batangas outing yay

i have the pictures yay! i think all the pics are about 400, but i just chose a few.

let's start with a vain pic. haha. me in on the rocks. (wait, isn't that supposed to be whiskey?)

nag-iihaw. :D

chickababes. bam and me posing for the cam.

group pic sa bangka. clockwise from top left: jep, me, adrian, bam, jonathan, and jekka.

another pic on the rocks.

group pic. taken in front of our horribly cold room.

there's bam, jekka, adrian, and john.

on the island in mabini. bam, me, adrian, jekka, john, and jep.

having lunch on the seashore. back: bam, adrian, john, me. front: jekka, star, and jonathan.

cool pic humahangin pa. hehe. me and jep.

must-haves sa beach? ahaha.

oi mga pacute daw. the beach, at night.

after an evening dip.

ihaw todo galore. :D

woo hoo. our famous postcard line!

postcard from batangas

sabi nga ng patalastas ng clusivol, mahirap magkasakit. maraming nakabinbin na trabaho pero hindi ko magawa dahil nahihirapan ako tumapat sa computer; nakakasakit ng ulo.

i came home from the batangas outing yesterday night. whatta. see myk's post about the outing here. thanks to all who made this outing successful! saya. hehe.

too bad i also came home down with colds. and i sound like a human dog. lesson learned: airconditioning should be a no-no when going down to the beach.

at least something good came out of this outing. my face cleared up of pimples! yay! saltwater cleared up my face, so now i'm glowing pink. and i have tan lines, too. double yay! it's not obvious i'm too vain, is it?

thanks to all. myk, john, jep, jekka, star, adrian, bam, and jonathan.

and this famous line: don't you wish you were here?

ohana means family

i think i ranted too much on my previous post. i can't deny that what i learned has affected me in some way.

yes, blood is still thicker than water. family stands by each other no matter what.

i have gotten carried away with my thoughts. maybe i should not think too much of what has been but carry on to do what is right. and for what is right, i think i should just keep standing by this family, because it is in crisis that a family's bond gets closer.

mother has yet to tell me what she thinks. i value her opinion over anyone else's (except sometimes my dad's, of course), and she has yet to talk to me.

i was wrong in ranting too much. maybe i'll do it right this time by simply doing what is expected. ohana means family, as the movie lilo and stitch taught me.

i may be falling for someone i'm not supposed to fall for.

is this right?

this feels so new and foreign to me, this falling again. i don't know if it really is what i think it is.

i hope it's not real. it's going to ruin everything.

and i hope you won't read this. but if you do pass by this post, i hope you won't realize it's you.

i am an edsa baby

i am saddened that this year's elections is marred by cheating and violence. the comelec is turning a blind eye towards these issues. yet, a miracle has happened when fr. ed panlilio won as governor in pampanga. another bigger miracle has happened when maguindanao brought 12-0 for team unity. maguindanao, where chavit who's an ilocano and whose bailiwick is farthest won as number 1, and where jamalul kiram who's a muslim where many from maguindanao are also muslims finished as number 12 in the senatorial race.

i am saddened that a teacher and a poll watcher lost their lives to a burning down of a school. that it is alleged that policemen were the perpetrators of this crime. when it is nearing the opening of classes, and the children of this school would have no choice but to stay in make-shift rooms or on grounds under trees while this country has one less schoolhouse.

i post this because i don't think i can post this anywhere else.

____

I am an Edsa baby. I was born in 1986. My mother was pregnant with me when she rallied at Edsa in February, praying fervently with strangers to stop the violence. I am confident that she was thinking of me as she hoped for democracy and for a country where I could live in peace and exercise my rights. I went to Edsa with her—in her heart and under her heart.

Now, two decades after that event, it is my time to change the world, to take part in nation-building. Frankly, there is not much to work with.

It’s disheartening when the leaders who fought for democracy and for our so-called future destroyed it in just two decades, right at that time when our generation is able enough to make a change. Democracy had been sought, it was gained, but it has not been maintained.

My dad commented to me one evening after dinner that our political arena now is reminiscent of the post-war and pre-martial law era: that it is filled with political dynasties, corruption, greed, insurgencies in the countryside, and politically-related violence.

As Ambeth Ocampo always says, history does not repeat itself. We repeat history. I may not have lived during the time of my father, but he knows enough to tell me that what we are experiencing now in the era after Edsa is also what was happening then. The only problem is, it is in tenfold. The population has increased since that time, so too have the number of poor people, as well as the percent of the population who have left the Philippines to search for greener pastures.

Some of my friends have lost faith in this country. Some of them would probably leave the Philippines, some of them for good. Most of them, if not all, believe that this country has a bleak future, even with the small hope given by the elections.

Many think that the election is the key to social reform, that their taking part will mean something to the history to be told. Many, still, are disillusioned, that whoever they vote for, anyway, would not make a difference in their dismal lives in the country. Better to just leave—this is the common thinking among youth.

I tell my friends that the electoral process is only one part of social reform, that it is not the only way where we can change the governance and the government. They can take part in their own ways in forging new paths for this country.

