it’s bliss

I love hearing old favorites. I was driving to the gym this afternoon, bad trip, glum, and gloomy, and K-Lite plays "Down Together" by The Refreshments. Not a popular song, not even a spectacular one. A one-hit wonder for the band, but not a big-enough hit, as a lot of people probably haven’t even heard of the song nor the band. It’s upbeat, pop-ish alternative; the verses are sung in a near-monotone in an average-pitched voice, by the guy doing lead vocals; the beat picks up during the chorus as if excited to reach the "best" part of the song, which is actually made up of just four words sung repetitively; the lyrics are fun are simple, at some parts sounding like a failed attempt to compose a rhyming poem. It’s the kind of song that easily gets mixed up with other songs that came out at about the same time. It’s bland to be alternative, unappealing to be pop, too literal to be taken to the heart.

And I love it. I love it for its simplicity. Its simplicity (in terms of tune, tone, musical arrangement, and even the lyrics’ meaning) reminds me of the simple things in life and how much it can brighten up your day, no matter how shallow, small , or lame to others they may be.  An added factor is that it brought me down memory lane as I recalled me and my good friend Viev singing the song together and talking about the video which features the band in a plain room, the vocalist jumping up and down with his guitar, in Chuck Taylors. Viev and I fussed over the Chucks, and appreciated the band for the fact that the guy was wearing Chucks. How shallow is that?!

So here’s the song I love, released in 1999 (as the DJ mentioned). Enjoy! Nakakatuwa talaga yung lyrics…

We could write our names here in the mud
No one’s around to see them
We could hang our shoes right here in a tree
No one’s around to steal them
I could give you a star
You could give me one too
That way we’d be even
And I could sing this song way out of tune
And not care a bit about it

We could both wear cowboy hats
And pretend to speak italian
Well I could eat some gum
And make my breath so minty fresh
To kiss you
Your breath will smell like wine
I like that a lot
Especially when I kiss you
And I could hit my funny bone really hard
And you could call me sweetheart

And who ever said there’s nothing new under the sun
Never thought much about individuals
But he’s dead anyways

So lets go down together
Down together
Down together
Together
Lets go down together
Down together
Down together
Together

We could all wear ripped up clothes
And pretend that we’re dead hot workshop
I could drive long long way
And not even have the gas to make it
We could chase our shadows around
Till we’re both exhausted
I could forget the words just one more time
And hope that none of you notices

And who ever said there’s nothing new under the sun
Never thought much about me

What’s good for you is good for me
And what’s bad for you is bad for me
What’s good for you is good for me
And what’s bad for you is bad for me

Cars break and people break down and other things break down too
So lets go down together
Down together
Down together
Together
Lets go down together
Down together
Down together
Together

There’s just the so much I want to do. I’m intrigued by and interested in a gazillion things, making it difficult to choose a single career path, field, or industry.

When I was a grade school student in JASMS (where we were exposed to a handful of environmental issues), I dreamt of taking up environmental management in order to save the world from environmental degradation. Not too long after, I found out such a course would involve a lot of science, discouraging me to study the environment in college. My fallback from being discouraged to study EM was to help the environment in different ways: I learned about volunteering for environmental programs and started to consider working in environmental-oriented NGOs as an ambition.

When I was in high school, I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses, my likes and dislikes. I remember my health class teacher assigning me to report on the digestive and circulatory system (naaalala ko–kinarir ko pa ang visual aids ko noon, drawing a 3 meter-tall, full-color Butthead [of MTV's Beavis & Butthead] with his heart, veins, and arteries exposed, and penis covered by a single leaf). Reading up for my reports taught me to appreciate the human body, and made me an instant fan of Discovery Health programs (e.g. The Human Body, Human Senses, Human Development).

