Start Something Seminar by Productive Pinoy
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 12, 2012
I became a big fan of Yeng Remulla after I read his book, Productive Pinoy. It was the first book written by a Filipino that I got so impressed with! Productive Pinoy has so many lessons in it that I felt a lot of people can take advantage of.
In my case, I do not have a dad. However, reading Productive Pinoy felt like I do have that father-like figure who was providing me life-long lessons to live by. Each chapter is a gem in itself. Yeng was too selfless in sharing all those important lessons in life with us through the book.
So when Yeng sent me an email and asked me to be one of the speakers on his free Start Something seminar, I couldn’t say no. Two reasons why I said yes even if I had some reservations on speaking in public:
- I wanted to finally meet Yeng in person!
- Somehow, I do not want to turn down an opportunity to finally speak in public.
The Start Something Seminar by Productive Pinoy was held at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street last June 8, 2012. It was a free event and it was a successful one! The forum was full of registered participants all ready to learn from Productive Pinoy himself, Yeng Remulla.
Yeng wanted to help the participants start the idea they’ve been dreaming of doing by providing the free seminar. I guess the Productive Pinoy group wanted to inspire the participants through Yeng’s personal productivity tips as well as the guest speakers’ testimonies on how they started something.
As Yeng said in his blog, “Whether you’re planning to write a book, start a business, shift careers, or put out your art, I hope this event will help you jumpstart the work that you’ve been dreaming of.”
An activity was done during the Start Something seminar which I found very effective.. A paper was given to each of the participants and everyone was asked to draw the idea that they have been putting off for quite some time.
Then some participants volunteered to share their ideas to everyone. Upon hearing some of them, I was just blown away. Their ideas were so good! I felt that they are destined to work on their ideas. I mean why would they attend a ‘Start Something’ seminar if they didn’t have the willpower to start what they have thought of, right?
When it was time for the guest speakers to talk, I started to really get nervous. I didn’t even know if I could make it on stage , hahaha! I just said to myself to suck it up and think that I might be able to inspire people by sharing how I started my blog.
Here’s a transcript of my 5-minute speech:
Hello everyone! My name is Roch and I’m the blogger behind HeaRty’s Haven. You can find HeaRty’s Haven at rochellesychua.com. I’m here to talk about how I started with blogging but first, I’d like to say that I became a big fan of Yeng Remulla after I read his book, Productive Pinoy. The book is just too good! I highly suggest you get one now if you haven’t. It’s a good compilation of lessons that we can live by. For me, it was like taking different self-help trainings molded into one book.
Now, how did I start blogging? I’m working in a multi-national company which I have been dreaming to work in for the longest time. I wanted to improve on my work every single day so when I got feedback that I needed to improve on my written skill, I decided that I need to do something about it. I thought of writing a diary but it just won’t cut it for me as I hate my own handwriting and I rarely use pen and paper due to the advancement of technology. I ended up creating a blog wherein I put all my experiences whether it’s food, travel, gadgets or movies, I just put it all out there. Don’t try to check out my 2008 entries because I assure you, they suck (haha)! Anyhow, I never thought that my site views went up from 0 to 60,000 a month! I was able to turn a weakness into a strength. I was able to improve on my writing plus I was also able to find a new passion/hobby.
Always remember like what Yeng said in his book, Productive Pinoy, that we should stop being a spectator, we should take a lead and start something! Because we can do it! 🙂
I was afraid while I was doing the speech as I do not believe I’m good in speaking public. I have stage fright that I can’t seem to get over with. I tried to work on it by attending effective presentations training and joining toastmasters but I couldn’t sustain it. I guess I have to try to speak in a public forum to finally realize how fulfilling it is. I would like to thank Yeng of Productive Pinoy for giving me this rare chance to talk to everyone. I’m not sure if I was able to inspire the participants but I really hope I did 🙂
It’s really such an honor to have known such great motivational speakers like Cornel Bongco (Yoyo Gospel Man), Malvin Dinlasan (BroTalks) and of course, Yeng Remulla (Productive Pinoy) in the Start Something event. It’s truly an unforgettable experience!
