Punzi's Corner Blog

On to another personal iBlog 3 story.

Again, if you have been sticking around this blog long enough, I have three general passions (actually, I have four but the last one is unbloggable... I'll give you one guess what that one is...). These are the law, technology and music. As a matter of fact, I'm seriously thinking of buying my own domain name and spinning off all of these passions into their separate blogs. I already did the law part in Semper Fidelis. And I partially serve my technology passion through the Pinoy Tech Blog.

You can lump into law practice (which I still enjoy even after more than 10 years, through there are a lot of pitfalls) my technical writing and the continual practice to perfect that craft through blawging. You can lump the internet (including personal blogging), video games and my gadgets in my technology passion.

But the point of this entry is my passion for music. My 80G ViPod is about half full, 90% music. My choir duties and my chamber group have pushed by flute playing to the next level. And I'm slowly improving in my saxophone playing, as in, I can already play some songs already.

And it's only my music that I have not been really blogging about.

Unknown to many, iBlog 3 was a chance for the merger of my passions for choir and blogging. Mr. Norman Agatep, the Managing Director of Euro RSCG Manila gave a talk to the bloggers about their role in marketing as the emerging prosumer.

But unknown to most of the crowd there (or except to me, I like to think), Mr. Agatep is to Philippine Contemporary Liturgical Music as Yuga is to Philippine blogging. I'd like to call him a choir god like I call Yuga a blog god, but in this context, that's using His name in vain. But this fact was just mentioned in passing when he was introduced to the audience.

If you don't know, Mr. Norman Agatep, along with two other fellows named Jandi Arboleda and Fr. Manoling Francisco, S.J., are responsible for most of the contemporary songs we sing in mass today. These three people are the founders of the Bukas Palad Music Ministry, responsible for songs like Hindi Kita Malilimutan (I Will Never Forget You), Tanging Yaman (My Only Treasure) and Sa 'Yo Lamang (Only Yours), to name a few...

It was through the Bukas Palad Messageboards that my other choir, the BPOCC was formed.

So you don't know what it was like for me to introduce myself to him. Sure, we have communicated in the messageboards and we have some mutual friends but I have not met him in person until iBlog 3. It was like meeting Fr. Mano himself... and they were so similar in demeanor. They're so humble despite their status...

And he was genuinely glad to also meet me in person... and I know we will meet again... because he will attend the BPOCC choir service at the EDSA Shrine one of these days...

I can't wait.