Friday, November 26, 2004

The Miriam Fair and other Escapades

Last Saturday and Sunday, (and actually even Monday) were one of the weirdest and funniest times of my life with the Katipuneros. Well, after here, after grueling CAT (wherein I acted as head officer since my Captain and Lieutenants were in ICA hehe) I headed off to Miriam High School to watch the Iron Dukes, E.J.'s and Mio's other band. Upon setting foot in the land of the green skirts guess who I bumped into?? Merc! Haha, she was at the entrance area so she could bring her "little bro" to the baggage counter. He was apparently leaving already. We accompanied her little bro out then proceeded to the gym where the band show was taking place.

I arrived just in the nick-of-time! I recorded their first song which was by the Foo Fighters uhmmm Learn to Fly and man, I have to say that they're really good. They have stage presence. hehe (Mio pati E.J. kasi talon ng talon haha) Their whole band's great! You have a suave bassist, an excellent drummer, a rocking vocalist and two razorbex kaskaseros! haha

We went backstage after the gig to greet our rockstah friends. While backstage, I saw Aica hehe She said her Hi's and Hellos to everyone before leaving us for another event in the fair. Wheee everyone was having so much fun fun fun! I accompanied the Dukes back to their band room in one of the classrooms in the nearby buildings. I took a picture of them hehe naxxx.

After all the ruckus and manly kuwentos in the band room, we met up with Merc and sina Sabs and Yeni. Yuff, Sabs and Yeni were in their Assumptionista uniforms that day. They were black-listed as spies daw awww. Hehe I took a picture of all of us once again. I'll be posting that picture soon. So from there we decided to go to Merc's place so she could dress up. At her place, we were talking about heading to Assumption Antipolo to watch Issa's band :P Here's the thing...Dang! I didn't know her gig was on that day! (that night technically) So we had to rush there as in PRONTO coz we only had about an hour left. We dragged Merc along so off we went to the mountains of Antipolo!

The next few minutes...no ehem...HOURS were spent on the friggin road...kasi put*ngina ang trapik mehn! Here's the weird part, first we tried getting to Marikina using Cinco Hermanos near Katipunan flyover but it was jam-packed. Next, Merc suggested we use the Loyola Grand Villas route so we wouldn't have to contend with so much heavy traffic. Zoom! We went back to Katipunan/La Vista and tried the route. Now, usually...as in usually...walang traffic sa loob ng isang private subdivision right? La Vista pa! ngerk!!! Mali! Never assume things like that coz damn we waited for 15 minutes at the LGV guardhouse. I friggin swear that their process of admitting visitors and residents inside their compound sucks big time! Ang tagal ng mga lecheng guwardiya magpasok ng mga kotse!!! Augh!

Whew...(Cool down...) Anyway :)...

We made our way down the hills of LGV and got to Marikina, which was by the way still in a gridlock. It really wasn't our day. I could tell everyone was getting bored and peeved coz things were a bit too quiet in the car. I felt sorry pa for dragging Merc along coz she was just sleeping and staring out the window. We made it to Marikina after 30 minutes of weaving in and outta tight spots and intersections. Upon getting to Marcos Highway, gridlock nanaman puny*ta! We spent an additional hour there! Getting past Masinag wasn't too bad but I'd have to say that we were all hungry as hell. I was having double vision while Merc became lethargic while E.J. fell asleep and Mio was all quiet and so on and so forth...hehe

Ahh...after a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes, we got to Assumption Antipolo! Wow! And here's the catch...WE MISSED ISSA'S GIG!! GAAAAAHHH... All that hard work in vain!!! SO we picked her up nalang. We met Faith and Gino there. NAxx hehe bagay parin sila :P anyways, we left narin for Katipunan soon after.

On the way home, we passed by McDonald’s in Marikina. We ordered and ate lotsa fries and cheeseburgers. For our drinks we drank iced tea. Ahh...after the food trip, everyone seemed to feel fine. The car reeked of Mcdo. Oh, Mio didn't have anything coz he was freaked out by that Supersize Me movie hehe. I pity E.J. coz he was drenched in iced tea. He was friggin wet!!! Ewww...That must've been so sticky afterwards. Merc helped feed me while getting to Katipunan coz I was driving nga so I couldn't be holding food at the same time. She must've been a bit pissed at me that time coz she smeared my cheeseburger on my face (cheeks). She was snickering her evil snicker (that is sooo redudududundant) while doing it.

