Love, Dreams, Hope, Peace, Life ❤️ 💭 🙏 ☮️ 🧬

Exactly a month ago today, I was in Boston about to see David Archuleta for the first time.

Outside of the Philippines, that is.

The main reason I came to be in Boston was surreal in itself (more on that later). Even more so, however, was the fact that the stars aligned for me to be there right when David had a tour stop in the city for his 2019 Spring Tour to celebrate music from his Postcards in the Sky album.

Now this album is a very special one for me for several reasons:

1. It was the very first full-length album that David released after his two-year hiatus from the music industry to serve his church as a missionary in Chile.
2. He released this album on the very same day that he held his first ever concert back here in the Philippines after his career hiatus, and we were blessed to be part of the concert crowd to which he performed his songs from the album live for the very first time.
3. Most importantly, he came to visit the Philippines in 2017 to promote this album at just the time when I really thought I was never gonna be able to hear his music again because of my sudden hearing decline due to brain tumors from my genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2).

Suffice it to say that David always, always comes at a time when I am most in need of his music and words of inspiration. A messenger of God, dare I say.

He gave me words of hope when I met him in the Wish Bus back in 2017.

He visited again in November last year where he again blessed the Filipino fans to be among the first people to hear his new Christmas music from his Winter in the Air album live. The very next day, I flew to Europe in pursuit of my dream to use my background in science to help #EndNF2.

And this time, I saw him again just right before the Big Day when we gathered together the foremost experts in NF2 and gene therapy in Boston for a first-of-its-kind consortium to brainstorm for a gene therapy treatment for NF2.

Love

My love for science is probably matched by my love for all things David Archuleta.

The day of his show in Boston coincided with the last day of the Gene Therapy for Rare Disorders conference that we also attended prior to the big NF2 meeting the next day. Coming from the conference, I didn't anticipate that there would be traffic at that hour - I thought traffic is only a thing that existed in Manila - and it was almost 5 PM so I thought they would have closed the doors on me already when I arrive! Fortunately I got there with five minutes to spare, and who should greet me at the door but Kari herself? I was out of breath from running from the street to catch the show, but the sight of her welcoming me to the venue was the best kind of relief indeed.

David singing Postcards in the Sky during the VIP session in Boston

Since it's my first time to attend a VIP session ever, I didn't really know what to expect, although I asked a few fan friends how it generally goes. Still in disbelief that I was actually there about to see David, I walked inside the venue and found a seat right in the middle with a good view of the stage.

David then came out and greeted the audience before asking where everyone in the room came from - Massachusetts, Utah, Canada. Hey David, I'm here, all the way from the Philippines! I wanted to say, but kept quiet in my seat, just soaking it all in. He then sang two songs, an acoustic version of his very own Postcards in the Sky and I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys. I wasn't sure what the protocol was in the venue with regards to taking videos and pictures, and anyway I didn't want to be too obtrusive to anyone, hence the angle of my videos below.

Postcards in the Sky - Boston VIP

I Want It That Way - Boston VIP

Afterwards was the Q&A session with Kari handpicking people from the audience to ask David a question. I initially held my hand up and then put it down again, just curious about what people had in mind to ask him. I hadn't bothered to raise my hand again so I was surprised when Kari called on me after a few people already asked their own questions. "What, me?" I asked. She said yes, so I then turned to David and said, "Hi, David, nandito ako!" Yep, I'm here! "I'm from the Philippines," I blurted out, to which he seemed surprised.

I then asked him if he has ever felt stuck in his career or life in general, and what he does to pick himself up and move forward in spite of it.

His answer went something along the lines of him actually feeling stuck a lot in life, like half of the time he feels that way, he says. But his advice was to keep in mind that there's always a way forward. What he does in times like that is to just seek out his family and his friends for advice and guidance. He really emphasized the importance of having people you trust who are there to support you and help you make decisions so that you can do something and move forward from that place of being stuck. I really appreciated that answer from him as it's something that I also really needed advice on at this point. So thank you, David.

Dreams

After the Q&A came the meet and greet session with David. There was quite a number of people at that VIP session, maybe 25 to 30. Again clueless, I didn't really know how much time each person will be given but apparently the answer is not a lot, haha. When it was finally my turn, I gave Kari and David each a gift bag of treats from Manila. I asked David if he's ever had polvoron before, to which he said yes (after staring at the box for a few seconds, lol  🐢 ).

