music – BRYOLOGUE

Why I abandoned social media

October 1, 2014bryologue 1 Comment

As usual, I am typing things through a stream of consciousness. I would have wanted to be more structured with how my points are presented on this ‘radical’ move, but most of my entries trying to make a strong point are done as an internal monologue anyway, thus the name ‘bryologue‘. What prompted me to totally quit Facebook? A more direct answer might have been exasperation with the general public, but I have this perfect opportunity to elaborate on the motivation.

First of all, I did not have an Instagram account, not until four weeks ago. I am still using a BlackBerry phone, and as we know, it does not have a native Instagram application. I got really curious with all the brouhaha on the likes and hashtags, and it seems that it is a prerequisite for people around my age to have one. I might be missing out on something. I have a no-name Android tablet my father gave me a year ago when he went home, which I primarily use for reading Ebooks. The 4 gigabyte memory card capacity was rife with PDFs and Epubs. I am ashamed to say this, but I finally gave in and created an Instagram account just to get over the curiosity of why people are crazy about it.

Albert Camus’s “L’Etranger” realized on Lego pieces

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2NE1 ALL OR NOTHING TOUR POST!

May 17, 2014bryologue 1 Comment

Bye-bye Faye’s place

Our Saturday was not a slow day to begin with. I did not return home in Marikina because Mon and I were to finally fix our belongings before the following day’s move in. We were also to help Faye move to her new place the same afternoon. She also reminded us of today’s itinerary and then some more: she asked us if we were available to watch 2NE1’s concert the night after if Charm would be able to hustle in some tickets. BUT OF COURSE! There was no assurance but we already claimed that we would be going. We have packed all of our clothes, except for two cotton shirts (because I needed an extra one in case I get drenched in sweat), a pair of pants and my trusted Red Wings.

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My colorblind art: blue irises

May 20, 2013bryologue 1 Comment

Until now, I’m reconsidering what things to put in our apartment in order to personalize the space, but I was pretty sure I wanted framed things inside. Aside from a framed silk scarf fantasy from last week, I also recalled that I wanted to frame this painting of irises I made on a boring summer about thirteen years ago. I had leftover poster paint bottles and a sketch pad from the drawing/drafting class of the school year earlier, and I thought it would be such a waste not to use them. I had copied these flowers from a children’s book I got from my grade school library:

So when I thought of framing it at the same time with the silk scarf, I also began to question whether I had the color right. Again, I am colorblind and I have a curious problem of identifying and confusing colors from one another. Before I bring this painting to the framing store, I reconsidered whether it was done correctly. So under the pretense of curiously asking Faye about the color of irises, I was stunned to hear that they are normally purple/violet/lavander. I was dumbfounded. All my life, I have deluded myself that irises are blue and I really loved them for that. I have never thought of them as blue. I was living a lie.

Well, a quick Google image search informed me that there are really true blue irises. The catch was I have copied my irises from a children’s book that I loved so much because it was one of those general knowledge textbooks that one can just read on and on. I was recently informed that the iris on top was violet, and the one below was on blue violet. I don’t remember ever using violet in my painting because I only had the basic (labelled) poster paints. My irises painting is still existent in the natural world. But if we were to consider its provenance, then it would be another story because the flowers in the book had different colors.

An incomplete drawing of Geri

So aside from the irises painting, I was also surprised to see other things I have made in the same sketch pad. It was evident that I have a tendency to draw faceless figures because it was something I was unable to do. But come to think of it, it is still something I cannot do. LOL Look at the gay overtones of the two: Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were definitely having a moment (and whose author, Mark Twain, was also incidentally colorblind!). Meanwhile, Geri is clearly a gay icon, with that iconic Union Jack dress on from the Cool Britannia period of the leate 90s. It was really funny and nostalgic at the same time to peruse old drawings from more than a decade ago. That irises painting might be no Van Gogh, but it deserves its own spot inside my new place. In the bathroom, perhaps? LOL

Are you ready to jump?

February 20, 2013bryologue 5 Comments

I’ve been listening to a specific list of songs lately and I was particularly drawn again to Madonna’s song ‘Jump‘. I especially adore the first two spoken lines, which completely capture what I’ve been feeling lately:

There’s only so much you can learn in one place;
The more that you wait, the more time that you waste

And yeah, I remember seeing the Season 2 finale of Ugly Betty and the song was aptly used in that pivotal sequence. The question is, am I really ready to jump?

