I'm counting on the Clowns to arrive

One, two, three, four ... over thirty sopranos, altos, tenors and basses gathered on a Sunday afternoon. Five, six, seven, eight ... in less than fourteen days, they would have to be ready to perform for friends and family, both here and abroad. Anyone sane knows that it would be a logistical nightmare putting up a concert this fast.

But brilliance is never in the same neighborhood of sanity.

The initial response to the idea was overwhelming. Believe me when I say that the word overwhelming is an understatement. It was getting harder each day to read through the dozens of email replies, most of them providing encouraging words to keep us on the path. Albeit, in all efforts, naysayers are always bound to be trolling the happy campers--they were shown the error of their ways, if not shown the way out.

This was the kind of brilliance held by those who postponed their lives, left early from work and who felt there was something else important that they had to do. It's the kind of brilliance that warms the hearts of strangers: the kind of brilliance that turns into magnificence when four sets of voices and members who have never even sung together assembled to sing as one.

For one.

It wasn't just a reunion concert. I wouldn't even call it a PPF Concert. At best, it was a choir serenading its son, brother and father, Eric Oracion. And half-way through the performance, which he thought was the end of the concert, he was asked to sit with the audience as the rest of the choir continued to perform songs which he taught us, the PPF Choir, to sing.

We started the evening with the PPF version of Ama Namin, which was followed by Precious and Few with the choir's most prime members. Calvin Millado sang the solo part of Hanggang Langit, and Matit Villasin-Wood and Glenda Rea-Rollan sang Matulog Ka, one of the songs that was written and composed by Eric Oracion. Mavee Rea led the choir into a medley of Christmas Songs, one of them which was Himig ng Hangin, a haunting song about the birth of Christ which is my personal favorite. The men rendered a swooning Iniibig Kita rendition, which was upped by the song God Will Make A Way, led by Matit, Eric, Jay Rollan and Vincent Ocampo. Jan Mendoza flanked by Oliver Liwanag and Noel Ibay, with the rest of the boys sang a Boys II Men original, If I Ever. I'll Never Say Goodbye, the theme from the Promise was sung afterwards and Jan Mendoza and Batchie Dy sang Butchikik together with the choir. After the songs Pagbabasbas and Love and Truth, we requested Eric to sit down and enjoy the rest of the evening.

It was Kiko Versoza, who was able to gather himself quite admirably faster than the rest of us, explained why the rest of the choir was almost crying when Send in the Clowns was being sung - it was one of Eric's karaoke favorites. Even after the concert, its haunting melody is still stuck in my head like an idea waiting to be conceived.

And the Clowns continued to perform.

Tere Ibañez, sisters Carla and Dada Yoingco sang Your Heart Today, which left the men breatless. And a brilliant guitar duet of the song Katana by cousins Artie Ocampo and Harold Ocampo left the audience and rest of the choir speechless. Sophie Mozo braved the song I'll Take Care of You armed with a guitar while Pepeng Rollan and the Rollan and Rea cousins brought the house down with Eraserheads' Magazine and Huling El Bimbo. The Ocampo girls, backed-up by the choir, sang Breath of God while Adel Samson killed Change The World. Afterwards, the girls serenaded Eric with Say A Little Prayer led by Matit.

The concert ended with the songs Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas and the choir's swan song, United We Stand. I found myself shouting, "one more time" when there were still two stanzas left to sing. I can only imagine the high that everyone was feeling during that night. Amidst the rain, the strong winds and the obstacles that were laid on our paths, we were able to prove that impossible is nothing.

So who's clowning around? "Was there any doubt?" I told Corina Millado before leaving that night. There was a huge task that lay ahead of us still, but for one night we gave ourselves the task of seeing the smile on Eric Oracion's face, I think the clowns did an excellent job.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... my head's still counting the beats. And my heart's still beating.

Football Fever

I should just rename this blog to something along those lines - almost all the articles I've written so far are all about the beautiful game and that may be the reason why I am fond of it.

