| Christmas Break, Please Come Now!!! |
[10th December 2009|12.59a
] |
I've been on Christmas break since the sem had started. I've always loved Christmas breaks because admittedly, it's the only time I don't actually think about grades. But as it is my custom every year, I'd always have a wish list. Apparently though, this year, I don't. I can't really think of anything I'd want to have. Maybe it's a sign of being wiser and being less materially greedy.
Well, Christmas to me this year is really not a big deal, for what reason, I don't know. I just feel the chill and the traffic that it brings. Nonetheless, I'm still excited. A real rest for my mental and physical state I suppose.
As for other things, I'm on freeze mode. I don't have a very extraordinary sem as it seems just yet. Not very brilliant moments from my professors nor brilliant moments from me. It's a sem of mediocrity, laziness, and boredom. But I wish it would get better. I think it's always more plain the second time around. I don't find a level of temerity that would pressure me or push me to the limit.
I just want it to be Christmas break really.
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| 90210 02x12: Winter Wonderland |
[9th December 2009|11.48p
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I cannot wait till 90210 comes back from hiatus (lord knows when) because this show really has gotten me hooked. It's amazing what a long way this show has come, from the days when I wasn't really quite into it in season 1. And who says it doesn't snow in this zip code? Because it sure did look like a Winter Wonderland at their winter dance. The gang sure looked beautiful in their whites and greys. I love it. ( » )
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| Gossip Girl 03x12: The Debarted |
[8th December 2009|10.45p
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This is why I still watch this show because sometimes, when you least expect it, the show surprises you with something fantastic like this episode!!! WOW GOSSIP GIRL. See what happens when you make it Chuck-centric with a bunch of Nate/Serena on the side and just the right amount of Dan/Vanessa, Eric/Jenny, Rufus/Lily?! You get a fantastic episode. Stay awesome, show. See you in March. ( » )
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| Mondays Call For More Pretty |
[7th December 2009|8.43p
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 There really isn't much I have to add other than the fact that I wish my job were as glamorous as the lives my girl crushes lead. Though I'm not much of a party person, if my job depended on it, I would so drag myself to parties and premieres and press conferences, right? ( Just Because There's A Lot of Pretty To Share )
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| Bones 05x09 : The Gamer in the Grease |
[5th December 2009|11.43p
] |
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Last week, we got some serious cuteness from Booth's grandpa. So this week's episode did a total 180 with overt cross promotion!!! It was funny at first, seeing as how they got to write Hodgins, Sweets and Fisher in, but then it just got really tiring seeing all the posters for the movie. I guess this is what you call cross promotion. Fox owns the movie studio and the channel so I guess they decided to milk it for it's worth. ( » )
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| Jake Sure Loves His Merkin |
[4th December 2009|10.56p
] |
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I'm pretty sure Brothers is a really intense movie, but watching the interviews Jake Gyllenhaal's been making for it has been nothing but entertaining. Moviefone's Unscripted is definitely one of my favorite movie interviews online and Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake's version of it had me laughing the entire time. Jake seems obsessed with merkins!
He also came out on Jimmy Kimmel where Ashley Greene was the next guest! Double treat for me! It's so good to see Jake again. I've missed him so! And I'm still secretly shipping him with Natalie! ( » )
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| Glee 01x12: Mattress |
[3rd December 2009|11.46p
] |
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And because we were spoiled by the amount of songs last week, we of course, have to move the plot along this week -- which means less songs. Which is okay, since next week is already sectionals and then the long hiatus. Boo. Still, despite the lack of song-age, raise your hand if you want to jump on your mattress after this episode. Cause I sure do. Pah! Pah! Pah! Papah! Pah! Rah! Pah! Pah! Rarah! ( » )
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| Merlin Series 1 |
[3rd December 2009|7.38p
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I never thought I'd enjoy Medieval Camelot as much as I have, considering I wasn't even supposed to watch the BBC series, Merlin. Out of my longing for Mad Men Mondays, I got influenced by the Merlin lovers on my flist to finally check out this show and once I started, I couldn't stop.