For the sake of having an image included in this post, I had to dig up my hard drive for this particular photo. It was undeniably my most favorite jump shot ever, taken on my birthday almost seven years ago just before sunset in Boracay Island. Come to think of it, it was also the first photo I’ve posted when I created my now inactive Tumblr account on my 25th birthday. Looking at it now makes me more frustrated than ever. Not that I moan about not being able to stunts like that because I completely got over it. I’m frustrated over how this photo reminded me of how adventurous and fearless I used to be, that how I grabbed life by the balls and was not too afraid of failure or rejection.

Honestly, if there were no other considerations, I’d quit my job and work for an organization that will probably pay me way lower than what I get now. But at least whatever I’m doing makes me happy and I get to do something worthwhile. Maybe that’s what eating me now, I don’t feel like doing something significant in terms of using what I learned from school. I’m too impatient to begin but I just can’t rush dropping things at once. A lot of “what will happen to this, or to that” has been running on my mind and it was really hilarious and despicable at the same time. To be more specific, I’m itching to go out there.

Am I too distracted? Maybe, but whatever it is that keeps me afloat lately has been some sort of therapy and escapism. When I snap back to reality, I really want to do something substantial. When I take a bath or about to sleep, I always have an impulsive and radical idea to just sell everything I have (i.e. my bags) so whatever that needs to be covered gets covered, and I can then do whatever it is that I want to do. Out of the bathroom or immediately waking up, I will then completely dismiss the idea — I’m neurotic. LOL

I’ve been itching to write about this for days, but I keep holding back out of fear that whoever I know reading this might think badly of me. Then I realized that this is my blog, my space, where I decided to let it all hang out and whoever tries to peruse its contents was never forced to do so. Anyway, I just need more patience and do a mental organization of what needs to be done and prioritized before I do any significant jump. Well, I can no longer ignore that familiar feeling from five years ago, but unlike that time, a lot of things have changed and I have to make smarter choices now.

90s party music was pure fun!

November 25, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

A few days ago, I decided to go grunge for the party. However, Mon dissuaded me that the thing I was going for might be too much and I decided to narrow it down to a denim vest. I took out this denim jacket from the bowels of our storage room and was already resolute to remove the sleeves. I remember buying it from Robinsons Metro East department store more than 10 years ago and I had worn it just once — I regretted buying it afterwards. LOL

After about an hour or so, I was able to transform the jacket to a vest, sparingly embellished with my favorite studs to give it a little character. Maybe it was a good thing that I had little time to do it because if I had more time, the vest could have gone over-embellished and would have crossed the gaudy side. I originally thought of wearing a white shirt with a bejeweled skull design on it but finally talked myself out of it. Then of course, nothing says 90s more than a good ‘ol Prada nylon backpack!

We arrived late in the party at around half past nine, but we still were the first people to arrive in our group. Then one by one until 11:00 PM, everyone has already arrived and we started having a great time. And I think the best part of it was to see my teammates dress up as the Spice Girls (albeit toned down)! Clang as Posh was definitely the bomb, with the the LBD, black heels and the bob wig.

It was the perfect event to party with these guys, because honestly, I have NEVER met another bunch of people like them who are, admittedly, the best party people. It has been a long time, in fact, years, since I last indulged myself with booze and good music.

Speaking of good music, last night reminded me of how much I love 90s music. From Mariah’s Breakdown, Diana King’s Shy Guy, Robyn’s Do You Really Want Me, TLC’s No Scrubs, Ghost Town DJ’s My Boo to name a few. It was the perfect playlist, sauf when the DJ played The Corr’s Breathless. O_O It was the most non-dancey music out there and I have no idea why it was played. Anyway, I went home looking for copies of the music played and the entire Sunday afternoon was full of 90s nostalgia.

There was also a surprise guest. =D Ali was very ecstatic since last week because one fierce queen had agreed to come to the event. I was eagerly anticipating this because it has been years since I last saw a drag performance in person.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwSSTFQ6Tdk]

I can’t stress enough how delighted I was to have attended Ali’s birthday, especially partying with my teammates after a long time. And also, a big thanks to Mon for allowing me to drink even just for one night, =D Again, Happy birthday Ali and thanks to the wonderful one-night time machine!

