Good Bee!

SPELLING BEE centers around a fictional spelling bee in Putnam County, New York. It is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst that chronicles the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Through the course of the competition, they learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.

Each night SPELLING BEE features two audience volunteers who will join two surprise celebrity guests who will join the cast as on-stage guest spellers. Each new foursome guarantees a new set of hilarious and unexpected experiences - making each night a truly unique and unforgettable experience.

I watched the Tony award winning musical Spelling Bee yesterday with my buddies Liza and Honey, who met each other for the first time. We also bumped into some office folks - Tom, Ma'an, and Wilx - who had a grand time posing with the stars after the show, with yours truly as official photographer!

The play was smart, silly, heart-rending, and hilarious all at the same time - we had such a blast! I sooo wanted to be a volunteer on-stage speller, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Our celebrity guest spellers were Geneva Cruz and Wency Cornejo. I imagine each run is totally different and unpredictable, given the impromptu audience participation.

At its core, Spelling Bee is all about life's randomness and harsh realities, wisening up from difficulties encountered, and cherishing those all-too-fleeting special moments. I'd have to say this is by far the best play I've watched since start of year! :D

Last Monday

...I was experiencing Monday blues, so I decided to stop by Music One on my way to work. Music is a surefire pick-me-upper for me. I left the store a poorer person, but I got to buy some good stuff:

1) The latest album of The Fray, entitled - tadaaaa - "The Fray" hehehe. I really like their music.
2) A 6-CD collection of 100 Love Songs. I bought this because of this one song I wanted Riza to listen to...and reflect on :p
3) DVDs of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece films. I read about director/producer Alfred Hitchcock in the book 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. He's cited as a master strategist, applying the art of war in filmmaking and directing (very interesting). I remembered the book when I saw the 7-DVD collection, so I bought it right away. This is not the complete set, though. I realized afterwards that I inadvertently started another collection undertaking.

It's Friday now. I love Friday. I really love Friday.

Last Weekend

...I resolved to stay put in the house so I could get some rest and finally get rid of my cough and colds. Apart from sleep, I spent most of my time reading. Here are the books I got to read:

1) Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene. I used to read these voraciously when I was in Grade School. I raided my sister's original volumes collection and went through the books chronologically...I finished five!
2) Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn. This is like the TV series 24, in novel format. My family has read all of Flynn's books, and this is his latest bestseller. We like his earlier works better.
3) Helen of Troy (A Biography) by Bettany Hughes. I do like unconventional biographies. However, I lost interest in this one and dropped it midway. I wasn't too keen on the author's writing style.
4) Wisdom for a Young CEO by Douglas Barry. I bought this when my Mom, sisters, and I trooped to M.V. Doulos (the floating bookstore) two weekends back to bookhunt. The author, at age 14, wrote several CEOs and asked them the question "What does it take to become a CEO?" The book shows the actual letters written by these CEOs in response to his question. Pretty interesting stuff.

I also watched House and Criminal Minds. Watching Criminal Minds right before I slept led me to dream of being pursued by the evil forces of the Decepticons hehehe.

Favorite People 4: Ladies at Work

The ladies I work with directly are also super-charged dynamos. Here they are:

4. GRACE. She's poised, she's ultra-patient, and by being so, she keeps my Kill Bill tendencies in check. She's a superwoman (both at work and at home), and her customers simply adore her. Who wouldn't, with all the TLC she pours into whatever she does? Grace is the soul of reliability and groundedness. Despite all the challenges faced by her team, it has continued to perform well -- and her leadership and example have a lot to do with it!

5. RIZA. Riza is my Art of Soothing partner, someone I could talk to about anything under the sun - serious or mundane stuff, work-related or not, girl talk or boy talk! But even when I say nothing at all, at work, Riza takes the initiative to get things done. I admire and appreciate this about her. Her sense of ownership, maturity, and strong client partnership (they love her! I also know a couple of folks who looove her heehee...) definitely bring a lot of value to the team.

6.RON. Ron is the one person in the team who can easily match (or surpass) my playful, jazzwalking-from-one-huddle-room-to-the-next side. His vibrance and kikayness are energizing! He's a constant reminder to me that even when things get harried, I should never lose my levity and the child within. According to Ron, my hair (how mussed it is at the end of the day) is an indicator of my stress level. He reminds me regularly about that too, haha!

7. SAM. What can I say -- Sam has always been the wind beneath my wings. Among everyone, I've worked with her the longest, and really, words are not enough to describe all the positive difference she's made -- to me personally, to the team, and to the org. It will take getting used to, not having Sam around (waaaaahh). But I'm happy things are falling into place for her...I know she'll make waves wherever she goes!