Yeng’s How to achieve Major, Major goals are as follows:
- take inventory of your abilities and resources
- dream big
- start small
- break it down into pieces
- involve others/do not do it alone
- expect challenges and setbacks along the way
Start Something seminar was very inspiring, informative and really nice!
I, myself, was inspired to start something again!
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Start Something Seminar by Productive Pinoy
June 8, 2012, 1–4pm
The Forum, Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street, The Fort, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
http://www.productivepinoy.com/2012/04/be-productive-pinoy-at-fully-booked-bhs.html
Snow White and the Huntsman Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 6, 2012
Straight from Tagaytay, I went to the mall so I could catch the first day screening of Snow White & the Huntsman. As the title implied, the movie is about Snow White. I remember a few months ago that I was able to catch Mirror Mirror which was another movie version of Snow White. Mirror Mirror was lighter, cuter and more fairy tale-like while Snow White & the Huntsman was darker, more action-oriented and I guess caters to a more mature audience.
The story basically revolved around 2 women:
- Snow White (Kirsten Stewart) – daughter of King Magnus (Noah Huntley) and Queen Eleanor (Liberty Ross). Snow White was destined to surpass Ravenna as the fairest of them all..
- Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) – a powerful sorceress and the Dark Army’s master whose power was only as strong as her beauty. Ravenna captured beautiful women and drains them of their youth.
This is a Snow White movie. The mirror that the evil queen depended was part of the movie. Of course, the 7 dwarves were also present or else it wouldn’t be a Snow White movie. Significant details that involved those characters/thing include the Mirror telling the Queen that Snow White would both be her ruin and her salvation. According to the mirror, if she takes the young girl’s heart, she will become immortal. While the seven dwarves naturally helped Snow White as she is the only one who can defeat Ravenna and end her reign of terror.
A handsome prince was in the Snow White & the Huntsman too but this time around, there were 2 guys. Even until the end of the movie, I couldn’t tell if Snow White ended up with the Huntsman or the Duke’s son. Considering Snow White was portrayed by Kirsten Stewart, I couldn’t help but relate Snow White to Twilight. There was even a scene when Snow White was resurrected from death, which was actually similar to the scene in the last Twilight movie.
I like the movie only because Charlize Theron was there. She was very effective as Queen Ravenna. Even if they made Charlize Theron look 20 years older, she still looked stunning! I actually doubted the mirror when it said that Snow White would surpass the Queen’s beauty hahaha!
I also prefer Snow White and the Huntsman over Mirror Mirror. This has something to do with my age, I guess hahaha! But of course, you might not agree with me. It really would depend on your preference 🙂
My Rating for Snow White and the Huntsman: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Drum Tao – Art of Drum in Manila 2012
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 4, 2012
The Art of Drum show is an innovative, one of a kind show that features contemporary choreography, costumes and stage props based on the culture of the Samurai combined with taiko drumming. The 2-hour show will feature a mix of dance and martial arts as the Japanese performers beat their ancient Wadaiko Drums. Those drums weighs a massive 400kg with a 1.7 meter circumference and are made from wood and cowskin which produces loud sounds but naturally harmless to the human ear.
Established in 1993, Drum Tao brings traditional Japanese taiko drumming to the audiences of today. This elite company of Japanese drummers was created by Ikuo Fujitaka. The talented drummers practice and create their rhythms and numbers at the Aso-Kuju National Park which they call home. The place has no commercial establishments but only beauty of nature.
The music and choreography are totally original and composed by Drum Tao’s very own members.
Drum Tao has been performing worldwide in 400 cities in 17 countries with audiences of more than 5 million in total. Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, USA, Australia, Spain, Belgium, UK and Germany were among the countries who were lucky enough to have watched them perform. I’m just glad that 2012 is finally the year where we here in Manila, can see the critically-acclaimed Drum Tao perform on stage!
The show will be held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila (my favorite performing theater) on July 12-22, 2012 for 10 shows only.
