aakyat ka ba?

Link

i'm so there. i can smell the chocolates already.

B and I love Ghirardelli chocolates, and I would love to experience San Francisco. There could be no other perfect time to go.

quote of the day and what/who i'm thankful for

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.

-- Oprah Winfrey

*****

Since it was Thanksgiving Day yesterday (today in the other part of the world), here is a list of things/persons I am most thankful for:

1. Reden--my home, my pillar of strength and the love of my life
2. My mom--who's been so patient in helping me with the nitty gritty of planning a wedding
3. My dad--who's going to pick us up from the airport tomorrow
4. My siblings--who are always fun to be with
5. My job--even if it gets boring sometimes, it puts delicious food on the table
6. Marge and George--two girlfriends closest to my heart

Thank You God for everything!

quote of the day

I have to speculate
That God himself did make
Us into corresponding shapes
Like puzzle pieces from the clay

- Such Great Heights, The Postal Service

the answers-only meme

From Selena.
Haha. Pamysterious ba. Only those who want to answer can get the questions.

1. George, Mayette
2. Madz
3. Ems, Mayette
4. Marge
5. --
6. pepetee
7. Tanya
8. Zane, Jerico
9. Marge, George, Reden
10. Reden
11. --
12. everyone!
13. Selena! hehe
14. Almi, Apple
15. --
16. Louie
17. Jeusa
18. Pia
19. Gidget, she is
20. All of them
21. George
22. George, hahaha
23. Aimee (well, she actually was)
24. Marge
25. George
26. Reden
27. Reden
28. Marge
29. Reden
30. LOL! =)

a haiku

black blocks with white type
symbols lit in yellow green
turning thoughts to words

back to my senses

When things get a bit too out of hand, you turn to your best girlfriends for support, encouragement and wake-up calls.

Marge, maid of honor: Isipin mo na lang Kat na no wedding is perfect =) So ganun talaga buhay.

George, secondary sponsor: Alam naman natin, through experience, na hindi pwedeng perfect mga plans natin, may sasablay at sasablay talaga jan.

Mayen, mother of the bride: Sya hayae* na.

It may be Murphy's Law in the works, but that's what defensive design aka obsessive preparation is for. Hahaha.

All is good. I'm happy and excited and looking forward to W-day! Bring it on!

_________________________________
*Hayae is a shortened version of "hayaan mo." Replacing the last syllable with e is common in Batangas Tagalog. Another example is "pumarine" (pumarito) as in "pumarine ka nga!"

sad, but only for a moment

A dear friend just told me she won't be able to make it to our wedding. Was really saddened by the news. Aside from the fact that she's supposed to sing at the dinner party, she's really a close friend and among those who saw Reden and I evolve from friends to more than friends. Oh well. We completely understand, but we'll miss you S.

*****

After getting a message from S, one of our secondary sponsors sent an IM to Reden. He also won't be able to attend the wedding because he needs to look after his dad who is severely ill. How can we compete with that? Now the hunt for a proxy is on.

*****

It's sad when people you really want to be there with you on your special day can't make it, while relatives, some of whom you haven't seen for ages and you don't even like, will be there for the buffet and the gossip.

Weddings sure are bittersweet.

I love the whole world. It's such a brilliant place.

I love this Discovery Channel ad. It tickles my wanderlust.

home in five days!

Where we love is home; home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

--Oliver Wendell Holmes

Lesson #1

Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

--Ranier Maria Rilke: Letters To A Young Poet

Link

moving forward

It was a great sight to see 6 new desks in the office filled with 6 new faces busily producing fantastic new content with only the occasional complaint about the noise and the odd request to be pampered. Well you got your cupcakes at least! You’ll have to get Desmond to spoil you now! Everything I have sent your way you have done such a good job at and its been great to know I can rely on each of you to get things done not just quickly, but at a high standard. 

My boss sent his farewell e-mail already. Sigh. I hate goodbyes.

Erosion sink

What happens when water erodes a softer, more porous material?
Gore Design Co. have evidently been studying this intently,
as their eye-catching concrete Erosion sinks demonstrate...
there is an ecological message at work: “you do not need to use so much water”.