I literally spent last weekend, watching all of series 1 and finally finishing it this week. I wish I had an extra long weekend up ahead just so I can catch up with series 2 in time for the finale. Why so adorable Merlin and Arthur? ( » )
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[3rd December 2009|8.02a
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music |
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Sweet Caroline - Glee Cast |
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The last month of 2009 has begun, and I can't believe that the year will be over in less than 30 days. This year has been tumultuous for me to say the least - I survived submitting my undergraduate thesis, graduating from college, joining A-DWTL, ending a nearly four-year-long relationship, losing friends, getting through my first two semesters in medschool, being left behind, making new friends, and taking on new responsibilities. Suffice it to say, it has been both the longest and shortest year of my life so far. Things happen so quickly and the speend and magnitude of these events have left me with little room to breathe. At the same time, it's been an opportunity to really think about things. To go back to living in my head as I've always done.
Since the semestral break last October, I've been looking back on the archives of this journal and marveling at everything I'd written down. It was a very different time for me. It was a very different me. Experiencing 2009 has mas made me really think about all the changes I've gone through over the years and whether or not they're changes I like. Throughout it all, what I've learned to be most thankful for in 2009 is how it reminded me of possibilities.
I'm thankful to be reminded of possibility - the possiblity of change, and the possibility of staying the same. It's good to remember that the bad things can get better and the good things can stay the same. Which isn't to say that I've chosen to be optimistic about this and focus on that. On the downside, the things I love and hold dear can (and do) fade away, and what I've got good might probably won't always be good. It's a fine line to tread between hope and caution. And lately, I've been erring on the side of caution, but I don't want to lose sight of hope. It's cliched but true: Hope for the best, but always always be prepared for the worst. Make the most of the present. They're bittersweet lessons I've lost sight of, and am glad to remember.
I've been so complacent for so long that I've forgotten that it's possible to be surrounded by comfort and excitement at the same time. I've been so firmly entrenched in a comfort zone that I've grown boring. With the loss of that comfort zone, I may be a great deal more lobely, but I'm learning to be so much more dynamic and adaptable. I'm challenged and exhilarated everyday, and I'm learning to find comfort in other places, other people. To be aware of these possibilities, I'm so thankful.
I'm grateful for 2009, but of course, I'm excited for its end as well. To be open to 2010, in every way, is what 2009 has taught. I want to make the most of this.
(My entry to Avalon.ph's Win a Moleskine Colour a Month Daily Planner contest)
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| 90210 02x11: And Away They Go |
[2nd December 2009|11.26p
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And we get our favorite zip code back this week with lots of surprises in store for everyone in the cast. I swear I kept saying "FINALLY" everytime things got revealed. This episode should have been entitled And the FINALLY let the truth come out, but I guess it's too long. Bonus this week: we get a new setting! I don't know if Beverly Hills is known for their horse races, but it was fun to see them somewhere else. ( Read more... )
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| Focus |
[2nd December 2009|10.30a
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mood |
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 awake |
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Mika Nakashima's "Focus" |
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For always trying to make things to go my way, along comes disappointment when it doesn't happen. It just sucks when you don't have the drive anymore to do your best because you already know what happens or you know that it won't happen anyway. Being less of a perfectionist can be a quick remedy for this, but it's a long process to make one's self stop sulking and wallowing in self-pity and regret.
It's a new day and everything seems to be fine. I shall let all the past die slowly as the sun rising at dawn. I will focus on the good and only that, but still be slightly aware of the bad just to keep my feet on the ground. But rising up to the clouds is something that I wouldn't stop, as long as I know it is right for me.
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| Gossip Girl 03x11: The Treasure of Serena Madre |
[1st December 2009|11.47p
] |
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I know it's the Thanksgiving episode, but I'm not quite sure if I should be thankful for Gossip Girl just because I'm not as hot about it as I was before. Sure, this doesn't stop me from making weekly recaps, because I'm anal about having started it and not ending it, but I really hope it gets better next week (with more Chuck), because I'm not feeling very thankful for this week's show. Or maybe I'm just tired. ( » )
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| November: Fearless (Taylor Swift) |
[30th November 2009|5.55a
] |
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I know I'm the last person to board the Taylor Swift love bandwagon, but I can't help it. After much convincing from the rest of the flist, I finally caved and got her album and I have no regrets at all. Every song transports me back to high school. I feel if I had this album back then, I would be singing it anthemically -- not that I don't do now. And cause I have yet to be fearless, I love the first track. This needs a video. ( » )
LISTEN: Fearless [Grooveshark]
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| Zac Looking This Good in a Suit Should be Illegal |
[28th November 2009|7.27a
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Stop being so adorable, Zac Efron!!! Seeing him do his promotional round for Me and Orson Welles is giving me lots of eyecandy just because he's looking so handsome in his suits and ties. Plus watching him on Letterman? He's sooooo at ease with himself and just exudes this quiet confidence that I'm in love with. Still very jealous of Baby V. BRB watching High School Musical 3 again. I can't help it. ( » )
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| Senseless Killings |
[27th November 2009|3.21p
] |
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It's still beyond me how the Ampatuan massacre even happened. Even days after the news broke out (I was in the office when I heard the news team behind me discussing this), I'm still not over it. I don't know if anything will come out of this senseless killing in Mindanao, but I pray that justice is served. It isn't even the beginning of the election yet and something this terrible happens. Will there be more in 2010?. [NY Times] ( » )
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| FAIR GAME |
[27th November 2009|9.11a
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mood |
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 angry |
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Last Monday (November 23) our standing in the eyes of the world sunk even further after the Maguindanao Massacre. I will no longer review the details of that event. One only has to go to the newspapers and find the gory details. All said, around sixty persons perished. And it happened because for the first time since 2001, someone dared to challenge the ruling dynasty in that place.
