The other night I had the chance to watch the preview show of Atlantis Productions’ Xanadu. It was funny. It was perky. It was insane hilarity!!!

I wanted to say that Rachel Alejandro and Felix Rivera were awesome–and they were!–but, really, the whole companywas superb. Tickets are completely cheap, so go go go and watch it!

Ticket Prices:

Check out the Seat Plan for the auditorium. I totally recommend getting orchestra seats, or the loge center ones. Or, if you ave the guts, go for the super fun stage seats!

Visit their Facebook page or blog for more information.

Xanadu
Sept 4-19, 2010
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium
RCBC Plaza

XANADU SKATES INTO MANILA

XANADU, the Broadway musical comedy that opened in 2007, skates into Manila in a fun filled production directed by Bobby Garcia.

XANADU tells the story of a magical and beautiful Greek muse named Clio who disguises herself as Kira and descends from Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling chalk mural artist, Sonny Malone, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time – a ROLLER DISCO. But her jealous sisters concoct a magic spell that turns both Venice Beach and Mount Olympus upside down.

Featured in this hilarious, roller skating, musical adventure about following your dreams despite the limitations others set for you are the hit songs of pop-rock legends Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, including “Magic”, “All Over The World”, “Suddenly”, “I’m Alive”, “Evil Woman”, “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “Xanadu”. It is based on the Universal Pictures’ cult classic film of the same title, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.

XANADU stars pop singer and theatre artist Rachel Alejandro, who captured audiences hearts in the dual role of Kate Monster/Lucy The Slut in AVENUE Q, as Kira and Felix Rivera (Avenue Q, Spelling Bee) as Sonny Malone. Joining them in the cast are Noel Trinidad, Leo Rialp, Chari Arespacochaga, Bea Garcia, Anthony Ong, Alys Serdenia, Glen Llanes, Robbie Zialcita and Yael Pineda (Disney’s The Lion King West End). XANADU features Set Design by Lawyn Cruz, Costume Design by Twinkle Zamora, Choreography by Cecile Martinez, Musical Direction by Ceejay Javier, Lighting Design by Jonsy Reyes and Vocal Coaching by ManMan Angsico. It runs from September 3 to 19 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati.

For tickets call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187. For more information visit www.atlantisproductionsinc.com

There are times when you look for a song that matches your mood, and you successfully locate it in your library. There are also times when you don’t look for the song, but the song literally explodes out from your shuffled playlist and tells you, “I AM THE SONG FOR WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH.”

This song is that song for my September 2, 2010, 11:12 AM.

Marching On
OneRepublic

For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love’s what you hate,
Somehow,
We keep marching on.

For those nights when I couldn’t be there,
I’ve made it harder to know that you know,
That somehow,
We’ll keep moving on.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For all of the plans we’ve made,
There isn’t a flag I’d wave,
Don’t care if we bend,
I’d sink us to swim,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For those doubts that swirl all around us,
For those lives that tear at the seams,
We know,
We’re not what we’ve seen,

For this dance we’ll move with each other.
There ain’t no other step than one foot,
Right in front of the other.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For all of the plans we’ve made,
There isn’t a flag I’d wave,
Don’t care if we bend,
I’d sink us to swim,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.

We’ll have the days we break,
And we’ll have the scars to prove it,
We’ll have the bonds that we save,
But we’ll have the heart not to lose it.

For all of the times we’ve stopped,
For all of the things I’m not.

We put one foot in front of the other,
We move like we ain’t got no other,
We go when we go,
We’re marching on.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, left, right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, left, right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.

There I was standing in the middle of the airport, with music beating candy into my ears, bags packed and slung over my shoulder, ticket secured and stamped… and I had no idea what I was going to do in Cagayan de Oro.

Day 1: Itinerary? What itinerary?

You don’t know what we can find
Why don’t you come with me, little girl
On a magic carpet ride

Track 1: Magic Carpet Ride — Steppenwolf

I knew there was a wedding. Of course I knew there was a wedding. That was the reason I was going, after all. But despite the fact that I began researching for this trip months ago when I booked my flight, I never actually made an itinerary. (And I researched for just a couple of hours, really.)

So as I had nice breakfast conversations with Lila and Karen in the food court, at the back of my head I was going, “No, seriously, Sarah, you’re going to Mindanao for THREE DAYS with no plan whatsoever?”

