The Kobe Bryant Experience

I was just waiting for JC at Powerbooks so we can get home together, what followed was a series of fortunate events. When he arrived at Powerbooks he immediately told me about all the mall security lining up outside as if someone very important was coming, so mega usisa naman kami kung the who ang VIP na yon. Nasa cinema ang kaguluhan and from the people milling around we overheard that it was Kobe Bryant. I did not believe at first cos I thought he wasn't here (that time) yet but then after running towards the escalator going up cinema 3, we got a confirmation from this (lucky) lady and her son who got a photo of Kobe on her iPhone!

HOMG!


I'm not a fan of Kobe pero walangya Kobe Bryant is the Kobe Bryant! Ilang tao lang ba ang nabibiyaan ng pagkakataon to be at the same place with him? Uhmm, hindi ko rin alam basta alam ko lahat kami na nasa Shangri-la nung gabing yun e maswerte.

He (and his entourage) was at Cinema 3 watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 (stalker mode on!) and with a quick calculation estimated that he'll be out at around 12.30am. Should we wait for 2 and a half hours to see him? Will we see him naman kaya talaga!? The Cheese was ok with it and I was quite thankful that I brought my laptop with me so he can watch the 2 remaining GoT episodes he hasn't watched yet (and keep him busy too). At saan pa ba tatambay kundi sa Starbucks! I'm not a Starbucks or coffee person but that time it seemed to be our best option to pass up the time.

In fairness, nakakakaba maghintay kay Kobe cos all these ugly thoughts kept on creeping up in my head. What if umalis sya ng maaga? What if sa ibang daan sya dumaan? What if di kami palapitin? Aba it would really suck big time cos we waited two and a half hours ha.

Starbucks closes at 12, so we hung out in the snacks area for a while until the guard also whisked us away. But we, along with the crew of Claw Daddy, Sumo Sam, cinemas, etc remained inside. Pakalat kalat lang kami while nervously waiting for 12.30 to roll.

Ang pinakamalungkot na narinig ko nang gabing yun "bawal mag-picture". Sabi yan ni kuya guard. Masunurin ako so, wala talagang picture. Ayokong madyaryo as pasaway no!

Around 12.15 bumababa na sila sa escalator my gaaad takbuhan ang ganap. Sad to say manong guard didn't even let us come near them. ANG LAYO NA NILA, NAG-ELEVATOR PA! Kamote.

Yun na ang pinakamabilis na pagbaba ko ng escalator/hagdan from sixth floor just to catch him on level 1. At mabait si Lord kasi naabutan namin sya, saktong palabas pa lang ng elev. Again, manong guard told us not to take photos so I didn't.

Then they all suddenly stopped in front of NBS. I dunno who he was but this guy (from Kobe's entourage) ran up to a Pinoy guy and was fussing at his camera. Deleting photos? Wow pare heavy. MEHGANONG GANAP.

But man whoever you are I thank you cos if not for you they wouldn't be standing there for about what? 2 minutes?

KOBE BRYANT, so near yet so far. I was grinning like mad and Kobe was like ___. Dedma lang. Poker face forever!

And when they finally moved towards the gate, JC and I were following behind them, 2 or 3 feet man that's how close we got to him. JC and I felt like we were part of his entourage sa sobrang close hahaha.

Ang tumambad samin palabas? Sandamakmak na mobile phones and cameras aimed at him. Dang, sana pala sa labas na lang kami naghintay talaga at least dun pwede mag-picture haha.

On the other hand, okay lang din. At least nakita pa rin namin sya. We may not have the photos to prove it pero malaki ang chance na kasama kami sa picture na kinuha nyo kay Kobe lol. It was only outside where I finally remembered to take a video of him. Sorry likod lang nya ang kita pero promise sya talaga yan!

Ladies and gentleman, I present you Kobe's back. Erm, back of Kobe's head lang pala pambihira: