I don’t know if I’m going to see the concert tomorrow, but at this point, I almost couldn’t care any less…
Notice the resemblance?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my life is complete.
It started off a day quite like no other… it certainly was a rotten day, to say the least, and I was sulking in a corner, just looking at Plurk, when I saw a very conspicuous message on Plurk from Jayvee.
It just went…
Oh my God! You won’t believe where I am right now!
Call me psychic, but a one-word “Dude!” SMS from Jayvee later, and I knew what was going on… he’s meeting with my idol, my hero, and personal role model, RICK ASTLEY.
I muttered to myself that my luck seems to be turning out just peachy. I was stuck at home, and I had no idea where RICK ASTLEY was, and how to get to this press conference that seemed to come right in the middle of the night. All that I needed was to cry for help!
A few messages from Jayvee over SMS later, and I found out that Rick Astley is not in a press conference but a party in his honor at Alchemy.
Then the bells started ringing in my head. I was friends with one of the owners of Alchemy, Don. He was also a former jock on WAVE 89.1, so after asking help from his former partner, Robi the Rascal, I got in touch with him, and he told me…
I can make arrangements for you to see him, but to meet him? I can’t promise that. Fair enough?
He didn’t need to ask me twice, and in a flash, I was already at Alchemy, getting in solely by namedropping Don on my way to the party. Don’t you know I would move Heaven and Earth to get to see RICK ASTLEY?
That was when I saw him. And he was really larger than life.
RICK. Fucking. ASTLEY. Was. Standing. In. Front. Of. Me.
It’s like time stood still, cherry blossoms started to fall, and tumbleweed just rolled in the horizon. Yes. Cherry blossoms. And tumbleweed. In the middle of Alchemy. It was destiny calling: a power I just can’t deny.
I stood there with my mouth agape, knowing full well that the man, the legend, RICK ASTLEY was just an arm’s length away from me. Jayvee already had a group picture taken with him earlier on, but I figured we could finagle for a bit more than that, so I held my ground near the cordoned off area, and despite some security lapses that I refused to take advantage of (You know the rules, and so do I.), decided to wait it out until Don showed up and waved me and Jayvee into the area where RICK ASTLEY was.
If I wasn’t starstruck then, I was starstruck now. RICK ASTLEY was just right beside me already, as we had a group photo taken with him. It took us a few moments to work up our courage, but in the middle of the Dance-A-Like contest, Jayvee and I took turns having pictures with the man, the legend, RICK ASTLEY!
I was a happy camper. It’s like I found my long-lost brother or something, and… waitaminute…
If only I didn’t smile so damned much…
So after much squealing that would make most people have skewed notions about my masculinity, I ended up taking part in a RICK ASTLEY LOOKALIKE CONTEST, and I’d like to think I almost won, Jayvee notwithstanding.
Of course, some white dude had to join and spoil the fun, so this brown man has been held down once again from winning a RICK ASTLEY lookalike contest. Boo! Racism! =P
I don’t know what else to say, really. Jayvee has videos of the man, the legend RICK ASTLEY even doing some dancing, but since those are his videos, I will just ask you to visit his site for them.
Much, much thanks to Jayvee and to his friend Alora who made this possible, and of course, to Don Puno, who let me gatecrash the party at Alchemy last night just to catch a glimpse of the man, the legend RICK ASTLEY, who's going to be live and in concert in Manila this Friday night!
I’m no stranger to love from now on.
