Thought I was done with this whole cough-and-colds episode, but it's still here. On the upside, I can tell that it's probably in its tail end... can't wait to get rid of this discomfort in my chest.
Yesterday after work, I met up with friends at our go-to jazz joint. I have been going here quite regularly for around two years now. I just found out about this place online while searching for new things to do in my old neighborhood after returning home from my two-year grad school stint.
At first, I always flew solo since I didn't know any other friend who loves jazz and blues. Sometime last year, I introduced two friends to my once-a-week jazz show routine (sometimes it's blues/blues-rock/folk blues) and we've been going together ever since.
Back in my early 20s (when I still lived in Quezon City), I used to catch gigs at Tago, Mow's, Route 196, and random spots in Maginhawa. Most of these gigs would start quite late and end at odd hours. These days, I just don't have the energy for that kind of thing (unless it's a band that I really love) and QC feels like such a faraway land now lol.
Last night, Nicole Asensio performed one of my faves from Dusty Springfield, The Look of Love (1967). Happy to say that I can play this song on the harmonica (chromatic-8) haha!
This morning, my friend E. took me to a quaint neighborhood shop selling secondhand Japanese goods. It was basically a treasure trove for old Japanese vinyl records. I got myself some forty-fives, all in pristine condition, no scratches! Each record sells for Php20, I bought five. The wooden vintage tennis and badminton rackets also caught my eye, but of course I didn't buy them lol (I don't need the clutter).
Without googling anything, I picked up these 45s purely based on vibes lol. And my vibe check was on point, I absolutely love them! I especially adore these discoveries: Hibari Misora (b.1937) [I only realized I got two of her records after coming home] and Kenji Kitahara (b.1939).
Kitahara's "North Wind" is from 1964 and Hibari's "悲しい酒" (Kanashii Sake - Sad Rice Wine) is from 1966 and "Koi no Manjusage" (Love's Red Spider Lily) is from 1961 [I am writing it in romaji because I'm unfamiliar with its kanji. The other song's kanji is simple enough so it's still within my skillset haha]
Accidentally interrupted Hibari's singing with my cough lol:
I really lucked out with these 45s! While crate diving in the LPs section (which are inconveniently mixed with LaserDisc movies), I was quietly hoping to find Happy End's 1971 album "風街ろまん" (Kazemachi Roman - Wind City Romance) featuring"風をあつめて" (Kaze wo Atsumete - Gather the Wind), which I instantly loved after hearing it in Lost in Translation (Coppola, 2003) most likely back in college. Alas, no luck.
A year ago in a (very messy) Japanese surplus shop in La Union, I accidentally purchased a LaserDisc, mistaking it for a vinyl record. That was the first time I have ever seen/held a LaserDisc (I grew up with VHS, then VCD & DVD) and I was so confused as I was about to plonk it into my record player lol.
Before heading to lunch, E. and I popped into a Booksale. I wanted to get her a book since she gave me two rolls of film the other day (plus a disposable camera from 2003, which still actually works haha). I asked E. to choose between a secondhand copy of The Sense of an Ending (Barnes, 2011) and A Separate Peace (Knowles, 1956). I told her it's a choice between a book about 1) Adults in yearning, hazy memories, loss, deep regret, and all those feels yadda yadda; 2) Coming-of-age wartime story of two gay boys. She picked the first, ha! I read The Sense of an Ending when I was around 20 and A Separate Peace maybe in my late 20s.
While browsing books, I heard the guy next to me asking staff if they have anything by Seneca (sadly, they didn't). I really wanted to strike up a conversation with the dude (since I love Seneca) but I didn't. Maybe I should have...
Later that day, I met up with three other friends to watch Mabining Mandirigma, a steampunk musical about Apolinario Mabini. Last November, we also watched another Tanghalang Pilipino production, Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical (in both musicals, lead characters like Mabini and Bonifacio were portrayed by actresses, love it). My favorite TP play so far is their stage adaptation of Kisapmata (Mike De Leon, 1981; as inspired by Nick Joaquin's 1961 article House on Zapote Street). It was just so eerie, capturing every ounce of tension from the movie.
Felt pretty tired after coming home from CCP, my colds and cough were acting up all afternoon (fortunately, it calmed down by sundown). To unwind, I took out my tiny chair.... haha. Yes, I have a tiny chair now. I bought it (for Php20 lol) this morning at that Japanese surplus store I visited with E. I hate clutter, yes, and I don't like unnecessary purchases BUT this tiny chair was just begging to be taken home. I mean look at it, look! *gently sobs*
I sanitized the tiny chair, carefully wiped its wooden legs, washed its cushion with soap, and dried everything with my hair blower lol.
I decided to place it next to my tingsha (Tibetan cymbals) and right on top of my Monet book, which is splayed atop my vinyl record collection.
E. pointed out that my tiny chair closely resembles my actual chair haha. I got the latter during the pandemic, it's an old wooden Japanese chair which was thoughtfully upcycled (the colorful cushion was a nice touch) by folks based in either Bulacan or Cavite (I don't quite remember). I got it from an online store (via Instagram) and they delivered it all the way to my hometown (I stayed with my folks for almost a year and a half during the start of the pandemic) via provincial bus!
Since I've been feeling out of sorts lately, I restarted drinking (decaf) tea. I really love this Indian spearmint tea my colleague gave me. I got the cup during my grad school years and the pot just last year during Design Week in my city. It was made by the ceramicist Jon Pettyjohn.
Revisiting this Mary Oliver poem (2010) before bed:
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