Yin Yang

The Yin Yang must be one of the most popular Chinese symbols. I am not exactly an expert in Chinese philosophy but I have come to understand that the yin and yang are polar opposites - the yin represents woman, the yang man. The yin is equated with darkness while the yang is supposedly the lighter side. They are not opposites which constantly tear at each other's throats. Rather, they are complementary. Both balance each other perfectly. Balance is one of my favorite concepts from Chinese philosophy. Harmony comes achieving a sense of balance. Justice does too. The world exhibits signs of what happens when yin and yang try to overpower each other.

The twin entries below were my Yin and Yang during the weekend. As they say, you can never have too much of a good thing. My sister likes to keep her laughter in check. She believes her laughter would trigger the same amount of tears at some other point in her life. I would agree with her but I also believe that even if the bad would correspond with the good, I've got a God who helps me handle what's bad so that it does not feel that heavy at all.

The Yang

Em had been planning a trip for our group of friends since summer. We had even talked about it in the forum. Her first suggestion was Puerto Galera. Naturally we all got excited. I had never been to Puerto Galera but I heard it was beautiful so I couldn't wait. Besides, Em told me that in Galera, I could perhaps unleash a bit of my hidden "kakikayan." Mich had this glittery hair braid thing on her hair when she went to Korea last year. Em told me that they also had the same thing in Galera and that pretty much got me hyped up already.

But the Galera trip did not materialize for reasons which I most likely forgot. But Em made another alternative - Punta Fuego in Batangas. Personally I had never heard of the place but when Em said something about a beach, I almost immediately spurted a "yes." She was able to make arrangements for us to go there and rent a house for the weekend. I was extremely excited and raring to go although I later found out I was not the most excited among us all. Anna topped the emotions list because she had packed her things as early as three days before our trip. Excitement is, of course, a natural reaction. As Em said in her blog, anything free is good and anything good is bound to be exciting.

Not everyone was able to go though. Rina had to go home to Mangatarem while Rosette was busy with nursing classes in Lucena. Sarah was still MIA and our efforts to contact her remained futile. So there were seven of us who set forth for a crazy weekend in Punta Fuego, in a search to find ultimate relaxation.

Our take-off point was Em's house in Santa Rosa. Jess, Ghen and Shyne were to meet us there on Friday morning because both Jess and Ghen had work until Thursday while Shyne had school. It was only Mich, Anna and I who had to travel from Manila to Santa Rosa on the afternoon of Thursday.

Mich was to pick us up by 3 pm so Anna and I first did some grocery shopping in accordance with Em's request. She would be bringing food but we had to buy the snacks and other "chicheria." Anna and I went to the grocery and bought some softdrinks and an entire cart full of chips. I bet we must have looked like canteen vendors of some sort with all the food we were hauling. Mich came a little later at around 4. We loaded the food and our bags into her car and headed off to Santa Rosa. The ride went pretty well - except for a very brief episode when we were stuck in traffic along SLEX and Mich's gas indicator light was blinking furiously because the tank was almost empty. I remember Anna thinking out loud "We can't push the car if it conks out. The car's automatic." Not to mention that it was raining outside. Nevertheless, we reached Santa Rosa in one piece - including the car.

After dinner, Em's mom went to sleep and reminded us not to stay up too late because we were to leave early in the morning. The three of us went upstairs to Em's room. I have always told Em this but I like her room because the walls slant on both sides although I tend to bump my head especially when I sit up too quickly. We had positioned ourselves on her bed and did not get to sleep immediately because Mich had a lot of stories to tell. Aside from that, one of Em's dolls caught our attention. It was a cave boy doll given to her during her birthday. The cave boy had messy hair which stuck out in all directions but a small bunch of it was tied in place with a bone much like Pebbles Flinstone. It wore a green caveman outfit with black tiger patterns. It had tiny eyes and a cute button nose. Anna decided to name him "So Ji Sup" (after the Korean actor Em and I have a huge crush on) because the caveboy shared Ji Sup's beastly hair (to which Em and I had no choice but to agree). We even gave Ji Sup an "award" (Em's star-shaped stuffed toy) and later on fitted him with my glasses and baseball cap which suited him rather well.

Ji Sup the doll and So Ji Sup the actor

In the morning, Jess and Ghen arrived. Mich and I picked up Shyne in the Coke plant near the toll gate. Shyne was in an all-white getup. I teased her that she looked like Maria Makiling. We left for Punta Fuego at around 11:30 with Em's parents, her youngest brother TJ and friends and officemates of her parents. We first dropped by Cavite to fetch the caretaker and then proceeded to Punta Fuego.

Getting ready to leave

Now I had no idea that Punta Fuego was a peninsula. The place was actually situated atop a mountainous area which was cradled by the sea. It was more of a cove than an actual beach. Houses were built on the mountainside so the view was fabulous. We stayed in a three-storey house...actually more of a one-storey house with two basements, whichever is more appropriate. Em's parents let us stay in the masters bedroom because there were seven of us. After eating lunch, the seven of us went out for stroll.

Upon arrival in Punta Fuego

Beautiful houses abound in Punta Fuego. And they are not just regular beautiful houses but really huge ones too. Em was telling us that there was an infinity pool somewhere and my brain became even more agitated and I started having visions of myself swimming in the pool ala Kang In Wook in "Memories of Bali." HAHAHA! But the images all of a sudden got sucked into a vortex when we found out that swimming in the infinity pool would cost us P500! All of a sudden, the beach sounded like the best idea ever.

We got to go swimming during the two days that we were there. We went to Long Beach and spent hours just running in and out of the water. Jess got to learn how to do her backfloat there courtesy of Em. I took advantage of the wide expanse of the cove and swam back and forth like a fish. It has been a long time since I have taken a dip in the sea. I've mostly done my swimming in a pool for the past few years. The sea is a lot different. The waves are challenging so you have to fight the current. The saltwater also easily irritates the eyes. But the freedom of swimming in such a wide expanse of water is thrilling. I swam in and out of shore, to areas where my feet couldn't touch the bottom anymore. But I was careful, of course. And besides, there was a barrier so that no one would get swept out into the sea.

Me in Lost Beach and some of us before taking the plunge at Long Beach

Another swimming spot was Fuego Beach. Actually it was more of a dipping spot than a swimming spot. It was located near the open sea so the waves were naturally bigger. The shore was also rather uneven and could suddenly plunge to deeper portions. I did not dare jump into the water. We walked along the shore and Mich and I found this rocky area where we could go for a dip. The rock formations resulted to a little basin which was about as deep as our knees. The waves would crash in and out of the rocks so as we all immersed ourselves there, we felt like we were in a jacuzzi of some sort.

Aside from swimming, we did other things too like eat and sleep. HAHAHAHA! KIDDING! Sleeping and eating are natural activities which the body desperately needs although in our case, we did overdo them. Em and Anna discovered that they had a hidden talent in table tennis. Ghen and Jess taught them the basics while Mich gave them an overview on the rules. Pretty soon both were playing like...beginners. Ha! Em, Jess and I also played some pool. Seriously we all gained greater respect for Efren " Bata" Reyes. We had pretty easy shots but we somehow couldn't make those balls plop into the baskets!

Of course, videoke was a given. The house had a videoke machine which required a P5 coin per song. Tita Arlene, Em's mom, gave us a lot of coins to sing the nights away. Starship songs were once more played. Anna this time had an opportunity to sing a solo - Viva Hotbabes' "Kikay!" Thinking about it makes me hum the "lalalalala" part unconsciously. Shyne and Mich had their share of senti songs like "One Last Cry" and "Tell Me Where it Hurts." Jess's "Material Girl" was heavily requested so she did an encore complete with backup dancers (that would be Em, Ghen, Mich, Anna and me while taking videos). In the second night, Em, Ghen, Jess and I had a spur-of-the-moment videoke contest. Em and I were pitted against Jess and Ghen. It was the closest fight ever. We sang different songs, even the ones I hated (like Britney Spears songs which were all Anna's choices). Our scores were always tied but the deciding song was Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." Em and I won by a point (99-98). Jess was so bitter about losing by a point I doubt if she got a good sleep that night. But the biggest loser of all had to be the karaoke machine. It must have never been so overworked in its entire machine-like existence! I swear, we were dropping coins into the slot like mad at past 1 in the morning and it was vomiting the coins out like crazy. The karaoke machine had raised its white flag in surrender but oh no, we were still forcing coins down its throat. Jess was laughing hysterically "Iniluluwal na!"

It was great to be with mos of my friends after a long time. Usually we would get to see each other in smaller chunks because of school and work. We didn't get to see Shyne regularly because she now attended a different school. After graduation, all of us have been busy with our respective responsibilities. I am not a huge fan of change, especially when it's with people I'm close to but for that matter, who is? I've recently taken in a new perspective on that. I like to think of it as an entirely new adventure altogether, going on a trip alongside other people. They may stop by the sidewalk to do something else or take a detour but at some point, you'll meet up again down the road and now you'll have more stories to share. We have all grown so much these past five years but it's amazing how we never seem to drift apart (hopefully, we don't). It's like that cute film "Music from Another Room" which starred the amazing Jude Law. Jude Law's character tries to define falling in love with someone as music coming from another room: "You know when you're listening to music playing from another room? And you're singing because it's a tune you really love? When a door closes or a train passes so you can't hear the music anymore but you sing along anyway. Then no matter how much time passes, when you hear the music again, you're still in exact same time with it."

The Yin

Nothing in this world is expected. Do people know when a fire would break out in their house? Do they anticipate getting robbed on the train or getting held up while walking? Can they guess whether the car they're driving would get into an accident while on the road? Can anybody predict when a computer hard drive conks out and heads for hard drive heaven? Of course not. If that were possible, psychics would be richer than Bill Gates or those dudes that own Wal-Mart.

We were actually in the middle of laughing about something. TJ was playing "Prince of Persia" on my phone and the seven of us were getting ready to leave Punta Fuego for Manila. Earlier in the day I had called my mom and she told me that the night before, my grandmother got very sick and had to be rushed to the hospital. She contracted pneumonia while taking care of my cousin who was sick the week before. I told myself I would call Lola when I get home.

As I was carrying my bag from the house to the car, TJ handed me my phone saying I had a message. It was a text from my mother telling me that Lola had anemia so severe she needed blood transfusion. I naturally panicked since I had always equated transfusion with really serious ailments. I called my mom and she told me that she was scared and nervous. Severe anemia usually was a manifestation of another more serious disease such as thrombosis or leukemia. She started rattling off other medical jargon but the word "leukemia" was enough to get me dazed. The blood tests would be available after about two days. I called my sister immediately and told her what happened.

I cried on the ride home while praying. I was aware that Lola was getting old but Lola getting sick was something I was not used to. Lolo was always the one in the hospital bed. Lola was always up and about, always making sure Lolo had taken his medicines on time or that food was on the table. Getting sick was a rarity for her. As I told her on her birthday, she never thinks about herself. It's always her grandchildren, her children or my grandfather. I kept on repeating that as I prayed: "Always us, never herself, always us, never herself." I was crying on and off in the car. I kept asking God if she was going to be okay. God naturally just kept quiet.

