a friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

GABI NG AWITING PILIPINO - 2004, Bonn

Sometimes its funny when unexpected things happen and one split-second decision would cause a sequence of events that are so fulfilling and gratifying. This was one of them. As some of you may know, I joined a singing contest with the above-mentioned title here in Bonn, Germany. It was held in the Stadthalle of Bad Godesberg last 31 October 2004. To be able to join, you have to be pinoy and must sing an Original Pilipino Music (OPM) song. In place of an actual audition, they requested participants to send a tape recording of our song as material. Seems simple right? Well not in my case, so let me start with my different kwentos on this and hope you enjoy the write-up…

KWENTO WAN (Audition)
I was not able to submit a tape because of my little monster plus the fact that I don’t have any equipment at home. Alam nyo na, pag nanay mahirap makahanap ng right timing and of course I needed some concentration to do the recording! It seems that heaven has decided to make our schedule so booked out (uy! parang taratits) that I missed the deadline on a Friday and could not contact the people on that weekend. But habol pa rin ang lola on Monday and still apply. How? I brought the simple recorder I have at home to the office, played some minus-one music from my computer then sang closely to the mic of the recorder. Can you imagine?!? Then to make matters worse, a colleague came in my office and caught me at it! Gosh! I was really embarassed! I just muttered, “Oh its something for the Church!” with a sheepish grin on my face. As in sinungaling! Geez! Sorry Lord! Nagkasala pa tuloy ako… Anyway, I gave the tape to Deacon J. but unfortunately he said I was too late. They still tried to see if its possible but audition was definitely close. I was disappointed and I said maybe its not for me. Oh well, siguro next year na lang!

Then lo and behold, on Wednesday, I got a phone call and an e-mail from the organisers saying, “Hey somebody backed out. Are you still interested to do a live audition?”. Of course, I said, so on Saturday that week at 8 a.m. in the morning I was bugging the whole household with my practice at bunulahaw ko silang lahat ng songs from the Fugees and Toni Braxton! Whatever, I need to nail this audition! Kakahiya sa mga fans ko!!! (hahaha) Then at 10 a.m. (sooo early!!!) I came to the center for the audition… “Strumming my pain with his fingers…” and before I know it, it was over… We had to wait for an hour for their call and I guess mabait si Lord dahil nakapasa ako. We had practice that afternoon and comes my second kwento!

KWENTO TU (Minus one)
Since it’s a contest, people tend to choose the same songs where they can showcase their talent right?!? And here I was so confused with all the songs that were available. Regine is on top of the line but (wail!) I can’t sing Regine!! Even before I passed the audition, I was in a dilemma… what song and where to get that song??? Kasi naman puro magic mic ang alam ng mga tao dito sa Germany. Anyway, the band that was playing on the event are friends of mine and the lead singer, F., was celebrating her birthday and invited us to one of the practice-cum-celebration party. So go ang beauty namin and of course we enjoyed the jamming sessions. Then I asked the guitar player, a.k.a. Marlon Brando, if he knew Paglisan from Color it Red because I love that song and its one of my favorites. Of course daw at syempre generation nya yon… And so, he was playing and I was singing my heart out! It was great and the lady lead singer told me to sing that song for the contest. Then the problem was, ala akong minus-one! Geez! Pero sabi ko nga mabait si Lord at mabait sila, they told me they were gonna play it live for me during the contest. Ang tanong, will the organisers and the other contestants allow me to do so? Syempre, iba pag live diba? Anyway, fast forward during the practice, I raised the question and they told me that either I’m just to record it or have it played by someone else than the band. Kasi nga daw di fair… So paano na?!? Did I say the band members were kind? Kasi they promised to record it for me and record it they did, so I had my minus one the night of the contest. Hectic no? Yup so much coz I was only able to listen to it once or twice and then it was show time! Gosh!

KWENTO TRI (GAP in Bonn)
We were at the hall at 4 p.m. to practice but unfortunately, they were still setting-up and the party started a bit late. In addition, there was a huge response from the Filipino community that they had to turn down people coming in because they were completely sold out. Just a side note, people in these parts are really party-goers. Once there is an event, they usually go there specially when they know that there’s a live band and they would be able to shake their booty… I left Aidan with my niece hoping he’d have no problem and she’d be alright with him.

