Film of Your Life

Just a thought:
If you were to direct an autobiographical film, how would you direct it?

Relating with Rose Is Rose

This is from the comics Rose is Rose. My favorite character there is her son Pasquale. He's cuter back when he was 2, I think. That was when I first met Pasquale and Rose and her husband Jimbo.

My brother studied at a different school back in grade school and high school. Their school had a booksale nearby. He bought a couple of books, one of which is Rose is Rose. At first, I thought, "Man, this looks like it's going to be boring." If I remember correctly I even scolded him for squandering his money. We're only in grade school then! And he's 3 years younger than me! So at most he would've been only 9.

Eventually, after reading the comic once, I found myself reading and rereading it from time to time. And through the years, I'm finding bits of pieces of myself in Pasquale and bits and pieces of my mom in Rose.

There was one strip wherein Rose said, "Ok, Pasquale, if you must." Then she dressed up for rain outside, rushed out to the grocery, lined up for what seemed like an eternity, rushed back home. Still dripping wet, she gave Pasquale the bag of chips. Then she asked Pasquale, "May I have one." Pasquale, adultly replied, "Ok, Mama, if you must." hahahaha

That's probably one of the most critical things we have to learn while teaching kids. Now that I have a baby cousin who I get to see everyday, I am always reminded of scenes I once saw in that comic book. The scene I just narrated is just all too familiar.

What we do to him back home, reflects itself when he interacts with others or how he responds to us on different occasions. My aunt and I sometimes would try to discipline him by threatening to spank him (lightly, of course) by saying "da-da" (Chinese for "hit, hit") whenever he would throw tantrums. Little do we know how much he's been absorbing until we arranged a playdate with one of the managers' kid, who's the same age as him older by just a month.

He was playing with the kid and he wanted a toy that the kid's playing with at the moment. When the kid won the toy after a short tug-of-war, my cousin smaller by a few inches suddenly raised his hand and said "da-da." I was shocked and forcing back a laugh. I didn't look at my aunt but I got a feeling she's a bit appalled by the incident.

My cousin's cute as far as cuteness can go. But man, you have to have more than a PhD in dealing with this lil monkey. (He's born under that sign.)

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Here's another classic strip that I very much relate to:
http://www.comics.com/comics/roseisrose/archive/roseisrose-20060910.html

Back when we used to play bump cars, I didn't really understand the word "bump;" moreover, the concept of bump cars. That was my favorite carnival attraction though: It's the nearest I can get to driving a car when I was young.

I thought the concept was others would try to bump you and you have to test your skill by escaping those bumps (and headaches). When our minute's up, I would walk out proudly saying, "Didn't you see how great I was? I didn't get bumped!!!"

It took me more years, an older cousin, a nearly vacant carnival, and a ride-all-you-can card before I learned, "Oh the point is you bump them, they bump you, you all laugh semi-hysterically."

Fine, judge me!

Hungry's Movie Comments: Mission Impossible: III

First and foremost, I'm revising the title of my "Movie Reviews" blogs to "Movie Comments" coz that's all ever there is. I give away the whole movie and just give thumb/s up or down. Sometimes I even forget the characters' names (not to mention sometimes I don't even know the actors themselves)! So not really professionally reviewing. hehehe

Anyway, on to our Movie Comments of the day...

Just caught Mission Impossible III last Friday, and you can imagine me at the end of the movie shrugging my shoulders and saying, "So?"

Yep, I would say, it's better than MI: II coz it's more "action-packed." (If you deemed crashing through windows action-packed.) Actually I thought Ethan's wife's instinctive shooting skills are great - more appealing than Tom Cruise's portrayal of Ethan Hunt.

At first I thought it was ok and I didn't have much judgment almost throughout the entire movie. I thought it lived up to a sci-fi/action/suspense, and my constant comments are just "This is better than 2." Yep, my thoughts are just that up until I saw Ethan's wife revive him and his first impulse was get the gun, hug his wife, aim the gun.

