Silence is golden... and money-making

We got to work at 8PM, just in time for me to have a coffee & relax a bit. My muscles were all stiffening and aching due to workouts everyday so I needed to relax before our set. The lobby was quiet as usual and I realized everything was in order and the whole lobby looked squeaky clean. When we played our 1st set, we realized the reason why everything seemed to be organized. The heir to the Shangri-La empire of hotels was coming that's why most of the hotel executives were around. We were asked to play the Shangri-La theme song, which I'd usually sing to start off our 1st set, when the son of the owner arrives. So I was doing my usual spiels asking people to sit back and relax and send in their requests if there's any.

Out of nowhere, our GM appeared behind us and told us "no speech, just sing". Yeah, I somehow forgot that he doesn't like singers like us to do our spiels. So we tried our best and controlled ourselves NOT to give a line of gab in between songs. It was so hard at first because we're really used to at least thank the people for applauding or greet the new guests.

But we really HAD TO control ourselves, until I got used to it. What I did after every song for me to divert my attention was either to worry about how I look by flicking my hair of my face (which had been my favorite pass time onstage until it got annoying when I dance or move), or by looking at my nails discreetly and wonder when am I going to do my manicure again or counting the mosquitoes flying about onstage, or shifting from my left leg to my right. Anything... just to divert my attention from automatically raising my microphone after every song.

Well, they're the ones paying us so we'll just have to follow I guess. Silence is not just golden, it's also money-making. Goodluck to us!

Rainy Sat

It was our laundry day, which means, the day to pick-up/deliver our laundry to the hotel. After going through the mazes on the basement to get to the staff laundry department to pick-up our stuff, we went to the nearby Super Brand Mall to do our market chores. We bought veggies for our Sinigang na Salmon and chicken for our special Chicken Adobo. By the way, it's Marlou who cooks for us, we just buy what he needs.

We were doomed when we went out of the mall and found out that it was raining heavily. So we made some "cuts" in the mall to go back to the hotel. Luckily it wasn't busy at all so we were able to get a taxi right away.

Marlou cooked Sinigang Na Salmon while I was taking a rest... okay, okay, while I was on my laptop. He doesn't want me messing around when he's cooking so I stirred clear away from the kitchen. Did my Yoga and Pilates before preparing for work. We ate before we left for work.

He's really good at cooking, in fact, I'm thinking of exploiting him by making money out of his cooking, hahaha! Just kidding!

Jammed cam

It's been awhile since I have last blogged. Been very hectic with our rehearsals. We've been rehearsing some new songs lately, which has been good. One the things that has happened to me lately was when a hotel staff broke my beloved Ixus400 camera! She might have blocked the lens while it's extending. The lens got stuck, or jammed, halfway. Now it's showing the E18 on a blank screen with beeping sounds when I turn it on. What a bummer! This has been my toy for more than a year and has helped me in a lot of ways, especially with updating pictures on my website. Now I'm trying to resolve the problem because it's already out of warranty and I read from other users (on a Canon Ixus forum) that it costs hundreds of U.S. dollars to repair it. Phew!

Another Sunday at the BATS

I'm sooooooooo tired & exhausted. After more than a week of cutting down to food for "my own" diet and strenuous Pilates and a bit of Yoga, tonight was the most tiring BATS day since we started performing there on Sundays. I don't know maybe because of the songs that Marlou has lined up for today which was almost all choreogprahed songs. Or maybe because I'm just tired & needed much rest. In my Feng Shui for this month, I shouldn't take chances on health & was told to take it easy. So I guess I'll really take it easy this time. Don't want to abuse myself or overdo things. I've got a lifetime to do all that anyway.

After work, we went to the D'Zone's house for a supper. Brice didn't come, she was too tired and was complaining about her body. I ate quite a lot, since there were 4 Filipino dishes prepared. Forget about diet for a while, have to think of what my body needs! Hahaha, alibis, alibis, alibis! And after dinner, I drank with the singers of Culture Shock (Luz & Joan) & D'Zone (Nini) bands. We drank sweet red wine. They've fnished 6 bottles before I arrived so we fnished almost 3 bottles more after I arrived.