I know. How could you wash your face on a sink that shallow? It looks cool though. I wouldn't mind having one in my house.

See more cool designs at the Web Urbanist.

3-in-1 rice balls

I'm currently slurping my way through Singapore's version of taho and it's quite good.


This one's called 3-in-1 rice balls from Mr. Bean (as in soya bean). It has taho, liquid sugar (not as brown as the one used back home and not as sweet) and of course, rice balls. The rice balls are like those of pinaltok, made of galapong and stuffed with peanuts. I don't know why they call it 3-in-1 but it's filling! Bochog!

Envious of: Mayette

And with this, I conclude my envy series. A recap will be posted soon!

*****


What's enviable: Mayette is super active: she scubadives and surfs, is enrolled in a boxing gym and sometimes coaches a cheerleading squad! She travels frequently, too!

Where does your energy come from?
I actually don't know. I guess my energy comes from the love for life, the passion to try something at least once, my curiosity for a lot of things and intrepid and fun travel companions!

Do you take multivitamins or energy drinks? If so, which brands?
I don't. My mom use to remind me I should but I've got more natural energy than pills and capsule sold in the market, so why bother and spend?

Have you always been active even as a little girl?
Yes to the nth level. My parents, especially my dad, are very adventurous. When I was younger my dad would spontaneously take me and my brothers to various trips which usually involve rough activities. I had that in my system so when I grew up and was permitted to travel alone, I would grab my backpack and travel across countries. Sometimes I'm even on my own. I think it's what most Europeans call the 'backpacking' style but for me it's just travelling the rough way. I usually end up enjoying spontaneous trips even better than when I have plans. I'm also very active in a lot of sports especially the extreme kind. And, I've been addicted to longboard surfing the moment I was able to stand up years ago.

What would make you drop everything and stop?
Tough question. I could say starting up a family. I don't think I can surf or travel around in a 28 kilo backpack while i'm pregnant. I can also say marriage because you know what they say - its like being jailed, but I have a positive outlook. I know that I'd find that perfect match who'd be down with the adventures.

What fills your schedule, aside from work?
Travel and sports. Since I only have 15 days off in a year, I'd use weekends to take a trip somewhere I've never been to if I do not have any vacation leaves left. After work, I train in the boxing gym, do a lot of sports including football and gymnastics. I go diving, too. when a cheerleading squad calls for a coach I'm there as well! Sometimes I would be too pre-occupied with a lot of things, I hardly have time to think about being stressed and being single.

One extreme thing you want to try:
Definitely snowboarding. And skydiving and diving with great white sharks (in a cage)! I think I'll do these next year.

Fast forward: what would you be doing when you're 50 years old?
When i'm 50, i'd probably have kids if God permits. I will most likely put up my own hostel backpacking style where there is also a rental place for surfboards, diving equipment, watersports stuff etc. Maybe when I'm 50 I already have a teenage daughter/son - I'd be their greatest coach/teacher/travel companion. Maybe by 50 am still travelling, who knows?

distracted

...by the wedding I am! I can't work because I can't think of anything but the wedding! It has gotten a bit more difficult to sleep as well. Everything's just starting to sink in!

I'm thankful that I have a reliable coordinator back home who's ironing out the kinks for us. When we go home in two weeks, there will only be minor, minor details to attend to. I'm also glad that my MOH and mom are helping me out.

I spent the weekend conceptualizing and laying out the favor cards and the souvenir program. If only I could be as focused and engrossed here at the office.

Still have a video to edit and a seating plan to draft. Oh, and the bling. I have to buy the bling!

Envious of: Louie

Me and Louie, GS Christmas Party c. 2004 or 2005

What's enviable: Louie dared to grow up. She left the comforts of home (Pinas) and flew to China where she bravely faced the challenges of living on her own, getting to know herself better in the process.