This is not the first time Maguindanao came into the spotlight. In 2007, just before the senatorial elections, GMA7 was suppose to feature the Ampatuans on a public affairs program to show how nothing has changed in the province in the six years of the Ampatuan dynastic rule. That program never got the chance to air because some judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) when the Ampatuan’s claimed that their side was never taken by the station. GMA7, on the other hand claimed that it tried to interview the Ampatuans but their requests had been denied. The TRO issue died down and the Ampatuans went on to win the elections in their fiefdom. They also delivered a 12-0 vote for Team Unity, when almost the entire country went opposition. Several teachers in the province afterwards claimed that no elections took place in the province and that the results were already completed even before the polls in the rest of the country took place. Those teachers since rescinded their comments or were gunned down. Something which also happened during the controversial 2004 elections where Fernando Poe Jr., a very popular and even mythic figure in Muslim Mindanao got clobbered by President Gloria Arroyo.
By then, the country should have realized that something very sinister was happening in that province. But we Filipinos have very short memories and when the next telenovela was premiered, we forgot all about Maguindanao, and went on with our lives. Since then, Maguindanao’s population became poorer and nine years hence, the Ampatuans still have nothing to show the country in terms of progress in their turf. You can sometimes forgive other dynasties for being around forever because at the very least, you can see the progress in their provinces. I went to Ilocos Sur recently and while I have no admiration whatsoever for Chavit Singson, one cannot deny that he did a lot for his province too. The roads are good, businesses abound (although there are claims that the Singsons own many of these), and one couldn’t sense the fear usually associated with warlords. Even the people I talked too spoke highly of Mr. Singson and told me that when he tries to get back his post next year, they would vote for him. The same thing happened when I went to Davao City. We have heard of the disturbing news that criminals vanished in that city under the watch of its eternal mayor, Rodrigo Duterte. But Davao City is certainly the Queen of Mindanao. I never felt afraid walking its streets even in the late hours of the night because I knew that I was safe. Police presence was high and most of its taxi drivers were disciplined. When I asked some citizens what they thought about Duterte and his dubious human rights record, they simply told me that only criminals should fear the mayor and that they would vote him into office over and over again.
What do the Ampatuans have to show after nine years of uncontested rule and billions of pesos in pork barrel funds, internal revenue allotments and foreign aid?
Fifty-nine bodies and counting. That’s what they have achieved. And that’s simply the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Who knows how many more bodies have been buried all throughout Maguindanao? Those fifty-nine mutilated bodies best sums up the achievements of the Ampatuans. One could perhaps understand if those fifty-nine bodies belonged to armed men of another politician’s private army. But pregnant women, journalists and lawyers? As Manuel Quezon III correctly pointed out in his column, the Ampatuans have removed the traditional shields of Philippine society. If the government doesn’t see that justice is served, then it sends a message to all dynasties and warlords that it’s now open season. Women, babies, children, journalists, grandparents, bystanders – all of them are fair game now.
All of us are fair game too.
We, the citizens, cannot be in denial and say that that could only happen in Mindanao. It’s lawless Mindanao where a band of thieves continue kidnapping teachers, where a Muslim insurgency cries foul when the military displaces the population but remains quiet when fellow Muslims butcher defenceless people. Mindanao after all, is too far away. The TV serves as a buffer for all that violence. No, my dear citizens. If it can happen to them, it can happen to us too.
And for the first time in a long while, I am so afraid.
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