ERIC’S SONGBOOK

The wonders of technology never cease to amaze me.  Thanks to LimeWire, I was able to download an mp3 of a song that I just can’t forget since I was 14.  Though it never gained popularity due to airplay, Whisper a Prayer by Mica Paris (a UK based performer) is one of my favorite ballads due to its powerful lyrics and lullaby-like arrangement.  This song is written in the same tradition as Vanessa Williams’ 1992 smash hit, Save The Best For Last.  At this point in time, I am in a phase of leaving everything to my faith in a higher power.  There are things in life which can not be explained by science, logic, structure, theory, etc.  Honestly, it is only faith that gets me through these days.  Work is so hectic that I am exhausted beyond words.  I am battling a cold that wouldn’t go away yet I am armed with my artillery of vitamins and food supplements.  I really don’t want my career to wear me out.  On top of all these things, I have graduate school to deal with.  When I get home, I am so fatigued that I just can’t help it but snap.  I do know that work is an integral part of life, but I do not want it to overshadow and compromise my family, my faith, my studies, my alone time, my sanity, and everything else I hold dearly in life.  After all, I only have one body, one mind, one soul, one spirit.  Nonetheless, it is teaching that puts food on the table and pays the bills.  Lord, I lift everything to You.  May You bless me with enough strength and courage to carry on.

This Sunday, I will be seeing my cousins and hopefully our plans of catching a movie in Glorietta to unwind will push through.  I am keeping my fingers that the weather will smoothly cooperate with us and not dampen one precious day.  Now I know why Americans look forward to weekends, they really treasure it a lot and they do make big plans.  This weekend I want to catch a film that will just put a smile on my face without pressuring me to think, analyze and interpret–something that just offers its plot at face value. 

On a lighter note, I was finally to get a copy of Nirvana’s Nevermind from a very unlikely record bar–in SM Bicutan!  I didn’t have the slightest inkling that such would exist in a record store that carries a very shallow catalogue.  Sadly, I was only able to buy it in cassette, the CD would have been a great find.  I just love the catchy guitar riffs in Smells Like Teen Spirit.  The rock scene would be very much different without the legacy left behind by Kurt Cobain.

I wonder how things would be different if only I came from a larger family.  It could’ve been fun.  Sometimes, I despise myself for being the eldest.  It is just that responsibility is a word I have known too well ever since I turned 7.  I wish life could cut me some slack once in a while.  With all the pressure, I am beginning to think that to outlive my dad’s age of 65 is a mission that requires divine intervention.  My grandpa lived up to 80+.  All the vitamins, anti-oxidants, low-fat food will just cancel each other out thanks to stress.  Does that mean that my clock will expire come 45 given the trend?!?  I hope not!  Let me whisper a prayer to soothe my tired mind and body…

Whisper A Prayer - Mica Paris

Me and my heart

Lying so still in the dark

Oh I could reach out and touch you

Feel the warmth of your skin

But it’s enough just to know where you are

So what do I do

Knowing a dream can come true

Oh now I’m holding my breath

Don’t want to open my eyes

Don’t want to wake up again without you

So I whisper a prayer tonight

Whisper you name

And hope that you hear me

And wherever your dreams may fly

Just take me there

Oh I whisper a prayer tonight

Hold back the sun

Let the stars slip away one by one

Oh how I’m longing to wake you

See the love in your eyes

And feel the rush as the morning comes

I wanna hold on to this just once

So I whisper a prayer tonight

Whisper you name

And hope that you hear me

And wherever your dreams may fly

Just take me there

I whisper a prayer tonight

This leap of faith is a risk we take

And I can’t pretend that I’m not afraid

So I whisper a prayer tonight

Whisper you name

And hope that you hear me

And wherever your dreams may fly

Just take me there

I whisper a prayer

tonight 

Will you always be there

Oh I Whisper a prayer tonight

July…it is that time of the year again for the rainy season and, of course, my alma mater’s favorite–the UAAP Games.  Sadly, with the suspension of DLSU from the league, here comes the Miss Universe contest scheduled for Sunday, July 23, (though it was usually held in May or June, years before) live from Los Angeles, California, USA as a substitute. This annual fracas of beauty, and hopefully, brains as well, has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1952.  My high school friend, Paul, and I have this tradition of exchanging lists of bets for the crown as to test who among us have the eye for spotting a real winner.  Six years ago, I accurately predicted that Lara Dutta of India w ill clinch the title.  In 2001, upon the announcement of the Top 10, I knew that the Puerto Rican stunner, Denise Quiñones, will win the title in her own backyard as she bagged the swimsuit and evening gown competitions effortlessly.

