Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
andy winter's messages
at 3:25 pm today, i received a message from andy winter permitting me to repost his messages, here goes:
Your message reached me just as I was considering how best to word a similar message to you.
I am truly sorry if I come across as somewhat robust when looking after the boys - I mean no disrespect to Libera fans but the responsibility of looking after other people's children is something I take very seriously and I always have the boys' safety and privacy at the forefront of my mind. As the parent of a former Libera boy I understand what it is like to entrust your child to others and the parent in me sometimes comes out when I am 'on duty'. I am sure that as a nurse you understand the 'need to care' that I am describing
Thank you for taking down the video - I am so grateful to no longer be associated with bad language - and as you say there is nothing more to be gained by a 'who said what; debate. I will take more care in the future not to carelessly offend people such as yourself.
I think we both owe a big thank you to Thelma who seems to have brought us together - and I shall pass a personal message to her.
Thank you for reaching out to me and may I also pass my kind regards to you and your family - from myself and from Libera.
Yours faithfully
Andy
Thank you Mitch. Now get some sleep young man...
Andy
Mitch Young April 28 at 4:53am
Dear MitchYour message reached me just as I was considering how best to word a similar message to you.
I am truly sorry if I come across as somewhat robust when looking after the boys - I mean no disrespect to Libera fans but the responsibility of looking after other people's children is something I take very seriously and I always have the boys' safety and privacy at the forefront of my mind. As the parent of a former Libera boy I understand what it is like to entrust your child to others and the parent in me sometimes comes out when I am 'on duty'. I am sure that as a nurse you understand the 'need to care' that I am describing
Thank you for taking down the video - I am so grateful to no longer be associated with bad language - and as you say there is nothing more to be gained by a 'who said what; debate. I will take more care in the future not to carelessly offend people such as yourself.
I think we both owe a big thank you to Thelma who seems to have brought us together - and I shall pass a personal message to her.
Thank you for reaching out to me and may I also pass my kind regards to you and your family - from myself and from Libera.
Yours faithfully
Andy
Thank you Mitch. Now get some sleep young man...
Andy
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
"deep peace"....of a running wave to you...
another reply from mitch to andy winter:
Dear Mr. Winter,
I appreciate your reply very much. Thank you, thank you, sir.
Behind all of what happened, I was also thinking maybe you lacked sleep from all the busy schedules, and were also under so much pressure, being responsible over 23 kids whom you were entrusted with. But I'm proud to say that you did a very good job in keeping them safe, and if I had children, I sure would entrust them to a person as tough yet as caring and protective as you.
I am just overwhelmed. I guess I can sleep better now. I hope you can too. These past few days has drained me, and somehow I wasn’t performing quite well with my hospital duties as I had so much to think. I was also imagining how it could be affecting you too. I'm sorry Mr. Winter. I pray you feel better now.
You know, other than the Libera members, people here are eventually getting to know the team involved such as you, Barbara, etc. and I think you guys also should have your share too of being loved and adored by Filipino fans. You’ve all been here enough to be treated as family. As in any family, there are misunderstandings, but soon as it gets resolved, the ties become closer. You are always welcome here. It’s ok to be tough, but it’s also ok to smile and hang loose once in a while without letting your guard down.
But we’ll love you anyhow.
It’s nice to know you better Mr. Winter. I see your bright side now. At least now I understand better and see things more clearly.
It’s 4:45am and I gotta get enough sleep for the afternoon shift today. But I’ll drop a note of thanks to Thelma before I rest.
Thank you so much Mr. Winter.
Take care.
-MITCH
Dear Mr. Winter,
I appreciate your reply very much. Thank you, thank you, sir.
Behind all of what happened, I was also thinking maybe you lacked sleep from all the busy schedules, and were also under so much pressure, being responsible over 23 kids whom you were entrusted with. But I'm proud to say that you did a very good job in keeping them safe, and if I had children, I sure would entrust them to a person as tough yet as caring and protective as you.
I am just overwhelmed. I guess I can sleep better now. I hope you can too. These past few days has drained me, and somehow I wasn’t performing quite well with my hospital duties as I had so much to think. I was also imagining how it could be affecting you too. I'm sorry Mr. Winter. I pray you feel better now.
You know, other than the Libera members, people here are eventually getting to know the team involved such as you, Barbara, etc. and I think you guys also should have your share too of being loved and adored by Filipino fans. You’ve all been here enough to be treated as family. As in any family, there are misunderstandings, but soon as it gets resolved, the ties become closer. You are always welcome here. It’s ok to be tough, but it’s also ok to smile and hang loose once in a while without letting your guard down.
But we’ll love you anyhow.
It’s nice to know you better Mr. Winter. I see your bright side now. At least now I understand better and see things more clearly.
It’s 4:45am and I gotta get enough sleep for the afternoon shift today. But I’ll drop a note of thanks to Thelma before I rest.
Thank you so much Mr. Winter.
Take care.
-MITCH
"deep peace"
i thought my blog ends with my review of the concert.. there's more to it because a personality from south london has finally patched things up with a fan from the philippines. andy winter and mitch young have reconciled and agreed to take down the video on youtube.
it was one hell of a ride for both men. i will not say more and with mitch's permission, i'm reposting his humble letter to andy winter, to which andy replied with utmost sincerity (i'm still awaiting approval from andy if i could also repost his reply to mitch). one thing i can assure you, both messages made me cry!!!!
To Mr. Andy Winter,
I don’t know how or where to begin, but maybe greeting you with a simple hello would be alright.
I am writing to you not to debate on what happened, or to emphasize on who’s right, or what was uttered. None of it matters now. But I do respectfully come up to you to apologize about my reaction thru the vid I posted at YouTube. I have removed the video with all sincerity that I want this issue to end.
I know damage has been done, and I would understand if it will be difficult for you to accept my apology. Likewise, for all those who were affected- Libera members, your immediate family, friends and fans- I do ask the same.
During the time the video was posted, I have also received comments and personal messages from people who claim to know you personally- both supportive and nasty ones. True or not, it is not my business anymore. But I’ve always believed in one thing though- that life doesn’t stand still, people learn from past experiences, and they do change for the better. People will always show the good in them even when the most awful of situations arise. I know, after all of what has happened, we find ourselves as better persons this time.
I appreciate it very much that you replied to my friend Thelma, who in turn told me that there is still a chance to patch things up. Thelma is someone whom I vented my anger on about what happened, wherein I also admit I said vicious things about you. And for that I would like to say sorry.
It’s gonna be tough to mend the heartaches I have caused you- the mental anguish I may have brought about these past few days. But I hope that thru my humblest apology, I can help you recover from all those inconveniences the situation has caused.
With the way you reached out, I see you differently this time. I look up to you and respect you even more as a person. And for the things you tirelessly contribute to Libera and its fans, I thank you.
For all its worth, I wish you comfort from all these, peace of mind, and bountiful blessings ahead- for you, your family, and your friends.
God bless you, Andy.
