dual*ities

Note: I posted this yesterday, but I guess Blogger is once again in the habit of eating posts. Oh well.
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Sometime last week, the question of the day in the early morning show that I was watching caught my attention. The hosts of the show asked, ‘How would you like to spend the last days of summer?’ Or something like that. I was thinking, it would be nice to spend it either at the beach or in Sagada. But then, I thought that by then, it was too late…I already had other plans for the last weekend of May.

It turned out, however, that my weekend plans were not so bad after all. And there were a few lovely extras that got thrown in, which made me forget about mountains and beaches. Here are highlights:

Saturday Triple Header

The Promise. For JVPs, all roads led to the Mission Mass at the Church of Gesu last Saturday afternoon. I, on the other hand, found myself heading the opposite direction (to my old alma mater in Manila) to attend Reg’s voice recital. I promised her I would be there, even if it meant making ‘lagare’ from north to south, then back to the north again. After all, I couldn’t pass up the chance of witnessing her shining moment.:)

The theme of the recital was At The Movies, where the largely teeny-bopper cast performed songs from Disney movies, renowned musicals, and from several other movie classics. The show’s highlight for me, of course, was Reg’s rendition of The Promise, which has been a favorite of mine ever since my high school best friend sang it during my debut party. I liked in even more when it became one of JVP 18’s most well-loved songs during our service year. (It’s a shame that it didn’t become our batch song.) Well, I guess Reg has just given me another reason to love the song even more.:)

Humayo’t Ihayag. The recital was barely done when I left the auditorium to make it to JVP Batch 25’s Mission Mass. Fortunately, I arrived just in time to see the current batch being presented to the audience/mass-goers. I absolutely loved their creatively-choreographed Humayo’t Ihayag performance, which also doubled as the closing song for the mass. It was such an enjoyable, high-spirited number! Some of the alumni present in the audience (i.e. us!) couldn’t help but dance with them.:) After that, the batch also sang their originally-composed batch song. (Yup, they already have one!). If the dedication that the batch has shown in preparing for such presentations is anything to go by, then I think this would be one good, productive year for JVP.:)

Joining the Force. After the mission mass and the traditional community salu-salo (that took us forever to get out of), I, together with Maits, May8, Dove and Kuyah Nikki (now also known as the post-JVP function gimmick group), finally got to watch Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. We probably were the last five people on the planet who have not seen this much celebrated movie event, but what the heck! Anyway, I admit that the film was a lot better than Episodes I & II, and it did answer a lot of the more obvious questions. Yet still, I like Episodes IV, V, and VI better, in terms of story and character development. But one thing has remained constant all throughout the years: Awesome, Yoda is! Adore him, I always will.:)

Sunday Specials

Soaring High. I got to see some of the Pathways/Alay Ni Ignacio (ANI) students again, all happy and dressed up during the commencement ceremonies of their ANI summer classes. The incoming seniors, in fact, look like they really are senior high school students already, ready to take on the world…or college, at least.:) “Soar With Us!” That has always been the ANI volunteers’ catchphrase. And judging by the kids’ excited faces that afternoon, I’m pretty sure they are taking those words of encouragement to heart.

Once On This Island. I got to watch another play; this time, it’s Actors’ Actors Inc.’s rendition of Flaherty and Ahrens’ Once On This Island. The musical was largely enjoyable, with its dynamic and vibrant Carribean-inspired score. It was a pleasant experience for me to discover that I could still hum along most of the songs, which Mark (my friend and former boss) used to play non-stop in the office. I was also half-amused while watching the performers because some of them reminded me of stuff not at all related to the show. For example, Jeffrey Hidalgo (who played Daniel) reminded me of Anj. Jett Pangan (who played the god of death) reminded me of May8. And Kuya Bodjie (of the Batibot fame) reminded me of, well, my childhood. Hehe.

Seriously though, the cast was immensely talented, and did an amazing job of giving life to their characters (save for one or two). The most powerful performance, perhaps, was that of Bituin Escalante (who played Asaka or Mother Earth). Her rendition of “Mama Will Provide” just brought the house down.

The real highlight of the show for me, however, was the final scene, where the young girl, originally the person for whom the story of TiMoune was told, now assumes the role of the story-teller, while the chorus sings:

"Our lives become the stories that we weave....
That is why we tell the story, why we tell the story.”

And then, the light dims, until the only thing that remains visible is the silhouette of the young girl animatedly telling the story of TiMoune to the islanders gathered around her. ‘Twas the perfect ending. Or should I say, the perfect beginning?

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My ‘weekend’ got extended a bit to Monday, as I allowed myself to be dragged into attending the Pathways Orientation Seminar for the new JVP-Pathways volunteers. While the day was packed with serious talks on national and state-of-education situationers from the likes of Fr. Jojo Magadia and Mr. Leland dela Cruz no less, it was also one of those events that gave me a chance to catch up with my former officemates and spend time with the JVP-Pathways volunteers (Sabs, Tin, Benjoe and Jay).

Later in the evening, we all went to Harvey’s condo unit for a welcome dinner and barbeque in honor of the JVP-Pathways volunteers and Nikko, the new member of the Pathways staff who also happens to be a returning JVP volunteer (Batch 25). So yah, the JVP family in Pathways is growing! There are now six of us, all in all. And I have a feeling that it won't stop at six.:)

“That is why we tell the story, why we tell the story.”