I got the idea for a Kitty travelogue from Travelocity’s roaming gnome, the one who was gnomenapped from his owner’s front yard in North Carolina and is now living a shussing, jet-setting, high-rolling lifestyle. I wanted Kitty to be part of my everyday life, never mind that I do get stares from people who think of me as nuts.

Kitty got here with very scanty accoutrements, just her standard underwear and two sets of clothing (a polka dot bikini set and a Japanese yukata). They ran out of other clothing designs before I could purchase them so I guess I’ll have to start looking for them on eBay.  

I made up my mind to bring Kitty to Friday night’s concert as early as Wednesday. But I didn’t think any of her two dresses would suit the concert scene so I simply dragged her along in her underwear. A promised to bring us shopping the next day, though.

Kitty at Burgoo Gateway

Kitty at Sharon Cuneta’s concert

On Saturday, we dropped by SM Megamall for a special Sanrio sale at the Atrium. I managed to pick up a few items on sale. However, I missed out on the afternoon activities (a meet and greet affair, a Kitty photo shoot, and face painting) because I went very early to avoid the crowds. Kitty managed to squeeze in some pictures, including one with an overweight Kitty cheerleader.

With Chiqui of Sanrio Surprises Megamall A

Then it was off to Trinoma for clothes shopping. My cousin had told me of an Animaland branch in Trinoma that might carry clothes for my 12-inch Kitty, and we weren’t the least bit disappointed. Animaland is much like Build-A-Bear, where you can stuff your own doll and choose clothing and accessories for them. Although there were a limited number of items for smaller female dolls like my Kitty, I did find jeans, shirts, a ballerina dress, sequined hot pants and matching blouse. The staff were very accommodating and very enthusiastic about their jobs. They even gamely posed for my camera. I liked Animaland a lot and they’re going to see much more of me soon.

With Ice (I hope I got his name right) of Animaland Trinoma

In the afternoon, before we prepared for Saturday night’s concert, Kitty and I tagged along with A to have the car’s matting changed. The car was parked near the sidewalk and people could see me taking shots of Kitty. Some smiled at me, others laughed, and yet a few others gave me shocked stares. Whatever.

Having a 12-piece car mat set fitted at Miggyboy’s

Notice Kitty’s new outfit? They didn’t have shoes in her size though. Early evening, A and I chose to have a light snack at the Gateway Food Express before heading off to the concert venue.

And at Tony Hadley’s concert, Kitty was seen jumping up and down with Kittymama. The cameras also pannned over them a few times.

The night ended with a quick repast at Cafe Bola. Here is Kitty, trying to decide on what to eat.

And before we knew it, another day was done. Kitty rested in her brand-new Disney Princess stroller because Alphonse wanted to crush her in his embrace. He was also quite intrigued with her pink ribbon.

*Yawn* Good night, Kitty!

~0~

Thirty-second note on Philippine Idioms: Itchy feet (makati ang paa) is a local idiom that means one is a gallivanter, or fond of going places  

This is a denim visor I got from AJ a few months back. Alphonse picked out the blue one himself. I think he thinks he looks cool in it.

These are new bookends I got from Vivi and they go very well in my bookshelf. But wait…

Alphonse loves the vibrating Kitty strawberry toy Vivi sent as a gift! See the smile on his face? Suddenly, my purchases all seemed rather unimportant. How much is Alphonse’s smile? Absolutely priceless. Thank you, dear Vivi! 

This is Alphonse’s favorite clock from Nancy (it goes very well with his Kitty timer). For now, it hangs in our room while it awaits a permanent place in what will be Alphonse’s work area. The classic red and apple Kitties are his favorite. Most touching of all, Nancy and Vivi wrote Alphonse short notes which I have read to him. I know he loves being remembered and thought of. :-)

Now, this is my current favorite, a scientific calculator which I got on a clearance sale at Nancy’s. I’ve been dreaming of this for quite a time (it was quite expensive in other sites) and I was fortunate to have snagged this before anyone else did. Now, I’m looking for another one for Sweeney, who I think will be able to use this in her high school algebra and trigonometry classes. Oh, I do hope I find another one!

