Greetings!
Here to report the story has been developing significantly…. dire. I haven’t really gotten to writing any for the narrative. But I am convinced of the overall theme. I’ve written an outline, but so far, not much of a linear storyline or depth in the plot (if there’s even a plot at all, haha!). I do have two characters who are friends and I tend to keep why they are until later. Keeping the mystery mysterious. I’ll let you know once I get around and create some sort of a logical idea behind their fellow feeling. I have a potential name for the main character. Not sure if I should know that already very early in the process, but hEhe! No near eureka occasions, but hopeful for one, about the magical element of this story. I’ll just carry on until it buds out. I’ll make sure I’ll be at the right place when it does.
My week has been developing significantly…. good. Better than this attempt for a short story. Consistently and intentionally, I’ve been waking up at 5am (yeah-huh!) and I proceed to doing my quiet time; learning a lot about ministry and moving on from rejections. Emotionally, it’s a lot of contemplating on and on whether I am really where I am supposed to be and doing what I should be doing. Feels a lot like breathing in and out except it’s my whole lungs that I dig for, pull out of, and push back in my body to try and understand why it still possesses this borrowed breath. It’s not confusion on my purpose, but just how am I to fulfill it; through which avenue? Am I recognized as one who is faithful? Am I mirroring Christlikeness? What is the result of my involvement? Are my lungs missing substantial air? I remember that episode from A:TLA wherein Sokka felt useless and left out by the rest of the gang being the only one who couldn’t bend. What he went through with his newfound swordmaster and how afterall, he proved to be a great warrior because of his creativity and agility was a real process. He got there because he was focused and he desired to fight for the common good. Aang, Katara, and Toph even started to miss his jokes and the color only he could serve during the time when he was training. It wasn’t the same without him. I look at myself and I wonder, what record am I willing to leave in the hearts of people? Am I focused enough? I want to be all in and exhausted, but still feel satisfied knowing that my hands are meeting their role alongside the rest of the body and that somehow, I am relieving the work of others be it that I am able to support them as they do to me.
“Despite this lockdown, God’s mission for us to make disciples remains unchanged.” I’ve been hearing this week after week during this ecq. Each time I am encouraged to not give up on reaching out to people. I share it with whoever is willing and open. I shake the dust off my shoes when they close their doors on my face. We are moving on the next. The truth is the harvest is plenty. I don’t have to get stuck on one person who leaves me on “seen” most times (((huhuhu))). Maybe that’s the only part I get to play in that person’s journey. I pray that the seed I planted would one day grow into a tree. It’s God who causes the growth therefore, I trust that He will never stop working on that person whose faith has been battered and scarred many times over. So to you, in case you’re reading this, I hope to see you one day running the race marked out for you. God is waiting to welcome you back home. Don’t wait or hesitate until the last moment of your life to get right with Him. Dive in. Experience the joy that no sickness, trial, or even death can ever rob from you. It’s for you. He is for you.
I watched Ang Huling El Bimbo The Musical about 5 times during its 48-hour (only!!!) streaming. At dawn, morning, afternoon, mid-afternoon, and at night. Many tears were shed in the in-betweens. When I was younger, we’d drive around and live along with OPM bands and artists playing in the background. Through the influence of my parents, our CDs (for all you 6-year olds, you may not know what those are) would have music (and films and series like Voltes V) produced years before we even took our first breath of life. I’m one to love and appreciate anything that could take me back to those wonder years. Nostalgia, no matter how bittersweet, is something I’ll always value when it comes around and presents itself through events, things, conversations, and in this case, a musical that stages and is set around the music of the genius and iconic rock-band, Eraserheads. What a classic!
A 3-hour show. Where might this take me? The story follows two timelines around 4 friends: Hector, Emman, Anthony, and Joy. Its opening already had me questioning and I was just as confused as the characters trying to understand what mysterious life event brought them together again after 20 long years. By then, I realized that this would be a lot heavier than what they promote in the trailers. A few minutes into it, I am transplanted to a flashback filled with singing, dancing, and hope. Immediately, as the guys sang Minsan, my mind couldn’t help but but continue with the questions. What changed? I pondered.
One of my favorite scenes was when their hands were reaching out. “Lahat ng chances. Lahat ng possibilities. Ayan na oh at ang lapit na oh! Abutin mo lang!”. They swore not to forget that moment. I was so moved by the way they stitched the songs and how the story built their seemingly unshakable friendship. And Joy! She brought such energy and dynamic that is just remarkable. I enjoyed both the louder dialogues and the more nuanced and subtle lines; AJ’s wit and Emman’s accent! Cha Dely scenes and the friendship medley (the transition from Huwag kang Matakot to Sembreak was amazing and I cried when Joy sang Wishing Wells, for some reason. It really showed a deep sense of longing; could never listen to that song the same way.) are some of my most loved parts. Act I was soon over and now we enter the part when everything is a reason to cry about. The turn of events will really break your heart and make you mad no matter what angle you view it. Surely! That graduation scene truly wrecked me as it depicted their attempt to conceal pain. Act II showed trauma, drifting apart, hopelessness, broken promises, and the consequences of the decisions we make in life moving past generations. They all lived in darkness. Joy was deprived from really living her life because she was poor. She had no choice but to live “kahit na patapon,” around sadistic opportunists like Banlaoi. Hector, Emman, and Anthony had the capacity to achieve what they wanted in life and they did. But I couldn’t imagine how heavy it was to wake up each day carrying so much guilt and fear. It really manifested no matter how hard they hid it. That one last Alapaap/Overdrive scene fulfilled my hope to see them one last time. So innocent and untainted. But it was more than that because this time, Ligaya was there with both her hands stretched out. For her and for Joy who never really experienced any of her dreams happen. It ended realistically. It was emotional and ultimately, eye-opening. In conclusion, I appreciate that it got many people angry, how it allowed us to feel such a deep level of regret, and talked about varied issues that are prevalent today. Let’s all fight for the many Joys in our society. Look out for one another, especially your friends before it’s too late. Sama-sama hanggang sa dulo ng mundo. Kudos to all who worked to put up this show - a masterpiece indeed. Mabuhay ang mga alagad ng sining! Mabuhay ang teatrong Pilipino!
School might return online soon. Prayerfully in August. I’m quite sad that our journalism club will cease to operate. We won’t be able to do our welcoming soiree with our newspaper hats. But I’ll still push our presence online. It’s the only way to keep the students’ voice alive in our empty campus. Maybe through this we’ll be able to reach out to even more students beyond what we imagined. I am excited to navigate through our initial plans, adjust and watch it flourish even through this crisis. I prefer being at home, to be honest. But I’m not confident with my school’s system that really thrives with their extra-curricular activities. Not sure how they will facilitate its students now. I can already foresee piles and piles of schoolwork ahead of me. But no matter, I will do my best to comply. Can’t wait to be exhausted to death, STI.