2009
"Good morning, Metro Manila! Ushering in The Rush Hours with some BEP."
I exhaled loudly, stepping out into the thankfully cool Friday in my blue summer dress and low-cut Converse sneakers. I faced the sun, momentarily basking in its warmth before I lowered my head, checking if my earphones were plugged well in my ears. The Rush Hours on the radio was playing Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling, and I took that as a good sign for my Friday.
The DJs, Ian and Rae, excitedly came back in after the song ended, screaming, "We've got a surprise for you guys!"
I frowned, wondering if it's another raffle I couldn't win—I was too lazy to join anyway—as I hailed a cab.
"Ortigas, manong!" I said, and the driver only agreed after asking me for fifty bucks on top of the metered fare because there was heavy traffic. On another day, I would have snapped at him, told him that the heavy traffic wasn't my fault and that it was a normal occurrence in Manila, but I was having a good start to my day that I didn't want to ruin the juju.
"As you all know, the world's biggest boy band is finally here in Manila," Rae continued.
I grinned at the enthusiasm in her voice. The phrase "world's biggest boy band" was equated to Gezellig, which I used to always read as it was spelled but apparently was pronounced as heh-sell-ick, with the stress on the second syllable. I knew Rae was a fan of Gezellig, as she made it a point to play one of their songs every hour during their three-hour show. To me, however, they were just another one of those boy bands—and I've had enough in this lifetime, having gone through *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Click Five, Blue, Westlife, and A1. I think they were the third boy band to break out worldwide this year, and frankly, it was getting a bit tiring.
Sugar sweet, bubblegum pop songs laced with innuendoes weren't my kind of thing anymore.
I mean I would have gone for it—if I was sixteen.
"And in five minutes we're having Gezellig's Marcus Wayans live via phone patch!" Rae said, followed by a string of ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod.
"And while my partner here is trying to keep her fangirl down, I'm giving you Gezellig's latest hit, Roll with Me," Ian cut in, and a familiar beat came on in the background. "We'll be right back with Marcus only on The Rush Hours with Ian and Rae!"
I closed my eyes as the cab slowed down, joining the long line of cars trudging along EDSA.
Oh girl, just roll with me, roll with me...I got your back, no judgin'. Roll with me, roll with me, today until forever.
I winced, because I didn't actually just listen to that—I sang it in my head. Was it quite possible that Gezellig's earworm of a song had embedded itself in my brain?
And who writes these, anyway? Good grief.
"He's here, he's on the line!" I could hear Rae squeal as the commercial gap finished. I chuckled, because I was the same type of fangirl when it came to the sports teams-go Barangay Ginebra Kings!-and bands I supported-could The Fray, Augustana, and Stars come here please?
Once upon a time, I was this gaga over *NSYNC, too.
There was static, and then Ian came on. "Okay, guys. Let's all welcome...Marcus Wayans of Gezellig!"
"Hello?" said a voice, warm, rusty, but cool at the same time. Soulful, even. His hello came out as hullo, his British accent a bit sexy.
"Hiiiii!" Rae greeted back.
"Hello!" came Marcus again, this time a little less tentative and a little more energetic, as if matching Rae's level.
"Welcome, welcome to The Rush Hours," said Ian, and Marcus thanked them. "How are you finding the Philippines so far?" was the follow up. I wanted to focus on the conversation, but I spaced out, a billboard coming into view as the cab rolled onto the flyover.
It was big, occupying three buildings probably up to its twentieth floor. Five guys were there, photographed in mid-stride, looking too cool for school, and preppy. And they all had good hair. Above their heads were the words, Gezellig: Time Stands Still World Tour.
I found myself nodding in appreciation, because hey, they were actually easy on the eyes. I somehow understood why there was so much fuss over them, because if I only based it on the looks, they were pretty worth fangirling over.
"Yeah, we're very excited for the concert because we know our Filipino fans have waited a while for this," Marcus' voice floated back into my consciousness, making me wonder who he was among the five in the billboard. Did I space out that long? Did they ask him already if he or any of the boys have already tried our balut? Or our mangga with bagoong?
"So head on to the Araneta Coliseum this Saturday at eight in the evening, and we'll do our best to give you a wonderful time," Marcus finished. He had the type of voice that conveyed his emotions so well, and with the tone that he just used, I almost imagined him smiling.
"Oh we'll be there, trust us," says Rae, and I almost guffawed at how sweetly she said it.
