a semi-charmed, so-called life || v.10

2008-07-24T14:27:00.000+08:00

mood: tired
song: Gravity - Sara Bareilles

dear loyal readers (if i still have one),

forgive my disappearance for the past four months.
i'm dropping my new address, in case you still love me :)

FINALLY MOVED TO WORDPRESS! (CLICK HERE)

let's go summer

2008-03-23T01:31:00.000+08:00

mood: still awake
song: Across the Universe - Rufus Wainwright

*heaves a small sigh of relief* finally, i am now entitled to a three-week vacation... i almost thought i wouldn't survive PsychoWeek (i detest the fact they have to torture us by squeezing all the horrible tests and final exams -- read: accounting straight four days -- every time the semester's winding up). however, i am still optimistic that i will leave this gruesome chapter of my life without a scratch. (i might be getting really bad grades influenced by my midterm performance, but that's fine :p) ... to withstand all these purgatory thoughts, i am joined by my comfort food (namely: pizza, ice cream, cake, tacos, chips... and i have yet to unscrew that bottle of Bailey's Chocolate Mint but i'm saving it for clearance day), and watching my favorite movies and Simpsons DVDs. and i'm finally utilizing my w660i (Giorgio!) properly, feeding it with mp3s and videos and pictures and Michael Johns (who is mega- <3 !). i am going to be a bum, yes!

footloose and fancy-free... i spent the first day of my so-called freedom with a couple of my cousins to Ace Water Spa. i haven't gone swimming for a while now (the last time was notably in Boracay), and i haven't had any spa treatments yet, so this thing is quite a first. after much deliberation, we were up to our 'bare essentials'... and then i noticed my spaghetti top was somehow loosened from all the laundry wrinkling, but anyhoo. camouflaged thunder thighs check, we headed for the the pools. since i didn't have my contacts on, i didn't have to be so conscious about taking a dip, that was until i saw my top ballooning and the rim of my pants floating from the force of the bubble jets that i swear i couldn't keep my clothes on from the blasting. :P

comedy flubs aside, i enjoyed the whole experience. Des, who has been there before, told me that the must-dips are the herbal pools and the freezing tub. i wanted to stay in the freezing tub (because they didn't have any cold pools!), but then i might catch pneumonia harhar. the hydrotherapy pools (as they were called) lived up to their names, since you can get blasted on every point of your body, at least relieving the pressure points. what i liked most was the 'bed massage' where you lie facedown and there's a humongous stormy shower jet focused on your back; and the chest massage which i used on my head and neck, leaving me totally relaxed from all the tension mounting on my skull these few weeks. i was also quite proud that i got to swim four laps in the big pool... and i know how to do my 'bicycle backfloat' properly!

====
watched "Horton" yesterday. fun fun movie! easily likeable animation, and the humor is delightful. i swear i won't tire watching it. surely beats the mammoths of "10000 B.C." anytime (which really, really sucked!). :)

Maroon 5 @ March 5: won't go home without it

2008-03-06T10:58:00.005+08:00

mood: very very pleased
song: Sweetest Goodbye - Maroon 5

my brain's all mush and i'm feeling groggy, but nothing beats last night's concert! it's a first for me, and i'm very satisfied and happy one of my biggest wishes was fulfilled this soon! MAROON 5 ROCKS!

(photo courtesy of RuNeFiRe (really good shots!))

dispatches from last night:
(i can't organize my thoughts, haha. save for a latter post!)

companions: S. (aka my mom, who's also a fan ha!) and A. we were already at the Araneta by 5pm! finally got inside around 6:20pm

the show started around 8:45pm (no front act), stunning us all. the place was suddenly packed (or i didn't notice them coming!)

the setlist was just as planned. there were 14 songs.

recap of songs: If I Never See your Face Again, Makes Me Wonder, Harder to Breathe, The Sun, Can't Stop, Secret, Shiver, Wake up Call, Sunday Morning, Won't Go Home Without You, This Love. encore: Little of Your Time, She Will Be Loved, Sweetest Goodbye

somehow i wished they also played Nothing Lasts Forever and Back At Your Door (Thailand had 16 songs!) but then i'm not exactly complaining. ;)

i wasn't expecting that they'd be good live, but they surpassed that expectation by a mile!

"If I Never See Your Face Again" is a great opener. "are you ready Manila?" wooooo!!! and Adam counting in accentless tagalog!

ergo, Adam Levine: *speechless.*

my favorite member James Valentine was the rock god of the night -- he was so awesome and hyper! he and adam was just rockin' hot!

Jesse (my other favorite) was really enjoying the whole thing. Mickey was banging, and Matt (who replaced Ryan) was super, he even had a solo before the encore!

the crowd vibe went up a notch as they sang "Sunday Morning" (9th track) and from then on. the band felt the love!

"Won't Go Home Without You" was the obvious highlight of the night. Adam fell silent and had a big smile while everyone was singing the chorus over and over.

i thought they'd be done with "She Will Be Loved", but then i guess the gods must've heard my plea and had my all-time favorite "Sweetest Goodbye" as the finale. i was so ecstatic. XD

lasted approximately 1 1/2 hour. quite short but i am dead happy.

for all the singing and screaming and bobbing and stomping and catcalling and on-high adrenaline mood i had last night, i acted surprisingly normal today. i even got to class early (even if i'm a zombie and all)

their concert was great timing for me. (it were held any day next week, i'll be damned!) again, the universe conspires with moi! hahaha.

---

... the concert's still looping in my head! what a night to remember. LOVE LOVE LOVE!<3

**on edit: i guess this'll have to do for now. need internet withdrawal. save the fangirling after the finals! :p

good vibrations

2008-02-20T12:20:00.005+08:00

mood: energetic
song: Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

a roundup of my January: i spent almost 3 weeks down in a state of exhaustion and depression (total mental and emotional breakdown, man!), and not only that, i fell sick on the last week due to salmonella! (it was really horrible.) i guess all these stemmed from the slew of activities we've had (quizzes, the prelims, the research paper, projects, overall anxiety from schoolwork) and that i haven't been well-rested since christmas vacation. those awful days also brought the worst of me, and i thought i could never recover.

so after what has seemed to be the crappiest month of my entire life, things have slowly started to breeze the right way. something tells me that everything will be f-i-n-e!

----

... need i say that february 13 was one ~~hell~~ heaven of a lucky day!

fresh from the euphoria of getting a 98% on our much-devoted research paper the other day, and seeing my crush (woo!) that morning, i thought the fun ended there. so my friend L. and i went surfing on the internet after lunch. i mindlessly scrolled around and decided to check my Gmail account, which i rarely use. imagine my shock when i actually had new email -- and from Sony Ericsson!

backstory: December 21 friday afternoon, when i got hold of the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Dec 19, 2007 paper. my favorite Lifestyle 2bu! section. (that was the weekly youth section that got my "Vertical Challenge" published) had a feature on the new Sony Ericsson walkman phones, and a contest was open and they were giving away the phones! ... the task was like: what music do you listen to while commuting / on the road. make it funny and unique, and you win! deadline is December 22 midnight --- i have only hours left to submit!

being the consummate dilettante that i am, i grabbed a pen and paper and started squeezing my brains out, thinking about all my commuting heaven and hell. i wasn't even in the house that time, so when i got home that evening, i zoomed to the computer and banged away what was supposed to be my entry. it's funny i rode the usual public bus that night, only giving me much more food for thought. (90.7 Love Radio, anyone?)

so i sent in my entry at about 10:40pm of Dec 21. whew!

[[ Click here to read the contest entry. ]]

shameless plugging : while you're at it, do check out The HT Project as it's been newly updated. :)

[[ and here's the email they sent. ]]

upon reading it, shock swamped all over me and i was nudging L to read it too. OMG, I WON!!! ^.^;;; ... my brain zoomed in all places and i couldn't stop squirming in my seat. it took me several minutes to digest (yeah right haha), and started writing my reply. i was overcome with a joyous feeling, because i knew i wanted the phone all along. well to be honest the news came unexpectedly, and due to the many unfortunate events the past month i felt despondent about the contest (i thought i didn't win, and that a month has already passed since), and so i threw the Dec 19 article away. who'd da thunk?

[[ The January 30 announcement ]]

when i got home i called up Sony's PR firm and got the details. they actually published the winners last January 30 (my salmonella week), and i was the only one who hasn't claimed the prize yet! and so i hurriedly called my parents, and silly enough, my dad volunteered to go with me to claim it -- the next day, Valentine's Day! what a lovely coincidence. i was absolutely thrilled when we got there and claimed it, and to be able to actually see and feel the phone (wahaha i've never won anything like this!) was so surreal.

i remember telling my parents the day i sent that entry that i was positive i was going to win it. a Sony Ericsson was always my dream phone, and i really poured my energy out, even with the limited time and the fatigue. miracles do happen! therefore i say: never underestimate the power of the mind. :)

because i'm still speechless right now, the medium is the message:

~~ I LOVE MY W660i!!! ~~

====

and one last thing that made my Feb 13 crazy:

we finally got tickets for the Maroon 5 - Live in Manila Concert!
i thought we were never going to watch it anymore. countdown: just 2 weeks away (march 5 baby!)!!! i will be loved!~~

some hearts

2008-02-14T11:34:00.002+08:00

mood: happy

song: My Funny Valentine - Chris Botti

*something beautiful i read that's perfect for the day*

Me gustas cuando callas (Poema XV)
Pablo Neruda

Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,
y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca.
Parece que los ojos se te hubieran volado
y parece que un beso te cerrara la boca.

Como todas las cosas están llenas de mi alma
emerges de las cosas, llenas del alma mía.
Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mí alma,
y te pareces a la palabra melancolía.

Me gustas cuando callas y estás como distante.
Y estás como quejándote, mariposa en arrullo.
Y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te alcanza:
Déjame que me calle con el silencio tuyo.

Déjame que te hable también con tu silencio
claro como una lámpara, simple como un anillo.
Eres como la noche, callada y constelada.
Tu silencio es de estrella, tan lejano y sencillo.

Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente.
Distante y dolorosa como si hubieras muerto.
Una palabra entonces, una sonrisa bastan.
Y estoy alegre, alegre de que no sea cierto.

======

translation:

I Like For You to be Still

I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you.
It seems as though your eyes had flown away
and it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth.

As all things are filled with my soul
you emerge from the things, filled with my soul.
You are like my soul, a butterfly of dream,
and you are like the word Melancholy.

I like for you to be still, and you seem far away.
It sounds as though you were lamenting, a butterfly cooing like a dove.
And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:
Let me come to be still in your silence.

And let me talk to you with your silence
that is bright as a lamp, simple as a ring.
You are like the night, with its stillness and constellations.
Your silence is that of a star, as remote and candid.

I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
distant and full of sorrow as though you had died.
One word then, one smile, is enough.
And I am happy, happy that it's not true.

hollywoodland

2008-01-28T00:26:00.000+08:00

mood: tired
song: Love Song - Sara Bareilles

i really think i should put up a separate 'showbiz' blog, with the barrage of hollywood-inspired posts that (thankfully) overshadow my ~~pathetic~~ mawkish life. movies and music simply are my favorite pastimes. i was supposed to do an awfully long rant about how horrible my recent crisis / breakdown went (VERY HIGH DRAMA!), but retelling it here is quite a depressing task. so, on to lighter things!

---

as any moviegoer would say, i can't wait for the Oscars. it's been my annual tradition to look up the nominations and anticipate for the winners (and so far, i haven't missed a telecast since 1997). one of the good things about awards seasons is that (well, aside from the politics and the aggressive campaigning) 'quality films' get noticed. hollywood isn't just about blockbusters and romantic comedies and sequels. there are movies that have a lot of passion and character in them, and if they're good for the jury, then it must be something. it's just sad that not much of these movies drift by the country (most are shown here really late. others run for a limited screening only, and others simply don't exist. better look for dvds!).

with this thought, the first two movies i've seen this year are quite worthy of accolades.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one bloody sweet musical. the 1979 Tony Award-winning play by Stephen Sondheim has been adapted to the screen by the dark loving hands of Tim Burton and his equally dark loving collaborator Johnny Depp. at first i was unfazed about the movie, since i wasn't really fond of musicals and dark loving stuff (!). but in the middle of macabre hell week (just after taking two exams in the morning), mom persuaded us to watch it (right.this.moment.!) so the gang went to the nearest theater about 3 hours later. with my senses still reeling badly, i sat there with an exanimate feeling. some time after, the sado-masochist in me started kicking in (nyahaha) and smiled ridiculously at the blood gleefully splashing across the screen. i started thinking Johnny can actually sing! his baritone can be very moving, i was tingling (it was the "My Friends" part, i think). the lyrics are so funny and lovable and well-thought out... Sondheim is a genius; you can definitely call its music as the story. after watching its entirety did i find the gore disturbing. and the cast was superb... blast from the past with three "HP" characters in there! Alan Rickman is always amazing, i was surprised when he sang too haha... and the boy playing Toby is an angel. (never mind the lovebirds - merely eyecandy!) ... this film is visually spectacular as well as a feast of melodic wit.

we saw American Gangster yesterday and wondered why it didn't fare well at the Oscar noms. perhaps it was reminiscent of "The Departed"? this topbills Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe (respectively Best Actors both) in a 1970's-set crime drama. it isn't my preferred genre either but interestingly enough, blood (as with the former) was a great enticer. (ok, so i'm set to murder people now!!! ^^;;) ... the story was effective. both of them delivered solid performances... somehow Denzel is good with playing baddie roles (like in "Training Day") but he's still as sleek as ever. as the movie was based on actual events, it's nice to think that things like this happen: the glory of telling the truth.

---

finally, the Oscar nominees roundup notes:

"No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" as frontrunners: honestly, i'm not fond of "Southern locale" movies, but since they're in the loop, i might as well watch 'em. bigger bump on "No Country...", based on Cormac McCarthy's novel, with Javier Bardem playing a murderer as menacing as his hair.

"Juno" is a delightful shoo-in at the Best Picture category. it's like this year's "Little Miss Sunshine". the little triumph story that could, penned by Diablo Cody - a twentysomething ad man turned stripper turned screenwriter. Ellen Page is a darling (i read the "Time" interview). and the movie has Michael Cera (of "Superbad" fame) playing the baby's dorky dad!

"Atonement" could be a very long shot. while having won Best Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes, it has been shut out in other award-giving bodies. aside from BP, most of their nominations were technical. it should win something! period dramas rule!

my 2007 favorite movie "Ratatouille" got a lot of noms, amazingly for a cartoon. (it even has a Best Original Screenplay nod!) ... in the Best Animated Film though, it could face tough competition from "Persepolis", a France-Iran monochrome project about Muslim girls defying tradition. (i've seen the previews, and it looks interesting!) ... but no fear, i'm still counting on Remy!

"The Simpsons Movie" got snubbed! d'oh with "Surf's Up"! :(

my other 2007 favorite movie "The Bourne Ultimatum" got 3 winks! hooray Matt!

sad i wasn't able to catch "La Vie En Rose"'s theater run, with all the buzz surrounding Marion Cotillard's performance as the iconic Edith Piaf. also, has "Gone Baby Gone" shown in here?

"Enchanted" having 3 out of 5 in the Best Song category still isn't a assurance that it wins one. (remember "Dreamgirls" being upset by Melissa Etheridge of "An Inconvenient Truth"?) though i would like to see the guy who sang "So Close".

i'm surprised "Hairspray" didn't get nominated at all. as well as "The Great Debaters" and "A Mighty Heart".

so, the movie list catches the fever:
H's Movie Guide (updated 01/27/08):

Must-see: Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl, Across the Universe, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Michael Clayton, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Juno, The Bucket List, Vantage Point, La Vie En Rose, Persepolis, Charlie Wilson's War, Paris Je t'aime, The Kite Runner, A Mighty Heart, The Great Debaters, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Love in the Time of Cholera, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Oscar-wise: No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Away From Her, I'm Not There, The Savages

infinitesimal

2008-01-09T14:16:00.000+08:00

mood: geeky
has it been a week since new year's? it feels like an awfully long time ago. right now the exhaustion's creeping up, partially due to not having had a proper relaxing christmas vacation. but i'm glad that i was able to make the most of it.

with the lack of kilometric blogging, i'm opting to make a summary (and not a novella!) of my goings-on last month, to save you the good parts. =D

~ WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE! ~

December 6: @ vente
there's no reason why december isn't my favorite month -- mom's birthday starts it all... the dine and whine! my launch into wisdom went fortunately well -- i got to spend neat chunks of it with my intimate friends (ha!) and my family, but most of all it became an impetus of my life realizations, and i began my personal campaign for finding my purpose. i believe that 20 is going to be a significant year for me. :)

December 15: under the star-filled night
the d-day for every wannabe writer of uste... i finally joined this year's Gawad Ustetika (almost didn't for the third year running, but since i promised anne i'd write... i did!), writing about my favorite topic = me. (haha. updating The Portfolio soon) ... wildly enough i was able to beat the deadline and getting all the technicalities done, when 10 days before that i was grappling with a topic. a month later, my favorite girl and i went to the so-called 'awards night' at the university's quadricentennial park. the evening was a throwback to 'something like prom night': with a number of ladies and gents dressed to the nines, soft bossa nova playing, the rhythmic fountain springing, and beautiful strobes adorning the trees. the attire was semi-formal, but i looked like a prof with my long sleeves! the program was good; there was some honoring, some entertaining, and some winning of course. it's funny that in our table of five contestants, three of them won -- and not just that, one of 'em bagged three, including the Rector's Literary Award! (congrats again Khristine!) ... the night wouldn't be complete without the dinner culminating the event, as we were treated to a sumptuous buffet (paella! lechon! bolognese! salmon! dessert!). i don't feel bad about being empty-handed... i was glad to be able to join this competition, and be surrounded in the company of thinkers. (major ego boost eh? *kidding*)... i'd definitely enter again next year (if not for the food! =p) ~~and if there was one plus factor, i saw my dreamboat that night wahahaha... first major lurve! ^^;;;;~~

December 18: what i'd do for...
our class christmas party was enjoyable as always... it was pretty much equal to last year's, as we had a lot of games (now improved) and a lot of food (plus ice cream!). i like the effort the officers made so that we could have a nicer bond. the secret santa took on a whole new meaning for me this time, as i had to give a real special present to A., whose wishlist was a donation to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) . i've never given a more inspired gift than that, so i took on the challenge. no small thanks in part to mom and ms. marian from paws, wish granted! mine was fulfilled too, as i was given a set of foreign language phrasebooks. merci / danke schoen / grazie / arigato, L.M.!

December 19: first time's a thrill
giving in to the persistence of laarnie, i attended this year's Paskuhan for the first time in my existence. i came early to meet des for some catching up, who shocked me with the loss of her phone. to drive away the blues, we went around and chatted and met some batchmates of ours. at the grandstand, we were impatiently waiting for the festivities to really start, when a few minutes later lo and behold, firecrackers started firing just 15 feet behind us! it was a stunning spectacle, seeing the lights right in front of your eyes. it lasted about 10 minutes, and by the end of it des and i was grinning from ear to ear. that was one marvelous show. unfortunately she had to leave early, and so about an hour later i met up with laarnie and her friend. due to really bad signal traffic in the campus, we weren't able to meet our other blockmates, leaving us short of people. it was fun anyway, with the food, freebies and picture taking just about anywhere... ~~i got to see * again!~~. i left the area at around 11pm, not knowing there was a concert sometime afterwards! no matter, Paskuhan '07 was memorable just the same. :)

December 25: christmas cleanup
our customary practice at home when the year-end kicks in was to do some spring cleaning. obviously our house was one hell of a mess for a year's worth of semi-neglect, with piles all over the place (mostly by yours truly!) ... discarded all the useless clutter, gave away our clothes and stuff, and tidied up the rooms. i promise myself i won't make my desk look like a compost pit -- clean living right on! after all the fixing up, we were finally able to breathe well, rewarding ourselves with Starbucks (Frap in a bottle!) and choco-walnut cookies. throw the slob act away!

December 22, 26-29: ellie the workmeister
serendipitously enough, i got a chance to do actual accounting work! my mom's office was short of people to do the bookkeeping last december, so i kinda scrubbed in. so for the 30-something hours i spent hobnobbing around, i encoded the receipts into their accounting system. those terms i kept on droning on from the books came to life, and even the database brought back (not-so-fond) memories of (murderous) tinkering my visual basic program! it was relatively easy save for a few hesitations and triple-checking. i'm happy i was able to have this work opportunity, even if only for 4 days (i felt welcome in the office... they were generous enough for the 1100 php... thank you!)... because chances like this are few and far. sure beats counting cobwebs and doing nothing at home! :)

December 31 - January 1: revelry
apart from the annual new year's eve family gatherings we have, the folks and i -- for the first time in years -- decided to go the extra stretch and spend the last day of the year for some serious fun! after the lunch feast, we first stopped over to SM Mall of Asia (went people-watching, window-shopping, sunset-viewing, sandwich-munching -- we even took a free tram ride!) ... and when night fell, the manic sheep in us flew and crossed over to the Global Fun Carnival! it's been my wish to go there, not having gone to those things for about a decade already... i want to feel like a kid again! i guess i pretty much rode everything -- the Wave Swinger (twice -- like EK's Flying Fiesta), the Ranger (thrice -- like Anchors Away, only it rotates upside down! my favorite =D), the Flipper (which made me really dizzy), the Carousel (twice! haha), the Bump Cars (twice! i suck at driving xp), the mini Roller Coaster, the Space Invader thing, and let's not forget the Ferris Wheel (four times!) ... the most memorable was when we ran for our lives to it at 11:50pm just so we could catch a ride atop in time for 12 midnight - New Year's Day! i believe we were destined to, since we were the last passengers to be let in for that duration... and we even had an extended 4-minute ride! we saw Manila popping all over, with the many firecrackers lighting up parts of the sky... it was so surreal. i was saying breathlessly "this is so perfect!". i'm thankful we were able to experience it. i'm proud of my parents, for being so game to do this with me. :) we were in the carnival for a total of seven hours, and by the time we got home it was already 2:30am... so exhausted but totally overjoyed. =D

---
a lesson i learned last 2007 and constantly keep to mind is: If you want something, do all means to have it, and you will get it. it's The Secret itself, more known as The Power of Attraction. no, i haven't read the book, but i think this is the essence of it. when you really want something to happen, be positive that you will be able to attain it. don't cloud it with any doubts, and make an effort into making it possible. the mind is a truly powerful thing, i tell you. that's what i realized with these events, so enough of my guru-ness... try it! =)

you've got to hide your love away

2008-01-04T12:14:00.000+08:00

mood: jubilant

one month in the making...

introducing the most simplified version of schizoesque, v10 - mademoiselle featuring the delightful Keira Knightley. it's all down to one box with little trimmings. i wanted a classic look, so it's a smattering of black, gray, white and red hues (i didn't take down what's left of the christmas template... a little more refurbishing)... brushed are the lines from the song "East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)" by Diana Krall to delight the senses.

another new thing would be the mood theme -- Dr. James Wilson is in da House! xp

so little time, so much to post. :|

N.O.W.

2008-01-01T11:42:00.000+08:00

Starlight, starbright: A view from the top on New Year's Day '08, 12:01 am
@ the Ferris Wheel, Global Fun Carnival

The 2008 Gameplan:
NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED!

happy new year everybody! =)

it's the most wonderful time...

2007-12-25T00:46:00.000+08:00

from me to you
have a merry little christmas!

you're gonna carry that weight a long time...

2007-12-06T23:32:00.001+08:00

a thought bubble popped in my head as the last precious minutes of the day pass:

"Good Lord, I want to be somebody."

---

"Twentysomething"

After years of expensive education
A car full of books and anticipation
I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot
But the world don't need scholars as much as I thought
Maybe I'll go traveling for a year
Finding myself, or start a career
Could work the poor, though I'm hungry for fame
We all seem so different but we're just the same
Maybe I'll go to the gym, so I don't get fat
Aren't things more easy, with a tight six pack
Who knows the answers, who do you trust
I can't even separate love from lust
Maybe I'll move back home and pay off my loans
Working nine to five, answering phones
But don't make me live for Friday nights
Drinking eight pints and getting in fights
Maybe I'll just fall in love
That could solve it all
Philosophers say that that's enough
There surely must be more
Love ain't the answer, nor is work
The truth eludes me so much it hurts
But I'm still having fun and I guess that's the key
I'm a twentysomething and I'll keep being me

---

the other bubble would be: "I'm so fat and fugly!!!!" :P

thanks for the love everyone.

when sh!t happens...

2007-12-01T17:30:00.000+08:00

i was supposed to release my new blog template today, but due to horrible circumstances, 3 hours and limited coding knowledge, the launch will have to be aborted. i certainly hate blogger for this.

headline: labor-of-love turned disaster!

so this generic template will serve temporarily as i work out the kinks.
i don't know when i'll be able to set it up right. grrrr.

----

happy birthday to mom tomorrow, even if she doesn't know this exists! :D

the illiterate geek's movie guide

2007-11-29T09:19:00.000+08:00

years ago, when i was an idealistic young sod who couldn't wait to bust out of high school, thought that college life would be such a breeze. you don't need a lot of books, just some sheets of paper and a fancy bag to put them all in. getting a degree is a pie. my social life would be awesome. four years of a nice balancing act between knowing it all and having fun after class. wrong on several counts. the way i see it, it's like i'm back in high school all over again -- the bags are bigger, the books loads heavier. and you have to lug 'em everyday, that by 5 years you'll have suffered spinal damage. and there's the photocopying machine... it seems that you always have to get something xeroxed almost on a daily basis. handouts here, additional references there, and i guarantee you that by the end of term you'll have a closet-full of smelly 50-cent scrap, half you won't even dare try to reread. (poor trees.) it's almost impossible to have a functioning extracurricular existence because the time is too taxing. and you'd better stick your butt to your books. the bottom line? college is gruesome.

...and expensive. it's all in a student's day to budget the measly allowance. sometimes you just have to compromise the stuff you badly want for ridiculous school expenses. do we really get our money's worth for the fees charged upon us? not all books are being read anyway. (it's annoying when profs refer to other books and barely use the ones required.) and i don't really see the significance of student orgs' fees unless they do something really useful and not just use it to promote themselves.

before someone kicks me in the face, i'm diverting the attention to what i love: movies! we folks have been a movie-going bunch lately (yes! resurrect the popcorn!) and i'm really glad there's some good stuff just 'round the corner (it's Oscar season, so it ought to be!) :)

Atonement: Might just be one of my fave films this season.

i don't read a lot of books anymore. the last time i managed to finish a novel, it took me 6 months to sit the whole thing out. (it was John Grisham's "The Last Juror". no, it wasn't because it was dull -- actually i'd rank it high on the Grisham hot list! and i like it because it was similar to my #1 The Rainmaker) ... and before that, i probably read only 3 other books this year. i can't brand myself as a bookworm anymore, not with the years of neglect and waning enthusiasm. (i should also say that with my "writing prowess" -- this blog as the evidence! xp) ... J.K. Rowling should be honored that Harry Potter was a hit and that it all got us back into burying our noses on thick tomes, because otherwise this generation would've gone nearly illiterate. (i would like to say, once and for all, that i h8 txt lnguij.) ... and i'm just as glad that Hollywood's taking notice of this phenomena. what better way to reintroduce reading than through 2-hour visual advertising?