The description from the press release described Drum Tao as follows:
While their skilful drumming is thrilling, Drum Tao also leap around the stage performing intricate choreography with their split-second timing, dressed in flowing red and black robes.
The end result is mind-blowing martial arts married with mesmerising music, coupled with the musicians’ physical fitness, dynamism and extraordinary synchronicity, make them human rarities.
The incomparable quality and pure unadulterated power and spectacle of their performance perfectly blends the ancient traditions of the Taiko Drumming and martial arts mastery with the innovative and flawlessly choreographed production values of contemporary Japanese excellence.
Drum Tao is adored across the world with their unprecedented and timeless drumming performance and bringing a brand new genre to the stage.
Audiences will be captivated by an evening of rhythm, beats, melody and extraordinary precision which is inspiring, uplifting and theatrical.
Reading the press release and after browsing through several websites about Drum Tao made me want to watch them even more! I had to embed this video to give you an idea what Drum Tao can do. Aren’t they too awesome?
Amazing isn’t it? I was so impressed while watching the video that I can’t wait to watch the show live on July! I’m set to watch the show on July 13, 2012. How about you?
Tickets are available at the ff. locations:
- Selected major National Book Store branches in Metro Manila
- Selected major Robinsons Department Stores in Metro Manila & in major Cities
- Ayala Malls – Greenbelt 1 and Trinoma Cinema Box Office
- Resorts World Manila Box Office
- TicketWorld Head Office – Ayala Avenue
- TicketWorld website
Here are the prices & seat plan for your reference:
- VIP – Php 4,500
- Premiere Center – Php 4,000
- Premiere Left & Right – Php 3,000
- Deluxe Left & Right & Balcony Center – Php 2,500
- Balcony Left & Right & last four rows Balcony Center – Php 1,500
- Upper Balcony – Php 1,000
Drum Tao – Art of Drum will only run for 10 shows in Manila from July 12 to 22, 2012. There’s an ongoing early bird promotion wherein you can get 15% off on all ticket categories until June 8, 2012. I suggest you buy your tickets now while they are discounted. Don’t miss Drum Tao! I surely won’t! I’m excited already! 🙂
UPDATE:
I was giddy the whole day last friday because I was excited to watch Drum Tao. I knew it would be good! When I did my research about the group, I felt that the performance would be outstanding.
I was right!
Drum Tao was more than good, they were exceptional! I feel so honored being able to watch them perform live.
Drum Tao is not something you can see everyday. You don’t see those kinds of performances on TV shows or just anywhere per se. And now that they came to the Philippines for the 1st time to show us their tremendous talent & heartfelt performance. People shouldn’t miss that! Really! Drum Tao is a show that you won’t forget.
I have a special fondness for drums. I used to want to learn playing drums. Even until now, it’s still part of my bucket list. I know it would be a hard one to achieve as I didn’t have enough space in my home for drums. I’m still not crossing it off in my list of goals especially after seeing the excellent performance by Drum Tao. Drum Tao has my respect for being able to learn the art of drumming. Their training is very serious considering the number of years and hard work they put into it. Their skills are inevitable! I can truly say everyone in the audience were so amazed! We were clapping nonstop and rose to our seats quite a few times to show our appreciation and awe!
I was surprised when in between epic performances, the Drum Tao folks would play games with us (the audience!). I also find their english too cute! They engaged the audience pretty successfully. I enjoyed each and every performance and even their jokes and sense of humor!
Drum Tao was a different kind of musical show. It wasn’t just banging at drums. They performed drum beating, martial arts, musical instruments, Japanese humor and dance.
The show blew me away!! They definitely deserve the standing ovation we gave them! If you haven’t watched Drum Tao last weekend, I strongly suggest you buy your tickets now. Believe me, you won’t regret it! Drum Tao is a must-see!
Know more about Drum Tao by clicking this link.
