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Summer seems to be ending, but the feeling doesn't have to end. Check out this list for awesome road-trip getaways!
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The NU Lady Bulldogs outlast the AdU Lady Falcons in 4 sets, taking their first trip to the Shakey's V-league finals.
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Guess the theme! Have you seen Twilight, Sister Act and these other movies? Share your thoughts and reviews in here!
read moreLast edited by Hansen_Fever; Jul 3, 2009 at 02:05 PM.
Thread 1:“The Cancer Survivor”
Thread 2: “HANdsome,SEnsitive,SENsible that ROCKS!!"
Thread 3: “Touched a million hearts.Inspired a million lives.Our GSD”
Thread 4:“WALA KANG KATULAD, sizzling with talent,looks and charm”
Thread 5:“Lucky number 7, Boy Next Door and Matinee Idol!!"
Thread 6:“Pop Matinee Idol and Hearthrob!!”
Thread 7: “Lucky number 7, Pop Matinee Idol and Hearthrob!!”
Thread 8: “Ang nag-iisang LEADING MAN ng HANSEN FEVER FAMILY!”
Thread 9:“SOLID Hansen Fever,100% Pop Matinee Idol Hearthrob!”
Thread 10:“Lights, Camera, Action! And It’s Sen’s turn to shine”
Thread 11:“The Ultimate Performer: Can Sing, Dance, Model and Act!”
Thread 12:“Unstoppable HansenFever, The Key To Stardom!!”
Thread 13:“Flying High and Living His Dream, YES You Can Do It!!”
Thread 14:“A Great Believer in Luck, A Man of Value and Honor!!”
Thread 15:“KYTHE Foundation’s Official Pop Celebrity”
Thread 16:“Sing Hey! Sing Sen! Let us be Happy this Christmas”
Thread 17:“Ready to Climb the Ladder Towards Stardom”
Thread 18:“Smooth Serenader & the Hottest Rising Star!!!”
Thread 19:“Unstoppable & Unbeatable:You'll Be Asking For More!”
Thread 20:“Our Smooth Serenader is on His Way to Stardom!”
Thread 21:“The Hottest and Sexiest Singing Sensation!”
Thread 22:“Certified handsome, talented and sexy!”
Thread 23:“Smokin' Hot Singing Sensation!!!”
Thread 24:“The Summerlicious Heartthrob!!!”
Thread 25:“Billboard Hottie, Dynamic Singer & True Gentleman!”
Thread 26:“You're not my fans...you're my FAMILY!!!”
Thread 27:“Ready to Conquer the Big Screen!!!”
Thread 28:“The Freshest Leading Man in Tinseltown!!!”
Thread 29:“The Spotlight is on Today's Hottest Sensation!!!”
Thread 30:“The Hits Just Keep On Coming!!!”
Thread 31:“To Conquer Your Hearts and TV Screens!!!”
ABS-CBN FORUM:
HANSEN “SEN” NICHOLS
http://forums.abs-cbn.com/1/2693500/ShowThread.aspx
HANSEN FEVER OFFICIAL MULTIPLY SITE
www.hansenfever.multiply.com
HANSEN FEVER YOUTUBE CHANNEL
www.youtube.com/thehansenfever
June 2 - PM Blocked
June 4 - Airing of Pinoy Bingo Night
June 5 - StarMagic Anniversary - AM&PM blocked
June 13 - Candy Magazine - Candy Cutie pictorial
June 14 - AM&PM blocked - HFF Anniversary
June 21 - ASAP '09
July 3 - ABS-CBN Foundation - Meralco Theatre
Last edited by Hansen_Fever; Jul 3, 2009 at 01:24 PM.
Last edited by Hansen_Fever; Jul 3, 2009 at 01:37 PM.
