Videoke Night...

Normally, I would choose to stay home, watch some TV, or possibly sleep. I already work too much that I'm often tired and would rather rest when I'm not working. But, one of my New Year's resolutions was that I would make this year not simply about work, work and work. I told myself that I would gimmick/party as hard as I work (or, at least, as hard as I'd been working for, uhm, as long as I can remember), time and energy willing.
This was the first of what will be many more gimmicks or get-togethers with friends and such. I was actually touched that I was one of those who got invited by Karylle to join her and company for some videoke-ing (I know she didn't specifically ask me, but being asked just the same was good enough for me), and it was a fun evening. It's a rarety that I get to unwind and it was quite nice, never mind the fact that I was a bit tired (I had work yesterday morning at Dream-FM and then dubbing in the afternoon 'til the time I went to Centerstage in Makati).

I really didn't know what the reason was for the get-together. I thought that it was to celebrate the birthday of (sir) Jesmond (the current boss of Polyeast Records). But then, I found out that Centerstage (Makati) had opened a new, huge wing (the name escapes me), perfect for large, private functions or gatherings. The place was actually so big that even with the number of people who came that night, there was still so much more room!

Karylle wanted everyone to see the new "room" and give it a test run of sorts. It's a very nice function room and I probably would have wanted to "rent" out the place as well for whatever get-togethers I might have in the future. The problem? It's a little too expensive! For me anyway.

I probably should have kept my trap shut and be intimidated by the fact that I was with some professional singers there (Karylle, of course, as well Hale's vocalist Champ and, as I found out, this fella by the name of Nani - who was the entertainment of the night - and Zsa Zsa Padilla also came by), but that didn't really stop me from "belting" out a couple of tunes in front of everyone. I couldn't help it -- it had been awhile since I last went videoke-ing with my best friend and the usual cohorts we go with when we go out to a videoke joint, I wanted to sing! Besides, I also had hoped that with me showing that I wasn't afraid to make an idiot of myself, my other friends from Polyeast would also follow suit. Well, they did. But only very much earlier that evening, before anyone else had arrived.

I made sure to pick a song that was well within my reach, vocally, so as to not embarrass myself too much in front of everyone else (well, when more people had arrived): Beautiful In My Eyes by Joshua Kadison is always my first pick if I'm going to do any singing in front of people that I don't know (all that well or at all), because Kadison's voice or vocals, uh, "registers low", just like my own voice. I can't exactly do any ear-piercing singing, so I stick to songs that I can sing. Of course, in front of other people I'm comfortable with, that's another story.

I kinda wish though everyone from Polyeast Records had done their turn in front of the mic. Sure, most of them sang, but only when there were just a few of us at the time. Except for myself and Romy (the guy who sits at the desk at the lobby of the Polyeast office), nobody else really dared sing when there were more people. Which was kind of a shame. We were supposed to have fun (not that we didn't)!

If there was a Coolest Chick of The Night award, it should go to Zsa Zsa Padilla! First of all, she slimmed down from the last time I saw her (when I was hosting her mall shows last year), she looks great! Apparently, she'd been taking this asthma medicine that had steroids in it, which was what caused her weight gain. She changed medicines, and now she's thin(ner) and looks terrific! But what really impressed me was how she behaved, how she interacted with her daughters. She was dancing and singing along and even sang Evanescence's Bring Me To Life! Wow.

All in all, it was a great and fun evening. Truthfully, I'm wishing that I get to go out some time soon, just with my close friends from Polyeast, and go to a videoke bar, drink, sing and be merry!
But, damn, I look fat in these pics!
'Nuff said.