a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. marathon realization.

You CAN have too much of a good thing. After watching my 10th straight episode, i wasn't laughing as hard anymore. I hate marginal utility. Well maybe it isn't Chandler's fault. I think that's the difference between an sitcom and say, an action-drama-thriller. Episodes like Lost or 24, you prefer to watch in one go, personal hygiene aside. It's gripping, cliff-hanging. You welcome one unwashed hour after another. Less storyline driven sitcoms are snack-sized treats. better taken intermittently, savored and indulged.

Fake pack

Now that the workshops are done and my wheezing is tapering off (i think), i'm starting to get worried about my trip. it's a month away and i havent planned an itinerary yet! Not one bit! I just have a vague idea of where i want to eat. that's about it.

i travel to eat. and to immerse myself in everyday life. pretend how it is to be a citizen of the foreign. that's why a normal train ride is better for me than a roller coaster. at least i know my priorities.

FOOD! It is a cultural pleasure like no other!
WALKING. Getting a feel of the (friendly) streets. Getting lost in the hustle and bustle, with a map in tow just in case, of course.
SHOPPING. Might as well take advantage of the enormous lemon (aka global economic meltdown) and do a little bargain hunting. it's my way of helping the global economy.
MUSEUMS. It's nice to go to museums that are a little bigger than Ayala museum or museo pambata. i actually visited some official museum sites already. i will start preparing my 'school ID' to get discounts.

I think it's interesting that while the rest of the world is faking IDs to look older so they can buy beers, people like us are faking IDs to appear younger and get in free in MUSEUMS. Ok maybe libraries as well. How cool is that? :D

To victors and sore losers

Despite having another hellish pitch week (among others), it wasn't all that bad. Actually, it was great since Ateneo won! The team didn't choke!

Even if the game wasnt that close, i still felt like having a heart attack. Ateneo games always get me worked up. That's one of the reasons i don't watch it, aside from the fact that i seriously believe i am the bearer of bad luck.

But we won and i couldnt be happier. I just hate it when SOME people can't be sports about it. I think the result was pretty expected. The team is really strong and they weren't beaten ONCE by La Salle. but then you hear comments like LUTO or NAKASWERTE lang daw. And these comments weren't even provoked. I'm sure if it were the other away around, they'd be gloating non-stop. Now they're just being rabid sore losers. Haha, i can't believe i'm getting affected. But in the end it's better not to argue coz really, people know better. Lets just shrug it off and drink to our heart's content at the bonfire! Ü

The geeks have prevailed! Ü

Travel Time

I love to travel. Its prospect alone makes my happy. I think aside from experiencing a new culture, and trying out new food, what i really want to do is get lost, to be in a place where everyone's a stranger, where everything is new. When you travel, you can be silly, be weird, make up a new personality, tell lies or be entirely truthful about yourself. It allows you to start anew, albeit temporarily.

You're free to do anything and mistakes can be less damaging. Because you know that once you head home, you've effectively pressed the reset button.

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I'm almost sure of canceling my September trip. I'll try again in Feb when i have more money and hopefully, more friends who i can travel with to San Fo. I don't feel too bad about it though. I'm still excited to go to Boracay and maybe i can take a quick regional trip in the latter part of the year instead.

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Just saw Mamma Mia and Greece is lovely. Abba songs are great and so was Helen Hunt. The wedding scene was also great but that's about it. Maybe i came in with different expectations. I generally like musicals, even their movie versions. But i think this movie feel prey to the same trap as Across the Universe where the songs were bigger than their stories. Songs should aid in storytelling. Instead, the story was beholden to them. They force fit songs that may have entirely different meanings. Plus, it was a bit too campy for my taste. Traces of Pik Pak Boom everywhere (although this was set in a lovely greek island instead of in Pansol). But a lot of my friends liked this movie, though they were mostly girls. I guess it appeals to the chick flick demographic primarily. Ü

Notes this weekend

1. Speed Racer crashed in the box office. It crashed really bad. So bad, it did just as well as Ashton's 'What Happened in Vegas' even if it spent like $100 Million more than the romantic comedy. I think it's totally unwarranted. Sure, it won't win any Oscars, especially for Best Screenplay. The Wachowskis will never be compared to the Coens (TRIVIA: Larry Wachowski was absurdly rumored to have had a sex change and was now answering to the name Lana). But I think people are too hard on it. Did they expect to be moved to tears? Was Speed Racer supposed to change their life? It was fun. Its art direction was amazing. I loved how they captured the campy, anime-ish style of the original and the racing scenes had me on the edge of my seat! Although I think the fact that the cinema was cold and I was peeish helped. Overall, it was a great waste time. Sure it wasn't as good as the original Matrix movie or V for Vendetta but it was miles better than Matrix Reloaded. It's better than many blockbuster hits. And that's good enough for me.

