I’m very picky about my music. I don’t listen to the radio a lot because I don’t like mainstream music, and I have no idea what’s the biggest song out there and all that. I listen to a select list of artists, and more often than not, other people don’t know about them. Yeah, I can be a music snob if I want to.

I heard about Paramore from Happy, when we were planning about the next concert we want to organize. I think it was after Switchfoot or Hillsong, when Happy said she wanted to bring Paramore here. I didn’t know about them until I asked to listen to a song on our way home from the Cebu trip two years ago. Happy made me listen to That’s What You Get, and I was won over.

It took a while for me to digest all their songs, but after some time, Paramore became a staple. I don’t really care about how good they sound — I cared more about their lyrics. Paramore was there to get me through a lot, especially in late 2008 and early 2009. Most of the time, their songs find a way to describe exactly what I was feeling, and you know how when you find something that describes you so much that it sometimes kind of hurts? Yeah, that kind of thing. And Paramore’s brand new eyes album was also the same album that I kept on listening to during Ondoy, so it’s really memorable.

The point of those previous paragraphs: I couldn’t miss their concert in Manila.

I was supposed to go with Happy,  but she had to go to Hong Kong with her family as a graduation gift, so I didn’t have anyone to go to the concert with in the Gold section. Luckily, I saw a couple of SFC friends who posted their tickets online and I asked if I could tag along, so I downgraded from Gold to Silver, thinking company is more than view.

It was actually a good thing I joined them because I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I had watched the concert alone. You know?

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of observations during the concert, so let’s go bullet mode and list them down. :)

OH AND DISCLAIMER: All of the things below are just my opinions about the event, and I don’t mean to offend anyone. I used to be a part of a team that organizes and produces concerts, so I guess I kind of know what I’m talking about, so I’m letting out my observations coming from someone who knows about concert production (a bit), and from an audience. If you’re a part of the organizing team, I hope you’d take whatever I say constructively. :)  *bow*

• First and foremost: Paramore was awesome. Hayley’s energy could reach all the way back, and the band was awesome, and all their performances were flawless, as far as I’m concerned.  Hayley even had a shirt just for Manila — it said “Para-thrilla in Manila.” How cute. :) They were very engaging, and they obviously made the entire wait and show worth it.
  

• The set felt a bit too short, and that meant I enjoyed myself and I know all the songs. Backstreet Boys had 20+ songs in them, which was an extremely long set already. Paramore had 13 + 2 encore, which is just the same as Lifehouse and Switchfoot. They did sing most of the songs I love. :) Set list below, bold faced songs are my favorites:
  1. Brand New Eyes Tour Intro
  2. Ignorance
  3. Crushcrushcrush
  4. That’s What You Get
  5. Looking Up
  6. Careful
  7. Let The Flames Begin
  8. Let This Go
  9. The Only Exception
  10. Pressure
  11. For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
  12. Where The Lines Overlap
  13. Decode
  14. ENCORE: Misery Business
  15. ENCORE: Brick by Boring Brick
      

