Say Yes to Adventure

Crazy people are rewarded with crazy things.

 

Sometimes may mga random moments lang that a person experiences in life; moments which leave a person asking “Did that just really happen?,” or “Did I just do that?” More often than not, ang mga bagay na ganito ay nangyayari sa mga taong may “Go-lang” attitude in life.

 

Two weeks ago, one Wednesday night, my friend and I went out for a bottle of affordable-but-tasty wine in Distillery, Eastwood. Nakakaloka kase yung friend ko at mga issue niya, so pinagpiyestahan ko lang siya the whole night, para naman matuwa siya. So there we were, sipping, pouring, and enjoying our affordable-but-tasty wine.

Walang anu-ano ay may lumapit na isang malaking entourage ng mga tao, mag mga lights, overhead microphone, and cameras. Ano to, raid?! Niraraid na ba ang Distillery?! Kasalanan na ba talagang uminom on a weekday?!

 

Biglang lumapit si ate na matangkad and payat. Naisip ko na lang “Bebentahan kaya ako ng yosi nito?” Anyway, nagpakilala naman siya and like blah-blah-blah, I’m blah-blah, etc.

 

Say ni ate, “Sir, is this your pack?” (sabay turo sa kaha na nasa table namin)

 

“Yes, it’s mine.”

 

“Sir, I have one question for you, but you have to answer it in five seconds!”

 

“Okay, go!”

 

“Do you want to go with us and party tomorrow night?!”

 

(Una kong naisip yung regular meeting namin sa office every Thursday night.)

 

“What time?!”

 

“Five seconds, sir!”

 

“Yes!”

 

And so biglang mag mga sparklers, at nag-on ang masmaraming ilaw at nag-clap silang lahat at kami nang friend ko ay pawisan and oily na dahil sa mga ilaw na nakatapat sa amin.

 

Lapit si kuya:

 

“Congratulations, sir! Because we in (company) believe that those who say yes in life and not maybe, should be rewarded, we are giving you two SVIP tickets to the much-awaited-“

 

I cut him “Oh my God, Rihanaaaaa!!!”

 

(Nawala siya saglit) “Uhm, yes, Sir!”

 

 

Dahil hirap na akong isulat ang script, basically ay sinabi niya na magkikita kami sa Craft sa Fort Strip ng 5:00 PM the following day para sabay kaming pumunta.

say yes to adventure

Our ticket to the free tickets!

 

Luckily, I have been blessed with awesome and understanding and beautiful bosses who allowed me to go on this last minute and unplanned concert. To think a few days before that tinatawag pa nila akong Riri after I had a haircut.

 

Well, I guess nakisama na lang universe sa joke!

 

Pagdating namin sa Craft ng friend ko, aba, akala ko meeting place lang. But no, they treated us to good food. And for two people lang, parang masyadong marami! They fed us puttanesca, mozzarella sticks, and an entire pizza. Dalawa lang kami. And of course a few drinks every now and then. May iba pang lucky “Yes-people” pero we were all seated separately.

say yes to adventure

The mozzarella sticks were really good!

  

 

Pizza for two!

 

Later on, umakyat si ate at si kuya sa stage, with their usual pleasantries. Sabi nila, surprise daw. Naisip ko hot air balloon. Wala lang, since I figured na ang daming surprises eh di tama lang siguro na hot air balloon.

say yes to adventure

But no. This is the ride.

 

Whut?!

 

Oo nga naman, SVIP tickets kaya yun. Mahirap naman kung dumating kami in a rickshaw.

 

So sakay kami, mga severely extrovert people na close agad, eh di naman nagkatandaan ng mga pangalan.

 

Hindi namin na-anticipate na sa sobrang takaw-pansin ng ride namin eh pagkakaguluhan yung sasakyan sa venue. Medyo hassle, so wala sa amin gusto bumaba, kase naman yung mga tao sa labas naglalabas na ng mga camera!

Oh well tigas na lang ng mukha. Or basta magaling lang magtago ng mukha.

