A 'Wicked' Artwork!

It has been a month and a couple of weeks now since Wicked Manila had their closing night and I still cannot move on. Yes, I can say that I have been very attached to everything "Wicked" because of the truly wonderful and incredible experiences I had during their season here in Manila. Now, allow me to take you back to the moment when I wanted to have a backstage pass so bad.

Concertus Manila and Wicked Manila opened a contest where fans could have a 'meet and greet' with the cast of Wicked plus free tickets for the show. When my good friend, Julia De Leon, told me about this, I did not have any second thoughts in joining, but when I got to read the mechanics of the contest, I was quite taken aback. The catch is, those who would like to join must write a letter answering 2 questions:

1. How have you 'defied gravity' since watching the show?

and

2. How has the show changed you 'for good'?

But that doesn't stop there. An artwork also needs to be done. That artwork part is the thing I'm worried about back then. I have to say that I am not that talented when it comes to art. Drawing, painting, and creating stuffs are not quite my forte. But, I didn't back down. As Barney Stinson would always say, "Challenge Accepted!" So, I took a lot of time (yes, I was this serious!!) thinking and contemplating on how my so-called artwork would look like. And after several hours, I have decided to make it some sort of a pop-up thing, just for a slight impact, since I am not really good in art. So I gathered everything I need and started making something. And here it was.

(The images used in the artwork are not mine. I got them from google images. Elphaba - by Jeff Busby, Glinda - by Maya Wong, Wicked logo - prweb, One Short Day shot - philstar)

Here is also the copy of the letter I composed, answering the 2 questions:

Dear Wicked,

       For the past years, you have enchanted each and everyone of us with your spell-binding musical and told us to never be afraid to defy gravity. But how does one really defy gravity? I have been looking for the perfect answer until the day that I was able to see you perform live. The fact that I was able to watch you up close made me feel that I have already defied gravity. How? With all your powerful voices, acting skills, and dance moves combined, you put my spirit so high as if I, with my own abilities, could make anything happen and that "nobody is ever going to bring me down".

       Everyday, we encounter situations that help us improve as a person, but I can say that your story changes all of us for good because all of us can relate to it in one way or another. As for me, it gave me a better outlook in life and in the way that I treat people around me. It is never right to judge people's differences. Instead, we have to embrace it for I believe that each of us, no matter how different we are, has a purpose in life. It also taught me about the true meaning of love and friendship which is, not being selfish.

       Wicked, you really came into our lives for a reason. Thank you for letting me become part of your lives and rest assured, you have been a huge part of mine!

                                                                                                                                    With much love,
                                                                                                                                     Eunice B. <3


I submitted an entry, as well as my friend, Julia. The two of us both submitting means that our chances of winning was increased because it was said in the mechanics that whoever will win will be allowed to bring a friend with him/her.

When they already announced the winner/s via Facebook, I got quite sad because I didn't win, and yes, Julia also didn't win. But we did not completely felt down because a day before they announced the winners, something great and incredible already happened to us. (Details on a different blog entry *wink*) And although we did not win the contest, at least, we both were able to create something that would definitely remind us everyday of Wicked and of how much we super duper love everything about Wicked!

I Went Up A Mountain!

It has been my mom's tradition to join a group of people for the Way of the Cross on the way up a mountain every Holy Wednesday. I have heard a lot of stories about it: there were too much people, it was so hot, it was very steep, and so on. But this year, together with my balikbayan Tita, I decided to join.

We prepared early, ate early lunch, and arrived at the meeting place (Balite Chapel) an hour before the 1 PM climb at Loklok. Mom, Tita, and I were the early birds. No one was in the chapel when we arrived. Maybe because it was still early and the weather was quite hot that people decided to go on a later time. And so we waited and took the extra time to fix ourselves in preparation for the climb. As the clock ticked closer to one, people started to arrive and I was quite surprised with the volume. My mom was not exaggerating when she said that  A LOT of people come here every year.

Then, at exactly 1 PM, the organizers just said a few reminders and the climb started. With a cap on my head, a bottle of water on my left hand, and a fan on my right hand, I knew I was good to go. The heat of the sun and the steep way up made it quite challenging. With every station of the cross, I started to feel the sweat on my body. My feet and legs started to shake, but I knew there was no turning back!

It took us a couple of hours before we reach the top. There, it was beautiful! The view of the mountains nearby and the sea were truly breathtaking. We also heard mass there and the homily was wonderful. Although it can never be compared to Jesus' sacrifice for all of us, the climb, for us people, was truly a sacrifice. Thank you Jesus for everything! You are truly wonderful!

It was actually my first time to do something like this. It was hard at first. 4 straight hours of walking and standing. I tell you, there was no time to sit. But in the end, it was all worth it!

                        

In A Relationship...With Food!

People say that if you have food on your table and you are able to eat at least three times a  day, you are considered one of the luckiest persons on earth. But what if you eat way more than the expected Breakfast-Lunch-Merienda-Dinner meals? Is it still good?

When I was a kid. I was really, really thin and was very picky with what I eat. Some people would comment that I could easily be flown away by strong winds and that my bones could easily break with just a slight impact on my body. But what can I do? I really do not have an appetite for food unless it is friend or packed in an aluminum container with the label "clover chips". I have always been underweight and honestly, I do not care. I have always seen myself as special and being skinny or underweight can never define who I am. Fast forward to today, I am still skinny and underweight, but the way I treat food now is very, very different. Very unlikely of what was me before, I eat a lot now! I eat any kind of food you offer me. I can eat more than one cup of rice in just one meal and could eat a whole lot more on the next. I still love fried food, but a variety of viand has now been added to my preference. There has also been a time when my merienda is every two hours after lunch. I could say that there came a time when I got out of control with food. Some say that it is good so that I would gain more weight. But being out of control is a no-no.

As a saying goes, "Too much of everything is not good", which clearly means that too much food intake is not good. Aside from the fact that it may bring about certain diseases and may lead one to the road of obesity, there is also this guilty feeling of falling into gluttony, which is really bad. So now, I am slowly learning the art of self-control. Fortunately, though I underwent a phase of losing my control in what I eat, I was able to maintain my weight and figure. I am also quite surprised as to where my food goes because I remained thin and, well, underweight. But I think it has a lot to do with my body's metabolism. Maybe I belong to a family who are typically thin. It is in the genes, they say, but one must never just rely on the metabolism, so I started working out as well.

Maintaining something is hard especially when you are just starting. But you don't want any regrets! So you have to move! Yes, I can say that I am in a relationship with food. Well, we all must be! In the first place, food is one of our physiological needs and according to Maslow, physiological needs are to be satisfied first before our other needs. But remember, self-control!

Eunice Express

Today, with the help of Blogger/Google, I made my own blog account. And I am excited!

From now on, I will write about every experience worth sharing. It is going to be about anything under the sun. Honestly, I am no expert in writing. Everything that will be written here are casual thoughts. And my only wish is that you enjoy reading and hopefully gain something from here. 

Let the writing begin!