a night of firsts and a mouthful of SPIT

saw SPIT last night. amazingly talented group of people. genuinely smart comedy, yet still brimming with delightfully stupid jokes. absolute loads of fun. possibly not for the terminally anti-fun-and-happiness-i-hate-everyone-type, though i'm pretty sure they got one particularly grumpy hold-out to break into a genuine smile in the end.

they had the full cast on last night, apparently not something that happens every show. so it was a real treat.

i was surprised and delighted to find a familiar face in the cast. Jay Ignacio has always been a funny guy, and it's great to see he's finally gone public.

if you want to catch them, it's your last chance this month next week. they take July off, and may possibly be back in August, unless they tour the South, if anything they say is to be believed.

Mag:net cafe along Katipunan, Thurs, P150 cover with 1 free drink. worth every penny.

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it was my friend Nikki the Yellow Paperclip Girl (see links) who invited us, sending out text messages just the night before. she'd somehow reserved a table for us, so we got to sit right up front by the stage.

Mabel and i got to the place first, and i honestly had no idea who to expect would be joining us at the table.

oddly enough, we were all connected to within the requisite six degrees, even without going through Nikki. well, ok, i was definitely connected to within the requisite six degrees with a couple of them (the appropriately alliterative pair of Martin and Marielle), but i wouldn't be surprised if the rule held true with everyone else.

Martin Nanawa is the first professional fundraiser i've ever met. a freelancer, he's very passionate about his job, and it really is pretty cool. i rarely meet people who really, honestly love their jobs, and Martin is one of the few. two degrees through being the cousin of one of my closest friends, Paeng, bloke taking up courses in France for a master's degree. i was hoping he'd be in Spore City when i was there, but he'd taken of to take a few units or whatever you call it in the Land of Tasty Onions.

Marielle Nadal does graphic design, and, little opportunist that i am, got her card, hoping to someday get her to illustrate one of my books. it's just one of those things i've always wanted to do, to collaborate with a truly talented artist. two two-degree degrees adding up to a one (these things don't work with proper mathematics) by her sister, who was a batchmate of mine in high school, and her brother, who was a batchmate in medical school.

i didn't get a chance to chat up the lovely Cricket, so for purposes of this entry, she must remain a mystery, connected through an unknown number of degrees (again not counting the Nikki-line). i'm pretty sure i've met her before, or know her from somewhere. if i'm missing something, i would appreciate someone dropping me a clue.

many of the faces on stage were familiar, too. i'm pretty sure i don't know them personally, but have either met them or encountered them in person before.

synchronicity screws up my sense of reality, making people and places feel as if they've all happened (to me) before.

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lastly, Mabel and i finally got our autographed copy of The Yellow Paperclip from Nikki. it's a book i cannot recommend enough for kids, people who have kids, people who may as well be kids, people who need to be kids.

thanks Nikki! absolutely lovely book, and fantastic call with the SPIT thing.