SLACK IS CUT

Apparently, a busy guy is capable of some downtime. And that's exactly what I had today. I mean besides the usual morning to mid-afternoon stress, I had pretty light day today... and most importantly some semblance of normalcy in my life. Today was my pal Rina's birthday. She was one of my sister and mother figures in SM and it's so nice that we've managed to stay in touch. Of course, the whole kooky and zany bunch of the marketing group was there to belt their hearts out to MUSIC 21... but more importantly, it's the company that you keep, even after your time with a company is over, that really just sticks with you. I love my SM family... I'll forever be a part of them, even if technically, I don't work for Men's Fashion anymore...

And then, I headed to Tata's surprise birthday party where Kirk, Deb, and some of her other friends prepared a carnival-themed party for her - replete with cotton candy, sorbetes, nachos, a candy buffet, and drinking games where you can possibly win a stuffed toy if you get luck. How cool right? It was just fun and good vibes all throughout the evening, and I guess I just really missed my friends. With my schedule for Wedding Singer, and the work that follows me 'til the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I can't catch a breath anymore. Thankfully today, I did =) And I feel reenergized moving forward to the hell week that is this week. Goodbye social life, hello prod week for Wedding Singer which opens in October 23 =)

Cheers to one of the cutest couples in the world, and congrats Kirk on the championship =)

WHAT I ATE TODAY:
Breakfast:
none

Lunch:
none

Merienda:
Venti Creme Brulee Macchiato
3-Cheese and Ham Sandwich

Dinner:
Watermelon Shake
Lemonade
Pasta Telefono
3 slices of Bread
Mozarella Dip

Rina's Birthday:
Yakimeshi Rice
Fish Fillet
Fries
2 Chicken Wings
1 serving of pancit
1 glass of iced tea

Tata's Birthday:
1 pc. hotdog
Nachos w/ Beef and Cheese
Cotton Candy
1/2 bottle of beer
1 shot of brandy
Sour Tape
Gummi Bears

EXERCISE:
none


WEIGHT:
191.5 pounds
(gained three pounds... oh nyo)

HIGHER AND HIGHER

On to the next one... Just finished successful shows at the Venice Piazza at the McKinley Hill. Now pulling an all-nighter working on the souvenir program for WEDDING SINGER THE MUSICAL. Ika nga ni mareng Nikki Valdez who message me on Facebook, ang hirap nga naman kumayod but we love what we're doing so we keep doing it...

All I know is, it took me a lifetime to get to this point. And now that my folks are finally supportive of what I wanna do, then I gotta do everything it takes to safeguard and protect this. Higher and higher... yep. Indeed.

Saw the cutest chow-chow by the way the other day while having lunch with my pal Caisa... How cute is this. I wanna have one, trained and all, with instant affinity and liking towards me, without the burden and hassle of having to raise it. AKA. Robo-Chow-Chow.

WHAT I ATE TODAY:
Breakfast:
none

Lunch:
none

Merienda:
4 pcs. takoyaki.. right next to our ad for Wedding Singer which came out in Inquirer today. woot woot!

Dinner:
5 pcs. mozarella sticks with dip
5 pcs. chicken fingers with gravy
1/2 fried chicken from Mc Do
3 spoons of rice
5 sips of coffee

EXERCISE:
none


WEIGHT:
189.5 pounds

MISERY

You can be riding on top of the world yet still feel the full weight of the universe on your shoulder. Sometimes, seriously, a guy just needs a break. Thank God for my passion - it's my new security blanket. It's the new Energizer that keeps me going. On to the next one =)

Here's something that does cheer me up: BON CHON. Oh god, I'd kill for a dozen of these right now.

WHAT I ATE TODAY:

Breakfast:

none

Lunch:

3 cups Corned Beef Rice 

Sunny Side Up Egg

3 pcs. hotdog

Dinner:
1/2 Bacon Pasta (which sucked by the way)
Nachos w/ Beef and Cheese
Some of Anna and Shelyn's pasta

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT:
189.5 pounds

TARGETS UNACHIEVED

REPOSTING FROM MONDAY...

TOMORROW'S TARGET (Monday Oct.11):

- eat breakfast

- eat less

- jog in the Polo Field before rehearsals

- no ice cream and late dinner

Eat Breakfast? Nope. I still skipped it. Because the minute I got up, I started working. 

Eat less? I think so. Well I didn't eat as much as Monday. 

Jog in the polo field? Nope. because work got in the way.