This year, I think I am ready to unveil my Top 20 bets.  From the very beginning, I honestly think that Canada can bag back-to-back wins this year, thanks to very statuesque Alice Panikian.  I think Puerto Rico’s Zuleyka Rivera can also pull it off.  She reminds me of a younger and more exotic Angelina Jolie.  In addition, Venezuela’s Jictzad Viña can be considered as a safe bet.  After all, Venezuela has a maintained a good record in the semi-finals albeit 2004.  Latin Americans are expected to shine in this pageant.  Thus, it can be said that very often than not, the semi-finals chemistry of Miss Universe is very much formulaic.  To add to a very tall order, I think Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama and Brazil can also be frontrunners.  Yup, it is the Superbowl of beauty (thanks to skimpy swimsuits)!  Before I forget, this pageant is also notorious for dark horses.  There is still that probability of a huge surprise.  Who would’ve thought that Sushmita Sen would win in 1994?!?  Nonetheless, no country has won twice in a row.  I am pretty sure that one of these ladies will take it all home on Sunday:

1. CANADA–Alice Panikian

2. VENEZUELA–Jictzad Viña

3. INDIA–Neha Kapur

4. PUERTO RICO–Zuleyka Rivera

5. PANAMA–Alessandra Mezquita

6. BOLIVIA–Desiree Duran

7. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC–Mia Taveras

8. SPAIN–Elisabeth Reyes

9. KAZAKHSTAN–Dina Nuraliyeva

10. CAYMAN

    ISLANDS–Ambuyah Ebanks

11. AUSTRALIA–Erin McNaught

12. BRAZIL–Rafeala Zanela

13. MEXICO–Priscila Perales

14. GHANA–Angela Asare

15. SOUTH AFRICA–Thuli Sithole

16. SRI LANKA–Jacqueline Fernandez

17. PHILIPPINES–Lia Andrea Ramos

18. COLOMBIA–Valerie Dominguez

19. BULGARIA–Galena Dimova

20. SWITERLAND–Lauriane Gilmeron

Music-wise, I think it is high time for me to muster my savings as September draws near.  Huge releases are bound to hit the record stores come that month, to wit:

• Christina Aguilera – “Back To Basics” (Sony/BMG) featuring "Ain’t No Other Man"

  • August 15, 2006

• Beyoncé – “B’Day” (Sony/BMG) featuring "Deja Vu" (with Jay-Z)

  • September 4, 2006

• John Mayer – “Continuum” (Sony/BMG) featuring "Waiting On The World To Change"

  • September 12, 2006

• Justin Timberlake – “FutureSex/LoveSounds” (Sony/BMG) featuring "SexyBack"

  • September 12, 2006

• Janet Jackson – “20 Years Old” (EMI/Virgin) featuring "Call On Me" with Nelly

  • September 26, 2006

The rainy days and I do not make a perfect match.  We are two opposing poles of a magnet.  I am always miserable when it is raining.  Today, I woke up really early knowing that the weather is far from friendly only to find out that traffic was horrible.  Though I did make it to school on time, I was drenched nearly to the bone and I am just recovering from a bad cold.  Going to school proved to be one sequel to Mission: Impossible.  I couldn’t ride the LRT because of one reason:  the ankle-deep puddles prevented me from crossing the street in EDSA corner Taft Avenue so I resorted to taking the jeepney which eventually got stuck in traffic somewhere parallel to Taft Avenue bound to Buendia. The school cancelled classes right after I ended mine and I had to attend the Faculty Association General Assembly at lunch time.  Though the food was good, I wished that I just went home and sleep the moment classes were cancelled.  I really need time to rejuvenate my mind and body. 