A Dreamer’s Odyssey
Pinoy Dream Academy scholar Hansen Nichols rocks life, lives his dreams, and aces one tough exam
By Gerese Axalan
The Big C Magazine
For some, winning is the ultimate measure of success. Popularly tagged as the “cancer survivor” in the ABSCBN reality show, Pinoy Dream Academy, 25-year-old Hansen “Sen” Nichols proves that real triumph is defined by disappointments, perseverance, positivity, and large doses of humble faith.
Listen to this star scholar nail the top note of one great lesson: Anyone can dream—and can unlock the power to make it all come true.
Dreaming the impossible
“Gusto ko talaga maging singer. I wanted to be a singer,” declares Hansen Nichols, when asked of his childhood ambition. Garbed in a black polo top and jeans, he resembles a dark-haired, teenage Jonny Quest, the adventurous jet-setter in the reboot series of the late ‘90s. He continues, his eyes in a playful gleam, “But if I were to go way back, as in kindergarten, I wanted to be a mailman.”
His answer gains him a questioning look, prodding him to explain. “Kasi I had a tito who was a mailman. My parents were separated, siya ‘yung parang naging dad ko,” he says, finishing with a proud grin.
Now, that’s some engaging performance—and he hasn’t even sung yet.
Born and raised in California, USA, Hansen and his siblings were no strangers to the Filipino culture and cuisine. His taste buds profess an unabashed love for adobo, tinola, and sinigang.
And his ears weren’t really that far away from the Philippines. Along with The Mickey Mouse Club (which produced Mouseketeers Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and then N Syncers Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez), a local variety show called A.S.A.P. captivated young Hansen’s full attention. His very first idols, he claims, were top Filipino performers Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, and Ariel Rivera.
From then on, Hansen knew what his lifelong passion was going to be. “I wanted to be a singer. I knew I was going to be in entertainment talaga.”
But such beautiful dreams skidded to a screeching halt when one car accident turned out to be more than a nasty collision.
A dream nearly shattered
One fateful afternoon in 2001, at the height of rush hour, Hansen was driving with his mom when his car figured in a nasty pile-up. He and his mom escaped serious injury, but the following day, Hansen found it difficult to get up—something he attributed to whiplash. His checkup, however, revealed a lump on the left side of his neck.
It was dismissed as a calcium deposit and chiropractic treatment was prescribed. But after a month of rehabilitative exercises and physical therapy, the lump persisted—to the alarm and worry of Hansen’s mother.
A battery of tests showed that the young man was in perfect health. Upon the suggestion of his doctor, Hansen consulted an endocrinologist, who then performed a fine-needle aspiration biopsy on Hansen’s thyroid.
It was papillary carcinoma, otherwise known as thyroid cancer. His case needed an immediate thyroidectomy, which meant removing the entire thyroid gland. The risky surgery came with devastating news for the aspiring singer: “You won’t be able to sing again.”
He was only 18 then.
Although shaken, the young singer stirred for a hurrah; his last performance, which happened to be with his church choir. “I postponed surgery. Sabi ko, ‘Let’s do it, because I don’t know if I’ll be able to sing [again after the surgery].’”
Braving the tough times
And a miracle happened right after the strenuous six-hour procedure. “Water—I want…water,” were the first words that Hansen uttered after regaining consciousness. He had never felt so thirsty and his throat burned from excruciating pain. This feat (he wasn’t expected to talk yet) stunned his doctors and they had to urge the young man to rest his vocal chord and allow it to heal properly.
Preparation for his treatment took a toll on the self-confessed food lover.
“I dreaded eating,” he relates. “I had to be on a low-iodine diet because my treatment [was going to involve] radioactive iodine. It was such a hard, long, process because you had to drain yourself of salt. And being young, one of my favorite things [to do was] eating. I love eating hamburgers, adobo, I love
tinola or sinigang, which requires patis.”
