Smashed!

 

Utterly smashed... that's what I would describe myself since I finished watching the first season of the TV series, Smash. To say that I liked the series would be an understatement. Why wouldn't I love it? It has 3 elements that I adore: theater, songwriting and fellow Gemini, Marilyn Monroe.

For those who haven't seen the series, here's a summary:

Smash is about a group of people who are producing a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Their road to broadway was filled with intrigues, competition, and frustrations as the characters' personal lives intertwined with the hurdles of their theater production.

The first season showcased rivalry between Ivy Lynn and Karen Cartwright on who's going to play the lead in "Bombshell", the musical about Marilyn Monroe. Ivy, played by Megan Hilty, is a Broadway veteran who's career seemed to be stuck in the chorus, or ensemble, to be politically correct. Karen, played by Katherine McPhee, is a stage newbie from Iowa who's resume is "light and green" but her singing is simply remarkable. At the end of the season, after a series of mishaps and intrigues, the role of Marilyn ends up on the hands of Karen, or at least for the entire run of Bombshell's pre-Broadway shows.

In a few weeks, the second season will start and as I have read from various web articles, the show made big changes, even as far as changing it's creator Theresa Rebeck with Josh Safran. This makes me a bit nervous about the outcome, mainly because I believe that the first season worked because Rebeck is actually IN the theater industry as a playwright. We'll see...

Four actors we're also booted out and replaced with new characters as they battle it out with other theater musicals on Broadway. That should be exciting, I think. But what I am really wishing for is for Bombshell to become a real musical on Broadway. It deserves to be on Broadway. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the songs! My two faves on their OST would be Don't Forget Me and Second Hand White Baby Grand.

So, for this TV series, two thumbs up! If you love theater and music, you'd surely love this show. And, it's nice to see a more mature, musical TV series, a far cry from that high school musical Glee. Plus, IMO, the songs here are much, much better since most of them are originals.

I bet season 2 would be another, er, Smash!

Dana Punchlines 11-15

It's been a while since I posted here. A lot has happened since my last post and hopefully I'll be able to write about it soon. But for now, here's the third installment of Dana Punchlines:

Dana Punchlines 11 - April 17, 2011

Dana: Mommy, ikaw na lang magpaligo sa akin.
Me: Naku, anak, may sakit si mommy eh. Si yaya na lang.
(Dana nods.)
Me: O sige na, maligo ka na, maliligo na rin ako.
Dana: Eh, di ba may sakit ka?
Me: Sipon lang naman, anak.
Dana: Magpunas ka na lang!
(Sino ang nanay sa eksenang ito?)

Dana Punchlines 12 - April 23, 2011

(On choosing where to eat...)
Dana: Gusto ko sa McDo!
Me: Sawa na ako dun eh. Gusto ko mag-Kenny!
Dana: Huwag! Sasakit ang ngipin mo!
Daddy: Anak, Kenny, hindi KENDI!

Dana Punchlines 13 - May 7, 2011

While having breakfast...
Dana: Gusto kong tumaba, para magka-asawa ako.
Me: Bakit? Pag mataba ba, nagkaka-asawa?
Dana: Oo, ikaw nga meron eh!
(She did it again!)

Dana Punchlines 14 - July 2, 2011

Almost everyday after school, Dana would show me her arm marked with a star. The other day, she went home without a star, so I asked her:
Me: Dana, bakit wala kang star ngayon?
Dana: Ewan ko, baka naubos yung pang-tatak.
(Ayun o, may istorya agad. Bilhan ko kaya ng bagong pangtatak si teacher?)

Dana Punchlines 15 - July 22, 2011

(Sa kotse, pagkatapos madaanan ang isang branch ng McDo...)
Dana: Mommy, kain naman tayo sa McDo.
Me: Bukas na lang, anak. Lampas na tayo eh.
Dana: Eh, tinatawag ako ng McDo, mommy.
(Mental note: Sige, sasakyan ko ang trip nitong anak ko...)
Me: Talaga? Tinatawag ka ng McDo? Ano'ng sabi sa 'yo?
Dana: Sabi niya, "Dana, kain ka na..."
(Ngek! May sagot pa rin?)

Dana Punchlines 6-10

Here's the second installment:

Dana Punchlines 6 - October 19, 2010

While on our way to SM Taytay, we saw a newly-built Jollibee branch that hasn't been opened yet.
Dana: Mommy, Jollibee o! Punta tayo!
Me: Naku, anak, sarado pa eh.
Dana: Sarado? Sino nag-lock?

Dana Punchlines 7 - December 26, 2010

While inside the car, nakita kong pipikit-pikit si Dana. So, I asked...
Me: Dana, anak, inaantok ka na ba? Pikit ka nang pikit eh.
Dana: Hindi, mommy. Pumipikit ako para hindi matuyo ang mata ko!
(Shucks! Scientific ang explanation. Panay yata ang panonood ng Matanglawin!)

Dana Punchlines 8

I called the house this afternoon and Dana took the call...
Dana: Hello? Sino 'to?
Me: Dana, si mommy.
Dana: Si mommy? Nasa office!
Me: Ngek! Dana, si mommy na nga ito.
Dana: Mommy, 'di ba nasa office ka?
(Haaaayyy! Parang lasing lang kausap!)

Dana Punchlines 9 - March 9, 2011

Dana: Mommy, gusto ko nito. (referring to the Dutch Mill yogurt drink inside the ref)
Me: O, sige, kunin mo na yan.
Yaya: Ay, ate, nakainom na siya niyan kanina.
Me: Hayaan mo para tumaba.
Dana: Oo nga. Gusto kong tumaba, parang si mommy!
Only a daughter can idolize and insult her mother in one breath.

Dana Punchlines 10 - April 4, 2011

Sharing her rubber ducky with Darla...
Dana: Mommy, binigay ko na kay Chingching yung laluan ko!
Me: Ano'ng LALUAN?
Dana: Binigay ko na kay Chingching yung raruan ko.
Me: Ano'ng RARUAN? Ayusin mo!
Dana: Mommy, binigay ko na kay Chingching yung duck!
(Ayun naman pala!!!)

Dana Punchlines 1-5

Since September of 2010, I have been posting conversations with Dana on my Facebook wall. I have collected a few and I have gained some followers of my "Dana Punchlines". So, I am re-posting them here at the request of my friend Velvet. According to her, these make her smile and she sometimes goes back to these posts to make her day a little brighter. Here's the first installment:

Dana Punchlines 1 (Sept. 16, 2010)

Dana: Mommy, punta tayo sa parlor, papagupit ako ng buhok eh.
Me: O, sige, pero isama natin si Darla.
Dana: Wag na!
Me: Bakit wag na?
Dana: Kalbo naman siya eh!

Dana Punchlines 2 (Sept. 16, 2010)

Dana: Mommy, umiiyak ka?
Me: Hindi, anak. Masakit lang ang ngipin ko.
Dana: Ayan kasi, wag ka na kumain ng Nips!
(Note: Hindi ako kumakain ng Nips. Si Dana ang lagi kong sinasabihan na wag kumain ng Nips para hindi sumakit ang ngipin niya.)

Dana Punchlines 3 (Sept. 17, 2010)

Daddy: Dana, anak, ang taba mo na. Ang laki na ng tiyan mo o!
Dana: (Turns to me and looks at my tummy)... Si mommy din o!
(Haaaaayyy! Nadamay pa ako)

Dana Punchlines 4 (Sept, 29, 2010)

On the Phone...
Me: Yaya, tanong mo nga kay Dana kung gusto niya akong makausap.
Yaya: Dana, gusto mo daw ba makausap si mommy?
Dana: (Heard sa background) Ayaw!
Me: Sabihin mo, pag di niya ako kinausap, wala siyang waffle mamaya.
Yaya: Wala ka daw waffle mamaya pag di mo kinausap si mommy.
Dana: Kumain na ako ng waffle eh!

Dana Punchlines 5 (October 10, 2010)

Before bathing, nilalagyan ko ng VCO si Dana all over her body (para di ma-dry and to avoid rashes sa skin niya. She has atopic dermatitis kasi.) So, that's what I did this morning and here's what happened:
Daddy: (Nang-aasar) Ayan, ipi-prito na si Dana!
Dana: Daddy, hindi ako ulam!

More Dana Punchlines to come... Abangan!

Dana, my Ballerina

I made 2 promises before I had daughters. The first one is that no daughter of mine will wear pink. I abhor the color and I would not want to see it on my daughters. Well, if you've seen baby pictures of my daughters, you'll know that that promise didn't work out.

The second one was, no daughter of mine will dance ballet. Well, that one didn't work as well.

It was late last year, we were having breakfast when Dana exclaimed, "Mommy, gusto ko mag-ballet!" I was a bit shocked and, at the same time, curious where she got that idea. I tried to ignore her hoping that she will forget about it. Well, she didn't. She bugged me for days and insisted that I enroll her in a ballet class.

So, I searched online for ballet schools near Antipolo. I found one that's very near our home and Dana started ballet in November 2011. Since then, she had two recitals and she's getting more passionate about ballet every day.

Here are pics of Dana's last ballet recital. They did 3 numbers: Pinoy Summer, Happy Talk and Swan Lake.

If I had it my way, I would love for my daughters to study music, maybe learn to play instruments or take up voice lessons. But Dana wanted to dance. So (for) now, I am a certified ballet mom.

Anyway, I still have another daughter. Maybe she'll be my singer, or pianist, or songwriter. Who knows?

I promised myself that I would support my children's passions. I always tell them they can do whatever it is that they wanted to do, as long as they strive to be the best at it.