When did you decide to take the plunge and move overseas?
I think I was in my mid 20s when I decided I wanted to live elsewhere. At that time, many of my friends had moved to other countries and were telling me about their experiences: living alone, fending for themselves, meeting interesting people, making new friends, becoming people who were so different from who they were before they left. I envied them. J

What motivated you to do it?
I wanted to broaden my horizons. I love the Philippines and it will always be my home, but I needed to discover what I was made of and I felt that the only way I could do that was to live abroad. My surroundings started to seem narrow and small. So much was happening in the world and I felt I was missing out. I wouldn't say it was solely because of money but it certainly played a role in my decision. I wanted to travel and I thought that living paycheck-to-paycheck on a Manila salary would make that goal more difficult to attain. It can be done, though, as proven by some of my Manila-based friends who travel a lot. I would say my decision was based mostly on the need to explore and grow wings.

What challenges did you face in China? How did you cope?
Challenges! Do you have enough space in your blog for the answers? Haha! The most difficult one, I think, would be homesickness. I missed home terribly. I missed my family and friends, local food, home-cooked meals… Another challenge was the language barrier. When I moved to Shenzhen, I didn't speak a lick of Chinese. On my first few weeks there, I relied on sign language to communicate. I had to guess what locals were trying to tell me. I'd take out a small piece of paper and draw. Whenever an appliance broke down, I had to call my Chinese-speaking friends for help all the time. I had to grit my teeth and bear it in silence when all I wanted to do was shout invectives at my upstairs neighbors, who figured in heated and frequent after-midnight screaming matches that lasted for hours. I laugh about it now that I'm in Hong Kong and life is much easier, but all of this used to make me cry!

Did you ever have doubts about yourself and your decision?
Oh, yes. I often berated myself for leaving my comfortable existence in the Philippines. There were times when I thought moving there was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I doubted my own strength. I would send long e-mails to friends whining about the strange, silly and unpleasant things I had encountered. There was so much about the place that I did not understand (still don't) but I realized that it was all part of the learning process. Moving to Shenzhen remains the most rewarding experience of my life, so far. Of all the things I did, it changed me the most.

What is the best thing you've discovered about yourself?
I discovered that I have the internal resources to get through the toughest of times. And that I can cook! Not very well like my lola, who's fantastic in the kitchen, but I can stir in together a bunch of stuff and make something edible, with the help of a cookbook.

And the worst?
I learned that I can be really hard on myself. I judge myself too quickly and savagely. I should be kinder to Louie. She's a good person.

If you could go back and change one thing, would you? If so, what would that be?
I would have wanted to have more fun. Half the time I was moping and thinking about what to do and where to go next. It would have been great if I had just stayed in the moment and simply enjoyed the China experience.  

Did you find what you were looking for or is the search still on?
The search never stops. But I think I'm starting to enjoy the trip instead of stressing about the fastest way to get to the destination. I'm slowly and painstakingly learning to live in the moment.  

Stuffed bell peppers

Description:
Another dish Reden learned from his dad.

Ingredients:
2 bell peppers
3 eggs
250 grams minced meat
salt & pepper
soya sauce
garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
canola oil

Directions:
1. Heat your pan and put the canola oil.
2. Saute garlic and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add the minced meat when the garlic is brown and the onion is transparent.
3. Cook until the minced meat turns brown.
4. Remove from heat and set aside. Let the minced meat cool.
5. Prepare the bell peppers. Cut them at the center, lengthwise. Remove the seeds.
6. Scramble the eggs with some salt and pepper.
7. Mix the minced meat with the scrambled eggs. (Make sure that the minced meat is already

cool, or else you'll end up with an omelette!)
8. Stuff the bell pepper with the meat and egg mixture.
9. Fry the bell peppers, one side at a time, until the egg is cooked.
10. Remove from heat and serve (with catsup on the side).