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Drum Tao – The Art of Drum 2012
July 12-22, 2012
Newport Performing Arts Theatre, Resorts World Manila, Newport Boulevard, Newport City Cybertourism Zone, Pasay City
Resorts World Manila Tourist/Visitor Hotline at +63-2-836-6333
TicketWorld at +63-2-891-9999
Search for the Happiest Pinoy
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 1, 2012
I was born in a negative environment. All I’ve been hearing throughout my life is how imperfect I was and how inadequate I was. No matter what I do, everything or anything just wasn’t ever enough. A few years after college, when I started living alone, I realized that I need to put some positivity in my life or else, I’d be doomed. I tried so hard thinking positively in spite of living most of my life in a toxic way.
Positivity is slowly entering my system as my goals are being achieved one by one. It was a very slow process but I’m on my way there. I had to shut off negativity when it started to crawl in again. Thinking positively has been a very difficult goal for me to achieve. In fact, I felt that I was already faking happiness because I know deep inside, I was still lonely. This has changed when I accepted the Lord. I’m still on that positivity & happiness journey but now, I know that I’m not alone.
Now, why am I sharing this? Today, I took a leave from work to attend the Happiness Boot Camp arranged by Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions. I didn’t wanna miss the chance to learn how to be happier. We are all a work in progress after all!
The Happiness Boot Camp was organized to also launch the 2012 Search for the Happiest Pinoy. The search seeks and recognizes the country’s most optimistic and passionate Filipinos who overcame difficulties and shown resilience in spite of life’s difficult challenges while keeping a big smile on their faces.
Here are some information about the search:
Who are qualified?
- any Filipino of legal age, good moral character and residing in the Philippines may be nominated.
- any Filipino of legal age, group or organization registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may nominate.
- secure online nomination forms and upload entries to www.happiest-pinoy.com
- send accomplished forms to Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions (CLIS) Head Office, 821 A. Spring corner J.P. Rizal streets, Makati City
- a constantly cheeful face and optimistic outlook
- proven ability to rise above life’s challenges
- positive impact in the lives of others
- a screening committee composed of PJ Lhuillier Group Officers/Managers will shortlist nominees from all regions in the country.
- the entries of top 20 semi-finalists will be forwarded to the Board of Judges who will select and interview the Top 10 finalists.
- the names of top 10 finalists will be announced in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Business Mirror until the ‘Happiest Pinoy’ is named by the Board of Judges.
- Happiest Pinoy Winner – Php 250,000 + trophy
- Nine (9) Runners up – Php 25,000 + trophy
So friends, if you know someone who fits the description then don’t hesitate to nominate them. Let’s make the happiest pinoy happier by recognizing their cheerful attitude, their passionate heart and their happy virus!
Me, on the other hand, enjoyed the Happiness Boot Camp. It was held at the Nurture Spa in which I got the impression that I’d be getting pampered and relaxed especially since I’d be getting my much-needed massage 🙂
Well, it wasn’t only the massage and the relaxing ambiance that made my stay enjoyable but the valuable lessons I got from all the talks from the speakers.
2010 Happiest Pinoy Runner Up Nona Andaya-Castillo
Nanay Nona was my roommate! It was a blessing that there were issues with logistics that I ended up in her room. I learned so much from her! She shared how being a vegetarian made her a happy Pinoy. I believed her, I do! However, I know that eating meat especially my comfort food helps me relieve stress. I guess, that eating my meaty comfort food isn’t good long term wise but I’ll have a hard time practicing what she taught us. It was a valuable lesson especially when she shared her personal experience.
Nanay Nona used to eat a lot of processed foods but that caused her illnesses. She became interested in studying about health in preparation for motherhood by reading tons of books and attending trainings on natural fertility management and natural healing. After a non-medicated birth experience, she exclusively breastfed her child and gave her only natural food. She became happier considering her illnesses didn’t come back anymore. She then became an advocate of indigenous vegetarianism, natural healing and natural parenting. She’s a hero and she’s indeed deserving to be one of the winners of the 2010 Happiest Pinoy Search.