Lame.

It's so... chauvinistic. "You did that? Wow!" Wassat supposed to mean? That he married a person that would need his constant protection? Had he informed his wife of his real job, she would've been able to construct a more foolproof plan for both of them. And in the first place, where'd you seen a guy that reacts like that upon being revived? Typical Hollywood. Can't wait til I can get my hands on Euro films. (Suggested: great masterpiece Cinema Paradiso)

Anyway, to each her own opinion.

Next MovCom: Strike It. :D

I Done a Good Deed Today

Did you ever act out on instinct? Like something is telling you to do something and you did it erasing any 2nd thoughts?

Tonight I was planning on munching a few spicy chicken wings I bought from KFC. They're actually more scrumptious than McDo's. Here in Yangzhou, KFC rules! (Well, except for McDo's milkshakes.)

Anyway, after KFC I passed by the adjacent eyeglasses shop and told them my glasses' situation and asked how much if they can fix them. I was told I can get them fixed for free if the glasses' sorry condition is as simple as it sounds.

Glad to hear the word "for free," I walked out with sunshine rays above me. Then I saw this 50-something thin lady scrounging for cartons and plastics outside the glasses shop. I had parked my bike just in front of her. Before I left, voices suddenly swept me:
- Remember how you used to randomly help out people? It's your chance now.
- But it seems absurd!
- Think of The Valkyries (a Paolo Coelho book). Think of your angel. What's s/he telling you?
- If you don't believe in it, believe in your intuition.
- You're too fat anyway! You've already eaten a waffle and had coffee for dinner. So what if you're going to the gym afterwards?!
- Think of it this way, you don't get to add fat into your lousy body, you're helping your heart and someone else.
- Look at her! She's half your size!

So against my tummy's haggling, I walked my bike toward her and said (in Chinese), "can I ask you something?"

She spoke in Yangzhou dialect.

Persisting, I told her, "seems like you haven't had your dinner yet, you can have this." I removed the KFC plastic bag from my bike's railing and handed it to her. She's saying no, and for a time there I was a bit scared that she might lash out at me for taking pity on her, but I smiled and looked at her then looked straight in her eyes.

They told me she's hungry.

Like any typical Chinese, she's refusing, but I know this gesture all too well. It is customary to refuse a couple of times before giving in. I waited for the customary, "no" and "no." Eventually, she gave in asked why. I could not explain it to her that my inside's telling me to help her out, that an angel told me, that I'm leaving Yangzhou and this is one of the ways I want to leave a piece of myself. In the end, I just told her, "I'm too fat anyway and advance Merry Christmas."

I don't know if she understood the "Advance Merry Christmas," or if she had even celebrated it. Looking back, I don't even know where the words came from, but something tells me it's probably more her angel looking out for her than my angel giving me a sense of pride and accomplishment.

I biked away all giddy and feeling like there's a glow around me. The feeling's still here. It's been so long since I last helped a stranger. I felt that I could be bumped by a bus and for all I care - I helped someone! (Siempre todo ingat pa rin ako. It's different here in China.)

It's such a good feeling that everyone should do it! It should be made a daily challenge. :D

I hope I had made a difference in her life. Weird as this may sound - she made a difference in mine by letting me help her. On my way home, I thought, I hope this could start a pay-it-forward thing. You know, where regardless of your standing in life, you have the means to help someone if your heart's in the right place.

I suddenly remembered something I read or heard somewhere (not exact words but you should get the meaning): Praying and claiming world peace won't accomplish anything. It can't be done in a day. The miracle of world peace is achieved by doing your share little bit by little bit.

:)

Hungry's Movie Reviews: RV

This one's funny. I mean, not the type you'll watch over and over again until you pass out, but it has some scenes that will really catch you off-guard, and you just can't help but roll.