The car stopped at a junction between roads that led to Batangas and Tagaytay. Our driver, Kuya Gary, slipped out of the car because he had to take a jeep to Batangas there with his three-year old son Jitter. Jitter was seated in the back with Jess. Earlier in the ride, Jitter had been yawning endlessly. Jess tried to pull him towards her so he could sleep on her lap but Jitter refused. When the car stopped, I turned around to look at Jitter and immediately laughed. My friends looked at me as if I were crazy, crying then all of a sudden laughing. I couldn't stop myself, the laughter just came out in torrents. I was laughing because of Jitter. Sleep had overcome him but he probably still refused to lay down on Jess' lap. He was sitting next to a tall pile of plastic glasses. His legs were crossed to the side and his body was all twisted and contorted. His head was cradled by the pile of plastic glasses and his neck had bent to the side. Despite the awkward position, he was still sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Thinking about the way he looked still makes me giggle as I write this.

God did not keep quiet. He did more than make me laugh. He made me see myself in Jitter. The awkward position must have put a strain on Jitter's body but he slept on, head resting on the pile of plastic cups, unmindful of what was happening outside. I had done my prayer and told Him all that I needed to say (as if He needed to be told), now it was time to sleep and let him do the work. I had to let go of the burden in my heart and yield to slumber. I needed a reminder which I saw in Jitter.

It's almost 2 AM, Tuesday. Mom said Lola's blood test results would be out anytime today. I will not lie and say I am not afraid because I am. But I have done my prayers and I have had my talk with God. It's His turn to do the job now. I cannot worry and fuss about something I cannot control. I'll just leave it in the hands of someone who I think can do a much better job and is more than capable of handling my matters. I'll try to be Jitter in his hands.

Missing the Holidays

Ever since I started attending college away from home about five years ago, I have begun to notice that come January, I would start to get manic depressive. I'd walk around with a little rain cloud hovering above my head and I would find myself continuously absorbed in my thoughts. Even if I try to get out of my really glum mood, it still gets into my system that trying to shrug it off becomes the least preferred option since it requires double the strength.

This does not come as a surprise since I have always loved the holidays. In those numerous surveys which go around the Internet faster than TGV trains, I always have the same answer to the question "What is your favorite time of the year?" My answer would always be "Christmas." I like Chrismas better than my birthday even! And my reasons for liking Christmas are endless! There's the decorations, the food, the gift exchange...yada yada. But what I like best about Christmas is the fact that it is the only time of the year wherein every person seems to be in the greatest mood ever. I have yet to encounter people who act like the Grinch during Christmas. Everybody seems to be so jolly and happy and giving (forgiving, even) and cheerful that it would appear to most that a frown would be enough reason to lock up a person in the deepest abyss of the earth simply because he deeply affected the current sugary nature of the world. The word "merry" is vital in Christmas as much as "happy" is to the New Year. And to think that I was able to survive the entire two weeks with barely no time for Internet!
This Holiday season was no different from the ones I spent years before but I never get tired of the same old routine. We still spent it with my grandparents in the province. My uncles and aunts along with my cousins would come and go. We also still hosted our annual Christmas party on Christmas Day with the people who lived near our house. We still had ham on the table. My Lolo still sneaked glassfuls of Fundador into his mouth when we weren't looking. My mom still wore her annual New Year "costume" - an old red dress with while polka dots in concordance with the belief that the circles would bring in more money.
But this year was made extra fun because my Tita Vilma and Tito Danny from Manila visited us for the New Year. So we had two additional seats on the table which made our conversations louder and our laughs more boisterous.
I find myself writing nothing new about the Holidays every year. Maybe that's just the way it is. For me, Christmas has always held a simple meaning. It's all about love - being with the ones you love and remembering Christ's love for us also. There's nothing difficult about it, there's nothing complicated. But for a simple message, why doesn't it truly get to our core?

My sister and I with Tito Dan and Tita Vilma


New Year's Eve with my grandparents, Tita Neoly and cousins Ramboy, Ai-ai, Carol, Manuel, Gracious and Loida.


Don't know why Lolo looks so cross but maybe it's because my nieces Aidagere, Bea and Pau did nothing all day but eat datilis from his tree!


I'm such a bad aunt! I'm teaching my nieces how to gamble at an early age! Playing with mahjong blocks underneath Lola's starapple.


In case you didn't notice, we have this thing for trees.


