#SugarSmashGin

 Watched the #SugarSmashGin - Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Gin Blossoms - concert last night at the Araneta Coliseum. As usual, I was in the nosebleed section so I will spare everyone with blurred Instagram photos. :P

I grew up with these bands in the 90s so I was quite excited when I learned about the concert. But why why why are the tickets so damn expensive? The Gen Ad ticket set me back a thousand bucks, the next section was already almost 3,000. My friend was able to score a promo for P499 in Gen Ad and I heard they slashed prices, but still, darn expensive. In fact, the Upper Box of Araneta was deserted. Sigh.

The concert started at 8PM though the ticket said 7PM. Color It Red opened the concert - yeah, so 90s. The first band to perform was Smash Mouth. They played for an entire hour, playing hits like All Star and I'm a Believer. Then, we waited for another hour before Sugar Ray played. All was forgiven when Mark McGrath played up to the crowd. They played fewer songs than Smash Mouth but the audience loved them because Mark gave entertaining spiels. I loved When It's Over - especially since Mark said he wrote it after getting his heart broken one summer. Then it was another 30minutes or so wait before Gin Blossoms took the stage - at that time, it was already 12 midnight! Some people have left so Gin Blossoms played to a sad looking crowd. I felt bad because (1) the lead singer said they just arrived after a 30-hour flight from Texas and (2) I think they played the best, it was like listening to a CD.

The concert ended at around 1:30AM. Tuesday morning. Gah. I can't remember if it was Mark or the singer of Smash Mouth who said they were coming back in 2014. I hope the organizers do a better job by then by starting early and minimizing the set-up time between the bands. This 90s girl can no longer watch concerts later than 11PM! :P

The Legends and The Classics

Hubby and I love music but, as you have probably noticed, we are not big on watching concerts. Well, we are not big on buying expensive concert tickets haha.

I read about The Legends and The Classics: Encore featuring Lea Salonga, Lisa Macuja and Cecile Licad from somewhere online a couple of days before the event. I wanted to watch with hubby but, as expected, he balked that the lowest ticket price was P2,000. I also learned that Lisa Macuja is going to retire by the end of the year. Since I haven't seen Lisa perform live, I coughed up the P2,000.00. I was actually willing to shell out more if only I learned about the event earlier.

Hubby dropped me off at the CCP lobby a few minutes before 5:00PM so I ran to the fourth floor even if I badly needed to go to the restroom. I was at the door when the national anthem ended and the usherette said I can no longer go out. 

But it was worth it controlling my bladder and risking kidney stones haha. The trio performed a couple of OPM songs then it was time for individual performances.

I have always been a big Lea Salonga fan. When I was younger, I learned that she was in Manila Hotel so I wrote her a letter and addressed it to "Lea Salonga, Manila Hotel" because I didn't have Google back then haha. I asked my father to mail it but I dunno if he ever did so. She sang songs from Les Miserables, Cats and Wicked. Goosebumps. Too bad she didn't sing Sun and Moon and The Last Night of the World. Afterwards, I discovered that the Manila run of Miss Saigon was in 2000, I was already here then, but I prolly didn't have the money to watch it. Boo hoo. I hope to watch her in a play or musical soon.

Cecile Licad, Lisa Macuja, Lea Salonga and Ballet Manila from the nosebleed section :)

Lisa Macuja performed next. Hard to believe she is already 49. She twirled, she jumped, she moved. She performed the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (which I correctly guessed as there was a balcony) and Paquita and Dying Swan (which I read from a review). She made me remember that I once wanted to be a ballerina (as most little girls are wont to do). I also hope to watch another performance of hers before she retires.

Cecile Licad, on the other hand, also made me remember that I once took up piano lessons but discontinued them as laziness took over. I am no classical music expert so I didn't recognize the songs she performed. But she radiated passion and her fingers simply flew all over the keys. I had one of those disposable opera glasses-like thingies that I got from the Smashing Pumpkins concert so I managed to see her up close even if I was in the nosebleed section. The guys beside me could not help but yell "Bravo!" when she finished.

This event made me realize how I love music but sadly, music doesn't really love me back - I dance okay but I'm no ballerina and I am tone-deaf. On an unrelated note, I do hope my future kids inherit hubby's musical genes. :)

Nick and Norah's Infiite Playlist

Happy to report that I am reading for fun again. For a time, I found myself unable to finish reading a book, which kinda worried me because it has never happened before, so I wasn't sure if there was something wrong with me or the book.

One of my recent buys is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It is a teen romance by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn so it's a light read. It reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower but I like the latter more because I did not rush myself in reading it. Anyway, the book made me curious enough to download the movie. 

While the movie is classified as a romantic comedy-drama, it ain't no chick flick. The soundtrack is good, as expected, although I don't recognize most of the songs. I reckon teenagers will know the songs haha. The movie is not a faithful adaptation of the book, for in the book, it was Nick who asked Norah to pretend to be his girlfriend yet in the movie, it was Norah who did the asking. That kinda threw me off, because in real life, is a girl more likely to ask a stranger to pretend to be her boyfriend? A few twists were also added. Anyway, the most memorable lines in the book were also in the movie.

I think the movie captured New York as indeed the city that never sleeps, for the kids were running around during the after-hours and there was always some place that was open. It made me want to go to New York although I doubt it that at my age, I can still go bar-hopping in search of a punk band hehe.

 

The movie is good but I liked the book more. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever found a movie adaptation better than the book.

To Hyphenate or Not to Hyphenate?

Notice the surge in blog posts? It's like my laziness button has been switched off. Haha. I hope it lasts.

Before I got married, I thought that I'd go the hyphenated route because I'm proud of my maiden surname and it looked cool. However, one of my officemates who got married a year before me opted to drop her maiden surname because it was too tedious filling up forms. I also read in some forums that some government forms do not recognize the hyphenated surname. Since I get agitated easily and try to stay away from them hasslehoffs, I opted to drop my maiden surname. 

I know some wives do not change their names at all but when I kidded hubby about it, he got mock angry. As a compromise, I did not change my signature which I've had since elementary. Besides, I didn't want to think up of a new signature.

It's been swimmingly fine, but recently, I accessed the Roll in the SC website and I felt sad that my name does not appear beside my father's name. I am now contemplating to switch to a hyphenated surname although I'm not sure if SC will still allow me. Thing is, my hyphenated surname would be long, fourteen characters with the hyphen. Ugh. Anyone out there to convince me to hyphenate?

Japan Calling (?)

My bestfriend L is on a two-year scholarship grant in Kobe University. Eons ago, when we stalked people based in Japan on Friendster, Multiply and Flickr, we rued how they seem to be having the time of their lives. After our honeymoon in Japan, I yearned for the cleanliness, the efficiency of the transport system and the many brands that are not available here.

Now L seems to be having the time of her life there discovering Kitkat flavors and shopping haunts. I'm so inggit. When I got married, I half-intentionally gave my career the lowest priority because I was raring to start a family. But since that does not appear to be forthcoming, I'm thinking of looking into study opportunities abroad. I've always had this very faint (haha) yearning to go abroad for a year or two. Hubby has mentioned maybe New Zealand and Australia. We'll see.