The allure of mediocrity

Netnet Camomot

MADONNA will finally have a concert in Manila next year. That’s the chika anyway and her Pinoy fans of course are looking forward to that.

Madonna’s longevity in show biz is directly related with her expertise in staying dedicated to her career coupled with lots and lots of practice. We would have loved to watch her concert way back in the ’80s when she was “like a virgin.” But since this is Pinas, we have to be content with watching her “mature” version as she tries to remind us that she has remained as the Madonna whose concerts and performances people still rabidly wait for.

Chris Brown, who happens to be one of my idols, will be having a concert in Manila this month. If not for his notoriety in dishonoring contracts, I would have bought tickets to that concert. But spending for plane fare and hotel fees, only to find out he won’t be arriving due to whatever reason his PR team has somehow managed to, uh, create, is not the kind of risk I can afford to take. That money is better spent on, hmmm, a Yes! mag that features the wedding of Paul Soriano and Toni Gonzaga.

Celebrities and artists like Madonna and Chris Brown do practice a lot. Their performances don’t happen overnight. Unlike that of dance numbers we, the madlang pehpohl, perform, where the actual performance is still considered as the final practice. Good thing our choreographers would merely whisper, Gakahadlok na ko sa resulta ani, instead of shouting at us to please behave already and practice.

The difference between Madonna and the madlang pehpohl is that our life doesn’t depend on our dancing prowess, that is, if you can call mediocre dancing as a prowess. Our mistakes will be forgiven since we are not real dancers anyway. We are merely trying hard to dance and the moment the audience sees us, they immediately become aware of that fact.

Artists are aware that they can improve through practice, practice, and practice. Dancers dance, singers sing. And there’s the pianist who plays the piano eight hours a day. Yes, like a nine-to-five job. Walay libre sa kalibutan. They may look like they’re having fun while performing onstage but you have no idea what they had to go through before landing on that stage. It’s passion and all that jazz. I guess office workers also need to have the passion to report for work at 9 a.m. daily otherwise they would remain asleep till lunchtime.

But it’s the mediocre performer or worker who feels he has no name and legacy to protect, so, bahala na si Batman. Bawion na lang sa costume, like as if the costume could cover up for his mistakes.

The mediocre performer is lucky because his audience will always understand and forgive him. Everything is for fun, no big deal.

The mediocre worker, however, has to face the wrath of his boss, and can be fired anytime. Much like the sales staff of an Apple products store who has no idea what he’s selling, so that the customer, who’s looking for a particular item, ends up pointing out that item to him. And then, the sales staff says, Ay, gabaligya diay mi ana? And there’s the customer, suddenly having a bout with rhinitis. Ah, chooooo! Ah, no, wala moy baligya! Walaaa!

That’s what happens when the worker merely works for the money. But then, who doesn’t? This world we live in is a harsh world if you allow it to be, so, who has the time to gain passion for his work?

Store personnel are usually on a contractual basis for a maximum of six months. With that kind of timetable, they’re merely hopping from one job to another   without gaining the familiarity required for their merchandise. Try asking them where the gift tags are, and they’ll have this blank look on their faces. I don’t know if it’s for, Gift tags? Unsa na? Or, they know what a gift tag is but has no idea where it’s displayed. Oh well. Pagtuon pud ‘pag may time.

And then, there’s the worker who has too much on his plate, so that everything he does is becoming more mediocre than his usual level of mediocrity. The secret is to not accept too many duties and responsibilities and to focus on one thing. But in this day and age of multi-tasking, do people still prefer only one thing or would rather have that many on their plate? Feeling wanted and busy ang peg.