Sincerely,
Mitch Young
it was one hell of a ride for both men. i will not say more and with mitch's permission, i'm reposting his humble letter to andy winter, to which andy replied with utmost sincerity (i'm still awaiting approval from andy if i could also repost his reply to mitch). one thing i can assure you, both messages made me cry!!!!
To Mr. Andy Winter,
I don’t know how or where to begin, but maybe greeting you with a simple hello would be alright.
I am writing to you not to debate on what happened, or to emphasize on who’s right, or what was uttered. None of it matters now. But I do respectfully come up to you to apologize about my reaction thru the vid I posted at YouTube. I have removed the video with all sincerity that I want this issue to end.
I know damage has been done, and I would understand if it will be difficult for you to accept my apology. Likewise, for all those who were affected- Libera members, your immediate family, friends and fans- I do ask the same.
During the time the video was posted, I have also received comments and personal messages from people who claim to know you personally- both supportive and nasty ones. True or not, it is not my business anymore. But I’ve always believed in one thing though- that life doesn’t stand still, people learn from past experiences, and they do change for the better. People will always show the good in them even when the most awful of situations arise. I know, after all of what has happened, we find ourselves as better persons this time.
I appreciate it very much that you replied to my friend Thelma, who in turn told me that there is still a chance to patch things up. Thelma is someone whom I vented my anger on about what happened, wherein I also admit I said vicious things about you. And for that I would like to say sorry.
It’s gonna be tough to mend the heartaches I have caused you- the mental anguish I may have brought about these past few days. But I hope that thru my humblest apology, I can help you recover from all those inconveniences the situation has caused.
With the way you reached out, I see you differently this time. I look up to you and respect you even more as a person. And for the things you tirelessly contribute to Libera and its fans, I thank you.
For all its worth, I wish you comfort from all these, peace of mind, and bountiful blessings ahead- for you, your family, and your friends.
God bless you, Andy.
Sincerely,
Mitch Young
making 'peace' with andy winter
a close source suggested that i message andy winter. i was apprehensive as i thought i'll be adding more to his misery and get a negative reply from him. anyhow, i made a brief introduction and apologized (i can't think of a better way to write).
surprisingly, he wrote back. i take that as a welcome response from a friend. i cannot disclose the full contents of andy winter's message but it's positive. mitch young was hurt about the whole incident and i believe andy had his share too, what with those negative comments he got from youtube, and they were becoming personal already. and so did mitch. it will never end and unless somebody has to do something about it (i believe that's me), then the gap between them will become as wide as that of the volcano is iceland.
i know in my heart andy winter isn't that bad berdugo that he is. and mitch can be so ever-forgiving and just let the incident pass, all for the sake of libera. so the next time libera comes with andy, we can all breathe and not fear about winter anymore. (and i'll get his autograph by all means!).
mitch is still on duty but kind as he is, he will take the video down. on situations like this where neither parties are willing to say "i'm sorry", there is somehow a dot in their hearts to just forgive & forget and eventually become good friends. i told andy winter libera has already become part of us, the filipinos love them (from manila to cebu).
andy-
let not this incident affect your beautiful memories of the philippines. whatever was said and done, i take that upon myself to say sorry on behalf of those people affected by the incident and i hope you'll still look foward to another visit to our country. and please on your next visit, may i ask for a personal favor? can you give us a SMILE so nobody will get scared of you? thank you.
P.S.
should you have some restrictions on a meet & greet and after concert signing, you can message me and i can relay that to my libera friends. thank you.
surprisingly, he wrote back. i take that as a welcome response from a friend. i cannot disclose the full contents of andy winter's message but it's positive. mitch young was hurt about the whole incident and i believe andy had his share too, what with those negative comments he got from youtube, and they were becoming personal already. and so did mitch. it will never end and unless somebody has to do something about it (i believe that's me), then the gap between them will become as wide as that of the volcano is iceland.
i know in my heart andy winter isn't that bad berdugo that he is. and mitch can be so ever-forgiving and just let the incident pass, all for the sake of libera. so the next time libera comes with andy, we can all breathe and not fear about winter anymore. (and i'll get his autograph by all means!).
mitch is still on duty but kind as he is, he will take the video down. on situations like this where neither parties are willing to say "i'm sorry", there is somehow a dot in their hearts to just forgive & forget and eventually become good friends. i told andy winter libera has already become part of us, the filipinos love them (from manila to cebu).
andy-
let not this incident affect your beautiful memories of the philippines. whatever was said and done, i take that upon myself to say sorry on behalf of those people affected by the incident and i hope you'll still look foward to another visit to our country. and please on your next visit, may i ask for a personal favor? can you give us a SMILE so nobody will get scared of you? thank you.
P.S.
should you have some restrictions on a meet & greet and after concert signing, you can message me and i can relay that to my libera friends. thank you.
the concert....
it was a night to remember. compared to where we were at the PICC last year, that night, we were seated on row-d center. the stage was small, audio was poor but libera made it up with their angelic voices - something which they are known for. as we made our way to our seats, the usher gave us a program, written down were 11 songs, 2 of which were my favorites - how shall i sing and deep peace.
the program was brief, we wanted m-o-r-e! so they sang our libera "anthem" bayan ko. of course, it was an effort for cassius not knowing any single word and he looked cute mumbling words only he could ever know! josh looked cute singing 'time'. and ben was ben in 'exultate'. minijames kept twisting his feet and kavana, oh my ever dear kavana, almost like dancing while shaking his head to shake off his long hair. the little boys were cute! and i wondered who was hitting those high notes in 'how shall i sing'?
sammy looked cute with his husky voice. no wonder he now gets to sing josh's 'how can i keep on singing'. i'd love to hear that! and liam with the jellyfish incident in cebu? we didn't know that!!! at least our jellyfish knows how to apologize!!
my small group of libera fans waited until all of them emerged from the backstage room enro
ute to the airport. we waved goodbye, did some hi-5s (but was prevented from doing so). it was so touching for liam, josh, sammy, and the rest of the boys to have looked my way and nodded goodbye. i will never forget that. henry b.? oh, he didn't care but i leave it that the boy was already tired. you owe me one henry barrington...next time you come around, i expect a big hug from you - joke!sidenotes:
when they left and news got around that they were stranded in athens, we all prayed. we knew it was going to be a tough time for the boys before they'd be back in england. my heart went out for the little boys and their parents who, around that time were worried sick already. i was glued to BBC for sometime to get some news. but libera kept us posted on where they are - heading for the apls, france and finally home... sweet home.
i wondered how you'd already smell in those blue polos you've been wearing since day one here in the philippines! hah hah and i hoped you had quite enough underpants in case of emergency, like this one. my daughter got so worried for little cassius... was he missing his mum already?
thank you, libera for making a sidetrip to the philippines . for giving us day of getting to know you and one night of listening to your beautiful angelic voices. we will never forget this and we look forward to a longer program, bigger venue, a very "relaxed" meet and greet, and a friendly interaction among fans and crew. LIBERA!!!!
