A Night to Remember

Chopin's Etude In E Major Opus 10 No. 3 (basis of "No Other Love")
Hatinggabi by Antonio Molina
Mayon (Fantasia de Concierto) by Francisco Buencamino, Sr.
I Could Have Danced All Night  (from My Fair Lady)
Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal by Ernani Cuenco

This list reads like the Top Five Hits From My Childhood, for I grew up in this music, as they are just some of my parents' favorite songs. Imagine the joy my Mama and I felt when all these and more were performed last Saturday during "A Night to Remember", a fundraising concert for the projects of the Parish of Saint Benedict, held at the Don Antonio Heights Homeowners' Association (DAHHA) Clubhouse.

Internationally-acclaimed artists May Gorospe-Favis (soprano), Angelo Favis (guitar), and Charisse Baldoria (pianist) treated the parishioners and friends of St. Benedict to world-class music. Mama and I particularly enjoyed the jaw-dropping set of six out of seven songs composed by Manuel de Falla, where husband-and-wife team May and Angelo displayed their versatility in evoking a myriad of emotions through Siete canciones populares españolas ("Seven Spanish Folksongs").

If I were Mama, I would miss Papa during the concert, as the latter is currently on vacation in the U.S. The celebration of music reminded us that true beauty comes from God and art such as that reminds us of what our soul aches for - heaven. I have seen concerts at the Vatican and in other grand churches - on TV, as I wasn't invited - with the Pope in attendance, and last Saturday, I felt that grand. May also performed Psalm 23 and a song for Saint Clare that gave me goosebumps.

I could not help but admire the artists for their skill and talent. The priests asked me afterwards if I was inspired to practice the piano more and perform for them after watching that concert. I said, "As a matter of fact, No. You know me, I would choose not to do something if I know I cannot do perfectly."

I love music though and I bought Angelo's two CD's where he recorded Philippine music with his guitar. Love was in the air that night and I could not help but catch it with a smile. Love for God. Love for music. Love for friends. Love for community. And Love for my parents, who taught me all that.

My friends Hanzel, Marla, and Tess watched the concert, too, and we enjoyed the cocktails together with Mama, Fr. Steve, and some friends from the Parish Pastoral Council afterwards. We could not help laughing and having a great time, and it was not (just) because of the overflowing wine.

Forgive me for using a cliche, but I must admit it was indeed "a night to remember".

What Was I Thinking?!

Well maybe the problem is that I wasn't really thinking when I bought the smiley eau de toilette from Rustan's Essenses last week.  I went to there supposedly to catch the last day of the sale but instead of going to the department store where the real bargains were, I wandered into Essenses at Gateway and found myself surrounded by the products I had only read about.

I remembered all those products I had wanted to purchase - from Burt's Bees lip balm to Bite be Gone - and was on my way to the counter when I spotted that yellow smiling face that beckoned to me.  I received a text message on my cellphone and I read that my friends were already waiting for me at Cafe Bola.  I made a quick decision - to grab the smiley perfume and dash out before Becky Bloomwood took over me again.  (Who's Becky Bloomwood?  Please see previous post somewhere in my Lessons on Waiting blog).

After I had paid, the cashier said, "That perfume smells nice.  It's unisex.  A lot of people buy it."

I froze for a millisecond.  Whoever bought perfume (technically, EDT) without smelling it first?  I convinced myself it would smell nice, after all, the makers claimed that it was the world's first antidepressant perfume.  It allegedly was a "psycho-tonic perfume [normal dose] with micro-nutrients to activate happiness".  Sounds grand?  Here's the rest of the write-up from the official website:

Prescription free happiness, now available?! Smiley offers a unisex and universal range of products with micro-nutrients to activate happiness! Its secret: the formula is based on natural bio-chemistry combining theobromine with phenylethylamine derived from pure cocoa extract. This psycho stimulant cocktail is available in a whole range of preparations using galenical pharmacology. A 100% medical look for a unique therapy, the range is revealed out of the confined box of the luxury perfume industry! This antidepressant remedy is to be consumed without any moderation: in the shower, in the bath, for specific use anytime you wish! The formulae are preserved in exclusive perfume bottles developed by the prestigious glassmaking techniques of Saint-Gobain and desinged by Ora-Ito, the most sought after designer of his generation. Nothing like it to contain the happy therapy!

I've been wearing it for almost a week now and I feel fine, however, I'm not sure if my happiness is brought about by the perfume, or by my much-awaited return to the gym, or by a repaired relationship with someone I cared deeply about.  I'm inclined to credit it to the latter, actually.  (I have an entry brewing about my personal trainer and her Instruments of Torture, but will save it for another day.)