High school also got me involved in school orgs where I learned to lead other students and developed a love for "putting things together" in the form of org activities, school plays, and workshops.  Being in the background, coordinating people, actually led me to consider taking up management in college. It was also in high where my writing habits was pulled out from my bedroom’s diary and into the "public eye".I started to write for school publications and eventually dreamt of becoming a writer, leading me to choose Journalism as my first choice degree when applying for UP Diliman.

When I was in college, Social Science 1 and Psychology 1 got me more intrigued by human psychology and behavior. At the same time, my love for organizing things was nurtured when I started climbing and learned to organize (and enjoy the work in) climbing competitions. The mix of psych and management stuff made me want to shift to organizational psychology.

while studying Kas 2, I was inspired to travel around Asia to learn about Asia’s cultures and its political and religious systems. While studying Law on Mass Media, I wanted to bury myself in books and become a lawyer. While taking up different language electives, I wanted to go to the countries whose language I was studying and build a career in their land. While studying PI 100 (Rizal), I wanted to devote my life’s work to cultivating nationalism among all Filipinos. While taking up CommRes courses, I wanted to find ways to present data in a more organized and reader-friendly manner, making me want to take up courses on communication design. While working on my thesis, which was about adolescent reproductive health, I wanted to volunteer for the Young Adolescents’ Fertility Survey (YAFS) and focus my efforts on advocating family planning in the country, the same way my grandparents did.

My mom is president of the board of Diliman Preparatory School; it makes me toy with ideas of taking up education or educational organization. Our family owns a restaurant; it makes me want to learn how to cook and bake, and become a restaurant manager, chef, HR person, marketing manager, or a plain entrepreneur. My mom’s suggesting I help her come up with a franchise manual for our business. My dad wants me to work for the publication in his former office. I’ve been a competitive climber for the past 5 years, and it has led me to train for climbing, teach climbing, and start a climbing organization in UP. Right now, I’m working on a project that deals with the environment, making me again want to take up EM, but since I’m not so keen on the sciences, I’m thinking of studying Information Management instead.

So how do I decide, or how do I find out, which field I will end up with? How do I know which road I should follow, which road I will be able to contribute most to society, which road I will be happy in? The answer is…I don’t really know. That’s why I’m contemplating. 

I’m such a night person. It’s almost two in the morning and I’m up, and my brain’s working at full speed (not necessarily in a single direction). I’m finding it hard to focus, most probably ’cause it’s late, but my brain still wants to work so I let all the random thoughts pop into my mind, typed in here for the sharing, as well as for future personal criticism, ridicule, or amusement.

- To write or not to write my Appendix 2?
- Myra has a new blog!
- Tin’s entry is too intriguing. I WILL NOT BITE INTO HER BAIT-OF-AN-ENTRY.
- Miel has not called, tulog na yata…Tulog na nga. But nowadays he’s most sweet when I call him and wake him from his sleep, so good for me! Hehe.
- Maka-tingin nga sa blog ng iba…Jobert, Stan, Joy (thanks to My’s links)
- I wanna say good night to my friends.
- My swollen gum has de-swelled (what???), but should I still go to the dentist tomorrow? Ayoko! Ayoko matrapik sa Commonwealth! Pero baka lumala yung gum ko…Hassle.
- I miss emailing Abi. And talking to Marja.
- To YM or not YM Nikko? Haven’t really gotten to thoroughly converse with this guy in person…Tonight may be a good chance…AY, tulog na pala siya (’di ko kasi inintindi yung YM status).
- Naka-aircon pala sa kwarto nila Mommy. Sarap, ang lamig.
- My tailbone still hurts.
- Okay talaga pamilya ko, nagna-nap lagi bago matulog.
- Sige na nga, I’ll work on the Appendix.

SYET. Delaying tactic lang pala ang pagbo-blog na ‘to. Si Ina talaga, tsk tsk.

She brought me up.

I never had the opportunity or reason to declare this, but with the accumulating experiences these past months, I can’t help but feel it, think it, and finally say it. The way I behave, decide, work, analyze, feel, react, and even act up, is mostly a result of how she raised me: Her words of wisdom, stories, constant reminders, and examples.

