Heard from a friend today that the audition piece that will be performed should only be 16 bars of the entire song. That leaves me with the bridge and the chorus... argh! I was advised to warm up prior to entering the room for auditions so as not to have that hesitating voice upon hitting the bridge. It's a pretty high note to start with. I hope my friends pray for me...

I have other news. I'll talk about that later.

I'm the man!!! I kick ass... oops... sorry about the profanity but I'm just really happy coz I was able to resolve this mind baffling issue with the application I support. I can sleep... doh!... I still have one issue to go. I'll probably resolve that tomorrow. *sigh* work's just really tiring.

Finally... set my audition date to Thursday at 2PM. I'm just a bit nervous but that's fine. I just hope I can carry on with this feeling inside me of excitement and eagerness to belt out all the high notes I can.

Spent most of the day with my honey last Saturday. He went with me to where the registration was being held after I picked him up from his place. It was a great morning to start with. Nice weather. Sunny. Driving through the highway to exit Susana Heights. It was a pleasant drive.

It was a quick process that the organizers came up with for the auditions. I was able to pick my sched. I also noticed that I was number 130++ on the list of people who were going to audition. I wonder which parts are they openning to the Filipino leg of auditions.

That evening, my honey and I caught Minority Report at the mall. It was quite an interesting movie. Lacked the oomph! but otherwise it was good.

Caught up with my choir friends. Had coffee at Haagen Daas. Headed on off to our friend's house for a little jamming while the others chose their pieces for the auditions. Listened to some music. One of which, my friend's composition (lyrics and music). Amazing stuff. It's entitled "It Doesn't Get Easier", and mostly talks about coping with the fact that your loved one found someone else. How it is to see them together in the same situations you once were with him/her. Pretty touching. We also listened to the Lion King CD of the original Broadway Cast just to give us an idea of how the songs go and what kind of music does the musical really have. This made me think what voice is apt to be in which role. Thought of ways to attack my piece. I need to practice some more to be able to hit that high note on the bridge of the song. I'll keep on praying!

Gawd... It's 8:30PM and I'm still at work. I leaving in a few minutes. I'm sure my honey is worried about me by now. I'm going home soon.

Tinkered with Flash MX and Dreamweaver MX during my break time. I honestly had fun. I'm a little frustrated though coz I couldn't get this particular Flash file customized. It would've been a cool addition to my site. I've been looking for templates for the website. No luck so far. I'm thinking about just changing the colors of the areas. Hmmm.. watcha think?

I'm heading off... toodles...

Google! DayPop! This is my blogchalk: English, Philippines, Muntinlupa City, Alabang, Francis, Male, 21-25!

This is so cool, I have a new domain name. It's www.bocceli.tk ... kewl huh! =) I'm really liking this whole bit on improving my website or whatever it is you call my site. I've been thinking about changing my template because it's been pretty common. I hope I'll find the time to change it. When my honey finishes with the 'Dummies' book I gave him, he'll be able to help me out =) won't you hon? Kisses!

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain...

This phrase from 'My Fair Lady' is what I'd use to start my day when I was in Ireland. Usually to start talking with a mild Queen's English accent. My friend Nelz mentioned that he acquired the British tongue when had a chance to work with them. Same went for me. The Queen's English accent which I could usually switch on became harder as I knew I was starting to become Irish. Too much Guinness. (snap out of it dude)...

Good news... I think we moved up in our standings for the Bowling Competition. :) Thanks honey for the kiss. I bowled 150s across the board. I'm happy! Registration's near and I still don't have a head shot! I'm still thinking where I should have my picture taken. *sigh* I have to finish quite a number of deliverables today. Eight of them to be exact. Bleh! Wish me luck!

side note: I'm pissed, the sole of my left shoe is cracked... darn! Nasty nasty.

Argh... it's the last day for the bowling matches and next week we're off to the finals. I'm so freaked out. I hope I do well, at least up my average to like 125. I used to have a pretty decent average. Now, with such a long time between the start of this competition and the last time I played bowling in Chicago, I'm just really sucky! Bleh!