I dropped her in Miriam after so she could catch up pa with their fundraising concert later that evening. We went to Sabs' place so we could recuperate from that long arduous journey. I tell you, it is no joke having to contend with all that traffic. Stress sa buhay pare. I'm thinking that I shortened my life na coz of that ordeal... :)

We got to Sabs' place and basically hung-out. We ate some snacks like Chicharon (Yum!), Fruit Loops and Yakult (You know, that "Okay ka ba tiyan?" thing). Thanks talaga Sabs fer being a lifesaver! Wow... We went home feeling really tired as in... I slept at Mio's that night :P I had his lovely couch all to myself...So there...I slept... The next few events are a tad bit boring. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz......ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz....

Ring! Ring! Awaken E.Z.!!! So there! I woke up feeling mighty fine! (I think…) I was still in a daze when I greeted Erica and Ananda good morning. Man, I swear Ananda has got to be the cutest baby on earth!!! Ang saya niya. I woke up E.J. and Mio after a few minutes of tickling Ananda.

Me and E.J. left Mio's at around 10am. We had to go home first to freshen up eh. I went home and showered and dressed up and went back to Mio's at around 12:30pm. I thought he'd be awake by then, di pala. It turns out he was still fast asleep. Parang mantika 'pag natulog. He was really knocked out I tell ya. :P I gave him a rude awakening by sitting on him so he couldn't breathe hehe. Naasar siya so he woke up. Success! We went down to the kitchen to grab lunch before leaving for Miriam. E.J. still wasn't there yet.

Wheee! Ala pala was home already! Coolness. She arrived pala from Africa a few days back! She was a bit tanned but was still looking good. Her limbs were all there so I'm assuming there were no violent encounters with some lions or wild animals of the bush. hehe Nagkuwentuhan kami for like an hour while eating so nagbonding kaming lahat. She apparently missed this pasta dish with anchovies while in Africa so we had it for lunch and it was Dee-Lish! Yum, we wolfed down the chow in a flash!

E.J. arrived after lunch. Awwww sayang. Mio took really long dressing up. The faggot haha. We went to Miriam after! On the way to the high school, my friend Mark got into an accident. His car was scraped by some stupid taxi doing a U-turn. He was miffed. I offered my assistance but he said that he was gonna be fine so anyways we left him there. He had to miss playing in his band that day coz he had to go to the police station to get an investigator to help him out.

Now, I’d have to say that the next thing that happened was so hilarious. Mio wasn’t allowed in the fair grounds! Why? His jeans were torn kasi and it so happened that they were against immodest outfits ermm like torn jeans? Bwahahaha… Luckily he had a back-up pair of jeans in the car. So we waited for him for like 15 minutes. I swear that guy takes too long dressing up! Augh I was actually quite nervous coz I myself had torn jeans. But it wasn’t at the knees. My tear was near the buttocks or ass part so you could actually see my boxers… ewww hehe My shirt was kinda long so the guards didn’t actually see me violating any dress code :P Yay!!!

We went straight to the gym again to watch the amateur bands play. There I met up again with the Dukes. Astig talaga sila. The other bands that played that afternoon were uhmmm okay I guess. Not that I’m being mayabang but they lack something eh. The others agreed naman din hehe Ang malas nanaman ni Mio coz he was caught by this girl who extorted 50 friggin pesos out of his allowance for the day. He was soo miffed. He kept on cussing the rest of the time after that. Anyways…

Oooh oooh oooh!!! I saw my crush! Wow, she was soooo hot! She looked so good. Her jacket failed to hide her voluptuous figure :P Man, I am soo gross. Hehe just sharing.

Anyways, we left the area pretty soon coz we needed to get to Assumption San Lorenzo. On the way out, it started to rain! And wow, was it strong! Me and Mio made a mad dash for my car parked all the way out in the high school parking lot so we were pretty drenched by the time we got inside.

The next hour (drive drive drive drive) Schwing!!! We’re here na in AC!!!