Atonement

but then let's start with Beowulf. we caught it last sunday, and who would've thought that an Old English Poem of Old would turn up to be interesting? i remember reading an excerpt of this during 3rd year english and gawd i was so bored. with the power of animation, a little deviation, and Angelina Jolie -- et voila! XD

i saw the preview for "Atonement" for the very first time, and must i say i cried! hahaha. it was that amazing. i don't know why i had a natural curiosity for this -- hmmm, Keira Knightley? James McAvoy? the WWII backdrop? the plot? the wardrobe? -- but i found the whole package interesting anyway. "Atonement" is written by Ian McEwan, who's quite a literary toast of the town lately with the raves i've read on his works ("On Chesil Beach", "Saturday", etc.). to summarize, the story is seen through the eyes of a 13-year old wannabe writer, who in search for the perfect story, one day caught her beautiful sister with their servant's educated son. she squeals, one thing led to another, and soon enough their lives will be changed... toss in the war for a bleak, dramatic backdrop. very intriguing. the movie reviews have been generally favorable, some even hinting that it could be a possible Oscar contender. ... i'm drooling now!

... the book's actually on Time Magazine's List of the 100 Best Novels of All Time, and i'm scouting around the bookstores but then it's out of stock. and also i don't know when the film will be shown, giving me ample time whether to wait for a sale. :|

The Other Boleyn Girl

i've talked about this on the other site, but i couldn't resist.

Eric Bana + Scarlett Johansson + Natalie Portman = Smoldering!and royal subjects are always fascinating. this one is based on Philippa Gregory's fictionized historical novel about the court of King Henry VIII (hot hot Eric!) and two sisters fighting for his love and the ultimate prestige. Mary Boleyn (Scarlett) has always been Henry's favorite mistress, until the younger Anne (Natalie) blossomed up and started conniving to pull Mary out of the circle and seducing the King. the stake for Queendom is somewhere up there of course, and this is where Mary makes a crucial decision. (the rest is history, as we know that Anne had Elizabeth I, but was later beheaded.)

it makes for a somewhat-thick tome, i wonder how they'll translate it to the screen. also remind me to look up "Marie Antoinette" by Antonia Fraser (and the movie with Kirsten Dunst).

Across the Universe

i know it's not book-related or anything, but hey, it's got the spirit of The Beatles! :)

The blurb reads: "A romantic musical told mainly through numerous Beatles songs performed by the characters. A young man from Liverpool comes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. He winds up in Greenwich Village, where he falls in love with an American girl who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs. Together they experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60's."

as i rated "I Am Sam" as one of my all-time favorites mainly because it was Beatles-inspired, i'm pretty sure this might make it up there too. not your typical high school musical.

Other Films of Note, adapted or otherwise:

The Golden Compass

Love in the Time of Cholera

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Charlie Wilson's War

Michael Clayton

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

---

watch out for my template this weekend! :)

just pinging

2007-11-10T23:13:00.000+08:00

my brains are still sauteed, vacation-style. i haven't got over it, good enough we had college week at the start of term. uneventful, but i had to endure a lot of listening (so many lecture-talk thingies...). need to shake off the morning disease of "i don't want to go to school!" and start waking up at 5:20 once more. bummer. it's time to meet my good old friend accounting again.

if there's any nice thing about 2nd sem, it's that we only have morning classes this time (MWF 0700-1100, TThS 0700-1230) since took up computer earlier. it's fun to go home and siesta :p

during the first few days i thought i was going to lose my best pal (since 1st yr) because she wasn't able to enroll yet. she's had her share of problems, and she told me she might study somewhere else... i was feeling miserable by then. fatefully, she came on the fourth day of classes and everything went back to normal :)

i was quite moved by the week's events, i'm finally able to accomplish an essay for a contest i've been planning to join. i'll reveal it sometime :)

so, how did my break go? movie splurge! naming 'em from the top of my head:
Stardust, Rendition, Lust | Caution (on theaters)
Click, The Producers, V for Vendetta (on cable)
The Bourne Identity / Supremacy / Ultimatum (ultimate JB fan!)
Ocean's 12, Ocean's 13, Training Day
Farewell My Concubine, Temptress Moon (Gong Li's movies)
... and Season 3 of Lost! I'm already on the 16th. Love it!

see? another vacation wasted away :p
will be watching Lions for Lambs tomorrow.

Phil alert: The Amazing Race 12 is alive and kicking! :D

belated 20th to Bern, and get well soon Anni!

algorithms

2007-10-25T19:03:00.000+08:00

as always, i would like to start with the weather -- it's cooperating very well with the tingle of hallows and the holiday chill. nights start early, and the pitter-patter of raindrops just makes me want to fall into a mellow mood (popping that jazz cd right now). oh boy. i'm lounging my sembreak away (only then do i remind myself it's my 2nd to the last october vacation -- ever!) ...

my frequent abstinence from blogging can be attributed to many things -- 1) loss of time, 2) loss of words, 3) loss of energy. and here's the fourth one: Scrabble. ever since i installed that thing last week when i finally fixed my blacked-out PC (which was dead for 2 weeks), i couldn't help but play that game first every time i boot... and it never ends! brings back a lot of childhood memories where we'd put the letter tiles in a big coca-cola cup and now... where is that? anyhow, i'm addicted to scrabble and i'm not denying it. i've been trying to beat the computer in the tournament edition, and so far i've outsmarted Smart. i'm hell-bent to conquer!

i got my grades the other day... not so bad, but not so good either. (they were macabre, actually. my GPA is at an all-time low.) i'm happy enough that i passed and hit no 3s'. so, i shall forever resolve to study harder and break it again. ;)

what else is hot? Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. is a recepient of the Nobel Peace Prize! isn't that amazing? he didn't capture the presidency, but he's the hero now! (as opposed to that lame duck sitting on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.) ... that brings me back to the time i was mega-gaga over Al and his 2000 campaign (he was still sexy then.) ... eventually he "lost", conceding the week after my birthday. i was so overwhelmed with emotion i wrote a long and winding fanmail addressed to his Tennessee home, telling him how much i admire and respect him, and that he needn't despair about the situation, because there are certainly a lot more things that he can accomplish (or words to that effect). look what's happening! kudos dear. :)

(psych~~edel~~ic moment: before i have the chance to say this again, i also remembered during the heat of the race, a local radio station -- 103.5 klite, miss you badly -- had a talkback topic about the US election the night before, like predictions of who's going to win, so phone in and state your case. i grabbed the dialer and got through. i was panicking on what i'd say about Gore's plus points, when all i could mumble was "Gore's got a good environment record. You know, when Bush was governor of Texas, the state was named as one of the most polluted." i still have a record of the show somewhere around.)

(so it's also a coincidence that i was raving about Glorietta's apple pie -- of all places -- on my last post. maybe i really should make a run for those clairvoyants' money.)

roger lost to nalbandian, his fifth this year. (maybe next year, babe.) nicolas sarkozy finally quelched the divorce rumors. (i suppose this was all premeditated.) britney's always in the news (i hate your new video, and i don't want you!) ... and to top it all off, Albus Dumbledore is G-A-Y!!!!! one of my beloved HP characters has come out! my innocence is crushed! (i wonder how many others will reveal themselves... *evil laugh*)

i think it's about time i change my layout again. new beginnings...

... i would also like to say i've turned in a new 'do! curly tops =p

===

note to stupid hackers: you gave us a f**king headache when you bombarded us with a 1000+php bill for international calls! f**kheads creating stupid trojan dialers! you must die! and we disconnected our IDD, so you can't hurt us anymore... i think. =(

guilty... pleasures

2007-09-26T12:14:00.000+08:00

to get my mind off schoolwork (cutting classes as i speak! haha):

The Ultimate Sinful Indulgence!

i don't know why, but these days i'm suddenly craving for Apple Pie. a warm, freshly baked apple pie with a tinge of cinnamon, sprinkled with raisins and topped with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream. it makes me wanna have a Homer Simpson moment -- drooling with my mouth open, groaning "aaaaaappppplllle piiiiiieee..." :D

apple pie's an intoxication my dad and i share. who doesn't like 'em? (kinda brings me back to my strangely fascinating connection with the "old" stuff!)... those tasty things...

... i'm in a hunt far and wide for the yummiest apple/cinnamon/raisin desserts! as only my pockets allow me, i've only gone so far with the 40php's and below. fastfood's not much of an option -- they're not baked, they're FRIED! FAAATS! -- but they're readily around and cheap. McDonald's Apple Pie isn't all that filling but it's delicious nonetheless. i prefer Burger King's Apple Pie, which is bigger and has more apple chunks but is less sweet than the latter. on the pastry side, i would love to go back to Glorietta and grab a real apple pie (i couldn't recall the place)... it's very crumbly and moist... but then the last time i had that was more than a year ago, so hmmm. Cinnabon's specialties are delicious, but on the more affordable side i'd rather have Goldilock's Cinnamon Roll. i would like to try Purple Oven's version of The Pie (i love their brownies, so it must be good too) and i promise myself that i will get my grubby hands on Bread Talk's Apple Worm by next month!

with all this talk about desserts -- boy, is this starting to be a food blog?, i plan to celebrate my 20th (which still is a long 2.25 months from now...) not with cakes but with those homebaked goodies (and a big bucket of vanilla ice cream!). and add to that my shameless requests for you guys to send moi boxes of 'em hahahah! ;) i've outgrown chocolatey stuff already.

.... i'd better go now! :)

september, swept by sweat

2007-09-10T00:01:00.000+08:00

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas... in hell.

all the tragicomedy about typhoons have abruptly left without a trace, and here we are again sweating like sows in a sweltering sty. la manille has never been hotter -- not on a month like this -- which brings to mind another doomsday global warming a la gore ("soon enough, lowly island nations will submerrrrrge!"). but then it's a way of life for us tropical natives, so i'm just going to shut up.

... save the drama, i'm so much better now! =D

i'm finally relieved that my prelim grades are all in shipshape and that i'm faring considerably well for the first time this year... although to be fair, they aren't as high compared to previous semesters. my inane rationalizing self reasons out that since this year's the start of 'majors' everything just *had* to be average. (passing 12 units of accounting is no mean feat, ok?) ... and like the hopeful a** that i am, i promise to do better so as to furnish a good transcript. no "3"s for me. ha, ha. ;p

shameless news alert: the JPIA General Assembly hullabaloo!

suppose i join those quiz shows...
JPIA (our college org) Day happened last tuesday and things took on a really bright turn. having activities lined up the whole day, i volunteered to join on the Trivia Game for the third years which were inter-section and composed of 3's. this is the first time i get to join in a quiz bee of some sort, so i was quite excited for it (even if i didn't browse my almanac until that very morning, looking for oscar winners and world capitals... haha). so much for arriving nearly late, i caught up with my teammates alexis and jericho at the multi-purpose hall and we spent the half hour questioning each other on just about anything... i stared into space with those science / history stuff (whaat?) and grinned like a hare with "name the world leader of..." (...but of course. *wink,wink*). i observed that everyone else was engrossed with those fact books... omg! i felt ridiculously unprepared. i told them we'd get through it with stock knowledge. i somehow had an inkling they'd ask a barrage of questions about movies, since the GA theme was "Blockbusters"... so maybe, i just might know something. (showbiz has never left my system!) ... pleased that some of my classmates were there to watch and cheer for us. the quiz bee started 9am, multiple-choice type, and the first few questions were bearable enough. there were those that we simply didn't know, and there were always those that really heckled us because we'd often leave out our "2nd best answer" which turned out to be the correct one. (like kotex first being used as bandages in WWI, it takes 17 muscles to smile -- sorry ekko!, and that Will Smith played a fighter pilot on "Independence Day". uhm.) ... i felt that i kinda took the thing a little too seriously, while the boys were carrying on sanely. true enough, there were movie questions to redeem us... it happened that they asked those that i was familiar with! (like movie lines from "Titanic", "Scream", "Two Weeks' Notice", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", "Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion", etc --- hmmm, i watched these flicks?!) ... they were nerve-wracking but fun. the thrill of knowing the answers felt great (i felt kinda like the "brain trust" in the group since i was sitting between the guys and they left me to make the final decision, wahaha). and hearing people cheer for you is awesome. our group finished 2nd (out of 9 sections), 5 points short from the first placer (3a4). and we even had to battle for 2nd since we and 3a5 were tied, leading to a clincher (that lexis knew the answer of, thankfully.) ... winning it isn't much, but it isn't bad at all. =D

ready for my next encore?
as things got on to a good start in the earlier half, i was feeling a bit chipper for the afternoon's main event: the GA itself. all the 3rd & 4th year sections (mandatory members of the JPIA) are each to perform a short skit that revolves around the "Blockbusters" theme and should run at maximum of 7 minutes. this whole thing was announced to us two months earlier, but we only got around into actually rehearsing the week before the presentation! (blame it on the postponed prelims, and a perceived apathy toward activities of this sort.) ... i thought we won't be doing it at all because we were already late, but in a race against time, anything can happen. we whittled down our concept of a 'music video' countdown to three movies: "The Ring", "Harry Potter" and "Moulin Rouge"... so, guess where i'm at. ^^;;;
as our show is mainly composed of dancing, expect a lot of movement! i liked the idea of doing a Moulin Rouge number (seems like i have a predilection for sexiness, eh? harharhar) ... but was a little reluctant when we got to do the actual moves. while practicing, i felt horrendously fat compared to my skinnier, slender classmates (they were really good), and there's no way i could pull it off without swaying my bum like a beached whale! i kept telling myself to "Feel sexy!!!" but consciousness got the better of me. i couldn't even follow the steps well (you know i don't dance :p) ... but then if there's anything left i can do, this might as well be the only one. (2 of my friends who were initially grouped here backed out.) ... so fast forward to the 4th, i am clad in a flattering tube (atop a shirt, duh!) and a short skirt, with black stockings and high-heeled boots to boot, bedecked with jewelry. i even got my hair tousled up and curled. in short, mama pimp! *LOL!* ... we were among the last sections to perform, leaving us ample time to just do whatever to feel pumped-up. i, on the other hand, had a queasy stomach. (of all the times!) ... and then it was finally showtime. "The Ring" and "HP" were performing respectively, and so far so good. i wasn't at all nervous at all; i just told myself to just get it done and over with -- and please don't make a boo-boo! so when we 8 ladies strutted to the stage to the beat of "Lady Marmalade", we could feel hundreds of eyes watching us. (there were the profs, the alumni, and the dean himself at the front row!) ... i don't know what got into me -- i really didn't give a damn anymore -- staring at no one in particular, dancing in line with the tune, with a sly smile and really shaky hips. i guess we were all doing well, until for some reason the audio got busted in the middle of the song. and from that duration till the end we carried on like seasoned pros, and we even got the audience to sing along! they liked what they saw! that was totally flattering. applause, applause. :)
so, here i go again, making people rethink how they'd stereotype me. after the performance, batchmates were telling me how surprised they were when they saw me in action. ("OMG, was that you???") ... i can only say, "you ain't seen nothing yet." =p

===

US Open update: hours from now Rog and Nole will be vying for the championship! Woohoo! I've been wanting to see these two play each other at a grand slam final. May the best man win! (My odds are still on the Fed) =)

straitjackets and fugues

2007-08-28T18:25:00.000+08:00

to begin, i've been experiencing real and imagined nightmares lately.

... the real, involving the languishing state of my life:
(to paraphrase a recent conversation with Des)
Me: so, how much have i changed since?
Des: you look like a mental patient strapped on a straitjacket. where's herschel and what have you done to her?!?!?

somewhere in the middle of our so-called typhoon-induced 'vacation' (which i wouldn't call that, because we were in the middle of prelims!), i managed to get sick with high fever, and i initially thought it was a dengue attack due to a particularly nasty insect bite i had the other day. (or may because i was 'studying' too much? lol). couple that with several gastro-intestinal pains i had last week, leaving me physiologically battered.

... the imagined meanwhile, involving vampires and bleeding organs harboring my sweet sleep. there were other episodes that only left a hollow dread after waking, not even remembering what the fuss was about. i haven't had nightmares as long as i can remember, so i found all these bothersome.

it's crazy enough when reality gets into a bind with the fanciful realms that i couldn't even choose what's nicer: live in disaster or dream in torment. this could be a sign i'm reaching new heights of depression -- but then i don't think i'm that desperate. i'm just frustrated with the way things are, about myself, right now.

I AM GOING TO FIX THIS.

===

enough of the personal turmoil (i know i'm weighing y'all down), let's escape!

i watched The Bourne Ultimatum last Sunday and it was grrrreat! attesting to that declaration, we stayed inside for nearly 5 hours and we wanted MORE! just the right amount of action and intensity. easily one of the best movies i've seen this year. (somewhere up there would be Ratatouille, and... i forgot. maybe this one.) ... i realized i have a liking for Matt Damon movies. i most especially liked The Talented Mr. Ripley, and also The Departed. and why the hell do i sympathize with tormented characters? maybe Matt's better playing that. he's eons better than Ben A., in more ways than one (where's that guy, anyway?).

~~ a belated happy 20th to lovely! ~~

it's starting to bite

2007-08-03T22:29:00.000+08:00

i made a resolution at the start of this week to clean up my act once and for all. i'm taking a hiatus from all blogging and net-related duties (apparently this hasn't clearly worked -- it's a holiday today, give me a break! -- but i digress), and minimizing my 'leisure' activities (TV, iPod, stuff) for the next three weeks. i'm even putting off that ubiquitous Deathly Hallows for an excruciating while just so i can focus on my academics.

which leads to: why the buck do we have to study so damn hard, when our job doesn't require that much? i can envision myself crouching in an office cubicle and banging on spreadsheets, that's all. no back-breaking memorization of clauses and articles, no algebraic equations to squish my mind, no power reading of accounting technicalities to save my neck, no computer programming to dementor-ize me. oh well. the eternal scholar.

third year is cracking me up amazingly at an early point. i've never felt *hopeless* in the span of my whole college life. time and again, i find myself asking, "WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?"

what is it that i really want? is it to prove to myself i can do this? that i can be a CPA and rule the world? or am i just deluded? whatever the case, i'm going to stick it out. there's no other way.

if at the end of this month things finally work out, then i'll be proud of myself. wait and see.

---

final word about the Accountancy Journal: my friend told me four days back that *apparently* i scored highest in the qualifying exams. but still, i've made up my mind and that's that... my bad for not 'materializing' at the interview (which happened 2 weeks ago). i'm sad to let them down. i know my limitations. :( i just feel gratified that i've proven to myself i still have some journalist cred. the drama.

shameless plug: please be a dear and read my new essay, Dreamchasing. i also have a couple of contest entries up my sleeve, although i haven't completed them as of late. i need inspiration, quick!

again, not another movie post

2007-07-08T03:09:00.000+08:00

here is a list of movies i intend to watch for the next few weeks. haven't seen one in ages after all the mental / physical crap i had since june (the last film i recall was "Pirates 3" with Lovely & Casey at the last week of May. it was a good one, actually.) i really don't give a damn whether i have homework or whatsoever... i wanna watch mooooovieeeees! *squee*

Transformers: The Movie
have lost count about the number of times i've heard someone rave about "Transformers"... someone please stop before i strangle myself! the buzz is ev-e-ry-where, and being the sheep that i am, my apparent nonchalance about it has obviously 'transformed' into avid curiosity. what IS so great about them robots? i'm about to find out in a few hours' time. :)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
surprisingly, i am not as excited about this 5th installment as i previously did with the other 4. i guess it stems from the fact that i didn't like Book 5 that much because it was too long. ~~(and um, so what if *gasp* sirius died?! harry and he were never really close. snuffles' fans should kill me right now!)~~ anyhoo, it's always a given we watch HP haha... who wouldn't? ;) ... i hope they play out fred & george's stylish exit (my fave part of the book), and give snape and lucius more screen time harhar. and now i'd like to admit i like ron more than harry. (and also, i like rupert more than daniel.) ... and about voldy, hmmm i don't know what to say (even if My First Hollywood Crush plays him *ack*). ... last, i still haven't reread HP5 (because i usually read the book first before watching the movie) and i doubt if i ever will.

some scenes from "Ratatouille"... isn't he cute???? :)

Ratatouille
when was the last time there was a mouse as lovable since Mickey? (oh, then i remember the Great Mouse Detective.) beyond all that comes Remy our hero in 3D! another surprising fact is that i'm more excited about this than HP5. ever since i saw this preview from "Spiderman", it has been calling out to me (sort of divine inspiration haha) to catch it! Paris + culinary exploits + rat with cute pink nose = MUST-SEE! =D ... and so far from the critics' reviews i've been reading, they say it's one of the best (if not the best) from Pixar. all the more reason! the folks aren't keen on watching it though. i'm thinking of setting up a movie date with my BF (bestfriend, mind you!) whom i haven't seen since what... January? (yo Anne! ;⚤) .. i also want this to be my Behavior Gratification reward if and only if i pass my ACC quizzes... so earn it baby! (FYI: ratatouille in french means "vegetable stew", w/c is actually the climax premise of the film.)

and last but not the least:

The Simpsons Movie
20 years in the making... and it's finally coming to a theater near you! i've finished the 18th season DVD in just two days -- nothing beats those yellow celluloids! fan for life :)

check out the The Official Simpsons Movie Website and find lots of cool stuff... like creating your Simpsons avatar! (...stupid internet dialup won't work for this, in my case)

which one of these hot women resemble me most? you decide!

P.S. i think the one at the right looks most like me, though i'd fantasize i was the center haha =p
... and man, i need to sleep!!!!

set for sept

2007-07-07T23:47:00.000+08:00

07-07-07. oh well, i can't help not posting on an unusual date such as this =)

these are what i know to be true:

my birth year ends with a 7.

my student number ends with a 7.

my phone number ends with a 7.

i attend classes at 7am.

i have 7 courses this term.

i was almost applicant # 77 on AJ (minus one).

i have watched 7 movies (only!) this year.

i still think my best year was when i was 17.

on the top of my head, i believe i can count on 7 friends.

7 is still my favorite number.

what's in a month?

2007-07-02T19:51:00.000+08:00

school schmool. i've just been in it for less than three weeks but i already find the whole routine tedious. :|

these days, i scramble hard for the time i'll ever get to use the computer. most days upon arriving home i'd just eat and then drop dead. i recently converted to the religion called Napping, because most surprisingly i've found the wonderful sensation of siesta making me less cranky -- but then more lazy. (i've never had regular afternoon naps since when -- prep?) waking up early is still not my thing, after more a year.

fine, i'll put in a good word for junior year life: it's more loose yet paradoxically stringent. thank heavens we don't have those time-consuming PE and NSTP anymore. comp3 may be a bane, but then we'll live through it. (next sem we'll have totally morning classes only!) ... no more general education courses, to be replaced by holy departmental ones (except math) and i wonder if it's a good thing altogether. seems like we're really in some business school, huh? if we're not crunching numbers (12 hours a week!) then we'll be blabbering about business law, and if not that then we'll be mumbling about stocks and shares. (good thing BA's keeping me sane. if not... !) ... have i actually envisioned myself 10 years back that i'll be this serious?

speaking of law, i can't help but feign a bit of annoyance at it. i like the subject - i really do - but i always find myself as less than an ignoramus whenever i read AND memorize all those legal lexicon. what's the use of reading if i don't understand half of what it's saying? just have to keep reading, reading, reading and envisioning myself as those guys from "Ally McBeal", "The Practice", "Justice", etc. oh man, it's going to be a long day. (off-topic: the Fed graces the cover of my lovely law 'journal'... for much-needed inspiration haha!)

org talk: aside from being a mandatory member of JPIA, my friend Laarnie & i signed up for our university's Spanish club -- Circulo Hispano Tomasino! i wish there was some French club around (let me initiate that!), though this is the closest we can get. we'll be having some language tutorials (when does it start?) and a movie festival in September... i'm quite excited! maybe after a year i can speak simple Español faster than you can say "¡Comer mi polvo!" (according to GT, that's "Eat my dust!") hahaha! =p

and now i'm torn between hello and/or goodbye for AJ. pondering wasn't enough, i had to think out loud on several occasions for the past 6 days... i think my friend's getting the wind of it. one moment i'm adamant on joining, the next i'm flailing to back out. i swear, working for a student publication is no mean feat... i've been through it to say what a degree of laboriousness it would entail. but everytime i hear that announcement, and whenever fellow classmates encourage me to join i'm simply torn. i know i'd be missing a lot if i don't go for it (hence no more chance for an elevator pass! harhar), i'm just worried for the consequences. :|

... so to put the issue to a rest, i'll take the qualifying exam this Wednesday (i wonder if they accept late applicants) -- 'cause there's no harm in trying, right? and if i pass, only time will tell if i can bear it.

we'll be having a majority of 'first batch quizzes' for the week, so here i am posting early! hope i'll be diligent enough the rest of the time to get a good start! (goal: 1 for the 2 ACCs!) =)

let the good times roll

2007-07-01T23:36:00.000+08:00

here, have a laugh:

(sourced from Des' email... almost had a seizure from giggling.)

i haven't had a good blogging session as you can see. i owe you one!
posting a proper entry by next weekend :)

**allez rog, as always!**

permission to moan

2007-06-18T21:49:00.000+08:00

Top 10 realizations upon coming back to school:

1. the first few days has left me severely tired, sleepy, and hungry (adjusting back to 'harried' mode).

2. LAW 1 = total memorization. note to self: need to sweep out mental cobwebs (of wasted fantasies!).

3. after 20,000+ hours of high school & college math, i still suck at drawing graphs without the use of rulers.

4. ACC4a&b is a trojan horse. (i actually thought it was 'cheesier' than ACC4, but ONE FAT NON!)

5. BA, FIN1 = hmmm. so far, it's fine... for now.

6. ACC4 makes me want to grab slabs so i can write my epitaph. (note the assonance attack!)

7. i don't give a hoot about COMP3. boo. :|

8. the xerox machine isn't only a student's best friend, it's got its own love-hate relationship too.

9. college expenses aren't a joke. totally.

10. why do i sound like Homer Simpson these days? d'oh!

and extra: 11. it's TIME TO GROW UP.

come fly with me

2007-06-16T00:10:00.000+08:00

let's take off in the blue...

i'm too exhausted (and lazy) this week to post anything, so i guess these will do first. (and the beach pics are on the other camera, hence the lack of sultry goodness.)perdonnez-moi! :|

punch-drunk love

2007-06-08T20:49:00.000+08:00

what's on the checklist:

sunblock and ~~sexy~~ bathing suits

frolicking and ~~good ol' clean~~ fun

better get the radar charged up and ready

me ==> boracay ==> once in a lifetime, baby

... and i still can't believe i'm going tomorrow!

that sums it up, in boxes... i'm up for some last minute 3-day exile! real glad this finally pushed through (so much for the short notice)... i hope this makes for a great salute to my *last* summer in the open.

~~ send me LOVE while I'm away ~~

---
more afterthought:

- "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" - best tv this season.. ever!

- Would love to see the Fed and Nolé in the RG finals! GO ROG!!!

second time's a charm

2007-06-07T08:36:00.002+08:00

Disclaimer: Excessively irrational fangirly review ahead.

