Feeling tired, by the fire
The long day is over

The wind is gone, asleep at dawn
The embers burn on

With no reprise, the sun will rise
The long day is over.

-- Norah Jones, "The Long Day is Over"

====
the year comes to a close, and i'm wondering how 2007 can be a potentially good for me. i've had too much (or too little) of the last 360+ days -- nerve-racking, disturbed, melodramatic, monochromatic (take your pick). this wasn't a very good year... though i tell you it went terribly fast. it's like i've slipped through several manholes on fast-forward. but there's no need to sulk! even if i'm the seasonal sourpuss, i'm really grateful for all the good things that has happened to me this '06. i'm glad i have my parents, family and friends who love me (still). i'm blessed to be in a stable situation -- good education, content lifestyle, calm environs. and i'm delighted that even if there are some who thrive on hateful and selfish means to live, there are those who are true examples of universal brotherhood. i'm optimistic for the future. =)

now that i've said my piece, let's get down to business: THE YEARENDER!

i'm now cementing a tradition that happened first in December 2005, since i think it would be pretty apt to end the year in true-blue pop culture fashion (much as i'd like to pass this blog off as charming & quaint... hahaha). here we go again, with much more feeling:

Noteworthy things that happened in 2006:

taking my first MRT ride, and a solo LRT ride

qualifying as an AMV sophomore (that's got to be a highlight)

winning a Jason Mraz cd (yeah, noteworthy enough)

my computer (God bless 'him'), having two 'strokes' in a year

having a little more interest in sports (haha)

uste finally emerging as basketball champs

passing 2nd year, 1st sem

having gathered with friends for more than once (much more in '07, ok?)

'losing it' over losing that cellphone

registering as a first-time voter

Wish to happen in 2007:

try to *still* be a dean's lister... need that 1.58 GPA!

get published in PDI's Youngblood / Seventeen. if not, in AJ or the Varsitarian.

get a summer job - even if it's the only summer job i'll ever have

bring my sense of humor back, and be sociable.

surpass the 'red tide' that is third year

stop acting like a kid. i'll be 20 before i know it.

upgrade this computer -- he's 6+ years old!

become a Somebody... oh yeah!

and now, an extended version of Ellie's Picks:



Favorite Film for '06

Winner -- V for Vendetta
i thoroughly enjoyed this movie, the adaptation stands out on its own against the graphic novel. i love the acting, the witty dialogue, the mask didn't seem to annoy. Natalie Portman's still got sizzle even if she's bald. i also love the soundtrack. and the plot of uprisings and revolutions intrigue me. should we do the same? (plus CNN's Adrian Finighan steals a cameo! hahahaha)

Runner-Up -- The Departed
i'm all for testosterone-driven action, i believe... it's really a dream match of Leo & Matt made in movie heaven (i've always wanted them to work together), and Jack Nicholson's presence is priceless ("This ain't reality tv!!!"). i laughed at the most uneventful parts, going out of the theater in unabashed glee. the sadist in me. ;p
Honorable Mentions -- Casino Royale, The Banquet, Cars, The Prestige

Favorite TV Show for '06

Winner (tie) -- Grey's Anatomy
i've been wanting to talk about this for a long time. i never had the hots for medical dramas (no ER / Chicago Hope recollections), and so i wasn't open to watching this first. but (as we all know) the rocker swings the other side and i'm finally loving this! the surgical residents are such a lovable, kooky group! and well i'm learning some medical stuff from it (bringing back memories of NatSci... heck) ... for the moment i'll leave the technicalities and focus on the stars! i'm still warming up to McDreamy (not my type) and Addison (i don't know why many people find her attractive)... and i would really like George & Izzie together (even if he's crushing on Meredith, and the fact that T.R. admitted he's gay -- forgiven 'coz i like you!). i also think Burke & Cristina make a great couple (he's so decent, she's so smart... what could go wrong? ;p)

Winner (tie) -- Prison Break
started watching the season 1 DVD on Christmas Day, finally finishing it last Friday. i'm eating my words back on Wentworth Miller (who i earlier dismissed only as Mariah Carey's mtv candy)... he is definitely HOT, SMART and SEXY. (^^;;;; ... it was smashing from the first ep! (another classic case of man-oriented mania!) i let myself get drawn to the world of those crazy cells and convicts and it was a wonderful escape (being an operative word). the suspense and the mystery was always there, and i was either screaming / jumping / nail-gritting on many parts. I LOVE PRISON BREAK! why do i have to stop on a cliffhanger??!?
Runners-Up -- Lost (can't wait for Season 3), Amazing Race 10, Discovery Channel's Mythbreakers, Survivor: Cook Islands (three cheers for Yul!)

