Talent worth noticing: UCLA guitar ensemble and the Los Angeles Street Dance Collective

June starts off with a great set of performances here that either a) were scheduled at times people weren’t able to make (such as before college final exam season, or too early for most people to wake up for), b) located in places that were hard to find (especially with parking issues), or c) did not reach as many people as they could have who would have made that extra effort to see.

To start off, I went to my friend’s guitar ensemble and got a few songs, showcasing some great pieces that would be a shame for others outside of the small audience to not hear.

Nightmares, Insomnia, and Burnout

Last night I woke up abruptly from sleep and habitually picked up my phone to call my father in Manila, where it would have been 4:30 in the afternoon and he would have finished his brunch and golf, likely to be relaxing on the couch. It was only when I had his name and number selected on my phone that I realized that he has been dead for a year and a few weeks. I held the phone at an arm’s length, silent, not breathing, staring into space while sitting on my bed hunched over. I didn’t want to hear the phone say that the number had already been disconnected, nor did I want to hear someone else’s voice on the other end of the receiver.