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

i consider Maroon 5 as one of my uber-favorite bands of all time. their debut album Songs About Jane released in 2003 caught my naked attention and pretty much the rest of the world, with their infectious melodies, beautiful ballads and that strange unique creative flavor that's amiss in the music scene. hip, functional funk is what they're all about.

i never get tired listening to SAJ. whenever i feel bored or lousy, i'd just pop it in the player and my mood instantly lightens up... it's like you're hearing them again for the first time and you get a kick of it. every song was glorious, from start to finish. the boys from california strike it big, baby. i predicted they would be famous -- and they did!

and so after four years, Maroon 5 treats fans and listeners alike with their highly anticipated sophomore offering, It Won't Be Soon Before Long. there might have been some changes (drummer Ryan Dusick being replaced by Matt Flynn because of an arm injury) and a proclamation that this album will be "sexier and stronger" than SAJ, but then it's still Adam and co. (Jesse, Mickey, James) with their trademark lush goodness and then some. giving us a preview with their first single, the smoldering "Makes Me Wonder", they're out there to prove they still got the hot stuff!

ever since getting a copy of It's Wont Be.. this past Sunday, i've been listening to it on repeat (on the stereo, on WMP, on the iPod)... it's INCREDIBLE and I LOVE IT! i swear i'm won't get tired of this anytime! (some retreat from jazz huh?) can't help but get drawn to Maroon 5's catchiness, awesome songwriting (wonder where Adam gets that) and their lovely sound overall. almost every song is a gem, starting from the opener "If I Never See Your Face Again". admittably, there are a lot of really good 'fast' songs here that can gain potential airplay (and not to mention new fans): couldn't stop humming to "Can't Stop", love the cool vibe of "Kiwi", "Little of Your Time" and "Wake Up Call". but being the senti ballad sucker that i am, i'll crown "Nothing Lasts Forever" as my favorite track. it reminds me a bit of "Sweetest Goodbye" (my fave from Songs About Jane). beautiful melody, bittersweet message. there's also "Goodnight Goodnight" and "Better That We Break" (another one of my picks). man, Adam writes the saddest breakup songs i can't help but sing along and empathize -- even if i have no prior experience in 'em! =p ... a worthy close for this LP is "Back At Your Door", very elegantly produced with some soul-inspired touches. some CDs got a bonus track, "Infatuation" which for me has some shades of their previous songs but nonetheless a nice addition anyway. i haven't much to nitpick... the more i listen to it, the more i come to love it. daresay It Won't Be Soon Before Long is Maroon 5's best work to date. i think the band's approach to this 2nd album is to be able to branch out to other listeners through more solid, heavier tunes but still keeping their fan base irresistibly satisfied... i know i am! =)

Rating: 5 out of 5 (isn't that a given?)

here's that rainy day

2007-06-05T23:01:00.000+08:00

Maybe I should have saved those leftover dreams

Funny, but here's that rainy day

Here's that rainy day they told me about, and

I laughed at the thought that it might turn out this way

Where is that worn-out wish that I threw aside,

After it brought my love so near

Funny how love becomes a cold rainy day

Funny, that rainy day is here...

- "Here's That Rainy Day", Chris Botti w/ Rosa Passos

it's the sixth month of the year, which could only mean two things: storm clouds and schooltime. i am not prepared to face either of them. well, the rains have started mid-May and it has left me grunting and huffing on the muddled road. i hate rains when i'm outdoors -- sucks the fun out of walking! what the buck is wrong with this country?? if it's not heat strokes and dry spells we're experiencing, it's flood fields and thundering turmoils! stupid weather :((

the other pressing issue, "Back to College", is looming over my head like an overgrown bat. i'm succumbed in a sedated stupor (meaning another wasted vacation) when lo and behold, reality hits me in the head hard telling me i have to haul my arse back to the grindhouse in less than 10 days. zomg.

my close friend / batchmate / neighbor shar and i went to school for enrolment yesterday. arriving upon the hallowed halls (and ivy walls, and ...) i couldn't help but feel a mangled mixture of emotions -- dread, anticipation, panic -- as i see the ebb and flow of crowds, buildings roaring back into my memory, fellow blockmates smiling and waving like old times, and the silent breaths that come with every step. i can't believe i'm in 3rd year already. junior; senior in succession. time flies! cliché as it may sound, it did feel like it only yesterday when i was that ~~ignorant~~ innocent goody-two-shoes fresh from high school, trying to take in much of university life. fast-forward two years later, i'm still that ~~ignorant~~ innocent goody-two-shoes from high school, albeit a little more pessimistic. nothing much has changed (not even my height) -- only the dates, the faces that float by, the curricula -- it's like i'm in this big space expedition wearing the chicken suit i've always had on. to be more exact, it seems i've only sleepwalked through the past 24 months. sure, i've had all-original mental breakdowns, new challenges faced, experiences to last a lifetime, etc., but then i still feel strangely normal. if i could quantify how different i've become since entering college, i'd say not that much. what is my problem?

maybe i'm just not making things happen. maybe.

below: the almighty term sche-dule. note to self: BE VERY AFRAID.

so, going third year... i'm still amazed at the thought of being considered as an upperclassman because for starters, i still don't act like one -- my other blockmates, while being biologically younger than me (some even differing 3 years!) think and act more maturely than i do. better learn from them ;) ... on another hand, i'm considering (for the third time) about joining our college paper (not the Varsi *faint*), so i'll have an *actual* org aside from JPIA. i've always wanted to extend my languorous journalistic flair (harhar) to 'greater' heights. the reason why i've shied away from this is commitment, which still is the main con factor. balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars was quite a bane back in high school... i don't know whether i could devote a ton of my after-school hours to it (you need a minimum of 30-40 hours per month). one silly thing is, what exactly do you do in the office when your college paper only publishes once per semester? :| still worth a try though, if i could pass their qualifying exam.

that sched above tells me i should really take a serious focus on my studies (isn't that pretty obvious?) ... no more general subjects which drains half my energy (but a real saving grace when the other stuff gets rough -- i get my highest marks in Theology *halo*). accounting's on the menu every damn day (6 big fat units each, two hours, monday to saturday, no breaks), what fun and joy! soon enough, i'll get a brain hemorrhage from too much ecstacy! =D at least we're a lot luckier than the other sections which had both ACC4 and ACC 4A&B in the same day, back-to-back. (that will surely kill me!) ... COMP3 is a bonus (or bane) for the even-numbered sections (like moi, in 2) since we'll be first ones to take it this sem, ergo the additional 3 units and 2 days of pathetic programming (no offense to comp prog addicts). the bright side of this is at least we'll be rid of it earlier than the odd-numbered sections who will follow suit in the 2nd sem... it won't add to the end-of-year requirement frustrations anymore. (i love computers, but i'd rather leave how it works to the experts, okay?) ... i'm a little curious about LAW1 -- yay we got a law subject! notwithstanding the memorizations and me imagining an old prof with a curly white wig drolling in la-la-land, i think it's bound to be a cool buffer from hellish numbers. we still have math, and i wonder why. BA's still cute, in the course list it says we're going to have "Human Behavior in Organization", and i'm open for that. FIN for Financial Management is an enigma, and an alluring one at that. at least there's no Economics... barf i hate that subject! i'm generally pleased about the course listing, though i'm still trying to block the karmic attack of having 2 accounting subjects and the fact i have to deal with them everyday. i shudder, shudder to think.

which means i'll have to gradually wipe out all the "fun" things in my life once the homework really gets rolling. i can't even imagine what Hell Week, 3rd yr version is. to make a comparison based on Dante's "Inferno": 1st year would be purgatory, 2nd year would be Level 4, 3rd year would probably be Level 7, and 4th year would undoubtedly be the bottomest pit, and on and on and on until the Final Judgment. no more 3rd season of "Lost" and all those new shows i'm sure to miss especially come August. PC/net time would be limited (i'll just probably surf at the lib so i'll be able resist the temptation at home). or if i'm hardworking enough, i could cut my slacking and start burying my nose the whole afternoon so my evenings are free. i can probably sleep earlier too. sundays would be my only 'relax' time. no more going out for movies (get a stockpile of DVDs!) and/or hanging out! total bummer... and i never saw it coming :(((

'twas the whining and crying out loud. i'm going to collide with all these head-on anyway. better get an attitude overhaul -- if i want to be a professional, might as well start being like one! :)

just got to do things with a little more passion...

3A2, HERE I COME!!!

in the mood for jazz

2007-05-23T07:58:00.000+08:00

out of a dazed craze (see previous post), i went out of my way to snag some CDs! it was a coincidence that they're all somewhat jazz-related... subconscious must be telling me to slow down. so after a week's worth of easy listening pleasure, here goes the gavel

Call Me Irresponsible - Michael Bublé

being an irrepressible MB addict, why shouldn't my hands be all over his new album? :) his recently released 3rd major effort definitely proves he's the lean, mean Michael machine... retains the smooth, hip vibe that makes him a great performer. he conjures up a wondrous spell with his takes on the complimentary swing and big band to the more contemporary pop and bossa nova. "The Best Is Yet to Come" is a fantastic opener, along with "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Strasera)". in my opinion, "Me and Mrs Jones" has a great arrangement, and "Always on My Mind" is getting terribly romantic the more i listen to it (or is it because i'm such a oldie softie?). i liked the collaborations, 2 on this disc: with Boyz II Men on "Comin' Home Baby" (i think they complement each other very well); and with Brazilian Ivan Lins on the Eric Clapton classic "Wonderful Tonight", tinged with a Latin flavor. but what i loved best on this album are Michael's own songs, "Everything" and "Lost". "Everything" is co-written by him along with the same team that penned "Home" from his second album It's Time (Alan Chang & Amy Foster-Gilles)... it's fun & catchy, and very refreshing to listen to. (i saw the video last week, cute! ^.^;;;) "Lost" gets you in a pensive mood, with its aching lines... wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a hit (a bit surprisingly, this song is co-written by Jann Arden... remember "Insensitive"?) ... this is one LP i'd enjoy listening on repeat :)

Rating:4.5 out of 5

Norah Jones - Not Too Late

another one who's got the 3rd album stretch is our girl Norah Jones, who veers away from mainstream pop and goes to her traditional blues / country folk roots. comparing it to her debut Come Away With Me, you'd see a lot of difference -- more mature and quite dark. most (if not all) were written by Norah on this record, giving you a perfect glimpse of her soul... as always, her distinct mellow voice cuts you through. aside from the radio-friendly "Thinking About You", Not Too Late has the aura of an intimate, smoky lounge. among all other tracks, i love "Sinkin' Soon" because of its playful tune. for those new to Ms Jones' music, they can give "Wake Me Up", "Until the End" & "Not Too Late" a listen. a personal favorite of mine would be "My Dear Country", since it reveals Norah's anti-war (and anti-Bush?) sentiment, and it could very well fit into our country's current situation. *hee* ... just a thought, i find Norah's musical progression from her three albums to be getting... sad. (really?) such as it is, i still love her :) ... breaking away temporarily, i'm making a cute little segue to Norah's debut acting role in "My Blueberry Nights" (yummy title!) opposite the ever-hott Jude Law and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai. she attended at the opening of the 60th Cannes Film Festival where the movie premiered... might i say she looked gorgeous? would want to catch it :)

Rating: 3 out of 5 (plus points for the lovely cd jacket)

Chris Botti - To Love Again: The Duets

last but not the least, i'll be introducing my latest 'discovery' (late bloomer as i am). i've grown up with Kenny G music played on car stereos for so long that it wasn't so surprising that i'd come across another great talent, Chris Botti. he's a brilliant jazz trumpeteer, and i got 'acquainted' to him by way of his collaborations with Michael Bublé ("A Song For You") and Renee Olstead ("Someone to Watch Over Me" & "Sunday Kind of Love"). he makes jazz instrumentals sound so beautiful -- puts me in a dreamy mode, man. this album has been around for more than a year actually, but since i (subconsciouly) always notice it, i decided to take it once and for all. To Love Again is a thirteen-track LP featuring 9 vocal collaborations and 4 trumpet solos, and believe me i couldn't put it down for days! each track possesses such wondrous charm... "Embraceable You" provides the perfect opener if you're up for a romantic ride. the duets found in the album are amazing: Sting in the classy "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life", Paula Cole in the absolutely mesmerizing "My One and Only Love" (my favorite), Jill Scott in a modern rendition of "Good Morning Heartache", and Paul Buchanan in the quietly radiant "Are You Lonesome Tonight?". Bublé and Olstead themselves appear in here with "Let There Be Love" and "Pennies from Heaven", respectively. what i love about these collaborations is the way the music and the vocal complement each other -- the result doesn't overwhelm or come off underhanded. i might sound like a grandma stuck in a teenager's body (*okay*) but listening to this album made me appreciate jazz music more and wish i can transport back to the 1930s-40s that was such a glamorous era for jazz. :) ... and before i forget, you wouldn't believe who's closing up To Love Again: the Aerosmith rock god Steven Tyler lending a soft touch to Charlie Chaplin's "Smile"! now, isn't that fantastic... =D

Rating: 5 out of 5 (yeah!)

because of all the ambiance, i'm itching for some Banana Java Chip right this moment.... mmmm.... coffee.....

afterthought: if you're into lounge music, check out the newest radio station in the metro, 92.3 XFM. a good way to chill out folks!

aprés moi... le déluge

2007-05-19T01:48:00.000+08:00

oh yes, i've obviously slacked off my blogging duties (that monday post said it all). i'll egotistically lay the excuse first on whoever said "if you don't feel like blogging, then don't!" ... for the past few weeks, i have been nothing but a sack of lard, wasting away. there was this 'lousy need' to fill 'some sort of emptiness deep within me', so it seems. i turned to food (which made me flabbier), TV (which only left me half-comforted), and the comp (which made me erratic). still, a small aching urge to just kick it all out. this summer has been the most uneventful perhaps, but then...

...the answer was RETAIL THERAPY.

it was only now did i discover what millions of women in the world scream to be the be-all-end-all-cure to any kind of emotional / personal / whatever female ailment there is.

the words "shopping" and "me" don't really mix, save for two blessed Sundays (consecutively) when i had a crazed impulse to unleash the Paris Hilton in me (no, not the jailbird thing, and not the video goddess schtick!). it was sublime. even my mom gaped in disbelief when i told her i'm in the mood for a spending spree. (she must've thought since i'm not the type, might as well agree with it. dead wrong! happy belated mommy's day *lol*)

i've never known why women can be so keen to shop. to wait on a long queue to try something on, to find out it's the last pair (that's well-worn through fitting), to see something cute that didn't have your size, to straddle through sales, to willingly surrender head and wallet to temporary whims.

i have some obscure reason to say i shop like a man; i usually buy things only when the need is urgent. i guess i'll never understand this facet of the "feminine mystique" that's so often maligned and lampooned by the opposite sex. the gods must be sedated when they stuck me into this phase. i am inclined to think that this is one of the rarest moments in H History that i acted out of the Hotel Heiress Handbook, so allow me to have this moment.

the inventory (as i recall): 2 pairs of footwear, a couple of shirts, a snazzy messenger bag, cool shades, exclusive personal care products, perfume, a new brolly, 3 CDs, classic novels, and beachwear (which i wonder if i'll even use!).

when the shopping spell lasted, it actually felt good. you can feel so lucky that there's those beautiful products seemingly custom-made for you and how the world must be conspiring to make everything sellable. tired feet and pockets aside, nothing beats the thrill of "the perfect buy".

election 2007

2007-05-14T18:52:00.000+08:00

just so, if i ever looked back on my blog on this date, i'd like to recall that today i voted for the first time. it was altogether an exhilarating kind of feeling, knowing that somehow you're one of those who took part in deciding the fate of the nation.

postscript: give it time... behind this avowed cynic, she still has quite a bit of idealism intact. =)

it won't be soon before long

2007-05-05T01:04:00.000+08:00

A Rundown: What's on Ellie's Mind?

the French presidential election (guess who i'm rooting for...), our own local elections (i only have half a ballot's worth of sure votes -- and 3 of them are from a lesser-known party. let me think!), the new single from Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" ~ seen the vid and Adam's so damn gorgeous *drool*, the trailer of The Simpsons Movie (woohoo!), the HP5 movie & the HP7 book, TAR-All Stars finale (i still don't want the BQs to win...), AI finale (3 weeks, i'm sure a girl wins this time *har*), plans for a friends' outing (?)..

... conveniently summing up yours truly as a flagella in a petri dish.

Signal Fire

Snow Patrol

The perfect words never crossed my mind

Cause there was nothing in there but you

I felt every ounce of me, screaming out

But the sound was trapped deep in me

All I wanted, just sped right past me

But I was rooted fast to the earth

I could be stuck here for a thousand years

Without your arms to drag me out

There you are, standing right in front of me (x2)

All this fear falls away, you leave me naked

Hold me close, cause I need you to guide me to safety

No, I won't wait forever (x2)

In the confusion, and the aftermath

You are my signal fire

The only resolution and the only joy

Is the faint spark of forgiveness in your eyes

There you are, standing right in front of me (x2)

All this fear falls away, you leave me naked

Hold me close, cause I need you to guide me to safety

No, I won't wait forever (x3)

i haven't posted lyrics for the longest time... love love that song. that's from the OST of "Spiderman 3" -- which leads us to my most underweight film critique. :)

we watched the movie on its opening day ~ i think this was one of the rarest times i did so ~ as an escape from brutal heat and brutal boredom. it was crazy that almost all theaters were premiering "S3" due to massive crowd expectations, and massive it was. there were so many people lining up, and i thought with a bit disdain that the snivelly cinema owners in the whole RP struck gold. (last time i heard, i think "S3" raked P50+M on its first day here!) ... but anyways, we were lucky the cinema we entered wasn't packed at all.

... moving on (i know i'm boring you out! =p):

"Spiderman 3" was at most enjoyable. it had (as with the past two Spidey movies) all the elements of a hit blockbuster crowd-pleaser -- CGI, action, romance, comedy, a little drama, sob stories, etc. i believe this is supposed to be the "final" installment, that's why they gave much emphasis on the Peter-MJ-Harry relationship and introduced 2 more villains (explaining the runtime), but then we'll never know. well, three villains are hot, but... bad Spidey is wayyyy hotter. i liked it when Peter had his 'evil' thing going on, eyeshadows and all. (i'm sure you'll love it too *hee*!) ... although i was kinda sleepy (i slept at 3AM some hours ago before that ~ because of this blog! haha) i couldn't manage to doze at all since you'll always catch some action scene going on every 15 minutes! ... about the new characters: 1) Venom was most visible only at the latter end of the movie, hmm... 2) Sandman - i find it hard to recognize Thomas Haden Church here from his schlep role in "Sideways"!... 3) i wasn't so comfy with Gwen Stacy. am i the only one who thinks she looks old? =| ... another thing would be i somehow expected the Dr. Connors character to morph into some evil guy since in the past they had plans for that (but then if there's some more room for another sequel...) ... i'll reserve the last words for my fave -- Harry! there were so many times in the film that i had to restrain myself from making noises *lol*. he rocked this flick, actually ;)

there goes. i wouldn't say S3's my fave from the franchise (i think i prefer the first one), but then again what gives? movies like this are hard to come by. why is it that we are at a dearth of big/good films whenever summer rolls around? i haven't had any to look forward to anymore (save for "Pirates 3" maybe)...

nouvelles choses (new things)

2007-05-01T02:52:00.000+08:00

well, what can i say? everything's turning up dandy this side of town:

refurbished in powdery floral blue!

finally! after 5 months, my tiny corner of the world has found itself brand new again! i always thought my old blog layouts look so cluttered, and i so wanted those neat rectangular boxes to fix 'em up. leaving blogskins resigned, i got the idea from Vic and searched around this fantastic icons & graphic resource. so it's still Scarlett in the header -- Cinderella, nonetheless -- but the LJ-style code & background image were mainly Jessica's, so many thanks to her! :) ... this version doesn't have a definite theme, but since my favorite song while i worked out the kinks was Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes", i'd say it was amply inspired by that.

(P.S. : OMG it took me two & a half frickin' hours just to troubleshoot this in the Blogger template! i'm such a retard when it comes to technology. let me know what you think of the layout -- whether it's a mess on your browser, etc. thanks a bunch!)

an exercise in ~~futility~~ fluidity

i'm starting a new blog (apart from this) @ The Casual Observer where i can 'stretch' my ability to write creative nonfiction, i.e. essays and social commentaries. yup, there's The HT Project but i'm working this out as my own summer assignment (so it's a clean slate)... my goal is to produce as much as 20 posts this vacation, and i hope this could be the impetus to resuscitate my languishing quasi-journalistic career AND well-being (lol). i've always wanted to be some magazine / newspaper columnist, so i thought "why not start here?" ... wish me inspiration, and wait for further updates. ^_^

movies i've seen

over the weekend, i've seen two very different films on dvd. The first, Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno), is a Spanish film set in the 1940's Franco dictatorship that revolves around a young girl and her fantasy world -- well, at least that's what the premise is. at first thought it would be a 'kiddie' movie, but heavens i was dead wrong! not to distort your idea of it, but the film really was dark and gruesome and more appropriate for adults. 30 minutes into it, you'll see people getting murdered, blood, a crazy faun, disgusting frog spew... you get the picture. (goodness gracious, the girl's imagination definitely IS wild. :p) also, the political background of the movie provides allegorical undertones, which makes some scenes unsettling. on a cheery note however, this would make for a great escapist afternoon. Ivana Baquero as our protagonist Ofelia is simply terrific. how they were able to create those fascinating magical realms were amazing. it's easy to delve into Ofelia's world if you allow yourself to, and be swept away.

the second one would be The History Boys. it's set in Britain circa 1983 where a pack of small-town, bright but unruly young men are up for an 'intensive' preparation process by their motley crew of teachers to the university admissions for Oxford and Cambridge. this one made for a sweet consolation after reeling from "Pan's" (i watched them back-to-back)... very entertaining to watch. the film's entitled such because their main focus would be the history subject, of which a new teacher was ushered in to bring a shrewd approach to the boys' learning. you'll pick up a lot of interesting tidbits, trivia, melodies -- not to mention a soundtrack smattering of 80's rock. the characters are absolutely likeable, the guys shine in their respective parts, and i'd say the most memorable performance would be by Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon of "Harry Potter" fame) who plays an aging teacher on General Studies (boy, I'd love that subject.) one more thing, "Bewitched" by Rufus Wainwright haunts around if you stick till the credits.

(late rave: the folks & i might just be watching "spiderman 3" today -- that is, if we aren't so fazed about the first-day rush. but i wanna catch it! :D )

les aventures culinaires d'ellie!

last saturday, mom brought home fresh seafood from the Seafood Market, and 'twas a rarity that we'd feast on home-cooked seafood aside from fish (ok, i'm getting redundant using that "s" word!), so it was definitely a new thing for me to try my "occasional cook" powers on crustaceans. i soooo LOVE shrimps & prawns & crabs that i decided to make an extravaganza out of them! it was pretty laborious but rewarding anyway -- cooked up 1) prawns sautéed in butter & garlic (which reminded me of the Yellow Cab pizza, only better harharhar), 2) shrimp fried rice (yay!), and 3) seafood soup (with all the ingredients in). lavish praise from the folks, really good dinner. there's more on the fridge :D

schizo-babel

as you've witnessed the launch of my new layout (chic, isn't it? *lol*), there's got to be some cool stuff. another one of those would be the "Language" function somewhere at the Links bar (atop the header!) ... powered by Google Translate, schizoesque can now be accessed by the French-literate, or say, "Look Ma, my blog's in
Chinese!" you can also try the site in Italian, German or even Japanese! though i must tell you, they aren't perfect and accurate in parsing out my babble... but they're worth a try ;) it's cool to see my blog in a different language. let's go international baby!

une, deux, trois...

speaking of "going international", i've reached a new height of Francophilia by... well, 'trying' to speak it! i bought a phrasebook entitled French for Xenophobes *rofl* which i plan to devour during the stretch of summer. this hilarious little book tells me that i can converse in perfect French by pronouncing them in English! so far i've learned the days of the week, the months, the four seasons, and how to count from 1-10 both written and orally. et voila! ^_^ yes, i expect the self-education won't come off as fluently-tongued (more like tongue-tied!) since it isn't complete like a manual or a dictionary or an audio instruction, just some common phrases & words here and there. (and for heaven's sake, i don't know where French actually comes useful in my life -- backpacking through Paris & Marseilles, perhaps. how i wish!) ... i can go ballistic wondering how to use gender in things (yes, there is -- a cabbage is male, and a potato's female!) and all those vowel sounds, but then it's just my new pastime. there are even funny pick-up lines in the book. here's one (English - bold, French - italics, pronunciation - parentheses):

Is that a baguette in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
C'est une baguette dans ta poche ou tu est juste content de me voir?
(Say / tune / bag ett / don / ta / posh / oo / too / ay / con ton / dur / mur / voo are?) *wink, wink*

A tout à l'heure! ♥

blasted skrewts!

2007-04-22T01:42:00.000+08:00

why is it that after almost a month's vacation (wow, has it?) i still haven't done anything to save my a**? i started my break with a confident determined attitude to get a job, write those essays, be a useful tool for humanity's sake, etc., etc. ... until now, i'm nothing but a lard. i'm wasting away, as i have always been during the past years. someone tell me to wake up:

(note to self:) WAKE UP YOU DUNDERHEAD!

during the holy week (thursday), my aunt unfortunately suffered from a mild stroke and was admitted to the hospital. lucky enough, it was not so debilitating but the left portion of her body is weak (semi-paralyzed). my relatives and i (being quite "mature" now, harhar) took turns staying in the hospital to accompany her. it was a first for me, "the hospital camp"... i stayed in for a total of 4 days, 3 nights (like a hotel accommodation eh? not really -- one was on black saturday, and following week had 2 consecutive nights on my datebook)... observing the doctors / nurses / interns, assisting my aunt (food, medicine, stuff), entertaining visitors, being as useful as i can (gee whiz) and all that... i was on my toes most of the time, had little rest and sleep. though with all these there were still some creature comforts: food, books, cable tv, air conditioning (yay no sweating!)... so it wasn't really as unnerving as i initially thought. (but for some reason, i have a painfully low appetite these days, since the "camp". =p) ... my aunt's better now, but is currently undergoing rehabilitation at home to be able to regain mobility on her left... as i do visit my grandma's every summer (where she also resides), i see her almost everyday. i hope that my aunt is strong enough to get well and pray that she'll be back on her feet, ever the busybody (she even does tai chi!) very soon. =)

one serendipitous thing that happened during my final day of "camp" (i'd like to think so) was the Videoscope on Muse at Channel V. woohoo! i never thought i'd live to see that day -- it's like a once-in-a-lifetime experience! =D i'm not a regular Channel V viewer but then because of the afternoon lull (no visitors, there was nothing much to do, and there's nothing interesting on tv) i left the channel at that. i was having a conversation with my aunt when lo and behold, i heard the opening riff of "Plug in Baby"! i watched and realized that Muse was the feature on Videoscope, that show where they'd play a certain band's music videos for an hour! i was so damn happy -- i've never seen a bulk of their videos! (the only ones i've seen were "Starlight", "Unintended" and a bit of "Butterflies and Hurricanes".) so as i chatted away i was also watching Muse ... man i love them (oh Matttttt!!!)! my aunt must be wondering that time why i was bobbing my head and had a wide grin on my face. listing down what i've seen: 1) Plug in Baby, 2) New Born, 3) Time is Running Out, 4) Hysteria, 5) Butterflies and Hurricanes, 6) Sing for Absolution, 7)Starlight, 8) Supermassive Black Hole, and 9) Knights of Cydonia. my most fave video would probably be "Time is Running Out" -- maybe because Matt looked so hot there, and that crazy war freaks somehow appealed to me. next would be "Knights of Cydonia", a throwback to the spaghetti westerns with a intergalactic twist on the side. (hahaha) ... i so enjoyed watching the vids... it was like God's way of patting me on the back for being a good girl scout =p ... now if only divine intervention can make Muse appear on my living room (or stage a concert in RP perhaps...) ... who knows?

several mangled thoughts (it's past midnight and i don't feel like zzz-ing yet):

++ why is it so damn hot this summer? i know i can whine and complain about this forever, but i'm so sick of it! it's unbearable to get out of the house at the peak of morning and sweat buckets by the time you reach your destination. it's also hot staying indoors... even the air from the fans are warm! not being a man of the beach, i love pestering my mom about threats of migrating to alaska, locking myself up in the fridge, etc. =p die humidity die... how i envy our global counterparts, to them 25 degrees is already summer. well, come over here folks and have a grand time baking at 36-degree goodness! *lol*

++ nothing much to watch on tv, aside from the usual suspects. CNN is on most of the time, as well as Star Sports (for tennis), ETC / 2nd Avenue, and Discovery Travel & Living. there's the occasional matinee from HBO i'm glad to catch -- on thursday it was "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" and the next day it was "The Island" (that would insufficiently explain the Scarlett banner, i hope.) ... i'm wishing we had Star World & Star Movies because i think there's a lot more shows & movies in there. for the moment i'm beat.