Monday, April 26, 2010
M & G with libera boys...
as always, i was busy talking & talking that my daughter tapped me on the shoulders and said "they're here"... i froze.. i couldn't believe seeing the boys in person - breathing, walking, waving, smiling..the voices i've been listening to are here in front of me! jonathan barrington & brother henry were the first one i saw. rewind:::i had to ask CA for faces & names of the little ones as i'm not really familiar with them. my list of libera boys has always been stuck to prizeman's best 5 - so CA kindly furnished me with the faces and names of the younger ones - ingles, smart, mordaunt, skan, etc. i only knew moriarty because he's my favorite boy now. there were two new boys, collins & o'connnell-white.
i took pictures with my trusty nokia 3120. then came my turn, no. 44... OMG, the 51-yr old woman "transmogrified" into a 16-yr old kid! i was a fan! i couldn't coordinate my brain and hands - gazing at the boys, taking pictures, having my poster and CD cover signed is no easy task. then the unexpected came - i forgot the names of the boys! so what came from my mouth was just "and you are?" and the boys gladly gave out their names with a smile! whew! and that was just the first batch. came joshua madine's group. there were shrieks and screams (well, i knew where that came from, hah hah). this time, kuya security allowed my daughter to come with me as i told him my hands were not steady anymore in taking pics.
----henry b. is little old man. the boy is cute and bright, too.
----jonathan b. didn't look like he was in the mood. actually, jonathan's face had the same
look and expression from M & G up to the time they left RCBC.
----kavana crossley made me feel i was a long-lost relative! i was like 2 boys away from him
and he already had a big "hello" and smile for me.
----sammy moriarty is the serious one. one hello, one smile. but he's cute.
----daniel fontannaz had this bright aura when i came up to him. he had this bright smile when i
ask, "and you are?" "daniel" - oh, fontannaz, i said. and he said "that's right"..
the rest of the boys had their hellos and smiles ready for everybody. it was a sight to behold!
----joshua madine is cute. he had this "pre-recorded" reply for everyone "THANKS FOR
COMING". well, i mustered enough courage to say "hi, josh" he looked up to me, looked
straight in my eyes, gave me his famous smile and said "hello, how are you?", and the
pre-recorded "thanks for coming". now i know why skittles and the rest of the girls
are dying to see this boy! (where was his dad, by the way? - oh, this is a private
joke known only to me & my libera friends, hah hah)
----liam connery is really an angel. i'll let you out on a little secret. i really looked forward
tomeeting liam in person. romina enopia has been telling me stories how cute this boy was
during last year's concert. and since then, i referred to liam as an "angel". he was very
polite. i asked for a handshake (i did from everyone), he extended his hand, looked up
to me and gave me that "angelic smile" with his big blue eyes, not blinking a bit.
----i took photos, andaya lead us to callum. i took a shot of ben crawley. i had to ask barbara
the chaperone-ness and asked if i could take another shot of the leggett brothers -
as the first one was bad. he yelled out to the 2 boys, alex! sam! look this way!! click... and
since i had that chance, asked for her autograph, too. when i tried to take a shot of her, she
screamed "no pictures, pls.!" i turned back, she could have eaten me alive!!! LOL
M & G review...
it was hubby's first day on the job so i had to drive from home to the podium. i "forced" my daughter to take a leave so she can help me out taking pictures as i know from too much excitement and when i finally come to meet them in person, i'd be star-struck and go home empty-handed (with no pictures at all). i had the intention of tagging romina enopia along but she couldn't make it to our 2pm agreement since she had to finish things in school. i told her about the usual traffic along the gilmore-santolan area and parking at the podium.
i imagined lots and lots of people already queuing outside the doors of the podium. i thought we could not get seats anymore nor a good number for the autograph signing. we had to proceed to the ATM before finally going up to the venue proper. there were only a few people seated. i saw familiar faces. carmela bought the 'peace' CD (of which she got a poster and a number - 44). i saw mitch young with friends (i already knew him from his pictures); CA with siblings, sofia and her bubbly friends. i needed to be active in order to find out who are the members of 360, i needed to ask, i needed to feel the kids around. i remember asking alvem who was just standing innocently in one corner looking at us - are you from 360? yes. what's your username? bingo!!! they were all there! i met jon de castro and mom, milagros. i had a short conversation with de ocampo, whom i thanked for bringing libera again & told him i was with the government service before (he knew my former boss). and all the wonderful kids (and the not so wonderful kids, heh heh) of 360 were there. in fairness to andaya who said "libera builds communities", i think this is true, and so did libera360 who brought us all together sharing one common love for libera's music......and josh madine...LOL
obsession?
--i'm posting herewith andaya's text message to me dtd april 18 1t 10:34am. i think this was the time when libera was stranded in greece.... in jest, i told him they could do another concert either at the parthenon or acropolis - his repy -
"Problema kasi they cannot just perform without preparation...36hr bus ride yung
kaharap nila. They will have to stop several times. The bill will be big which is why I am
encouraging those that can donate to do so..."
Rome, Lisbon and Athens only open entry points to Europe...Please encourage people
to visit the link I posted on 360 and give even if it's just 5 or 10 quid...A thousand fans
doing that will help a lot.
firstly, andaya doesn't have a sense of humor... i told IN JEST about libera holding a concert in greece.
secondly, i know the good intention is there for libera and crew BUT why would a third world country donate to somebody as rich as england? don't we have enough hungry people in our beloved phil. islands? a thousand fans? where and how the hell will he produce a thousand fans?!
thirdly, donation is in pounds! doesn't he realize money is so precious here esp for average-income student and workers who have shelled out already so much to buy libera's CDs and tickets for their concert?
fourth, does libera management or even roberto de ocampo know of this heroic intention of andaya?
would it had been better if andaya asked everyone for prayers instead? after all, prayers with good intentions go straight to heaven while donations don't go directly to their recipients.
i did my share of praying (and i'm sure all libera fans too) for a safe journey back to their families and hopefully nobody got sick considering the long trips esp for the little ones.
"Problema kasi they cannot just perform without preparation...36hr bus ride yung
kaharap nila. They will have to stop several times. The bill will be big which is why I am
encouraging those that can donate to do so..."
Rome, Lisbon and Athens only open entry points to Europe...Please encourage people
to visit the link I posted on 360 and give even if it's just 5 or 10 quid...A thousand fans
doing that will help a lot.
firstly, andaya doesn't have a sense of humor... i told IN JEST about libera holding a concert in greece.
secondly, i know the good intention is there for libera and crew BUT why would a third world country donate to somebody as rich as england? don't we have enough hungry people in our beloved phil. islands? a thousand fans? where and how the hell will he produce a thousand fans?!
thirdly, donation is in pounds! doesn't he realize money is so precious here esp for average-income student and workers who have shelled out already so much to buy libera's CDs and tickets for their concert?
fourth, does libera management or even roberto de ocampo know of this heroic intention of andaya?
would it had been better if andaya asked everyone for prayers instead? after all, prayers with good intentions go straight to heaven while donations don't go directly to their recipients.
i did my share of praying (and i'm sure all libera fans too) for a safe journey back to their families and hopefully nobody got sick considering the long trips esp for the little ones.
