Monday, April 16, 2007

film fest weekend

The 20th Singapore International Film Festival is on-going. Since tickets were too expensive (in Pinoy standards), we decided to just watch the short films in the free programme.

So yesterday, we went to the Goethe-Institut on Penang Road to catch six short films, three of which were made by Pinoys.
We were there a couple of minutes past 2pm. Medyo nawala pa kami at hinanap pa namin ang Goethe-Institut. The screening was held at a small AVR. Mr. Cesar Hernando, a Pinoy filmmaker, was there and he introduced us to the films.

The first movie to be shown was 35mm Man by Roxlee. Tungkol ito sa isang (baliw) guy na napupuluputan ng 35mm film. He was a metaphor for commercial and Hollywood cinema, which was threatened by digital filmmakers. Halo-halo masyado ang metaphors sa movie na ito kaya magulo. Hindi ko siya nagustuhan kasi I thought it was too literal. Parang contradictory noh? Metaphors tapos literal. Basta, magulo siya. Ang nagustuhan ko lang is yung poem ni Lourd de Veyra (ng Radioactive Sago) sa huli. Ang sabi niya sa poem sana daw we can find our happiness in the mixed metaphors in the film. Something like that.


After ng 35mm man, sunod na ipinalabas ang Renita, Renita. It was an Indonesian film naman by Tonny Trimarsanto. Tungkol ito sa isang transexual na nagpoprosti sa Jakarta. Similar ang landscape ng Jakarta sa Manila. Mahirap maging mahirap.


Sumunod ipinilabas ang short film ni Cesar Hernando, Kagat ng Dilim. It starred the uber gwapo Piolo Pascual. Tungkol ito sa Huk guerillas noong 1950s na isa isang namatay. Yung mga corpse ng mga rebels ay natatagpuan sa side ng roads at may dalawang butas sa leeg, parang kagat ng vampire. So akala nila aswang ang may dahil sa deaths. Nung si Piolo na ang papatayin, ipinakita na Office of Psychological Warfare pala ang may pakana ng killings. An American officer and his Filipino subordinate, Macapagal (hehehe) had the rebels kidnapped by soldiers then brought to a lab where their blood is sucked out through their necks. Tapos pinapakalat nila sa bayan na aswang ang may gawa. O deba? Kagat ng Dilim is a fictionalized story based on actual events. Astig!

Harap Tenang, Ada Ujian (Be Quiet, Exam in Progress) was next. This short film by Ifa Isfansyah was about a young boy preparing for his exams. He was reading about the Japanese invasion of Jakarta when an earthquake struck (the Yogyakarta earthquake of May 2006). He woke up the following morning amidst the ruins of his home. Habang nageexplore, nakita niya ang dalawang Japanese volunteers na nagpitch ng tent sa side ng road. Akala ng bata, dumating muli ang mga Hapon para sakupin ang Indonesia.

Isang araw, inattack ng bata ng tirador yung isang volunteer at sabi lumayas sila sa Jakarta. Siempre, puzzled ang volunteer pero pumayag na rin na umalis. Sinabi niya sa bata (in Japanese) na sasabihin niya sa Indonesian volunteers na nagiisa siya doon. Kinabukasan, pagkatapos ng exam ng bata, nakita niya ulit ang dalawang volunteers kasama ang ilang Indonesian rescuers. Sabi ng bata, "and you dare bring your friends here?" Hehehe.

Nakakatuwa ang movie na ito. Mas nakakatuwa kesa sa pagkwento ko. Favorite ko ito sa lahat ng pinanood namin that day.


Best Foods ang sunod na ipinalabas. This was by Filipino filmmaker Jun Sabayto. Parang MTV siya (electronica ang music) about the poor in Pinas, making do with galunggong and kanin for food.


Ang last namin pinanood was Match Made by Mirabelle Ang. Documentary ito tungkol sa isang Singaporean national na naghanap ng mapapangasawa sa Ho Chi Minh City. Nagavail si Ricky (eh Singaporean) ng services ng isang match-making agency. Ang hinahanap niya ay isang babae na willing na tumira kasama at mag-alaga sa nanay niyang may sakit. Pumili siya ng mga babae tapos nung may napili na siya, nagpakasal sila agad kinabukasan. After four days, lumipad pabalik ng Singapore si Ricky. July ito.


Si Nhahn ay isa lang sa madaming babae na gustong takasan ang poverty sa Vietnam sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakasal sa foreigner. Parang Pinas noh? Hehe. Isa siyang farm girl na malapit sa family niya and she was around 20 when she married Ricky. September siya nakalipad patungong Singapore. Unfortunately, after three months, pinauwi na siya ni Ricky sa Vietnam.
Sinubukan makapanayam muli ng filmmaker si Nhanh. Sabi ng nanay nito ay nasa Saigon daw ang babae at nagtatrabaho. Hindi na mahanap ng filmmaker si Nhanh.