  After last night, I realized that I know most of their song lyrics by heart. :P

• Last night’s front act was Callalily. And I’m sorry, but I just don’t like them. Okay, fine, I don’t really know them anyway. I’ve heard their songs somewhere in the jeep or in TV shows, but when I heard they were the front act, all I could say was, “Huh?” My friends told me that Up Dharma Down or Urbandub could have been the better choice, but I don’t listen to them so I don’t really have a say. Their performance was…well…er, sorry but I didn’t like it either. Maybe I was impatient for Paramore already. Or maybe I just really didn’t like them. Sorry.
• Again on Callalily: you don’t say these things to the people who are saying stuff to you. Seriously. Be professional. This just reeks of “neener-neener” and “We’re better than you, so sorry na lang.” Ignorance would have been better.
• Last night I faced the fact that Paramore was mainstream. It may not always be played on the radio or the jeepneys (thank God it’s not!), but seeing the fans yesterday told me how many people love them.
• Speaking of Filipino fans: most of them were tweens! I was kind of surprised to see how young all the people looked there — there were a bunch of girls in front of us who were about 15-16. Some were even small kids who came with their parents! :o I guess the family that watches concerts together stays together? I have a feeling those kids are watching Paramore only because of Twilight and Decode. Or maybe it’s the parents who are fans…?
• Crowd reaction was okay…except right before the encore. Granted, Hayley and the band left the stage abruptly, and kind of left the audience dumbfounded. But the thing is: the crowd stopped screaming. I was afraid the band wouldn’t come out for an encore. Good thing some people started screaming, “More Paramore!” Whew.
• My brother has been teasing me about how emo the band is and after last night, I think I’m about to concede. Haha. As we got in the venue, there was almost a sea of black by the Bronze area. Oh gosh, good thing there weren’t any riots. Or kids in heavy eyeliner. :o
• So here was our time line yesterday: left for MOA at 1, got there around 2, shopped a bit, lined up for the venue by 4, got in at 6:30, show started 8:30. Show ended 10. And they kicked us out at 10:30. How about that.
• Again, I’ve been a part of a concert producing group, so I know how it is to feel star struck with the artist. But, as our producer used to say: if you’re a part of the organizing team, you cannot afford to be star struck. Being star struck with the artist will spell all kinds of trouble, especially with the staff. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like most of the people there are fans who were star struck with the band too much before they actually went to work. When they finally let us in, the girl who checked our bag was also the same girl who checked our pockets. Aren’t those supposed to be two people?
• There were concessionaires inside the concert grounds, but before the show, some McDonald’s people went around outside to sell food. My friend bought some food from the McDo people just before we have to go in, and the girl who was checking our bags tells her that she can’t bring the food in. Food bought from other establishments isn’t allowed inside the concert grounds because there is food available inside. Again, the McDo food came from inside the concert area. Tell me, what’s wrong with this picture?
• I felt bad for the students who came from school who went straight to MOA. One girl in front of us couldn’t go in immediately because the Starbucks tumbler in her bag isn’t allowed inside the venue. I wonder, what could they do about that? The organizers should have anticipated that and set up a deposit area, where they could have deposited the things that couldn’t be brought inside. If it was a Saturday concert, there wouldn’t be a need for that…but it’s not, so they could have set up something like that.
• I don’t know if the security people for Paramore was the same as Katy Perry’s…but honestly, it kind of sucked. No one I know got anything stolen from them, but I think I just saw the most obnoxious/annoying bouncers ever. I know crowd control is always the problem, but I don’t get it why most of the bouncers are in the Gold section and not in the Silver section. I don’t really know if there were bouncers at the back of the Silver section, but where we stood — near the fence — all bouncers we can see are on the other side, obviously, people were crowding by the fence, and there was no crowd control within the crowd at our side. Most of them were just guarding the border. What’s weird was sometime during the show, a bunch of people were being allowed to enter from the Gold section from the Silver section. We asked about it, and they said that the Gold gate was closed so the Gold ticket holders have to pass through the Silver gate to get through. Now that just didn’t make sense. Why did they close the Gold gate? I can’t see any logic with that, but I won’t question it too much, but why make the people pass by through the crowd to get to the Gold section? Of course, the other people in the Silver section who don’t know about it thought they were letting people in randomly, so they started inching, pushing their way there…until it was so crowded in our area that it’s impossible to move. Ugh.
• And once again it’s weird: some of the people who entered the Gold area to from that side of the Silver area looked suspiciously jubilant, with the triumphant “YES!” coming out of their mouths and fist pumping action too…looks fishy, like they found a way to get into the Gold area when they shouldn’t be there. Just a thought.
• Now speaking of areas…MOA felt like such a big venue, I swear. I think they might have done better with NBC Tent or something because the space between Gold and Silver and Bronze felt like such a waste. But that’s just me.
• Back to the obnoxious bouncers: I really have this bad feeling that the bouncers were annoying us on purpose. We were trying to record the stuff on our itty-bitty digicams, but they keep on standing in front of the itty-bitty screens, as if they’re posing. And there was this one guy, who looked like a bouncer but was given a huge Globe Balloon and was told to sell load who kept on running around in front of our view of the screen, almost mockingly, to cover the screen. He did this more than five times. I wanted to shoot a pin through the balloon behind him just to make him go away. >:/
• Watching the videos I took, I realized that the sound system wasn’t stellar. Katy Perry’s sound system was better, and I was at the bronze area then. Are they different?
• Merchandise! I was hoping to get some merchandise as a remembrance, but there were no merch tables except at the Gold area. Wait, apparently, there were some at the Silver and Bronze section, but they closed early. The Gold section still had some merchandise…so after the concert, my friend attempted to go to the Gold area to get to the merch…but the bouncers blocked him. NOTE: the concert was over, and there was really no need for the barricades anymore. Still couldn’t get to the merch. :( Come to think of it, shouldn’t there be merchandise table outside? And shouldn’t they have sold the merch before the concert started?
• The bouncers kicked us out by 10:30. Seriously. We were sitting and resting at the back of the Silver when two bouncers arrived and told us we couldn’t stay inside anymore. One of them even had the gall to say, “There’s a suicide bomber threat.” WTH.