It is more than a month ago that I witnessed a great revival in the sport when Spain brought down Germany in the Euro. As much as I am a great fan of the Spanish League more than the English Premier or the Italian League I never really followed the ascent of the Spanish team led by Iker Casillas. It was when they were slowly climbing and beat the Italian team through a penalty shoot-out when I realized that I missed a lot, but that never stopped me from watching the next few games with so much zeal. At the height of it, a lot of old players came back to the pitch in the week that followed and our Sunday skirmishes became just a tad serious.

I even had the opportunity to play futsal, once more, after several years of begging of it because of an old injury. There was, at the least, something to look forward to after work and in the weekends.

The news of an inter-agency football tournament had given inspiration to a few of my comrades on the pitch to form an All-Star assemblage. BBDO, O&M, Saatchi and DM9 had enough players to form their own teams, but there was enough still to go around to form an team composed of players from other agencies who didn't have a team to call their own.

Squatters United had been born, comprised mostly of players from McCann and individuals from J. Romero, JWT, TBWA and mine - eventually we held on to the name until we got a sponsor to help us with our finances. We entered the tournament as Impaq Interactive, and while most thought of us as the favorites, we really considered ourselves as underdogs. And for a team that hasn't played regularly and only knew each other for less than a week, I'd say that we did pretty good.

Our first game with Saatchi, my old agency, was tied - I thought at the end that we would get the better of them but having the first-game-of-the-day-jitters got to us. We were tense for the next few games and we still haven't played enough games for us to gel like most of the teams.

We shared our second game with BBDO and it was there that we lost our first - owing their victory to smarter plays and height difference in which we were lacking. Our next game with Ogilvy gave us our second defeat and when we returned to our bench, we promised ourselves not to lose hope because we were going to go against DM9, the only team so far that hasn't lost.

The DM9 team played fast with three forwards and one able full back. It was harder for the opposing team to play offensively against them, because they always scored first and when they do the opposing team would always start to panic.

I remember Jake Tesoro, from TBWA, who blurted out loud while waiting for our turn with DM9 that we will be the only team that would beat DM9. He said it confidently and me being the realist that I am, didn't think much about it.

Perhaps it was Miguel Mercado's determination or Celine Lopez' commanding presence in the pitch or the thought the we didn't want to end that day without a win that made us realize that we could actually do what Jake had suggested.

We had scored first against DM9 and that broke their confidence. All we had to do was to hold on to our defense for as long as possible. Celine was with me on defense, and Miguel (I really can't remember which one, because we have three Miguels and two of them from McCann) doing brilliant work as the substitute goalkeeper. We had won our only game, much to the disappointment of Ogilvy who was now tied with us. Saatchi had defaulted their last game after losing their players to injuries.

Our victory didn't stop there, though, we had to break our tie with Ogilvy and the organizers had allowed us to have a penalty shoot-out instead because the last game was reserved for the BBDO and DM9 - they had to play for first place when DM9 lost to us.

We chose Mel, Caloy and Celine (all from McCann) to be the strikers during the shoot-out while Miguel will continue goal keeping duties. Pepper, from Ogilvy, completely missed the goal on their first strike against us. We designated Mel to be our first striker, and while she missed her first, she was given another opportunity because she had kicked the ball before the whistle was blown. When the signal was given, Mel delivered beautifully. And we all stood at the back cheering joyously. Isa, Ogilvy's Team Captain and second striker had struck on-goal, but Miguel was too fast, too quick. Caloy was our second striker, but he wasn't able to deliver as well. Ogilvy's last chance fell on Mike and if he was able to get a goal past Miguel, it would be Celine's job to save our asses. Fortunately, Miguel tapped the ball upwards and away from the goal which earned us our second victory and getting the Third Place in the competition.

Not bad for a team that really hasn't spent enough time on the pitch, I said. It was enough for me, that day. I had found new friends, rekindled old relationships and found love on the pitch where the beautiful game was played.

