City of God (a movie review)

Directors:Fernando Meirelles
Kátia Lund (co-director)

Cast:
Alexandre Rodrigues ... Rocket
Leandro Firmino ... Li'l Zé
Phellipe Haagensen ... Benny
Douglas Silva ... Li'l Dice
Jonathan Haagensen ... Shaggy
Matheus Nachtergaele ... Carrot
Seu Jorge ... Knockout Ned

The Plot: Gangsters killing one another. But this is a no non-sense film, it is even touching at some point.

Set in the 60’s in a ghetto of Rio de Janeiro, the film brings you to the lives of those people living in the slum, to their violent world: young armed thuds smashing other people’s properties to steal and their younger siblings watching them like heroes as they do it.

Then these younger fellows grow up to be just like their older brothers, who at this time, are already long dead.

Click here for the full review of this movie.

Special thanks: wengkat for the Ube Espesyal ice cream i had while writing the review. good luck sa diet. >.<


next movie review: Love in the Time of Cholera.

Barack Obama

i was one of those many Filipino people who stayed glued to the tv set the entire night to witness the 44th American President to be sworn in to office. that was actually the first time i watched an inauguration of a foreign leader, along with millions of other non-American citizens all over the world. sometimes, i helps being an insomniac. lol!

studio 23 gave a live coverage of the event, plus factual views and analysis of the historic ceremony from the anchors. well, except for ces drilon. with her stupid commentaries and questions, she was not helping the show at all. glad she left before the real event.

anyway, i already mentioned Obama in my march 2008 post. that was quite a long time ago. now he is the president of the most powerful country in the world.

with this new vigor America has now that it just welcomed its new leader without protest, it is possible change will happen, like Obama promised. that's america.

and this is the Philippines:


the flag above is from a tugboat used during the fluvial procession last saturday, jan17,'09. are we this poor already?

sinulog mardi gras 2009 photos

these are the photos...(alin ang naiba diha. lol!)





pfft! like last year, it rained. but it did not deter the more than 2 million people from the different parts of the world to watch and enjoy the mardi gras. it stopped me from taking more pictures though, which disappointed me big time. anyway, it was still fun to be out there, working and enjoying the moment at the same time. thanks to wengkat for the company and for the food. =)

ps: last photo shows the tatlong itlog sharing the tatlong manok. hihihi

time out

already tired with watching music vids of britney, hilary, beyonce, boyz II men, etc online. now it's time to answer some important questions that may help me become a surgeon someday. haha! copied this from feebee's blog. diara!

What kind of vitamins did you take as a kid?
vitamin c, I can’t recall the brand.

Did you get any compliments today?
nope

Are you friends with your neighbors?
no, we’re just new there. but with the old neighbors (where I grew up…), we are one big happy bingo-playing family there. lol

Favorite color?
blue/white/gray

How long has it been since you've seen the Lion King?
a few months ago, with my friend’s 5-year-old kid.

When was the last time you drove more than 15 minutes?
last sat

Have you ever had a crush on your friend's siblings or sibling's friends?
i don’t remember

Have you ever gone to the beach?
like last sunday

How good is your eye sight?
still 20/20. although i have the tendency to squint a lot. >.<

Whats the longest amount of time you've been on an airplane?
35 minutes—m/l (the travel time from cebu-manila & vv)

Have you ever been out of your country?
not yet. but im going to Egypt soon. he-he

What's the best wedding you've been to?
i don’t remember attending one. really.

Would your parents be mad if you got arrested for fighting?
what a question!

Ever been in love?
i’m also human for goodness’ sake!

Do you have a Honda, Toyota or Nissan?
no, but i once fell in love with a Nissan Sentra.

What did you do this weekend?
played bingo! lol

Do you wear contacts?
no

What do you usually do first in the morning?
check the time

Who was the last person you went to the movies with?
jute, we watched "the day the earth stood still" and got drunk after that. joke!