Well this is a mighty long post, I’m sorry. Too many observations, and I’m not even sure if I got all. I know there’s the Gold/VIP problem, too, but I wasn’t at that area so I can’t write about it. The band rocked, but the event itself could have been made better. It’s all about anticipating what could happen: knowing what crowd is going, what the people could be bringing, how to control the crowd, how to make sure the crowd is pleased and the safety of the audience. I felt that something lacked in the overall organization of the event — it really could have been better.

It’s a really good thing that Paramore rocked, which made last night fun and worth it, despite all that. :) They say they’re coming back — let’s hope the event goes better next time. :)

And before I end this super long entry, here’s a video! Excuse the singing. ;)

Like watching concerts, for example.

I know I said I was determined to watch Backstreet Boys in concert this year, but I kept on putting off buying tickets because my original companions weren’t so sure if they want to watch either. It came to a point that I finally decided not to watch, partly because of my dwindling funds (the Upper A to Patron tickets are kind of too expensive — leveling up to the price of treatment for hemorrhoids, I think), and partly because I have no one to watch it yet. I could watch it alone…but it’s just not fun belting out songs you know since you’re 10/11 years old alone.

So I was set to just skip the concert and instead, spend time with great friends by watching the newest John Lloyd movie and good conversations. It’s okay, the boys may still come back.

Then one of my officemates tweeted last Thursday that she’ll be watching the Backstreet boys concert with another colleague. A couple of tweets later, and an update of schedule, I decided: I’m watching the Backstreet boys concert.

Once I decided, I felt the familiar thrill that I get whenever I’m excited for something. I told myself not to be too excited because I don’t have the ticket in my hands yet — but still! The fact of hearing them live and seeing them (even if they’re really small and faraway) in person gave me flutters in my stomach. They were the first band I ever really liked, and I did have the most humongous crush on Nick Carter back then.

Funny thing was, I almost didn’t get to watch the concert! I meant to get my ticket on Friday at Eastwood Mall, but their Ticketnet station seemed to be from the 90′s — it runs on Windows 98 and is connected through dial-up that disconnected on us thrice and then finally crashed on us before I could see how many tickets are still there for Upper B. I didn’t panic yet — I figured that Upper B tickets couldn’t possibly be sold out yet. Are they still that popular?

Well apparently, they were. I got to Podium the next day to get my ticket, but behold — no more Upper B tickets! :( Oh no!

However, having organized concerts before, I know that tickets aren’t always out until they’re really out. Okay, that may not make sense, but I know that Ticketnet may release Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets before the show starts. I called, but they told me there’s no guarantee that they would release SRO tickets…but I can hope, right?