I was invited by my former choral conductor to the 2nd recital for the DLSU Chorale members and alumni. I'm still thinking of what to sing. I know it's going to be this December and that gives me so much time. I sang Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot in last year's recital. I knew it was a pretty tough piece and that a voice major friend of mine said that it was an "advanced students piece". I never did voice. The only vocal training I got was from the Ryan Cayabyab Music Studio and our conductor from my choir in DLSU Manila. I wonder if he's ok with me singing This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde. hmmm...

I'm feeling good about myself lately. I know I love my honey, I know my job is picking up and I'm starting to like it again. I can't wait for the auditions. It's for Lion King Australia... not sure if it's going to be in Melbourne or Sydney. I know tons of established artists are going to try out but I'm still hopeful.

Ok... we're off to the bowling alley. Laterz.

It's a few more days till the registration for the Lion King auditions and I'm just so excited about it. I have never been on an audition for a theatrical production. It's scary and just exhillirating just thinking about it. I just hope it goes well. I mean, all I really care about is for me to do a good showing. I really don't care if I get in or not (yeah right! ha ha ha). I am more into the experience I will gain from doing this audition. I'm so sure that tons of people will be showing up for this one so better get there early.

That dry spell I had over the weekend is now over. It started Saturday when I got the chance to catch the Volleyball Grand Prix at the Araneta Coliseum. Russia, Japan, Germany and Brazil battled it out in an amazing display of athleticism, physical strength and mental superiority. It was an exciting showdown for Russia and Japan. The game between the teams from Brazil and Germany was a bit boring compared to the earlier match. The teams did justify the ticket prices as the early evening was filled sounds of excitement.

That night I headed to the Trader's Hotel to meet with my high school friends in one of the hotel rooms. The room was reserved by one of my friends who just arrived from the U.S. It was a pretty wild party. Let's just say it was wild enough that I can't divulge any information aside from I had an amazing buzz the whole time!

It hasn't been a good start for the weekend. Again, I really don't want to talk about it much as it would just complicate things. I'm just really not in a good mood. Talk about pooping my own party! Hope next week would be better. Hope tonight would be better. I plan on playing tennis with my friend tomorrow. I really need the physical activity now.

By the way, I failed to mention that the Chorale arrived yesterday, early morning. I'm so happy they're back. I miss them all so much! I feel as if my "siblings" have returned. It seems no one can really understand how tight the bond us Chorale/former Chorale members have. It's too complex to explain and too deep to understand. It's like having these people there, knowing every single thing about you. No inhibitions whatsoever. Always united. Love is present. We all look out for each other. I thank God that I have this group of friends. I will never have them replaced for the world!

-removed that Realm of Influence result, the pic wasn't loading properly-

Just had to post this statement from another friend's blog...

"...I revel in utter fabulousness. To hell with NORMAL."
- Nelz (his cool journal)

I totally love this statement!

The day's been really such a bore. Nothing much to talk about. I got my tickets to watch the World Volleyball Grand Prix where teams Russia, Germany, Brazil and Japan will be battling it out to capture the win for the Manila leg. I also can't wait for the weekend. My friend who arrived from San Francisco got a room at a hotel where all of us friends from high school will be partying the whole night. Exchanging stories, laughing at special moments we've spent together and all the pictures another friend of ours collected through the years. I'm really excited. Hope I don't get drunk or something. I promise to behave honey.

I have thought of my piece for the auditions for the musical I mentioned. My friend who's a pianist approved of the piece. He says it will be a good song for me because it will stretch my range and show the screening committee the versatility of my voice. I really don't care much whatever the outcome is. It's mostly for the experience of auditioning and I think it's just gonna be nerve-wracking! Can't wait!

Yeap... That's right! It's been five days since last I posted. Really feeling great today. It's me and my honey's 3rd month together. I'm a happy camper. *smile*

Lately I have been contemplating on auditioning for this musical which will be produced in Australia. I have spoken to friends about it and they were all for the idea. I consulted my pianist/superstar accompanist (he he he) about what piece I should sing. I am still juggling between a Josh Groban song (To Where You Are or You're Still You), On The Wings of Love, In Your Eyes or a male version of Regine Velasquez' To Reach You (this is really just the original version modulated 2 keys higher). I am quite excited. The auditions are in a few weeks and I am in dire need of a rehearsal just to get my voice back in shape. It hasn't really seen much performances lately so it could be rusty.

