The worst sound in the world...

...when you want to win a radio contest is the busy signal. *beep beep beep* Noooooo!!!

ARGH! I want to see Anna Nalick at Star 101.5's private performance on Thursday, but some other lady was caller 10. I fumbled around with two phones and only got the *$&% busy signal. So frustrating. Could've had the chance to meet Anna Nalick and get her autograph. I'm going to stay glued to the radio today, tomorrow and Wednesday. You never know!

Her first show at Tractor Tavern sold out before I even knew tickets were on sale, and she added a second show. Well, my more-than-amazing consolation (in fact, it's a grand prize to me) is that I have a ticket to the sold-out, special late-night show. Hehehe. YES!!! Thank goodness I managed to buy one ticket to the late-nighter before my trip to the Philippines. I wouldn't miss this concert for the world.

An awesome acoustic version of "Wreck of the Day" aired on Grey's Anatomy last night. To my knowledge, that's song number three on Grey's: "Breathe (2 AM)," "Catalyst" and "Wreck..."

http://www.annanalick.com

The Philippines

My first trip to the Philippines was...

Hot: Summertime, and the livin' ain't easy for this Washingtonian

Humid: My poor hair poofed and limped at the same time

Beautiful: Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, mountains, volcanoes, trees, plants, beaches

Eye-opening: From the vastness of MegaMall to the presence of poverty

Sunny: I got sunburned ... yes, despite my attempts to protect my skin with sunscreen

Fun: I met many relatives. If you're reading this, hi!!! Thanks for everything!

Educational: Visited Mom's elementary school, high school and college and Dad's college; stayed at a hotel really close to Dad's high school

Moving (1): Hi, Lolo Ven, Lola Jane and Tita Cely. Miss you.

Historical: Learned about Vinzons (formerly Tacboan and Indan) from a town yearbook and visited Intramuros in Manila

Long: Spent 10 relaxing days in Vinzons (loved the beach, eating-sleeping-eating schedule and Wowowee [an afternoon game show])

Cool: And when I say that, I mean, how cool is it to live on A. Guinto Street in Vinzons? I kept saying I'd like to live on Cabellon Street. :) A. Guinto Street is awesome.

Spiritual: We visited a lot of churches -- and I do mean a lot -- and it was interesting to attend both Tagalog Masses in Vinzons and a Taglish Mass at St. Andrew the Apostle near the hotel. Salamat sa Dios.

Short: Spent 5 days in Manila (the time seemed to go by faster)

Moving (2): Planes, vans, jeepneys, taxis, tricycles, pedicab, MRT, car

Delicious: So much good food all the time (yay for fresh lumpia, eggplant, Jollibee, Max's, fresh seafood, pili tart, pusit, sinigang, bulalo, sisig, sotanghon, mangoes, etc. ... yay for Filipino food! And yay for the Mandarin noodle soup at Next Door North Park Noodles.)

Musical: Uncle Jonas introduced me to Christian Bautista and Mark Bautista -- plus other artists such as Sarah Geromino -- via Mark Bautista's first major solo concert at Aliw Theater


(I'll post pictures soon.)

Bon Vo-YAH-gee!

That's what I enjoy telling people when they go on trips. Oh wait! That's what I've been hearing from my friends! Except, of course, they wrote "Bon voyage" correctly. I just like the way Bugs Bunny says it, too. :)

And we're off to see the Philippines! The wonderful country of old. Old, as in that's where my ancestors are from. Duh. :)

Ah, and when I get back, I'll have much to do and much to look forward to. More on that later! It's vacation time, baby!

10 for 12 ... not bad

After the final 24 performed on American Idol, I made my predictions for who would make it into the top 12. I was right about ten of the contestants. Who among the 12 weren't on my "yes" list? Bucky and Melissa. Who didn't make it among my predicted 12? David and Ayla.

Well, only one can be named the American Idol winner. Here's what I think of the top 12:

Ace: Has the looks to attract votes, but I'm not a fan of his vocals. He will stick around for a while most likely.

