Thank you, Charice!

If Chaster Janine asked for your phone number, how would you react?

For those who don’t know yet, Janine has made a number of Chasters very happy by bridging them to Charice by way of phone calls. If she asked for your number, she would try her best to let you have a moment with Charice on a personal level. Isn’t that a welcome treat? Isn’t that wonderful? It’s unbelievable what this angel does for Chasters! Again, thank you, Janine!

Now, how did I react?

It was in the afternoon of Wednesday, January 30^th,  when Janine tweeted me asking about my number. Suddenly, my hands were sweating and I kept on hitting the wrong keys on my computer. The feeling was unexplainable. Excited crazy!
I couldn’t believe it, yet I was looking forward to the call, but I knew I had to be patient and should trust that that call would come. When exactly? I didn’t know. It was supposed to be a surprise. Oh, how does one handle the thought of a forthcoming great surprise?

I tried to calm myself. I walked around the house. I went upstairs, then, downstairs again. I went out for fresh air. Of course, the phone was with me all the time. Then, maybe I was already back to my senses because I thought of preparing for the call.

How did I prepare?

The phone. I recently changed my phone and I could not use the same ringing tone from my old phone. There had been an incident that I missed a call because my ears were conditioned to the old sound. That shouldn’t happen again. Not this time! Be familiar with that tone! I even asked someone to give me a call for testing. Just to make sure my phone can receive calls…or was that the Obsessive-Compulsive in me manifesting?

The power bank. What use is a phone without a charged battery? It was good that I had a power bank (portable charger). Phone and power bank should always be together!

What to say to Charice. This was the hardest part. Really! So, I got a pen and paper and jotted down everything that came to my mind. Knowing the call experiences of other Chasters helped me a lot. Like, it was fine to request for a song so, I wrote Lighthouse. But the first on my list was “Thank u!” because I really wanted to thank her for a number of things, the call included.

It was already late in the evening and I was restless in bed. I couldn’t sleep. I got my phone and browsed for some Charice videos. Then, I saw Pusong Bato from KrisTV and ting! I would sing to Charice! I got up, got a pen and paper and modified the lyrics of the chorus of Pusong Bato for her. But…I don’t really sing! Then, I heard a voice from unknown somewhere say, “It’s not the tune. It’s the thought that counts!” So, I inserted “SING FOR CHA” (yes, all caps) in my list.

The following day, Thursday, January 31^st, I was more relaxed. I did my daily routine and I practiced my song for Charice many times. I also went over the list which was now in the pocket of my phone case together with the lyrics of the song. I was imagining receiving the call when I thought of a few “what if” situations. I had to come up with resolutions.

Contingency plans.

1) What if I get a call from someone else? — Make the call as short as possible; send text messages instead.

2) What if I am in a jeepney (a public transportation) — Tell the driver to pull over. Get off quickly. It's noisy there! Then, run to a building with a quiet place like a bank. Or be in a less noisy area of the sidewalk.

3) What if I am in a mall? — Run to a quiet place! Where could that be? Well, just don't go to malls!

4) What if I am at home? — Easy. Go to the bedroom upstairs where there is peace and quiet.

It was already after dinner. No call yet. For some reason, I was not really expecting the call that day. Maybe, it would be on Saturday. But just the same, I practiced the song and read my list again. By this time, I had already memorized them. Then, I thought of modifying the lyrics of the whole song Pusong Bato just for fun. And it was really fun doing it!

Panic Mode

It was after lunch on Friday, February 1^st and guess what? I had to go to the mall. I know! It was not a good idea to go to malls! Before leaving the house, I made sure I had everything—gadgets and notes—with me. The phone was in my hand—so not me! While in the moving jeepney, I looked out for possible quiet enough places. No call yet. In the mall, I looked around for possible spots of refuge from the noise. Oh, it was hard! No call yet. In the jeepney going back home, looking out again. No call yet. Sigh of relief…

Late in the afternoon, I logged on to Twitter, read some and had an exchange of a few tweets. It was already past six when I decided to walk our two small dogs. Of course, I had my phone and all with me. It was almost seven when we were back home. I turned on the TV to watch the news. Everything was normal until I heard a “beep!” coming from where my phone was—on a counter near the main door. I placed it there when I unleashed the dogs. No, it was not the ringing tone, but it was a warning tone that my phone was running low on battery!

