Interesante

I'm getting ready to order graduation apparel, commencemement tickets and parking permits. Yay! Well, I figure I should get excited about it. Mom and Dad, can you pay for all this? Yes? Sweet. After all, these things -- first and foremost -- are for parents. :)

ANYway, Brittany and I were discussing renting and buying graduation apparel. She's renting hers, and I freaked her out: Make sure everything's clean! LOL!

Undergrads and masters students at UW must purchase their apparel, and doctoral students must rent theirs. I think the doctoral students have the coolest outfits. Perhaps a little poofy but definitely distinguished.

But here's the interesting part. Though I have to purchase my robe and mortar board, I'm actually paying less than those who earned their doctoral degrees. I never noticed that until today.

Apparel prices: Bachelor apparel (purchase only) - $26.95, Master's apparel (purchase only) - $42.95, and Doctoral apparel (rental) - $49.95. See website for Doctoral purchase information. Additional Bachelor & Master's tassels (purchase) - $5.00 each. Additional Master's hoods (purchase) -$20.00 each.

Man, you probably think this is boring and mundane. I DON'T CARE! It's interesting to me. LOL!

Mr. Brantley, you know too much

I had to consult dictionary.com more than once to read Ben Brantley's review of The Wedding Singer in The New York Times. That's NYT, for ya. Sui generis. SOMEbody finally talked about Felicia Finley's performance as Linda, which is hilarious. Finally finally.

Good review. Wait, I mean, I liked the review, but the review didn't necessarily give the show two thumbs up or four stars or anything like that. Read it for yourself. :)

I can't wait to see the musical again on Broadway. I'd like to see and hear the changes for myself. I've seen one change in a picture: Laura Benanti now wears a blonde wig. If I were in charge, I would scrap the wig.

Like the new look?

I felt it was time to change the look of my blog. There aren't too many choices, but I like this one. Don't get me wrong, I liked the old one, but, well, read my first line again. :)

My first description could be attributed to my COM 201 professor: Make media.

Second description was from "Elaborate Lives" in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.

Current description is from "La Vie Boheme." It ties into time, of course, but also it's perfect. I can't get "the need to express -- to communicate" out of my head.

One more quote from the great Jonathan Larson and then I'm on my way:
"The opposite of war isn't peace... it's creation."

Oh, that's good!

Just saw a plug for it while watching The Office.

The main page has animation. At least it does right now.

Once a Grobanite, always a Grobanite

Finally! News about Josh's upcoming album. Upcoming but still months away from the release. The video is the same segment that aired on Good Morning America. I was able to watch it before heading to work. :)

Ah, Josh Groban. *sigh* In my eyes you do no wrong. :)

I didn't create 'em, I didn't post 'em, but I sure do love 'em

People send 'em to me, people talk about 'em, people blog about 'em and Time Magazine writes about 'em.

Here are some of my current favorite viral Internet videos:

George Lucas in Love

Titanic 2: Jack's Back

Lazy Sunday

Brokeback to the Future

11 years ago

Mom, Dad, Janice and I saw Miss Saigon for the first time. And like today, that day was a Saturday. :) The matinee with Cristina Paras and Matt Bogart. Paramount Theatre. The major start of my love for musical theater. (The minor start was Jesus Christ Superstar when I was in 1st grade. I still thank God that we haven't found my 6-year-old self singing "What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happenin?" on a cassette tape.)

I feel good

Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh!

I'm making my debut in the real world on Monday! Last weekend of freedom. So many things to do, so little time:

Finish reading Dad's copy of Angels and Demons
Pay credit card bills (boo)
Write a song
Go to Mariners game on Sunday
Clean room (yeah right)
Watch a movie
Prep materials for two more NYC organizations
Call Brittany (that better happen! heh heh)

I was going to post this on MySpace, but then it hit me...

... here's the result of yesterday's horoscope:

Original title from MySpace: Past, present and future

I've spent the past few hours collecting addresses for my graduation announcements. Oh, I have right-index-finger arthritis from clicking on my mouse so much. What is it called? Repetitive something or other?