The last game between DM9 and BBDO was watched with as much enthusiasm as the final game between Spain and Germany. Everyone had picked a side to cheer on and most of my team members had chosen DM9, probably because they were the dark horses of the tournament. We realized in the end, that we probably broke their confidence and after losing one goal to BBDO everything shattered - they were tired and they were desperate. In the end, BBDO got another goal through DM9 and I just had to stand up and clap for the ones who tried their best to hold on.

So much drama, this beautiful game can conjure. In the end, there were no red or yellow cards drawn - it was a tournament between friends, and rivals who respected each other's skills on the pitch. And while BBDO and DM9 got the most praises that day, I got more, I believe.

New friends. A slightly shot right knee and a bad sunburn. One out of three ain't that bad, right?

Full Moon Empty Room

I moved in to my new place last Sunday. The full moon was watching me as I sped across the boulevard to Mandaluyong. It wasn't a new thing for me - living alone, I rather missed it when I was with my mom and sis while my new place was being prepared.

Now, it's just me, myself and I - and of course, an empty one bedroom condo waiting to be filled up with the stuff I've collected in so many years. It's going to be a good thing for me. I'll be able to concentrate on the things that need to be done.

I'm still waiting for some furniture to be delivered. The last few pieces will be arriving on the 16th of May and I have yet to purchase that 32 inch LCD TV. Hopefully, my new phone line and internet should arrive soon. Going to coffee shops becomes tiring when I already am sitting comfortably in my sofa.

The place needs dusting, too. And I desperately need to trash the things I know I'll never use again. My hands are full but I can't just put them down yet. It's a good thing the moon provides me some company.

White Heat

It's official: summer is here. This Sunday marks the fourth time I've played football with my advertising buddies. I could ask for more, really. My love for the game is such that I've promised myself to fight off the hours spent on sofas and in front of the computer doing nothing and instead spend forty-five minutes on the treadmill building up the muscles and the stamina I've lost over the years.

I'm not ashamed to call out my age: 36. And I try my best to battle the bulge, the sedentary lifestyle and everything that comes with being that age so that I could play much better football.

Sometimes I wished that I hadn't stopped playing but before I left high school I was already into martial arts. And the only time I ran on the pitch was when I enlisted in soccer as a P.E. class in college. After that, when I already went to work, I lost sight of it and focused on my passion for advertising.

It was several years later when my friends from the industry began talking about football again. That was when the cable networks started showing the world cup in this side of the hemisphere. I blame my country for not falling in love with the game - it's a good thing that the my interest in it never really died.

I went back to the pitch several years ago and played in the Ateneo High School Football field. Several months after that, we grew in size and became a ragtag band of enthusiasts. We called ourselves a team, by the funky name of Mang Chester United.

I designed the logo of a man spewing his guts out. Funny, but we tried to become more serious about it. We tried competing as well, first with the old timers that also spent weekends playing in Ateneo and then in the non-professional league which held games during summer.

We never did get anything but a serious butt kicking, but it was worth it. I had regained my youth. I also tried indoor football, futsal - my love was returned with a badly sprained ankle, but it was during this time that I realized that I could push myself further.

I'm still playing now and my love for the game is stronger than ever. I'd religiously do 4k to 5k, three times a week to strengthen my stamina. The only harder thing to beat is my age, but it's not impossible to overcome that.

Today just proved to be more difficult, the sun was a worthy opponent and everyone was just complaining how hot it was. The proof is the tan which I now sport. I should have brought protection, but hey, if you love the game you'll have to love everything about it.

Of course, I couldn't stop myself from asking who invited the sun to play that morning. He should have invited the rain clouds as well.

January 26, Part 2

Not the usual suspects showed up when I went to Cyrano Wine Selections, my favorite spot in Makati and the only social networking site I will be involved in from now on. Alex, Cris and two of the three Blue Babble Battalion already had their spirits up.