Our generation is a generation of Edsa babies—youth who were born at the time when democracy is the song of the nation. For many of this generation, this was the first or second time to vote. Many who were disillusioned decided not to. But still, many laid down their hopes for this country’s future. I also lay down the hope that the votes of the children of democracy will be guarded like life. For if these hopes that were cast will be destroyed, it would be no surprise that the remaining spark in the youth for this nation’s future will die out quicker than jets that fly away from this country.

four whatever things

got this tag from tina. hehe. i ripped a tag from her about films which i haven't posted yet. i will, but not now while i'm on a job. one of these days, i think.

4 JOBS I’VE HAD
raketista daw ako, so they say. i haven't really graduated yet, but i think i can name a few part-time or per-project jobs i had.

1. currently a research assistant to a professor in u.p. masscomm
2. currently teaching english at an upcat review center
3. formerly part of a market research team for collier's international
4. formerly a student assistant at the student housing in u.p.l.b.

4 MOVIES I’VE WATCHED OVER & OVER

1. Aladdin- i loved this film when i was a kid. i could even sing along with it. one time i even memorized the lines.
2. Titanic - i remember memorizing rose's lines and saying these lines with jack. ahaha.
3. Lion King 1 and 1/2 - oh. i, my brothers, and my sister watch this film whenever we have a guest around who's willing to laugh at it with us, usually kids fourteen and below :D
4. A Knight's Tale - oh yes. i loved this movie. particularly because heath ledger was in it (this was before brokeback, naman!). he's so funny because he's so cute! haha.

4 PLACES I’VE LIVED

1. Project 4 in Quezon City, where i spent my first seven years of childhood;
2. San Juan, where i am currently living in now;
3. Los Banos, where i shed my innocent youth and gained my independence;
4. and... everywhere else in between. hehe.

4 TV SHOW/STATIONS I LIKE TO WATCH

1. grey's anatomy, which my mom loves
2. my name is earl, which is a really funny comedy without the bad slapstick and cheesy stories
3. american idol, which again is an influence of my mom's getting in with the pop culture
4. friends, which is a like a really cute romcom... i love it so much!

4 PLACES I’VE BEEN ON VACATION
andami nito. i'll just name a few (few nga ba? hehe)

1. U.S. (LA, Frisco, Washington, Maryland) and Mexico
2. Singapore
3. Cebu and Iloilo and Davao
4. Zambales and Baguio

4 OF MY FAVE FOODS

1. pizza (alright! my favorite junk food!)
2. carbonara (my mom's special recipe)
3. chocolates and ice cream
4. and anything ginataan (ang layo. basta. manang men knows i love kalabasa with this.)

4 PLACES I’D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW

1. lounging at the beach
2. playing tennis in the courts
3. in the airconditioned office of my prof (haha!)
4. in UP, simply being a tambay there. hehe.

4 PEOPLE WHO WILL (hopefully) RESPOND TO THIS MEME GAME

not sure. everyone? wait, hm: pam, ninong, michael, and marchie

my name means huwaat?!?

i read this in malor's blog when i was surfing through it today. i wanted to try it out, see what my name means.

A: you like to drink.
B: you like people.
C: you are really silly.
D: one in a million.
E: great in bed.
F: you are dead sexy.
G: you never let people tell you what to do.
H: you have a very good personality, looks and a very good kisser.
I: great in bed.
J: people adore u.
K: you're wild and crazy.
L: unbelievably great in bed.
M: great in bed.
N: you like to drink a LOT.
O: awesome kisser.
P: you are hypocrite.
Q: you are popular with all types of people.
R: fuckin crazy. (in a fun way)
S: easy to fall in love with.
T: you're loyal to those you love.
U: you are really silly.
V: you are not judgemental
W: you are very broad minded.
X: you never let people tell you what to do.
Y: best boy/girl friend any one can ask for.
Z: always ready

so... that is...

M: great in bed.
A: you like to drink.
R: fuckin crazy. (in a fun way)
I: great in bed.
E: great in bed.
L: unbelievably great in bed.

so... this means what?!

i don't believe this at all. haha. with all the m's, i's, e's, and l's in all the names of the world, everyone is bound to be great in bed. haha. and i do have a personality naman no. tsk tsk. not just in bed. haha.

but four birds with one stone? hm.

anyway, yes, i like to drink, but not get drunk haha. i'm also crazy (and sometimes weird), but not all the time.

aye, matey!

a film this summer that i'm more excited to watch than spiderman 3 is at world's end, the third and final installment of pirates of the caribbean. i've been dying to see it since the ending of the 2nd film at the final seconds of watching it in gateway last year--i'm that excited.

johnny depp's performance is already reason enough to be excited for this film. couple that with a great story, amazing effects, and a big battle to boot. yo ho, it's a pirate's life for me!

captain barbossa must team up with will and elizabeth and (of course!) jack sparrow to beat davy jones and the entire east india company. it'd be one helluva funny film to see jack and barbossa team with each other.

