Top 3 b

Top 3 b
Originally uploaded by karampot.

Talk about accidents. Yup! As I was trying to put this photo on my entry on GAP in Paris, clicking away on this photo from flickr, all of a sudden I have it on a separate entry on my blog... Waah! pero on a positive note, at least something happened. Hopefully I'd be able to master it more as I go along this road of blogging.

Anyway, why Top 3 b? Actually it was the filename I gave the photo but talking to a friend of mine, she came up with a wonderful title... Top 3 b... Top 3 beauties... And hello! how suitable! As in Manash nga kasi si Gaylord, pwedeng-pwede ang title! So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the top three winners of GAP 2004 in Paris, Jennifer (2nd place), Georgina (Champion), Jang (3rd place)

blogging nga naman...

I know some of you says ang tagal ng blogs ko pero sorry talaga kasi sobrang daming work. As in sabaw-sabaw sila tita! That also happened to me last December so I was not able to give the story on the Paris GAP. Feeling ko nga ang flat ng story. Pero will try my best to make it more interesting.

Anyway, bakit blogging nga naman. Well, I'm slowly discovering that this is addictive and then frustrating at the same time. Addictive coz I feel like checking my blog and others blog for new entries and parang hindi buo ang araw if I wasn't able to do it. Frustrating kasi for someone who doesn't know anything about html and bla, its very difficult for me to know how to do features, like the tagboards and some other details that make it interesting like photos or inserting graphics. You know, this feeling if wanting to use a screwdriver but the only thing I have is a spoon? Grabe!

In fact may tanong ako sa mga hasa na mag-blog. If I move the html codes for the tagboard to another side of my page, will I lose the tags currently in there? Sayang naman kasi diba! Like people made it a point to put something, then I'll just lose it. Shaks!
And if I wanna link my friends and blogmates, lalagay ko ba yon sa html code ulit or can it come from another source? Wahhhh! frustrating talaga day!

Kaya talaga, if you can help me with some tips, feel free to comment at talagang tatanawin kong malaking utang na lamang loob at gusto nyo lutuan ko pa kayo ng dinuguan! Grabe!

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down! and I do appreciate you being 'round, help me get my feet back on the ground, won't you please, please help me, help me oh!!!

GABI NG AWITING PILIPINO - 2004, European Finals, Paris

Next day, Saturday, we were due for practice in the hall for the contest at 12 noon so upon waking up at 10:00 and getting ready, we got a quick breakfast at the café just beside the hotel where there were people smoking and since the ventilation was not great, we ended up smelling like smoke… hhmm, siguro we’ll grow kasi pina-usukan kami… hwehwehwe… anyways, I went to the grocery to get some extra baby food and snacks for my little monster, then when I went back, the other participants were there waiting for me. Another person picked us up from the hotel and we started chatting a bit on the way… Although we only get to introduce ourselves in the hall coz we didn’t have time on the way to the center (again via that now familiar METRO, biceps grow, biceps grow).

The contest venue was near Centre Pompidou, the modern-art museum and it was a real theater with black background and formal seats where people could watch… Geez felt like being in a musical or something… anyway, we were waiting for our turn, chatting a bit, practicing a bit specially our common song, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika (yup, it’s the theme song so can’t change that you know)… then by 3:oo p.m. it seems like we’re not gonna be able to practice on stage so we went for a break and had late lunch-cum-early dinner. By then, we were with Gaylord, the Singing Queen from Madrid (yes tita, manash sha!). I’ll write an entry on his story and you will understand when I say to him at the end of the meal “Hay nako Tita, if you win, you really deserve it after all you’ve been through! Drama! Sobra!”

Now, going back to the hall, Gaylord and I were able to practice our songs and it was costume time. As some of you may know, my hair is always done by my talented hubby so without further ado, he started with my do, adding details here and there and suffocating me with hair spray so that my look will stay put. By then, somebody could have touched my hair and would have gotten stuck to it. Hehehe… jokes only… Then I put on my make-up and finally the dress. I’ll make another entry also about the dress kasi it has a story of its own.

Anyways, the program started with the 4 national contenders from Paris. The winner from this part will join our group under the “Battle of the Champions”. I realized that in Paris, they don’t have any age limit because some of the contestants were teens, like 13 yrs. old and above. I think in Germany, the age was 18 and above. 3 girls sang a Regine Velasquez song: Isang Lahi, Sana’y maulit muli and Ikaw. The boy sang Habang may Buhay from After Image and he won the first prize.

On the second part, we were 6 contenders, 3 from Paris, France (winners for years 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively), 2 from Madrid, Spain (last year and this years’ winners) and I from Bonn, Germany. It was tougher because some of the contestants are seasoned singers and they are so sure with their gesture and singing, I felt like Maria went to town! The first one, Mitch from Madrid sang "Isang Lahi". God was she good! Then it was my turn to sing my "Paglisan" song and holding my head up, poise and all, and muster all the guts I have to showcase what I can do. Or kung di ko man madaan sa pagkanta ko, madaan ko na lang sa poise diba?!? hahaha... Pero honestly, afterwards, I just think that they are definitely better than me. I just continued enjoying watching them and get some pointers and all. The next guy from Paris sang "Simulan Mo" by Leo Valdez, then a young lady sang the ever classic “Sana’y Wala nang Wakas” by Sharon Cuneta. Then my friend Gaylord from Madrid sang “Paraisong Parisukat” by Basil Valdez and finally the boy who won earlier sang “Natutulog ba ang Diyos” by Gary Valenciano. Afterwards we stayed backstage and waited for the verdict. To give time to the jury, they had another production number showcasing the different folk dances and costumes of the country. Hearing and seeing the number, I must say that there are really so many great Filipino songs and no wonder because we love music so much. Finally the waiting ended and the announcement of the winners began:

“The sixth prize goes to…”

And in my head I was whispering to myself my number “number 2, number 2”…

“… Contestant number 6!”

