Adam & Anna in paradise: The prequel

We are absolutely amused at how this business of prequel has caught the entertainment sector by storm. In the international scene, the Hobbit prequel to the Lord of the Rings of J.R.R. Tolkien is the most successful. Locally, Kimmy Dora: Ang Kiyemeng Prequel is a similarly ambitious venture, add to the fact that it is told through comedy, a much more difficult medium.

When we first met Adam Brown, we absolutely had zero information on him apart from him having met Anna Fegi on a ship where she was a singer and he was a drummer. Who was this white guy? We wondered, as many others did. Did he know what he was getting into? Anna, after all, was a much talented if impulsive singer, with spurts of brilliant inspiration that often get her into trouble.

Meeting Anna after almost a year of marriage, we were astounded at the change in her. What was it that Adam had that had brought about a new Anna? We decided to ask him through e-mail some personal questions. In keeping with the fad of the season, we shall call Adam’s answers, The Prequel.

How long did it take for you both to get into a relationship? “We first met in July 2010, but we didn’t start dating until December. She was in a relationship; I went home on vacation from the ship and when I came back in October she was single. We started hanging out as friends first and then started becoming more serious in late November.

“Working on an international cruise ship led to some incredibly unique dating experiences, though. We rode four-wheelers in Santorini, Greece and then a few days later, we could have pizza and coffee in Italy…then crepes in France.

“I haven’t had that many girlfriends in the past. The ship is not a place where many serious relationships start and I don’t like to start a relationship unless I can see it going somewhere in the future.”

That was enough information we needed, except for the fact that the Adam we had thought of as simply a drummer, is much more than that. We told Adam how Anna broadcasts to everyone within hearing distance how decorated he is academically, and asked if that embarrasses him. His response was quick and simple. “My bachelor’s degree is a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, and my masters a Master of Science in Education with a Specialization in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.”

 We later learned that while Adam was in college, he taught different school bands, arranged music for them and worked at a Guitar Center store, which belonged to a large music retail chain in the US. His first job after graduating from college for five years was as a high school music teacher, teaching band music, drumline, indoor drumline, percussion ensemble, guitar classes and choral music.

“I started working on international cruise ships in 2008 after I left the education world. I wanted to focus more on playing and auditioned for Royal Caribbean and was accepted on what was the largest cruise ship in the world based out of Miami, Florida.” On his second contract, Adam was promoted to musical director for the ship. On his third contract, he was assigned to a different ship and there he met Anna who was part of a special, handpicked cast to install a full production show Broadway-style on the ship.          

Starting out at 16 by giving private music lessons to kids in his school district, Adam has been a teacher ever since. Anna had met the entire Brown family whose ancestry is traceable to Germany on both sides. They are American citizens who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Adam was born. Adam’s parents still live in a suburb of Cincinnati, where Adam grew up.

Anna and Adam will return to the cruise ship for two contracts to raise money, and return to put up a School for Music and Performing Arts in Cebu. And that is where the dream and the love story will merge as one.

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