I should know better than to buy into marketing strategies, but I had wanted to try smiley for the longest time.  I'm not sure if I'm smiling more now, just as I'm not sure if in the past, I was truly Beautiful courtesy of Estee Lauder, In Love Again due to YSL,  Sporty courtesy of Polo Sport, Romantic courtesy of Romance by Ralph Lauren, or Happy courtesy of Clinique.  Honestly!  

Smiley doesn't blend well with me as much as Ralph by Ralph Lauren or Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana do, but I have to justify my purchase, since I rarely buy perfume for myself.  This is the last perfume I will buy this year, as I have many siblings who provide for my scent supply.  

I will, however, continue to seek happiness from within.  

Blast from the Past

I came across this poem again after several decades.  It used to be a favorite among my friends in high school.  Life is a drama, even for teenagers.  Or maybe especially for teenagers.

It turns out we memorized the wrong version.  The author, Charles Finn, a former Jesuit seminarian, did not write his name on the copies of the poem that he gave away to friends.  The poem spread across the globe, appropriated by some to be their own, and even abbreviated.  Through the website she put up, Charles' wife decided to document the poem's journey and also to let us, readers, plagiarists, and pilgrims, know the poet behind such words that mirrored our thoughts so clearly.  

I am happier with the original version, which is new to me.  It fits me where I am now, just as the old poem fit me when I was 15.

Please visit the website of Charles C. Finn, http://www.poetrybycharlescfinn.com. 

Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

               Don't be fooled by me.

               Don't be fooled by the face I wear

               for I wear a mask, a thousand masks,

               masks that I'm afraid to take off,

               and none of them is me.

               Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,

               but don't be fooled,

               for God's sake don't be fooled.

               I give you the impression that I'm secure,

               that all is sunny and unruffled with me, within as well

                    as without,

               that confidence is my name and coolness my game,

               that the water's calm and I'm in command

               and that I need no one,

               but don't believe me.

               My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,

               ever-varying and ever-concealing.

               Beneath lies no complacence.

               Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.

               But I hide this.  I don't want anybody to know it.

               I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.

               That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,

               a nonchalant sophisticated facade,

               to help me pretend,

               to shield me from the glance that knows.

               But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope,

               and I know it.

               That is, if it's followed by acceptance,

               if it's followed by love.

               It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,

               from my own self-built prison walls,

               from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.

               It's the only thing that will assure me

               of what I can't assure myself,

               that I'm really worth something.

               But I don't tell you this.  I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.

               I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance,

               will not be followed by love.

               I'm afraid you'll think less of me,

               that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.

               I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing

               and that you will see this and reject me.

               So I play my game, my desperate pretending game,

               with a facade of assurance without

               and a trembling child within.

               So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,

               and my life becomes a front.

                     I idly chatter to you in the suave tones of surface talk.

               I tell you everything that's really nothing,

               and nothing of what's everything,

               of what's crying within me.

               So when I'm going through my routine

               do not be fooled by what I'm saying.

               Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying,

               what I'd like to be able to say,

               what for survival I need to say,

               but what I can't say.

               I don't like hiding.

               I don't like playing superficial phony games.

               I want to stop playing them.

               I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me

               but you've got to help me.

               You've got to hold out your hand

               even when that's the last thing I seem to want.

               Only you can wipe away from my eyes

               the blank stare of the breathing dead.

               Only you can call me into aliveness.

               Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging,

               each time you try to understand because you really care,

               my heart begins to grow wings--

               very small wings,

               very feeble wings,

               but wings!

               With your power to touch me into feeling

               you can breathe life into me.

               I want you to know that.

               I want you to know how important you are to me,

               how you can be a creator--an honest-to-God creator--

               of the person that is me

               if you choose to.

               You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble,

               you alone can remove my mask,

               you alone can release me from my shadow-world of panic,

               from my lonely prison,

               if you choose to.

               Please choose to.

               Do not pass me by.

               It will not be easy for you.

               A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls.

               The nearer you approach to me

               the blinder I may strike back.

               It's irrational, but despite what the books say about man

               often I am irrational.

               I fight against the very thing I cry out for.

               But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls

               and in this lies my hope.

               Please try to beat down those walls

               with firm hands but with gentle hands

               for a child is very sensitive.

               Who am I, you may wonder?

               I am someone you know very well.

               For I am every man you meet

               and I am every woman you meet.

                                                                     Charles C. Finn

                                                                          September 1966

P.S.  Arvin, Mhel, I'm sure you remember this.  