And for my Oriental-inspired living room, here are my newest add-ons:

a pair of gorgeous Kitties from Allen to watch over Akemi, my Japanese baby doll

a lucky manekineko gold plush from Gift Gate

and an elegant Japanese Kitty from AJ

I don’t have a specific room to house my Kitty collection. More often than not, you’ll find her here and there, scattered in the different corners of my home, proof of how she has insinuated herself into my life. Each piece reminds me of something, of Alphonse’s smile as he looks at Hello Kitty tenderly, of Alex’s clumsy but ultimately successful attempts to worm himself into my good side (a mommy bribe, he calls it), and of A’s willingness to sacrifice his own interests and desires just to accommodate mine. It’s not so much as the Kitties but the story behind them. And that story is always about love.

Last week was pretty hectic; three concerts in one week (Alicia Keys on Tuesday, Sharon Cuneta on Friday, and Tony Hadley on Saturday) and my body felt as if it were being punished already. By Sunday, all I wanted to do was sleep and for the first time in days, my body resisted the call of mommy duty.

“Mom, I need something,” Alex would holler. I’d drool in response.

Alphonse would tug at my hand and give me a PECS card; I’d stare at the card blankly and wonder what the heck those little pictures meant. My mind was a blank.

And A would ask me, “Do we need anything from the grocery, honey?” and I’d try to scribble a list. I think I gave him some funny chicken scrawls and squiggles on a piece of paper. A, always patient, did the groceries himself and let me just sleep in. 

Whoa, I think I’m getting a little too old for nightlife, heehee.

Still, I had such fun over the weekend. A was my concert partner, as usual (he has much more stamina for these things than me, I am constantly amazed at his endurance). I love my husband and I can’t say it enough. When I think about what I made him do over the weekend, I cringe in mock embarrassment, but I am all the more grateful that my life is blessed by this man’s love.

I mentioned that we went on three concerts, right? Well, I didn’t mention this: I brought my Hello Kitty Dress Me doll everywhere over the weekend. And A was usually the one who held “her” while I took the pictures. :-)

Ms. Cuneta’s concert, Megathirty, on Crazy 8 night was very well attended (my review will come out soon) and I’ve never ever been disappointed in any of her shows (I’ve never missed one). Her voice is in the best condition it has ever been in recent years. Her special numbers with guests Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera were truly awe-inspiring. It made my heart swell with pride that these were homegrown talents who could stand tall with the rest of the world.

Then too, it happens in the most unexpected of places but that night, I was suddenly reunited with two old medical school classmates I haven’t seen in years. One is a well-known hepatologist (he did his residency at Yale University, completed a three-year fellowship in gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and obtained his Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University - whew! that was a mouthful!) and the other is a physician who loyally serves his hometown of Tarlac and is such a talented artist that I think he’ll soon be leaving behind medicine to go into full-time graphic novel writing and drawing.  I couldn’t seem to hug them enough when I saw them. In the excitement, I forgot to take our pictures and I rued it immediately. Drat!

Mr. Hadley’s concert made up for in sheer fun what it lacked in attendance (the venue was roughly 60% full). Both concerts were held at the same venue (Araneta Coliseum) so I was able to compare the volume of crowds. What was initially a disappointing sight turned out into a blessing- we danced and jumped and hustled, and we didn’t feel like we were sardines trapped in a can. Tony Hadley still has the voice that catapulted Spanda Ballet into the ‘80s icon it was, and despite the rather poor attendance, he gave us a show to remember.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. I’ll post a separate article on Kitty’s Day Out soon. Enjoy!

Megathirty 8-8-08

Kitty attends her first concert ever (in her underwear)!

Kitty enjoying the show…

Sharon Cuneta with Gary Valenciano

With daughter KC Concepcion (duet of “Dear Heart” sung in English, French, and Filipino)

KC sings “Imposible” while swinging from a wire harness

With Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera

The Pangilinan Family

Tony Hadley Concert 8-9-08

Kitty trying to steal the show, popping in and out of the video screen

Wearing Alex’s horns, watching the Sabado Boys (a crowd favorite), the front act

The man himself, Tony Hadley, a little older, a little heavier, but still as good as “Gold”

A thrilled Kittymama with her new baby (Kitty is a Brit like Mr. Hadley )

I think I can say outright that I can lay the responsibility for my insomnia to the Alicia Keys concert I attended last Tuesday night at  SMX, Mall of Asia. I still have a big hang-over from all the partying that went on that night. If the Daughtry concert rocked my world, this one literally blew me out of my socks!

