Francis Magalona's December 25, 2008 photo from his blog.

The day was quite special for me since March 6 is my wife’s birthday. I woke up at 6AM to work and at 6PM I went home with 6 of my officemates laid off at exactly 6PM. Hmp.

At 12 noon, I got the news about the untimely death of Francis Magalona at The Medical City almost near Ortigas Center which is about 6 kilometers away from where I was. Thus, I started to be at ease with my work and started blogging for 6 hours until 6PM while multi-tasking via ALT-TAB.

6 indeed is the number of the day. After 6PM, I went downstairs to meet 6 former leads and managers to discuss a project for our 6 developers plus 3 other resources. I took 6 beers as a result and stopped at 9PM to fetch my wife for a dinner at the NIPA HUT in Pasig City.

I was shooting 2 birds with one stone – making the most out of the fact that it is TGI Friday and I am getting so many invitations for a bottle or two and at the same time, I have to treat my wife and my family for a celebration as well by 9PM. Hmmmm.

So I was with my office colleagues from 6PM to 9PM and headed only to allocate my 9PM-12MN for the family occasion since my wife luckily was requested to render overtime work at her office to complete a task. So I need not rush until I get the SMS that she is out. Thus, I drink, drank and got drunk but still leaving enough room to drive my way home. Well, 6 hours of after-work! If only I can split myself. 

There arrived the SMS and so I travelled 6km to pick-up my son, siblings-in-law and househelper plus my wife at 9PM and headed to our dining destination – NIPA HUT. Why there? It is a good alternative than having to go to Cloud 9 at Antipolo, Rizal to see an overlooking sight of the metropolis. Fresh air, great view and cozy ambiance. Perfect! 

We were 6 and we took a table for 6. I was with my 2 siblings-in-law, my wife, my son, me and our househelper. We took 6 dishes which again is a coincidence and left 66 pesos change as a tip at 11:22PM which is like 1+1+2+2 is again 6. Hehehe. Weird? Now I get to sound already like Jim Carrey in his “NUMBER 23″ movie. Hehehe. I am an OC with numbers and I mix it with superstition and luck. Poor me!

Well, the next part of the birthday celebration was quite different because I thought of taking the 6 of us at

March 6, 2009 - Francis Magalona's Wake at the Christ The King Church.

the wake of Francis Magalona at the Christ  The King near Green Meadows area. It is the first night of the wake and we arrived with quite a few people around almost 15 minutes past midnight (again 1+5 is 6).

There were several OB vans from various TV stations and also alot of photographers, news anchors and newspaper correspondents. Nonetheless, it was quite a solemn night. My brother-in-law and I decided to go first to see if the wake is indeed open for public viewing. Luckily, it was.

We took the line and there were 2 couples in front of us plus me and my brother-in-law so we were again 6 in the line. It took us like 6 minutes praying and checking out the crowd as we exited. Then my wife and son plus our househelp and my sister-in-law followed.

The rest of the story came quite slow as we sat forquite sometime checking out visitors both celebrities and not coming in and out of the chapel. I have taken some photos which I am posting below for your viewing. I think I got 6 shots as well. I did not bother to take photos of the celebrities nor even inside the wake out of courtesy but I took some outside which I thought would indeed show that I was there and all these were true. By the way, his wake will last until Wednesday as I overheard so tat would be like 6 days again.

The day may be quite weird for some of the coincidences mentioned but then again, I know that this day is also a day not just for mourning but also to rejoice and be hopeful for the King of Pinoy Rap has won his battle with life as he now moves with the love and comfort of God and his families and friends.

Well, I (re)started blogging when Amiel Alcantara died. I once again resumed after days of being idle but this time for Francis Magalona or Kiko since he happens to be one of my inspirations and influences during my teenage years where I was into rap and rock band gigs. It is just sad though but then again, I may say that atleast now we definitely know that INDEED HE WON THE BATTLE FOR HIS LIFE AS HE IS NOW WITH HIS CREATOR less all the pains.

I share with the feelings of his family and friends and I know that we all are. I know that he will always be in our hearts because he left a legacy more than the lyrics and melodies… he indeed FILIPINIZED the PHILIPPINES even at the very last moment. One of THE FEW, THE PROUD and THE BRAVE “MGA KABABAYAN” with the genuine markings of the ”THREE STARS AND A SUN”!!!

Thank you FRANCIS MICHAEL D. MAGALONA, SR…

Francis Magalona’s Wake at the Christ The King Church (03062009)

Wake of Francis M at the Christ The King (03062009)

OB Vans and Media at the Wake of Francis M. (03062009)

Francis Magalona’s December 25, 2008 photo from his blog.