As always for all my humble movie reviews, for those who hadn't watched it yet, please don't read this blog, it'll be a spoiler.

I first read about RV when they interviewed Cheryl Hines (Jamie Munro). I was a bit intrigued coz it had been quite some time since I last watched a Robin Williams film. (For me, the most memorable one is Birdcage.)

I dismissed it thinking it must be another one of those family flicks with a happy ending and is just a waste of your time. However, when I saw an officemate watching it and cannot withhold his laughter anymore (in the office), I thought, there must be something to this film. Curiousity got the best of me and upon coming home, watched it online too.

Though as predicted, a happy ending, I still enjoyed a few clips along the way. These are some of my favorite scenes:

• The scene where Bob's clumsily manuvering the big "rolling turd" out of their lane is a bit funny. At first he refuses to move the RV until he successfully straps on his seat belt. The look on Jamie's face is priceless, and Robin's veteran acting is so on the dot. It's like "ok we're going now... now... now... now..." And Jamie's expression is, "Will you please stop it with the belt already?! You can strap that on later!" or "Swear to God, if you don't strap that on soon, I'm going to twist it round your neck!" but still say "I love you, dear, take all the freakin time you want!"
• 3 family members singing 3 different songs from 3 different genres. Must be one hell of a headache! If I were him I would've yelled "SHUT UPPP!!!" however, given that he undermined their Hawaiian trip, it's understandable why he's just gritting his teeth. This got into my fave list coz it's so amusingly common in almost every household. Very self-centric, and you would be a hypocrite to have not experienced that.
• Yucky as you can imagine it be, you still can't help but laugh at Bob's distress when he has to drain out some stranger's poop that's left in their rented RV. As a 3rd person and consciously knowing, "Nah, they wouldn't put real poop in there. I mean, it's Robin Williams!" but still you can't help but "Ewww..." even if nobody's agreeing beside you.
• How the hell can a raccoon get into an oven?! I mean, even if it stretches its body to open the lid, upon sliding in, the oven would've snapped its tail or something, right? Do inform me on the latest oven features, coz that's the only oven we have.

I thought Bob was exaggerating when he said there was a family of racoons and came out all tattered holding what's left of their umbrella. But when he attacked the RV with a stink bomb, seeing a gang of 3 raccoon critters surrender then seeing the Munroes' expression made me lol. And just when you think Lord Bad Luck had left them, they rain-basked in their plastic ponchos. hahaha

• Robin Williams playing Bob had me chuckling when he was speaking all this gangster-rap lingo. Only he can pull something like that. Imagine Jim Carey or Billy Crystal or Rob Schneider or Adam Sandler doing that; it just won't be the same.
• Who can ever forget the treacherous mountainside trek Bob has to take to escape a bumper-to-bumper jam on the highway? That poster perfect scene is really something that'll have your laughing grandma spit her false teeth out.
• Check out the part where their RV rolls into a lake and Bob's adamant about giving his marketing pitch so much that he proudly walks into the lake, bubbles inside it, and came out wearing a helmet and peddling a tiny bike that even my 10-year-old cousin already graduated out of. Now, that's hilarious! Who would've thought of that? hahaha Absolutely unique! hahahaha

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is Jojo's first acting debut, right? She's done a good job, I would say - she looks real comfy in her role as Cassie. I believe there are some scenes wherein she looks like she's holding back a chuckle or 2.

Couldn't say the same for the spunk who played Carl. The kid's young though and has all the years to raise his acting to the next level. He must've felt real honored acting alongside Robin Williams and Cheryl Hines (Jamie Munro) though.

Albeit I think Diane Keaton can also play the mother in a dysfunctional family, I don't think the entire movie's Diane-Keatony. Cheryl Hines is so fitting for these kinds of roles. She attaches well as a mid-aged mom who still maintains a healthy sexlife...er, relationship with her hubbie. I sure hope her career picks up and we can see more of her in movies to come.

