SUPER Scary

photo c/o TMZ

Story of a Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked "Are you writing a story about what we've done? Is it a story about me?" His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson, "I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up."

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special. "But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!"

"That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hand on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterward, he's much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Finally, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action."

Belinda Bye Bye

But if you catch my stupid eye you'd know you're right
But I will not look again this time I will hide my heart
The spirits in my room they whisper
You know the sky is now in bloom.

- Barbie's Cradle

My Sister's Keeper

Before I became an avid moviegoer, I was an avid reader first (and still is). My collection of books can fill up I think 3 bookshelves already. And most of these books are not textbooks nor merely for references, they are all for pleasure reading. Or in my case, for travel. There is nothing more easier and most convenient way to travel than to read books. And it does not hurt that your vocabulary range widens.

My most recent reading was Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. It was a book given by my brother just because. Having read Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, I was pretty sure that My Sister’s Keeper will pretty much “shock” me the way Nineteen Minutes did and left me a little cold. I knew I was bound for some unexpected story twists.

My Sister’s Keeper is a story of a family dealing with Leukemia (APL, a rare kind). Kate, the Fitzgerald couple’s oldest daughter was diagnosed with this type of cancer when she was 2 years old. And since then, they’re quest to keep their daughter alive never ceased – even considered having a third child through IVF. Making the third child a genetic match for Kate.

That was how Anna, the third child, came into this world. She was genetically engineered and was conceived through IVF. From that very moment she was delivered off her mom’s womb, her cord blood was used to donate for Kate. And then next was her blood, bone marrow and soon, she had to donate one of her kidneys since those of Kate’s kind of slows down.

This is where she tried to draw the line. She refused to have one of her kidneys be taken out of her body and filed a case against her parents for the right of her own body. That she be given the right to make her own medical decisions about how her body can be used.

Reading the book made me tinge and root for Anna, empathized with how her older brother, Jesse was suffering certain neglect and felt how difficult it must be for Kate to see how her disease has been "killing" her family. But then as I read along, I started to understand where Sarah and Brian Fitzgerald (their parents) are coming from, especially Sarah, their mother – who wears this invisible armor suit. One cannot simply ever deny how mothers can become someone mightier than any man on this planet.

I cried so much just by reading the book! So much that my eyes were really groggy for 2 days, I think. This one is a really, really good book.*wink

So, imagine how excited I was to watch the movie adaptation. And when I did, I was a little disappointed. There are just some things that did not match with the book - especially the ending (which I will dare not reveal here).

Despite all of those “flaws”, there were still moments that made me go “awww”. Like that when Brian (Dad) brought Anna to the fire station to temporarily move her away from their Mom while their case is being tried. That moment when Brian was looking at her little girl play with the other fire fighters - that was some magical moment for me.

Also, when Kate was all dressed up for this supposedly prom night for the cancer stricken patients – amidst all the chaos of having her pictures taken, she glanced to her Dad, drew close to him and asked, “Do I look pretty, Daddy?” WOW. That was really a tearjerker moment. In the book, Brian was speechless and was really crying alone. He did not expect that he would ever see her first daughter all dressed up for a prom. Well, almost nobody in that family and Kate's oncologist expected Kate would live long enough to be able to attend a prom – even if it was just some sort of a dance night at the hospital for cancer stricken patients.

Yeah, yeah – My Sister’s Keeper is what my friend Jerome calls a movie downer, because it is but despite having to shed (maybe) buckets of tears, it is impossible not to pick up a lesson or two here.

To me, it is that you don’t take anyone for granted. EVER.

So, if you're up for a good cry - catch this movie. But don't ever tell me I didn't warn you about how this'll make you cry, ok?

Las Supper No. 3

A couple of weeks ago, my man and I watched Cinemalaya’s Last Supper No. 3. It was one of the Indie movies that could make. I had a good laugh watching it – with my man on my right and Jojit Lorenzo (the movie’s “villain”) on my left, both of whom could not contain their loud laughs, you could definitely tell that I was having a blast.

The movie, surprisingly, was a good one. I can say that without bias. It was a subtle take on serious things – like red tape and being responsible for things aren’t yours, to name a few.

But despite the good storyline (which is a true story at that), what made it click for me was the uncanny script. The exchanges were witty enough that I could not stop myself from laughing so hard and most lines made me think and say “oo nga ano.” Did I mention that the actors in the movie are just superb? From the actor who played Wilson Nañawa to the guy who acted as a court interpreter – they were great and not OA. It also did not hurt that the cameo role of Maricel Soriano and Ricky Davao were also entertaining.

Having said that, I urge those who are reading this to catch Last Supper No. 3 while it is still on. This is one good Pinoy movie. Promise.

Just Harumph-ing

Watching movies on a pretty regular basis is an acquired tang for me. I have always been the geeky type who loves to meet up for lunch or dinner – have a sip of my favorite mango juice or iced cold soda while having such an enticing conversation with friends. If you’d ask me to choose between having an enticing conversation with anyone or watch a movie, I’d choose the former. No doubt about it.

