this song was brought to us by the letter Q

this musical was full of surprises from start to end. no one wonder it has won a Tony for Best Musical.

you would think as an adult that you wouldn't want to watch any more of those silly muppets especially grown-up muppets. i must admit, the idea seemed a little bit corny at the beginning. however, you would be missing a lot if you dismiss the musical just like that. the characters of AvenueQ are nothing like the muppets and monsters from their Sesame Street counterparts. they do more than eat cookies all day or play with their rubber duckies or count sheeps in bed when they could not sleep. they do what many of us adults do: they work for a living, struggle to pay the rent, they lie, they cheat, they pretend to be someone they're not, they curse when they get mad, they surf the internet for things other than news or the weather, they go on with life even without purpose (ouch!), they hope and they get disappointed in the end, they go on following their dreams even when they dont have a clue how to get there.

before the playdate, i have listened to some of the songs from the soundtrack (more than a few times) and i thought i would be prepared to see it live on stage but i was sooo wrong! nothing could have prepared me for gary coleman's entrance, those uber kilig moments with kate monster and princeton, nicky and rod's "LQ" scenes and definitely nothing prepared me for that "puppet nudity" act. ugh! all my efforts were futile.

i wish you could have seen it if you werent able to... almost every song from the musical was every bit entertaining, both funny and wise at the same time. some are truly unforgettable and you can't help but relate to them. in fact, i think you should watch this musical if only to hear the muppets sing the song, "it sucks to be me" -- if you can not identify with this song, not even for a tiny bit... then you're not human!!!

here's the lyrics of the finale song, one of my personal favorites... an apt ending for the musical -- pregnant with truth and wisdom and meaning that when i heard them sing it, i did not know whether to laugh or cry!

Avenue Q cast, Manila production

Soundtrack: Avenue Q
Title: For Now

PRINCETON:
Why does everything have to be so hard?

GARY COLEMAN:
Maybe you'll never find your purpose.

CHRISTMAS EVE:
Lots of people don't.

PRINCETON:
But then- I don't know why I'm even alive!

KATE MONSTER:
Well, who does, really?
Everyone's a little bit unsatisfied.

BRIAN:
Everyone goes 'round a little empty inside.

GARY COLEMAN:
Take a breath,
Look around,

BRIAN:
Swallow your pride,

KATE MONSTER:
FOr now...

BRIAN, KATE, GARY, CHRISTMAS EVE:
For now...

NICKY:
Nothing lasts,

ROD:
Life goes on,

NICKY:
Full of surprises.

ROD:
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.

CHRISTMAS EVE:
You're going to have to make a few compromises...
For now...

TREKKIE MONSTER:
For now...

ALL:
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now!

LUCY:
For now we're healthy.

BRIAN:
For now we're employed.

BAD IDEA BEARS:
For now we're happy...

KATE MONSTER:
If not overjoyed.

PRINCETON:
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now...

GARY COLEMAN:
For now...

TREKKIE MONSTER:
For now...

KATE MONSTER:
For now...

ALL:
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now!

Only for now!
(For now there's life!)
Only for now!
(For now there's love!)
Only for now!
(For now there's work!)
For now there's happiness!
But only for now!
(For now discomfort!)
Only for now!
(For now there's friendship!)
Only for now (For now!)
Only for now!

Only for now! (Sex!)
Is only for now! (Your hair!)
Is only for now! (George Bush!)
Is only for now!

Don't stress,
Relax,
Let life roll off your backs
Except for death and paying taxes,
Everything in life is only for now!

NICKY:
Each time you smile...

ALL:
...Only for now

KATE MONSTER:
It'll only last a while.

ALL:
...Only for now

PRINCETON:
Life may be scary...

ALL:
...Only for now
But it's only temporary

Ba-dum ba-dum
Ba-dum ba-dum
Ba dum ba-dum
Ba-da da da da
ba-da da-da da da-da
Ba-dum ba-da, ba-dum ba-da
ohhhh-

PRINCETON:
Everything in life is only for now.

