Last Friday I gave an MP3 CD compilation to Clark, my hiphop instructor on Monday mornings at 6:30am. He’s been looking for new music for our classes, so in a way this also benefits me. I helped him import them to the iTunes on his laptop.

Clark also happens to be one of the two program heads for BodyJam here in the Philippines. (In fact he was one of the judges at the audition for instructor training last September.) So, his iTunes had a BodyJam playlist. And it wasn’t just any playlist: it was the list of songs for the upcoming release 39, to be launched in mid- to late December 2006. I ribbed him about getting a sneak peek at it and he just laughed at me and said it was too bad he’d ruined the element of surprise.

Anyway, since the launch is coming up it’s been increasingly easy to find sneak peeks into BodyJam 39. The tracklist has been posted to the many different Les Mills and BTS message boards, so at least I know what kind of music we’re in for — and what dancing styles are involved. DON’T LOOK IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS! You’ve been warned. Ü

Warmup
1. Canned Heat – Jamiroquai

Isolations

2. Buttons – The Pussycat Dolls

BollyJam

3. Mundian To Bach Ke – Panjabi MC
4. The Power Of Bhangra (vs. Motivo) – Snap!

Reggaeton

5. Hips Don’t lie – Bamboo – Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean

Latin

6. Boom Boom – Chayanne

Recovery

7. Deja vu – Beyonce feat. Jay Z

Dance4Life

8. Mesmerized – Faith Evans
9. Sexy Back – Justin Timberlake
10. S.O.S. – Rihanna
11. London Bridge (Oh Shh) – Fergie
12. Dance4Life – Tiesto feat. Maxi Jazz
13. Love Sensation ’06 – Loleatta Holloway

Groove Down

14. I’ll Do 4 U – Father M.C.

From this playlist there are a lot of dance styles in this release (and a mix of old and new songs!). Turns out that Les Mills is now affiliated with Dance4Life, the global campaign against HIV/AIDS, and that this release has a special track mixed by DJ Tiesto, who is the campaign’s ambassador and a famous club music DJ. The style of the main cardio block (Dance4Life) might be “contemporary club,” like we had in BodyJam 38 because it doesn’t look like there’s a strong hiphop component aside from the “Sexy Back” and “S.O.S.” dance rehearsal tracks. Fellow BodyJam fanatics surmise that the moves set to this music in BodyJam choreographer Gandalf Archer‘s YouTube video of their Euro Summit demo could be very similar to what we’ll encounter in release 39.

For more about BodyJam 39, check out the official Les Mills sizzler. I’ve also found some videos on YouTube of BodyJam master trainers Kylie Gates and Tracy Minnoch at a Les Mills workshop showing off the new moves. Check out the isolation track and the BollyJam track: they look like fun! I’ll be studying these clips in preparation for Kylie Gates’ special class at Fitness First Ortigas on Wednesday; I’ve been told we’ll get a taste of this release there. Ü I can’t wait!

UPDATE (December 13, 2006): BodyJam with Kylie was awesome! After starting us off with the warm-up combo from release 38, she said, “Let’s do something different.” And then the strains of Punjabi MC’s “Mundian To Bach Ke” started blasting through the speakers. BollyJam! We also did the two Latin tracks off release 39, and after the recovery track (Gwen Stefani’s “Luxurious” from release 37), Kylie taught us the Dance4Life block. Our groove-down, “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac, came from release 38.

My initial reaction to what we sampled from release 39 was excitement and delight, particularly when we were doing BollyJam. It brought back my memories of the Nike Rockstar Workout Bollywood competition, even more so because I had just received a CD of our pictures from there.

The BollyJam block ended rather abruptly, though. The Latin block was also too short, building up but then failing to hit a climax before ending. I guess we’ve been spoiled by the long and elaborate Latin block from release 38. As for the Dance4Life cardio block, it was fun to learn, but I think it’ll take me a few more classes before I can actually party to the music. I love the spins and turns in the choreo, though. The “London Bridge” crump segment in the middle of the Dance4Life block was puzzling because it didn’t really add anything to the choreography and felt like it was tacked-on just to have one more Top 40 song in the mix.