Bucky: As you now know, he wasn't among my predicted top 12, but he's growing on me. I don't see him winning the competition though.

Chris: Definitely a favorite among the TV viewers. I think he could be among the top three, if not top two.

Elliott: He's cool with me. I like his voice. He should go far in this competition.

Kevin: Another favorite among the TV viewers. I'm impressed that he can sing so well at the tender age of 16. Not sure how long he'll stick around though. My piece of advice for Mr. Covais: Do NOT say you are a sex symbol! You can't say things like that, man! Totally backfired, and you ended up in the bottom three.

Taylor: Likes to say "whoo" a lot when he sings. I like to say "whoo," but I don't like to hear it after every phrase in a song. People seem to like him too. Hmmm.

Katharine: I like her for the most part. She can oversing sometimes, but when she's on, she is on.

Kellie: Simon's right. She has that "likeability" factor, and I do like her. Go Kellie!

Lisa: It's cool that she was in The Lion King when she was 10. I wish she'd change up her song choices though.

Mandisa: YAY! Mandisa's awesome. Definitely a favorite of mine. Out of the top 12, she's the only one I can see right now winning this competition. I'm not saying that she will win (case in point: my early favorites in past seasons didn't win), but I want her to do well.

Melissa: She's all right, I guess. Again, I didn't think she'd make it into the top 12, so I don't think she'll last very long.

Paris: Song choice and fashion choice. Two key components for her. If you say you are fashionable, you better be fashionable. I like that her voice is distinct, but she needs to sing the way she did in the auditions. Week 1 was good. Weeks 2 and 3 weren't so great.

My opinions definitely change from week to week, so we'll see what happens!!!

Thank you, Northwest Airlines!

Wow. We're flying NWA to the Philippines, and a few weeks ago I received an e-mail to sign up for a e-newsletter. I did it to get more frequent flyer miles. Today NWA sent an e-mail about online shopping. I can't wait to earn even more miles just by buying music on iTunes. Well, I checked out some of the other shopping Web sites. It's pretty cool. A while back, I bought an electronic tuner from Musician's Friend but via Amazon.com. Will definitely return to Musician's Friend. Actually, when I was on the M's F site, I looked at recording equipment. Somebody who bought a microphone recommended a freeware program called Audacity.

I downloaded Audacity this morning, and it ROCKS! Even with my dinky little microphone. I LOVE IT! I already recorded a song, and it sounds so cool. The quality is pretty amazing. I, unfortunately, do not sound good because my throat has been hurting, and -- *grin* -- I ran out of breath at one point. Man oh man. I am loving this. Sometimes the best things in life *are* free.

Then again, I will be spending a whole bunch of money online. Thanks again, NWA. At least I'll get miles now. Darn! I've bought so many songs for my iPod already. Heh!

Picky picky

My jaw is much better now, thank you very much. Tylenol helped last night. I couldn't not sing in church, but I just didn't open my mouth as much. It's weird when you sing that way, but it's better than not singing at all.

I was looking at my nails on my right hand yesterday, and they've been transformed by my musicianship. Well, my left fingers are a given. They have developed calluses. (I always get confused by callous and callus, but I believe I used the correct word.) Anyway, the nails on my right hand have a few faint streaks of white. Where on earth did these come from?, I thought. And then it hit me. I use my thumb and my fingers to strum the guitar because I don't like using picks. Is that pretty rare in the guitar-playing world? I could never get used to them. It's probably because I started on a nylon guitar, and it was just so easy and beautiful-sounding to use my thumbnail. I feel I have better control when I play without a pick. Hmmm.

Well, maybe I'll learn to become comfortable with a pick. (I just tried playing with one though, and it seems so unnatural!) For now, I think I can sacrifice scratches to my nails. I'm not that picky.

Warning: Too much enthusiasm can be hazardous to your health

I can't tell you how many times I've practiced my songs today. I was so excited about them. Well, I still am, but I'm decreasing my fervor for them a bit because I *oversang* today. As in, I moved my mouth so much that my jaw hurts. I kid you not. This is really painful. I have a headache.