Ang sad noh?

******

After ng last film, umalis na kami ni B at dumerecho sa Wisma Atria para kumain. Nakakagutom manood eh. Hehe. Kumain kami ng curry rice mula sa scissors-cut stall sa food republic. Sarap! I ordered chicken curry and talong na may garlic and tons of sili. Si baby naman sitaw, inihaw na liempo at ang favorite niyang tokwa. Yum yum!


What's masarap about this curry is it's super rich. Promise, sauce pa lang, ulam na! Hehehe. Must-try!

Ang pinartner namin sa curry rice namin ay teh tarik (pulled milk tea). Perfect!


Pagkakain, naglakad kami ni B along Orchard Road at napaibig ako sa Ice Cream Sandwich. Pinabili ko si B since di ako pwede kumain, kagat lang (dahil sinisipon ako). Hehe. Mocha chips ang pinili niyang flavor.


Pero dahil Walls (Selecta) ang kitang stall from his side, kailangan picturan din niya ako with the Magnolia manong behind me. Dun namin binili yung sandwich eh. Hehe.


******

Habang nakaupo kami ni B at kumakain ng ice cream, nilapitan kami bigla ng isang Herbalife sales person. Kahit na alam kong bebentahan niya kami ng Herbalife dietary products, nagpakuha pa rin ako ng weight, BMI etc.

Napagalaman ko na ako pala ay 66kg na! Langya, last time I checked nasa 54kg lang ako. Overweight ako ng 20kg. Ang BMI ko ay 27 something percent at ang metabolic rate ko ay 1332 percent (kailangan ko ng 1332 calories a day). Tapos ang age daw ng aking vital organs ay 44 years old na. Lahat ito ay nabasa ng kanyang machine. Tumayo lang ako (parang weighing scale except may hawakan) and jenen! Ayan na ang lahat ng numero na yan. Hehehe. Oh well, kailangan ko na talagang magdiet at exercise.

******

Ben & Jerry's free cone day ngayon! Sayang, sinisipon ako di ako pwede kumain ng ice cream. =(

BIR!!!

Matapos namin mabalitaan ito dito sa Singapore, wala kaming nadama kundi ang pagkabuyset sa inyo at sa gubyerno ng Pinas ass a whole (pun intended).

Kahit nung nasa Pilipinas pa kami, wala na kayong ginawa kundi buwisan ang mga sahod namin. Halos wala na kaming maiuwi sa pinaghirapan naming pera ngunit alam namin na responsibilidad naming magbayad ng buwis. Ayos lang sa amin yun, dahil hindi gaya ng ibang mayayamang businessman at mga artista na hindi nagbabayad ng tamang buwis, mabubuting citizens kami.

Ang prublema namin eh ANG CORRUPT NIYO!!! Pinagnanakawan niyo kami!!! TAMA BA YUN??? Pwersahan niyong sinisingil sa amin ang pera namin tapos ilalagay niyo lang sa mga bulsa niyo?! Nagpapayaman lang kayo imbis na ibalik sa amin through efficient public service ang kwartang pinaghirapan namin!

Kapag ipinasa ng napakagaling (I'm being sarcastic ok) nating mambabatas ang pagbubuwis sa mga OFWs, ewan ko na lang kung magdawalang isip pa ang mga Pinoys sa ibang bansa na irenounce ang citizenship nila just for convenience' sake. Pati ba naman ang mga Pilipino na nagsasakripisyong mapalayo sa kanilang mga pamilya, nanakawan niyo pa??? Talaga namang ANG KAKAPAL NG APOG NIYO!!!

I hate our government! I hate the BIR! I hate yooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

Bahala na si Lord sa inyo. Hmp.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

nanalo ako!

I'm so happy!

The Moleskine reporter notebook I won from PinoyCentric arrived in the mail today! Yehey!

Thanks PinoyCentric and Mr. Armand Frasco!

Nanalo ako sa kanilang caption-a-cartoon contest, Ika Nga. Check the site to know more. Sali kayo!

geeky gimik

It was B's day off yesterday. We woke up early in the morning, had breakfast and got ready as fast as we could so we can head off and meet up with Miss Malou and her family at Snow City. Nakarating naman kami sa oras. Hindi pa nga bukas ang Snow City eh. Pero tsaka na ako magpost about Snow City na hindi naman City kundi barrio.