*All watermarked photos courtesy of Shot and Shoot Productions

90s? Grunge it is!

November 19, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

This Saturday, a friend and former teammate will turn 25 and he’ll be hosting a birthday party for his friends and family. However, since he did not have a chance to dress-up last Halloween, he decided to have a costume party and bring back the spirit of the 90s!

Coincidentally, last Halloween, I have expressed my limited knowledge of 90s fashion. I can’t even fully remember or I fully regret my clothing choices back in the 90s. I used to wear sandals with socks because it used to be à la mode. At one point, I even tried wearing neon socks with my school uniform because almost everybody was doing it. I was such a sheep. Looking back, the memory of that pop of color by our ankles while walking makes me shiver.

Back to the upcoming event, I was racking my brain on what I will be wearing. I did not want it to be too costume-y nor shell out money to but things I’d probably wear once because I’m pinching the penny for our upcoming trip. Then, while listening to my iPod on shuffle, Celebrity Skin played… *boom!* No, not Courtney Love, but with Hole in mind, I suddenly recalled Kurt Cobain and the whole grunge movement. I definitely ruled out the second-half of the 90s as inspiration, but the first-half definitely tickled my fancy. Grunge perfectly fits this and I love the disheveled plaid, flannel, dirty jeans, and, of course, Doc Martens!

I’m trying to recall the things I have in my closet and I pretty much have all of them except a ripped pair of jeans. Should I sacrifice one I currently have, or just look for a really beaten up pair somewhere in the storage room? I think the latter was the most viable option. I now feel more excited to try putting things together and see if I can build a grunge ensemble.

Undergrad nostalgia photos

November 9, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

I received an email earlier from the department that the graduate office was asking for a copy of my 2nd semester/AY 2009-2010 Form 5. I had no idea where I had placed it and since it was last used three years ago, I was ready to bet that I have already lost it.

I was very eager to immediately go home after work because I wanted to search for it in all of my boxes of trinkets. As expected, I did not find it. However, I was happy to see several things associated with my undergraduate life in a shoe box I have stashed inside my drawer.

In one of the binders with Cattleya fillers, I have several tickets and receipts in the cover. It has Mariah, Alicia Keys concert tickets, as well as the ticket for the first time that I’ve watched the UAAP Cheerdance Competition in 2003. I remember that it was sold to me by my PE instructor right that Saturday morning, and I dragged myself to Araneta to watch it in that jampacked Upper B section. After that event, I was more than determined to try my luck to be part of the team.

I also found several notes for my language classes. I even found a yellow pad paper with a French translation exercise given by a visiting professor — translate Nina’s ‘Love Moves in Mysterious Ways’ into French. It was a peculiar exercise and we couldn’t believe that we were made to translate that song. Turned out that he liked the song so much that he asked all of his assigned classes to translate it. But the paper that I found really funny was the one with my notes for our Latin class. I barely remember anything from that class except for “Mulus gemit” (The mule groans) and “Sumus agricolae” (We are farmers). It was my lowest numerical grade ever (at 3.00, I barely passed the class) but I was most happy to get that grade. Latin was excruciating.

And then, when UP used to issue tangible classcards (they now release them online through CRS), we had to sift through a pile of classcards and look for our names. What was embarrassing about it was that other students/classmates would be able to see your poor grades while looking for their own. News about who got a failing grade would readily spread out. Looking upon my classcards in my box at home, I saw my two INC classcards, one for English 11 (literature something, where I had to endure the extremely soporific” The Iceman Cometh“) and the other was Kas 1 (Philippine history). I was wondering why I did not tear nor throw them out.

Lastly, my first ever Form 5 in Diliman from 2003, containing my basic French classes and the badly spaced schedule of classes. I had classed from Monday to Saturday (except Wednesdays) and the breaks were quite long that I even had time to go to SM North and loiter before going back to school. Also, it was my most costly semester ever, at Php 6,266.50 when it used to Php 300/unit in school. Of course it was a different story nowadays when the tuition for undergrad drastically increased. I remember peeking at the Form 5s of the students I was with in the queue for payment and it was not strange to see theirs marked with Php 25,000 and up. Eeeek! That can already about 5 semesters during my time.