P.S. on andy winter
Thelma L. Guzman i believe, an apology is needed. it will not make him a lesser person to say "i'm sorry". two words in order to have a closure on this issue. and who knows we might end up being friends with andy winter and the next time libera comes, everybody will be happy to see andy winter around & not to have this feeling of fear & hatred.
Thelma L. Guzman and if andy winter does this, i will be the first to create a fanpage for him - the andy winter fans club. so mr. winter, what say you? you'll be my no. 6 boy - tom, josh, liam, ed, michael H and andy....yiheeee!
---i posted this on my FB page after i learned that AW issued a statement on libera dreams.
andy winter...
i thought andy winter was a parent of one of the boys. i saw him moving around during the meet and greet, taking pictures of the crowd. i've heared about andy from a close source - he is feared by everybody, libera boys included. well, none of my business, really. whatever his problem with them should be left in UK and for him not to bring his authority during their tour. it would have been easier for winter to have just smiled politely and told mitch reading greetings from fans is strictly prohibited. and doing hi-5s is prohibited, too? if he had his way, would he had prevented all of us fans from shaking their hands? would a SMILE kill you, mr. winter?
i stand by mitch young's story because another person heard it, too. it will not hurt to say those 2 words "i'm sorry" to mr. young. he, in fact, said those words after you shooed him off the line and uttered those words.
i commend barbara for being nice to us (either sincerely or half-heartedly), callum, for showing how he can be a bit friendly despite negative comments from last year and ben crawley for being mr. nice to the fans. eleonor, who is their voice coach for waving to the crowd (although no one really knew who she was). and i also salute our own local security for being nice to the fans at the podium & RCBC. there were little incidents but they were no big deal. we thank you for taking care of all 23 boys & the staff during their stay.
it's the people behind who will make and break libera (or any group or celebrity for that matter). we are PAYING FANS. yes, you sing, you travel, you get stranded elsewhere but you were somehow accorded royal treatment in our country. we buy your CDs (we bought "peace" twice, first, when it came out in the market & second to have it autographed in the M & G). how many kids skipped meals and gimmicks just so to save money to watch your concerts (some of them bought matinee and gala tickets, both orchestra seats) just to watch you twice. the crowd at the RCBC plaza were composed mainly of students of average income. some lived in faraway south and seeing all of you leave RCBC that night was something big to them (me included). one fan was doing a hi-5 to the boys and winter approached from behind and told him to stop doing so. why? would it hurt them? do we have unknown bacteria in our hands, mr. winter?
we will continue to love libera esp all 23 boys who became dear to us. not one boy showed arrogance to us during the M & G. even the little boys kavana, minijames, cassius & the rest were so polite and welcomed us with sincere smiles & hellos. oh, how we miss all of them now!
i just hope the next time libera comes back, mr. winter's attitude has changed for the better. wouldn't it be nice AW if we all become your friends so the next M & G wouldn't just focus on the boys but to you as well? we are forgiving fans.
i stand by mitch young's story because another person heard it, too. it will not hurt to say those 2 words "i'm sorry" to mr. young. he, in fact, said those words after you shooed him off the line and uttered those words.
i commend barbara for being nice to us (either sincerely or half-heartedly), callum, for showing how he can be a bit friendly despite negative comments from last year and ben crawley for being mr. nice to the fans. eleonor, who is their voice coach for waving to the crowd (although no one really knew who she was). and i also salute our own local security for being nice to the fans at the podium & RCBC. there were little incidents but they were no big deal. we thank you for taking care of all 23 boys & the staff during their stay.
it's the people behind who will make and break libera (or any group or celebrity for that matter). we are PAYING FANS. yes, you sing, you travel, you get stranded elsewhere but you were somehow accorded royal treatment in our country. we buy your CDs (we bought "peace" twice, first, when it came out in the market & second to have it autographed in the M & G). how many kids skipped meals and gimmicks just so to save money to watch your concerts (some of them bought matinee and gala tickets, both orchestra seats) just to watch you twice. the crowd at the RCBC plaza were composed mainly of students of average income. some lived in faraway south and seeing all of you leave RCBC that night was something big to them (me included). one fan was doing a hi-5 to the boys and winter approached from behind and told him to stop doing so. why? would it hurt them? do we have unknown bacteria in our hands, mr. winter?
we will continue to love libera esp all 23 boys who became dear to us. not one boy showed arrogance to us during the M & G. even the little boys kavana, minijames, cassius & the rest were so polite and welcomed us with sincere smiles & hellos. oh, how we miss all of them now!
i just hope the next time libera comes back, mr. winter's attitude has changed for the better. wouldn't it be nice AW if we all become your friends so the next M & G wouldn't just focus on the boys but to you as well? we are forgiving fans.
frustrations
---then came the M & G and the concert (i will be writing a separate review on this)..
my disappointment with andaya came about when i sort of defended mitch young on his ABS-CBN dressing room video. he popped up one evening on the chatbox, furious about young's video. blah-blah-blah and so many blah-blah came from him. i'm ready to mediate but isn't this the right thing to do- that him as moderator of 360 should confront young about his video? why vent his ire to mitch on me? i told him 2 things: explain to mitch the mistake (if that's what he calls it) he has done; and wait for an official statement from libera if mitch indeed broke security measures. as i was still typing something to offer myself to mediate between them, he went offline. when i checked on him at 360, he was there chatting with members. i thought there was only a problem with connection so i waited for a few minutes. i thought of sending him a PM instead. when i checked on him, he was gone - gone from my friends list. he deleted himself from my account.
why? i'm sick and tired of andaya putting libera on a pedestal. so many restrictions for all the fans. don't say this, don't say that... careful with what you say at 360 because callum monitors that site, we have to "behave" otherwise libera will have 2nd thoughts about coming back to the phils., we have to "behave" again on the M & G because somebody (and that was andy winter all along) is monitoring the fans' movements.. who is callum, anyway?
i don't think so, libera will always come back to the phils. because we love them and they love us, too. we love their music. we treat them well here. the fans adore them, from manila to cebu.
during the M & G, one of the boys played a nasty prank on ed day, marking off his face and drew what seemed to be a 'snake' over his head. and stefan's flak on his opening number (this is no big deal, actually), he gathered us after the concert and emphasized with a pointing finger and gnashing teeth - "not a word about this at 360 or i'll skin him alive". even if it was meant as a joke, why instill fear on fans? just like andy winter?
my disappointment with andaya came about when i sort of defended mitch young on his ABS-CBN dressing room video. he popped up one evening on the chatbox, furious about young's video. blah-blah-blah and so many blah-blah came from him. i'm ready to mediate but isn't this the right thing to do- that him as moderator of 360 should confront young about his video? why vent his ire to mitch on me? i told him 2 things: explain to mitch the mistake (if that's what he calls it) he has done; and wait for an official statement from libera if mitch indeed broke security measures. as i was still typing something to offer myself to mediate between them, he went offline. when i checked on him at 360, he was there chatting with members. i thought there was only a problem with connection so i waited for a few minutes. i thought of sending him a PM instead. when i checked on him, he was gone - gone from my friends list. he deleted himself from my account.
