Looking Back on a Trance

"M: Sir Edu, pa-picture naman po. E: Of course!"

It’s been less than two weeks since the desertion of one of my most-liked shows on television. When I was watching I saw a trailer of an upcoming show with a subject of talent-showcasing and the timeslot was 11:15am: the time of Pilipinas, Game KNB? I was kind of upset and dazed that it became defunct. I’d miss the 80’s and 90’s music, Vilma Santos’ A-Do-Run-Run, the craze of also answering the questions while watching and of course Mr. Edu Manzano. I’d been an avid fan of the show for I learned a lot of trivia from it and going to the set was one of my wishes when I celebrated my birthday. Hmm, I know that this post is a way too late but I just want to reminisce those moments when I finally had a chance to go to the set itself 67 days ago (more than two months ago).

August 31, 2009: The very special and most exciting day of the year! I woke up with a wide smile on my face which I found hard to remove due to my utmost enthusiasm. It was 7:00am, I was an early bird that time and I immediately took a bath and ate my breakfast. Time was quite slow for me that time; minutes seemed to be hours and hours appeared to be days (?) Meeting time would be at CCC (Cainta Catholic College), 11:00am sharp. After some preparations, the time to depart our home finally came. I and my mom left at 10:00am and we were at school at 10:45am. I got bored to tears waiting for the “players” of the show but I controlled it with excitement. Then, after a few minutes, they arrived and we met with Tita Eli (Melinda) and her two co-players and friends, Ms. Shel and Mr. Miguel. Tita Eli was the one who invited my mom to be one of her companions for the show and then when she found out that I was an avid fan of the game show, she incorporated me in. Then, the three (3) prayed first and Tita Eli also prayed for herself not only for the game but also for her birthday celebration that day. After the prayers were sent to God, we made our way to ABS-CBN.

The rides were more than an hour. I got the chance to see the beauty of Makati and Pasig as well as the routes to get there. My heart was pounding with thrill and positive tension as we were getting closer to the company’s whereabouts. We passed GMA 7’s building and then in a few minutes, we finally arrived! We walked for a while on the street going to the main entrance of the building. Food stalls and fast-food restaurants dominated the street where I smelled all kinds of flavorful aroma during our walk. We were glad for the weather got along with us which welcomed us with warm but gentle and comforting breeze which reduced our exhaustion. After taking 147 steps, a building came to view and I realized it was the entrance of ABS-CBN. We were hesitated to enter at first but I guess that our guts pushed us all the way. Subsequently, we came in, first through the automated unique “rotating” door and the sweet fragrance welcomed us inside. It was cool inside and I took the opportunity to take pictures of my first steps in the ABS-CBN building. There were shiny walls, carpeted floors, and little bright lights everywhere! I hadn’t controlled myself from touching everything in the building attesting my innocent compulsion. After a brief tour inside, we went out to have our “lunch”, at MiniStop. We ate their unbeatable ice cream which cooled down the heat we were feeling under the sun. We saw some famous personalities there such as news reporter Willard Cheng and actor Badjie Mortiz. We were kind of bored that time for the entry to the set wasn’t announced yet. Good thing I subscribed into unlimited texting that time and Jenica was my textmate for 2 hours of waiting. While sitting on the mini-hut of MiniStop, we saw the other “teams” who were also going to play in Game KNB? that day. I had to admit but one of the players brought out typhoon signal #4. 
2:15pm: Finally, the players and the companions were called in. I told my mom how excited I was during that time for I’d finally see the set personally. However the kill time drew out for we were sent to a purely white-colored dressing room for until 5:00pm. I didn’t know what else to do to remove boredom so I decided to review my notes in Mathematics since the next day was our Periodical Exams. I also read Bob Ong’s “Ang Paboritong Libro ni Hudas” and I almost finished it waiting for 5pm. Inside the dressing room, the players were dressed up with their color-coordinated attires provided by RRJ with matching make-up. After the dress-up, they practiced their dance numbers and mastered their choreography in front of a large mirror. With so much reading and watching the teams dance, time passed quickly and we were called to the studio. Finally after 3 years we made it outside the dressing room and made our way to studio 9 I think but the companions weren’t allowed to go in yet. It’s 5:05pm and my mom and I waited outside the studio and there we met Jonas, the choreographer of the show, always seen on TV. He dressed up very fashionably and my mom chatted with him for a short time. It’s 5:45pm when we got in the set.

As we entered, the cool and fresh atmosphere of the studio welcomed us. But it wasn’t we expected for it was small. Yes, on TV we thought it’s wide but in actuality, it’s not. Lights made the place cool and hip and it’s like we’re inside a disco bar. We sat below in the rear of the host and we had a good view of the whole set. I intentionally convinced my mom to sit there for I know there’s a camera on top that would make us be really seen on TV. There I finally got the chance to see what’s happening off-air: Jonas taught us (audience) the dances involved which were “A-Do Run-Run” and others. Floor directors facilitated and the teams were set immediately, practicing their strategies for the real game. Before the show could begin, one team broke a mechanism and that took about 20 minutes to be fixed. After a few more moments, the host finally arrived, with his dressed with cream polo, Mr. Edu Manzano.

6:30pm: the show finally started. The thunderous sounds and music made the ambiance more alive and kicking. Those 61 minutes were the most exciting and unforgettable moments of my life. I just danced, smiled, laughed and cheered the whole time! I took the chance to look always on the camera, for instant celebrity fame. During the “breaks”, my mom and I got the chance to take a picture with Mr. Edu, with matching jokes. He’s quite nice to everyone for he talked to the audience during commercial breaks. My mom couldn’t help but to scream with “kilig”. By the way, “The Questors” was the name of Tita Eli’s team in orange however; they only made it until the “Taranta Round” (2nd round). When they got eliminated, we just continued watching until the end of 1 episode. We then returned to the dressing room and congratulated the team. A wonderful way of celebrating a birthday, I thought Tita Eli would say to herself. We ate first, took pictures and went home.

It was 9:00pm when we got home. I couldn’t sleep that night for I still couldn’t keep on remembering those happy moments. The music continued to batter on my head and guess what; I forgot all the lessons for the periodical exams! Anyway, I was able to sleep.

On Wednesday the following week (September 3, 2009), after our exams, I immediately ran to Tita Emma’s house and I and my mom watched the episode we were into. The 3 of us laughed and enjoyed our exposures on TV and we even got a 3-sec. close-up! That was the most enjoyable 1 hour I’d witnessed ever – because I was on TV! (artista na ako!)

Wow! My post got long. Sorry readers, you might got bored, I just couldn’t help myself. Sorry for this super late post, but I made it like reminiscence. ‘Til next time!