My Minnie Mouse Night Shirt Says "Having a Me Moment"

To chase the blues away, we need to laugh a little.  Once in a while, we need to pat ourselves on the back and say we did a good job at something.  

So allow me to have a "me moment" and just to sing about...

ME

(My reflections on the song "You", originally recorded by Basil Valdez)

I give you hope,
The strength, the will to keep on;
No one else can make you feel this way
And only I
Can bring out all the best you can do;
You believe I turn the tide
And make you feel real good inside.

I push you up
When you're about to give up;
I'm on your side when no one seems to listen
And if I go,
I know the tears can't help but show
I'll break your heart and tear it apart;
Then suddenly the madness starts.

Refrain:
It's my smile,
My face, my lips that you miss,
My sweet little eyes that stare at you
And make you say,
You're with me through all the way.

'Cause it's me
Who fills the emptiness in you;
It changes ev'rything, you see,
When you know you've got me with you.

I push you up
When you're about to give up;
I'm on your side when no one seems to listen
And if I go,
I know the tears can't help but show
I'll break your heart and tear it apart;
Then suddenly the madness starts.

(Once more with feeling...)

It's my smile,
My face, my lips that you miss,
My sweet little eyes that stare at you
And make you say,
You're with me through all the way.

'Cause it's me
Who fills the emptiness in you;
It changes ev'rything, you see,
When you know you've got me with you.

(Last na...)

It's my smile,
My face, my lips that you miss,
My sweet little eyes that stare at you
And make you say,
You're with me through all the way.

'Cause it's me
Who fills the emptiness in you;
It changes ev'rything, you see,
When you know you've got me with you.

I only wrote this because I know you won't read this anyway.  You don't have to thank me.  I know what I did last summer.

I Need a Hero. Now.

I saw Superman Returns on HBO and could not help wishing I were Lois Lane.  There are worse things in life than to be caught between James Marsden and Brandon Routh.  Cyclops and Superman, fighting for your love.  

The rest of us women have to settle for humans.  In X-Men, I soo wanted to be Jean Grey, and run off with Wolverine and leave "the kid".  But I digress.

I've always had a thing for Superman, as I wrote in my other blog.  He is boring as far as Batman and Spiderman fans are concerned, but there can only be one SUPERman.  His strength and speed are only matched by his Hollywood versions' stunning looks and awesome built.  A girl could deliberately fall off a cliff if only to be rescued by Superman.

But there are no sighs here. I know, in the real world, I generally try to avoid cliffs.  Period.

Let me break into a Bonnie Tyler song now.  This one's for you, Superman.  Wherever you are.  

Holding Out for  a Hero

(From the Soundtrack of Footloose, with a Remake in Shrek II)

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream
of what I need

[Chorus]

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder end rising with the heat
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet

[Chorus]

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere
Watching me

Through the wind end the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood

Job Openings at CD Asia

Urgent Hiring!

CD Technologies Asia, Inc. is looking for Marketing and Sales Associates in its Manila and Cebu offices, and for an Administrative Assistant for the Davao branch. For details please visit the Job Openings page at cdasia.com.

How Beautiful

How Beautiful
Words and Music by Twila Paris

Also recorded by Oggie Benipayo and Sr Bubbles Bandojo, rc
Sing of Him

How Beautiful the hands that served
The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes
How Beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How Beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

MCLE in New Jersey!

CD Asia, the organizers of the successful MCLE in LV, are proud to announce an even more exciting MCLE in New Jersey! This is open to all US- and Canada- based Filipino lawyers who want to retain their good standing in the Philippine Bar. Professors from the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University will be giving the lectures.

MCLE in New Jersey will be held from October 2 to 5, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center at 6821 Black Horse, Atlantic City West, EHT, NJ 08334. For inquiries, please email amgoce@mclepro.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Calling

Lingkod QC brothers singing The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go" for outgoing BWM Gay Ordenes. Gay said she's not going anywhere far, she'll just be with Ligaya.

Lovin' Summer

Summer is here again.  For some, it means rest from books.  For others, it signals bathing suit season and beach party time.  But for the youth of the Parish of St Benedict, summer means YASP!

Yes, it's coming back and it's going to be packed.  The Youth Alive Summer Program will start on April 8 and end on May 24.

We're looking for generous snacks sponsors.  If you're ready, willing, and able to sponsor simple snacks for the youth of our parish, kindly send me an email at ella@digitalres.com.

Or comment to this post.  You may search "youth alive" photos, links, and posts from my original blog here.  (For my friends on multiply, FYI, I have 2 blogs, for my two personalities. ;)

P.S.  The title was just there to catch your attention.  But I guess for some people, summer is for lovin' as well.