ANYway, I've been looking at my graduation cards from high school (yes, I kept them). Some are really, really meaningful, and I'm glad to see the messages in them again. It's kind of funny to think that -- fast forward four years to the present -- I'm still thinking about The Future. Maybe funny isn't the right word. I'll take all the luck and best wishes I can get. Looking back, college was nice and comfortable and SAFE... and did I mention comfortable?

Sorry this blog isn't funny. I just have to keep getting this out of my system. One day at a time, Allison. One day at a time.

*deep breath* Ooh, that helped. I remember one time I attended Mass at Blessed Sacrament, which is about a 15-minute walk from UW. During his homily, the priest emphasized a specific part of our prayer, which hit home with me that day. It does right now as well. I think I'll say it because I need to:

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Daily Virgo Forecast

So I have an astrology forecast on my homepage. Sometimes I think they're completely off, but today, they're completely ON. So I'll post this for blog posterity:

Quickie: Don't sacrifice your goals for anyone. Pressure being put on you may be a bad sign.

Soooo nice to read that. My confidence has been shaken up a bit, but I'm not giving up. I won't let anyone have the satisfaction of telling me that I didn't make it. I WILL make it. Just give me time. And please don't ask me constantly when I'll get there. When it happens I'll spread the word faster than you can say "I like the island Manhattan." (Smoke on your pipe, and put that in!)

Overview: Remember that an initial pass at a project is simply that: an initial pass. No one requires that it be perfect (except, possibly, you). Be confident enough to listen to the criticism and do what helps the overall outcome.

Abso-freakin'-lutely. Again, just what I needed to read.

Daily extended (by Astrology.com) You don't just think deeply, you feel deeply. You consider deeply. You imagine how things could be different on a deep level. You process deeply. You feel strongly about the world in both its spiritual and physical dimensions, and you aren't content if you haven't been able to penetrate to a deep level of understanding of your milieu. So get started.

That says it all. OK, so I don't feel eloquent at the moment, but maybe I'm posting this here for me. (Yeah, I like to visit my own blog, I'll admit it!) Keep on dreaming. "Let's go tear this mother DOWN!" (Oh, I'm not talking about you, Mom, it's just a funny Freaks & Geeks reference!)

Then and now ... the final PIP installment

Janice and me: I wonder if I was pretending to be a catcher. Hey, batta batta! (Told ya we took digitals pictures of photos in albums.)

Jason and me: Hangin' 'round A. Guinto St.

Finally got to take a picture of the Philippine flag at Intramuros in Manila.

That's all, folks! There are lots of shots of Manila, but the best ones are on Jason's Fotki site anyway. :)

A moment to pause...

I sat down in the kitchen to eat dinner and turned on our mini black-and-white TV. A news reporter was summarizing and quoting the passengers, flight crew and terrorists from the United flight 93 recording. I couldn't turn away from the screen as I listened and read the words on the screen. By the end, I got all choked up as I thought about the passengers on the plane and all that they did on 9/11 to stop another American landmark from destruction. They and their families are in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

More PIP

Friday day-trip to Naga and Legaspi/Legazpi (plus one pic from Saturday)

We took a few digi's of photographs in albums. My two favorites are one of Janice and me and one of Janice socializing when she was a toddler! :)

Mom's high school in Naga

It was the pinning ceremony for Maya and Macel. Congratulations!

The "shy" Mayon Volcano (which boasts a beautiful perfect cone) and Cagsawa ruins

At the souvenir stand: When I took this picture, the vendor selling ice cream to my right started to play Josh Groban in Concert on DVD. "Qui c'e il buio fuori di me..." Yay! I got to hear Alla Luce, You're Still You and part of Gira.

At the top of a hill is this grand, majestic church. Dad took a picture of these school kids, and then...

... they quickly gathered around Mr. Popular to see their picture!

Another view of Our Lady of the Gate (I hope I remembered the name correctly!)

At the Albay Wildlife Park. Albay is the name of the province. Vinzons is in Camarines Norte, Naga in Camarines Sur and Legaspi/Legazpi in Albay.

