My 2012 Highlights and Looking Forward to 2013 :-)

Another year gone, another year passed. How time flies. I can't believe it's already the last 8 hours of 2012. What a year. Let me take you back to my Top 5  favorite moments :-)

5) Watching Phantom of the Opera at CCP. 

I just can't stop obsessing over this musical ever since I saw it live. I've only read the plot and it didn't affect me that much. But when I watched it live, I realized that there's something about the play that breaks your heart. Maybe because I've been rooting for the Phantom ever since and the fact that Christine ended up with Raoul disappointed me so much. Oh well, that's unrequited love for you.

4) Joined 2 runs - 3k (NatGeo Run) and 10k (Nike Run)!

Who would've thought that me - the girl who hates to run - can conquer 2 major runs and surpassed my (and everyone else's) expectations? Although my body ached after both runs, running truly is a high that one must experience. Outbreak Manila, you're next! :)

3) Going to the Gym - FINALLY!

Get up, go to work for about 10-12 hours, go home, sleep. That's basically my routine ever since I started working. I felt the effects of being stuck in a rut: being constantly whine-y that I was getting fatter and doing the same thing over and over again made me want to tear my hair out. So when my friend suggested that we avail of the Gold's Gym promo that they had with their company, I jumped at the chance. For 3 months, I did cardio workout, muscle training and Zumba classes after work hours. Although I felt exhausted, I loved every minute of it. We renewed our membership to counteract the holiday weight gain so yeah, I'm looking forward to hit the gym again! :) 

2) Being blessed by the country's strongest bank.

Yes, we did receive a lot of blessings this year (both financial and career growth related). When you combine it all together, its very overwhelming and I just feel so thankful. Yes, I do whine a lot but hey, I'm sticking to my job because I like it. It'll take something big to change my mind but for now, I'm contented about where I'm headed. To all of this, thank you MBTC :)

1) 4 - day Hong Kong trip!

In a way, this trip was memorable since I experienced a lot of firsts: My first time to go abroad without any family member, my first time to almost losing all my travel money due to a faulty credit card, my first time for the weather and the sheer amount of people to thwart my carefully planned out itinerary, my first time to be herded out from a depressing Disneyland because Signal # 9 was up and my first time to shop for a lot of stuff and still have a lot of money left over (thanks to the summer shopping festival!) Sheila and I had a great time nonetheless and the highlights of the trip included:

-Looking for our hotel. We missed the bus stop and had to board the MTR. We finally found it after asking for assistance from our kind kababayans out there.

-Credit Card problem that almost ate up all of the cash we brought with us.

-Ngong Ping Village and the exhausting climb to see the Big Buddha (the stunning view was a reprieve from our breathless state). Oh and I also got a SKY BLUE PANDA TUMBLER, YAY!

-Citygate Outlet. We shopped til we dropped (Now, why can't Giordano and Mango be that cheap here?)

-Reflection at NanLian Gardens. I could stay there all day. Peace and quiet < 3

-Seeing and watching a real live PANDA BEAR. I was so amused I stayed there for half an hour :D

-Viewing Hong Kong's Ocean Park upside down (thanks to the Flash).

-Exploring Madam Tussaud's and seeing Hong Kong's twinkling lights from the Peak (and a lot of walking).

-Disneyland was cancelled since Signal #9 was hoisted all over Hong Kong :(

-Shopping, shopping, shopping at Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Mongkok! Wish we had H&M here! 

2012 was an awesome year for me. I just hope that 2013 will even be better! I already promised myself that for this coming year, I will try to be better version of my previous self. That's the great thing about New Year. An endless supply of hope and determination. I'm excited to see what this year will bring. 2013, I'm ready for you! Bring it! :)

My time with the Phantom of the Opera

I'm not really a fan of musicals and I've never seen one in my entire life (cue the unbelieving gasps here). But don't get me wrong, I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. I've narrowed it down to three specific shows: Wicked, Mamma Mia and of course, The Phantom of the Opera. These are the shows that I believed, would give me a sense of what everybody was raving about.

And so when I heard that The Phantom of the Opera was in town, I immediately searched for ticket prices. I knew these things were pricey but I didn't expect that the cheapest ticket would still be around a thousand pesos (and the seats were quite a distance from the stage!). I thought about it for about a week or two before I finally decided to buy the second cheapest one worth 2250 pesos. Since my family and friends weren't really fans of such shows, I decided to ask my office mate Abi to accompany me. Her liking to the show just fueled my excitement that I eagerly  bought the tickets a month before. The good news is, I chanced upon a promo called the Friday Payday Blow-out that slashed 1000 pesos off the original 2250 pesos ticket price. YAYYYY!! :D :D :D

Last Friday night, we braved the crowded MRT Taft and KFC Harbor Square to make it in time for the 8 PM show at CCP. After riding the elevator all the way up to the 4th floor and buying a pair of binoculars (which was a caveat of how high up we were), we finally entered the main theatre. One word that I uttered the minute I stepped inside the cavernous hall? WOW. The stage was dimly lit with the infamous chandelier covered and clearly the center of the attraction.

                The view from our seats (its quite steep and we were up high O_o)

The show started on time (no Filipino time here!) and from then on, I was hypnotized by every little detail of the play: Christine's soprano voice resonating throughout the theatre, Raoul's love for her childhood sweetheart, the Phantom's obsession with his young protegee and of course the musical numbers. My favorites were The Phantom of the Opera and Think of Me. The Phantom's lair was dank and dark, a perfect reflection of the disfigured musical genius. Jonathan Rouxmouth did the role justice and Claire's voice gave me goosebumps. It truly was magical and the crew deserves a standing ovation indeed since it was like we really were at the Paris Opera House that even the Phantom's reign of terror extends to the audience (I can't quite believe it that they got the Phantom at the top of the stage and hanging at the back of the chandelier).

The downside of the whole thing is that from our view, we weren't able to see the descent of the characters into the Phantom's secret lair (I heard it was amazing since it gave the stage an illusion of depth). And seeing the characters facial expressions might have contributed more to the pull that I've felt to the play since the beginning. For those who are planning to watch, I recommend purchasing the 5,800 pesos tickets. They'll be worth it. Trust me :)

When the Phantom let Christine go and disappeared, I felt tears welling up at the corners of my eyes. It was a truly touching love story that bordered on obsession. I truly felt the Phantom's pain and when he was playing with the robotic monkey figurine in the end, I knew that I wanted Christine to end up with the Phantom.

After exiting the theatre, I was beyond awed. After taking some photos at the lobby, I hailed a taxi and went home. I kept thinking about the musical - the story, the songs and the cast members who were clearly pros at what they do. It just made me realize that for a first live musical, I chose well. It was indeed God's gift to musical theater. And I can't wait to see it again if ever I wound up in New York and London along with Wicked and Mamma Mia.

I'll never forget my time with the Phantom. He made a fan out of me :)