Perhaps one reason for its demise is that the original cartoon wasn't too popular after all. I've had many conversations with different set of friends and they don't even know what the cartoon was about. They don't even know its plot. One even said it was based on a video game or action figure. Huh?!?! I found this weird. My childhood was really pre-Cartoon Network and a gazillion cable channels and i really feel lucky for this. It means my peers and I were watching the same shows, no matter how sucky they were (Think Teddy Ruxpin and Beverly Hills Teens). You feel like you have something in common. You have a connection. I guess Speed Racer aired during nappy time and I was the only one awake.


2. With all his hosting experience, would Alex Trebek win in Jeopardy? Is he a genius himself? Or is he just a good at reading teleprompters?

3. I dunno if this just applies to my Church but have you noticed that people don't hold hands anymore when singing 'Our Father?' The cause: the SARS scare. I remember the Archdiocese actually discouraged this practice at the height of SARS and i thought it was a good precautionary procedure. The disease has come and gone but years after, people are in no hurry to exchange extended handshakes again. I think people didn't like this habit to begin with, especially if you really don't know where your seatmate's hand has been. Most were just too polite to break tradition. But SARS gave them a way out. And as a result, masses can feel less like a community.

My Big Bang Theory

Like an unresolved scientific theory, this show is a big enigma to me. First, the indications.
1. It doesn't talk to teens, to women or any significant demographic.
2. Most of the cast members look like people you'd see anywhere...and then avoid!
3. The jokes are made by geeks for geeks. Its esoteric. Just watch the opening credits and you'd get what i mean. You'd need to play back the dialogue and consider Collier's encyclopedia your bible to get it.

Despite these apparent disadvantages, it is rating well and has been renewed by CBS while the fate of other shows like 'How I met Your Mother' is still being decided by the celestial CBS gods. I don't know why people like it though. Personally, i like the show, sometimes i think maybe a bit too much. But i consider my liking for it similar to my choice of historical textbooks as bedside reading--something i enjoy but i dont expect anyone else to understand. I doubt if the geek market is that big. Because really, how big is the table of kids in the cafeteria playing Magic Cards? Geeks are a minority. They're already over represented in High School Musical. Plus, I doubt if normal rural Americans get it.

Maybe there's a large closet geek market. People all around us, who aren't wearing retainers or suspenders or high waist, pleated pants. They could be your neighbor or your friend, who won't admit they make quadratic equations for fun. The combined closet and screaming geek population must be the driving force behind them, as well as sustaining all the incarnations of Star Trek. For other normal peeps, maybe the scientific gibberish is just so strange it's funny, and getting at least 1 joke per episode makes them proud, like its an accomplishment, like getting the $200 question in jeopardy.

I just hope its novelty is sustained. I'm now on my 12th episode and its starting to be a bit of a drag. Sheldon is becoming annoying, similar to how the cute ally mcbeal became loathsome very quickly. But if shows about nothing like friends and seinfeld became big hits, i guess it can be done. I wish these geeks well.

investing on friendships

Any good relationship is founded on a strong, constant connection. It's an investment in time, in everyday personal anecdotes, in multiple eye contacts, in texts messages, in meaningful personal contact, in spittle. Enough funding will lead to laughter and good times; when even the most mundane topics are most enjoyable because it is shared. It is personal. It is yours. However, in some cases, previously good relationships that have become sporadic are more complicated. While the past will always be with you, the present (and future) can be a bit harder to wrestle. The lack of shared inanities lead to less topics of conversation. The lameness of jokes aren't enjoyed. Everyday personal anecdotes seem too insignificant to share. You are left to discuss big issues such as personal struggles and achievements if you don't want to succumb to small talk. And there are only so many issues to tackle before you get bored, before awkward silences arise.

Silences are broken by nostalgic trips down memory lane because in the end, that's the only thing you have left. That is unless you clear your schedules, decide to make a commitment, save your saliva and start investing.