A Fine, Fine Line

Few days after Avenue Q, I still have bits and pieces of the songs playing in my head...like it's some sort of beef strip stuck in between my teeth (o, trivia, ano ang English ng TINGA?!)...the kind that will bother you until you've successfully dislodged it from your teeth. So, there. I finally sat down, Googled the damned song lyrics and got it going in my iPod.

A Fine, Fine Line...it goes like this, sung by Katie Monster:

There's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend;
There's a fine, fine line between reality and pretend;
And you never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb.

There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

There's a fine, fine line between a fairy tale and a lie;
And there's a fine, fine line between "You're wonderful" and "Goodbye."
I guess if someone doesn't love you back it isn't such a crime,
But there's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of your time.

And I don't have the time to waste on you anymore.
I don't think that you even know what you're looking for.
For my own sanity, I've got to close the door
And walk away...
Oh...

There's a fine, fine line between together and not
And there's a fine, fine line between what you wanted and what you got.
You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime...

There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

I recently met someone...and I think...damn, I'm finally in love. After almost a year of being in the wrong/inappropriate dating scene...I may finally be ready to throw in the towel (I know, I know, you might think that that's not the right figure of speech...but c'mon...think about it...I'm just about ready to give up...on being hopeless, so, yeah, "throw in the towel" would be just about right). Images of "The Mirror Has Two Faces" and notes of "Finally Found Someone" all of a sudden plays in my head--full orchestra and TTBB arrangement pa!

I wake up in the morning with a great big silly stupid smile on my face. I strike a giggly conversation with God, telling Him He's such a mean ole' Being, making me wait this long for the right one. And He responds by saying, "Everything in it's own time, Ben. Congratulations...your name's written on this other person's heart...as it is written in yours, too." Blagag!

The other day, I was getting ready for work, I all of a sudden had an urge to mass text my family and tell them "I love you"...and that I miss them, and will see them this Sunday for pre-Xmas gathering. My Aunt replied by saying, "Mukhang maganda gising natin, ah". She had no idea. ;-)

There really is a fine, fine line between love and a waste of your time. I'm now ready to cross over to the other side.

To you, my Mahal, they say there's two types of people in the world--those that come into your life and say, "OK, here I am"...and those that say, "Ah, there you are!"... can I just tell you--for the nth time now-- "Ah...there you are. Found ya!" =)

I'll see you tonight. I made your favorite. ;-)

It Sucks To Be Me

Watched Avenue Q last night--its first rerun schedule since it first came out in Manila on September--at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in RCBC Plaza.

There's been a lot of fuss, apparently, but I've never really gotten bitten by the bug. (Wasn't I the last soul to ever get on the Harry Potter bandwagon?!) My officemate Yayie was raving about it almost two years ago, and even gave me a copy of the soundtrack. In between balancing work and life, I never really got to listening to it...not even Internet Is For Porn. ;-)

An acquaintance I made a few months back (his name's Arthur) was likewise raving about it--like he was naman with most musicals...and was feeling downhearted when he missed the September run. He vowed to get a ticket for the December rerun (which, at the time, was still a hush-hush). He didn't get to get tickets to the show, by the way (bummer, eh?!).

So when my friend Randy texted me a month back and asked if I was interested in watching Avenue Q, I gave a tentative, not-too-enthusiastic yes...but watched it anyway...as long as it wasn't too expensive (December's for spending on gifts, ya know...). We got the upper balcony for 500 bucks.

Got to our seats 10 minutes early. I told Randy we were lucky the theater wasn't as steep as when I watched Chicago in Houston, Texas. At 200 dollars, the performers were about an inch tall. For just 500 pesos and about four inches tall, I wouldn't be one to complain.

Show started just in time...some of life's little blessings. No major overture/opening kind of shit that you normally see on stage. It actually starts with a plug-type of music streaming from a corner TV set. How very innovative...it gives you a general idea this early that it will be, uhm, different.

