I finally have a Facebook account!

After months of peer pressuring, prodding, bargaining, convincing and hard-sell whatnots, I finally reactivated my FB account. I had it before but deactivated it immediately because I felt like I wasn't prepared yet emotionally and socially. Besides, I might not have the luxury of time to customize another online (sometimes pretentious) social networking site. But because I want to heed the need of my dear friends (and not-so-friends), I am here at Facebook.

I also standardized my email account for all the sites I have to date: azureangelo@yahoo.com. I use this address for Blogger (http://azureangelo.blogspot.com, my very first online crib), Multiply (http://azureangelo.multiply.com), Friendster (www.friendster.com/azureangelo), and now, Facebook. I also cross-post so bear with me if you have to see the same pictures or read the same blog/rant all over again. =)

Mr Kabab, can't get enough

For two mornings in a row, Caryl and I have been frequenting Mr Kabab, not the one near our office, but the West Ave branch. Define effort and craving. We needed to redeem ourselves from the shawarma plate and baryani we ordered on our first day, which were so-so. So rainy Saturday morning, we ate again with Ate Tin, this time the beef special chelo kabab. Yum-yum!

My sem's over

Yes, sembreak for me! Took my finals for my Management course in UP Diliman, whole Saturday. I had to take a leave on Friday to study supposedly. But I ended up studying my Spanish lessons instead, watching TV, and surfing the net. I knew that it would be an essay-type exam so I just remembered the main points.

Then the exams came next day. I had two for this six-unit sem. Three hours for each subject. I was at Palma Hall 320. I remember that this was my Sociology 10 room, circa UP 2nd year. I so miss college -- the main library, the classmates from different colleges, the break-less sem, the orgs, the flings, and the almost-daily SM North escapades after class.

Anyhow, back to my exams. Essay kung essay. My fingers were already hurting that my handwriting was already an amalgam of cursive and print. My-Gel wasn't cooperating either. It almost wouldn't write. Had to put all the little knowledge that I had because three essay questions were equivalent to 100 points. Let's see how I'll fare.

Then I went to SM Megamall to do a little shopping (as in little only, I only bought an item) and to catch 'In My Life,' upon the prodding of my companion. The movie was great that I texted my dear Circle of Friends/COF to say that the movie would really give one a roller coaster of emotion. As one newspaper article puts it, the movie is 'daring without baring.' John Lloyd almost devoured Ate Vi.

When you're late...

One Friday, traffic in Commonwealth was horrendous because of the drizzling and people's visiting to the wake of Mr Manalo. Not to mention the traffic here at Balintawak because of the LRT extension project. I logged in 30 minutes past my schedule. Since I knew I'd be late, I chose to do all my routines in the not usually-fast way (cleaning my water container, reserving food at the pantry, freshening up). Then 30 minutes after, I went out to withdraw money. An idea popped up! Let's Timezone ourselves. Lesson: Life is too short to be good at all times; sin a little. =)

I was FEU's lucky charm!

It's my very first time to watch UAAP Cheerdance and was clad in yellow, cheered with the gold and green crowd, and chanted 'Let's Go, Tamaraws' instead of the very true 'matatapang, matatalino.' My beloved UP was on the opposite side. Got my ticket from a collague who's an FEU alumnus so I had no choice. The show was great; routines of winners FEU and ADMU were clean but UP is always the one to beat in introducing new stunts/steps. I also liked the kachosan of UST in the end, very festive.

Then watched Kimmy Dora at Gateway. I was hesitant to watch it because most of my friends have seen the movie already. I must say that lead actress Eugene Domingo was very funny, story was not-so-new for me since the plot has been played already by telenovela Impostora and the Judy Ann-starrer Mag-ingat ka sa Kulam.

Of Maxicare and circumcision

It was my very first time to use my Maxicare card after nearly 21 months of possessing it. It all started with that simple sore throat, which I knew I got from eating tons of chocolates and, what else, singing. Though I'd like to stress that I get my vocal prowess mainly from my diaphragm. Haha...

Since I didn't have to do anything on Tuesday, I decided to go to Manila Doctors. The whole procedure of using the card was fast; it was the waiting for the ENT specialist that made me wait until eternity. So the usual check up. The doctor told me that my tonsil's quite big but it's negative for anything negative. What he noticed though was cerumen in my ear. So he advised me to be back today, Friday, for the suctioning. I had to put baby oil first to soften/liquefy the thingy.

While patiently waiting for the doctor (again), I noticed the tarps on the wall strongly averring that circumcision is no longer needed and eating santol seeds is deadly. The latter I kinda know already but I was a bit amazed with the former. I am no medical guru (and I will never be one). I know that there's nothing really wrong with being uncircumcised (Australians, for one, don't get that) but those PEHM lessons kept coming back to me at that time as it always stressed that it's hygienic to be circumcised. La lang, I was just amazed.

On my favorite TV shows

Just thought of doing this to update my Blogger account which has long been left in oblivion. Context is I am cross-blogging from Blogger so if you’re reading from blogspot, you can visit http://azureangelo.multiply.com which is updated more often as evidenced by the Photos section. Conversely, if you’re at my Multiply account, you can visit http://azureangelo.blogspot.com.