I counted the wrinkled and yellowed Form 5s from my undergrad and they were all present. Imagine I have kept each and every single one, including the summer classes but I managed to lose one of my graduate school Form 5. Some things do really change over time and one of them was diligence. LOL

Rainy trip the light fantastic

October 25, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

Apparently, there was a storm signal raised since last night and we were not aware of it, given the whole Big Bang preoccupation. So it was not surprising that today, I was woken up by the sound of heavy raindrops by our roof. I just hope it won’t be raining cats and dogs because I’m still traumatized by the last August’s unfortunate event.

Just as I thought that the rainy season was finally over, here comes another typhoon. Although it did not directly hit Metro Manila (and our brothers down south were the ones ravaged by it), I had to dress ready for the rain and wind. My umbrella almost got broken because the gust was quite strong and I even had to mend it before going down.

Anyway, I was on a Sophie Ellis-Bextor galore for the past few days, particularly over her album ‘Trip the Light Fantastic‘ and I think of vortices and fast moving lights. So when on my way home, I took this shot using my digicam of pretty lights in motion. It just made me happy, that’s all. =D

BIG BANG ALIVE TOUR 2012 (MANILA) POST!!!

October 25, 2012bryologue 4 Comments

So yesterday, I had a fantastic day with Mon, Lot (his sister) and Faye. We initially intended to go to Music Bank in Diosdado Macapagal Avenue at around 2:00 PM, but remembered that it will not open until 3:00 PM. We then ate first in Sol Restaurant, few meters away from Music Bank, as we will definitely have a hard time eating a proper meal during the concert. There were few people in the restaurant and all of them were Koreans having, presumably, their late lunch.

So at around 3:30 PM, we finally went inside Music Bank and started singing our hearts out. We had a little hard time looking for some of the KPop songs we would like to sing, but we got there in the end. We spent around two hours, while we were slowly frozen to death by the airconditioning. By the time we got out, I have already developed a runny nose; though I didn’t know if that was because of the room’s temperature or Faye’s virus finally contaminating me (she was not feeling well since Monday). LOL

We didn’t actually know if it was a good idea to go to a noraebang before going to a concert, because we would most likely be losing our voice. But we still have a couple of hours to compose ourselves before the mayhem in The Arena. When we got in the Mall of Asia, we saw this crowd at the back of the venue:

We were to enter in the Coral (Blue) Entrance and there were already a lot of people queuing for the mandatory bag inspection. We did not immediately fall in line because I wanted to make sure that I can sneak my point-and-shoot camera inside. I just observed how the inspection was done and I saw a couple of DSLRs and even point-and-shoots were confiscated by the guards on duty. So I just shoved it deep inside the side pocket of my bag, covered in unused tissue and with my iPod on the top so the guards would immediately see I had nothing to hide. Well it worked but we did not take pictures until we were finally seated in our respective seats.

We were seated in Section 401, which was directly in front of the stage. One of our tickets was in Section 404, but as the person who was to sit next to us did not arrive (or the people, because seat numbers four to seven were vacant), there was no need to push through with our original plan of snatching that one seat.

(We haven’t seen any light stick similar to Faye’s <3 We bought this from the souvenir shop in Doota Mall last year)

And then the concert started! After the curtains fell, the boys were revealed to be inside these illuminated tubes, as if teleported from somewhere.

I did my best with what my camera can do and I noticed that it was far easier and better to take videos, as my hands were not that stable to take photos in low lighting. I managed to take several videos, but bothered only in resizing three of them. I also have uploaded the first one in my previous post. And also, I was not screaming like a banshee in these videos (unlike the 2NE1 videos I took, where I was screaming Bom’s name like it will lead me to salvation). (*Note: Change the quality to “480p” ([in the gear icon above] to view the best quality)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fZyedMYS-8&feature=plcp]

Big Bang Alive Tour 2012 Manila – Fantastic Baby

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdbh1rK45_A&feature=plcp]

Big Bang Alive Tour 2012 Manila – Haru Haru

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJJp3YdpNns&feature=plcp]

Big Bang Alive Tour 2012 Manila – Lies

If I have to be perfectly honest with the whole experience, I sat during most of the middle of the concert because: a) I did not know the songs they were singing, and b) I was really too low-energy (a.k.a. old) to match the energy of the people around me. However, the line-up of the songs was perfectly-made that I cannot NOT stand up and sing along with the songs I knew and loved (e.g. the songs I recorded above). LOL My mental discography was very archaic and I was stuck in Big Bang circa 2008-2009.

