The Rebirth as haLf man haLf eLf

February 11, 2006
Saturday

Tonight I will be peforming as haLf man haLf eLf at Pampanga Restaurant on Henry Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, along with ten other bands—Night Troopers, Studio 69, FourSight, Ardie & Friends, Aftertouch, Magnet, Illusion, Codigo, Side F/X, and Resurrection. However, Half Life Half Death was the name printed on the poster; when I finally decided on what moniker to use, the posters have already been printed.

Due to the lack of practice sessions (considering that my back-ups are not familiar with obscure New Wave tracks), we managed to polish only "Just like Heaven" (The Cure), "I Melt with You" (Modern English), "Today" (The Smashing Pumpkins), "The One I Love" (R.E.M.), and "Buhay-Karnabal" (Dream Kitchen). Some of the songs that didn't make it to our playlist were "Ring the Bells" (James), "Smile like You Mean It" (The Killers), "The Days Go By Oh So Slow" (Nightmare of You), and "The Boy who Never Goes Out" (The Lucksmiths). Better luck next time. Our next gig will be in May.

Members of FourSight (Jason and Rod) and Studio 69 (Roy, guitars) are backing me up. I will also play the keyboards on the side.

I was able to watch the practice sessions of two of my fellow bands. Night Troopers (Rommel, vocalist; Jun, guitarist; Willie, bassist; and Jimmy, drummer) cover Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, and Loverboy. Aside from playing a few originals, FourSight (Jason, vocalist and guitarist; Noel, bassist; and Rod, drummer) will cover Siakol's "Gabay."

Magnet covers Grand Funk. Both Studio 69 and Resurrection do Contemporary Pop Rock. Codigo delivers The Beatles and The Ventures. Side F/X plays '80s Pop. Ardie & Friends fuse Jazz and R n' B.

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Finally I received the confirmation from editor-in-chief Mrs. Rosalinda Cantiveros that my article "I Miss You" (along with a short biography and a photograph) made it to the forthcoming February issue of the semimonthly The Filipino Journal. Such a blessing! How I wish that I may be given a column of my own, which I intend to call "Into the Roots." For this I will write articles tackling Filipino Culture and Languages and, if permitted, Music. Wish me luck.

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Several days ago, I finally submitted to Stratford Career Institute via online my answers to the first examination of Module One of my homestudy. I received through my e-mail the results after a few hours...I got a perfect score! I was not expecting this; I thought I'd be having one mistake. Hehehe. Another blessing! How I wish to perfect each examination that I'd be taking.

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Tita Lucy reminded me again that I should already be taking the written test for driving. This will be my next assignment. I'm still on the "Road Signs" section of the manual. I promise myself to take the driving exam next month, March.

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I already bought the flatscreen LCD monitor, router, and wireless adapter for my CPU. I now have my own PC in the room where I stay. The problem is, the Net connection is not functioning properly. Grr. Jason, who knows about computer troubleshooting, would help me fix the problem.

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Thank you, especially to those who expressed their sympathy and empathy concerning my last blog entry about losing patience.

I'm feeling much better now.

As always, writing has been a great therapy for me.

Finally I thank my Muses, for always being here beside me, especially during cold moments before slumber.