So on the top of my list is American Idol. I have been following this search since its third season and has always been a good source of songs that are new to my music palate. Among those songs that I never knew before but left me in a broken record stance at some points of my life were: Desperado (Camile Velasco), Son of a Preacher Man (Velasco and Mikalah Gordon),This Ain’t A Love Song (LaKisha Jones), Black Horse and Cherry Tree (Katharine McPhee and Megan Joy), Jolene (Brooke White and Alexis Grace), Blackbird (Carly Smithson), Love The One You’re With (all-time favorite David Hernandez). Moreover, most of my songs in my antiquated cell phone player are AI-inspired. I always make it a point to alarm every 6PM of Wed and Thu to catch this show, and I never get tired of YouTube-ing the performance over and over again.

Next is Amazing Race. I’ve been a fan since the Reichen and Chip season and I followed closely all the three Asian editions. This one is a good source of geography and culture information. I think this is one motivation why I am enthused to go places and try different people, I mean different things. India is a much-loved country if producers want to put contestants to the ultimate test. The current season boasts of unusual combinations such as mother and deaf son tandem of Margie and Luke, midget siblings Mark and Michael (who incurred another time penalty in this week’s episode), and gay father and son pair of Mike and Mel.

On to the local shows, another favorite is Eat Bulaga. I especially like the ‘Sa Pula Sa Puti’ segment because of the innate ability of the hosts to deliver jokes and punchlines a la comedy bar. Speaking of, haven’t been to one. Any taker who can bring me there? And months before, after watching this segment, I’d tune in to Studio 23 to catch the unparalleled Finding Rodrigo, a DVD/VCD copy of which remains to be so elusive. Any good soul who knows where to get one?

By the way, these four shows are what exactly appear in my Friendster’s Favorite TV Shows field --- www.friendster.com/azureangelo.

One of my goals for 2009...

…is to travel . So if you have any out-of-town (or even out of the country!) gimmicks, count me in please. I have lots of money (haha) so I’ll pay for myself but if you’re generous enough to treat me, I won’t say no.

As Jani puts it: North Mindanao, check! South Luzon, check! This refers to our trips in Misamis Oriental and Puerto Galera. =)

Paging Hanna (Camarines Norte), Mark (Vigan), Mimi (Macau), Reego (Vietnam), and Vince (Batanes). I’m not forgetting the promised trips to your places. XOXO

…and then another two movie sequels

I had my hair cut on the New Year’s Eve just to go with the flow. Incidentally, another friend was available at that time so we met at the very accessible mall in the north to, what else, watch another movie. This time we caught ‘Ang Tanging Ina Niyong Lahat.’ I initially wanted ‘Deperadas 2’ but I figured out that the theme of that movie would be suitable for the person I would meet the next day.

I was able to catch the first instalment of this family comedy and even watched the TV version so I know somehow the storyline. Narration has always been a friendly tool to explicitly bridge the gap in part-two’s like this. Initial part of the film explains where the older children are now, joking that Heart Evangelista now joins GMA, not the network but some global missionary group. Then the movie proceeds how the heroine Ina Montecillo (Ai-Ai de las Alas) struggles to make her children proud of her. She still does odd jobs until she becomes a chambermaid at the President’s Palace with the ever-reliable best friend Rowena (Eugene Domingo).

To cut the story short, Ina becomes the country’s president. Most of the punch lines (misquotes like ‘practice makes perfect but then again nobody’s perfect so why practice) are nothing new already because almost all of these were already shown in the teasers and said during her promotional activities. What makes the film really funny is Domingo. She is effortless in delivering her lines especially in that scene where she summons all Ina’s children for some purportedly serious talk.

Favorite side-splitting scenes include the classroom recitation of Ina with her law professor, Ina and Rowena’s tussle to see and to photograph the president, and all those scenes where Domingo is present.

New Year’s Day is another movie day. After a sumptuous lunch at grandma’s place, I headed to SM Megamall which I haven’t visited for some time since it is not that accessible as opposed to The North, and met with another friend whom I haven’t seen for epochs now. Took the road less travelled by via bus and was late for 30 minutes. No question or bargaining, it’s ‘Desperadas 2.’

I have never seen the original story so for the nth time, that narration and back-storytelling at the beginning really aided me to understand the movie’s context. The story revolves around the discovery and acceptance of the four half-sisters (which are all beautiful by the way and mind you I haven’t spotted any scene in the movie where one of them looks otherwise) that they still have a fifth half-sister. That last sister named Luga Luda, which is portrayed by Ogie Alcasid, is born and raised in an island called Kewlali (spelling unsure). By the by, Domingo is said to be the original choice for this character.

