A Night of *Goosebumps*

Photo from: Here

It was a night of goosebumps for me last night!

Ricky asked me to join him in his yearly pilgrimage to watch the Christmas special of The Philippine Madrigal Singers, and having missed last weekend's de-stressing (*I got sick*), I eagerly agreed.

Boy!! Was I in for a wonderful surprise!!

I already know I enjoy choral performances. I dated a tenor in of San Antonio De Padua: Chamber Choir and he and I watched the week-long 2009 MBC National Choral Competition. But as they say, UP Madz is the best in the field.

We were seated really, really close to the stage. There were just about 9 rows ahead of us in the spacious Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the CCP.

IKR!!!: Our tickets costs P1,500 each!!! Crazy!

The Stage!! Imposing, isn't it?

The singers came out from the backstage and the applause and catcalls from the audience hall were deafening. I didn't know that these guys had a fan-base! (*Geeks*)

The singers sat down in a U-formation and all of a sudden, the entire hall turned eerily silent!

Then... a soft chorus of voices started coming out of the group *goosebumps*. The screen at the top right corner of the hall flashed "Ave Maria" and I was lost in the beauty of the music.

With my mouth open, awe-struck with the regal quality of the group's voices, especially when the soprano suddenly reaches out a high note, I listened in to the group heralding the immaculate conception of Jesus as told in the bible.

Then came "De Profundis Magnificat" immediately followed by "Dormi Jesu" as penultimate to the birth celebrated by the song "Say Hey! It's Cristmas Day."

*goosebumps* *goosebumps* *goosebumps*

After that came the waves of hard-core ethnic songs of different countries for the singers to show that Christmas is celebrated all over the world!

The intermission came too fast for me as I was still enjoying the amazing blending of the group's voices (I swear! You could almost believe that the gods and goddesses are serenading you.)

The second part of the concert was a little lighter in the mood. How they sang "12 Days of Christmas" was hilarious! Some of their carols were also punctuated by little quirks that makes UP Madz a master of all genres.

The closing part was really emotional!

When the choir master sang "A Warrior is a Child" (*goosebumps*), I was floored. I wanted to cry out as I was able to really identify with the soloist. I kept on thinking.. "That's me who he is singing about!!! THAT'S ME!!!"

There were quite a few teary-eyes when "Isang Taong Lumipas" was played, and it was a surprise when some of the audience stood up and started singing as well.

It seemed like they invited alumni to join them in their concert so you have divine voices coming at you from several directions.

The encore song "Paskong Walang Hanggan" was doubly emotional (*goosebumps*) as even some of the singers were visibly crying. It seemed like no strict performance-professionalism could shield you from your own emotions when music is involved!

After the concert, it was time for the meet and greet. Here are just some of the pictures to tell you the rest of the story...

Ricky, Jori and Me with the Tenor of UP Madz.

Another tenor. Cute, isn't he? (LOL)

The UP Madz' Soprano. (*awe-struck ako!!*)
This little girl CAN SING!!

The equally-talented Alto of UP Madz.

Take me and Ricky out of the picture and you get a
lover's picture from Jori and one of the Tenors.

I would like to thank Ricky for infusing the much-needed cultural boost for me. I truly enjoyed the night!

Follow the author on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/AshamanLester

Author's Blogsite: http://ashamanlester.blogspot.com

Promotions

Three of my agents just got promoted to Sr. Agents.

Kudos to...

Aran Domingcil

Maej Arce

Ryan Cascayan

Wow!! What a nice feeling to help others climb the corporate ladder.

Follow the author on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/AshamanLester

Author's Blogsite: http://ashamanlester.blogspot.com

In Memoriam: Teodoro Pinnitan Babulon

There's a certain novelty in watching a clock turn the other way when time flies by so fast. Just finished watching "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" on the eve of the All Soul's Day.

In a certain way, the movie will remind us that at some point in time, we ARE MEANT to lose the people we love. For how else would we know how important they are to us?

On this day, join me in celebrating the memory of our loved ones who passed away.

In memoriam

Teodoro Pinnitan Babulon

June 1947 - Nov 1986

It's sad that I didn't get to know him at all. :-(

Black Saturday Adventures

Mine went home after our Holy Friday trips and I am left without anything to do for Black Saturday. You might not have been aware yet but our plans of spending the holy week at Puerto Galera did not push through.

So, I made plans with Ricky to meet up at Greenbelt - Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (good thing the malls opened a day earlier than Easter Sunday).

Done with our chit-chat, Linjun followed and it was off to Libertad, Mandaluyong for some dinner. We didn't have that much money, so it was thrift carinderia that we visited.

It was during that dinner that Linjun's friend, Bruce, texted him saying that he'll be dipping into their condo's pool in a few minutes. So we didn't hesitate in inviting ourselves in that little soiree.

That is why after 15 minutes, we found ourselves in the beautiful pool of BGC's Bonifacio Ridge. Mind you, it was a hot summer day of Black Saturday and it was so refreshing to wash away the grimes of the day in the pristine waters of the pool, which we had for ourselves. During the swim, I kept on thinking that my next project, a condominium unit, should have a nice pool.

After that refreshing dip, we just walked around Bonifacio Global City. While we were strolling, here comes an amazing apparition coming our way... Akihiro Sato and the new model of SM Malls, Hideo Muraoka, walking their dogs.