On the plane I studied the two-paragraph article on Cagayan de Oro in the in-flight magazine with utmost concentration. “Magic Carpet Ride” was playing endlessly in my head.

Ah, but at least I knew what I was going to do once I touched down at the Cagayan de Oro airport.

Step 1: Get the bags from the conveyer belt.
Step 2: Meet our Cagayan de Oro hosts at the parking lot. Give them our bags.
Step 3: Embark the jeepney that will take us WHITE WATER RAFTING, baby!

Bring it on, boyeeeeeeeeee!

Track 2: Test Drive from How to Train Your Dragon

Truth be told, I was a bit nervous about white water rafting. I’ve been looking forward to this for months, but I was still nervously giddily excited. As we pulled over at Cagayan River and started getting into our rafting gear, “Test Drive” automatically pops into my head, never mind that it was written for aerial flight.

Go, team!

I, of course, got into the front seat of the boat beside Joppet. When the first bubbling waters appeared, we gripped our paddles, locked our feet, and pumped ourselves up for awesomeness. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!!! We’ve only been in the boat for a couple of minutes and we were already whooping!!!

Bugsay!!!

Until our guide told us that that bubbling water wasn’t even a rapid yet. It was just…bubbling water. Ahahaha! Eventually, we saw what a real rapid looked like.

AND IT WAS AWESOMENESS.

Track 3: Machinehead — Bush

After that it was three hours of more awesomeness. True, maybe the rapids weren’t as extreme as the ones you can see in, say, River Wild, but, hey. White water rapids are still white water rapids. Especially when you’re standing up.

I must say: I LOVE THE STANDING RAPIDS!

In between the rapids there were a couple of minutes of tranquil still waters so we could take a swim and appreciate the beautiful scenery.

But when it was go time, IT WAS GO TIME.

Awesome, awesome experience. I want to come back and do it again, on rainy season, please! BUGSAY!

Oh, right, we actually booked a room

Track 4: Tomorrow Morning Comes — Jack Johnson

“When my words kiss your ear, I’ll be right there”

After that morning (and afternoon), we finally checked into our hotel to change. And then it’s off to Victory Cagayan de Oro for Youth Service. It’s always great to visit our churches in other locations, and it was especially fun to see the energetic CDO young’uns.

After that it was dinner at Sentro 1850…

SALAD!!!

And then a quick night out at Night Cafe before going back to the hotel to finally try out the bed. My body was dead tired, but my brain was still on a high, so I plugged in some Jack Johnson to get me relaxing. “Tomorrow Morning Comes” was the last song I remembered listening to.

Day 2 was the wedding

“Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart”
Track 5: Better Together — Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was set on repeat play, so when I woke up the next morning, his tunes were still in my ears. I couldn’t help a lazy smile when I woke up to “Better Together”.

The morning saw me just lazing around and dragging myself out of bed five minutes before they stopped serving breakfast in the lounge. And then after breakfast I crawled into bed again before I absolutely had to get up to get dressed for the wedding.

Track 6: Iris — Goo Goo Dolls

After getting dressed (and also being my friends’ fashion consultant) I went to the bride’s suite. Estela, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you already know this, but I’ll say it anyway. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. I mean, like, WOW.

I sneaked in some shots while Joppet did his thing, before slipping out to help check on the maid of honor. Although I already planned to help out, I did more work than I was prepared for; I was asked to do the bridesmaids’ work! Haha! But it was okay. I had fun doing it.

During the ceremony, though, I dropped the bridesmaid’s hat and switched to photographer mode, since Joppet asked me beforehand to help him out. Again, I had so much fun doing it!

And then I switched to bridesmaid mode again for the reception, before finally sitting down to actually be a guest.

Okay, let’s face it, I enjoy working behind the scenes. Haha!

Track 7: Can’t Help Falling In Love — Ingrid Michaelson

The actual wedding was beautiful, funny, and completely heart-warming. There’s so much to say about the wedding, but I think I’ll save that for later. One thing I can say: when Cocoy and Estela danced to “Iris”, another song was playing in my head. That song being this paragraph’s heading.

Congratulations, Cox and Este. I love you guys!

Day 3. Again: Itinerary? What itinerary?