I’m glad I was able to keep up with the choreography and minimized any mess-ups; I was in the second row right in front of Kylie and didn’t want to embarrass myself. Ü I’m excited for the launch so I can see the release in its entirety.

SPECIAL UPDATE: I noticed I’m getting a lot of hits not just for BodyJam tracklist search queries, but also for the tracklists of other Les Mills programs. There’s a fantastic resource out there called Totally Les Mills, an unofficial site run by Mel, a certified LM instructor. It not only has the tracklists of all LM programs (BodyJam, BodyCombat, BodyPump, BodyStep, BodyAttack, BodyFlow/BodyBalance, RPM) from the time they went international with their releases, but also has news about these programs and information on how to become an instructor.

Tags: BodyJam, Dance Workout, Fitness First Philippines, Les Mills

We thought we had been spared from Typhoon Durian (Reming), the super-typhoon that was supposed to hit Metro Manila but instead hit Bicol and other southern provinces. The typhoon is already off to Vietnam, but it seems it’s also still wreaking havoc here in our office.

While I commiserate and sympathize with the people who suffered most from the typhoon’s devastation, I’ve really got to say something about the misery caused by not having an Internet connection at the office. Shallow? Yes. Insensitive? Maybe. But really, I’ve got work to do on our websites and web presence and I’ll be damned if I let a typhoon get in my way.

I think for maintenance reasons our ISP decided to switch off its servers prior to the typhoon hitting, but now can’t seem to restore proper service to its DSL clients. It’s even worse than the way things were back in the early 1990’s internet scene here in the Philippines. At least then, computers still had dial-up modems — never mind that they connected at (the relatively snail-pace rate of) 28.8 kbps. Our desktops have LAN cards, but no dial-up modems to speak of! Ü
Right now, I’m in a Netopia cafe here in Greenhills answering emails and checking Friendster and Myspace (*ahem* that’s part of my job description, actually) on the company dime. There used to be a time (long before my time) when this company conducted all its intra- and inter-office communications through fax and computer print-outs and actual door-to-door messenger services, but in this age of email and high-speed Internet connections it’s easier to fire off one email CC’ed to several people, or to email high-resolution photos to the press instead of getting prints made and then having those delivered.

I didn’t realize how much took our ISP for granted until this happened — especially since the job I’m trying to define for myself relies so much on being online. It’s gotten so bad that I’m actually looking for work to do. I was able to complete creating a database and writing a report; alas, the lack of internet access means I’ll have to wait until God-knows-when to send those files to my supervisors. Or we could always use floppy disks (so 1990’s!).

Tags: Internet Dependence, Workplace Woes

My friends have said about me that whenever I try to help with something, I involve myself fully in it. It’s like I include part of myself, they wrote in my high school yearbook. I get an adrenalin rush when people tell me, “You did good, kid.” I don’t believe that I’ve done something well until someone actually takes note of what I’ve done. Validation from others is important to me.

I realize that this clashes with my old concept of self as an iconoclast, as someone who never cared what other people think or how I affect other people. Sure there’s a part of me that’s tactless or can be thoughtless or is eccentric, but all along, I’ve been motivated by the desire to please the people in my life. It can be a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is that I’m driven to see things through to completion because it’s my duty to certain people: parents, teachers, and more recently bosses. The bad thing is I can also drive myself to exhaustion and depression. This wasn’t apparent during my college days (all 365 x 8 of them) because I had a lot of downtime. Now, with regular work taking up eight hours of my time plus additional responsibilities (gigs and events with press people attending) that require staying on after hours, I only just have enough time for regular exercise and sleep. I suppose for other people that can be enough, but I’m restless and think that there’s got to be more than this.