Let this be a lesson to all of you with jaws that are capable of popping. Musicians can get injuries. I learned that in my psychology of music class. Now I am living proof.

Owww. I may have to skip all the singing at Mass tomorrow, which will be sad because I love singing at church.

Over the moon

Last night, I had a dream. I found myself in a desert... Oh wait, that's not what I wanted to say. Let me start over. :)

Last night, I finished my second song of the year! It's been brewing inside me for years now, but I finally got my act together and spent the past week really -- and I mean really -- working on it. Everything came together last night. The lyrics lent themselves to the melody. I quickly found the chords on the guitar. It was a pretty sweet process.

I consider myself to be a very slow writer, but this year I've learned that I can be creative any time of the day as long as I believe in myself. I don't know if that sounds like a bunch of baloney to you, but it means a lot to me. First, I didn't think I could ever be creative on a routine basis. Second, I thought I could only be inspired at a certain time of the day. I just dispelled those personal myths. The music will happen as long as I sit down to work on it.

The best part about finishing this song is that I finally feel free about something that's consumed me for so long. I think that's one of the best things about being a songwriter. It's a cathartic outlet. I didn't think I'd be able to finish this song, but -- lo and behold -- I did. *sigh of relief*

Something has changed within me

The job-hunting process got off to a rocky start, I admit, but I've sensed a change in myself over the past few weeks. And now I know what I want. In fact, I want it so badly that all I can see is me going after it until I get it.

I knew the job search wouldn't work until I felt like this, and now I'm just so excited that I can't keep it to myself.

So here's the deal. I'm going to try and make it my favorite city in the world: New York, baby.

I hope you're excited as I am, and I hope you'll all say a little prayer and send some support my way while I reach out to potential employers in the performing arts industry.

I'm going to follow my dreams and my passions. Like I said, Avenue Q is my theme musical now. However, I *don't* want to go back to college. I'm so ready to move forward. As Kate Monster said, "You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime."

I'm going for them. Wish me luck.

And soon, I hope to host this grand good-bye party, so get ready!!!

[March 3 edit: Yes, I changed the title. It's a line that Elphaba sings in Wicked's "Defying Gravity." The title could've been anything, really -- or nothing at all. My other idea was "Start spreading the news." I'll use that one later.]

A TV Watcher's Dilemma

Hello, again, my neglected blog. I would have written more often, but I didn't have all that much to say. I finally have news though: I wrote a song! It took me two and a half weeks to write, but it's finished and I'm so proud of it. :) Oh yes, my diploma arrived in the mail last week.

Today marks the last day of Sweeps. I was VERY happy to see the incredible episodes of "Grey's Anatomy." I enjoyed the Winter Olympics even if that meant not getting to watch "The Office." I've missed "The Amazing Race," "Everwood" and "Alias" though!

But yay! TAR returns tonight for its 9th season. Here's the dilemma:

Gilmore Girls, 8-9 p.m.
American Idol, 8-9:30 p.m.
Scrubs, 9-10 p.m.
The Amazing Race, 9-11 p.m.

I won't have to worry next week because TAR will air from 10 to 11. I said I'd give up "Scrubs," but I can't do it! It's so good this season. I'm going to have to decide what to watch, what to tape and what to sacrifice.

Here's my solution:
Watch: Gilmore Girls, 8-9 p.m.
Tape: American Idol, 8-9:30 p.m.
Tape: Scrubs, 9:30-10 p.m. (will miss the first episode, but I had to give up *something*)
Watch: The Amazing Race, 9-11 p.m.

Phew! Four shows in one night. They need to spread the love. And don't ask me why I still watch "Gilmore Girls." I just do. :)

The Library + The Mall = The Office

Mom and I went shopping at Southcenter yesterday. I stopped by the KCLS branch in the mall. Their movie collection consists of DVDs. It's not huge or anything, but when you consider the fact that DVDs are rarely available at the regular branch (Federal Way Regional), the offering at Southcenter was pretty great.