So here I am, a "bit" tipsy... okay, over a bit... with the quote "do not abuse oneself"... or am I deceiving myself? LOL

Thanks to you

It'll be another BATS day tomorrow. So I just finished teaching Brice some new dance steps for our new songs. It's kinda hard to think of some steps when I couldn't move like that onstage. So I have to really freshen up my brain, sit and listen to the song over and over again so I'll get the feel of it. Singing at the Lobby Lounge of Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai doesn't really stimulate a part of my brain. I think even if I pretend to have a wardrobe malfunction like what I had in KL (which showed off my b**b LOL), people would hardly notice it. Sometimes my butt would itch and I don't even have to think twice whether to scratch it or not hahaha! Maybe the covered grand piano behind me helps in discretion.

It's kinda nice to know that when I hardly update my blog lately, I would receive messages or mails complaining about it. Thanks a lot peeps for constantly checking my site out.

Careless laughter

For such a long time, I haven't laughed soooo hard for so long until I was close to tears. Especially not on stage. But tonight, I broke the long silence of careless laughter. There's a group of Russians in the crowd tonight and they're nice guys, they'd listen to our songs and watch our performance. One of them stood up when I sang one of their requests "No Woman No Cry". And I swear, I haven't seen somebody dance like he did. He's no hiphopper nor a ballroom dancer. But he dances with his hip throwing out on his sides, back & front. I really broke down in the middle of the song with a huge laugh, not a timid & controlled one, but one that's really loud that I almost lost my voice!!! Luckily I regained my poise and was able to finish the song when he sat down. Hmmm... can't believe I can actually laugh like that onstage! Yeah yeah yeah, call it unprofessional, but what the heck!

I can be a fat actress too!


Do I look cute or scary? I have recently decided that if time comes when I'll be as big as this, I will stop being a singer and pursue my dream of being a comedienne, as long as I still have my big bumpers infront & behind... yeah, that'll do! (Thansk Aubz for the "retocation" LOL) Posted by Picasa

Pudong Shangri-La Hotel Tower 2 opened

Yesterday, July 19, they had a soft opening of the new tower of the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai. We also ate at their new Yi Cafe which is really a cozy place to have a wonderful dinner. They had 7 open kitchens during the dinner buffet. And I only ate salmon sushi, tandoori chicken and strawberry crepe. Doing yoga & pilates lately so I'm back to my light diet.

But well, our lobby lounge has been fairly quiet for the past 2 weeks. Not complaining because it's much relaxing. So relaxing that I can even tell if there's a mosquito behind me!

Time flies so fast

Been very busy lately. Really. Don't ask me why coz you might think I'm crazy. Honestly, I thought that our clocks in the house were malfunctioning because they were running so fast that I even lose time to do some things. And ever since we moved into the apartment, time seemed to fly so fast. But maybe once you're seated infront of the computer, your time is really fast. Especially for me who have to do lots of things on my computer. Emails, chatting, website, chatting, blogging, chatting, downloading songs, chatting. You see, I've got lots of things to do.

Last Sunday was our off day. We went to church at noon then me & Marlou went back home to rest. Well not really rest, because I booked Marlou for his services and I turned our bed into a... hey what the hell are you thinking?... I turned it into a mini photography studio and I encouraged Marlou to experiment on his lighting and on his camera! What the hell were you thinking, naughty heads?!? It lasted for an hour and a half, I mean the pictorial. Oh my god, do I have to clear your mind out? I know what you're thinking is the one on my mind right now, or maybe it's just me, hahaha!

I was asked by our agency to scan all our passports and send it by email so while Marlou was resting, I worked on my computer. Since I don't have a scanner, I just captured it with my digital camera, page per page, making sure that I have uniform sizes of the passport shots so I wouldn't need to edit & crop it.

