WHEN LOVE BECOMES SOMETHING YOU FALL INTO...

Just stumbled upon a very meaningful quote. 

“We’re all seeking that special person who is right for us. But if you’ve been through enough relationships, you begin to suspect there’s no right person, just different flavors of wrong. Why is this? Because you yourself are wrong in some way, and you seek out partners who are wrong in some complementary way. But it takes a lot of living to grow fully into your own wrongness. And it isn’t until you finally run up against your deepest demons, your unsolvable problems—the ones that make you truly who you are—that we’re ready to find a lifelong mate. Only then do you finally know what you’re looking for. You’re looking for the wrong person. But not just any wrong person: the right wrong person—someone you lovingly gaze upon and think, “This is the problem I want to have.”

I will find that special person who is wrong for me in just the right way.

Let our scars fall in love.” 

― Galway Kinnell 

EH BAKIT NGA BA HINDI AKO CRUSH NG CRUSH KO?

Ay teka, wala na nga pala akong crush.

Pero ano nga ba ‘tong fuss (okay, I know super late ako) tungkol sa akdang libro ni Ramon “Lucky” Bautista – na noong una feeling ko eh “somebody” pero di ko kilala until natunghayan ko siya sa ewan ko kung nasa ere pa rin ngayon na May Tamang Balita at nagpakilala siya saken – at nagawa pang gawan ng movie adaptation? Ewan ko. Pero salamat na lang din: una sa aking bro sa pag-uwi niya isang gabi sa bahay bitbit ang isang hiniram na kopya ng Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo? at pangalawa, dahil ang librong ‘to ang nag-enlighten sa aking isa pala akong “Halamanization” expert.

Hindi ko masasabing market-moving ang librong ‘to. He he. Nang matapos ko ngang basahin in one sitting (dapat lang) ay tinanong ako ng kapatid kong nanghiram – at inunahan kong magbasa – nito kung maganda raw ba. Sagot ko ay isang medyo mahabang pause at “pwede na rin.”

For me, isa siyang reminder, kumbaga. Yung kalipunan ng questions and answers mula sa Formspring account ni RB – re signs na di ka gusto ng taong gusto mo, paano mag-move on, pagiging NBSB, at paano sasabihin sa parents mo na bumagsak ka sa eskwela – ang bumubuo dito, at ilang “selfie” pictures niya na may kasamang quotable one-liner sa ilalim. May mga tanong-at-sagot na totoong magpapangiti sa’yo. At meron ding ilan na talaga namang makaka-relate ka, tipong “teka, may Formspring acct. yata ako at ako yata ang nagtanong nito nakalimutan ko lang.” Parang ako, pagdating dun sa NBSB section.

So ayun.

Maidagdag lang. Kung sa radyo may Papa Jack, sa Internet (at print na rin ngayon) si Ramon Bautista ang counterpart niya. Siyempre minus the pagiging racy, dahil cool dude lang itong huli. At kung sakaling bibili ka ng sarili mong kopya o makakatisod ng hiram lang at babasahin mo ang Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo?, pramis sa isang picture andun si Luis Manzano kasama ni RB (na kamukha “raw” niya kaya pwede mong i-compare o kaya ipilit). Wala lang. Pakihanap na lang din dun si Aga Muhlach if you can. 

A SECRET REVEALED

Every once in a while, amid life's turn of making us savor boredom, we stumble upon things that shift our frown upside down. Sometimes, these things come in a one-word facade that whether we're prepared for it or not renders us temporarily stunned. And if by some cosmic coincidence we've got the same wavelength, I bet you've already figured out it's the word "secret." But I'm not referring to the one kept well-hidden with a red stamp over it. Still, I'm delighted to say that my recent discovery involved a "secret" movie. Well, not-so secret actually.

Introducing Secret, a 2007 Taiwanese movie that lets us in on the mysterious love story of Ye Xianglun (Jay Chou) and Lu Xiaoyu (Gwei Lun-mei), both piano major students of the-not-fictional Tamkang Secondary School. An old piano piece, aptly titled "Secret," leads them to each other, and thus provides a "magical" element to the story.