++ (i know you see this coming..) tennis chat once more: the Monte Carlo Masters Series! i'm happy Fed's hanging in there, bouncing back in shape. i have a sked of RF's calendar of events and i noticed that for the next two months (since the MCMS) he'll be playing on clay courts. i'm thinking this would be his main tactic in preparation for the ultimate clay event, the Roland Garros (French Open) on May 27... i can't wait to see him slice Rafa in two, haha. =)

++ now for my 2 favorite reality shows. it's almost nearing the finale, and i'm not that excited about the Amazing Race All-Stars -- what is happening to me? now i know Phil's siding with the beauty queens (boo-hoo! but still i love Phil and fine, the (b)BQs may be the most deserving to win this) ... i have no one to actually root for this time. but who i'd like to see on that mat first, based on random reasons would be: 1) Oswald & Danny, 2) Dustin & Kandice, 3) Charla & Mirna. or you can interchange them if you want. and also, i have no favorite on American Idol yet... it's been an uneventful season so far. good they finally gave Sanjaya a rest this week... as charming as he is, i can't fathom him winning this competition because of his hair! TPTB was probably just using him to get mileage and more viewers... seeing that he was featured on all major channels (they even had a discussion on CNN!) & print media. so there are 6 left, and i prefer the ladies over the men... maybe i'd pick Jordin if she keeps getting better. oh, my sad little tv wonderland...

++ another evidence of how wasted my life is the internet usage. i've consumed more in two weeks than what i'd normally have in a month! mindlessly surfing around, downloading mp3s, answering quizzes, looking for obscure stuff... and i usually do this at night, leaving me with black circles under the eyes in the morning (hello panda!). it's my crazy remedy for wrecking my boredom, unless you can suggest something better... i've given up productivity for so long.

++ parting thoughts. on the VT massacre: horrible. it's unimaginable how one day you've got your whole life ahead of you, and then it's all wiped away by a senseless act. what if it happened right in my campus? i hope none of this ever happens again, the same with Iraq and all the senseless atrocities committed by tormented souls (who should only torment themselves and not endanger other people in the process, damn it).

++ don't you think this post is droning on and on? i'd better stop and save the others for a rainy day (if there ever was one). g'nyt! :)

spazzed out

2007-04-14T19:56:00.000+08:00

~~~

had a very tiresome week, barely had enough rest. posting something about it soon.. :| ... for the meantime, something pleasing *at least* to my eyes: a cute iPod collage! :)

tennis talk

2007-04-05T00:27:00.001+08:00

... unless you want me to rant about the frickin' weather and how i want to pack my arse off to siberia, allow me to babble ;p

~~~

surf's up! the tv, i mean... i'm glad that for the first few days of my break i had the pleasure of watching the Sony Ericsson Open held in Key Biscayne, Florida as part of the ATP Masters Series. it was a crazy coincidence that as i started to tune in, i heard that Roger Federer just lost to Guillermo Canas for the second time in a row! (the first was Indian Wells -- where Canas broke Fed's 41-match streak, and now this at the 4th round) ... it was disappointing to say the least. what wrong could Rog be doing?! led me to wonder who the buck is this Argentinian making his comeback (after some months' suspension because of a drug-related problem, i read) that looks very much like Sayid from "Lost" (hahaha) ... The Fed shall return!!!

anyhoo, one of the matches i managed to catch last week was the quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic... being such a biased observer, i sided with Djokovic (though between Nadal & Canas, i'd pick Rafa any day, thank you ;p) ... not expecting it would be a Djokovic-Canas final in the end! just last sunday i was reading a British tennis magazine (there is such a thing!) and it featured Novak... i was surprised that this Serbian is just 19 years old! and he's already on the Top 10 rankings! Sharapova's just about the same age -- MY AGE! great players are getting younger by the day... i better pick up a racquet or something..

in the finals, it's crazy to bet on the guy who kicked your idol out twice, right? but of course! i have no other option but to go with the Serb (i think he needs a good hairdo), hoping against hope that 'Sayid' wouldn't crush him. i do remember a Federer-Djokovic match back at the Australian Open and it was a really good game, so i expected a treat on this final that i luckily caught today... came by the tailend of the second set, with that never-ending deuce that last over 20 minutes, certainly a battle of nerves and arms. after finally winning that set, Djokovic rallied almost smoothly to clinch his first-ever ATP Series championship. amazing talent, he's the guy to watch out for... =)

another case with the women's side (ok, so i don't pay much attention to the ladies... harhar) was the Justine Henin-Serena Williams finals showdown. shock was it when Williams pulled the plug on Sharapova, reminiscent of the Aussie Open final back in the earlier matches... apparently this tournament is a nightmare for the No. 1's. =p this is a real testament that when Serena wants it, she wants it bad... determined to be on shape, on top. so watching the final, i was puzzled with the first set, when Henin easily handed out a bagel (6-0). where was the fighting form? true enough, Williams upped the ante, not giving up with her magnificent backhands and calculated strokes... winning, yet again, another championship. i won't be surprised if she revs up as the #1 in the WTA rankings this year, back to where she belongs. :)

gah, i'm just so happy whenever i see tennis stuff on tv... *fangirling*

another plug

2007-04-04T23:53:00.000+08:00

holy cow! i'm really happy people like my work. another addition to my (hopefully expanding) public portfolio would be this featured essay, "Gasoline Rainbows" found in the April 3, 2007 issue (page 7) of Tulay Fortnightly, a Chinese-Filipino digest/magazine that publishes every two weeks. to note, this essay was the winning piece from the AMV literary contest... i thought (with some urging from my dad... and grandma!) it would make a nice contribution to the magazine (they accept student essays), and so i did! glad the editors were pleased with my stuff. thank you so much! =)

note: to be able to access these thumbnail images, just click on them (you may enlarage)... forgive the quality, i produced them from the PC fax. if it's too blurry, just log on to my new portfolio blog, http://thehtproject.blogspot.com to view.

below's the Inquirer piece, couldn't resist putting the illustration (don't i look cute?) =p

love 2 love

2007-03-26T19:40:00.000+08:00

Schizoesque's Two Years Young and Still Rockin' Hot!!!!!

... here's to twenty dozen more. =)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

hullabaloo

2007-03-26T19:30:00.000+08:00
an hour ago, i was glomping on mocca-strawberry ice cream and my favorite cinnamon roll. everything was luxurious. how i wish i could've stayed that way forever... :p

ah, summer vacation's on! still weary from the aftereffects of final exams and all the stress brought by you-know-what, although i can never recall the stuff i studied anymore. (it's the "trash bin method" for me all the time hahaha) ... goodbye second year, goodbye PE... i'm back as the professional slobmeister!

for everyone else who aren't finished with their terms yet, my unsolicited advice would be NEVER to lack sleep (or pull up a crazy all-nighter) before the all-important holy departmental. trust me, your efforts will only be put to waste. it happened to me in calculus (my first period @ 7am) -- stayed up late trying to make those equations, and i thought i knew it by heart -- until i rose 3 hours later in the worst state, my mind's all fuzzy i couldn't solve the problems! good thing we only had one part of the exam that day, so i was able to make up for the other half. i promised myself to have at least 5 hours' sleep before anything, even if i'm not confident of my knowledge... better to cram in the morning than forgetting altogether the * you labored at night! ;)

i don't have a definite gameplan for my (gulp!) final vacation, still deciding whether i'll be working or taking it easy. all i know is that i want to make this break of mine worthwhile... i want to be productive, i want to come off as a better person after this, i want money! (the last one ain't a joke!)

for the moment, i've got my self-mandated writing jobs to keep me occupied. after the joy of being published in PDI's 2bu, i've been wanting to write the perfect essay for Youngblood... just how should it be? cooking up some possible contributions, keeping an eye for contests, and still chasing that elusive topic for Palanca (ok, that ambitious dream has not taken off for the third year running!) ... think, think, think...

well, if things got lazy, i can cushion myself from the boring heat wave by ...what else, vegetating! stacked up are dvds of Prison Break season 2 (ahhhh michael!!!), The Simpsons, Tin Tin, and some movies i neglected since last year. for books, got HP6 (at last i get to read this on actual print and not that eye-straining, misspelled Adobe file!), finishing Eleven Minutes, and finally got a good secondhand copy of Grisham's A Painted House. i've also got the mp3 player for my music pleasure, hand-in-hand with that glorious piece of software called Limewire (it's loads better than Kazaa, downloading's terrific!).

and oh, i almost forgot the telly! i'm totally gaga over Grey's... the season finale's killing me, and i'm loving George more with his neat do :) ... not to mention i'm actually falling for Derek's sloppy-haired cuteness hahaha :p ... and omg, is Burke alive? (he's my fave doc from the team!) ... yes i'm turning into a ridiculous girly-fan! =p ... another would be the AR All-Stars -- heads up for the Rob & Amber elimination! totally unexpected but very much elated about it. i don't have a particular favorite this season, although i'm partial to Teri & Ian but then they were out as of last... leaves me with Uchenna & Joyce. still have no love for the beauty queens! and if i've got a five second quip for Phil -- "I so love you!!!!!!" =D ... not a regular watcher of Idol, no favorites yet... though i'm sad that the good ones got eliminated first. well then, hope the one who wins this season deserves it the most...

if i'm keen on it, i'll be headhunting for a new layout... thinking of a yellow or gray scheme.. cheers! :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

aw shucks, i'm famous

2007-03-15T19:09:00.000+08:00
before i induce more nausea into my dilapidated life, a public announcement:

If you happen to get hold of a copy of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer's March 14, 2007 (Wednesday) issue, please turn to their Lifestyle -- 2bu! section, page E1...
my essay's smack right in there.

... i'm sooooo ecstatic! =D

if not, you can access the PDI web version of my article /here/.

P.S. Thank you so very much to PDI (and Dove) for giving me my big break (!!!)... it's been a big big dream of mine to get published in a national broadsheet! :)

now that's my ray of sunshine on a very cloudy day. :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

lapping it up

2007-03-06T22:42:00.000+08:00

it's the beginning of the end... *sinister music*

oh, time. time flies whichever way you want it, whether you're having fun or you're having one b.s. of a life. it won't wait for you, it won't turn back to ~~cover up~~ revert all the lousy things you've done. it won't be one to satisfy because the clock's frickin' ticking, and those cute little memories will simply fade somewhere in our recesses, waiting to be exhumed by our half-amnesiac minds.

three hell weeks left... we're already eating dust, trying to meet all these requirements (daily quizzes, reports, computer programs, one crazy play, and the departed-mentals) before we can savor our (last!) school vacation. as it is, i'm often in a dazed state of mind whenever march rolls around, getting horribly apathetic about school rules and studying in general. i'm wont to skip all these classes and just drop everything & go to la la land. but hell no, i can't! i've got my damn grades and my damn future at stake... waaaaah :(

the only luxury i actually have right now is food and sleep... especially the latter :) ... i don't know whether my brain can hold any information anymore... i spend more time outside these days than i do at home, and by the time i do arrive at home (nighttime!) i tend to drop dead and not open a single page of text. bah humbug! i swear, when all these presentations get done & over with by the weekend, i'll be in turbo-charged nerd mode again!

~~~

think happy thoughts:

one very good thing was that i won first place in the essay contest held among students of AMV in line with Accountancy Week (last November)... the one which i wrote sometime last year that i wasn't very keen about it? this was pure luck, honestly! ceteris paribus (lol), i'm mighty glad that i finally have some achievement in college. i was only notified last saturday, our medals given just this monday, and i'm wanting more *evil laugh* ... next stop, Ustetika! and the Palanca! ;p

mi primera inspiracion, the Fed is breaking records piece by piece! he's now the longest-serving #1-ranked player, tying with his idol Bjorn Borg for 4th most consecutive championships, and God knows what else he's accomplished! simply the man to beat... i love his confidence and i'm extremely happy for him! ;) ... and also with that, i've finally won my first doubles game!

the amazingly otherworldly good news that Muse will be coming to Manila! i'm still unsure whether the info i got is factual (will update), but they say that the band will be staging a concert on August 1 this year... let's cross our fingers! i'll be fighting tooth, nail and curfew to get those tickets! matt, i'm heeeeeere!!! ;p ... g'day!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

going with the current

2007-02-24T18:44:00.000+08:00
(edited because i didn't give this post enough justice yesterday)

so... my recurrent absences (only 2 posts in February!?) from this blog may give you the impression that i'm busy. the answer is both yes AND no. yes, because i am horribly embattled from assignments, quizzes and all that bull almost every day, leaving me worn-out and time-constrained... and i also have commitments to fulfill. no, because i frankly don't know what to write about, therefore i sometimes abstain from the computer. isn't it a rule that when you don't feel like blogging, don't force yourself? although i've been meaning to write about a lot of things (that i 'drafted' in my head), somehow they all got lost and i feel too uninspired to continue. and lately, i've sidetracked my afternoon internet sprees for much-needed r&r... i do need rest! ;p

***

what stuff i'm into these days, compensating my lack of social life:

Movie: An Inconvenient Truth, The Curse of the Golden Flower
TV: The Amazing Race All Stars!, American Idol
Book: "Norwegian Wood," Haruki Murakami
Song: "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Do Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
DVD: The Simpsons Collection, Les Aventures d' Tin Tin Collection

***

some last-minute Oscar buzz:

finally got to watch An Inconvenient Truth courtesy of our theology class. i was really glad that this documentary has generated enough heat that it has become required viewing for well, all mankind! i'm extremely proud of Al Gore (you are hands-down my hero!) ... he's a man on a mission, spreading his message through all means, with his effort, time, resources & plane tickets -- not as a politician, but as a private citizen. (i remember he visited the country last year to do this very lecture... hmmm how come i wasn't invited? =p)

the film deals mainly with the issue of global warming (never thought that powerpoint presentations could be so cool) -- i'll leave the stuff for you to find out... and then there's the sideshow vignettes of al's life. as i watched, i wondered what if Gore was the current president? the earth would be a much peaceful place, and we'd all be treehugging! Gore 2008!

detractors and cynics may denounce him as a crazed soothsayer, but i definitely believe that if we don't stop all this overpollution, Earth will simply be a mass of water! the environment has been al's major concern even as a young man, and he's very passionate about protecting it... his message rings true especially in the wake of hurricane katrina, and all these extreme weather changes the world's experiencing. haven't you noticed it's so fricking hot? it's not even summer yet!

without a doubt AIT's gonna win Best Docu. with his well-received appearances in the MTV Music Video awards and the Golden Globes, Al feels the love of Hollywood & the world baby :)

YOU MUST WATCH THIS FILM. YOU'RE MISSING A LOT!

stop carbon emissions and help save our world! go to ClimateCrisis.net, get informed and do your part!

~~~

i still am going to be busy for the next two weeks, but don't worry, i'll update whenever possible :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

seriously delirious

2007-01-14T07:59:00.000+08:00
Warning: Mangled train of thought ahead!

i am undoubtedly projecting the image of a whacked-out zombie (with bloodshot eyes and all) as i'm typing this. i have been awake since 3:40am, studying / outlining / squeezing all my decency. starting tomorrow will be our ~~prelims~~ midterms, aka Apocalypse. as of now, i'd like to call the pre-midterm stage Impending Doom. i'll be harangued with all sorts of quizzes (last-minute! *damn*) and The Exams for the next 10 days (technically 7, if you don't include the weekend). everything seems to crash right down huh? (there's no point in saying this but i won't be around... maybe until next thursday.) ... the reason why i woke up real early this morning is because i just had to finish all my other ~~subjects (high school terms!)~~ courses so i can take Acctg3 the whole Sunday (quiz on tuesday!). i feel so screwed.. and sleepy.

and by some strange coincidence, even the stars want me to straighten my priorities.

Daily horoscope for Sagittarius (by Astrology.com)
There will be a tough decision for you to make today -- are you going to do what you know you should do, or are you going to do what you want to do? Take a step back and look at potential problems that could develop if you take the easy route. The longer you delay doing the necessary work, the bigger these challenges will grow. The best attitude for you today is to focus on getting things over with. Tomorrow you'll have more flexibility to do what you want.

Bottom Line: The best tactic for you to take today is to just dive in and get things over with.

... so that's it. i plan to take a nap right after a quick breakfast, and on we go!

---

i wanted to babble more about the events of the week (yes there are!) but because of time constaints i won't be able to do so. all i want to say for now is that *drumroll* for the first time ever, i've won a set in a table tennis match! (13-11!) .. but still we'll be having PEs even with all those exams going on -- crap schedule! well, the Fed's starting the season this week and i wish him all the best ~ and hope he channels his powers to moi so i can win a match next time haha! ... good luck to all the exam-takers :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

have a laugh

2007-01-09T09:44:00.000+08:00
i'd like to tease you with a remark from 2 friends:

"You look like Little Lulu."
*conjuring images of moi to make a comparison*

when i heard this the first time 2 years ago, i was nonchalant about it (came from a guy who was used to teasing me). but when i heard this from my seatmate sometime last month, i can't help but be amazed that these two unrelated people had the same exact observation. well, i like Little Lulu (it was my favorite cartoon on cable when i was a kid), and oh-kay, i'm chubby and silly (and cute). xp ... it's nice to hear these crazy comments ('coz nobody told me i look like 'Someone' -- but still [technically], not yet!), and i can't help but smile. =)

i seriously want to be a kid again.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

one beautiful song.

2007-01-06T17:21:00.000+08:00
Lover, You Should Have Come Over
(Jeff Buckley, Version: Jamie Cullum)

Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water
And maybe I'm too young to keep good love from going wrong
But tonight you're on my mind so you'll never know

I'm broken down and hungry for your love with no ways to feed it
Where are you tonight, you know how much I need it
Too young to hold on, and too old to break free and run

Sometimes a man gets carried away
When he feels like he should be having his fun
And he's much too blind to see the damage he's done
'Cause sometimes a man must awake to find that really, he has no one

So I'll wait for you... and I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return
Oh will I ever learn
Oh lover, you should've come over
'Cause it's not too late

Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in
Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him
My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won't ever come

Sometimes a man gets carried away, when he feels like he should be having his fun
And he's much too blind to see the damage he's done
'Cause sometimes a man must awake to find that really, he has no one

So I'll wait for you... and I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return
Oh will I ever learn
Oh lover, you should've come over
'Cause it's not too late

'Cause it's not too late

---

hello 2007! i'm slacking off my blogging duties for now... haven't posted a song in a long time! this is a great, great song that i re-discovered (that's my favorite pastime -- playing ~~old~~ records / cassettes / CDs) just this week when i played Jamie Cullum's Twentysomething LP. pity i didn't notice this the first time. (i'm looking for the original by Jeff Buckley... where is it?) ... beautiful piano, earnest lyrics. moved me to mountains. consider this my valentine's song or something...

promise an update next week. (hooray, no classes on tuesday! XD)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

cherry pickings

2006-12-31T15:27:00.000+08:00
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!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

cornucopia

2006-12-31T15:26:00.000+08:00

schizoesque.blogspot.com

if santa is a rock star

2006-12-25T06:30:00.000+08:00
...then Jesus is The King.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!! :)

(P.S. yes, worship services have an effect on me. *halo*)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

on a much cheerful note

2006-12-23T15:37:00.000+08:00
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??? ;)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

loss / lost.

2006-12-15T11:22:00.000+08:00
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.

---

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 :|

---

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

tellyvegan once more

2006-12-15T11:21:00.001+08:00
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!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

supermassive

2006-12-04T12:40:00.000+08:00
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 =)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

before the wind howls

2006-11-30T14:21:00.000+08:00
ah, wishlists be darned! as there will be another megastorm coming, i'd better get this up and running before power goes out and i'll be sitting in the dark and staring into nothingness! :)

first off, kudos to the Fed for such a fantastic season -- 12 champion titles this year, ending with a masterful sweep at the Tennis Masters -- $8,000,000+ total prize money for 2006 (gimme some moolah)! i was quite certain he was going to win, and he did =) ... oh, i must mention that Rog is featured on the December issue of Vogue Magazine, in an six-page spread with him donning elegant haute couture. and he's also in People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue. cute!

+++
the tension's slowly slithering in again, and come next week we'll be pencil-pushing already for quizzes, quizzes and more quizzes... plus those crazy things the profs want you to do just to fill the syllabi requirements. there's nothing more satisfying than banging your head on the table over piles of homework, so as always i won't be that visible around here to give my crap. welcome to the fabulously hectic life of ellie, geek supahstar! ;p

+++
if there's one thing that keeps me on my toes, it's my PE. this is my last, and i'm going to make the most out of it. (perhaps if we were to foresee the next few years without mandatory physical education, i would probably look like an overweight ass... like the guy in fatboy slim's album cover!). predictably, our first drills meeting in table tennis went down like a soggy rat on me, since i didn't know how to play. i had one wrong serve too many, balls bouncing in odd places, picking up more than i can play, the prof branding me 'epileptic' because i couldn't relax my arms. i felt hopeless with my table-mates (and well, everybody else) because they're able to do those things and i can't. :(

but of course, I HAVE TO DO IT! naturally it's only my first time, so four months will be enough for me to learn and be good at it (that's the spirit! i mean if RF plays table tennis, then so should i :D) ... i've got to show 'em what i can do. so with my classmate L., we went to the gym after class last week to practice ourselves. and there was some progress on my part in yesterday's class, at the very least i was able to serve correctly... diagonal and straight. it's a good thing i can do it, since next week we'll have a practical test on serves. receiving would be another subject altogether! that would mean yet another million rounds of ball-picking... *shudder* (pulot girl!)

i'm even practicing at home, hitting the ball against the wall! i get really tired afterwards that i feel immobile in the morning. i swear, playing is making me lose weight... i can imagine those icky fats dripping as sweat! i'll be sexy in no time :)

sometimes, i just have to think positively in order for things to go right.

+++
on the subject of The Amazing Race 10, which i haven't exactly tackled this season: we're down to 4 teams (hotties, couple, moms, and the damn barbies) and the pressure is on! the thing is that none of my bets have made it this far (father-daughter, and the cho brothers) so i guess i have to stick it out with the hot models James & Tyler because they're good anyway and well, they're cute. ;p the beauty queens annoy me so much -- why weren't they eliminated? for viewership's sake? (come on!) ... all i can say is that TAR is some kind of a national pastime every monday, 'coz i influenced the folks into watching it with me. heehee :) ... rumor has it they're gonna have a Paris leg in the final! go J&T!

+++
i managed to catch Casino Royale, and make no mistake about it: the movie's great. i'm one of the many people who had initial apprehension about Daniel Craig being cast as Bond (actually, i never really liked the series -- just Pierce!), and i should better eat my words up. Craig's not your run-of-the-mill spy clone, he created his own style and with good effect. i loved the first half of the film, and the ending left me half-expecting for more. and (semi spoiler!) accountants rule! =p this is one of the few movies i truly enjoyed this year.

+++
i've been setting up a new blog layout... it's somewhere in the final stages. maybe i can "unveil" it in a couple of weeks. clue: a la mode en femme!

cheerio ... i hear the wind already, aaah!!!!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

possession

2006-11-19T19:31:00.000+08:00

schizoesque.blogspot.com

for 2bu

2006-11-13T16:49:00.000+08:00

HOW HAS THE INTERNET CHANGED MY LIFE?

July 14, 2001. Seven-fourteen-twenty o'one.

I was only thirteen back then. I remember coming home from school one fine Saturday to discover we finally had my own computer all set up and ready in the room. It was a real delight, like a little child who got the greatest thing she ever wanted, right in front of her eyes. This box of wonders, primarily intended for all my high school research assistance, held the key to everything I wanted back then and more. I can finally do away with the typewriter, play those wacky games, and sit in front of it contented and couldn't care less about the rest of the world just clicking, typing and exploring away.

And of course, the Internet. It was a fabulous realm on the upswing with endless possibilities that I have not discovered yet, but have been very curious of. I cannot imagine why many of whom I knew confessed to having been totally transfixed by it, fazed by its awesome power. With buzzwords like "website", "email", and "chatting", I was determined to see the glory of it myself. That afternoon, armed with a 3-hour internet dial-up, I scrambled in on the Internet craze. But being the technology novice that I was, those three hours were consumed running in circles around Yahoo.

Two weeks later, I became an Internet addict.

I finally knew why everyone's raving about it. It was the answer to everyone's nagging question, a sort-of Holy Grail of every imaginable kind for every imaginable inquisitor. It offered a smorgasbord of wonders, catering to every interest, whim and fancy. It has virtually everything you could ever ask for, and more! I could've sworn the Internet is the greatest invention ever!

For the first few months, I roamed around current affairs sites & forums -- as that was my 'thing' back then. It was a relief that many others share my thoughts and feelings about stuff that happen in this crazy world. I voiced out my opinions on certain issues, and people would welcome them and share their own. Some topics were mild, others were very much a debate room for would-be lawyers and pundits! Aside from all the news discussion, we also let loose over off-topic items such as hobbies, films, and the occasional relationship talk. It was a generally friendly atmosphere, and I learned & enjoyed a lot. I still drop by on the politics forums once in a while and check out what they're heckling about :)

As you would a hyperactive teener with short attention span, I shifted my main interest from news to writing. The Internet, I could say was where I actually honed my skills as a writer. I joined a writing site that helps budding literati to test the waters, write and publish their works over the site to gain exposure and be able to receive constructive criticism. I posted some of my scribbles, and the first comments I received were not so good. The other members probably figured I was just starting out with those amateurish attempts. Here was another community who embraced fellow writers however diverse their works and sensibilities were, treating each one with respect. They helped out in revising works out for the better, encouraged people in tapping their inner Dickens or Shakespeare and crafting magnificent prose or poetry through little contests and challenges, opened writers' minds about subjects that they weren't initially keen on and give it a spin of their own. They were very concerned about each member's progress, and even if I didn't really know the people behind those pen names, I felt their warmth and sincerity in bringing out the best in oneself.