Pork Afritada

Ingredients:
250 grams lean pork (you can use liempo if you want), cubed
1 carrot, cubed
1 potato, cubed
1 red and/or green bell pepper, sliced into squares
1 can tomato sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 to 1-1/2 cup water
Pepper and salt

Directions:
1. Heat your pan and put olive/canola oil.
2. Pag mainit na, saute the garlic. Pag brownish na, saute the onion.
3. Ilagay ang meat and saute for about 5 minutes. Lagyan ng tubig (just enough to make it saucy, not soupy). Cover and simmer until the meat is tender.
4. Pag malambot na ang meat, ilagay ang tomato sauce, carrots at potato.
5. Timplahan ang sauce. If it's too sour for you, pwede lagyan ng UFC banana catsup. Pag masyadong malabnaw, pwedeng lagyan ng mixture ng 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tbsp water. Wag ilagay ng deretso ang cornstarch sa sauce dahil hindi matutunaw ang powder. Simmer hanggang maluto ang veggies. Season with pepper and salt.
6. Before turning off heat, ilagay ang bell pepper. Simmer for a minute then serve.

Kat's Charlie Chan Pasta

Description:
My own version of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Pasta.

Some of the versions I found online used Aristocrat's Java Sauce. Since it's not available here, I had to make the sauce from scratch.

Ingredients:
400 grams spaghetti, cook as per package instructions
7-10 cloves of garlic, minced
300 grams chicken breast, sliced into strips and marinated in oyster sauce
250 grams shitaake mushrooms (fresh; if you'll use dry, soak it in water first para lumambot)
About a cup of roasted (unsalted) peanuts (or kung gano karami ang gusto niyo)
4 teaspoons garlic chilli paste or 1 siling labuyo, chopped
4 teaspoons of peanut butter
About 3 tablespoons dark and sweet soy sauce
About 1/4 cup oyster sauce
Sibuyas mura for garnishing
Olive oil (don't use extra virgin) or canola oil

Directions:
1. Heat your pan at lagyan ng oil. Pag mainit na, saute the garlic.
2. Pag brown na ang garlic, ilagay ang chicken breast. Saute until the chicken meat is white all over.
3. Ilagay ang shitaake mushrooms. Saute for about 3 minutes. Add the peanuts. Saute for another 3 minutes.
4. Pour the oyster sauce, dark soya, peanut butter and chilli. Timpalahan according to taste. If it's too salty, add a bit of sugar. If it's too sweet, put more oyster sauce. If you want it to be more peanut-y, put more peanut butter. If you want more anghang, put more chilli.
5. Pour over pasta and garnish with green onions.
6. Serve hot!

Charlie Chan is here!

I'm so proud of myself! I whipped up my very own version of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Pasta!


The spaghetti we stocked in our pantry inspired me to try something new. Since I was at home yesterday, I thought, why not try cooking our favorite? I scoured the net for recipes (and there were a couple of versions) and told my darleng I have a suprays meal in store for dinner.

I should've taken a photo of B when his eyes lit up upon discovering what I cooked for him! I'm really proud at nagaya ko up to the last butil of peanut. Now we could eat our favorite without having to fly back home! Yey!

Will post the recipe soon!

blog addict

I have 73 feeds on my Bloglines!

Shocked

My uber cool boss announced to us last Friday that he resigned. I don't know about my teammates but I was stunned. I didn't expect him to resign. He seemed so enthusiastic about his job.

Hmmm, but now that I got to think about it, there were days when hindi maipinta ang kanyang mukha, when he looked so tired. And last last week, he took a call outside the office, which he never did before. So I guess that was the call.

Ngayon lang nangyari sa akin to, ang iwanan ng boss. That's not in the usual order of things. Ang kalimitang nauuna magresign yung mga nasa mababa, yung mabababa ang sahod. Not bosses. So this one was really a shocker. Love ko pa naman boss ko kasi ang cool tsaka hindi micromanager.

Oh well, ganito talaga ang buhay. We all move on.

LV = low vadget

While I was educating myself about Louis Vuitton bags, I found these!

The Scuba GM

Terno sa wedding namin! Hehehe.

From the LV site:
Made from Monogram embossed neoprene, Scuba GM is an oversized tote from the Cruise collection by Marc Jacobs, with clean lines and sharp detailing. It includes an ID tag, a Louis Vuitton plaque and a dock clip to change the bag's shape.

Price: $2,580.00

I just want to clarify that I don't have plans of buying one at all. I'm not going to pay a tumataginting na hundred thousand pesoses for glamorized synthetic rubber. Na-uh. Besides, I'd rather have something in leather.