Napping on a sunny Saturday afternoon: The two cats are the cat's pajamas!

PIP... um, continued!

Thursday, March 16, 2006

A fishing village relatively near the town-proper (it was Mom's first time there)

Auntie Ginie attempts to catch a fish.

Success!

My prize catch. Not! Throw it back, Jason!

The pili-nut tree! Mmmm.... pili tarts.

The beach in the Del Carmen area (we went to this beach three times).

There's an island in the distance. See it?

Da bro and me


Dad wrote in the sand "We are Magjjc." I also wrote with my right foot (does that make me right-footed?) the titles of my most recently written songs in the sand and watched the water wash them away. It was very cool.

MySpace

I just joined the MySpace mania. I keep hearing about it all the time, so I finally gave in. Maaike invited me a couple weeks ago. (Even Eliot Morris said to the crowd, "I'm on MySpace. We can be buddies.")

There are so many ways to keep in touch with people these days. I may or may not get hooked to MySpace. Well, join me there, too, if you want to! At least I can finally read some of those blogs that I couldn't access before. And I like the MySpace Music pages.

http://www.myspace.com/musicallispeaking

This will continue to be my main blog though.

In the presence of musical greatness

It was Spotlight Night at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Ah, I haven't been there since the penultimate performance of The Wedding Singer in February. It's always good returning to that theater, especially since I was an intern there.

I unsuccessfully parallel parked in downtown Seattle, but that's because someone honked at me, so I felt WAY too much pressure. Boo! Oh well, I was eventually able to get into the space and park for free.

When I made my way into the lobby of the theater, I went all the way to the right side and lined up behind an elderly couple. The man noticed my notebook and asked if I was going to take notes. Yup! I told him that Stephen Schwartz is an incredible composer, and if he had any good advice to offer, I was going to write it down. :) We got to talking about school, subscriptions, sports, The 5th, previous Spotlight Nights (for them [for me this was my first]) and traveling around the world. They showed me how to get the best seats in the house for Spotlight Night. We sat in the front row! From there, I was able to smack an unsuspecting Jen Rice with my notebook to get her attention and say hi. Ha ha!

Producing artistic director David Armstrong introduced members of the upcoming production of Pippin. Now I want to see the show! Then he introduced Stephen Schwartz, and they talked about his career and played some songs from his shows. I got to hear some of musical theater's finest songs by really great local and/or Broadway talents. Mr. Schwartz himself performed "Corner of the Sky" and "For Good." I did, indeed, take a page of notes.

After Kim Huber performed "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas, Stephen Schwartz told us a hilarious story about the original lyrics that ended the song. Alan Menken said he didn't like the ending, so Stephen listened to his collaborator and changed them. I laughed so hard when I heard the original lyrics. They involved the words "hull" and "skull" in an attempt to rhyme with "color."

One thing I realized about successful composers/songwriters/musicians/singers/peeps in the music business is that they knew early on what they wanted to do. And they went out and did it. Well, when I was younger, I wanted to be a writer. Hmmm. That kind of morphed into wanting to be a songwriter. I have to admit I feel torn between dreams and the reality of life. (Hmmm... I probably could turn that idea into a song.) For now, writing songs is "just" a hobby. If I could ever pursue it full-time, that would be a dream come true -- well, one of my dreams come true. I'm still trying to figure out how to write a musical. That would be awesome. Really, I just want to do something I can be passionate about. That's what it all comes down to. And New York is where I want to be.

"Peanut butter on toast!"

A review/recap of Anna Nalick's headlining concert at Tractor Tavern

April 6, 2006

Special late show with Eliot Morris, 10:30 p.m.

Performing "Wreck of the Day"

A little background
I’d heard “Breathe (2 AM)” on the radio a lot, but you know how DJs are. They never tell you who’s singing the song! Or they say it so fast when you’re concentrating on driving. Or you’re listening to your iPod with iTrip, so you don’t listen to the radio at all. So for a long time, I didn’t know the singer of “Breathe.” (Sidenote: I found it funny that people compared Anna Nalick to Michelle Branch, who also has a song called “Breathe.” Two very different but equally great songs.) I loved hearing it on the radio, especially the lines “But, my God, it’s so beautiful when the boy smiles / Wanna hold him. Maybe I’ll just sing about it.” Then I started to hear “In the Rough” on the radio, and the DJs were kind enough to mention Anna’s name. I was hooked. I had to listen to the entire album, so I placed it on hold at the library. Finally, I got impatient, so I bought the CD online in January. (Don’t hate me for being late to the party!)