We made it just in time to watch Assumption San Lo perform their mind-boggling dance moves. Here’s one thing I have to say about that event. We were swamped by so many hot, hot, hot, pretty, pretty, pretty, model-like chicks! I had a friggin eye-strain just trying to concentrate on the people dancing instead of all those girls watching!!! Man, namamanyak na kami doon. I saw Paulyn there and Roanna and I think Rita too. I wouldn’t mind going back there except for the fact that it cost 100 bucks to enter! It’s so expensive! Mio pa didn’t pay so ang daya… He snuck in! We only stayed for 30 minutes coz we had to leave for Gasoline Alley in Robinson’s Galleria for the gig of Nino and the Happy Meals.

The next hour (drive drive drive drive) Schwing!!! We’re here na in Galle!!!

On the way to Galle though, we shared some “intimate” stories about our lives and hidden secrets :P Wow… I got to learn so much about sina Sabs, E.J. and Mio. Issa didn’t join in first coz she wasn’t feeling too well. So…

We got to Gasoline Alley a bit early for the Happy Meals Gig! I saw Ala there along with some other friends. The place was uber full. It was jam packed with college people. A lot of Ateneans were present. The girl hosting the show was a T.V. personality. I just kinda forgot her name but man she was smooth. She looked really good in her body fit get up. :P

Plane Divides the Sky played first. Their music reminds me so much of Cheese coz the vocalist kept on screaming. Nino was their session bassist so I was treated to a pre-Happy Meals Nino show. I love watching him play. He’s soooooooooooo good! After a few minutes of intense throat scratching bashing, the Happy Meals started setting up their instruments coz it was their turn to mesmerize the crowd. I was really glad to have brought my camera coz I finally was able to record Nino and the Happy Meals play! The next few minutes blew me away!!! Whoosh! Nino-à slap slap and tap, Ted-à Drum roll and whapack whapack, Jorelà shred ng shred and Odinà Whoa whoa!

They played Hop Jump, Mimic and Buhay Tao. Their CD was supposed to be released early this year but they postponed it to next year coz of some pretty funky complications. We got our free drinks after their gig to cool off coz their playing was so intense. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Sabs’ mom called and wanted her home already even if Sabs knew that she asked permission to go out that night. She was really pissed. The rest of us felt kind of sucky that we had to leave the place. Things were starting to get exciting pa naman. We left Galle after a few minutes…

The next hour (drive drive drive) Schwing!!! We’re here na in Sabs’ place!!!

But before getting to Sabs’, I drove through McDonald’s to get dinner. :D Anyways…

Hay… We slowly made our way to Sabs’ pad and relaxed in their living room. Everyone was so quiet either out of frustration or stress. I have to admit that the whole day stressed me out. I was too pooped and hungry to say anything. Sabs then gave us our band application form. We had to pay 1400 pesos to get in!!! Man that’s highway robbery! Whoa…We decided to fill up the form the next day instead coz we were in no mood to write stuff. Sabs fed us dinner! We had barbecue! Yum! Haha Thanks Sabs! We watched T.V. after dinner to help us digest our food. After a few minutes on the boob tube, we transferred to the living room again so that we could “bond”. I ended up falling asleep after a few minutes while the other guys kept on playing some weird games. As far as I know, they were tickling each other and rough-housing a lot. I kinda woke up at around 3am after resting. I had to drop Mio and E.J. home pa so there. I decided not to sleep at Mio’s coz I wanted to sleep in my bed since I really missed it.

I went home and hit the sack! Before completely losing consciousness, I realized I left my phone at my niece’s place…gah…

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzz…….ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz….. I woke up at around 11am coz of my mom. She woke me up. Grrr… haha :P We had lunch in Chocolate Kiss in U.P. after which I decided to go to Sabs’ place coz I forgot my mobile phone there the night before.

There I met up with Sabs and Issa. They were planning to go to Mio’s later that afternoon to fix up the band forms so I volunteered to drive ‘em there since I was headed in that direction. We finished the forms at Mio’s after an hour. I left for Starbucks immediately afterwards to meet up with Merc to hang out and talk.