Do they have these kaya in Greenhills? Hehehe.

Envious of: Gidget

What's enviable: Gidget made her dream come true. She lives in the Big Apple and works for TIME.

How long have you been in New York?
2 1/2 years

When did you decide to take the plunge and get that master's degree at NYU?
7th grade. In high school while I was looking at colleges, I had grad school brochures sent over already so I would know what my options were. But it wasn't until 2004 (two years before I moved to NYC) that I decided on what schools and programs to apply to. Moving to NYC has always been on my life goals list.

What motivated you to do it?
I always aim to challenge myself and take that next step. And I wanted to be on my own, and prove that I could make it on my own.

How did you learn about the program?
NYU website. And I researched other websites, articles, blogs, etc so I could know more about it.

What challenges did you face in New York? How did you cope?
The biggest challenges were adjusting to the weather, doing chores and making new friends. I had always been independent so being on my own and taking control of my life was no big deal. I learned to dress right and rely on weather forecasts for my outfit that day. I learned to do my chores. I learned to go to parties alone, introduce myself and meet new people. Now I constantly meet new people all the time, and I have great groups of friends I regularly hang out with. It's not that hard really.

Did you ever have doubts about yourself and your decision to go overseas?
No, I always knew this is what I wanted to do.

What is the best thing you've discovered about yourself?
I can care for other people almost as much as I care for myself (read: I'm not that selfish after all)

And the worst?
I sometimes miss the comforts of home. I'd rather not commute or do my chores, but it's just some of the few things I need to do to get by. I realized how "spoiled" I was when I was still in Manila.

You've landed your dream job. What other dreams are you hoping to realize?
I hope I do well enough that I get promoted to a higher position in a few years, and also that the stars align so my company can petition my green card someday.

What does it take to make dreams come true?
Know what you want, map out a plan to achieve it, be patient, be strong, have faith and be ready. You never know when it'll finally happen.

Cosmeticus Addictus

Just a bit over a month, ubos na ang aking face powder! Kaya kagabi I visited the MAC counter at Vivo City para bumili ng bago. Nagpacheck ulit ako ng shade after Tanya told me she's an NC35. It's impossible that Tanya's skin is darker than mine. Tisay siya eh ako morena.

Lo and behold! Tama si Aaron. NC45 ako! That's three shades (I think) darker than what I'm using now (NC30). Buti walang kumakagat sa akin sa daan at napagkamalan akong espasol. Hihi.

And because I was in the mood for some credit card scraping, I also bought Plushlash mascara in Plushblack. I love mascara. It opens up my eyes and gives me a certain glow that's more fab than when I'm only wearing blush and lip gloss. It finishes my everyday look and makes me look more alive.

Anyway, back to Plushlash. I could say it's the best mascara I've worn since I started using makeup. I wanted to post a photo of me wearing it this morning but we were running late so here's the review from Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog:

MAC Plushlash will kick your Plushass!

I’m usually a big fan of drugstore (aka cheap!) mascaras and makeup, but MAC Plushlash is actually worth spending your hard earned cash on. And, baby, I know you work hard for that money.

Plushlash awesomeness begins with the huge brush. It’s all puppies and rainbows from that point on, ladies:

- excellent curl hold
- great lengthening and thickening
- deep, dark black color
- doesn’t smudge

Everything she said is true! Compared with what I'm currently using (Maybelline Unstoppable Mascara), Plushlash doesn't smudge and is wayyyyyy easier to apply. I love it! I'm in mascara heaven! Hihi.

And that's another priceless moment brought to me by Citibank. 

Barbie Love

Look at these!!!

Barbie in Vera Wang,

Carolina Herrera,

Monique Lhuillier,

Badgley Mischka,

and Zac Posen!

Good thing I stopped collecting Barbies eons ago, kung hindi matetempt pa ako sa mga ito! They're gorgeous!

My Tita Malou (God bless her soul) gave me my very first Barbie doll. If I remember correctly I was five or six years old then and it was a Christmas present. The doll was called Dream Date Barbie. Thank God for Google and bloggers, I can show them to you now!

