Thoughts on Michael Jackson.

I ain’t gonna front, I was a mess after watching Michael Jackson’s memorial service yesterday! He was a big part of the soundtrack of my life, just as he was a part of everyone else’s. I had a lot of very vivid & fond memories, & his music was prevalent throughout my 34 yrs. Back in Manila, growing up, I bonded with my neighbor across the street over MJ’s music & dance moves. I remember coming home from school every afternoon, and I would hear “Beat It” blasting through his living room window.  He would dance up a storm, and my uncles, aunts, and I would watch him from our driveway.  He would come over the house at times and he and I would dance to “Beat It” & “Thriller”! choreography and all!  He even taught me how to moonwalk!  And I’m proud to say, I can still do it! He was a huge fan.  I wonder how he’s holding up right now.

Michael had a lot of eccentricities, and a lot of his actions were looked upon as strange or weird.  But sometimes, I think most of these actions were done on purpose.  Part of a publicity stunt.  Regardless of what has transpired in the past 10 years, as far as his life is concerned, he is undoubtedly a musical genius.  He was an amazing singer, even at 11 years old – very soulful and expressive.  And his dancing is just unparalleled.  No matter how hard you try, when you watch him dance, even with dancers all around him, you cannot help but zero in on him.  He just pulls you in and you are just mesmerized.  I’d have to agree with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Michael is the greatest entertainer that ever lived.  Unfortunately, we will not see anymore of his brilliance.  However, his music will continue to live on and on.  He has changed pop culture, and was the bar that every one wanted to live up to.

When I learned of his death, I immediately thought “did anyone talk to him about Jesus Christ and presented to him the Gospel?”  However, I ran into a tweet by Sheila E., fantastic percussionist, a believer, and a friend of Michael’s, on the day of MJ’s memorial service, in which she said, and I quote, “Michael received Jesus B4 he passed. I will attend his home coming. Pray for his family.” If this is true, and I pray to the Lord it is, it would’ve been the best thing that had ever happened to Michael.  No matter what happened to him while he was still alive, receiving God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ definitely had set him free from all the burdens he has been carrying all these years!  He is now in the arms of Jesus!  The best place to be!  No more pain, no more sorrow.  I can just picture MJ, moonwalking on the streets of gold!  That would be something!

Ever since his death, I’ve been listening to his songs and have found a new appreciation for them.  I listen more intently on the way he sings a song, the amazing basslines and guitar riffs of his more upbeat songs like “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” or “Smooth Criminal”.  I guess it also comes with the fact that I’m older, and know a little bit more about music compared to when I was 7, 8, or 9 years old.  His music and legacy will continue for a very long time.

I survived, barely.

The flu hit me like a ton of bricks a couple of weeks ago. I’m such a weakling! I always, ALWAYS get sick during the winter. It never fails! I need to take better care of myself. It’s my own fault, I admit. I do not sleep early. For me, “early” would be 1am. Don’t know why. I promised myself that I was going to work on sleeping early for 2009. So far, I have not been successful. Please pray for discipline on my part. I need it.

The flu’s long gone, but now I’m coughing. It doesn’t help that I feel a draft coming through the window around the early hours of the morning. Thank God for the electric blanket that April got me for Christmas. It has helped me these past few days.

Prayer requests:

1. For our church, Olive Christian Church. We need a revival, BIG TIME. Pray that each member realizes that the Lord’s work is serious business and not just a weekend activity that’s optional or attended to whenever one’s personal calendar allows it.

2. My prayer life. I have to admit, my prayer life could be so much better. I don’t spend as much time in prayer as I would want to.

3. My health. For me to take better care of myself.

4. My mom’s health. She’s been doing well so far. Lots of ‘maintenance’. Praise God, her gout hasn’t been bothering her!

5. God’s leading in my life. I would like to have more of a clear direction in where He wants me to be, and what He wants me to do at this point. Would a move be a possibility?

6. In Harmony and Papuri. God has been refining us. And I know that there’s a reason why we’ve been on hiatus for a while. We all have issues. I pray that we get things right, individually. We need to put God as top priority. We’ve been focusing on so many things, that we’ve lost focus on Him. It’s hard to minister to people, when you’re not willing to work on your personal relationship with God. I understand that God accepts us for who we are. But He also wants us to become the kind of people He’s called us to be.

I’d appreciate the prayers!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Well, the day is coming to an end, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I survived it, being single and all. I actually had to work for a little bit today. Almost had a situation to which I had to do damage control. Praise God, things went really smoothly.