Deep down inside I’ve always wanted to be not just behind the scenes, but until recently I didn’t believe I had what it takes to be out there hosting a travel show, which is my ultimate dream (Ian Wright is my hero!). I’ve always been that girl in the corner of the shot because I didn’t want to seem overeager to get exposure. (It didn’t help that I also thought I didn’t look like someone who should be in front of the camera. That never stopped Jessica Soho or Mike Enriquez, though. No offense meant.) There’s always been that extra step to take, but I never quite knew how to take it.

It comes down to this: I’m not quite sure I’m doing well at what they’re having me do. I want to help this company: there’s got to be a reason I’m here in the first place. I want to please my bosses and my family: I know they mean well and want what they believe is best for me. However, I also want to be joyful and fulfilled in my work, and right now that isn’t happening. Maybe I’m just frustrated that I’m not an instant success at it, like I’ve been with other things. Maybe I’m scared that I won’t learn from the mistakes I’m making and that I’ll commit a fatal mistake that will cost the company or its artists.

You know when you know what you’re doing is not what you should be doing? It’s like that for me right now, or at least, I think it is. Hopefully something changes in me or in the nature of my work over the next four months. I can’t stand being discontented and always feeling like I should be doing more, or something else.

I know that what I’m going through right now is for my own good. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It’s just damn hard to keep plugging away.

Tags: Work Stress

Aside from doing BodyJam, I also engage in another Les Mills group exercise program, called BodyCombat. It’s a cardio and conditioning workout based on various martial arts, and it can get very intense because the combinations of punches, kicks, strikes, and katas are easy to remember and repeat. If you know the sequence, you can increase the intensity. I’ve even heard you can burn up to 1000 calories during the hour-long class!

I miss my Wednesday 7:30am class at Fitness First Greenhills with Mader Fhe; she could really get her students hyped and pumped up. Mader Fhe’s motto for us all was, “If you make a mistake, just smile!” She’s also the BodyCombat program coordinator for Fitness First in the Philippines, and I think she’s really whipped the program into the best shape it can be. The instructors now always show how to perform the moves properly, which is a good thing because doing the exercises with poor form increases the chance of injury.

We, her regulars, knew each other by sight and we all had our preferred spots within the group exercise studio. It even got to the point where we’d gossip about other regulars. There was this one guy who always dressed in matching colors: for example, if he was wearing a red shirt, he’d wear a red sweatband, wristband, jogging pants, and shoes to go with it. He’d wear his jogging pants hiked up to wedgie-height, too. He claimed he was an aikido black-belt and really liked showing off in class; problem was, he was off the choreography by about two beats and we all tried to stay clear of his flying offbeat kicks and punches. But it was all good because we were there to sweat it out no matter what others around us were doing anyway. Mader Fhe’s class always left us with endorphins pumping through our bloodstream. It was impossible to be in a bad mood afterwards.

I used to attend BodyCombat classes twice (sometimes thrice!) a week, but had to cut down to one class, on Fridays at 6:30am, when I got hired and couldn’t fit the later-morning classes into my schedule. I can’t not do BodyCombat, though; it’s different from my dance-based classes and works out different muscles which don’t usually get targeted when I’m dancing. BodyCombat always leaves me aching all over, but it’s a good kind of pain. Ü

Tags: BodyCombat, Group Exercise, Fitness First Philippines

You know those cute shirts with messages like “I’m with the band”? I should get one. I’m not saying I’m a certain band’s groupie because I’m not, but last week I was with a band for three consecutive days. I got to work for hang out with Salamin, a rock band whose first album comes out next week.

I got a sneak preview of Salamin’s songs last month, when I had to proofread the lyrics copy and match it with the mixed recordings. I’m no rock chick, but the album was a surprisingly good listen. It probably helped that I was reading the lyrics, so I heard the songs’ message above the screaming guitars and throbbing drums. (Check out a few sound clips off the album on Salamin’s Myspace page.) It’s gonna embarrass the guys, but I found the lyrics inspirational. Ü I was also present at the meeting two weeks ago when the album’s cover design was finalized; I’ve gotta say that when it hits record store shelves, it’ll catch attention.