Back to the contest, we were lucky enough to be able to stay at the hall as apparently the audience waiting outside were really miserable and we did some sound check… All of us were consulting each other and it turned out that 3 contestants were singing “Sana’y Wala ng Wakas” from Sharon Cuneta. Hay! I told you they tend to choose the same songs. And to think I was gonna choose that song too! But as it turned out, each had different types of voices and different ways of expressing the song. I really liked the girls (yup no male contestants for us) because they didn’t have any “Diva complex”. Each of us were complementing each other and supporting one another. Some are even so “bading” (gay) it was great fun conversing with them! And once we started with the contest, I realized how I missed Filipino music. Some of us would sing along with the other contestants. Then my turn came and once the guitar strummed, I let the music fill me and started singing… “Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti…” first stanza, chorus, second stanza… then to my horror, I realized I missed a humming part and pumasok ako too soon! Ngyaaaaahhhh! I continued singing but the pressure left me coz I know I messed it up! When I came back to my seat, I mentioned it to one of the contestants, E., but she encouragingly told me, hindi daw pansin, and I was able to belt it out on the adlib part at the end… oh well, with a bit of apprehension and discouragement, I gave up hope and just said to myself that I enjoyed the night and it was great meeting new people and creating new friendship…

Finally, we did a group singing of the event’s theme song “Kay ganda ng Ating Musika” (Our music is beautiful). And you know what? When we practiced this the first time, we were using the pitch of the guy who originally sang it, Hadji Alejandro, but when we sang it on the event, it was a couple of pitch higher! Waaaaahhh! Sobrang grabeee talaga! So nagpapakiramdaman kami... Pero the people watching told us it was alright... Then came the awarding session… E., the contestant I was talking to earlier, got the 3rd place, then there was a tie for the 2nd place, M. and L., for the 1st prize I was looking at my co-contestants and was guessing that number this or this will win. W. the contestant beside me told me I’ll get it and I told her I won’t because I messed up the song… “And the first place goes to… Yang!” I was shocked! Really shocked! So shocked, I was crying! No kidding! Really crying and I was so overwhelmed by it all! The other contestants were hugging me, my hubby was hugging me, my sister-in-law was hugging me, all of them were hugging me and I was in a state of shock! Then the Philippine Ambassador for Germany came to my side for a picture-taking and we were posing for a while, then they asked me to sing again and this time around, I sang live with the band. It was great! Really cool! Then going back to my seat, I finally looked at the trophy and looked at the envelope “1st prize”! Then I shrieked! I’m going to Paris for the finals! Waaaaahhh! My hubby joined me and we were laughing so much at each other and he raised his hands and “Appear!” O diba! Baon sa Paris yung cash. Then he asked when is it? Uhm, next weekend, and he said “What! Next weekend na?!?!?” And so we were making plans right away. Then, with my head in the heavens I was dancing with my hubby to celebrate.

At 1:30 a.m., my niece called that my little monster is awake so we went home and it was great to see that he was wide awake and really jumping with joy when he saw us. We were laughing at each other and kissing him coz we really missed him a lot. I was holding him in my arms again and knew he was one of my lucky stars.

POSTSCRIPT
The next couple of days, people were congratulating me and I was even consulting one of the judges, V., for pointers for the contest in Paris. I was in the end happy that I was able to “Itayo ang Bandera” and I guess I’m allowed to be pleased with myself. Then came Thursday, I got a text and a phone call saying “Neng, ang ganda mo sa dyaryo!” and as it turned out, there was a feature story on one of the local newspapers (Bonn Express) about the contest and the title was “Filipino Superstar in Stadthalle”. HAHAHAHAHA! Superstar daw o and take note, it was quite a big photo with the Ambassador (remember the note above?!?) and I have to say I was really flattered even if the write up was all so mixed up, I don’t know where the hell the reporter got all those infos (saying something like, the Ambassador got 2nd place in the contest?!? Gee, how dumb can you get!). Anyway, I bought 4 copies, scanned one of them and sent it to my love ones! Pagbigyan nyo na ako, minsan lang ako nasa limelight hehehe… And so, with a gleam in my eye, I looked due southwest from Bonn and say “Paris! Here I come!”

Monday, November 08, 2004

A Mom’s chronicles – first scar-potential scratch

No matter how one looks after a child, when they are at an early age of discovery, a parent cannot avoid bumps and bruises. I can’t count the times that Aidan fell down and at the beginning I would sort of freak out. But I remarked that he is more disturbed by my cry of distress than the pain of falling of down. So I invented this silent cry! The person in front of me would know this coz my eyes would just bulge bigger than usual (yup that’s possible) and stifle my cry… Then I learned to recognize the cry of pain and the cry of real pain… then just recently, the cry of someone just asking attention… its amazing… I really learn something almost everyday…

