Cookie Wins Idol!

WOO-HOO!!! I’m off to a great morning! My David won! Woohoo! David Cook truly rocks! 

I’m quite ecstatic that he won!

Last night as I watched their final performances I was a bit apprehensive hearing Simon Cowell’s comments and how he was setting up David Archuleta to win the title (that’s how it felt to me, anyway). After the show, I decided to visit the American Idol website and check out the comments on the night’s show.

Up until this morning it really was any David’s ballgame. Both performers were vocally empowered. Both performers have their own set of loyal fans. They were both charming in their own ways. And as I sat all morning through the long line-up of performances and commercials, eagerly awaiting the announcement of this year’s new American Idol, I think I was as tense as both contestants were right there in our living room.

I honestly almost thought David Archuleta would win. There seemed to be louder screams for him in the crowd. I think Simon’s comments last night spurred on David Cook’s fans to keep voting to ensure the "safety" of their idol. I think it challenged them to show that Simon Cowell isn’t always right on the nail. I’m sure glad this time, he wasn’t.  At least he had the sensibility to make up for his previous comments before David Cook was announced the winner.

I noticed several things about David Cook which impressed me all the more. I’ve already mentioned that he’s such a versatile performer. (Imagine how well he performed across different genres. I loved how he sang Billie Jean. I loved how he sang Always Be My Baby. I loved how he sang the song from The Phantom of the Opera, The Music of the Night. Actually, I think I loved most, if not all, of his performances on AI. Though I dislike the songs in his album Analog–the music was too loud and noisy and you couldn’t really appreciate his voice there because you could hardly hear it over all the ruckus.) He has such confidence (but not arrogance) while on stage. But I noticed, too, that he’s quite considerate to his fellow contestants. Like during the announcement of the final 2. He didn’t gloat when it was announced that he’s the one who made it and not Syesha Mercado. And earlier, too. He was generous enough to share the stage, the limelight, and all the glory with the rest of the top 12. I think that shows just what kind of person David Cook really is. He doesn’t seem to be on the lookout for just "number 1." He seemed genuinely concerned about his fellow contestants too and he seemed to be such a team player as well. 

Paula Abdul is right. It may be the finale for American Idol season 7, however, for David Cook, his moment has just begun. Rock on, David Cook! Rock on! You definitely rock!

What’s in a Name?

Apparently, a lot.

By chance I met up with an old college classmate and friend today. (Click THIS to read about it in my previous post.) She told me how she’s been looking all over the Internet for ME, mainly via Friendster, I suppose. And of course, she didn’t find a trace of ME. You see, back then, during my UP days, I went by another nickname. It was only then that I used that nick so no one else calls ME by that name except the people I met at UP back then.

It’s a nick "given" by a high school friend.

Actually, I’ve had several "name changes" over the years, starting with the 6th grade. I used to go by my nickname Malou all the way back then. But when I went to the 5th grade in New York, I didn’t like the way everybody would mispronounce my nick. So I started using part of my full name during the 6th grade. That worked well, even when I got back here and went to Brent School in Pasig for my 7th grade. However, when I started with high school at Holy Family Academy in Angeles City, the people there didn’t quite pronounce my name right. So I stopped using "Mary" in college and went by the new nick that my friend "baptized" ME with. 

Well, I had trouble with that nick, too. People kept spelling and saying it wrong. So I decided to shift back to simply "Malou" when I moved to the Adventist university of the Philippines (back then it was called Philipppine Union College).  Most people from there call ME "Malou." Some call ME by my "private" childhood nickname (which I’m keeping a secret), too.

So, that’s the story with all the nicknames I used. It’s that simple. Nothing quite so exciting as keeping several different identities and running from the authorities. Today, I’m forced to maintain several Friendster accounts, the latest I created today was one with the "Wyette" nick. My friends (those who were "lucky" enough to find ME again online) have all expressed their frustrations and difficulties at finding "Wyette Escasa." Haha. There might be more out there looking for ME with that nick. I might as well make it easier for them to find me. 

I Came, I Saw . . . and I’m Going Back Tomorrow!

I pushed through with my plans of attending The Social Networking and eBusiness Conference at the Hotel Intercontinental today even if I was feeling sluggish after sleeping past 1 A.M. again and waking up with less than my minimum required 6 hours of sleep.

I’m glad that I did. Even if I was about 30 minutes late and the first speaker (David Jones from Friendster) had already started with his presentation.

So far, hands down, I think Janette Toral was the best speaker. I walked up to her after the day’s session and introduced myself, hoping she’d recall my name as I sometimes see her dropping by my blog (just not sure which particular one she looks at or if she reads anything). I had a picture taken with her, too so that I could post something here. But it’s not a very good one since it’s only with my cellphone camera. I might bring a digicam there tomorrow to get a better shot. (Hehe.)

I suppose the highlight of my day was meeting up with an old friend and college blockmate — all the way back from ages ago — from my long gone UP Diliman days. I’ve lost track of all of my UP friends. I haven’t even found a single one of them in Friendster. I did find one on the cover of Manila Bulletin’s Sunday magazine — she’s working for the UN now, UN Habitat to be exact as its Country Programme Coordinator. Or at least that’s what it said in the magazine then — I think it was last year or the year before that that I saw that.