Salamin is going to be the MTV Rising Star for the month of December, so on Thursday they were scheduled to shoot their specials at the MTV studio at the Fort. My supervisor wanted me present so that I could meet the people from MTV and so that I could at least see how things worked. I only stayed until 10pm because I do have a day job (haha), but being there gave me an idea how the guys worked and gave me an appreciation for how hard it is to get up there and perform.

The next night, a friend invited me to Hard Rock Cafe since his radio station was providing the bands for a benefit event to be held there. Salamin was the opening act. Even though I wasn’t on official business, this was my first time to see them perform live in front of an audience (their MTV Sessions was shot in front of a bunch of cameras and a wall). I found myself singing along to their songs and screaming to get the rest of the crowd hyped up; at least I was sitting with two of the guys’ girlfriends, who were up to the same antics as I was.

Saturday afternoon, Salamin were slated to appear at the MYX MO! pre-show from 4pm to 6pm at the CCP Open Grounds. I wasn’t supposed to be involved in any way, shape, or form in this, but the person who was supposed to assist them wasn’t available because her father had suddenly died that morning. Guess who was sent? Yup, me. (I seem to have turned into the company’s pinch-hitter, since I was sent out as artist support the other week as well. Not complaining here, though.) So I drove all the way from Greenhills to Pasay to make sure the guys got set up right. Unfortunately MYX had only allocated time for one song for almost all the acts, so all that effort on our part was for one brief moment under the klieg spotlights in front of a sweaty rioting audience. But hey, if it gets Salamin more exposure, why not?

The guys shot the music video for their first single yesterday and I was supposed to go as well, but my supervisor decided to give me a break. I can’t wait to see the finished product, though. Ü

Salamin’s band members are: Paolo Valenciano – vocals; Miks Bersales – bass; Justin Alfafara – guitar; Bogs Paterno – lead guitar; and EO Marcos – drums. Their self-titled album debuts on November 22 at the press launch at Cafe Saguijo.

Tags: Salamin, Rock Music, Band

I’ve taken to talking rather obliquely about who I work with in my job. It’s not because I’m contractually obligated not to talk about them, but I am in media management and it’s part of my job to oversee the flow of information that gets out about the artists we handle. I don’t want to say anything that may come back to bite me in the rear, like accidentally revealing personal information, or schedules, or routines.

I never thought I’d be working in this field. In fact, I never even watched shows like “The Buzz” or “S-Files,” and I’d roll my eyes at the showbiz segments on our nightly news programs. I’d say, “Is this really news?” when some bar fight between two starlets makes the segment.

These days, I’m coming to realize that although these programs and segments aren’t exactly news per se, they’re ways of getting the word out about an artist’s upcoming projects or keeping an artist in the public eye. it’s just how you use it that matters. The gossip and mudslinging is the dark flip side of this whole thing, although some people will take any and all publicity whether negative or positive, true or untrue.

For the first time in my life, I’m actually witnessing how ugly showbiz rumors get started. Last month an artist’s impromptu answers to a radio program’s quiz segment were blown out of proportion by one of this country’s prominent gossip columnists. More recently we’ve had sustained attacks questioning the popularity and mass appeal of two of our young artists.

Our artists are persons, too. Under the facade created by fame are people with dreams that can be dashed, feelings that can be hurt, souls that need nourishment. It’s just that they live their lives in the glare of public attention, without the shielding privacy that we anonymous faces in the crowd don’t even realize we enjoy. I’d like the people I work with to know they can be themselves around me without the nagging thought that something they may say or do will make the gossip rags the next day. Ü

Today, God called my paternal grandmother, Lourdes Yance De Guzman, to her final Home. She’s now in Heaven with my grandfather — whom we lost last October 6 — along with the other saints who have fallen asleep in Christ.

I hold on to the promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17:

“According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Please pray for those they have left behind, especially my dad, who has lost both his parents this month. Thank you, and have a blessed All Saints’ Eve and Day.

I’ve been at my job six weeks now; if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being busy doesn’t give you time for introspection.