Do you like where you are right now?
been up since 3am, and now it’s almost 6pm and i want to go home already, yet I cant bec the roads are temporarily closed for the procession. that makes me super happy!

Do you miss someone?
yes, my uncle. the family hasn’t seen him for the last 17 years…after some misunderstanding. the other day, i googled for his name and I got an article about an accident that happened in 2004, his name was among the casualties. now I miss him. im still checking though if that was really him.

Do you believe ex's can be friends?
whats the case?

Last relationship and when?
--

Been cheated on?
in reference to the question before this? nopez.

Have you ever been a gymnast or a cheerleader?
seriously???

Has anyone ever told you they want to spend the rest of their life with you?
nope

Has a boy/girl ever called you babe/baby?
nyahahhaha…BLANK

Will you be in a relationship in four months?
i don’t know.

Does anyone hate you?
i don’t know. i don’t care.

Anyone annoy you?
im not easily annoyed.

What is stressing you out most right now?
my insomnia and my back pains. i feel so old already. tsk!

Does anyone love you?
outside the family? i think so.

Are you easily confused?
i don’t get you.


Are you high maintenance?
no.

Are you happy with the way life is going?
life’s okay. but i'll be very happy if i can do MORE.

Do you hate it when people smoke around you?
yes. it's suffocating.

Is any part of your body sore?
my back as always.

How do you feel about public displays of affection?
it’s not fair. joke!

What always makes you feel better when you are upset?
music and happy thoughts. or a company of a favorite friend.

Do you like to take walks?
yep. sa beach!

Will your next kiss be a mistake?
what’s wrong with a kiss?

Do you fight with your grandparents often?
nope. okay, once. but that was a long time ago.

Where is the shirt you are wearing from?
adidas.dah, ukay-ukay! =)

Have you ever been in a car accident?
yeah. a few months back. i hit a bike-riding old man. he sustained minor bruises in the knees and toes. i only had his bike fixed, bec that was only what he wanted. i felt so guilty after that.

What bed did you sleep in last night?
that hard bed in my room.

Would you rather have big or small dogs?
i don’t like pets anymore. but we have a shih tzu and a kitten in the house.

Are you afraid of falling in love?
no.

What are your plans for today?
go home and sleep.

What color do you paint your nails?
i don’t paint my nails.

Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced?
never

Will you move in a year?
i hope not. ive already had enough of moving.

When was the last time you were told you were cute?
never. bec im not cute. tsk! lol

Have you ever read an entire book in one day?
last time was The Alchemist. that was about a year ago

Last night, did you go to sleep smiling?
nope. bec i was forcing myself to sleep fast.

Do you want to get married?
NOPE. im tired of this kind of question already.

Are you mean?
sometimes…

Do you think relationships are even worth it?
as long as there are no losers in the end...

Do your parents really know you?
i think so.

Would you ever get a tattoo?
never. i hate needles.

Are you stubborn?
and proud.

Would you rather go to Tokyo or Paris?
let me go to sagada first.

Who else is in the room with you?
my workmates

next post: my beauty tips!

the dream job

catmon

so mao ni ang mga hulagway nga nakuha nako sa among pagsuot-suot sa lungsod sa catmon niadtong oct 25-26, 1963.


mainit spring. this is in the uppermost part of brgy duyan. mokatkat pa ka og taas-taas to get here. way bayad nuon. di ko sure, wa man mi pabayri gud. pero murag naa. hahahha (pangutana lang mo didto)



mainit spring up close. trust me, init jud siya. limpyo pa. the source is just somewhere down there, pwede ka magkuha og init tubig didto para kape. yeah, yeah...



to the rapids. gabuot2x ra ko ani. but there are really rapids down there. you have to go down that part there, medyo steep ang agianan pero worth it ang tanan. they have the hidden falls there, and this cave that is almost similar to palawan's underground river. way binuang! wa lang lagi camera, kay di man water proof, di sad ta tantong danghag. next time!