Last but not the least: This movie's fittingly made for Robin Williams! You can say that a lot of the scenes wouldn't be the least funny if not for his facial expressions or Robin William trademark performance (return to the rap lingo). A role I'd like him to fit into is a striving superhero. Just imagine him racing to the rescue and then fumbles with his gadgets or hits someone accidentally strikes someone with his puncheroo (heheh something I just made up) or clumsily trips on his cape. I know it's very very slapstick, but I know Robin Williams can just rise up to the challenge that any comedy-drama will bring and more.

Alcohol use helps boost income: Hungry thinks

I would have to agree that drinking does build up social capital. They do it here in China all the time. And I can attest to that. Read my previous previous blog.

Though it's with my relatives, and though I'm in no contest with my (male) cousin to get their attention and preference, after almost 6 months here with them, I can sincerely say that this is the only time I felt I was able to be myself in front of my uncle and vice versa.

I was laughing hard. My uncle's really his goofy and irritatingly wise-cracking self. He's really showing his jerk side, and that's fine with me coz all he's ever been is this analytical businessman-in-China guru, which made me feel awkward all the time.

I know that alcohol loosens any inhibitions and that may be the reason. It was fun letting loose. But alcohol also helps disorient you.

So there I was getting more and more drunk, more and more disoriented. The more I was disoriented, the more I couldn't bluff. The more I couldn't bluff, the more I lost, the more I took shots. Vicious cycle.

So even if I'm pro-social drinking, what I've just mentioned are some of the factors one has to consider while "social drinking."

(Social drinking for some is just drinking casually without getting drunk. For some getting drunk happy is still considered social drinking. Differs from people to people.)

Factor 1: Alcohol loosens any inhibitions.
Factor 2: Alcohol disorients you.

I don't know where this game originated; however, it typically appeals to Chinese coz it's a game where you outwit and outlast everyone with the help of alcohol:

• You prey on someone you know who can't bluff. Make him disoriented. He loosens her strategic senses. After a few rounds you know he can't bluff anymore.
• You bluff by making the now whoozy people think you're bluffing when in fact you're not (in a way, acting like an open prey). Make them pounce on you. Then you show your hand. Boom! They're wrong, they drink again.
• You bluff. The person who's turn is next bluffs along with you. You catch him/her. Boom! You escaped drinking again.

There are many more possible tricks in this game. In the end, even if the sly one has gotten to drink a few shots, he still is considered sober enough compared to his game mates. It's like going to war.

Sun Tzu might've been a slasher in this game. Of course, he might've wanted more than a few shots himself, but winning may have been in his mind more than the mere enticement of alcohol.

Damn, I wish he's in my team!

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STILL WITH SOCIAL DRINKING

One of the known scenarios here: Clients taken out to lunch or dinner (most of the time dinner) by the sales people they're visiting, and by the sales managers probably (depends on the amount of the sales generated with the customer).

Before eating starts, first round of drinks are raised by the host of the dinner. (Learned this custom in a shameful way.)

Dinner starts lauriat style. Throughout the meal, every so often people will raise the glass. It's a sign of respect they say. So if you're the visiting client or even just a visitor, expect the glass to be raised more for you than others.

But be wary, if you haven't closed a deal yet. Drinking loosens up any inhibitions, remember?

You might find yourself talking and talking, before you know it, you'll saying confidential information that's been your trump card but is now essential obtained to the advantage of other party.

Drinking disorients you: Worse case scenario - you're drunk and blabbering. They produce a contract. You sign. You just gave a way your company.

hahaha Never heard of that happening, esp since contracts are not that widely used here. But a verbal agreement's equally accountable, so it's possible you might say "yes" to something your company's not yet ready for.

Drinking's inevitable here! You're going to find yourself in a social drinking dinner here sooner than later. So before engaging in a drinking war (aka social drinking), better make sure you know your drinking limits, know your partners' drinking limits, test your "opponent's" drinking limits as well as his partners. Then sugod mga kapatid (attack!!!)!!!