Favorite Band for '06

Winner -- Muse
how come it took me 12 years to discover such absolutely charming music? i incidentally got acquainted with these lads through their song, "Unintended" sometime in June... and i've been following them since. the three-piece band from Teignmouth, England have been rocking their way to stardom since 1994, and they finally invaded pop's stream of consciousness with "Black Holes and Revelations", their fourth studio album -- starting with "Starlight" (i think it's getting played e-ve-ry-where). as a longtime alt/rock fan, Muse blended naturally with the sounds you usually find in my player... i'm caught in their web, baby. i've discovered a lot of their great songs, such as "Plug in Baby" (i love this!), "Sing for Absolution", "Feeling Good" (yes, a rework of Nina Simone), "Citizen Erased", "Supermassive Black Hole", and the hyper "Knights of Cydonia". i would definitely recommend this anyone who wants some incredible music to blast on their speakers, haha! it won't be long till Muse gets full recognition (their fanbase lies mostly in Britain & Europe, a growing one in the US, and a forming legion in Asia)... maybe someday i'd find bootleg copies of their LPs, who knows? ... i must mention (before i sum this up) that their lead vocalist, Matthew Bellamy = love. *lol*
Runner-Up -- Panic! at the Disco (not much bands caught my attention, hmm)

Other Silly Categories for '06
Favorite Song -- "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
Favorite Song Lyrics -- "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor
Favorite Sports Personality -- Roger Federer (who else?)
Favorite Music Station -- 103.5 Klite, to w/c i've tuned in for 6 years, RIP. :(
Favorite Rediscovery -- Norah Jones. her 3rd LP, "Not Too Late" hits 1/07!

Time Magazine has chosen the User as the Person of the Year... the user of the Net. let's keep rocking! HAPPY 2007 Y'ALL!

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Y 3:26 PM

cornucopia

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lundi, décembre 25, 2006 Y 6:30 AM

if santa is a rock star

...then Jesus is The King.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!! :)
(P.S. yes, worship services have an effect on me. *halo*)

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samedi, décembre 23, 2006 Y 3:37 PM

on a much cheerful note

after weeks of dilapidating, i'm psyched for a break! =D

revelry surely beats the crap out of wisp (aka 'wallowing in self pity'). i got to spend a fantasmic christmas party with the rest of my blockmates three days ago... never thought i'd have as much fun! we engaged in crazily perverted games (e.g. simulated dicks, egg trails, omg i better shush) that was nonetheless enjoyable, had the Secret Santa going sweetly (funny thing is that most incidentally had actual friends as Santas -- saves a whole lot of expense!), and had lots of glorious food my tummy was crying out already. the 50 bucks was well worth it. :) too bad we didn't have a party back in first year, and too bad i'm awol for paskuhan the second time around. but i'm fine with that... i promise myself i'll be up in attendance next year!

a day before the party, four of my blockmates friends and i went to the Commission on Elections' municipal office to register as full-fledged citizens of the state exercising the right to vote. *flag-waving pause* actually, i only forced them to go with me since i didn't know where it is. (one already registered, two lived in a province, and another tagged along to register too.) having been dismissed at 11, we trekked to comelec at about 11:20, and found out we were'nt going to be entertained at all since it's their lunch break. for all i know, i read a sign which said their break was from 12-1pm, where did the earlier 40 minutes go? piss. and so we grudgingly (no, hungrily) walked a stretch to the mall to do a little xmas shopping and munch the time around. we went back promptly at 1, and i scrambled through the labyrinth of this grand public institution. having only known my barangay number, i had to look for my district. the district offices located in the second floor was not as congested as the ones in the third floor (where it was dimly lit and smelly), and in relief my friend pointed out i'm in the former. there goes the start of a nightmare... simply asking for forms was excruciating! there were people pushing about, kids loitering, and some clerks had bad cases of PMS they were tossing identification cards back because they didn't meet the 'specified qualifications'. after pushing my ID for what seemed an eternity, i finally got my forms, filled them up quickly and began another series of waiting -- this time for the other step, the voter's id. it was horrible enough i had to wait over an hour for this (there was a long queue), but at least the people were cooperative. i wonder how i managed to pose in the voter's mugshot... fatigued i guess?! my stay in the comelec clocked in approximately 1 1/2 hours, while my other classmate only took less than an hour to complete everything! that's unfair hahaha!~ but what matters is that i'm registered!