After a month of radical change in diet, of dining on grilled chicken, fruits, and virtually salt-free meals, Hansen was fit to undergo treatment. What the young man wasn’t prepared for was that he had to brave a week in isolation, as his treatment involved radioactive substances. Any human contact was absolutely prohibited. “I was in my hospital room all by myself. Everything nakabalot. Remote, bed, may plastic lahat, yung telepono may plastic. I was all by myself. Lungkot, super lungkot, kasi wala akong kasama.” he laments. Alongside battling loneliness, Hansen had to dissuade his mother from visiting because he couldn’t bear seeing her cry. His mother’s tears pained him more than his own condition.
A detour then back again
At one time, his chosen treatment swerved from conventional Western protocol to holistic therapy. Hansen vividly remembers driving up to the mountains and entering a bewitched realm of bottled mosses and fungi. The holistic practitioner would swing her pendulum over Hansen’s upturned hand to determine the elements his body lacked and slathered herbal ingredients onto his palm. Then he was advised to stay away from hamburgers, fast food, and even plain toothpaste!
After the brief New Age tryst, he came under the care of Dr. Francis S. Greenspan of the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Dr. Greenspan, a renowned thyroid expert and author of several books on the field, was genuinely intrigued by Hansen’s case because the disease usually afflicts older women in their 30s and 40s. Under the wise doctor’s care, Hansen knew, he stood a better chance of beating his illness.
Hansen also had his share of days when he wanted to just give up. When he found out that his cancer had spread to both his lungs, he couldn’t believe that the x-ray before him was his. Diet was enough torture for him, but being faced with one’s own mortality? “I don’t want to do [go through] that anymore. But that would last maybe, for a day,” he lets out a hearty laugh. “And then I got back to normal because I had my brother there, [and I would] pop in my favorite movies.” Hansen knew that despair was not the way to go. “People would go, ‘Ay, may cancer siya, ay kawawa naman.’ I really didn’t want people to look at me like that. I wanted to live happy.”
After a series of five treatments, Hansen was given a clean bill of health. Along with a balanced diet, medication had now become one of life’s constants. He takes a pill called synthroid, an artificial hormone, an hour before meals. And this pill he has to take for the rest of his life, an indelible reminder that he had cancer—and conquered it.
Now, the dreamer was on his way to make his dreams come true.
Entering the DreamAcademy
In 2005, Hansen came to Manila and notwithstanding his orderly Stateside upbringing, embraced the stifling weather, endless traffic, rowdy jeepneys and tricycles, bumpy roads, and, most important, the city’s warm, loving people as key parts of the culture.
Not wanting to waste any of his time, Hansen tried his luck as a potential scholar in a new ABS-CBN reality show, Pinoy Dream Academy. Chosen finalists (called scholars) would live inside an academy, be monitored on camera 24-7, and take classes under top Pinoy performers.
He was rejected on live air. “Actually, I did want to go back to the States,” he confesses, “but a lot of people were telling me, ‘You shouldn’t quit, just try.’” Hansen already had faced (and triumphed over) one tough test—a fight for his life—so a little rejection wouldn’t hurt as much. “But, I guess, doing the treatment and all made me a fighter. I came back.”
Come Season 2 in 2008, there was nothing that could stop the dreamer from achieving his goal. And achieve it, he did. Hansen recalls that his most exciting moment was finally getting in the academy. “I was the first person to be called in. I can remember that day, because everybody was nervous, I didn’t have to wait that long!” he recalls, excitement lighting up his face. “I’m actually gonna be a part of the show! They gave me my jacket, my backpack, I was officially a scholar.”
As a scholar in the academy, Hansen woke up early (in fact, he was the earliest riser in the group since he had to take his medicine), dutifully attended classes and, of course, belted out his best performances during gala nights.
One of his favorites was the one on the third gala night when he sang “Escape” by Enrique Iglesias. “I was told even then that I was in my element. At the ending, there’s this falsetto that goes [does a sample]. They told me not to do it. Hindi mo kailangan gawin ‘yan. [But] I wanna do it. I said, ‘I’m gonna do it, because that’s the signature of the song!’” The show-stopping performance got him the approval of his mentors and nearly catapulted him into the Top 3 spot that night [he ranked fourth], his grade .03 shy of the third.