Front view

Back view

I enjoyed this doll immensely. She wore a sequin halter top in fuschia and a very versatile satin skirt (also in fuschia and had purple piping, belt and flowerette) that allowed me to change her look without having to buy extra clothes (which were expensive). The ruffly part of the dress can be styled in different ways. You can wrap it around the doll's neck, drape it on the side of her skirt or you can create an assymetric dress by wrapping it on one of her arms, like this:

O deba, sosyal!

Siempre since meron ako, Lia should also have one to avoid inggitan. She got her first Barbie not long after I got mine.

Through the years, our Barbie dolls totaled five or six. We enjoyed playing them all. Alala ko meron pa kaming mga kwento na kami lang ang gumagawa. May mga love story pa at dahil wala kaming Ken doll, we picked random male-looking dolls from our collection at sila ang naging boyfriends ng aming mga Barbie. Bata pa lang mahilig nang gumawa ng kwento!

Pero akala ko talaga magiging fashion designer ako dahil sa mga manikang yan. Nung mga bata pa kami, sinisira ko yung mga lumang damit na nakikita ko tapos tinatahi ko para magkasya sa Barbie doll ko. Hindi nakaligtas ang mga shoulder pads ni mother! Ang gaganda kaya ng tela nun! Hehehe. Kung di ko matahi, pinapardible ko.

Member din ako ng Barbie fan club! I loved the newsletters tsaka yung mga freebies na nakuha ko. I don't know why, but at one point the letters just stopped arriving. Maybe I got too old for the club or maybe they really just stopped running the club. I could only guess.

Now, our Barbie dolls are hidden somewhere in our cabinet back home. I know we still have  the clothes, but I can't say the same for the tiny pairs of shoes (pumps and boots galore!). Their broken necks, the now-detachable heads and messed-up hair just prove how much fun we had we them.

When I get home, I just might look for them and when I find them, I'll give them a nice bath, dress them up and take some photos of them. Someday a nostalgic blogger might just find them useful.
______________________________________
Credits:
Designer Barbies from Angelic Dreamz. Dream Date Barbie from here and here.

Sino nga bang Pinoy ang hindi alam ang American Dream?

Even where the United States is held in special contempt, like here in this benighted Palestinian coastal strip, the “glorious epic of Barack Obama,” as the leftist French editor Jean Daniel calls it, makes America — the idea as much as the actual place — stand again, perhaps only fleetingly, for limitless possibility.

“It allows us all to dream a little."

Read the full article here.

why hello Mr Prezident

Read the New York Times report here.

I don't know why but I feel hopeful and optimistic now that Mr Obama's president. I wonder what Obama's USA will be like. Interesting times sure are ahead.

I'm not a US citizen

but I do hope Obama wins.

Envious of: Lia

What's enviable: Lia, my younger sister, is the rockstar in the family. She's a member of the UP Jammers Club and is a vocalist for a rock band.

How did you discover you could sing?
How? ewan. basta kumakanta lang ako dati eh. tapos sabi nila WOW. yun na. hehe

Which side of our family do you think you got the talent from?
mommy siguro.

What was the first song you sang?
hindi ko na tanda.

Who are your musical influences?
madami e...

Favorite singers/bands of all time?
queen, bob marley, the beatles, save ferris, etc.

What decade whose music you loved most? Why?
hmmm 70's. kase diverse ang music scene at magagaling sila.

Do/did you ever have stage fright?
oo. pag minsan.

What does it take to write a song?
uhm experiences, ideas, parang nagawa din ng kwento eh.

If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? Why?
huh? mahirap pumili kase pare-pareho naman ang purpose kung baket may musical instruments e.pero sige, gitara para cool.

Burn After Reading

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Burn After Reading is a comedy starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand. The film was directed by the Academy-award winning Coen Brothers.

I guess Burn After Reading is the Coen Brothers' way of making fun of (American) society's selfishness (extramarital affairs here and there), frivolity (wanting to undergo liposuction and breast augmentation in one go) and stupidity (assuming something from an ex-CIA agent is definitely blackmail material). There were funny moments and there were times when we were just "what?" (like when Brad Pitt died).