why? i'm sick and tired of andaya putting libera on a pedestal. so many restrictions for all the fans. don't say this, don't say that... careful with what you say at 360 because callum monitors that site, we have to "behave" otherwise libera will have 2nd thoughts about coming back to the phils., we have to "behave" again on the M & G because somebody (and that was andy winter all along) is monitoring the fans' movements.. who is callum, anyway?
i don't think so, libera will always come back to the phils. because we love them and they love us, too. we love their music. we treat them well here. the fans adore them, from manila to cebu.
during the M & G, one of the boys played a nasty prank on ed day, marking off his face and drew what seemed to be a 'snake' over his head. and stefan's flak on his opening number (this is no big deal, actually), he gathered us after the concert and emphasized with a pointing finger and gnashing teeth - "not a word about this at 360 or i'll skin him alive". even if it was meant as a joke, why instill fear on fans? just like andy winter?
andaya connection...
as i have mentioned, i met andaya at 360 and i thought the guy has humor compared to the others at the chatbox. we were then friends on FB. as tickets were already selling at AIM, i thought another friend CA would offer to get me tickets and good seats as they were already "introduced" to de ocampo. romina offered to get me 3 tickets but i could not give her an answer yet. andaya on the FB chatbox offered me 3 good seats of which i went to see him personally, paid for all 3 orchestra seats and had coffee (my treat). the friendship between him and me - as libera fans, widened as i thought him to be quite 'obsessed' already. oh, we talked endlessly about the privacy thing, the gratitude we're supposed to thank libera for coming back, etc. etc. there were stories which he could have confided only to me about the boys and naturally, the things he was doing for the love of these boys.
then came midnight of libera's arrival. i was online when romina texted me (through her close source) that the boys just flew in. wow! i texted andaya and told him, they're here and his reply in all caps DON'T ANNOUNCE THIS YET!!! weh! why? their arrival was expected around that time..so off i went to 360 and typed this code: "the eagles have landed". and on my FB account, "the angels have landed". why hold information from the fans about their arrival? so thanks to romina, we all knew that libera arrived safely in manila around midnight april 12 (or was that 13?).
Sunday, April 25, 2010
getting to know mitch young...
it was starting to get annoying at 360.. there were the endless blah-blahs of topics not related to libera. sometimes the 4 administrators would talk about something only the 4 of them could understand - but it was good to know later that they finally had a "batcave" in case they wanted to talk about something in private and not make us members look stupid. there was this endless talks about somebody "fainting" when he gets to meet josh madine. my golly, if a 13-yr old sofia faints in front of josh, that would be forgivable. but if a 20-yr old behaves that way, oh well....this went on and on and on - the fainting topic. and the endless tantrums esp from those in cebu - well, i can understand the feelings of these kids who'd really want to fly to manila at all costs just to see libera.
my friendship with mitch young started when i browsed some vids on youtube (which i seldom do, except when someone tells me there's something interesting to see). besides, it was already boring to see similar vids of their M & G and concerts last year. so i saw this vid with a young man annotating a video taken during their autog signing last year at the PICC. it clearly showed tom cully beside liam connery. i think mitch asked a question of which liam replied but caught a surprised tom. this is it!!! it's the only video (the one and only video) showing tom upclose and hearing mumbling something. i checked on some of his videos later. i wrote him and requested if i could post his video on my page. i thanked him for a wonderful video showing tom and liam. he wrote back and we became friends on FB.
mitch is into video-making. and shooting libera is not his only interest. he has this vid about his travels - from the airport, airborne up to the time he reaches his destination. i don't know this boy personally but we share the same interest in taking pictures. pictures are not only interesting showing people's faces and bodies. i can take a picture of a chair and yet would come out beautifully. mitch showed us fans his video of the boy's dressing room at ABS-CBN with their messy things - pants and polos on the floor, shoes on top of the dresser, headsets, ipods, etc... no underpants were seen, no libera boy was shown, not even a shadow. i was amused. it was cute. mitch held on to one robe. was it made of cotton or linen? nobody will know not until mitch held on to it. nothing got lost. he didn't touch anything except one white robe. he wasn't reprimanded by any libera member. winter was there, i supposed. crawley, barbara, steven were there.
o kids, we're not talking about the shroud of turin here. these 23 kids are human beings like us. they're not special. if i will have the chance to do this too, i will. someone asked me why took a photo of josh madine's shoes? why not? i've had pics of josh's face in all angles, so why not take pic of his shoes? dirty shoes. now tell me, will you categorize this also as "intrusion to privacy? c'mon!!!!!
...the space shuttle ride...
again, some kids at 360 mentioned the possibility of having contact with the boys' account. some had, some were planning to hunt them down again and some had friends of friends who were in contact with this or that. i think i made a long speech about the "privacy" thing. and this i revealed for the very first time - a very reliable source gave me a site where i could find tom cully - i did, made a very sincere comment about him and that was it... tom replied with only 2 words and a letter x "thank you x".. i believed it was him and it made me so happy, knowing he could still reach out to his fans. but i made the mistake of getting in touch again, if only to give my thoughts about libera's concert here... the administrator of that site reprimanded me in the best polite manner he can as not to offend me. i apologized for what i did. i told the kids would they want to go on a similar situation where all they will get is a reprimand from the administrator of a site?
comes a comment from a certain frank dobbins: madness starts when you find yourself talking to yourself..short of calling me crazy... i was in defense of that privacy thing, i didn't flaunt my connection with tom cully and yet dobbins called me 'crazy'? i was upset why the 4 administrators were silent about the whole thing... andaya and i were already exchanging text messages regularly and he didn't say anything about the whole matter. worse, they deleted my comments and still retained dobbins as a member. at 360, any comments not to their liking will be deleted. i'm quick to apologize if i said something wrong, if i hurt somebody's feelings - dobbins, at his age (and him not considering my age, too) showed the highest form of throwing shit to other people. and i wonder why 360 tolerates this kind members.
and andaya appeased me with like a 3hr celfone tsika with his blah-blahs. and since i'm not into so much making it a big issue, i just let it pass.
comes a comment from a certain frank dobbins: madness starts when you find yourself talking to yourself..short of calling me crazy... i was in defense of that privacy thing, i didn't flaunt my connection with tom cully and yet dobbins called me 'crazy'? i was upset why the 4 administrators were silent about the whole thing... andaya and i were already exchanging text messages regularly and he didn't say anything about the whole matter. worse, they deleted my comments and still retained dobbins as a member. at 360, any comments not to their liking will be deleted. i'm quick to apologize if i said something wrong, if i hurt somebody's feelings - dobbins, at his age (and him not considering my age, too) showed the highest form of throwing shit to other people. and i wonder why 360 tolerates this kind members.
and andaya appeased me with like a 3hr celfone tsika with his blah-blahs. and since i'm not into so much making it a big issue, i just let it pass.