I borrowed The Office (the original UK version) and Angels in America. Last night I watched all six episodes of the former. Funny, funny show. I'm attached to the U.S. cast and energy of the show, but there's something about the original that's brilliant. Two words: Ricky Gervais. No *wonder* people rave about him. No wonder J.J. Abrams put him on "Alias. "

First, Dwight's bobblehead (or is that bobble head?). Now, Ricky Gervais, five minutes into episode five. You've gotta see it. Especially if you own a certain CD by a certain artist. (It was one of the first CDs I ever owned apart from Disney soundtracks and Miss Saigon.) Hilarious scene. I could watch it over and over again. :)

The more you ruv someone

These Valentines are the best!

Put your mouse over the pictures to preview them. Guess which one I like best!

http://www.avenueq.com/valentines/

More power to ya

We lost power at 7:44 p.m. yesterday. I was looking forward to watching "Will & Grace" & "The Office" and also taping the phenomenal episode of "Grey's Anatomy" that originally aired on Super Bowl Sunday.

Life can get boring without electricity! I wasn't into reading The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket whatsoever.

Finally, power was restored around 8:25, and once I heard the refrigerator roar to life I left the dining room. Ha ha, so did Dad. We scurried out of there faster than you can say "black out's over."

I turned on the TV only to see Grace say, "I'm pregnant" plus the words "to be continued..." on the screen. ARGH! Not cool, man, not cool.

"The Office" was great. Sometimes it gets difficult to watch Steve Carell's character, Michael, but it's all good. Dwight's reaction to his gift (a bobblehead of himself) was hilarious! By far the funniest moment in the episode.

Patience is a virtue

But I don't have it right now!

I'm going to attempt to merge my updated Miss Saigon content onto my original ms.html page. Hope this works. I'll leave the ms_test.html page up, so you can see the differences.


GO SEAHAWKS!

Static/Cling

No, I'm not going to talk about laundry. It's how I feel about my personal Web site. For the past few months, I've considered taking it down. I haven't created new, exciting sections in a long time, and I rarely get the chance to update it.

Truth be told, the program I use to create and maintain my pages no longer works well with the Java on my laptop. It's frustrating because what I see is not what I get.

I was just about ready to give up, but someone (you know who you are) told me to keep the Web site.

I hate that it's so stagnant though. Let's face it. I no longer post pictures of vacations and weddings. That once was the main function of my site. I no longer write musical reviews, although I wish I had continued that. Josh Groban has who-knows-how-many fan sites now, and people are pretty good at finding out what he's up to on their own.

But the one page I decided to update tonight was my Miss Saigon page. Actually, I created a back-up version. Yup, the new Java applet (or whatever it's called) doesn't work well with Yahoo PageBuilder.

See for yourself. Does it at least look decent?
http://www.geocities.com/hullo_kitten/ms_test.html

Compare it to the way things look here:
http://www.geocities.com/hullo_kitten/ms.html

Oh ho ho, there *are* differences. I'm not talking about the text but about the way things appear. You'll see that the spacing is weird. And I can't fix it! Why, God, why this space?

I also realize that if I use the test page to replace ms.html, then I'll lose my counter. Can't believe I've received 8000+ hits. That's not too shabby.

If anyone can recommend a good page-building program, please do. Preferably free or inexpensive.

Ah, I ramble. Don't know if anybody will actually care about this, but I do. An ACab Production's not going anywhere. I just hope I can make it better (visually) and make it interesting (content-wise) again.

New Music

"You and your music,
Singing deep in me,
Making nice to me,
Saying something so new--
Changing everything,
Meaning everything,
Calling my heart to you..."

Gawd, those are great lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.

I'm reviving my attempt to write new music. I spent the summer of '03 learning guitar chords and working on music. I kinda wrote a song (one that made me cry, so whoa), but it's not exactly finished. I don't want to return to it because that would involve re-examining old wounds.