Of course, they say the best form of offense is a good defense - just say you don't drink and order juice for yourself. :D

Alcohol use helps boost income: study

Alcohol use helps boost income: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) - People who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital" gained from drinking.

The study published in the Journal of Labor Research Thursday concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers, and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.

"Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.

"Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships, and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks."

The authors acknowledged their study, funded by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, contradicted research released in 2000 by the Harvard School of Public Health.

"We created our hypothesis through casual observation and examination of scholarly accounts," the authors said.

"Drinkers typically tend to be more social than abstainers."

The researchers said their empirical survey backed up the theory, and said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities.

"Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships," the researchers said.

"Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills."

They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at curbing alcohol use on university campuses and public venues.

"Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said.

"One of the unintended consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private settings. This occurred during the Alcohol Prohibition of 1920-1933 and is happening on college campuses today. By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital."

The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women. They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than abstainers and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than non-drinkers.

However, unlike men, who get a seven percent income boost from drinking in bars, women who frequent bars at least once per month do not show higher earnings than women drinkers who do not visit bars.

"Perhaps women increase social capital apart from drinking in bars," the researchers said in an effort to explain the gender gap.

Hungry's Movie Reviews: The Lake House

I caught The Lake House last night on one of Yangzhou's online movie database. I think currently it's one of the most watched movies, esp under the Romance category.

I normally wouldn't watch mushy stuff as much as I would comedy but I'm curious how they're going to lay-out the story of a romantic correspondence that had transcended time through the help of a magic mailbox and a female dog named Jack.

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*Warning: To those who had watched this, I invite you to come and take a peek and help me assess the movie by leaving comments. To those who haven't watched it yet, hmm... I suggest you leave this page and come back after you have.
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One of the thoughts I had after watching it is: Why did they name the movie The Lake House when its the mailbox who's doing all the work?! Life can really be so unfair even to a rusty trusty mailbox.

Sure, sure the lake house is a serenely isolated perfectly surrounded by nature, a place where you can be yourself. But all it's Mr. Mailbox who's been transporting all these letters and notes. It's like an actress or an executive who has her assistant do all the dirty nasty stuff, but in the end gets the credit. (I hope the creators of Lake House are reading this. Someday when they decide to do an excruciating follow-up movie for this, they should give due credit.)

A thought going through my mind while watching the film is that Alex Wiler (Reeves) must've had a more difficult time than Kate Forrester (Bullock). I mean, he has to wait for Kate for 2 years before she finally catches on with this serenade. While Kate can just go on with her time, as we've seen with the Almario scene. Alex had to wait 2 years for that date, counting the days before the big date, before the first formal meeting.

Kate, on the otherhand, just wakes up the next day, goes to work, comes back home, freshens up, and goes to the restaurant. No agonizing wait.

But then again I thought, "He had seen her once on the tracks, knew what she looks like, kissed her on her birthday. So why didn't he just court her then (meaning 2004) and there? I would've made their lives easier. She returned his kiss so obviously there's chemistry. They could've worked it from there. No more ghost (literally) letters."

Man, if my friends were here, they would've replied, "What can you do? Director's orders!"

Yeah, ok, setting aside my over-sympathy for the mailbox and the then-and-there thing, the really major thing that's been gnawing in my thoughts is that when Alex appeared after her last letter, where she provided him a preview on the life-and-death scene that could change both of their lives, and other lives as well, forever.

Now, I just have to inject something here, and Back to the Future watchers can relate with me: isn't influencing the past affect majorly the outcomes in the future?

So Kate (Bullock) had intercepted, told Alex to wait so they can be together in the future. So by saving his life through a letter, she changed his destiny, her destiny, their destinies... and if you're going to analyze it more, others' destinies as well. And by influencing other people's (who are closely related to them) destiny, they are influencing more people's destinies. It's like a ripple effect.

