Monday, May 17, 2004
We discovered Japoy on TV during the latter part of March and early part of April. Actually, we already know that there is this so called Milo Boy who appears on TV ads but we were not so interested by that time. My friend Theresa and I became very interested on him. And thank heavens, with the use of technology, we were able to get to know him even if it's just through pictures. We became a member of MILO forums, his e-groups, and whoala!!! We have many pics of Japoy. It started out from a couple of what if's and imaginations. Here it goes: Alam mo Theresa, what if makita natin siya sa personal? Tapos, what if merong tournament ng TKD sa SM (Davao City)? Tapos what if makapa-pic tayong dalawa kay Japoy? What if? What if? The exciting part is this: My friend Padotz told me that Japoy is here in Davao, at the Marco Polo hotel to be exact, and it was confirmed by Jasper, a casual friend of mine who is also into TKD. Weeks before this incident, we were able to chat with some Milo athletes (swimmers) at the City Triangle near ADDU. We asked them if they have any idea who Japoy is, but we were aghast to know that they don't even know him. So, days have passed and May 15 backstage incident came into pass. I planned to sacrifice my major subject and decided to be absent and immediately rushed at SM e-plaza. The moment we arrived there, there was not a single sign of his presence. We waited patiently. My classmates at school texted me kung nakita na ba daw namin si Japoy… But Theresa and I were still waiting. They texted me na wala na daw class kasi yung teacher namin sa major subject was also absent. Noticed anything? Yeah right, the heavens are with us, nakikisabay ang panahon, so i don't have to worry about being absent anymore. So, the moment na lumabas kami sa e-plaza, may nakita kaming naka-gray pants and white shirt carrying a bulky sky-blue Jansport backpack. Tapos we realized, siya na pala yun. Pero nanigas kami kasi hindi namin alam kung anong gagawin namin, because we were into oblivion, we were not able to separate dream into reality. Pero, with a certain amount of guts, sinundan talaga namin siya sa backstage, hanggang dun, buti na lang meron kaming connection with some of the players (kids), so pumunta kami ni Theresa sa backstage bringing with us the two cameras with powerful zooms... hehehe... At the backstage, tahimik syado kasi the only persons there were me, Japoy, Theresa, and his bantay (who eventually took us a picture). So we smiled and we took pictures with him of course. He was so close to us that our shoulders almost touched each other. Mabait man pala siya, kaya lang medyo taray tingnan at first kasi the moment he arrived at the e-plaza he has this "galit sa mundo" stare in his face, pero we were able to see his smile, para talaga siyang bata sa personal. And then the story continues... After the backstage incident, we headed for him at the stage asking him for an autograph (napag-utusan lang ako eh…hehehe…), pero his bantay is medyo protective, then he talked to me (Japoy), "Mamaya na lang ha", then i replied, "Sige bah, thank you". So after that incident, umakyat nanaman kami sa stage for our group picture with some of my friends. After the pictorial, I looked at him and told him, "Thank you ha..." then he replied, "Ok, welcome" (or something like that). So nung May 16, we went to SM as early as we can para may mauupuan talaga kami. We waited for him malapit sa Mitsubishi section ng SM kasi dun siya dumadaan, malapit lang sa parking lot eh. Tapos nung dumating siya, we wondered why nag-stop yung escalator, then i joked, "Baka andiyan na si Japoy", surprisingly, nag-dilang-anghel yata ako. So, nagpa-autograph nanaman kami sa kanya, this time, malapitan nanaman tulad nung sa backstage incident. Hindi kami nahirapan kasi nga wala naman masyadong nakakakilala sa kanya, so pina-autograph namin yung isang page ng Starstudio na magazine May 2004 issue, yung featured siya. In fairness, maganda yung handwriting niya, hehehe... With the Date of course and his name... Tapos on the afternoon, we spent almost the whole time at the backstage, andun lang siya, very reachable. Tapos habang pumapasyal kami sa SM muntik na nga kaming magkabangga eh, kasi we were both heading to the same direction, medyo nahagip niya ang shoulder ko, matangkad kasi siya ng konti sa akin eh. Tapos his friend (Jasper) told me na gusto daw niya ng souvenir from Davao, so, what did we do? Bumili talaga kami ng choker and keychain. Afterwards, we gave it to him personally, then we told him, "Advance Happy B-day!!!", then he told us with sparkling eyes, "Oi, thank you.... Thank you talaga ha...", then afterwards, we bid him goodbye!!! The story ended pero i just wanna point out that, dreams do come true... Tingnan mo kami ng mga friends ko. O diba??? Astig??? Baka may nakalimutan pa ako, i'll post it later kung maalala ko... hehehe…
6:08 PM