But my point right now is this cry of real pain… It’s a shriek rather than a cry and when I heard this last Monday, I knew something was wrong and sure enough he had a gash on the forehead and there was BLOOD! I was almost in panic and was pressuring my husband, who was looking after him, what happened. I could see he felt really guilty but as he explained to me later, Aidan was just doing his normal stint of running around and then falling but this time he hit his head on a floor edge. Of course we ran to the hospital and I was afraid he would get a stitch. Apparently they don’t do this anymore and they just have some sort of adhesive to pull the skin together and heal then there would just be a small scar and not an ugly one such as that of a stitched-one. Then when we were getting in the car, Aidan uttered: “Takit!” in his cute baby voice and we just bursted out laughing, the tension broke and we started teasing him… “Takit ba baby?” Anyway, he did not have any other problems and he’s back to his malikot-self so all’s well that ends well… until the next incident!

Thursday, November 04, 2004

A Mom’s chronicle – introduction

Having a kid changes your life. I know it’s a usual thing to say but, boy, it is so true that one who’s a parent can just sigh and say, “You can say that again.” The moment I knew I was pregnant, I said to myself that I have reached a new milestone and that this point will be a beginning of a whole new adventure. And it is an adventure because of so many things that a human being could bring to your life even on a small portion, so to speak.

For mommies, do you remember the magical moments? The first pregnancy test? The first ultrasound? The first flutter of movements? The first kick? And most specially the first cry? Every mother can relate to this and I’m sure in our hearts there is that special memory that stays alive and have such a lasting power of love that its richness ricochets throughout our lives.

Then comes the first few months of the baby. Each time somebody asks me, how life is, I always tell them, “Masarap na Mahirap” (Good but difficult). It takes such a lot of energy having a kid around, taking care of my husband and my relationship with him, doing house-keeping, groceries and all the other things one would like to do for one’s self. Even taking a shower takes so much time, that I’m obliged to take “Ligong Uwak”, meaning taking bath like a bird does.

Then he grows bigger and he’s everywhere in the house. His curiousity is so much that we have locked almost all the cabinets, made sure doors are closed everytime. Unfortunately, my son loves the garbage can and the toilet bowl and gravitates unto these objects like a magnet. At one point, I was asking myself if I’m sending an unconcious signal to my kid about it. But thank goodness that after some research, asking several parents, they say it’s a phase. I’ve heard several stories of toilet papers going to waste, and other kids who also love garbage cans and brings everything to their mouth. Whew! My son is normal…

But after all the shocking moments, there would be this moment so magical, when I just look at him and just feel this indescribable happiness. Its true that all the tiredness goes when I look at my child. It’s the gift of parenthood and I really thank God for this gift. His pa-cute smile just melts my heart into butter and I just go gaga watching his antics! At only 1 year old ha! How he likes to cuddle when he wakes up in the morning… How he now says Dedededede when he wants milk… How the smell of his breath is still so sweet and I can almost wish that I shall smell it forever… How the touch of his skin is so smooth and fresh that I just want to snuggle into it… How the touch of his hands is so endearing and those cute fingers so small and delicate… How he bounces around when his favorite music comes on television and how he runs from one room to the living room to watch his favorite frog on TV… all of these are amazing and I really wish these moments to all you folks and that the magic will hold your heart forever…

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Spook Factor (part 2)...

Here's the continuation of the scary stories I posted... be warned... nakakatakot!

Haiku(no)
Malamig na hangin
Kilabot ng balahibo
Babaing itim


TRINITY COLLEGE

In one of their overnight presswork, the section editor decided to take a rest and went out of the editorial board cubicle. Suddenly, he heard the ticktack of the keyboards, as if someone was typing. Knowing that he was alone, he decided to look if somebody was using the computer. To his surprise, he saw the name Jackie repeatedly typed on the screen. The keyboard continued to ticktack until the screen was filled with the name Jackie. While the news editor was encoding his article, someone said "hello" to him. When he looked around, a pretty girl approached him and again whispered "hello." All of a sudden, the girl disappeared. Dian, our present culture editor, who has a third eye, said that she was able to talk to Jackie. Jackie later on revealed that her real name is Patricia. Jackie revealed that she's always around since she finds the office peaceful. She also claimed that our office was then a park with a well and benches. According to Dian, Patricia (or Jackie) is a Spanish looking lady, with fair complexion, stands 5'5" and looks like a doll.


UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - DILIMAN

Red Eyes Benitez Hall, which houses the College of Education, is considered the most haunted building in the campus (the oldest as well). It used to be one of the Japanese interrogation camps during World War II that's why many Filipino and American soldiers died there. One very rainy afternoon, a female instructor got stranded in front of the Education Building. As such, she begged the security guard to let her pass the night in the building. The guard agreed and locked her up in one of the classrooms. It was a restless night for the lady. She knew the ghost stories but refused to believe them. In the classroom was a door with a peeping hole. Curious at what was going on outside, she peeped and saw nothing but the color red. The next morning, she asked the security guard if the ghost stories are true. "Yes Ma'am, it is," answered the man. "One of the ghosts sighted is in fact seen as dressed in white and with big RED EYES."


URIOS COLLEGE

It happened a few years back. An old male college teacher was seen eating alone in a corner during a College Faculty luncheon. Some teachers who saw him attested that he looked a bit strange and unusually quiet. They invited him to join their group discussion but he just gave them a blank stare. After a while, he just disappeared and nobody noticed him go out of the room. The bizarre thing about it is that this certain teacher was already in the hospital slumped on his deathbed at that very same moment. A few hours later, he was dead. When his fellow teacher cleaned his desk a few days after his death, the teacher was so shocked to find a note personally addressed to her, thanking her for everything.


DEAD ROOMMATE

Seen at Kalayaan residence
The story: It was the onset of semister break. While a resident was still packing her bag, her roommate was ready to go. Since the former wasn't done yet, the latter went ahead. Then the roommate's parents came in looking for her. The resident told them that she already left. When the resident was about to finish her packing, she opened the closet and saw her roommate inside—already decomposing.


MYSTERY LADY NO. 2

Seen at Vinzons Hall (second-floor comfort room)
The story: A student was sitting in the toilet when he felt someone was patting or smoothing his head. When he looked up, a girl, hanging from the ceiling, was staring at him straight in the eye.


THE DISAPPEARING COMMUTERS: UP DILIMAN

Seen at: One of the jeepneys plying the campus (sorry, I don't know the plate number, etc.)
The story: A guy made sabit at the end of the jeepney because it was full of passengers. After a few minutes, the driver curiously asked him why he wasn't taking a seat. As the guy was about to say that all the seats were taken, he saw that the jeepney was empty.


JEEP INCIDENT

Nag-iisa na lang yung girl sa jeep nung pauwi na siya sa dorm ng 9pm. Nagulat siya ng biglang nag-iba yung direction ng jeep,di na nito sinusunod yung route nito. Nakiusap siya: "Manong, bababa po ako sa dorm," pero di siya pinansin ng driver. Nang bumalik ito sa ikot route, nakiusap ulit yung girl. So pinababa nga siya sa may dorm, pero bago siya bumaba sinabihan siya ng driver: "Ineng, pag-uwi mo hubarin mo agad iyang mga damit mo at kung pwede sunugin mo agad. Iniba ko yung ruta para makaiwas sa disgrasya. Kanina kasi pagtingin ko sa salamin, wala kang ulo."


DORM INCIDENT #2:

Nangyari to dun sa katapat na room namin. Nagising ng madaling araw yung girl, na may feeling na may nagmamasid sa kanya. Pagdilat niya, una niyang nakita ay mukha ng babae na nakadungaw sa kanya (whatever, basta magkaharap mukha nila), except that walang mukha yung babae. All white. Sa shock, walang nagawa yung dormer. Pinanood na lang nya yung babae habang lumalabas ito ng room nila...hindi sa pinto, kundi sa bintana. Di na siya nakatulog pagkatapos noon kahit nagtalukbong siya ng kumot.


DORM INCIDENT #3:

Matutulog na yung girl (from same corridor sa 2nd floor) nang maalala niya na di pa pala siya naghihilamos. The time was around 3am, pero di naman siya naniniwala sa multo dati so ok lng sa kanyang magsolo sa cr. Naghilamos nga siya mag-isa. Nang tumingin siya sa salamin habang sinasabon ang mukha, nakita niya...nakangiti ang reflection niya sa kanya. Takbo siya sa room nila nang me sabon pa ang mukha. Mineral water na lang ang pinambanlaw niya. Siyempre di ko malilimutang sabihin na during the witching hour (3-4am), may naririnig kaming nagdadrag ng furniture...rinig sa 2nd floor till basement...

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Spook Factor (part 1)...