One of the things that made him feel good was gaining the people’s acceptance. It was the boost, the affirmation that the singer needed to know that he truly was on the right track. Though born and raised in the States, he explains that he’s just as normal as anyone else, one who has experienced struggles and hardships, has fears, anxieties, and dreams to fulfill.
As the semester in the academy came to a close, Hansen ranked top 7. On the night of his expulsion, Hansen soldiered on with a sentimental number from Sister Act 2—one of the movies that took his mind off the rigors of his treatment (Who wouldn’t be distracted when Whoopi Goldberg was one grooving, holy woman in habit?). The song, “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” left the judges moved and the audience all teary-eyed.
Everyone’s eyes were on him since.
Dreaming forward…and beyond
On his free days, Hansen squeezes in an exercise regimen, polishes his Filipino (which, by the way, is flawless), and studies more songs, paying close attention to the styles of various performers. Recently, he was tapped by
Kythe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the needs of children with cancer, to be their Official Pop Celebrity (see Directory section for details on how to be a Kythe volunteer). The experience was a priceless opportunity for him to reach out to children, spend time with them, and bring smiles to their young faces.
Because giving is what this saintly scholar does best.
Being the grateful, down-to-earth guy that he is, Hansen doesn’t forget to give credit for his celebrity status today: to his loyal fan base, aptly named, “Hansen Fever.” He wonders, quite sincerely, why they love him, a regular guy who just wanted to sing? “I am so lucky to have them. They’re the ones who give me inspiration, make me want to go on. They’re the ones who helped me achieve my dream.”
So, is there anything left to dream for this dreamer?
“There’s more, I still want more,” he replies without missing a beat. “I wanna get into a movie, into a teleserye.” His ultimate goal? None other than to be part of the show that he loved watching when he was younger: A.S.A.P. The dreamer who has been busy dreaming and making those dreams come to true finds his final note: “Anybody can dream. Sometimes, you find the best things about yourself through mistakes and trials. How can you not dream and not be where I am today? This really was just a dream then.”
Because, for Hansen Nichols, dreams never come with an expiration date.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sen Nichols on his career and love life: ‘I take things one at a time’
by Rachelle Siazon | January 22, 2009 6:50 PM
Fresh from his trip to the States, Sen Nichols talked about his experiences while on tour with fellow ex-Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 scholar Van Roxas and Season One’s Irish Fullerton. “I did a show in San Francsico, LA, and Chicago where we performed with Gabby Concepcion (who happened to be vacationing in the States at the time). Super successful. I didn’t realize that a lot of TFC subscribers are avid viewers of Pinoy Dream Academy. I was surprised because madami silang tanong tungkol sa nangyari sa loob. Super quick lang yung preparation pero ang ganda ng outcome. Although it wasn’t an official PDA tour, parang it became a teaser for what’s going to happen next for us scholars,” he happily recounted in an interview with ABS-CBN.com.
Sen couldn’t help but feel excited about his budding showbiz career. “Grabe, kasi hindi ako nakapasok sa first season ng PDA and tinatry ko talaga to enter showbiz for three years already. But sometimes there's a right time for things to happen. And I am happy because it happened to me now. This is really what I have been waiting for.” He further revealed his upcoming projects starting this January. “I know in the coming days I have several projects coming up. I’m going to have a mall show in Cebu with Van and Liezel Garcia. I have something in Us Girls, I’m going do a shoot for MetroHim Magazine, and people should also watch out for my new endorsement. So I am taking things one at a time. I don’t know where this road will take me, but so far it’s great to be here and I feel really blessed,” he exclaimed.
The charming singer also shared that he had the chance to see his family who are based in San Francisco during the recent holiday season. “It was really great because I haven’t seen my dad and my kuya in a long time and they wanted to see me. They came out to watch the PDA show. They were there in full force to finally see me perform live. Kasi alam talaga nilang this is my dream. And there I was performing in front of them in the US. So that was just a good feeling.” Was there any special girl whom he left behind in the US? “No may naiwan lang dito. But no, no, no, I was just kidding. Right now since everything has been a whirlwind, my options are open right now. I am single and available,” he beamed.
