In Dreams

Ever since college I have made it a point to write down my dreams. I have this handy-dandy notebook that’s sort of my journal and I have a whole section dedicated to my dreams. Through the years, I have become picky of which dreams I should write, so as a result, the volume of my writing has decreased since then.

But through the years, something has changed.

Have you ever smelled something in your dreams? No? Well, I have.

Have you ever felt drowsy in your dreams? No? Well, I have.

Do you remember the beginning of your dreams? No? Well, I do.

It seems that writing down my dreams has triggered more of my consciousness when I’m dreaming, making me extra-aware so the things that seem impossible in a dream state have become possible to me. What’s more, I am more creative when I’m half-asleep/half-awake. I have written countless tunes that way.

There are even times when I’m aware that I’m dreaming, and when that happens I can control the outcome of my dreams.

I have achieved dream control.

Perhaps entering other people’s dreams isn’t too far-fetched. So watch out for me, in your dreams.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!

Enveloped Ideas

june 30 at the hard rock cafe makati. i gots to play there for the launch of the dawn tribute album, 'enveloped ideas'. the dawn is pretty much one of the bands i most respect; these guys are very forward thinking. they never want to do the same thing on every album, they experiment with their craft and they've came out with a lot of interesting tunes. and having buddy zabala formerly of the eraserheads as their bassist didn't hurt either.

i played for two bands this night; one for my band switch and the other as a session guitarist for playphonics. switch covered 'difference' while the latter covered 'tulad ng dati'. there were 15 bands who played that night and my bands were number 4 and 13 on the list. talk about unlucky numbers, eh?

playphonics was the first to play. everything seemed ok during soundcheck. even the tech guy gave me the thumbs up. but as soon as i played the intro lick, the aforementioned tech guy suddenly rushes to the stage and turns my volume down. now i can barely hear whatever i'm playing. i know the guy was only doing his job, but i still think he's an idiot.

nine bands later, it was switch's turn to play. was surprised that idiot tech guy didn't mind the grating levels of my guitar this time around. idiot. i think we played a decent set. once again switch was the rotten apple of the bunch. my friends noted that we were the noisiest band of the night. i consider that a huge compliment.

Never Too Old

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? This summer, I learned to paint. Microsoft Paint, that is. It started out when my little cousin Grace began doodling on my laptop. I sat beside her and watched concernedly if she might be doing anything destructive. But to my surprise, she knew exactly what to do.

"What's that you're drawing, baby Grace?"

"Si Kuya Glenn 'to."

This is what she drew:

I got curious on what she was drawing, and how she was doing it. As I watched her draw, I was also getting familiar with Microsoft Paint. I watched every stroke of the key and every click of the mouse. So, when she was done, I tried a little drawing myself. Voila, my first masterpiece.

After mastering Microsoft Paint, I needed a bigger challenge. I sifted through my cousins' treasured kiddie magazines and found an artwork that matched my level of virtuosity. Behold, my magnum opus.

Naturally, I bragged to my little cousin what I did, but she was left unimpressed. She immediately saw that I wasn't able to make an exact replica of dear old Spongebob. She pointed out to me that Spongebob's body should have curves instead of straight lines. She noticed the necktie was askew. And his face was too small. Leaving her sight with a wounded ego, I vowed to blow her mind away when I show her my MAGNUM magnum opus. I rummaged through the pages of her magazines again, and when I saw what I thought would impress her, I slaved on it the whole night. I perfected my craft, and this is the result.

Well, we all know what happened next. Did I blow her mind? Of course I did! Did she shower me with praises and concede to my innate virtuosity and genius? Not in this lifetime. Instead, she made me draw something of her own choosing just so I can prove that I was the one who did the drawing. And to make sure of this, she sat beside me and watched me draw. There was no fooling this little missy, you can bet on that.

And so, after wasting a whole afternoon on the laptop while being guarded by little miss terror, i drew this:

Finally, I made her believe. But still, those praises that I was waiting for will have to come another time. Maybe in a year or so.

I'm betting on never.