It's gonna be a bright... bright... sun shiny day!!!

whoooaah! I broke 100... finally. I am perhaps the worst golf player I have ever seen. After a year attempting to be a better player, I finally broke 100 and scored 96! My friend who is an Undersecretary always jokingly says that he typically scores 75.... on the front nine. Hahahaha! I think that it was "shame" that made me play good that day because I decided to have the game documented on video so that I could see what I was doing wrong. Or maybe because I had a new caddy who was way better in attitude compared to my old one.

GOLF DAY!

RANT 101 - the memo that never was...

September 4, 2007

Subject: Offense and Resolution


I am saying sorry in advance for whatever reaction this open letter may cause to anyone but I am at the moment in no mood to play politics with my feelings. But as of this writing, I am already all too fed up with the amount of stress that I have to put up with in this company. Stress which I think is utterly unnecessary, have we been working together as a team and not as loose cannons by ourselves.

I am very much offended by all the media releases in relation to Amazing Philippine Theatre. I know that the Korean Managers will not be bothered by it as I will not be bothered by any article that appears in any Korean newspaper.

The articles from the newspapers and the internet have caused me personal and professional anguish because, and I quote:

“According to _________, the Korean chief operating officer and director of sales and marketing of the Amazing Philippine Theatre. The Amazing Show can rival, if not surpass, the ones being put up in Thailand, well-known for musical shows featuring transsexuals and to which the Philippine show took its inspiration.

The wealth of talent as well as the beauty of transsexuals in the country inspired Korean investors headed by its chairman and owner Lee Jong Hyun to put up the Amazing Philippine Theatre in 2001. At the first audition, they hired 80 performers to make up the first pool of talent. Investors decided to rehabilitate the Manila Film Center to make it the venue for the shows with an initial capital investment of about US$ 1.4 million. The selling of the show was concentrated to the Korean market.”

(I didn't even know that we had a COO already... So much like the saying, “who died and made him COO?")

and…

“According to Korean ________, the COO and director of sales and marketing of the Amazing Philippine Theatre, APT owner and Chairman Jong Hyun Lee approached him with the idea of creating a theatre company with the purpose of providing a world class show that would benefit both the foreign and local markets.” -- he wasn't even around in 2001!


I actually do not give a damn about whose mistake it was… the bottom line is that there was a mistake and it belongs to somebody and yet no one wants to claim it and again, no one will be punished because of it. The damage is at the expense of this company whose history we have just altered because of these articles that were read by Filipino readers. And this, I do not take lightly. Not from someone who has given me much headache and stress since the inception of the Amazing Philippine Theatre Boracay Project.

Amazing Philippine Theatre was established with people who are mostly not here anymore to defend themselves. They are fallen, but they are not dead. They were not survivors in this company, but it doesn’t mean that we can erase them from our history. I would not be here today if it wasn’t for the first executive director of this theatre who patiently waited in my living room until I awoke to bring me to Aloha Hotel. The initial show would have not been possible if not for the talents and skills of the first artistic team led by the first director. Good or bad, these people were a part of this theatre’s history. And those facts, I will never undermine or allow to be undermined so long as I am a part of this company.

I have remained silent for more than two years now hoping against hope that we are threading the right direction. Hoping that after six years we have learned enough from our mistakes. Like a good soldier that I wanted to be I remained patient. But my silence has gravely contributed to, my opinion, the worsening of the situation. Amazing has stood its ground after six years and those of us who has poured our sweat, blood and tears into her foundation has the responsibility to ensure the viability of our existence as a company and a family.

I have initially contemplated that with this open letter, I shall attach with it my resignation from this company so that I may be spared further anguish and unnecessary stress brought about by mistakes of people who should have known better… but I will not.

Instead, I shall channel my indignation by formally proposing a rectification of the situation by institutionalizing this company as an entity with a structure, with an organization and with a clear and concise direction. I would like to formally propose an organization which would be coherent and responsive to our needs as a company so that incidents like these may be prevented and unnecessary anguish may be prevented as well.

I propose to professionalize the ranks of the departments by hiring competent personnel that will help us accomplish out bottom line objectives. With this in mind I would like to begin with the Sales and Marketing Department. We will need competent staffing to promote and sell the theatres nationwide. I would recommend that we hire a part-time publicist who will take care of our promotional and other related needs. The publicist’s first task is to damage control what has been done because of the articles and further to promote the “proper” history and accomplishments of this company. Further, to develop a tri-media campaign for promoting Amazing Shows all over the country.