2010 Happiest Pinoy Winner Winston Maxino
Being in the same room with Happiest Pinoy winner Winston Maximo was truly an honor! I was totally humbled after hearing his story. I couldn’t complain more about my life considering what Winston went through. He truly deserved to win the Happiest Pinoy search and I’m glad that he took the time in inspiring all the participants of the Happiness Boot Camp with his presence and story. Winston Maximo has a positive outlook in life and he’s such a strong person. If I’m in his shoes, I’m not sure if I can handle the same situation with that kind of strength and resilience.
Maxino was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (causes swelling in a part of his spine and constant pain in his lower back). He gets by with pain killers and drug infusion to lessen the tenderness in his back. As a matter of fact, while he was speaking at the Happiness Boot Camp, he was in pain. In spite of that, he still had a big smile on his face. Truly admirable!
He’s a great speaker too! I learned so much from his speech and he was able to inject some jokes here and there. Winston Maxino said that he chose to be a winner in spite of the pains and struggles in life. He also mentioned that he was humble and happy to realize that he inspires people with his story.
One of the stories he mentioned was from his childhood and it stuck in my mind. When Maxino was in grade 4, he wanted to be a boy scout but was rejected by his scout master that declared that he didn’t meet the physical requirement for camping and other boy scout activities. Winston couldn’t accept a ‘no’ so he approached the head teacher but he was rejected too. Winston went home and plead for help from his father. His father wrote a letter to the school which successfully registered Winston Maxino a boy scout officially.
Winston fought hard and became outstanding boy scout of the year which partly paid for his high school tuition. Imagine Winton’s perseverance paved the way for his partial scholarship and service awards! His father must be very proud of him!
He is happy to have lived his dream and aspiration to be a boy scout. He refused to be defeated by his sickness and he worked very hard to improve his situation. He took failures as lessons in life. He went through moment of weakness and anger too but as Winston Maxino said, you can fall but you can also rise. He managed to pick himself up, lick his wounds and move forward.
Another story he shared that touched our hearts was the story of Winston’s 2nd daughter who was born with down syndrome (mongoloids). In fact, his daughter is like his father, you can see how she choose to be happy in spite of the sickness. She was all smiles when she was introduced to us. Happy people are really the little heroes of the world. I salute those people. It is really a choice.
My take away with Winston Maxino’s talk is that the Happiest Pinoy search is all about honoring and celebrating the Filipino resilience. Resilience is something that has a bad past but has bounced back and moved on with his own life. There’s a certain streak of stubborness that rebels against despair and helplessness. He never say die even if the world has turned its back on him. He surrounds himself with people who loves and cherishes him. He has faith that God will send him the relief. When good things come his way, he appreciates them and give thanks. These are blessings in life.
Money cannot buy happiness and resilience. We already have everything we need to be happy. Let us be infected with the happy virus and eagerly pass it on to other people.
There he ended his speech with ‘the happiest person wishes to be excused’. That was really funny, hahaha! He spoke only for 15 minutes but every word that came out of his mouth was full of wisdom. I feel honored to be one of the people who have listened to Winston Maxino. He indeed is the Happiest Pinoy I know.
Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions General Manager Jonathan Batangan
The Happiness Boot Camp wrapped up with Jonathan’s talk about Happiness.
Some things I learned is that Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions created the Happiest Pinoy Search to promote positive Filipino values of optimism, resilience and hope in these uncertain times. Apparently, Philippines is currently #13 in the happiest countries list by nation master. The 2012 Happiest Pinoy search winner will be crowned on September 25, 2012. I wonder who will it be this time. I was just so inspired by previous winner Winston Maxino and I’m sure that if we get to know the next one, we will be equally inspired. We have so many heroes in our country and I’m glad that they are being recognized with contests like this one.
Jonathan Batangan summarized the Happiness Journey with the ff.:
- choose positive thoughts
- practice being in the eye of the storm
- initiate random acts of kindness
- maintain an attitude of gratitude
- live in the present moment
- let Go and let God.
I’m also thankful for meeting new friends in the Boot camp.
So there, that was how I spent my thursday and friday. I hope my narration inspired you as it had inspired me during the Happiness Boot Camp. If you know a Happiest Pinoy, do nominate them!