Marcus let out a small laugh, replying with a flourish, "Salamat." Obviously, someone had been teaching him Filipino-at least the phrases that most foreign artists who come here are usually taught: Mabuhay! Mahal namin kayo. Salamat.
"See you all there!" Marcus said. After that I heard a click, and he was gone. Rae started to gush again, but I wanted some peace and sanity, so I switched off the radio.
After a few minutes, the cab slowed to a stop in front of my building, and when I entered through the doors, I realized the music blaring through the speakers was another Gezellig song.
I sighed in frustration.
They really were everywhere.
*****
"CAITLIN!"
I had only taken three steps into Logic Media when I was accosted with a mighty hug from my colleague, Lorin Perez, who also doubled as my best girl bud. She was in her usual jeans, tank top, and sneakers ensemble, but she made it look so stylish and beautiful. The bright smile on her face told me that there must be something more to this day than being bombarded by Gezellig everywhere. She repeated my name over and over as she twirled me in a hug.
"Whoa, what's up?" I asked her, laughing, and she finally released me. Her smile now turned into a full-fledged grin, reaching her eyes, and she flashed two blue laminated circles in front of me.
"What are...?" My voice trailed as I leaned closer, and I finally realized what they were. Gezellig was stylized in red, in a font that Lorin once told me was their trademark font.
Under the band's name were the words Super VIP.
"Gezellig concert tickets. Super freaking VIP," I said, my enthusiasm dampening a bit.
"Yes!" she said, jumping up and down. "Our client pulled through! Marion just sent these over!"
Wow. I knew the perks of our job included getting tickets to different events that our clients sponsor—concerts and movie tickets included—but when they were in demand, we didn't rely on our connections. We had to get them ourselves. Unfortunately for Lorin, Gezellig concert tickets sold out in under an hour, and she was in a series of meetings on the day of the release.
Lorin used the tickets as a fan. "I have two of the world's hardest tickets to buy, and I didn't have to pay for them." She took my hand, pulling me towards my cubicle.
"And you know what else?" Lorin said when we were in the private space. She beamed at me, her smile so wide. "Do you know what comes with Super VIP passes like these?"
"Posters?" I teased, and that earned a rather painful nudge from her in the ribs.
"Better. Meet and greet."
"Wow. Throw Marion a bone. That deserves three dates at the minimum!"
Lorin rolled her eyes. She didn't like Marion in the way that he liked her, and she had—more than once—put him down gently, but Marion was persistent. After a year, he's still around, trying to woo her. "Hitting you where it matters: your Gezellig fangirl heart."
"I'm a Gezer, Caitlin. A Gezer."
"Okay, a Gezer," I relented, noting for the nth time in my head that 'Gezer' was how diehard Gezellig fans were called.
She sighed, her frustration evident. "Why don't you like them, Caitlin?"
"I don't know. I just don't."
"Give them a chance," she pleaded, tugging on my arm. "They're quite good."
She dangled one of the two passes in her hand in front of my face, giving me her best smile coupled with puppy dog eyes.
"I do know they're good-looking," I retorted with a wink.
"No, I mean it. They're good. They're not just pretty faces."
"They're not the next Beatles."
"They're not trying to be, hun."
"I'm too old for them."
"No one is too old for Gezellig, Caitlin. No one is ever too old to be a fangirl."
"They're what, sixteen? I'm twenty-three, hun."
Lorin gasped, as if what I just said was sacrilege. "FYI, the youngest member is twenty. The eldest is twenty-two. Just within your age range, really."
I sighed heavily, sliding my bag on my desk and taking out my laptop. "Look," I said, giving her a patient smile, "I'm happy for you that you got these passes, but I'm happy with my life not knowing Gezellig."
She rolled her eyes, blowing her bangs off her forehead. I watched as they landed perfectly back in place. "Jeez, Tan," Lorin said, shaking her head. "The other ticket is for you."
"Me?"
She nodded. "Come with me, Cait. Come on. I need your support."
"You mean you need someone to take photos for you."
"No. Just moral support. Or someone who'll hold me up when my knees get weak because you know, I'm finally meeting Gezellig," she mooned, and I reached over to pinch her.
"Jesus, you haven't met them yet and you're already like this," I said, and Lorin wrinkled her nose in dismay.
"You never could just take a chance, you know? Always calculating. Always by the books and by the calendar." She smirked, flipping the pages of my very colorful calendar, each color representing a project. She threw it back on my desk and I rushed to fix it.
How did we get from my supporting her fangirling to my not taking chances?
