The Force is with John Williams

None in my new immediate circle of friends knew who John Williams is, so I set myself up for a "solitary" night of movies music with Hollywood's most accomplished and acclaimed film scorer. Having no car, I took the red line and alighted at Hollywood & Highland where a shuttle to Hollywood Bowl was waiting - plus a complimentary beverage of your choice from Starbucks.

It was my first time at the Bowl and no one better to raise the curtains for me but a film artist whose work I have tremendously admired and religiously followed since childhood, being oriented to his masterful works through his soaring and award-winning score for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). His many collaborations with filmmaker Steven Spielberg, an artist I hold in equal esteem, provided nourishment to my soul growing up in an environment where access to and expression through art was limited.

The mood was festive as the bus pulled up near the box office. Clusters of people camped on the lawns enjoying a little pre-concert picnic; some laid out blankets, others folded out collapsible chairs, and there were those who chose to commune with nature by ensconcing themselves on the gentle, green grass. Wine sampling booths added boost, or should I say booze, to the occassion.

The humungous ampitheatre was abuzz with activity as I entered. I was amazed at the sheer volume of people in attendance. I couldn't help but say to myself, "So this many people know who John Williams is? I must be hanging out with the wrong crowd."

Activity and its accompanying noise gradually dissipated as the lights faded out, the crowd waiting in anticipation for the appearance of the man of the show. The great John Williams received warm applause as he entered the stage. He started the show as soon as he stood on the pedestal.

Act One was an homage to film composers of Hollywood's Golden Age. He offered his own rendition to some of the finest compositions during the era which served as inspiration for his works: Miklos Rozsa's "Parade of the Charioteers" from Ben-Hur (1959), Erich Wolfgang Korngold's "March" from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Bernard Herman's "Scene d'Amour" from Vertigo (1958), themes from Gone With the Wind (1939) and Now, Voyager (1942) by Max Steiner, and Maurice Jarre's scores for director David Lean's Dr. Zhivago (1965) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962); the last two with excerpts from the movie.

Watching John Williams perform live was a dream within reach when I came to America, and I could not believe I was fulfilling that dream that night as the concert unfolded. I was wide-eyed amazed at the man whose work I have loved from such a long distance, relishing his work from a creaky audio cassette player and expressing admiration by telling people about his work as I listen to his music or while walking out of a theater after watching a movie he scored.

Act Two was dedicated to the man of the show, and his opening salvo was the iconic heroic "March" from director Richard Donner's Superman (1978). The crowd went wild as the orchestra blasted the first five notes of the piece. Goosebumps crawled up from my ankles to my nape. He followed it up with the accompanying "Love Theme", an instrumental version of the song "Can You Read My Mind?" which he also composed.

His underappreciated score for Catch Me If You Can (2002) is most distinctive and surprising for a Steven Spielberg film. I honestly did not retain the tune after watching it unlike most of his collaborations with Steven Spielberg. But listening to "Closing In," "Reflections," and "Joyride" with live alto saxophone, vibraphone and bass accompaniment provided me new opportunity for appraisal.

Three pieces from the Harry Potter movies followed, evidence of his successful reinvention that has allowed him to connect with the millennium generation. He began with the atmospherically eerie "Chamber of Secrets" from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); segued to "Aunt Marge's Waltz" from Harry Portter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) that brimmed with mischievous bouyancy; and concluded with a sumptous summation of fantasy and wonderment through "Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) .

As the orchestra began to blast with the triumpaht "Throne Room and Finale" from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) the dark ampitheatre lit up with faux lightsabers. Fans of the man and the movie brandished the trademark weapon in the air throughout the whole piece. It was an exercise of unbridled fanaticism.

An encore was definitely in the offing as he waved the audience goodbye. The spotlight followed his exit and stayed right at the door. As he reentered the stage, the crowd gave a loud applause and took a while to sette. He delivered his encore with a bang starting off with the spellbinding main theme from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He followed it up with "Sayuri's Theme" from Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), a movie I have yet to see. The piece unfolded like a romantic rhapsody of melancholy and joy.

Everyone was up on their feet as he exited the stage again - only to come back to appease the people's clamor for his immediate return. To my delight his third encore piece was the main theme from "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". I roared out adulation in a heartbeat, and was a tad embarassed realizing it was the only cry of admiration heard throughout the huge ampitheatre. It seemed I was the only one who recognized the first few playful notes of the piece.

