Rock Steady

In a sudden turn of events, much like how life unfolds, Toot Toot's vacation turned into a visit filled with many surprises. It turned out to be a rockband tour of some sorts. We started off with a Thursday meet with Marco who was pleased when I said he reminded me of Toshiro Mifune- Akira Kurosawa's favorite actor. Marco is a musician and a photographer, but keeps his day job as an IT guy. Xaymaca was our destination, although we were planning to go to Makati's Saguio. Still adjusting from his inebriated days in SG, Toot Toot was not able to enjoy our happy ending... with ox brain and liver, that is.


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Wednesday turned out well, with what was supposed to be a Vespinoy meet turning out to have Gary V, Rivermaya and True Faith as the backdrop for the EB. I was double booked that night, while I was watching Bimbo Cerrudo's Classico..Classic Ko!, Toot Toot was enjoying his quality time with Mike as they make their way to Metrowalk. Turns out 99.5RT is spending their 3oth anniversary there. It was a pretty cool crowd. Vespinoy came with their rides, Lambrettas and Vespas, some as vintage as 1955. Ron lets me ride his Vespa. Can't believe he's 40. A perfect ending to this beer and music fest is a beef pares fest at 3 AM.

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I don’t usually attend Oktoberfest because the crowd gets rowdy each year, but this year I made an exception to accompany Toot Toot as he tries to shoot with his new Canon D30. A VIP pass allowed for an all-access entry. I watch as he makes his way onto the stage, clicking away as Rocksteddy, Milk and Money, Brownman Revival, Sugar Free and The Dawn perform. He’s getting better with each shot as he learns to adapt using different lighting, lens and actually using the menu. I find myself assisting him, wondering where all that superhyperactive energy came from. He goes up the stage, kneels, moves forward, goes down, changes lenses, moves back, then up again. Think Tazmanian devil. It was past 3 AM, and even The Dawn concedes with the crowd;Jett Pangan saw the crowd less responsive, wanting more but could not give the kind of energy for him, so after 4 great songs he dismisses the crowd. Toot Toot sees Buddy Zabala, formerly of Eheads, who recognize him from UP org. They exchange numbers and promise to keep in touch.


So we were driving and he was thinking, and he finally blurted it out. I didn’t recognize it, I was in denial. But those were the words. His words.
I said ok.
All weekend he was humming.
And that is the story of how Toot Toot and I became rock steady.