Rhetorical living

Confessions of a fan girl.

Let me just recall that week. I hope I get the dates right. :p

February 22, Wednesday - I got a twitter DM from the Updated facebook fanpage of Sam Concepcion and Julie supporters telling me that Pinoy song Mag agreed to let us in the studio for their covermag photoshoot.

I hyperventilated. Yes, I felt like a teenager who just saw a crush. (if you can just imagine, but I hope you can’t LOL). I confirmed with the admins that I’d go there even though I wasn’t really sure. I said I’d make time. I live in the province, about 2-3 hours away from Quezon City or 1.5 hours away from Makati. Ergo, it wasn’t really as easy for me to just go and be there. The admins gave  me the cel number of the editor, I texted her and she was excited for us to come! (What a relief! :p) Miss Annie was very warm and cheerful upon her replies to my queries and thankfulness. I grew more excited. I was dealing with a kind and very welcoming person. Not to mention, I was excited to be rubbing elbows with Sam and Julie.

Brief background: I became a Julie fan since I watched her perform for Party Pilipinas’ wazak. A Romeo and Juliet musical/rap play made for television by Direk Rico Gutierrez. Before that, I saw her stood out amongst the sugarpop kids (not just because she was the tallest) because of her charm and talent. I thought she was very young (and she really was! she was like 11) and so her star would have to wait a little longer for it to shine. I don’t mean to brag, but hey, it turned out I was right! :) She made a huge noise by unleashing her powerful performance in her cover for Nicki Minaj’s super bass which was uploaded at youtube. It has 13 MILLION hits to date and still growing! (but I think most of us already know that!)

On the other hand, I became a Sam fan just recently. How can I not be? The kid is a total performer! His energy is infectious! And he’s cute too! :P I’ve had more respect and admiration for him when I watched him play Pan. Stage performances like what he just did require discipline, determination and a whole lot of passion for what you are doing. And I dare say, Sam exudes all those.

So there, now that you know why I “like” these two (ok, scratch that! i love them! haha) lemme go back to my photoshoot adventure story.

February 24, Friday - I was frantic. Haha. Didnt know what to give them or prepare for them. It is a rare opportunity. I have to make a good impression as a SamLie representative! :p But my co Samlies were there to the rescue! They made a vector art drawing of them with the tag “TEAM SAMLIE” with it. So we printed it to shirts and button pins which will be given for Sam and Julie as gifts when I see them.

February 27, Monday - I texted Miss Annie for the exact location of the shoot. She replied almost instantly to my text. I even told her I’d be bringing more than just 1 buddy with me. She didn’t mind and replied cheerfully. Excitement level - 100%.

Speed bump.

My trip to Manila wasn’t all for fan girling. I was scheduled to go to La Salle Taft so that I could file my application for work (I resigned from my previous work so I am on a man hunt for another one! :p). It turned out, some roads in Manila would have to be closed because of the INC event. I had to resched my trip to Manila! I thought I couln’t make it to the photoshoot a day before it will actually happen!

So I told one of my bestfriends (who is such a sweetie follow him at www.jerardeusebio.tumblr.com) who tagged along with me, that we’ll just be going to UP Diliman instead. And from there, we’ll just have to find other institutions to file our application to. Plan B worked like a charm! haha. (although we missed an objective! but I’d rather not tell you what that is. LOL)

February 28, Tuesday - day of the shoot. We left our “hometown” at around 930 am. We cruised the South Luzon express way until we got to UP Diliman at around 1230pm) We stayed there til about 3pm and went on to Makati Area where the shoot was.