I wasn’t expecting much really. For one, the concert started really, really late, way past the announced 8 pm. Ms. Keys was onstage just a little before ten, and while the front acts (Luke Mijares and Duncan Ramos- they were good too) tried their best to tied the crowd over, the wait was already too long. Imagine the sacrifice and effort it took to get there, only to be asked to wait again, and I was almost ready to call it quits that night. From my part of the city to the Mall of Asia, what should have been a leisurely 30 to 45 minute drive turned out to be frenzied Speed Racer driving at rush hour.

Then, too, the venue seemed hastily put together. It was cramped and uncomfortable. To be fair, the concert was originally slated for an open air venue (SM MoA parking lot between building south, the sacred heart shrine and SMX) but because of the torrential rains the past days, it had to be moved indoors. I wish they had moved it to the Araneta Coliseum instead; the seats would’ve been more bearable. (Notice how I keep complaining about the seats? Ohh, my aching bones…)

Still, not considering its technical shortcomings, this was one of the best concerts I’ve been to this year. And to think that until I heard Alicia Keys in person that night, I was not even a fan. A had loaded my iPod with her albums a few weeks before so I’d have more of an empathy for the show, but I kept forgetting to listen to them. He really had to exercise his persuasive skills to convince me to come that night, and it was only the thought of some alone time with him that made me change my mind. Well, am I glad I did!

Before I share some photos taken of the event, I wanted to put this in. I found this from a thread of the concert at the Philippine Macintosh Users Group (aka PhilMUG) forum. It comes from member courtside3 (who echoed my exact sentiments):

“As has been noted, the Alicia Keys concert ranks among the best so far this year. Her performance was worth every centavo of the already reasonably priced tickets. Props to MTV Philippines for bringing her back to Manila. And the good news is that she promised to return anew.

“As booblanco pointed out, however, the SMX Convention Center was cramped. In fact, concertgoers were packed like sardines, compelled to sit in round monoblock chairs that were tied together. In all the concerts I’ve gone to, the only setup more physically restrictive was that of Daughtry’s at Eastwood City, where there wasn’t even any legroom to speak of between rows of seats (and we were in the so-called “VIP” section). It’s a good thing Keys was so good; my wife and I couldn’t help but dance to her hits, and thus ended up using the seats sparingly.

“Clearly, the SMX isn’t built to host a concert. In the “Gold Right” section, for instance, there was one big foundation that blocked the view of many a patron in the back. And because there was no progressive elevation to speak of, people in the entire “Silver” section had to stand on their seats in order to get a glimpse of the stage. And, even then, Keys must have looked like a matchstick. It’s a good thing officials had the presence of mind to set up multiple vidiwalls.

“Nonetheless, I’m glad the concert was held at the SMX. For one thing, it boasted of excellent acoustics (and it may just be because we were situated near the stage). Heck, the sound quality was, in my opinion, even better than those of concerts I’ve watched at the Araneta Coliseum.

“All told, I’d watch it again under the same circumstances. The only thing I’d really like to erase from my experience was the offending smell of cigarette smoke. Yes, some A****e (editing mine) in our part of the SMX had the gall to light up. “

~0~

And now for the pictures: (I used my Sony point and shoot, but others were carrying sophisticated DSLRs. Dang it! Why didn’t I think of that? Then again, “how do I smuggle in a fully loaded DSLR in my handbag?” would be a better question. Thinking….)

     My mother, my first best friend,

     Cocok, my best friend since grade school at the ‘knoll,   

     Cynthia, my best friend in high school at Pisay,

     Helen and Gaylie, my best friends in med school,

     Jasmine and Joee, my sisters who are the second mothers to my children,

     Joyce, my baby sister-in-law (although she’s no longer a baby),

     Ampy, my baby cousin (she’s no longer a baby too) who is Alphonse’s adored aunt and teacher, 

     Ondine, wife of our (A’s and mine’s) high school buddy Jun, and my dearest kumare, 

     Leirs, my kumare (we sealed the bond online, can you imagine that?)

     Megamom, my high school classmate with whom I shared the Abominable Snowman experience(*wink*) and newly-rediscovered friend (see, we’re making up for lost time)

     And to all the women who have shown me kindness, compassion, and friendship: Casdok, Susan, Maddy, Babs, Cris, Beth, Julie, Mari, Odette, Gracey, Vivi, Esi, Dee, Allen, Nancy, and Shirley, this one’s for you!