Got my honey a cool gift today. Hope he likes it.

Weekend was boring. Not much excitement. Pretty laid back. But I did get to play badminton yesterday and my game is getting better. We have another game next week. Hope I get the hang of it.

Love yah baby!

Now I'm thinking I'd rather just keep what happened to me to myself. I'd not resort to reliving it else it'll be just another "logged" memory. Have a great weekend!

I will have to tell you about what happened to me yesterday. I'm still getting through it so just be patient. It's not really that big but it would've changed quite a lot in my life and how it will progress.

From my Dublin Trip last year... just reminiscing...

"Another week over... another week brewing... Last week seemed such a boring span of days for me. Not too much happening, mostly going out for dinners all over the city. Remember when I told you guys I would be applying for a visa from the French Embassy here in Dublin so that I could fly to Paris... never happened. I needed a multiple entry visa to Ireland first in order for me to actually get out of here and come back again. I did just that, went to the Department of Foreign Affairs and did the whole waiting thing... I was there for four hours. My turn came and naturally I went up to the counter. As the lady on the other side of the counter was screening my passport, I noticed she seemed odd, then it happened... I can't get a multiple entry visa until I "get a green book"... I had no idea what she was talking about. She then explained that I would need to get a green book as a document that proves that I am a "resident" of Ireland. So I was frustrated with the fact that I wasted 4 hours of my day for nothing.

The next day, Tuesday, me and Kristine went to the Bureau of Immigration to get a green book. We decided to meet at the compound around 6:30AM... I got there 5 minutes late and I see a hundred people lined up. Krisitine was no where to be found. So I lined up feeling cold from the chilly Dublin mornings. Kristine arrived after 5 minutes as well. So we had to wait for 8:30AM as the ticket stubs (with numbers) will be given then. I got me a Grande Caffe Mocha from the nearby Cafe Sol and also some Danish. 8:30AM, we got our ticket numbers easily and saw that we were numbers 176 and 177. So we decided we would have time to go back to the office and come back during lunch. Lunch came, we arrived and saw that 104 was being called. We waited, waited, waited... finally after 4 hours of waiting, we were called. Came up to the counter smiling with confidence. As the person on the other side of the counter mentioned the words, "I'm sorry we can't issue you a green book because of your C-Business type visa"... my heart felt like it was being squeezed by a juice extractor... FUCK ... SHITE... DAMN YOU!!!!(side note, Kristine didn't get a green book as well)

We went to Grafton street immediately after the horrible afternoon came upon us. Grafton street is like Stephansplatz(a street where there are stores where you can do your shopping in Vienna). I was so keen on getting my mind out of that ghastly experience that I felt the need to buy something over the top! I didn't. I ended up just checking out the stuff on the display windows and drooling from the nice shoes, pants and shirts I would be seeing. After window shopping, I went to Kristine's place. We passed by St. Stephen's Green Mall first to get Jennifer. For dinner, Kristine made this amazing chicken dish, I brought pasta and pizza and Jennifer came with a bottle of Chardonnay. We had an amazing feast and ended up forgetting the whole fiasco of a few hours ago. Toasting to our exciting week before us we then proceeded to the Back Lounge which was just in front of Kristine' apartment. We had a couple of drinks, I sang a song(it was karaoke night), had loads of fun...

The following days were again pretty much ho hum... correction... very ho hum. The weekend though, I had committed myself to exploring the city by myself(Kristine went to Slane which is up north to catch the U2 Concert where Nelly Furtado, Ash and Moby were also performing as front acts... I know I know... but what can I do, the tickets were sold out way before I came to Dublin) anyway, as I was saying, I explored the city mostly went to the cultural sites. Checked out all the places that would have the word "National" as part of its name... i.e. National Gallery of Ireland, National Concert Hall, National Institute of Modern Art... blah blah blah... Saw a lecture on Art as Influenced by Music... very interesting. Got to see some great pieces by Rembrandt, Monet, Caravaggio and others. I never thought I'd be so captured by graphical illustrations of worldly images and subconscious thoughts."