Lolo is very fortunate to have such pretty granddaughters in the person of Manang Gracious, Candy and my sister.


One of my favorite shots of Lolo and Inday...


...and this too!


Tita Vilma tried to go on a diet during her visit. I can't say for sure how that went.


If there's one thing Tito Dan's gotta have, it's Coke!


Whatcha doin?


My dad hangs tough with his ate. He'd kill me if I ask this question but who looks older?


Regarding the diet question I mentioned somewhere above, see why it's difficult?

Sleep Tight

I woke up rather late today. I reached over the bedside table to switch my phone off. The first message I received froze my yawn. Both my Tita Val and Tita Vilma texted me that my cousin Cheryl's baby boy George died.

George was born at just 26 weeks old to my cousin Cheryl and her husband George on December 2. His twin sister Cherlize was born on December 1 and weighed 1 lb. and 5 oz. George weighed 1 lb. and 8.9 oz. According to my cousin, they were critical but stable.

About two weeks later, Cheryl texted again that baby George's bowel was leaking so they had to do surgery to fix the problem. Again, we took everything up to God that he allow my newest nephew to survive.

However, this text contained sad news for us all. Apparently, the doctor tried to separate baby George's fingers because they were stuck together but he bled. It was difficult for us and I could just imagine how much more difficult it was for my cousin and her husband when I know they have always wanted children. I remember what my mom told me when we first received the news that Cheryl was having problems during her pregnancy. She surmised that some people try so hard to have children while others are so desperate to get rid of them that they either get aborted or are abandoned immediately after birth. Such a sad, sad situation this is.

To Cheryl and George...heaven is great at taking care of children. They will fully experience all of the beauty of life up there whereas we can only get a taste of it. We can only do so much for them but when God calls them home even after a brief stint on Earth, we have no other choice but to say "Go."

Zhu Ni Shengri Kuai Le, Ni Bei Lei

Our youngest friend Anna Banana turned 20 (yah, just 20) last December 9. A late but hearty birthday dinner followed at the Superbowl in the Megastrip!

That's the birthday girl!


Em looks a bit pale, don't you think?


Sarah's missing...would've been a great shot!

Guess Who's Home for Christmas

One of my friends who's the daughter of a neurosurgeon once told me that the reason why people tend to forget memories of so long ago is that our brain loses a certain amount of neurons per day. Goodbye neurons, goodbye memories of yore. Perhaps I have been losing more than the usual number of neurons coz I can't even remember how much of these brain cells spontaneously combust per day.

About an hour and a half ago, I had one of my most memorable experiences of this year and I fear that if I put off writing about it tomorrow, I might not be able to mirror the same feelings of excitement and happiness that are enough to act as stimulants to keep my brain from going zzzzzz. Gosh if I could do this every night, my caffeine would dramatically drop to extraordinary levels. Then again, my savings would plummet to an all time low.

So what the heck am I talking about? In two words - Lea Salonga.

I know, I know, I wrote about her just a few entries ago when I watched the musical "Baby." But, as my sister calls it, I am an "aswang ni Lea." I have unshamefully declared that I am a huge fan and a great admirer or her work. If she were a rock star, I'd be more than a groupie probably. Perhaps my dream job after wanting to become a lawyer would be becoming her child's nanny...not that she's pregnant.

Anyway, tonight was her Christmas concert. The first time I laid my eyes on that humongous tarpaulin strategically positioned in EDSA-Guadalupe, I knew I HAD to watch it. This Christmas concert was going to be the first time Lea would perform in Araneta Coliseum - the BIG DOME as they call it. A performance in the Big Dome is an important point in any concert artist's career. It stands as living proof of an artist's command, talent and standing in show business. One of the greatest challenges is filling the coliseum.

