Last month, our dance troupe's president organized a Glamtastic "HairSpray:Vintage-Retro" themed party for his mother. Motto was 'The higher the hair, the closer to heaven. The higher the heels, the closer to the sky" It was creative. Sad I had to leave early...I would give anything for another party like this.

I came in with a more conservative Rita Hayworth Inspired 1940's Hollywood Look.

The house was filled with posters and ads from the olden days...

An old typewriter and a vintage phone, a couple of examples among the numerous props used at the party.

Suspenders, polkadots, leather jackets, gelled up hair, Stilletos! Even the juniors came in dressed for the occasion!

Does this picture qualify for a 40's Magazine, anyone? XD jkjk. My friend on the left was trying to pull off a 'Zac Efron-ish' look from the Hairspray movie but ended up looking like Clark Kent instead. Problem was, where's Lois Lane? XDD

Just the girls messing around. Sweeeeet!

RETRO CAKE! Made by our very own choreographer, TJ. I don't know if they even served this that night because it was still intact and very much artsy like it is above when I left :(

The party was an array of food and fun. People were trying to top each other with their costumes. More guests came in with pompadours...and Marilyn Monroe Dresses but the moment, our very own Victor V. (a.k.a. Vicky) came in with a sky-high blond wig and a dress, the spotlight was all on her.

Vicky with my mom and I. She was the life of the partay. People were lining up to get a picture taken with her. No one was expecting her to dress up like that. We haven't really seen this side of her yet...plus, before the party started, we were told she couldn't make it because she was sick. Imagine how we felt when 2 unexpected bombshells exploded before our very eyes XD

Vicky starting the night's program which was filled with dancing and singing...purely party mode. Check out the look on my buddy's face, the one sitting on the chair with a leather jacket...while he watched V speak up. Priceless. Don't forget my aunt's unique costume, polka dots and socks with heels XD

I joked around with my parents that they didn't really need to dress up and get a costume because they were naturally 'vintage'. Nothing could top that XD In the end, I gave in though, and did my mom's hair and make-up :) I luv them <3

A group picture to end the night.

About month ago, I was chit-chatting with a couple of my close male friends on the couch at our aunt's home during one of our dance rehearsals. Midway to our conversation, I realized that I haven't yet told them about my getting into the finals of a country singing competition (I'll talk more about later) so I opened it up and invited them to come over to see me. They were ecstatic. They said they couldn't wait to see me. They said they wouldn't miss it for the world - 'Promise' They knew this meant a lot to me...and I believed every single word of encouragement they led on.

Fast forward to Saturday (2 days before the show) . We were at a birthday party. There, we met these 2 girls (let me call em' GalA & GalB). I heard they were going to join the group soon so I tried to be friendly. There was something I couldn't quite put my finger on about them being so quiet, so reluctant to socialize...but i just shrugged it off and accomodated them into the group anyway. I left early that night with my galpal and they stayed with the rest of my friends till about 3am. Sunday. Plan still intact. Meeting time at 7 at Cadillac Ranch the next day. Then Monday morning, the day of my performance, one of my friend left me a message on facebook 'Well, last time GalA and GalB said they went to ur show with their mom, but they couldnt go in coz they were underage, so they thought they'd watch a movie with us instead...' 

Point is... these girls never went to my previous performances ...and 2) there is no age limit at the restaurant. Last time I sang, there were kids as young as 4 going on the mechanical bull ride!

My mind was in a whirlpool of thoughts. Why did these girls have to lie? What did I do to them? How could my friends brush off their promise so easily like that? Was it so hard to get a second opinion about the age restriction rumour from me? Afterall, I was the one performing, not these girls...

I confronted my friends about how it hurt me through msn...They said they felt awful about it. They said they were sorry. They said they wouldn't do that to me ever again. They even came up with a box of chocolates and a sorry card on Thursday's rehearsal. Ironically (and I'm saying now that I'm very disappointed in myself for this)...I actually believed in them AGAIN...still I can't help but wonder if they really meant what they did. Am I skating on thin ice here? Is this a friendship destined to revolve around an endless vicious cycle of hurt and false promises? If 2 new people could change the whole course of and meaning to our friendship...then by golly, our future is doomed. I've forgiven them but that doesn't mean what they did doesn't matter anymore. It's still an open wound waiting to heal in its own quiet way. Boys will be boys, I guess. At least most of them will be. It pains me to think that I'll run into this situation when I'm in an actual relationship...that's probably why I like to maintain my distance and keep it as friends with boys at the moment...and that's how it's going to stay for now. 