The audience's thirst for his music was unquenable that cheers crescendoed again as he walked off the pedestal and out of the stage for the third time. And the shouts of approval and encouragement persisted. The fans just wouldn't let him go. And to return his audience's appreciation, the artist returned to the stage. A fourth encore piece! Now that's a concert! He capped the night of musical adventure with a most befitting piece - the main theme from the Indiana Jones trilogy.

As the music faded out, applause was again fading in. John Williams, beaming with gratitude at the appraisal endowed him, stood still for a moment smiling at the populace before him. It has been almost three hours since the concert started. He put his palms together and rested his right cheek on them as he tilted his head to the side gesturing sleep. The crowd broke into laughter and clapped their hands firmly as if letting him go. And he exited. Stagelights dimmed and floodlights filled the ampitheatre.

Excitement brewed anew as the crowd marvelled about the concert while walking out - from the ramps, to the parking lot, and even to the train station. John Williams, along with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra, may have bowed out for the night, but the little evening of wonderful music will remain in the minds and hearts of the audience for a long time.

Ilusyong Nar$

Akala ng marami, madali ang pera kapag nars ka sa Amerika. Siguro totoo 'yon 'pag matagal ka nang nagtatrabaho at mainam ang patakbo ng ospital na pinapasukan mo. Pero sa isang nagsisimula pa lang tulad ko, maraming bayarin na kailangan tuparin bago maging financially stable.

Kapag bagong salta ka, halos mamulubi ka sa mga bayarin kaugnay sa pagproseso ng legalidad mo dito. Nariyan ang mga immigration fee para sa gobyerno at lawyer's fee. Puwede ring hindi ka kumuha ng abogado at ikaw na lang ang mag-ayos ng sarili mong papeles, pero mahirap sumabak ng gano'n lalo pa't nasa ibang bansa ka't hindi pamilyar sa mga batas nito. At kapag meron kang mga pending document tulad ng VisaScreen, may mga kaakibat na bayarin din iyon.

Bukod diyan kailangan mo rin magtabi para sa upa sa bahay, kuryente, tubig, telepono, pang-araw-araw na pagkain, at iba pang pangangailangan. Kung may sasakyan ka, na isang pangangailangan dito, may buwanang bayarin iyon. Hanggang ngayon pinag-iipunan ko pa hindi lamang ang pambili ng kotse kundi pati mga monthly payment na kaakibat nito. Buti na lang puwedeng lakarin mula bahay ang ospital na pinapasukan ko.

At hindi lahat ng ospital maganda ang pasahod. Kung matatag ang pundasyong pananalapi nito, maganda ang benepisyo at suweldo; kung palugi, tulad ng sa 'min, titipirin ka sa lahat ng paraang maari. Halimbawa na lang, anim na araw sa dalawang linggo ang tinuturing na regular work period. Kapag pumasok ka ng isa o dalawa pang araw, double time na 'yon at mas malaki ang bayad. Pero sa 'min, magsisimula lang ang double time sa ika-walong araw. At kakaunti ang gumagawa no'n kasi pagod ka na, eh.

Ba't kami nananatili? Inisponsor kami, eh. At kahit natanggap na ng ilan sa 'min ang pinakamimithing green card at bagamat wala namang kontrata, nagpasya kaming manatili para makapundar ng karanasan at kasanayan.

Matapos kong ikuwento na marami akong kailangan ayusin sa apartment ko, sabi ng isang dati kong katrabaho sa Maynila, "Buti ka pa nakabili ka na ng bahay. Makikitira kami kapag nagawi kami diyan, ha." Sa loob-loob ko lang, magdadalawang buwan pa lang akong nagtatrabaho, may sariling bahay na? Sana nga.

Ito naman ang akala ng isang dati kong kamag-aral: "Uy, balita ko nars ka na raw sa Amerika! You must be raking millions!" Ikaw kaya i-rake ko diyan. Tinatawa ko na lang ang konting inis na nararamdaman ko sa mga ganitong sitwasyon.

Nakakadismaya dahil hindi nagtutugma ang pag-aakala nila sa katotohanan. Nakakainis dahil hindi nila batid ang hirap ng paggiging nars sa Amerika. Marahil hindi ko sila masisi dahil ito ang pananaw ng marami, subalit isang matatawag na misguided assumption dahil hindi totoo para sa lahat ng nars.

