Hanging with the Raisin Girls (and Boys) at Night of Hunters: Tori Amos Night 2013

Tori Amos will forever be my goddess, my music icon.

No, not in a fan girl way. Tori Amos is this entity of musicality, spirituality, sexuality, beauty, creativity, and consciousness... yet still so real. I love her in a way that I resonate with the drumming of her soul, something that I simply cannot explain. A bliss of another kind.

I was lucky enough to be part of Night of Hunters: The Annual Tori Amos Night at Conspiracy Garden Cafe, Visayas Avenue, which is held every August of the year to celebrate Tori dearie's birthday.

Can't believe my name is here. I'm still dazed.

The goddess turned 50 this year.

She's 50, yes! Unbelievable? Partly botox of course. But still...

I remember being 19 and simply dreaming of even just attending Tori Night. I'd read about it in the Internet. I knew there was a bunch of toriphiles (people who avidly listen to Tori Amos--okay, her "fanbase") in Manila, but I didn't know how to reach them. That time, everything was limited to Yahoo Groups and exclusive online communities. Thanks to Facebook, last year (2012), I was able to contact the organizers, Ms. Charms and Mr. Alden, and I gathered my carabao skin and, ahem, volunteered to perform for Tori Night. I don't normally present myself in such a thick-faced and shameless kinda way, but for Tori, I would!

Imagine the bliss I felt when I got to meet people who loved Tori the way I did; imagine a room packed with people jamming to her songs! Tori isn't very well-known in the mainstream, and as much as I would like everyone to like her, I only know a handful of people who genuinely do. (call me weird)

This is me performing during last year's Tori Amos Night at Conspiracy Garden Cafe:

 

 Sleeps with Butterflies

I was in an unexplainable form of ecstasy that night, more than that blissful feeling of eating ice cream, seriously. Better than any addicting drug. This was the weed of music. The weed of TORI.

For this year's Tori Night, I was even more ecstatic to find out that a bunch of artists I look up to would be performing as well! Wawi Navarroza, Kate Torralba, & Tao Aves (who performed last year too). I was starstruck. My love for Tori and her piano-playing has led me to share a piano/stage with those artists. You are cosmic, Tori.

Kate, Wawi, and Tao.
(Kate's photo from a video screenshot from her FB; Tao's photo from her FB profile)

 

Meanwhile, this is me, the wannabe, attempting to "do a Tori":
 

Far from this, of course:

Looking forward to next year's Tori Amos Night!

In the meantime, I'll have to make do with performances at home with my dad as my loyal audience.

Enjoy the torgasm!

♫♪,

Ivee

Visiting Vigan

Last February, I got a chance to visit Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

The time of my visit was perfect.
You see, I prefer greeting a place during off-peak seasons, when prices are humble & in their "purest" state, when the locals need not be disgruntled by the massive number of tourists invading their territory, when indigenous peoples need not wear their traditional attires (and many city dwellers are actually "fooled" that IP's still wear their traditional attire on a day-to-day basis, which for me is a symptom of what I'd like to call "Ignorant City Dweller Syndrome", or ICDS. [For instance, there were a few guys from Manila who visited Baguio during Panagbenga, asking, "asaan na ang mga Igorot?". Well, the lady in front of him, a Baguio local, snapped, "Lahat po kami dito, Igorot. Anong hinahanap mo, may buntot?"] No offense meant. I am a city dweller myself).

Simply put, when the place is in its most natural vibe. And yes, I bet you're thinking of the first scene in Beauty and the Beast wherein Belle goes about her regular routine and the bakers are all singing "bonjour, bonjour". How very natural, how very everyday.

I try my best not to be too tourist-y. Well, I try. (Though I can't help but take photos of everything! Maybe that's the reason why my cheap and only camera got snatched 9 months ago. The Universe was probably trying to tell me, "Ivee, stop taking too many photos and start seeing everything for real.")

Vigan has always been one of my dream Philippine destinations because people say it's like Paris (yes, I still fall for the "the-West-is-more-dominant" belief sometimes, and I am sorry. I am only human and weak). I, being a hopeless romantic moody Cancer who spends 200 pesos to watch chick flick movie cliches, grabbed the opportunity to take the 8-10-hour Dominion Bus ride to Vigan from Cubao.

So, after sitting and snoring in the bus from 10pm-7am, I jumped off it with much anticipation despite a horrible runny nose. The sun was saying good morning so I took the opportunity to shamelessly ask someone to take a photo of me. Yep. Shamelessly. With messy hair and no contact lenses (so technically all I could see was this Impressionist painting of Vigan, with my 400-degree myopia)

Prior to coming to Vigan, I Google Map'ed the place, researched about things to do and places to see (from helpful blogs and other online sources, as well as from friends who have been there), and figured that the central was compact enough to walk around. Well, it was.

My advice is this: simply print out a map of Vigan or get one from the Heritage Village office, and you're well on your way. Of course, you need a bit of map-reading skills (Thanks to the men in my family, I can read maps. I like boasting about it). Other than that, there's no real need to ride the tricycle unless for far destinatons like Baluarte and Hidden Garden, or even the kalesa (unless you really want to). Riding a kalesa in Vigan is a totally different experience from riding it in Manila. A kalesa in this city has a flat rate of 150 pesos per hour, so I suggest that you ride it after you have seen the tourist spots, so Manong Kalesa Driver need not offer to take you to the tourist spots, which can take hours and hours. Walking will spare you 20% of your budget. 