He hasn’t had a regular job for over a year. No biggie, he’s at the retirement age anyway. He plays a lot of golf, and was recently elected as president of his socio-civic club. He spends a lot of time in the house. Meanwhile, I just graduated, and likewise have the luxury to lounge around. With a project presently in my hands, I’ve sat in front of my laptop, at home, everyday, going out only at night to climb.

Bottom line: We’ve had a lot of chances to have our meals together, to come across each other, to interact. He sometimes drives me to the gym, or drives me home. It’s a lot of interaction between us, considering he was usually just in the office when I was growing up. And after all this time, it’s only now that I’m learning that how my mom brought me up, well, he doesn’t know a thing about it.

I can vaguely remember her reminding me about these things at one point in my life. To…
…not put my elbows on the meal table when eating
…not chew or suck on food loudly
…handle the utensils carefully, so as not to make noise when they hit the plate
…keep the television volume down
…not beat the red light
…refrain from swerving
…use the horn only when necessary
…stick to your lane when turning (so as not to cut the other cars’ lanes)
…use the signal when shifting lanes
…not speed up over a hump when your rear tires are still not past it
…make full stops at blind corners

I don’t mean to be a fault finder. These reminders just happen to popup as each day passes. After all, those are what she taught me. Those, along with a bunch of other household routines. And it’s just sad how he doesn’t know about them. And as much as I know I should be more understanding, as much as I should not blame him for not knowing just because he wasn’t around, my patience has run dry. This must be what divorced couples mean when they say they "can’t live with each other" because they only get on each other’s nerves. It’s like this with him everyday. It’s getting harder as I learn more about his behavior that isn’t like mine. Right now, I just can’t reconcile them. 

My clock read 1:23 am. I stayed home all day and worked on my report for a total of about 10 hours. All this quaintly feels like school work…My ass hurting from sitting in front of the laptop at hours’ length; pacing back and forth between the desk and my room; my eyes drying up from staring long and hard at the screen; mosquitoes feasting on my skin despite the citronella candles beneath my delicately-toasted legs; scurrying to and from the bathroom, dining table and telephone, as if it makes a big difference in the actual amount of time I spend writng. My typing pace has slowed down, signaling my need for rest, yet I want to work more, as much as my body yearns for the bed. The proximity of the deadline is creeping up on me, and I’m beginning to feel anxious, making me more and more serious and even more short-tempered and irritable. There are partial positive (excitement) and negative (panicked) feelings, but I remain straight-faced and neutral, trying not to let neither positive nor negative emotion overpower the other, to keep myself calm and focused on what I have to accomplish.

Damn, it really feels a lot like school.

What I find amusing is I’m not really hating all this. I’m not saying I’m loving it (hindi ako martyr, sentimental, o baliw), but I’m not sickened by it either. And this…this just makes me sigh in relief. I’m finding a sense of normalcy, a comforting feeling that I’m going somewhere because those nocturnal nights doing school work got me SOMEwhere, somehow. Of course, I could just be falling into the trap of overly optimistic thinking, but I haven’t felt this in a while, and to love this feeling is all I’m left to deal with anyway, and who can ever resist THAT?

And I hope this downpour of good luck accompanies me to the end of my project.

Sunday recap…
Morning: Trip to SM Fairview but no luck finding the "adaptor ng hard drive ng laptop", as Pong, the repairman, called it.

Lunchtime: Family lunch at Grandma’s. Good food, nice chats with family, but it kind of dragged on too long. Suddenly it was 2:30 pm, and I was still at home!!!

Early afternoon: I was nagging my mom and sister about how I’ll go around. I was willing to drive but they won’t let me (expired na pala license ko!); neither my brother nor sister will go with me. Ano ng gagawin ko, diba?  Ended up running home to check the Internet if that "adaptor" was available in any PC Express/PC Corner/Villman outlet in QC.

Mid-afternoon: Walang sumasagot sa lintek na 1 out of 5 na telephone numbers na tinatawagan ko. Sa Sheridan, Mandaluyong branch ng PC Express lang ako nakasigurong merong available na "adaptor", which as it turns out, is called a "hard drive disk case". Finally, things began to turn up as my mom said Jake would drive me. Only problem now is where to go, and if I’ll get to the repairman in time. I called Pong up to ask up to what time I can go to his house and he says until 12 midnight (honest!) so that relieved me a bit. As for the HDD case, my plan was to go to Katipunan PC Express and if it wasn’t there, I’ll skip trying out the SM  North /West Avenue Computer stores, even if Pong’s place is around that area,  and go straight to Mandaluyong where I’m sure the HDD case is available.

Late afternoon: We leave the house at 4:00 and head to Katipunan. And the HDD case was available there, for P450 only (even P50 cheaper than the one at PC Express Sheridan!) We’re at Pong’s place by 5:00; turns out he was just standing by in his Internet shop which explains why he’s open on Sundays and works til midnight

Tapos ayun na. Take out the hard drive, attach it to the desktop, I copy my files to the desktop, yada-yada-yada, until the whole reformatting and program installations were done. We finished ay 8:00 pm.

I wanted to call this entry, "When it rains, it pours" in reference to the bad luck of my laptop status, but I decided to keep even an ounce of optimism, believing against all odds that my luck still hasn’t fully run out.

I went to PC Express this afternoon to cure my laptop of its mysterious disease only to have the repairman tell me that the only solution to my laptop’s problem is a complete OS reformat. "Ha?!?!?!" in a high, gasping shriek, was all that escaped my mouth. "Sigurado po ba kayo na ‘yun lang ang pwedeng gawin????"

"Oo ho ma’am eh, ayaw na niya pumasok sa Windows eh," he replies a matter-of-factly, but also with a bit of sympathy.

"Uhhhhh, ehhh…..Sige, teka lang ha," was all I could mutter. I needed second opinion. I needed to consult. This couldn’t be the end-all of all viruses, right? I can’t possibly give up without a fight! For crying out loud, my very first project in an actual professional career (including my very first salary) depended on this!!! I needed to talk to someone, but since I didn’t have a phone (my battery went berserk about 5 days ago and I haven’t bought a replacement), I had to run down to the parking lot to look for Jake so I could borrow his phone and make some calls.

I call Miel. I ask him to describe the "disease" of his recently-cured desktop. Turns out it was a different virus, so i’ve not much of an bargaining power with the repairman to at least try to figure out SOME other way to recover my documents. But Miel tells me anyway to try and convince the guy to find a way to recover my files. Out of frustration, I ended up (accidentally) hanging up on him.

I call my sister and tell her my dilemma. She also says that there must be SOME way to backup my files before they reformat the thing (my poor laptop, now i’m starting to refer to it as a "thing"…must be quite pist off). I plead her to talk to her techie friends to confirm if there is indeed another way to backup my files. She promises to call back soon. In the meantime, I ask the repairman for the nth time if there’s a way for him to recover my files.

"Eh ma’am, hindi po talaga eh kasi hindi nga po tayo makapasok sa Windows," he calmly replies, also for the nth time. Buti na lang talaga at mabait siya. "Ito po ma’am, sina-scan ko yung harddrive niyo, wala naman pong problema, sa Windows po talaga."

I was beginning to feel helpless and it was about that time when tears began to well up in my eyes. Arrrgghh. Good thing my sister calls back, forcing me to pull myself together so as not to have my voice crack all over the conversation. She tells me that her friend told her that files CAN be accessed even without using Windows; it’s taking out your computer’s hard drive and connecting it to another computer to access them through the other computer’s operating system. "Medyo mabusisi, pero kung importante talaga yung files–"

"IMPORTANTE TALAGA!!!!!" I practically shout, then laugh awkwardly about my outburst. She then tells me not to have my laptop reformatted just yet, that we’ll look for other repairmen who can work on it, and so on. So I approach the repairman and say, "Salamat na lang po, pagiisipan ko muna bago ko ipa-reformat."