Kari then took my photo with David. I want to thank her for always being considerate of the fans, at this point for taking two photos to make sure they come out fine, and at the point after this photo was taken. 

I wanted to tell David that his words to me back in the Wish Bus, when he told me that God is with me and that He is taking care of me, and that he (David) is praying for me really helped me through that difficult season while I was recently suffering from my hearing loss. That I was there in Boston to help spread that light that he shone on me to others also suffering from the same condition that I have. That I was thankful for him having that show in Boston, again at just the right time. And a few other things, haha.

I simply had a lot to say! I was still rambling and the staff were already whisking me off for the next person to have their turn. David's face was like, he's still listening but he's sorry that I have to give way already. (Update: I just learned from Snowangelz/Deb aka TOfan that David was actually on vocal rest during the M&G and couldn't talk (didn't hear that) - so it makes more sense now that he barely said a word through all my rambling lol) I understand completely of course, there really just wasn't a lot of time. I apologized and told him to just please read the postcards I included in my gift, before walking away in a dream-like state. What just happened?!

Hope

There were still a couple of hours to spare between the VIP session and the main show. I found a seat at the City Winery lobby, still reeling from having just met David.

A little later, I went inside and found my designated seat. I was surprised to find a postcard on my table, and upon glancing around I saw that every seat had a postcard on them. "Never Give Up Hope", mine said. How fitting.

Flipping the postcard, there were instructions there saying that it was a planned surprise for David during the show. We were to hold them up during Postcards in the Sky! I thought it was a wonderful idea, and later at the show it really was a pleasant surprise for David to see all those postcards in the audience. 

Later on, I learned that the ladies responsible for this wonderful surprise were actually hanging out in the City Winery lobby earlier as well while preparing to give out the postcards after the VIP session. Here they are below,  Amanda (@LangoneLady), Ashley (@Palrice8), and Melissa (@melissad309). Kudos to the three of you for pulling this awesome surprise off! Pic credit to Ashley here, who was delighted when she learned that I took my postcard from them all the way back home to the Philippines. Also that's me at the back, to the right, during my dreamlike state after meeting David, haha.

Amanda (@LangoneLady), Ashley (@Palrice8), and Melissa (@melissad309) with their postcard surprise for David, and me at the back contemplating what just happened during the VIP session lol (pic credits to Ashley)

Before the show started, I also got to meet a few new fan friends! I love how friendly everyone is, and how we immediately got along even though I am from halfway around the world and some of them I only "met" recently before the show through FOD! If you're reading this, hello Vidya, Sheila, and Kelley! I am really glad to have met you all in Boston. :)

Vidya!

Sheila!

Kelley!

Peace

Showtime! Again it seemed that not a lot of people were taking photos and videos during the show, at least from where I was sitting. So I opted not to have a camera out the whole time as well aside from a few snippets, and just enjoyed the peace and freedom from being tethered to gadgets while watching the concert. If you can call singing along to every song and cheering and clapping and yes, some screaming, peace. Which I do haha, I really thoroughly enjoyed the whole concert experience as it is!

I didn't really check his set list in the previous shows just so I'd take everything in for the first time, and wow what a refreshing experience it was! I really loved it when he included old songs from the first album, particularly Waiting for Yesterday. The Shallow cover was stellar too, and of course his new song Paralyzed is simply amazing, I can't wait for it to be released along with all the new songs he's been working on for the next album! Shine a Light was a real highlight too, figuratively and literally when the whole audience waved their torch lights while singing along with David.

From the inspiring messages that he shared between songs, to his unmatched energy as he performed, he really was in his element and I could honestly say that it was David's best tour yet!

 

Up All Night

Postcards in the Sky

Waiting in the Stars

Waiting for Yesterday

Shallow

Crush

Life

I don't know what else to say - Can we please do it again? All good things must come to an end though, and we have to move forward in life. I am truly glad to have this memorable meeting and show to look back to though. And I really really want to thank God first and foremost for letting me experience being part of this spring tour against all odds, and all the people who made this whole trip to Boston possible!

Until next time, David!

What? Show is over? :(

Me after the awesome show in Boston!

Love, dreams, hope, peace, life

Something to remind me that it was all real

#postcardhappiness #PostcardsintheSky

Right before I got a ride to the airport to fly back to the Philippines, I unintentionally made it back to this place! Thank you for the awesome memories, City Winery Boston!