I wanted to be one of those people present on the night Lea sings for the first time in concert at the Big Dome. Sure she has lit up different stages from London to New York and even LA but it is always good to receive the same accolade in the home court. Her previous concerts in the PICC have always been brimming with people but the image evoked by an Araneta Coliseum concert is more universal and withstanding. Of course, she wouldn't be able to single me out from the crowd but I simply wanted to be one of those in the audience who would make her realize her dream. So off I went to my mother, dropping hints here and there...some subtle, others blatant. How happy is when she finally bought me and my sister tickets..but of course declaring beforehand that this was to become my Christmas present. No objection here!

My sister and I got to Araneta at around 6:30. We were pretty early...actually, very early. There were no people yet inside although the rafters and upper boxes (free seating areas) were already full of people. My sister kept on whispering to me "Manang, I don't think Lea can fill this." I gave her my darting dagger look and stuck my tongue out. The coliseum was huge and I actually got kind of nervous. What if the turn out was poor? How would she feel then? I know I'd feel bad.

So my sister and I entertained ourselves by looking at the people around us, above us, below us. When we got bored, we'd call our mother (thank Heavens for Sun!)...which we did...several times, as a matter of fact.

After less than 10 minutes of sitting down, we saw Ligaya Salonga, Lea's mother, walking near the stage. We called up mom to tell her that she and Ligaya had the same pink-almost-peach shawl. As my sister talked to my mom on the phone, my eyes began wandering again. It went up to the rafters, down to the lower box, crossed to the stage, settled on the first three rows of seats near the stage, back to the upper box then...ooooh! My eyes darted back to the stage. I sat back for a moment, forehead furrowing and eyebrows meeting. That...that couldn't be...can it? I moved my head forward a bit, eyes still focused on what I was seeing. My eyes must be crazy...but no, they're not. I leaned back and elbowed my sister. With my finger pointing to a three people huddled near the stage I said, "Is it just me or is that person Robert Chien?" My sister followed my gaze and she was murmuring "Of course not...it's not him...wait, can it be? Is it Robert Chien?" My sister and I sat there, still as tigers waiting to pounce on their prey. Then the bespectackled guy we were looking at pushed his eyeglasses up his nose and my sister and I gasped and said in hushed yet excited tones "Oh my goodness, it's him!" Ladies and gentlemen, we have just gotten a first look at Lea's husband!

Sorry if this may seem like such an anticlimactic moment but my sister and I found it pretty wortwhile looking at him. I never expected to see him there. I remember watching their wedding and bawling so hard. As I slowly stacked a miniature Barad-dur of wet tissue beside me, I mumbled as tears flowed from my eyes "Robert Chien, you are so darn lucky for marrying Lea Salonga."

He was fair and looked every inch the Japanese-Chinese that he was. His hair was longer than it was during their wedding. He was dressed simply in jeans and a white collared shirt and looked like he lost a bit of weight...or the shirt was just good in making him look that way. He actually was pretty cute...no wonder Lea fell for him. The glasses looked pretty good on him too.

Until the concert started, my sister and I entertained ourselves by playing optical volleyball between Lea's mom and husband. Or if I wasn't doing that, I would channel Ligaya Salonga's spirit and play the part of the nervous mother, looking around with anxiety at the empty seats. When the orchestra started shuffling in at around quarter to 9, I knew the concert was about to start. I looked around and I gasped since the seats which looked like gaping mouths before now had squishy butts squeezed into them. I silently cheered "She's done it...she's filled the Big Dome!" as if it were a war cry.

The orchestra started with the usual overture after which Lea emerged from the top of a giant staircase. She looked elegant in a sparkly top, black slacks and heels and began singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Sure I have seen several times but I found myself screaming to no end. The opening number was actually a combination of both "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and a fast-paced version of "Jingle Bells."

All of Lea's numbers were breathtaking. I have been to several concerts and most of them bank on special effects and amazing choreography to keep the momentum going. Lea had none of this. All she had as weapons were a magnificent backing from the orchestra and her crystal clear voice and these got us soaring till the end of the show.

