One Moment in Time

Ave Maria:-) 

    One of my girlfriends is having her birthday today - that's Zelda with a Z - one of 2 very talented sisters from beautiful Bohol who graced our jazz band Best of Friends in - let's see 1981? the other elder sister Flor whom I love to call Lori completed vocalist line-up with moi as third female vocalist -- If I were to count God's blessings, not all the Yahoo, Gmail Instagram Facebook accounts space would be enough to count them and relate them - 

Blessings come in a multitude of hues - some are so very recognizable -we readily acclaim to the highest heavens our jubilant " Thank You Dear God "----

 Others are given on a regular basis, we tend to forget they are in fact blessings -such as.... c'mon, the ability to normally breath: inhale /exhale --with no blocks , no turning blue/violet - just blissful regular breathing ---

And thennnn ..there are blessings that come in peculiar packaging -- yes my love-- these are the type na -- they even temporarily hurt us, not exactly to our liking - puede pa nga , we shudder at the remembrance of them --- Yet glory hallelujah -- even at the end  -- the painful circumstance/situation Was In Fact a Colossal blessing - the type that changes our hearts and minds for the better. Amen to that Gee that third type would require one whole blog to itself hehe.

But today, it being Zelda's birthday - it's the perfect time to share please bear with my outpouring of joy and thanksgiving to the Lord.

What was it St. Paul said in one of his letters-- that God gives us unique gifts -- and how we must use them wisely -- and yes hopefully for the glory of God --- hmmmm , the last reminder of giving glory to God can be tricky... challenging ... okay--- hard.

No one is ever worthy to revieve these gifts --- no one , not even the holiest amongst us can say: "Well God did Himself a favor when He decided to create me." Please --- we weren't even dust...we might not even be labeled as nothing --- were it not for God's love to give us life --- human life, with a set of specific gifts, a soul that can go back and be united to God forever --- that's if we don't mess things up --- with God Almighty watching over us night and day, day and night --- how do you beat that -- is that a huge blessing or what?

I did say in the beginning that some of the blessings could be titled as : Hardships hahaha.... this is not the time to expound on that.

But will focus on one particular gift the Lord so graciously bestowed -- the gift of music.

The thing with gifts or talents is that we 're still given space to decide what to do with them .Either we appreciate a gift, develop it..try it out..see its applications ... have a trial and error on how to put it to good use. Or let it waste. Sayang.

Love for music runs on both sides : my father's and mother's ... Mama Lydia had classical training ... Pappy Danny just like his brothers and sisters opted to oido it all the way -- meaning no strict music lessons - mostly learning how to play the guitar or piano or how to sing -- in a casual way. Family gatherings were laced with lots of singing - my aunts come to think of it had lovely alto voices ...the brothers oh how wonderful to recall them singing in their booming voices : Monsignour would belt out The Impossible Dream ..awwww 

If it's in you ..it's in you.. you cannot deny it, you cannot run away from it..and you'll probably get sick if you don't find expression for it.

Joining Hotdog in the thick of their Annie Batungbakal fame as one of 3 female vocalists - gave me a glimpse of the entertainment industry : Hotdog did the rounds of recording, school, city concerts - club stints...even movie making. It was heady and exciting but there was a yearning to do other music --- jazz fusion was invading Manila , and then I also loved R & B .... took a leave from Hotdog , auditioned and joined Best of Friends then playing at Phil Plaza , Lobby Court ... Rey Katindig managed the band and Boy Baria the Band Leader and Musical Arranger. 

I am very grateful to my parents for allowing me to follow my heart --- my poor father mustav wondered why I didn't enroll in the College of Law.. be a doctor or something --- hahaha,  but I had to do this One Moment in Time. We have to do it otherwise you have no peace. We opted to separate from Rey's management and voila... wahaha, am now band manager -- I didn't know that would involve a lot of stress and responsibilities --- making sure you got good stints  for the band -- otherwise gutom kayo. Contracts would be a minimum , 3, 6 moths if you're lucky ... and then you could get renewed.

My nodes couldn't take all the singing and clearly we needed help -- also to get a fuller sound --- that's when God sent Flor and Zelda. 

Work can feel like work... or you can experience that rarity where the work is an absolute joy and fulfillment - the fulfillment came from creating the music we loved, being cocooned in a group where we felt like brothers and sisters --- since the 3 of us girls were so young , 21 thereabouts --the boys were protective toward us... and being able to play in nice spots like the Bienvenida Court of Silahis hotel... 

It was the same at Hotdog, the elder band members, esp the Garcia brothers took care of Mazo, Vivien and me... 

I guess we didn't have time for monkey business - foolin ' around ( lotsa temptations in this kind of work}  because we were much too in love and engrossed with the music. 

Let's see did we make money.. hahaha... naku kulang pa kinikita namin... plus we had to pay for our costumes and food -- clearly this couldn't be our bread and butter for long term period.

But for that time... we stacked up precious memories.. learning the music we loved... how to perform in front of different crowds..from sosi, tight-lipped elite , Kano, Hapon, foreigners..and the hardest to please Pinoy music lovers... Hay naku tumibay sikmura ko dito -- becoz you get both adulation/affirmation and rejection/humiliation here.

How wise the Lord is.... my stint in Hotdog and Best of Friends prepared me for my work both in church - Education /formation ...and for my work in the life insurance industry. I can't go into details suffice to say, even if it was a musical field -- there were many things I learned and acquired there that found a new application in later years and other fields of work.

Music is universal.. it is a powerful medium.. but like aLL other mediums it can be used to impact others in a good way .. or it can be abused and bring others to ruin.

Although I am now more active in gospel and inspirational music..yet life has come a full circle.... the God of all Creation has given us the gifts to create all forms of music and other art , technology, science , other creations as well. 

May we always be open to the Great Teacher God Almighty Who shares with us a plenitude of gifts beyond our imagination. And as we recieve and use them may they be a source of joy and goodness for others - a way for them to remember the God Who loves us.amen. Happy birthday , Zelda.. love and prayers , Mye