Celebrating my Birthday on Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball in Manila
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On May 25, 2012
Lady Gaga, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in real life, is a well-known performer and singer-songwriter. She first performed in Manila last August 2009. This year, I got lucky and spent my birthday watching Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball here in Manila at the newest concert venue, Mall of Asia Arena!
It was great considering I felt I was part of history as Lady Gaga was the first show to be featured in the newly opened venue.
The Born This Way Ball by Lady Gaga is very controversial here in Asia. Several religious groups in Manila called for the cancellation of the concert saying that some of Gaga’s songs carried demonic undertones. I was partly expecting to see protesters last May 21 but didn’t see any. I later found out that riot police stopped the protesters carrying placards saying ‘Stop Lady Gaga, the Mother Monster’ about one kilometer away from the concert venue.
I’m glad that the Philippine government granted Lady Gaga to perform here or else, they would have disappointed thousands of Filipino fans (including me). I’m a Christian but I don’t believe that Lady Gaga is demonic or anti-Christian. We don’t have to take her songs literally. As Lady Gaga explained, the song ‘Judas’, which protesters have problems with is just a metaphor (more about this at the latter part of this blog entry).
My friends and I arrived at the Mosh Pit around 7PM, an hour early. The place was already half-full…
After 1 hour, the MOA Arena was already jam-packed with Lady Gaga fans. I super loved the audience! Everyone was so game! I guess with set list like this, who wouldn’t be excited?
- Highway Unicorn
- Government Hooker
- Born This Way
- Black Jesus Amen Fashion
- Bloody Mary
- Bad Romance
- Judas
- Fashion of His Love
- Just Dance
- Love Game
- Telephone
- Heavy Metal Lover
- Bad Kids
- Hair
- You and I
- Electric Chapel
- Americano
- Poker Face
- Alejandro
- Paparazzi
- Scheibe
- Encore: Edge of Glory
- Encore: Marry the Night
The front act was perfect! The young DJ played some of the popular songs of today and everyone was already on the party mode!
After the front act, the beautiful stage setup was revealed – a big medieval castle! We were all waiting excitedly as Lady Gaga entered the stage aboard a real horse! Everyone screamed in delight as Lady Gaga performed her first song, Highway Unicorn.
I was surprised when I saw Lady Gaga singing on top of what looked like a naked body with spread out legs. Then I saw her disappear and suddenly came out at the bottom. Certainly a shocking and provocative way of performing the song ‘Born This Way’.
“Tonight’s not a statement, tonight’s us coming together because we believe we were all born this way.”
A lot of Filipinos appreciated Lady Gaga’s yellow dress as it seemed to be inspired by our country’s national costume. I, however, was still shocked with Lady Gaga coming out of the big fake naked body 😛
Lady Gaga definitely has a unique way to entertain and provide shock and awe to fans worldwide.
All the Lady Gaga songs I have grown to love were performed during the Born This Way Ball. One of those songs was Bad Romance in which I couldn’t stop dancing with!
You see, Gaga had these things to say:
“I’m not an alien, I’m not a woman, I’m not a man, and I’m not a creature of your government, Manila. I’m all you dreams and I’m all your potential. Let me be all your insecurities and your fears. I’m your future, everything that makes you sad and angry. I’m you, little monsters. Tonight’s not a statement, tonight’s us coming together because we believe we were all born this way. Some people say I stand for things that are bad. The truth is, I want the best for every sing like one of you. My lifestyle is like one whole performance of liberation. For those of you who aren’t free, take this opportunity to free yourself”
then she went directly with singing the song ‘Judas’. That was really a bold and brave move!
Lady Gaga, however, took the time to explain what Judas was about, “Judas’ is a metaphor and an analogy about forgiveness and betrayal and things that haunt you in your life and how I believe that it’s the darkness in your life that ultimately shines and illuminates the greater light that you have upon you. Someone once said to me, ‘If you have no shadows then you’re not standing in the light.’ So the song is about washing the feet of both good and evil and understanding and forgiving the demons from your past in order to move into the greatness of your future. I just like really aggressive metaphors—harder, thicker, darker—and my fans do as well. So it is a very challenging and aggressive metaphor, but it is a metaphor“.
