So it is

da: what are you doing?
me: i'm rationalizing fear and justifying guilt.
da: haha. you're thinking too much again.
me: i know. i know.
da: sometimes you just have to jump right in with your eyes closed.
me: that is foolishness.
da: THAT, my dear, is fun.
me: sigh. so it is. (closes eyes and jumps!)

So it is.

bzzzzzzzzzzzzz

There's a war brewing in the horizon.

Why does it feel like I'm right in the middle of the story "Lord of the Flies".

Dear God, we need an adult! Quick!

My brother says, "Year of the Ox, D. Expect more of that. It will not be an easy year for everyone."

And I say, "But I'm not chinese!"

Dinagyang 2009

I'm sorry I had to remove all my Dinagyang pics from this post. Apparently Flickr was not too happy that I had watermarks on my photos. Or at least watermarks of my website in them. Sheeesh!

Oh well, will host them some other place or will just change the watermark to something else. So sorry if you get a lot of blanks on this blog.

I took down all my good pics. If I can't have my name on them, I don't want them in flickr.

Watching The Legend ... (Spoiler Alert!)

Friday night. I was just tired to the bone and if I had wings, I would've flown home. Traffic was terrible everywhere. They had closed main entrances to the city because of the Drum and Bugle Parade for Dinagyang. And the highway was flooded with cars - all wanting to see the first night of Luces In The Sky - the fireworks contest down on SM City. Everyone had something to do and somewhere to go but I just wanted to go home. My limits with crowded, noisy places are quite ...well, limited. hehe.

After enjoying a few minutes of the Fireworks (I can see the high ones just outside my driveway), I settled in for my last episode of Legend. This is an advance treat for me. I'm looking at two days of heat, crowd and noisy people during the weekend so I wanted to claim Friday night for my peace and quiet. So before the lights went out, I started watching the last episode of The Legend.

I love the series. I love how it ended. I wish they had a novel in English for it because I found a lot of the conversations wise and worth remembering (at least those I translated in my head and assuming I translated correctly ;). Tande, now King, finally got rid of the evil that wanted to take the powers of the Four Gods away. The deities have all been revealed and had a bond with the king that would win him wars, should he have all the other symbols with him. He was in the position to end the war, be a good king and finally enjoy a quiet life with his woman and son. If he just kills Qixia, he would also be free of her. But instead, he chose to take the powers of the deities, return the four hosts to their human form and leave the human world so humankind be rid of the powers of the Gods. I love it.

It's like saying this: If all men were equal, and no men had power over another, and no power were available for evil men to fight over, then peace for humankind would be more ... lasting, maybe - more permanent. It's like Frodo throwing over the Ring to the depths of Mount Doom. Ganun ka galing yun. :) Imagine if that were only true for leaders of this world. If there only was a ring that could get rid of all evil and one Tande or Frodo to lead ... just imagine. Sigh.

Hahaha. I realize that I'm probably the only one who can understand this blog entry when I read it again but I don't care. All I want to say is that I really love the story.

Hay, me and my literary idolatry.

P.s. My computer's name is still David. But now it has pics of BYJ all over it - hahahaha.



My Kasadyahan and Dinagyang post will come after the ordeal is over. Kapish?

of gods and men ...

There was Aragorn, king of Middle Earth. There was Major Richard Winters, leader of Curahee, Bastogne and whole lot of places during World War I. There was Atticus Finch, defender of the poor and the oppressed blacks. And now there is Prince Tande, king of a Chinese Dynasty I cannot read nor pronounce - bwahaha.



It's called "The Legend" or to Koreans, Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi (The Story of the First King’s Four Gods). I discovered the TV series during the weekend. I'm half-way through it. Because of symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, I've forced myself not to touch the computer during rest days as much as I can. The need to rest my hands had led me to Prince Tande and his four Gods Cheong-ryong (Blue Dragon), Baek-ho (White Tiger), Joo-jak (Phoenix), and Hyeon-mu (symbolized as a turtle). They have powers over wind, cloud, fire and rain respectively. Tande is a great war tactician, so much like Dick Winters of Band of Brothers. He is also a man's king - very Aragonic, a guy after the people's heart. And of course very Atticus - slow to anger, just, peaceful, brave :) Swoon swoon swoon.

Tande is of course played by the very attractive Bae Yong Joon, who I have decided to draw when I have time. He is a photographer too. So swoon swoon ulit. Hehe.

Like all epic dramas, you realize that a lot of wars could have been solved had people took the time to just hear each other out :) But then again, there is God's or maybe the human way of creating circumstances that prevent this. So confusion. Anger. Jealousy. Broken Romances. Unexpected friendships. War. Power Struggles - all the ingredients of a great story.

Can't wait for the four gods to meet their King.

My favorite men in fiction - my small piece of heaven here on earth.

Happy 2009!

Hello world! Sorry for not posting.
I've been busy living.
I realize I do take vacations very seriously.

Rested easy.
Ate with gusto.
Slept like sleeping beauty.
Shopped until I'm broke.
Had my Fave TV series marathon.
Sat for eight hours for rebonded hair.
The works!

So today, I'm back to the nitty gritty. I haven't been far away from it too long. I was also finishing pending jobs before the year changed. But I'm back to being ms finch.