Unfortunately for me, introspection forms a huge part of how I write my journal entries here. Otherwise, as you may have noticed over the past few posts, I end up only chronicling the events of the day rather than writing about what the events made me think of.

I’ve been trying to make up for the lack of interesting opinion here by posting more pictures on my Flickr account, and it’s there where you might get some inkling of where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. But since pictures are worth a thousand words, by the time I sit down to write about my “adventures” I’ve run out of things to say.

So, I’m writing this as a plea to my regular readers (all five — no four, wait, three — of you) and whoever else happens to be reading this: what would you like me to write about? I’m setting this up as a sort of challenge where you give me the writing assignment. I’m very good at implementation; I just suck at coming up with ideas.

Or I could just write about search terms that make me cringe.

Tags: Writer’s Block

Last week my friend Jenny popped up on Yahoo Messenger asking me to check out a link. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and was taken to her Alta Moda Rome Multiply website. Turns out, Jenny is something of an entrepreneur online. Not only does she sell bags and shoes off her Multiply website, but she also has an Ebay.ph store. The stuff varies from designer to unbranded, but they’re really bargains and since supply is limited they’re also sort of one-of-a-kind.

There’s a whole host of websites with this kind of business model. My friend Tiepee has a few good examples in her contacts list:

• Perfume Republic: scents
• Online Shopping Hive and BlingFinds: designer and designer-inspired apparel and accessories
• The Purchaser and Cherish: shoes
• Gumm Apparel: custom-designed shirts

The catch in doing business this way is that there’s a certain amount of trust you have to have in the seller — or if there have been previous customers, what those people say about the seller. Payment is done through Globe GCash or bank deposit and items are either shipped or picked up at a designated place, but aside from the seller’s word there isn’t a formal guarantee that you will get what you paid for.

Good thing I know Jenny personally, so when I saw this unbranded tan bag and I had to have it, I could rest assured that I would get it. And the best part is she even gave me a discount on it! (How much? That’s our secret.)

I’m a lazy shopper, and based on this one experience I liked the convenience of having my purchase delivered to my doorstep instead of me going out and buying it from a department store or boutique. I’m willing to try the other Multiply retailers at some point, but my wallet isn’t up to it yet. Maybe next payday. Ü

Tags: Multiply, Online Shopping

In retaliation for the abuse I heaped upon it the other week, my body has been demanding more food and rest. “Waistline be damned!” it said. Despite my best efforts to keep things under control, last week I shoveled second servings onto my plate at every meal and dozed off at odd moments during the day. I just can’t help feeling a little sapped at the end of every work day, and it’s hard to resist taking it out on food. Like last Saturday, for instance.

It had been kind of a long day at the office. Due to my absence last week because I attended my grandfather’s cremation, I had to stay in the office the full nine hours from 9am to 6pm. I was on my way home when my parents called me and invited me to Eastwood City for dinner. I had been binging on Murray’s Sugar-Free Cookies the whole day at the office but still found some room for Teriyaki Boy lapu-lapu tempura. For dessert, I had a latte at Starbucks.

I then headed to Shangri-La Mall where I was supposed to meet with Marielle and her friends from work. They hadn’t had dinner yet, so we went to Krocodile, and I had some calamari rings, sisig, ostrich salpicao, and… My head is spinning just thinking about what I ate. But that wasn’t the end of it!

We found the live music at Shangri-La a little too dated, so at 12am we found ourselves at Metrowalk. Unfortunately, our timing sucked; Rivermaya had just wrapped up their album launch by the time we arrived, so there was no more live music for the rest of the night. Determined to make the best of it anyway, we ordered drinks and mozzarella sticks at Menu.

My sangria proved to be a little too strong, so I ended up drinking Marielle’s non-alcoholic (but definitely more caloric) green tea shake.

I think the next morning I woke up five pounds heavier. Ü Don’t worry, I’m not about to let myself go. I’m getting back on the wagon this week, and I’m not going to let job-related stress get the best of me and my appetite.

But it is lunchtime in an hour…

Tags: Appetite, Exhaustion, Overeating, Stress