Rock star

Hazel Baconga was absent for almost a week because of second degree burns she sustained after a pitcher of boiling water spontaneously exploded, scalding her inner thighs. So when she dragged me and my lunch buddies to Chimom Doval Santos' beautiful unit for a session of Rockband, I immediately said yes because I wanted to catch up with her. What a great way to celebrate the end of that Pulmonology exam, I thought—and besides, it had been a while since I last played anything.

Rockband, if it's new to you, is a game that tests your eye-hand coordination. You press colored buttons as they appear on screen, and it gets harder with more complicated color combinations and faster rhythms. What makes it all exciting is the fake experience of playing in a band. (I've never played in a band—well, technically, I have: in a rondalla group. But that doesn't sound so cool.)

The game—and our laughter—reached its climax when Carlos Cuaño and Bon Buño decided to compete against each other. While both of them got high scores in the vocals, they weren't exactly gifted in coordinating their upper limbs, as opposed to Casti Castillo and Carlo De Guzman who played it effortlessly.






Casti and Miguel's laughter. Priceless.



Didn't I tell you famous people were with us, too? Like Justin Beiber Bieber . . .



And Jiro Manio.



My kid brother, Sean, who plays in a band aptly called Profilaksis (they're a group of dentistry students), will be so proud of me when he sees these pictures. Finally, a rock star for a brother.





Just don't ask my scores.

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UPDATE. February 5, 2011. Bon Buño's rendition of "You Give Love a Bad Name." He could be the next Bon Jovi, for all we know.