If not, I wondered if I can sneak into Upper B by having General Admission tickets. (I thought it was possible, turns out it was harder than I thought — GenAd tickets enter from a separate gate).

So I watched Miss You Like Crazy with some friends, and after the movie, I called Ticketnet again. And praise God, there were SRO tickets! I flew to Cubao — ignoring the MRT because there were so many people there, and instead getting a cab to bring me to Araneta. I must get a ticket — I can’t miss this show, I just can’t!

And then…tadaaaaa:

YES, I MADE IT. When Anj and Catz arrived, we went in, found seats and told tales of our teenybopper days (ranging from our Backstreet love, to other boybands, to writing fanfiction, to Sweet Valley!) while we waited for the show to start. Because once the show started, so did our screaming.

And how was the concert? It was awesome. I can’t describe each and every bit of it, but my heart was pumping at every song, and we can’t stop screaming! How long have I waited to catch them in concert? How many times have I played their tapes (yes, tapes!) over and over again? How many hours did I spend trying to catch their music videos on MTV? How many stories did I write with them in it? The boys were a HUGE part of my teen years, and watching them live is like, the fulfillment of ALL my eleven-year-old, teenybopper dreams. ♥

I kind of wished there were widescreens in the concert, like the ones in Lifehouse, so we could’ve seen the boys “closer”, even if it’s just on the screen. But it’s okay. The boys still looked hot even if I was all the way up in Upper B. :P It’s amazing to see all the fans there too — most, if not all are from my generation. Go 90′s!

I took a lot of videos that night, but this one is the clearest one I can get — well, at least before I uploaded it. Plus it’s also my favorite performance of all, because of Nick and Brian’s antics (classic Frick and Frack :p). Oh, and excuse the background singing.

It’s too small, I know, but for your reference: Nick and Brian are the ones in black sando. OMG NICK CARTER IS IN A SANDO. *faints* I don’t care if you’re thirty already, you’re still hot!

It was an awesome night, and you can bet I’ll be listening to all their albums for the next week. I dug up my old 1997 concert VCD and played it earlier just to relive a concert experience somehow — but the real thing is still better. It was super worth it, even if Kevin wasn’t there anymore.

I’m really, really glad I went, and I’m glad to have awesome friends who loved the boys as much as I do. Wohoo. The Backstreet pride is alive, alright. :P

Up next: Paramore! Time for my adult music dreams (one of them, anyway) to come true. :D

But I do miss the perks. Meeting the artists from the moment they step in the country. Making sure the place was okay. Getting really good places to stand (because we can’t sit down) during the show and then congratulating the artists personally after their performance. But…like I said, it’s kind of a welcome break.

Oh, and one more thing: it sucks that I have no camera. :| Sure, Captain Tal did okay (see blurry pictures below), but my micro sd card is still 64MB because I totally forgot to buy a bigger one (okay, maybe I was a bit too lazy to do so)…plus I could’ve taken more photos and clearer videos if I had a camera with me. Next mission: buy that pink Canon Ixus 80 IS, ASAP!

Anyway, so last night, Tue, Happy and I trooped to Araneta Coliseum (exactly two months since Hillsong United, oy!) to watch Lifehouse. I’ve been excited for this since Happy told me she bought our tickets (Upper B is all we can afford) and for the past week I’ve been listening to their songs just so I’d be ready on concert night. And because I’m on constant Lifehouse mode for the week, I’ve made a playlist of songs I wish they’d sing on concert night:

• Whatever It Takes
• First Time
• Blind
• Breathing
• Simon
• Everything
• Hanging By a Moment
• Somewhere in Between
• Undone
• You and Me

Our view from where we sat (Upper B).

So the show starts, and even if we’re in Upper B, we had a pretty good view. Lots of people screaming (including us, of course!), and because we were well prepared, we sang along with the songs that we know. :D For a moment I wish we were at Patron or LowerBox…but after some time, I realized how relaxed we were at Upper B. I even sat down at some part of the concert. :P And who knew Araneta could be so cold?

