Viva La Vida

Tonight is one of those evenings that you try to free your schedule just to do nothing. And it feels soooo good!  Makes me contemplate on life, think about the things that I've been doing the past few months, immerse myself in Facebook and emails, visit my blog which by the way haven't been updated since time immemorial.

A lot of things have happened in the long period of time that I was away from blogging. I'm now in my third and hopefully final year in MBA. I've been transferred to a new division where work is something that I enjoy doing.  The past few months have been a cleansing period.  Now I feel revitalized and ready to take on the new challenges in the next chapter of my life.

A few weeks, I turned a year older and hopefully a bit wiser. Life's been good but it doesn't end there.  I'm still yearning for more knowledge, looking forward to living out my life more fully, exploring new things, and going out of my comfort zone.  It's not easy. But hey, I'm trying!

Carpe diem!

John Mayer Live in Manila, May 16

Finally got tickets! After 4 hours in line at Channel V, I got the long-awaited tickets (literally).  The wait was so bad but at least I made new friends with fellow fans. How cool is that?

Was supposed to get Gold tickets but I ended up with Platinum tickets (VIP). When it was my turn to choose, there were a lot of good seats in the VIP section.  It was just so tempting!!! And so I gave in.

What are the odds that he'd be back right? So I took the plunge, for Pao.

Counting the days... See you soon Johnny!

John Mayer Live in Manila Ticket Update

Upon finding out that John Mayer tickets started to sell, I immediately called Channel V last week for ticket reservations.  I really wanted to get first dibs on the seats.  Admittedly, I'm quite OC when it comes to concert seats. Especially THIS ONE, where tickets are exhorbitant!

Before the week ended, called Channel V again to check on the tickets.  They said the tickets are not yet with them but Ticketworld will start selling, latest by Monday, March 22. Early Sunday morning Pao and I trooped to National Bookstore in SM North hoping to get tickets already. We were disappointed to find out that the VIP section was still on hold by the producers.  To cover my bases, I reserved 2 Gold seats, left side facing the stage, just in case we could not get VIP.  I had 2 days to purchase my tickets before the reservation is released. 

From there we crossed the hallway and went inside the SM Department Store to check out Ticketnet since they were selling the right side tickets facing the stage (namangka sa dalawang ilog!).  Still no VIP, only Gold seats. Didn't reserve though.  Couldn't identify which seats were nearer to the stage because their map was in reverse and was using DOS-system. System was so outdated compared to Ticketworld. Such a turn-off!

So today, I called Ticketworld to extend my reservation.  Channel V still does not have the tickets.  If that's the case, I'd rather have a Gold seat that's nearer to the stage than a VIP seat that goes all the way to the back of the section. Right?  So my reservation was extended until tom.  But I was informed that they are only selling Silver, Bronze and GA seats.  Gold seats are on hold though my reservation will still be honored since it was prior to the hold order.

Not long after my call, I received an email from Ticketworld saying that I will not be able to buy the tickets until April 3 due to the hold order. Called back Channel V and found out that they will only be the ones to sell Gold and VIP (which is now called Titanium) tickets.

This is stressing me out.  I'm obsessing and Johnny's tickets are making me anal.

*Ghad!*

Why is the ticketing so disorganized? I hope Fearless Productions and Channel V fix this glitch fast!

So others won't get confused, here's where you can get tickets:

Channel V - by reservation

   Titanium & Gold

Ticketworld - reservation by phone, visit any outlet or buy online

   Silver, Bronze, GA - left side facing stage

Ticektnet - reservation by phone, visit outlet

  Silver, Bronze, GA - right side facing stage

John Mayer Live in Manila on May 16, 2010 MOA

VIP or Gold? Gold or VIP?
darn. why does it have to be so damn expensive?!?
will selling a kidney get you into vip? LOL.

manilaconcertscene:

[NEW EVENT]

John Mayer Live in Manila! May 16,2010 @ SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds!

reg ticket price:

VIP -> P12,672(reserved seating)
Gold -> P8,448(reserved seating)
Silver -> P5,280(reserved seating)
Bronze -> P2,112(free seating)
Gen Ad -> P633.60(Standing)

Tickets are available in all Ticketworld outlets and Ticketnet outlets. Call 891-9999(for ticketworld) or 911-5555(for ticketnet) for more details. You can buy early bird tickets in all Ticketworld outlets

John Mayer Live in Manila on May 16, 2010

I cant get over the expensiveness of Johnny's tickets! Normal VIP seats would cost you around 8 grand, around 6k if you get it way ahead. Even at a discounted rate, his 10k is still not justifiable given that it's an open air venue. I hope they move the venue to Araneta Center for better acoustics. If not, I hope it'll be reserved seating just like the Ne-yo concert earlier this year.

Called Channel V yesterday, hoping that we can get tix already.  When I asked about the seat map, the person on the other end of the line just said it's not yet available.  How can you sell seats when the map is not yet available???  They didn't even have the actual tickets yet so I just made a reservation.

Even at Ticketworld and Ticketnet, the event is not even in their calendars.  Channel V announced it already in the poster they released that it's already available. Weird.

Well, whatever happens Pao and I are watching Johnny! And his concert better be damn good! Here's hoping that the pricey tickets will be worth down to the last cent!

travel bug

The year started with a lot of uncertainties which made me hesitate to make travel plans.  Anytime I could change roles in the workplace which makes it quite difficult to cross out my list of places I wanted to visit.

As a kid, I remember writing in slambooks that I wanted to be a businesswoman but secretly I wanted to be a flight attendant so  I could go see the world.  I dreamed of visiting the pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon and the beautiful beaches in Greece, the coliseum in Rome, the ruins in Cambodia, the Great Wall of China and all those beautiful places!

My travelling days though did not start until college. Living in Dumaguete gave me the opportunity to travel to neighboring places like Cebu, Bacolod, Siquijor and the municipalities of Negros.  I never realized that with the strategic location, I was able to visit so much places just by studying in Silliman.  I got to explore the beach, the caves, the mountains!

Corporate life distracted me after graduation and for a time, I stopped traveling to places for vacation.  I still travelled for work but it was a different thing.  We were practically going from hotels to hotels, conducting workshops and business reviews, not really experiencing the local scene.

Then the fire got fueled again when I first experienced regional travel to Hong Kong and China in 2008.  Though it was company sponsored,  it was a week purely dedicated for vacation.  From then on, I never looked back.  I promised myself that I'd visit at least one international or regional destination and of course continue exporing the wonders of the Philippines.  I went to visit Malaysia that same year, Australia and Thailand last year.  I remember writing a post before that I never settle in one place for too long because I am a free spirit and there would always be this urge to constantly move to other places.

Sadly, because of work and school schedules and other factors, I don't think I will be able to keep that promise to myself.  It is just a temporary setback.  And with that, I made another vow to replace international travel with lots of local travel.  At least for this year, or at least until everything is clearer and more stable.  

Crossing out a place in my international travel list might be almost impossible this year but the spirit lives on and can never be held back, still hoping and constantly praying for an international seat sale.

3 telltale signs you're old

A thought dawned on me last week while I was driving to school -- I'm growing up!  I've never considered myself old but sometimes it cannot be denied that I'm already an adult.  What then are the signs that you indeed grew up?

1. You think real estate.

Instead of shopping for clothes and shoes, you shop for townhouses and condo units, even without marriage in mind.  Last week I just gave my reservation for a condo unit. Strike 1.

2. You have a checking account.

When I was young, I'd always see my mom issue checks for her business so it was inculcated in me that checkbooks = business = grown up.  Recently I needed to open a checking acccount. Strike 2. 

3.  Party no more.

Gone are the days when your body craves to be out until the wee hours in the morning for gimmik, you suddenly have the Cinderella syndrome.  Recently, by the time I get home I hit the bed and doze off to lala land!  Or if I'm out, my body craves for sleep when the clock strikes 12. Uh-oh! Strike 3.

Yes, that proves that I'm officially a grown up.