Mas malala ang kuwento ng iba kong kasamahan tungkol sa mga tao sa paligid nila na nagpaparinig tungkol sa pera. Pinakamasaklap ang walang pakundangan at labis na paghingi ng pera na para bang inuutot mo lang ang dolyar, kung kailan at saan mo "feel" maglabas meron, puwede. Hindi yata nila batid na ang perang pinagpapawisan namin ay ginagamit dito din sa Amerika, alinsunod sa ekonomiya at daloy kalakaran ng bansa.

Nang umuwi si Rosie, niyaya siyang mamasyal sa mall ng mga kamag-anakan. Hindi na niya ikinagulat na siya ang taya tuwing kainan. Ang hindi niya ikinatuwa ay ang pag-udyok ng mga tiyahin niya sa kanilang mga anak: "Sige na, pumili ka ano'ng gusto mo't ibibili ka ni Ate Rosie!"

Gusto naman nang umuwi ng 'Pinas ni Perry para makapiling ang mga mahal sa buhay pero isang "kamahalan" ang gumimbal sa kanya nang makatanggap ng sulat na nagsabing: "Nagpapiyesta kami dito. Sumobrang gastos namin. Padala ka naman. Marami ka na naman 'atang ipon diyan, eh."

At si Marie, buwisit na buwisit tuwing nirereto sa mga lalaki: "Pare nars 'yan! OK yan!" sabay laki ng mga mata at muwestra ng hinlalaki na nagsasabing "aprub!"

Hindi ako tutol sa pagbigay tulong pinansiyal sa mga taong mahalaga sa atin. Maging ako'y nakapagbigay na ng pera sa nanay at mga kapatid nang bukal sa kalooban at walang hinihinging kapalit. At kung mangailangan sila'y hindi ako magdadalawang-isip na muling magpaunlak. Ang tinutukoy ko ay ang pananaw na nag-oobliga o nagdedemanda sa mga nars na maglabas o magbahagi ng pera komo't mas malaki ang kita nila.

Hindi madali ang trabahong nars. Kuwento ni Grace, nang minsang pag-uwi niya sa bahay matapos ang ikatlong araw na trabaho, bigla na lang daw siyang napaupo at napaiyak. Marahil umabot na raw sa sukdulan ang kapaguran niya. Gayundin ang kuwento ni Gerry habang papauwi at naghihintay ng "go" signal sa ilaw trapiko. Siya raw ay napakunot-noo, napatulala, at walang anu-ano'y napaluha.

Lalong hindi madali maging nars sa ibang bansa dahil hiwalay ka sa mga kinagisnang kaibigan, at lalo na kapag hindi mo kasama ang iyong pamilya. Kaya't kami-kami ang nagsisilbing pamilya ng isa't-isa. Sinisikap naming magkita-kita sa kabila ng magkakataliwas na skedyul para magkaroon ng kaunting kasiyahan, mistulang mga OFW sa ibang bansa na nagtitipon-tipon tuwing day off.

Sinulat ko ito para sa kalinawan ng mga may maling akala at sa kapakanan ng mga kapwa ko nars na nagsusumikap dito sa Amerika para maitaguyod ang buhay nila at ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay.

Nocturnal Animal

I have always been a daylight person, sleeping between 8 to 9 PM, thus missing out on nighttime happenings and primetime TV, and waking up around 3 to 4 AM to go to the gym for a good start. But like most new employees I was delegated to the night shift. Most people shun this shift for good reason; Primarily because it disrupts your sleep-wake cycle, and then of course everything else along the way like eating habits, social connection, household chores schedule, and constant tasks like grocery-shopping and banking.

Most night shifters go back to their day pattern for a variety of reasons: a spouse or partner who has conventional waking hours, kids, again social connection, daytime-only activities, etc. It really takes a toll on one's overall health that's why those who work the shift receive differetial pay which, for me, just about evens out your income because you pay higher taxes anyway, unless you have a tax-shielded investment like a house, for example. It may also depend on company's policy on salary and differential pay.

But despite drawbacks, some people become well-adjusted and actually prefer to work nights. For one, the work atmosphere, although also busy albeit in a different light than day shift, is less chaotic, providing one a better grasp of the situation. For another, it does take care of the bills to a certain extent, specially if one has tax-shelter investments to pay off. The stress during day shift is simply not worth it. Most important, camaraderie and teamwork is more felt at night because there is more time to help each other out.