Anyway, expectantly – most of my hours on weekends are spent watching movies or trying to catch up a movie or two. Not that I am complaining but sometimes, I would crave for something different - out of the routine and ordinary. There are moments when I would want to just stay in my room and catch up with my readings and drawings but watching movies is a routine that for some reason, I cannot alter. It was like something I have to endure when I don’t feel like watching.

But please don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching movies and all but sometimes, there are just moments when you just simply want to converse, have a good laugh over lunch or dinner without having to worry that we might be late for the next movie.

So there.

ONE. BIG. FIGHT.

Fight, fight BLUE and WHITE
Go, go ATENEO!

Tweet Life

What with all the emerging of networking sites, it is so hard to picture not being able to keep in touch with everyone around the globe. Suddenly everyone was just around the corner or just a tweet or poke away.

When Friendster (FS) emerged in 2003, I was one of those who got hooked but had to close my first account before it even reached its first year – to get away from unwanted lurkers. Yes, back then I was hounded non-stop by unwanted online visitors. But as soon as I tried to shrug my pesky online visitors, I created another FS account for the most mundane of reasons – I wanted to be a part of an online community.

Soon, there was Myspace – which I was not too keen about. The interface, at least for me, was quite a handful. I was pretty much content with my FS account and the Tabulas account I was maintaining for my blogs back then. For a while, it was cool to be a part of such networking sites. When you do not even have to leave the comforts of your home or workplace and you can blab frenziedly with your friends who do not share the same time zone as yours.

One of my very good friends since 3rd grade is such a big fan of the Internet and all the good and evil attached to it. Her life, as she puts it, revolves mostly around the WWW. She could not imagine life without a Wi-fi. REALLY. Imagine how horrified she was when she went hiking and there’s no Internet. She was mortified! She is the same person who fervently asks me to create a Twitter account. She nudged me non-stop that I once published my FB status as “to tweet or not to tweet”.

Tweet – Tweet

Now, out of curiosity I did check out what this Twitter has to offer. Minus the really fancy photo uploading, it is a microblogging-networking site. Such tweets (or posts) can only accommodate 140 characters – thus, microblogging. It seemed a pretty nice social networking site (tempting enough that you get to read Hollywood celebs’ tweets) but what turned me off is that – there are just so many information that I don’t have to know. I mean, how many people would actually care about what you ate for lunch or where you will hang out tonight? Did I say, for some reason I find this Twitter scary too - simply because it makes stalking a lot easier.

I understand that many people would probably want to be heard, to have their “own” life – even if it is just online but seriously, giving out too much information online paves way for online felony.

During my peak of addiction to the WWW, I was once like that. I blogged, updated my online accounts every so often, read other people’s blogs and joined several online fora. My constant solace back then when loonies hound me, I would immediately go online and surf with so much gusto, chat until wee hours and talk using Skype. Only to be hounded by people who cannot seem to find their own niche online.

Slowing Down

Happily, (or sadly) that seemingly online compulsion started to slow down late last year - I am blogging less, don’t really care if my online accounts are up to date and yes, I don’t read other people’s blogs anymore – okay, maybe very, very few ones lang.

I am not sure if I am attributing this to me almost turning 26 in a couple of months or simply because I am just really an old fashioned soul.

I miss those days when I would feverishly wait for those handwritten letters sent by my friends (and suitors), when I would nudge my parents non stop to mail those letters I have lovingly written, when I could not wait to see my friends – hear them laugh at my blunders and hilarious stories and vice versa, when I longed to be hugged and not just some sheer emoticons, when my intentions will not be judged merely because it was sent through text.

Simply put, I just miss those old days and ways.

To tweet or not to tweet? For now, NOT to tweet.

Funny

Look who was caught checking out someone's asset.

*photo c/o Reuters

Orea Sippy Cup

My current fave TVC.

LV iLike

Designed by no less, Sofia Coppola for LV.

Isn't this lovely?

Childhood

Now, this song seriously choked me up a little bit. I could not help but imagine how miserable and lonely his childhood was.

Childhood
by Michael Jackson

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'cause I've been looking around
in the lost and found of my heart...
No one understands me they view it as such strange eccentricities...
'cause I keep kidding around
like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay
'cause I love such elementary things...
it's been my fate to compensate,
for the childhood
I've never known...

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
like pirates in adventurous dreams,
of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
look within your heart then ask,
have you seen my childhood?

People say I'm strange that way
'cause I love such elementary things,
it's been my fate to compensate,
for the childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
like fantastical stories to share
the dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
the painful youth I've had

Have you seen my childhood...

M pays tribute to MJ

The outpouring of love for MJ never seemed to stop. Now, I cannot help but wonder - where were all these people when MJ was in deep trouble?

Random Lines

"You don't love someone because they're perfect,

you love them in spite of the fact that they're not"

"Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do,

but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it."

"Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner,

no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude.

It's because they have tried to blend into the world before,

and people continue to disappoint them."

"The truth doesn't always set you free;

people prefer to believe prettier, neatly wrapped lies."

"And the very act of living is a tide; at first it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you look down and see how much pain has eroded."

"It doesn't take a whole long life to realize
that what we deserve to have, we rarely get."

CS Lewis wrote...

True love makes a man want, not a woman,
but one particular woman
- the beloved herself, not the pleasure she can give.