(deadline of voters' registration is on december 31! make your voice heard!)

~~~

so far, i have FOUR things out of my christmas wishlist "technically" fulfilled... :

1. a big box of fig newtons... the chewies i love!
the cute little story about this concerns the Secret Santa thing in our block. we pick a name out of the stash and give'em something we know they'd love, right? at first, i incidentally picked out the name of my closest mate L. ... voila! i was already thinking of what to give her, but then they re-did the SS a few days later because it was "spoiled". (hmmm.) so we picked another name again, and now it's my seatmate! but this is not the actual angle of the story ok? my seatmate knew who picked me, and so she was asking what i wanted so she could just relay it, and i blurted out the figgies because i knew it wasn't that expensive (gifts are at a minimum of 200php) and i really really wanted it. unsuspecting who my SS is, i was teasing L sometime ago she must've chosen me because she wasn't exactly telling! and i also thought someone else picked me... what a 1 in 44 chance? not until the day before the party (she was also with me in comelec) did it spill out that she was my ACTUAL SS! (awww, spoiler!) ... splendid, isn't it? thanks a bunch Laarnie! :)

3. internet cards (i'm wasting 60% of my $$$ on this!)
i decided to give myself one. with a lot of hours to splurge on, just for this break. i've been saving on leisure time too much!

4. pirated dvds of "house" and "prison break" season 1
part of the wish came true when my seatmate lent me her copy of PB so i can watch it over the long weekend ~ i'm already planning for a marathon! thanks Geca! gimme "House" next year! :p

5. a hot soccer-related tee please!
my aunt gave me one for my birthday. it wasn't exactly a nice fit, but it's the thought that counts. ;)

~~~

The Plan for a long, happy, stress-free christmas break (wish #10):

read Coelho's "Eleven Minutes" (thanks Des!) & Grisham's "The Street Lawyer"

update my antivirus software (warped since june... the megabytes!)

download all the Muse mp3s i possibly could

"Prison Break" marathon! (gather 'round the folks!)

track down all unseen good movies and pop 'em in the player

watch "Love Actually" (it's gonna be a tradition!)

practice table tennis on any surface table

archive this blog (it's gonna take a long time)

engage in making a real portfolio blog of my stuff (essays & poetry)

resurrect my weather-beaten writing 'career', for real!

call up friends whom i haven't kept in touch with (psychic hotline!)

study... even for a teeny bit!

munch on my figgies and red wine for the holidays (ultimate indulgence!)

r-e-l-a-x, have f-u-n, c-h-i-l-l!

13 days. i'm already wasting spending the 3rd. hohoho...

... anybody up for a year-ending gimmick??? ;)

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vendredi, décembre 15, 2006 Y 11:22 AM

loss / lost.

it's been about a week already, and i only had the guts to talk about it now.

my cellular phone of 10 & 1/2 months was stolen sometime after my 19th. i have no one to blame but myself i guess... my stupidity, complacency and carelessness for the most part accounts for its loss. it's particularly depressing how this inspired so many unfortunate events to follow. i feel so down nowadays, it's almost a common occurrence for me to just glumly stare into space and think all those ugly thoughts. i've also been so spendthrift lately -- is that a coping mechanism? i can't believe i could be so unlucky. :(

if there's one thing this experience taught me, it's responsibility. i'm not growing any younger, and ignorance is not an excuse. it's a big fucking world out there -- at times a little compassionate, but oftentimes a heartless one. (and it's Christmas season dammit!) .. this is one hell of a lesson in maturity that i'm forcefed into. i shouldn't be too idealistic anymore.

re-enter the cynical world, ellie.

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even with all this trauma, necessity prods me to have to get a new cell number. and so to all my friends please disregard all messages or calls sent through my old globe #... lest you want yourself to get in trouble :|

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and oh, i REALLY REALLY HATE BLOGGER BETA!!! %$^#@*(!!!
took me more than two hours just to sign in! now that's luck!