After work, I had the urge to drive around, go to L.A. or something, but I decided to just do a bit of grocery shopping and then head home. I ended up watching the NBA All-Star festivities on TV while eating some of the leftover pork sinigang my mom made for me for my birthday.

Thus, ends my Valentine’s day festivities. I’m gonna hit the sack. Have to get up early for church tomorrow. Good night!

Birthday, fun-day at the Magic Kingdom.

So, I just celebrated another birthday. No fancy celebration for me this year, not even a dinner or anything. I just wanted to do one thing, go to Disneyland! As you may know, Disneyland has this special deal where you can get in to one of their parks for free on your birthday. So, that’s what I decided to do. I haven’t been to the Magic Kingdom since 2006, so I thought I would take advantage of this special deal they have and go for my birthday to see what’s new since the last time I was there.

I was joined by my niece, Nevaeh, my friend Vanessa (who took a half-day), my friend Gidget and her husband and son. We rode most of the “thrill” rides they had, except for Indiana Jones because Nevaeh wasn’t tall enough to ride it. I was a bit apprehensive in having her ride the “thrill” rides with me for fear that she might get scared. But Nevaeh’s a trooper, she loved every single ride we rode on! She especially loved Space Mountain! I love it! I had so much fun, and the fact that I got to spend it with my little niece, just made it even more special.

My Grammy commentary.

First, let me get this out of the way… I HEART COLDPLAY! I’ve always liked their music, but after being featured on the show “60 Minutes” tonight, right before the Grammy telecast, I am now a bigger fan. “Viva La Vida” is such an awesome tune! I’m glad it won ‘Song of the Year’ even if it meant that Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” didn’t win.

U2 rocked my socks off!

Whitney looked good and healthy. Still a little cooky, but it’s good to see her doing well. When’s the new album coming out?

Was it just me or did they have the weirdest on-stage collaborations tonight? The Jonas Brothers with Stevie Wonder? Cringe-worthy. Don’t get me wrong, those Jo’ Bros are talented kids, I’m still waiting for Joe Jonas’ voice to fully grow out of puberty into full, grown-man voice, but I would’ve waited 10 more years for them to take the stage with Stevie Wonder.

I have beef with the Grammy producers. Why in the world were Boyz II Men relegated to mere back-up singers, and Justin Timberlake got to share the spotlight with Al Green?! Umm… something’s wrong there. Apparently, that performance was pulled together last-minute because Chris Brown and Rihanna were no-shows, but still.

Two-words: Kanye’s hair.

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus’ duet – surprisingly cute.

John Mayer won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance over Jason Mraz. I love both guys, but this raised my eyebrows. And I thought Jason was going to perform, “I’m Yours”.

will.i.am’s quip: “congratulations to Obama.” Have some respect, man. He is the President of the United States, please address him accordingly. He ain’t your best friend. Just because you campaigned and voted for him, doesn’t mean you have the right to address him however you want to.

Overall, it wasn’t the best Grammys I’ve seen. I missed those days when they would televise performances from other genres besides the mainstream stuff, like classical, jazz and gospel.

Girls just wanna have fun! :)

I spent the whole day today with 4 of my good girl friends, Ate Joy, Ate Gidget, Ate Gayle and Vanessa. We started the day early and met up at Mimi’s Cafe in Cerritos for breakfast, despite the fact that the rain was pouring! Thank God the rain let up for the rest of the day! After breakfast, we headed over to South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, sat around and had some Starbucks, then walked around and did some window shopping. I did come away with a couple of items, one I purchased for myself, and the other item, was purchased for me by my friends as an early birthday present! That was quite unexpected but I really appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness. I’m truly grateful to them! We ended the evening at Gerry’s Grill and had some Filipino food for dinner. Yum-o!

I praise God for friendships. There are so many things that are fleeting and dispensible in this world, friendships, especially with fellow believers, shouldn’t be taken for granted!

Looks like I’m gonna be turning early tonight! Yes, 10:44 p.m. IS early for me. G’nite!

You know you’re from Canada when…

(I’ve italicized/boldened the ones that are personal faves – things that I can attest/relate to.)

YOU KNOW YOU’RE FROM CANADA WHEN…

You eat maple syrup like it’s sugar.

You go down south people ask you if you sleep in igloos or ride dog-sleds to work/school.

You keep Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.

Everything is labeled in English and French.

“Eh?” is a very important part of your vocabulary and more polite than, “Huh?”

You perk up when you hear the theme song from “Hockey Night in Canada.”

You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced “Zed” not “Zee”.

You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.

You understand the Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian commercials.

You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

Canadian Tire on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores at Christmas.

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with snow.

The local paper covers national and international headlines on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.

You know which leaves make good toilet paper (and you know it’s not poison ivy).

You find -40C a little chilly.

You know hockey was truly born here.

There’s a Tim Horton’s at all American/Canada borders… on the Canadian side.

You know the French equivalents of “free”, “prize” and “no sugar added”, thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.

You can do the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram’s “Skin-a-marinki-dinki-do”.

You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.

You know that a “Premier” isn’t a baby born a few months early.

You think -10 C is mild weather.

You know the ingredients for poutine.

You know that the ‘Extra Creamy’ in Kraft Extra Creamy Dinner is ‘add more milk.’

You die a little inside if you can’t get your Tim’s double-double every morning.

Someone accidently stepped on your foot. You apologize. – (I’ve done this.)

You pity people who haven’t tasted a “beavertail”.

You can complete the phrase: “The good old ____ game is the best ____ you can ____.”

You find it difficult to explain “milk in a bag” to non-Canadians, and even more difficult to describe the “snippy-thing” used on bag corners. - (I miss my milk in a bag!)

You know what the four seasons means: winter, still winter, almost winter, and road work/construction.

You know how to pronounce and spell “Saskatchewan”

You’ve ever had your tongue frozen to something.

You have more kilometers on your snow blower than your car.

You head south to go to your cottage.

You can play road hockey on skates.

You automatically read ‘Z’ as ‘Zed’ and don’t give a damn that it doesn’t rhyme with “now I know my abcs”.

You know what a Mickey and 2-4 mean.

You don’t care about the fuss with Cuba. It’s a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars.

You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway

You drive on a highway, not a freeway

You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian!

You know what a touque is.

You were/are in grade twelve not twelfth grade.

You actually get these jokes.

The feeling of snow on your bare feet is comforting.

You work in a hockey arena.

You can drive 80 km through a snow drift in the middle of a blizzard without flinching!

You have worn a parka and shorts at the same time.

You know what a parka is.

After skating on a local rink, you can skate all the way to your front door because of the mass amounts of snow and ice on roads.

Someone calls your house and it’s the wrong number, YOU apologize for NOT being the person they ask for.

We can bring duotangs to school because we have them.

You get mad at the people on American television for complaining its -1 outside.

You laugh when Americans think Canada is overseas. (Didn’t Britney Spears say this?)

You measure distance in hours

You are proud to pour ketchup on anything. (and gravy, vinegar, salt & pepper)

You are hosting the 2010 OLYMPICS in Vancouver!

You have to fly to the airport to fly out of the country.

You know what beavertails are REALLY made of.

You know how to spell FAVOURITE, COLOUR…etc. (I still do this to this day, cannot get rid of it. It just doesn’t feel right spelling these words any other way! LOL)

You start to watch a show because there is a Canadian actor in it. (This also applies to British actors.)

You HONOUR your country with proper spelling.

You say poutine the right way. (Yum! I should really make some.)

You know that snowshoes aren’t tennis rackets.

My NKOTB rendezvous.

Since I wrote about my night with Boyz II Men, naturally, I have to write about my rendezvous with New Kids on the Block. Just as I was a huge fan of Boyz II Men back in the “way back machine” (Sherry, I’m lovin’ that term!), I was also a huge fan of the New Kids on the Block (or “The Block” as they’d like to be called these days). I was the typical teeny-bopper fan in the sense that I had the tapes, and the pull-out posters from the teen mags such as Bop!, Big-Bopper, 16, etc… I actually just found a picture of myself, circa 1991, holding up one of those pull-out posters of NKOTB and posing for the camera! LOL

New Kids on the Block Reunion Concert – Nokia Theatre L.A. Live!, Los Angeles, CA (November 26th, 2008 )

Thanks to my friend (and fellow Rockapella fan), Sherry, April and I got tickets to see New Kids on the Block for their reunion tour. She purchased the tickets around August, so we had a two-month wait.

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008: The concert that I’d been waiting for finally came and went… And it went by too fast! It was blur! Blink and you would’ve missed it. At least, it felt that way to me. There were so many things going on, I barely had time to soak it in. Next thing I knew, it was all over.

Pictures and videos, of course, were top priority that night. My arms were cramping from holding up my camera to take pictures and videos throughout the entire concert. I made it a point to take a video of “If You Go Away” in its entirety, as it is my favourite NKOTB song. I sang along with Jordan Knight in the chorus, and tried to harmonize at certain parts (I’m such a nut! LOL). What made it more special for me that night was that I could totally hear Jonathan Knight (my fave NK) singing the melody an octave lower during the chorus. The classics were a blast, “The Right Stuff”, “Valentine Girl”, “I’ll Be Loving You Forever”, “Please Don’t Go Girl”, “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step by Step”! Hearing the crowd sing (more like screaming) every word at the top of their lungs was quite an experience.