...the roller-coaster ride...
we were excited about libera's overseas concerts in japan and korea. oh, how we envied these 2 countries again but i didn't discount the possibility of them "straying" to philippine soil since they're already in asia. i think around this time, i made myself visible at 360 again. there has also been some excitement on the release of their "peace" CD when news got around that they will be coming to the philippines to do a promotion of said CD.
comes the endless excitement & unending chats about their visit at 360. this site was flooded by libera fans asking for information. i came across joel andaya one evening in the SB (shoutbox). we all had pleasant exchanges regarding libera. and i learned that chix abellanosa was made one of the administrators of 360. to cut the story short, there are now 4 administrators of 360 - jon de castro, joel andaya, chix abellanosa and cayleb101 (Eos).
now i can't recall which of these 2 incidents came first but this will eventually have a "stain" on my friendships with the 2 "friends" - abellanosa and andaya. CA made herself already an authority as administrator of this site. one evening at the FB chatbox, she asked us (her old friends at st. phillip's circle) if we could add some more "regulations" she has already made on her checklist regarding the M & G. to make it easier for you readers to understand, CA has made a list of DO'S AND DON'TS for the fans who will be going to the M & G. in a jokingly manner, i said the crowd will behave if madine won't be there. this is just going to be a madine fans day, anyway. she wrote down several 'regulations' which for me were already "rules" which I DID NOT FAVOR. i asked her was this an order from anywhere from the top? roberto de ocampo? or was it only you, andaya and de castro? she said it might help to control the crowd & and make it easier for everyone (libera and fans) to make an orderly M & G. oh, she mentioned about less or if possible no screaming, no use of flash on cameras, to greet all the boys and not just favor a favorite and so on & so forth.
my reply:: we are responsible fans at 360. we cannot answer for all the rest who are going to the M & G. if someones screams for josh or JB or whoever, let them scream! this is our day, too. a day for the fans to enjoy - esp me who will meet libera in person for the first time. if there's going to be a problem, let the security handle it and not you or us, for that matter. i'm going to the M & G not to watch over people!!! for heaven's sake, i'm not a principal from an exclusive school to watch over screaming colegialas! her reason: so as not to duplicate what happened in cebu last year. i just told her over & over, let us all enjoy this meet and greet. throw away your list of dos and don'ts. there will be enough security for sure who knows how to handle the situation in case something goes wrong. what is important is the boys will be protected - and if somebody tries to hurt them, let's unite, all 360 fans to protect them ourselves..
"time"
we were all excited about libera's announcement that a new CD was in the making and EMI was releasing a sneek peek of "time"... oh, it was a welcome relief to us libera fans as though libera has already left us for decades! it was to be shown on youtube (or was it youtube or EMI's page) at 10pm (local time). i could just imagine each and every libera fan had to be in front of their respective computers at exactly the designated hour! i did. we were out at the mall but i begged to be home by 10pm. i couldn't find it (told you i wasn't a techie) and nobody told me where i could find it - sofia rodriguez came to my rescue... "time"....a mop-haired boy in a "not-so-good" make-up hit the camera with another one (ben) supporting him. the song is good. BUT NO TOM!!! so began speculations that tom cully has finally left libera. the song was a welcome relief but the disappearance of tom cully disappointed a lot of us. i cooked up some humorous stories regarding tom's absence.
then came the much-awaited announcement. libera was to have a spring tour of japan and korea... why japan? why korea? at the same time, we all made our way to all the record bars to get a copy of "peace"... nice CD. i particularly like 5 songs in this CD - tom cully's ave virgo, stefan leadbeater/threadgill/moriarty's deep peace, leadbeater's how shall i sing that majesty, adora te, and jakob wood's lead kindly light. i wonder now who among the youngers ones are hitting the high notes. some say it's kavana crossley, others say it could be ralph skan, another group says could be mordaunt, marks or fontannaz. whoever they are, their voices have that distinct quality of libera.
rewind::: nobody knew who was singing "ave virgo". it was a guessing game to all of us. since tom wasn't there anymore, who could have sang this beautiful song? one evening, i let my husband listen to it - he was just up to three lines (or bars?) when he said "definitely that's cully".. i said impossible, cully seems to be out of libera already since we didn't see him on the "time" vid. but it was cully's style - and he was right. tom cully still giving us the pleasure of listening to his 'ave virgo'. prizeman is full of surprises...
...the "not-so-good" in betweens...
when libera performed last year, a lot of people (well, fans, if we may call them) were so mesmerized with this group either for their songs or looks - my guess is the latter. filipinos are not well known for their love for cathedral songs or church songs. these type of music was only confined to the older generation - well, perhaps that would be me as i belong to the 45-55 yrs old group. not so - as i have mentioned in the first part of my blog, i found libera's music boring. but then again maybe the onset of menopause stage led me to appreciate their beautiful music more.
after we all have recognized them and appreciated their music - wow, isn't it amazing how the younger generation, some as young as 11 years old love these choirboys and their music? (or your guess is as good as mine, either they go for the boy with a thousand smile or the blonde boy with angelic looks). anyhow, it was time to scramble for all 22 accounts in all sites- FB, twitter, tweet-tweet, twe-twee, or whatever sites the internet has to offer. it's funny how so many of the boys' accounts appeared one by one. josh madine, tom cully, liam connery, even ben crawley - add me, add me, add me--- and endless add me on FB. i was tricked into joining a liam account only to find out later it was "made & created in cebu" (sus, ginoo!!!). i'm not a computer techie, i only copy whatever i see (and hear). after all, i'm not interested in any of them, anyway. i'm as old as their grandmother! it was fun in the beginning but it already got to be annoying...
then came libera management's request for "privacy".. none of the boys were allowed to add or communicate with any of their fans because they were "protecting" them, being minors. then in a hypocrital state, all those who scrambled for their accounts were one and in unison with that request -HYPOCRITES!
as a background to describe filipino fans - we are 1) over protective of our idols; 2) we don't know how to queue, we struggle to get near our idols, we need to "touch" them, shake their hands, take a lot of pictures - either just them or for the greater glory of showbiz, include all family members & friends in the pictures to show off; 3) we value signed CDs, posters, pictures, signed memorabillas that even if it will take to buy another CD to have it signed, we will. this was evidently shown during the meet and greet of libera at the podium. most of us already had the "peace" CD but we didn't care and bought another one just as so to get near all 23 kids, have it signed, shake their hands, take a lot of pics or simply oggle at liam's beautiful, angelic face..
and boy did i love staring at josh's dirty shoes!
my small group of libera fans (you know who you are), worked silently to track down these impostors fooling other fans that this or that account is legitimate. i even communicated with this "liam" impostor and asked where croydon was. she didn't know where it was. and yes, we talked in circles. all too suddenly, the connery boy from england forgot how to speak straight english!!! WTF!!! my group pleaded with these so called madine, cully, connery impostors to stop it because they were not doing any good nor helping their idols get the attention they want from them. maybe it paid off. after some months, all's quiet in the libera circle of fanatics.
next topic..."time"... i need to go to church in a while...
