Boring and Uninteresting?

It's funny that some people find my life boring and uninteresting, while they consider theirs as thrilling and exciting.

I barely have time to sleep because my sked is almost always full. I am a full time father and husband, I have work, then I have theatre and gigs on the side.

The people who thinks my life is boring, they're single, no responsibilities, and most of the time, they go to work and go on drinking sessions.

Please forgive me if I don't consider drinking as exciting, as they don't consider theatre and music interesting. Yes, call me anti-social. I am.

Dispensable

I came back because I had such good memories here. It was not the best times of my career, but it was certainly memorable. Never did I expect to be in a situation like this with my batchmates. Pardon my French, but I cannot find a better word to describe our situation other than SH*TTY.

We were the unlucky ones who was certified around the same time from communications training and was given a job offer for this retail account, to serve only for the peak season as they call it. What made it worse was that we had an instant training - compressed into a little less than 2 weeks when it was supposedly a month. We had trainer who was not really a trainer yet (I'm sure she's not certified), and spent most of her time reading the slides which I think is her way of "training" us.

Four weeks of taking calls, we're still given our measly training allowance. Heck, the security guards are getting a lot more than us, and to think that we have the same duties as the regular employees whose basic pay is more than double our allowance. Worse is that we are not assured of being absorbed here and getting the chance to become regular employees. They told us that we will be transferred to another account, and undergo PST again for more than a month this time. That will mean continuing our sorry excuse of an allowance until early next year. I cannot afford that. Not with a daughter who's in school.

*sigh*

Hoping for the best but not really expecting to stay here for long. It's sad to think that though my first stint here was not perfect, I was in good company in a company and account that really took care of us as we took care of those below us.

Now we're just dispensable.

Is It the End for Pacman?

After shift this morning, I went home to work on a few things, then I went back to the office to watch the Pay per View fight of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez - their fourth showdown.

Pacman promised that he would make the fight short, and in a way it was. Just not the outcome Manny and a lot of Filipinos expected. It was an outcome I expected a long time ago, but not the way that it happened. The way that it happened is a shock to the whole world.

Don't get me wrong, I so love Pacman and I still am so proud of everything that he has done, but after their second showdown with Marquez, I really thought that he should have retired already. His fights in the last 2 or 3 years have been boring. Yes, he won most of them by decision, and lost a couple including the latest and probably the most painful since he was unconscious on the canvass for a good number of minutes.

Juan Manuel Marquez is a fighter. Manny Pacquiao is a fighter, a public servant, a lay minister, an actor, a basketball player, a businessman, and what not.

I hope this fight will be a wake up call for Pacman to make him realize that the money he has earned is more than enough for his children's future. He now has to think of himself and his family. He has nothing more to prove in the sport of boxing. He is already in the record books, and his legacy has been cemented a long time ago. Yes, there are boxers who are still fighting despite their age, but they are people who doesn't have anything else to do, and don't have enough lief savings. Pacman can do more if he decides to hang his gloves for good.

Day 29. Favourite overall actor you have seen from the musical and why?

I am very much biased with Colm Wilkinson. And Quast. And Maguire. And Drew Sarich. And Ramin Karimloo. Haha. I love most of them, but Colm will always be on top of the list.

Day 28. Dream cast for the stage show?

I always thought that the 1995 10th Anniversary Dream Cast was THE Dream Cast for the musical.

Now if I were to nitpick that cast to make my own dream cast while suspending time, I think Frances Rufelle will be more appropriate than Lea. Yes, Lea is a Goddess, but I just don't really feel her Eponine. Her Eponine is way too strong for the character. I never saw her vulnerability, which was natural in Frances.

Barry James would have been fun to watch too, though Alun was still amazing.

Day 27. Dream cast for the upcoming movie?

The movie opens in the Philippines next month - January 16 to be exact - and so far, I'm loving the combination of Hollywood greats and West End immortals. I also love Tom Hooper's decision to pay homage to the old cast by giving some of them cameos in the movie. Roles that are good enough to be included in the movie, and small enough not to really be recognized so as not to take away the attention from the main actors.

Looking at the clips released so far, I'm not that sold with Sascha Baron Cohen as Thenardier yet, but I'm sure he'll do great. He's a great actor, and Tom Hooper and Cam Mack trust him.

May I also add that having the 'real' versus perfection in the singing is giving me goosebumps. That's what made our own little production of Les Mis different from the other productions, I've always wanted the portrayals to be real. Yes, a good singer is, well, good, but I want someone who can really act and sing at the same time, and I'm blessed to have had the chance to share the stage with them.

Going back to the movie, I trust Tom and Cam that they have formed the best possible cast for the movie, dream cast if you may. After all, it took them 27 years to make this epic musical into a movie.