the world is not a pleasant place to be

to be without

someone to hold and be held by

 

a river would stop

its flow if only

a stream was there

to receive it

 

an ocean would never laugh

if clouds weren’t there

to kiss her tears

 

the world is not

a pleasant place to be without

someone

(by: Nikki Giovanni)

 

I am officially in senti mode. Not just because of my lack of productivity paper-wise (I hate finals week). but because the little monster bundle of spit-up joy (my niece) moved out of the boarding house last Friday with her parents. Leaving me with no more alibi to procastinate, no more stress absorber, no more squirming 6kilo dumbbell to weightlift, no more painful gums to gnaw at my fingers, no more fussiness to avoid. Sigh. I miss A.J.

Also, my “sentiness” was not helped by watching West Side Story at the Meralco theater. First, it’s a tragedy; people die left, right and center in the story ripped off from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and you leave the theater with the feeling that “this is one lousy world…” Second, instead of the main actress who played Maria, we ended up with the alternate, a pretty young thing whose sweet voice just couldn’t handle those classical soprano parts. I winced all throughout the renditions of Tonight, Somewhere, the Quintet, and One Hand One Heart  because of the missed high notes. Tony was okay musically, but acting-wise… Kuya Albert, mas magaling ka sa kanya!!!

On the bright side, I enjoyed the bonding time with my sisters, the lost-in-Ortigas car trip, and the Korean dinner afterwards. My eyes also feasted on the wonderful set and lighting design and my ears delighted in the Filharmonika as they accompanied the play live. I left Meralco inspired to take up musical theater again… I remembered the excitement of being on stage, roasted alive by klieg lights and under the scrutiny of hundreds opf eyes. I also fellin love with the supporting cast and company: Riff, Anita and Bernardo were amazing! And of course, the dancers were great… could have been tight in terms of timing, but I really can’t complain since I can’t do a double pirouette while singing high notes. My favorite songs are America and Officer Krupke.

I have a new dream: to be a triple threat (a theater performer who can act, sing and dance well).

Dance? Me? BWAHAHAHAHA.

Finally, despite my being alone and being lonely, I continue to praise God. Due to my solitude, my quiet times the past weeks are very meaningful. And, He protects me constantly. This morning, I woke up at 7:00 am to screams. My housemate just got back from nightshift to find her room had been broken into. Someone broke the padlock/door latch and stole money and jewellry from two rooms, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around that weekend. My room is smack in the middle of theirs, but the thief “passed over” my door, probably because I had a double lock. Thankfully, he or she did not notice that my double lock was broken.

God is good indeed.