 

Inside, they gave us the tickets. Mura lang pala yung ticket. Ayan oh:

say yes to adventure

The very affordable ticket!

 

 

So inside ayan, drinks ulit, chit chat and what not.

 

 

Pre-concert drink!

 

 

On the red carpet

 

 

We finally decided to enter the concert venue under the impression na baka ma-late kami sa pagnood kay Rihanna. We were met with the front act, wearegta, a couple of DJs from a country na hindi ko alam kung alin.

say yes to adventure

 

 

wearegta

 

  

Z, my company on Wednesday night/plus 1 for the concert

 

 

Still wearegta

 

 

The set was quite simple. Of course, the places was loaded with EDM lights and screens were also mounted on the stage and at the side. Hindi talaga siya big production unlike Kylie Minogue or Katy Perry concerts, so I was kind of expecting Rihanna to bring it in her performance.

say yes to adventure

I love EDM lights!

 

Okay naman sila. Nung una, pero nung parang ang tagal na nila, medyo nakakainip. Anyway, good vibes lang.

 

Bilang SVIP ang tickets namin, we were seated 9 rows from the stage. Around us were supposedly celebrities and what-not na medyo KSP. Kung mag-inarte parang sila yung pinunta ng mga tao. Grrr. Asar.

 

Then an hour passed, and another. Medyo napapa-isip na ako at baka maubusan na ako ng good vibes. Diva talaga si Riri. O baka kase nasa Pilipinas raw siya kaya Philippine time.

 

Sige na nga.

 

Anyway, at some point, lumabas rin si Rihanna! Of course, in as much as free lang tickets, I actually love her music. So yes, tayo agad, sayaw, kanta, talon!

  

Riri!

 

Parang weird lang yung outfit niya, medyo mesh (like sa mga sando ng bata) na shorts, one piece bikini, and jacket. For the duration of the concert she was just removing some pieces pero hindi siya nag costume change.

 

 

Still Riri! She seemed bigger in my position.

(Note that I did not have to zoom this shot in)

 

Apart from singing her songs from her latest album Unapologetic, the crowd was also given a treat to her more classic (and sing-able) hits such as Umbrella, Take a Bow, Please Rude Boy, Hate that I Love You, and my personal medyo-reggae favourite, Man Down. I was super happy when she sang her very obscure ballad na parang wala masyado may alam (but it’s one of my favourite songs), Cold Case Love.

 

While I was medyo crazy na the entire night, nothing got me more than when she sang We Found Love. At some point I probably jumped too much I hit the person next to me, pero medyo wala na rin akong pakialam. That’s when I knew na the concert had reached its party level.

 

When she finally performed Diamonds, parang bittersweet kase inasmuch as we all wanted to hear that song, we knew na matatapos na rin ang party/concert.

 

After the concert, we had to wait for our ride going back to the Fort. Again, kulang na lang eh isubsob na naming mga mukha naming sa lupa sa napakalaking eksenang hatid n gaming ride. Ang daming tao kase waiting sa may entrance ng arena, and boom, dumating ulit ang aming limo hummer ride. Dali daling kami pumasok na nakayuko kase again, the people outside were thinking na some hotshot celebrity yung may ride. Oh well papel.

 

Overall, I really had a great evening enjoying the concert. Rihanna did her job well. I mean sure medyo matagal siya nag-start, but then again we had free tickets so keri lang.

 

Apart from Rihanna’s possession of talent, another realization that evening was that, while we are getting old, I don’t think it should be an excuse not to be adventurous once in a while. Not to say na dapat magpakatamad sa work, mag-bum na lang forever, at magpaka-carefree sa life without regard for the consequences. I’m sure there’s a way of keeping balance. Just enjoy once in a while. Go out on an unplanned evening. Travel spontaneously. Say yes to a random question.

 

It won’t hurt to keep it light and fun sometimes. Who knows what adventure may just come your way? 🙂

 

(Apologies for the photos, I was just using my phone’s camera the whole time. The resolution is pretty good, right?)

say yes to adventure