In the spirit of Halloween, even if I’m late, let me share some ghost stories. This was sent to me a couple of years ago but some stories just makes me shiver…

(Haikuno)
Sa dilim
wag kang biglang tumingin
baka may makitang gremlin…
harharhar…


DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY

An engineering professor (my 'strength of materials' teacher) was on his way home around 9pm. since he parks his car near Mc Do, he passes the main gate every night (at the La Salle Hall). Upon passing aristocrat canteen, he saw a well-dressed boy (all white) along the corridor, walking towards him. He was about to ignore the kid but to his surprise, the young boy stopped in front of him and asked him where the chapel was. The Prof told the kid how to get to the chapel, and then the kid went straight to the stairs. The Prof shouted and asked the kid why he was going to the chapel at 9pm. the boy answered, "I’m going to the wake". The Prof went on towards the main gate. Then he realized, for the 7 years that he has been with La Salle, he never heard of a wake being held at the chapel. The Prof asked the guard if there really is a wake. Of course, the guard said no. The Prof asked if the chapel is still open, the guard said no. The Prof asked why they allowed a small boy to enter the campus. The guard said they didn't let any kid enter the campus. in fact, the guards have been at the gate since 7pm, and they never saw a kid within the premises. The Prof told the guard what he saw, and requested if the guard can go with him to check out what's happening at the chapel. So the Prof and the guard went to the chapel. While they were just at the stairs, they can already hear some noise. It seemed that there are lots of people in the chapel. Upon reaching the 2nd floor of the La Salle hall, they were so surprised to see that there really is a wake being held at the chapel, and there are lots of people, mostly women and children ... the Prof and the guard went inside.... straight to the coffin ... and to my Prof's surprise... the boy who approached him at the corridor was the one inside the coffin...


ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

A girl was by the sink washing her face when she looked in the mirror, and saw the drops of water on her face not as what they really are but as drop of blood. And at her back, there was a headless man in soldier's uniform. Every year, students would encounter various but similarly scary experiences in that toilet. According to my research, the St. Vincent de Paul building, where the toilet is, is the oldest building of Adamson University and was used as an execution station by the Japanese army during World War II. Rumor has it that countless number of heads had been chopped off in the toilet itself.


COLLEGE OF SAINT BENILDE

It happened few years ago in College of Saint Benilde. In an early morning class, a girl in black dress entered room M-409 where a class was ongoing. He class didn't mind the girl thinking that she was only sitting in. Suddenly, in the middle of the teacher's lecture, the girl stood up, walked towards the front wall and, to the awe of everyone, vanished. Until now that ghost story still scares students who take classes in the said room.


DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY

One day last February, even before the 7am classes started, a young Accounting sophomore decided to drop by the St. La Salle Chapel to say a quick prayer for her accounting exam. She reached the empty chapel, went to the very first pew, knelt down, and with eyes shut, began to pray. A few minutes later, she heard a shuffling sound and frantic footsteps. The student opened her eyes and saw a limping, pale-faced man reaching out towards her, his torn clothes covered in blood, a bayonet sticking in his chest and mouthing the words, "Help me..."
Note: DLSU Main building was used as a bomb shelter during World War II


FEATI UNIVERSITY

At 10 pm one night, one ROTC cadet was relieving himself in one of the comfort rooms at the third floor of the Paterno building when he unmistakably made out the figure of a woman dressed in white floating in the air. The vision made him scream in intense fright, catching the attention of his other companions. Upon their arrival, they witnessed the same lady hovering in the air. It was seven in the evening at another instance, when a janitor getting ready to go home noticed a mysterious lady enter one of the restrooms at the third floor. He followed the lady to warn her that the part of building was strictly prohibited. He entered the restroom and saw no one there. According to stories, the Paterno Building, which had existed even before the eruption of World War II, was used as a garrison by the Japanese during the war.


POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

"She was once there and she never left," according to one housekeeper of PUP Jasmin hostel, reluctant to tell the exact room number of the so-called "haunted room." Residents of the hostel reveal that every time they pass by the corridor during late afternoon and early in the morning, they could hear murmurs and cries coming from the haunted room. Stories say that a female nursing board examinee committed suicide inside the room. Many have had experiences seeing her walking in her nursing uniform at the middle of the night or appearing in bathroom mirrors-with blood on her face. She also loves to knock on the door and if one opens, he would find no one but sense an eerie feeling. Residents believe that once you open the door, she comes in the room, so they advise not to open the door.


ST. PAUL COLLEGE - Q.C.

You will be shocked to know that there are no mirrors in some of the comfort rooms in the campus. It is for the reason that an anonymous lady appears in the mirror unexpectedly and really scares the students. It has been said that one student committed suicide in that comfort room.


ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE

A group of high school girls had a play in the Little Theater. They took shots of them and when the film was developed, a nun was with them during curtain call. The nun had no face, floating, tiptoed, and her hands were clasped as though in prayer. Her hands were pointed downwards and her head was cracked as though she had been hanged!