Track 8: Song 2 – Blur

A couple of friends suggested after the wedding that we go to Bukidnon for food, zipline, and who knows what else. My answer was, not surprisingly, “GAME!” I woke up early for an early breakfast and early bonding with Seneca, a friend I haven’t seen for more than a year. Miss you, Sen!

A couple of hours later, we were on the road to Bukidnon for ziplining!

First up was the 320/150 Zipline. It was short but still fun nonetheless. For me it was the time to test out camera settings. And shot feasibility. Haha!

Harness, check. Helmet, check. Camera, check!

Track 9: Elevation — U2

After that it was get on this badass 4×4 jeep for a wild ride up the mountain for the 800++ km track.

ZIPLINING ROCKS. I have no more words.

And, by the way: this has nothing to do with my post, but IT MUST BE POSTED.

The Tower of POWERRRRRRRR!!!

Track 10: Breakdown — Jack Johnson

We had lunch at the Del Monte country club.

There be endless fields of pineapples.

And then it’s back to Cagayan de Oro.

Beautiful sunset at the Cagayan de Oro bay.

When everyone else in the van dozed off (except for Job, of course, who was driving) that feeling came. You know that feeling, right? It’s the one you get near the end of an awesome trip. It’s the one that you get when you realize that you are, indeed, near the end of the trip. It’s the one that makes you wish that your trip was longer.

It’s the one that made me put “Breakdown” on repeat play, from the trip back to Cagayan de Oro City until I went to bed that night.

“Day” 4: There’s always the flight back

The space between / Your heart and mine
Is the space we’ll fill with time
Track 11: “Space Between” — Dave Matthews Band

For an almost completely unplanned trip, mine was packed. But although my trip was packed, there were many things I wasn’t able to do. I didn’t get to roam around the city, for one. I wasn’t able to sample the food haunts that only locals knew about. I wasn’t even able to visit the market.

You know what’s coming next, right?

Yep, this is the part when I say: I AM COMING BACK TO THIS AWESOME PLACE.

One month from now, I shall be celebrating my birthday. I make my wishlist every August 31st, but this year I thought I’d make one a bit earlier.

1. Write me a letter. Length doesn’t matter as long as it has sense.
2. Take me to awesome food. Somewhere I’ve haven’t been to yet. (Expensive food is NOT required.) You can also cook me awesome food!
   
3. Take me to a movie, or let’s watch a DVD in your house. Or mine. I have missed so many good movies recently
   
4. Gimme something
   
   
5. Get me new clothes. And—deep breath—okay, take me shopping. (I am SO gonna regret saying that, I’m sure, since, y’know, I still hate shopping.)
6. Pray for me. Bahala na kayo kung anong ipag-pra-pray para sa akin

People familiar with my wishlists probably noticed that I changed my format this year. Or not. I tried changing it on Christmas—which is okay—but I thought I’d try another style this time. And also limit the number of things I’m asking for. After all, I don’t usually get a lot of the items in my wishlists. Ahehehe. Most people get me something else, which is fine; it’s the thought that counts, anyway, yes?

Today, I took Karess out for a girls’ night out to Forever Flawless. We had originally planned to get facials, and Karess even researched on Flawless’ services that she can try. But we got stuck at work until way past seven, so when we arrived at Flawless Robinsons Galleria, the only services available were waxing. Well, that’s okay, because Karess had already considered getting her eyebrows waxed. Perfect!

We were led to the waxing room. It was a small one but surprisingly cozy. Karess was asked to lie down and relax on the bed while Normie, her beautechnician prepared the honey wax they were going to use.

Honestly, I haven’t seen anyone get their eyebrows waxed before, so I don’t really know how it works. What Normie did was put the wax on a cotton swab for precision. We didn’t want too much eyebrows removed, after all. Karess wanted to have her natural eyebrow shape retained, and only have stray hair strands cleaned.

Our faces are sensitive, of course, and out eye area are even more so. So accuracy was necessary when dealing with sticky wax on the eyebrows, and I was glad to see that it was done properly.

Karess, of course, can’t help but look.

Note to waxing newbies: take a deep breath in preparation, and then exhale in a puff as the waxing strip is quickly pulled. The quicker the strip is pulled, the less it is. Believe me, exhale when it’s pulled; not inhale. Inhaling makes you tense even more. I know from three years of having my legs waxed.