As I’ve mentioned before, I found out from annanalick.com that she’d be in Ballard on April 6. Hmmm… I’ve only been to Ballard twice in my life (for the salmon locks and bowling with the cousins), and I had never driven there myself. I was so worried, for some reason, that I wouldn’t know where to go and that I’d get lost. I missed out on buying tickets to the 8 p.m. show, and thank heavens that they added a second show. I bought a ticket immediately.

I’ve listened to Wreck of the Day constantly and voraciously ever since it arrived in the mail. When I was in the Philippines for two and a half weeks without my iPod, I brought along my trusty CD player and listened to Wreck of the Day on repeat. While in Vinzons, I sang along one afternoon when my allergies finally subsided. My brother Jason said his friend saw Anna perform in Austin the day he (Jason) drove to Texas to move there. He would have gone had he not been driving. Too bad for the missed opportunity, Bro. We can go next time. :)

Before the show
Thank you to MapQuest for getting me to Ballard in a straightforward manner. Actually, I chose to drive to the U-District, drove west on 45th and followed the directions to Ballard. Piece o’ cake. Tractor Tavern doesn’t have a parking lot, but the Web site said that there was plenty of street parking. Yes! That was another concern of mine. And get this: I successfully parallel parked! Booyah! But then, get THIS: I got lost on foot! I walked around Ballard Ave., but I walked around the wrong part! It was already 10:05, and I said to myself, “Oh, great. I’m so close, but this one last leg is going to make me late!” I returned to the car to consult the map, and then I walked south. Still unsure of myself, I asked a woman walking her dog about the location of Tractor Tavern. Thank you, ma’am! You were in the right place at the right time, and you have a cute dog.

I stood in line behind a nice couple who asked a woman in front of them what the previous show was like (she said it was great and that it ended with “Breathe”). As the line inched forward, I grew antsy. Finally, I made it inside and got my left wrist stamped with “Ballard!” and immediately staked out a spot about five rows back from the stage. Well, there were no chairs, so we all stood. It was a sold-out show, after all. Of all the places I chose to stand, I picked a spot with a tall man in front of me. But it worked out. I had fairly good sightlines for the opening act.

Opening Act
Ooh, Eliot Morris. He’s married but definitely easy on the eyes. Plus, he has a great voice and played an amplified acoustic guitar. Lovely. I enjoyed his set. I didn’t buy his CD, but I think I should have. As we waited for Anna, people shifted where they were standing, so I had a harder time seeing the stage, but I made do.

Anna!!!
Tim the bass player announced to us that Anna was in the bathroom. Shortly thereafter, she made her way onstage and started singing “Citadel” right away. Normally, when I write concert reviews, I go all out with details. This is different, and I’ll tell you what. It’s kind of a blur. I mean, I remember some details, but I couldn’t tell you the exact set list from memory. Let me just say that the concert ROCKED. I loved every moment. Every song, every story, everything about it. Even having to stand. It felt intimate and overwhelming (in a good way) all at once.

"Citadel"

Here are the details I remember:

After a song or two, Anna called out Tim for making the bathroom announcement. Then she said something along the lines of, “Do you want to know how big of a bad-ass I am? I went to the bathroom ... and I didn’t wash my hands! That’s rock star for ya.” LOL!

Forever Love (Digame): Right before they started the song, Anna said she had the giggles. When the chorus came around, she started to laugh instead of sing and said, “Luis f***ed up!” Then they started the chorus over again, and everything was peachy keen after that. (Hmmm… I didn’t think I ever used the words “peachy keen,” but I’ll keep that there.)