The guys were amazing, and I swear, I love Jason Wade. I love his rocker voice on mp3s and CDs, but hearing his voice live is just…to die for. Love, love, love! He has an amazing stage presence too, and I love that he makes sure to look up at us people who were at the higher part of the coliseum. :D

This is the closest I could see of him...on projected screens, which conked out by "You and Me". :|

The show wasn’t as fluid as the ones I’ve watched before (i.e. Switchfoot), because sometime in between the songs, the stage would darken and there would only be low guitar/bass riffs and not too many friendly chit-chat with the audience, not at least until the middle? There was even a time when Jason went offstage for some reason and then ran back up. But performance wise, they were really amazing, and I am even a more fan now than I ever was before. :)

The concert ended a bit too early too, and I can’t help but feel like it’s bitin. But then again, they sang more songs than the Switchfoot show, so maybe it’s only because I’m used to being backstage before the concert proper, which makes it feel longer. Haha. Or maybe it was only because not all songs from my wishlist were played. But, regardless of all those thoughts I just typed, I had fun, they were amazing, and the show was worth it. :D

Since I didn’t have access to the actual setlist after the show, I made sure to note all the songs they sang in my phone (titles in boldface are the songs I love):

1. Make Me Over
2. Spin
3. Am I Ever Gonna Find Out
4. Simon — YES! Looove that they sang this! ♥
5. Hanging By a Moment — Reminded me so much of my prayer before I resigned.
6. Blind — ♥
7. Take Me Away — Tried calling my friend when they played this since this was one of her favorite songs but she didn’t answer. Oh well. :(
8. Somebody Else’s Song
9. From Where You Are — This is the part where we sat down, because we didn’t know the song. Who has a copy of this? :D
10. Bridges — Bryce sang this one, and it sounded a lot different from Jason’s version. I love the part where they shared one mic though.
11. Better Luck Next Time
12. Whatever It Takes – We screamed when they started playing the intro of the song :)
    
13. You and Me
14. First Time
15. (ENCORE) Disarray – After last night, I now love this song.
16. (ENCORE) Broken - I love the meaning of this song.
    

I still wish they sang Everything…but 6 out of 10 wished for songs isn’t bad. ;) I hope they’d go back (and can our team please handle them now? :D), and I will definitely be there again. :D Here’s to another bigger Lifehouse fan. *cheers*

Like being in love with you for the first time. ♥

Anyway, YES, Lifehouse is coming, and here are the ticket prices:

PATRON VIP (101,103 aka center) – Php4890
Patron (elevated area) – Php3890
Lower Box - Php3890
Upper A  – Php1890
Upper B – Php990

No general admission? Hm, is it because they’re not expecting a full coliseum? And the price for LowerBox seems wrong, because even if the same priced Patron is elevated, it’s still not the same as Lowerbox.

But anyway. At least it’s cheaper than Maroon 5, and way cheaper than gps fleet tracking devices. More expensive than Switchfoot or Hillsong United, but then again, that’s us. Because I’m sort of a cheapskate (and because I predict that I’ll be sort of bankrupt by then), I’m eyeing Upper A or Upper B tickets. It’s enough if I hear them, yes?

Who else is watching? :D

I accomplished some things for one of my goals for 2008 for this month, which I will post about in an update soon. It’s got me a couple of thousand bucks poorer though, but I’d like to believe that’s an investment. Besides, I badly need them. :D Heh. In the next week I’d be accomplishing some other goals too, which means more late time going home from work because of lots of meetings. I’m kind of nervous about tomorrow’s meeting, though, since it’s my first time to hea one, and I’m not yet entirely sure if I understood everything. I’m not regretting being placed in this position though; I’m just nervous. Pray for me, please? :) After that, I shall prepare for my first ever presentation during our general assembly on Friday. Eep. :o Which reminds me, I planned to work on one document I should be emailing by tomorrow today, but then…there’s such a thing as work-life balance, so let’s make use of that. I’d have time tomorrow. :)