However, if you come to think about it, what brought Kate back to the lake house in the first place is for her to get away from coping with her first death, which coincindentally is her yet-unknown Alex.

So if he hadn't died then, she wouldn't have needed to go back to the lake house and checked the mailbox, containing Alex's first letter to her. The correspondence wouldn't have occured. Feelings wouldn't have ignited. He wouldn't have left the lake house. He wouldn't have redesigned and reconstructed the lake house for her. The lake house wouldn't have been that beautiful. Kate wouldn't have loved it. Or in another pov, Alex wouldn't have left it for her. He would've raised his own family in the lake house like his dad did. He wouldn't have longed for Kate. He wouldn't have met that terrible accident. So on and so forth...

Like I said from the unseen (Alex's) letter, a lot of things would've spunned. Like for one, Kate might've met some other guy and didn't settle for Nip/Tuck dude (forgot his screen name). Or Alex would've made it real big with or without his brother. He might've successfully carried his subdivision project and married the bimbo, had kids.

Just like what the professor had taught Marty in Back to the Future, affecting one teeny tiny detail in the past could produced a butterfly effect changing his future. Same here with The Lake House. It should've so, but again hearing my friends' reply:

Director's orders!

Lasing Ako

La lang, just wanna tell everyone that I'm drunk... obviously, since an undrunk Haidee wouldn't have told you or shown you she's drunk.

Anyway, we're playing this dice game with my uncle, aunt, and cousin: 4 ppl, 5 dice each, 1 small bowl to cover the dice.

Point of the game is to bring the others down. No need for you to always win, but you have to be careful that they don't bring you down.

The basic rule is that you shake your dice under the bowl, then see what you have then either try to bluff the others by misleading you have something (like 4 4s: ) you don't have or by actual telling the truth while making them think its a bluff.

Very complicated game, in a way, which can only be understood when watched and better when played.

The downside is you have to pay with a shot of red wine (7%). Now I know most of you might've thought, what's 7%?! For me, it's a lot coz since I'm a new player, haven't really gotten drunk before, everything's new for me! Esp the 7% since I lost a lot, I had the most # of shots (meaning I drank almost an entire bottle all by myself.

I hadn't slurred or blabbered. I hadn't thrown up. But I was real whoozy. I was able to ride my bike normally though. So in a way, according to the general assessment by my aunt, I'm not yet drunk. Drunk is when you do things you don't normally do and don't remember it the next day. And drunk is when you throw up... a lot. So, she said, since I'm completely sane and just feel that my head is spinning, I'm not yet considered drunk.

Well, I wouldn't actually say I'm not drunk. Like I said, I wouldn't normally broadcast my state of drunkness, but I'm doing so now... with my whoozy head.

So no fallacy about this: I'm drunk... (bog)!

Does Susy have kuto?

Remember them?

Suddenly thought of them. If I remember correctly their names are Susy and Geno. The most vivid memory I had of them is the time my mom and I went to go buy some groceries near Sta. Cruz Church. I forgot the name of the supermarket but it's just a few stores past Happy Burger. I was less than 8 then.

I was a real Sustagen fan. Almost every night I'd have my bottle of chocolate milk, which would be refilled (and gently thrusted into my mouth) sometime before I wake up. At that point in my childhood life, I thought only Sustagen made choco milk drinks, so you can just imagine my excitement when I saw Susy and Geno. These overgrown huggable chocolate-milk makers!

Kids and parents were clamoring just to get their pictures taken or to be able to touch or gimme-five with Susy and Geno.

I said "Hi!" to Susy when they came in. She didn't wave back. Didn't Susy see me? I was hesitantly chasing after them, while my mom kept close afraid to lose me in the throng of "fans."

Then I saw a staffer of the supermarket tailing close to Susy, picking something off Susy's hair. I thought, Susy has kuto? The female staffer just picked and picked white stuff from Susy's hair.