It was over in 5 minutes. Karess, who is used to having her eyebrows threaded, was pleasantly surprised at how fast waxing was. Actually, she’s now convinced to switch over to waxing regularly. Yey!

I, on the other hand, have been shaving my eyebrows. Maybe I should try eyebrow waxing at Flawless, too, ei?

I didn’t get anything done tonight, but I bought some toner to try

Eyebrow waxing at Forever Flawless is P250.00.

Forever Flawless is located at the 3/F East Wing of Robinsons Galleria

I tried Beauty & Butter earlier this month for a hand and foot paraffin treatment. But, since the place is for nails, face, and art, I thought I should also try to try out some nail art from there. It was perfect timing: I needed some pampering, and my nails are at a perfect length to get painted on.

Beauty and Butter has a myriad of colors to choose from; they have this whole shelf of colorful nail polish bottles!

They also have dozens and dozens of nail art designs on display.

And an album for me to choose from. I didn’t even dare count how many designs they had.

I, however, chose to get classic French tips. Haha!That’s the most artistic I could get. I chose #24, my favorite brownish pink polish at Beauty & Butter, from the palette they had. I love how they really look like nails!

With the choice done, I picked my spot, and Cris and Fhe, my buttercups for the day, set to work.

It was nice to see Tinay, one of the buttercups who attended to me before. See, that’s the thing with Beauty and Butter. Not only do you get awesome treatments, you also have buttercups who geuinely care for your hands and feet, and even remember your face! It makes the experience so fun.

And add the colorful room to the mix, and that sets Beauty and Butter apart from the rest, I think.

It was almost closing time, so it was just me and the buttercups

Here’s another thing I love about Beauty & Butter: they have super nail polish dryers! I’m not sure where they got them, but they apply a bit of heat to the nail polish, while a couple of high-powered fans blow air to dry the newly-applied polish. After a few minutes, I was are good to go, and I don’t need to be extra conscious of my nails.

Side note: I ran into the rain to get home after my treatment, but when I got home, my toenail polish was still PERFECT. If that doesn’t say something about quality, then I don’t know what will. Haha!

Get your nails French tipped at Beauty and Butter for only P250. (P250 for hands, and then another P250 for feet, if desired. I had my toes just painted with my base color.)

Fact: I’m skinny. Or at least my family and friends say so. They’re actually concerned if I’m eating well.

Fact: I wasn’t skinny at certain points in my life. I think it was around after college. And then I began losing pounds this year.

Fact: some parts of my body haven’t been notified that I have gotten skinny.

Fact: I don’t really care. Not enough to stop eating, that is. I don’t even care enough to start going to the gym, either.

But when I got the chance to try the Ultra Lift Treatment at Forever Flawless, I thought, “Hey, why not?” So I went to Mall of Asia, where my favorite Flawless branch was, to try it out.

Some of the Flawless MoA staff: April, Arlene, Lanie and Glen

The Ultra Lift Treatment is the only non-invasive treatment with FDA approval for skin tightening via wrinkle treatment. The device uses combined bi-polar radio frequency and light energies to precisely heat the dermal tissue within the targetted area. This stimulates the collagen production and producing a firming effect in lax skin.

Or, to put it simply, the machine melts the unnecessary fat in the treated area.

The Nano RF machine

First, a gel is put on the targetted area. It serves as a lubricant for the machine, but it’s also the medicine that seeps into the skin. Then, a metal plate is placed under my back in order to keep me grounded. (Remember, we are talking about electric waves here.) When the actual procedure began, it’s sort of like getting an ultrasound check-up. Only, it’s hot instead of cold. Glen, the girl who attended to me, carefully monitored the heat if it was getting too hot for me. It’s important that I should feel the heat, she said, but it shouldn’t be too much of a discomfort.

The procedure only lasted for 20 minutes. I didn’t feel the results instantly, but I did see it in the mirror a bit.

The Ultra Lift Treatment is best for mothers who just gave birth, or plus size ladies who would like to trim their silhouettes. Forever Flawless emphasizes, though, that while their treatments help us get slim, it’s still up to us to maintain a healthy lifestyle and maintain our figure. I thought it was awesome for Flawless to point that out.

You know that this means, don’t you? It means I’m going back to swimming! I hope there are less people in our swimming pool now.