There was a quick flash of two options:

1) Connect the phone to the power bank which was beside it.

2) Get the regular charger upstairs and charge the phone the normal way.

I opted for the second because I was reserving the power bank for emergencies. So, I went upstairs. I opened the door to the bedroom and walked to a shelf where the charger was. I hadn’t gotten hold of the charger when I heard the now familiar sound—my phone downstairs was ringing!!! Oh, no!!! I quickly went downstairs to where my phone was. I was still in the panic mode, but most probably, I smiled when I checked who was calling. There was no name, just a number on the screen of my phone. This must be it! And it was!

The Call

I cannot recall everything that transpired during the call so, I am writing only what I can remember.

The caller asked for “Tita”—that’s me. It was Janine on the other line. I could hear other people talking in the background, but not comprehensible. I mentioned about me needing to charge my phone. I was talking with her while I was connecting my phone to the power bank and going upstairs to the bedroom. Then, I heard something like "Kamusta naman ang Twitter?" (So, how is Twitter?)

I asked if it was Charice I was talking to because I was a little confused—their voices seemed to sound similar.

When I was already in the bedroom, where there was peace and quiet, I heard that familiar voice. It was Charice indeed! Her speaking voice was like that of a playful child. She was bubbly. I think I said “Thank you” a number of times to her but I was not able to say why I was thankful. We must have had some small talk and then, I didn’t know what else to say. This was the time when I thought about my notes—the list and lyrics. I didn’t know where they were. I just tried to recall what I wrote on the paper.

I requested her to sing a song. She asked me what song. I said, “Lighthouse.” She right away started singing it—without any warning like "okay" or clearing of her throat. She was more ready to sing than I was ready to listen. For a second, I could not believe that it was happening. And I was just there standing frozen and listening to her with my eyes closed. Magical!

Then, I said I’d like to sing for her. That was when I sang my song to the tune of the chorus of Pusong Bato:

                                                                                  

    Di mo alam dahil sa ‘yo                             

    Ako’y di makakain                                 

    Di rin makatulog                                       

    Buhat mag-DM si Janine                           

    Kung phone ko’y muling mag-ri-ring         

    Sana sya’y isang katulad mo                   

    O kaya’y ikaw na lang mismo              

    Translation:
    You don't know because of you
    I cannot eat
    I cannot sleep, either
    Since Janine sent me a DM
    If my phone would ring again
    I wish s/he'd be like you
    Or perhaps, it would be you instead

After singing, I didn’t hear her reaction. [The following day, Chaster Lysa, who was with them, tweeted something that sent me to heaven. Lysa said that Charice liked it and that when I finished singing, she was like “Ohhhh” while smiling.]

I also remember that Charice asked me if I had eaten. When I said no, she offered some spaghetti and french fries. I heard the others offering me the same. Since we were talking about food, I asked if she liked eating ube jam. She said yes. I told her I wanted to cook some for her but didn’t know how I could give it to her. She told me to coordinate with Janine. Before talking to Janine, I was able to say “Thank you” repeatedly and “I love you, Cha!”

Then, it was Janine on the phone. Honestly, my mind was blank after talking to Charice. I was not able to make it clear with Janine about the coordination. I’m really sorry about that. But I think I told her to have fun in the party with Charice and the Chasters present there and thanked her for the call.

Bloopers

1) After some minutes of being in the state of nothingness after the call, I saw the note pads with the list and lyrics on my bed. Why did I not see them earlier?

2) After sending tweets to Charice and Janine that night, I decided to use the computer instead of the phone for easy typing. But I could not log on to Twitter because I forgot my password! I tried for maybe six times. The CAPTCHA box appeared more than once.

3) Later that night, I checked on the time of the call again. It was then that I realized there were two call logs for the number. Huh?! One was for outgoing call. Oh, no! How embarrassing! I must have accidentally pressed something on the phone. Sorry....

My thoughts

I don’t think one can ever be ready for that kind of call. No amount of preparation will be sufficient. It is hard to have a good enough presence of mind in that kind of situation.

Even now, I can still feel the elation and joy I had while on the phone with Charice. It is one experience that I will surely cherish for the rest of my life.

If I am not mistaken, what I said to her the most was “Thank you.” I guess it’s because I am really thankful to her for many reasons.

Thank you, Charice!