It was pretty cool meeting up with friend after all these years.  She finished her AB Political Science degree from UP Diliman, one of the few from our block I think who didn’t shift to another course or who didn’t transfer to another school. She’s married now and works for Smart Communications.

I have a terrible headache now. I think the pain is once again caused by my eyes. So, I’m typing with my eyes closed, occassionally peeking to check for typos.

I guess I better end this at this, rest my eyes a bit and then head out again to meet up with another friend from Lipa City who’s Manila also attending a two-day seminar. It’s pretty neat that their venue is just a few hundred meters away from our place so I’ll just walk over there later on to hang out with her a bit and catch up on what’s been going on with her life since we’ve last met.

M.E. with Janette Toral:

A terrible shot. I hope to get a more decent one tomorrow. That’s M.E. looking wasted after several nights of not getting enough sleep. 

The Social Networking and eBusiness Conference

I plan on attending this. Unless something comes up tomorrow and I can’t. Or, if I fail to get up early enough. Hehe.

Will any of you be there?

It’s a two-day conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City. So, that’s May 20 and 21. 

Palawan Youth Build

I organized this youth build with the help of my friend, Davy Faminiano. I dubbed it: Palawan 2004 Adventist Youth Build. It was a house-building trip coordinated with the Habitat for Humanity Palawan office. We spent one entire week at Barangay Bahile, Puerto Princesa, Palawan constructing houses for the residents there.

Since it was Holy Week, there was no construction on Thursday and Friday. Thus, we spent Thursday swimming at a secluded island and then the following Friday morning at the Underground River.

I miss outreach mission trips such as this. I also miss organizing them. This trip was all the way back in April 2004, before I started my MBA studies. 

There are many miracles to be told in connection with this trip. But I’ll save them for another post.

Here are some shots from our mission trip:

On board the Super Ferry

Spending Sabbath on board; having our own worship service at the deck

 Their welcome poster for us

First things first — orientation

"Officially" signing up

One of our daily morning worships –  before breakfast and before working all day long in the blistering, hot sun, we’d gather around and worship the Lord

Breakfast is served!

Doing what we came there for — work, work, and more work: 

Having our nightly socials with the residents

Our well-deserved R & R at the end of the week (Thursday and Friday):

Worshipping in the dark; spent the night at an unfamiliar place (one of students with us lives here I think) before heading off to the Underground River the following morning

Our last souvenir shot at Bahile right before we left

 When you’re hungry, plates, spoons, and forks won’t matter

The jeep that took us from Bahile to the pier

The rest are at my Multiply page. Click THIS to view the rest of our pictures.

It’s a Hard-Knock Life for Us (Pinoys)!

I spent last Friday afternoon at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) renewing my passport. Getting in was easy enough since I had a prior appointment set via e-mail. The steps up to the one where I had to pay were pretty much a breeze. Then came the last step where encoding had to be done. The line leading up to the auditorium where it was done was both long and winding. For the most part, we had to stand up as seats weren’t made available along the corridors leading to the auditorium. 

I was shocked upon finally getting a peek of the auditurium. It was room full of people with rows and rows and rows and rows . . . of seats covering practically the entire auditorium floor. Along the three sides of the floor, DFA employees, with their backs to the wall, were lined up on tables and tables and tables with computers and printers . Each employee was typing up a passport applicant’s data. 

My appointment was at 3 P.M. And I thought I’d be finished by 4 P.M. or by 5 P.M. at the latest. Instead, I ended up leaving by 6:30 P.M. — getting caught at the DFA when Sabbath already started (it starts from sundown of Friday and ends sundown of Saturday). I didn’t think the last step would take that long and that I’d end up closing the week there.  I didn’t realize how late it was until I went outside the building and saw that the sky had gotten dark already. All the way home I felt so guilty. 

When I was at the DFA, I noticed how so many people — all Filipinos — pretty much from all walks of life, were doing their best to secure their very own Philippine passport. Most of them it seemed had the intention of leaving the country for good to seek a better future for themselves and for their families too in foreign lands–whichever one opens its door to them and  welcomes them first.

The realization of just how difficult it is getting to be in our country seemed to be hammered into my immediate consciousness just then. 

I have a very, very close friend who’s leaving the country by the start of June to work in Dubai. And to think that he’s earning so much more than the average Filipino here already. His previous employer even offered to take him back in at double the salary of what he was previously getting. And yet, he still opted to accept the job in Dubai. Like countless other Filipinos, his intention is to use that job and that country as a stepping stone to the US, Canada, the UK, or even Australia. He would have loved to stay here but, he said he has the future of his family to think about. 

This migration of Filipinos into all the world seems to be the norm these days. Hmmm . . . .