The main street.

Now I won't be boring you with the blow-by-blow details of the itinerary. There was no laid out plan, and I love it that way. We simply allowed ourselves to openly experience and discover Vigan spontaneously, with only a map to rely on, a list of "places to see" from the Heritage Village tourism office, and a couple of "Agyamanak"s (Thank You's) and "Sagmamano Daytoy"s (How much is this?). My broken and long-forgotten Ilokano-speaking skills surely were to be tested.

Here are some Vigan discoveries:
(Thanks to my friend for lending me a camera. Because you know, mine was snatched in the atrocious Mall of Asia. Ugh I hate malls.)

Food

Tummy Talk Restaurant
along Calle Crisologo

Authentic Pinakbet! (or Pinakkkbutttt)

Never forget to try bagnet.

Empanada stall
along Calle Salcedo

So darn good!

Amazing how they make these empanadas.

Empanada Special, with eggs, togue, and beef.

Cafe Leona
along Calle Crisologo

A much-recommended restaurant. The food was so good, we ate here twice.

 

They have it al fresco-stye at night.

Seafoods, seaweeds, and eggplant.

Hello cholesterol.

Of course, I can't leave without trying their tablea de cacao. I am a tsokolate addict. I think I should go to rehab for this, seriously.

Old Houses and Mansions

I've always been in love with old houses. If you're just like me, who imagines the love stories abounding the walls of homes built way back the 1800's, who desires to keep these structures preserved for, well, forever, Vigan is the place for you. If Rome managed to preserve their structures, why can't we?

In the Syquia Mansion.

 

In the Crisologo Museum, the mansion of the Crisologo family

I might decide to update this, but for now I'll leave it hanging here.

Because I want you to visit Vigan too, if you haven't.

Film 1 : From Santolan to Guadalupe

One lazy afternoon, I took the MRT and shot the entire trip from Santolan to Guadalupe station (with a few cuts), not intending to create something out of it.. You know that perfect feeling when the perfect soundtrack hits you like a bullet in the gut as you view the crazy world from the window train? That's what inspired me to create this simple video, in the lens of a typical city person going about a typical city life.

A Thrift Shop Gem in Cubao

This weekend, I had another one of those accidental solo ventures.


At sunset, I found myself roaming around Cubao, one of my favorite places in Metro Manila. There's something quite appealing about this place, probably its very Pinoy (Filipino) vibe. The hustle and bustle of this area in Quezon City is very grounding. Here, everyone shares one common platform (literally and metaphorically). I like sitting in that Mister Donuts in Farmer's, facing commuters as they move to and from the MRT station, simply observing how they go about their everyday lives and wondering about each of their own life narratives.


Cubao has always been close to my heart. I spent a large chunk of my childhood and adolescence in this place--taking violin lessons at Weinstein school of Music in Ali Mall for some years, having my hair cut at Jimmy Lu Salon (my mom's favorite in the 90's), watching Disney on Ice every Christmas at the Big Dome, getting my first-ever pair of glasses at Sarabia Optical & finally seeing the map of zits on my face at 13 years old, grocery shopping at Shopwise with the family every weekend until a branch opened in Commonwealth, spending 3-hour breaks at Gateway Mall in college, etc.


Post-adolescence and pushing to young adulthood, I still hold Cubao dear to my heart. One of Cubao's most amazing nooks is Cubao Expo, with its art galleries, thingmajiggy stores, restaurants (hello Bellini's & Pen Pen's!), cheap brand-new branded shoes, and of course, the ukay ukay's (thrift shops).


Opposite Cubao Expo, at the back of the bus terminal (the old Rustan's building), is a humble shop known as the MSM American Surplus. Okay, I know the word "American" may elicit some boo's (it did with me), but I think it's still worth blogging about because of the extensive, and I mean extensive collection of pre-owned products for sale in this shop.


After batting my eyelashes at the shop keeper and security guard, they finally allowed me to take some photos of the thingingymajiggies adorably littered all over the place.

Books for as low as FIVE PESOS. Book lovers' heaven indeed.

And I mean BOOKS - from Stephen King to Harlequin romance novels to Science Encyclopedias. 

  

"Reading is not allowed here. This is not a library. Thank you!"

Toy Kingdom.

Where's Beast?

Can you pull off this green pair?

Boot Booth.

Some pairs have never been worn.

Buying pre-owned shoes isn't for everyone, though it's still worth some ogling.

Heel Varieties.

Stacked Luggage. 

"Tweet" says the hat.

Vinyl records at 35pesos each. Sweet!

From printers to speakers, they got it all.

Plates of various kinds.

Cutesy Colored Utensils.

How adorable is that yellow ironing board, eh?

  

And this dispenser?

  
  

Glassware.

Watches for a steal!

Old and lovely..

This unique wooden cabinet would make a great laundry container, a book stash, or a hiding place for kids.

Choosing gear.

The balls you need are in here.

Be an instant champion for less.

Customers pouring in.

After all, who doesn't love a bargain?

Just be sure to disinfect anything that you buy!

♫♪,

Ivee