When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you’re going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you’re going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, ‘Let’s cry together,’
Another, ‘Let’s fight together,’
Another , ‘Let’s walk away together.’

One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ..
Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, but for many, it’s wrapped up in several..
    

     One from 7th grade,
     One from high school,
     Several from the college years,
     a couple from old jobs,
     On some days your mother,
     On some days your neighbor,
     On others, your sisters,
     And on some days, your daughters.

So whether they’ve been your friend for 20 minutes or 20 years,
AND ONLY IF YOU’D LIKE TO,
Pass this on to the women that God has placed in your life to make a difference. 

God bless you all, guys!  

P.S. If you caught the announcements over primetime news last week, you would have seen my A on television, sitting beside Korina Sanchez, who won Newscaster of the Year. A received the award on behalf of BusinessWorld.  Yayy!!!

But Alphonse, well, he grew up with Hello Kitty beside him- on his bed, on his clothes, on his things- and to him, it was as natural as anything else in his little world. While A was concerned that I encouraged it a little too much, he didn’t exactly forbid it. I think as long as Alphonse was happy, he was happy too, never mind that Hello Kitty does not rank anywhere near A’s favorite things in the world.

This week, a package I ordered some months back arrived. It came from Esi, one of my friends in the Multiply social network. I knew as early as then when I asked for measurements that this would not fit me, but I had someone else in mind: Alphonse. And I was right. When he donned this on, he gave me the sweetest smile, rubbed his hands gently on the fleece surface, and hugged me tightly. Even more, when I started taking pictures of him, he posed like a world-class supermodel.

Wearing his fleece vest (from Tita Esi), with his Kitty timer (from Tita Vivi) on him and his favorite Kitty vibrating pillow (from Mama) in unprompted poses

Ah, the innocence and simple happiness of a child, one of autism’s unexpected gifts.

Four Hello Kitty pens, a pink nail clipper (now attached to my housekeys) and a small metal sliding-top box for medicines or trinkets

“What are these for, honey?” I asked him.

“Nothing, they’re just some things I thought you’d like,” he answered.

“Why?” 

“Just because,” his voice trails off as he kisses me lightly on the lips.

 My heart turns to mush.

I play with the pens for a while. I hang the clipper to my keys (you never know when Alphonse might need a trim). I like the box best as I think about transferring my carry-on first aid items to this box.

“Honey, did you notice Kitty’s nose is not yellow?” I try to make more small talk as A slips off his office barong.* He stops what he is doing and looks at me.

“Is her nose supposed to be yellow?”

“U-huh. She might have a stuffy nose in this one, it’s all black!” I giggled like a mababaw na person (mababaw translates to shallow, but the vernacular sounds more apt) .

A asks to look at the box and gives out a groan as he turns it over.

“What?” I asked.

“This.”

It’s okay, honey, I love it anyway.

~0~

*Thirty second lesson on the Philippines: a barong is an embroidered dress shirt of the Philippines; for office use, linen is the cloth of choice but for a formal affair, the choice of cloth would be delicate fabric made from pineapple, banana, or abaca fibers

I’m listening to Daughtry over iTunes right now, trying to relive the hype and buzz of a Daughtry concert. A and I were at the Eastwood Central Plaza last night to catch Daughtry’s one-night performance. While A and I are normally not rock-loving people (well, just the Guitar Hero-rockin’ kind, ahem), we both enjoy Daughtry’s music, and well, let’s just say that last night was a good excuse as any to rock out with the best of them.

We got to Eastwood at quarter of eight. Traffic was bad at the Libis area; it took us over 45 minutes to navigate the stretch of road from Katipunan Avenue to Eastwood City. With barely 15 minutes left before the concert started, we found a nifty parking spot, jumped from the car, and made it just in time to check out if we were late. And not having enough time for a decent sit-down dinner, we settled for the nearest fastfood diner nearest the venue (KFC- and oops, my mind is going in a different track now, but has anyone noticed how their logo of the Colonel is different than the other KFCs?), swallowed without chewing much (let the stomach acids do all the work, ouch!), and rushed back to to claim our seats in the VIP section at 8:05 p.m. I silently berated myself for being five minutes late as I sat down to a still almost-empty section. Tsk…tsk…tsk…

(8:45 pm, just passing the time)

The concert started late, as always; then again, when has a concert in our country ever started on time? I was a little miffed; plastic seats are not known to come in friendly orthopedic styles and are not exactly kind to behinds. Also, I could have used the extra hour to order real food. I could have even done with more chewing. Still, when the lights went down, all thought of sore butts, aching joints, and growling tummies were laid to rest. It was time to rock!