As I was standing in line, I realized how awful being a Filipino was. I recalled how I have had to fall in long lines and spend hours and hours of my time at various government institutions just to get the simplest of things settled, like having my address changed or my name spelled correctly on their records. I realized why it seemed so tempting and practical for most Filipinos to just find someone from another country (that is better off economically to the Philippines) to marry. That would surely be a quick and easy solution to getting out of the country and becoming the citizen of a "superior" country. 

Then, as I was finally seated in the auditorium, I overheard a lady remark how patient the Filipinos there were. That if that happened to citizens of say, the US for example, they would be complaining within minutes. I was wondering if the right term was truly "patience." Perhaps Filipinos just find it pointless and futile to waste their energies complaining since improvements are hard to come by in all government agencies–even in private corporations here, specially those offering basic services such as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). I would say the proper term should "resignation."

As bad as things are here, I do love my country. And I reallly have no plans of migrating elsewhere, save perhaps to take occassional trips to other countries for business, pleasure, and photography. At least not in my immediate or short term future anyway. But wherever God sees fit to lead me, then that is where I will go. 

Before I left the DFA, I took a quick detour to their gym and had 2Go courier service handle the delivery of my passport when it becomes ready for pick-up from the DFA. I was amused that others who had just come from the auditorium where there too–each one obviously felt the same way I felt. Each one had enough lining up and waiting to last them a while and did not want to return to the DFA anytime soon. The 99 pesos cost of having our passport delivered to our own doorstep was worth it, even if it were one day after the day our passports were to be released.

Below are a few quick shots I took using my cellphone camera right before leaving. The last two shots are a bit blurred. I was in a hurry thinking picture-taking might be a no-no within the DFA. I took them for this post. 

I was nearing the end of the long, long, long line. The auditorium was literally filled up with "black heads" all the way to the entrance and beyond that.

Cookie vs. Archie — Who’ll Be the Next American Idol?

May is a month of many endings. For American TV, that is.

This week, American Idol season 7 will come to its end. Who will win this season? Will it be David Archuleta or will it be David Cook?

Personally, I’m rooting for David Cook — been doing so ever since I heard him since Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby. I like Archuleta too, however, I think between the two, Cook is a more versatile performer. Besides, I just love the timbre of his voice. (Archuleta’s got very good vocals and I like him too. It’s just that it gets a bit pitchy for my taste at times.)

I think if the American public (at least those who’ll be voting) gets it right, David Cook will turn out to be the next American Idol. (Didn’t I sound like Simon just then? Hehe.)

Agree or disagree? 

Somebody Save Smallville

After having just watched another cliffhanger season ender of Smallville, I just can’t help but wonder about the future of season 8. I’ve read that Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum will both be gone, or at least won’t be season regulars anymore. It’s of course a given that John Glover will also be gone (though I originally read that his contract was until season 8 ). Even the executive producers, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, will both be out of Smallville’s upcoming season. Allison Mack’s contract expired with season 7 but I think they got her back for season 8. (I’m getting a bit confused with all the different articles out there saying different things.)

Honestly, these recent developments don’t leave me very optimistic about the show. After all, what’s the "essence" of Smallville when most of its original cast members are already gone? And not just any cast member, too–I mean, the show was originally a Lana-Clark-Lex thing. They just added all the other characters in to spice up the show. And now both Lex and Lana will be gone? Oh, boy.

I know some people are happy to see Kristin Kreuk go though I know it’s not the actress they dislike but what has been done to the character of Lana Lang. From being one of the most-loved characters on the show, I think she’s now one of the most hated(?). So, who’s to blame for that? Is it just the writers that’s to be blamed for ruining the character of Lana Lang. I guess they just didn’t know what to do with Lana Lang. Too bad. The show may do fine without the Lana Lang character in the show but, I hope they keep Clark loveless–at least for one entire season, or maybe even at least half of it. Or probably, one entire season would be better. I mean, having loved Lana Lang all those years, how could he just forget her that easily and go off and love another? (I didn’t buy into Clark falling in love with Alicia before.)

And what about Lex Luthor? I think for the most part, he made the show interesting to watch. I’d prefer him as the villain anytime over Brainiac. I even prefer Bizarro to Brainiac. I just thought the whole Brainiac thing was too corny. Although I think the best villain of the show had always been Lionel Luthor. With him as Lex’s father, it was easy to see why Lex turned out just the way he did.

I admit there were previous seasons where they made lousy episodes and my interest in Smallville took a nosedive though I had watched on to not miss out on anything. Somehow they always managed to make each season’s season-ender worth watching. And they always left me impatiently waiting for the next season to start in September. 

What now then? What will happen to Smallville in season 8? Will it fly or will it crash? Will that be its final season? Or will there be a season 9 and a season 10? Would I and all the other Smallville fans in the world stay loyal to the show until its curtain call–the way that I and other Friends fans remained loyal to it even long after its tenth and final season ended? I guess the answers to all these questions will just have to wait. 

I am a Superman fan. I am also a Smallville fan. However and whenever they wish to end the Smallville series, I hope they’ll make its end just as good as its beginning. Otherwise, they’d have one very upset Superman and Smallville fan right here. 

It’s alway been Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, and Michael Rosenbaum. Will Smallville survive without two of its main cast members gone?