In My Head: She introduced this song as the one she wrote about falling in love with someone onstage. (Note: I hope remembered this right. And knowing the lyrics, it makes sense. Wow.)

In the Rough: She wrote this song about an ex, and she was able to pick out a guy who looked just like him for the music video. Ha!

I can’t remember when this came up, but she brought up the fact that she learned saying two things to an audience will get them to cheer wildly. One being the F-word and the other being “Smoking weed!” So she asked us why can’t other phrases make an audience go wild. She tried a few on us: “Peanut butter on toast!” “Slippers after a long day!” “Cute shoes!” (For the last one, I’m not sure if she said cute shoes. Or good shoes. Well, it was something about shoes, and she held one up for us to see. It was cute.) Later in the show she tried “Someone giving you breakfast in bed!” WOO! That was my response to all those new cheer-inducing phrases.

At one point, she said she revealed a secret to the 8 o’clock crowd, so she decided to let us in on the secret too: Prior to our show, they did some shows in Canada, which has no Starbucks apparently. And the first place they came to upon returning to the U.S.? Seattle, baby! She said she went to all the Starbuckses here. (And I thought to myself, “You’re going to need a lot more time to visit them all!”) "Green tea Frappuccinos," she said. I’ve never tried them. Anyway, I digress.

Throughout the show, I got to stand next to people who knew the words to her songs. We all were either singing along or mouthing the words. And also moving to the music. We could all be her back-up singers. Although Luis already does a great job. He really rocks at playing the guitar, too. I loved the over-the-shoulder move I read about on the message board.

Breathe: She invited us to sing, so we did. Afterward, she said that she was thrilled to hear us singing her song. It was pretty cool getting to sing with everyone in the crowd.

After “Breathe,” she sang “Bleed.” She introduced Tim, Ronny (on drums, I couldn’t see him play) and Luis. Each took a solo run. After Luis’ amazing solo, Anna said, “Well I f***in’ quit!” LOL! And then she and Luis did an incredible vocal vs. guitar duel. Oh man, I got chills. That’s when Luis did his over-the-shoulder move. Woohoo!

Encore
Some people started to leave, so I moved up and kept cheering for the encore. We were loud and fantastic. Anna returned to the stage. I realized I hadn’t taken pictures of Tim and Ronny, so I started to do that, and then a girl in the front row, noticed me with my camera and moved aside to let me take a picture of the band. (I tried my best to get everybody, but then I was too close to pan out!)

Then, the same girl moved to the right and let me stand in the front row! THANK YOU! That was such a nice gesture, and I won’t forget her kindness. I was able to get some close-ups. Really close. I mean, Anna was. Right. There.

I was able to take a picture of the set list, so that's why I don't have to remember the order. Here it is, flipped for easy viewing! The last song is "Bleed" -- not "Bleep"! The sixth song, "Dreams," was a cover of Fleetwood Mac. A lot of people sang along.

A guy in the audience kept shouting for Anna to sing “Catalyst.” She said she’d think about it. Someone else shouted, "Make one up!" Anna then sang a song I didn't recognize. Well the guy in the audience got his wish. She sang “Catalyst.” Yay! At the end, instead of singing “They don’t shine quite as bright as back in Frisco,” she sang “They don’t shine quite as bright as back in Seattle.” Yay! I have a picture of her singing the last syllable of “Seattle.” (See picture below.)