The crowd goes wild!

Pictures taken with a SE W960i, so they’re not as good as those taken with a dedicated digital camera. My bad, I forgot to recharge my camera.

An hour and a half later, I felt like I had done Guitar Hero and Wii Fit at the same time. I was also almost deaf, haha. People jumped and screamed and shrieked and yelled and tore their hair out (okay, the last one’s an exaggeration), and it was hard to resist the same excitement and delight. Chris Daughtry certainly made me feel very young.

On the way back to the car, A and I took a detour to have a night cap of sorts. It’s my favorite shot of the entire night: me and ice cream. Dairy Queen, you had me at hello!

�

P.S. Just found out that Daughtry’s “What I Want” is included in Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS, which gives me another reason to save for the $49.99 game and attachment. (See picture below.)

Alphonse and I were waiting in the car last night for A who had gone to run some errands for me (I had him buy some glue sticks from the bookstore). I was reading some messages sent via SMS, quite oblivious to the giggling I was hearing from the back of the car. A few minutes later, Alphonse turned on the interior dome light, apparently to see who he was giggling with. Instinctively, I turned around to tell him off (one of his repetitive habits is switching the lights on and off) when I noticed a young boy standing beside Alphonse’s window. The boy was probably no more than ten years of age, scrawny, dressed in threadbare clothes. He was one of the street urchins who usually offer the use of their umbrellas on rainy days for a fee. Separated by the sheet of window glass, they stared at each other for a few seconds.

Then Alphonse started to giggle, as he looked expectantly at the boy for a reaction. The boy started chuckling in turn, moving his arms in the air, even jumping up and down.. This went on for a few minutes until they were both howling in laughter. After a while, the young boy waved goodbye. Alphonse waved back.  He smiled all the way home. 

Wish that making friends were always this easy.  

~0~

Speaking of friendships, I can’t begin to tell everyone how the experience of blogging has opened the world for me with renewed friendships and new ones forged. With a few strokes of the keyboard and a few clicks of the mouse, I have expanded my world beyond what I know.

Megamom shared this lovely tag with me a few weeks ago (thank you, dear friend) and she has an inspiring (and heartbreaking) story to tell that relates to the origins of this tag. I invite you all to click on the links above and read it for yourself. Sharing The Love was created by a grateful mom named Crystal, in honor of the individual who gave her one year-old son Noah a new lease in life by way of an organ donation on July 7, 2007. Noah’s new heart represents not only the best in humanity- the capacity to sacrifice even in the midst of grief- it also speaks of hope and love that we, as sentient beings, all aspire to.

The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**

I pass on this beautiful gift to the special people who have touched my life by way of the written word.

To Casdok of Mother of Shrek and Susan Senator, both mothers of young men with autism, my heroes in this fascinating journey of life with autism,

Susan’s Nat and Casdok’s C are leaving home to explore the world- to learn, to work, to have fun, to   dream- and while I am as proud of them as their mothers, I can’t help but feel their moms’ worries,  apprehensions, anxieties, and fears. It takes a lot of courage and faith to set a child free to explore life. And so I send this to Casdok and Susan, with all the love I can muster in this world, for being the kind of mother I always dream to be.

To Odette of Little Miss Firefly and Gracey of XOXOGracey, whose ingenious crafts are as remarkable as their personalities,

As Odette starts a life Ireland with the man of her heart, I send her this with all the prayers and best wishes for a happy life. And to Gracey, who brings the vibrant colors of our country’s summers to the Netherlands, I send her this, too, with blessings of more grace in her life. Thank you for bringing color to my life.   

And to Mark of No Special Effects, a brilliant young man whose talents never cease to amaze me,  

A physician in the cusp of his career, Doc Mark is the unusual soul whose interests in food and photography make him my all-time favorite food blogger. His gorgeous pictures never fail to heal my soul, and his kindness to an old fogey like me (he visits this blog, yay!) is truly a gift. Thank you!

 God bless you all, dear friends!