Portrait Experiment: Pi

Taken at Tai Hing, Makati Avenue last March 21, 2006. *Sigh* My girlfriend is so gorgeous.

Freedom Forever

(Because Gerwin already had first dibs on "Remember, Remember".)

I couldn't be more happier with the way V for Vendetta turned out. Being a big fan of the graphic novel it doesn't disappoint. However, being a fan, it's also hard not to want a few more details from the book to be included in the movie. Nevertheless, the Wachowskis still managed to do a fantastic job of squeezing in all of the key elements of the source material into two and a half hours (the tweaks are understandable, considering the complexities and premise of the original story). It's just too bad Alan Moore didn't want anything to do with the film, because he really would have been proud of it (you can't blame him though, after what Hollywood did to his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).

Natalie Portman's acting prowess didn't go to waste here (in contrast to how she faired in Revenge of the Sith). She fits into the role of Evey quite nicely. Hugo Weaving on the other hand was simply flawless and could do no wrong as V. He brings much life and justice to the character. Notable scenes are the domino sequence and the final battle. The Wachowskis' screenplay genius is clearly shown in these scenes (and is guaranteed to give you goosebumps).

V for Vendetta is one of the best films to come out this year. For fans of the graphic novel, it is an excellent adaptation and something they will definitely appreciate and enjoy. For non-fans, it is a great introduction to the entire mythology of V, something I sincerely hope will encourage them to start reading one of the greatest pieces of literature ever published.

Just My Luck

I think my Dad might have been Chinese in a past life.

It's funny how I only started to notice recently. I mean, for the longest time, his closest friends have always been Chinese, he loves doing business with the Chinese, heck, he even knows how to speak Chinese (just Mandarin really, but still).

His fascination for the Chinese probably goes way back to our days in Saudi, where he and my Mom used to work as a doctor and a nurse, respectively. During our time there (majority of which I can no longer remember), Chinese and Filipinos all moved in the same crowd. The doctors and nurses who were there the day I was born were Chinese. So, it was no surprise that a good number of my Ninongs and Ninangs during my christening were Chinese. Xiao Adong they called me, or Little Eddie. Not only that, I even have a photo (my very 1st Christmas I think it was) where I was being carried by a Chinese Santa Claus! With that much exposure to the Chinese, how can you not help turning Chinese yourself?

The influence of the Chinese culture is very evident in our family. You'll find various artifacts in our home, from the Laughing Buddha to the Jade Toad with a coin in the mouth. And for a good number of years now, my parents have been sort of "guided" by Feng Shui. Well, they're really superstitious to begin with so I guess it was just a matter of time before Feng Shui became a full-fledged member of the family. I had my reservations about this, of course, having been educated in a Catholic school that taught me that believing in superstitions was a sin (any serious advocate of Feng Shui, however, will contest that their beliefs are far from mere superstition).

I was born in 1981, year of the Rooster. I never really paid much attention to the significance of this until early last year. Following Feng Shui tradition -- and my folks were very keen on pointing this out -- 2005 was supposedly not a very good year for me.

Intriguing but true enough, it wasn't. I suffered from financial difficulties and I was having a professional crisis, among other problems. I just couldn't seem to get my act together.

Fortunately, I was still blessed enough to get past those towards the end of the year. This year, they say, is a much better year for Roosters. The 2nd quarter hasn't even started yet and it seems my luck could actually be changing for the better. For starters, I won four invites to the advanced screening of V for Vendetta last Monday (I'll be posting my review of this soon...I don't want to spoil it for anybody). But more important than a couple of invites, my finances are surprisingly in order and I'm starting to find the balance I was longing for in my career.

The computer scientist in me insists there is a logical explanation to everything that's happened to me in the past year or so. But I can't help thinking I owe all of this to more than just mere coincidence. Could it really be good Feng Shui? Divine Intervention maybe? Perhaps, knowing my good fortune this year simply pushed me in the proper direction...a classic case of "pyschological effect"? I guess I can't really say. At this point, I'll just have to wait and see what happens next. The fact is, it's too early to conclude that 2006 is indeed going to be a good year for me. The good news is, I've started it on the right note...and it can't get any luckier than that.

Reboot

Let's try this again.