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Y 11:21 AM

tellyvegan once more

before going fg again, i first have to breathe out Tyler & James' win @ The Amazing Race 10!!! .. yay!!! with a lot of brawn and a whole lot of luck, they were able to finish first in the mat, followed by couple Rob & Kim, and the 'Bama moms Lyn & Karlyn. honestly i knew they'd win (since i'm a spoiler gal), but the little taxi race with Rob & Kim onto the pitstop was so suspense-filled i gave a big original shriek when it showed the boys arrived first. the absolutely dashing Phil gave his little spiel again about the "5 continents... " and there goes the hugging, smiling and crying and the family picture once more. =)

it was a good thing that the producers were able to squeeze in a bit of France in the one-hour (1 hour!!!) finale, but somehow this whole thing left me short because 1) it wasn't a two-hour ending which was always a standard in the previous seasons, 2) there wasn't much drama, and 3) there weren't much tasks before claiming the $1M prize -- mostly just transportation fidgeting. anyhoo, at least i was able to distinguish james (the hotter model) from tyler correctly on this show! hahaha... (believe me, i didn't really know dustin from kandice even after they were eliminated!) ;p ... another season is over, The Amazing Race All-Stars will come soon ~ summer next year i hope!

... i've also been watching TAR's sister show Survivor: Cook Islands... started some five episodes back. just so you know, i have heartily detested "Survivor" in the past for being such a pointless race (i have never watched any of the 10? seasons), but since i was bored one fine afternoon and it was airing right in my tv, i tried to watch and i got hooked. (look who's talking.) i'm just glad jonathan's finally out, and from the 6 that was left, my pick right now would be either yul or ozzy for the finale. =)



I love you Guido! You can be my roadside assistant anytime! *LOL*

i finally got to catch the movie "Cars" on DVD while de-stressing, home-alone style. i thought i'd never like it but i did! even if i'm not too keen on cars, the movie was certainly a good treat for my doldrums. i liked the story -- another warm n' fuzzy Disney magic there! and the characters are lovable -- Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater, Doc Hudson, Luigi and especially Guido! our man G is the assistant to Luigi's Casa della Tires, pitstop expert to McQueen in the race, and all-around Italian hottie! hahaha :D he was so cute when he did his Porsche Italia thing! i wanna watch "Cars" again, if just for him hihihi :) be rounding out other cartoons in my break -- i'm back to my childhood!

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lundi, décembre 04, 2006 Y 12:40 PM

supermassive

whee~ it's christmas month already! ^_^

to cap it off, i've got a new layout! i hereby call it Scarlett.Starlight . Scarlett, because as promised, i wanted to put SJ on the header for version 7. it really took me a long time to search for a fitting pic, and i discovered this just last week on a French sj fansite that is a great source for all her lovely photos. this is photographed by Sheryl Nields, who also did her shoot for Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive issue. the other half that is Starlight is mainly due to the British alt-rock band Muse, whose song of the same title is one of my faves (that explains the lyrics excerpt). another to credit is the background pic which i got on a wonderful graphics site. the template's in all shades of pink, huh? i'm going oh-so-girly again *blush* ... i've also switched to Blogger Beta. the good thing is that i'll be able to archive my entries into a dozen categories -- that would take a lot of time though, considering i've got 210 posts of all sorts of b.s. =p ... a little problem i have with beta is that i have to log-in everytime i post (can't seem to get the "remember me" function intact). hope the Blogger guys know about this.

luckily the much-feared storm didn't hit the city... but then our CWTS activity pushed through yesterday. we actually had the first of two GK activities the other sunday that left me exhausted, but this time i was totally unprepared since i didn't know we'd be continuing it (with the late go-signal announcement that i only got through text the night before) immediately after the storm. so instead of spending a lazy sunday at home, i went into "Bob the Builder" mode! we were 'trying' to build structures in some remote place in qc -- the boys laying the hollow blocks & levelling the surface, while the girls heaved sacks of land (with a mix of smelly fertilizer!), gravel, and stones in a bee line to the houses. we had to do it under the excruciating heat of the sun, man! i was sweating all over the place! i went two shades darker, and i even had a minor ankle sprain because of those sacks! but then i know i'm doing this for the greater sake of humanity... (ha ha)

spending the last of my free days... another break in about 2 weeks =)

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