Well, I’m sure I’ll get the next one…

“The fifth prize goes to…”

Whispering to myself… “Number 2, number 2, number 2…”

“… Contestant number 3!”

Well, now definitely I’m gonna get this!

“The fourth prize goes to contestant number 1!”

By then I couldn’t believe my ears… I was on the verge of tears… Geez! To reach the final 3! Oh my golly! Wow! And they did announce I got the 3rd prize and I was really happy specially when I got the envelope and there was another cash prize of 500 euros… hehehe... mukha bang pera?!? hahaha... I was trying to find my husband in the crowd and I wanted to share this happy moment with him!

And you know what? Gaylord did get the 1st prize so that was one good turn for him…

Then backstage, I saw my one and only and we kissed and we hugged and I showed him the envelope and we were shouting with glee! Hohoho! Disneyland here we come!!! Oh my! We’re definitely celebrating there! And we were hugging Aidan and we were hugging Gaylord and Mitch and hugging everyone who cared for a hug. Then each were sharing their bits of stories and before you know it, the evening was ending and finally we were all at the edge of the stairs to the Metro.

However, before finally retiring for the night, we went for a quick bite at KFC with the Madrid people and my family and some quick drink at our hotel room, we were ready to hit the bed and be ready for the culmination of this event in our lives…

Prologue - Paris 2004

And so at 5:00 a.m. on Friday, 5 November 2004, I woke up at the sound of the alarm clock but as Aidan woke up too and wanted milk I had to wait before I start preparing myself. I took the opportunity to catnap for a few seconds but then peeping at the clock it was all of a sudden 5:20 and it was rush rush rush! Our plane was 6:50 and we have to be in the airport by 6:20. S**t! why did I ever close my eyes??? Well, by 6:05 we were out of the house and by 6:25 we were at the airport. The flight attendant was even scolding us saying we were already late and they were boarding! Waaahhh! Wait for us!!! We quickly gave our bags but Aidan’s caddy had to be deposited in another counter… Yikes! So run at this corner then rushing at the gate, there were so many people! The lady looked at our ticket and said, “You’re on the wrong gate, you have to go further…” We were sprinting in Cologne-Bonn Airport and by the time we were in front of our gate, I was sweating like a pig! With a wool pullover for the winter, of course I’ll be. The only one who’s not stressed is Aidan who’s enjoying the variety of people and place he’s seeing. Then ofcourse Germanwings does not have seat reservations and being late, almost all the good seats were gone. But luckily we found 2 aisle seats beside each other. I took this time to breathe a bit and say OK we made it! What a way to start the day!

By quarter to eight, we were in Paris but I wasn’t sure if someone was picking us up… but a bit later, a Pinay-looking lady approached and it was our “sundo”, Ate C. and away we go to the hotel near Place de la République. As we came early, we had to wait until 12:00 and seeing that we were gonna manage, our sundo left us. To kill the time, we just went to get some breakfast Paris-style. We ordered a full breakfast meal with coffee, but instead I get an espresso. Geez, I forgot to say American coffee or grand tasse de café. Well, well, always new things to learn everyday. My husband felt bitin with the caffeine dose and the brew too strong so we ordered additional cappucino. The café was your typical Paris décor with ornate details and a mix-match of both old and new things. I could actually imagine people on the early 1990’s having their coffee on the same exact spot except for the fact that there was a huge modern-day coffee machine and a huge TV with Euronews flashing.

After breakfast, we went strolling around the area and it was really very busy. It made me realize how I’ve become a small-town girl. I’m not used to the hussle and bustle anymore. But then, Paris is Paris and no matter how you’d like to express it, it has energy and identity of its own that sort of seeps into your being and energizes you and I just felt excited by it somehow. Also, I had to blink once or twice coz I see and hear people speak French and I can understand what they were saying. I realized that in Germany, I got so used to meeting people on the road and not understand their conversation that I just sort of automatically block my ear to what they were saying. It was nice, I felt some sort of tension disappear as I enjoy the crisp, sunny Parisian morning.

By around 12, we went back to the hotel and when we finally settled on our hotel room, we realized how that flight was so early and my boys just succombed to the charms of the bed and slept. I was also tired but only dozed a bit, waking up from time to time, anxious not to lose the day to visit the city but just too tired to imagine preparing ourselves for the walk. By the time we were able to get up, it was 6 pm and we just decided to visit Champs Elysée for some window-shopping. It was dark when we went out and then the main hassle started… the Metro… the entrance door is just too narrow for the caddy so we have to remove the baby, fold the caddy, pass through the electronic doors, then open it up again and put the baby back in who is already happy to be out of the thing and was not happy being put back again… imagine going down to the bottom of Paris’ catacomb carrying a caddy together with the baby and your shopping bags! Total nightmare! Yup, talk about pumping my biceps! Again I realized how used I am in Bonn where there are some escalators and elevators to make my life easier. And how I’m so used to pampers-changing rooms, which is totally non-existant in the City of Lights… Even the baby-stores do not have one. Oh mi oh my, give me C&A in Bonn please!!! We didn’t have a choice but to change the baby in McDonalds coz there were just no other place to do it. Luckily, my hubby found a quiet corner and plunged into “Operation Pampers Wechseln”. Afterwards, we were just chilling (as in practically chilling kasi malamig…) walking around Champs-Elysée. We saw Eiffel Tower from a distance with its blinking lights. It was great but we were already too tired to walk further so down we went to the bowels of Paris to get a ride from the Metro homewards or should I say hotelwards…