October 12, 2020

After our morning coffee today while setting my space ready for work, I noticed Larry, my daughter's boyfriend, posted an Instagram story. 

My daughter, my son, and most of their friends are not active on social media, and that includes Larry.

His Instagram story said that he was on a Zoom call with Radiohead, the rock band. 

OMG! That is totally insane!

"Creep", the band's debut song in the early 90s is one of my favorites. In fact, it's on my Spotify playlist under Karaoke Battle. 

Hahahaha. 

I study songs, and I perform them in my garden. My plants are my big imaginary crowd. Our next door neighbor thought I sang in a band because he always hears me sing. 

Sometimes, I challenge my little sister for Karaoke Battle on Viber.

Twelve years ago, I begged my kids to sing it for me for my birthday. Of course, the lyrics were edited to be appropriate for children.

   

Among all the covers of Creep, excluding my kids',  I love Kelly Clarkson's.

 

She's so good!

Back to Larry's Zoom call, he said they're going to do an episode of Radiohead on their podcast. 

He's one of the producers of NPR's Throughline Podcast. If you love listening to podcasts about history, follow them on Spotify or on their website. 

I can't wait!

P.S. The post office today was mobbed, and I was only able to drop 1 package instead of 10 because I ran out of ink on my printer. Thankfully, I didn't have to travel far to buy ink because the office supply store is in the same shopping complex as the post office. 

Shipping packages to customers will, therefore, resume tomorrow. 

Too Late, Chocolate!

The mister and I were listening to an NPR (National Public Radio) morning radio program. The hosts were talking about food and culture and their influences. 

One caller, originally from North Carolina, is currently living in Maryland and was talking about barbecue. He was sharing about Pit Beef, and he said that it's a Baltimore thing. He was from a state famous for American barbecue. 

We've never heard of this even though we have been living in Maryland for  almost 24 years. Baltimore is less than an hour away, and we have been there countless times.

The mister teased me about it. 

 "Let's go to Baltimore and get Pit Beef sandwich!"

 "Too late, chocolate!" I answered.

Hehehehe.

My most favorite meat was beef until 2015 when I omitted meat in my diet. When we go to restaurants, I would always look for any beef dishes first. Always!

I have decided to eat plants for health reasons.

I'd get a terrible tummy ache for days if I eat beef now, plus the smell of the meat is, for me, too strong. 

Shy no more?

Right before the turn of the New Year, the young lady's tratu (boyfriend) Larry came to spend that part of the holidays with us. This isn't his first time celebrating with us, but his third time.

He was working remotely from our dining room.  His office is in New York. Yna was peeking at his work on his laptop, and all of a sudden, the lady came rushing to the family room from the living room, and blurted out...

"PA! PA! You should read this line from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book for their podcast."

Well, if you don't personally know the mister, he is really shy---a polar opposite of me. 

Yna’s tratu had actually asked her if the mister would be interested in doing a voice over for their show. He said that the mister’s soft, even voice would be perfect for the lines, and Jay is also a big fan of Marquez’s books.

While I was cooking, Yna begged me to convince her father. With all my faith, power, and might, I told him...

"Jay, like what I have been telling Tata (my sister in Australia), let us do the impossible for 2020. Doing a voice over is something new for you. Do it! It's not something you'll do in front of a crowd."

He wasn't convinced yet. Yna asked me to talk to him more. So, I added...

"Do you know anyone who works for a radio station or any media as big as NPR? Do you know anyone who'll have the same opportunity and experience as this? Just remember, a lot of our friends doesn't even know what NPR is."

It's the truth. I don't know a lot of people who know about the National Public Radio (NPR), which is one of the many Apex companies in America. The mister is a listener---from news, to old radio soap operas, to classical music. Most of all, he's a fan of Tiny Desk Concerts. With me, I listen with him on long road trips, but I am more of a podcast listener. I listen to Throughline on most of my daily afternoon walks.

"By the way, don't tell Papa that the episode is for this year's season premiere." the young lady whispered to me. 

After investing a lot of my convincing power, coupled with unlimited back massage bribery, not to forget, Yna's potent persuasion,  guess what?

He agreed to do it.

Even before the episode was published, we were all so happy, excited, and proud of the shy-no-more mister.

Early morning of January 9, Larry sent me a text message with a link of the episode for the mister's 'voice actor debut.'

Throughline is NPR's first History podcast, premiered last year in February. Yna's tratu is one of the producers.

Listen to the episode here, click play below. You can also read the transcript here.


 On the evening that the podcast was aired, I was getting ready for my bed when...

"OMG! I can't believe that Christopher  Columbus had..."

...that he had ____ !" finished the mister. 

You'll find out what it is if you listen to it. Hehehe.

My sister in Australia is a fan of the podcast now. She's listening to the first episode at this very moment. Her only wish is that it'll be available on Australia Spotify one of these days.

And also, our last name is perfectly said by the host, Rund.