the day after

came from our ministry's party today (held in bulacan). it was a combined christmas party and bday celebration. well, it turned out mostly to be a bday tribute to our musical director, bro rannie, who's been a major part of all of us in the ministry :)

i'm too tired to write anything about the party (consecutive sleepless nights do not help much, you know).. so i'm just gonna post the "surprise" article i wrote for bro rannie on the newsletter last wednesday.

Mellow Tunes from a Mellowing Artist

“The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.” (English Proverb)

He’s not exactly a fiddler (and he’s not *that* old), but the quote applies :-) Because in two days, he’s turning a year older.. a year wiser.. a year.. sweeter?! Hehe.. and hopefully, the melody he plays will sound even sweeter. Yup, on Friday, 05 January, our musical director Bro. Rannie Bello will be ** years old.

Ok, so we’re not mentioning his exact age in this column (baka ayaw niya ipaaalam eh). But here are some interesting facts about Bro. Rannie that we’re going to spill:

* His full name is Ronaldo Y. Bello; but most everyone in Rivers calls him Bro. Rannie

* He studied Engineering before pursuing his interest in Music

* He started serving in Rivers in 1994.

* Bro. Rannie does not eat spaghetti; and he avoids mayonnaise like the plague

* He loves inihaw and carinderia food, though :-)

* He drinks.. pero hindi siya nalalasing (nanlalasing lang, hehe.. joke!)

* Bro. Rannie avoids drinking coffee, especially before singing - he says it can cause bad breath :p

* He always reminds us to bring our toothbrush & toothpaste.. and to have mints and chewing gums in our bags :p

* He takes *really* good care of his hands. Hindi niyo ‘yan mapapagbuhat ng mabibigat na bagay!

* He prefers wearing light-colored shirts.

* One of his favorite roles is playing “matchmaker” (ask ‘Bespren Heidi’ at your own risk, hehehe)

* Bro. Rannie frequents Megamall’s Cyberzone before going to the prayer meeting venue

* He always brings his cell phone and his trusty iPod with him wherever he goes :-)

* And here are some of Bro. Rannie’s famous lines,through the years:

1) “Sunod na ulitin niyo ‘yan magwo-walk out na talaga ako. Huwag niyo ‘kong subukan..” - 1997
(this applies to *all* our misdemeanors -walang lyrics/clearbook/recorder, ‘pag late kami o madaldal, etc. etc. scary!!)

2) “Hindi ‘shePHerd’ ang basa diyan! ‘shePerd!’ Silent H! Ang kulit! Sabihin mo nga.. ‘shePerd, shePerd..’” - 1998
(while practicing for a service in Cebu)

3) “Kumain nga kayo ng iodized salt!!” - 1999
(kasi daw mabagal kaming kumuha ng tono.. kailangan tumalino nang kaunti, hehe)

4) “Ano, wala kang papel? ‘Di ba may tshirt ka? Sige, diyan mo isulat ‘yung lyrics mo..” - 2000
(sa isang kawawang member na natataranta kakahanap ng notebook dahil nag-spot check si Bro. Rannie habang nagagalit. Scary pa rin!)

5) “Buhatin niyo naman.. tunog patay eh!”- 2001
(while teaching us vocal techniques)

6) “Konting bilog pa! Masyadong bikaka!” - 2002
(with matching hand gestures and ‘yawning’ demonstrations.. still while teaching us vocal techniques)

7) “Para kayong mga isda..” - 2003
(kapag hindi tama ang lyrics na kinakanta namin)

8) “Alam niyo na’ng gagawin niyo ha..” - 2004
(may kasama pang kindat at ‘killer smile’ hahahaha! inside joke ito sa ministry, para sa mga nag-aabsent dahil nagbabakasyon abroad)

9) “Actually, we don’t like to call it performance.. what we do is service” - 2006
(habang iniinterview siya sa MoA carolling)

10) “For our last song, we would like to greet you ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’..” – Christmas Caroling in Bulacan, 2006
(sabay ngiti dahil na-realize niyang “redundant” ‘yung sinabi niya, hehehe.. peace, bro! glad to know you can laugh at yourself :p)

These are glimpses of Bro. Rannie through the years. And most of us in the music ministry can attest to the fact that he has, indeed, mellowed. Oh, he’s still able to instill fear and trembling in us at times (lalo na kapag may solo/quartet).. but Bro. Rannie has bonded with the group enough to realize that he doesn’t need to shout and be suplado/masungit for us to listen to him. Usually, just one ‘tiger look’ is enough to silence us, hehehe :-)

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune. And as years go by, Bro. Rannie’s tunes and temperament (sige na nga, pati na rin ‘looks’.. bday mo naman eh, hehehe), just keep getting better :-)

To Bro. Rannie.. we celebrate and rejoice with you on your special day. And we thank the Lord for blessing the community with your talent, dedication, discipline and inspiration. May the years be kind to you.. and may you, in turn, continue to be kind to us, hehehe :-)

Happy, happy birthday, with love from all of us!