No Icream? Well, yes, I didn't have ice cream.

Late Dinner? Well, I had a late snack.

WHAT I ATE TODAY:

Breakfast:

none

Lunch:

Spaghetti Vongole

3-cheese Ensaymada

Queso de Bola dip

1 glass of Apple Cinnamon Iced Tea

Dinner:

2 pc. Combo Kebab w/ Rice

2 glasses of Dalandan Sangria

2 pcs. sticky rice

1/2 serving of nachos

I'm getting busier and busier by the day. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's go! I have to regain my social life back though. haha. =)

WEIGHT

188.5 pounds

- 2000 and THIN

THEATER IS LIKE A DRUG

Theater is like a drug. Imagine having a meeting from 2pm to 2am on a Saturday... yet loving every single minute of it. You feel like you can go on and on, discussing things because well, it's your passion. And what's better is that it's a shared passion by people whose passion are definitely overflowing. I feel driven to go from day to day because I love what I'm doing. I love it so much that it becomes me, it becomes who I am. I am what I do, and I love every single minute of it.

It took me a lifetime to get to this point - and now that I'm here, well, I just gotta do my best and God will do the rest. Lord, thank you for this opportunity to do something that will carve a mark in people's lives, for allowing me to enable people to grow in their own crafts, and for enabling me to grow with people who are willing to entrust me with the kind of responsibilities that people would have to work all their lives for. Help me protect them and nurture them and embrace them wholeheartedly that I emerge a better person who made a difference in people's lives.

WHAT I ATE TODAY:

Breakfast:

none

Lunch:

6 pcs. Crazy Maki

Watermelon Shake

Fillet Mignon Tips with Mushroom Penne

Dinner:

Shabu-Shabu

1 serving of fried rice

1 serving of fish with tofu

1 glass of pineapple juice

Late Dinner:

1 Large Fries

1 Oreo McFlurry

WEIGHT:

193.5 pounds

EXERCISE:

none

TOMORROW'S TARGET:

- eat breakfast

- eat less

- jog in the Polo Field before rehearsals

- no ice cream and late dinner

176-186: MONTAGE

Okay... I haven't been able to blog in weeks. I meant to when I got back from the States last, last Saturday but unfortunately, my net has been down in the house since then and I've had to go to other places to use it. Well, if anything, my trip to US proved to be very useful to me. I got my well-deserved R&R before it's back to reality and back to the real world of Manila.

If I were to sum up where I am at this point in my life, it would have to be that I'm very happy that I'm doing what I love to be doing, and I'm very happy to be accomplishing what I set out to do for myself. It's not stuff that piles up in my things-to-do, and I play catch up to my own procrastination... rather, I am able to actually accomplish things, big things, huge things, and that's one under my belt.

I am definitely seriously about resurrecting my writing career because I put it on hold for the last five months. So now, I'm seriously doing something about it. I will write and write because I am a writer. I know I'm a good writer so I can't allow myself to be rusty. And of course, my duties to 9 Works Theatrical, I will keep at it because we're on a roll... we have momentum, so we have to ride it and play our cards right, and hopefully find and secure a place in the Philippine Entertainment scene.

I also started already with my obligations with Blue Rep. I'm directing the newbie prod and I have the most amazing team behind me. This is the first time I'm directing something... on my own. I'm calling the shots. So it was weird and nerve-wracking at first... but now I'm settling into. I'm more excited now than scared. And I think that's a good thing.

I'm very happy with MY life right now. And I should continuously thank God for all the blessings and graces he continues to shower me. Without him, I am nothing...

BROADWAY REVIEW
Rock of Ages
RATING: 5 / 5

At first, I was like... ummm... okay lang. And then I started to get really into it. The songs are great. The story is great. And it's so friggin' hilarious. I'm so excited for my friend Chari to direct it for Atlantis next year. I got her a shirt fitting for next directorial endeavor after Legally Blonde. Anyway, the musical features songs from the 80s. So think Journey and the token Don't Stop Believing capping everything off in the end.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:


IN NEW YORK CITY

Me putting unlimited butter on my popcorn

Last Supper with Jared and EJ in the Big Apple

Dinner with Tita Josie on our last night in town

Mememoy attacking his steak

I love Mia and Joe

BACK HOME
RECENT SM VISIT

Pearl and Sam

Ghed, Pat and Ninoy

SM Family

RECENT DINNER WITH HARVS, CHRIS, AND MICHO

Frank and Harvey

Chris and Micho

WEIGHT UPDATE:
183.5 pounds...


woah... I can't believe. After a month without exercise... and all that In n' Out, Cold Stone, Bonchon, et al... I think it's from all the walking...