i'm also wondering how they'd bring jack to life again. or maybe he really is dead and it's his soul that walks with them. i'd find out when i watch it.

depp's coming back as jack sparrow is a shouldn't-miss film. i've always admired johnny depp as an actor and his versatility in giving each role its own life. i can't even imagine that he started out as a pretty-boy cop in 21 jump street, then moved on to eccentric roles in gilbert grape, edward scissorhands, ed wood, benny and joon, sleepy hollow, secret window, charlie and the chocolate factory, finding neverland, and many others (hindi halata na fan ako di ba?). it's not always that you find an actor who's so willing to stretch his own talent by playing non-mainstream roles.

chow yun-fat is also another actor to watch out for in this film. my sister is especially waiting for it. hehe.

i can still remember strains of the song that the pirates were singing as we went on the pirates of the caribbean ride in disneyland... "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We're beggars and blighters, never-do-well cads, Drink up, my hearties, yo ho. Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads, Drink up, my hearties, yo ho."




and with this, captain barbossa says: "There was a time when a pirate was free to make his own way in the world. But our time is comin' to an end. Our enemies are united; they vow to destroy us. The Pirate Lords from the four corners of the Earth must stand together."

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens in theaters on May 24. i'll be sure to get tickets two weeks in advance.

sani watches spidey

came home from watching that eensy weensy (or is that itsy bitsy?) spider hanging by, not water spouts, but tall NY buildings. woohoo. i got so excited for this film since i wanted to know what would happen to harry osbourne and how topher grace would fit as eddie brock in this film.

a little segue first. even before the showing of the first spiderman film, i was rooting for topher grace to play peter parker. i've watched him before in his geeky-nerdy role as foreman in that 70's show, and i knew then that i wanted him to play the friendly neighborhood superhero. he had the geekiness but he also had a mischievous streak.

so when i learned that tobey maguire took the role in the first film, i thought, "tobey who?" i went to theaters determined to criticize his performance, but i wasn't disappointed for what he presented to moviegoers for all three spidey films.

i mean, he took the nerd to heart who was discovering his own self in the first film, then added the mischievous spiderman who was trying to juggle peter's priorities in the second film. tobey's performance got better with each movie.

this third one is his best performance yet as both peter parker and spiderman. his nerdiness was in check, as usual, with a bit of that mischievous and witty spiderman charm. add to that spidey's dark and aggressive side, which he played well with a spice of comedy. when he combed his hair to cover his face, he looked like a big nerdy kid trying to be bad when he really isn't. i've grown fonder of him as spiderman with the installment of each film. i now no longer think that toper grace should have been peter parker.

and tobey buffed up, too! he is much bigger in this one than in the previous two.

what i liked about this film is that sam raimi stayed true to the images in the comics, so much that venom actually looked like he jumped from the comic magazine into the fim. i was amazed at the style from the first film to the second film and then to the third, since i didn't really expect that the images of spiderman, green goblin, doc ock, sandman, and venom would be as they were on paper. it felt like a tribute to spidey comics fans.

but then, this third spidey installation also had its downs. i didn't like the storyline as much as i liked the previous ones. each character added felt like they were just teasers, as if the story (and the length of the film) didn't give each character the time to evolve into peter parker's/spiderman's life. instead, the characters felt like, well, half-baked.

the first part of the film was focused on sandman as the archenemy, and the second part shifted the focus to venom. it confused me, and left many things in question. if they really want to show sandman's humanity in the first part, why couldn't have they emphasized it again in the final parts? a simple sorry didn't do the trick here (as with one president's lapse of judgment, but that's another story). it could have a scene showing flint's daughter or something, not just a locket on his hand, which would throw back the audience and remind them again that not all villains have bad intentions.

actually, the film could have evolved even without sandman. the story looked like sandman was inserted in the middle of the screenwriting process.

there's also venom. the career rivalry between eddie and peter could have been played up more instead of simply putting in two or three scenes about it. eddie is like peter: nerdy, the average torpe, but more talkative. it would have been fun to watch them both bicker as rivals while trying to get the photo scoop.

gwen stacy's part also felt half-baked in this story. yes, there was the kiss, and the dance, and um, what else? it was too short to be a romantic fling, so what was it? it should be remembered that peter was smitten with gwen one time or another.

simply put, the whole spiderman 3 film could be cut into two films already. there was too much of everything that it spoiled the story's broth.

anyway. i was saddened at [spoiler warning] harry's death. harry osbourne's part was also half-baked, since their rivalry could have climaxed at a much higher crescendo. the first two films was enough to foreshadow that there will be a big blockbuster showdown between the two best friends, and that wrestling match in the NYC arena was a good opening, but it didn't play up in the end.

killing him off was something i wasn't expecting to happen. but it was worth knowing that he died for his best friend. it almost drove me to tears. haha.

the ending was too quick, as if the writer wanted to finish the script quickly as it was nearing the deadline.

i was quite happy with how the movie looked, but as for the story, it could have been better.