Her guests included The CompanY, Ogie Alcasid, Eric Santos and Christian Bautista. The CompanY sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with Lea after which Lea left for a costume change. The CompanY did a classy (acapella) version of the Viva Hotbabes song "Kikay" which got everybody in stitches. Lea's friends from the musical Baby also sung a couple of songs with her such as "Sasakyan Kita" by Gladys and the Boxers, "Jumbo Hotdog" of the Masculados and of course the pitted "Ocho ocho" and "Ispageti."

Christian Bautista, I have to say, caught me by surprise. I am not alien to his amazing voice but I was floored by the fact that he looked very attractive in person although he was too thin that he looked like a scarecrow. He and Lea sang "We Could Be In Love" which was originally a duet Lea did with Aladdin co-star Brad Kane. Their voices blended beautifully and I found myself turning into a Christian Bautista fan inch by inch. I finally saw the reason why thousands of teenage girls from Indonesia and South Korea were hoarding this Filipino guy's album. He was dubbed as the Filipino version of Josh Groban and he did sound good.

After Christian, Eric Santos took the stage. Probably I was just expecting too much from the Star in a Million Grand Champion or I still had Christian-itis. Whatever the reason was, I was greatly disappointed by Eric's performance. It felt so bland to me and his voice, in stark contrast to Christian's, sounded muddled and scraped. It was like eating banana with the peeling still stuck to it. Lea joined him onstage to sing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin and as Lea began to introduce the song, I gripped my armrests as if my life depended on it. Oh no, Eric was about to murder one of my ultimate favorite duets. When they did, I wanted to scream "Stop in the name of all that is beautiful." But then someone from the bleachers screamed "I lab yu Eric!" I changed my mind. I wanted to live long enough to see the rest of the show.

Ogie Alcasid was the most entertaining of all of Lea's guests. Aside from the fact that he kept on promoting his chain of hotdog stands which I believe were called "Ogie Doggies," he and Lea began pitting their schools against each other. Lea was dressed in blue while Ogie had a green tie on. Anywhere you go, the Archers and the Eagles always get into a fight. My sister, an Archer, leaned over to me and whispered "Too bad, no Dragons." I glared at her and said "When the Dragon joins the battle, we'll be having fried Eagle and barbecued Archer for dinner." Just a digression, if you Reader don't know who the Dragons are, shame on you!

Ogie also sang an alphabet of Christmas songs which started with songs beginning in "A" ("Ang pasko ay sumapit...") until the letter "Z" ("Zilver bells..."). He and Lea also sang Jim Brickman's "The Gift" which Lea originally did with her Korean ex-boyfriend Michael Lee.

But then, the best part of the show, undoubtedly, was when Lea sang her wedding song "Two Words" to her brother and musical director Gerard and his fiancee violinist DJ Francisco. Before Lea sang "Two Words," she actually first sang George Canseco's "Ikaw." In the last line of the song, Lea crooned with her eyes closed. Rob, who was sitting on the front row, immediately bounded out of his seat and dashed to the backstage. My sister grabbed my arm and muttered "Is he singing?" Oooohhh I got excited!

Lea sang the first verse and the chorus. When the second verse came, Rob entered the stage and sang. Lea looked on with surprise and the entire coliseum roared. I was frozen on my seat, trying to capture everything on my camera phone. I didn't get anything visually but I could hear everything clearly. I had always known Rob had a good voice but I still enjoyed their number very much. As I looked at my childhood idol and her husband sing to each other, I just felt so happy that she had finally found the man she was created for. Call it severe autism but I was simply happy for her.

Lea during her wedding early this year (left) and singing "Two Words" with Rob during the concert.

The entire Christmas concert was worth the price and the waiting. I had rarely thoroughly enjoy myself in a concert but this one never had any dull moments. Lea certainly made my Christmas worth it and when she thanked the crowd for making her Araneta dream come true, I was truly glad.

N.B. I wandered into another blog (http://alex-a.blogdrive.com) which is where I found the concert pictures. Just giving credit where it is due.