If you'll recall (I think I wrote about it here), I wrote a song for my English class. That was amazing motivation. (Kinda wish I had it again.) I tied themes from a novel into my song, which really ended up being about myself. :)

So now, I'm establishing a pattern of writing music. It's a slow, laborious process for me. I have small musical ideas, but I need to work on building on them and seeing things through to completion.

On another note, I've heard some amazing songs lately. If you get the chance, you should listen to Anna Nalick's CD Wreck of the Day, Il Divo's "I Believe in You (je crois en toi)" and "Hasta Mi Final" from their new album Ancora, and Sarah McLachlan's "Dirty Little Secret" from Afterglow. Yes, I'm a little late in discovering "Dirty Little Secret," but wow. It's so good. It's the last track on the CD, and I was attracted to the music, and then the lyrics grabbed me too. I first heard it on January 21, and iTunes tells me I've listened to "Dirty Little Secret" 23 times, so that means I've listened to the song 1.64 times a day. :)

Ah, music. Can't get enough of it.

"Play that melody,
Your sweet melody,
Calling my heart to you."

Wireless ... now that is sweet

I went to Best Buy to purchase a new mouse for Mom. The one she uses now -- well, let's face it -- sucks. The ball underneath sticks like crazy and moves way too slow.

I looked for the optical mouse I have for my laptop, but then I saw the wireless mice. Hehehe. And I said, "Screw it, I'm buying a wireless for myself!"

And I did. *grin*

So Mom's getting my mouse, which I love dearly, and I just started to use the wireless. I love it already! A slice of technological heaven.

Life Goal #52 Completed

In the summer of 2003 I established 100 life goals. I can cross number 52 off the list. Last night I finished writing completely in one journal. I filled 194 pages. It took me six years to do it. (When I was younger, I would start journals but never finish them. Hence, "completely" is the key word.) I'm now re-reading what I wrote, and it's fun to look back.

I found recurring themes in my entries. For example, I talked a LOT about cleaning my room -- and mainly how it's always going to be a losing battle! I wrote about how my penmanship has gone downhill. :) I also talked about my dreams and aspirations, and those entries in particular inspire me today.

I tended to write late at night and talked about messing up the dates in my journal entries. Whenever I neglected my journal and found it again, I'd talk about it. I usually wrote the most around Christmas and New Year's.

Too bad I can't pull a Christina Aguilera and turn my journal material into songs. Perhaps I can make that the focus of my next journal ... in which case, I really won't let anyone read that one! But because I've spent all this time talking about this journal, I'll share an entry (albeit an atypical one) here:

------
Thurs., August 2, 2001

My goodness. Have neglected journal. Will write in style of Bridget Jones's Diary as have just read hilarious sequel.
Miss Saigon closed Jan. 28, 2001.
Saw Aida three times in May!
Camille visited in June/July.
Saw fireworks from Gasworks Park.
Am taking Spanish 103 @ Green River with funny profesora.
Got 6 on IB test!!!
Ended up really enjoying junior year. Over and out. OK, not [exactly] style of Bridget Jones's Diary.

Past the pain threshold

Owwwwwwwwwww. I don't know what's worse: having an extremely weird dream about attending a wedding or waking up & living the day with an intense shoulder pain. Um, OK, maybe the intense pain in my right shoulder. But I didn't feel anything was wrong until I rolled out of bed, so I wouldn't mind going back to my dream state. Gawd, this is killing me. Well, not literally, but I feel like I can't do anything normal (sit, stand, type, etc.) without wincing.

To think, I was complaining about a paper cut the other day. It's weird how when one small thing is wrong with your body, that's the only thing you can think about. Oy.

Sweet Smell of Success

Not only did success smell sweet, my stew turned out to be deeeelish. :) Yes, the crock pot and I could become very good friends. Slow-cooking recipes even caught my eye today on MSN, so I bookmarked that page. Heh heh.

No word on the job front yet. There's another position that opened up, and I'm considering applying for it. We'll see. My stomach is doing a flip-flop. Jeez. Finding is a job is hard work.