Everything was fun in Starbs. A lot of stories were shared, problems aired left and right and the like. Treated her to one of those mysterious drinks everyone is after now. It’s called Peppermint Mocha something or whatever haha. It was terrific bonding again for like the 4th time in succession in the same week. We went to Ateneo after Starbs to chill. We visited my fave thinking spot near the High School. We kept blabbing on and on about ourselves and our stories for quite some time. We let the sun set first before leaving the place. I love that place coz it’s so quiet, reserved and peaceful. The only thing that was really bothering us was this stupid bird which was making this entire racket. You know, like “Caw Caw! Caw Caw!”. :P

We left for Mio’s place to pick the guy up since he wanted to hang out with us for a while. We drove around Katipunan lang once again. It was all good clean fun. We hung out and played in the La Vista Park too. It was there where we planned our Christmas Break. We hope it pushes through! :D

So anyways, we dropped Merc home afterwards at around 6:55pm. I dropped Mio home by 7:00pm then made a mad dash for mass with my mum in our parish here in Varsity hills. The evening ended well. Actually, my weekend was great! It’s one of those weekends I’ll remember for the rest of my life :P

Till the AC fair then??? Wow Dude Pare It’s The Good Guys!!! :D See ya!

Friday, November 19, 2004

Rewind to the Past and Fast Forward to the Present

Hey guys! I feel so embarrassed for not being able to update as often as i should. I know it's a let-down for all of my close friends out there! Well, to catch up on the "balita" of my life, I want to say that i immensely enjoyed our sembreak. Spending it with your barkada is really the way to go. Alabang rocked and our costumes were really blazing hot! yeah! Hehe, basically we've found another place to crash and call another Katipunan pad. It's the house of my niece, Sabs! :D
I'm quite ecstatic that she's finally been tagging along our escapades! She's a demon behind the wheel when it comes to driving haha. Another member who's making her presence felt is Yeni! She's been inching her way to the hearts of the Katipuneros! Sneak! Haha, man, going to Paranaque to visit her was the best!

We all went to Admit One in Freedom Bar last uhmmm week? hehe Basta, everything's fine with the barkada now i hope. No more fights and break-ups please? I love you guys too much.

Well so far, our band named, "WOW DUDE PARE! IT'S THE GOOD GUYS!" is doing superbly well. Our practices in "Farview" and in Mio's place have paid off. Our late night excursions to the house of Gab are still very memorable. Oh yeah, by the way, we, our band, made it to the AC Fair Battle of the Bands!!! Oh my God!!! I am so f*cking grateful and nervous coz of the news. We'll be covering P.O.T.'s Ulitin and Yugyugan Na and The Cardigans' Lovefool. Please let this be the road for us to fame! Hahaha wishful thinking.

Our band is composed of the following members: Issa Perez De Tagle on Vocals, Mio Paredes on Lead Guitars, E.J. aka Eddie JOE on Rhythm Guitars, Me (E.Z. Camacho) on Bass and finally Gab Aguila on Drums. Our Band Manager is my niece, Sabs Bengzon while Aussy the *ehem* "close friend" of Gab is our publicist. And just this afternoon, we found our Connections Liaison the long-lost-one-and-only Mercedes Naguiat! Man, everyone is so hyped up about next Saturday. Come and support us!

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I'll be part of the "security team" of AC for their fair. Basically, here's one word that sums up what I'll be doing--->guwardiya. Haha, it's fine! I pray me and my partner (Nicole) will still manage to have fun despite our shifts during the fair.

Today, me, Gab and Merc met up in La Vista. Everything was sooo impromptu which made it kind of nice for Merc coz she liked our "surprise visit" :P Man, is she a sight for sore eyes! I haven't seen her for ages. (oops then again, Grilla, during our last escapade counts haha) We went to Starbucks and talked about the future of our band! It was soo hilarious because it turns out, Merc knows so much goddamn people who could be our connections to getting big in the music industry. Gab left after a few minutes of "planning" with Merc the best strategy for instant fame. Haha Merc and I finally decided to head back to her place so that we could have a bonding session. Man, it was really really amusing. Nag-asaran kami for the longest time. We shared lotsa kuwentos and P.O.V.'s on just about any topic. There, Merc realized how much she missed the barkada. Personally, I'm glad she's gonna be back with us real soon. She shared with me her addictive Salami, Cream Cheese, Pate and Skyflakes. It was the best meal i ever had! (Coz it was actually the only decent thing I had today.) Merc, enough with the relatives already haha! LOL :P As I said, we love you dearie :D Thanks for today.

It's the Miriam and AA fair already! I'm gonna be going tomorrow :D Til the next time i blog!