Apart from pursuing a so-called writing 'career' on the Net, I also diverged in the world of music, movies and anything in between. Listening to my favorite music has never been easier with peer-to-peer file sharing, finding out what's a good cinematic experience takes only a simple search, and knowing that you're only one degree close to your crush is such a lovely thought. While on those doldrums with nothing else to do, I'd simply browse the web, and not long after find another treasure.

I simply love the Internet. If I were stuck in an island, I bet I'll be fine with only food and an Internet connection! Sometimes I'd even get 'withdrawal symptoms' for not accessing the web for one day! There's something very alluring about the Internet, that even if you access the same site many times over, you'll always end up with a different experience. Must it be a pending reply, the breaking news, the hope of finding something new and cool? To me, it's everything! :D

The major driving force right now for me on why I've kept a solid relationship with the Internet is blogging. An offshoot of writing, it came both naturally and accidentally to me. I started with a personal website around 2002 that featured the essays I've written, but since it was hard to maintain I switched to making an online journal, a relatively new thing back then, and it became a repository for my works. Little did I know I'd be talking my heart out to the world about the most mundane of things a year later. I read other people's blogs one time and became so impressed by them, that I decided to start my own personal blog. I had set up about a dozen blogs in entirety, but only maintained a couple up to the present -- still talking about the most mundane of things, yes -- and ready to dash out bits of life, madness, and perhaps love on the side...

There is no doubt that the Internet has made life easier and the world smaller, but more than that it has become a force for mankind. It is a harbinger of communication & harmony and a tool for development & growth, among the many purposes it serves. It is constantly changing my life in a lot of ways. It made me become more aware of the world, and helped me express myself and gradually overcome my self-doubts about my capabilities as a person; to be respectful and open to many views and personalities, to seek out new friends and establish my relationship with the dear ones I have.

To say that the Internet has become a part of my life is no cliche. I can even come close to saying that I live and breathe the Internet! I couldn't imagine the world without it. Our existence wouldn't be so thrilling and fun, I swear. My peers must certainly feel lucky to have the Internet born in this era, as with all other techno gizmos... we are the consumerist generation, after all!

The Internet has been my no-miss daily activity ever since -- my ever dependable schoolwork assistant, my provider, my bridge to people far and wide, my babysitter, my awesome CIA to all the guys I've ever had a crush on, my storage room, my confidant to angst-ridden rants and raves, my caffeine to all those boring insomniac nights, my invisible but lovable best friend.

I can say I'm very different now from what I was on that fateful July afternoon... I am at present a confident, competent woman ready to face the world.

Thank God for the Internet! :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

sipping champagne while supplies last

2006-11-10T15:48:00.000+08:00
as the AMV fortunately (or unfortunately) found itself to be established just after sem break, we avid youngsters are relishing accountancy week (the first time we'll actually celebrate it to some effect). for 4 days we'll be having shortened classes, and loads of fun and happy programs we'll participate and enjoy with all our might. i'm just exaggerating on that last sentence. anyway, i'm only sharing how yesterday went, because i guess it's worth posting for reference.

we had the privilege of having Washington Sycip of the venerable SGV accounting firm deliver a lecture before us this morning. i am convinced that he is one of the greatest people i've come across with. he is full of wisdom, knowledge and grace... i mean, even if he's pushing 80 he still has a sharp mind and clear memory (things i believe i will be gone in my system at 60!), well-informed about anything and very much a jetsetter. he talked about why the country has fallen behind other nations in the region given we have far more resources than them, and why he doesn't think western democracy suits our government. he lamented about underfunded education and lack of infrastructure, and the growing divide of the rich and the poor, among others. he even took time to answer questions and entertain reactions for over half an hour. i've never been more impressed.

a little while after the VIP show ended, it's our turn as it was "Student's Recognition Day". this is where all the Dean's Listers receive the lovely piece of paper and shake fists with the administrators. belated as it was to honor those made it the past year, but even so. for me, this probably would be my first & last in the DL stint, as it is a tough act to follow. it's a pleasure to be recognized by the higher-ups, because i've never really had any academics-related achievement for a long time -- i guess the last time i was in the honor roll was way back in early grade school?! i'm happy i've got my 15 seconds of fame :)

(P.S. can someone tell me why Fed looks so good in this pic? sizzlin' emperor!)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

cranking it up

2006-11-07T19:10:00.000+08:00
happy november y'all.

for starters, it was a bum sem break for me because i DIDN'T really get to accomplish anything. i've decided to rehash an old essay of mine for a contest i'm not too keen on, forgot Gawad Ustetika altogether, and is only scratching up on the third one because i'm gutsy . i have not finished any book i've wanted to get over this break -- except John Grisham's "The Chamber" which consumed the last two days picking up on the 450 pages left (out of 676), because i've put off reading too many times. dull, right? i've surrendered myself to watching tennis matches on tv, the only new hobby i've picked up, and forgot all movement in the process. i am a total slob. last friday, i've watched five matches all in all, one of the Federer-Henman AIG Japan Open Championship Finals last October, and the other four the 3rd round of the BNP Paribas Masters in France. gah, i've never been so hooked on this. i must be a strung-up lunatic! ^^,

the break would've been so wasted and unsatisfying if not for the lovely reunion i've had with my long-lost (!) SJ buddies last saturday. it was definitely the highlight on this side of town. it was my first time to spend an all-out gimmick with friends (and heck, there were 10 of us! =D). we all went to SM Mall of Asia. paulo & bern were celebrating their respective birthdays the following week (*this week, actually - happy b'day!*) and so they gathered us up and treated us for a roarin' day out. we had pizza & pasta yumyum for lunch... i finally got to catch up with everyone's lives, how they were doing, and everything was all fine and dandy. i had an interesting chat with ozy (i appreciated it, thanks), shimmied like mad with peach (MB rocks your socks -- groupie love!), and wondered at how much krystelle aka soup girl had become 'demure' since we last met (like duh, she isn't! hahaha xp). the dynamic duo, bern and shuri, were as lovable as ever. it was sentimental to think that even if the company i've kept since high school had matured and had all gone to some 'higher calling' now (lol), if you bunch us up together we'd still be the hooligans of yesteryears. ;)

the food reveille ended, and next came the afternoon action. the majority wanted to go to the arcade, and so we all rag-tagged over to Timezone. frankly i've never stepped on an arcade for more than a decade, and didn't really have the desire to play... but of course i don't want to be a pain in the butt. so i watched shuri & bern & tiff doing their thang on Drum Mania & Guitar Freaks (shuri was cut out for this stuff ^^,), peach & pau hamming it up on the Dancepad, and soupgirl & ozy strutting their stuff on Dance Crazy (?) w/ hand sensors. they were really great. i reluctantly tried on the guitar (with shuri's assistance), and managed horribly to get the sequences right with the Dance things that peach was pushing me to have a spin. i must say i have two mangled hands and a pair of left feet, and i vow never to shame myself again *lol*.

but there's something unexpected for me. among the kiddie stuff and the showman dancefloors was a Virtual Tennis play station! i hadn't noticed such a thing until an hour later. it intrigued me that someone could 'play' tennis on it, and it featured characters like you would on the real court -- Federer, Nadal, Roddick, Davydenko, et al and they looked, hmmm, human-like. the thing you'll ever need was a control gear to shift your player in different directions, and 2 buttons -- one for the serve and another for the defensive shots. so i got the better of my curiosity and played it twice. i played Fed on both occasions -- it was smashing baby! ^^;;; just on my first try, i won the first tournament (out of 5), defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero 2-1! (i eventually lost to Tommy Haas. ugh.) ... the second was not so lucky, however. the opponent was our favorite nemesis banaNadal who beat Rog after a deuce. guess i didn't give justice to Fed, huh? it was exhilarating though, and i'd surely like to play more had i the chance. (thanks so much to bern & peach for being gracious about this! *kisses*)

i agree, i've found my own niche in the arcade. ^^, .. but then time has been too harsh and quick that we had to part ways. saturday was something that kept me hopeful for the next time i'll see cherished friends again. :)

---

but for more pressing matters, i'm off to Boot Camp (that is school) for the 2nd semester. i wonder if i'll return to waking up at exactly 5AM everyday, when for almost a month i'd rise at 7AM+. this time, we'll be having NSTP on sundays already, leaving me no actual rest day. my MWF sked is such a backbreaker (Eco, BA, Acct all at the same day?! give 'em hell!). and rumor has it we'll be having Calculus ~ just when my math falls as my first period! *h. dies and goes to heaven* .. in spite of all the fire & brimstone, i'm really hoping i could work it out this sem. God knows i need the grades i could muster.

---

sensational sports advisory: the Tennis Masters Cup will be held on Shanghai, China on November 12-19. it's the awaited season-ending tournament, featuring the top 8 players. (because i don't want to picspam here, the photolink which i've tenderly created is right here). click on the official site for the contenders and everything in between. i'm so excited... go Rog! ^^,
schizoesque.blogspot.com

sports deluxe, baby!

2006-10-27T23:34:00.000+08:00
ack! after much heaving, grieving and rejoicing, it's almost been two FULL weeks since my vacation began! omg! i haven't really done anything -- no essay, no nothing -- yet! (i'm supposed to be submitting three essays on the first week of november! bah!) ... i swear, i'll be getting over 'em by the end of the month. :|

but for now, i'm relishing my dominance of the remote control. what have i been up to on the boob tube lately? (warning: excessive babbling ahead.)

ellie has become a sports ~~maniac~~ fanatic!

even the laziest bums enjoy sports... watching sports, that is. ;)
back then i never would've given a thought to switching into sports channels as an afternoon pastime. i believe the only thing i've watched that's related to sports before was basketball & volleyball. but right now, look who's whooping it up! i don't know exactly why, it just happened! i suddenly enjoy watching those sports stuff on tv! (ok, stop the exclamations --!!!-- .)

since the FIFA epiphany, i've been partial to watching football matches. it's just fun to see them kick the ball and hit those goals. last week, i've seen the English Premier League, and now, it's the UEFA Champions League. although sometimes it does get a little stretched when no one scores. but you'll never know when the action kicks in! just today i saw a great game of UEFA between Portugal and Germany (couldn't memorize the teams -- porto vs hamburg?!), when portugal scored three goals in just over 20 minutes of the game! :)

and what's sprucing up my daily highlights this time around is TENNIS! yup, you heard it right -- i now have come to appreciate the art of 'love'! hahaha... :p i recently caught the ATP Master Series - Madrid and i'm glad i caught the action! i saw three matches: Federer vs. Soderling (tight match!), Nadal vs. Haas (predictably, Nadal won), and the finals with Federer vs. Gonzales (though i wasn't able to finish it -- RF won the series.) i tell you, Roger Federer is a great player! he is flexible, a fast runner, a strategic shooter, and has lots of stamina. another thing is that he's very calm when he's playing. with Rafael Nadal, i can hear him grunting miles away! (haha, that's an overstatement) ... i cannot compare these two since i've only seen them in a game once -- in the French Open this year. it's strange that even if the seemingly invincible Federer is the top-seed in the men's category (World #1!!!), his only losses, finals-wise, this year are attributed to Nadal (he won the French Open). just what is that spaniard made of?! i have yet to investigate... ;)

right now, i'm digging up some facts and figures about tennis ... i can't imagine how i'd live a yearful of tennis games! every month there's always a match someplace, and of course if you're good you're bound to reach up to the finals! barely enough time to relax and unwind... about 2-3 weeks at the most? but well, these guys are trained for it and it's their chosen field... got to make the most of it, right? hmmm. anyhoo, i admire RF (check out his blog) ... i think he's a nice guy (and no, this is not fangirling! *hee*). he was chosen as Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF (i saw that feature on cnn!), organized charity matches for tsunami relief, he's even got Feder-bears! (look at pic ;p) .. those fuzzy beanie bears are product of a partnership between ATP and UNICEF, proceeds to help disadvantaged children around the world. ain't that sweet?

and so, because of all this tennis hullabaloo, i've signed up for a fun alternative: table tennis as my next, and very last, PE! ... i'm actually very excited about it, since some most of the rules in tennis can also be applied to table tennis (hence the name! *crazy*) i've never tried playing it - but because i'm inspired, who knows, i just might be the next ping-pong star! (jubi, watch out! ;p)

the BNP Paribas Masters, held in Paris, will be from Oct 30 to Nov 05! now that's something to look forward to - the rest of my sembreak is solved! *yay*

(p.s. 'love' in tennis terminology is basically the first point you make in a game, equivalent to 0. i know something! *glee*)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

... finally, a HUGE sigh of relief!

2006-10-24T22:28:00.000+08:00
last weekend, the annoying voice inside my head kept pestering me for 'judgment day' and i couldn't shake it off! the agony of waiting was wearing my patience (and sanity) thin and was leaving me in bad shape -- i had lousy bouts of pms & attitude daytime, and lucid nightmares that kept me on the edge. soon enough, i just might tear my head off! so when i heard news that the 1st sem grades are available for viewing at the public access computer of the campus (2 days before the dreaded clearance day itself), i went into the dilemma of going there and getting over it, or lingering for a couple of days more and rot in vain. of course i HAD to choose the former. (i might not be able to view my grades in the internet anyway... they're always late!)

so i came to school monday at 9:30 in the morning, and as expected there were long lines over the 3 functioning 'view grades' computers. it's good that i saw my friends (former classmates) in the middle of one, and i *magically* slithered in. (Harharhar!) ... but even so, in my experience viewing the damned numbers, waiting in this type of line is like waiting for godot. everyone wants to view everyone else's grades (copying it for them, whatever) and that's what makes it long and frustrating. suddenly the fear in your head dissolves into sheer exasperation, legs in a state of rigor mortis from standing and forgetting why you're even here in the first place.

... and i'm right. after 3 excruciating hours of fanning from heat and mentos-popping (can't remember how many i've eaten... i'm immune to the Extreme Mint flavor!), it was finally our turn to see the magic numbers. guess what? *drumroll*

... I PASSED!
(oh yeah, my entry's title already gave me away. but still! *happy dance*)

i am so thankful. (thank God! thank my prof! thank my parents for keeping it up with me! thanks to my friends for the support!) my grades are actually good, notwithstanding that. too bad i couldn't make a "1" with humanities (arguably my favorite course this semester -- just 1.25 :o|) but i'm glad that i was able to make the other courses a bit higher from the finals. (i actually got a 2 in statistics! and i thought i died. *yeah!* plus a 1.75 in handball! hahaha ;p) ... although i believe i'm already off the DL's this time around (but who knows!), i'm fine with that. i'm not really asking too much, am i? i just have to study harder next semester. redemption here i come~~

i'm no longer worrying. i had a mini-celebration today with the folks (we all got to finally breathe. i was such a homewrecker the past week!)... let the normal flow of activities resume! :)

tomorrow clearance will be a fluff, but enrolment is another i'd have to deal with.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

# 200

2006-10-18T18:33:00.000+08:00
WOOHOO! HAPPY 200TH POST!!!

shifting from the gruesome weight of my last entry, i would love to keep things on a lighter note this time around. who says i don't like a vacation? ;)

i have three weeks in exact, but i'll snip the first 8 days off for self-reflection (if you know what i mean). so much time on my hands, huh? i got 2 john grisham novels i haven't read, salvaging books i bought that has been gathering dust since summer, and the optional harry potter re-reading in case i'm bloody bored. then there's essays i'm thinking of writing for Gawad Ustetika and the Varsitarian... i haven't heard from Encanto, which means i died in the competition. (there's still the fighting spirit though! ;p) ... days and nights of couch potato madness all up for grabs... *wink*

and as planned, i now have the time to update the blog. i wonder if the self-inflicted chaos last week brought my trusty tagboard to the ground?! if so, i'm sad about not being able to read the tags (if there were any) since the 9th -- in lieu of it, i have the Cbox installed right over there -->> so feel free to post your comments & whatever = i love comments! :D

(about switching to blogger beta, i'm mulling over it. maybe not right now.. i'm fine with what i have.)

... and even if some of my friends are still on the verge of delirium, given they're waiting for own sembreaks to start... i would really love to catch up with you guys & gals! let's meet on an agreed date and knock ourselves out! :o)

public plea: to des, anni, shuri, bern, pau, oz, et al -- WE.SHOULD.MEET!! (^^;;;

oh yeah, i just watched "the departed" (sorry oz, my folks beat you into dragging me to watch haha) last sunday. it's a good film, with a dream cast and a clever storyline. i actually laughed in most parts of the film. dramas can be strangely funny. rats. ;)

another movie i'd like to see, aside from "the banquet" and "world trade center", would be "the prestige". (here goes movie pimping ~ haven't watched a decent film in months!!!) ... it's about two rival magicians competing for trade secrets which in the long run turns them into murderers. set in the turn of the century london, its stars hugh jackman and christian bale (as the leads), scarlett johansson (as stage assistant and uh, the love interest of both *hee*), michael caine, and david bowie. (david bowie?! oh yes.) lovel love love ~~~
schizoesque.blogspot.com

a delicate balance

2006-10-16T19:04:00.000+08:00
vacation is becoming a hoot for me, even if it has just started. though i know this awkward feeling will soon pass (given my inclination to "yes! no homework!" vegetating), right now the crumminess of it still comes to hover in my mind.

after exhausting all of my mental faculties last week for the final exams, the whole thing has left me physically & emotionally drained. i've practically slept my nights off without any reservation, waking up the next morning with a recurrent headache. i've had crazy dreams the past 2 nights, one of a kindred encounter and the other a horribly possible nightmare. in my lucidity i haven't recalled dreaming for weeks until these. maybe, it's just an aftershock of all the stress i went through in the finals.

actually, i hurdled well in the exams. i studied, put up several all-nighters and made sure i remember every thing i could before they gave the papers. i daresay i fared better in all my course exams than i did in the prelims, quizzes combined. i really needed the grades because i suffered badly in the first half of the semester. i hope my efforts paid off.

but that's just three-fourths of the story. i am in tenterhooks with one course. it's no surprise, considering i was beyond satisfactory at it from the start, but for the moment i am definitely hanging in the balance. i tried my darndest to stage some kind of comeback through the exam, practically living in the library after school hours to review. i barely slept, digesting everything in, trying to understand all the techniques and theories involved. but the exam we took last saturday, the final examination, was like the last day of our lives. i never thought the exam would be this difficult. i squinted my eyes and squeezed my mind, wondering what should i do. what is my plan? i haven't any.

i hope that i did what i was supposed to, on at least half of the test. my classmates & the batch were all frantic and harrassed, complaining that the exam was really hard ~~ i prefer not talking about the rest. for now, i leave it all up to the mercy of the authority and the heavens. the next nine days would be rough, but i already accept whatever verdict fate holds for me. i've shed the last tear and i will not cry anymore. i will just have to do better the next time around.

have a great semestral break, folks.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

homestretch

2006-10-07T23:58:00.000+08:00
i don't know why i haven't clocked in an entry for nearly a month. everything that has happened since seems to be such a blur, i thought i wouldn't have made it through the enormous blackhole that was august... but here i am, coming to the final week of the first semester, ridiculously sleepy. wtf! :)

as i usually do after blog withdrawal episodes, here's my redemptive post:

growlin' hot!

to start off with a high note, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to UST for winning the uaap men's basketball plum! although i admit i'm also a ~~sycophant~~ loyalist for admu (since '01), nothing beats school spirit! watching the games on tv basically ate away most of my afternoon leisure time (and sanity!) last month -- screaming, praying, praising to the high heavens for a victory long coveted. indeed, nothing is impossible. we did win, and to me it still feels like a dream.. a really sweet dream. (now if only they wouldn't raise those fees once we're thrown back to reality.)

meet the homicidal propsman

preparing our class play for literature, in the classic sense, was a pity when it started. but the 2 weeks that led to our presentation last sept 27 entailed a lot of stress, anxiety, sacrifices and impaired relations on everyone's behalf. (for that our section didn't join the quiz bee anymore, since it conflicts with the sked. awwww too bad.) hoping we could stage the whole thing well that afternoon, we worked through the entire thing on one rehearsal! and believe it or not, i actually only knew my job as a propsman ON the day itself! it was such a frantic rush moving things for the scenes... i even had a big bruise on my leg moving 'em! but i guess it all paid off. we all get a perfect "1" since our prof loved the play! :) she says that our class worked with 'great chemistry', and i second that. :)

hell hath no fury...

... like a man 'stormed'?! milenyo surely beat the hell out of the country when it came on full force sept 30 - day after our play, whew!, leaving us on a four-day electric disruption, non-ideal class suspension, and terribly early sleeping cycles. our house was quite battered, the streets were so messed up, and i felt like an ugly, miserable skank throughout the duration of the blackout. my cellphone died on me on the first day, but i'm very glad my music player kept me company... or else... xp ... it was this time that i discovered panic! at the disco (crazily LSS-forming), and my favorite song in those dark boring nights would be "chasing cars" by snow patrol. (and oh, "save room" by john legend!) .. i hope no storm like this happens ever again.

handball.. no regrets

our PE ended this tuesday with a practical test on making a goal... you don't have to know if i fared well on that ;p .. the thing is, handball season's over! we are the 'champions' with regards to the games (4-0 sweep! -- thanks to my teammates esp zizou!), which means my final grade will be totally fine. honestly, i think i enjoyed handball more than the other 2 i had last year... felt the vibe of playing, baby -- running around, getting the ball (and flouncing it! haha). it's very enjoyable, i tell you. now what will i sign up for next sem -- the last PE ever? i'm mulling over table tennis.

finals, finals, finals: 100 or bust

i have exactly seven days to salvage whatever self-respect i have left to still manage a DL status... because in the rate i'm at right now it won't happen. my 'a' is in such a terminal wreck i don't know how to rescue it through the exam -- which the prof said would be very, very difficult. i'm really going to try my darndest even just to pass. after that, i can breathe.

.. with that, i know i won't be able to post again until the start of sembreak, so for all of my alteregos here, good luck with the exams! *zapping off*
schizoesque.blogspot.com

after the deluge

2006-10-03T15:48:00.000+08:00
it's october 3, late afternoon on this side of the world. i'm such a bad girl for not updating for nearly a month :p ... there's just too much going on and you can't blame me! (fixing this up soon)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

shadowboxer

2006-09-11T20:06:00.000+08:00
So I look in your direction,
But you pay me no attention,
And you know how much I need you,
But you've never even seen me...
-- "Shiver", Coldplay
~~~
WANTED: THE NEXT BEST THING.

...no, not the knight-in-shining-boxers type. i've been wanting to join a writing contest right here in college for some time now and finally, the opportunity came. it's a literary competition sponsored by the Accountancy Journal -- choose your pick from short story, essay or poem -- following a certain theme, which is about philippine folklore ("Encanto" -- meaning 'the enchanted'). the tiny stitch-up is that i'm in a void about what to write, and how to even start my essay. i've forsaken all my so-called writing idealism (ha, ha, ha) back there in high school, leaving this piece of creamy technology as my surviving brain-picker. (and don't you agree, most of what i write in my blog is senseless?!) ... i have until september 21 to slug my piece de resistance, but for now i'm cracking down some nifty superstitions and simply making those thought bubbles. (i'll try and get it done this week -- before my workload goes boiling point.. it is!)

...as if that's not enough, i'm also game to participate in the "Excelsior", the CoA's quiz bee! i've always wanted to join those, but too chicken to try (i mean, they're always populated by the brainiacs!) ... there will be a qualifying round next week - topics range from accounting & trade, mathematics, science & technology, humanities, general information, world history and university history. will put "reading" on my schedule. wish me luck! =)

~~~
as a sidebar, my other favorite pretty face scarlett johansson is downright sizzling these days! she's got 3 movies out before the year ends (i would like to watch "The Black Dahlia" and the one by woody allen...), endorsements here and there, and a gorgeous boyfriend by the name of josh hartnett. all that at only the age of 21! i bet if i were 21 i'll only be having 1/1600th of what she's got. scarlett's just so... naturally appealing. she's sexy even if she doesn't intend to be. i'm not partial to blondes but she makes my cut. oh well, i'm girl crushing again! ;p remind me to make a scarlett-based layout soon!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

handball, 'zidane', and all that jazz

2006-09-07T19:20:00.000+08:00
wait. make that "handball, 'zidane', and all that gasgas..."

guess you won't be waiting long enough for a rollicking sweet entry about another stint of 'PE with dummies', 'coz this time i'm giving life and limb (literally) for handball.

handball, for all who have encountered such a word for the first time, is a team sport that is a crazy mix of 'basleyccer' - basketball, volleyball & soccer. the element of basketball is particularly evident, what with the passing of a medium-sized gamossa (sp?) ball using the hands (but of course) to team members, dribbling (within 2 counts), and shooting. and most of the rules of the hoops apply to the hands too. the soccer factor comes in with the goal net (the visibly obvious hint) and the opponent goalkeeper who's standing guard. as for volleyball, it probably comes in with catching & scoring. handball is an official sport that's part of the summer olympics, and various other athletic competitions. it's primarily popular in european countries -- although less well-known in many parts of the world, where we all know what the chief is. i for one, have never heard of this until last year. but anyways, i signed up out of curiosity (and lack of enthusiasm for nearly everything else) this semester, et voila!

our PE sessions started quite late, as the weather cooperated badly with our schedule for the first 2 months, since we play it on an open court. (eww! UV rays! *loco*) as a result, after a session on practice throwing, we basically thrusted ourselves in the cement with little know-how for the games... especially for people like me who can't score a goal to save her life! for the games we were divided into inter-college teams, and are assigned uniform colors. (ours was red.) uniform consisted of a jersey and knee-length shorts. wearing them for the first time made me feel kinda naked (!) because i wasn't accustomed to showing my legs after being used to wearing pants to school daily. and so we trudge on...

i'm blessed that our 8-man team are equally distributed -- the guys are tall and strong enough, while the girls are agile and gung-ho (i don't fit anywhere. hmm) .. so in case i suck, they could more than make up for it. the main highlight would be our anointed star player, a korean (yes, as in imported kimchi *hee*) who is so spectacularly good at scoring goals i'd like to call him the "zidane of handball". it helps that he comes from a football-crazy nation and is good at basketball too. our goalkeeper is also as manic at blocking as we'd like him to be, and because of all this sweet luck, we win our matches! =)

and as you have read in my previous entries about all the blah i've been going through, handball was not spared from the deluge. it happened last week: i knew i was not in the best of spirits that time, and add to that the exhausting heat which wore me down even before the game. i tried to be confident and planned to make up for my half-a*sed efforts from the first game. when the game started, i thought i was doing well with running and playing offense (oh yeah?), but then WHAM! i slipped and slid to the hard pavement, causing a horrible scene (complete with audience shrieking and commotion). my right knee was brushed with dirt and blood. it was partly pitiful and fully craptastic... i slipped for a lame purpose! i wonder what people thought of it (i wanted to disappear). and so i was excused from the game, and our zidane got in. actually i felt sorry for him more than myself, because he's supposed to be the substitute (less playing time) in the game as he had an minor ankle sprain from the last match. i couldn't bear looking at my teammates.

as the wound swelled, i was 'escorted' by 2 classmates down to the health service, which was a bit of a stretch. i have never been to the hs for any other purpose than for the one mandatory checkup i had back when we were freshmen, so i didn't know the procedure of securing a slip. oh well. it's terribly bureaucratic inside the place... i was glad to have company with all the waiting. (look madam, i've got a friggin' blood clot here! ;p) sometime after 10 minutes was i received by the nurse, who said my scab-looking wound was an abrasion, and took me to the other room to have a nicely-packed bandage. boy, i seemed to look like an injured parakeet! =D the PE session had ended when we returned, and the good thing is that our team won without me (7-1! don't know whether to call it a blessing in disguise...)

the days after the incident were punctuated with aches and more oozing and swelling. it was a bit hard to me to walk straight, though now it's quite alright -- i just can't bend my right knee with the still open wound smack in the middle of it. luckily again, just this tuesday we didn't have PE! so i think by the 12th the abrasion will be almost healed and i can play... if i want to! :)

(i'm boring you out, am i? hahaha! posting for history's sake Xp )
schizoesque.blogspot.com

the new leaves of september

2006-09-03T18:47:00.000+08:00
actually, i don't have an entry in mind, so pardon me! \xp
(my much-maligned handball post is in the works, so watch out. i just don't have enough time for typing 'em, weh ~ you'll see soon why it "pains" me to do so!)

merci beaucoup to my friends who've shown their love about my recent melancholy (bern, tea, jubi, os, des... *smooch*) ... august was definitely a hell month for me ~ i actually suffered a mental breakdown last 31st because of the whole crap... well, everything's fine now, i'm back to my sprightly step! =D i hope this month will be better for me -- better chances, better experiences... i'm trying my best to ace that quiz in acct & eco (and even if i don't, a passing 'high' mark will surely do wonders!) ... hope to have a fresh outlook in life (no more sullen me! i swear i looked & felt ten times older last time! dad even noticed white hairs appearing on my balding head! yikes! *shiver*) ...

september's gonna be fantasic fellas! i can feel it! =)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

can things get any worse than this?