4pm - we were at SM Makati trying to rest after all the Metro hassles and mishaps! (we commuted because we cant drive in Manila, booyahh us. :p) and by 430, we were a block away from the building! We met up with Gernie, a Samster who also wanted to see them at the shoot. (Who coincidentally, also goes to UP Diliman! All 4 of us were Isko and Iska! haha :p)

We arrived at the building at exactly 5pm as a said “call time” by the editor. There were 4 of us! Thanks Eya Torres for tagging along! (she was the one who knew the building! we’d be so lost without her! Jerard was willing to give up his spot for the shoot for Eya, but the staff and Editorial peeps were too kind, they overlooked that we were 4 invading the studio! :p)

Sam and Julie were already there! Smiling, laughing, having fun and looking all fab! :)

They got really excited when they saw us and wowed upon the receipt of their shirts and pins! :)

The schedule of the shoot was kinda hectic. They only had time to sit with us for very few minutes. But it was all worth it! Sam sat with us on the couch and asked how we were, where we are from and even struck several poses for us to document! Julie was also very cheerful and welcoming as usual! She came to our side (because we were all too shy to approach them in the studio! haha) so we could take pictures with her as well.

The ambiance in the studio was very light. Comfortable if you may. Smiles, laughter and kwentos filled the room. They were oozing with chemistry! It’s a surprise that it is the very first time they’ve actually “worked” together! Sam was very helpful to Julie. And Julie seemed very relaxed during the shoot! Both of them would sometimes just burst in to singing. And it was surreal. And we were all kinda trigger happy! hahaha :p (cant post all of them yet. wait for the Mag’s March ish! :p)

And now, I have made a LONG blog entry about them! :P

So there. I hope you had fun reading my post. :p

Thank you again, PINOY SONG MAGAZINE, Miss Annie and the rest of the staff, Julie and Sam, Gernie and two of my best buddies in the world - Eya and Jerard for allowing me to experience how it is to have FUN again! :P

Until our next adventure! :p

So there, Yes. I AM A FAN.

Had a rare opportunity to actually attend a photo shoot. Thank you, Pinoy Song Magazine and the Admins of SamLie Updated Fanpage on facebook for allowing us (i brought my friends along) to experience this!

Go to this page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Concepcion-and-Julie-Anne-San-Jose-SamLie-Updated-/205327972860507#!/pages/Sam-Concepcion-and-Julie-Anne-San-Jose-SamLie-Updated-/205327972860507 and click the like button for BTS photos and videos and everything Sam and Julie! :)

Lemme just add, aside from the nicest staff who welcomed us, Julie and Sam were so down to earth, warm and very accommodating.

I’ve seen them both more than once in person already but i still get that “starstruck syndrome”. They look like mannequins for crying out loud! haha. But you wouldn’t feel or see a tinge of arrogance in them. Good kids. I know they will go places.

SamLie FTW. :)

jiaofelia:

Lets pray for her.

jerardeusebio:

If you tuned in on ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol a while ago, you probably know now that there has been another heinous crime committed near UP Los Baños, Laguna. A 14-year old girl was found dead and raped at a remote area near the campus gate. She was a high school student at the Los Baños National High School. Her body was found without undergarments and her jogging pants tied around her neck. 

When I heard that the victim was the sister of my friend/bag recipient, Alfred Geronda (the one wearing red and with a black bandana), my heart sank. I knew I had some photographs of my sampaguita vendor friends in my files. I suspected that one of the girls in my photos must be the victim. I just had to confirm with my sources and when I saw the news tonight,  I realized that I did have a picture of her. My heart even sank even lower.

If you are looking at Rochelle* Geronda’s  photographs now, please take a moment to pray for her eternal repose, her family and for the immediate capture of those who did this to her.

I was conversing with my mom this morning and I said to her, “What right did they have to just even touch her?”

Life is about the most sacred entity of this universe and nobody deserves to be violated like this. There are allegations that those who did this were probably high on drugs. We have to do something about this. This has to be heard by many people. We can’t allow this to just pass. We owe it to the hundreds of rape victims every year to make their stories heard and help find those responsible.

I will miss your face among your friends, I will miss the way you offered me sampaguita leis. Please find solace and eternal love. I will always keep you in my prayers, Rochelle. May your soul rest in peace in the hands of our Creator.

God bless us all.

*not sure of the spelling