Things Chinese

(with my journal entry dated January 23, 2012, a Monday)

I was going to write yesterday, but then the morning wore on and I kept putting it off for later that late evening came and we had our karaoke session, and I completely forgot about it.

Today being Chinese New Year’s day, we are having tikoy for breakfast. I had also asked whoever was going to be up early today to prepare pancit (the instant kind, at least), so we’ll have pancit today, just to be in the spirit of things.

I have good vibes for this year, unlike last year. When people were celebrating the entry of the year of the rabbit last year, I was not so “hopeful” (albeit not dejected). I didn’t know why.

As I said, we had karaoke yesterday. My cousin Kuya Jing and I were experimenting on singing from the diaphragm (which means inhaling air and storing it in your abdomen, and then releasing it slowly as you sing, thereby minimizing the movement of the Adam’s apple in singing).

It’s hard at first, because we’ve been “mis-trained” by pop music singing all these years. I was not so into it at first. But after taking a bath (yes, the magical bath—so trivial yet so important), I put on some Platters songs (“Twilight Time,” “Only You,” etc.), and it was just amazing because my voice flowed out naturally using the technique, and I felt like I could sing anything.

But then, I put on some Michael Jackson songs (“Rock With You” “She’s Out of My Life”), and yes, I managed it, but it being karaoke, the habit of trying to sound “just like Michael” (tone-wise, that is) got in the way, and it somehow caused my voice to tire out easily, so when I was getting back to singing other songs (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”), I barely managed it. The ipit effect had taken its toll, although I could still hit the high notes. Good thing my sisters were with us, and they sang to their hearts’ content while cousin and I took a break.

Around 10 p.m., we got to our Beatles repertoire, and with my voice already hoarse and all, we just had fun with them. I was singing “Get Back” and an idea for a Youtube video came to me. Or rather, a Youtube Channel: Beatles Karaoke, with characters here and there horsing around to the music. Oh well.

After midnight, I helped myself to the tikoy that’s been sitting on the round table since Saturday. It was sooo sweet, sweeter than usual, I don’t know if I liked it better. I have a sweet tooth, but this was not the regular tikoy we ate in the past that I guess it takes getting used to.

Okay, we’re not Chinese, but Nanay used to tell us that our great grandparents on Nanay’s side were very Chinese-looking, so that is subject for investigation. But ever since I was young, I get sentimental about Chinese classical music or old Chinese structures and architecture.

When I was growing up, not too many people cared about these things. If I remember it right, people then even looked down on the Chinese. I guess that’s the Spanish influence on us Filipinos. The Spaniards then did not trust the Chinese much and even looked down on them—as a form of defense mechanism, I suppose. Unfortunately, previous generations of Filipinos adopted this kind of attitude. Up until recently, I didn’t know that the terms intsik, beho, chekwa, etc. are all derogatory.

By the time I could explore Maynila all by myself, I would go to Chinatown, just taking in the scene and food and music (or bits and pieces of “Chinese sounds” here and there).

When the Philippines had not yet heard of cable TV, Sundays were Chinese on local TV—early morning TV, that is. Chinese drama, variety shows, cooking shows. They weren’t even subtitled; but for lack of anything to watch, I sometimes contented myself watching those shows—unwittingly “making memories” of those images and sounds. Again, I suppose that’s what accounts for my being sentimental about things Chinese.

I once bought a Chinese classical music CD in Binondo, and one vendor there who saw me said it’s interesting that I take an interest in such things when many people don’t even bother, and then she added, I must have been a Chinese emperor in my past life. Hehe. Who am I to disagree, right? I mean, it’s not every day that people have this notion that you might have been royalty in your “past life.” It’s just interesting, that’s all.

There are rainy days when I’m outside the house, and I could see the drizzle of the rain and the trees gently swaying with the wind. In my mind, I can hear Chinese music.