2006-08-26T17:07:00.000+08:00
for crying out loud, i'm sick and tired of myself!

nothing seems to be going right for me these past few weeks/months as the bumbling 2nd year idiot savant. my academics have all gone berserk, i couldn't catch up with my batchmates on lessons, i screw up too easily on trivial things that everything else gets affected and all goes up in smoke. i'm lagging terribly behind... must it be because I'M TOO COMPLACENT? to define:

com'pla'cen'cy (n.) not giving a damn. feeling too at ease.
i hate to admit but i'm still procrastinating, only worse. last year it wasn't that bad when i was in the midday class. now that i'm up in the morning, time seem to stretch so long i'd take my time, and get awfully languid by the time i'd do my homework. in some days i'd get a little more diligent but the test results would somewhat still be the same old ****.

concerning this matter, i doubt my capacity being an accountancy student more often than not. can i even get past this semester without failing (or getting the coveted 2.5 & above GWA)? maybe i can. but the tougher challenge will be if i would be able to graduate in this college without incurring any deficiencies.. sometimes i think, maybe if i were back at commerce i probably wouldn't feel like this because the expectation of students excelling would (at least) be less threatening than with our lovable college.

ah, expectations. don't even get me started with that.

i even wonder "why the hell am i here? did i actually pass the QE or was it just sheer luck?" because i'm too dumb to even be in a 'top-tier' section (as they would like to think) and i'm too dumb to be here ... i'm fucking falling off the cliff!

our prof (in response to my rambling thoughts) gave us some kind of a pep talk just after the prelim exams, about moving on and improving. she said (to paraphrase) that it was already a big first step when we were able to get into this college (passing the QEs), that it showed we had more potential than others... so being one, we should enhance this potential to become the best. everybody is your competition. NEVER BE COMPLACENT, DON'T SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY. and some more things about expectations... ;P

and to extract wisdom from my friend des (with regards to 'trying to cram these crazy lessons into your head'): "THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE! THINK WORK! THINK... MONEY!" $$$$$!!! (thanks lovely!)

finding redemption, if there's any left...
schizoesque.blogspot.com

teddy bear clouds

2006-08-13T15:30:00.000+08:00
please, don't ask me how my week went. i can only HOPE it went fine.

*~~gritting~~,~~biting~~ gnashing my fingers*

well, on the lighter side ~~ i got to watch Amelie (french title Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain) starring our lovely Audrey. it's a pretty sweet film, funny and crazy at the same time. the movie is somewhat a viewfinder, magnifying people's little eccentricities & idiosyncrasies that color the parisian spectrum (kinda applies to our world too). it's simple, witty, and very much delightful. the effects are sooo cute! ("amelie" also stars mathieu kassovitz, the curly redhead gadget whiz from "munich"... he's quite handsome ~*heh*)

and this film has spawned an internet hoax!
'the teddy bear cloud by God' was actually lifted from 'amelie'! :

for those who have watched the movie, it was impossible to miss -- the scene where the young amelie had her new instamatic camera that she took pictures all day? there was also a "rabbit cloud"... but anyway this made the cut. so "amelie" IS famous, in a clever sort of way. :p hello to everyone! :D
schizoesque.blogspot.com

one weary battle

2006-08-06T20:36:00.000+08:00
...i promised myself not to succumb to pleasurable indulgence this week (no internet. and ok, a little tv) as i'm thrusting into preliminary hell starting wednesday. it's good that i'll be able to study for 3 days (no classes!) focusing especially on my favorite subject. i really hate it that i can't seem to get a good grade on "A"... i've been flunking it, for heaven's sake! i hope to make up for it, just let me try... :|

(a little inspiration for the wallabies... have a merry midterm week everybody!)

--

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest, if you must - but don't you quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that YOU MUST NOT QUIT!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

nostalgia musicale

2006-07-26T21:27:00.000+08:00
let's go rainy-day nostalgic again, shall we? ...yes!

... just the other day, i was feeling quite musical as i do whenever i'm alone and have got nothing to do. in the past, being the sneak that i am, i comb through my dad's vinyl LP collection (without him knowing). among the 100-or-something big ol' discs he's got: Santana, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other rockin' groups that defined his generation. (i fondly remember singing "oye como va" and "stairway to heaven" even if i didn't know the words, as the LP played loudly in our turntable one new year's eve.) ... but let me not forget The Beatles as part of his repertoire. he's got tons of them! it was actually my pop who introduced me to their music and their ever-enduring influence. again, i reminisce "Abbey Road" playing on the car stereo on sunday trips so much that i know almost all their songs in that album by heart. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was genius, as i love "A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Getting Better".

an instance that led me to rediscover again the LPs last monday was when kazaa randomly played "So Far Away" by Carole King. to me, that song is so beautiful that even if you play it a million times i won't grow tired of it. it's like one of the best (love) songs in the universe! and so, inquisitive and incorrigible as i am, i trooped to dad's cabinet and scoured through those dusty big things to find "Tapestry", because i vaguely remembered seeing that before. "Tapestry" is King's 1971 album which was a big hit, considering there were a lot of great classics in it (posting the track list):

1. I Feel the Earth Move
2. It's Too Late
3. So Far Away
4. Home Again
5. Beautiful
6. Way Over Yonder
7. You've Got a Friend
8. Where You Lead
9. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
10. Smackwater Jack
11. Tapestry
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

of these, more than half of them are those i am familiar with and like (1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12.) "It's Too Late" (Grammy Record of the Year) was featured in the soundtrack of "The Lake House" and got me to like it sooo much again. i remember walking in the campus field with my college friends last march when some people were setting up for the graduates' baccalaureate mass and they test-played "You've Got a Friend" (Grammy Song of the Year) on the big speakers and i fell into a state of deep ponderance. carole's voice is so damn gorgeous and light and so earnest you just want to be so thankful to have friends. (honestly, this makes me teary! *sniff*) i am more exposed to the James Taylor version but this one rocked my socks. her music, her voice, her melody is so incredible it withstands anything... to think she wrote all these songs -- she means every one of them and connects them to every listener! it is therefore no wonder that "Tapestry" became one of the biggest-selling records of all time.

the only obstruction to my Musical Heaven was that i couldn't play it. our hi-fi component of 20+ years died 2 years ago, and our new one doesn't have the "phonograph" function, that's why i couldn't connect my surviving turntable anywhere to listen to it. right now, i am only content with reading the lyrics found at the back of the LP and 'try' to sing them. what a sad fate. :( as the only Carole King song around in my player is still "So Far Away", i'm thinking of downloading her other stuff.

but i won't be satisfied with mp3s hanging around my PC. (my drive's not CD-R.) i implore YOU -- anybody, somebody! give me a copy of "Tapestry"! (i wonder if they still sell 'classics' though.) even if it's pirated -- just please, not the karaoke version! @_@ if you do, i will tell the gods your name and you shall have eternal glory and happiness! ha ha! :D
schizoesque.blogspot.com

j'aime / mad love

2006-07-22T19:42:00.000+08:00
(caution: crappily pathetic fangirling ahead. stop reading while you can! ;p )

i JUST have to get this tiny little tidbit off my system:

the biggest reason why i'm terribly missing the World Cup is Zinedine Zidane.

even if if it ended only 2 weeks ago, it feels like it's been ages and that's awful. even if i only started watching football this year, it feels like i've loved this sport for years! even i know little of anything, for the life of me i'm strangely attached to them. even if france lost, my head's still up in the clouds, thinking they didn't really lose. even if zidane had an unceremonial exit to his glorious saga, it doesn't feel so bad... well, that got me all the more fascinated about this silly man. :)

it's funny how being exposed to a person frequently (like catching zizou most of the time on tv -- games, interviews, etc -- coincidentally AND unconciously) can make you drawn to him. funnier, even, is how you're starting to like the person just when you won't get to see the guy anymore (zizou saying goodbye and off to retirement). it's f*cking mad, life playing cruel tricks on me. (this is NOT an isolated case -- i've been through this... *ha*)

anyways. i'm letting this 'craze faze' pass, i know i've got a short attention span... but i guess this serves as some kind of tribute to perhaps the greatest player of his generation.

zizou, vous etes avez aime. je vous souhaite le meilleur!

**(which -- according to babelfish, of course! -- roughly translates to: "zizou, you are loved. i wish you the best!" *whee* my pic is a collage of livejournal userpics that i looove from zidanefans, give 'em credit. :p)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

le fabuleux destin d'ellie

2006-07-20T19:01:00.000+08:00
tres magnifique! you're gazing at my newest piece de resistance, version 6 that i aptly christen Audrey ♥ Burberry because i simply love two things: 1) the classic burberry pattern, and that 2) i shamelessly adore the beautiful french actress audrey tautou ~~ i combined them both to make this layout golden/khaki-inspired. (well, come to think of it, it looks like my uniform! *blah*) ... i think this makes for a good classic look, audrey being a timeless beauty (to moi... she looks kinda like the other lovely audrey -- hepburn, that is. *starstricken*), and the shades radiating an elegant, sophisticated feel. now that i'm feeling oh-so-royal, shoot me! ;p

crediting the main picture i've snipped off The Audrey Tautou Fansite to Kate Black, who photographed our fair lady, lest i want to get myself jailed for copyright infringement. but well, if pictures are out on the net, then it's ok to use them, right? :) ... btw, the total process of making this 'skin' took me quite a short period compared to the other ones (i sure know what i want). so if you have any comments, let me hear it! ;) ... this layout change might as well be a sort-of rejuvenation of my journal as i launch into total sophomore mode. i wish for a lot of things to happen this year, and pray they do. i wanna help myself!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

scatterbrain

2006-07-14T16:39:00.000+08:00
what the hell has my head been up to?!

for starters, my engine isn't revving up that well. my first quizzes have been a mix of good and awfully bad. accounting & statistics is a hassle for LPU people like me, but we'll get through that. don't forget to bring the calculator! =p

with the chilly weather abound, i'm still in a state of drug-induced indifference because of cough & colds. (my flu shot probably just expired.) and i hate waking up on deliciously cold mornings!

the latest movie i watched (since the schoolyear started) was "Superman Returns". i think i was laughing half of the time because of the guy's antics of "saving the world"! i don't know, i guess because it's predictable. and the Jesus-Superman parallelisms! (Time Magazine said that the film should be retitled "Jesus Christ Superman"... or "The Passion of the Clark"?!) holy baloney! ;)

i don't know whether to call our nstp online program a boon or a bane. it's convenient, yes, but i have to spend a little more time (sacrifice my lunch too) in school on some days because i have to "obtain" (copy) our modular lectures in the library -- since the dial-up at home is so cranky, the page runs slooowwww. and the tests are only available on weekends! i don't feel like staying on the library on weekends! (hello? where's quality time?!) i better work this out.

FIFA World Cup '06 aftermath: the Azzurris won... sorry Les Bleus! how i wish it was the other way around, but Zizou blew it away (i forgive the guy though). in my opinion, it didn't feel like a final game at all. penalty shootouts?! (the Germany-Portugal match was much more exciting!) still, arrgh. i have nothing to look forward to anymore. =( ... 'til 2010!

and: i've got a new skin! it's coming up soon! i bet you, it's glamorous =)

**on edit: i tried logging in the nstp server from my home and it's not that bad. yay! only need to install the damn Flash (problem is, my CD drive's cranky again.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

goin' fever pitch

2006-07-02T19:15:00.000+08:00

just a quick one: i'm swamped with homework. got 2 quizzes per day this week, and jeez my brain's not working! i pity myself. the damn question "am i really made for this???" pops in my head every time i can't work something out. needless to say i'm banging my head, while all the others (my classmates) are happily worming their way. sh*t. heaven help me!!!

---

today, the merry second day of juillet, was my first introduction to the globally amazing FIFA World Cup '06 (happens every four years, now held in Germany)... frankly i am very ignorant of the whole futbol thing even if the world media's been cryin' about it since juin 9. but anyways, i got to watch my first-ever match this morning, Brazil versus France, when i was mindlessly channel-surfing. my dad, probably the more-informed one of the house (trivia: he was a football player back in his high school days! ;D ), took on the side of Ronaldo & Ronaldinho while i was stuck with the frenchies (which i don't mind at all... being a francophile *hee*) ... funny how it's life and death to the players & fans, when hitting a goal is so damn hard! you spend almost 2 hours with a 0-0 score! imagine my awe when france finally hit a goal... (even if we've got a boxing match in our backyard, i was gazing over the green field! *evil*) ... and so after blocks, kicks, and yellow cards, France won after about approximately 93 minutes, 1-0. in retrospect, the french almost got the goals (3?), except the brazilian goalkeeper expertly blocked the ball, much to the guys' & the spectators' dismay. Brazil was good too, but anyhoo.. better luck next time. i'm for france, because of the crazy bet (Zinedine Zidane -- eetz za cute name! ;p) if only i'll be lucky enough to catch the next show.

*on edit: it's France vs Portugal; and Germany vs Italy for the semifinals this week. the victorious will then square off in the ultimate Final Round.

**will get myself a FIFA crash course via the net these days**
schizoesque.blogspot.com

just to give myself a headstart

2006-06-26T13:11:00.000+08:00

WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP!!! :)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

long overdue

2006-06-22T15:14:00.000+08:00
i'm officially in my SOPHOMORE YEAR yet i barely feel it.

et tu, sophie? it's like the past days have all been just a daydream... i sleepwalked over the first week (primarily due to waking up sooo early -- but thanks shar ;D), coming in and out of the CoA with the four flights of steps harassing me, nearly dozing off with the profs' lectures (as i am situated at the back of the room), meeting new people as a continuous occurrence, the lovely chatter over breaks, and my incredibly overwhelming passivity about life.

it takes a while to take everything in and conform to this semi-radical lifestyle, since most of what i'm experiencing are relatively new. so far, it's a good one. (a huge minus point though will be the sh*tty airconditioning in our class! X( ) i somehow wonder & dream what the next day will bring, what life can offer me, what will i discover... *el tilting her rose-colored glasses*

(pray i could survive the homework... the curriculum's woozy :|)

to borrow The Beatles' love: "Here comes the sun... and I say, it's all right."

---

if i lag in updating the blog (like now), it's because i'm on one of my "austerity programs" ... i won't be using the computer much at home unless if it's for school work, so the Internet only presents its opportunity when i drop by the library (which is infrequent nowadays because of my imperative sked). and while at school i don't feel like blogging at all (i always write my posts offline -- hee) ... i might only do these twice / thrice a month, so sorry dahlings for my MIA's... i'm pretty sure you all've got active lives as well! =)

'til the next ride comes along to Wonderland, fellas.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

since i'm too lazy to update

2006-06-19T14:54:00.000+08:00
Each player starts with the six weird things/habits/quirks about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own stating their six weird things / habits / quirks, as well as stating this rule clearly. In the end you need to tag six more people and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments box.

1. when i see a large, body-length mirror, i have the irrestible urge to make a klutz out of me in front of it.

2. i sing christmas songs out of the blue.

3. i forget. a lot. (even about the things i did yesterday.)

4. while i'm right-handed, i mostly do 'technological stuff' (like texting on my cellphone, or typing on the computer) better using my left hand.

5. i believe in "deja vu" because it happens to me most of the time. (!)*

6. shyly admit, i have a sensitive gaydar! now that's weird! :|*

tagging anybody :)
*edited because i remembered these just yesterday

---

and in case you're wondering how my life is, it's fiiine. :p
schizoesque.blogspot.com

six days or bust... *groan*

2006-06-07T18:52:00.000+08:00
i'm counting down the days... classes "start" next tuesday ("start" there meaning we fugly automated robots aka students, out of sheer obedience, troop down to the hallowed halls just to find out there actually aren't any classes... which sucks, considering everything) and i wonder whether i'm attending at all. even on the 14th, the "actual start"... but oh come on, i'm like the geekiest minion ever! ;p

reluctances aside, i *have* to go to school on juin 13 because i've got to claim the brand-new uniforms our college got for us. (i expect it to be nice and dandy, and i have to look sexy in it *lol*) .. to round up, i've got my new ~~big fuglycake~~ bag ready, my new army green shades checked, my 2 new pairs of lovely shoes boxed up to go (story about this: i'm naturally a size 6 1/2 but i perfectly fit a size 5! my feet are shrinking! ~~ and the thing is the 2 pairs look like grade-school clogs... i just can't fathom wearing pointy pumps yet.) school supplies almost done -- there's nothing much to prepare on this department, really.

the only thing that isn't prepared is ME.

i have been trying to wake up at 5AM for the past few days as a practice just so my First Days wouldn't be such a trainwreck... and it makes me feel stressful already. i'm doing this after a hiatus of a year and a half -- that's exactly what happens to the lazy bones. the physicality of it is that i get awfully hungry mid-morning (having rushed my breakfast), my eyebags scare the * out of me because i look like a racoon, and i feel sleepy and tired all of a sudden. the fact that i don't easily fall asleep at night also contributes to this monstrosity. can't just set my biological clock a wee bit earlier, right?

and FYI (if you didn't catch my whining drift), i'll lay out my sked for you:

... that's how murderous it is. i'm starting to think college is a gas chamber. :|

so, i'm savoring the last few days of my so-called freedom... vegetating. that's mostly what i did this vacation, as a contradiction to my pre-summer lofty ideal of working. (El exposed as a sicko coward bum, yeah!) ... i swear, though, i'll get myself in a job next year. sometimes i think i act so childish and bratty for my age, unlike more responsible 18-year-olds out there. (i can imagine my parents say "hell yeah!") ... i wanna make up for it, and maybe Second Year would be a good start.

even if it would mean sacrificing "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost".

(i guess.)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

... and yes, i'm still a veg

2006-06-07T18:42:00.000+08:00
let's talk about good movies! (seriously, this is becoming a showbiz blog! =p)

one movie i was lucky to catch monday on wowow was "Shattered Glass". how i wanted to see this. the story's about a twenty-something writer/editor of US conservative magazine The New Republic, while a gifted one, is exposed as having fabricated (fictionalized) more than half of his events write-ups in the mag, and possibly other publications, so that he could be famous. it's a pretty low-profile but acclaimed film, based on actual events, starring hayden christensen (of "star wars" anakin/vader hottie fame) as bespectacled stephen glass, and (omg! cute) peter sarsgaard as chuck the senior editor. surprising to know tom cruise produced the movie... he knows some good stuff after all.

this whole "fabrication" thing happens in real life, as i read a widely-sensational story almost a couple of years ago about Jayson Blair, reporter of the esteemed New York Times, having made up several stories in his news beats. i feel the ambition of young writers, as a fellow scribbler myself (*cough, cough*). as the saying goes, "you're only as good as your last work." in the cutthroat world of (print) media, there's always the respected 'seniors' who could do no wrong, the 'it' person who's the toast of the town, and the good writers mostly in obscurity unless they've clinched the Pulitzer or an equally prestigious literary merit. immediate hit wonders in journalism rarely happen lest you are moneyed or you've got the people. (tell me if i'm wrong on this, but talent isn't much of a factor sometimes.) so, in an act of desperation of some because of the years they worked as the 'bottom feeders', they resort to unethical procedures just to get the attention, the backing, and the promotion they want (or believe they deserve). they can lie, bribe, copy, blackmail -- whatever -- in their work so they can be famous. as stephen glass succinctly put (i paraphrase): "... it doesn't matter, as long as you get to see your name on paper." one of my biggest dreams is to get my essay/s published in a newspaper. i have always wanted to become a broadcast journalist, or a magazine contributor / writer / editor despite my lack of communication skills or the degree to match (still is, somehow... natch)

deception. we could be the victims, yet we could also be the suspects if we aren't aware at all. not just in the written sense, but in everything else goes around our lives. it's only when someone knows the truth and shoves it in our face do we realize we've done a grave mistake that can torment our conscience forever.

---

..and the luck doesn't run short as i also watched the 2004 Academy Award-nominated biopic "Ray" yesterday. i was quite happy i was able to see this film, starring jamie foxx on his Oscar-winning role as the great blind blues (and other genres) artist Ray Charles. the movie (in '04) was given much attention because it was shown just months after the untimely demise of the real Charles (who was consulted in the making of the film)... so i guess "Ray" was an apt tribute.

it was a deserving one. i didn't know who ray charles really is, only by name and that he was a blind singer, till i saw the movie. i almost cried in the first scenes i chanced upon, when a young ray stumbled over the house and he was helplessly groping over the place, while his mother watched him as he learned how the world works. his mother was a big influence in his life, telling him that he's got to be strong and not think of himself as a cripple. it was a lesson that guided his life in a successful career, despite his many foibles -- women, problems that come with fame, and most especially drugs. it's admirable that he got over all these.

what i loved most about "Ray" was of course, the music. i appreciated the fact they used songs to tell his story. it showed that he was very gifted and talented, weaving his thoughts & life into wondrous melody. most notable are the hip "what'd i say", "i believe to my soul" (elliot!!! *hee*), "hit the road jack", "you don't know me", and "unchain my soul". though i tell you, his most famous song, "georgia on my mind", is serenely beautiful. (the first notes already made my eyes moist.) how come i've never heard this guy before? ray charles is so brilliant.

**notice that both movies are based on actual events? i seem to like a lot of biopics... it's an interesting way to peek into the lives of real people. :) **
schizoesque.blogspot.com

living is easy with your eyes closed

2006-06-01T08:22:00.000+08:00
i have known this absurdity for almost a month, though i cannot bring myself to broadcast it until now: MY CLASSES ARE STUCK IN THE MORNING THIS YEAR! it's the craziest prank this university has unleashed on me! considering i have been comfortably cushioned in the midday class last year (in my own choosing), they took the matter into their own hands and disregarded my previous schedule! this sucks. so this time around, i'll be WAKING UP BY 5AM, and getting off 6AM. this absolutely sucks. just when i have to commute. my sked's block as usual, so it's gonna be a daily thing. (!!!!) i hate the sound of it, and i'm now having disastrous "dry runs" rubbing my eyes at five in the morning, sleepwalking like a zombie to the shower, preparing the family breakfast (awww), dressing up, all in the span of an hour! it really just takes some time in getting used to. :|

i just got enrolled myself yesterday (which wasn't as horrendous as the last time, whew!) ... and believe me when i tell you SECOND YEAR'S GONNA BE A BUST. i have a whole-day Monday schedule (we now have this 3-hour computer lab thing in the afternoon), as well as Tuesday (if my Handball PE *gasp* counts) ... and the rest the week is either a four or five-hour schedule. saturdays are no exception (i just wonder if i have a 1-hour free time in the middle of it, the sked's confusing) ... and now we have this national service training program (NSTP) to accomplish on sundays (SUNDAYS!), meaning i have no time for relaxation. bummer bummer bummer.

i saw the class list, and found myself staring at names of people i don't know, except one. i'm really glad i get to be classmates with my good friend (from 1st year) again... we're in this together! :) ... man, the other 43 people could possibly be mega brainiacs! shoot me! *recharging nerdtron batteries*

i'm hopelessly stuck in the morning class, and there's nothing i can do about it. i just wish this benefits me in some way... there's a lot to be sacrificed, like my tv time (oh no, "Lost"!), sleeping late, doing homework at the last minute, my stomach (starving all the way)... i can't cram the way i used to. have to face reality...

damn, i'm already a college sophomore!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

due to insistent tagging demand

2006-06-01T08:13:00.000+08:00
Instructions:
1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different descriptions of their perfect lover.
2. He/she needs to mention the sex/gender of their perfect lover.
3. He/she must tag 8 more people to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they've been tagged.
4. If tagged a second time, there's no need to post again.

---

Gender: Male (unless I get a last-minute sex change!)

He:
1. is a decent man, capable of a having a life & maintaining good relationships.
2. knows how to listen AND listen well.
3. is able to bring me back to sanity/reality --nicely-- when i'm being too much.
4. is HOT ~~physically~~, mentally, artistically (since we're talking about lovers!).
5. can make me feel good about myself, flaws notwithstanding.
6. can carry a tune (or if not, can play an instrument... since i love music *hee*).
7. gives me space and personal freedom to do what i want.
8. loves & respects himself in order to treat others the same way as well.

I tag:
1. peach 2. bern 3. jubi 4. tiff 5. steph 6. mysh 7. kathy 8. ozy
schizoesque.blogspot.com

one more meme

2006-06-01T08:09:00.000+08:00
*mechanics: come up with 10 things that makes you happy, simple as that. be as unique and original as you can. then tag three more people with this meme.

