The first time I met Gang Badoy

If I am not mistaken, the first time I met Gang Badoy was back in 2006.

It was after the 7am gig of then band Orange and Lemons and we cool call center kids decided to go to this bar in The Fort that opened at 6am for the Orange and Lemons Rock Ed gig.

I honestly do not know what Rock Ed is, and I am just slightly familiar with Orange and Lemons having known some of their songs, I decided to go with my music lover friends, smoke and drink beer after shift, while listening to the band.

There I was, with a cigarette on one hand and a beer on the other, enjoying my carefree twenties on a typical start of weekend. She was introduced at the ending part of the gig. She came in apologetically, saying that this is the first gig that she attended that started at 7am. She usually sleeps at around 5am and now had to wake up and talk to us people, call center people, about Rock Ed Philippines.

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What I remember about her, is she spoke with so much passion. Like I could literally see passion in her eyes. The way she held the mike, the way she spoke to the audience of cold, who-cares-we-are-trained-to-care-about-USA people, the way she tried to break in and hopefully tap the consciousness of these people still in their young twenties to make a difference. In between of cigarette smoke and bitter taste of warm beer, she caught something in me that I remember signing up in that volunteer sheet.

I remember getting invites to attend the rock gig they are throwing for the benefit of something something. I always decline the invite because the event is always in eastwood and I live in Makati. Plus, I am so tired from my shift that I would just prefer to just sleep in.

Years later, after getting inspired and reading Bianca Gonzales article on Gang Badoy, it rekindled my memory of her and was inspired to go after my passion. What I like most about her is she isn't from a cookie cutter and is not afraid to stand out and be different.

I wonder if I had participated as early as 2006, would I still have this nagging feeling of looking for that something that seemed to be missing? The certain je ne sais quoi that makes you giddy at 12mn that you can't wait to start the day because your reality is better than your dreams. I wonder ,would I have fire in the eyes like what I've seen in Gang Badoy's eyes the first time I met her?