GIMIK WEEKEND

FRIDAY - Joyce’s birthday
The weekend is only half-over, but it has been FUN, FUN, FUN so far.=) Hah. Puro gimik – lakas ng loob, considering it’s still days away before sweldo day.=( Anyway, yesterday I took a half day “emergency” leave to accompany Anna around Makati. Technically, that was okay, since as apprentice I’m only required to work for four hours a day in the office. But still…anyway, I went back to work at 2 pm – just in time to meet the 4-hours-a-day limit.

Also yesterday Joyce celebrated her birthday in a major way – she treated us at Sweet Inspirations, a place in Katipunan known for its eat-all-you-can Mongolian Barbecue. Yum! There were about 8 of us (in age order, hehe) – Sir Dytoc, Pat, Brian, Mikey, moi, Ros, Joyce and Janrey. As usual, kulitan na naman…with a healthy dose of office chismis. (it seems as if one just can’t do without chismis, even though the people you talk about are people unknown to the people you are talking with.)



Although I have to admit, I haven’t made the most out of the eat-all-you-can promo -- I had two bowls all right, but two half bowls were more like it. Oh well. We made room for dessert! I had a Strawberries and Cream frappocino in Starbucks…ooh, the calories. And my poor waistline. *sniff sniff*.=(


SATURDAY-Intramuros!

Today was actually Joyce’s birthday. Happy birthday!:D
---
I spent the night at Joyce’s since we had a late night, which was made even later when Joyce, Brian, Sir Dytoc and I discussed a project, so the following morning I made sure to go home early. Hehe. Nasira na naman yung supposed swimming ritual I imposed upon myself. Oh well.

So anyway, I was really planning on staying home the whole day when something came up. Ang galing. I just sent Celine an instant message apologizing for not being able to text her soon about an invitation to join her brother’s foreign visitors in their excursion in the Philippines, and the next thing I knew I was agreeing to accompany her to Intramuros. She was planning on checking out the dining places at Intramuros so she would be able to make reservations for her visitors for the next day.

Siyempre oo naman ako. Haha. Kaladkarin!

But seriously, I’ve always wanted to see Intramuros at night ever since the WOW! Philippines exhibit began. I recall I wrote in my blurty journal something about Intramuros last year…how amazed I was at the ruins and the existing structure and the plans for its rehabilitation.

And wow! I’m really glad I tagged along. The present Intramuros is such a beautiful place to go to at night…the place is just so ALIVE, in a good, clean, and wholesome way. I think it’s the only place I’ve ever been at night that the people milling around didn’t look like they were going to a party, and yet the whole place had that festive atmosphere.

Much of the night life in Intramuros was centered in an area near the fortified walls of Intramuros, and extending up to the area where the DOT put up a large tent (called the Clam Shell, since it was shaped likewise). There were lots of chairs and tables set out by different establishments where people dined al fresco, and there were also bands who performed in mini stages in different spots of the place. Ang galing nga eh, there was also a relatively ‘sedate’ performer (acoustic performance) singing in front of a crowd. He was just a couple of meters away from the live band. There was another show inside the Clam Shell that was more cultural in nature.



An acoustic performance at the side of a church ruin.


The thing that makes the happenings in Intramuros even more cool is that most of these events were relatively unsaturated by crass commercialism. Usually kasi sa mga events di ba it’s usually sponsored by big companies like SMB, Globe, Smart, etc? Sa Intramuros hindi ganun. The biggest promotion in there was DOT’s WOW! Philippines, so basically the place was promoting cultural stuff, like a mock-up of a torogan in one area and bas relief sculptures of Philippine presidents lining a wall in another spot. Anyway, the events there were actually small ones that seemed to merge as one big party.



LIGHTS AND SOUNDS SHOW
For me, the main highlight of our Intramuros trip was seeing the Lights and Sounds Show in Intramuros. I’ve only been to a couple of L&S shows – the one in Singapore (Images of Singapore ata yung name nun) , the one in Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor (depicting the tragedy that occurred in that tunnel), and very short one in Emilio Aguinaldo’s home in Kawit, Cavite.

So far, this was the BEST. Really. I absolutely loved the show. FYI, the show was about Philippine history from the time of our Malay ancestors up to Rizal.


The Beateria


Me posing with the letras y figuras spelling out the word 'Intramuros'. This was located at the lobby of the Beateria

They turned a former Beateria into a house for this show, and so far I think they really made a good choice. I really liked what they did with place. Inside it, they recreated mini forests, shorelines, the main entrance to Intramuros, the interiors of the supreme court during the Spanish era, a dungeon, the insides of a ship. They even did a mock up of Parisian sidewalks and bridges to depict the life of Rizal in a freethinking world. I also like the way they presented the characters of Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’, the way they made historical and literary vignettes tangible. Cool.=)

And it just doesn’t stop at that. The people who conceptualized this place didn’t stop at mere papier mache models just to depict the story. They used bas reliefs, crosshatch drawings on walls, paintings, sliding doors that had maps painted on them, videos, lights… Even the transitions between areas depicting different parts of the story were designed in such a way that the viewer is made to experience history.

I could go on and on about how they set up the place, but to cut it short – the Lights and Sounds show in Intramuros is GOOD. And visitors don’t even have to pay a single cent just to see this exhibit.

---
Sometimes I just marvel at how I get to experience things like these, things that are unplanned and so spontaneous. Cool.:) Too bad I won’t be able to go with Celine and her visitors tomorrow…sayang din, ‘coz there would be some undergrad students whom I know that would go with the tour.


A tranvia in Intramuros with a carabao pulling it.

Oh well. It’s Sunday, another gimik day since a balikbayan high school friend recently arrived, and we would be meeting up for lunch later this noon. Tell you guys all about it.