The Year 2008
It’s an interesting time to be alive.
New Year’s Eve 2008 was spent playing music at the intersection of Makati Avenue and Ayala Avenue. Right across the Manila Peninsula, site of Senator Trillanes’ absurd exercise in bad strategy.
Skarlet gig. Skarlet on microphone, Henry Katindig on keys, THE Simon Tan on upright bass, Alex "Sugar" Fidel on drums, Anthony Morris on alto sax, Richie Gonzaga on trumpet and ummm… a bunch of other guys on various horns.
(Mga brad, pasensya na… alam niyo naman kung gaano ako katanga pagdating sa pangalan ng tao, eh.)
Someone I love dearly came to the gig. We spent a few hours together. Sigh.
She watched from the control booth as Skarlet & The Swing Machine played its set. She later relayed how "guapo" i looked on the larger-than-life video wall screen and how, upon blurting that thought out in the control room, she was teased about being in love.
After our set, I managed to hang out with various people outside the bandroom. Some actor host guy who happens to be married to Mickey Ferriols. Nice guy. Solid. Grounded. Also shared a yosi moment with a fellow guitarist whose name escapes me at the moment. He asked for my number, saying he was interested in taking lessons from me.
Then Beloved and I made our escape. En route to my house, i dropped Beloved off at MOA, where she hung out with a buncha friends of hers.
Spent the turning of the year with my family.
Made as much noise as i could with Nimfa the guitar and Tecla the amp. Played an absurdly dissonant Lupang Hinirang… which segued into anything and everything i could think of (Beautiful Love, My One & Only Love, My Foolish Heart, Stella By Slipped Disc…)… then ended with what i could recall of Francisco Tarrega’s "Capricho Arabe".
I thought it was funny.
Thankfully so did my mom.
My hands needed a break (cut me some slacks!) at that point so i slaked my thirst for adventure by balancing atop the frame of our garden’s swing set. Thankfully, muscle memory of MA balance is still ingrained, spinal issues notwithstanding. Hooyah.
Noticed my daughter, Ava, staring up at me, so i beckoned to her then pulled her up to join me atop the frame of the swing set. Sat on top of aforementioned frame with Ava on my lap, shooting mind bullets at skyward bound firecrackers.
Sweet.
When everyone else went to sleep, I went to MOA to pick Beloved up. We hung out at a garden for a while. Then i brought her home.
That’s enough for now. There’s much more to this.
To be continued.