after we all have recognized them and appreciated their music - wow, isn't it amazing how the younger generation, some as young as 11 years old love these choirboys and their music? (or your guess is as good as mine, either they go for the boy with a thousand smile or the blonde boy with angelic looks). anyhow, it was time to scramble for all 22 accounts in all sites- FB, twitter, tweet-tweet, twe-twee, or whatever sites the internet has to offer. it's funny how so many of the boys' accounts appeared one by one. josh madine, tom cully, liam connery, even ben crawley - add me, add me, add me--- and endless add me on FB. i was tricked into joining a liam account only to find out later it was "made & created in cebu" (sus, ginoo!!!). i'm not a computer techie, i only copy whatever i see (and hear). after all, i'm not interested in any of them, anyway. i'm as old as their grandmother! it was fun in the beginning but it already got to be annoying...
then came libera management's request for "privacy".. none of the boys were allowed to add or communicate with any of their fans because they were "protecting" them, being minors. then in a hypocrital state, all those who scrambled for their accounts were one and in unison with that request -HYPOCRITES!
as a background to describe filipino fans - we are 1) over protective of our idols; 2) we don't know how to queue, we struggle to get near our idols, we need to "touch" them, shake their hands, take a lot of pictures - either just them or for the greater glory of showbiz, include all family members & friends in the pictures to show off; 3) we value signed CDs, posters, pictures, signed memorabillas that even if it will take to buy another CD to have it signed, we will. this was evidently shown during the meet and greet of libera at the podium. most of us already had the "peace" CD but we didn't care and bought another one just as so to get near all 23 kids, have it signed, shake their hands, take a lot of pics or simply oggle at liam's beautiful, angelic face..
and boy did i love staring at josh's dirty shoes!
my small group of libera fans (you know who you are), worked silently to track down these impostors fooling other fans that this or that account is legitimate. i even communicated with this "liam" impostor and asked where croydon was. she didn't know where it was. and yes, we talked in circles. all too suddenly, the connery boy from england forgot how to speak straight english!!! WTF!!! my group pleaded with these so called madine, cully, connery impostors to stop it because they were not doing any good nor helping their idols get the attention they want from them. maybe it paid off. after some months, all's quiet in the libera circle of fanatics.
next topic..."time"... i need to go to church in a while...
Saturday, April 24, 2010
...the in-betweens....
we never stopped talking about libera.. at this point, maybe too much fun or familiarity got the better for us so we all drifted apart. eventually, i also detached from st. phillip's.
then came libera's announcement about the release of "new dawn". i really had no intention of buying it since all nine songs were already on eternal. but for "bayan ko's" sake, i did because this is the clean version (minus applause). and then there were 5 songs which were new to me -never be alone, jerusalem, tallis' canon, the lamb and in paradisum.
i can say i'm never an "avid" fan. i have always admired THOMAS CULLY because his voice was the first that struck me while listening to my first CD "eternal". his version of "air on G string" brought goose bumps and i thought this boy is not human at all!!! he hits those high notes with ease & flair. i fell flat from my chair when i first heard andrea bocelli sing, and i cried hearing josh groban sing. but tom, a boy of only about 12 or 13 yrs old singing "ahhhhhhhhhhhh" continuously? wow! and his version of "ave maria" is simply wonderful. i think i must have been the first to call him "the heart of libera".. i never get tired playing, rather watching my dvd-angels in concert because tom brings so much joy to my family's listening pleasure. his version of "going home" alongside josh and miniben is so beautiful. and his duets with ed day are just pure perfection. sounding like a broken record, to this day, i regret not having met tom during their meet and greet last year. it would have been an honor to have his autograph - even if that would mean only his name written on my CD cover..
joshua madine....my "sunshine boy".. josh is every mother's dream to have as a son. from tom's voice, let's go down now to 'face value'. not that i'm saying josh doesn't possess a good voice but he does....and that cute face is a plus factor. the smiling eyes, curling lips, mop-head hair, the restless boy in the dvd-leiden, the boy with a husky voice. josh is cute and cute and cute... his eyes would melt an executioner's blow, a teenage girl's scream, a gay's fantasies and a grandmother's misery. he is one boy i can hug every minute of everyday (well, during his younger days and not as a teenboy now, hah hah). the boy clearly shows he comes from a good family - shows in his well-behaved manners, very reserved. and intelligent too. i've read one of his blog about their overseas trip and i marvelled at the word he used "transmogrified"...
i wonder if josh has ever had a bad mood at all. his smile is always ready for any camera - be it a celfone, a digicam, a professional camera or maybe even an instamatic. he always has a ready smile for everyone.
liam connery...the doll-like liam..the angelic face only God has the power to send to earth disguised as human. i think liam captured so many hearts in cebu. i love listening to liam's "sancte" in eternal and "libera" in leiden-dvd. during the autograph signing after the RCBC concert, he was gracious to have written down my name "to thelma" in my 'peace' CD cover.
ed day... my husband's favorite soloist. it's with regret that we didn't experience to listen to ed day's voice last year and their recent summer promo tour. ed is one of libera's best soloist.
michael horncastle...michael has one of the good version of "going home". i have the same feeling as that with tom while listening to his "faraway", "prayer", "libera" & "sing forever". i feel bad that the angels in concert was his last appearance.
---well, those are my first 5 and probably prizeman's best 5 in libera. why do their voices have to crack!!! and why do they all have to grow up that fast!!!
---after their recent concert, i'm now counting on the younger boys to carry on with libera's music. stefan leadbeater's "deep peace" and "how shall i sing that majesty" are simply wonderful. jacob wood's "lead kindly light" is another hit. and there will always be tom cully's "ave virgo' to look forward to.
...best times of my life...
my apologies to ms. romina enopia. i missed her out in my earlier post. i met romina at 360. she goes by the name of "diwata".
also, sofia rodriguez. only 13 yrs old but has the mind of a person my age. i can easily connect with sofia (or skittles at 360). sofia is sweet, bubbly, burgis. but she never fails to cheer me up on my FB chatbox. in fact, she is my favorite chatmate.
leaving libera360 gave so much sadness to me because i knew i would never meet new friends anymore. i wrote jon de castro in private and requested that he delete my account as i felt i was not part of the team anymore on that site. surprisingly, jon wrote something to this effect - that nobody was leaving nor he would terminate any membership (that would be me) of any libera member. and i thanked him for that.
however, eric, chix, romina and the rest formed another group which we called "st. phillip's circle". here, we were like prisoners able to get some fresh air from our cells, we let our hair down, we were fans, crazy fans of libera. we were able to express ourselves without getting negative comments from anyone. eric pazziuagan created a chatbox for us. it was a riot when we're all online and we all go to st. phillip's chatbox. we h
we never had serious talks there at the chatbox. then someone (was it me?) thought about the idea of calling the boys names - and this was just IN THE SPIRIT OF FUN.... there was nothing to talk about anymore. we all loved and appreciated their music so now it was time to go to more crazy talks - we called tom "autistic", josh "juicy" but i referred to him as josh "bading", we imagined him and tom to be gays, hah hah. as for liam, we voted to call him "walking doll" as he's really a doll esp if you watch the dvd-leiden vid. i once called him "bruha" for screaming at the side on the song "stay with me". oh, we had so much fun. sometimes i would just laugh before retiring to bed.