The idea of working nights has never appealed to me. I've been accustomed to morning pattern and a 180 degree turn in my waking and working hours is tantamount to a seismic shift in my physiological framework and functioning. At the end of the day I can imagine my body flopping flat from a different kind of exhaustion and hormonal stress readily manifesting as breakouts.

According to research, working nights diminishes one's lifespan by half a day each time the sleep-wake cycle is disrupted. But the situation is beyond my control so I exercised a shift in perspective and rolled out to turn myself into a bona fide nocturnal animal so as to have one sole definitive sleep-wake cycle. But at the back of my mind I wonder: Am I really doing my body more good or more harm with this strategy? Now that's a good subject for further research.

Going back to day pattern was out of the equation, even on my days off. My day has to start mid afternoon with breakfast between 4 to 5 PM, lunch between 12MN to 1AM and supper between 7 to 8 AM. Business and social transactions have to be accomplished from late afternoon to early evening. My friends wonder what in the world I do in the dead of night. Well, the past three months was dedicated to fixing up the apartment. It's not easy to do a one-man show, you know. Of late, it has been mostly reading and writing or talking on the phone with fellow night owls. Also, with home theater system installed, I get lost in sitcom reruns and old movies from my sister's treasure trove of VHS tapes (Hak! Hak! Hak!).

Nights out on the town have to take a backseat for now until I have my own car, so does getting lost in the world wide web until I have my own computer. Being a night owl is working fine for me, so far. The key is consistency.

Three Months Later

I shake my head in disbelief that I actually went through three months without blogging. My mind is ecstatic as I ruminate on suceeding letters and words to encode, my fingers clearly manifesting this as they happily tap-dance in frenzied symphony on the keyboard. Several things have happened in the last three months planting seeds of thought, time permitting them to germinate in my mind for ripe literary harvest.

Picking up from where I left off, I:

• have completed the academic and clinical requirements for my residency
• along with classmates, danced to one of the gayest tunes ever in celebration of Nurses' week
• received a truckload of hand-me-down furnitures and what's its
• attended the wedding of one my finest friends from the Philippine TV industry
• invaded outlet stores with newfound friends and together explored our newfound buying power
• got a tattoo while spending Memorial Day in Venice beach
• celebrated classmates' upcoming birthdays (including mine) in one collective gastronomical feast
• graduated and started on the graveyard shift
• did Vegas
• watched John Williams live in concert
• realized my childhood dream of seeing Optimus Prime on the silverscreen
• achieved permanent resident status
• finally got to do leisure reading after a very long hiatus
• and now relishing an apartment that feels more like a home than it did a couple months ago.

Time went by like swift wind as it always does. On another dimension, though, the hourglass seemed to be frozen as several situations remained status quo. I still:

• depend on public transporation and kind-hearted friends to go around and beyond the city
• rely on public and hospital libraries to access the internet, which is quite a bummer because time is limited in the former and filters are unbelievable in the latter
• am single and have yet to go out to date
• don't have cable TV having found more than enough gems and garbages in VHF and UHF channels
• do my routine exercises at home and haven't gone back to the gym.

But more or less I have further assimilated to the daily grinds of my relatively new work and social environment, transforming activities of daily living and working from strange and nerve-wracking to familiar and confidence-boosting. Having completed one pending task after another allowed my mind and body to gradually settle and finally focus on things that needed daily attention.

The one task that was most daunting and took longest to finish was fixing up the apartment, specially with the huge amount of stuff I inherited from my sister; she had it trucked to my apartment after several years in storage. Anticipating dust, dirt and rubbish that will accumulate throughout the entire cleaning event, I covered the whole apartment with plastic drop cloth.

There were tons of boxes to rummage through and gazillion things to sort. The strategy I employed was categorize things among "keep," "give" and "throw." The second and third categories were most managable and easily rewarding. Things I chose to keep I had to clean, and being endowed with OCP (obsessive-compulsive power) I made sure every item had a "CLEAN" bill of condition. I'm still at it as of this writing as making the place spic and span is about 95% complete. And I suppose that 5% will always be there. (,")

Having checked off pending tasks and reaching this level of completion also afforded me time to write again.

It feels good to be back.