I'm definitely blessed to have the chance to work with these 7 dynamic folks. I know that in the coming months, there will be changes yet again and we will find ourselves taking different paths...But in the meantime -- we carry on with the work, and with the fun! :)

Favorite People 3: Gentlemen at Work

It's almost end of 1st quarter - time flies! Things are happening so fast, and this is precisely the reason I want to take a step back and count my blessings...Seven of them, to be exact. The 7 people I have the opportunity of working with directly in my current roles. I like all of them a lot.

I'll start with the gentlemen:

1. MIGS. In my job, I'm usually the one asking people how they are, listening to their travails, helping get them to a happy and healthy state. With Migs it's different. He seeks you out to ask you how you really are, sits down with you when you're feeling crappy, doesn't trivialize you or your feelings, and stays with you till you're infinitely better. That's Migs for you, a.k.a Mr. Heartthrob 2007 and 2008, a.k.a. "Manly for Others" (he might just kill me after he reads this wahaha)! I hope he knows how much I appreciate his friendship.

2. RICKY. While everyone else regards Ricky as stoic, he actually makes me laugh like there's no more tomorrow...Especially with his quotable quotes (e.g. I'm not interested to see you cry)! Ricky is such a dependable guy - I see it at work, I see it in how he takes care of his family. He's the guy you'd want by your side when there's a crisis. Also, I really appreciate his "shielding" his leaders as much as he could. Ricky gives you that feeling of assurance -- the feeling that everything will be taken care of, and all will be okay.

3. VINCHI. Vinchi's heart is definitely in the right place. He's a genuinely good person, and it's refreshing to work with people like him who have no other agenda but to make a positive difference to the org and to those he leads. There's so much that Vinch has to oversee on a day-to-day basis, and he does so with his trademark humor (What are we in powerful?! For?) and positive disposition (he should've also gotten the Kuya Bodjie Award!). I really appreciate this chance to partner with him.

These guys are COOL! Their dedication is humbling. They make me want to do a great job, and to become a better leader :)

(Part 2 to follow)

Progress, Progress

It works! My resolution to take multi-vitamins everyday, cut down on softdrinks, and exercise regularly is paying off in terms of stronger resistance. I felt myself getting sick last week (I think my lifestyle makes me pre-disposed), but it did not progress into full-blown prostration. In the past, I would've been down with fever, unbearably sore throat, cough, free-flowing colds (the works!), and would've taken antibiotics right away just so I could still come to work. But this time, after feeling under the weather for a few days, I was back to my old self. This is really good!

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I've officially ticked off 4 of my 12 Things To Do this year. Yay! There are a couple of things that are not in my original list, but I'm thinking of doing them nevertheless:

• Wine Appreciation. Jason has been bugging me for the longest time to attend Wine Appreciation classes with him. He promises to bring me home should I get rip roaring drunk or pass out in the middle of class. What the heck? Uhh, he's not convincing me at all. Thankfully, I found out there's a technique to tasting wine so that one doesn't get drunk after many rounds. Anyway, it seems interesting. Maybe I should try it.
  
• Fencing. My sister is planning to take lessons and is encouraging me to do so as well. They say this is a mental sport that sharpens one's focus and concentration, among other things. I wonder how it's like wearing a fencing garb. Is it the same as wearing a Hazmat gear?
  
• Motorcycle Driving. This is all me! Woohoo! But...I'm thinking I should really learn to drive a car before anything else. Oh well, let's see which one comes first.

I Love You Because

Austin Bennet’s life is turned upside down when he finds his long-term girlfriend in bed with another man. Forced back out into the treacherous New York dating scene, Austin meets Marcy Fitzwilliams, a flighty photographer whose spontaneity is matched only by her ability to drive him insane. They are constantly misguided by Austin’s brother Jeff, Marcy’s best friend Diana Bingley, and the New York City man and woman "the two who oversee it all."

Jeff advises Austin that the best strategy to win back his old girlfriend is to ignore her. On the female side, Diana concludes, through rigorous, absurdist math calculations, that the best way for Marcy to find Mr. Right is to hook up with Mr. Wrong.

I Love You Because is the new musical comedy about how Mr. and Ms. Wrong try to resist falling in love. Together they explore the nuances of dating and learning how to love someone, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.

We liked it! :)

This time, the lead character is a dead ringer for Kathy R. Why am I seeing office folks in the faces of Rep actors? Oh, and I bumped into Maan (of L&D) too, who was there to enjoy the play...Maan is also a theater performer, and I'm hoping I could watch her perform sometime soon :)