For someone who had just forayed into film directing, the multi-hyphenate Chou undeniably was able to deliver in this movie, but obviously not when we talk about his acting. While Lun-mei was able to strike off her character's enigmatic aura convincingly, Chou, on the other hand, flubbed his portrayal by being emotionless and flat most of the time.
  
But what he lacked in thespian performance, he made up for with his musical prowess, and this, for me, is the best thing going for this film. 

The music he and his fellow composer Terdsak Janpan created for Secret, which was all classical, blended well with the scenes. Moreover, piano enthusiasts will surely find this movie a great one, as it is a real treat for their aural senses. Add to that the larger-than-life piano duel between Chou's character and someone named Prince of Piano, which serves as one of the film's highlights.

Spending your precious 100 minutes for this film is worth it, and I hope you'll take my word for it. Just don't mind the inexplicable and illogical turn of events toward the last part. Now that's an unspeakable secret between the two of us; please don't tell anyone.

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 7 (SOMEONE LIKE YOU)

Rounding out my Piano Week's to-be-featured songs is another Adele hit, "Someone Like You." Though at first this wasn't my favorite, despite the constant oh-she-is-playing-her-favorite-song-again joke being thrown at me whenever I play this one, I do admit that it is now.

I won't be posting my self-illustrated tutorial today, but rather an instructional YouTube video through which I was able to learn how to play the song. There's a part where I can't keep up with the proper pace (waah, I just can't!), so I am warning you not to expect the best piano playing for this song. I guess that also goes with the other videos in this challenge, but there you are, staying with me until the end. So thank you very much for that. Till next challenge!

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 6 (SECRETS)

"Secrets" is the OST of the fantasy-adventure movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010). I liked it big time when I first heard (and saw) its "electrical" version being played in the movie, not to mention that that scene was so rad you would wish to witness such thing in real life. (oops, spoiler alert!)

Click here to download the PDF version

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 5 (FIX YOU)

Just in case you don't know, "Fix You" is an inspirational song sung by the British band Coldplay. I love playing this song on my keyboard. I know you will love it, too. 

Click here to download the PDF version

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 4 (THE MAN WHO CAN'T BE MOVED)

Learning to play this song really ingrained in me the importance of fingering -- proper finger placement -- in playing the piano/ keyboard. It is hard to explain why, so let's just leave it at that.

Click here to download the PDF version

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 3 (ROLLING IN THE DEEP)

To my recollection, I was able to learn Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" in just one sitting, which took a little over 20 minutes . Well maybe it was because it's one of my favorites.

Click here to download the PDF version

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 2 (FIREFLIES)

I love to play this one a tad slower than the original. But here I opted to stick by the song's usual speed (so sorry for the frying sound ). I'm always reminded of someone whenever I play this; don't know why though.

Click here to download the PDF version

PIANO WEEK: SONG NO. 1 (A THOUSAND YEARS)

I’ve been dreaming of posting videos of me playing the keyboard on this blog. But given the phase I’ve been in lately, I just don’t seem to have the drive to finally get round to it.

And then one day I came to realize that setting aside that “dream” for so long might eventually lead me to just write it off, so much so that I’d probably do the same to my other to-do blog entries. Needless to say, of course I don’t want that to happen.

So today – armed with renewed enthusiasm – I’m setting out Piano Week. I will be recording a preselect song each day of this week, meaning seven different songs for seven days. Moreover, I will provide simple illustrations (which I made myself) to teach you how to play some of them. It’s not that I’m good enough to be a piano teacher because you see I’m light-years away from being one , but I think it’ll be all the more fun and fulfilling on my part to be able to share what I know with those who are just starting to learn the piano just like me.

I want to make it clear, though, that it was through classpiano.com by Regan Starr that I was able to learn the first six songs – not to mention almost all of the songs I know – that I’ll be having here. And I’d be remiss if I just go about this seven-day challenge without expressing first my sincerest gratitude to the site’s owner. So, .

Moving on, here’s my Piano Week’s first song, "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. I once heard a piano-cello cover of this song and very much liked the “transition” (dunno if that’s the correct term for it) before the second part of the intro. So here you’ll be seeing and hearing me play my interpretation of that “transition,” which is actually made up of just two keys.  

Click here to download the PDF version