Pag may copy na ako ng pictures.
After lunch at IMM, B convinced me to go to Science Center since he had a free pass and wala naman kaming gagawin. So go kami.

Nakakatuwa naman pala sa Science Center. Hindi lang siya basta exhibit. Interactive siya so kids don't only learn, they also have fun. Kung ganito naman pagkaturo ng Science sa mga bata, malamang ma-enganyo talaga sila mag-aral.

Una namin pinagdiskitahan ni B ang mga optical illusions sa exhibit.

Exhibit A
This exhibit looks like this through the naked eye:

Pero from the camera (na di ko alam kung nasan), ito ang makikita mo:

Buo na yung fence! Ang galing!

Exhibit B
This is the same picture.

Is it a happy woman...

...or an old and miserable man?

Exhibit C
Where's my feet?


Hindi ko na napicturan yung ibang interesting and fun exhibits dahil super dami! Kung pupunta kayo dito at may kasama kayong mga chikiting, must-see ang Science Center.

At bilang pagtatapos sa entry na ito:


Peace-sign fingers ni B. Pins ang mga yan. Ginagamit daw yan ng archaeologists para makuha ang hulma ng mga kung anumang artifacts na nahukay nila. O deba? Hehehe.

Monday, April 9, 2007

missing people

The factory girls threw a "surprise" (ewan ko kung surprise pa ito. taon-taon laging may surprise eh, hehe) Japanese-themed pantry party for Selena on her birthday last month. Marge made California maki, there were Oishi and junk food, a mini-cake from Selena's TJ, and a donut from Country Style. They had green tea, too.

I missed it.

Siempre, nasa Singapore ako. Hehe.

I miss my friends. I miss interacting and having a real relationship with them. Of course, we're friends even if we're miles apart. But still, nothing beats being just a walk-down-the-stairs away.

I guess I'll never stop missing my friends back home. Those relationships took years to build. Mahirap makahanap ng mga kasundo mo talaga. Kindred spirits, ika nga. I know I'll never find confidantes like Marge or George here. I know there will never be ultra ka-vibes lunchmates like Tin, Rhea, Tracy and Selena here, too. I accept that. Ganyan talaga ang buhay.

Minsan nakakatakot kasi ibang culture na ito. Sa Pinas nga minsan di mo pa makasundo yung mga kasama mo, pano pa dito? I don't know what kind of people I'll come across and connect with here.

Pero siguro kailangan ko na lang isipin na lahat naman ng tao, regardless of race, parepareho lang naman ang hinahanap natin. Gusto natin ang hindi tayo husgahan, ang tanggapin tayo kung ano talaga tayo, ang mapansin ang maganda sa atin.

I'm not expecting na makaron ako ng malalapit na kaibigan dito. Pero open ako sa possibility. =)

easter eaters

Happy easter!

To celebrate, B and I had lunch at
Marche at Vivo City. He wanted me to try their pork knuckles kasi it's the only one that rivals the Pinas' Crispy Pata.

When we got there, there was a short pila and we had to wait for a couple of minutes before the receptionist gave us our cards.


Parang marketplace ang Marche. Customers get swipe cards (I think they're swiped) upon check-in. All your orders will be recorded on that card, which you will then present to the cashier when you're done. I think the minimum order that should be reflected on the card is S$10. If you lose the card, you will be charged S$100.

Once we had a table (Pinay pa ang waitress), B headed straight to the rotisserie to order pata. Unfortunately, hindi daw available pag Sundays. Boohoo. Sayang. He ordered beef sirloin and chicken breasts instead. Nagpadagdag pa ng baked potato.

Ako naman, I went to the Paella stand then to the seafood grill. I ordered salmon fillet.


Sarap ng lamon! Hehehe.


Tapos nag-order si B ng rootbeer. Kakaiba yung bottle tapos masarap! Imported from Australia pa ang rootbeer na ito.



Nabusog kami sa aming kinain pero hindi nakatiis si B at bumili pa ng dessert: chocolate pudding!
Masarap ito kasi super moist tapos merong maliliit na chocolate kisses. It was not too sweet either. Tamang-tama lang.


Medyo malaki nagastos namin, ni B pala, sa lunch date naming ito. Para na kaming nag all-you-can-eat sa isang hotel sa Makati. Pero okay lang, masarap naman at for a change ay hindi chekwa food ang kinain namin.

We promised that we'll go back for the pork knuckles. Kailangan mahusgahan ang crispy pata nila. Hehehe. Gusto ko rin masubukan ang calamares at crepes nila.

Pano ba naman kami di tataba eh ang hilig namin kumain? =)