sadly, people started to get busy. i was the only on
after the holidays, what better way to continue this beautiful friendship but to see each other personally.. i had the chance to meet chix first. it was a very brief encounter then followed by chix and me to see romina at st. theresa's. we had dinner later and talked more about libera matters..
romina had the best seat during the PICC concert so she was gracious to have pointed where tom, josh, liam, miniben were positioned. chix wasn't able
Friday, April 23, 2010
libera360..
i looked forward to my evenings signing to 360 to chat and interact with other libera fans..we had fun. i remember putting some humor (as usual) but looked forward to meeting friends who shared my love for libera music. then came trouble i didn't expect as a fan..
i was browsing for pics when this picture of josh madine came up. so i had to let my daughter teach me how to save because i wanted that picture to be my profile pic. i knew it wasn't mine so i wrote the 'owner' if i could borrow, much less have it and even thanked her in advance for it. whoah! the following morning, came 2 messages from mother & daughter to the tune of pinatubo & eyjafjallajokull at their volcanic madness! my golly, just because of madine's picture, i ate ashes and lava! and this made me cry buckets so i wrote the two and apologized and deleted that damn pic from my computer. turned out that they just took that photo from the TV while watching the leiden tape (which i later did and took a photo of liam), and the drama didn't stop there..
back at 360, everybody was into tom cully's ethnicity, josh madine's roots, kavana's ancestors -oh, those black-haired boys were hot topics.. some insisted tom's mom is vietnamese, madine is indian/pakistani descent and we discussed this for the longeeeeest hours and weeks! tactless as i am (like kris aquino), i mentioned the possibility of tom being adopted. just by that word, i thought philippines was engaging UK with an unexpected war. i think it was either "censored" or maybe nobody took notice of it and just let it died a natural death. more topics followed suit and i got myself into trouble again because i was speaking casually and my words were spontaneous - that's how the group became divided. some agreed with me while a lot wanted me dead! and so my friendship with nurse eric pazzuiagan (from palawan); chix abellanosa; romina enopia; doris solidum; richel sacop; and von rabena came to. von rabena bombarded me with insults but later apologized and eventually became my friend on FB... oh, he's so sweet and even started calling me "mommy"... another friend came up from faraway italy - tina mendiola. she's not really a libera fan but admires their music. besides, we came from the same government agency so we had something in common.
and i had to leave 360 because of this. (sad).
how it started...
my husband & i were at the MOA & he asked me to pass by the record bar to look for a replacement for andrea bocelli (vivere) which was the only favorite CD playing in the car. i had love songs in mind but decided to browse on. i stumbled upon this CD (eternal) with 5 pictures of cute kids on the cover - i paid for it without looking over the songs which i thought were children's songs! so while walking back towards the parking area, i read the line-up of songs (never heard of them except "ave maria"). and we played it - weh! borrrriingg!!! and that was just after the 2nd song, "sanctus".. i fast-forwarded to "ave maria", kinda liked it but still, it was boring... imagine to my surprise it had 2 CDs and i thought " 2 CDs containing boring songs! well, i read the tracks and the info on the cover- some were recorded far back as 2004. so 'eternal' took a backseat and we were back to bocelli.
i really can't recall now what came first - typhoon ondoy or the info of mhelai's friend BA de guia. as i posted this libera CD on my FB wall, he replied saying libera's concert was over & done with in cebu. i asked no manila? and he wasn't sure... i didn't even see them in 'eat bulaga'? so how come they went to cebu? what's with cebu? what's in cebu?
one evening coming from the mall, we sat out early in the parking lot of businessworld where mhelai works. my husband decided to put out eternal for us to listen since bocelli had been screaming the whole time since we left the house. it was awesome! i was silent & telling myself why we stopped at "sanctus" when there's more good music to listen to. my husband was already snoring beside me, heh heh it was lullaby to him..
from then on, it was eternal and nothing else. bocelli now took the backseat.. mhelai called one afternoon to ask if we wanted to watch libera in concert. i forgot the name and i just said yes, whatever. this was at the PICC (so it must be good). then i recalled, ah libera - yes, the cute 5 kids on the CD cover which we're now playing in the car. okay then. 2 tickets. but weeks back, i had a foot injury which was now getting healed (just in time for the concert).
we were seated far left at the PICC (a far cry when my husband was still with BSP & we had complimentary tickets, gov. tetangco was seated just in front of us - the best seats in the house). oh well, those were the days... anyhow, from the spot where we were, they sounded so much like the one in the CD, no visible faces except their distinct white robes - but i clearly saw the piano and fiona (in black). no autograph signing for me because of my injury. besides, i had no idea who these boys were! on the way home, i started playing the CD again and admired them more.. it was a night of angelic voices - unique voices.
then while i was working on my computer, i came across libera fans, too. i remembered signing up with libera360 and another site which skipped my mind now. it was fun. there was interaction among fans. i had a heyday browsing pictures and videos and eventually began familiarizing with each of the boys.
another trip to the record bar and i stumbled upon the angels in concert dvd-leiden. ah, this was the best CD ever! now it was time to get to know the boys upclose... but they were still kids here! well, there was that cute mexican-looking boy tom cully, the ever-smiling cute boy with moles on his face, joshua madine, the blonde angel-looking liam connery and the long-haired ed day. enough of their faces. let's go to the voices::::: tom cully is ahhhh, indescribable - he hits those high notes with so much ease that i don't know where he gets it from his small body frame. so i told myself, thomas cully is my number one boy in libera. joshua madine, what can i say? he's cute... and i'll kill anybody who'd say this boy is ugly! he has a husky, lovable voice - pang-showbiz. either he smiles while he sings or sings while he smiles - he's cute, both ways. liam connery, is this boy human or was he just dropped off from heaven? he's every inch an angel in looks. i recall having religious books with angels resembling liam's face. and this boy gets his energy from his eyes - they seldom blink. and when he hits those high notes (libera), the eyes says it all.. and of course, there's miniben, leggett brothers, joe snelling, michael v., callum payne, michael horncastle, oliver cole, and the others who i can't recall tonight (err early morning).
tomorrow, or later, i mean, i'll write about how my interest in libera blossomed into a beautiful friendship through 360 which became a "temporary" home for me..
familiarizing::
hello everyone! i'm proud to say that tonight, i did this on my own - without any help from mhelai. in the past, i still had to wait for her and set up things for me in the computer. but fortunately, with the help of my libera friends - tina mendiola from italy, chix abellanosa and romina enopia, i learned the tricks of copy/paste/ link this-link that and other computer terms a 51-yr old would never understand..
i never imagined doing this blog not until the thought crossed my mind about expressing myself about how some events have brought joys and sorrows for me. well, mostly joys.
i enjoy tinkering with the computer until my eyes blur and finn would bite my elbow and try dragging me off my seat, that would be past 2am when i'd already hear the neighbor's rooster announcing the break of day..
my blog will touch mainly on how i met my friends who share the same passion for LIBERA music. this started off last year, october to be exact, after their concert at the PICC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