river. river that connects to the falls, caves, etc. strong knees are needed in going to this part, kapoy kayo katkat sa mga bato! i hope naa nay bridge diha ibutang si mayor. or at least maayong dan. hehehe...


lobby. to the hot spring. or to wherever.



aroma mountain resort. this is in barangay macaas already. just a walking distance from bless' place. si bless, mao nang starring kayo sa ubos.



bless and multz. ingun ani pagkaon, the bless way (alkanse lang ang way blog. hahaha)



all-in-one. humba, menudo and rice. wa nay tagdanay!





that's bless. god help me! hahahha

if there's anything else you wanna know about catmon, you can ask me, i've been there several times already. hehehe...thanks for reading. =)

the "bad things" today

but at least i wasnt forced to wake up early in the morning. Or I’d really be pissed. So how the 'bad things' started? here goes:

we were scheduled to dive at the lagundi reef(for workmates who are reading this, it was a work-related thing…intawon!) at 12nn today, there was no assignment before that, so I did not have to wake up very early. the meeting place is just a walking distance from my place, but I rode in going there anyway kay bag-o pa man mata, mabungi unya ta hehehe…

at past 12, i was already all geared up for the dive.....suit and all.

I already told the people I would be diving with that I had a 2pm meeting at the office. But at almost 2, we were still at the beach waiting for one more diver and the boat. Crap! If we could only have a beach entry, I would probably have gone ahead…...joke!

at the dive spot. been diving for 2 years, but today, my body just would not sink. Already had three kilos of “tingga” in my belt, and i was just there inches from the surface of the water while my dive buddies, about 20 feet below me, already feeding the fish, checking the corals, et cetera…...i was just there, watching them! I did everything I could to sink, but i was just probably too flabby…..note to self: do some exercise!

So after about 10 minutes of just watching the other divers from afar, I decided to quit. Swam back to the boat. then I learned that I already had 4 missed calls: one from a source and three from the office. It was still at least 30 minutes before everyone would come up. if only i could not swim back to the beach. hay!

It was already way past 3pm when we finally got back to the beach. office had already called up.

And when I got home, there was no water. he-he!

I bathed anyway. Don’t ask how I did it.

It was a quick bath, I was already running to the cab station after about 10 minutes. However, there was no single cab in sight. hmm…..a workmate was already telling me the meeting was about start.

So I took a trike to get me to the next taxi station. But before reaching it, one of the trike’s tire slipped to a hole, we were stuck. i had to run to the station..... only to find out that there was no single taxi cab in there. wooh!

It took me at least 5 minutes, and 5 minutes is already a long period of time if you are in a hurry, to see an empty cab. I quickly got in before the driver could tell me that the roads going to my workplace were already closed for the procession of the sto. Nino (I did not know that), that he could not bring me there. he did tell me anyway.. ..almost pushed me out of his car, as he did not want to be trapped where the road would end. it was already almost 4pm, if he wouldn't drive me, there was no other way to get to the meeting, or at least to work. i was close to begging.

but with all the whatever powers bestowed on me by my ninunos, i was able to persuade the hesitant driver to take me to the nearest pit stop.

at first, it was a smooth sail while at the coastal road/srp. it was at the last bridge (if you’re coming from the south) of the highway that traffic was bursting. we were so trapped. this time, for about 30 minutes. at this juncture, i wouldnt really mind being ejected from my seat. lol!

It was already past 5pm when I finally got to the office. meeting was over. and work was already done. then I realized I had no breakfast and lunch yet. I almost fainted. just kidding!

At least there was already food waiting in my table. Hehe…(tenchu!)

So that was how my day spent me. Bow!


this is part of the Lagundi Reef. nice kaayo. =)

children's christmas party 2008

dec 24, 2008
7pm, at a public road :P



one small party

200+ smiling little faces

to those who helped us, thank you so much. =)