Speaking of work-life balance, I just heard from some friends that Maroon 5 concert tickets for their March 5 show in Araneta Coliseum are already available via TicketNet…and check out these prices:

Patron VIP (101, 103, 1st 20 rows) (Reserved Seating) – PhP 10500
Patron (Reserved Seating) – PhP 7875
Lower Box (Reserved Seating) – PhP 5250
Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) – PhP 3938
Upper Box B (Free Seating) – PhP 2625
Gen. Admission (Free Seating) – PhP 1575

Look. At. Those. Prices. More than a thousand bucks for General Admission?! My gosh. What can you see from GenAd anyway? And ten thousand for one ticket? What if you’re on the 20th row already, is that still worth P10,500? OUTRAGEOUS. That’s even more expensive than assisted living software (I think)!

Then again…I remember Josh Groban front seat tickets are P25,000 each…so this looks small compared to that. BUT STILL! The most expensive ticket I ever bought was for the Jars of Clay concert three years ago…and that’s really close. Switchfoot’s highest priced ticket is even cheaper than Maroon 5′s General Admission. :-o

Yes, they are big artists…but the tickets are just…whoa. I was planning to watch, but my wallet is seriously disagreeing with me; and if I do decide to watch, I could say goodbye to Sydney.

And now this makes me wonder who else will be going here this year. I haven’t heard any news from our bosing during the Switchfoot concert, since I guess she’s busy…so no news yet of who will be coming here that we’ll be able to help organize. Switchfoot is coming to the Pacific, but not passing by Philippines so I am totally envious of Gharri who will be in Malaysia at the same time they are. :P Here’s my current artist “wishlist” though:

• Brooke Fraser (I heard she visited the Philippines early last year, but not to perform but as a part of some movement…I’m not sure if it’s World Vision).
• Dave Barnes (Dream on, Tina :D).
• Matt Wertz (Bring him with Dave!)
• Jars of Clay (I still dream of being able to hug and have a picture with Dan Haseltine).
• Switchfoot (Once is definitely not enough).
• Anberlin
• Mae
• Bethany Dillon (Her show does not have to be in a big venue…a small venue would definitely be better :D)
• Lifehouse
• Relient K (Appetite for Construction tour here too? Please? :D)
• Nichole Nordeman (She could do a show with Bethany? Hee.)
• TobyMac

Ah. I could list so much more…but I’ll stop here. :D Now I have to finish watchig this Ugly Betty episode and finish the book I’ve been meaning to finish since last yesterday. Have a great week everyone. :)

Tickets Now Available for Switchfoot and Anberlin Concert at SWOSU

Tickets are now on sale for an outdoor concert featuring bands Switchfoot and Anberlin as part of the Panorama series at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.

The concert is set for October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Milam Stadium on the SWOSU campus in Weatherford.

Advance tickets for the event are $20 for SWOSU students and $25 for non-SWOSU students. Advance tickets for groups of 15 or more are $20. All tickets at the door will be $30.

Full article here.

AHHHHHHH! Can someone sponsor me and Happy on an all-expense paid trip to Oklahoma on October? Please? Come on! It’s Switchfoot AND Anberlin! They’re like two of my favorite bands EVER! Get me there, pleaaaase?

*stops begging* Okay, okay, I shall stop this. But seriously. If I can watch a show where Switchfoot will play with ((I have to emphasize with because the two bands aren’t really performing together, but in the same show and venue)) Anberlin, I will definitely be a happy little girl. Throw in Mae and I will be a crazy happy little girl. :)

Dream on, Tina! Yes, I will dream on, because God won’t put a dream in my heart that He has no intention of making come true (Did I say this right?)…right Lord? *bats eyelashes*

You think travelpro will be able to help me to get there?