Then I heard a male voice coming from Susy. She... or he or it is asking if there are more.

The sound sounded a bit scary for a kid my age, like a groggy hermit shouting at you to get out of his cave. Just imagine you have bucket over your head and you're speaking from inside. Multiply that resonance by 3~4 times coz it's not a pail you have on as an advertising helmet; you have this massive hallow globe wearing a permanently freaky smile.

I asked mom, Anong ginagawa nung ale? May kuto ba si Susy? Di ba siya naliligo para wala siyang kuto? (What is the lady staffer doing? Does Susy have lice? Doesn't she take a bath so she won't get lice?)"

Other moms would've said, "Yes, dear, Susy has kuto. That's what happens to kids who don't take baths." Kinda like how parents would use Santa to make their kids behave.

Well, ever so practical, my mom didn't disguise any fantasies for me. She said, "Matagal na kasi sa bodega kaya inalikabok siguro. (It's been in the warehouse for too long that it had collected dust bunnies."

.... :- ....

We continued with our grocery shopping.

Big Consciousness Talking...

I chanced upon this article on Jim Paredes' blog. It made such good sense of some of my thoughts and feelings so much I just had to share this.

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Big Consciouness Talking..

After all the pros and cons commenters wrote on whether Pinoys are traitors or heroes for living abroad, read this. This man's insight is truly valuable. Truly, here is big consciousness talking. Nigerian novelist, Ben Okri, in an interview with Ode Magazine.

"We lack knowledge; we lack insight. I think it is a kind of imprisonment. We believe that people should only live in the place where they were born. As if you signed a contract with God: 'I was born in Birmingham and I promise never to leave.' This imprisonment has contributed greatly to the ignorance that exists throughout the world, to the prejudices that people have about their neighbours, the next country or another religion—and about 'that tribe' and people of 'that colour.' If people were free to travel more… if someone travels from Birmingham to Thailand, it is not really travelling. That is tourism. But if you travel from Birmingham to Liverpool and live in Liverpool and then go to Ireland and live in Ireland and then come and live in London for a bit and then maybe do a spate of living in Paris and then you visit Africa and then visit Thailand, now that is travelling. Travelling challenges you to change your provincial perspective. Travel begins by altering your sense of the assumptions that you make about the world.

Travelling enables you to see how different you are from your next-town neighbour, and how similar you are.

"That is why it is important to teach children to think clearly, but it is also important to travel with them. I think that moving children gradually away from where they originate is an important influence on freeing the mind and reducing the amount of prejudice. You must deal with the problem of racism in a manner that is not only political. You cannot legislate it out of existence. It is important to understand why people are that way and why they think that way. The problem is not that white people have not met black people. The problem is that people do not leave their neighbourhoods. Real freedom for a Dutchman would be the freedom not to be Dutch and for an African not to be African. It is the freedom to expand your definition of what you think and experience constantly, always allowing new possibilities.

"It is the freedom to investigate your shadow side, the side that you disown. You need this knowledge in order to find your vocation. You do not just get up and become a photographer. You have to enter into the process. You have to learn and surrender and, at some point, mastery will come to you. There comes a point when your hands are broken, your face is broken and your spirit altered, when you begin to sense the hidden laws of your art. Only then can you start to take photographs and write poems that will be of great value to this world. Only then can you transcend yourself."

Musings

Many times I've thought of going back home for good. Never to work in another country again.

However, the mere idea of settling back into my comfort zone is a confinement scarier than the thrill of experiencing what is new and a bit unknown.

Living with what you're familiar with doesn't make you grow that much. You do your daily rituals like a machine. You push through your days like a zombie. Living abroad in different cultures made you harness your interacting skills, problem-solving skills pushing you beyond what you think is your limit.

