao.
This will be my third Christmas away from family. My brother's second. Our family's 6th Christmas without Oca. While Remi has enjoyed so many times (and will continue to do so) my Disneyland promise to them, Oca wasn't able to wait 3 more years. He would've loved to be walking around the "happiest place on earth" with Remi. And I would've loved performing, knowing that he and she and Mai were in the audience. He passed away without ever seeing me or Mai perform professionally. His diabetes was already in a bad stage when we started doing professional work. He'd always have wounds in his feet and could not wear shoes. He was afraid of being refused admission because of his footwear so he never dared. But here, in Disney, he could come in wearing anything in his feet. He could see my show in flip-flops with Mai and Remi, and no one would mind.
I stood there in the middle of the crowd tonight, my senses totally oblivious of the people around me. Slowly, the sound coming from the crowd faded as if they were all very, very distant from where I was standing. All I could hear was the melodious sound of Carol of the Bells. All I could see was the castle and how, little by little, it got totally covered in what seemed to be millions of tiny, bright lights. All I could smell was the crispness of the winter air. And all I could feel was my family, standing with me in front of the majestic castle they once dreamed to see.