10 things that put a smile on my face:
1. listening to my favorite song on the radio.
2. the satisfaction of getting a game show question correct.
3. getting an unexpected call from a beloved friend.
4. when i wake up to the breeze of a rainy morning.
5. witnessing acts of chivalry / manliness.
6. being able to do a good deed to a friend or stranger.
7. indulging on pastries, cookies, sweets, ice cream!
8. not worrying about anything for a day (this is rare).
9. waking up late (i don't get to do this anymore).
10. getting stuff for free!

tags: shuri, tea, peach
schizoesque.blogspot.com

commotion with the locomotion

2006-05-24T11:36:00.000+08:00
perdonnez-moi, messieurs et mesdames. i haven't updated the site for so long you'd think i've fallen onto a ditch and never got recovered... nah! (anyhoo, you got my childhood true story flogging your computer screen for eight days and you can't wait to click "refresh" ... the bullsh*t's just intolerable) well, that's me ~~self-defecating~~ self-deprecating again! boohoo.

the days that led to the weekend left me feeling pretty spaced out. there were many things that happened in succession that i just couldn't keep track! i've never had so much frenzied emotions swirling about! :~

MY LONGEST POST EVER!!!

so, this would be a crazy day's entries (part 1) you'll unearth down there for today... just read on, read on, read on. my part of the bargain! =)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

ellie's day out

2006-05-24T11:32:00.000+08:00
may 18 was a very pumped-up day for me as i hurdle through tv finales, a getaway, and more tv 'finales'. let me start with the "getaway" as it (more plausibly than not) brings the most thrill i've had this entire vacation.

watching "the da vinci code" was the long-standing appointment i have yet to tick off in my mental datebook, and finally i got to do so last thursday with the company of beloved friends -- des and peach. i've been wanting to see this book's big-screen adaptation, and it never occurred to me that i could do so without the clutches of parents or the droll of a bootleg dvd. but the opportunity came from a phone call two weeks ago, and through the powers of technologies like this, our once-in-a-lifetime plan pushed through.

we threesome are a silly bunch, and come hell or high water we wouldn't want the day to pass in vain. we bonded like old times, despite the fact we don't often keep in touch with each other anymore (will resolve that)... and amidst all the hassles we underwent to keep the day right, it ended safe and sound. before i attack the film -- thanks, gals, for sharing thursday with me. *tears of joy*

so this would mark the first time i remember watching a movie on its opening day ... i think the one before that was "titanic", but i wasn't sure (all i knew was that my dad & i caught the first screening of the day). the fact that it has a lengthy 149-minute running time prompted us to catch the earliest screening right after lunch, so we'd have the rest of the day in its hands yet still manage to come home early. we were so enthusiastic about TDVC we overlooked the fact that it was "Rated R" by the censors -- after all, we are legally 18 and above -- that the 'holes from the ticket booth inanely mistook us for spoiled underaged brats. blame it on our youth... youthful faces that is! *hmph*

we got in just right for the show (even got a glimpse of the new 007 movie "Casino Royale"... i want pierce back! :| ) ... tense anticipation evaporated as i sank my eyes around it (how graphic). i savored everything like a child during the course of the film... what's the verdict?

for me, it was middle of the road. not as bombastic / explosive / thrilling as i initially thought, but an engaging one just the same. being partial to source material than film versions, i think TDVC (as some critics say) is "better off read" -- the novel delivers more adrenaline, and it has more wit & substance compared to the movie which reasonably gives TDVC's characteristic 'spunk' only in small doses. (i reread the book -- as i usually do with such -- and still found it exciting.) i just wonder if i'd like the movie if i never read the book.

(mainly offtopic: the Cannes people are really high-nosed snobs... and speaking of which, this pic of tom & audrey was taken at the french island premiere -- audrey is sooo pretty! she looks way cuter here than in the film... pixie cut! =D )

but considering the length & breadth of the novel, of course the film had to scratch out several scenes and sacrifice pivotal moments for changes... TDVC is pretty costly to film, with the locations and props and the casting. so maybe it's tolerable enough. honestly though, i love it that they were able to shoot inside the Louvre, that Chateau Villette was filmed on an actual chateau, and that the Temple Church is real. authenticity is good. ;)

what about everything else? [SPOILERS AHEAD!!! *lol*]

the film in general: yes, with all the cuts & changes i wasn't so happy that some of my favorite scenes were done in a rush, like the cryptology they used to solve sauniere's message... sophie's talent was underutilized, the revelation about her being the central of the story was anticlimactic it left me hanging... as well as the identity of the teacher (the telephone voice was pretty obvious, if you ask me)... langdon could've done more symbology (that's what i like best about him... nerd!) and not just quick decoding ... that they only solved one cryptex... and so on. the dialogues, to the TDVC-uninitiated, may be winding at times. i'm not complaining though. on the other hand, i loved the smartcar chase scene, the airplane & the getaway scene, and also the CGI flashbacks. the ending about robert's solitary discovery of the "holy grail" was done fashionably to wrap up the show -- it was a bit unclear (to me, darn it) in the book. i can say that the transition in TDVC is fine enough i'm going to sit still and be complacent. =)

the cast: oh, come on, i've been waiting to tackle this! hahaha... *wink, wink*
+++ Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon -- despite being able to portray different personas in his many-varied films, tom couldn't nudge me enough to love the movie langdon. he was quite stuffy, and the knowledge robert's supposed to enrapture the audience was toned to a squeaky mininum, which obviously left me a little disappointed. but being impartial (haha), i think it was supposed to be that way (?!). and tom is still my fave actor, even with a subdued performance and a hairstyle / special effect that rivals La Joconde's smoldering gaze... ;p

+++ Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu -- beautiful female lead to begin with. (notice my images? i'm having a girly crush -- noooo!!!) a part of me thinks she & tom are miscast physically, since i think langdon should be played by someone handsome and neveu as someone quite thirtyish (simply looking old). but anyways, that's just me. audrey's cute & frail-looking it seems, but she's got power! as i said earlier, her role may be 'underutilized', but her facial expressions (and physicality, i admit) make up for it. in a bit, she is intense and made me feel so serious about her that i almost never laughed in her comical "walking in water" scene (i should laugh now, a very late reaction) ...

+++ Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing -- leigh was characterized so wonderfully in the novel i wonder if the film gave him equal treatment... he (nearly) did! i was such a happy wart when ian bounced onto the screen -- in an intercom, that is -- with the arrival of the duo in his chateau. he embraced the grail seeker's mischievousness it was delightful. he delivers the best quips, and acts most convincingly among the leads (the pivotal hostage scene and there on, was exactly what i want to see). no wonder he gets the hottest roles -- gandalf, magneto, even touted as a possible dumbledore back then... ian's brilliant!

+++ Paul Bettany as Silas -- of course, if i talk about leigh then silas should be a close second! *lol* paul is hotttt even with the murderous appearance (i started to lurve this guy in "master & commander"), and his silas does enough justice. self-flagellation aside, silas' got a cute albino butt! ok, i'm getting shameless. (hem, hem) ... but really, he makes the movie compelling with the suspense he offers. he makes his own scenes stand out! but a tiny qualm of mine is that they didn't amp up the melodrama when he died slowly beside bishop aringarosa... it was perhaps the only sequence in the book that made me sniff. (shameless, i really am!) **little tidbit: i caught paul on "the tonight show w/ jay leno" and he told jay that he held tom hanks in such high esteem that he couldn't really hurt him in the chateau break-in take, so they re-took the scene and when he was finally in his element, tom just let out a loud FART in between the shoot! *LOL*

+++ other noteworthy performances would be Jean Reno's Capitaine Bezu Fache... his emotions are very transparent ("A scar on the face of Paris." pretty neat to hear him say that XD ), the character was given importance in the film with the fillings-in of his personality & the gravity of his task. Bishop Manuel Aringarosa (Alfred Molina) is basically different from the one in the book... he comes off quite sketchy as the Opus Dei head, and i found the scene with the Vatican people confusing... he was in one word, tough. some other characters i'd like to point out too would be Jerome Collet (always imagined he'd be younger than fache, olivier martinez always pops in my mind... *ahhhh*) though he's okay anyway, Andre Vernet (a favorite minor character -- like to think he's refined and suave and all) is passably entertaining with his "rolex" stunt, and last but not the least Remy Legaludec (girls, i researched and found out he's played by Jean-Yves Berteloot -- just call him Lootie for me *haha*) is my eye candy for TDVC... he may only be leigh's manservant/butler, but he looks like royalty! curly-haired, tanned, blue-eyed, young -- nothing at all from what i envisioned earlier! am i the only one who found him hot?!? that's impossible! =D

my eyes are tiring out from typing this lengthy critique, and so are yours from reading it, but this is (i guess) everything i could say about TDVC the movie. nothing so scandalous as to ban it from showing, nothing so wildly fantastic as to make people blindly believe -- it's all in the name of pure Hollywood escapism, and i enjoyed the ride. one of the words that the french characters utter in subtitle numerous times is "merde" (wouldn't tell you what that means unless you've seen the film), and in that sense i don't think this movie is one. in true popcornhead fashion, 3 1/2 stars out of a possible 5. =)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

the end of some roads (TAR)

2006-05-24T11:29:00.000+08:00
may 18 doesn't get any more hectic. you've read my post above, so here's the other half of what made my day "all shook up": finales.

as i prepared going out, there was the season finale of The Amazing Race 9. three teams slugging it out. i was so into wishing BJ & Tyler would win... i mean, after eating a big bowl of crispy/soggy crickets and still having fun, aren't they sport? and mega karma-lucky too! Eric & Jeremy are just as f'd-up as they can get, only with eric lying low and jeremy in the front and center of almost every action -- frat girls! Ray & Yolanda are really swell with how they've achieved so far... i was happy when they placed first 2 weeks ago (the benz price), just goes to show they're a great team if only they've got the energy and team spirit. nevertheless...

THE AWAITED JAPAN LEG!!! woohoohoo i was finally going to see magnificent japan in AR! (pickled as their most expensive destination ever..) and phil in heavy winter clothes! *mwah* ... this was probably (no, definitely) the place the Hippies always wanted... advantageous to them too, since tyler could speak japanese to know how stuff goes! which leaves the other two teams in a slight rut. but there always are mistakes and surprises...

i'm not going to post the events in detail, so lemme just tell you what i thought was fun: #1) the whole japan leg, of course. #2) the "messenger" detour with the hippies riding on portable bicycle w/ bells & whistles... #3) Fujikyu Highland and the rides -- save for the inconvenience that the challengers can't enjoy everything because they have to search for a giant board... #4) the old man at the toll gate copping Ray's butt... it was totally uncalled for, and i always get off-guard by that "moment" -- i mean getting surprised three times (seeing 2 reruns already... *wha-pakk*) ... #5) the Swan Boats! it was crazily exciting to see them 'mobilize' it...

so there went your tokyo hijinks... it's time for the serious buckeroos! :)

the teams have to fly back to the states (as AR finales usually do) so they can get closer to the whiff of $1M... where else, but in snowy, frostbitten Alaska. just when japan wasn't cold enough. the hippies & the frats racing neck-to-neck, while rayYo lagged behind as a result of getting 'lost in translation'. the tasks, save for the drilling, weren't that strenuous in this final leg. (tyler: "where could those chalets be?" grandma moment. *hee*)

as they head back to chilly colorado, the DECIDING task was a ROADBLOCK. as much as it was similar to last season's judgment point (alex linz & wally bransen with the 51-state jigsaw puzzle), this time 1 person out of the duo must put up the flags (from a big field of nation-banners) of the countries they've visited to, in correct order, for a foot race to the finish. they've got a placard guide on how the leg flags were supposed to look like, but obviously you can't trust it with your life. and my heart was thumping with excitement...

as the boys (hmm) sprinted back and forth among the flags, the 'lost' guys were nowhere -- were they actually able to do this final task? i wonder. eric (back from the dead) almost got it right -- but all of a sudden went awry, and bj flustered about the russian flag (2nd in order) which made their seemingly correct line-up invalid. i'm not making suspense sense, yeah. but it was exactly a competition between them as to see who's got it first!

and guess who won... BJ & TYLER!!!!! TTOW! TTOW! TTOW!

it was a most fulfilling moment. seeing phil and the other (eliminated) teams just grinning and everything... couldn't blame the hippies for tearing up (tyler was crying! :D)... wow, a cool million dollars! i love it that they won! (they're "my team", they're "my team", blah la la...) i like what they said about "giving people their adventure energy"... with their enthusiasm for things, they're deserving. stay hippies will you? =D

things turned wounded when eric & jeremy came... placing second was very sad of them ("we're this close to winning!", i can hear them seethe), and i gotta hand it to them for being consistent in their game and being very competitive. and ray & yolanda may turn up last, but who knows what they could've done without japan? they've got a trip to sydney anyway. so at least these teams all have something to look forward to after the race, having had placed first at least once in former legs (and some bonuses). everybody needs to have some cheer :)

... and before i wrap my season 9 baby up, the bj/tyler scene in the mat was giving me goosebumps... when phil announced they won, the two guys just stared into each other's eyes and gave a big bear hug... and after that they were just... tender! eric & jeremy were skulking with nary a contact, while on the flower power side i could (unmistakably) SMELL LOVE! whatta finale. ;p
schizoesque.blogspot.com

the end of some roads (AI)

2006-05-24T11:27:00.000+08:00
(i'm late in my post, they're probably singing now, but who cares?!?)

catching up late thursday night last week, i knew one inevitable thing would happen on American Idol results ep among taylor, elliot, and katharine. the final 2 were to be named while one of them gets the boot.

when ryan was talking about "how close the voting percentages were", i was anxious but at the same time accepting of the verdict. i *somehow* knew it...

ELLIOT YAMIN scored lowest for the week. sorry, dear. i'd like to think you did well with the three songs you dished out, but i guess with the weariness of your trip back home, maybe you really just worn out -- and maybe you knew what was to come too. i think you've accepted the decision -- you weren't shocked, unlike chris. it was a tough road to travel alongside "mr. showman" and "ms. prettykins", and you were undeniably the "underdog". but you made it so far to show everyone that you've got talent and you've got what it takes. some may bash you for not being good-looking, for not having 'personality' or that streak of confidence, but in a way you developed these attributes along the way -- positively, while not losing what's in your heart and soul. damn, american idol's a popularity contest anyway. YOU CAN DO BETTER. a part of me thinks this was a better send-off than what will be in the finale, when the eventual winner gets crowned and the runner-up might've felt a little shame in front of millions. chill, get into a good record deal, and promise me you'll be doing what you've started that made us yaminions proud. :)

(now that i'm done soliloquizing in elliot's aura...)

when i heard his name called for the exit, emotions simply sprung up. i was so sad he wouldn't be able to perform in the final 2, i was glad he can be relieved of a more horrible exit for next week, i was pissed at kat for silently rejoicing, i was angry at the the powers that be for making elliot such a fluff compared to the other two the night before, and so forth. i was already crying when elliot's AI journey clip rolled on, with the acoustic "bad day" playing (i never appreciated the song... only this once), when he sang "a song for you" in his audition so well, when he was "the king of richmond", when he was saying he's so proud of his mom, and how blessed he is... i sniffed so badly. never have i been so emotional in any AI send-off -- i mean, i favored elliot for only three weeks, and there i am wailing like he's my boyfriend. (ha ha) but that's how he made me feel.

d'ya know why I KNEW this would eventually happen? I DREAMED ABOUT IT!!!

(true story -- not making it up) it was two sundays ago, three days before the top 3 performance. back at the time i was heavily rooting for elliot since his "elvis" performance. in my dream, there was a giant white outdoor stage, cameras and crowd and everything. in my REM mind i was scanning for elliot's whereabouts, when taylor strutted on the stage, performing. where IS he??? like an aerial view cam i searched far and wide, and then i saw katharine in a dress, singing like there's no tomorrow. where is elliot?? the crowds were wild. then poof.

only in my waking state did i realize what my dream meant. it was like a preempted "finale". sad as it was, i'll be wishing elliot (or ephraim?) luck in his career. i wonder if i'm going to watch the final 2 performances tonight (not rooting for anyone), but i'm sure i'm watching the finale tomorrow since elliot and the others are showing up to sing too. :)

P.S. even in the moment of farewells, elliot never failed to show his sweet honesty. "I Believe to My Soul" was glorious... ("my name is elliot yamin"... "and i believe you're trying to make a fool out of me". nice!)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

waxed nostalgic

2006-05-14T17:48:00.000+08:00
weather news: rainy days are here again! woohoo! no more hot hot heat! =)

and so for my rainy day post, i'm opting for something 'cutesy' :

~~ childhood memories!!! ~~
let's talk about something for a change, can we?

i've always thought of myself as some kind of 'writer' ever since i was a young kiddo. i started with poetry (wrote my first uniformly-metered poem at age 7, and i still have a folder of 'em poems i've written during that era). i dabbled into story writing (more like pocketbook-writing, as i was influenced by the Sweet Valley books i was reading) but it ended as quickly as it came. i never continued writing after the fourth 'page'. so i guess even in that naive stage in life i knew i wasn't adept at descriptions. i then thought writing 'opinion stuff', or essays, would be my ground. i gave it a go, and where have i gotten so far? =p

the first essay i could remember writing was at the end of fifth grade (typed it in dad's laptop, labeled it as a 'short story' then), entitled "The Grade Five Blues". i recounted the highlights of that year, especially with my experience with the first-ever 'terror teacher' in my life, Aggie. no, wait. i ACTUALLY have a 'BOOK' of my entire grade five life, followed soon after by a special graduation year edition for grade six. there were probably about 50+ entries in each, written on separate notebooks, complete with rave reviews (by my parents, of course). it was like a blog back then... only i scribbled my sometimes-neat handwriting. i still have them.

BUT, in essence, as i dug up my old things, was another notebook that opened up a treasure trove of memories, of writings i barely remembered. the cover was my drawing of two parrots in a rainforest. this was written way back 1997 -- i must be 9 and in grade three -- and my REAL FIRST ESSAYS were chronicled there!

guess what they were about -- ANGELS! =p

ellie, known as the bitch from hell, wrote about cherubims and God's love?!?!?
i'm suffocating with laughter and nausea. *ha, ha, hack*
no, really. i was still a good girl back then! (rebel me: still am!)

but i couldn't believe i wrote this. was i as religious as a bible-thumping evangelist (or a nunnery candidate) nearly a decade ago? well, i was still innocent then. =p

the 'book' was titled "24 Ways to Bring You to Heaven". (whoa.) i'll post the two completed 'chapters' (there were only three - the third was a illustration of a rather fat guardian angel). unedited as they are, lest you accuse me of unbelievably perfect grammar, do tell me whether i still have a spot in heaven after all these years.

Chapter 1 : "Going to the other world"

We almost all believe in God. As we live, we change ourselves. It is because that we are growing up or it is like changing your old clothes to new. Sometimes we ask ourselves, "Why am I a bad boy? Why am I like this?" But sometimes we thought that it is going to be the end of the world. "Is it true?" "Are we only predicting?" after hearing a news. We say that we all die because it is going to be the end of our lives. There are many reasons when someone dies. It might be an accident, a burning house, hard attack or a stroke. We believe that there are angels. Sometimes, I dream that I am on the skies, talking to an angel. We laughed, we played and we enjoyed. It was a nice dream. Is it true that there are angels? I asked myself. You and I want to be an angel, but when we die, we go to another world. When sometimes, we believe that there are heaven and hell. We believe that we felt strange when someone died in our family. But when you are with God, He will comfort you. So love God always!

*to comment: the "hard attack" there is actually heart attack. i always hear old people pronounce it as that when i was young. (but aren't heart attacks hard attacks? =D) at least i had good spelling. next:

Chapter 2 : "Helped by an Angel"

Almost everyday in life something happens. It may be good or bad, but sometimes, one thing helps us. It is our Guardian Angels or simply Angels. I knew something about that and I'll tell you: 1. One incident at school, my teacher (science) tell our class that she was helped by an angel because when she was going down at the stairs, her heels was in the tip of the stair bar and she was going to fall down but it was balanced and she was able to hold her body and could walk again. 2. Incident at home: It was a Thursday evening, when my parents were fighting, I just prayed very hard and hope that they will be *illustration of a handshake* again. Then after that day, I asked my father, "Are you angry with Mommy?" Then he said "No". I thought to myself: Thank God they are *illustration of a handshake* again. God, I thank You that your angels are very helpful to us in Earth. And thank You for I begged for peace and You answered me. So I know that we would like to have Guardian Angels. But just have faith in God and he will give you one.

*to comment: i still remember that teacher -- she was one of my favorites. and however incoherent my sentences were, you could tell i had a very strong faith.

---

doesn't it feel good??? made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

i'm gonna keep this for my descendants to read so they'll feel pround that their momma was once the sweetest little girl in the world. (aw, shucks!) have an awesome 'rediscovering your childhood' week everybody!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

fussing about my other half

2006-05-11T10:31:00.000+08:00
i officially declare this layout version as "5.5". as you've noticed over the weeks, i've tinkered around with the background pic, the title borders, the date (it's french, and now right-aligned) little by little. i thought i should change the main pic as well, and now it's LEGS LEGS LEGS. =p ... so i guess this whole revamp merits a mention in my timeline of schizoesque layout altercations, as i haven't exactly changed everything, just sparing servings. (like a little shake & tremor instead of an all-out earthquake). take a look at what we've become:

... and we've only just begun! i love, love, love my blog -- my lifeforce! *kisses*

i know i don't update regularly anymore (laziness stinging me?), and my entries ~~suck~~ delve too much into ~~nonsense~~ generally superficial issues. what have i to say?

i don't give a hoot. it's MY space and i can write whatever i want. my philosophy about blogs is that it gives a chance to escape from the so-called "harsh realities of life" (in case you haven't read this, it's one of my on-site plugs). grossly put, leave the sh*t in the toilet. i mean what i write -- it COMES FROM THE HEART. and whatsoever i fancy the most is simultaneously loved in real time.

---

breaking away from the dramatic monologue, let me divulge (hmm, all-out) who i'm rooting for to win in the 2 hottest reality shows:

The Amazing Race 9 -- BJ & Tyler
i've said this already in a previous post, but really, i want these guys to win badly! they're lucky enough to have survived not one but TWO non-elimination legs (phil loves them eh? xp) that left my heart in a thump-thump-thump. they seem to be having the most fun, while being a tough competition. last week's ep finally woke my senses from an otherwise dull season -- it was a real race to the finish! (three teams slugging it out for the mat! whoopee!) .. muddy MoJos (want them out)* and brokebacks aside, i believe with the coordination and strength (plus advantage) and a little luck, i think the hippies are gonna win... either it's them or RayYo for the $1M... no one else! ;p

*on edit: the MoJo team is out... and it's up to the hippies (1st because of the bug-eating FF), the frats (2nd), and RayYo (3rd) for the finish line next week! they're heading out to japan, which is the climax of this season... and down to alaska where it all ends. the preview was so exciting i can't wait to see the real thing!

Season Finale : May 18

American Idol -- Elliot Yamin
late as i am in jumping on to the AI bandwagon (started watching only mid-april), i'm not ending this show without a cherry pick. for me, elliot is a great contender for the title... he has a very mellow voice, he can adapt to different genres, he's obviously got talent, but the best part of all is that he is genuine. he sings with much passion and earnest. you can see it in his performances. he's humble, caring, and takes the judges' comments as a building block for improvement. from what i've learned, he's basically half-deaf and has diabetes. pity, yes, but he's willing to fight these odds every single week on AI to prove himself to the world. he may not have the looks or the height or whatever physical aspect, but being himself compensates for everything. he deserves to win this.

*on edit: from what i've heard (i always want to be *spoiled*), chris daughtry is out! and i thought it was kat since chris was like, 'the anointed one' or something... that leaves taylor, elliot (saved!) and katharine in the top 3... fun!

Season Finale : May 25
schizoesque.blogspot.com

... blockbusters and then some

2006-05-03T19:21:00.000+08:00
ahhh, may! the absolute start of happy days when it comes to movies... as the resident popcorn flick buff, i'm grossly (emphasize on the "gross") excited about watching some of the biggest hollywood offerings, namely (in order of release) :

Mission: Impossible III (May 3)
Poseidon (May 10)
The Da Vinci Code (May 18)
X-Men III: The Last Stand (May 26*)
Superman Returns (June 30*)
Pirates of the Carribean II: Dead Man's Chest (July 7*)

but for space's sake, i'll just zero in on two particular movies (very predictable):

1) M:i-3 -- ok, we're not going to blab about tom cruise although it's his movie... all the hullabaloo over the you-know-what since last year has fried my brain cells already. if this is going to be some sort of redemption for him, let it be. but he is NOT the reason why i'm gaga about this film... there are plenty of other reasons: lame excuse #1 this is directed by J.J. Abrams of "Lost" and "Alias" fame (he created and produced these 2)... i expect really great things from this man... action, plot twists, fun! if he can turn me from a regular "Lost" viewer to a mega-addict wacko "Lost" viewer, what else? lame excuse #2 Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in it. this is his first major foray into big budget films. again, expectations are high since his Best Actor win in "Capote" -- which i watched, loved and even read the entire screenplay! (i swear!) i bet he'll make a great villain. (rumor's ripe that he's gonna play the Penguin in the next Batman installment. *shakes head*) lame excuse #3 other stars like Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Maggie Q..... Michelle's really purty. i remember her from "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"... and Maggie, she's beautiful (Polish-Irish / Vietnamese) ... and Jonathan is kinda cute (non-Elvis-wise, ok?) sad that his "Match Point" costar Scarlett Johansson didn't sign on to the role currently played by Keri Russell. i do my research! lame excuse #4 the new MI3 theme by Kanye West. i'm intrigued 'coz i heard the tailend of the theme which was a totally sexy take. hearing Kanye's music (as i'm still on a lapse from "Gold Digger"), it's bound to be a smash. i wanna hear it! lame excuse #5 the locations, the effects, the surprises, and... all right, all right (can't help it)... tom cruise. he spent his money on this! =p

2) The Da Vinci Code -- would you mind if i rehash all the buzz i've generated for this movie (from my september post)? this topbills my favorite actor of all time, Tom Hanks, in a role i couldn't imagine he would play. i really thought Harrison Ford would be a nice choice, but anyways, director Ron Howard calls the shots... and what's with the crazy hair? but i'll brush aside all my misgivings and doubts he'd play the perfect Robert Langdon by simply watching... maybe he can pull it off! Audrey Tautou (from "Amelie") and Jean Reno (the quintessential Frenchman in most American movies) play Sophie and Bezu respectively... i have high hopes in both. but what gains most momentum to me in watching DVC would be my other favorite actors (Sir) Ian McKellen and Paul Bettany, playing my favorite characters (Sir) Leigh Teabing & Silas. when i found they'd do these roles, my anticipation rose and i couldn't have been more excited to watch! but honestly, i found their physiques quite different from the one in the book. (i always read the book -- if i own one -- weeks before its film version arrives, just to rediscover and therefore compare) leigh is described as someone fat and jovial (his sly humor made me love him), and i couldn't find them in ian (ha, ha... it's the dark side that counts... *oops, spoiled!*) ... nor the big ugly brute in paul's silas (i think otherwise)... but anyhoo, what's the fuss with all the controversy about banning / boycotting the movie just because it 'destroys Christian beliefs', promotes violence, sexuality (?!), defames the Catholic Church, Opus Dei, and so on? "The Da Vinci Code"'s a freaking work of fiction! i've read the book a second time and found nothing so scandalous about the revelations, clever as it was intricated in the novel. any learned person can distinguish the fact from fiction -- it's up to him, whether he takes Dan Brown's work as gospel truth or not. surely i won't (i don't know anyone who did), but it makes for good reading and conversation topic (promotes religious dialogue, as Brown suggests). somewhere on the back of my mind i think the whole "only human" thing's plausible...
schizoesque.blogspot.com

fugly is the new pretty

2006-04-27T10:34:00.000+08:00
first things first, click the stuff on the box:

Self-promotional feature: Now, would you be a dear and tell me wtf I am! =)

mmm. with that being said, let's cut to the chase/s:

have a blisterrific summer y'all!
i'd bitch myself into oblivion, but let me tell you that i absolutely hate the weather! (top reason why i don't like summer.) my sweat glands work overtime at this time of the year, with every movement calculating to a couple of sweat drops (yesss.) i keep on changing my shirts, wiping on towels, even while i'm indoors. more so while commuting under the cancer-causing sun... have gone a shade darker since my first stint in college! i'm too lazy to slather SPF (by the way, where's the sunblock? i haven't used any since the last swimming trip, which was back in the days of yore) and too lazy to get the brolly unless i walk a long distance. 36C/97F weather... i wonder how the people living in colder climates would react to this... this ain't no tropical paradise baby! sun + humidity + pollution in the metro = awful. what's worse for me (there seem to be no end for the worse) is that i CAN'T take anything cold yet... no ice cream or even ice water, because i'm still having the 2-month-long cough (i hate it... is this really a cough or something else!) and i don't know whether i'll even recover from it. for now, if only a daydream, i'd love to hop on a plane and go on a round trip to europe! and stay there forever! well, till june perhaps... *wee*

pc bonkers again
fug the damn computer... it certainly hasn't stopped giving signs of "omg-i'm-old-and-i'm-about-to breakdown". THE CD DRIVE IS POPPING BY ITSELF -- AGAIN. i've had this same situation last october though that muffled down, and now the fug's back and it's gotten worse! it opens/closes from startup to logout and i don't know what to do. i hate it!!!! thinking it's been "fixed" just last month and due to that my antivirus program was *unexplicably* wiped out... i wonder if this popping is caused by a virus (trojan? from the forums i googled with regard to this prob) or if it's just worn out. funny though, i rarely use the cd drive... one thing's for sure: i need to get another antivirus quick. (it's still popping as we speak)

name-dropping time -- suggest a book please!
vacation's always a season of idleness for me, so it's often the time i douse myself with words. it's always a habit -- what else is there to do? i remember spending last year's summer reading "wild swans" by jung chang for almost a month. it was a rich, thick memoir, mind you. so i think of doing the same this time... just to keep my fuzzy brain preoccupied. for this season, i have finished a part of "down there on a visit" by christopher isherwood (i didn't realize he was actually a homosexual till this... hmm), and currently reading "no longer at ease" by chinua achebe (the sequel to our 2nd year hs required reading "things fall apart", haha). i am interested in reading "the historian" by elizabeth kostova (dracula stuff? is it a good read? it's available in paperback already -- and it's thick!) and i planned to buy it for next month's reading, as a sort of vacation gift to moiself. (narcissistic biatch!) but when i dropped by the friendly neighborhood bookstore, i didn't find a copy! brokenhearted, i settled for a bargain buy -- a courtroom thriller, "juror number eleven", which i hope is as good as grisham's (as the blurb said). but still, i'd wanna get reading suggestions for a tolerable summer... bestsellers, classics, whatever. thanks!

late late AR9 buzz... and the rest of la la land
i believe i haven't mentioned about Amazing Race 9 since it started... not that i wasn't watching (i do religiously, baby) but *maybe* because i got a little bored with the new season. it's back to being 'teams of 2', and now, nine legs after, only 4 teams remain... who will be eliminated next? (i sound like phil! *squee*) ... rooting for the hippies bj and tyler to win (they're the most fun... entertainment value... and they're smart goofing aside), i don't have multiple favorites. i can't remember hating an 'old couple' team until now (but fran & barry's gone!) and i don't find eric and/or jeremy cute (team brokeback! ;p). next stop japan!

and guess what... i've lately been sneaking to watch american idol! staying up late wondering what all the fizz was all about... the only other time i watched AI was the whole season 3 (with fantasia) ... skipped season 4 altogether... i started watching the episode where mandisa got booted out (country week?). i actually don't have any clear favorites, since to me their performances aren't that consistent, and i'm still new to this season. (kellie's an exception... too cutesy with the audience/judges it makes me puke!) paris' singing voice is good (and like simon, i prefer that to the talking ;p) ... taylor's hmm... hyperactive? don't have much to say about kat and chris, this season's prepped-ups, since they're good at some / bad at some. all i can say for last night's ep was that i have got a newfound liking for "song for you" (sung by elliott... best of his since my weekly devotion started) ... it's a really nice song that i didn't quite notice at first when i was listening to michael buble's version many months ago, but when i heard it on AI, i 'dug' up the track and played it on the stereo and it was gooood! the lyrics are wonderful... very jazzy tune.

and speaking of singing, i want to sing! seeing these talent shows makes you want to grab a mike and belt out! i haven't stretched my vocal cords a la whitney for almost a year, making me think i lost my 'powers'! waah! ;D problem is, i believe i sing the wrong way... i don't vocalize with the diaphragm... it's either from my nose (ewoks!) or throat. i just don't know how! maybe i should take david foster's advice and lie down while singing... la la laaaaa!!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

sloppiness.

2006-04-23T19:30:00.000+08:00
... thought i'd make a sloppy weekend post. (i post rarer than usual!)

hmmm, like the tweakings i did with the background and scrollbar? i really want to change the skin already, but as you know me i'm too lazy to create a layout.. i actually want my next template to be magnificently CSS-fied... but... :|

----
Far Away
Dishwalla

Just the other day, I was looking for myself again
Trying to put back all the pieces, back to the way they were
Sometimes it's not so easy
When you have so many voices tell you what to do
I think I've got it now, but I can't be too sure

Far away as you shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind
Sooner or later, it will slowly come back to me

If I could build a spaceship
Would you fly away with me, or would you stay?
A million miles an hour flying circles as we orbit round the Earth
If I stuck my head out the window,
Do you think it'd clear my head, or would it burst?
I guess it's all the same, but at least it wouldn't hurt

Far away as you shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind
And the voices in my head, I think they've finally gone away

Far away, far away
Sooner or later, it will slowly come back to me
schizoesque.blogspot.com

crazy little thing called "lost"

2006-04-18T18:18:00.000+08:00

the geek shall inherit the earth -- can't get enough of you, Sawyer!

there's nothing as constant in my boob-tube viewing habits as "Lost".

the splish-sploshing, brain-bending, butt-kicking drama/suspense show captured millions of couch potatoes around the world, and unwittingly, me. it started airing here in the shores november of last year... at first i was hesitant to watch and immerse myself into another potential 'tv addiction' -- i gotta study, you know -- and went to read "harry potter & the half blood prince" as the first episode played in the background. i even skipped the second ep. i thought, what's good about a show about people stuck in an island? must it be a scripted "survivor" (of which i barely like)? but i was curious.

soon enough i "tried" watching... and there goes the love affair!

it's a wonderful show. it gives you a bit of everything without divulging much -- kinda like icicles atop an iceberg. it even gets you involved in a way! "lost" tells you about these random people who happened to ride in the same plane that crashed somewhere in the isolated Pacific, and twists the premise that they're not at all random and the crash might have been for a strange reason. even the island is one hell of a place. makes you think, right?

every character's an interesting piece in the puzzle, the relationships are fly, the revelations all too intriguing. if you think you know much about a certain character, nothing's too much -- unless he's dead. there's still a lot they have to encounter for them (and us) to see what's beneath the surface.

for the moment (as i am still in season one), my favorite characters would be Locke because of his practical sense, and lately Sawyer. hmm.. i don't know why, he's pretty much a bad boy but he's alluring when he exhibits that rare nice guy demeanor! *mad grin* i'm also interested about Kate's past, and Hurley, and Sun. actually i like everybody. Jack hasn't rubbed off on me yet (mom thinks he's cute. me? ermm...), but i bet he soon will.

as for the mysterious detour called The Island, i reckon it's a government research facility, observing these choice crop of men, testing their wits and endurance for what -- cloning? psychiatric breakthrough? space mission? alien invasion?

everyone loves a conspiracy...
schizoesque.blogspot.com

happiness is a nine letter word

2006-04-12T18:07:00.000+08:00
what's the first thing that happened to me since my official vacation begun?
... i got sick. bummer, baby.

it's freaking hot, everybody's eating/drinking something cold, and i'm stuck with the flu! started around saturday, feeling the chills. the culprit would be a mixture of humid air, fridge breeze, sweat, ice cream (!), and remnants of my last coughing fit. my sunday outing was postponed when i had to be in bed for most of the day because i got a slight fever and i felt my head was dragging me. soon after i had the colds. the annoying cough replaced the fever. and until now, i'm drugged with meds. holy week's going to be woozy! ;p

another ranting session: i am starting to get maddeningly frustrated about summer. back when i was studying i told myself vacation will be great 'unwind time'... but truth is, the only thing good about summer breaks is that you get no homework. it stops right there. everything else is sooo ugh -- the heat is unbearable, the pace of life is amazingly slow, and i'm getting lethargic staying at the house (no, my g'parent's house - i've spent summers, sembreaks, whatever there for almost a decade. not that i hate it -- it's just unproductive). how i wish i could take back my words back and hit the books again... summer classes -- but the college doesn't allow that unless i failed (baaad). i want summer activities! bolt into a huge cool swimming pool, or get a new hobby, or even work! i want a nice get-together with friends... bring me to my senses, rediscover my insane self through them! pleeeease! i'm frickin BORED!

on one end though, i've been meaning to write The Great Award-Winning Essay/Prose for days now, but no idea kicks in... or i am just plain lazy. i feel i have lost my powers (whatever) already, due to not writing essays since last summer. (term papers, and this blog, don't count.) i want good material, a more mature approach -- no more parenthesis-laden quips that i usually do, maybe just a minimum. goodness gracious, I NEED INSPIRATION. max foster doesn't even elate my senses anymore. boohoo.

(goes channel surfing...)
schizoesque.blogspot.com

exaltations 04.05.06

2006-04-08T19:32:00.000+08:00

I PASSED THE QUALIFYING EXAM!!! ^{(...and HEADED FOR THE BIG TIME!)}

my mind's still dazed from the revelation. i'm just so relieved *sigh* that at least, my nightmares for the moment are over and done. yessss! :D

note: this is strictly a self-fawning post. beware! =p

Fateful Wednesday started with an awful stomachache that kept me awake just around sunrise... must be the freakin' jitters... so i decided to just stay up at 6am and start the day. believe me, before that there were plenty of sleepless nights (the night after the exam, then the 2 nights after that... i was able to doze off fairly better in the new week), crazy exam-related dreams (counted 3 -- my classmate had them too, and she said it was freud's "wish-fulfillment"... hmm), and tremendous anxiety. back to the Day, i wasn't so eager to go to school yet -- and face the music -- that morning, and i thought "i bet there's gonna be a lot of early birds!" with the results starting 9am, so the usual Lazy Bum took her time and again got a little worried. came to school at 10am instead.

upon reaching the building territory, strutting my geeky walk, two of my classmates called me and said "_____! Congrats!" ... at first i thought they were teasing me (since those 2 usually do) and so i just smiled. i then walked over to the almighty Qualified Applicants for Accountancy (incoming sophomores) bulletin, seeing the truth for myself... a spasm of joy and relief! my efforts finally paid off... i even blinked and wondered if this was actually "the" real thing. words could not express what i felt that exact moment i saw my name. it was as if everything in my life fell into order for once!

i guess the right word would be "blessed". =)

our section's pretty much a survivor... a majority of my classmates passed (30 out of 40... whoa), and a couple of my friends from our little 'group' made it. i'm happy for them... we just might be in the same class again! it's altogether a bittersweet feeling, that some people i know didn't make the cut... *sigh*

after the hasty confirmation, my friends and i went over to the main building to view our grades for the 2nd semester... man is there a crowd for it! the line was very long, yet we decided to 'patiently' wait for it... geeks. it took us almost 2 hours for our turn to come. i was quite worried my grades would be real low... like my english (total drag -- like a 3?). to my surprise, it looked pretty fine! english turned out to be 2.25, as was PE! overall, i never thought i'd have nicer grades than the 1st sem. i'd look like a saint now, since my theology grade have been consecutive "1"s... and perhaps unofficially, i'm dean's list-eligible for the schoolyear! *does a creepy happy dance* ... that really happens once in a lifetime ... allow me the pleasure of short-lived rejoice! =p

i'm terrifically looking forward to my second year... new building, new wardrobe, new lease in life. i hope to strive hard and enjoy at the same time, holding my guts alongside the 500-or-so studes (out of the roughly 1500 freshmen that we were) aspiring to be CPA's... fate beckons.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

it ain't over till the fat lady sings

2006-03-31T10:39:00.000+08:00
dang. i haven't blogged in such a long, long, long, long time (i'm supposed to be imitating Zhang Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha, get it?) and i miss the feeling. it's funny i only have four posts this month, including this. the first march entries don't even count because they were just 'filler posts' (march 4's library frustration and march 11's preempted post) ... i 'forced' myself to do the 25th because it's the blog anniv. HAVE I FORGOTTEN YOU?! well apparently not, no love's lost!

since last month it has been one hell of a ride for me... when professors bombard you with daily quizzes, and quirky deadlines of project papers you're supposed to sensibly create in the span of a week! and the finals! i feel like my senses don't function normally anymore after all this. wrapping up the bad/good stuff:

1) madness when the computer cracks
the worry and wonder if your pc's breathing its last (i haven't got a secret name for this guy, hmmm) just horrifies me. so when it did last february 26, i almost *suffered* a nervous breakdown... failing some tests, failing to show up for our 2nd-to-the-last volleyball class, failing to sleep soundly and eat well. i almost failed to report for our theology presentation if it were not for saving the files before the crash. arrgh. i have tried fixing it up myself, but to no avail. it was a most disturbing 18 days. we had to SOS just in time so i could do my finals papers (thank you, mom.) ... so last march 9 the technician got it all cleaned up -- turns out there was no memory collapse or hard disk crash or anything, just plain effing DIRT! (imagine, fixing the video card using a pencil eraser? boy that's unusual...) hope this fix-up's not temporary though.

2) be-head-ing off into the sunset
as i've told you, i was unanimously chosen leader of our little 'support-peer' kind of group in theology even if i didn't want to take on the title. (oh hell, i'm not a saint -- though people would like to think of me as that!) i hate being in charge of stuff, but oh well i tried... our little gatherings / sharings were passable, sometimes i feel that it's so strained and i'm bothered of my inefficience. maybe it's me. but anyways, the craziest part of being the head was to organize and present our graded report... we were assigned as the last group to do that, so early in the semester we were pretty relaxed, without a care to what we're supposed to do. till february rolled by did the panic came. i started assigning the parts of our report equally (done in ms powerpoint) to the eight of us. it's pretty fine, until the computer broke a week before we presented it. the heavens fell down on me! it was a good thing though that i was able to save my work and nothing horrible was omitted. (i even included a pic of Pope John Paul II wearing shades and Pope Benedict XVI's feet in prada!) still, i was heavily affected by the 'technical malfunction'... i was thinking we wouldn't be able to do the presentation well, but then with the persistence of my fellow groupmates, we were able to fix and consolidate our reports into a whole... the night before the d-day, i toted the group's reports in diskettes, went to a computer shop and for one hour, i was hysterical compiling the group report (where the * do i insert this? aahhh!) while simultaneously doing my other project. i was also thinking of the quizzes i would be taking that time... things didn't seem to go right! i wasn't even prepared for my own discussion, who says i'm the leader? but time passed and we just *had* to do what we have to. i was freaking at the last-minute editing before the class started. the report, as it happened, was doing so-so in my opinion (i guess we were boring the heck out of everyone because our report was full of this and that and dogmatic terms and hallowed stuff.) my turn came and i was stunted speechless... of all the times... i was literally rolling off my words, dictating the stuff in the 'cheat sheet' i was holding, reading the lines in my powerpoint, having had nothing new to say, and haphazard explanations. i even put my hands on my mouth -- in front of the class! that was such a psycho act. after our report was done, our prof proceeded to ask 3 questions to us, 2 of which (as the 'head' -- arrgh) i answered with lackluster. the fun part of the whole thing was that our prof (didn't know if he was teasing the seriousness out of us) was impressed with our freaking work! he said so "honestly" that it was "good" and "substantial" and asked whether we could give him our report. oh sure. joking or not, that kept me in good spirits for quite a while. at last -- the tough part was done! i'd like to give credit to my groupmates -- wouldn't know what to do without their persistence, cooperation and encouragement. *bow*

3) a blessing in disguise
another thing that was affected by the crap computer blackout was my ever-lovable PE session... i was so bent on fixing the comp myself one wednesday morning that i wasn't able to keep of time... so i rushed about, completely forgetting to bring my 'wardrobe bag' (that i prepared earlier that day) ... so what's the fuss of going to volleyball class without your uniform?! i couldn't go home and get it because i was pretty far already when i remembered (and we had quizzes that day -- couldn't afford to be late). so i opted to take a free day (damn, no more additional .25 for complete attendance!), thinking our PE prof wouldn't be giving a practical exam anyway. but i was so wrong. the next day, my 2 classmates (we're also v-ball groupmates) told me they had 2 practical quizzes -- tossing and service! what!? i missed a lot!!! i shouldn't have been so stupid to forget my garb that week -- i've never missed any PE session yet! so the week after was the last (whew!) meeting we'll ever have, and i'm to take the quiz that day. the fact is, i'm not gonna tell you why my absence was a blessing in disguise -- lest you want me to fail -- because i'm sure (happy) i'm going to pass this subject above 3.0, and no way am i going to smack balls in the near future!

4) papers, papers, papers
there's the projects too. but lemme start with these forsaken papers... i had 4 to do -- one individual, 3 groupwork (but division of labor doesn't mean i don't get to do anything!). i had the most unnerving time doing the individual paper since it had lots of specifications and whatnot. the framework (1st step, the 2nd step was the concept paper itself) took almost 2 weeks to get approved. so that left me with barely seven days to accomplish before the deadline! so i *lived* in the library for half of the time surfing the net (by the way, my topic was about fast food chains) and checking out needed books that went awol... meaning i'd have to make do with the semi-related literature. making the draft for the concept paper took me a whole night's rest, and revising the next day. (just fugged with translating my thoughts..) the outcome was crappy, but i guess it's still passable.

5) finals, departed-mentals, and that awful 'hem, hem'
how'd you like to go through the finals exam week with a terrible coughing fit? and be insomniac every midnight? and get woozy with alcohol-laced medicine? and feel drugged (no, high) in waking hours? ... it sucked that we had the cough epidemic in class and i got bitten by the bug (due to poor weather, poor aircon and poor ventilation) and for days and nights i couldn't live, eat, study, sleep well... it was, channeling simon cowell, "absolutely horrendous". i hate erkk-ing and phlegm-ing (new terms!) but i couldn't help it. right now it's comparably better and close to being well again... i mean after all the dough my folks have spent for my meds, they'd better be at least effective right? haha - i'm such a brat. as for the exams, i promised myself i'd study harder than the last time around... sometimes it's a tough thing to do... but now it's over! i believe i did good in most subjects... not sure whether to say the same for math and accounting (i wasn't confident with my answers) ... after the whole exam thingy, my friends and i went eating out! it was nice to spend time with em... laughing at the most mundane inanities. thankful, thankful... i'm just glad i was able to survive first year without any major sham... now, if only... (see next number)

6) the reckoning
yesterday was The Day when i had to put all my dreams into realization... it was the qualifying exam for accountancy... with all the pressure, the prestige, and the shortlisting (only around 1/3 of the entire freshman batch, or 500 in 1500 will be accepted) it was almost asphyxiating to show 'em what you're made of. delirious, even. for 4 afternoons i pored over my notes, exams, thingamajig -- droning over the theories and the computation formats to myself... i wouldn't want to complain. (i... want... to... pass...) and it was the first time i arrived so early in the campus yesterday -- 7:20 am, being such a lazy wuss for not getting a morning schedule. i didn't want to lose my mind studying minutes before the exam, but i peeked on some random lessons (just a little!) .. most of the time i sat in the assigned room, chatting with my classmates about stuff (good to know there's still familiar faces... the 'incoming sophomores' were arranged alphabetically), just relieving the tension. at about 8am the proctor came and we arranged ourselves, and after a while we clenched to take the first part of the QE, the english & logic examination. the english part was pretty average, but in logic -- total brain-wreck! haha... i had to brush up my skills of the whole 'valid/invalid syllogisms' stuff, which i have all but remembered... we were only alloted one hour. then we took the 2nd half for 2 hours -- the determinant exam itself. i couldn't say it was easy, but it was a bit of both. there were problems that took me 10 minutes to configure, some needed minimal solving, others were just plain hard. the theory part got me scrambling for my memory too, writing down 'hypothetical examples' to justify the overstatement/understatement of several sums. if you read my hypo-scribbles you would've laughed. imagine 'sales' being 10php, and 'net income' 2php only? =p and what is 'goodwill'? i took it was an asset... my fuzzy logic implies it was some sort of 'goodwill cash', like a sort of capital. there i go again, rambling!

i hardly slept this month, up to now... i must be an insomniac, unable to doze off easily, waking up at erratic hours and still can't sleep. it's crazy, considering the QE isn't the board exams yet! whatever the conclusion, i felt i did my level best, unconfident as i am. waiting for april 5th and more insomnia. heaven help me!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

older, wiser, crazier!

2006-03-25T18:53:00.000+08:00

It's been a year since I posted in this * blog. Happy Birthday Schiz!

funny to think that one year ago, i was pumped with all emotions about getting by my first year of college, and now freshman season's *almost* over! and if i could maintain this blog for long... i did! i think it's the longest time i've ever held on to journal-keeping... so kudos to me! so i guess without a blog, i wouldn't be able to spark up my university life... and vice versa. cool.

pardon me for not posting these past few weeks... taking a sabbatical for all the paperwork, exams, and the magnanimous QE on the 30th. can't exactly digress right now (i'll be studying for straight 4 days... the 30th's really important... wish me the best!)

i promise i'll get a lengthy entry posted by the next weekend. and stay tuned for another year or two of heart-wrenching, spine-tingling, fart-generating, brain-jiggling of schizoesque! :D
schizoesque.blogspot.com

from doogal to google

2006-03-11T21:04:00.000+08:00
(a note before reading : this was supposed to be my February 27 entry... except that my PC apparently 'broke down' for almost two weeks. now that it's alive and kicking, i just have to get this posted before anything else.)

dog-loving doesn't stop with the fur...

...it's moved to the screen! i chanced upon this picture in the net of Doogal, in the movie of the same name. he looks so... HAIRY! and cute! actually his fur looks more like an 'overgrown' wig, but that's what makes it funny. the 3D film's showing right now in the US. *(Movie Plot: A dog and his friends embark on a quest to keep the evil wizard Zeebad from deep-freezing the earth forever.)

anyways, i'm always not making sense. but here's a 'couple' who do:

i pored over an issue of Time Magazine around 3 weeks ago, and the special feature was the Google Inc. founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. THEY'RE SO FRICKIN' AWESOME! imagine being young, intelligent, and a multi-billionaire! moi, before knowing about these geniuses (months ago), thought the people who invented Google were oldies! ha! turns out Page is 33 years old, and Brin is 32. they are both computer and mathematics wizards, honor students, masteral degree holders, simply... geeks! (in a good way!) ... but they didn't know each other until (as i quote from Wikipedia) Sergey was assigned to show Larry around Stanford University on a weekend tour. Reportedly, they did not get on well to begin with, arguing about every topic they discussed. However, they soon found a common interest: retrieving relevant information from large data sets. Together, the pair authored what is widely considered their seminal contribution, a paper entitled "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine". The paper has since gone on to become the tenth most accessed scientific paper at Stanford University. and that was the beginning of Google.com.

as co-founders, Sergey is the President of Technology, while Larry is the President of Products. as of 2005 each's net worth are a estimated $11 BILLION. and yet they remain modest and humble about their amazing breakthrough. that's what's cool to me, baby.

Google Inc. started out with 10 people, doubling over a year later, and so on. to be able to get hired/recruited by them, you'd better be a hardcore nerd by solving this mathematical problem (don't think this scheme still exists, this was on 2004) on a billboard in California:"{first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits e}.com."

and more sample questions from Google Labs' Aptitude Test:
Write a haiku describing possible methods for predicting search traffic seasonality.
How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face? What colors would you choose?
This space left intentionally blank. Please fill it with something that improves upon emptiness.
got your brains boggled? i betcha! (the billboard answer is 7427466391.com, which leads you to another mind-stretching equation. i won't even think about it, though i fancy working at Google. hmm.)

Google's motto: "Don't be evil." despite tough competition, such as Microsoft (which threatens to gobble them up alive -- you know i'm kidding) and Yahoo, and every bothersome condition, they've still got the heart and the spirit. admirable.
schizoesque.blogspot.com

i hardly knew ye

2006-03-04T15:50:00.000+08:00
(blogging from the library, making nonsense again)

i want to wring my hands on something for feeling so screwed. first problem, my computer broke down (for good!) monday night, so i broke down too... yes, i am immensely attached to it. it's like my major systems didn't function anymore, which was the cause of more problems (will not mention)...

i hope though that my computer's still fine -- meaning the memory didn't explode or my CPU crashed -- when it gets *hopefully* repaired on tuesday. when it gets fixed, i'd have to do my projects/researches pronto.

monday will be a true test since we've got 2 quizzes i know absolutely little about, and my so-called leadership comes to fore in our theology group report (so far, we aren't still prepared... or is it me?) ... i just want that day to end with me watching the Oscars telecast with a smile.

2 weeks left, finals coming up. fried mode!
schizoesque.blogspot.com

make my day, punk

2006-02-21T15:03:00.000+08:00
note to self: i will NEVER BE LATE for math class ever again because of any lamebrained reason. the after-effects leave too much regret in my heart. i mean, i never was physically absent and i'm marked as one! damn.

our english report is finally over... at last, one down! (at least my "performance" was loads better than my 1st sem bio) ... still have one theology report to go (with yours truly as reluctant leader)... and it's officially the start of Term Paper Season! have to make 'em for three subjects... leaves me in much agony because the internet dial-up i was reserving for "home research time" for these 2 months cracked on me! (i hope i will shell out no further -- spent only 8 hours out of 30!) so i have to (pay for all my sins and) research at the library which isn't such a bad idea, considering the place was paid for too.

about the usual volley buzz (i know you're getting tired of it -- i'll make this short), i still suck... we had our first game wednesday. i became the last-minute tally scorer (with unfocused dumminess) for the first two games, then our team played. the only thing i did was mostly stand there and "tried" to hit the ball (obviously nothing happened)... we almost won... but the last unfortunate shot landed on me and all i could do was make an Attempt (v-ball term for "trying to hit the ball but wasn't able to pass it over the opponent), so it amounted to nothing. gah... i got an egg for a score! the good thing is we only have 3 meetings left, aren't having any this week! :)

i'm so lazy lately. i don't think i could make the dean's list with my grades, and honestly i don't possess the drive and energy anymore that i had the first few months of college. i so want to be a good student, but there's some things hindering me... well maybe not. it's just me. i can do it -- i'm just not trying! =|

i'll be out for five sundays because of the QE review. so help me God.

**do you know - my computer pulled a ninny on me! i thought it was going to suffer another breakdown last saturday (the "CPU beep" thing that got me all worried June & October 2005 and the start of the year!)... i believe it was just a startup problem and not a holy guacamole fuse blowup. i do hope it's that. so me being the ningas cogon expert, i'll have to take some precaution these days about adding programs and downloading stuff, plus my usage. I CAN'T AFFORD LOSING THIS ANYMORE! it's the time i need computers most! :|
schizoesque.blogspot.com

labradoodles!

2006-02-15T08:47:00.000+08:00

aren't they the CUTEST?!?!!?

they're among the new breed of "designer dogs" called Labradoodles! a cross-breed of the labrador and the poodle, at first i thought they're stuffed toys at first glance, but they're actually real! haha... :0) i honestly am not fond of dogs (animals w/ fur or scales in general), but i can't help but like such beautiful creatures as this when i see them. i have mazie & george (the dog's names) as my current desktop wallpaper... sooo adorable! woof! =D
schizoesque.blogspot.com