After the show
After “Catalyst,” she left the stage, and I stood there to soak it all in. The concert ended around 12:15. I took a picture of the drum set, which I didn’t get to see until I moved to the very front. I thanked the girl to my right for making room for me again. Turns out I was standing next to burnedchevrolets (to my left) from the message board. Then I asked if he thought Anna would come out again. I had hoped so. Some girls waiting by the roped-off area screamed, and she came out! I stood off to the side, still by the stage though, and waited. And waited. And waited. Then, finally she moved over a little bit to clear the stairs and said she’d better hurry because they were closing. So I thanked her and wished her happy birthday, and I gave her a present: a CD and a card. Yes, I prepared a note for the gift, so that in case I got tongue-tied, she could read the note. I told her – both in the note and aloud – that I wanted to give her something that she couldn’t buy in a store. I gave her a copy of my song “Will I Ever?”. (I actually had just recorded it the night before. I had envisioned giving the CD to her, and well, dreams do come true sometimes! This is proof! This is where all the luck went!) She smiled and gave me a hug! Yup! She extended her arm out and leaned in, so I hugged her back! I hugged one of my musical inspirations! How COOL is that? Then I asked her to sign my copy of Wreck of the Day and handed it over along with my silver permanent marker. She confirmed that my name was Allison. Then I realized she was personalizing my CD cover. That’s so cool she took the time to look at my present, which did have my name on it. Then she handed Wreck back to me, and I thanked her again. Throughout the experience, I got to see firsthand just how gracious and thoughtful she is. She held onto my pen, and I didn’t have the guts to ask for it back. :)

I walked away, so she could spend time with other fans waiting for her, and I bought a T-shirt at the souvenir stand. The drive home was a breeze. I found myself driving 75 when I reached downtown Seattle, where you’re supposed to slow down to 55 or so. Oops. Ballard is awesome!

From the dog-walking lady to the girl who made room for me to Anna herself, thank you all!!!

Tractor Tavern, here I come!

I'm so excited for Anna Nalick's concert! I turned on the radio around 11:30 a.m. and the DJ interviewed her. Very cool. They had one last contest for tickets to the 8 o'clock show, but I missed out. Some things aren't meant to be. But some things are if you pay $12 plus an insane amount of fees and "convenience" charges. It's all going to be worth it though. YAY!!! Will review the show here, for sure.

(Speaking of things that weren't meant to be, I guess I shouldn't grow too attached to reality show contestants. Dave and Lori were eliminated from The Amazing Race, and Mandisa received the lowest number of votes on American Idol. Mandisa, you still rock!)

Halo-halo time!

Dad said he could eat halo-halo everyday! While that didn't happen, we did eat it often! :) Mmmm... halo-halo...
Our first halo-halo of the trip was in Vinzons. Turned out to be the best halo-halo of the trip too. Edit: Oh, I said in my travel journal that it was the best halo-halo ever. Yes, that is correct.

This is Chow King's ridiculously gigantic -- giganticulous -- halo-halo. Oh my gosh, I'm smiling then, but...

After eating lunch, mixing the giganticulous bowl made me full.

It looks good now though. They didn't have ube ice cream that day. We later had Chow King's halo-halo (the petit version!) and that had ube ice cream. Dee-lish.

After Jason finished his giganticulous bowl, I asked if he wanted some of mine. LOL!

Vinzons halo-halo again! We had it delivered on our last day. YAY! (Oh, we also had homemade halo-halo when visiting relatives. Yum.)

Dad cools off with very purple halo-halo at Intramuros after we visited Fort Santiago.

PIP3: March 14, 2006

This was the first full day in Vinzons. We woke up early to celebrate Mass and remember Lolo Ven.

The post-Mass celebration with some townspeople: We had sotanghon, empanada, potato salad and a delicious dessert made of cassava. ("Real cassava" as Mom put it.) Everything was delicious actually. It was nice to see so many people attend the reception.

This is Mom's old house, the one in which she was born and grew up. :)

Continuing our tour of Vinzons, we passed by the market.

St. Peter's. It's really close to the house!

An acrostic poem I wrote in 7th grade

I've been cleaning out my room -- slowly but surely -- and I came across this poem the other day. Fitting that I found it now. Can you read it? If not:

Across the ocean
Lies the
Land of my
Indigenous ancestors who are
Silently watching
Over me
Now and forever

PIP2: The Balut Experience at Bagasbas

March 15, 2006 (No photographer credits here. Basically, SOMEbody took the pictures! Dad, Jason, Mom and Allison.)

Uncle Borns bought us balut. Dad and Jason played a cracking game to see who would eat it first!

Hehehe for the look on Jason's face! :)

Funny stuff!

Mmm... sipping the juice ... or whatever you call it.

LOL! I don't remember posing for this picture. LOL! It's my new wallpaper.