Luga Luda comes to the country to search for the love of her life. Of course, Luga Luda finds the man of her dreams (Carlo Guevara). That would be the guy who was bumped by Ruffa Gutierrez’ car. One funny scene is when Luga Luda first meets that guy and performs some rituals to awaken the guy by doing peculiar acts such as dancing while getting hair lice and farting, which are likewise gamely done by Gutierrez and Marian Rivera. Imagine beautiful and sophisticated ladies doing those hullabaloos. The story is straightforward: each of the sisters has her own problem and Luga Luda helps them individually and the four finally accept their last sister.

Funny scenes consist of all the scenes of Rufa Mae Quinto, specifically where she is invited to a Senate hearing and her mentioning of songs’ lyrics and authors’ famous lines. The way she delivers her line with that trademark sound is really comic for me. Rivera and Will Devaughn’s very realistic ‘I’m about to explode’ scene is also a favorite. The last wedding scene of Luga Luda is a runaway winner for the most hilarious (and memorable) part of the movie. Noteworthy still is the performance of Sofia Baars, the young lass who plays Gutierrez’ daughter. Baars convincingly sounds and acts like a little Gutierrez.

Another similarity of these sequels is the commercial placement. ‘Tanging Ina’ has a cheese advertisement in the end, with de las Alas saying that for the spaghetti to become tastier, more cheese is needed. Meanwhile, ‘Deperadas 2’ has yogurt (Iza Calzado), health drink, and Nesvita placement, this time with Rivera uttering her infamous TV ad line: beautiful.

So to rank all of the four movies I have seen this season, and considering all criteria such as acting, plot, cinematography, sound, make-up, etc., first place is ‘Baler,’ second is ‘Desperadas 2.’ Third and fourth are ‘Tanging Ina’ and ‘One Night Only’ respectively.

Two movies in a day

Got a text message from Jani Sunday afternoon that she’d meet with another HS friend Vivian at Trinoma at 2PM. I actually had plan of going out on that lazy day, to probably catch one of the film festival entries and to succumb to holiday sales, so I hurriedly gave my yes. I asked Jani what was the itinerary for the day and a simple come-what-may answer excited me as I notice that my weekend and holiday getaways are now spontaneous, unplanned, unwritten on my scratch paper-ruled 2008 calendar.

After meeting at a bookstore where I bought my 2009 daily Gospel reading (yes, I’m into that, believe it), the plan was to watch the period film ‘Baler.’ But Vivian needed Mr. Quickie for her boots but he was nowhere to be found at that mall. So we transferred to SM North (which is, by the way, the largest mall in the country now and the third in the world with the opening of The Annex). After buying my staple Penshoppe apparel, we proceeded to the movie floor. The movie they chose would be shown an hour later and my feet were too tired already because of incessant window shopping. So I had to make an executive decision. ‘One Night Only’ would be shown in ten minutes. I said I’d rather see this film because at long last I could rest and sit and eat and drink. After a little bargaining, I got my decision un-vetoed.

As the movie title suggests and what most of you have read already, ‘One Night Only’ happens in just one night at a motel by the name of ‘Lover’s Hideaway.’ The motel setting in the film, which the movie characters say is in Sta. Mesa, is nice because each room is themed. There is jungle, outer space, Egyptian, and tropical. I actually waited for the credits to roll at the end to see where exactly is that place but there is no motel acknowledgment.

So the movie is that normal everyone-was-related-to-everyone-else comedy formula in the film. Some scenes are reminiscent of local gag shows, with the inclusion of sexy comediennes (Diana Zubiri, Alessandra de Rossi) and stand-up comics (Chokoleit, Ogie Diaz). Nothing really funny save for the reaction of those at our back who scream with malice when lead sexy actors would strip. I think my genuine laugh was just twice (mostly scenes with Chokolet). With gazillions of complications arising in the middle of the film, I am wondering and pondering as to how the writer ends the script. Or if there’s a resolution at all with that labyrinthine storytelling. I think a second or third night is imperative for the denouement.

Favorite scenes include Jon Avila’s switching from one motel room to another and back to the other, and the connivance of the gay and lesbian couples of Chokoleit/Joross Gamboa and Manilyn Reynes/Jennylyn Mercado respectively just to get in to the place.

Since we three were still in that energy and monetary disposition to watch another film, we ultimately settled for ‘Baler.’ This time we relocated to Trinoma just to have a different feel and to have dinner. Then after eating at an Italian restaurant, we found ourselves at Cinema 3 but failed to catch a portion of the first part because we struggled in our eating that began 15-20 minutes before the start of the film.

This film, meanwhile, essays a love story between a Filipina Feliza and a half-Spanish soldier Celso Resurrecion in the middle of the Siege of Baler in the late 1800s. The film is rich in history and picturesque backdrop. It documents how the Spanish troops lived and died inside a church for almost a year and how a love story survived. Acting of the whole ensemble is believable and poignant, especially the last scene of Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales. The physical setting is accurately engineered. No wonder, it garnered a lion’s share of awards.

I am not just sure whether the Spanish dialogues of Filipino actors (Baron Geisler, Bernard Palanca) are completely accurate in terms of intonation and pronunciation. Favorite scenes include that last scene, the baby delivery of Curtis (yes, there is so much power to that for me), and the reunion scene of Feliza’s Family.