*sigh I can't pin it all on them though. I am not perfect myself. I might hurt them one day as well...I dread that day, praying that it will never come to past.

P.S. If this happened to you, would a box of chocolates and a sorry card make up for a broken promise?

I'm sure all of us have that one friend who's so much like us, who jives with us so well that...we wonder if we are actually sisters separated at birth...or if we were one soul in our previous life.

My galpal and I live a few miles apart and the only 'scheduled' times we really get to see each other is during our dance troupe's rehearsals (which isn't a lot) since we both are taking the time off college and are pretty busy pursuing roles in the arts. We try oh-so hard to meet up outside kalahi to hangout and talk because we couldn't do a lot of it during practise. As much as I want to say we've got all these great things in common, one of them is also the fact that we don't have our licenses yet. We've got parents who would rather drive us out themselves than have us go around the city alone. Yes, I know. We're fortunate to have parents who look out for us 24/7 but sometimes, it also means we have to condone to their decisions and moods...and believe me, it's not easy persuading them to let us walk around the mall a good whole day chit-chatting their gas money away.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain a friendship...more so in this country. Unlike Hong Kong, I couldn't just hop on the train and walk to the mall to hang-out unguarded. You just can't get anywhere here without a car. At times, if we couldn't find a solution to the meeting up idea, we'd resort to chatting night after night on msn no matter how packed our schedule during the day is. In fact, yesterday was our first real hang out at the mall since I knew her. We ran in and out of Victoria's secret spraying just about every scent within reach and replenished our make-up like there's tomorrow. Then we frolicked to Forever 21 and dived between the fitting room gaps to get to the other door since they didn't allow 2 people in one cubicle. I still have no idea why we didn't just use the door. Probably all that excitement, I guess. It was a lot of fun. I'd give anything for more. *sigh. Back to msn for now XD

To all my kababayan out there, Belated Happy Independence Day. What have you done to show some patriotism for your country? Joined a festival around, or maybe contributed to a performance number? However you commemorated the Independence Day, there's one thing for sure, it must've been a feast. 

Our dance troupe (Kalahi Philippine Folkloric Ensemble) played a key role in promoting our culture with a packed schedule the past week (please forgive me for the scarce updates) and we are very pleased by how the audience has been so supportive of us and how we've made an impact to the younger Filipinos who were born here in the States...we had the opportunity to show them what it was like in their hometown and be proud of it. It was a joy for all of us :) Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. I'll try to get back with the more random updates in a while.

Havin' some fun outside our dressing room...getting ready for our first dance number - The Ragragsakan - at an outdoor Filipino Festival at Lorenzi Park. The dance is characterized by the native tribal costumes of the people from ifugao, Philippines.

It was a seething Saturday afternoon. Temperatures rose up to 112 degrees...and we had to wear All That! Ouchie!

My Galpal and I posing in our Maria Clara dresses after our show at the Anthem Center, Sun City, Las Vegas. It was a great success...and our dance troupe's first real show. Can't wait to see the same audience in February :)

Performing the Jovencita Habanera, an elegant maria clara dance at Lorenzi Park...imagine what it felt like under all that layers of petticoat, dress and skirt. I tell you, we were so close to passing out...but all the fun kept us up.

Like our choreographers said, smiling and posture (of course, body execution) are 3 great ways to capture an audience.

At St. Joseph Husband Of Mary Church Hall dancing an extended version of Pandanggo sa Ilaw where the highlight was balancing candles on our heads...This was called Pandanggo Oasioas...hehe, not oasis XD, we'd swing the candles inside these hankiess while waltzing around with our dance partners...this was the first time we did it...and there was a lot of clanking around (one of the glasses even fell to the ground XD It was hilarious)...but lucky for us, it came together well :)

The Tinikling...a very well-known fast-paced dance involving bamboos...if u miss a step, get those ankles ready for some bandages cause they're going to hurt.

A number of people from the crowd were enthusiastic enough to come forward during the audience-participation portion...

We ended every show with a special curtsey for the girls and ...er...boys? I don't know the term we use for their bow :S To our delight, a handful of people have already reserved tables for our grand investiture coming this September. Teamwork, unity, devotion, patience, generosity...are what's making this group grow...and I hope its success will continue as long as we're all here to be a part of it.

The teens posing for the camera :) I'd like to thank our kalahi photographer, Uncle Ray for taking this awesome pic. I couldn't be any happier with this life .... looking forward to a lot more.