THE MAROON 5 EXPERIENCE

On May the 23th, I and a bunch of cousins and friends from Parañaque met at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia to partake on a once in a lifetime experience! It was at The Maroon 5 Live in Manila Concert!

You would probably wonder how the heck we ended up experiencing this...

Adam Levine, Carlo Santiago and James Valentine

It stared off as a simple friendship between James Valentine, lead guitarist of Maroon 5 and my US-based nephew, Carlo. It was in a Music Summer Camp when James Valentine fell in love with a bright and talented little boy who dreamt of becoming a great musician someday...

Afflicted with a rare type of cancer, Carlo was not able to truly devote himself too much on his guitar lessons. But James found great determination from this young fellow and was deeply moved. James would visit him in the hospital and Carlo would almost immediately forget all the pain due to his disease and medications. They became real buddies! When Carlo had no scheduled treatments and is out of the hospital, he'd get to come by James' house too for more lessons...

Carlo eventually reunited with God at age nine. It was a few months before Maroon 5's Asian tour. The  strong bonds between the band and Carlo's family lived on. My cousin Toni, Carlo's mother, now based in Hongkong managed to get 16 gold tickets courtesy of James! What a friendship! We got to meet them face to face too!

  

The SMX was packed!!! According to some reviews, the band was spectacular!!! and I must say that it was indeed a KNOCKOUT!

It wasn't just a concert. It was an EXPERIENCE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS if you ask me.

Some performers rely on stage lights and special effects. But this one... it's PURE TALENT! They had their special way of making the crowd feel that they are part of the act. They make sure the crowd participates. Adam (band frontman) even complemented us, Filipinos as melodic by nature. 

We were just a few steps from the stage and we could easily squeeze ourselves in nearer if we wanted to, but we chose to be a little more behaved that night. We even wore themed shirts so that the band would recognize us as Carlo's family and friends!

If it wasn't for lack of time and the undeniable distance between Parañaque and Valenzuela, we would have had an after-concert party in honor of Carlo whom we all owe this very memorable opportunity...

SUNSHINE AFTER THE RAIN

As mentioned before in one of my previous entries, our Tito Oyet, sufferred a minor heart attack and was rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment. He stayed in the Intensive Care Unit for a few days for some close monitoring. Apparently, he was very much conscious during his ordeal. Four days after, he was released from the hospital and was adviced to take a long vacation from work to recover. MSC was not able to visit him in the hospital but we opted to come by his place to celebrate his victory over his life-threatening situation...  

After our Sunday service on May 22, we headed straight to Tito Oyet's place, brought some food and celebrated! Ate Bhing, not long after her arrival from the airport, was there too. 

I was pleased to see that Tito Oyet was already up and about when we got there. Although a bit weak and cautious with his moves, not trying to exert too much, he managed to eat and have a good laugh with us! Somehow, seeing him like that assures us that he is on his way to recovery!

ATE BHING'S HOMECOMING 2011

MSC's ALTO sweetheart is once again here in the Philippines. She arrived at the NAIA on May 22. It was only just after my birthday (May 5) that she told me that she'd be coming home once again. It has been planned a long time ago but she opted to keep it a secret until her vacation approval has been determined. 

She will be staying here exactly two months and two days. Along with a wide array of vacation activities, she will be seeking treatment for her injured shoulders she acquired in Australia that has been bugging her for a long time now. Hopefully, her series of treatments would be successful.