I was thankful for my sister’s help but I was still feeling glum. The worst was in my mind and I couldn’t get it out. What if all that was just wishful thinking? I have no clue as to what my chances were in recovering my files. For all I know, I still might end up doing all the data-gathering and initial report-writing that I’ve done…To cut the long story short, I still needed to let my repressed emotions out, letting the tears roll down as Jake brought me back to UP. When I saw my mom, the tears just began to shower. When I met up with Miel about an hour later, I was in a daze and tried to sleep in the car, but ended up staring into the thin air. When I caught his eye, I began sobbing like crazy.

Truth be told, I felt kind of stupid for sobbing over a laptop, but I just couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t want to stop it either, cos I know that even if I stop it, it’ll still come out sooner or later, and "sooner" was better cos it was only Miel who was going to see me. While crying, I remember thinking I haven’t cried like that in a while, then I suddenly recall that I just lost my phone about a month ago and turned Miel’s shirt into a damp mess as well…But I think my cry this afternoon was worse cos I was heaving and my snot was dripping and all…

ANYway…It was an afternoon of crying. Thankfully it was training day, and the heavy workout let me put it all at the back of my mind. For added assurance, our climbing buddy, Simon, was also a techie sort of guy and confirmed what sister’s friend said about backing up files. That is IS possible, but the problem is finding the hard drive adaptor for laptops…

Tech talk aside, the night turned out okay. I get home and my sister tells me she’s found me a repairman who knows about backing up files and that sort of stuff. I call up the guy at around 10:30 pm and he accommodates me as if it was a brand new morning. In summary, he tells me that he can try helping me backup the file but he doesn’t have the adaptor but I can easily buy it at any computer shop cos they’re cheap anyway. So tomorrow, I’ll try to find the adaptor and if I find it, i’ll head for his shop (yes, he works on Sundays!!!) where I again hope with all hope that my laptop will be cured once and for all.

So that was my day.

Phew. Nakakapagod isulat ‘yon ha. Pero gusto ko lang talaga ikwento. Sana talaga totoo yung kasabihang "when it rains, it pours" dahil mukhang ngang pumapatak na ang swerte ko…sana tuloy-tuloy na ‘to hanggang bukas.

P.S. Meron nga palang nakakatawang nangyari ngayong araw. Eh diba wala nga akong celphone at humiram pa ako kay Jake. Eh si Jake, hindi pa daw siya nakakapag-load, at hindi daw siya makapag-load dahil hindi daw niya mabasa yung PIN ng phone card. So sabi ko ako na lang…Tsaka ko lang na-realize na hindi nga pala ako marunong mag-load!!! Hay naku. Medyo mga 2 minuto kami ni Jake nagfi-figure out paano mag-load (hindi rin kasi yata siya marunong). I tried following the instructions pero nakasulat, "Dial 1510+pin and press send" so sa isip ko, "Dial tapos send?! Ano ba ‘to, tawag o message???" Ang pathetic ko! Buti na lang sinabi ni Jake na may natitira pang mga P43, so nakatawag pa ako sa mga kinailangan kong tawagan. ;P

Pag minalas ka nga naman, o!

Approximately one week to go before my project deadline and my laptop decides to absorb a virius. ARGH!!! Now, i’m in a state of frustration, anxiety, restlessness and panic. I’ve done what I can do without my laptop and ended up finishing half of my report. But I’ve still another hald to work on, as well as a presentation to layout, and I can’t access my data!!!