Okay, let it go. :P

I realized some weird/interesting (take your pick) things about myself today:

• I stay in front of the computer all day at work, and when I get home, the thing I do before I go to sleep is turn Ginger on and go online again. Grace, my teammate, says that there are things that I can’t do at work but I can’t do at home…but there’s not much difference really. I still go around and check my email, my Multiply and whatnot at work, and it’s the same thing I do at home. Well, except that I can download stuff faster here…so that’s different. But not that different. So basically I’m really in front of a computer for the entire day and night…and I remember myself not wanting that. What gives?
• In my old job, our work hours were loooong so I usually get impatient at 5:00pm because I know I still have 1 1/2 hours before I can get off. But in my new job, I’m only required to finish 8 hours of work a day, but I end up staying until 9 to 9 1/2 hours. And I’m not even in a hurry to get home pa. Weird. Or maybe it’s because I’m just really enjoying my work? That’s good, right?

This is me thinking random thoughts while talking to a Slovakian client. Let me borrow Mo Twister’s words: Good times. Good times.

Off I go to read for a change! Tomorrow’s another long day at work, with a request waiting for me when I get there and a free dinner for our account (together with four other accounts) as a reward for some work-related thing. Good night world!

*Is currently listening to Oh! Gravity album* :D

But before I stop talking about it, I’m honored. My previous entry has been mentioned here and here. :D I am honored. Again, it’s been an amazing experience, and we all can’t wait to have the guys back here for a longer stay. :)

Oh, and can I just say? I can’t help but feel so kilig when I see switchfoot.com referrals to my blog. :D Wheee!

During one of my awake moments last Monday crossing Tuesday, I realized that one of the things I really wanted to do in my life is to be one of the production people for concerts and whatnot. Add to that dream was to be able to watch concerts of artists that I love. The latter is actually quite difficult because even if I have the money, the artists I like hardly ever visit here. :(

That’s why I’m really, really thankful that I was able to meet Jomar and Reeya. Jomar was the guy who got me into the Street Team thing starting with the Reuben Morgan thing in Manila, and that’s when I met Reeya. And it all started there. It was only last Monday when I realized that I am actually living my dream. Although there’s still a long line of artists that I still want to meet and watch live, I know that I still have time and that this is one of those steps. :)

To Jomar and Reeya: THANK YOU. :)

Meeting them is actually more than being able to watch them. Meeting them not in a starstruck way, but as how you meet new friends. Until now I’m still amazed how I managed not to scream like a little girl when I finally saw them. It was amazing how I was able to approach them and talk to them just as how I would talk to other people around me. And I guess it’s because in the end, they’re also just people. Like me, like you. Of course, they sing better than me, but they’re also people. Moreover, they’re people who believe and love the same God, which makes it even more awesome, don’t you think? :)

So this is me trying to get back to normal programming. Work’s been piling up, but it’s okay. :D I love my teammates (wheee), and I felt kind of bad for missing last Friday’s birthday treat from the boss. But at least I got to write on his birthday gift, which apparently, according to Grace, everyone thought was cute. Aww. :) Haha I’m so blessed to be with these people, even if I know they will all tease me to death on Monday for not being there last Friday.

But it’s okay, since I got to spend my Friday night with two of my favorite people. :) But can I say? Alabang is really so far away. Haha. :))

Although I do feel kind of bad again because my best friend couldn’t make it. It just sucks because she’s leaving tomorrow for the US and she hasn’t even seen Tuesday ever since she arrived. The last time the four of us we were complete was…March 2006. And it wasn’t even on my birthday pa. :(

I don’t know, I just feel sad about it. She missed Monday’s concert and she missed this and she’s leaving tomorrow and I have no idea what her plans are or what. I don’t even know when she’s coming back. And I feel like I’ve been cheated of quality time with her because of all other things we all have to deal with in life.

Hay.

The last news for today is that, Ginger, my beloved laptop, is breaking down. I don’t know if a reformat would do the trick again, or if my hard drive is really tired and needs to be put to rest. :( I haven’t restored most of my files ever since they all “magically” disappeared a little over a month ago. But the good news is, my mom told me to look for a replacement for my laptop and we could work out a way of payment for us for it. Not bad, not bad. I’d like that. As much as I love Ginger, I think it is time to put her to rest.

