Little Bit of This and That

It's summer so I need to take a break from issues that tend to rip my heart, still beating from my ribcage. The heat is too much to bear but the President's mole is death itself once you stare at it too long. I shall dwell on "lighter" issues.

********************

It's been two week since I decided to drastically alter my 8-month old haircut. It had gone a long way from lip length to armpit length. It had grown huge in an angry, bloated octopus meets Dolly Parton sort of way...just like I had warned that person who cut my hair all in one length a few weeks before I left for Seoul last year. The summer heat was too searing for words so mom decided to get a trim while I got partly possessed by Natalie Portman's character in V for Vendetta. I had about six inches of my hair cut off and as I saw the clumps of hair drift lazily to the floor of the salon, I was almost overcome with unexplained deliriousness.

My mother almost collapsed when she saw me. My niece could not look at me straight in the face without laughing while my sister declared she had a new brother. I, on the other hand, was filled with extreme happiness over a new haircut and a lighter head.

That is, until my 6-year old cousin Lance burst my "I-have-the-best-haircut" bubble by wagging his finger at my face during a family lunch and saying "You look like Gloria Macapagal Arroyo." I wanted to reach for the knife and do hara-kiri.

********************

There are two things which get me a natural summer high...well, aside from hearing "Summer Day" from Barbie Almalbis on the radio. First of all, I take extra pains to keep my hair healthy. The summer heat is doing its damage but I have no fear because of the pink variant from Cream Silk. I don't know about you guys but this has got to be the best conditioner out there. It's cheaper than the competition and works a lot better...and it smells great too!

The other thing I cannot seem to get my hands off would be beaded tsinelas (slippers). I first saw them in Boracay being sold for as much as P300 and I was thinking to myself "Crazy!" A few months later, I go to the mall and I find even better versions of the beaded tsinelas in different colors. I bought two pairs (in different occasions, of course) which I use to saunter around the city nowadays. They are just simply cute and comfortable.

********************

I don't know what's with "T's" this month but I've sure got a lot of it going on...in names of newest crushes, that is. The first "T" must've been long foreseen but, hey, it took me a long, long time getting over Kevin Covais exit from American Idol, I found myself staring out into nowhere, fervently wishing he'd come crashing into the stage after the supposed last contestant has exited. Sadly, no Chicken Little in sight, but I am going nuts over Taylor Hicks A.K.A. the guy who shares Gandalf's silver hair... only shorter and minus the rebond.

He is inferior vocally when compared to Elliot Yamin's flexible pipes but as David Foster pointed out tonight, Taylor has charisma. He has the total performer package and I love the raspy sound to his voice. Some part of him sounds like Bo Bice minus the wink (sighs) with the added head cocking and the raspiness of artists like Rod Stewart. Tonight, he sang James Ingram's "Just Once" and I watched his performance three times (twice in StarWorld and once in ABC5) and each time I was left with this glassy look. My mother could not take watching his performance lying down. She had to sit up and applaud him. Now as I type this, I'm listening to the James Ingram version and downloading the Taylor Hicks live performance. Yes, I believe there is nothing left of me to save now.
If Sue were sitting in front of me today, I would have gotten smacked. It's hard when you've known a person since the time you both wore plastic eyeglass frames (hers was pink, mine yellow) since she almost always guesses what's going roundabout in your head. Like a few months ago when I began saying "I liked the new King Kong movie..." and she immediately screamed "Adrien Brody!" So much for surprise...which brings me to my other "T." This afternoon, I texted her that I was about to add Topher Grace to my list of favorite actors/guys-I-can-never-have-even-if-I-walk-on-my-knees-from-the-church-entrance-to-the-altar-ten-times. She immediately texted back "You watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" even if she was in the middle of work training. She eventually got reprimanded for texting me but anyhow, she almost smacked because I told her I never did get to watch That 70s Show and I totally regret it now. But that gives me more reason to watch out for Spiderman 3 (yay!) while waiting for reruns of That 70s Show. Tad Hamilton was not exactly revolutionary in the romantic-comedy genre but I love Topher's character Pete. I have always greatly preferred wit over rock-hard abs! As he claims, he could win wrestling matches and swordfights using his rhetoric alone!

********************

In other AI news, for the first time this season, I no longer get severe convulsions and fits of anger when watching AI...thanks to Ace Young getting the kick. Now I expect to get threats of mutilation from heartbroken girls.

********************

Okay, I am not all cynical and emotionally detached as most people would like to think. As a matter of fact, I am a (closet) romantic although I wish flowers and teddy bears should be permanently deleted from the list of best gifts to to give women. One time, my sister and I were talking about what gift a girl would consider to be most romantic. I wanted to answer "An opportunity to swim with dolphins!" but I knew that would be a little over the top so I mentioned the next best gift in my opinion - "A book." She stared at me as if I had just become an undiscovered organism which reveals itself during routine root canal procedures.

But anyway, there are three songs I cannot help but listen to over and over again without getting sick. One would be Josh Groban's "When You Say You Love Me." The ending always gets to me: "When you say you love me, do you know how I love you?" The lyrics are nothing new but the way Josh Groban sings it is just refreshing it feels as if some minty breeze has enveloped me.

Another is the Japanese version of Wang Lee Hom's "If You Heard My Song." I don't understand a single word Lee Hom sings in that song but he gives the words natural life when he does it...not to mention the guy's got one of the best, most soothing voices in the world. The Japanese version is a lot more laid back and relazxed compared to the Mandarin version and it seems to overflow with sincerity and sadness. Bad thing though is after I listen to it, I usually feel like reaching for the box of tissues beside me.

The last song would be Dishwalla's "Every Little Thing." When it comes to love songs, I find that rock/alternative bands always come up with the best stuff overall. Pop love songs almost always come across as too sugary for me that I sometimes feel like choking. I like the entire approach to "Every Little Thing," with the somewhat subdued musical accompaniment and the rather breathy way JR Richards sings it.

"Every Little Thing"

Let me in
to see you in the morning light
to get me on and all along the tears they come
See all come
I want you to believe in life
But I get the strangest feeling that you've gone away
Will you find out who you are too late to change?

I wish I could be
every little thing you wanted
all the time.
I wish I could be
every little thing you wanted
all the time,
Sometimes.

Lift me up
Just lift me up don't make a sound
And let me hold you up before you hit the ground
See all come
You say you're all right
But I get the strangest feeling
That you've gone away- you've gone away
And will you find out who you are too late to change?

I wish I could be
Every little thing you wanted
All the time
I wish I could be
Every little thing you wanted
All the time,
Sometimes.

Don't give me up
Don't give me up tonight
Or soon nothing will be right at all
Salvation
Will you find out who you are too late to change?

I wish I could be
Every little thing you wanted.