Of course, there was no other option but to follow them and.... it was then that I found this amazing hang-out place. My new Central Park.

I'm not sure what it's called, probably Forbeswood Heights/Forbeswood Parklane. But one thing is for sure, this place is an up and coming socialite hang-out place for the rich and the famous.

There's a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) just around the corner and I am sure I have found my Zen place in the city

Will catch up with you later..

The Launch: AshamanLester's "Sarap ng Summer 2011"

YOSH!!! It was definitely a great start of the summer adventure. Last week, one of my new found friends just invited us, out of the blue, to go swimming.

Being a an avid fan of the water, I readily accepted the invitation (what I meant was that I played coy, as I just newly met him and he might think that I'm such a loser who has no plans 3-weeks in advance, and nonchalantly said "Sure, let me check my calendar and see if I'm free."). Fortunately, he made true to his promise. Hehe.

That's why yesterday, after meeting up with the Chupa-Chups gang for a long-delayed reunion at Shangrila-Ortigas, I then met up with my Ricky, Jun, new found friends Christian, Chris and Arvin (who I knew was my long-time colleague at work).

With my embarrassingly small car, we chugged down to the Clubhouse of Brgy. Villamor Airbase near NAIA 3 International Terminal and just had a good time.

The Pool.

From R-L: Xtian, Jun, Ricky, Me and Arvin (new found friend and long-time workmate)

New found friends: Chris and Xtian

Our Stuff

@Mcdo in front of Resorts World. Our thanks to Service Crew April (not in photo) for the invaluable service of taking this picture.

Me: "Exhausted after the swimming."

It was a great time to start 2011 summer adventure and a fitting launch for.....

BWAHAHAHA!!!

Follow the author on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/AshamanLester

Author's Blogsite: http://ashamanlester.blogspot.com

When you "Like"; You help.

It has been a while since I have posted here in my blog. Christmas, New Year, Valentines, Graduations and Araw ng Kagitingan has all passed by since you last saw my entry.

Photo from: here

I kept on pushing back my "RETURN" and waited for a very explosive, exclusive and juicy gossip about my life. Alas! nothing of that sort happened. My life = still boring.

But when I received a text message from someone, who has been a part of one of the stories that I have posted so far (click here), I felt that this event is enough for me to follow kick my lazy ass back to the PC and type an article.

Remember Reynan of Virlanie Foundation (read story here)? The kids needed our help again in a very simple manner. It won't even take you two minutes to lend a helping hand.

Want to know how? It's very simple...

(The following texts are copied from http://www.facebook.com/eastwoodcity)

Megaworld Lifestyle Centers celebrate the spirit of giving with The Easter Eggxhibit. Ten celebrities volunteered to design giant eggs and battle off for their chosen charity. Celebrities have varied charities to support. The efforts of whom will highlight the importance of social responsibility and how each one gives back as answer to all blessings bestowed upon them.

Megaworld Lifestyle Centers will donate to the corresponding charity winning Egg so be sure to check out all the eggs!

Online Voting Mechanics:
1. Go to www.facebook.com/eastwoodcity & www.facebook.com/newportcity
2. Like the page.
3. Check the Easter Eggxhibit Photo album and “Like” the most creative Easter Egg. 1 Like = 1 Vote
4. Each egg represents a celebrity’s chosen charity and the most number of combined likes from both pages plus votes during the launch will be considered the winner.
5. Online voting period is from April 11 to May 12. Winner will be announced on May 13.

The Easter Eggxhibit will be on display at Eastwood Mall Atrium from April 11 to April 17 then at Newport Plaza at Resorts World Manila from April 18 to May 12.

(End of copied text)

Again, the simplified steps are:

• Go to http://www.facebook.com/eastwoodcity
• "Like" the page.
• Go to the Photos section.
• Look for the album: The Easter EGGxhibit by Eastwood Mall and Newport Mall
• "Like" the 11th photo with the caption: Tim Yap - Virlanie Foundation

And simple as that, you just gave them 1 vote. To further add another vote in their name, go to www.facebook.com/newportcity and do the same steps as above. The photo with the most number of likes will reward the corresponding charity, 100K.

I have never campaigned for any of you, my friends, to like any page in FB, even though my friends kept asking me to campaign for their pages in their behalf. But for Virlanie Foundation, my time, effort and social responsibility will always be available.

Remember my story?

"A man was walking down the beach one day and, off in the distance, he could see someone dancing, running from the waves up onto the sand and back again. He had never seen anything more beautiful.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young boy and he wasn't dancing at all. He was picking up something and throwing it into the ocean over and over again.

He asked the boy what he was doing and the boy said he was saving the starfish. They had washed up on the beach and would die if he didn't throw them back in the water.

The man looked up and down the shoreline and saw thousands of starfish stranded in the sand. He told the boy that there was no way he could save all those starfish and the few he did save would make little difference.

The boy looked back at him and, holding up the starfish in his hands, said, "It will make all the difference to this one."

By voting for Virlanie Foundation, you just saved one starfish. YOU just saved one orphan/street-child. It might not save the thousands of other orphans/street-children in the country, but at least you made a HUGE difference to the betterment of a few.

Follow the author on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/AshamanLester

Author's Blogsite: http://ashamanlester.blogspot.com