Hit Back…The Flight of the Dancing Queen (Excess Baggage 2)

The holidays had come to a close yesterday—the feast of the three kings. However before I fully let go of 2006, allow me to continue sharing some of my “excess baggage.”

I was lucky this year to have attended four parties in one week. It ain’t easy—partying or more precisely, taking part in parties because for every big day, there are preparations. If it’s not dressing up, it’s dancing, or cooking up the perfect surprise, or organizing what-must-be the party of all parties.

December 12. Acropolis Clubhouse.
It was the 70s, or so we’d like the people to believe. If you think you’re seeing cotton candies with arms and legs, don’t! It’s just us, sporting the Afro do gone pastel. It took a group of ingenious people to whip up those wigs that served as our key in making a statement for our company party. And what a woo-hoo we made!

Hours before we shed off our boring office uniforms for clothes that hopefully looked 70s enough (notice the need for the use of the word, “boring” hehe), Congressman Dodot Jaworski’s van exploded right in front of our humble workplace stirring up a bit of panic amongst us. But role playing is fun. Our scheduled Christmas party gave us reason to play pretend. Pretend that we were from another era. Pretend that we didn’t hear one of our politicians being bombed.

Just as planned, we shipped ourselves to our party’s venue—away from the explosive scene (of the crime)—all the better for us to forget. Forget that there are problems out there. After a year of allowing ourselves to be enslaved, by work mostly, we deserved a few hours of break.

And so, we showcased the dance number we practiced during the precious minutes allotted for our meal times for the past I-don’t-know days. Yep! This was the moment I, the self-proclaimed dancing queen, was looking forward to as relayed in my “Confessions of the Dancing Queen” entry. I would post a video clip of that presentation but I really don’t know how. I hope by saying that we won the Best Performance Award that night, you’d have an idea how we did.

My family saw the clip and they were entertained. Ate said I wasn’t bad. (She is my ate, I expect her to support me in my attempt to celebrate those things in music called beats and rhythm.) Dad said I wasn’t devoid of grace (although he didn’t expound how much I lacked or owned) after all I am his daughter. I should inherit some of his dancing genes. He didn’t say it like a Papa (use the Spanish pronunciation of this word for a more accurate impact) would say it. He did it the way Vic Sotto would deliver it which makes his comment rather a funny compliment.

The whole event, I accessorized my face with a giant mole. That way, I wouldn’t be me. And if ever I get grandchildren in the future, they’d ask me, “Is that you lola?” To which I’d reply, “Look at my mole.” They’d be puzzled but they’d shriek, “ah—yaahh!” (For the record I don’t drink Bear Brand or any milk for that matter. I just think this part is funny.)

I went home with no wig or boa but with a giant mole on my face. When my mom saw me, she thanked me. She did feel that my wearing a do-it-yourself mole was my way of paying homage to her real-life mole!

December 14. FDC AVR.

Two days after the 70s we fast forwarded to a decade hence, thus we dressed up for the 80s.

The 80s didn’t require me to dance and I am sorry to admit how little effort I poured into dressing up. Nonetheless I wouldn’t miss our department party even if I was losing my mind pulling off another party proceeding immediately after our PUNKrismas Big 80s party.

Being time warped to the decade when I was born was fun and at the same time nostalgic. And Punkrismas is rewarding after all I won a wall clock, glass set and a pop-up toaster!

December 14. In a solitary white house in Motoyori.
Surprise! Maid of honor do not only smile on photos, wait on the bride, ask the ninangs to sign the contract, organize the wedding in the absence of the bride, etc. Maid of honor also hosts the bridal shower! Here comes the challenge. Bridal shower? I’ve never been to a bridal shower.

The net is not my perfect savior. All I saw were sites that sell wedding shower paraphernalia in dollars. As if I would and could purchase them! Thank heaven for my sister’s friends who were more than willing to save me from the shower problem. Then there were my friends who were cheering for me from afar.

The bridal shower was a surprise and luckily it worked. That is the hardest thing about surprises. They should work otherwise pray that the ground will open and swallow you alive.

Earlier that night I was suppressing an awful sore throat and an impending fever. I guess the hot tea did the trick. I’d be damned if I were sick!


As a last-minute request, everyone was required to wear red or pink which they did. Very good! The games went well, too even if their rules were mostly thought about on-the-spot. You cannot really screw up when your adrenaline is thinking for you. Apparently, my adrenaline surged up to my brain. Alleluia for that!

Of course, I wanted to throw an unforgettable bridal shower for my Ate, the bride, despite my incapacities. I just hope I fulfilled my goal somehow.

December 16. UST & Intramuros.
This culminates all parties. The third wedding I’ve been to in 2006. I am not really a fan of weddings, to tell the truth. The last one I attended prior to 2006 was way back in 1992 or 1993. But I know there is a grand reason why I had to be on all three weddings and play different parts on each of them.

And since this one at UST is the one wherein I got involved with BIG TIME, I promise to compose a solo article about it soon. For now I’ll leave you hanging with no accounts or photos of this last party in my Hit Back list.

COMMENTS
waaaw tye!
You look really skinny!
Posted by: Nikka | January 10, 2007 06:47 AM

upload mo na ang video clip!
Posted by: evil | January 22, 2007 09:06 AM