I love Chuck (therefore I love Zachary Levi), and I’ve always liked Katharine McPhee. And this happens to be written by Kara DioGuardi and Jason Reeves, whose songs I also like. So, naturally, I love this song, yes, yes, yes?

I’m studying this, and if things go well, I’ll be singing this next month with a friend of mine. Yey!

Side note: Zach acts, sings, drives, is a geek. I LOVE THIS GUY!!! Haha!

Terrified
Katharine McPhee ft. Zachary Levi

You by the light is the greatest find
In a world full of wrong you’re the thing that’s right
Finally made it through the lonely to the other side

You said it again my heart’s in motion
every word feels like a shooting star
I’m at the edge of my emotions
Watchin’ the shadows burnin’ in the dark
And I’m in love
And I’m terrified
For the first time
And the last time
In my only life

This could be good it’s already better than that
And nothing’s worse than knowing you’re holding back
I could be all that you needed if you let me try

You said it again my heart’s in motion
every word feels like a shooting star
I’m at the edge of my emotions
Watchin’ the shadows burnin’ in the dark
And I’m in love
And I’m terrified
For the first time
And the last time
In my only

I only said it
‘Cause I mean it
I only mean it ‘Cause it’s true
So don’t you doubt What i’ve been dreaming
‘Cause it fills me up it holds me close
whenever I’m without you

You said it again my heart’s in motion
every word feels like a shooting star
I’m at the edge of my emotions
Watchin’ the shadows burnin’ in the dark
And I’m in love
And I’m terrified
For the first time
And the last time
In my only life

Tonight, I tried something I didn’t think I’d try any time soon: Hand and Foot Paraffin Treatment.

Okay, let’s get this straight: I know that the heat can relax our muslces and nerves—I know this well; I like having hot baths—but I couldn’t quite get how hot, molten WAX can be relaxing. To be honest, it sounded a bit scary to me.

But, there I was at Beauty and Butter, trying out the Hand and Foot Paraffin. I mean, other people have done it, so it couldn’t be that bad, right? But down to the last second, after the buttercups attending to me have cleaned my feet and were holding my foot above the wax, I was skeptical. After all, if I wanted to relax my hands, I could just shake them loose, or someone to massage them, and I could always just put my feet up if I wanted to relax my feet.

But all that disappeared from my mind when my feet touched, and eventually got dipped, in the mint wax. The only thought in my head was, “Oh, wow, that feels gooooooooooood.”

Mint wax for the win!

Each dip was for just about a second, but it was like all my senses focused on the relaxing heat on my feet. On the heat, and on the mint scent wafting to my nose. I LOVED IT. It was nice how sensitive the buttercups were, asking me if I was ready to dip my foot again. See, the treatment included three to four dips, with three second intervals. It felt just right, and by the time both of my feet were done, I had a rather goofy smile on my face. Haha!

My hands were the same, only they used a milk dip instead of the mint one.

After each set of dips, the finished foot or hand gets wrapped in a plastic wrap, and put into a mitt to rest for 20 minutes. (Just enough time to see Cher realize that she was in love with Josh.) And after that, the wax is peeled off, taking my dry skin cells with it.

Hand and foot parffin treatments also include manicure and pedicure afterwards. It felt so nice to be pampered by sweet buttercups after a tiring day.

If your hands and feet are in dire need of relaxation, I say go and treat yourself to a paraffin treatment at Beauty and Butter. I can just imagine how glorious it would be to get it after a Hand and Foot Scrub!

Beauty and Butter has branches in SM Lazaro, SM Mall of Asia, and SM Megamall Atrium.

The Breakups fans, celebrate! The official single for “I Don’t Want to Know” came out on iTunes June 22! The single includes “I Don’t Want to Know”, “The Casualty”, and a brilliant cover of Michael Penn’s “Mary Lynn”. Check it out in the iTunes store.

Psych fans can also recognize this song as the one playing at the end of A Very Juliet Episode, Psych Season 4 episode 12.

The Breakups hail from Hollywoodland, California. Their classic pop sensibility and adventurous arrangements have them working in the same musical milieu as other modern pop staples like The Shins, Fountains of Wayne, Elliott Smith, Nada Surf, Wilco, and Michael Penn. Combine those modern ideas with a love for the classic sound of Emitt Rhodes, The Clash, The Zombies, and a certain “B” band from Liverpool and you have the breakups special brand of “powerless pop.”