The Four-eyed Journal » Arts

When is enough, enough?

jhay — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:06:17 +0000

Here I am again breaking the super-extended blogging hiatus forced upon me by my off-line engagements. School is just a part of it, the part that cannot be compromised and really blamed for my blogging absence.

So what’s the culprit? My extra-curricular activities!

In school, I’m actively involved in 4 organizations;

SERVE Volunteers – The student volunteer organization of the De La Salle University – DasmariÃ±as directly under the Lasallian Community Development Center. Community service and development, medical missions, education services, para-legal services, youth formation, environmental and socio-political advocacy are among the things that we do as SERVE Volunteers.

Socio-political advocacy is my specialty and has been my job at the volunteers’ since I joined this awesome group of Lasallians almost two years ago. I coordinated and organized round-table discussions, mobilizations and information campaigns ranging from the “Hello, Garci” scandal up to the Subic Rape Case and even the controversial JPEPA agreement. I’ve climbed up the ranks and since I’m among the few active senior volunteers, the rest have graduated, I have a feeling I’ll be chosen as the group’s formal leader come tomorrow’s general assembly and election.

SENTRO Political Party – This is amongst my newest involvements, I officially joined the party last March when I was elected to be its Secretary-General. A gargantuan task especially during the campaign and post-election period. I never knew campus politics in La Salle DasmariÃ±as were almost exactly like the local politics outside the school.

As Secretary-General, my job is to keep the party alive by recruiting members and be well-prepared for the coming elections logistically and ideologically. The latter being the hardest given that campus politics in DLSU-D has been the game of those who want to fatten their resumes while genuine student service is but a lip-service. The following months will be long and tough.

Vox La Salle Debating Society – this I co-founded with two good friends of mine, Jackner Borja, now CLASC President and Clemen Tuala, a Pol-Sci graduate now a Med-Rep for pharmaceutical company. The debate society was envisioned to revive the active culture of debate and discussion that once flourished in DLSU-D. Or so they say, still, the cause is noble and what the heck, I might as well join in since I’ve always been the one who’s always at odds with almost any one else.

Lasallian Students for Justice & Peace – under the leadership and initiative of University Student Council President Joymay Amihan, the USC has formed a dedicated committee for advocacy and social awareness named the “Lasallian Students for Justice & Peace” with yours truly as the committee head.

The task of the LSJP is to get rid of the appalling passivity and apathy so prevalent among the students of DLSU-D. Many organizations and student governments have gone and passed by with this goal at hand, so far none has succeeded. Would we do it? Time will tell…

Have you joined me in counting those organizations? The latest count is four isn’t it? By latest count I mean there’s more. Aside from in-campus involvements, outside of the school, I’m quite engaged as well. Engaged in other similar organizations, and here they are…

Sining Bayan – this by far is the oldest organization I’ve been with. I co-founded it about 6 years ago right after graduating from college and long before I ever got hooked into blogging and worshiped Google and consumed RSS feeds right after getting up from bed.

Sining Bayan is a socio-cultural youth organization aimed to train the youth in the various fields of the arts and inculcate in them a sense of nationalism and pride in Filipino culture. Our kind of art strives to advance Filipino culture, that’s why we carry the tunes and music of Joey Ayala, Gary Granada, Noel Cabangon and Buklod, Bayang Barrios and the so-called alternative art. All we are aiming for, it to contribute to the meaningful change of society, a society that will be as the great Ka Pepe Diokno once said, “a nation for our children.”

Municipal Youth Development Council – Silang – This is the newest organization I have to think about, a lot. Because just this last June 23, at the 2nd Youth Congress of Silang, Cavite; I was elected to be its Presiding Officer, another enormous task as the MYDCS is the umbrella organization of all the youth organizations in Silang. In that same congress that elected me, 22 youth organizations representing almost 2,000 youth of Silang were present.

In the next 12 months, the pressure and weight of such an enormous responsibility will rest on my shoulders. My friends and family would say I’m nuts, even suicidal since I took on these responsibilities.

Now add to this my academic load, plus this, my online engagements. I’m nuts ain’t I?

But just like always, I’d say to them as I will to those who will say or ask the same thing, I do this because I want to. I want to because I don’t want my time to just idle away while there’s so much I could do. Life is too short to be spent on self-serving endeavors.

All I have to do is put into practice some serious time-management tricks and tips that will make the most of my very unlimited time. Keeping this lifestyle is really a balancing act. Pray that I’ll walk away from all this with sanity intact.

I have gifts, talents, experience and knowledge to be shared to the world knowing that in return, new experiences, lessons, wisdom, friends and enemies would come my way. I say again, bring it on.

Capo at Stonehouse Star Tavern

jhay — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:33:11 +0000

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was going to test how far my health has recovered by going to see the band of my best friend in their first-ever mini-concert. It was worth risking having a relapse of flu all over again because Bogs, my best friend and lead vocals of Capo, has been my best friends since we were little kids. We go way way back. High school days was the golden age of our friendship and it is what has kept the bonds between us today.

Being a successful musician or music artist has always been a dream for Bogs, we knew it was going to be his destiny, and nowadays it’s becoming a reality. From the channels of YouTube to guestings at Pinoy Big Brother, Breakfast and Y Speak, to the stages of the various clubs and bars in the Metro, Bogs and Capo has been making it good in the local music scene.