As it happened, things didn’t work out between him and Cris Pastor, who was romantically linked to him while they were still inside the academy. “You know, sometimes when you’re stuck in the house 24/7, you see one side, but there's more you want to see in a person. And I see us in just the friendship level and I think that it is best that way,” he explained when asked why their seemingly blossoming romance suddenly vanished at the time. Sen said that it was a mutual decision to just stick to their friendship. “I think it was mutual. There were things that happened inside that made me kind of back off a little. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still going to be friends. We see each other from time to time. Actually we’re supposedly going to EnchantedKingdom but she didn’t get the chance to go with us. So it was just me, Bugoy (Drilon), Van, and Liezel,” he added.
Since he is single for now, Sen says that he’s still on the lookout for someone to date come Valentine’s Day. “Wala pa akong plans but hopefully I have a Valentines Date. Gusto ko talaga, so if there's anybody out there na kailangan ng date I am available,” he joked.
Though he has a lot of showbiz crushes, Sen couldn’t really ask them out since most of them are taken already. “Si Kim Chiu, but she's younger than me. Well crush lang naman. Kasi I was able to work with her during a certain pictorial… Ang ganda ng pag-emote niya sa camera. She just knew how to carry herself. I find Regine Angeles really pretty but I know she's taken already. Then of course, Anne Curtis. Actually nung pumasok siya sa Academy super excited ako to meet her. But I really didn’t have the chance to talk to her kasi you know how it is, we were still scholars at the time. I really didn’t have the chance to see her afterwards. But every time I see her around ABS-CBN, namemesmerize talaga ako,” he admitted.
How about someone from non-showbiz? “Not right now. Concentrate muna ako sa career ko because I want to make sure I take full advantage of it,” he promptly replied.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
From Manila Bulletin
Students and Campuses Section
Thursday; December 11, 2008
A Survivor's Story
by Jaser A. Marasigan
A few years ago Hansen Nichols thought he was singing his last song.
After surviving a car crash, this Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 scholar was diagnosed to have thyroid cancer. His doctors handed down the cruel verdict; he might not be able to sing again.
"The possibility of me losing my voice was too much because I love to sing. I'm a singer. I have a choir performance and I postponed my surgery just so I could do that last performance. I didn't know if I will be able to sing again after. I just left it in God's hands," says the 25-year-old survivor, who was recently named as Kythe Foundation's "Official Pop Celebrity".
After his stint in PDA, Hansen lent his newfound celebrity to Kythe Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit organization that caters to the psycho-social needs of children with cancer and other chronic illnesses. They are the pioneer of the Child Life Program in the Philippines.
By asking Hansen to be their spokesperson, Kythe wants to send a message to the sick children that they can still live a life and live their dreams, just like their Kuya Hansen. After all, Hansen's fit physique hardly shows any trace of his battle with cancer, except for a scar on his neck from the surgery.
"We want to let these children know that whatever it is that they want to be, they can do it without having the term 'cancer' in it. In PDA I was known as the cancer survivor but now I'm known as a survivor. You don't have to be known as just the cancer survivor anymore. You could still live a full life and be what you want even though you've been through this," he shares.
Hansen believes that stories of hope and inspiration can get these kids through tough times. Cancer survival stories, especially if they are told by the survivors themselves, are guaranteed to prop up the morale of the children and their parents.
"We're fighters here. Tell them that there is a chance for them, too. I also tell the parents that you are the support of the kids. I give credit to the kids because they are fighting for their lives at such a young age. To experience something like this is something so great. When you've gone through something like this and you beat it, you can conquer anything," he adds.