Hay naku. Naiinis ako. Do I deserve this karma? I know I sort of slacked off this week but I did it thinking I’d make up for all lost time this weekend. It wasn’t exactly procrastination it its highest degree; I WAS PLANNING TO WORK THIS WEEKEND. But no, hindi ko siya magagawa this weekend dahil kailangan kong ipaayos ang lintek na laptop ko! At sana sana sana talaga hindi mabura ang mga files ko doon…Shet. I’m not even thinking about the worst case scenario. I believe that my files will be recovered…I’m PRAYING TO GOD they will be recovered! Kundi uulitin ko na ang 7 pages worth of technical writing and I just don’t want to go through that again! WAAAhhhhhh……Just so proved my "plan" isn’t bombproof…I didn’t back up my files. :( Stupid stupid stupid.

Ngayon lang yata nangyari ito sa akin. Imagine, in all four years of research and report-writing, never nag-crash ang lumang computer namin, even if it was devoid of all virus scans! Itong laptop ko, may virus scan naman na pinapa-andar ko gabi-gabi at inu-update ko regularly; kaninang hapon lang, nag-virus update ako at nag-defrag; tapos habang nakadapa ako sa kama ko at gumagawa ng notes, bigla na lang siyang namatay. Tama ba ‘yon?! Wala akong ginagawa sa kanya tapos biglang nagloko! Hindi muna ako nag-react, pinatay ko siya, hoping it was just a minor glitch. Pero pag-on ko sa kanya, after what seemed like 10,000 years of processing and waiting, na-stuck siya start-up screen na may humigit-kumulang 5%-completed loading bar, at nakasulat, "Windows will not start up because a _________ file was corrupted or missing" (or something to that effect, hindi ko na minemorize). Maghanap daw ako ng Windows Setup disk para ma-repair. Wala naman ako non sa bahay.

…

Syempre kalmado lang ako. I’m not one to shout and scream curses even at the height of this kind of distress. Ano pa bang magagawa ko diba? I resumed with what notes I was writing to finish the Part I of my report. At natapos ko din siya i-type. After that, wala na talaga akong magawa. It was then that the feelings I listed above began surfacing one by one. Bwisit talaga.

Kaya pasensya na kung bad trip ako.

I’m kind of getting the hang of this blogging business. I feel it’s making me more aware of what I’m doing, emphasizing the beauty of the good stuff in life, and downplaying the bad ones. It keeps me updated with my friends, and lets me show them a side of me they probably haven’t seen before. It forces me to be more sociable–to share my experiences, impart my thoughts, and maybe even spread some knowledge (WHAT KNOWLEDGE??)…I just hope I’m not becoming too much of a blabber, though, that would make it seem like I’m dishing out unsolicited advice.

With that admitted, I must also admit that I’m getting somewhat OC. I’m beginning to notice a few things I’d like to adjust in my blog that I can’t seem to do, due to limited options in the Friendster blog…(Chin, if you’re reading this, this is your cue to do some Blogspot plugging). Oh, dear, the troubles in life. Now I find myself reflecting on the PROs and CONs of actually owning my own Blogspot/Live Journal (baka magtampo si Pamy, hehe) blog!

PROs
1. I can archive & organize my old posts the way I want them to.
2. I can have links to my old posts displayed right at the front page.
3. I can play with more fonts and text and colors.
4. I can post pictures properly!!!
5. I can have a better-looking calendar.
6. I can put tagboards and all those accessories.

CONs
1. Transferring means A LOT of time to spend working on layout, reposting, links, etc., etc., etc.!
2. Non-Blogspot members who want to comment appear as "Anonymous" and won’t be able to show their names unless they type it into the comment. What’s good about Friendster is practically everyone I know has a Friendster account!
3. Sayang yung mga nagawa ko at natanggap kong comments sa Friendster.