*sigh*... the good ole days... cheers to Dublin... cheers to Ireland... Slainte!

I just realized something, I don't remember ever standing up for who I am. For my principles that everyone is created equal. That I have my right to my own happiness and that no one has the right to disrespect that.

I got into thinking this way because of an experience I read about from this guy on PEx about not answering a question on "Are all gay men effeminate?" Maybe at this stage of my life I will be able to answer that with all confidence that all gay men come in different shapes and sizes. Different personalities, different levels of masculinity. Just like straigh men and women, gay women, bi men and women, and the in betweens. Really, diversity is present in all of us. That label has really got to go. I am still wondering how it came to be that that particular label existed. I remember taking this psychological test in college that resulted in me being androgenous in my personality. Mostly, I'm capable of masculine and feminine personalities and emotions. I take that as a complement. It seems that that would be perfect because you'd have the best of both worlds.

Which brings me to a statement my mom told me before. She goes "it's a good thing I have a gay son." I'm like "why?" Blurts out "because I immediatley get a son and a daughter." I interpret that as having the rationale, firmness and strength of a man, and the caring, loving, and understanding qualities of a woman. Great ain't it?

Yawn... I'm still sleepy. Woke up pretty early today. I no one told me the color coding scheme was suspended. Which reminds me, why do they call it color coding? I don't see any colors which traffic enforcers can code. I think my brain's just saturated enough. My head ache is killing me. Darn weather makes me want to go home and just sleep.

Read an article today from a website my friend sent me. It was about that whole issue with 19% of the Filipinos not wanting to stay in the Philippines anymore. To be honest, I have always considered myself a man of the world hence, anywhere is just fine by me. But I still have my bias for American living because I have experienced it. Having worked there for more than a year made me see what the hoopla about the U.S. was and it did seem like a better life. It was great for me since the company shouldered housing and transportation (a car or public transportation when I lived downtown). Me and a room mate lived in a nice townhouse/apartment type place and would sometimes have parties for our officemates there. It was a great experience for me. Weekends would usually be spent at the mall shopping our hearts out. At night, it would be off to the city and paint the town red. Uhm... not quite. It's usually just me and friends from downtown who I hang out with when I'm out and about.

However, I ended up appreciating what we have here more. Hmmmm... I'd have to rethink that last statement. He he he... Seriously though, I enjoy the small perks of being an upper middle class citizen here in the Philippines. I can't say the same for the one's on the threshold of poverty. Sometimes, I feel badly about how my "brothers and sisters" are coping with their situations. Makes me want to think about what I can do as a simple citizen of the country.

Ok, I'm way over myself now. I'm not good with expressing serious emotions in words. So I'll drop it at that. I might end up saying something I might take back later on.

I miss my honey. Love you so much!

It was cold last night as I tucked myself to bed. Looking for a spot on my new boudoir, it was pretty annoying how in a matter of three months (almost) I've grown so used to having my honey by my side and somehow longing for him to be with me everytime I close my eyes. Having him there, hearing him breathe is just one of the sounds I can listen to forever.

On other stuff, my thumb got less sore from last night's bowling tourney. Our team was really off. Our scores were too low for even our own good. We dropped from 2nd place in the standings to maybe 4th or 5th out of 5 teams. Talk about a lot of catching up to do. We really need to increase our game mucho fast! I'm practicing this Sunday at Alabang Town Center. Hopefully get my rhythm back. I'm really getting annoyed with how I played the official games last night. Major bummer.

Then again, another weird discovery. My friend who has the blog I was telling you about, turns out he uses the expression "bugger" too. With me, I got that expression from when I was back in Ireland for an assignment and have been using it since. That and "shite" which I find pretty subtle as compared to using "shit". Weird, weird, weird.