At around 6PM, Marlou and I decided to ride the ferry going to the other side, the Shanghai Bund. But it was still a long walk until we reached the Bund, around 30 minutes walk. And when we reached there, it was too late to back out - lots of Chinese and tourists strolling along the Bund! So we just did our thing, me getting my pictures taken. People were looking at me, don't know if they are looking at me or my breasts! We took pics of the Pudong sights. We finished around 9PM, walked all the way to Nanjing Street and then took the subway train back to Shangri-La Hotel. Then this time we were in Pudong, and I guess people were taking our photos this time, if they can see my green shirt from a 2-kilometer distance. We took shots of the Bund just before they turned off all the lights. After that, we went back home. Was a quite fruitful Sunday huh!

To the man I've spent 10 years with...


11 years ago, I was doing mall shows to promote my 1st album. It was in Isetann Recto in Manila where I had my 1st ever mall concert ever. I've got lots of special guests then. One of them was Marlo Silverio of That's Entertainment. He'd talk to me endlessly and he didn't care even I was obviously wanting a quiet moment alone. Although he was friendly, I still found myself a bit aloof with him. I was still boyish, I grew up in an all-girls school, and I didn't fancy talking to guys however goodlooking he might have been.

A year after that, in 1995, I started dating that talkative guy who wouldn't let me have my quiet moment alone. And he never left me alone since then and I fell in love with him totally. After 4 years, I married him and had a beautiful daughter and had a contented life.

And here we are, I never imagined that we'd get this far. It's been 10 years since I fell in love with him. And I'm so glad where we are right now and I feel so lucky to have him beside me all through these years.

To my bestfriend, father, lover, husband, and my guide through life... happy 10th year anniversary... I love you, babes...
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Marlou's first dish

At last, for the first time, Marlou cooked a Filipino dish, Afritada, today. Earlier, he went to the supermarket to buy all the needed ingredients. When he went back, he told me that he wanted to cook. So I helped him with peeling, slicing, dicing the ingredients. He managed to finish cooking just after Brice and I were done preparing for work. And his Afritada wasn't really that bad for a first timer!

He's planning to cook for the rest of the time we've got here in our apartment. The new tower of the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel will be opened soon. We're quite worried that we might be asked to move again. I know it's more convenient staying in the hotel but we're just starting to get the hang of staying in an apartment. Well, whatever...

BATS time again!

We haven't played at the BATS for 2 weeks now. Time flew so fast indeed. Tonight, we played at the BATS and entertained them again with the kind of music that we love to play. What kind of music? R&B, hiphop, dance, latin, retro, etc. And it felt so good playing all those songs again.

The some members of the house band of BATS, Culture Shock, were there the whole night. A few friends including pregnant Wendy who will be giving birth anytime this week maybe, was also there with her family. The bar was filled with foreign guests who spent their time talking and occasionally listening to us. Well of course, they watched us when we shook our little bums, for sure!

Next BATS gig is on July 24. For the meantime, back to lullabies at the lobby lounge during the next 2 weeks.

Crisis in the Philippines

If you're reading or watching the news, you would have already known the current appalling situation in the Philippines. It's such a shame that we, OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers), who are the face of the Philippines in other countries and who are the ones helping the economy, can't really fight for our country to save from the scandals and different political issues that have haunted the Philippine government. We can't even vote (although there were overseas registrations during the last Presidential election).

I'm not being political here or fighting for any rights. It's up to the Filipinos in the Philippines.

This has been forwarded to me by a friend. It's a newsletter from the Makati Business Club circulated today, July 8 2005:

A TIME FOR CHANGE

A JOINT STATEMENT OF THE MAKATI BUSINESS CLUB (MBC) AND THE FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES (FINEX)

As crisis has enveloped the country, the pace of social and economic reforms has suffered and decision-making processes have slowed down. This crisis has literally consumed the attention of the President and the government.