As of now, the managers are already spread too thin to make adequate and competent decisions. Let us not fall prey once again to mistakes we have committed over and over again for the past six years. This year is the worst year of my personal and professional life, and I want to change that. Nobody will change it for me, so if I may… I would like to begin.

damn.. i want to rant!

but I wont... not yet anyway. I'm too busy making calls and thinking. So after this Boracay project that we have, expect that RANTS will overflow from the pages of this blog. Grrrrrrr....

the worst of the lot...

Just like sim games, life is affected by every action and every reaction we make... Like I always say... I am here to make friends, not enemies. As an off shoot of my "salisi"gang experience, a friend of mine, a high ranking police officer recommended that I file for formal charges and complaints at the local police station. There, I was entertained by an officer whom I have previously met through another officer who was relatively a close friend of mine. (I now remember that at that time, my friend spoke ill of this officer)

This officer later texted about business matters and that he needed help for his OSEC schooling. Last week, he gave me visit and I entertained three of them at our Korean Restaurant. Later he made an appointment to visit my office for business matters and asked if I wanted to go to _______, a massage parlor to which I declined and said that I would much rather go for a simple drink at the office.

I must admit that my first impression was very bad... but good natured as I am, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and that perhaps he was just in need of a friend for which I have been known to be a good one to have.

So the entire night was spent with him flattering me up and most of it flattering himself with his "accomplishments".... it was actually the most annoying night of my life so I just wanted to get it over with. And he is in my book, the most obnoxious person I've met so far.... but sensing that he wanted to paint the town red, and that getting as far away from him would be a distant reality if I did not oblige him, I had no real choice but to take him out for some R&R time.

But at a certain point in the night, the whiskey got to my brain stem and since I have my limitations as well... I blew a fuse...

and I guess that that is all I should say about that matter as of this time...

Boracay...

It wasn't exactly what I expected...

or perhaps it was because I was there for business... but really this island is great. It is paradise, specially for those who can afford it. It was a great way to spend it for bonding sessions specially with my boss. In Manila, we rarely have the chance to talk casual over business and personal matters but this trip we did bond and I feel good.

Once again I feel alive, refreshed and significant once again with this new project. At least now I have something worthwhile to do.

To Boracay!

Casie Villarosa - You Won't Be There
written and performed by Casie Villarosa
from the album "Paalam" 2007
recorded at Sunset Records Ltd. Studios
video made in Boracay with under wate footages courtesy of Jack of Party House Dive Shop

the MARGINALS live @ club dredd 1994

the marginals - insecurities live @ club dredd 1994



the marginals - a song to the bourgeosie @ club dredd 1994



the marginals - longing live @ club dredd 1994

the MARGINALS live @ mayric's

Last Monday, exactly a week ago, Tony delivered on his promise to give the VHS transfer copy of our 1994 gig at Mayric's music House and Club Dredd. I was more than happy to receive it so that I may have it digitally transferred and posted in youtube for all the band members to see and enjoy. The VHS copy was in real bad shape so I had to have it cleaned up and I had to fix the audio. Internal Dynamic Microphones on older cams I guess were very different thirteen years ago and I guess that transfer from V8 to VHS took it's toll as well as the number of playbacks of the tape.

I had fun cutting up the tracks apart. I didn't really do much on the editing side since I wanted to see how we really were those days. This first batch of clips from Mayric's sounded really bad because as I heard it from the tape, I was running a fever due to a flu that day. We played back to back with Tropical Depression that day and I guess it made me realize why we really didn't make it in the business. --- we were just not that good. But it was fun and it was a part of our history as friends.

In this video, the MARGINALS were...

Casie Villarosa -- guitars / piano / vocals

Nelius Pepito -- lead guitars

Ronnie Manansala -- bass

Ric Vera -- drums

Tony Robles -- keyboards

It's a good thing indeed that I chose not to make a career out of music. Otherwise I would have had struggled my entire life....

To the MARGINALS.... ENJOY!!!

the MARGINALS - APACHE
(cover from the ventures)


the MARGINALS - LOADS


the MARGINALS - INSECURITIES


the MARGINALS - FOOLS IN LOVE
(cover from joe jackson)