i have already professed my love for david cook right before the american idol finals season 7. now i am renewing my declaration of love.

i scored 2 VIP tickets to the cook-david-archuleta concert at the SM mall of asia concert grounds last night. since Other Half is in indonesia and my sister is staying with me for a few days so she was the lucky one who went with me to the concert. tickets were from my Boss-boss (a.k.a the prez).

anyway, the concert was simply amazing in the sense that we were around 40,000 out there, as david cook said and he couldn’t believe it.

based on the interviews and TV guestings they had (see youtube), the two davids couldn’t believe that they have legions of fans here. they were overwhelmed with the reception.

during the concert david cook was kinda overwhelmed by our sheer numbers and said salamat po over and over. he said something like “i was talking with archie (archuleta) back there and he told me i do not know what i am in for…” and that archie was right that he didn’t expect the sea of humanity infront of him. he said we didn’t know how it meant to him, or something to that effect. i was able to record a video of him peforming “heroes” and when he heard the audience singing, he thumped his chest, like he couldn’t take it/believe it that people knew his songs.

(still uploading those videos on youtube but somehow i always receive that annoying “timeout” notice. been trying that since we got home at 1 am this morning).

he was also fond of making (adorable) faces, like sticking his tongue out with matching wacky wide eyes. and he often laughed like this: “hehehehe” as if he was playing a prank on us or he was just telling himself a joke. there was this time he went down to the audience and there were these people who were sticking out their cameras to him, taking absurd close up photos. david c. grabbed some of those digicams and took a picture of his audience, of himself, some with decent smiles, some with wacky faces before handing back the cameras to the owners.

he was simply adorable. *sigh* i wub him *sigh*

that’s not all. he played the heavier stuff — some from his old independently released album before his idol fame (were these from analog heart? i couldn’t tell. i only played those songs thrice online) and some from his new album. well, that was my cup of tea. i was glad he did away with all those ballads (“permanent” etc.). he and the band seemed like they were so psyched with the audience turnout and response that you could really feel their energy. david c. played his guitar close to the stage floor and doing all these antics like he was playing Rockband or air guitar — playing out his fantasy gig.

he ended the night with “a daily anthem” (which he dedicated to his brother who just died two weeks ago) with us waving our hands in the air and david archuleta onstage. the last measure (a.k.a. the last four beats ) of the song, we were singing “wo-ho-wo-ho” a capella. i think i saw david c. touch his chest/heart like he got emotional, like he could feel the love from the audience.

as he said, it was unthinkable to come from half a world away and see/feel that people knew his songs, esp. his rockin’ version of mariah carey’s “always be my baby”. or something to that effect.

jos ko ba naman, kungdi ba naman i-play to death ang “always be my baby” ng my jologs FM stations…

anyway, couldn’t really remember his exact words since i was too busy screaming and raising my hands in the air.

it must really be mind-bending for him to come to a country he barely knew  — but then there he was with 40,000 people singing with him last night. esp. that he just came from a US college tour with what — how many people can you get from a campus tour?

–

well, david archuleta a.k.a archie first performed before cook. i couldn’t care less and he wasn’t the reason i was there. but the kid was really good and his songs were ok, too. really radio friendly. i might even download some. archie was a bonus, like i attended two concerts for the price of one.

according to his twitter, her really loved philippine mangoes.

oh dang! i could not upload my videos of david cook singing “heroes” and “declaration”. something’s wrong with my friggin’ internet connection!

i love david cook! wait, have i said it already?

blogging about my trip is harder than i thought. i don’t know why.

and as goodwill, i volunteered to write about it too for the paper. and i haven’t done anything about it. tsk tsk.

work, again, gets in the way. agggh.

Other Half couldn’t resist.

even though we don’t have a need to go/buy something at Duty Free in paranaque, my husband insisted we go there today. basta, if someone goes in or out of the country, he has to go to Duty Free to check out what’s there…it’s like his relationship with National Bookstore. Everytime he spots NB, he has to go in and check out what’s in there even though all NBs all over metro manila are the same.

back to duty free. this time, i spotted this in the freezer at the grocery section — and he bought it. happiness in a box. it’s an expensive box, around $13.

when Other Half was in the US, his uncle treated him to White Castle and raved about their small burgers. i got to know White Castle from Lifestyle channel, through a show (cannot remember the name of the show that features how our favorite foodstuff are made) that explored American burgers. so ok, i have to find what’s the fuss all about.

we hurried home and had this for lunch. verdict? it’s ok, not heavenly as other people claimed it to be but at least it’s better than jollibee. or it may have been heavenly but — hey, it came from half a world away, frozen — what can i expect?

ok, cross out white castle from the list of the food i have to taste.

let’s not talk about the price…it hurts my husband’s wallet so much.

i was supposed to buy a canon G10 in kyoto but i somehow wound up with sony cybershot h10. it’s a long story. *sigh*

at first Other Half hated it. then it slowly grew on him (i hope). here are some of the photos i took with this new toy while holed up in my room in my mother’s house last night.

one of the two items i bought for myself on the cheap in japan

my husband’s watch, keys, wallet and cellphone case

will try to get outdoor shots when i have the time to tinker with it again. the thing with photography is, it takes so much time. it’s a hobby that will make your wallet bleed and eat up so much of your time to hone your skills and get great shots.

my husband has not yet forgiven me for not buying his martial arts stuff and a DSLR instead of this camera.

i think i left my soul somewhere in nijo castle or some other temple in kyoto. i went to work yesterday even though i could use some hours of sleep after arriving in manila at around 11 pm on thursday. but i couldn’t concentrate at the office because my thoughts keep drifting back to that cold and wet place called kyoto.

my 8 days in japan were magical and i want to go back there again. and again.

details later. i have to go home to laguna.