This is the longest time I've been away from the old blog (three months on the 15th, counting from my last post). The really sad truth is I kind of lost the taste for it. It just came to a point where I felt like I had to "work" on my posts, rather than just allow my thoughts to freely flow into my writings, the way I used to. I don't know...what with the major burnout I was slowly starting to feel prior to my week-long vacation back home in Baguio a couple weeks back, maybe putting the blog on hiatus was just what I needed? Just some time off to get myself back into fighting form.

I can't help but think though, had I had access to the proper tools (those being home internet connection and/or my own laptop), this would have been a totally different story. If Jon, Gerwin, and the rest of the frequent bloggers (please refer to my sidebar) are any indication, nothing beats being able to blog directly from home. But enough of that. Point is I'm back, and hopefully, I've managed to dig up and bring a little more consistency with me this time.

Quite obviously, a lot of things have happened with me in the last three months. Here are a few highlights from that period (squeezing ALL of them into a single post might take me another three months, so allow me to start with these, while I slowly work my way back for the rest):

Return to the Motherland

I went home to Baguio last February 19 to take, what I felt at the time, was a much needed break. I just started to feel like I'd somehow hit a roadblock somewhere and started to lose sight of where I really wanted to go (that's some pretty deep shit...I guess turning 25 does that to you). I was too overwhelmed with reality that I simply needed to get away from it all for a while, just allow the cool pine breeze to fill my tired lungs, and take the time to recover and regain my footing to get back on track.

I stayed for a week (which is probably the most time I've spent in the hometown since moving to Manila for college back in '98) and just tried to make the most of my time there: I slept in, I watched a lot of TV (Celebrity Poker, NBA, HBO, MTV, and Bikini Destinations), I ate a lot of my Mom's cooking, and I hung out, having dinner and drinks on ocassion, with my highschool friends. The major downside to going on vacation on a normal week, however, is you're the only one on vacation, so meeting up with your friends isn't really that easy. But I still had a geat time overall. Taking a break was the best gift I've given myself so far this year.

It would be interesting to note that the last weekend during my stay also marked the start of the annual Baguio Flower Festival, or more popularly known now as the Panagbenga, which opened with the traditional parade of flowers (there were actually two parades, the first one was held on February 25, then the other on February 26; each was sponsored by two warring factions in the local government). The funny thing about all this is, I actually brought my camera with me, but I failed to take even a single photo of the event (I stayed at home during the first parade, and I was on my way back to Manila during the second). Though, I did manage to capture some shots of my Mom's adopted cats:

Celebrating the Quarter Life

I actually celebrated my 25th birthday three times this year.

The first time was on the 9th. Pi and I had agreed to celebrate, just the two of us, a day earlier. She treated me to a fantastic dinner at Fish and Co. in Greenbelt 3. She also gave me a letter (which I had to read out loud) and three gifts, each with a special significance to who I am: a Crest mechanical toothbrush, a sarong, and The World's Greatest Super-Heroes, the hardbound collection of Paul Dini and Alex Ross' oversized masterpieces. After dinner, we headed out to Tiendesitas in Pasig, this relatively new, tiagge-ish place we've been hearing really good things about. By the time we got there though, most of the stores were already closed. The only notable place open at the time was a pet shop (I forget the store's name). Anyway, here are a couple of photos from that night:


The second celebration was on my actual birthday, the 10th. Lolo Tol, Lola Tia (Lolo's sister), Uncle Bobby, Tita Donna (Uncle Bob's wife), Joyce (my sister), Joseph (my brother), Pi, and I all met up at A Venetto in Glorietta 3, Makati for dinner. I had decided to just have a nice, quiet, and simple get-together with family to mark the ocassion. My parents were in Baguio at the time so they couldn't be there. Here's a photo I asked one of the waiters to take (which I later realized was a very big mistake):


The third and last celebration was on the 11th. Just dinner with college friends at Friday's (Wallet Death) in Glorietta 3 (again). The celebration was actually for four of us (myself, Brian, Mac, and Toffer). High point of the evening was when one of the waiters thought I was Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria (which is actually the 2nd time someone's mentioned it to me). Anyway, here's a photo of our table (and this time, I remembered to bring the tripod):


That should do it for now. Check back here again soon.