The set is so much better than the Broadway--or at least in terms of color. Avenue Q Broadway was a tad bleak, almost devoid of life. Atlantis Productions' was--how do you say it--in living color. (Gotta get those pastels onto my walls now) The lighting was right, and spots were appropriate and almost synched with the main characters performing at the time.

The music. Ah. Where do I start? "It Sucks To Be Me" is just way too close to home. At a certain age, you just can't help but think this way--you're unemployed, you're single, you're a has-been, you've wasted your college degree, the works. I am yet to meet that person who cannot relate to this song. Now, "The Internet is for Porn" takes the cake in laugh-out-loud lyrics. And seeing Trekkie Monster mime his "horn-whacking" and spilling out his "porn porn porn" lyrics was more than enough to make me roll on the floor...or what's left of where we were seated. There was a touchy-feely poignantish song, "Fine, Fine Line", where Kate Monster was feeling downhearted after being dumped by Princeton (oh, yes, puppets do that, too!). It sank in on me that I was being a little bit of a Princeton to somebody...but that it was really how it was for me/us. So, imagine me empathizing with the two damned puppets and twiddling my fingers and looking down at my feet as I felt somehow awkward. The final song, "For Now" was a truly apt way to close the show...and give everyone in the audience something good to feel about. It goes, "Don't stress, relax, let life roll off your backs. Except for death and paying taxes, everything in life is only for now!...". (And, oh, that part about "Only for now! (Sex!) Is only for now! (Your hair!) Is only for now! (George Bush!) Is only for now!"...I really wish they changed "George Bush" to "GMA". That would have brought the house down!) Oh, Oh, the Manila casts' singing of "Give Love on Christmas Day" was just...beautiful.

The cast. Hmmmmm....I'd say these people are NOT--I repeat--not humans. With their exceptional talent in multitasking, voice-changing/masking, dancing and pretending to be real Americans (ehehehehehehehe), how could they possibly be normal human beings? Felix Rivera was very refreshing. He is, after all, more than just beautiful chest and biceps (LOL). So to that bitchy fag I overheard outside the toilet complaining (and comparing Rivera to Broadway's Tartaglia) about Manila's Princeton, I say to him--in my most puppety voice, "Felix was perfect for the role...so, Fuck you!". I never liked Rachel Alejandro. But last night was a time I threw that dislike rag out the window and embraced her--voice, boobs, hips and all. Her Lucy the Slut performance was simply fantastic. Aiza Seguerra was perfect for the Gary Coleman role. Nooooo...not because she's a has-been! Or, OK, OK...at the very least, Gary and Aiza shared some lost-childhood moments due to showbiz...so I believe they couldn't have gotten a better Coleman than her. (Unless it's Matet? LOL) Joel Trinidad was likewise astonishing. He really brought Trekkie Monster to life. And although the Broadway Trekkie had more funky dance moves, Trinidad gave such justice to the Manila Trekkie. (Did I say the whacking was such a turn on for most peeps? LOL) Rycharde Everley was, uhm, aiiiight. It wasn't a stellar performance, but being a legit white guy, he couldn't have given Brian's role more justice. Frenchie Dy and Teenee Chan were, in my opinion, so underutilized in the show, moreso Chan. Dy still delivers her magnificent notes and almost perfect pitch, though the rehearsed Japanese accent sort of got in the way. I would love to see more Chan singing rather than just puppeteering and speaking. All in all, the cast was great. They seemed to have bonded well prior to the show as they looked very comfortable and very, uhm, "one" with each other...whatever that means to you.

You should definitely watch it. Again, when you can. It isn't for the Manangs or pretentious holier-than-thous...Think of Sesame Street or Jim Henson Muppets having sex (ooooohhhh, yes, there IS full puppet nudity involved), cussing like truck drivers, and talking about drugs, and sex, and dumping girlfriends, and sex, and gay boys, and sex, and booze, and...oh, porn. That being said, parental discretion is totally necessary. You don't really want your 7-year olds shouting "fuck yous" at you, do you?

OK. I'm babbling. Now, where is that Avenue Q soundtrack...?

Shoo. Go now and Q for Avenue Q. (If you didn't get that, you are one stupid monster/puppet!)