THE LONG BATTLE
Had he not encountered a car accident in 2001, Hansen wouldn't have known that he was ill. He was driving his mom home to Sacramento in California when his car crashed onto another car on the freeway. What he thought was just an ordinary neck pain, which he assumed was caused by the accident, turned out to be much worse.
"After undergoing through a lot of tests I finally get this phone call from my endocrinologist. When he told me I had cancer, parang yung buong katawan ko naging numb. I felt scared and empty. I went to my mom and told her about it. My mom cried first and then I started crying. I got so emotional because of her. And then she looks up and says, Lord bakit hindi na lang ako. I hugged her and said, mom no, no please. She was holding me so tight," recalls Hansen of what he describes as the worst phone call of his life.
During the long battle, he admits that there were a few times when he wanted to give up.
"There were times that I didn't want to do it anymore because I never really understood what I was feeling. I dreaded the diet. I dreaded the treatments, and scans, the blood work. Every morning I have to take a pill for the rest of my life. If you watched Pinoy Dream Academy, I have to wake up one hour earlier to take my medicine, I have to wait one hour before I can eat," he relates.
New Year's Day 2002, Hansen remembers locking himself in the bathroom after learning that the cancer had spread to his lungs.
"I was in the bathroom crying because I didn't know if I was going to be here the next year. I get all these news that these people are dying before me, some actor, a relative, my mom's friend. It was kind of depressing at one point. If the treatment doesn't work baka next year wala na ako. There was always that thought. I don't wanna die of cancer because I felt fine," he says.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
Prior to his cancer bout, Hansen was very much active in sports. He played basketball and volleyball, and even engaged in track and field, snow blading or roller blading.
"When I was told I couldn't do all of those anymore, that's what drove me to make it happen. Even now, I'm still battling. I'm still fighting for my dream," he says.
His body may have been held back but his spirit excelled far beyond the dreams of most of us.
"The series of events just drove me to work harder. I rushed everything but I was focused with only one goal -- get my college diploma so I could leave the US and pursue a singing career here in Manila. I got some credits early. In between treatments, I would stay home but I would be studying. I was able to finish high school and college fast," says the Economics graduate from the University of San Francisco.
SHARING HIS STORY
Hansen's involvement with Kythe Foundation has not only allowed him to make a positive impact, it has also helped him come to terms with what he has been through.
"It is hard in this position to find strength. I kind of lost a lot of years too. I was 18 then. I'm 25 now. The strength that I got was really from myself and God, and my family of course. But they couldn't really relate to me because none of them had cancer," he adds.
It took him years before he was able to speak freely about his health history. Only the family and his closest friends knew about it.
His battle against cancer was even made more difficult because it spread to his lungs. After undergoing a surgery to remove the cancer cells from his thyroid, he was still treated with radiation and was given a clean bill of health in 2006.
He realized that he needed to share his story to provide hope and inspiration. With this in mind, he entered the world of advocacy.
"Why be afraid or ashamed of it. Usually when you see a cancer patient, you always say, kawawa. I didn't want people to look at me that way. Ayoko ng kakaawaan ako. I finally shared my story because it's part of my journey as a singer. I was told I could never sing again. And here I am, singing," he says.
He describes his survival as his second lease in life. He vowed to live the life that he wants. "I'm gonna do what I want to do," he says. "I know what my family and mom has been through in life too. Maybe that determination has been instilled in me but you kinda have to find it within yourself also," he continues.
Kythe Foundation is launching an activity/comic book in February next year, in time for its anniversary celebration. The 30-page book will feature Hansen's story of survival. It will be distributed to its nine affiliated hospitals including in Tarlac, Cebu and Davao.
"The book is a way for me to be with them in some way. Para the kids can hold on to something to inspire them," he adds. "And me by simply living my dream actually proves that these kids can also do it."
Last edited by Hansen_Fever; Jul 3, 2009 at 01:36 PM.
Philippine Fashion Week | May 31, 2009
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Last edited by Hansen_Fever; Jul 3, 2009 at 02:06 PM.