Then the section where Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan and Joe McIntyre did their solo spots came and I almost died when I saw Jordan sing “Baby, I Believe in You”. I mean, who didn’t, really? LOL And I danced along to “Give it to You”. My jaw dropped to the floor when Donnie picked up a guitar and started to play the opening riff to “Cover Girl”. I wish he’d done it longer though. I love it when people get to show off their other musical talents, besides singing, of course. Donnie, I was ALMOST impressed. LOL If only he’d played longer.

I must say, Jonathan was a rare bird. I had a hard time capturing a picture of him because he’s rarely in the forefront. The few times he was shown on the big screen, I was too slow to take a picture, because it was so unexpected! He did have his moment in the spotlight when Joe mentioned to the crowd that it was his birthday and asked the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. If it weren’t for that moment, I wouldn’t have had an up-close picture of Jon (thanks, Joe!).

I was deaf by the end of the night what with all the high-pitched screaming around me, but it was completely worth it! If only it hadn’t gone by so fast! They just added a show in L.A. for their Spring tour this year. I may just go one more time.

After they’d sung the final song and the house-lights came on, April and I looked at each other with a hint of sadness in our eyes, and we both said, ‘it’s over.” I was so glad that I got to share that night with her, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

My night with Boyz II Men.

It’s been almost 3 weeks since I saw Boyz II Men, I can’t believe I haven’t written about my experience! To think that it was quite an historic occasion for me, being that, I was the biggest Boyz II Men fan back in the “way back” machine (thanks, Sherry!)! My best friend, Rizza, and I obsessed over them endlessly, we pretended that we were dating two of the guys. LOL That’s how crazy we were! My friends knew how huge of a fan I was that, when they threw my parents and I a going-away party (we were moving from Toronto to Los Angeles), they bought me a button-up shirt that looked very similar to the ones they were wearing in the video “End of the Road” (yes, the brown plaid ones). But despite my claim of being their biggest fan, I had never seen them live, in concert until now. It took almost 17 years for me to actually see them in concert, and that moment happened on January 14, 2009, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. My dear friend, Vanessa, accompanied me to the concert even though she was not a Boyz II Men fan like myself (she liked their songs, but never really followed them).

After a semi-OK opening act, Jupiter Rising (no offense, the music was good, just not my cup of tea), the Boyz took the stage. Boy, it brought back so many memories! They opened with “Motownphilly”, then after a couple of new songs (which signaled to me that they may be coming out with a new CD with new songs), they sang “On Bended Knee” and I almost cried! LOL Mostly for sentimental reasons. I absolutely love that song. It was a monster hit. The whole concert was like a huge sing-along! Everyone was singing the words, at the top of our lungs (I tried to harmonize in some songs), it was quite an experience! I did get very teary when they sang “A Song for Mama” and asked the crowd to take out their cellphones, call their mothers and hold it up so they can hear the Boyz sing the song on the other end of the line. I called my mom, but couldn’t hear her on the other end, so I just told her not to hang up and listen to the song. LOL I know, silly me. Hey, but I wanted my mom to somehow share that moment with me. Later on, when I got home, I asked her if she heard the song, she said she barely heard it because it was so loud! LOL Poor mom. So, I just started singing the song to her.

Everything was such a blur, next thing I knew it was all over! Vanessa told me that she enjoyed watching me more than she enjoyed the concert. I’m really glad she came along and indulged me. I really wish I had shared it with Rizza. She went to her first Boyz II Men without me (I had already moved to L.A.), so we didn’t get to share that as well. I wish I had my camera with me so I could take pictures. I didn’t know that they allowed cameras at the HOB (from many previous times I’ve gone to concerts at the HOB, they have a no-camera/video policy), but for some reason, they made an exception for this concert. I tried taking pictures and videos with my cellphone, but they didn’t turn out well. Oh well. There’s always next time.

the inevitable.

As I was getting ready for church yesterday morning, I discovered, I suppose, the inevitable – GRAY HAIR. Not just one, but quite a few. I’m still in denial, so I’ll just chalk it up to stress. Who am I kidding?! I’m not-so-young anymore. *gulps* This means that I will be buying hair dye to cover up, and not just for style anymore. Oy! Eh, what are you gonna do? LOL

When I think about it, there’s actually a bright spot to this. I’ve always liked Stacy London’s (What Not to Wear) hair. It’s all black, with a streak of white at the front. Hmm… the possibilities.

Gray. hair. WOW. LOL