That’s all I’ve really thought of as of now. The PROs clearly outnumber the CONs. But when I think about it, the PROs don’t necessarily outweigh the CONs. I think I’d rather see friends’ names who comment posted instead of being "Anonymous" (I find it quite discriminating of Blogspot to make anyone who’s unregistered become "Anonymous"!) And the time factor. Susmaryosep. It was hard for me to accept that I’ve spent (accumulated) hours and hours and hours fixing this simple Friendster blog–paano pa kaya pag gumawa na ako ng full-blown, genuine blog sa Blogspot complete with the links and stuff?? I’d probably avoid blogging for a month to make up for all the lost time I spent on the computer! Mas isasakripisyo ko na lang siguro yung itsura at archiving dilemmas imbis na gumugol ng panahon sa paggawa ng panibagong blog…Tutal, wala namang nagrereklamo sa blog ko maliban ang sarili ko eh!

So as of the moment, or at least, until my project is done…Long live my Friendster blog!

Inspired by Myra’s entry on the night of jazz…

My unforgettable Magnet night (so far) was last Tuesday. It was Lee’s Night, and my brother’s band Snakecharmer, along with Brass Monkeys and another band, was part of Lee’s lineup. I’ve heard of the band Brass Monkeys for a quite a while already, but only really listened to them during Fete over at the World Music stage. I enjoyed their big band genre, and found it an uncommon sound for local artists with brass instruments who usually take on either the Ska or Reggae persona.

To my luck, my brother’s band was lined up with Brass Monkeys, so I had more reason to go out that night. And it was good enough reason indeed. Brass Monkeys was much easier to digest that night with the venue being smaller and me and my friends getting front row seats to the act. We were seated right in front of the row of brass musicians (three saxophones and a trumpet), with the speakers (which amplified the music of the bass and guitar) right beside them. I listened in awe as the band did some songs that sounded like something from the roarin’ 20’s, trumpets blaring, viola thumping, the drummer hitting those drums in a perfect, fast-paced rhythm that makes you want to jump off your seat and pull a partner up to shuffle.

It’s a bit hard to describe the sounds of that evening but what I can tell you is that I was squirming in my seat all night, wriggly from the beat and giggly from watching the suave-looking singer do renditions of "Beyond the Sea" and "Fly Me to the Moon." They also did a cover of Zoot Suit Riot (?) by the Squirrel Nut Zippers, a song I love but haven’t heard in a long time. But my favorite for the night was their version of "I Wanna Be Like You". Yup, King Louie’s song for Mowgli on Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book! It was so cool to hear that song I’ve memorized from around 10 years back, having an altogether different sound and performed by a group who looks like they’re having the time of their life in, simply, making incredibly fun music. There were other surprises for the audience that night, with their big band version of Metallica’s "Enter Sandman;" truly a crowd-teaser, that song was.

One of the funny (but lasting) thoughts in my mind while listening to them play was my genuine appreciation for that kind of music. I found the sound entirely romantic, exactly because it wasn’t cheesy or trying-to-be-deep-and-meaningful or sugar-coated-sweet. I mean, I’ve always said I love DMB’s "Crush" and a bunch of other alternative love songs (Parokya’s "Harana", Incubus’ "Stellar", to name a few), but those songs, they’re not something a couple can dance to, nor can a non-singer easily sing-along to (oh ok, I’ll admit, Harana IS perfectly singable…) but when I imagine myself being serenadad with an acoustic guitar, the image just doesn’t seem to suit my taste. As much as I love those songs and appreciate it if they were played for me, I think I’d still feel a teeny-tiny tinge of ka-baduyan towards them. I’d love it, but I wouldn’t be able to completely take it seriously.

Call me demanding, but if I had a choice, I’d rather be presented with a complete lineup of a vocalist, bassist, guitarist, percussionist, and rows of brass musicians to deliver me a smooth song that I can clearly hear, understand, and float unto without strain. A complete lineup to brighten up the entire setting, and turn whatever space we’re in into a ballroom. To hear music that my lover can sing or hum along to, even just whisper in my ear as we (hopefully, dreamingly, and if I learn how to) dance to the live music he serenades me with.

Princess fairytale dreams? I’ve never had them, but maybe. Or I could just be totally hungover with the charming music of them Monkeys.