"It is part of our job to be by the calendar, Lorin. You know how crazy our schedules are," I reasoned instead, and she shook her head. "I only live and swear by just one calendar, and I'm surviving. Yours is synced on your phone and Outlook, and written in your Starbucks planner."
I rolled my eyes, as she managed to point out again how I had way too many ways of trying to organize my life.
Lorin placed her hands on my desk, leaning in so that we were eye-to-eye. "Let me ask you: If Fate throws you this Golden Ticket to a new experience, would you take it? Or would you opt out because it's not in your plans to have an adventure?"
I studied her carefully, thinking. "Depends what the adventure is."
Lorin, a fan of theatrics, slammed her fists on my desk. "Are you serious?!"
I just raised an eyebrow, and she let out a sound that was a half-growl, half-grunt. I grinned, enjoying frustrating the hell out of her. "If you won a trip to somewhere you haven't been to?"
"Oh, I'd take that. I'd drop everything. Especially if it's Greece or Maldives. Japan, too, but only for the cherry blossoms, that picture with Mt. Fuji in the background, authentic Japanese food, and the Kit Kat Green Tea."
"If it was to meet a person you truly look up to—"
"Count me in if it's Obama, Oprah, Gandhi, or maybe...J.K. Rowling."
"Pretty sure you'd also accept the Golden Ticket if it was for a trip to a freaking bookstore."
I wagged my finger at her, but I was still smiling. She knew that most of my brilliant ideas tend to come when I was at any of these three places: bookstore, bathroom, and bus.
"Now you're just mocking me," I said.
Lorin sat on my desk, giving me another roll of her eyes. "You're the only person I know who gets excited at the prospect of going to the bookstore," she quipped, and I playfully shoved her. Then she turned serious. I wiped off my smile, and I wondered what wisdom my friend two years my junior could impart to me.
"I've known you for two years, Cait," she began softly, "but not once have I seen you do something crazy."
"Hey, I did that bungee jump in Macau when we went there!" I protested, but Lorin wasn't having any of it.
"After getting threats from Rick that he would switch our clients up just to ruin your timelines," she countered, referring to our boss, who was at the frontlines among the people egging me to do the jump.
"Look," she said, "you're twenty-three. You're at the peak of your career. You're single—quite possibly due to being married to this job, but we can do something about that later on. Set you up on dates with the guys at IT or my engineer friends. Ever considered dating Paul? He asked about you a couple of weeks ago."
I opened my mouth to protest—Paul, really? Her IT friend who looked like a hermit?—but she was already on a roll, plowing on, "Your two siblings are almost done with college, freeing you up to get an actual life."
She paused, breathing deeply.
"Your point?"
"Next time Fate throws you a curve ball, try to hit it out of the ballpark, will you?"
I looked at her blankly, not getting her baseball reference. Lorin could be every guy's dream if that dream involved having a girl who had a love for most sports.
She reached for my hands. "Throw these calendars away. Forget rule books. Be spontaneous. Take a risk." She squeezed my hands. "Live. Grab the next chance for an adventure that the universe hands you. Be crazy."
I sighed, shaking my head. "All this, because I didn't want to give Gezellig a chance?"
"Argh! You are hopeless!" Lorin shouted, pulling back and sauntering away, leaving me chuckling.
"Come back!" I yelled, and she popped her head into the entrance of my cubicle. "When's the meet and greet?"
"Today," she answered, mentioning that it was just at the hotel near our office. "Only those with these freaking passes are told where it is," she said with a wink.
I paused to think. Coming with Lorin to her meet and greet meant I now have my dangling carrot on a stick, today's excuse to have a life outside of work. Going with her meant not having to spend another Friday night at the office.
"Can I just come with you to the meet and greet and then skip the concert?" I said.
Lorin gave me a knowing smile, throwing the pass at me frisbee-style and I caught it between my palms. "I doubt you'd want to skip the concert, Cait. Pretty sure they'd charm you off your feet and then you'd be turned into a Gezer like me."
I shook my head, sticking the pass to my corkboard. "My bones would learn to dance in my grave before I declare myself a Gezer," I swore.
Lorin turned to leave, giggling. "Let's see, Cait. Let's see."
I settled back into my seat then booted my laptop. I took three more breaths before facing my thirty-two unread mails. I reviewed them, adding the most urgent ones to my to-do list.
I capped off my to-do list with my friend duty: Item #14 - Lorin's meet and greet. Fourteen more items to do, and then a sliver of life.