Neil was there lounging in the sofa, sipping his regular coffee but the bigger surprise was seeing a former office mate of mine who happens to be one of the people I admire and respect in my industry - Greg Martin III, a guy who enjoys his alcohol with his coffee, sometimes separately and sometimes mixed even before the sun goes way up. He had brought along his former team mates from his agency and they provided me a sense of newness to my favorite hangout.

And while I'm addicted to everything new, we ended the night with a bright new morning as I came out at around 6 am, panicking at the thought that my mom would knock at my bedroom door and not find me inside.

Thank God, I arrived just in time to get a 15 minute nap. After that my mom, cousin Amy and I headed back to Makati, to my old place, and began packing. While most birthdays are spent removing ribbons and tearing off wrapping papers from boxes I spent the day doing the opposite.

Ironic. But it also meant that I was going to receive the biggest birthday present in my entire life - a box which was 44 sq. m. big. I didn't bother with the ribbons and all that, really. The following day, we went to Dansalan in Mandaluyong and finally signed my papers for my new condo. Seeing my name on it gave me something to smile about - it would be enough for now.

That was Sunday and I'm jumping headlines from one day to the next. Saturday wouldn't have been completed with the event that one of my pet piranhas biting me in the hand. I'm speaking figuratively, of course.

Most of the time, this smaller piranha fights with the bigger piranha. If you know me it would be impossible for me not to get in the way, because I love my pets. It was one of the few times I stood my ground and the smaller piranha realized that I wasn't going to give up without a fight. Eventually, the smaller piranha realized how wrong she was and made it up to me by buying me snacks and even a polo shirt in the next few days. Me? I'm just enjoying the fact that I took a stand and won. Don't get me wrong, I love my pets, but sometimes you have to show them the side you always try to hide from them.

They see me as someone who can do no wrong and who can't raise his voice beyond the conversational tone. They were wrong of course. But that's when I realized how old I was, or how comfortable I was with the gift of age. I liked it. I was happy with it. It gave me a sense of belonging that I've never felt before. It gave me a renewed sense of respect which I didn't bother from other people, but from me. I believe that's the most important thing that one should consider, self matters. And it's not just a very high opinion of one's self, but a genuine love and respect for one's own abilities, skills, talents, gifts and all that goes with it. That was the best gift I received that day.

Friends have always been gifts to me and this year, they became fewer. At least it's easy for me to count them and to count on them.

Sunday morning was spent playing football with people from the ad industry. And while my ex-office mates completely forgot that it was my birthday the day before, I got another gift - the realization that my body was getting old. Sure, I may not look that old but my left leg was sprained even before the game started, but that didn't stop me from playing the next one and a half hours. Of course, I had to limp my way to lunch afterwards.

I went to Cyrano the following day when one of my friends called up and she wanted to see me after two-week long vacation. It seemed like a weekend when we arrived on that monday night, the Blue Babble Battalion were there and some of the shop's regulars. And Alex being the gracious host that he was had informed everyone that I had recently celebrated my birthday. Yup, sounds like Cheers to me, too.

Our small agency had a free day at the end of the week. And for the past few weeks of working straight through the weekend, it was a great gift indeed. I love my privacy and I love spending days alone. It's one of those days that signaled the end of my birthday celebrations. Usually, it's a month long, but with the things that happened to me lately, I'd rather keep it short and continue living the days like it was the last - doing everything what needs to be done, or living it like it was the first day of the rest of my life.

It works for me either way. Probably it's how I see things that are different now. Only time can tell. Who knows? Maybe it'll take me another year to figure it out. Until that happens, I'm just going to enjoy everything this year has in store for me.

January 26, Part 1

I spent this day with a lot of people. The funny part is that during the first hour of the day I navigated to the social networking sites I belonged to and deleted my profile. Yup. Halfway across the globe, one of my friends got a surprise when she decided to send me a message through one of the networks and discovered nothing as she went to my homepage.

