Four the sake of posting today

Got this from Friendster:

Four jobs you’ve had in your life: counter girl at Kentucky Fried Chicken, legislator’s spin doctor, newspaper reporter, casino dealer. (in truth, I”ve had more than a dozen jobs in all)

Four places you’ve been on vacation: Boracay, Palawan, Baguio City Camp John Hay and Punta Fuego ~ all in the Philippines

Four of your favorite movies in recent memory: The Interpreter, Panic Room, Message in a Bottle, Closer

Four TV shows you love to watch: back episodes of Friends, Sex & the City; Desperate Housewives … & that’s all ( am a grossly-deprived TV watcher by guess who)

Four websites you visit daily: Yahoo, Epicurious, Gizmodo and the newly-designed Manila Bulletin Online (sipsep! este, plugging pala)

Four of your favorite foods: noodles (any kind), cinnamon rolls, adobo, real tender prime rib steak

Four places you’d rather be: Boracay!, a spa for some invigorating massage, a coffeeshop lazily sipping my daily poison while dunking my fork on some melt-in-the-mouth tiramisu, in bed with my vibrator a damn good lover.

Go ahead, tag yourself if you like.

Narnia-fied!

Maybe this poor blogger doesn’t watch movies every so often or maybe because it was simply good. Whatever the reason, I thoroughly enjoyed watching “The Chronicles of Narnia” at SM Megamall over the weekend. Oftentimes, I get to read the book before watching the movie but this is one instance when I now want to buy the book just because I enjoyed the movie.

Narnia is a captivating tale of treachery, ambition and greed and how righteousness rules above it all. The cinematography and special effects were simply excellent. My favorite characters in the movie were the child Lucy, the White Witch played by Tilda Swinton and all those talking animals. Of Lucy, I said to my seatmate “meron din palang foreigner na pango,” (hehe) and the White Witch was such a class act in portraying herself as a villainess that she almost looked like a rock star.

I don’t know what the movie’s rating was but I almost thought of bringing my son. It turned out there were some violent scenes. Gladly, my friend N was willing enough to accompany me to the movie screening ~ may movie companion at free dinner na, may driver pa, haha. Thanks, N!

Some excerpts from our conversations:

N (on the scene where Peter, Susan and Lucy swim together on the river on a rock of ice): Awshucks, ang lamig nyan!
Ajay: “Hindi malamig yan. Pelikula lang yan eh.”

Ajay: Naku, pag nabuhay pa uli ang patay na yan, Pinoy movie na ito.”
N: Ganun din naman sa Lord of the Rings me nabuhay na patay.
Ajay to herself: ohwell, at least ito may rationale kung bakit risen from the dead, unlike Pinoy movies na ridiculous ang dahilan ng pagkabuhay (aaargh)

N: what’s your favorite quote from the movie?
Ajay: I like the White Witch’s one-liners,especially “shave him!”

Reunited!

If there’s anything good that came out of my horrible vacation that just passed, it’s the fact that I got to be reunited with a few important people in my life: my college friends, members of my immediate family who came from the US, and my long-lost half-sister Jinky.

I don’t know what it is about reunions which give me the greatest joy. Aside from the obvious fact that you miss the persons concerned, there’s the excitement in starting again where you left off, the sharing of all the juiciest anecdotes you can remember, all the laughter and the food, plus physical observations you are otherwise not aware of. Common lines in these gatherings are: “whatever happened to… ??” and the dreaded “tumaba/pumayat ka ngayon ~ you gained/lost weight!!”

First, I got to see my elder sister who is based in the US with her Pinoy husband and three boys (!!) I last visited them in Missouri in 1999 when I didn’t have the twins yet and now her kids are fully grown. How time flies!! Then I finally got to meet my half-sister whom Papa was always talking about when he was still alive. After seeing her pictures in the past, I wondered about her and I am happy now that I met her, to know there is another member of the family to relate to. We have our own lives now and it is better to move on rather than be glued to the past, which is not always pleasant. Hopefully, half-sis and I will always be in touch.

Lastly, some of my college blockmates and I finally got together after 15 years. Geez, that is such a long time but having met them again, it’s nice to know that things hardly changed. Fortunately, my classmates remain simple and ‘grounded’ despite the fact that we’ve made a mark in our different careers. Benjo owns an events company, James is an advertising tophat, Ray is the right-hand man of Congressman X, Windsor writes for a Korean newspaper while some others are scattered all over Asia writing for various publications (hello! magparamdam naman kayo) Some remain single and it is only best friend Cecil and I who appeared to be rabidly maternal. And if anybody asked me what has been my greatest accomplishment all these years, probably my answer would be that am a blogger am a single mom to three kids which is like, the hardest profession in the world!

I wish I can remember something exciting about my college life but there’s hardly none. There was no boyfriend, drugs or alcohol; malls and the Internet were not yet in vogue then and so I went home straight after laboriously researching in the library. Worse, Mom just gave me enough for my transportation fare and meals in the canteen. Working early appeared to be the most sensible thing to do and the end result was that I was independent at an early age. I am most proud of the fact that I lived away from home and supported myself through college ~ there’s been no looking back since.

Anyhoo, our college reunion went well and we had a blast trying the song selections at Redbox. If not for its prime location in the heart of Greenbelt and the fact that Filipinos are suckers for karaoke, Redbox should be congratulated for having the blandest-tasting buffet this side of town. What more, they didn’t seem to be prepared for the long lines during the holidays and took a long time to refill the food. Please do better next time fellas, or better yet change the chef. Natch!

& i can’t wait to see the movie!!

Just finished reading “Memoirs of a Geisha” today which is not really much of a feat considering that many of my friends have devoured this a looong time ago. After trying in vain to borrow a copy, I finally bought one as a Christmas gift to myself (along with the Altec Lansing comp speakers, hehe)This novel by Arthur Golden is simply written and provides an interesting peek into the lives of Japan’s geishas, who are misunderstood by some as ‘glorified prostitutes.’Yet, not many people know that it takes a rigid, lifetime of training to be one, a geisha I mean. I did find most amazing the ritual of mizuage, or the men’s bidding for a young woman’s virginity and the geisha’s common aim of taking on a danna who will provide for her needs. Even though the book drones on in some parts, I loved it overall especially because am a lover of all things Oriental, especially Japan. And because this fictional story of Sayuri, the successful geisha is an enthralling account of true love.

Verdict: Now that I’ve read the book, I can’t wait to watch the movie!

‘OK rin pala ang Samsung’

While am waiting for Big Sister to buy me a new cellphone, I have been using a Samsung sliding phone and I must say it’s fun to use and is quite a revelation. You see, it has been rather convenient for me to ignore this brand but now that I’ve tried it, I may just have a Samsung for my next phone.

What I like:

The form factor is unbeatable. Most of the phone models can best be described as lean & slim and are encased in sophisticated black.

Good tactile feedback

Great sound/voice quality (though most Samsung models don’t offer radio like the other brands)

Convenient menu/shortcut keys

Phonebook for up to 1000 contacts, with photocall.

It’s tiring when I think about it but I don’t even have a digital camera now. Not even my watches and make-up kit were spared because The Evil One also ran away with them. It’s ironic how some people will be facing the new year being stressed with the work they have to do. And here is me trying to figure out ways to recover what I lost by way of buying again. Still, this doesn’t prevent me from dreaming of my favorite gadgets, right? I still believe in the saying “upon every cloud, there’s a silver lining,” trite as it may seem.

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