But with all the expenses…I might need a budgeting software for that. Hmmm. Let’s see, let’s see.

1. Because Jerome Fontamillas, their keyboardist, is a Filipino from Pasay City who moved to San Diego. Filipino pride, mehn!

2.Because they might sing something like this:

I don’t really like Beyonce or the song, but this one just rocks. Agree?

3. And finally, the biggest reason of all is this:

For every ticket you buy, you are helping the International Justice Mission to save exploited children in the Philippines. For those who don’t know, IJM is a group of lawyers and volunteers who help in stopping child trafficking, prostitution and get minors who are convicted of crime out of prison where they shouldn’t be in because of their age and into better places like juvenile centers or drug rehab where they can recover. By just buying a P250 ticket, it will go a long long way!

So what are you waiting for? Mosh pit and Floor seat tickets are sold out, but you can still get 1000, 800, 600, 400 and 250 tickets! The venue is pretty small, so don’t worry about not being able to see them perform, because you will still be able to. :) Reserve your tickets from me, or you may also contact other Street Team members in your area to get your tickets.

See you at the concert!

• Free limited edition poster autographed by the entire band for every mosh pit ticket purchased.
• Free Sunchild Redeemer T-Shirt for every two tickets purchased (Sunchild Redeemer shirts were sold during the Reuben Morgan worship two years ago.)

This promo is only up to AUGUST 6, 2007, only for MOSH PIT TICKETS (Php 1,400 each). So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets now!

We don’t have point of purchase displays, but we do have very friendly Street Team members who will accommodate your ticket questions. :D

Fans who purchased the tickets before this promo is announced is also included in the promo, so don’t worry about not getting your posters. See you at the concert!

I still can’t believe I’m done with my first job. Wow. It’s been an amazing journey, and even if I felt like wanting to quit a lot of times already, every moment is irreplaceable. Great Adventure indeed.

And speaking of Great Adventure, Tuesday, Happy and I went to meet the person who composed and sang the song, Steven Curtis Chapman. Yesterday was his second night of concert sponsored by Cathedral of Praise. Of course we wouldn’t miss this one, so we got there early. Funny though, because I think God played a joke on us because Happy and I almost didn’t get back in when we took a CR break at around 5:30pm. I will be eternally grateful to this guy usher who Tuesday talked to so we could get back in again. We didn’t get his name, but I will really pray for him.

The show was great! I still wish he sang Moment Made for Worshipping but it’s okay because he sang Great Adventure anyway (in a really rocking version!), plus other favorites like Dive, Speechless, For the Sake of the Call. :) Great great night.

And then we got to hang out with the band afterwards. See, last year, Tuesday was one of their tour guides when they visited here (I was a part of the team too, but I was selling tickets so I didn’t get to go around with them). So this year, Tuesday introduced us to Chris (the band’s bassist), who picked us up and brought us upstairs (which got him into trouble…oops!) so we ended up hanging out in the green room. A little while later, Steven’s sons, Caleb and Will, and their sound engineer, Russ, joined us and we took tons and tons of pictures and talked. I have to say, Chris is the most popular one that night, with all his photo ops and whatnot. :P It was fun hanging out with them, getting to see their personalities aside from their stage presence.

Unfortunately, Steven was busy so we didn’t get to talk to him that much. We only saw him right before they left, which gave us the photo op:

They had to leave because they were up to watch Transformers (Awesome movie, btw). Tuesday dropped us off at Taft, we ate late dinner and then headed to Robinson’s Pioneer to wait for my brother to pick us up.

Today, I am watching CSI: Miami on AXN, and I should get ready to go out because I’m up for a haircut/pedicure and picture taking for my 1×1′s for my new job tomorrow. I better get going if I want to get back home by 6:30 for the mass.

Awesome weekend, and I’m praying for an awesome week at my new work. :) Have a blessed Sunday everyone. :)