The acting, however, was this movie's saving grace. Brad Pitt was hilarious as Chad, while it was fun to see George Clooney as a KSP US Marshall with a fetish for floors. Tilda Swinton was so ice-queen cool, while John Malkovich was perfect as fired CIA analyst Osborne Cox. Frances McDormand's character was irritating. She's so stupid she got Brad Pitt's character killed.

An okay movie. If, like me, you can't miss a Brad Pitt movie, then go and see this. Otherwise, wait for the DVD release.

Tropic Thunder

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Tropic Thunder is a comedy about the making of a huge Vietnam War movie which stars primadonna actors played by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel. The film was directed by Ben Stiller and also stars Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte.

I loved Tropic Thunder! It was funny in all the right places. My favorite, however, is Robert Downey Jr. who played award-winning Aussie actor Kirk Lazarus ("You don't go full retard"). Ang galing-galing niya talaga umarte! I wanted to watch the movie because of him and his performance is priceless. Winner ka talaga Ironman!

I also loved Tom Cruise as Les Grossman. Ang galing! Halos hindi ko siya nakilala nung unang beses siya nagappear sa screen. And he can still shake that booty! Jack Black was uber funny, too, as an actor suffering from withdrawal symptoms after he ran out of drugs on the set. Praning kung praning!

This movie is terrific. Watch it!

Singapore friends: want freebies?

 

Avenue Q The Musical

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

See my blog post. :)

Small things matter too

From Jim Paredes' blog:

We moderns like to pride ourselves on the idea that we use our time productively, implying that productivity must be a financially measurable activity. Thus, there is so much impatience with the world and life as it happens. People want instant results, and instant gratification. When an activity does not produce dramatic or desired results, it’s seen as a waste of time.

The gap between deciding to do something and getting to the final, expected results can be a period of great impatience and boredom. Through a modern’s eyes, practically nothing is happening during that time. The metaphor of “watching paint dry” is how many people describe moments in between which they feel are boring and slow because “nothing eventful happens.”

But the truth is, so much is happening all the time. We just have to open our eyes to see it all. The deliberate appreciation of the microscopic effort — the turning of the screw, so to speak — is what I am talking about. So much is going on in this little world, if one cares to look. The little story is the big news.

So true. Realizing that life is in the present moment (and not in a grand, big something in the future) and in the small, everyday things is comforting and takes away a lot of pressure. 

Watch Avenue Q!

At first I didn't want to see Avenue Q because I thought seeing puppets on-stage wasn't worth the money. But now I'm glad B convinced me to watch it.

Don't be fooled by the puppets on-stage because they deal with issues most of us can relate to. Does finding your purpose, searching and longing for your true love, being true to yourself, and reaching for your dreams ring a bell? What about being secretly glad someone is in a worse situation than you (schadenfreude) or wondering what a BA in English is for, or using the Internet for porn? All these make up for the hilarious musical that is Avenue Q.


Avenue Q was not only entertaining and fun, it also delivered simple life lessons. It is Sesame Street or Batibot for adults, but instead of teaching you how to read, count or write, it teaches a thing or two about life. That plus talented actors and actresses (including Aiza Seguerra, who played Gary Coleman really well and Frenchie Dy as Christmas Eve) with great voices (I love Carla Guevara-Laforteza who played Lucy the Slut and Kate Monster), make Avenue Q a definite must-see!

Avenue Q will be running at the Esplanade Theatre until November 16 only. For details, visit www.avenueq.sg.

PS
I'm so proud of Avenue Q's Filipino cast. Ang galing nila talaga! Pero like ko din si Rycharde Everley.

disconnected

We won't have Internet and cable connections for the weekend. Starhub won't let B sign up because the former tenant of our place failed to pay $800 to them. Ewan ko ba bakit by address at hindi by person ang kanilang pagmomonitor niyan. I hope we could fix this on Monday. According to customer service, we just have to prove we're not connected to the former tenants. In the meantime, adios.