On Saturday, I will be taking my Final Examination in (Differential Calculus) ECO511.  I need all the luck sent from up above for this undertaking.  Also, I wish I could find time to catch a screening of The Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest sometime this week.  I remember watching the first installment of this flick sometime in the last week of August 2003 (also the rainy season) right after taking my final examination in Time Series Econometrics (ECO602) in Graduate School.  I did pull off a 90% in that test and eventually got a 3.5 as Final Grade.  I knew I did well in the test (cause I was the first one to hand my paper in) that I just had to fone my mom to celebrate with me so we ended up watching the last full show of The Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in SM Sucat.  I hope history will repeat itself.  I just can’t help myself but be grade-conscious…my apologies.  The pressure is there to do extremely good in a subject that you are studying, and at the same time, teaching, most especially if your classmates are also your colleagues.  The truth is I am not omnipotent.  My brain has its limitations too.  Honestly, I am just an average student. 

The sun must shine soon.  Though I appreciate the coolness of the rainy season, there bursts my bubble of optimism too.  I am no die-hard Madonna fan, but the Japanese-inspired video to this song best summarizes this time of the year.  When I first saw the video more than a decade ago, I had to say that the bridge to this song is impeccably written together with the video’s great direction.  It was far too modern for something that was released in 1992.  The Material Girl may lack the pipes but her creative hat has more feathers than any pop icon.

Rain - Madonna

I feel it, it’s coming

Rain

Yesterday afternoon, after attending the Council of Chairs meeting in school, I went all the way to Libis, Quezon City to pay my first annual membership fee to the Operations Research Society of the Philippines (ORSP).  Leaving DLSU at 2:30 p.m. with the high hopes of reaching Eastwood by 4:00 p.m. proved to be futile.  The traffic consumed much of my traveling time.  Nonetheless, the trip was still exciting since I lack mastery of places situated in the North of Metro Manila. 

From DLSU, I took an LRT ride to EDSA, and from there, I took an MRT ride to Araneta Center/Cubao.  As expected, the place is teeming with people.  Going to Cubao, or to that area at least, was another trip to memory lane.  I remember my dad taking us to Ali Mall every Saturdays whenever he has a bowling tournament, sometime in the mid-90s.  Whenever I have the chance, I would stroll around the vicinity of Cubao, browse over books in the largest National Bookstore ever, across Araneta Center.  I also remember watching a lot of movies in Ali Mall while my kid brother toyed with the video games in the arcade.  I can also recall buying clothes and a pair of brown leather shoes from SM Cubao after dad’s bowling tournament.  I remember watching The Net, Species I, Hocus Pocus, Blue Chips, The Village of the Damned and Apollo 13 in that area.  At that time, there was no Glorietta 4, no Festival, no Greenbelt 3, and going to Cubao was indeed an adventure for me.  When I was a kid, I remember my mom and my dad taking me to C.O.D.to do some Christmas shopping, we would gaze outside the store’s display as animated Yuletide characters would move to and fro on the balcony of the store.  I even have a picture of me riding the carousel with my mom in Fiesta Carnival.  Yesterday, when I was about to board a jeep to Libis, C.O.D. was no longer there.  It was replaced with a PureGold outlet.  Time really flies and the world changes before our very eyes.

After paying the membership fee, I took a really late lunch at Fazoli’s.  You really gotta love that pasta and pepperoni pizza.  It was sumptuous, delectable and really filling.  Sadly, while eating, I can’t help it but wish that my whole family was there with me.  I also wished that my dad was still alive.  Seldom do I experience this but I really felt down and out after finishing my meal.  I should not be eating alone in the first place.  At this point in my life, I feel like I am the fibre that holds our family together and it is a tough thing to do.  I hope that I can be a sturdy fibre that wouldn’t just give way to the pressure.

Going home, I took the same route. I passed by Gateway and checked out some CDs and ate a dessert in Pasteleria Illustrado.  Their Baked Cheesecake is a must try.  I even went to Farmers Plaza and rediscovered this old music store that seems to be stuck in the mid-90s as they still carry cassette tapes from 1995 to 1997 in abundance.  They even sell it at a real low price of P50 a piece.  I was able to get Paula Cole’s This Fire.  I sold my first copy to a friend for P100 or so.  I really don’t mind buying it even though I have the CD.  At least, I get to play the tape in the Tamaraw FX.

Let me share with you the lyrics to Paula Cole’s staple song that redefined much of the late 90s.  Thanks to the show Dawson’s Creek.

Paula Cole - I Don’t Want To Wait

So open up your morning light,
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
And see the peace in every eye…

So open up your morning light,
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
And see the love in every eye…