- 2000 and Thin ... yey :)

173-175: Modern Family

I just realized how damn lucky I am to have a family like mine. Our stories are just out of this world. How we are is really out of this world. And I wouldn't really have it any other way. It's funny how I always try to recreate the stories in the dinner table to friends and loved ones but it's not quite the same as when you sit through a bona fide Vera Perez lunch or get together. It's what keeps us afloat all these years - looking back and moving forward. Is there any other way really?

You have family, then you have friends. Here's to hanging out with fellow Pinoys on 4th of July :)
4th of July

BROADWAY REVIEWS
Friday (Day 173)
8pm: La Cage Aux Folles
RATING: 5/5


Wow! Fantastic is all I can say. I'm so happy to have caught this despite my initial hesitations. I was smiling and laughing all throughout. It also has enough emotional punch to take you through a riveting rollercoaster ride. The leads are amazing, especially Kelsey Grammar and that British Shakespearean actor Douglas Hodge who plays one heck of an amazing Zaza. It was a scaled down version where the name of the game was the tackier, the better.  The production meant to deconstruct the glamour and the shimmy of the show's previous incarnations to expose a rather pathetic yet heartfelt and spirited attempt at portraying the inglorious Riviera nightclub where drag queens reign supreme.

Curtain Call

Saturday (Day 174)

2pm: Addams Family

RATING: 3.5 / 5

Okay so I heard nothing but bad reviews about this show. But I just had to check it out. It was an idea that popped up in a sibling lunch that I attended previously. What better way to watch Addams Family than to watch it with the real Addams Family! Hilarious! My siblings and I kept looking at each other everytime a pass was made at being normal, either through dialogue or song. Haha. I loved the moving curtains that framed each scene. I also liked how brilliant the set changes were managed that my brother Ipe and I would stare in awe. Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth seemed hammy for the roles. But maybe that was the intention. Overall, the show didn't change my life. But it makes for good entertainment.

Sunday (Day 175)

3pm: 39 Steps

RATING: 2 / 5

I would've given it a 1 if not for the saving grace of Act 2. And I was actually surprised because this was a huge success on Broadway before it moved to Off-Broadway and it won the Tony Award for Best Play. Sadly, I had half the mind to walk out in the middle of Act 1. And it didn't help that I was sleepy. I dunno. The overacting (that was supposedly the intention of the show) didn't really work for me. I liked how elementary the stage effects were as it illustrated the pre-Wicked way of painting a theatrical picture. Witty. Clever. Especially the shadow play and the bare bones set that actually made for a convincing setting reminiscent of the original film. I also liked that the show was carried through with only four actors playing multiple roles. And there was even one scene where the two sidekicks were playing 2-3 roles each simultaneous within split seconds. Those parts were hilarious. Then again, maybe I should've caught Lend Me a Tenor instead.

WHAT I ATE TODAY:

DAY 173

Breakfast:

None

Lunch:

White Cheese Pizza

Bottled Water

Dinner:

Bacon Cheese Burger w/ Fries

Hot Chocolate

Cheesecake

DAY 174:

Breakfast:

none

Brunch: 44 1/2

Hanger Steak

2 Sunny Side-up Eggs

Fries Galore

Hot Chocolate

2 pcs. cornbread

Merienda:

Coffee Shake

Mac and Cheese w/ Sloppy Joe

Fries

Dinner:
2 pcs. Mad for Chicken Wings
Rice
Bulgogi

DAY 175:
Breakfast:
none

Lunch:
4 Chicken Wings
3 cups of Yang Chow Fried Rice
Fish
Beef w/ Taosi
5 pcs. Sweet and Sour Pork
1/2 Mango Slushie

Merienda:
Chocolate Mouse w/ Cheese Cake

Dinner:
Hotdog on a Bun
2 slices of bread w/ chicken spread
1 glass of milk
Leftover Chinese Food (Yang Chow Fried Rice + Wings + Beef)

EXERCISE:
none


SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:

 Me and Mememoy

Ate Leslie

Bumped into Krista and her cousin at Mad for Chicken

Mom and Tita Bernie

Me and Ate Leslie

Mark and Ate Sandra

Group Shot

Krista and Francis

Jed and EJ

Storytelling

- 2000 and Obese