-ooo-

of course, i still believe that there are things in life that are eternal and not just for now... and although there is something comforting about the temporary nature of things, there is also comfort in knowing that some things will never change and they will last more than a lifetime.

nth phone

nokia 2600
Originally uploaded by gezelle

this is my new phone as of 11am today :) its a nokia 2600 and was around php3400 in Greenhills. aside from its cheap price, some of the other features which i love are the FM radio, Expense Manager, camera and bluetooth. the games are not so bad rin. meron itong Sudoku at Galaxy Balls, hehe. its also a very slim phone which makes it ultra pretty. i also like this feature that allows me to assign a photo with a certain contact para makikita ko ang litrato nya pag tumawag sya sa akin -- haha, ang babaw no! wala kasing ganito yung dati kong phone. all it had was a flashlight :)

what i dont like about it is that its dual band (hence, i cannot use this if i go to US or Japan.... as if naman di ba... ) also, it does not have a card slot and the kit did not come with a USB cable so i dont have an idea yet how i can upload the photos i have taken so far :) anyone here who has a bluetooth-enabled laptop? i want to see how decent the photos are when uploaded. sana naman its not so bad.

for more information about this camera, you may go to: http://www.nokia.com.ph/A4803396

ayun lang folks. happy long weekend and God bless!

maybe someday

maybe someday
Originally uploaded by gezelle

this little girl was looking at the bride almost the whole time their group photo was taken. the bride looked really pretty and this little girl must have thought she was a princess and the groom was her prince. awwww.

paalam, CG2

avanade floor
Originally uploaded by gezelle

this is the avanade floor here at Cybergate 2. home to our project for almost 11 months. a few weeks from now, we would have to move to yet another location a few meters away from the CG2 building. the desk on the right with the white teddy bear is where i sit every single day for several hours during the work week. it has a view of EDSA, Rockwell and Makati and i can easily tell my friends the current traffic situation by just looking over. i would certainly miss this place. it's not the best work area in the world, but it was comfortable and i have control of the air conditioning! oh well.... ganon talaga.

My Nanay

birthday ng nanay ko nuong May 26 at pinicture-an ko sya nuong umaga. dahil hindi pa sya nakapagbihis at nakapag-pulbos man lang ng mukha, ilang sya na ngumiti at magpakuha. hindi raw sya maganda. eh hindi naman ako nakikinig sa kanya at pinagpatuloy ko ang pagkuha ng litrato nya. maganda naman kasi sya para sa akin. kung pangit sya eh di panget din ako di ba? hindi naman ata ako papayag ng ganyan :)

sya nga pala, kabilin-bilinan nya na wag ko ilagay sa internet ang litrato nya... pasaway ko talaga :) maligayang bati sa iyong kaarawan, Ma!

better together

miss ko na sila...

...at miss ko na rin sumayaw ng naka-paa!

on falling

"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly." -Neil Gaiman

i hope next time, its the fall of the last kind.

low tide

low tide
Originally uploaded by gezelle

this photo was taken in cagbalete, quezon during our team-building outing this summer. the water was extremely low and the shore was obviously vacant except for patches of seaweeds (dead and living) and seashells on the almost white sand-covered sea floor. you will have to walk at least half a kilometer in order to get to that part of the sea deep enough for you to swim. it was an amazing thing to see.

My Learnings

the month of May was sort of a dry season for me in terms of blogging or even taking photos... but definitely not in terms of gaining knowledge or perspective on several things. here are some lessons i have learned from recent events and acquaintances:

• i have learned how to cook dutch pancakes: these are the kinds that have bacon and cheese on them. yumm!
• i have also learned how to cook this kind of tomato-based pasta/spaghetti: it has 1/4 kilo ground beef, fresh tomatoes sliced or cubed (without the seeds of course), some bell pepper, tomato sauce and some parmesan cheese. so i guess there's nothing all that different to it compared to your normal Filipino-style spaghetti except that it does not have hotdogs and it has those peppers as well. it's really good.
• i have learned how to play soccer, well at least from watching online videos :) i havent really played soccer in the field yet but i already know how to "dribble", kick or stop a flying ball at least in theory. i hope that this will help me somehow once the real games next soccer season begin.
• i have learned that some people shoot photos simply "to remember" or to "re-assure themselves that there is beauty in the world". i guess there need not be any other reason than this.
• i have learned that having a plan (about anything) really helps. really.
• i have learned (or still learning) to be less introspective and focus more on doing things. or starting to do things. at least it gets you somewhere.
• i have learned that i do not care so much where i am going or how i am getting there. what matters most to me is who i am on the journey with.
• i have learned that you do not need to explain yourself to the people who really care for you, because they will love you just the same. the same is true for those who dislike you, i suppose. no amount of explanation can convince them that you are not who they think you are.
• i have learned that mothers will always be on the OA-side of things when in comes to taking care of their children. well, at least i know at least one mother who is like this :)
• i have learned... or at least starting to believe... that living independently is 90% hardwork and 10% fun, but still i also think, its surely worth trying.