Just had lunch. I need my caffeine. I want doughnuts. I feel like eating at CPK (have I told you my honey doesn't like CPK... he finds their food too sweet). I'll prolly just update my site with more pics and maybe and extra page.

Toodles!

Sometimes doing this whole blog thing freaks me out. For instance, this morning I was thinking of what to post and it came about that I wanted to discuss what me and my honey talked about a few nights ago (or was it last night?), that I should post more detailed stuff. Then I get to read a friend's blog that absolutely gives you great details of things that have happened in the past 24 hours or so and I admire him for doing that.

When I see myself posting stuff about me, I feel like I'm on "The Real World" where people can actually get a glimpse of my life and perhaps that's really the purpose of this blog. Is so that there's a medium for mild perversion (i.e. exhibitionism). Although I won't result to much discussion on that topic, I kinda like being "read about". It adds to the thrill of living. When other people know you and read about you while you not knowing that the person beside you in a queue for getting tickets at the movies already knows part of you because he or she has read about you... err... read you!

We're playing bowling later and hopefully my average would climb up. Set up a few things for my friend's mini slumber party in a couple of weeks. Haven't told my honey yet as my friend just called me about it earlier. Honey, if you are reading this, the party's in two weeks... that week when you and your folks are out. It's just going to be an overnight thing at a hotel in Manila (Saturday-Sunday).

Funny how people miss loved ones so quickly... same as my friend who's with own honey, I miss MY honey too. We just saw each other last night but somehow, our clinginess never became too extreme. It was just right. It would always be in the right amounts.

I'm gonna de-stress before my conference call with the folks in Ireland. Argh... work is so so. Laterz.

Went to the place where they have the model units for this new condominium that will be built in the heart of Makati. One Legazpi Park. Amazing. That's all I could say. I so wanted the two bedroom unit but it's too expensive for me. Maybe I'll just settle for the studio type first. That's if I get the money. Ha ha ha. At the rate I'm going now, I don't think I'll be able to finance that kind of "purchase" unless of course I win the lottery.

On other things, my friend from Cali just arrived last Sunday morning and things will be hectic for him for the next month. He's here on vacation since school's out in the U.S. He works for a school somewhere near San Francisco. I might meet up with him tonight just to catch up on things and see how he's doing.

I feel good so far. Already had my... ehem... grande mocha frapuccino blended with whip, with power. He he he. I love the fact that the guys at the nearby Starbucks already know me so well that all I have to do is get my P120 (approx $2.50) and wait for them to call my name so I could get my drink. They know that I like the ice crushed good, and that I want the dome cover and not the flat one. Comforting.

Fell in a bit of a slump yesterday. Thought about how big of a responsibility it is to support a family. Although I don't support them that much, the fact that I am the one they rely on for most of the expenses outside of the usual shit like utilities and food makes it really stressful for me sometimes.

But it is during these down times I feel so lucky to have someone to be there for me. My shock absorber. As Carrie would put it, my zip drive (someone who can back me up).

My honey threw me a question... Do I consider our relationship as added pressure or as a solace?

I told him it's both. Sometimes the pressure is there when you know you have to think of someone first before deciding on certain things. Especially things which will affect both of you. Mostly though, it's a solace for me. I know I can run to my honey for strength when I have no more left in me to carry on at that exact moment. Which got me thinking, was Carrie right about being dependent on your boyfriend. I believe that really is part of it. When you start trusting each other, the tendency is to seek each others' help. That's what relationships are all about. Another tendency is to depend on them as you have during those times when your loved one extends you their shoulder, their hand, their warm lips. It's more like how would I cope without my honey.

I'm such a cry baby. I'm too in tune with my tear glands. It's like I have them on speed dial or something. The moment I get all sad or depressed, I feel like I can easily access my tears so I could shed the hurt, or bad feelings away. It feels great though that instead of kleenex, I have my honey's hands to wipe away my tears. I always love it when I feel him touch my cheeks in a mild brush just to gently remove the tears off my face. How he puts my head on his left shoulder in a gesture that only someone who loves you can show.

I love you honey. Thanks for being there always.