The resignation of key Cabinet members representing the core of the President’s social and economic team is a key loss to the government. These men and women were passionate, committed public officials dedicated to bringing progress in their respective spheres of leadership and management. Their departure is a grave loss to government.

The resignation of these key Cabinet officials also illustrates the loss of confidence in the President and her ability to advance economic and social development programs. The continuous delay in promised reforms since the onset of this crisis only further illustrates her unwillingness to pursue genuine changes to strengthen damaged institutions.

After much reflection and analysis and based on the actions of the last several weeks, we have come to the conclusion that the President’s ability to effectively manage the affairs of state has been seriously impaired. It does not appear that the national interest lies above personal, political interest. We are dismayed at this sad turn of events.

It is with a heavy heart that we ask the President to relinquish her position as President of the Republic of the Philippines for the sake of the commonweal, for the sake of national unity, and for the sake of moving forward.

A transition must now take place following our Constitutional processes of succession. We reiterate our view that all moves for change must take place firmly within the context of the Constitution.

Chop-chopped songs

It was fairly quiet at the lounge. And since the 1st set, I wasn't in a good mood either. Lucky for singers like me, faces you see while onstage can make you laugh at times.

And what a better way to laugh is to laugh at ourselves. Especially our own mistakes.

Tonight, on our last set, we had another blooper onstage. It's the first time it ever happened to us here in Shanghai since we arrived more than 2 months ago. We were singing and not even halfway through the song, the music stopped. While Marlou was checking the cables, Brice and I continued to talk to the audience. And we only had a person really listening to us. So Brice sang the next song, thinking that all was already set. Halfway through the song, it got chopped again. After reconnecting the cables again, I sang. Halfway through the song, it got chopped for the 3rd time. We ran out of non-sense things to say so I announced that we're taking just a short break to fix the problem. Marlou then changed the cable connnecting the computer to the sound module. Luckily, he would always bring a spare one. We played 4 more songs after that.

It really pays off to prepare for worse things to come. Marlou is good with it, I'm not.

Strictly black

We decided to wear a blue evening gown tonight. After having a dinner at the Shangri-La, we were quite prepared to go onstage when we saw our hotel GM. His facial reaction changed right away when he saw us walking in the lounge and it's not satisfying. He quickly approached us and said that he wants us to go back to change into something black. I just nodded and was trying to be discreet as his voice was loud enough to be heard by the guests on a nearby table. And it was already 8:30PM.

So me and Brice queued up for a taxi to go back which took us around 5 minutes. Went back home to change our gowns and accessories. It took us around 15 minutes to do that. Then we waited for taxi for another 10 minutes. It was quiet in the lounge anyway so it's fine. We actually missed our 1st set, "unintentionally", so we only had to do 3 sets tonight. Again, "unintentionally".

It was really quiet in the lounge. But I kinda enjoyed flickng my hair off my face so I cared less for the crowd. Hopefully we won't be noted as "black angels" when we wear black gowns from now on. Anyway, black is black.

Flicking & heat wave...


I read in the newspaper today that yesterday, Sunday, was the hottest July 3 in 130 years! No wonder I was complaining about getting dehydrated & exhausted from the heat. It was freaking 39 degrees. It said that the current heat wave will last until this Wednesday. But the summer peak is August so gotta prepare for it.

Oh... and cutting the front part of my hair is a bad decision, unless I clip it when I go out on a hot summer's day. Bad bad bad decision... But I kinda like the way I flick/toss my hair out of my eyes... either by shaking my head sideways or by using my hand. I find it sexy in some women, and ok... sometimes men.

Had I not enjoyed my new hairstyle, I could actually say that it was boring at work today. Time flew so fast, I should have counted how many times I had to flicked my hair in one song! But still, it's a bad decision to have this style on a summer season. What were you thinking, Sarita? Posted by Picasa

4 damn kilos gained... good or not?

My body's exhausted. From walking for more 5 hours and from the scorching summer heat. Yet it's been a fruitful day.