This post is brought to you by Nenen (rebond specialist), Chuck and Buy More, Gil Grissom, Dr. House, Perri Todds, the Chinese residents of Ledesco Village, Nestle All-Purpose Cream, Nescafe 3-in-1, Tanduay Black, Torrent and Doña D.

Aja!

Eternally 38

Dear God, Allah, Jesu Christi, and whatever name we call you,

You know I never lie about my age. It is as inevitable as death. I turn 38 today. Despite all my philosophies about you and my complaints about life, I want you to know that I am still eternally grateful for everything that I have.

I thank you most of all for family, they are such asses. But it takes one to know one? Imperfect and difficult they may be - I love 'em to bits and I'm such a lucky ass that they also put up with my imperfections and my being difficult.

I thank you for my bedeviled friends. They are my reason to believe in you. Hehehe. And I thank you also for my angelic friends. Sometimes they are just too good for me but I don't mind that one bit. Keep them coming ;)

I love it that you gave me a job that doesn't feel like a job. And I love that you found me opportunities to answer my problems and at the same time find self-expression on how I see the world.

I thank you Lord for a free mind and a free heart.

But I am most grateful for, and you know how I hate being corny, I thank you for being there. For laughing at my blunders, for challenging me in my cowardice, for holding my hand in my fear, for your empathy in my pain. For just being my Lord and Saviour. There can be no other God like you.

I'd give you a hug but you are just too big for me :)

So thanks Bud. I am eternally grateful.

Amen.

Escape

There are days when all I could think about is escaping reality, responsibility and reason. I sometimes wonder if my idealism has somehow trapped me into my own prison cell - one I cannot get out of. I remember my mom who wanted out of a bad marriage but just couldn't leave the house she worked hard for or the adorable smart-ass kids she gave birth, too. But then again, who could? - hehe.

I wonder if I could just go and start all over again. As I age, leaving the house to live alone and independently just gets more and more difficult. But I think of the accomplishment - a feat this would be for a prisoner in her own-self-built walls.

No matter how permanent this feels, I assure myself that I can always change my mind if my put my heart into it.

By the way, our household helper just won a million pesos in a raffle this weekend. Yes, the one who cooks for us for a meager salary is actually richer than me now. The funny thing is I'm still figuring out where to get her her 13th month pay. Loyal that she is, she has chosen to stick with us for the time being although I did tell her to look for a good replacement should she wish to leave us (the ad would say: WANTED. Household help. Perks: those who live with us could become the next millionaire!).

All she asked that she be allowed a long vacation to visit her grandmother which I obliged her. I mean, how could you refuse a millionaire who wants to stick with you even if she could actually afford to employ you as her household help - not that I would be good at it anyway. I murdered chorizo in trying to cook breakfast last Sunday because she had to go tell her family that she's rich. Sigh. I am happy for her. She needs a house. And deserves a whole lot of things for what she's been through in her life. There's no one here on earth who deserves this than our very own Doña D.

Basoy

My Dad in lineart.

Twilight movie

The book ruined it for me. Maybe I expected too much. And I had such high hopes for Kirsten Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. Make-up was horrendous. The script lacking - majorly lacking. And everything ... well, just blah. Huge disappointment. I should've just stuck with the book.

The only actor I really liked is Charlie Swan. And I did love the scenic spots, the forest and the cinematography can sometimes be ... well, really pretty.

I wonder if people who have not read the book liked it? If I haven't read the book, would I have liked it? Probably not. I'm thinking of reading Twilight again and redoing the whole movie in my head. :) I will attempt to forget that I didn't like it.

I hope they don't destroy the Time Traveller's Wife for me, too.

They have what I want ...

What does ...
1. Bruce Banner (The Incredible Hulk)
2. Henry DeTamble (The Time Traveller's Wife)
3. David Rice (The Jumper) and
4. Edward Cullen (Twilight)
... have in common?

Well, they have what I want; The super power to avoid ... TRAFFIC. ;)

There are just too many cars in this city. And since taxi cabs are now incredibly expensive, I hate, abhor, loathe ... to have to face traffic. Think rush hour. Ugghhh.

The one at the most disadvantage would be Bruce Banner me. It would require me to do some heavy lifting to get to where I want to be. But then again "heavy" would not be heavy if I was the Incredible Hulk. But I think it would bother me quite a bit if I have to be green just to get to all those cars. Not counting the havoc I would create just by passing by.

The Henry DeTamble me would be capable of doing the one thing the other three can't and that is travel through time. Again, it is unfortunate that I would have no control on which time I go and when. And there's the nudity factor, too. I don't think that would be too comfortable. It would be a health hazard. Not only for me, but for the people I would surprise by just appearing at of nowhere.

Now the David Rice me would have been ideal. I think it would be cool to take anything moving and just take it with me no matter how big it was. Hmmmm ( I can think of some LOL). But I hate the possibility that I would ruin my mother's floor tiles should I be in a hurry to get home. Although I would like to skip immigration. Egypt, France, London. That would be nice.

And the Edward Cullen me? Well, I don't mind being a little bit more paler than I am now. And I would love that I would lose my ability to blush because that is total drawback when you're trying to hide something. And if I was a vampire, I would be hiding a lot. I do mind being thirsty for human blood though.

Should I have one super power in the world,
and I might change my mind tomorrow,
I want what they have.
The super power to be rid of traffic.



Hi Lea. I know you'll be reading this :)