Alone, you can really feel the absence of company. However, solitude can make you feel the presence of your mind. Gives you time to think, read, think, access yourself and view your life as a 3rd person. Most of all, it makes you notice a lot of things that normally wouldn't even catch your attention.

Taiwan was my first "destination." And you know what they say about firsts - you rarely forget them. What I love most about living in Taiwan is that I became an explorer!

On my scooter, I used to experiment with the directions - on it I squirmed through alleys and back alleys. (I discovered new and quaint coffeeshops that way. I regret not being able to take pictures of them.) It broadened my mental map of the city I lived in. Doing this I saw and felt, the world may be big and daunting, but that's just it. It's not bad after all.

The feeling's kinda like being thrown into the pool to force you to learn to swim. At first you waddle like crazy hoping to stay afloat, and eventually you learn to... and you enjoy it. After knowing how to swim, there are days you want to go back again, probably to hone your strokes or to learn a new style. Every time you get a chance to notice, "ah, so this is where I've been doing wrong" or "so doing this increases my speed."

You go to a different pool and you'll still be able to swim, only better coz you've been practising. Sure, the depth and width / shape may be different, but bottomline is you still can swim and enjoy swimming.

That's the image I can give that'll best describe my experiences so far.

The addiction of moving from one new world to another probably stems from the curiosity of wanting to discover what else I am capable of doing, from the desire of knowing more about myself and what I'm really meant to do in this lifetime.

I was passionate about drumming once. Still am. And it gives me no greater satisfaction than to bang on the drums and just let it all out.

I want to have the same drive with my life. I want to find the same kind of passion that will move me and give me courage to tread over doubts and uncertainties. Nothing is more exciting and exhilarating than doing something out of passion. And in the end, win or lose, you still feel victorious coz you know you gave it your very all.

That's the search I'm in, and if the search meant I have to go around the world, may my angel be at my side to enlighten me always.

My 1st Blog (baw)

hmm... What do you usually tell people on your first blog?

........... (temporary writer's block and more to come) ............

Open Tummy:
The man sedated by pain is rushed into the operating room. He's floating between life and death.

Nurses help the doctor get into action. The doctor wasted no time in slicing the man's flesh. He spread the cut apart, making the opening bigger. Blood gushed out. Crimson red.

He can now see the abdomen. His eyes dilated. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He had never seen something like this before.

He glanced at his patient lying there on his table. He looked grotesquely at peace, seemingly fast asleep even with a gaping wound on his stomach.

Suddenly the man's eyes opened. Blood pumped even harder, spraying on the doctor's robe.

His stomach gurgled. Something on it moved a bit.

It opened its eyes.

Blinking it looked around. Intense lights blinded it for a moment. When its eyes adjusted, it opened its mouth to breathe, exposing his gnarly teeth, unused for a long time.

The man is gasping. But no one noticed, no one cared. Everyone frantically ran for the door.

Except for one.

He drew his eyes back on his work. It's beautiful. He gazed more for a few seconds, mesmerized by this creature in front of him.

He couldn't hold back anymore. He dove in and had his feast.

Victorious, he ate the heart last.

(toot-toot-toooooot....)

The man gasped no more.

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Ewwww...grosssss!!!

Kinilabutan ako sa sinulat ko a! Of course, that's the literal freakish scene.

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People always claim their lives are an open book.

Well, me - people know me as the always-hungry-one; thus, the more apt title. :D

I hope to able to share my thoughts, musings, curiousities, feelings, opinions, experiences, up-and-downs as faithfully as I can.

There are times I'll be like a shaken bottle of soda that just explodes once opened, but sometimes I'll be just like a nice warm cup of coffee - rich aroma, rich blend. Come join me on my buffet trip I call life.

Now, I am no entertainer (nor am I good writer), but I welcome any audience and comments (keep it clean though) coz a blog ain't a blog without a reader.

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Ikli noh? Layo sa ER scene. Advance Happy Halloween! hahaha