Started the day by hearing a mass at the St. Peter's Church at 12:30PM. We sat near the choir and it was a good choice because the airconditioner was blowing on that direction. Saw some of the familiar faces from the Filipino community in Shanghai. Since the mass started, I have been having lots of stuff going through my mind. Most of them, funny ones, but I couldn't share with Brice & Marlou because they were so serious. I'm an observer and good relater. I relate one thing to another, but most of the time, in a funny way. I really couldn't help to laugh towards the end of mass when the song we had to sing was in the tune of the Hawaiian classic "Pearly Shells"! Not only I wasn't able to control myself anymore from laughing but I also couldn't control myself from swaying my hips! Luckily, I wasn't the only one because when I turned my head, most of the people were also laughing and smiling.

After the mass, we spent a few minutes mingling with the other Filipinos there. Then we (Marlou, Brice, D'Zone's Ate Nini & Marcial) decided to go to Chi Pu Lu market to do some shopping. We ate lunch first but I wasn't able to finish mine because I didn't like the taste of what I ordered. After lunch, Marlou and Marcial went to Fuxing Lu electronic building & Xiangyang Lu market to do their men stuff, while me, Brice and Ate Nini shopped our hearts out in the cheap clothes market. I bought blouses, hair accessories, fashion accessories, a US$2 sling bag, and lots more. I am proud to say that I got another pair of boots for only RMB20 (US$2.50). Although I had a difficulty bringing all the shopping bags on the way back home, I'm proud that they all only worth costed me a little more than US$50!

When Brice and I went back home, I have organized the things that I bought and cleared out the bed for me to rest. I watched the first 4 episodes of the Season 1 of "Lost" on DVD. At around 9PM, I had my shower and we went out for a dinner at the D'Zone's place. My former bandmate and bandleader Alex Botak cooked some irresistible Filipino dishes. They have a weighing scale and I was shocked to see that I gained 4 damn KILOS!!! Was happy about me gaining weight because they were definitely in the "right places", but quite worried that I might continue gaining weight. So I'm thinking of starting my workout from tomorrow! Hmmm, another goal!

After dinner, Ate Nini volunteered to trim 3 inches off my hair, she also put a slight slashed fringe on the side. It definitely saved me a few bucks and I feel good about it. But my friend reminded me that it's not good cutting your hair at night, if you believe in Feng Shui. I do believe in it but not that seriously. So what the heck, cut it off!

While Brice was having her hair trimmed, Kuya Alex, Marl and I went to a nearby massage parlor. I had a RMB40 (almost US$5) massage for the back and especially the feet. Ohhhh, it felt so good that I fell asleep during the 1 hour schedule.

My off ended at almost 3AM. Just went back home and I'm dead beat tired. Hope you also had a nice weekend like I did. Ciao!

Finally... OFF!

After 2 months of continuous hard work & complaints, we're getting our first day off in Shanghai! The Culture Shock band arrived a few days ago to replace the previous band, Rapture, and is now rocking at the BATS. They were kind enough to let us take an off first, then we'd play at the BATS on Sundays alternately with them.

With lots of stuff to do and places to go to, I'm actually quite confused which one to do and go to first. But I've decided, to my band mate's shock (in a good sense though), that I will attend mass. After mass, maybe have a hairtrim and a little shopping - window shopping, that is. And I will eat a great chocolate ice-cream, maybe Haagen-Dazs.

Then maybe I will try to find a good massage parlour. I asked a friend of mine who frequents massage parlours. HE said, he knows a place where you can choose from a variety of MEN to do the massage for you! Sounds interesting, but I think I'm not that "matrona" enough yet to choose a man to do a 'pleasure massage' for me. Thanks, but no thanks!

So I think I will have to go to the nearby BLIND MASSAGE. I hope they have blind women there. Worse comes to worst, I may have to prepare for experiencing excruciating pain on reflexology. Oh and before all these plans work out, I may have to try to go to bed early first...

Ciao!