Last Friday was another great step forward in their journeys to musical greatness, it may not be the biggest event in Manila, but it sure was a great event for all of them and to their growing crowd of followers and fans.

The event was dubbed “Moon songs: a night of enchanting and soulful music” and organized by double 10 events. Enchanting and soulful indeed it was. The venue and the ambiance was near-perfect. It was set on the rooftop of Stonehouse and everyone was being serenaded by the music of each of the talents that joined Capo, the clear night sky gave way for the moon to shine in all its glory.

I arrived there at Stonehouse which was located at E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City with my good friends Sheena and Cherrisse after chasing after taxi after taxi back in Lawton area. The event was supposed to start at 8pm but during that time we were stuck without a ride at SM Manila. I really need to save up on getting my own car, but that’s in like 10 years from now. Going back, we arrived there an hour late but just right in nick of time, because the show was just about to actually start.

Being on the guest list of one of the performers, we were treated to a front row spot, not tables though, but a cosy, feel-at-home floor mats accented with candle-lit paper bags. We settled down and set our gaze and ears on the stage as each artist performed with their hearts, talents and soul. It was a night of great music from great artists that are just waiting for their big break in the local music scene. After hearing them perform live, I know that they will have that big break and it could be sooner than anyone present that wonderful night expects.

Aside from treating my self to a great time and good original Pinoy music, it was an opportunity to field test my not so good photography skills and the limits of my Sony Ericsson K800i. It’s 3.2 megapixel camera, auto-focus, nightshot and image stabalizer features were really pushed to their limits as I took snap shots of each performance. A few of them I share below.

The remains of the fries we had and the ticket. The smoke is not mine for I do not smoke. Seriously.

Here’s Camille on the keyboards, her voice was sweet and she sang a wonderful rendition of ‘Runaway’ by the Corrs.

Here’s The Modes in action. These band can perform, and perform good they can.

It’s Fatima and she really drew in the crowd with her voice.

A surprise for the night was a guest performance by Goeff from Pinoy Dream Academy. (I forgot his last name though, wasn’t much of PDA fan, or any talent search on TV)

And of course, it’s Capo with by best friend Bogs leading the act.

Here is Capo’s bassist Momar, percussionist Yum, and lead guitarist Lee making good music.

Bogs joins Girl Valencia in a duet. She can sing, her voice is just so beautiful and powerful, reminds me a lot of Bayang Barrios actually, and she has her album out.

Here’s the show’s host Sam proving to the crowd and silencing her critics that she can sing, and she does that wonderfully.

Finally, here’s my friends, Sheena, Cherrisse and Roger.

Of course a shot of all of us, including me in the background. I know, but to be honest I’m not one for the cameras, I prefer to be behind them. LOL

Here’s a video of Capo’s medley shot with the K800i which explains its video quality, still it’s quite good.

The rest of the photos could be seen in my Picasaweb Album because my limited Flickr is now asking me to pay for more features while Zooomr is giving me a headache to get it going my way. Anothere video can also be seen in my YouTube channel. (Finally I get to say that. lol)

Moon songs were a great success and a wonderful achievement for Capo, their fellow artists and the producers. Congratulations to all of you, thank you for that wonderful night and I look forward to attending another one real soon.

This concludes the filler-arc of posts while I try to reorganize my self and go back to my normal workflow. Regular geeky, tech-related posts would resume tomorrow. See you all then and have a great weekend!

Sining Bayan at PinoyCentric.com

jhay — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:32:18 +0000

Migraine’s gone but work continues to pile up; both school-related and not-school-related. No time to waste, even though my bed has been harping on me ever since I got back from school. During times like this, I recall a friend of mine saying something about me and the things I do;

“So young yet so busy. I wonder if you ever have time for yourself and to be yourself.”

A slap of truth? Yes, but in a way that is not depressing and discouraging just tiring. When you’re tired though, you can always take a quick rest, a cat nap perhaps. Of course I still have time to do things for myself, but I’ve always thrived on doing things with other people and for other people. Altruism or plain stupidity? I really don’t bother anymore. We do make our own realities and definitions and as far as I’m concerned, the realities that I do and the way I do them are meant to have new realities that will serve not only myself, not only others but both.

You may be wondering if it’s really me, Jhay who’s writing this post. I can tell that by up to now, this post has been a sort of rantology isn’t it? Partly yes and partly no. To be honest I’m just writing as the words and ideas come to mind. Sort of a free writing spree, but for the real deal because as soon as this orgy of a braingasm ends I’m hitting the publish button.

Going back to what my friend said earlier, one of the things I’m busy with or have been busy with for the past 6 years is Sining Bayan. What is Sining Bayan? Head on to PinoyCentric.com for Karla Maquiling has given us the honor of gracing PinoyCentric’s pages and telling the world how A Theater Group in Silang is Born. This is just awesome! Many many thanks to Karla and PinoyCentric founder Armand Frasco for giving our group this opportunity to be known a little more via the world wide web.

If you have more questions about Sining Bayan, you could either leave a question over at our story in PinoyCentric or you could leave one in the comments thread below or shoot me an e-mail via the contact page.

This is it for this totally random, semi-self-centered, slightly confusing post. Regular programming would resume tomorrow or once the migraine has subsided 101% from my brain.