Apart from Lady Gaga’s oozing talent being showcased in the concert, I also like the costumes that she wore. Some are plain cute and girly like the origami dress below.
Another is the statue of liberty-like costume that she wore. I find it really astonishing that it took her such a short amount of time to change clothes, I actually didn’t notice the time as the performances just went on and on. It seemed that she was singing while changing clothes… Everything from the production, costumes, speeches, dances were planned very well. Bravo Lady Gaga and team!
The appearance of the hologram was scary and cool at the same time. I wonder how they did it but at the last appearance of this creepy hologram, blood fell from those eyes as Lady Gaga sang the song ‘Paparazzi’. As I understood it, the image signified the defeat of the paparazzi/stalker.
Every single performance was just amazing! Never have I imagined that Lady Gaga would ride on a motorcycle with the Philippine flag at the back of her seat. What I also didn’t expect is that she became emotional at this point. She addressed the protests and cried while she talked about it.
Playing the song ‘Hair’ on the keyboard, she spoke the ff. words:
“I just feel like, you know, so many people have been protesting and it really doesn’t bother me truly because I know that there has to be change, but for all those kids all over the world that take their lives when they’re so young because they feel bullied or they’re afraid because they’re gay and they don’t want to tell anybody, don’t you think that some of us should f*cking stand up and say the go*damn truth?”
“And it’s not that I don’t respect their culture or yours, I respect you, I do. Everything that you believe in, everything that you stand for, even the things that I sing about that you don’t agree with, I totally respect that because everybody’s allowed to have their own opinions. But I cannot respect homophobia. I cannot respect hatred to the gay community.”
Lady Gaga took the chance to introduce one of his guitarists who is actually a Filipino. Ricky Tillo had quite a moment performing side by side with Gaga. Apparently, Tillo has been performing with Gaga for 3 years already.
We got to see Lady Gaga’s famous meat dress but the one that we saw was a new version of it. The first time she wore a meat dress was at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards designed by Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti. The dress was condemned by several groups particularly animal rights groups. Lady Gaga later on explained that she wore the dress to protest on U.S. military’s ‘don’t-ask-don’t tell’ policy.
Here’s what Lady Gaga had to say as she sang Americano. “If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones.”
I feel blessed that I was able to see Lady Gaga perform live. What struck me the most was that she’s not just a great performer but she also has a nice and strong character. Lady Gaga stands for what she thinks is right. Her wisdom is admirable and I learned to respect her more.
I have to thank my colleague Kriska for trusting me with the photos and video she took from the second day of Lady Gaga’s concert. I attended the first one but I wasn’t able to take any videos or photos as I left my camera in the car. I was also busy dancing, jumping, singing and watching Lady Gaga perform that I totally forgot about needing those things in order to write my Lady Gaga experience more effectively. So thank you Kriska! I owe you one!
Here’s a video Kriska took (this was the last song Lady Gaga sang during the concert – Marry the Night):
I wouldn’t be able to write this entry if it wasn’t for Smart who gave me the chance to watch Lady Gaga on my birthday! Thanks Smart! 😀
Smart is truly living up to its campaign: Live More. With Lady Gaga’s concert, if we checked in via foursquare at the SM Mall of Asia Arena from 6PM to 2AM last May 21 & 22, we got to unlock the Live More badge which is actually the first ever Philippine badge on Foursquare! It didn’t stop there – two lucky Live More badge owners will get a chance to win Samsung Galaxy Nexus! I wish I get to win it! We’ll know next week.. Pray for me?
I really had a GREAT time! Lady Gaga – The Born This Way Ball was the best concert I watched so far! I was jumping, singing, dancing and chanting Gaga’s name all throughout the show! If I may add, it was actually the first time that I let myself go, enjoy a concert and not worry about how crazy I looked.
All the best of luck Lady Gaga with the rest of your Born This Way Ball tour! As you said, don’t mind the protesters. We love you!