At Php 3,900, we got our money’s worth. =D Compared to the three-thousand plus we shelled out in that joke/milk-the-opportunity strategy called “The Party” last year, Big Bang’s first concert here in Manila was very good, production-wise. Although it was apparent that most of the boys gave a very vocally lackluster performance (Tae Yang’s voice was cracking, and as how Sharon Needles put it, he was Christina-ing it out a lot; and GD seemed to have quite a lower energy). Daesung was the most consistent among the boys and I have new respect for him because of that. There were also a lot of Roselle-Nava-sing-with-me moments, which I didn’t like. =/

Another theory given by our friend China (who had to brave the fiasco at the topmost seats, along with two other people), was that GD sensed the overwhelming bias of the crowd towards T.O.P. and he was already resigned over that fact. LOL I didn’t even know how factual that theory was but I think that he still gave a decent job, albeit the low energy. Also, we were wondering why he did not perform his latest single, Crayon (whose video shown before the concert even started has sent the crowd to a shrieking frenzy). But I was extremely envious of his Givenchy Rotweiler shirt. Ugh. LOL

Naturally, we were hungry after the event but as almost all the establishments were closed by 10:30 PM (the show ran few minutes over two hours), we did not even bother eating a snack. We actually had the choice of going to McDonald’s but it was jam-packed, so we decided to just part ways. The rain also did not help. I forgot to bring an umbrella and I just had a gray cardigan inside. As I was more worried of the vachetta parts onn my backpack, more than myself getting wet, I just buttoned it around my bag, liek a new-born baby. I didn’t want any watermarks to ruin the leather. LOL

We’ve heard that SNSD (or some other group from SM Entertainment) will be going to Manila next year. Lot is one BIG SNSD FAN and she will most likely watch their concert, if ever they would organize one. But as the light sticks are probably insanely marked up here, we will be just buying some in Seoul this December when we go back. I might even buy a few more just to sell when that happy day comes. LOL

Exactly a week from now: BIG BANG ALIVE GALAXY TOUR IN MANILA

October 17, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

Big Bang Alive Galazy Tour 2012 poster

(Photo from philippineconcerts.com)

Forgive me for the upper case letters in the title but I’m just extremely looking forward to Big Bang‘s concert here in Manila next week! We got our tickets when they were first released in July and it was Mon who fell in line for them. There will be four of us watching: Mon and I, Lot (Mon’s sister) and Faye. And as the concert will be held at exactly 8:00 PM, we have no choice but to file a day of vacation leave just for it.

I’m not gonna lie: the tickets cost a lot! We only availed the Upper Box seats, and at Php 3,700 (plus the Php 200 SM ticketing charge), we are desperately hoping that the show will be worth it! The better seat at Lower Box B cost Php 3,170 more than our tickets but given the bizarre seat configuration in SM MOA Arena, I think the prices were quite justified. The first and last time I have entered the venue was last month’s UAAP Cheerdance Competition. We were seated at the Lower Box B, enough to gauge that the viewing experience at the Upper Box MIGHT be tantamount to peeking at the bottom of a ravine. LOL

Anyway, what I’m most excited about is the crowd. This concert will only be the 4th K-Pop-related event I’m going to witness. The first one was 4Minute‘s mall tour in SM North way back in 2009 (with Faye), the second was Super Junior’s concert in 2010 (with Mon and Gina), and the third one was 2NE1 in Araneta from last year (with a lot of my officemates). Aside from the idols, the people watching are always a nice spectacle to see, especially on what they will be wearing. As young and easily impressionable some of the fans are, you have to admire the guts of some who wear the most outrageous outfits in these events. One time, I saw a guy, about thirteen years old, wearing a bubble vest with a (faux?) fur hood! Mind you, this was in the middle of April, when summer was officially ablaze in Manila! Provided that next Wednesday will be the concert of South Korea’s most stylish boyband (and yes, I confer that title to them as G-Dragon can single-handedly live up to that), I expect crazier outfits from the fans. I just hope that cameras won’t be banned or else I would have to find a way to sneak one in.

One more week to go and I must try to memorize some lyrics. When all else fails, I’d just mouth ‘watermelon’ and the known-English words in their songs. LOL