Fortunately, I still do keep several blog sites open to public. It's the traffic that got to me. As much as I love people, I'm not really THAT sociable. I would rather spend my energies with those who deserve my attention, who listen to my corny jokes, who patiently wait for me to talk to them even if they're in a different hemisphere altogether and those who just simply adore me - and I really don't need a social networking site to keep them in one place. (Besides, how social can you get if you can't even see these people much less talk to them, converse with them in a proper way?)

In fact, the number becomes smaller every year. On the other hand, one discovers how strong some of the bonds are with the people I've kept so close. If anyone would like to know me or get to know how I am like, she would only need to speak with and gather three or five of my good friends - you know, kidnap them, keep them blindfolded inside a room and interrogate them until one of them spills the – okay, I think I'm getting lost now.

And before I lose it completely, I shall bid farewell for now. Nope, I'm not going to delete this site. At least, I don't get to see who's been checking up on me. I'm probably over my head, too. Right? Maybe, no one does, but just in case you're someone whom I call my friend, then I'm just as happy as you are.

To be continued …

New Year's with my Cyrano Friends

Posted in: Cyrano Friends

Home is now fifteen minutes away from where I used to live. I am exaggerating, of course, because this only happens when it’s way past three in the morning. But after the first hour of the New Year, I get ready to celebrate the first holiday of the year with friends I’ve been rewarded with during the year that was. Fifteen minutes is nothing compared to the hours I will be spending with Cyrano Friends.

My arrival is greeted by an ensemble of explosive instruments playing a five-minute long composition in the key of G. As in Gago. Because the culprits left their instruments of chaos and mayhem right behind Alex’s vehicle after lighting it and running away like a bunch of rock stars being chased by hundreds of girls.

Sinturon ni Judas! That’s what the blazing idiots lit and they had to do it after the rest of the fireworks were done because it was the type of fireworks that could never compete with the expertly crafted fireworks display that lit up the Ayala triangle and the whole metro for that matter.

The arrival of the lively ladies of Cyrano; Cris, Jam and Janet; and the soon-to-be-married-within-the-year Leo was more than enough to compensate for my loss of experiencing the fireworks spectacle in any of the major areas of interest.

Leo, in his half-drunk state because he started much earlier with several shots of absinth, talked about how awkward the past weekend was for him when he and his family met with the family of his betrothed.

Janet also spent New Year’s Eve with her own family, but instead of spending it traditionally within the comforts of home, they dragged their parents outside, for the first time, under the stars smiling on Makati Avenue. She was smiling at the time, counting down to the New Year with the most significant man in her life. There was a major fireworks display reported on the street below challenging the ones happening in the Makati skyline.

Cris had her share of fireworks even before the weekend began. There’s more to come, we say. The New Year was about to begin and there are 365 days left, every night would be lit with all sorts of pyrotechnics and what not - better prepare yourself, Cris. Besides, you were the one who said, “Bring it on!”

Jam was bouncing and energetic, eyes wide full of excitement and all sentences an exclamation when she speaks, keeping the night vivid and cheerful, even after all the fireworks had stopped.

The exchange of stories, highlights of the year and things that couldn’t be helped but had to bring up kept us awake for hours. Seven hours and four wine bottles after, we were ready call it a day. I was just as surprised to see daylight creeping into the bar as Alex vigilantly stayed behind the counter while reminding me to write about the New Year in Cyrano.

And what was I going to contribute to celebrations, you might want to ask, other than the usual one-liners and the more obvious witness to the day’s revelry? Well, nothing, really. I was there as a recipient of what the Cyrano Friends could offer and if I had to offer anything, it would only be an extra smile, adding loudness to a healthy drum of laughs, an additional quote or page full of stories to fill the dark corners of Cyrano.

At 7:30 in the morning, we left each other’s company. And as I went back to Parañaque, I realized that the New Year couldn’t have been complete without spending it with the people who inhabit my home away from home. But whoever said that the New Year celebrations had to end so early in the day?

That, my friends, is a another story waiting to be told.